I would like to acknowledge and thank the Australian National Kennel Council for allowing me to reprint this article published in the February/March 2012 Canine News Magazine.  This article is reprinted in its entirety and is for information only.

ANKC Ltd is strongly opposed to sub-standard dog breeding operations which breed and sell either pure-bred or mixed breed dogs.  “Puppy farms” or “mills” are often characterised by substandard health, welfare, breeding and socialisation practises of puppies and concentrate on volume and large-scale breeding to maximise financial profit.

“It’s a sad fact that some dog breeders are trying to make a quick profit by cutting corners when it comes to properly raising dogs.  Such puppy farms can put at risk the dog’s wellbeing through overcrowding unsanitary conditions, and cause dogs to miss out on the socialisation aspect of growing up.  Dogs often lack interaction with humans to these establishements.”

ANKC Ltd is also deeply concerned at the problem of so many unwanted companion animals in the community.  Animals that could be valued family pets and companions but that instead end up being euthanized in large numbers.

ANKC Ltd agrees with the comment of Professor Crispin, the Chair of the UK Dog Advisory Panel, who states:-

“Surely it makes sense to identify dogs before they leave their mother and the breeder.  I think they should be registered in some way so they can always be traced back to their breeder, and that would get rid of the nefarious practices in breeding.  It’s so simple I don’t know why we don’t do it.”

The State of NSW has started this process by the Companion Animals Act 1988, NSW which contains a requirement that all Companion Animals must be identified by microchip as follows:-

S8 Identification required from 12 weeks of age and before sale

1) A companion animal must be identified as required by the regulations from the time the animal is 12 weeks old.

2) A companion animal must not be sold unless it has been identified as required by the regulations (even if it is less than 12 weeks old when it is sold)

S9 Registration required from age 6 months

(1) A companion animal must be registered under this Act from the time the animal is 6 months old.  The owner of the animal is guilty of an offence if it is not registered.

There are some exemptions in the Regulations and these will need to be tightened.

It is also important that a centralised database be setup so that the data is available to ascertain patterns of breeding throughout the community.

ANKC Ltd supports this approach and has made it mandatory that all puppies registered on its pedigreed dog database be microchipped and that the microchip number be recorded.

ANKC Ltd believes that universal microchipping will, if rigorously enforced, be the ideal vehicle to identify puppy farmers to enable them to be more accurately targeted.

Under the NSW microchipping system, all companion animals must be identified and registered.

The system in place in NSW is accepted by the general public and recognised dog breeders.

Compulsory Registration of Breeders

A number of parties have recommended that all breeders of companion animals be registered or obtain breeder permits.

There has been little study of the effectiveness and viability of such a scheme.

A pilot scheme at the Gold Coast Council has not yet been fully scientifically examined or peer reviewed at this time.  Indeed, there are a number of questions as to cost, public acceptance, breeder involvement and the general effectiveness of that scheme for the stated purpose of reducing the numbers of unwanted companion animals.

ANKC Ltd is not aware of any empirical studies that demonstrate the preference of a Breeder Permit Scheme such as that which is being trialled in the Gold Coast to a Breeding Code such as is now successfully operating in NSW without the requirement for licensing of breeders or breeder permits.

ANKC Ltd is of the view that a Companion Animal Breeder Licensing Scheme would set up another costly layer of bureaucracy with attendant additional fee structures Rules and Regulations needed to operate it.

Such a system would also further prejudice recognized breeders, i.e. members of ANKC Ltd affiliates who already are required to:-

1)  Comply with State and Territory Laws and Breeding Codes

2)  Comply with the extensive State and Territory Canine Councils Rules and Regulations and Code of Ethics

3)  Comply with the ANKC Ltd Code of Ethics

4)  Obtain a high pass in a detailed Canine Council open book exam before qualifying for a breeder’s prefix/approval.  Without that approval members may not breed a litter.

5)  As of January 2012 microchip all puppies prior to ANKC Ltd Registration with ANKC Ltd and member affiliates.

If a system of compulsory registration of breeders was introduced the ANKC Ltd would strongly lobby that its members, who are already highly regulated, obtain an exemption.

Conclusions

ANKC Ltd therefore recommends that identification of all companion animals by microchip, registration and notification of all changes of ownership throughout their lives, is the cost effective solution to provide the database that is needed to locate and identifying puppy farms and puppy farmers.

That database would also provide the additional benefit of identifying sources of unwanted companion animals with a view to providing statistically based scientific solutions to that problem.

ANKC Ltd believes such a system should be universal and would work more efficiently than a licensing system.  We believe that what is needed is more effective enforcement of existing laws to catch the unethical parties, not more laws to create cost and burdens for the ethical and responsible breeders.

Hugh Gent OAM

Chairman

Australian National Kennel Council Ltd

October 2011

One of the biggest problems with pet dogs is destructive behaviour in the home or yard when the owners are out.  People have busy lifestyles with a lot of hours spent at work and children at school all day, so the dog is left home alone for long periods of time for most days of the week.  So dogs, being pack animals who don’t survive well on their own, need to learn to adjust to the family’s lifestyle and cope with these periods of time on their own.  However, owners need to also be mindful of what their dog’s needs are and provide the dog with enough stimulation if they want to prevent nuisance or destructive behaviour.

Destructive behaviour occurs when boredom sets in so here are some ideas you might like to create in your yard to keep your dog from getting bored.  The first thing to do, particularly for larger and more active breeds, is to provide physical exercise by taking the dog for a walk daily.  If possible, this is best if it can be to a park or area where you can let him off leash to run freely.  Playing fetch and retrieve or frisbee games gives them the opportunity to run hard and fast and tires them out before returning home.  If you are able to incorporate this into your lifestyle before you leave for work so that he has had this release of energy early in the day then you will be leaving him a little weary and therefore he will be happy and more likely to sleep once he has returned home and you have left.

