Territoriality: One Key to Small Dog Syndrome

Posted on Feb 24 in Small Dog Aggression, Small Dog Behavior, Training A Small Dogby Jeff K.Print

This spot is mine! Keep out!

Awhile back I wrote a piece called “Small Dog Syndrome.” That article has drawn more attention from people seeking help with their small dog than anything else I have written. It bothers me that so many people are having problems controlling the behavior of their small dogs. It also bothers me to think that many people believe their dog is possessed, for lack of a better word, by a force that is beyond their control. Small Dog Syndrome is not a malignant growth or deformation of your small dog’s brain. It is not a force of nature, nor an unlucky combination of inherited genes. It is not part and parcel of a specific breed. It is not a trait, not a personality quirk, not a special ability, nor is it an inability. Your dog does not hold his own internal dialogue with himself in which he says, “Hey, let’s really piss off the human today.” Small Dog Syndrome is not even a syndrome. It is a shame the phrase has found its way into our vocabulary because it probably causes some of us to throw up our hands and say “My small dog has Small Dog Syndrome. He’s damaged goods and he will never get better.”

Beeee-loney! Small Dog Syndrome is simply a short-hand description of a whole range of behaviors that have very specific origins. These behaviors also have very specific, (and controllable,) reasons for occurring over and over again. There is nothing to fix inside of your dog. Your small dog is responding correctly(!) to his environment. That’s right Buckwheat, either you, someone else, or your living arrangement together is triggering specific responses from your dog that help him cope and survive in his own dogged way. Here is a partial list of coping behaviors we commonly lump under the label Small Dog Syndrome:

• Your small dog claims and defends a specific territory by marking with urine, or by growling, barking or biting when you or someone else approaches.
• Your small dog claims and defends a specific piece of property by growling, barking or biting when you or someone else approaches.
• Your small dog defends himself by growling, barking or biting when you or someone else tries to touch him.
• Your small dog seems unresponsive to any or all direction you try to give him.

Let’s look at one specific behavior, what triggers it, and most importantly, what to do about it: defending territory.

First, here is what I mean by “territory.” Territory can be anything from your entire house or backyard, to a corner of your living room, or a spot under one of your tables that holds 1/16th of your orchid collection. Your dog may stake any of these spots as his own. I am not talking about a quiet spot your dog enjoys retreating to for a snooze. I am talking about gangster-style turf. If you approach, he barks. If you get closer he growls. If you reach for him, he bites. What the . . . ?

In the last paragraph I used the word “your” over and over again. After all, it is your house, your backyard, your living room, your chair, and your table. Unfortunately, your dog behaves as though one or all of these locations belong to him. It is not a moral decision on his part. A dog is territorial by nature; and if you cede territory to him, he will take it. Once your dog has control of his own little piece of pie, he will test to see what else he can claim. Before you know it, the dog is the head of household with all the rights and privileges thereunto appertaining. Once in control of part or all of your property he will try and control all or part of you. Again, it is not a moral decision on his part, it is just nature at work.

If your dog was highly rational and could make subtle distinctions, perhaps you could give him exclusive use of the couch while still expecting him to obey you in other ways. But your dog does not rationalize and cannot make fine distinctions between controlling one thing but not controlling everything else. Here is what it comes down to. Either it’s your house, your dog, and your rules, period. Or, it’s your dog’s house, your dog owns you, and it’s your dog’s rules, period.

Let’s say you are more partial to owning the house and dog rather than the other way around. I am just guessing this would be your preference, but I could be wrong. Assuming I am right, it is time to get with the program. Let’s go to an example in which your dog has staked a claim under the coffee table. If you try to dislodge him, he barks and growls. Nice doggy. Keep the coffee table. I’ll just go sit over here and rest my drink on my lap. Bingo! That growling stuff works for him. But you can fix this situation.

First, if you are at all concerned about getting bitten as you try to deal with your dog, call in a professional dog behaviorist. I’m not talking about hiring someone who read a few books, passed an on-line course, and now knows how to teach your dog to sit. I’m talking dog expert. There are two reasons to do this. 1. You don’t need permanent teeth marks on your shin. 2. Even more importantly, if your dog’s threats intimidate you to a point at which you cannot get in there and take control, all you will do is strengthen his threatening behavior.

I am not directing you to do the following, because I do not want to be responsible if you do get bitten. But hypothetically speaking, if I were to trying to defeat a dog’s defensive behavior, here is how I would go about it. (Do I sound like an O.J. book title? I didn’t do it, but if I did . . .)

I would approach the defending dog, showing no fear. This means no eye contact, no verbalization of any kind to the dog, and certainly no touching—initially. One great technique is to talk to someone else in the room about something other than the dog. Talking to someone else off-subject helps reduce your own anxiety and projects to the dog: “What I am doing with you causes me no concern.” I would also be thinking to myself, “This is my spot, not Spot’s spot,” assuming your dog’s name is . . . you get the idea. No matter how vocal and threatening the dog becomes, I would move in slowly and steadily regardless of the dog’s response. The last thing I want to do at this point is let the dog’s behavior control my response. I would calmly and gently lift the table away from the dog and set it aside. (If it takes more than one person to lift the table, my helper would position himself at the end of the table farthest from the dog.) At this point, the dog will likely exit the area, having lost the boundaries of his territory. If he remains in place, I would shuffle closer without making eye contact or saying anything to the dog. When within a couple of inches of the dog, I would stop and stand there, again, thinking “This is my space.” Eventually the dog will settle down because his threats are producing no tangible results. When he does settle down, I would move in further so my leg was touching the side of his body. If he has not moved away at this point, I would use my leg to place gentle but insistent pressure against his side. At this point, he should vacate his spot.

