I know it’s a bit past Halloween, but I couldn’t pass up posting these photos from Heidi and her sweet Maltese, Casper. Casper is actually a star in his own right. You can see videos of him at his own YouTube channel here: Casper on YouTube.

He has his own website as well, called DoodleApproval.com, where you can seek his advice on any concern you might have.

Thank you Heidi for sending these in. Do you have a good shot from Halloween? If so, send them to ideas@asmalldog.com.

There is a recurring theme in small dog ownership that keeps rearing its head. I believe it’s at the heart of most of the problems we have with small dogs. The theme is this: we tend to confuse our small dogs with children. Many of us say, “Oh, I know he’s just a dog,” while we secretly believe, in our heart of hearts, that our dog is a child.

Then there are those who just come right out and say it, like the person who came into our shop the other day to pick up her small dog. This un-neutered dog responds to the abundance of testosterone coursing through his veins by peeing on every vertical surface he passes. One of the ladies at our shop, tired and exasperated from continually mopping up after this dog, asked the owner why the dog had not been neutered. The owner’s response: “You wouldn’t do that to your child, would you?”

What’s Wrong?

What’s the problem with this? Am I being petty? I don’t think so, because if you look at the behavior problems of small dog-children, you’ll see the disconnect. While people understand and enjoy dogs as children, dogs really don’t understand the role of a child. Sure, they get the part about hugging and kissing, but they don’t understand the rest of the conversation. It’s gibberish to them.

Lost in Translation

Think of it this way. Imagine yourself all alone in another country where you don’t speak the language and you don’t have a feel for the culture. How would you fair in the first hour after you set foot in that land? You would be pretty disoriented. You would rely on your normal habits. By luck, some of the things you would try would be culturally acceptable, but some things would not. In time, through trial and error, you would probably work it out.

Here’s the deal with small dogs treated as children. They are visitors in a foreign country, except they are continually stuck in that first hour after arrival. They don’t get the language, and never will. They don’t get the culture, and never will. They may eventually figure out some of the customs and habits of this strange world, but they will never fully master their environment.

That is why small dogs, treated as children, seem to run amok. That is why they do things that disappoint or frustrate us. They aren’t trying to be bad. They are just doing what they naturally do because nothing else makes sense.

Change is Hard

The solution is hard—very hard. It requires us to discard the lenses that make us see small dogs as children. It’s a sacrifice that many of us are not ready to make because there are so many benefits to being the parent of a small dog. The benefit is all ours.

Take Action:

Evaluate your relationship with your small dog. See if you are:

• Explaining your expectations to your dog in sentences.
• Placing affection ahead of guidance.
• Reacting emotionally, rather than rationally, to your small dog’s misbehavior.
• Referring to yourself as your small dog’s mom or dad.

If you are doing at least two of the items on this list, and your small dog is a model citizen, write and tell me I don’t know what I am talking about. If some or all of your dog’s behavior is driving you nuts, it’s time to re-evaluate your view of your small dog.

Who's the boss?

(photo courtesy of dregsplod@flickr.com)

In recent years, we have been told we can help our relationship with our dog by being a pack leader. Pack leadership has become such a popular idea, you will find it plastered over all sorts of books, websites, blogs, and TV programs. What does it mean to be a pack leader? It depends on who you ask.

Pack leadership can encompass everything from the defensive, as in:

Assert yourself and don’t let a dog walk all over you,

to the offensive, as in:

Do what it takes to make the dog respect you.

I’m okay with the first statement. A dog should not dictate how you run your own life any more than your best friend or close relative should tell you how to live. I’m not so okay with the second statement because too many people take the respect thing too far.

Within wild packs of canids—Wolves, Dingos, African Hunting Dogs—there is always a pack leader. The pack leader is universally recognized and respected as the leader. Why? Because that dog, usually referred to as the alpha, dominates all the other dogs in the pack with brute force. An alpha will do whatever it takes to maintain its position of authority, including growling, scratching, and biting subordinates. In very rare instances, an alpha may have to engage in all-out fighting with a challenger. Merely threatening violence usually shuts down a subordinate.

Perhaps you have heard of the term “alpha roll.” It means exactly what it sounds like. An alpha dog will use its size and strength to knock a subordinate dog to the ground and roll the underling on its back. Essentially, the alpha is forcing the subordinate into a position of submission or surrender. Some dog trainers believe the alpha roll is essential to establishing control over dogs that would otherwise be too assertive to handle. Police and military dogs are subjected to alpha rolls during the initial stages of training, for example.

Brute force control may be necessary in rare cases where an out-of-control, potentially dangerous dog must learn either to submit or be put down by at an animal control facility. It does not follow, however, that all dogs must be bent to submission merely to learn their role in a household.

Yes, dogs should learn the rules and limits of living with people in the home. The process of learning can not only can happen without brute force tactics, learning will go much smoother and more quickly without brute force. For example, a dog can learn to walk on a leash without getting it’s neck jerked by a slip collar. A dog can learn to come to its owner without being reeled in on a line as though it were a fish. A dog can learn to sit without having its rump jammed down to the floor.

But, you may say, all the methods I have listed are time honored: using the slip collar, pulling a dog in using a long line, jamming the dog into a sit position. These techniques work. They always have.

To which I say, yes they have, but at what cost? When you make a decision that requires your dog to do something on your behalf, and that decision forces your dog to submit, or causes your dog some discomfort, your dog will comply. He or she has to. You are the boss after all.

“Good morning, boss!”

