Katie, the Journey of a Fearful Dog

Katie was adopted as a puppy by one of my clients.  When I met her, she was already a fearful dog. She did not like to be held by anyone other than her “mom” and struggled to be in attendance in one of my small classes.  Fast forward to today, even though she has accepted some people and feels safe and comfortable in their presence, she struggles with most newcomers, especially at her home.

Most of the work I am doing with Katie is a continuation of past work with her.  My client’s goals for her are to make her overall less fearful and more comfortable with people that come to visit at the home.

Working with dogs like Katie is a lot of what I do professionally. It requires copious amounts of patience, very keen observation skills, paired with clear goals for her improvement.

I decided to engage with her while she is in her crate with no one else around. The sessions are 30 minutes long twice a week.  Katie is a very tiny dog; so it is not really feasible to work with such a tiny dog for long without having her completely full before the hour has ended.

For the first few sessions, I showed up to greet Katie as she remained shaking in her crate – pretending that I was not there. Hoping perhaps that I would go away.

The procedure that I use for cases like this begins with classical conditioning where my only goal is to pare the delicious cheese that she loves with my presence and my absence - as I exit the room many times during our session with the flow of cheese coming to a halt. It is important to realize that no matter what the dog is doing, she gets the cheese. During this stage of the work, I am not looking for specific behaviors that I want later on, I am only (sigh!) looking for Katie to associate my presence and approach with the delicious snack.

The progress was slow at best. But Katie does not know how much patience I have.  She also doesn't know that I have worked with many dogs, just like her, and that they did get better.  For now, Katie just shakes- barely taking the treat I toss for her inside the crate.

If Katie was out of her crate, I would not be able to work with her at all as she would happily run to safety behind a sofa without me being able to see her or pay her with cheese.  Besides, she bit someone when in her crate at the Veterinarian’s clinic, so I am hoping to kill two birds with one stone.  I am aware that with this set up, Katie does not have tons of options and options my friends, are crucial for any animal that is fearful.
Mindful of this, I only approach the crate from one direction- giving her an opportunity to remain in the back of the crate.  She does have the choice to remain there or come to the front of her crate.  That was step number one.

The session that you will see on this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCzERa4-pvU
 is a refection of many encounters as I describe above.   However, one day I got really lucky or really smart and I noticed that when I reached for the fastener of the crate, Katie to my surprise, rushed to the front of the crate.  “Wow” I thought, why is she so eager to come out and be in my proximity?  I decided to run with my instinct and be willing to explore other ways.
I opened the crate and Katie did not bolt out.  Instead she calmly came out of the crate, as I remained immobile. Seconds later Katie was about 15 ft. away from me and outside the crate altogether.  I continue with the same process of tossing cheese to her and leaving the room. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat.

As Katie learned the routine and she could relax a bit, I began to reinforce for very specific behaviors such as Katie remaining in place versus creating more distance between us, giving eye contact either on her own or when I pronounced her name.  Her eyes blinking softly instead of darting rapidly scanning the room.

I personally love this part of the process when the dog begins to learn that she still has choices AND that she will get paid when she takes a tiny brave step.

One of the most fundamental things about behavior is that there are many possibilities of responses to the same stimulus and this is exactly what I wan to teach her.

As part of this process the dog begins to feel more comfortable now that she begins to learn that humans are actually not that scary because they can deliver cheese or other things the dog really likes.

As I mentioned above, variability is one of the hallmarks of behavior so within the same exposure to the trigger, the dog can regress (from my perspective) and shortly after offer behaviors that are new to her.  Behaviors that I hope will become the norm as she learns to relate to other people with confidence that she is safe.

Ah, Too Bad And Other Lesson From The World Of Training

One of the fun things about living with more than one dog is that you get to experience their different personalities (or should I say dognalities) and in some way experience life from their unique perspective.

In my case, my dogs could not be more different.  Rio, now fully recovered from 3 months of very little mobility, is back in the full swing of things.  With that, her bigger-than-life attitude has come full force and I love it!  Yes, I love almost everything about this girl.  I owe to her many times of laughter and her reminder of the finer things in life.

One of her signature behaviors that frankly we are not so crazy about is her now set in routine of dashing out the front door (we are lucky as our place is fenced in so no worries about traffic) while exuding a sharp series of barks that I am sure my not so close neighbor would rather do without.  On top of this obnoxious yet benign behavior, is the one that follows which is the one we want to exclude from her repertoire.  Once she is out the front door and has let everyone know so, she proceeds to approach Deuce and pecks him on his face or pulls on one of his ears as in: let’s go NOW!  Let’s go and look for bunnies, harass Jack (the neighbor’s dog), or whatever goes inside her doggy brain.  Poor Deuce just takes it. Often he hesitates to come out the front door - not good.  At times, he stands still - like a brother just putting up with the antics of a younger sister. On occasion he too takes off full speed in search of an adventure.

