Tinker Belle Turns Cujo! How to control lunging and barking on a walk.

                                                                

                                                            These two are actually pups getting to know
                                                     each other but you get the idea!

Does your dog have perfect manners inside the home? Isn’t he just the sweetest thing ever? (Or sweetest thing eva as they say in N.Y.)


“Sit, Fido.” Fido sits. “Come Fido.” Fido comes. What a good dog! Pat, pat with a side order of biscuit!


Outside for a walk… same scenario using commands only there’s another dog coming up the road and you suddenly have a totally different dog at the end of your leash!



“Sit Fido.” Fido pulls at the leash practically yanking your arm out of the socket. Grrr, woof, woof, grr… “SIT , FIDO, SIT!” You yell as Fido is pulling you down the road ready to attack some adorable pup that’s attached to a very handsome looking person.



Let’s face it, that’s no way to meet friends and influence people! We all know the magnetic draw that comes with walking a cute well behaved dog, but walking Cujo is certainly no magnetic draw and no way to get a date, if your looking!
(Don't worry hon, I’m not looking!)





One big mistake we as humans make when it comes to getting a new dog, be it puppy or older dog, is that we take them out and we expect that they are going to behave because they do a great job listening inside the home. However the big world carries with it more threats and distractions to a dog then your home ever will. It is easy for a dog to keep its focus on you the holder of food and praise when there are no other distractions in sight.



It’s like taking a toddler to a toy store and not telling them beforehand how you expect them to act.
Oh sure kids listen well enough inside the home with their toys strewn in every room. But take that same toddler out to a toy store to buy a gift for someone else and you’ll soon see that sweet little Timmy is falling into the proverbial meltdown well screaming, “I WANT IT! I WANT IT” until your face is turning bright red and you want to walk away as if to say, “Who’s unruly child is that?”



That happened once to me and I gave my son this warning, “if you have a tantrum, I’m leaving!” Imagine his surprise when he found himself in the middle of the aisle in  full blown tantrum status with mom nowhere to be seen! It never happened again because I learned very quickly to talk to him beforehand at home. In the end, he learned the value of money and how to find the price of an item he would be allowed to get, and I learned that his perfect behavior was not to be expected everywhere when he wasn’t told the rules beforehand. So we both learned from that little meltdown. Today those same actions would probably get me arrested for child endangerment!

So how do you prepare your dog for such walks?

What needs to be done and kept up with on a daily basis with any new dog one gets is obedience training. You want to build a trust between the two of you and you want to be seen by your new dog as the leader of their pack. Dogs grow up in packs and once you bring them into your home your family becomes its pack. Like everything in life, there is a social order and the leader of this pack should always be held by the human.



To hold order and leadership, start to train the dog daily in obedience in a quiet non distracting place. Once the commands are learned in non distracting places you gradually build up distractions until the dog is listening to your commands no matter what is going on around him.



When I suggest obedience training, it does not stop at, sit ~stay, down~stay, come, or heel. Many times commands such as “Leave it” or “Drop it” can play an important role in preventing trouble before it happens or stopping trouble once it has begun.



The "Leave it" command means, “Stop everything you are going for, or thinking of going for, and put your attention back on me!” This command can be used in so many situations yet is rarely taught, or if taught, is rarely used.

The “Drop it” command is pretty self explanatory and it is important for you to teach this command before it is needed to get Cujo to drop Tinker Belle from his jaws!



Emphasizing: First train inside the home where there are no distractions, then go to the yard, then to the driveway, then to the street in front of your home , then start to move further down the street each day until your dog’s total attention is brought back to you with a command.

To use or not to use training aides

There are variety of training aides available ranging from a no pull harness to a head /face halter, to a prong collar, to a shock collar. I do believe that if the dog is a real problem, training aides when used correctly are effective, however they should not be used for the rest of the dog’s life or they will never learn how to behave without wearing one and that is not your goal.

You also need to be very careful with items like shock collars because if the dog is aggressive, the shock can make that aggression much worse, so I do not recommend such an item for an already aggressive or out of control dog and here's why. If you use a prong or shock collar and the dog is out of control already the dog may very well associate that shock or tug on a choke chain/ prong as pain that is coming from that other dog.   The dog's mind is already at a place of possibly no return at that moment, the dog's mind is on the other dog so at that moment you  shock or tug, your dog may start associating every bad thing it feels with other dogs passing by.  I am not a fan of such collars but I know people will use them so I want some thought to go into it before you do use them.    

Should dogs work for nothing?

Some dogs do fine with praise alone, some are not even interested in food rewards. It is important for you to learn what really motivates your dog. In some instances it is a special toy. All dogs are different. But when in training, some type of reward should be given and can be phased out over time.
Let’s face it, I love the job I do, but I still want that pay check at the end of the week!



