Polite Greetings

Polite Greetings (without jumping):  Rather than telling your puppy “no” or “stop” when it jumps up on you or others, teach him what you would like him to do.  If a puppy learns it will receive attention by sitting, it will sit a lot. If your puppy jumps up and receives attention, whether it’s good or bad, it will learn that jumping works too. For good manners, your puppy should sit to earns treats, its food bowl, toys and access through doors.  Now we will add greeting people to that list. Your puppy should be offering lots of sits now to earn the good things in life.

Reality Check: If your dog jumps every time he meets a new person, he is learning the wrong behavior. Preventing your dog from practicing jumping is the first step to breaking the habit. When you are out with your dog, teach him to ignore people and pay attention to you. No greetings. Just sit quietly next to me and that’s it. After many instances of not greeting people, starting over with the training options below is a lot easier.

At home: Preventing jumping at home is easy. Never, ever, ever provide a reward (looking, talking, touching or food) if you puppy’s front feet are off the floor.  If your puppy if sitting, go ahead and shower him with attention.

Meeting people (leashed): If your dog is on a leash, you can prevent jumping by being prepared. As you approach a person to say hello, ask your pup to sit. If he doesn’t sit, he isn’t ready to say hello.   If he sits, go about your business, but keep a close eye on your puppy. If he rises from the sit, simply pull him gently out of reach of the person and repeat the process.  The goal is for your puppy to learn to automatically sit when he approaches people.  For best results, set up lots of meet and greets over a few days time to practice this until the pup is perfect.

For really excited puppies: If your puppy is overly excited upon greeting, he may need you to provide extra help.  Have your puppy sit a few feet from a person and hold a delicious treat in your fingers allowing your puppy to lick it but not eat it. When you have him focused on the food, ask the person to approach slowly and pet your puppy.  After several repetitions, offer the treat after the pet and then remove it altogether as your puppy learns how to greet politely.

When people enter your home: Be prepared! If you are not, your puppy may fail and jump on your guests and receive their attention and spoil all your hard work. One option is to use the on leash method above and unleash your dog after he greets politely.  A second option for cooperative guests and the easiest way to prevent jumping up and teach your puppy to love house guests, is to have your guests enter the house with treats in hand. As they enter, they should bring their hand down to the dog’s nose level (like the come here and touch my hand signal). Your puppy will know what to do! When he touches the hand, he gets a treat. Then have your guest ask your puppy to sit and deliver a few treats slowly to the pup while he is seated. Then simply invite them in and ignore the puppy until he is calm. People usually love to help. Try hanging a basket outside the door with directions and treats.  Invite people to meet your puppy and have a fun training session with your friends!

Dominance - What it is and What it Isn't

As a dog trainer, I hear the same things repeated over and over again.  Things like, “I know I need to be dominant over my dog,” “she’s the alpha,” “she’s very dominant, “or “she’s the submissive one.”  It seems a great misunderstanding of dog behavior and relationships has taken over and seems to have a life of its own.  The term “dominant” as referring to a dog, took hold first in the 1940s with very limited information and again in the 1970s when a man by the name of Dr. David Mech of the US Dept. of the Interior, described “Alpha” and “Beta” wolves (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNtFgdwTsbU).  Also in the 1970s, The Monks of New Skete popularized the term “dominance” in their book, How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend.  And now, in the present year, the term “dominance” continues to be a popular term that is promulgated by Cesar Milan on his T.V. show, The Dog Whisperer.   Both Dr. Mech and the Monks have disavowed their original theories about “dominance.”  As with anything in life, as time passes, we learn more truth about things.  There have been a lot of truths about dog behavior that have been discovered since the dark ages of dog training.

