Yes, I do get a lot of clients who bring me dogs with aggressive behaviors. Please note that I do not call them “aggressive dogs,” as that labels the whole dog, when in fact most of these dogs are wonderful dogs most of the time with occasional moments of aggression. Not fair to saddle the whole dog with that label! Shoot – I’m a behavior professional and I have (and have had in the past) dogs with aggressive behaviors. Like our second Pomeranian, Scooter, who wasn’t always happy about being brushed… I advertise that my business includes an aggression specialty and as a result I get a lot of referrals from veterinarians and other behavior professionals. Any professionals who refer to me are welcome to come sit in on the consult. I encourage them to do so, as I will often refer their clients back to them for follow up work – especially since some of them come from quite some distance away. If the client’s referring professional attends the session, they will be well prepared to help them with follow-up. Here are this past week’s two aggression cases: AGGRESSION CASE #1 – HAPPY; AUSSIE/LAB MIX Happy, an Aussie/Lab mix, is five years old, a neutered male, and has lived his entire life in harmony with eight-year-old Arby, a German Shepherd mix. Until now. Any time we see a significant behavior change in an adult dog we know that something else has changed – something internal, something external, or both. In late January, Happy was diagnosed with bladder stones and had to have bladder surgery. A few days after he came home from that experience, the attacks on Arby began – three to four incidents in just a couple of weeks. The final attacks resulted in a redirected bite to Jenny when she tried to separate the dogs. When she contacted us, we advised her to keep the two completely separated until she could come for her consult. Aggression is caused by stress. Not just the stress of the immediate trigger, but the combined stress of everything in the dog’s world at any given time. We call this “trigger stacking.” Medical issues are huge stressors, and it is quite likely that Happy was experiencing considerable discomfort even prior to the stones being diagnosed. It is also possible that on one or more occasions he associated Arby’s proximity with his pain, even though, in reality, Arby did nothing. Once this occurs, even though the pain has been resolved, the association can persist. Other possible contributing factors could be: 1.      Jenny shared that Happy has always been a high-anxiety dog. Indeed, Happy was panting and whining upon entering the training center and was clearly somewhat stressed throughout the entire two-hour session. 2.      Happy and Arby’s humans went on vacation for a week shortly after Happy’s surgery, leaving the dogs with a pet sitter – another stressor. 3.      I noted that Arby was limping as he moved around the room. At age eight, in addition to limited mobility due to lameness, Arby could be starting to lose clarity of vision and hearing. Any one or all of these could cause him to be less prompt in responding to Happy’s “Go away!” signals, causing Happy to escalate those signals to an attack to get his message across to Arby. This happens not infrequently with senior dogs. I urged my client to talk to their vet about pain medication for Arby... We put up a barrier across the training center and allowed the dogs to interact through it. Things were peaceful with no overt tension from Happy until, about 10 minutes into the session, the dogs sniffed noses through the barrier and Happy briefly growled. Arby moved away, and things seemed to settle back down while we discussed the elements of the case. One of the things I always do with aggression cases is list stressors and assign strategies to make as many stressors go away (or at least decrease) as possible. Reduce stress, reduce potential for aggression. We came up with 11 for Happy (I usually get somewhere between 10 and 20), with Abe, being separated in the home, and being left home alone as the three most significant. Our strategy options are 1.) Counterconditioning and desensitization (CC&D – changing the dog’s association/opinion) 2.) Operant Conditioning (teaching a new, deliberate behavior that makes the dog happy – so it also changes his emotional state in the moment) 3.) Management (always a vitally important piece of any successful behavior modification program) 4.) Get Rid of It (the stressor, not the dog!) and 5.) Live With It (because we can’t make all stress go away). About 70 minutes into the session, with Arby lying calmly on a blanket, minding his own business some 15 feet from Happy, Happy suddenly began growling at Arby again – this time a prolonged growl for about 10 seconds. There was no obvious trigger – Arby hadn’t moved and hadn’t even looked at Happy. Go figure. Is there still something internal with Happy? They had taken them to their vet the week before the consult to make sure he was happy and healthy – and the vet confirmed that he was not in pain. At least, that is, not in pain from the surgery… however, general practitioners are not always fully capable of a thorough pain exam and diagnosis… Our Plan I do “Commitments” with my clients to get their buy-in on our modification program going forward. We agree on the protocols we will be using, and then I have them tell me, realistically, how often they are able and willing to commit to practicing those. Here are Happy’s commitments: Behavior Modification Protocols/Minimum Commitments (more is fine/better): 1.         