Everything was fine until a year ago.
They had taken their two-year-old Cocker to the vet for boosters. Woody had growled. The vet had taken him out the back.
Woody’s not been the same since.
He has bitten the man when he lifted him into the car. (They now are giving him choice and he jumps in by himself).
He has bitten the lady when she went over to his bed to stroke him. He had a chew.
He has bitten the teenage son. The son went over to him to touch him when he was asleep on the sofa. Woody reacted immediately with a bite.
How has it got to this?
Woody’s first year went by with no significant guarding behaviours. The vet incident may have triggered a trend that was going to happen anyway.
Very likely the family hadn’t been reading the signs. The look-aways, lip-licking, going still etc.
Ignored, he will have then growled.
Their reaction to growling (being shown it was ‘wrong’ in some way) has now taken it out of Woody’s repertoire. Biting works where growling didn’t. The person backed off.
Personal space issues are probably in the genes, but there is a lot they can do.
Biting is a symptom not the problem.
The humans’ reactions to early guarding will determine how guarding behaviours develop.
A laid-back, unstressed, relaxed dog wouldn’t bite. Working on the arousal aspect underpins everything. He’s often worse as the day wears on or when more people are there. The arousal stacks up.
Less hands and touching him by the family will result in him becoming more tolerant to being touched as he becomes less defensive. (Here is a message from a few of days later: ‘I have found since we’ve been giving him more space he seems to be looking for more affection.’)
Allowing him choice is the key.
No ‘off’? No cheese!
If someone gets off the sofa he will occupy their seat. That person then goes and sits somewhere else.
This is an opportunity to allow Woody choice and still get their seat back. Win win.
They can call Woody off the seat for a bit of cheese. Call once only and wait.
If he ignores them, put the cheese away before sitting somewhere else as before. I would guarantee that without pressure or conflict, within a couple of days he will happily jump off the sofa to be thanked with a bit of cheese. They can then invite him back up beside them (but resist touching!).
Woody’s bubble
They can imagine that wherever Woody is lying he’s surrounded by a bubble that they must not burst. He himself can walk out of it.
It’s important the family now learns to read Woody’s body language. Acknowledging what he’s trying to say gives him choice.
‘He rolls on his back and wants a tickle’? It’s much more likely to be the opposite. For now, just in case, I suggest they don’t touch his tummy even if they think he wants it. This explains.
Thinking and manic excitement don’t go together.
So, less excitement and arousal. More thinking, chewing, sniffing, hunting. Woody needs things to chew which can be difficult with a guarder.
They can cut down on repeated commands and give Woody just one gentle cue – then wait. Reinforce with food – or fun – but only when he does what they want. If he doesn’t, put the food away. It gives him choice.
They can get the teenage kids to be calmer around him. The wild welcomes will make later guarding and space issues a lot more likely. They will now do more talking and less touching. Any touching should involve Woody making some kind of move towards them. Just one step will do.
Muzzle
Woody is due his booster soon. Oh dear. I suggest they change their vet to remove past history and train him to the muzzle. He can then go into the vet’s with no fuss.
NB, One little tip about training a guarder to a muzzle. Don’t wipe food on it because you then increase the value of the muzzle itself. He then could guard it, making it hard to take off. Use loose food so he keeps the food when you remove the muzzle.
There are other issues in Woody’s life to work on that will help his general mental state. He’s scared of getting in the car and scared of big traffic.
