BehavioRx Case of the Month
for June 2007

Aggression

The Bio-Sonic Beanbag Training Kit and Dr. Ian Dunbar's "Stop-The-Treats Cold Turkey" Advice Really Work!

A 3 year-old, intact male Bouvier started lunging at other dogs during obedience classes, at bicycles when out walking, at people when they approached the owner. Formal training for several types of competition for the Bouvier had always involved treats and clicker training.

The first aggression toward people was toward a man who approached the dog and his owner. The dog was scolded and put into another room. Later, the two were reintroduced and the man fed the dog treats and all was waggy-tailed and hunky-dory. But... not so with other people and dogs. The aggression continued, but the dog generalized it to other people; plus aggression toward other dogs became nearly beyond control!

The owner tried corrections ranging from aversive sprays for punishment to treats when the dog looked at the owner vs. went for dogs or people. He also started biting at people's hands when meeting them!

Our advice to the owner was to buy Dr. Ian Dunbar's latest edition of "How to teach a New Dog Old Tricks," in which he advises owners that the best time to start phasing out food training is right after the first time a puppy "Sits" successfully. Dr. Dunbar advises that owners simply quit the food "cold turkey," but also outlines an excellent program for phasing them out over a fairly short period of time. Food rewards and baits are replaced by what Dr. Dunbar terms "Life Rewards." We also suggested the BehavioRx  BioSonic Beanbag kit. Clients who have used the cold-turkey or phase-out programs and the BioSonic System have gained genuine leadership quickly, during and after which they use the "learn-to-earn" (No free lunch) program, which we first published in the early 70s. At last report the dog is reliable and happy to meet new people and dogs.


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