Wabniaq LLC Professional Dog Training In Santa Fe, NM

 

 

 

My Dog Won’t Listen To Me!

Do you listen to your dog?

 

OK, so we don't really mean "listen." What we really mean is "follow instructions."

 

Does the dog understand what you are asking for? Is it capable of offering the desired behavior? Is that the most rewarding option from the dog's perspective?

 

In most cases, obedience training means the human presents an instruction and the dog complies. That’s one kind of relationship, and as a dog trainer it’s often the reason why I am called by new clients.

 

But what I want to invite you to consider is this; rather than the dog merely understanding and obeying us, what happens if we understand what the dog is trying to communicate to us? They have a lot they want to tell us, in fact, they are doing so all the time, if we can just understand them.

 

The more we understand our dogs, and the more they realize we understand them, the more they will want to communicate with us. It’s possible for a very different kind of relationship to emerge. And our dogs will continually surprise us with what they know about the world that we don't.

 

As a trainer and handler of trailing and detection dogs, once I learned this it became immediately apparent that the stupid end of the leash has the loop, not the snap.

 

Communication With Your Dog – Or Any Dog

Communication can take many forms; at the most basic level it could just be simple instruction, like an employer to an employee, or a drill sergeant to a recruit, in which case it’s reasonable to assume that if the instructions are followed then communication has happened. If we can communicate in a way that is consistent with how dogs perceive the world, and the dog has some reason to offer the behavior, then training becomes much easier, more pleasant, more fun for you and the dog, and more likely to succeed.

 

Dogs do not perceive the world the same way we do, but there is enough overlap in our experience of the world to make effective communication possible.  Because of functional limitations in their physiology and neurology, for reciprocal communication to happen it’s imperative that we meet them where they are to the best of our ability.

 

On my business card it says, “Life is good when your dog is good.” For most pet owners, “good” is largely addressed by basic obedience training, which is what we’ve been talking about so far. If you have a poorly behaved dog this can be a serious matter, and being able to correct the situation is not trivial.

 

 

Canine Communication Part One

The first step in effective communication with your dog is to recognize that all canine behavior is both expressive and communicative. Here are a few links to get started with:

 

https://centerforshelterdogs.tufts.edu/dog-behavior/dog-communication-and-body-language/

 

https://www.scanimalshelter.org/sites/default/files/Canine_Body_Language_ASPCA.pdf

 

https://blogslobbertraining.wordpress.com/2012/08/07/body-language-draft-3/

 

https://www.helpinghanddvm.com/Canine_Body_Language.pdf

 

 

 

Rewarding Your Dog

Sometimes (a lot of times) when people bring their dog for training it's because the dog is not doing what the human wants.

 

Does the dog understand the desired behavior? Is the dog able to produce the desired behavior? Can the dog associate the behavior with the command? Does the desired behavior earn a better reward than other options?

 

If you were offered a job that payed better, payed more often, had better working conditions, greater chances for success, and more interesting and meaningful work, wouldn't you take it? And what if you were paid in cash?

Or what if you were already a millionaire and somebody asked you to do something you didn't want to do, and they wanted to pay you a dollar?

 

Your dog is not that different. While dogs do not have cause and effect like humans, they have a remarkable ability to discern what goes with what. If every time they sit they get a piece of a hot dog, most dogs will spontaneously offer a "sit" after just a few repetitions. Notice the reward somes after the behavior, though. This is important.

 

"Most dogs" is the point of this story. Most dogs will respond to food as a reward -- some dogs don't care about food that much, but will do anything for a ball or a tug toy, some don't care much about food or play but live for affection. So it is important to figure out what your dog finds rewarding; this isn't about what you like or what you think the dog should like, it's about what the dog likes.

 

And some dogs with behavior problems don't respond to much of anything. More often than not these are the dogs that are free-fed, walked on a retractable leash, sleep on the owner's bed, receive affection randomly and often, do not receive effective corrections, are soothed and coddled when they display anxious or fearful behavior, and they are "distracted" with treats and attention when their behavior becomes unmanageable.

 

Let's translate that -- "I eat whenever I want, I walk, run, or jump wherever I want, I sleep wherever I want, preferably in the highest-status place, I have no connection to anyone in particular, I receive praise just for existing, I am not required to control my own emotional state, there is no connection between my behavior and outcomes except when I act afraid, and I am rewarded especially well when I behave in an outrageous manner."

