I had to take a diagnostic test the other day. For 48 hours before the test I had to avoid eating certain foods. It happened that some of these foods were part of my regular diet; the banana in my morning smoothie, a coffee a day, chocolate. Some were sneaky like the vanilla and cocoa in desserts. The others were no big deal, or so I thought. It turned out they were all a big deal.
 
I wrote the list of “don’t eat” things on my whiteboard so that every time I went to the fridge, I would see it and remember what not to touch. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

But a weird thing happened. I kept seeing this reminder and started craving the contraband. I was even craving the things that I normally didn’t have every day or at all!

I enjoy my morning smoothie. The thought of no banana for two days began to morph from an inconvenience to a hurdle I didn’t know if I could clear. I hardly drink alcohol, but began to feel like a white wine with my main meal. I was concentrating so hard on avoiding all those restricted foods that it was making the limitations arduous and inconvenient. More so than they needed to be.

So I changed my perspective and instead of focusing on what I couldn’t eat, I went through my routine and switched out each forbidden food with something else. Here’s the really important part: I substituted it with something I liked just as much or more than the original food. That simple act vanquished the frustration of being disallowed my usual diet. Instead of a void I had the promise of a novel treat. I no longer missed my banana smoothie because the home-made muesli packed with all my favourite things took its place. I looked forward to breakfast now instead of mourning a dietary loss. Instead of coffee I looked forward to a warm, comforting liquorice tea that I had recently discovered and really enjoyed.  This is another important point: It takes a lot of energy to fill a void. Planning in advance what would replace each food meant my routine could continue without duress. I’m a creature of habit, and habits are hard to break. It would have been a lot harder getting to breakfast time, bleary-eyed and tummy rumbling, and then trying to figure out what would fill my belly. If it had been all too hard, I might have even given up and decided at that minute that the diagnostic test wasn’t really important.

I erased the whiteboard “Don’ts” and replaced them with a list of “Go For It” items. Now trips to the kitchen were reminders of all the things I could have. The cravings disappeared, replaced with anticipation and enjoyment of new delights. ​

​This leaves the dog with a void–just like I had with my list of “Don’ts.”

The dog is likely to be frustrated as well, especially if the reinforcement you are giving is not comparable to the reinforcement obtained by the original behaviour.

You need to know what your dog really likes. What if I’d replaced coffee with warm water? I’d be dying to get back to coffee. As it is, I’ve actually cut down my coffee intake even though there is no need for me to avoid coffee any more. I actually prefer my new tea. The tea is also quicker and easier for me to make.

This is another crucial point; the new behaviour shouldn’t be harder for the dog to perform. If it is, the old behaviour may creep back.

Completely banning a dog doing something enjoyable without providing a desirable alternative can sometimes make the behaviours you are trying to stop even worse. Like my sudden cravings!  A dog may still find ways to do them if they are highly reinforcing activities. Sure, you can fence off the garden to prevent digging. Dogs may often get through fences because it’s worth it to them to dig. Or they’ll find somewhere else to dig. It’s hard to fence off an entire garden. How much more satisfying for the dog to instead be directed to a digging pit you have created elsewhere full of amazing smells and tastes that are nowhere else in the garden?  Instead of taking away all the shoes or baby toys a dog seems to love, leaving a barren land of chewlessness, introduce interesting and safe chew toys and treat dispensing toys to take their place. Instead of a prohibition against all blissful rolling, keep the lead on around stinky stuff and give complete freedom to roll on other surfaces.

I’ve done this last one with Zuri: she loved to roll but I preferred her not to roll in dead animals or mud because I often couldn't wash her straight after. She slept on my bed; get the picture? But she adored rolling. It also gave me great pleasure to watch her roll. So whilst I discouraged rolling in mud and stinky animals by putting her on lead or calling her away, I encouraged rolling on the beach sand and rolling on grassed surfaces – two places she routinely chose.

Note: she chose. So I knew she liked it and found it reinforcing.

It’s also easier for her to do because we had access to a lot more grass and beach sand than stinky, dead stuff! I also reinforced her with food for rolling on these surfaces. The rolling itself was already reinforcing for her; I just added another layer on top. I put it on cue (meaning I gave a signal for it to occur when asked for it) and we did it every walk. The sight of a manicured lawn and my slowing and turning towards it actually become the signal to roll. I didn’t have to call her away or use the lead as often in the vicinity of smelly things. They no longer held such an attraction.  So it was a win-win situation: I didn’t have the extra cleaning work after walks and Zuri still got to engage in an activity she enjoyed.

Here's a video of Zuri's rolling bliss for your viewing pleasure. Email subscribers can view the video here: https://youtu.be/DiPSKW9cztc

NB Did you pick up the irony of the title of this blog? I hope you appreciated the tongue-in-cheekiness of reading about what to "do" in a blog titled "don't". This blog is my contribution to the 2019 #Train4Rewards Blog Party To read more blogs by others joining the party, click on the link or picture.

I lost the love of my life on my birthday. I chose the day to sit by her side and say farewell. Although it felt like I had no choice. Zuri, my Rhodesian Ridgeback and keeper of my heart, was dying of cancer which had spread mercilessly to her lungs and abdomen. Every decision I had made up to this point was meant to prevent this. I was shocked to view the x-ray which looked like a patchwork of leopard spots over every part of her lungs. There was silence in the consult room as I stared at the results with my hand over my mouth. How was she not gasping for breath? The oncologist finally stepped forward and turned off the monitor light. I remember her voice coming from a distance saying, “That’s enough. It’s a depressing picture. She’s a very sick dog.” There was an urgency in choosing the time of her departure. An over-riding imperative to prevent the suffering that was imminent; A suffering that may be sudden. I did not want the final days and hours of her journey to be tainted by distress. So the fact that it was my birthday was immaterial to the decision. Yet it was also poignant.

Zuri left peacefully in her favourite place, surrounded by her favourite people, head cradled in my hands. And by some miracle, my heart kept beating. It wasn’t the same heart any more. There was a huge Zuri-shaped hole which had once been an overflowing of joy, love, companionship, contentment and endless gratitude. At times I was angry at this heart for continuing on as if everything was the same, for beating around a gaping chasm. How could it carry on when it was bleeding out from a mortal wound?

The task to continue some semblance of living with this defiant heart began. Living in a Zuri-less house was excruciating. For a quiet, easy-to-live with dog, she was conspicuous in her absence. There was no cure for the lack of rhythmic breathing by my side at night. Nor for the loss of enthusiastic greetings upon my return to an empty house. I was solo where once there had been a constant companion quietly by my side.

My grieving was purposeful and deliberate. It had to be. If I was not choreographing rituals and routines to remember my best friend, the grief was overwhelming. If I stopped and looked into the abyss that was my loss, it threatened to suck me into a dark vortex with scant chance of return.

Part of my grieving process included the strict proviso that such an amazing friend could not, would not, should not, must not be replaced until a suitable amount of time had elapsed. Out of respect to her memory.  And because she was irreplaceable.  I had no idea what the right amount of time was, but never didn’t seem too long to wait.

However, I wasn’t prepared for the inconsolable nature of the sadness. I compromised and visited puppies. They crawled on me, and licked me and suffocated me with puppy breath and unbridled exploratory joy. I heard myself vocalizing in their presence and realized I was laughing. There was no laughter in the empty house. Time stood still and heartache was held at bay during puppy therapy. So I took one home.

I was careful not to break the pact I’d made by fostering a puppy who needed some recuperation time after surgery. This was temporary and was not a replacement.  For seven weeks I welcomed Gidget, this amazingly resilient puppy, into the home. Despite two surgeries, her crazy joy filled the house and she recovered well. She disregarded the wall I had built to prevent emotional attachment and managed to creep in and create a little niche inside a part of my heart that wasn’t broken. There were times through tears that I looked at her charming face and apologized for my melancholy state, explaining that it wasn’t her that was making me sad. That she was precious but my heart was struggling with guilt over feeling happy when my soul mate was gone.

On Zuri’s birthday, eyes red and brimming, heart conflicted, I made the decision to return her for a week, hoping the absence would help with making a decision whether it was right to keep her permanently.

I wasn’t prepared for the new grief that ensued. I suspected that it was just the return of a silent, dogless house that precipitated a renewal of sadness. After a few days I realized my plan to wait a suitably respectful time before welcoming a dog into my life was not a good one. The hole Zuri left was too big. I realized that Gidget was not replacing  Zuri; she  had been helping me cope with the loss of my friend by easing the whirlwind of destructive emotions with an eddy of joyful puppyness. She was not taking away the grief or dishonouring Zuri’s memory but making her loss a little more bearable.  This little nutty little puppy that I wouldn’t have chosen had started a healing balm and I didn’t want her to leave. I realized all this too late and through an unexpected turn of events, she was gone and nothing could bring her back.

With a new urgency I needed to fill the painful void. That’s when I found more puppies. This time I resolved to welcome a permanent family member. I picked her while she was sleeping, not knowing if she was already promised to a home or not. She wasn’t.​

​I moved the bed to another position and within a day Willow was lying on it.

Mojo is a sensitive Boston terrier who is timid and easily scared. Zen is her vivacious, outgoing sister. It’s easy to tell them apart; not by their physical appearance but by their different behaviour. I visited for a training session expecting to the teach the Boston sisters to stay. During the week,  however, Mojo had an experience that left her fearful of her collar and harness.

It was the usual routine: the girls were called into the office, each sat in front of the chair to have her chest harness put on followed by the collar. On this occasion, Mojo’s ears flattened to her head at the same time as the buckle was clipped together, pinching her ear. She yelped in pain and despite the ear being released immediately and lots of reassurance and cuddles, she was visibly affected. For the next week Mojo would run away at the sight of the harness which wasn’t even the ear-pinching culprit. During the assessment her caregiver reported that Mojo usually flattened her ears when the collar was put on, and that’s how the ear got caught. This is a significant piece of information. Ears back are often a sign of stress; a signal that a dog is worried about something. Mojo may have had concerns about the collar being applied in the past but tolerated the procedure because she likes treats and enjoys the walks that the collar predicts. The painful incident may have tipped her over the edge so that something she didn’t particularly enjoy now became something she earnestly wanted to avoid.

She had to be physically lifted into the office where she would roll over onto her back in a desperate appeasement gesture to prevent the impending harness ritual. The harness had always been the precursor to the offending collar being applied, so it had now become part of the signal that the collar was coming next. This is very common whenever a painful or unpleasant event occurs. Dogs remember many of the aspects of the environment that were present during the traumatic event and these then become salient signals of impending doom in the future.

