Aggression Revisited

Back in February, I wrote a blog post called When Is It Actually Aggression. This post was based on an actual evaluation that I did. They did hire me based on just my ability to control the dogs during that evaluation. For the next 3 months, I worked with this family trying to resolve the issues.

In my original assessment I diagnosed the problem as boredom, lack of leadership and trying to have two different packs in the same house without melding them. I discovered over the next weeks that I was completely correct in my assessment. There was NO leadership, no direction, no consistency and no communication. But this didn't just affect the dogs. I discovered that Mom and the Scotties didn't actually live there and that she hadn't lived there for 5 years. The Scotties were dropped off there every day for Dad to babysit along with the other three dogs. I also discovered that Dad did nothing but work all day and totally ignored the dogs except when they needed to be rotated from room to room so every one had a chance to do their business outside. Yet, Boone was purportedly his dog. There was no communication between the humans either. They kept secrets from each other, blamed each other for every thing that happened and were pretty disfunctional.

For the next two weeks, I worked with Peggy on getting her two dogs (Lucy and Zed) to understand that she was now the one in charge, getting them focused on her so that they would take direction from her, and trying to get the dogs out of their rooms for physical and mental stimulation at least an hour every day. In that two weeks I received at least two phone calls or texts from Peggy daily explaining how the dogs were still acting up and excuses as to why she hadn't take them for a walk or set up the obstacle course in the backyard. On the third session, I asked Peggy why her Mom wasn't there sometimes to help. That was when I found out that not only did Mom not live there, but that Lucy was actually Mom's dog originally. When Mom left, Lucy was given to Peggy's sister who she adored. Then the sister went off to live her own life leaving Lucy behind for Peggy to take care of. That was when the fighting started.

I also learned on week three that Peggy had hired a trainer two years before who hadn't accomplished anything and according to Peggy, the fighting escalated because of what the trainer did. The next night I got a frantic voice mail from Peggy. The dogs had gotten in another fight. Dad had miscalculated when rotating the dogs and Lucy and Zed had been left in a room together. I spent the next three weeks - free of charge - at Peggy's house every other day working with her and the dogs. I purchased out of my own pocket, muzzles for the dogs so that even if they got in a fight they couldn't hurt each other badly. I bought several books on aggression that I hadn't read before, re-read a few that I had, trying to find a solution for these dogs. Peggy in the meantime wasn't doing anything unless I was there. She refused to work with the dogs because she was afraid of them. She still wouldn't take them for walks and asking for help from Mom, Dad or sister was not an option. I was beginning to despair.

Then all of a sudden I started getting rave reports from Peggy. The dogs did this and the dogs did that - all good, getting better every day. So I relaxed and started steering her in the original direction of exercise and mental stimulation. Things were progressing. She and Dad started bringing the three dogs to behavior class on Saturday morning. I worked with her at her house three more weeks which ended the original contract. Peggy said she wanted to continue for a few weeks working with the dogs before buying more hours. All fine and good.

Then nothing from her. Absolutely nothing for two months. Then a text message about how Lucy is now attacking the young boy Boone for no apparent reason. I asked her to write it all up for me, all the details and then I'd call her and set up a meeting so we could work on another program. She never got the write up to me and then yesterday she asked me for a refund.

I think one of the greatest challenges for all of us as dog professionals is that on a daily basis we have to work with other people’s limitations. For the most part, we succeed. People change their lives and their dog's lives for the better. But there are always a few people who challenge our patience, our mission, and their own ability to grow and evolve. And in the end, they make us better trainers.

Limitations are OK. We are all human. But there is nothing worse than a situation where a client attempts to make a case for their negative attributes instead of figuring out how they are going to do the work. This case is the perfect example: “Well, it’s difficult for me to work with my dog every day because it’s only me and I work full time and go to school and I have to have a life too, and it just seems like a waste of time. Can't you just fix the dog right now?”

I don’t care that you’re not perfect and neither does your dog. Neither am I. Ask almost anyone. The only thing I or any trainer will ask from you is that you make a committment to yourself and your dog and not expect your trainer to wave a magic wand. That you bring a sense of trust both for your trainer and for the spirit of the work you do together. That you follow through until the end in helping your dog be the best s/he can be.

