Practicing in a Controlled Environment

Practice Makes Perfect

Have I ever mentioned that there is no magic wand or pill in dog training?  Managing and correcting dog behavior is all about consequences and rewards.  Dogs repeat behaviors that are rewarding.   Dogs avoid behaviors that are not rewarding.  Dogs avoid behaviors associated with pleasant things disappearing.

Many common complaints about dog behavior include: jumping up, not coming when called, excessive barking, begging at the table, stealing items, and not releasing items.  These are all normal dog behaviors, it’s just that we humans don’t like them.  The trick to stopping these behaviors is to set ourselves up for success by controlling the environment as much as possible.  For example, we would not teach “leave it” by waiting for the dog to get into antifreeze.  We would not practice recall in the middle of a busy strip mall parking lot.

Here are some ideas for setting up scenarios to practice managing undesirable behaviors

 *The tools:  Have your tools handy to prevent undesirable behavior.  Leashes, fences, and long leashes can help prevent running away and jumping up on people.

* The players:  Everyone involved needs to know the role they play in the scene.  Handlers need to hold on to leashes to prevent jumping.  The “jumpees”  may need to step away.

* The setup:  The environment for the scene needs to be setup so that there are rewards for desirable behavior and that pleasant things go away when undesirable behavior occurs.  Creativity helps in doing the setup.  Once a dog has learned the come cue (usually taught on leash), practicing recall in a boring but safe environment can be effective.  Cue the behavior “come” from a short distance.  If the dog responds, reward generously.  If the dog doesn’t respond, walk away.  The dog will learn that coming when called is usually in his best interest.

* Building the bank account:  With successful practice, your dog will associate good things with desirable behavior.  A dog can be rewarded generously every time he gives up an item, and ignored until he gives it up.  If the environment is controlled, the item to give up will be safe.  Build up the bank account by giving the item back once the dog releases it.  Practicing this behavior will set the dog up for success even when the environment is not in control.  With repeated success in safe environments, the day your dog picks up a sharp object on a walk, your dog will expect that by giving up the item, he will be rewarded generously, and may even get the item back.  With controlled practice sessions, the likelihood of compliance is greatly increased.

Remember that if you have no control over your environment, you will not be successful at controlling your dog’s behavior.

Why Aren’t You Walking Your Dog?

In addition to the cardiovascular benefits to you and the dog, a walk with your dog can be an enjoying and enriching bonding experience.  Why then are many dog owners are still unable or unwilling to partake in this activity?  There are a variety of reasons that I have heard from clients and there are also ways to overcome these barriers. 

* I let my dog out in my backyard.  While this is a good practice for potty breaks and playtime, it does not replace the enrichment a dog receives from processing the fresh and novel aromas outside of your home and yard.  Walks are mentally stimulating for dogs.  Walks also keep your dog well socialized to humans and other dogs.  For dogs, the difference between being let out in the yard and a walk around the neighborhood is like the difference between me eating lunch in a cubicle under fluorescent lighting and eating lunch on the Champs Elysees.

* My dog pulls.  By far, this is one of the most common reasons that dogs are left inside or in the yard.  A multitude of No-Pull harnesses have been developed to discourage dogs from pulling on their leashes.  The “Gentle Leader” is my favorite because it gives the handler the most leverage to prevent pulling.  For small dogs that are not powerful, the “Easy Walk Harness” is another option.  Both products come with DVDs that explain how to fit and use the products.  There are also some behavior modification techniques that can be implemented with the help of a trainer.

* My dog is reactive to other dogs.  A reactive dog can present dangerous scenarios in public.  It is important to use appropriate leashes and collars and to stay under your dog’s threshold.  If you are not ready to manage the behavior with a dog training professional, there are some options to offer your dog a change of scenery and smell.  Try walking your dog during off peak or low traffic hours. Walk in a wide open park where you have more options to keep your dog from getting close to other dogs.  Go off the beaten path.  I have been to the nature trails at Markham Park and Plantation Heritage Park.  During off peak hours, I have not seen another person or dog on the trails.  Enlist the help of a friend to serve as lookout for other dogs to be safe. 

* My dog is too old.  The amount of exercise a dog needs in his senior years should be determined by a veterinarian.  A senior dog will benefit from a leisurely stroll down your driveway and down a few houses if your veterinarian approves.  Again, dogs benefit from the mental stimulation of processing novel scents.  There are a multitude of strollers available for physically challenged dogs to partake in the sights and smells around the neighborhood.

