Let's Talk Leashes!

Yesterday, I met with a client who has a brand new puppy.  She hasn't had a puppy in years and is really trying to do "everything right" this time around.  I genuinely appreciate her enthusiasm for the scientific approach to raising puppies. One of her questions was about leashes.  She knew she needed to start leash training early, but her puppy resisted the leash, so she stopped, figuring it was better to try introducing the leash again when I was there.  This was a terrific way to go as then I could work with her puppy and the leash ensuring right from the start that the leash was a positive thing. I know I've talked about leashes many times, but I feel like it is such an important topic for our dogs that it bears another discussion. 

There are 8000 year old images of dogs on leashes, so the use of leashes is not a new concept.  What is new is a better understanding of how to use the leash and what kind of information your dog is receiving from you when on leash. The true purpose of a leash is safety, right?  We leash our dogs so that they don't run off, wander into traffic, or impede the progress of other people going about their lives.  This means that if you are walking a dog on a public street or sidewalk, your leash should be of a length suitable to that purpose given the size of your dog.  For most dogs that means a 4 to 8 foot leash.  I do not and will not EVER endorse the use of a retractable leash for any dog or any situation.  They are dangerous and should not be used on city streets or side walks and for those who like to use them on hikes, trips to the beach, etc. I myself prefer to use a long leash of 20-30 feet for such situations; these long lines are weighted like a regular leash and don't pose the hazard that those retractable leashes inherently do.  Not to mention the fact that most dog owners using retractable leashes aren't "reeling in their dogs" when they should, putting other people and their own dogs at risk.

Once you have your 4-8 foot leash, you have to attach it to something on the dog.  Small dogs and all puppies should be on harnesses; medium and large sized dogs can still be on harnesses, but a lot of  adult dog owners prefer a collar of some sort, whether that's a martingale collar, head halter, or flat collar. The first time you walk a puppy on a leash and harness, that walk should be in your house.  Just follow your puppy, keeping the leash loose in your hand.  They will spin around, try to grab the leash, sit, and then try to run away from it.  That's all okay!  Just go along with them.  The second they calm down, bend down, show them a treat, and then  lure them a few steps to follow you.  Keep the treat right in front of their nose so their focus is on that treat, not on the leash.  After several short sessions like this, you should be able to follow your puppy around on a leash inside your house.  You can practice maneuvering around furniture obstacles, or down hallways, to perfect your walking technique in those safe spaces before you ever venture out into the real world. Don't worry so much about getting a perfect heel; focus instead on keeping your puppy on one side, not under your feet, dragging behind you, or too far out front.  Somewhere in your stride works just fine.  Make sure you are grasping the leash gently but firmly, though not white-knuckle, death-gripping it. If you put too much pressure on the leash, shortening it so the dog feels pressure on its neck/back, most dogs will resist and pull harder.  Giving them a loose leash creates less anxiety and gives your dog more room to explore and sniff, thus relieving anxiety rather than creating or fostering it.  And, yes, sniffing and exploring are two things dogs like to do out on those leashed walks!

So, back to my client and her puppy. The puppy already had a harness on when I arrived.  I bent down and offered the puppy a few licks from a high value, lickable treat.  Once the puppy was enjoying that and wanting more, I brought the leash over and laid it on the floor next to us.  The puppy sniffed the leash tentatively and that earned a lick of the treat.  When the puppy backed away from the leash, the treat went away.  At this point, I asked the puppy to sit, rewarded that behavior, and hooked on the leash, no struggle at all.  Now, I stood up and gently held the leash with two fingers and followed her puppy as she moved around the room, tentatively at first, and then with gusto when she realized I was letting her choose our route.  Once she got the hang of what a leash felt like, I bent down with my lickable treat and encouraged her to walk where I wanted to walk.  I lured her along for about 15 paces, stopped, let her have a few licks, and then waited to see what she'd do.  She sat down and looked at me as if to say, "Where to now, treat lady?" We then walked all around the room, with me holding the leash gently and the puppy bouncing along on my left checking in for treats, and then sniffing corners of the room she'd never explored before as they were outside of her x-pen.  After 5 minutes of this, I had the puppy sit, and I removed the leash.  Session #1 of leash training complete and her puppy is no longer afraid of the leash.  Even more importantly, my client now understands how she should be holding the leash, and what her role is on those leashed walks; her job is to keep her puppy safe and make the walk age-appropriately enjoyable.

