The Basics!

I just got off the phone with a new puppy owner.  She hasn't had a puppy in years and was feeling overwhelmed, even by the basics like teaching her pup to sit, lie down, come when called, and stay.  She's been doing lots of reading, but like most of the dog owners I meet, she's finding contradicting information at every turn.  Some folks recommend lure training, while others eschew it.  Some say use treats, while others say don't use treats, just use praise. While I know I've talked about some of this before, I thought it might be nice to just put all of my thoughts on these basics into one blog post, for easy reference. 

First, a little learning theory refresher.  The easiest way to teach a new behavior is to use shaping.  That is, a process by which you reward an animal for successive approximations to the desired goal. Once they reach that goal, you mark the behavior (best to use something fast and easy like "Yes!"), and reward.  While there are some folks who like to just capture behaviors when they occur naturally and reward then, I have always found this to be tedious and time consuming.  Dogs offer behaviors all the time, so waiting to capture when they do something you want, means constant vigilance and rewards at the ready. I'd rather be proactive, shaping behaviors I want to see happen again, and rewarding them accordingly.  Now, some examples.

Getting a puppy to come to you is critical and probably the most important behavior they will ever learn as it keeps them safe.  This is why you never call your dog to you for something they'd hate; they'll learn to ignore you and quit coming reliably because you are the fun police.  For puppies, it's often easy to get them to come to you, at least initially.  Capitalize on that and reward it profusely so instead of being the fun police, you are party central.  Bend down, wiggle your fingers, and make kissy sounds.  When your puppy looks your way, wiggle those fingers some more (that's a lure!), say their name happily, and call them now.  Most puppies are already scampering your way with the kissy sounds, but adding in the happy voice and wiggly fingers just seals the deal.  When they get to you, say "Yes!" and give them a treat, before sending them back off to play.  This is important:  You send them back off to play, even just for a few moments, before you pick them up or move them on to the next thing.  That way, coming to you is associated with amazing things like more play.

If you are having trouble getting your puppy to sit, or stay sitting, you are not alone.  A lot of puppies will sit for a few seconds and them pop right up as soon as you say anything or reach toward them with a treat.  If you blow it and give them a treat when their little bottom pops up, then that's what they will think a sit is; a jack-in-the-box maneuver, rather than a calm, sit in place.  Whether you are having trouble just getting a sit, or you're having trouble with your puppy holding the sit position, here is an exercise to try that should help.  Position your puppy in a corner so that their little bottom is pointed toward the corner.  Hold a treat in front of their nose and slowly move that treat in your hand up and over their head.  They will try to back up to reach for the treat, and their bottom will hit the wall.  When this happens, they may wiggle sideways, but if your hand is still just above and behind their head, that head will tip back, and that bottom will hit the ground. The second it does, say "Yes!" and give them the treat.  While they are still sitting, quickly give them another.  Each time you do this, you can move further and further out and away from that corner until your puppy can sit without the support of the wall behind them. 

A lot of puppies have trouble with lying down, especially those small breed puppies who are literally thinking," Hey!  I'm already low to the ground! How much lower can I go?!" This doesn't mean, however, that you shouldn't teach your puppy, regardless of breed, to lie down when requested. Head for that corner again, and this time, bring a bed, mat, rug, or towel.  That way, you can kill two birds with one stone, teaching your dog the meaning of place (on their bed, rug, etc.) and getting a solid down on request.  First, get them to sit with their bottom in that corner.  Now, slowly (and I mean SLOWLY) move that treat down from their nose, under their chin, and then down their chest to the ground. They'll start by just trying to stretch their necks to reach the treat, but persevere! If that bottom pops up, you moved the treat too quickly. As you move that treat toward the ground, move your hand and the treat even closer to their body, between those front legs.  You'll leave them with no choice but to fold up, origami puppy-style, into the sloppiest down you've ever seen, and that's okay!  Each time you do this, your puppy's down will look less like a puppy puddle and more like a down.  Now, you can start moving that bed/mat/rug away from the wall and begin sending your puppy to their place to lie down.