 

The first step in humane training is to have a dog that is trainable, that is, a dog who is capable of learning and wants something, so that you can teach the behavior and exhange primary rewards (things that the dog wants) for behaviors that you want. In addition to figuring out what your particular dog finds rewarding, it is important that your dog understands that it isn't free, they have to work for it.

 

To the canine mind, this exchange is the beginning of reciprocity, trust, safety, and partnership.

 

Catch Your Dog Doing Something Right

Dogs do not have any understanding of cause and effect that correlates to a human understanding of the idea. But they do have a remarkable ability to associate a consequence with an antecedent condition if the consequence happens within 1.5 seconds of the antecedent. We're going to come back to this idea many times, it is that important. 

 

If you learn how to "mark" the behavior (which will be a focus of our training together) the reward can come later; this is not a technique that I would try to teach in a blog, I just want to acknowledge that the possibility exists.

 

Behavior that is rewarded is reinforced and more likely to occur again.

 

Catch your dog doing something right. If the dog is alive and not under anaesthesia, it is offering a behavior. Reward the desirable behaviors.

 

Bribing Your Dog

With a certain amount of levity I have elsewhere suggested that we don’t bribe dogs for the same reason we don’t bribe people – because then they own you. On a more serious note, bribing a dog as a management technique can have genuinely terrible consequences.

 

Even if you aren’t training, your dog is always learning. That’s what they do. So it is important to understand how dogs learn, which is quite different in some key regards from how humans learn. Humans are capable of sophisticated reasoning about abstract cause and effect. Dogs are not. Dogs do not think about what causes what, they connect a behavior, an event, or the appearance of an environmental contrast to what happens next. The simplest way to think about this is to recognize that if a consequence happens more than 1.5 to 2 seconds after an event, most dogs have a great deal of difficulty connecting the two. If the consequence happens within 1.5 seconds or less, most dogs can connect it with the antecedent condition. There are two important implications here.

 

The first is that to be an effective trainer, your timing has to be good. The second, and the point of this discussion, is that even if the events are not related in any way whatsoever that you can make sense of, the dog will connect them.

I regularly encounter clients who have used food treats or toys to “distract” a dog from undesirable behavior. By the time they come to me, the dog is often experiencing a stress-related disorder, some of them are on a pharmaceutical management program, and most have aggression problems. Untreated, these dogs all too often end up taking a one-way trip to the vet. We call it “euthanasia” but it isn’t – it’s a relationship failure that costs the dog his or her life.

 

Think about it from the dog’s perspective. To the dog, all behaviors carry the same relative value, that is, “neutral,” until the behavior generates a particular consequence in a particular context. If the behavior produces a result the dog finds rewarding, it is likely to be repeated. If the behavior produces a result the dog finds sufficiently aversive, it is less likely to be repeated – if the dog can connect the behavior to the outcome.

 

So imagine what the dog is thinking; “Every time I (threaten the neighbor, chase the cat, fill in the blank) it makes a cookie happen.” The dog will quickly and reasonably learn that this behavior pays, will continue to offer similar behaviors, and the frequency and intensity will increase over time. At least until the owner takes the dog to the vet because it is uncontrollable / crazy / violently aggressive or some permutation thereof.

 

Yes, by bribing your dog, or “distracting” your dog in this manner, you are jeopordizing your dog's well-being. Don’t do it.

 

We Grew Up Together

Dogs and humans have evolved together for at least 28,000 years. While dogs don't understand human language, they can instinctively discern much about humans (including our emotional state and intent) from our voice, our touch, and our body language or posture and movement. They can associate sounds or movements with behaviors, and they can use those behaviors to earn rewards and be in relationship with us.

 

Dogs are highly social, and with a few notable exceptions, they typically use innate behavior --- essentially a genetically endowed set of rituals -- to communicate politely and show good manners and respect. For example, properly socialized dogs do not approach one another directly, rather they approach in a "C" shape path, they avert their gaze, they use posture and body language to communicate intent, they use timing, affiliation and appeasement gestures, and of course smell to introduce themselves. Play is also ritualized, with a little practice it is easy to tell when dogs are being playful or serious.


 

Dogs Can’t Learn Our Language So We Have To Learn Theirs

Effective and humane training is based upon clear communication, and because the dog can't understand human language, we have to do our best to communicate in a way that the dog can understand. Our tools for this are voice, touch, and body language (primarily posture and proximity).