The harness and collar could be put on if Mojo was gently restrained but given the choice, she would rather flee. Once the collar was on she seemed uncomfortable or distressed, trying to remove the collar. On the walk she finally appeared back to normal. But each day it was the same escape response at the sight of the harness. Adding treats didn’t improve her behaviour; she simply ate and ran. This is because treats were given before the harness was produced. Treats had become one of the signals that the scary apparatus was next to appear, so get out of Dallas now! When using food in training it’s not all about the food that gets results. It’s the way food is used. This knowledge was used as part of the plan to help Mojo overcome her fear. Food must not come before the harness or collar.

I observed Mojo’s reaction in order to assess the different parts of the procedure and to devise a behaviour change plan for her. It was obvious that she was an unwillingly participant whose modus operandi was to avoid the office, harness and collar. But avoidance wasn’t working for her and instead of getting used to the process she was scared every day.

Her caregiver had used food to make it more pleasant, but for the reason I’ve already mentioned, this wasn’t working. She’d also tried to help Mojo get used to the clicking sound of the buckle by sitting on the couch with Mojo and repeatedly making the clicking noise. Mojo would startle each time and it didn’t change her avoidance behaviour at the sight of the harness. This is a common approach adopted for helping dogs overcome fears: present them with what they are trying to avoid (or part of it) over and over and they should get used to it. It doesn’t always help dogs. It can backfire and can intensify a dog’s fear. It’s also an unpleasant process for the dog to go through whether it works or not. There are effective alternatives that avoid the distress this process may cause to the learner.

I aborted my observations at the point where Mojo was restrained and rolled over in a tense appeasement gesture. It was clear that the harness could be put on despite her attempts to communicate her stress and I didn’t want to risk slowing down the training that was coming next by ignoring her body language.

I created a new plan to introduce the harness and collar in a carefully choreographed way.

1. I left the office behind and started in the living room. Remember those salient environmental factors that dogs associate with a fearful event? The office may well be part of this because every time the harness and collar are put on it is in the office. The painful event occurred in the office. The office is not a safe place as far as Mojo is concerned – a biting collar could pop up at any time. The living area is large, open and she can see what’s going on. No surprises will pop around the corner.
2. Mojo was not restrained. I did not run after her or pick her up. She came when she felt comfortable and she could increase distance when she needed. If she pulled back or rolled over, I stopped what I was doing. (In the accompanying video you will notice that I didn’t totally respect this part of the plan and clipped up the harness while she was lying down. Ideally I should have continued to touch and move the harness in small increments until she showed no signs of escape or avoidance. I recognized this and spent a minute or so reinforcing her for simply remaining with me, no pressure or touching, before continuing with the plan. I was trying to demonstrate as much as I could in a short amount of time for the caregiver to continue with. But, that’s really no excuse, is it Mojo?)
3. The harness was presented in stages and she received food each time it was shown. The harness disappeared behind my back and no treats came. It is only when the harness appeared that food magically arrived. This order is very important. Harness first signals food is coming rather than the food predicting the scary harness is coming. Reversing this order can make the whole process ineffective.
4. The harness was shown to her first from a small distance. If there was little or no sign of avoidance like tensing, flinching, ears back, leaning away or moving away, the next step was taken.
5. The harness was shown to her at a closer distance.
6. The harness was placed beside her.
7. The harness was slipped over her head, followed by a treat and her behaviour was observed to see if she would escape. I took my time at this point rather than immediately putting her front leg through the harness or doing it up. She needed to be comfortable and show no signs of running away. I wasn’t physically restraining her and I didn’t want her to go running off with a harness half-on, half-off.  I was ready to slip it off if she looked like running away. I kept giving food since the harness was still present.
8. The harness was touched and wiggled while it was on, followed by food.
9. The harness was clipped up followed by food. (This is where I went too fast.) Despite my haste, Mojo stayed with me and accepted food. This was a good sign because later in the procedure, when a step was too much for her, she would run away without taking food.
10. The collar was introduced in a similar way to the harness; shown first from a distance followed by a treat, then the collar disappeared and treats stopped.
11. The collar was shown to her at a closer distance.

It was at this point that I started to introduce another process. So far I had been using respondent conditioning where a simple association is being made that one thing predicts another. So the collar predicts treat and treats are good. This good feeling bleeds back to infect the collar, so now the collar is good! I like to introduce operant conditioning as soon as I can so that I get the benefit of two types of conditioning (or learning processes). Operant conditioning simply means than now I am going to make treat delivery contingent on her performing a certain behaviour. The collar will still appear but now she also needs to do something to get the treat. She will be making a positive association with the collar and a behaviour will be reinforced at the same time. I made sure the behaviour was so darn easy that she couldn’t fail because she was already doing it. All she had to do was stay when the collar was presented instead of running away or rolling over. If she had not been staying already and still overly concerned with the collar, I would have waited longer to introduce this part of the training. I now used a clicker to mark the behaviour of staying still whenever I presented the collar.

1. The collar was placed beside her and the tags jiggled. She stayed, I clicked and reinforced with a treat.
2. The collar was placed under her chin and jiggled. She stayed and the behaviour was reinforced.
3. The collar was held with two hands and placed under her chin. (It had been held in one had prior to this.) This is where she backed away and then ran away without taking a treat. Holding a collar in one hand is very different to the collar being held outstretched in two hands that are reaching for her neck.  This is valuable information and lets me know I have progressed too quickly.

When Mojo showed signs of stress, I stopped what I was doing and went back to the previous step until she was ready for the next level.

I then added her caregiver to the plan. I’ll remind you again of how dogs will be making associations with many things that are in the environment when they experience something unpleasant. Mojo was able to come up to me despite me holding the harness and collar whereas she ran away when her caregiver held them. One of the reasons for this difference may be that Mojo and I have no negative history, or any history, relating to the harness and collar. I spent the time proving to her that she had nothing to fear from the harness and collar before moving on to the scenario more similar to real life: her caregiver sitting in a chair. Remember that the collar is usually put on from a chair, so this is an important environmental aspect to add. We ran through the steps above with the collar that I had demonstrated. Then we progressed to touching the collar under her chin for a second.

That was enough for one session. I left instructions for future steps:

1. Wrap the collar around her neck for a second. Reinforce for staying.
2. Wrap the collar around her neck for 2 seconds, then 3 seconds, then 4 seconds etc and reinforce for staying.
3. Wrap the collar around her neck and make a clicking sound with the buckle without doing it up and immediately reinforce Mojo for staying. I predicted this would be a hard step because the buckle sound came immediately before the pain. It was important to make sure she showed no signs of stress with many fake clip-ups before moving on to the next step. This is so the collar can be removed quickly if she startles in the early stages. If it’s done up and she runs off, she takes the offending collar with her!
4. Wrap the collar around her neck and do it up. Reinforce her for staying.
5. Have a party with her now the collar is on. The collar is fun. Ask her to do her favourite tricks or the easiest tasks she knows and reinforce.
6. Then take the collar off and the party is over. This makes her look forward to the collar going on again.

This training was to be done about two to three times a day for up to 20 minutes at times when there was no need to go for a walk so that it was not rushed and there was no stress for the trainer or trainee. If Mojo had to be walked during this time it would be best to take her to another part of the house or into the car and place the harness and collar on in there, to protect the training where it needed to occur. It would be best not to put the collar on but it is a legal requirement when out in public for the identity and registration tags. I predicted it may take a few days or maybe a week to get the collar on without escape behaviours. Whether it transferred to the office easily would need to be assessed at the time she was ready.

I was elated when I got a message the next day from Mojo’s mum which blew my conservative estimation out of the water:  “Just got the collar on and she is happy - thank you SO MUCH. Did it a bit this morning and let it go and then 20 mins this afternoon and she was right.  I will continue doing it for a bit yet until she is absolutely comfortable but she was fine when I clipped it on and is running around playing.”

The challenge now is not to go too fast and ignore the ears back. Ideally this game should continue until Mojo comes running expectantly, keeping her ears forward as the collar is put on. Then we know we have helped to a point where she is more confident than when she originally started having the collar put on.

This is not a how-to article, it’s more of a synopsis on how to approach and problem-solve the escape and avoidance behaviour of a particular individual in a particular circumstance. The principles can be transferred to other individuals. I hope it highlights how going slowly in very small steps is not painstaking but is quicker in the long run. Mojo was not improving until she was assessed and a plan was designed specifically for her. What makes a successful behaviour change plan is also its implementation. Her caregiver was committed to helping her overcome her fear and this was key to a successful behaviour change programme and, no doubt, to the breakneck speed of improvement. She wasn’t in a rush and already had a strong, positive relationship with Mojo. Despite the incident, Mojo still trusted her so the damage done by this single painful event was minimal. Mojo will most probably always be a sensitive wee soul but if her fears are approached with care and patience, she will gradually develop more resilience.

Thanks to her caregiver for allowing me to share her story and video footage. Here is the link to Mojo's video for email subscribers: https://youtu.be/wuhlbOwJtCI

Have you missed me? I've been decidedly quiet in my blog in the last few months. But I haven't been idle. I've been spending some time training my own dog, Zuri. One of my passions is teaching dogs to cope with routine handling and vet examinations. Things like having ears checked, eyes cleaned, blood taken, injections given, nails clipped, body parts handled and a host of other practical tasks. I espouse the value of such training and try to enthuse others about the benefits of teaching a dog to enjoy these intrusions which will, inevitably, be a part of every dog's life. I like to go one step further and teach the dog to be an active and willing participant in these procedures, without restraint if possible.

The benefits are numerous. It reduces stress in an anxious dog. It reduces stress in the care-giver. It reduces the probability of aggression resulting from fear due to restraint or unknown procedures. When a dog has been conditioned in a positive way to handling, there is less to fear and therefore less need to aggress. A dog who feels safe is a safer dog.
​
On Mother's Day I spent some time with Zuri and a colleague, working on helping Zuri cope with having blood drawn, her temperature taken in two different positions, her heart and lungs checked (auscultation) and her ears checked with an otoscope.

Zuri has recently spent a lot of time at the vet and she is anxious when strangers try to touch her. All the training we have done has helped reduce her fear incredibly. I did need to restrain her for a catheter insertion but even that went smoothly due to the prior training we had done together; teaching her to stay still while I hugged her gently. Such a difference to the dog who once panicked and needed three people to hold her down.