Now some of you may be saying, "That's all fine and well and good as that was a puppy. What about my leash pulling adult dog who has anxiety?"  Even for those dogs, loose leash walking is still your goal.  Walk your dog in your yard, inside your house, etc.  Just as we can get our daily exercise on a treadmill not a track, so can dogs get their walking exercise walking in a safe area like your yard or home.  Obviously, there aren't as many good/novel things to sniff there, but it is safe. Plus, you can make it more interesting for your dog by setting up "Easter eggs" in the areas of your home/yard where you will be walking for your dog to find when they walk.  Basically, hide kibble or treats where you will be walking for them to discover.  Keep your leash walking sessions short and rewarding until your dog becomes less anxious about leash walking in general. 

I know there are dog owners out there who still yank their dogs around by the leash, snap/pop the leash to get their dog's head up from sniffing, and offer other harsh corrections using the leash attached to their dog. It's a wonder those dogs will still go out on a leash!  I like to think of leashes the same way I think of reins on a horse; they are there for safety and for me to guide the horse on which way I'd like to go.  If you think yanking on a horse's reins will garner you any extra favor with a horse, you're wrong.  They are big animals who can knock you right off that saddle, or stop dead in their tracks and stop moving, if your whole approach to using the reins is based in control.  Just as reins and a saddle require a relationship between the rider and the horse to be successful, so does that leash/harness or leash/collar combo.  You have a relationship with your dog that you want to be positive and pleasant and rewarding for you both.  Good relationships do not involve asserting your control or authority in a way that causes pain, confusion, or frustration.  While every dog, at one time or another, will get out to the end of their leash and have it tighten their collar or harness uncomfortably as a consequence, that feeling doesn't have to be the rule for walks, but rather just that.  A learning opportunity, a chance to teach your dog a better strategy for walking on leash that involves tangible, predictable rewards for keeping near you, on a loose leash, while still being able to sniff and explore.

I'm really looking forward to my next session with this client and her puppy.  They are a lovely pair and I'm anticipating that their relationship will do nothing but blossom as they continue to discover how much they enjoy each other.

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

This is my buddy, Loki, on a recent session together.  You can clearly see that his 6 foot leash is loose, as it's actually dragging on the ground while he sniffs.  During our training sessions together, I add in short bouts of loose leash walking so that he can take a sniff break and enjoy being a dog!

Is Your Dog a Back Seat Driver?

I met with a client last week and her two adorable little dogs.  They are so sweet and lovable, you just want to pick them up and love on them all the time.  That is until you load them into their car seat in the car and they start barking at everything!  They bark at people, dogs, golf carts, bikes, motorcycles...well, you get the picture.  They bark nonstop in the car, making it very difficult for my client to concentrate on her driving.  Her dogs' barking has also made it so that no one wants to ride in the car with them!  She set up an appointment with me and I gathered all my tools for fixing this problem as the plan was for me to hop in the back seat with her dogs and take a ride. She told me she hoped my ear drums survived the trip!

You all know by now that I have collies.  Collies are notorious barkers.  They take their role as sentries and family guardians very seriously.  They, too, will bark in the car if you let them.  Ozzie still occasionally barks in the car when a motorcycle pulls up next to us in traffic.  Go figure.  Anyway, the thing to keep in mind is this:  While barking is a normal dog behavior, and alerting the humans to changes in the environment is an important dog job, doing so in the car is very distracting to the human occupants of the car and needs to be curbed for safety reasons.

While you may be tempted to curb the behavior by applying negatives (yelling, squirting water, no-bark collars, etc.), this really isn't the best choice.  You want riding in the car with you to be a positive experience for all involved, not anxiety provoking.  So, let's take a positive approach.

