We Apparently Have A Guard Dog On Our Hands

[Guest vrice]

We've had our 8-year-old girl, Annie, for 3 months, and while she tends to be shy or ambivalent towards strangers and other dogs, she's been exposed to my boyfriend's mother since the day we got her. She comes over 2-3 times per week, and Annie has grown accustomed to her and occasionally even gets excited when she comes over (which Annie usually doesn't do with anyone other than my boyfriend and I). We went out of town the day before yesterday, and my boyfriend's mother agreed to take care of Annie while we were gone. She has walked Annie before while we were away, and so has been in the apartment alone with Annie before without any problems. We assumed that leaving Annie in the apartment would be the least stressful, so she had been stopping by frequently to take Annie out, feed her, and spend time with her.

 

The first night, Annie growled at her but she was able to get her to go for a walk with treats. They got used to each other and she slept over. The next morning, Annie reacted aggressively to her presence, and began barking and guarding the couch where she sleeps (perhaps allowing her to sleep on the couch was a mistake?) She left food for Annie, and left the apartment. Later she came back to see if Annie would warm up to her, but she became more aggressive and cornered her in the kitchen. She didn't know what to do, so threw treats so that she could get out of the kitchen and left right away. Unfortunately, we didn't know about any of this until after the third incident.

 

We called the agency that we adopted her from, and they took Annie to our vet where she is currently being boarded (she really likes being there for some reason). The woman from the agency came in and collected her, after carefully muzzling her and leashing her which took about an hour due to Annie's aggressive response. She thinks that Annie reacted in this way because she was defending her home. At one point my boyfriend's mother opened the door to our bedroom, and Annie became much more upset, which seems to reinforce this idea.

 

The reason I'm posting this is because I'm wondering if any of you have some advice for me. Does this seem like guarding behavior? Annie usually does not allow strangers to touch her unless she is leashed, and tends to shy away from people in our home. This concerns us, but we assume that she is just uncomfortable with strangers and we respect this. She does not demonstrate aggressive behavior toward people unless they touch her against her wishes, and even then she will growl, snarl or bark, but does not bite. We try very hard not to force her into situations that make her uncomfortable, which is why we did not initially board her, but we did not expect anything like this to happen.

 

Should we be concerned that our dog is aggressive? This is the first time she has aggressed, rather than reacting to something that made her uncomfortable. We do not discourage this behavior, because we don't want to train her that showing her discomfort is bad. She is not showing aggressive behavior at the vet, and once she left the apartment, the woman from the agency said that she did not growl or bark. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Time4ANap]

Sounds like maybe she has not seen enough of thie caregiver in this setting. Maybe try doing a hand-off the next time where you leave and the person stays a while, then does her walk and other routines before leaving the house.

 

We occasionally use a Dog Walker, but it is often months between the times that we need her. If we are going to have her walk or feed Rocket when we are away for the day, she always comes by the day before to re-introduce herself to him, although I firmly believe he would leave with anyone who promised him a walk, ride or snack.....

[Guest LindsaySF]

One of my adopters has the sweetest dog ever, very friendly "mama's boy" male. They hired a dog walker for mid-day, and even though the dog had met the dogwalker before, when she came to let him out he turned into Cujo, barking and snarling and wouldn't come out of the bedroom. I think he was just too freaked out by the presence of a "stranger" in the house, without his owners there as well.

 

Because you describe your dog as shy to begin with, my guess is she just doesn't know your mother well enough to feel comfortable with her in your absence. Her behavior sounds fearful. I would encourage further meetings between the two, have mom walk her, feed her dinner and treats, etc, and try a "hand off" as described above. Good luck.

[Guest mbfilby]

You said she is 8 but you've only had her 3 months. Where did she come from?

 

Our spooky Cy can be a ferocious home defender, but even he would not corner anyone in the house. He would bark, growl and retreat. This does not sound like a fear response to me.

[MaryJane]

Sounds like a dog that got a bit freaked by your being away. She's still relatively new and she probably hasn't gotten used to the surroundings and your being away triggered her insecurities.