In the video below I am introducing a stranger to make some of the techniques closer to what she will encounter at the vet. It won't always be me doing the procedures. I also take her temperature in two different positions because I noted at the vet that they took observations while she was recovering from sedation and it startled her. We hadn't yet practised while she was lying down, so I added this position to my training plan. Notice how she is wagging her tail during the training. This is what I love to see; a sense of expectation and enjoyment at playing a training game. To her it's just another way to gain reinforcement.

I've used a quote from Chirag Patel, an amazing behaviour consultant in the UK, as the title for this blog. He sees great value in teaching animals to be prepared for the everyday activities needed in order to care for them. I couldn't agree more. ​​

Here is the video link for email subscribers: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZc0SD96IEM

It wasn’t a conscious decision to tread a heavy path winding up to Christmas Day. A dark cloud drifted menacingly to and fro, intermittently dampening the rays of joyful anticipation as Christmas Day approached. Not constant. Just a dim, persistent recollection of so many Christmases past dimming the light. I didn’t pay it much heed. I understood its genesis in the deep rooted power of emotional memory fuelled by fatigue and stress. It would soon pass.
I reminded myself of happy Christmas events in an attempt to scatter the impending clouds.
 
There’s a ray of sunshine that never dims. A silky, furred angel who warms my heart and widens my smile. Daily. Enough to drive any cloud away.
 
And so it was on Christmas Day, my angel and I celebrated Christmas together – chauffeured and welcomed to festivities in a house that delegates dogs to the outdoors. Special dispensation was given for my angel with paws to stay inside.
 
That was the first kindness.
 
Like all good angels secretly walking among us, mine understood the enormity of the exception made on her behalf and quietly surveyed celebrations from her bed or unobtrusively mingled around guests. Except the turkey! She investigated to within a millimetre but, thankfully, resisted the earthly drive of the body she inhabited to taste or devour it.

Part of having a dog is providing food, shelter, safety, exercise, health and medical care, enjoying time together, going on walks, and training sessions to help give the dog guidance with fitting into our world. That is essentially what the dog is doing: fitting into our world. We make all the choices and the dog comes along for the ride.  When people talk about dog training it is usually obedience training, dog sport training or working dog training. Have you ever considered vet visit training?

Caring for a dog involves routine health care and vet visits. Preparing a dog to cope with visiting the vet clinic and be able to participate calmly with handling procedures is an area of training that often gets overlooked. Yet how beneficial and practical is this training for everyday life?

Chirag Patel, a UK animal behaviour consultant with a special interest in helping animals fit into our world as stress free as possible, defines this husbandry training as:

“Giving animals skills by reinforcing behaviours that will enable the animal to participate in its’ own daily activities and vet care.”

He summarizes many reasons for vets to encourage husbandry training:

* Increases patient compliance
* Better animal care
* Saves time
* Saves money
* Positive association with vets
* Less aggressive behaviour
* Accurate results e.g. blood tests
* Efficacy of medication improved e.g. lover pre-med required with calmer animals
 
He also highlights reasons we should consider husbandry training:
 
We have deliberately bred dogs with certain health consequences which require more handling and intervention such as coat types which require grooming and congenital diseases which require handling.  It is therefore our responsibility to ensure that we prepare the animals in our care to endure the handling and intervention with minimal stress.
 
One of my special interests is training dogs to cope with everyday care such as nail trims, ear checks, eye cleans and drops, taking oral medication, accepting topical medication, checking teeth, allowing brushing and grooming, accepting handling and coping with vet visits, waiting rooms and consult rooms in general.

Some dogs begin on the back foot and are already scared of vet visits and handling. Getting these fearful individuals to cope sometimes starts with simply getting them into the room without force, making it a reinforcing place to be and giving them the ability to exit when they need. Once the room has lost its fear, it’s time to work on accepting handling without panicking. This can be done by teaching behaviours that are fun for the dog and reinforced, such as lying down and looking at their owner or an object. Once the dog finds this easy, it’s time to add a second person to start the touching and handling. It’s important to do this in really small steps. It can be tempting to go straight in and touch a dog, but this can be too much for many fearful animals.
​
Break it down into smaller tasks such as:

1) standing looking away from the dog,
2) standing looking at the dog,
3) taking one step towards the dog,
4) taking two steps towards the dog,
5) crouching down near the dog,
6) moving your hand but not touching,
7) touching an area the dog can handle for a fraction of a second.
 
In that example there are 6 steps before even touching the dog. This may seem laborious but I want to stress here one of my favourite catch cries: “Going slowly is quicker in the end.” Taking small steps means you take less time on each step and get to the end goal quicker. If you keep touching a fearful dog and getting a fearful response and escape behaviours, you are going to be there for quite a while. If a dog is forced to endure handling whilst terrified, the risk of intensifying the fear is highly likely. This will make subsequent vet visits even more difficult because dogs have strong memories of things they do not enjoy.
 
Here’s an example of helping Bella cope with vet visits. She was scared of entering the consult room and had to be dragged in. Once inside, she panicked when the doors were closed and was very difficult to assess and handle because of her fear. The first step was to change the consult room from a scary place to an enjoyable, stress free zone. At her second vet visit she ran straight into the consult room! Her caregivers took the time to train her foundation behaviours such as a target behaviour (nose to hand) and to lie down and look at them. These were practised in the waiting room and then used in the consult room while helping her get used to the doors being closed and being handled by a second person. Further vet visits to practice these tasks without the pressure of an actual examination will help her continue to improve and accept handling.
 
I hope this has stirred some thought into the overlooked worth of vet visit and husbandry training.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79lBZ5MMESM

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A special thank you to Bella’s care-givers for their commitment and video footage and to Rockingham Vet for allowing us access to the clinic rooms for training.

A lot of people teach their dog to wait before getting fed. The dog is usually asked to sit and wait as the bowl is put on the ground. Then after a second or two, the dog is released to eat din dins. The guardian is usually standing alongside. This is what the dog may be learning: to sit and wait while the guardian stands alongside and lowers a food bowl, wait four seconds, then eat as the guardian walks away. 

Change any part of the routine a little and the dog may seem to forget what the guardian  intended wait to mean. The change could be waiting longer before releasing and the dog starts to eat before the verbal release. If one waits the same duration every time before giving a verbal release cue, the dog may be learning wait is specifically for four seconds and then he may eat. The guardian is assuming that it's the release cue the dog is using as the signal to eat. If one varies the time of waiting at each meal, the dog is more inclined to wait for some other cue to release. Another change could be that the dog can wait while someone stands next to him, but not if they walk away. This can occur if the dog is learning the pattern includes that walking away means it's OK to eat. So when one walks away before releasing, the dog is reading the physical signal that it's time to eat. (Who knows, maybe he thinks the trainer simply forgot to release!?) Pretty clever really. After all, he's always happily eating when you walk away. It could be any part of the wait routine that breaks down, even using a bone instead of a bowl; to the dog, wait may mean wait for "bowl" not bone!

The sad thing is, the reluctance to wait is often misinterpreted as a dog being wilfully disobedient, showing dominance or just plain old stupid. In fact it's usually none of these. It's more often a deficit in training and a misunderstaning between two individuals who don't speak the same language. One is trying to teach the other. Have you ever tried to communicate with someone from another country and they totally misunderstood your gestures? It can take a while to get the message across.

Teaching wait in every scenario may seem daunting and endless! The great news is that if you teach your dog a few differences (wait for longer, wait while I stand away from you, wait while I go out of sight, wait while another dog eats) they get better and quicker at generalizing what you mean each time. They get better at learning how to learn.

I enjoy training Zuri to wait before eating, at doors, at gates and before getting out of the car. I train at home and then I like to test if Zuri has understood it in a new, more demanding environment or context. Especially in more life-like set ups. I set up training sessions that replicate (or as close as possible) what might happen unexpectedly in the real world. For example, if she can wait while she is in the middle of eating something at home, I have a better chance of getting her to wait if she is eating something stinky on the beach. If she can resist bolting out of the car to greet and play with her favourite friends at the beach, there is a better chance of her waiting if a car unexpectedly drives past in the carpark as we are disembarking. If she succeeds during the test, brilliant! If not, it's not a failure. It's valuable information of what I need to work on in order to help her understand what I would like her to do in future. 

Here's a video showing how I test to see what Zuri understands wait to mean: ​https://youtu.be/NYxoO8NhKpI

Zuri is scared of noisy appliances. I introduce her to any new, noisy appliance in a carefully planned way and she is getting less fearful with every introduction. The rotary sanding tool is one gadget she doesn't like the sound of. It's not just the noise, it's also that it is associated with nail sanding which she doesn't really enjoy. I have helped her overcome her fear and gone one step further: I've got her to be happily excited at the sound and she comes running from wherever she is, whatever she is doing, when she hears it. Check it out.

The Dog
 
When I volunteered to raise an Assistance Dog puppy I thought I had prepared myself for the job at hand.  It wasn’t a job as such. It was a journey of learning and professional enhancement that I wanted to pursue. I have a special interest in Assistant Dogs. I have shared a home with a fully trained Assistance Dog. My background as a physiotherapist has given me insight into the physical limitations imposed upon so many people with various movement, pain related and physical restrictions to the extent that I wanted to explore first-hand how dogs were trained to assist such people.  It seemed like a natural marriage of two of my passions: restoring mobility/easing pain and animal training.  I was excited to liaise with other training professionals and to experience raising a prospective Assistance Dog first-hand.
 
So when Scout, the black Labrador puppy, came to me I had already begun to prepare myself  for the journey: particularly emotionally for the end stage. I was not to get overly attached to this puppy and reminded myself that I was a temporary carer. My role was to give this puppy the best possible start towards a career as a working dog. I was fully prepared to relinquish my charge when the time came. I used techniques to deliberately avoid becoming too smitten like referring to her as “The Crazy Black Dog” or “The Black Dog” – a way of distancing. It would be much harder to give up “My Little Black Girl” or “My Wee Black Beauty”.  I joked about how “nutso” she was. I relayed funny stories of how she relentlessly pestered poor Zuri, my reluctant resident dog who was forced to share her home with a rambunctious puppy! Labrador jokes streamed effortlessly. My plan seemed effective.
 
Scout was with me for eight months. I enjoyed her enthusiasm for training and we had so much fun. Email subscribers can watch our journey here.

