Help! My Dog Keeps Slamming On The Brakes!

That was the subject line on an email message I received on Monday morning.  This brought to mind the image of a dog, driving a car with his human in the passenger seat, slamming on the brakes repeatedly, giving the human virtual whiplash!  And this was the exact moment when I knew my coffee hadn't kicked in yet and I should wait for clarity before responding to that email as it did require my serious attention!

This isn't the first time someone has come to me frustrated over their dog's on leash behavior.  I've seen many a dog (and puppy) who stop repeatedly on walks, for no apparent reason, meaning they aren't stopping to sniff or to use the bathroom. This seems to vex most dog owners and result in them trying to cajole, coerce, or literally drag their dogs to get them to move along.  Generally speaking, cajoling, coercing, and dragging may work some of the time, but will more often than not result in your dog digging in and really resisting forward progress.  The question that we really need to address is why do dogs do this in the first place?  If we answer the why, hopefully,  we'll have a better idea of how to deal with the issue itself.

Let's start from the top.  Walking a dog is not about cardio for you, getting your step count, or having your dog in an alert heel, fixated on you, for an entire walk.  Walking, for your dog, is about joy, sniffing, exploration, territorial marking, hunting squirrels, birds, and insects, relieving themselves, and maybe visiting with a human or dog friend along the way.  To properly walk a dog you must be patient and resist the urge to hurry them along.  This is their time.  If it takes 30 minutes to go four blocks, then so be it.  If it drives you nuts, scroll on your phone, bring a book, or (and here's a real mind blower), just breathe deeply, look around, and enjoy not doing anything at all. Take a page out of your dog's playbook and just enjoy the moment together. Basically, you decide how much time you have to devote to that walk.  Beyond that, how the time is used is up to your dog.

Now, obviously, if the cement is too hot or they have a bur stuck in a paw, your dog may be stopping for other reasons. You need to heed those as well. When you step outside for your walk, drop your hand to the ground, palm up, and lay the tender, thin skin of the back of your hand down on the ground. If you can't hold it there for at least ten seconds, then the ground is too hot to walk your dog.  If the ground feels fine, but your dog keeps stopping and seems uncomfortable, check their feet for burs, foxtails, or other stickery things that might be inhibiting their forward progress.  Ozzie used to love fast paced walks when he was younger, but on one of his excursions, he started hopping around.  I was worried he'd pulled a muscle or hurt his knee, so I had him stop and lo and behold he had one of those liquid amber spiky balls (Sweet Gum tree seed pods) stuck in a back paw!  Once I removed the menacing thing, he resumed his fast paced neighborhood patrol.

Puppies are notorious for frequent stops on their walks. I always joke that it's like they can't walk and think at the same time! They quite literally have to stop and assess all the time.  It may be a new sound or smell that makes them stop, but it can also be a car going by, a person on a bike, or someone else walking their dog.  Whatever it is, your puppy will likely have to stop and watch or listen before they can move on.  Please don't get frustrated with this as it's normal puppy behavior!  Again, I'm going to encourage you to embrace these moments and take it all in yourself.  They grow up really fast and won't be puppies for long.  It's actually kind of fun and refreshing to look at the world through their eyes and from their limited perspective. Help them by identifying what they are experiencing (Yes, that's a duck!  We aren't going to chase the duck, but you can watch him head for the pond), and then encourage them to move on once they are comfortable doing so. Now, I completely understand that you can't just stop and let them figure things out when you are in the middle of a crosswalk on a busy street.  If you are able to do so, scoop them up and move across the street that way. If they are too big for you to pick up, now is the time to break out your high value rewards and entice them to cross the street using your most upbeat, happy voice.  Please don't be sharp, raising your voice in a negative way.  This will only make your puppy worry and resist moving forward even more because clearly, you are upset too!

