MULTIPLE PRONG APPROACH

I can’t speak for any other trainer’s approach in helping their clients and the client’s dogs. However, for most of the behavior modification work that I do - and most of what I do is behavior modification - my approach is a multiple prong approach.

Yes, of course, on occasion the situation is quite simple and there is no need for this approach, but in my experience that is the exception, not the norm.

A multiple approach is needed because behavior always happens in a particular context. In the world, so to speak. So while the behavior might be very specific there are always multiple factors that contribute to the behavior being reinforced and because it is being reinforced the behavior will continue.

Let’s take, for example, a dog that aggresses at people when being walked on leash. For almost any case where there is aggressive behavior directed at people or other dogs, I will recommend the following:

The dog should be fitted with a proper head halter. This is especially important if the dog is a large dog. Not only do head-halters, when fitted properly AND used properly, allow my client a better chance at re-directing the dog if there is an instant where the dog might aggress, it is also quite frankly an important factor in being proactive should the worse case-scenario take place. And with that being said, there is now the potential of being liable if the client gets sued.

The second piece of equipment that I would recommend in most cases is a calming cap. The calming cap is a “cap” of a soft almost translucent material that covers the eyes of the dog when it is fitted properly. As the name implies it can “calm” a dog down because the visual stimulus, in my example, a person is not so obvious to the dog.

As with most tools we use on dogs, this one too requires a proper fit, use, as well as a period of desensitization, so that the dog is comfortable and accepting of the cap.

Now that the tools are sorted out, the behavior modification can take place. Do keep in mind that the above recommendations are really not behavior modification per se, but very important tools that will help in the managing of the problem and give support to the efficiency of the behavior modification.

Here then is where the “fun” begins! Teaching both dog and owner different behaviors that will either serve as confidence building exercises, “do this instead of that” behaviors… look at your “parent” instead of "lunging at a passerby” is a typical one as well as emergency strategies.

I will mention here that I do NOT teach a “watch” (or “look” at) as many trainers do. Instead, I want the dog to be able to see what concerns him - this makes it less scary.  Only then do I want the dog to look at the owner or perform a behavior that will prevent him from aggressing.

The owner, of course, must also come along for the work! In relevance to my example above, the owner must be able to redirect the dog away from what concerns the dog.  So there is indeed learning for both parties. They are a team and they must respond as a team.

What pretty much always derails a good training & behavior modification plan is when a client takes the recommendations as mere suggestions which they can decide to implement if they “like” them. Yes, indeed very much part of human nature. However, the problem in second guessing a well laid out behavior modification plan, which by the way should always have a management component to it. Those measures and recommendations are always there for a reason: experience from the part of the dog “pro” and know-how.

Going back to team work, the owner of the dog (client) and trainer must also work as a team.  My favorite people to work with are the ones that let me know when they are feeling ambivalent, overwhelmed or else about a recommendation. Not because they need my “permission” to veer course, but because I can best find an alternative - if available - or really support them as needed in order for us to move forward and reach their goals.

In essence if you are calling a “pro” to do anything for you… fix your car, put tile in your bathroom AND, above else, work with a live being, please listen carefully and be ready to follow up.  Otherwise it begs these questions: Do you really trust the “pro”? And are you really ready to do what it takes to reach your goals?

Most Likely Behavior… Chasing Squirrels

I was talking to my sheepherding trainer, Mary, about Deuce and his lack of “flexibility” in training and her response was: … “that’s a Border Collie for you”… she continued, “I would not say that he lacks flexibility… they are just focused." This leads to the discussion of “labels.” Pick your own (unflexible,
focused, etc.) but in reality, as I said before, labels really do not tell us much about the dog or the behavior the dog is doing. So I decided to move away from my label of “flexibility” and instead put my trainer’s cap on.

The goal here is to work with Deuce so that the list of his reinforcements expands.

By having Deuce interested in working for other “stuff” I can reward him for desirable behaviors with food (something is not that keen on in the context of training) or other activities besides herding sheep, playing tug or kicking a ball for him.

In order to achieve the above, I will make use of the Premack principle. Named after Premack principle  a psychologist who has done much to advance the field of comparative psychology, our understanding of the animal mind as well as human cognition. If you want to learn more about David Premack click here:
http://www.psych.upenn.edu/~premack/About.html

In essence, the Premack principle is about using a more likely behavior, for example, a dog chasing after a squirrel to reinforce a less likely behavior - say dog giving you eye contact when in the presence of a squirrel.