Then the day came to send her off to Big Dog School.  The sense of sadness at her impending departure caught me a little by surprise. Then again, when you spend so much time with an individual – because dogs are all unique individuals – they do grow on you, even when you attempt to build an impervious wall. So I wasn’t too perturbed.
 
Then she was gone.
 
The house was eerily quiet. I kept seeing her in the corner of my eye in every room. I woke up, ready for our morning play and fun time … only to remember her absence as the haze of sleep finally dissipated.  I exhibited a rather morose display of slow walking, head hanging and tear wiping that first week. I wasn’t quite prepared for the intensity of emotion that accompanied her departure. Then I rationalized and gave myself permission to feel sad at the loss of a friend who had been my constant companion for quite a while. So what if my carefully choreographed attempts at nonchalance had failed? I allowed myself to grieve and began to look forward to updates on her progress. I focused on how happier Zuri was now that she was an only dog again. I started to revel in the excess of free time I now seemed to have. Raising a puppy is hard work. Raising an Assistance Puppy has even more responsibilities. I channelled the sadness into expectation and became excited at the prospect of following her journey and receiving updates.
 
Expectations
 
An expectation is a feeling or belief about how successful or good someone or something will be. Getting a dog can come with many expectations. Take the Border Collie who is chosen to compete in agility. Or the Shih Tzu chosen to be a lap dog companion. Or the bitza chosen as a jogging companion. Or the therapy dog. Or Scent Detector dog. Sometimes expectations are not met. This can be due to many reasons. It could be due to unrealistic expectations to begin with, unexpected factors influencing outcomes, or lack of adequate preparation to achieve desired outcomes.
 
The Disappointment
 
I received a phone call that Scout was being pulled from the Assistance Dog Programme as she wasn’t suitable. It wasn’t a bombshell. It was confirmation of what I already suspected and had even hinted at in the myriad of Labrador jokes. I had lived with her for months and had given her intensive training to equip her for her calling. She was a dream to teach, such a quick learner, a happy girl. However, she also had a personality devoid of inhibition and exhibited some anxiety.  Her disposition just didn’t fit with the sturdy, reliable, naturally resilient demeanour required for the task of being an Assistance Dog. It was a fair call. It was an expected outcome. Yet despite this, I felt a wave of disappointment roll over me. During our time together I knew that she was probably a square peg being trained for a round hole. However, this didn’t change my enthusiasm to train her and provide the best foundation I could. I enjoyed it. My rationale was that all the time and effort was time well spent preparing her for whatever lay ahead, be it Assistance Dog or companion dog. Training is a joy, not a chore for me. She was a delight to teach. Whilst not surprised, I was still crestfallen. I think I was secretly hoping for a miracle. I wanted to be proven wrong.
 
I have shared a video about how unmet expectations can be viewed positively. Often when a guardian laments that their dog can’t do this or that, I point out that their dog is actually outstanding at something else just as valuable, important or endearing. Little did I realize that I would refer back to this video to console myself.
 
The Dilemma
 
Unexpectedly, I was given the opportunity to adopt Scout as a companion dog. This took me by surprise as it is not the usual practice to return dogs to the puppy raiser. I was appreciative of the offer since it acknowledged the time, effort and love that had been poured into Scout. Now a decision that I hadn’t foreseen or prepared myself for needed to be made. In a stupor of indecision, I couldn’t answer. My tongue refused to utter a word either way. So I slept on it.
 
The Decision
 
Lists of pros and cons became skewed amidst memories of happy tail wags and inexhaustible exuberance. I had to remind myself that when I signed up for this gig I did it with the expectation that it was temporary and that I didn’t choose a dog to join the home permanently.  It is important to me to get a dog at the right time, the right type of dog, for reasons that I am clear about – not just because the chance has eventuated. I waited 18 years for the right time to get Miss Zuri. Even more importantly, Zuri’s wellbeing needed to be taken into account. The jokes about Zuri enduring a whirlwind of Labrador-lack- of-personal-space were based on an element of truth. Zuri was longsuffering in her tolerance of the newcomer. I reviewed video footage of how Zuri deferred continually to Scout’s demands on her personal space; being pushed into walls, accosted in doorways and hallways, slammed into furniture, disturbed from resting and barred access to moving freely around the house. It was my judicious policing and management strategies that kept the status quo. It worked but it was also demanding on me and, I suspect, a level of constant stress for Zuri in her own home. I had noticed this with another foster dog as well. I had also noticed that with other dogs interactions were more relaxed and none of these incidents occurred. Zuri was getting older and while she enjoyed the company of dogs and playing, she enjoyed space and quiet times as well. Scout was still growing into social maturity and showed no signs of mellowing soon.
 
I made the heart wrenching decision not to adopt Scout.
 
Second Guessing and Regret
 
Days later I began to question my decision. I queried my own ability to read dog body language. I viewed my decision as error, putting it down to being emotionally invested in my own dog and projecting excessively. It wasn’t that bad for Zuri, surely? This feeling was different to observing other dogs, client’s dogs or friend’s dogs; emotion was definitely involved. So I sought advice from two other animal behaviour professionals, asking for their opinion on the relationship between Scout and Zuri. They reviewed the video footage I compiled and spoke to me honestly and with great care. They asked me questions and pointed out pertinent information. They listened to me. They didn’t make my decision but they guided me with their input. It was a humbling and affirming act to seek assistance from peers for a personal issue and to receive confirmation that Zuri and Scout were, indeed, not a match made in heaven. The entire journey with Scout had been an invaluable learning experience in ways I hadn’t predicted.
 
Email subscribers can see the stressful encounters here.

Scout needed betadine solution applied to her muzzle twice a day. I wanted her to feel comfortable with the process so that it wasn't a drama each time. I also didn’t want to physically restrain her in order to apply the medication. I felt this was especially important since it had to happen more than once a day for many days. If I forced her and it became an event she wanted to escape, it may well become harder each time. I may have to use more restraint on subsequent attempts or have to chase and corner her to apply it. This would be unpleasant for both of us and do nothing to improve our relationship. These reasons were worth devising a plan to make it a game where if she stayed still and let me apply it, I would reinforce this with something she liked: Food!

​​I started with repeated and small steps rather than applying the betadine all at once.
 
Step 1: Scout stayed still while I stretched the skin for a second with my finger.

I helped her understand that I wanted her to stay still by using the well-known cue of “wait”.
If she moved away, I stopped immediately. She had some control: an ‘out’ if you like.
 
Step 2: She stayed still while I stretched the skin and touched the area with my finger for a second.

Step 3:  I touched for a little longer with my finger.
 
Step 4:  I touched with a dry cotton ball for a couple of seconds.
 
Step 5: I presented a cotton ball dipped in betadine for a second  but didn’t touch her.

​When it was wet it smelt of the betadine and dripped a little. Presenting it gets her used to the smell first, rather than coping with the smell and then the feel of a wet cotton ball on her skin. I made sure it wasn't too wet on future applications so it didn't drip. Practice makes perfect.
 
Step 6: She stayed still while I touched her with the betadine cotton ball for a second.
 
During the game, I touched her for a little too long and she drew back. When this happened I made a fuss and reinforced the behaviour of staying. She could have run away and disengaged. She was subsequently better the next time I touched her.
 
Step 7: I touched her for longer with the betadine cotton ball.
 
Step 8: Job done!
 
It took just over three minutes the first time. Much less on subsequent applications as she knew what was expected. It was quite hard for Scout to keep her head still (or any part of her body for that matter!). She likes to sniff and touch anything coming her way and most things end up in her mouth. In retrospect, I would improve the way I approached this by going even slower: by staying on each step longer to ensure Scout was even more comfortable and was able to keep her head still for a little longer as well. I would also add another step of presenting the dry cotton ball before touching her with it.
 
Here’s the video showing how it was done.

Animal training is my passion. For me it is not just training. I’m not satisfied with just getting a job done, or training a certain task to a certain level. It’s the journey. It’s how the job is done: how the task is taught. How the animal is responding matters immensely.
 
It is really important to me that the animal is showing signs of wanting to engage. Further, I want to engender an attitude of joy in the trainee. I want it to be fun for the learner. There is a wonderful by-product of creating an enjoyable learning experience – the trainer is associated with the positive experience. The trainer is the source of all good things, someone to keep an eye on, to gravitate towards. The trainer is consistent, to be trusted and not feared. The trainer is a good communicator, not confusing or a source of stress. This is a huge factor in relationship building.
 
I was challenged when I reviewed video footage of a training session I had with Zuri. I wanted to measure her nose for a muzzle. I hadn’t done this before and Zuri is hesitant with new things (enter the tape measure) and handling.  “This would make a great video topic”, I thought. What a great way to show a functional use of a well taught ‘touch’ and ‘wait’ with a reluctant dog. It would also demonstrate how seamlessly a dog can learn something new if they have a history of learning other tasks and playing training games that are enjoyable.  Off I went and duly measured Zuri’s nose in front of the camera. It got the job done quickly, in less than two minutes. When I watched the footage back, I was disappointed. On the surface it looked pretty good: no physical restraint or enviromental restraint (like backing a dog into a corner), no force, no struggle, no harsh words or physical intimidation, no avoidance by seeking distance or walking away on Zuri’s part. Yet it lacked enthusiasm. It lacked the joyful demeanour of a softly wagging tail. Where was the anticipation and engagement with gusto? I even noted some subtle signs of stress such as repeated blinking, paucity of movement, head turning away from me and the tape measure, drawing the head away from the tape measure and, because I know her body language so well, even the slight tension in her floppy ears as they pulled backwards and close to her head just a few millimetres. She was licking her lips at times. I wasn’t sure if this was due to the food or a sign of stress, but I suspected stress. She wasn't wagging her tail.
 
I was simply too focused on getting the job done: the job being showing how ‘touch’ and ‘wait’ were so cool for teaching other tasks. I wasn’t using overt force but I was pushing her into a level of discomfort and I was lucky she was staying despite this.
 
What I didn’t like:
 
* I was doing it slowly, but not slow enough.  Instead of breaking the process down into small enough steps, I was jumping straight from presenting the tape measure to touching her with it.
* My hands were moving towards her with the tape, rather than giving her the option of approaching. That’s a big deal for animals: to have options of when to engage and disengage. When an animal feels safe, they will be more compliant. Part of feeling safe for an animal is having the ability to stop the process at any time.
* When she looked away, I prompted her to touch my hand instead of waiting for her signal that she was ready to continue. (All because I wanted to demonstrate ‘touch’!)
* I asked her to ‘wait’ and then held the measuring tape on for too long. I should have been quicker to remove it and built up the duration gradually.
 
