Dog Owner Question: Why are my dogs afraid of...?

Question:   Why are my 2 dogs afraid of thunder & gunshots & fireworks? My Pitie (Neutered male,5 years old) Shows signs of anxiety really bad, especially when the weather is going to change. He also gets so anxious he sometimes throws up. Also, I would like to know if there is any way on God's green earth that you can get a Black Labrador Retriever (Spayed Female 7 Years Old) from jumping on people when they come in the door. They go walking, but that pittie Is not a very good walker. He wants to sniff EVERYTHING & I mean EVERYTHING. They do not get along with other dogs whatsoever. I am A C-4 quadriplegic & they mostly stay in the house with me. However, they do have a doggy door & a fenced in backyard so they have freedom to go out by themselves & play.

Reply to  "Why are my 2 dogs afraid of thunder & gunshots & fireworks?":  To really know why a dog is afraid of something, would take some sort of psychic ability.   Logically however, we can assume that the dogs do not have any earthly idea of what those noises are.  WE know what they are, and therefore (unless someone has a phobia about it) we know not to be afraid of it.   Dogs also have much better hearing than we do, so to them it must be much louder than to us.

Here is an interesting article that I found about dog senses.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/articles/dogsenses.htm

Some dogs may just assume the worst from these noises, because they are just not used to them and do not experience them very often.   Some dogs may have had a traumatic experience regarding weather (one of my dog's was afraid of thunder only after experiencing a scary micro burst with us).


Reply to "is any way on God's green earth that you can get a Black Labrador Retriever (Spayed Female 7 Years Old) from jumping on people when they come in the door. ":
Yes, but it does not involve some quick trick.   You can get there by actively training your dog, and what will be especially important is a well trained sit stay.   In a well trained sit stay, there would be no way for the dog to jump on someone.   Something less than a well trained sit stay would not solve that of course.  There is also the relationship between the dog owner and dog to consider.  You want a team or partnership relationship to develop, and that takes more than a few training classes or sessions (and the homework that goes along with that).

Observations:  You have a lot going on in your home.   The best way to acquire another dog, is to be sure everyone else has been trained up to a standard first.  Of course not everybody knows that or does that.   Another thing that jumped out at me is that while they have a doggy door and backyard, they have no structure.  So with that sort of freedom and no guidance, they are going to be making decisions for themselves.   We are seldom going to be happy with decisions dogs make on their own with no human guidance.  Because they are mostly in the house with you, they are lacking social experiences to make them more balanced dogs.   It may be your best bet to get some professional training guidance, especially someone who has trained with people who have disabilities.   You may need the professional trainer to do some up front work with your dogs first to make the beginning part easier on you, and then train you on how to maintain it.   There are probably several ways of doing this with you.   Many of those issues are a lack of working with you, and making that change in your relationship to that of a partnership.

I hope some of this answers your questions and helps:)

If you are reading this article and you have questions about your dog's behavior or dog training, please just submit this form.   

mainedogtrainer.com

Dog Owner Issues: Dogs that are fearful of humans

This is Mandy who was almost rehomed many years
ago due to her aggressive behaviors brought on
by her fear.   She's gone on to enjoy her life with her
owner of that time (the owner paid for her training
with the thought of rehoming her after trained.  It was
realized that Mandy was very easy to handle after training.

Dogs can be fearful of many things.  One thing that dogs can be fearful of are humans.   This can manifest itself in a few different ways.   Some canines can be fearful of other family members or friends of the family.   That is people that they do see sometimes but not a lot of.   Also it can happen that they bond very closely to one family member, but distrust other family members.   In some rescue cases especially (but not limited to), a dog can be fearful of their own owner.  Some dogs are fearful only of strange people.   That is people they have never seen or met before (and usually a dog distrustful of other familiar people, will also be distrustful of strangers).   Dogs can also develop a fear to people who come and go, like delivery men or utility people, as they get the sense that they can chase them away.  So each time the person comes, they feel they bark and then the person goes away like they want them to.

A dog that is fearful of people is the dog that may bite someone at some point.   Often, the trigger that will make them bite is if they feel trapped and/or cornered.   What usually happens is a human does not take the vocalized warning to heart, and instead continues to advance.   A fearful dog is not a dog that is likely to come at the front of you, unless you make them feel trapped.   They are more likely to bite you if you walk away however, because the back of you is less threatening.   Also by making you retreat, it does make them feel a little braver.   Another thing that can make them feel a little braver and more likely to lash out, is if their owner is in close proximity to them.

The good news is, most fearful dogs can improve a lot and do great with training and/or behavioral modification.  It is a different issue if there is a medical or pain component involved.   Training a dog with a terminal or temporary pain problem is more complex.    Most fearful dogs do just fine, and you can often get them to a point where the owner may forget (later on) that they had an issue at all!

As you can imagine, this can be quite perplexing to a dog owner trying to solve this problem for their dog.   Here are the issues that can make this tricky for your average dog owner:

1. A dog that bites a human is one that is going to be in big trouble.   So how do we go about making that not an issue as we train?
2. Obviously, the dog owner will not want to jeopardize another in training their dog to relax and start to trust humans.
3. If a dog being close to the owner might lash out, you obviously do need to be close in the beginning to control the dog.   So how to do that without endangering anyone?
4. How and where do you begin a training plan and behavioral modification plan?

Well dog training in general can fill many books and DVDS, so the total answer will not be in this article.   I can however give you some tips and suggestions that will make understanding how to go about this clearer.  

1. Safety:   Safety of everyone should be the foremost concern when going forward with a training plan for a fearful dog.   That is going to vary from dog to dog.   Common sense items are don't allow your dog to be loose and making their own decisions around people they are fearful of, be sure you have a way to contain your dog quickly and safely for unexpected issues (doorbell ringing et), locking doors so people can't just unthinkingly barge into your house is always a good idea (humans never listen to directions OR read the note you left on the front door),
2. Handlers:  Handlers should be the person the dog trusts the most at first.   If the dog is being trained by a dog professional and not a family member, the dog trainer should be very well versed in handling fearful dogs and managing a pack (and other humans) around the dog.
3. Behavioral modification:   Behavioral modification and dog training can intersect at points.   The general difference between behavioral modification to dog training, is that behavioral modification does not rely on taught and trained commands to communicate with the dog.  Behavioral modification with a fearful dog includes things like teaching them how to chill or relax in a situation that may provide them some slight (at first) anxiety, controlling the environment to only allow what that dog can handle, structure to create a predictable environment, and non verbal teaching the dog that they can come close to the handler.
4. Training:  Training is a way where humans can teach their dogs to understand and perform commands.   This helps a dog in a number of ways.   One way is that it starts to make things very predictable for the fearful dog.   Another way, is that the dog starts to learn what the dog owner needs them to do in situations.   Often, dogs have no idea what we are "hoping" they will do.   It's up to us to teach them how we need them to act.   Once they get good at this, they start to learn how to relax and take our lead in situations.   There needs to be defined goals and standards in training in order to get this done as well as possible.
5. Experience:   While improvement often happens in a timely manner, none of the above are quick fixes.  There are no quick fixes.   Your dog needs to learn through experience that each time an anxious situation occurs, and you both follow the protocols, that everything ends up fine and nothing bad happened.   This happens over time, and is dependent on the quality and quantity of things you can expose them to (safely of course).   The experience also extends to the dog owner, and having the owner learn through experience about their dog.   A dog owner will gain confidence through a training and behavioral modification plan about how their dog is likely to react.   Knowing this allows for tweaks in the plan, and more confidence on the part of the owner.  It's also important to get the dog owner over the hump, as often they have begun to feel anxious over their dogs fear issues.
6. Patience:   Dogs are pretty forgiving of human mistakes.   However, a dog owner does not want to move their dog too quickly forward.   That can be risky to everyone.   You need to have patience, and the ability to read your dog and their readiness to move forward.   It is not a race to get there.   That will leave too many training and behavioral holes behind you that are bound to bite you (or someone else) in the butt.   So patience is a definite virtue with a fearful dog.
7. Environmental control/being the ambassador for your dog:  Environmental control has to do with knowing the environment you will be training (or hanging out in), and having a plan/protocol for things most likely to happen.   So everyone with a fearful dog most likely runs into the person that feels they "know" dogs and all dogs like them.   They want to test this out on your dog.   This makes many dog owners feel embarrassed if they can not offer up their dog as the nice friendly guy or gal they know at home.  It is the handler's job to not allow this in the beginning or at any time before the dog is ready and has been proofed.   If you feel in your bones this is not going to go well and you have not experienced it going well in prior controlled circumstances, DO NOT allow the stranger to approach.   You may have to get quite nasty to the stranger, and it might be embarrassing.   Just remember you are doing it for your canine companion, and so that they can begin to trust people.   This won't happen if your dog can not trust you to be looking out for them.
8. Lead through example:   Dog owners often become anxious after unsuccessfully working with their fearful dog.   It's important for a dog owner or handler to mask their own fearful state.   You want to work your dog calmly, deliberately, business like, and also friendly and acknowledging their good work or calm state.   Not rushing forward too fast is one way of developing the confidence of an owner or handler in this situation.   The more success you both have as a team, the more confident and accomplished you become.

