Category: Training

Woof Wednesday With Angela Adams - What Lies Beneath: Behind The Behaviour

First of all I’d like to thank Kevin for inviting me to write a guest blog, and for being such a nice guy to collaborate with. So thank you Kevin.

Kevin and I decided that a good topic for a post is what really drives behaviour in dogs, and this is also a discussion I find myself having on a daily basis during the course of my work as a trainer and canine behaviour counsellor. Unfortunately all too often new clients hold the default assumption that dogs behave badly because they are dominant and seeking to attain alpha status.

Contrary to popular belief there is nothing sinister going on.  So let’s take a look at what dominance is, why it is detrimental to apply it to dog behaviour, and what really is behind the behaviour of our canine companions.

Dominance defined: In ethology (the study of animal behaviour), dominance is defined as a relationship between individuals belonging to the same species (conspecifics), that is established in order to prioritise access to scarce resources, for example food, the opposite sex. Such a relationship cannot exist until one animal consistently defers to another.

Modern qualified behaviourists and trainers take issue with applying the dominance model to the dog for many reasons a few being:

• Dominance theory originated from early studies of unrelated captive wolves. These studies were inaccurate and misleading because the wolves were unrelated and not in their natural environment. Studies of related wild wolves in their natural environment show a family group consisting of parents and their offspring, where the relationships are based on cooperation, with the parents guiding and teaching their young.
•  The dog is not a wolf; it is related to the wolf in the same way that humans are related to the chimp. Although dogs maintain some behavioural qualities of wolves and other canids, thousands of years of domestication, selective breeding, and coevolution with humans has greatly altered and shaped their behaviour.
•  For the past 14,000 years feral dogs have evolved as scavengers, and although sociable their existence has been semi-solitary. Where relationships are formed the associations are loose, unstructured, and changeable; members frequently come and go, a quality not seen in wolf packs. A certain degree of cooperation confers mutual benefit with fellow canines allowing for access to communal resources and shared mates. These transient relationships are based on cooperation not dominance, and the evanescent nature of these groups requires no leader or alpha. Furthermore any aggression would likely result in the perpetrator being ostracised from the group.

The dangers of the dominance model: This concept is erroneously used and sadly leads to the application of aversive tools and techniques, with the sole purpose of intimidating a dog to submit with the objective of stopping unwanted behaviours. The application of aversive techniques in training gives rise to a very serious issue of safety, for both the dog and the owner. Such techniques can push a dog into self preservation mode, “fight” or “flight” because it feels threatened or unsafe. Just as importantly such methods can potentially harm a dog’s physical and emotional/psychological well being, through pain, anxiety, frustration, fear, and high levels of stress. The fallout can result in a dog that is withdrawn, subdued, or shutdown (not “calm submissive”); because it has given up, as nothing it does works for the better. Or the result is displays of aggression because of frustration, fear, or anxiety, in this way aggression functions as a tool to create distance, make the bad thing go away or stop. However if this also fails, if we keep pushing a dog’s self preservation button, or the dog’s temperament is such that it is not able to cope with sustained frustration, anxiety, and high levels of stress, then all that is left is active aggression; a bite.

Motivation drives behaviour: All behaviour is driven by motivation, humans, dogs, cats, rabbits, rodents, horses.  There is always some function, some purpose, a motivation to behaviour(s). Although there could be any number of reasons a dog may present with problem behaviour, here we will consider motivation in relation to the following categories:

Social attention and interaction: Dogs are a sociable species, we have all heard the term “It’s just attention seeking behaviour” applied to humans, but owners will often overlook this very simple explanation as a cause for many common problems behaviours. Let’s take a look at a very typical scenario. Consider this, Fido your 10 week old pup is bored, he has been used to attention and interaction on demand with his littermates. You are doing chores and Fido bounds over to you and nips your ankle, you say “No!” attention, you gently push Fido away interaction, and as you do so you look at him directly making eye contact attention. From Fido’s point of view this works, and each time this scenario is repeated, this behaviour is strengthened, and by the time Fido is 5 months this has escalated to serious problem behaviour.

