But training/learning is for all species, in pretty much the same basic way, so here are some lions with an awesome recall and stationing behaviour: Recall
Older dogs require a little extra TLC to make sure they have the best quality of life for as long as possible: 6 Tips for Caring for Older Dogs
Just as it’s important to take care toward the end of your dog’s life, it’s also vital that great care be taken at the start of your dog’s like: Puppy 101
We have talked about the importance of looking beyond daily-walkies as a way of entertaining your dog here; this piece looks at this too, with some nice ideas included: What’s in a walk?
There seems to be continued confusion about microchipping which is now a legal requirement for all dogs.
We have updated our information post about microchipping several times as new information seems to slowly trickle down here and Dogs Trust Ireland have shared a Top 10 FAQs:
We also sent you a piece on a more balanced attitude to being a dog trainer, working at what should be your dream job…Somewhere in between
Awesome Pets & their People
Molly was back for more daytraining – she had lots of yummy Kongs and a lovely nap…
Gorgeous Boxer girl Bailey was back for a follow-up session:
She, and her people, have been doing so well that we signed off on Bailey’s case and they will continue to work to maintain our program. We will always be here to support them so hope to see them again.
Jessie from A Dog’s Life, now in a new foster, came for a session to make sure everyone is settling in well.
This stunning dog is looking for a new home; find out more about her here.
Mason, also from A Dog’s Life, has worked his magic on his foster family and they have now become his forever family – YAY!
He and his new sister, Lucy the Basset, are getting on great, with careful management by his people. Good news!
Elsie, who has just been adopted from A Dog’s Life, came for a session with her new family to help everyone settle in and get to know one another.
Moe cam back for his first follow-up, after initial consultation, and he and his people have made amazing progress. We were ready to do some stooge-dog work to help teach Moe alternative and more acceptable behaviours when he sees other dogs.
And then we had some fun with ball play!
Riley, the Tibetan Terrier puppy, came for his first session and had a great time learning how to train humans…
People Training
We have a new Canine Behaviour & Training Technician group starting soon and already have a list of applicants for interview. CBTT7 will be underway next month and we can’t wait to get the ball rolling. More here.
Don’t forget that we have Helen Zulch back for another weekend seminar/workshop in June! There is only one working space left for the Saturday and couple of spectator places on both days so you better sign up quick so that you don’t miss out!
More information here and on our Facebook event here.
AniEd Dogs
Zak cuddled up to the heat:
And the rest of them went to work:
Hopefully we have some more lovely Spring weather in the coming week…enjoy!
Dog training is a pretty dynamic and certainly dogmatic field, even more so with the popularity of social media and the speed with which information spreads.
With such strong views it is no surprise that attitudes to everything from education to ethics, and from techniques to terminology are often extreme and polarised. Balance truly is a dirty word in dog training…
…or wrong, for that matter!
A vocation and a career
Dog trainers often enter this area, first in hobby form or perhaps via working with their own pet and slowly will (hopefully) build on knowledge and skill to help develop a career.
But this area is not quite a profession just yet – our field is unregulated, with no minimum standards of education, experience, skill or knowledge.
The transition from passion to every-day-job can be difficult for others (and ourselves) to appreciate, leading to lots of less comfortable attitudes toward our work.
You say black, I say white
Just recently, this piece was published on a blog known for its pretty direct tone: Why being a dog trainer f***ing sucks and in response to that, several pieces on why being a dog trainer doesn’t suck…
And around and around we go.
(Please be warned, that the above linked piece contains some pretty strong language.)
The truth will set you free
Like any job, dog training will have ups and downs and those swings will come in cycles. It’s not always brilliant and it’s not always awful.
But we’re not in dog training for the big bucks and instead reap a range of other rewards.
Now, this isn’t a rant or a moan – we don’t work down coal mines or in third world conditions, but because AniEd spends a lot of its time, not only training dogs, also supporting new and developing dog trainers our concerns lie in building a professional industry, recognised and respected.
It is misleading to tell, especially new, dog trainers that all is rosy, and that you should always love your job, the dogs, the people. This is unrealistic for any area.
But it’s not always helpful to vent and rant either so middle-ground must be achieved.
Why is it so tough?
Well, truth be told, it’s not much tougher than lots of other jobs out there, especially those where you deal with lots of human clients.
But, when you come into this field, your expectations can be a little high – it’s supposed to be a vocation, right? So that might set you up for a little bit of a crash & burn.
Challenges that dog trainers might face:
You might think you’re in the wrong place…
I don’t think there’s anyone out there who says to themselves that they would like to work with people, “so I’m going to become a dog trainer”.
But dog trainer is a misnomer – a whole lot of our work involves people-training.
It’s really “people” trainer…
Might help to:
– seek education in becoming a great people-trainer, emphasise this as part of your developing skill set
You spend a lot of time working alone, and much of your daily social contact is with dogs and clients.
