What are you afraid of?

A question I tend to ask people who need help understanding their fearful dog's perspective is the title of this blog.  There are many folks out there who have little to no regard to how an animal experiences fear even when they themselves are afraid of certain things.  Common human fears like heights, bugs (spiders/roaches), flying and snakes are like dog fears of new environments, new people, sounds and other dogs.  Regardless of why they have that fear both species are entitled to those fears.  Both species should also be given the respect to work through those fears at their own pace and without force.

For example, pretend you are afraid of snakes.  Would it be okay with you for me to find a large non-poisonous snake and sit it on the floor about a foot from you?  What about if we go to the local zoo and go into the snake house while I hold your hand?  If you were really fearful of snakes neither of these options would be welcomed.  You might have already changed your phone number, moved 2 states away and gone into witness protection.  

The shocking part is that we do this to dogs on a regular basis.  They shouldn't be afraid of new people so we make them hang out with new people, get pet by them and even take food from them.  That's like asking you to hold a snake, pet it and then feed it.  Ack!  Crazy, right?

So how can you really help them?  A fantastic resource to really understand what CAN be done to help fearful dogs is a newly released DVD by Suzanne Clothier.  The DVD offers a unique perspective into how our fearful dogs may feel about scary things in their life.  It will also give you techniques and tools to help them, but also help you set better expectations as to what the dog is capable of overcoming.

Website

My biggest take home was a phrase used over and over again.  "How is this for you?"  That simple question will be something I ask over and over again of each individual (humans and all animals) I come in contact with to ensure they are comfortable in that moment.  

Trick Addiction

I Love Dog Tricks!  I love teaching them, I love watching them and I love learning how to do them!  It's a passion!  Honestly, I much prefer teach a trick to my own dogs than what some would consider "manners" or "obedience" behaviors.  They are just fun.  My dogs also seem to enjoy them, too.  

This is Curly showing off some of his tricks.

In reality, all behaviors can be thought of as tricks because the dog doesn't know the difference.  The only way they'll be able to tell is if you take all of the fun out of it.  You can do that by using harsh verbal cues, punishing training methods or doing too much of things they don't really enjoy and not adding in some of their preferences.

The benefit of teaching your dogs tricks is that you are doing something with them in a positive way, which will build a solid relationship with them.  Who wouldn't want that?  It also increases their desire to learn more, be creative and build confidence.  Bonus!

There are several people with trickster dogs who perform for small events and large events. These folks inspire me to do more with my dogs in the area of tricks and cool behaviors.

30 Dog Stunt Tricks in 90 Seconds!

Never underestimate the power of training tricks!!  It's so much fun when you just let loose and see where it takes you and your Rock Star Dog!

He's not a bad dog

During the Wolf Park seminar Suzanne Clothier spoke about how to evaluate dogs to find the best match for service dogs.  She also spoke about dogs from breeders, shelters and rescues and how important it was to match them up with the right owner, too.

We watched video's of dogs interacting with environmental enrichment such as moving kids toys, sheet metal surface, statues and more.  How these dogs interacted with their environment indicated their strengths and possible weaknesses.  The BIG take home was that none of the dogs evaluated were "bad".  They might not be the best fit for a specific job like a seeing eye dog, but if that was the case maybe they would be a better therapy dog or just a companion dog.  

For the shelter dog video, the potential adopter was very hands on.  He wanted a lot of close contact including petting of this one shelter dog.  The dog on the other hand wasn't as interested in all of the closeness.  During the video the dog displayed calming signals when pet, moved away from the man and tried to make a lot of space (as much as he could on leash).  Would this be the right pairing?  Should the man just learn to stop being so close and hands on?  Are either parties bad?

No, it wasn't that either party were bad.  They just weren't the best fit.  The man needed a dog who really enjoyed all of the closeness and affection.  The dog needed someone who wanted to have more space in between each other.  While it's possible to train the dog or human to change their behavior it's not their natural response.  Ideally, finding both of them a natural fit would be key to success!

Prong Collar on a Whale?

I still find myself in shock when I see "experienced" dog trainers using equipment like prong collars, choke chains or even remote collars (shocking) to train a wide range of behaviors.  These pieces of equipment are not needed to train whales, hyena or elephants.  Oddly enough those wild animals respond nicely to clicker training and positive reinforcement.  Huh?  You mean to tell me animals that are not domesticated don't need punishing equipment to learn new things, but our domesticated dogs do.  That just doesn't make sense.

At Wolf Park it was refreshing to hear and see that the wolves are taught through positive reinforcement.  The staff want to make sure that the wolves always have a positive experience when interacting with people.  They even took great care when the seminar attendees entered the enclosures so as not to stress the wolves during our visit.  Wow!  When they have to groom or vet the wolves they also try to make it a fun positive experience.  

