Training a Fear Aggressive Dog: Update on our Rescue, Jasper

My little man…

It’s been seven weeks since we adopted Jasper, and about four since I’ve written about it. He’s settling into our household and we have a pretty good idea of the dog we’ve gotten now. For the most part, Jasper is a terrific boy. He’s loving, smart, playful and a big cuddler and kisser. I love that, because Sophie isn’t. So, all those times I was dying to reach out and scoop her up and cuddle her, I often resisted, because I know it makes her uncomfortable. She shows us how much she loves us in her own ways.

Then, there’s the other side of Jasper. The shriek-barking, lunging at anyone passing by, Jasper. It’s unpredictable and scares the bejeesus out of people, so let’s just say each walk is a recon mission. Is someone coming down the hallway; is someone in the elevator as it opens; is someone just outside the street door. We’re all about avoiding the triggers, and really needed help in training a fear aggressive dog. Stressful!  And Sophie, who is obviously fond of Jasper, has taken her outside barking up a notch, which sets him off. They’re totally in cahoots!

In cahoots, I tell you!

There were many days, between week one and five, when either me or my husband would say to the other, we just couldn’t handle it anymore and we’d considered rehoming Jasper. We told ourselves this wasn’t what we’d signed up for; we’re too old for this. But, the other would talk the desperate one off the ledge and we’d continue on. Neither of us disputed that we’d gotten to love this little man, and that we’d rather keep him with us. By week six, after a few good days outside and more lover boy cuddles and kisses inside, we made a real commitment to do whatever it took to keep Jasper and  help him through. So, we’ve assembled a village. But first, we needed to learn more about his problem.

What we’re learning about how to deal with a fear-aggressive dog

All dog aggression is based on fear. Some go further than others to protect themselves. Luckily for us, Jasper hasn’t bitten anyone, but we aren’t 100% sure he wouldn’t when he’s in the red zone. You can see it clear as day in the eyes. His look so fiercely frightened, we really feel for him. When I was reading and then interviewing Dr. Debra Horwitz around her book, Decoding Your Dog, she explained how important it is to avoid the triggers, as much as you can. While the book was really helpful and I think it’s a valuable resource to have, we also needed hands on help. We were grappling with things like is training what Jasper needs? Does he have a chemical imbalance where medication would be best? We didn’t know and we’re not sure still.

Here’s a short video I took of Jasper having one of his freak outs during a walk. That’s my poor husband, attempting to calm Jasper down.

I know it looks pretty grim, but those outbursts are happening less and less, and it’s still early days. Here’s what we did.

We started early on by enrolling Jasper in playcare at a local, really great place, called D Pet Hotel. Think of it as the W Hotel for dogs. 🙂 It’s clean, they have spacious play areas which, in New York City, comes at a premium, and the owner, Kerry Brown, and her staff are attentive and caring. Jasper now had the opportunity to meet and socialize with about 20-30 dogs each session, under the watchful eyes of at least two D Pet staff. And, he was meeting people at the facility, seeing that not all strangers are bad. They have been reporting very positive things back to us. He plays a lot with the dogs and he’s given kisses to some of the staff. Wow!

All assets are opportunities

Next, we sought out a behaviorist/trainer. Believe it or not, it wasn’t easy to find! We wanted someone who had real experience treating severe behavior issues. Luckily, a dog walker/actress friend recommended Maggie Wood of Joyful Pet Training. Maggie is a get-it-done, lovely English woman who really knows her stuff. When she arrived for her first session, she got a dose of the other Jasper, as he goes ballistic when strangers come into the apartment. She responded the way we’d also learned to respond to a barking dog who isn’t a threat to your safety. Ignore ignore ignore. It’s amazing how ignoring that bad behavior and then praising or giving attention to the good behavior really works! And, he does settle much quicker that way.

Maggie right away drove home this important point. Dogs need to work for everything that’s good in their lives. Super delicious treats, jumping on the bed, the couch, whatever it is they covet, is an opportunity to train. She saw Sophie chewing on a bully stick, something I regularly give them, kind of like a baby’s pacifier when I need a little peace. She made sure we knew that a bully stick was like a million dollars to the dogs, and you don’t give away a million dollars just like that. So, we identified some high value treats and designated those as outdoor, only for walks treats, so we’d be armed with our best ammunition when he goes off. We’d already trained Jasper to look up at us with the “Look at me” command, and he was pretty good at it. He got even better with better treaties! (Maggie’s suggestion: hot dogs cut into tiny bits, so now, I smell like hot dog all the time!)

And, she suggested we get Karen Pryor clickers (the creator of the animal training clicker). We did, and trained them to come with a click/treat regimen. That’s a work in progress, but it’s coming along. Funny enough, Jasper caught on very fast and Sophie, who got lax training as a pup at best because she was always so sweet and easy, is kind of ho hum about the whole thing. But, she’s improving with practice.

The takeaway is we’re thinking in a whole new way about our dogs. They’re still our babies, but we’re now treating them more like dogs, requiring them to work for what they want. Many of you may already know this, but for us, it wasn’t the way we were operating. It’s an empowering tool!

A lifesaving suggestion

A key lifesaver Maggie suggested in our first meeting was to teach Jasper how to love a carry bag. And, one that completely closed, so we could transport him safely and securely from our apartment, outside. She spent an hour training Jasper through positive reinforcement to go into a Sherpa Bag and gave us instructions on what to do to get him to the point where we could zip the bag completely closed.

Maggie’s tip: We were to leave the bag opened on the top and side, and bring it wherever Jasper was hanging with us. We’d feed him high value food (meals) or treats in there and I even did some regular training with both of them, teaching them to jump in and out of the open bag.

Granted, a Sherpa may not be the most fashionable bag on the planet, but for practicality in an extreme situation, it’s a great choice and I’m so glad we had one. We can always move to a cool bag once the training is locked in. 🙂

It didn’t take more than a couple of days to see Jasper really warm to the thing. He now hops right in, we zip it completely up, and 98% of his outbursts getting from our apartment to the outside are gone. Brilliant! In fact, he looks to jump inside the bag every chance he gets when he’s outside, because he feels more secure in there. The bag technique isn’t forever, but it’s a great bridge and stress reducer for us all.

We’ve only seen Maggie twice and we already feel like we have a plan. We still have the unpredictable element with Jasper, but 80% of his walks are good. If he gets out of our building without incident, we’re likely to have a good walk. And, outbursts come under control faster now.  At home, he’s very slowly blossoming. Whatever happened to this little boy, he’s got a sadness in his eyes sometimes, that breaks our hearts. So, when we see that long, loopy tail wag or he gives us a little grin, it’s cause for celebration. It’s his vulnerability that so brings out the maternal instinct in me and I just want to protect him and nurture him into the happy guy I know he can be.

I’ll keep you posted on our progress with Jasper, and what we’re learning in our training with Maggie, in the hopes it will be helpful to you, too. While learning to live with and train a fear-aggressive dog is all new to us, we feel blessed that the universe brought Jasper into our lives. We believe it was for a reason and we’re committed to making it work. Besides, we think Sophie and Jasper may be falling in love. 😉

Sophie & Jasper smooching

Do you have a specific behavior problem with your dog? What is it? Tell me in the Comments.