SOCIAL
ISOLATION
A
technique for treating dominance confusion in dogs.
Before
beginning any kind of behavior modification program take your dog
to a veterinarian for a complete physical examination. To treat
any kind of behavior problem without first ruling out a physical
cause is grossly unfair to the dog. Take a printed copy of this
page with you and ask your vet if this technique would be
appropriate for you and your dog. Canine aggression is something
that must not be treated without an in-person, professional
evaluation. This technique is designed for dogs that are in good
physical health and of sound mind and stable temperament. It is
intended, specifically, for dogs that are behaving aggressively
only because of confusion about their status and role in the
family (pack). This technique is not intended to be used in place
of an evaluation by a canine professional.
FIRST
THINGS FIRST
If
your dog's aggression toward you is a new behavior it is mandatory
that you have him examined by a veterinarian before beginning
this treatment. Everything from thyroid dysfunction to an abscessed tooth can cause aggressive
behavior. Even if the dog isn't displaying new behavior if he
hasn't had a complete physical exam in the last six months, do
it.
If your dog is an unaltered male any treatment for aggression is
going to be an uphill battle. Neutering will not solve the entire
problem, but not neutering makes no sense. If 90 percent of his
problem is hormone overload, neutering will solve a lot of the
problem. If it's only 20 percent of the problem, that's how much
improvement you'll see from surgery alone. If he's behaving
aggressively and you've planned on breeding him give some serious thought to
whether or not this is a fleeting behavior issue. Perhaps those genes should not
be passed on. Spaying of bitches does not usually
affect behavior unless the aggressive displays only occur during
a heat cycle.
WHAT IS DOMINANCE CONFUSION?
Aggressive *display* (growling, teeth baring, etc.) is one of the many tools a dominant canine has at
his disposal if he needs to control the behavior of a subordinate canine. The
top ranked dog and the lowest ranked dog are the two that rarely engage in
aggressive *action* (bites). One rules the pack, the other defers to the whole
pack. It's the middle ranked dogs, the "beta" dogs, that will use
aggression to further their ranking.
Dominance
confusion is created when a dog is totally confused about his
place in the pack and uses aggression (bites), or aggressive
displays (growling, teeth baring), to answer the question
"Who's in charge around here anyway?". In a canine only
pack there are clear lines drawn in the sand. The alpha gets
control of the resources, directs the hunt, breeds and makes any
decisions affecting the group that need to be made. The rest of
the pack voluntarily follows his lead. The caricature of a
snarling, nasty, dominant alpha dog is not a correct one. The
alpha male, for example, tolerates nearly everything the alpha
female throws at him without objection. However, their roles and their
relationship are
clearly defined. She follows his lead when issues affecting the
group are decided. The image of an alpha wolf throwing a
subordinate onto his back and threatening him with his life is
not something based in reality. In a pack situation everyone
knows their place and the sub-dominant members of the group voluntarily
roll over if they are being chewed out by any
higher ranked individual. If you've ever seen aggressive
displays of this type they look and sound very nasty, but when
it's all over no one is injured or bleeding. Exceptions to "no harm done" aggressive displays
are when two dogs (males or females) are fighting over breeding rights, or when a
younger and stronger dog challenges the older, weaker or ill
alpha. Another exception, and the one that is relevant to this
discussion, involves an alpha that is not necessarily ill or
elderly, but is ineffective or lacking in leadership qualities.
In a canine pack situation there would be no dominance confusion
because the ineffective leader would be demoted and remain with the pack, would
leave the pack or would be killed. There would not be a
continual struggle for that top spot on the pack ladder. If your
pet dog is given the rights and privileges of a leader and then
corrected for not coming when called the leadership in your "pack" is
constantly changing. There is confusion.
WHY DOES MY DOG DO THAT?
Dogs live in social groups with well defined rules and well
defined hierarchies. However, it's not all set
in stone. Within those parameters there is a lot of
room for individual preferences. A subordinate dog, for example,
may protect his food from a higher ranking one. One of the less flexible rules is that in order for a
pack to be a pack there has to be a leader, a top dog. Your dog
is getting messages from you that say you want him to be the leader. That's not the message you intend to send, but it's the
one he's getting. One of the reasons this is so stressful for him is that
he knows he's not alpha material. He might be shy or timid, he
might be a bully, but he knows he's not equipped for that top
spot. The domestication of canines has resulted in dogs that are
perpetual juveniles. Our pet dogs don't reach the level of
maturity that wild canids do. Vocalizing is one of the hallmarks
of this theory. Juvenile wolves yip and bark when excited or
whine to call for an adult if they are lost or in trouble.
Another indicator of the difference between adult wolves and
domestic dogs is the relative ease in which we can get our pets
to see us as their "alpha" figure. It's a much more
difficult task to convince an adult wolf, or other wild canine,
that you are in charge.