I hope those bullet points help you understand a little about the process for giving a fearful dog more confidence and therefore starting to eliminate the fear.    Aggressive behaviors often come about because a dog feels fear.   There can be other reasons as well, but fear seems to be the most common.  It is also one of the easier behavioral problems to deal with, if you know how and have devised a solid plan.

Any canine behavior or training questions can be sent to this e-mail.   You can also submit a canine behavior or training question through this form.  

Authored by:  Mannerly Mutts Dog Training and Robin Rubin, head dog trainer and owner

http://mainedogtrainer.com

The Resource Guarders

Our late and great Jackie CD was a
resource guarder, due mainly to
his health condition.

First, let me define what a resource guarder is in my opinion. A resource guarder is a canine, who has an overdeveloped concern that something they want is either going to be taken away OR they will not have access to it. This concern is usually expressed at first through growls, putting their paw over the object, lining objects up around them, or eyeing down an on comer. If this problem is ignored and not dealt with immediately, teeth will most likely be involved soon after. It does not take a canine who has this fear or concern long to realize an argument can be ended quickly with teeth. After the teeth are involved, bite inhibition decreases exponentially if the problem is ignored.

NOTE:   Often puppies will try to intimidate you, but just need a firm no and discipline.   An adult rescue may try and challenge you as well, but again a no or firm reprimand may easily sway them.   Not all dogs that try this once or twice are actually resource guarders, but may become them if an owner is unusually reluctant to stop the behavior or has a visible fear of dogs.   However, the type of dogs that I am talking about in this article are usually having a larger problem than the before mentioned.  Also it is the actions the dog shows when the item is attempted to be retrieved rather than the actions alone (gathering up toys, some dogs just enjoy placing them) that indicate whether you have a problem or not.


This concern for the canine exhibiting these behaviors may be very real (actually not receiving proper care or nutrition) or WAS very real at one time (stray and starving for a period of time and needing to fight to be fed). More often, the concern isn't the reality of the situation (in other words nutrition and care is more than adequate). Sometimes, there are times where we must restrict our canine companions access to things, or need to take something away from them. For instance, the need to remove garbage that is dangerous from a canine's mouth.

What are some things that dogs might consider resources?

• The owner, themselves. A dog might guard that owner from their own spouse or children. Sounds funny, but if you are dealing with this problem...it's really not.
• Strange people they like in general. Actually, my dog, Jack, is the only dog I know to have done this. If he decides he likes another dog's owner, then he used to attempt to guard that owner from their own dog.
• Something (anything like a piece of paper) that another dog or human has OR is about to bend down to get. The dog in question does not need to have the item themselves, they may just be guarding it from you or another canine.
• Food
• Toys
• Rocks
• Dead Things
• Favorite animal friend
• Things like seaweed that are not really food, but dogs know they can ingest.
• Laundry
• Rooms
• Crate
• Vehicle Interior
• Doors
• Tissues (what is it with Springers and tissues?) or paper products like towels in general
• Dog beds or mats
• And everything else that I have forgotten

This condition can come about due to many variables in a dog's life. They are not only the sole property of adult rescue dogs whose history may be unknown, believe it or not. Unfortunately, this can happen when responsible owners adopt a puppy. Here are some things that I have found make up the perfect storm for a resource guarder:

• Serious medical issues early on that make certain resources far to important to a young puppy. One of my client's dogs, Cerber a handsome GSD, had elbow problems and surgery starting before he was six months old. He was regulated to a pen area, and had just a few 15 minute potty breaks a day due to the healing process. He had both his elbows done, so it was closer to a year before he was able to do anything resembling what other dogs can do. He seriously did not want people taking either his food or peanut butter kong. You know this sort of thing is a judgement call. I believe the right judgement is for the sanity of your young puppy that he has something to do if he has this issue. However, be aware of the behavioral problems that may develop so that you are prepared.
• A first time owners' attempts to be sure their dog is not a resource guarder, but are done a bit too vigorously!!! Then what happens, is the dog gets a very real concern that things are going to be taken away willy nilly. Dogs need relaxation and breaks, and overdoing something can be a serious mistake that may in fact bring on the behavior that you didn't want in the first place.
• If a dog has a "ingesting" problem, and certain things needed to be kept from him/her; this can later manifest itself into resource guarding. My dog, Jack CD, had this very problem. Some dogs just get fixated on eating things they shouldn't.
• Prior abuse or neglect can cause this problem. If the dog ever had to fight for their food or could not count on food being given at all. In some dogs, this can cause a problem later on, if the dog gets out of this unfortunate place and into a good home. Of course in the original home, it will most likely be a problem, but neglectful and irresponsible owners won't notice or care!!
• A puppy that was separated from their litter a bit too early OR the mother did not nurse them, could have quite a few issues including resource guarding. So just be aware, if you decide to take a dog from a breeder and this has been disclosed, that you are going to need to be prepared and start a plan quite early to combat issues like this. Likewise a puppy from a shelter that has the same issues. It's great to rescue these puppies, just be aware that they often have special needs.
• I will commit the wost blasphemy here, and say it might just be part of their personal makeup. Humans all have unique personalities. There are some things that annoy us individually that do not annoy others (the sound of scratching annoys the heck out of me). Dogs are just as individual as we are:) I am not convinced that my dog's, Jack's, low tolerance for dogs being around "his" stuff isn't just what makes Jack, well Jack. Even in Jack's case, he is much more tolerant now, but we keep an eye out for the patience level waning. He's not thrilled about humans necessarily taking his stuff either, but he has a more infinite patience level for that.
• Insert here the infinite number of other things that I have not thought of yet.

A training and behavior modification plan is, of course, the best action in these cases. Some cases will be much simpler than others. It really seems to depend on how long the initial behavior was either allowed to continue OR the correct solutions were not found right away. Sometimes an owner is working diligently on a problem, even with the help of professionals, but the wrong answers and direction were given. This is not to say that every dog can be saved, and there is always the perfect answer. However, the vast majority of dogs that have ended up in the general dog owning public are able to be greatly improved upon in their ability to adapt to living with the human population as a pet. Children can be the great variable in this situation, in that you would hope a parent would never endanger their children no matter how much they may love the dog. If I don't take on a resource guarding case, it is normally because I don't think the children in the family should be exposed to the dog. Again, some problems are bigger than others, and some resource guarding dogs have a fairly simple issue that does not cause immediate endangerment.

