Socialization

How can we focus with kids and cars all around!

Socialization is really an ongoing process for you and your new puppy or rescue dog.

Think about all the sights and sounds your puppy would encounter if you walked them on Commercial Street in Portland, Me.  How about walking near a school during recess or on a sidewalk over looking a beach?

When you take your puppy or rescue dog to a new environment, you should simply let him get information about the new place.  Let him look and sniff around for a bit.

These two sweet shelties did not feel comfortable with the kids quickly leaving the High School in all directions.  After a few minutes of watching everyone, they felt more comfortable and were able to focus on their sit and down stays for longer periods of time.

I often hear people say their dog will sit and stay at home, but not in a new environment, this is true of most young dogs!  I promise, if you just allow your dog to engage in his surroundings for a bit, you will have more compliance.   I recommend you let him look or sniff, then train for 5 minutes, then release him with a simple "ok" and a loose leash.  Repeat this type of session, train then "ok" each day until your dog is no longer distracted by his environment.

Each week, gradually increase the training time to build duration in the behaviors you are working on.  Always end a positive note so your dog looks forward to going back to that environment next time!

Leash Frustration

While many dogs enjoy playing with other dogs off leash, they may act frustrated, excited or even aggressive at the site of a dog when on leash.  It's unfortunate that the leash is a safety tool for us, yet can create what appears to be a Jekyll and Hyde reaction in our dogs. For obvious reasons, we must use a leash to protect our dogs and I am happy many of you do use them as they are the law in many places.

Why is this the case with some dogs? 

Dogs weren't born knowing how to be walked on a leash, and we humans weren't born knowing how to use them. Some of you may remember growing up with dogs in the neighborhood running around and greeting with no altercations.  That is because it is normal behavior for dogs to meet, greet, and/or sniff every other dog, person, or tree. It's nice to be that excited about everything, isn't it? 

This is where the term "barrier frustration" is often discussed in dog training. It's when something, in this case the leash, prevents a dog from getting to what he wants, over time this often results (inadvertently) into this frustrating or aggressive reaction. This lack of emotional control "I want it, I want it now! I must meet that other dog!" response inadvertently gets punished.  In many cases, dogs contained by invisible fences where there is a great deal of foot traffic will experience this heightened frustration.

Over time, with each on-leash walking episode, this frustration builds and builds and builds, and gets to the point where the mere sight of another dog triggers this frustrated reaction. Many dogs begin to associates other dogs with frustration. And we're all familiar with feelings of frustration - similar to going to the vending machine every day for months to get your favorite afternoon snack, only to have the machine eat your money and the snack get stuck as it is deposited.  Have you ever seen anyone hit, kick or even shake the machine?  Maybe you have felt this frustration.  Imagine if it happened every week!

Regardless of the "why", the solution is the same:  Teach Your Dog a Rewarding Incompatible Behavior.  Something that's fun, rewarding, and what will soon become the better, more desirable choice when out walking.

Two easy behaviors I find that work well are 1) "Auto Watch or Watch Me"—Your dog makes eye contact with you and he gets a treat.   2) "Find it"— where you toss a treat on the ground right in front of him, thus keeping his head focused somewhere else while having him "hunt", an activity many dogs enjoy. 

I suggest you take his meals on the road, but along with his regular kibble, add something he's more likely to be crazy for. This way your dog is more likely to pay attention to you, and not bark and lunge at the end of the leash.  Begin with these games in your home or yard where you have no distractions.  Then gradually expose your dog to a dog at a great distance and continue to play "find it" or say "watch me" when your dog simply looks at a dog.  Over time, your dog will look at a dog, then automatically look at you, hence the "auto watch" and be rewarded!  

With consistency, your dog will start to look at you as soon as he sees a new dog in anticipation of a fun game!  Be excited and generous with your rewards.

Gracie making friends

Gracie the Pitt mix on the right has been a foster dog at Tender Touch for over two years.  She found herself in a fight with another dog over a bone.  Unfortunately for Gracie, she caused quite a bit of damage to the other dog.

Annie and Gracie learning to trust.