Tangibles: Like humans dogs have needs, wants, preferences, and desires for certain things such as food, activities, toys, and objects etc., which provide motivation for behaviour. It is not bad for dogs to want these things it is perfectly normal. However it is all too easy for dogs to learn to display inappropriate or undesired actions to attain these things, and this is when problem behaviours can arise.

Distance, survival, escape, and/or avoidance: Many dogs are at a disadvantage because important factors such as genetics, imprinting, habituation, and socialisation, which play a vital role in shaping dogs temperament, were lacking. Such dogs are likely to develop a nervous, reactive, anxious, shy, and/or fearful disposition, coupled with poor social skills. Therefore many of these dogs will not cope well with certain everyday situations and events. They will be motivated to create distance, escape, or avoid the situation, and in extreme cases they will be quick to switch to “fight/flight” response when faced with their fears. It is important to stress that punitive training can also put dogs at a disadvantage.  Fear aggression is one of the most common problem behaviours in this category. Whatever the nature of the issue, treatment should be management, remedial habituation and socialisation and training. Under no circumstances should aversive training techniques be applied. (See above: The dangers of the dominance model).

Sensory and intrinsic motivation: Various behaviours are internally rewarding, or self-reinforcing. Such behaviours are not dependent on external consequences, what is happening on the inside is important. For example, when left alone Fido barks excessively, he barks because he is bored and possibly also anxious. Barking is a sensory, self-reinforcing behaviour for Fido because it relieves him of boredom and stress, and makes him feel better.  Excessive barking is annoying and distressing to the owner; however, for the dog the behaviour serves the function of helping it cope with boredom or anxiety. The behaviour of excessive barking has been adopted by Fido because it functions as a coping strategy. To help resolve this type of problem behaviour we first need to change the way Fido feels when left alone, and provide enrichment to keep Fido mentally stimulated, effectively we are changing/removing the motivators.

This should make it clear that attributing dominance to problem behaviours completely disregards the true nature of behaviour; all behaviour is driven by motivation, it has a function. Canine behaviour is as simple as it is complex; that is, certain behaviours may appear to be complex, but there is normally a simple explanation. We just need to figure out two aspects; motivation and reinforcement.

© Angela Adams 2010 @ www.fun4fido.co.uk

For more about Angela, you can visit her website at http://www.fun4fido.co.uk/. You can find Angela on Twitter at http://twitter.com/fun4fido, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/fun4fido/63862277241, and on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/fun4fido.

For more reading on animal behaviour, Angela reccommends the following:

• The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behaviour and Interactions with People – 1996 – James Serpell
• Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition – 2009  - Ádám Miklósi
• Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution – 2002 – R. Coppinger & L. Coppinger
• Learning and Behavior – 6th edition, 2008 – Paul Chance
• Reaching The Animal Mind – 2009 - Karen Pryor
• How Dogs Learn – 1999 – Mary R. Burch & Jon S. Bailey
• Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know – 2009 - Alexandra Horowitz
• Animal Training: Successful Animal Management Through Positive Reinforcement - 1999 - Ken Ramirez

7 comments - Posted by Kevin Myers at 12:00 AM - Categories: Dogs | Woof Wednesday | Training | Behavior

Book Review: Am I Boring My Dog? By Edie Jarolim

Worry is part of the human condition, and it is something we seem to excel at. When we are put into unfamiliar situations and feel out of our depth, it's amazing the questions that can wander through our minds. Enter Edit Jarolim, her significant canine other, Frankie, and their wonderful book, "Am I Boring My Dog? (And 99 Other Things Your Dog Wishes You Knew)."

Written mostly for those considering adding a dog to their house and new dog owners, even veteran dog owners like me can pick up tidbits from this book. Covering 100 questions, from irreverent ones like "How should I refer to my relationship with my dog?" (I had no idea what a SCO was), to serious ones like "How much - and how often - should I feed my dog?" (A question I'm sure your dog has interest in), Edie's congenial style and sharp wit make this a fun and informative read. Chock full of great resources and some pretty clever insights, make sure to pay attention to the footnotes, they alone are worth the price of admission. So if you've ever wondered if you're dog will hate you if you dress him up, this is the book for you.
 