So what sort of things would I expect to hear as options in a training and behavior modification plan for a dog whose primary problem is resource guarding:

1. The trainer should be interested in a detailed history of the dog with a strong emphasis on any medical history.
2. An obedience training plan is a must. The dog must be able to be communicated with. Yes, additional things that do not need to be done for just obedience training will need to be implemented, but it will be all for nothing without a strong partnership and communication developed to support the progress. (Can't emphasize enough the importance of a really, really well trained place, stay, and come command. These are stationary and movement commands that really really help with a dog that has aggressive responses to situations, and helps them learn the alternate things that can be done.)
3. The balance of discipline, trust, and respect should be talked about. With a dog like this, you need to have trust for the dog to relax around you should they have a treasured thing, which they have been allowed to have. Discipline is the form of communication that says there are some behaviors that absolutely will not be tolerated. Respect comes from the understanding of the working relationship between you and your dog. I didn't mention love. Why? Because I have yet to meet the dog that did not love and adore their owner no matter what. The actions of resource guarding have nothing to do with a dog not loving you.
4. Options options options. How will the trainer make this work? How will they measure their progress? What will tip them off to the fact that it's time to try something new or change up something? The number of tools, methods, experience, and knowledge of very many different things stacked the odds in favor of your individual dog finding the right mix.
5. So many new trainers or trainers that do not work with resource guarding or aggressive dogs THINK they have seen every personality in dog training. You are going to want to know that your trainer has seen a wide variety of personalities, and that they are continually surprised and awed by what they can see. I have had my easiest and hardest dogs this year alone. This isn't to say I haven't had many a hard dog in the past, because I most definitely have. In six short years, I have lost track of the hundreds of dogs that I have seen. I know that owners are sometimes not exaggerating in any form or fashion what they are actually seeing. Experience will give you a trainer that knows the behavioral bends that a dog can take, and will let them know that they are not going to know that dog (necessarily) in the first few weeks.
6. Management vs training. What do I mean by that? Well first of all, I firmly believe that any good training is bound to involve behavior modification on some level. Training is a method to communicate and set up a partnership with your dog. Behavior modification is the change in a behavior that is not wanted in the human household (and is a reasonable expectation) to one that is more acceptable. Management is the means by which to keep people and other living beings safe. Crates, muzzles, when to allow the dog near people, and managing the environment are all ways to manage or stack the odds for safety. Management normally includes things that you eventually do not want to need to count on OR you want to eliminate them all together OR you want to have to use them in very limited and short term ways. In any aggression or such case that I can think of, there is going to be a degree of management discussed.
7. And everything else that I have forgotten to mention.

So know that this is a serious problem. Every dog does not have to love to share, BUT do not let serious behavioral issues manifest and fester. You may be faced with a much larger problem down the road if you do not find the appropriate and working answers quickly.



Mannerly Mutts Dog Training
Mannerly Mutts Blog
mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com

Fearful Dogs-How Owners Inadvertently CAN Create

For the purposes of this article, I am talking about fear (not fear [with] aggression, which has both positive and negative definitions in dog training, behaviors OR aggression behaviors). Nor the fear that a resource is going to be taken away, and not dominant behaviors (which in my definition are not necessarily undesirable). A dog's personality or temperament, IMO, can not be described as simply "fearful", "dominant", "abused", or "aggressive". Dogs have rich lives (or should have) just as we do, and are not put into one simple box definition. They may have behaviors that fit that definition (and will have other behaviors and characteristics beyond those), but dogs (themselves) can not be IMO defined this way.

There are many environmental, medical, neurological, and genetic factors that can push a dog towards fearful behaviors. It's important for owners to know that things they may do can make (one would hope inadvertently) a dog more fearful. Here are some possible common contributors:

• (Food, Toys or Play used incorrectly) Food, Toys, or Play may be the answer if done CORRECTLY. Too often people do not understand the training and behavior modification use of food or clicker training. Due to mistiming or thinking that food alone may bring the dog around, owners will often continue to trap their dogs in fearful behaviors by not addressing or understanding the ways to bring more confident behavior out. Instead owners should be rewarding the investigation of the fearful thing in steps rather than rewarding the avoidance of it. In another direction, "play" can sometimes be too rough and not enjoyable to the dog. This can also cause fear of "play" or for the dog to not view what you are doing as a "play" behavior.
• Not allowing your dog the freedom to investigate and discover (safely and supervised). One example of this would be a dog mildly startled by a sound. Before the dog can recover and investigate, the owner scoops them up or hugs them cooing to them that "it's okay". The grabbing away from the object as if it actually is scary, rather than allowing the dog to recover and discover for themselves starts to ingrain fearful responses. Dogs need the ability to do some independent learning on their own.
• Pushing a dog too far before he/she is ready. Dogs are all different and learn at their own pace. You ARE NOT going to make progress with a dog unless they are ready. One way to be sure that you do make progress is to break training or behavior modification into reasonable steps. However, that does not mean to stunt any progress that you could make either. The experience of a results based trainer can help you judge whether to stay a course or another simpler direction is needed.
• No socialization or poor socialization or exposed to unsafe socialization. Socialization is often misunderstood by people. It's not simply dragging the dog out the door a couple of times or walking them by dogs on the street. In my training and socialization plan, I have a minimum of four outdoor areas and two indoor areas that I actively use to train and socialize in. I do not allow out of control people or dogs to come up to my dogs in those areas. I keep my dogs safe and secure with me so they don't unnecessarily meet with a traumatic experience. This is a balancing act as you don't want to be so protective that your dog does not experience life, and yet don't want to be so blase that they experience something negative unnecessarily.
• Allowing or expecting a dog to withstand inappropriate contact. Despite our efforts to make a dog's life as stress free as possible, our dogs can become unduly stressed out if we are not watching out for them. Children, adults, and other dogs can all act either inappropriately with our dogs or in ways our dogs do not like. I am not talking about not socializing your dog here. Every dog can get too much of a good thing, or be expected to experience something that they do not enjoy.
• Not allowing the smaller dogs' paws to ever hit the ground. There are factors that make small dog ownership different than large dog ownership. They are smaller than others, and can be seen as prey drive or easy pickings for bullying. However, you still want a confident little dog that is enjoying life. Be sure to let them be a dog when it's safe and appropriate. Let their feet touch the pavement, the earth, and let them run through the woods and get dirty (again with training and safety in mind). Too many small dog owners scoop their dogs up when there is nothing to be worried about. Treating your dog like a cat, an accessory, or a delicate china object can make your dog fearful and act out neurotically. IMO, a dog that is acting out that much is not enjoying life very much either.
• Incorrect communication linked with opposite action. For instance using an endearing term, while doing something that is scary to the dog. If this term has been used to tell the dog it's okay before, it will begin to mean something else entirely to fearful dogs. It may actually come to be that they should be scared and they will be hurt. Instead I will use a command to indicate that something will be over soon, and their job is to hold still until it is (good for vet visit type of fears or grooming fears).
• The abuse excuse as a reason to trap a dog in a fearful state forever. If an adopter of a dog knows there is an abuse story in the dog's past, they may trap the dog in a fearful state inadvertently. Doing the "poor dog" and "coddling" can teach a dog that to remain in a fearful state is the way to get love and affection. Don't trap your dog there, and let your dog enjoy the unique experiences that come with being a canine.
• Not preparing a dog after or before unexpected sensory interaction. When you know that your dog is likely to over react to stimuli (that other dogs generally would not react to), there are ways that you can prepare your dog to enter into situations without being shocked by them. If for instance, you decide to just foist your dog into a family party situation, you will spend a lot of time struggling with your dogs reactions. Inadvertently, you may make your dog even more fearful, even though nothing really wrong happened. It's best to work a dog with fearful reactions up to big events before pushing them into them.
• Making a dog too dependent of being with you ALL the time. I love spending time with my dogs. I could totally spend 24 hours of each day doing stuff with my dogs. However, I don't want them to become neurotic should I need to go out, and leave them in. Some owners do not allow their dogs alone time, as time to figure out that they are safe when they are alone. This is a perfect set up for separation anxiety to occur.
• Removing a puppy from the litter and mother before they are ready.   I like 11 to 13 weeks before I would remove a puppy.  I believe the recommended minimum is 8 weeks.
• Serious veterinary procedures before a puppy has learned to trust hands.   This is not necessarily an owner caused inadvertent harm.   However, please talk to a trainer or vet about the consequences and be prepared should your very young puppy have a serious medical issue that needs to be addressed.