It’s probably what you thought you wanted, but after a while it can become really lonely. And it can be particularly difficult if you have some emotional turmoil or you’re feeling a bit delicate – being alone with your thoughts can push you a little over the edge.
…or so you thought…
Might help to:
– engage in non-work related social activities regularly
– maybe even develop a new, non-job-like hobby
– generate a good support structure, someone you can call and have a chat with when you feel the loneliness creeping in
– develop an excellent support network among colleagues too
Your friends and family probably don’t get your job.
Because dog training is seen as a vocation and as something that “anyone can do“, it can be difficult for others close to you to truly understand that there may be complexities and difficulties.
But because of this attitude to our field, we have often put quite a bit of effort into talking-up dog training as a career so it can be uncomfortable to admit that sometimes it’s not what you had hoped for.
Might help to:
– be top of your game by reading, practicing, learning and developing
– realistically describe your job and its demands to non-doggie people
– promote our profession, by behaving in a professional manner
It’s a passion AND a job
Your hobby, passion and love becoming your career certainly sounds great but…
This makes it hard to break away – your day job is dogs but so is your spare time.
We often work largely from home and in other peoples’ homes so don’t have that threshold to cross and leave it all behind.
Really…?
Might help to:
– learn to compartmentalise
– hang out with your own dogs – you will really appreciate them!
– assign working hours, and don’t respond to job-stuff outside those hours
– develop very clear policies about client interactions, and establish those boundaries from the start
You got into this because you love dogs.
Dogs are pretty awesome. But sometimes they can, like anything, try your patience – it’s OK to concede that. You are human and a dog trainer.
What’s more, when many pet owners come to us it’s because their dog is causing them a big problem. It’s hard to empathise with them when you know that their behaviour is a major part of the problem, and they continue to vilify their dog.
That can inform your attitude to the human end of the leash.
Might help to:
– concentrate on behaviour – don’t take it personally, it’s just behaviour…even the human behaviour
– learn to empathise – a misguided pet owner is you x number of years ago
– at the same time though, learn to draw that line
Whether you like it or not, you are a people trainer.
It’s not just that humans pay the bills, it’s so much more than that. The welfare of the dog depends on your ability to communicate, instruct, counsel and teach that human.
One of the biggest frustrations is that people have seriously inflated expectations of dogs. This is reinforced by media coverage and by other dog-people.
Sharing stories about miraculous acts of canine kindness, promoting dogs as loving you more than they do themselves and attributing super-natural powers to dogs in terms of their abilities to save and support contributes to this. Dogs are awesome with out all that.
Unrealistic expectations lead to disappointment, which leads to poor motivation, leading to temptation to reach for quick fixes. That can feel pretty thankless sometimes.
Might help to:
– promote realistic, grounded education on all things dog
– help them to reframe their attitude
– facilitate dogs being dogs, and help pet owners appreciate that
– continue to develop excellent counselling skills
Dog training is simple, but it’s not easy (~ Bob Bailey)
Dog training involves mechanical skill that takes lots and lots and lots of practice, instructing and feedback to learn.
Pet owners are typically unskilled and we have the challenge of teaching them to teach their dogs. We might have been working on developing our skill level over years and years and even thousands of dogs.
Not only are we teaching the dog new behaviours, but the human too.
Might help to:
– be a really good do-er, before you become a teacher
– seek education in the mechanics – prioritise this because only from an in-depth understanding can you teach this to non-skilled pet owners
– apply dog training mechanics to teaching pet owners: provide feedback, split criteria and create a collaborative learning environment, that is conducive to learning
Good dog trainers are educated and invested.
The dog trainers who are going to truly advance our industry toward becoming a respected, regulated, standard-filled profession are educated, with both academic and experiential credentials. We learn about the appliance of science, how animals learn, how natural behaviour is shaped, how genetics interact with health and behaviour, how to construct meaningful training plans and how to teach both ends of the leash – and that’s just for starters.
We are living in the most exciting time that dog training has seen – in the last decade-ish, science has begun to really dig canine science and we get to reap the rewards of all this investigation.
The financial, time, emotional and physical commitments to our continued education will be pretty huge.
This is not a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants operation, or at least it shouldn’t be.
It is understandable, then, that when people belittle our efforts by not respecting our work, it’s going to hurt.
Might help to:
– promote professional conduct
– continue to invest in your education
– make sure your training does the talking
We only have ourselves to blame.
It can sometimes seem easy to blame pet owners. But this is the same blame that they might put on their dogs, frustrating us.
We have to be able to take on the responsibility for the human learning, just as the learning-human is taking on responsibility for their dog learning.
At the same time, and this is the tricky bit, we also have to know when we have done all we can do, step away and move on.
This is the hardest part.
