Working 9 to 5!

 As soon as I typed that blog title, I started humming the Dolly Parton song of the same name!  It's also what popped into my head when a client called to say she was returning to work and freaking out about leaving her dog home alone.  She, like many dog owners, has been working remotely for the last year and a half.  Her kitchen became her office and her favorite co-worker, her dog.  She acquired this dog right before the lockdown last Spring, so consequently, her dog has really never been home alone for longer than about 20 to 30 minutes.  My client is worried that when she returns to working outside her home again in September, that her dog will panic and either destroy her house, hurt herself, or both.  She's also worried that she won't do well back at work without the dog there.  She's gotten quite used to the dog laying beside her chair, providing comfort and support. My client is not alone in these concerns.  Seems everyone is talking about their pandemic pups and separation anxiety.  What we aren't seeing though are suggested solutions for coping with this very real possibility.  I know I've talked about the treatment of separation anxiety many times over the years, but I feel like we need to revisit the topic with an eye toward the strategies and potential solutions. 

First off, go ahead and acknowledge that you will miss your dog and she will miss you.  Now that you've done that, start practicing being apart!  Go for a walk without her, don't take her in the car when you go to run errands, etc.  Don't have your groceries delivered, go shopping yourself.  Set up a camera so that you can watch your dog while you are gone.  If your dog is profusely panting, pacing, drooling, barking, whining, scratching at the door, or being destructive, she's in distress. If you crate your dog when you are gone, then look for vocalizations, panting, drooling, digging at the crate, gnawing on the door, scratching to get out, or tearing up bedding. Again, if your dog whines a bit when you leave, but then trots off to nap on the couch or watch birds out the window, she's fine.  Keep an eye on her while you are gone and see if she goes to sleep or remains awake and vigilant the whole time you are gone.  Dogs spend the great majority of their day resting, so they should be doing that whether you are home or not. If your dog shows any of the signs of distress noted above, then she may have separation anxiety.  If she doesn't show any of these signs, she's fine, BUT you still need to think about what you'd like your dog to be doing all day when you are gone.  By pairing your departures with fun activities like interactive, food-based toys, you not only make your departures less of a big deal for your dog, but you make your dog actually look forward to you being gone as they get something special then! Plus, a dog who has spent a half hour working on a frozen Kong toy, for example, is tired and ready for a nap.  Your dog should have a few things to do while you are gone, but spend the majority of that time resting and patrolling their home turf to keep it safe.  It's what dogs do.

If you have a job situation where your dog can return to your workplace with you, that's great!  I wouldn't, however, plan to take them every day.  It's nice to have variety in your life!  Take your dog with you some days, leave them home some days, and maybe even send them to daycare (if they like other dogs!) or hire a dog walker to come in on a couple of days.  It's good for our dogs to know that they can exist outside our immediate presence.  It's good for them to interact with other people and other dogs in a supervised situation such as daycare or with a dog walker. And remember, just because you can take your dog to work with you, doesn't mean you should. If your dog has separation anxiety, just you leaving her behind to go to a meeting (or use the bathroom!) could cause her distress leading to barking or destructive behavior at work, which is a no-no. If your dog is anxious or aggressive about new people or other dogs, then taking her to work isn't a good idea.  People will be coming in and out of your workspace and you need to be sure that's safe for those people AND for your dog. Plus, if your employer allows other dogs in the workplace, you need your dog to be okay with her canine co-workers there with their humans too.

So, what should you be doing now if you know your dog suffers from separation anxiety? First, you will want to set up an appointment with your veterinarian as drug therapy is often a big part of treatment.  Second, never leaving your dog alone until she can be calm there is truly a key factor in the solution as well. This is because one of the first steps in treating the problem is removing the dog from situations that cause the anxiety. For a lot of dogs with separation anxiety, I recommend daycare since at daycare (versus a dog walker, for example), they can interact with new humans and other dogs and be crated or confined only under supervision, and barking and destructive behavior are curbed and/or redirected, if they are occurring. It's important for your dog to experience separation from you and have that go well. And for many dog owners with intense work schedules, daycare is the key to success.

