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

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
http://mannerlymutts.blogspot.com/ Mannerly Mutts Blog

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

More Pickles to Day 5

Pickles clearly loves people, and being around people. Of that, there can be no question. He gets a bit separation anxiety which can be told by the mistreatment of his crate, and how he will dig in to bark if he can't see you for like a second (never mind minutes and hours). He's busy being trained that when he is quiet and calm, then he will see me at his crate door. Bossing me to come and get him pronto, does not get him anywhere (except early in the morning, as I want to make sure he doesn't need to go).

Pickles has had good night sleeps since the first night. He had been quiet in his crate until yesterday, when a friend came over with their five dogs who will be staying with us in April. Hearing the new dogs and people outside gave him ideas. Unfortunately, I hadn't left him in one of the stronger crates, so he did manage to bend a wire until I could get up to him, when I realized what he was most likely up to. No harm done, I was more mad at myself for forgetting the owners warning about this. There are two crates that we have, where he has been excited, but unable to get anywhere with them. It would be nice to extinct this sort of behavior while he is here. Once he manages to get a little success though, then he thinks he will be able to duplicate it, and a bit of a tantrum happens:)

I have discovered that while other dogs may be Pickles second choice, and perhaps he may be guarding his humans from his canine companion (haven't met Sadie yet, or fully seen Pickle so I am on the fence about this), he does not seem to have anything against dogs per say. He also hasn't broken out into full play mode with or without dogs present. So his enthusiasm for dogs could be greater than or less than what I am seeing. I have seen that he is interested, and will go to them for comfort AND take comfort from them. The last two days, he has been allowed around dogs without my hand welded to the other end of the leash. A lot of time is being spent allowing him to come out, and training time is separate and at the end of the day so I can learn more about him when he doesn't feel my gaze upon him every minute. He is supervised every minute, but I try to pretend I am not paying attention to everything he does as much as is possible and keep everyone (including him) safe. Luckily, I have had very friendly and sweet dogs over, who are used to the "behaviorally challenged" and giving space when needed. It seems that Pickles is feeling safer and safer in this environment.

As I will expect to continue at home, Pickles is not allowed on the furniture with or without me OR with or without other dogs. It is so important that until he gets these relationship and pack issues worked out, that he isn't given the opinion that he has the same status or privileges as others who are abiding by the rules (basically no biting or attacking). He is allowed on dog beds. He has begun going out in the pen with others to go to the bathroom (without me holding a leash).

For the quieter dogs like Pickles (ones who tend to hold a lot in without a lot of show); I go slow and am not very cocky of the fact that he hasn't blown up at anyone. I have noticed that if he does the little lip curl, which I have seen three times since he has been here directed at another), it has been on face to face greetings or meetings. It's possible that this is a result of the injuries he has sustained (and which seem to be healing up nicely) on his muzzle. In other words, he might always be expecting another dog to make a move on his face. Or it could have been that I was there, and he decided the other dog shouldn't come near me. In any case, I move correct the situation quickly when he does this, and he hasn't protested. I am beginning my mental inventory on things that look like triggers. As I have said though, he has been a pretty good boy. This could be the fact that I am with him every second observing him, and he is figuring me out. Or it could just be that he is very mailable to a different way of being. I suspect some of that will be answered when Sadie comes on the last week. Also we will get some idea of what Sadie is all about.

Pickle has been working a lot on walking nicely with me, which we are now transitioning into a heel. Also on sit during distractions and things that make him uncomfortable, however not out in public just yet. That will commence in a couple of days though, on week 2. Most likely tomorrow we will go on a group walk in the woods, but Pickles will be on a leash attached to me. It will be interesting if this makes any spirit of playing with other canines creep out of him.

Pickle Dog-Days 1 to 2

Who said there are no such thing as dog training emergencies? Pickles owners had enough time to fill out the client interview form before needing to get him here immediately after a dog fight with his older sister, Sadie. This had been escalating recently, and the last four days involved incidents. The fourth day resulting in some really ugly bites on Pickles muzzle, neck, and inside his mouth.

It has appeared to his family to be him starting the altercation (and sounds like Sadie finishes it, typical girl). Since Wednesday, I have been training and gleaning as much information as I can from Pickles reactions and behavior.

The thing to remember after an incident like this, is that the dogs are a bit shell shocked that come here. So you don't get to know the true dog at first, though you can start to get some information about the dogs.

Pickles has presented to be a fearful dog around other dogs (at least in this environment, though the owner reports that Pickles has positive interactions with dogs off leash on walks). Body language isn't always the entire story, but that combined with reactions and other things the dog displays can tell you a lot. Pickles tail remained mainly tucked in between his legs on Wednesday and Thursday when around other dogs. He also froze a lot. When he was in the pen, and he saw the other dogs outside, he ran to the door and pressed himself against it. He has growled worriedly at dogs, but has not made a forward movement toward a dog. The dogs here that I have exposed him to are dogs that are trained to obey commands, and are dogs that I know will back off when they sense a dog is scared of them.

The dogs here have shown much sympathy for him when he is in the crate, however, they are wary of him when he is out of the crate (or had been the first two days). Pickles body language has been clear to me, and apparently to the dogs here to be saying stay away. Last night and today however, he has shown friendly interest. I keep all interactions with other dogs brief, and not during exciting periods where everyone is playing. I have Pickles walk with me when I go to let the other dogs out, so he can observe them discretely as they walk by and ignore him.

