Because of a post I read floating around facebook, today's blog is all about dogs and kids - mainly how to balance it properly, and what mistakes people commonly make which lead to dangerous - or even deadly - outcomes. As is the current successful format, today's blog will be in point format, listing the common mistakes, and how to fix them.
Babies to Five Years
1) Bringing a newborn home, then changing all of the rules on the dog.
When a new life is brought into the pack permanently, most people start changing how the dog needs to behave; instilling rules like not going in to the baby's room, no more jumping on furniture, sleeping somewhere different, meal times change, walk time changes or totally stops - these are a fuel for disaster. When things suddenly change on a dog, they often become suspicious or guarded around what they think changed it all. In most cases, they're able to instantly detect that its because of the baby that triggered the rule changes. Some dogs become defensive; growling at or shying away from the new baby. Some dogs become alert; barking at every sound, smelling and detecting everything that goes near the baby. Some dogs become dominant, and think they own the baby now, causing tension in the home when anyone new tries to touch the baby. Some dogs accept the baby as a pack leader, and become better dogs all around because the baby is a new pack leader. In whichever case, except the last one, the balance is off, and caused by humans changing rules right when the baby comes home.
-How Do We Change This?
If you do need to change things up, be it room access rules, walking time changes, new behaviors, or even association with the baby being more powerful than they are, these new rules need to happen way in advance. As soon as you are sure there is a baby entering your life, way back in the beginning, things need to shift. One thing at a time, however, and slowly. If you are readying a baby room, teach your dog that they don't enter as soon as the room's look physically changes. If you're pulling the carpet or changing the paint color, let that be the new signal to your dog that they can't enter that room, or not enter without permission. This will cause your dog to associate the rule change with the room physically changing, not the baby. Once they have that flawlessly, you can move on to the next change - be it new feed time, new walk time, or whichever. Please note, you cannot cut out your dog's exercise completely, and don't do it at night time - this will be totally pointless exercise. Later at night is closer to bed time, and then dogs sleep, and gain more energy overnight, then to wake up and wait all day to walk, causes severe behavioural problems. We highly recommend taking a walk after your baby's first nap, so the baby can be involved in the dog's walk, too.
2. Allowing Your Dog Near Other Babies Or To Smell Yours Immediately
When a female dog has puppies, she isolates herself from the entire pack, and protects the puppies until they're old enough to come out and play. They are highly protective, and are liable to bite, charge, or otherwise kill anything that comes near the puppies. While this isn't logical behaviour for a human to enact over a newborn, it is incredibly important that a similar stance be taken. Letting a dog invade a baby's personal space, be it someone else's or your own, creates the assumption that they can be in the personal space of the baby. While this might seem harmless, it creates the ability for your dog to ignore what I call "puppy protocol". When this occurs, the dog thinks "I don't have to use puppy protocol with human puppies. GREAT!" but that also entails all of the ingrained rules therein. Dogs don't approach young puppies at all. They don't play with them, which usually involves bite training, or nipping. They don't sleep near them. They don't interact with them. They don't eat with them. They don't even look at them. When dogs think this boundary is broken, they don't pick and choose which rules to obey - they actually let all of them slide, because they're all the same rule. This creates some serious issues, sometimes causing more outspoken dogs to believe the child belongs to them, or that they must protect and inspect everything near the child. If a dog thinks a baby is their possession, there can often be few symptoms - but in every case of a dog biting a child, I guarantee the dog thought the baby was theirs. When dogs correct each other for behavioural mistakes, they nip the side of the neck, or the muzzle. On a human, the costs of this is often disastrous, because dogs don't understand that human skin is so sensitive unless they're trained to know. Dogs that own the baby try and correct them when they think the baby has infracted a rule, such as "We don't make noises that loud in the home", or "Hey, stop barking like that". They are honestly just trying to stop the child. When a dog is trying to kill something however, they grab the midsection, and shake. If this has happened, you will need to put your dog down.
-How Do We Change This?
Instead of letting your dog interact right away with the baby, it is incredibly important that the dog understand they're not to get within a few feet of the new baby. Let them see and smell from a distance, but never let them too close. It is critical that a dog think the baby's safety bubble is huge. This instills the understanding that babies are more powerful than you, and sets up the baby for a healthier relationship later on. Please note, putting your dog on a leash and just holding them back does absolutely nothing. Your dog must physically understand and obey the invisible bubble. You will need to correct them, sternly - not so stern that they become scared, but stern enough that they understand this rule is absolute. The dog must choose to obey this rule by themselves before they take it seriously. Keep this bubble rule until your child can sit up for a time, move their own head, and preferably, can say "no". Then you can start teaching the dog that when baby says no, it means no.
3. Leaving Dogs Alone With Toddlers/Babies
Whether your dog is awesome with your child or not, never leave a family pet alone with your child. Not even a ten year old. Just because behaviour is perfect doesn't mean they're safe alone. Most dogs think that when the human is gone, they are in charge - even if they are trained to know the baby is of higher power than they are. This is generally caused by a rule of association; child is of higher power when the adult is in the room. Most dogs assume this, because it is totally unnatural to a dog for a puppy to be in control. Even if your child is 12 years old and understands the rules perfectly, never leave a dog alone with a kid. Only if your child can look like an adult should you ever leave them alone. Please note, I am referring to a home being empty of humans, not just having you in another room.
-How To Accomplish Leaving Dogs And Kids Alone
Just like protection dogs and police dogs, babysitter dogs must also be trained. This can take months, and requires specialized training from a professional. While dogs used to be used to guard kids all the time even 20 years ago, these animals were trained to do so. Most farm dogs, like the pit bull or rottweiler, were strictly trained and understood full well what their job was. This training took many days, some of which entailed letting a child be put in real danger. In order to train your home pet to be alone with your child, you are going to need professional help - and not just any obedience trainer, you need someone who knows how to train a protection dog, because its essentially a low level of the same thing. the only difference is, instead of protecting a home or the handler, the dog must be trained a long list of rules surrounding the child, such as do not let the child outside, do not let the child on the road, do not let strangers near the child unless the human says so, do not let the child into the cupboards, do not let the child going for the knife drawer, bite anyone who touches the child when the human is not there, attack and kill all predators on the property, ect. Expecting an untrained dog to be around a child is not acceptable. It is also unacceptable to think a child under 5 or 6 can command your dog. You need to constantly back up your child and encourage your dog to obey, no matter what they are trying to do, even if that command overrides your own! It is critical that a dog believe they listen FIRST to your child, THEN to you. Address the conflicting behaviour with your child in private after.
Older Kids - 5 and up
1. Letting Children Have Different Rules Than Adults
Many families let the little things slide when it comes to kids and dogs. While if any adult picked your dog up in a way that makes them squirm or feel targeted, we often allow children to do so because its easier than reinforcing the rules. Many people let children play a little rougher, or degrade the dog in ways that an adult would never get away with, or change the rules such as the dog doesn't have to sit when the child feeds them. The list of little things goes on. The issue here is it essentially trains the dog to disrespect and ignore the child, that they don't need to take this human seriously. When you allow this, it doesn't just miraculously change with age - you're basically teaching the dog that they don't have to respect anyone else but you, and sometimes you teach them that all humans are to be ignored and disrespected. On the other hand, you can also be teaching the dog that humans are unstable, that commands don't always mean the same thing, which makes a dog frustrated and bored, causing many other unwanted behaviours to surface. Obviously, this is a very severe problem, and generally ends up in the humans blaming the dog and rehoming them, when the issue was caused by the owners themselves.
-How To Maintain Congruency And Equal Rules With Kids
I won't lie to you; this isn't going to be easy, or simple. At some point, you have to stop backing up your child's commands to the dog, and take their relationship to the next level. In order to do this, you have to back up your own rules. If its not acceptable, its not acceptable for everyone in the home. Guests, visitors, children, family - your rules cannot change, no matter who. Everyone, even strangers, need to follow the same rules. Don't let your kids dress your dog. Make sure they get the dog to sit and wait respectfully for food, and make sure your kids can hand feed them without issue. Most often, this stage takes a trainer to help you with - but that's okay. As your child ages, though, there gets a point where you cannot always be there to make your dog sit when the child says so. This requires a transition period, where you're within earshot, but the dog can't see you, or you're over 10 feet away which is outside of pack distance. When a child gives an order, wait to hear what happens. If you are properly using an e-collar for this stage, this is a good section to use it in. If your dog obeys, you can reward the dog with a good boy/good girl or a yes and treat. If they do not obey within a few seconds, offer a verbal correction, e-collar correction, or physical correction. Obviously, you will need to move quickly to offer the correction in time. Your dog will eventually understand that they have to listen directly to your child, not you after the child offers a command. Sooner or later, you will be able to let your child command the dog in the living room while you're making dinner. Please note; do not use an e-collar without the advice or training of a professional. Do not just place a collar on your dog and use it. DO NOT use an e-collar on a fearful or aggressive dog.
Have fun everyone and train that Ideal Companion!
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Top Training Myths - Blog Sixteen
Today we are tackling the most common and inaccurate training myths that we've seen floating around Vancouver Island. These are not specific to any one owner, trainer, or breed, but we've seen them everywhere.
1) You cannot leash correct a dog/Leash corrections do not work
This we have heard all over the place and is indicative of an owner or trainer that just doesn't understand how to employ them properly. While they are difficult to master, time, and use appropriately, when this technique is properly mastered, there is nothing that works faster, more effectively, and more humanely than the leash correction. Most often, when leash corrections aren't working for a trainer or owner, its usually because of one or more of a few important things.
i) The collar is in the wrong position for the pet to properly feel the correction and understand what it means - the collar should sit immediately behind the ears, as high up the neck as physically possible, and not at the base of the neck where most collars sit.
ii) The leash correction was not perfectly timed. If you miss the correction by even half a second, the impact is lessened. If you miss it by a full second, you've just pulled the dog around a bit.
iii) The leash correction was not strong enough to correct the behaviour. The energy behind your leash correction should exceed the unwanted behaviour by a little bit - not too much, but most definitely not too weak.
iv) The leash correction was pulled in the wrong direction. Most people try and correct a dog by pulling straight up (called a hydraulic jerk; very dangerous and harmful to the dog and their neck), or straight back (which just pulls the dog about). A leash correction should always be pulled sideways, always in front of your body so the dog is brought off balance to look up at you.
Leash corrections should only ever be used to break the line of concentration of the pet, bring them slightly off balance, and be forced to look at you the owner for further guidance. Now, we should mention what a leash correction IS NOT. It is not meant to communicate anger, frustration, or be used as a tool to punish your dog. It is not a means to harm or damage your dog. It is not meant to change or address behaviour. Let me say that again; IT IS NOT MEANT TO CHANGE OR ADDRESS BEHAVIOUR! Too many trainers believe a leash correction will "fix" a behaviour; it does not. It is meant ONLY to snap the dog's thoughts away from what it is doing and back on to you, the trainer, so you can further give instruction. It is NOT a means to communicate what they are doing is wrong! Moving forward after a leash correction is properly employed signals to your dog to carry on - this os what you want.
There are other means to correct a dog without a leash - and these are all far more impactful on the dog, such as a foot or tap correction (please read, not a kick, not a hit, not a strike; just a simple push to catch attention and bring off balance. These should only ever be used if a proper leash correction is ignored, or if a leash correction is not safe or possible (such as a dog standing on a bench, near a walkway edge with a fall, ect.)
2) To rehabilitate a dog, you need to first establish dominance.
