Behavioural Issue Disclaimer

Pupcakes Rescue And Rehab dogs have undergone extensive assessments and training prior to being placed up for adoption. Each dog will have an individual behavioural plan in place for them advised by our in-house behaviourist and ongoing lifetime support from our remote behaviourist. This plan will be covered in your appointment and will discuss triggers and coping tactics.

It is important to read through the below information and familiarise yourself with the issue your chosen dog presents prior to submitting an application to ensure you are able to adequately support the dog going forward. This ensures you have a good understanding of why the dog acts and behaves a certain way.

 We also ask if your chosen dog has a bite history you read through the below bite scale Information to understand the levels.

All Pupcakes Rescue And Rehab dogs come with lifetime rescue backup meaning you will receive ongoing lifetime support and in the event you are unable to manage the behaviour we will take the dog back into our care.

Dog Bite Scale Chart

• Resource/Territorial Guarding involves the use of specific behaviour patterns to control access to an item of potential “value” (as perceived by the dog). In other words, displaying behaviour (growling, blocking, snapping, lunging, biting) intended to convince/intimidate other dogs or people to stay away from a particular space or item. The resource can be (but not limited to) food, treats, toys, a larger object (a cupboard, your bed, their bed, their crate or the sofa), they can be territorial of physical space/ a valued area (doorway, hallway) smaller objects (lead, harness, tissue), occasionally a dog can feel the need to  guard a person or themselves. This causes them to be very guarded about being touched or fussed. 

Resource/territorial guarding can be a pre-disposed behavioural disorder that commonly stems from fear and anxiety. The closest that we can relate it to in Human behaviour/health is that the behaviours can present closely to “Borderline Personality Disorder”. 

Dogs that present as anxious or have R/T guarding issues can’t control their own emotions, they feel the need to control factors around them. 

Although in dogs, it can portray as unbridled aggression, the triggers and reasons for dogs reacting at the “flip of a switch” aren’t just simple displays of “dominance” or “rage”. This complex behaviour issue is a cognitive affliction that we have seen commonly presented within Cockapoo, Doodles, Spaniels, French Bulldogs, terriers and many other breeds. More often than not, a lead up of events - otherwise known as trigger stacking- can lead to these outbursts. It is our responsibility as animal care givers to be hyper-vigilant in identifying the lead up to why a dog has responded with any undesirable behaviour. 

Guarding resources can be associated with the normal behavioural repertoire of animals, although, it should not be encouraged nor ignored as those affected with escalated guarding tendencies and impulsivity can exhibit magnified, more volatile reactions in a seemingly snap reaction. This causes dogs to present as more erratic and unpredictable . 

There are different levels of Resource Guarding, ranging from fairly harmless- a dog stealing a sock then  running around and encouraging you to make chase, maybe accompanied by mild growling or eats their food faster - to severe -where a dog defending an object or territory will display extremely confrontational aggression and has intention to bite.

Resource/territorial guarding can present as a “Jekyll and Hyde” personality. They can instantly switch from being a happy and carefree dog, to then presenting as an aggressive one if they are triggered, even by something insignificant. Dogs can then switch back as if nothing has happened after they have been distracted from the situation to decompress. 

Resource/territorial guarding is a lifetime behavioural issue that CANNOT be fixed, BUT, it can be effectively managed. It will require lifetime management to regulate the behaviour, avoiding provocative situations and triggers, as well as environmental and behavioural modification using distraction techniques. You can often manage a  guarder to the point where they may not show undesirable or intimidating responses, or feel the need to guard, but, Guarding can come back no matter how effectively you train. 

�No matter what type of training you implement, a dog is always capable of regression, where the animal returns to doing behaviors previously overcome, as well as developing new fixations and guarding objects they previously had no issue with. Dogs can regress to guarding behaviors in new situations, when stressed, in pain, ill or overly tired. This is why we strongly advise that adopters do not become complacent to this capability.  

•What does resource/territorial guarding look like?:

Some dogs will go straight to biting if approached, displaying very subtle and brief warning signals that may go unnoticed. They have the capability to air snap or make contact, inflicting anywhere from a contact bite leaving bruising or minor scratches, or they can bite extremely hard as well as multiple times. 

Some dogs can display lots of extremely aggressive/scary and obvious warning behaviours like snarling, growling and snapping, and can do these for quite a long duration before taking action. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. 

Sometimes these dogs will have limited tolerance through repeated triggers, or still having trust issues with their new owner and will bite. Some dogs only give subtle signals which can vary from their body stiffening,  a hunched position, a subtle lip curl, fixated stare or whale /crescent moon eyes where you can see the whites of their eyes. These dogs can end up biting if their warning is not heeded. 

Escalated guarding is not a joke or easy behaviour, it is a dog telling you that they are not ok and it can get out of hand very quickly, putting you in a vulnerable position where your safety could potentially be compromised.

Fear aggression in dogs is a form of self-defense and may be expressed toward people, other animals or even objects. When a dog feels threatened, they may use body language or behaviors to drive the threat away, increasing the distance between themselves and the threat. 

A frightened dog may freeze, flee and/or fight. For example, a dog may freeze, falsely giving the impression that he’s tolerating petting from a stranger, when in fact, he’s petrified. Once the stranger turns to leave, the fearful dog may take the opportunity to lunge and snap, before running away to hide. All three behaviors—freezing, fighting and fleeing—occur because the dog is scared.

