Lack of puppy socialization and training is still the #1 cause of behavioral issues and behavioral issues remain a leading cause of death in dogs. No illness will ever hold a candle to this in young dogs. You cannot keep a puppy at home 24/7 throughout their socialization window and expect them to develop normally. You will have lifelong repercussions from this. This is not ok to do to dogs knowingly.
Rocky Mountain Dog Training is about as safe as you can get for socialization and training. If you go the DIY approach, you will need to go many, many places to achieve the outcome we can in house. More places, more risk.
We cannot get to zero risk. There is no such thing on this planet, but we have always and will always strive to keep our environment as safe as humanly possible and provide an environment where benefit will always greatly exceed risk.
For more information, please check out this comprehensive article from the vet community: https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2023/11/articles/animals/dogs/a-dog-owners-guide-to-navigating-respiratory-disease-concerns/?fbclid=IwAR0Un5O-jd_eXVDWLag44IPx_Idb4yC3FtVfCwXvJ0CrpncV_TsDXltYB4o
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
]]>Julie Parker (CTC, CPDT-KA, FDM)
Owner, Trainer, Behavior Consultant of Rocky Mountain Dog Training
There exists on the interwebs a 10hr video of paint drying. You may not have seen it in its entirety. It's ok. Stick with me. The video is available on YouTube exclusively. You won't find it on any social media sites because they limit videos to 59 seconds. At least for business accounts. That's about the max time consumers will spend watching anything on their feed.
If we post dog training videos, the length of attention we can hold is more like 14 seconds if it's unedited footage but I've learned I can maintain longer focus through a number of editing tricks involving moving parts on the screen that keep the viewer's gaze. Sometimes that helps keep you captivated for the full duration. Mostly though, the shorter the better visibility-wise. At least on social media platforms.
Unless… Unless! The # of clicks is prioritized over the dog's wellbeing. Then you can skip over all that pesky and time-consuming editing because your footage is action packed excitement!!!!!!!! Sigh.
Sadly, the latter is what most well-intentioned dog lovers think quality training is, but quality training is on par with watching paint dry. It's not flashy. It's not action packed. Unless you're a behavior geek, it's an utter snoozefest.
If these both were captioned, "Watch me fix this dangerous dog's behavior" you'd certainly be more enticed by the dog's flashy displays of teeth than that little dude calmly watching but the calm dog is what a trainer should be striving for. At all times. We never want to see the face on the left.
What are these "ReD zOne DoGs" that content-driven trainers work with? This is just a flashy label used to describe upset dogs created with the intent to draw in your clicks. It's marketing lingo. Most of us in the field just recognize them as dogs that are afflicted with a disregulated nervous system. The flashiness comes when the content-driven trainer puts their ineptitude on display for the world to see.
("Even though I charge money for my services and claim to be a professional, I'm so clueless about dogs that I'm sticking my hands in this one's face which I may or may not realize upsets him.")
A dog with behavioral challenges is most likely in a chronic state of stress. They tend to respond disproportionately to everyday events, people, dogs, or situations. They have Big Feelings. A Lot. They might flash their teeth in self defense when they're scared or make a big scene with their voice and body language to make something they're scared of go away. Disproportionate defined for use in this article meaning the behavior is outside of what is safe.
For all dogs, and really any living organism, it's normal to have Big Feelings from time to time. Nobody makes it through this life without experiencing stress or fear or anger at least sometimes. In raising dogs we should do as much prevention on this as we can, sometimes this happens through selective breeding for temperament (we love it when this happens), and most often in the puppy's critical window through a process called socialization. The safer dogs feel the safer they are to live with. Feeling safe makes for a better quality of life for all. You might even understand this from your own life experience!
Besides prevention, we also have protocols in place to settle the nervous system after an incident to decrease odds of long term damage to the dog's emotional well-being.
Unfortunately for some dogs, even with all these best practices on board, fear can develop. When there aren't measures in place to prevent repeated exposures, or recovery strategies at play when the dog inevitably encounters something stressful, disregulation can become chronic. Not only are there health implications linked to this, for the families who love these dogs, they need to address it or their beloved companions become a walking liability.
(If you think training is expensive, think about a lawsuit!)
In the real world, when professional trainers evaluate a dog in crisis, they take a behavioral history from the dog's guardian, establish management guidelines which are important to prevent the dog from rehearsing the behavior we are seeking to change (basically preventing further disregulation, and affording the dog the ability to get back to their baseline state behaviorally) which stays in place throughout the behavior modification process. We provide instruction on what to do should the dog experience a stressful event to help them recover with as minimal additional damage as possible, and finally, we go about modifying the behavior. In everything we do, we strive to prevent the dog from getting disregulated again. No, you can't prevent everything. Yes, you should still strive to during this process.
The goal -- modified observable behavior in these cases; is actually a pleasant side effect of our real work, which lies in changing a dog's internal emotional response that they currently associate with their triggers. What we see on the outside is a reflection of what they feel on the inside.
When we're working through a behavior modification plan, they are exposed to the things that scared them, but because we need to prevent disregulation, we do so at a distance the dog still feels safe. In other words, they see the trigger at such a low intensity, it does not cause an elaborate response. We follow the appearance of the trigger with an innately good experience for the dog. Over time, the dog comes to see the trigger as a predictor of a good outcome and their emotional state shifts in a positive direction. We then get to inch closer to the trigger and repeat the process. Then we do it again, then again… The goal is that the dog eventually feels safe in a reasonable proximity to their trigger. Alternately, they might be taught a response that feels less yucky emotionally that replaces their old one. It works because no animal likes to feel upset, so this becomes their go-to. Ultimately, they should feel relatively calm throughout if you play your cards right.
("Thank goodness my person hired a real professional.")
This might mean that a dog who flipped out when seeing a dog 200ft away learns that passing dogs at 6ft is a safe endeavor. Does it mean that if accosted by an off leash dog they won't react? We walk by people all the time, but if one randomly tackles us, would you respond defensively? Yeah. That's normal. It's normal for them too.
In the ethical realm:
When online "aggression expert" hacks do this for clicks, where is their regard for the dog's emotional state? And worse, why do they so often deem the dog fixed when often all they do is suppress the external response through more fear? There's a consistent lack of care for the dog's mental health. Have you no idea what the outcome of domestic violence is? What it does to a being? It's the same for dogs at the hands of some of these folks. Many of these dogs aren't ok. They're hypervigilant, they experience chronic stress and anxiety and health issues as fallout. Oh! But they aren't barking and lunging anymore! Well that domestic violence victim stopped fighting back, or stopped screaming in the presence of their threats, are they doing ok emotionally? Come on.
What online consumers are watching on social media is often very awful training. Things that keep us up at night. Since this is all they see, they place these hacks on a pedestal and mistakenly harass skilled trainers who speak out against them.
If we post clips where we rightly aren't placing dogs in a state of stress, they accuse us of not taking on serious behavioral cases because we did the right thing and prevented the outburst.
Dog lovers are falling under the spell of garbage content created for clicks online because they don't prevent showy blow ups. They are literally setting dogs up for failure in pursuit of increased clicks. Ethical trainers are being attacked for doing right by the dog.
I don't know how to fix this. I guess this is an attempt at awareness.
Please, before you make critiques or dole out accolcades, take some time to learn the extensive ways dogs communicate through body language. Dogs don't lie, and they'll tell you if you watch the footage what is happening to them.
]]>Still, every trainer knows this challenge, because no matter what dog we choose to demo with, at some point someone will come along who is unsatisfied with our selection because they believe their dog is harder, atypical, headstrong, stubborn, etc. You name it, we've heard it.
I used to think this was a me issue, but now that so many classes are offered online, I encounter this plenty in the forums that support the classes I take by other skilled trainers with my own dogs. People get hung up on this to an alarming level. To a disruptive level. I've seen plenty of my colleagues accused of using "easy" breeds in their demos, or "fully trained" dogs (as if learning ever stops).
How can I give you the most information without causing information overload? How can I hold your attention? How can I make this critical point in a way you will never forget it? How can I trim this script down to allow for more time coaching you? These are all thoughts I revisit over and over again in my process.
Common scenarios:
Parameters are set by the objectives of the service offering. Everyone doing their part and following these guidelines is important.
There's so much work that goes into a good class and a good demo that the client isn't privy to. A well-run class is a thing of beauty. It may look easy, but I assure you, many revisions and countless hours went into it prior.
No. At least not to you. The differences you see between you and your dogs, and us and our dogs is that we've had more practice at our mechanics. Shouldn't we if we're teaching you? It would be absolutely ridiculous if we sucked at it. On the flip side, understand that you're the one learning new skills so give yourself time to get better at them. If you had the same skills we did, you wouldn't need us.
Group classes are for the people side. It is critical that in a group setting, we have time to coach you on your skills, we have time to counsel you on expectations for the week, and we have time to build your confidence, because as a DIYer, you also need to know what you're doing right so you don't lose those pieces! We can't coach you until you've had time to practice, and you can't practice if we're going tit for tat on if the demo dog was too easy for me, a professional. I already have the skills! I need to get them transferred to you.
Group classes are for DIYers. We teach the human to get all the working parts to line up for success, educate on understanding in the relationship, communication between species, and provide troubleshooting techniques. When your dog responds to your cues, it's simply a side effect of that.
If you want me to train your dog, I would love to talk to you about our Puppy Day School program.
It's a pretty straightforward list I run through in my head:
That's it! Demo dogs demystified!
]]>I could say, "go take a shower" and lo and behold, the vast majority of you would understand all the tasks involved to complete the project. But let's actually look at the sequential tasks in this activity:
There are more than 60 tasks listed here, and it's STILL lumpy. Do you turn on and off the water flow as a means of conservation? I do, but this list is long enough already to make my point without additional but steps! Also, notice my sequence varies from yours.
Do kids commonly clog toilets? Yes! They are excess toilet paper grabbers.
These tasks do not come to us naturally. Each and every one of them was learned, and not all at once. Pieces and parts, retention easier as we grew up, until eventually we mostly had a routine.
Have you ever asked a young child to brush their teeth? Another label for a series of tasks.
