I will continue with the alternative medicines at a later date. But right now, I need to talk with y'all about the differences in why a dog might be aggressive or try to bite someone. Because there is a lot of confusion, or people thinking that resource guarding or fear aggression is the dog protecting you, when that couldn't be further from the truth.
This topic came into my mind because of this video:
This video was passed around with the vast majority of people saying "right on dog!" or "good dog!" or "I wish my dog was protective like that!".
And this concerns me. This dog is not protecting the baby inside the belly like everyone seems to think. This is not good protective behavior even for just the mom, as this guy was not coming in aggressively or putting any pressure on the dog or the woman, just leaning over to touch. Which means he was not a threat, and there would be NO reason why this dog should "protect" the woman. At all.
While I can understand and identify various dog behaviors in a simple way, I cannot 100% identify what this dog IS doing. However, from asking around to those who do know more than me, resource guarding seems the best bet if this was not trained behavior. If it was trained behavior, it's more than likely that either the woman would protect the stomach so the dog caught on and was praised for doing so, or he was specifically trained to not let anyone touch her.
Either way, it's a dangerous scenario. Anytime you are dealing with anything even sort of relating to aggression and biting (which this dog did bite at the end of the video), you run the risk of that dog biting an innocent bystander when you are just on a walk or greeting a family member in your own home. Not to mention the high likelihood of this woman's baby or child running to mommy and the dog decides at that time to guard her. This dog does not understand what a threat is. This man is not doing ANYTHING to show this dog what a threat is, and the woman is doing nothing to correct or enforce one way or another. So everything is a potential threat... including a child.
So... what is actual protection, and what are these other things that are mistaken for it?
You're in luck. I plan on showing you.
Fear Aggression
A lot of people will have a dog that barks and barks and will even growl at people who seem threatening. And so they think "oh... my dog must be protecting me from a threat.". 99.99 times out of 100, this is not at all the case, but in actuality, the dog is displaying fear and trying to chase away something that scares them.
Here is a great example of fear aggressive behavior (and then the way this particular trainer chose to resolve it):
At the beginning of this video, the dog is barking and acting aggressively. Some would look at this and say "oh, my dog is protecting me from the big scary cameraman! Good dog!". And then reinforce this behavior by petting or loving on the dog. In the owner's mind, this dog is protecting its owner, because it won't leave its owner's side, and is barking and growling at the "threat". In actuality, this dog is scared and trying to act tough to scare away what it perceives to be a threat.
But if you look at her body language, you will see the dog's ears back, tail low with a slow submissive wag, tense body with head low, not to mention hiding behind her owner for additional protection.
This dog needs a confidence boost. Needs to be slowly socialized and introduced to new things in a calm and confidence building fashion. Slow and steady and allow her to get comfortable... and the fear and the subsequent fear aggression will dissipate.
This dog is not a dog protecting her owner. This is a dog that is scared and trying everything she can to make what scares her goes away.
This can be specific, like a dog barking and growling at men in sweatshirts, or anyone who wears a cowboy hat, or even race specific. Again though, the dog is not protecting its owner, it's trying to protect itself, and make its owner protect it. And if the owner wasn't there holding it, this kind of dog would bark, growl, bite, and then when possible, run off.
Resource Guarding
Resource guarding is another form of aggression that is often mistaken for true protection.... when the dog at hand is guarding their owner or some member of the family. Some dogs will resource guard babies and children, adults are far from the only ones that dogs will try to "own". The problem with this is the dog isn't defending the object/human from an actual threat, but from anyone who tries to come near.
They can be fine with other people, be happy go lucky dogs, but if they are around their "resource", and you try to touch it or take it, you could just end up with the stink eye, or you could end up with a bloodied arm and multiple puncture wounds.
This is more commonly recognized when it relates to a favorite bone or toy... or food. It's the same principle though. The dog is guarding something that it highly values, and is keeping it from everyone else.
Here's a video example as it relates to a bone.
This video has great points relating to the different signs of resource guarding. Had this person pressed further and put their hand over where the bone was, she would have gotten a much larger response and possibly even a bite.
Like the video at the start of this, there was no threat. Just the owner taking a video. So no reason for this dog to need to protect anything from anything. But as I said above, this can happen with people too, and then you have a dog that will bark and growl or obsessively watch either with both eyes or just sort of with the "half moon" eyes anytime anyone walks by. Sometimes it will just be a growl and the dog doesn't do anything more with the person touching "their" person... but sometimes it can escalate into a full out barking and growling and biting type guard. But as I have said. The difference between THIS and true protection, is that they will do this to just about anyone. Doesn't matter what they look like or how they are acting or anything.