The only thing more stressful for your dog than being the alpha
is being in a pack that has no alpha, so he reluctantly takes the
job. So, now you have a dog who's trying hard to be a good
leader, but really wants you to be the leader, and he's getting
mixed messages. If you tell him "no" or "sit"
or insist that he comes when called you are telling him that you
are in charge. If you let him sleep in your bed even after he's
growled or snapped at you or give him attention on his terms you
are telling him that you're happiest when he's in charge. The
fluctuation of the pack leadership can get him to a point where
he will bite just to get the issue settled once and for all. But,
that's not working either, there is still no stability, so the
risk is that he will escalate the aggression. To make matters
worse, when he uses aggression, or aggressive displays (which is
appropriate alpha behavior) you answer with aggression and things
just get worse from there.
The irony here is that a truly dominant dog, real alpha material,
is rarely aggressive toward his owner. There's just no need. He
knows he rules, you know he rules, there is no confusion. He's
tolerant and often loving towards his owners, if somewhat aloof.
He comes when he's called if he's in the mood, if he's not he
simply stands there as if he didn't hear you. He only engages in
aggressive displays if the owner gets way out of line. He might growl if you step
over him while he's resting or try to move him off of his bed,
but he picks his fights carefully and doesn't get upset at every
little owner transgression. If your dog ignores you following
some sort of conflict or confrontation it's not because he's mad
at you, he's using the social isolation technique to remind you
of your place in the pack! Did you think I thought this up all by
myself? Nope. The dogs showed me how it's done. :)
KING OF THE CASTLE SYNDROME
I often hear from people that are not experiencing any
real behavior problems with their dog, but they want an
explanation for a very common phenomenon that I call "King
of the Castle Syndrome". The call almost always comes from
the woman of the house. Jane wanted a dog and John didn't. They
agreed that Jane would get the dog and it would be her dog. Jane
gets the dog and she's very happy! She dotes on him, she feeds
him, bathes him and brushes him every day. She provides him with
everything a dog could ever want -- except leadership. John
ignores the dog most of the time, but is not unfriendly to him.
When the dog approaches John while he's reading the newspaper
John looks at him, then goes back to reading. When the dog
approaches Jane she stops what she's doing and plays with him.
What has prompted the phone call is that Jane is feeling rejected
by the dog. When John comes home from work the dog acts like he's
greeting his long lost, beloved grandmother. John gives the dog a
pat on the head and a "Hi there dog" and goes about his
business. Jane is upset because the dog is never that happy to
see her and she always lavishes attention on him when she gets
home! During the evening the dog will lay quietly and happily at
John's feet. When he wants attention he goes to Jane and bugs her
until she gives him what he wants. What has happened, over time,
is that John has begun to enjoy having a dog. When John is so
inclined, he calls the dog over for petting or ball throwing or
to take him for a walk. As much as the dog seems to love Jane, he
is completely devoted to John. John has the attitude of an alpha.
That's all it takes, attitude. It doesn't take aggression, it
doesn't take rolling a dog onto it's back and growling, it
doesn't take hitting or yelling -- just attitude.
YOUR NEW ATTITUDE
To develop your new attitude you're going to have to
think like a dog! When your dog comes to you for attention think
of it as his way of saying "I'm still in charge, right? I
want you to confirm that for me". Now, think of all of this
from his viewpoint. Way down in his little brain he's thinking
"geez... I hate this ... all I want to be is the adored house pet, can't one of you take over?" Compare this attitude
to a 13 year old child who says "Get out of my life, I can
make all my own decisions, stop telling me what to do". The
kid really does feel that way, he's not making it up. Imagine
what would happen if you said to the kid "Here ya go honey,
here's the address where you send the mortgage payment and here
are the utility bills and you do know how to do your own grocery
shopping, right?? I'll be in my room, you're on your own!"
As sincere as the kid is about wanting to be in charge, he knows
he's not equipped to handle all of that. He needs an adult to be
in charge of most things; he needs guidance and leadership. One
of the differences between dogs and children is that dogs don't
grow up and move away and start their own packs. They are our
responsibility forever. We have to be their leaders forever.
You need to get your dog's attention and do it quickly and let
him know that he's no longer in charge. This will free him of the
responsibilities he now feels as pack leader and make him more
relaxed and happier and much easier to get along with. He is
pleading with you to take charge. His behavior is a way to push
you and push you and push you some more and make you take the
leadership position.
WHAT DO I DO NOW?
FIRST
48 HOURS:
Ignore your dog for a full 48 hours. If you want you can start
this tomorrow morning, or you might want to take a day to think
about it or pick a day that's more convenient for your schedule.
Just be sure that when you start it you can give the technique a
full 48 hours of your time.
