Rocket Blog

OK another email I sent out this past week that is worth publishing to my blog. Check it out!

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Sarah

Wow. Train your dog remotely using a computer. This was done in 2001, why don’t we have this available!!
Scroll down the Scientific American page to Virtual Dog Training (video includes stories on virtual computer dogs and training your own dog remotely).

I see many dogs with social behaviour problems who go to doggie daycares. Their parents send them for socializing, however the bounce back with bad social skills. Why? Its almost all to do with stress…
A stressed dog can become rowdy, a rowdy dog can start fights, and with enough fights under its belt (plus bad punishments from the humans supervising), a rowdy dog can easily become offensively aggressive.

Here are some possible causes of stress:
1) Dogs are crepuscular: they are awake at dawn and dusk and so when they are forced to be active all day, they can feel stressed. Does your daycare have down times?

2) Daycare workers are often not trained how to read subtle warning signs from a dog. These include look aways, snake-type nose licks, yawning, showing the whites of your eyes, and a low head carriage (there’s more too!).
If one dog is repeatedly slamming into another dog and the slammee has given 3+ subtle warning signs that were ignored by both the slammer and the human supervisors, the next interaction could end up in a fight.

3) Dogs at daycares are often not walked. This forces many dogs to ‘hold it’ in all day which causes irritable tempers. Also, dogs socialize best while traveling together and sniffing things as a group. It is best to have dogs first tired from a walk before allowing them to mingle together. It keeps tempers cool.

4) Daycare workers are often not trained in how to limit aggressive dog “play”. Full neck biting, repeated body slamming, and targeting (like bullying where one dog repeatedly hassles another dog who wants to get away) are often interpreted as “friendly” play styles. These should be discouraged as aggressive play.

5) The environment itself can often be too ‘loud’ for many dogs resulting in aggressive play or the opposite, a dog who hides. A daycare has a lot of movement, smells, and sights to it and some dogs may not be able to ignore all the stimulation.

There are lots of great daycares (and daycare workers!) who know the above issues and manage the stress of their ‘packs’ beautifully. How does your daycare rate on these? How stressed does your dog look while entering his daycare?

Important Statistics about Kids and Dogs

Most dogs don’t share their resources like this. It is unrealistic to expect your dog to share everything.

1) Children under 6 are the most frequent victims of dog bites.
2) Bites occur most often to the face.
3) Most dogs who have bitten a kid do not have a history of biting, however, once screened, there was shown to be a high rate of aggression and anxiety from these dogs.
4) Many of these dogs who have bitten are neutered and have been to training classes.
5) Food guarding was the most common circumstance for bites to children the dog knew, and territory guarding for bites to unfamiliar children.

*Source: Reisner IR, Shofer FS, Nance ML.“Behavioral assessment of child-directed canine aggression”, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,  2007.

Resource Guarding

Dogs often bite children when they guard resources. A resource is anything a dog wants. This can include: food, a closed food bin, a bone, dishwasher, dirty plates, garbage bin, a sleeping spot, a yard, another human or dog, or their own body space.
A growl is a good warning sign. Don’t punish your dog for growling. Instead, praise your dog for alerting you to the conflict and use it as a teaching opportunity. Move the dog away from the resource and teach your child that when the dog growls, they should move away from the dog.

Warning Signs a Dog May Bite

Dog repeatedly moves away from child and looks away from them.

Hugs are a major cause of facial bites to children.

Please check out doggonesafe.com for more information on dog body language and preventing dog bites to kids. *Photo credit for facial signals picture to doggone safe.

Every time I come across a dog training problem, I am answered by one of my favorite dog trainers, Sue Sternberg. My latest pondering has been on group chasing or “bullying” in dog play. I see this at the Vancouver doodle meetup I often attend. How does it happen? What should you do about it?

Here is a video of doodles participating in chase:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIlgBnvVElM

Sternberg explains what the psychology is of a chasing game, and why it ends in a very scared and often aggressive response once the “chasee” is caught. Check out the article below.

Assessing Off-Leash Dog to Dog Behaviours By Sue Sternberg. Article Here.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOiAwIxpt1c&feature=player_profilepage

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEqbw5GyiNA&feature=player_profilepage

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pnQJPu6Db8&feature=player_profilepage

Introducing your dog to your new baby? Since I’ve had my own personal baby and dog experience (my dog is 7 years old and my son is now 2.5 years old), I’ve been helping clients with their own doggy /baby conflicts. Read on!