Edie has a terrific blog that can be found at http://www.willmydoghateme.com and you can find out more about her at http://www.ediejarolim.com.  She can also be found on tweeting away at http://www.twitter.com/willmydoghateme.

0 comments - Posted by Kevin Myers at 9:22 PM - Categories: Veterinarian | Nutrition | Health | Dogs | Humor | Spay & Neuter | Advocacy | Adoption | Rescue | Treats | Training

Cesar Milan and The Principle of Parsimony

Anytime that we try to explain the behavior of any animal that cannot (or will not in the case of humans) communicate in human language, we are practicing the art of conjecture. For example, the simple act of a dog drinking water might be explained by any (or many) of the following statements:

• The dog is simply thirsty.
• The dog has a bad taste in its’ mouth.
• The dog is nervous and this behavior helps to calm it.
• The dog bit its’ tongue and the water helps sooth it.
• The dog is hot.
• Another dog just drank some water and so this dog has to have some too.
• There is a fly doing the backstroke in the water bowl and the dog is trying to get the fly.

If I wanted to get really specific I am sure I could come up with at least a dozen others, but I think you get my point. With so many possible explanations available to us, how do we come up with the best one for a dog’s behavior?

If we know things like the circumstances that surround a certain behavior, the history of the dog displaying the behavior, and the health of the dog displaying the behavior, then we are able to take an educated guess and put into practice the principle of parsimony.  In simple terms, parsimony means that all things being equal, the simplest explanation tends to be correct. In my drinking dog example, if we know that the dog was just in the backyard chasing a rabbit round and round the yard, we could reasonably assume that the dog is drinking water because it’s hot and thirsty.

This brings me to one of my biggest bones of contention with Cesar Milan, The Dog Whisperer.  To me, many of his theories and explanations for dog behavior seem totally out of sync with parsimony. For instance the following tweet was posted via his twitter account the other day:

"Animals sense vibrations of energy, but smell is their next strongest sense. In dogs, both of these senses are deeply connected."

What does he mean by this? Does he mean that dogs are like sharks and have specialized cells (ampullae of Lorenzini) that allow them to detect electrical signals? Simple anatomy tells us that is not the case. Does he mean that our emotions produce energy waves that are not only detectable by dogs– but are discernable as to whether they are good or bad as they relate to the dog? If this is the case then wouldn’t some simple experiments be able to prove this? Where are these experiments and why aren’t they being undertaken by Mr. Milan & others who believe in his theories? The most parsimonious explanation is that he is flat wrong.

We know that dogs are keen observers of body language because without our formal language skills, they have to communicate visually. And like us, dogs use their sense of hearing as a predictor of intention.  And although we both use smell as a means of communication, we know that a dog can detect smells at levels that are lost on us, but are of vital importance to them.

So when you put all of these things together what is more parsimonious, that dogs have a sixth sense about our emotional energy that is directly detectable as good and bad, or that dogs use their heightened senses of sight, smell, and sound as predictors of our emotional state?

On his show The Dog Whisperer, Cesar will often explain a dog’s behavior as being dominant, that the dog is trying to assert its’ authority over that of its’ owner. Even if I bought into his theory that dogs will become dominant if not dominated (which I don’t), there's still the problem of parsimony.

Many people watch his show and then automatically assume that any behavior that a dog displays that is in contrast to the desire of the owner is an attempt to be dominant. But where is parsimony in this? Let’s try another example. Suppose you have a dog that refuses to go up the stairs, what could be some possible explanations for this?

• The dog is being dominant.
• The dog is afraid of the stairs.
• Something happened on the stairs that scared the dog.
• Something happened at the top of the stairs that scared the dog.
• Most of time the dog is taken upstairs he is locked into a room so he is out the way of company.
• The dog has an underlying medical problem that makes it uncomfortable or painful to go up the stairs.
• Nothing good ever happens upstairs.
• Everything good is downstairs.