I truly believe that walking a dog is an art form.  When done correctly, it's a lovely experience for the human and the dog. Walks should be about sniffing and exploring for your dog and about enjoying your time together for you.  Don't put too much pressure on yourself or your dog to maintain that perfectly paced heel. Instead, make your focus on having a loose leash, your dog not dragging you and you not dragging them.  And while I know traditional obedience dictates that dogs walk on their handler's left side, that rule doesn't necessarily apply to their daily walks.  Teaching your dog to walk on a loose leash on both the left and right side means that you can move them safely away from traffic or oncoming distractions when you need to.

If you've done all of this and your dog is still constantly stopping or actually laying down on their walks, don't assume that they are just being stubborn.  Instead, get them in for a physical exam with your veterinarian. It may be the case that your dog has some pain issues, a thyroid problem, a breathing issue, or a heart condition, for example. Better to rule out medical causes for their "annoying" behavior than to just throw up your hands and assume your dog is simply a stubborn pain in the neck to walk.

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

Here's an old picture of Ozzie and Desi out for a neighborhood walk and doing a synchronized "stop and assess."  It's been too long ago for me to remember why they stopped, but if I had to guess, I'm thinking it's a person walking toward them as Desi is definitely more interested than Ozzie!

The Pros & Cons of People Food For Pets

I posted a picture this week of my dogs waiting expectantly for a bite of strawberry.  Those of you who know me know that my dogs LOVE berries. I grow raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries in my garden, but I never get to eat any myself as the dogs help themselves as if they were the ones putting in all the gardening work!  I do giggle and then sigh every time I have to purchase berries for myself at the grocery store, but they are happy, foraging dogs and foraging is good for a dog's brain, so there is that benefit for sure.  So why am I even bringing this up?  Well, several people were surprised that my dogs liked strawberries AND that I give my dogs "people food."

Here's the thing. I prefer to think of food as food, not separating people food from pet food.  Now, while I'm certainly not going to eat a dog cookie (though my kids swear the dog cookies I make from scratch for our dogs taste like biscotti!) or dog kibble, I see no reason my dogs and I can't share dog-friendly, appropriate treats and snacks. I make sure what I share isn't loaded with sugar or salt, but again, this isn't about their primary diet (they eat commercial kibble), it's about something special we can share, like those strawberries.

While most pet owners are familiar with the "don't feed to your pets" list of foods such as onions, garlic, avocado, chocolate, grapes, raisins, mustard, macadamia nuts and almonds, rhubarb, and anything containing xylitol, there are some foods that might surprise you. For example, a cat *could* eat a walnut or a pecan, I just don't know many cats that would, LOL. Dogs, on the other hand, should never eat walnuts or pecans. Apricots, plums, cherries, and peaches, for example, aren't toxic per se, as long as your pet only eats the flesh of the fruit.  The pits, stems, and leaves are the toxic parts.  And apples are okay to give your pets, but make sure that they don't get the core or the seeds. 

Now that we've been reminded of what not to give our pets, let's talk about what we can share and why we might want to do so. First and foremost, sharing berries, apples, bananas, pumpkin, squash, and lean meats and cheeses are a way to help you connect with your pets. Early humans shared their leftovers with sociable wolves and that's part of the way that dogs became domesticated. Eating together is something humans do, and so do dogs.  Eating with our dogs bonds us even closer.  You can use these foods as treats, or you can use them as part of your training program with your pets, giving them more motivation to learn and perform, working for novel rewards. You can even drop a few bites onto their regular food to "spice it up" or include a few pieces in those interactive puzzles to generate new interest. 

I'm not advocating for replacing your pet's well-balanced diet with "people food." What I am advocating for is thinking a bit more about what you yourself are eating or snacking on and whether it can be shared.  And while I most certainly would not give my dogs a handful of tortilla chips, I have been known to give them one when I'm eating them and my dogs do love them!  They also love popcorn (just a few pieces, of course), peanut butter, and almond butter. They love Greek yogurt, and an occasional taste of vanilla ice cream. And if I make salmon, steak, or burgers, they are front and center for a taste.  I rarely make chicken anymore at home because Henley is allergic to it, so I don't like to make things that can't be shared with all of the dogs.

