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6 Other Ways to Keep Others Away From Your Dog

My dog isn't friendly!

Of course we rely on our voice to communicate to other that they should keep their distance. However there are some of the pitfalls dog handlers run into that sometimes makes this simple solution not so simple.

Pitfalls

  • Sometimes simply you don’t see others coming. You may miss someone if you are looking at your dog, reaching for a treat or paying attention to something else.
  • It’s hard to confront other people for many people, especially if you are sensitive to other’s feelings or shy.
  • We’ve been made to feel bad about our dog’s problem behaviour in the past and are reluctant to broadcast it if we can avoid it.
  • People may think your dog is fine because they’re not reacting (yet) and ignore you what you say (see suggestion on how to handle this below)
  • Some people believe that all dogs like them and will approach anyway!
  • Raising your voice can signify to your dog there is something to worry about.
  • Telling people to keep away may contribute to social conflict.
  • Talking to or yelling at other dogs may do nothing to deter other dogs determined to approach your dog

So we’ve put some suggestions together on what else has worked for other people who might help you and your dog.

Aids To Help Keep Others away

The following suggestions are split between dealing with approaching people and approaching dogs and can be combined. Each one tends to work either on dogs or people, but not often both.  Below we discuss the pros and cons of each. The links to Amazon are affiliate links which means K9aggression.com gets a small percentage from Amazon (at no cost to you – Amazon pays us) should you click on a link and decide to buy. But we encourage you to buy only things you think will be useful to you.

 TIP: You don’t have to say your dog is aggressive. But it’s your job is to keep everyone around you safe. Try saying your dog needs space, that they are anxious or that they aren’t friendly. Many people are grateful to be informed. It’s when people don’t know and suddenly your dog reacts that causes the most issues.

 

 

#1 Deterring People: Scare People Off With a Muzzle

This is a double edge sword. Muzzles worry most people so this is a good way to keep people away from your dog. On the other hand they worry people. You don’t want your neighbours to start a campaign against you, or worst try to provoke your dog so they have something to complain to the authorities about. On the other hand if you have a good relationship with them, you can simply let them know your dog is anxious and needs space and a muzzle is a good ay to scare people off.

basket muzzleWe’ve written a comprehensive article on muzzles for dogs that bite which will give you an idea of which kind of muzzles might be suitable. But any dog can learn to wear a muzzle. They don’t have to be aggressive.

PROS

  • Muzzles are associated with biting and this taps into people’s natural fears causing them to stay away naturally.
  • Tool can be useful to preventing bites giving dog handlers added confidence.
  • Frees you up to focus on your dog.

CONS

  • May alarm other dog owners.
  • May cause some irritation on the dog’s face.
  • Has to be trained to develop positive associations with the muzzle.
  • Does not deter dogs.
  • May lead dog owners into a false sense of security, believing that the problem is fixed. Dogs can still cause physical harm even while wearing a muzzle. Continuing to subject a dog to anxiety provoking situation which is bad for dog’s over all health and welfare.
  • Does not work with all people.

Check out comprehensive article on muzzles for dogs that bite  for recommendation on what to look for.

 

#2 Deterring People: Visual Caution Cues

Wearing something the easiest, most passive way to let people know they should give you and your dog space. We recommend you combine this with what other strategy you use.

Shirts and hats for dog handlers

Shirts are an easy, passive way to communicate. We had these ones designed using familiar caution or stop imagery so that people understood it even before they read the words.

 

 

Dog Training: Keep Away Sweatshirt for dog trainers

 

 

 

 

 

PROS

  • Catches the attention of people easily.
  • No risk.
  • Non-confrontational, passive, non-personal way to communicate, can easily add to any other tactic you may use.
  • Does not require the attention of the dog handler.
  • Requires no operation on behalf of the handler.
  • You dog is unlikely to develop negative associations with using one.

Where to get them: The K9aggression.com Shop

CONS

  • People may overlook the shirt by focusing only on the dog.
  • Obviously doesn’t deter off leash dogs!

Dog Shirts or Vests

Dog shirts can be hit or miss with some dogs. In most cases dogs adjust quickly to wearing a shirt as soon as you get them outside. Desensitizing them to wearing one makes the association positive.