 

Recognizing that dogs don’t experience the world the same way as humans is essential to relationship-based training. While there are significant similarities between dogs and humans in the function of the nervous system, there are some important differences in the way that dogs prioritize and interpret sensory input. They do not decode signals the way humans do, and they do not understand time like humans do.

 

The primary means of obtaining information for a dog is olfactory; it is obvious that their ability to detect scent is far superior to humans, how much better is a matter of continual amazement for anyone who runs search dogs. We know for sure that dogs can discriminate certain odors in parts per trillion, and there is still plenty of research to be done. What is important for this discussion is that we always give a dog time to asses its surroundings on this basis.

 

Voice seems to be the default preference for most humans, usually words, which are the most difficult for dogs to decode. Your dog does not understand English or any of the other roughly 6,500 uniquely human languages still in use. While your dog can associate behaviors with sounds and may even enjoy that game, they will never conjugate a verb. The meaning of words is not immediately clear to a dog until they associate the sound with a behavior. But tone, frequency, pitch, volume, are all readily discernible by a dog.

 

Beginning students often complain. “My dog is not listening to me!” Your dog is listening just fine, she definitely heard you; she can hear a potato chip hitting the carpet in the next room. Dogs can hear to 40KHz at sound pressures that to us are incomprehensibly low, and they can discriminate meaningful sounds from background noise in ways that seem incredible. It’s more likely that the dog doesn’t understand what you are asking for, isn’t able to do what you are asking for, has something else to do that is more interesting, is in a state of conflict, or doesn’t have any reason (from his perspective) to comply.

 

Do not nag your dog, do not repeat yourself, and do not give commands if the dog is in a position to ignore you. If you repeat yourself, the dog learns that your commands are not meaningful or obligatory. If the dog chooses to not comply and gets away with it, you have taught the dog to ignore you.

 

The Importance Of Touch And Body Language

Touch is more complex than initial appearance may suggest. Touch is expressive and communicative. Touch can be patting, stroking, repositioning, tapping, leaning, leash pressure, and more. Never forget that dogs have a sense of themselves, some more so than others. Not obtaining permission to handle before touching a dog can result in aversion or even a bite. The idea that we should be able to just walk up and touch any dog is as absurd as thinking we can just walk up and touch any human.

 

Body language is something that all good trainers and handlers are keenly aware of, because the dog is keenly aware of it as well. Unclear or confusing body language is prominent among the factors I see in pet owners’ difficulty with their dog. Body language includes posture, movement, proximity, speed of movement, integration of movement with intent, and more. For this reason, part of dog trainng in this regard often ends up being people training -- teaching people how to move so their dog can understand them.

 

Context, Trust, Rules, and Safety

Dogs learn in context. Until a dog learns to generalize, a change in context can be challenging for them. Just because a dog can perform a given behavior when you are in the kitchen, it doesn’t mean they know how to do it in the driveway.

 

Dogs cannot understand a world without rules, and despite appearances sometimes, they do better when they are not the ones making the rules. Dogs have no concept of equality, either you are making the rules or they are, either you have preferred access to resources or they do. Ideally, dogs look to us for leadership. The more confident, assertive, and clear you are; that is gentle, steady, firm, and strong, the better dogs will respond to you.

 

Dogs understand that they depend upon us, and they look to us to care for them, or advocate for them. We give them food, water, shelter, safety, veterinary care, grooming, teaching and training, and affection or love. In return, they do all of the cool things that dogs can do, like keep us company, protect or watch over us, find missing people, play, pull sleds, help us hunt for food, and more. When they are doing something for us and we in return are doing something for them, they are happier and healthier. Dogs are at their best when their relationship is reciprocal, and very little in life is free.

 

Contingency and Rewards

Dogs like to be paid for working, just like people. What each dog finds rewarding will vary; some dogs work for food, some for play, some for toys, some for affection. Some dogs don’t even care about that, and we have to figure out why they are unresponsive to primary rewards and what it is they do want.


Initially we start out by teaching the dog that nothing in life is free, we pay for every good repetition, later we change the reward schedule. Once dogs learn to earn rewards for desirable behavior it becomes a game. Remember that rewards are payment -- the reward comes after the behavior is completed. Do not ever bribe your dog.

 

When a dog understands a socially appropriate application of contingency as the ability to control outcomes through behavior, it tends to make a calmer, stronger, more emotionally stable dog, just like humans.