Many times fearful dogs have become that way due to the mishandling of humans.   It can be very unintentional with the best of intentions on the owners part.   However, mishandling can still be harmful to the future temperament of your dog.

Mannerly Mutts Dog Training
Mannerly Mutts Blog
mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com

Questions from potential clients--Old Post Updated on Aggression Success

Updates in red when you scroll down:)

Before the question, there was a lot more detail regarding the specifics of the dog owner's situation.  This is a dog owned by the same family since puppy hood.   The dog has just bitten someone, while be pack walked as part of their rehabilitation or an attempt to get a less fearful dog (not with the owner but with a dog walker or trainer).   The standard type of obedience sounds like it was done before, perhaps without an eye towards results or knowledge passed on that results and goals are a good thing to have in training.

I am just going for the meat of the question here, because in general, this would be a question that owner's of a particular temperament of dog would have:

"if you have had any luck in curing “fear aggression” with dogs using your residency training program or in any other way?"

My answer follows.   You may note that if my goal is sales it is not the best response:)   My goal is to help dogs and owners who want to improve their relations with their dogs.   I want to do this without putting pressure on dog owner's to impulsively throw money at the situation.  Why?   Because throwing money at the situation will absolutely 100% fail if that is the only thing done.

With that in mind, here was my response:

"Improvement in the dog can be made. The owner always needs to be aware and know who their dog is in the long term however. Some dogs get over it, and some dogs do not. Basic obedience trained to a standard gives the owner a way to communicate other things to do rather than to rush at a stranger, if they are consistent, responsible, and able to get over the learning curve.

As far as "curing", it's not like getting a car fixed where something just is replaced with a brand new part. Dogs take variable amounts of time for improvement, and it really depends 1) how damaged the dog is 2) how able the owners are to understand and implement a training program and 3) the ability to work as a partnership in the future by knowing each other and having a level of trust.



Unfortunately, many of these problems can be avoided entirely by starting training, boundaries, and rules early, unless one has a dog that is really not wired right. The lack of training (to a standard, which is important, many trainers do not bother to try to do this with their human clients), rules, and boundaries can influence an otherwise mentally healthy dog to grow up not so mentally healthy.


Good luck. Let me know if you want to investigate further. If you do, please fill out the client information form."

Honestly that is my answer.   Improvement is always possible, but is it going to be the improvement that owners' are looking for?   Getting an owner into the learning curve regarding trainer and behavior modification is hard enough with a dog that has not yet bitten or shown signs of aggression.   It could be totally possible to have this dog enjoying humans some time in the future, but convincing everyone the need for steps to be in place to ensure safety...that is the hard part.  

Often, after awhile, clients forget how bad it was, or they remain in denial about their dog.   A protocol slips, is forgotten, or just disregarded as the dog "does not need that anymore".   Yet the dog still is not prepared for some scenarios, and no real work has been done to prepare them for that particular scenario.   BAM!  Predictably for those of us who train but not so much for owners, the undesired action is performed by the dog.

This is why much caution is taken before accepting a case like this.   There are some screen out things that I have in place, which are designed to off put those who really already know that they may not want to live the lifestyle required to save their dog.  I am not pointing fingers here, I totally understand having lived with a couple of dogs that were behaviorally challenged.   This is something that I decided to do, and do not expect that others will decide to live the same way.

It is impossible and unethical to re home a dangerous dog.   So options in these type of situations are limited.   It's a tough situation, and as always, I completely sympathize and support any necessary decisions made in circumstances like this.

Please see these related articles:
Work With The Dog You Have Not With The Dog You Wished You Had
The Resource Guarders
Aggression, Why You Need Help
Selecting A Trainer

So how many dogs I have personally helped through something *like* this?   How successful were those cases?

Of the hoods listed, in July of 2008, totalling 14 dogs:

• My own two were successful on that list (Jackie and Neptune).
• Three were re homed.   One after partners slit up, and the one left with him re homed in while in a different state.    One a family who did not want to train the other dog in the family very much (not the client dog but dog family member who did not really have a behavioral problem so much as she wanted to correct new puppy all the time.   New puppy did have behavioral problems, but did a lot less damage than the older resident dog.   Tuff situation, but dog found excellent home).  One owner fed the dog with the "new puppy" (that they were not supposed to get) right upon returning home without crates or anything.
• One was euthanized.   Unfortunately suggested by me, and we did try and find another home for him.   He did not have a serious bite history YET, but lived with three toddlers, and had really major aggression problems since he was a puppy.  Would have probably turned into a nice obedience or sports dog with the right family.
• One on there, who is a friends dog NOT a training client, is still in the wait and see.  We have talked about him a lot, and I have given a lot of advice.  Dog has severe joint problems, and was in the vets a lot during early and very critical periods of his life.
• 7 left have been successful plus my two being 9 out of 14 successful on that list.  64% success rate per my definition.   Arguably the rehomes could be considered successful, but if the dog comes in for training from their home, my personal goal is to keep that dog in their home.   Obviously if that is not the right thing to do, I don't do it, but I do not consider it a successful case if they are re homed.

Since then there have been some more:

• Dog A-Good for a year and three months, and just did a backslide.   Was allowed to start hanging out on the bed. (S)  update tumors were found in the intestines, and treated.   he has been a loving part of the family since this was discovered, and has a new dog friend in the house that he loves.   this is a dog that has always had serious medical problems.
• Dog B-Two dog family, one was beating up on the other and aggressive to dogs in general.  So far very successful for the last thirteen months. (S)
• Dog C-Adopted from shelter who rescued her after she had been tied to a garage for the first two years of her life.   She had a litter of pups during this time due to not being able to get away from males (or fixed for that matter).   She was abandoned when the rescue was able to step in.   Very traumatized as far as interactions with other dogs went, and was pretty aggressive to other dogs.  So far very successful for the last thirteen months. (S)
• Dog D-Owned by pregnant lady that gave birth in the middle of the sessions.   She had owned for a number of years, and was just now considering training the dog for safety.  I am assuming this was unsuccessful, as not all lessons were done, and homework was hardly ever done.   It could have been a success as far as she was concerned.  I haven't heard from her, so I have no idea. (U)  I have heard that this dog is doing great with the baby, and they have not been able to continue training for the dog aggression.
• Dog E-Young puppy displaying aggressive tendencies towards other dogs.   Was successful for awhile, but recently owner let dog out of command to greet another dog.   Dog was bitten.   This is a dog where an introduction protcol is needed, and for those dogs to be serious long time future friends before even considering this.   (R) dog was rehomed
• Dog F-Loved his small children.   Family not prepared for a large possibly aggressive dog, though he could have been controlled by a more knowledgable family.   He was unfortunately returned to the shelter. (R)
• Dog G-Very frightened of other dogs, and likes to get the first aggressive move out of the way.   However, does not  do this by actually biting or breaking skin.   Has been successful, although owner still has trouble reading his dog or implementing training strategy.   She improves with both people and dogs every time I see her. (S)
• Dog H-Very large black dog owned as a puppy.   Family became afraid of his more mediocre interactions, and then the dog figured this out an progressed.   The family was not interested in prolonged training, and the dog was sent to a no kill shelter. (R)

So these are eight dogs who I would call moderate to seriously behaviorally challenged.   There are no "just reactive" dogs in here or dogs that just need to learn basic obedience without a strict management protocol of some sort.  4 Solid successes.   1 waiting to see.  3 re homed.  1 did not take all lessons, and have not heard from.