We had this graphic below custom designed and we tested the design with non-reading children to see if they understood what it meant, but we have also seen vests on Amazon that might work for you as well. Keep in mind that children often ignore the rules regardless of what they agree to.

Do not pet dog shirt for dogs

PROS

  • Catches the attention of people easily.
  • Non-confrontational, passive, non-personal way to communicate.
  • Does not require the attention of the dog handle to operate or communicate.
  • It is right on the dog’s body where people want to touch.

CONS

  • Need to be beside or behind the dog to see it.
  • Dog needs to be conditioned to associate good things with wearing one.
  • Does not deter off-leash dogs

Where to get them: Through the K9aggression.com Shop

Coloured Harnesses and Leashes

Caution Dog harness and leashHarness and leashes such as this CAUTION Red Harness and Leash seen on Amazon (affiliate link) may prove helpful for you.

PROS

  • Catches people’s the attention.
  • Requires no operation on behalf of the handler.
  • Dog is unlikely to develop negative associations with using one.

CONS

  • May be viewed just as a designer leash from a distance.
  • People may not know what the leash means.
  • Not the easiest to read lettering on leashes and harnesses.
  • Does not deter off-leash dogs.

 

#3 Approaching Dogs: Keep Away with Distasteful Smells

We know what your thinking: But my dog LOVES distasteful smells. That may be, but we are talking about smells dogs find distasteful.

This product is for dogs. We haven’t heard of a product for humans yet. We don’t think it will be invented any time soon.

Spray deterrents

Spray deterrent for animals

Petsafe Sprayshield Animal Deterrent Spray

PROS

  • Non-harmful.
  • Spray deterrents like citronella or water don’t hurt other dogs but they can be distasteful to other dogs.
  • Deterrent to off-leash dogs.

CONS

  • May be cumbersome to hold and operate at the same time as holding a leash, treats and clicker.
  • May alarm other dog owners creating social conflict.
  • Other dog owners may assume it is pepper spray.
  • May blow into your own dog’s face
  • If the other dog is aggressive, may evoke defensive aggression

#4 Approaching dogs: Startling visually

Starting animals is not our best strategy. It can scare dogs and this may change a positive mood to a negative one. Additionally, you might create fear when there wasn’t any before. The last thing you want to have your dog associate fear with other people or animals.

But sometimes necessary when a dog is bent on approaching yours and his owner is helpless to stop them and your dog has the potential to cause harm, or your dog’s anxiety is quite high.

Whatever you have around at the time may work including waving your arms around. But if you are doing for a walk, one of the easiest may be a spring load umbrella that pops open when you press a button.

Spring Loaded Umbrellas

PROS

  • You may already own one.
  • Dramatic gesture may ward off other’s dogs without causing harm (if not too close).
  • Can be a deterrent to off-leash dogs.

CONS

  • This may alarm some dogs into responding aggressively
  • May be cumbersome to hold and operate at the same time as holding a leash, treats and clicker.
  • May cause injury to either dog.
  • Unlikely to deter people.
  • May alarm other dog owners concerned about their dogs causing social conflict.

 

#5 Approaching Dogs: Startle with Sound

Again, startling is not the great choice.The last thing you want to have your dog associate fear with other people or animals. But sometimes you have no choice especially if there is a fight or an attack brewing.

Sound deterrents primarily work on dogs.  While sound is not exactly a deterrent for people, it will certainly catch their attention and may cause them to reevaluate the situation.

People have used air horns to back off dogs, but many of these can be quiet loud so we don’t feel comfortable in making a recommendation for one. Other people have used cans of pennies, garbage can lids, or pebbles in a plastic bottle. We discuss this in the cons below, but the biggest problem with using this is the effect it will have on your dog.

PROS

  • May deter other dogs without causing physical harm.

CONS

  • Need to desensitize your dog to the sound to create positive associations in a variety of situations.
  • Even doing so, may cause additional stress to your dog.
  • May be quickly associated with the approach of other dogs which may make the problem worse.

