Q&A: Remote-Smart Dogs, Owner-Arrival Arousal, Littermates, Resource Guarding & “Protective” Dogs

00:00 — The episode covers remote-smart dogs, owner-arrival meltdowns, littermates, resource guarding, and supposedly protective behavior.

Speaker 1: Q and a for you guys. Today we're talking about dogs that are remote smart. We're talking about dogs that lose their minds when their owners come home. Litter mate syndrome don't ever get two puppies at once. <laugh> resource guarding. Is it normal? Other aggressive behaviors are they quote unquote, normal? And what if you have a protective dog? And what if you don't mind if they do that sometime, where do you draw the line? Can you draw the line? All that and more coming up. Welcome to Off Leash and unfiltered Trigger warning. I'm Kati Peppe, delivering the Truth in Dog Training.

Speaker 1: Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of Off Leash and Unfiltered. I am Kati Peppe, owner of Diamond Canine Dog training in Biddeford, Maine, specializing in eco training for off leash obedience, getting dogs trained up so can enjoy all that freedom and behavior modification. So helping people stop all those bad unwanted behaviors, jumping up, barking, all that stuff. Um, aggression, resource guarding anxiety. We love doing state of mind work with dogs that are anxious, nervous, and fearful. And we also offer puppy training. So that's who we are and what we do. And this podcast is here as our way to share everything we know, see, say, do, talk about and learn with you guys.

Speaker 1: So, um, this stuff's hard to find. This information's hard to find. I know because it was me once looking for it and I couldn't find it <laugh>. So we were very, very passionate about helping people, helping people learn how to shape their dog's behavior and getting the information out there for the folks that want it because there's so much garbage on the internet.

Speaker 1: Um, so that's who we are and what we do. And so thanks for joining us today. We're gonna talk, we're gonna do a q and a today. I love the q and a. Um, so these are questions that we have very, very recently received. Uh, some of them from phone consultations and others from, uh, private lessons and board and train follow ups. So, remote smart is a big thing that we deal with, um, in our programs. So when we send a dog home from a board and train or from private lessons, um, they are generally very well versed in the eco.

Speaker 1: They understand all of their commands, they understand how to respond to eco pressure. Um, they know how to respond to corrections and things of that nature. But the mess a lot of people get themselves into is their dog knows when they have the remote and when they don't.

Speaker 1: This isn't a problem. I mean, it is a problem, but it's fixable, right? So basically when that happens, your dog is telling us that you have created a pattern you don't want to create. So you literally have taught your dog that there is only accountability when you are holding the remote. Now this translates to any correction tool, right? So anything you use to correct your dog, if your dog, if they behave differently when you have that tool in your hand or in close proximity versus when you don't, you have taught them that <laugh>. And that's not me picking on people.

03:00 — Remote-smart behavior develops when dogs learn accountability exists only while the handler holds a…

Speaker 1: Um, but it's really important for us to be clear on that if we're going to fix it. Because there's no magic <laugh>. There is no magic. So it's funny 'cause people will, they don't realize they're doing it right. So people will tell me what they think they're doing, but the dog will tell us what's really happening.

Speaker 1: So the dog never lies. They tell us, Nope, the pattern is if I don't see the remote or I don't see the bonker, there's not gonna be accountability. I can get away with any monkey business I want. I don't have to listen. I can jump up on people. Whatever the case may be in your dog's specific situation, um, they have learned that there's no accountability in that context. So if you've listened to my other episodes, you may have heard the story of my own dog and his discrimination between consequences when I am home versus when I am not home versus when my mother is present <laugh>.

Speaker 1: So, um, he has been taught that there are consequences for eating the cat food when I am home. There are consequences for eating the cat food when I am not home. So I can leave him home all day, uncreated for eight hours.

Speaker 1: He will not touch the cat food. But he has learned that when my mother is present and I leave when once I walk out the door and it's just her there, there are no consequences. And he will absolutely go over there and eat the cat food right away among other various annoying, uh, nuisance behaviors, <laugh> that he never does when I'm around. So your dog can discriminate and just like I just described to you, the dog dis discriminating between who is present, they can also discriminate among many other factors in the environment as well. So your dog will know if there is a context in which you don't provide accountability, they're gonna know what that is.

Speaker 1: They're going, they'll figure it out anyway. They'll figure it out quickly. Your dog's very, very good at discovering patterns. That's, that's they're the masters at. So you need to go out of your way to teach them just the opposite, right?