You will find that the greater the distraction, the harder it will be for your dog to follow commands which means the greater the reward has to be.


This example will be directed at using food as a reward. Most dogs get plain biscuits which are great to start with when training inside the home providing they are small enough for the dog to get down easily. Even Cheerios are good for training in non distracting areas. Start off with basic treats in the home, then when going into the yard use soft treats, then move to hot dogs slivers as you get to driveway training and then up it to chicken slivers when you are in the street.



Always use a treat that can be swallowed quickly without chewing so the dog is not distracted by crumbs that fall to the floor. Your goal is to get the dog’s attention back on you right after the reward is given and this won't happen if the dog is sniffing the floor to slurp up the crumbs.  So basically the faster they can suck it down, the better.


If at any location where you are training the dog, the dog does not listen to the commands but loses focus on something in its surroundings, it means you have to go back and train longer in the last place the dog was listening.



Keep in mind that dogs do not always carry over what you’ve taught them from place to place and if the dog has been pulling and lunging on previous outings before training, then it may take a little longer in one spot to train before moving forward.


You also have to remember that is was over a period of time that the dog learned how to behave in each circumstance that you put him in. This is called a “Learned Behavior” and the dog may try to revert to old behaviors that worked for them in the past.

You mission , should you choose to accept it (what TV show was that?), is trying to show the dog a new behavior which not all dogs get right away until they see the repeated outcome.

For instance: Dogs that have lunged and barked at passing dogs learned that this behavior moved the other dog away.

What you now want to show the dog is that even though they are not lunging and growling anymore, with appropriate behavior the other dog is still going to move away.

You may want to have a few of your dog owning friends help you with this by continuously passing you with their dog on the opposite side of the street so your dog can see that this new “act accordingly” behavior works as well as the barking and lunging did and there is a reward at the end for the good behavior.

With learned behavior it is sometimes important to change your command wording as well, even if you need to use a totally different language. (The command "Sit"  in spanish would be "Sentarse.")

Example: if your command was “Fido Come” and Fido did not come, you may have to change the wording to “Fido, Here” with new training. You don’t want the dog to associate old commands with old behaviors.



Once you have training under way it may be a good time to join a training class because at a class your dog will be exposed to other dogs in a controlled atmosphere and you can work your dog off to the side while other dogs are working together. I suggest you tell the trainer of your dog's problem before you actually sign up for class so the trainer will know how to set up class and be prepared for your dog’s arrival. As well they may want to tell you to bring specific training equipment.



I am once again going to put up my favorite site for positive based training which gives a reward for the behavior you want to see. Know what motivates your dog! Is it Food? Praise? Toys?

The total cost for training beside your time, would be around $20.00 (or under) for supplies, (clicker about 3 dollars, treat bag 5 to 10 dollars) You do not have to use an official treat bag if it is too expensive, one of those tourist fanny packs will work fine for holding treats. Come on, I know you have one, especially if you're in your 40's or 50's!   You just might not look as fashionable!

Train several times throughout the day in shorter increments rather than one long training each day. Why do I say this? Because shorter sessions several times a day show the dog that you as a leader are consistent. No one wants to follow a leader that is inconsistent.   

Watch the site with the videos first so you can see how clicker training is done. It is very important to mark the behavior at the exact time it is done by the dog. If you mark the behavior at the wrong time you will develop the wrong behavior.

Step by step directions http://www.clickerlessons.com/

Videos: http://www.clickertrainusa.com/clicker-training-videos.htm




Training in a controlled environment can help with some dogs.

Do dogs suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)?

Rosie

Is your dog SAD?

My friend Marjean and I were talking the other day and she said that she thought her pooch Rosie was seemingly a bit depressed. Lately Rosie was not so quick to give up her spot on the recliner or otherwise play until she was brought outside at which time she acted not like a 12 year old dog, but like a puppy again.



So she asked me… well let’s be honest here… Marjean’s retired from all things work related so in a round about way, she suggested I look into Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) as it pertains to dogs. Humans suffer from this in the winter months (aka winter blues), so there was some curiosity after our discussion if dogs did as well.


In people, Seasonal Affective Disorder is thought to bring on crying, fatigue, lethargy, anxiety and an insatiable appetite for Reese’s. Okay, okay, I added the whole Reese’s part, but there is a desire for sweets.


So I went in search for an answer because after all, what are friends for? (Beside taking your money, food, alcohol, and borrowing your car.) Delightfully that brings us here!



