Go Dog Training

Is leash aggression the owners fault?  

When dogs fight with other dogs on leash is the owners lack of confidence the problem?

Hardly!  Owners can and should NOT be blamed for being nervous when handling their leash-reactive dogs.  

It goes without saying that if you have seen your dog bark, lunge, or snap at another dog when on leash that you will anticipate more bad behavior.  The anticipated unpleasantness makes most people nervous.

Still, my clients are often astonished that the dogs behave better when I am handling the leash.  

When I am called to consult with a client whose dog routinely behaves badly on leash towards other dogs, a common question is:  Have they (the owners) been transmitting their fears down the leash to their dogs?  From this my clients often surmise that it must be my calm, confident demeanor that gives me the edge when handling feisty dogs.  I would argue otherwise for several reasons.

Reason #1   When meeting new clients and handling a new dog for the first time I am absolutely NOT CALM.  

I am always nervous when meeting new clients and handling new dogs.  I might hide my fears and doubts well from my clients, but I am sure that if you were to put me to the test you would find that my heart rate is elevated, my mouth is dry and I my hands are sweaty.  

Reason #2   It is more scientific to rule out other, simpler explanations first.  

The answer to how well a dog can detect and to what degree they react to fear has not been sufficiently studied.  however, the mechanism responsible for self-preservation called Fight or Flight is very well understood and is the key to helping many of my clients navigate on-leash encounters between their dogs and other dogs.

Reason #3   I have a very good success rate with teaching my clients new skills that improve the situation despite their nervousness at trying something new and their fears that they won't do well and/or that their dog is beyond help.

Imagine if you were taking tennis lessons and your instructor simply coached you by saying, "You need to swing with more power and accuracy."    While this may be true, it won't help you KNOW HOW TO DO THESE THINGS!  

A good instructor/coach/teacher is always able to break things down into specific tasks that a student can practice in order to obtain better results in overall performance.  Telling someone that they are doing poorly or that they need to be, or do things better is NOT an educational technique.  

My personal results with the aforementioned bad-coaching technique was a frustration-induced, "more powerful" but drastically, LESS accurate swing.

So what is the CONNECTION between the LEASH & AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR?

All animals have an innate protective response.  When you are afraid (really, really afraid) your  The is commonly referred to as the Fight or Flight Response.  

Reactions include:

FREEZE -victims that we would describe as shocked, stunned, catatonic (this may precede other actions).

FLIGHT -a way of creating distance between you and a real or perceived threat.

FIGHT -another way of creating distance (turn the tables and get the scary thing to back off or run away).

The trick is to KEEP THE LEASH REALLY LOOSE & to KEEP MOVING FORWARD at a quickened pace so that your dog does not feel stuck or trapped.  This is hard to do when you own body is anticipating a bad encounter, so my clients with badly behaved dogs all tend to slow down and hold their dogs back.  This is a recipe for disaster.  The slow pace and tension causes the dog to lunge forward aggressively.  

Keeping the leash loose is easier said then done when there is a history of things going badly, so here are some hints.  Carry your dogs favorite toy or better yet, walk your dog when she is hungry and hold some cheese or some yummy meat in front of her nose as you pass by dogs.  Using your best goofy voice and moving quickly helps too.  Also, be sure not to punish or correct (jerk the leash) your dog for relapses.  

Remember you can't punish away fear!  

So fix the fear, and the barking and lunging will disappear.

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

This is an email question from a DogTime Blog reader.  It is about a Labrador named Lucy who suddenly became aggressive to her owner during training classes.  

The owner stated that Lucy does well with heel, sit & down stay, leave-it unless there is a distraction such as a ball.  "Lucy...  ignores the other toy distractions and only fixates on the balls.   Naturally, she struggles with maintaining her focus on me and my commands during this exercise, but we do have moments of success.  She will leave it, but still maintains a fixated focus and trembles with excitement."  

But Trouble is brewing...

In the email Lucy's owner reported:  "This week in training Lucy was so agitated during this exercise that she snapped at me 3 times when I corrected her and snapped at other dogs in class.  It is like the training, though having some positive affect, is actually bringing out the worse in my dog."

