Managing dogs at the vet’s waiting area

Waiting areas at most veterinarian clinics are stressful places for both people and dogs. They tend to be on the small side and with little in the form of design to ensure dogs have some safe distance from other dogs.  The leash, acting as a barrier, prevents dogs to engage in natural greeting behaviors.  The fact that most people will allow their dog to approach other dogs while both are leashed can become  the “perfect storm” for over the top dog behavior towards other dogs.

Salient also is the fact that 99% of people will allow their dog to meet another strange dog head on.  This sort of approach to greet is consider a threat to dogs and very poor doggie manners. No wonder most dogs respond with a growl or a lunge when being greeted like this!  It’s their way to tell the other dog to back off and give them some space. Often, the greeting dog who just got “scolded” will respond in kind.  And around and around we go adding to the unpleasantness of dog greetings.

The sizes of the dogs meeting are also important to consider. While most dog bites are not too serious there can be ample repercussions from a dog  bite when size between the dogs is significant.  Not to mention the psychological damage an encounter like this can have on the receiving party. A true behavioral emergency when we are talking about a young dog or a puppy that has very little experience in meeting other dogs.  Often only one encounter like this can set that young inexperienced dog or puppy down the road of fearful behaviors displayed now in aggression as they encounter other dogs on leash or perhaps also when not leashed.

Helping and keeping your dog safe at the veterinarian’s clinic can be easy…

As part of this blog I made a video that show a protocol that I designed for one of my clients who has a very small dog which also loves greeting every dog at her vet’s waiting area. 

The protocol is very easy to do and requires very little training with big dividends in safety for your dog and the comfort of the other dogs in the waiting room. 

I would add that carrying some very tasty morsels whenever the dog goes to the clinic to be an excellent idea.  Delivering some tasty stuff can help your dog relax as he associates the scary environment with something he really likes.  Grant you, some dogs are so afraid that their digestion system shuts down making the use of treats futile.

Either way, if you practice the protocol in the video ahead of time with your dog, you will both find it easier to be successful when you are at the vet’s clinic with a room full of strange and also stressed out dogs.

You Can’t Hurry Love

I am having a conversation with John who works in the solar industry. We are discussing the fact of how safety protocols - which are abounding in his profession - are sometimes in conflict with what the client wants: less downtime and more production.

As he is sharing with me this everlasting conflict, I begin to think about how it is kind of the same in the world of dog training.

Protocols, and I am defining a protocol as: a methodology & list of “steps” or conditions to follow are there for a reason. So what happens then when we (professionals) succumb to client’s pressure that it is taking too long or too much money to reach their goals?

I can think of at least a few instances where the breaking of protocols or just hurrying the process along can have grave consequences. Most of the work I do is helping clients with their fearful or aggressive dogs. Neither scenarios are easy or speedy in resolution.

Think, for example, of a dog that has demonstrated either fear or aggressive behaviors in a certain context and has not yet learned the skills to deal with the situation differently. Now the dog is exposed to the offending stimulus. As a result, we will not only undue the strides made in teaching the dog new behaviors and most importantly change his emotional conditioning, but it can very well result in someone getting badly hurt.  Or sued… which is really the bottom-line for most folks dealing with aggression.

Another situation that is really sensitive to working at the dog’s pace and making sure the protocols established are polished to a high degree of execution is when the well-being of the dog is at stake. Yes, I can argue that a dog that is afraid (or aggresses) can fall under this criteria.  It is definitively very taxing to be afraid a lot of the time. Especially if we are having to confront the object of our fear on an ongoing basis.  Aggression, by the way, is most of the time the quantifiable symptom of a dog that is under some sort of duress.

So what is one to do? First off I think it serves us to recognized that cutting corners and being in denial of how long it will take to reach our ultimate goal are part of the human experience.

As such, it behooves us to be on alert so that we can monitor our own natural tendency to do just that - cut to the chase.

Once we realize that cutting corners or hurrying love can really undermine our ultimate goals, we can reevaluate them. Here lies again one of the reasons why it is so hard to convince folks to stick with the training recommendations.  It is difficult to remain motivated when the reinforcer is not at our grasp… The ever present scenario of short-term gratification spans long-term (lasting) goal.  Just look around- it is a malady!

One of the strategies that I think that can really serve us in not only reaching our goals, but remaining motivated to do so is to exercise empathy for our dogs when they need us to be their advocate.  As well as exercising empathy for our situation when our culture screams at us on a daily basis to move faster and faster… taking a mini-break from goal-reaching while keeping everyone out of trouble and distress is also a valuable strategy for staying in the “game.”

Finally, and I cannot say this any clearer, keeping some sort of factual record of the positive changes and improvements in our dog’s behaviors will keep us focused on the task at hand because the truth is that life in general is more of a mix of good- and- not so good news and we tend to see all the bad news all the time. Acknowledging progress is oh, so good for the soul!

So remember, the next time you are considering the temptation to hurry the process or altogether skip a protocol think that any relationship worth having or any goal worth attaining requires that we agree to not hurry love- but to stay put for the long haul.

Size Matters!