I found sites that both agreed and disagreed with the theory that dogs suffer from this during the winter months or even during other extended bad weather intervals. Seasonal Affective Disorder is thought to come from the lack of sunlight that affects a hormonal balance in humans.



In reading different articles according to one that I read on Dr. Jon’s pet place, Dr Nick Dodman, professor and director at the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine says your dog is more likely mirroring your feelings and not suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder.
On the other hand, in this same article it is stated that dogs can become depressed or grieve at the loss of a loved one. Is it depression or grief or are we putting our own ‘human emotional’ title to it?



To me it would stand to reason that if you are locked in your house due to gray skies or cold weather, your blues (or lack of energy) may indeed be put upon the dog. Most of us are not likely to go out and play fetch in -15 degree weather unless we are Eskimos, nor would your dog be entertained inside by viewing a great movie or TV show as we would during this period!
So what’s a dog to do? 
I have heard the story of the dog of Greyfriars Bobby, the Skye Terrier whose owner passed and was buried in the churchyard. Supposedly the dog went and lay on the grave of the owner for the next 14 or 15 years until he too eventually passed away.

But theoretically we know that dogs have a keen sense of smell so could the dog have distinguished the odor of owner’s clothing upon burial and so thought it was there he should sit and wait for him? Did the dog suffer from separation anxiety so badly that he stayed by the grave site because it was the last place he detected the owner to be?


These are my thoughts and questions viewed with a little common sense minus the human emotion. Deciphering which is correct is the hard part! Who knows, maybe human emotion and common sense can go together.


Hey, my late Cocker Spaniel Cody suffered with what humans have labeled as separation anxiety and it was first noted when I had to go out to a job related in-service training in the evening hours. The weather started turning gray and stormy. Peter tried to call Cody inside to get him out of the pouring rain but the dog would not move from that gate, which was the last place he saw me. Cody stood in the downpour staring at the gate until I came home three hours later.

So what emotion would we put on that? Sorrow, blues, loss, depression, absence, anxiety, or the fear that if left in Peter’s hands the dog would not be made to feel quite as loved?


To date I have a house full of Newfoundlands and one Golden Retriever. They all sleep 80 percent of the day. So are they mirroring my mood as I sit in my room working with blinds halfway closed as Dr Dodman stated? Are they in need of more sunshine to make them peppier? Or, are they perfectly fine just lying around? Like me, they are older so maybe they enjoy the rest and relaxation. I doubt a puppy would get such pleasure out of this routine, but we’re all practically retired in this house and we’ve earned the rest!



But please don’t underestimate the possibility of your dog’s health being in jeopardy either. If your dog is acting depressed don’t just assume it is the winter blues, have the dog examined for other illnesses. Your vet can take a blood test and rule out serious illnesses that might be the cause of your dog’s sluggishness.

A look at 2 chemicals in the body affected by direct sunlight that may give us a clue to SAD in Dogs

From what I have found, darkness and light (not artificial light) can reduce or improve two chemicals of the brain which can lead to a tired, lack luster kind of feeling or one that will lift the spirit and energy level. Either of the two can lead to behavior changes in both people and dogs.


Serotonin: a serum that gives tone. Serotonin is found throughout the body, but only a small portion is in the brain. In the brain it affects appetite, mood, and sleep. So the lack of it in the brain can possibly have an affect on the mood in animals. Sunlight is necessary for production of serotonin which is the ‘feel good’ substance in the brain and which is also contained in sweets, so that may be why people tend to eat more sweets in a darkened/ inside atmosphere.

Hmm, will opening my blinds and positioning my desk toward the window help me to stay away from Reese’s? Food for thought!




Melatonin : A hormone produced in the pineal gland which plays a role in regulating sleep and reproductive cycles. In many animals, melatonin also regulates the physical effects that occur in response to seasonal changes, such as the growth of a thicker coat for winter months. The pineal gland responds to low light conditions so as the sun goes down the gland begins to produce melatonin. Melatonin, in turn, causes a person to relax and get sleepy. Melatonin levels are affected by light exposure to the eyes which rise during the day and fall at night to help regulate the body’s sleep patterns.



So with the above brain chemicals taken into account for mood, boost the Serotonin levels by increasing sunlight. Open all your blinds and bring some of that natural sunlight into the home. Get yer Long Johns, snow pants, and boots on and drag your pooch out in the sun for a while during these winter months, or realize that the dog may be a bit more moodier than normal if stuck inside the house with artificial light.



In closing, I would like to thank my friend who talked me into doing this blog article because with this expanded information, I have now diagnosed myself as a pathetic, manic depressive, quite possibly with a  twist of by-polar tendencies! Great! No wonder I’m eating my way into oblivion!


Untill next time, eat two Reese's and call me in the morning! 

Steeler