Lunging at us when coming in from outside

[TracyGallina]

Hello,

I am a new member with an immediate problem. We have an adopted tripawd dog, have had her for a year. She's about two. 

Yesterday, my husband and I were doing yardwork. He went outside to get the ladder, etc. Our dog noticed him outside (I was inside with her, getting ready), her hackles were raised and she started barking. He was carrying a ladder & wearing a hat. Then, as he started to walk in the back door (which is glass), she ran to it and lunged at the door, barking with hackles raised. We were lucky she didn't break through the door. She was fine once he walked inside.

We put her in her crate, but when we both went outside to work, she barked continuously at us (aggressively) until I covered her crate.

She has had leash aggression towards other dogs (wants to play with them, and is fine off leash with other dogs), and has barked when the doorbell rings.

She came to us well-trained otherwise, so I was not as proactive as I should have been in training. 

Can this be fixed now? 

 

Thank you.

[Adrienne]

Hello and welcome to the forums,

Changing behaviors that fall under aggression or anxiety involves to a good extent more behavior modification that training. With behavior modification we aim to work on changing the dog's underlying emotional response. The earlier a behavior is caught, the better chances to work on it productively, compared to behaviors that have been rehearsed by the dog over time. It is also important to prevent the dog from rehearsing troublesome behaviors over and over (barking, lunging etc) which allows these behaviors to put roots and become more and more difficult to eradicate.

So it is good that that you are seeking help for something that just happened yesterday compared to something your dog may have done for a good part of her life. It is also good that you placed her in the crate and covered it with a blanket so to reduce the visual stimulation and keep her calmer.

First of all, let's consider your dog's age. Your dog is at the age of 2, is at the peak doggy adolescent stage, a time when several changes take place just as it happens with human teenagers. It's not unusual for changes to happen and it can feel alarming at times. Studies have shown that doggy brains undergo rewiring during this time, sometimes resulting in problematic behaviors. You can read more about this stage here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/

Now, it sounds like your dog may not be used to seeing your husband wearing a hat and carrying a ladder. Hats are known to be a trigger for many dogs because they change our shape and carrying a ladder can also make us appear quite odd too as it changes our silhouette. The fact that your husband was outside made him even appear more threatening, as she likely didn't recognize him until he walked inside. Some dogs are very quick to react and think later.  Fear of hats and other accessories is covered here, in case you would like to get a sense of how it must feel to a dog to see us wearing them:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-people-wearing-hats-accessories/

This type of reaction benefits from a combination of desensitization and counterconditioning:

In desensitization, one takes small baby steps in exposing the dog to its triggers in a systematic, structured way so that the dog does not react fearfully to the stimuli and is able to take treats. If you overwhelm and flood a dog exposing her to full intensity situations, you risk sensitizing her, which means you make her more reactive and more fearful. To learn more about desensitization read here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/

In counterconditioning,  the goal is to change a dog’s emotional response by using treats or anything the dog finds rewarding. The moment the dog sees the threatening stimulus at a distance where she is calm,  she is fed treats, the moment the threatening stimulus disappears, no more treats.  The goal is to make it clear that great things happen when trigger is in sight. Read more on desensitization here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/

When we create positive associations and work diligently, we may come to create what's known as a positive conditioned emotional response:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/

What if a dog won’t take treats? Most likely, this is an indication that the stimulus is too scary and the dog is over threshold. It's therefore important to keep the dog as under threshold as possible. Here is a read on threshold levels in dogs: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

An exercise that may turn helpful in a case as such as is the "Look at that game." As you can see, the game combines desensitization and counterconditioning, by keeping the dog at a distance from the trigger and feeding treats when the dog sees the trigger from a safe area. You can read more on this method here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/

Now a disclaimer is warranted here. Behavior modification comes with risks. A dog who is reactive may bite when touched or even with little to no provocation. This is referred to as a "redirected bite. " On top of this, behavior modification requires good observational skills to ensure the dog is under threshold and several judgement calls/quick interventions  may need to be often taken so to gauge when one can progress to the next step or when a few steps back are needed.  Not to mention, very reactive dogs that leave little space for finding an optimal distance to work under threshold, may require prescription medications to allow them to cognitively function enough for behavior modification to 'take" and be fully effective. 

This is why when a dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping) for safety, it's important to consult with an experienced dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques for direct in-person guidance. 

