Dogs need to think twice and make better decisions…

Have you ever made a decision without really thinking it through? Have you let anxiety or fear lead you to a dangerous predicament? Most people would say yes. It happens when we’re small children, it happens when we’re teens and it happens when we are adults. It also happens to dogs.

It’s the human’s responsibility to teach their dog crucial life skills like impulse control and how to deal with fear/anxiety/predatory behavior. They are dogs and they will make bad choices if we don’t set them up for success. This is obviously easier than it sounds. Recently I’ve had a number of clients whose dogs are lovely pets but have a history of aggressive behavior due to poor impulse control or because they are missing the ability to settle themselves down.

(Ari exhibiting poor inhibition by jumping up on me for attention)

This issue can manifest in aggression towards humans (dog gets excited and begins nipping owner’s hands) or aggression towards other animals (dog attacks another family dog when he/she becomes stressed or over excited). This doesn’t mean the aggressive dog doesn’t have a bond with his/her family. What it means is that this dog is missing crucial social skills that are making him/her dangerous. The causes for this can include genetic background, training, missed socialization or a medical issue. No dog is the same but what an owner can do is to teach all their dogs (big and small, old and young) how to deal with stress and not immediately react to something exciting.

Some tips:

• Sophia Yin has a wonderful program called the “Learn to Earn Program” where she insists dogs say please by sitting. This is a crucial skill when teaching your dog manners and also calming themselves down when something is exciting is happening. Examples include sit before going through doors, sit before petting or play, sit before greeting another human, etc.
•  Teach your dog to handle excitement in small doses. An example would be teaching your dog a calm response to the doorbell ringing. You can practice this by first teaching your dog to sit, down or go to bed. Once your dog is very good at this behavior then you can first ring your doorbell. Doorbells are often a source of excitement for dogs so you’ll be triggering your dog to become excited and then pairing that with a calm behavior. You can then move on to using other excitement triggers such as have a friend come over and practice sitting for attention.
• Do not reward your dog for over excited behavior. This includes taking your dog out for a walk and then leashing your dog/exiting your home while your dog is barking, lunging or acting over excited. This could also include letting your dog out of the crate while barking or scratching excitedly. Ask your dog for a sit first.

(Ari exhibiting impulse control by sitting before getting pets)

If your dog is unable to calm down when only triggered by small excitement sources then you should consult a trainer or behaviourist. If your dog exhibits over excitement or anxious behavior it is also prudent to check with your veterinarian. Remember no two dogs are the same but in order to be successful in society it is your job to teach them patience, thoughtfulness and manners.

Leash Aggression? But he’s fine off leash!

I’ve had a fair share of owners who are confused by their dogs on leash behavior. They often begin by telling me how much their dog likes other dogs and does great at the park playing with many strange dogs of all breeds, ages and personalities. Then they mention that their perfect pup turns into a murderous demon when the leash is on.

Alright so what’s actually going on here?

Let’s start off with what leashes do. They restrict our dogs from normal, social body language and put up a barrier to interaction. This is often for their own safety and compliance with leash laws but there are side effects. Just adding a barrier for some dogs creates a frustration response (barking, lunging, lying down) which can escalate into aggression over time.

For some dogs they are fine on leash with other dogs until their owner tries to pull them away. The feeling of their collar tightening is enough to trigger an “attack”. A dog’s response to this can be anywhere from barking, growling, stiffening to an actual bite with injury.

So now what? While this problem can be prevented through focus, heeling and a good leave it cue you’re probably not reading this because you have the perfect puppy.

1.   A good rule for most dogs is to restrict dog greetings to off leash only where your dog can have freedom of communication and movement. I expect my dogs to be working for me when they are on leash and when they are off leash I’ll tell them “Go Play” which signals they can do as they wish. This also makes handling them at busy dog shows and expos easier as they don’t think it’s play time whenever they see a dog.

2.   Walk on your dog on a harness like the Easywalk harness by Premier or Sensation harness. Even a good step in harness will improve things from a collar.

 

3.   Keep on leash greetings to less than 5 seconds and teach your dog to keep walking when you call his/her name which will allow you to get your dog to come when called without a tight leash.

4.   Keep your leash loose during any and all dog interactions. Tightness in the leash will increase the chances of a problem.

5.   Participate in a group dog training class where dog social skills are worked on or an activity like rally obedience where your dog will learn to focus on you and not pull on leash around other dogs.

The Secret to Dog/Human Harmoney

There’s always a debate amongst dog trainers about what is the most important thing to teach a dog. In reality there’s no blank, easy answer here as many obedience skills and manners are crucial to a dog’s ability to thrive in a home environment.

