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?

Even A Well-Behaved Dog Is A DOG!

Dogs need to do Dog-Things.  Puppies, like children need to do everything and they have short attention spans.  

A common behavior concern is chewing!  Punishing a dog for being a dog is a sure way to ruin your relationship with your new pup.  Dogs need to chew.  They should not be punished for being dogs.

Puppies and inexperienced dogs see the whole world is an unexplored chew toy.  There are endless places to find new chews and hundreds of ways to sneak a chew.  If your dog isn't getting the chew-fun she needs from her toys, your dog will find something new to chew.  

My clients are constantly frustrated and overwhelmed when they focus all their energy on catching their dog chewing forbidden items (table legs, tissue, clothes, remote controls, etc...)  Make your life easier; make your puppies day.  Put most of your energy into creating chew options, not just limiting them.  Make toys and chew puzzles fun and exciting for your dog.  

Then watch your dog!  I spend countless hours just watching my dogs enjoy their chew-time.  Their chewing pleasure is a site to behold.  You too can learn to marvel at their canine abilities to chew, nibble, rip and dissect.  

Just pick the items they chew on for them and make them worth their while so they won't want to waste time experimenting for better options.  Then take some time to appreciate what they liked most, what they were good at chewing and how they can lull themselves into a near meditative state on the perfect chew.

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.

Do you have a question for Kelley? by DogTime blogger Kelley Filson

Hi Kelley,

I am interested in your ideas and teaches learning about your knowledge on training tips for dogs. I have german shepherd solid black and he is now 5 mos. old. I have a very big problem on him; he eats his feces whenever he urg's his butt he turned around, smell it and grab!! ew!. What i always did is i keep on eye with him whenever he had a heavy play after sometime when turned around by itself then it will be. When he started to smell it i will immediately shouted to him "NO" then he leave and play again. Please help, what should i do? because when i am not around he still eat his feces.

Jo-ann G. Neri

Philippines

Dear Jo-ann,

I know that Poop Eating (Coprophagia) is a disgusting behavior, but it is unlikely to MAKE your dog sick, so at least you can let that worry go.  It will be easier for you and your dog if you remain calm during training -even if he relapses.   The causes of Coprophagia are not fully understood.  However, veterinarians, behaviorists and trainers generally agree that it is a behavioral problem.   On the other side of the coin, there are a handful illnesses that can cause coprophagia (poop eating), but they generally present with more symptoms, including diarrhea.  To be on the safe-side, take your dog to the vet, especially if your dog has diarrhea and or has not been to the vet for vaccinations.

Once you know your dog is healthy, the following training plan should help.  

1. Know that STRESS is the enemy.  Your dog is very young and he may still be nervous, or stressed out about going to the bathroom.  Stress is the cause of many undesirable canine behaviors.  Believe it or not, there is a lot that can stress a 5-month old a puppy.  They are learning to hold their bladder and bowels, as opposed to just going whenever they feel like it.  They are also still in the process of learning when and where they may go to the bathroom.  I know your shepherd is getting big, but he is still a baby.  Potty-training a pup can be frustrating, but avoid punishing mistakes.  Instead tighten up on management and forgive mistakes.

2. Do NOT let GOOD BEHAVIOR go unnoticed.  Reward your dog every time he goes to the bathroom in the appropriate place.  As soon as your dog has finished PEEING or POOPING, use your best happy voice to praise him.  Then feed him a tasty treat.  Toss a second treat away from the poop to distract your dog while you remove the poop with a scoop or bag.  If you have already been doing this, continue and make sure that you do it for BOTH pees and poops.  I would skip shouting "No!" this could cause more stress.  Just wiggle the dog treat and praise your dog, so that his attention is on you and he leaves the poop alone.  

3.  CLEAN UP!  Always join your dog on potty walks so that you can reward your dog and scoop the poop immediately.

4. INCREASE EXERCISE & MENTAL STIMULATION.  Make sure that your dog is getting plenty of vigorous exercise each day.  A 5-month old Shepherd could probably use at least two 1-hour play sessions each day.  This means running, fetching, hiking, playing with dogs.  More is always better.  And, when you leave your dog alone, make sure that your dog has plenty of things to CHEW.  Bones and Kongs are best.