Might help to:
– have support from colleagues with whom you can discuss cases, outcomes, ideas
– help people and their pets to the best of your ability
– work within your skill, competence level and remit
– know when to quit, when you have done all you can do (you’re not a magician)
– have an outlet for venting BUT please be careful with ranting and moaning – this can very quickly overwhelm you and inform your feelings and behaviour
I hate to say it, but other trainers can make life miserable.
Without consistent standards and a lack of professionalism, business and personal conduct can sometimes leave a lot to be desired.
This might manifest in bitching (pun intended), snarky comments made publicly, social media interactions, bad-mouthing, stealing clients, copying or misrepresenting ideas, logos, policies etc.Social media, as wonderful a tool as it can be, can also be a curse. It has encouraged almost religious following and the rise of gurus, with egos to match.
The boasting and bragging on social media can become tiresome and further raise expectations of this job – there is often a gap between reality-reality and social-media-reality.
Might help to:
– get off the computer!
– let your training do the talking
– don’t engage in trainer-bashing
– have supports and outlets outside of social media
– critically evaluate EVERYTHING
– choose your mentor wisely and avoid the hollow gurus
– allow for balance and don’t dismiss another trainer too easily – you can probably learn something from most trainers
Behavioural health is just as important as physical health.
This industry is young, and as of yet not well understood by many, even those in other related industries.
Spotting a dog who is in physical pain may be easier for others to spot and appreciate; somewhat invisible behavioural suffering is a harder sell.
Most of our starter dog trainers, don’t earn from their new career right away. Instead they supplement their earnings from within or outside of the animal care industry. Many will develop the dog walking, pet sitting, boarding sides of their businesses first, adding training as it grows.
Even though nobody would deny the importance of early and continued education for children, it’s not a given for puppies and dogs.
Might help to:
– forge great relationships with veterinary staff, groomers, pet shops and other stakeholders
– promote proper socialisation practices for puppies
– engage with breeders and rescue organisations, and other sources for dogs
Training is about relationships
Developing positive attitudes and relationships is our most important function.
We do that via the dog-pet owner relationship, via the pet owner-trainer relationship, via the dog-trainer relationship, via the dog-society relationship, via trainer-trainer relationships and via trainers-society relationships. No pressure then!
We must take care with the ease with which we can facilitate more confrontational relationships with people (pet owners and professionals alike).
Outlets such as this and this, are understandably borne out of frustration and funny, but how helpful are they, really?
I love my job
When I say that I am not exaggerating, I truly love my job.
But some days I am exhausted, frustrated, feel helpless and it’s OK to acknowledge that.
Identifying that helps me to reframe and work out where I need to make changes.
I really do!
When you lack that clarity, you can’t see the wood for the trees, you need help. Compassion fatigue and burnout have been highlighted in animal care of late, and dog training and behaviour work bare all the hallmarks, making us susceptible too.
If your mental health is suffering, you are helping nobody. Ask for help. Always ask for help.
More on compassion fatigue and mental health here and here.
Thanks to all our FB supporters – you guys helped us get over 2500 Likes this week! Keep clicking Like and sharing so that that number keeps going up.
This week we sent you pieces about choice in dog training and new microchipping legislation in Ireland – the countdown is on! (We have updated that piece as new information became available amidst plenty of confusion!).
Awesome Pets & their People
Another short week so we just had a couple of consults this week with some great dogs, and committed owners.
Stunner Roxy came back for another follow-up and we went out and about to help her people help her when out in the big bad world. Roxy is a fearful girl, who spent the first 8 months of her life in an almost feral state. Now she has awesome people who have made amazing progress, and her confidence and social skills grow by the day.
Here’s a playlist of some of our work, during our walk around:
The very handsome Teddy came for a first consult; he has been in his fab new home for a very short time so we are working on building his confidence, settling in and increasing his responsiveness. He is off to a great start already!
Lottie came back to do some stooging with Decker and is learning that she can just be, when close to another dog. Doesn’t have to love him, doesn’t have to play, doesn’t need to aggress…can just be.
And next week we will be launching the next run of our CBTT program, CBTT7!
Many of our qualified CBTT-ers have developed or are developing their training businesses, so if you need a pet dog trainer, look no further: Our Dog Trainers.
AniEd Dogs
A look back with a nostalgic shot of Boomer & Zack (before Decker was even born!):
And Decker has an Easter balloon hunt, and is very excited about it:
This is the last week during which you can get you and your dog compliant with Ireland’s new microchipping laws; more here.
I’m afraid there’s no chocolate for you two beggars!
Biting is normal, natural, necessary dog behaviour but when it happens (and it is a when and not an if) it is very distressing at many levels. Understanding biting and related dog behaviour is a pretty good step toward preventing it: Why Dogs Bite, Part I and Part II.
A common cause of bites in pets, is pain and they are pretty good at hiding their pain and discomfort. Download a straight forward poster here and here.
Pain may mean a trip to the vet’s and unsurprisingly many dogs find this upsetting and distressing. Not only that many pet owners appear unable to assess their pets’ distress, given that many of the signs can be pretty subtle and easily misinterpreted: Canine Stress in the Vet’s Waiting Room.