 

Since this behavior seems to be only evident at the house from what you have described - can you bring a behaviorist to the house to see what they say. Although, the most likely way to change the behavior is to have your MIL feed her when she is there and to take her outside and on walks - does she feel comfortable enough to do that?

 

Now that you are back from your trip, does Annie still display the same type of behavior with you MIL?

[Guest vrice]

You said she is 8 but you've only had her 3 months. Where did she come from?

 

Our spooky Cy can be a ferocious home defender, but even he would not corner anyone in the house. He would bark, growl and retreat. This does not sound like a fear response to me.

 

We adopted her from a rescue organization, and previously she was on a farm where she was a brood, and before that she raced for a long time.

 

From what I understand, she did the "bark, growl and retreat" the first two times (her bed is on a section of the couch), and when my MIL went into the kitchen, Annie followed her there. But yes, the fact that she followed is concerning.

 

Sounds like a dog that got a bit freaked by your being away. She's still relatively new and she probably hasn't gotten used to the surroundings and your being away triggered her insecurities.

 

Since this behavior seems to be only evident at the house from what you have described - can you bring a behaviorist to the house to see what they say. Although, the most likely way to change the behavior is to have your MIL feed her when she is there and to take her outside and on walks - does she feel comfortable enough to do that?

 

Now that you are back from your trip, does Annie still display the same type of behavior with you MIL?

 

I will look into a behaviorist. We will see how my MIL feels about that, but she was so fearful it will probably take some time. We are not back yet. The people from the organization encouraged us to continue our vacation, as Annie is being safely boarded. We will find out how Annie reacts to my MIL, although I suspect she will act the same as she always has.

 

 

One of my adopters has the sweetest dog ever, very friendly "mama's boy" male. They hired a dog walker for mid-day, and even though the dog had met the dogwalker before, when she came to let him out he turned into Cujo, barking and snarling and wouldn't come out of the bedroom. I think he was just too freaked out by the presence of a "stranger" in the house, without his owners there as well.

 

Because you describe your dog as shy to begin with, my guess is she just doesn't know your mother well enough to feel comfortable with her in your absence. Her behavior sounds fearful. I would encourage further meetings between the two, have mom walk her, feed her dinner and treats, etc, and try a "hand off" as described above. Good luck.

 

I think you're right. We clearly messed this up, but hopefully in the future we can have those meetings. I wish we had realized we needed to do those things before we'd left.

 

Thanks for the replies, all.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Not your fault! You can't always predict how they are going to react. My adopter was VERY surprised about her boy too, as he'd been fine with people visiting when they were home.

[MaryJane]

Brood mama .. the behavior is starting to sound similar to what mothers do to "protect puppies". If you get a behaviorist - make sure they know about the "brood mama" background.

[Guest vrice]

Not your fault! You can't always predict how they are going to react. My adopter was VERY surprised about her boy too, as he'd been fine with people visiting when they were home.

 

Thanks. That makes me feel better.

 

 

Brood mama .. the behavior is starting to sound similar to what mothers do to "protect puppies". If you get a behaviorist - make sure they know about the "brood mama" background.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I wouldn't have thought it would be significant, but it makes sense.

[greyhead]

Don't overlook a medical/hormonal basis for the behavior. I'm assuming she was spayed shortly before or after joining you. Our boy, then turning 5, developed hypothyroid symptoms, including defensive aggression (I call it that), two months after he arrived at our home. Just something to keep in mind as a possibility.

[silverfish]

 

 

From what I understand, she did the "bark, growl and retreat" the first two times (her bed is on a section of the couch), and when my MIL went into the kitchen, Annie followed her there. But yes, the fact that she followed is concerning.

 

 

 

Not necessarily. Of course, I was not there to see how she behaved, but a fearful dog who is worried by a stranger being in the house without you being there as well would naturally follow them around, just to be ready for any 'surprise attack' from them. If they're anxious, they want to know where the 'threat' is all the time.

 

I do agree that this sounds fearful, and she's been thrown by you being gone and the BF's mother being there instead. She doesn't fully trust her and can't rely on her for strength, so she's fallen back on instincts. Doesn't necessarily mean she's actually aggressive.

 

I would definitely get the opinion of a behaviourist though.