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Trainers Andrea Holsinger (l) and Kass Goulding with 3 personal dogs Retriever Field Training Seminars Bertschire Flat-coated Retrievers Pet Care Products, Non-Toxic Cleaning Products and more
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Aggression In Dogs We do accept aggressive dogs into our training program. Whether we can help you or not will depend very much on the dog's history, circumstances surrounding the aggression and your willingness to follow through. Not all aggression can be addressed, and we want to be clear about one thing: aggression is never cured, but it can be controlled to various extents. We always recommend that all aggressive dogs be thoroughly examined by a veterinarian prior to beginning a training program, as some aggression can be linked to pain, such as arthritis and severe ear infections. A thyroid panel is also recommended - please discuss this with your veterinarian. At the time you drop your dog off, we will take a detailed history and ask you to complete a questionnaire to help us determine the suitability of continuing with training. We may decide to keep the dog for several days to a week to make a more thorough evaluation - in this case, if it is decided to not continue with training, there will be no charge for this evaluation time. We have had more success with curbing interdog aggression than aggression directed toward people. The reason is that most interdog aggression can be predicted, and some aggression towards people can't be predicted or recreated without putting someone at risk of a bite. Our approach to aggression is a multi-pronged approach: first, we use social isolation to our advantage. The very act of kenneling a dog takes him out of his "comfort zone" and reduces the input of normal family life. The trainer can offer physical contact selectively; sometimes that contact is not offered for several days after arrival, making the contact more desirable to the dog. Second, we gently and humanely condition the dog to the remote collar, increasing his dependence on the handler by teaching that the comfort zone is close to the handler. If the dog is food-motivated, we will often also introduce a random food reward at this point, in addition to praise reward. Third, all interaction with the dog is controlled. A modified "nothing in life is free" regimen is instituted, with happy praise offered when the dog behaves appropriately. Inappropriate behavior is discouraged with negative reinforcement. Finally, the dog learns that the handler represents safety at all times, and a strong trust bond is formed. For the dog that is aggressive about being handled or groomed, we begin daily grooming/handling sessions. When appropriate, food rewards are used to reinforce acceptable behavior and mild remote collar corrections are given when the behavior is unacceptable. This type of aggression has a high probability of success, as the predictability is high, and desensitization can be done. Household interdog aggression can be extremely complicated, and control begins with obedience training all of the combatants. If the dogs don't hate each other's guts (that they can live/interact peaceably away from the owner's presence), this problem can be solved with time, training and a high level of commitment from the owners. If it is determined that the dogs hate each other, most likely we will recommend rehoming one or more of the fighters. Generalized dog aggression (your dog is aggressive towards strange dogs, or is only aggressive when behind a fence or on lead) is the easiest to address. Such dogs are taught to ignore other dogs and we have the highest degree of success with these cases. Our experience has been that this aggressing will eventually fade over time as the dog is prevented from escalating any aggression. Any dog displaying inappropriate aggression to other dogs should NEVER be taken to a dog park, or otherwise allowed to interact with other dogs in an uncontrolled setting. It is not reasonable to expect a dog that has social aggression to become suddenly social following any training program. It is possible that we will need to keep an aggressive longer than our standard 2 week program. We use this time to strengthen the training bond and also to socialize your dog in public. |
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