What Should Jane Do?

[Rackonteur]

Jane has a dog named Spot.
Jane also has two neighbors, Sally and Nicki.
One day, Jane and Spot and Sally are visiting Nicki.
Spot likes Sally and Nicki, and on this visit he wants to sit with Sally in her chair. She invites him to sit with her and he settles down comfortably.
Everybody is happy.
Then Jane shows Sally the new Halloween collar Nicki just got for Spot. Sally asks to look at it and starts to put it around Spot’s neck. Spot is fine with this.
Until he isn’t.
Sally is having trouble fastening the collar. Jane gets up from her seat and comes over and reaches out to fasten the collar. Suddenly Spot growls. Then he barks at Jane and lunges at her. She backs away and he jumps down from Sally’s chair.
Sally is scared and asks what she did wrong. Jane says Sally did nothing wrong; Spot just did not want Jane (his owner) to take him away from Sally. Jane says that Spot has done this once before; he wasn’t attacking her, he just didn’t want her to move him.
Sally is wishing that somebody would move him far far away, and is shocked that Spot ever has attacked his own owner. She wonders what she would have done, if Spot were her dog, the first time he attacked her.

What should Jane do?

[2DogsFarm]

Jane should find a dog trainer who has proven experience with aggression.
Jane should not tolerate or make excuses for this kind of behavior, inevitably it will escalate.

I had a Jane friend who adopted an adult GSHP with some serious food aggression.
We parted ways before he did real damage to her, but watching her tippytoe around feeding him was unnerving.

Some Janes should stick with goldfish.

[Casey09]

I would say that Jane should see a trainer, be more cautious about letting strangers handle Spot, and learn to manage Spot’s reaction to being moved. Personally I would keep a line on him and work on a come command so that he is in an agreeing frame of mind rather than manhandling this dog. It’s serious, but the answer isn’t necessarily 100 percent positive or force.

[Jenerationx]

Jane needs to work on her relationship with Spot. Spot doesn’t respect her and sees himself as at least her equal. She needs to work on basic obedience like come, stay, sit, down, place, etc and should probably keep him off all furniture and laps until he has demonstrated respectfulness. Then she needs to work on moving spot onto and off of things without a reaction before he’s allowed up regularly.

[endlessclimb]

Spot needs some serious “nothing in life is free” type livin’, while they both get consistent help from a trainer to keep the progress going.

Sounds like this is the early stages, so Jane might be OK if she’s committed to it.

[colorfan]

I love my dog but people first. If the dog is under a year I would give it to him and do specific training. However, if this is an older dog…
First, if possible I would involve an experienced trainer, because I suspect there are other things going on that Jane is not aware of or perhaps just indulging in. Such as guarding his food, toy or blanket.
The pooch would get some very specific training, you are the dog and Jane is your boss.
In the same way your horse waits respectfully to come get his grain, horse doesn’t push you out of the way. This is not ego, this is respectful manners that keep people safe.

If Jane does not feel equipped to take on a tough love stance with the pooch she needs to rehome with full disclosure because it is only a matter of time before she or someone else is bitten.

[Rackonteur]

Thank you all.

[OverandOnward]

Others have good dog training insight.

Aside from that – has anyone asked Jane to do anything? If they have, such as don’t bring Spot over, it is best to comply. Allow time to help heal any shock that may have happened, inadvertently.

It might be best if Spot didn’t visit for a while, for the same reason, to allow time to help feelings to settle down. And let Spot settle down, too. It would be best not to aggravate a situation if Sally and/or Nikki are feeling a little uneasy with Spot. That is quite understandable, and it is better not to push.

Jane may be accustomed to Spot’s behavior, but it is a good idea to think about the long-term future for Spot and Jane, both. This type of behavior is not a small thing. It is a big deal. Jane may not be bothered. But in all honesty, the door is open for something Jane doesn’t control well to affect Spot’s future. That’s not in Spot’s best interests.

[Casey09]

> Blockquote

Here is an article that might help the owner, if you feel comfortable passing it on.
I think the positive thing in all of this is that the dog did not bite. He did issue a warning.
So many people carry the notion that you can discipline him or force him to accept something that you cannot always do, or at least not without risking a much bigger issue.

[tabula_rashah]

The whole scenario, if it’s a real one, is just weird. I mean the solution would be not to take your dog to someone else’s house and then let them just do whatever they want. It’s also weird that a random person would be putting the dog’s collar on? If I, as a human who can understand this situation, think it’s odd, I’m guessing the dog definitely would be uncomfortable- aka don’t set your dog (horse, cat, wombat) up for failure

[Laurierace]

This does not sound like aggression to me, it sounds like resource guarding. When the resource is a person it is a little more difficult than if it is an object but the premise is the same. You don’t take a resource away, you trade for something better. This would be a good thing to work through with a trainer.

[Rackonteur]

Good thought. Thank you. I had not thought about that.

Everyone, i appreciate the tips about trainers. I hadn’t thought about that either. But I haven’t tried to train any dogs in ages because I haven’t had one in ages.

This afternoon I will start looking around for a local trainer and hopefully can sell “Jane” on the idea.