Surface Preferences & Toileting Habits

A few weeks ago, a long time client reached out for help with her adult dog.  I've known her since this dog was a puppy and they lived here in California.  She's since moved to the Midwest to be closer to family and that seems to be when the issue with toileting habits began.  You see, her dog was trained as a puppy to toilet on artificial turf as that's what she had in her yard here.  We began with a patch of artificial turf in an xpen to keep her tiny puppy safe and he eventually graduated to using her entire backyard, no problem.  Other than the fact he hated going outside to toilet on rainy days (we added an area covered by an awning to fix that issue!), all went well with his house training.  All went well, that is, until they moved four months ago.  Since then, he's been toileting everywhere, except where she wants him to go!  She actually suggested that I share her story as she'd not seen it here on my blog before and she felt that my suggestions not only made sense, but that they would work for her. 

It's really important to start with the way puppies learn to toilet appropriately.  If their breeder exclusively uses puppy pads, for example, never introducing them to other substrates such as fake grass, real grass, ground cover, or bark, these puppies will develop a surface preference for puppy pads and other soft surfaces like furniture, backpacks on the ground, throw rugs, towels, and piles of laundry. This means that when you bring your puppy home and try to teach them to toilet outside on your lawn or in the ground cover, they'll look at you confused.  They'll play and romp in those areas, but they won't toilet out there, no matter how long they're outside, or how much you cajole or bribe them.  Then, you'll bring them indoors and within minutes they'll void on the rug by the door or the laundry you are sorting.  Why? Because their breeder trained them to do so! If, instead, your breeder introduces several different toileting surfaces, especially adding in those surfaces outdoors, rewarding the puppies for using them all, they won't develop a specific surface preference, instead developing a preference for going outdoors, whatever surface is available there. That way, no matter what your yard situation is, your puppy is primed to toilet appropriately.

Back to my client's puppy.  He had come from a breeder who exclusively used puppy pads for toileting.  The pads were always inside her house and always inside an xpen.  When the puppy came to live with my client, she was instructed by the breeder to continue to use these pads as they "made house training so convenient with a little dog."  My client knew she didn't want a dog who toileted indoors for its entire life, so she reached out to me days after bringing that new puppy home. I quickly debunked what her breeder had told her.  What we did instead was begin with a pad on top of a piece of fake turf inside an xpen near the backdoor.  We gradually keep cutting that pad smaller and smaller until the puppy was toileting on the piece of fake turf religiously.  We then moved the xpen and fake turf just outside the backdoor and gradually moved it further and further from the house until it was out on the larger fake lawn.  As the puppy grew and could be safe in the larger yard, we removed the xpen but left the piece of fake turf in place.  The puppy continued to toilet there as he'd learned that was his bathroom.  We were then able to remove that smaller piece and he continued toileting in that spot regularly up until they made the recent move. 

Her new home has hardscape, stamped concrete winding paths, with a combination of ground cover and bark.  She tried getting him to toilet on any of those surfaces and he wouldn't go, choosing to hold it until she walked him, at which point he'd go on a neighbor's fake front lawn!  I reminded her that he's got a preference now for fake turf and she needs to accommodate that preference, rather than trying to retrain him to a surface he's never had experience with in the past.  Per my instructions, she bought him one of those turf kits with the tray underneath for ease of cleaning. She began with the fake grass inside of an xpen again, just outside her back door on the hardscape surface.  He immediately used the fake grass!  I told her to reward him just as she'd done when he was a puppy (a treat, a good boy verbal reward, and then some free time in the yard).  Over the course of a week, she gradually moved the pen further from the backdoor, toward the corner where she wanted him to toilet going forward.  He continued to use the fake grass in each new location.  So now, no more xpen and he's using his fake grass religiously, not her green bathroom rugs, kitchen floor, or the neighbor's fake lawn.  Yes, she does have to clean that fake grass porta potty for her dog, but it's a huge improvement over the way things had been going for the last four months. Problem solved, to my client's relief!

My wish is always that breeders won't solely rely on puppy pads for teaching toileting habits to puppies. By introducing multiple novel and appropriate surfaces for toileting, experienced breeders know that they will be setting their puppies up for success wherever they go and whatever bathroom area is provided for them in their new home. And if you, like my client move to a new home with a different toileting surface for your dog, know that you now have the tools to make this work right from the get go.

