What Owners Should Know When Hiring a Trainer for Aggression

Behaviorists and experts agree that most aggression is a symptom of fear and stress rather than dominance.  Counter-conditioning and and desensitization is the gold standard method among trainers and behaviorists. The use of food is typically part of this training method.

Counter-conditioning essentially involves opposing one response by drawing out another. 

Example: Teaching the aggressive dog that the sight of another dog brings pleasure instead of fear.  

Desensitization involves gradually exposing the dog to new dogs until the response is extinct. Desensitization is simply put, is habituation.

Myth:  Young dogs that display fear aggression will eventually outgrow their problems. 

Truth: They usually get worse at the onset of full maturity.

Myth: All dogs that are aggressive are dominant.

Truth:  Most aggression is fear (defensive) aggression and not offensive aggression.

In all the aggression cases I have worked with, I have only come across a handful of dogs that would be classified as being dominant-aggressive.  The vast majority of aggression stems from an underlying fear that to owners appears to come out of nowhere.

  

If your puppy begins to show signs of fear toward strangers I recommend you start with REWARD BASED training program right away.  

Dominance Based Training

Training using dominance based training has gained popularity because owners are able to see immediate results and sometimes in the first training session. This new submissive behavior is very encouraging to owners but actually what the dog is displaying is fear and confusion.

Many dogs will be on their best behavior with an experienced trainer especially if that trainer uses force right off the bat, but when the leash is handed back to the owner, the dog reverts to its old ways.  If a physical correction comes from the owner, the dog will become fearful of the owner and trust will be lost.  I feel all dogs, and especially aggressive dogs do indeed need a strong fair pack leader; however, if that pack leader has not taken the time to understand the root cause of the dogs stress, how fair is that?  

Here is why just being dominant over your dog does not work long term.  Telling a dog “no” when it lunges at another dog or giving a collar correction does nothing to change the way the dog feels about the other dog because it does not address the underlying problem.  The only thing this teaches the dog is to anticipate the correction at the sight of another dog. This causes more stress because the dog not only has to endure the fear of the other dog, it now has to worry about being fearful of his owner. This is why slowly desensitizing a dog at a distance while counter-conditioning, e.g., strange dog = fun or good things is a more reliable training method in modifying aggression.

In the past, our ideas and theories about wolf behavior guided trainers on how to train dogs. Training focussed on punishing bad behavior because wolves were seen to gain higher rank through force. Since then, our understanding of wolf dominance has become clearer.  If a trainer suggests that if your dog jumps on you, pulls on the leash, lunges at other dogs, or steals food from the counter, this means your dog dominant, thats a good indication their training methods will not be guided by the latest scientific validated principles of learning.  It only take one successful trial of food stealing for dogs to learn what works. The operative word here is LEARN. This is not to say that dominance-submission relationships do not exist among household pets because they absolutely do.

Are the Dog Whisperer's methods harmful?

By Joel Moreno

http://www.komonews.com/home/video/37440019.html?video=pop&t=a

Using 'Dominance' To Explain Dog Behavior Is Old Hat

ScienceDaily (May 25, 2009)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090521112711.htm

Punishment

Punishment is often used by dominance method trainers, e.g, collar corrections, spray bottle, throw chains.  Punishment can suppress the dog's warning signals  thus, owners can be caught by surprise. This is why many owners will often say their dog just snapped with no warning.

Medical Intervention (Should you consider Prozac?)

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that has a calming affect.  As in some humans, some dogs can have low serotonin levels.  Unfortunately, there is no commercial test available to determine serotonin levels in dogs. The main indication for using medication is to reduce the intensity, frequency, or duration of the unwanted behavior so behavior modification can take place. There are many new safe medications that can be used along with behavior modification. However, knowing which medication can be the tricky part.  For example, I have worked with many dogs who had poor impulse control and were unable to cap their excitement. These dogs could be playing normally but when they became overly excited they would become aggressive and start a fight.  Low doses of Fluoxetine (Prozac) would take the edge off so that I could teach self-control safely.  Some medications work better for phobias or anxiety disorders so it is important to work with a veterinarian and a trainer who has a lot experience using medication to treat aggression.  Medications should be used synergistically with a well balanced behavior modification program. 

Is it Dog Aggression or is it Leash Aggression?  

  I have had many owners call me saying that their dog is aggressive toward other dogs. When I observe the dog on a long line in an area around other dogs, I determine that their dog is not dog aggressive but leash aggressive.  Leash aggression usually starts out as minor frustration but can escalate to full blown leash aggression caused by owners inadvertently cuing the dog to lunge by tightening the leash.  One of the techniques used by police and protection dog training is to build drive and frustration by holding the dog back from what it wants to get at.  This is no different from holding a pet dog back by the leash to prevent  him from going to greet another dog.  If your dog wants to greet every dog it sees at all costs, do what ever you can to keep your leash loose. The best solution is to train your dog he cannot greet every dog he sees unless you say it is okay.

One reason why many owners give up on working with their dog-aggressive dog is because training for this problem is a LOT of work!  