Here is a general outline for the treatment of separation anxiety:

1. Never leave the dog home alone (even briefly until she has been taught calming techniques)
2. Crate train and/or x-pen train to build confidence when you are home (this helps curb the drooling, pacing, and destruction that so often occurs)
3. De-couple your departure cues (e.g. dress like you are leaving for work, but stay home; wear your pajamas and leave the house for a few minutes)
4. Only give attention to the dog when she is calm and deferential (any anxious behavior is to be ignored).
5. Increase her mental AND physical exercise everyday
6. Drug therapy (I usually recommend having a conversation with your veterinarian about your options, and starting with either Clomicalm, Elavil, or Prozac). Sometimes Xanax is needed if there is a panic component to the behavior as well. There are also some holistic options as well such as CBD treats or a DAP collar that may be worth exploring in conjunction with more traditional options.

It's best to prepare your pets now for your ultimate return to your job outside your home.  Get your pet onto the schedule that you will be following on your work days.  Set an alarm, get dressed and get ready for work even if you aren't going off to work quite yet (this is what it means to decouple departure cues!).  When you are working from home, make those work hours count; spend your time working and not focusing on your dog.  You can pay attention to them on your breaks!  That way, they won't be expecting attention and interaction all day long when you aren't there to do so. When you do leave your house for brief periods of time, don't make a big deal of it; leave the house with zero fanfare and don't go over the top when you get back home.  Reinforce your dog for being calm, not jumping up, spinning, barking, etc.  While you are both excited to see one another, it shouldn't be a three ring circus when you get home!

It is hard to leave your dog behind and go back out into the real world.  Don't make the problem worse by ignoring any issues your dog might have with you leaving, as the sooner you address those issues head on, the better the outcome. Don't let your guilt about returning to work make your dog anxious either.  Dogs are good at picking up on human emotions; if you are ambivalent about returning to work, your dog will sense that and it may make her anxious on your behalf.  

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

My canine co-workers sleeping on the job again!

I'm OK, You're OK!

 I was at the park with a client this week, working with her anxious dog.  This dog's anxiety can often lead her to behave aggressively if she feels scared.  Off leash dogs scare her, kids on bikes scare her, and unfamiliar people wanting to pet her really scares  her.  I wanted my client to feel safe working with her dog out in public, so we muzzle trained her dog.  Her dog will now happily wear a muzzle thus allowing us to work with her more safely, without risk of my client (or me!) getting bit if the dog gets frightened and/or we need to scoop her up.  This all sounds good, right?  Well, we sure thought so until a man walked up to us while we were working and wanted to know why we'd muzzled "that sweet little dog."  As he got closer to us, he discovered why the dog was muzzled as she got scared by his approach, and lunged for him, barking aggressively.  At this point he wanted to know what we were doing out in public with "such a sketchy dog."  My client was horrified and I'd had enough.  I explained to this man quite firmly that his opinions on what we were trying to accomplish here were unwanted; my client and her dog had every right to be out in public as she had two leashes on her dog for better control, AND the dog was muzzled.  What was really needed was a muzzle for this man! He could tell by my tone of voice and body language that I wasn't going to put up with anymore of his nonsense and he moved along.  But for my client, this encounter made her want to throw in the towel and never take her dog out in public again. She is so tired of apologizing for her dog's behavior, even though she knows the dog's behavior is not her fault!  It took me 15 minutes to build back up her confidence that she was okay and what we were doing with her dog was perfectly fine.

Another client told me that she'd decided to stop walking her dog altogether because she needed to use a pinch collar on him (he weighs more than she does!) in order to feel like she had control of him if he decided to give chase to a cat or a squirrel when they were on walks.  A well-meaning neighbor, however, had told her she was being cruel by using the pinch collar and that she should educate herself on the proper way to walk a big dog.  He also told her that, in his opinion, a woman her size shouldn't have a big dog like that.  Are you kidding me?