I was called to a case where a large dog weighing 50lbs had killed a smaller dog weighing only 10 lbs. The details of what happened were somewhat sketchy since my client was not there to witness the event. As best I could, I gathered information from third parties to try and understand what happened.

This is actually quite important because based on the facts I could give my recommendations for how to proceed with the large breed in the future presence of little dogs. It appears that the Chihuahua was a victim of Predatory drift. Predatory drift is related to predation, but is not the same.

Predation is defined as a sequence of behaviors fulfilled in order to acquire food (hunt).
The identifiable behaviors that are part of the feeding sequence are:
• Search (find prey, mainly by sense of smell)
• Stalk (sneak up as unnoticed as possible)
• Rush (move suddenly towards prey)
• Chase (run after the fleeing prey)
• Bite/hold/shake/kill the prey
• Dissect and eat the prey

All canids exhibit some or a few of these behaviors at a given time. Even our dogs that do not hunt for survival anymore can exhibit part of the predatory sequence; this is hardwired. Predatory drift, on the other hand, refers to an instinctual reaction that a dog might have when another animal, such as another (smaller) dog, is identified as
prey (food).

When a (small) dog feels scared or threatened by a larger size dog, either in play or in another type or encounter, the small dog might begin to act as prey by yelping in a high pitch tone, barking, running away from the large dog, etc. In turn, the larger dog may interpret this sort of behavior as coming from prey (another animal he might stalk, chase, grab, kill, etc.) and not a small playmate. Predatory drift happens very quickly, so quickly that preventing it is nearly impossible.

So as you can see by the definitions above, there is a different motivation (hunt/feed) than if the larger dog had injured  or in this case killed the smaller one as a result of aggression.  There are many definitions for aggression but for our purposes here, I will define aggression as:

The intent to harm as a result of protecting oneself or to protect a resource from others. Even though the definition above is very specific (again one can argue there are more “reasons” why animals can be aggressive) I think that with few exceptions they all fall within the realm of protecting oneself or protecting resources.

The situation described above with the two size-dogs had other interesting components. According to witnesses the large dog approached the small dog in a friendly manner, the small dog, which was on a leash, apparently started to move away from the large one.  I am not sure, if he yelped, cried and was even able to run since he was on a leash and the fact that the dog was mortally bitten in the stomach.


When dogs fight they normally do not bite the belly.  Most bites are delivered to extremities, the face including ears or the side of the body.  When dogs actually engage in food acquisition behaviors, they dissect their victim which it appears to be what happen in this instance.

Predatory Drift is actually more prevalent than people think it is.  When I was attending the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dogs Trainers, I remember very clearly Jean (Donaldson) saying that everyone (in the industry) has had either direct experience with  Predatory drift or knows of someone that has. I also remember how one of our instructors at the Academy owned a Greyhound who was lovely and very well mannered. However, this gentle giant was never off leash at the dog park. Not so much because he would not come back as his recall was quite good and he was now a “retired” Greyhound, but because his owner was very aware of the chance of his Greyhound- a sight hound, engaging in Predatory behaviors towards smallish dogs.

While there are some breeds that can in a pinch exhibit predatory drift all of them as canids have the possibility. The difference (this is a real interesting part…) lies in which of the stalk & kill sequenced behaviors a particular breed will engage in more readily a consequence of the genetic make-up and the “job” or genetic bias of the breed.

Here is an example: Border collies and other sheep-herding dogs have a very “strong” stalking behavior (as a breed - of course there is always differences within individuals) but rarely will they go from the stalking all the way down the sequence to the kill.  They are not “finishers” an industry term.

What is also really interesting is that if they are engaging in a given behavior of the sequence, yes the sequence always take place in the same order… and one interrupts  the dog, it cannot move forward with the next behavior but has to go back to the beginning…  Love those Border collies!


In any event, the take home message is that we all should be aware and educate others about the real possibility of a small dog being injured as a result of Predatory Drift. In addition, it is my recommendations that we do our part in taking the necessary steps when our dogs - be it because of their size, small play companion and or breed to prevent this misfortune.

I will keep my recommendations to my client and his dog a suspense - suspense makes  life interesting, no?  At least until someone is curious enough to post on the blog asking for the answer. :)

Have We Reached Success in Training?

How can one measure whether the training done with a dog has been successful? What parameters should one have in order to evaluate if success has been reached?

While the questions above are valid, we also must keep in mind that behavior and changes in behavior are quite complex which requires that we take a different approach to measuring the end results.

Behavior and measure of success are complex for many reasons; here are some of the main ones.

1. If the motivation for performing a given behavior, which was present when the dog was learning it, fails to be present when the dog must perform the behavior, it will go into extinction. What I mean is that it will not happen. There must ALWAYS be some reinforcer for the animal (and this includes all animals - not just dogs BTW). Good news is that the reinforcer should not appear on a one-to-one ratio (also known as continuous schedule of reinforcement) but it should be on a thin (or at least a variable schedule) of reinforcement. In other words, the dog will get reinforced on occasion, which in essence makes the behavior stronger, i.e.: less likely to go into extinction which is, of course, what we want. Now, in the real world there might be more than one motivator for behavior, so again, we are moving away from the notion of … dog sits, dog gets a click and a treat… as we might do when teaching dogs new stuff.