There are many people who are fans & followers of Cesar that may conclude that the dog is displaying dominance, without first considering any of the other possible (and much more probable) explanations.

I have spoken with many people that firmly believe in Cesar and his methods and incredibly when I ask them why they choose to believe Cesar’s way over more parsimonious explanations, they often answer “common sense”. They see the idea of a dog trying to be dominant over all of its’ environment as being more parsimonious than the idea that the dog is afraid of the stairs.

Sometime later this year Cesar is scheduled to be part of a national symposium on dog training sponsored by The American Humane Association. While the details of his participation have not been publically revealed yet, it is my fervent hope that he will debate his peers in an open forum. I would really like to know why his explanations for dog behavior should be chosen above those that are more in line with parsimony.

As always, we welcome comments from both sides of the issue.

Cheers

Kevin, Jackie, Gavin, Annie, Tosha

12 comments - Posted by Kevin Myers at 4:46 PM - Categories: Cesar Millan | Calm Assertive Energy | The Dog Whisperer | Anti Cesar Milan | Training | Behavior

Woof Wednesday With Nicole S Silvers

As someone who would describe himself as a positive trainer, I am sometimes more successful at being positive than others. The word positive has many layered meanings in the world of dog training. When discussing the principals of operant conditioning the word positive is meant in the mathematical sense as the addition of something. Often we use the word positive to distinguish ourselves as “dog friendly” trainers who don’t use positive punishment or negative reinforcement to train dogs. However, there is another layer to the word positive that has direct bearing on training (and for that matter every other part of our life) — our attitude.

I was chatting with Nicole Silvers of Silver Sky K9 the other day and of course our conversation turned to our dogs. Although we both talked about the positive aspects of our dogs, we were also very quick to point out their shortcomings. The next time we chatted, she had already agreed to be a guest on my Woof Wednesday series. When I asked her what she would like to discuss in the article, the subject of our previous chat came up. Her observations gave me some good food for thought. If we go into a training session with our minds focused more on what a dog can’t do vs. what they can do; are we setting the stage for negative results? How much does our mindset going in affect the outcome of a training session? What are the ways in which we can set ourselves and our dogs up for successful collaborations? Some interesting questions to be sure and ones that I feel are relevant to us all. So Nicole, how about it?

Going into a training session focused on performance, rather than focusing on and appreciating the dog's cooperation and effort, may be setting the stage for negative results.  However, identifying a gap with the purpose of "filling" it, is essentially positive.  It's proactive. For me, what makes the difference between this viewpoint being constructive or destructive is how the awareness of the gap affects the handler emotionally.  Is this dog a failure because the gap exists?  Is the handler a failure?  When a handler begins to experience impatience, disappointment, frustration, being at a loss for what to do next, and identifies the dog's weakness as the cause, then the door opens for "fixes" that deal more with alleviating the human's emotional state than addressing the dog's weaknesses.  As a trainer coaching humans, drawing a handler's attention to what is going right is an amazing, and unfortunately esoteric, strategy for stopping a handler's "downward slide".  As a dog owner and trainer evaluating my own handling?  I'm just as inclined as everyone else to focus on the weaknesses, and expect too much of the dog and myself.  I've learned the wisdom of taking my own professional advice, but I do find I am relentlessly self-improving.  And, instead of bemoaning my tendency towards perfectionism, I choose to credit it as part of the reason for times I have been successful.  I admit, it really tickles me when I see how hypocritical I am.  I've learned to look at what I tell others, and try to apply it to myself. 

Where I see the effect of mindset most dramatically is not so much in a "training session", where most of us are in a fairly Accentuate-the-Positive state of mind, but in the Real World.  People who have dogs that "don't like other dogs" or "are afraid of other dogs" tend to interact with their dogs on the premise that those labels are true, rather than acting like they have a basically normal dog, perhaps in a temporary state of anxiety or agitation.  There is a marked difference between the body language and behavior of people who have "normal" well-behaved dogs, and that of people who have "problem" dogs.