* It’s too hot.  During the winter months in South Florida, dogs and their owners can enjoy brisks walk on a cool days.  In the summer, a walk could be dangerous to brachycephalic (short nosed) dogs.  Products like the Kool Collar can keep your dog from overheating, but keep your walks short, shaded, and in the evening or morning.

* I don’t have the time.  Pay now or pay later.  Many of the behaviors that my clients want me to “fix” can be attributed to lack of exercise, mental stimulation, and socialization.  The behaviors include barking, destructive behavior, aggression, fear, and more.  There is time and money involved in cleaning up after, or addressing these behaviors.  There are many professional dog walking companies that offer this service if you cannot find the time. 

So many people begin the new year with healthy resolutions that include exercise.  Why not include your dog?

Partying with the Dogs

Planning on hosting a holiday celebration this year?  Whether your party is big or small, there are ways to make your dog(s) and guests comfortable during your get together.  Here’s how to plan for a happy gathering all.

On the morning of your party, get up early and give your dog some extra exercise (1.5 – 2 times the usual amount).  For an added bonus, try a different route or a park you have never visited before.  If your dog is socialized, a trip to the dog park can be a fun and exciting for both of you.  Be sure to add some extra time for cleaning up your pooch because dogs can get carried away in mud or dirt at dog parks.

During the week before the party, brush up on some basics like sit, leave it, and settle.  These are handy skills during party time.   Teaching a new trick is a great way to give your dog an incompatible behavior to jumping on guests.  My dog Maddie loves to perform rollover.  This year we are working on a new trick to provide great entertainment value for the humans.

Have interactive toys and treats available for your guests to engage your dog in ways that do not involve human food.  Fetch games in the yard are a favorite with my dog.  For an added bonus, buy some new toys that are a novelty for your dog.
 
Manage the scene by thinking ahead about your dog’s problem behaviors.  Devise a plan for dealing with common issues in advance.

* Nightmare at the front door? Try having fetch toys available in the yard, so your dog is more likely to interact with guests away from the front door.
* Begging?  Try having stuffed kongs and treats available for guests to give your dogs rather than people food.
* Escape artist? Use gates, leashes, or crate your dog during the prime arrival and departure times.
* Easily stressed? Have a quiet place for your dog to relax in a bedroom away from the action.

Manage the guests by making sure they know what is ok and not ok to do to your dog.  Spell it out that getting in your dog’s face or bear hugging the dog can be dangerous.  Watch for guests that have had a few too many and may act “strange” and be stressful to your dog.

Supervise your dogs.  Keep an eye out for signs of stress, too much excitement, escape routes, and trouble in general.  Remove the dog or troublemakers if necessary.  For the big parties, I try to enlist the help of some close friends to supervise the dog activity.  My friends think helping out with the dog is much more desirable chore than helping out with the dishes!

Fetch or Keep Away?

Drop it!

I love it when my students tell me that their dog won’t play fetch.  There are, in fact, dogs that don’t have much chase or prey drive, and they are probably better suited for other activities.  The more likely scenario is that some dogs simply prefer the game of Keep Away over the Fetch game.  Many dogs have successfully taught their owners the Keep Away game.  The dogs taunt their less agile and considerably slower humans who give into the chase, rather than wait for the dog to drop the toy.

The Keep Away game is lots of fun for the dog because typically the agile and fast dog is very successful at keeping toys away from their exasperated owners.  For humans, the Keep Away game is pretty frustrating because we tire out pretty easily when chasing dogs.

To teach your dog the Fetch game, you need to stop playing the Keep Away game!  To be successful, choose a lovely evening after dinner and take the toy to your favorite lounge chair.  For even greater success, bring a book and your favorite beverage.  Toss the toy and wait for the dog to bring it back to you.  If the sun has set and your dog has not learned the Fetch game, there’s always tomorrow.

The photo above is an example of this strategy. I’m enjoying a lovely evening and a magazine.  Maddie will try to entice me to get up by dropping the toy in the grass.  I’m comfy on my chair, happy with my magazine.  I’ll tell Maddie to bring it.  She’ll chew the toy and drool and finally drop it on my lounge chair.  I’ll toss it back and repeat the process until I’ve had enough fresh air for the evening.  I wouldn’t last two seconds in the Keep Away game.  Fetch is fun for both human and dog in this case.