First off, secure your dog(s). Dogs should be wearing car harnesses, sitting in car seats designed for dogs, or in a secured crate.  Dogs should not be running around in the backseat, jumping from the back to the front, on your lap, or heaven forbid on the floor near the driver's feet! Dogs who fixate on movement outside the car often do best harnessed into the middle of the backseat rather than up against a window.  Those pull up, easy-to-install, window shades are also helpful.  They won't obstruct your view as the driver, but they do mute the view for your canine passengers.  Plus, they help keep the car cooler, an added benefit for your canine friends.  

Now it's time to make that spot in the car really fun by keeping your dog busy while sitting there.  Just as you might give your kids or grandkids something to play with in the car to keep them from asking a hundred times, "How long til we get there?!" you need to do the same for your dogs.  Some dogs are easily distracted with a bully stick in a holder to keep them from choking, a bone, or even a frozen Kong.  I like to take that one step further and put that frozen Kong or bone into my Kurgo treat pouch that has a fun, drawstring pouch for making it harder to get to the goodies and a little side pocket where extra treats can be tucked deep for rooting around for rewards.  If you've only ever used a treat pouch to carry treats you give your dog, then you're missing out on this second use!  This Kurgo one also has a clip and a carabiner that help to keep it anchored to the seat belt or car seat for your dog passengers.  Here is a link to the Kurgo treat pouch I use for this purpose: 

 https://www.amazon.com/Kurgo-Stuff-Treat-Hands-Free-Training/dp/B014V4V9WI/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2DXX31AL9TSZF&keywords=kurgo+treat+pouch&qid=1670629284&rdc=1&s=pet-supplies&sprefix=kurgo+treat+%2Cpets%2C211&sr=1-3

For my appointment, I also wanted to show my client a way to get her passengers to actively participate in helping her dogs be less barky in the car.  By riding in the backseat, I could talk to my client as she drove and reinforce her dogs for quiet behavior.  I wasn't using traditional treats for this, but rather a high value, lickable treat that is fragrant and quickly delivered, or removed, based on their behavior.  I let the dogs see what I had (one quick lick) and we began our car ride.  As soon as I saw people, other dogs, etc., I'd offer the treat to lick (no words, just made it available).  Once the stimulus was gone, I put the cap back on the treat.  Next stimulus was a bike, out came the treat before they even thought of barking.  By now, my dog friends were watching me rather than out the window.  I petted them and loved on them, but no treats until we saw the next trigger. Now they understood. As soon as they saw that golf cart, then turned toward me and the treat was already headed their way!  They weren't being bribed into quiet behavior, just rewarded for it! My client was amazed!  She decided to "push our luck" and drive past the dog park, something she would never do as her dogs go nuts the second she gets within a block of the park.  Not only did they not bark on approach, we drove right past barking, running dogs in the park, and not a peep; her dogs just watched, happily licking the treat.  On the way home, the dogs were even laying down in their car seat, resting their heads on the arms of the car seat, instead of hyper-vigilantly looking out the window for something to bark at.  My client said it was the nicest car ride she'd had in over a year!

Going forward, she will use the Kurgo treat bag and a variety of novel yummy snacks for her car rides alone with the dogs.  When she has passengers, she can use the lickable treats.  Either way, her dogs will come to see car rides as an opportunity to go someplace fun AND have the ride itself be rewarding as well. Blissfully peaceful car rides for all!

Having the right tools for a job really does make a difference. As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

Westley loves a good car ride.  He wears a harness in the car

 for safety and is never a nuisance barker. 

Are Your Pets on Santa's Naughty List?

I got a call yesterday from a woman who was at her wit's end with her new kitten.  In the span of an hour, this kitten had knocked over a bag of flour, leaving little white paw prints everywhere; climbed up the Christmas tree, knocking off and breaking a handful of ornaments; chewed the ribbon off of a decorative pillow; and took off running with the bells hanging from the front door!  I (jokingly of course!) told her that it sounded like she had a pretty normal 14 week old kitten. Kittens are, by nature, inquisitive, so the experiences this owner had been having were completely normal, but potentially dangerous nonetheless.  Years ago, I had a client whose Golden Retriever puppy took a bit too much interest in a gingerbread scented candle and ended up burning himself and the table with the spilled wax!  Holiday mishaps aren't just things that happen to people with puppies and kittens; adult dogs and cats can get into trouble as well. So how can you better ensure that your pets are safe this holiday season?