If you feed your dog in the morning, rather than feed him out of a food bowl why not put the food into a food treat toy, such as a Kong or hard rubber treat dispenser, so he has to interact and play with it in order to get the food out.  This will take up some of his time and energy.  Even better still, why not have a few filled with food and hide them around the garden (to begin with you need to let him see you hide it until he gets the idea of the game)?  Or you could hide a bone or chewy rawhide treat instead.

For dogs that love to dig provide a hard plastic swimming pool full of sand, where Kongs and toys or bones and chew treats can be buried, and encourage your dog to dig there instead of the garden beds.  The clam shell paddling pools for children are perfect.  This way you get what you want and the dog gets what he wants – the opportunity to dig.  These hard plastic swimming pools are also great to use as a doggy swimming pool where they can splash, stand or lie in the water and are particularly important during hot weather to help them cool down as well as provide another source of drinking water.

If your yard is large enough then you might want to consider building ramps or putting up an agility tunnel.  Jumping is not recommended for dogs under 18 months to 2 years of age, however once your dog has reached that age then providing something for them to jump on or through will provide another outlet for jumping energy.   Or have a couple of Kong toys tied from a beam hanging down that the dog has to reach up to knock around to get the treats out.  Make sure he doesn’t have to jump too high to get to it.

Frozen water in icecream containers or iceblocks (or you can make up your own Frosty Paws ice treat) can make great boredom busters as well.  Place a favourite rope toy in the centre of the icecream container full of water with the handle sticking out the top and freeze.  Once frozen you can hang the large iceblock from a low tree branch, or anything else that may hold it, and the dog can have fun playing, licking and chewing as it melts.  Once the ice has melted the toy is still there to play with.

There are also several interactive toys and puzzle games for dogs that you can purchase – generally they involve the dog having to use his nose to open and close compartments in order to find the treats.

Having a variety of activities available for your dog can also be entertaining when you are at home also.  Teaching the dog some of the agility activities in your backyard and rewarding the dog for going  on a seesaw or running through the tunnel or tyre can be fun for both of you.   Plus, it can be good exercise if you happen to not be able to walk him that day.

First and foremost you need to make sure that any bit of equipment you put up will be safe, particularly if you are not around for long periods of time.  Secondly, you will need to also train the dog to use any equipment safely.  Giving the dog these types of interactive games can help him pass his day contentedly without getting bored.  Most dogs will tend to sleep a fair amount of time so chew treats and/or  raw bones when you leave will keep him happy for a while until he feels it’s time to rest.

When you return home it is important that the dog feels a part of the family and spend some quality time with him.  This could be teaching him a trick or toy play or even taking him for another short walk.  By implementing some of these things you will be alleviating many problems that dog owners experience and will have a dog who doesn’t mind spending that time on his own.

 If you have come across other ways to keep your dog happy while at home on his own let us know what they are and we can share them!

Do you suffer from overwhelm and confusion when you start to read and research about how to train your dog?  Lure training, reward training, free-shaping, clicker training, praise and correction, Premack Principle – what is right and what is wrong?  One question leads to another which leads to another and so on…there is a smorgasbord of ideas and suggestions out there and so you end up on the merry-go-round of dog training.  If you get to this point it is better to stop, look and listen!  Yes, stop and look or observe your dog, listen to your heart and own instincts – what are they telling you to do!

A big part of dog training is about listening to your inner voice and following what ‘feels right’ for you.  No one person has all the answers.  As an instructor I am always looking to gather information and ideas from others – the more tools you have in your toolkit the better!  It is also about trial and error – working out what works for your dog.  When you tune in to a dog’s personality they will tell you and you will feel when you are doing what is right for your dog – you will see great results.  Sometimes those results happen quickly and other times they take longer through persistance.

There are different methods of training your dog to perform one exercise however it is not the method or the tool itself that is the important thing – it is the principle and the mindset of your relationship, the dog’s right to be able to make choices and the joy of both trainer and learner to accomplish new achievements that will tell the story of how successful your training is.   Training based on using rewards with the mindset that  “if you get what you want and then allowing the dog to have what he wants” is balanced and means that you are both left happy.

So what exactly do those terms mean in the above paragraph – lure training, reward training, free-shaping, etc?  I’ll explain them here:

Lure Training

This is predominantly training by showing the dog a treat and manoeurvering your hand and treat to the position that you want the dog to follow.  As soon as the task is accomplished the dog gets the treat.  This is a much quicker method than waiting for the dog to perform the behaviour of his own accord.   A lot of the trouble and criticism with this type of method is that people get so hung up on the food that they never wean the dog off the food so that the dog won’t perform the behaviour without a food treat in front of his nose.  This can be quite evident with the ‘drop’ exercise where you ask the dog to go from a sit or stand position to a drop position.  The secret is to use the lure for a few times only then repeat the hand movement without food in it.  As soon as the dog has performed the task you then bring a treat out of hiding from your pocket or your non-luring hand which is hidden behind your back.

Lure training is actually teaching the dog a cue (hand signal) from the very beginning if you continue that same movement with your hand but without the food.  Dogs tend to pick up on movement cues a lot quicker than they do verbal signals so if you start by teaching your dog with hand signals using lures you will probably get a better response from the dog whereas a word cue, eg “sit”, might take several repetitions before the dog does what you are expecting.  This repetition of words just teaches the dog that you say words several times over before he is expected to do anything which may not be such a good thing in an emergency situation.