Here's some more food for thought (pun intended, of course).  Giving little bits of "people food" to your pets from the time they are small means their bodies are acclimated to those things.  My friend, Trish, refers to this as priming the pump.  If your dogs and cats have had little bites of lots of safe foods then the chances of them getting sick (think pancreatitis) when they steal or acquire some at one time or another is greatly decreased.  And, yes, I know you think your pets are *never* going to steal food, but you know what?  Even if they don't steal it from a counter, plate, or table, they might surf a trash can or simply scrounge around under the table or your baby's high chair for anything that has been dropped.  Better that you know their bodies can tolerate some richer foods than to panic when they find some Thanksgiving turkey on the floor after a holiday party.

I do make those biscotti-like dog cookies for my dogs during the holidays and they get pupsicles made with fruit and liquid yogurt during the summer.  My daughter makes the dogs pupcakes for their birthdays, and we use nut butters in their frozen kongs. We are thus incorporating ingredients typically thought of as being for people only, and readily giving them to our dogs.  It's a win-win, they are happy to get the treats and we enjoy creating them.

Now, I know that my list of no-no's isn't exhaustive, nor is my list of safe foods complete. It's just meant to give you an idea of what you might share with your pets as part of your bonding practices with them.  If you aren't sure if a food you regularly eat is safe for your pet, ask your veterinarian rather than relying on the internet. Better safe than sorry!

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

I'm growing zucchini in my front yard garden for Henley as he loves it grated on his meals and I love it too!  Zelly likes to play with her zucchini slices, tossing them in the air with glee, while Ozzie doesn't enjoy squash of any kind, leaving it for the smooth collies (ane me!) to enjoy.

Managing Trauma

For some reason, this has been a particularly traumatic week.  Not for me, but for my clients and their pets. One client is even feeling like she might have to euthanize her dog if I'm not able to provide them both with some relief (and some hope for the future).

We really do know quite a bit about trauma and its effects on the human brain and nervous system. While the term "PTSD" was coined in the 1970's to describe and help diagnose Vietnam veterans, post traumatic stress disorder still applies today.  Whether the threat is real or perceived, our bodies respond to the stressor often automatically or instinctively (think, fight or flight). Whether a person experiences a single, traumatic event, or is subject to repeated trauma, their body stores that traumatic information in a way that is designed to help protect the body from further injury. What this often looks like are people who startle easily, are easily distracted, have difficulty concentrating, practice avoidance or try to suppress their experiences, may seem "needy" or "clingy," and often engage in self-soothing or self-numbing behaviors.  

Not surprisingly, our dogs can experience PTSD following a single traumatic event, or because of repeated traumas as well. In dogs, PTSD might look like separation anxiety or a clingy, Velcro dog, hyper-vigilance, noise sensitivity, withdrawal, inappetence, sleep disturbances, and even aggression.  Traumatic events that occur during a dog's critical period of development (generally thought to be from three weeks of age to roughly four months of age) seem to have long lasting effects, resulting in behavior changes that almost seem hard-wired from that point forward. Why would this be true?  Well, just as with humans that trauma gets stored and the body then goes into survival mode, protecting the dog from future trauma. What I find most fascinating is how certain individual dogs will experience the same traumatic events as other dogs and have no apparent lasting effects.  For example, I've treated two dogs in the last three months who are afraid of the car, riding in them, being near them, or walking past any moving cars, because they were in the car when their owners had a car accident.  I've also met a handful of dogs over they years who were involved in car accidents and didn't seem to have any lasting effects. Similarly, I know a lot of dogs who are very disturbed by fireworks and gun shots, but interestingly enough, they aren't bothered by thunderstorms, or vice versa. This week I've also met a dog who was present for a traumatic event that occurred to his owner and they now have shared trauma.  Sadly, I've also met a dog who was attacked as a puppy and nearly died, only surviving because his owner is an emergency room nurse; sadly, he's the dog who might have to be euthanized as his unpredictable aggression is making him extremely difficult for her to manage.