Give him nothing at all for those two days. No attention, no
petting, nothing. Don't say his name. Pretend that you have an
invisible dog that needs to eat and go outside. Put his dinner
down, but don't call him or talk to him or anything. If he'll go
outside to pee and come back in on his own, without you calling
him, you can do that, otherwise put him on a leash (without
saying a word) and take him out to go potty and bring him back
in, all without interacting with him in any other way. Do not
physically isolate him from you by crating him (other than the
normal times he'd be crated) or putting him outside or in a
garage. The reason this technique works is because it involves
social isolation, not physical. The very important part of this
technique is the part where you ignore him. If he nudges you for
attention, do nothing. Nothing! Don't tell him to go away, don't
tell him "no", pretend you don't notice that he's
there. He may try harder, at first, to get your attention and
this is where you must ignore him. If he's able to get your
attention by trying harder then he will be rewarded for that
behavior and you'll have a much more difficult time getting him
turned back around. If he gets so pushy that you have to do
something, you can use physical isolation for a short time. Go
into another room and close the door or put him in his crate. If
he scratches at the door or does anything that you feel you have
to respond to then put him on a leash, tie the leash to your
waist or your arm and go about your business without talking to
him or interacting with him. I can't emphasize enough how
important it is to not let him get your attention -- even
negative attention like yelling at him.
By the middle of the second day you may find he's sleeping most
of the time. This is the relief period. He's convinced now that
you really do intend to be the alpha and so much responsibility
has been lifted from his shoulders that he just crashes. That's
OK-- let him sleep.
DAY THREE:
Start the day the same as the previous two days. Let him out and
feed him or whatever your normal routine is, all without saying a
word to him or interacting with him in any way. Then, call him to
you. If he comes to you right away, tell him to "Sit",
pet him and tell him what a good boy he is, then walk away. If he
doesn't come to you when you call, turn your back on him (this is
important!) and leave the room. No matter what he does that first
time (come to you or not) wait an hour and do it again. Call him
to you. When he comes to you and sits spend at least 5 minutes
interacting with him -- petting, talking, whatever you want to
do. Then, end the attention time. Walk away. For the rest of the
day call him to you at various intervals (an hour, 20 minutes, 2
hours, 10 minutes) and give him about five minutes of attention
each time.
DAY
FOUR:
You can relax things quite a bit today. Give him attention any
time you're in the mood, but still ignore any attempts on his
part to demand your attention. Because of his history of biting
you will probably have to make this a life long rule ---
attention on your terms only, not ever on his, but that's not too
difficult a rule to live by. He can still get all of the attention a
dog would ever want, it's just that you're going to initiate the
attention and end it. If, months from now, you feel he's been so
good that he can start asking for attention you can give it at
try. The way you test it is to let him ask for your attention
once or twice and then the next time ignore any attempt at
getting your attention. If he accepts your decision (no
attention) then he's probably OK. If he gets more pushy, then
he's probably on the road back to his old ways. It is quite
natural for a dog to try to make his way up the pack ladder as
far as he can go. He may test the rules every now and then for
the rest of his life. Don't worry about it. Just say no.
DAY
FIVE AND FOREVER AFTER:
Now that the issue of leadership has been resolved, it's time to
start the Nothing in Life is Free program. NILIF is a useful technique for all
sorts of behavior problems, not only for those dogs that have a
history of dominance confusion. For that reason, it gets it's own
page and is not repeated here.
WHAT ABOUT SLEEPING ON THE BED?
The alpha gets the prime sleeping spot. If your dog didn't
already have a history of aggression you could let him share your
spot, but the bed thing can be all it takes for him to hang on to
his aggressive ways. How you go about accomplishing this during
the initial 48 hour isolation period is going to be tricky. If
you can close the bedroom door at night without him going
ballistic on the other side, that's what I'd recommend. If you
can't do that I'd try putting him on a short leash and tethering
him to the bed frame. If he's crate trained, put the crate in the
bedroom and have him sleep there. I don't think isolating him
from the bedroom is as important as isolating
him from the bed. What I don't want is for you
to set yourself up for a bite, so do whatever you have to do to
keep him from reaching the bed. Keep the door closed during the
day. Have him on a leash before you open the bedroom door so he
doesn't run in and get on the bed. If he's successful at getting
on the bed you're going to have to interact with him in some way
to get him off of the bed and that's what you need to avoid for
the first 48 hrs.
One of the things I like about the study of canine behavior is
that no one really knows much of anything! It's all
theory and conjecture based on our observations of how dogs react
to stimuli, how they interact with each other and the nature of
their inter-species interactions. This treatment plan is based on
my own observations of dog behavior and what I've learned from
other people's study of the subject. I've been using this
technique since 1990 and have had a great deal of success with
it. However, there is room for error even in the most classic of
situations. Keeping that in mind, I don't want you to do anything
at all that you're uncomfortable with and, especially, anything
that you think could cause you to suffer a bite. If this
treatment plan doesn't make sense to you or if you think it's the
wrong course of action for you or your dog don't do it. It's that
simple. There are more theories and techniques having to do with
canine behavior than you can throw a stick at, so if one doesn't
work it's time to try another. If your dog has other issues (food
guarding, dog aggression, fears) you may have to work on those
separately. However, working on other issues without resolving
the leadership issue first won't work. Also, it's time to sign up
for group obedience class! Class will help you show him what the
new rules are, show you how to enforce the rules in a positive
manner and class is a ton of fun for both of you.
©1991 Debbie McKean
02/22/06
If you want to link to this page or otherwise use this material
for any reason other than your own personal use, all you have to
do is ask :-)
deb@k9deb.com
Please put "website question" or "website comment" in the subject line of your e-mail.