 

#6 Approaching Dogs: Distract The Other Dog

Treats and Toys

We know it sounds like crazy-talk, but throwing down food on the ground or even at the dog has distracted an off-leash dog more than once. It CAN cause issues in dog parks however but if your dog has issues with others, you should not be going to a dog park). Now, throwing a cake at a person may also work to keep people away, too, but we don’t recommend it.

PROS

  • You may already be carrying treats.
  • May help distract other off leash dogs from approaching giving you more time to move away.

CONS

  • May cause issues with other dogs at a dog park.
  • Your own dog may think you are throwing the food or a toy for him or her.
  • If the other dog is anxious, reactive, aggressive or simple too focused on your dog, the treats and toys may be completely ignored.
  • Some dog owners get very upset when other people give treats to their dog

Here is an example of stopping dogs with treats

Remember – a dog who is sufficiently motivated to charge your dog may ignore the teats. On the other hand, a dog who is simply friendly or curious may be stopped this way.

Have a Plan

If you have an anxious, reactive or aggressive dog, you need to do you best to prevent your dog from becoming more anxious.  You can’t do this effectively if you aren’t prepared.

Plan where you are going

Spend some time thinking about the least likely places to experience conflict. If you have a car, you might want to drive them somewhere new. If your dog is only aggressive toward other dogs, consider taking them to a place where dogs are not often seen, such as a mall parking lot.

Plan when to go

You might find leaving a half hour later or earlier will help you avoid certain situations.

Plan your tools

When you see that other person or dog and your heart starts pumping and you start to tense up, what are you going to do?

 

One suggestion is to have a treat bag on you that is easy to dip your hand into if you need to throw them at another dog.

The best ones we’ve used are the ones that are hinged and can be opened or closed with the flick of a finger.

PetSafe Treat Pouch Sport, Black

In addition you might find using a head halter can be really beneficial especially if your dog is prone to lunging or simply gets fixated on other people or dogs. This tool can really help you gain control over your dog’s head. Learn more about using a head halter for an aggressive dog.

PetSafe Gentle Leader Headcollar, (link to a Large, Black one- if you want additional sizes or colors, search on Amazon for something that suits you)

 

 Plan your response

Know what you want your dog to be able to do instantly and practice it long before you need it.

  • Practice grabbing your treats or umbrella or noisemaker
  • Think about what you’ll say
  • Practise being “Jolly”
  • Practice useful commands and exercises

Plan your Training

Asking your dog to sit can be very helpful as a sitting dog is less likely to get other dogs concerned. However, unless your dog has a lot of space, sitting at the end of a lead might make your dog feel trapped.

Below we have suggestion on the two easiest and in our opinion most useful commands to practice.

Easy to teach behaviors every dog owner of a shy, reactive or aggressive dog should practice

If you are trying to treat an anxious, reactive or aggressive dog, you might know it’s critical to your dog’s success that your dog does not go “over threshold”. (To learn more about why, see more about how anxiety relates to aggression and why we need to treat it) and the importance of getting your dog’s attention at the earliest stage of arousal.

  1. “Look” or “Watch Me”
  2. Turn on the spot

1. The “Look” or “Watch” Command

dog_trainer-thmWhile it doesn’t stop other people or dogs, having your dog look at you when you say “Look” or “Watch” can be really helpful when you are out with your dog. It distracts your dog from paying attention to the threat and it refocuses your dog on you. That way you can let him or her know what they should be doing next.

Teaching “Look”

  1. Say the command or cue word
  2. Bringing a treat (that your dog knows is in your hand) up to your eyes
  3. Rewarding him or her with the treat.
  4. Repeat

As your dog starts to predict what is going to happen with enough repetitions, you can

  1. Keep the treat hidden in the other hand
  2. Bring your treat-free hand up to your face.
  3. Reward your dog for looking at you
  4. In time you can do less and less of a gesture to your face, but continue to reward your dog each time.

Practice frequently in as many different situations as you can think of in order for it to become automatic. Once it’s automatic, your dog will do it without having to think about it.

Here are the elements you should vary when you practice. In fact you can incorporate these during any kind of training. Always create a situation where the dog is most likely to succeed, and then only make it slightly more challenging as they succeed.