I don't have children but when I used to babysit in my youth, I remember one kid who used to get the toothbrush wet, take the cap off the toothpaste, apply the toothpaste to the bristles and then suck the toothpaste off the bristles and call it a day. She was trying her best with the information she had and without a sense of consequences for failing to do this correctly.
(A child was here last)
They are trying their best but still have things to learn -- like how much toilet paper is necessary, and how to unroll only a little at a time. Do they often fail to flush the toilet? Yes! I cannot tell you how many times at work that kids have used our bathroom and I've walked into a disaster after them. Is this their fault? No! Along the way, it was assumed they understood this sequence when they did not. Some kids do know all the steps but the loud sound of the flush is scary, especially in a new place. Especially when they don't have support, and so fear overrides their ability to complete the task. And finally, some toilets nowadays have the flush function out of reach on the lid. If the kid has only ever used a lever flush and now they're using a toilet with the flush button up top, well...
Do all men remember to put the seat down after use?
You get my point. Moving on.
When I'm really tired, I have sometimes rinsed my conditioner out only to again grab my conditioner and repeat the process by accident. I glitch.
Sometimes activities become so sequential we rely on their consistency and glitch when the order breaks:
More than once I've paid for gas inside the station while grabbing a quick snack and then drove off before pumping only realizing my mistake a few minutes later. The routine I normally followed broke and so did my ability to complete the task.
I suffer from sound sensitivity. Things that others simply tune out and work through are often physically painful for me and cause me to have a flight response. I just want to flee the offending sound. I have a number of tools I use to try to decrease and avoid becoming overwhelmed.
(My sanity savers)
Unfortunately, it is sometimes unavoidable and can become unbearable when I can't leave and I can't mitigate it to a reasonable level. In those times, I'm much more anxious and emotional. At its worst, my output drops.
Going back to my babysitting days, one time when I was maybe 10-11, as the family was leaving, the mother said to me, "help yourself to whatever you want." Young me, who didn't have things like rainbow chip cookies and goldfish crackers and pudding cups and Capri Suns and lemonade and pretzels at home proceeded to literally do just that! Help myself to all of the above in excess. I took what they said literally.
("Whatever I want," she thought…)
Were the instructions lacking for a child? Yes! Were they pissed? Hell yes! But assuming self-restraint in me at that age was a grave mistake on their part! I, assuming this was an incredible job perk and acting as though I might never have access to such a cornucopia again proceeded to do what any kid would do and gorge myself. In fact it wasn't until my mom was called that I learned the valuable lesson that my interpretation of information could fail to account for things assumed by others. 35 years later, and I still remember this like it was yesterday.
Often pain is present in the learner but undetected by the teacher. How much harder is it to focus on a task when you have a migraine? A bulging disc? Bad knees that always hurt? It depends. Things we find enjoyable are typically easier to muscle through than things we don't. Severity also factors.
The incredible abilities we possess at learning and labeling and lumping and comprehension come to us with relative ease in our species. This ease can hinder our ability to see our learners as they are, assuming instead they have the same knowledge we do, that they are functioning with the same bandwidth and capacity we have, that they can conclude similarities in tasks when they can't, and that one concept can apply to many environments. We even make the assumption that some information should be inherent because it seems so second nature to us.
One thing you may not know about me is that I am also part of a caregiver's support network, and one of the most difficult challenges I see my peers face in caregiving is letting go of assumptions and letting go of inconsequential differences in behavior and perspective. Oh the parallels to this field!!
In caregiving for humans when there is a brain injury such as a dementia-type ailment which is most commonly at play in this group, it is common for the learner to lose the ability to lump, to follow a complex sequential routine, to understand some language as context-specific in use, and because parts of information are missing, when they hit a missing step nothing after can happen. They get stuck. This is so difficult for the afflicted person. They are trying so hard, and can sometimes be met with zero understanding. Imagine the toll.
("I'm trying my best, I promise")
Later in the progression, to grasp a full series of instructions or sometimes even recall how to reply to a question fully may be broken. Patience and understanding in the caregiver is critical. In caregiving for someone with an injured brain, you learn to not sweat the small stuff. You learn to stop and ask yourself, "Is there any harm in this variation of routine or in this behavior?"
If Grandma wears a hat to bed, is she confused? Yes. Does it really matter? No. Does it matter whether Aunt Shirley uses a washcloth vs soap on her hands in the shower? No. Does it matter if the fan is turned on? No. Does it matter if she rinses the soap off? Yes. Does it matter whether Uncle Marty uses cutlery vs. using his hands when eating? No. It matters more that he gets his nutrition. In caregiving, you learn rapidly what matters and what doesn't. If you fight every battle, both your own and your loved one's quality of life drops. Quality of life is always a priority and our obligation when caring for another is to maintain it as best we can. Breakdowns in the relationship occur when being right or being in control is prioritized over all else.
When you can truly understand these things, life is easier. It's liberating. You don't need to fight every battle, and you shouldn't.
It's much easier to find understanding for the learner. It's much easier to compromise and it's much easier to provide support and appreciation within the relationship. Fight it and tension is ever present. Relationships suffer. We do things we regret. We harbor unjust resentment.
Relationships are complicated. Understanding the state of another being at any given time is hard. When one is trying their best, how do you want to make them feel? I've provided human examples because they are often easier to understand, but my message is, if it's this hard with humans, take a moment and imagine the challenges that breakdowns in communications & assumptions cause across two species. Dogs, like us, are sentient beings and just trying to do their best in this world. As their teachers, we cannot make assumptions about our learners. They are always trying their best and our biggest responsibility is to afford them understanding, patience, and the occasional compromise.
]]>Chihuahuas wear their emotions on their sleeves and, by doing so, they're excellent at communicating their emotional state. They are extremely beneficial to other young puppies because of their clarity at setting boundaries, moving on and not holding a grudge. They are brilliant learners, love to train, cuddle, and make excellent trick dogs. So when we have a breed in front of us that makes it super easy to understand them, why do we act like it's a problem? These are human issues, NOT breed issues.
]]>I saw yet another post breed bashing the Chihuahua today and I think I finally hit my limit of eye rolls and moved into straight up annoyance.
Chihuahuas absolutely wear their emotions on their sleeves, it's true. By doing so, and in my opinion, they're probably the most excellent of all the breeds at communicating their emotional state. They are utterly and totally transparent about their feelings. How is this a bad thing?
As someone whose career is largely focused on teaching people the value of learning how dogs communicate and the importance of taking time to read and understand a dog's body language, I don't really get how others, whose careers are largely focused on teaching people the value of learning how dogs communicate and the importance of taking time to read and understand a dog's body language don't see these dogs as an absolute gem given how easy they make it for folks to understand a seemingly mystifying language -- the language of dogs. I mean, it doesn't get any easier than reading a Chihuahua, yet the post that made me get so annoyed was indeed by a fellow trainer. These are great dogs, especially for first time pet homes!
They are like reading a billboard versus reading legal jargon. Super clear, bold communicators, to the point in their messaging, very few mixed signals, little in the way of muddy language. What you see is what you get with them.
They are a godsend in dog to dog puppy socialization. I cannot amply express how psyched I am when there's a Chi or Chi x registered in Puppy Day School. If you could only see them, you would get it. They are on one hand the life of the party and on the other the most clear about what works AND what doesn't in social engagements with other dogs from a very young age. This is a huge asset when a fearful puppy comes along. When puppies are scared, Chihuahuas and mixed breed Chis are their friend because often with a dog showing fear, the fear is related to unknowns as a result of inexperience. A Chi puppy is not so large as to intimidate by size alone, and because they're transparent about literally everything, they don't leave a fearful puppy guessing about intent. Clear and fair in their communication is their signature at this age. As a result, this helps shy dogs come out of their shell faster thanks to their clarity.
These dogs are rock stars in playgroup, I don't know why any trainer would think otherwise.
They are also brilliant learners,truly love to train, love to cuddle, make excellent trick dogs, have serious amounts of heart, and have a great sense of humor.
If we look at the common theme when people get down on this breed, they actually get ridiculed a lot for being the communicators they are! This isn't just damaging to Chihuahuas, it's damaging to all dogs. A dog's emotional experience matters.
Some like to use Chihuahuas as a comparison when trying to prop up other breeds subjected to legislation. "My x breed is a big teddy bear, it's the little Chihuahuas / land sharks that are the biters!" but this is hypocritical. A whataboutism. Each dog is an individual. Just as the breed being defended cannot be stereotyped, neither can the Chihuahua.
With all breeds, they should be allowed emotions, allowed to set boundaries that help them feel safe, taught to follow some of our boundaries and skills that keep them and others safe, etc.
Human Issues, Not Breed Issues.
Because they're snack size, it's easy for people to steamroll their emotions. They don't take them seriously when a little dog says no. In doing so, humans play a role in contributing to escalation in behavior. A Chihuahua might think, "Barking doesn't work? I guess I need to bite if I'm to get relief from this fear I'm feeling."
Dogs need to feel safe, and if you don't listen to their early signals, you teach them to be more clear with bigger, more dangerous displays. For small dogs, their signals are overwhelmingly ignored by the general public until their communication becomes damaging (bites). Uncool. Please respect that little dog in front of you as you would any other.
Many dismiss the importance of training and socializing a small dog like they would for a larger dog. Chihuahuas are not purse pups, they are firecrackers! They love to participate in training, nosework, agility, rally, hike, go for long line walks, play with their friends, and hibernate in winter! They are super versatile companions. Their size does not hold them back one iota! They are like any other dog, they need you to teach them that your world that they've been dropped into is a safe place when they're young. So yeah, make sure you're socializing them just as you would any other breed.
"But, if they start barking, I'll just scoop them up!" Sure, you can pick up a smaller dog when the shit hits the fan, which is why I think a lot of folks skip socialization with them, but I assure you from my years working behavior cases, that isn't sustainable. They can scream profanities at perceived threats while elevated in your loving arms just the same. You can imagine how challenging it is to have the extended family over for Christmas while carrying around a screaming ball of fury for the entire day. Unfun. When people contact me about their adult Chihuahuas, it's generally related to visitors or vet visits. Sadly, so many people only start to take things more seriously when they feel the wrath of public embarrassment over the dog's behavior. I promise you, prevention is the path of least resistance, don't leave it to chance. Socialize them as baby dogs!