This just wouldn’t do. The functional goal had been met but the journey could have been much better for Zuri. She's my bud and this matters to me. So I did it again the next day with the goal to get footage of Zuri engaged with obvious enjoyment. One of my favourite catch phrases is, “Our behaviour changes a dog’s behaviour”. I changed what I was doing ever so subtly.
 
* I broke the process down into even smaller steps. There were quite a few in between showing the tape and wrapping it for a few seconds around her nose to measure.
* Breaking down the process into smaller steps resulted in being able to give a higher rate of reinforcement which is a sure way to get an enthusiastic learner.
* I let her approach the tape rather than put it on her nose.
* If she looked away, I didn’t ask for a ‘touch’. I waited until she was ready.
* I threw treats away from me and let her return in her own time to look for the measuring tape.
* I was more relaxed and my body language was more playful, not so darn serious!
 
The difference was noticeable. Her tail was wagging, her body soft, she was eager to engage and find the tape even when I hid it from view. Her floppy ears were pivoting forward more. The lip licking that was present in the first video was greatly reduced in the subsequent footage. The blinking reduced.
 
I got the behaviour required for taking measurements and then just kept on playing the game because we were both enjoying the moment. It took about one and a half minutes. That said, how long it takes is less of an issue to me than how much fun it is. I make mention because many people believe that it's too time consuming to approach dog handling in this way and therefore resort to physical restraint. I will add that if you do not have a solid trust account with your dog, it will take longer.

Approaching handling this way is a delightful journey where both participants enjoy the ride.
​
Email subscribers can watch our journey here.

It’s a fact. Not all dogs like to be patted. Those that do don’t always like to be patted on the head. Dogs have preferences as to where and how they like to be touched. They also have preferences of who they like to be touched by. Just because they love a chest scratch from their care giver, doesn’t mean they want the same from a stranger. Even in the same household a dog may enjoy a particular interaction from one member of the family, but not from a different member. The good news is that it’s easy to ask a dog if they like the way they are being touched. It simply requires some knowledge about dog communication and body language.
 
I’ve made a video to demonstrate a simple way to ask your dog how he/she likes to be patted. It’s as simple as starting to pat your dog and then stopping and noting the response.​ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU4TKzBOzw4

Another common theme is that people are sure that their dog likes being hugged. I sometimes ask them to show me - because some dogs don't mind at all. The majority don't actually enjoy the interaction. Once the "no" signals have been discussed, it's amazing how many of these signs are recognized. Before the hug begins, many little dogs are almost chased down and picked up while they are trying to avoid the impending interaction. If you bend down and your little dog moves away, they probably don't like being picked up much, let alone hugged. Many dogs tolerate our hugs but don't actually enjoy them. Some dogs don't mind a hug from their special people, but don't want the same affection from others.

Here’s a quick summary of how dogs say “yes” or “no”. Sometimes they say “maybe”. I suspect they are conflicted at times because they want our attention but don’t like the type of attention they are getting. It’s the classic walk away and then come back and then walk away routine. I've heard many times, "Well if he didn't like it, why does he keep coming back?" Once we change our approach, a “maybe” can soon become a “yes”. Be aware that all dog body language needs to be observed with consideration of the context within which it occurs, the rest of the dog’s body language (not just one part of the dog)  and the individual dog involved. Just like people, different dogs have little idiosyncrasies and styles of communicating.

Body language that says “Yes”:

• Moving into your space, coming to you for physical contact
• Nudging a head into your hand or lap
• Pawing your hand, trying to move it closer
• Leaning into you
• Lying down near you, touching you or flopping onto you
• Face, mouth and eyes are relaxed, even droopy

 
Body language that says “No”:

• Moving away from you, especially if they don’t return or leave the area - This is so important to take notice of. If a dog does not come to you, do not go to the dog and invade the dog's space, especially if you do not know the dog. Do not put dogs in situations where they cannot move away or escape from a patting interaction you think is pleasant but they don't appreciate
• Leaning away from you.
• Turning the head away
• Looking away from you with the eyes
• Shying away or ducking the head away from your hand
• Rolling the eyes away to show the whites of the eye (whale eye)
• Yawning
• Licking the lips
• Freezing (a tense stillness as opposed to a relaxed stillness)

If you miss the more subtle "no", communication may escalate to become more obvious and effective. Dogs who really find patting aversive (i.e. hate it and can't wait to escape) may learn to skip the subtle requests if history has shown that no-one ever listens.

• Growling
• Snapping
• Biting

 Body language that could mean “Yes” or “No”:

• Licking your face or hands. This can be asking for space or for you to stop. It is a common appeasement signal. Appeasement behaviours function to reduce or get rid of some part of the interaction which they do not like without using overt aggression. It can also be a sign of affection from a very mouthy, licky dog.
• Rolling over. If the dog is tense, lips are drawn back and tense, this means "no". It is another appeasement behaviour. If the dog is floppy and the eyes are soft or closed, this means “rub mah belly”. Refer to the pictures below.

 Rub Mah Belly Roll Over:
*  Mouth relaxed (floppy gums dropping with gravity, exposing teeth)
*  ​Front legs floppy and relaxed
*  Back legs relaxed, flopping wide open with gravity
*  Skin around eyes soft, not taut
*  Body relaxed, stretched out fully, lying fully on back
​

• Paw raised. If the dog is tense and the body is leaning away, it means “no”. If the dog is leaning towards you and body is relaxed, it can be “yes” or "maybe".
• Walking away. Some dogs will walk away and come back. They may want attention from you, but not the sort you are giving. If you change what you are doing, they may stay.
• Mouthing the hand. This may mean “no” if it occurs whilst you are petting and stops when you stop. Some dogs show affection by mouthing, so they may gently mouth your hand as you pat them. If it occurs when you stop petting, it could be a mouthy dog requesting for you to continue. In the video, Turbo mouths when the patting stops to get it to start again. He stops mouthing when the person is patting him. When it happens it very important. Does the dog mouth to stop you, or to get you to start again?
• Being motionless. If the dog is relaxed and motionless they may be enjoying the pat. They may lean ever so slightly into your touch, with all the other signs of enjoyment (soft eyes, ears, mouth). If they have “frozen” and are tense or rigid under your touch, almost resisting relaxation or holding their breath, they are probably not enjoying the patting and are waiting for it to stop. You can often feel a pounding heart under the chest of a dog who is very still but not enjoying the contact.
• Lots of wiggling. Some dogs are happy, wiggly, bouncy balls of exuberance who can’t stop moving when they are enjoying an activity. Others are nervous, uncomfortable wigglers who are torn between wanting some attention from you but not liking where or how they are being touched.

 
I'm encouraged by the comments I’ve read on social media. Many people notice a difference in the way their dog approaches, stays and responds to them when they take the time to observe, ask the dog and accommodate what he/she enjoys.
 
Have a try. Ask your dog and let me know the answer.
 
Want to practice more observations skills? Read this other great blog and video on the same topic:
 
http://eileenanddogs.com/2012/08/29/does-your-dog-really-want-to-be-petted/

Here are some great resources which Eileenanddogs.com recommends in her blog. She is spot on with her recommendations, so with her permission, I've included them just as she has recommended. You can never get enough of the good stuff.​ Go check out her blog.

Recommended Resources:

"Doggonesafe.com: How to Love Your Dog –  Believe it or Not. This little gem describes ways to ask the dog’s consent, encourages getting to know one’s dog’s language, and suggests ways that humans and dogs can be physically close to each other without intimidating or “over-touching” the dog. The whole website has great stuff about learning to read dogs and keeping kids safe around them.

Dogs Like Kids They Feel Safe With. This is a wonderful movie about teaching dogs with a clicker and teaching children with TAGteach with the goal of comfortable and safe interaction between the two. Children who are fearful and and children who tend to overdo with animals are both included. The children are taught about asking the adult handler’s and the dog’s consent.

Dr. Sophia Yin has a wealth of information on dog body language, polite greeting behavior (from humans), and low stress handling. Here is a page with a load of information. Free Downloads: Posters, Handouts, and More.

Family Paws is another great site that focuses on safe interactions between dogs and their human family members, with special emphasis on education for expecting families and families with infants. Here is founder Jennifer Shryock doing a great analysis of a now infamous human/dog petting session gone wrong, with nice explanations of the mismatch between dog and human communication and expectations.

Observation Skills for Training Dogs. That great FaceBook group I have mentioned before."

© Sonya Bevan
Dogcharming.com.au

Thank you to Eileen Anderson for sharing her blog and resource recommendations, Steph Walker for her pictures of Reggie and Bodel Mitchell for sharing Zoe with me.

In my view, training and playing with my dog are synonymous. Training should be fun for both participants. The most mundane of tasks can be made into a “training game” with a little bit of creativity. Playing with my dog can also morph into a covert training session that she is ecstatic to participate in.
 
Whenever I play, I try to have guidelines that my dog needs to follow. It’s not as regimented as it may sound. How many games do we play that have rules that need to be followed that enhance the fun? Even the most basic of games have some guidelines: count to ten before chasing, then when you’re tagged, you’re it!
 
When I think about it, even spontaneous rough and tumble with my dog has certain guidelines such as “bite me very softly, not hard” or “dodge me, don’t slam into my legs” to keep it fun. The play spontaneously stops if these rules are broken because I’m no longer having fun!
 
Some of the guidelines I apply when playing fetch or tug with my dog are:
 
1.  "Wait" patiently for the game to begin - don’t help yourself to the toy from my hand
2.  "Sit” to ask to start the game – I like this to be automatic, not asked for by me every time
3.  Game starts when you hear “OK” or “Tug”
4. “Give” the toy into my hand, don’t drop it at my feet or 2 metres away
5. “Find” a dropped object
6. “Leave” a toy, no matter how enticing. At a more advanced level, leave it even if you are chasing it

I have no problem with playing tug with a dog. If you teach a dog the rules, there is no problem with aggression or over-arousal. I don't understand the advice to never let the dog win either. It's a win-win game when you play with your dog. When you say "give", the dog gives and then the game starts again when you say the word. It's darn fun!

​​I was dismayed to read a negative comment on both videos. It went a little something like:
 
I came here to see how to train my dog not to chase birds. My dogs go crazy at the sight of birds. All you are doing is showing how good your dogs are. No one cares about that. Waste of time.
 