 

 

Canine Emotion Part One

Dogs are are capable of all of the same basic emotions as humans except for guilt and shame, which they are physiologically prevented from experiencing.

 

People often tell me, “The dog knew he did something wrong, he was looking guilty.” He wasn’t. The behaviors that look like “feeling guilty” were more likely what is called “appeasement.” This is a fairly complex and very important discussion in itself with a sound ethological and physiological basis that every pet owner should at least be aware of and accept if not fully understand.

 

Do not ever punish your dog for something that happened a minute ago or an hour ago.

 

 

What Breed Is Your Dog?

Dogs have been bred over time for specific purposes, so we have hundreds of breeds. All of these breeds are the result of emphasiziing or de-emphasizing innate traits of a common proto-canid ancestor.  While breed-specific characteristics are not determinative in a mechanistic sense, understanding how any particular genetic endowment influences temperament and personality is enormously helpful in understanding any particular dog. One example of this that shows up in an old dog trainer joke is, "Hello, I have this terrier that needs training . . ." Yes, we can train terriers, but it isn't anything like training a GSD or a Lab. Every dog is different, not only in breed but also in personality and life circumstances, and this should be taken into account in the training.

 

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/7-akc-dog-breed-groups-explained/

 

https://nutrisourcepetfoods.com/blog/pet-parents/what-are-the-7-major-dog-groups-your-dogs-core-traits-revealed/

 

With mixed-breed dogs the question of how genetic endowment influences temprement, personality, and behavior becomes even more complex. Sometimes genetic testing can be instructive:

 

https://embarkvet.com/


 

Anthropomorphism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism

 

From the ancient Chinese classic Chuang-tzu:

       

And have you not heard this?‐‐ Formerly a sea‐bird alighted in the suburban country of Lû. The marquis went out to meet it, (brought it) to the ancestral temple, and prepared to banquet it there. The Kiû‐shâo was performed to afford it music; an ox, a sheep, and a pig were killed to supply the food.
 
The bird, however, looked at everything with dim eyes, and was very sad. It did not venture to eat a single bit of flesh, nor to drink a single cupful; and in three days it died.
 
'The marquis was trying to nourish the bird with what he used for himself, and not with the nourishment proper for a bird. They who would nourish birds as they ought to be nourished should let them perch in the deep forests, or roam over sandy plains; float on the rivers and lakes; feed on the eels and small fish; wing their flight in regular order and then stop; and be free and at ease in their resting‐places. It was a distress to that bird to hear men speak; what did it care for all the noise and hubbub made about it? If the music of the Kiû‐shâo or the Hsien‐khih were performed in the wild of the Thung‐thing lake, birds would fly away, and beasts would run off when they heard it, and fishes would dive down to the bottom of the water; while men, when they hear it, would come all round together, and look on.
 
Fishes live and men die in the water. They are different in constitution, and therefore differ in their likes and dislikes. Hence it was that the ancient sages did not require (from all) the same ability, nor demand the same performances.

 

 

It's easy to think that because we as humans like or don't like something, our dog must feel the same way. This is not always the case, and sometimes applying human categories of understanding or experience to dogs can have undesirable consequences for everyone involved. One of the benefits of relationship-based trainnig is we learn how to advocate for our dogs in ways that make sense to the dog.

 

 

Bringing Your Shelter Dog Home

It's never good to anthropomorhize with a dog, but where I see the most serious and long-lasting damage is when the new human owners bring a dog home from the shelter, turn it loose, give it the run of the property, free-feed it, and set no rules,  assuming that the dog wants to "be free" or "just be a dog" i.e. because they would like it then the dog will like it.

 

That is not how dogs work.

 

Here are some very good -- albeit brief and somewhat superficial -- discussions of the subject:

 

https://www.localbark.com/bark-all-about-it/2015/01/5-common-mistakes-adopters-make-when-bringing-home-new-dog/


https://www.adoptapet.com/blog/top-tips-for-safely-bringing-home-a-rescue-or-shelter-dog/

 

https://www.cesarsway.com/bringing-your-new-dog-home/

 

Every point in all of these articles could be a conversation in itself. To start, please simply recognize that canine behavior is rule-governed, dogs thrive on structure, and they feel safer when they know where the boundaries are.

 

Establishing a nurturing, benevolent, and appropriate routine with appropriate rules and boundaries is one of the kindest things you can do for your new dog.

