by Trish King

Having a happy relationship with your dog means learning how to work together. If there´s a topic you´d like to see Trish cover, email editors@fetchthepaper.com.

The other day, I had three consultations in a row regarding clients’ dogs who had bitten them. One of the dogs was a Shih Tzu, one was a Golden Retriever, and one was a German Shepherd mix. The Shih Tzu was quite intolerant of grooming, especially around his face. He had bitten both his owners when they had tried to cut his bangs and also when they removed his harness at night. The Golden Retriever had bitten the wife when she had reached into her car to take him out. And the German Shepherd mix had bitten the male owner as he was trying to stop the dog from chasing their cat. What is curious about these three cases is that a person, sometimes several people, had told the owners that their dog was taking the “alpha” position, and he needed to be “put in his place,” preferably through some sort of physical correction such as pinning him to the ground.

These well-meaning people actually were incorrect. None of these problems had roots in social dominance, though status played a role in one of them. Not only that, none of the problems could be solved by punishment. In fact, physical punishment could actually escalate these problems or even lead to premature euthanization.

It constantly amazes me how we humans try to simplify such complex social beings, our dogs. Just as we have mixed motivations for many things we do, so too do these animals. We don’t make all decisions in our lives because we want status over another person, although status issues exist in our homes and work places. Other emotions and motivations often come into play. It’s very easy to say that a dog bites because she’s dominant, or “the alpha.” But that’s a cop-out. Each of the above dogs bit for a different reason, and each needed different behavior modification.

I’m the boss; oops, no I’m not. Or am I?

Let’s take the first case. The Shih Tzu was about 15 months old, right at the cusp of social maturity. The owners had purchased him from a breeder who appeared to think that keeping pups in a sterile environment was the most important part of raising them. This breeder required, for example, all potential owners to sterilize their hands before handling any of the puppies, but neglected socialization. The end result: the pups were physically healthy (although their immune systems might not be) but fearful of being handled and of new experiences.

Little Petey hid under chairs at puppy class and cringed when picked up. He had learned to love his guardians, but he was terrified of stairs, curbs, and other new experiences. His owners loved him, but misread him and thus gave him mixed signals. When picked up, Petey would wriggle and bite, though not hard. He’d done this all his life, so his guardians thought it was normal. However, during grooming sessions, Petey’s biting turned serious, and at times he even drew blood.

He was also allowed on the furniture at times. The guardians, because of instructions they had been given, used a newspaper to swat him when they didn’t want him on a chair or couch. They also used this method when he bit their hands during grooming.

Petey lived in a very confusing world. People were sometimes wonderful and sometimes downright dangerous. He didn’t know whether he was the leader or the follower, and most of the time, he just wanted to be left alone!

Madam, you give me no choice!

The Golden Retriever, Sam, was a sound, stable dog, friendly and healthy. However, his owners had never had a dog before. They had read books and talked to people who told them dogs were constant social climbers, always waiting for a chance to take the “alpha” spot, a domestic coup, so to speak. So, they laid out stringent rules for him that were sometimes harshly enforced.

He’d been beautifully obedience trained and seemed to love it, like many Goldens. But if he made a mistake, he was severely chastised and sometimes struck. The result was that if someone spoke to him harshly, he would run away, fearing that pain would follow. One incident in particular caused this beloved pet to become a pariah.

Like many dogs, Sam loved riding in cars. As soon as the car door opened, he’d shoot in and wait to go somewhere, anywhere! On this particular day, Sam’s “mom” Julie wasn’t going to take him. Of course he didn’t know that, so he jumped in the back of the car, a two-door coupe. Julie asked Sam to get out, but he didn’t. She reached in, grabbed his collar, and tried to pull him out. He stiffened and growled. She thought “He’s defying me. I have to win.” She chastised him strongly, then grabbed his collar again. He bit her. The reality of this situation is that Sam was frightened of Julie, but was trapped in the car, and could not run away. His choice was limited, as far as he could tell, to fighting.

When I saw him, his owner was trying to find another home for Sam because Julie thought he was untrustworthy and could “turn on them” at any moment. She had decreed that the dog was to be kenneled when guests came over, and that he would never see another child again.

In the weeks that followed they consulted a trainer who told them Sam was “alpha,” and they had to “put him in his place.” But Julie had lost trust in him and wouldn’t interact at all. The husband, John, upped the ante, and came down even harder on Sam for misbehaving. There were no other incidents, but Julie was too frightened of Sam to keep him.

Here, kitty kitty…

The third case was involved a young Shepherd mix. The couple had only owned her for a few weeks, and found that she wouldn’t stop staring at their cat and if the cat moved, “Sadie” chased her. They did not, of course, want their cat to be constantly harassed. One time, when the husband grabbed Sadie to move her away from the cat, Sadie whipped her head around and bit his hand. Once again people told them that the dog had taken the “alpha” position, and they needed to put her in her place. In actual fact, the shepherd was predatory and wanted to chase the cat, perhaps catch it, or even play with it. The bite was “displaced.” Sadie had no intention of biting the owner; she was just focused on chasing the cat, and a hand got in the way. It certainly had nothing to do with dominance.

In the cases of the Petey and the Sam, the focus of the behavior modification was repairing relationships and making sure the dogs didn’t have an opportunity to practice bad behavior. Petey’s owners began a slow, steady desensitization program to help him trust them. Sam’s guardians learned to read Sam’s behavior and to stop overreacting to minor infractions. In Sadie’s case, the owners reluctantly decided that although Sadie was a wonderful dog, she was unfairly terrorizing their cat. They returned Sadie to the shelter, where workers found her a new (cat-less) home.

There’s a good possibility these problems wouldn’t have been solved if the three couples had persisted in treating the problems as dominance oriented. So many things aren’t as simple as they seem! The results of such oversimplification can be quite painful indeed, both physically as well as psychologically. If you are unsure about the roots of your dog’s misbehavior, be sure to seek the advice of an experienced trainer. It will make a big difference in your and your dog’s lives together.