There’s More Than One Way to Teach Your Dog to Sit

When I visit my clients or teach a class, I carry a bag full of training tools.  The bag contains items like leashes, harnesses, squeaky toys, kongs, treats, and clickers.  More important than the literal toolkit I carry is the figurative toolkit that I carry in my head.  This kit contains tools to change behavior, teach behavior, or modify behavior, and because of the infinite possibilities of how to teach something, the toolkit is infinitely large.

This is good news for dog owners that have “tried everything”.  My clients are so relieved when they call me as a last resort to find that yes, there is hope.  A good dog trainer won’t necessarily abandon the tried and true usual methods.  A thorough interview should take place to verify that everything the family has tried was implemented properly and enough time and consistency was given to the method.  Also crucial to the success of any program is the likelihood that the family will implement it.  I advise dog owners to be really honest with their dog trainers about their schedules so the trainer does not over commit them.

So back to my toolkit… there are endless ways to teach a behavior.  For dogs that don’t respond to the usual methods, this gives a trainer an opportunity to personalize a plan for you and your dog.  For anyone that feels like there isn’t anything that will work for your dog, try something different!  In the words of Mark Twain, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you always got.

Really Being in Your Dog’s Life

Dogs are social animals and it is crucial for their well being to be a real part of a family.  In order to truly satisfy a dog’s social needs, human family members need to give their dogs active attention and enrichment on a regular basis.  With hectic schedules, long office hours, and family obligations, it’s easy to forget about making special time for your dog.

To provide interactive and enriching experiences, choose activities that your dog loves.  I use the word activity, but for the “couch potato” breeds of dogs, a fun activity may be sitting on the couch receiving tummy rubs while you watch the news.  Set aside time to spend with your dog doing an enriching activity every day.  Make sure that you are interactive with the dog during the activity.  This means that you should not be multitasking through your special doggie time.  Interact with your dog and enjoy the walk, rather than talking on your cell phone.  Give wonderful tummy rubs on the couch, rather than typing on your laptop. Play games with your dog in the yard rather than just watching what he does.  Walk around the dog park and interact with other dogs and people, rather than sitting on the bench and letting your dog do all the work.

Dogs can’t speak English to ask you for attention.  Destructive behavior, unruly behavior, attention barking are all signs that a dog may need more attention, and enriching experiences.  Take time during your day to give your dog attention and provide enriching experiences.  You may enjoy it more than your dog!

Freedom and Choices

Dogs and humans love freedom.  It’s a powerful reward for dogs and people.  But what happens when dogs are given too much freedom before they are ready?  With freedom comes many options and choices.  Sometimes too much freedom means access to an abundance of choices that are “wrong” and only a few choices that are “correct”.  Making your environment easy for your dog’s success may mean limiting his freedom so it’s easy to make the right choice.
Housebreaking: Limiting freedom is crucial for successful housebreaking.  Nobody can supervise their dog 24/7.  Using a properly sized crate when nobody is supervising, keeps your dog from making the wrong choice – eliminating in the house.  Taking your dog outside on leash to the designated potty area keeps him from using potty time as play time.  Limiting his freedom by keeping him on leash, encourages him to focus on the task at hand.  Once the dog has eliminated, freedom in a fenced yard can be a powerful reward for eliminating in the right place.
Greetings:  Using a leash during greetings is a great way to keep your dog from jumping on people.  Jumping is very self-reinforcing for the dog.  The key to managing greetings is to prevent jumping by limiting freedom, and rewarding the sit stay by approaching.   One of my favorite exercises is to tether a dog to something that won’t budge, like an established oak tree.  I allow greeters to approach the dog only if he is holding a sit stay.  If he breaks it, the greeter backs up.  It becomes very clear to the dog that he only gets to be near the greeter if he is holding a sit stay.
Limiting freedom is only half of the solution.  Rewarding desirable behavior is equally important.  When dogs are rewarded for making the right choice, they are more likely to repeat it.  The beauty of this balanced approach is that as your dog learns that the right choice is in his best interest, he can gradually be allowed more freedom.

Grooming Tips from a Dog Trainer

Maybe I’m not the best resource for instructions on how to deal with matted fur. I’ve never had to deal with tear stains. Here’s what I can help you with: GOOD ASSOCIATIONS. If you find that grooming sessions with your dog are stressful or intensely coercive, try focusing less on the finished product and more on the process for a while. Eventually you can get back to your goals of reaching those back teeth during brushings, or getting those ears really clean, but for now, let’s focus on the associations with the event and the tools.

If you use tools, get your dog comfortable with them by bringing them out of the closet with treats. So for nail trimmings, show your dog the clipper, then treat. Place the clipper on the floor near the paw, then treat.  Touch the paw with the clipper, then treat. Now put the tool away. Do that a few random times during the week.