I am a firm believer in interceding for dogs. Especially if I think one of the dogs is getting the short end of the stick as with Deuce in this instance.   I will intercede in stopping Rio from lunging and pecking Deuce when she wants him to come along. But how to go about it?  Of course, they are a myriad of ways one can tackle benign, yet unwanted behaviors such as this one. I am now armed with a plan that we began to implement while Rio was still under close watch and had to go outside on a leash.

The training went like this:  We open the front door knowing that Rio will bark and then turn around looking for Deuce. Just after she emitted the strong bark, I said “ah, too bad” which is a now a familiar term to them; a non-reward marker (NRM). A non-reward marker teaches the dog that they just lost the opportunity for a reinforcer.  In this case, of course, the reinforcer is going outside.

We proceed immediately after the NRM with bringing Rio back inside and we wait there for a couple of seconds before inviting her to try again. If she chooses to go out quietly and without orienting by looking for Deuce, she gets to proceed. If she fails and either barks or worse orients towards Deuce, I repeat the procedure.

I don’t refer to Rio as my “one-trial” dog for nothing. This girl learns fast!  It does not take but a few repetitions for her to understand the consequences of her behavior and she is now on the game.

After a few days, Rio is now clear to romp off-leash.  With absolute glee, I open the front door and to her surprise she is no longer wearing the harness that has been on her every day for the past 12 weeks, but she is not on leash either.  She takes off in high spirits only to have me go back to our simple training plan for unruly behavior.

She complies coming inside and it only takes her 4 trials before I see her running out full speed this time without looking to harass Deuce or waking up the neighborhood.

You see folks, often you think that it is the cue (or a “command” as it is also known”) that drives behavior but this could not be farther from the truth.  It is consequences for behavior that molds future behavior.

Consequences must then be given for desired as well as undesired behaviors. They need to be timely. This is why scolding a dog hours after eliminating on the carpet is not only really unfair but it does not get the job done either.  The dog cannot link “this” behavior to the consequence given even seconds later.

Consequences then must be immediate.  In addition, consequences must be consistent.  If I had been willy-nilly in returning Rio back inside after her “infraction” this would, believe it or not, make the behaviors stronger -more resistant to change because now they are in a very thin schedule of reinforcement.  In plain English:  since only on occasion they are being curtailed they become stronger responses.  And, this folks, is one of those laws of learning that can truly serve us well if we understand it and more importantly if we implement it.

This is exactly why people bet money in casinos.  Perhaps the possibility of a future “win” is what keeps people (and dogs, and cats and frankly all sentient beings) engaging in the behavior again.  It is also possible that the response goes up in frequency due to some level of frustration that keeps us coming back to repeating the behavior.

What I love about using timely and consistent consequences are that it also helps the dog in understanding what other alternatives are acceptable or desired.  When we are consistent in applying consequences, the dog learns alternatives that will be reinforced and then… we can all move on to chasing rabbits, barking at our friend Jack and some of us can return to the cup of now-not-so-warm coffee left behind at the kitchen table.

Trouble in Paradise part 2

This is a continuation of last week’s post on same household dog fights.  As I mentioned on that post, having to manage and live with dogs that are injuring one another is not a picnic.  It can be very stressful for the dogs as well as the people. Also, depending on the severity and frequency of the fights, one needs to consider the imminent danger to people. I once consulted with a young couple that had a baby and two of their four dogs were getting into bad fights.  One of the things that made this case so complicated is that the husband did not want to do much in the way of managing the dogs or training and refused to let go of the dog that was causing the injuries.  The wife was mortified to learn that the chances of their child being in between two fighting dogs once he started crawling was definitively a possibility. Of course, this sounds like an extreme case when it comes to someone getting seriously hurt; not all cases are like this.

To begin with, I suggest that dogs are taught to be comfortable wearing basket muzzles so that when they are not being closely supervised and in proximity of each other at least they will not hurt one another.  The idea is to get the dog comfortable with wearing the muzzle, and not simply plop the muzzle on and be done with it. It goes without saying that people must be very diligent in making sure that the dogs are wearing the muzzles.  I know that it’s really hard to be on top of everything all the time, but the reality is that this is what it takes to have dogs that are fighting regain an ability to co-exist peacefully.

Both dogs need to also learn some basic obedience so that they can reliably go to their crate or a bed when asked to do so. They must also learn to take turns going in and out of any door or exiting the car. Since these are amongst the typical situations where dog fights take place.

If the fights have been a result of either one of the dogs guarding an object be it a toy, food, snack, they should not be allowed to have any of these items together.  If what they guard is a location such as a bed or a person, things change a bit here, but in essence the same rule applies.

Once these measures are put in place, dogs need to be taught that in fact, their nemesis actually produces really good stuff for them!  One can achieve this by the careful orchestration of presenting valuable resources only when the other dog is present.  Again, really careful management must be in place.  I would argue that while doable to do it with only one person, it is always best to have one handler per dog.

