I have a well-behaved 2 1/2 yo dog that has 2 problems. The most urgent being that she barks very loudly and incessantly when other dogs walk by our house. We have tried telling her “quiet” and rewarding her when she is quiet. We have tried telling her to go to her crate and rewarding her when she is in the crate and quiet. We have also tried an ultrasonic device which worked for awhile but no longer works for her. I sincerely believe that she knows we don’t want her to bark but that it is such a strong instinct, maybe she can’t control it. Do I have to resort to covering my windows so that she can’t see out?

You are correct that barking is indeed a very strong instinct in dogs. Plus, every time your dog barks and the other dog and/or people outside “go away”, your dog’s barking behavior is rewarded because she thinks she is doing her job by preventing others in her space. Though you are rewarding “quiet”, it’s happening after she’s already barking. In order to prevent her from practicing this rewarding behavior, you will need to restrict her access to the windows. But that doesn’t mean having to cover them and live in the dark!

Try tethering your dog to you with a leash. That means that when you are home, she is connected to you. If you feel like she is about to go for the window, distract her (perhaps with an attention exercise she knows really well like “Watch Me” or “Touch”) and reward with a treat when she pays attention to you rather than the window. When you are not home, restrict her access to the windows with either a gate or crate so that she can’t practice barking while you are away.

You’ll also want to teach her “Leave it” and eventually, you can use this command to tell her to leave her barking at the door!

Here’s how to teach “Leave It”:

• Present a treat that your dog will want in a closed fist.
• Let your dog lick or nudge your hand to try to get to the object. If your dog mouths your hand with teeth, take your hand away.
• Once your dog backs away and stops trying to get the item out of your hand, even if itʼs only for a split second, say “Yes” or “Good” and then reward them with a treat from your other hand.
• Once you see your dog starting to “get it” because they are looking for a treat from the other hand automatically when you present your fist, then you can start adding the command, “Leave It”.
• Present an item in your closed fist.
• Say “Leave it” after you present the fist.
• If your dog looks at you, say “Yes” or “Good” and reward from the other hand.
• Practice this for several days, always going back to the beginning when you add a distraction or a new environment.

The next steps are the same only making the task a little harder:

• Present an open fist with your thumb over the item and repeat the steps above.
• Present an open hand with a treat or object on it. Close the hand if dog tries to get the item and repeat the basic steps again.
• Put the treat or object on the floor, barely take your hand away, say “Leave It” and if they do, reward from other hand. If they go for the item, take it away.

Practice makes perfect and this is definitely the case for this behavior. Just because your dog is doing it with all the steps above, doesnʼt mean that they can resist a coffee table full of food when you arenʼt in the room. You have to practice this scenario, or any other scenario that happens in your daily life, so that when it happens for real, they will be ready. The beautiful thing about “Leave It”, is that you can teach your dog to apply it to objects like above or other other dogs. In your case, you’ll eventually apply “Leave It” to the windows.

1.  This can happen to anyone.

2.  When it happens to you, you might not be calm, cool and collected.

That said, I will share.  Please don’t judge me.

It was one of our eerily, warm January days, I had slept very little due to a 4 month old baby who has no respect for Mommy’s nigh-nigh time, and I was downing coffee, waiting for my sitter to arrive, when, as my regular schedule goes, it was time to let my dog Finlay, out.  The day was as normal as can be, except that when I called Finlay to go out, there was no response.  None.  I checked his bed, every closet and room, including the basement.  He was not in the house.  It’s then that what happened starts to unravel in my brain.  The last time I really saw him was before my husband let him out the night before.  I began to, in two very descriptive words, FREAK OUT.  In the insanity of our lives of two kids, no sleep, both of us working… we left our beloved dog outside OVERNIGHT!

The guilt that wrapped itself around me was so tight that I could barely breathe.  How could we do this?  How could I not notice until now?!?  My handling this situation with grace and calm went out the window about 30 seconds before I really understood what happened.  It didn’t help when I went to grab the leash and attached to it was his collar, so nicely holding all of his tags.

This was a nightmare that had a great outcome.  He apparently went for an early shopping trip to Sam’s Club and one of the employees took him to the local shelter, which we had already called and alerted that he was missing.  However, as you know, this could have had an entirely different and tragic ending.  To get to said Sam’s Club, he had to cross a four lane, very bust street.  I still don’t know how he made it.  I’m just thankful he did.

