Teach your dog to TAKE-A-BOW!
Many of my clients dogs have a hard time playing with and interacting with other dogs. These dogs often play well with well-known, "buddy-dogs" and demonstrates good play-skills in comfortable situations, but do poorly with new dogs or in new places.
With work the dog can learn to meet and greet the novel dogs without being inappropriate, but there is often no play. In these cases the dog-in-training often starts getting jumped by the other dogs (in a not so friendly way). This happens after the Meet-&-Greet, because the dog-in-training sniffs a hello and then just stands there stiffly. This is awkward and invites aggressiion -a sort of preemptive strike against the dog who is standing stiffly and giving everyone the willies.
In these cases teaching a PLAY-BOW can bridge the gap between meeting and becoming friends. It gives the dog-in-training something to do (besides standing awkwardly). Furthermore, despite its trained-awkwardness it gives the other dogs something to do too -they can respond with more playfulness.
How To Teach A Play-Bow
Dog is standing...
1. Take a small treat and place it on your dogs nose.
2. Let your dog smell and lick at the treat, but don't let them eat it.
3. Slowly, very SLOWLY move the treat from your dog's nose in a straight-line down to the floor (right between your dogs front paws).
4. If your dog bends her elbows (even a little) while her tail-end is still in the air (not a down), praise and treat your dog.
If your dog's bottom flops to the ground, pull the treat away, stand-up and move away form your dog. Wait until your dog is standing to begin again.
5. Keep doing this for 5 or 10 minutes everyday until your dog easily goes into the position shown above.
NOW ADD THE COMMAND
a. Call it something cute! I like: "Go play" or "New Friend"
b. Say this new phrase or the word, BOW
c. Then pause.... wait 10-15 seconds.
d. Now give your dog a HINT: lure the trick.
If your dog does it, praise and treat your dog.
e. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
f. When your dog finally does this after the command and BEFORE the hint, JACKPOT your dog with 7 or 8 treats all at once!
g. Repeat some more.
h. Take it on the road; try it outside with no dogs around.
Don't be surprised if your dog needs a review in new places or once dogs are around.
Include a picture of YOUR DOG'S PLAY-BOW.
Comment below & send the pic to: kelley@dogEvolve.com
Nicole's dog CLOVER
READER QUESTION
My granddog is a boxer female 26 months old. In the mornings when I try to get her to go outside she snaps and growls at me. Can a dog sleep with a muzzle on? If they can is the my best plan of attack or put her back in her cage. Sincerely KB Houston TX
Dear KB,
Of course your dog could sleep with a muzzle on, but I wouldn't recommend it. I almost always reserve muzzles for dogs that BITE. Snapping & growling are warning behaviors -it is not to late to fix this problem. Both you and your dog deserve to sleep and wake-up in harmony.
It sounds as if your Boxer is a Bed Guarder. On the Guarding Scale (1-10) your dog is a light-weight. She only guards the bed, after having been there all night. Heavy-Duty Guarders will claim it as theirs (growl/snap/snarl) as soon as they lay down.
I'm not excusing the behavior, but I do understand it. I am a deep sleeper and DO NOT like waking up. I hate waking; I routinely abuse my alarm clock in the morning. The best days start with someone brining me coffee in bed!
Coffee MAKES me happy; coffee is NOT contingent upon my BEING happy :) As you read the following keep this in mind --The coffee I get in the morning is NOT a reward for waking up in a good mood. The coffee is a nice way to prevent me from being cranky.
By contrast, punishments for 'grumpy morning behavior' will not work. Think about it. If you already hate waking up to leave your warm, cozy bed your attitude will not likely improve if you get in trouble for not being a morning person.
WARNING:
Punishments: yelling, hitting, squirting, dragging, pinning, rolling, etc WILL MAKE CERTAIN BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS WORSE. In this case, the dog already hates leaving the bed in the morning. She is NOT is her right mind --me before coffee (cranky!) Punishments for cranky morning behavior will make your dog have an even bigger negative (yucky) association with waking up.
Try this instead...
1. Before you wake your dog, go to the fridge.
2. Get something tasty (some cheese or a hotdog).
3. Approach your dog, but stop before you are so close that she will yell at you.
4. Then, say something in a sweat voice: "Morning Girl -Rise & Shine." The phrase can be whatever you like saying and can say nicely.
5. Then toss a treat, right to her. Toss it on the bed, or even bounce it off her head.
DO NOT WORRY IF SHE BARKS OR GROWLS -Remember she is NOT a morning dog. She doesn't mean anything by it, she's just grumpy.
