How do we make him stop?
Q & A with Animal Expert Dr. Grey Stafford
 Cathy in Peoria has a dog that just can't get along.
Dear Dr. Grey,
Our five year old male yorkie snaps, snarls, and growls whenever he's around our son's larger female dog. What can we do to train him to stop acting like this? |
Hi Cathy.
On the surface, it sounds like your yorkie needs some desensitization training to help him tolerate and perhaps one day, enjoy being around your son’s dog. Since I don’t have the details of your dog’s past learning, history socializing with other animals and both animals’ reproductive status, I am going to assume he has little or no experience successfully meeting other animals. (For more info, you may also want to refer back to some of our past postings on desensitization training).
Unfortunately, you really can’t train an animal to “stop” doing things without resorting to punishment. Punishing him for snapping, growling and so on will at best have a temporary effect—it will not address the underlying frustration or fear that is causing his behavior. At worst, punishment will lead to greater confusion on his part, weaken the bond of trust you and your family have with him, and most of all, it will not solve the problem!
Keep it Simple
Since we are not going to punish him, how can we change his behavior to something more successful? Using positive reinforcement, you can teach him to engage in other desirable behaviors instead of the ones he has been doing. But to “get your foot in the door” so to speak, you have to simplify his future encounters with this female and any other animals he may meet. In other words, the days of your son dropping by with his dog and letting the two animals work it out on their own are over. Instead, try to find a neutral location such as a park for these two to get to know each other. (He may view her arrival at your home as an intrusion into his territory). A tennis court, for example, can be a great place to start because it is somewhat confined. You can prevent them from coming into direct contact or getting too close yet still allow the dogs to see each other from opposite sides of the chain link. ( I take my dog to the local coffee shop, where we sit slightly away from the rest of the patrons and their animals. This way little “Venti” gets desensitization opportunities without any risk to himself or to others.)
Control Access
From now on, until things improve significantly, you’ll want to control their access to one another. At first, maybe all he can tolerate is seeing her across the court, backyard or room. How close can they get before he breaks into his aggressive responses? Depends on your animals. It may be 5 feet or 50. Your starting point will be however close they can be together without him displaying the behaviors you listed. To help them learn what you do expect of them, ask him to sit, stay or lie down as she appears. If he complies, great, be sure to reward him with his favorite toy or treat. Use the most effective reinforcement items you have. Lots of small, frequent but tasty rewards will help him stay focused on you and not her. With each reward, remind him to continue sitting or staying. (If the animals are intact, realize that at certain times of the year, few things are as reinforcing to a dog as sexual contact. At those times, I’d avoid bringing these animals together—it will just set your training efforts back.)
Take it Slowly
Eventually, you will be able to decrease the distance separating the two animals. From there you can increase the amount of time they are visible to each other. And, one day soon they may be able to engage in limited play with each other so long as none of the snarling and snapping appears. The key to desensitization training is to never over estimate how successful each animal will be (or for how long) from one encounter to the next. This means end your encounters quickly while they are still succeeding, not after they’ve begun to fall back into their old behavior pattern.
It may sound like a lot of effort but since your guy has had many opportunities to rehearse his unwanted behaviors, it will take some time and effort on your family’s part to redirect things onto a better path.
Good luck.
Dr. Grey
Learn more about Dr. Grey Stafford
The information presented and the opinions expressed are those of the content provider. KTVK-TV and KASW-TV do not endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, or other information by the content provider. You acknowledge that any reliance upon any such opinion, advice, statement, or information shall be at your sole risk.
|