My point in writing about this is that I didn’t know where to begin.  I enlisted friends and family because, quite honestly, I was a hot mess.  You’d think that being in the business of dogs, I’d know exactly what to do, but I was lost in guilt and panic.  So, I’d like to leave you with a to-do list that should be inside a closet or drawer for such an occasion:

1.  Call the police.  They are out there on the streets and can keep an eye out.

2.  Call Animal Control for your city and maybe a neighboring one.

3.  Call the local Emergency Vets.

4.  Call the local Animal Shelter

5.  Have an electronic picture of your dog that’s easy to get to.

6.  Call a friend who can post the picture to Facebook immediately.

7.  Let all the people above know the following about your dog: breed, sex, size, if he is microchipped, any discerning marks, when he went missing and your cell phone number.

8.  Make a flyer with the picture and all of the above information.  Make lots of copies to post to poles and trees in parks, near schools, if there is a dog park nearby, etc.

9.   I recommend offering a reward.

10.  Keep your cell phone with you at all times.

Make this list with the actual phone numbers on the list so you don’t have to look anything up in a moment of insanity.  Put this piece of paper somewhere where you can easily access it.

I hope this helps.  I also hope you never have to use the list you make!

On a side note, I’m really glad Finlay wrote a blog post last month because his version of this story may have been a total exposé of living in the Stewart household entitled: “Forgotten: a look into the Stewart household”.

Most door situations are reasonably under control.

I always keep leashes, with gentle leader attached, hanging on a hook by the door.  I am blessed with thoughtful neighbors who have learned through a few too many exuberant greetings to either call on their cell phones to let me know they’re coming over or simply let themselves in rather than ringing the dreaded bell.  If I know people are coming, Ruby is usually confined to our bedroom where she naps away the visit while listening to the radio, and Tucker happily chews on a Kong in his crate.

The unexpected doorbells are still a problem though.

I have found myself speaking to the dogs in a less-than-happy voice as I try with various degrees of success to body block them while I slip out the door and slam it closed behind me so I can order girl scout cookies, sign a petition or try to courteously refuse whatever is being sold.  Finally, after feeling absolutely exasperated with the dogs, I had to ask myself what I would tell a client dealing with this problem? Thinking of it this way made the solution much easier for me to see.

So today, I made my way to the back of our basement storage closet to haul out the baby gate that hasn’t been used since my youngest was a toddler over five years ago.  I installed it and now my dogs no longer have access to the front door. Every trainer knows that one of the first things you need to do is manage the problem situation and set the dogs up for success.  The second thing we are doing is working harder on the “Go to your place” cue.  Both dogs know it, but we had never taken it to the level of being able to do it reliably when the doorbell rings.  They are getting better each day, and I hope someday to be able to welcome guests into my home with quiet, calm dogs who placidly sit on their beds until released to say a very mellow hello.  We can all dream, right?

I’ve had Penny for a year and a half, she’s roughly two years of age now. The first year was wonderful, she was relaxed, calm, and playful. In the past 3-6 months, she’s kept her charm, but attained some less than desirable behaviors.

On leash, while on walks she’ll meet a new dog and will sniff playfully for about 10-15 seconds, and then lunges and is very vocal. Off leash, twice in the past week, she’s played well for 10-15 minutes, and then started chasing another dog. She used to love chasing and running away, but now she gets growly and snappy, to the point where I’ve had to pick her up and leash her, because its a violent altercation.

She gets 3 1.5 mile walks a day or so, as well as shorter ones, indoor clicker training (it’s winter), and plenty of love and attention. If we’re one on one outside, her recall is usually excellent, and she listens to commands well. I just don’t know what to do anymore, and I hate to think I can’t take her to off leash areas. In dog parks alone she stands and looks sad.

Penny is right at the age where major change occurs in dogs. She’s still a teenager, and making the transition into maturity, which can be a rocky period for both dogs and parents. Be patient, and stay the course!

When your dog greets another dog on leash, keep that greeting to less than 10-15 seconds since that is where she is successful right now. Allow her to greet the dog for 3-5 seconds, turn and walk away from the dog and give her a treat as a reward. She’ll eventually associate greetings with good things and won’t need to bark and lunge in order to get away from the other dog.