Lucy's owner is alarmed because, "In her two years, Lucy has never, ever snapped at anyone or any other dog during play or on walks.  I have expressed this concern with the trainer, and her feeling is that this behavior was just in there waiting to come out.  I am just not sure about that explanation and thought I would share my story with someone else."

I asked Marianne to share more with me about how she is teaching Lucy to LEAVE-IT.

Marianne reported:  "We are using a standard slip chain choke collar.  I snap and release the collar to correct.  On the snap, I say "uh uh" (hard to spell that!), then give the command.  For example, to have her ignore a ball or toy, I tell her to "leave it.  If she goes for it, I snap and release the collar, say "uh, uh" and repeat "leave it".

"When she reacts correctly, I give verbal praise in a softer, higher tone of voice, such as "good leave it" or "good heel".  Frequently, during our training, I stroke her and give her positive verbal feedback...no treats until the end of class."

There are several problems with the way that Marianne is being instructed to teach her dog.  I will summarize my concerns and the errors in the training below.  

However, I want to be VERY CLEAR about TWO THINGS.

1. Marianne did nothing wrong.  She enrolled her dog training class with someone whom she was told was an expert.  Dog training is still an unregulated field.  Many of us, myself included are looking forward to the day when all trainers will need to be certified and/or licensed.  As it is now, anyone can call themselves a trainer.  There are a few Certifications Programs in the U.S.

2. The following is NOT MY OPINION.  Training is a SCIENCE.  This means that there are rules.  While I have my own personal standards for "humane training" I am not at this moment referring to HOW you get the job done.  I am instead referring to HOW ANIMALS LEARN.  A good trainer should have a solid basis in understanding Operant & Classical Conditioning regardless of whether they give out cookies, collar corrections, or both.  Without these fundamentals skills they are not prepared to train a dog.  Would you go to a doctor that you overheard saying: "Veins, Arteries, whatever; they both do blood stuff!"  I didn't think so.

So What Is Going On With Lucy?  Is she turning aggressive?

For starters, Lucy's aggression was a trained response.  It was unintentional, but it was taught.  Specifically Lucy was taught to HATE seeing Tennis balls in class.  Lucy was being asked to perform a task that she could not do, and because she was not given any guidance on the correct response (look away from the ball) her training looked like this.

Tennis Balls Appear In Class -------> Lucy is subjected to a barrage of jerks, snaps and chokes.

Punishment is a crude tool and has the potential for causing aggression.  In this case, Lucy began to associate the tennis ball distraction with pain.  All animals like to avoid pain and at some point will either choose to fight back or flee.  As Lucy was on-leash fleeing was not an option.

An even more astonishing is that Lucy was never shown WHAT TO DO.  When I want a dog to perform a Leave-it, I like to focus on what that looks like when the dogs gets it right (look away, sit, look at handler).  There are countless ways to get something wrong, and generally only a few correct responses.  Focussing on the correct response is not just nicer for the dog, but gives faster and eliminates the side-effects (ruined relationship, fearful dog, aggression) of aversive punishments.

What I would have done to train Lucy.

Bounce a Distraction-ball until Lucy notices the ball.

Have Lucy's owner give the Command (say, "Leave-it") the moment Lucy notices the distraction-ball.

Stop bouncing the Distraction-ball (kindergarten level) & Give Lucy a moment to respond on her own, by looking away.

Help Lucy get it right a few times (look away from the ball) by having the handler produce a Hint (squeaky tennis ball).

Praise Lucy at the exact moment that she looks away from the original distraction-ball (even if she is just listening to the hint).

Reward Lucy with something she really, really wanted A BALL!

Repeat this until Lucy looks away from the original Distraction-ball on her own BEFORE the Hint & reward Lucy with both balls and end the lesson.  Review later and continue to raise the expectations until the hint is no longer needed and the reward is expected to be random.

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

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Somewhere, somehow it got into peoples heads that if you let your dog sleep on the bed, walk in front of you, eat first, or heaven-forbid taste human food that they would instantly become untrainable, power-hungry, stubborn dogs on covert mission to rule your world?

This is NOT true.  Banning dogs from certain areas and/or activities is a nice way to avoid problems (guarding, begging and pulling being at the top of this list), but does not make the dog any more subordinate or the owner anymore dominant.