Absolutely not accurate. With all dogs, no matter the cause of the behaviour, it is far more important for a dog to trust and respect you before anything else. Sure, any trainer can waltz straight in, dominate your dog, and effect change - but this is not happening out of a desire to please, this is out of a lack of choice on your dog's part, and the dog will honestly only learn to change out of force, not out of love, and many pets can regress to old habits as soon as the trainer is gone. The first and foremost important basis for changing a dog's behaviour is a strong relationship and trust between dog and owner, owner and trainer, and dog and trainer. It is absolutely unacceptable for any trainer to affect change in a dog through tools or dominance without earning the relationship and respect they so desire and require. Please note, trust and relationship cannot happen simply through treats; while bribery can help a dog to trust in certain situations, beware of the trainer that cannot get your dog to respect them without treats! Most dogs are taught through life that treats are positive, but it is totally unnatural to the dog to understand the concept of treats like we do. If a dog does not trust the owner, then no real change of mind can happen.
3) Tools are essential to training or rehabilitating a dog.
If any trainer tries to tell you that a dog cannot be trained without a specific tool, fire them. While better equipment is always important (better collars, leashes, crates, ect), no trainer should rely on a physical object to train a dog. Do not trust ANY trainer that has to use a physical object before they train your pet, such as a stick, tennis racket, muzzle for any reason besides the safety of other dogs or strangers, or any physical device to control or correct a dog, such as a prong or e-collar. These items being used immediately are indicative of a trainer with limited or no real experience and could possibly be a victim of improper mentoring or training themselves. Any trainer worth their creed can show up to a client's home with nothing extra (including treats) and still help rehabilitate or train a dog. While a trainer's toolbox SHOULD include safe treats, a muzzle, a leash or two, water dishes, and toys, no trainer should ever have to use a tool specifically to "control" your pet. If a trainer is rehabilitating your dog, whether its for something minor or even red zone aggression, no trainer should ever use tools like the above! A prong or e-collar should only ever be used on properly trained, acclimated, balanced dogs with a solid relationship with their owner. Any barrier items like a stick, tennis racket, or other blocking items should never ever be used on a dog of any behaviour. These items are a form of abuse and should be a major warning to you. That being said, if a trainer uses a tennis racket to prevent a bite or strike on someone when attempting to provoke behaviour, this is different.
4) Dogs that obey for treats are well trained.
Unfortunately, this is the farthest thing from the truth. When a trainer or owner has to use treats to elicit a behaviour, you are the one that's been trained! While treats are important with new dogs, puppies, and beginning to establish relationships with a dog, they should only ever be used to create interest and a bond with the trainer - not become the focus of training. Dogs don't understand the concept of operating behavior for a food reward - this is taught to them at a young age, just like the "social" concept of greeting other dogs is taught to them and is not natural. When we teach a dog that they get rewards for acting a certain way or offering a certain behaviour, if employed improperly, they think they should always get it, and often refuse to listen unless they're guaranteed to have a treat. They can even show excitement for the treat, which is another sign THEY have trained YOU. They have learned to make you more interested in giving them the treat if they offer excitement. If you simply cannot get a dog to listen with enthusiasm without a treat, then they're not trained - they've trained you.
5) Hyper dogs need longer walks.
Dogs that have too much energy or are too hyper do need more exercise, but that isn't the root of the problem. When dogs have too much energy, they can act out, become frustrated, or try and burn it out themselves by becoming hyper. All three of these issues are because of one root problem - they are bored! Bored dogs can't communicate to us that they need to use their minds - they just adapt the best they can, and most often, that ends up being displayed in unwanted behaviours. This is an excellent time to teach your dog something new, perfect other learned behaviours, or play games like fetch, tug, or water retrieve. You can even take your dog to a playground and teach them to climb all over the equipment, provided there are no children around. This is not, however, a good time to use treats or food rewards, because this will increase excitement and increase boredom, though it might seem like the opposite! Treats should be used to teach new behaviours, but only if they won't work for affection or play time.
6) A wagging tail means happy.
Not really. A wagging tail is used as a level of intensity. It can mean happy, but only if its slow and relaxed. When a tail is moving quickly, it's an indication of a high level of emotion - in the case of happiness, it means a high level of excitement. If the whole back end is going too, this means your dog is level ten in excitement - and this should be corrected or ignored. Just as you wouldn't tolerate a dog being a level ten in aggression, or fear, the same should be said for excitement. While with humans, excitement is a normal and positive emotion, for dogs, it means they are unbalanced - like a washing machine with a leg too short. If you acknowledge or reward this unbalance, they will think it's acceptable - and can often get worse, creating behaviours like destruction, separation anxiety (more accurately called mommy syndrome or role reversal), or even aggression. While it might be cute, it is unhealthy, and should be seen as a sign that your dog is going too far.
7) Aggression issues are all caused by bad training should be dominated out.
Not always. There are the rare cases of pure aggression from lack of training, but most often its not as simple as that. When true aggression happens, while it is extremely rare, is indeed caused by bad training - usually from a trainer that meant well, but really didn't understand dogs the way they should. These cases are about as rare as they come in regard to aggression. Most aggression cases are actually fear cases, or frustration cases. When a dog is scared of something, or in some cases everything, they have only a couple choices. The most common is flight - the desire to flee from whatever is scary. These cases are easy to mark. They can also become avoiding, and chose to totally ignore whatever is scaring them, until it becomes too much - which can often be the case. Avoidance always leads to flight, or the final choice, fight. Fearful dogs that think they are supposed to be in control often turn to aggression to scare off or fake out the scary thing. These displays are usually violent in appearance, loud, and showy, but very rarely is there a bite. The second most common occurrence, frustration, is caused by a need that isn't being fulfilled properly. Dogs have a few main needs; the need for physical, mental, and traveling exercise; the need to hunt and kill; the need to play and relax; the need to sleep; the need to eat; the need to feel balanced and not in control; the need to be with humans; and the need to feel safe at all times. When one of these become out of whack and unfulfilled, these dogs often become frustrated because they have no way to let off the energy, and no way to communicate with the owner what they need - so they become mad. In order to properly fix these issues, no matter what kind of aggression it is, the relationship needs to be repaired. Unless the dog is biting a human on an active basis, dominance won't help anything. In fact, dominating a dog usually results in the behaviour getting far worse - this is because there is no relationship and no respect. Dominance is important, but not if it is aggressive, and never ever before a relationship is repaired.
8) This dog doesn't understand what I am teaching, they are just "dumb".
We run across this assumption every day - and usually, these dogs are the smartest, most operant dogs we've come across. They are often easy to train, and master new abilities very fast. Usually, the cause of this thought is because of one of three things. Sometimes, the owner isn't training in a way the dog needs it to be because its either too complex or not in their language, sometimes the owner and dog have a dysfunction in their relationship and it's affecting trainability, and other times, the dog just isn't being motivated. Some dogs need a new skill broken down or communicated differently; they don't always understand a skill as quickly as other dogs might. This is an intelligence thing, but it doesn't mean they're dumb. Sometimes, a dog needs to master sit before they can even understand lay down, and that's okay - it just takes slowing down, breaking it up, and making sure that you're trying to teach it with different ideas. Some dogs know perfectly well what you want, and couldn't care less. Some dogs might not choose to obey, because they know you won't make them or that you don't really mean it. Sometimes, a dog chooses not to obey because the owner overcorrects when the dog makes a mistake, and they think they can't do anything right, so they won't bother at all. All of these are due to a dysfunction in the relationship and the owner should consider rebuilding a healthier relationship. Sometimes, when a dog is just not listening, they might not want to listen because there's nothing in it for them. We find this most often in breeds that have low pack drive, and dogs that have been treat trained improperly. If this is the case, it's time to reboot training from the beginning (like 6 week old puppy beginning) and try it differently!
Hopefully this has helped clear up some of the myths floating around. Did you buy in to any of them?
1) You cannot leash correct a dog/Leash corrections do not work
This we have heard all over the place and is indicative of an owner or trainer that just doesn't understand how to employ them properly. While they are difficult to master, time, and use appropriately, when this technique is properly mastered, there is nothing that works faster, more effectively, and more humanely than the leash correction. Most often, when leash corrections aren't working for a trainer or owner, its usually because of one or more of a few important things.
i) The collar is in the wrong position for the pet to properly feel the correction and understand what it means - the collar should sit immediately behind the ears, as high up the neck as physically possible, and not at the base of the neck where most collars sit.
ii) The leash correction was not perfectly timed. If you miss the correction by even half a second, the impact is lessened. If you miss it by a full second, you've just pulled the dog around a bit.
iii) The leash correction was not strong enough to correct the behaviour. The energy behind your leash correction should exceed the unwanted behaviour by a little bit - not too much, but most definitely not too weak.
iv) The leash correction was pulled in the wrong direction. Most people try and correct a dog by pulling straight up (called a hydraulic jerk; very dangerous and harmful to the dog and their neck), or straight back (which just pulls the dog about). A leash correction should always be pulled sideways, always in front of your body so the dog is brought off balance to look up at you.
Leash corrections should only ever be used to break the line of concentration of the pet, bring them slightly off balance, and be forced to look at you the owner for further guidance. Now, we should mention what a leash correction IS NOT. It is not meant to communicate anger, frustration, or be used as a tool to punish your dog. It is not a means to harm or damage your dog. It is not meant to change or address behaviour. Let me say that again; IT IS NOT MEANT TO CHANGE OR ADDRESS BEHAVIOUR! Too many trainers believe a leash correction will "fix" a behaviour; it does not. It is meant ONLY to snap the dog's thoughts away from what it is doing and back on to you, the trainer, so you can further give instruction. It is NOT a means to communicate what they are doing is wrong! Moving forward after a leash correction is properly employed signals to your dog to carry on - this os what you want.
There are other means to correct a dog without a leash - and these are all far more impactful on the dog, such as a foot or tap correction (please read, not a kick, not a hit, not a strike; just a simple push to catch attention and bring off balance. These should only ever be used if a proper leash correction is ignored, or if a leash correction is not safe or possible (such as a dog standing on a bench, near a walkway edge with a fall, ect.)
2) To rehabilitate a dog, you need to first establish dominance.
Absolutely not accurate. With all dogs, no matter the cause of the behaviour, it is far more important for a dog to trust and respect you before anything else. Sure, any trainer can waltz straight in, dominate your dog, and effect change - but this is not happening out of a desire to please, this is out of a lack of choice on your dog's part, and the dog will honestly only learn to change out of force, not out of love, and many pets can regress to old habits as soon as the trainer is gone. The first and foremost important basis for changing a dog's behaviour is a strong relationship and trust between dog and owner, owner and trainer, and dog and trainer. It is absolutely unacceptable for any trainer to affect change in a dog through tools or dominance without earning the relationship and respect they so desire and require. Please note, trust and relationship cannot happen simply through treats; while bribery can help a dog to trust in certain situations, beware of the trainer that cannot get your dog to respect them without treats! Most dogs are taught through life that treats are positive, but it is totally unnatural to the dog to understand the concept of treats like we do. If a dog does not trust the owner, then no real change of mind can happen.
3) Tools are essential to training or rehabilitating a dog.
If any trainer tries to tell you that a dog cannot be trained without a specific tool, fire them. While better equipment is always important (better collars, leashes, crates, ect), no trainer should rely on a physical object to train a dog. Do not trust ANY trainer that has to use a physical object before they train your pet, such as a stick, tennis racket, muzzle for any reason besides the safety of other dogs or strangers, or any physical device to control or correct a dog, such as a prong or e-collar. These items being used immediately are indicative of a trainer with limited or no real experience and could possibly be a victim of improper mentoring or training themselves. Any trainer worth their creed can show up to a client's home with nothing extra (including treats) and still help rehabilitate or train a dog. While a trainer's toolbox SHOULD include safe treats, a muzzle, a leash or two, water dishes, and toys, no trainer should ever have to use a tool specifically to "control" your pet. If a trainer is rehabilitating your dog, whether its for something minor or even red zone aggression, no trainer should ever use tools like the above! A prong or e-collar should only ever be used on properly trained, acclimated, balanced dogs with a solid relationship with their owner. Any barrier items like a stick, tennis racket, or other blocking items should never ever be used on a dog of any behaviour. These items are a form of abuse and should be a major warning to you. That being said, if a trainer uses a tennis racket to prevent a bite or strike on someone when attempting to provoke behaviour, this is different.