Happy and Arby: CC&D at least 1 time per day, 5 or more days per week; as we did here, with both dogs on leashes – can have Abe walking past or can have both humans seated. Can also do parallel walking. Be sure to stay below threshold intensity (Crockpot, not Microwave). (Handout attached) 2.         Touch: At least 1 time per day, 5 days per week; Link to an article on how we do this: https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/training/on-target-training / . 3.         Walk Away: At least 1 time per day, 5 days per week; Here: https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/training/how-to-teach-your-dog-to-just-walk-away/  . 4.         UPenn Relaxation Protocol: At least 1 time per day, 5 days per week; be sure to proceed very slowly – make sure Henry is very relaxed and comfortable with each module before proceeding to the next. (Protocol attached.) I also encouraged my clients to put Happy back on the Trazadone their vet had provided, but perhaps at a reduced dosage (discuss with vet) since what they were giving him was making him groggy. We also discussed over-the-counter calming aids such as L-Theanine and Ashwaghanda, Adaptil, Thundershirt (not just for thunder!) icalmdog music (Through a Dog’s Ear), and more. I expect progress to be slow for this one… fingers are crossed! AGGRESSION CASE #2 – GORDIE; COCKER/BORDER COLLIE MIX Gordie is a nine-year-old neutered male Cocker/Border Collie mix. Unlike Happy, Gordie has had aggression issues all his life and has been on Fluoxetine (Prozac) since he was two years old. (Just increased dosage from 20mg to 30mg…) In fact, he delivered a severe bite to my clients’ 20-year-old daughter’s face eight years ago while resource guarding a pizza crust on the sofa. He was also, recently, quite aggressive when Larry tried to take a Bully Stick away from him. Judy and Larry were managing Gordie’s behavior quite well until daughter April (now 28), husband Aiden and brand-new baby daughter Megan (now eight months old) all moved in last June. Gordie was quite taken with Megan at first – until she became mobile. Now he has decided she is very threatening, and growls anytime she crawls near. There is still tension between April and Gordie as well (likely in part because April still doesn’t trust him after the 2017 bite, and her body language communicates that), and Gordie is also not fond of Candy, the four-year-old spayed female Labrador Retriever who moved in with April and family. A whole lot of stressors going on here!!! In our session, Candy was a typical Lab – friendly with everyone, outgoing, happy, goofy… while Gordie was more reserved, mostly hung out with Larry, and growled at Candy if the big dog ventured too close. The very first thing I told this family was that “Gordie must not be loose in Megan’s presence when Megan is crawling around and Megan cannot crawl up to him!!!! EVER!!!! Unless and until we are successful in changing Gordie’s opinion of Megan, there is a huge risk in thinking that you will always be able to react quickly enough to remove dog or baby when the growl happens. Can you say “TRAGEDY!!!???” And if you continue to remove Gordie physically (with reprimands) you are only worsening his negative association with Megan (and hence his aggression) – “When the baby is around my humans get upset and bad things happen!” I usually try to not be alarmist – but we simply cannot be casual about interactions between dogs and babies! The second thing I told them was “We don’t just take things away from our dogs. EVER!!!” We teach a polite “Trade” behavior so our dog will happily and willingly give things up, and then we always trade for a treat. Our Plan Again, we listed stressors (Gordie has 12), assigned strategies and agreed on priorities and protocols: Behavior Modification Protocols/Minimum Commitments (more is fine/better): 1.         Find It/Search and I Come In Peace: April – multiple times per day – have treats in your pockets and/or in containers around the house and toss treats for Gordie when he is near you. Do at least one I Come in Peace per day. (Handouts Attached) 2.         Megan: CC&D: At least 5 times per week, 15-20 minutes or more per session; do CC&D with Megan as we did here – sometimes with her crawling, but don’t let her get close enough to make him growl. (Handout attached) 3.         UPenn Relaxation Protocol (Judy): At least 1 time per day, 5 days per week (or more). (Protocol attached) 4.         Trade (Larry) – At least 1 time per day, 3 days per week (or more). (Handout attached) Here’s hoping we can convince Gordie that Megan and April are his friends, but it’s likely to get harder, not easer, as Megan goes from crawling to toddling. Our backup plan: manage their interactions scrupulously until April and company move out. The plan is for that to happen sometime in the coming year. Meanwhile, I hope and pray that they got the management message loud and clear. TRAINER ACADEMIES AND WORKSHOPS Academies We have been offering in-person Trainer Academies for more than 20 years and have never had trouble filling them. Until now. It hurts my heart to share that academy registrations so far this year are dismal. It also hurts my bank account, as a significant part of our revenue comes from our academies. Don’t know if it’s due to fears about the economy, the easy availability of on-line learning, or what… but if you are looking for a hands-on learning experience with a longtime, internationally acclaimed leader in force-free training (that’s me, blush) please consider us. We offer everything from our Level 1 Basic Dog Training and Behavior Academy to Canine Behavior Modification, Aggression, Advanced Training and Behavior Study, Cognition, and more. All taught hands-on, personally by me. You can find out more about our academies here: https://peaceablepaws.com/peaceable-paws-intern-academies/ and/or feel free to contact us at the number/email below. Workshops We also have a great list of workshops lined up for 2025. I’m teaching two (Shaping and Brain Candy), our wonderful Practice Manager/Lead Trainer Lucy McKnight is teaching two (Cooperative Care and Impulsivity), and our amazing Horse Trainer/Instructor Sam Steckel is even teaching one on Clicker Training/Cooperative Care for horses! You can find them all here: https://peaceablepaws.com/workshops/ or contact us. Don’t wait too long, everything is starting soon!!! A WILD AND WINDY TIME Holy cow, it has been windy here!! Steady 20-25 mph, with gusts up to 50 and 60 mph, for more than 24 hours.  