Jenn and the Dogs

It would seem I have a case Of writer’s block, but I don’t want just say nothing. So, how was everyone’s memorial weekend? Mine was slow as I was given Saturday off as well as Monday and all that extra time made the weekend drag on forever. I can’t complane though, but I did miss my usual “Doggy Saturday” which I hate because I look forward to it every week. The good news is that the weather reached 80 degrees last Sunday and so Motley and Vincent and I spent Sunday at the dog park. They ran so much that they slept the whole way home and then took another nap on the couch. The bad news is that the nice weather didn’t last and we are back to our usual 50 degree spring-in-illinois weather…

Are Petsmart and Petco getting to expensive for you? It is for me. Which is why I have turned to the world wide web for all my doggy shopping. There are some great bargains online! And some really neat things I’ve never seen at a local pet store before. I just wanted to share two of my favorite doggy websites with you.

 

www.thepamperedpetmart.com sells all kinds of dog products at much cheaper prices then petsmart and I think they have a better selection too. They also sell products for cats and small animals. Make sure you join their email list because they have sales often and many products do not require a shipping charge.

 

www.spotorganics.com If you don’t mind spending just a little bit more money and are looking for organic grooming supplies, then Spot Organics is for you. They have everything from natural hemp shampoo to organic botanical ear cleanser to calming essential oils made specially for soothing separation anxiety! All their products are 100% natural, 100% safe for dogs, and 100% safe for the environment. This site is only for dog grooming supplies and some products are marked as not safe for cats.

 

Enjoy!

Jenn

There are two kinds of aggression in dogs; Fear Aggression and Dominant Aggression. Dogs always do what works best for them. In fear aggression, when a dog finds himself in a situation that he finds scary and threatening, the dog will usually try to escape first. If there is no way he can escape, he will send signals, using his body posture, to say “You’re scaring me, please leave me alone!” (Signals include crouching body posture with head lowered and tail tucked in between the legs, hackles raised, lips raised to show teeth). If this doesn’t work, then the dog will escalade to growling, snapping, and if all else fails, biting and attacking. In most situations, it is not the dog’s fault if he reaches the point of nipping or biting. He did try to warn you and is only defending himself the only way he knows how.

In dominant aggression, the dog views himself as the leader and believes to have authority over his owner and sometimes over the entire household. In this case, the dog reacts aggressively in order to enforce his rules and in situations in which the dog feels his authority is being threatened. Again, the dog will always do what works best for him and will usually start with warning signals to get what he wants as if saying “You better do what I say or there will be consequences!” (Signals for dominant aggression include placing a paw or arm over you, placing their head over you, stiff or tense body, arms placed out in front and spread apart, leaning forward as if they are going to pounce or attack, head lowered, hackles raised, lips flaring and/or raised to show teeth, sticking the tip of the tong out.) If those signals don’t work, the dog will then try growling, nipping, and if all else fails, biting and attacking.

Some dog breeds are inherently more fearful or dominant. For example, many spaniels are usually submissive and become scared easily, while guarding breeds such as Chow Chows have a more dominant and challenging personality. However, problem behaviors that result from a dog that is overly fearful or dominant almost always result from a lack of or improper socialization and training. Also, abuse and neglect play a major role and can sometimes be irreversible. However, there is actually a much smaller number of dogs who are aggressive because of mistreatment verses dogs who are treated lovingly but where not socialized or trained.

Dominant aggression should never be tolerated, but at the same time a dominant dog should never be punished as this will cause the dog to feel threatened and the dog will react by raising his aggressive behavior to ‘remind you who’s boss’. Unless you’ve worked with dominant aggressive dogs before successfully, you should seek professional help to get a dominant aggressive dog under control without causing the bad behaviors to escalade.

For dogs who exhibit fear aggression, they too should not be punished. Punishing a fearful dog is like punishing a fearful child. Both just need to be taught that everyday situations are no thing to be afraid of. Sometimes fear aggression can get out of control and can transition into dominant aggression. This is often the case when a dog is so nervous and fearful on an almost daily base and sees no other escape but to act aggressively. Since acting aggressively is the only thing that seems to work (whoever’s scaring them backs away when they nip!) the dog starts to feel as though acting dominant toward the things that scare him works better then showing fear. Usually a professional can tell you if your dog is acting dominant out of fear, but it can be difficult for dog owners to tell as the signs are very similar.