4) Dogs that obey for treats are well trained.
Unfortunately, this is the farthest thing from the truth. When a trainer or owner has to use treats to elicit a behaviour, you are the one that's been trained! While treats are important with new dogs, puppies, and beginning to establish relationships with a dog, they should only ever be used to create interest and a bond with the trainer - not become the focus of training. Dogs don't understand the concept of operating behavior for a food reward - this is taught to them at a young age, just like the "social" concept of greeting other dogs is taught to them and is not natural. When we teach a dog that they get rewards for acting a certain way or offering a certain behaviour, if employed improperly, they think they should always get it, and often refuse to listen unless they're guaranteed to have a treat. They can even show excitement for the treat, which is another sign THEY have trained YOU. They have learned to make you more interested in giving them the treat if they offer excitement. If you simply cannot get a dog to listen with enthusiasm without a treat, then they're not trained - they've trained you.
5) Hyper dogs need longer walks.
Dogs that have too much energy or are too hyper do need more exercise, but that isn't the root of the problem. When dogs have too much energy, they can act out, become frustrated, or try and burn it out themselves by becoming hyper. All three of these issues are because of one root problem - they are bored! Bored dogs can't communicate to us that they need to use their minds - they just adapt the best they can, and most often, that ends up being displayed in unwanted behaviours. This is an excellent time to teach your dog something new, perfect other learned behaviours, or play games like fetch, tug, or water retrieve. You can even take your dog to a playground and teach them to climb all over the equipment, provided there are no children around. This is not, however, a good time to use treats or food rewards, because this will increase excitement and increase boredom, though it might seem like the opposite! Treats should be used to teach new behaviours, but only if they won't work for affection or play time.
6) A wagging tail means happy.
Not really. A wagging tail is used as a level of intensity. It can mean happy, but only if its slow and relaxed. When a tail is moving quickly, it's an indication of a high level of emotion - in the case of happiness, it means a high level of excitement. If the whole back end is going too, this means your dog is level ten in excitement - and this should be corrected or ignored. Just as you wouldn't tolerate a dog being a level ten in aggression, or fear, the same should be said for excitement. While with humans, excitement is a normal and positive emotion, for dogs, it means they are unbalanced - like a washing machine with a leg too short. If you acknowledge or reward this unbalance, they will think it's acceptable - and can often get worse, creating behaviours like destruction, separation anxiety (more accurately called mommy syndrome or role reversal), or even aggression. While it might be cute, it is unhealthy, and should be seen as a sign that your dog is going too far.
7) Aggression issues are all caused by bad training should be dominated out.
Not always. There are the rare cases of pure aggression from lack of training, but most often its not as simple as that. When true aggression happens, while it is extremely rare, is indeed caused by bad training - usually from a trainer that meant well, but really didn't understand dogs the way they should. These cases are about as rare as they come in regard to aggression. Most aggression cases are actually fear cases, or frustration cases. When a dog is scared of something, or in some cases everything, they have only a couple choices. The most common is flight - the desire to flee from whatever is scary. These cases are easy to mark. They can also become avoiding, and chose to totally ignore whatever is scaring them, until it becomes too much - which can often be the case. Avoidance always leads to flight, or the final choice, fight. Fearful dogs that think they are supposed to be in control often turn to aggression to scare off or fake out the scary thing. These displays are usually violent in appearance, loud, and showy, but very rarely is there a bite. The second most common occurrence, frustration, is caused by a need that isn't being fulfilled properly. Dogs have a few main needs; the need for physical, mental, and traveling exercise; the need to hunt and kill; the need to play and relax; the need to sleep; the need to eat; the need to feel balanced and not in control; the need to be with humans; and the need to feel safe at all times. When one of these become out of whack and unfulfilled, these dogs often become frustrated because they have no way to let off the energy, and no way to communicate with the owner what they need - so they become mad. In order to properly fix these issues, no matter what kind of aggression it is, the relationship needs to be repaired. Unless the dog is biting a human on an active basis, dominance won't help anything. In fact, dominating a dog usually results in the behaviour getting far worse - this is because there is no relationship and no respect. Dominance is important, but not if it is aggressive, and never ever before a relationship is repaired.
8) This dog doesn't understand what I am teaching, they are just "dumb".
We run across this assumption every day - and usually, these dogs are the smartest, most operant dogs we've come across. They are often easy to train, and master new abilities very fast. Usually, the cause of this thought is because of one of three things. Sometimes, the owner isn't training in a way the dog needs it to be because its either too complex or not in their language, sometimes the owner and dog have a dysfunction in their relationship and it's affecting trainability, and other times, the dog just isn't being motivated. Some dogs need a new skill broken down or communicated differently; they don't always understand a skill as quickly as other dogs might. This is an intelligence thing, but it doesn't mean they're dumb. Sometimes, a dog needs to master sit before they can even understand lay down, and that's okay - it just takes slowing down, breaking it up, and making sure that you're trying to teach it with different ideas. Some dogs know perfectly well what you want, and couldn't care less. Some dogs might not choose to obey, because they know you won't make them or that you don't really mean it. Sometimes, a dog chooses not to obey because the owner overcorrects when the dog makes a mistake, and they think they can't do anything right, so they won't bother at all. All of these are due to a dysfunction in the relationship and the owner should consider rebuilding a healthier relationship. Sometimes, when a dog is just not listening, they might not want to listen because there's nothing in it for them. We find this most often in breeds that have low pack drive, and dogs that have been treat trained improperly. If this is the case, it's time to reboot training from the beginning (like 6 week old puppy beginning) and try it differently!
Hopefully this has helped clear up some of the myths floating around. Did you buy in to any of them?
Monday, December 29, 2014
The Truth About Bully Breeds - Blog Fifteen
For the purposes of this blog, we are referring to all Bully Breeds as "Pit Bull" just so we are not listing off several types of dog every time we wish to mention it.
WARNING this blog is not for the sensitive!
Today, all over the news, there was a story of a 17 year old Saanich Pit Bull cross that bit a 16 day old baby, and many things are occurring on social media - and as a responsible, caring trainer, and a personal lover of these specific breeds, we felt the need to go on record with our expert advice on the matter, and confront the incorrect and dangerously inaccurate statements.
1) Pit Bulls can lock their jaws.
No, they can't - but they're in the top three of jaw strength, meaning you can't just pry them open unless the dog allows you to. They have absolutely no locking mechanism in their jaws.
2) The dog in question was jealous.
Dogs don't suffer from jealousy like you or I do. They do not possess the mental process to go, "Hey; that baby is stealing my people's time from me, so I am going to go over there and try and kill their new puppy". They don't even have that type of thinking format. They can have associations however, such as the baby represents a change in rules, and they dislike that change, so they wish to put the rules back the way they were before, and so they follow pack dynamics and assert their dominance in order to try and repair the changed rules. They also can simply assert pack dynamics without the association with rule change; any new puppy brought into a pack must be determined as dominant, or submissive -- and given the chance, -any- dog will attempt to teach the new human puppy that they are the bigger dog and therefore has more rank than them. It is 100% up to the owners to make sure the dog understands the baby is not something to be claimed or dominated.
3) The dog in question was a Pit Bull, so they should have expected this.
The breed has nothing to do with the deed. All dogs are capable of this act, and as a matter of fact, the Pit Bull is one the lowest on the list of potential breeds to attack. Breeds that are more aggressive on average than a Pit Bull might surprise you; Chihuahuas, Golden Retrievers, Dalmatians, Boxers, Akitas, Shepherds, Huskies; this list goes on. The breed commonly referred to as the Pit Bull actually has no generic strain of aggression bred into them whatsover, unlike dogs like the German Shepherd or Akita. Associating a specific breed to a behavioural problem is inaccurate, and unfair to the breed; after all, you wouldn't blame an ethnicity on a specific type of crime. All races are capable of all crime, and dogs are no different.
4) This Pit Bull is vicious, so it should be put down.
A Pit Bull that bites a human unprovoked is not always "vicious". This could very well have been its first ever abnormal reaction. In fact, it is incredibly rare for a dog to be so aggressive that it actually lays teeth on a human. At least 80% of the time, dogs posture and fake out; they very rarely strike, and they have to feel directly threatened unless they are specifically trained to attack, such as protection dogs, or police canines. 99% of family pets do not reach this level of instability, and if they do, it is very unlikely that the owner of said dog would allow their baby anywhere near the dog in question. In this instance, it is my professional opinion that this dog was merely enforcing pack hierarchy. If this dog wanted to kill the baby, it would have, and it would have done it in half a second. If it wanted to correct the baby, or enforce pack dynamics, it would have been a quick nip or two - but with the power of the Pit Bull jaw, combined with the especially sensitive and soft skin of a newborn, the damage becomes bad, fast. Because the baby is in stable condition and the damage was not life threatening and on the face. This damage directly correlates with a corrective or dominance warning nip. Dogs that are seeking to kill something do not attack the face; with small animals, like a rabbit, they grab center of mass, and shake. This dog was not vicious; it was dominant. It was also seventeen; even dogs suffer from a deteriorating mind, and it is highly possible the dog was suffering from dementia, or Alzheimer's.
5) Pit Bulls were bred to attack, and have unstable blood lines.
The American Pit Bull Terrier originally appeared as a cross breed between the Old English Terrier, and the Old English Bulldog, first making their appearance as the "Old Family Terrier", in the mid 19th century. They were widely used as nannies and farm dogs, rehabilitation animals, seeing eye dogs, service dogs, and as a guardian for both children and farmyard livestock. Pit Bulls were excellent in this capacity; they were widely known as the sweetheart of the farmyard life.
Despite media dramatization, careful wording, and obvious breed racism, the CKC and AKC describe the Pit Bull as intelligent, patience, enthusiastic, athletic, high please drive, and extremely gentle - especially with children and strangers. They seem to know exactly how powerful their jaws are, and while they do not actually lock (despite popular belief), Pit Bulls are very gentle with their mouths, and have natural bite inhibition. Pit Bulls are very sensitive to the wants and needs of the owner, and know inherently that humans have sensitive skin.
Pit Bulls are naturally inquisitive, and compliant. Because of this, the Pit Bull try very hard to accommodate the expectations of the owner, even if that means going against their very nature.
After a while, some unsavory folks noticed the Pit Bull's ability to adapt, and it's naturally gentle nature - and trained them to either attack and kill a bull or bear for sport, or become bait animals to train more aggressive breeds. Pit bulls were not properly suited to become ring dogs, but they did well in training other dogs, and it often cost them their lives, because young Pit Bulls would not fight back. The dogs that fought Bulls did so generally because of being raised to do so at a young age, and while they mostly did not want to fight, they did to please their humans - and they did a good job at it. Thus, the name "Pit Bull Fighter" was coined, and today, we know them simply as Pit Bulls.
Despite this, it is unnatural and abnormal for the Pit Bull to have a shred of aggression in them - but the same adaptive, pleasing nature causes them to become exactly what their owners want - and more often than not, humans make them aggressive because they are either unaware of dog psychology, or think a Pit Bull should be aggressive, and teach them to be this way.
Breeding effects behaviour, but only on a very low level. Puppies are blank slates when they go to their forever homes, and these behaviors are either solved, or encouraged. 100% of "aggressive" Pit Bulls were not born dangerous; they were made to be that way.
6) Pit Bulls are unpredictable and just "snap".