Speaking of, vet care comfort is something we start in the puppy socialization window.
Did you skip doing it? Or maybe you worked super hard at it, but a procedure really stressed them out and they backslid. It's never too late to start or restart building comfort.
Part of caring for an animal is tending to their mental health. Mental health is interwoven with physical health. The less healthy the mind, the less healthy the body. They are two wings of the same bird. Second, there's nothing abnormal about a dog fearing the vet if they've never learned to have positive feelings about it or have had a negative experience previously. Abnormal is our minimizing their extreme stress! Every time it happens and we don't intervene, we're making it worse. When they're expressive about their fear and discomfort, they're using the tools they have to communicate it with us -- which at first is inconvenient and embarrassing, but if we don't address it, it can become dangerous and a liability.
Imagine if you will, you were abducted by aliens. They start doing procedures on you of the Fire In The Sky variety. Would you not flip the F out at the aliens? Would you not try to escape and get to safety? Hide and then fight if you had to? Have you ever seen literally any sci-fi movie? This is what going to the vet is like for dogs! I mean, some people even feel this way about human doctors. But less so, because we were raised around them with great frequency in visits and lollipops and goodies after visits. For most, we tolerate it even if we don't like it. We can usually get them to a point of tolerance and resilience with vet procedures if we start at prevention. Again, Puppy Socialization.
Newsflash for vets: Some of you are commonly the barrier to young puppies getting proper socialization, citing vaccine schedules. If you think dealing with under-socialized Chihuahuas for vet exams is awful, maybe rethink that stance.
Early socialization is stress inoculation. I assure you stress is a much more prevalent threat than any disease. If you don't give puppies the opportunity to be become inoculated against everyday stressors, it is plainly malpractice. Stress cuts lives short too -- either when behavior unravels to the point of dangerous, or via long term health complications occurring as a result of it. G.I. issues, skin issues, lick granulomas, pain sensitivity -- they all correlate with stress in high prevalence. Like humans, highly stressed dogs live shorter lives. If that's not a medical issue, I don't know what is. Stop telling people to keep them at home until they're fully vaccinated. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
I cannot tell you how often popular memes about the "devil" that is the Chihuahua are in groomer and vet tech circles. If you are an animal professional who regularly gets bit, you might wanna read up on muzzles. It's not hard to ask during scheduling if the dog may be fearful or stressed. If they answer yes, have a muzzle fitting guide and training handout or video at the ready to send over so the family can create comfort with muzzling pre-appointment. Yes, some people will hide their dog's discomfort. Others simply do not know. This is humanity. Account for it. Adding a clause to your treatment consent form allows you to use them in an emergency. Think that's cruel? What's cruel is having a dog endure stressor after stressor, until they can't take it anymore, none of their signals bringing them relief, and finally going to bite as a last resort to which you recoil from and as you recoil having the dog learn biting works like a charm to stop things they find scary, thus playing a hand in adding that behavior as first line defense to their repertoire and proceeding to hand them back to the family now with an accompanying bite history.
Always prevent bites!
Yes, I muzzle my Chihuahua for invasive procedures at the vet and for nail trims -- for her safety and for theirs. I didn't have her as a puppy, her fear was there by the time she came to me. My job now is to ease her stress as far as I can while keeping everyone safe. And yes, you can do everything right, and still get fear. If you think there's an even slim possibility of a bite, muzzle train. It's aces to have them prepared to wear them before they're needed. It's not ideal to have the muzzle be an added stressor at an already stressful appointment, but do what you have to do to avoid teaching them biting works.
Finding humor in the torment of little dogs is a weird phenomenon on social media. Why do so many people like to watch videos of people causing small dogs to bare teeth or growl or snap? If this was a circus causing a bear to attempt an attack on their handler over and over, would you find that funny? No! You'd report them! Don't give likes to animal abusers whether this is in the form of physical or emotional abuse.
All of these issues negatively contribute to the misunderstanding of this breed. I think it's sad.
I totally love Chihuahuas and any mix of them. As part of my work and as part of my love for them, I want them to be better understood. I want people to understand what a gift they are, how you can have true dialogue with a Chihuahua, how wonderful of teachers they are, how loving and feisty and fun they are. Big on personality, small on size.
Here's my Chihuahua Midge. When I get home she runs up on my bed and kisses my face while I take my shoes and socks off, and after that we take a couple minutes to reconnect with touch. When she's excited, there's absolutely no hiding it. When she feels joy, the world feels it with her. It radiates from her entire being. When I go to sleep at night, we sleep back to back. When I get her leash out she lights up like Christmas morning. She scream sings the entire drive to the park. Sometimes I sing with her. It is her happy song.
I love her spiciness. I love her expressiveness. She is an excellent communicator as her breed is known for. I'm not going to get down on her for showing full range. It is her superpower as a Chihuahua and I love that about her.
Please, if you love this breed, or breed mix, do right by them. If you love dogs in general, treat them as individuals. And last, if you work in any animal related field, do your part as a professional and stop contributing to the mischaracterization of any dog!
Midge, Stella (R.I.P.) and I thank you.
]]>Once upon a time, an American Psychologist by the name of Edward Thorndike was credited with the development of The Law of Effect. The law of effect applies to every species on our planet and is occurring with all beings both through natural and artificial processes.
]]>Thorndike's Law of Effect states that any behavior that is followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated, and any behavior that is followed by unpleasant consequences is likely to be avoided.
It is the law of the land.
In science, a law has a repeatable and provable outcome supported by empirical evidence collection. Laws predict with accuracy the results of certain conditions. Laws describe an observed phenomenon.
Laws are supported by theories. A theory seeks to explain why the phenomenon exists and is supported by evidence. In the ABA model of teaching dogs, Skinner's Operant Conditioning (O.C.) Theory - the 4 quadrants of behavior is the primary model, and focuses specifically on observable behaviors. Things we can witness. External States.
If you're not familiar with the 4 quadrants, here's the skinny:
So… Punishment decreases behavior, Reinforcement increases behavior and the +/- means a stimulus is added (+) or removed (-).
If this is your first trip to the majestic land of ABA behavior change, you might be wondering how this plays out in a training session. For that we move on to the ABCs of Behavior. But first, the relevant definitions:
Antecedent – a stimulus or event that immediately precedes a behavior, which sets the occasion for the behavior to occur; includes cues, setting events, and establishing operations
Behavior – Anything an individual does, given certain conditions, which can be observed and measured
Consequence – An event or stimulus that immediately follows a behavior that influences the future strength of the behavior. Strength refers to any behavioral characteristic that can be measured.
Here are a couple of examples of the ABCs at work:
Super Important Side note: Only the learner gets to define what is reinforcing and what is punishing. We can make an educated guess, but since we as trainers can't ask dogs, the only way to confirm effect is to observe the shift in frequency of the learner's behavior.
While operant conditioning (O.C.) is incredibly important to our work, the sole focus with it is on observable behaviors. There are other lenses which we can and should look at our learner through that can compliment our efforts. Since we all experience times when our internal state differs significantly from what is observable to others, not accounting for internal state can be problematic.
Classical Conditioning (C.C.) is one such lens that helps us consider emotions -- internal states, and is also happening during many operant procedures in dog training. Let's define it:
Classical Conditioning (C.C.) – a learning process that occurs when two stimuli happen sequentially frequently: a response which is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone.
A very simplified example to help you grasp classical conditioning as an unconscious learning side effect in training is this:
When my dog and I train, I typically wear a bait bag. Even though I'm training observable behaviors in our sessions, through no additional effort on my end, he learned that when I put on a bait bag, treats will follow. He wasn't born with an affinity for me putting on bait bags, I never purposefully set out to teach him to like them, but because my putting it on (event a) frequently predicts that he will get treats (event b), he has developed a happy, anticipatory response to this action.
This is because within the ABCs of behavior, the A – the antecedent, and the C – the Consequence are both stimuli and are frequently sequential, so the dog unconsciously develops feelings about the first of the two stimuli as a result of being followed repeatedly by the second stimuli.
He used to think, "Hooray!" when I was handing him a treat, but now he thinks, "Hooray!" when he simply sees the bait bag because it too is associated with treats. Whenever using the ABC model, we must consider in our setup if Classical Conditioning is along for the ride.
In this ABC style of training, it is wise to think of O.C. as the driver, and C.C. as the passenger.
One might wonder why some trainers are so wholly committed to positive reinforcement as their primary quadrant in training. This is because of the classical conditioning side effects taking place in the background. When a dog is learning via positive reinforcement (R+), they're also unconsciously developing warm fuzzies about all the things that come with it via its passenger, classical conditioning. When using R+, because the consequence is an unconditioned stimuli, unconditioned meaning the dog was born already loving it (in this case), dogs begin to experience wonderful side effects happening behind the scenes. They learn to enjoy training, to enjoy the presence of the trainer, they learn to enjoy the trainer's hands coming near, they start to like their voice, they enjoy the environments they're learning in, the bait bags they see, even props like a settle mat can produce joy because they predict a good "event b" - something the dog inherently likes. Because dogs are at their best when they feel happy and safe, this lends to a very strong case for positive reinforcement and is why we work so hard to arrange for only minimal use of punishment in training programs and further, if punishment is needed, we select the punishment quadrant we use carefully.
Remember that even when Lord 4-Quad is in the driver's seat, Pavlov and his classical conditioning are along for the ride.
In the majestic land of behavior, it is true that we have all four quadrants to use at our disposal. The question is, should we? And to what degree of intensity? We must again look to the passenger. Why are we so hung up on the passenger? Well, because with him he brings along emotional baggage.
Classical Conditioning is responsible for the development of Conditioned Responses. A subset of these are called Conditioned Emotional Responses or CERs. There are +CERs and –CERs and because we use plus and minus signs with no uniformity in this field, this time the, + means positive and – means negative. Sigh. I'll just define them because it's easier that way:
In using an R+ procedure, Event A would predict a favorable event B. This means low risk for unintended undesirable fallout from the passenger.
When we use punishment of either variety with sequential frequency in O.C., the dog predictably begins to make an emotional (C.C.) association as a side effect.
Are all punishers created equal? No.
We strive to follow the Least Invasive, Minimally Aversive guidelines in selecting our method of behavior change, so if we must use punishment, we would honor our learner best by opting for consequences that have a low risk of behavior fallout from the dog – a low risk of causing fear.