Now, if one of the dogs is the one that is constantly harassing the other, intimidating or controlling the other dog’s movements we must then also be super proactive in teaching the bully that any intimidation will result in social isolation. This protocol works wonders when again folks have been taught what to look for and are willing and able to follow up implementing the protocol every single time the dog engages in any intimidating behaviors towards the less fortunate dog.

Please forget the nonsense of “supporting the alpha” advice that is still given by many veterinarians and dog trainers that have not looked into the scientific literature regarding social dominance. Moreover, how does one know which one is the “alpha”?  As some of my clients have attested they are confused as to which dog is the alpha as they try to implement rules and protocols that require they support the alpha.  I cannot say this loud enough!  Not only will these measures not work, but most likely they will continue to make the life of one of the dogs (the one that folks consider the subordinate) a living hell.  How unfair is this?

When it comes to behavior we must think critically.  Rarely is behavior simple in its expression. Dogs are one of the most sophisticated species when it comes to their social relations. For us to imply that we can delve into the intricacies of their complex social relationships with simplistic advice- such as being the leader and supporting the alpha, is really a rotten proposition.

If you have dogs that are fighting in your home, consider carefully all your options. I disagree that love is all that dogs need in order to resolve this issues.  Sure, love is nice but they need understanding of who they are as a species and as individuals.  They need our care and for us to be true advocates so that they can remain safe and thrive in the household.

Re-homing is a good option when the family realizes they do not have what it takes to tackle all what it will take to make the dogs be in good terms again. And if an appropriate alternative is found - which is really not that easy.  On occasion euthanasia, might be a consideration. In my professional opinion, all possibilities need to be explored with good judgement as well as honesty as one- size- fits- all approach is not really a consideration.

Why don’t you play tug with your boy?

We are on our regular walk with the dogs.  One of the things that we do while hiking with them is practicing coming when called.  If we want reliability, we must practice.  If we want reliability, we must also pay the dog.

Deuce is really, really reliable at recall, and that makes me smile with pride. Once I figured out that playing tug was very reinforcing for him I began to use it as a reward for coming back.  In no time his recall went from 80% reliability to almost 100% on every hike. How cool is that people?

This morning I asked John, who walks the dogs many times without me, to play tug with Deuce at a particular spot. The reasoning behind this is twofold.  Unfortunately for me, I cannot play as much tug as I want with my dogs due to an injury to my right hand.  In addition, John plays regularly with him on walks, but kind of on the same part of the hike.  Today, I am asking him to induce Deuce to play in a spot that he normally does not.

I explain to John that unpredictability is important in training dogs. Yes, indeed I can make the same argument about being predictable of course, but today I want to focus on being unpredictable.

Unpredictability adds another dimension to training and the acquisition of behavior because it makes it fun.

In our case with Deuce, this is a dog that is so interested in tugging, that he walks and runs as he turns towards us in the event that we might just pull the tug out for him or ask him at long distance to “take it”.

Ah, magical words for this dog. I explain to John that if he only pulls the tug on the same spots over and over again the recall might just fall apart. You see, dogs are excellent at flow charts: When this happens, then this other thing takes place, etc.  Before long your dog is kinda training you instead of you being able to control the consequences which are at the crux of getting behavior.

In addition, when we use unpredictability as explained above, by default we are using a thinner schedule of reinforcement which in lay talk means that dog is only getting reinforced in some occasions.

Depending on which schedule of reinforcement used which instant of behavior is getting reinforced.

For example:  I might reinforce with a game of tug for the return from Deuce that fall under 3 seconds say. Or only when he runs at a certain speed, etc.   I can also choose to reinforce a certain % of all the times he comes when called as another example of a thinner schedule.

Unpredictability in reinforcing works wonders because apparently, there is an element of frustration and I would argue hope for future reinforcements.  Think of betting at a casino.  Those folks are working just like my pup at a thinner schedule of reinforcement and the behavior (coming or betting) goes up.

Of course, I am interested in reliability because coming when called can be a life saver for my pups but besides this reliability I love playing little games with my dogs. I enjoy engaging with them in manners that brings them joy.

Have you ever realized that we too are motivated by the expectation of something we want hard?

Say a trip.  Have you noticed that often the anticipation of the trip with all the planning and day dreaming with expectation is actually more fun than the trip?  This is what I am talking about here!

As we walk on our hikes I relish knowing that Deuce is attentive because he so much wants to have an opportunity to go for the tug and this game that we are playing makes the walk so much more enjoyable for the two of us.

So here is my advice to you.  Next time you are thinking of reinforcing your dog, think about what (or how) you want your dog to perform that given task.  See if you can observe closely and begin to reinforce for more accuracy, cuteness, etc.  Now, do keep in mind that making sure the dog can perform first the behavior is mandatory for a good outcome.  As a form of example:  If my dog has not yet learned to lie down, how then can I request he lies “sphinx” style with both hips equally tucked and in perfect symmetry?

