BMOD ACADEMY… AND THEN THERE WERE FIVE!
Well heck – We were all excited that, for the first time in PPaws history we had ***5*** men out of 8 students in one of our academies. And it started out that way… but it wasn’t that way at the finish (sad face).
Many of us bemoan the fact that, while there are certainly a growing number of male trainers in the force-free world, the field is still overwhelmingly dominated by women. Maybe it’s due to hegemonic masculinity (go ahead, look it up!!!) – where men in our culture are supposed to be tough. At any rate, it’s rare for us to have more than one or two male human students in our courses.
What started out on October 7 with what was supposed to be a full academy of 8 students ended up with just 5 graduating. One (female) had a car accident out of town Saturday (academy started Monday) and couldn’t get a rental car from her insurance company in time to get back for the class. One (male) had a family emergency and they needed his car at home, so he had to leave. One (male) had brought his dog with him to the course and it turned out to be much too stressful for his dog, so he left and went home for the sake of his dog’s mental health. So we still ended up with a preponderance of males (3 men, 2 women) but not quite as many as we expected.
ACADEMY DOGS AND THEIR BEHAVIORS
We encourage students to bring their own dogs for this academy so they can continue to work on their modification protocols when they go back home. When some students don’t have a suitable dog for the course we call on our friends at Frederick County Animal Control (FCAC), and they always come through for us. This week we had a lovely variety:
Abbie Penland and her sweet Pembroke Corgi, Ahsoka, working on fear-related behaviors.
Brian Markowich with his gorgeous Belgian Tervuren, Kit, working on husbandry, especially vet handling.
Sara Millbrandt, with the very handsome German Shepherd, Armand (from FCAC) working on arousal, impulse control and handling.
Ross Miller, with the wonderful Rottweiler, Kurtis (from FCAC), working on husbandry and handling.
and Gerry Van Loon with the stunning Husky, Lorenzo (FCAC), working on arousal and mouthing.
ACADEMY DOG PROTOCOLS
Each of the students is required to keep a journal of the work they do with their dog for the week.
Here are snippets from their journals:
AHSOKA and ABBIE
Abbie says: “Ahsoka is fearful of novel objects. She will alarm bark and sometimes howl upon discovery of a novel object. After the initial discovery of the object she will back up while growling. If the novel object is something that is presented to her (i.e. someone holding something), Ahsoka has whale eye, will back up and sometimes growl. She will avoid the novel object. Ahskoa also jumps at loud sounds and sudden movement.”
Behavior Modification Plan for the week:
Abbie says: “I plan to try several operant and classical protocols. My operant protocols will be Targeting and Find it and I will use CC&D and Treat & Retreat as my classical protocols. This week I hope to counter condition and desensitize Ahsoka to novel objects so that she is happy, relaxed, and can ignore novel objects so that she no longer barks repetitively at them. I then hope that Ahsoka choses to readily and happily investigate novel objects that she discovers and does not react when surprised by loud noises, people, or sudden movements.”
After two days, Abbie abandoned this plan and we focused on doing scent work (my Nose Games protocol) and confidence building operant behaviors such as Targeting and Leslie McDevitt’s Pattern Games. Abbie realized that helping her dog become more confident in general was a better approach than individual one-at-a-time Counter Conditioning and Desensitization to a multitude of objects. It worked well – by Thursday Ahsoka was happily dashing across the floor when released to go find the hidden treats, and clearly much more confident moving around the Peaceable Paws campus. Score!
KIT AND BRIAN
Brian says: “During normal vet exams and vaccinations, Kit can become stiff and softly growls during the exam. I gently restrain him and he “tolerates” the exam but he does not like it.”
Behavior Modification Plan for the week:
a. Greeting protocols to get initial contact with staff off on the right foot. (Follow me and Say hi)
b. Chin Rest
c. CC&D with food during physical contact/exam by strangers or new people.
Brian was able to improve Kit’s comfort level with introduction to new humans by teaching him to do a “Touch” behavior to an offered hand (for a click and treat) – with a different partner each day. He made some progress with the Chin Rest – but still has a long way to go. He had the greatest success with feeding Kit squeeze cheese from a Kong while gradually increasing the contact by his partner. By Day 5 he did: “9 long touches with talking with 2 hands down both sides. Shoulder to tail. He actually stayed in his spot while I stepped away and got more treats, so this is working for him!”
