Soft Mouth

I often visit families with a puppy that is biting much too hard.  Puppies use their mouths to play, explore, taste and chew, so it is important that we teach them to use a soft mouth when they touch our human skin.  Giving your puppy feedback is essential, so tell your puppy when it hurts, "ouch!", get up and walk away slowly.  Return and softly handle your pup, when his mouth is soft, reward him with verbal calm praise.  Too much excitement can encourage the pup to play harder.

How about an older dog, can you teach an older dog a soft mouth? Absolutely!  For example, hold the treat or even kibble under your thumb and offer it to your dog, if you feel teeth, just wait, when your dog licks the treat, release it as a reward.  Repeat several times, rewarding for a soft mouth and not rewarding when you feel teeth.

Remy came to us as a rescue with a hard mouth, he learned to be gentle and also drop the toy for us to toss it again. Here he is playing a game of tug, using good manners!

Allowing your pup to play with other pups in a socialization class is a great way to teach a soft mouth.  Notice that I said play with other pups, not play with two and three year old adolescent dogs at the dog park as their mouths are unknown and can teach your pup a much harder mouth.

Playing tug is a great way to teach a puppy a soft mouth, if you feel teeth during play, "Ouch!", drop the toy and leave the room.  Return and again reward with calm play as your dog learns the rules of the game!  Often saying "take it" "tug" and "leave it".  These are the basic rules of tug and are a great way to tach a puppy a soft mouth.

Bouncy Bella

Bella is my current foster dog from Almost Home Rescue.  Bella is a bouncy 1 year old boxer mix puppy that loves, loves, loves her humans and is good with good dogs.  She came to us with little behavior training, but is making great progress!  She is up to date on her shots and learning to live in a home with 3 other dogs and plenty of human interaction which she loves!  She also loves to play fetch and will play for hours.

Bella is learning to walk nicely on a leash, she can also sit, down, shake, and stay.   She happily goes into her crate to sleep and enjoys running around the back yard and napping in the sun.

She is making many friends in her new foster home!  To the left she is watching her scottie house mate dig for a chipmunk in the rock pile and wanting to go join in.

Below she is rubbing in the grass during her morning walk with friends.

Numbers Matters

Is it possible for a dog to be perfectly well behaved in a home with 5 dogs, yet be aggressive to his new house mate?  What about a dog that comes from a hoarding situation, is there any chance this dog could be dog aggressive?  One would think that a dog which lived with cats before would be fine in a new home with cats.  Not always.

Size does not matter.

We know that many dogs will be on their best behavior when greeting a larger pack of humans, dogs or even cats.  However, this same dog may be much more pushy or aggressive if greeting just one member of a pack.

Many dogs love playing with other dogs, yet some dogs can only play in small groups or even with only one other dog at a time.   If a litter is made of one or 2 pups, then these pups may not enjoy playing in a group as it is something they have never experienced.

Remember the environment plays a huge role in shaping our pups behavior. And, yes, the number of members in a home does matter.

Many dogs come out of homes in which they co-existed with many other species just fine. This does not make them love this species.  Too often I hear about an adopted dog that was "thriving in a home with multiple cats, only to be terrorizing the cat in his new home."  Numbers matters and being a bully can be fun -- especially when he's no longer  out-numbered!

I recently walked a small Scottie through a local park that was full of large sea gulls.  This dog would normally bark and lunge at both cats and squirrels, however upon seeing a large colony of birds on the bank of the pond, this Scottie turned away and pulled on the leash in the opposite direction.  I was surprised at first, but then quickly realized we were clearly out numbered!

As an owner, especially of a newly adopted dog or one who has recently moved to a new location or environment, be aware of the numbers! They matter!

Back to School!

September is here and the kids have gone back to school to begin a new year of learning!

Vacations have come and gone, colleges have been visited, common applications have been started, the pantry is restocked with healthy foods and the sports schedule is on the refrigerator.  For me, it is a time to return my full focus on the thing I enjoy the most, behavior modification!

Transitions take time, households are bustling, emotions may be heightened, and new routines are forming.  Just like children, our dogs are in transition too which may include some setbacks in behavior due to these changes.

Stress effects our dogs like it does us, potty accidents, whining, barking, chewing and over the top greetings are all common setbacks that may occur as kids head back to school.

What can you do?  Be calm, patient and understand that your pup is not doing anything to be spiteful.  The fact is that many dogs do not do well with change, dogs do best when their lives are predictable, the unknown may be scary to them.  Quickly establish your new routine, and help your dog know that you will return, hire a dog walker to let him out when you will be gone long hours, exercise him in the morning, feed him out of an interactive toys mixed with yummy treats that roll around and are fun.  If your dog is barking when you are gone, he is clearly stressed and not simply trying to wake up the neighbors.

When are they coming home!

Be sure your dog has a crate or room in your home where he feels really good, feed him and play with him there.  When you leave, toss him his interactive toy like a kong, everlasting fire hydrant or any toy stuffed with goodies and do not say a word that predicts you leaving finally, please do not look him in the eye as you close the door.

If your dog is having a set back during this time of year, he is most likely stressed, so think about how he might be feeling during this transition and what simple steps you can do to help him!

Happy Fall!     Judy

Can The Dogs Meet?

As a dog owner you must here this question once in a while, can they meet?  The bigger question is do they want to meet?

I highly recommend you watch both dogs body language for this answer.  Many dogs are friendly however there are also many dogs who have not had good experiences or maybe no experience with strange dogs entering their personal space.   Yes, your dog has a personal bubble and may or may not want strangers in it.

When two dogs see each other, watch your dogs body language as well as the other dogs.  This may take 5 or more minutes as you and the other owner have your own greeting while remaining 10 feet apart.  If your dog is turning his back to the new dog, then he is saying, no thanks.  If your dog is looking away from the other dog, yawning, sniffing the ground, scratching, hiding between your legs, then you know your dog is not interested in this greeting.  If you proceed with the greeting, your dog will most likely growl as if to clarify "not interested!"

On the other hand, if both dogs are play bowing, getting low to the ground or trying to crawl to each other then you know you have two dogs who are both interested in greeting or playing.  Again, the slower greeting you have the better success you will have.

So, my suggesting is to not ask the owner anymore, but to ask your dog how he feels about the situation.

This sweet black dog below is encouraging the smaller puppy to engage in play, this greeting took several minutes before both dogs were jumping around in lovely, bouncy play.

This handsome yellow lab is not interested in visiting with the other dogs in class, he continues to have a wide mouth pant and looks away from the other dogs.  While many of us social beings would love for our dogs to love every dog they meet, the reality is we need to ask our dogs what they want in order to set them up for success.