In Part I of “Why do dogs bite?” we learned that animal behaviorists treat aggression in dogs as a fear response. With that understanding, the owner and behaviorist can begin to approach the situation in such a way that allows the fearful pet to feel more confident and protected, and thus less apt to bite.
Why do dogs bite? Part II
Empathize with your dog. What are you afraid of? Is it snakes, spiders, bees? Imagine running into your greatest source of fear every time the front door opened, or you went to the doctor or a park.
What can you do, to help your pet?
*If someone comes to the door, bring your pet into another room before answering the knock. Do this early, if you are expecting a visitor.
*Bring your dog to the veterinarian’s office for “happy visits” in which your dog receives treats, is allowed to check things out a bit, and can decide whether to approach staff on her own.
*Do not force a fearful dog to socialize with other dogs. If your pet is clearly afraid and would rather not be there, do him a favor and take him home. Do not force him into an enclosed dog park. Imagine someone picking you up and dropping you into a pit of snakes. Would that force you to learn to socialize with snakes or make you more afraid than before?
Socializing and sensitizing a pet are two separate things; it is important to know the difference. Socializing a pet involves positive experiences only, when the pet is comfortable and ready to explore and meet others. Sensitizing a pet involves the negative experience of deliberately exposing a pet to the thing it is afraid of, which leads to more fear, anxiety, and lack of trust between the pet and its owner. Your dog is counting on you to protect her.
Now imagine if the source of fear lived in the house with you, and you were expected to just “get along with it.” Get along with a swarm of bees? That probably wouldn’t happen. And your fear response would be triggered every time the swarm approached. If the bees are hovering over your bed at naptime, will you ignore them and sleep? Probably not. If the bees are buzzing around your dishes, can you eat? No.
That is what fear looks like to a dog. If the fear object is around every corner, there is little opportunity for your pet to relax and let its guard down. This is never more true than when the fear object is another dog that lives in the house.
Because relationships between pets can be complex, behaviorists will make home visits to study the situation, noting the interactions among the pets and people in the house. Since every case is unique unto itself, it is necessary to work with a behaviorist or training professional to untangle relationships and restore order to the household. In some cases, no amount of remediation is possible, and some pets are then re-homed.
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Part 3 will appear on Thursday, December 17, 2015.
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