The true definition of “dominance” is a description of status within a stable canine social hierarchy.  A dominant animal controls the resources such as food, sleeping spaces and breeding rights.  A dominant animal may relinquish its privileges at any time without giving up its dominant status.  It is a quality of a relationship, not a personality type. Depending on the situation, one dog may be dominant around food, but not in other areas that resources are available.  “When the term dominance refers to status it assumes a long-standing and consistent relationship between individuals – one of whom “wins” in ritualized aggressive displays, while the other regularly, and voluntarily submits.” (By Barbara Handelman, M.Ed, CDBC)  Most people are under the impression that because wolves form packs and have status hierarchies, that dogs also follow this pattern.  But, because people live with dogs, the scenario changes significantly.  We don’t really want our dogs to battle it out in the kitchen until one claims its position in the hierarchy, do we?  When owners refer to their dogs as dominant, it says to me that they are allowing their dogs to make the house rules.  If the owner claims the dominant rank in the house, then all dogs become, well, dogs.  Not submissive, just dogs, but on equal turf.  This is similar to a parent/child or employee/employer relationship.  It’s important to recognize that wolves are not dogs and dogs are not wolves.  Dogs have been genetically engineered to live side by side with people.  Dogs will gladly accept human leadership.

Lots of dominance displays arise when an owner brings home a new dog and neglects to demonstrate proper leadership.  When dogs are given privileges freely, they can get the wrong idea. They don’t view free treats and sleeping next to you in bed as love.  They view this as very weak leadership and an open invitation to demand things.  Spoiling a dog can lead to big behavior problems.  “Domestic dogs, in general, no longer depend on submissive displays for their own survival to the extent that their canine cousins do.  Dogs rely more on humans to intervene to prevent or interrupt agonistic encounters, and after fights, to heal their wounds.  Such wounds occurring in a wild population would most likely lead to death of the injured individuals (Goodwin et al., 1996, p. 302.)”

Now on to the infamous, “Alpha Roll.”  It just plain scares me when I see an owner apply this form of “discipline” to a dog.  It’s dangerous folks, and you are not at all conveying the message you think you are.  In a wolf pack, a dominant wolf would perform ritualized aggressive displays until the other would voluntarily give submissive displays in return. If the other wolf does not concede, a fight may result. Notice the word, voluntarily. One wolf does not force another into a submissive position and neither should a human do this to a dog.  If an owner does, in fact, have a dog that is performing dominant behaviors, forcing the dog onto its side is like setting a ticking time bomb.  This is a dangerous move because it is an act of aggression on the part of the owner and eventually, the dog may see fit to put an end to this unnatural ritualized behavior with a bite to the owner’s face.   Applying force to discipline a dog encourages fear related behaviors and aggressive behaviors, as well as creating a perfect opportunity for someone to get really hurt.  I always say, we’re smarter than dogs.  We shouldn’t have to use physical force to get positive behaviors from our dogs.

So what do we do if our dog displays “dominant” behavior? I hope you aren’t still wondering what that means? Let’s clarify…he’s being bossy or attempting to control you, another dog or some resource.  We can prevent and treat dog behavior problems like people, not dogs or wolves.  In my humble opinion, we’d be foolish to even think we could dominate a dog with force.  Ever notice the large teeth on a dog? Now think of your teeth? Who would win if a fight erupted?  We need to become true leaders to our dogs.  We need to provide discipline, guidance, responsible ownership, and consistent direction to our dogs.  When the humans in the house behave appropriately and give the dog clear boundaries and rules and provide the dog with all its necessary resources in life, problem behaviors are rare.  Your dog wants you to be in charge. It is your house, right?  Ever see children who lack guidance? It’s the same for dogs. The bad behavior comes from a lack of human leadership. I will end with the best definition of leadership I’ve ever read, “Leadership is established when the owner can set clear limits for the dogs’ behavior and effectively communicate the rules by always rewarding the correct behaviors, as they occur while preventing or immediately removing the rewards for undesirable behaviors, before they are accidentally reinforced. The owners must reward desired behaviors frequently enough that they become habits. When owners can meet these criteria, their dogs will consider them to be predictable, dependable, and trustworthy.” (Yin, 2007, p. 417.) In other words, the dog is trained well!

It Takes Two to Tango

Training a dog is a lot like attending ballroom dancing classes. Picture me, the trainer, as your instructor. Okay, put me in something tight and make me Spanish if it keeps your attention! You are the guy and your dog is the girl and you’ve signed up for six lessons of ballroom dancing so you can look really great on your wedding day.

Class one: I tell you how to be a good leader. Strong arms, fixed posture and just a touch ahead of the dance so you can coax your lady into position. Then I instruct your lady to anticipate your hand on your back and to let the hand lead you into your next move. I teach you how to listen to the beat of the music and the importance of “feeling” it. I send you home with homework to practice some simple steps together.