Treating PTSD in dogs is similar to the treatment given to humans.  It's a combination of behavior modification and drug therapy. For people, it's about learning coping mechanisms and recognizing the triggers so the body can adjust and heal. For our dogs, we have to teach them to cope by being on the lookout for those triggers and preemptively adjusting our behavior to protect them from a trauma response. This can be quite challenging given that dogs are non-verbal and their desire to protect themselves will often override anything their owners say or do to alleviate that stress response. 

Now, before you say, "This sounds hopeless!" I should point out that I've had a lot of success using desensitization, counter conditioning, and behavior modification with dogs experiencing PTSD,  working in conjunction with their veterinarians to begin a course of antidepressants, sometimes combined with a sleep aid like Valium or a painkiller like Gabapentin. I'm also hopeful as more and more research is done on resilience in humans and the possibility of a "resilience gene," thus helping us to better understand why some people are unaffected or little affected by trauma. 

In the meantime, I will continue to help owners whose pets are suffering following traumatic events, using patience and kindness, in addition to behavior modification techniques and drug therapy.  It won't be a fast road to recovery, but my hope is that the dogs AND their owners experience some relief.

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

Any of you that have read my memoir, know that Ozzie experienced trauma as a puppy that affected his behavior for several years.  He had an unfortunate encounter with a group of teens on scooters and skateboards that came rushing past him on a narrow sidewalk.  He was startled, panicked, and wanted to bolt away.  Following that event, he began displaying hyper-vigilance and noise sensitivity on all of his walks, and would bolt anytime he even thought he heard a bike, scooter, skates, or skateboard. It was incredibly sad to watch and took a great deal of effort to help him move past it. He can now walk past those wheeled terrors without panicking, but he still watches them closely. Poor guy.

It's Not All Bad!

Several months back, I wrote a blog post about some of the dangerous, misleading, and misguided pet videos you find on social media. Since then, I've had clients sending me all kinds of pet videos from their social media feeds, asking for my take on the content.  By and large, many of these videos are horrifying (kids sitting on dogs, people putting their babies on dogs while the dogs are sleeping, babies curled up on cat trees, kids kissing dogs on the lips, etc.), but there have also been a refreshing number of positive videos, showing good relationships between kids and animals, built on respect and love.  

One of my favorite accounts features videos of a dog name Elvis, a Labrador Retriever who arrives for spa days with his female owner.  I find Elvis's spa days almost as soothing as he does! Here's a link to one of Elvis's spa days with mom:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_YVVxNovyb/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D

Now, there is also a wonderful video of her son who wanted to give the dog a spa day for his birthday. This was one of the videos sent to me that reminds that not all kids are put at risk and that many can be supervised around the family pets and treat them gently and with care. Definitely watch the video with the sound on to hear the dog's happy snores of content:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGbEbZwoOzi/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D

In this second video you see a child gently handling the dog's face and feet, no squeezing the dog unnecessarily, no mishandling.  Yes, the child does kiss the dog, but the dog clearly enjoys the attention, no lip licking, gaze averting, or trying to escape.  The video shows a nice relationship between a child and a dog being supervised by a parent. The dog clearly trusts the child and vice versa.

So, why am I sharing this with you today?  Well, because it's summer time and the kids are home with the family pets.  Most of these family pets are used to the kids being around in the late afternoon and evenings, and a bit more on weekends, but now those same kids are home all the time.  For a lot of pets, summer time with the kids out of school is stressful. Here's what you can do to try to help ease the anxiety your pets may be feeling:

1.  Keep to the usual routine as much as possible.

2.  Give your dogs and cats frequent breaks and easy escape routes.

3.  Remind your kids not to bother pets while they are sleeping.

4.  Remind your kids that dogs and cats, for the most part, don't enjoy hugs and kisses, but they do enjoy snacks!

5.  Have the right snacks readily available for your kids to give your pets BUT ONLY WITH SUPERVISION!

6.  Put your kids to work helping fill water bowls, wash out bowls, wipe up spilled water, replace pet toys in the toy boxes, etc.  