The story of Peggy, Lucy, Zed and Boone is sad. She says she has hired more trainers since the frantic text message about Lucy attacking Boone. I wonder if these new trainers are going to have to get out the pliers as I did and pull the teeth of the truth from Peggy one tiny piece at a time. Maybe someday, I'll see a blog post about Peggy and the dogs from some other trainer and how this time tried and true methods just didn't seem to work.

Clueless: A Dog Park Tail

Generally I don't have to deal with people who think they know everything there is to know about dogs. The people whom I work with one-on-one and at behavior and puppy classes are there because they know they have things to learn. The dog park, however, is a different scenario. Although I tend to go very early in the morning (5;30 to 7:00am), by 6:30 others start showing up.

Most of the people and dogs that come to the dog park at that time of morning are wonderful. The dogs are mostly balanced and just want to play and run around with their friends. Every once in a while, someone new shows up with a dog that has never been to a dog park before and has minimal socialization in other settings. We either integrate them quickly into the pack, or the owner and dog leave in a hurry, the owner embarrased by the inappropriate actions of his/her dog.

This morning I had a totally different type of human to deal with. This person and his "friend" have been coming for the last week or so with their two small old dogs (pug and peke or shih tzu mix). This person, whom I will call Bob, tries to get all the other dogs in the park to come and interact with him. His rational is that all dogs love him. Bob tries to prove this by chasing the dogs down and then holding them while trying to get them to accept his petting.

My Husky mix Ruth was having no part of Bob and let him know it. The first day he persisted until Ruth growled at him and then ignored him to chase her ball. Brynda licked him in the face a couple of times, but mostly just stayed away despite his efforts to encourage her to jump up at his face and lick it. Micah won't even acknowledge that Bob exists. Even Jake, who loves men and thinks they should all be his bosom buddies, doesn't like Bob and stays away. Today I noticed that none of the regulars would go near Bob either and made wide detours around him as they raced madly about the park.

But does Bob notice this? Does he pay attention to his own dog? The answer to both questions is a resounding no.

This morning Bob decided that he was going to entice what to him was a new dog in the park. Stanley however isn't new to the park, he just doesn't come often. Stanely is one of "my" dogs (he took behavior class) and he and his owners actually live within two blocks of Deena and I and have become good friends.

I don't actually know what actions Bob took before I noticed what was happening - I was paying attention to Brynda and Micah running with Bandit and watching Ruth share her ball with Brownie. When I did notice, what I saw was Stanley, foaming at the mouth, frozen to the spot he was standing on, whale eyed and "huffing" at something. Stanley was more stressed then I'd ever seen him in the six months I'd known him and his owners. Normally, Stanley is a very friendly, mild-mannered dog. He came to behavior class because of hyperactivity which no longer exists. He is however, slightly shy around strange men.

I looked along Stanley's line of site to see Bob. Bob was stalking Stanley, his arms and hands out in an "I'm going to capture you" position, barking at Stanley and staring at him straight in the eyes. I took immediate action and yelled "HEY!!! Stop that right now". Bob yelled back at me "NO, I'M PLAYING WITH HIM LEAVE ME ALONE". Well that devolved fast into a shouting match, but at least I got his attention off Stanley and his owner distracted him with a ball.

At the end of the shouting match, where I accused him of abusing Stanley and he insisted that dogs need to be played with and me saying that staring at a dog straight in the eyes is NOT an invitation to play, Bob decided that he wasn't going to win the argument. He started parroting back to me exactly what I was saying to him. His final parting words, shouted as loud as he could shout, before I just threw my hands in the air and walked away was "No wonder you're single".

Where the heck did that come from? What does my relationship status have to do with how to interact with a dog?

Barking and Territorial Behavior - or Why Dogs Bite Men in Uniforms

Many owners have problems with their dog or dogs barking incessantly throughout the day whenever anyone goes past the window or walks past the house or when the mailman delivers the mail.