 

Make sure all family members are in agreement on how the dog is to be treated. Dogs thrive on this sort of consistenc. Inconsistency in the rules of the house can create anxiety troubles that can be hard to correct.

 

Right from the start, control all access to all resources. Democracy does not work for dogs.

 

It is likely that you will see different behavior at home than you did in the shelter, and it is likely that your dog will be somewhat disoriented for the first three days, more or less. The dog has no idea who you are or why it is there, and there are a real lot of new smells and sounds to process. Make sure the dog always has water, a comfortable place to rest, plenty of quiet time to rest, and ample opportunity to relieve itself outdoors, preferably on-leash.

 

Keep the dog's world small for the first three days. Being confined to one room is preferable for many dogs. Being crated next to their new human (like having a dog crate next to your chair in a home office, for example) can be particuarly helpful for dogs that have unusual difficulties. Allow the dog to become accustomed to your voice, your touch, your smell. Be patient, calm, clear, and consistent.

 

Notice I got through this discussion without using the word "rescue." I find it best to abandon the concept. Some of the worst behavior cases I encounter are dogs that belong to people who are hung up on the idea of having a "rescue dog."

 

Your dog doesn't care what happened last week or last year. Gently, firmly, consistently, lovingly, using meaningful rewards to reinforce deirable behavior, teach your dog how it goes in this house now.

 

 

Rescue Dogs

I get a lot of calls about “rescue” dogs with problem behaviors. I listen to stories about the dog’s history and why it acts this way, usually some previous trauma guessed at or known. But when I visit the dog in its new home, most often I find that the problem -- what's happening right now --  is that the dog doesn’t feel safe. The observable behavior is the dog’s response to its understanding of the current situation.

 

Without a doubt, your dog’s understanding of the world has been shaped by prior experience, but your dog isn’t ruminating over what happened to it last week, last month, or last year. Dogs don’t work that way. For the dog, it’s always “now,” and there is a lot of learning to be done in a new home. A new home is challenging for any dog; it needs time to become accustomed to the new smells, sounds, people, routines, and rules.

 

We’re going to assume that the human understands the necessity for food, water, adequate shelter, veterinary care, exercise, play, and plenty of rest. What may not be so immediately obvious is a dog’s need for structure and how the dog comes to understand acceptance into the new family.

 

A secure place in the new family does not happen by coddling, soothing, or reassuring a dog (this is a topic in itself) and it doesn’t happen by making excuses for the dog. Assuming that the basic needs are being met, the most reliable way to help a dog feel safe in a new home is to keep the dog’s world relatively small at first, do not give it free run of the house or the property, establish simple routines, and start basic obedience training immediately.

 

We refer to dogs as “pack” animals in the sense that they have evolved to live in a small group organized around collective survival. Your family is the dog’s pack now, even if it’s just you and the dog. To feel safe, your dog needs to feel accepted. Because dogs have no concept of equal, they do not understand that they have been accepted into a pack until they know where in the pack order they fit. In their mind, either they make the rules or you do, either they have preferred access to resources, or you do. We don’t want dogs making the rules, and we definitely do not want them enforcing their own rules.

 

Dogs feel safe when they:

  • understand boundaries in every sense of the word

  • understand the routines of their new home

  • have a place of their own which is not exposed (bed, crate, a “den” of some sort)

  • know the rules and are able to follow them

  • understand your communication

  • are able to communicate their needs to you

  • trust that you will meet those needs

  • understand what is acceptable and appropriate behavior

  • can use that behavior to control outcomes and get what they need

 

For the well-being of your dog, it is of the utmost importance that you are a firm, clear, fair, and benevolent leader, and that the dog is always subordinate to you. From the moment your dog comes into its new home, providing appropriate structure and gentle, patient, consistent discipline is the first step in helping your dog feel safe.

 

When your behavior makes sense to the dog and the outcome of your interactions are predictable, then the dog begins to have expectations of you. This can be as simple as feeding at the same time and in the same way every day. When you fulfill those expectations, the dog begins to trust you.

 

And what has to happen for you to trust the dog in return? For most people, this means that the dog behaves in a predictable, appropriate manner.

 

Along with providing the essentials, the best gift you can give your dog is obedience training.

 

 

Overweight Dogs

Obesity is a leading factor among many of the pet dogs that are brought to me with behavioral problems. And with almost equal regularity their humans express surprise and disbelief -- "My dog is overweight?"