So less than half in 2009-2010.  Total of all time being 13 out of 22 = 60% success rate. Also less dogs seen or inquired about during this time.  OR it could be that I am screening out more clients.  I would say of above, that there are four-five clients that I could have probably screened out.  They would not pass my muster right now (though one of those has been a success to date). I have no idea the amount of clients that I have encouraged not to use my services for their problem OR to really think of other options.   I guess I should be tracking this as well.


Talking about strictly residency cases,   8 out of 10 have been successful in all time.   80 % or redidency cases from 2003-2010 have been successful.   Pre 2008, 67% of residency cases had been successful (per my definition) and from 2009-2010 80% of residency cases have been successful.  

Residency cases, especially for the behaviorally challenged, can have a bit more success, because the training starts with someone who knows what they are doing on a regular basis.   So much up front work can be done for the owner, who can step in once there is a standard built into the training.

Keep in mind we are a teeny tiny operation, who gets about 20 new private training clients a year, plus our returning training clients.  We do not do group classes at this point.  So we only work with so many dogs as it is.   I also suspect in this economy, more dogs who have issues are being PTS as families can not afford the liability or the training.  In other words, when the money is a problem, more families have to be really realistic as to what they will spend money on (and what they can realistically do).  I don't blame them, and I absolutely love dogs whether they are behaviorally challenged or not.

And it is NOT that I don't want to help these people.  It is that unless they are already used to at least working with a non behaviorally challenged dog, these dogs are going to challenge the learning curve for these owners.

It's like saying, you have three weeks to learn the flute (or even three months, or six months) and then I expect you to be good enough to play in the Boston Symphony Orchestra.  It sometimes takes many dogs before an owner learns about training, and how to use it effectively.   We are talking about dogs that are beyond the skills of an average dog owner.   Could they get there?   Yeah, they could, if they didn't assume that their dog was "cured" from everything later on.   However, without the experience of knowing that by having handled hundreds of dogs, is it likely that this passed on knowledge is going to stick?  No, it really is not.  It is too easy for owners to be lulled into this false sense of security, and not realize that they have had no incidents because they have been actively using training and safety protocols, and then the guard comes down.  Or winter comes, they stop training, and they totally expect everything to have been maintained to the same point.

I know what happens with these dogs, as I make every effort to track them until the dog dies.   A lot of the successes often come here for boarding, so I get to see one on one.  So my definition of success does not equate to months or years without incident or fall backs, it is forever into their future.  I know about these incidents, because I e-mail the owners four or five times during the year for updates.  Or I may be actively involved in the rehoming plans.  Some of these dogs have been able to bite a lot less or not at all....until the last incident (of the unsuccessful or wait and see cases).

So there are many many factors to consider before going forward with a mind to rehabbing a dog.   Take much time to think about all the considerations.   If you are just about to get a puppy, start training immediately with an eye towards real goals and standards in training no matter which method you use.   You and your puppy will then hopefully never have to come to such an impasse in your relationship.


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You don't KNOW unless you DO

Baby Bella is a boarding guest at times.    Bella is a sweet, sensitive, shy, lovable, friendly, and gentle English Mastiff.   The only downfall for me when she boards is that she can't be allowed off leash outside on our four acres with the other dogs.  I think this (and on the beach) would help her gain some confidence, and find her inner dog.

A dog who moves slowly, and is hard to motivate when slightly stressed with food and toys IS a hard dog to train.   Give me an aggressive highly motivated reactive dog any day over a ponderous gentle cuddle bug (for training).   Bella is the perfect family dog and fit for her family (adults, children, and they live close to the beach where they regularly see other strange dogs).   The main reason that they came for training (a year and a half ago) was so that when walking, she wouldn't just simply sit and refuse to move.  They did manage to get past that bit of business, but were unable to move onto off leash.

When Baby Bella comes, my husband and I regularly compete on who get get the most kisses, the most snuzzles of the ear, and who she will cuddle up to.   Bella is a totally cute lovable and hugable dog.   I call her "Baby Bella" because I knew her when she was just a baby NOT as the family thinks because she is a baby:)  She is sensitive, sweet, shy and timid, but I do not think of Bella as a baby in that way (I think of the smaller packaged Baby Bella).

So Bella was not in this time for training, but the family has expressed a wish that she knew how to identify with other dogs.   She is not AT ALL aggressive, but it's clear that Bella is shy and unsure around other dogs.   The family knows they baby her (by that I mean coddling, which unintentionally reinforces her fear).  

Three days is usually too short for a dog to break through (or turn a corner as I sometimes call it), especially when it's not three overnight stays.  I took the three days to observe some things about Miss Baby Bella.  Due to the time, I did not want to take video as I wanted to be sure that I was totally there observing the moment in person.  

On day one when Baby Bella first came, she was obviously more comfortable coming to her very rare boarding place than she had been in the past.   She is pretty comfortable with people anyway (just a short warming up), but it was obvious she was a bit more comfortable with the crowd (Leon, Boris, Tommy and Magoo).   I know better than to do this already (read the title of my post), but one might assume Bella would feel MOST comfortable with Leon and Magoo at the beginning (both of them being very mellow dogs with most newcomers).   Bella had a quiet day of following me around, and lying by my feet as I typed on the computer.   She got some moments to visit with her male crush, my husband Robert.

On day two, there were a lot of indoor games going on with the gang, as it was uncomfortably winterish out.   Bella did not join in, but was VERY interested.   She showed this by getting up and barking at the outside of the group.   One would have ASSUMED that the noise and boisterous play would totally terrify Bella.   While I had noticed the day before the noises the guys make when they play took a bit of getting used to for Bella, the fact that she was safe and no dogs bothered her let her relax and observe the interactions for a day.  So on day two, she was more confident to let her interest known, even though she did not exactly know what to do with it.  It occurred to me, that Bella may be told not to bark when dogs come close, and this (especially after day three) appears to be her signal or invitation to play.  I don't know this for sure (whether the family prefers that Bella not bark on the beach OR whether they realize this is her invitation for a dog to play), and so will be copying Bella's owners on this, just in case this might be inhibiting Bella's play drive for other dogs. 