As you can see from my examples, I'm all in favor of using treats to lure your dogs into doing what you'd like them to do.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  Everyone, your dogs included, likes to get paid for a job well done.  Whether you are using their kibble, dog treats, cheerios, or string cheese, it doesn't matter.  What matters is what is your dog willing to work for?  Some dogs are pickier that others, some crave novelty, and others will eat anything you offer them.  Try different lures and figure out what works best for your pup.  And, yes, you can use a toy for a lure as well, just remember that if you are using a toy, then they get to play with it following completion of the behavior, which may derail training sessions for some dogs. I myself prefer a pocketful of small, yummy treats so I can lure, reward, and repeat a couple of times before moving on to a play session as the penultimate reward. It's like getting paid for your job and then receiving a bonus!

Once you've taught a puppy to come, sit, and lie down on request, you've got the foundation you need to teach every other behavior you might want them to be able to do on request.  Whether it's teaching them to stay, walk across the dog walk in agility, or retrieve an object, having these foundational behaviors means your puppy knows how to listen, focus, and perform an action on request. I like to test my dogs' on their skills by changing it up, not always giving verbal requests, but just using hand signals, for example. For people with puppies, however, I always suggest using both the verbal cue and the hand signal until you are sure they understand what both cues mean AND what it is that they are doing that means the same thing as your cues.  You'll really know they've got this when you simply glance their way and before you can ask, they approach you and offer a sit as if to say, "What are we doing next, favorite human?"

I hope this helps.  Whether you are working with a new puppy or an adult dog you've just acquired, this outline should give you a good idea of how I would approach teaching them the basics. Just don't move too quickly through them and remember to repeat the exercises only enough to ensure that they understand, but not so much that you bore them into misbehavior.  Keep your training sessions short, 3-5 minutes works great for puppies and adolescent dogs; you hold their attention and release them before they've gotten tired or bored or both!

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

Here's puppy Ozzie, adding his own spin to a down/stay

 by crossing his paws.  It's a collie thing.

Time Out!

In last week's blog, I covered how to go about getting control of a mouthy dog or puppy using redirection and time outs.  Someone new to my blog asked for clarification on the concept of time outs.  She told me she'd never had kids, so she wasn't sure what this was supposed to look like for her adolescent dog!  I laughed at this because I always use my kids as an example when talking about time outs, and for those who think time outs are punishment and therefore to be avoided if you are (as you should be!) focusing on positive reinforcement methods with your dogs. So, it seems like it's time to dive into what time outs are, how long your puppy or dog can be in one, where they should time out, etc.

Think of a time out as an opportunity. It's an opportunity for you to cool off if you're frustrated with your dog's behavior. It's an opportunity for your dog to calm down, get some self control, and move themselves to a state of being that's below threshold for reactivity or over-excitement. For puppies, a time out is often an opportunity to take a much needed nap. 

Time outs are not punishment.  The only way a time out would be punishing is if you make it that way!  If you swat your dog, grab him roughly, or shove him/drag him as part of the time out, then yes, that time out qualifies as punishment. If, however, you simply sigh, roll your eyes (maybe that's just me) and guide your dog to their crate with a matter of fact statement "Time out!" then no, that's not punishment. And, yes, it's fine to use their crate for a time out. I like to give an example from my kids' experience growing up in a home where their mom was an animal behaviorist.  The number of times my daughter reminded me that she's not a dog....well, I'll save that for another day.  Anyway, when my kids were little and in need of a time out, they had to sit in the dining room, in one of the chairs.  They were to remain there, quietly, until I told them the time out was over. If they fussed, the time out was extended.  Mostly, they needed to stay there until I no longer wanted to trade them in for another dog.  Those same children who did time outs in the dining room still rolled up for dinner in that same dining room, in those same chairs, and with joy.  You see, it wasn't the room or the chairs that was important, nor was that space negative or associated with punishment.  It was the act of the time out. It gave them a chance to get it together and think about what they had done that had me so worked up.  Not punishment, but a chance for the child to calm down, get below their threshold, and get some self control. Sound familiar? 

Once again, time outs can absolutely be in your dog's crate.  They can also be in an exercise pen, on a porch, in a bathroom, in your laundry room, or in your spare bedroom.  They can be anywhere you choose as long as that place is safe for them to be, doesn't have anything else for them to do while they are there, and you can get them to that spot for their time out in a reasonably quick fashion. If your dog's crate has toys in it (it shouldn't though as that's for sleeping, not playing) or you're confining to a bathroom where there are rugs to chew on and toilet paper to unfurl, then you will need to make those spaces more efficient for time outs. Be prepared in advance.  Have a dedicated crate or exercise pen in an easily accessed area of your home and have it contain nothing but something to sit or lay down on. That's it. You can rest easy knowing you can now walk away and your pet is safely doing the time out thing.