Speaker 1: You need to go out of your way to teach your dog even if you don't see the remote, even if you don't see the bonker or whatever the tool is that you are using in that context, um, that there will still be accountability. And in order to do that, you have to be skilled at correction. You have to understand your use of markers, you have to understand that it is important that you link your punishment marker to that behavior, uh, first and foremost. So for most of us, that's gonna be the word no. But it can be anything you want and it's going to be very important that you issue that marker the moment your dog does the behavior.

06:00 — Link the punishment marker, usually “No,” directly to the unwanted behavior before delivering the…

Speaker 1: So let's just say that the behavior is barking, okay? Your dog sees the trigger, they look at you, they don't see a remote or bonker or your tool of choice.

Speaker 1: They opt to bark in that moment. You should mark it with a no go get your tool, provide the correction. It's okay if it takes a minute, it doesn't matter. This is where everybody goes wrong 'cause they don't think there can be a delay. But if you can't break outta that mindset and you insist on always providing your correction immediately, then your dog will remain tool smart, right? Because they are correct. You never provide a correction when you don't have the tool on you. And they will see that. And the only way to fix that is to prove to your dog that your marker, which is probably the word no, always predicts a correction, right?

Speaker 1: And then you're golden because you always have no on you and your dog knows that. So, but there are multiple layers to that, right? So your dog has to know that no predicts a correction. You have to have good timing with your word no. That means you have to follow up after you say no, even if you're lazy, even if you're tired, you don't feel like it. You have to follow up and you have to follow up with something meaningful. So if you say no at the right time, and then you go and you walk all the way across the house and you, and you get your remote, but then you just tap at a five,

Speaker 1: Well, so what, right? So you can see all these layers, all these different things need to be in place, uh, for you to be effective. And if you're not, your dog just knows that they know the pattern. Um, and it's that simple from our most recent follow-up,

Speaker 1: They are dealing with something that is super, super common, which is dogs doing amazing, so much better, but still has way too much arousal tied to the return of their owner. So owner leaves the dog at home, goes to work, comes back when they return, and there's other family members in the house already. They'll put the dog on place, but you know, he pulls in the driveway, comes through the door, dog just loses its mind, can't hold the place command, can't listen to anybody, goes, you know, right off a cliff with their arousal. Um, and this is really, really common.

09:00 — Dogs returning owners may break place commands and explode with arousal when the owner…

Speaker 1: Um, especially I find in like certain breeds that just tend to get really, really intense and anxious and a lot of that arousal gets all tied up with their, their bond with their owner. And it's not great. I mean, yeah, we're glad your dog is happy to see you, but that level of arousal, um, basically gets in the way of the dog being able to follow any direction. And that can also be generalized over to other areas as well.

Speaker 1: So it's important for your dog, really the whole key, if you think about it, the whole key to all of the training we talk about is teaching your dog how to control arousal. So even if you're just nurturing this one area, ultimately you are kind of working against yourself because you are teaching your dog not to control arousal and to just be a victim of it, instead helpless to control it. Um, so we do recommend you take some steps if that's something you deal with with your dog. Um, some of the more obvious ones are at a minimum you can create the dog so that when you come home they're at least contained.

Speaker 1: Um, and don't acknowledge them until they have come down to a reasonable level of arousal, right? So, and when I say don't acknowledge them, I mean, don't look at them, don't make eye contact, don't talk to them.

Speaker 1: Certainly don't touch them or don't let them outta their kennel. It's like at a minimum everybody can do that, right? Um, some of the other things you can do, if there are other people at home like we just described in, in these people's situation, they can put the dog on place. Um, but we recommend putting the dog on a tieback. So just putting the leash on the dog's flat collar, tying it to something, um, with a loose leash so it's not tied tightly so the dog doesn't feel like they're tethered to something. Um, so that when they do break the command, 'cause inevitably they're going to um, at least they can't go darting across the house to the trigger to the person, right?

Speaker 1: Um, that's gonna, number one, it's going to help discourage the behavior in the future because it wasn't productive, they weren't able to do the thing they wanted to do.

Speaker 1: Number two, it's gonna make it a lot less messy to properly make it a lot easier to properly address that situation. So when the dog obviously breaks command in that situation, we need to mark that with a no, we need to provide a correction if the dog doesn't go back to the place cot after that, we need to give guidance, body language, maybe even leash guidance, but hopefully not to get the dog back onto the place cot. That's gonna be a lot easier if your dog is already kind of tied in place and can't go very far versus the running all around the house like a madman that's gonna make things a lot more difficult and messy both for you and for the dog, and it's gonna be more stressful.

