I had an incident last night that needs to be discussed – and this isn’t about blame. My Pin got bit by another dog, no damage done, brush it off and move forward. But it’s another example of how dogs are misdiagnosed – and are blamed for their actions and end up being trained improperly.
Met a lady and her smaller dogs, one was more calm, the other was a little more excited, as we were passing by, I brought Monty over to meet. He was a little hesitant, I should have listened to him, but lets move forward anyway. The one dog wanted to meet, but was blocked by the leash, couldn’t move forward. Barking started, then the growling – dog was picked up, collar came off, dog hit the floor and went on the attack, bit Monty on the foot.
Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t about fault or blame on the dog or owner, this is typical for what I see today – try to remove the dog from a negative situation. Monty is shook up, adrenaline is pumping. PetSmart employee comes over, I think she might have been one of their trainers – she holds the dog, and she’s petting the dog (that’s still trying to attack), trying to comfort the dog. She says “He’s just afraid, it’s fear aggression” – great, reinforce that state of mind with affection.
Those words really upset me, this dog isn’t fear aggressive – it’s frustrated, a fearful or insecure dog isn’t going to rage like that. I made a slip out of the leash, which really pissed the employee off – another lady took Monty (Thank You for that) – and we took the dogs for a walk. The two are side by side, the pup is really excited but not attacking – I stayed back and let the lady take Monty around the corner. When I came around the corner, I had the lady turn Monty around so his butt is toward the pup I’m walking – the pup smelled butt, still a little excited but no attack happened. What was the difference? When we were ready to leave, we met the pup again, asked the owner if she wanted to try again – much more pleasant experience.
What happened, what changed so quickly? First of all, the dog bit my dog – but that’s in the past, leave it there and move forward, can’t change it, don’t dwell on it. My dog took a hit to his confidence, and I can’t leave it on that note. This is about turning negatives into positives – and that’s the number one thing owners should look to do if all hands involved are willing.
Trainers always seem to tell owners to remove the dog from the situation, this is absolutely wrong because in the end, there is nothing learned, nothing gained – no positive outcome and that’s what positive reinforcement is supposed to be – isn’t it? Removing the dog is reinforcing the negative, keep doing that and what’s the result? Aggression, exactly what we are seeing in this dog.
Secondly, I took a leap of faith, gave trust to the offending pup – gave it a choice to calm down and meet properly – showing the owner that the dog is fully capable. That’s what socialization should be – giving the dog choices, calming them down, and allowing them to move forward and allowing them to do what dogs do.
Robert Hynes Dog Training
Serving Edmonton, Alberta and surrounding areas.
admin@roberthynesdogtraining.com