When Dogs Refuse Visitors – Understanding Territorial Behavior
Some dogs are happy to share treats, toys, and outdoor adventures with fellow dogs. But the same dog can exhibit a different demeanor when it comes to home visits, safeguarding their territory. As our furry friends transition from outdoor escapades to the cozy confines of home, they may undergo a transformation into vigilant gatekeepers, firmly resolved to protect their turf. In this enlightening guide, we will delve into the nuances of our dogs' protective instincts, shedding light on the boundaries they establish, and exploring how we, as their trusted human partners, can navigate and nurture these protective tendencies.
When the boundaries of the home are set
At home, the friendship ends. When the dogs leave neutral territory and approach the boundary of the home turf, brows furrow, and smiles disappear. Their gait stiffens, and movements slow down, the entrance is circled, and the visitor is driven away. At the threshold, the limit of hospitality is drawn. A low growl and seriousness put an end to the coffee party.
Why don't some dogs let others into their homes? If we put on our dog goggles, we will see lines, clear and accentuated with scent markings. Borders that smell of seriousness. Up to here, but no further. Dogs sense these boundaries, and most of them respect them.
The dog's territory and its importance
Originally, a territory is a geographical area with important resources for the survival of the pack. An optimal territory includes warm dens, streams, and good lookout spots. It should be in game-rich areas and far from competing territories.
From the perspective of our pet dogs, the territory can be the house, the yard, or the entire neighborhood. Humans do not determine the boundaries of the territory; the dog's perception of the area does. Some dogs establish portable territories like the car, the office at work, a pen made of wire mesh panels, and so on.
Differences between alarms and guards
Guarding instinct exists more or less in all dogs. It is partly a matter of breed. For some, guarding is a driving force, while others are content with wartching and alarming (barking when someone approaches). The broad-minded ones with dull barks rest until the alarm sounds, then their motivation to scare off intruders awakens. These two types of dogs, the watcher and the guard, should complement each other naturally. A small one with a sharp voice and a sturdy doorman.
Defending territory requires both parties. And here we have part of the solution. Even if your dog is a beautiful guard, she/he knows that you own the guard post, and if you take over the guard duty and do it well, she/he will let you. With an emphasis on the part about doing it well.
Origin and needs of the guardian instinct
Before we get into the solution, let's think a little about the guarding instinct of dogs. If you've got a dog intended to guard, the need to do so comes with the package.
Cattle guardians without cattle will guard houses and homes as a substitute, and a farm guard takes its duties seriously. They should be inflexible, skeptical, and have low social interest in outsiders. They can be social on someone else's turf but rarely near home.
They are built to stand firm, scare off intruders, and their courage is for protection rather than defense. They don't defend themselves unnecessarily, but they protect us and ours, willing to die for us.
They stand in between and make themselves a target so that we can take the back door and escape if necessary. There is honor in that, reminiscent of the days of chivalry. We need to understand that. We should be grateful for the love and sacrifice that guarding entails. Only when we understand this are we entitled to try to teach them to let go of the role from time to time. Perhaps when we want to have coffee with a friend and their dog.
The importance of understanding your dog's guarding instinct
Understanding is crucial for solving the situation. With understanding, the belief in corrections and the idea of taking away someone's drive die. In understanding, we find team work as the solution.
With understanding, we train with warmth in our hearts and compassion in setbacks. And it's only then that guard dogs listen.
Nine steps towards the solution:
1. Start with a health check
Have a veterinarian determine if your dog is physically healthy. Rule out illness and pain as influencing or causative factors. It's always step one, for animal welfare reasons. Don't assume that you know if your dog is in pain or not. Let a veterinarian make that assessment.
2. Weight of regular stimulation
Provide your dog with individualized and breed-specific exercise and mental training regularly (once is not enough, make it an everyday thing). Under-stimulated or wrongly stimulated dogs can put stress into guarding, and protection spun from that energy is hard to reach.
3. practicing relaxation and impulse control
Install an "off switch." When the dog has had physical and mental outlets, it can more easily learn to relax through relaxation training and massage. Practice impulse control. It provides a good foundation for the following points.
Being able to relax and restrain oneself is important for a guard dog practicing taking off its work clothes.
4. Identify and avoid territory boundaries
Pay attention to the territory boundaries. Let your dog show you where they are. Observe $dog_gender_2$ when you have visitors; where does $dog_gender_1$ freeze up? Is it at the door, in the hallway, by the gate? Understand where it becomes uncomfortable for your dog.
