Dogs who resent being handled

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Not all dogs enjoy being handled and this can often stem from a negative experience. Mind you, not from your perspective, but your dogs'! We often forget to put ourselves in our dogs' shoes and this often leads to unexpected problems. We may assume that picking up our dog to put him in a place he doesn't want to go isn't a biggie, but from Rover's perspective it may be. After all, who enjoys being pushed, shoved or forced into an area against their will? A puppy may be more accepting (or at least tolerant) of being moved from one spot to another, but as time goes by and the dog matures, he may resent being handled in certain ways, especially against his will. At some point, there are chances the dog may react defensively and a bite may cause more serious harm.

 

Hence, it is more productive working on creating a verbal cue that tells your do to follow you to a certain spot or lie on a mat placed in a specific area rather than physically picking the dog up, pushing him or grabbing him by the collar so to move him to a specific spot. Don't forget to reward your dog for complying to your verbal cue! It's also important working on making the place more pleasant (less noisy, feeding treats there, adding toys) or changing the area altogether if needed.

Edited August 25, 2017 by Adrienne Farricelli

[dianaburnett]

I have a 2 yr old lab/pit cross. I’m a little concern with his behavior. He is not aggressive in fact he is very insecure when he feel fearful he will growl. He some times gets into an argument with my jack russel but has never hurt him the only one that gets bit is him. He has never even put his face down like he wants to bit him. He will growl if you touch his face but again never bit. He went to the vet last week and the vet was scared of him in don’t blame him. He growl when grabbed for his face, was having him check over because he is so itchy. Then when he walked around and gave him 2 shots he pulled his lips up growled and lounged for him. I know from the dogs point of view this stranger grabs for his face the walks behind him and hurts him. The growling and insacurities have got to stop he is good with me but will at times growl at others when they come around me. He knows I am boss so I don’t think it’s a protection thing more territorial thing. If he was a horse I would know how to fix it but a dog stumped. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks Diana

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello Diana,

Welcome to the forum! From your description, I do too feel that his behavior stems from fear. Veterinarian offices are small places and give dogs little room to move away. The invasion of space that follows during the examination further aggravates things. Not to mention, negative past experiences (shots, otoscopes inserted in ears, thermometers in humiliating places, blood draws etc) and then you always have a chance that your dog with his powerful sniffer picks up all the alarm pheromones secreted by other scared dogs there. Your dog's behavior at the vet is not unusual.

 

It might be helpful for the future to have your dog muzzled at the vet's office just to play it safe. While dogs may still do harm while wearing a muzzle, vets appreciate this because it gives them a sense of security. I have all my dogs muzzled trained (even the sweetest Labs I have fostered) because you never know when a muzzle may come handy especially for painful or invasive procedures. Dogs can act in unpredictable ways when they are in pain or have fear.

 

I am not sure based on your description whether your dog allows you to touch his face or not or if this behavior is targeted mostly at strangers and vets. If he's fine with you touching his face and has never shown you any signs of aggression, you can try habituating him to wearing a muzzle by following the steps below.

 

You can work on teaching your dog to accept a muzzle by letting your dog initially target the muzzle, (look up the targeting portion of the course, you would apply the same training as when teaching to target hands/target stick) and then letting him insert his muzzle in it slightly while feeding treats through. Then, you would feed treats for wearing it around the muzzle but only for brief periods of time. Then, you can clip it on briefly and feed treats ( make sure you give no treats when the muzzle is off, only feed treats while wearing it) gradually increasing the time your dog wears it. Go very gradual in the process, stick to your dog's pace and make sure to create positive associations with it. You want your dog to look forward to wearing it because that means he gets lots of praise (oh, look how good you look wearing it!) and is fed goodies.

 

If he doesn't like you to touch his face, one thing to consider is whether this behavior may be medically-induced. You mentioned allergies, and there are always chances that allergic dogs may have ear infections and dogs with ear infections often resent being touching by their head area or face.

 

Ruled out medical causes, it sounds like your dog's behavior at the vet's office following the shots were also defensive in nature and stemming from fear or a reaction/surprise from the pain of the shot or a combo of both. Now while muzzles can help the vet feel safe and prevent a dog from potentially biting, on its own, a muzzle doesn't really teach a dog anything. It's important to not fall into the trap of "oh, he's wearing a muzzle, so you can do anything to him now." Along with a muzzle, it's important to implement some behavior modification.