First and foremost, never leave your pets unattended in a room with lit candles, filled candy dishes, or readily available people food.  All of these things smell good and are often novel for our pets, thus attracting their attention.  While it is certainly worthwhile to teach your pets leave it and drop it, now is not the time to test how well they absorbed those lessons.

If you put up a Christmas tree, best to put it up in a room that isn't a high traffic area for your pets and thus a huge draw for them to explore. No flocked trees and don't put tinsel of any kind on your tree as that's a choking hazard.  Keep non-breakable, non-edible ornaments within reaching distance of your pets.  Save those candy canes and glass ornaments for the sturdy branches near the top of the tree.  If you have a cat who climbs your tree, make sure the stand is steady and can support their added weight.  Only use cool-to-the-touch lights and keep those lights tight on the branches to reduce the risk of strangulation, and only decorate your tree with cat-safe ornaments.  One of my cat-owning clients has fully embraced her tree climbers by putting up two trees in her house.  The one in her formal living room has all the family heirloom ornaments on it and the gifts beneath it, and is safely shut behind glass French doors when no one is in the room.  The other tree is in her family room and covered in fun cat and dog themed ornaments, all made of wood or fabric with nothing on them that can be swallowed.  There are no gifts under that tree, just a fuzzy tree skirt that her cats and dog love to lay on.  While I have certainly seen homes where people just put up an x-pen around their tree to keep it safe from the family dog, this will not keep out an inquisitive cat!  Those gifts under the tree can be hazardous as well if they contain food.  And watch those ribbons as they are beautiful, but also a choking hazard. Resist the urge to put anything in your tree stand other than water.  If your pet takes a sip or a paw dip, you want them to just come up with plain water.

I saw a client last week who has a recently mobile toddler and a puppy.  She told me she's considering no tree at all this year because her toddler is already trying to climb the drapes with the puppy not far behind!  I told her she can still decorate, she just needs to do so with an eye toward what she can put up that is safe at this stage of her child's (and her puppy's) development.  This is the year for decorative throw pillows, cute floor rugs without fringe, festive artwork on the walls, and decorations on her fireplace mantel. This is not the year for snow globes, candy dishes, or breakable ornaments.

I love poinsettia plants, but I only ever keep them on my front porch, away from collie noses.  Keep mistletoe out of the reach of pets, as well as that beautiful amaryllis plant or holly, if you have pets who are curious about the plants you bring indoors. 

Finally, resist the urge to take your pets to sit with Santa, put antlers or blinking lights on their heads, or put them in silly holiday sweaters IF they hate wearing them.  There are a lot of dogs and cats who are game for these holiday shenanigans, particularly if there are treats involved, but there are equally as many who hate wearing anything at all and doing so creates unnecessary stress for them. 

Don't worry if the neighbor's tree is prettier than yours because they don't have pets in the house.  And don't feel jealous of your friend whose kids are too old to pull down the decorations or eat handfuls of holiday candy when you're not looking.  Your children will be grown up soon enough.  Enjoy your pets and your children at whatever stage they are in.  Make those necessary adjustments to your holiday decor to keep them safe.  And by all means DO decorate if that's what you like to do.  The holidays are a time to celebrate and enjoy.  Just make them safe and fun for everyone in your family. 

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

These three have never minded wearing holiday garb. Probably because they know wearing it gets them extra attention and yummy snacks!

The Holiday Season is Officially Here!

This may not come as a surprise to you like it did me, but there are just 18 days until Hanukkah and 25 days until Christmas.  It's like one moment I was selecting pumpkins and the next I was stressing out about Christmas cards. Can you relate?  I'm, once again, not ready for the holiday season.  I love this time of year, but I also find it incredibly anxiety provoking.  Apparently, I'm not alone. I've already received a dozen calls/emails from pet parents needing assistance "before December __ when family arrive for the holidays."  While I am happy to provide guidance to these folks, I also know that it is more than likely that the issues they are facing won't be "fixed" by that looming date on their respective calendars.  

