5 Year Old Male Suddenly Lashing Out

[Animommy]

Hi, im new to this forum & so far ive seen amazing advice given by the community & im hoping someone can give me some insight until we can scrounge to afford a behaviourist to come to the home!

This is long, i apologize in advance!

We have 5 dogs, 2 Male Boxers (Bentley & Royce, both 5 years old), 1 Female Basenji (Cairo, 4 years old) & 2 Shiba Inus (1 Male, Klaus, 6 years old & 1 Female, Mecca, 6 years old). We've had them all since they were puppies.

The situation at present is this, the 2 Shibas are separate from the 2 Boxers & Basenji; this situation only involves our 5 yr old male Boxer, Bentley & 4 yr old Female Basenji, Cairo.

All of our dogs are spayed/neutered, and i am unable to work, so i am home 99% of the time. Our Boxer Bentley, has ALWAYS been EXTREMELY passive & easy going, not food aggressive, i can take anything from him, is a big time momma's boy, gets along with other dogs fine, & every human he's ever come into contact with. Same with Cairo for the most part, except that she is easily intimidated by small dogs being near her, especially if her Boxer brothers arent around her! Shes very insecure without them!

Bentley is typically the type of dog that when another would get in his face, he will play bow, bark & stand & whimper at them, vs. attacking or engaging with them in any way. Our female Basenji, Cairo, had ALWAYS been EXTREMELY submissive as well, backing away from any conflict, perhaps a bit nervous about it, putting the ears back, lowering her head & wagging her tail if anyone ever growled at her.

Bentley & Cairo have ALWAYS been 100% inseperable! They did EVERYTHING together, play, sleep (snuggle!), potty, everything, without ANY conflict of any type whatsoever.
Cairo has become a bit possessive of the furniture & very much so, mommy for that matter in the past few months. Bentley always just stood there & barked at her; we would make him go lay down, or put her on the floor if she were to growl at him when she was on our lap & he came near.

In the past 3 weeks now, this is primarily with me, not so much my husband, whenever Cairo had gotten on the furniture, Bentley would hold her down & "look" & sound like he was attacking her. He never so much as broke her skin. Since we do not want this to escalate (for obvious reasons, but also Cairo is VERY tiny for a Basenji!) We have gone back to basics where they must earn even being out of their crates. We are doing what a behaviuorist taught us, the "no look, no talk, no eye contact" thing (which breaks my heart but it MUST be done!)

For the 1st few days things were going very very well! (we have been at this for 9 days now) However, yesterday, he went at her at the water dish right before going out to potty together, so now they only get their water when we give it to them, its not sitting there for them right when they get out of their beds. They get it separately.

Today, while i wasnt downstairs, my husband let them out & for the 1st time ever, Bentley went after her at the back door, when he was letting them out. She had went thru the kitchen 1st, he followed & went after her. No one was hurt. In the yard they act as they always have! Like they adore each other! When he brought them in, he went after her when she came up toward him, they were spearated (he was getting them in their crates), end of story. Oddly tho, they had gotten their walk tonite & despite that, went after her twice today!

Ill admit they do NOT get as much exercise as they should, especially since ive been disabled, but my husband & i are changing that as of present.

Often times, ive noticed if we dont react hardly at all, USUALLY he will be redirected & listen to us. Sometimes however, when he postures at her & we spray him with the water bottle (is this an unacceptable tool?), tho hes very used to it & often sees it as a reward (he wants to drink the spray ) its almost as if it spurs him to go after her, because sometimes, he'll lunge at her when sprayed.

We're hoping we are nipping this in the bud quickly enough, but im concerned that theres been incidents despite things had been going smoothly for a few days & now they are retuning, despite behaviour mod thats worked in the past (we did it for 2 weeks last time).

If we are allowing them out of their crate to stretch, but not her, is that "separating her from the pack" & reinforcing to him that she should not be around him, or doesnt it work that way? I have lots of questions & concerns, but we will start there.