5. Try adding a supplement to your dog's food so that the poop will be unappealing to your dog.  There are several products, listed below, but I have also heard various recommendations on adding enzymes to your dog's food.  The theory is that if poop-eating is caused by under-digestion (eat the poop to give a second go at getting all the nutrients), then the enzymes help the food become more digestible.  

At this point, regardless of the CAUSE, there is also a BAD HABIT.  I recommend trying the supplements IN ADDITION to doing the behavior modification work.  If you are only going to do one, try the behavior stuff first (its free), then buy a supplement if there is no change in behavior after 3-weeks.

• Forbid (TM)(R)
  
• Deter (TM)(R)
  
• Papaya, Fig or Pinneaple (These food contain enzymes that break down amino acids).  
  
• Meat Tenderizer (from a grocery store) contains enzymes that break down protein.

Do you have a question for Kelley? by DogTime blogger Kelley Filson

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A STORY.

The other day at the park, I saw a woman walking her dog.  They were walking casually and every once in a while the woman would stop, bend over, pick up a ball and toss it.  Then the woman with the dog started to chat with a friend.  The dog sat quietly at their feet, staring at his ball.  

After a minute he began to whine.  He whined louder and louder until his guardian picked up his ball.  As soon as she had the ball in her hand, he got really, really excited and barked.  She threw the ball anyway and resumed her conversation.  When her dog returned, he dropped the ball at her feet and barked immediately.  This happened 3 or 4 times.  

Eventually the woman tried to reason with her dog.  She bent down with her hands on her hips, looked right into his eyes and yelled, "Frankie, Stop-it!"  To this Frankie replied with an barrage of barks, yelps, yips, and a "Woof!"  The woman, shrugged, looked defeated, waved good-bye to her friend and continued walking her dog and tossing the ball.  

I giggled and thought I bet the next time she even tries to stop and chat her dog will take the shortcut to the most effective behavior... "Pitch a barking fit and mommy stops chatting and does her job!"  In the story above Frankie did what worked.  Barking got him what he wanted.  He will do more of it.

Sometimes we don't give big rewards at all -we "ignore" the bad behavior.  However this only works if you IGNORE the dog COMPLETELY.  This is too hard for most people, they crack and give in like the woman in the story above.  Or, they  unintentionally give hints that they might crack and give into the dog's requests.  

When we bend down, look at, or talk to dogs we are telling them that they might get what they want soon.  We don't do this on purpose.  Its just that 99% of the time, right before we give a dog something they will LOVE, like food, walks, toys, pets, play-time or lap-time, we look right at them and talk to them... "Oh, boy Zip.  Here comes....."   So EYE-CONTACT and WORDS aimed at the dog become predictors of wonderful stuff.  In dog-nerd-speak, we call these Secondary Reinforcers.

When the owner in the story bent down and looked at Frankie to say, "Stop-it"  She might as well have said, "Do you want me to throw your ball?"  Frankie, in that context (she'd already been rewarding his whines with a ball-toss) was anticipating that she would repeat the action.  When dogs think they know what is going to happen, they don't really listen to the words you say.  

If you don't believe me pick up your dog's favorite toy.  Then use your goofiest voice and tell your dog how bad and stupid they have been.  What did your dog do?  Yeah, mine too -just staring at the toy wagging and panting. "Oh, boy, oh boy, she's gonna play squaeky-frisbeeeeee, with meeeee!  Oh, boy, oh boy!"  And I think he's a rather clever dog, but he is a DOG!

So, if poor Frankie wasn't really paying attention to her exact words.  When his owner bent down, looked at him and talked to him (instead of her friend) he got REALLY EXCITED and barked back," YES, YES!  Throw the BALL!"

Apply this to your situation.  If your dog is crying and you get up and try to give him a toy, food, or attention, then you are giving A HUGE REWARD.  If when your dog whines or cries you look at her and talk to her, you are giving a hint that you MIGHT give them something -this is a type of reward.

Regarding the appetite and "SPOILED-DOG" issue.  If the dog is getting a balanced diet and your vet says your dog is in good health, then I don't care if you cook for your dog, or if they never eat food from a bag or can or bowl.  However, if your dog is only eating junk food then the diet is not balanced and your dog will be unhealthy.  To address the issue you will need to: