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Articles

And Baby Makes 3
Kids and Dogs and Problems, Oh My!
Potty Training 101
The Postman Always Rings Twice... (and other reasons to bark like a maniac)
A Digging and Chewing Primer
Habit or Health? When a Problem Behavior Isn't Behavior At All

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And Baby Makes 3

Who makes 3? Baby’s homecoming should be a joyous event for everyone in the family. But unfortunately, the pitter-patter of little feet – not to mention the crying, chaotic schedules, and cranky parents that follow close on their heels – strikes fear in the heart of many a brave dog. Too many dogs lose their homes when, in a sleep-deprived haze their families decide that something has to give. But you don’t have to make such a heart-breaking decision if, while you plan for Timmy’s arrival, you help Lassie get ready too. Here are some important things to consider:

First and foremost, brush up on your dog’s skills: make sure his Stay stays put and his Come comes running the first time you say each cue. Make sure your dog responds to verbal cues so that when your hands are full he can understand your directions, but also remember to practice the hand signals so he can be successful when baby’s sleeping, too. And if your dog has ever, ever shown aggression or even discomfort towards humans of any age, consult a professional dog trainer or behaviorist now – before bringing up Baby takes precedence over training the family dog.

Babies bring all manner of new sights and sounds and smells with them when they arrive. Some of these stimuli will excite your dog, some will intrigue or possibly annoy him, and some may scare his little furry pants off! But all these things are a natural part of babyhood, and as such, they are not going to go away anytime soon. Help your dog learn to associate all things Baby with good things for him, rather than with chaos and change. Buy baby sounds CDs and make them the soundtrack to your daily routine: begin with the volume adjusted low so the sounds are just barely audible, and as everyone in the family becomes accustomed to the noise, begin increasing it until you reach the ear-splitting levels of real life. Also, as you begin setting up the baby furniture, introduce your dog to it in ways that teach him appropriate behaviors to practice once it is occupied by your little bundle of joy. And reward him for picking up toys or items that smell like him while directing his interest away from Baby’s things – but: remember dogs will always do what’s most rewarding to them at the time, so practice good housekeeping, too!

Teach your dog to enjoy a little “heavy petting” so that he remains comfortable when chubby hands pull and poke and pat. Firmly stroke his fur while offering him some tasty chicken. Gently tug on his ear while he munches on bacon. Let him slurp peanut butter off your palm while you pull his tail this way and that. At the same time, teach your child gentle touches to share as he grows up alongside his new best friend.

Schedule changes confuse and disturb many dogs, so begin living your schedule as though Baby were home several weeks in advance of his arrival. Buy or borrow an appropriately sized baby-doll and practice feeding, changing diapers, and playtime so that your dog knows what you expect of him in each of these situations. Get up in the night, turn on the lights, and rattle around in the kitchen if you will be preparing bottles so that your dog doesn’t mistake you for an intruder. And think about how you will prepare your dog (and Baby, too) for your eventual return to work if that is part of your plan.

And finally, when Mom comes home from the hospital, have someone else carry the two-legged baby so she can properly greet her four-legged one! If she has had a difficult delivery, or if she has had surgery, leash Fido so Mom can enter safely and sit down before saying hello. And never, ever punish your dog around your child: your dog should see your child as just another wonderful human in his life; but if he receives punishment every time the little nipper comes out to play, he may become a little nipper (or, rather, biter) himself.

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Kids and Dogs and Problems, Oh My!

The American Dream

A house, two kids, and the perfect dog – it’s the American Dream, right? But dogs aren’t perfect and – newsflash! – kids aren’t either; so in order to keep that dream from turning into a nightmare, here are some simple rules and techniques every parent should know:

Having a dog in your home is a responsibility similar to having another child – and so, while it is perfectly reasonable for children to be given tasks aiding in the care of their new four-legged family member, the ultimate accountability for a dog’s well-being should always fall upon adults within the home. It is never appropriate for a child to have sole responsibility for a living, breathing animal.

When it comes to kids and their interactions with dogs, remember: supervise, supervise, supervise! Never leave young children alone with a dog, and never, ever leave even the best-behaved dog alone with a baby or small child. Humans and dogs communicate differently – and sometimes that difference can lead to painful encounters for both the two-leggeds and the four-. Ensure harmonious interaction with your presence!

Speaking of communication: many signals, both verbal and non-verbal, used within human culture just don’t translate well into dog-speak. For instance, while hugging and head-patting come naturally to humans, in canine culture both of these actions are considered unspeakably rude – even though some dogs learn to tolerate our man-handling! By the same token, in canine language, teeth are often used as punctuation of sorts, and are accepted in much the same way; but our tender human skin isn’t as forgiving as tough doggy-hide. Learn appropriate human-canine communication skills, and then teach all of your family members, both two-legged and four-, to be bilingual, too.

