Hi guys, my friend has asked me to help her with training her dog with being aggressive towards her husband. The only time the aggression comes out is when he goes to show affection towards his wife and the dog is near her. Seems like a resource guarding thing. All other times, the dog is fine with him. I told her that he needs to establish himself as the pack leader and she (the wife) needs to take a step back from doing everything for the dogs. I said positive reinforcement needs to be worked in, ie: husband goes to sit next to his wife on the couch and dog starts growling at him..he could give dog a biscuit as he starts to sit down before the dog starts growling. She wants me to work with them but I feel there's not much I can really do besides tell them what I just typed on here..and for them to keep working that out every day. Is my approach correct? Is there something else that they could be doing? Thanks all. Also the dog is not neutered, what role does that have on everything? Huge deal or no?
I would take it a step further. Make real training sessions out of it. Husband comes into the room near the wife--- tiny, very special treats start coming to the dog. Keep them coming at a high rate of reinforcement while the husband is sitting near the wife and being affectionate to her. Praise, treats, a really good time for the dog. Do this for about 30 seconds to a minute, then husband goes away into another room. Dog is then ignored by the wife...not treated unkindly, but things get really boring...no treats, no attention for about 30 sec. to a minute. Husband then comes back and again, the party begins. Repeat about 10 times several times a day. So, a very positive association is made between the husband's proximity to his wife, affection etc and the high value treats and attention for the dog.
At other times, when they're not working proactively on training sessions, find ways to prevent the dog from practicing this behavior by intercepting
BEFORE the likelihood of this behavior begins occurring by giving an alternative behavior the dog can engage in which is reinforcing....like throw a toy or ball for him to retrieve, if he retrieves, ask for a sit and reinforce or a down. Try to find ways to avert the contexts which set him off...not that they don't sit next to each other but that they distract the dog if needed, give alternative things for the dog to do, give a special chewy bone or toy for him to fool around with while they're all sitting there and just be sure to pair the husband sitting near with good things.
Never ever punishment because that will pair the husband's presence with a rotten time and will escalate the behavior.
The dog should be taught a few obedience skills and/or tricks by the husband, taken for walks sometimes by the husband, fed by the husband. The dog can learn to wait for the food to be set down, but only for a matter of 3 - 5 seconds. They can cue the dog to sit and wait if they like at first, but fade that quickly and turn it into a default behavior where all they do is wait for the dog to sit. (but if he doesn't know sit that well or isn't in the habit of sitting for things, it could make him have to wait too long for his food and that's unnecessarily frustrating)
This is not about being a pack leader since dogs aren't pack animals. This dog is not trying to rule the roost. This is about an insecure dog...insecure that he's going to lose something. To build confidence and a secure feeling, teach the dog that he
WILL get what he wants and
then some....but not by trying to get it in that way....that snarky behavior. Show him a new way how he
WILL get what he wants. It's just a matter of training...educating...not who's boss or who can dominate the other.
After a couple weeks, this pro-active training can be faded to once or twice a day as long as improvement is seen. Vary the times, vary the treats, and vary the location/contexts. In other words, keep the dog wondering when the fun is going to happen and what the tasty treat will be. Then down the road, reduce to a session or two a week and then one session a week...just to keep the dog refreshed. These things can regress sometimes so a periodic reminder never hurts, even way down the road. Make sure the husband takes an active role in teaching the dog some tricks or sit, stay, come with lots of reward... and basically having fun with the dog on walks or play time.