This piece gives an in-depth run down of stress and things that can be done to help reduce your dog’s distress: Fixing their bones, but breaking their brains.
More and more veterinary practices are becoming aware of ways to reduce dogs’ distress before, during and after procedures; here are five tips for handling dogs and cats in a caring manner – it’s a poster that you can download and share 😉
We can work together to improve your dog’s comfort, not only with the vet team working to reduce stress, but at home preparing our dogs for handling with two simple of ways of helping your dog enjoy this type of contact in this clip.
With Easter only a few days away and the temptation of chocolate too much for some dogs, let’s avoid that vet visit by being aware and careful of poisons that you dog might ingest:
Even we though we might not have too much self control around all that chocolate, our dogs can: Clicker Training Doggie Zen exercises!
Doggie Zen exercises are some of our favourites, and even though this is an older resource it never really gets tired!
Congratulations to Purin the Beagle for her new Guinness World Record: fastest 10m on a ball by a dog!
Again, we are appealing to people to give chocolate bunnies rather than real ones. But if you are thinking about getting a rabbit pet, watch this clip before getting one…
Or maybe just watch this somewhat terrifying clip…
As part of the Animal Health & Welfare act, 2013, microchipping is set to become compulsory for all dogs from the end of this month in Ireland; Microchipping of Dogs Regulations, 2015.
This is great news in terms of tracking dogs and their owners, holding owners responsible for their dogs’ behaviour and reuniting lost/stolen dogs. But before we reap some of the benefits there are going to be some hurdles to jump first.
What is microchipping?
Mircochipping involves implanting a tiny microchip (a little bigger than a grain of rice) under your dog’s skin, usually in the shoulder area.
The chip contains a unique barcode number that can be read with a scanner. The details linked with the barcode are recorded on a database that can be accessed.
Having the chip implanted certainly doesn’t seem to be comfortable as the needle used is larger than those used for vaccinations or blood samples.
Sometimes if a dog is being anaesthetised for another procedure the vet will chip then too, but for the most part the dog is conscious.
Holding the dog calmly against your body and providing him with a Kong toy lined with pate while this is going on will help. Here’s more on lining and stuffing Kongs, ideal for such procedures.
Once chipped the implanter will check the location and functioning of the chip by scanning over the dog’s back and shoulders.
You can also check your dog’s chip at Maxizoo stores around the country – this is a good idea as chips can move so knowing where your dog’s chip is can be recorded too.
Microchipping legislation…the story so far
Since September 2015 all puppies must be be chipped by the age of 12 weeks, or before leaving their birth home.
This has become one more way of identifying more responsible breeders, as those who put lots of other things in place plus make sure that each puppy they produce is chipped.
It became illegal to acquire or supply a puppy without a chip and certificate of microchip registration.
To collect and record all this microchipping data the department has approved FIDO as the first database.
Apparently, other databases will also be approved.
Microchips must only be implanted by vets, vet nurses or lay implanters who have a Unique Identifying Code (UIC) and the chips they use must meet specific technical standards.
Approved chip implanters will have completed specific training.
What’s next?
By 31st March, 2016 all dogs must be microchipped with an appropriately compliant chip, the dog’s details recorded on an approved database and the owner hold a Cert of Microchip Registration.
To help with this lots of different organisations have help microchipping events such as various SPCAs, Dog’s Trust and local rescue organisations, along with vets. Many offer reduced price and even free microchipping.
When bringing your dog to be chipped the owner must provide photo ID and proof of address too so that those details can be recorded with the dog’s chip.
So, first thing’s first, get your dog microchipped NOW!
My dog is chipped…?
This is where it gets a bit complicated. If your dog was chipped previously you may have had a cert printed out from the FIDO website, which previously acted as a database for reunification of lost/stolen dogs. This is no good any more.
Chipping prior to this legislation (so first half of last year or before) means that you probably didn’t get the required Certificate of Microchip Registration – you need that now, regardless of on which database your chip details are held.
FIDO, as the first approved government database, requires that you go here so that they can check all your details and make sure everything is in order according to the new legislation.
FIDO check your details and for €4.50 (correct as of last year) will send you the legally compliant certificate. Keep that safe!
On your cert will be a PIN that you can use to log into the database and check your details, keep contact details up to date or register change of ownership.
The details must be kept updated by law.
If your dog has not previously been registered with FIDO, you will need to return to the database that your chip is registered to, to get your cert. This may be AniMark, IKC or the Irish Coursing Club – all recently approved databases (we couldn’t find reference to it on the AniMark or Irish Kennel Club websites though!).
Unfortunately, none of these organisations seem to have done a whole lot to inform their clients and pet owners in general so this has been shrouded in confusion.
If you prefer you can re-register your chip with FIDO and request a cert that way. This costs €15.00.