We ask a lot of our pet dogs. We want them to ignore almost everything they love to do: chew on things, urinate on things, bite things playfully or otherwise, bark, run around frantically, jump up on any living creature that is slightly taller than them, etc. And then ask them to do boring behaviours such as walk slowly on leash, sleep all the time and not touch anything that hasn’t been labeled as a dog toy (and then occasionally relinquish those to us too).

So after working with many families with a huge variety of canines I’ve come to the conclusion that even though recall is my favourite obedience command dogs need to learn impulse control more than anything else.

Impulse control means quietly simply that instead of reacting to what they want as soon as they can see they learn to wait. Oh this isn’t easy for people either!

Some skills that can help teach dogs impulse control:

1. “Leave It” cue asks the dog to not grab something and be rewarded for that.

2. “Stay” cue and this applies specifically to stays with distractions around such as dogs, toys, food, etc.

3. “Look” or the dog’s name to redirect their attention back on you.

4. “Sit” for doors, opening kennel, greeting, etc.

(Marco showing off his stay)

Dogs that have developed good impulse control will be less likely to steal your stuff, jump on you, start conflicts with other dogs, house soil, bark uncontrollably at other dogs, etc. It allows your dog to live in harmony with you and all our silly human rules.

This isn’t an easy thing to teach so I suggest working with a trainer or behaviourist if you are experiencing any behaviour problem. Remember to select someone with experience and uses positive reinforcement methods to teach impulse control NOT a shock collar, choke chain, etc. We want dogs who understand that waiting means good things are coming not a dog that is too scared to move.

Why is my dog snarling in the window?: A Breakdown of Barrier Reactivity

My Aussie Marco is a really friendly and well adjusted dog. He came to me with a great temperament at 8 weeks old and through mountains of socialization he has continued to be my most trustworthy dog around other dogs, small animals, babies and of course new people. Marco however has a secret... he use to be extremely barrier reactive. What does this mean? 


Barrier reactivity is when you put a dog behind a fence, kennel door, window, leash, etc. and they see a person or another dog or small animal. An over reaction follows that might include lunging, growling, showing of teeth, barking, snarling, etc. Marco literally went from wiggling, happy puppy to full on vampire face. Even my trainer friends thought he was aggressive until of course I opened the kennel door and poof it vanished and my happy boy was back. 


Marco had a very specific form of barrier reactivity that occurred only when he was in his kennel and saw another dog. It also had to be a dog he didn't know well (the other dogs in my house didn't elicit any sort of reaction from him). I deduced that for Marco it occurred because he was extremely frustrated that he couldn't go meet the other dogs and he would blow up like a toddler having a temper tantrum until he got his way and was allowed to play. This behaviour first appeared at 6 months (right around when adolescence kicks in) and I had solved the problem before he reached 8 months. It did take some work though. 


So now that you have a good idea of what barrier reactivity is you're probably wondering how you can solve it? Well it depends on WHY your dog is reacting. A good trainer can help you figure this one out. A dog that is overly excited is different than a dog that is fearful. Both dogs can demonstrate barrier reactivity. I would address the issues quite differently though. An over excited dog needs to learn impulse control (Marco had to wait to be quiet before I would let him out of the kennel to play so he learned quiet, calm behaviour got him what he wanted instead of growling). A scared dog (like Heidi) needed a confidence boosting program to help her learn to trust not only me but understand that people passing by aren't going to hurt her. 


The good news is that barrier reactivity is one of those issues that can be resolved within a fairly reasonable amount of time and improve the dog's (and owner's) quality of life fairly significantly. 


Where's Your Sit? offers 2 fun group classes that can help both hyper, excited dogs as well as fearful dogs. Check out our Hyper Dog Program or our Confidence Booster Program to help your pup today. We also offer private, in home training that can address this issue. 

Tips for a Successful Halloween

Halloween is a stressful time for some dog families. If your pooch gets wild every time the doorbell rings then Halloween can really be a nightmare. Here's a few tips to settle down fido. 

#1 - Take your pup out for a lengthy walk before the Trick or Treaters start their night. This will allow your dog to burn some energy beforehand and hopefully lower his/her arousal level. 

#2 - Secure your dog in an area of the house that is away from the door. This will keep the kids and your dog safe. No one wants your pup to accidently end up on the loose! 

#3 - A member of the household should hang out with the dog during the evening and reward all calm behaviour. If your dog is offering a sit or a down then give him/her a treat. Wait for your pooch to repeat the calm behaviour and pay again! Before long your pup might learn that doorbell = lie down. Wouldn't that be great? 

