Dog Behavior Workshop 3

Introduction to basic K9 learning theory:

Thorndike's Law of Effect (1911) "Behaviors just prior to a pleasant event are more likely to be repeated; behaviors just prior to unpleasant events are more likely to diminish."

Positive Reinforcement: Think of this as a + sign, adding something to your dogs environment that increases the likelihood of a desired behavior re-occurring in the future.

Remember, love is all you need. When looking for a trainer, look for one that uses a heaping scoop of positive reinforcement with a very small side of negative punishment. Never use positive punishment on a dog!

Behaviorism:

Pavlov's classical conditioning followed by B.F. Skinner:

Positive reinforcement +R

Negative reinforcement -R

Positive Punishment +P

Negative Punishment -P

Extinction

Dog Behavior Workshop 2

Welcome back! Here are the answers to the Quiz:


1) Attention


2) They had to go!


3) It's Comfy!


4) They're Bored


5)They don't know how to.





So how'd you do? As you can see, dogs think very simply.


Let's talk a bit about a popular theory these days, Pack Theory.
It is true that dogs are pack animals, however, they are removed from wolves by THOUSANDS of years.
Dogs are NOT born leaders, in fact they are born FOLLOWERS! Think about it, if every member of a pack wanted to be the leader or 'alpha' that pack wouldn't function very well, would it? Dogs are more than happy to sit back and relax and let you take care of the important stuff like food, water and shelter.



Dogs do not need to be dominated. The best way to establish leadership is through the Nothing in Life is Free method which states that a dog must work for everything it wants. Before a dog eats, gets pet, goes outside, plays etc, they must first do something for you. (Like sit).


If you do find yourself with a dominant dog, make sure you mix their food with your hands and let them watch you eat first, before they get fed. Also make sure to walk through doorways first.





In the next instalment we will delve into K9 Cognition and learning theory...see you then!

Dog Behavior Workshop 1

Welcome to the first instalment of my Dog Behavior Workshop.

In the blogs that follow we will be discussing common K9 myths, doggy cognition and training plus much more! Enjoy!

Let's start with some myths and misconceptions:

Dogs Don't have feelings

Dogs Don't think

Dogs Think like humans

Dogs must be led through fear

Dogs are alpha and must be submitted

Dogs feel guilt

All of the above are FALSE statements, but many hold them to be true.

Facts and Truths:

Dogs think like DOGS!

Simple

Honest

Similar to a young child

Lead through love, understanding and respect.

Don't Anthropomorphize! This means placing human emotions on animals. EX: ("He pees on my bed while I'm gone because he's mad at me!")

Dogs cannot:

Be spiteful

Hateful

Mad at you

Guilty

Understand non tangibles

Dogs can:

Do math (you don't believe me? Take out 3 cookies from the cookie jar and give your dog 2!)

Rico the boarder collie is thought to be the smartest dog on earth. He knows the names of over 200 toys, learns new names quickly and is able to retain them and is able to pick out new and unfamiliar toys.

Duke University conducted a very interesting study on K9 cognition and came to find that dogs are the only species, other than human, that understands what a pointed finger means. Other animals including primates and dolphins look at your finger while a dog will follow the point and look in the direction you are indicating. They believe this comes from the thousands of years of domestication our furry friends have had.

QUIZ:

Your dog jumps on you because?

Your dog pees in the house because?

Your dog gets on your couch/bed because?

Your dog eats your couch because?

Your dog doesn't play well with others because?

Come back next time for the answers and more!

Dogs in "Paradise"

Recently I was fortunate enough to travel way out into the Southern Caribbean to the island of St. Lucia.

This island has been on my 'must see' list for quite some time now, and now that I have been all I can say is....CHECK!

Out of all the places I've traveled, this by far was one of the worst...for animals, dogs especially.

Stray dogs were everywhere, standing in roads, chasing chickens through villages, standing with the pigs on the beach....all were filthy, most malnourished and skinny. As I passed one mother dog with 3 puppies feeding from her I wondered what sort of spay/neuter program (if any) was offered on the island.