"True" Aggression
These are the cases that are few and far between. VERY few and far between. Which is why I don't have a video to show you... because most, if not all, of these cases are very quickly handled with. These are dogs that were born with something just... not quite right in the head. And most things end up prompting an aggressive response. Towards the owners, towards strangers, towards everyone. These are the dogs that most people think of when they think of a dog being "born aggressive". However, these are the dogs that rarely make it far in life. Sometimes because their health problem that causes this becomes a much bigger deal than not, and sometimes because they are put down soon enough. Again, these are extremely rare cases. The norm is not that dogs are born mean and aggressive, but the completely opposite.
Trained Protection
And now, for actual trained protection. Whether you are talking about a military dog, a police dog, a personal protection dog, titled schutzhund/IPO/other sport dog (which may or may not protect you in an actual situation), or guard dog. All of these behaviors start with a strong nerved and confident dog... and then are reinforced and trained. The training teaches how to identify threats and ignore everything else. How to bite and hold, where to bite and hold, how to identify and disengage weapons, and so on. And overall, how to be a dog that is calm and trustworthy in any situation.
This is probably the best video I've seen that shows how a protection trained dog should behave.
The dog is calm and relaxed in public situations, is off leash yet in perfect control. Is attentive but not fearful or aggressive in any way.
And when the time does come to protect, the dog is confident and acts and holds. He knows what his job is in that situation, and acts accordingly. In addition, he also releases on command, and will leave his target. And he doesn't just identify a hoodie or a bite sleeve (which is underneath the hoodie) as being something he should bite. Only an actual threat.
This takes a lot of time and training though. Dogs are not born with this. They may be born with the right combination of nerves, temperament, build, friendliness (YES, being friendly and outgoing is very important), etc... but none of that will make a protection dog.
This is also not something that someone can train their dog to do at home. Even trained professionals make mistakes. This is something that ONLY a trained professional should do. Basic obedience, sure... but the moment you get into actual bitework and protection training, you need a professional trainer who knows what he/she is doing.
So... there you go. True protection vs the rest. And don't get me wrong, an untrained dog can protect their owner. However, even then it's only acceptable in the case of a true threat... not just any old guy who comes along and tries to give you a pat on the back.
This topic came into my mind because of this video:
This video was passed around with the vast majority of people saying "right on dog!" or "good dog!" or "I wish my dog was protective like that!".
And this concerns me. This dog is not protecting the baby inside the belly like everyone seems to think. This is not good protective behavior even for just the mom, as this guy was not coming in aggressively or putting any pressure on the dog or the woman, just leaning over to touch. Which means he was not a threat, and there would be NO reason why this dog should "protect" the woman. At all.
While I can understand and identify various dog behaviors in a simple way, I cannot 100% identify what this dog IS doing. However, from asking around to those who do know more than me, resource guarding seems the best bet if this was not trained behavior. If it was trained behavior, it's more than likely that either the woman would protect the stomach so the dog caught on and was praised for doing so, or he was specifically trained to not let anyone touch her.
Either way, it's a dangerous scenario. Anytime you are dealing with anything even sort of relating to aggression and biting (which this dog did bite at the end of the video), you run the risk of that dog biting an innocent bystander when you are just on a walk or greeting a family member in your own home. Not to mention the high likelihood of this woman's baby or child running to mommy and the dog decides at that time to guard her. This dog does not understand what a threat is. This man is not doing ANYTHING to show this dog what a threat is, and the woman is doing nothing to correct or enforce one way or another. So everything is a potential threat... including a child.
So... what is actual protection, and what are these other things that are mistaken for it?
You're in luck. I plan on showing you.
Fear Aggression
A lot of people will have a dog that barks and barks and will even growl at people who seem threatening. And so they think "oh... my dog must be protecting me from a threat.". 99.99 times out of 100, this is not at all the case, but in actuality, the dog is displaying fear and trying to chase away something that scares them.
Here is a great example of fear aggressive behavior (and then the way this particular trainer chose to resolve it):
At the beginning of this video, the dog is barking and acting aggressively. Some would look at this and say "oh, my dog is protecting me from the big scary cameraman! Good dog!". And then reinforce this behavior by petting or loving on the dog. In the owner's mind, this dog is protecting its owner, because it won't leave its owner's side, and is barking and growling at the "threat". In actuality, this dog is scared and trying to act tough to scare away what it perceives to be a threat.
