I started training dogs at the age of 12 when I acquired a dog aggressive male Golden that I went on to train both in the field and obedience ring to a CDX title. I learned from the masters at that time, Jack Godsil and Bob Self were considered not only great trainers and exhibitors but also great teachers. I have since learned from many people who I consider tops in their field.

In the dog fancy (breeding specifically) I began learning from Emily and Rick Preston- they started in Cocker Spaniels in the 1960’s and introduced me to “applied” dog genetics. They also introduced me to books about dogs and today I found a book I had not looked at in years. It is called Breeding Better Cocker Spaniels by Alvin Grossman . This book dives into how to breed better dogs, it talks about pedigrees at length, about problems in cockers like cataracts and hip dysplasia- in current books you get a paragraph that tells you to look for OFA numbers. That’s it, nothing about keeping track of production or data on litters. There are ways to get that information but I do think it is not acceptable to write about breeding dogs anymore in the U.S. With all the dog police out there, current authors are afraid to teach people how to improve- most of the books I see today are truly generic and written to stock the shelves at Barnes and Noble.

It is a shame as we are losing a generation of knowledge about what works to improve pure-bred dogs. Do we really NEED to breed dogs with so many in the shelter? I mean really- there are a ton of Labradors out there right now. But what if I don’t want a shelter dog? What if my shelter has all herding dog mixes and I can’t fly to Montana to rescue a hunt’in Lab? And what if I hunt? What if I don’t want a Chihuahua, they don’t really like to chase ducks! What if I want a puppy and not an older dog (guilt, guilt) What if I really enjoy breeding better dogs and raising puppies to place them in search and rescue homes or as service or guide dogs or as great pets? What if there are plenty of folks out there that do get rescue dogs? Do we really have to make a choice here? Isn’t it great that breeders care as much as they do about the welfare of all dogs? Breeders are the solution here not the problem.

Bottom line here- It is not illegal to breed dogs right now. It just seems that way. So who is really going to breed dogs if it is now something only the pet shop folks have access to with all the new laws in place? ONLY the puppy milllers! We are making sure that only the very worst breeders on record are breeding dogs by making it harder to breed and hurting all dogs in the long run. In the short run who really cares if there are no healthy Labs out there? You can bet the un-healthy short-lived crazy Labs are still available- at the shelter.

But what if I want to take a line of dogs- get rid of some annoying straight shoulders (so they actually can swim the way they are supposed to) work on that nice otter tail, breed only healthy long lived dogs that like children, old people and other intact male dogs? What if I want to take someone’s hard work of the last 20 years and built on it? How exactly do I do that? The only way right now is through trial and error, it is getting harder and harder for anyone to even want to teach or for that matter talk to anyone about their breeding programs or write about it.

Al Grossman wrote a great book in 1954- I happen to be a bit jaded right now about how to learn from folks but I will share with you his advice as it is likely the best I have heard this year.

This is from chapter fourteen on “The meaning of a pedigree” .

The following are “Grossman’s Cardinal Principles of Breeding” :

1. Breed only to a dog that is old enough to have a history of producing top-flight stock

2. Stay close within your own bloodlines

3. Be sure the breeding stock you are using has an unbroken producing line

4. Do not breed to the current winner unless it meets the above-stated standards.

For those of you that now think I am just a horrible person who breeds and contributes to the problem of pet over population- I do rescue more dogs then I breed, I spend a lot of money doing this (because it is the right thing to do=- all dogs deserve a good home) and if you are not a breeder please do go to your local shelter- be very careful if you have children that you get a good dog and not a resource guarding child eater- especially if the dog you want is over 12 pounds. If you are a breeder- keep learning- any way that you can. You will know you are on the right track if you start to piss off all the local breeders and no one talks to you anymore.

In my classes I did a lot of education around resource guarding.

I would ask my students how they would feel if I came into their house and took away their plate while they were eating? Try to imagine exactly what you were losing, a perfectly cooked steak or some yummy chicken mole, and that this was your favorite food on the planet! Add to this: I did this three nights in a row. I came by- no knock- just barged in and took your plate as you were about to start eating your wonderful yummy dinner. At first you may be patient or just incredulous! But by the third night you may run from me (hiding your plate) or you may threaten me verbally (growl) or you might even try to hit me with that baseball bat you now keep at the front door! After all it is your house and your food!

A display or even outright aggression on your part would be reasonable, yes? Now put yourself in your dogs place. Could it be that your dog feels exactly like you might feel when they are about to lose a bone, a toy or a favorite resting place? Could they think or feel they are about to lose something that they really covet? And if you are a new owner(and getting all sorts of advice from friends and family) not allowing a growl or snap seems reasonable? Stopping that growl becomes how you manage any guarding behavior because that is what folks have told you to do. When you punish (or stop) a behavior you don’t change the emotions at all but you can suppress that warning-you can indeed stop that growl or display. And it really can look like you have stopped the aggression. But is that the right thing to do? Does your dog have any other choice then to growl louder when punished for trying to protect a really great meal, toy or resting spot that they think they are going to lose? Perhaps your dog thinks you are really slow, they growl – you punish, they growl louder- almost as if maybe you did not hear them the first time? Most dogs do their very best to warn us that they are uncomfortable with what we are doing. And the guarding cycle begins. If a growl doesn’t stop you some dogs will go right to bite. Why wouldn’t they? Because they should not bite us, they don’t know that and They have TEETH! If they feel they have to protect what belongs to them then it is our job as owners to teach them that they do not have to do that. It is really normal for dogs to protect what they think belongs to them, as normal as it would be for you to do so if I barged into your home!

Now imagine this scenario…What if I came into your home and dropped a shrimp on your plate each night instead of taking your plate away from you? Now, how would you feel about my presence? You may change your mind about me walking toward your plate especially if you liked shrimp! Or if you really liked steak and shrimp!!! Maybe I drop prawns the third night? That is exactly what I want you to think about when you are approaching your dog’s dinner bowl. That is how to stop resource guarding especially in a young dog. I want you to think about exactly how you can make Fido drool when you walk toward his bowl. Drooling is associated with a positive emotion. With dogs that are a bit iffy around food bowls or any object, place or even person we have to change the emotions of the dog and make them comfortable before expecting them to back off or leave it especially if they are already warning us. With the use of classical conditioning you can change negative emotions into positive ones. And for resource guarding (don’t take on the issue if they are already biting-get help) classical conditioning (when x happens /something good appears) helps change the dogs emotions for the better. The dog does not have to do anything- it just happens due to the presence of good things when you approach. If you walk up then drop a treat in an empty bowl pretty soon (after 25 reps each day for 15 days say….or whatever schedule of reinforcement you have designed) just your approach will signify good things to that dog.

I do this as prevention for all dogs and you should to. We want your approach to mean wonderful things to the dog. Don’t bribe- don’t say “here girl, here is the food” and then drop it in- that is bribing. Walk up first THEN present the food- this is critical, your approach signals the arrival of the food not the other way around. If you do it the other way around the food is a bribe not a conditioned response and you may or may not get an association. Your body predicts the delivery of the reinforcement i.e. food. If you want to read more about this concept and resource guarding in particular do read Jean Donaldson’s book Mine and another great book also written by Jean is The Culture Clash.

Moral to the story- Don’t punish resource guarders- it always makes it worse. Punishment or showing the dog who is “boss” or putting them in their place, even showing them who is the “leader” (which implies punishing if they growl) is an old outdated way to deal with dogs. Learn the science of behavior, it is so much faster, more humane and just plain fun.