Tayo, a Boston Terrier, came to us a few months back with some aggression issues that his owner needed resolved. He had bitten several people and had even sent two to the hospital for their injuries. Tayo was prone to snap at joggers, neighbors….well just about anyone that he encountered. This feisty black and white dog had become quite accustomed to biting, snapping and growling at pretty much anyone he encountered. This problem had become so serious that his owners knew that if he had another incident that he would surely be ordered euthanized by the authorities. They had been warned of his behavior before and knew that if there wasn’t some serious intervention, Tayo was soon to be in big trouble.
His owners brought him in wearing a small leather muzzle and described him as having “social anxiety”. Tayo would jump on people, fight with other dogs, bark, bite, and even run away if given the opportunity. He even barked and growled at unfamiliar objects as if he wanted to kill them.
We worked with Tayo for several days and observed his behaviors. I noticed that all that was required for him to bark and growl at someone was that they be standing, sitting or breathing. He was actually pretty indiscriminate about his displays of aggression. After some testing and observation we determined that he wasn’t very dominant, fear aggressive and did not suffer from dog aggression. His behaviors really didn’t fit well into any common dog behavior category. After a couple of days we were able to determine that he was reactive and very easily stimulated. This often caused him frustration, therefore, he would simply sink his teeth into whatever and too often, whomever was nearby.
So, we began to give Tayo plenty of exercise, mental stimulation, direction and an outlet for his frustrations and soon we saw that his behavior was improving drastically. So we continued to work perfecting his obedience commands and teaching him a little “self control”.
Tayo was particularly fond of trying to bite joggers and others who passed by him too quickly or closely. So after working with him for some time, I felt as though he was ready to be challenged with some “joggers”. We had several new people run, jog and pass by Tayo swiftly, all the while I was keeping his attention and focus on me. To my pleasant surprise, Tayo was able to keep his attention on me and not fixate on the people jogging by.
Tayo was not an aggressive dog at all. He was simply understimulated and needed more direction in his life. His owners had worked hard to try to rehabilitate him themselves, but they simply didn’t have the tools or the understanding of what Tayo needed.
Tayo’s owner recently sent us an update which said:
“I am so pleased with what your training has done for my dog. You really gave him a second chance at hopefully living a long life. He listens to us now and seems to actually be more content.”
-Kristen K., Baltimore, MD