You see, anxiety is often at the root of the problems for which people seek my assistance.  Anxiety requires understanding, accommodations, and adjustments to our behavior, as well as our pet's. It can't be solved with a pill, a crate, or a trip to a board and train.  While anti-anxiety medication might help, it takes weeks/months to reach an efficacious level in a pet's brain and body.  While crates are helpful, you can't crate an anxiously aggressive dog for 10 days while you have guests in your home.  And while sending a dog off to boot camp may feel like you're killing two birds with one stone (getting them training and having someone else watch them for you), dogs returning from board and train situations often come home with more problems than they started with.

I don't want these new clients to feel discouraged, but I do want to be honest with them.  We aren't going to fix everything in one session.  What we can do in that first session, however, is come up with an action plan of what needs to be done to reduce their pet's anxiety and make the holidays a bit less stressful for all concerned.  I've been doing this a long time (over 30 years!), so I am nothing other than realistic with my clients.  I'll help them reach their goals, but it will take work and more time than those 18 to 25 days before the holidays hit us like a freight train. 

Here's the other thing I know about the holidays.  I'm not the only human who feels stressed out and anxious this time of year.  And I KNOW my own stress is felt by my dogs.  Ozzie often becomes extra-clingy this time of year as he tries to help me accomplish my tasks; he is my shadow, a daily reminder to take walks, drink water, and pet the dog. Understanding that our own attitudes and coping strategies affect our pets' behavior is important too when you're trying to come up with a way to make it better for them!

So, here's my advice for you, the humans.  Walk your dogs.  Take frequent breaks.  Drink lots of water (especially if it's flavored with coffee or tea!). Nourish you body with yummy foods, bonus for those foods your pets can have too (pumpkin, apples, pears, a bite of gingerbread!). Relax, even if it's just for a few moments; petting a dog or cat is good for them and for you. Prioritize what you need to accomplish and be realistic about what you can actually get done.  

And if what you need to prioritize is help for your pet, then I'm here for you.  If they jump on guests, bark at visitors, freak out over the holiday lights and decor, forget how to use their litterbox, or pull on the leash to greet everyone, let's get on those issues now.  If your pet is anxious, experiencing issues related to fear or aggression, let's start working on those as well.  No need to make those issues your New Year's resolutions when we can start tackling them together now.

I love that the woman I spoke to this morning told me how afraid she was to call me, but now feels nothing but hope. She said she couldn't believe I'd made her laugh and smile, when she'd dialed my number practically in tears.  I'm going to consider that a win right out of the gate.  She's now in a better head space for us to work with her challenging dog.  Bringing hope to pet owners is definitely part of my job and one I take seriously (though I do like making people laugh as well).

Let's try to go into this holiday season with joy in our hearts and patience for each other and for the pets in our families.  As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me. 

And if you, too,  need a smile or a giggle, here's Ozzie, dressed up as Santa's little helper.

Look Who's Talking!

Back in August,  a pet insurance company sponsored a poll where they asked about 2000 American pet owners questions regarding communication with their pets.  It was a small poll, but I really enjoyed some of the answers.  Here's a link to an article which summarizes the poll results nicely: 

https://nypost.com/2022/10/03/do-you-wish-your-pet-could-talk-to-you/

Given our long history of co-evolution with dogs, it's not surprising that 78% of poll respondents felt that if animals could speak, dogs would be the first to do so, versus the 60% who thought it would be cats who spoke first.  What was amusing to me were the 53% who felt their pets would have a certain tone or inflection when they spoke, not that they wouldn't necessarily speak with the accent or inflection of the owner themselves. So many of us already talk to our animals, and answer for them, using the tone/inflection etc. that we think they would use with us. While these results were fun to think about, I really enjoyed where they got down to the "brass tacks" of pet guardianship, so to speak.