His training has begun with the "let's go" command, and the sit on the dog (long down but not a formal down, a leadership exercise) while around the other dogs while everyone is relaxing. By starting on a relationship that shows him that he can trust me to keep him safe, he is starting to relax among the other dogs. My husband even commented that he did not have the "low down" look today.

He does get a bit panicky when led towards new things at first. Overall, he seems mostly afraid, and willing to please. He seems interested in other dogs, but is not yet in a condition to mingle with them on his own.

Hoobie One Week Anniversary At Home

It is with relief that I report Hoobie has had a successful week one back at home. Even when I work so hard on a case, I don't feel like anything has been accomplished until I hear that things are working at home. By no means is any one's job done just yet, but I have been pleased with the three reports on Hoobie that I have received in the last week from his owners. Even more importantly, the owners seem pleased and comfortable with the tools that I have given them.

Hoobie sounds like he is very happy at home. He is settling into the changed rules regarding his sleeping arrangements, and the behaviors that will no longer be tolerated. It's important that the owners keep this all consistent, as he is likely to "test the waters" during the next few weeks and months. I don't think that he can beat the positives in his own doggie life that have been made (and that will be an incentive to him):

• Hoobie has an area where he can sleep undisturbed (as do his owners LOL). With a chronically ill dog, it's important that they get rest and relaxation. A dog that gets unrealistically angry when awakened, IMO, is a dog that is not getting his ZZZs that are needed.



• As with the above point, Hoobie's daily schedule allows for down time for him to get rest during the day.



• He is no longer on sleeping pills to get through the night, and does not need to tolerate any adverse affects of those. (such as grogginess during his awake hours)



• He no longer has incidents of vomiting and diarrhea. One can only imagine that this makes him feel healthier and more active. (and more tolerant) We may have eliminated the need for one of his other three medications as well.
  



• He is able to be out more, and enjoyed a lot more by his human and canine friends.
  



• He is able to start making friendships with the canines that come into his home.
  



• He is able to enjoy walks outside the house around strange people and canines.
  



• His owners are able to take him for car rides now, without the fear of him trying to jump into the front seat with them and be out of control. He is able now to learn to behave in the car under his own steam, rather than have to remain behind the metal grate and separated from his family.
  



• He enjoys being petted now!!! Not just on his own terms because he is afraid humans are going to be unpredictable every moment now.

• For both physical and mental health reasons, Hoobie can now be groomed at home instead of having to be sedated at the vet's office.

And so now Hoobie gets to start his second chance at a stable dog's life in a human family. This has not been an easy case. I am very proud of Hoobie's owners for being the dedicated and responsible people that they are. You don't often have the privilege of working with clients like this.

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

Hoobie Went Home Wednesday Afternoon

After four months here, Hoobie went home this last Wednesday afternoon. He had a seven hour car ride awaiting him, and a trip through customs. I heard from his owner waiting at home during the last three hour stretch that Hoobie was asleep in the car, as his other owner finished up their long commute.

The hardest part, for me, is over; but I still have a job to do when Hoobie is home in the form of being support for unexpected situations, and commenting on the training an maintenance going forward. I am hoping that news starts coming as soon as the owners and Hoobie are settled; so that I know how things are going. This is the letting go stage, which is hard for a trainer like me. Hoobie was my charge for four months of hard work. While I am so enjoying my mini vacation this weekend, and can feel the weight of everyday care and responsibility for Hoobie leaving my shoulders, it is still my job to make sure everything goes forward at home well. Plus, I naturally worry about my dogs and owners for a good few months after a behavioral case like this. Hoobie being the most behaviorally challenged dog that I have ever seen in my care. Luckily, he was only forty pounds!! He is also bright, able to learn, and the problem was not that he didn't like people (or other dogs).

I should be back to my daily postings, now that "summer season" has officially ended. My dogs training has become sloppy, so I will be concentrating on that. I will also be concentrating on finishing up my training manuals on adult dogs and puppies during this period of time. I will be revisiting whether I think Jack can go through Open reliably next Spring, and hopefully take in some seminars. Also, I am considering doing some group classes next year----possibly. We will see on that.

I will pat my back on the Hoobie case a year from now if his owners are happy and he is still at home:) For now, I wait in anticipation for news of my little monster.

I was very proud that before he went home, Hoobie's owner bathed, brushed, clipped his hair, clipped his nails, et without a blow. This is something any one of which, he needed to be sedated and put to sleep for at the vets. We also watched tv together as my husband popped in and out one night, this is something that Hoobie would race across the floor for to bite the incoming person, whoever it was. Now the trick is, to keep the progress going at home.

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

Hoobie's Crate Finds A New Home

Hoobie is staying with us through August now. His home has been going through repairs, and his owner wants to train the visiting dogs that come to the house before Hoobie comes back. Both not bad reasons for Hoobie to stay put. It certainly will make the transition back home easier for both Hoobie and the owners.

So Hoobie's education is continuing. The following has been accomplished with me, and needs to be transferred to Hoobie's owners:

• Commands learned have been let's go, stand, heel, place, crate, sit, down, leave it, take it, and stay. Now some of these he would perform before, now he is reliable in distracting circumstances.
• Grooming in a muzzle is no longer an activity for which Hoobie must be put out OR can only be in short spurts.
• Hoobie is enjoying petting, In fact, he often seeks it out from both of us.
• Strangers that are at all dog savvy are not considered an instaneous threat to Hoobie.
• Walking in public (with a muzzle to protect a public who might reach out to pet without a thought) is pleasant and Hoobie enjoys these.
• He is taking his medication in the crate through the bars in a sit (he's territorial and a resource guarder) with the use of the commands "leave it" and "take it" making him a more polite boy.

