Practicing doing nothing with dogs

Doing nothing with a dog or dogs for a period of time IMHO is a very profound bonding experience that is comparable to and probably more rewarding than meditation. This not only helps still your mind (we all need some down time and recharging once in a while) but also helps animals be more accepting of you and be comfortable in your presence. I can vouch for this from my own experience of being type A, all hands on deck, hit the ground running person at 5PM to being cool hand Luke by 5:15,at least calm enough to be around our rabbits without stressing them out. Below steps helped me be calm and do nothing around around my own pets and also around unfamiliar (timid, scared, over active, even aggressive*) dogs. I had to work hard to gain this skill whereas my wife thinks that I was born with this ability. From her perspective I am the Yoda of doing nothing and nothing irks my wife more than watching me do nothing 🙂

Moving !?

Moving can be a stressful experience at times for both you and your pets.  However, this is the perfect opportunity to introduce and help acclimate your pets (especially dogs) in the new environment by setting expectations, boundaries and rules. This is a good time to re-establish yourself as the pack leader and get back on the saddle in a calm and confident manner.

Following are few things to consider in helping accomplish the same in your new environment:

– You are already at an advantage establishing the hierarchy since you initiated the move and know the new environment better than they do. Use this knowledge to gain familiarity and exude confidence around you in the new environment.

– Practice having a calm and confident energy about you around the pets in the new environment. Fake it at first if you have to and eventually become it.  They will notice this change in you and gravitate towards you looking for support and guidance as they begin to investigate the new environment.

– Introduce the new environment to your dogs outside-in.  Start with a walk around the block circling inwards to the street, perimeter of the yard, the house and finally enter the house through the door they will mainly use in the forward path.  Don’t rush through the process and take your time letting them absorb the surroundings in your calm presence. Reward and encourage good behavior frequently during this process.  Once inside the house introduce and keep them close to the area (patio door, kitchen, dinette area) where they can be let out frequently to relieve themselves and avoid scent marking inside the house.  Make a big deal and reward them when they relieve themselves outside in the yard.  Introduce them to the rest of the house one room at a time and take your time doing so since this helps set boundaries and establish hierarchy.  Don’t forget to reward desired behavior during this process.

– Be wary and take precautions if your dog is timid, easily scared and at flight risk.  Keep them on a leash and/or under close supervision at all times (especially when you let them out).  It is not uncommon for dogs to run away from new unfamiliar environments in search of their old home.  It helps to make the new place more friendly by establishing your presence, spreading familiar smells and objects (toys, treats, clothes, beds).

– I hope this gives you the general idea and in essence you know your dog the best. Work your own ideas and practices (unique to your situation and your dogs) into above steps to help acclimate and lead your pack in the new environment.

Separation Anxiety in Dogs

Uh-oh, Did I do that?

One way of understanding this issue is from your dogs perspective. This might help you better understand the issue and possible solutions with better outcomes.

Below are some scenarios from your dogs perspective (bearing in mind that you are probably not the pack leader).  Your dog knows your routine very well and will start getting agitated or anxious in anticipation of your departure and ensuing separation:

From the dog’s perspective a middle ranking pack member might wonder.. “Where are you going after all the fun we had together? Don’t you know that pack members need to stick together?” They might appear a bit concerned and try to call you back initially but will quickly settle down and wait for your return. Over a period of time such dog’s will quickly learn and adjust to your routine.

A lower ranking dog might work itself into a frenzy (wide eyed, panting, shaking, whining, crying, clingy..) in anticipation of your departure thinking “Oh no, they are leaving me alone again! When will they be back? Why can’t I go with them? I have to be with my pack at any cost.. “. They might try to claw thru’ their crate, front door or window, have accidents in the house and basically demonstrate undesirable traits as a result of their angst and nervous energy.

A higher ranking dog might think.. ”Hey, Where do you think you are going? You cannot leave without me! WAIT!” They might get all worked up hit 0-60 in a few seconds and destroy things, pick on lower ranking pack members, bark incessantly or even correct you upon your return.

From our perspective we tend to think.. “What’s wrong with my dog? He has everything he needs. I took him for a walk and even played with him. What more does he want?  I have to leave for work soon and I can only imagine what’s going to happen this time.. Let me try being firm and lay down the rules..” and it only snowballs from there since dogs pick up on your frustration and anxiety which in turn feeds their nervous energy.

Ever wonder about a wild dog or stray’s perspective? It’s probably something like.. “We are leaving the den to patrol our territory, check for intruders and forage for food..” Able pack members leave the den as a group and the rest stay behind and take care of the den. They are not confined to their den and leave when needed taking care not to stray too far or attract potential threats. Their reward for staying put is possibly food, continued pack membership and play time when the rest of the pack returns.