Have you ever had an experience like that? One where some well-meaning bystander just decided that they could step in and judge your parenting skills, your control of your dog, etc.? As a parent of three (now adult) children and a dog owner, I know that I certainly didn't and don't appreciate people stepping in and judging me on how I parent or interact with my dogs.  At what point in time did it become okay to judge one another so harshly?  What makes these people who offer their unsolicited opinions think that what they are doing is helpful or courteous? Just because someone doesn't agree with your parenting approach or the way you walk your dog doesn't give them the right to judge you or call you out.  

I'll admit that I often will see things when I'm out walking my dogs that I'll think, "Gosh. I could help them with that and/or I could fix that problem easily."  However, I don't insert myself in the situation, offer my opinion, or make suggestions unless I am asked to do so.  If you need help, I'm here for you, but I'm not going to judge you for trying to figure it out on your own.  

I've decided to ask my clients who are out there in public, working on making positive changes to their dogs' behavior if they feel comfortable doing so.  Because if they don't, I need to figure out a better way for them to do the work that needs to be done.  Maybe it means having a friend work with them who can run interference with  the well-meaning busy-bodies.  Or maybe I just need to be there for a couple of the first public practice sessions, so I can bolster my clients' confidence and support their efforts to change their dogs' behavior.  And to shoot stink eye at the passersby who think they know the best way to train a dog.

Okay...climbing down off my soap box now.  Be kind to one another.  Show compassion.  No unsolicited opinions.  And if you are having a problem with your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

Ozzie and I used to go to the park when he was younger to practice his recall amid distractions, using a long line instead of a leash.  On one of those occasions, a guy started to walk up to me to tell me that I ought to just let him off the leash "because he's so good."  Ozzie broke his stay to come over to me as this man approached me.  "Ah," he said, laughing.  "Guess he still needs to practice that stay."  Bet you can you guess my response to that unsolicited bit of wisdom!

Why Muzzling Your Dog is a Good Thing!

 Last week, I taught two clients to muzzle train their dogs.  They had both been very hesitant to do so given the "bad rap" any dog wearing a muzzle seems to get when out in public spaces.  It appears that people who muzzle their dogs are being judged (unfairly!) by other dog owners.  Given all of this, I figured it was time to talk about muzzles and why they are a training tool that every dog should be familiar with and willingly accept.

Let's review some of the reasons why you might want to train your dog to wear a muzzle.  First and foremost, does your dog go to the veterinarian's office? I'm sure she does.  On occasion, she may go to the vet's office and need to have something done that will be painful.  A dog who has been trained to wear a muzzle will not pose a risk to the veterinarian and their staff trying to help the dog with whatever is causing the pain.  And if it's that the procedure being done is pain-inducing, then muzzling your dog means that the procedure can be done quicker and is thus less stressful for all parties involved.  

Second, if you have a dog who literally eats everything they find when out in your yard, on walks, etc., then muzzle training is for you.  Ingesting foreign objects isn't just gross or a nuisance, it can be potentially deadly.  It's one thing if your dog eats leaves or grass, and it's another issue entirely if your dog eats oleander, rocks, and trash.  Or maybe your dog swallows socks, underwear, or highlighter pens (I've had clients with dogs who've eaten all of those things!).  Wearing a muzzle means your dog can still sniff and explore, but they can't eat anything they shouldn't.

Third, some dogs play too rough.  Wearing a muzzle during play means a dog who enjoys running around and engaging other dogs can't get themselves into a scuffle by playing too hard. It's also an easy way to introduce unfamiliar dogs if you are unsure of how the interaction might proceed. 