 

For a case like your dog, I feel the best approach is using a combination of desensitization and counterconditioning. (Click on links to learn more) Desensitization entails exposing to less intense versions of what triggers the fearful behavior. Counterconditioning entails creating new positive associations to replace the negative ones. It takes some time for new associations to sink through, but implemented correctly these methods are very powerful. For safety and correct implementation it's best to have a professional in person guide you through. I have personally accompanied a few times dog owners at vet offices to coach them through forming all these positive associations (after practicing at home for quite a bit of course!).

 

If I was dealing with a case like yours, I would first start teaching your dog to associate the approach of people and their hands with great things. With the muzzle on for safety, I would walk towards your dog while you feed him tasty treats. Then, I would make an about turn and walk away and you would no longer feed treats. I would do this several times, until your dog learns my approach signals treats.

 

Then, once I reach a closer distance, I would move my hands towards his direction and drop a treat his way. I would keep approaching, dropping treats as I move my hands towards him from a distance he's comfortable with. I would repeat several times until he starts looking forward to me getting closer with my hands and dropping treats. Then, I would start getting even more closer, move my hand closer to his face and drop treats. I would repeat this several times. If at any times he gives the slightest sign of discomfort of me being too close (being over threshold), I would take a few steps back and resume from the point.

 

After ward, (based on his progress) I would perhaps touch his face very slightly with one hand and simultaneously feed treats from my other hand (or the owner can feed treats). I would repeat this several times. Then, I would delay a bit the timing of the treat feeding. I would touch, and then a second after hand feed the treats from the other hand. I would then increase gradually the type of touch (longer lasting, targeted at different parts of the face etc) and then feed treats from the other hand (or owner feeds them). I would repeat several times. If at any time, the dog shows a minimal sign of discomfort or growls, that would signal to me he's not ready yet for that version of intensity yet and I would have to take a few steps back and make extra sure we are not proceeding too fast. Too many "ooops" moments can create setbacks.

 

Then, I would start increasing criteria, I would start doing things that may mimic a vet's visit. I would slightly touch his ears with my hand and feed treats (or the owner feeds them). Touch around his eyes, feed treats. I would walk around him, toss him a treat. Touch his back, toss a treat.

 

Then, I may introduce objects. A pencil for instance, I would let him sniff it toss treats. Then, I would touch him with the pencil in the shoulder area as if giving a shot (feed treats) and so forth. A plastic lid from a bottle can be used to mimic a stethoscope. I would place the lid on the chest area while the dog is fed treats. Repeat several times. I would then increase the duration the lid touches the chest area and feed treats for that.

 

The goal is to create very strong positive associations with what happens at the vet. Now, this is just an example, every dog seems to need an individualized approach. I would pay a lot of attention to the dog's posture/body language to make sure I am not going too fast. With some dogs I may need to work more on certain parts, where others may be fine. The process may take days, weeks or months depending on several factors such as for how long has been uncomfortable being around humans and being touched, how food motivated the dog is, how quickly the dog makes the associations, etc. If feasible, having another person (preferably experienced with behavior modification) rehearse this makes it even more likely for the dog to retain all the formed associations (through a process of generalization).

 

After this part is done (keep holding rehearsal sessions every now and then to make sure it "keeps"), I would then suggest visiting the vet's office every now and then (with no vet visit following) simply just entering to say hello to the front desk staff and feeding treats ther. This is to just take the edge off and let the dog feel/think "vet's offices are not always bad, sometimes, I just go there to get goodies and nothing bad happens!"

 

Sometimes, you can find a vet or vet tech willing to practice things with you before a real actual visit. If you are lucky, some experienced vet techs have taken courses on dog behavior (some are even dog trainers!) and will make sure to not go too fast and won't get too upset if there's a little "oops moment" and your dog growls a bit. Best to avoid vet techs who are inexperienced or those who are all in 'doggy love' and talk all excited, want to smooch your dog and get all close to your dog's face. Some dogs may like this type of interactions but IMO many do not. Always keep your dog muzzled for safety, and have the person mimic a vet visit (just a very quick but sweet and positive visit maybe) while you feed him tasty treats during each part of the visit as practiced beforehand.

 

For the actual vet visit, you would therefore continue all this training while your dog is safely muzzled. It is best to keep the muzzle on even when your dog seems more comfortable just as an extra precaution. Every now and then, make sure you let your dog wear the muzzle at home or briefly on a walk or during play so he doesn't associate the muzzle with only vet visits. Take it as a refresher course to keep him happy about wearing it.

 

I hope this helps, let me know if you need further assistance,

Best regards,

Adrienne

 

Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. For correct implementation and safety (and the safety of others) please consult with a behavior professional for an assessment and in person-guidance.

Edited March 1, 2018 by Adrienne Farricelli