Will your dog want to be be by your side after you have been a gruff, rough, assertive jerk? Manhandle a dog long enough and the dog will begin to resent its boss. The relationship between dog and owner will be spoiled, and no amount of treats and praise will permanently fix things once that bond has been roughed up.

Here’s one more thing you should know about pack leaders before I wrap this up. In wild dog packs, the dogs who rank just below the alpha are always watching Number One for signs of weakness. When the alpha gets old enough and weak enough, dog number two or three is going to challenge the alpha for control of the pack using the violent techniques they have learned from their leader. Something to think about the next time you try to dominate your dog with shoving, jerking, poking and yelling.

I don’t want to leave you hanging by simply saying “Don’t do what’s popular.” You need alternatives. Those are coming right up in my next few articles. Hang in there. I’ll be back soon.

*The opinions expressed in this article are strictly my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the provider of the accompanying photograph.

It's Yorkie Day at Kelsey's Dog House

First, let me admit my data may be skewed. Many dogs who respond well to obedience commands at home may not do as well in an unfamiliar or overly stimulating environment. Without a doubt, our free-run daycare and boarding areas can be very stimulating and distracting. Dogs new to our play spaces at Kelsey’s Dog House may initially be too distracted to respond to commands. Even if I look only at the very small dogs who have been visiting us for years, I can still count on one hand the number of individuals that sit on command. That still leaves us with the question “Why?” There are a few answers, and each depends on the view of the individual owner. I present the possibilities in no particular order:

1. Trinket dogs. You have heard me rant about trinket dogs in another article, (which you can find here.) Trinket dogs are exactly what they sound like—fun little doodads to have around the house. Considered playthings, or status symbols, or merely decorations, trinket dogs are not given any credit for having a mind of their own. One would not consider training a trinket dog any more than one would consider training an expensive purse, wristwatch, or stuffed animal. I don’t believe this reason would apply to any of our regular customers at Kelsey’s Dog House because people who bring their dogs to us generally want their dogs treated well. People who own trinket dogs tend to focus on what the dog can do for them rather than what they need to do to take care of the dog.

2. Difficult to train. There is no doubt some dogs are easier to train than others. While many toy and teacup dogs are extremely easy to train, (Poodles come to mind,) many of the smallest dogs take inordinate amounts of time and patience to teach basic obedience skills. I believe many owners of very small dogs start out with the best intentions for training their dogs, but ultimately give up when the task proves harder and takes far more time than it first appeared.

3. Very small dogs are children. Some people openly admit it. Some don’t. Unfortunately, a great many owners of small dogs view their pets as toddlers, not dogs. They tend to relate to the dog as a parent rather than as an owner. A parent may tell a toddler “Yes” and “No, that’s not for you,” but very few parents tell their wobbly 2-year old to “Sit,” “Come,” or “Stay.” It’s just not done. Very small dogs kept as toddlers get a ton of love and very little in the way of discipline or expectations of good behavior. Why does a very small dog behave so badly? He’s in his terrible twos. He’ll grow out of it.

4. Not trainable. There is a prevailing view among many owners of very small dogs that obedience training only works for the big dogs. Let the dogs of the Working Group and the Sporting Group do the come, sit and stay bit. Little dogs are not bred to do that. They probably aren’t even trainable.

5. Why bother? If the dog doesn’t come when called, an owner can go to it and pick it up. When the dog misbehaves, the owner can go to the dog and pick it up. Small dogs do everything on a small scale, so if they misbehave, the impact is not that significant; and, its easy to pick them up to stop any annoyance.

Of all these reasons, the easiest nuts to crack are the last two. All dogs, big and small are trainable. True some of the small breeds take hundred of repetitions of a particular command or direction to tie it to a desired response. With enough time, patience, and loving guidance, a Chihuahua, or a Yorkshire Terrier can be taught basic obedience skills. I know talk is cheap, so you are going to need to see some evidence. I plan to provide that evidence in video presentations that will be a part of this website in the coming months. I will also prove my statement in my upcoming book on Small Dog Syndrome.

Why bother? Because all dogs, small and large fair better when they have a purpose. For most dogs, the ultimate purpose is working for their owners. The most contented, calmest, happiest dogs are those that give up control to their owners. When a human is in charge, a dog can relax. Dogs know humans are in charge when humans set limits and expectations for dogs and insist on compliance. Getting your dog to respond correctly to your wishes via obedience behavior is the first, best link in this relationship between people and dogs. Give it a try.

P.S. In all fairness, there are plenty of wild and crazy big dogs out there that would not know the difference between “Sit” and the Gettysburg Address. I just happen to know many more small dogs that fail to make this distinction.

Well sure, he's quiet now. . .

Other dogs
Vehicles
People
Wildlife
Snapping twigs
Shadows
Reflections
Planet Earth

Most breed books also warn against leaving Min Pins unattended in a fenced yard because they will almost always bark their silly heads off.

So here’s the situation. One of the keys to finally cracking the code on housetraining Royce was allowing him unlimited access to our fenced backyard through a dog door. Once he discovered he could use the backyard to relieve himself as often as necessary without bad consequences, he stopped mistaking the interior of our house for a toilet. You can see what’s coming next, can’t you?

The note from our neighbors arrived Saturday night. We found the note wedged in the frame of our front door upon our return from dinner and a movie. The note began: “My name is ___________ and I live adjacent to you. I truly don’t mean to be a burden, but your dog is making it extremely tough to enjoy our backyard. . .” The rest of the note was equally cordial, rational and sensible. My wife and I felt very bad. Not only had we caused our kind neighbor much aggravation. We also realized we had our head buried in the sand about Royce’s behavior. We sent a letter of apology along with a gift because we were both too embarrassed to face our neighbor.