If our pets could talk to us, what would we most like to know?  Personally, I'd really like to be able to have a definitive answer as to how my senior dog, Desi, is feeling every day. If he could tell me, I wouldn't have to rely so heavily on observing his behavior with us, with Ozzie, and with other people he interacts with. Interestingly enough, only 58% of poll respondents wanted to know how their pets feel, and almost an equal amount felt their pets would tell others private information!  61% of respondents felt having their pets be able to speak would be valuable in terms of telling us their food preferences. I don't know about you, but I don't need my dogs to speak in order to know their food preferences!  They are pretty definitive on that front. I love that some pet owners thought their pets might say insulting things to other people or just wouldn't stop talking.  Honestly, I'd never given this much thought, but I have a hard time seeing most of the dogs or cats I know running off at the mouth or making rude comments.  I like to think that my dogs have a sense of humor, so if they were rude, they'd read the room and knock it off.

All kidding aside, it's nice to know that 68% of the poll respondents felt that they knew what their pet was trying to convey to them. I'm surprised this number isn't higher though, particularly among dog owners.  Again, all of this co-evolution with dogs means that dogs have gotten really savvy at letting the humans around them know what they need/want/desire.  Dogs will, quite literally, stare at their empty bowl and then the refrigerator.  Or walk over to the treat cupboard, stare at it, then stare at you.  Even my cat owning clients tell me stories of their cats standing on their chests in the morning if they don't get up and feed them breakfast. In order to "hear" our pets, all we really need to do is observe them.  The fact that it took the average respondent 3.5 years to learn to understand their own pet is kind of shocking to me. That means for that animal's entire puppyhood/kittenhood and adolescence, their humans were hit or miss for understanding their needs.

We live in a digital world where you can literally ask a question on your phone or computer and have it immediately answered, whether that answer is factual or not. You can type "why does my dog whine in his sleep?" and you will literally get 2 million results in less than one second. Knowing where to go for answers is the first step and the internet isn't always your pet's best option.  Much better to ask your veterinarian, your favorite dog trainer, or pick up a book written by a reputable source. If you need book recommendations, just ask!

I like to think of myself as a keen observer of all things animal-related.  I've spent literally years of my life studying dogs and cats, observing them, listening to them tell me what's wrong via their behavior.  This means I can understand what your pet is telling you, even though they aren't using words, funny accents, or inflections.  They are using their body language and behavior to tell me, and you, how they feel, what they think, and what they need.  Just watch them.

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

I'm pretty sure you know what Ozzie and Desi are telling me.  Their eyes and attention say it all.

Our Post-Covid Pets

Last week, my daughter sent me the link to an article in the New York Times wellness section on pet anxiety.  She said she was sending this my way so I could see what, and I quote, "the lay public is reading and doing for their pets."  First of all, how awesome is it that one of my kids read something and thought of me?  Makes me happy just thinking about it.  And second, that she'd send me something so relevant and worth exploring further?  Brilliant.  So, here's the link to the article she sent me if you want to read it as well: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/well/pet-anxiety-meds.html

One of the big takeaways from this article for me was something the author discovered through her research and that is the fact that pet owners are getting better at recognizing that their pets are anxious AND they are seeking ways to reduce that anxiety. It isn't so much that pets weren't anxious in the past, or pre-COVID, for instance.  Pets, like people, have always experienced anxiety; we are just getting better at recognizing it AND wanting to treat the problem.  My veterinarian friends tell me that they have more clients presenting them with anxious pets than ever before, likely because those pet owners were home more during COVID lockdowns and thus watching their pets more and picking up on behaviors they likely missed when they were gone all day. So, it isn't that those COVID lockdowns created the anxiety per se, it's more likely that they just made existing problems rooted in anxiety more apparent.  

I also appreciated how the author shared some of the behaviors exhibited by anxious animals.  I often point some of these behaviors out to clients during appointments and they are amazed, often telling me they'd noticed those behaviors before, but didn't know that they were associated with anxiety.  Dogs and cats will yawn, vigorously scratch, smack their lips, obsessively groom, etc. when they feel anxious.  Yes, tired animals yawn, animals with allergies scratch and over-groom as well.  It's the frequency of those behaviors and the situations in which they occur that makes it different.  