I went to take the dogs out last night for their last bathroom break only to discover that some 75 feet of our backyard fence had blown down. HOLY WIND DAMAGE, BATMAN!!! And, of course, it’s not covered by our homeowner’s insurance. (It would if a tree fell on it though, apparently…) Hoping it all settles down soon. I’m hearing about crazy weather all across the country – everyone please stay safe! Warm Woofs, Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA www.peaceablepaws.com ; info@peaceablepaws.com ; 301-582-9420

I have a 3 year mix breed. A combination of a bulldog and scent hound. If given the chance he will get into the trash and steal off the counter. He does not do it when we are present. I have put a gates to prevent most of the misbehavior as well as trash cans with lids. I am looking for other suggestions. For the most part he is a very calm dog, but still gets excited when new people come over and jumps, But most of the time he lays on his bed. He will sometime play fetch, but not for very long

I have to say… it always surprises me when I see trainers on social media complaining about their “average” clients. I must get the best clients in the world, because I figure if they are investing in helping their dogs, and coming to see me, they must already be ***above average***! The vast majority of my clients are super-committed to helping their dogs have a good quality of life. That’s why they are wiling to invest a not insignificant amount of money to make sure their dogs are medically healthy (or treat whatever needs to be treated – like the many thousands of dollars the family of the GSHP puppy has spent from the last blog who was bitten in the head) and then to pursue also not-cheap behavior modification solutions. I appreciate these people. Are my clients always 100% “compliant”? (I hate that term – it reeks of old-fashioned coercive dog training…dictionary definitions: obedient, docile, submissive). Of course not. But the vast majority really do everything they can to help their dogs, and I appreciate that. Of course not everyone can afford to do everything that might benefit their dogs, and I appreciate that too. Speaking of quality of life… a high percentage of my clients come to me with dogs who have aggressive and/or reactive behaviors, which can be hugely stressful for the human as well as for the dog. One of the things I will remind my clients is that their quality of life is every bit as important as their dog’s quality of life, and the client is invariably grateful that I acknowledge this. That came up for one of this week’s clients – the English Lab SRB case described below. It is also an important point if the behavioral euthanasia topic comes up (fortunately extremely rare over the 28 years of my behavior and training practice!). There’s nothing like the emotional trauma of euthanizing your dog to improve your own quality of life, and if/when this happens we need to reassure the client that the dog’s quality of life is very poor (the behavior issues tell us that) and that yes, they, the human, deserve to have a good quality of life as well. CASE #1 – MAGGIE, THE ENGLISH LAB WITH SRBS In case you haven’t heard, “Separation Related Behaviors” (SRB) is the new, modern term for “Separation Anxiety,” (SA) and refers to any undesirable behaviors that occur in the caretaker’s absence. SA was a way overused term for a whole continuum of behaviors a stressed dog might do in the human’s absence, when in fact true SA should have been reserved for those behaviors at the very extreme end of that continuum – a true clinically pathological condition. A dog who barks for a few minutes when the owner leaves would be labelled with SA when in fact what she had was a low level of “separation distress” at the other end of that continuum. Maggie is a 6-year-old spayed female English Lab who had no indications of SRB for the first 5 years of her life. She is a very lovely, calm, easygoing dog – not the type you’d except to break with SRBs as a mid-life crisis, but there you have it. She lived in a mid-sized town in a home on a busy road with a fair amount of pedestrian traffic and enjoyed watching the activity outside her window every day. Then her person moved with her to a lovely, peaceful, rural environment (which  many dogs would give their canine teeth for!) and she immediately (on Day 1) began SRB barking when left alone. She had never done this before. My evaluation of this behavior is that the combination of the stress of the move and the absence of her daily out-the-window enrichment combined to set off this stress-related response. It’s not just, “Hey, where did my human go,” it’s “Hey, where did EVERYBODY go????” On the positive side, the John's female companion, Susan (who lives at a different location) has been able to take leave from her job and come stay with Maggie all day, every day. But as she said to me in our session – she can’t do this forever – she needs