Fourth, maybe you have a super-cute little dog that people constantly swarm when you are out.  Kids want to pick him up because he looks like a little stuffed toy.  The problem is, he's not a toy and he is frightened of new people, children, being picked up, etc. Muzzling your dog means you will worry less; when people see a dog wearing a muzzle, they slow down their approach and may even avoid interacting altogether, thus giving your dog the space he needs to feel safe and unmolested.

Basically, what I'm saying is this: EVERY DOG SHOULD BE TAUGHT TO WEAR A MUZZLE.  Having said that, not all muzzles are created equal.  You will want to train your dog to wear a basket style muzzle that is lightweight and easy for you to clean.  I like the vinyl basket muzzles like the ones in the pictures below. These muzzles, when fitted properly, don't slip around on your dog's face and allow him to pant, bark, growl, drink water, and take treats. A well-fitted muzzle will not ride up on a dog's eyes or rub the end of their nose and will be wide enough to allow for open mouth panting and not be so loose as to be easily rubbed or slipped off.  Even short snouted dogs can be taught to wear a muzzle!

Here's the way that I teach my clients to muzzle train their dogs: It should only takes a few days to a week to acclimate a dog to wearing a muzzle, and some dogs get it really quick!  Your first step is to put peanut butter or cream cheese all over the inside of the muzzle and let your dog lick it out with you holding the muzzle like you would a bowl of ice cream or a yogurt container.  Once she will readily do this, you will "bait" the muzzle again, and turn the muzzle on its side so that she has to stick her nose into it to lick it clean.  Once she is doing this readily, you "bait" the muzzle and attach it to her.  Watch her until she is done cleaning it out and then remove it.  At this point, you are ready to lightly "bait" the muzzle, put it on her, and then feed her yummy snacks while wearing it.  And voila! Your dog is muzzle trained!  

Many dogs taught to wear a muzzle come to see it as just another training tool like a head halter, harness, or even the leash. When done correctly, there will be few if any hurt feelings with wearing one; in fact, a lot of anxious/fractious dogs treat their muzzles like on/off switches.  When wearing their muzzles they are "off duty," and when the muzzle comes off, they are "switched back on."  This makes their behavior more predictable and controllable for you, their devoted owner.

There are places in the world where dogs out in public areas are required to be muzzled.  Muzzles make it safer for lots of unfamiliar dogs and people to be together in smaller spaces.  I think we all just need to change the way we view muzzles, the dogs who wear them, and the owners of those dogs who are doing their very best to insure that their dog, your dog, your kids, the veterinarian, and you are all as safe as possible.  Dog owners who muzzle train their dogs are being responsible.  They aren't bad dog owners and their dogs aren't menaces.  Let's all educate ourselves about muzzles and show some compassion and empathy for each other.  

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

Durable vinyl muzzles on a short snouted dog and a medium snouted dog, for reference.

If Your Dog Loves to Swim, This Blog's for You!

 A few years ago, I had a client whose neighbor lost their dog to water toxicity.  While not super common, it does happen and just this week, I had another client reach out to tell me that her sister's dog nearly died from water toxicity following a day at the beach.  Given the unseasonably warm weather we've been having, and the number of clients headed to the beach or uncovering their swimming pools, it seemed like a good time to revisit this topic.

Acute water intoxication is somewhat rare but most commonly seen in dogs that love to play in water. It can actually occur anytime an animal ingests a large quantity of water quickly. High risk dogs are those that engage in water play, including those who like to bite at sprinklers or play with the garden hose. Dogs who love to retrieve round toys in water, or compete with other dogs to get those water toys are also at risk of ingesting large quantities of water as their mouths are open when retrieving.

So, what are the symptoms of water intoxication?  They are: loss of coordination, lethargy, bloating, vomiting, glazed eyes, excessive salivation, difficulty breathing, seizures, and coma.