Time outs only need to be 2-3 minutes in length to be effective. Leave your dog there longer, however, if *you* need more time to cool off. If you need more time to clean up the mess that necessitated the time out.  If your dog falls asleep during the time out, don't wake them up, let them rest. Definitely leave them there longer if they are throwing a tantrum, bouncing off of the walls/crate door, barking, incessantly whining, or otherwise being dramatic. Just as you don't let a dog bark its way out of crate to greet you, you won't let your dog out of their time out if they are still in a state of heightened arousal.  Wait for them to calm down, then let them out, and let them out with zero fanfare, meaning you don't need to discuss the matter further with them or make them feel better when they exit. The time out is over, they've calmed down, and you are ready to move on with your lives.

Finally, don't worry if it seems like your dog spends more time in time out than she does having free time.  This is developmentally important.  While puppies earn a lot of time outs, adolescent dogs also get their share of time outs.  I've often said that if an adolescent dog isn't in time out at least a couple of times each day, minimum, then he's either perfect (ha ha ha) or you're letting him get away with too much.  Adolescent dogs are boundary testers by design. Boundary testing dogs (and kids!) need reminders that those boundaries are there for a reason.

I guess I should also mention that time outs are incredibly valuable for anxious dogs as well.  Anxious dogs need a place where they can go (either on their own or with your help and encouragement) to decompress, get below threshold, and feel safe.  Their time out area should be all of those things for them.

Circling back to my new blog follower:  I told her all of this and she realized she'd had the complete wrong idea about what a time out was.  She also asked if time outs would work on her husband.  This woman definitely gets my sense of humor!  But no, I don't profess to know how to get a husband's behavior under control.  Just dogs.

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

As you may have guessed, Ozzie spent a great deal of time in time out as a puppy and adolescent. He was born to boundary test, both at home and at his babysitter's house.  Here he was at 6.5 months of age in yet another time out and one in which he fell asleep.  Yes, there were toys there, but only serving as pillows, as you can clearly see.  The babysitter felt bad with him in time out all the time with nothing to do. He was certainly lucky to have such an indulgent babysitter.

 His time outs at home were definitely toy-free.

Mouthy Dogs!

As if her mouthy teenage kids weren't enough of a challenge, my client was incredibly frustrated with the behavior of her adolescent dog.  He's a great dog, most of the time, but he is incessantly mouthy. It's not that he barks, he grabs and nips, usually hands, but sometimes at ankles and clothing.  He seems to do it a lot more now that he's become an adolescent, but he was a mouthy and demanding puppy as well.  Her biggest concern is that this will turn into aggressive behavior and they'll have to remove him from their home. Her husband is already ready to give the dog away, so she's feeling sad, mad, and pressed for time.  Plus, she still has those teenage humans to contend with as well!

Learning how to use their mouths constructively is something puppies begin to learn from their mothers and through interactions with their siblings.  Once puppies leave their mothers, it is up to us (and the other dogs and cats in our household and those that they come in contact with daily) to teach our puppies when they've used their mouths inappropriately. I know I've talked about this before, so let's just summarize here.  When a puppy puts its mouth on you and you feel pressure, you'll loudly say "Ouch!" and wait for them to drop your limb looking saddened and perplexed. At this point, redirect them to a toy for appropriate mouth stimulation.  If they don't let go or give you a look that says, "That was fun!  Gonna bite you again!" it's off to a time out.  Time outs for puppies are 3 minutes in length and can run longer if they fuss, bark, etc.  You do this over and over, every single time you feel pressure from that mouth, until your puppy learns to inhibit his bite.  It isn't that a puppy/dog can't put its mouth on you, they actually can and it's okay (that's what's meant by bite inhibition), they just need to learn that they don't need to put pressure behind it when they do; mouthing your hand will suffice.  It is my experience that the puppies who mouth the most are the ones whose owners are inconsistent with the above outline AND their puppies are sleep deprived. Sleep deprived puppies are mouthy and over-threshold all the time.  They need their rest to have better self-control.  A minimum of four, 2-hour naps everyday is required, in addition to their night time sleep, for best results.

