Yes. We’re pig lovers. We got our first pig many years ago (2007) – Sturgis. I was coming home from giving a seminar at Sue Sternberg’s place in upstate New York and stopped to visit a friend, Bill Lloyd (best man at our wedding in 1987!) at the shelter where he was Executive Director. As he was giving me the tour, he took me to the barn and asked if I knew anyone who might want a baby potbellied pig.
I laughed and said “No!” but when I called Paul to let him know I was on my way home I asked him, and he said “YES!!! You never knew I loved pigs, did you…???!!!” So baby Sturgis came home with us.
We lost Sturgis to old age in 2018 – and then adopted Dexter as an adult a year later. (He kept escaping from his neighborhood backyard and Animal Control was threatening to impound him if he got loose again.) We said good-bye to Dexter this past summer (age-related medical issues) and weren’t really planning on getting another…
Then last week I got a text from my friend Bethany at Frederick County Animal Control (FCAC). They had
a stray adolescent pot-belly – black, just the right color! So yes, we have another pig. He is settling in well – loves to follow the horses, pushes the dogs around… and we have named him Fred (or Freddie) short for Frederick Cute And Curious (FCAC).
NOW THE DOGS
Two client last week – an Aussie who is very reactive to dogs and humans, and an adolescent Pit mix who is very high-energy/high arousal (surprise, NOT!!).
MISS MAPLE, THE AUSSIE
First, Miss Maple, the Aussie. Maple was adopted from ARMA (Aussie Rescue of the Mid-Atlantic) last February, and MAJOR kudos to ARMA – they give terrific support to their adopters. They paid for Maple’s humans to do private training (many sessions) with a force-free trainer who really helped Michael and Sam with her adjustment period, using Pattern Games and a Relaxation Protocol. Maple has adjusted well to life in their home, but still has very challenging reactivity when she’s out in the real world, so ARMA paid for them to do a consult with me. Way to go rescue group, can’t sing enough praises for ARMA!!!
Maple warmed up to me immediately, so we began by adding some protocols to their repertoire that would hopefully help with attention and focus when they are walking her in their busy downtown DC neighborhood:
Tug – Maple gets very happy about toys, so inviting her to engage in tug may be a successful strategy for drawing her attention away from the stimuli that trigger her reactive barking. Tug used to be frowned upon, erroneously believed to cause aggression. Now we know better. I do like having some rules for Tug to ensure appropriate play:
o Only tug sideways. Vigorous up-and-down tugging can injure your dog’s spine.
o Tug gently for puppies and senior dogs. Healthy adult dogs can engage in vigorous tugging, but pups and seniors could be injured by too much tug-intensity.
o Teach your dog to wait politely until invited to tug. Say “Wait,” then hold up the tug toy. If she jumps for it, say, “Oops!” and hide the toy behind your back. Repeat until you can hold up the toy and she doesn’t try to grab it. Then you can say, “Take it!” and push the toy toward her.
o Teach your dog to give you the toy when you ask for it – then play again!
o If your dog is already an aroused tugger – jumping on you, or nipping/grabbing the toy – stand on the other side of a baby gate or inside an exercise pen to play Tug.
o Children only play Tug (under direct supervision!) with a dog who knows and respects the rules.
o Your dog can play-growl during tug. You should be able to tell that this is playful by analyzing the rest of her body language: playful dogs have wagging tails and a loose, wiggly body. If she growls in an intense way, with hard eye contact, a stiff tail or body, grabs at the toy with a hard mouth and gets your hand, or moves toward you aggressively, Tug is not a good game for her. If you can’t tell whether she’s resource-guarding or playing, ask a force-free professional for help!
o Don’t let anyone Tug with your dog who won’t follow your rules!
Touch – Some dogs get really happy/excited about Touch (nose touch to designated object. When this is the case, it can be used to help move their emotional brain from worried to happy, and thus reduce reactive behavior.
We usually start with nose targeting, because dogs tend to investigate with their noses, making a “nose touch” an easy behavior to prompt and capture. If you offer the palm of your hand to your dog with your fingers pointed toward the floor, most dogs will stretch forward and sniff it. Mark (click a clicker or use a verbal marker, such as the word “Yes!”) and give your dog a treat, and you’re on your way! If your dog needs a little encouragement, you can rub a bit of a tasty treat on your hand, and when she sniffs it, mark and treat. Most dogs learn to touch the proffered palm within just a few tries.
As with all behaviors we teach, as soon as you can predict that your dog is going to touch your palm with his nose when you offer it, begin using the verbal cue; I use “Touch!” Note that if she already thinks an open palm is the cue to offer her paw to you for a “Shake,” then you can offer a closed fist or two fingers in place of the open palm.
Maple hadn’t previously learned Touch, but caught on with lightning speed – not surprisingly, since she is a brilliant Aussie...