Here you see Gracie has learned to make friends with my Annabelle after about 20 minutes of introductions.  We have fed them treats together and Gracie is non confrontational.

Below you will see Gracie out for a walk with several other dogs.  She showed great communication skills even trying to get a few of the boys in the group to play!  The key to helping Gracie have success in the presence of new dogs is a very slow greeting.  She needs time to trust the other dog before she allows them in her space.

Gracie learning to trust new dogs.

Many dogs will snarl or snap when they first meet a new dog.  This does not mean that they will never be friends, however it does mean that the dog that is snappy does not feel safe.  Helping  this dog feel safe by taking a long walk with the new dog will help.  Should you punish your dog for being aggressive to a new dog?  No, your punishment will only make your dog more stressed.  Building a positive association between the two dogs is the best approach.

Keep in mind that being near a new dog outside is much easier than being with the same dog inside a home.  So, take it slow by bring the dogs together, then apart and repeat until you see both dogs relax.  This may actually take a few days before they feel comfortable in a home together.

Barking at Strangers

Classical Conditioning is the process of making a new association.   Triggers can be something the dog sees, hears, smells, feels or even tastes, they are something that our dogs have associations with which may be scary or negative.

Reactive Beagle doing a sit stay in
the presence of new dogs.  I am using
hotdogs as a high value reward.

When we use classical conditioning we change an association or emotional response our dog has to a trigger.  For example, if our dog is currently afraid of strangers then Strangers = Yummy Food all the time!

The goal is to start having your dog make a positive association when he sees a stranger or a hand coming at him.  Even if he is growling, yes, you are changing his emotional state. Remember strangers or hands predict punishment or fear now, so let’s change it (classical conditioning). 

When he barks at a guest, ask the guest to toss him a treat or several treats.  If your dog approaches the guest, just let him sniff and ask your guest to not pet him as he is in training.  Try having a guest toss a treat behind your dog, I bet your dog comes closer to the guest each time for a new treat.  Then possibly progress to hand feeding from behind the stranger with no eye contact, then sideways, then touch and treat under the chin only.  Touching may take weeks, but eventually your dog will associate a hand coming at him as something good not scary!  

You will need to do this CC training in your home, front yard, side yard, driveway, street and any other place in your neighbor hood that your dog becomes worried.  You will need to continue this training in all new environments so your dog learns to generalize his new associations.

When we desensitize our dogs to their triggers we are lowering their reaction.  For example, if the knock at the door sets your dog in a high arousal mode say level 10, then knock as often as you think about it so her reaction is only a 3 when a real guest comes.  Lowering her arousal will help her control her emotions but you must be CALM for this to work.  When children are running around, or bikes are flying bye, take your dog far enough away that she sees or hears the trigger but can control her emotions, reward for an easy behavior like watch me, here cue or sit and stay.  Gradually move closer to the stimuli and reward for good emotional control. This is a progression and may take several weeks, but will work and is wonderful to see the dog gain confidence to the trigger.

Using the above methods will help your dog be calmer when scary stimuli are near. Practice many repetitions of having her hear or see the trigger and reward for calm behavior!  Remember if your dog is too aroused to think, move farther away!

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Why do so many of us feel the need to put our faces near a sleeping dog?

I have witnessed a child receive a warning scratch above and below the eye when startling a strange sleeping dog.  The dog cowered afterwards as if to ward off punishment as the child screamed.  This scream was enough punishment on the dog, I did not need to do anything except help both child and dog feel safer in each other presence after this incident.

How would you react if you were sound asleep and something startled you?  For a shy or fearful dog trying to sleep with a strange person or dog in the house can be very unsettling.  They may drift off, yet still be on guard.  This dogs first emotional response when startled is to protect him/her self with it's best defensive weapon, its teeth.  Unfortunately, many owners and sometimes guests are bitten when they startle a sleeping dog.  If a person is bitten by a dog, there is ALWAYS a reason, we just need to determine what that reason is and work to desensitize or modify it's behavior.

Success lies in determining if the dog was reacting out of fear, guarding a resource or being dominant and biting his owner.  Treating one will not fix another, so getting a good history is the key to preventing this incident from happening again.