While the author of this piece does mention a couple of over the counter solutions, as well as a handful that are by prescription, this wasn't the focus of the article, and in fact, she was smart to point readers to their veterinarian's office first before trying anything. There are so many products available out there and it IS important to choose wisely.  While I am a huge proponent of CBD for dogs and cats, where applicable, I always suggest that owners have their pet's blood work assessed by their veterinarian first, just to make sure there are no underlying medical issues that could be contributing to the behavior or that could make giving the pet CBD unwise. And when it comes to more traditional anti-anxiety medications, there are so many options, it really does take time and experience to help point veterinarians and their pet-owning clients in the right direction.  While Prozac may work great for one anxious dog, it may be a poor choice for another.  And that reactive dog who acts up at veterinary appointments may be given a prescription for Trazodone, only to discover that it makes that pet so sedated that their reactive behavior is actually made worse.  If you do have to go the route of a prescription-only medication for your pet, definitely talk through all of the options!  

Finally, I love that the author finished her piece talking about desensitization to the vet's office and building her dog up to  cooperative care in that setting, with or without drugs on board to do so. Kudos to her vet for suggesting that desensitization.  It's tedious, but it does make a big difference.  None of us are as anxious about places we've been to repeatedly as we are about rolling up to new or unknown situations.  Experiences, especially positive or even neutral ones, in a veterinary setting, make that setting less anxiety provoking for our pets when there is something major going on and they need treatment.

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

Anxiety does not look the same in every dog.  Ozzie has situational anxiety which I manage with behavioral modification, confidence building exercises, and occasionally CBD.  He is not anxious at the vet's office as he's been practicing cooperative care his whole life.  But big social situations?  That will trigger his anxiety for sure.

Dazed and Confused

No, not the film from the early 90's, but rather how my new client felt after her last appointment with her dog trainer. She called her veterinarian and told him about the work she'd been doing with the dog trainer and he told her to stop immediately and call me.  This really panicked her and she was practically hyperventilating when she called me and left me a message.  If there's one thing I'm good at though, it's talking people down off the ledge. When we connected, I asked her to take a deep breath and tell me what happened that led to that call to the vet and then to me. She agreed to me sharing her story as she felt like she couldn't be the only person who'd experienced this (she's definitely not!) and she hopes it saves someone else from having to go through all of this themselves.  

My client unknowingly acquired a puppy mill dog.  She thought she was getting an older puppy that a breeder had decided not to keep, when in actuality, she was getting a puppy mill dog who'd likely been used as a breeder unsuccessfully, and then sent on to a puppy broker for sale. My client had no idea what a puppy broker even was until after she'd already gotten the dog and started having issues and couldn't get any feedback from the person she'd purchased the dog from.  The dog in question, an 11 month old female Havanese, was incredibly fearful and disengaged, was toileting all over the client's house, was terrified of the leash, and was unable to follow basic directives like sit, down, or come.  At this point, she reached out for help to a local person who billed themselves as providing "balanced dog training services." Like most people, my client equated balanced with a positive approach (much like a balanced diet), one which would take into consideration all of her dog's needs and personality and thus be balanced in how the dog was treated. She quickly discovered after a few sessions with this trainer that her definition of balanced and positive, and the trainer's definition, were two different things. 

Balanced dog trainers believe in an approach that utilizes both reward-based techniques and aversive consequences (punishment). What most people don't realize is that punishment can come in two forms, positive and negative. Positive punishment is the addition of something after the behavior in question that results in the dog doing that behavior with decreased frequency. Negative punishment involves removing a reinforcing item after the undesirable behavior in an effort to decrease the frequency of that behavior. In the realm of human behavior, an easy example of the difference would be spanking a kid who misbehaves (positive punishment) or taking away his Playstation (negative punishment).  So what happened with my client's dog?