Prevent by making it impossible for the dog to stand at the boundary when the visitor is about to enter. Because the line is burning there. It's cooler before and after it. But right on that line, it's scorching hot. So guide your dog to sit behind you, away from the entrance, when people enter.
5. Managing resources to avoid conflict
What resources within the territory are important to your dog? Is the couch off-limits? Or does she/he gather her/his chew toys to keep safe? Or is the water bowl not something she/he wants to share? Again, understand your dog's perspective.
Then remove the valuable resources during dog visits at home. Make it impossible for the visiting dog to jump on the couch and inform the dog's parent that the couch is off-limits. If your guard sees that everyone adheres to the same rules, she/he will lower her/his guard.
It's important that you are credible in your role as the guardian for your dog to let you do the job. A guardian doesn't let anything just pass. A guardian dares to speak up and take charge.
If you show that you can do it, your dog will let you do the job. Either the dog will bring out your authority or not. As you can hear, a guard dog is not for everyone.
6. Analyze the behavior of guests and their dogs
Now critically assess your intended guest. Is the person genuine, authentic, stable, and harmonious? We prefer not to let fake, unbalanced people get close, and the same goes for our dogs.
Also, take a critical look at the dog you plan to invite. Is the dog friendly, respectful, and fluent in dog language? Will he/she enter and behave nicely? And most importantly, is the visiting duo of dog and dog parent responsible?
Or does the visit need guidelines to behave sensibly? If the answer is yes to most of the questions, it is reasonable to even expect your guard to let them in.
7. Establish rules and control visits
Now create conditions for the visit to feel like a visit and not an intrusion. It's your responsibility. If you leave the task to the dog, she/he will express her/his opinion in the way dogs do.
Someone might get hurt. The problem does not lie in the dog's behavior but in your failure to take responsibility from the beginning.
Imagine the scenario where the visitor lets their dog in recklessly. The visiting dog runs around like crazy, up on the furniture, noses through the basket of dog toys, heads out into the yard, and in again without wiping its paws. Both you and your dog strongly dislike this.
You should have taken control of the situation before it got out of hand. If you don't tell the visitor to calm down their dog, leash it, and give the guest a chew bone to gnaw on (in a designated place), your dog will have had enough, which is entirely understandable.
So act before your dog does. There is etiquette in the dog world, and hospitality is saved for the polite.
8. Working together for effective guarding
Now we come to the core of the guard dog. But the following will not have any effect if the exercises and thoughts above have not been taken seriously.
Praise and reward the fact that the guard dog alarms; barks a series of barks when she/he notices a risk of intrusion. This emphasizes the dog's new role.
After a series of barks, consistently throw a handful of tasty treats into a back room (the den), close a gate to the room (not the door), and go out into the hallway (the outer territory) yourself and guard.
Tell people off, show your fist in the kitchen window, demonstrate clearly that no one unauthorized enters here, you will make sure of that! Make sure your dog sees you. Then retrieve your watcher from the den.
Repeat with the change that now and then you let in guests. You, not the dog. The dog waits calmly to be let out. With time and training, skip the den and have your dog sitt behind you in the hallway when people enter. Check out the trainings Hallway manners here in Petli.
9. Meet guests in a neutral place
You can vary by going out to meet the visitors on neutral ground and then go in together. A few meters from the boundary of the territory, you let the visitors pass and allow them to enter first.
Once indoors, you may need to give your dog a clear place and task so that she/he doesn't "police" around. Lie down beside you or chew on a bone (if the resource doesn't increase guarding), for example.
Over time, you might be able to relax the rules and let socializing flow. But always keep an eye on things because a true guard will always have eyes on the guests.
Build a strong team with your dog
Avoid using your authority against your own dog. You direct that towards the outside world and potential intruders. If the dog doesn't feel that you are a team, dangerous chaos can ensue.
On the other hand, if your dog trusts that you're doing your job, she/he can be confident that order will be maintained, by you.
To learn more about dog behavior, you can read about Resource defense in dogs - understanding their zones and limits. To understand more about dogs' emotional lives, visit Dogs' emotional lives - not unlike ours. If you want to get better at interpreting and speaking dog language, check out Dog language - learn to interpret and speak dog language.
Written by: Caroline Alupo
Caroline Alupo is Petli's co-founder. She has a master's degree in ethology and is also a trained dog trainer and dog psychologist. She has 19 years of experience as a professional dog trainer. Read more about Caroline here.
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