Should you not know which database your dog’s chip is registered with or it’s not registered with one of the approved four, you will need to register with an approved database as soon as possible.
You can check Europetnet to see where your chip is registered. You will need your dog’s microchip number – if you don’t have that, go to your vet who can scan your dog and help you.
You can get a chip check card from your vet or Dog’s Trust and mail that to FIDO for further help also. Yes, snail mail…
From April, if you acquire any dog, of any age from any source the dog must be microchipped and you must receive a cert registering you as the dog’s owner.
The onus, for all of this legislation, is on the owner of the dog to comply.
References to choice, and emphasis on giving the dog choices are pretty common in dog training right now – empowering the learners through choice is where it’s at but how do we actually do that, and how does it actually help?
Yay! for Choice
Lots of choice sounds wonderful – our culture is particularly enamoured with choice, studies have shown that animals find having options rewarding and offering a choice of bedding, substrates, foods and other conditions improves the welfare of lab animals – that’s three for three, right?
Well, it’s a little more complicated than that…
Training reduces choice
Dogs make choices all the time and training is really about increasing the probability that they will choose the behaviours that we prefer…
I even say it regularly: “manage the dog’s environment so that he chooses the desired behaviour…!” What I am saying here sounds lovely, but if we examine this closely I am limiting the dog’s choices.
In reward based, welfare-friendly training (or whatever label), the sort that we do, we recommend:
teaching new behaviours in a low distraction environment so there are fewer options
use HIGH value rewards so those other options are less appealing
put environmental management in place to prevent the dog carrying out undesired behaviours – limit the dog’s access to other reinforcers
Behaviour is predictable
Well, certainly the probability that a particular behaviour will occur in a specific situation is pretty predictable – reinforcers strengthen behaviour (more likely to occur) and punishers weaken behaviour (less likely to occur).
Dogs will be more likely to choose behaviours that are reinforced, that are reinforced pretty rapidly and that are reinforced with high value reinforcers.
When you make reinforcers available in training you are tipping the scale in your favour that the dog will choose the option you would like him to.
(It happens if you use punishers too, but the dog is choosing which behaviours to avoid…)
A trained dog has more choice
Once a behaviour has been reliably reinforced (strengthened) the dog is more likely to carry that one out over others – that’s right, the dog is more likely to choose our choice over one of his own.
We train dogs not to be so much dog, so that we can live with them.
Choice interferes with training
Let’s face it, we probably don’t want dogs to get to choose their own behaviours, most of the time – normal dog behaviours range from destructive to disgusting to downright dangerous.
Decker gives my hairbrush the Am Staff treatment
Your dog’s choices are very likely to interfere with training, especially where acceptable outlets for all that management have not been provided.
Getting to chase small furries, digging, rolling in poop, chewing things, barking, and ripping stuff up are all behaviours that dogs find intrinsically rewarding.
This means these behaviours are strongly reinforcing, so even if you offer a trained alternative – these behaviours are worthy competitors.
Not all choices were created equal
Dogs are not robots, they are responsive to the world around them so always have choices. They just might not always choose the options that you present.
Dogs do what works – they will choose reinforcing behaviour, over and over (that’s what makes it reinforcing!).
It can be pretty difficult to offer our dogs open choice in everyday life, even if we think that’s what we are striving for – giving them access to a large range of options may not be safe or possible.
We might be better aiming to offer them more limited choices, narrowing down their options. This is largely what management and training do.
Even though your dog might very much like the idea of having more open choice in terms of the behaviours he gets to carry out, having more and more choice is not always helpful.
Having choice and not being clear on which option is best may cause a dog to exhibit conflicted behaviour, presumably experiencing a level of stress in trying to cope with the choice.
Providing choice, and balancing that with providing both predictability and control will reduce any distress. Giving choice must be done with care.
When is choice important?
Choice is especially important when it comes to things we do to dogs, that they might not like, that they might find uncomfortable or scary.
Dogs choose which behaviour they, as individuals, find rewarding. The learner chooses the reinforcement.
And that might mean that they choose to stick with a behaviour because it gains them access to things they like, or choose a behaviour that allows them relief from a situation.
Either way, it’s our job to listen to him. Knowing that he can leave, knowing that he can just take a moment and knowing that he can gain a little relief helps boost a dog’s confidence and comfort in an interaction.
Decker doesn’t like parasite-treatment application:
This along with helping to make the situation a more rewarding option with things he likes will help the dog learn to love the interaction and find it more enjoyable.
We can offer those two options in most interactions with our dogs.
How is choice helping?
The pet-dog-contract doesn’t have choice built in and as much as our dogs love us, they didn’t choose to come live with us, they didn’t choose their lifestyle and certainly have not made any informed choices about how they get to live day-to-day.
Dogs are super tolerant of human behaviour and human choices, thrust upon them. We have selectively bred dogs to be this tolerant and compliant and therefore, we assume that our pets like what we like and that they like what we do to them.