For me, that would be Negative Punishment (P-). If you'll recall, P- is the removal of something to decrease the likelihood of a behavior.
Let's go back to our ABCs to explore a P- scenario.
Antecedent:
I walk in the door
Behavior:
Dog Jumps on me
Consequence:
I remove myself from the room (and the dog).
Question:
Does my selected consequence risk inducing fear in this dog?
Unlikely. Minimal Risk for causing fear.
Please note, I'm assuming the dog is behaviorally healthy in this example. Losing access to me for a dog with Separation Anxiety would indeed induce fear. Always consider the make up of the dog in front of you.
When selecting tools for modifying behavior, your safest bet for the vast majority of training with regard to your passenger are R+ and occassional P-. This is the gold standard for using Operant Conditioning (O.C.).
We need to be exceptionally careful about how old Lord 4-Quad is permitted to drive on account of his passenger because the choices we make in O.C. can and often do collide with the effects of classical conditioning (C.C.) and if we're not careful, this can cause BIG FEELINGS. If we are thoughtful about our choices, we can avoid harmful unintended consequences to the learner. We try desperately to avoid the crash causing a -CER.
Fear is super easy to install on a dog and really freakin' tough to eliminate, so just don't do it! Remember your passenger.
If selecting to use P+, particularly when the consequence runs a high risk to cause fear or pain, we know that behind the scenes the passenger is building a –CER to things in the environment.
If you're treating a dog who barks at strangers, and you're following the ABCs of behavior to decrease barking, what happens when your operation looks like this?
Can using this P+ method change how your dog feels about strangers given the C.C. side effect? Absolutely.
What about dogs that lunge excitedly at other dogs on leash? If you opt for painful P+ to decrease the lunging, say the dog gets a shock that hurts, how does the passenger handle information for the dog?
You might think – they don't associate it with the other dog, they associate it with the barking. The reality is, they associate it with both because both learning processes are at play. For that matter, they can also associate it with any other consistently present stimuli superstitiously. Is a kid often riding by when the dog is delivered P+? They may learn to fear kids on bikes too! This is behavioral fallout at play. Consciously, through the ABCs, the dog learns that if they lunge at other dogs, they get P+ (shock) so barking decreases. But because the dog lunges most frequently at the appearance of other dogs, unconsciously, the dog's feelings about other dogs begin to shift. That excitement perhaps turns to dread, fear, stress… They might think, "dang it, every time a dog appears, it's gonna be painful. I'm scared."
"Maybe if I bark at them they'll go away."
And here's where it gets really tough. Because painful P+ works quickly to kill a behavior, it's unfortunately HIGHLY reinforcing to the human. Dog lunges, they press button, lunging stops. It does work! Nobody is denying that.
Now, if it's reinforcing to the human, what happens next? You guessed it, button pressing goes up!
Back to that pesky passenger. Did you know that sometimes he'll move into the driver's seat? Not only that, when C.C. is driving, O.C. happens in the background! Crazy, I know! I'll keep this brief but it's important: If a dog is experiencing fear, they will use coping skills (observable behaviors) to stay safe. And this is why you must consider both in your application.
Removing coping skills without an established and healthy replacement behavior is dangerous.
When fear is present, if we punish out a coping skill we don't like using O.C. but we fail to account for the dog's emotions, they'll try something else to cope. Coping skills help the learner feel safe. What happens when the dog becomes scared of dogs as a result of our choice for P+? They'll probably start barking at dogs to get them to go away. Does that get punished out too? What then? They move on to growling? What if that gets punished out too? What then? The passenger is always going to come into play with frequently sequential stimuli, so we best afford for it in the way we plan our training.
Punishing a learner for the observable behavior that reflects a scared internal state without helping them access appropriate coping skills through learning is not ok. We have an obligation to help them feel safe again. In this scenario, if we just keep punishing out symptoms without addressing emotion, we rid them of their distress signals, their warning signals, and we can create a truly dangerous dog through no fault of their own.
When choosing methods, we must always account for the passenger. Both modes of learning are at play in Thorndike's Law of Effect. Ultimately, dogs who feel safe and who are happy and free from fear are safer for everyone and have a higher quality of life. This increases our quality of life too.
How will your method impact the dog as a result of the passenger?
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When I first started as a dog trainer, I was like the many trainers that I warn my clients about today. I severely overestimated my skills and I wanted to help dogs. I was always in the positive reinforcement (R+) training camp, but even though I never actively or intentionally hurt or scared dogs, I failed some, and that's because ineffective training, even R+ is just as dangerous as harsh methods and I'll get into that more later.
This is obviously not something I'm proud of. If I had it to do again, I would absolutely make different choices. It is a stain on my career in my eyes, but it is the honest truth and I think transparency is important here. I so wish I could have done it differently. Fortunately, I did recognize this deficit fairly early on, and I started what would become a long love affair with continuing education.
In the beginning I had very little to spend. I would read books, journals and buy Behavior DVDs. If you came up in the same era as me, you know what a huge deal the annual Tawzer Dog Black Friday sales were! They were a lifeline for me for learning. As I learned, I gained more business because my skills were growing and I had enough to start attending in person conferences each quarter too.
I began to treat a higher number of dogs, and as a result I started encountering more whose behavior I didn't know enough about to treat, but at the time there was only one other trainer in the area and they used extremely harsh methods. The cases I thought I could be effective on, I would research extensively before proceeding and then treat. It was effective, but extremely time consuming and I was working something like 13-15 hour days 7 days a week because of all the behind the scenes research I was doing. It was a very intense time in my career and put a huge strain on my home life, but I didn't want to be that trainer ever again.
Between the learning I was doing and the cases I was encountering, it became clear that the cold hard fact of existing in this field is that you will never know it all, and you can never stop learning. In fact, the more education I had under my belt, the more insecure I became about my skills and my knowledge. I knew enough to know that I needed to learn a whole lot more, and this is a mindset I've been in since...
At 7 years in, the business was doing very well, and I had more funds to commit to continuing education and (with some additional fundraising) I took my second formal, 2 year course on all things behavior. This course was life changing for me, and I graduated with honors. It was also an incredibly painful process because there's nothing like being armed with a heck of a lot more knowledge and having hindsight to shine a light once again on all of the areas you could have served your clients better. It was both an exciting time, and a time to reflect and own and feel my shortcomings.
Since that program, there has not been a gap in my continuing education. I am quite literally always enrolled in something. Always.
At 13 years in, and armed with a shitload of education, I am considered a respectable trainer now. I have a very good reputation amongst my peers and often have other trainers who I hold in extremely high regard take my courses. To be a trainer's trainer is huge in this field. They are the ones who recognize quality and lack thereof so it means a lot to me when they value my skill set enough to entrust me and my team with their dogs.
My closest friendships are now with other behavior experts who coming up I admired, and it feels good to finally be in that circle. But... a regular theme for us all in discussing the field is continuing education.
At this point I have been through so many programs I don't even think I could name them all, and for some, I do already know a lot of what the material covers, but there is still some gem to take away, because even in the areas I am familiar with, I learn alternative scripts -- new ways to broach a familiar topic with clients that might be more effective or at minimum compliment the old scripts. For the really exceptional courses, I am learning tons of new information and adding to my curriculum, all of which compliments the rest and serves my clients well.
For every course, every single one, there is a moment or moments where I feel that familiar discomfort. The realization I could have done better.
I am more gentle with myself these days because I know that for the rest of my career, there will be breakthroughs and improvements in the field, some of this now wasn't a lack of education, the information just wasn't available earlier, period. I know that I am staying current and it is no longer the case that things that should be core for any trainer are lacking, but I also know now, there will always be more to learn.
In my opinion, there are two types of trainers. The ones who think they know it all and think their skills are good enough, and those who recognize that they know very little.
It might seem counter-intuitive, but the ones who recognize they know very little are some of the best practitioners in this field.
These trainers typically have massive amounts of education under their belts, and when you have invested so much in your education, you become humble. You recognize that there is always more, that there are people who dedicate their whole careers to piecing through the minutiae. The scientists and researchers -- they are the true experts, and though their focus is often finite, collectively, their findings are always coming down the pipe to help us do better and keeping up with it all will ultimately help us serve our clients better. When you look at their work and their dedication to animal behavior research, you cannot help but find humility. We are standing on the shoulders of giants.
The most dangerous to dogs and families are those who think they have it all figured out and are content with a "good enough" approach. They sometimes don't even see the glaring problems they're creating for the household.
Complacency has the ability to inflict serious harm on our students and their families. Complacency in the hands of the incompetent is dangerous.
I feel that we as trainers have an obligation to never stop asking ourselves one simple question:
"How can we do better?"
We work with two highly and complexly emotional species, and our entire job is to increase welfare for both as they live together. At its core, that's what dog training truly is. We need skills for working with both to be effective.
I mentioned how early in my career that I was in the positive reinforcement camp, and also that I was in over my head. I mentioned that I was the trainer that I warn my clients to avoid today. Here's why:
Poorly executed, "positive reinforcement style" training is just as dangerous as any other method of training.
Shoddy positive reinforcement is just as bad as using aversives because the outcome is often the same. A dog remaining unnecessarily stressed, often their undesired behavior getting more pronounced, a family who cannot handle things as they are, and a lack of critical understanding by all for the truly innocent - the dog itself. The dog ends up paying for all of the human errors along the way.
This isn't a field for a "good enough" mentality. Complacency hurts families, dogs, and our field.
My motivation for writing this is plentiful.
I do not want good intentioned people who are genuinely trying to help dogs to have to face the same self imposed reckoning. It is a painful process. It hurts a lot.
I do not want you as clients to fall prey to those with the "good enough" mentality.
I want clients to know that when we cannot help you, we will refer you to a vetted trainer who can help. It's not because they're our buddies, it's because we know their work is solid and we don't want you to fall into the hands of the incompetent or cruel. It hurts to see families failed, and we want to prevent this because it is heavy on our hearts to play cleanup on a dog who deserved better.