So now that he is going to be staying longer than expected, we have moved onto some more advanced parts of his training. It's all well and good that he trusts me much more around his food, treats, and space but what about others... It's hard to recruite strange humans (strange to Hoobie) to drop over all the time, but we do have strange and known canines coming over all the time. So while I am not expecting the owners to serve Hoobie's favorite food in the midst of a party while he's out of a crate, I am teaching at least more impulse control while in the crate.

This is important because he is territorial as well. So previously, tackling the resource and territorial aggression in the same lesson seemed too much for Hoobie. Now he is prepared for it. Can't find my camera, but right now Preston is lying next to Hoobie's crate and next to his food bowl. Hoobie is napping without concern. However, when Magoo just tried to approach, Hoobie started in with a low growl indicating he thought a threat was coming to his food.

I have just moved Hoobie's family room crate to be more in the traffic of both me and the dogs. His crate previously was in a solitary room and in a remote corner of the family room. If we can get him to stop guarding the small spaces, we can eventually get him to stop guarding whole rooms. This is a long term goal I am talking about, I am expecting that Hoobie will be crated according to the rules and schedules that we map out. Right now, the reason that he is not guarding whole rooms is because he is not allowed to be in the position where he would. It's part of teaching him the correct responses to replace the need to guard.

Part of training a dog like this, is to show the reasons why guarding is not necessary. You also want to show the dog what NOT guarding gets them. That is not guarding the car, gets a car ride to a fun place. Not guarding the crate, allows the crate door to open to all the possibilities there. In comparison, an altercation is not such a desirable thing for the DOG . That is what you are teaching, an aggressive reaction on the dog's part is not worth the loss in freedom and the other things they enjoy. Of course in order to do this, it's always good to be sure that you are not inadvertently giving a negative. For instance, when Hoobie's thyroid problems were untreated, a pet would have been and did become a negative thing. I'll talk again how we have been making this a positive thing, and how this was further continued to grooming et.

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

Communication and Consistency

In working the case of the Hoobie monster, it has occurred to me how very important consistency is to communication. I already knew this, but in a case where "good" has become bad; it brings this point even more clearly home. In fact, Hoobie will probably be an example given to new students about the importance of consistency in communication.

I use "good boy" to praise a dog for good work done. This does not mean the exercise is over, but it does mean that I am very pleased with the dog. To Hoobie, at some point "good boy" meant that the bad thing was coming. A muzzle on, meant the bad thing is coming. These are all things that needed to be reversed. Now I could have decided to simply change the verbal word "good" to something else. Only problem is, that someone who does not know Hoobie could say "good boy". It's a fairly common thing to say to a dog, even when you just pass them on the street and are smiling at them.

First in order for "good boy" not to mean that the bad thing is coming, means you don't do anything negative after the good boy OR anything perceived by the dog to be negative (and this is a moving target as we are teaching Hoobie that previously negative things are really no big deal). "Good boy" is used AFTER some of these things when they are not accompanied by growling or "blowing". So for instance, brushing Hoobie four times, Hoobie doesn't growl, and then you give a "Good Boy". I knew when Hoobie was beginning to understand this was a good thing to be told this in these consistent instances, when the eyes lit up and the ears came forward and the tail went up and wagged. At the point that these things started to happen, I knew that I had turned "good boy" back into the positive association it should have been.

Now how did this become negative in the first place? This is an extreme example involving Hoobie, and usually does not grow to this extent. This is one way something said lovingly and with the intent to be soothing can be understood by the dog as something completely different. Hoobie was thought to need injections before everything medically wrong with him was figured out. The owners decided to do this themselves at home (not bad in of itself). However, when they did this and were holding him down, they said "good boy".

Because the consistency of a positive statement was compromised, this no longer meant what the owners intended. That is because dog's don't understand English per say, but they do understand actions and what things are linked to actions. If this situation popped up for me and I was involved, I would say to use a command like down or sit, where the dog is required to do this reliably. To prep the dog for this with good training is always good, but you could do this parallel in an emergency type situation where there is no time. The point is that you want to start to prepare your dog as well as possible before they are in the situation. You want words like "good boy" and "break" to consistently and through the owner's actions mean "well done, we are proud of you" and "it's all over". You need to practice this in other situations, because obviously you aren't going to give your dogs shots over and over to practice this. This way your verbal commands start to be an assurance as to your predictability.

So again, Hoobie is at the extreme of his phobic reaction to inconsistent actions paired with verbal commands. You can see how this can happen though. I have found that Hoobie in specific responds well to short term having to deal with something, then "good boy" makes his eyes light up, and then "break" makes him dance a bit. Then you can prolong these things like brushing, toweling, nail clipping, ear cleaning, and shaving into longer and longer sessions.

I have also found this is a great way to relax Hoobie should he get fearful in situations. I am touching and manipulating his back and front legs, and sometimes this does cause Hoobie to tense up a bit. So if he hasn't growled, I will say "good boy" and then "break". Then at a later time, I will casually do it again. He has been showing that he is beginning to cope with different and unexpected much better now. It is the trust that has been developed through consistency in communication.