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

Here's ten week old Henley getting some free time on the grass after using the bathroom outside. He looks pretty happy about it as well.

The Zoomies!

I love watching dogs with the zoomies.  People always assume that zoomies are just something that puppies or young dogs do to blow off extra energy, but that's not entirely true.  Senior dogs get the zoomies too, they just look a bit different.  And zoomies are about much more than just blowing off steam.  They serve a purpose in reducing anxiety as well.  Let's explore zoomies a bit further!

First, the science.  The technical term for the zoomies is "Frenetic Random Activity Periods" or FRAP's, for short. They are characterized by sudden bursts of energy and manifest as spinning in place, darting around, or running in circles.  FRAP's generally last a few minutes, though the age of the dog will definitely affect the duration of a FRAP.  These frenetic bursts are completely normal dog behavior and can be about anything from excitement to happiness to a need to release some pent up stress or anxiety. Thus, a dog might get the zoomies when they see their best friend and want to initiate play (happiness FRAP), when their owner comes home (excitement FRAP), or following a bath (stress-relieving FRAP).  Puppies often engage in FRAP's in the evening because they are over-tired, over-stimulated, and in desperate need of quiet time and a nap.

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Gee, I should try to catch my dog before he hurts himself!" while he's doing the zoomies? Resist the urge.  Don't chase a dog with the zoomies, and if you think they might hurt themselves try to move objects out of the way rather than trying to curb their enthusiasm.  Interrupting a FRAP can cause more tension and frustration in a dog whose sole purpose for doing the behavior in the first place was to regulate their own nervous system.

If your dog engages in frequent bouts of FRAP's, it might be time to look at their daily routine.  Are they getting enough exercise?  Regularly scheduled walks and play times help reduce built up energy and release it appropriately.  Aim for two walks a day that involve a lot of sniffing and exploring.  If your dog likes to play fetch, that's great, but you can also use a flirt pole for exercise or set up a parkour course in your backyard with lawn furniture, soccer cones, and bricks or yoga blocks.  While addressing their physical exercise requirements is important, don't forget about mental exercise!  Those puzzles, snuffle mats, empty boxes, egg cartons, and lick mats all serve an important function in stimulating their brains to solve problems, reducing boredom and stress.

For puppies, definitely look at their nap schedule. First off, do they even have a nap schedule?  In addition to their physical exercise and mental stimulation needs, puppies must get an adequate amount of sleep every day for proper brain development.  My suggestion for puppy owners is to aim for four naps a day, each nap two hours in length, every single day.  These naps are in addition to their night time sleep and meant to be taken in a quiet room all by themselves, ideally in a crate, or a pen if your puppy isn't crate trained.  Why a quiet room? Because you want your puppy to reach REM sleep and deep sleep; puppies who cat-nap throughout the day wherever they happen to lay down are puppies who are never going to get any refreshing sleep during the daytime.  They will be sleep deprived, mouthy, and yes, prone to evening bouts of zoomies.

Now, it's true that I've met more than one dog over the years who engaged in excessively frequent episodes of FRAP's.  The bouts would occur multiple times a day, characterized by not just frenetic physical behavior, but high-pitched barking and whining as well. These dogs were clearly experiencing mental distress and extreme anxiety.  Treatment involved balancing basic exercise with mental stimulation, teaching calm behavioral alternatives (like chewing on a meaty bone in a comfy crate), a lower protein diet, and encouraged and enforced rest time (again, in a crate).  Most of these dogs also needed daily anti-anxiety medication long term in order to balance their brain chemistry and reduce the pressure they felt that was resulting in the FRAP's in the first place.

Henley rarely gets the zoomies, but when he does, it involves him zipping from one end of the yard to the other, at full speed, like a wrecking ball.  Luckily for my garden, these bouts are few and far between.  Ozzie actually gets them more often and always in response to Henley playing with a toy or Henley and Zelly roughhousing. He'll trot over and begin bouncing in circles, yipping happily to himself, near to where Henley is playing,  or the two younger dogs.  Henley will often respond with a woof and then offer Ozzie a toy. Zelly always bounces his way and bops him on the nose, stopping the circling behavior and resulting in a short chase around the room.  I love watching this all unfold as both Henley and Zelly are gentle with Ozzie, seemingly understanding that his advanced age and fragile physical status means that his brief FRAP's are about all he can muster, though he still wants to join in the fun.  So, Ozzie's zoomies are about happiness and excitement.  Good things to still have when you are an almost 11.5 year old dog.