Always one to take on board {constructive} criticism in an attempt to improve communication, I went back to review the videos. Had I not made it clear that I was actually teaching? Reviewing the videos I realized that to anyone new to dog training or used to added punishment or forceful techniques requiring unpleasant {aversive} stimulation, it did indeed look like I was doing nothing and just showing off how the dogs didn’t chase the birds. The dogs didn’t even seem to want to chase them.
 
This set me to pondering; how I could get the message across that a viewer was actually watching a carefully planned training session? That I was actively involved in changing the behaviour of these two dogs from the moment the video began. Maybe I should have shown a “before” shot of the dogs going crazy and chasing the birds. My train of thought stopped dead in its tracks right there!
 
One of the most important principles when changing behaviour is preventing the undesired behaviour from occurring in the first place. Any behaviour that is practised and reinforced gets stronger. In a practical sense it means if a dog is given the opportunity to continue chasing birds, no matter how infrequently, it will make changing this behaviour a little harder than if it had been consistently prevented. I make a conscious decision to only get “before” footage in any or a combination of the following situations:
 
* It is safe to do so.
* I need a baseline that I have never seen before.
* I need to test a hypothesis of whether intervention will work.
* I am prepared to work a bit harder during training to counter the consequence of this rehearsal of the undesired behaviour.
 
For these two dogs, chasing birds was highly reinforcing. I wanted the best chance of getting good results so I chose not to put them in a situation where chasing would occur. Another consideration I had was that I had worked lovingly and consistently to gain the trust of the Willie Wagtails. I was now able to use them to help me during dog training. Being chased by a crazy dog is very stressful. I did not want to undo the wonderful progress I had made getting them to come to me on cue, nor did I want to cause them any undue stress. Hence – no “before” footage. It also means I'm not prepared to deliberately let each dog fail {chase the birds} by making it unnecessarily challenging early during training in order to demonstrate that they really want to chase! Viewers will just have to picture Zoe, the Cocker Spaniel, launching onto the outdoor table to chase the Willie Wagtails. Likewise, my reports of Scout, the Black Lab puppy, lunging and barking like a banshee after birds will have to suffice.
 
You may be wondering about the title of this blog by now. It doesn’t seem to have anything to do with surfing!
 
The training in the videos certainly looks like two dogs who didn’t chase birds in the first place. It was Zoe’s first session and Scout’s second. In terms of effectiveness, no barking and chasing ticks the box. In regard to ethics and humane practice, the lack of physical or psychological intimidation, another tick. This is due to being a teacher who S.U.R.F.S with dogs (and other animals).

From the moment I decided to help the dogs stop chasing birds, I was formulating a plan to give them the best possible chance of succeeding quickly and without frustration. The plan went something like this:

 * Prevent all bird chasing at any time, not just training sessions. Keep dogs inside when Willie Wagtails come to visit. Check for Willies before letting the dogs out the back. Have the dogs on lead when going out the front. Be constantly vigilant, ready to run the dogs inside if I see the Willies before they do.
 
* Choose an alternative behaviour to chasing, lunging and barking at birds. For Scout this was to look at me or look at the birds in place of chasing them. For Zoe it was to stay on a chair. It needs to be easy. Too hard and it makes chasing the birds the chosen option. A behaviour that is already in the dog’s repertoire can make training quicker. Scout was used to looking at me for reinforcement so this was a head start. Zoe chose the chair and was more relaxed there, so I utilized this.
 
* Choose a reinforcer that will be more reinforcing or at least of equal reinforcement value to the birds. This was really interesting and challenging and one of the reasons I made Zoe’s video. Scout would work for dry kibble. Zoe wouldn’t touch roast chicken when birds were around but she would stop everything for a scratch and a silly word! Go figure. It’s the individual who tells you what they find reinforcing at any particular point in time.
 
* Set up the environment {antecedent arrangement} to achieve immediate success. In Zoe’s case, she could resist the birds for longer if she was sitting in a chair. If she was standing, it was a very quick transition to chasing. For Scout, she needed the lead on at first and I needed to stand close to her, even blocking her view as soon as the birds were present and asking for her to look at me. The environment includes the birds: they need to be further away at first. It’s easier {more economical} to get reinforcement from me than run the distance after the birds. Dogs do what works and will choose the easier of two options if the reinforcement value is comparable.
 
* Choose a high rate of reinforcement at first to make it worthwhile to just watch the birds. I’m talking once every three seconds. I’m talking reinforcement for just glancing at the bird for a microsecond. I’m talking, if I see your ear prick up towards the sound of the bird, I’m reinforcing. If I waited too long and was stingy with food or scratches, both dogs might as well try to chase.
 
* Change the environment and increase difficulty of the task when the dogs demonstrate they will succeed. A stationary bird 10m away is easier to resist than a stationary bird right in front of a dog’s nose. A moving bird is often harder to resist chasing than a stationary bird. I stopped using the lead almost immediately with Scout and had it loose just for safety. Eventually I used a 10m lead so she could walk away from me and choose to come back instead of chasing the birds. For Zoe, having her sit on the ground instead of the chair was making it harder for her. Then having her stand would be making it more difficult. Each subject will let you know what they find harder or easier. It is the teacher’s role to tailor the plan to meet the learner’s needs at any particular time.
 
* Keep the rate of reinforcement high when making the task more difficult – or I may lose the dog to the original reinforcer. This doesn’t mean I will always need a high rate of reinforcement. Once I have trained the dog to a high level, the reinforcement can be changed. This may mean I still reinforce continuously but can use lower value reinforcement. For example, I can praise Scout now when she looks at birds and give her a pat and she responds to this. In the early stages of teaching, this would not have been the case.
 
* Maintain the behaviour. Give refresher training sessions. Randomly reinforce excellent behaviour with an unexpected, high value reinforcer. Continue using more natural reinforcers in everyday life e.g. attention, praise, play, physical contact, access to sniffing. This keeps the behaviour going. However, if I consistently ignore the dogs when they look at me or the birds, eventually they may revert to another behaviour that does pay off. Probably barking and chasing again.
 
I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I didn’t make a movie depicting a riveting, edge-of-your-seat, battle of wills fight against two crazy dogs straining to tear after birds. Instead I shared a moment in time of thoughtfully planned training devoid of frustration. No frustration for the trainer, trainee or the feathered helpers. It was also two snapshots that filled me with joy: to have the birds engage without fear and the dogs succeed so quickly.
 
Enough of my musings! Now that I’ve given a backstory to what is going on, what do you see happening in the videos?

I've included a third video showing Scout's progress and how she responds to verbal cues to come away from the birds and shows little interest in them now.

Video links for email subscribers:
​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDwN2ZtgbAY

Turbo the greyhound came to stay as a foster dog. One of the first tasks was to introduce him to Zuri. As far as introductions go, dogs are a lot like people. They each have individual communication styles and personal preferences about which dogs they wish to spend time with and those they’d rather pass on by.

First impressions can have long lasting effects, so taking the time to plan the first meeting is a high priority. If an initial meeting goes badly it can take a lot of effort to reverse the detrimental psychological effects, let alone repair any physical injuries.

Here are some suggested guidelines:

1. Have one handler per dog.
2. Meet in a neutral environment first, not one of the dog’s homes.
3. Choose larger areas, not confined spaces.
4. Allow ample time, don’t rush or force introductions. Let the dogs got at their own pace and allow an avenue of escape or retreat.
5. Let each dog investigate the environment first for an extended period, away from each other, before bringing them into contact.
6. Introduce relaxed dogs, not highly aroused dogs.
7. Use loose leads rather than tight unless required for safety and to remove dogs from each other.
8. Intervene only if required and distract quickly if needed.
9. If in doubt: DON’T introduce. If you have no idea how either dog will react but fear one may bite or attack, don’t introduce them or seek professional assistance. If you really don’t think they will get on, ask yourself, “Why am I introducing them in the first place?”

Please note that the guidelines suggested are exactly that: guide-lines. With more experience and a history of the two dogs, one has a better chance of predicting if two dogs will be fine to greet on their first meeting. If there is any doubt, however, you will need some sort of backup plan such as leads to allow safe separation of the dogs should things go pear-shaped. Ideally, seek the help of a behaviour professional if you are unsure or nervous.

Avoid advice which refers to dogs as having dominant personalities to explain behaviour and encourages using aversive stimuli/punishment to introduce dogs (eg. choker collars, shock collars, leash jerks, yelling). Dominance is not a personality trait and has no practical application when dealing with introducing dogs safely. Furthermore, most aggression in dogs is driven by a desire to escape (which is prevented when on lead) or a desire to remove a source of fear by scaring it away. Having on-lead meetings with short, tense leads and anxious handlers tugging and yelling can actually create conflict that might not have otherwise occurred. I only recommend muzzles if the dog wearing the muzzle is already accustomed to and happy to wear one. If not, placing a muzzle for the first time on a dog and then introducing a strange dog may create a negative association with the new dog. That’s not setting the scene for a good introduction! It is important to be confidence and calm before even considering an introduction. It is so important, I’ll repeat: If in doubt – DON’T. Seek assistance.

Here’s an example of introducing dogs for the first time.

Scout is learning to give. We have training sessions where I set up easy scenarios for her to give me things. I reinforce this relinquishment with something more reinforcing than the original object. For Scout, this is often food. We’ve got to the point where she is 80-90% reliable in giving me something during training and inside at random times.

I have phased out food in these instances and reinforce the behaviour of giving using praise, petting and cuddles or a quick game of fetch. It’s always good stuff. I’ve made myself pretty epic to hang around with and I’ve made the consequence of “giving” always, ALWAYS, enjoyable.

The challenge is when she pilfers something and doesn’t care to offer it up when asked. This often happens when I’m not expecting it. On these occasions it seems the object is usually something novel or a favourite chewing substance that is more desirable than anything I can offer. Well, almost anything. I have a sneaky trick. If she chooses not to come, I remove the one thing she values fairly highly. At the risk of sounding terribly conceited, the thing she enjoys more than almost anything else is me.

I disappear for a few seconds, saying “Bye Bye” or “I’m going” and I go inside or to another room. Sometimes I hide behind something so she can’t see me. Almost without fail she notices my absence and will follow and give the object; “Don’t go. Here, you wanted this? Now stay and play with me.” If I’ve gone inside, when I go back outside, she usually comes and gives easily. I can then reinforce this behaviour by giving her more time enjoying the most wonderful thing ever: Yep, that’d be my company.