#4 - For dogs with anxiety a spray of Rescue Remedy or DAP might be the answer before the kids start to show up. A thunder shirt can also be useful. 

#5 - Worse case scenerio turn your lights off and spend your evening playing with your pooch. 

Good luck everyone! 

Why Does My Dog Go Crazy On Leash?

Increasingly pet owners are complaining about dogs that seem to go crazy on leash when they see other dogs, people or wildlife but are fine off leash. So what's going on?


Dogs are inherently social creatures and like to investigate their world. When off leash they can determine how to approach (distance, speed, posture, if to approach at all, etc) but we add a leash to the situation and suddenly the dog has no choices at all. Add in the fact that very few humans that are aware of dog body language and social behaviour and there's disaster. Scared dogs learn that they are forced to interact with unknowns in their environment in an unpleasant way. Hyper/friendly dogs learn that they can't get access to exciting stimuli and become frustrated. 

And then leash reactivity happens. That's the behaviour where a dog is at the end of his/her leash barking/lunging/growling, etc or running around in circles with the same results. Most of the time the owners are really embarrassed and don't know what to do. 


This is definitely the time to call in a positive reinforcement trainer to help you come up with a plan. Fearful dogs will need different protocols than hyper/friendly dogs. A good dog trainer can spot the difference where most people can't. Sometimes a very scared dog looks hyper or aggressive. You won't get anywhere if you can't tell the difference. 

Many training academies will offer special classes for dogs with these issues but I highly recommend you start with private one on one training. A lot of the work can start right in the home. 


My own Miniature Schnauzer Heidi came to me as a fearful reactive dog. She would bark and have a fit at anything that moved (people, dogs, cats, birds, bikes, skateboards, leaves, etc). You wouldn't know it today. We worked slowly on desensitizing her to each environmental fear (and I mean slowly as it took well over a year) and at the same time participated in confidence building activities and fine tuned her obedience skills. Heidi now helps me work with other fearful reactive dogs as she can be a relaxing prescence. That's success! Help is out there and the longer you wait the worse it tends to get. 

Separation Anxiety & Why It's So Hard To Fix

Separation Anxiety is a term used to describe a condition where a dog becomes emotionally distraught when separated from a specific person or persons, or when he/she is left alone (1). This can be mild, moderate or so severe that a dog self injures. I've personally lived with two dogs who had severe separation anxiety and I can't even begin to describe the heart ache that it causes the family and the dog.

Prevention is always the best medicine when it comes to behaviour problems. Some simple steps to keep in mind are not making a big deal out of your coming and going from the home. Your dog shouldn't think that this is a big deal but simply a matter of course on a daily basis. Leave your dog something to do like an interactive toy to play with (stuffed Kong, Tricky Treat Ball or Buster Cube). And exercise your dog before a prolonged period of time away.

A great read on preventing separation anxiety is I'll Be Home Soon by Patricia McConnell. You can order this book from Dogwise Publishing. It has steps for treating separation anxiety as well and can be useful to those of you dealing with the mild form of this issue.

Dogs suffering from moderate to severe anxiety will present with house soiling, uncontrollable barking/howling, destructive behaviour,  drooling, panting, pacing, self injuring, etc. It is important to get advice from a professional about whether your dog has separation anxiety or is merely bored when left alone. This behaviour issue is often misdiagnosed by owners when a dog destroys objects in the house or amuses himself/herself by barking. A video camera or web camera can help show the true story about what goes on when you're away.

If you are experiencing separation anxiety then it's important to contact an Animal Behaviourist (if possible) or a Dog Trainer with experience resolving this issue. You will also need to consult your Veterinarian as dogs suffering from this issue often need medication while behaviour modification is taking place.

A newly released book by Certified Pet Dog Trainer Nicole Wilde called Don't Leave Me! is a great resource for dog owners who are struggling with this issue. It is also available through Dogwise Publishing. This book outlines how to create a custom plan for your dog and put it in action.

Sadly separation anxiety isn't always curable so plans should be made for petsitters, dog daycare and friends/family who can help. It can take months to years to get your dog to a healthy state even with assistance from a professional. Dogs with this issue need to slowly be desensitized to being alone which takes a large commitment from the owner. Don't be disheartened as many dogs do improve with positive reinforcement, love and patience.

Please be aware that adding another dog to the home often does not help with this issue. Sometimes the anxiety can even be passed over to the new dog.