I should also put an aside on how I deal with dog play.   A dog's intentions after vocalizations become clear once you know the dog.   Also, by observing the body language and other physical reactions of the dog, one can usually gauge what is play and what is not play.   If a dog has a style of play that I know is harmless (but might concern others who do not know the dog), I usually have people approach me who want to have my dog play with their dog.   I explain the dog's playing style to be sure the other party is okay with that.   I also am sure the ( many cases my client's) dog is trained, so if the other party has second thoughts, I can call the dog back and leash them back up.   So in other words, I am respectful of other people's needs and concerns.   Many times, the way a dog is going to play IS the way they are going to play.   One can make it more gentle (many times) and perhaps less vocal, but the natural way that dog is going to initiate play usually means play will or won't happen depending on their ability to naturally communicate their intentions.  I find it more helpful for dogs to play with other dogs that understand they are playing (or can learn their play style).  It's also important for the owner and handler to truly be able to read this, and not be in denial about the dog's true intentions (should they be otherwise).  I should mention, in Bella's case the barking is definitely an invitation.   She is actually a little too shy to go to the dog, she wants them to come to her.

Day three, a dog was coming that I has THOUGHT Bella would really be timid around.   Bella loved Ollie on first sight.   Ollie is a very clueless in your face still very young male, who has been in daycare or dog walking with me for much of his life.  Bella sniffed him, snorfled him, licked him, and looked almost maternal with him.   She let him crawl underneath her, lick her mouth, and jump on her with no worry whatsoever.  I began to almost see the playful Baby Bella in full.  What a big goof she was LOL!  I noticed that every time she barked at Ollie, she fully expected him to come to her (and he did come to the little princess).   Who knew that Bella could be a bit bossy LOL.   In this case, it serves to allow her to summon her play subjects on her own.

Later we took the other dogs for their off leash walk, with Bella on a longe line (I held the other end as Bella does not have a great "let's go" for most of the time).   When Magoo, Ollie, and Boris were busy chasing each other, Bella had some moments of going into a play bow with a goofy grin on her face.   She went forward just a few steps, but not into a full chase mode.  Clearly, she would love to be involved in something like this.  It is so much fun to watch something like this.  She also enjoyed digging in the snow as the other dogs were, and sniffing the trees and bark.  Sometimes getting a dog in the mood for play means providing them with interesting and new activities that naturally put them at ease.   The Curious Bella took over, and then the Playful Bella emerged shortly thereafter.

This is a case where habituation has helped her overcome some of her fear.   It is helpful to have dogs who are trained here, so if the other dog feels uncomfortable you can direct the dogs to go elsewhere.   My point in this whole post, is until you try different things with an individual dog, you never know what they will or won't respond well to.  You can assume and make educated assumptions based on the many dogs that you have trained, but until you try something with  THAT INDIVIDUAL dog (that goes toward a goal) then you are not going to KNOW what that dog responds well to.

Bella is able to get past her fear, but people need to remember she needs ways to practice and observe her ways of playing, other dogs ways of playing, the noises they make in a way that allows her to move past the fear (it's by far not the worst case of fear that I have seen, I would say it's mild in form).  Off leash and obedience always (remember you can mix up methods and ways for the human and dog, but you ALWAYS need the work ethic) make for a more confident dog, but there are other ways to do this, albeit they may take more time or be less effective.   The ways that I worked Bella was supervising the other dogs and there interactions with her (which there was really no need to do with our crew), but most importantly letting her express herself and experiment.   Luckily Bella is the type of dog that I need to worry very little about her experimentation or expression.  With dogs, this is often with boundaries and rules still present, but if there is no danger impending then you can let the dog figure it out.   I also changed positions in the room so she didn't get glued to any one safe spot, and I sometimes purposefully walked away from her to give her curiosity a chance to grow and flourish for the other dogs. I am always happy when owners and dogs can make an improvement of any sort, even when it's not the most efficient, effective or speedy way to do it.

Bella could live without playing with other dogs, and maintain her current happiness level.  She certainly enjoys a life that many other dogs in the world would envy.   Bella has a safe home, and a family that totally adores her.  She is walked many times each day.   It's nice that her family recognizes that Bella could enjoy life even that much more.   Many families do not recognize this about their dogs.   Dog ownership and dog training is a journey that takes time and patience; and sometimes several dogs later things start making sense.

I remember my own journey as such:)

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Wonderful News About Mandy

At Mannerly Mutts we go on a journey with both our canine and human clients.   It's sometimes a hard and scary journey that is filled with stress that this might not work out for the team.   Our success rate is high (in the 90% and above), but still every case involves new individuals and new circumstances.   Mandy was a dog that came from an unusual circumstance, as much of her life she was tied to a garage before she was rescued and finally adopted by her wonderful owner.  Her situation and reactions to the new life were not easy.   Compounding that was the fact that Mandy is a very powerful Lab/Golden Retriever mix.   She is responsible for me loosing ten pounds in her two weeks here.  Mandy's desire for freedom and thus her bolting were entirely understandable.   Plus she was attacked and impregnated while tied to the garage by her previous family.

Mandy was one of the harder cases due to her sheer strength and determination to get to a dog in order to attack it.   Very high defense drive due to her previous living conditions.   We only had two weeks with Mandy.   The main areas were to get her walking on leash controlled in normal circumstances, and to start her education that all dogs were not out to attack her.   Also, to teach her that when on leash with her owner, she would be perfectly safe.   The garage did not take care of her that well that her previous owners had tied her to.

Freedom and exercise were what motivated Mandy towards becoming more trusting and obedient to her human partners.  Here is Mandy's owner's update (Mandy trained here in March 2010):

Robin and Robert:

I'm way overdue in letting you know how Mandy and I are progressing, this because of frenetic happenings with my work that have left little time for personal notes of late. I've just finished working 37 days straight without a break, often long hours, and spent most of this first weekend at home in close contact with my pillow!

I continue to learn new things about and with Mandy as we go through our first summer together. She has recently discovered hummingbirds (with awe), fireflies (quizzically), watermelon (yum) and kiddie pools (having her own). She totally enjoys boat travel, having come on two recent day-long lake trips (see picture), but is still awful in cars.

Recently the two of us looked after a provincial park for three days and she was quite good at greeting people and dogs as they arrived. It was beastly hot (no pun intended) and I knew it was time to take her to the lake for an extra swim when I found her standing with her front feet in her water bucket!

She has also had her first dog sleep-over, as a good friend of mine and her golden came to stay for 4 nights. This went wonderfully: Mandy had no trouble with another dog sharing her house space and in fact we were kept busy early and late giving these gals the play time they craved. I'm including a picture of me, Mandy and her golden friend Emma at the beach.

I continue to work on Mandy's attitude toward unfamiliar dogs, with notable gains. She still tends to approach new dogs a bit too quickly but has not done this in "attack mode" in the last two months. She is learning to greet in more proper dog fashion.

A prime goal has been to get past a fenced yard with a very yappy terrier without Mandy ripping me off my feet. I'd hoped to achieve this by fall but have made faster progress. She can now make it by this yard with just minor whines and no bolting, although some days I would gladly strangle the damn terrier myself!

Also she is now good at being within a quarter block of unknown dogs without stress, and recently had a face-to-face with an unknown aggressive and equally-sized dog, and she pulled back on my verbal command. More work to do here, but remarkable progress from where she was just months ago.

She no longer bolts out the door and down the street when I come and go from the house, but instead greets me when I come home and (mostly) takes it gracefully when I leave. My office moved recently, so I can't take her to work with me as before, and we're working that out. She sits obediently for leash and food, with some big wiggles when excited.

I've been admittedly slack on leash "heel" lately, as I've been so bone-weary that we more often go the to ball field, where she can run, rather than walk around many blocks. We do have a daily 20-minute walk date (weekdays at 7am sharp) with an older dog, which she looks forward to, and do some heel work on this.

Once my frenetic summer season ends (mid-September), I'll be more structured in Mandy's daily routines and my own, and will be focusing on leash work.

