Oh my, thunder!

It is the rainy season here in New Mexico (yes, we do get rain in the high desert) and with rain often comes thunder.  Deuce has always been afraid of noises such as thunder, gun shots, fireworks and the like.

This is actually very typical especially for working breeds. The reason is frankly not really well known but it appears to have to do with some genetic predisposition.

Thunder phobia- as it is also referred, to can be very debilitating to dogs.  They can truly develop a phobia and injure themselves as they try in vain to escape the noise, lighting or any other trigger that they have already learned to associate with a thunderstorm.

I have tried several things in conjunction and I am finally making a dent in how much distress thunder events have on Deuce.  Here is a rundown of what I have in place:

1. Use of crate as a “safety/comfort” zone
2. Use of a thunder shirt or storm-defender cape
3. Use of melatonin (I buy a spray that delivers 3mg) delivered prior to storm if I am around and increase dosage based on his inability to cope with the storm.
4. Masking the noise and the visuals of the storm as much as possible
5. Comfort him when he wants to be comforted by proximity and even touch (which he normally can do without)
6. A very relaxed attitude that telegraphs to him that everything is A-Okay
7. PLAY, PLAY, PLAY.

I cannot say enough about the importance of play when it comes to un-sticking this boy from his concerns from a storm.  Even though it might not be practical to do this all the time; when I am not at home or if we have a terrible storm at 3 am the effect of engaging in some real fun games during some of the storms will help in building his confidence and erode the bad association surrounding storms.

Sometimes we play outside if it’s just thunder.  We might kick the ball or just hang out acting super chill and relaxed. Tug is a super big favorite and he will engage in this game anytime and everywhere.

Lately I have been playing another fun game for both of us in the comfort of the living room.  Deuce and I go sheepherding so he not only has the instincts needed to do such an “important” job, but he and I can communicate with the typical signals used while herding.

I use, of course, a ball as stand-in for the sheep but proceed to send Deuce in “out-runs” after his ball just as if he were herding sheep.  I can send him clockwise or counter-clockwise, send him off and then ask him to come back to me before getting to the “sheep”.

He has learned to relax so much that I think that he is secretly hoping for a storm to come!  We can play like this for a few minutes, take a break and resume.  The important thing here is to override Deuce’s nervous system from going into flight mode as if facing what he perceives as an incredible threat.

The best way I can describe this is building resilience for adversity.  Similar to any behavior, autonomic responses can be short-circuited so that they hopefully and as a result of many, many exposures, the association to the scary event is lessened.

Perhaps in some cases we can even reverse the response to one of relaxation and play.  Play BTW, is incompatible to fear (how cool is this?????) So if your dog can play he is not experiencing fear.  Yes, we can build that response as well:  build the play slowly and as the dog begins to cope better you can increase the play so that in time it will take the place of the distress under stressful circumstances for your pup.

Good news is, you get to play too and all of it for a good and important cause! 

How much exercise is too much?

We have had a lot of commotion these past few weeks with a very lengthy board & train, followed by a very short break in action to then me leaving town and having again more commotion with a friend staying at my home with her pup.

Back from my trip and now resuming our routines, I proceed to gather what is needed for the morning exercise routine for the dogs. We begin as we always do, but I notice shortly thereafter that Deuce is taking a rest after almost every retrieve of the ball.  Later on, Rio sort of bails out on our favorite game.  Huh?

I am sort of relived because I have a nasty cold and I’d much rather just stay inside so I call it a day shortly after.

I am left wondering as to what might be going on.  The dogs appear normal – no one is lame.  I do notice that they are sleeping more than usual so I concluded that they are just tired. Period.

This makes sense as I review the past weeks. Dogs, just like us, can become over stimulated physically or mentally when there are too many changes in their environment or routine. Think about how fun it is to travel yet how exhausting it all is.

Most dogs frankly do not get enough physical exercise on a regular basis, which it is a real shame. I am often asked about this and my rule of thumb -which I read somewhere and acquired as my own because it made sense, is that we want our pups to be tired at least once a day, everyday. By tired I mean that your dog will come back home with her tongue hanging out and a happy expression followed by wanting some water and plopping themselves down for a nap!

The guidelines on how much time is required do vary from breed to breed and from individual to individual. Now, when it comes to young puppies and up to the 2 year of age marker, the guidelines on how much exercise and of what kind really matters. Before reaching full maturity dog’s skeletal system and joints are not fully formed and doing too much or the wrong kind of physical activity, such as high jumps will most definitively have a detrimental effect on this dog’s physical well-being later in life. Following your veterinarian’s guidelines on this is really important.

I would argue the same is true for too much mental stimulation. In the case of Rio and Deuce they got more of both mental and physical stimulation than their norm so as a result they spent the first day without any “canine guests” really sacked out.

I can almost guarantee, that most dogs that attend doggie daycare, come home exhausted not so much because they really get a lot of play in. I surely doubt this, as most daycares curtail too high of activity in order to keep things in check. Most likely these pups come home mentally tired because they got to be around lots of excitement and potentially for some lots of stress too :(

My overall recommendation is of course that we monitor our own dog’s well-being by making sure that they get to have enough of what they like in the form of physical and mental stimulation, but also remaining alert to signs of real exhaustion and a much-needed break from the action and increase of quiet time.