Here is a general guide on dogs who bark at doorbells and knocks on doors:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/behavior-training/barking/doorbells-knocks-on-doors/

And a case study on a  behavior modification protocol I used for a dog who barked when a particular person entered a door:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-barking-someone-enters-room/

I feel that reactivity cases as such require treatment because often such reactive dogs are overly stressed dogs. Powerful stress hormones circulate in their bodies each time they react, and this makes them have a sensitive startle response and they tend to respond in an exaggerated manner. These dogs are subjected to trigger stacking and need a cortisol vacation with less exposure to their triggers, and when they are exposed, it must be in such a systematic way so to not overwhelm and for the purpose of creating positive associations.  

The leash aggression you describe sounds like barrier frustration. Affected dogs are often playful with other dogs off-leash but bark/lunge/growl due to frustration of not being able to meet with the dogs. Of course, this is just an assumption, as only by seeing the behavior in person and gaining a thorough history can one "diagnose" a certain behavior issue with almost certainty. 

You can read more about barrier frustration here:

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

I hope this helps!

Let me know if you have any further questions. 

Best,

Adrienne 

Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dog's behavior against you.

[TracyGallina]

Thank you so much, Adrienne! I truly appreciate your quick & detailed response. I think we are in different time zones, so I received it this morning, but last night I started working with her on the "yes/clicker" training & the "jumping up" training lessons. 

She is sweet & sensitive - we don't know her history, but when the shelter found her on the street, she had a severely injured leg & broken teeth, so we assume she was hit by a car. Like I said, she was fairly well trained (knows all of the basic commands), so had an owner at one point. 

One other question for now (I plan to spend the day reading all of the links you sent in your response, and work with her more when I get home) - she also attaches to one person, and follows that person (currently me) around the house. She has trouble resting in one spot when I leave the room, and 8 times out of 10 will follow me to wherever I go. Do you have any suggestions for that? We try to have my husband feed her, etc. and he does play with her, but because of our schedules, much of the care-giving does fall on me during the week. I left town for a week recently, and he said for the first few hours (especially when he took a shower and she was alone), she drooled excessively all over the house. My son read that it was probably separation anxiety. 

Sorry, so many things to work on! Thank you, again, for your help. 🙂

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome! Your dog is very lucky to have landed in such a loving home. Dogs as such can be a lot of work in progress, but it's rewarding watching them gradually bloom.

We have a guide here on dogs who follow owners around and tend to be clingy:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/following-owners-around-house/

Drooling can certainly be a sign of separation anxiety, but it sounds like she recovered once she understood that she wasn't totally alone. Dogs prone to this require as well a combination of desensitization and counterconditioning where they are gradually exposed to brief absences and undergo positive associations with those. 

I am posting some separation anxiety protocols I have been using for some time. Of course, these are just general protocols as each dog may need an individualized plan and some exercises may need to be split into smaller steps.

One of the most challenging parts of separation anxiety behavior modification is that it requires management when the dogs aren't in "training." This means that to "protect" the hard work and preventing dogs from rehearsing the problem behavior absences should be avoided during the behavior modification process. In other words, if you are at the point in the process where your dog can successfully remain calm in a room for 15 minutes in your absence, you may need to hire a pet sitter or have a friend stay with your dog if you need to stay away for longer.

What Will Be Needed? First of all, patience, determination and consistency. Helping a dog suffering from separation anxiety is not an easy task. Many dog owners wonder how long it will take and there's no easy answer as each case is different. The more a dog has been rehearsing the problem and the more severe it is, the more work may be needed. Severe cases may require the addition of medications and the assistance of a professional as some dogs are just anxious at any time of the day on top of during owner absences.

Interactive toys, treats, food, a mat, baby gates and some technological gadgets such as remote monitoring devices and/or automatic treat dispensers are used in the exercises. Although optional, the use of these technological gadgets come extra handy considering that they allow to monitor dogs remotely so to evaluate whether it's a good time to raise criteria or whether a dog is being pushed too hard.

A safezone will also need to be established. This safezone is the dog's confinement area where the exercises will be performed. For comfort, it is best to use an area that is central to family activities such as an office, kitchen or living room. Dogs who enjoy their crate, exercise pen or playpen and love to lounge in it, can have it placed in the safezone as long as these enclosures remain open as some dogs with separation anxiety suffer from concomitant containment phobias. A safezone should be blocked out by a baby gate or in homes with open-plan layouts, a super wide gate may be needed.

