17/03/2025
I understand that this post may cause strong disagreements with some. I am fine with that as i am passionately believe in what I am writing. It is one of the things dog related that i feel most strong about. A sweet lady bought Oakley from me last summer..he is a red mini poodle. He comes from two of the sweetest, most submissive poodles i own..the mom has lived in a guardian home with 4 young children.
Oakley's owner contacted me recently with concerns that he was showing aggression towards her (and only her) like resource guarding new certain toys, his food bowl. This has been going on for a few months and now has escalated to where Oakley is resource guarding certain rooms and refuses to go in his crate. He does not act this way with others including her son and a trainer she hired. The vet was completely surprised when he heard this.
This began after Oakley was neutered. One of the side effects from his medicine was could cause aggression. A trainer was hired whose training philosophy was only use positive reinforcement. Basically the trainer kept telling Oakleys owner that she needed to bond more with Oakley and be his cheerleader That a lack of bonding and not being a big enough cheerleader was causing his aggression. The trainer said it wasnt a dominance thing as that is outdated and old school. Techniques included throwing a more appealing treat or toy if he was resource guarding, so he would leave that object and go to the more appealing object. There were other similar techniques like this. So basically when Oakley acts aggressive, reward him and give him something more desireable. In the meantime, Oakley's behavior continued to get worse, again only to Oakley's owner to where he would aggressively bite her.
To keep the length of this post reasonable, I am going to be more concise that I want..that trainer's philosophy is garbage, and that is putting it kindly. It is the same parenting philosophy that says children should not have consequences or be disciplined, just remain positive and be better friends with them. Run, run, run from any trainer who gives you that garbage. Parenting and dog training involves both negative and positive reinforcement.
Oakley's problem is an alpha or dominance thing with his owner. I went to pick him up at her house yesterday to bring him home to work with him. I did the same things with him that cause aggression with his owner, right in front of her. One time Oakley got a more guarding posture with me, and it only happened once. I didn't require physical force on my part, and it was only a posture.
In the end the goal is to bring Oakley back to his owner and work with them together with me there...Oakley isn't showing any aggression to me. I am confident that we can work through this.
Lastly, if you bought a puppy from me and need training help call me..I am not even charging her. Second, take poor behavior seriously and address it right away. Do not be passive and dismissive as once it becomes a habit, the puppy will not outgrow it. A smart dog who has alpha tendencies will take advantage and walk all over a passive owner. Thirdly, never reward bad behavior. Lastly, training a puppy often requires both negative and positive reinforcement, passive and reactive training.