Limit the time she is in dog parks (one to two visits per week lasting no longer than 30 minutes) while she is in this adolescent development stage. It’s always better to have dogs play in a low-key environment, rather than a high arousal area, so also pay attention to how many dogs are in the park. Dog parks can provide an excellent opportunity to socialize with other dogs, but frequent use can create a dog that requires too much stimuli in order to “be tired” and you don’t want to build that kind of tolerance in your dog.

Since you have a reliable recall outside of the dog park, practice your recall outside of the park on a long lead. Gradually decrease the distance until you can get a reliable recall close to the park. This will help Penny better translate behaviors outside of the park to inside the park but remember to use baby steps and always go back to the point where she was successful.

Another group training class will continue Penny’s success. We’d recommend Recall & Leash Manners this Spring, to give her the opportunity to practice these skills around new dogs and in new environments.

If your dog bites a person or another domestic animal, local ordinances require you to take certain steps, often within 24 hours of the incident. A case of severe injury will require emergency care and the hospital must call the police.  In Chicago, in cases where the bite victim does not go to the emergency room, the victim must go to a police station to report the bite in person.  The police report is automatically sent to Animal Care and Control.  An officer from Animal Care and Control may visit the dog’s home to explain the owner’s responsibility and ask questions about the circumstances. Even if Animal Care and Control does not come out, Chicago law mandates the owner to take the dog to a veterinarian within 24 hours to begin a 10-day observation for rabies.  The veterinarian will examine the dog and fax a report to Animal Care and Control.  If the dog’s rabies vaccine is current, in most instances the dog can be confined at home and brought back to the veterinarian on the 10^th day.  The veterinarian must again file a report with Animal Care and Control certifying the completion of the observation period.  That is the best case scenario (although that statement does not address the emotional trauma).  If the rabies vaccine is not current, the dog must be confined under a veterinarian’s care, at the owner’s expense, for the 10-day observation period.  A dog that has caused severe injury or death cannot return home and will be impounded while a “dangerous animal” investigation is completed. The owner is required to pay all costs incurred by Animal Care and Control for housing, care and treatment.

Chicago’s Municipal Code defines a “dangerous animal” as one which bites, inflicts injury on, kills or otherwise attacks a human being or domestic animal without provocation or which, on more than one occasion and without provocation, chases or approaches a person in an apparent attitude of attack outside of its owner’s property.  The investigation may include interviewing the victim, the owner, and witnesses and observing the dog and the scene of the bite.  A dog declared to be a “dangerous animal” can be euthanized.  If the dog is spared, the owner can be ordered to securely confine the dog while on the owner’s property, post a warning sign, and muzzle the dog at all times when off the property.  Within 10 days, the owner must also have the dog sterilized and must obtain liability insurance in an amount of at least $100,000.

A dog bite is upsetting for all involved and has potentially disastrous consequences for the dog.

As responsible dog owners, we must remember that any dog can bite, regardless of the breed and past behavior and it does not automatically mean that the dog is “bad” or dangerous.  It is up to us to be aware of our dog at all times and intervene if necessary in situations where our dog may feel uncomfortable.  The American Humane Association provides the following prevention tips for dog owners:

What can dog owners do?

Spay or neuter your dog.

Neutering reduces aggression, especially in males. Un-neutered dogs are more than 2.6 times more likely to bite than neutered dogs. Female dogs in heat and nursing moms are much more dangerous than spayed females, and their behavior can be unpredictable. Talk to your veterinarian to schedule an appointment, or contact your local humane organization or animal shelter for information on low-cost spay/neuter assistance.

Supervise your dog.

Dogs left on their own may feel uncertain and defensive, or even overly confident, and this poses risks to your dog, as well as to other people and dogs.

Train and socialize your dog.

Be sure your dog interacts with and has good manners around all members of the family, the public and other animals. Basic training is as important for the owner as it is for the dog, and socialization is the key to a well-adjusted adult dog. It is essential that puppies between 8 and 16 weeks old be exposed to a variety of people, places, dogs and other animals. As dogs age, do your best to continue their exposure to these things to ensure that they are well socialized throughout their lives.

Restrain your dog.