Speaker 1: So a tieback is a great idea when you are working on situations that are extra challenging for your dog, a lot of times what really needs to happen is there needs to be a real correction to bring that arousal down.

Speaker 1: And so that was a, you know, a tough thing to talk about with the dog's owner when we had this follow up. But they totally understood and, and agreed and are on board with it. It is like sometimes those corrections are, are kind of ugly because the arousal is just so high and there's just no, you have no hope of getting in there and making a difference and bringing that arousal down unless you match that intensity. But here's the thing, it's still, what a second, maybe two seconds of discomfort it's gonna come, it's gonna go, it's gonna be over.

13:00 — A brief, intense correction can interrupt extreme arousal when milder interventions cannot reach the…

Speaker 1: And then the hope is you get your dog into a lower state of arousal and now we can actually start to see some change and practice something different, right? But sometimes they just need someone nevermind place or any other command, they just need someone to say, Hey, this thing you do where you go right off a cliff and you go nuts, it's not okay <laugh>, you can't do that, right?

Speaker 1: And once you have that conversation, it's an ugly conversation, but once you have it, things get a little easier. The other thing that often needs to happen is we're just not catching the dog early enough. So instead of waiting until the owner walks through the door and the dog completely loses it, look for the first sign of arousal. So usually that's gonna be when the owner pulls in, right? The dog knows the sound of their car, they know the sound of someone coming up the driveway, all that stuff. So it's usually starting a long time before they even come through the door.

Speaker 1: So a person pulls into the driveway, dog lifts their head up, gets all perked up, ears are standing up, you can see them starting to get tense. That's actually the moment you wanna start to have the conversation. No, don't escalate. You need to stay relaxed on place.

Speaker 1: And that doesn't mean they're gonna stay completely relaxed, especially like the first time you do it right? It might be a little bit of a process where you're chipping away at that arousal, but you have a way better chance at getting them to stay there and rehearse something different. If you attack that arousal at the first sign, the first time you see it, instead of waiting until the dog is full-blown, you know, 10 of 10. So we do that a lot with our door drills. Um, we're not just correcting the dog for getting off, we're giving them, and the taps will probably be lower in that case, right?

Speaker 1: Because the dog's not a 10 of 10, right? You're getting the dog when there a four or a five instead of a 10. So at that level of intensity, your correction can be a little bit lower, right?

Speaker 1: And so it's just gonna be like a moderate tap to say, Hey, don't, don't get crazy <laugh>, right? And just get them settled back down. Um, and then you'll, you're probably gonna have to do it more than months, right? So you gotta keep watching them and keep giving them that feedback. Um, but the goal is to keep them from going into that state of arousal, right? And it will be messy if your dog's that intense and that wild and that crazy that they fit into this category that we're talking about. Um, even if it's just that scenario, it's not gonna look perfect the first time.

Speaker 1: You're, this is something you're gonna have to rehearse a lot, but you chip away at it. So you try some different things, some of the things we just talked about, and then you ask for a little more. Hopefully it gets a little bit better each time you do it until it becomes not a big deal anymore.

Speaker 1: Um, and that's, that that's gonna help your dog have way better, um, coping skills and ability to control arousal and a better relationship with their owner, right? Because I always say, as good as it might feel for your dog to be that excited when you come home, it's actually not great <laugh>, it's not great. It's not a sign of like the healthiest relationship. Um, and it causes problems, right? Because they're carrying that with them every time they're with you. 'cause that's tied to you. And that can really get in the way of, uh, listening and engaging with you when you want them to.

17:00 — Littermate syndrome discussions distinguish possible relationship effects from the larger problem of limited handler…

Speaker 1: Okay? This one is completely outta left field. Um, but it's one that I was talking about recently with somebody on a phone call. We're talking about litter mate syndrome. So this is the idea that if you adopt two litter mates at the same time, um, that they will be, and every, I think everyone kind of has a different idea of what this is.

Speaker 1: Um, but, and a lot of people have different opinions on whether or not it's even a thing. So we're gonna talk about that. But it's, it's pretty commonly thought of as two dogs that are born in the same litter. They go home to a home, they're maturing together and everything is just a thousand times harder, right? They're difficult to train, they're difficult to bond with, they have severe separation issues. Um, they prioritize each other over their owners and handlers. Um, sometimes they have lots of conflict too as they mature, right? Which I think is pretty par for the course.

Speaker 1: Um, and then you can have dog fights and things of that nature, but generally speaking, it's when you adopt two dogs at the same time and it just turns into a total mess and it gets blamed on them being litter mates. Is there any truth to this?

