?aggressive behavior

[CherylHampton]

Well I'm back. Wasn't gone long😊 anyway my question is....I took Shiloh to the lake for a short walk today. He was pretty good,didnt pull much and was so excited to dig and play in the sand. When we were leaving there was a couple walking their dog on leash.Shiloh was already in the car. He spotted the dog and started barking, then growling. That's the first time he's ever done that. Should I be concerned? He still plays with his "friend" from next door and she came as we were getting out of the car. Shiloh still has a habit of wanting to get her around the neck while playing. She doesn't seem to mind as he isn't aggressive, no growling or  vicious behavior that I can see and he doesn't chase her when she's had enough playing. He's not food or toy aggressive at all even when she's here. Should I be concerned about him growling and barking at the other dog while in the car?

[Adrienne]

Welcome back! Glad to hear he didn't pull much (make sure to not allow him to pull sometimes yes and sometimes no as that creates confusion- we want to stay consistent as much as possible) and that Shiloh had a blast playing and digging in the sand. 

If he's normally happy and social to play with dogs, you may be seeing some level of barrier frustration, but there may be other possibilities such as barking from not liking this other dog or not being used to seeing dogs much. Let's take a brief look at potential causes:

Barking due to Barrier frustration:

We often see this in dogs who are social butterflies, basically dogs who are easy going and have lots of friends at the dog park and are often used to being off-leash and having a blast playing with other dogs. 

These dogs also have a stellar history reputation for being friendly with other dogs, which makes this behavior often surprising. Many dog owners are indeed shocked when their pups show their first signs of frustration. 

More technically speaking, we're talking about barrier frustration. You can read more about it here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/barrier-frustration/

Typically, therefore barrier frustration takes place when dogs are eager to meet and greet other dogs and they are prevented to do as they please due to some barrier. The barrier can be a leash, fence, window, door, kennel or being inside a car. These dogs are so excited and eager to go meet and greet canine friends, that they start barking, lunging and even growling when they realize they cannot.

It's sort of the same type of frustration we may feel when we are used to putting a coin in and 99 percent of the time getting soda. Then, that day the soda isn't released, we may get angry and maybe even kick the machine to vent or in hopes of getting it to release something.

Back to dogs, dogs who are very motivated to meet are often young dogs who lack sufficient impulse control and frustration tolerance to keep at bay these emotions. On top of this, some may be predisposed to become reactive/aggressive when they feel frustrated. 

It goes without saying that, the less a dog gets to see other dogs, the more excited and frustrated he will feel upon spotting one. "Motivation can be cranked up with deprivation. Dogs and people become incredibly interesting to sociable dogs who are isolated for long periods. Chronic isolation situations can be very agitating,"  explains Jean Donaldson, one of my favorite dog experts I have been following for decades.  

Barking due to disliking other dogs. 

On the other end of the spectrum are dogs who bark at other dogs while in the car because they simply aren't comfortable having them around. With a car being enclosed, such dogs tend to feel rather ''trapped,'' and therefore, feel like engaging more in a "fight" since their flight option (the ability to retreat) is removed.

This can often happen in under-socialized dogs. fearful dogs or dogs who had a negative encounter with another dog. 

Whichever the case, in this case, the barking happens because wants other dogs to not come close. By barking these dogs are saying something along the lines of "go away, I don't like you!" and because most dogs tend to move away at some point, these dogs will feel as if their barking has worked to fulfill their mission. Hence, the behavior will put roots and tend to repeat. 

Barking due to to territoriality

Territorial behavior won't likely apply to Shiloh as most behaviorists seem to agree that it starts around 8 to 10 months and escalates around the age of 12 to 24 months. However, this is just a head's up on what to watch for. 

Some dogs breeds are predisposed to this. Generally guarding breeds and herding breeds are predisposed to territorial aggression and it can be exacerbated by inadequate or inappropriate socialization. It is often seen in dogs who spend a lot of time alone in the backyard during the day. 

Such dogs may bark in the car because they don't like dogs near what they consider as their property. These dogs may act this way when other dogs come near their cars, homes and fenced yard, but may be OK with other dog in other circumstances away from the car and home- such as on walks. In any case, by barking these dogs may be saying something along the lines of: "Stay  away from my turf." 

So we have seen three common causes for barking in the car. Shiloh being young, is more likely to be barking due to frustration or some element of fear. 

