Category: Dogs (page 1 of 4)

Use a longer lead – How to improve your dog walk

Use a longer lead – Why your lead too short?

There are many benefits to using a longer lead for both dog and human so why are many leads produced by the big manufacturers too short.

Most are 3 or 4 ft in (1m to 1.2m) length which doesn’t leave much room for your small or average-sized dog and whilst for a large dog, it would seem long, they cannot actually move very far away before the lead goes taut. 

Dogs NEED to sniff

Sniffing is critical to a dog, not only does it tell them what is going on in the local area – think of it like reading your local newspaper – but research shows that it actually reduced their heart rate – check out the study here.

The trouble is we generally walk our dogs on a short lead, This means that when they get a whiff of an amazing or interesting smell, they can’t easily reach it. So they pull towards it. Pulling on a tight lead whether attached to a collar or a harness causes a raised heart rate, not to mention frustration and stress for both dog and owner.

Who decided that dogs must walk next to you?

So who make up the rule that dogs should walk to heel next to you?  That they should ignore their natural instincts, ignore their senses and march neatly alongside you.  To make matters worse, if you want to stop and chat, you do.  If you want to check out a notice board or shop window, you do but your dog is not allowed his version of window shopping!

How is that fair?

A couple of weeks ago, Daz and I were in Lynmouth, he was sniffing whatever he was sniffing and I was window shopping, so we were zig-zagging down the lane.  If he caught a whiff of something on the opposite side, we went there then I would want to check a shop window out and we went that way.  A gentleman laughingly asked who was walking who?  I think the answer was both of us as we were taking it in turns.

No more soldier majoring from me

In my pet classes, I no longer teach ‘heel’, ‘about turns’ and ‘straight sits’.  I no longer shout out ‘handler and dog normal pace forward’ or ‘turning about, about turn’ or any of the other commands I used to shout.  Now you are more likely to hear me remind you to ‘ loosen that lead!’.  Instead of a row of people and dogs marching up and down, everyone works on their own in their own space.  With me moving between them, helping where needed. Plenty of praise and giggles are the norm now.

Dragged down the road?

I think my daughter was appalled when I mentioned this to her. Her view is that properly executed heelwork is amazing and something to aspire to.  To me, that’s ok for people who want to do competitions, but I would rather my customers to get what fits in with their life, and most just want to ensure that their dog is not dragging them down the road.

Maybe leads need to be longer – but not flexi

If you have your dog on a longer lead, at least 2m (6 feet) or longer, it can more easily get his head down and sniff.  There is more room to manoeuvre.

The other benefit is that if your dog is in front of you, you can see his whole body.

Is his tail wagging, up, down or totally still?

What about the ears?

Has the body become stiff or fluid and playful?

By having your dog in front of you, you can spot a potentially adverse situation more quickly. Giving you more time to observe, think and react differently and therefore, have a different outcome.

If the lead is loose it is more comfortable for you and your dog.  You try walking anywhere with a taut lead attached to your neck or body.  How uncomfortable will that be?  But many people walk their dogs in that way all the time, especially if attached to a flexi lead.  Most people do not even recognise that they have their dog on a tight lead.  It is just how they are and there is no further thought about it.

But we know that a tight lead makes us feel more secure and more ‘in control’ of our dog. Sadly, it’s not true, we are kidding ourselves and actually aggravating the situation. Making our dog more uncomfortable and adding to everyone’s stress.

Experiment – using a longer lead

I am going to experiment with a 10ft long lead and see how I get on.  I already use a 7m long line so in general, I can cope with a long lead, but I want to see how I get on with something just a bit longer than my normal 2m standard lead.

Painswick Pets has made it for me.  www.painswickpets.co.uk

I love their luxury padded airweb products and the colours range available.  Painswick Pets not only make standard products, but they will make bespoke items too.

But if I allow my dog to sniff, how will I get them to walk when I need them to?

I would train really short periods of close work between the bouts of sniffing.  Make it very rewarding for walking just a few steps.  Give the sniffing and the close walk specific commands.  I tend to call it ‘walk nicely’ and ‘go sniff’.