I like that you use the word "collaboration".  I think it's a common misconception that most owners want to "dominate" their dogs.  Most dog owners want eager, willing cooperation, and only resort to "domination" tactics out of fear, ignorance, or retaliation.  (Dog trainers might have some ego at stake, so their motivations might be a different story...)  There may even be some belief that "domination" will help dogs "do it out of love for me".  But people want that love, that respect, that collaboration.  Collaboration is built on letting go of whatever mistakes happened in the past, letting go of whatever gaps exist, even letting go of your ideal behaviors, and focusing on meeting, embracing, and enjoying your dog where s/he is, in the present.  In a training session, keeping a positive attitude on both ends of the leash may mean alternating between "difficult" and "easy" tasks.  Lowering your criteria for reward, accepting a "sloppier" version of what you are teaching, can also be a way to turn "difficult" (or low probability of success) into "easy".  Yet a third way is to invent a different strategy to elicit the behavior you want.  Facilitating initial success is the place for gimmicks and shortcuts in a training program, even if they won't work effectively in the long run. 

In the Real World, I'd like to see us work on not mentioning in conversation the things that aren't worth mentioning.  Is it really worth mentioning in introducing them that our dogs are "fearful" or "aggressive" or "not good with other dogs"?  Certainly, we wouldn't introduce our human friends and family that way!  "This is Tom.  He's very possessive of his food, especially ribs."  "Say hello to Susan.  She's snarky, but we're working on it, aren't we, Susan?"  I hope that what stops us from doing that is not just our consideration for Tom's and Susan's feelings.  I hope we genuinely see Tom and Susan as more than their unwanted behaviors.  I'm not suggesting we let our dogs' troubling behavior slide.  I'm saying that we should act to address the behavior, but talk about what is encouraging, what makes us love them, what they are good at.  By emphasizing the dog's identity as a good, valuable, appreciated friend, rather than as a problem whose needs are a burden for us, I think we are inclined to work with our dogs in a much more supportive, patient, cooperative, and beneficial way.

And finally I would like to add to what Nicole has said with this. Thinking in negatives tends to foster inaction. It's much easier to skip that 5 minute training session when we don't project a positive outcome. Using the techniques that Nicole mentions here allow us to plan for and conduct a successful session. And even when a session doesn't end in the success we expect, there is always success in the attempt.

You can find more about Nicole on her website,  http://silverskyk9.com/, or you can e-mail her directly at nicole@silverskyk9.com.

We welcome your comments and invite you to share you stories of success with us here.

Happy Training

1 comments - Posted by Kevin Myers at 12:00 AM - Categories: Dogs | Woof Wednesday | Training | Behavior

A Civil Discourse in Dog

Many people will tell you that the triumvirate of religion, politics, and sports, are subjects to be considered off limits if one wishes to avoid arguments and keep friends. I would also add the subject of dogs to that list.

Within the world of dogs, subjects like training methods, feeding, vaccinations, collars, spaying & neutering, kill vs. no kill, purebred vs. adoption, ad infinitum; seem to polarize people and really brings out our stark difference of opinions.

When I first started Dog Lovers Digest I devoted a great deal of thought to whether I should blog about my opinions or not, and also if I should allow others to comment on them. I wanted to share with others, my feelings and opinions about dogs and I wanted others to be able to share similar stories and thoughts. However, I also feel that posting my opinions on a blog available to the world also carries a responsibility. To me a public proclamation of opinion is an open invitation to critique of that opinion. Let me say here that this statement does not apply to those blogs and websites that do not allow comments on their articles. Not allowing comment on articles and blog posts is a reasonable position to take; based on the fact that divergent opinions are able to create their own sites as well. However, allowing the public in general to comment on a post carries the responsibility of posting those opinions you don’t agree with. Of course moderation of those comments is a must because there are some that will abuse the forum. But as long as people are respectful, I believe that it is my duty to allow comment from all points of view.