Having choice might not be a reinforcer in and of itself. This is a hard thing to test – we would need measurements of the behaviour with access to individual reinforcers Vs access to a choice of reinforcers. And even then, the variables may loom large.
Whether something is reinforcing or not is retrospective; we need to review our work and see if behaviour was strengthened or not, and contingent on the reinforcement.
EileenAndDogs asks “Is it a choice of behaviours? Or is it a choice of consequences?” in her choice challenge.
Maybe the dog having choice is more a desired quality of reinforcers or perhaps it’s having a more classical or even cognitive effect on learning.
I have certainly observed in dogs that if they get to choose to participate in a particular experience it may be a pleasant (and reinforcing) experience, whereas when they are lured, forced or coerced into that same experience it appears to be aversive.
In this clip Molly, who is highly distractable (we’re working on it!) is choosing between distractions (which are anything and all things) and focus.
And in this clip (later on in our program), we add a little more complexity to focus work by waiting for eye contact and a loose lead to gain access to distractions, and then when she’s ready, more eye contact to come back in and play flirt pole:
We are not asking her to do anything. She chooses when to tune in and out.
Allowing her to look away again may be reinforcing if we had set it up so that we traded focus for access to distractions; but her choice allows her to remove herself from social pressure, allows her to feel safer through vigilance, reduces frustration and probably helps her feel better about the training set-up.
If anything it might be reinforcing (strengthening) looking away and checking out EVERYTHING.
Every dog needs a fish bowl
It’s not a question of either offering all the choices or no choices at all – it’s about what choices we can offer our dogs, and what they get to choose between.
Just any old choice isn’t necessarily better than no choice at all. The choices must be meaningful to the individual – that is, they have chosen them.
And I, as the human, am responsible for the potential effects of those choices. That means, that as much as possible I must know how this will pan out, regardless of which option is chosen.
You, the human, are free to choose on behalf of your dog so take heed…
If a dog is constantly being put in situations where they must choose between their safety and danger, this isn’t good. (Remember the dog gets to decide if they feel safe.)
We need to step back, work at the dog’s pace and build through progress more gradually.
Giving dogs a say
A reasonable level of choice is good, with conditions – that we keep the dog safe, that the choices we offer don’t lead to deterioration in training or behavioural health and that they are actually chosen by our dogs.
learn to read canine signaling so that you can ‘listen’ to them
think like a dog so that you understand which natural behaviour they might need outlets for
observe – what does your dog do with his ‘free’ time?
There may be clues there as to what sort of behaviours he chooses to engage in.
Look for repetitions as this means something is reinforcing that behaviour. Can we use it (control it) for training and/or allow him more free access to it?
Less is more
You might not need or provide all of these, but try to find one safe, appropriate way to give your dog a choice each day.
Provide a choice of beds, bedding, bed-positions, access to beds.
This may be especially important where your dog is exposed to different temperatures and conditions over the day, so a bed in the sun and in the shade is a good idea, for example.
Bring him to a safe environment that allows him to choose activities – bring him to a fenced area, or have him on a long line and allow him to do doggie things such as sniffing, rolling, chasing, playing, hanging out, digging, doing dog-stuff.
This is a great opportunity to observe (just watch him, don’t interact) your dog to see what he really likes to do – HINT – he will be doing it!
Allow him to choose the route on exercise, allow him to set the pace, allow him to stop and sniff.
Stand in the middle of a safe area and just let him be a dog. Don’t encourage any specific behaviour, let him choose how to spend this time.
Wait for him to choose what game to play, which toy to use, and provide options to allow him to end the game, switch activities or just take a break.
Allow him to keep the toy, leave the door open, provide a bed to rest in or a chew to work on.
Offer lots of enrichment options – how would your dog like to earn his meal today? Which behaviours would your dog like to engage in?
Be imaginative with food reward options in training.
Not only which foods, but how he might like to be rewarded – catch the treat, search for the treat, chase the treat and so on.
Allow your dog to say that he would rather not interact that way, right now – allow him to choose space over contact.
Pet, groom, or handle the dog on the side closest to your body so that it’s easier for him to move away if and when he wishes.
In interactions, wait for the dog to approach. Interact for a 3-count, withdraw and ask your dog if he wants to continue.
Avoid physical manipulation, intimidation, social pressure, and ‘corrections’.
Improve the value of reinforcers that you do control so that your dog chooses them over all the other stuff. Use functional rewards – the things that your dog already does behaviours to gain access to.
Work on boosting the value of food rewards, ideally your dog’s regular food.
Teach your dog to be a good human-trainer so that he knows that behaviours he chooses will result you allowing him access to the things he likes.
Use management carefully to help your dog choose more acceptable behaviours.
Reinforce choices that you like, with functional rewards where possible.
Use more powerful reinforcers to train more acceptable behaviours to replace those you don’t like.
If you manage (reduce choice), look to ways that you can provide your dog with acceptable outlets for those behaviours you are preventing (limiting).
