Long-Distance Behavior Assessment

“My dog bit my father and broke skin. He’s also bitten a relative who came to visit. My father thinks the dog should be put down. What should we do?” This was the gist of a recent inquiry I received. It’s not unusual for me to receive advice-seeking messages, as I’m an author who writes about dog behavior. I help where I can. But this particular type of question is something that not only can I not answer in the way the person wants, but it’s one that I believe no trainer can or should take on.

It’s not that I don’t empathize with those who are living with dangerous dogs. Of course I do; helping people and dogs is the motivation behind everything I do. But these are potentially life and death situations for a dog. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of options for dogs who bite. Most rescues won’t take aggressive dogs, and surrendering a dangerous dog to a shelter for someone else to adopt is irresponsible. Management is a possibility if owners are willing to put in the work and if the family members and lifestyle allow for it. But beyond that, sadly, in many cases the choice to euthanize the dog is made.

But how can any trainer or behavior specialist assess a situation involving aggression without seeing the dog? I’m not talking about an obvious case such as where a dog has severely mauled a young child. Those are rare and at the far end of the spectrum. And I’m not talking about giving general training advice, or even advice about mild aggression. I’m talking about potential life or death cases such as the one mentioned here. How would I know, for example, if the dog bit the father because the father was reprimanding the dog for something by using physical punishment, and the dog acted in self-defense? And what about the visitor who was bitten? Did the person’s body language somehow scare the dog, who happened to be in a position where he couldn’t escape? Even if the dog was completely at fault and bit without provocation, I know nothing beyond what the person is relating. My response to her was that I could not in good conscience give advice about a serious aggression issue without having worked with the dog myself, and that it would not only be unethical, but it would not be doing the dog any favors to do so. I offered to find them a trainer in their area who could work with them in person.

You would think this would all be common sense, but I’ve had more than a few phone calls over the years from desperate owners whose dogs are showing aggression, who have been advised by a trainer sight-unseen to euthanize the dog. To cavalierly suggest that someone end their dog’s life based on a brief phone consult is not only irresponsible, it’s despicable. Perhaps the trainer simply did not want to take on a case that involved such an aggressive dog; that’s understandable. But there are those of us who do deal with severe aggression issues. At least refer the person to someone who does! As for the owner, they’re calling for help. Even in those rare cases where a dog is truly dangerous and there are no viable options other than euthanasia, most owners will sleep much easier at night knowing they did all they could for their dog before coming to that incredibly difficult decision. Having someone assess the situation in person is a necessary part of a comprehensive evaluation. Doesn’t every dog deserve at least that much?
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You can find my books, seminar DVDs and blog at www.nicolewilde.com. Don’t want to miss a blog post? Subscribe above and be notified by email of new posts. You can also sign up for my Training Tips Tuesdays by going to www.nicolewilde.com and clicking on Join Nicole’s Inside Scoop List. You’ll get free tips on training and behavior weekly! You can also find me on Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

Turn Your Dog Into a Supermodel

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you’ve probably seen tons of images of my dogs Sierra and Bodhi. The thing is, neither of them particularly liked having their photo taken when they were first adopted. Sierra in particular did not like that giant eye pointing in her direction! That was unfortunate, because I greatly enjoy photography and not only do I love Sierra like crazy, but I find her a beautiful subject. And so, my first task was to get her over her discomfort with the camera.

If you’ve ever done clicker training, you’re already familiar with the concept of click-and-treat. It’s simple conditioning, with the dog associating the sound of the click with something super yummy, so that the dog works to earn a click. In this case, the camera shutter delivered the click. I started with the camera in my lap, with each click followed by a small piece of hot dog for Sierra. I gradually worked up to holding the camera up to my face, clicking, and treating. Over time, Sierra got comfortable being photographed. Still, tolerating a camera is not the same as modeling. Since we’d all love to take great photos of our dogs, I’d like to share a few tips. I’ll assume that you know the basics of using your camera. (If not, there are some great tutorials online.)

1. Just as human models need to have posing skills, so do dogs. At minimum, your dog should have a solid stay. Ideally, she should stay on cue whether she is sitting, standing, or lying down. But keep in mind that just because your dog performs well in the house, that doesn’t mean she’ll remain in position on a hillside at a busy park around passersby. Build up gradually to stays with distractions.

2. Another useful skill is attention. Photos of dogs gazing off into the distance can be quite beautiful, but you’ll also want to have images of your dog looking at you. Normally, a dog’s name is used as the attention cue. If your dog is not trained to look at you when asked, and calling her name doesn’t work, try using interesting sounds to get her attention. You can actually purchase duck calls and other noisemakers online, but it’s easy enough to make your own mouth sounds. I’ve personally perfected the sound of a cat meowing, but I’ve also used a sharp intake of breath, blowing a raspberry, and even, “Want to go for a drive?” Experiment to see what works for your dog, but don’t use the attention-getter until you’re in position with your camera settings correct, and don’t overuse the sound. Variety is key if you’re going to take more than a few shots.