At this point, the dog door is barred. Royce only goes out on a leash. He may still go into the backyard, but only when one of us is there to watch him. I am hoping Royce has learned his housetraining lessons and will not decorate our house in between outings, but I am not optimistic. I will not rehash the whole housebreaking bit other than to say this is a dog that has actually peed in his own crate and laid in the puddle.

The Solution?
What to do about that barking when unsupervised? I’ve tried everything you have ever read or heard about: Distractions; ambushes; obedience training; positive reinforcement for non-barking behavior.* The only thing I have not tried is an anti-bark device attached to his collar. I did buy one, but it sits un-opened in a cabinet in the kitchen. I decided not to use the device after 1. researching the effectiveness of the device and, 2. thinking about the consequences. For research, I not only did some online reading, I also talked to our customers at Kelsey’s Dog House who have tried various contraptions. Here is what I found:

Loud speakers and other area broadcast devices: These are anti-bark devices that project a loud and supposedly punishing sound whenever your dog barks. The sound is supposed to cover a wide enough area that it should suppress barking in a typical backyard. It doesn’t. None of these machines cover a large enough area, nor do they create a powerful enough sound to deter a dog from barking. Result: Ineffective.

Spray device: This type of collar attachment is supposed to spray your dog with either water or a benign chemical–usually citronella–in response to his bark. There are three drawbacks to this type of machine. First, it is nearly impossible to keep the spray focused on your dog’s face where it will do the most good. As the dog moves around, the spray nozzle’s aim point moves, so the spray rarely hits the target. Second, the reservoir in the device is very small and needs frequent refilling. Third, the citronella spray will saturate your dog’s fur and anything he comes near. You can imagine the drawbacks of this side-effect. Result: Ineffective.

Shrill noise collar attachment: This principle behind this type of aid is the same as the loud speaker device mentioned above. The only difference is the loud speaker is attached to your dog’s collar, so there is no getting away from it. No one I have talked to has said the attachment works consistently. Apparently, most dogs can get used to the shrill noise with repeated exposure, so the noise becomes an add-on to barking. This is a battery operated device and the battery tends to run down very quickly. Result: Ineffective.

Shock collar attachment: A shock device is usually contained in a unit about the size of two matchboxes stacked on top of each other. Some are smaller, but even the smallest are relatively large and heavy for a small dog’s neck. The shock unit has two metal prongs protruding from its underside. When strapped onto your dog’s collar these metal prongs press into your dogs neck. When the unit senses a bark, a capacitor—which stores an electrical charge—dumps a charge into on of the prongs contacting your dog’s neck. The electrical charge passes from that prong across the skin of your dog’s neck towards the opposite prong, causing a jolt of pain. The flash of pain should startle your dog and stop him from barking. In practice, the device works. Everyone I have talked to said as long as they were able to keep the electrical probes in good contact with their dog’s skin, the dog stopped barking instantly and permanently. After only a few jolts, the dog never barked again as long as the device remained in place. One owner said his dog learned to create a low intensity bark that fooled the device. He said the modified bark was low enough that he could live with it. Result: Effective.

It seems a shock collar is the solution to our problems with Royce. As I said at the beginning of this article, there are solutions to this problem. I don’t like any of them.

Not the Solution
Here is my beef with shock collar attachments. First, there is the physical consequence. Almost all of the dogs we groom who wear these devices have scabs on their neck from constant rubbing of the metal prongs. The prongs, though dull and rounded, still irritate skin. There is no evidence to support a claim the electric shocks cause any physical damage. Some people say that shock collar devices cause burns or other injury related to electric shock, but these claims are completely unsupported. Manufacturers say the shock delivered mimics the static shock you might feel touching a doorknob on a dry winter day. I beg to differ. The shock I have felt from one of these devices hurts quite a bit more than static electricity.

Physical impact aside, I do have a moral dilemma with shock devices. While I do not believe in punishment-based training, (There is an extensive article on the pitfalls of punishment here,) my dilemma goes even further. Forcing my dog to carry around a pain delivery system on his neck makes me queasy. Make no mistake. I am not an animal rights activist, nor am I a tree hugger in any sense of the word. I do love my dog as a dog, having never viewed him as a human or as my child. Ascribing human qualities to dogs causes nothing but trouble for dogs. I do believe dog’s have emotions, simple though they may be. I also believe dogs develop strong bonds of trust with worthy owners. I feel it is a betrayal of a dog’s trust and loyalty to saddle him with a source of punishment that is beyond the control of his owner.

There is nothing rational in my argument. After all, the delivery of punishment is entirely under the dog’s control. Bark equals pain. No bark equals no pain. These devices are very reliable. When a high-quality unit is adjusted properly, there is almost no chance a shock will be delivered as long as the dog does not bark. On better units, the shock intensity can be dialed up or down depending the individual dog’s tolerance level so there is no need to deliver any more pain than the absolute minimum necessary to get the job done.

What My Gut Tells Me
Having said all that, my gut tells me a shock collar is not the solution for Royce. I cannot, in good conscience, strap a source of pain to a loving companion that trusts me implicitly. I also feel a shock collar is a lazy solution—one that takes responsibility for Royce’s behavior off my shoulders. I realize there are dog owners who have tried everything else. Their incorrigible barkers will not respond to human direction. For them, the shock collar may be the last resort; and the difference between keeping a dog or turning it in to a shelter. It’s not for me and my dogs.

