I often run ads that ask, “Does your dog pull on the leash, jump on guests, bolt out of doors, act aggressively, ‘help you drive’?” In 2007 when a four year old Airedale named Dazz came to live with us, he pretty much did all of that. He wasn’t aggressive really, but he did lunge at every dog, squirrel, and truck that went by, which made walking him a challenge.
His back-story was not unusual. A young couple had gotten him as a pup. The husband was in law school; the wife was a nurse. I suspect they doted on him and clearly they weren’t much into the whole discipline thing. As time passed they added a baby to the family and the husband graduated law school and went to work. Life got very busy and there wasn’t a whole lot of time left for the dog. Dazz let it be known he wasn’t happy about these new circumstances. Among other things, he pooped in the baby’s room and I think even on the baby’s bed. The couple was at their wits end. Dazz’s breeder, as many of them do, had said that if for any reason they couldn’t keep him, they could return him to her. Providentially, I had just met this breeder at the annual Governor’s Foot Guard dog show. Dazz fit perfectly the description of the dog I had told her I was looking for (minus the behavior issues), so when Dazz was returned, she emailed me.
We took him on a two-week trial basis, but we knew right off that this rambunctious rascal was going to be ours. So bad were his manners that, for the first six months, I had him drag a leash around the house whenever we were home. Gradually his penchant for throwing himself at the end of the leash with total abandon was tamed. What a wonderful dog he turned out to be! We called him the “party dog” because he loved everyone and greeted both friends and strangers as if they were long lost family members. He often went with me to my clients so I could use him for demonstrations and as a distraction. I told him he was the world’s handsomest dog.
A couple of weeks ago Dazz went off his food and seemed listless. I thought maybe he had a tick- borne illness and took him to our vet the next day. It turns out he had an auto-immune disorder called hemolytic anemia. He did not respond to treatment and in a period of four days he aged four years. Given the prognoses, we had to put him down. We miss him a lot.
People sometimes ask me what is the best way to handle the grief that comes with losing a dog. I think the best you can do is to think of his or her time with you the way you would of a really wonderful vacation. Reminisce and bask in the blessing of the time you had together, and be thankful.
Remember too that if there is a particular breed of dog that you like and you’re willing to invest some time and money in training, you might look into breed-specific rescue organizations. Somebody else’s problem might become a great source of joy to you.
Well, it’s late March. Tomorrow is the first day of spring and it’s sleeting out so I guess we’re all feeling a little cranky. I know I am, so why not just go with it? Perhaps there are people out there who are getting bored with their own crankiness so as a public service I’m going to share mine. Maybe it will help someone else’s mood to know that they’re not alone in their crankiness.
Today’s pet peeve is called the dog socialization imperative. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy watching dogs play together as much as the next guy. As a dog trainer however, I frequently work with dog-aggressive dogs and their owners in public. A problem can arise when a well intentioned but somewhat oblivious third person let’s their dog tow them over to the dog I’m working with while cheerily asking if it’s okay if they say “Hi.” If they asked first while still at a distance this would give me a chance to say, “NO.” Certain individuals however, have decided that asking if it’s okay to say “Hi” is just a meaningless social nicety. They just assume the answer is going to be “Of course!” In this case however, not waiting for an answer can result in a real live dog fight and injured dogs.
Truth be told, I get a little annoyed even if the client’s dog isn’t dog aggressive because such an approach often sets up the poor student dog for an unnecessary failure. You see, when using distractions, we try to be sure that the student dog has a least a fifty percent chance of success. For example, when leaving a dog on a sit stay, I try to make sure that the dog is far enough away from the distraction that he has a good chance of successfully holding it to completion. Only a very, very well trained dog can hold a sit stay while another dog is trying to engage him in the canine version of “Hi, how are you.”
Part of what bothers me about this is that people who consistently let their dogs pull them over to greet other dogs instill in those dogs the expectation that they “ought” to be allowed to do this. Consequently their dogs often become increasingly strong and willful. After awhile the owner simply cannot control the dog in certain situations. If this sounds like your dog, we can help. We can teach you to train your dog to pass another dog who’s obviously trying to concentrate on behaving himself (or even one who isn’t) without getting your arm pulled out of its socket, which should make Spring all the more enjoyable when it finally gets here.