3. Get down on your dog’s level. Photographing your dog while you’re standing could still yield a cute image, but try sitting on the ground or even lying on your belly instead. You’ll see a huge improvement. (I do, however, sometimes like to shoot down on small dogs who are looking up at me. Cuteness overload!) To make it easier on yourself physically, you could also position your dog on a slight hill or tabletop.

4. Don’t ever put your dog in danger! I would never, for example, pose Sierra off-leash near a busy road, no matter how beautiful the background was or how much I’d love a shot of her there. If you’ve got someone you can bring along, have that person hold your dog on leash while you take the photo. Use a thin leash, and tell your helper to hold it up and away from your dog on a diagonal. That way it will be easier to remove later on in a program such as Photoshop or Elements.

5. Don’t forget to pay your model! I normally show Sierra where I want her to stand, turn her collar so her tags don’t show, take the photo, and then go back and shower her with praise and hot dog bits. No wonder she tolerates me. Just be sure the experience is fun for your dogs. Bodhi, for example, is happy to model all day long, but I know that Sierra only enjoys it for short periods, so we keep her sessions much shorter. Don’t get frustrated if your dog isn’t listening or the images aren’t turning out the way you’d like. There’s always another day. With practice and persistence, you’ll soon be getting great keepsake images of your dogs.

I’d love to see some of the images you’ve taken of your own dogs!
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You can find my books (including my latest, Keeping the Peace: A Guide to Solving Dog-Dog Aggression in the Home) and seminar DVDs here. Don’t want to miss a blog post? Subscribe above and be notified by email of new posts. You can also sign up for my Training Tips Tuesdays by going to www.nicolewilde.com and clicking on Join Nicole’s Inside Scoop List. You’ll get free tips on training and behavior weekly! You can also find me on Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

 

Rewarding Bad Behavior

Every dog trainer would like for their dogs to be compliant 100% of the time. I mean, we’re trainers, right? But dogs are not robots, and although a dog might listen 99% of the time, there is always that 1% that keeps trainers humble and reminds us that nothing in life is 100% guaranteed. Sierra, for example, is very well trained. Because of all the training we did early on and that we still practice, I often have her off-leash at our local park early in the mornings. As we walk the trails and remote areas, I am able to call her away from any fellow walkers we encounter, whether they have a dog with them or not. I can even recall her mid-chase from a bunny or squirrel (and yes, that took a ton of work). However…let me share the story of this morning’s walk with you. I had Sierra at the park bright and early, and after we’d finished our normal route, we headed toward the dog park that’s set in one corner of the larger park. I normally let her into the small dog side when her buddies are on the big dog side, since they enjoy racing along the fenceline together. When we were halfway across the grassy area leading to the dog park, after ascertaining that no one else was in sight, I let Sierra off leash. She started to race happily toward the park.

Just then, a man walking his Lab came down the hill that runs alongside the park. Now, this particular man is someone I used to be friendly with, until it became apparent that he had anger issues, as well as believing that not only is he an expert in dog behavior, but that it’s his job to tell everyone else what they’re doing wrong. Unfortunately, his knowledge is in inverse proportion to the amount of advice he gives. Nevertheless, Sierra loves this guy. Any time she’s run up to him in the past, he’s given her treats (the crappy quality yummy ones I don’t let her have at home) and petting. But nowadays, I really don’t want her near him. And so, when she spied him at a distance this morning and froze, I told her calmly from a few feet away, “Sierra, stay.” Instead, she took a few steps toward him. Then she began to run. Stern Mom voice: “Sierra, no!” Nothing. Now she was really running. Happy voice: “Sierra, come!” Nope. Nada. Zilch. Nothing I did worked. This was not good. Here was my well-trained dog, racing away from me at top speed toward something she wanted. The man, of course, saw and heard the whole thing. When she reached him, did he, with his infinite dog training wisdom, ignore her and withhold treats and petting so as to teach her that she got nothing when she disobeyed her owner? Nope. He gave her plenty of treats, petting, and praise. Great! So now, not only had she not listened to me, but she’d been rewarded for it as well.

Obviously, I’ll be more careful in the future about having her off-leash in that particular area, and we’ll be doing some remedial recall-with-distractions training. But it made me think about all the times dogs inadvertently get rewarded for bad behavior. For example, I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been at a client’s home, sitting across the kitchen table listening to them tell me how they don’t want their dog jumping or climbing on them. And yet, during the conversation, any time the dog puts their paws up on the person’s lap for attention, they absentmindedly stroke the dog while chatting. Score! Why would the dog ever stop?