Let us Know
Just curious. If you have tried an anti-bark device on your dog, would you please let me and your fellow readers know whether it worked as intended and whether there were any drawbacks? If you represent a company that manufactures an anti-bark device, would you also please respond to this article so our readers could have more information about your product? Thank you! J.K.

*********

*To say I reinforced non-barking behavior is mis-leading. One cannot actually reinforce a behavior that does not occur. One can only reinforce active behavior that replaces undesirable behavior. For example, if Royce typically barks at a dog, I may pet and praise him for quietly sniffing the other dog instead of barking.

Is it time? (photo courtesy of John Hurn@flickr.com*)

Dogs Live Fast

Dogs live very fast lives. They gestate quickly. They mature quickly. During mid-life, they perform to a very quick beat. Their hearts beat rapidly, even at rest. Food goes down in very few gulps and then comes out the other end in a very short time. They focus on one thing for only a few seconds, and then they are on to something else. Their sleep-wake cycles are generally much shorter than our own. Even their normal body temperature of 99 to 102 degrees indicates their physiology is running in overdrive. It’s no wonder when dogs reach the late stages of their lives, their batteries run down very quickly.

The problems of old age for dogs generally mirror our own. Blindness; deafness; and lack of mobility due to arthritis; loss of muscle tone; and faltering balance are all part of the old age equation. Fittingly, a dog seems to retain his sense of smell right to the very end. What distinguishes old age in dogs from that of humans is the speed at which dogs deteriorate. While many humans take decades to show the wear and tear of a long life, dogs, which live life in the fast lane, seem to reach a point at which their health falls off a cliff.

An Old Dog

At this late stage, a dog is no longer himself. For example, although he may have been 100% reliable in doing his business outdoors, reduced mobility and incontinence may cause him to relieve himself indoors. He can no longer play, in the traditional sense, or even explore because getting around is a chore. He may be disoriented most of the time because his senses no longer give him the feedback he needs to navigate. Or, he may simply be too tired or ill to move around very much.

Many dogs develop serious disorders and illnesses in old age. A dog with serious health issues will need to make frequent, expensive, and stressful visits to the vet’s office. Old dogs with various disorders may experience varying degrees of chronic and acute pain. Pain medication may alleviate the pain but further dull a dog’s already reduced senses and alertness.

Before I go further, I want to re-emphasize that what I am writing here is only my opinion, especially with regard to suffering. I do not believe dogs suffer in the sense we humans would describe suffering. A dog in discomfort does not carry on a verbal dialogue with himself about his poor condition. He does not feel self-pity, nor does he agonize that his condition will worsen. I believe a dog does feel pain; and chronic pain does debilitate a dog. It makes him more inclined to hide, sleep, or act out of character. Having said that, I will also say a dog does not assign an emotional value to its pain as we humans often do. When we say, “That dog is suffering,” we are falsely assigning a human attribution to the dog.

What it All Means

What does all this mean for a dog and our bond with that dog? As each of us has our own unique set of behavior we call personality, each dog has its particular identity. Additionally dogs, like humans have a role to play, a purpose, if you will. I believe each dog has a job in this world, whether it is guarding a herd, watching the backyard, or simply sitting in your lap to comfort you. Some of these jobs are formal and trained, and others are assumed by accident or good fortune. In any case, dogs are generally their happiest when they play a role that seems to fit their identity. When your dog has reached a point at which he can no longer do any of the things that make him a dog, when he cannot do his job, then he becomes a shell of what he once was. He may still be physically present, but his spirit is gone. To compound the problem, when his poor health causes him to do things he never did before, such as accidentally peeing in the house, this causes him some degree of stress. A dog knows what he knows. When what a dog knows no longer applies, or something happens that seems beyond his control, he cannot rationalize to make sense of it.

Let’s throw you into the mix. You remember your dog as a happy, vital companion. Your positive energy and approval was food for his soul. When all you can do for your dog is fret over his deteriorated condition, you send wave after wave of distress and worry in his direction. If you become frustrated because your old dog is soiling the house or acting strange, that also sends a message. Your dog looks to you for safety and comfort. Although you will certainly do everything you physically can to make him comfortable when his health fails, you may also be inadvertently sending emotional signals that make your dog’s situation worse.

When It’s Time

There comes a point in a dog’s life when it is time to say goodbye. We would love to hang on to our best friend forever, but we know that is not going to happen. Your dog, though he may be ravaged by blindness, deafness, illness and other disorders, still looks like your dog. He is still warm and furry and his tail still wags when you pet him. Your memory of what he once was may fill in the details of a dog that is no longer there. He may not be suffering, but he is no longer fulfilled. It does not matter that he still looks and feels like your dog, because the dog you knew has departed.

Many of us take a long time to reach this conclusion and it’s understandable. Any decision to put a dog to sleep is difficult, feels premature, and is often tainted with guilt. Perhaps you feel your dog has brought you years and years of pleasure, and now you owe it to him to comfort and sustain him for as long as he is willing to carry on. Again, this is a perfectly understandable and completely rational thought from a human perspective. Consider everything I have written here about how it looks from the dog’s perspective.