2. Turning on command/cue

One of the easiest things to do is to turn right around and head the other way. If your dog has caught sight of the other person or dog, remember to act jolly. It’s easier to transfer anxiety into excitement than it is transferring anxiety into being relaxed. This will help the both of you.

Make sure you turn frequently and abruptly at different times during your walks so your dog never associates it with seeing another person, or animal. But before you do, say a command (or cue) word so that your dog learns that word predicts a change of direction, and then if necessary call his name. Tossing your dog a reward for following you or allowing his play tug-of-war and play with a ball will make it more fun.

Here is an excellent video by 4 Paws University on how to incorporate this when dealing with strangers.

Elements to vary during training

Location

Practice in each room, all around the outside of your home, at various places on your walk. Start with the easiest place your dog can manage it and little by little increase the difficulty.

Voice

Pitch, loudness, etc. Your voice will change according to your mood. If your tense when you see that other person or dog, your dog will hear it in your voice.

Body

Walking, sitting, standing, bending over, arms up, arms out, with leash, without leash. etc.

Distractions

What occurs immediately before? Does your dog see a person, another dog, a cat? Perhaps a car goes by, the wind picks up or a bell goes off?

Barking control

barking.jpg

Most people find excessive dog barking very annoying. But barking is only a symptom of another problem. Understanding why your dog is barking is the first step toward controlling it.

Dogs may bark from boredom to anxiety. The dog, the owner and the environment can all influence nuisance barking.

Here are some of the potential reasons dogs bark:

  • Welfare Issues, anxiety or distress
  • Separation Anxiety
  • Social or territorial or Alarm Barking
  • Attention Seeking
  • Barking from confusion or frustration
  • Play
  • Barking due to Fear or Aggression
  • Barking related to a disorder or dysfunction
  • Predatory barking

Sr Sophie Yin conducted a survey of people who owned dogs that barked. (996 survey responses). Approximately 88% of these barked when they were stimulated by squirrels, sounds, people walking by and other dogs.

More than half barked when they played. Almost half barked to seek attention, and approximately 10% barked for unknown reasons including boredom.

But there are other concerns with barking. For example, barking can considered to be a sign as an indication of poor welfare. (1)

A large percentage of dogs barked both when their owners were home and when they were not, indicating that training when the owners were home could potentially have some effect when they owners were not.

 

Attention Seeking

If you think your dog is barking for attention, you will need to determine whether it is a learned habit, or a symptom of a greater problem. If it is a learned habit we have good and bad news for you.  First the good.

Learned behavior can be be replaced with other learned behaviour.

And now the bad news.

  • The longer your dog has practiced the habit of barking for attention the harder it will be to change it.
  • Inconsistently responding to your dog barking for attention makes it even more difficult to change it, than it would be if you always responded to it.
  • If you are consistent in ignoring him or her, it will get worse before it gets better. This is known as an extinction burst. Essentially it means the dog will try even harder to make the barking work for them until they finally give up.
  • Giving in once may re-establish the annoying habit.
  • It’s hard to make other people follow the rules (if this is the case for members of your family, you might be interested in this article: Secrets to getting your significant others on board with your dog training.
  • Sometimes it just feels good for your dog to bark – that means they are barking for their own reasons and rewarded by it.

First make sure your dog’s needs are met. Feeding and walking your dog at the same time of day will help your dog know when to expect things.

Environment enrichment, training, play and exercise may help change this habit as well. Teaching your dog not to bark may be effective as well. For a helpful video on how to do this, see the video farther down the page below under Treatment > Positive Reinforcement.

Treatment for Excessive Barking

The goal here is to reduce barking. You might use one or a combination of the following techniques and tools to help you.

Note that it is unrealistic to attempt to eliminate it altogether. If you have issues with neighbours, you may have to consider moving if they are unable to tolerate any of it.

Medications for Anxious Dogs

For those dogs who are barking due to anxiety, whether separation or otherwise,may benefit from a medication that can help treat the anxiety such as fluoxetine (Reconcile™). Clomipramine is another medication that is used to treat separation anxiety. Unfortunately, Clomipramine is considered to have reduced effect in excessive barking (5). There are always potential side effects of medication, and medication without a behavioral therapy usually is not as nearly effective.

