BehavioRx Case of the Month
for January 2006

When Overprotective Dogs Get Better

A spayed, 4-year-old German Shephard/ Doberman Pinscher mix, "Missie," was aggressive, barked, growled and lunged at strangers and visitors to the owner's home, behavior which she had displayed since about 8 months old. The owner had coped with it by keeping Missie, visitors and strangers apart. However, Missie had recently bitten "Patti's" fiancé following a short seizure (Missie fell on her side and lay trembling for 3-5 minutes) which occurred while Patti, her mother and fiancé were playing a musical study for piano, violin and flute. Thereafter Missie was literally put in a closet when "Frank" visited. A secondary complaint was destructive chewing (usually pillows, owner's belongings) when left alone at home.

Veterinary examination, complete blood workups, urine and stool exams revealed no indications of any health problem. The veterinarian considered the seizures
"psychomotor." They had only occurred three times. The case was referred to me rather than initiate drug therapy immediately. Missie was not aggressive at the veterinary practice, where she had been treated from puppyhood. During the first consultation Patti and Frank sat on the sofa, while Missie sat on
the floor next to her owner. She growled whenever I so much as moved my feet, which triggered a scolding "No Missie" from Patti.

After extensive fact-finding, (80 minutes) it turned out that Missie was on an excellent diet, was walked twice daily (on leash with a choke collar), played fetch
in the back yard with a ball almost daily, sought affection and petting from Patti and her mother persistently, barked at loud noises from outdoors, slept through the
night in Patti's bedroom, napped during the day, and generally seemed like an ideal companion... until she bit Frank, whom she had know for two years. The bite did not puncture Frank's skin, but did bruise him. Patti said she felt "safe" with Missie in the house and could have lived with the overprotectiveness, but that biting Frank was not tolerable. For his part, Frank said Missie was the first dog he had ever met who didn't like him, but that he hoped he could win her over... with our help.

The basics of canine leadership and the dog's need to have a function in its group were explained. Patti was then asked, relative to her and her mother's relationship
with Missie, who was leading the social interaction? Patti quickly opined, "Missie," and reached over and petted Missie. She then smiled and said, "I see what you're
talking about. I'm pretty well trained, aren't I?" The leadership and "learn-to-earn" praise and petting program was discussed and we adjourned until the next week for their second meeting of six.

By week four things at home were under control to the point that Frank was able to enter the house with no aggression from Missie, who dozed and even approached him to be petted. She had chewed on several of Patti's belongings, including a book she was reading.

Patti and Missie attended the fifth consultation without Frank, who was out of town. During the training exercise session's final segment, Patti was putting Missie
through her off-leash 'panic command' to Come from distractions, then Sit, Stay, Heel and Lie down. Both 'students' were doing exceptionally well; so well, in fact, that I decided to leave the training room and suddenly re-enter through the door leading to the sidewalk and street. I first asked Patti how she wanted to proceed.

She said she would happily approach and greet me (the Jolly Routine) and stand beside me to demonstrate friendliness for Missie, who would remain off-leash. Patti would not command her in any way. I left by the office door and proceeded outdoors. The stage was set:

I opened the side door abruptly, stepped quickly into the room and slammed the door. Missie stiffened,  started growling and appeared ready to charge me. Patti stood still; absolutely still. She appeared to have turned to stone. I opened my sport jacket as nonchalantly as possible, getting ready to take it off and offer it to
Missie if she charged and turned my left side toward the two, who were about 20 feet away. Missie's growling became more intense, but her hackles were not raised, so I decided to break the ice:

"Hi Missie, Hi Patti, isn't this fun?" This was obviously not what Missie wanted to hear, because the hackles on her withers raised and she growled on the inhale... a
bad sign for me. However, Patti quickly grabbed Missie's collar, like it was a conditioned reflex. I then said that I would leave by the side door, go into the office and meet Patti and Missie.