Reward Training

This is a continuation from lure training.  The reward is hidden away and given after the behaviour has been performed and is not used to lure the dog into that position.  Reward training means simply that the dog gets a reward for doing what you want.  You can use reward training when the dog performs a behaviour of his own accord that you like, or if you want to teach him signals and verbal cues then it is best to only reward the behaviour when you ask for it.  So, for example, if the dog sits of his own accord you can choose to reward that and this works great if you are teaching him alternative behaviours as in not to jump up on you.  However, if you want to teach the dog to sit on cue then you would only reward the sits that happen immediately after you have given the signal to sit.  In this instance if the dog sits without the signal then that is not rewardable.

Once again, people seem to think that reward training is only about food.  It’s not – it is about using anything that the dog finds enjoyable to reward the behaviours that you either like or ask for.  These can include anything such as play session, attention, going for a walk, sniffing the ground or chasing a leaf – whatever th dog finds enjoyable can be used as a reward – not just food.

Free-Shaping

Free-shaping is basically about the dog making any small movement towards the end result without any luring or enticement from you as the trainer.  This takes longer than lure training as you are waiting for the dog to perform the behaviour himself.  Free-shaping is best when used in conjunction with a clicker or if you have taught the dog that the word “Yes” earns him a treat.  For example, you might be teaching the dog to stand on a skateboard.  Free-shaping would be waiting for the dog to take a step towards, or make any body movement that has anything to do with the skateboard and rewarding that.  He may look at the skateboard, which would become rewardable.  Then he might take a step towards it and subsequently pick up his paw to touch the skateboard or perhaps he might use his nose to sniff or touch it.  Any of movement of progression towards the end goal of standing on the skateboard would be rewarded until the dog was offering of getting on the skateboard, in which case he could be given a jackpot reward.

The basis behind this type of training is that any behaviour that is rewarded is more likely to occur again – the thing to be aware of is that the dog needs to get a little bit further each time before the “Yes” or click and treat is given otherwise you will get stuck and the dog won’t advance any further.

Clicker Training

It is not the clicker that is the magic but the perception of how your dog learns and his right to learn.  The clicker is the distinguished sound which tells the dog that what he has done has earnt him a treat (reinforcement) so the power needs to be built into the click first.  It needs to be used very specifically in order to be effective.  The thing with the clicker is your dog can learn without you interfering with your voice or being told what to do.  Through effective clicker training the dog can learn a new trick without you muttering a word.  It teaches the dog to think for himself and work out what action will cause the next treat to be forthcoming.  Clicker training tends to encourage dogs to ‘throw’ different behaviours at you.  There is no fear on the dog’s part about getting something wrong and being punished for it.  It allows the dog to make a choice and there is no frustration or stress involved.

Premack Principle

The Premack Principle is the principle of rewarding a low probability behaviour with a high probability behaviour.  An example of this might be that you ask your dog to stay inside the car until you give him permission to get out and then the dog gets to run free as a reward for that stay.  This can be a really useful tool.  You might have a dog that loves to sniff the ground.  As the dog is sniffing you can introduce the word “Sniff” and then use sniffing as a reward for a short distance of heelwork or walking nicely on the lead.

Praise/Correction

This is the old way of training however it is still one to be aware of so that you know to avoid this type of training.  There are still plenty of trainers and dog clubs that use this method.  Why?  Because yes, it does work.  You get what you want – however, the thing to consider and observe is how the dog appears.  Is he happy to be doing what you want?  If you go to work every day for a week and at the end of the week the boss made a point of telling you that you did generally do a good job and corrected you for some mistakes that you made, and that was it – no pay packet, nothing!  Would you be happy?  I think not.  This type of training is simply not effective in helping the dog to learn – it is effective in mechanically training your dog to do what you want.

These are some of the tools you can use to teach your dog – no one way is right or wrong, they all serve their purpose.  And if you use a little of each – lure into reward training, free-shaping, clicker – bear in mind that it ultimately is your mindset and the joy and satisfaction of working together with your dog, not against, that is the real winner.  Having a happy dog who loves to learn and perform for you is the key.  How you get to that doesn’t matter as long as it doesn’t harm the dog, either physically or emotionally.  Give your dog the space to be able to leave if he wants – it may becoming overwhelming.  Understand that learning doesn’t happen evenly and that patience will be required, as well as not having too high an expectation as you start off.  Not only will your dog make mistakes, you will also.  With this in mind, treat all training as a fun time with your dog and every exercise as you would if you were training him to do a trick.

Effective puppy and dog training methods have dramatically changed since the time I got my first Golden Retriever puppy nearly 20 years ago.  Back in those days we used force and correction to train which did include using positive punishment.  I never got anywhere with training that puppy for any sort of obedience other than basic manners!  Nowadays, we know so much more about effective training methods for animals and there is now the realisation that positive punishment, although it can work, is definitely not the best way to train your puppy.

In puppy pre-school we see much better results for people and their puppies when they are shown how to use positive reinforcement methods, ie rewarding and reinforcing behaviour that we like using positive things like high value food treats, play, attention, walks, etc. anything that the dog likes.   When the puppy shows behaviour that we don’t like, we think of what we want the puppy to do instead and train for that.  If you know that you want the puppy to perform a more acceptable  behaviour then by ignoring the unwanted behaviour and rewarding the wanted behaviour the puppy has no reason to continue the unwanted behaviour.

Why don’t we use positive punishment as a method of training any more?  It is not that positive punishment doesn’t work – it is simply that it is not kind to the dog and is not effective in the overall training programme to establish a strong relationship with your dog.  Here are some reasons why we shouldn’t incorporate positive punishment when interacting with our dogs:-

• The dog learns that the owner or human is a source of stress;
• The dog doesn’t learn to think for itself;
• Dogs may shut down and become extremely frightened;
• Positive punishment puts the dog into a flight (avoidance) or fight (aggressive) response;
• Animals will do their best to escape punishment and the punisher (this is definitely not effective if we are wanting to build our relationships with our dogs);
• The dog may start to show aggressive behaviours;
• Positive punishment may stop one particular behaviour but another unwanted behaviour may appear as a result (or they may only cease to do the unwanted behaviour in the presence of the punisher but continue it when the punisher is absent);
• Punishment only suppresses behaviour, it does not eliminate it.
• Punishments may need to be repeated or increased in intensity over time.