This will be key to teach the owners when they come back, to be very consistent in not only discipline, but in their verbal communication with him in that it is married to the actions, so he can predict the situation. The better prepared he is, the more comfortable he feels with the situation.

One last note, it goes both ways. Hoobie knows that consistently a non-growling and sitting Hoobie gets the crate door open.


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

Touching and Brushing the Hoobie Monster

Hoobie has been very extreme in not wanting to be touched or petted at first (except under his own terms). I have talked about the medical issues and his early history that contributed to this sort of fall out. He likes to be petted now. He even likes it when you approach him, unless he is resting sometimes. Or guarding someone. Well, there are still circumstances, but the act of actually petting him does not seem to be a phobia anymore (with those he knows).

In fact, he is under my desk right now, getting the occasional rub on the head (in a space that he used to like to guard, from the front while in a down, are specific instances where he is not totally comfortable giving full reign). He is muzzled, because this can sometimes be a point of contention. I have been training him, however, that when he comes to me and shares a space that is mine, he has two acceptable options. He is very welcome to leave for instance, should he not want to be petted. With chronically ill animals, this is an important point, because sometimes they have a valid reason for not want to be touched. The best way for us to know that, though, is for them to give a non aggressive signal, like leaving to their "place". The teaching of it is more abstract than obedience exercises, and needs consistency to be at all clear. The second option, is to accept the petting. The unacceptable option is to blow. With a muzzle on or other equipment, it's much easier on the dog to correct them during an unacceptable incident. Hoobie still does these on occasion, but they are ending quicker and quicker, and without the build up and severity that they used to.

So I have been introducing in a few different ways. One is very related to how I got Hoobie to accept and like to be touched. When he comes over for a pat, I give him a brush instead. If he stays and growls, I brush him about five more times after the last growl and then say "break". This way he knows that I will only continue X amount of times. If he keeps returning, I know he is liking it, but testing out his new theory on what I will do. Therefore, I become predictable and more safe. Also the activity becomes predictable and safer. The reasons for not using treats have to do with his medical issues and history, and the fact that it does not work with Hoobie. Luckily, there are other things that do.

Another thing I will do, is bring the brush along when we are doing an activity that Hoobie particularly enjoys, like a swampy walk. This is a walk where Hoobie gets to immerse himself in all the watery areas in the woods like creeks and wetlands. There is nothing Hoobie likes better than this, and so I start to associate things that he was leery about with these things.

Another way I go about it, is to start making it part of a command. Sit becomes, sit and be brushed for four times. Stand, down, et all become commands that require something extra to be done to make it successful. Again, it's the predictability that helps Hoobie relax and become accepting of touch and grooming things. He probably hates the toweling off and paw handling for any length of time more than anything now. I try to make the balance of his decision to be accepting, vs this is what you are required to have done. Hoobie is a dog where it's hard to find the right balance, but when you do find it you know it. You don't want to be overly firm, and you really don't want to be not firm enough. Hoobie needs communication to be right on to improve, and that's the most challenging part of Hoobie. I will talk a little more about this tomorrow, and some examples of when the right balance is achieved.


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

Updates....

So sorry that I haven't published for awhile. We had this big reunion party that we were planning, and executed...let's just say I no longer remember what it was I did with my time before the party LOL. Unlike my husband, I didn't have vacation the previous week, and have been enjoying a very busy business this summer, despite the state of the economy.

Then a bit of recovery period was needed. So what has been going on here:

Hoobie: Hoobie is staying with us through August. He needed to have a biopsy while in my care, and while his owners came up to visit and get a taste for handling him. He regressed a bit after the biopsy, but I am happy to say we have him largely back and moving onto more things. He is a very detailed dog, so these things are going to sound ridiculous as a goal to any dog trainer LOL. Collars on and off without taking a fit, being brushed while not taking a fit, nail clippings---while not taking a fit, not guarding the back seat of the car, still working on the food resource guarding (this remains the most difficult) and toy resource guarding (not so much except to hand him the toy, this is when he gets most aggressive otherwise he will drop it so you can pick it up), not panicking when strangers are around, and on and on. Oh, and all things related to grooming (ear cleaning, clippers).

There is the most fun loving friendly dog in here, but I would say this is the most phobic dog that I have ever seen. It's very very easy to loose his trust for a bit. The fact that he is allergic to everything, has thyroid, and a chronic stomach problem not so helpful. He rallies though. For instance today he had the most fun for an hour or two or racing through the woods and swamp with everyone else. A Springer is a sight to behold in the wild woods!!!

Magoo: Doing wonderfully in his training of course. Surprisingly, this is Hoobie's best friend as far as playing goes. Magoo and Hoobie race through the woods and swamp together. Very, very opposite dogs. Magoo is willing to please always whether it benefits him or not. Hoobie is only willing to please if it benefits him, however, that does not mean he's not a friendly and loving dog. Hoobie is very complicated in every way, and Magoo is very simply. Magoo is WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). Hoobie's system is complicated and needs frequent repair. Hoobie is super smart, which can either make him easy or super hard to train LOL. Magoo has smarts, but he is not super smart, making him very easy to train. Magoo trains with whatever. Pets, treats, toys, play, or nothing; Magoo is willing. Hoobie is food intolerant, a resource guarder, but also works best for fun or exercise and of course the outdoors.