A few dogs had collars, but I wasn't sure that meant they were well cared for, or even fed on a regular basis. I can only imagine the desease....parvo....distemper...etc...

I wondered what could be done....what could I do? I am still asking myself that....

Could this tourist paradise be a purgatory for these furry souls?

The Five Things

Ok, I'm about to let you all in on a little secret here...there are only five things one needs to be a good dog trainer....so, are you ready?

They are:

Patience

Consistency

A Sense of humor

Patience

and Consistency!

(See you need the sense of humor part already!)

Let's go through them one at a time and talk a little bit about why they are so important.

Number one, Patience: You're never going to get very far with a short fuse. It is amazing how after 20 minutes of zero results, all of a sudden BAM lightening strikes and the dog gets it! Most behavior problems stem from either laziness or hastiness. Patience also gives you a sense of calm. I seldom worry about 'if' the dog is going to learn something, I just wonder 'when'.

Number two, Consistency: They say it's not a black and white world, but for dogs, there isn't really a grey area. (With a dog jumping up for example, you can ignore them 9 times, but if on the 10th they receive attention, it's like starting over from square one.) So, for our canine friends it either IS or it ISN'T. They either CAN or they CANNOT. They either DO or they DON'T. Simple.

And last but certainly not least, a Sense of Humor: Dogs are animals, and therefore quite unpredictable. If you look at situations as humorous instead of frustrating it will greatly help you and your dog. Some things may hurt, other might be quite disgusting but if looked at the right way, most are quite funny!

Well, there you have it, happy training!

Why We Do It

Every now and again we are reminded quite out of the blue why we do the work that we do.
Today was like that for me. I arrived at work this morning to find a note and picture waiting for me on my desk. I could tell right away that it was written by a child, and the picture attached was of a large mixed breed dog and a birthday cake.
The letter reads:
"Our dog, Daisy was adopted on May 31st 2009 at SPCA.
Thank you for treating our dog with respect while she was in her cage.
In this picture you will see Daisy has just blown out her birthday candle
and is heading for the cake!"

The back of the picture read: "Daisy on her first birthday."

Alright I'll admit it, this got to me...I formed a few happy tears and thought out loud "good for you Daisy!"
Not only was this a happy ending for one of our shelter dogs but this young little girl, whom I've since found out is only 5 years old, really seems to 'get it'. She didn't thank us for feeding her dog, or even just 'taking care of her', but for treating her with RESPECT. Bingo. Nail on head.

This is why we do it.

Say How Do You Do and Shake Hands

Introducing two dogs can be a simple and easy task. However, it can also be the cause of stress and emotional scarring.

There are many possible out comes that occur when introducing two dogs for the first time, and many theories and ways of doing it.

The first thing that all dog owners should keep in mind is that it's OK if their dog doesn't like the other dog. We tend to get too caught up wanting our dogs to like everyone and everything, but this is highly unrealistic, as we ourselves do not get along with everyone we meet.

In my opinion the best way to introduce two new dogs is in an unfamiliar place, to them both. This way, neither of them should get territorial. The biggest mistake I see people make is walking the two dogs straight at one another on leashes. This is extremely confrontational. It's not wonder the dogs end up fighting! It is best to just start walking together, side by side. This way the dogs can sniff one another, get to know each other and get some good exercise doing it. Walk and walk until the two dogs are all tuckered out. (Too tired to care or get grumpy.)
Now you can head home. The dogs should just want to lay down for a bit to rest, and by the time they become rejuvenated, they are old news to each other.
Now sure, things don't always go as planned, but just remember not to get mad or upset. You must  have patience and you can try again, but also, know when to quit.

"Fur" a Good Cause

Recently I participated in the collection of dirty dog hair. We brushed shelter dogs, collected shavings from surgeries and hit up local grooming facilities. My car was full with stinky bags all for a good cause.

You see, apparently hair (dog and human alike) is being used to help soak up the oil spill in the Gulf. At first this made no sense to me, until I saw a demonstration. Why do we wash our hair? Because it collects oil! Now all the pieces were coming together!