Partially already addressed, the Pit Bull is not so unpredictable. I've spent enough time with them and near them to understand that they are perhaps the most predictable breed there is. They are very sensitive to energy and training, and most owners don't honestly realize when they are allowing a dog to believe it is in control, which produces these so-called "unpredictable" Pit Bulls. Show me a home with one of these, and I will show you a home that has simply missed a few things. Every little thing effects a Pit Bull; toys, feeding, walks, play time, rules, and how it is all handled and employed. Things that seem innocent like allowing cosleeping, or up onto the couch; feeding a treat when they bark at you (unless you're teaching "speak"), or even letting them outside when they bark at you. These little things are all ingredients to encouraging confused pack dynamics. A dog in control can and will listen to the human when the human has something they want - but won't when they're in an excited or hyper state of mind. Dogs like this often obey flawlessly for treats, but won't when there's something more interesting. This often leads to the assumption that the dog is just "dumb", or that that may be deaf, or even that they're just too excited to listen, when in fact they're simply dominant. Aggression and dominance is not always hand in hand. It can be as simple as willful disobedience. Pit Bulls are just way more sensitive to these ques than other dogs, and rarely become aggressive - but they can and do become DEFENSIVE. Something that may seem innocent to you can be perceived as a threat to a Pit Bull, and they will protect themselves and their humans. In this case, it is highly possible this dog thought the baby was in fact a threat - something a simple as a shrill scream, a squeak, or a fast moving arm can trigger a defensive animal, and this would suggest that this family pet had missed a few critical training steps; especially with the age of the dog, and the increased likelihood of disorders such as dementia.
7) Pit Bulls can't feel pain
Pinch yourself. Did you feel something? Then you obviously feel pain. Pit Bulls are no different. Everything that is alive feels pain - even plants. They also scream out in pain, and are alive when they are picked and eaten. Read more: http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/botany/plants-feel-pain.htm
All dogs possess the ability to feel pain - even Pit Bulls. What they do have is an incredibly high please drive - that's the part of the dog that makes them want to satisfy their pack leader. When they themselves are the pack leader, they seek so much to please themselves that they ignore pain. These dogs love their humans so much that they will ignore pain to do what is asked of them. They love humans so much, they would endure excruciating pain and totally ignore it and drive through it. This does not just apply to trained Pit Bulls; this affects the entire multitude of bully breeds. Isn't that awe-inspiring? This is what created the rumor - Pit Bulls that broke their very nature to kill a bull, and ignored the pain of the fight because they loved their masters THAT MUCH. If that doesn't make you the least bit sad or feel pity, I don't know what will.
Remember guys, dogs are only capable of what we as humans teach them!
WARNING this blog is not for the sensitive!
Today, all over the news, there was a story of a 17 year old Saanich Pit Bull cross that bit a 16 day old baby, and many things are occurring on social media - and as a responsible, caring trainer, and a personal lover of these specific breeds, we felt the need to go on record with our expert advice on the matter, and confront the incorrect and dangerously inaccurate statements.
1) Pit Bulls can lock their jaws.
No, they can't - but they're in the top three of jaw strength, meaning you can't just pry them open unless the dog allows you to. They have absolutely no locking mechanism in their jaws.
2) The dog in question was jealous.
Dogs don't suffer from jealousy like you or I do. They do not possess the mental process to go, "Hey; that baby is stealing my people's time from me, so I am going to go over there and try and kill their new puppy". They don't even have that type of thinking format. They can have associations however, such as the baby represents a change in rules, and they dislike that change, so they wish to put the rules back the way they were before, and so they follow pack dynamics and assert their dominance in order to try and repair the changed rules. They also can simply assert pack dynamics without the association with rule change; any new puppy brought into a pack must be determined as dominant, or submissive -- and given the chance, -any- dog will attempt to teach the new human puppy that they are the bigger dog and therefore has more rank than them. It is 100% up to the owners to make sure the dog understands the baby is not something to be claimed or dominated.
3) The dog in question was a Pit Bull, so they should have expected this.
The breed has nothing to do with the deed. All dogs are capable of this act, and as a matter of fact, the Pit Bull is one the lowest on the list of potential breeds to attack. Breeds that are more aggressive on average than a Pit Bull might surprise you; Chihuahuas, Golden Retrievers, Dalmatians, Boxers, Akitas, Shepherds, Huskies; this list goes on. The breed commonly referred to as the Pit Bull actually has no generic strain of aggression bred into them whatsover, unlike dogs like the German Shepherd or Akita. Associating a specific breed to a behavioural problem is inaccurate, and unfair to the breed; after all, you wouldn't blame an ethnicity on a specific type of crime. All races are capable of all crime, and dogs are no different.
4) This Pit Bull is vicious, so it should be put down.
A Pit Bull that bites a human unprovoked is not always "vicious". This could very well have been its first ever abnormal reaction. In fact, it is incredibly rare for a dog to be so aggressive that it actually lays teeth on a human. At least 80% of the time, dogs posture and fake out; they very rarely strike, and they have to feel directly threatened unless they are specifically trained to attack, such as protection dogs, or police canines. 99% of family pets do not reach this level of instability, and if they do, it is very unlikely that the owner of said dog would allow their baby anywhere near the dog in question. In this instance, it is my professional opinion that this dog was merely enforcing pack hierarchy. If this dog wanted to kill the baby, it would have, and it would have done it in half a second. If it wanted to correct the baby, or enforce pack dynamics, it would have been a quick nip or two - but with the power of the Pit Bull jaw, combined with the especially sensitive and soft skin of a newborn, the damage becomes bad, fast. Because the baby is in stable condition and the damage was not life threatening and on the face. This damage directly correlates with a corrective or dominance warning nip. Dogs that are seeking to kill something do not attack the face; with small animals, like a rabbit, they grab center of mass, and shake. This dog was not vicious; it was dominant. It was also seventeen; even dogs suffer from a deteriorating mind, and it is highly possible the dog was suffering from dementia, or Alzheimer's.
5) Pit Bulls were bred to attack, and have unstable blood lines.
The American Pit Bull Terrier originally appeared as a cross breed between the Old English Terrier, and the Old English Bulldog, first making their appearance as the "Old Family Terrier", in the mid 19th century. They were widely used as nannies and farm dogs, rehabilitation animals, seeing eye dogs, service dogs, and as a guardian for both children and farmyard livestock. Pit Bulls were excellent in this capacity; they were widely known as the sweetheart of the farmyard life.
Despite media dramatization, careful wording, and obvious breed racism, the CKC and AKC describe the Pit Bull as intelligent, patience, enthusiastic, athletic, high please drive, and extremely gentle - especially with children and strangers. They seem to know exactly how powerful their jaws are, and while they do not actually lock (despite popular belief), Pit Bulls are very gentle with their mouths, and have natural bite inhibition. Pit Bulls are very sensitive to the wants and needs of the owner, and know inherently that humans have sensitive skin.
Pit Bulls are naturally inquisitive, and compliant. Because of this, the Pit Bull try very hard to accommodate the expectations of the owner, even if that means going against their very nature.
After a while, some unsavory folks noticed the Pit Bull's ability to adapt, and it's naturally gentle nature - and trained them to either attack and kill a bull or bear for sport, or become bait animals to train more aggressive breeds. Pit bulls were not properly suited to become ring dogs, but they did well in training other dogs, and it often cost them their lives, because young Pit Bulls would not fight back. The dogs that fought Bulls did so generally because of being raised to do so at a young age, and while they mostly did not want to fight, they did to please their humans - and they did a good job at it. Thus, the name "Pit Bull Fighter" was coined, and today, we know them simply as Pit Bulls.
Despite this, it is unnatural and abnormal for the Pit Bull to have a shred of aggression in them - but the same adaptive, pleasing nature causes them to become exactly what their owners want - and more often than not, humans make them aggressive because they are either unaware of dog psychology, or think a Pit Bull should be aggressive, and teach them to be this way.
Breeding effects behaviour, but only on a very low level. Puppies are blank slates when they go to their forever homes, and these behaviors are either solved, or encouraged. 100% of "aggressive" Pit Bulls were not born dangerous; they were made to be that way.
6) Pit Bulls are unpredictable and just "snap".
Partially already addressed, the Pit Bull is not so unpredictable. I've spent enough time with them and near them to understand that they are perhaps the most predictable breed there is. They are very sensitive to energy and training, and most owners don't honestly realize when they are allowing a dog to believe it is in control, which produces these so-called "unpredictable" Pit Bulls. Show me a home with one of these, and I will show you a home that has simply missed a few things. Every little thing effects a Pit Bull; toys, feeding, walks, play time, rules, and how it is all handled and employed. Things that seem innocent like allowing cosleeping, or up onto the couch; feeding a treat when they bark at you (unless you're teaching "speak"), or even letting them outside when they bark at you. These little things are all ingredients to encouraging confused pack dynamics. A dog in control can and will listen to the human when the human has something they want - but won't when they're in an excited or hyper state of mind. Dogs like this often obey flawlessly for treats, but won't when there's something more interesting. This often leads to the assumption that the dog is just "dumb", or that that may be deaf, or even that they're just too excited to listen, when in fact they're simply dominant. Aggression and dominance is not always hand in hand. It can be as simple as willful disobedience. Pit Bulls are just way more sensitive to these ques than other dogs, and rarely become aggressive - but they can and do become DEFENSIVE. Something that may seem innocent to you can be perceived as a threat to a Pit Bull, and they will protect themselves and their humans. In this case, it is highly possible this dog thought the baby was in fact a threat - something a simple as a shrill scream, a squeak, or a fast moving arm can trigger a defensive animal, and this would suggest that this family pet had missed a few critical training steps; especially with the age of the dog, and the increased likelihood of disorders such as dementia.
7) Pit Bulls can't feel pain
Pinch yourself. Did you feel something? Then you obviously feel pain. Pit Bulls are no different. Everything that is alive feels pain - even plants. They also scream out in pain, and are alive when they are picked and eaten. Read more: http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/botany/plants-feel-pain.htm
All dogs possess the ability to feel pain - even Pit Bulls. What they do have is an incredibly high please drive - that's the part of the dog that makes them want to satisfy their pack leader. When they themselves are the pack leader, they seek so much to please themselves that they ignore pain. These dogs love their humans so much that they will ignore pain to do what is asked of them. They love humans so much, they would endure excruciating pain and totally ignore it and drive through it. This does not just apply to trained Pit Bulls; this affects the entire multitude of bully breeds. Isn't that awe-inspiring? This is what created the rumor - Pit Bulls that broke their very nature to kill a bull, and ignored the pain of the fight because they loved their masters THAT MUCH. If that doesn't make you the least bit sad or feel pity, I don't know what will.
Remember guys, dogs are only capable of what we as humans teach them!
Monday, December 15, 2014
Is your dog listening, obeying, complying, or manipulating you? Or is your dog just plain ignoring you? Blog Fourteen
Hello everyone! Today's blog is all about obedience - or is it obedience? We will be talking all about how to identify how your dog might be listening - and what it means for your relationship!
When dogs are given a command they know very well, they make a choice. Within a split second, they identify the word you said, apply it to their active situation, calculate what exactly you want, how it should be done, and decide whether or not they're going to do it - all of which is dependent on how you taught the word, if they have been given that word in this situation, whether or not they trust you, respect you, or understand you, and how you said the word. It seems all very complicated, and to the dog, it is. Dogs are exact - a certain tone will mean "If you like", where another will mean business, and another will mean "my human is unstable, ignore, or confront this." But, depending on how they react, it communicates something completely different.
