“How To Mess Up A Dog”

By Sean O’Shea

So much of what we see with problem dogs and their behavior, is that people have unintentionally reinforced and encouraged the wrong stuff. And of course, none of us want to intentionally mess up our dogs (even though many of us – including your’s truly have). So here’s a little list of reminders that we’ll call the “don’t do”, or “watch out for” list. Keeping these in mind, and doing your very best to avoid these common dog/owner traps will go a long way towards you having a great relationship, and enjoyable life with your dog.

-Trying to love a badly behaved dog better. (Guaranteed to make a bad dog worse)

-Coddling, nurturing, babying an insecure, nervous dog. (The very best way to deepen insecurity, and to ensure a neurotic mess of a dog)

-Allowing a dog to have constant access to you and your personal space – following you everywhere, jumping in your lap uninvited, always needing to be near. (The perfect recipe for separation anxiety and possessiveness)

-Constantly petting a dog. (The very best way to create a dependent, nervous, entitled, bratty, separation anxiety dog)

-Ignoring bad behavior – jumping, whining, barking, fence fighting, growling etc. – in the hopes it will go away. (It never does, it only gets worse)

-Using your dog to fill emotional gaps in your life. (The most common reason for neurotic, unstable dog behavior)

-Not enforcing rules because they feel bad. (A selfish act that ensures your dog will not have access to the rules and leadership it needs to thrive and be balanced)

-Letting dogs be “dogs” – thinking/rationalizing that growling, protective behavior, resource guarding, reactivity etc. is normal/acceptable. (This excuses unacceptable/unhealthy behavior by calling it “normal” and allows it to continue/increase)

-Being inconsistent. (Teaches dogs rules and boundaries are always negotiable, and ensures they will be negotiated)

-Accidentally rewarding whining/barking/growling by petting/talking to/letting in or out of a door/crate. (Teaches dogs that those behaviors get them what they want, and ensures you’ll see a whole lot more of them)

-Spoiling/allowing bad behavior due to guilt. (Feeling guilty about working long hours/being away from home for long periods and trying to assuage that guilt by spoiling the dog/being permissive/allowing bad behavior to occur to make ourselves feel better. Unfortunately it only makes your dog feel/behave worse)

-Letting stressed, pulling, anxious, worked up dogs meet on-leash. (This is a common scene that can create dog reactivity and even dog fights)

-Letting dogs pull to trees or bushes on walks. (Teaches dogs that pushiness gets them what they want)

-Touching, talking to, “enjoying” a dog who jumps on you. (Reinforces jumping and guarantees more jumping)

  

-Letting dogs “work it out” on their own (Old school approach to “ socializing” dogs that is a great way for creating dog fights and never ending tension/grudges between dogs that live together)

-Giving treats or petting a growling/barking/anxious/stressed dog to calm and soothe them. (A very common mistake that does the exact opposite of making it better. It always makes the behavior worse, by reinforcing it)

-Sharing only your soft, sweet, loving, affectionate side. (This is akin to only saying yes and cuddling your child, and never saying no or enforcing rules. It leaves dogs feeling alone and unsure about who’s in charge, nervous, anxious, stressed, and out of control – just like it would kids)

-Using tools that allow dogs to ignore you and the tool. (The wrong tools – harnesses, flat collars, flex leases etc – can actually empower the dog to misbehave and disempower you from communicating with your dog)

-Using tools that allow/encourage the dog to behave worse. (See above!)

-Seeing freedom, love, and affection as more vital to your dog’s well-being than structure, rules, guidance. (This is a common mistake, born out of either our desire to nurture, our desire to fulfill ourselves, or not understanding that dogs need guidance and leadership at least as much as they do “love”. It’s also the best way to truly mess up a dog)

-Thinking exercise and activity create calm, relaxed dogs on their own. (This is a huge misconception. exercising a dog to try to make it calm is futile and limited benefit endeavor. The best approach is both exercise AND teaching the dog to be conditioned to be calm through training)

-Wanting to be your dog’s best friend before having become his leader. (Trying to create a healthy relationship through love, play, and friendship without first creating respect, rules, and boundaries is a first-class ticket to problem dog city! First impressions are as important to dogs as they are to people, and trying to fix negative first impressions is just as formidable)

-Thinking dogs just want to please you. (Like all the rest of us, dogs want to please themselves first and foremost. If you’ll look hard enough you’ll see the benefit for them in whatever they’re doing to please you. Understanding this is essential to living well with dogs)

-Not sharing valuable consequences for bad behavior. (The most common way owners allow negative behaviors to continue and flourish! It is only through clear, valuable consequences for their choices and actions that dog behavior changes and improves)

-Being afraid that consequences and discipline will ruin your relationship. (A common misconception. The truth is, the exact opposite; you’ll create a much healthier, respectful, balanced, and enjoyable relationship by sharing clear boundaries and rules consistently. Your dog will be happier and enjoy you far more if you’ll be a good leader)

-Letting love blind you to your dog’s actual needs. (So many of us are so desperate to connect and love and nurture that we’ll forgo sharing what actually makes our dogs happy, balanced, and comfortable. This is a selfish act, based on our needs, not our dogs.)