Once your dog’s heath slips off the edge, nature has no intention of restoring him. His senses have dulled. His mobility, as he knew it, has gone. He struggles to orient himself. He may be in pain, or so diminished by pain medication that he cannot do any of the things he once loved to do. The feedback he receives from you is laced with pity. He cannot do his job. He cannot even do normal body functions correctly. Worst of all, none of this makes any sense to him. The kindest, most loving act you can do at this point is to gently help him find everlasting peace.

*The opinions express in the article are my own and not necessarily those of the provider of the attached photo.

Use the signs.

“Disculpe me. ¿Donde esta la puerta E-cinquinta de San Salvadore?” (Pardon me. Where is gate E-15 for San Salvadore?)

“I don’t speak Spanish. I don’t know what you want,” says the person whose help is being sought.

“¿Que?” (What?)

The person speaks to the visitor in a louder voice, almost shouting. “YOU SHOULD TRY TO FIND SOMEONE WHO SPEAKS SPANISH BECAUSE I CANNOT HELP YOU!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!”

“¿Que?” (What?)

Why am I talking about this situation in a website about small dog care? The airport situation I have just described is metaphor for how some of us try to communicate with our dogs.

Typically, when a dog does not seem to understand us on the first attempt, some of us try some rather crazy methods to get our point across, and yes, shouting is one of those methods. It gets very weird when we try and fail. Instead of trying something new, we do the same thing over and over again with increasing intensity: “I don’t speak Spanish. Understand? I don’t speak Spanish. I DON’T SPEAK SPANISH!! UNDERSTAND?! ARE YOU DEAF?!”

I have to quote Einstein, who said “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Punishing our dogs for bad behavior is one of those things we try over and over again. Even though punishment rarely works as intended, we keep turning to it, especially when we are frustrated with our dogs’ behavior.

How I Help

Here is how I try to help a lost passenger from another country. First, I point to the boarding card that the passenger is typically holding. When the passenger gives me the card, I look at the passenger’s name, the destination, and the departure gate, all of which are clearly printed there. Next, using a combination of the 20 or so Spanish words I know, I speak single words as I point to the overhead airport signs that are printed in different languages. Gestures and single words usually get the job done. If the passenger still seems lost, and I have time, I will lead them to the gate or at least to the correct concourse and then point in the direction of the gate. It gets the job done.

“Gracias, senor. Gracias!”

“De nada.” It really is nothing. We tend to complicate communication unnecessarily.

What Your Dog Understands

Here is how this is relevant to your dog. First, whether or not you have trained your dog using commands, your dog understands at least a few words of English simply through everyday experience. It is likely your dog knows, for example, “Walk,” “Out,” “Treat,” or “Cookie,” “Car,” or “Ride,” “Food/Dinner,” and, most importantly, “No,” and “Good dog!” He may pretend he does not know the words “Quiet,” and “Stop,” and “Get the hell off me,” or some variation of these. He probably does know what these mean and chooses to ignore them out of self-interest. If you would, hang on to the idea of dogs acting in their own self-interest. I am going to use this thought to tie everything together towards the conclusion of this article.

Second, your dog can read you like a book. If he is interested in doing so, he can probably read your body language and facial expressions. He is acutely attuned to your moods. (See my article “Barometer Dog” for more on your dog’s sensitivity to your moods and behavior.) There is even some evidence to support your dog’s ability to detect your general disposition using scent. (“Oh brother, this guy stinks like anger!”) This is important to keep in mind because it implies you do not have to clobber your dog over the head to get your point across. Your dog usually knows which way your thoughts are heading, sometimes even before you do.

Here is where we are so far. Through practical experience, you and your dog have some verbal language in common. Two of the most important words you share in common are “No,” and “Good dog!” You and your dog also have a non-verbal language in common, largely thanks to your dog’s sensitivity to your moods and behavior. Sounds like you have a great starting place for getting your point across to your dog.

Simple Language and Good Timing

Using simple language and, even more importantly, gestures and other physical signs, you can have a simple and effective conversation with your dog. It is, for example, completely unnecessary and even counter-productive to shout at your dog when he barks non-stop at something through the window. Your response? “Royce, stop barking this instant or I am going to come in there and let you have it!” Better to get your point across with a calm and assertive “No!” along with a snap of your fingers that implies, “Pay attention to me. I’m not happy with you at the moment.”

Timing is also critical to communication with your dog. Have you ever listened to one of those interviews on a cable news show in which the reporter and the interviewee are on opposite sides of the world? The reporter asks a question and it take several seconds for the interviewee to answer. It is so strained, it is almost embarrassing and it is certainly hard to follow. Sometimes, if the topic is rather dry, you might feel like changing the channel rather than enduring the long gaps in conversation. Same thing with your dog. If you take too long to respond to your dog’s behavior, your dog will change channels. By “too long,” I mean seconds. Your dog has an extremely short attention span. If he pees in the house and you respond to the accident more than a few seconds later, your dog will make no connection between peeing in the house and your response of displeasure. None, zero. To sum up, in order for your dog to connect what he has done and your response, you must respond within a second or two of his behavior. There is no exception to this rule.

Self-Interest

Let’s wrap it up with a discussion of self-interest. When a foreign passenger asks me for assistance, I’ve got that passenger’s full attention. He knows if he does not get the information he needs from me or someone else, he is going to miss his flight. Most international departures only happen once per day and most flights are usually fully booked. If he misses his flight, he is not only going to wait a full day for another chance, he might also not get on the flight leaving tomorrow. Earlier I said even though your dog may know the word “Quiet,” that does not mean he will respond to it. If there is a bigger payoff, (in his mind,) for continuing barking versus going quiet on your command, he is definitely going to continue barking. Even if he shuts up on command, he will likely resume barking after a few moments if that remains the best deal for him.