Sorry about the long post & thanks for any advice in advance!

 

[ouesi]

Generally when there's this type of behavior change, a thorough vet work-up is in order. I'd have Bentley and Cairo BOTH seen by the vet and checked thoroughly, thyroid issues are what come to mind with a 5 year old boxer, but there are many medical things that can cause new aggression - pain comes to mind too.

Honestly, its really hard to tell what the issue is without seeing the dogs in their home, how they interact with each other and how they interact with you.
A couple things that jump out at me are:
1. NILIF - I think that's what you're referring to, always a good thing, and yes, keep that up.
2. Punishing aggression (spray bottle), can backfire (as you have seen). It might be that Bentley has made a superstitious association between Cairo's presence and being corrected.
3. No touch, no talk, no eye contact sounds awfully Cesar Millan-ish, and that is the LAST person I would emulate when it comes to rehabilitating behavior.

My advice to you would be to seek out a trainer who is versed in the actual science of behavior modification. Dog training is a largely unregulated industry, so you have to be a very savvy consumer to know what you're paying for. Look for certifications that require actual work and knowledge, not just sending in membership fees.
But yes, I do think you need someone knowledgeable to come in to your home and watch these interactions first hand.

 

[Animommy]

Thanks!

Thank you for taking the time to get back to me so quickly & with some great insight!

Yes, i was referring to NILIF, & we are keeping that up!

I believe you are right also about the spray bottle. We had figured it was a non aggressive & much more humane way than many methods we had heard about (we are VERY much into the positive approaches!) But im really grateful that you pointed out that he now probably IS seeing this as an aggressive move, like you said, as is evidenced by how he immediately has been reactive towards Cairo when he feels it. I also think the fact that we had thought it was "cute" when he'd come up & drink from it, so, that was completely our fault for not nipping that in the bud! We will find another method to keep him from lunging at Cairo; however, im curious if anyone has any good ideas of what WE can do when he postures at her, (BEFORE he lunges at her) that would be quite positive, diffuse the situation, while reinforcing WE are the pack Leaders? Any suggestions are VERY much appreciated!

As SOON as we can get the money together, we WILL be getting another behaviourist to work with! But in the meantime, im glad im getting some great insight to tide us over!

The no looking, talking or touching was advised by a very good behaviourist that we had worked with in the past. She has an AMAZING large pack of intact dogs that never even so much as lift a lip, as she tends to very positively (imo) reinforce that she is the Leader. She has been doing this for over 20 years, & is a very calm, insightful person. She had advised us to do this for only a period of 2 weeks, & then after that, the point was that theyd be SO focused on getting attention from us, THATS when we would start the more intensive behaviour modification, working with treats & other rewards. Kinda like "pushing the reset button" in their brains so to speak.

However, im MORE than open to other suggestions, as im not so sure this WOULD be the way for us to approach it at this time. Bentley VERY MUCH thrives on the interaction, & LOVES to learn! Hes VERY focused when he has a "job" to do! Which is another thing we are working on! Im currently looking into local Rally or Flyball classes for him to get into! Again, we're aware he needs more exercise & have been diligent about it! He had another walk today, but i walked him without him being coupled to either Royce (who he is always coupled with) or Cairo, who he was GREAT when coupled with yesterday! I think he REALLY enjoyed the bonding time with mommy! He was VERY relaxed & focused on his walk!

Things were great tonite when we brought them home too! Right when we came home it was feeding time, & he was super focused on that, so we didnt have an problems.

I wholeheartedly beleive that alot of this is jealousy & being super possessive of mommy. As i stated, im virtually ALWAYS home, as im disabled, & i think they are better when im out for even a brief period of time, vs. when im home 24hrs a day. We're talking super co-dependent here!

I look forward to hearing from many more people & am getting some GREAT insight here! Thank you all so VERY VERY VERY Much!!