If you're a client we've referred out to a vetted trainer but instead moved on to someone who told you what you wanted to hear to make the sale or could get you in faster and then failed you, it hurts us -- They should be building off of what we started, not destroying confidence and trust. We also see this happen often when a trainer we refer to doesn't have immediate openings and because we live in a world of instant gratification, everyone wants things NOW. But that mentality when it comes to your dog and their brain and their behavior and their welfare is not OK. Did you know it is totally normal for really bad trainers to have really quick availability? Why do you think that is?
Bottom line: With every interaction we are impacting behavior. It's critical for those you select to guide you through that process know both how to impact the behavior at hand and understand the long term ramifications of utilizing a specific method. If they don't, it is common for the symptom to be "fixed" while creating a laundry list of new problems.
We are at a point in this field where demand outweighs immediate availability for qualified help. It often takes time to get on a qualified trainer's schedule. Our field lost some great trainers during the pandemic, and the cost of living has become so high here in Colorado, others have moved out of state.
To complicate things further, there is never a shortage of unqualified help. When I started my business, there were just 2 private training companies on the entire North side, plus the Humane Society. Now, a quick search reveals... Well... I stopped counting at 75 results. 75!!!
Even just 2 years ago I counted around 35. There are people coming out of the woodwork ready to take your money but unqualified for your case. Only a handful of those trainers would I feel comfortable referring out to, but anyone can spontaneously be a trainer. Our field is unregulated.
There is a lot of room for damage in today's climate if you don't vet your trainer first. You've heard me say plenty of times that it is critical to research your trainers on their skills, not just sign on with first available. If you end up in the wrong hands, you've got money lost on ineffective training at best and at worst a long and costly road ahead to undo their damage -- that is if they haven't turned you off of the field all together.
Good trainers know their limitations, they have case types they specialize in and case types they won't take on and will refer our. If they have a wait list, don't be discouraged. Good trainers know they need to be 100% present for you and your dog. Managing the schedule to prevent exhaustion is key to your getting their best self in your session.
When vetting a trainer, ask what consequences they will employ to increase behavior and what they will use to decrease behavior. Weed through the fluffy language. They're really good at downplaying tools. Electricity delivered to the dog is often described as a tickle, for instance. It's not. A tickle wouldn't impact behavior change. The fluffy language just serves to make clients feel comfortable about hurting dogs. If any of it is something you would not want done to you or your child, it is a problem. If you used this tool on your co-worker if they made a mistake, would it get you fired? If so, move on. And finally, your trainer should absolutely have participated in recent continuing education and they'll gladly tell you about it when asked. It is a big fat indicator they are striving to improve their skills and do not fall into the "good enough" mentality. They are the ones asking themselves,"how can I do better for my clients?"
]]>The state of dog training, with all the advancements in the field still has an element missing that is creating welfare implications and unattainable expectations for our dogs and ourselves. How did we get here? Let's explore.
]]>Over the weekend, I was listening to a live chat with two great minds in our field. Generally speaking, the topic was the state of dog training and how with all the advancements in our field, there's still an element missing that is creating welfare implications and unattainable expectations for our dogs and ourselves.
We're getting inquiries for more behavior cases than ever, to the point that there are not enough trainers to go around. How did we get here?
Problem #1: Inappropriate Breed Selection
When selecting pet dogs to add to the family, we rarely think to ourselves:
"This breed is a bad-ass vermin-hunting machine! There are lots of bunnies in our neighborhood that we're going to encounter. This breed is likely to lunge at them on our walks. Am I prepared for this?"
Or, "This breed was developed for driving cattle over long stretches of terrain and is purposefully bred to herd by biting. Plus they have outstanding stamina. How is that going to play out when my kids have their friends over and they're running around in the yard?"
Instead, we see a cute puppy and consumerism kicks in. "Must have that puppy!" Marketing has tricked us into believing that all dogs are created equal and if there's ever a problem, surely it's the dog. We rarely look to the environment we've plopped them into and the expectations we now have for them.
When they hit adolescence, and one is going apeshit on leash walks every time he sees a small critter -- because he needs to express the behavior he was born to do -- and the other is biting the kid's ankles when they're playing -- because she too is expressing the behavior she was born to do -- we think, "This dog's broken and needs to be fixed." This brings about problem 2.
Problem #2: The Fix-It Mentality
If the general consensus is, "My dog is broken," then surely we can fix this, right? Marketing kicks in yet again. Marketing tells you that Yes! Everything is fixable!
But... What if they're not actually broken?
These dogs are doing exactly what they and many generations prior were selectively bred for. One of the purposes of selective breeding is to exaggerate certain behavior tendencies to a highly specialized degree to serve a functional purpose. Thus, they are not actually broken.
Our job as ethical trainers is rarely just about the dog. Hands down, the most difficult aspect of the job is creating realistic expectations for the families who fell under the spell of an adorable puppy that might not be the best fit for their household, and now have to modify their own habits and the dog's surrounding environment in order to bring about reasonable resolution.
It can be a hard sell, but we have an obligation to be honest, accurate and ethical in our approach. At least we should strive for this.
Problem #3: Confirmation Bias
The whole purpose of marketing is to make the sale. Marketing tells you exactly what you want to hear. Marketing also exploits confirmation bias. Tell me, consumer, which offer would you go with?
Offer 1: "Yes the dog is broken. I will fix post haste!"
Offer 2: "He's actually a completely normal terrier, but if we change his environment and our behavior a bit, we can bring this to a manageable level over time."
We are primed to go with the allure of offer #1 because it is counter-intuitive to consider the other. Confirmation bias says, "don't spend your energy doing pesky things like thinking about this, this person already agrees with your assessment and just like you saw on TV the results will be practically instantaneous!" Unfortunately, even those with highly developed critical thinking skills can fall prey to this at times. It's safe to say that at this point we all know the dangers of confirmation bias run amok, and let me tell you, it's a widespread issue in the training world too.
But here's the thing: Dogs aren't products. Dogs are companions. They are captive animals fully dependent on us as their caregivers and guardians. They have emotions, they have needs and we are morally obligated to treat them with kindness, understanding, and as the family members that they are.
By heading into training with the mentality that the dog is broken -- an incorrect assessment -- it allows for all kinds of horrific acts to be bestowed upon the dog in the name of fixing it. So what are we fixing if the dog isn't actually broken?
On the one side of the training world, we have an approach involving suppression of behavior. Punish it out. This approach is one dimensional and does not account for the dog's experience. By leaving the dog with no outlet for expression, the dog tries another approach. That behavior is in turn shut down. Eventually we shut down so many expressions of behavior that the dog is boxed into a corner. They aren't allowed to be a dog. Punishment as a standalone option is not ethical. The initial behavior is now long gone but at what cost? What is their quality of life?
We don't have to look far for relatable examples. Remember the initial phase of the pandemic when we were on a full lock-down? Even though it was only a couple months in that phase, and even though many of our sacrifices were relatively small, people lost their minds. Then we went into partial restrictions for another year. Even the most introverted introvert started to struggle. Now imagine 12 years of that first phase. Except in your house, maybe you can't even talk. You also can't creatively entertain yourself because it's annoying or messy to your housemates. There's no TV, books aren't allowed, and certainly no hobbies. When you do go out, you're not allowed to explore your surroundings, because exploring is bad! Would your mental health suffer? Of course! So why in god's name are we doing this to our dogs?
Like all us sentient beings, dogs should be looked at thoughtfully, factoring in their breed specialties, the household environment and all the members of that household during the selection process. Like introverts and extroverts in our own kind, some dogs are better suited for certain environments than others and if the environment is too restrictive, all will suffer.
We have moved to a mentality that dogs are like trinkets that we take out when we want and shelve them when we don't. Couple that with a belief that all dogs are the same off the shelf and when one becomes problematic, it's broken and we need to fix it. It's a recipe for disaster.
On the other side of the training spectrum we have modern dog trainers. Modern dog trainers strive to protect the dogs under their charge from punitive corrections that simply shut down behaviors and instead look to treat the emotion the dog is feeling because the emotion is causing the symptom and when treated, the <insert observable behavior problem> goes away.
Even in modern group classes with behaviorally healthy dogs, the objective is still to teach the dog to do this skill when I say. This falls short.
Society still believes in placing dogs in a subservient role. As such, if you're trying to sell services, you are at the mercy of societal expectations.
While we do need to teach functional behaviors to be able to keep dogs and our communities safe, there is much more to these relationships that gets missed by focusing solely on this approach. Many of the behaviors families think they want out of a class aren't all that useful for today's pet dogs. This, dear reader, causes loads of heartburn for most of us trainers. We feel stuck.
We're keenly aware of societal expectations, and that we need to shift a bit, but our livelihood is very much tied to meeting these expectations. If you ask almost any modern dog trainer, they'll describe the hours they've spent agonizing over this, because most of us already know there's more to a successful relationship than the one-sided approach that is expected in today's classes. We know that dogs are still drawing the short straw even though we've moved away from physically hurting them in the name of training.
For me, I have my ideal curriculum all laid out in my head. It looks at the entire life of a pet dog and the situations they're most likely to experience stress, and seeks to protect them from that. There are still behaviors taught that help us to direct them appropriately and keep safety at the forefront, but they are significantly pared down from what our current curriculum offers. In place of the less useful behaviors, we would focus on breed-specific needs and on their need to feel safe in situations that are inherently difficult for them. This sounds so hippy-dippy, but the reality is that happy dogs, dogs whose needs are met and who are shielded from fear don't generally exhibit loads of behavior problems. Are there exceptions? Of course. But by and large this approach is a win for both the dogs and the families.
Reality, Though
Sadly, my dream curriculum would absolutely bomb as an offering on my website in today's marketplace. We as a society haven't caught up to this way of thinking, but change is coming and my students are already seeing bits of this trickle in and the reception has been positive.
Evolution of the Field
With the sky-high numbers of behavioral challenges we're seeing, practitioners recognize that the one-sided approach to training is failing dogs. The new era of dog training seeks to meet the dog in the middle. We give a little, they give a little, everyone is happier for it. It looks at the individual breed characteristics both in selection for the household and it helps to create a lifestyle under which both the humans AND the dog can thrive.
In the talk that inspired this writing, they discussed a simple but incredibly powerful question. A question that allows us to shift our mindset when engaging with our dogs. I ask that when interacting with your own dog, you start to ask this question as part of your everyday engagements. It will enable you to become part of the movement to increase their welfare.
