All of us at Peaceable Paws hope you had a happy Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or whatever you celebrate! Sunny says “Happy Howlidays” to you all…
And let me clarify – I do change the names of the dogs and their humans in the cases I share here for client confidentiality purposes… just so you know… and I do get their written permission to use their dogs’ photos. So we’re good there. In case you were wondering...
SPENCER THE BABY HAVANESE
Okay, he’s not really a “baby” – at the age of 6 months he’s actually an adolescent . I’m always getting on trainers’ and clients’ cases for calling their adolescent dogs “puppies.” We tend to excuse behaviors if they are puppies, when as adolescents we should be starting to hold them to different behavior standards. (In my defense, I didn’t call Spencer a puppy, I called him a “baby” – because he’s tiny and smooshable and cute!)
The Martins, a well-educated, well-meaning and very committed family (the best kind of client!), brought him to see me because he is somewhat timid, has recently bitten the vet and the groomer, and has displayed some aggression with the family. It is not unusual for a timid pup to start offering aggressive behaviors as they reach adolescence and start to discover behavior strategies that keep them safe. At some point the young dog growls, and the person (threat) backs away. "Hey," says the dog - "that works!" The growl is thereby reinforced, and as we know, behaviors that are reinforced increase, hence the adolescent becomes more and more aggressive.
Spencer’s timidity is explainable in large part because they unwittingly purchased him from an Amish puppy mill. Enough said. However, they acquired him at the age of 9 weeks and also didn’t realize the critical importance of doing some super-socialization to try to make up for lost time, so here we are at 6 months with some socialization deficits.
Fortunately, Spencer is not as bad as he could be. I’ve seen much worse. He played happily with his “boys” – ages 12 and 18, and warmed up to me reasonably quickly (chicken!). The resource guarding was easy – stop bugging him when he has something and stop trying to take things away from him! Teach him to Trade, play Trade as a fun game where he frequently gets the good thing back, and use the same cheerful demeanor when you need to get something from him that he can’t have and/or that could be harmful to him. We did a little Trade with chicken and Spencer happily and easily gave up his cheese-filled lamb ear with no sign of aggression. The boys did want to "test" him, and I explained why this was a very bad idea. They all seemed to understand. (See: https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/training/protocol-for-teaching-a-safe-trade-with-your-dog/ )
We introduced Counterconditioning and Desensitization (CC&D) for handling and husbandry tools, they are signing up for a Basic Good Manners Class, looking for a Fear-Free/Force-Free groomer, and they will be doing some private Co-Operative Care training with Lucy, my practice manager, so that vet and groomer visits will be easier. We are also doing CC&D for crates and the car. Spencer has formed a negative association with those because they have always predicted a visit to the vet or groomer.
Meanwhile, we have pushed back his neutering appointment (scheduled for January 8) so the CC&D work they are doing with crates and the car isn’t ruined by yet one more trip to the vet. Nothing like trying to convince him that crates are wonderful and then within the week taking him to the scary vet for surgery and an overnight stay. And yes, they will make it a practice to start taking him fun places in the car to offset the necessary vet and grooming trips.
This family was very appreciative to learn about new ways to understand and interact with their dog, and I am very optimistic that they will be hugely successful helping Spencer have a great quality of life. Gotta love clients like this!!!
SOJOURN, THE KOREAN JINDO MEAT DOG
Okay, so I will admit it right up front… I am not a fan of rescue groups bringing unsocialized dogs here to the U.S. from other countries. Seriously. We have enough homeless dogs here already, and so many of the imported rescues are unsocialized or poorly socialized, may be accustomed to street life in a semi-rural town, or have spent their entire lives in a cage until they are grown up enough to be eaten. So let’s bring them here, adopt them to a home in Washington D.C. or New York City where they are terrified of the horrific level of sounds and activities around them. Okay – I’m getting off my soapbox now.
Debbie adopted Sojourn 7 years ago. He has been on Fluoxetine (generic for Prozac) the entire time. It has helped him some, but according to Debbie he is still a bundle of anxiety much of the time. But she only brought him to see me because he has started showing aggressive behaviors in the past few months, especially toward the other dog in the home, over resources.
So – one of my mantras: “Any time we see behavior change in an adult dog, something else has changed. Either something internal, something external, or both.”
Sojourn is under regular vet care, so nothing medical (internal) leaps out. But, sure enough, Debbie moved to a new house two months ago, and a dog he had lived with in the past just recently rejoined the family. Also, the new house is closer to the road, so there is more environmental stress, and there is no fenced yard so he spends some time on a runner in the back yard.
Oh, and according to Debbie he “steals food.” (Yes, he's been doing that for 7 years.) I suggested we call it “counter surfing” rather than “stealing” and explained that dogs are opportunistic eaters – especially dogs who may have had an impoverished early life. (Changing our language can change the human’s perception of the dog and his behavior.) To Sojourn, it just makes sense to take and eat food if it’s there. The answer to this one? Management!!!