2. The environment is now substantially different to where the (initial) behavior was taught. Part of reaching success in training is to have the dog perform the behavior where we want the behavior to take place. This is called proofing. If I only work with the dog in the garage, I cannot expect the dog to perform at all or at least with consistency when I am out and about with my dog. This is a big problem when working with clients. They fail to understand that in order for their dog to perform, they must continue to practice where it matters. As I am here thinking of this example (funny because I don’t play tennis), but think about a tennis player that always trains on a rubberized, artificial court. Now when she goes to a tournament and the court happens to be clay she will quickly realize that the ball has a different bounce or that she is always late to reach the ball because the ball falls short due to the different terrain. In order for this tennis player to have a chance at success, she must practice under those conditions and adapt to the new environment. Same for our dogs :) with the difference that even a slight variation between the learned environment and the new environment can throw our dog for a loop. These are just but a few examples that might derail good learning.

 

Now, back to my client’s and their expectations for success. It is also part of my job to exactly learn where the dog is engaging in behaviors that are problematic for the owner – dogs never have a problem when they act as dogs - it is always us! Or in the case of aggression, etc. behaviors that can prove dangerous so that I can resolve them in that context. When it comes to teaching new stuff, I also need to know where would the owner want the dog to exercise the behavior at hand… In their backyard? The kitchen? Out and about? Or all three?

I think it is fair for clients to want to know if their dog’s behavior will improve since they are spending considerable amount of resources in the form of payment and time invested in the training of their pooch. So for this reason, the conversation of… is their dog not engaging in “x” or “y” behavior as a result of training or performing with more consistency the target behavior as a result of training, needs to take place.

As such, another conversation that I also have with my clients is to make them absolutely aware that behavior is not a “straight” line but more of a fluctuating experience. Once again, the same can be said about us: consistency eludes us and we have the bigger brain. :)

By doing my job correctly, their dog performs. But only as long as they continue to practice where it matters. They also must keep in mind that their dog is not a robot but also subjected to influences in its environment and as such, not always consistent in responding. And this my friends, is part of adaptation, which we all need in order to thrive.

Arousal

Have you ever seen a dog with “raised-hackles”? I bet you have. The technical term is piloerection and it means just that – the hair standing up.

What you probably don’t know is that piloerection is NOT aggression, as many folks believe. It is actually arousal. The best way for me to describe arousal is to say that arousal is an autonomic response from the nervous system. In other words, it is not a voluntary response that the dog can turn on and off at will.

Whenever we see a dog exhibiting piloerection we should pay attention because it could just mean that the dog is very excited over something; such as seeing a person or a favorite pal. But also, piloerection – or best said - arousal can also be a precedent to an escalation of aggression.

So how is one to know? It all depends on the context. It is never advisable to just focus on one visual element of dog body language because most likely this will not give enough information to make a good assessment of the situation. So if we pay attention to the dog’s overall body language, and this could be done in a matter of seconds, we will be more successful in anticipating the motivation behind the piloerection.

This is a good illustration as to how piloerection can “mean” different things: My two female dogs Laika and Rio display piloerection often. Laika would almost exclusively when she was ready to interact with a dog she consider “soft”. Dogs that she wanted to intimidate just for fun.

Ahh, and Laika was a very “nice” dog with great dog skills who also enjoyed bullying them on occasion until I said no more! Laika was a very confident dog.

In the case of Rio, our current female pup, she exhibits piloerection daily. If she spots someone in our driveway her howling and barking will always be accompanied by piloerection. She will do the same even when the person in our driveway is John coming in back from out of town. Rio also does other things when she is in situations that she finds a bit overwhelming such as saying hello to someone.
She will bark, howl, have piloerection AND turn around looking to see if Deuce is in the vicinity and following her because she lacks the confidence to interact. So here arousal is a bit more a case of the “jitters” – to use a “very” technical term. :)

The learning I wish folks would take from this is that piloerection is an easy identifiable visual cue that we must pay attention to and to remember that is not aggression, but it could be an antecedent to aggression. Physiologically and evolutionarily speaking, pilorection also functions to make the animal look bigger to a potential threat. But as you can see by my examples above, there might be different motivations for this.

Back to Rio and her arousal. I can almost bet with great certainty that if Rio found herself in a situation where she felt somewhat threatened, her first line of defense would be to retrieve. Now Laika, for example, I am not sure she would. Same response from the nervous system, but a different outcome.

When I see either my dogs or a dog that I know well have pilorection, one of the things that I like to do is to gently press the back of my hand down their spinal cord beginning at top of the neck and down to the tail. Literally “combing” down the standing hair. Over and over again, the reaction that I have seen is the dog returning back to equanimity. Our dogs cannot “control” pilorection, just like a person that has road rage cannot control feeling the emotion. However, what our dogs and the road-rage laden individual can learn is how to respond when they are going “through the motions”. And this is where it gets very interesting! Enter the world of learning….