Dogs that are allowed to roam loose outside the yard may perceive your entire neighborhood as their “territory” and may defend it aggressively. By obeying leash laws and taking care to properly fence your yard, you will not only be respecting the laws in your community, but you will also be helping keep your dog safe from cars, other dogs and unforeseen dangers.

Unchain your dog.

Chained dogs are 2.8 times more likely to bite. Tethering or chaining dogs increases their stress, protectiveness and vulnerability, thereby increasing the potential for aggression. Fencing is the better solution.

The complete discussion is available on the American Humane Association’s website.

Q: TTouch is a form of dog massage, right?

A: Yes and no. Unlike canine massage, TTouch works at the skin level rather than the muscle level. We are trying to engage the dog’s nervous system by working at the nerve (skin) level—our touches are lighter, more varied, and not as deep as typical canine massage techniques.  In addition, we can choose from dozens of different TTouches, and modify them as needed, to help all types of dogs with a wide variety of issues or concerns. Finally, TTouch also incorporates many techniques other than the touches, such as body wraps and groundwork exercises in the Confidence Course.

Q: I’ve heard about body wraps—what’s up with those?

A: TTouch body wraps are simply Ace bandages that we use in various ways to increase a dog’s sense of proprioception (where their body is in space) and help them focus and stay calm and centered. The theory behind the wraps is that constant, gentle pressure is calming. This is the same concept behind both swaddling a baby and the “squeeze machine” developed by Temple Grandin (a world-renowned scientist who, in spite of her own autism, holds a PhD in animal science). My clients and workshop participants know that I dye my wraps; this doesn’t make them any more or less effective, but it does make them look less medical, more fun, and infinitely more fashion-forward!

Q: What’s the Confidence Course? Is that like an agility course?

A: The Confidence Course is a great tool for—you guessed it—building a dog’s confidence! The course looks a little like an agility course, in that it is comprised of various stations where the dogs are engaged in a physical (groundwork) exercise. Unlike agility, though, we ask dogs in the Confidence Course to slow down rather than speed up, and a key goal is for them to get better at focusing on the task at hand (or at paw) and move through each station calmly and with self control. Stations include various surfaces for the dog to walk across, flat ladders or other objects requiring precise placement of paws, wobbly or slightly elevated surfaces, and/or a flat labyrinth. Working in the Confidence Course helps dogs become more mindful and less reactive to stimuli that would normally set them off.

I encourage you to attend a TTouch workshop—we are planning additional introductory workshops, an additional class for those ready to learn more, and a humans-only class designed to help those of you with dogs not quite ready to participate in group trainings.

Sign up for our next workshop in Oak Park on Wednesday, February 22 from 7pm-9pm here.

Betsy Lane

Guild Certified Tellington TTouch Practitioner for Companion Animals

www.petkido.com

I am a big fan of teaching dogs to play tug. It not perfect for every dog, but don’t believe the fallacy that it “makes” dogs aggressive. That simply isn’t true. In fact, when played with strict rules, quite the opposite is true. Its many benefits include:

•  Building your relationship with your dog.
•  Teaching excellent self control.
•  Your dog may seek you out as a source for resolving her anxiety with a game of tug, instead of engaging the environment and chewing your furniture or leash.
•  It teaches dogs to retrieve and bring the tug back to you and not play keep away.
•  It can help give your dog a good RECALL (coming when called)!
•  When the desire to tug is powerful enough, you can use it as a REINFORCEMENT instead of food.
•  Burns off excess energy.

Incorrectly played tug can cause poor behavior. Strict rules are imperative.

The rules of engagement are:

1.    You always control the tug toy by deciding when the game starts and stops. You store it out of sight from your dog, and bring it out when you decide to play.

2.    Make sure your dog knows you are causing the tug game to happen by clearly moving her around with the tug. Don’t let her tug a static toy as that puts her in charge of the game and makes it harder to get the DROP IT or OUT.

3.    Keep sessions short, 2-4 minutes or shorter (maybe even 3-5 seconds), to keep arousal low. Several short tugging sessions in a row are better than one long one.

4.    If one tooth even accidentally touches your hand, the game is over, try again later. Make sure you play fairly by offering the tug in such a manner that she won’t accidentally bite you.

