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There's Aways a Reason

24/1/2013

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In response to a rather odd behaviour exhibited in front of me by a dog, I've often been heard to say, "There's always a reason."  When a dog fails to respond to a request that they would normally perform immediately, you'll hear me say it again.  If a dog does something and the guardian exclaims, "He's NEVER done that before", can you guess what I'm thinking?

Dogs are sentient beings.  They feel.  They have emotions.  If you live with one, you are nodding your head in agreement as you read this.  You may have even sighed one day and said, "Fido's having a bad day."  I think dogs do have good days and bad days.  Days where they feel more active and respond quickly and days where they seem sluggish, or unwell, or simply can't be bothered!

Sometimes I think I know the reason behind a behaviour.  I stress the word 'think' because I can't get into a dog's head to know what is turning those cogs.  I can guess.  However, no matter how much I would love too, I will never really know without a level of uncertainty. 
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Oh, sure, I can pick 'happy'.  I can pick 'scared'. I can spot 'content right here on the couch' or 'content right here sprawled out in the sun'.  

Zuri does a heck of a lot of 'content', which I'm quite happy about.  Beyond that, I'm making educated guesses with the information I have at hand and the level of observation skills that I have accrued to date.
Often I don't know the reason.  I don't think I'm alone in this amongst dog lovers. This not knowing is what concerns me with dog training and our day to day relationships with our dogs.

Too often when a dog does something we humans don't like, we go straight into solving the problem by stopping the behaviour.  There is often little thought spared for why the dog may be doing the undesired behaviour.  For example, a dog is escaping the yard every time he is left alone.  An electronic containment system a.k.a. electric fence is erected to stop this behaviour.  Problem solved.  Except, no one asked the dog why he only escaped when he was left alone and not when someone was home.  If they had, he might have told them he was suffering from separation distress and literally panicked when he was alone, desperately seeking escape to follow and search for his guardians or simply escaping through sheer anxiety.  Now his anxiety levels have every reason to escalate further as not only is he left alone to panic, he gets shocked when he tries to use the only coping mechanism he knows.

Conversely, when a dog doesn't do something we humans want or have asked, we go straight into blaming the dog for deliberately disobeying, being stupid, being hard to train, being bored, being tired, relying too much on treats or being stubborn.

These are just some of the stock standard impressions we make.  This is a very limited list.  I am certain there are a myriad of reasons dogs do and don't do things.  The part that saddens me further is that when we make these assumptions, we then give ourselves permission to treat the dog as if they ARE deliberately disobeying us and need to be pulled into line, usually by exerting some sort of force to get them to comply with our wishes.  It could be as seemingly innocuous as pushing the dog's rump into a sit - a dog who unbeknown to us may have sore hips and find it uncomfortable to sit or sit so quickly.  Or pulling a dog out of the car when they don't come quickly enough, not realizing the dog is worried about jumping into an environment that he has never visited before or is getting over feeling car sick.

By the way, even if a dog appears to be deliberately disobeying (and I use that term grimacing because I do not feel it represents what is actually occurring) there's STILL a reason. 

Consider a common case of recalling a dog from playing in the park with other doggy mates, especially with the lead poised ready in your hand for an end to all the fun.  It's simple logic that doggy mates trump confinement back on lead unless, and here's the clincher, you have trained your dog that coming to you is always a good thing and is worth his while.  So really, the reason isn't deliberate disobedience, it's the omission of the guardian to thoroughly teach a dog to come regardless of distractions.

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Here's an example Zuri taught me.  She showed reluctance to go out the back door for the final toilet stop before bed time.  No amount of begging, luring with tasty treats or making the outside look so exciting she'd have to join me was working.  It wasn't raining, it wasn't cold and I knew, oh yes I knew she needed to go because it had been hours since the last pit stop and this was our ritual. I was getting frustrated and on the verge of labelling Miss Zuri a stubborn wee mule!

That was until I heard the tinkle of a cat bell behind me and Zuri's arch nemesis, Bede, the fearless ambusher of Rhodesian Ridgebacks, sprang from his hiding place behind the fence.Obviously tired of preparing to pounce on Zuri as she came through the door, he could wait no longer.  She knew all along that Bede was there.  Sorry Zuri.