Isn't it amazing to look at how wild animals can be trained and handled in a positive way and yet people still depend on punishing equipment to train "man's best friend".  There are still many trainers and dog lover's alike who don't know how wonderful positive reinforcement can work.  My hope is that more and more people will learn about other methods/equipment that build a solid relationship on trust.  If we can train wild animals through gentle methods we can certainly do so with our rock star dogs!  My rock star dogs: Padme, Molly, Franky and Curly would certainly agree with that statement.

Observation, observation, observation...

Rising before the sun comes up while on a vacation/seminar long weekend isn't my cup of tea, normally.  I'd much prefer stay in my warm bed and get a few extra Zzz's.  In this case, I would have missed valuable learning through observation.  Early each morning at Wolf Park we were given the opportunity to observe the wolves doing what they do that early in the day.

Observation is a very important tool in learning more about any animal's behavior.  This tool can unlock more subtle communication signals, provide additional information about how an animal uses it's space and in turn help the trainer determine how to approach training or changing behavior.  It's something that can easily be taken for granted.  

At Wolf Park we had the opportunity to observer the wolves interact with each other.  We saw how the lower ranking members greeted higher levels, how the puppies shared space while snoozing and then how a somewhat physically challenged wolf used his skills to remain out of trouble with the alpha male.  It was interesting to just sit and watch their world unfold before your eyes.  Each day that we spent with them we learned more and more about their behaviors as wolves, their pack structure and their individual personalities.

What this taught and reinforced in me as an animal loving, dog owning, dog training person is how important this tool really is on a daily basis.  It's a key that can be overlooked with the pressure of time to just get in there and resolve an issue or to just train a specific behavior.  Observation is time well spent!  There is much that can be learned from taking the time to look at the overall picture of the animal and then make decisions based on what is observed.

How to Pet A Wolf

Have you ever thought about how you would pet a wolf, if given the chance?  Think about that for a moment.  You've been told the wolves within the enclosure are familiar with human contact and were raised by humans.  The wolves you are about to meet have met several other people (who survived the interaction, ha!), too.  

Now, you are about to meet your friends Labrador.  Think about how you would interact with that Lab.  Your friend told you he is good with people of all sizes, he's met many of your friends in the past and you heard no issue with their interactions.

Would you interact with each wolf vs. dog in different ways?  If so, what would that look like?  Why?

My first time in the wolf enclosure was pretty laid back.  The two wolves in the enclosure had already met one group of about 6 people, who all survived, some were able to pet one of the wolves, all while I watched from outside of the enclosure.  I was given proper procedure to meet these beautiful animals and also knew the staff at Wolf Park would instruct me and keep me safe during the visit.  

The second meeting was the next day with the main pack in a large enclosure.  I wasn't sure if I'd get to touch a wolf, but knew what to do if given the opportunity.  First, it was the wolves choice to invite petting.  It was not up to the humans to reach out and pet any of them including the pups.  Second, if they did approach it wasn't automatically assumed that they wanted to be touched.  They might have been interested in sniffing us up and down to learn more about us.  Third, if they did invite petting we were instructed to keep it to 3 seconds.  There were specific areas of their bodies that we were permitted to touch.  How did I know when to start petting?  I wasn't entirely sure since this was all new to me and their personalities were all different.  Personally, I waited for the staff to give direction.  That direction came when one of the pups, Kanti, approached and offered the side of his neck and head.  I 3 second neck petting took place, he left and came back for some more.  It was thrilling for those few moments to be asked to interact.  Did I want more?  Of course, but it all had to be on his terms.

Why is it then we force ourselves upon our domestic dogs?  Do they really enjoy us approaching them and petting for long periods of time?  How do you know they are enjoying it?  

This experience really helped me understand more about how we as a society should take a step back and wait to be asked for this type of interaction by all animals.  The next time you are about to reach to pet think about how you'd pet a wolf.

What I learned at Wolf Park

It's been on my wish list for a few years to visit Wolf Park in Battle Ground, IN.  This park was created about 40yrs ago by a researcher who wanted to research wolf behavior up close.  Wolves in the wild aren't easy to study since they aren't keen on being close to people naturally.  At the park they have a variety of wolves and one main pack.

My purpose in learning more about wolves and wolf behavior is to better understand our domestic dogs that live in our homes.  These are their ancestor's that passed along certain traits, too.  This trip had a bonus in that Suzanne Clothier was a co-speaker at the seminar.  She knows a lot about behavior, training and observation of both wolves and dogs.  I highly recommend reading her book and watching her educational DVD's.  All of the educators at this seminar were fantastic and filled my head with knowledge.

