Hello,
I have an 8 yr old shepard/husky mix (or something along those lines)
who got aggressive with me over a squeaky toy last night. I'm not sure
if he grabbed my finger or if my finger was on the toy and he grabbed
the toy, but he just barely broke the skin -- one little tooth mark on
the top and a scratch on the bottom. Anyways, I'm wondering if you have
any suggestions for us. I was reading your posts about Sophie but
couldn't get your protocol to load onto the site. My dog an I have been
living alone for several years and we recently (October) moved in with
my financee and her dog (who is submissive for the most part -- other
than a bit of toy guarding behavior). Since then, my dog has been
struggling with issues of food aggression and this toy nonsense that I
thought we dealt with years ago (I haven't had these problems with him since
he was 1-2 years old). Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thank
you! Lindsay

My reply:

Hi Lindsay,

I wish this were a problem that could easily be fixed with an email. I
will try my best, but in the end, you may have to consult a behaviorist
inyour area (if you are in NYC, you are in luck!- It's my town!). If you
are in NYC, let me know and we'll set up and evaluation.

so here goes-

Your dog has a hierarchy problem. The addition of people and dogs in
the home creates this kind of thing, and in his brain he's lost in the pack
and he feels he has to prove his place all over again. The best thing
to do is to completely shun him and the other dog. All humans just ignore
the dogs and kind of "cut the cord". This is what dominant, confident
leader dogs do when another dog comes into their territory. Other dogs
recognize this as something a leader does, and they will understand it
right away. It brings the humans up in the hierarchy of things. You
should not be playing on the floor with the dogs and certainly not be
allowing the dogs on the furniture (allowing dogs on furniture skews
the hierarchy and makes some mid-ranking dogs feel more powerful than they
ought to feel). I recommend correcting calmly each time there is any
hint of aggression toward a human (stiffening of the body when approached, locked into a stare over a toy or food, etc), then shunning that dog completely, as if
they hadn't existed.

research this:

my old entry on this here.

and see if you're comfortable using one. You need a way to correct
these behaviors that is quick, effective, easy to administer, and can be done
without approaching the dog. The spray commander works from 250 ft.
away.

This is the most advice I can give you in a simple email without
actually evaluating your dog in person.

I hope it helps you, and may the force be with you,

Marlene

Continue reading... "how this freaky site works..."

Okay, before you click on this, I need to tell you that if you, in fact, do have a dog that does this, you need to do something about it and not video tape it and send it to one of those "funniest video" shows. When a dog is this insanely food possessive, people are in danger and your dog will eventually do something to really hurt someone, thus hurting himself because then you'll get sued, and rightly so, and then the dog ends up in a pound somewhere and you know what happens after like 7 days in a county shelter.

If I may, I'd like to turn this entry into a "what not to do" topic; if your dog shows even the slightest sign of guarding behavior, don't just laugh it off and expect it to fade away as the dog gets older. Aggression's not like, say, chewing inappropriately. Dogs don't just "grow out" of aggressive behaviors; they get progressively worse as time passes, believe me. If you address the problem early, your chances are better in extinguishing the behavior, although most people can't deal with aggression correctly in general. That being said, you can watch the clip of probably the worst food possession I've seen in years. Probably due to a neurological disorder. Hold on to your knickers, folks...

click me

If you happen to have a hyper, aggressive or generally intense dog, change their diet to a low-protein dog food without artificial preservatives (look for about 20% protein). Any protein that they're not using for serious growth spurts is essentially extra energy ripping through your dog's system. Like ROCKET FUEL. UNNECESSARY ROCKET FUEL. Think about it...

Whenever you change a dog's food, do it gradually, 25% of the new food at a time. A quick change in protein levels most of the time results in stank, rancid loose stool. I don't think this is what you want. (is it?)
So, do it 25% new/ 75% old for a week or so, and if the dog's system can handle that, then go to 50%- %50, and so on...

About the preservatives: dog food contains lots of fats in it, which tend to spoil easily, thus the need for a preservative of some sort. Some smart idiot took a chemical that was originally used as a rubber stabilizer/ insecticide/ pesticide (ETHOXYQUIN) and decided to use it to preserve the fats in dog food. (hey, guys, i have this great idea!...) So now almost all of the dog foods on the market use this pesticide/ rubber stabilizer, which means our dogs are eating it. Me personally, i don't think it's a good idea to give it to them. So, i feed Wellness brand, which is probably not THE best food, but pretty darn good considering what else is out there. And Wellness (owned by Old Mother Hubbard) uses ethoxyquin-free meat sources, and there are no chemical preservatives in there. Check your dog food bags at home if you want, chances are you'll see that "e"- word in there somewhere.

Oh, and Nutro Natural doesn't use ethoxyquin, either.

An update on the infamous Sophiedog...

Hey there. I just thought you might like an update on your former student. She has really grown into her own. She roams the house freely without incident. (Well, maybe the occasional chewing incident, but it is rare). She is getting to be a pro at heeling on a leash. She still gets excited when she sees new people, but she is getting better. Still wanting to jump sometimes as well, but we are working on it. We took her on a week long trip to RI, VT and Maine, and she was perfect. Did fine in the car, hotels, on the ferry, with other dogs, etc.

And, to make sure that her dad and I were not entirely worry free, she sat on a pile of fire ants and had to have her butt shaved and treated. Typical.

Amy & Sophie

I am, of course, working to get her to not charge off after stuff (she went after kids on sleds in VT), but I got nervous. Do you think a regular choke collar is the way to go? I don't want her to strangle herself, but she is very powerful.....I think I remember that when you pulled her records, the people that brought her in said she had some pit bull - I believe it, given her strength.

Otherwise, she is doing much better. She found a greenie under the couch and got very protective when I approached her, but she gave it up without a fight, so I think we are making progress. She's back to nipping to get your attention, so I am using the spray collar with her for that.

Not sure she likes her "special song" very much.........must be my singing ability.

Over and Out,

Amy and Sophie

My response:

Continue reading... "Sophie #13 email update"

Sophie actually bit her Dad over a piece of wood chip from the garden. I saw Dad's face afterwards and it wasn't anything nice. She bit him correctively, which means she gave him a warning and she could've hurt him if she wanted to, but she chose not to. Time to enforce a new protocol..

Continue reading... "sophie's hit a speedbump of sorts..#7"