Answer: front door behaviour

Front door behaviour

Question: Charlie is a naturally nervous dog, who is easily unsettled. She has a great temperament around those she is familiar with and is very loyal.

The trouble we are having is that Charlie is beginning to gain confidence in intimidating strangers. We have trouble with Charlie's aggressiveness shown to visitors (although she has never bitten anyone, she does show her teeth and of course most visitors react with nerves when she acts like this) we are wondering if you have any tips on how to exert authority over her. I was wondering if she needs to be trained that the door where visitors approach is our domain and that she is not required to protect us there. Do you have any suggestions on how to go about this?

Any tips would be appreciated

ANSWER: First and foremost, you aim should be do help Charlie feel calm and relaxed. Forget about trying to use correction to settle her down. Her aggression or potential aggression, according to you, is caused by her nervousness, therefore the solution is to build her confidence by giving her good experiences. It is also important to set up training sessions whereby she gradually accepts people coming closer, and finds this a good experience. Your problem at the moment is that she is successfully engaging in what are called “distance increasing behaviours”. What this means is she is uncomfortable with people, and she successfully behaves in a way that gets them to move away from her. Therefore her aggressive display is reinforced.
 
With a naturally nervous dog, you have to do an enormous amount of very careful socialisation. Socialisation should not end at the end of the puppy stage. It has to be ongoing. Since your dog is showing aggression, you obviously have to be very careful, so that the people you are socialising with are not put at risk. I would have Charlie on lead and wearing a head halter. Practice using this, if you haven’t already, before you start socialising.
 
Getting a routine established for the front door would be a place to start.
 
I don’t know how much training you have done already, but it is important to teach exercises such as “sit to say hello” and “the long down” in the house.
 
With people she knows and is comfortable with, teach her that she only gets a pat or a treat when she sits for them. This sounds simple but it is a powerful leadership exercise, it will stop her from being unruly and it will start to build her confidence. Do not let strangers approach and get into her space when she is doing this, because a hand reaching out will not be welcome. One trick which may help is to teach her to catch food. Throw a piece and say “Catch!” and make it fun. Later you can get guests to do the same. This way they can interact without getting into her face. If she can’t catch, throwing food on the floor towards her is OK too.
 
To establish the front door routine, first you need to teach Charlie to go and lie down on a mat or dog bed in the living room. You might be using a crate as well, but I regard this as a means of management. I have seen many crated dogs who were never really trained, just managed. Teaching her to go and lie down on a mat means that she has to develop self control, which is the ultimate goal.
 
Use food and a lure hand movement to direct her to the mat. Reward her for going there and use another lure hand movement to guide her into a down position. Reward her for that. Then you can start rewarding her for gradually increasing amounts of time spent on the mat. When that has become habitual, she should be on her mat if you are sitting around in the living room.
 
The next step is to place another mat near the front door, about a metre to a metre and a half back from the door itself. Get her used to being told to lie down on that mat as you walk to the door. At this early stage, there is no-one actually at the front door. You are just getting her used to the routine.
 
Step three is to have a family member or friend that Charlie knows well come to the door when you and Charlie are sitting in the living room. Charlie is allowed to get up and go and investigate when she hears the doorbell, but she should not run ahead of you. If she does, clap you hands to get her attention, and call her back to you. Reward her for coming back, then move towards the door. Again, she might run ahead. If she does, repeat the process of getting her attention and calling her back to you. Proceed only when she is by your side, not ahead of you. This may take a lot of repetition, so tell your helper to be patient.
 
Step four, when you get to the door, have Charlie lie down on her mat. Start to open the door. If she moves, close the door. Settle her back on the mat. Again start to open the door. Each time she gets up, close the door and settle her back on the mat. If she stays there, give her a food reward and open the door a bit further. Proceed like this until the door is open.
 
Then welcome your visitor with lots of happy conversation. The more upbeat the better. The aim is to convey to Charlie that this is a friend and we are all happy to see him or her. When less well known people come to the door it is important to go through this procedure, known as “the jolly routine” to put her in a good mood towards the visitors. Your attitude is communicated to Charlie.
 
Your visitor can then step in, and you reward Charlie generously.
 
After making a successful entrance, you all move into the living room, and Charlie goes onto her other mat or bed. Your visitor can throw her treats but should not intrude into her space.
 
This is basically the procedure. The next crucial stage is to set up training sessions with people she knows less well. I suggest you have her on lead and with a head halter, so that after you open the door and welcome your visitor, you then lead Charlie away, back into the living room and onto her bed, while your guest follows you.
 
Careful socialisation of a nervous and potentially aggressive adult really means  using systematic desensitization, a technique where Charlie is introduced little by little to people, at first from a distance that she can cope with. This is why when they come in they should be seated and across the room from her bed, so she should not feel they are coming into her personal space. You may have to use all of Charlie's food ration in this training session.

Visitors should be instructed to use calm relaxed body language, to talk in a pleasant, friendly tone, and not to stare at Charlie or approach her directly. Beware of people who say “Oh, dogs love me” and go ploughing into her space. It is not necessary for the visitor to make physical contact with Charlie, just for her to react calmly to their arrival.
 
I hope this helps.