Many people get dogs both for the love that they give us and because they are such natural guardians of their home and family.  I love all dogs, but I tend to gravitate towards the guarding breeds for those very reasons.  I enjoy having a dog that is great with children, friendly towards all adults, but will also guard my family if needed. 

Unfortunately many people have issues with their dogs guarding or becoming possessive when they should be acting friendly.  First we need to make a distinction between protective and possessive behaviors.  Socializing a dog is the process of showing a dog what is normal in a human world and what isn’t.  When we socialize a dog we are teaching them that it is normal for a strange person to come up and say hi to us and maybe reach out and pet them.  Through time they realize what is normal and they start to read our body language and our emotions in these situations.  As they age we ensure that they never show aggression in these situations but they will naturally be on guard for something different.  If a stranger were to run at you screaming and you became agitated and scared your dog should realize that something is different and will probably react by barking and growling.  This is one of the few times when a dog is acting protective, and doing it in the proper way.

Many dog owners see their dog acting possessive and mistake it for protective behavior.  Possessive behavior is when a dog acts aggressive to claim their owner, house, yard, or any other object.  Claiming something is when a dog is asserting his dominance to tell someone that this belongs to him and not to touch it.  This behavior is never acceptable for your pet dog to be showing.  The dog is not reacting to a dangerous situation where he should be on guard, he is simply becoming aggressive because he is the alpha at this point in time.  If a stranger rings the doorbell and you let him into the house, the dog should not be barking or growling due to the fact that you let the person in and are not showing any fear or anxiety yourself.  If your dog is acting aggressive then one of two things is going on.  If your dog hasn’t been properly socialized then he may be trying to protect you due to his incomplete knowledge of the human world.  If he has been properly socialized and he is acting in this manner than he is probably acting possessive and is telling the person to stay out of HIS house.

In my own house I have very specific rules about when my dogs can and cannot guard our property.  It is never acceptable to bark or growl at children even if they walk all the way up to the screen door.  I cannot see any reason why someone would need protected from a child, so I don’t ever allow this.  It is also never allowed to bark at people or dogs when they are out on the street or sidewalk, it’s not our property so they can’t guard it.  If an adult stranger is in our yard or knocking at the door I do want my dogs to bark to alert me.  In this situation barking is a good thing to me as long as it is under control.  I don’t want jumping or scratching at the windows and I don’t want vicious barking.  The purpose of the barking is for the dog to tell me that someone is there so that I can make the decision.  Once I have seen the person I then ask the dogs to quiet down.  The goal is that the dog alerts you to a potential issue, you evaluate it, and you then tell the dog what to do.   

Of course with dogs there is an exception to every rule.  A dog could be socialized and could still react aggressively towards a man in a big coat with a hat on due to fear of his outfit.  In that situation you should then continue socializing with new people and outfits until his fear is gone.  To fully explain how to socialize a dog, help ease his fears, and correct him when he becomes aggressive would take an entire book.  Hopefully from reading this article you get enough knowledge to know what is acceptable, what isn’t, and when to call in a professional if you need help.  

Matt Covey

Suburban K-9

Bark Avenue Daycamp

Bartlett, Il 60103

630 289 8470

The Do’s and Don’ts of Dominance

Do

Give your dog plenty of love and affection

Allow your dog into your space if you desire (on your bed, couch, lap, etc.)

Give your dog treats and special bones

Give your dog free time to smell, run, and be a dog

Allow your dog to go out of some doors first when you feel like it by giving him permission (going in the back yard)

Whatever you enjoy with your dog

Give him personal space if you know he enjoys it

Play games that you enjoy with your dog

Don’t

Give your dog affection when he demands it or is showing any behavior or state of mind you want to stop (petting him when he jumps on you, paws at you, when he is barking at another dog, when he is nervous…….)

Allow your dog into your private space uninvited.  It should always be your decision

Allow your dog to demand treats from you by whining, barking, or pawing at the container

Allow your dogs free time to be more prevalent than his structured time.  He should walk in a calm submissive state first, and get free time as a reward after

Allow your dog to push through doors or go first on leash

Let him be the decider that tells you what should be done right now (walking, petting, playing)

Allow him to growl at anyone to tell them to leave him alone.  A dog should be submissive to all humans

Allow him to use his teeth on your skin or clothing

As a dog trainer that specializes in behavioral issues I hear a variant of this phrase from someone new every day.  “I don’t understand why my dog does this, I’ve done obedience training with him, and he’ll sit when I ask him to.”  “This” can refer to biting, growling, pulling on leash, running away, fighting, destroying the house……  