To answer your question on whether you should be concerned, I would say it's a bit early yet. Many friendly dogs may bark in the same circumstance upon noticing a person or dog nearby a property to alert the owner.  Only time will tell if this was an isolated event or whether he'll be prone to this type of behavior.  However, it may help to err on the side of caution and keep watch on it and prevent it from putting roots. 

Here's the thing: barking is reinforcing. In the social dogs, it's a way to vent their frustration, in the unsocial dogs or territorial dogs, it can be a way to send other dogs away.  Behaviors that are reinforced tend to strengthen and repeat, which means that you'll likely be stuck in a pattern of barking in the car if you don't take any steps to decrease it.  

I have two fixes for this behavior: an easy one that can solve the issue, and one that needs work if you want to tackle it. I prefer a combo of the two to have all bases covered (easy fix for when you are driving and can't train, and working on it when you have time)

But first a word of caution. As tempting as it may be, avoid letting your dog out of the car to go meet an unfamiliar dog. There are high chances for things to escalate, even if your dog is social and friendly and was barking from frustration. 

The easy fix:

 If your dog has a tendency to bark in the car at other dogs, you'll need to break the cycle of reinforcement. You can do so by keeping your dog in a crate with blanket/light sheet over it so to act as a visual barrier. You can keep your dog busy in the crate by giving him something valuable such as a bully stick, edible chew or a toy he is not normally exposed to all the time. This can be an option for when you are driving and can't train. Many states require dogs to travel in crate anyway when traveling in the car, so this may be necessary, on top of helpful. Not to mention, it prevents the behavior of dogs pacing back and forth in cars and getting stressed when you pull on the breaks as the crate provides more stability. 

The not-so easy fix:

This is working on the behavior.  When you have time to practice, drive your dog to an area where he can see other dogs while in the car from a distance from which he is under threshold (think nearby a pet store). The distance will help keep your dog under threshold and therefore calmer. Sit next to your dog in the back sit and have tasty treats with you. The matter you will work on the behavior may vary based on the underlying cause.

For barrier frustration: practice having your dog engage in an alternate behavior that you'll ask to replace the barking. Practice this first at home until you obtain a strong, fluent response. The behavior can be having Shiloh make eye contact with you when you make a smacking sound with your mouth. In the look at that fashion: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/ Then practice this from the car, upon spotting other dogs. Make sure to use super high-value treats to reinforce alternate behavior.

For dislike of other dogs. Dogs who dislike other dogs may be too preoccupied initially to be able to focus on engaging in an alternate behavior. For these dogs, it may be easier to to simply park at a distance from other dogs so the dog is under threshold and practice feeding treats upon seeing dogs in an open bar/closed bar fashion. Such game may also come handy on walks.  https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/open-bar-closed-bar/

For territorial dogs: territorial dogs may as well benefit from the look at that dog game implemented in the car or other places the dog tends to act territorial (upon watching other dogs from the home's window, fence or porch area).

As always, a disclaimer is always warranted when there are possible signs of aggression. Dogs who bark at other dogs out of frustration or aggressively, may be prone to biting. For safety, in-person guidance and the correct implementation of behavior modification, consulting with a dog behavior professional using force-free behavior modification is important.   

Hope this helps!

Keep me posted

Best,

Adrienne 

[CherylHampton]

Thanks, as usual good information and we will definitely work on it. My first thought was him being enclosed in the car may have had something to do with his behavior, barking didn't surprise me, the low intense growling in addition to the barking was what made me antsy about him. I will say he didn't try to exit the car to get to the other dog so that's good. Will keep an eye on it and surely ask for more help as needed thanks again.😊

[Adrienne]

I know that feeling when we hear the first growl. I'll never forget one of Einstein's first barks at me the first time I wore a hat. We missed getting him used to people with hats being that when we was pup it was late winter in Arizona and not that cold to warrant wearing hats. Of course after that, I made great things happen every time I wore a hat (and had helpers do that too) and we got over that first hurdle.

Next time, I heard his first growl at a vet who checked his eyes with an ophthalmoscope. Having a vet get so close to his face with a big eye (ophthalmoscope) must have startled him. He was diagnosed with myopia that day so maybe his vision was a bit off and made him react before thinking. But you know what happened next.. I  purchased an ophthalmoscope from Ebay to practice on mock eye checks and then always made sure he was fed some tasty food while the vet checked his eyes in the future just to keep things positive. 

It's always good to catch things early!