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. 

Dog Training & Punishment

For some reason many people would rather "correct" or punish behaviour rather than simply teach an alternative. This was the way dogs were trained over 20 years ago but a lot has changed! So when is punishment approrpriate and what kind of punishment should be used? 

It's important to note that dogs have the mental capacity of an 18 month old child (all dogs) and they do not do things out of spite. They live in the moment and generally follow their instincts. A dog pees on the carpet because in that particular moment it feels good. Later on he might "look" guilty but that would be the dog offering appeasement gestures because he may have learned that when you come home then he gets in trouble. The association between house soiling and your anger is not made. 

There are times when punishment is appropriate. I highly recommend using something called "negative punishment" in dog trainer lingo. The negative stands for taking something away rather than "positive punishment" which means to do something to the dog. 

Negative punishment works by taking away what your dog wants. Here's a few examples:

#1 - your dog jumps on you then you walk away from him (taking yourself away is a form of punishment because your dog wants you).

#2 - your dog nips your child's hand while excited so you remove him from the room and give him a "time out". In this case you are removing social interaction.

#3 - as you approach the dog park your pooch goes crazy in the car. You respond by either waiting in the car and ignoring him until he settles OR driving away. Your dog learns that barking/lunging does not get him access to the park.

When training dogs my motto has always been teach them what you actually want them to do. Therefore if my dog was jumping on me then I would teach him to sit for attention/petting and use negative punishment if I needed to. The combination of teaching them what you want and taking away what they want can ensure great results and a happy, well balanced dog.
 

If your dog is having trouble learning what you want then you should contact a positive reinforcement trainer in your area for assistance. Some dogs have a hard time learning certain skills or just don't understand. 

So the next time your dog is doing something wrong ask yourself these questions:

Why is my dog doing this? (And don't answer because he's stubborn)

What do I want my dog to do instead? 

What can I take away if he doesn't offer the right behaviour? 

Please contact Where's Your Sit if you have questions about training. Remember to use a force free approach and put your creative thinking cap on to problem solve! 

Sweet Dog looking for her Forever Home

 One of my friends has been fostering a very sweet dog for a long time now. I'm hoping to help find her a home. Sadly black dogs are often overlooked when people consider adoption so please give "Dingo" a chance.

The Dingo.

Roughly 3-3.5yrs old.

Around 65lbs, lean but tall.

Up to date on shots. Spayed.

Housetrained. Crate trained, and really loves it.

Good with kids, prefers non-toddlers, though she did alright with a few she has met.

Great with other dogs, I would prefer a home with another dog for her.

Ok with dog-savy cats, took time to warm up to my cats.. but my cats already LOVE dogs (NOT tolerate dogs) and they eventually won her over with affection. Not sure how she would be around "catty" cats LOL!

Sheds twice a year really well for a couple weeks, but rest of the year she hardly sheds anything, lower shed than any of my smooth coated dogs, I loved it!

Is really good for grooming. Brushing. Furminating. Nail Trim. Ear clean. Teeth clean.

Very calm in the house. Gentle and occasionally still timid personality. Does like to get goofy though and wrestle on occasion. Likes to snuggle and get belly rubs. "Roos" when she gets excited.

Almost has a greyhound type mellow disposition, yet ALWAYS attentive and vigilante.

Many guesses to her breed. Had several people including a competitive dog sport breeder tell me she has Dutch Shepherd in her. This woman bred and competed with Dutch Shepherds and
wouldn't leave me alone about it. We don't know for sure though, we just call her The Dingo!

She has been with me over a year. Was a very very scared girl when I got her. Would hide under furniture at new noises or people. However always LOVED interacting with other dogs. Living with a posse of boisterous pits has done her good! Was at PetExpo end of March this year and LOVED all the people and commotion probably more than me truthfully. She tried out a treadmill, met countless people and dogs, and at the end of the day was still soliciting affection from strangers! Excellent!

This dog is doing really well and its time for her to find her forever home so I have time to help new needy dogs!

Please message for more info on her, or to meet her!
pitbullhugger@hotmail.com

Raw Dog Food & Awesome Treats

My Adventure Dog class was asking me where I got my dried Lung and Tripe treats last night so I thought I would share. In Calgary we're lucky enough to have an awesome business called Back to Basics. I actually get almost all my dog food from them and a far amount of treats. They also carry raw food for cats. 

Check them out here: http://www.backtobasicsrawpetfood.com/ 

Fearful Dogs

I recently got back home from a seminar in Vancouver to see Nicole Wilde, CPDT-KA. Nicole is a very respected dog trainer with a background in wolves and wolf-dogs. Over two days we examined "Fearful Dogs" and "Creative Client Coaching". 

I wanted to share some of the information I learned about Fearful Dogs. Nicole also has a great book on this topic: Help For Your Fearful Dog. I highly recommend it for anyone who has a dog that needs help in this area.She has also written a book specifically on Separation Anxiety which is a must read for anyone dealing with that particular issue.

There are different types of fears: anxiety, fears and phobias. Anxiety is not dependent on a specific trigger or cause. My own Miniature Schnauzer has anxiety which makes her fears worse. A fear is a response to a specific trigger such as a dog who is scared of men. Phobias are a profound reaction (out of proportion) to an actual threat. Learned fears are the easiest to undo while anxiety and phobias are much more difficult. 

Root causes of fearful behaviour include genetics, lack of early socialization, abuse, traumatic experience, learned or associative fears and pain/illness. It's important to note that even if we can't pinpoint what might have caused the fear initially there's still help. 

When training your own dog you need to be aware of how he/she is feeling and responding. It's not uncommon for dogs in group classes to be displaying fearful/anxious behaviour and the owner misinterprets it as stubborn or aggressive. Many dogs who are fearful will actually shut down and just stop moving/offering any behaviour. If your dog is fearful or anxious then he/she will not be able to learn. I highly recommend private training or a fearful dog class for dogs with these issues. 

When Heidi first arrived in my life we spent 6 weeks in a group class where she hid under my chair the entire time. I decided to ride it out with her and offered her treats (which took until class #5 for her to accept). We eventually graduated with 0 new obedience skills but at least she would come out from under the chair. I opted to enroll her in agility after that and she did great with time, encouragement and positive reinforcement. I never force Heidi to do anything since that is more likely to increase her fearful behaviour. She was never being stubborn but was simply too fearful to work. Even to this day if we're at an agility trial or a new class if she gives me signals that she isn't feeling alright then we either head home or move to a quiet space to chill out.