Once a dog begins showing symptoms of water intoxication, it is critical to get them veterinary care immediately if they are to recover. When a dog ingests too much water, this results in a condition called "hyponatremia," which is excessively low sodium levels in the blood. Too much water causes unbalanced electrolytes and dilutes the sodium storage in the fluid around the cells. Cells fill with water which causes swelling that affects the nervous system since sodium helps maintain blood pressure and is important to nerve and muscle function. It is also the case that dogs who play in salt water for extended periods of time may ingest too much salt water leading to hypernatremia.

If you have a water-loving dog, or one who will retrieve a toy tossed in the water over and over, you need to monitor their water activity and insist on breaks.  Even if they just love playing in the sprinklers or biting a garden hose, watch them for taking on too much water. Even a dog who quickly empties a water bowl following brisk play or exercise is a risk for water intoxication.  Wait to refill that bowl until the dog has cooled down and the water they drank has been properly absorbed.

Prevention is obviously the best course of action with this issue. If your water loving dog does however, show any of the above symptoms, get them to the vet quickly. 

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

Ozzie loves to go to the beach, but he's not at all drawn to the water.  He likes to trot along on the sand, chasing birds.  Incoming waves cause him to scramble away to stay dry!

When to Take Things at Face Value

 I have been working with a client on and off for several months. She had initially indicated that she'd found me through a "trusted friend."  We've done phone consultations and Zoom consultations, but had yet to meet in person, first because of COVID concerns and then because of budget concerns.  At least, that's what I was told.  You see, that's what the client had told me and I took those statements at face value.  Then, I received a call from her veterinarian and everything changed.  You see, she'd never told her vet she was working with me or vice versa.  In fact, when her vet recently recommended me to her during an appointment for help with her cat, she told him she was already working with me.  She also told her vet that I hadn't ever offered to come to her home to see the cat there, nor had my recommendations been "all that helpful." This blindsided me as every one of our conversations had concluded with her thanking me profusely for my help, after telling me what had been working, and then tweaking what wasn't to work for her and the cat.  My notes show all of this, as well as where I asked her if she wanted me to come to her home and see the cat there now that I've been fully vaccinated. She indicated that progress was being made, no need for an in-person meeting.  Well, obviously, something wasn't adding up, leaving both the vet and myself feeling completely duped by this owner and unsure how to help her OR her cat!  While this isn't the first time something like this has happened, I'm always frustrated when it does.  You see, I don't want to be one of those people who doesn't believe what a pet owner is telling me. I want to be able to take what they are saying about their pet at face value, determine where the problem lies, and then help address that problem in a straightforward, humane, and conscientious manner with respect for both the pet and pet owner.  Doing that is difficult, however, if owners are being intentionally (or even unintentionally) deceptive with their communications of what is going on with their pets.  People who are more concerned with saving face, or downplaying questionable behaviors they are seeing, or the circumstances and frequency with which they see those behaviors, are doing themselves and their pets an incredible disservice.

Look, I know it's hard to admit that your pet has a behavior problem.  People can get emotional and defensive as they feel like their "pet parenting skills" are being judged by others.  And some pet owners are just inexperienced or unfamiliar with animal behavior and thus are arriving at erroneous conclusions with regard to their pet's behavior (e.g the whole "I know I need to be an alpha with my dog" nonsense we've talked about before).

After 30 years in business, I've gotten really good at asking the right questions and not making snap judgments. If a client says their dog is reactive, I ask them what that looks like.  If they say their puppy is aggressive, I ask what the puppy is doing.  Words like reactive and aggressive are loaded with meaning that might not even apply to the pet we are discussing, but the owners have heard/read those terms or someone told them that was the problem. Labels like reactive or aggressive can also keep an owner from pursuing help for their pet. I try to listen to not only the words, but the emotion behind them.  Much of what I do is about being a good listener and a good observer of both human and canine behavior.  Over the years, I've had veterinarians tell me that their clients tell me a whole heck of a lot more than they ever learn during their appointments!  I find that disturbing as well given that vets do have to rely on owners' reports of their pet's behavior in order to decide what diagnostic tests to run, for example. Downplaying lethargy, vomiting, loose stools, etc. could lead a veterinarian to assume a pet isn't in too much distress, when really they are, but their owner is unable to convey that because they are scared, in denial, or afraid of being charged for unnecessary services. 