I have noticed that when people get a dog they usually start to train him right away, but it is done for the wrong reasons.  Most people train a dog simply because that’s what you do, you get a dog and then you teach him to sit.  The problem that I see is that most training is now done in one of two ways.  Most training involves treats or huge amounts of praise and excitement to shape the behavior.  Using these methods is a great way to shape a certain action with your dog but I want you to analyze what you are creating.  When we teach a dog to sit, down, come, or stay using these techniques they usually learn it very quickly, but what does that really help?  The action that we just taught them is now an excitement tool; the dog performs his trick in order to get a reward and ends up more excited than when he started. This is a fine way to teach the dog to roll over, give paw, sit pretty, crawl or a thousand other tricks but it shouldn’t used for obedience.

I use obedience for two main reasons.  The first is to get a dogs respect and the second is as a calming tool.  Think about it, when you tell your dog to down, do you want him wagging his tail and squirming in place barely able to control himself, or laying there contentedly waiting  for you to calmly release him?  Do you want to have to offer him a treat to listen, or do you want him to lie down at any point for any reason with any distraction around?  When we teach a dog to listen to us because we are in charge, not through bribery, we automatically assume the leadership position.  This simple change can help so much in our daily lives.  Submissive dogs display fewer behavioral issues than dominant dogs and happier lives result.

When looking for a trainer look for someone who is firm yet fair.  The trainer should strive to teach dogs to listen without using bribery and without resorting to using pain and fear.  This is very tough to do and is a skill acquired through years of practice and learning.  I call the recent training phenomenon of humanizing dogs the “big box training method.”  Large stores that hire thousands of trainers each year don’t have the luxury of finding experienced and skilled trainers (they also can’t afford them), so they hire trainers that practice the easiest method which is treat based training.  Quick results ensue, but the dog never becomes obedient or calm, he just learns a bunch of fun tricks.  There is nothing wrong with teaching your dog tricks in this manner, just don’t expect obedience to mean anything if you do it this way.

If you train your dog and get the obedience results you were looking for, but still have some behavioral issues, it is now time to call in a behaviorist.  As a professional behaviorist I help owners deal with any issues that may come up, from resource guarding to unprovoked aggression towards humans or dogs.  Just like doctors that specialize in different fields, all dog trainers are not equipped or trained to deal with every issue that can arise.  Some trainers focus on agility while others focus on training hunting dogs.  You wouldn’t go to your local podiatrist to get treatment for cancer, just as you shouldn’t go to your local agility instructor for help with behavioral issues.  My biggest goal when working with dogs and humans is to teach people that obedience and behavior modification are two completely different things, but can be used together to get phenomenal results.

Matt Covey

Suburban K-9

Bark Avenue Daycamp

Bartlett, Il

Matt Covey

Suburban K-9

Bark Avenue Daycamp

Bartlett, Il

The vast majority of dogs that growl, bark, and lunge on leash are not aggressive dogs.  Their leash issues are usually caused by walking in an excited dominant state.  When the dogs excited dominant brain feels frustration from being restrained by the leash and collar, aggression can start to occur.  This is why I have coined the term Leash Frustration as opposed to leash aggression.  Many owners who have dogs with this issue make the problem worse when they pass another dog by tightening up on the leash and further frustrating the dog.

To overcome this issue I start by teaching the dog to walk in a calm submissive state without other dogs around.  This entails training the dog to walk at my side (never ahead) with their attention on the road ahead.  It is very important that the dogs brain is not in prey mode (constantly looking side to side for something to focus on).  As you teach the dog to walk at your side make sure that you use sharp tugs instead of pulls.  Each correction should last no longer than the time it takes to snap your fingers.  With the dog on your left side practice making left about turns until the dog slows down for you to turn each time.

Once the dog walks at your side in a calm submissive state without dogs around it is time to start practicing passing dogs.  The key to success here is to never ever fail.  If your dog barks or lunges it is not a failure, it is only a failure if you leave the situation without calming your dog down.  This is one reason that many owners never conquer this issue.  They pass a dog and their dog lunges so they keep walking.  This process will be repeated day after day until the pattern is changed.  The biggest change that you need to make for now on is to never leave a situation until your dog is completely calm and submissive.  I achieve this by having a helper with a dog so that we can work for as long as we need to.