"What is my dog experiencing right now?"
By asking this question, we're taking time to understand their experience, and it shifts the dynamic from control to support and understanding.
It's what we want in life, right? Why would our dogs be any different?
What is my dog experiencing right now? It's time to start asking this question and shift our thinking on how we relate to our dogs.
Thank you so much to Andrew Hale - Dog Centred Care and Kim Brophy - The Dog Door for this inspirational talk that led to this writing. I look forward to exploring this concept further and integrating more of this into our programs. For more information on selecting the right breed for your household, check out this wonderful book, Meet Your Dog - by Kim Brophy.
]]>On one particular day I'd been out with my grandparents. I remember we'd gone to the mall in Ventura. When I got home, my sister was sitting on the couch with an ice cube, and my dog was nowhere to be found. I finally asked where he was and my mom told me he'd bitten my sister and that he's not coming home. My sister then broke into hysterical crying and said she thought he was purring but then he bit her face.
I will never forget my sister's sobs, tears and melting ice pooling at her chin. We are both very sensitive and this was felt to the core.
I was beside myself. In fact I don't know that I'd ever been so distressed in my early life. "I will never see my dog again? I want to see him. Let me at least say goodbye. Where is he? How could this happen? You thought he was purring?!" Thinking about it now, it still really hurts and the tears are rolling as I type. We were young, maybe 6 max. But it's seared into my memory, that awful day. I haven't thought about it in many years. Like a lot of painful experiences, you sometimes stuff them down. Try to forget.
A couple days ago, my sister called me to talk about it. She'd seen something online that triggered her memory of it and she was again beside herself crying because all these years she's carried that weight around. Feeling responsible. Seared into her memory too. She says she remembers it vividly like it was yesterday. We're in our forties. This was at least 35 years ago. She still felt responsible. She still worried about his fate. She still carries the guilt.
We talked about the experience from her perspective, something we've never done before. A child's view. On the surface, it was clear what had happened. She was laying on him, petting him, and looking into his eyes. He was growling for a long time. She said at least a minute and a half. She continued engaging with him, and he snapped at her, bit her superficially on the lip and ran away. But let's look at this in finer detail.
As children, we'd grown up with cats. Cats purr. For a young child, it's not a big leap to assume the growling he was doing was purring given her experience with pets being primarily cats and that's precisely what she thought. She thought he was purring. She was certain he was enjoying the interaction and continued with it because she loved him. My sister and I are both animal lovers to the core. We both work in the pet industry. We both advocate heavily for them and that advocacy was certainly in part shaped by this one incident.
Because Spits was such a good boy, he tried his hardest to tell her in a peaceful way that he wanted space but she couldn't understand. He tried vocalizations by way of growling for a long time. Those vocalizations expressed his feelings in a peaceful way. This is their language. When, after an eternity in his mind he couldn't get relief, he finally escalated to a bite which was superficial in nature. In fact, it was so inhibited, the ice she'd had on her lip did more damage than the bite itself when it got stuck to her lip as she cried.
Let's be real. He could have crushed her skull. Stop thinking dogs aren't capable of this, they most certainly are. Instead of using force, he used his voice. What a good boy. When that didn't work, he used a gentle nip and ran off. What a good boy. Do I sound crazy? Calling a biting a dog a good boy? I'm not. He was gentle in all of the interactions. He didn't have to be. He was certainly capable of much worse. He chose to be gentle. He was a good boy. It wasn't good enough I guess because he was gone and we were distraught.
Listen, I've had worse injuries scraping my arms on dog crates while moving them around. He lost everything for this. What a tragedy. Can we stop acting like dogs are demons for this? In his case, he just needed an advocate and they both needed supervision. Sure there are times where dogs and kids shouldn't be in the same household. This wasn't one of them.
I asked her where our parents were. They were in the kitchen. She was unsupervised. I asked where did they take him? She doesn't know. "Away." Neither of us know his fate for certain but given how quickly he was gone, the shelter is most likely. If he was taken to the shelter, it's doubtful he made it out alive. He was a wonderful dog, he did everything right, but dogs with bite histories, no matter how un-at-fault and un-damaging the bite, cannot from a liability perspective be re-homed. Honestly, I don't know that I can handle the truth of what happened to him. I don't want to know.
At the time I blamed my sister about the loss of my dog. I was heartbroken. I thought it was her fault. I was young too (we're twins) and so my thinking was simplistic. But it was not her fault. It was not Spits's fault either. He was a good dog.
When those in a position of responsibility take good nature for granted, bad things can and do happen. There were no signs prior to this day that this would ever occur. None. But we don't ever truly know what a dog is going through in the moment. He may have been in pain. Maybe arthritis was kicking in. Maybe her being on his body was uncomfortable, it doesn't matter. He was clear that he was not ok. And it fell on the deaf ears of an innocent child. Parents were not present to interpret and to keep them both safe. But my parents while responsible are not abnormal. Parents the world over get busy, get comfortable, lose sight of risk. They were complacent.
Early in my career I often commented on YouTube videos, posts and pictures of interactions either going horribly wrong or where the distressed dog seemed to amuse the masses. I tried with all I could muster to educate. It never did a damn bit of good. I found myself being ridiculed. I was called the fun police a lot, told to lighten up. Told that "they're fine, nothing happened." "It's cute." "You're a Debbie downer." ad nauseum. But in those videos and pictures, I was seeing dogs in distress, hearing dogs growling, and watching parents giggle away while shooting video of their precious baby in harm's way, and ignoring the distress the dog was already under. I was reading in comments how funny all this was. For my own sanity, I finally just started blocking everything of this nature and everyone who thought it was funny. A practice I mostly adhere to even now. Dogs in distress and children in harm's way is not funny. You're being irresponsible.
In my business, I doubled down on body language education. Educating before it becomes a problem often prevents people from normalizing warning signals. They can't unsee it. They now know and are aware and instead of getting complacent recognize it as a problem to seek relief for. It's all about prevention. I knew that I hated seeing all this stuff, advocated very hard for the dog and child, and was and still am really hardcore about the importance of understanding body language. I didn't recognize why until yesterday, as my sister and I talked, that I was so driven on this topic. It was too painful to think about.
Parents, I'm sharing this story to let you know from yet another angle the importance of supervision. Maybe this story will stick. The dog isn't at fault. The child is not at fault. You really have to stay diligent. It is your responsibility to keep them safe. Dogs and young children are not equipped to do this on their own. One moment can change everything.
35 years! That's how long my sister has been feeling the guilt of this. 35 years! A wonderful childhood companion most likely paid with his life for a completely preventable event.
Distress is not funny. You're the parent, the guardian, the caregiver. Whatever label you'd like. This is your job. This shouldn't have happened. Thousands of times a year there are horrible incidents with dogs and kids that shouldn't have happened. That have long lasting psychological impacts on the child and result in death of the dog. There are full websites dedicated to blaming dogs. You know who is never held responsible? The parents. It's sickening. If I sound bitter, it's because I am. I'm hurt. My sister and I shouldn't be carrying around this pain. Do you want your child living with that trauma? It hurts my heart that I never got to say goodbye. It hurts that my sister is crying about this over 3 decades later. It hurts my heart that my dog lost all he knew, and probably his life.
So please, let's not participate in normalizing distress in dogs. Let's do work on our roles in prevention, and please for the love of all things holy, let's stop good dogs from dying at the hands of our poor decisions.
My sister and I talked for a long time about that day. I apologized profusely for giving her grief about it as kids, we lamented about Spits, and we're still, 35+ years later, grieving his loss. Thank you Charlotte for giving me permission to share this story. Our hope is that it prevents someone else from living it.
To Spits, you loved us and we loved you and I'm so sorry. You were a very good boy. To my sister, it's not your fault. It was never your fault. I'm so sorry for ever thinking it was. To parents everywhere, please take this to heart. You are responsible for keeping them safe.
]]>When they are with us from 7:30am - 1:00pm give a little on either side for pick up and drop off, why would we rest them? Well, overly tired puppies are not productive puppies, they can and do make less desirable choices and learning retention isn't nearly as strong. Overly tired puppies can be easily overwhelmed. The opposite of what our goals are here. They have multiple structured activities daily, each focused on different aspects of development. As a baby, could you run a marathon? Probably not. They can't either, but they will try! We as their caregivers during their time with us are focused on optimizing their time with us, and with that, we need to be sure we don't overwork them. During transitions and potty breaks, we address this by providing them with short bouts of rest time in their crates. If you've ever been with an overly tired puppy, even for a few minutes, you know exactly why this rest is vital. We always describe it as the kid who was at the zoo an hour too long and is now losing their mind over nothing identifiable. Not good. Crating comfortably amongst other dogs and in places outside the home is also an incredibly valuable skill set if they're ever to dabble in the dog sports world, or even travel with you.
So what happens when a puppy has never been exposed to a crate or only sleeps overnight in one? A couple things are likely to occur:
FOMO typically presents as a dog who overnights well in their crate because nothing is going on so there is nothing to miss out on, but when the household is active, the puppy screams if confined. If we are cycling dogs in Puppy Day School, this frustration of not being out while others are impacts their ability to rest. This causes serious frustration for the dog. Frustration = stress, and this type of stress is not good for a puppy.
Fear of Being Alone. This has historically been infrequent, but as we're in the midst of a pandemic, everyone is home, and so nowadays we're seeing multiple puppies weekly who are facing this. This can quickly turn into full blown anxiety, and that is a very real, very serious problem that has long term detrimental effects on quality of life. Dogs experiencing this are suffering. It's not something to take lightly or assume they'll grow out of. They don't.
So how do these things impact their Puppy Day School programs? Stress is cumulative. If they are unable to rest, worked into a state of stress frequently, it impacts everything. Their learning, their ability to make good choices in play, their moods, their interest in training and their perception of the world. If this doesn't sound right, think of you own behavior. Have you ever dealt with low or high grade stress throughout the day, then something seemingly minor (like having to decide what's for dinner) send you over the top? That's cumulative stress.