Choose choice
Adding some choice carefully is a good thing. Watch carefully for the choices your dog makes – what do those choices tell you about how he experiences the world?
They are always telling us something, we just need to learn to listen.
How do you provide choice for your dog? How does it help?
With the festivities surrounding St Patrick’s Day (and this being Ireland) we have had a short week this week and another short week next week, with Easter!
Awesome Pets & their People
Monday was a day filled with behaviour consults and we started with Bueno!
This guy spent most of his life confined but has now found a great new family who are doing lots to help him grow in confidence and to learn about the world.
Dogs like Bueno who are shy, reserved and take time to explore their world are most likely this way because they missed out on vital exposure and social experience early in life. Puppies who, in their first 3-5 months don’t have TONS of positive interactions and experiences will probably experience behavioural and emotional issues their entire lives.
People will often presume that they behave this way because they had bad experiences, were abused or neglected, but it doesn’t even require that. Simple lack of experience can be really damaging to a dog, and the effects will be felt for that dog’s entire life.
We got started with lots of foundations and introduced a way to help him learn how to control interactions, feel safe and boost his confidence:
Next up was PingPing who is named after a Panda!! And he has a sister called SingSing – also named after a Panda 🙂
We did lots of work on increasing responsiveness around other dogs and decreasing excitability.
We started with some great foundations and began to teach him that looking at another dog (at such a distance that we wasn’t getting wound up) means yummies and soon, when PingPing sees another dog he looks back to his person (hey! where’s my treat!?). Him playing the game tells us that he is becoming more comfortable too!
Next up for a consult was little Benny, who brought his tennis ball with him – the most important part!
This fella had been wandering as a stray but soon he found his new family and has really landed on his paws! With the help of his love of play and his awesome people this fella will be growing in confidence in no time!
Tuesday meant it was daytraining-with-Molly-time!
We got lots done and made some incremental improvements with her distraction and focus levels. We slowly introduce distractions and work at a level with which she can cope.
And our last consult was with this cheeky little chappie, Joey.
He was adopted just before Christmas and is growing in confidence more and more. Now with some great foundations in place along with a little work in some other areas, he will be an even more cracking little dog!
People Training
We have two new and excellent courses coming up soon and there are a couple of spaces left on each.
Teaching Puppies is probably one of our most important courses on offer. Puppy classes offer the most important education for puppies and their new people, helping to get everyone off on the right paw.
What’s most worrying is that anyone can offer puppy classes and they are routinely delivered by those who have no or very little education in training and behaviour! Beginner trainers will often attempt puppy classes as they appear the most straight forward, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Read more about this course here and share the info with people whom you think will benefit!
The Helping Rescue Dogs looks at what happens when the dog-human relationship hasn’t worked out and what we can do to improve that, with dogs’ welfare in mind.
We look at everything from the dogma in rescue to canine behaviour to assessing and improving the welfare of canines in various stages of the rescue process.
To improve the plight of rescue dogs we need educated, skilled and knowledgeable people on the inside, building it up from within. This course is designed to help make that difference.
Read more about this course here and share the info with people whom you think will benefit!
Wohoo! CBTT4
And more great news this weekend for our CBTT4 group who have completed all their work and are now fully-fledged Canine Behaviour & Training Technicians!
They have worked so hard over the last year and have completed over 90 credits worth of work – each credit equals about 10 hours of the learners’ investment…yep, that’s over 900 hours of studying, reading, analysing and practicing, practicing, practicing.
We can’t be more proud of our ever growing CBTT-family!
Hope you had a great St Patrick’s Day – even the Swedish American Staffordshire Terrier was Irish for a day:
There’s been quite a bit of canine related drama around the web this week…
Crufts always inspires much internet uproar. Almost 30,000 dogs attended to compete and the vast majority experience a pretty good standard of welfare but the intense coverage of this show highlights where progress must be made in terms of breeding practices, selecting for anatomical extremes and temperamental qualities.
A very sweet, young Westie called Devon won Best in Show and lots of fun was had by many hundreds of thousands of competitors and spectators.
One of our favourite moments was this Freestyle routine from Irena & Layla, which, believe it or not, took third place in an obviously highly competitive International Freestyle competition:
Controversy surrounding Cesar Millan and his dog whispering ways have catapulted him and his actions into the headlines again, after a period of relative peace and quiet. This time things have got serious with he and his team being investigated for animal cruelty relating to the treatment of a pig involved in one of his “dog rehabilitation” pieces. A LOT of social media pieces have appeared, some can be found here: Cesar-Gate and Beyond Cesar Millan.
No other dog-person inspires so much controversy and so many polarised views points. Discussion is good and this piece is a nice summary of this particular situation and links to further information.
Old dogs are a joy but getting older ain’t easy: It’s Only Money
And living with an older dog often means considering that most difficult of decisions; some advice here if dealing with canine dementia in your older dog: Dementia in Senior Dogs
Such a busy week that the blog was left a little behind but we have big plans for the next couple of weeks so stay tuned!