Punishment can be:-

•  Yelling
•  Hitting and smacking (even if it is what seems a gentle smack across the nose)
• Yanking or jerking the lead
• Alpha rolls (grabbing the puppy by the scruff of the neck and pushing him to the floor)
• Grabbing him by the throat and chastising
• No reward markers
• Our human mood swings

Punishment is an outdated and harmful mindset.  It builds fear and resentment which, in turn, means the animal will not want to interact with you.  You will have a dog who is less likely to come when you call him.  In fact, punishment may be perceived by the animal even when we don’t see it.  Take, for example, the recall exercise.  How many people take their dogs to the park, beach or wherever and allow them to run off leash?  When it is time to go home the owner calls and the dog ignores the owner.  The dog may perceive the recall as a punishment if every time when he goes back to the owner, the lead is clipped on and it is the end of the outing.  Why would the dog want to go back to the owner in this instance.  So the owner calls and calls and the dog still doesn’t come.  So when the dog finally goes back the owner then scruffs him by the neck, tells him off, puts the lead on and yanks him to the car.  That is positive punishment plus and congratulations to that owner because he has just taught the dog that bad things happen when he returns to the owner.

So dogs can get confused because they are trying to make sense of our world.  Their world is primarily built upon  behaviours that will enable them to hunt, such as chasing, running, jumping, mouthing, chewing, biting,  and many more.  And although it is not necessary for dogs to hunt it is still an inherent trait.  When we respond  to these  behaviours by using punishment, saying “No” or restraining  the dog to perform these inherent instincts,  then we become like an enemy, a barrier or just irrelevant.

By incorporating their natural instincts as a reward for good behaviour for any circumstance you are allowing the dog to be who he was born to be and you’ll find that you’ll have a much better relationship.

If you have ever tried to change an established but unwanted behaviour that your dog performs into a behaviour that is more acceptable then it might be useful to understand about the concept of  extinction bursts.  So what is an extinction burst?  Imagine if you go to a vending machine and put your money in the slot.  You then press the button for the choice of drink you want and wait – nothing happens!  You press the button again – still nothing!  You then press the button repeatedly, you might start to hit the machine to free the drink you have just paid for.  You might then kick the machine several times over.  And still nothing happens, at which point you eventually give up and walk away.  The next day, you go to the machine maybe try pushing the button once but it’s not working so you’ll not spend so much time or effort on trying to get it to work.  The repeated behaviour button pressing, hitting and kicking the machine is an example of an extinction burst.  An extinction burst occurs when a previously rewarded behaviour or expectation of a reward does not eventuate.  So the expectation that once the money has been put into the slot is that the drink will come out and when that expectation or reward does not follow through then frustration sets in and causes an outburst of behaviours to try and get the reward to happen.

Generally, we teach a dog that when he does something you like he gets a treat and when he does something you don’t like the behaviour gets ignored.   Well, what happens if a dog has been rewarded for a behaviour that we now want to reverse — barking for attention could be used as an example.   This behaviour of barking has unknowingly been rewarded through the appearance of a person telling the dog to be quiet.   And then the dog gets a treat for being quiet, which is not bad in itself but it is the prior barking behaviour that gets the whole thing started.  So it is now recognised that it is the prior barking that is a nuisance and the reward from the person after telling the dog to be quiet which results in the dog then stopping the barking behaviour is not actually preventing this initial barking.  The whole sequence of events is now a behaviour chain or a pattern of a complete behaviour.

So, in order to prevent the initial barking something has to change.  Up until now the initial barking has been rewarded when the presence of a human appears, so if the barking starts but the presence of a person doesn’t arrive as expected then the barking is most likely going to increase, could be in volume and frequency.  Can you now see why that is going to happen?  This is exactly how extinction bursts work.  The behaviour then increases in frequency, duration and intensity because it was rewarded previously and suddenly that is not working.  The barking will escalate for some time until the dog realises that it is not getting him what he wants and he will then eventually give up.  The secret is to not give in to the increase in whatever the unwanted behaviour is, in this case not going to the dog while he is barking.

So if you have realised that you have inadvertently been rewarding behaviour that is not really what you want, or now paying attention to the incorrect behaviour and then requesting an alternative correct behaviour  which then gets rewarded with a treat, (the whole sequence of events is now a habit or pattern of behaviour on the dog’s part) then take away the reward completely and wait for the dog to do something you like before producing any reward.  If you get a burst of intense, more frequent attempts of that behaviour then think “Great!  He’s getting worse!  Extinction is working!”  By ignoring the dog completely he will get bored and go find something else to do or just quieten down.

After you have extinguished a behaviour, be aware also that if a trigger is presented again then the behaviour may recur in the future. This is known as spontaneous recovery or the transient increase in behaviour. You need to be prepared for this eventuality but it is a sign that extinction is working! The dog will just be testing you so don’t give in and continue to withhold the reward.  If you give in you will then be placing that behaviour on a variable schedule of reinforcement so that your dog will keep offering that behaviour until the next reinforcement happens.  Bob Bailey, a well-known animal trainer, says “extinction is a process, just as reinforcement is a process and aversives is a process, all involving the results of interaction with the environment.”  He then goes on to say “You might say that an animal would never ‘choose’ extinction, or do anything that would result in extinction, but it is not necessary in operant conditioning for an animal to have control, only that there be a result of its behaviour, thus influencing the probability of the behaviour reoccurring.  An animal goes hunting.  It tries many schemes to get food.  Some work, and some don’t.   Those that don’t work face extinction, those that do, get stronger”

If you are trying to chang a part of your dog’s behaviour that you don’t like and you are not having much success then this could be why – the reinforcement might still actually be there for the dog or you might be giving in too easily when you do see it getting worse instead of better.  Be strong and keep ignoring what you don’t want until the dog decides to give up.