Listening
For the sake of this blog, we are just going to call this listening - in the long winded sense, we are referring to obedience because they want to please you. When a dog is truly listening, they will look at you like the whole world has vanished away. They will be happy, relaxed, quiet, and often will perform the behaviour before you get the whole command from your mouth, and it doesn't matter if you have a reward - they're doing it because they love you. Everyone likes to think their dog is in this category; unless your dog resembles Michael Ellis and his dog Pi (seen below), all the time, your dog is not an active listener type. Looking at your dog through rose-colored glasses, whether you are a life-long owner, active professional trainer, or a first time owner, will not do your dog any favors. If your dog looks like this all the time, congratulations, your dog is well trained!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qaodSBuSIM
Obeying
Obedience itself is a lofty goal for some owners - but this trait is marked by a dog performing a behaviour after a few seconds, either because they know they have no actual choice, or because they know the outcome will be worse if they don't. Either way, it is not happening out of respect, but it is happening in a way that is not harming your relationship - but it won't build it, either. A dog that is simply obeying is usually lazy-looking, slow to respond, or takes a few moments to complete it. Sometimes you may need to repeat yourself, or make sure they're paying attention. You can refine obedience into a listening skill by making it more exciting to listen.
Complying
When a dog is doing as you ask out of compliance, these are dogs that won't listen if you don't have a toy, treat, or specific tool, like a special collar you train them in, or a certain place in the community. Compliance occurs when a dog doesn't care about listening, they just want what you have enough to indignify themselves to obey. A dog that is complying is tense, anxious, or an unhealthy kind of excited, often whines or barks, as if to usher on their reward. These dogs won't look you in the eye, or if they do, it's because they think it will get them their treat, and often break eye contact once they realize it isn't working. When there isn't the reward or tool present, they might take being told 6 or 7 times before listening - and its time you contact a trainer for help. A dog that is complying won't listen when it really matters - like in a fight, in a self-rewarding behaviour, or if they are running across a street. Compliance is not obedience, and it signifies that your dog thinks they are in control of YOU. There is likely a damaged relationship, or a relationship that isn't build yet. This doesn't mean you've done something wrong; it just means you need to change up what you're doing.
Manipulating
When a dog believes without a shadow of a doubt that they control their humans, they will manipulate you to get what they want - such as repeated barking, begging, or nipping. Dogs that use unwanted behaviours, seemingly to get a response from you, is doing so to either gain something, or stop something. For instance, a manipulating dog might nip at you or your heels if you get too close to their toys or food; they might charge at the front door and bark, even if you tell them no; they might bark repeatedly at you to get you to appear in front of them; they might ignore you when you give then a command, or halfway do it, and look away; they might only perform for you very rarely when they believe there is something beneficial for them in it, or, they might perform the wrong behaviour on purpose to assert their dominance. In any case, your dog needs a trainer intervention before they hurt themselves, or someone else.
Just Plain Ignoring You
If you can shout, scream, do jumping jacks, bribe, or otherwise try anything to get your dog to listen and they won't, either they don't know what you want, or they're just ignoring you. Classic ignoring behaviour happens when a human is not consistent, doesn't follow through, or doesn't expect anything of their pets. A dog that ignores might look away, pretend you're not there; they might just look at you, pretending they didn't hear you, or look at you with that dumb face expression, and you might buy it or are too busy to follow through. For instance, take a family that does not allow the dog in the dining room might tell the dog "Out", and stop paying attention once the dog looks like it's walking away, but the dog darts under the table and starts hoovering the food, or when you tell them to sit, they walk away and flop over. This is indicative of a dog that knows exactly what is expected, but either doesn't care what you want, or knows the command is optional. An ignoring dog will often keep the behaviour going, such as nuisance barking, licking themselves when told to stop, running around the home, or otherwise doing as they please; they will play dumb, or not complete a behaviour. If this is happening, something between your communication and the dog's reception of it has gone wrong, and basic training needs to reboot - as if they are an 8 week old puppy. Back to basics, and it's time to call the trainer.
Warning Signs
When none of these match, there are a few situations where the issue may not be behavioural. If your dog doesn't respond to you at all, if they appear listless, unresponsive, drooling more than normal, glassy eyed, or is very hot to the touch behind the ears in the folds of the neck, take them to a pet emergency immediately.
If your dog is about to bite, they will get quiet, and low. They will not be growling, or circling. If your dog is about to bite, stop what you are doing immediately, and if you can, move to safety and call a trainer immediately.
Hope everyone has a great week!
When dogs are given a command they know very well, they make a choice. Within a split second, they identify the word you said, apply it to their active situation, calculate what exactly you want, how it should be done, and decide whether or not they're going to do it - all of which is dependent on how you taught the word, if they have been given that word in this situation, whether or not they trust you, respect you, or understand you, and how you said the word. It seems all very complicated, and to the dog, it is. Dogs are exact - a certain tone will mean "If you like", where another will mean business, and another will mean "my human is unstable, ignore, or confront this." But, depending on how they react, it communicates something completely different.
Listening
For the sake of this blog, we are just going to call this listening - in the long winded sense, we are referring to obedience because they want to please you. When a dog is truly listening, they will look at you like the whole world has vanished away. They will be happy, relaxed, quiet, and often will perform the behaviour before you get the whole command from your mouth, and it doesn't matter if you have a reward - they're doing it because they love you. Everyone likes to think their dog is in this category; unless your dog resembles Michael Ellis and his dog Pi (seen below), all the time, your dog is not an active listener type. Looking at your dog through rose-colored glasses, whether you are a life-long owner, active professional trainer, or a first time owner, will not do your dog any favors. If your dog looks like this all the time, congratulations, your dog is well trained!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qaodSBuSIM
Obeying
Obedience itself is a lofty goal for some owners - but this trait is marked by a dog performing a behaviour after a few seconds, either because they know they have no actual choice, or because they know the outcome will be worse if they don't. Either way, it is not happening out of respect, but it is happening in a way that is not harming your relationship - but it won't build it, either. A dog that is simply obeying is usually lazy-looking, slow to respond, or takes a few moments to complete it. Sometimes you may need to repeat yourself, or make sure they're paying attention. You can refine obedience into a listening skill by making it more exciting to listen.
Complying
When a dog is doing as you ask out of compliance, these are dogs that won't listen if you don't have a toy, treat, or specific tool, like a special collar you train them in, or a certain place in the community. Compliance occurs when a dog doesn't care about listening, they just want what you have enough to indignify themselves to obey. A dog that is complying is tense, anxious, or an unhealthy kind of excited, often whines or barks, as if to usher on their reward. These dogs won't look you in the eye, or if they do, it's because they think it will get them their treat, and often break eye contact once they realize it isn't working. When there isn't the reward or tool present, they might take being told 6 or 7 times before listening - and its time you contact a trainer for help. A dog that is complying won't listen when it really matters - like in a fight, in a self-rewarding behaviour, or if they are running across a street. Compliance is not obedience, and it signifies that your dog thinks they are in control of YOU. There is likely a damaged relationship, or a relationship that isn't build yet. This doesn't mean you've done something wrong; it just means you need to change up what you're doing.
Manipulating
When a dog believes without a shadow of a doubt that they control their humans, they will manipulate you to get what they want - such as repeated barking, begging, or nipping. Dogs that use unwanted behaviours, seemingly to get a response from you, is doing so to either gain something, or stop something. For instance, a manipulating dog might nip at you or your heels if you get too close to their toys or food; they might charge at the front door and bark, even if you tell them no; they might bark repeatedly at you to get you to appear in front of them; they might ignore you when you give then a command, or halfway do it, and look away; they might only perform for you very rarely when they believe there is something beneficial for them in it, or, they might perform the wrong behaviour on purpose to assert their dominance. In any case, your dog needs a trainer intervention before they hurt themselves, or someone else.
Just Plain Ignoring You
If you can shout, scream, do jumping jacks, bribe, or otherwise try anything to get your dog to listen and they won't, either they don't know what you want, or they're just ignoring you. Classic ignoring behaviour happens when a human is not consistent, doesn't follow through, or doesn't expect anything of their pets. A dog that ignores might look away, pretend you're not there; they might just look at you, pretending they didn't hear you, or look at you with that dumb face expression, and you might buy it or are too busy to follow through. For instance, take a family that does not allow the dog in the dining room might tell the dog "Out", and stop paying attention once the dog looks like it's walking away, but the dog darts under the table and starts hoovering the food, or when you tell them to sit, they walk away and flop over. This is indicative of a dog that knows exactly what is expected, but either doesn't care what you want, or knows the command is optional. An ignoring dog will often keep the behaviour going, such as nuisance barking, licking themselves when told to stop, running around the home, or otherwise doing as they please; they will play dumb, or not complete a behaviour. If this is happening, something between your communication and the dog's reception of it has gone wrong, and basic training needs to reboot - as if they are an 8 week old puppy. Back to basics, and it's time to call the trainer.
Warning Signs
When none of these match, there are a few situations where the issue may not be behavioural. If your dog doesn't respond to you at all, if they appear listless, unresponsive, drooling more than normal, glassy eyed, or is very hot to the touch behind the ears in the folds of the neck, take them to a pet emergency immediately.
If your dog is about to bite, they will get quiet, and low. They will not be growling, or circling. If your dog is about to bite, stop what you are doing immediately, and if you can, move to safety and call a trainer immediately.
Hope everyone has a great week!
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Lazy Sunday Ways to Exhaust Your Dog - Blog Thirteen
Some days, we just don't want to get off the couch. Maybe the weather is lousy; maybe you're sick, or injured, or maybe you just simply can't be bothered to get out of your pjs. Whatever the reason, when you have a dog, no exercise is not an option. They suffer as badly from lack of exercise as humans do from not eating all day. There are several mental, physical, and spiritual costs to an under exercised dog. So, on days like these, how is one supposed to exercise a dog?
1) Teach them a brand new trick from scratch.
If you spend an hour or so every few hours in the day teaching your dog a brand new trick, they have to burn several times more mental energy than physical - and by the time the day is over, they will be drained as if you'd been on a walk. This serves dual purpose, as mental energy is harder to burn, and also burns physical energy. Stuck on new tricks? You can refine fetch to make it flawless (see video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccw1uwvbx00 ) or you could attempt to teach roll over (see video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCOvAf_-Xz8 ) or even tricks like target and build into things like shutting on or off your lights, opening or closing doors, bringing you objects like the newspaper or your slippers, or even simple tricks like shake a paw or speak. Spend a day teaching these, and your dog will be tired! While this doesn't burn traveling needs, it will handle mental and physical energy. Traveling needs can be held off until the next day.
2) Utilizing a treadmill
Some families have a treadmill, but rarely do they realize they can use it for a dog. Some dogs need more coaxing than others, and some take to it like a duck to water! If your dog seems afraid of the treadmill, start it very slow, keep them on a short lead, and use lots of positive, happy energy and praise every time they move along without trying to jump off. Once they understand what they are expected to do, they will love it. Dogs don't naturally understand treadmills, which is why some of them are averse to traveling on it. The one downside to treadmills is they do not burn mental energy or traveling energy. Just physical. So, you may also need to spend some time playing with or training your dog, but they will tire out pretty quick.
3) No treadmill? Use some outdoor furniture!
If all you have is a pair of plastic outdoor chairs, a lawn couch, or other such items, you can use those, too! Put them on their backs, and use it as an obstacle course. You only need to move so far as to show them what it is, what to do, and how to play, and engage your dog a little. This is good for days when you just don't want to leave the home. You can put the jumps on command if you like, and after a couple practice runs, your dog will be leaping over chairs like it's nothing! If they have an aversion to jumping or they're too small to clear your furniture, you can train them to go under instead. Just make sure to enforce no jumping inside the home - they can break something, hurt someone, or injure themselves.
4) Search!