ARMAND AND SARA
a. Touch sensitivity 1. Veterinary visits: touching face and muzzle wearing 2. Harness: very wiggly, jumpy and occasionally mouthy
b. Impulse Control: 1. Takes treats roughly 2. Pushes past handler at doors 3. High arousal around other canines; potential for conflict
Behavior Modification Plan for the week:
1. Bucket game: Empower his participation at a vet visit (switched to Chin Rest)
2. CC&D: Touch–developing a positive association with touch of head and muzzle
3. WAIT! development of impulse control
4. CC&D: Muzzle-developing a positive association with wearing a muzzle
Armand did very well with the CC&D for touch, and by the end of the week was happily shoving his nose into the muzzle (for squeeze cheese). He was a rock star with the “Wait for the Food Bowl” game for impulse control, and did better with the Chin Rest than the Bucket Game.
KURTIS AND ROSS
Ross says, “The shelter reported sensitivity around his face and neck, but we didn’t see that here, so this week, I will be working on Kurtis’ sensitivity to being touched around his abdomen, which we did observe here.
Behavior Modification Plan for the week:
The plan is to use desensitization and counter-conditioning (CC&D), along with teaching him the Bucket Game to help Kurtis feel more empowered. By helping Kurtis feel more comfortable with touch, and also giving him a way to say “no” to handling when he’s uncomfortable, the expectation is that he won’t feel the need to escalate to growling and snapping.
In addition to the CC&D Kurtis also switched to the Chin Rest instead of the Bucket Game, as this seems an easier protocol with which to see progress in the short 6 days we have with the dogs.
On Day 5 Ross said: “This was my favorite session of the entire academy. We had Abbie do the CC&D to see how easy it would be to generalize to other people. The CER (conditioned emotional response – dog looking for treats after touch – that tells us he has made the association between treats and touch) appeared on only the second the repetition, and never disappeared throughout the session. Even when changing hands, we didn’t need any warm-up repetitions. The CER was present immediately.
After the final recorded step, Abbie did a series of light touches down Kurtis’s back and both sides, and we still never lost the CER. Then I jumped in and did just one or two light touches to warm up. I then touched Kurtis from shoulders to rear end, on both sides, and everywhere under his chest and belly. Once again, we never lost the CER. Great way to end the week!
LORENZO AND GERRY
Reported Behavior: During moments of heighted excitement or overstimulation, such as playtime or greeting Lorenzo exhibits arousal mouthing behavior.
Behavior Modification Plan for the week
Gerry says: I plan to try several protocols and gentle play to reduce Lorenzo’s arousal mouthing. The protocols and play will incorporate operant (positive reinforcement) conditioning to modify Lorenzo’s behavior. We decided to utilize the protocols, “Go Wild and Freeze,” “Trade,” “Leave it,” and structured play including “Tug of War” and “Flirt Pole.” Additionally, we will introduce the Basic Good Manners protocols of Friendly Greeting, Sit, and Down
Lorenzo did very well with all his protocols. The structured play with the Flirt Pole worked very well, especially when “Trade” was added to prompt him to give up the toy easily and settle in anticipation of the next invitation to play. Gerry also learned the value of carrying a toy with him and offering it to Lorenzo when he would get excited and start to mouth. “Here, put your mouth on this instead!!!”
OUTCOMES
A great week for all – everyone made excellent progress and graduated with honors. Of course, Ahsoka and Kit went happily home with their humans at the end of the weeks. Extra great news – Lorenzo and Armand both had adopters, and both adopters came and watched the graduation presentations! Kurtis, however, is still available at FCAC – and he is a GREAT dog – we all fell in love with him…! If you’re looking for a canine companion – or know someone who is, spread the word!!! You can find him here: https://frederickcountymd.gov/114/Adopt
Oh yes - we got to see the Northern Lights here - a Bucket List item for me!!!
And by the way - if you might like to attend one of our Academies, our 2025 dates are up on our website - feel free to check them out - and sign up!!! https://peaceablepaws.com/peaceable-paws-intern-academies/
Next blog – a Bloodhound Behavior Consult!
Until next time…
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
These vignettes were so very interesting to read. Thank you all BM folks and Pat.