How extensively does it impact the program? It impacts it a lot. Have you ever tried to sleep next to someone who snores loudly? It sucks. Ask my partner. But that's nothing. Imagine trying to sleep next to someone screaming nonstop, or every few seconds. When puppies come into the program without this skill, it impacts all their puppy classmates. They can't get rest either. If one of those puppies struggles with sound sensitivity, it can be downright scary for them.
It impacts us trainers too. When you know without question that a dog is struggling, you go through the day holding that stress with you too, and there are decisions that take place, sometimes decisions the families don't want to hear but that are right for the dog. Ethical. our mantra is do no harm.
We need to keep very close tabs on dogs that struggle with this. These dogs desperately need socialization. Their worlds are smaller than ever right now with the pandemic. They also need down time for us to optimize their progression through the programs. It's also against our ethics to place them in harm's way. This presents us with a conundrum. Is it better to sacrifice some stress for socialization? How stressed is this puppy in their down time? Is it impacting others? Is it impacting their progress? The problem with all of this is that it requires a sacrifice either in the dog feeling crate stress or by removing them from the program and missing out on socialization. These decisions can become very complex factoring a number of attributes. All of this takes time away from what our program is built for - Socialization and in the case of Ultimate Puppy Clients - Training.
So why don't we work on crating as part of the program? We actually do, but our role is primarily maintenance of skills that were started in the home. This week is what has spurred me to write about this because this week has been very taxing for the struggling dogs and for my team. This week, we have several dogs who do not have crating skills who started the program. It's been extremely loud. Restful it is not. I worry about my neighboring businesses getting upset too.
So what do we do when this happens? During playgroup when we have the ability, and we have dogs struggling, we will work in shifts where 3 will run playgroup with (for instance) the smalls, and another trainer will work on happy crating with the bigs, walking up and down the aisle and feeding the puppies who are crated treat by treat, working to build a positive association. Sometimes though, playgroup requires all trainers to be present, and so to remove one to work on crating isn't always possible. This then leads to dogs who are not resting during their breaks. And the cycle continues, where we aren't able to optimize their programs because we don't have all pieces in play.
Why not hire another trainer to work specifically on crate training? Well, sticker shock. Our program is paid in a lump sum. The cost being $1900 for Ultimate Puppies for 4 weeks of half-days. In reality, that is actually approximately $23 per hour which is a screaming deal for professional training that you just need to maintain at home, (don't forget there are 2 private sessions included in the Ultimate package if you think my math is off) and the program comes with weekly instructional videos and material so you can keep up to speed on what we're doing, and start building a training relationship with your puppy on the skills they've learned here at home. A freaking steal! But if we raise rates higher to bring in more help, it causes more sticker shock. If we hired another trainer without raising rates we would go into the negative in a serious hurry. We need to keep things economical or this wonderful program becomes out of reach financially for puppies who really need it.
If we just take on more dogs, we don't get to spend as much time with each, and they would then spend a ton of time in those darn crates, so it's a fine line. Places that don't cap numbers cap the amount of time spent with each dog. If you want to pay all that for mostly daytime boarding and a little training and socialization, that's fine, but that's not our program. We have very high standards for our programs and for our trainers, and part of that is optimizing their programs, not getting greedy, and serving each individual dog's needs.
And that's where our clients come in. This crating thing. We really need your help prior to dogs attending the program in getting them acclimated to their crates. These short bouts of rest are important for the dog's overall well-being, allow us to focus on the job you hired us to do (training and socialization) and we can perform to the best of our abilities under these contexts. We can help your dog meet their full potential. Doesn't that sound way better than meeting some of their potential?
So parents, you've gotta set aside time for this. No, crate training isn't super fun or glamorous, but it is important for your puppy and it will help us make the most of your investment. Because dogs that cannot comfortably crate take away the quality of the program for themselves and other puppy clients, we have to make hard choices about their ability to stay in or be released from the program, so please do your part. Get them going on daytime crating skills, get them comfortable in there for short bouts, and we will all win! You will have a crate training plan and instructions sent to you prior to attending to guide you on this.
And you know what? That skill will definitely come in handy in the future for travel, camping, dog sports, surgeries, etc. Your puppy is worth it!
]]>In January, my grandparents removed the 50 year old fig tree from their yard. The tree carried a lot of sentimental value as I'd grown up enjoying its fruits and beauty, sharing it with friends, climbing it, and enjoying its shade. I decided to take some cuttings home from California because I couldn't handle the thought of that being the end of it. This meant taking small branches, giving them a home with lots of light, humidity, warmth, soil and water. It was winter. They were coming from California. Figs are not known to fare well in Colorado's climate, definitely not our cold. I also live in an older home with small windows and not nearly as much light as they'd need. I still wanted to give it my best shot.
After much research, I bought some root starter, dipped them all and put them into a mulch mix designed for starting tree cuttings. I purchased artificial light and big plastic sheets to hold in the moisture for them. I watered them and once I saw they were capable of sprouting leaves, I stopped watering them all together. Predictably, they died. I was so mad at my plants. I kept thinking, "They KNOW how to grow..."
No, actually, they lived in the back bathroom until April and are currently thriving by our back sliding glass door.
When I finally transplanted them, it was long overdue because the garden stores were closed (pandemic) so getting soil was a challenge. They were looking rough. I stuck with it and I'm happy to report that they are now beautiful, healthy plants. New growth has even surfaced through the soil. In Colorado. In a dark house with few sun-facing windows.
I was admiring them this morning and thinking of the parallels between plants and dogs.
I chose a plant I loved and put it into an environment it is ill-fitted for. I had to work really hard for my fig trees to thrive here. I had to constantly revise my behavior to get them through. If they'd been in their intended environment, it would have been much easier for them and for me.
Selecting dogs on environmental fit is important too. But if you just love field labs, and are fairly sedentary, you're going to have to work much harder for them to flourish. If you love working breeds, you'll need to provide them with high volumes of mentally stimulating activities and decent amounts of exercise - more than an average energy dog might require. If you opt for a cattle dog, know that they've been intentionally bred to herd by biting, and so if you've got kids in the house, you're going to have to work extra EXTRA hard to mitigate this, and likely not just in training, in management of the environment too.
My figs in Colorado are the cattle dogs of the plant world. This particular variety grows into a big tree, but here, it won't be able to survive outside, and my house just isn't big enough to accommodate a full sized tree. I'm likely going to have to bonsai it. Lots more work. I'm going to have to manage their environment closely.
Like my figs, some dogs will take a lot of extra work if the environment isn't really what they're meant for, but if you're willing to put in the time and effort, they can absolutely thrive. When their needs are met, they flourish.
But all dogs are like plants and their skills need maintenance care that happens for life. There is a misconception that once a dog is trained, that's it! They know it. Imagine me being like, "There, you've learned how to leaf, little figling. I'm no longer going to water you." and then getting pissed at it for dying as I was joking about above. This sounds funny, but it occurs with dogs when their behaviors die at an alarming level.
There are commonalities to all living organisms on this planet. We are all built to behave, we are all shaped by our reinforcement history (what works), and we all spend our behavioral energy where we can gain the most reinforcement. Behaviors that are tried and don't work go away. Behaviors that are tried and do work stick around. Learning is essentially gaining an understanding of what works and what doesn't.
Those plants of mine are subject to learn behaviors all the time. They've learned that if they turn their leaves toward the window, they optimize light intake, for instance.
I've been shaped by them. When I slack off they get wilty, I in turn perform the behavior of giving water to them, and in turn I am reinforced by their becoming lush again.
Susan J. Friedman, Ph.D. said behaviors are more accurately described as varying shades of strong. What she is describing is that no learned behavior is rigid in its form, it is forever influenced and flexible within its environment. High level, if coming when called has always yielded the best possibility of reinforcement for your dog, the behavior will be repeated time and again. If coming when called stops being reinforcing, or something out there in the world has consistently proved to be more reinforcing, they won't. Notice, it's all about what has happened in the past.
The history of reinforcement.
Here's the hard part, the Come to Jesus talk: We humans are really awful at accounting for our own failings in the responsibility department of our dog's behavior. As the keepers and doler outers of reinforcement, the blame for failed behavior is our burden to carry. Your dog might think, "If your reinforcement is shit, I quit!" So next time your dog fails to sit on cue, think to yourself, "This behavior is wilting. I need to provide it nourishment or it will die."
If you say things like, "He knows this! He's just being obstinate!" It sounds about as foolish as me getting mad at my plants for dying if I fail to care for them.
And if you've got your eye on a dog who is like a fig tree in a Colorado climate, know that it can work, but you as the tender of the garden are going to have to work extra hard to make it so.
Pictured: Behold my beloved new and old fig trees -- the latter loved so much I had my picture taken with it!
Why are private dog training sessions so expensive? You might be surprised to learn that it's all really expensive for us trainers too! I think this question comes up because on the surface, only the hour of time spent with the client is considered, and it's hard to grasp the behind the scenes expense of it, so in an exercise in transparency, I thought it might be helpful to dissect it a bit. After, I'll provide tips on how to keep costs as minimal as possible.
]]>I think this question comes up because on the surface, only the hour of time spent with the client is considered, and it's hard to grasp the behind the scenes expense of it, so in an exercise in transparency, I thought it might be helpful to dissect it a bit. After, I'll provide tips on how to keep costs as minimal as possible.
Private training is most often utilized for behavioral cases or specialized training. Behavioral cases are inherently more risky, and as a result, require extreme levels of focus and attention to detail and a specialized education to treat effectively.
While the type of protocol used doesn't vary much, customization comes into play based on the dog's current skills set, the handler's training goals and abilities, and then any environmental constraints that need worked around. This takes time and most often training plans are created back at the office factoring these pieces and prior to or following the actual consult. The trainer is still working for you outside of the session.
After all of this, trainers still need to make a living wage if they're to stay in the field. It's a tough road, no kidding, but it needs to stay sustainable.
Good trainers are hard to come by because it's such a huge balancing act. It's a fine line between making a living and burning out. Take too much on and you're toast. Mentally and emotionally, you'll fry. Take too little on, and you can't survive. Cut corners and bad things happen.
Prevention, prevention PREVENTION!! Group classes and early socialization are very affordable and go a long way to decreasing a need for private training. We're pooling expense between all participants which lightens the load and groups are standardized so we can do more of them and help more dogs.