So many people (especially big-dog people) tell me that they don’t like small dogs. Why? Because they are yappy and ill behaved— at least that’s the stereotype. As a dog trainer, I understand where this comes from even though I don’t concur. First of all, because of their size, it’s easy not to notice a well behaved small dog, whereas larger dogs have a certain presence that’s hard to ignore even if they are being quiet and charming. Secondly, people tend to let small dogs get away with stuff they wouldn’t dream of allowing a big dog to do. A four pound Yorkie barking aggressively and darting in to bite at your shoes is an annoyance. A 110 lb German Shepherd doing the same thing is a potential law suit.
Perhaps the biggest contributing factor is the furniture thing. Small dogs are usually allowed on the furniture and big dogs are usually not. Dogs that are allowed on furniture are far more likely to have behavior problems than dogs that aren’t—and by a large margin. I know because I work with a lot of behavior problems and have noticed a powerful correlation. Of the problem dogs that I have worked with, 90% of them were either allowed on the furniture or slept on their owner’s beds or both. I’m not saying that all dogs that get on the furniture become problem dogs, only that if a dog has serious behavioral issues, there is a very high probability that the dog has been accustomed to getting on the furniture.
It seems that by living on the same level as their owners, many dogs get the idea that their opinions about things (like who ought to be allowed into the house, or where it’s okay to pee or poop) are just as important as their owner’s opinions. This world view manifests itself in their (bad) behavior. The solution? Treat your little dog like you would a big dog. Small dogs can be wonderful once you learn the right approach and invest the effort to make it happen!
As a dog trainer, I enjoy leading someone through the training process so that they can better enjoy their dog or evaluating a specific situation in order to solve a problem. Young puppies (eight to twenty weeks old) present slightly different challenges. Because they develop so rapidly (and are emotionally immature), our goals are shorter range and simpler than for the adolescent or adult dog. The first priority is housebreaking, and the second is surviving a very oral stage of their development with most of your stuff intact. Third in importance would be to begin to establish some basic manners.
People sometimes ask me what they need to acquire to be prepared for the arrival of their new pup. The list is short and simple:
1). A crate small enough (or one that can be partitioned) so that the pup can’t use one end for a bathroom and use the other end for a bedroom. In general, dogs do not like to pee and poop where they are confined, so this is just a way of using their natural instinct for cleanliness to begin to teach them to relieve themselves in the appropriate place—usually outdoors.
2). A flat collar and a lightweight leash to facilitate taking them in and out. Leashes are our primary training tool later on, so it’s good to get them accustomed to one sooner rather than later.
3). Three toys. Puppies, like babies, tend to be quite oral and like to have something to put in their mouth. I recommend three toys because it allows for some variety, without being so many that the dog is encouraged to think he can put everything in his mouth.
4). Separate bowls for water and food.
5). Hydrogen peroxide or Syrup of Ipecac to induce vomiting if your puppy eats something toxic.
6). Time: Puppies need to go out often and should not be expected to last an eight-hour workday in a crate. If a family member can’t be home with the dog a good deal of the day, hire a dog walker to come in mid day to play with the dog and give him a chance to relieve himself.
Also puppies are fun. You need some time to just enjoy watching them discover the world and grow up. Puppyhood doesn’t last long, so you don’t want to miss out.
Recently there was a cartoon on the cover of The New Yorker magazine that made me smile. It was a drawing of a man in a bathing suit sitting in his beach chair a few feet from the water’s edge pointing his remote control at the sun. Similarly the movie “Click” depicts a man who can control the people around him with his hand held remote. At one point when his dog is barking he simply turns down the volume to a less obtrusive level. There’s no question that on some level the idea of easily controlling all aspects of our lives electronically is appealing. In reality, things aren’t so simple.
E-collars for dog training are widely available these days, and people sometimes think that they can avoid the time and expense of training a dog by purchasing one. Not so fast. Unless you know exactly what you are doing with a remote collar, you can make a dog confused, anxious, and mistrustful.
Not long ago, I started working with a client who has a young, exuberant, and somewhat opportunistic German Shepherd. Jumping and mouthing were two of their problems, so they borrowed a remote collar from a friend. At our first meeting the woman remorsefully confessed that they quickly realized that the dog had no clue what he was being zapped for, so they stopped using it. Good for them!
A friend of mine who owns a grooming salon told me of a situation with one of her clients that didn’t turn out as well. For some time she had been advising this client to get some training for their out of control Golden Retriever but to no avail. One day these folks showed up at the salon with an e-collar on the dog. My friend did notice a change in the dog’s behavior but not for the better. This dog, who in spite of his rowdiness, had always been amiable, started growling at her. Not good!
E-collars are not bad in and of themselves, but like any tool you need to know what you’re doing before using one. Dog training is about much more than control. It’s about building trust, responsibility, and a rewarding relationship.