Tier 1: Protocol For Dogs Who Follow Owners Room- to- Room

 

One thing many dogs suffering from separation anxiety share is extra clingliness, so much so, that many dog owners have started to nickname their dogs "Velcro Dogs." These dogs follow their owners from one room to another and like to sleep by their owners' feet so to be the first alerted when their owners are about to get up and walk around.

 

This component of treatment for separation anxiety in dogs needs its proper protocol since it would be non-productive starting practicing outdoor absences if these dogs aren't even able to tolerate brief absences within the home. The goal of these exercises is to gradually build on distance until the dog can be left in a room while the owner is in another.

 

On top of these exercises, it's ideal to encourage these dogs to sleep at night on their own bed or mat and sleep there as well during the day (rather than sleeping constantly on the owner's lap, glued to the owner's body or at the owner's feet).

 

Note: some dogs are particularly attached to one person. To start the exercises easily, it is best to start with the person the dog is less attached to and then progress using the person the dog is attached to.

 

Step 1:

 

The first step entails having the dog to be able to relax and cope without following their owners everywhere. These dogs need to learn to perform brief sit/stays or down/stays on a mat or other comfy place while the owner walks around, but initially remains always in the dog's sight.

 

Initially these sit/stays and down/stays should be very brief for just 1-2 seconds while the owner just takes a step or two away in various directions and then returns to reward. Criteria is then raised with the owner just walking a few steps away (3-4) and then returning to reward.

 

Gradually, distance and duration can be added, but it's important to make sure to not make increases in time and distance predictable as dogs will soon come to predict this increase in difficulty and may grow incrementally anxious. To avoid this, mix in shorter (less time) stays and closer stays (less distance) frequently. For example, 2 second stay, then 4, then 3, then five, then 1, then 4, then 6, then 2 etc or 2 steps away, then 1, then 3, then 4, then 1, etc.

 

Distractions at some point can be added as well. Clap your hands as you walk away, count to five out loud, turn your back to your dog, lift your arms, walk around your dog etc. If your dog ever breaks the stay just say a casual "oops" and send your dog back to the area where he was asked to stay. Resume the exercise, this time making it a bit less difficult before progressing to asking for more.

 

Many clingy dogs follow their owners every time they get up from sitting. If your dog gets ready to follow you every time you are sitting on a chair or couch, and you put your hand on the arm rest or put down the remote, practice sit/stays and down/stays as you repeat these actions over and over. Then increase criteria, and start to get up repeatedly from your chair/couch/. Then get up and take a few steps and may be even walk around your dog and go back to sitting.

 

These exercises should be done until fluent and the dog appears totally relaxed and no longer eager to follow. End the sessions with a jackpot of treats.

 

Step 2:

 

Gradually increase distance/duration. With longer duration, it's best to request down/stays to prevent tiring. Take more steps away (from standing or sitting) and for gradually longer times and start going out of sight.

 

Ask your dog to down/stay on a mat as you briefly get out of view behind a wall or door for a split second, then return and reward. Repeat several times as you gradually mix in shorter absences and longer absences and shorter distances with farther distances, making sure to not allow you dog to detect an incremental pattern of difficulty.

 

You can mix in brief errands too such as opening/closing a closet, grabbing a beer from the fridge or closing a window as long as they don't cause you to be out of sight for too long.

 

These exercises should be done until fluent and the dog appears totally relaxed. Always end the sessions with a jackpot of treats.

 

Step 3:

 

Increase more the distance and duration. Install a baby gate, hide several treats around the enclosed area, send your dog there and have your dog explore his new confinement area and find the goodies. Leave the baby gate open for a couple of days so that the dog can freely visit and discover goodies in there.

 

Next, practice briefs stays as you get in and out of the baby gate and return. Stay always in sight. Gradually increase the time you stay out as always mixing in briefer stays with longer ones, but not more than a minute in length.

 

At some point, get out of the baby gate and start preparing a stuffed Kong that can be easily unstuffed in just a minute or so. Place the stuffed Kong behind the baby gate where your dog can see it and smell it and cannot get it. Your dog should try to get the Kong. Wait for a little bit of frustration to set in such as your dog trying to paw it or whine. Grab the Kong and give it to your dog as you remain in view at a distance behind the baby gate for 1 minute. Return inside.

