Hearing a great commotion outside my shop, T's Doghouse , I opened the door and came face to face with a very upset customer! Barking and snapping his teeth, he burst through the door. He was wearing a harness and had his human in tow who was frantically yelling, “Watch out! Highly aggressive dog!”
The dog was obviously very upset. He and his owner had just come from the vet clinic where they had stopped to have the dog’s vaccinations updated. Evidently, he had done his best to bite the vet. This had been very upsetting to all involved. When they arrived at our facility, emotions were high. As the owner and dog had approached the front door, my daughter had unexpectedly come bursting out, further surprising the already upset duo. The dog had lunged at her, biting the sweatshirt hanging over her arm. This was the commotion that had brought me to the door.
Giving the dog plenty of space, I gathered the necessary information from the owner. During this time, the dog began to calm down. Because there was adequate space between us, he no longer felt as threatened. I casually moved closer, which the dog accepted. When close enough, I handed a ten-foot lead to the owner and had her snap it to the collar on the dog's neck. I then had her remove the harness. I took the end of the leash and moved away from the owner, allowing her to exit out the door she had come in.
Now, it was just me and the dog. I moved around the shop for some time, allowing him to investigate his new surroundings. He was much calmer but was definitely not interested in allowing me to touch him. This created a bit of a challenge. I had some chores to do before I could close up the shop for the evening and couldn't do them with the dog at large. I attempted to put the new dog in a kennel; however, he made it clear that would not be happening. Seeing no other option, I tied the leash to a ring on the back wall. This secured the dog while I put the other dogs away and took care of the other necessary chores in preparation to close up for the night.
Turning my attention back to the new dog, I moved forward to untie the rope from the wall. Seeing my approach, he lunged to the end of the rope, growling, barking, and snapping his teeth. Knowing he couldn't just be left there for the night, I grabbed a chair. Using the chair as a shield of sorts, I moved in. As the chair entered the dog's immediate space, he attacked it viciously. I made note that he most certainly would bite me if he got the change but continued my advance. Untying the rope fromthe wall with one hand, I used the chair to hold the dog off with the other. With the chair as a shield, I moved the dog to the center of the floor. I then stepped back. The dog did not advance on me as I moved away. This let me know that his desire was not to attack me. He simply felt threatened by me and wanted to maintain a safe distance between us. He understood that he could maintain this distance by driving me away. It was normal dog logic, and he was confident in his method.
Knowing that he wanted to maintain what he believed was a safe distance from me, I stepped toward him with the chair. As I eased the chair close to him, he again attacked. I simply held the chair in that precise spot and waited. When the dog realized that the chair was not going to move, it stopped its attack and took a step back. At that moment, I also backed away, giving him the space he wanted. After letting him relax for a moment, I stepped back toward him. This time, he growled, but rather than attacking the chair, he just took a step back. Again, in response to his retreat, I also retreated. In this way, I was helping him realize that he could gain the space he desired by simply moving away. I, in effect, was rewarding his movement away from me by giving him the space he desired. I was also gaining his respect. He was realizing two very important things: he couldn't push me around, and I was not there to hurt him.
Spacial pressure can be used to stop a host of negative behaviors as well as to shape positive ones. (Photo courtesy of Kali Parmley) Understanding How Dogs Use Personal Space In the dog world, physical interaction is a big part of communication. I group spatial pressure into this physical category, because it is felt. Dogs, like humans, have a personal space bubble around them, and they feel when they have enteredsomeone's space and when someone has entered their space. Many dog bites and fights happen when this personal space is invaded without the dog's consent. To regain the lost space, the dog will either flee, or he will attempt to drive the threataway. When they decide to drive the threat away, they will use the necessary means, including biting and chasing.
Well socialized puppies learn about space through rough play with other dogs and occasional physical reprimands from older dogs. These physical interactions are important to a dog's development. As humans, it's also very important that we teach our dogs to respect our personal space. Though important, I find that this is often overlooked. All our holding and petting and playing helps our dogs become very comfortable in our space. This is wonderful as long as it is balanced by teachingthe dog to move out of our space when asked.
In the story above, the dog’s method of maintaining his space had become very dangerous. However, my method of teaching him to move from my space did not require any harsh treatment. By using a tool (the chair) that I could hold consistently until the dog retreated, I was able to teach the dog in a very mild manner. This allowed me to avoid the dog becoming more fearful, which would have potentially escalated the dog’s reactions.
Spacial pressure allows you to move a dog and shape its behaviors. (Photo courtesy of Tanner Smedley) Training with Spacial Pressure I use the same method to teach any dogs how to move out of my space. With a dog that I trust, I will use my body rather than a tool.
I will simply step into the dog's space and wait for it to move away from me. As it moves away, I will remain stationary, allowing the space between us to increase. I will then verbally mark the behavior with a “yes” and offer the dog a treat. I offer the reward because a happy dog may not want to leave your space. If this is the case, unlike the dog in the story, your dog may not view having to move away as rewarding. By offering a reward, I can create a positive interaction out of the exercise. Soon, the dog will be moving freely from spatial pressure.
When the dog has a basic understanding of spatial pressure, I use this understanding to move the dog off of the couch, away from the door, or out of the kitchen. Soon, I can protect a visitor or child's space by sending my dog away. I also claim space to stop my dog from jumping on me or guests. I can even use this new ability to “drive” my dog to stop behaviors such as getting in the garbage, getting on furniture, table surfing, or even for stopping fights.
Dogs have always used space and spatial pressure to establish leadership, claim space and objects, protect themselves and weaker or younger animals, and shape behaviors in the pack. They naturally look for and respond to this communication. They are quick to happily accept this communication from humans as well.