If your fearful dog normally does not act aggressively (if they are okay in most situations and only exhibit fear aggression in certain situations, for example, when strangers get too close.) then you can try to help your dog with some training at home. Fearful, submissive and shy dogs all benefit from basic obedience training because it gives them the confidence they need to face our scary human world. Obedience training teaches dogs to look to us for directions. Fearful dogs are often scared because they don’t know what to do in situations that should not normally scare them. A dog who has reached intermediate to advanced levels of training has been taught to always wait for their owners instructions before acting in any situation. Thus, trained dogs know they have nothing to be afraid of because their owner has everything under control and will tell them exactly what to do. For example, when I walk my dog Motley and we cross paths with another person or dog, Motley will almost always look up at me as if to say “can I run over there and say hi?” and that’s when I say “leave it” and we continue on our way.

Obedience training also works wonders for dominant aggression as it is a sure way to teach you dog that you are the boss, not him, and that he must ask or wait for your instructions before acting in any situation. The only problem is that training must be done carefully and correctly, using only positive reinforcement, so that the dog never feels threatened during training.

Once your dog can be trusted to fallow your commands, you can then begin socializing them (or re-socializing them as the case may be). Once your dog knows commands such as sit-stay, you can use it to teach your dog how to behave around other dogs and people.

This weekend was spectacular although it was just a crumb taste of what I plan to dedicate my life to. Saturday I spent 3 straight hours helping Teresa train some of our newest, and possibly most troubled, customers. The first hour class was small as only three people/dogs showed up. There were 2 labs and a spaniel mix. The spaniel mix looked nothing like a spaniel to me. It looked more like some sort of spitz breed as it had a double coat and a plumed tail that curled over the back. Only the shape of the dog’s head and the bent-over ears didn’t look at all like a spitz. Anyways, all three of these dogs clambered out of their owners’ vehicles like the incredible hulk busting through a brick wall. These dogs where not at all vicious, they were just used to dominating their owners. After about 45 minutes of teaching them heel, sit, and wait, and a long talk about how to be your dog’s leader, those same three dogs left our class happily fallowing the heels of their owners, tails waging behind them.

The second hour class was bit more hectic. At one point, Teresa left me completely in charge of the puppy class as we had a huge number of dogs attend the second hour class and some of them needed much more attention then others. All in all, I think the second hour class went well. Maybe not as well as the first class since we were able to give a lot more one-on-one attention to those three dogs, but it was still a good out come and we could definitely see a huge difference in a number of the dogs from the second hour class.

The third class was an intermediate/advanced class that was mostly for us trainers and our dogs, though there were two customers who were invited to stay for the third class, and they did stay, so that was good. Unfortunately it rained on us the entire time.

Sunday I went to an event that was hosted by the Humane Society in Kenosha, WI . It was a make-shift doggy carnival. Only instead of rides, there was a lure course that the dogs could try, and there were obedience demonstrations. There was, of course, food and drinks, and games for the kids, and booths full of doggy products and services for sale. Teresa had a “Tricks for Tips” booth set up at which I volunteered to help with and all the “tips” we raised went to the humane society.

During the second half of the event, Teresa and Cindy got the brilliant idea to bring a couple of the shelter dogs out and walk them around and work with them so as to show them off and increase their chance of getting adopted (it was weird as I had assumed that the shelter’s dogs would be out, but for what ever reason they were not). The owner/manager of the rescue was more then happy to let use take a couple of the dogs out with us. They even put little vest on them that said “adopt me” on the sides. I chose a small black-lab mix named Damon. He was a high-energy guy and was obviously overly excited and overly stimulated by the shear thought of being let out side with people and other dogs around him. I admit he was a hand full when I first brought him out (he jumped on the “tricks for treats” booth and knocked over a few things and stole a bunch of treats that we’d been saving). I realized immediately that I had to get Damon to settle down and control himself or he’d create a bad rep and never find a good home. So I decided to start by teaching Damon so sit. I took a little while to get his attention as he was very distracted by every thing and every one. But he was soon easily motivated by treats and within a matter of minutes he was sitting on command, much to my own surprise! Okay, I thought, if he can sit then he can lie down too. It took only the first try to get Damon to lie down and he performed the down command perfectly every time after that. Infect, I think Damon was better at “down” then he was at “sit”. Once Damon realized he could earn treats from me by behaving, he was much, much calmer and easy to manage. I became a little eloped in my work with Damon and almost forgot about where I was. When I finally looked up, there was a small audience of people watching me train Damon. Most of them were volunteers who worked at the Human Society. They were in awe of how quickly Damon learned to sit and lie down, how well he responded to me, and how his behavior had transformed so quickly. Now I became a little bit aware of myself as I was being watched. I felt as though my “audience” was waiting for more. The grand finale, perhaps. Originally I had taught Damon sit and down so he would be easier for me to manage and so he wouldn’t look like a barbaric beast in front of potential adopters. But since I was feeling proud in front of these people, I decided to try teaching Damon to roll-over. Why the heck did I go for Roll Over? It’s the most difficult trick to master. There is an endless list of tricks that are so much simpler. Damon has no prior training and only a small hand full of dogs can roll over, how naive am I to think that Damon could do it?