We all filter the things people tell us, but when it comes to people's pets, those filters are layered with love, guilt, fear, and even anger.  Being kind in the way I ask questions, getting clarification, and asking for examples has always been my strong suit. I know that my clients don't process or prioritize information the same way that I do, and that's okay. It's my job to get at the heart of the matter and help them to help their pets. It's one of the reasons during this pandemic that I've solicited so much video from my clients. I've reviewed hours of video footage of clients' dogs displaying everything from separation anxiety to panic to aggression to fear. Those videos are invaluable as I can look at them and then the client and I can talk about the behavior in the video, rather than their interpretation of what they saw when they took the video. Their interpretation is often laced with emotion. My evaluation of the video is not.  I am compassionate and caring, but I try very hard to be specific in the words and phrases I use so that clients can truly understand what the problem is and how we are going to fix it.

I don't think my clients are trying to be intentionally deceptive, but if they are reporting different things to their veterinarian than they are to me, or vice versa, it makes it incredibly difficult to determine what should be done to help the pet. Behavior problems can be very scary, I get that.  But we can't even begin to figure out what can be done if you can't be honest with me and with yourself about what you are seeing.  I treat what you tell me as privileged information, only sharing with your referring veterinarian if you want me to OR if your veterinarian is needed for diagnostic tests and/or drug therapy. Your secrets are safe with me and being honest will help me help you.  And if you don't know what you are seeing, just describe it as best as you can and I'll try to ferret out what's going on. Or send video and we can watch it together, learning about your pet and their needs together.

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

My office assistant is very good at not judging what he sees or hears during my phone and video consultations with clients.  He does, however, fall asleep on the job.

Why Can't I Get My Dog to Stop (fill in the blank)?!

As you've likely figured out, I receive a lot of questions from frustrated pet owners.  Many of those questions begin, with "Why can't I get my dog to stop...." The focus is on getting the dog to stop doing something.  I like to turn this around and ask "What is it that you want your dog TO DO instead?"  You see, it's all well and good to want to extinguish an annoying behavior, but you need to have a plan as to what you want to replace that annoying behavior with instead.  Here's an example.

My client yesterday was so frustrated that her dog was still surfing her kitchen counters.  She tells him "Off!" when she's there and she tries to keep the counters clear, but in her family, that's a challenge in and of itself.  He's gotten pretty good at staying off the counters when she's standing right there, but when she leaves the room, all bets are off! Frankly, this dog keeps counter surfing because the behavior works for him.  When he gets up there, he almost always finds something to eat or play with.  He finds crumbs, empty food containers, half eaten meals, dish towels, and sponges. His favorite kitchen chewing items seems to be the large wooden spoons near her stove. I know we've talked about this before, but it bears repeating. Dogs will continue to do things that work for them unless you show them that the behavior doesn't work anymore AND that you know something better that they can do. This isn't about punishing the dog into compliance, it's about showing him better alternatives. 

When my client is working in her kitchen, she will now not just tell her dog "Off!" when he comes up on the counter. Instead, she will direct him away from the counter and to his mat where she can give him a treat and tell him to "Stay!"  If he stays on his mat, she will periodically go back and reinforce that stay with a small, desirable treat (not something she is cooking, but something just for him). If he gets up from his mat, he will be sent back one time, and if he leaves it again, he'll be removed from the kitchen for the remainder of the food prep time.  Thus, the dog learns that NOT surfing AND staying on his mat, means he gets tangible rewards.  If he surfs and breaks his stay, he's removed to a place where he can no longer be part of the action. For now, all counters will be absent of anything he can take.  We want him to get up there and see that when there aren't people in the kitchen, there are no chances for rewards at all.  Anytime someone enters the kitchen and finds the dog NOT on the counter (and bonus points for being on his mat), he will get a reward.  It will also help this plan to succeed if we can train her husband to stop feeding the dog what he is preparing at the counter, but we all know how much harder the humans are to train than dogs!