One of the worst things I could do in these situations is start chasing her to reclaim the object. This would lead to a fun game of chasey that is likely to be repeated on subsequent occasions. If I approached this situation in anger and she dropped the object out of fear or intimidation, or because I’d caught her by the collar and forced her, the chance of her letting me near her again in a similar situation may diminish in the future. She may run faster, hide or retaliate in some way e.g. snarl, try to protect the object from being removed. I may successfully get her to give me things in this way – but the bond I have with her will be slightly diminished each time I use these techniques. It will be marred by the fear of my approach and any “giving” will be motivated by intimidation rather than joyful expectation.

One of the wonderful benefits of reinforcing desired behaviours and doing this routinely during everyday activities is that YOU become a source of all good things. You are predictable. You are fun to be around. You are the best thing ever. Doing what you ask is a pleasure, not a chore because you always say “Thank You” in some way (food, praise, a game, a cuddle, a walk, a sniff, access to good stuff).

There is a downside to this sneaky trick. Times it won’t work are if:

* there is not a strong history of playing, spending mutually enjoyable time with your dog or training using positive reinforcement of desired behaviours. Without this history you may not have developed a relationship where you are the best thing since sliced bread. If your dog fancies lots of other stuff in preference to your company, your disappearance will mean naught. The amount of energy and engagement required to develop this relationship will vary depending on the individual dog. For Scout, I have to admit, it’s pretty easy because she has a natural affinity for people and seeks engagement readily. With Zuri, my Rhodesian Ridgeback, I had to earn the privilege of being highly desired above other enticing distractions: a role I never take for granted.

*  there is a strong history of punishing your dog for undesired behaviours. In this case, your dog may be relieved that you have disappeared so that they can have unbridled fun with the contraband. If you have become associated with punishment, your disappearance heralds the disappearance of the threat of punishment. It’s not rocket science.

As an aside, I’ve heard an argument that reinforcing “giving” in this way leads to an increase in stealing behaviour. If you plan your training, have developed a mutually satisfying relationship with your dog (e.g. they are not attention seeking because you fulfil this need), are proactive instead of reactive, have good timing and know exactly what you are reinforcing, this should not happen. It actually decreases criminal behaviour! One reason it may happen is if you only “trade” with your dog for an object when they steal it and at no other time. You are actually teaching your dog that the only way to get your attention and something desirable is by nicking things first. That is an error of application, not a failure of the training principle involved.

Here’s my disappearing trick in action: https://youtu.be/q2jFWY1pVw8

I'm teaching Zuri to feel comfortable wearing a muzzle.  If there is an emergency and she is in pain or under great stress, it may be a wise choice. If she is already under duress, the last thing I want to do is suddenly shove a plastic grill she's never seen before onto her face. This will only increase her stress levels.

Everything was going really well until I changed the location of the training as well as her position from lying to standing. She indicated that she wasn't doing so well in this new scenario.

It's my responsibility as teacher to listen to her and modify the plan if she is having trouble with it. Training should be fun for both of us. If the fun-factor disappears, I need to get it back as quickly as possible. If I don't, at best, reaching my teaching goals will be slow, inefficient and devoid of enthusiasm on the part of  my pupil. At worst, Zuri may develop a dislike of the particular training task leading to avoidance or escape and even fear of the muzzle when it is presented.

So what did I do? I stopped trying to make her move whilst wearing the muzzle. All she had to do was stand for a few seconds with it on and I fed her. Back to how we began on the bed. I then kept it on for longer and longer before I asked her to move. When I did ask for movement, I chose a task she knew really well and enjoyed: Touch. She didn't have to move her body, just her head so her nose touched the palm of my hand. Very quickly this transitioned to her being able to move a step to touch and then follow me a few steps to touch without showing signs of discomfort. Soon she was spinning when asked and even of her own accord!

And now for my unfortunate analogy: https://youtu.be/Vp85lVTgTFo

If you would like to see a video tutorial of how I started teaching Zuri to enjoy wearing a muzzle, let me know in the comments section.

Scout, the six month old black Labrador puppy, came to stay for a while. Her integration into the household relied heavily on Zuri’s reaction to having a new housemate. I wrote about how Zuri’s behaviour changed when Turbo the foster greyhound came to stay. Turbo and Zuri just didn’t hit it off. No fights. No major stand offs. Zuri never relaxed during his stay. After nine weeks, they still had not played.

The minute Scout arrived, I set about choreographing daily life to give Zuri and Scout the best possible chance of getting along. Scout is a wiggly, in-yah-face, barky, playful ball of exuberance. At all hours. In all places. Zuri is calm, respectful of space and prefers to observe before making an acquaintance. Good Lordie, what was I thinking trying to bring these two together? I was counting on past experiences and knowing that Zuri does enjoy the company of other dogs – given the right circumstances. Once she feels confident (safe?), she plays with joyful gusto.

So our dance began:

* Baby gates.

* Closed doors.

* Separate feeding.

* Tethering Scout (whilst I was present) to prevent unwanted advances on Zuri.

* Occupying Scout with alternatives to accosting Zuri (treat dispensers, Treat and Train, carrots to chew, training sessions, car rides, shopping trips, one-on-one time).

* Routines, routines, routines. For example, when coming home with Scout, leaving her in the car while I greet Zuri first minus a bouncing puppy, then bringing Scout inside on lead.

* Avoiding situations where Scout-the-Ninja would come out of nowhere to an unsuspecting, sleepy Ridgeback (especially in hallways, doorways and any transition areas).

* Reinforcing for any pro-social behaviours Zuri showed around Scout e.g. looking at Scout, simply entering the room if Scout was already in there, coming outside if Scout was there, standing still if Scout began sniffing her. It was a most vigorous schedule of Differential Reinforcement of Other (DRO) behaviours, instead of avoidance and escape. It had no other outcome but to make hanging out with Scout a cool idea. Zuri even started coming out the back on Scout’s toilet stops.

* Reinforcing any ‘polite’ behaviours Scout showed towards Zuri e.g. looking at her briefly (instead of staring or nose bopping), coming away immediately when called, waiting patiently while Zuri was fed a treat before getting hers. Again, a really high rate of reinforcement for a wide variety of desired behaviours. This was also done on lead at first to prevent Scout practising unwanted behaviours and to protect Zuri, giving her no need to seek escape or take other action. The lead was removed when Scout became more reliable.

We had some accidents. Zuri was dive bombed by a Kamikaze puppy in the narrow, dark hallway when a door was opened. Zuri's sleep-in was rudely interrupted by a whirlwind of puppy playfulness bombarding the bed. I learnt from these incidents to be more careful with the ‘zones’ and to prevent incidents rather than go into damage control after the fact.

After eight days, no signs of reciprocal play were in sight. The longest it had taken Zuri to play with a new house guest in the past had been four days. I tried to think of all the things in the environment that may have been different with these other dogs compared to Scout (and Turbo). One difference was that the other houseguests, except for Turbo, had slept in their crate in our bedroom. Maybe a simple change in the environment, bringing Scout from the laundry into the bedroom to sleep, might have an effect. So I tried it. 

Did all this have any effect? On the 12th day, after four nights sleeping in the bedroom, Scout and Zuri broke into spontaneous play out in the front yard. Maybe it was just the extra time. Or maybe it was actually precipitated by the sleeping arrangement: Zuri being able to see, hear and smell Scout in a relaxed environment for a prolonged period with no chance of ambush. Was a positive association being made in a safe environment? Maybe it was the ample space out the front. Maybe it was a combination of any or all of these, or some I haven't even thought of.

I hadn’t planned the play and was simply teaching Scout on a long lead while Zuri was wandering around getting her random treats for being in the presence of the crazy black dog. I was ecstatic! Mutual play is an excellent sign that two dogs are going to get along. It must be mutual. Many dogs look like they are playing when in fact one is trying to escape or avoid the contact of an insistent partner. What was even more impressive was how beautifully Scout modified her play style to suit Zuri’s preference. It meant she was listening to Zuri’s signals and adjusting. Scout is a barker and a head banger: every time she barked or banged her nose into Zuri, Zuri turned away, looked away or paused. Scout soon realized that play was more continuous if she didn’t bark into Zuri’s face or bulldoze her. They both loved to chase and run, to play bitey-face with well controlled bite inhibition and to wrestle. They both took breaks and mirrored each other with a shake off. Scout was actually better at being recalled from play than Zuri. I must work on that!  Email subscribers can watch here.

The interesting thing was that Zuri would still not engage in play out the back or inside. There could be any number of reasons for this. I focused on continuing to create positive associations (especially in these areas), reinforcing for desired behaviours, keeping Scout sleeping in the bedroom and providing deliberate opportunities for play out the front once or twice a day. The next video shows that it was pretty tense in the lounge room initially.

On day 19 they broke out into play in the back yard. Only for a few seconds, yet my heart leapt. The breakthrough came later that day inside, when Scout’s play stares were answered with a play bow from Zuri and it was on. It was cautious at first, with Zuri looking at me often when Scout was getting too rough – which melted my heart because it seemed as if she was seeking my assistance. I helped settle things in a light-hearted way rather than by yelling or saying “no” – I wanted them to enjoy play, not superimpose the threat of anything aversive from me when they were playing. So I would pause the play with a recall or by distracting Scout with a butt scratch or by throwing a toy, or simply letting Zuri hide behind me until she was ready to resume. The whole experience needed to be as enjoyable and stress-free as possible. Email subscribers can watch here.

I set up opportunities for inside and outside play every day at times I knew would be most conducive. Not first thing in the morning. Scout is a morning puppy. Zuri likes a sleep-in. Each play session became less cautious and lasted longer. I still felt the need to supervise. Any play between dogs can be very arousing with the risk of tipping over into aggression. Scout gets very excited and sometimes doesn’t stop when Zuri tries to disengage. Since it was early days, I wanted to referee until they had more practice self-regulating. They even let me join in sometimes. How cool is that? Scout was back in the laundry after ten days of bedroom privileges. There was an added advantage to the time in the bedroom that transferred to the laundry. I’ll save that for the next blog.

All in all, I was overjoyed to witness them playing – even if the lounge looked like a pillow cannon had gone off! Compatible play bodes well for a more relaxed cohabitation in a two-dog household. Scout seemed calmer. She even chewed less. Zuri seemed less tense and was around more. It also meant that if I couldn't be bothered taking them for a walk, I could palm them off with, "Go play with your sister!"