You can work your understanding of self-interest to your advantage. No matter what you want your dog to do, you will get your best results if you create a situation in which it is in the dog’s best interest to do what you want. The process is intuitively simple. If you want your dog to do something, praise and treats in response to good behavior is a must. If you want your dog to stop doing something, not only tell him what you want, give him a better alternative as well. “Hey buddy, let’s go play ball.” Let me be clear about that last part. Never bribe your dog away from bad behavior. For example, offering a treat to stop barking may seem like a good idea. Your dog’s simple logic will twist that treat into a reward for barking. I know some people who throw cookies at their dog’s feet to get him to stop jumping up on guests. Bear in mind they don’t tell the dog to stop jumping up. They bait the dog off people by throwing cookies on the floor while the dog is jumping up. Here is the result:

“I jump on people, and I am rewarded. Jumping on people is good.”

The correct strategy is to use good, clear communication to stop your dog from doing a bad behavior, and then, once the bad behavior has stopped completely, offer an alternative that the dog enjoys. This method becomes a 3-step process:

1. Tell your dog what you want using verbal and visual signals: “Royce, down.”
2. Give praise for a proper response: “Good boy!”
3. When your dog stops jumping up and is calm: “Let’s go play ball buddy.”

One More Alternative

Before I close, let me offer one other alternative for you. When in doubt, ignoring bad behavior is far better than punishing it. Given a dog’s short attention span, if his bad behavior is not getting the result he seeks out of self-interest, the bad behavior will die of neglect. At Kelsey’s Dog House, I will occasionally take a seat in one of the daycare rooms. Almost immediately, 3 or 4 dogs will begin balancing themselves upright against my legs. They want to get up in my lap. My response is to pretend they are not even there. I don’t speak to them. I don’t look at them. I don’t touch them. Within 30 or 40 seconds, without fail, all of the dogs who were seeking my lap will give up and walk away.

Telling a dog what you want is very simple. We humans, being complicated creatures, tend to complicate our communication with dogs. We find it hard to believe we can get our point across with single words, spoken calmly, using gestures to make our point.

Punished pup.
(photo courtesy of ~ggvic~ at Flickr.com)

.
Justice Served

For many of us, in some strange way, punishment feels like the right thing to do. Punishment, for lack of a better word, is traditional. It is justice served. You’ve heard comments such as these:

1. “Back in my day, we didn’t put of with that sort of thing. If a dog did wrong, we let him have it.”
2. “You are spoiling that dog. You should teach him some respect with a good whipping.”
3. “The best way to get a dog to stop pooping in the house is to rub his nose in it.”
4. “If that were my dog, I’d let him know who’s boss.”

I’ll Take Action

For some of us, there may another reason why we resort to punishment. Punishment can feel rewarding. I am not talking about satisfying a sadistic streak. I am talking about the relief you feel when you convert your own inner tension into physical action. Yelling at, or spanking your dog can be a stress reliever. I absolutely do not support using punishment as a personal stress reliever. I am merely pointing out that taking physical action can provide some stress relief for humans in the same way any gnawing problem seems to lessen when we take action.

Here is an example: Your dog is in the backyard barking at something on the other side of the fence. Perhaps you are sitting at your computer trying to get some work done while your dog continues to bark outside. You believe your dog is acting crazy. You know you should do something about it, but you are too busy at the moment to get up and address your dog. As your dog continues to bark, you can feel the stress building. Finally, the stress becomes too much. You rush out the door to take action against your dog. Whether or not your dog stops barking after you respond, you will likely feel better, (initially,) for having done something.

How Your Dog Sees It

That is the human side of the punishment equation. Let’s look at the canine side. Your dog has no sense of morality. Any behavior your dog engages in is the result of self-interest. A behavior gets a dog something it wants: food, shelter/territory, relief from discomfort, or satisfying stimulation. A behavior can also help a dog avoid something it does not want: injury, physical discomfort, loss of food, loss of shelter/territory, or loss of satisfying stimulation. When your dog barks non-stop at something over the fence, it is not doing so to annoy you. A dog barks non-stop to ward off what it perceives to be a threat. That pretty much kills the idea that delivering punishment is justice served. Justice and morality are not part of your dog’s understanding of the world; and punishing him will never teach him anything about justice or morality.

Does it Work?

That leaves the question: will your dog’s “inappropriate” behavior stop if you punish that behavior? I worded this question very carefully. From a dog’s point of view, there is no such thing as inappropriate behavior. All canine behavior happens in order to get the dog what it wants or avoid what it does not want. Also note that I said the behavior is punished. I did not say the dog is punished. There is a huge difference between punishing a behavior to make it go away and punishing a dog to make a point. That still leaves us where we started, will punishment make a behavior stop?

Here is the answer: Maybe.

The two keys to making punishment stop a behavior are:

1. Correct timing of the delivery of punishment.
2. Punishment severe enough to outweigh the benefits of continuing the behavior.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I know I got your attention with statement number 2. I’ll get to that in a moment. Let’s look at timing. In another article, I said many professional dog trainers use clickers during training. A trainer will first teach a dog that when the clicker clicks, a reward—usually a treat—is coming soon. If trained correctly, the sound of a clicker becomes so tightly associated with treats, the mere sound of the clicker becomes a reward. The reason a dog trainer uses a clicker has everything to do with timing. When a dog does something the trainer wishes to reward, he sounds the clicker immediately. The dog gets instant feedback that it has performed a correct behavior and a treat is forthcoming. The clicker’s value is in its immediacy. In a dog’s world, a treat that arrives at a dog’s mouth even a few seconds after a behavior occurs is too late to give the dog meaningful feedback. Seconds later is not good enough! The dog needs nearly instantaneous feedback to make a connection between the behavior and the reward.