Circling back to my client's situation. Her dog is 10 months old now and she's been fairly good at the naps routine, though not perfect.  They've been pretty good with the ouch-redirect-time out routine as well, but admits to not being consistent on that either.  It seems her husband likes to smack the dog on the nose for the behavior and/or yell at him, "NO!"  Tongue firmly planted in cheek, I asked how that was working for him.  Not well at all, as you might imagine. In fact, the dog is worst with the mouthy behavior toward her husband, actually nipping at his hands. This dog has definitely figured out how to get a rise out of the humans.  Given that her husband is ready to get rid of the dog, I suggested a boot camp, of sorts, was in order.

For the next two weeks, they will enforce those naps.  They will walk this dog twice a day.  They will make sure he's getting mental stimulation in the form of puzzles, bones, etc.  And anytime he mouths, they will say "OUCH!" then redirect to a toy.  If not successful, it's off on to his crate or the laundry room, whichever is closer, for a time out.  Every. Single. Time.  No hitting the dog and no yelling, just matter of fact time outs.  If after two weeks, they are still having problems, then it's time to re-evaluate the situation and whether this dog is a good match for their busy home.

While not a popular fact, it is nonetheless true, that some dog breeds are mouthier than others.  Those of us who see a lot of Doodles in our practices have commented on the preponderance of Doodles in homes where their families are overwhelmed by mouthy/bitey behavior.  While I've certainly seen my share of mouthy Golden Retrievers, Labradors, German Shepherds, and Australian Shepherds, I seem to see more mouthy Goldendoodles, Labradoodles, Sheepadoodles, and Bernedoodles. Having said that, I have clients with Doodles who've followed my suggestions to the letter and are not experiencing mouthing issues with their dogs beyond what they experienced and dealt with in puppyhood.  And, of course, there are those clients whose dogs, regardless of breed, move on from mouthy behavior to actual nipping and biting to get their way and that's definitely not okay.  That qualifies as aggression and is a completely different topic.

The bottom line for my clients is the sobering realization that they have work to do and it won't be an easy, quick fix.  Responding to this behavior with punishment will only make it worse for them as their dog will escalate making him more unpredictable. They will be contacting me after two weeks and we'll assess where we are at that point. I've crossed my fingers that this works out for them as they are a lovely family and I do like this dog.  I just don't like his behavior.

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

We somewhat affectionately referred to Ozzie as "shark puppy" when he was little.  He was feisty, pushy, and opinionated, using his mouth to try to change our behavior. We were diligent and consistent with him and it worked.  Ozzie has beautiful bite inhibition, even if you are doing something with him that hurts.  This picture so perfectly captures his puppyhood; redirected to a bone, but still giving me a little side-eye over that redirection :)

The Problem with Submissive Dogs & Puppies

I had three clients this week with the same problem.  Their adolescent dogs do not get along with puppies and they can't understand what the problem is.  These are just bouncy puppies, submissively trying to engage their dogs in play. Or, so the humans thought.  But lo and behold, play didn't happen and left all parties stumped as to what actually occurred.  Why was this happening to these adolescent dogs who got along with every other canine they've met so far?  The answer is in how we define submission.

Submissive behavior, by definition, implies that one dog is behaving in a deferential or appeasing manner with another dog, presenting themselves in a way that makes them perceived as non-threatening.  It is behavior designed to keep dogs under threshold and out of harm's way. Most people associate submissive behavior with what is referred to as passive submission.  Passive submission in dogs looks like that definition I gave above:  the dog makes himself smaller, may roll over and present his belly, he may even urinate a bit.  The passively submissive dog will avert her gaze, and likely has her ears back, maybe even licking her lips to show appeasement.  Was this what you pictured when I said submissive as well?  The problem for my clients' dogs was not interactions with puppies displaying passive submission. No, indeed.  Their problem was these puppies were engaging in active submission.

Active submission is downright obnoxious. It is pushy, in your face, jumping, licking, pawing, and barking or whining.  These puppies were actively throwing themselves onto my clients' adolescent dogs, pawing them, frantically licking, and grabbing at fur, faces, and feet.  Rather than turning off aggressive responses as we see with passive submission, puppies and dogs engaging in active submission often invite an aggressive response from other dogs. And even if the other dog doesn't respond aggressively to the active submission, they are likely "turned off" by it and will try to walk away or ignore the offensive, obsequious nonsense.