Dogs that bark are demonstrating territorial behavior, which is a warning for the intruder to keep away. This is an area where dogs either look for leadership or assert their leadership. Pack animals are territorial creatures. Your dog, being a pack animal, instinctively understands territorial behavior. This is why many dogs react so aggressively when someone passes by or enters your home. Your dog considers your home as his den. A pack leader's role is to protect the pack at all costs and a dog that has assumed this position takes these responsibilities very seriously.

When people visit, dogs often become very excitable and go running to the door barking while the owner is trying to keep hold of the collar and open the door at the same time. A dog that goes to the door and is involved in deciding who is allowed into the den has been given the role of pack leader by the humans in the home. If the person at the door comes in, even though the dog has said "no", then the dog will resort to biting to affirm his decision.

With small dogs, owners will often lift the dog in their arms to contain him. Lifting a small dog up in your arms gives the dog height. To a dog, the one who is highest (not tallest, just on the highest ground) is the dominant one in the pack. You can see this often at a dog park where in greeting a new dog, one dog will attempt to put his head on the shoulders of the other dog, thereby saying "I'm higher ranked in this pack then you are".

It is not your dog's role to answer the door. A good way of reinforcing this message is for you to claim the door as yours, putting down an imaginary boundary of where he is allowed to go and no farther. The moment your dog goes to move forward you must block him by using body language. Stand up as straight as you can, put your hands on your hips (makes you look bigger to your dog), take a step toward him and say "hey" firmly and confidently. It doesn't have to be loud, there is no need to yell. You can use whatever sound you wish, but I suggest that you don't use "no" as you've probably used it so many times without backing it up that the dog thinks it's just meaningless barking.

Another method is desensitizing the dog to people coming to the door. Put your dog on the lead and have someone knock on the door. The moment your dog lunges forward or barks, take him calmly and assertively in the opposite direction while the other person opens the door. This is a very effective way of demoting your dog and alleviating him of the stress of being in charge. Wait until your dog is calm before having your helper knock on the door again and you will soon notice that with every repeated knock, your dog becomes more and more relaxed. When he realizes it is not his decision to allow people into the home, he will look to you to see what you want him to do when someone knocks.

It is very important that whoever comes into the house pays absolutely NO attention to the dog until he is totally calm and settled somewhere in the house. It's even more important for YOU to remain calm and assertive throughout the retraining or desensitization process. Your dog will sense your emotions and attitude and respond accordingly. You being calm, reassures your dog that there is nothing wrong. If you shout at your dog or say something in an anxious tone, you will be confirming to the dog that there is potential danger.

Once you have achieved the required response, other than needing an occasional reminder, your dog will be unaffected when someone comes to the door.

My Dog Is Friendly - Really !!

My Dog is Friendly

How many of you have heard someone say this as their off leash dog comes running up to you and your dogs on a walk? Better yet, for those of you who like the dog park, how many times have your heard "She just wants to play" or "That's how he plays" while your dog is frantically looking for a place to hide.

Most of you have probably learned the lesson about how well people know and can control their own dogs the hard way. Lots of people take the chance but I won't anymore. I decide what dogs my three interact with if for no other reason then that a lot of people just don't understand the role of a responsible dog owner. They're not bad people, but it's impossible to tell who has or hasn't learned about dogs in general or their own dog in particular.

So what do we do in situations like this?

First, protect your dog. If she is on a leash, put her behind you, stand up as tall as you can and GLARE at the oncoming dog. Put your hand out in front of you like a policeman does while directing traffic. Make sure you tell the oncoming owner that you are not happy with the way his dog is approaching and that you will do everything you need to to prevent harm to yourself and your dog. Don't be shy, be assertive. If the other person is clueless about their dog, do you really care if you make them a friend or not?

By putting your dog behind you, you are accomplishing three things:

1) You are getting your dog out of harms way

2) You are telling your dog not to engage with the oncoming dog and

3) You are telling your dog that it isn't her job to decide whether to greet a new dog or not.

Second, protect yourself. Carry a walking stick, a golf umbrella or even a baseball bat. I prefer a walking stick, although my ChuckIt (or as a friend calls it - the orange stick of death) will deter most approaching dogs. If a dog is approaching you off-leash in a super excited or menacing manner, don't worry about what the owner is going to think when you brandish your "weapon". The law says dogs need to be leashed and 99.99% of the time you only have to wave the "weapon" and not use it..

What do you do in the dog park?

First, learn canine communication signals. Know when the play is getting too rough or your dog is frightened or otherwise put-off by the "play" of another dog. Break things up before they escalate and leave the park if the other dog's owner is oblivous to what is happening or is making excuses as to why his dog is doing these crazy things. Owners sitting on the sidelines not watching their dogs are disasters waiting to happen.

Second, keep your eyes on your dog. I know it's not good human manners to talk to people without looking at them, but the safety of your dog and yourself can depend on you being somewhat rude. In addtion to keeping your eyes on your dog, stay as close to her as you can. Don't sit on the sidelines watching from a distance.

Third, make sure you and your dog enter the park in a calm manner. No rushing in or jumping around. This will signal to all the other dogs that you and your dog are no threat. At the same time, assess the other dogs that are already in the dog park. Watch how they are playing or not and how intense the activity is. The more excited and intense the activity at the park is, the greater the chance it will escalate into an altercation.

Fourth, no matter what happens, stay calm. You can't help if you are standing there screaming or wringing your hands or running around chasing fighting dogs. Dogs have four legs and can run circles around us poor limited humans. Wait for an opening and then grab whatever you can get and toss it. Grab hair, a tail, a leg, whatever. Get in fast and then toss whatever you caught. Don't hang on waiting to get bitten.

Fifth, teach your dog to "check in" with you every 5 minutes or so. That way, if she does get in trouble, the first place she'll go to is you.

Behavior Training Day One Shenanigans

Photos Here

Action VS Reaction

It is easy to spend your time reacting to your dog's unwanted behavior. For Example...

•Yelling "No!" after he has tipped over the trash
•Calling "Come here, boy" after he sprints out the door
•Commanding "Off, off, off" after the dog's paws are up around your shoulders After is too late.
You need to anticipate your dog's behavior and take action accordingly. Your puppy is predictable. You know that he will jump on guests, pull you out the door and try to steal the cat food. This is not news. That being the case, why not make a plan for success?

Set up the situation, leave the lead on the dog, and teach him. Use body blocking to prevent jumping or racing out the door. Work on sit as the answer for almost everything! As your guest enters, command "Sit." As you reach for the doorknob, tell them "Wait." As he turns his head toward the cat food, issue a no-nonsense "Leave it" then back away, help him get it right then throw a puppy praise party! Always praise/reward lavishly when he complies.

Are you part of the problem?

Before you blame your dog for his behavior, take a close look at your own. What he learns is up to you. How he behaves is up to you. If you want him to change his behavior, you will have to change yours first. Over the years, I have noticed a few common mistakes people make with their dogs. These mistakes often lead to problem behavior. Let's look at some of these before we start trying to work with the dog. Have you:

Been over emotional?

I remind clients all the time to relax. Housebreaking mistakes or jumping up may be annoying but they aren't felonies. Take a breath. To teach you need to be calm, relaxed, enthused and clear. If you're not, don't expect the dog to respond the way you want. Yelling, screaming, and hitting are not helpful. They invariably make matters worse, adding new problems to the list you already have. Dogs may respond temporarily out of surprise, intimidation or fear, but they have not been taught exactly what you want so they will make the mistake again.

Been inconsistent?

How can you expect consistency from your dog, if you can't get it from yourself? Are you consistent about your word usage or are you a bit casual? Maybe giving the command "sit" one time, "sit down" the next? How about your expectations? You say sit and he lies down but you let it slide? How about your praise? When he grabs his leash and tugs on Saturday morning you laugh but when he does it on Monday morning you get annoyed? Do you praise your dog when he does listen? Your dog will never know what you want without praise. Decide which behaviors you want and which you don't want and then stick to that decision. If you do your part, he'll do his.

Been exercising him enough?

If your dog is behaving poorly, up his exercise. This is especially true for Sporting, Terrier and Nordic breeds and mixes (Nordic includes the sled dogs: Huskies, Malamutes, Samoyeds). Many dogs need an hour or more of hard running a day to behave like civilized pets.

Been complaining more than practicing?

It's easy to complain about your dog. It is much harder to take action. Training is not magic. It takes work. Dog training is wonderful. Work effectively with the dog and he'll improve. If you're working frequently but not seeing the desired results, question your methods, not your dogs abilities.

Misinterpretting his actions?

Be absolutely sure you understand why he is doing something before you try to change his behavior. Once I walked into a home and the unneutered male Yorkie immediately clamped onto my leg, humping madly. The owner cooed "Oh, isn't that sweet? He's hugging you." This is not an affectionate gesture. It is an extremely assertive act, especially to a stranger, and points to serious aggression present or brewing.

Here are some behaviors that are commonly misinterpretted.

•Submissive wetting
Dog means: So sorry. Owner thinks: "Spiteful!"

•Growling
Dog means: Back off. Owner thinks: "He's talking" or "He doesn't really mean it."

•Pulling on lead
Dog means: Let me get away from this choking feeling. Owner thinks: "He must be stupid if he's choking himself like that."

•Chewing you favorite pair of shoes
Dog means: I'm frightened. This smells good, like my owner. Owner thinks: "He's getting me back for leaving him "alone."

Repeating Yourself?

If you repeat commands, you are begging to be ignored. Obedience on the first command is not optional. It may save his life and it will certainly simplify yours. Give the command once. Enforce it immediately. Praise him right away.

Boring?

If you are bored, surely your dog will be. You set the tone for your dog. Having fun is not just a nice idea, it's necessary. Praise him, surprise him, enjoy yourself! Both dogs and people learn quickly when the teaching is fun!

Have Patience

“Patience” is really the difference between our expectations and the dog’s current understanding. When those two things are aligned, there is no “patience” involved. It’s just learning and having the pleasure of helping another being figure something out. It feels alive and connected, not “patient” at all.

Not that patience is a bad thing, certainly not, we all need it at times. But when you are in the moment with an animal you’re working with, “patience” isn’t even present, you’re someplace beyond it.

It is the same whenever we are involved with what we love. If you’re a musician, artist, writer or athlete lost in the love of your craft or sport, you aren’t “patient,” you are simply doing and being at the same moment. Being lost in the process feels so profoundly good, so deeply nourishing that you are not outside of it, judging it or tapping your toes for it to hurry up. You’re just in it and happy to be there.

1. Accept that your dog is doing exactly what he understands to do. Which means, if he’s doing something different than you expect, try thinking, “He is confused”.

2. Accept that your dog is trying his hardest, and if he isn’t doing things the way you’d like them done, think “I need to help him,” not that he is stubborn or defiant.

3. Ask yourself, “How can I help him understand what I want?” And then make things easier until you find out where he is confused. Reward his best choices and you will get better ones in the future.

Do those three things and I bet you’ll be “beyond patience” in no time!

More Running With Greyhounds

Photos compliments of Suzanne Morrison

Running with Greyhound

1. Joey racing with the greyhounds

2. Got a face I can lick?
3. Jake, our 14 year old man :)

4. More of Joey from the other side

Group Behavior Training Class Graduation Day 3/13/2010

Adjusting Problem Behavior

If your dog could talk, he would tell you what motivates him to do just about anything. If you could provide that motivation, he would be your adoring fan and do whatever you want. If you pay attention and learn to read your dog's body language you could figure out what your dog is interested in. The things that we cal...l ‘distractions’ or 'triggers' are actually powerful training rewards.

Here are some things your dog may already be doing:

• He pulls as hard as he can on the leash to get to the squirrel in the tree ahead or the cat in the bushes.


• He barks furiously to chase the mailman off who he perceives as an intruder.


• He lunges, growls and snarls at people or other dogs. What he wants is for them to move back and give him more space.


• He pulls as hard as he can on the leash, scratches at the door or howls to beat the band, to get to those people he loves.


• He jumps up all over you and your visitors to get you to notice and pay attention to him.