 

If you touch your dog's ribcage gently with your fingertips and you cannot easily feel ribs, there's a pretty good chance your dog is overweight. If your dog does not have a visible waist viewed from above or a clear abdominal tuck viewed from the side, there's a pretty good chance your dog is overweight.

 

Is your dog not motivated by food? Read on, please.

 

http://www.ruralareavet.org/PDF/Physical_Exam-Body_Condition_Score.pdf

 

https://www.purina.co.uk/dogs/health-and-nutrition/exercise-and-weight-management/assessing-your-dogs-body-condition

 

https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/is-your-dog-fit-or-fat-learn-how-to-body-condition-score-him/

 

https://www.purinaone.co.nz/body-condition-dogs/

 

 

If your dog is overweight, what can you do about it? First of all, educate yourself, and talk with your veterinarian. Pay very careful attention to quality of nutrition. Do not simply cut back drastically on the amount you are feeding your dog because sudden weight loss can be dangerous. Here are some resources for healthy weight loss:

 

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-feeding-tips/dog-lose-weight/

 

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/obesity-in-dogs

 

https://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/evr_multi_long_term_effects_of_obesity_on_pets

 

Dogs are evolved as opportunistic omnivores, as such, it is far better for them (and you) if they are a little bit hungry all the time rather than satiated all the time. While none of the websites linked above specifically address the behavioral component, in my experience if there is a problem with obesity that is not the result of an underlying illness or pathology, then there is also, more often than not, room for improvement in the relationship. 

 

Food is often (not always) useful as a primary reward in training, and providing the best possible qualityof  food makes a difference. A way to show love for your dog is to not allow him or her to become obese.

 

If he or she is overweight you can start doing something about that today.

 

 

Canine Discipline and Training

“Discipline” is a scary word for some people. Given the experience some of us had with public education, and in the workplace, this is not surprising. In those cases, it’s likely that “discipline” meant something a lot like “punishment” but that’s not what we’re talking about here. In this case, it’s about being able to exercise a sufficient amount of control to produce socially appropriate and desirable behaviors. One of the immediately apparent implications is that discipline is a given -– the only choice we have is whether it is self-imposed or externally imposed.

 

This is natural – for example, puppies do not come into the world knowing how to regulate bite pressure during play. But they learn from their litter mates and their mother, and soon they can successfully decide for themselves, which is far more satisfactory. Brief reflection readily suggests additional examples both for our dogs and for us. Self-control is clearly an essential learned behavior.  The more a dog is able to regulate its own behavior and affective state, the less we humans have to do it. 

 

Training may not carry quite the same pejorative connotations, but a lot of dog owners seem to think that the need for training only applies to other peoples’ dog, or that their own dog is supposed to (somehow) just know how to act right. Or that the rude, unsociable, and sometimes dangerous behavior we see is OK because the dog is “just being a dog” or “just doing his job.” (Please see blog post below,  "He's Just Doing His Job!")

 

Dogs do not have “good and bad” or “right and wrong,” they merely have “works” and “didn’t work.” If a dog offers a behavior and gets a result that is in any way preferable to the previously existing state of affairs, then it worked. Unfortunately for everyone, what can be rewarding to a dog can be troublesome for humans.

 

I get calls from distraught owners telling me that their dog is crazy, or dangerous, or both. Most often the dog is not crazy, but it is certainly driving the owner in that direction. Regularly I find that the root of the problem is a lack of training – nobody ever taught the dog what to do before it started being punished in an effort to teach it what not to do. It’s understandable why the result looks “crazy.”

 

In this approach to training there is an emphasis on teaching a dog what to do before we teach it what not to do. In this way the dog can learn to offer desirable behaviors, earn rewards, avoid corrections or punishment, and win the game. For the dog, it’s all a game and one behavior could be as good as another until it learns otherwise. Once the dog learns how to make decisions and use her own behavior to influence outcomes, we regularly see a calmer, happier, and healthier dog. The stress level decreases (for everyone incidentally), confidence increases, and the more a dog learns, the more it is able to learn.

 

Training is a chance to be with your dog, to do something fun together, to enjoy life together. Teaching appropriate self discipline as part of the training is a kind and humane activity you can do for your dog and for yourself. 

 

It certainly can be work, but for the dog, this is just more play. 