The organization that makes the mats is called A Matter of Trust, based out of San Francisco, CA. People all over the country are mailing them their dogs sheddings and they are being turned into giant oil sucking mats. Genius. Finally a practical use for all that dog hair floating around my house!

The shelter dogs, and my own, were happy to do their part, and they all look and feel the better for it.

It is incredibly easy to do, and so I encourage all of you out there to do the same. Your dogs, the ocean and your floors will thank you.

A New Challenge

When you work with dogs, a new challenge is always waiting right around the corner. My latest endeavor is a dog named Otis.

Otis was surrendered to the shelter a couple of weeks ago, and I noticed him immediately. He is beautiful! All white with blue eyes. My first thought was that he wouldn't be around long, but then I noticed he eyes looked a little...off.

Turns out not only is Otis blind, but he is deaf as well.

Oh boy. I've done deaf, I've done blind, but I had never done both on the same dog before.

Luckily for me a trainer friend of mine recently raised a blind and deaf puppy. She was able to give me some wonderful advice.

Normally for a deaf dog I would use hand signals to teach commands, for a blind one words. For Otis, he would have to learn by touch.

Touch his rear and lure him into a sit. (He still learned the same, with a cookie on his nose, he could follow the scent.) For down, you touch his shoulders and lure him down.

But, manners would not be the most important thing for Otis to master.

Otis first needed to learn how to walk on a leash. You see, every time you went to put the slip lead over his head, he would bite and chew it. He would pull and tug, and bite higher and higher until he was almost at your hand. Bitter Apple wasn't doing anything to deter him either.

The simplest, quickest solution was to put him on a harness. What a difference! I think the harness helps him to feel more secure.

His next biggest problem was his mouthing. I can't blame him, he only has so many senses left!

Just removing all attention from him when ever he did it worked for that.

It is amazing how he can smell you when you arrive. He knows you are there, and can find you. He learns his boundaries quickly and is a very smart boy.

My next concern was who would adopt him? I knew there were plenty of people who's hearts would go out to him, who would feel sorry for him, but these were not the right people for Otis. Otis needs to be treated just like a regular dog. This is not a pity case, this is a life style changing project. Whomever adopts this dog will need certain resources. Time, patience and understanding.

Lucky for Otis and his new adopter (who ever they turn out to be) things are looking up.

My friend owns and operates a local dog training/day care/boarding facility and we reached an agreement to where Otis and his adopters will receive free behavior counseling and may even get free day care or training!

So, for now, Otis sits and waits for the right person to come for him.

The Good news/Bad News Game

The other day I received some very good news about Pit Bulls here in Florida. The bill to repeal the ban on BSL died in the senate. Whew, another 'safe' year for the pits of the state.

Then today, I got a call bearing some not so good news. It seems one of our local county animal facilities has a 'no adopt' policy when it comes to Pit Bulls. This disturbs me greatly for many reasons.

First is the obvious, it's just not fair. The sheriff who made the rule said it was due to too many 'bite cases' but most of the dogs that enter their facility have no bite history at all and are healthy and happy family pets.

This was brought to my attention when a family wanted to adopt a pit that was found outside of their business and brought to this facility. Oh, who am I protecting here it's Polk County Animal Services. They were told they could not have the dog. Only rescue groups are allowed to take pits.

This baffles my mind...they would rather euthanize this dog than give it to a willing adoptive family?!

The next thing that really gets me is I can't quite figure out how this is legal except for the fact that it isn't technically illegal. I understand how a private SPCA or Humane Society could implement this rule, but a public shelter? I just don't know.

There is no county or city ordnance against the breed, yet the government run facility is denying it's tax paying citizens their right to own the dog of their choice...?

Just doesn't sit right...

We have extended an invitation for them to attend one of our pit bull education classes and have even offered to take it on the road to them.

This will not be an over night change but I feel up to the challenge.

In the mean time I am trying to get the word out to rescue organizations in the area.

God Bless the Pit Bull, never has any dog been so hated and misunderstood.