Just give me a minute, please

The dogs and I are playing outside with the beloved “orange ball”.  Deuce is running to get the ball while Rio is tugging with gusto with me.  I see Deuce running past me holding the big ball tightly in his mouth.  He is dashing towards the house literally ignoring me as I call him to continue the play.  Then it dawns on me that he just either saw a mountain lion or something as such that scared him to death or ….. seconds later I hear a gunshot ah - that is it!

I proceed to walk towards the house and I see Deuce waiting at the front door wanting to get in.

I open the door for him and he goes in dropping the ball just outside the door.  I pick up the ball and proceed to walk away from him, leaving the front door open for him.

Seconds later he is following me, ready for more play.  We resume our game as always. As we are back to playing I think the following: There are several “lessons” here that will help our pups recover from fearful events as well as to keep them safe.

Lesson 1:
Be aware that if your dog is ever afraid of something he might not run to you for comfort but instead run in any direction in an effort to create distance between him and what concerns him. This might not be a problem - as was the case this morning, but it could be a serious problem if your dog runs into traffic, or runs so fast and far that now he is lost.

Not long ago, I was hiking with the dogs when again, gunshots were heard. I sort of heard them but I was made aware by Deuce’s body language that he was afraid.  He began to move away from me- and unable to approach me. Remember, your dog is NOT being a jerk, dominant, stubborn etc., he just has bigger fish to fry! Instead, I approached him as he was still close to me and leashed him.  We continue to walk away from the noise and on the trail.  I gently coaxed Deuce as I presented my best impersonation absolute confidence and zero concern for the noise. He came along with me and a few minutes later I let him off leash with no further incidents.  Now, this is interesting because when it comes to Deuce and thunder he always comes to either John or me, not with gunshots!  Go figure.

Lesson 2:
When your dog is afraid or even when concerned (my definition is that concern and fear are same modality but different intensity of the same emotion), it is very, very helpful (and humane!) to give the dog a moment to take in the environment.  Dogs “divide” their world between: safe or unsafe.  So they need the time to assess the situation. Also, it is always the individual that decides if something is “scary” or not.

Lesson 3:
Give your dog a choice!  Allowing any living being the opportunity to exercise some control (as much as possible) in its environment, is one of the most powerful things one can do to increase confidence, self-reliance and wellness. This morning I gave Deuce the choice of either staying inside or coming out again to play.  He made the choice, not me.

Lesson 4:
Keep in mind that fear being an emotion is not something that we can “influence” or change.  Yes, I know you might have heard that we must not console our dogs when they are afraid because we will be reinforcing the fear, blah, blah, blah.  Sorry but this is not so.  If it was so easy to change emotions, why is it that people and other animals cannot modify their phobias, fears - especially when feeling afraid or anxious does not feel “good”? If the individual feeling these emotions cannot just turn them “off” at will (in most instances) how then can another individual do so?

However, what we can do is model confidence!  Dogs are social beings so they are indeed learning from other beings (and their environment in general) all the time.  If we demonstrate to the dog that we are not really concerned about something that concerns them, then we are modeling to the dog an alternative behavior to behaving in a fearful manner.  In addition to this, make sure you are giving your dog a choice (more distance, less time exposed to the fearful event etc.).

I must say that opportunities to help our dogs on a daily basis abound. But we must be willing to see things from their perspective and act in accordance.

Backyard Dogs

Dogs are incredible social beings that thrive as companion animals. Isolation for this reason is very hard on most dogs and as such a welfare issue for the dog.

Isolation is hard on dogs at all stages, but is extremely difficult on young puppies. We can for sure make the lives of “outside dogs” more interesting by training them, exercising them and feeding them in interesting and challenging ways to relieve them of constant boredom. However, in spite of the mental and physical enrichment we supply for them, these cannot make up for the time that they spend alone in social isolation if they spend most of their days & nights on their own.

Beside the isolation issue referred to in above paragraph, when young puppies (or untrained dogs) are kept mainly as outside dogs, it is quite likely that they will not be house trained nor comfortable around household noises and other related activities, and thus create havoc on their confidence and overall comfort when brought inside (for some reason) or traveling with them. In the case of young puppies (3-18 weeks of age) this incredibly rich period of learning is when we must work hard in order for them to feel comfortable and secure in a people’s world. The only way to achieve this is by intense positive association with novel things and people. Once the puppy is over the socialization period, whatever he was not exposed to in a positive manner will be a potential for concern, or worse, fear for the rest of his life. A dog that lives outside will miss out on learning about living in the proximity of people.

In addition, a dog that has not learned to be inside a home when young, in all likelihood would not be a good candidate for traveling. Not only will he be outside his known environment – the home yard, but he will most likely be in distress because of the demands put on him when in an inside environment- one that he does not know at all.

Another big concern for dogs that are left outside – even in the best of set-ups are:

1. Constant exposure to the elements: heat, cold and thunderstorms. Ongoing exposure to outside elements can create distress in all dogs but remarkably so in young dogs or the elderly.

2. Some dogs will develop noise phobias. Phobias can be very debilitating for the rest of the dog’s life and his family. Studies suggest that working breeds (herding dogs, for example) are at a higher risk of developing a noise/thunder phobia.

In some cases, the fact that the dog is alone most of the time may give way to nuisance behaviors such as constant barking or howling, attempts to escape and digging, etc. Once the dog engages in these nuisance and stress or boredom related behaviors, the chances of the dog remaining in the home will decline as complaints from neighbors make the current situation unsustainable.

Some people might find that they want to have a dog as a pet or that they love the one they have, and for some reason the dog cannot live inside; say in the case of someone in the household developing allergies or a landlord that has changed his or her mind, etc. However, while some dogs might fare better than most in such circumstances, backyard dogs rarely get their needs met.

One solution that I find might help both parties is to consider having the dog live with someone else that can give the dog the attention, and can have the dog truly be part of the family. While the current owner can most definitively come around and take on the full responsibilities and the joys of having a dog be a part of his or her life without having to relegate the dog to a life of neglect and loneliness.

If we truly consider our pets to be “family” we must treat them as such. So as a dog pro, and an advocate of dogs, I want folks to go the extra mile and to think creatively and valor so that their pet does not suffer the consequences of the choices we make.