Territorial Behavior

[Guest ac53998]

Hi all, need some advice for our almost 7 year old greyhound female. We adopted her about 2.5 years ago and adopted a second female greyhound who is 2.5 years old almost a year ago. About 3-4 months after adopting the first greyhound we noticed she started becoming extremely aggressive towards guests that came in our house- I.e. Barking, growling, lunging. Around 6 months in, she actually did bite my husbands friend who came over. We had the adoption group lady come over and help show us how to correct her as nothing we were doing seemed to stop her. She showed us how to correct her on the leash and we have been trying to use those techniques since. My question is- will she ever stop being so territorial? Also my parents are dog sitting right now and she has started doing the same thing at their house as well. We prepare for guests by crating the dogs before the guests arrive and waiting until they are relaxed to consider letting them out- even then we may muzzle the older dog in case she has misplaced aggression onto the other dog. Any other tips for trying to stop our dog from being so aggressive with guests? She is really great anywhere else- we do meet and greets every month at a pet store, go on hikes where she is fine being pet by strangers, and she goes to doggy day care and has never had any issues.

[JohnF]

People will hate me for saying this, but you cannot keep a random biting dog. It could badly harm someone and end up bankrupting you too.

 

I would take it to the vet for a thorough examinination in case there is some reason for the developing aggression.

[gryhndsr4us]

My bridge boy Sneakers was that way. Even in the yard. We always muzzled him when people were over. We just learned to live with it. He was fine away from the house. On walks people could pet him, meet n greets and at the vets. I mentioned muzzling him at Christmas to one of the vet techs and she was shocked. She said why when he was such a sweet boy.

It was just the way he was, I miss my crazy guard dog.

[Guest ac53998]

Wow gryhndsr4us, sounds exactly like our issue. Our dog has monthly meet and greets and she has made tons of potential adopters fall in love with greyhounds! Did you ever try anything with Sneakers? how long did you have him? We sometimes do introductions outside the house which usually works ok, but if we have people staying over she often will still bark and growl at them when they come downstairs from the guest bedroom.

[gryhndsr4us]

With Sneakers even the yard was off limits. We have a friend that is a trainer and she felt it wa best just to muzzle when we had people over. We very rarely have guests other than Christmas Eve when the family comes over. We had him a little over 7 years. Lost him to osteo in his front leg. Not a candidate for amputation due to LS and epilepsy.

Sounds like your girl has a similar personality. Maybe a trainer could help. Until then your best option for safety for her and your guests is to muzzle her.

[racindog]

Just put the muzzle on. NO DOG IS PERFECT in every way. They ALL have 'something' that is not perfect. So your guy is expressing his territorial genes a little stronger than most. No biggie. Be glad it was not anything more serious. Just muzzle him when around strangers. He don't care. It bothers you far more than it does him. There is nothing the wrong with the dog. You just need to manage him appropriately. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill.

[turbotaina]

Hi all, need some advice for our almost 7 year old greyhound female. We adopted her about 2.5 years ago and adopted a second female greyhound who is 2.5 years old almost a year ago. About 3-4 months after adopting the first greyhound we noticed she started becoming extremely aggressive towards guests that came in our house- I.e. Barking, growling, lunging. Around 6 months in, she actually did bite my husbands friend who came over. We had the adoption group lady come over and help show us how to correct her as nothing we were doing seemed to stop her. She showed us how to correct her on the leash and we have been trying to use those techniques since. My question is- will she ever stop being so territorial? Also my parents are dog sitting right now and she has started doing the same thing at their house as well. We prepare for guests by crating the dogs before the guests arrive and waiting until they are relaxed to consider letting them out- even then we may muzzle the older dog in case she has misplaced aggression onto the other dog. Any other tips for trying to stop our dog from being so aggressive with guests? She is really great anywhere else- we do meet and greets every month at a pet store, go on hikes where she is fine being pet by strangers, and she goes to doggy day care and has never had any issues.

