Darling has become aggressive

[Giselle]

First thing is first, if I've done my math correctly, your pup is ~6 years old. Even though she's a small breed, 6 years means she's gettin' there Get *everything* checked out. Check her thyroid levels, in particular. Thyroid disease often contributes to behavioral issues. Also, evaluate her joints. Arthritis can contribute to growly/grumpy dogs, especially at night and in early mornings, when they expect to be resting.

So, she may know "wait", but that doesn't mean she understands the concept of "Give". And that's what you need to work on. Teach her "Give":
- Give her a low value treat, like a carrot stick. Let her mouth it.
- Hold a high value treat, like a piece of boiled chicken, in front of her nose.
- As soon as she loosens her grip on the carrot stick, click or say "yes!" and give her the high value treat while taking the low value treat from her mouth.
- Repeat repeat repeat. Eventually, put the cue "Give" to the behavior.
This is called "trade-up". If you repeat this many many times, you can eventually fade out the lure/high value treat. And if you allow the dog to give the toy up on her own accord (do NOT force it), you will get a dog who *wants* to give up things in her mouth.

Then, when your dog understands "Give", begin using it with the bones. Then, put some canned food on a spoon. Command "Give", reach for the spoon, and reward her with something like cooked chicken or beef.

As for the couch - your Hubby is wrong. Dogs can and will make necessary distinctions. For now, remove your girl from the couch entirely. If she's going to growl, her place is on the floor 24/7. She can earn those privileges later.

[JRHandler]

Thanks for the response.

2 days of no sofa. There was crying and begging to get up on the sofa w/ me or on hubby's lap n his chair. Of course, I wanted to let her up on the sofa. Knowing that it is more important to modify this behavior, I stuck to my guns. Hubby is skeptical, but reluctantly agreeing to go along w/ the restrictions ....so far. If she continues to cry, hubby may not stay on the same page. He also has this streak in him that believes allowing her aggression to come out, and then overpowering it shows her who is boss. To this end, there is part of his behavior which may be instigating aggression in her.

Thanks for the tips on "Give". I have tried to ask her to "give" me her bone back. WRONG. Not happening. Will try your suggestions; they make sense.

[Giselle]

Her behavior is normal, but DO ignore her and DO stick to your guns.

Your pup is crying and begging and will continue to do so for the next few days. This is called an "extinction burst". Think about it: if she has been allowed on the couch for the past few years and you suddenly revoke these privileges, she will try to jump back on because that has been acceptable behavior in the past. But when you don't concede to her, she'll only try harder because experience has taught her that begging and crying used to work. The more you ignore, the harder she tries until she finally gives up. This is the extinction of the behavior. Think of it as a child's temper tantrum

Re: your hubby's philosophy. I have to disagree with your hubby's training methods and agree with you in that it IS only exacerbating her aggression. Every single time you allow your dog to aggress, you reinforce its behavior. It does not matter if you punish her for aggressing, the fact is that aggression is self-reinforcing. The fact that she displays it at all means that she has inadvertently reinforced it. Your job is to PREVENT the aggression from appearing at all. If you allow her to aggress, you're only reinforcing it.

A note on punishments: Punishments are often misused and it sounds like your hubby is misusing it. Punishments must be 1) severe 2) lasting 3) occur every time the bad behavior crops up. This makes them very tricky to use. If you punish your dog, but she seems entirely unfazed or she easily slips back into the bad behavior, that means the punishment is neither severe nor lasting. Punishments must be severe to work. That's what makes them so difficult to use properly, and that's why I try to avoid recommending punishments at all. Just reward the good behavior and prevent the pup from aggressing in the first place - and stick to your guns!!

[JRHandler]

Tks for the feedback and encouragement. Day 3 of no sofa. Puppy continues to look a bit bewildered. Hubby is coming around more to the position of willing and supportive participation in a training program as described in this thread. Puppy does seem very cautious with hubby at night, watching his movements with apprehension.

We went for a family walk tonight. She has always had lots of walks and exercise, and most walks are just hubby and puppy. We all go together about 2x-4x/month, and tonight we did. This activity is always harmonious. Puppy listens to hubby well during our/their walks......sit, stay, wait, walk, etc. No resistance, no aggression, no problem. Happy puppy and happy hubby and wife. No change in this behavior pattern at all.

I practiced "give" a few minutes today. I did it with a low level treat which doesn't generate much guarding, simply to convey the message. Puppy did "trade-up" without incident. I will continue this with low level treats for a while before ever attempting this with one of her more prized treats.

Thanks again for your feedback and encouragement.

[Giselle]

I practiced "give" a few minutes today. I did it with a low level treat which doesn't generate much guarding, simply to convey the message. Puppy did "trade-up" without incident. I will continue this with low level treats for a while before ever attempting this with one of her more prized treats.

*applauds* That's is EXACTLY what one is supposed to do. Very good! Keep practicing. Eventually, the hard work and practice will pay off.

Also, to segue her from trading up dry food (which is apparently low value to her) to canned food (high value), try coating a ball of canned food with kibble. That way, it's easier to grab from her and less valuable.