Some great products that can help with separation anxiety include:
- Through A Dog's Ear CD
- Thunder Shirt
- Interactive Toys such as Kong, Tricky Treat Ball & Buster Cube
- Dog Appeasement Pheromone Collar or Spray (Available from your Veterinarian)

Resources:
1. Wilde, Nicole. Don't Leave Me: Step by Step Help For Your Dog's Separation Anxiety. Phantom Publishing, 2010.

How To Use Your "Leave It" Cue

So many dog owners are now choosing to attend a basic dog training class. They learn skills like sit, down, stay, heel, leave it and recall. Or at least they sort of learn these skills depending on how much they practice. What I have noticed is that even though dogs and their families are learning these cues they aren't sure how or when to use them. 

Let's discuss the important Leave It or Mine cue. This means that you've asked your dog to not touch and back off an object such as a treat, toy or person. Many dogs get really good at this as a party trick. I can easily line up treats on my dogs' legs as they look away waiting for a chance to earn one. However Leave It as many real world applications that could help you out. 

Here's some examples:

Situation #1
I'm walking my dog down the street and we have to pass another owner and dog. My dog starts to get excited, pull and even bark! I can ask my dog to leave it, focus on me and then heel on or leave it, focus on me and do a sit stay as they pass. So much better than yelling at my dog, yanking on the leash or allowing him to pull me over. 

Situation #2
I'm cooking some hamburgers for dinner and one falls off the plate! All four of my dogs do a mad scramble to grab these delectable entry. A good leave it means they all back off and I get my burger back.

Situation #3
My young puppy has grabbed a boot and is playing keep away. He thinks he's being so cute with it. I know that if I chase him he'll never give it up. So instead I ask him to leave it and then call him to me. The boot is left behind, forgotten until I put it away where he can't get it. 

Situation #4
I'm at the dog park and of course one of my dogs finds a dead duck sitting near the river. Well I definitely don't want to grab that out of his mouth nor do I want one of my other dogs to dart in and start a tug of war. I ask them to leave it and the finder dog promptly drops the duck and all dogs follow me away from it. I didn't even get my hands dirty and no one ate it. 

Situation #5
It's winter and one of the dogs is in the yard eating poop... yes it happens and the jury is still out why they do it. I don't care why right now; I want him to stop it. So I open the door yell out leave it and he drops the yucky stuff. 

And there's more you can do with leave it! It's one handy cue word. Leave it can be applied to anything you don't want your dogs to have (objects, people, dogs, garbage, rocks, etc). It can also stop dog fights in the home... for example if one of your dogs is guarding a toy or bone and it is about to trigger a battle. I can easily claim the object by saying leave it and removing it. It saves a lot of trouble! 

Remember that if you have a dog that guards things like bones, food or toys you will need to contact a professional trainer or behaviourist to help you. It's very important to understand dog body language when dealing a potentially threatened pet. We don't want to push our dogs to guard or bite us. There's many ways to use desensitization to change that situation around over time. 

Contact Where's Your Sit if you want more information on leave it or resource guarding issues. We would be more than happy to help!

Visitors & Dogs

The holidays mean that for many of us company will be coming over. For those of us with dogs this can be extremely difficult and frustrating! Every the bell rings the dog becomes more and more excited, jumps all over friends and family and just generally embarrasses you. 

Here's a few ideas for welcoming company and showing off your polite pooch:

1. Teach your dog to go to his/her kennel or bed when the bell rings. A kennel works very well because you can shut the dog inside until he/she has calmed down and guests have gotten settled in. Always reward with a treat when you dog goes to his/her "place". This gives your dog a job to do when this exciting event of company occurs. Make sure to practice A LOT when no one is actually at the door by ringing the bell yourself. 

2. Teach your dog how to settle. Begin by keeping your dog on leash near you when company is over. Whenever your dog lies down reward with a treat. Before long your pooch will have learned to chill out and handle the room full of friends and family. 

3. Teach your dog to sit when greeting people. Practice with several good friends and family members. Ask your dog for a sit/stay and have a person approach. Reward your dog for holding his/her sit. If she/he gets up then have the person back up and start over. Make this a rule for whenever your dog is greeting anyone (yourself, family, kids, strangers, etc). 

Remember our dogs want to be part of the fun but sometimes it is best if they stay in their own room or kennel when lots of people are over to celebrate. Dogs with fear or high arousal should be kept separately for their own well being. If in doubt contact a positive reinforcement trainer in your area. 
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Where's Your Sit is currently offering a Holiday Manners training program to help your dog learn the skills described above. Visit www.wheresyoursit.com for more information.