DAP (Dog Appeasing Pheromone)

Pheromones are chemical substances that are released by an animal that affects the behavior of others in the same species.

DAP is a synthetic analogue of the group of pheromones that are secreted by mother dogs after giving birth. These seem to have an appeasing affect both on young and adult animals. It has been considered to be at least as effective as Clomipramine when both are used with a behavioural plan (3) An electric diffuser can deliver DAP can be used which makes it easy.

DAP, in combination with a behavioural plan, can often quickly reduce the undesirable behaviours exhibited by dogs suffering from separation-related problems and overattachment to their owners.

Check out one of the DAP products here:
Dog Appeasing Pheromone Diffuser

Interomones

Interomones are pheromones in one species that can effects other species.

Research is early at the time of this writing, but there are indications that interomones may help control barking in clinically anxious dogs demonstrating excessive barking and jumping up. (6)

For barking due to fear or aggression

Read on, but also check out the treatment methods for dealing with aggression.

Behavior Modification

Behavior modification includes techniques like Classical Conditioning, desensitization and counter conditioning. These techniques work at dealing with the underlying causes of barking, by either:

  • Desensitizing them to whatever is setting the barking off
  • Developing new positive associations with whatever is setting the barking off so they are less likely to bark
  • Training them to do something that is incompatible with barking such as sitting, looking at you and remaining calm.
  • Another alternative can be to give them a job to do.

Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning does not involve teaching the dog to do anything. It merely takes advantage of the dog’s own inherent – and involuntary – learning. In the case of aggression, we are looking to to evoke an involuntary response (such as salivating) physiological response.

Classical conditioning for an anxious dog at the door

Case study: Dog was anxiously barking in a new apartment building There was a case of a woman in an apartment dwelling that used a remote treat delivery system to encourage people outside in the hall to remotely deliver a treat to the dog inside whenever they went by.

In time, strange sounds in the hall stopped being so alarming. Soon they became predictors of treats. In this way, sounds stopped being “strange” and started to became known. In addition rather than the sounds predicting the onset of anxiety, it predicted something to look forward to.

Read about it here: Moving with Minnie. It’s a good read!

Remote Treat Dispensers

These tools are for the above situations. These are affiliate links to Amazon which means we get a small commission if you buy at no cost to you, but we only encourage you to buy what you think will helpful! These are not the cheapest tools to use but we know people who have used them when nothing else would do.

Premier Treat & Train Remote Reward Dog Trainer This is the defacto remote control treat dispenser invented by the late Dr. Sophie Yin.

These can be used for a variety of different training scenarios. For example, if you dog barks at the door, you can use these beside your dog’s bed while you answer the door.

 

 

There is a new remote treat dispenser on the market that uses wifi and video to allow you to treat from anywhere. This would allow you to operate it while you were out of the home.


Petzi Treat Cam: Wi-Fi Pet Camera & Treat Dispenser

We haven’t used this, but it got great ratings on Amazon, and it seems like a wonderful idea for training your dog to when you are not in the house.

Classic conditioning for dogs reacting aggressively at the door

Classical conditioning has been used for aggressive dog at the door. This involves hundreds and hundreds of repetitions over a period of several weeks of ringing the doorbell.

The idea is that the dog eventually starts to develop the association of the bell or knock with the coming of food. The anticipation of this food will start the dog to salivate(and now you understand why so many darned repetitions are needed to compete with previous associations).

The point? The desire – the salivating – is part of the parasympathetic nervous system. This is parasympathetic nervous system is thought to be largely incompatible with the sympathetic nervous system which is part of our stress response.

At this point, the dog is still aggressive. However the edge has been taken off the dog do that operant conditioning can be effective (see more below).

Care must be taken not let someone in the house while the dog in there until the intensity of the dog’s response has been reduced substantially. Once this occurs, you can start to desensitize the dog to going to the door, reaching for the knob, opening the door, etc. The goal here is to break down all of the activities and situations that the dog has come to use to predict someone is coming in.