Another issue for me is the fact that I consider it my responsibility to defend my opinions. When people post divergent viewpoints, I need to make sure that I am ready to answer questions that they may pose to me. I also need to make sure that even when I vehemently disagree with them, I do it in a civil manner. This can be very time consuming and at some point you have to agree to disagree– but I will allow a few rounds of back and forth to make sure that everyone gets an equal say.

A recent post of mine “Does The Milgram Experiment Explain Cesar Milan’s Influence" has really brought these points home to me. The article has been widely distributed on internet and has drawn comments on many different sites including Twitter, Facebook, and my own. One of the things that have struck me is how uncivil the discourse on subjects like this can be. It has put me in mind of the town hall meetings about healthcare reform that were all over the news channels here in the states this past year. Each side shouting longer and louder at the other trying to drown out anything they did not agree with. What does this accomplish? I think most people would agree (there goes that opinion thing again) that in order to change someone’s mind you need to teach not preach. Coming up with clever insults and deriding your opponents may win you points when you’re preaching to the choir– but it’s not likely to convert someone who is sitting on the fence or who is in the other camp.

If we want to introduce others to our way of thinking, we need to do it in a thoughtful and respectful manner; and we must also listen to other points of view before we dismiss them. I am not always successful in this endeavor and I admit that sometimes I can get caught up in the crowd as well. But I promise to become more successful at it. Remember that if we want people to listen to us, we need to return the courtesy.

As always we welcome your thoughts and opinions. Let's learn from each other.

Cheers

Kevin, Jackie, Gavin, Annie, Tosha

9 comments - Posted by Kevin Myers at 3:35 PM - Categories: Health | Cesar Millan | Dogs | Anti Cesar Milan | Advocacy | Adoption | Training

Woof Wednesday With Leslie Fisher

My guest this week is Leslie Fisher of Look What I Can Do Dog Training. When Leslie and I first started talking about the topics for this week’s post we were both lamenting about behaviors that are both highly reinforcing to dogs, and are reinforced randomly. Leslie’s dog Bridget (pictured here and who turns 4 today) is an escape artist and provides excellent fodder for this discussion; as this post from Leslie’s Facebook account shows.

Too much like work! At least we are all getting our exercise and it is a nice day. Have run out of mesh now lugging wooden pallets around as temporary blocks. yes the yard Bridget vs human challenge is ongoing and probably will be unto eternity. Should really write blog about power of random reinforcement as it…

So I asked Leslie to blog about it here, this is what she said.

Looking over this post, I realize comments from one friend might prove to be true: that I will need the Army corps of Engineers to construct a Bridget proof fence. It truly has been an ongoing exercise in determination on her part— and I suppose myself equally as determined that she will NOT escape. There you have it, the power of random reinforcement! In Bridget`s driven, busy mind, if a good thing happens ONCE, there is a darned good chance it could happen again. For example, Bridget still has a habit of searching under my car at the hairdresser where she viewed a groundhog going under— 2 years ago.

Imagine then the power of being able to escape from the yard on a random schedule to a dog like this! Are they likely to ever give up trying? Not likely! In fact the escape behaviors have escalated driven by the fact that she is escaping randomly. On the occasions when I have been observing, and see that she has been foiled, I can almost see the gears turning as she stands and stares at the house: "what should I do now?" The look on her face is priceless but it ultimately means trouble for me in the form of yet another eventual escape. The only way that this behavior can ever truly be over will be to build an escape proof fence and wait for her to give up on her escapist attempts. As the behavior has been so well reinforced, I am quite certain there will be quite an extinction burst, which should prove to be interesting to observe. If and when I am able to get the new escape proof fence in place that is. For now it is going to be mesh and staple gun, and vigilant supervision. We work with what we have. What I have is one extremely driven dog!!