We can learn a lot about the true power of ‘pack’ from wild dogs and strays. What it means to form and maintain a close knit pack with calm and confident leadership, pack co-operation with minimal conflict and clear communication. They may not be as well “cared for” or “safe” as domestic dogs but they live a full free life on their own terms.

Getting back to the topic.. Once you understand what triggers your dog’s separation anxiety, start working on down playing those triggers one by one by making associated activities less significant. Work on getting your dog conditioned to the separation by leaving frequently with increased intervals of absence. Start with just a minute or two by stepping outside the house, add a few minutes by walking up to the mailbox and work your way up to an hour or so, this will help them realize that you frequently leave only to return and that it’s no big deal. It’s important to keep your departures and arrivals low key! Pay no attention to your dog remember Cesar’s advice “No touch, No speak, No eye contact”. Give them attention only after you settle down and they are calm. It also helps to kennel or crate train your dog and keep him occupied as you get ready to leave and while you are gone. A stuffed kong, toy puzzles, companion dogs, pet sitters are all good distractions to help keep your dog occupied as you leave. It also helps to walk or exercise your dog ahead of time since a tired dog will rest when you are gone.  A technique that helps build calm confidence in both you and your dog is realizing the power of “doing nothing” with your dog. Doing nothing, crate training, dog walking are possible topics for discussion in future posts.

Other sites with relevant information:

http://www.aspcabehavior.org/articles/40/Separation-Anxiety.aspx

http://www.bestfriends.org/theanimals/pdfs/dogs/separationanxiety.pdf

Resource Guarding in Dogs

Mine!

Resource guarding is a very common and natural behavior in dogs. This is a survival instinct based behavioral trait passed on from generations starting with their ancestral wolves. Same as humans it’s quite normal for dogs to guard or not share things that are rare or are precious to them. It’s up to us to understand the probable cause and help mitigate related undesirable behaviors before they escalate. Precious or rare resource might range from food, toys, companions, resting space etc. Some undesirable behaviors might include barking, growling, baring of fangs, lunging in a threatening manner or even unprovoked attacks. The sooner such behaviors are identified, understood and addressed in a humane (conditioned learning) manner the better. The general idea involves making the precious resource seem abundant and available in a non competitive non confrontational manner. It also helps to associate humans and other animals as a source of good things. In addition, training to swap one precious resource for another, making them work for or earn a resource through good behavior etc.  These techniques also help instill trust and respect for both resource, resource providers and other pack members.

Not too long ago one our fosters labelled ‘food aggressive’ (probably with good reason) ended up at our house looking scared, unsure, wary..  I decided not to ‘test’ his behavior with a food bowl and wooden hand (I mean bathroom plunger) but instead sat outside on the deck with him and a fist full of kibbles exhibiting ‘calm & confident’, ‘do nothing’,’ignore his presence’ behavior. Within a short time the smell of kibbles drew him to me and he was unsure as to what to do next. He finally worked up enough courage to nose and lick my fist upon which I started to feed him few kibbles at time. We quickly progressed to dropping kibbles and picking them back up without any issues. Within no time he was happily sharing his food bowl, content etc. same as our dogs. This was due to several things such as new environment, approach, respect for resource and provider, other dogs, confidence and caring that helped make a difference.

It is always a good idea to understand dog behavior from their perspective. This helps us better understand the situation, identify probable cause and work towards a humane long term solution.

Another site with relevant information http://ahimsadogtraining.com/blog/resource-guarding/

When dogs go missing..

Lost Dog

Typically dogs go missing from their new or visiting homes when they stray in search of their original home, get disoriented and lost in the process. Depending on their age and size they may cover distances of 1-3 miles easily within 1-2 hours. Most dogs are found within a 2 mile radius and they seldom run in a straight line for long periods of time. Depending on the distance you might want to focus your search in the general direction of the original home. It helps to leave a familiar scent trail (handled treats, toys, clothing, bedding..) outside the new and/or old home to help guide them back. Outgoing confident dogs will approach strangers and are found more easily than shy and nervous dogs that hunker down, hide and avoid contact. Depending on the neighborhood (city, town, open country) the odds are they may have been spotted and taken in and it’s just a matter of time before you find them by canvasing nearby homes, animal shelters, rescue organizations, web sites, vet clinics etc. Draw a 1-3 mile radius circle around where they went missing and periodically monitor most likely locations (school yards, restaurants, pet stores, barns..) that they may migrate towards when tired and hungry. Also check and utilize local shelters, vet clinics, pet stores, lost and found services. You can widen the search by posting on nationwide lost and found databases and registries like http://www.lofolist.com , http://www.facebook.com/LNFDogRescue . The more eyes, ears and technology you recruit the better the outcome of the search. This can be a harrowing experience for the dog owner and it helps to keep calm, recruit friends and come up with a good search strategy with above guidance.