Speaker 1: I don't know. Um, do we see a lot of issues when people adopt litter mates? Yeah, but I think to be fair, we would probably see that with people that adopt two puppies at the same time. Uh, rather they're litter mates or not. Um, I do think there might be from the, you know, in regard to the conflict aspect, um, I, I do feel like there that just might be a little more likely, um, with dogs that are related. But the truth is, I don't know. I don't know. I think that adopting two puppies at once is nuts.

Speaker 1: <laugh>, I wouldn't do it. Um, it's already a lot of work and having two is can be an incredible amount of work and you do have to pay attention to things such as, um, you know, are they becoming codependent on each other? Um, are they each getting the time they need for bonding with me, engaging with me, training with me, learning to listen to and accept direction for me.

Speaker 1: Um, you know, are they both developing healthy coping skills? And I think it's too easy to kind of pawn them off on each other and, you know, have them go stay busy as opposed to going through the motions of using the structure and doing the appropriate training. Um, and I think that in and of itself can lead to issues. So is it a thing, I don't know if it's a thing, do we see a lot of problems with litter mates? Yes, we do. <laugh>. So hopefully that answers that question. Um, I, I wouldn't recommend it.

20:00 — Two puppies can become codependent, prioritize each other, and avoid developing healthy coping skills…

Speaker 1: I really, really wouldn't. Um, especially same sex puppies. So at the very least I would say get opposite, opposite sex puppies, male and a female. Um, but really just to me, it's not the best idea to get two pups at once related or not, um, resource guarding. So here is another one from a phone call where we were talking about resource guarding.

Speaker 1: And, and you know, the thing is, resource guarding is just a dog behavior, right? So I often say when we're talking about aggression, people wanna classify dogs as being either aggressive or not aggressive, and it just doesn't work that way. Like everyone wants to say, well, my dog's not aggressive, right? Even if they have a bite history. And it's like, well what does that mean? Really? It's not a black and white thing, it's not an on off thing. It's more of a spectrum. All dogs are on it. Um, all dogs have it in them. All dogs bite your dog isn't special because a bit <laugh>.

Speaker 1: Um, so, you know, even if your dog hasn't bit, I don't think you get to qualify your dog as not aggressive. Um, and just because your dog has bit doesn't necessarily mean you get to qualify them as aggressive. So they all have it in there and it's normal and it's natural.

Speaker 1: That doesn't mean it's good, doesn't mean it's acceptable, uh, doesn't mean it's safe. So dogs just have different thresholds, right? Some of them, it doesn't take much to get them to bite. Some of them, it takes a lot to get them to bite, right? They have to be like afraid for their life and in full self-defense mode. So you, you've got the whole range. Um, but it's a normal dog behavior. Guarding resources, same thing. Normal dog behavior, very, very natural behavior. Um, some dogs, right? Guarding resources might just be a little growl. It might, it might even not even be a growl.

Speaker 1: It might even just be like covering the resource with their paw and sort of hovering over it, trying to like squeeze it and not let you, you'd take it away. I met a couple of golden retrievers, uh, about a month ago who would do that with their sticks, right?

Speaker 1: And they actually really enjoyed playing with people with these sticks and having people throw them. But when you went to remove the stick, they would always put their paws right over the stick and get down on the ground with it and try to keep you from taking it away. So, I mean, you could qualify that as resource guarding, but obviously if you have a dog that growls, that may mean that the next step is they're going to bite. Or if you have a dog that bites, that's obviously dangerous. Um, and so people ask, you know, when people see these behaviors, they get very, very concerned.

Speaker 1: But it's normal. There's nothing wrong with your dog, should you do something about it, probably. But it depends, you know, I meet some people that are just engaging in full on conflict with their dog. They're going up, they're bullying the dog, they're pulling bones outta the dog's mouth.

Speaker 1: And, um, you know, just generally <laugh> generally trying to dominate the dog. And it's very, very confrontational. Um, a lot of dogs are gonna respond very poorly to that. So the answer to my question is resource guarding or other aggressive behaviors, uh, normal, yes, they are, they are normal. Should you do something about them probably, right? Depends on the context. So dogs have to have conversations with other dogs. They have to communicate somehow, right? And so they do, they use their body language, they use their vocalizations. So if I have a dog with a resource and another dog is staring at that resource and begins approaching the dog with a resource, might lift their lip and give a little growl, do I have a problem with that?