Start your training by walking your dog for as long as you need to until they are in an appropriate state of mind.  When ready, walk past the other dog while keeping your dog moving and looking forward.  Never stop walking or yell at your dog, it only makes the issue worse.  As you pass the dog keep walking  until your dog is calm and focused forward.  If he keeps looking back at the other dog give short tugs forward until you break his attention.  When your dog is calm, turn and walk back past the other dog and keep walking until yours is calm.  Your dog should never be ahead of you, so give as many tugs as necessary to keep him in position.  It is much easier to keep a dog at your side than to try to get him back after he gets too far forward.  Every time your dog turns to look at the other dog you should be correcting.  Successfully performing this technique is more of a dance than it is training.  The purpose of each tug is to break your dogs focus and redirect it the way that you want.  As you do this you will be tugging back as you walk towards the dog, tugging away from the other dog as you pass, and tugging forward after you have passed.  Each tug has a purpose, and you keep working until you don’t need the corrections anymore.

I have never had a dog that I couldn’t achieve this with in a relatively short period of time.  The hardest part as a trainer is teaching a human to be consistent with these methods.  If you allow yourself plenty of time and don’t get frustrated you will always have success.  If this article piques your interest and you would like help, I can usually train a human to perform this on their own after one training session.

Matt Covey

Suburban K-9

Bark Avenue Daycamp

Bartlett, Il

Whenever I am called in on a food aggression case, the first thing that I do is establish some control over the dog.  When a dog sees himself as dominant, it makes sense in his brain to guard his resource and to tell you to back off.  Food aggression is often called resource guarding, which  actually includes any resource from rawhides to kibble to even his human as they pet him.  My first step is taking the dog for a walk in the proper manner.   If the dog doesn’t respect you as you walk, there is no way that he will respect you as you start the resource guarding training.  I focus on teaching the dog to walk behind me in a calm submissive fashion.

Once I have achieved some control over the animal during the walk I am now ready to start working with the resource.  I will start preparing the dogs food and expect him to maintain an appropriate distance as I work.  If the dog is showing too much excitement I will claim my space and my food by backing him up until he remains at least a few feet away.  When I put the food down I will immediately stop the dog using my leash if he tries to eat it.  This is to establish that the food belongs to me and not to him.  When ready I will tell the dog OK and allow him to start eating.  After about five seconds I will say the dogs name and gently pull him away from the food.  The purpose is to start teaching him that I control the meal, not him.  I repeat this step until there is no growling, snarling, or tension from this action.

The next phase is backing the dog off of his food.  This is where food aggression can take an instant turn for the worse because we are now truly addressing the issue.  With the leash on the dog I will slowly place my shoe onto the bowl and slowly back the dog away from the bowl.  The leash is a crucial element here because it gives you the highest chance of not being bitten.  I repeat this step over and over until the dog shows no frustration or aggression.  Once I see that I can say the dogs name to tell him I am approaching and back him off the bowl easily, it is now time to start taking the bowl by hand.  In the dogs brain it doesn’t matter if you take the bowl using your shoe or your hand, so once you can do one you can do the other.

Overcoming food aggression in a dog is not a safe or an easy task.  This article is not meant to encourage you to try this at home, and I take no responsibility for any injuries that occur while trying this.  I have written this to show you how a responsible and skilled professional can achieve remarkable results in as little as a few weeks.  To truly explain how I work with resource guarding in every possible scenario would take an entire book, so if you have any questions feel free to contact myself or any competent behaviorist.

Matt Covey

Suburban K-9

Bark Avenue Daycamp

Bartlett, Il 60103

630 289 8470

When bringing a new puppy into the home it is important to know two facts.  An eight week old dog cannot hold his bladder for a long period of time and he doesn’t know that he is expected to.  When the puppy lived with mom, he was allowed to walk two feet from his bed and pee and then walk back and lay down.  Now he is in a new environment where people get mad when he follows the rules that mom set up for him.  We need to teach the dog a new set of rules, don’t go to the bathroom in the house and go to the bathroom outside in a timely manner.  Keep in mind that to a dog the house is just a place, carpet and rugs are meaningless to him, you bedroom is not special, anywhere is free game to do his business.  I take a young dog out about every thirty minutes to go outside when I first bring them home.  Teach a word for going such as “go outside.”  When he does go, immediately praise him, give him a treat, and repeat his command for going.  Once that is in place I start expecting the dog to go every time I take him out.  If the dog refuses to go after a reasonable amount of time because he wants to walk around and sniff I will take him inside and put him in a cage for fifteen minutes.  This prevents the dog from coming inside and peeing on the floor immediately.  After fifteen minutes I will take him outside and tell him “go outside” as we wander around until he goes and I will then praise him for going.  