Train your dog to root out smells - treats, chicken stock on a piece of cardboard, a dirty sock - anything. Start small, and make them use their nose to find something a little harder to find - like on a coffee table, or on a footstool. When they can see you put it down, watch to see if they are smelling it out (because its out of their sight line) and if they are, when they find it, call out "Good, search!" after a while, they will associate "search" with locating the smell, and then you can work on larger distances. Eventually, your dog will be able to find the smell anywhere in your home once you tell them "search!" This will also burn all three energy types, and help satisfy hunting or prey drive. For dogs that just aren't interested in searching, the reward of finding the item is not enough - you will need to train them first to smell the item and get a reward such as a treat, or a brief moment with a favorite toy. Once they are smelling items on command, you can build that into search by making them move towards the item then smelling it, and then work on putting it out of the site line. The goal is the same, but the means of getting there is a little more exhaustive. Any dog can learn search!
5) Use the opportunity to re-associate behaviours.
Lets say your dog is terrified of the bathroom, because someone approached the bath the wrong way and simply wrangled the dog in to the tub and hosed them off - or however else it happened. But now, your dog is scared of the tub, and it's a fight to get them in. Take this time to re-associate the bathroom! Instead of fighting to get them in the room, take their favorite treat or toy and lure them in. If they snatch-and-run, don't be discouraged - they still entered the bathroom! You can work on getting them to stay longer, but if they are showing signs of being overwhelmed, end the session on a good note and try again in an hour. If you are persistent, you can have your dog laying in the bathtub, chewing on their toy, with no sign of stress! This will burn mental and physical energy. Remember, you are not actually bathing them. There should be no water in the tub to start with.
6) Back yard fetch
If your dog already knows fetch reliably enough to bring it back to you, let them run into the bad weather. Dogs don't care about wind or rain (and if they do, they have learned that from a human reacting poorly to the weather, and you should spend some time re-associating this behaviour), and they love running. Put a towel by your back door for their mucky paws if you like, and throw the ball out the door. If they know to return with the ball (which makes fetch officially fetch, and not just run for the ball), then you could spend time burning that energy with fetch! If this doesn't typically burn out your dog, put a few obstacles in the way, like a small chair or a few distraction toys - and reward them when they return with the same item you threw out. This will force them to think about and calculate what you want, which will burn extra energy. This can also be accomplished from the couch - assuming you can throw the ball out the door from your couch.
7) Tug - with rules
A proper game of tug can and will burn your dog out fast - as long as they understand the rules. They need to release the item on command, not lunge or snap at it when you have it, ignore it when you tell them to, and wait when asked. As long as these polite rules are being enforced, tug is totally harmless, and actually beneficial to your dog (provided you don't swing them around, lift them off the ground, or snap your hands around too fast). You can even combine tug and fetch, tug and search, or tug and obstacles - or graduate your dog up to a larger item and teach them the "bite" command - but be aware that this is beginning protection training. The advantage of having bite on command is the ability to command it off - such as "no bite" or "stop bite", very handy for safety purposes if your dog likes to play nip or is just a lover of chewing things. You can even train your dog to "hunt" their tug toy and "kill" it on command - useful if you get a lot of pests like squirrels or foxes on your property. You can also accomplish tug while laying or sitting on the couch and not having to move - but the rules are the same.
Hopefully, we have armed you with plenty of ideas for those days when you just feel like doing nothing!
1) Teach them a brand new trick from scratch.
If you spend an hour or so every few hours in the day teaching your dog a brand new trick, they have to burn several times more mental energy than physical - and by the time the day is over, they will be drained as if you'd been on a walk. This serves dual purpose, as mental energy is harder to burn, and also burns physical energy. Stuck on new tricks? You can refine fetch to make it flawless (see video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccw1uwvbx00 ) or you could attempt to teach roll over (see video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCOvAf_-Xz8 ) or even tricks like target and build into things like shutting on or off your lights, opening or closing doors, bringing you objects like the newspaper or your slippers, or even simple tricks like shake a paw or speak. Spend a day teaching these, and your dog will be tired! While this doesn't burn traveling needs, it will handle mental and physical energy. Traveling needs can be held off until the next day.
2) Utilizing a treadmill
Some families have a treadmill, but rarely do they realize they can use it for a dog. Some dogs need more coaxing than others, and some take to it like a duck to water! If your dog seems afraid of the treadmill, start it very slow, keep them on a short lead, and use lots of positive, happy energy and praise every time they move along without trying to jump off. Once they understand what they are expected to do, they will love it. Dogs don't naturally understand treadmills, which is why some of them are averse to traveling on it. The one downside to treadmills is they do not burn mental energy or traveling energy. Just physical. So, you may also need to spend some time playing with or training your dog, but they will tire out pretty quick.
3) No treadmill? Use some outdoor furniture!
If all you have is a pair of plastic outdoor chairs, a lawn couch, or other such items, you can use those, too! Put them on their backs, and use it as an obstacle course. You only need to move so far as to show them what it is, what to do, and how to play, and engage your dog a little. This is good for days when you just don't want to leave the home. You can put the jumps on command if you like, and after a couple practice runs, your dog will be leaping over chairs like it's nothing! If they have an aversion to jumping or they're too small to clear your furniture, you can train them to go under instead. Just make sure to enforce no jumping inside the home - they can break something, hurt someone, or injure themselves.
4) Search!
Train your dog to root out smells - treats, chicken stock on a piece of cardboard, a dirty sock - anything. Start small, and make them use their nose to find something a little harder to find - like on a coffee table, or on a footstool. When they can see you put it down, watch to see if they are smelling it out (because its out of their sight line) and if they are, when they find it, call out "Good, search!" after a while, they will associate "search" with locating the smell, and then you can work on larger distances. Eventually, your dog will be able to find the smell anywhere in your home once you tell them "search!" This will also burn all three energy types, and help satisfy hunting or prey drive. For dogs that just aren't interested in searching, the reward of finding the item is not enough - you will need to train them first to smell the item and get a reward such as a treat, or a brief moment with a favorite toy. Once they are smelling items on command, you can build that into search by making them move towards the item then smelling it, and then work on putting it out of the site line. The goal is the same, but the means of getting there is a little more exhaustive. Any dog can learn search!
5) Use the opportunity to re-associate behaviours.
Lets say your dog is terrified of the bathroom, because someone approached the bath the wrong way and simply wrangled the dog in to the tub and hosed them off - or however else it happened. But now, your dog is scared of the tub, and it's a fight to get them in. Take this time to re-associate the bathroom! Instead of fighting to get them in the room, take their favorite treat or toy and lure them in. If they snatch-and-run, don't be discouraged - they still entered the bathroom! You can work on getting them to stay longer, but if they are showing signs of being overwhelmed, end the session on a good note and try again in an hour. If you are persistent, you can have your dog laying in the bathtub, chewing on their toy, with no sign of stress! This will burn mental and physical energy. Remember, you are not actually bathing them. There should be no water in the tub to start with.
6) Back yard fetch
If your dog already knows fetch reliably enough to bring it back to you, let them run into the bad weather. Dogs don't care about wind or rain (and if they do, they have learned that from a human reacting poorly to the weather, and you should spend some time re-associating this behaviour), and they love running. Put a towel by your back door for their mucky paws if you like, and throw the ball out the door. If they know to return with the ball (which makes fetch officially fetch, and not just run for the ball), then you could spend time burning that energy with fetch! If this doesn't typically burn out your dog, put a few obstacles in the way, like a small chair or a few distraction toys - and reward them when they return with the same item you threw out. This will force them to think about and calculate what you want, which will burn extra energy. This can also be accomplished from the couch - assuming you can throw the ball out the door from your couch.
7) Tug - with rules
A proper game of tug can and will burn your dog out fast - as long as they understand the rules. They need to release the item on command, not lunge or snap at it when you have it, ignore it when you tell them to, and wait when asked. As long as these polite rules are being enforced, tug is totally harmless, and actually beneficial to your dog (provided you don't swing them around, lift them off the ground, or snap your hands around too fast). You can even combine tug and fetch, tug and search, or tug and obstacles - or graduate your dog up to a larger item and teach them the "bite" command - but be aware that this is beginning protection training. The advantage of having bite on command is the ability to command it off - such as "no bite" or "stop bite", very handy for safety purposes if your dog likes to play nip or is just a lover of chewing things. You can even train your dog to "hunt" their tug toy and "kill" it on command - useful if you get a lot of pests like squirrels or foxes on your property. You can also accomplish tug while laying or sitting on the couch and not having to move - but the rules are the same.
Hopefully, we have armed you with plenty of ideas for those days when you just feel like doing nothing!
Monday, November 17, 2014
Common Issues That Should Never Be Allowed - Blog Twelve
Wow, we are at twelve blogs already! Time sure flies when you're helping others! Today's topic is "Common issues that should never be allowed" and of course why, and what to do instead!
1) Off-Leash Walking
Many people enjoy the walk when their dog isn't constantly tethered by a lead to their hands, and more often than not, its because of a few reasons - the dog has no leash skills, the owner has some kind of joint pain or injury, they believe it should be the final product of proper training, or they simply think it is the easiest way to walk more than one dog on their own.
Why:
In our experience, off-leash leads to rude, disrespectful behaviour, and quite often, a lack of control on the owner's part. Most often, off-leash means the dog is either far ahead, wandering at their pleasure, dashing off at the scents and smells that interest them, running and bouncing about, and generally not being respectful to their human. This type of walking won't build your relationship; in fact, it will distance it, and give the dog reason to believe they don't have to respect you - just check in now and again. It also totally prevents you from stopping the dog from unwanted or dangerous behaviours, and disconnects the dog from your energy. Dogs off leash could catch a scent and charge off, get lost, or get hurt, or even killed. Dogs off leash could charge excitedly up to another dog and get into a fight, or could attack and kill another animal or pet. Keeping even well behaved dogs on leash will prevent ninety percent of these issues. Disconnecting a dog from your energy not only severs the delicate bond between the two of you, it turns walking from an energy burning exercise into a rompy play time that doesn't burn much mental energy at all. Mental energy is more important than physical energy; a bored dog gets into loads of problems. A dog with too much physical energy just needs a good run.
Instead:
Teaching proper leash skills not only guarantees a polite leash walker, makes structured walking possible, and mostly prevents unwanted behaviours from occurring. Of course, play time and games cannot happen safely on leash, and this should be the only time a dog should be off leash, but only when you've trained a 100% consistent recall. If you have to bribe, shout at, or repeat yourself to your dog, then you should not allow your dog off leash. As a matter of fact, it is mostly illegal in many municipalities.
2) Toys Without Rules
Most often, we see people who allow their pets 24/7 access to all of their toys - and this creates massive problems.
Why:
When a dog has access to toys, they begin to think these things are theirs, they must be protected, and often become boring. They figure them out fast, and then you end up having to bribe them just to be interested in the toy, or constantly buy new ones. You're also missing out on a critical bonding experience, and a free, treatless method of training.
Instead:
Provide rules - they have to earn the use of a toy, they must release and stop playing on command, it gets taken away when they become too intense, and the items belong to the humans, and my favourite trick - cycle them out. A dog will forget all about a toy if they go "missing" for a couple of weeks, and they get all excited when it reappears. By cycling out a toy every week or few days, you will always have that "new toy" reaction without actually having to buy anything new, and it gives them drive for the toys - creating a very easy way to expect proper behaviours, train new ones, or replace problem behaviours.
3) Feeding/Walking only at Night
Many families and personal styles of life prevent walking and feeding in the day time, occurring after work, but often they see some severe behavioural issues, and blame the dog.