to get her life back. Quality of life, right?! Discussion We talked about medication – my first line of defense for any dog who has significant levels of SRB. Susan is all in favor. Unfortunately, John is very reluctant to consider this step, having bought into the old-fashioned concern that it will change her personality and “turn her into a zombie.” We are working to convince him that it will be in everyone’s best interests, and that properly done, medications should not have the effects he is concerned about. (Here is a link to an excellent article that I share with clients on Behavior Medications from Dr. Jen’s Blog: http://www.drjensdogblog.com/behavior-medication-first-line-therapy-or-last-resort/ )    Meanwhile, we will hopefully get Maggie start on some of the over-the-counter products that can help with stress relief, such as L-Theanine, Ashwaghanda, Adaptil, and Purina Calming Care (a probiotic). Maggie was diagnosed with bilateral hip dysplasia and osteochondritis at the very early age of 1 year. (Hence the concern about poor breeding…) and is noticeably overweight. I pointed out that pain is a significant stressor and emphasized the importance of maintaining without fail her schedule of pain medications, and reducing her weight to put less stress on her body, legs and joints. I also suggested a full thyroid panel; Labs are one of the breeds prone to hypothyroidism, which can cause weight gain as well as stress/anxiety. It hurts my heart to see dogs being bred (by real breeders, not puppy mills) with such significant structural weaknesses that are a definite detriment to quality of life. I urge my clients to tell the breeders – not to place blame or be confrontational – but because breeders need to KNOW – so they don’t keep repeating breedings that produce puppies with such horrendous conformation and medical conditions. Our Plan Finally, we are instituting the UPenn Relaxation Protocol – a very thinly-sliced program to help Maggie become comfortable with being left alone. It is very similar to Dr. Karen Overall’s Protocol for Relaxation, but slightly simplified. Fingers crossed!! Susan is gung-ho to implement this procedure, and since she's there all day every day with Maggie I am expecting great results. CASE #2 – FRANNIE, 3-YEAR-OLD GERMAN SHEPHERD – DOG AND HUMAN REACTIVE BEHAVIOR This was Frannie’s second visit to Peaceable Paws. She came to see me last June and Carla purchased a consultation package. The plan was to see her again much sooner, but she has had a long run of very challenging gastrointestinal issues which made Counter Conditioning and Desensitization (CC&D) very challenging. It’s hard to feed a dog lots of treats when everything upsets her stomach! They have finally resolved (knock wood) her GI stuff, so we are back on track. Carla has done an amazing job working with Frannie in the interim with the 1-2-3 Pattern Game, using a Klimb for  “Place” and “Back Paws,” and lots more . Most impressive is her success with teaching Dr. Karen Overall’s Protocol for Teaching a Dog to Breathe.” Yes, of course, dogs already know how to breathe, but this protocol teaches a stressed, panting dog to close their mouth and breathe through their nose, which is a lovely relaxation technique. I have introduced this to a number of clients, and Frannie’s person has done the best job of any in teaching her dog the protocol. Here is a link to a video of Dr. Overall discussing and demonstrating this very useful protocol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdffTkxqlZQ 20250131_141532.mp4 On the not-so-successful side, Frannie still presents with very reactive behaviors when faced with people in motion, or dogs in general. After 45 minutes of sitting and talking with Carla with Frannie seemingly comfortable with me, as soon as I got up and started walking out of the room she began barking. When I returned to do CC&D she was over threshold at first with me at a distance of 75 feet, but was able to settle and stay below threshold as I gradually reduced the distance to 40 feet. (My CC&D protocol is simple – let the dog look, feed high value treat. Let her look again, feed treat. Over and over until you start getting CERs (conditioned emotional response looks) – then very gradually increase intensity of stimulus – increase motion, decrease distance, etc.). When we tried CC&D with my dog Kai, we were not able to keep Frannie below threshold in the training center even with feeding treats. Normally we would go outside where we could increase distance but it was nasty cold/windy outside so we tabled that for our next session. I had forgotten that in addition to Frannie’s behavior challenges, she also has all the worst conformation characteristics of a poorly-bred Shepherd – roached back, very weak hind legs that wobble as she walks, also diagnosed with hip dysplasia at any early age… come on breeders – you have to do better!!! 20250131_142959.mp4 We still have a long road ahead of us, but as committed as Carla is to helping Fannie, I am optimistic about our long-term success.  FREDDIE GETS NEUTERED We had put off Freddie’s neutering until it warmed up a bit… we didn’t want him trying to recover from surgery when it was sub-zero even with a blanket and heat lamp. I had never seen a pig neutered before, so I found it very interesting. Apparently pigs have quite large equipment!!! Our boy is already up and about (surgery was at 2:30, it’s now 6:30) and seems none the worse for the experience. So far. Another beautiful sunset tonight, deer in the pasture, geese flying over… I LOVE life here on the PPaws farm!! Warm Woofs, Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA www.peaceablepaws.com