The dog should now know that we like when he goes outside, so we need to teach him that we don’t like when he goes inside.  The key to this is NEVER letting him out of your sight until you trust him.  Use gates, playpens, etc. or just follow him when he wanders off.  If he goes and you don’t catch him, it is too late to correct and your potty training will be set back.  Every “accident” should be a learning experience for you and the dog.  If I see him going I will say NO in a firm voice, rush him outside, and praise him if he finishes out in the yard.  Keep in mind that every dog is different, you can change the loudness and harshness of your voice based on the dogs temperament.  The goal is to get across the point that you aren’t happy, not to terrify the pup.  This is a system that works very well, but a lack of consistency will undermine your efforts.  The first month will not be fun, following you dog constantly and always watching, but it is very attainable to have a fully potty trained dog by four or five months of age.

Nipping is the second issue that I hear questions about frequently.  Young dogs nip each other constantly throughout the day as the play, and they learn certain rules.  They learn not to nip too hard, or the other dogs get mad and not to nip “mom” when she isn’t in the mood.  We now want to teach the pup not to ever nip humans.  A nip is one of two things, a dominant type of play or a correction, neither of which should be used on humans whether child or adult.  When the dog is eight weeks old I gently correct the nips by pushing the dog away and saying “no” in a firm voice.  Don’t yell the word, but it is equally important not to use baby talk as you tell him no.  If the puppy is in a rambunctious mood I will find a toy and start playing with him.  It is important that the dog doesn’t learn to nip so that we play with him, so I always correct and then take my time finding a toy to play with.  If the dog gets worse the more you correct there are many different ways to address the issue.  If a dog is extremely persistent, a leash and collar can be left on him so that he can be given a leash correction each time he crosses the line and the hand corrections don’t work.  If neither of these two approaches works, chances are you have a dominant puppy and may need some professional advice on how to proceed.  As you progress in training your dog and teaching him manners it is very to keep in mind that dogs are pack animals and do not learn like humans.  You cannot rationalize or negotiate with a dog and still maintain you position as the leader.  When finding a trainer be leery of anyone who goes to either extreme in methods of training.  Some trainers want to give dogs treats for everything and never correct and others are extremely harsh and can break the spirit of the dog.  Look for someone who understands dog behavior and maintains his leadership without resorting to food bribes or anger and aggression.  If you have any questions or need assistance with your dog I would love to provide you with the knowledge to build the relationship that you want with your dog.

Providing Excellence Through Training

Matt Covey

Suburban K-9 and Bark Avenue Daycamp

(630) 289-8470

www.barkavenuedaycamp.com

Suburban K-9 

Command Reminder sheet

Heel

Heel is the dogs command for walk at your heel side, which is on your left. The dog should be at your heel or even a little behind you as you walk to reinforce that YOU are the leader.  We strive to keep the dogs attention on us or the road ahead.  As you walk focus on keeping a loose leash and correcting the dog whichever way you need to.  If he pulls ahead snap back on the leash and say heel.  If he goes to the left snap the leash to the right.  Remember that consistency is important.  You cannot let him pull you to say hi to a dog one day and then correct him for it the next day.  When you are walking the dog he should not be pulling anywhere and any greetings to dogs or people should be initiated by you.  Whenever a dog is walking, an appropriate training collar should be used until the dog responds just as well without it.

Sit

Your dog has been taught to sit in the heel position at your side.  He should be looking forward or at you and not angled in order to see something else.  When you are coming to a stop tell your dog to sit.  If he sits give some calm praise.  If he doesn’t sit, snap straight up on the leash as you tell him to sit.  The thought with every obedience command is that a dog is only told once without a correction.  If the dog sits but is ahead of you or angled a different direction the goal is to have him move to your side, not vice versa.  Guide the dog with the leash to the appropriate position.

Sit Stay

When the dog is in the sit position, tell him to stay.  Only say the command once, and expect him to listen.  If the dog gets up, tell him “no”, take him back to where he was, and give two leash corrections.  The first correction is straight up as you say “sit” and the second is to the side as you say “stay”.

Down

With the dog in a sit position tell him to down, if he listens give some calm praise.  If he doesn’t, give a tug straight down as you repeat the command.  If more than one correction is needed, repeat as necessary.  The dog should lay straight at your side, if he doesn’t the correction is the same as when he doesn’t sit at your side.

Down Stay

The correction for a down stay is the same as for a sit stay with one extra command.  You will give three snaps of the leash.  Up as you say “sit”, down as you say “down”, and to the side as you say “stay”.

With all the commands remember that you snap on the leash, never pull.  A quick correction gets the point across, a pull invites more resistance.  Also keep in mind that these corrections are for a trained dog, this is not how we teach; it is how we reinforce.