Post a comment if you are having any trouble trying to change something and it’s not working.

Does your dog ever get over-the-top excited and it doesn’t matter how hard you try you just can’t seem to settle him down?  How often does he get into this state?  And how long does it take for him to eventually calm down?

Like humans, dogs have a threshold where they can take so much and then once they go over (or they may even go under) that threshold it can affect their health, heart rate, adrenalin levels, etc.  In this state a dog is totally stressed and it is not good for him to be in this state for any length of time.  We see this in humans with road rage, street violence, etc.

So what is actually meant by ‘over’ or ‘under’ threshold?  Basically it is the point where dogs start reacting to triggers and it takes a dog beyond the point where optimal learning occurs.  So, the dog could be either totally hyped up and excited or he could shrink away in fear and anxiety.

How can you tell when  a dog has gone over or under threshold?  When a dog has reached over the threshold level you will most likely notice that his behaviour is over the top.  He is excited and won’t calm or settle down; he may be panting excessively; jumping around if he is excited; barking may become excessive; biting and aggression can escalate when he has reached the limit and in this state he generally won’t respond to food treats, no matter how high value they may be.  In this situation working on relaxation exercises can help to bring the dog back to a manageable state.

If a dog goes under threshold he may become very quiet and withdrawn; he may hide away in a corner and not want to come out.  In this case it is going to be more difficult to get a dog to relax once he has reached this state of mind so you would probably be best to leave him and allow him to come out of this in his own time.  If you recognise what the trigger might be that causes this stress then you can try some relaxation exercises before the trigger is set and before the dog reaches this point.

Relaxation is best worked with on a mat or bedding that the dog is familiar with and has his scent on.  It is not just a case of sitting or lying down on the mat – relaxation goes beyond that to target slower breathing and real calmness and quietness.  Relaxation is best worked with the dog lying to one side in a comfortable position.  The whole environment must be calm as well as yourself.  Try putting your hand on the dog’s side and tuning your breathing in with his.  You can use food treats to reward calm behaviour, which would include a still tail and the mouth closed (ie. no panting).  While the dog’s tail is wagging and there is panting there is still an element of arousal.  This is about being totally calm.  Imagine how you feel when you have a massage.

If you have a problem with the dog getting over-excited when visitors come to the door, jumping up, barking, etc. try getting the dog to relax before they arrive.  As the door bell goes and they enter the room where the dog is, be ready to start giving high value treats.  You need to release treats quickly enough before the dog attempts to get up.  Aim to release the treats at the point where his tail is not wagging.  When the dog shows that he is totally relaxed you might want to allow him to quietly get up and then go say “hello” to the visitors.

Relaxation can be used anywhere in situations that may get the dog highly aroused.  For example, when children are running around screaming, playing with other dogs, at the vet clinic, etc.  You may even want to try getting the dog to relax before a thunderstorm strikes.  Really this exercise can help with so many behaviours which may have become problematic and to be better behaved in general.  In particular, where children and other dogs are concerned, use relaxation to keep play sessions short.  This will mean the dog will be less likely to go over that breaking point which can so often turn into aggression at the blink of an eye.

Use relaxation in as many different environments as possible – even at the park or on the beach.  Once the dog has spent a little time being relaxed then allow him to go play as a reward for calm behaviour.  For example, if he goes crazy when you take the lead off the hook don’t put it on until he is calm and quiet; if he gets overly excited when visitors come to the door get the dog to relax before they come and reward for calm behaviour as they enter the house.  The reward for being relaxed could be to go say “hello”.

By practising and rewarding your dog for relaxation every day it will be teaching the dog to relate more appropriately to people and other dogs; helping to prevent problem behaviours as well as preventing increased heart rate, stress and high adrenalin levels.  In other words, keeping him balanced mentally will go a long way to keeping him healthy physically.

Firstly, let’s ask the question “what is an effective pack leader” as far as a dog is concerned?  A pack leader is one who makes decisions or takes charge when a perceived threat is imminent.  It is the pack leader ‘alpha dog’ who eats first and then walks away when he has had enough (I say “he” because the leader is always ‘alpha male’), allowing the next in line to take a turn and so on down the line.  The pack leader invites the other, and perhaps younger, members of the pack to come close to him – they do not just bowl up beside him and expect attention or play from him.  His stance alone dictates to them that it is not appropriate to treat him like the others in the pack.  There are no squabbles, fights over food or any sort of force, or so-called ‘dominance’.  No harmful behaviours are ever displayed by the dog and good leadership is not brought about by making a lot of noise, although a growl will be given if a lower pack member inappropriately gets too close without invitation.  The ‘alpha’ dog’s presence is enough to command respect and the others then know their place in the pack.

So, when you look at the above charateristics of an ‘alpha male’ pack leader – it becomes clear why confusion, bad manners and unruly bad dog behaviour is rife in a society where dogs don’t really understand the rules clearly.  Human communication and rules are very different to how a dog would normally behave in a natural environment.  In order to display effective pack leadership skills it is important to think like a dog and through understanding a little about their natural behaviour and communication skills will give you an ability to take on an effective leadership role.