But I would also start making the turning away from sniffing rewarding.  I already recommend that when training your puppy or adult dog, you reward them every time they look at you or come back close (check-in).  So I would do this when they are sniffing on a lead.  Your dog will most likely increase the frequency of checking in.

Conclusion – Use a longer lead

I have known for ages that holding dogs on a tight lead causes more problems than it fixes but that it helps people feel more secure. I already often recommend that people switch to a 2m lead rather than a short, shop bought standard lead. It really can make a difference, as long as the human doesn’t just wrap the excess around their wrist.

Whilst I used to teach my dogs to to keep walking and not sniff and used to help my customers teach their dogs to so the same, now I don’t worry and have changed my view of a walk and they can sniff as much as they want.

Now I am going to test whether having an even longer lead makes more of a difference.

I will let you know how I get on

Whatever you do, have fun and enjoy living with your dogs.

Karen from Peaceful Pups.

If you wish to explore working with me directly or remotely via zoom/Skype, please just email me, or text and I will get back to you. Check out my services here

Christmas with your puppy

December 2019 Christmas Puppy
A Puppy for Christmas? Puppy wearing a Santa hat

Christmas is nearly here, if you have a puppy or dog that you purchased or rescued during the year, or that you had a new puppy last year then this information is for you.

Every year, the Christmas and New Year period and all January are the worst months for dogs and puppies being abandoned.

Now I am not suggesting, for one moment, that you are going to abandon your dog or puppy, but there are reasons that it happens and this article is aimed at reducing the impact of the new dog or puppy during this busy time.

In many homes Christmas, the run up to it, the day and the days after are busy places. If you have young children, they get excited. So the energy around the home changes and your young puppy or even rescue dog has no idea what is going on. Something is changing and they have no experience to fall back on.

At the same time, the adults are usually getting a little stressed, presents and food to buy, wrapping to do. A tree and decorations to get done all before the day.

One the day, there is food to cook, presents to open, kids waking early so less sleep. Maybe people are staying or you have people coming to dinner.

The visitors don’t know your puppy.

The visitors may be wary of your puppy.

The puppy can’t tell its presents from others.

It may want to be with whoever is doing the cooking and so be getting underfoot.

If it is still young, you need to deal with the training too – how do you fit it all in?

It may not be toilet trained!

It may pick up on all the excitement and get excited too – can you cope with a puppy in crazy mode?

So what do you do?

Plan for your puppy/rescue – Plan.

I have come up with a list of questions for you to think about before the day.

In the run up.

  • Where are you going to put the presents before the day?
  • If you put chocolate on your tree, is it out of reach?
  • How are you going to cope if your dog finds the tree scary?
  • How are you going to make sure that your dog doesn’t pull the tree down?
  • Have you enough space to store the food where your dog can not get it?
  • What will your dog be doing whilst you are wrapping presents?
  • What will you do if he gets bored?
  • Have you got your dogs food?

On Christmas day and following days

  • Where will your dog be when you open the presents?
  • What happens to the wrapping paper and boxes?
  • Have you somewhere out of reach to put the presents as you open them or will you dog just ignore them?
  • If you have children, will they understand that the dog cannot tell the difference between their toys and his, so put them away when not playing.
  • Will you dog want to join in any game?
  • It is so common for dogs to destroy the children’s toys, so how will you manage that event if it happens (it will not be the dog’s fault)?
  • Where will the dog be when you are cooking? It will not help stress levels if he is tripping you up or pinching the food.
  • Where will he be when you are eating?
  • What about visitors?
  • Can he greet visitors politely (older people have thinner skin which splits easier than younger – so remember the 1st aid kit)
  • Do your visitors like dogs or are they scared of them?
  • If your dog gets overwhelmed at all the visitors, how will you know and how are you going to manage it?
  • If your visitor is unsteady on their feet, will you dog knock them over? How will you manage that?
  • Is all the leftover food and chocolate out of the dog’s reach?
  • Have you planned when you are going to fit in the walks?
  • Have you got somewhere he can go for a bit of peace and quiet if he wants? If so, does he know this place and is happy there?
  • Have you something for him to chew to help him cope?
  • Do you know your vets emergency number?
  • If you go out visiting, will your dog be ok?