Desensitization

Many confuse desensitization with counter conditioning because desensitization often occurs while counter conditioning. But it’s important to understand they are different things. Desensitization occurs when a dog becomes less sensitive to something.

However people sometimes think they are desensitizing, when it fact they are using flooding which can often have a very negative effect. The main difference between the two is that in the case of flooding, the dog is exposed to he thing he or she is anxious or afraid of until he is no longer afraid. Clearly this can backfire and result in a traumatized dog that is even more reactive.

Desensitization depends on the dog being able to be calm. This means you need to find a distance (or duration) where the dog is only on the edge of an emotional response. If the dog cannot calm down it must be moved away from the trigger of the response immediately.

The focus on desensitization is achieving a calm relaxed state within the presence of his or her trigger.

Using a less stimulating approximation of your dog’s trigger to desensitize

Creating low-stimulating “approximations” (similar sounds like another kind of bell or knocking or a recording) of the sound may help your dog desensitize to the sound. For example for a dog that reacts to knocking, lightly knocking on a table. Use a recording of your doorbell and play it quietly, and slowly increase the sound as your dog manages to remain calm.

You will need to be creative. If your dog reacts and cannot be calm, you need to go back to or find a less stimulating example.

Counter conditioning on the other hand is specifically focused on teaching the dog to do an incompatible behavior to the one you are trying to change. So while it’s possible for the dog to be taught to do something incompatible, the dog still might be anxious. While still anxious they still have a strong likelihood of reacting if motivated enough.

Positive reinforcement, operant conditioning, counter conditioning

Positive reinforcement, in other words, rewarding the dog for being quiet is believed to be more effective to control barking than anti-barking devices (2). Using positive reinforcement for rewarding a desirable behavior incompatible with the problem can be called operant conditioning go or counter conditioning. Operant conditioning in this case above would have the dog do something incompatible with barking such as sit calmly and quietly. Once they are calm and quiet they are rewarded for doing so.

Check out this video below on how to teach the dog to bark and be quiet. You should have a basic understanding of clicker training to understand how the trainer is using the clicker to get what he wants from the dog.

Prevention of barking triggers

Since so many dogs response when stimulated, it may be possible to at least cut down on the stimulation in some cases.


For example, in the case of a hyper vigilant dog who is always looking through windows outside, it may be possible to use something such as a window cling like this  Non-Adhesive Frosted Window Film, to let in light, but mask outside activities.

Sound may help to muffle the trigger sounds, but is not consistently effective because dogs have very good hearing.

 

Head halters

You may be interested in this article on managing dog aggression by using a head halter. Check this video out by veterinary behaviorist Dr. karen Overall for a demonstration on how to use one for barking at the door.

Environmental enrichment

Environmental Enrichment as mentioned above is a relatively passive way to improve behavior problems and stress in many animals. It is a key factor in reducing distress in shelter animals. It may or may not help depending on the causes for your dog’s barking. Check out our information on environment enrichment for dogs. The article is directed towards aggression in dogs, but it can have behavioral benefits on all dogs.

Problems with anti-bark collars

Anti-bark collars showed some short term effectiveness (54 and 66% for citronella and ecollar respectively), but neither was effective long term.

Close to 40% of dogs controlled with e-collars showed adverse effects most commonly fear of the collar itself or fear of the area were they had experienced the shock.

While intermittent use may be the most effective, findings indicate that dogs generally get used to the citronella spray collar regardless of how the animal is exposed to the device.(4)

Problems with using muzzles to stop barking

Muzzles can be an excellent tool when preventing a dog from biting or controlling aggression, but they are problematic because the dog is unable to pant. This can be dangerous in summer. In addition it makes it difficult to eat or drink which means rewarding the dog with a treat for being quiet is difficult.

Finally for these various reasons, a muzzle which prevents the mouth can increase the risk of frustration, and in turn increase the risk of aggression. You are better off trying to treat the cause, than using a muzzle.

You might also be interested in this post on improving barking in time for halloween or this creative way to deal with barking which link to the case study above in more detail.