If my dog has yet not learned to come to me when he is 10ft away under certain specific conditions (wild life, other dogs, people etc.) how then can I expect for him to come at 20ft or even at a great distance under those same circumstances?  You get the picture?

Three different strategies

I am behind closed doors taking some quiet time in.  My rambunctious board & train just realized that I am in my bedroom and she is adamant to get in. I do my best to ignore her barking at the door. I begin counting:

1,2,3,… I manage to not acknowledge her barking.  She stops the barking, but begins to whine. Her whining sounds so miserable, that one would think someone is really inflicting some bodily harm to this girl. I go back to counting as I try to breath deeper.  Once again she stops.  Good!  I think now I can go back to “quiet”.

Seconds later she decides that she will try yet another strategy just to make sure I know she wants in.

This time she begins scratching at the door. Okay, I lose it here. I definitively don’t want nail tracks on my wooden door.  I yell at her to go lie down and… the scratching stops!

Minutes later when I come out from puppy-hiding I see her lying almost asleep just outside my bedroom door… good dog! I tell her.  We resume with our day.

It is the nature of behavior to have different manifestations or responses that while manufactured by a given motivation have different expressions.  Dogs behave following this rule.  They try different strategies to what they want or need. Once they realize a strategy is not producing the intended results they try something else. Sometimes they will escalate the response just in case it works this one time as it did before.  This is called an extinction burst. In essence, there is an escalation (I know real fun sometimes) of the behavior or strategy before it is abandoned completely by the dog because it is not working. 

What does this mean to us- keeper of pups?  It means that we can pretty much pick and choose which of their responses work for us. If I had let my B&T in the minute she began to bark at the door what have I just reinforced?  Her barking. So now whenever she wants closeness or my attention she will try that first.  Laws of learning point to the fact that whatever behavior we reinforce we will see more of so be mindful as dogs are learning all the time, not only when boarded with a trainer or in a training class, let’s say.

Now, the example above is a really good one because it illustrates how “messy” life can be.

My board & train tried three different strategies, none of them were successful as I did not open the bedroom door. Instead, I asked her to do something else that suited my purposes but perhaps not hers.

Why then do you think that she finally chose to lie down after me asking her to do so? Well because lying down has worked for her in the past!  Having a dog lying quietly on their bed when I am trying to work or cooking is high on my list of trained behaviors. In her case, we had practiced over and over again with her lying down as a requisite for my attention or a piece of whatever I was cooking - if appropriate, etc.

As I teach new behaviors to a “green” dog- that is a young dog or one that has not had a lot of “formal” learning I must make sure that I do not just ask, but instead that I set things up so that the dog can be successful in understanding what I am asking her to do.

As the dog learns a given behavior in one context, say in my example lying down on the bed provided when I am in the kitchen so that she is not underfoot, I can begin to ask for that same behavior which is now fluent in the first context; in new context or situations. As I do this, I need to consider that while the dog has learned this well in one specific situation it is as a brand-new request in a different context.

Practice does make permanent.  Once a dog can perform a behavior in different contexts we can say with certainty that the behavior has generalized- something dogs do not do well. 

When things go wrong

At times things can go very wrong.  Sometimes, if we are paying attention we might not be caught by surprise but in other instances not only can things go wrong but they can do so very, very fast and as a result find us unprepared.

Most of the cases I see and the ones that I enjoy the most have to do with dogs exhibiting aggression as a result of being fearful. A dog being fearful to whatever he was not exposed to in a positive manner over and over again when very young is kind of the “rule” unfortunately and not the exception. I cringe when I am made aware of my client’s paltry intents of socializing their young puppies to all sorts of people and situations.

Think about this:  Why get a young puppy - a puppy of your choice when you make the most dangerous mistake ever one can make with any animal?  And yes folks, any animal with teeth will bite. I feel that many excellent trainers and I are constantly battling this same issue and sometimes it feels that we are not getting ahead.

Many times, of course, someone adopts an older dog with all the “issues” that a dog might have if again he or she was not properly socialized. These are the folks that I love helping. I find these cases many times are the most satisfying because we can make (some) progress when it comes to changing the emotional connotation a dog has for something or someone from fear to neutral or better yet a positive connotation. As a result both the dog and the owner will have a less stressful and more enjoyable life.

As I was writing for a panel discussion about difficult behavior cases and what we learned about them, a particular case came to mind.  The “offending” dog was a 100lb dog that would lunge, bark and growl at everyone (including me during the first session) that would approach, come inside the home or even pass by too close for this dog’s comfort level.

This is an example where the owners will always have to follow protocols for visitors in the home as well as specific protocols we put in place for walking the dog or having the dog in public for the rest of this dog’s life.