It's funny ‘coz it’s true. Training (or conditioning) is something that occurs 24/7, whether one is aware of it or not. For this reason I incorporate training aims into the mundane, everyday tasks of life. I really enjoy doing this. Things like asking Zuri to wait at doorways, all doorways, before going out. Also waiting before jumping out of the car, eating food, or removing the lead to allow play. The reinforcement for waiting at all these times is gaining access to something she wants: the great outdoors, food, and play. When I could see this becoming problematic at times – it increased her arousal so that she didn’t pay any attention to me once released – I worked on teaching her to ‘check-in’ with me after being released, instead of just running off. You can see the ‘check-in' here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J24ycE8AFtU

I love applying the principles of behavioural science to training other species as well. Just for fun. Just because I enjoy interacting with animals. Take the resident Willie Wagtails. Over a few months I have taught them to come on cue: the signal being my outstretched finger or hand. Then I taught them to stay longer on my hand. They took me by surprise and even flew in to pose for a New Year’s Eve photo. However, I noticed that when I had dogs come to stay, the Willies were hesitant to come and land. This prompted me to teach them not to be so fearful of various dogs that came to visit whilst I was present. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that all this time spent playing with birds would have a most practical application. 

Scout, the assistance dog puppy, has come to stay. Wouldn’t you know it, she loves to chase moving objects. Birds definitely fit that category. Here’s the wonderful part. All the times the Willies and I have played together safely around strange dogs has culminated in them gaining a confidence to approach and land on my finger with dogs present. When I took Scout outside to do some training and the Willies flew in to visit, Scout was enthralled. She lunged after them with gusto. The Willies were unperturbed and still flew near and tried to land on my hand. I immediately changed my training plan and decided to teach Scout a new task: not to chase the birds. To do this I needed to give her something else to do which paid off big time. Scout practised her new behaviour of sitting watching instead of chasing them no matter what they did. Since the Willies came and stayed on cue, I could use them as distractions in a very controlled and  safe way. It worked beautifully within seconds. I had the presence of mind to run inside and grab the video camera. Who  knows when an opportunity like this may come again? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVE9k2f83T4

The moral of the story? The meme about wasting time training has so many more applications than we first imagine. I use it with Zuri in everyday life because it makes our life together more harmonious. I extended it to spending immensely enjoyable time with my backyard friends and enhancing my training skills on wild animals who could leave at any time. The fact that I was then able to use this history of conditioning to help teach Scout impulse control was an added and unexpected bonus. Definitely none of it time wasted.

A common complaint that comes up with puppies who are first learning to walk on lead is that they bite, chew and tug the lead as soon as it is put on. It’s not a problem limited to puppies either. Many full grown dogs have the same habit. Some people get around the problem by using a metal chain that’s not pleasant to chew. Or by spraying something nasty tasting onto the lead. Or by punishing the behaviour with a leash jerk, a choke with a choker collar or a raised voice. I like to approach the problem by first assessing when and why this behaviour might occur.

Reasons may include that:

* it’s reinforcing. Puppies explore with their mouths and many leads seems to feel good to chew. The attention a dog gets when they start chewing may also be reinforcing: the dog gets looked at, spoken too, touched to the point that trying to retrieve the lead from his mouth becomes a super-fun game of tug. If it wasn’t reinforcing, a dog wouldn’t continue to do it.

* it’s due to frustration. It may be a displacement or replacement behaviour. If a dog cannot access something they want, they may turn on the lead which is restricting them and chew in response.

* it’s a response to something a dog wishes to escape or avoid. They may desperately chew on the lead that is preventing escape.

I choose to introduce a behaviour that replaces the biting and pays off more. If the reason is due to frustration, I provide an alternative behaviour in conjunction with teaching the dog some impulse control in an environment in which he can succeed. It is not effective or efficient to attempt teaching a dog who is already frustrated. For fearful dogs I avoid putting them in the situations that trigger the escape/avoidance response whilst working on helping them overcome the fears in a controlled and safe environment.

My ethos is that training should enhance the relationship between the dog and guardian. For this reason, I avoid punishment-based techniques to stop the behaviour after it has already occurred. Punishment has side effects. The type and intensity of the fallout becomes evident only after the damage has been done. Further, it is generally much harder to reverse than it is to cause. I value the human-dog relationship too much to risk gambling with such consequences.
 
I label many training tasks as games. I do this deliberately because games should be;

a) mutually enjoyable,
b) a vehicle for building positive relationships, and
c) a fun way to learn practical skills.

When has playing games been boring or time wasted with friends? Of course, each individual must enjoy the actual game chosen. It's not truly relationship building if only one party is enjoying it. So it should be with our dogs. I add another proviso; games with our dogs should be win-win. There is no loser when teaching your dog in this way. You will choose to teach your dog skills which will be beneficial and your dog will be reinforced with something he values and enjoys. A relationship of trust is another wonderful outcome.

The “Don’t Chew The Lead Game” and “Drop The Slack Lead Game” are two of my favourite ways to prevent lead chewing and tugging. The emphasis is on prevention by setting the dog up for successfully choosing an alternative behaviour before he bites. If he gets distracted and starts chewing, the “Drop The Lead Game” then gives an alternative behaviour rather than continuing to chew or tug. No force is required and no raised voice.

Here’s some handy extra hints:

* If your dog starts chewing as soon as the lead is clipped on (or before), start the game earlier. Simply show your dog the lead and reinforce for the behaviour of staying still, sitting or just looking at the lead rather than jumping up to bite it. Only clip the lead on when you know your dog won’t bite it. If your dog won't give you an alternative behaviour when you are showing the lead, problem solve why this might be. 
Is he looking for one second before jumping? Anticipate this and work on your timing. Click that look and get the treat to his mouth before he can leave the ground. 
Is the lead too close to him? Hold it higher. 
Does movement make him jump? Hold the lead still. 
Is he grabbing the end of a dangling lead? Fold the lead up and show him, so there are no dangly bits.

* Deliver food directly into your dog’s mouth or onto the ground as this will prevent your dog jumping up. This helps prevent jumping to get the lead as well.

* Avoid letting your dog chew the lead at other times. Avoid putting him in situations where he does chew to get quicker and more robust results.

Here’s a video showing how I approached teaching Yoda the kelpie and Abby the labrador not to chew and tug the lead.

Yoda and Abby simply found chewing and tugging reinforcing. The principles are the same for every dog, but the process itself may need to be modified slightly for each individual. This may include how quickly you progress through the stages or how small you have to break down each increase when raising difficulty.

I hope this helps you in devising a plan for preventing this behaviour. Most of all, I hope this increases the fun-factor for you and your dog.

Turbo is a greyhound I am fostering. Greyhounds in Western Australia need to wear a muzzle by law, unless they undergo a behaviour assessment and are "Green Collar" assessed. Turbo has undergone this assessment and passed, but because I am not his final home, he still needs to wear a muzzle when out with  me in public. I noticed he didn't like to put the muzzle on, so I set myself the task of making him enjoy putting the muzzle on.

It's a great idea to teach dogs to wear new things like muzzles before they ever need to wear one. This helps associate it with being enjoyable, rather than a cue for unpleasant things happening. It's a really handy skill for all dogs to have; even the friendliest dog may bite if they are severely injured and in a lot of pain and discomfort. Knowing how to wear a muzzle before hand makes having to wear one in an emergency no drama at all, where as not having that skill just adds another stressor onto an already unpleasant situation.

I really enjoyed making this video. My objectives were to:

1) encourage guardians to listen to their dogs, even when they speak 'quietly',

2) promote positive reinforcement of desired behaviours rather than using force to get behaviours,

3) demonstrate how mundane training tasks can transform into fun games and quality time for trainer and trainee, and

4) improve human-dog relationships through all of the above.

Please help me spread this message by sharing this blog and video.

To adopt Turbo contact: Greyhounds as Pets

Another milestone has been reached with crate training. Turbo finds company, attention and physical contact more reinforcing than food. In a practical sense this means if I walk out of a room, he will stop eating to come follow me and would rather stay where I am than return to the food.

Well, he used to.

I am teaching him that it's OK for him to be alone and not to follow me abso-jolly-lutely everywhere. In baby steps, with small amounts of time and with the help of the Treat and Train®. I resist petting when he follows and solicits me for attention; this will only reinforce his shadowing behaviour and make him pushy for attention. I am selective and save it for reinforcement of any other desired behaviour, such as when he's resting in his crate or doesn't follow me to another room or doesn't jump. He's such a softy, so it 'aint easy not to cave in and cuddle him whenever he asks, but it's worth it. Some of the benefits include:

1. It will improve his emotional wellbeing i.e. less distress at being alone.

2. It will enhance his confidence.

3. It will subsequently increase his adoptability.

4. It also gives me some space when I need it.

Just as an aside, here’s an example of how caving in to Turbo’s requests for attention and petting may prove detrimental in the long run. When friends come over, Turbo loves to say hello by nudging them and putting his head in their lap. If they oblige him by scratching his ears and rubbing his head, he stays there. If they stop, he nudges again. If they don’t resume, he proceeds to nudge more and may try to hop up onto their lap, because obviously they are not getting the subtle message. If they start laughing, he loves this and snuggles up closer. Once you let him know you are a push over, you have a very large lap dog! Cute? Well, yeh….until he asks at inopportune times and then you have to physically remove him (because he doesn’t know “off” yet) and he keeps trying because, hey, you usually let him do this. However, with me, because I am consistent and avoid giving him a pat when he nudges, he comes up and waits patiently for me to engage. It never gets to the point where he is pushy or tries to become a lap dog. He learns that waiting gets him what he wants with me. One of my favourite catch phrases is, “Our behaviour can change a dogs behaviour”. So the same dog can behave very differently with two individuals.

I'm one of those people who is guilty of taking photos of my dog with a silly hat on. I get great pleasure out of getting a neat shot of Zuri with a hat that corresponds to a special occasion and sharing it. Getting good shots of a dog with a silly hat can be no mean feat. If you approach it the right way, it is amazingly easy and can be enjoyable for both photographer and subject. For me, it must cause no or very minimal signs of stress in Zuri. Here's a sneak peak into how I capture adorable shots of Zuri. She's such a good sport. (Video link for email subscribers)  

I mention the "trust account" that I have with Zuri. Below is a video by Dr Susan Friedman which describes this trust account beautifully. (Video link for email subscribers)