What do we mean by "Dominant" anyway?

When my clients tell me that there dog is dominant, I always ask, "What do you mean?"  For starters there seem to be as many definitions for dominant out there as there are breeds of dogs.  DOMINANT is NOT a nice neat word.  It has lots of variables -depending on what books you have read, who wrote them and what they were talking about.  

Here is an example.  If I told you my house was painted blue, you might picture your standard color wheel, primary color blue.  But, I could mean light blue, or bluish-gray, my house might even be what some people call deep turquoise.  If you work as a designer or in a paint store, and you wanted to know what color blue I was talking about you might ask me for a reference # from a color-chart, show me some samples, have me pick a specific color and then mix the paint so that I got exactly what I picked (not your version of my color).

In addition to having numerous definitions, the word DOMINANT seems to be used the way my grandma used slang around my friends.  It did NOT come off as intended -she did not appear younger or cooler.

When interviewing clients I am frequently told that the problem is their dog's DOMINANCE.  So I inquire more....  What do you mean by that?  Can you tell me more about what the dog is doing?  And then its the old dictionary stumbling on itself routine:  

Client:  "Well he's just being dominant."

Trainer:  "Really, What is he doing?"  

Client:  "Well he's not submissive?"

Trainer: "Hmmm... I'm not sure what you mean.  What would you like him to do?"

Client:  "I don't want him being dominant."

Trainer:  "OK, well tell me more about a time when your dog was dominant."

Client:  The other day he was on the couch."

Trainer:  Do you think he was dominating the couch?"

Client:  Well he wouldn't get off when I told him DOWN."

Trainer:  "Oh, would you like to teach your dog an OFF-command, in addition to the command for LIE-DOWN?"

The Bottom Line

If you don't want dog hair in your bed, make your dog sleep somewhere else.  If you don't care, then by all means don't worry about it!  There is nothing wrong with letting your dog sleep on your bed.

If you don't want to be pulled on walks then buy a humane anti-pull harness or halter.  If your dog is not pulling, then who cares where they walk, front, left, right, behind -anywhere you let them walk is fine!  If they keep crossing in front of you and you find it annoying than TEACH them not to do that.  They are NOT doing it to CONTROL YOU!  They are doing it, because it works for them and they don't know better.

And eating first... REALLY?  I don't get this one at all, my dogs eat ALL THEIR MEALS FROM KONGS!  And they also get to lick plates, but I guess that since I don't want them licking the plate while I am eating I do usually finish my food first.

Your dog is NOT being naughty...

On purpose,

To get back at you,

Or, because they are trying to dominate you!

Your dog's behavior is not malicious.  

Behavior is a result of past CONSEQUENCES & current MOTIVATIONS.  

Chances are they...

a) Really DON'T know better.

• They are acting on instinct (dogs bark, whine and chase things).
  

• They are doing what feels best to them (peeing and pooping feels better than holding it).
  

• They are repeating something that has worked before (checking the counter for more toast).

   

b) Just don't care.

• There is no yucky consequences (peeing on rug = relief).
  

• The consequence is late or seems unconnected (yell at dog for chewing couch sometime while you were gone).
  

• The consequence is actually rewarding the behavior (pushing a dog down for jumping up = touch/attention).
  

• Something else is more compelling/appealing at the moment (pulling towards the next great smell is worth the choking sensation).

  
  

Things to think about...

Have you ever done something even though you "knew better?"

Have you ever performed poorly at something you "know how to do?"

Have you ever made a bad meal or burnt dinner?

Did you do it to "get back" at someone or as revenge, or was it just the way things went?

Did everyone notice how "in charge" you were of their food enjoyment and "feel subordinate" to you?

Have you ever missed a payment or fogotten something important?

Was it to "make a statement" about something, or prove your power?

Did you do it "on purpose" even though you "knew better" and had done it right before?

Do you know better than to call in sick when your friend is visiting?  

What is your motivation?  

What is the consequence? 

Are you a "good" driver?

Have you ever sped?

Why, it is "wrong" isn't it?

Have you ever been "sneaky" about when/where you speed?  Why?