In my example of a dog loving to chase squirrels, chasing squirrels is at the top of the list for the dog. Thus making it more of a likely behavior that the dog will engage in when squirrels are around. I can then teach my dog that if she sits and gives me eye contact first (okay, these are two behaviors not one) then I will release her to chase the squirrel. Once the dog has learned the contingency: sitting and looking with attention produces an opportunity to chase, I can use this new pairing to have some “say” as to when my dog gets to chase squirrels. How fantastic is that?!!

I use the Premack principle often in my own training with my dogs and when designing training plans for clients. Savvy trainers understand that making use of Premack really opens up the possibilities of using environmental distractions as powerful ways to obtain a more desirable outcome (behavior) from our dogs… But, but, you might ask: do I really want a dog chasing squirrels? Well indeed this is not the “end of the story”… I will write more on this topic later as there is so much more to explore!

Reflections On (Our) Movement and Dogs

Have you had an opportunity to see the work "Scattered Crowd" by artist William Forsythe? It is breathtaking. Here is a link to his art for your viewing pleasure. Not only is his work aesthetically pleasing, but also as all good art (and I personally hold conceptual art among my favorites) his work reframes how I think of the mundane. Sometimes I am challenged to think of something I hadn't thought of before. This particular series deals with how [human] movement affects space. He uses balloons (at least on the piece that I saw featured) in big massive spaces. As the viewer walks around the balloons, the balloons sway… thus contributing to the piece of art.

When I first came across his work, the concept of random movement made me think of how we also move randomly (and unaware) in relation to our dogs. You see, dogs have learned to read our body language – and we can argue even our “moods” to a “T”. They are so keen on doing so that the investigators of the TV series Lie to Me would surely benefit in having a dog as part of their team of experts to resolve their cases… I have noticed how when I am in a hurry or thinking less like a trainer I move with disregard as to how my dogs will interpret my movements: I may walk directly towards them (a no-no in dog-dog interactions) this type of approach is threatening to dogs. At times, my arm extends forward in an attempt to reach for one of my dogs, again another snafu. I have become aware of my lack of doggy politeness as I see Deuce move away from my extending arm, or Laika taking a big yawn… (sign of stress) as she laid on her pad as I approached her- even when I was just going to pat her head or give her a treat. In fact, I have been thinking a LOT about this. I guess I am sick and tired of all the lack of civility towards my dogs - our dogs in general.

As I am putting a harness on Rioja- our new addition to the family – of whom you will hear more about in subsequent posts… and I catch myself moving her front legs as if they were made out of rubber… ah! Poor pup! 'Give her a break!,' I think to myself. So I slow down, take a big breath and I take things down a notch. I begin by just holding on to her paw, giving her a treat, and gently placing it through the harness as I coo her on how good she is being. Next I do the same with the other paw. As the harness now lays on top of her shoulders, she’s just standing there, waiting to see what’s next. I hold it up on her for a couple of seconds and then remove it. Now this is more as it should be. Not only did I show respect for her but also my interaction with Rioja became a dialogue – even the beginning of a close friendship…

In her book, When Species Meet, Donna J. Haraway, Distinguished Professor Emerita at the Department of History of Consciousness and the Department of Feminist Studies at UC Santa Cruz, CA, commented on the work of anthropologist, Barbara Smuts. Smuts began studying chimpanzees in Tanzania’s Gombe Stream preserve and later on in 1976 studied baboons in Kenya, as part of her PhD dissertation. At first, explains Haraway, Smuts kept her physical as well as psychological distance from the “object” of her study… in pure scientific fashion. Smuts later realized that her strategy of nonengagement to one of meeting the baboon “eye-to-eye” had its advantages. Smuts explains (as quoted by Haraway)… “I in the process of gaining their trust, changed almost everything about me, including the way I walked and sat the way I held my body, and the way I used my eyes and voice… this may sound like a small shift, but in fact it signaled a profound change from being treated like an object that elicited an unilateral response (avoidable), to be recognized as a subject with whom they could communicate.” Page 500. Kindle edition.

When I read this I thought: 'what a brave and intuitive woman Smuts is!' She defied the (traditional) scientific method of inquiry in order to engage with another species in true communication. I guess her approach could have "bombed” but it didn’t. The result of her getting up-close and personal with the baboons resulted in the baboons relating to her more as a social being… More baboon like?