Do keep in mind that dogs' aggressing is kind of the tip of the iceberg. We can see the displays of aggression or even fall victim to them but what we cannot see but should address is the underline cause or causes for these outbursts.  This is what I mean that we must be vigilant when we are made aware that our dog is not comfortable with “x” or “y” scenarios.

Some dogs, of course, choose to remove themselves from a scary interaction. At least this time or that one, but again, not a guarantee to how the dog will respond the next time he is presented with the scary stuff.

Protocols exist for a reason. And they are completely useless if we do not follow them. Not are protocols only a safety mechanism to keep everyone safe but what I also love about them is that when they are executed with consistency they continue to teach the dog confidence.  His world just became more predictable and this helps the dog relax.

Predictability - with some novelty sprinkled here and there is one of the protocols I love to recommend for all dogs, but mainly to those that have had rough beginnings and now are anxious or fearful a lot of the time.

Life is anything but predictable. So it is very likely that those folks living with dogs that aggress will find themselves in situations they would rather not be. However, once protocols are in place these events should be highly minimized or gone all together and with every positive interaction the dog has, we continue to help the dog and the family improve their lot in life.

What and When Questions Are Smart Questions When It Comes to Training

A few weeks back I wrote about the “why” questions: People love “why” questions. Perhaps because we are curious, because we think “why” questions help us understand our own dog better (which sometimes they do, of course!) but most of the time it's because we'd much rather our dog not do something and we think that by “knowing” the why he/she will not continue to do so.

Why questions, as I stated, are not very useful when it comes to animal behavior and training. The reason behind this- as a form of recap- is that why questions, while being interesting, seldom help us move in the right direction with our dog’s behavior and training.

So then, what kinds of questions should one ask in order to make changes in our own dog’s behavior?

“What” questions are really great starting points. As in “What is your dog doing that concerns you? Irritates you? Etc."

Answers to what questions are observable, and as such, specific.  For example: What is your dog’s response when a stranger reaches out to pet its head? Answer: Lowers the head, emits a low growl and moves away.

If someone were to give me the response above to my question of what is your dog doing… I would most definitively get a clear picture of the interaction between dog and stranger for this very specific action- the stranger reaching towards the dog’s head with the hand.

I am also getting a clear concrete “picture” of how the dog is responding to it. I might not know what the dog is thinking because nobody knows, but I can infer by the dog’s body language, distance increasing and growl that he does not want to be reached out by a stranger.

“When” questions are also very helpful because they tell us similarly to “what” questions under which specific circumstances the behavior is taking place. As I have stated before, behavior never happens in a vacuum so knowing the precise conditions will help in coming up with a plan of action and will very likely set up the scenario so that the dog does not continue to engage in the dangerous, unwanted behavior.

Here is an example: When would you like your dog to walk on a loose leash? The answer to this question might vary. When we are taking a walk in town, when going to and from the car, when your dog see other dogs also on leash. When is it okay for your dog to pull or walk on a taught leash? When we are practicing scent discrimination on leash or when we are practicing skijoring. An activity in which a dog is attached by a long line and is pulling you on a bike, sled, etc.

Finally, "what" questions are also critical in reaching and understanding of what we want the dog to do instead of what the dog is doing at present.

If we do not have a clear picture of what we want there is really no way that we can reach our goal of communicating clearly to the dog in what we want him to do instead.

Why Questions Are Silly Questions - Mostly

At some point or another we all want to know why our dog is doing this or that behavior. Perhaps we are just curious and want to know. However, most of the time we want to know because we would rather our dog stop doing the behavior in question. Under these circumstances the “why” question is plain irrelevant! There is much we know about dogs' ethnology, physiology and behavior in general, but there is perhaps much more that we really don’t know or understand about these incredible creatures. Besides, much of what we know is at best an educated guess, because so far there has been no (real) dog that has spilled the beans as to why they do certain things.

The most important questions however, to ask ourselves are:
1. What would I rather my dog do instead of “x”? And...
2. How can I motivate my dog to this instead of that?

When we have identified an alternative behavior that we can live with we then should ask if this is a fair alternative for the dog. Yep. We need to make sure the need that is behind the “why” behavior satisfies the need. Not only because as the keepers of our dogs its frankly our duty to satisfy their needs simply because many of them can’t be satisfied by themselves, but also because by doing so we can be best assured that the “why” behavior will go into extinction or at least become easier to manage.

There is, however, instances that having some knowledge as to why the dog is doing something can prove to be quite helpful in making some lasting changes. Say, for example, that a dog was attacked while being a young dog by a black large dog.

Now, months later this youngster sneers and lunges at any dog he sees while on walks or when a dog comes into his proximity.  We being aware that the dog we are working with was attacked by a large black dog when young can shed some light onto the situation.

Now, having said that, the remedial work to be done in order to boost the dog’s confidence that most dogs are friendly and are not out to hurt him will be the same if we are unable to determine the immediate cause behind the aggression, for example. But if working with a dog like this, I would probably not begin to work with him with a large black dog!  Instead I would begin building his confidence with a smallish "fluffy” dog and gradually approach the real trigger for his fear.

