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I have two dogs. They are both mutts, one is a small dog (Chloe) and the other is medium-sized (Angel). We got Angel in Christmas of '97, and Chloe in the spring of '99 or so. We never had ANY problems with them not getting along until recently, and we can't figure out why, though we have some hunches. Sometimes, when we tell Chloe to get down off of a chair, table, etc., or if we are petting her or even calling her name too much, Angel freaks out and attacks her. She goes straight for her neck, and Chloe just yelps. Angel has never been violent in her entire life – she has never bitten anyone, EVER, and I can even put my fingers in her mouth when she is biting Chloe and it makes her stop because she does not want to bite ME in the process, you know? We asked the vet and they said Angel is just getting grouchy because she is aging, but she is not that old. She will turn 8 this November). Here are our thoughts. Maybe you could come up with something better? - We think it might have to do with their hormones...we got Chloe spayed about a year ago, and my mom says she thinks that is when it started happening. Angel was already spayed, if that makes any difference. - We also think Angel could just be jealous...she has been known to playfully bark, roll around and jump up on me when I hug my boyfriend. This is our "main" guess, but we have always treated them the same and this just recently started happening. This has gotten to a point where my mom wants to get rid of Chloe because she thinks Chloe is the problem. I do not want to give up EITHER of them -- what are your views on this? Are there any pills you think we could give Angel to help calm her down, or anything we can do to stop this without completely ignoring Chloe and giving Angel all the attention? Thanks for ANY help...this has really been puzzling us!

Adrianna

Additional Notes:

How is Angel with things such as Rawhide/food/valuables - especially around other dogs - but people too?
The other dogs (we have another one named Brady) don't really go around her whenever she's eating, so I don't know...I'd imagine she'd just kind of stare at them and they'd know not to mess with her, you know? Maybe growl a little...but not too much. One other thing though, whenever another dog is eating from their bowl, she'll just walk up and move them out of the way and start eating. We have two food bowls, so it shouldn't be happening. She only stops and goes to the other one if we tell her to.

Is Angel touch sensitive at all?
Not at all. Usually, if you'll poke at her she'll turn and look at you and wag her tail and then bark, like she wants to play. If you keep messing with her she'll jump down to the floor and start rolling around and grunting like Chewbacca, and then get up and make this little pose where her butt's up in the air but her nose is close to the ground like she wants you to chase her. Actually, the only time she growls at me is when I try to get the sleep out from under her eyes, but she's never REALLY freaked out on me about that, or anyone I don't think.

Dear Adrianna,

Over the past several years, many people with pets have begun to recognize the importance of doing prevention on food bowl guarding. What many people are not aware of, is that guarding can take different forms. Dogs will potentially guard anything they perceive as having value. Those items can take the form of people, places and things. Some dogs guard from people - others from dogs and animals. Both can also happen.

Exercises that prevent guarding of food, bones and such are fabulous. But they do not encompass all. So even when someone says that a dog is good with the human, that does not mean guarding is not happening.

My preference, in almost any aggression scenario, is to examine any potential medical issues. In dog-to-dog situations where only 2 dogs are involved, that means the health of both dogs. Sometimes, when a dog becomes ill, the second dog begins to show aggressive behavior. But, you have a subtle comment that makes me think the likelihood Chloe's health is compromised is slim. You casually mentioned that Angel gets a little out of control when your boyfriend and you hug.

Going back to the premise that guarding can involve people, you have two scenarios that fit a pattern. When Chloe receives attention, Angel backs her off. When you and your boyfriend hug, Angel steps in again. Angel is guarding you from other people, and a variety of things from Chloe.

Does anything else support resource guarding as a possible scenario? Absolutely. Because you know deep down that Angel would likely back off a dog from her food dish. And other dogs give to her because they wouldn't dare challenge her. The growl you suspect she would give another dog is a warning. Other dogs take it seriously. So should you.

Oddly, in my experience there seems to be a strong correlation between touch sensitivity and guarding. And oddly enough, that pattern seems to yet again hold true. The only description I can come up with is that guarders seem to dislike any invasion into their body space. It is not scientific, but over and over again it seems to fit together. I would be willing to bet, that if pushed by someone experienced in testing and evaluation, Angel might be more sensitive than you realize. You have been given another warning when cleaning Angel's eyes.

It is possible to obtain medication that takes the edge off. My preference is to use it in conjunction with behavior modification. The medication helps manage the problem until rehabilitation begins to take hold. Then, with your veterinarian you can begin to wean Angel off the medication.

The principle behind successful rehabilitation is really quite simple. Execution is a skill. In a nutshell, you need to teach Angel that there is no threat to what is valuable to her. She needs to be convinced that it is to her benefit when other dogs approach her “things.” There are multiple steps, and your best bet is to work with someone who is experienced on diagnostics, and exceptional at rehabilitation. From an educational perspective, one of the best publications on resource guarding is Jean Donaldson's new book, “Mine.” For dog-to-dog issues, “Fight,” is also excellent. Both offer clear advice in a no-nonsense fashion.

The advantage of working with someone is twofold. First, e-mail communication leaves much to be desired. Nothing replaces an evaluation. Second, having someone working with you, ensuring that exercises are being executed with precision means your progress will be quicker.

It may not seem like the typical “guarding” behavior. But, I have seen it often enough, and seen enough jaws drop when their dog snarls at a stranger taking away a bone. Which also means that for the time being, you need to maintain safety precautions, especially around children.

Yvette is an award winning pet writer and pet behavior columnist. She also is the author of Meeting Milo, a North American dog bite prevention program to reduce the approximately 2 million children bit by dogs annually. She is the owner of AwesomeDogs.ca and works as a behavior consultant in London, Ontario.

This column was originally featured in The Londoner
See more of Yvette... www.awesomedogs.ca
www.meetingmilo.com

Yvette has 2 dogs of her own, KIKI and KAYA. Take a look...

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