If purchasing a dog, good genetics and early puppy experiences and efforts at the breeder or rescue will also tip the scales in your favor. Vet your trainers well. Do they have an education or certifications? Are they following best and current humane practices in the field? You can burn through money like crazy with incompetent bargain trainers with nothing to show for it or worse, more damage to your dog because frankly, they don't always know what they're doing. They're actually practicing trial and error on your beloved dog. With the wrong trainer, and quoting my mentor, "You'll end up in the I Tried It And It Didn't Work Club."
Price is often (but not always) a good reflection of experience. Trainers who have been at it for a long while will charge appropriately. They know they can't live on $50 a session and cover all their expenses. They know the risks of burnout, they've made it out the other side and prioritize self care so they can stay in the game for the long haul. A trainer who is overly frazzled is ineffective and sometimes dangerous. Would you want a trainer who couldn't be fully present working with your bite-risk dog?
You can also decrease expense by following your trainer's instructions as designed. The more closely you follow these guidelines, the more efficiently you'll navigate the plan and get to resolution. If the trainer asks you to invest in high value treats, chews, interactive toys, muzzles, baby gates etc. they're not just trying get you to spend more money, they're trying to get you relief as quickly as possible.
Also, going rogue between sessions makes it really hard for us to help you and will often add expense. We have no idea what you're doing if you stray from the plan so having to dissect your activities second hand and then get back on track takes away time we could be working on next steps. Good trainers will follow a well-vetted plan, so that trainer will likely need to have you go back and do the steps she assigned at the last session, effectively making progress the previous week a wash.
We dog trainers are doing our very best to get you results as efficiently as possible. We're highly in tuned with the fact that if money runs out, or we crash and burn, families and dogs suffer.
I hope that helps to put your mind more at ease in your investment and gives you some useful insight into how to actually save in the long run.
]]>The hallmark of any good professional is knowing his/her limitations. I sometimes get asked about medical issues with dogs. "Is this bump weird?" "Does it look like this dog is limping?" "What should I do?" I can confirm, yes, xyx looks weird, but I immediately refer to a vet. I do this because I am not a vet, and I'm not trained in medicine, my schooling is in behavior. While we're talking about behavior, some behaviors need pharmacological support.
]]>I sometimes get asked about medical issues with dogs. "Is this bump weird?" "Does it look like this dog is limping?" "What should I do?"
I can confirm, yes, xyx looks weird, but I immediately refer to a vet. I do this because I am not a vet, and I'm not trained in medicine, my schooling is in behavior. While we're talking about behavior, some behaviors need pharmacological support. Again, we as trainers may know of common meds used, but we don't advise on them because some meds interact with others with disastrous effect. This isn't our place. A vet will consider your dog's overall health, other meds they may be on and how they'll interact, etc. before treating. This isn't our wheelhouse. An ethical trainer will stay in their lane. The behavior lane.
On the flip side, your vet may say, "yes, this behavior is odd", but should not then go on to dispense behavior advice. They are not trained in behavior, they are trained in medicine. They should refer you to a qualified, certified trainer. Unless your vet is a veterinary behaviorist who has been trained in both behavior and medicine (and there are only a couple in the state), it's unlikely they know the ins and outs of behavior modification, of puppy socialization and developmental milestones, or even operant conditioning (how we teach dogs new skills). They should stay in their lane. The medicine lane.
The hallmark of any good professional is knowing his/her limitations. While both fields are here to help, the greatest kindness to the animal is to get them to the right source via referral.
Recently, I've had clients who have been told by well intentioned but ill-informed vets all sorts of inaccurate information:
"Don't take your puppies out until they've had all vaccinations." I get it. Diseases are scary, and their job is to keep a puppy free from illness.
Unfortunately, if you follow this advice, you will miss the most critical developmental window of this animal all together - the socialization period. This can be and often is disastrous for the dog and the household. You know what else is scary? Living with a dog who finds the world dangerous and has sharp teeth to keep themselves safe. And they're not wrong to find these things scary, they're just scared, and weren't properly socialized, or perhaps genetics are at play. Socialization tips the scales in our favor of having a well adjusted dog. Yes, some need more support in the long run, but it exponentially increases the likelihood of raising a behaviorally sound dog. Warehousing a puppy through their socialization period is a much higher risk than disease. And dogs die for it all the time.
I've had students under the misconception they need to "be alpha" or "show their dog who is boss" because their vet has advised them of this when a scared dog is barking at something that scares them. Just no. No, no, no, no, no. They aren't trying to rule the world, they're trying to stay safe. Behavior modification helps them to feel safe.
Please, when looking for behavioral expertise, go to the expert in behavior. And when looking for medical advice, go to the expert in medicine.
And if you're ever in need of an expert on both sides, let us know, we know some great veterinary behaviorists who can help.
]]>Dogs are starved for the ability to interact with their own species. Often, the inability to play and practice species-normal behaviors can add to a dog's frustration when encountering other dogs. I also love them because they help busy people meet their dog's needs. We put in so many hours at work, it becomes challenging for us to do enough with our dogs and also get the down time we so desire and this creates a circular issue of a dog who needs and wants more, and who creates ways to meet their needs that we don't really love. This causes frustration in the relationship between us and them, frustration causes a lack of motivation to do anything, and guilt kicks in. The issue gets worse and worse.
Often, people will remark that dogs who go to the dog park get dog-crazed. Let's dissect that. Why do things become valuable? It's typically because they're rare. Why do we crave things? Because we haven't had access to them in a long while. With a dog who is social with other dogs, to deny their ability to engage with them makes them all the more valuable to the dog. When something is easy to access all the time, it loses its novelty. This is basic science.
Let's talk science for a minute:
Motivational Operations (MO) from a behavior perspective are tools that we can use to increase or decrease the value of something the animal finds reinforcing. Establishing Operations fall under the MO umbrella. For instance, if we want to make the food we're using MORE reinforcing, we would train when the dog is hungry. If a dog finds play with other dogs really reinforcing and we want to make it more valuable, we would deny access to play to make it a stronger reinforcer to dogs.
Abolishing Operations also fall under the MO umbrella. Abolishing operations (also known as saturation) can be used to make something that is highly motivating for the dog less motivating. We use this a lot in distraction training to decrease the value of the things competing with us for our dog's attention. Often distractions are really just rewards we can't control.
Example: Let's say you looove pizza. Pizza is your #1 food of choice. That first bite is absolutely amazing, but by slice 3, pizza isn't as appealing to you. And if you sat down and ate a whole pizza and then someone brought you another, I'd guess that continuing to eat pizza is really no longer on your to-do list, at least for the time being.
This holds true for social dogs too. When I work with dogs in my level 2 distractions class, if they're really social with other dogs and struggle to focus in the class setting, right in their handouts we recommend they do some dog play 30 minutes prior to the training class (abolishing operations) and lo and behold: The dogs get saturated to play. SCIENCE! They get enough of it that when they get to training class, they're no longer hyper-focused on the other dogs in class. They can work beautifully with their owners. Our goal in class is focus on their people, and this is one way we get them there.
They've had enough play that engagement with their owners for food rewards is now the bigger draw for them. This is a purposeful step in helping dogs succeed at training in high distraction environments. It doesn't just need to be dogs, but you get the idea here.
Everything we do or don't do with dogs plays into a larger scheme of things. Denying dogs access to something they desperately want only serves to make that craving stronger. Granting lots of access to something they want serves to decrease its value. Science lesson over.
Now, back to dog parks. For pet dogs who love to socialize and play with their own species who live in busy households, this is such a fantastic option. Dogs can run and sniff and play and swim and come back to you more focused and ready to work, or chilled out so that the two of you can enjoy a relaxing evening together. And it happens fast! Most dogs don't need loads and loads of it to satiate their need.
For a very active dog, neighborhood walks just don't cut it and would take forever if you're looking to physically meet a dog's needs. But the dog park - it's quick and it's fun and it's got enrichment built in. Navigating social interactions and sniffing and digging and investigating it takes a lot of brain power. It's magical.
The deal with all environments for all species is that there are always risks, but we need to heavily evaluate the fairly low risk for high reward. I am sick to death of hearing about how insanely risky dog play is. The risk is minimal when you're responsible. You can always leave if needed. Dogs are by and large peaceful animals, and when they do actually squabble, yeah it's loud, but it's considered clean fighting in their world.
Anything beyond superficial scrapes are rare. Our fear of dogs because they communicate differently needs to be checked. Denying dogs the ability to be dogs is wrong. It's so narcissistic to think that we should be their only focus. It's not honoring the dog for the amazing animals they are. Yes, sometimes things can go wrong, but by and large they go right.
A Word About Rare Event Reporting + Our Susceptibility To It:
We often get hyper sensitive to risk because we are bombarded with horror stories all the time. They draw us in and hold our focus. It's more interesting for some reason. But of the hundreds of thousands of dogs that go to the dog park, most do so without incident. It's sad that "I took Luna to the dog park and she had a great time" isn't the more popular headline. Why are we so focused on the negative?
Please know that while dog parks aren't for all dogs, they are a great option for many, and can increase quality of life exponentially. If you know loads of dogs your dogs can play with in their own groups at home, you're so lucky, but that's not the reality for most pet dog people.
Let them Play!
]]>It's universally understood in dog training circles that enrichment activities are a great quality of life increase for dogs. Scrap the food bowl, feed them out of toys. Meals that took them 30 seconds and left them looking for their next activity are turned into a brain game. A puzzle if you will. 20-30 minutes of activity using something they've gotta do anyway - eat.
But I'm gonna let you in on a little secret: It's not just about the dog. These toys are a gift from the heavens to you. Feeder toys = down time for stressed out puppy people. Relaxation, ahhh relaxation. Calgon, take me away...
Let's face it, dogs are hard work. They have a lot of needs and when those needs aren't met by us, they find ways to meet them themselves. As the species with the bigger brain, let's do our part and give them legal activities. When they're busy doing legal stuff it leaves little time to be doing illegal things.
So here's my message to you, dear puppy people: Engage in self care. Invest in enrichment. When you're exhausted, but your puppy is just getting started, these toys are your solution.
Get them addicted! Then, and only then, make it harder.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Don't Shake the Baby Toys!!
| For more ideas, head over to the Enrichment & Feeder Toys section here.