Reddit reviews Behavior Adjustment Training: BAT for Fear, Frustration, and Aggression in Dogs

Warning: very little good news ahead (sorry, going through some stuff right now which has me pretty fucking jaded on the subject, and while I do think my information is helpful, it is a bit more doomsdayish than really necessary--apolgies for that.)

Honestly a lot of shelter dogs will not show their problem behaviors right away. This is most likely not sudden, and probably the reason he was at the shelter. This behavior is not something that you caused, it is a behavior that he has learned a long time before you and is now displaying because of his level of comfort around you. It takes a LONG time to rehab a dog like that, considering his age, and sometimes it's not really successful, depending on the underlying causes of the aggression...so you must ask yourself are you really in this for the long haul or do you want to get a different dog that will be easier?

I would definitely recommend seeing a behaviorist not just a trainer for at least one or two sessions to get some practice under your belt for how to manage and treat this situation. The main techniques will be counter-conditioning to the presence of other dogs and redirection. Timing is KEY when doing this kind of training and if you do it yourself without being really shown how, you risk fucking the dog up more.

I rescued a dog from the shelter who seemed perfectly fine (although a bit unruly) at first. He started showing aggression to other dogs AND people after about 3 weeks. I took the DIY approach for about a year, decided I needed help, now 2 and a half years and roughly $15,000 in books, dvds, seminars, workshops, behaviorists, trainers, vet bills, training camp, training classes, etc I have decided to have him humanely euthanized for his own benefit, that of society at large, and also my own mental health. He is a super smart and amazing dog who I love dearly (hence why I have tried so hard), but to be honest he is dangerous.

I don't mean to scare you, and honestly, I ended up with a REALLY bad dog, way worse than most people would from a shelter. Dog aggression is quite manageable if you are willing to accept that you may not ever "cure" your dog, and make sure that he is kept away from other dogs at all times so as not to practice this behavior further. The fact that he has redirected at you is quite concerning, however, and should definitely be discussed with a professional if you do decide to keep this dog.

While you are looking for your behaviorist I would recommend the following books:

http://www.amazon.com/Behavior-Adjustment-Training-Frustration-Aggression/dp/1617810509

http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Practical-Treatment-Dog-dog-Aggression/dp/0970562969

http://www.amazon.com/Control-Unleashed-Creating-Focused-Confident/dp/B000UCF53A

These are the books that helped me the most dealing with my problem dog.

I have read and highly recommend BAT 2.0 by Grisha Stewart. If you'd like more information about this training ideology, I can find some free sources online!

Keep educating yourself. You're doing a good thing already by not giving up on this dog. Tell yourself that every day, especially when it gets frustrating. Focus on the successes and progress you are making, however small. Don't feel obligated to put yourself or your dog in situations that make him feel uncomfortable. If you don't feel like he (or you!) is ready to be introduced to new people yet, don't. Keep practicing the stuff you are comfortable with instead.

I don't know a lot about muzzles but in my opinion, if you are in a situation where you feel you need to muzzle your dog (and it's not a necessary situation like vet treatment, etc), then your dog isn't ready to be there yet. Adding a muzzle to the mix could just confuse your dog even further and make him more uncomfortable and fearful. If you do decide to go that route, though, make sure to desensitize him to it and have him associate it with good things (treats, etc) before you put it on him in new, scary situations.

Medication, in my opinion, is a last resort. Unless your dog is constantly irrationally fearful and anxious of a wide variety of things, you probably don't need to medicate him. If he is just wary of strangers and people in new situations, that can be worked on with behavior modification. Again, educate yourself! If you feel confused by or uncomfortable with a suggestion that your behaviorist makes, get a second opinion. Google is your friend. (Just please don't use corrections or punishment on a dog with fear aggression issues.)

This article has been very useful and informative to me in the past.

Dr. Sophia Yin's website is a great place to find information on behavior.

This book is an excellent resource, and so is this one if you're into clicker training.

You are your dog's advocate and guardian. The most important thing you can do is give yourself the information and tools to help guide your dog through the world and help him learn that he doesn't have to be scared of things. Good luck <3

I'm new to this thread. Smelly is a 50lb mixed breed whom I adopted as a young adult one year ago. His main reason for reactivity is fear and he will bark, growl and lunge at unfamiliar dogs and people.