Awesome Pets & their People
We had lots of amazing dogs with us this week for behaviour work, training and rescue evaluations.
Monday started off with this happy chappie, Dante:
Dante came for a follow-up to our initial consultation to help him get ready for a big move with his family to Switzerland!
Sweet, soft Rebel also came for some behaviour work – he was just happy to discover that pate goes into Kongs and it’s delicious!
Bacchus came for a behaviour appointment too before he set off for Crufts 2016.
He did really well, placing 5th in a puppy class with very stiff competition. Wohoo Bacchus!
Daytraining:
Molly came back for her second session and we worked on lots and lots.
Part of our plan was to introduce flirtpole play so that we can have some good exercise that will take some emphasis off lead walks, which can be a bit of a problem, and so that we can raise her arousal a little so as to narrow her focus – Molly is big on getting distracted.
We didn’t anticipate that she would be super scared of it though…
Introducing both predictability and controlability to a situation allows the dog’s confidence increase greatly so soon we were teaching her the rules of this high-energy game:
We added more and more challenge to our loose leash walking work – still not ready to go right out into the big bad world with that one but improvements in all areas:
We work with A Dog’s Life and help out with training & behaviour support for their dogs and volunteers, advising on policies in relation to fostering and adopting dogs and developing programs to help their dogs become the most adoptable dogs they can be!
We see the issue from all sides – rescue dogs going out into the community and the training and behaviour support some rescue dogs might need when out in the community. It is our priority to emphasise the placement of safe, suitable companion dogs that won’t mean a life long project for their new owners, who will be excellent representatives of what rescue dogs are and who will be loved and treasured family members. No pressure then!
We had visits from two of these dogs this week and got to spend a couple of hours with each one to get to know them a little better, evaluate their behavioural tendencies and outline the best next steps for them.
First up was this gorgeous gal, Jessie:
We are eagerly looking for a suitable foster placement and forever home for this girl so if you think you can help, please contact A Dog’s Life directly.
Both of these are cracking dogs who will make excellent family companions and wonderful additions to their new people. We look forward to seeing them again soon, once they have settled into their new homes, for their post-adoption follow-up!
People Training
This weekend we welcomed a full group of dog professionals, walkers, trainers & groomers, for another Canine First Responder course. It was a great day and all happily achieved certification for another two years, before they need to renew again.
Would you know what to do in a canine emergency? Register your interest for our next course by sending an email to info@anied.ie if you would like to learn more 🙂
BIG Summer Event
We are very excited to have Helen Zulch back after a very successful and booked out weekend workshop last year.
Helen is a veterinary surgeon, clinical animal behaviourist and a highly skilled clicker trainer.
She is best known for her work with Lincoln University and the Life Skills for Puppies program. Helen is a senior lecturer in Lincoln University on the Clinical Animal Behaviour under and post grad degrees. She is also a consultant at the University of Lincoln Animal Behaviour Referral Clinic.
The Canine Training/Behaviour Skills workshop will take place at our centre in Glasnevin in Dublin. We have a great weekend planned:
Day 1: Saturday, 4th June 2016
This day will concentrate on building clicker skills, covering more advanced skills in precision clicker training. Participants for this session will be those who have some experience in training their own or others’ dogs and have shaped behaviours with clicker training.
Spectators of any background will really benefit from this session and it will be especially helpful if you are new to clicker training or preparing for clicker training assessments such as the CAP program,
Day 2: Sunday, 5th June 2016
This day will be seminar style (no dogs!) and will look at a topic that is rarely discussed in our field, but one that is highly relevant. Helen will examine, with the help of case studies and interactive discussion, the relationship between canine health and behaviour. She will cover ways to integrate these concerns into our dog training, developing meaningful relationships with veterinary and healthcare professionals.
This will be a valuable topic for anyone working or interested in training/behaviour fields and those working in veterinary too.
Pricing:
Participant Saturday – €150 (with a dog who is suitable and comfortable working in a managed workshop environment)
Spectator/seminar one day- €90
Spectator/seminar both days – €160
Participant one day and spectator one day – €220
If you would like to book a spot we encourage you to register and pay ASAP so as to secure your spot (there are limited places). To book please copy and paste the following, along with your responses into an email to info@anied.ie :
Name:
Contact Number:
Email Address:
Day/s of attendance (please specify as many as are relevant: Spectator Day 1, Participant Day 1, Spectator Day 2):
(Where relevant) Dog’s name:
Type/Breed:
Age:
Chosen method of payment:
Better get your skates on as places are limited and booking up fast!
AniEd Dogs
Boomer and Decker reluctantly share – Boomer’s queen bee and Decker is just trying to steal a corer of his bed!
And Zack had something yummy…but then everything is yummy to Zack!
AniEd Ireland 