Whether or not to reward a dog can sometimes be tricky. Back in the day when we had Soko, our German Shepherd, I was awakened early one morning by her barking—only it wasn’t coming from our house, but from the neighbor’s house across the way. Apparently, she’d scaled our six-foot chain link fence and had run down our hill, across the dirt path, and over to the neighboring property. I grabbed some treats, walked outside in my pajamas, and in the happiest sleepy recall voice I could manage, said, “Soko, come!” She began to run to me. “Soko,” I continued in my happy voice, “You little brat, I can’t believe you did that, what a stinker you are!” It really didn’t matter what I was saying; it sounded happy. And when she reached me, I did give her treats and got her back inside. Was I rewarding her running off by giving her treats? No. I was rewarding the fact that she came when I called her.

It’s pretty simple: dogs do what works for them. If they’re rewarded for something, it improves the chances that they’ll do it again. If they’re not rewarded, or are punished (we’re talking behavioral consequences here, not physical punishment), chances decrease that they’ll repeat the behavior (unless the behavior itself is inherently rewarding, as things like digging can be). But dogs are living beings, and stuff happens. And so, we train, train, and train some more. We try to be vigilant, and to learn from our mistakes. And if our dogs’ behavior improves, there’s our reward.
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You can find my books, seminar DVDs and blog at www.nicolewilde.com. Don’t want to miss a blog post? Subscribe above and be notified by email of new posts. You can also sign up for my Training Tips Tuesdays by going to www.nicolewilde.com and clicking on Join Nicole’s Inside Scoop List. You’ll get free tips on training and behavior weekly! You can also find me on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Your Dogs and the Green-Eyed Monster

Jealousy. We’ve all experienced it. The “green-eyed monster” is petty, unpleasant, and something that most of us would prefer to avoid. But what about when the ones feeling jealous are our dogs? Some scientists still believe that dogs don’t experience emotions such as jealousy, but any dog owner could tell you different. When we first brought Bodhi home from the shelter, there were most definitely jealousy issues between he and Sierra over our affections. When Sierra was on her back having her tummy rubbed, Bodhi would clumsily stomp over and actually walk on the poor girl, trying to get in on the action. As you might imagine, this did not go over well. I had to come up with a solution.

I came up with different solutions to the jealousy issue depending on the situation. I’ll share the one that allows Sierra to have her tummy rubbed and Bodhi to jump on the affection train without derailing it. I’ve described it in my new book Keeping the Peace: A Guide to Solving Dog-Dog Aggression in the Home. Here’s an excerpt:

My solution was to train Bodhi to perform an alternate behavior. I taught him that if I was petting Sierra and he wanted affection too, his job was to approach and, instead of steamrolling over her, to lie down on the other side of me and wait. This effectively positioned me between the dogs and kept them from interacting with each other. It allowed Sierra to feel assured that Bodhi would not be stepping on her, and that she would not lose my attention. Nowadays, whenever I’m giving Sierra a tummy rub and Bodhi wants in on the action, he comes running over and immediately lies down next to me. He has, on his own, added the follow-up of rolling over on his back to make getting to his tummy that much easier. (He’s such a thoughtful boy.) I can then give both dogs affection at the same time or, if I choose, I can finish rubbing Sierra’s tummy and then turn my attention to Bodhi. And if Bodhi forgets his manners every now and then and Sierra snarks at him, I let her. There is nothing wrong with allowing her to remind Bodhi that pushiness is impolite.

 Of course, I realize that sounds simpler on paper than it might be in practice. Assuming your dog understands the cues to lie down and to stay, it’s pretty simple to teach. The reward, by the way, is not a treat, but affection. In case you might find it helpful, here’s another excerpt that describes how to teach it:

Now, maybe this technique sounds promising but you can’t imagine your dogs having the self-discipline to carry it out. Perhaps one of your dogs is even more Bodhi-like in his pushiness, or the situation is more intense in your home. In that case, begin by tethering the pushy dog to a furniture leg or other sturdy object. Have treats on hand. Ask the non-tethered dog to lie down nearby. Then ask the pushy dog to lie down. Pet the non-tethered dog. As you are petting, periodically toss treats to the pushy dog so long as he remains in a lying position. You are accomplishing two things at once: teaching the pushy dog that lying down nearby while you pet the other dog is not only okay but results in being rewarded, and showing the dog who is being petted that it is okay for the other dog to be nearby. Over time, as your pushy dog learns to lie calmly as you pet the other dog, switch the reward from treats to petting. When you feel that it is safe, do the exercise without the tether.

 So, there you have it. This particular technique is easy, and just takes a bit of time and practice until the behavior becomes habitual. Try it and let me know how it goes in your home!
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You can find my books, seminar DVDs and blog at www.nicolewilde.com. Don’t want to miss a blog post? Subscribe above and be notified by email of new posts. You can also sign up for my Training Tips Tuesdays by going to www.nicolewilde.com and clicking on Join Nicole’s Inside Scoop List. You’ll get free tips on training and behavior weekly! You can also find me on Facebook and Twitter.