5.    Get your dog tugging for 10 seconds. If your dog becomes overly aroused (excessive growling), stop sooner, even after a couple seconds, wait for a spontaneous sit, then REINFORCE by starting the game again. Your dog will quickly learn that if she gets too carried away, you stop the game.

6.    Let your dog win a lot. Yes, you read that right! Let your dog win. If your dog never wins the game of tug, she may choose to keep the tug for herself, and begin guarding the tug. When you let your dog win, tell her “you win” and move briefly away from your dog. Then I will do one of two things:

• Either call your dog right away and begin a new round of tug, or
• Chase your dog when she has the tug in a fun and teasing (not threatening) way. Most (not all!) dogs like to be chased and will frequently try to get other dogs to chase them during dog play. Why not fulfill that role yourself and make your dog think of you as her best playmate? This chasing becomes a new and fun game for you and your dog. I frequently see dogs come back to their person after winning and being chased, and ask for a new game of tug. What a fantastic way to build your relationship with your dog! The following video shows Scrappy the Weim playing this game with his mom and me.

You can get the toy back in one of three ways, in order of my preference:

1.    Freeze the tug against your body so there is no play in the tug. Don’t tug back, just hold it. It will not be fun for your dog because you are no longer playing, and she will let go. The second your dog lets go, MARK, and immediately engage her in a new round of tug. This teaches your dog not to guard or play keep-away with the tug toy because she knows she will get it back right away most of the time.

2.     Ask for a DROP IT or OUT. A treat trade may be necessary initially if your dog doesn’t know DROP IT or OUT.

3.     Renowned dog trainer Kay Laurence from England uses the following technique. With one hand, gently and slowly take your dog’s collar underneath and raise her head up until her nose is angled upwards. It is difficult for a dog to keep her mouth closed when her nose is pointed upwards. Then wait until your dog opens her mouth and calmly and slowly remove the tug. If you move quickly, your dog will rebite the tug before you are ready.

When ending the game, give your dog a treat and put the toy away. I like to end in a good way with a treat trade to maintain the tug’s power as a REINFORCER.

Add-in the retrieve. While tugging, let your dog win. As soon as she has control of the tug, back up a step or two cheerfully calling her to you. The second she moves towards you, grab the tug and reinforce her by continuing the tug game.

As many people know, I am or have been involved in many types of dog sports– agility, hunt tests, competitive obedience, tracking, rally and K9 Nose Work. Currently, in competitive dog sports, tug is used as a reinforcement instead of food much of the time, especially for agility, obedience and sometimes for K9 Nose Work. Tug, properly trained, can be as or more reinforcing than treats for dogs in all sorts of situations in your home as well. So if your dog likes to tug, look at tugging in a new light. Tug with rules; teach them lots of good things in the process, and have fun with your dog at the same time.

Being a new business, we got new everything: new name, new website, new collateral material and most importantly, new office. I was responsible for most of the project, so I now understand how to do a remodel from start to finish.

It takes patience, decision making skills, well-connected friends and of course, dogs.

Wait. I’m sorry. I couldn’t have possibly said dogs. Well, unfortunately, I did. See, the thing about any sort of renovation is that you have to work long days and wait around for a bunch of people to do work so that you can let them in and out. When I work a long day, my dog has to come with me. Seeing as how I bring him to the office all the time, I thought, this can’t be that bad. Well, I was wrong.

The first step in our remodeling was ripping up some very, very old carpet. I would cut a strip of carpet and start rolling it away, then my dog Eddy would lay right in front of it. “This looks like a good place to rest,” he must have been thinking. I mean, come on.

The office was covered in dust and paw prints, which was fine except Eddy also climbs onto things like chairs, couches, rugs, you know, things made of fabric. All the stuff we had that I spent lots of time covering up was just messed up by his silly, little paws.

Move ahead a few months and the new furniture arrives. IKEA delivered 77 boxes to our office, which as you can imagine took up quite a bit of space. I sign the papers for the nice delivery lady, close the door, turn around and sure enough, there is Eddy, sitting on top of all the boxes. My furniture? No, Ed. NOT your furniture. Now WATCH OUT. I have to spend the next three weeks assembling it all.

Don’t get me started on how Eddy thinks he’s helping in the furniture building process. Ed, you’re not suppose to stand on the plywood, I have to put a nail there. Eddy, we have to lift this up, can you please get out of the way?