Please feel free to comment based on your experience.

GPS technology to the rescue. Tagg the pet tracker http://www.pettracker.com/?utm_source=SocialCode&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=Tagg-Launch

Help! My puppy’s out of control!

Anyone who has experienced the fish hook razor sharp teeth of puppies during their teething stage will hopefully understand and appreciate the remainder of this post. Puppies start teething between 4 to 8 weeks and shed their puppy teeth between 4 to 7 months of age.  During this growth phase puppies will mouth and chew on things to relieve teething pain and discomfort, to explore and play or out of sheer boredom.  Puppies also mouth as part of playing and rough housing with pack members which helps establish pack hierarchy as they grow up.  It also helps develop much needed survival skills to fend for themselves later on in life. When humans bring a puppy into their household they tend to humanize and baby the puppy too much eventually leading to undesirable behavioral issues.  Kids tend to hug, kiss, scream, jump up and down exciting the puppy to play, but as soon as play escalates and a kid gets hurt guess who gets blamed?  As far as chewing furniture or other objects goes, puppies simply don’t know any better and any amount of yelling or lecturing after the fact does not help.  Physical corrections (pinching their mussel, rapping on their nose or snout, throwing things at them..) are a big NO! NO! and might result in the puppy growing up to be an overly aggressive or shy dog.  Following pointers might help remedy behavioral issues right from the start and as always consistency is the key:

1. Introducing a puppy into a new house hold – There are a number of web sites that provide this information and I have included one below that I liked. You should also rely on  your local dog experts (Veterinary, Humane Society, Dog Rescue, Trainer contacts) for guidance and information.
http://www.raisingspot.com/adopting/introducing-puppy-to-house

2. Learn the basics of introducing a puppy into your household (step 1) and set clear expectations with your family members on do’s and don’ts. Establish rules and boundaries with children and stick to it. Be the Pack-Leader* that your pack looks up to and  relies on.

3. With the help of your veterinarian establish a dietary chart (content, quantity, frequency) and schedule for feed/play/rest/potty breaks. This will help establish a predictable cycle while keeping accidents to a minimum. A positive reinforcement puppy training class is a must both from learning and socialization perspective.  A healthy happy tired puppy will sleep well and has less chance of getting into trouble.

4. Play or Exercise – Play and exercise is important to bond with the puppy, help develop their skills and grow them both mentally and physically. Refer to your dog experts for duration of play, type of play, etc. to better understand your puppy’s vulnerabilities to avoid injuring him or her.

5. Biting or Mouthing – When this involves an object quickly re-direct puppy to a chew toy, praise the puppy and repeat (if necessary) with patience.  When this involves you then yelp loudly and stop play or interaction with the puppy.  Repeat (if necessary) to help the puppy understand that it’s not ok to mouth or bite you.  If the puppy persists then quickly turn away, ignore the puppy and remove yourself from the play area. Repeat till the puppy gets the idea that mouthing or biting you is not acceptable and it needs to stop doing so to enjoy your company. It’s very important not to get frustrated, yell or physically lash out at the puppy. In the worst case scenario stop the interaction, remove yourself or the puppy and resume interaction when you are calm and collected.

6. Finally learn to do nothing with your dog or puppy – This is a peaceful yet powerful technique that benefits you and helps establish a bond with your dog with just your presence.  Settle down in a chair with your favorite book (meditate, listen to music, write a letter..) and your dog in preferably an empty room with minimal distractions. The goal is for you to be calm and collected for a period of time without any interaction (no touch, no eye contact, no speak, no mannerisms etc.) other than your physical presence.  During this time focus on your book (or other activity) while being aware of dog’s presence and behavior.  Observe how things eventually develop or unfold.. Depending on your calm demeanor and energy the dog will quickly settle down, relax and go to sleep. I have done this with several dogs that I had met for the first time before I walked them with varying results. Depending on their age, excitement and energy level they either quickly settled down and went to sleep, continued their activity or tried to engage me and eventually settled down, one even layed his head on my feet and went to sleep. After some time (say 15 minutes or so) if your dog continues to be active, restless, sits by the door or just doesn’t want to settle down then you know you have some work to do in relaxing yourself and building a calm and comforting presence and energy around you.