His trainer introduced us to behavior adjustment training. This book was a great resource for me. His reactivity is much improved. I can walk him 90% of the time without an episode.

Currently he still will lunge and growl if an unfamiliar dog gets within his comfort zone(~12 feet radius). His other triggers are people in narrow hallways and people who are not in motion. His hallway/elevator lunging has improved with clicker-training with ultra high-value treats.

My dream would be for him to have good dog manners and be comfortable in unfamiliar settings. It would be so wonderful to watch him romp in the dog park like I used to with my previous dogs. I would love to do some sort of dog sport with him.. but I can't imagine if he ever would be comfortable with all that!

What exactly did you do when you "reacted wrongly and aggressively"? If you beat him or otherwise punished him physically, it might be that his conclusion was that if provoked he needed to disable you so you couldn't do that again.

Seeing a behaviourist is really your best bet. On top of that, so not as an alternative, try to read as much as you can on dog literature, for instance this extremely helpful book : "Behavior Adjustment Training: BAT for Fear, Frustration, and Aggression in DogsBehavior Adjustment Training: BAT for Fear, Frustration, and Aggression in Dogs" by Grisha Stewart, see here.

Euthanizing your dog is absolutely not the greatest solution at the moment, though it does seem to me like you've so far allowed your dog to sort of do anything he pleases. Of course he's upset now that he doesn't get his way, so the way to teach him is with kindness. See a behaviourist and read that book. Also show it to your mum if you can, she will be glad to know there IS a way to handle any kind of aggression. That said, don't think you can do it by yourselves. Biting is a really slippery slope for a dog, and it takes expert advice to know how to handle it.

Is it possible to scale it back and just focus on your guys relationship with her first? It sounds like you are working really hard to socialize her in all aspects, but it may be overwhelming.

Kudos on the work you've done. Going from food possessive to being able to handle her food is huge! It sounds like you were very patient and respectful to get that sort of a result with her. That's what she needs right now.

Can you scale your socialization back for a bit? Maybe eliminate etra stress from other dogs and men until she feels bonded to you guys? She needs to be comfortable with you first before she can trust you enough to work on those issues.

An eample would be, if you are walking and see a man or another dog, turn away from them before she becomes nervous (starts staring). Don't wait for her to raise her hackles, cower, growl, whine, etc.

By moving her away from what she is fearing, she gains trust in your ability to protect her. It also teaches her to move away rather than feel the need to defend herself.

I highly recommend this book: https://www.amazon.com/Behavior-Adjustment-Training-Frustration-Aggression/dp/1617810509

Also, talk to a trainer. Just like u/edgepatrol said. These are difficult issues, especially for new dog owners. Yikes.

I don't use corrections either. I would rather show the dog what to do rather than what not to do. My dog isn't perfect, but he is a great dog and I am very happy with the results I have gotten from using only positive reinforcement training. My dog and I do agility, rally, nose-work, parkour, and a ton of trick training. Positive reinforcement works it just takes effort and time from the trainer. The best example I can give for what positive reinforcement is to look up Sara Carson and her Super Collies. She only uses positive reinforcement and all of her dogs are amazing and she has a reactive/aggressive dog as well.

My dog has both fear and frustration based reactivity, although they start out looking different, they end in the same result of barking, lunging, etc.

I would refrain from using punishment/corrections to modify a dogs frustration based reactive dogs behavior because you don't want it to turn into fear. Your dog might not make the association that they are getting the punishment because of their behavior and may associate the punishment to seeing other dogs and this can turn into them thinking dogs=punishment so keep away from me!

Look into B.A.T and L.A.T training if you haven't already.

BAT training book by Grisha Stewart is a really good read for BAT training and she has some really good diagrams.

Have you looked into Behavior Adjustment Training (BAT)? I only started reading it but it seems like it might help. From what I gather, you figure out what the threshold is for your dog's reactivity and work from there. Like I said, I'm only about halfway through it but it seems like it would be helpful, plus it was a recommendation in the wiki.