08/28/2025
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I had the pleasure of presenting to Frederick County Animal Control, Maryland staff about dog behavior, defensive handling, and some typical behavior problems they deal with.
The big focus was on overarousal. Things like stranger danger, leash reactivity, resource guarding- those are important, but they're also easy to modify because the behavior is relatively manageable, even in a shelter environment.
You know what's not really manageable in a shelter environment? Stress. Excitement.
And a mouthy but well-intentioned dog could end up with a bite record, which is no bueno for that dog, and the staff who love him. So what do you do?
I focus on a few things in this video.
1) Leave the dog when they're overaroused- get distance if you have to (put a fence between you and the dog). You want at least 30 or so seconds between when you leave the dog and when you re-engage, because you don't want that pesky little behavior chain coming up and biting you (literally). (Some of you may recognize this as the Game Show Hack/sort of the Get a Grip Hack from FDM)
Do not return if they are ACTIVELY howling/jumping/showing clear signs of overarousal. It's not a random 30 seconds, it's 30 seconds between the behavior we don't want, and you returning to the situation.
The dog does not need to be perfectly calm for you to return- it's okay if we see some vocalizations, excitement, etc, especially in the beginning. We just don't want to reward the behaviors we've decided are our line in the sand (jumping, mouthing).
2) Be super mindful about where you place your reinforcers. I try to ask for a sit before this dog can have the opportunity to jump up on me. The second he does, I mark that, and I throw it to the opposite end of the kennel, or on the ground.
I don't want the dog jumping up to my hand, anticipating treats will come from there. I want their face and body and excitement directed away from me.
3) Be quick and consistent- even if the leash is on. I'll just drop it and move if they cross the line. You have to be almost robotic about this, but what's cool is that the learner is really controlling the situation. I'm not mad when I leave, at most I might say "oops!" But it has to be consistent, and it has to be the moment they give you the behavior you've decided is the line in the sand. Every single time.
4) Find smaller increments to reward for. Frustration and overarousal often come from a lack of clarity. I may not be able to get a dog to stand still for the whole time I'm putting the leash on, but if I can reward for when they first see me, when I first lower the leash towards their neck, and again when it's on, I've told the dog, "Hey, there's a lot of good things you're doing, thank you!"
Yes, using food in this situation can create more arousal. But let's remember, this is a shelter environment. We do not have the luxury of waiting 10 minutes for the dog to relax- and as you can see in this video, even with some staff able to avoid us, it's a super busy environment!
Also thank you to FFOCAS who sponsored the presentation, and specifically Bette Stallman Brown who had this idea.
I hope this is helpful to you! Please feel free to share this video, I want it to help as many dogs as possible.