Dogs should be trained to see all humans as leaders, not littermates. As hard is this concept may be for young humans to understand, though, how difficult must it be for your dog? You can help out by involving your child in every step of the training process, from handling and grooming to teaching simple cues. Teach your child gentle, effective, and age-appropriate handling and training techniques; then back her up by standing near her when she’s working with your dog, and quietly repeating and reinforcing her hand signals and cues so that your dog learns to respond correctly to even the most pint-sized leader!

Not all dogs enjoy the hustle and bustle that comes with a houseful of children, and indeed your dog’s perception of your child and her friends may be quite different from your own. Make sure your dog has a private place where he can retreat when the activity level begins to overwhelm him. Explain to your child that when the dog is in “his room” he is not to be disturbed – just as she wouldn’t want to be disturbed when she is resting or playing quietly.

Finally, dogs are not toys: they are living, thinking, moving, and feeling animals, and should be treated with love, kindness, tolerance, and respect. The lessons your child learns about this important relationship now – during her formative years – will stay with her for a lifetime. Help her to build healthy relationships and happy memories: these are the building blocks for future success!

For more information on raising mixed-species families, please read the book Living with Kids and Dogs… Without Losing Your Mind, by Colleen Pelar, CPDT. And if a problem presents itself remember this: dog training is cheaper than emergency room bills! Get help from a qualified professional early, and you won’t regret it later on down the road.

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Potty Training 101

Potty Training Article The endeavor formerly known as “housebreaking” has a new name, and a new mentality. Once seen as a battle of bladder and will, potty training can now be seen in its true light: as just another training exercise in which control of reinforcement is tantamount to success. Understanding reinforcement in the context of potty training, and knowing how to control and enhance that reinforcement, is the key to a long and happy relationship with your dog. (Importantly, poor elimination habits is one of the most often cited reasons for the relinquishment of dogs to shelters – don’t let your dog become a statistic: potty train him now, using the same techniques you would to train other skills and behaviors!)

First, prevent: Elimination is a self-reinforcing behavior; that is, the puppy feels a tremendous pressure to eliminate, does so in the most convenient (for him) spot, and then experiences bodily (and perhaps mental) relief. Nothing that you do after the fact can ever take away the reinforcement that happens in the moment the puppy lets go; and since reinforcement always increases behavior, elimination in that spot (or other similar spots) will continue. And if you only half-heartedly prevent your puppy’s inappropriate elimination, so that he sometimes eliminates in the house even if he mostly eliminates outside, his indoor-pottying is then simply on a variable reinforcement schedule (i.e. reinforcement that acts like a slot machine: sometimes you win, sometimes you don't, but the dream of big bucks keeps you playing the game), meaning this behavior will certainly grow stronger and more resilient!

Your puppy needs an elimination schedule! Become “regular” with him: take him out on-lead often and at regular intervals throughout the day, particularly upon waking, after meals, and during and after play, so that he has ample opportunity to relieve himself in the appropriate location.
Confine your puppy to a crate or safe-room when you are unable to devote your attention to him. Though social interaction and enrichment are of utmost importance to your puppy’s development, sometimes it will be necessary for you to leave him on his own. A crate big enough for comfort, but small enough to proscribe its use as both a bed and a toilet, or a safe-room equipped with potty-pads separate from the pup’s living area, prevent your puppy from receiving internal reinforcement for incorrect behavior. Use them well!
When you are puttering around the house and can devote some of your attention to your puppy, keep him safely by your side (and thus prevent more than just inappropriate elimination habits) by tethering your pup to you: slip a belt through the loop at the end of your dog’s leash, and then fasten the belt around your waist. Watch for your pup to signal his need to go, and head outside to finish the rest of the equation!

Second, replace: When you are fairly certain your pup needs to eliminate, take him to his potty-spot on-lead, and stand quietly with him until he relieves himself.

Take him on-lead so that he learns to eliminate first and play later.
Stay with him so that you can reinforce him the moment he behaves appropriately. (Your external reinforcement will enhance your pup’s own internal reinforcement, serving to strengthen his desire to potty in the right spot!).
Once he has relieved himself, spend some time playing outside with your puppy – he has earned that bit of extra reinforcement, and you should reinforce your own patience with a little downtime as well!
Put pottying on cue by simply saying the cue, one time, pleasantly, just before your puppy begins to relieve himself. Pups who potty on cue are an asset on cold or rainy nights!
If your puppy doesn’t eliminate, take him back inside and confine him in his crate or safe-room for twenty to thirty minutes, and then try again until he is able to go. Don’t put pressure on your pup, though – he will go when he is able, and pressure will only make a shy bladder into a veritable wallflower, shrinking from observation and challenging even the patience of Job.

