Dog Bite Prevention: How to Greet a Dog

This week is Dog Bite Prevention Week and here are a few tips on greeting dogs.

Be on the Lookout for Stress Signals
In my last blog on Canine Body Language I went over some of the common postures and stress signals that dogs exhibit.  Here are a few signals to be on the look out for:

• frequent yawning
• licking lips
• ears pulled back
• pacing
• panting.

 In a similar vein, learn a dog's aggressive stances.  This could include:

• stiff body or very still body
• ears forward
• body leaning forward
• hackles raised
• tight/closed mouth
• hard stare
• Whites of eyes showing (also sign of stress)
• curled lip
• growling and snarling. 

Here is a video showing some common stress signals:

For Dog Owners:  If you have a dog that is shy, fearful or aggressive, here are a few tips to keep in mind if you see these signs in your dog:

• Recognize and respect these signals and remove your dog from the situation that is causing stress by increasing the distance from the person or walking away.
• Response to pushy strangers - Often you run into the person who tells you that they "know all about dogs," and try to approach your dog.  If your dog is known to be scared of stangers, tell the stranger that "my dog is in training and cannot be petted right now."   These are the type of people that will invade your dog's space and not respect the dog's signals. If they will not listen, walk away. Don't worry about offending a stranger. Your dog's well-being is more important. 
• Give your dog a safe zone - if your dog is fearful in the home, it is important to tell guests to give your dog space, not to hover over the dog or stare at your dog.  If having guests over is too much, it is often better allow the dog to go his/her safe place, crate or behind a baby gate to minimize stress and the risk that a guest may disregard your instructions.
• Guests in the home should not grab, hug, or forcibly try to move your dog off furniture.  Rubbing the belly can also trigger defensive behavior in a fearful dog who does not know or trust your visitor.  This is especially true for children who often like to try to hug unfamiliar dogs. If guests cannot follow these instructions, put your dog in another room or area.
• Find a certified trainer - If your dog is frequently afraid of strangers, work with a dog trainer or behaviorist to develop a behavior modification program to help your dog feel more at ease around strangers.  It is important to choose a professional who focuses on positive reinforcement methods. 

For people greeting an unfamiliar dog:  if you meet someone else's dog exhibiting these signals when you approach them, stop and slowly back off to give the dog more space.  As a parent visiting someone's home, teach children not to grab or hug unfamiliar dogs.  If you see that the dog is showing stress in someone else's home, ask that the dog be placed in another room away from the children.

 Appropriate Greetings and Interactions

Besides being able to read a dog's body language or stress signals, another factor that can reduce the incidence of dog bites is knowing how to greet a dog in a manner that will put the dog at ease.  Here are a few tips:

1) Stop 5-6 feet in front of the dog and owner.  This is usually the distance that a dog is comfortable with and is also the length of most leashes if the dog is on a walk.

2)   Ask the owner if you can pet the dog.  If the owner hesitates or says the dog is not always friendly, move on.  If you are the owner and you notice that your dog is fearful or showing stress signals, ask the person to stop moving forward and refrain from reaching towards your dog.  For parents, stress this step to your children.  They should never pet a dog without asking permission.

3)  Turn your side to the dog  - dogs are often more comfortable when your side is facing them rather than facing them head on.   By turning your side to the dog, it makes them more comfortable to approach you.

4) Let the dog approach you - rather than going towards the dog and invading his/her space, let the dog choose to approach you and sniff the top of your closed hand.  If the dog does not want to approach you or shows you the stress signals mentioned above, then leave the dog be and do not try to pet the dog. 

5) Avoid Hovering and pet the side of the body or neck - avoid blind spots like the top of the head. Fearful/shy dogs do not like to be petted on top of the head and do not like people hovering directly over them.

Here is a video showing the steps:

It is also important for new puppy owners to make an effort to enroll their dogs in a puppy socialization class and socialize their dogs to as many different people as possible (gender, age, height etc). Through education of dog owners and dog greeters alike, hopefully we can help reduce the incidents of dog bites, interact with unfamiliar dogs appropriately and learn to recognize the signs of fear and discomfort in our dogs.

Los Angeles Dog Training:  www.pawsitivefeedback.com

A Tale of Two Canines: Leash Aggression and the Power of Pavlov.

Last year I related the story of my young Akita, Kiku, who I was working on to curb her tendency to lunge and bark at other dogs while on a leash and discussed the source of leash aggression/reactivity. Often during our walks we see other people working on the same issue because it is such a common behavior among canines. While the behavior is relatively common, how people address this behavior can be quite different.