Timing is just as critical with punishment. Unless punishment is delivered nearly instantaneously after the undesired behavior, that punishment will have no connection to the undesired behavior. Let’s say, for example, a person sees value in hitting a dog with a rolled up newspaper for peeing inside the house. How many seconds or minutes do you think will pass between the moment the dog pees and the moment the owner hits the dog with the newspaper? In this scenario, hitting a dog with a rolled up newspaper will be completely disconnected from the actual act of peeing in the house. Badly timed punishment will not only fail to stop an undesired behavior, it will have lousy consequences in other ways. I’ll get to those consequences soon. Let’s talk about severity of punishment.

Numerous studies have shown that mild forms of punishment are either ineffective, or produce diminishing returns. Dogs are thick-skinned. A light spanking, for example, may surprise a dog, but it probably does not hurt in any punishing way. Yelling at the dog, may only confuse or agitate him. Further, the more frequently a dog is punished, the more likely it is he will get used to the punishment. This tendency is known as habituation. It has been proven time and again that dogs and other animals, humans included, can actually build up a tolerance for punishment to a point at which punishment becomes nothing more than background noise.

In no way am I saying you should beat the daylights out of your dog. Just the opposite. Each dog has a different tolerance level for punishment, and there is no way for you to know what is not enough and what is too much. The risk of going too far and injuring your dog makes severe punishment out of the question.

Earlier, I said badly timed punishment will not stop an undesired behavior. Worse still, badly timed punishment may stop desirable behavior that was occurring at the moment the punishment was delivered. You may intend to hit your dog for peeing in the house, but if the first hit happens as the dog is walking towards you, the act of coming to you will be punished. Unless delivered with surgical precision and timing, punishment almost always impacts behavior that has nothing to do with your dog’s original crime.

The Consequences

If I still have not convinced you that punishment, in the traditional sense, is not the way to stop your dog’s undesirable behavior, let me put the last nail in the coffin. A dog’s loyalty to you, and his desire to work for you, is based on kindness and trust. Your dog responds positively to you because you are the kind and benevolent center of his world. As soon as you break out the strap, the rolled up newspaper, or even a loud and hostile voice, you begin to associate yourself with pain. As I said earlier, much of what a dog does hinges on avoiding pain and discomfort. Once you become known as a source of pain, your dog will begin to avoid you. Worse still, your dog may respond aggressively to fend off punishment. People who train dogs for the fighting ring use punishing stimulation as a method for promoting aggressive fighting behavior.

Let’s sum it up. If you yell and rant at your dog for barking, will he shut up? Probably. If you whack your dog for jumping up on you, will he stop jumping up? Probably. Will he learn a permanent lesson and not bark the next time in similar circumstances? Absolutely not. Will he never jump up on your again? Probably not. Will he begin to mistrust you and avoid you as much as possible? Almost certainly.

If physical punishment is not the answer to bad dog behavior, then what is the answer? That’s coming up next time. If you would like to read an excellent article that supports everything I have talked about here, check out this link to a position paper on punishment from the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior.

What?!.
(photo courtesy of Fotodawg@flickr.com)

1. Your dog peed on the
a. Oriental rug in your living room.
b. hardwood floor in your foyer.
c. down comforter on your bed.
d. carpet in your bedroom.
e. the recliner next to the fireplace.
f. a pair of expensive athletic shoes you left in the hallway.

2. Your dog pooped on any of the above items.

3. Your dog runs from you when you try to pick him up.

4. Your dog chews up any of the items listed in 1.

5. Your dog barks incessantly at
a. a squirrel he sees outside
b. a neighbor’s dog that lives over the fence.
c. your neighbor.

6. Your dog dashes out of an open door
a. at home.
b. at a friend’s house.
c. on your car.

We all get irritated by the things our dogs do that do not make sense to us. Sometimes our dogs do things that are so seemingly stupid/defiant/disrespectful, it gets us downright angry. We all have reached our breaking point at one time or another.

“Ooh, I’m going to open a can of whoop-ass on that dog! Rex! Come here! Now!”

Rex wanders over, thinking “What’s up boss? This can’t be good.”

WHACK! “If I told you once, I told you a thousand times, don’t jump up on Aunt Tillie!”

That’s it. Game over. Rex will never willingly or happily come to you again. He may still creep over to you, tail tucked, when you call him, because he really does want to please you, but he is forever going to be scared that his response will be punished. Or, he may simply think “To heck with this. I’m outta here.”

Am I telling you anything you did not already know? Probably not. Human nature still gets the best of us. Here is the thought process that leads to the problem I just described.

1. The dog does something to make you angry.
2. You believe the dog should know better, so now you are going to bring the dog back in line.
3. First, you are going to re-establish his respect for you by making him follow a command: “Rex, come!”
4. Next, you are going to make him regret his misbehavior. WHACK!
5. Finally, so there is no misunderstanding, you are going to explain it to him: “Rex, I told you to never blah, blah, blah.”

Now, let’s look at it from the dog’s point of view.