Remember whatever happens it will not be your dog’s fault, it will likely be lack of planning or understanding on your part.

Please don’t make your dog pay.

Other Resources

The Dogs Trust have a useful site although Avocados are not poisonous for your dogs.

If you have an issue and you need an urgent session to help resolve it or help to handle it on the day, give me a call. I will see what I can do to help

Karen

07910 706916

I wish you a happy Christmas and a wonderful New year

Rules – Do you know the Rules?

The Rules - Do you know the UK Rules and Laws relating to your dog? The image shows a cute dogs asleep on a rug.  The text is: UK Dog Rules.  Do you know them?
Do you know the Rules?

I know that the Rules of the road is probably a boring subject, but it is important. There is a lot of confusion around the rules regarding your dogs when out and about in the UK around cars and roads, so I thought that I would clarify them for you.



Are you legal when it comes to cars, roads and your dog?

Have you any idea where the rules are?

The answer is that they are in the Highway code and as such, they are legal requirements.

They are rules 56 and 57.

Rule 56:

“Dogs. Do not let a dog out on the road on its own. Keep it on a short lead when walking on the pavement, road or path shared with cyclists or horse riders.”

Therefore, flexi leads, unless they are locked short, are not legal.

Rule 57:

When in a vehicle make sure dogs or other animals are suitably restrained so they cannot distract you while you are driving or injure you, or themselves, if you stop quickly. A seat belt harness, pet carrier, dog cage or dog guard are ways of restraining animals in cars.”

Therefore, dogs loose in the car, even in a footwell, are not legal.

Dog Tags – The rules

Do you know what information you should have on your dog tag?

“In the UK, the Control of Dogs Order 1992 states that any dog in a public place must wear a collar with the name and address (including postcode) of the owner engraved or written on it, or engraved on a tag.”

Your telephone number is optional. To me, it makes sense to add it.

If found, the tag is the first thing people check. Where there is a number, they will call. When the number doesn’t work, they get no answer or if there is no tag, then they check for a microchip. 

So a tag should be on a collar and not a harness.

Microchip – The rules

Your dog must have a microchip in England and the microchip registered.

Other dog law information – more rules.

Here is a link to the Government site that details the laws around your dog’s behaviour and the possible penalties. It is worth a read.

Behaviour Issue

Please find a good trainer or behaviourist to help if your dog has a behaviour that needs addressing whilst out and about or in the home.

It could save your dog’s life and you from a big fine or a prison sentence, or both!

Here is a link to my services.

Mand or Manding – what is it and how is it used?

Mand or Manding with Daz.  he is a Brown newfoundland who has a number of different mands to communicate what he wants.  here he looks at the food and then looks at me to tell me he wants the food.
Mand or Manding with Daz. he looks at what he wants and then looks at you.

Every now and then in the dog training world a ‘new thing’, it might be a training aid such as a clicker or a method of training such as Positive Training, but this new ‘thing’ is suddenly everywhere and trainers all start talking about it.

Currently, there are two new terms (which have been around for years but are really just becoming popular)– Mand (manding) and Start Button Behaviour (although this concept has been around for a while.  See ‘the bucket game’ by Chirag Patel) https://www.animaltrainingacademy.com/podcast/training-tidbits/chirag-patel/

This article will focus on Mand.

So what is Mand or Manding and where has it come from?

Mand is a term first used in Psychology by BF Skinner.  See Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mand_(psychology)

“Mand is a term that B.F. Skinner used to describe a verbal operant in which the response is reinforced by a characteristic consequence and is therefore under the functional control of relevant conditions of deprivation or aversive stimulation.”

Skinner introduced the mand as one of six primary verbal operants in his 1957 work, Verbal Behavior.

The most important part of it is that they primarily benefit the speaker.

Where has Mand and Manding been used?