6. If she eats the treat, toss another and then toss the rest on the ground.
7. As soon as she is on the floor call her to the door and give her once last treat.
Please see the following ARTICLES for more information.
Dog Faces: Reading Body Language
Muzzles -When & How Should They Be Used?
Muzzles --Is Aggression The Only Use?
Can Old Dogs Learn New Tricks?
I am often asked, "Is it too late to train my dog?"
99.9% of the time the answer is "NO, It is never too late to work on training!"
While I am only too happy to make exceptions for dogs who are physically limited (blindness, deafness, incontinence, etc...) I am generally NOT inclined to excuse bad behavior on the basis of age.
This is not to say that old HABITS won't be more difficult to change.
But, for the most part: Training a dog, is training a dog.
There are 3 basic parts.
1) Establishing a GOAL.
2) Breaking your goal into SMALL STEPS that your dog can achieve.
3) Providing encouragement, support and REINFORCING SUCCESS.
However, it can be difficult to focus on training new behaviors when you are busy dealing with the results of older, more annoying behaviors.
A common mistake is to put energy into the wrong end of the behavior equation. My clients are often too focused on "the best way to punish their dogs bad behavior." In their zest for finding the perfect punisher (squirt, pinch, roll, choke, pin, rub, shock, squeeze) the miss the point completely.
I read that I should ...
Somebody told me to ...
I heard that dogs need ...
I was thinking I would try ...
My neighbor used a ...
Focusing on "what to do when your dog messes up" is a terrible plan! Imagine if airline safety focussed 90% of their energy on what to do when the planes crash.
This is not to say that I don't punish bad behavior. The only way to reduce any behavior is to punish it, but punishments are tricky to do well. Most dog owners dole out punishments that are late or too harsh. Or, they don't even punish the dog they just nag it or say something and follow that with no consequences.
When punishments are done badly they ruin relationships and dogs. If you want to successfully teach a dog to DO something BETTER, you must REWARD the things they are doing RIGHT. Sometimes your dog will need help getting there.
Goals help you form a reasonable plan.
Try picturing "Your Perfectly Behaved Dog."
What is she doing?
Here is example:
When my family is eating I would like my dog to lie on her bed quietly. This is a GOAL!
"I don't want my dog to beg." is NOT a goal, it is an unreasonable request for an animal that evolved as a scavenger.
When guests come over, I want my dog to sit in the hallway while I answer the door. This is ALSO A GOAL.
"I'm sick of my dog jumping on people." is NOT a goal, it is a complaint.
In short, your older dog CAN learn new tricks, but you might have to spend some extra time helping them get things right. Remember just KNOWING better is not enough. Your older dog will have a long history of doing things their way. Be patient, set reasonable goals, help them get it right and MOST IMPORTANTLY --REWARD, REWARD, REWARD. In fact, even if you feel like you did most of the work, you MUST still reward your dog. This will give them incentive to try it your way again.
1. Crate Training Your Puppy is the fastest way to have a completely house-trained pup.
Taking a puppy out for frequent potty breaks and rewarding the puppy for appropriate elimination is only 1/2 the battle. Crates teach puppies how to hold their bladder until they are outside the "den" and in the correct place.
2. Crate Training keeps your puppy safe.
Puppies can get into anything in a second. Sometimes it is just annoying when they chew things, but sometimes it is really, really dangerous. Wires, small ingestible items (I found a green thumb tack in puppy poop once), and certain foods can be dangerous for puppies.
3. Crate training teaches puppies how to settle down and stay in one spot for a reasonable amount of time.
If they never practice "chilling out" in one location when they are young, they are unlikely to do it later. Of corse they are young so they will need help settling down. Chews, kongs, and other food puzzles are excellent items to give to your pup in a crate.
OTHER THOUGHTS
Puppies can generally hold their bladders for only short periods of time.
A general rule of thumb is: 1 hr for every month of age. A 2-month old puppy will need to be let out of the crate for a potty-break somewhere between 1.5 - 2 hrs.
Do not expect your pup to hold it when they are running around.
A free-roaming pup might pee every 10-30minutes. Puppies will generally hold their bladder if they are in a small, confined space (your crate). At about 10-12 weeks I find that most pups can make it through the night without needing a potty-break, but this does not mean that they can "hold it" or be crated for that long during the day.
If your pup has just peed and pooped then spend time with them in the house.
Supervise them carefully and re-direct them onto their toys if they start to chew on anything inappropriate. After about 30-minutes your 8-10 week old pup will probably be "feeling the urge." At this point you can take them out again or crate them for 1hr. so that they have a chance to practice "holding it" until they are taken to the potty spot again.