7. Invite your kids when you walk the dog.

8.  Teach your kids to properly use a flirt pole to play with a dog or a wand for a cat.

9.  Teach your kids to get a dog or cat's attention first before approaching so they don't startle the pet.

10. Teach your kids to call the family pet to them using an upbeat voice and then wait to see if the pet responds. If they don't move toward the child, then the child should move on and do something else. Consent is the key!

And if you and your kids are tempted to try a spa day with your dog, take it slow.  These videos are perfect examples of cooperative care, teaching pets to accept routine handling (and some special handling like those cucumbers on the eyes!) as part of their lives. Make grooming, including nail trims and teeth brushing, part of your pet's everyday life and include your kids so that they know the right way to handle their canine and feline friends.

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

Here's Zelly practicing for her next spa day!

Rights Versus Responsibilities

My newest client reached out for help with her adolescent dog who'd been attacked by another dog while both were on leash, walking down a busy sidewalk. My client was horrified by the response she received from the other dog owner when she asked her why she'd even bring an aggressive dog out in a busy, public place?  The aggressive dog's owner responded that it was her right to walk her dog out in public and that it was a risk anyone walking a dog should know.  WOW.  That was my first response.  This person took no accountability for her dog's behavior, walking off without giving her name or any information.  Several people snapped photos so there's a chance that my client will find this dog owner via social media, but in the meantime, she had to cover the veterinary expenses her dog incurred with the torn ear and neck puncture wound. Unfortunately, now her dog is showing anxiety on leash, barking at other dogs, and trying to pull her owner the other way which is why she reached out for my help.  This is so sad as this dog had no fear on leash, no fear of other dogs, and loved going for walks before the attack. Now?  It's hard to even get her leashed up and out the door for a brief stroll in their neighborhood. 

Obviously, I'm going to help this dog owner and her sweet pup get back on track with their walks. We're going to start with leash walks inside their house and in their yard with lots of treats and praise to build back some of this dog's confidence.  Then, I'm going to bring Ozzie over to walk with this dog since he's very mild, slow moving now at 10 years young, and he won't respond aggressively if she barks or seems afraid; he'll just sniff around and be his usual goofy self.  I'm hoping his calm presence will remind her that not all big dogs are "bad dogs." If she can accept Ozzie, that will be a good sign, and we can then move on to walks in her neighborhood with a few of her friends' nice dogs.  Eventually, we hope to do a walk into town with her friends and their dogs, kind of a pack walk, in the hopes that doing that will increase this dog's comfort again as well with walking in public spaces.  And all of this because someone didn't take responsibility for their aggressive dog.

While I understand that there is always risk when taking a dog out in public, taking a dog you know is aggressive out in public is particularly risky.  You should be concerned about liability as any damage done by your dog is your responsibility.  And while technically it may be your right to walk your dog in public, you don't have the right to knowingly endanger others. This dog owner should have been walking her dog with a muzzle on. The muzzle would have signaled others on the sidewalk to give her space and keep her dog from making contact with anyone, human or other dog. While I agree that dogs need exercise, you don't necessarily need to be walking aggressive dogs in public places that trigger their aggression. Walking at off peak times in off peak places limits their encounters with whatever triggers their aggression AND protects you, their owner, from some of the liability inherent in taking an aggressive dog out in public.  Plus, your primary concern beyond the safety of others should be the safety and comfort of your dog!  Aggressive dogs are anxious dogs; repeatedly exposing them to the situations that make them anxious and aggressive isn't going to help them, and it's likely going to lead to an experience like what happened with my client and her dog.

I remain hopeful that my client will be able to identify this other dog owner so that she can follow up on her report to animal control, and maybe even get that other owner to cover the veterinary costs she incurred as a result of her negligence. In the meantime, we'll be working together to help her sweet dog back on the road to enjoying walks and public outings. It will take time, but for this young dog, the time spent now will be worth it.

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

Though Henley does the bulk of the work with me, sweet Ozzie still helps me out 

occasionally with clients and their pets.