  The 3 Determining Factors for Success: 

1. 1.Severity of the Aggression
   

2. 2.Owner’s timing and ability to read not only their dogs body language but other dogs body language, and to a certain extent the owners personality.
   

3. 3.Time that is dedicated to the training.  A dog aggressive dog needs to be worked at least 4 days a week while passing other dogs.  From my experience, results on average can take up to 4 to 12 months.  
   

Clicker Training in Treating Aggression

  I have had a lot of success using the clicker to treat dog aggression. Before a dog can be taken out for field work (working near other dogs), the dog must have rock solid obedience. The clicker can accelerate the obedience process if the dog is starting from zero.  Additionally, dogs can be marked “clicked” if they remain calm at the sight of another dog.  The clicker *marks* the calm moment and the dog knows a reward, either praise, play or treat will come right after the click so they are more inclined to take their eyes off the other dog to look back at the owner for the reward.  

    I have a saying--a dog that not look is a dog that not react!

By no means am I saying that you should only consider a trainer who uses a clicker.  

                      

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Why Food Works in the Beginning of Training

There are some trainers, usually force or dominance style trainers would make the argument that food is bribing the dog and they disallow the use of food.  It is true that food can become a bribe  IF the dog is not weened off food.  It is the responsibility of a good trainer to teach clients to ween their dog off food rewards.  Studies show dogs actually provide better quality and more accurate responses  if they never know when the treat is coming. This is the same reason people continue to put money into a slot machine. They hope one of these pulls will result in a jackpot.  Food can be a very powerful tool in the beginning of the training program. The most current scientific based methods of dog training suggest the use of treats can greatly aid in classical counter-conditioning.  If you don’t believe me, Google Pavlov. Science does not lie.

Questions to ask a trainer or aggression Behavior Consultant.

If a trainer gives you a guarantee they can fix you dog, this should be a red flag. Certified Professional Dog Trainers are taught to never give guarantees or make promises that any behavior can be fixed. This is a code of ethics that all good dog trainers follow because we know that success lies with the owners commitment to follow the training program. 

Difference between a Behaviorists and Behavior Consultant 

Behaviorist

The term *behaviorists* many times is used improperly and loosely. To be called a Behaviorist, the individual must have meet the below qualifications:

1. •Obtained an undergraduate degree, usually requiring 4 years at an accredited college or university.
   

   or

1. •Completed post-graduate education receiving a Masters degree or Ph.D in behavioral science or
   

Veterinary degree with a behavioral residency.  

1. • Have supervised graduate training in animal behavior, biology, zoology and learning theory at 
   

accredited universities.

In most cases, hiring a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB) is not feasible because they are more expensive and there are only 56 of them on the world at the time of this writing.  However, if you feel that you need a Behaviorist, there have a few in the Bay Area.  You can look them up at the link below.

http://www.animalbehavior.org/ABSAppliedBehavior/caab-directory

  Behavior Consultant   

Minimum requirements for certification are a minimum of 3 years and 1500 hours in animal behavior consulting; a Masters degree in a related field (i.e., animal science, biology, psychology) or at least 500 hours of verifiable advanced instruction/education related to the 5 core areas of competency. 

For a list of of Behavior Consultants in your area .

http://www.iaabc.org/suchen/search_consultant.php

Letters appearing after names include:

ACAAB: Animal Behavior Society Associate Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist

CAAB: Animal Behavior Society Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist

CPDT: Certified Professional Dog Trainer

IAABC  International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants

DACVB: Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Behaviorists

DVM: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

MA: Master of Arts

MS: Master of Science

Ph.D: Doctor of Philosophy

VMD: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

There are some very good self-taught trainers with many more years of practical experience than some credentialed trainers so hiring a trainer with initials after their name is not the only criteria you should use when hiring a trainer. 

Here are some questions that hopefully will help you to connect with a qualified trainer.

Always be polite when interviewing a prospective trainer.  Explain to them that you have done some research about reward based training and would like to discuss their methods.  

Ask if they use counter-conditioning and desensitization techniques when working with fearful and aggressive (reactive) dogs. 

Ask if they use food. If they say no, this is an indication they may be using excessive force.

Ask if they use flooding techniques. Flooding is forcing a dog to face it’s fears quickly. Flooding can  be extremely traumatic for the dog (and owner to watch) and can make some dogs worse.

Ask if they will use Martingale collar or Gentle Leader for training.   If they prefer a prong or choke chain ask why and if they plan to give collar corrections with these collars. (If you do not know what a Martingale collar is, Google it).  

Ask if they have experience working with medications for aggression (of course prescribed by a vet).

Ask what certifications they have or where they learned to trained dogs. 

Ask how they plan to work the dog?  For example, if the dog is dog aggressive, who’s dogs will they be using to work your dog around.   If the dog is human aggressive, ask how they will train safely for this.

Ask if they use a Reward Based Methods vs. Positive Reinforcement.  There is a MAJOR distinction here. Reward based training means giving rewards for the good behavior. Positive (think of it as a math term) reinforcement can mean *adding* something. For example, adding a collar correction when a dog lunges at another dog is an attempt to reinforce it NOT to lunge. 

So, understand what the term Positive Reinforcement actually means.