-Letting your needs blind you to your dog’s actual needs. (So many of us struggle to connect, feel safe, engage in love within the human world, or are just overwhelmed, overworked and lean on our dogs for love, support, nurturing, in a world where we aren’t able to receive the same support and nurturing from our own kind. When our dogs represent so much more than just being our dogs, it can become next to impossible to share the leadership, discipline, structure, rules, and accountability they need to thrive)

 

Of course there’s always more, but this is a pretty good place to start to get a better handle on you and your dog’s relationship. And if you’re having any issues, chances are awfully good that you’ll find the cause right here in this post. 

Happy 4th of July

The Art and Science of Dog Training

Callie is a high drive young Dobie. She's a sweet girl who loves  attention. Unfortunately she has learned many bad behaviors that were both intentionally and unintentially reinforced.  Both she and her owner are learning new ways to interact. Her owner is very invested in her training. With consistant training she will be a real superstar when she matures.

How to help your pet through the Summer heat

       A little caring attention to your pet’s needs can keep 

them safe and happy through the hotter 

Summer months.

The summer months can be uncomfortable—even dangerous—for pets and people. Follow some simple tips to keep your favorite pal healthy in the Summer heat.

Practice basic summer safety
Never leave your pets in a
parked car! Not even for a minute. Not even with the car running an air conditioner on. On a warm day, temperatures inside a vehicle can rise rapidly to dangerous levels. On an 85-degree day, for example, the temperature inside a car with the windows opened slightly can reach 102 degrees within 10 minutes. After 30 minutes, the temperature will reach 120 degrees.

Watch the humidity  
Humidity can make already high temperatures worse. Animals pant to evaporate moisture from their lungs, which takes heat away from their body. If the humidity is too high, they are unable to cool themselves, and their temperature will skyrocket to dangerous levels—very quickly. If your dog’s temperature reaches 104 degrees, they are in danger of heatstroke and organ failure.

Don’t rely on a fan 

Fans don’t necessarily cool a pets feet and that is where they primarily sweat.
 
Provide ample shade and water

Any time your pet is outside, make sure he or she has protection from heat and sun

and plenty of fresh, cold water. Shade trees and tarps can help. A doghouse does not provide relief from heat—in fact, it makes it worse.

Cool your pet inside and out   

Always provide water, whether your pets are inside or out with you.

Watch for signs of heatstroke

Extreme temperatures can cause heatstroke. Some signs of heatstroke are heavy panting, glazed eyes, a rapid heartbeat, difficulty breathing, excessive thirst, lethargy, fever, dizziness, lack of coordination, profuse salivation, vomiting, a deep red or purple tongue, seizure, and unconsciousness. Older animals, and those with short muzzles are particularly susceptible to heatstroke.

How to treat a pet suffering from heatstroke

Move your pet into the shade or an air-conditioned area. Apply ice packs or cold towels to her head, neck, and chest or run cool (not cold) water over her. Let her drink small amounts of cool water or lick ice cubes. Take her directly to a veterinarian.

Flea and Tick Season is here                 

Be on the lookout and check your pets for ticks in addition to checking them for fleas. As

early as early May, we were seeing signs of an increase in fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and

other pests for your pets, due to a mild winter and soggy spring.

Who is ruling the roost?

Driving home after a day of training I thought about the dogs I had seen. Two were little fear aggressive terriers that had bitten houseguests. Another bigger dog was leash reactive, lunging and barking at dogs, cats, squirrels, or anything else that moved. Needless to say his owners had no control over him when he saw something in the house through the window or outside. The fourth dog just didn’t listen. She helped herself to whatever she desired; couch pillow, loaf of bread on the counter, $100 shoes. Didn’t matter, whatever struck her fancy at the moment was hers. Or so she thought. All four of these dogs lead their owners when walked, charging ahead and acting as if the person on the other end of the leash didn’t exist.

These owners are good people who love their dogs. All have one thing in common. Their dogs rule the roost. They love their dogs unconditionally, allowing them full run of the house and provide no structure or rules of behavior. Nothing is earned and the dogs do not have to work for anything. Affection is given indiscriminately and frequently. The dogs see their people as soft and weak and are making their own decisions because no one is doing it for them.  What these dogs need is guidance and less unconditional affection. I asked all of them to do one thing this week besides the individualized homework I had assigned. I asked them to withhold affection for the week and to ignore the dog when they are not training, feeding or taking bathroom breaks. No belly rubs, no baby talk, no cuddling. The dog stays off furniture. Just for one week. I suspect that the dogs will begin to learn to stop taking their owners for granted and will become a bit more attentive to them. 

How we live with our dog 

determines the dog 

we ultimately get