Curbing dog aggression

The Situation

Dear Jessie,

Thank you in advance for your time. I was wondering if you would be willing to give me some advice. The last two days we noticed that our two year old lab/retriever mix dog Harley growls if you try to move him away from his food. He has also (a few months ago) growled twice at us if we move him while sleeping in our bed.

He’s the sweetest dog in the world, gives lots of licks, loves everybody, lets you throw him around, watches out for you if you’re sick, etc. I couldn’t have asked for a better pup.

Now I’ve been doing some research online and it’s pretty clear to me that Harley has established himself as Alpha dog and is asserting this status.

How he would have reached this belief is easy enough to see, we allow him on our laps on the couches, he sleeps between my husband and I on our bed and generally spoil him like crazy. He does know sit/stay, come and heel from the obedience classes we had taken him to as a pup but does not perform them successfully every time.

I guess what my question is: Is there a way to ward off his dominance without going to the full extreme of standing when giving commands, eating first, winning staring contests, going first through doorways, making him move when he is in my way, not letting him on the bed/couches with us? We so love having him sleep with us. My guess would be no because dogs either are the leader of the pack or they aren’t..

All of this would not concern me very much, but we have a four month old son that I am afraid will try to go near his food, or do something else to “challenge” him and I just can’t have that.

What should I do and where should I start. I’m afraid to try to take his food away from him but not afraid in any other instance. Thanks again for any help you may give me.

Take care,

Kristen Gordon

The Solution

First of all, you should be aware that while the dominance theory is very popular, it is very overused and not always correct. I do not dispute that dominance aggression exists, but many trainers are too quick to blame dominance for any behaviour problem. Food guarding is a common and normal canine behaviour, and in wolf packs even submissive animals are allowed in some cases to protect their food and resting areas from dominant pack members.

Therefore, I suggest that you work on solving the specific problems: food guarding and aggression on the bed. Basically, your dog is defending the bowl out of the fear that perhaps you will try to take it away. Your job is to teach him that when someone approaches the food bowl, it is with the intent of adding food!

You mentioned concern for your son, and you have good reason to be concerned. However, I would not look at this as a dominance issue, because your son will probably never be old enough to “establish dominance” within Harley’s lifetime.

Instead, protect your son through good management practices, and think of EVERYTHING he might do that could possibly provoke Harley into being aggressive. Make a list, and get your dog to enjoy every single one of them using food rewards, praise, and petting. Tug on his tail, give him a treat. Poke him in the nose, give him a treat.

Read the articles on this website regarding Dog Safety and Bite Prevention. There is some excellent advice on dogs and children in that section.

What are “good management practices?” Preventing situations that might possibly lead to a bite. To start with, do not EVER feed Harley in an area where your son has access to him, even if he learns to allow you to take his food. If you have other kids over, don’t feed Harley with them present, either. Why take even the slightest chance of having your dog bite a child, especially when it would be so easy to prevent? Letting a bite happen would be devastating for your family-don’t risk it. A good general rule is not to leave an infant or toddle alone with ANY dog.

If you wish to continue letting Harley sleep on your bed, teach him an “Off” command so that you can move him without confrontations.

Start by sitting on the bed with a treat in your hand. Invite him up on the bed. After a few moments, tell him “Off,” point to the floor, and lure him off the bed with the treat. Reward him once he gets off. Repeat this a number of times until he starts to understand the game.

Your next step will be to tell him “Off” and point to the floor without luring him. Then throw the treat on the floor. After several repetitions, give the command and point without throwing the treat. He may be slightly confused, so help him and encourage him to get off. When he does, toss him the treat.

From that point on, keep treats hidden in your pocket and practice this exercise at various times, including in the evening when you’re in bed. Point and tell him to get off, then reward him when he obeys.

Then you can practice variations such as nudging him with your foot, then giving the off command and rewarding him. If you teach him that being disturbed is a good thing, than he won’t have any reason to respond with aggression.

Chances are, if you work on solving the actual problems, there won’t be any need to engage in so-called “dominance” rituals.