Category: Common Problems ¤
  Author: Gail Fisher ¤
   Title: Possessiveness ¤

>>>Also -- ahem, I have a 7 month old neutered male English Springer Spaniel
>who has had some possessive aggression problems since the age of about four
>and a half months. (At age 14 weeks he was hanged by the choke collar by a
>horrible trainer to whom we never returned. But we are sure this has cuased
>a lot of Schiller's problems.) I am working in private sessions with a
>trainer who knows clicker training very well, and uses it; with my Schiller
>("harder thana your average dog" to train) she does resort to some more
>negative reinforcement . Schiller's obnoxiousness is at an all-time high
>these days, and while I know it's a bad age...I'm wondering, does the
>possessive agression thing get better as the dog matures and calms down?
>does anyone have any ideas for working on this specific problem? <<<

Not only do I have suggestions, I've lived this scene.  I adopted my
Springer (whom we fondly call the Springer from Hell) at 4 years with
similar problems, and a much longer (and worse) reinforcement history.  This
was looong before I found clicker training (Hobbes is now 12), but I can
tell you that you MUST stop using any negatives for the aggressive behavior.
Not only will negatives not help, they are totally counterproductive.  

It has been my experience that many Springers have two temperament
characteristics that exascerbate problems such as you're having -- they have
a hair trigger response to perceived threats and they are unforgiving.  They
do not react to punishment (or perceived threats) like other sporting dogs.
Here's my story and how we "fixed" his behavior.

Hobbes came to me for boarding-training -- shipped to New England from
California.  When he went home, his owners tried but then decided they
couldn't live with the management plan I had drawn up for them, so they gave
him to me (the only other choice was euthanasia -- and Hobbes and I had
bonded during training, so I couldn't let that happen).  Part of Hobbes'
history was that he had been punished for having things he shouldn't have,
and for giving them up, so his guarding objects got progressively worse and
worse over the years.  My original training with him as a client, and then
continuing as my own dog, had to come from a place of trust.  Hobbes
believed he was in trouble for having something.  I had to convince him that
he wasn't.  No matter what the object, and no matter how long it took for
him to drop it, I could never resort to any negatives -- not even a stern
voice, or he would instantaneously revert to Dog From Hell (we're talking
SERIOUS aggression -- damaging biting).

The actual mechanics of teaching him to trust enough to voluntarily give
things to me went as follows:
1)  Teach "give" as a positive with any and every available object.  Hobbes
loves balls, so we did lots of retrieving.  Clicker training this part would
be great -- although I did this pre-clicking.

2)  Teach him that there's something in it for him to give something up.  I
call it an "exchange" -- others call it a bribe.  I don't care what you call
it.  "I have this wonderful piece of steak, and you have that stinky sock.
Want to trade?"  At first, I couldn't touch him during the exchange.  Any
attempt to handle him physically would result in escallation of aggression.
It was critical to keep my voice and facial expression neutral -- even pleasant.

3)  Touch his collar (buckle collar) while making the exchange in (2).

4)  Eliminate the visual aspect of the exchange.  No food in sight, hold his
collar in one hand, and grasp a piece of the object (even the tiniest corner
of a dirty Kleenex) say "give" and wait.  The waiting sometimes seemed
interminable -- but this is a breakthrough step.  Hobbes learned that I was
patient, and that there was no negative consequence for him.  Eventually,
you'll see the characteristic jaw trembling that preceeds relaxing his grip.
At that point, I'd verbally encourage him, and when he ultimately gave it up
-- JACKPOT!!!!  The waiting time frame lessens with each positive repetition
for him.

Simultaneously with this training, positive obedience training -- especially
come, down & stay are really important.  Also, crating the dog when you're
not able to supervise.

One funny story -- my office used to be at home and I had an
assistant/secretary working there with me.  Even though I can take things
from Hobbes, I don't trust that his trust extends to others, so I instruct
EVERYONE not to try to take anything from him.  I told my assistant,
Dorsett, that if he got something he shouldn't have, go into the kennel, get
a piece of liver, and make an exchange.  It took him about three repetitions
to train Dorsett.  I came home one day and Dorsett said that the minute I
had left, Hobbes had run upstairs to the bedroom, grabbed a sock, and came
down to her office.  He trotted in, pausing long enough to be sure she saw
him, and then ran into the kennel, put his front feet on the counter and
stared at the liver treats.  (Springers are bright, too).

I hope this helps.  Good luck with Schiller.  If you need further
clarification or advice, please feel free to e-mail me privately if you wish.

Gail

Gail Fisher 
The All Dogs Gym
Manchester, NH  03103
(603) 669-4644
gail@alldogsgym.com