Baby Stages
I like to break down baby’s development into 4 stages relevant for dog training. They are:
- First Time Home
- Baby
- Crawler and Grabber
- Toddler

Each stage has its own ins and outs, plus during each stage, you should be preparing for the next. I hope to post on each stage so let’s get started!

First Time Home.
To prepare your dog for baby’s’ arrival, please set up all equipment about 1-2 weeks prior. This includes: stroller, crib, diaper pail (For god’s sake, with a lid! Dogs eat diapers, yuck!), and probably a baby blanket which you want to teach your dog not to step on.

I want to give you a step by step guide to bringing your baby home, however, I need to start off with one important concept first:
Classical conditioning (aka, “energy training”, associative conditioning, or emotional conditioning) is the pairing of an event or a “thing” and a feeling. For example, if I want my dog to like its crate, I feed it and put it down for naps in there. When I hear my work phone ring, I get excited about a new dog case (and getting paid). When I hear my baby cry in the middle of the night I feel startled and then sad that I have to get up (and concerned too of course!)
We want to classically condition our dog to like our baby. But it can’t be any kind of “like”. I don’t want my dog to love my baby so much he licks him half to death, or bowls him over. I don’t want him to be excited and like baby, I want him to be calm and like baby. This means we have to pair baby with a calm doggie state over and over until it’s become learned.
Creating a calm, friendly dog is our ultimate goal. This is going to lead to that awesome relationship I know you want your child to have with their family dog. “Likeability” also means that your dog will give your child the benefit of the doubt. When your child does something your dog hates (and trust me this is going to happen a lot), if your dog likes your kid, they will hopefully just growl or walk away instead of bite them.

First Introductions.
So, how do you get your dog to (calmly) like your baby? Set up a calm first meeting. I like to suggest to people that the dog not be present when you come through the door for the first time. Think how excited your dog will be to see you (hey its probably been a few days), and your dog will probably be at their maximum excited level. Also, mom and baby smell and move differently. Mom may be exhausted and not be her usual self. Plus she has many emotional reactions towards coming home with her new babe, and dog training may not be her first priority. My basic suggestion is to have someone else keep the dog for at least a day and when returning the dog, run it first.
Upon your first greeting, see if you can greet the dog without your baby in your arms. No matter how relaxed your dog is, they will be excited to see you. Not a great time to start your classical conditioning of baby=friendly, calm dog.
So, wait until your dog is a bit more relaxed and then allow your dog to smell and view your baby. I like to suggest that first occurrence happen while your baby is in a crib. Your baby is protected and your dog can have a look. Make sure that you calmly praise your dog. Be verbally quiet and have a quiet body posture with your dog to transmit calmness. First impressions are important!
If all goes well, you can lift your baby out and let your dog smell their back and bum. After all, that’s how dogs greet each other. I like to do this with baby in a swaddle so it keeps baby from flailing around.
If your dog looks fearful (tucked tail, run out of room), don’t force a smell or lead your dog back up to your baby. Just wait until your dog has gotten to check your baby out from a distance. They will approach on their own when ready. You can also toss cookies on the floor to impress upon your dog that a baby is a good thing.

Help! Too Excited!
So, let’s also cover the reverse setting… what happens if, during your first planned greeting, your dog is too excited or your baby is crying like a maniac? Remember our tenet: only calm dogs around baby. This means you may need to prevent your dog from approaching you and your baby until the situation changes. To do this, I like to utilize things like a crate, pen, or a room your dog is comfortable staying in.

I have also had great success with using tie-downs around the house. A tie-down is an extra leash attached to something solid. Position tie-downs away from where you will care for your baby, but in the same room. Please introduce these types of segregation well before baby arrives. Some dogs do better with different pieces of equipment. Use what your dog is comfortable with. If your dog won’t stay apart from you in the house at all, you may want to hire a dog trainer ahead of time because you will need to separate your dog from you and your baby.

Ok I know there is more to cover, but that will come in my next post on the “Baby stage” of your dog’s training. You still have lots of work to do!

Here is a recap of things you need to do before baby arrives:
-set up all baby furniture beforehand.
-hire a walker or sitter for while you are away.
-pre-train your dog to stay in a spot by themselves. Set up any necessary items (like a crate or tie-down in the living room) ahead of time and use them.
-plan your first greeting with your dog. Talk it out with your partner.

Good Luck and Happy Training!