Magoo is going to be a dog that you never need to worry about in any situation. Hoobie is a dog that his owners will always need to be aware of his body language. They are both great pals. Go figure!!

Leon the Boxer: Leon knows how to heel now, it's necessary for his owners to take the lessons now as well. Looks like this might work out next week. Leon is a boxer that is just too eager to play with other dogs, while having just a bit of a worry about what the other dog might do. His is really the sweetest thing with everyone, and when he knows the other canines, it looks like he is a friend for life. I expect that he will have many new friends in his future, and the rough edges will smooth out with his owners careful care and training. I am not sure that he will ever be very happy with dogs that growl at him as a greeting at first, but he may get the hang of ignoring that as long as his owners always keep him safe. When you get a rescue, you don't ever know everything that happened in his past, and he may have had a few rough encounters with other dogs in the past. Many dogs enjoy coming here, as they know this is pretty much a safe place for socializing with other dogs.

Leon My Doberman: Looks like his knee is recovering, and it may have been another injury other than his ACL that was bothering him. So thankfully, we don't need to consider bringing him for surgery at the moment, plus he is able to enjoy the rest of his summer with supervision and an eye on his activity level.

Leon took his very first watery adventure in the swamp lands today. I was very impressed. I think it finally dawned on him that the water really is only so deep. I hope one day that he warms up to swimming!!

Jack My Doberman: I hate to even jinx myself by saying this. Finally, I think I have come up with the formula for Jack to enjoy quite a bit of other dogs being here. Ironically, it has also affected the way I operate with the dogs. Jack likes a good two sessions of hard play during the day with the dogs he likes. Those are most of the dogs here. The exceptions to that rule seem to be Petey, Magoo, Logan, Teddy (who is coming in a few days), and I am sure there are a few others that I did not think of.

Molly: Not a current dog, but one that was here a few years ago. She turned out so well, that her owners are actually about to pull the trigger on dog number two!! They enjoyed the training so much, that dog number two will also be training with me. No better compliment than that. They also let me know that Molly is enjoying another off leash summer on the beach as a good little citizen.

Brujo: Having an excellent if stinky time here. My friend brought his dog who had just been skunked up on vacation. He did let me know of the incident before hand. Brujo was just dashing through the creeks here with his buds (Oona, Hoobie, Magoo, Leon, Jackie, and Lucey). Brujo is also adept at opening just about any door in our house with the exception of the outside doors (unless the front door is open to the screen door) and the door to or from the mudroom. He is very talented, and serves as a warning as to try not to have lever doors when you have a smart dog.

Oona: Oona's owners are welcoming a pink and furless new family member to their pack. A ten pound boy has arrived, and Oona is enjoying her time here as her owners concentrate on their new arrival. Oona has fallen for Minny Manny, the chihuahua and pug mix that comes here to play. She also likes Brujo, but prefers the smaller Minny Mann. Poor Bru Bru.

Oona also has a very maternal side, as does Lucey below. It's so cute to see her try and groom little Minny Mann from head to toe.

Minny Manny: Still remains the boss of the pack when he comes. For a dog that's like three pounds, he is quite impressive as he plays with dogs that are 100 plus. He is also not afraid to tell them to back off. He shares the love connection with Oona. Everyone loves Minny for some reason, even though he can be a bit bossy at times. He's Hoobie's favorite to hang with as well.

Lucey: Our Westie girl still remains a little spit fire and hunter. She is the perfect mix of ruff and tumble, and lady like demureness. Somehow she pulls this off!! Lucey is also very maternal. She is so patient with the big ruffian boys that we have here.


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

Tier Of Goals When Training The Behaviorally Challenged

Going to have to use Hoobie again, as he is my only behaviorally challenged training client at the moment LOL (thank goodness). So when a client like Hoobie comes in, the first thing I do is envision for that dog, what I want for him if he was my own dog. The next thing that comes into mind is the laundry list of things I ideally want to accomplish before the owners bring him home. Here is an example of such a list that comes to mind, and sometimes changes as I know the dog. For Hoobie, here is my list of priorities that mold the way I train the behavior modification part, and also influence my training of obedience exercises (like having a pet part of every command):


TIER OF GOALS FOR HOOBIE:

PRIORITY ONE-SAFETY FOR OWNERS (WEEKS ONE TO TWO VERY MUCH SO-AND ONGOING):

• Crate training in and out of crate. (includes muzzle off which is an indicator for Hoobie that he is going into the crate, and leash off which can also be an indicator)
  
• Acceptance of muzzle on and off when needed. It's so far really been muzzle off, as that was an indicator that he's going into the crate, when the muzzle is being used.


• Acceptance of training collar on and off.


• Later came the PVC pipe idea to get Hoobie off the muzzle with resource guarding issues, yet provide an in between place for him that keeps me safe while he aggresses, and does not make it necessary to give a strong correction. (or get a strong correction)


• Later came the e-collar to cut down on the extreme reactions of Hoobie to in the crate in duration, and also so hands do not become the focal point of being made to do something. He does very well on the e-collar on low levels.

• Not allowed to hump other dogs when out with them. Also, I don't mind that he investigates dogs, er, private regions. However, allowing him to prolong this beyond what is necessary usually leads to humping.