More recently manding has been used as a communication method for people with Autism.  The idea is that the person (child) has to be sufficiently motivated by something and is encouraged to say a word, a sound or use some kind of body language movement to make the request (this bit is called a ‘tact’) and hopefully at a later date the person will use that word, sound or body movement in the future to ask for what they want.

Summary

So to Mand is to ask for something and is in control of the person asking.

If a parent asks a child it they want a drink and the child responds ‘drink’ they are not manding.

However, if a child suddenly says ‘drink’ without any prompt or encouragement, they are manding.

So how does Manding apply to animals – specifically dogs?

If you watch your dogs (other animals too) you will find that they have learnt to do a behaviour when they want something.  Some dogs sit by the door when they want to go out.  Some bark to go out or for their dinner.  Some will paw you when they want attention.  There are many things they do, including jumping up. 

However the behaviour will only continue if it is reinforced in some way.  For instance, if they ask to go out and you let them out.  If they ask for their dinner, you feed them.  If they paw you or jump up and you give them the attention they want.

That is a mand.

You asking them if they want to go out and they look at the door, that is not a mand, they are responding to you.

Remember a mand is initiated by them, they are asking for something and it is what they want.

Important: With puppies, what they want is not restricted to when they mand.  A mand may give them what they want, but you wouldn’t not fuss them because they haven’t asked for it.

How will Mands and Manding benefit our training?

I think it will make quite a bit of difference.

We know that like humans, dogs get less stressed if they have some control over their lives and this gives them the control. 

Puppies pick up on it very quickly but adult dogs do too and it is really easy to do.

It turns out that I have been recommending that owners teach their dog to mand in much of my training, around food and when out on walks. Plus, we all frequently teach manding without knowing it. I also teach settle by manding.
For more information about dog training click this link.

Mands can be used for many things such as not jumping up, sitting nicely to greet people, sitting nicely at the vets and many others.

How do you teach a “manding” behaviour?

So how do you teach a manding behaviour if you can’t ask for it?

This is very simple.  You reinforce the behaviour that you want when the puppy or adult dog spontaneously provides it.

How about teaching a sit for attention, from you or others?

When the dog is around you, frequently reward a sit when the puppy does it on its own accord. Remember you mustn’t ask for it and you are not withholding something because it isn’t sitting.

The more you reward, the more often the dog will provide the behaviour.

Reward can be a fuss, a game, food or going outside. Use whatever is more appropriate at the time.

So why don’t you just start watching your dogs and begin rewarding a behaviour that you want more repeated.


Most of all – have fun.

DO NOT, Do not touch my Paws

White puppy holding up his paws

My paws

Do not touch my Paws

Last week, I was helping a groomer with a dog who was strongly objecting to anything near his paws.  He was saying “Do Not Touch My Paws” The problem is that the rest of the body had been clipped and so had most of the legs.

No-one was speaking harshly to him, and we spent ages trying to get the poor dog to cope with either a muzzle being put on, or scissors being near his paws.  Once a muzzle was on, we had to hold the front legs anyway because he was going to rip his face trying to get it off!

I felt so sorry for the poor boy

He was terrified and he wasn’t being aggressive or nasty, he was just trying to stay safe in the only way open to him bearing in mind he was attached to a grooming table.  The option to run away had been removed.  He had no idea that we were not going to hurt him.

Many parents know how difficult it is to try to break through the panic of a child.  The child has language and it is still hard.  Your dog doesn’t, the words are just a sound to him.  Shouting and anger, just adds to the stress.

I have no idea what had happened before as he had obviously been groomed in the past.  It is entirely possible that he hasn’t been hurt previously, he has just always been scared and no-one has ever taken the time to help him.  He needs daily work to move him towards being able to cope with the grooming of his feet.

We did finally manage to get the feet tidied and nails clipped as he loved being under a spray of warm water and was much more docile like that!

It’s not fair

Vets and Groomers face scared dogs on a daily basis.  It is not fair to them to have to risk being hurt by a scared dog.

But more importantly, it is not fair to the dog.  He was very seriously stressed and scared.

That stress may have stayed in his system for a while and would have made his ability to cope with other stresses more difficult.