Choice – As the wonderful Dr. Susan Friedman reminds us, “The opportunity to control one’s own outcomes is essential to behavioral health.” Our dogs’ lives to so controlled, it’s no wonder we’re seeing an escalating level of canine behavioral challenges – they have very little opportunity to control their own outcomes! Adding Choice into a dog’s routine really can help with a wide variety of behaviors.
We usually start by teaching the Choice concept with food or toys, and then generalize it to other opportunities. With Maple, we showed her one toy and named it (Stuffy), then showed her a second toy and named it (Stick), then had her Wait while we presented both toys, and said “You Choose!” and encouraged her to pick one. She chose Stick (a solid cotton fetch toy) and we immediately threw it for her to fetch. She knew right away that she loved this game!
Counter Conditioning and Desensitization (CC&D) – Finally we addressed the core concern, Maple’s reactive
behavior. Our training center is 80 feet long. We put Maple and her humans at one end, and set up a visual barrier at the other end. I entered the room with my Kelpie, Kai, behind the barrier, and Maple barked. Slightly over threshold, but not bad – and she was able to eat the chicken treats Micael offered her, so we were able to continue. We did this for about 15 minutes, feeding a bit of chicken every time Maple looked at Kai. We moved out from behind the barrier (occasionally ducking back behind to give everyone a break) and were ultimately gradually able to move some 20 feet closer (zigzagging, not moving directly toward her), ending the session about 60 feet from Maple.
We were all pleased with how she did here, and her humans were optimistic that they could find a location near their home to work at an appropriate threshold distance and set Miss Maple up for success. I look forward to hearing about their progress and hope they will be back for some Cognition work and follow-up with the CC&D as I suggested.
Miss Maple was a tired girl at the end of our session!!
FAITH, THE ADOLESCENT PIT MIX
Faith was adopted just recently by a retired lady with considerable prior dog experience. Still, she realized pretty quickly that she was going to need some help with Faith, as the young dog’s energy level is pretty overwhelming. Indeed, I had to call Lucy in to keep Faith engaged so Lynne and I could talk without being constantly body-slammed. Other than that, Faith is a very friendly, outgoing normal dog, just at the high-end of the adolescent energy continuum. So, we were able to focus on establishing routines and implementing enrichment protocols that would help tire Faith out and direct her energy in more appropriate ways:
Scatter Feedings: Faith has a fenced yard, so I suggested that Lynne take at least one meal per day and scatter it all over the yard so Faith has to hunt for it. Great enrichment, and scent work can be very tiring.
Frozen Kongs: As Faith tends to bug Lynne constantly when she’s trying to work at her desk, we agreed that feeding her other meal per day frozen in a Kong could keep Faith busy and give Lynne time to attend to her desk work without interruption.
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Flirt Pole: I do love a Flirt Pole for canine exercise especially for high-arousal dogs. And if the dog wants to redirect to the handler, the human can stand inside an exercise pen and run the toy at the end of the pole around the outside of the pen. Protected contact!!!
Exercise Pen: Another great use for an exercise pen – I suggested to Lynne she could set it up to enclose her desk/work area so Faith couldn’t bug her even if she finished her frozen Kong.
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Nose Games: As described in detail in my previous blog, “Beyond Sit and Down,” https://www.puppyworks.com/trainertalk/pat-miller-blog/beyond-sit-and-down-a-good-time-was-had-by-all-and-the-cat Nose Games is a great way to engage your dog’s scenting abilities, and tire her out at the same time. Dogs and humans usually both love this game.
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Go Wild and Freeze: This teaches the dog a cue to help her settle when she is starting to get too aroused. The short version – stand in front of your dog, fold your arms and say “Freeze.” If she sits, mark and treat. If not, cue “Sit,” then mark and treat. Repeat until she auto-sits when you fold your arms and say freeze. Now get her a tiny little bit excited and do “Freeze.” (If she can’t freeze you got her to excited.) Very gradually increase your (and her) level of excitement until she will easily Freeze from high arousal.
Lynne agreed to practice at least several of these protocols every day. This is, of course, just a start. Faith needs to learn all her Basic Good Manners skills, so Lynne signed up for Lucy’s “Wild to Mild” class – a class that high-arousal dogs can take so that they will be more successful for the next step, their Basic Good Manners class. We look forward to seeing Lynne and Faith back here at Peaceable Paws very soon.
AND ZOOMIES!!!
Do you love Zoomies as much as I do? Especially when your Zoomer gets your other dogs to join in? I caught this video in our back yard the other day. (Note that Stripes the cat is being a calm bystander…)
NEXT
Hey, it’s Thanksgiving Week – Happy Tofurkey Day!!!
I do have two private clients this week, so more fodder for our next blog: a 7-year-old Airedale/Irish Terrier mix with human-directed aggression, and an 18-month-old Pit/Lab/GSD with fear and anxiety. See you then!!!
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