• Do NOT have the mindset to make excuses for bad behavior of Hoobie. Assuming he is not having a convulsion of some sort, and has not been hit by a car, tired is no longer an excuse that Hoobie just misbehaved. We can acknowledge that he is not ready yet for something, but it doesn't excuse it. There is a difference, and I need for the owners to have the mindset that bad behavior is not an excuse for Hoobie. The allowance for this, and the avoiding of things that might upset Hoobie are the reasons for his increased aggression. Now that he is going in the right direction, we need Hoobie to be firmly pushed in the correct direction and not backslide.

• Also later, the car goes to good places, not just the vet!!

PRIORITY TWO-LEADERSHIP (HEAVY WEEK ONE AND ONGOING):

• Nothing in life is free. Using what he knows and what he is learning to work for what he wants.

• Longe line, learn to follow and pay attention to leader without needing to be tugged or pulled along.

• Heeling, learn to follow and pay attention to leader in an exacting position.

• Auto sit, learn to pay attention to leader and stop when they stop (and in a consistent position).

• Recognizing the signs of when Hoobie is leading the owner/handler.

• How to recognize and address challenges from Hoobie.

• Resource guarding issues become part of leadership, but are addressed starting week 5, 6, 7 and most likely 8.

• Structure and discipline.
  

PRIORITY 3-TOUCH AND HANDS (THIS IS THIRD, BECAUSE WITHOUT SAFETY AND LEADERSHIP THERE WILL BE NO BEING ABLE TO TEACH HOOBIE THIS) AND OWNER/HANDLER TRUST:

• Petting feels good. Also verifying the fact that Hoobie does not appear to be aggressing because he's in pain when he's petted.


• Hands do good things. Hands open doors, hands get food, hands treat (when safe), allowing hands near means we go outside.


• Obedience training with Koehler molding methods. Very touch based training where molding Hoobie with hands allows him to realize that no hurt comes from this.


• Hands touch when he's feeling good outside, enjoying freedom, and relaxing with friends.


• When Hoobie approaches, instead of allowing him to demand attention, Hoobie sits and hands touch as he wanted on handler's terms not his.


• We started at points of his body that he seemed to enjoy, and then we spread out.


• Because he had learned to loathe touch, we needed to touch him first so that he learned it wasn't that bad in an obedience training way. Then, we allow him to indicate when he doesn't want it by walking away, and watching what the tail does. The tolerance of touch has been increasing in time and demand:) Otherwise, I would have the wait until he approached method. This is being done with strangers. However stranger interactions are very last on the priority list!

• Structure, Discipline, Clarity, and Consistency.

PRIORITY 4-RESOURCE GUARDING ISSUES (VERY BEGINNING STAGES OF THIS RIGHT NOW-DON'T KNOW HOW FAR WE WILL GET):

• This has been part of the crate training as well. Hoobie is not allowed to lunge, growl, bark, at anyone or thing passing by his crate or towards his crate.

• Hand feeding as the beginning concept of "everything is mine not yours". However, I will gladly share with you.

• Part of giving the medicine with the popsicle stick in the crate (as opposed to your fingers which would be a bit mistake right now) is for him to neither guard the popsicle stick (or try and grab it from you) or his space inside the crate. This is why children and adults who won't listen should not be allowed near the crate, and must be supervised to insure that they don't visit the doggie.
• In obedience, this has been done by walking by close to Hoobie, and expecting that he won't react while in a down or sit stay. In other words, Hoobie has believed in the past he owns all the space around him to:) Or guards it from his people. Also let's go removes him from his position if he has just woken up from sleep or looks a bit worried about "his space" (NOT).

• NO ON THE FURNITURE. AND THE TIMES I HAVE FOUND HIM ON THE GUEST BED, OFF THE FURNITURE IMMEDIATELY.

• NO IN THE FRONT SEAT OF THE CAR, AND THE BACK IS MINE TOO. MORE OF A TRAINING EXERCISE, AS THE OWNERS HAD A METAL SEPERATOR INSTALLED IN THEIR VEHICLE. THOUGH I WOULD LOVE FOR THE NOT TO AVOID THIS IN THE FUTURE, SO THAT HOOBIE CAN LEARN.

PRIORITY 5-GREETING KNOWN PEOPLE AND TRUSTING KNOWN PEOPLE (WILL BE IN THE VERY BEGINNING STAGES WHEN OWNERS ARRIVE BUT HAVE STARTED WITH MY HUSBAND):

PRIORITY 6-GREETING UNKNOWN PEOPLE AND TRUSTING THE HANDLERS IN GREETING AND BEING AROUND UNKNOWN PEOPLE (WILL GET STARTED ON THIS, BUT DON'T KNOW HOW FAR WE WILL GET) :

***Can I say that greeting children has not made the list. This dog is not safe around children. Children will not understand the ramifications in the near future of how to interact with a dog like this. Hoobie must be muzzled or in a crate out of the site and thought of children when they are around. And even muzzled, must be strictly supervised AND must have high quality muzzle that he can't get off or pinch through!!

Realize that each large and lofty goal has many steps and behavioral challenges in it. I mean for Hoobie it's as tiny as allowing the door clips on the crate to be touched without growling. That's how intricate the beginning steps have been with a normal stable dog that doesn't even become an issue.