In some situations, fear aggression may be a normal behavior. For example, if a sleeping dog was suddenly woken up by an unfamiliar dog, barking and growling is an understandable response to the intrusion. A dog might show a similar response if a human family member or visitor tries to give them a pet while sleeping. This response may cause the dog’s owner to become upset. However, in both cases, the dog responded aggressively because they were fearful when disturbed, regardless of who woke them. 

Recognizing that fear plays a role is essential to treating fear aggressive behavior.

Any experience that causes fear in dogs may also cause fear aggression. Common situations include:

Interactions with people or other animals. Both familiar and unfamiliar people—particularly if they are invading a dog’s personal space—can cause a dog to become fearful and aggressive. Bending over the dog, reaching toward him, hugging or petting may cause the dog to feel trapped and uncomfortable, similar to a person who receives unwanted attention from a stranger. 

Being approached in confined spaces. Approaching a dog who is under a bed or table or in a dog crate may also elicit fear, especially if the dog retreated there to hide. Dogs may also feel trapped when they are approached while on the couch or in small or narrow spaces (such as hallways or between items of furniture) may also react out of fear, since it is harder to avoid confrontation.

People that look or act different. People wearing clothing or carrying objects that alter their appearance (hats, sunglasses, bags), or appear or behave in an unfamiliar way (wearing a uniform or costume, limping, dancing) may cause a fear reaction in dogs.

Fast, sudden or unexpected movements and sounds. People moving quickly or unexpectedly (visitors standing up or exiting/entering a room, joggers, skateboarders) or making loud noises (cheering) as well as objects that do the same (trash trucks, lawn mowers, vacuums) may also trigger fear or fear aggression.

Environments or situations that have been scary in the past. If a dog had a negative experience at a veterinary office or a grooming appointment, it may cause them to be fearful when visiting. 

Similar to people, some dogs are more fearful or aggressive than others. This may be due to their genetics or inadequate or inappropriate socialization at an early age.

Learning also plays a role in the development of fear aggression. Previous traumatic experiences may establish negative associations. For example, if a dog was attacked by another dog on a walk, they may start to bark aggressively at all dogs seen on walks. Fear-aggressive dogs may learn that growling or snapping successfully prevents a scary experience, such as a nail trim, from happening. If this is the case, the dog is more likely to growl the next time their owner approaches with the nail clippers. 

However, punishing a dog for showing fear-aggressive behavior or forcing them to submit to the experience will often make the dog’s fear aggression worse. The best way to stop fear aggression is to alleviate the dog’s fear in that situation. 

As with all behavioral problems, physical illness—especially those that cause pain or discomfort—must be ruled out or treated before assuming the dog’s behavior is due solely to a psychological cause. If your dog exhibits sudden aggression, take your dog to the veterinarian for a check up immediately.

Before fear aggressive dogs growl, snap or bite, they often exhibit early warning signs that they are uncomfortable. If you catch these early signs, fear aggression can be prevented. 

Signs of fear that may happen before aggressive behaviors in dogs could include:

Specific body language cues. These cues include a lowered or tucked tail, ears pulled back, wide eyes with large pupils (“whale eye”), wrinkled brow, tense face or body, crouched positioning or making themselves small.

Movement: Movements that may indicate fear include trembling, panting, avoiding contact or hiding, standing still or freezing, pacing or agitation.

Focus: A fearful dog might stare intently at the threat (hypervigilance) or avoid eye contact (darting glances).

Disinterest. Fearful dogs might not take treats or participate in enjoyable activities like play 

Dogs may also exhibit “displacement behaviors” such as lip licking, scratching or sniffing. Displacement behaviors are normal behaviors that are out of context for the situation. This is similar to a person tapping their foot or playing with their hair when they are nervous. You may see these behaviors prior to or in addition to the signs above. 

It’s important to note that a wagging tail does not necessarily mean that the dog is friendly. Aggressive or nervous dogs may also wag their tail. Generally speaking, a happy dog will have a wiggly backend and looser tail wagging in a wide, sweeping arc. An aggressive dog’s wag is narrower and his tail and body will be stiffer. 

If the dog is barking aggressively, snarling (lip curl), growling, snapping or nipping they have already reached their limit. Stop interacting with the dog and leave the situation. Just because a dog has not yet escalated to biting does not mean that they won’t bite in the future. 

Credit to article used:- https://www.greatpetcare.com/dog-behavior/understanding-fear-aggression-in-dogs/

Sleep startle, or sleep aggression as it is also known, can occur when a dog is woken abruptly from their sleep. This is often misconstrued as unpredictable aggression because there is no obvious trigger. 

The following steps help with sleep startling. 

1. Quiet zones: make a quiet zone so the dog can get out of the hustle of daily lives. It can be a simple arrangement, just by moving the dog bed from a central location.
2. Have the dog sleep in a separate room, this reduces the chances of anyone accidentally coming into contact with him whilst his is asleep.
3. Teaching The dog an “off” command when he is on furniture so you can safely remove him from a distance even if he is asleep. 
4. Before you approach the dog, make yourself known by making a noise or calling his name, wait until his head is up. Ensure he has time and space to adjust to being woken up out of a deep sleep.
5. If you can, avoid approaching The dog whilst he is on his bed. Explain to guests that your dogs’ sleeping space is their personal space and much like humans, dogs can get angry and snappy when woken up when they are not ready to.
6. If the dog has not responded to your calls to come for a fuss, leave him. 

The most important thing to remember is...

“Let sleeping dogs lie…”

The old proverb; to let sleeping dogs lie means to not meddle with something that is currently causing no problems, but may well create difficulties as a result of interference.

credit  to the following article from Hectors Greyhounds.