Again, to everyone’s surprise, Damon nailed it. He rolled over! And he rolled-over time and time again, for anyone who wanted to see. Damon and I were a real crowd pleaser that day and I was so proud of him and of myself. People and children came right up to pet him and to ask me about him and Damon was ever so gentle and appreciative of all the attention he received. Later that day I was told that I did an outstanding job with Damon and that two families had gone to the shelter’s office and expresses their interest in adopting Damon. Both families said they had watched me train him.

Damon didn’t actually get adopted that day as I imagine there is a long adoption process. But I have high hopes for him. It was difficult saying good bye to Damon at the end of the day because we had bonded so well. I wish I could have taken him home with me.

Once your dog knows how and will accept being calm and quiet in his crate, you can then start to teach your dog to go to his crate on command. This is probably one of the most useful commands your dog will ever master, and it’s so nice to be able to send your dog to his crate instead of having to chaise your dog around, catch him, and drag him kicking and screaming to the crate. These instructions pick up right where we left off with yesterday’s blog “Teach your dog to love being in his crate”.

 

Step 11: At a random time, when you dog is not looking, quickly place a treat or two (or a toy if your dog is a picky eater) into the back of the cage. Next, calmly and casually go over to your dog and gently grab your dog’s collar. Say the command (such as “Place” or “Bed” or simply “Crate”, etc.), and briskly walk your dog over and into his crate. Close the door. Praise him. Wait a few minutes. Now let him out.
Tip: Do not say an entire phrase such as “Go to your place/bed/crate/etc.” just yet. We’ll get to that later.

 

Step 12: Once you’ve let your dog out, go about your way and ignore him for 5-10 minuets, or until your dog starts doing something else. Then repeat step 11.

 

Step 13: Repeat Steps 11 and 12 several times through out the day. If you normally leave your dog in his crate when you go out, then use Step 11 to put your dog in his crate every time you leave the house, in addition to practicing through out the day when you are home.

 

Step 14: After your dog has herd the command for going to his crate, and has been sent to his crate immediately after hearing the command, many, many, many times (ideally over the course of two to four weeks) then you can try sending your dog to his crate on cue without having to pull him by the collar.

 

Start during a time when both you and your dog are in the same room as his crate. Say something like “Spike, go to bed!” or what ever your command is. Stress the command word to make sure your dog hears it. As you say “go to bed!” extend your arm out and point to his crate and then walk over to the crate with your dog. You may have to give your dog a little tug and some encouragement to get him to fallow you and then go into his crate. Once your dog is in his crate, close the door and praise, praise, praise! Then let him out and try it a few more times. Practice sending your dog to his crate from different angles of the room, from behind the couch, etc.

 

Step 15: Once your dog has mastered going to his crate on command in the room where his crate is located, then you can try sending your dog to his crate on command from another room in the house. Use the same directions as outlined in Step 14 for each room in your house. Practice in one room at a time. Remember to always point in the direction of the crate and walk with your dog. This is to show your dog how to get to his crate from every room/angle of the house. Practice several times a day.

 

Step 14: Eventually the day will come when you say the command and your dog runs ahead of you and straight into his crate and waits for you to come close the door. This is excellent as it means that your dog knows exactly what to do when you say the command! Now you can begin to wean off the “walking-with-your-dog” part. Continue to point in the direction of his crate and walk far enough to see that you dog does go inside his crate. Eventually all you’ll have to do is say the command and point. Cool huh. Remember to get up every now and then and check to see that your dog is still going into his crate when you tell him to, and not just going to the room where his crate is, or a different room altogether. If this happens, your dog may need a reminder training session.

