BehavioRx Case of the Month
for January 2004

Front Door(bell) Aggression

The clients' German Shepherd/Mix?, a 2 year old neutered male, was becoming unmanageably aggressive, barking and growling wildly, when the front doorbell rang. "Ranger" was in excellent health and was friendly to people when away from his house at the play park and on daily walks.

His aggression to visitors at the door started at about 7 months of age. He had been a problem with people as a pup, jumping up when they entered the house. To control this embarrassing situation, his owners (Jack and Marge) started putting him on his leash before letting visitors through the door. However, after a few weeks Ranger started growling at visitors. To prevent this, Jack and Marge decided to put the dog into their bedroom, where he slept, before opening the door. It should be mentioned that both Jack and Marge had tried scolding, even spanking Ranger on the rump for jumping and the growling that developed later. However, his doorbell aggression followed shortly and he no longer was considered "safe" with visitors because he started growling at them when let out of the bedroom.

During our consultations, Jack and Marge quickly recognized how Ranger might have grown to resent people coming to the house. They "traded heads" with the dog; i.e., imagined they were unruly kids whose parents scolded or spanked them, put them on harnesses, then sent them to their rooms whenever people visited the house. Visitors meant disapproval, social deprivation, even physical punishment. Jack and Marge were ready to change in their attitudes.

Fortunately, Ranger had not generalized his hostility to people outside the house. However,  before a remedial program of would be successful at the house he had to learn to follow Marge and Jack's 'Emotional Leadership'. Ranger was put on the "Learn-to-Earn" praise and petting program and given some basic command-response training to Come, Sit and Stay, using the Bio-Sonic Beanbag system until he was dependably responsive with strong distractions. Then remedial set-ups were arranged. Fortunately, again, Marge and Jack had lots of friends who were very fond of Ranger and not afraid of dogs.

Marge and Jack took Ranger out to the driveway to await visitors' arrival. They were greeted in the driveway with Ranger off leash. Jack and Marge stood alongside them and had Ranger sit, after which he was given lots of praise and brief petting by everyone. They then proceeded to the house, where the visitors rang the doorbell while everyone embarked on the Jolly Routine, laughing happily, to which Ranger responded with a wagging tail. The door was opened and everyone gaily entered, when Ranger was again shown their approval and petted. During the visit, the visitors stepped out the front door several times, rang the bell and Marge calmly answered the door and the visitors re-entered. The beanbags were used to distract Ranger from barking, after which he was quietly and happily praised. This routine was carried out over the first weekend with six sets of visitors, including three which involved children. By Sunday evening's set-up, which started without the driveway greeting, Ranger was wagging his tail quietly when the doorbell rang and calmly welcoming the final family of visitors. The doorbell's symbolism had switched from negative to positive.

During the following week, Jack or Marge made set-ups with the doorbell, ringing it when they could slip out the front door unbeknownst to Ranger, after which the owner still in the house with Ranger applied the Jolly Routine and opened the door. After a few days Ranger was wagging dependably for the doorbell. He had developed self-control.

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