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

The Challenge Video/Spitting in Food

I have included a link that explains why some long time trainers include saliva in their dogs food. http://www.bharatbhasha.com/pets.php/41991 Now it's not that I am trying to dominate Hoobie, but I am trying to include anything and everything that may make him as accepting as possible that others handle things that he thought were his solely. This is also the process of teaching him that he does not need to aggress. He will get what he needs and wants by NOT AGGRESSING. I have never tried this, but I am not one to shirk a technique that may help a situation, especially if it does not harm the dog (it may harm me but not the dog LOL).

So here is my payment that I issued to Dogstardaily and the Dunbars to allow balanced trainers to talk about balanced training on their site!! Kelly Dunbar most likely did not know of the challenge, but she did indeed allow conversation for the first time from balanced trainers on why tools and methods work. Kudos to Kelly Dunbar. Again, I don't need them to talk about balanced training at all, but if they are going to say they are acquiring the term, bash it, or talk about it----they should allow for conversation that is not blocked or moderated.

The below is the video. When I say I will treat him with a lamb treat if he growls LOL, that is not what I mean. Since we are working with his meds, it's important that he get the meds so I don't walk away. What I do if he growls is I then do reps of sits and downs, and when he is not growling he gets a very small piece of dried lamb. Or I sometimes put that very small piece on the popsicle stick. He actually tends to be more cooperative when he's out of the crate, but I like him to be able to do either, so that the owners will have options of ways he can safely get his meds, but while also working with him to desensitize him to getting meds up high or down low as a normal thing. That is still working on the resource guarding issue.





One thing that I noticed is that his tolerance for both resource guarding and crate training went down when the two were combined in one exercise. So since this time, I have gone to doing them seperately again. One training time for resource guarding, the other training time for crate training. Normally it's not a problem for dogs to combine, but for Hoobie it seems the combo of the two just made his intolerance times four instead of divided by two. I want to go in the direction that makes both of these things easy peasy for Hoobie. Or as easy as they can be for him:) I think sometimes he may be almost as stubborn as I am LOL.

By the way, I think Hoobie has taken the crown from Hannah as most stubborn dog, and most stubborn Springer!!! Oh well, Hannah is still the Queen here when she visits, and Kate remains our teddy bear. Wonder what they would think of Hoobie??

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

Woodsy Fun With Hoobie and Gang

On the point in the video where Hoobie comes out of his crate tail wagging, I was trying to point out that every when he is pissy he does this. However, now that we have established his responses to things, it's very important that he is acting appropriately before released from the crate. So now although I could open the door when he's pissy, and he would most likely be fine, that won't train him the appropriate response.

Most times he comes out of the crate without any aggression except for two instances 1) I have just put him in the crate 5 minutes or less ago and 2) He was just hand fed and it's only been a few minutes.



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

Preparing for Hoobie/Owner Training

Part of a responsible Board and Train package, is follow up and training with the owners. Hoobie's very responsible owners are on route during their 7 hour drive to stay here for at least a week and train with Hoobie and I. This means there is some prep work involved right now to be sure things go smoothly. With a case like Hoobie's where structure is critical to the success of the training program, I start out by designing schedules that can be followed. Hoobie has many special needs that need to do with his health, and these must mesh with the client's schedule and the training plan.


POTENTIAL SCHEDULE 1 (FEEDING,MEDICATION NEEDS AND OWNERS SCHEDULE WITH AFFECT THIS SCHEDULE):

6:00 AM Out and Thyroid Pill (see handling instructions during medication)

6:00-6:30 AM Dog Training Exercises (see where alternate half hours can be placed)

6:30 AM Stomach coating pill (see handling instructions during medication)

6:30-7:00 AM Dog Training Exercises (see where alternate half hours can be placed)

7:00 AM Feeding and last pill on alternating days. (see handling instructions for medication and crate training to see alternate handling of putting Hoobie in, feeding times, and equipment options)

7:00 AM to 9:00 AM Down time in crate. (see handlign instructions for crating)

9:00 AM -12: 00 PM Out to bathroom and free time for Hoobie (assuming that he is acting appropriately. (This is also another place that a half hour training session could come at the end of this time).

12:00 PM to 2:00 PM Out to bathroom and then down time in crate. (see handling instructions for crating)

2:00-4:00 PM Out to bathroom and free time for Hoobie (assuming that he is acting appropriately) (This is also another place that a half hour training session could come at the end of this time).

4:00-5:00PM Out and Dog Training Exercises (See alternate places where a half hour of this training could occur).

5:00-6:00 PM Out to bathroom and down time in crate. (See handling instructions for crating)

6:00 PM Thyroid Pill (see handling instructions for medication)

6:00-7:00 PM Free time for Hoobie. (a half hour of training time could be put here)

7:00 PM-7:30 PM Feeding time (See Crating Instructions)

7:30 PM-9:00 PM Free time which normally includes hanging out and watching tv with family.

9:00 PM Out and Hoobie Crated for Night (See Crating Instructions)







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

Updates on June 27th 2009

First, before the updates, how cute is my dog? Both my dogs are very cute, but here Leon is allowing Robert to put him in his sweatshirt LOL.

I like the extra bit of fashion management my husband did by rolling up his sleeves.

Magoo-Our little Great Dane obedience student is doing well. His owner lives in Ogunquit, and has enjoyed walking him through town on leash to see what he can do. Magoofy is sweet natured, puppy like, and adorable. I am very fond of his light pink nose. When the large adult Great Danes come to visit, it's like Magoo thinks that is his mommy and daddy. Yesterday they ran through creeks and marshlands together. You know that puppy look of excitement and joy a dog has when they are really having fun? Magoo had that look along with the floppy limbs and ways of a puppy. He is my refuge after a day of working the harder dogs. To just be able to enjoy that puppy joyfulness and sweetness. It's a gift during the day, that is for sure.