What can you do to help?

Add it to your puppy’s and dog’s socialisation plan.  It may not be a quick exercise so be patient, go at your dog’s pace, not yours.

Add a check of his

  • legs,
  • feet,
  • ears,
  • eyes,
  • mouth
  • teeth and
  • tail to his training plan.

Get your pooch to happily accept his feet being touched.  If having his nails cut and being clipped  is something that will happen in his life, get him used to the smell, sound and feel of clippers.

Work with a hairdryer too, not just the sound, but the smell of it and the feel of it blowing warm air on him.

It’s your responsibility, you own the dog

You do it, don’t abdicate responsibility to your groomer.  Have other people touching him.

Book in a trip to the groomer to introduce him to the people and the smell of the place.

Also, take your puppy to the vets a few times so that he has a chance to get used to the smell without something happening to him.  Most vet practices will be happy for you to visit for a few moments.  Make the vets and super place in your puppy’s experience.

Choose a training program that includes socialisation to grooming and how to do it.  It’s important.

It’s one of the items I cover in my puppy classes and with my private clients.  I always go at a pace that the puppy can cope with and make it as stress free and as much fun as possible.

Karen,

Peaceful Pups

 

Teaching in Silence – does it work?

Teaching in Silence, does it work? Find out here and then try for yourself.

Fact: Teaching in silence works.
As many of you know, I teach most behaviours silently for a number of reasons.

His Brain

Firstly: Whilst your dog has a number of areas in his brain that deals with language, none of them deal with language in the same way that humans do. The words we say are just sounds to your dog.
In addition, each one of us is unique. Our voices have different inflections and we move our bodies in different ways. Your dog’s eyesight is extremely good at spotting movement and, therefore when you say particular words, you move your body in a specific way too.
For instance: Maybe you twitch your nose when you say his name. Or you could shrug your shoulders when you ask for a sit or raise your eyebrow when you ask him to spin. Whatever it is, you body language is unique to you.

Body Language

Secondly: Your dog relies more on body language than sounds. So when you ask your dog to perform some action, your dog usually looks at you to work out what you want. At first, they will not be listening to the sound you make.
When your dog does start to associate the behaviour with your body language and the sound you make, it is still unique to you and others in your household won’t be the same.
So when your partner says that the dog doesn’t like them because it never does what they ask, it has nothing to do with like or dislike and more to do with the dog not understanding what is being asked. Remember the timbre of their voice is different as is the body language.

Multi-tasking

My third reason for teaching as much as I can silently is that dogs are no more capable of truly multi-tasking than us. When you are trying to learn something and somebody is nattering away at you, you either stop so you can listen or you ask them to go away. Why then, should a dog who doesn’t have language, be able to concentrate and learn when you are talking to him?

Repetition

And finally, I hate it when people say “sit, sit, sit, sit, sit”. If the dog doesn’t do it the first time, he either has no idea what you are talking about or is not actually listening or watching you. This means that you are not only wasting your breath, but your could be teaching your dog to actually sit when your voice reaches a certain pitch or you have said it 6 times! Not useful at all.

So what is the benefit of teaching in silence?

I mostly teach in silence because I have found that the puppy picks things up much quicker once it starts to focus on you and think. You can actually see the dog trying different behaviours to see whether it will work and he will get what he wants. In effect, it is shaping in the same way that some clicker training works. Our speech is, in effect, just white noise most of the time.

I find the dog is calmer and that the learning is more stable. Mainly, I think, because the dog has started to build their own neural pathways in their brain.

When I do not use silence?

Praise is not silent and always comes with a smile.

There are certain situations when a dog will need constant reassurance that they have got it right. For instance, when I am starting with a tiny puppy, I always start the ‘walking on a loose lead’ training without a lead at all (remember I am at the person’s house and we are not in a field). We teach the puppy where the zone of reinforcement is located and progress as fast at the puppy’s pace. But sometimes, if I visit an older puppy for the first time or an older dog and they are already going out regularly, I don’t want to feed a constant stream of treats, so I will utilise a very happy ‘yes’ or ‘Good boy/girl’ when the dog is in the correct position.

