Even if you have never owned a dog you know what barrier aggression is. The simplest way to explain it is when a dog barks, growls, or even nips and bites while on the other side of a barrier such as a window or gate. This is in response to the stimulus of another living creature on the other side of the barrier.
So you are the typical dog, hanging out on the sofa while everyone is away at work and school. All of a sudden. you hear a noise and look out the window and see someone putting a package on “your” porch. You jump up and start barking like a lunatic. Within seconds the threat leaves your property. Obviously this was a result of your barking. Whether in the house, fenced in back yard, or inside a vehicle this behavior is reinforced every time anything approaches the barrier and moves away after the dog barks, growls or snaps air or the barrier itself.
If the barrier is removed the vast majority of these dogs just chill out. Before our sweet baby Chica (a Chihuahua) passed away she would do this but use the height of the sofa instead. She would get as high as possible and go nuts as any of the other dogs approached. Without saying a word we would pick her up and put her on the floor and she would immediately go back to be submissive. That’s why I said it’s like arguing on Facebook. People are not quite as brave when the only thing between you and them is air.
Being a pack leader means that you are the filter that your dog processes the world though. If they are not trained to focus on you then they will process the environment on their own and act accordingly, without your input. Please read that again.
The litmus test of effective dog training is the ability of the dog to generalize and obey commands in any environments with any distraction. For that to happen your dog must recognize you in all environments. If you have a fenced in yard for your dogs but spend little time in there with them, they will not focus on you in that environment. By you not sharing that space with them like you do the house, you are surrendering the yard to them. If there is more than one dog, you have surrendered it to the pack. The more time the pack spends running around the yard “scaring” off threats alone the less they need you, even in the house. One of the hardest things to teach a dog is consistent recall. The #1 contributing factor to this is that for most dogs the most often time their owner calls them is to come in from outside. So from a dogs point of view, they are in “their” space, free to do whatever they want for as long as they want to, and you are trying to call them into your space where you control everything. Not a hard choice for the dog. At this point the louder and more animated you get the more you confirm to the dog that they have made the right decision.
The take away- as soon as a dog comes into your custody from birth or adoption, you have to let them know that you are in charge of any space that you share with them from the bed to the back yard. The best way to do this is using physical and imaginary boundaries. Start simple by never allowing your dog to enter a space ahead of you like doors. Don’t let them claim your bed, couch, or yard. Pay attention to things like your dog trying to squeeze in or out of a door ahead of you. They know what they are doing and they are testing you.
Don’t forget to walk. your dog today.