Why:
While dogs have most of their energy in the morning, its from remaining stationary, not from sleeping itself. Sleeping is just a way to repair the body - something they cannot do if their stomachs have food in them. Unlike humans that recharge overnight, dogs keep the energy they had from the day before, add it on to their "stockpile" of energy, and food refuels the gas tank. They also digest their food a lot slower than humans do, and more often than not, when a dog is fed and walked at night, the walking doesn't scratch the surface of their energy needs, they are refueled by food, then they are expected to sleep on that, wait all day to get their needs met, and the cycle continues. Unless you're awake all night and asleep all day with your pet, this is disaster waiting to happen. Imagine eating your three square meals a day, but right before you go and do something - you will feel fulfilled, rested, and overall healthy. Same thing goes for dogs. Feeding and walking only at night to a dog is about as helpful as a human only eating or walking at 6 am for the whole day.
Instead:
Owning a dog isn't always about what's easiest for the human. It is about giving a life that is totally dependant on you what they need. Wake up a couple hours early, feed your pup, walk them, and consider hiring someone to take them out when you are at work. Dogs need most of their exercise and food for the day in the morning, as close to sunrise as possible. A snack or smaller meal can be given later in the day, but only if you're going to burn that added energy and food off again. Dogs need to sleep on an empty stomach to heal properly - as do humans. If you absolutely must walk and feed at night, you must hire someone to exercise your dog in the daytime, or consider re-homing your dog. It should only ever occur as an enjoyment walk, after all the other exercise needs are met. If you cannot provide proper care of a dog due to your lifestyle, it is not fair on the dog for it to mold around your needs. There is nothing at all wrong with admitting your life does not fit a dog right now.
4) Improper Crate Training
Most people have a negative view about crates - and when you see dogs that are scared of the crate, hate it, chew their way out, or sustain injuries inside one, its really easy to see why that view happens. However, these instances were from improper crate training.
Why:
When crates are used as punishment or containment during disobedience early on, it becomes a negative space. Dogs naturally enjoy having a den space, but most of the time, humans use the wrong type of crate, or something that is way too small, and use it for the wrong reasons. Think about it like this; you love your bedroom, you enjoy the space, the relaxing, the sleeping - but if someone didn't like something you did and locked you in there, you'd get pretty mad about that room very fast. You might even have issues sleeping in there. If another adult, in the heat of an argument, locked you in your bedroom, its clear to see what is wrong with that - but many people do this to their dogs, or put them in it when they have way too much energy - like feeding ice cream to a toddler then putting them in a crib. A crate should never be used for these purposes.
Instead:
Teach your dog that their crate is their safe space - they can hide there when they feel unsafe, they can sleep there, they can choose to be there - they should be trained that it is comfy, safe spot, not a cage to be locked away in. With puppies, this happens in short spurts, treats, loves, and leaving them there for not even 20 minutes. You should never ever use a crate to contain an energetic dog, or a dog that has misbehaved. Remember, all misbehaviours happen because of a missed training opportunity, or the human caused it by not fulfilling needs.
5) Door Disrespect
Many owners don't realize that the door, or any other entrance or threshold, offers not only a source of competition, but superstitions, bad habits, and training opportunities. What is normal for a human at a door is abnormal for a dog- so we must train them proper rules.
Why:
When a dog charges at or barks at the door, it's a sign of fear or dominance, neither scenario being acceptable. If they move through the door first, they are in control. Even little things like this speaks volumes to your dog, and should be managed appropriately. Some dogs even think that the door belongs to them - and can attack or challenge anyone that goes near it.
Instead:
Have a spot they must occupy out of the way near the door so they can see and greet, but respectfully. Make them sit and wait at all thresholds, whether it be a gate, door, front door, anything. Dogs should be taught to only bark once or twice at the door, and then occupy their spot until the human answers the door. When leaving, a dog must allow humans first, never run or push through a door, and it should never become a competition (ie, who gets through the door first, who can guard the door best, ect).
6) Leaving Kids and Dogs Alone
Normally this occurs in short spurts; they're all outside, playing, and the phone rings, or someone's at the door, whatever distraction - and the dog is trained, is fine around the child, so the owner assumes its fine. This is when so many problems occur.
Why:
When the human that is in control leaves, if pack structure is not employed with absolute perfection on a minute by minute basis, every time, the dog is going to believe they are temporarily in control, and must watch, mind, babysit, or protect the child - and they often resort to tactics they use on puppies to keep them in line, without realizing that a light corrective nip can deface and seriously injure a human child. They often take it upon themselves to disagree with certain annoying or improper behaviours, and think they can correct a child like a puppy, because it's all they are equipped with.
Instead:
Never leave a child and a dog alone, ever - even if your dog has never bitten anyone. Instead, bring either the kid or the dog with you if you have to leave the area.
7) Sharing Toys/Food/Beds/Crates/Space/Water sources
When one home has more than one dog, its common to make them share - and most people think it's harmless.
Why:
The moment the dogs are forced to share something, even as small as the same dish, the same tug toy, or the same crate, it brings an energy of competition. More often than not, one dog owns it all, and the other dogs are forced to sneak, steal, or otherwise find something else that's inappropriate for them to play with. Some people argue nothing ever happens - but this simply isn't the case. A confrontation between dogs over a toy can happen in milliseconds, and often isn't marked by any obvious behaviour. It's usually just a look, or a quick glance that the untrained eye can't see. Only in extreme situations does a dog attack or growl over food or toys.
Instead:
Each dog should have their own bed, crate, set of dishes, space to eat in, and toys - and IF they share toys, it must be done fairly, and with fast, expert human reactions.
8) Lack Of Proper Commands
Yes should mean yes, No should mean no, and sit should mean put my bum down until I am told otherwise - but down can mean get down, lay down, don't jump, get off the furniture....It is incredibly confusing.
Why:
When a word can mean several different things, a dog has to stop and think about what it means in that scenario, often resulting in a delay in obedience, and most humans get frustrated at the dog. It's not the dog's fault, they don't have the ability to differentiate scenarios and words like humans can. To a dog, each word needs to mean something specific, and when it doesn't, it really throws them for a loop.
Instead:
Teach a different word for each instance. Off the furniture could be "Off", but then you can't use "Off" for get off the bed, or get off of a person. "Down" should be the position anywhere they are, but then "Don't Jump Up" can't be down, too. Instead, retrain yourself and your dog that there are different words for every situation. Also, if you use "No" in training to indicate they made a mistake and to try again, you should not use "No" to mean you screwed up, bad dog.
That's all for today, keep up the good work and we will see you and your Ideal Compaion next time!
1) Off-Leash Walking
Many people enjoy the walk when their dog isn't constantly tethered by a lead to their hands, and more often than not, its because of a few reasons - the dog has no leash skills, the owner has some kind of joint pain or injury, they believe it should be the final product of proper training, or they simply think it is the easiest way to walk more than one dog on their own.
Why:
In our experience, off-leash leads to rude, disrespectful behaviour, and quite often, a lack of control on the owner's part. Most often, off-leash means the dog is either far ahead, wandering at their pleasure, dashing off at the scents and smells that interest them, running and bouncing about, and generally not being respectful to their human. This type of walking won't build your relationship; in fact, it will distance it, and give the dog reason to believe they don't have to respect you - just check in now and again. It also totally prevents you from stopping the dog from unwanted or dangerous behaviours, and disconnects the dog from your energy. Dogs off leash could catch a scent and charge off, get lost, or get hurt, or even killed. Dogs off leash could charge excitedly up to another dog and get into a fight, or could attack and kill another animal or pet. Keeping even well behaved dogs on leash will prevent ninety percent of these issues. Disconnecting a dog from your energy not only severs the delicate bond between the two of you, it turns walking from an energy burning exercise into a rompy play time that doesn't burn much mental energy at all. Mental energy is more important than physical energy; a bored dog gets into loads of problems. A dog with too much physical energy just needs a good run.
Instead:
Teaching proper leash skills not only guarantees a polite leash walker, makes structured walking possible, and mostly prevents unwanted behaviours from occurring. Of course, play time and games cannot happen safely on leash, and this should be the only time a dog should be off leash, but only when you've trained a 100% consistent recall. If you have to bribe, shout at, or repeat yourself to your dog, then you should not allow your dog off leash. As a matter of fact, it is mostly illegal in many municipalities.
2) Toys Without Rules
Most often, we see people who allow their pets 24/7 access to all of their toys - and this creates massive problems.
Why:
When a dog has access to toys, they begin to think these things are theirs, they must be protected, and often become boring. They figure them out fast, and then you end up having to bribe them just to be interested in the toy, or constantly buy new ones. You're also missing out on a critical bonding experience, and a free, treatless method of training.
Instead:
Provide rules - they have to earn the use of a toy, they must release and stop playing on command, it gets taken away when they become too intense, and the items belong to the humans, and my favourite trick - cycle them out. A dog will forget all about a toy if they go "missing" for a couple of weeks, and they get all excited when it reappears. By cycling out a toy every week or few days, you will always have that "new toy" reaction without actually having to buy anything new, and it gives them drive for the toys - creating a very easy way to expect proper behaviours, train new ones, or replace problem behaviours.
3) Feeding/Walking only at Night
Many families and personal styles of life prevent walking and feeding in the day time, occurring after work, but often they see some severe behavioural issues, and blame the dog.
Why:
While dogs have most of their energy in the morning, its from remaining stationary, not from sleeping itself. Sleeping is just a way to repair the body - something they cannot do if their stomachs have food in them. Unlike humans that recharge overnight, dogs keep the energy they had from the day before, add it on to their "stockpile" of energy, and food refuels the gas tank. They also digest their food a lot slower than humans do, and more often than not, when a dog is fed and walked at night, the walking doesn't scratch the surface of their energy needs, they are refueled by food, then they are expected to sleep on that, wait all day to get their needs met, and the cycle continues. Unless you're awake all night and asleep all day with your pet, this is disaster waiting to happen. Imagine eating your three square meals a day, but right before you go and do something - you will feel fulfilled, rested, and overall healthy. Same thing goes for dogs. Feeding and walking only at night to a dog is about as helpful as a human only eating or walking at 6 am for the whole day.
Instead:
Owning a dog isn't always about what's easiest for the human. It is about giving a life that is totally dependant on you what they need. Wake up a couple hours early, feed your pup, walk them, and consider hiring someone to take them out when you are at work. Dogs need most of their exercise and food for the day in the morning, as close to sunrise as possible. A snack or smaller meal can be given later in the day, but only if you're going to burn that added energy and food off again. Dogs need to sleep on an empty stomach to heal properly - as do humans. If you absolutely must walk and feed at night, you must hire someone to exercise your dog in the daytime, or consider re-homing your dog. It should only ever occur as an enjoyment walk, after all the other exercise needs are met. If you cannot provide proper care of a dog due to your lifestyle, it is not fair on the dog for it to mold around your needs. There is nothing at all wrong with admitting your life does not fit a dog right now.
4) Improper Crate Training
Most people have a negative view about crates - and when you see dogs that are scared of the crate, hate it, chew their way out, or sustain injuries inside one, its really easy to see why that view happens. However, these instances were from improper crate training.
Why:
When crates are used as punishment or containment during disobedience early on, it becomes a negative space. Dogs naturally enjoy having a den space, but most of the time, humans use the wrong type of crate, or something that is way too small, and use it for the wrong reasons. Think about it like this; you love your bedroom, you enjoy the space, the relaxing, the sleeping - but if someone didn't like something you did and locked you in there, you'd get pretty mad about that room very fast. You might even have issues sleeping in there. If another adult, in the heat of an argument, locked you in your bedroom, its clear to see what is wrong with that - but many people do this to their dogs, or put them in it when they have way too much energy - like feeding ice cream to a toddler then putting them in a crib. A crate should never be used for these purposes.
Instead:
Teach your dog that their crate is their safe space - they can hide there when they feel unsafe, they can sleep there, they can choose to be there - they should be trained that it is comfy, safe spot, not a cage to be locked away in. With puppies, this happens in short spurts, treats, loves, and leaving them there for not even 20 minutes. You should never ever use a crate to contain an energetic dog, or a dog that has misbehaved. Remember, all misbehaviours happen because of a missed training opportunity, or the human caused it by not fulfilling needs.