I also use the specific word if I am trying to capture a naturally occurring behaviour that I will later want to put on command. For instance, ‘speak’ or a command that tells the dog, I want it to go to the toilet.

I don’t usually use silence for a recall either. I still only say the word once whether I am teaching it as a fun game or I am using conditioning.

Stay is another command that I use right from the beginning if I am actually going to use a word. For some people, a Sit or Down will mean the dog stays in that position until released. In this situation the word ‘stay’ is not required.

Commands suitable for teaching in silence

Here are a list of behaviours I regularly teach without words at the beginning:

Sit

Down

Stand

Heel

Leave

Do not to enter a room

Not to go through a door

Stay in the cage, even if the door is open

Not to go upstairs

Release the toy

On your bed, or in your cage.

When to add the word.

Science has taught us the optimum point to add the command. Therefore, when I think the dog has got the behaviour reliably, I will add the verbal command at the point the behaviour starts. For instance, if the dog is going to sit, say it at the point the body starts to move into position.

Conclusion

However, I often feel that by commanding our dogs, they are reactive to that and wait for the command. If you let them work it out using cues from their environment, I think they become better mannered, calmer and able to make the right decisions. This leaves one less thing for the owner to think about. In this day and age when life is busy and stressful, one less thing to think about is very welcome.

Interesting blog and experiment for you.

Jill Breitner has written an interesting article for Dogster with an experiment for you using body language. Here is a link: Dogster

So have a go at teaching in silence and let me know how you get on. If you want some help with how to do it, just send me a message.

Remember to make training fun for both of you and use very short training sessions. Your dog will be happier and learn quicker, I promise.

Karen

From Peaceful Pups.

 

Cool Coats – are they good for our dogs?

Cool Coats – are they all they are cracked up to be?

 

So are these cool coats for our dogs any good? Do they do what it says on the tin? I am trying to find out.

It’s hot in the UK at the moment and because it is not really the norm in this Country, our dogs and people are not really used to it and some are struggling.Cooling-down

In recent years there has been a surge in various types of cool coats which supposedly keep your dogs cool – but do they?

I have been looking for some research where someone has measured the dog’s core temperature before having the coat applied and then it is measured regularly afterwards with a control dog with the same coat and in the same environment so we can see the impact of the cool coat.

I can’t find it!

My problem is that I think that when you are hot, carrying something close to you and potentially heavy, makes you feel worse.

Once we attach these coats, it’s not as if dogs have a choice, they can’t take them off, nor can they ask us to remove them. We just assume the coats help our dogs feel cooler and more comfortable.

Do they feel better?

Are our dogs more comfortable?

I am trying to find out.

Research?

Is there any proper research? If there is, I haven’t been very successful in finding it. I have found an informal study where thermal imaging was used and they monitored the dog before the coat was applied and once it was in place.

Initially, the dog’s temperature did reduce, however within 10 minutes it was back to normal and then continued rising. This dog was actually getting hotter because of the coat!
In fact, there is anecdotal evidence that the type that holds water actually creates a sauna like aefect, which is the opposite of what people are trying to do!

Excited

I got quite excited when I found an Australian Company that contained a data sheet about how the vests worked until I realised that, although they sold dog coats, their data was on humans and even then the human only got an extra 11 minutes work before their core temperature rose by 2 degrees!

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, I have yet to see any evidence that these coats do any more than cool the dog for a few minutes and, if the dog has a thick, coat, it makes the coat feel cool and not the dog.

Cool Mats

I think the cool mats might be a better option because dogs are not as hairy on their abdomen area so the blood running close to the skin there will get cooler. Also, dogs lose heat through their paws so, paws on a cool surface, again seems to make sense as any blood close to the skin is cooled down.

If I am wrong and you have scientific evidence carried out on dogs with a control, please let me know where we can see it.

Here’s a link to a video I recorded talking cool coats, paddling pools and clipping coats:

Trying to keep cool Karen.