References

[1] Stephen JM1, Ledger RA. An audit of behavioral indicators of poor welfare in kenneled dogs in the United Kingdom., J Appl Anim Welf Sci. 2005;8(2):79 96. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327604jaws0802_1#.VtX_I2SrRhE

(2) Yin S., Richardson S., Excessive barking: When and Why it Occurs, https://drsophiayin.com/app/uploads/2015/04/SYinBarkingPoster.pdf

(3) E. Gaultier, L. Bonnafous, L. Bougrat, C. Lafont, P. Pagea, Comparison of the efficacy of a synthetic dog-appeasing pheromone with clomipramine for the treatment of separation-related disorders in dogs, The Veterinary Record, April 23, 2005,  https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Patrick_Pageat/publication/7888981_Comparison_of_the_efficacy_of_a_synthetic_dog-appeasing_pheromone_with_clomipramine_for_the_treatment_of_separation-related_disorders_in_dogs/links/0a85e534e265e66285000000.pdf

(4) Wells D., The effectiveness of a citronella spray collar in reducing certain forms of barking in dogs, Applied Animal Behavior Science, August 27, 2001Volume 73, Issue 4, Pages 299–309,  http://www.appliedanimalbehaviour.com/article/S0168-1591(01)00146-0/fulltext?mobileUi=0

(5)Michio Takahashi, Makoto Bannai, Shinobu Seki, Methods for reducing excessive barking of a dog , Patent, Grant application https://www.google.com/patents/US6939894

(6)McGlone JJ, PAS, Thompson WG , Guay KA,1 PAS, CASE STUDY: The pig pheromone androstenone, acting as an interomone, stops dogs from barking, The Professional Animal Scientist 30 ( 2014 ):105–108, http://www.professionalanimalscientist.org/article/S1080-7446(15)30091-7/pdf

 

Do aggressive dogs have more trouble understanding humans?

Dogs are better than monkeys when it comes to reading our social cues to find hidden food and according to this study, Human-like Social Skills in Dogs?, are “unusually skilled as reading human social and communicative behavior”.

Yet in a study with selectively bred foxes who were not selected for this skill, but bred to not be fearful of humans, the fox kits are apparently just as good as dog puppies, even those who had limited exposure to humans. This paper entitled Social Cognitive Evolution in Captive Foxes Is a Correlated By-Product of Experimental Domestication suggests that the social-cognitive abilities could be part of the same system including tameness. People may have not select dogs for their special abilities in communicating with us, but these abilities may be a byproduct of our selecting dogs that were not fearful or aggressive.

It naturally leads to the question; do aggressive or fearful dogs today have more challenged social-cognitive skills? One would think that aggressive dogs are more preoccupied with coping in a social setting than dogs who do not tend to be aggressive, and therefor have less “mental space” to figure us out. But in people, there is a correlation between aggression and a deficit in social cognitive abilities.(1)

It is generally considered that owner-directed aggression is partly due to the anxiety of not knowing what is expected of them, confusion around the relationship or the interactions and not being able to predict what comes next. In view of social-cognitive impairment – this makes sense. Not being able to read humans (or other dogs for that matter) would naturally increase anxiety.

Many things that people do could be misinterpreted if dogs were to look at us as if humans were not human, but dogs. For example, many aggressive episodes seem to occur when we are reaching for a dog, petting them on the back or neck, stepping over them, pushing them off furniture, etc. Most normal dogs come to learn that these actions are not threatening because they read other signs to place these human actions into context. They get that smiling, although weird, is not bearing our teeth, and than lovingly looking into the dogs eyes, does not actually mean we are challenging them. At least, most of them do.

But, while some dogs will tolerate just about anything from another dog, many of those same normal, perfectly healthy dogs will not so easily accept those behaviors from another dog. A fight might not break out, but you might hear a growl, see a raised lip, or some other ritualized behavior letting the other dog know its not okay. In fact most of the offending dogs know what they are doing when they are doing it, and are testing the waters.