Your dog knows what he wants and he knows how to get it. At some point in his life, he tried a whole variety of things to get what he wanted, and he stuck with the behaviors that worked the best. He wouldn’t do it for long if it didn’t work. Unfortunately, the ways that are working for him right now are annoying, and sometimes dangerous, to you. I think we can all agree that if our dogs used a different behavior in the above scenerios, we’d be thrilled.

For example:

• He looks at the squirel, then looks at you for direction / permission, when he sees the squirrel in the tree ahead.


• He goes and lies down in his place when the mailman comes.


• He turns his back to get away from those scary people.


• He walks quietly and calmly to get to those people he loves.


• He sits at your feet to get you to notice him.

In the above set of behaviors, possible distractions / triggers would be:

• Dog sees or smells a squirrel, cat, chipmunk, whatever


• Dog hears the mailman on the porch


• Unknown person approaches, looking at the dog


• Known person approaches, looking at the dog


• You turn the key in the door knob

Let's start with the scenario of a total stranger approaching your dog who is reactive to the approach of strangers. You can’t have a stranger come over to pet the dog. That trigger is too sensitive. So you set it up so they are 30 feet away, or 100, or whatever it takes for the dog to look and say, ‘no big deal, I can just turn my head or sniff the ground and pretend it's not there.’

The next trigger is a person approaching from 25 feet away, or the person at 30 feet talking, or the person at 30 feet reaching toward the dog. Gradually, though, you move the trigger closer and closer. You never want to push the dog into being overly stressed, and if you see it starting to happen, give your dog what he wants and get out of there.

In addition to giving the dog what he wants (moving away from the stranger), we give him something else to do besides lunge, snarl and growl. If you could adjust the behavior to whatever you wanted, what would it look like? Be specific, not just ‘I want a good dog,’ but behaviors, like sniffing the ground, turning his head, leaning in for a scratch, blinking calmly, etc. We've learned various behaviors over the last 6 weeks - targeting, focus, watch me, back up, etc. Which of these behaviors would work best as an alternative in this scenario for you?

Once you've figured that out, it’s simply a matter of:

1. Giving the dog a small version of the trigger


2. Move away if the dog reacts adversely


3. Watch for, or elicit, the behavior you want


4. Give the dog what he wants.

In our example above, that could look like:

1. Owner and dog walk 15 feet toward a cooperative ’stranger’.


2. Calling the dog and going 30 feet away if you get any reactive behavior and start over at the new distance.


3. Dog blinks, sniffs the ground, or otherwise relaxes or looks friendly.


4. Walk back to where you started, or have the stranger walk away, and repeat until you and your dog are virtually in the strangers pocket.

In this case creating distance between themselves and the Scary Monster is the reward.

With a squirrel and a pulling dog, it might be:

1. A good friend stands with a stuffed toy, sprayed with wonderful smelly stuff, at the end of the block.


2. Stop and be a tree or turn the dog away from the toy if she pulls hard.


3. Dog looks at you or remains close enough to you to not pull, starts sniffing the ground around you with a slack leash or otherwise lets the leash go slack.


4. You walk toward the friend and the stuffed toy in increments.

Eventually, you can do this with a bouncing tennis ball or a squirrel in a tree, but start smaller so that your dog has a higher chance of success. More successes = more learning, because dogs learn more from success than failure. Staying well below you dog’s Reactive Threshold is extremely critical if you are using this methodology for aggression and/or fear. When in doubt, happily distract your dog and walk away to regroup.

The greatest part of all of this is that it’s easy to maintain the training once you’re done. With the mailman, in fact, you don’t have to lift a finger, because the mailman always leaves. Your dog never has to learn that it’s not his calm behavior that’s making the mailman leave.

We’re constantly asking dogs to do what we want them to do, and expect them to work for whatever we give them, like attention, petting, food, or toys. Those things are great, and I use them all the time, especially in classes. They are also great for pre-training the dog on the skills they need before you switch to doing behavior adjustment, or even together with behavior adjustment.

To permanently stop your dog from being annoying or becoming scared, notice what they get out of doing it, and use the reward they are already working for to pay for good behavior. Otherwise, we are just using second-rate rewards. The dog already has a great reward figured out in each situation, get the dog to accept an alternative.