From a human perspective, true leadership is not about punishment, force, being ‘dominant’, harmful actions towards another human or yelling and screaming so why, therefore, should we apply these ideas when dealing with dogs?  What are some of the ways we can communicate with our dogs so that they understand where they fit in?  It seems the most common areas of this confusion lies around food, walking, perceived danger and separation.  From a dog’s perspective there are a multitude of ways that stress from confusion with these areas can be displayed.  Let’s cover a few of them:

Food

Food is possibly the biggest area where the most problems occur and the outcomes can be very dangerous.  Resource guarding can have very nasty consequences.  In the natural environment for a dog resource guarding is not necessary – the pack leader eats first and then the others all get their share.  The confusion arises when the dog assumes he is higher in the pack than the family members and they have not learnt his rules.

Take, for example, the normal behaviour in the wild – pack leader eats first and when he has had enough he walks away so the next in line can eat.  This continues down the line until each member of the pack has eaten.  Now this is not really practical to adopt this in our human society, however a way to modify this is to have a biscuit or piece of food on the bench so that once the dog’s food is ready in the dog bowl the pack leader stands and eats in front of the dog.  The dog needs to be watching the pack leader eat first.  Then, once that biscuit has been eaten, place the food bowl on the ground and walk away to leave the dog to eat in peace.  Modifications of this could be to request the dog to sit and wait while placing the bowl on the ground and then giving a cue for him to eat.

The next biggest mistake is made by people leaving food on the ground all day long so the dog can come and eat when he pleases.  This is greatly diminishing your status as the controller of the food and pack leader.  Instead, give the dog 10 to 15 minutes to eat his meal and as soon as he walks away, regardless of whether it has all been eaten or not, take the food bowl away.  If he has not finished then it’s too bad, put the left overs in the fridge and don’t bring them out until his next feed time.  If he is hungry he will eat it all straight away next time and not leave any.

Walking

The next area where confusion lies is around going for walks.  In the natural environment it is the pack leader who takes the lead and the others follow.  There are very clear rules.  You can start establishing more effective pack leadership skills by walking in the house, which is a secure environment, with your dog by your side off leash.  Change direction frequently so the dog learns to follow you and be by your side, not in front.  If you don’t look, speak or touch the dog while you do this you will be starting to command a leadership presence.

Perceived Danger

When there is perceived danger it is the role of the lower members of the pack to alert the pack leader, generally this is done through barking.  The pack leader then takes charge and makes decisions around that perceived danger and the barking from the other dogs stops.  The pack leader does not bark – he takes front position and through body language tells the others that he is in control and will make the decision what to do.

Much confusion arises when dogs start barking – in their eyes we join in!  Yes, that’s right, we bring ourselves down to their level through using our voices to tell them to “shut up” or start yelling at them to be quiet.   The more we join in the more they are not seeing us display leadership and decision making skills and so they then assume that the role is theirs.   What to do?  When the dog starts barking at the door, go over to him and thank him for alerting you to the danger.  When he sees that you are calm and quiet and relaxed about the situation he will realise that everything is ok so you can just walk away with him at your side.

When strangers come into the house, don’t allow anyone to touch, look at or speak to the dog, including yourselves.  If the perceived danger is too much for the dog then take him to a separate room and allow him to calm and settle down before allowing him out again.  Otherwise, go and sit down, have a conversation and completely ignore the dog until he is laying on his side in a completely relaxed position.

Separation

When dogs take on a role of being leader in a human society they then perceive us as being their children who they need to protect, in a matter of speaking.  So when they see us leave they get anxious and stressed because they have lost their ‘babies’ and this anxiety or stress can lead to all sorts of destructive or obsessive behaviours.

To help take the stress and anxiety away from them as a result of this perception when you have been out and return to the home, completely ignore the dog.  Don’t even look at him, touch him or speak to him until he is completely calm and relaxed.  Also, when you are planning to go out do the same – don’t look, touch or speak to the dog immediately before the departure.  The more fuss made about your departure is going to heighten that stress and anxiety and will have him more concerned.

Effective pack leadership is all about being calm and relaxed and taking charge.  When your dog sees you calm and relaxed in any given situation he feels confident and safe.  Dogs who perceive themselves as pack leaders (they don’t necessarily want this role however they don’t feel that leadership is being displayed anywhere else in the pack so they take it on reluctantly) are ‘busy’ dogs – they don’t calm and relax well, they are mostly in a state of high arousal and they display ‘busy’ or ‘obsessive’ behaviour sometimes.  If you notice this in your dog have a look at what role he is playing.  Work on the above suggestions to take that responsibility off him and to tell him in his language that you are the pack leader.

If you think that this could be your dog and situation and would like to comment, feel free to comment below.  If you have any concerns I am happy to answer any questions.

Have you ever had the experience of walking your dog on a lead and suddenly in an instant he’s out in front on hind legs and jumping around?  Sometimes it can be so quick that it takes you off-guard and you find yourself nearly face flat to the ground, or the yank of the lead can almost pull your arm out of joint.  It can also be quite frightening because unless you’re prepared for it, it is quite a shock.  Why do dogs do this?

Dogs can react to a number of different things in the environment – cars, trucks, bicycles, skateboards, people, other dogs, strange objects they’ve not seen before.  Perhaps something they are familiar with has given them a fright and causes a reaction.  The time of day can be a factor, ie. is it happening when it is dark or almost dark?  Dogs don’t see as well as we do, especially in dim light.  They see movement so if you are walking as it is getting dark then it could be a reaction to something they cannot see clearly.  Sometimes it only takes one reaction to have it repeat again when that same thing appears next time.

We will never quite know what is going on in a dog’s head when they lunge, however once you observe that the behaviour happens when a particular cue is present in the environment then it is possible to counteract it.  For example, your dog might lunge at people riding bicycles.  Rather than try to figure out why this is happening let’s put focus on what is the most effective way to deal with it.