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

This is Westley post zoomies.  His zoomies always involved tight circles and always ended with ears back and a little, sassy bark.  I miss that goofy boy.

My Dog Can't Hold His Licker!

I'm sure you've heard it somewhere that the reason dogs lick you is that they are being submissive.  Or maybe you heard that they lick you because you have something on your skin that interests them. While it may be true that your dog licks you submissively, or that the fact that you just ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich leads your dog to lick your hands and face, those simplistic answers don't tell the whole story.  As the devoted owner of a dog who can't hold his licker (that's you, Henley!), I'd like to talk a bit more in depth about dogs who lick their people.

First and foremost, licking is a bonding behavior.  Dogs lick each other, they will lick cats in their household, and yes, they lick us as we are family too.  This licking induces a sense of calm in your dog with the release of endorphins and oxytocin, "the love hormone" that accompanies the licking behavior. Licking promotes a sense of affiliation and belonging and is an instinctual behavior with deep roots in comfort.  Think of a mother dog licking her puppies to clean them, stimulate them to nurse or to defecate, those steady knowing licks by their mothers remain rooted in their brains enhancing their sense of well-being. They lick themselves and us much the same way, to calm, to soothe, to belong.

An often debated, but nonetheless important reason dogs lick is to promote healing, not just for themselves, but for each other and us as well. Dog saliva has some antibacterial properties due to the presence of enzymes such as lysozyme and proteins like histatins which can promote faster healing and prevent infection.  Now don't take this the wrong way. I'm not saying dog saliva is all you or they need for wound treatment and care. On the contrary, excessive licking can introduce harmful bacteria, which is why veterinarians encourage the use of cones, donuts, or surgisuits as a regular part of wound management for your dog.  Nonetheless, I have absolutely let my dogs lick a scrape on a hike as a preemptive form of wound care until I can get home and wash the wound with antiseptic.

Dogs licking people is by no means random or meaningless. The connection we have with dogs precedes our development of language.  Early humans relied on body language cues with each other and with the canids sharing their community. I'm certain that the licking behavior of these early canids enhanced our desire to form an affiliative bond with them as it deepened the connection and the sense of trust. 

So, licks aren't just kisses, they represent a more complex behavior than mere affection, though affection does play a part. Licking is a way for your dog to connect with you; they connect with their people through body language, smell, touch, and instinct. Thus, when they lick you, their owner, they are showing you affection AND communicating about your shared bond, which has history and an emotional component to it, as well as a biological connection.  Our bodies carry silent signals in our sweat and other bodily secretions.  Dogs can smell and taste not just the salt in our tears and sweat, but our stress, sadness, fear, and excitement.  Dogs are experts at sensing what's not said; we may be able to fool ourselves that we aren't stressed out by that looming deadline, but our dogs know differently. They can literally smell the apprehension and if your dog is a licker, like Henley, they will respond accordingly.

I've never had a collie that licked as much as Henley does. Honestly, other than a cattle dog we had years ago, Henley licks more than any other dog we've ever had.  Ozzie will lick me gently, usually on the nose or hand, but Henley will lick my hands, arms, legs, and face rhythmically and repeatedly.  We joke that he thinks we are filthy little puppies that need attention, but the truth of the matter is this:  When I watch Henley more closely his licking is tied to my behavior.  He loves to lick me post workout, but I'm certain that's about the sweat and endorphins coming off of me. In the evenings, he'll wait to be invited on the couch and then proceed to lick my arm or my leg just before he falls asleep.  Affiliative behavior at it's finest.  And if I'm upset or distressed, he'll trot over, drop a toy at my feet or in my lap and then lick my hands or my face until my mood changes. Interestingly enough, Henley doesn't lick people very often on therapy visits and those he does look suspiciously like they have food on them. He saves his licking behavior for family and friends.  I suppose that's a good thing since not everyone likes being licked by a dog, especially one they don't know!

For me, I don't mind the licking.  It used to bug me at first because it seemed so excessive, but now I realize that Henley's love language is touch. He'll drop a toy in your lap, boop your arm or hand to get you to scratch or rub him, and yep, he licks. I don't think I'd have him any other way.

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

Here's Henley draped across my legs on the couch happily licking my ankle. Considering the fact he weighs 75 lbs, this is also a weight training exercise for me!