The take-home message then should be: not 'why is my dog doing this,' but 'what would I rather have him do' and then find practical ways of achieving this. Sometimes the alternative is right in front of us and easy to implement while other times the alternative will require some behavior modification and, of course, management but in most cases this is worth a shot especially if it means a better quality of life for us or our dog.

What is SEC and Why Do You Need To Know About It?

SEC is an acronym for Sudden Environmental Contrast. In plain English it means that something changes in the environment and it happens so sudden that it raises concern or plain fear in an already distressed dog. SEC could take place in many forms but it does have the above signature as its underlining characteristic. I am defining “environment” as anything in the world that has an impact on a dog’s behavior, well-being, etc. So it could be a person, another dog, natural phenomena and the like.

I think that SEC is so stressful to dogs that are not comfortable in either that environment or have generalized fear or anxiety because it is an unpredictable phenomena. You see, dogs thrive (all animals frankly, but let’s just keep it to dogs) in being able to have control over their environment. It is a question of feeling safe and basic survival instinct.

Some examples of SEC that I have worked with are: a person coming out from a hallway to the room where the dog is, a person popping/exposing their head from a threshold such as a window, someone unexpectedly getting up from sitting, an object “suddenly” appearing in sight- which in some cases, the novel object might have been around, but the dog had not noticed it before.

The good news about SEC is that once we can identify it, we can teach the dog that there is no reason to be concerned. It is a case of typical classical conditioning that is: building positive associations.

This is how I normally like to begin working with SEC: When I encounter this in my cases, I quickly move to operant work which means that I am not only and exclusively concerned with building a good positive association, but I also want to teach the dog how to react when encountering any fearful trigger - in this case SEC.

I’ll explain further: I recently worked with a fearful dog that was very concerned to the point that he would bark, and even charge whenever a guest of the family. For example, I would come down the hall and into the living room. You can appreciate how complicated this situation might be!

So I taught the dog to lie down in the living room - yes this took quite a bit of positive association and reinforcement for the dog to lie on his bed whenever he heard someone coming down this hall.

In addition, the guests were coached to talk in a cheerful voice to the dog as they were coming down the hall. So by definition, someone walking down the hall was not a SEC anymore because the dog has been given a heads-up and now can expect the outcome. In addition he has learned an alternative behavior to lunging or barking and instead lies down and gets paid handsomely for doing so.

Another typical SEC situation is the picking up of small breed dogs. They are small and pretty much everything in their world is larger than they are. Add to this the fact that people, when picking them up, will loom over them; so for these reasons most small dogs hate being picked up. How they go about demonstrating their concern runs the gamut. Some dogs just dodge their little heads in an effort to avoid the interaction, others can escalate to a growl or other warnings or even a bite.

What I like to do in cases like this is to give the dog a heads-up about what I am going to do: loom over and lift them up. This procedure is so simple that I think that everyone should implement it.

You could simply choose a phrase that you will say just prior to looming over and picking the dog up. Such as: Pick up, etc. Wait a few seconds before you loom over and proceed to pick the dog up.

After very few trials the dog can relax because it knows what is going to happen next. What a great gift to help dogs when it is so easy to do so. In addition to doing this, I reinforce the dog once I am holding him. Finally, I put the dog down before the dog gets too overwhelmed and starts to wiggle or resist being held.

I Need a Guarantee

Today I got a voicemail message from a potential client that told me I needed to respond ASAP. When I get on the phone I realize that indeed this is kind of an emergency.

Apparently this dog has been living with little to no supervision since she was a young dog. The dog is now 4 years old. Her dog roams the neighborhood or takes off after wildlife on a regular basis. Today, though things got even more complicated.

She ran after a small dog after spotting it at a distance, bit the little guy so hard they are not sure whether the dog will survive. As I am gathering information about what other kinds of trouble the dog has gotten into, I learned that the dog chases big game and has even killed a cat.

After this last incident the owner is deeply concerned that she might have to let go of her dog. She has called me to get some information. One of those… what will it take to fix the problem? And of course, the owner looking for a guarantee.

She asks me point blank if I can guarantee that her dog will stop chasing wildlife and killing cats as a result of training. I tell her clearly that no, I cannot make any guarantees about behavior. In addition I say, if someone tells you that they guarantee your dog’s behavior they are either lying or clearly do not understand how behavior and behavior modification works! Period.

Same situation with people interested in having me teach their dogs to avoid snakes. I realize we all want guarantees: Guarantee that a product will deliver, the pants will fit well, the diet pill will make us lose weight and on and on. The thing is that while some services can be guaranteed, I think we should expect some sort of guarantee as to the professional we work with knowing what he/she is doing, that she or he will comport in a professional manner and as such, is not over selling or misrepresenting a product or a service. All these stipulations should also be expected from animal trainers, but that is different than expecting a guarantee on the
actual results of the training.