 

 

How To Create A Monster

Some of the most serious problems arise when a dog owner fails to provide structure, boundaries, and effective correction in a timely manner. Because dogs have evolved as opportunistic omnivores, they are naturally inclined toward goal-directed, purposeful, self-initiated behavior. And because of the way their brain functions, they do not have “right / wrong” or “good / bad” as we understand it; all they have is “works” and “doesn’t work.” That is, did the behavior get them something they want? If it did, then it works. Dogs are able to withstand a fair amount of discomfort to get what they want, and they can learn to withstand increasing levels of discomfort if the reward is there.

 

If a dog engages in an undesirable behavior that is self-rewarding (chasing, biting, stealing food) and the reward is worth the punishment, or if the dog is unable to associate the punishment with the behavior, then the behavior worked. It’s easy to see how an owner can start out trying to be “nice” or “gentle” and quickly become increasingly frustrated, with the severity of the reprimand increasing proportionally but never quite enough to make an impression. Unfortunately, what the dog is learning is that it can ignore the owner, and if it persists, it can get the reward. In fairly short order the dog will have developed a tremendous pain threshold and an equally strong will.

 

It’s much better to address the behavior decisively the first time.

 

Retractable Leashes

While retractabe leashes are sometimes used for specific purposes by highly skilled handlers, the use of a retractable leash is highly inadvisable for pet owners.

 

https://humanesocietyhbg.org/2020/12/01/the-problem-with-retractable-leashes/

 

Please take the following article seriously (credits below):

 

Retractable Dog Leashes: Know the Risks

 

Retractable dog leashes are a popular tool among dog-owners. These leashes are thin cords that extend from and retract into a plastic handle. They may seem like a great idea because you can give your dog some leeway or reign her back in depending on the situation. The truth is that using retractable leashes for your dog is not a good idea. The dangers of these devices are caused by three of their main characteristics:


-The leash is a thin cord.
-The cord is attached to a spring-loaded mechanism in the handle.
-The leash extends up to thirty feet.

The possible negative circumstances that can occur as a result of these three retractable leash characteristics are:
Retractable leashes extend too far. Some of them can reach up to 30 feet in length. Because the leash is so long, your dog will have an option to run into situations or places that can result in serious injury or death for her or other dogs and people. These include:
-Running into a street.
-Charging up to people or other dogs uninvited.
-Darting in front of bicyclists or roller-bladers.

Getting tangled up in a long retractable leash is a real danger for dogs and people alike. Dogs can easily run around obstacles, getting the leash tangled, and you and dog can both become caught up in it. This creates a danger of falling or being injured by the leash itself, which is a thin cord and can cause damage to legs, hands, and other body parts that become wrapped up in it.


If you are walking your dog in a populated area on an extended retractable leash, the cord could easily entangle or trip other passers-by.

 

Retractable leashes have handles that are large and unwieldy. They are hard to handle and easy to drop. A dropped leash handle can result in a loose dog or more entanglement dangers.

 

Dogs that are timid are usually quite startled when a retractable leash handle is dropped, as it is quite loud. If this happens and the dog jumps or runs, the handle follows along, scraping, bumping, and making more noises. The poor, timid dog may be so traumatized by this that she becomes afraid of going for walks.

 

If you are walking your dog on a hard surface and accidentally drop the handle, the noise and sudden retraction may scare even a non-timid dog, causing her to run away from you.

 

Because retractable leashes are thin cords, if a person grabs the leash itself to try and pull the dog back in, severe injuries can result. These have included cord burns, lacerations, and even finger amputations.

 

It is much more difficult for a person to control the weight of a dog that is so far in front of them than one that is close. Your dog may reach the end of the leash and keep running full-speed. When a large dog is involved, this can easily result in you being pulled off of your feet and dragged. The injuries resulting from such an incident can include soreness, bruises, scrapes, and broken bones.


Dogs can be injured by retractable leashes, too. When dogs are running and hit the end of the leash, they can be jerked back suddenly. This can result in severe neck, throat, or spine injuries.

 

Large dogs that run full-speed and hit the end of the leash can sometimes break the thin cord, resulting in escape. You may also be injured by the snapping cord in this scenario.


Because of the tension on a retractable leash from the spring-loaded mechanism inside, if the dog's collar or the metal clasp breaks when the dog is close to you, you could be seriously injured from the leash flying back into your face.

 

If you have a very obedient, well-mannered dog, using a retractable leash in a wide-open, uninhabited space so she can have a little room to explore may be safe. However, the majority of the time, retractable leashes are dangerous for dogs, their owners, and nearby pets and people.