Dear Kelley,
I pray you can help me. Last year I rescued a dog, and myself + my family showered her with love. She had had a very distressing past history, this reinforced to us when she bit my Mother In Law on her third day with us. They were very serious bites and our vet said we had no option but to put her down as she had a high risk of re-offending.
We, as a family, found this incredibly difficult but had no choice. She was a beautiful 2 yr old collie and it was so heartbreaking. We recently re-homed a 6-month old German Shepherd who is a real sweetheart.
However we have just realized that our 12 yr old daughter is still traumatized by the incident with my Mother In Law (which she witnessed).
Krya jumped up to lick her and she had a panic attack. My question to you is "Is it better to put a muzzle on a dog we all love or let her move to a home where she does not have that restraint? She would get plenty of stimulation with us, walks beside a canal for 2 hrs a day, hill walking/climbing regularly with loads of love + attention. Please let me know which outcome would be better for Kyra as it is her welfare that is at the forefront of our dilemma.
Kind regards, Linda
Facts & Summary:
- "Kyra" is your new, 6-mo. old German Shepherd Dog.
- Your daughter, age 12, was recently witness to a severe bite inflicted by a different dog to a family member.
- The dog who bit was a 3-day, newly adopted, 2-yr old Collie.
- The Collie was euthanized for aggression as recommended by your vet.
- Although the new dog is friendly, she is rambunctious and untrained.
- Your daughter is having panic attacks whenever the dog jumps up on her, licks her or does both.
QUESTION:
Should you use a a muzzle on the new dog, so that your daughter will not have to worry about being bitten. Or, is this unfair to the dog?
First, let me say that if your daughters fear is severe, or getting worse, you may want to seek help from a mental health professional.
It is entirely normal to be afraid of large animals with big teeth! But it sounds as if you are describing a new change in your daughter that is drastically different because of a specific event.
Given the bite your daughter witnessed and the events that followed, I am not surprised that your daughter is having a difficult time bonding with your new dog.
If you can't manage the access the two have to each other with gates, crates, and tie-downs while still providing excellent opportunities for mental and physical exercise for the dog, then you may want to re-home the GSD.
If you are able to find professional help for your daughter and the prognosis is good, then it might be possible to temporarily manage the situation and work through the issue.
Having worked as a humane educator I do have some experience working with social workers and psychologists in controlled settings with dogs and children who were fearful of, or had had a traumatic experience with an aggressive dog. It takes time to recover from a bad experience and steady, slow progress is best.
From a dog-behavior perspective, "wiggly" & "overly-friendly" are encouraging terms. They mean that the dog is not afraid (potential fear-aggression), just untrained. Untrained is fixable with patience and a little work. The dog's temperament aside, the human needs to be comfortable too and wiggly/friendly can be just too much for a fearful person.
When working with people who are afraid of dogs, I have never started with a puppy! They are TOO-WIGGLY! A friendly, well-trained adult dog who listens well to commands is ideal. So, don't peg your daughters recovery on your puppy. Consider training the puppy and getting your daughter (at her comfort level) interacting with older, well-behaved, friendly dogs.
Regarding your specific question, I would NOT recommend muzzling the dog.
I only use muzzles when the is a clear indication that a bite is likely and/or a previously known history of the dog having bitten or fought.
If this is a concern (that the GSD may have some tendency to bite or nip) than it may be best to re-home the dog and focus on your daughter's feelings and concerns regarding dogs.
If the dog is not currently biting or showing signs of being fearful or aggressive, then it is your daughter whom you need to turn your energy.
Muzzling the dog will not fix your daughter's fear, but could give her a false sense of security.
Furthermore, your 6-month old pup will miss out on the opportunity she needs to learn what (toys) she is allowed to put her mouth on and when (never), she may place (even gently) her mouth on people.
If the dog is NOT biting or puppy-nipping then by all means, please use other management devices such as crates, pens or tie-downs to prevent the dog from jumping all over your daughter.
This is just good-sense for anyone with a rude, jumpy pup.
Preventing the dog from practicing the bad behavior is critical to training.
Finally, please enroll in a Reward-Based (no choke/prong collars) Training Class.
Don't forget to include your daughter in training the dog. The class may be overwhelming, lots of young, un-trained dogs, but your daughter could be included in the homework exercises.
In the beginning this may mean that someone else holds the leash and controls the dog from a distance, or that your daughter gives the commands or food-rewards.