Firstly, observe and identify what it is that the dog is lunging at.  Determine at what distance does the lunging happen?  The dog may see a truck in the distance and start lunging or the lunging may not start until the truck is actually going past quite close.  Once it is clear what and where the behaviour starts it then becomes possible to work on solving the problem.

With the principle in mind that if there is a behaviour you don’t like then work out what you do want and train for that instead.  So, in this instance of the lunging, the opposite (or incompatible behaviour) would be to be interacting with you.  If the focus of the dog is re-oriented to you then there is no chance to lunge at the same time.  This is where a pack leadership skill comes into play.

Ok, so let’s get started working on changing this unwanted behaviour to something that is acceptable.  What will you need?

a.  Some high value treats – real meat such as sausage, polony, chicken, cheese or any combination of these; or

b.  If you have a dog that is not so motivated by food then have a favourite toy or ball hidden in a pocket.

Next step is to prepare yourself before the ‘trigger’ is close enough to cause a reaction.  If you are using treats then have some ready in your hand, or if you are using toy or ball have it ready to grab to throw on the ground or give a little toss in the air for the dog to fetch or catch.  As the trigger for the behaviour approaches closer allow the dog to look at whatever it is for a couple of seconds only and then say the his name.  The instant he turns and looks at you show him the treat in your hand, make a big fuss and give him the treat or toss the ball or toy.  Have a little game with him while the trigger is present and then when it has gone you can go back to what you were doing before.  The Target Touch game is also something that can hold the dog’s focus on you for the duration of the situation.  Or having the dog sit, look at the thing and then look back to you, look at the thing again, look back to you could also be something that works for you.  Sitting is a calming signal and while the dog is sitting he won’t be jumping and running to the end of the lead.

If your dog doesn’t respond when you say his name then you may need to walk backwards and encourage him to come to you, like in a puppy recall.  Dogs need to feel comfortable with the environment that they are in so allowing him to look briefly and then coming back to you for a treat is giving him the opportunity to know the ‘thing’ is there but he doesn’t need to interact with it.  You then might want to allow him to look at the trigger again if it is still in view, making sure he doesn’t look at it for more than a couple of seconds, then quickly say his name and get him to come back to you.  If you allow the dog to stare at the thing too long then quite possibly the lunging will start again.  By repeating this exercise you will be asserting yourself as being the leader.  You can thank him for alerting you to the ‘perceived danger’ and that everything is ok so he doesn’t need to worry.  The reward is not actually the food or the toy but the fact that he can look back to you to take charge.

If these exercises don’t work, don’t despair – you may just need to modify them to suit you and your dog.  Every dog is different and therefore not all solutions work for all dogs.  If the behaviour persists after trying the above you may need to get specific help from a professional dog trainer or behaviourist, and particularly if aggression is a part of this also.  However, for a lot of dogs who display this behaviour in a particular situation in the presence of the thing that triggers it, it is just a matter of shifting that focus from staring at the ‘thing’ to focusing back on you.

So, in summary, try the following to counteract the behaviour of lunging:

Option 1:-

1. Allow the dog to look at the trigger just for a second or two and praise him for looking;
2. Call his name;
3. High value food treats or ball/toy to use as a reward for the dog paying attention to you;
4. Repeat this a few times if necessary until the trigger has completely gone away.

Option 2:-

1. Sit the dog before the reaction begins;
2. Allow the dog to look for a second or two and praise;
3. Say his name;
4. Make a fuss and talk to him while he is paying attention to you;
5. Allow him to look again if the trigger is still present, praise for looking;
6. Say his name;
7. Make a fuss and reward him for paying attention to you;
8. Keep repeating this until the trigger has gone out of sight.

Option 3:-

1. As above, however play the Target Touch game to keep the dog’s focus and attention on you for the whole time until the trigger has gone out of sight.

Option 4:-

1. If none of the above work over a period of time to reduce the lunging then it may be necessary to engage some individual help from a dog trainer, and particularly if aggression is in conjunction with the lunging.

Remember, every dog is different and therefore what works for one will not work for someone else.  Try the different options above and it may be necessary for you to modify some of the ideas above to suit you and your dog.

If you have had any experiences of lunging and maybe you have found something else that worked for you we’d love to hear about it.  The more tools we have in our toolbox the more we can draw upon when helping others who may be having a similar problem.  Or we’d love you to share a comment on the above.

The behaviour of dogs that eat their own poop is known as ‘coprophagia’ and it is can be a reasonably common behaviour.  Despite the fact that we are repulsed by it, dog experts actually say that it is relatively harmless for the dog.  Dogs will also eat other animal faeces, such as horse poop, chicken poop and cat poop and probably others if they had access to it.  This is a little more acceptable than them eating their own faeces.  So why do they do this and what can be done to prevent it?

Sometimes this behaviour can be brought on by a lack of nutrients being absorbed or digested from the dog’s food.  If the food is not properly digested then the faeces may appear as food from the dog’s perspective.  If the behaviour is caused by nutritional deficiency then try adding a little pineapple to the dog’s food.  Or, it may be necessary to feed a higher quality dog food that has a good balance of nutrients.  Maybe look for some more natural types of feeding, for example biscuits that have less chemicals and preservatives and more herbs to aid digestion (Nutrience is one that I recommend), or perhaps try a BARF diet (Bones and Raw Food).  This may work in some cases but not all.  Flower essences may be another thing to try but get your vet’s ok before doing this.

So if feeding a higher quality diet or adding some pineapple into the diet doesn’t appear to have any effect on the behaviour then it can possibly be a behavioural issue such as boredom, attention-seeking, etc.  If this is the case, then prevention management strategies will need to be implemented, ie. don’t let the dog eat its own poop.  You could either pick up the poop straight away or else go back to basic toilet training methods where you have the dog on lead and take it outside so that the dog only toilets under supervision.  You would need to bring the dog back inside straight away so it doesn’t have access to the area.  When cleaning up after the dog make sure he is not able to see you as he could derive some kind of entertainment or reward from watching you.