But if you look at her body language, you will see the dog's ears back, tail low with a slow submissive wag, tense body with head low, not to mention hiding behind her owner for additional protection.
This dog needs a confidence boost. Needs to be slowly socialized and introduced to new things in a calm and confidence building fashion. Slow and steady and allow her to get comfortable... and the fear and the subsequent fear aggression will dissipate.
This dog is not a dog protecting her owner. This is a dog that is scared and trying everything she can to make what scares her goes away.
This can be specific, like a dog barking and growling at men in sweatshirts, or anyone who wears a cowboy hat, or even race specific. Again though, the dog is not protecting its owner, it's trying to protect itself, and make its owner protect it. And if the owner wasn't there holding it, this kind of dog would bark, growl, bite, and then when possible, run off.
Resource Guarding
Resource guarding is another form of aggression that is often mistaken for true protection.... when the dog at hand is guarding their owner or some member of the family. Some dogs will resource guard babies and children, adults are far from the only ones that dogs will try to "own". The problem with this is the dog isn't defending the object/human from an actual threat, but from anyone who tries to come near.
They can be fine with other people, be happy go lucky dogs, but if they are around their "resource", and you try to touch it or take it, you could just end up with the stink eye, or you could end up with a bloodied arm and multiple puncture wounds.
This is more commonly recognized when it relates to a favorite bone or toy... or food. It's the same principle though. The dog is guarding something that it highly values, and is keeping it from everyone else.
Here's a video example as it relates to a bone.
This video has great points relating to the different signs of resource guarding. Had this person pressed further and put their hand over where the bone was, she would have gotten a much larger response and possibly even a bite.
Like the video at the start of this, there was no threat. Just the owner taking a video. So no reason for this dog to need to protect anything from anything. But as I said above, this can happen with people too, and then you have a dog that will bark and growl or obsessively watch either with both eyes or just sort of with the "half moon" eyes anytime anyone walks by. Sometimes it will just be a growl and the dog doesn't do anything more with the person touching "their" person... but sometimes it can escalate into a full out barking and growling and biting type guard. But as I have said. The difference between THIS and true protection, is that they will do this to just about anyone. Doesn't matter what they look like or how they are acting or anything.
"True" Aggression
These are the cases that are few and far between. VERY few and far between. Which is why I don't have a video to show you... because most, if not all, of these cases are very quickly handled with. These are dogs that were born with something just... not quite right in the head. And most things end up prompting an aggressive response. Towards the owners, towards strangers, towards everyone. These are the dogs that most people think of when they think of a dog being "born aggressive". However, these are the dogs that rarely make it far in life. Sometimes because their health problem that causes this becomes a much bigger deal than not, and sometimes because they are put down soon enough. Again, these are extremely rare cases. The norm is not that dogs are born mean and aggressive, but the completely opposite.
Trained Protection
And now, for actual trained protection. Whether you are talking about a military dog, a police dog, a personal protection dog, titled schutzhund/IPO/other sport dog (which may or may not protect you in an actual situation), or guard dog. All of these behaviors start with a strong nerved and confident dog... and then are reinforced and trained. The training teaches how to identify threats and ignore everything else. How to bite and hold, where to bite and hold, how to identify and disengage weapons, and so on. And overall, how to be a dog that is calm and trustworthy in any situation.
This is probably the best video I've seen that shows how a protection trained dog should behave.
The dog is calm and relaxed in public situations, is off leash yet in perfect control. Is attentive but not fearful or aggressive in any way.
And when the time does come to protect, the dog is confident and acts and holds. He knows what his job is in that situation, and acts accordingly. In addition, he also releases on command, and will leave his target. And he doesn't just identify a hoodie or a bite sleeve (which is underneath the hoodie) as being something he should bite. Only an actual threat.
This takes a lot of time and training though. Dogs are not born with this. They may be born with the right combination of nerves, temperament, build, friendliness (YES, being friendly and outgoing is very important), etc... but none of that will make a protection dog.
This is also not something that someone can train their dog to do at home. Even trained professionals make mistakes. This is something that ONLY a trained professional should do. Basic obedience, sure... but the moment you get into actual bitework and protection training, you need a professional trainer who knows what he/she is doing.
So... there you go. True protection vs the rest. And don't get me wrong, an untrained dog can protect their owner. However, even then it's only acceptable in the case of a true threat... not just any old guy who comes along and tries to give you a pat on the back.
So is Tasha afraid of the motorcycles or big trucks outside when she's barking at them? When she is here, should we comfort her?
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