A Bit More on Reactivity

I have had so many new clients approach me for help with their "reactive" dogs.  I find this interesting because using that terminology to describe a dog's behavior really wasn't a thing until just a few years ago. Now, however, I hear it batted around and used quite frequently to describe dogs who do everything from bark at the TV to biting the neighbor!  It seems that many owners with aggressive dogs prefer to use the term reactive, thinking that this will make the problem seem less serious.  This is troubling because an aggressive dog has a very different problem than a dog whose barking has become an issue. 

By definition, reactive just means responding to a stimulus or acting in response to a situation.  Well, you know what?  We all do that.  The doorbell rings and you jump up and answer the door.  Are you reactive? Yes, because you acted upon a stimulus you received.  Now, I'm not trying to be difficult here; I simply want everyone, dog owners included, to think about the words they use to describe behavior. If your dog is afraid of sounds, then he's noise sensitive.  If your dog barks at the neighbor's dog at their shared fence line, then he's territorial. If your dog charges at guests, biting at their pants leg, then your dog is aggressive. And yet, all three of the dogs I just described came to me with the label "reactive." I do want to help all three of these dogs, but helping them means helping you, and you can help me by telling me what's really going on. I'm not going to judge your dog parenting skills, I just need to know exactly what's happening. Was is really a nip?  Or was it a bite?  Is the barking just at the fence, or is your dog barking at the TV, your kids running in the yard, and on walks? And those noises that set your dog off; are they barking dogs on the TV screen, the garbage trucks in your neighborhood, or the sound of your ice maker?  All of these details are important for diagnosis and treatment, and way more important that any labels.

So, while I agree that noise sensitive dogs, barking dogs, and aggressive dogs are all anxious dogs at the heart of the matter, I don't think calling them reactive helps at all.  All of these dogs have the capacity to learn a different behavioral response to their triggers.  Getting frustrated and labeling them disobedient or stubborn won't help either.  What they are is anxious and their anxiety is keeping them from hearing you.  

OK.  Hopping down off of my soap box now and calling back that dog owner that left me a message this morning about their reactive dog.  I know one thing for sure, their dog is anxious.  Now, I just need to figure out if he's afraid, obsessive, lacking physical or mental exercise, or aggressive.  Or some combination of all of those things.  But, you know me. I'm on it!

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

Here's my sweet granddog, Westley.  Westley doesn't like the sounds made by garbage trucks, city buses, and street sweepers.  Does this make him reactive?  Well, yes, he's reacting to a stimulus and responding with fear.  Is he anxious?  Absolutely, but we've worked hard with him to understand the safe spaces in our home, and he now goes there when he hears a triggering noise.  He is less anxious overall as he's in control of the outcome.  That's the key with treating anxiety.

The Dog Who Didn't Like Hugs

Not the hugs you are thinking of though.  This is a dog who doesn't like it when the humans hug, and more specifically doesn't like it when anyone hugs mom.  The owners thought it was kind of cute, at first.  But then, they noticed that it wasn't really all that funny when the dog started jumping up, interrupting hugs, and shoving people apart.  It became especially concerning when he escalated to nipping anyone who tried to shove him away.  The final straw?  Mom was sitting on the couch with the dog laying next to her.  One of the kids came up behind her and leaned over the couch to hug her and the dog jumped up and bit the child in the face, necessitating a trip to the emergency room and a handful of stitches.  Such a desperately sad situation for this family, but one that really should have been dealt with long before the dog chose to bite to make his point.  Whether you want to say that this dog suffers from resource guarding aggression with mom being the resource, or you choose to label him as a protective aggressor, it doesn't really matter.  The bottom line is that he's now bitten a child, a child who he's lived with his whole life and who walks him every day, plays ball with him, and even gives him treats. This dog had given this family many warnings that a bite *could* happen and they ignored those warnings thinking he'd never actually bite anyone.  They still believed this to be the case right up until the bite to their son.