If you are using food as a reward in training sessions then do your practice sessions at meal times.  Feed adult dogs two meals a day (young dogs should get more).  This way elimination becomes more predictable—if it goes in on schedule it will come out on schedule.  With this type of management it will possibly take several weeks or even months before you actually see any behavioural change.

Perhaps you might want to see if anyone has been inadvertently rewarding the behaviour.  Is the dog doing this to gain attention?  Did someone see it happen and react?  Even by scolding the dog or rushing over to get him away from the poop is attention, even though we perceive it as negative that may be exactly what the dog wants.

Coprophagia could also possibly be a boredom factor and the dog is eating his own poop just to keep himself occupied.  In this situation, provide more mental stimulation for the dog when he is home alone, ie. interactive dog toys or hide stuffed kongs around the garden, and give him plenty of regular daily exercise and quality interaction when you are home.  Mental stimulation can be just as tiring for a dog as physical exercise, so by teaching tricks such as picking up toys and putting them in a box or shutting cupboard doors, taking off shoes and socks off your feet can all go a long way to help prevent boredom.

Trial and error to see if this behaviour is somehow caused through a deficiencyManagement is really the key to this and maybe get your dog checked by the vet to make sure there are no health issues causing the behaviour.

Communication can be a very subtle thing or it can be loud and clear!  We communicate easily and clearly through language but what about those human body postures and gestures as words are being said?  They are also communicating information to us but how well do we interpret those?  Dogs don’t have a language as we do, they only have body movements and if they learn to socialise with other dogs and puppies adequately in the early formative weeks then they will be very clear with their communication skills when interacting with other dogs.

So is it important to be able to understand dog communication and how useful is it for us to know how to communicate with our pet dogs? Firstly, it might be useful to know whether another dog approaching your dog is approaching in a friendly manner or whether it is approaching in an inappropriate manner.  If it is a friendly approach and appropriate then the dogs will generally approach each other from a sideways angle, if the dogs are not known to each other then you will notice some sniffing of bodily parts to initiate the introduction. Then one of the dogs will ‘play bow’ or jump around and try to engage the other to play.  This is ideally what you want to see.

However, a dog that comes running head on towards your dog at a fast speed is not appropriate and if any eyeballing starts then this will most likely cause confrontation. How your dog reacts can be dependent upon whether he is on lead or off lead.   Generally the flight or fight instinct will kick in and if your dog is not being restrained on a lead then it is possible for him to escape such an approach if he feels threatened by it.  On the other hand, if you are walking your dog on a lead there is not that ability to run away.  So the lead becomes a restriction and your dog may show signs of submission – this can be in the form of lying on the ground and rolling on his back or crouching and displaying ‘front paw raises’.  You will generally note that in this state the tail will be tucked between the hind legs.  If this submission is not accepted by the strange dog then your dog may become aggressive.  This is because the ability to flee from the situation is not possible and the only other reaction can be immobility (in the wild this  could potentially mean death).  So the last resort of defense may be attack and therefore aggression takes over.

And what happens to us during a situation like this? We may panic, get anxious, tighten the lead – your dog is highly sensitive and will pick up on those vibes.  If you start to get frightened it will escalate his reason for being aggressive.  This is why we see many examples of what is called ‘lead aggression’.  Dogs have learnt to be aggressive on lead – a) because they haven’t been able to escape what they perceive as threatening situations and b) they pick up on the owner’s anxiety and stress.  A reaction of tightening the lead in order to control the dog has, in actual fact, the opposite effect – the more they are restricted, the more aggressive they get because of this tension.

So what is the best way to cope with a situation like this? Firstly, if you see another dog running full pelt towards you and you are not sure, the best thing to do is to turn around and walk away.  This is a pretty clear signal to the approaching dog that you are not interested in interacting with him and hopefully the result will be that he will stop and go back from where he came also.  If there is not that opportunity then you turn around to face your dog with your back to the approaching dog – this will at least break any eye contact or confrontation.  Ask your dog to sit and try to focus on you, as sitting is a calming signal for a dog.  The next thing is to try and remain calm and in control.  Maybe take a few deep breaths.  Alternatively, if you have the opportunity to unclip the lead and allow your dog to run to a distance where he feels safe (obviously, you would need to assess the whole environment and only do this if it is safe).

Dogs communicate in a lot of other ways that are so subtle we don’t even recognise. Lip licking, head lowering, body tenseness and stiffnes, the way the mouth is opened, during times of stress they can show the whites of their eyes – all of these are communication signals as to how the dog is feeling.  If you see your dog stressed in a certain situation or environment, remove him as quickly as possible from that source of stress.  The longer the dog is left there, the longer it takes him to calm down again.

How’s about if your dog does happen to get into a fight off the lead?

Here’s the big tip – never try and separate two dogs in the midst of a bingle by grabbing the collars.  I know it may be instinctive to do so, however it can be dangerous.  Your arm can get in the way of dogs’ teeth and you could end up with a bite or nasty bruise.  I saw a case of this the other day – a friend ended up with a bruise on her arm the other day from trying to separate her two dogs who had gotten into a scrap.  Instead of grabbing the collar, a better way of separating them is to grab the tail and lift the hind legs up and try to get your dog away.  Only do this with your own dog, though.   Having had a dog aggressive Golden Retriever, I had to do this from time to time and I never got bitten from using this method.

Have you had any similar experiences?  Or are you seeing any signs of on lead aggression in your dog towards other dogs who approach?

Has this information be helpful?   You might like to comment and let others know how you coped with the problem.