Speaker 1: No, not really. That's pretty normal, right? I would classify that as a healthy communication. This thing is mine, <laugh> and I, and you can't have it. And I can see that you're thinking about it and I'm not gonna give it to you. You can't have it now. But some dogs go right off a cliff, right? Somebody, they have a resource, somebody walks in the room, dog goes, ah, kill you. And they go out af like, rip your throat out, <laugh>.

Speaker 1: So that's obviously not tolerable, right? That's super dangerous. Yes. I think something needs to be done in that case. So it's all contextual. Like I think you have to think about what's, what's happening. Like, are we asking the dog for something unreasonable, right? So your dog should be able to tolerate normal, healthy, non-confrontational experiences. But if, if a dog is being confrontational, your dog is probably gonna have something to say about that. Of course, if you're there, you should not be letting that happen. You should be intervening, you should be advocating for your dog, and then they won't have to, uh, make a decision like that and engage in those behaviors anyway.

Speaker 1: Now, resource guarding toward people, kind of, kind of the same deal. I, I don't like my dog growling at me. I'm not gonna allow that. There's gonna be a punishment for that every time. Um, but on the same token, I am not going to approach my dog and pull something out of his mouth, especially a high value resource like a bone. I'm just not gonna do that. Like, if you do that, you are literally telling your dog you wanna fight with them.

26:00 — Teach an enforceable “out” command so the dog drops a resource, moves away, and…

Speaker 1: So what we do is we normally teach those dogs the out command, which means you need to drop that resource, move away from it, it's mine now. And obviously we can enforce that. Um, so there's a consequence if they don't do it right? Most dogs, once they know that, they just do it gladly. No problem. Hey, you asked for this resource, it's yours, right? And so now you have a very healthy respect for the humans in the home. And, um, you have a way to remove resources without conflict. And I think that's so important. Some people think they should be able to just walk up to their dog, take the bone right outta their mouth, and their dog shouldn't have a thing to say about it.

Speaker 1: And you know what? A lot of dogs won't, but a lot of dogs will. And it's a very tall order and I'm sorry, but not all dogs are gonna tolerate that because like I said, it's very confrontational. Um, and so you're, you know, you're essentially telling your dog, Hey, let's fight over this resource. <laugh>, from their perspective, that's what's happening. So having that, uh, command in place, uh, and that respect in place, they know you can enforce what you ask for. Um, you're gonna control the resources. Um, that being said, is there something wrong with a dog that growls at people over food bones, toys?

Speaker 1: No. It's a normal dog behavior, right? That doesn't mean you have to like it, it doesn't mean you have to

Speaker 1: Accept it, it just means there's nothing actually wrong with the dog, right? But again, all this stuff exists on a spectrum. So you have some dogs that are a little protective over resources, and then you've got some dogs that will kill a person over resources. And uh, I think it depends, you know, whether or not you choose to keep a dog in your home with those behaviors depends on how high are the stakes, right? So I met a family with a very large Belgian Malinois who had some severely aggressive tendencies and they had multiple kids in their house.

Speaker 2: And,

Speaker 1: And when I saw the aggression in action, I was like, it's not worth it. You can't have this dog in your house, <laugh>. So now is there something wrong with the dog per se? Nope. But this dog is not cut out to be a family dog. So anyways, I'm going off the rails a little bit, but, uh, resource guarding guys, normal aggressive behaviors in general, normal. Can some wires be crossed and things be not quite right. Absolutely right. But most of the time these behaviors are adjustable, modifiable, um, habitable and fixable, right? And you can teach your dog to have a healthy respect.

Speaker 1: And it doesn't mean that they're, uh, they're abnormal or something's wrong with them.

Speaker 1: Alright, here's a good one. So I recently received a request around this. So, and lots of our customers, lots of our customers have dogs that are quote unquote very protective. I don't like that word. I think it's more appropriate to say possessive <laugh>. So dogs that are protective, especially, you know, if they're territorial and they tend to bark and growl at people that are coming into the house or people that are coming near their owner, right? So, so we have all these different words, right? But really it's all just kind of nonsense. So the definitions of these words are always kind of moving around, or they're different from everybody's perspective.

Speaker 1: You have a territorial dog, you have a protective dog, a possessive dog. You have a, a dog that guards you, a dog that guards space, a dog that guards resources. Um, it doesn't matter, okay? You've got a dog that reacts poorly to people in an aggressive manner in whatever context. And people will ask.