I would expect when the table goes back into place, the dog will try and re-stake his claim. I will have to redo the steps listed above, but I would expect the dog to give up and retreat sooner. Eventually the dog will give up on the table and try another spot. The key to completely defeating the dog’s strategy is to systematically dislodge him from any place he insists on claiming. This means not only moving him away from established territories, but also occasionally moving into any resting area and expecting him to get out your way. You do not have to be a jackass about this process. Your dog will learn to fear you if you are obnoxious. Simply walk up to where the dog is sitting or lying and politely say “Excuse me,” as you move in with a purpose. (Let me emphasize being polite. Do not yell or use a threatening tone at any time. Project calmness and reasonable purpose.) Either place or take something in that area; or clean that spot. In other words, show the dog you have a sensible reason to displace him.

One last caveat before I wrap this up. Some may say this whole approach of displacing a dog is unnecessarily aggressive. No where in here did I mention aggression. Your approach should be the opposite of aggressive. Insistent yes, but gentle, silent insistence without emotion. And for goodness sake, do not, I repeat do not, kid yourself into believing you can lure a dog away from his territory with cookies. Yes, you say, positive rewards are best. If you lure your dog out with cookies, you can be positive not only will your dog remain territorial, but he will also set up his territory as a cookie-getting launch pad.

Let me wrap this up with an observation. My sister-in-law has a souvenir magnet on her refrigerator that says “This house is maintained for the comfort and convenience of the dog.” It is a funny phrase because it rings so true for so many people. She has absolutely no behavioral issues with her dogs which makes her either lucky or good. Who knows. The point is, many of us cede our houses and our lives to our dogs, believing our dogs will understand their arrangement and naturally respond with good manners and appreciation. The truth is, dogs will do what dogs do. Given free reign, they will stake their claim on us and our houses, using the tools they have to defend themselves and their territory. It is not Small Dog Syndrome, but it is natural behavior. We can fix it by acting or we can toss in the towel by believing our dogs are in the grip of something beyond our control. Time to choose.

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8 Comments

• Tamara Jordan says:

  April 6, 2009 at 8:25 pm

  Love your articles on small dog syndrom. How about some information and helpful tips on handling leash aggression. I believe this is part of my boy’s small dog issues.

  Thanks!
• Jeff K. says:

  April 7, 2009 at 12:11 pm

  Hi Tamara:

  Thank you for taking the time to read my articles and for leaving your comment. As it turns out, I have an interesting story about something that happened at Kelsey’s Dog House a few years ago that has everything to do with leash aggression. I have a couple of other articles in the works right now and I will get to your suggestion shortly.

  Jeff
• Chris says:

  May 5, 2009 at 3:10 am

  Hi, just read this…..we’ve adopted a rescued maltese-chinese crested mix, 4 years, almost 3 months ago. Added her to a hound mix, and a mini-schnauzer. She’s just now starting to growl at the “boys” whenever she’s sitting on the couch (she is a princess) and they come near her. I think I’m going to try the above suggestion to see how she does. Thanks!!
• Jeff K. says:

  May 5, 2009 at 2:58 pm

  Hi Chris:

  Thank you for reading and giving me your feedback. The Maltese is one of my favorite breeds. We also care for Chinese Crested dogs at our shop. I found out how sweet and loving they can be. It sounds like you have taken in a great dog. Let me know how the process of adaptation goes for your pack. We can all learn from your experience.

  Jeff
• Leigh says:

  March 28, 2010 at 4:46 pm

  We just adopted a supposed chihuaua/rat etrrier mix from a rescue organization. She is approximately 6 months old. When we took her for a test drive she was playful and interacted well with our entire family. She growled a little at another dog that approached us, but was fine around all of the people. Now that we have her home, she is possessive over me and growls whenever my wife or daughter get near her. She snapped a little at my wife as well. We are very concerned, because our daughter is only 15 months old and cannot fend for herself and does not understand why the dog is not friendly to her. She is just a puppy, but we want to stop this behavior immediately. What do you recommend? We do not want to return the dog if at all possible, please help.

Trackbacks / Pingbacks

• Small Dog Syndrome | A Small Dog says:

  February 24, 2009 at 3:31 pm

  [...] Territoriality: One Key to Small Dog Syndrome [...]
• A Small Dog – Small Dog Syndrome Book on the Way says:

  August 24, 2009 at 11:42 am

  [...] here, and an article on dealing with territoriality—one key to Small Dog Syndrome—right here. . While you are here, please take a moment to fill out a brief survey about your relationship with [...]
• A Small Dog – Your Toy Dog’s Toys* says:

  October 29, 2009 at 11:05 pm

  [...] In many other places in this forum, I have said when it comes to the relationship between a dog and its owner, either the owner is in control of the dog, or the dog is in control of the owner. As far as the dog is concerned there are no gray areas. When a dog believes it is in control of the owner, the dog behaves according to the dog’s own rules, not the owner’s rules. This is the crux of what some people call Small Dog Syndrome. [...]