Interestingly, one of the most common protocols prescribed for aggressive dogs are those which provide a consistent and predictable set of guidelines in which to interact, similar to the “NILIF” (“Nothing in Life is Free”) program as it was originally developed by Dr. Victoria Voith or William ‘s “Learn to Earn”. These programs are more about compliance and control rather than providing a consistent and predictable structure that clearly aims at reducing anxiety such as Dr. Karen Overall’s deferment protocols which may be more effective for behavior problems, however they still involving learned and rule based interactions.

In other words, while many people seem to view these treatment suggestions (and they are usually only one part of a full treatment program) as a means to control, they may really may be a tool to help those dogs who are socially challenged at the brain level. These programs not only help dogs to understand what they need to do, but it also provides them with a comprehensible communication channel, thereby reducing anxiety on a social level.

For those people struggling to understand why knowing or being told what to do would reduce anxiety, think about what its like to start a new job where the role of the job is not clear. You know you are supposed to do something, but your not quite sure what they are expecting, or exactly how to do it, but you know that your ability to keep the job depends on your being able to do a good job. Add to this, (just to make it fun) a volatile boss who thinks most of the world is full of idiots. It would help to have someone point you to your desk, tell you what you need to do, who to call, show you an example of something you are supposed to produce, do or say, etc.

But do fearful responses actually meant an “social cognition impairment”, or a merely a different way to survive? Dogs more likely to be tame, or less likely to be fearful or aggressive, may be also be more likely to take risks. What if the human intension was hunt dogs instead of co-existing with them? How much easier would it be to lure a dog in if they were less fearful of us, and less likely to turn on us. A more reactive dog that more likely to trust what he knows is more likely to stay safe in other circumstances.

But the current reality is, dogs defined as aggressive, or those who are unable to live with their owners without problems, are now less likely to survive. There is strong pressure a get rid of aggressive dogs, from our neighbours and families, and from our society in general as evidenced by breed bans across the world, despite evidence to the contrary. It doesn’t stop with pitbulls. All sorts of breeds are being banned all over the world despite evidence that breeds are not necessarily a factor in aggression. (One example ere and see AVSAB’s Breed Specific Legislation Position Statement here).

Amercian veterinary position statements on breed here

And while fearful or aggressive behavior certainly has has value in some circumstances, it entirely depends on the context. Social cognition is essential for survival. To quote from a paper of social cognition by Uta Frith and Sarah-Jayne Blakemore,

” For most animals, survival depends on their ability to identify the movements, eye gaze and social signals of other creatures, to distinguish whether they are prey, predators or mates and to predict their future actions.” (Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2, 561-567 (August 2001)

We need our dogs to understand us, and understand the context of the situation we are in. If they are responding to our affection by snapping at us, it makes it hard to bond with them. If they respond aggressively to our friends and neighbours, it makes everyone’e lives difficult. We need to do something to improve the situation, if we can.

Traditionally, we have been taught to view dogs in the context of alpha or dominance theories. These theories have come out of observing a variety of species. The term “pecking order” has come from studying chickens hierarchies, in fact. Its simple, we can teach it to others and it can provide a frame work in which to operate and treat our dogs. At the same time we become more consistent with our dogs. But the theories that have been developed may not necessarily provide an accurate view of the whole picture.

But the more we learn, the more we start to understand “dominating” an aggressive dog is risky. Confront the dog, the dog confronts back. Maybe not at first, but often it seems as if the dog finally has enough. There can be a lot of finger pointing when things go wrong, the owner, the dog, the vet, the trainer, all who for the most part are really doing their best. But as we start to study the brain and body; how we work, how dogs work, we find the need to rethink some of our current assumptions.

Science is not all knowing. Some people have developed a mistrust of it because of the natural tendency to want to believe so whole heartedly. We want to believe: we want the easy and clear answers. But science only touches on fraction of what there is to know, and being human we don’t always come to the right conclusion.

But science has also opened many windows. Collectively, we know more than we used to and its often enough to challenge our preconceptions if we can let it. At a minimum, the more we learn, the more we can be encouraged to approach research and treatment at a holistic level.

References

(1) Voeller, K.K.S. G.R. Lyon, editor). Frames of reference for the assessment of learning disabilities: New views on measurement issues. 1994, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company. pp. 523–54.