 

from https://www.facebook.com/DogLikeaWeapon/posts/1746087162159539

3/21/19

Credit: DogLikeAWeapon

 

 

He’s Just Doing His Job!

I’m not sure how many times I’ve heard an owner attempt to excuse bad behavior with that line. Who wrote this job description? Are you saying that it’s your dog’s job to act in an indiscriminately aggressive manner without provocation? That you want your dog to threaten – or even bite – innocent passers-by, children, old people, guests in your home, and the guy you called to repair the leaking faucet?

 

Is this your expectation for your dog’s behavior? Or are you simply restating the obvious – that without appropriate training, leadership, and advocacy, your dog is is free to make behavioral choices that could jeopardize his own well-being and the safety of innocent people? Do you think animal control will find the argument persuasive? How about your insurance carrier? Or the parents of the kid that your dog just bit for no good reason?

 

One of the most humane and loving  things you can do for your dog, right up there with food, water, and shelter, is effective training and socialization.

 

 

Appropriate Social Structure

Dogs are at once surprisingly complex and simple; they live in a rich world, but if we satisfy some basic needs they tend to do quite well. Dogs are social creatures, and right after food, water, and shelter, their social life is crucially important. Many of the behavior problems I see are the result of inappropriate social structure. Dogs understand fairness and reciprocity, but I have seen no indication that dogs understand the concept of equality. Conflation of the terms is a mistake that can cause distress for the dog.

 

Fairness and reciprocity are about the dynamics of the relationship; “I do something for you, you do something for me.” If you stop paying a dog, she will stop working – same as humans. If your behavior is not somehow predictably connected to the dog’s behavior, the dog will lose interest – same as humans. But just because we are in a fair and reciprocal relationship it does not follow that we occupy the same status. Equality is a uniquely human construct; it is not about the dynamics of the relationship, rather a state of existence or being for which dogs have no mental category. In the dog’s mind, she is either bigger than you or smaller than you, has priority over you in access to resources, or you have priority over her. You are leading and making the rules or she is. Dogs do not have the ability to comprehend otherwise.

 

In the ads for the cruise lines or the beach vacations it looks like there is always plenty to eat, few if any rules, we’re all at least hypothetically able to do as we please even if that means doing nothing, and we still get whatever we want.  At least that is the idea. While this is appealing to some humans, to suppose that a dog is happy if she gets anything she wants, whenever she wants it – for doing nothing – is an example of anthropomorphism, that is, ascribing human characteristics, emotions, intentions, or beliefs to a non-human entity. When pet owners anthropomorphize to justify their lack of relationship with the dog they engage in a logical fallacy that is at the root of many behavior problems.

 

The one I hear most often is, “He likes being free!” but there are endless variations in which the human assumes because that is what they would prefer, it is what the dog would prefer. This usually results in an exceedingly anxious dog making the rules for an equally miserable human. The problem with a dog making the rules is that their capacity for abstract thinking is limited, for them it is always now so the rules are constantly changing according to circumstance, you won’t necessarily understand or agree with the rules the dog is making, and at some point the dog will attempt to enforce the rules. This can and all too often does end in tragedy.

 

Among non-specialists, the language of dominance and submission carries connotations that occasionally elicit an unproductive reaction.  If instead we think in terms of leadership and subordination, we lose the uniquely human emotional baggage and the concept becomes more clear.  Anyone who has ever experienced good leadership intuitively recognizes the social benefit; experience suggests the inverse holds. 

To feel safe a dog needs to be able to recognize and understand boundaries, not only spatial, but also relational. Your dog does not want to be in control of the relationship anymore than a pre-verbal toddler wants to be. I regularly get calls from people who cannot stand living with their “out of control” dog anymore, and just as often watch the smiles of amazement and disbelief when the dog is taking direction in a calm manner with no coercion whatsoever in one session. This doesn’t happen every time, but it happens often enough that we have to ask what is going on.

 

So what is happening when the dog goes from anxious / fearful / aggressive / frantic / disobedient to calm / composed / subordinate / affable / compliant in one session? Very simply, the dog feels safe. Your dog needs you to make rules that are fair and consistent. Your dog needs to know how to follow those rules, using her own behavior to achieve a predictable outcome. Your dog needs you to be her advocate and leader. Your dog needs to know that she can trust you and that you will take care of her.