Basically, when you ask yourself that question as to why you can't get your dog to stop doing something, you really need to decide what it is you want them to be doing instead, and find a way to show them that the alternative is more rewarding than their original behavior.  This applies to barking, digging, destructive chewing, etc.  Digging dogs need an appropriate outlet for their digging and hard core chewers need to have a variety of items to chew on being made available daily, and rotated to remain interesting.  And barking dogs? It's fine to tell them quiet, but then what should they do with their energy that they were expending on barking? How about redirecting them to a toy or game instead.  Or bring them indoors (if they were barking outside) and get them focused on a quiet activity. 

I know this is frustrating, however, we all have to remember that our dogs would have stopped doing many of these annoying behaviors before if WE hadn't made doing so quite as rewarding for them in the first place!

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

If you want your dog to stop begging at the table, then stop making being at the table while you are eating so rewarding for your dog!  Don't pet them, don't give them treats, and show them where they should be while you are eating.  Definitely give them something rewarding in their place away from the table. If they come back to beg, remove them from the room until the meal is over.  Your dog will learn that not begging and staying in their place means they get to stay and watch what's going on, AND receive a reward for doing so. 

Do You Know Someone with Cynophobia?

Over the weekend, I got a private message from a woman who follows my collie, Desi, on his Facebook page.  Well, actually, Desi got the note, I just answer all of his messages for him!  Anyway, she indicated that she'd seen his posts about helping a little girl overcome her fear of dogs.  She wanted to know how we'd done it and if what we'd done would work with an adult. You see, she'd been bitten as a child and was profoundly afraid of dogs in real life.  She loved looking at dogs on Facebook (hence her being one of Desi's "top fans"), but she still was terrified of any dog she encountered out in public.  And her fear was really isolating her more and more.  The pandemic meant more people working from home and walking their dogs at all times of day which meant this woman rarely felt safe walking, even in her neighborhood, anymore. 

Cynophobia, the clinical name for fear of dogs, affects 7-9% of the general population.  While that might not seem like much, that's roughly 30 million people whose quality of life is affected by their fear of dogs. What that fear looks like can vary from person to person.  Some people with cynophobia can't even look at pictures of dogs or watch a TV show, movie, or even a commercial where dogs are present.  Others can look at pictures of dogs and watch quiet dogs on TV, but if the dog barks or growls all bets are off.  And some are fine with dogs in all forms until they see them out in public spaces.  This is a difficult situation since dogs are the most popular pet here in the United States and dogs are allowed to go with their humans to so many public places.  For the woman who reached out to Desi, she couldn't even watch her kids' soccer games at the park on weekends because some of the parents brought their dogs along to cheer the kids on. Really a heartbreaking situation for her and for her family.

While it is fairly common for a person whose been bitten or chased by a dog to fear them, not every instance of cynophobia is due to a bad experience with a dog in the past. It is often true that phobias like fearing dogs are passed on from one person to another in a family.  Perhaps your mother was chased by a dog as a child and now she projects her fear onto you about taking an abundance of caution around all dogs. This is often why children are afraid of dogs. It is also definitely the case that people with more sensitive temperaments are prone to specific fears such as cynophobia. For some adults, just reading about a serious dog bite incident is enough to trigger a fear of all dogs. 

As with any panic-related episode, people experiencing cynophobia can have an increased heart rate, tightening in their chest, profuse sweating, trembling, feeling dizzy, and trouble breathing. They often feel an intense need to run away or escape; often they report feeling completely helpless and like they were going to die.  Children experiencing cynophobia will often scream, cry, run, or cling to a caregiver, all of which can attract undue attention from the dog that triggered the panic to begin with.