Week One at home: You practice a little, but get frustrated because your lady won’t let you lead. She’s not listening and she’s either telling you what to do or ignoring you. You give up on day two, but still think you can catch up in class with the help of the instructor.

Class two: You arrive feeling ready to catch up and learn. The music starts and you press your hand into your lady’s back, trying to lead her and….she steps on your foot. You take a deep breath and say, it’s OK, let’s try again. This is your soon to be lifemate after all…..The music starts again and you step back, your lady steps forward and you’re dancing! All is right with the world. You are sent home with homework and you are inspired to go out and dance!

Week Two at home: You have a busy week at home and cannot find the time to practice dancing with your lady.  On the last day of the week, before the next class, your lovely bride to be begins to complain…a lot. In response, you raise your voice and say, “C’mon! Lady!” She sheepishly responds, glad to have your attention and off you go around the kitchen like you were made for each other.

Class Three: You arrive and are in a heated discussion with your lady about your busy day.  You miss almost everything I say to you, but still think you can catch up.  You begin to dance, but you are tugging at your lady out of frustration. She gets annoyed and acts like she can’t hear anything you say. She’s dancing however she wants! You get even more annoyed and stomp off saying under your breath, “you’ll never learn to dance!”

What’s the moral of the story? It takes two to Tango? Most certainly, but in this case the lady (dog) was always willing and able, but you just didn’t give her the attention she needed in order to learn. And for that matter, you didn’t tune in often enough to learn to dance either. Too much talk and not enough action. Training a dog is like learning to dance. First you must learn the steps. Then you lead your dog to the steps, and then you dance the Tango together.  Learning to train a dog takes time.  You may make progress in some areas and lose ground in others. But always know your dog wants to do the right thing. Make sure you know how to lead and your dog will follow. Make the instructions clear and reward him when he gets it right and you will move forward. If you get mad or give up, you are failing the task at hand.  Slow down. Learn two steps at a time and smile! When you take dance lessons, you are learning and participating with humans. Never forget your dog is a different species…give him a break!

Make the Most out of Toys

I enter a lot of houses in my work and I see a lot of wonderful toy baskets. People love their dogs and generously buy them toys to show their dogs how they love them. Unfortunately, dogs aren't very materialistic. Those full toy baskets just don't get used the way they should. Get ready to change that!

Dogs do what works. When they do something (a behavior) and get what they want (a toy...your attention) they repeat the scenario until it makes you nuts. A classic situation is this: you are sitting watching the tv show of your choice. Your dog drops a ball in your lap. You tell him to go away....several times, until you get sick of repeating yourself and you toss it. YAY!!! Win for the dog. He has nothing better to do than to bother you until he gets what he wants. You have taught him to do that. This is all possible because you have provided him with toys and left them out. Dogs do what works.

Now, consider this scenario: you watch your favorite show and ignore your dog. Your dog has been so well behaved and left you in peace, that you go get his favorite toy from a drawer and invite him to play with you. Win for you! You have rewarded good behavior and reinforced leaving you alone. You are also teaching him that YOU initiate play, not him.

It all depends on access. Don't give away your power! Don't give your dog access to the very things you can use to encourage good behavior. Toys are the second most powerful motivator and reinforcer in most dogs' lives!

Toys can mean many things -I divide them into categories for usefulness. Toys that you fill with food are the most important -Kongs, Kibble Nibbles, Treat Balls and the like. Chews are Bully Sticks, Whimzies, and other tasty, edible chews. The last category is toys that are only fun with human interaction -Tail Teaser, Jolly Ball, Tug Toys, tennis balls, etc. If you keep these toys away from your dog, you can decide when it's best to bring them out.

For really avid chewers and dogs that need to be kept busy, feed breakfast from a stuffed Kong and dinner in a Kibble Nibble. As soon as they are empty, wash them and put them away -do not leave them on the floor to become boring to your dog. Bring out a Tail Teaser and the jolly ball for 10 minutes twice a day and give him a bully stick at night when you are ready to settle down. This is a great use of toys. Your dog gets quality time with you, when you decide and he gets plenty of appropriate chew time. If you want to leave a couple of toys out, something like a rubber tire or a nylabone is a good choice.