 

Repeat, reloading the Kong again making it more challenging to unstuff and then less challenging, so that you can increase the the time you stay out as always mixing in briefer stays with longer ones. Try to return when you know your dog is just about to finish unstuffing his Kong.

 

Step 4:

 

Start incorporating the treasure hunt game, using a portion of your dog's meals as outlined in the course. Have your dog sit/stay or down/stay as you get a portion of your dog's meal allowance and hide the kibble around. Have your dog watch you in anticipation and then as you leave the room and release your dog. Allow your dog to hunt as you are briefly out of sight.

 

Return and repeat the exercise hiding the remaining portion of your dog's meal allowance and leaving as your dog goes on his hunt. As always, gradually increase the time you stay out of sight, mixing in briefer stays with longer ones, but not more than a minute in length.

 

Alternatively, in lieu of the treasure hunt game, you can stuff a slow food dispenser such as a Kong Wobbler, Buster Cube or regular Kong with the kibble and let your dog work on it while you are away.

 

At some point, start delaying your returns a bit so that your dog has finished hunting or eating from the Kong but doesn't appear to anxious about running out of food and being alone.

Tier 2: Protocol for Uncoupling Pre-Departure Cues

Dogs are masters in reading body language and learning all the cues that culminate into our departures. It's therefore not surprising when they start acting nervous when dog owners get up, have breakfast, and then put on makeup, shave, brush hair, put shoes on and grab the keys. These are all pre-departure cues that put dogs on high alarm, as these cues have been chained one to another and associated with departures.

 

Uncoupling these associations requires some work. The work encompasses desensitizing to the pre-departure cues and breaking up their associations with the departures. These exercises are done when not leaving the home. Make sure that you therefore have time set aside for this.

 

To start, compile a list of behaviors you perform normally when going to work or head out and identify the ones your dog seems to react to. Then, place them in order chronologically, starting with the one that is farthest away from leaving the house.

 

You will then work on exposing your dog to these behaviors starting with the first and then chaining them one by one until the dog becomes uninterested in them as they lose value due to them no longer leading to departures. For instance, if your list looks something like this: put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys and walk out the door, your exercises will look something like this: (please note, sit on the couch/watch TV is an example, you can do many other things that your dog associates with you being home like knitting, washing the dishes etc.)

 

Put on shoes, sit on the couch, watch TV (when you sit down and watch TV or read a book or go prepare a meal, do so for a few minutes each time)

 

Put on shoes, grab briefcase, sit on the couch, watch TV

 

Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, sit on the couch, watch TV

 

Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, sit on the couch, watch TV

 

Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door slightly, close door, sit on the couch watch TV

 

Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, then back in, close door, return, sit on the couch watch TV

 

Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, sit on couch, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door (with you outside), quickly reopen door, close door, return, sit on the couch, watch TV.

 

Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, sit on couch, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door (with you outside), lock the door, unlock the door, return, sit on couch watch TV.

 

Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door, lock the door (with you outside), and increase duration of staying outside gradually, but for no more than half a minute (always mixing in shorter absences in the midst of longer ones), then unlock the door, return, sit on the couch, watch TV.

 

Note: If your dog seems upset by any of these behaviors, you may need to split them further. For example, if your dog is doing well up until you start opening the door (like you catch your dog whining), then, you may want to split the action of walking to the door in further segments (e.g take a few steps towards the door, return, sit on couch, then, walk to the door and stand in front of it, return, sit on the couch, then, walk to the door and touch the knob for a split second, return, sit on the couch, then walk to the door and open the door a bit for a split second, return, sit on the couch. Do this until the door can be successfully opened without the dog worrying about it.

 

Tier 3: Exercises by the Door

 

Monitor your dog for signs of distress

These exercises are more difficult, and therefore, require dogs to be very well proficient at the previous tier level. Dogs should therefore have reached a point where they are fine with being left alone for up to half a minute as the owner stands behind the closed door.

 

Because these absences are longer and more distractions are added (car engine starting), it helps to provide some high-value long-lasting goodies for the dog to consume such as a strategically stuffed Kong with layers (e.g a layer of cookies stuck at the bottom, kibble mixed with peanut butter, a cookie stuck midway, canned food, another cookie at the top). For longer absences, on top of a Kong, an automatic treat-dispenser set to release treats at frequent intervals can turn helpful.