Peaceful Pups

Why we have got socialisation wrong

A puppy chasing older dogs in play - socialising

Daz (puppy) chasing Odin, Scooby and Poppy

Socialisation

Socialisation, I am sure you have heard about it.

Do you know what it means?

Do you know what you have to do?

Do you know what to include?

Most people think that socialisation means letting your puppy meet other dogs and people, but it is so much more than that.

Dogs

By other dogs, it means not just your own other dogs, but a variety of other dogs outside of your home. Your dog is able to play politely, if it plays, and not barge in, bowling the other dogs over, or not be terrified of other dogs. And then comes back when called straight away.

People

As far as people are concerned, your dog should be polite, not jump or bark (unless given permission), not shy away or barge into them. It shouldn’t matter what they wear or whether they have a beard or not.

Think about, trousers, long dresses/robes, turbans, umbrellas, glasses, males, female, children, running, walking, riding a bike, pushing a pram, wheelchairs, mobility scooters, skateboards.

Situations and Surfaces

What about situations and surfaces? What are you going to want to do with your dog during its lifetime, where are you likely to take it?

Consider trains, lifts, metal and wooden surfaces, bridges (under and over), café’s, pubs, boats, buses, cars, beaches, town centres, stations.

And finally, Sounds

And then there are sounds. Your puppy needs to get used to as many different sounds as possible. Having a dog that is terrified of fireworks or crop scarers is not easy to live with and certainly very stressful for your dog.

Deal with the noises early on, within the first few weeks if possible.

The breeder

The more your breeder does, as long as it has been done well, will be a bonus. There is quite a big push now for breeders to do more and many breeders are now providing a variety of different surfaces, noises, situations, and objects whilst they are growing. It is always worth asking your breeder what they have done in this respect and how many people they have met, especially men and children.

When you should start

You HAVE to start as soon as you bring your puppy home because there is a small window of opportunity that is generally thought to close down by the time they are 16 weeks old, some have even suggested that some breeds shut this period down even earlier, but that is a discussion for another day.

You want your puppy to have a nice experience of as many things as possible in that window. If your puppy doesn’t see something, he may decide that they are scary things and either shy away from it or go to the other extreme that says ‘I’ll attack you before you get to me’ which is known as fearful aggression. Not all dogs will do this though, but how will you know if your dog won’t until it’s too late?

The Bad News

By the way, your puppy will go through another stage like this somewhere around 10 months.

Trainers can get it wrong too

Us trainers don’t always get it right either! I have always lived in villages, but recently moved close to a Town Centre where there were people of a variety of nationalities and wearing lots of different types of clothing.

I thought my dogs were ok, but I found out how wrong I was one Sunday morning when I took my two big boys out early one morning. We had only gone a little way when a car pulled up next to us, and a young girl got out dressed in robes, from head to foot. My boys weren’t so keen on that and let us all know. I then had to spend some time on them separately getting them used to everything around us.

Choices

So you have got your puppy, what are your choices for socialisation?

Typically there are 4:

  1. Vets – puppy socialisation courses
  2. Training clubs and schools – with their puppy classes or
    socialisation classes
  3. Doggie day care – some will take them from a puppy, I did, but I was very careful with them.
  4. Do nothing and hope.

However, now there is a 5th choice. You can work with a dog trainer who knows how to help dogs develop good manners and behaviours around people and dogs.

Why I think traditional options for socialisation are a contributing factor in the increase of aggression

Let me tell you why I believe that the traditional options are a major contributing cause for the increase in aggression in some dogs.

The number of people taken to hospital due to dog bites has risen by 76% in the 10 years to August 2014 and they went up by 6.5% in the year to Feb 2015. Remember these are only the ones taken to hospital.

Socialisation was supposed to stop the badly behaved and aggressive dogs. So why have the numbers of hospitalised dog bites increased?

Where it all started

Dr Ian Dunbar started it all in the early 1980s, he was revolutionary and gradually he made a massive impact and changed dog training in the UK and other countries around the world. This was a major step forward.

Puppy socialisation came to the front and over time many schools and veterinary practices have implemented puppy socialisation classes.