Be ready then to observe for any changes in their behavior or their increased (or decreased) interest in a favorite activity.  Of course, there might be other reasons behind these changes.  However, if we choose to slow down ourselves in our own flurry of activity and pay attention to the changes in our dogs we can best change a course of action peppered by yet more keen observation.  I guess slowing down the constant flow of stimuli has benefits for all but our dogs do need of our devoted attention as they might not be able to make the necessary changes to their lifestyle.

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.

Inspiration

It is Friday afternoon and I am wrapping one more work-week. I turn my attention to my own two dogs. What can I teach them next? My inspiration in working with my own dogs might vary slightly to what I do day in and out with client’s dogs. It is true that on occasion I too have to tackle a behavior “problem” (Problem? According to whom?) from my own two dogs, but for the most part, I just continue to reinforce what I want them to continue doing; making for smooth sailing the norm instead of the exception.

As such, we spent our days playing just to have fun! The games we play all contain elements of what is important for me in our day-to-day interactions. Lots of practice of coming when called, staying in place when asked to do so, impulse control, body awareness, etc.

These training sessions can be quite structured or a bit more loose and on the go. Like anything worth doing in life and training, my own dogs are no exception, there is repetition, fear of not reaching my goals, the inertia to not work with them because it is too hot, too cold, I am feeling sick with allergies or I am just plain tired. There is no escaping drudgery and even self-doubt.

I am, however, deeply inspired by the possibility of what they can learn. By their enthusiasm in learning new stuff and even problem solve. I am deeply inspired by what other people have taught their dogs. At the center of it all, I am inspired by the notion of making their lives richer.

 

Structured Games

My dogs and I have lots of little routines. I try to vary the routines often but still keep certain things such as the games we play quite structured. As I have previously said, I think dogs thrive with structure sprinkled with novelty.

This morning just before it got unbearable hot to play, we marched towards the “soccer field” to play soccer with Deuce and a combo of little games with Rioja. As we engaged in one of my dog’s favorite activities, I was thinking of the importance of keeping some routine or structure. I was smiling as I thought how both dogs, but especially Rioja, can make their own "rules" for the games we play. Here are a couple of examples of Rioja’s favorite games:

When I kick the ball for Deuce, Rioja has several choices: She can strike one of her funny poses (what we called “action-figure” poses) next to Deuce and run a la par with him after the ball. She is quite fast getting to the ball always before Deuce.

Then the structured games begin. She will either: turn around to face me as I yell excitedly "Take it, take it!" Which means run as fast as you can and grab the tug toy that I have in my hand for a furious tug game-as Deuce makes his way to the start position (or kickoff) of our game.

The second choice for Rioja is to intercept the ball and run with it, only to drop it half way and continue running towards me where she gets to chase the critter attached to the whippet toy. This goes on for several seconds until Deuce has returned with the ball. At this point, Rioja can either: release the whippet toy and go back to her action figure pose or continue to play with me allowing Deuce to go after the ball all by himself.

Sometimes I am not sure which option is the one that Rioja wants, so I take a chance and present the toy. Rioja is in complete “control” of her choice. She might ignore me and the tug and go back to kick-off mode. But most of the time, when I closely watch her body language, I can anticipate what she wants to do: tug, run or whippet. In addition to these choices I throw here and there some simple obedience exercises such as sit to release and play, drop it (tug or whippet toy) a collar touch to release to play. Not only will these behaviors become stronger as they are practiced often in real-life scenarios but Rioja is getting reinforced with play… a wonderful thing indeed.

The second game that we just “installed” is an after dinner game. I am sitting in the sofa either watching TV (or trying to watch TV) or still working on my computer as Rioja brings me a toy - her choice again. The game here is to play a furious energetic tug on her part as I am sort of hanging out. Once again, she needs to perform little behaviors that I find useful before she either: gets to go after her toy or tug some more. I ask her to lay down and when she does I send the toy flying across the living room … just as she is getting ready to fetch the toy I ask her… Leave it! I.e.: do not interact with the toy. She stops mid-track gives me her
little Rioja side look and waits to be released with: Okaaay, get it!! Now she is flying off the couch (only when John is not watching) and in search of her toy.

Occasionally she changes toys on me, incorporating in her games one more rule change: she gets to choose which toy will be the flying object… After about 15 min. of this intense game (we need a name for it) she lays spread on the sofa or if she chooses, she will get smacked closed to me and drift into sleep.

I learn a lot about dogs in general and my dogs in particular when I pay attention to the games or activities they like to engage in. It is not only the activity per se but the whole structure of it. I like these game for other reasons as well. I get to kick-back and let others make the decision on how we are going to burn some steam and just have fun as I also get to incorporate behaviors that I want to reinforce.

I am constantly amazed on their ability to make up “rules” and decide which contingencies are in place. Their game change allows for creativity in interaction, play and learning… all teamwork style.