Their veterinarian, and a friend of the family, had recommended me to this family more than once.  Apparently, the dog didn't like the vet hugging mom when she brought him into the clinic for a vaccine. When the vet saw this, she knew what she was seeing, but her recommendations were downplayed and she stopped hugging her friend when she saw her.  After the bite, however, she couldn't keep quiet anymore, asking them why they hadn't reached out to me for guidance as she'd strongly suggested?

While it may be hard to admit that  your dog has a behavior problem, ignoring the problem will not make it go away.  More importantly, when you are dealing with issues in aggression, burying your head in the sand or making excuses for your dog puts others at risk.  In this case, a child. So, here were my recommendations to this family:

At this point, the dog is a proven biter.  He has demonstrated that he is willing to escalate to a serious bite if someone touches his female owner in his presence.  Going forward, this dog must be confined when people arrive and go through the hugging rituals of human greetings.  When guests are in the house, he must be on leash and tethered in place on his dog bed; he cannot be allowed on furniture or at his female owner's feet any more.  The owners will need to muzzle train him so that when he can't be confined or tethered for some reason, he'll be prohibited from biting.  And yes, HE WILL BITE AGAIN if they don't complete all of these steps.  The bottom line, however, is that I don't think that this dog is a good fit for this family any longer.  He should be in a home with a single human or couple who will enforce boundaries and keep him under threshold for his guarding behavior.  Given that their veterinarian had recommended euthanizing the dog, my treatment plan though difficult, seemed like something they were willing to try.  The kids love this dog, even the child who was bitten thought it was his fault for "surprising the dog when I hugged mom."

I really hope this family heeds all of my warnings and boundaries are rigorously enforced with this dog.  He actually is a pretty nice dog overall, a bit pushy, but not bad, as long as you don't try to hug his female owner, so we'll see how it goes.  The liability is still there and that's never going away.

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

Here's Henley, asleep in the crook of my legs on the couch.  Anyone can sit on the couch next to us, or hug me when he's there.  He just figures one more person available for him to cuddle with and love on.  He does try to block Ozzie from getting attention, but it doesn't come from a place of guarding, he's just competitive and Ozzie always lets him know where he stands in the pecking order.

If You Take a Dog to a Party...

They should be a well-behaved guest! Being able to take your dogs with you when you are out and about is a privilege, not a right, for those of us with pet/companion dogs; only service dogs are afforded rights to be in public spaces with their handlers, unrestricted.  For the rest of us, we really need to take an honest look at our dogs, how they behave (or don't!), what they enjoy doing (and don't!), and what our plan is if we are out in public and our dog has a meltdown.  As any parent of a toddler will tell you, you have to have a plan for those untimely meltdowns!

I do try to take my dogs with me whenever I can; I think it's good for them to get out and see new places and meet new people, and have novel experiences. It's mentally stimulating for them and good practice for me to see where they are with their distractions training, for example.  Ozzie has gotten to be an old pro at this, having stepped into Desi's rather large pet assisted therapy dog shoes.  Ozzie does one pet therapy visit each month, and I also try to take him to coffee or lunch with me once a month as well, just so we can have one-on-one time and he can get a break from Henley.  Henley isn't ready for pet therapy visits yet as he still can be a little bouncy with new people.  I take him out, however, as I like to walk him around populated malls and busy stores as I want him to continue to improve.  For his recent stage presentations, he had to walk through a parking garage, board an elevator, go through automated doors, greet new people, greet new dogs, pose for pictures AND perform alongside me onstage.  He did great, but he was still bouncy in a few of his greetings, so we'll keep working on that.  You might be thinking, "Well why didn't you take Ozzie for those presentations?" Well, the answer is that I didn't take Ozzie because he'd have hated doing that!  Ozzie knows a lot of tricks, can do elevators, etc., but having screaming kids running at and around him isn't his cup of tea. In fact, screaming kids make him anxious, so I avoid taking him places where that's likely to occur.  Now, he's certainly heard/seen screaming kids when we've been in restaurants, and while he'll alert to the sounds, he doesn't get anxious as he's pretty sure those screaming kids are going to stay at their table and not encroach on his space. Henley, on the other hand, loves kids, screaming or not.  He figures screaming kids need a collie to hug and that's his approach.