It begs the question: should we - those of us that live in close proximity to dogs - make the effort to move away from our comfort zone (read: lazy) to meet dogs and other domesticated species more in a middle ground so that they feel less threatened by our inattentive movements and body language and definitively more “welcome” in the world that we have created for them? In my view: a humbling and worth taking challenge.

Rocket Speed

One of the most sought after behaviors from dog guardians is the recall (come when called) and this, of course, makes perfect sense. It is soooo annoying when you are calling your dog to come in from the backyard for dinner, or away from your neighbor’s cat only to find your dog so focused on that much more fun activity than whatever you happened to have in mind. There are certainly other very valid reasons why we want and need our dogs to come to us when called: safety. In their wild past, dogs did not have cars zipping by in their environment, and before domestication they didn’t have a guardian to return to for an all prepared meal.

As much as our request is valid there are also misplaced expectations and lack of know-how when it comes to having a pup respond with the same enthusiasm of the chance of a second date with just the right person!

People expect their dogs to come to them just because they have a particular need at that time. The need to move inside, leave the dog park or to keep the pet safe. Dogs, on the other hand, would  almost always much rather do their thing: chasing aanyything that moves, follow a scent (so that they can find it and chase it…) investigate a noise or a potential pal or just plain lay in the sun. So the bottom line is this: you must find whatever motivates your dog so that when you want him/her to come to you they will. No motivation to come -from their point of view, remember? No recall- it's that simple!

Trainers, like guardians, also need to have their pets come to them. And as you probably guessed it, we also need to practice and practice with our pups if we want to stand any chance of a recall. Once a dog is not a puppy any longer (and a very young puppy) the natural tendency of coming when called goes by the waist side.

I practice recall with Deuce every day. We have a new “game” as part of our recall repertoire. Yeah, make it a game for your dog and you will see better results - you will see rocket-speed recalls.

What I love about this form of recall is that it incorporates some very powerful reinforces for dogs: predation and anticipation.

Predation –  A food acquisition behavior which is one of the strongest motivations in dogs. Every dog has it. Period. Learning to work with predation is not only a lot of fun but very smart because when it comes to “natural” behaviors (the pre-wiring in dogs brains) it is wiser to acknowledge it and work with it rather than to "attempt” to extinguish it. No luck here.

Expectation. Ahh… I can relate… I don’t know about you, but so many times in my life the expectation (thinking about, imaging it and the planning aspect) of a desired upcoming event has been much more satisfying than the actual event.

I use expectation a lot in my training with my own dogs and my client's dogs. I can create a pins & needles scenario by the use of my voice (changing the pitch to a high pitch is one way of doing it) by my movement here -- direction and a random pattern are helpful. I love to watch the dog waiting, waiting for your next move, the next throw or release cue.

If you too would like to have a super reliable recall while you have fun working with your dog, follow the plan below. A couple words of caution though: be mindful that once your dog is coming at ya with rocket speed to get to the toy/ball it might be wise to let go of the object otherwise your arm holding the toy might be bent backwards causing discomfort or pain. In my case, I need to hold on to the toy instead of releasing because Deuce still loves to keep the toy for himself. If I hold on to the tug toy, then we can engage in a quick game of tug before resetting once again.

Secondly, please use common sense when practicing this game or any other activity with your off-leash dog. Be realistic about what your dog can handle and the potential dangers of your pup not coming back to you and getting into real trouble.

The Rocket Speed Recall:

See video link below.

• Hold your dog’s favorite toy or ball. Show the item to your dog and move it around to grab your dog’s attention. Do not use your recall cue just get the dog interested in playing with the toy.

• When he is focused on the toy and close to you, open your legs and hold the toy behind your open legs so that your dog goes thru as well.

• Repeat over and over to get the dog going through the legs.

• When the dog is going thru your legs with no hesitation, put the dog on a sit/stay about 10 ft. away.

• Call the dog with whatever verbal cue you are using in a happy tone (high pitch tone of voice).
• When saying the verbal cue send the dog through

• Delay the throwing until you're sure that the dog will go through your legs. If the dog attempts to go around, delay the throw.

• Only throw when the dog has gone thru the legs.

• Throw the object behind you (and thru legs) as horizontally as possible (instead of upward) to maximize on the chase aspect of it.

• Take it on the road by asking your dog when he/she less expectant to come to you, as you produce the toy/ball and open your legs.

• Practice where you want the dog to perform. And do practice often!