* Pack-Leader – Calm and Assertive when absolutely necessary, Calm and Confident most of the time, Calm and Compassionate when caring or rewarding good behavior

Why does my dog bark incessantly?

It could be due to a number of reasons such as alerting the pack, separation anxiety, stress, abundant energy, frustration, attention seeking etc. Your dog is probably trying to communicate something from it’s 30+ repertoire of vocal communication meanings. The repetitive nature however makes it hard to tolerate. Yelling or getting excited only helps feed the frenzy and double it’s effort since the owner is also partaking in the event. They may even start to bark at nothing just to seek the owners attention. Dogs typically bark at strangers (postman, delivery guy, walkers..) since they leave shortly after and this registers as having chased them away in the dogs mind. Some dogs bark when left alone till the owner eventually returns and this registers as having called back a pack member to rejoin the group. Dogs that bark and rush to the doorway at the slightest sound is a clear indicator of who’s in charge and needs to be corrected by reclaiming the doorway.  The correction involves non-vocal elaborate display of calm and collected energy, body language and strong presence.  Begin by gently yet firmly nudging the dog out of the way and occupy the cleared space confidently and continue to do so till the dog has backed completely out of the way.  Continue to stand your ground and deliberately take your time addressing the issue.  Do not make eye contact, talk or acknowledge the dogs presence throughout the process, act as if it is ‘no big deal’ to you. For barking outdoors, try and identify the root cause if possible, remove or redirect the dog with the same non-vocal calm and collected energy, body language and presence.  It’s important not to fuel the excitement by yelling, getting excited or trying to discipline the dog like a child.  At a minimum just ignore and move away to deprive them of any attention and proximity reward.  Consistency is the key and you will see long lasting results over a period of time.  Plan and implement a daily regimen of physical and mental exercises, tasks and plays to help expend excess energy and promote a healthier calmer dog and you.  Barking is your dogs way of vocally communicating with you and can also be controlled by positive reinforcement training to bark ‘speak’ or stop ‘quiet’ on command. Again, consistency is the key!

Why does my dog rub her snout and roll on the ground right after she eats?

There are several schools of thought regarding this behavior:

1. The dog is trying to rub the blood or scent of their kill off their snouts so as not to deter or scare other potential preys.. hmmm.. probably not because they are full for the time being and might not plan to hunt for another meal for some time, and it also does not explain the flop and roll.

2. They just love to roll around in smelly stuff (rotting fish, carcass..)… in which case they would roll right on their smelly food and not away from it on carpet or grass

3. One of my dogs does the snout rub followed by back flop and twist, whereas the other just licks her lips and walks away.   It’s possible that some dogs and specific breeds exhibit this behavior and some don’t.  Those that do may have a mild case of food allergy or food mites that starts the itch around the snout area and triggers itching around the hackles.

Why does my dog take her treat or food elsewhere to eat? plus more..

It’s quite possible that as a puppy she was one of many in a litter ranking lower in pack hierarchy. Being a runt she might have had to compete for food with her siblings and quickly learned to run away with food to eat in a “safe” place. This behavior is possibly passed on from generations when lower ranking pack members grabbed tidbits from the more dominant ones and ran for cover. This behavior has now evolved in the modern home into a token gesture of moving food away from the source onto a different surface or hide for consumption later on. More dominant pack members may hunker down, hold their ground and gobble food as fast as possible. They might even show signs of resource guarding by growling or stiff body language when approached.  This behavior might escalate to a point where your dogs need to be fed separately, or you quick set the food down and run, wait till they’re done behind a closed door before approaching.. all signs of resource guarding, fear, lack of leadership, trust and confidence when food, toys and treats are involved. It helps to gain and build the trust, instill confidence in both your dog and yourself that you provide good things and it’s ok for you to intervene and take it away when necessary. This is easy to implement right from the puppy stage and probably more involved in an adult dog who is already set in his ways. Time to walk my pack and resource guarding is a good topic for another post.. good reading and bye for now.

Why do dogs circle a few times before curling up in a ball to sleep?

Sleeping Stray

It’s an instinctive possibly learned behavior that has been passed on for generations. Dogs in the wild or outside dogs circle to tamp down bedding material (vegetation, soft earth etc.) in an attempt to soften, debug and find a comfortable spot to settle down. At times they paw the bedding to fluff a flat surface into a contoured more comfortable surface. They often end-up in a tight ball to conserve body heat and may sleep up or down wind depending on warm or cold temperatures.