Aggression in Dogs and 'The Goldilocks Zone'!

Aggression in dogs is a huge subject and whole books have been written about it. Why does it happen, what can be done in the short term, what can be done to help eradicate the phenomenon in the long term and many other questions need to be answered. It appears to be more prevalent in our domesticated dogs than wild, feral or village dogs and, indeed, their cousin the wolf. Natural selection, it would appear, is far better able to filter out unnecessary aggression than selective breeding as carried out by overzealous breeders over millennia, but particularly over the last 150 years or so. This is eloquently discussed by David Ryan who describes the ‘Goldilocks zone’ phenomenon in his book ‘Dogs that Bite and Fight’ (2013). Natural selection will weed out the placid dog, due to inability to survive, along with the highly aggressive dog as the cost outweighs any gain. Sitting in the middle, in the Goldilocks Zone, are the vast majority of 'average' dogs.

 

There are many reasons for aggression but for brevity I will keep it simple. It’s a fine dividing line between dominance aggression and resource guarding or control. I suggest that dominance is a fluid state rather than a default setting and is present to a greater or lesser extent in most dogs most of the time especially in male dogs between the ages of two and two and a half years. One only needs to observe puppies from the same litter playing, to notice that certain puppies are more confident, thus potentially more dominant, than others. Owners need to be aware of this and provide the right amount of leadership and (non-aversive) correction when necessary to avoid any misunderstanding later on. However, their pet may not be overtly dominant, but because of wrong ‘signals’ given off repeatedly over a period of time by the owner, the dog may assume he has priority over a resource thus resulting in a sudden and unexpected show of aggression. This could be, for example, suddenly taking his toy away as dogs have no concept of sharing! Karen Overall describes dominance as an individual’s ability to maintain or regulate control of some resource and is not necessarily used to show status. Status is usually indicated by withdrawal of the ‘subordinate’ rather than aggression by the ‘dominant’ animal (Overall, 2013).

 

David Ryan goes on to discuss the following scenario. Meg is chewing a bone that Dan wants. Dan lies down next to Meg invading her personal space and staring, causing Meg to feel uncomfortable enough to walk away. If Dan were to show his teeth and snarl to the point of charging at Meg, would this be classified as dominance aggression? (Ryan, 2013). Aggression certainly; maybe competitive but most people, I feel would agree, dominant! “All dogs are entitled to growl and walk away. Growling and walking towards you is where communication crosses the line into aggression” (Ryan, 2013). This is an example of intra-species dominance aggression. Inter-species dominance by definition may be far more nuanced, difficult to explain and therefore, potentially more difficult to deal with.

 

Whilst the ‘pack theory’ and the theory of a linear hierarchy are now largely discredited, the domestic dog thrives on the security of a structured and secure environment. For a happy and balanced dog the onus is on every owner to provide this along with other essentials, indeed ‘rights’, such as food, shelter, exercise and companionship, not to mention guidance and training.

 

As with ANY aggression, medical and dietary conditions must be ruled out first and referrals need to be from a veterinarian. Some health problems can make an otherwise even-tempered dog aggressive. These include, though the list is not exhaustive: dental disease, epilepsy, hip dysplasia, arthritis and hypothyroidism (Hillestad, 2018).

Some common behaviours in dogs and wolves.

The wolf, Canis Lupus, has exactly the same number of chromosomes as the sub species Canis Lupus Familiaris or domesticated dog. These amount to 78 and, after studies comparing the DNA of dogs and wolves, it has been found that dogs possess 98.8% of wolf genes. The closest relative is the Grey Wolf (can be spelt Gray) with DNA differing by only 0.2% (Temple Grandin, 2009). The colour grey is something of a misnomer as there are various shades of black and white also with the potential to include red and blue. The point is the Grey Wolf is neutral, able to blend into the background! There are 37 sub-species of canis lupus, all potentially able to cross breed. It is conceivable that the more wolf like the dog’s appearance, the more wolf like its behaviour, for example the German Shepherd Dog and Malamute. However, we know that dogs are not wolves – would you let a wolf sleep on your bed?

Food is the most important resource for both wolves and dogs. Unless our pet dog is trained from an early age, he/she may become aggressive when guarding this most valuable resource, in spite of it being readily available; it is a hard-wired reaction. Wolves, in the wild, hunt in packs bringing down large ungulates and smaller prey. They have no alternative. Conversely, feral dogs appear to live in packs of unrelated animals but will scavenge as loners, very often from humans. This is unsurprising as, almost certainly, this is how dogs became domesticated in the first place. 

          

Wolves love to play and this is undoubtedly also true of dogs. Wolves will eventually mature whereas our companion dog will retain puppy like qualities well into adulthood and appear to never grow up! Perhaps, subconsciously (even consciously) we have bred for neoteny. Our pet loves human contact and at the same time is territorial, defending his/her property along with the family. This is a known trait in wolves which, like the dog, will alert vocally rather than risk injury or death by conflict. Body language and communication of the two species is almost identical and, as luck would have it, is easily interpreted by humans as some facial expressions are alarmingly similar to ours. We all know the appeasing gesture and ‘cow’ like eyes (or is this our imagination?), play bow and tail wagging, assuming a tail is present. It is possible that dogs, if not properly socialised at the optimum age - from birth up to approximately 14 - 16 weeks - will not develop these communication skills and will struggle for the rest of their lives.

           

Like wolves, dogs have a strong prey drive and this, if not satisfied, may cause problems when out walking by chasing other dogs, cars, joggers, cyclists, squirrels or cats. It should not be our intention to placate this but to redirect it in other ways; for example canine sports involving balls, herding, scent work and many others. If this need is not met then the dog will, almost certainly, become psychologically frustrated, potentially leading to behavioural issues such as aggression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), repetition syndrome, hypertension, depression, separation anxiety and others.

           

In conclusion, a study of wolf behaviour will inevitably help us understand dogs, but only up to a point. Comparative zoology helps scientists understand a particular behaviour by comparing it with another, but similar, species. This method has helped disentangle the plethora of evolutionary questions but has science unwittingly over complicated matters and done a disservice to the domesticated dog? Only a few decades ago wolves were portrayed as vicious animals intent on dominating the pack at all costs. Studies were done on captive animals rather than animals in the wild, thus showing false results. As a result it is possible that the average owner, to this day, misunderstands their pet. Whilst the domesticated dog prefers to live as a group member (indeed it would not survive outside a group) and is without doubt descended from the wolf, this does not mean it thinks or behaves like a wolf, nor is it intent on dominating its owner. To understand dogs we must surely study dogs rather than wolves!

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Do Autistic People Make Better Dog Trainers than Non Autistic People?

I recently came across a fantastic book 'Animals In Translation' by Temple Grandin. This should be compulsory reading for all dog trainers.

Her theory is that autistic people, like animals, think in pictures rather than words. Animals see detail that most humans miss. This is because humans THINK too much; in other words they are 'abstractified'. They cannot see the wood for the trees and very often miss the obvious.

Is it possible, therefore, that autistic people will make better dog trainers than non-autistic people? I am of the opinion that most people are autistic to a greater or lesser degree but this goes unnoticed or undiagnosed. I know I sometimes stumble to find a word, phrase or definition whist seeing clearly in my mind what needs to be said - or is that plain forgetfulness? I also know that I become extremely frustrated when I see things at work, home etc that other people simply miss, or are they plain LAZY?

NB: Dictionary definition of autism: psychiatry - a developmental disorder whose symptoms include difficulty in responding conventionally to people and actions and limited use of verbal communication.

Picture shows American Miniature Shepherd, Heidi with rosette for first place in agility.

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