On our walks I often run into other owners who have leash aggressive dogs who opt to use more forceful techniques. There is one owner I used to run into fairly regularly who had a choke chain on her dog and she would yell and scream at the dog while yanking on the choke chain. It was a very uncomfortable experience running into these two because you could hear her screaming all the way down the block and the force she would exert on the choke chain would pull the dog of his front feet.  She would also violently yank on the choke chain even when her dog looked in the direction of my dog but did not lunge or bark. I see other owners doing this as well and have even witnessed people hitting their dogs. So, the end result of these aversive techniques is that the dog is effectively punished for just glancing at another dog. Whenever, I see this, I think to myself, what message is the owner sending the dog? See dog, jerk on collar, pain. The dog is associating the presence of other dogs with physical punishment.  This also illustrates the problem of physical punishment; incorrect application and timing.  In this case, the owner was punishing the dog when the dog is actually not doing anything wrong per se leaving the dog confused and walking on eggshells. 

I like to call Kiku "Ms. Control Freak." She likes to know what is going on around her and can be a little intense and vigilant. Trying to make her sit and ignore the dogs around her is just a little too much for her to bear and it makes her more anxious and feel out of control.  She has gone through all kinds of group classes from puppy kindergarten up through intermediate/advanced levels of obedience with few outbursts and enjoys being in class. But it is the non-class setting or unfamiliar areas where she is the most reactive. My favorite technique has been associating the presence of other dogs with a food reward. Like the bell in Pavlov’s dogs, when my dog looks at another dog she gets her favorite treat (boiled chicken or string cheese in her case). This technique of pairing something that the dog finds unpleasant with something that the dog likes (in this case a tasty treat) is called “counter-conditioning.” The goal of this technique is to change the emotional response of the dog towards the object that causes the fearful or aggressive behavior (in this case the dog but it could be the vacuum cleaner or any other object). I eventually turned this routine into a game where she gets a click and treat when she first looks at another dog and then looks back at me.¹ So unlike the owner who punishes their dog for looking towards another dog (probably because the owner fears or anticipates an outburst), I actually encourage it. For my particular dog, being able to see the other dog rather than ignoring the dog is a more comfortable situation for her and I am pairing the presence of other dogs with something the dog likes. 

Kiku, ever vigilant, scanning the horizon.

I recently attended a webinar on leash aggression led by Kathy Sdao (Cujo Meets Pavlov) who is a great clicker trainer and behaviorist. She reminded everyone of a video made by Dr. Sophia Yin demonstrating the effectiveness of counterconditioning. In this video Dr. Yin is working with an aggressive Jack Russell Terrier and the results are very dramatic:
Training Aggression?: counterconditioning a dog to blowing in the face

You can see that the dog initially reacted to being blown in the face by biting and lunging but by the end of the training sessions, he no longer reacts aggressively even with being blown in the face quite forcefully. The same principal applies to leash aggression/reactivity. I would rather have my dog look forward to the appearance of a new dog rather than dread it.

Flash forward several months . . .

I occasionally see the woman with her dog and thankfully she is not yelling at him anymore. However, now she carries a little spray bottle attached to her belt loop. The dog is not lunging but his head is held a little low and he does not have the look of a confident dog. His body language also tells me that he is not relaxed. The behavior is being suppressed through punishment but I am not so sure that this dog enjoys seeing other dogs on walks.  As noted in one of my earlier blogs, using aversive or dominance-based methods to suppress aggression does not address the underlying causes of such behavior. 

My dog is not perfect but she does not have the loud, scary outbursts that she originally had as an adolescent. If we are at a corner and there are multiple dogs walking around, I may ask her to sit and click and treat watching other leashed dogs while she is sitting. Sometimes, she does not pay attention at all and we simply keep moving. But the main difference is that my dog is not walking on eggshells when she sees another dog. Her carriage is more relaxed and confident.  She does not associate other dogs with physical punishment, coercion or pain. When we pass by houses where she knows there is a barking dog, she will often excitedly sit in front of the fence facing me waiting for a click while ignoring the dog. There is one house we pass by quite often and the dog behind the fence will bark once and then lie down and watch our strange little routine every time we pass by. 

So while the end result is that both of these dogs may have outwardly curbed their tendencies to lunge and bark on the leash, the final product is, in my opinion, not equivalent.

The other day I ran into my neighbor from another block with her two goldens on their Gentle Leaders. This owner has worked hard on her dogs’ lunging and aggressive behavior on the leash. Because her dogs are now relatively calm, I have my dog sit at the curb and watch them walk by. As my neighbor sees me working with my dog she waves and pulls her clicker out of her pocket.

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¹    This technique is a version of one of the techniques addressed by Leslie McDevitt in Control Unleashed and Emma Parsons in Click to Calm.

What is a Leash Reactive or Leash Aggressive Dog?

Recently, I started a workshop for leash reactive or leash aggressive dogs and their owners. I have found that many people who have reactive dogs enroll in group classes hoping that the group setting will help their dog grow accustomed to being around other dogs. Mildly reactive dogs usually get used to a class situation after a few weeks but other dogs may find the setting too overwhelming. In other cases, a dog might be reactive to a particular type of dog or in a specific setting that the group class cannot mimic. Usually people who enroll these dogs in class have recently adopted the dog and are often are more interested in helping the dog get used to other dogs than general obedience. So I started the workshops to specifically address this behavior because in the basic group classes the focus is on general obedience and the level of training required for the reactive dog requires a different focus and skill set.