The electronic collar, while rarely needed, continues to be a god-send. It has allowed her much more freedom, me knowing that I can use it to save both of us if exceptional circumstances arise in her heat of the moment.

All in all, she is now well on her way to becoming a normal dog and wonderful companion, in spite of her difficult past. It has not been an easy journey and we're not entirely there yet, but I am hopeful and the two of us continue to work at it.

Thanks for your support.

No thanks to my client for being dedicated and working with Mandy:)   This is what makes my job and my business the absolute best!!!

Maine and New Hampshire Dog Trainer
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June 21st Date Fearfuldog Challenge is Due=$$$s to My Animal Rescues

June 21st of 2009, I had a very tough case of a dog named, Hoobie. He is an English Springer who was trained by me, and returned by his owners. This dog was biting or charging at his owners weekly. Hoobie had serious medical issues as a very young puppy, that caused him to mistrust humans. Humans were of course trying to save his life, but at such a young age he had not as yet learned to trust hands. Years later, Hoobie was out of control.

Hoobie was one of the most extreme cases of human aggression that I had ever had. A previous trainer who believed in treats offered Hoobie three cookies, and gotten bitten three times for offering from his hand.

As with many trainers that have been sold on a "one fits all process", fearfuldogs felt free to make negative comments to me not even able to answer questions on the methods I used that she supposedly knew so well.

" Would someone please rescue this dog! Koehler, molded downs, 2-4 hour training sessions, eegads! " D Jacobs http://www.fearfuldogs.com/

Clearly someone who also does not understand that not all training is formal training, but molding behaviors in everyday circumstances. Feeding, crating, walking, and interacting with Hoobie were all opportunities for training and correcting behaviors. It was not an easy journey. When asked what D Jacobs did not like about "molded sits" or " molded downs" in the Koehler method, the information shared back was typical of this political dog training movement:

"It is not because I am disinclined to debate the merits of the work I do with fearful dogs or how much I know or don't know about dog training, or the relationship I have with my own dogs. I will not read or contribute because it causes me too much distress to hear about how this dog is being handled."  D Jacobs http://www.fearfuldogs.com/

Oh, okay.   My personal opinion is that like all members of this political dog training cult, actually knowing what you are talking about and being able to talk specifics is of no value.   Understanding the science fiction of certain "scientific studies" funded by the political dog movement, who shock dogs on high levels randomly o collars not known about or used in the USA.   That is because it is unimportant to know how training occurs much less how electronic collars can be used on low levels humanely.   This is about the feeding frenzy for the dollars paid for dog training, and securing part of the market without requiring trainers to know much to anything about results.  Dodman and Dunbar are two of the main beneficiaries of this strategy.   Dr Dunbar, however, has recently been talking about the lack of standards in the dog training industry, that he himself has spearheaded!!!

Sadly his proteges do not feel this is referenced to themselves.   The damage has been done, and those that can not train to a standard have no idea how to recognize it, even if it's their own dog that does not improve or learn with their methods.   Blithely, they go on talking about theories and science, and can not recognize what the living breathing individual dog right in front of them is telling them, unless they react like a scientific laboratory experiment or communicate in just the way the general dog population communicates.

The APDT does little to dissuade their members that knowledge in the form of results is necessary to hand out CEUs to the professionals in their organization (meaning that CPDTS need only pass a multiple choice test, and then upkeep their education by, well, just any member *not a professional member in anyway* that is willing to put on a seminar.   Awesome, how great for the general dog owning public and the naive "trainers" who drank the sweetly poisoned punch when it was offered.

This "trainer" was quite brave in issuing the following challenge, which I can only guess she thinks that I did not keep:)  I guess that is she is ignoring requests for confirmation that she is keeping her end of the deal.   In the wrong assumptions that she has made about methods and me as a trainer, she made an equally wrong assumption if she thought I would ever let this go.   I am most like a terrier who will not give up until I have cornered my rat.  The truth is that I copied the whole web posting from http://mainepets.mainetoday.com/, including the below challenge made by Deb Jacobs of fearfuldogs.

"You are right, there was no need for me to be snippy, I am not by nature a snippy or confrontational person. I read your post later in the evening, actually I could barely read your post, it was so troubling to me. I have to think that you believe you are doing what is best for this poor dog. I will not be reading your posts or commenting again. It is not because I am disinclined to debate the merits of the work I do with fearful dogs or how much I know or don't know about dog training, or the relationship I have with my own dogs. I will not read or contribute because it causes me too much distress to hear about how this dog is being handled. I will credit you with being honest in sharing how you have managed this dog for the past 5 weeks. My guess is that after this dog is returned to his owners he will bite someone. The owners will blame the dog and you'll blame the owners. He may be euthanized, rehomed, given up, or kept isolated for the rest of his life. But I am willing to put my money where my mouth is and say that if in a year this dog is living happily and comfortably with his current owners, I will gladly donate $100 to your preferred animal rescue. I will also be willing to question my belief that most of the techniques you are using have no place in the modern age of dog training. I apologize for my rudeness. p.s. You can find my email address on my website at www.fearfuldogs.com should you want to get in touch with a year from now. I hope you prove me wrong, for Hoobie's sake."  D Jacobs http://www.fearfuldogs.com/

Well, Deb, I am in touch with you.   You seem to be ignoring me.   Don't think that  I am not armed with the orginal correspondence if legal action needs to be taken on my charities behalf for your payment.   That would just be another sad mistake on your part.

http://www.mannerlymutts.com/ Maine and New Hampshire Dog Trainer
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Her Name Was Lola, She Was A Showgirl

Our newest residency student's name is Lola. She is a female Pit X. She looks like she may have a fair amount of lab in her.

I will write a little history about her here. She was adopted at six weeks. Just so people know, if you can avoid removing a puppy at before 11-13 weeks from their mother and litter, this is the best thing for the puppy. That being said, there are situations out there where a puppy is being ousted in a non-breeders home OR finds themselves motherless for whatever reason early on.

Puppies who are removed early often will have special needs in order to grow into a balanced dog. There are many situations besides early removal from the litter and mom, where a dog will need extra special care. Early removal is just one of many situations that will most likely require special care and consideration. Of course, in my opinion, a well planned training program is always necessary for a dog, but truthfully some dogs are going to be more naturally bomb proof than other dogs. The dogs that are removed from their litter and mother too early are often not the bomb proof dogs that are going to sail through life fine without a good leader.

Lola's problems have been manifesting themselves in reactive and aggressive behavior towards dogs (especially when on leash), and an uncomfortableness around children. Also there are resource guarding issues.

Day one for a dog like Lola is comprised of a lot of things. For one, she will be tethered to me while out and about in the house. Freedom is a resource that I control. Right now she is not equipped (behaviorally speaking) to have that freedom in the house. When she is not tethered to me, she will be in her crate. There is a lot that I can do while she is tethered to me in addition to training though. It's really important for her to be out and about and learning the rules of the road right now. Structuring a day for a dog like this is very important too. You want the dog to be able to predict what is going to happen during the day, as you guide them through the appropriate behaviors. So for instance every time I stop or come to an opening, I put Lola into a sit. Since she has the very beginning understanding of what a sit is (and wasn't smart enough to hide this from me LOL), getting out of the crate only happens when she is in a sit.