 

What exactly did the adoption group lady tell you to do? What sort of correction are you using?

[Guest ac53998]

Turbotaina- she told us to use leash correction with a hard pull on the leash.

[turbotaina]

I was afraid of that. No, wrong thing to do - that type of thing can actually increase aggression. *sigh* You want to use counter conditioning in a case like this - you want to change how she feels about strangers coming to the home. There could be any number of things going on here, so I first suggest that you consult with an actual veterinary behaviorist who can come to your home and do an evaluation. If you cannot find one in your area, I'd suggest a highly qualified trainer who uses force-free methods (such as positive reinforcement). Where are you located?

[turbotaina]

I'm lazy so instead of typing out long instructions, here's a decent article (annoying background wallpaper aside ). It also gives excellent reading recommendations

[Guest ac53998]

Thank you so much turbotaina- that website is so helpful! We are located in Cleveland, Ohio.

[turbotaina]

Thank you so much turbotaina- that website is so helpful! We are located in Cleveland, Ohio.

 

I'll see if my trainer friend has any contacts near you

[NeylasMom]

This type of behavior is not commonly due to territorial aggression. Usually it's fear based (anxiety or fear over unfamiliar people coming into the home). Growling/barking/lunging are her ways of telling people to go away or give her space and when those don't work (usually well meaning people trying to reach out and pet the dog or getting backed into a small space) the dog can feel forced to bite. Correcting her for her behavior is likely to increase her aggression (from her perspective - I'm scared when a stranger comes in, I try to nicely tell them to back off and then I experience pain. Now I REALLY need to be concerned when strangers come in). As Turbotaina said, a good CC&D protocol and better management are your best course of action. Until you can get a trainer to help you with the former, manage the situation by keeping her put away while strangers are over. By put away, I do not mean a crate where the action is. I mean a crate in a safe space away from where anyway would walk by her, including if they need to go to the bathroom. Alternatively gate her in a part of the house guests won't go near. Give her something to keep her busy for a while like a stuffed kong, bully stick, etc. and make sure you practice this when guests aren't present so she doesn't feel isolated or associate being isolated with people coming over.

If you think you would hire a trainer, let me know and I can reach out to my contacts for good trainers in your area.

Edited May 26, 2017 by NeylasMom

[GeorgeofNE]

I'd permanently solve this problem by keeping the "aggressive" dog fully contained when you have guests.

 

As to your parents house, even my totally dog crazy parents would have an issue sitting for a dog of mine if there was a chance it might randomly bite someone. Perhaps boarding her would be better?

 

I've not personally had this situation, so I suggest you read what is no doubt a great article Meredith (Turbotaina) suggested. And stop yanking on the leash. You're probably training her to believe that yes, it's dangerous when company comes. I get hurt by my humans every.single.time! (Not that I really believe you're hurting her--but it's just not a helpful response in the situation).

[Guest ac53998]

Neylasmom- yes, makes sense. Thank you very much for your insight. We will need to figure out a way for her to feel safe when guests come over. The problem is that there is likely not a safe place on the first floor for her (front door and entryway are by the living room, garage door entryway is by kitchen, bathroom is by family room) and if we put her in the basement without us she will hear us walking around and probably get anxious and/or feel unsafe because she can hear our steps and can't see us. We can probably try the basement for now though- not sure how much we can distract her. I am thinking we may want to find a trainer, do you mind reaching out to see if there is anyone recommended in our area? (Cleveland, Ohio)

 

GeorgeofNE- yes, we will keep her contained while working on the behavior. I said the same thing to my parents but they love her and didn't want her boarding for as long as we were going to be gone. We will also stop yanking on the leash. Thanks for your thoughts!

[NeylasMom]

I wouldn't do the basement if you can avoid it, unless she really likes being down there. Guests come in/out through one door, gate her somewhere away from that door. If the bathroom presents a problem, you might just gate her in the bedroom.

 

I will get back to you on trainers.