There is Nothing To Fear, But Fear Itself!

“Fear aggression does not subside right away,” Joanne Hjella of Canine Academy in Larsen, WI, tells me, rather matter-of-factly, during our follow up interview for this Network story.

Joanne is one of the qualified trainers that have taken a behaviorally challenged dog through the Training Partners Program. The trainers foster the dogs, while they work with them, and then screen for adoptive homes. The program was initially implemented for Katrina dogs, but it became apparent there were dogs living at the sanctuary that could use a leg up to get into his or her forever home!

It’s a big commitment from the trainer, and sometimes it becomes a bigger commitment, as the dog’s true nature reveals itself. In this case, Joanne assessed Harry, the standard poodle mix that she took on as dominant aggression.

“I knew he was going to be a challenge. While at the sanctuary, meeting the dogs, I wanted to take them all home. But what stood out about Harry is that he’s a jumper! He’ll go 6 feet straight up in the air. We nicknamed him Boing Boing! I was told he needed manners, and I knew how to work with that. But, when I took him out and patted his back he growled. I thought this was dominant aggression,” Joanne relates her connection to Harry and why she chose him. Joanne owns and trains German Shepherd Dogs, so she knows a thing or two about dominant aggression!

Soon after she got him home, a clearer picture came into focus. She put this poodle mix on the grooming table and he became quite aggressive, when she put him into his crate and he quickly turned to bare his teeth! He originally tore apart the “arm” she used to test for food aggression, it just wasn’t adding up to being dominant. After an angry bout, Harry would come back to her with his head hanging down, bashfully.

At first he would start growling as soon as he went on the grooming table, and Joanne was told he didn’t like women – it all started coming together, most groomers are women, she began to think that his behavior rather than having to do with dominance was fear based and it seems to have stemmed from a traumatic experience at the hands of a groomer. It makes sense, most groomers are women and his aversion to anything associated with grooming is palpable.

“Fear aggression is the longest and hardest behavior to fix,” she tells me knowingly! He doesn’t even like to be brushed! Poodle mixes need to be brushed. So she’s been working slowly putting him on the grooming table for a second, rewarding with a cookie if he doesn’t growl, and putting him right down. Slowly conditioning him to his fears is the only way to get him to come around!

How does he do with strangers? I asked. Well, Joanne had her mother-in-law over, and she gave her the Harry speech, as in don’t look at or touch Harry, just ignore him. So her mom-in-law behaving like a pro was effectively ignoring Harry from the couch when he came over and wedged his head under her hand for a pet! And proceeded to nuzzle her, like come on pet me!

So how is he in public, I ask, bracing myself for an ornery answer. “Like a champ!,” Joanne explains, he’s perfect on lead, walks right beside you, but I’m always careful to make sure no one is running up on him, that kids aren’t lunging towards him, I have to be mindful of his critical space.” She says she’s surprised at how many people ask before trying to pet her dogs, but she is walking about with German Shepherd Dogs and you could hug them before trying to throw your arms around Harry!

“Harry only lashes out when he feels threatened,” Joanne explains – he really wants friends and social contact, he loves her pack of five other dogs to play around with, but as soon as he feels a threat, he’s heard the best defense is a good offense, and begins his toothy display.

Joanne says one of the things she does when Harry is “acting out” in his crate is to turn sideways and talk very softly and when his anger subsides she either gives him a cookie and/or lets him out of the crate. She’s also started a play therapy game of “shake hands” which acclimates him to having his sensitive feet touched and then he gets a reward. The main thing is that she is very calm and consistent with Harry, he needs the gentle but firm touch that a game of “shake hands” can provide.

“Being a trainer, I work with clients that have generally had the dogs since they were puppies. That is one of the challenges that comes with Harry, you don’t know what his history is for sure. I can speculate, but it’s so much easier when someone tells me all I need to know, and I can analyze the situation and tailor a program to meet their needs; Harry is doing his best to let me know what works for him!” Joanne says with a twinkle in her eye!

Yes doing the best for what Harry needs is good indeed!

If you’re in the Larsen, Wisconsin area and looking for a great trainer, you can contact Joanne Hjella of Canine Academy at canineacademy@tds.net