The fact is, dogs need a lot more structure for their day than most owners supply. They get bored and make mistakes. Prevent mistakes by being ready to reinforce what you like when you see it. Keep him busy before he makes a bad choice. Keep him mentally stimulated through play and training and your dog will be happy and peaceful. Dogs are really smart, but they depend on us and shouldn't be expected to know what to do if we don't teach them.

No More Excuses

There are too many dog owners who get dogs from unreliable sources, for the wrong reasons and then do nothing with them. No training, no clear communication, very little exposure to new things, places, and people; all the while providing very little exercise for the bored dog.

Then....something changes.

They move from a house with a yard to an apartment building. They get married and the fiance has a dog too. They have a baby. You know -normal human life changes.

Poor dog.

He got no preparation for life and certainly not for life changes. These changes bring out the fact that the dog knows nothing, has no coping skills and is unsocial; maybe even profoundly fearful and aggressive by now.

Enter me.

Only, I can only do so much. I wasn't consulted when the dog was chosen. I wasn't called in for puppy training or any training. I am usually the first thing the owner does and the last resort all in one.

The poor dog is completely unprepared and is now being called difficult, bad, stubborn, and being punished for showing his discomfort and inability to cope with his owner's life change.

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Every day I get calls about issues that could have been prevented if the owner knew how important and helpful training is. The dog could have been prepared if his owner made time and stopped making excuses for doing nothing with the dog for days...weeks...or years.

I can help choose the right dog for you. Ask the people I have helped.

I can train your puppy - really well -for about $20 a week for the first year or a total of $300-$400.

I can teach you simple ways to do amazing things that will make you and your dog smarter and less stressed.

I can introduce your dog to another dog and it will go well!

I can help you train your dog to be prepared for LIFE! not just your house and your yard.

My heart aches for the dogs being euthanized because their behaviors are too much for people to handle -the very people who neglected to prepare the dog how to behave.

Be an educated dog owner. Today. Right now.

Commonly Misunderstood Behaviors and Terms

Petting: Most dogs do not enjoy being pet on the head. When you reach to pet the head, you often block the dog’s vision. The dog will move away from your hand. This is a signal to pet in another way or to leave the dog alone. Dogs prefer a lowered hand and a slow approach to be pet under the chin or on the chest, then you may move around to the top of the dog’s head and shoulders. Always ask a dog to pet him by approaching slowly, offering the back of your hand and reading his body language. Pet for a few seconds, then stop. If the dog moves away or shakes, he disliked the petting. If the dog moves in with a soft, wagging body, he would like more.

Tail: A wagging tail rarely means the dog is “happy.”  The tail communicates many things.  The most important things to pay attention to are the position and the amount of stiffness.  A tucked tail conveys fear or stress. A tail that is somewhat low is relaxed. A tail that is raised above the spine is alert, aroused, and interested. A tail that is straight up is saying “watch out.” Knowing each dog’s normal tail carriage is important. A Husky has an upright tail to begin with, so its straight up will be even higher and his relaxed tail will still be over his back. In addition to where the tail is, it is important to pay attention to its stiffness versus softness. Soft is relaxed, stiff is not.  

Licking: Licking can mean many things. If you touch a dog in a way he dislikes, he may lick you as a way to say stop.  This kind of licking is often followed by mouthing or biting if ignored. Licking the mouth area of a human or a dog is a friendly greeting behavior and may also indicate respect, affection or groveling. Dogs lick surfaces to relieve stress. Constant licking may indicate a compulsive disorder.

Labels: It is important to refrain from labeling a dog.  Labels are misleading and don’t convey useful information. Behaviors come and go and are the dog’s way of communicating.  No dog is “aggressive.” He may use aggression at times. No dog is “submissive.” He may behave submissively in certain situations. These behaviors are not seen when the dog is alone. Dogs communicate with aggressive or submissive behaviors. An aggressive display is not the same as aggression. Aggression using one’s body is meant to inflict harm. An aggressive display is used to prevent conflict. Submissive behaviors are also used to prevent being harmed. Submissive behaviors are often seen as the dog “knowing” he was wrong or as “guilt.” Neither is true. Guilt, remorse, revenge, spite and the like are human emotions that dogs do not feel. Dogs use postures and behaviors to convey messages to avoid being harmed. Humans live in a moral world of right and wrong. Dogs live in the animal world of safe or dangerous. Keeping themselves safe from harm is their primary concern