Dog owners whose dogs regularly display active submission need to get a handle on this behavior as it puts their dogs at risk for aggression which can result in more fear and more submission. These dogs need to be taught to take no for an answer. They should not be indulged or encouraged, but corrected and redirected. They must learn that pushiness doesn't pay off. If you know you have a dog who actively submits to other dogs, leading to occasional aggression, you need to step in.  If they are off leash, put them on leash and give them a time out.  If they are on leash, stand on their leash and don't allow a greeting of another dog unless they are calm.  Reinforce calm behaviors like sitting, looking to you for permission to greet the other dog, and all four feet being on the ground.  If your dog starts to bark or whine, keep your foot on the leash, get them to quiet and focus FIRST, and then reward with allowing the greeting. If they can't keep four feet on the ground and not whine/bark, then they don't get to greet the other dog. It's simply not worth risking an aggressive encounter, nor reinforcing behavior you want to extinguish.

For dog owners who know their dogs are intolerant of actively submissive dogs, don't let your dog interact with them! Don't force your dog into a situation where they feel overwhelmed and irritated enough to behave aggressively.  It simply isn't fair to get mad or frustrated with a dog who corrects an actively submissive dog; that actively submissive dog was actually asking for it.  If he truly wanted to diffuse tension or appear friendly, then he would have approached in a calm, deferential manner, that is as a passively submissive dog would.

While many dog owners associate submissive behavior with puppies, the truth of the matter is that submissive behavior, both active and passive, can be displayed by dogs of any age, particularly if they've not been trained in the art of socializing well with others. Puppies learn from their mothers and other adult dogs how to socialize.  Puppies go to puppy classes to continue that learning experience with other, unfamiliar puppies their own age. Even in puppy classes, it is important to get a handle on any puppy displaying active submission before that becomes a learned behavior that gets her in trouble.

For now, my clients will be actively avoiding encounters with these puppies who engage in active submission.  They will also be talking about why they are doing so in order to help their friends and neighbors with those puppies understand why they are doing this. It is for the peace of mind of their dogs, as well as the safety of those puppies.  My hope is that the puppy owners will take a hard look at how they've been reinforcing this behavior and make the moves outlined above to get it under control before their puppies get hurt.

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

Here is Westley with a neighbor's Labrador puppy.  You will notice that the puppy is approaching him calmly, head low and sniffing, but with a wagging tail (that blur in the photo!). Right after this picture was taken, Westley bowed at the puppy and they played together for about a minute before Westley was done and the puppy's owner encouraged her to sit for attention from the humans instead.

In the Service of Service Dogs

I am currently working with a handful of clients who have service dogs.  For one dog, we are working toward her being able to fly with her owner in the cabin of a plane on work trips between the Bay Area and New York. For another, we are working on her dog being able to handle long periods of down time while the owner works in a busy office setting, after two years of working from home.  For a third, we are working on what to say when people want to pet her service dog and clearly don't understand that not all disabilities are visible. This last situation really upsets me the most. Just the fact that there are a plethora of forms necessary to complete for my client who travels for business with her service dog, when clearly this is the case because there are so many people out there trying to fly with their dogs on planes, misrepresenting those dogs as service animals.  Honestly, sometimes I grit my teeth so hard my jaws hurt. 

Look. I understand you love your dog and want to take him/her everywhere with you. I love my dogs too and love taking them everywhere I *can* with me.  I will not, however, EVER misrepresent one of my dogs as a service animal.  I am fortunate; I do not have a disability that warrants the service of a trained support animal.  I recognize that there are people who do and whose disabilities may not be readily visible to those around them. Just because their disabilities aren't visible to you doesn't mean that they don't exist.  And, if their dog is wearing a service vest/harness, you need to accept that the animal is providing the service they've been trained to provide AND give them the space they need to comfortably do so.  The number of times my client and I were approached by people wanting to pet her dog while we were training her dog on the extended settle/down in her workplace was off the hook.  The dog was wearing her service dog harness.  I was sitting 6 feet away coaching my client on what to do if her dog got up or got distracted from the task.  And yet, we were approached by five people during the hour who wanted to pet the dog because they felt they needed support too; they had the right to pet the dog because the dog was in their office space; they were a dog person; and one pat on the head wouldn't be a problem, right? So frustrating.