5) Door Disrespect
Many owners don't realize that the door, or any other entrance or threshold, offers not only a source of competition, but superstitions, bad habits, and training opportunities. What is normal for a human at a door is abnormal for a dog- so we must train them proper rules.
Why:
When a dog charges at or barks at the door, it's a sign of fear or dominance, neither scenario being acceptable. If they move through the door first, they are in control. Even little things like this speaks volumes to your dog, and should be managed appropriately. Some dogs even think that the door belongs to them - and can attack or challenge anyone that goes near it.
Instead:
Have a spot they must occupy out of the way near the door so they can see and greet, but respectfully. Make them sit and wait at all thresholds, whether it be a gate, door, front door, anything. Dogs should be taught to only bark once or twice at the door, and then occupy their spot until the human answers the door. When leaving, a dog must allow humans first, never run or push through a door, and it should never become a competition (ie, who gets through the door first, who can guard the door best, ect).
6) Leaving Kids and Dogs Alone
Normally this occurs in short spurts; they're all outside, playing, and the phone rings, or someone's at the door, whatever distraction - and the dog is trained, is fine around the child, so the owner assumes its fine. This is when so many problems occur.
Why:
When the human that is in control leaves, if pack structure is not employed with absolute perfection on a minute by minute basis, every time, the dog is going to believe they are temporarily in control, and must watch, mind, babysit, or protect the child - and they often resort to tactics they use on puppies to keep them in line, without realizing that a light corrective nip can deface and seriously injure a human child. They often take it upon themselves to disagree with certain annoying or improper behaviours, and think they can correct a child like a puppy, because it's all they are equipped with.
Instead:
Never leave a child and a dog alone, ever - even if your dog has never bitten anyone. Instead, bring either the kid or the dog with you if you have to leave the area.
7) Sharing Toys/Food/Beds/Crates/Space/Water sources
When one home has more than one dog, its common to make them share - and most people think it's harmless.
Why:
The moment the dogs are forced to share something, even as small as the same dish, the same tug toy, or the same crate, it brings an energy of competition. More often than not, one dog owns it all, and the other dogs are forced to sneak, steal, or otherwise find something else that's inappropriate for them to play with. Some people argue nothing ever happens - but this simply isn't the case. A confrontation between dogs over a toy can happen in milliseconds, and often isn't marked by any obvious behaviour. It's usually just a look, or a quick glance that the untrained eye can't see. Only in extreme situations does a dog attack or growl over food or toys.
Instead:
Each dog should have their own bed, crate, set of dishes, space to eat in, and toys - and IF they share toys, it must be done fairly, and with fast, expert human reactions.
8) Lack Of Proper Commands
Yes should mean yes, No should mean no, and sit should mean put my bum down until I am told otherwise - but down can mean get down, lay down, don't jump, get off the furniture....It is incredibly confusing.
Why:
When a word can mean several different things, a dog has to stop and think about what it means in that scenario, often resulting in a delay in obedience, and most humans get frustrated at the dog. It's not the dog's fault, they don't have the ability to differentiate scenarios and words like humans can. To a dog, each word needs to mean something specific, and when it doesn't, it really throws them for a loop.
Instead:
Teach a different word for each instance. Off the furniture could be "Off", but then you can't use "Off" for get off the bed, or get off of a person. "Down" should be the position anywhere they are, but then "Don't Jump Up" can't be down, too. Instead, retrain yourself and your dog that there are different words for every situation. Also, if you use "No" in training to indicate they made a mistake and to try again, you should not use "No" to mean you screwed up, bad dog.
That's all for today, keep up the good work and we will see you and your Ideal Compaion next time!
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Critical Skills All Dogs Should Learn - Blog Eleven
We all love our dogs, that much could never be in doubt - and for one family, the obedience level need is different from the next - some people need a schutzhund level trained dog, and others just want a lap warmer. But all things considered, there are a certain few skills every dog should know!
1) Proper Leash Skills
Whether or not you want a structured walk or a lazy sunday stroll just for fun, every dog should learn manners when they are on leash, and all dogs should stay on leash unless they're playing. Dogs pull because humans move slower than they do, and they must learn to walk slower and that walking in front of us is very rude. Most often, the dogs that get into trouble on walks are the ones that are walking rudely with their humans. All dogs should understand that pulling is not okay, that leash pressure means move towards it, and that it is rude to walk ahead.
2) Fast Command Response
If you say sit, you should only ever have to say it once, and that needs to be it. If your dog doesn't listen immediately to what you're telling it to do, they don't respect you, and eventually they learn that "sit" means nothing and "sit sit sit sit sit" means park my bum for a half second then carry on.
3) Emergency Down or "Hit the Ground"
In cases of dogs that could be a flight risk, if you train this skill well enough, your dog will go into a down no matter what they're doing, and it could save their lives. While it is a little tricky to train into all situations, the payoff is well worth it. If trained right, if you happen to lose grip on the leash and your dog darts off to greet another dog across a busy street, if they know "Hit the Ground" or "STOP", they will cease what they are doing and go into a down until you release them.
4) Out/Drop it
If a dog is allowed to have a toy all the time and doesn't have to give it up, it creates possessiveness and toy dominance issues. All dogs should understand that out or drop it means business!
5) Crate Skills
Crates might come across as unfair but when it boils down to it, when trained properly, the dog learns it is like a little bedroom where they can be safe, secure, relaxed, and happy, away from the cat or the baby or even just away from you. Seeing as its illegal to travel in a car unless your dog is crated, happy crate skills are critical.
6) Stay
The ability to put your dog in a spot and walk away is very important, especially if you want to shower, or cook without your dog underfoot. Stay is a command that can also save lives - especially if they want to go play with that aggressive dog across the path.
7) Place/Bed
While stay is naturally included with place, a dog needs a spot of their own that they know is theirs to lay on, besides their crate. If they happen to jump on to human furniture, you can say "No, bed" and eventually they will learn their spot is where they rest.
8) How to ignore other dogs
The concept that dogs must greet other dogs all the time is a human concept based on the fact that humans greet other humans all the time. Social skills to a dog is the ability to ignore other dogs and not worry about a confrontation, and it's important that they learn this skill early, because you can't guarantee anyone else's dogs are going to be polite. In the case of fearful dogs that are scared of other dogs, the process of safe walking does include desensitizing them to other dogs by making them meet safe dogs.
9) High intensity Exercise
While walking at human speed might tire out a puppy, it doesn't do much for most other dogs. All dogs should learn skills like fetch, swimming, or some form of high intensity exercise to burn this excess energy that a walk won't burn off.
10) Proper Consistent Communication
If you don't have a proper communication system with your dog, everything else falls apart. Most people do not have a proper communication system with their dogs. For instance, do you have separate commands for training and behavioural mistakes? Can you say that you don't use the same word for many different behaviours? Dogs need every word to mean one thing, and only one thing. "Yes" should be "You did that right", and "No" should only ever mean "That was not what I wanted, try again" and not a "Stop that, you bad boy". "Sit" should only ever mean put your bum on the ground and wait, and "down" should only ever mean put your belly on the ground and wait. I can't count the times where I have met people where "down" meant lay down, relax, stop jumping, get off the furniture, drop the toy, and in a couple cases, where the dog thought "sit" meant just touch the ground with my bum and carry on. This always leads to confusion, because the dog has to stop and think and go "did they mean down as in off the couch, or should I lay down? Maybe they mean down as in just relax?" and they don't respond, which makes the humans mad, sadly caused by the human not using different terms. This is also why "No" should mean training mistake, try again, and a different sound for "You really screwed up, stop that". Out should either mean release the toy OR go outside, not both, and bed should exclusively refer to their bed on the floor, and not the crate. Simple confusions like this cause a dog to stop and think for too long, and often result in a frustrated human.
Good luck out there, everyone!
1) Proper Leash Skills
Whether or not you want a structured walk or a lazy sunday stroll just for fun, every dog should learn manners when they are on leash, and all dogs should stay on leash unless they're playing. Dogs pull because humans move slower than they do, and they must learn to walk slower and that walking in front of us is very rude. Most often, the dogs that get into trouble on walks are the ones that are walking rudely with their humans. All dogs should understand that pulling is not okay, that leash pressure means move towards it, and that it is rude to walk ahead.
2) Fast Command Response
If you say sit, you should only ever have to say it once, and that needs to be it. If your dog doesn't listen immediately to what you're telling it to do, they don't respect you, and eventually they learn that "sit" means nothing and "sit sit sit sit sit" means park my bum for a half second then carry on.
3) Emergency Down or "Hit the Ground"
In cases of dogs that could be a flight risk, if you train this skill well enough, your dog will go into a down no matter what they're doing, and it could save their lives. While it is a little tricky to train into all situations, the payoff is well worth it. If trained right, if you happen to lose grip on the leash and your dog darts off to greet another dog across a busy street, if they know "Hit the Ground" or "STOP", they will cease what they are doing and go into a down until you release them.
4) Out/Drop it
If a dog is allowed to have a toy all the time and doesn't have to give it up, it creates possessiveness and toy dominance issues. All dogs should understand that out or drop it means business!
5) Crate Skills
Crates might come across as unfair but when it boils down to it, when trained properly, the dog learns it is like a little bedroom where they can be safe, secure, relaxed, and happy, away from the cat or the baby or even just away from you. Seeing as its illegal to travel in a car unless your dog is crated, happy crate skills are critical.
6) Stay
The ability to put your dog in a spot and walk away is very important, especially if you want to shower, or cook without your dog underfoot. Stay is a command that can also save lives - especially if they want to go play with that aggressive dog across the path.
7) Place/Bed
While stay is naturally included with place, a dog needs a spot of their own that they know is theirs to lay on, besides their crate. If they happen to jump on to human furniture, you can say "No, bed" and eventually they will learn their spot is where they rest.
8) How to ignore other dogs
The concept that dogs must greet other dogs all the time is a human concept based on the fact that humans greet other humans all the time. Social skills to a dog is the ability to ignore other dogs and not worry about a confrontation, and it's important that they learn this skill early, because you can't guarantee anyone else's dogs are going to be polite. In the case of fearful dogs that are scared of other dogs, the process of safe walking does include desensitizing them to other dogs by making them meet safe dogs.
9) High intensity Exercise
While walking at human speed might tire out a puppy, it doesn't do much for most other dogs. All dogs should learn skills like fetch, swimming, or some form of high intensity exercise to burn this excess energy that a walk won't burn off.
10) Proper Consistent Communication
If you don't have a proper communication system with your dog, everything else falls apart. Most people do not have a proper communication system with their dogs. For instance, do you have separate commands for training and behavioural mistakes? Can you say that you don't use the same word for many different behaviours? Dogs need every word to mean one thing, and only one thing. "Yes" should be "You did that right", and "No" should only ever mean "That was not what I wanted, try again" and not a "Stop that, you bad boy". "Sit" should only ever mean put your bum on the ground and wait, and "down" should only ever mean put your belly on the ground and wait. I can't count the times where I have met people where "down" meant lay down, relax, stop jumping, get off the furniture, drop the toy, and in a couple cases, where the dog thought "sit" meant just touch the ground with my bum and carry on. This always leads to confusion, because the dog has to stop and think and go "did they mean down as in off the couch, or should I lay down? Maybe they mean down as in just relax?" and they don't respond, which makes the humans mad, sadly caused by the human not using different terms. This is also why "No" should mean training mistake, try again, and a different sound for "You really screwed up, stop that". Out should either mean release the toy OR go outside, not both, and bed should exclusively refer to their bed on the floor, and not the crate. Simple confusions like this cause a dog to stop and think for too long, and often result in a frustrated human.
Good luck out there, everyone!
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