As your pup learns to control his elimination habits, and becomes more skilled at signaling you of his need, you can begin gradually to increase his freedom in your home. Expand his area of confinement as he can tolerate, and never leave him alone so long that he has no choice but to relieve himself inappropriately. For further pointers on Potty Training 101, read the excellent booklet titled Way to go! How to Housetrain a Dog of Any Age by Drs. Karen B. London and Patricia B. McConnell.

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The Postman Always Rings Twice... (and other reasons to bark like a maniac)

Barking Behavior is like a mathematical equation in which each component of the equation interacts with every other component, leading to an outcome that is unique to the components involved. For instance, if you have taught your dog to Sit on cue, your dog has learned this equation: “My person says, ‘Sit’, I move my body in this way, and my person gives me a cookie!” If you were to then write that equation out, it might look like this: “Sit”>Sitting behavior>cookie; or, more generically, A>B>C. One thing (the Antecedent) leads to another (your dog’s Behavior), which leads to another (the Consequence).

But here’s another common equation dogs learn: “This strange dude in a weird suit comes to my door and rattles around every day (he might be dangerous!); so, I bark as loudly as I can, and he goes away.” Now, if that man in the weird suit were an escaped convict in a prison jumpsuit, you might be quite happy for your dog to behave in this manner; but how often does that happen? More likely, the “dude in a weird suit” who, much to the chagrin of your dog, visits your home every day – is the postman, just doing his job. And while you know that your dog’s barking does not, in fact, make the postman go away (it’s his job that does), from your dog’s perspective, barking certainly seems to pay off, increasing the likelihood that he will bark under the same circumstances again.

Just as in mathematics, changing the outcome of a behavioral equation is fairly straightforward: change any one component within the equation, and the outcome will be necessarily different. 1+2=3, but if you substitute any new number for any old one, the entire equation looks different: as 5+2=7 and 1+3=4! In the same way, if the postman comes to your door and, rather than rattling around anonymously, gives your dog a cookie as he hands you your mail, the equation has changed, and your dog’s behavior will likely change, too. You see, the postman is no longer an ominous door-rattler, but a person with whom you seem to be comfortable and who comes bearing gifts – nothing to bark at here! The equation now becomes: “Hey, here comes that dude in the really recognizable suit (my favorite suit, I think, because it reminds me of him), and I know he’s going to bring good stuff for my person and me! I really hope he stays awhile longer today…”

Getting a handle on problem barking is not all about antecedents, however: changing the ending of the equation – the Consequence in our Behavioral ABCs – will necessarily change the components leading up to it. For instance, dogs often bark at their people for attention. But if barking were to make you leave the room and close the door behind you instead, your dog’s perception of the effectiveness of barking to gain attention would change. And so, manipulating the things that come before (Antecedents) and after (Consequences) a problem behavior make an impact on the behavior itself.

While you are working with the Antecedents and Consequences that shape your dog’s behavior, remember, too, that training an alternate and incompatible behavior can go a long way towards solving any training conundrum. For instance, it is very difficult for a dog to bark with a toy in his mouth: teach your dog that when the doorbell rings, that is his cue to run to his toy-box and retrieve a toy to present to his visitor. And since sharing toys is an acceptable social behavior in both canine and human culture, both your dog and your visitor will likely be satisfied with this new, quiet greeting ritual: doorbellèfetch the toyèfun for all!

Finally, do remember that barking is another one of those perfectly dog-ish behaviors that dogs engage in just because they are dogs, and because barking is one powerful communication tool in canine culture. Most people appreciate a warning bark that tells them, “Hey, there’s someone coming up the sidewalk!” And if your dog understands that you heard his warning and acted upon the situation yourself, he will not feel the need to keep pestering you: “Hey, are you listening?! I said there’s someone coming up the sidewalk! Do I have to do everything around here?!” Take the lead – “Thanks, Fido! Let me check this out.” – and your dog won’t have to – “Whew! Glad I let my person know – I was afraid I’d have to ask that stranger to leave… Now I’m free to go take my nap.”

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A Digging and Chewing Primer

Diggin' a Hole What you consider a problem behavior might be, in fact, no problem at all for your dog – and that very fact is one of the primary reasons humans and dogs come into conflict. You see, left to their own devices dogs usually engage in perfectly dog-ish behaviors, digging and chewing being two of the most common (and the most fun – for the dogs, that is). But while digging and chewing are de rigueur in dog culture, humans tend to consider both acts the height of doggy discourtesy. And so, the conflict rages on: dogs dig and chew because they like to dig and chew, and digging and chewing are perfectly dog-ish things to do; and humans gnash their teeth and tear their hair looking for a punishment that will actually work.

It never works.