Then there's the situation where my client and I were walking with her dog in a public space, wearing his service dog vest.  There were many pet owners walking their dogs in the same area, which was fine; we've worked hard with her dog and he notes other dogs in the area, but he's not distracted from his job.  Suddenly, a man walked right up to us with his dog and said, "Can my dog say hi?  Your dog is so well behaved!"  At this point, his dog LUNGED AT MY CLIENT'S SERVICE ANIMAL.  I jumped between his dog and my client and her dog and had a heated conversation with the man.  It is not my client's responsibility to help socialize his dog. Nor is a service dog to be approached in that way or for that purpose.  When he tried to argue with me that he didn't see the dog was a service dog as my client "wasn't in a wheelchair or anything," I just about lost my mind.  I explained that it wasn't my client's job to advertise her disability, she IS clearly designating her dog as a service animal, however, with the easy-to-see vest and harness with tags explaining what he does and who to contact in case of a medical emergency. He could see the vest, he just wanted to do what he wanted to do with his pet dog.  I've said it before and I'll say it again. People like this give dog owners in general a bad name.  Every other dog owner we passed that day smiled and moved their dog to a safe distance from my client and her service dog.  When we were in tight spaces, they picked up small dogs or moved their dogs to the side and told them to "leave it" so my client and her service dog could pass.  This is common courtesy in my mind, but some folks clearly need a refresher.

Yes, I'm happy that more and more people are teaching their children to ask before petting a dog.  They do, however, need to add to this training that someone with a service animal is not to be approached and asked that question. Service animals are not to be petted, distracted, or otherwise engaged. They are a living, breathing, thinking piece of medical equipment whose care and training is incredibly expensive and time-consuming.  Coach your children to smile and acknowledge the person with a service animal, exchange pleasantries, and move on.

I'll continue to work with these clients to achieve their goals.  We're almost to the point where we can complete the DOT (Department of Transportation) paperwork for my client to fly with her dog; we have built her dog up to 6 daytime hours without relieving himself. The airline would like a dog to be able to hold it and/or only relieve itself in-flight in a sanitary manner, for those on flights that exceed 8 hours. Given the size of her service dog, in-flight relief would be difficult, so we're working toward that goal of not needing to relieve himself.  Her flights to New York are just under 7 hours, most of the time, but things can happen that make it prudent to try and get this dog to be able to comfortably hold his urine for more time.  I truly would hate to see this client put in all this time and work only to have some pet owner with an ill-mannered dog set her dog back, or worse, make it so her dog could not perform his duties safely for her in the airport/airplane environment.

Comfort dogs, therapy dogs, and even emotional support animals are NOT the same as service dogs.  The rights and access afforded to those pets performing those tasks is limited.  Access is unlimited for service animals and we all need to keep that in mind and make sure that we aren't infringing on their ability to do their jobs. And if you observe someone misrepresenting their animal, or who indicates that they intend to just "order a vest on Amazon," so that they can take their dog everywhere with them, do say something.  You know better.  We really all should know better.

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

This dog is clearly designated as a service animal and not to be confused with a pet.

Being a Good Observer

For over thirty years now, I've been a paid behavioral observer.  I've observed the behavior of everything from rhesus monkeys to cheetahs to snow leopards to client's house pets, and many other animals in between. But, to do what I do now, I need to be a keen observer of human behavior as well; reading human behavior, and how the behavior of my clients affects their companion animals.  Many of my clients have children or grandchildren in their homes too, so even more to observe. While I've often found it hard enough to help adults understand animal behavior, helping kids can be even more challenging, but critical, not just to their understanding of animals but for their safety around those animals as well.

I've recently started working with a new family; they have three kids under the age of 15 and 4 pets, 2 dogs and 2 cats. This is a busy household with a lot going on.  Not surprisingly, there have been a few issues that have cropped up, both among the pets and among the humans caring for those pets. After our first appointment, it was abundantly clear to me that no one in this house ever actually looked at the pets.  Yes, they fed them all, walked the dogs and cleaned the litterboxes, and made sure that there were beds and toys available, no one actually watched the animals do anything.  Even on the walks, the kids and adults were often on their phones. When I started pointing out body language cues and behaviors and what they meant, this family was astounded.  They felt like they didn't see any of the things that I saw.  Time for a homework assignment!  Every human in the household was asked to use their phone to videotape one or more of the animals in the house at some point during the week.  The animals could be interacting with each other, one of the humans, or even out on a walk. The only thing they couldn't videotape was an animal sleeping ( I had to add that extra instruction when one of the kids thought he could get away with that as fulfilling his homework assignment!). Then, at our next appointment, we watched those videos together, first with the videographer describing what he/she observed and what they thought it meant.  Once everyone had "decoded" their videos for me, we went back, and I gave them my impressions of what was going on in the videos.  Needless to say, minds were blown.  Misinterpretations abounded, and not just for the kids.