I should point out at this juncture that I am not a trained, human psychologist or psychiatrist. What I am is someone with an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a Master's Degree in Animal Behavior.  As such, I have studied fears and phobias in both humans and animals.  I have worked both alone and in conjunction with medical professionals to help treat cynophobia using my trained therapy dogs to desensitize people who are seeking treatment.  My first collie, Cooper, was a natural at this work.  He helped a half dozen children overcome their fear of dogs with repeated exposures to his calming presence and desensitization to his movements, sounds, etc. Desi is also incredibly suited to this job.  He will stand completely still for an inordinate amount of time for someone to get used to his presence.  When they are able to approach him, he will lay down, facing away from them, and not  move at all.  I truly mean that. He doesn't move at all.  He doesn't pant and he doesn't move to get up.  He just lays there.   When they can touch him, he will allow all handling thus giving that person a chance to feel his heart beat, touch his tail, feet, etc.  I encourage them to do all of those things with him as I think understanding a dog's physical nature helps to demystify the dog.  Over time, we work up to me walking Desi near them and eventually the folks we've worked with get to the point where they want to walk him themselves.  Desi will walk with anyone; he'll walk at a distance from you on a 15 foot leash, or closer to you on a 4-6 foot leash, whatever makes the person most comfortable. He doesn't run, he doesn't bark, and he doesn't fuss about anything he sees.  Squirrels will run past him and he barely glances when he's working.  This brings peace of mind to the person he is helping to overcome their fear.  When they get to the point where they can give him treats, he takes them gently.  And if they get to the point where they can love on him, he is thrilled, but nonetheless calm.  Once Desi and I have helped someone get to the point where they trust him, we talk about how to read dog body language so that they can traverse the world where other dogs are present, confident in their abilities to understand what those dogs are communicating.  I always tell them that they don't have to love every dog they meet, nor do they have to approach them or submit to being approached.  What they have to do is be comfortable reading dog body language so that when and if a dog approaches them, they will know what their own body language is telling that dog.  We talk about how to appear less threatening to a dog and how not to appear afraid either.  We talk about what your hands should be doing, where you should look, etc.  When they are ready for this step, Desi and I walk with them in dog populated public places.  I always tell them that Desi is there to keep an eye on the other dogs for them.  You see, that's Desi's super-power.  If a dog approaches one of the people he's working with, he will calmly stand between his person and that dog, essentially body blocking the encounter.  His charge feels safe and often the other dog moves away.  This helps the person we are working with learn to trust dogs and trust themselves to read the situations they find themselves in.  We also talk about how to speak to dog owners about their dogs, including telling owners who've let dogs off leash in on leash areas to please leash their dogs!  And how to say no, I don't want to pet your dog, nor do I want to be approached.  Dog owners really do need to be better about controlling their dogs out in public. It simply isn't okay to let your dog (friendly or not!) just run up to someone who is trying to walk, read their book, have a picnic, watch a soccer game, etc. It isn't okay to let your dog jump on people who are just out using the same public space that you are.  While a lot of people love dogs and welcome such approaches, there are enough who don't to make such encounters incredibly risky all around.

So, my response to the woman who contacted Desi was that he and I would be happy to help her overcome her fear of dogs.  Wanting to overcome it is the first step in treatment.  The second is determining how severe her particular case is, and we'll go from there.  Desi is ready, I know.  He loves these one-on-one appointments.  I know he enjoys them because he prances back inside the house afterward and straight at Ozzie almost as if to say, "I did a good thing today! You should have seen me in action!"  Ozzie may not appreciate Desi's gifts, but I sure do.  A dog that can help people overcome their fears is a dog I am proud to call my companion.

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

Desi patiently waiting in my office for me to tell him it's time to go to work!