30:00 — Allowing occasional barking or growling teaches the dog to self-govern reactions toward people and…

Speaker 1: 'cause obviously they want to have control over their dog. Um, they want to be safe and keep other people safe, but then they go, well, I don't mind if they bark when someone comes up the driveway. Or, well, I don't mind if they bark when someone comes to the door because I live alone. And so I kind of want my dog to do that. Is that okay? Can I do that? And generally speaking, the answer is no, <laugh>, the answer is just no. So, because you're sending mixed messages to your dog, and here's why we are talking about behaviors that your dog has autonomously chosen to do.

Speaker 1: Your dog is self-governing in those moments. They are deciding that the thing they hear, the person they see the guest that walks through the door is potentially a threat and they should alert and who knows where it will escalate from there. So your dog's deciding that all on their own. And the reason that is different from like protection training, right? Bite work, dogs that are taught to bite on command is just that it's on command. It is not autonomous. The dog doesn't just decide, I'm gonna go bite this guy, I'm gonna alert on this guy.

Speaker 1: That's not happening, right? It's all very, very highly trained behaviors that are attached to, um, verbal commands from their owner handler. Um, it's not the dog deciding threat, threat, threat, threat, attack, attack, attack. And so you can't simultaneously say, I don't want you to be aggressive toward people. I don't want you to growl I my friends, I don't want you to bark at this person or that person. But if someone comes up the driveway, go ahead, lose your mind, right? So there has to be a clear context attached to both of those things. So your dog knows the pattern, what is okay and what isn't okay?

Speaker 1: And I think most people, um, are not gonna have the skills, um, or the time or the energy. They're gonna be very hard pressed to do that. First of all, even if you could, it's just gonna be, it's too in depth. It's too much for, for I think the average person to, to do that and draw those very clear, um, those very clear associations, um, with when it is okay and when it isn't. Um, but ultimately again, your dog, when your dog is in that autonomous state of mind, if they're choosing to alert, if they're choosing to exhibit aggressive behaviors, then you are choosing to leave that intact and allow them to rehearse it when they want to

Speaker 1: Instead of when they are told to. Now a lot of people's dogs bark right when someone comes up the driveway or to the door. And as long as they shut up when you tell 'em to, um, fine, right? But they should pretty much lose interest in the door. If you have a dog that is overly aggressive, territorial, that sort of thing, and you choose not to do that and you leave it intact, what ultimately is probably going to end up happening. It's not gonna be a burglar that gets it. It's not gonna be someone that's mugging you, raping you.

Speaker 1: It's not gonna be someone breaking into your house. It's gonna be the mailman. It's gonna be the UPS guy, it's gonna be the FedEx guy, right? It's gonna be the neighbor, <laugh>, whoever. Um, because those people have a much higher likelihood of actually coming into your home and onto your property. The chances of you actually having a violent encounter are very slim. And one other point I'd like to add to this is that even if you teach your dog not to be aggressively reactive toward the door, toward people coming in, toward people in general, whatever the case may be, and you tell your dog, no, you can't do that.

34:00 — Autonomous protective behavior is more likely to target delivery drivers or neighbors than an…

Speaker 1: You can't growl, you can't bark, you certainly can't bite, can't do that stuff.

Speaker 1: If you have a violent encounter, your dog is probably gonna do those things unless you go out of your way to rehearse that scenario and teach your dog not to react, they're going to, right? If your dog has it in there <laugh> to be quote unquote protective, trust me, you're going to see it in that situation.

Speaker 1: Um, sometimes we're just, we're placing too tall of an order with our dogs, um, to discern who should get bit and who shouldn't, right? If you leave that up to your dog, you guys, that's just a disaster. <laugh>. So no, our answer, uh, almost a hundred percent of the time, uh, when we're working with people and they ask us well, is okay, uh, I don't mind if they do this. The answer is no. Right? Especially if you have a dog that's exhibiting particularly aggressive behaviors, especially if you have a large power breed dog, that sort of thing.

Speaker 1: No, we're not gonna tell you that it's okay. It's not okay for your dog to go crazy when they think there's an intruder because they don't know the difference between a 6-year-old kid and an intruder. So there you have it <laugh>. That's it for today's episode, guys. Uh, it was an interesting one where we were kind of all over the map, but these are, uh, I think, I think good questions, um, that cover a lot of bases for a lot of folks. So hopefully you got something out of it. Please, please, please send me your questions, thoughts, suggestions, ideas, things you want, discuss, things you wanna know about.

Speaker 1: I would love to hear from you. Kati at Diamond Canine dot com, that's Kati at diamond, C-A-N-I-N e.com. Until next time.