Currently we are working on everything stay, time, and distractions. Stand stay, place, sit stay, and down stay. Down first time performance is still being worked on by weaning out any help into the position now. His owner was wondering why, since he is food motivated, I didn't start with treats. Well first, the nice thing about Magoo is he doesn't need to work with treats. He is pretty willing to do whatever you show him. More importantly, since we are going into competition, it will be twice as hard to train food refusal if I get him hooked on the goods. Since Magoo works well without them, there is no need. And if I need to, I will and then phase out the treats.

New Client Leon The Boxer- Can not believe I did not take a picture of this beautiful boy. Next time I will definately remember. A family just adopted him last Sunday. He is two years old from rescue. Really a handsome boy and seemingly mellow and very friendly. He kept trying to crawl up on my lap, LOL. As an owner of Doberman lap dogs and friends of two Great Dane lap dogs, I know that oh so well. Seems this guy is a lover.

The concern with him was that he was getting worked up when walked with other dogs. During our consult, it appeared he is just anxious to play with a potential friend. So that's good news and a problem with a clear and easy solution. My dog, Dobe Leon, helped us discover what was going on with Boxer Leon. Unless some behavior bends kick in, he just seems like a super sweet dog who would like to spend some quality time playing with other canines. They start lessons next week to work on the walking issues, so the owner does not find herself pulled over to potential new friends.

And the Hoobinator-Easier than week 5, but a mixed bag this week. He definately did not appreciate my brother in law and nephew being in the house. He did not even see them, but he heard them. It caused him to have a sleepless night and wake up in THE MOOD. We had a real temper tantrum when he was put into the crate so I could go get lunch with my brother in law. The other days he has woken up happy, but it seems to have renewed his vigor not to go into the crate. He has not done this for quite awhile, and he started to try and growl and redirect AFTER THE MUZZLE CAME OFF. Smart little bugger figured out when the most vulnerable time was. I am careful to keep the leash on until just before he goes in.

Now in the beginning, if his muzzle was on, he was growling as it was going to come off. Then if he was really being a problem, I would send him into the crate with the muzzle on until he had a change of mind. Once the muzzle is off, however, I am not about to put it back on when he's getting revved up. So we are doing reps going in and out of the crate as he earns his dinner, using the PVC pipe for safety. He seems to be starting to get it, and hopefully we can just go back to him entering the crate without making a fuss.

On week six, he also started showing his growling when your hands moved from far away when getting up from the computer, or when my husband went to pet our dog from 20' away. Finally, yesterday, I had left him in the room outside the crate for a good performance, and when I went back in he tried to come at me. So no more out in the room for him right now (not talking about the family or living areas, but the room he sleeps in. I suspect he's getting a bit territorial of it.) I would change up rooms, but then Hoobie gets nervous and doesn't sleep as well. Plus it gets a bit inconvenient. This morning, after he was put in for breakfast, I forgot something went in the room, and he tried to growl me out from the crate!! Such a bad boy, and so we did some reps of crate in out, and down/sit.

Yesterday, we also had a blast in the marsh with Hoobie. OMG, he was racing around like a young puppy, and he got completely drenched. He can sure swim. The rain that has been non stop is good for filling up the water spaces so dogs can swim and cool off in them. We will most likely do more of that for Hoobie today.

My Dog Leon-He has been feeling off for the last week or so. Finally today a noticeable limp showed in his left leg. I am hoping that he strained something not related to his cruciate. He is on strict bed rest now to see if he will recover from a mild strain, or whether we need to revisit the surgery for the left leg. The right leg was done last year or the year before. His knees are the reason that I do not compete with him, and let him do activities at totally his own speed.

I totally hate when my dogs aren't feeling well. Jack has not had many off days in his life. There was that day he got into the food bin, gorged himself, and had me in a panic because it looked like he was pregnant with 13 puppies. I either bungey the lids shut now, or put a whole lot of stuff on top of the food lid. That's the only day I can think of where Jack didn't feel all that well.

Leon got some weird bumpy skin rash when he was a puppy and we were traveling. By the time we got to where we were going, it was already disappearing. Then we learned he liked to roll in dead things when he got a bit of mange. I was aghast. Not my puppy, he wouldn't roll in dead things. Then we found the flattened toad in our yard LOL. Oh well, I guess he is a dog after all, even if he is super cute. Then the knees started to give. Leon is mostly healthy, but his knees are his main health issue that can put him in dumpsville.

My Dog Jack- Has an owner that is too tired to train him most days. However, that's me, and I feel terribly guilty about it. So I am going to buck up, and get back to it with him.

Look how cute he is waiting for me at the top of the stairs. I just love my Jack. He is a ton of work, but well worth it and he has made me a better trainer. Jack has been the teacher of teachers so far.

He challenges me constantly, and learns so fast.

Sorry I don't write more about my non behaviorally challenged dogs here. I really should. As you can imagine, the ones with behavior problems take up quite a bit of my time.



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

Hand Feeding No 6 and Hoobie Down Sit Stand

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

Hoobie Hand Feeding for Resource Guarding No. 4

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

Hanging With Hoobie

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