She also said he wasn’t “food motivated” (does anyone else see the irony of a dog who isn’t “food motivated” but he “steals food”?). I shared with her that animals who truly aren’t food motivated starve to death – and explained that stress can cause anorexia. In most cases, dogs who aren't "Food motivated" for training are feeling some degree of stress. Given that Sojourn is anxious much of the time, his low interest in food is explainable. She said he won’t take treats from strangers… I was seated when he came in (as I do with all my clients) in order to be less scary, and within minutes he was taking chicken from me easily.
She also said he wouldn’t hold a sit – that as soon as he gets the treat he pops up. (An hour into the session I had him at a “Sit” duration of 10 seconds.) No, he has never had any significant training… He also did well for me with “Find it” (treat at my feet) and “Search” (treat tossed a distance away).
Sojourn and Addie (the other dog – a Lab mix) get along well and play together most of the time, so we didn’t need to do a CC&D program to fix their relationship – just manage when there are resources around, and reduce Sojourn’s overall stress load to keep him further below his bite threshold.
I also suggested she talk to her vet about possibly trying a medication cocktail – I know that Veterinary Behaviorists sometimes do this when they think a medication isn’t working as well as we would like it to. And – some private basic training sessions with Lucy – as a class environment would be far too stressful for him.
Behavior Modification Protocols/Minimum Commitments (more is fine/better):
Because aggression is caused by stress, we listed Sojourn’s stressors (we got 14) and assigned strategies to address each. By minimizing his stressors we can move him farther away from his bite threshold and decrease the potential for aggressive behavior.
Here are our priorities, protocols and commitments:
1. People – CC&D at least 1 time per week, 15-20 minutes or more. Find a location (park?) where people will pass by at a sub-threshold distance fairly frequently.
2. Separation from Desiree – Use the UPenn Relaxation Protocol – 5-10 minutes, at least 3 times per week. Progress slowly, always setting Gogi up for success.
3. Nose Games – 5 to 10 minutes, at least 3 times per week.
4. Pattern Games – The 1-2-3 and any others you like – 5-10 minutes at least 3 times per week.
5. Find it/Search – 5-10 minutes, at least 3 times per week.
6. Training – Contact Lucy by January 15 to schedule training
I doubt that we will ever be able to help Sojourn be completely relaxed in his world, but I am optimistic that we can reduce his stress and manage his world enough to avoid future incident of aggression with Addie, and to give him a better quality of life in general. Fingers are crossed…
A TOUGH CASE
Okay – this one is short – and not so sweet. This was a lovely, high-energy Labrador Retriever whose human is at her wits end. Although Reba wasn’t nearly as active as the Irish Terrier mix I saw a couple of weeks ago, she was very busy – constant, non-stop (and much worse at home, according to Karen) - enough to drive Karen to tears. Karen alternated between sobbing and anger, with an occasional moment of calm when I could see the good person that she was. Every time I made a suggestion for things she could to to work with Rebel, she would burst out - "I can't do anything with her when she won't focus for more than three seconds. Just make her STOP!!!"
For the first time ever in my 28 years as Peaceable Paws, I ended our 2-hour session after just 30-minutes, referred her to a nearby behaviorally-knowledgeable veterinarian for a discussion about medication, and didn't charge her anything for our brief session. She agreed to come see me again after she meets with the vet. (Of course I have referred to VBs before, but never had to abort a session!)
ON THE FARM – WE GET THE BEST SUNSETS!!!!!
AND A LOVELY SUNRISE (just this morning)
MY ANIMAL COMPANION LIFE LIST
A few years ago I decided I wanted to make a life list of all the animal companions I have shared my life with over the years – at least all the ones I could remember. I shared all 35 dogs in my last blog. Here are the 40 cats (notice the Wizard of Oz period?). I will do horses next blog... I’m still waiting to see your life lists!!!
Cats
Dusty
Snowflake
Harlequin
Pippidoo
Misty
Binka
Binka the Imposter
Peekaboo
Trouble
Pogo
Polly
Gravel
Orange Julius
Brows
KW
Reno
Fiat
Skuttlebutt
Guberif
Tofu
Jackson
Kahlua
B. Leonard Eel
Puff
Tinsel
Gewurztraminer
Barney
Viva
Blue
Auntie Em
Dorothy
Munchkin
Flying Monkey
Kansas
Scarecrow
Buffy
Stripes (Sir Stripes Talksalot)
Stars (Reach for the Stars)
Bear
Xander
HAPPY HOWLIDAYS!!!
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
Director, Peaceable Paws Trainer Academies
Peaceable Paws LLC, Fairplay, MD: www.peaceablepaws.com
APDT #1238
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