There's always a reason.

See if you can spot some of the reasons in this short video I compiled in an attempt to show some examples of why dogs may be doing the things they do.
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My First Blog - The Beach Dilemma

8/1/2013

13 Comments

 
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I am blessed enough to live near the beach and I have a dog, Zuri, who loves walking and splashing in the water.  We visit frequently and over the hot holiday period, the dog beach has been frequented by a lot more dogs than usual.  A lot of dogs who may not be regular beach goers.

Why do I make such a presumptuous statement?  Zuri and I kicked back and watched the world go by and here's what we observed.

A little corgi type dog accompanied his guardians on the shoreline.  He didn't make any overtures towards entering the ocean, so one guy picked him up and waded into the water with him.  When the corgi was held close to his body, there seemed to be no problem.  However, as the corgi was lowered to the water he started to wriggle and struggle.  Once in the water, his little legs were paddling furiously.  As soon as the guardian released his grip, the little guy turned straight around and headed for shore as fast as he could go, only to be scooped up at the other end and dutifully handed back to the first guardian.  The procedure was repeated with great care and, I can only presume, the kindest of intents.  After quite a few trials of this, the little corgi began to try and avoid the guy waiting at the shoreline.  Finally, when the drop and swim procedure seemed to be over, he trotted away from his guardians and chose to sit far away from the shore line.

A large mastiff type dog was further up, knee knee in water.  His female guardian was in front pulling on his lead towards the deeper water.  His male guardian stood behind, pushing the dog forward from his rump.  The dog stood firm!  I asked if they were on Facebook, hoping to direct them to my Dog Charming Page for information.  I desperately wanted to help.  They looked at me like I was some crazy, friendless person.  Of course they said no.

I think you get the picture.  This was happening to countless dogs on the beach. Maybe this was their first time at the beach.  Maybe they just didn't like going into the water.  So many guardians seemed intent on convincing their dog that this was the thing to do - by pretty much forcing them into the water and hoping their dog started having fun.

For me, as a behaviour consultant, it was like watching someone carrying a terrified child into the water and then dropping them in the deep end, hoping they'll get over their fear and learn to love it.

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Hence my dilemma.  I really wanted to say something.  To help.  But I didn't know what to do.  Unsolicited advice from a know-it-all stranger about your dog (or child) is seldom received well.  So I did what I believe is a powerful form of communication.  Benjamin Franklin said, "Well done is better than well said."  I put my money where my mouth was and took Zuri to the water's edge.

Now Zuri loves wading, but swimming, not so much.  She used to swim, but recently prefers to wade.  I'd like her to swim, but I'd rather convince her that it's fun than force her.  Ultimately, if she chooses not to swim, I'm fine with that.  I had some treats and reinforced her for going deeper and deeper. I played with her and made a game of running in and out of the water.  She went deeper but didn't swim.  We were BOTH having fun.

Walking up the beach on our way home we came across a family;  Mum, Dad and the three kids.  Oh, and the new adoptee, the dog.  She was enjoying interacting with the family and it was obvious they loved her dearly, but as soon as someone grabbed her to take her deeper, she struggled to escape and swam back to shore.  Then she avoided anyone who seemed to be reaching for her collar to pull her deeper into the water.

I waded in and chatted.  The dog came up to me and I casually scratched her butt - which sent her into raptures.  I moved away and she followed me to get that butt scratch.  I moved to deeper water and she swam out to me - to redeem the glory of that butt rub!  Who knew that's all it would take?  The response from the guardians was "Wow, how did you do that?" Awesome, now I can help because I've been asked. The butt scratch technique worked for them too.  So did playing with her and praising her enthusiastically. Brilliant. If only Zuri was this easy.

My dilemma had been solved.  Benjamin was right, well done truly is better than well said.
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    Sonya Bevan is an avid dog lover with a Bachelor of Science degree in physiotherapy. This combination lead to seeking science based information on how to teach dogs and she commenced further study to complete a Diploma of Canine Behaviour Science and Technology. Dog training is both a science and an art. When based on solid principles of behavioural science,  teaching also allows creativity when applied to each unique dog. Most of all, it should be fun for both participants and a way to bond with these special animals we love so much.

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