So, why am I telling you this?  Every single one of us needs to know our own dog and be mindful of the situations we put them into.  While there are certainly steps you can take with your training to prepare your dog for being in public spaces more often, you do need to keep their personality/temperatment in mind always.  If your dog is a total introvert for whom loud noises, screaming kids, and random approaches from strangers might trigger anxiety, don't force them to do it.  Instead, choose hikes or park excursions for that dog, at off peak times, so that they can experience working with you away from home, but not be forced to deal with situations and people who create anxiety.  Yes, you can certainly still take your introvert with you to busy malls, events, etc., just remember that doing so is stressful for them.  Weigh your options: Is taking them with you in their best interest, or is it that you just want to do so? And if your dog doesn't like being approached or petted by strangers, please don't take them with you as it puts you and your dog at risk.  People are going to approach you and many will try to pet your dog without asking. I know, I know. They should ask, but frankly they often don't and you don't want to put someone, or your dog, at risk.

Training your dog in public access skills is a worthwhile endeavor and a good way to mentally stimulate any dog.  Start with simple outings such as walking to the post office or bank, sitting quietly next to you while you drop mail in the box or use the ATM machine.  Work up to taking your dog into dog-friendly stores and walking them around the displays.  Have your dog sit each time you stop walking.  Do not allow extensive sniffing, rubbing on displays, etc. Brief sniffs are fine. Find stores with stairs and elevators so that you can practice both.  Stairs come in all forms, some you can see between the stairs, others are solid, some are made of wood, and others are slippery or covered in carpeting that can retain odors.  Practice all of those different kinds of stairs, encouraging your dog to go slowly, stopping at the top and sitting before descending. Do not allow your dog to linger or sniff excessively on the stairs. On the elevator, you can start with having your dog stand next to you, but work up to having them sit next to you or between your legs so that they don't take up too much space or block someone else's access to that elevator.

When you are working on taking your dog to eating establishments, do take it slow. If your dog is still surfing counters at home, you'll want to have that issue addressed before you try to walk through a restaurant where people have food on their tables as you pass by!  Start simple with a coffee shop, yogurt shop, or smoothie place.  Sit at a table with your dog and offer them treats for sitting calmly at your side or laying at your feet. Don't bribe them to behave, instead reward them when they do. If they can't focus or are fidgety, just pick up your coffee/yogurt/smoothie and move on; you can try again another day.  Once your dog is good at those coffee shops, you can move on to a casual restaurant, just remember that a busy restaurant on a weekend may be more than your dog can handle that first time out in public.  Maybe try that restaurant on a weekday and work up to a busy weekend. Dog friendly restaurants are terrific, but they get busy and if there are a lot of dogs there, that may be too much your first few trips out together.  Don't push it.  You want your dog to enjoy going out to restaurants with you, not dread them.  And take some advice from those toddler parents and walk your dogs outside the restaurant if they become fidgety, bored, or start acting up.  Don't allow your dog (or your kids!) to impinge upon the dining experiences of others.  Nothing gives kids or dogs a worse rep than when they are ill-behaved in public and their parents/owners do nothing about it.  Consequences are important! We need to be fair to the other diners around us and keep our dogs away from their tables.  And by the same token, those parents need to keep their kids at their own table as well.  And remember not to allow your dog to block the path for the servers just trying to do their jobs. If you have a big dog, ask for a table in a corner where you can keep your dog closer to the wall and not block pathways.