Last night, she went into a sit very willingly to leave the crate. After being fed and let out this morning, she had a more belligerent look on her face (once her immediate needs were met) when asked to sit. So I went away, had some coffee and breakfast. Went back down and said "sit". She almost did it once, but did not do it after five times of the command. Therefore, I went upstairs and enjoyed a bit of the today show with the other dogs. Guess what happened the third time I went down? Lola was already in a sit . Thems the rules, to get out of the crate you must be in a sit (oh and quiet too).   If you have a reactive and resource guarding dog, you should check with a trainer on how to do this safely, especially if there is a food bowl in the crate. I always leave my face out of the crate, for instance. I have them stay in a sit so I can easily slip on the collar. If the dog does not know any form of the word sit yet (is entirely green in other words), you can form the leash first into a loose lasso (clip end through handle) and slip it around the dog's head. I've had about 10 years of practice with this, so it's always best to have a trainer talk you through this with a reactive, possibly aggressive, or feral dog. Lola hasn't needed this, I just thought it would be a good mention in the crate rules scenario when you are working with a dog that you hardly know yet.

While I am making her sit every time I stop, we will later be going through the molded sit routine from scratch to get to the one command sit.   Also with any dog that has a behavioral issue, molding is a great trust exercise.   It trains the dog to relax their muscles at their owners touch at first, before going onto consequences and rewards for sitting or not sitting.   When you get to the correction part, most owners make a common mistake of tightening on the leash OR giving the correction before the command is even given.   The right way is to get the dog used to the concept of having a loose leash, so the owner has more control.   This is what a lot of owners are not knowledgeable about how to understand to train to a loose leash, and that this gives them more control (as does off leash training when ready).   So it's loose leash, then command, then correction if not done within a second (corrections are mild after having gone through the molding steps correctly with most dogs), good dog if command is performed, once in a sit (either way) the leash should be loose again, and finally the release word is given.  You need to give the dog the opportunity to weigh there options in order to give them the opportunity to learn.   If you are always going to take control of the situation rather than teach the dog, the dog will never learn control, themselves.   This is a really important concept when dealing with the behaviorally challenged dogs.

Lola hasn't been extremely pleased about going into the crate. So she will be fed in there, have some toys in there, but... In the meantime, she needs to go into the crate when necessary. If I don't need to get confrontational with a dog about these things, then I don't. Lola has responded well to the method where she is on leash, and I walk towards the crate. She will pull back for a moment, but if I just stop and wait, she will come towards me and the crate again. You need the dog on a slip training collar and leash to do this, if they are bound and determined to get away. The worst thing that can happen is she slips her collar and realizes that she could get away. This just makes the training go backwards. This morning putting Lola in the crate has been a lot easier, as I have made it as non confrontational as I possibly can. It's an attitude like this "look it's no big deal", but then you follow through and bring her out later with a little bit of freedom or training (which will feel like a little bit of freedom right now).

Tethering her to me starts to extinguish her first instinct to bolt for freedom as well. Most dogs enjoy actually being with their people, and once she figures out she can relax with her new best buddy (me of course) it will become much easier for her to just follow me around, and not look for the exit at every opportunity. Once she stops doing that, we can start considering letting her off tether in our home. It's not something that you want to do before she is ready though.

When I have a dog that is a possible bolt risk and has aggressive possibilities, there are certain safety measures I put in place.

• I pay attention to the status of all outside doors.   I lock some that friends or family (despite my frequent directions not to) may decide to open and come into unannounced.  The front door that we like to keep open to the screen or glass door is now closed from now forward.
• Be aware, some dogs are very prepared to go through window screens (and sometimes glass windows).  So closing the windows and having a dog that seems that panicked tethered to you is a very wise idea.
• Since we have a pen for going outside made of chicken wire, if I have a possible flight risk, I bring them out on lead personally to go to the bathroom in the pen.
• Even if there are no other dogs or people around, she will remain tethered to me when outside the crate right now.
• I make sure she is in the more well made thick wire crates.   Some crates are shockingly cheap, and Lola would be able to dismantle them quite readily, where other dogs would not even think of trying.
• Always have her on a slip type of training collar when outside of the crate, so as not to slip her flat collar.
• Always take the slip collar off when going into the crate (and put flat back on) so it doesn't get caught on a wire and choke her.
• Clothing should be leather shoes, thick jeans, bulky sweatshirt, when dealing with any dog that you think may deflect on you.   Often dogs that are going to turn out okay, will still panic and use their teeth in the moment.  We all want to protect ourselves, our clients, and the dog from making an unnecessarily bad mistake in the beginning of training.
• I try not to use muzzles on most dogs, but in the beginning and especially if the quarters are going to be tight with the object of their angst, I find muzzles are helpful not only for prevention but also to calm the dog down.   Once they realize they are not going to be able to take the action that they would like, and that you (the handler or owner) have things under control, the dog can relax and go with the flow.   Remember, it's totally important that the dog training have nothing to really worry about.  We use our trained dogs here, and people familiar with taking direction from me to start and win the dog over (and habituate them to things that previously frightened or concerned them in some way).

When you are entrusted with someone Else's dog, you need to be extra specially responsible and careful.   Someone is trustingly handing over their beloved family member to you.  My yard remains unfenced as I do a lot of off leash training.   Therefore, while I may drop a longe line at the end of training (meaning longe line is still attached but handle not in my hand), she will not be allowed off leash (really) outside, though she may be prepared to get a sense of it.

Today, we will be focusing on "let's go" and "sit on the dog training" which will be loaded into Lola's blog (with this posting) so her owners can follow along with what we are doing.

Maine Dog Trainer, New Hampshire Dog Trainer, Massachusetts Dog Trainer, and sometimes Canada Dog Trainer

Mannerly Mutts Dog Training Blog

Welcoming Carole and Jean from Canada/Hoobie's Owners

Hoobies owners have made the trek from Canada. There is a little known Inn across the street from our street called the Ridge Road Inn. They have efficiency suites or small apartments for a weekly rental. The place is fairly new, and the owner is a very nice lady that likes dogs. Due to the rain and their late opening, I don't think many other people have arrived there yet. So it should be nice and quiet, and a quick walk down to the ocean as well. Course I was hoping for , maybe, the rain to stop. Seriously, the weather is never like it is right now, that being non stop rain.

Just looked at the weather forecast, and it's not making me feel very confident that I will see the sun again. You know once it comes, it's going to be like BAM HOTHOTHOT!! So our Canadian visitors are going to be wondering why we like to live here LOL. Really, we are not usually surrounded by damp and fog. We have been spoiled in that normally, around this time of year, we enjoy some very nice weather.

So the first visit with Hoobie went well. We haven't started the lessons with the owners yet. The stories they tell of Hoobie ruling their lives are horrifying. Hoobie used to need to be moved from room to room, just so the owners could enter their own rooms! If they left Hoobie out in the house, and went out themselves but forgot their key----Hoobie guarded the house from his own owners! He guarded each owner from the other owner (which we will be watching out for now, he hasn't displayed that towards me or my husband). Hopefully someday they will be looking back on those memories and laughing about them.

So now the lessons continue with Hoobie, and begin with the other very important part of the canine/human relationship. After a board and train like this, when the owners are reintroduced to their dog, it's a frightening thing for the owners. While they may see improvements, they may also feel like suddenly they can't read their dog, because they are not feeling free to charge up and boss the humans around anymore. Suddenly this dog seems unfamiliar, and the predictability the owners once had a strange comfort in is no longer there.

I can imagine how strange it must be to once have a dog that you needed to watch every move around, suddenly not be acting the same way. After all, the owners have not been involved in the training process thus far, nor seen the changes that have developed. They aren't used to this dog that is capable of not running every aspect of their lives. So now the owner education begins!! Wish us luck.

And someone, please bring me the sun back. I am so sick of being damp and mosquito bitten.


Mannerly Mutts Dog Training
Mannerly Mutts Blog
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