1. “Gotta pee. Hey, there’s a convenient place to relieve myself.”
2. “Ahh. That’s better.”
3. “Hey, is that a piece of cookie lying on floor in the corner. I’d better check that out.”
4. “My master just called me. I’d better see what he wants.”
5. “Ouch! What’d you hit me for? Why are you yelling at me? I came when you asked.”
6. “This guy’s crazy. I’m getting away from this loon before he hits me again.”

Of course your dog does not carry on a verbal conversation with himself. The words are used simply to illustrate why your dog associates a spanking with coming when called, not with the dirty deed he committed earlier.

I’m sure you have heard of clicker training. The reason dog trainers use clickers during training is to give a dog an immediate signal—the click of the clicker. That signal tells the dog he did something correct and a treat will be handed over in the next few seconds. The key to the clicker sound is it occurs within one second of a correct response from the dog or the dog will not make the association between response and reward. What does that tell you about a dog’s attention span?

When you call a dog over and then punish it for something wrong which it did even a few seconds earlier, the wrongdoing and punishment are disconnected. The punishment is more closely associated with coming on command. If it is your habit to call your dog over for punishment, all you are doing is ruining a desirable behavior.

There’s more. Punishment hardly ever works. I will cover the reasons why next time.

“People tend to forget that play is serious.”
David Hockney, British painter

“The opposite of play is not work. It’s depression.”
Brian Sutton-Smith, American folklorist

“Play energizes us and enlivens us. It eases our burdens. It renews our natural sense of optimism and opens us up to new possibilities.”
Stuart Brown, M.D. psychiatrist

photo courtesy of Airbeagle @ Flickr.com

Puppies awaken the child in us. Watch a person play with a puppy and what do you see? You see a person acting silly. I mean that in only the very best and affectionate terms. The person will speak to the puppy in a high-pitched tone, often repeating nonsense words. There is usually some hand clapping; goo-goo eyes; a lot of smiling; and an impromptu game of chase or follow the leader or rolling around on the floor together. Silly stuff. It does wonders for the person’s spirit and the puppy benefits too.

Fast forward a few years and take a look at the relationship between the former puppy and the person. The mood has changed. Dog ownership is serious.

“Bobby, sit. I said sit!!”

“Bobby, come! COME!!”

“No Bobby! Stop that! Get off me. I’m busy.”

What happened to the joy of puppyhood? Where is the fun of dog ownership? It is down the toilet. Don’t get me wrong. It is very important for your dog to respond to you correctly. It is important for a dog to know boundaries and limitations. I am afraid we have taken the notion of dog obedience so seriously, that our lives and the lives of our pets have been thrown out of balance. In the name of dog obedience, we have either forgotten about or discounted the importance of letting our guard down so our dogs can have a little fun. Or, we are so busy with our day-to-day work routine, that no time is set aside to have some fun with the dog. Or, the “down time” we do spend with our dog is so structured, it is devoid of spirit:

PDA Schedule Entries for Monday:

5:30 Arrive home from work

5:35 Check mail

5:45 Walk dog to end of block and back.

6:00 Prepare dinner

There are a host of studies that show how play is vital to the social development of all thinking creatures. Play-deprived animals grow up into socially stunted, emotionally withdrawn beings. Later in life, lack of play can lead to a variety of psychological and even physical problems. Since this is an article about having fun, I won’t bog it down with quotations from these studies. If you would like to check the literature, you can go here, here and here for starters.

We really don’t need formal studies to tell us play is important to a dog. Look at a dog that never gets an opportunity to let loose and play. The word that comes to mind is “dour.” We occasionally see a dog at Kelsey’s Dog House that probably has not done much more than get in an occasional walk with its owner. The dog seems lifeless and devoid of personality. If we try to play with it, it looks at us like we are crazy. If other dogs approach, it retreats.

On the flip side, adult dogs that frequently play with their owners or dog friends seem to thrive. They are more alert, happier, generally healthier and more energized than their play-deprived cousins. Here is an added benefit of play that is hard to quantify, but you will notice right away. If you precede and follow your formal training sessions with play, your dog will respond to your obedience commands with more enthusiasm than a dog that never plays with its owner. Whenever I plan to train a dog, I begin with some sort of informal game to energize the dog and get him to focus on me. After training is over, I finish with play because it is an added and much appreciated reward for a job well done. In fact, if I do my training work correctly, the line between informal play and formal training should be rather blurred. I want my dog to feel training is just another form of play—something to look forward to rather than dreaded.

Get silly!
(photo courtesy of wanderingone@Flickr.com

I know there are people who thrive on structure. Any form of play, even structured play, is good for a dog. There are many ways to engage in structured play with your dog. I’m talking about formal activities, such as flyball, agility competition, and even freestyle dancing, (which is not really all that freestyle when you consider that it requires forethought, a suitable location, and some equipment.) I love doing certain structured activities with my dogs; but we don’t do them very often because they take time and effort to put into motion. For a long list of structured activities with your dog, you can go to this website as a resource. Even better, take a look at The Little Dogs’ Activity Book: Fun and Frolic for a Fit Four-legged Friend. This is fun read and a get-started-immediately type book. I have written a review of it here.

Having fun with your dog can be extremely informal. If you have ever played with a puppy, you already know how to play with a dog: Make silly sounds. Run and jump around the house or yard. Get down on the floor and tickle your dog. Let loose for goodness sake. Your dog will be happier, healthier and more spirited. So will you!

Up next, a series on intentionally crossbred dogs, including Puggles, Goldendoodles, Labradoodles, Peek-a-poos and other poos.