Think about this, doctors are also asked if such and such procedure, medication, etc. can guarantee the person will get better or even live, but seldom (if at all) are these guarantees given. Behavior is very similar to medical interventions: Too many variables and most of them out of our ability to change or influence. As a matter of fact, as part of my national certification as a Professional Dog Trainer, I cannot give any guarantees for services provided.

Now, what I can say is that when we consistently and with understanding on how to proceed work on teaching our dogs something, the probabilities of us witnessing the desired behavior really increases. I don’t know of a percentage for a success rate, again too many variables.

However, if you think about it, even if the chances are 50% or (more) of reaching success I think it is worth putting in the effort and resources in reaching our goals.

Should dogs meet on leash?

There are many examples that illustrate how our nature is so different from our dogs. Both species are highly social beings, but how we go about being social really differs. I realize in talking to clients that they think it is a good idea to have their dog meet others on leash because they want their dog to have an opportunity to say “hi” - to be social to another dog. The other reason, I presume, has to do with not wanting to come across as anti-social with whomever is holding the leash of the other dog. So what begins with good intentions turns out to be not such good news for 99% of all dogs. Yep, 99 % or there about.

If we analyze on leash greetings from the dog’s perspective, we come to realize that we are messing up royally. When people have their dogs meet they come straight on and never on an arc - as dogs prefer to meet. Straight approaches are VERY THREATENING to dogs!

The first point of contact is always frontal again potentially too “intimate” for dogs that have not met before. The preferred salutation in general is anal investigation and then some face to face. See, I told you our world and their world is really backwards! Dogs get so much information about whom the other dog is and their world in general by olfaction that when they are not permitted to do so altercations often arise.

It is often the case that one dog is more comfortable than the other in this awkward salutation and it does not take long for that one to snap. As a result, the other dog might take “offense” and lash back. So much for making friends!

Adding to this madness is the other side of the leash. Because of lack of understanding as to how dogs truly prefer to interact with one another, they get admonished by their now embarrassed owner. No, Fido! That is not how we say hello! Bad dog, we are going home, blah, blah, blah- typical example of human making nice with their kind.

Ah, poor Fido! Once again the victim of good intentions and ignorance. Of course, Fido has no clue as to why he is being yelled at, yanked hard with the leash because after all Fido had to react back as a result of the other dog’s “poor etiquette”.

It does not take too many of these trials before the dog is now really not comfortable with the proximity of any dog when he is restrained by the leash or just the presence of dogs, period! Keep in mind that restrain is one of the scariest things we can do to an animal (or a person). Restrain removes opportunity for escape.

My suggestions then stands: Avoid, avoid at all costs having your dog meet dogs on leash. Instead arrange for walks where potential (dog) friends can explore together at a considerable distance and share some smells. Have one dog walking in front of the other and then allow the dog in the back to sniff where the first dog has walked. Then change directions and repeat. After having spent a few minutes with the dogs in the same environment- but at a distance either bring them closer together in an arc or better yet, find a neutral safe location for some off leash introductions.

When walking your pup, I suggest you carry with you a few tasty treats and dispense those every single time you and your dog see another.

In no time your dog will look at the other dog and look back at you because you have conditioned him that seeing dogs on walks means he gets some delicious this or that! In this manner, you are “protecting” how your dog feels about other dogs- they are so fabulous because their mere presences produces goodies. If your dog has been saying hello on leash, this technique will help transition to letting him know that when on a leash we walk and that other opportunities for making friends will be procured.

Handling Our Frustration with Our Dog’s Behavior

Those of you who read my blog regularly know by now that I have been struggling with Deuce’s and Rio’s “performance” or interest when it comes to flying Frisbees.

Well, this morning was one of those mornings. I am gathering the Frisbees and the energy to start working with these guys. Both Deuce and Rio appear excited at this point. Good, I think. I throw my first air born Frisbee for Deuce and he remains standing looking at me as if asking me what do I want him to do about that. What??? I recall yesterday you were chasing Frisbees as fast as you could when we were practicing in the back porch and today??!

I call Rio and she kind of gives me the cold shoulder and begins to sniff the air amused by the freshest smell in her vicinity. I up my enthusiasm by running away from her, yeah; look it is really fuunnn - I am almost out of breath; still, she snobs me.

Darn! Okay, I actually thought more than that - but I will keep it civil here. I am now really frustrated. I proceed to tell the dogs to get out of the field where we are “working” and to my surprise they both obliged wondering what is wrong with me that I have turned into a Meany. I think to myself: plan B… but, what is plan “B”????

I proceed to call the dogs one at a time as the other one watches. I then get all excited as to convince them that they are the lucky ones by being summoned to play.