 

Now, if you want to get really fancy, you can teach your dog to stay in his crate even when the crate door is open. This trick is very impressive and will always amaze your guest, especially after your dog just went to his crate on his own! This is done a little differently but is usually pretty easy to teach.

 

First, you will need to pick a command to tell your dog that you want him to stay in his crate. I use “nap” because my old Shetland Sheepdog used to fall asleep and literally take a nap every time. FYI: Don not use the word “stay” as this command has an inertly different meaning in obedience and your dog will get confused when you ask for a sit-stay or down-stay. Second, you will need to pick another command to tell your dog that it is okay for him to leave the crate (also known as a release cue) such as “done” or “finished”. FYI: Do not use the word “okay” because we use that word in daily conversation too often and if you say “okay” during a conversation with guest, your dog may get confused and get up and leave when you didn’t really want him to. Once you have chosen your two command words, fallow the directions below:

 

Step 1: Put your dogs leash on (you’re going to need it) and send him to his crate. Go over to the crate with your dog and have him lie down inside the crate. Use a treat to lure your dog into the down position if you need to. Once your dog is down, you must keep him down for a full 30 minutes. There may be some protesting from your dog as he is wondering what is going on, why he can’t get up, and why is the door open? But you must not let your dog get up! In fact, you must not allow him to even begin to stand up. Remember the leash? Sit on the leash or hold the leash down so that your dog can not stand up (not even an inch!) even if he tries. It works best if you hold (or sit on) the part of the leash that is closest to your dog’s collar. Do not allow your dog crawl around, roll around, or even get up to scratch himself (honestly, some dogs will pretend they are itchy so you will leave them alone, but again they are just acting and fooling you. Do not fall for it!). It is ok for your dog to shift his weight around as to get comfortable, but that’s it.

 

It may take a few minuets, but eventually your dog will relax and maybe even fall asleep. You must stay sitting next your dog, holding the leash down, for a full 30 minuets, even if your dog falls asleep. When the 30 minuets is up, say your release cue (All done!) and take your dog outside to use the bathroom and to stretch his legs. Practice Step 1 two or three times a day, but no more or your dog may become restless.

 

Step 2: After a week or two of practicing Step1, you can add the command “nap” or whichever word you have chosen. Start by sending your dog (on leash still) to his crate (using the “go to your crate” command from before), and have him lie down inside it. Then say the “stay in your crate” command (i.e. “nap”) and hold the leash down so your dog can not get up for full 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, say the release cue (i.e. “all done!”) and take your dog outside for a bathroom break. Practice Step 2 no more then three times a day for a week or two.

 

Step 3: Repeat Step 2, only this time do not hold on to the leash. Do continue to sit next to your dog just in case he tries to get up so you can quickly correct him. If your dog stays down for the whole 30 minutes even though you’re not holding the leash, then the next time you do this you can try to sit a little further away from your dog. Increase your distance just a tiny bit each time over the course of a week. Continue to sit of the floor each time. If your dog gets up, immediately go over and correct him. Say “no, no” and lie him down in his crate and start over.

 

Step 4: Assuming your dog is doing well and stays down, you can try sitting on the couch or chair. Start by sending your dog to his crate and then giving him the command to stay in his crate. Slowly back up to the couch or chair and sit down. If your dog starts to get up then immediately go over and correct your dog. Practice Step 4 two to three times a day until you can watch a half hour of T.V. while your dog stays down in his crate the entire time. Remember to always use the release cue after each 30 minute session and take your dog out to use the bathroom and stretch.

 

Tip: If the phone rings and/or you have to step out of the room and away from your dog at any time, always release your dog with the release cue first and then answer the phone. This type of strict consistency on your part will make it crystal clear to your dog that he is not to get up unless you give him permission.

 

Eventually you will be able to leave the room for a few seconds and your dog should continue to stay in his crate.

 

FYI: If you’d rather keep doggy bed in your living room then a crate, then you can use these same instructions to teach your dog to lie down on his doggy bed and stay there when guest come over.

 

Now your dog should be able to go his crate on command, even from another room, and stay there until you release him even though you didn’t bother to close the door! Bet you want to host a dinner party now… J