Punishment might seem like it works to cure these kinds of behaviors, but here’s what really happens: your dog engages in a perfectly dog-ish behavior such as digging or chewing, and is reinforced for that behavior by his own pleasure; you arrive on the scene and proceed to scold your dog vehemently for his quite natural, intrinsically reinforcing behavior; punishment suppresses behavior – not just digging and chewing behavior, all behavior – so your dog lies down and quietly waits until you stop berating him; satisfied that your dog will now “behave” himself (when in actuality he is doing anything but) you leave the scene; eventually your dog remembers how much fun he was having before his human, Old Grumpy-Pants, came home and returns to his favored activity – careful now though, to note your whereabouts so as to avoid another ugly scene. You have just taught your dog to hide his fun from you.

So what’s a human to do? First supervise, supervise, supervise! Don’t let your dog be reinforced for inappropriate behavior. Reinforcement increases behavior, and nothing that you do to your dog after the fact can take away from the reinforcement that happened in the moment he engaged in that behavior. Second, provide ample opportunity for your dog to engage in perfectly dog-ish behaviors in appropriate ways:

Exercise your dog regularly to reduce excess energy.
Provide rugged chew-toys your dog can really (no, really!) sink his teeth into; and make those toys interesting and fun by stuffing them with yummy treats, dousing them in broth, rubbing them down with peanut butter… whatever you need to do to encourage a fierce and healthy chew-toy habit.
Build your dog a sandbox and bury his favorite outdoor toys and bones in the sand for him to find.
Engage in all of these fun activities with your dog – dig in the sand with him, hold his chew-toy for him while he gnaws away – make fun happen when you are together so that he doesn’t have to go away from you to seek it out!
And most of all, approach your dog with an understanding of perfectly dog-ish behavior and how reinforcement acts upon it; and try to have a sense of humor: if your dog does something really outlandish, you could at least sell tickets!

Grand Canyon

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Habit or Health? When a Problem Behavior Isn't Behavior At All

Nervous dog According to the CDC, about 25% of the human population suffers from behavioral disorders that are caused by chemical imbalances, neurological problems, or other bodily illnesses that affect the way their bodies and brains receive and transmit information. And though there are few studies to suggest the number of dogs who suffer from similar health-related behavioral disturbances, because so many structures within the canine brain mirror those within the human brain (we are both mammals, after all), including the structures that govern learning and the emotions, one can assume that the percentage of canines suffering from these biological maladies must be similar, too. In fact, even common illnesses like thyroid disease, diabetes, cancer, and allergies can influence the way your dog behaves in any given situation.

So, how do you know if your dog’s problem behavior is due to bad habit or ill health? It’s not always clear, even to skilled dog behavior consultants and veterinarians. But certainly, the closer the relationship you share with your dog’s trainer and veterinarian, the better able you are to make the decisions necessary to impact his behavior in the long run. Whenever you encounter a problem behavior in your dog, it is a good idea to consult not only a trainer, but also a veterinarian who is knowledgeable in animal behavior, just to make sure that any behavioral methods you and your trainer may try will be effective. A physical exam including a thorough history, routine blood-work, and occasionally more extensive testing may be necessary before you really get a clear picture of your dog’s total health – both physical and behavioral.

Consider, too, that for many years, scientists have worked with human subjects to find the best approach to correct problems such as anxiety or panic attacks, fear resulting in self-harming behavior, and even schizophrenia and psychosis. Their techniques ranged from electric shock therapy to cognitive behavioral analysis, with many stops in between. And just as it was discovered that electric shock therapy had a tendency to cause more problems than it solved for human patients, so electronic dog collars, also called shock collars, are contraindicated in treating behavioral problems of any origin in dogs. Don’t be dismayed, either, if your veterinarian suggests that your dog be treated with one of the many new medications on the market today designed specifically to treat chemical imbalances. Over the years, caregivers who work with human subjects have come to the realization that though behavioral methods may help patients cope with the various stimuli their bodies and environment present them, the right medication most effectively addresses issues which are indeed biological and not behavioral at all. Many veterinarians now believe that our companion animals can benefit from this same care.

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Links

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Local Training Links

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The American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Program

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MetroPet Magazine

Sympawtico Dog Training, LLC is proud to welcome MetroPet Magazine to the Greater Kansas City Metro Area! This impressive new periodical offers readers tips and information ranging from pet training and basic care to safe travel and activities the whole family can enjoy -- all in a beautiful, glossy package. Sympawtico owner and trainer Suezanne M. Thibodeau is proud to be a featured writer for MetroPet Magazine. Please check out her monthly articles, and enjoy the many other resources this magazine has to offer.

The Humane Society of the United States

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Humane Society University

Through training and education, HSU provides animal care and control professionals and other animal advocates with the skills to maximize their ability to help animals.

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