Rescue Chow Developing Bad Habits

[puppy_wyatt]

I just discovered this site a few days ago, I love it! Hoping for some tips on a few bad habits my chow has developed.

Two years ago I adopted I rescue chow, he was found wandering the streets and the shelter knew nothing about his past. He was 2 years old, not fixed, no micro chip, and was very dirty. Clearly he had been on the streets for awhile, but he did know how to sit and he was extremely sweet. Someone had once taken care of this 45lbs of black fluff.

Our first six months together were a dream, he was perfect. We would go on long walks, dogs would run up to him and bark and he would ignore them. We'd go to dog parks (where again he'd ignore dogs but run around and have fun by himself) and I'd leave for work during the day with no incidents. Then he started having sporadic potty incidents in the house- not frequent but probably about once a month, seemingly at random. Then he started barking when I left, and chewed off my door frame piece by piece. I've had a few neighbor complaints about his barking when I leave. I bought a crate and he was terrified of it. I use it as storage now. Then he started to become extremely aggressive towards other dogs. The dog park visits had to stop and now if we see another dog on a walk we have to turn and walk the other way, and even then he starts with the growling/barking (even if the dog is across the street and down the block). However, if I am very careful when introducing him to a new dog (a friend of family members dog) he is completely fine. Lots of treats, barking at first, and then within a minute he is fine around that dog. He has shared houses with other dogs for vacations, shared long car rides, and has gone on long walks with no incident. However, I can't spend a minute introducing him to every dog we meet on the street. I dont mind walking away from other dogs, but its not always 100% avoidable. He also has a nasty habit of occasionally lunging at other people on walks, however it seems to be random and its rare (I live in downtown Seattle and its probably about 1 out of 200 passers by he does this with).

I've tried several things to no success. He's been to multiple training classes, and when he is in the training environment he is perfect, even with other dogs around (but not TOO close!!). However the moment we step outside the classroom all bets are off and he's back to his old aggressive self. I've bought herbal calming drops that don't seem to do much. I've also purchased a "thunder jacket" which puts pressure on his core and is supposed to calm dogs. It doesn't seem to do much but make him look uncomfortable. I'm all about positive reenforcement but it hasn't been working, and I'm feeling a bit helpless. Especially when at home or when he is comfortable, he is the SWEETEST dog. He cuddles and sleeps at the foot of my bed and never gets into trash and overall is just full of love. I'm very happy with him but these habits cause a lot of stress.

I'm moving soon to a new building and I'd love to avoid having things chewed up there as well, plus you never know how much tolerance a neighbor has for intense barking every time I leave. Any suggestions? I'm open to anything, I've read a lot of for articles/forums here but I haven't quite found one that touches on all of his specific behaviors.

Thank you so much for your time!

[Auddymay]

Somewhere along the line, Wyatt has developed a bit of separation anxiety, and is using aggressive moves to keep other dogs away. Getting a dog walker with experience might help you, it would need to be someone aware of what to do with leash aggression. My Lily uses the same reactive behavior when she feels uneasy. If she is comfortable enough there is no reaction. Sometimes using body blocking, where you use your legs/body to block Wyatt's vision will get you through a walk. If you can work on putting him in a sit and watch me while the other dog passes, then treat afterwards, even better. Avoidance, which you are already using is a good tool as well. The days of easy going walks and dog park visits will have to be different for awhile, maybe forever.

[Victory]

I'd say it's more than a little seperation anxiety, it's a lot. As you said, no one knows how long he was on the street alone, if this was a significant time, weeks or it could have been months, then he was a very scared, lonely boy. It sounds as if someone had him for a while and then for whatever reason he was alone. Now he has you and you have become his entire world, he has more than just bonded with you, he is attached to you completely. Now on the one hand, this is a very cool thing, congrats. On the other hand it is a bad thing, all that acting out in public is him "protecting" you and "protecting" his resource; you. All dogs can sense someone's fear, even a little fear, (elevated heart rate, and adrenaline rush), these are probably the people he is lunging at, for a dog fear and aggression smell and sound the same, and they will react to both in the same manner. He is protecting you from these possibly harmful people. You need to show him that they aren't a threat to you and therefore he can relax. Not sure exactly how to do this, I would talk to a specialist. He lunges at the other dogs because he sees them as a threat to his position with you, "guarding his resource; you" again he needs to know that you are his and not going to leave him.

And there is the root problem, he is terrified that you are going to go away, (like whoever had him first) and not come back and he's going to end up on the street alone and scared again. It's that fear of being alone that is fueling all these behaviors. If you could find a baby sitter for him, it might help, it will one break his total dependency on you, and give him comfort too. The other thing is to get him a companion, but that might not work because of the aggression towards other dogs. Somehow you have to make you leaving a fun thing to him...

Ya know you should go to the Bound Angels site and maybe you can contact Robert, through email or something, and he can help you. He's really good with rescues, and they come with such baggage sometimes you need expert help with them. And Chows being chows sometimes need extra help with their baggage, because they remember so much...

[Merlin]

when he is in the training environment he is perfect, even with other dogs around (

Somewhere between school and your home environment, things change. The structure that the chow has to deal with in school disappears at home and the sense of leadership is lost, so your chow falls apart. You say yourself that the first 6 months were sublime.

You need to change the way you relate to this dog and offer him positive, confident leadership and respect. It sounds like t his is what is lacking. Chows are extremely democratic in nature, and give what they get. If they get leadership and respect, they also give it back, so you need to sit down and start analysing what you are doing at home that makes this dog fall apart.

He lunges at other dogs because his anxiety is fear based, and it's easier for him to feign loads of bravado then having to deal with the stress of possibilty being outranked by a visiting dog. ( meaning, bite first... ask questions later).

You're doing the right thing by taking him to classes, but you'll need to extend the discipline and atmosphere of what you've learned in school, forward into your home base.
You need to crystal clearly learn when not to reward this dog, and it has been my experience that separation anxiety dogs are dogs that are repeated rewarded incorrectly by humans, teaching the dog that an anxious state of mind is a desired state of mind.

And yes, if you are in CA, do contact Robert at Bound Angels. We are both dog trainers and work together on special projects and he can help you deal with this, but in the meantime, no amount of training will help if you don't change the way you related to your dog at home and I'm more than sure he'll be telling you the very same thing.

'd love to avoid having things chewed up there as well,

Get a large crate, and crate train this chow for now. He can only chew up things if he's exposed to them. You could also consider confining him in a kitchen or bathroom until he earns his way out to freedom, but again, you need to change the relationship you have with this dog so that the excessive barking, chewing, and unwanted behaviours are quelled.
Start giving him MORE exercise, less patting and better direction and things should improve.

Cheers
MM