Dogs, of course are highly individual in their behaviors. My English Lab Talley has never left the yard, even when the gate was left open by Bridget. She is firmly attached to her food dish. Bridget, however, has dedicated her life to finding new ways out of the yard. Different dogs, different motivations. Achieving extinction of undesired behaviors, in driven dogs like Bridget, with activities that are highly self-reinforcing, may be nigh impossible. Remember, this is the dog that continues to check under a car at one location, where a groundhog was spotted two years ago. My friend may not have been wrong, I may need the Army Corps of Engineers to construct a Bridget proof fence with the following qualities: fencing buried three ft underground, at least 6 ft high, top angled into the yard, and solid boards not mesh to eliminate climbing. Short story is, having been so randomly reinforced for escaping, combined with her driven personality, she will never stop looking. When Fort Knox does get constructed, I expect it will be a very long time indeed before she gives up patrolling for an escape.

In terms of dog training then, my best advice is to know the behaviors of your own dog. I know Bridget just never gives up on anything. If you have a Bridget you will always have to be one jump ahead, with your management and your training. Good luck to you!!

We hope you've enjoyed this weeks Woof Wednesday With Leslie Fisher. For more information about Leslie and Look What I can Do Dog Training, you can visit her website at http://www.lookwhaticandodogtraining.com, there you can find links to her Twitter and Facebook pages as well. Leslie also writes a popular blog "The Dog Trainers Dog" which can be found at http://lookwhaticandodogtraining.typepad.com/my-blog/

As always we welcome you to share your comments and stories of escape with us.

Cheers

3 comments - Posted by Kevin Myers at 12:51 PM - Categories: Dogs | Humor | Woof Wednesday | Training

Woof Wednesday With Debbie Jacobs

When I came up with the idea of doing a Woof Wednesday blog I knew that Debbie Jacobs would be the first person I would ask to be my guest. Debbie was one of the first people that I followed when I first setup my Twitter account and she and I have much in common. We were both unabashed dog lovers and we both have fearful dogs that came to us by way of Hurricane Katrina. I quickly found that Debbie was not just another dog lover with a fearful dog, she was very knowledgeable about them and extremely passionate about helping fearful dogs and their owners. Her website, www.fearfuldogs.com, is a prime resource of information on fearful dogs and her blog fearfuldogs.wordpress.com is one of the most thoughtful blogs I've come across. So keeping our shy and fearful dogs in mind, here are some of the questions I asked Debbie.  

DLD: Behavioral medications for dogs are somewhat a hot button issue right now. At what point should an owners consider putting their fearful dog on medication(s) and is it something that most veterinarians are familiar with?

Debbie: I think that anyone who is dealing with a fearful dog would benefit from researching the uses and benefits of behavioral medications. Meds can help make it easier for anxious dogs to learn new behaviors. So the question I would ask is, when would someone with a fearful dog NOT want to make it easier for their dog to learn new behaviors? Any vet should know about when to prescribe meds, but some may not. Karen Overall DVM has done lots of research into the benefits of medications for helping dogs with behavioral challenges, so folks should check out what she has written. The longer a dog practices being afraid the better he gets at it.

OK that said, there are plenty of dogs out there that are fearful because of inexperience and with the appropriate handling and training can learn to be more confident & resilient without medication. These dogs typically respond quickly to training. Every owner has to become an expert on and advocate for their own dog.

The reluctance that most people have about using meds is that they don't understand how they work and assume that they will be sedating their dogs. While sedation may be a side effect of a medication, it should be short-lived and is NOT the desired effect. Some owners may find that after a few months on a medication they can begin to discontinue its use, others may find that given their dog's level of anxiety that medications may be helpful for the duration of the dog's life. Few of us hesitate to put our dogs on a medication for a physical condition such as low thyroid or diabetes, nor would we deny them the benefits of a pain killer or antibiotic. Behavioral medications can offer real benefits that affect the quality of a dog's life. They are not a cure and owners need to understand how to work with their dogs to help them learn new behaviors and emotional response.

DLD: When considering a trainer to help with a fearful dog, what questions should be asked to find out if the trainer is fearful dog friendly?