Obviously, this blog isn’t filled with much training advice, except maybe, don’t bring your dog into a construction zone.

Normally, I really wouldn’t advise dogs and construction zones, as they can step on nails and other dangerous material and they might not like all the random people walking in and out.

However, if you’re doing construction in your home and there isn’t much choice, my advice is to keep your dog on a leash in case they make a run toward the open paint can or rogue screw. You can also try to desensitize them to loud noises. See if you can find some construction type noises and play it on a low volume while giving them treats. Slowly increase the volume when your dogs seem comfortable. Don’t raise the volume more than once a day. Eventually you can play it at a normal volume and hopefully they will be completely used to the sound when the real thing happens.

To be fair, Eddy made the renovation experience much more tolerable. I guess he did help after all.

What’s a good way to drive alone in the car with a small dog? My Silky Terrier, Dexter is a menace so I don’t take him in the car unless my husband goes with me. Dexter is so excited he jumps around the car from front to back, side to side to look at all the action going on outside. I bought a pet carrier and since he’s not crated ever at home, he wiggled and thrashed around so much he flipped the carrier over behind the drivers seat. I put his blanket, chew toy and a kong in there with him but he just wanted out of the carrier. I just took him out and left him at home. So, what’s the best way to travel with a little dog that jumps around to look out the window but won’t sit still in a car carrier?

Ah, the vision of a dog with its head out of the car window taking in all of the sniffs of the world. It’s what we envision when we take our dogs for a ride, right? Wrong! Loose animals can interfere with and distract the driver and become projectiles in the case of an accident or stopping short. Plus, a restrained animal will not be able to run out of the car and possibly away the second the door is opened. Safety should always be your top priority.

It sounds like Dexter can be a handful in the car, but it’s still possible to set up good habits that can save a lot of frustration. The first step in ensuring your pet’s well-being in the car is to train him to ride in the car. For safety reasons, pets should be confined to the back seat, either in a carrier or a harness attached to the car’s seat belt. Since you’ve already tried the carrier, you may want to consider a harness, which is basically a pet seat belt.  That may seem crazy at first, but it sets them up for success so they can’t practice behaviors that don’t work in the car.

Acclimate your dog to their crate/harness by letting them sniff it before you leave. Let them explore the car while it’s not moving. Use food rewards when your dog is in the quiet and still in the crate/harness. Go for very short rides at first. If Dexter remains calm, gradually increase the length of the ride Remember, getting your dog used to riding in a car will be a journey!

For additional resources, AnimalSense loves this article from The Whole Dog Journal’s Pat Miller, who says safety gear and calm behavior is a must for all canine passengers.

So do dogs only see in black and white?  If not, what colors do they see?  Found in both human and canine species, the retina contains 2 types of photoreceptors, cones and rods.  Cones are responsible for color perception and details of objects.  Rods detect motion and are responsible for night vision. Dogs have far fewer cone cells than humans, but more rod cells.  Dogs are dichromatic seeing only two primary colors; blue and yellow.  We humans are trichromatic seeing blue, yellow, and red.  So can dogs see in color?  Yes!  But are dogs colorblind?  Yes!  Check out this picture to the left you can see a dog and a human’s color spectrum.

Also, since dogs have fewer cone cells their ability to see detail, or acuity, is 6 times less than a human’s.  Acuity is how many lines that can be seen as distinct entities.  Here you can see what can be seen clearly to a human and a dog.  The diagram that we see clearly would be a grey blur to a dog.

Dogs have a higher concentration of rod cells in their eyes.  Rod cells see in shades of black, white, and grey so dog’s have better night vision.  This also makes them more aware of movement.  So while a dog may not be able to see sharp detail they are more sensitive to tracking movement.  Example:  If you throw an orange ball (it will appear yellow) onto green grass (it will also appear yellow) their tracking abilities will allow them to follow the movement and retrieve the ball.

So to sum it up, dogs see mostly in shades of yellow, blue and violet.

Red, green, and orange appear somewhere on their yellow to blue spectrum.  Fewer cone cells make their acuity 6 times less than ours and give them about 20/75 vision.  And lastly, due to their high concentration of rod cells, they are better equipped to see in the dark and track movement (those of us who have dogs that chase small animals, leaves, and the like already know this!).