The trainer put the dog on a pinch collar and 4 foot leash and proceeded to use leash corrections ("popping" the leash so the collar tightened) anytime the dog resisted walking.  At one point the dog had curled up and was being dragged with the pinch collar and leash.  In addition, the trainer had suggested an e-collar to "speed up the basic obedience training" and, frankly, I don't even want to tell you what the suggestion was for the housetraining issues. I honestly thought everyone at this point knew that shoving a dog's nose in excrement doesn't teach them not to poop in the house.  No wonder her veterinarian sent her my way; this dog and owner were at a crisis point.  While the dog had been afraid and disengaged, she had never been aggressive.  After two sessions with the dog trainer, the dog was becoming snappy and growly and the trainer was suggesting "cranking up the e-collar" in response to those behaviors.  Again, something positive alright, positive punishment. My client didn't realize that punishment would be the trainer's solution for the issues she was having, nor did she understand why the trainer kept referring to them as positive methods.

I felt awful for this owner and this dog.  She'd spent a great deal of money on this trainer and still had remaining sessions that she'd prepaid for.  Truly hoping she'll be able to get her money back. Nonetheless, we had our work cut out for us as now her dog didn't trust her and sure as heck wasn't going to trust me at the outset.  I sat on the floor, not making eye contact, and tossing treats away from me, until the dog finally approached me for a tentative sniff. I extended my hand and dropped a treat, and then another, until finally the dog was in front of me.  I gently scratched the dog's chest and she sat.  I told her "good sit" and gave her a big treat.  Her ears went back, she dropped her head, and started to retreat at the word "sit," but she ended up not moving away.  She was definitely expecting a shock for breaking the sit, which she didn't of course receive from me.  I scratched her chest again, she sat, I repeated "good sit," and handed her an even bigger treat to chew on.  She held the sit, but kept a close watch on me.  It took the full hour and a bag full of treats, but I got this little dog to trust me not to shock her for slow responses.  The second session, we started again with the treat toss game which she clearly enjoyed and remembered.  I had brought a 6 foot leash with me, which I dropped at my feet for her to sniff.  She definitely was suspicious.  I told the owner that I wanted to build up to a nice, soft harness for her dog, but we'd start with a leash and flat collar, no pulling.  I had the dog drag the leash around the house while we played recall games and worked on her basics.  By the third session, I could follow the dog around the owner's yard while holding the leash.  At the slightest leash tension, she'd panic, so I kept the leash as loose as possible and followed the dog around, encouraging sniffing by dropping treats to find.  I had given the owner homework to do to start from square one on the housetraining issues and by that third session, the dog was having very few accidents in the house and was able to toilet outside on the schedule we'd come up with for her. The owner and I plan to meet once a month going forward just to continue to assess her dog's progress with what the owner refers to as my "gentle reprogramming." I love that. Reprogramming.  I definitely feel like this dog came from a less than ideal situation (puppy mill) then went into a rigorous, punishment-based training program that basically just shut her down.  We do need to reprogram her to see people as kind, providing structure and guidance and consequences that the dog can understand.  She still acts like the food puzzles we're giving her are punishment as well, so we'll have to keep working on that.  This dog needs to build her confidence with new tasks and those puzzles use treats she loves, but she frustrates and gives up very easily.  No big surprise there.  My client is patient, though, and happy to see her little dog start to wag that tail instead of tucking in, and not shy away from loving handling.  Another work in progress for sure.

My client is now kicking herself for not listening to her instincts and stopping this aversive training program at that first session.  Hindsight is 20/20 after all. Dogs are pliable and forgiving, and they do want to please us, but this dog had never had humans around in a truly positive manner, so it was like starting from the beginning all over again, building trust, setting up boundaries, and working on cooperative care.  My client is all the wiser now, knowing why she'll never get a dog through a broker again AND why she'll listen to her heart when choosing anyone to care for or help her with her dog.  If it feels wrong, it is wrong.

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

This dog most certainly did not need a pinch collar or an e-collar.  What she needed was a better understanding of why we were putting a leash on her and all the great things she'd get to do once she learned to walk on a leash fear-free.