Protection Or Jealousy By Joy

[brindlehound]

I've had Joy for a year and a half; and, practically since the beginning, she has reacted to any dogs that have come up to us. It doesn't matter what breed or size the dog is. It also doesn't matter if Joy is on leash or off.

 

This even happened with dogs she knows. She stayed with her former foster mom while I was in the process of moving. When I went to pick her up and met the rest of her foster mom's pack, she started snarking at the others (galgos and greyhounds). She knew all of them. The foster mom thought she felt she was protecting me.

 

Could she be thinking she has to protect me from any other dog or could it be jealousy? Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't have a problem putting her muzzle on her when we're at places like GIG.

[NeylasMom]

Neither, it's fear. Don't let dogs approach her on leash, she's not comfortable with it.

[brindlehound]

Neither, it's fear. Don't let dogs approach her on leash, she's not comfortable with it.

 

I'm not so sure it's fear. According to her foster mom, she was fine with the pack. When she first got there last summer, one of the hounds in the pack apparently got on Joy's nerves initially by getting in her face and just bugging her. Flash wasn't there when Joy was initially fostered but she was fine with the others.

 

The off leash snarkiness occurred when the rest of the pack came to greet me.

[mychip1]

Some of my hounds just have not liked other dogs.....

[palmettobug]

Johnny does not like other big dogs--he would play with all the little dogs if he could! He snarks at dogs who take too long on the greetings, I kept him muzzled during BBH. I did consult with a dog trainer, she said he was telling other dogs to back off in dog language, and to keep the greetings short as possible and PRAISE and reward if he got sniffed and didn't react. Also, we kept him and Momo and Spirit muzzled when we had to stay with them, irritating for them, but it kept everyone safe and mostly snark free!

 

I also asked an animal communicator why he didn't like other dogs, she said he saw another grey get attacked and pointed to the shoulder that bothers him--go figure.

[racindog]

It could just be she gets jealous. She is a female hehe. My working Belgian Shepherd is totally fine with other dogs UNLESS I am giving them any attention or they are trying to approach or get close to me etc. then she becomes snarky as well. There is a meme that explains it pretty well: "This is my handler. There are many like her but this one is MINE." K9 Reba gets so jealous that unless I maintain order she will actually bite out of nothing other than jealousy over me.

[krissy]

If she's okay with the other dogs so long as you are not present then it may be misplaced protective behaviour. Or it may still be fear. Sometimes dogs become offensive with their discomfort only when they feel comfortable or supported enough to do so. We see this in the veterinary setting frequently - dog is a snarling, snapping, untouchable demon in the exam room, but once the owner leaves the room the dog freezes and allows an exam without a whimper. Owners often think the dog is protecting them, but really the dog sees the owner as support and as soon as that last comfort is taken away all their bluster crumbles.

 

So I'd say it's possible she's being protective of you, but it's also possible that she's a bit nervous of the other dogs and without you she doesn't have enough confidence to display that openly. So I guess it comes down to what her behaviour/interaction is like with the other dogs when you're not around. If she's actively playing, snuggling, etc. with the other dogs in your absence then she's probably not fearful of them. If she mostly keeps to herself, stays out of the fray, etc. then maybe she's just aloof or maybe she is actually a little bit nervous of everyone.

[philospher77]

Or it could be that she is resource guarding you, but that would also depend on her general behavior and personality. Ie " this is MY giver of all good things, you other dogs stay away!" That's not really good, either.

[brindlehound]

Or it could be that she is resource guarding you, but that would also depend on her general behavior and personality. Ie " this is MY giver of all good things, you other dogs stay away!" That's not really good, either.

 

I hadn't thought of that. She does have resource guarding issues when she steals something. She's OK when I give something to her.

Edited January 11, 2017 by brindlehound

[NeylasMom]

 

 

So I'd say it's possible she's being protective of you, but it's also possible that she's a bit nervous of the other dogs and without you she doesn't have enough confidence to display that openly.

This. It is really uncommon for dogs to display territorial aggression (which includes resource guarding) of their owner. More commonly the dog simply feels more confident with the owner present and reacts with defensive aggression though I suspect the leash may be a factor here as well (leash means dog is trapped - no flight option so they feel forced to react). You continuing to put her in those situations just reinforces that she can't rely on you to keep her safe so she needs to handle it herself.

[greysmom]

Patricia McConnell

"Feisty Fido: Help for your Leash Reactive Dog"

https://smile.amazon.com/Feisty-Fido-Help-Leash-Reactive-Dog-ebook/dp/B001DA99CG/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484176981&sr=1-10&keywords=patricia+mcconnell

[brindlehound]

I found a couple of articles online: 2 on Victoria Stillwell's website and one on the Humane Society website.

 

All 3 said that getting Joy's attention and treating in those situations is one thing. I used that this morning with a dog across the street. I had Joy look at me and then gave her a treat. I also used it when she saw something she wanted to pick up on the street. It worked there too.

 

The articles also stated to use a looser leash. I did it but was prepared to pull up if Joy spotted something to eat. (Note: there is quite a bit of litter in my neighborhood). I'm hoping to eventually get Joy's attention and treat without pulling her up when she sees something she wants on the ground. Today was only day 1.

 

Because of this, I was thinking about not going to Greyhounds in Gettysburg but I have over 3 months to work on this.

[philospher77]

You might also look into BAT (http://grishastewart.com/bat-overview/). It's the same basic idea, but instead of getting food rewards for displaying appropriate behavior, you increase the distance between your dog and the trigger. Since most threat displays are done in order to increase the dog's distance, this naturally rewards the dog for displaying calm behavior in the face of the trigger.

 

Apparently she has switched it up some in BAT 2.0, but it's still something you should look at.

Edited January 13, 2017 by philospher77

[palmettobug]

I had some trepidation about taking Johnny to BBH with his issues, but he did a lot better than I thought he would! He was muzzled when we around other greys, and I put a little note on it to let everyone know that he snarks! We also took lots of breaks from the gathering room, and tried to sit away from others.

[GeorgeofNE]

Having met Joy, I got the impression that she just doesn't like other dogs very much.

 

 

Just my impression.

[macoduck]

I have to agree with Susan. Joy was unhappy when we were at Grotto Pizza at Dewey. All the other dogs in our group were relaxed but Joy was keyed up.

 

Carol, keep working on that training. It just may take a longer time to get her to chill out.

[brindlehound]

Susan and Ducky,

 

Thanks for your observations. I know she doesn't like other dogs. I'm working with her on having her pay attention to me and walking with as a loose leash as I feel comfortable. Even when we're on the sidewalk or a path with a lot of underbrush, I keep the leash fairly loose. It only tightens up when she goes further than I want her to.

 

What's strange about this is that her foster home had 4 other dogs (2 greyhounds, 2 galgos) and when she was visiting last summer, there were 5 others. The only issue was when I met the rest of the pack, then Joy got upset. Her foster mom thought it was protection of me.