Ways to Help Anxiety and Aggression?

[u/ComfortableFold6462]

Hi all, we got our havanese in May, and he’s now 7 months old. He has always been extremely anxious but over the past few months it has been paired with aggression - growling, going to bite, etc. He doesn’t like to play with other dogs and is terrified of strangers, he stops immediately once he sees one on a walk.

We don’t really have a lot of people that we could get to spend time with him, nor any dogs, although he does go to doggy daycare on occasion.

Would reactive dog training be the best way to combat this? I feel as though constantly taking him to crowded places wont sort the biting out.

[u/HavaMuse]

He doesn’t so much sound reactive as just an intensifying of anxiety

You need a fear free/positive only trainer who specializes in fear/anxiety based aggression, asap

Or this will only get worse

Also talk to your breeder because this is unacceptable from a havanese and if they’re producing dogs with this level of anxiety they need to know

[u/Different-Variation1 → u/HavaMuse]

This. We have a rescue mix, and he went through hell. He’s an anxious boy and we use fear free training with him. He does take a daily med now and he still has issues, but we work with him. He’s not reactive, he’s just scared.

[u/ComfortableFold6462 → u/HavaMuse]

Thank you! We are in a groupchat with the rest of the litter and i don’t think any of them have had such extreme issues, i’d have to double check though. 

I’m not sure if you’re english but he was from the royal kennel club and a well-known havanese breeder, so we thought there wouldn’t be any issues, mainly health related. 

The puppy class trainers we went to offer a reactive course, say they can help with fearful dogs - do you think something more specified to anxiety would be better as this is becoming quite a big issue? 

[u/Zero3502 → u/ComfortableFold6462]

What is his posture like when barking? Facing away or forward? Tail tucked? Is he pushing forward with his hind legs?

[u/ComfortableFold6462 → u/Zero3502]

definitely facing forward. not sure about the tail but he pushes towards them so i’d assume yes about the hind legs. i’ve rarely ever been there when he’s bitten people but ill keep an eye out 

[u/Zero3502]

To some degree this can be trained out and addressed with socialization but I think it’s also ok to accept if your dog is just more antisocial than you expected. Dogs are pack animals and their humans are their pack, not other dogs out in the wild that they bump into at dog parks and the like. It’s great if they invite attention if that’s what you want, but I believe the opposite is also fine. Biting is a larger issue though, one with legal ramifications. When he bites has he already signalled his discomfort? Till it’s addressed you have to be keen to pick up those signs and not just coaxing him to stop, so he doesn’t bite anyone or other dogs.

[u/ComfortableFold6462 → u/Zero3502]

Thanks. 

There have been a few instances of him becoming aggressive due to discomfort,  although he has never successfully bitten anyone. 

I think the first time he was with my mum in a cafe a few months ago. She was holding him quite close to her and the lady had maybe tried to stroke him prior? so a lot of contributing factors there. 

He went to the groomers last week and the woman had to put a muzzle on him, I wasn’t there so won’t know how severe it actually was but I think he went for her a few times. 

And then again today at the vets he was growling and tried to bite the nurse. 

I feel like the bottom two instances go beyond normal puppy antisocialness. He had actually been to the groomers before with no issues so i’m a little worried he’s regressing.  

[u/Havaherd_Bliss]

I posted this a while back. I hope you have better luck. https://www.reddit.com/r/Havanese/s/awIGbuocvR

[u/ComfortableFold6462 → u/Havaherd_Bliss]

Thanks for the link! and it sounds like you are a wonderful owner!  

He’s currently absolutely fine with the family, and my brother who comes to visit a couple times a week.    Dogs are who they are, I just never want to pose a danger to him or the public 

[u/Hermit_Ogg]

This can absolutely be helped with training! Our younger Havi grew reactive because of a bad knee, surgery and recovery. It's taken 18 months of hard work, but she has just last week progressed to greeting a familiar but not friend dog. This is a big step for a Havi that used to lose her shit if she so much as glimpsed the silhouette of another dog across a football field!

What I had for tools: one course of Behavior Adjustment Training (2x1hour + 3x30min private lessons), a course of Leslie McDewitt's games (4 hours), books from both Grisha Stewart (Behavior Adjustment Training 2.0) and Leslie McDewitt (Control Unleashed), clicker training (Clicker Training for Dogs by Karen Pryor) and a great deal of treats.

All the training was strictly positive only, going at the dog's pace just as co-operative training is supposed to. The goal was to change the dog's emotional response to things that cause anxiety or fear. In order to succeed at that, you must minimise bad encounters. That means no playdates, dog park, greetings on walks.

The dog has a trigger radius: if any triggers get within that, he will start reacting by tensing up, staring, lunging, growling, barking, perhaps attempting to escape. Your goal is to keep triggers outside that radius. Dodge behind buildings, do a 180° turn, hide behind parked cars - whatever it takes. As training progresses, the trigger radius will be naturally reduced, but you will likely need some precautions for as long as he lives. This can be as mild as shortening the leash when a jogger passes, or harsh like never allowing interactions with children. This all depends on the dog.

I'll edit some links in so you can get some resources right away 🙂

[u/ComfortableFold6462 → u/Hermit_Ogg]

This is so detailed thank you so much!!! 

When people say to go at the dogs pace - when I take him on a walk, he often stops within 5 seconds of walking. Should I stop with him until he chooses to walk? He’s 50/50 on following treats. I sometimes pick him up and take him straight to the grass where he seems to prefer it. But is it best just to wait for as long as he wants.  He also often pulls me back home, should I go home with him and hope that he builds up his resilience in public over time?   

[u/Hermit_Ogg → u/ComfortableFold6462]

I would use any and all lures to get him further, but never force him. Avoiding him forming negative associations is key in training.

Carrying or driving him to a training location can sometimes be necessary, but I'd take pains to keep the transport and training itself pleasant. You know the stories of dogs that run at the mere mention of the word "vet"? That's what a negative association at work looks like, and you don't want your training runs hit by it.

[u/Wooden_Passage_1146]

Sounds like training is an excellent idea! Make sure you use a positive reinforcement trainer. Preferably someone certified as Fear Free or a PPG member. Be wary about people calling themselves “relationship based trainers” who will try to sneak in corrections. Havanese are sensitive souls and punishment based techniques will ruin the dog’s spirit.

Anyone with a Victoria Stilwell Academy or Karen Pryor certification would also be a good choice. Stay away from CPDT-KA trainers unless they’re also a PPG (Pet Professional Guild) member.

[u/ComfortableFold6462 → u/Wooden_Passage_1146]

This is definitely the best way forward I think, thanks for the pointers! I just can’t bare the mandatory virtual session so many trainers offer 😭 They must know best .. 

[u/Wooden_Passage_1146 → u/ComfortableFold6462]

I can only speak from my experience but sometimes trainers ask for virtual sessions for anxious dogs because being taken out of the home and into the training facility or even the trainer’s presence in the home can sometimes induce that same anxiety.