NOTHING! Once again I tell them to go outside as I began to practice my Frisbee throw. I nail a few throws but thanks to Rio’s obsession in chewing them they now fly haphazardly.

No point in buying new and expensive Frisbees if my dogs don’t want to play – I sulk.

I am done having fun at my party-of-one and I collect my mauled Frisbees. I pass by the two of them who are now lying in the shade waiting to see what’s next. I give them a glance and I tell them harshly that we are done playing. They both kind of don’t believe me since this rarely, very rarely happens. I ignore their doggy-plea for an explanation and I put the Frisbees away.

Believe me when I tell you that I was very frustrated. I was actually so frustrated with them and my ill attempts in getting them motivated to play that I decide to basically ignore them. I am dog less now. And that suits me just fine.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in this mode also trying to figure out what is behind my strong inclination in playing Frisbee with them. I ponder upon my goals and in the process I am feeling kind of bad that I am doing something I do not want to do: I am thinking of my pups as robots or tools that must conform to my wishes and perform as I see fit when I do.

I also tell myself almost admonishingly that all training and learning MUST be fun or at the very least intimidation free! This is something I really believe in and now I am turning into something I don’t like.

I also recognized that I did the right thing by not taking too much of my frustration on Deuce and Rio. Yes, my less-than-fun body language reveled to them my current state; but no one got yelled at, or physically abused, but since my “ignoring” mode very rarely happens with these two, I guess they were caught by surprise and took notice.

I decided to cut myself some slack, but investigate further. These are some of the thoughts that came to me as part of my process of learning about myself, my expectations and how to deal with frustration with my dogs and their behavior:

1. Dogs are not tools. They are sentient beings with whom we should enter into some sort of contractual agreement when we want them to do something such as catching the perfect thrown disc, remain next to us as we navigate the world of disability, search over and over again for possible victims in search & rescue teams, win the Iditarod or the Agility competition.
2. Learning should be as stress free as possible and without intimidation.
3. Learning should consider the needs of the learner with the “teacher” observing and adjusting to fit the lesson’s goals as well as the needs (emotional, cognitive) of the one learning.
4. Learning and training MUST be enjoyable and as equally important...
5. We will NOT succumb to the reinforcing nature of punishment. This is actually why punishment (presentation of an aversive) abounds in animal training, children rearing and life in general: Because it is reinforcing for the one administering the aversive.

One of the things I enjoyed most about my job is that I get to trouble-shoot and find the many “whys” why dogs rather do something else at a given moment than what we have in mind for them. As well, I miss finding the motivators to have them happily comply with us.

Sure enough, by our next training session, I had come up with a plan “B” that I could live with. This training plan had fun, had knowhow, but above all it was fair to the dogs.
Stay tune for next week’s installment.

Unless The Dog Is Dead

Unless the dog is dead, he/she will respond to its environment. Case in point; Deuce who is an avid Frisbee player suddenly stopped chasing after the Frisbee. I tried several things to encourage him to go after it, but he wouldn’t. He actually just stood in place looking at me as if he had never done this before. I was baffled. Rio, on the other hand, was now flying after the Frisbee when in the past she could have cared less – another turn of events.

I continued to throw some Frisbees for Deuce, but to no avail. Now I was getting frustrated, so I decided to end our training/game session. Later that day I try once again to encourage Deuce to run after the Frisbee and once again he wouldn’t. I started to think that maybe he was injured or that in some ways something had happened one of the times he went after the Frisbee and now he was afraid of it.

The next morning another interesting thing happened. As I was still lying in bed, Deuce asked for "permission” by using his front paw to scratch on the side of the bed to get up on our bed. Rio, who is a total snuggle bug, was already lying next to me.

Deuce hesitated and began pacing around the bed. One again, I had no explication for his behavior! This got me thinking that maybe he couldn’t get up on the bed, that there was something physically wrong with him, but then I remembered that the previous day I had actually moved all his limbs and his hips and he did this without difficulty or complaints. It occurred to me, that perhaps he was not coming up on the bed because Rio was already on it, so I asked Rio to get off the bed, which she did. I invited Deuce to get on the bed once again and he jumped up on it immediately.

From my perspective, the moral of the story is that many times we don’t know why our dog might act in a certain way or will refuse to do something we want them to do. Now, instead of blaming the dog or getting upset with our pup, we should assume that there has been a change in the environment (the environment could be anything: change in our own behavior, another animal’s behavior, a sound, smell, etc.) and that our dog is responding to this turn of events.

Sometimes the change could be very slight and difficult for us to notice. I find this to be especially true when it comes to the relationship and communication between dogs–there is so much about the relationships and communication that we just miss because of its subtlety.

It is often the case that people get frustrated with their dog and take it out on him/her, as if the dog was purposely trying to upset us or defy us when this is really not the case. The world view from the perspective of the dog is much simpler than that: their main concern is always for their safety and as such, their motivation to act in a certain way is determined by their need to be safe or to access a resource.