Protection or Aggression?

I spent the weekend with my family, including my grandson, 2 ½ year old Ben.  What was incredibly interesting to me was the roll that Baewulf took in becoming a guardian for Ben. 

In a series of photos I took, I recorded some beautifully demonstrated guardianship of Ben between Baewulf, my almost 11 year old long coat, black and red retired service dog and baby Cloud.  There is no act of aggression in these photos.  What is demonstrated is what is call “splitting”.  Splitting is when one dog comes between someone a dog feels protective of, putting distance between the person (or dog) and another person or dog.  It is a natural and very desirable behavior.  

Baewulf is the “peacekeeper” in my pack. He forever is watching interactions to be sure the peace is kept. When he feels something is uncomfortable or going to be uncomfortable or unsafe, he intervenes with the splitting behavior, or going between the two individuals. There is no aggression.  He simply walks in between.

I have observed him doing this for years in many, many situations.

Often I hear from people that their dog is protective of them when in fact the dog is possessive. There is a huge difference and one can be dangerous where the other is an instinctual behavior that is often very desirable and peaceful especially in livestock herding dogs. People will tell me their dog “protects” them by not tolerating someone or another dog near the owner. It can be followed by a hard stare, growling, stiff body posture or even a threat to, or actual bite.  This is NOT appropriate protection or guarding.  This is possession and it usually occurs when the owner is not the dog’s leader or the dog itself is overly aggressive.  When the dog makes decisions that include aggression of this type, the dog is making the decisions, not the owner.  Once this line has been crossed, it can become a very serious situation and needs to be addressed immediately.  If it is not, it can lead to a serious bite resulting in a law suit or euthanasia of the dog.

A true protection dog is good natured, obedient to its owner, friendly to others, and defers to its owner and will only defend or protect when there is a real threat to the owner.  A good protection dog does NOT see all people or all dogs as a threat to the owner.

Splitting is a very calm and peaceful and usually very relaxed, appropriate behavior.  I have posted the entire series on the Positive Puppy Dog Training Facebook page so you can peruse the entire interaction between Ben, Baewulf and Cloud.  It is peaceful and safe.  And, so is Ben.

Caption:  “Splitting” is a behavior where one dog will go in between to stop an interaction, such as Baewulf is doing between my grandson and baby Cloud.  PS Ben’s parents are just outside the shot.