Debbie: Ask if they use corrections or punishment to modify a fearful dog's behavior. If so, find someone else. There is a list of trainers on the fearfuldogs.com website.

DLD: Before adopting a fearful dog, what three things should the perspective owner know?

Debbie:

1. The dog may always exhibit some kind of fearful behavior and working with it may become a lifelong project. It's probably going to take longer, require more time, effort and money, than you imagine to help this dog.

2. Fearful dogs can become aggressive dogs if not handled appropriately.

3. If you have no experience in positive dog training or no interest in learning, do not adopt a fearful dog.

DLD: What books and other resources should I know about to help me with my fearful dog?

Debbie:

The Cautious Canine by Patricia McConnell
Help For Your Fearful Dog by Nicole Wilde
Scaredy Dog by Ali Brown
Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt
Don't Shoot The Dog by Karen Pryor
If A Dog's Prayers Were Answered Bones Would Rain From The Sky by Suzanne Clothier

and of course http://www.fearfuldogs.com and http://fearfuldogs.wordpress.com

DLD: While Twitter is a great tool to help spread the message about fearful dogs 140 characters can be a bit limiting. Would you mind expanding a bit on the following tweets…

@fearfuldogs: U cannot 'show' a scared dog something is not dangerous

Neither dogs nor people that are seriously afraid of something care whether or not you say something isn't going to hurt them or show them how benign they may be. Most people who are afraid of snakes or spiders have never had one bite them. Forcing a dog to deal with something scary just gives them more opportunity to repeat feeling afraid of it.

@fearfuldogs: How would u like it if I made u hold a bunch of spiders? What kind of a friend would I b?

In an attempt to show their dogs that something isn't going to hurt them, owners force their dogs to deal with scary things. Not only is this not likely to change how a dog feels about the scary thing, he's  got good reason to worry about what you'll do next time you run into it. This lack of trust in his owner is not beneficial to a fearful dog.

@fearfuldogs: U don't have 2 know what made your dog a fearful dog 2 help her become more comfortable in the world.

People often believe that if they knew why their dog was afraid it would somehow make it easier to 'fix' them. The cause of a dog's fear does not change the process used to help to help them. Background information on a fearful dog is useful because it may help an owner establish realistic expectations for their dog. An adult dog that was never appropriately socialized will likely never become a social butterfly. But knowing 'why' a dog is afraid ultimately doesn't matter.

@fearfuldogs: When interacting w a scared dog just pretend it's a cat. Everyone knows u can't make a cat like u, so don't try.

Dogs that are afraid of people usually want to avoid social interactions with them. But people who like dogs, want to engage with them. We like to look them in their big, usually brown eyes, bend over, kiss them on the head or give them a big squeeze. All this just makes a fearful dog more afraid. If a scared cat hisses at us or scratches us if we get close, we usually get the hint. Not so for our poor dogs. A dog that growls or snaps at us to keep us away is considered a 'bad' dog. When someone gets bitten or scratched by a cat they usually blame themselves, not the cat.

@fearfuldogs: Anything that lowers a dog's anxiety will likely help improve it's behavior

Fearful dogs usually behave inappropriately because they are anxious, afraid or stressed. If a dog sees a person walking toward them and is afraid, the dog will react in one way. If when the person gets close the dog realizes that it's a buddy of his, he's no longer afraid and reacts differently. Stress and anxiety don't help any of us perform at our best. 

For more information about shy and fearful dogs, be sure to visit Debbie's web site at http://www.fearfuldogs.com. We hope you've enjoyed this talk with Debbie Jacobs and invite you back next Wednesday when Leslie Fisher of Look What I Can Do Dog Training will be our guest.

As always your comments and suggestions are welcome and I am sure that Debbie will be following the comments as well.

Cheers

Kevin, Jackie, Gavin, Annie, Tosha

1 comments - Posted by Kevin Myers at 1:30 AM - Categories: Health | Dogs | Advocacy | Fearful Dogs | Shy Dogs | Adoption | Rescue | Training | Behavior