By Bonny King-Taylor, the doggy lama, pet coach
Almost every day, I have a conversation with someone whose dog is having behavioral issues that the owner will suggest is because the dog is being protective…either protective of them, or of their property.
It becomes a problem when protection turns into aggression, towards pet care providers, like Saving Grace walkers, Cleaning services or service people, guests coming into your home or, in the worst case scenario…new family members like babies and new pets.
While I understand that it is a comforting thought that your dog is protecting you…because for humans protection equals love…I think it is kind of unfair that we put that responsibility on our creatures.
It is particularly unfair for one of two reasons:
First, it does not take into account the cardinal rule for understanding how your dog’s mind works. He or she can ONLY think in terms of always and never. ‘I can always do this, and I can never do that.’ Dogs do not have the cognitive ability to discern the nuances of the gray areas.
So, if it is alright with you that your dog is aggressive with certain types of people that you might not like on the street, it isn’t fair to assume that your dog shouldn’t be aggressive toward, say, your cousin who is visiting your home for the first time.
And secondly, we don’t see many of the protective breeds on Capitol Hill. Those are:
- Bull Mastiffs,
- Doberman Pinschers,
- Rottweilers,
- Komondors and,
- Pulis, in the top 5.
And to be honest, I’ve only ever met one Komondor and one Puli in person, in my entire life!
Now, Giant Schnauzers, German Shephers and Belgian Malinois are also in the protective working class, but unless the dog is specifically trained as a protection dog, I can guarantee you that the behavior you are actually seeing is anxiety.
The truth is, trained protection dogs are NOT barky all the time. In fact, they calm 98% of the time and they do not become aggressive unless commanded to do so. They are trained specifically to the difference between a real threat and an annoyance.
So, trust me the Cocker Spaniel who is barking at the window all day long, is not protecting the home. There is something completely different going on there and it generally boils down to either fear based aggression or resource guarding.
Almost all aggressive behavior is based on fear and an unbalanced dog believes that the best defense is a strong offense. Usually, that comes from poor socialization, and inconsistent habits on our part.
Barking at the mail man, for instance, is SO popular because it works!
That aggressive behavior is reinforced every day when the dog says, “Go away, go away, go away” and the mailman goes away!
Resource guarding is where a dog will claim ownership of people or property. That is based on bad boundaries and squishy training.
Both types of confusion can be solved relatively quickly, but the solutions have to be customized to your lifestyle and your dog’s unique personality.
I completely understand the very human desire for protection. As I said earlier, we look at protection as love.
BUT.
Our dogs love us in so many other wonderful ways, I hope we can love them back by reclaiming our leadership roles and protecting them from anxiety and confusion.
