BehavioRx Case of the Month
for March 1999

A 5-month-old, intact, while, male German Shepherd, "Silver" had started growling at the mother and children if they were in the kitchen when he ate any of three meals per day. He didn't growl at the father. Dad had what mother told us, "the dominant Alpha position" with the dog. Mother was taking Silver to obedience classes. Silver was unruly in class, but was slowly improving. The dog was in excellent health. Her veterinarian referred her to the BehavioRx HelpLine about the problem. They had bought Silver from a breeder at 8 weeks of age.

Careful fact-finding revealed, at about 12 weeks of age, Silver had growled at father when he was "training" him not to be protective of his food. Dad had read about the technique it in a book. However, he appeared to have mis-applied it, because Silver snarled at him when we tried to take up the food bowl in mid-meal. Dad felt that no dog, "especially a German Shepherd," should ever get away with growling at an owner. So he started subduing Silver; grabbing him by the jowls, lifting his front paws off the floor, staring him in the eyes and shouting "NO!" He would then force Silver onto his side on the floor and hold him until the dog quit struggling. Mother and the children, all girls, age 6,9,13, never tried the Alpha dominance treatment. Mother said they were all too frightened Silver might bite them. They avoided the dog when he ate when dad was not home. If
Dad was home they made set-ups and went near Silver as he ate. Predictably, Silver growled, which resulted in another of dad's Alpha treatments.

Dad had created what I call a "Classic Beta-dog Syndrome." In this syndrome the following factors appear:

1. The family authority figure (can be mother or father) uses physical violence to dominate and/or subdue the dog.

2. The dog, much like an employee who gets picked on by or humiliated by a boss at work, displaces his or her frustrated defensive-aggressive feelings toward the boss, and takes it out on the family at home. In Silver's case, his defensive-aggression was limited to the context of the kitchen and mealtimes. However, when these circumstances persist over several months, the dog often generalizes his behavior to other situations, especially when mother or the kids try to scold or get the dog to do something he's rather not.

Mother was receptive to a non-physical approach and said she would get the BehavioRx brochure program for "Aggression to Owners," sit down with dad and discuss it, implement it, and call back with a report.

Dad called back a few days later for a telephone consultation. Fortunately, he quickly grasped how the situation had developed, but needed some help in implementing the program with Silver.

We helped him design set-ups, such as feeding Silver in a different room, alternating family members preparing meals and putting down the bowl, then moving a few feet away from him, then gradually staying closer each day, until they could all put down the bowl and remain next to Silver as he ate, after which everyone would praise him happily. When the dog wagged his tail both before and after eating, they fed him in the kitchen, using the same technique. Within two weeks Silver was again enjoying his meals and he and the family were fear-free.

Previous Cases

February 1999
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December 1997
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