When you are ready for a grooming session, keep it short and positive.  For baths, at first, I am more concerned about treats for accepting the leash. Then I bring out the towels and shampoos. More treats and a quick, low shampoo bath means next time, she will be more accepting of the process. Little by little, I can focus more on really getting to the dirt. Grooming should be a calm experience for you and your dog.

Are Your Dog’s Basic Needs Being Met?

When I work with my clients to address “problem behaviors”, I ask many questions about the dog, his activities, health and nutrition, environment, previous training, family members of any species and their schedules.  It’s important to have this information to ensure that the behavior modification program that I suggest will be effective.  A holistic approach to dog training will improve the chance of success in any training program.

Imagine a child eating twinkies and drinking soda pop all day alone, no play time, no playmates, no toys, in a bare room for 13 hours a day.  I could send in the best teacher in the world to tutor the child in reading for an hour every day.  Clearly, this child would not be able to function in his home or in society.  Dogs need enriching environments, mental and physical stimulation as well as good nutrition and rewarding training just like young humans.

 The good news about treating a dog holistically is that “undesirable” behavior that the dog exhibits can be addressed without hours of training sessions.  Many undesirable behaviors can be addressed with simple changes around the house in scheduling, exercise, mental stimulation and confinement management.  More good news is that alot of the exercise and mental stimulation is just as much fun for the owner as the dog.  

 A little research about a dog’s breed can can go a long way to provide insight into what he needs.  Visit www.akc.org for information on dog breeds and their history.

Drama Free Dog Friendly Events Are Possible

MCABSL Barbecue

On May 14, the Miami Coalition Against Breed Specific Legislation (MCABSL) hosted a dog friendly barbecue at CB Smith park.  From 10am to 4pm adults, children, babies and their dogs enjoyed great weather and fun activities without any dog/dog or dog/people aggression incidents.  Were these specially bred and trained therapy dogs?  Nope!  These were family pets of responsible dog owners that simply followed the rules of their gracious hosts.

 Although there were many breeds of dogs in attendance, ironically the media’s most hated “breed”, the Pit Bull, was well represented and celebrated at this event.  People proudly wore their MCABSL shirts proclaiming “Pit Bulls are not the problem.  Bad owners are the problem.  And we are the solution.” 

MCABSL certainly demonstrates solutions, not only in the area of legislative change, but also in responsible dog ownership.  Emails promoting this event contained flyers with basic information and more importantly, some not so common sense rules for attendance.  I’m sharing the event rules below because this is great advice for anyone taking a dog to any dog-friendly event. 

RULES & REGULATIONS
· No Nose to Nose contact between dogs.
· No female dogs in Heat.
· All dogs must be “dog and human friendly” to avoid any complications. It may help to walk your pooches before the event to allow them to get settled.
· No dogs with Food aggression issues.
· MCABSL is not to be held liable for any damages either to personal property or personal injury to anyone attending the event.
· Children MUST be supervised by parents or responsible adult(s) at all given times.
· All dogs should be vaccinated and healthy.
· All dogs must be on leashes and supervised at all times. Absolutely no flexi or retractable leashes will be allowed.
· One dog per person.
· Please be “dog conscious” – make sure to ask an owner before petting their pet and keep a safe distance between you and the next pooch.
· Portable kennels or crates are not mandatory but it may be a good idea to bring one to allow you some free time. We will have a couple of kennels available for the dogs, to allow guests to eat and relax a bit. 

Don’t get the wrong idea.  Following the rules didn’t keep anyone from having a fabulous day of food and fun.  Being a responsible and courteous dog owner means everyone has fun.  MCABSL President and Founder, Dalia Canes, directed fun-filled activities for everyone.  My dog trainer friends, Edel Miedes and Jeri Smith, made sure the crowd was well fed by grilling and serving up a variety of burgers for meat eaters and vegetarians.  PitBullGear.com was also on hand with some very clever fashions.

To be truly honest, I must disclose this event was not completely drama free.  The crowd was subjected to serious competition  and nail biting drama during the best dog contests in 13 categories.  I was on pins and needles wondering who would take the best female in show trophy.  Would it be the Pittie in pink leather or the Pittie in the neon green tutu?  Pittie in pink won, but in my book, all the participants and planners  deserved trophies for this incredible event!

If you would like to support the amazing work of the Miami Coalition to End Breed Specific Legislation, please visit them at unitedagainstbsl.org.