Pat Goodman, Me and Suzanne Clothier

The knowledge I gained has already made me look at my own dogs a little differently.  I also have a better understanding of how animals use space and see the world.  This information will not only help me, but those I come in contact with in group classes, private consults and anyone who has an animal!  I thought I would share a nugget that I took away from this 3 day seminar on my blog throughout the rest of this week.  I hope you enjoy!

A life long need to chew.

When Curly was a young pup he had a strong desire to chew.  No shoe in our house was safe left unattended.  It was really challenging at times to deal with this unwanted behavior.  It's a common theme among puppy owners who's dog want to chew taboo items like clothing, furniture and even arms!  Redirecting them to something you'd prefer chew on such as a bully stick or marrow bone is most helpful.

Curly at little under 3 months old.

Little did I know back then that chewing is a life long need for dogs.  Their need to chew can very by age and chew preference, but it's an outlet they really need.  It's a great stress reliever (think about how we eat salty or sweet food to ease our stress sometimes), good jaw exercise, cleans their teeth (depending on the chew) and gives them some mental stimulation/exercise.

One of my favorite chews right now are beef trachea's.  They are very good at cleaning teeth, have glucosamine in them which is good for the joints and my dogs prefer them over bully sticks.  A favorite chew can help a lot of behavior problems, too.  In group class they are great when there is talking time or observation time.  At home they are useful for crate time, during times the dogs need attention but their human is busy and for redirecting them from barking at things outside they find bothersome.

When it comes to chew items like bully sticks, trachea's, etc always, ALWAYS supervise your dog.  Our darling Franky once choked on a bully stick nub and had to get the doggie heimlich.      He's an expert chewer, but once it got a little slimy it got away from him.

A great resource to have awesome chews delivered to your home is Best Bully Sticks.  They offer a wide variety of chews including the trachea.  The majority of our dogs could benefit from their products regardless of their age.  Chewing isn't just for the puppies!

My Own Rock Star Dog - Molly

My very own rock star dog, Molly demonstrated her sniffing talent today at a Bassett Bash event.  The event was organized by Bassett Hound Rescue of Georgia to raise money for their organization and get foster hounds adopted.  It was a fun event held at a beautiful park.  It was certainly a site to see so many Bassett Hound dogs in one place!

We had the opportunity to demonstrate K9 Fun Nose Work on the main stage of the event.  The weather was great with mid to high 70's with a light breeze.  Molly isn't in favor of being around that many dogs, but she got right to work during the demonstration regardless of the distractions all around.

There were 2 hides: one on the stage under a rock and the other under the stage ramp.  Molly quickly got to work as we approached the stage smelling birch in the air and found both hides in under 1 and a half minutes! 

Our Molly wasn't always known as a rock star.  Two years ago she had major confidence issues that caused her and another dog in our home to fight, she was fearful of being in a group class on leash and would not allow me to pet her.  Now she searches for birch at a public event like a pro, meets new people much better and allows me to touch her and enjoys it.  The power of Nose Work has made her the rock star she is today!

Calm On the Go

My dogs and I enjoy going to new places together for dog training classes, demonstrations, park walks or competitions.  It's always an adventure for the both of us.  I've noticed the more places we go and have good times the less stressed they are about taking on something new.  That's all about socialization in a positive way!

For dogs who are more unsure of new places they may not have received a lot of positive social experiences at a young age or have had bad experiences at some point in their lives.  That makes me very sad because there are so many fun things for them out in the BIG world.  Granted not all dogs need to be socialites, but for those who might enjoy it and need some help doing so there are lots of good ideas and products available to help them overcome some of those fears.

One way I like to help dogs with this is through K9 Nose Work® classes.  The dogs learn so much from this positive experience where nothing bad happens, they get to use their awesome nose and learn something new.  A challenge some have though is sitting in a crate or car without their owner with them.  They've never had to be put in that situation.  Even dogs who LOVE searching, the down time alone can be stressful.  

Then the thought came to me "What if those dogs could be helped by listening to calming music?"  There are great CD's made by Through a Dog's Ear that I highly recommend, but for those sitting in a car it might be a burden to have the car running just to play a CD.  So I started thinking and researching of a way to solve that challenge.  

Here is what I came up with: 

       1. Dig old Walkman out of the closet.

       2. Purchase a portable speaker system (iLuv makes a cool one)

       3. Purchase a Through a Dog's Ear CD for calming

                *4 AA batteries are needed, too.

Voila!  Now you can play music for your dog without using the car battery and could tuck the CD player and speakers under a seat so Fido doesn't think they are for chewing!  This could also go with you at a hotel, in a crating area at a training or trial facility or wherever your dog needs some calming music.  

Note: Do try to use it at other times than just in times of stress so it doesn't become a cue to being stressed, crated or left alone, etc.