So, why am I telling you this?  It's important to be a good observer.  This is how you'll know if your pet is bored, tired, hungry, needing a walk, needing a bathroom break, or needing attention. It's how you'll know if they are ill, hurt, or scared as well.  It will also let you know if there are social dynamics that need to change in order to stabilize those existing relationships, making it safer for all involved.  If you don't watch your animals, you'll never know any of these things until it's too late. 

For this family, we are working on changing who is responsible for what so that the care and keeping of the animals is divided more evenly.  No more looking at phones on the walks. I added in some games for the younger child to play with the dogs and cats that will keep him entertained, but also keep him safer around the animals.  Because this is a busy family, I outlined ways to keep the animals safely entertained, even when the humans weren't observing them.  Finally, I reiterated the importance of sleep for all the animals and allowing them safe spaces in their house where they could retreat and rest, undisturbed, thus helping with those nighttime zoomies and short fuses occurring because of nothing more than sleep deprivation for the dogs AND the cats.

I know we are all busy, but taking just a few moments to be truly present and observant during your interactions with your pets will enhance your relationships with them.  You may even find, as my clients did, that practicing those daily observations makes you feel happier and more connected.  And what's not to enjoy about that?

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

Ozzie spends almost as much time watching me as I do watching him. I find comfort knowing that he's resting nearby, ready for whatever I want to do once I'm done working.

The Difficult Ones

I was talking with a veterinarian friend of mine earlier this week.  She and I try to connect with one another, even if it's just for a few moments, every week.  We've known each other for years and share a love not just of animals, but of donuts, coffee, and 80's hairbands. All kidding aside, this week our conversation turned to those difficult appointments, the ones where we are the bearers of bad news.  It's stressful having to tell people things that you know will be painful for them and hard to hear, but that's part of our job as well.  Where our professions seriously overlap is in the area of behavioral euthanasia.  While no veterinarian wants to or enjoys euthanizing a pet for a behavior problem, they also realize that there is such as thing as mental health in animals and some mental health issues in animals aren't treatable long term IF their behavior continually puts them, and the humans in their home and out in public spaces, at risk. Re-homing an animal who has bitten multiple times only means that poor animal has to be stressed out and overwhelmed moving to yet another home environment where they are surely going to bite someone again.  While re-homing may make a pet owner (or rescue group) feel good in the short-term, re-homing aggressive animals who bite people or kill other animals doesn't help anyone, and can cause irreparable harm.  Some animals are simply not wired correctly.  It is truly a blessing that we can spare them further anxiety through humane euthanasia.

Now, before any of you get ticked off at me for not trying harder to save these animals, let me set the record straight.  I am not someone who takes behavioral euthanasia lightly.  I have certainly met pets who were simply in the wrong home environment, unable to thrive there.  For those pets, I strongly recommend re-homing them so that they can find their perfect match, that place where they will feel safe and seen.  I have met perfectly wonderful pets, who through no fault of their own, ended up in a home with someone who just didn't understand them or wasn't equipped to meet their needs.  So, yes, I strongly suggested that they be re-homed so that they could find their happy place.  And, obviously, I've helped clients find that perfect match; that pet that suits their lifestyle and temperament.  But the bottom line is this:  If you have a pet in your home who is a risk to you or others, I am not going to sugar-coat the situation, nor am I going to tell you to "just keep at it." No. I'm going to suggest that you speak to your veterinarian about a full physical and metabolic workup to make sure that there isn't some medical reason for the behaviors you are seeing.  It isn't normal for a dog to bite people; let's rule out pain, discomfort, disease, etc. first.  If there isn't a medical reason for the aberrant behavior, we have to assume that the animal isn't wired correctly and then humane euthanasia becomes part of the discussion.

My veterinarian friend and I share a handful of clients and she has done a few humane euthanasias for behavior problems that were unsolvable and creating dangerous situations for their owners. Neither she nor I found joy in these situations, but we did find peace in the knowledge that we kept that animal from biting another person.

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

Donuts and coffee, shared with a friend, in good times and bad.