 

When providing goodies to consume for these absences, it's important to provide them as well while you are at home to prevent them from turning into a pre-departure cue signaling to your dog you are about to leave.

 

At this point, it may also be important to use some form of remote monitoring so to assess how the dog is doing and keep tabs on progress and/or setbacks. Body language should be carefully assessed. Anytime a setback is noticed, it means that one must work more on a lower level until the dog is perfectly comfortable with that level.

 

For example, if the dog becomes anxious upon being left alone for 8 minutes, more time should be spent practicing at lower times. Increments should be done in seconds rather then chunks of minutes always mixing in briefer times to make the exercises as variable as possible. Build the time gradually up to 30 minutes if possible.

 

Arrivals should always be no big deal. Ignore your dog as you walk in and just go straight to the couch.

 

Example of exercises:

 

Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door, lock the door, start car engine, then unlock the door, return, sit on the couch, watch TV.

 

Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door, lock the door, start car engine, spend a bit of time in the car, then unlock the door, return, sit on the couch, watch TV.

 

Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door, lock the door, start car engine, move the car a bit ahead and then back into parking space, then unlock the door, return, sit on the couch, watch TV.

 

Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door, lock the door, start car engine, drive the car around the block and then back into parking space, then unlock the door return, sit on the couch watch TV and so forth. Gradually increase more time spent away, mixing in shorter absences.

 

A Word About Treatment For Separation in Anxiety in Dogs

It's important to consider that slow and steady wins the race in behavior modification. It will take time, commitment and determination to attain results. The goal is to get a dog to be calm and reward that. Setbacks are always possible during behavior modification no matter how well planned the program. To reduce the chances of setbacks, it is best to perform separation anxiety exercises with the help of a professional for in-person evaluations and coaching. Once the dog appears calm in the safezone, it's time to generalize the behavior and practice in other areas of the house and with other family members. 

Hope this helps,

Best,

Adrienne 

[TracyGallina]

Thank you! We put her in her crate when we leave for work (my husband goes home at lunch to let her out to play, etc.). She heads to her crate in the morning when she sees us getting ready to leave.  We say "We'll be back" when we close her crate & head out the door. She seems content in her crate.  Is this okay?

[Adrienne]

It depends. To truly know how she fairs with separation, it would require recording her behavior when she's left alone and then watching it. If in doubt, having a veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist watch the recording can help provide a closer insight on how she is coping emotionally when left alone and whether she may be truly dealing with separation anxiety. 

I always recommend leaving the dog in the crate with something valuable (like stuffed Kong) to keep the dog happy and busy. 

[TracyGallina]

Thank you :)

 

[Adrienne]

You're very welcome!

Best,

Adrienne 

[JMFS]

I'm going to chime in with some encouragement.  Gertrude Marie is a clingy pup and she can now stay home, uncrated, for several hours without destroying things.  When we first got her she ransacked the house, ate a portion of her bed, jumped on tables, ate my crochet hooks (grrrrr), ate my crochet project (extra grrrr - that was a difficult intricate pattern with a small hook!), dragged several skeins of yarn to the middle of the floor and thoroughly entangled them, and was basically a horrible house guest!

Nowadays I can put treat containers around the upstairs and (we finally got our door last week) shut the door.  She whines a little bit and paces here and there, but for the most part she chills out in her bed and enjoys her treats.  I also hide smaller treats around the room and we have a Furbo camera that I can use to shoot treats at her.  To help her adjust to the door I've been leaving the room and going downstairs and watch her on the camera.  When she heads towards the door I "toss" the treats at her.  Eventually she gets to the point of starting towards the door, pausing, looking at the Furbo, pausing . . . we're still working on it because that door is only a week old, but she's getting there and I can see her processing, "treats vs following - which is more rewarding?"

She's the type of dog who jumps up any time I shift in my chair, grab my purse, say "alright," (I'm in the habit of saying that before I go to bed for some reason), grab something from the printer, etc . . ..  Even if my husband is up here with us she'll still make to follow me.  I send her back to her bed with a "yes!" once she's settled and occasionally she gets a treat to remind her good things could happen if she stays.  It took about 2 years to get to this point, but I will follow that by saying I wasn't giving it my all.  If I had pushed for it we would have made faster progress, but since I work from home and prefer to stay home it hasn't been a high priority. She was also fine in her crate, just barked a little more than she does with this new freedom.