Just as those toddler parents have baby bags filled with what they need to survive out in public, so should dog owners!  Carry your own water, water bowl, treats, a mat/towel for your dog to lay on, and of course poop bags.  You can even bring a bone or other busy toy for your dog to chew on, just make sure the toy you've brought isn't messy or noisy. When Henley was a young puppy, I used to always bring a bone and a bullystick with me, allowing him to chew on one for a bit, and then switching it up.  It took most of his first year practicing for him to get to the point where he can now go to a busy restaurant and hang out with me for an hour.  He's not ready yet for much longer than that, but he'll get there.  For now, I don't push him and we keep practicing! He's been the most challenging collie I've ever owned from the standpoint of teaching calm behaviors. Henley is super-smart, loves to problem solve, is bold and fearless, and is only now understanding the pleasure that comes from sitting still and observing the world.  Calm was not in Henley's vocabulary for much of his first year.  Now, at almost 18 months, he's beginning to see how fun it is to be out in public, calmly accepting attention from new people, and being able to further explore the world as he becomes more proficient at handling what busy public spaces have to offer. Slow and steady wins the race, and if he had never really gotten it, that would have been fine too. It just would have meant less time out in public and more time working at home. He'd still be a great dog, but now that he's gotten a little older, he can go more places and I trust him to make better choices when we're there.  And if he's having an off day, I don't push him. Just as I've cut pet therapy visits short for Ozzie because I could see he was done, I don't push Henley to remain out in public longer than he's able.  If he gets fussy or fidgety, we're out of there.

I hope that gives you a training path to pursue more time out in public spaces with your dogs.  If you still have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

Here's Henley just calmly watching the people go by at our Golden State Warriors event in San Francisco.  He's in a sit/stay, dropped leash just loose on the ground.  Six months ago, I wouldn't have dropped his leash like that and walked away for a photo; he'd have wanted to get to the other dogs and people going by. Now, he's able to do this, no problem.  Henley is maturing, clearly loving his time out in public and teaching people all about smooth collies!

How Often Should You Take Classes With Your Dog?

After I posted last week's blog about my upcoming therapy pets training class, I had several clients reach out and ask how often they should be taking classes with their dogs and what kind of classes they should be taking.  I love that each and every one of them who asked me this had their dog's best interests in mind when they asked!  Obviously, they were concerned that they might not be doing enough, or doing the right things, to ensure their dogs are living mentally and physically stimulating lives. So, here are my thoughts:

There is no set number or timing of classes for your dogs, though I will say that doing at least one round of puppy classes between the ages of 3 months and 9 months of age is a must, in my opinion.  Ideally, puppy owners will start with a basics/socialization class and then move on to an adolescent manners class of some kind.  Whether those puppies go on to do more obedience classes, or specialized classes, is really up to their guardians and what those individual dogs might need.  

You see, some humans enjoy taking classes because the classes are structured, are a set number of hours of instruction, and occur in a controlled environment.  By the same token, some humans don't like classes BECAUSE they are structured and limited to the time frame set by the instructor.  Those humans might prefer to schedule private lessons, so to speak, for their dogs.  And then there are a lot of humans who prefer to do their dog's training on their own, when it suits them.  There is nothing wrong with any of these approaches to dog training, as long as, you are committing yourself to doing the work one way or the other.

You don't need to take classes every day, every week, or even every month, though I certainly know dog owners who do all of those things.  What I usually suggest is committing to 5-10 minutes of training every single day; maybe you get more than that because you take your dog to an hour class, or you get less than than because your work schedule keeps you busy.  It's an average: If every day you focus on your dog's behavior for 5-10 minutes, you will have a reasonably well behaved companion dog. You can spread out the 10 minutes, focusing on things like sitting and waiting to go through doorways every time you do so, for example, or maybe you are working on stay in place on a dog bed.  Don't spend an hour doing either, just incorporate a few minutes here and there throughout the day, when the situations arise naturally. Just remember to have those treats in your pocket to pay the appropriate behaviors when they happen!

I think most dogs enjoy learning tricks and most humans enjoy teaching them, so I like to incorporate tricks training into almost every treatment plan I devise for my clients' dogs.  For dogs who need more action than that, I like to send them to learn agility, parkour, or even herding. For dogs who have some good basic obedience skills, I think a rally class is a great idea.  But, again, you can teach your dog agility, parkour, and rally on your own, in your own yard, at your own pace, you just need the equipment to do so.

So, I guess my answer to the original question is take classes as often as you want to, if your dog enjoys them, but don't force yourself to continually enroll in classes if you find they aren't working for you or they are causing additional anxiety for your dog.  If that's the case, opt instead to do the training on your own, or one-on-one with a trainer, at a pace that works for you and for your dog.  Less anxiety all around.

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

Classes can be a great way to socialize for humans as well as for the dogs!