Dog guarding me when our

[purple15]

I have an 18 month old Dalmatian girl. All has been really good so far. Her recall great, loves people and most dogs,

The problem is just in the last month or so she has got so I can't stroke or give treats to other dogs when out or she growls and goes for them.

This morning I saw a dog sitter/walker whilst out. She gave me some really good advice.
She said when I go to stroke a dog and she jumps in I have to tell her off in a very firm voice and carry on doing it. She demonstrated and it looks so easy.

Has any one else any advice to stop this behaviour. I don't want to end up with an aggressive dog that I worry when meeting other dogs .

villainousbroodmare

Thankyou so much for your advice

I thought it was more important to keep up the social side of her meeting other dogs

I will keep her away until I can get over this behaviour

It is, but you want to create pleasant encounters. This is such a tricky aspect of dog owning, as many dogs are not well socialised and many owners are not wise to the ways of canines. I'd suggest that out of her friends, you choose the gentlest and least pushy and arrange an off lead walk with the other owner. No treats, nobody touches anyone else's dog, no balls or jealousy-creating items. Ideally meet in a neutral place after both dogs have had a good run alone.

And move off straight away and calmly, keep walking, no stops, ignore anyone else you see and part ways while still walking - ie no opportunities for anyone to push into anyone's space.

This is why it's so frustrating
She's by my side all the time
And iv made socialising from day one my priority
She meets many dogs each day
A lot who she sees daily
And some she has never seen before

villainousbroodmare

Do you recommend any reading material?

I have lots so not sure what info came from where, but I liked How To Behave So Your Dog Behaves by Sophia Yin, Bonding With Your Dog by Victoria Schade and The Pet Gundog by Lez Graham.

IMO the dog sitter was right on how to address it. She isn't guarding you, that is possessive behaviour. You need to be authoritative though. I hear some people telling their dogs off and it's just ineffectual. They could be talking about the weather for all the command in their voice. Remember they don't speak English. They can learn to understand what words mean but you need to make it clear from your tone that you are addressing them and you expect to be obeyed. Don't shout, just raise your voice a little louder and lower pitched than your normal speaking voice and give the order. It's a reprimand, not a suggestion. Do not keep repeating it. You don't want them to think that it goes "fido down, down, down, DOWN FIDO" and then they do it. You need them to do it first time. Punctuate with a gesture to demonstrate what you want if you think the dog doesn't understand the command. If she doesn't obey first time, then insist. So it would go "Fido, No! Down!" She ignores. "Down!" and grasp collar and pull into a sitting position. So you demonstrate what you want her to do and that you will not be ignored. Obviously these might not be the exact commands you use, that was just an example. This video is a good example of how your voice needs to change. She is a little on the shouty side but not too bad. Listen to her normal voice and then how it drops in pitch and becomes more forceful.

StarryCorpulentCunt
Thank you for your comments

That clip looked like my daughter
She is 17 and wow is she in charge
If Dalmatian does anything wrong she is looking up at her bedroom ready for her to come down and be told off
She puts her in her basket and makes her stay
Think I need to asking her for some advice

Is the possessiveness really bad

People cant believe how good she has been. She sticks to me doesn't go too far and comes back the second I shout. It's just recently her behaviour has become more possessive

Oh dear I have just googled it

Yes it is a very serious situation and needs a behaviourist

We had similar with our young Dalmatian (the others we adopted in their old age). If I'm honest, she got worse after being spayed.

The only thing we found was, for a while, keeping her away from other dogs. If we saw someone coming, we moved away to the side, a few treats, lots of fuss and distraction, and we had no growls or lunges. After a few weeks of this consistently working, we kept her nearer the other dogs whilst doing the same. Eventually, and I'm talking 6-8 months here, we could chat to other owners. We could never talk to other dogs when we were out, but she'd let us be within 1-2 metres of another dog and sit quietly.

Unfortunately we lost her very young so don't know the long term effects. The intensity of Dalmatians is tough to deal with at times - even our 13 year old has been a nightmare in her cone of shame recently.

Best immediate course of action though, no treats for other dogs. I always have to refuse and feel awkward doing so, because I have a highly allergic dog, OldGirl spot with an iffy stomach, and our male Dalmatian had kidney failure so was on a very restricted diet. And then obviously YoungGirl who wouldn't allow us to be around other dogs.

We lost our 12 year old dog of a lifetime Dalmatian last year. She was an absolute superstar.

No problems at all in the 12 years.

Googled what? What's serious?

Possesiviness

OP your dog currently associates the approach of other dogs as competition for your attention and food treats.

You need to avoid these social situations until she has relaxed a bit.

Start with attention/praise to HER (not the other dogs) when she's noticed them but they're at a safe distance, then move her away. This way she learns that other dogs nearby result in good things for her, but that the other dogs are not competition. You can gradually reduce the distance between her and other dogs as she becomes more comfortable but this takes a lot of time and you (her favourite person) shouldn't be giving what in her eyes are essentially strange dogs your time attention and treats until she's learned that the presence of other dogs brings good things for her and she can relax.

Shouting at her is only going to feed into her anxiety

These articles have some useful info
www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/resource-guarding-dog-to-dog
grishastewart.com/resource-guarding/

Veterinari
Thank you so much for the links

We walked today just me and her.
I avoided all the other dog walkers and her behaviour was wonderful

I understand now how it's food aggression and not to get involved
All dogs must not be as food orientated as my dog

Well done Purple, that sounds like a positive first step.

Well done OP.

Once you're confident that she's comfortable and responding to your verbal praise you can move closer you other dogs - keep up the verbal praise so she associates other dogs with lots of positive attention from you.

Dals can be VERY good-focussed and it may be that she's never willing to share treats with other dogs, but you can certainly reduce conflict by praising her relaxed behaviour

villainousbroodmare

Thankyou for the book suggestion
I have managed to order The pet gundog from the library
But the other two
How to behave so your dog behaves
Bonding with your dog they wondered if the author was correct because nothing was showing up.

Well we have just been out on her walk. I avoided the other dog wLkers. We did pass four separate dogs who she did not know and she ran around and and sniffed them. She played with one. And didn't bother with the others after sniffing them. She was off the lead for the whole two hours.

I kept my hand in the air so she knew there was no threat and there was no tension or growling over me giving out her food .

www.amazon.com/How-Behave-Your-Dog-Behaves/dp/0793806445?tag=mumsnetforum-21

www.amazon.com/Bonding-Your-Dog-Trainers-Relationship/dp/0470409150?tag=mumsnetforum-21

Sounds like you are doing so well.

Possessive behaviour needs nipping in the bud asap. You do not want to end up with a dog who thinks you belong to her and thinks she is the boss of you. Those books will help. One thing I always do with mine is make them wait for an invite before being allowed on sofas or beds. They don't get an automatic pass onto my patch. Seems to help with the manners and respect side of things.