A frequent question I receive is “what is a leash reactive dog”? The term “reactive” is somewhat vague. Although it is a term that is commonly used in the dog training world, the term can have various connotations to your average dog owner. Reactivity in dogs can manifest itself as lunging, jumping, rearing up like a stallion, snarling, growling, barking and overexcitement. A leash-reactive dog is one that is especially reactive while on a leash. Interestingly, many leash reactive or leash aggressive dogs are perfectly fine off-leash and many of them play well in dog parks.

So why are dogs more reactive on leash than off-leash? There are several possibilities. One reason is that the leash prevents dogs from behaving the way they would normally behave when they see another dog. For dogs that are overly excited, the leash prevents them from greeting the dog and they react in frustration which devolves into barking and lunging. For fearful dogs, they may perceive that the “flight” part of the “flight or fight response” is not an option because they are stuck on a leash and feel “trapped.” In some cases, the dog reacts in response to tension on the leash because the owner is pulling back on it in anticipation of the encounter. When the dog feels the tension in connection with seeing other canines, the dog may perceive that there is a threat and become more aggressive. Sometimes if the owner jerks on the leash, it is a simple association between seeing a strange dog and pain (from the tightening of the collar).

This behavior can manifest itself at adolescence. A dog that has been socialized as a puppy can still become reactive. Some adolescent dogs can become feisty and test out certain behaviors. My female akita who is now 2 years old started manifesting this behavior at about a year. She had been through puppy kindergarten, basic obedience, intermediate and advanced obedience classes so she had a lot of socialization and been to the dog park etc. Now, she did witness an attack of my 13 year old akita by a neighbor’s loose shepherd while we were on a walk (the neighbor left the front door open and the dog ran from his property) which probably did not help. After the incident, she whined and became vigilant every time we walked by that house. My old akita was unharmed. The two male dogs rolled around before the owner called his dog away and my old guy dusted himself off and trotted away like nothing happened. My old male is a rescue that I adopted as a previously intact two-year old adult and I have a feeling that he was used to minor scuffles with his male and female Akita housemates. But, my female who was still a puppy at the time was left with quite an impression and she started becoming reactive soon after this incident. Granted, there is a breed predisposition for dog aggression in Akitas and she was a feisty adolescent so it is possible that she would have become somewhat leash reactive despite this incident and reactivity can be common in the guarding breeds. For example, in obedience classes, my akita can sit touching (butt-to-butt) with a classmate, but if she sees a strange dog approaching the outskirts of class, she will start barking in alarm. Small dogs can be reactive too so this behavior is not limited to the large dogs. In fact, several dogs in my workshops have been small or toy breeds.

Regardless of the reason why a dog has become leash reactive, it is important to not overreact to the situation. Yelling, scolding and tightening or jerking on the leash can exacerbate the problem and give your dog the false impression that there is something to be worried about. In the case of my Akita, I started a program where I taught her that good things happen when she sees another dog while on a leash. I have also taught her that there are options to standing her ground and lunging. In fact, whenever we pass by the house where the shepherd lives and we see him by the gate, she gets a treat for looking at the dog and then looking at me. Although this seems like a simple routine, it took weeks of training to get her to this point where she could focus on me and there were intermediate steps involved. Eventually, I put this behavior on cue by uttering the phrase, “there’s your friend,” and clicking and treating when she looks at the dog and then looks at me. She then gets another reward for following me past the gate without reacting (this is the options part of the equation where she learns that retreating is an alternative). I use my happy “let’s go” voice and act like nothing is bothering me. With Akitas, retreat is not something they naturally do so it took a lot of training to teach her to ignore other dogs. Luckily, the shepherd has no problem with my female and just sits by the gate staring at our strange little exercise. Slowly, she has gotten less reactive to dogs while on walks and defaults into turning her back on other dogs and sitting facing me whenever another dog is around.

My dog has doggie playmates and has good social skills once she gets to know a dog but my current goals are for her to be calm around unfamiliar dogs and not lunge at them while on a leash. It is not important for me at this time for her to be buddy-buddy with every dog she meets. My goals are realistic for her current stage in this training process because she is a large, strong, rowdy, adolescent that needs to learn a little self-control while on walks and not react on impulse. Sometimes it is more important to have lots and lots of minor successes (not reacting and ignoring a dog) compared to having a few stupendous interactions (doggie play) followed by a bad interaction. It is important to be aware of what your dog can handle and set your dog up for success.



My "Feisty" Dog


Working with a reactive dog is a slow process that requires patience. Using a positive reinforcement and a reward-based system will reap rewards in the long-run. Contact a dog training professional who uses methods based on positive reinforcement and does not use coercive or punitive methods with reactive dogs.

Los Angeles Dog Trainer
www.pawsitivefeedback.com