Post by tank on Jan 12, 2009 16:16:46 GMT -5
Lately, Lucy has had some problems with gate aggression while she is at work with me. To give you guys a bit of background info, I have worked in a do it yourself grooming place since Lucy was 2 months old. She comes to work with me everyday. She had separation problems when I first brought her with me, she would climb over the baby gate she was put behind, constantly paw at it etc, we tried putting her behind a closed door so she can't see me, and all she did was bark and throw herself against the door obsessively to get to me. This only lasted 2 days, after one day I decided to bring her around with me on a leash attached to my belt while I helped customers for a day so she knew she wasn't getting abandoned, this was when she was 2 months.
Since then she has been really good at work. She now stays behind the gate and lays on a blanket as long as she has a toy or bully stick to keep her busy. When she is outside in the yard, a huge fenced in area, she does well, runs around, plays, basically keeps herself amused. Now, we have HUGE signs on the fence outside that say "Do Not Approach the Fence for ANY Reason." because a couple of my boss's dog's are fence aggressive. Lucy on the other hand, lets people walk up and she licks them through the fence, tail wagging etc, no problems at all.
BUT, once in a great while when she is inside with me behind a baby gate and people walk in, stand at the counter, start talking to me etc she will start "talking" and if they come closer or if a dog comes close but not close enough for her to actually sniff she growls and snarls at them very aggressively, most of the time, with her tail wagging, but she sounds vicious, I'm not going to lie.
What is the appropriate action to take here, do I turn around and say "no" to her, do I ignore her and tell the customers not to worry, do I not allow her inside while customers are there at all? The main thing I do right now is tell the customers that she is very friendly after I say "Lucy, relax" and she usually stops.
I think she gets jealous when she sees customers or other dogs get more attention, or treats than her, but I'm not sure if that is really what it is. From what I've heard from other people is that a lot of dogs (no matter what breed) do this when they are behind a gate or fence because they feel like they are in their own territory and they need to protect it. She has had no other aggression issues with dogs or people. I also don't want to have to not bring her to work, because it is important to me that she comes with me, for socialization/exercise purposes. I also don't want to lock her out in the yard all day, because I don't see that fixing the problem, just avoiding it, or is avoiding it the only solution?
Since then she has been really good at work. She now stays behind the gate and lays on a blanket as long as she has a toy or bully stick to keep her busy. When she is outside in the yard, a huge fenced in area, she does well, runs around, plays, basically keeps herself amused. Now, we have HUGE signs on the fence outside that say "Do Not Approach the Fence for ANY Reason." because a couple of my boss's dog's are fence aggressive. Lucy on the other hand, lets people walk up and she licks them through the fence, tail wagging etc, no problems at all.
BUT, once in a great while when she is inside with me behind a baby gate and people walk in, stand at the counter, start talking to me etc she will start "talking" and if they come closer or if a dog comes close but not close enough for her to actually sniff she growls and snarls at them very aggressively, most of the time, with her tail wagging, but she sounds vicious, I'm not going to lie.
What is the appropriate action to take here, do I turn around and say "no" to her, do I ignore her and tell the customers not to worry, do I not allow her inside while customers are there at all? The main thing I do right now is tell the customers that she is very friendly after I say "Lucy, relax" and she usually stops.
I think she gets jealous when she sees customers or other dogs get more attention, or treats than her, but I'm not sure if that is really what it is. From what I've heard from other people is that a lot of dogs (no matter what breed) do this when they are behind a gate or fence because they feel like they are in their own territory and they need to protect it. She has had no other aggression issues with dogs or people. I also don't want to have to not bring her to work, because it is important to me that she comes with me, for socialization/exercise purposes. I also don't want to lock her out in the yard all day, because I don't see that fixing the problem, just avoiding it, or is avoiding it the only solution?
I look forward to learning much here