Reply To: ID the Aggression

[Philip Koblischek]

Interesting video and great exercise, thanks for sharing! Here is my view on this:

After the first reward, Ziva comes with her head near Dustin, hoping to get a also a reward. Just as Senna notices this, he attacks. He is going to bite without prior warnings, so he is technically skipping steps in the aggression cycle, but I guess that’s due to the urge to take action fast, before a reward might be gone (?).

1)
I would say it’s a dominance aggression: Senna shows Ziva that he has first right for rewards/attention. I suppose Senna is technically not in possession of the treat/affection/attention, so I would rule out resource guarding.

2)
Ziva might be thinking, that the reward is actually for her (maybe due to she small space), or she is just curious and tries to get it. Anyway this creates a conflict between the two dogs. This could be avoided if Ziva is no allowed so close to Dustin in training (managing). Could it be also be addressed by sharping leadership by training these kind of situations, where both dogs are near Dustin, and he decides to give treats to both dogs?

3)
Senna: 0:37 nose-lick (could be also addressed at Dustin for holding her); 0:44 shake off; 0:51 scratching

Ziva: 0:34 head turn, walking away; 0:35 shake off; 0:40 shake off 2; 0:53 sniffing on the ground

I’m curious about other interpretations.