When they entered, Missie was on her leash and Patti apologized for becoming frightened and freezing up. I laughed and said, "You weren't the only one, Patti."
She laughed, too. I pointed out that we hadn't really had a setback. "In fact, since Missie didn't attack me or leave your side, she actually showed a degree of
self-control we've never seen before." Patti then said something that opened the door to holistic behavior problem treatment for both of us: "I guess that shows it's up to me."

I agreed. If had she been able to take the lead with the Jolly Routine, etc., we probably would have seen Missie behave according to her example. However, the next client was waiting, so I suggested she review her leadership exercises during the week and try the set-up the following week... the final "graduation" session.

The Sixth Meeting
I heard my previous departing clients laughing in the reception room with our receptionist, Barbara, and someone who sounded like Patti. Patti usually brought
Missie through the training room door to avoid confrontations with other clients. I quietly opened the office door, and saw what approached the unbelievable; Patti,
chatting with the clients and Missie standing beside her, wagging her tail... off leash! No one except Missie noticed me, and she just kept wagging. I quietly closed
to door, sat back down and waited.

When the other clients left, Barbara opened the door, stepped in, and said, "Guess who's here?" Before I could answer, Patti and Missie walked in. I decided to remain seated. Patti smiled and said, "Hi Bill, I brought the 'new' Missie today." As she approached me, Missie came forward, tail still up and wagging. She licked my hand! Her friendliness was almost puppy-like. I stroked her throat, scratched her behind the ears and even stroked her back, all of which seemed to delight her. "What happened?"

"We've been out walking every other day for a week." Patti could barely contain herself as she sat down on the sofa and related the following:

She realized that her pending marriage was threatened by Missie's aggression and that her own feelings of insecurity around strangers (which she had learned to cloak effectively) had probably been behind the aggression from the beginning. She had not gotten her as a puppy with protection in mind, at least consciously. So, after leaving our previous meeting she decided to embark on some "reality therapy."

She drove to downtown Los Angeles and MacArthur Park, parked the car, got out (it was about 2:30 PM) and started walking with Missie along the crowded sidewalks. Missie whined and tried to lag, but Patti just walked on ahead of her. It was a beautiful day and she was feeling better all the time. She could sense that Missie was relaxing. At stop lights, Missie even began wagging her tail when other pedestrians asked Patti about her breed. She then walked through the park, where transients occupied the benches or lounged on the grass. An elderly "bum" on a bench asked if he could pet Missie. Patti said it was fine, sat down next to him, and was delighted when Missie went to the man and seemed to enjoy his petting her on top of the head and back. After an hour in the park, meeting all sorts of men and women, Patti took her new dog home and phoned Frank to report the news. When Frank arrived at Patti's the following day he was dumfounded by the change; Missie was, indeed a new dog; she greeted him as if there had never been a negative relationship before. She took three more 'therapy walks' during the week. By the way, Missie's "psychomotor seizures" also ceased, and she hadn't chewed up anything during the week. From that point onward, I was a true believer in what my mentor in those days, Dare Miller, Ph.D., called "The Principle of Reflection," wherein the dog senses and responds to the underlying emotions of the owner. However, only by experiencing it was I to acquire true knowledge about it.

Summary

So, how does Patti's aggression problem, and her diagnosis and remedial program for it, apply to destructive dogs and separation anxiety? Quite directly. Dogs who sense their owner's emotions appear to know when something in the relationship is not as it should be. This appears to affect the dogs own emotional balance which, when coupled with the feelings of responsibility as group leader, produces all the symptoms of emotional insecurity about that relationship. Hence, the often manic behavior when abandoned by their 'pack.' For this reason, along with non-verbal and verbal leadership exercises, a holistic program must take into account the owner's confidence in the program. As mentioned before, just "going through the leadership motions" is not sufficient... the owner must also "feel" like the leader, fully
committed to keeping the dog, "no matter what."

This combination of elements has resolved countless problems for thousands of clients. One of the major benefits of holistic diagnostics and treatments is that they usually save time, effort and expenses in the long run. This is evident in practice as more clients can be served effectively in less time.

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