What we got

My experience and what many other people have experienced is that rarely is there any thought given to what the puppy learns if he is allowed to bully all the other puppies. The other puppies will join in, What will they get from that?

And what about the nervous one? The poor thing is terrified and is just plonked into the middle of the fray in a sink or swim way. Only for him to get mown down by the class bullies and the other dogs wanting to join in the fun.

It’s like being terrified of heights and someone making you walk on a glass floor a couple of stories up and the glass cracks whilst you are in the middle.

So now the super confident puppy has learnt that it is ok to railroad other puppies and if he is lucky other dogs will join in. The dog you crash into will likely roll over or run away. But, either way, it’s good fun.

The nervous puppy has been traumatised and will either always try to avoid being that situation for the rest of its life or it will develop an ‘it’s me or you’ attitude and attack first so that the other dog doesn’t get the chance. This is called ‘fear aggression’.

Absolutely crackers.

Now it’s time to up our game, take the next step.

Not all clubs and vets are the same

Now I know there are many places out there, who manage the situation extremely well and some are much better than this, but there are many that do not.

Most owners have no idea what they are letting themselves in for. They just do not have that knowledge and many trainers haven’t thought about it.

The same happens with people, some dogs are not stopped and are encouraged/allowed to get too excited with people.

The nervous ones are just forced to deal with this strange person reaching their hand, like a big scary spider, over the top of their head and they just can’t get away.

Or they are crowded by people and children and their frantic body language telling us they are too scared is totally ignored.

No-one is helping them. That comes later, if they are lucky.

If they are not so lucky, they get re-homed because they are unpredictable or aggressive and sometimes they are just put to sleep.

In most cases, we humans have caused the problem and it’s about time we stopped.

Go and find yourself a trainer who understands and recognises what poorly thought out and poorly managed socialisation can do and knows how to introduce your precious puppy to the world. One who can tell you how to recognise when your puppy is not so happy with what is happening.

If your dog has experienced this, many trainers know how to help your dog learn how to cope without lunging and barking at everything it sees. Go and find one but walk away quickly if they want to use water spray, rattle bottles, pet corrector, shock collars, prong collars or attention turns. These are old methods that work on punishment for your dog trying to do what it feels he has to do to protect himself.

Can I help?

My 12 week Puppy Steps Foundation Plan includes managed socialisation as standard and as I come to you, we practise it in the areas you will be going with your puppy.

If you have a question about how to socialise your puppy, you can book a short free call (SKYPE) with me to see if I can help.

Remember to have some fun with your dog.
Karen – Peaceful Pups

Pulled from Pillar to Post?

Does your dog pull you from pillar to post?

Do you get pulled on your walk?

Does your dog decide where you will walk?

If you are being pulled on your walk is not nice for you or your dog, especially if he pulls suddenly sometimes.

However, you do not have to put up with it, there are a variety of methods to help you teach your dog to walk along next to you with a nice smile in your lead. But you have to be determined and consistent too otherwise your dog will win.

Things to think about:

1) If you have something tight around your neck, pulling you in one direction, what is your natural response? Do you go with the pull or do you pull against it? Most pull against it and so does your dog.

2) Do you jerk the lead back at the same time as issuing the command? Many do and I was one of them too. But this is like telling someone to cook you a meal and expecting them to have all the ingredients ready and everything cooking the moment you say the word. Doesn’t sound fair to me. Stop jerking the lead and also give your dog time to respond.

3) Is everyone calm before they exit the house? If your dog is excited, how on earth is he going to listen to you? If you are stressed, how are you going to be thinking correctly?

4) Do you go out for a walk or a training session? If your dog pulls, go for training sessions rather than walks. This means having a plan, the necessary tools, changing your mindset and having a good supply of patience.

 

Plan, Practise and Assess

So if you want to change those walks from an uncomfortable pull for both of you into a nice relaxing trip, create your plan, give it a week, which has a couple of short practise sessions every day, and then reassess.

If there is an improvement, continue, if not alter the plan and start again.

Ask for advice if you need it.

There are a number of nice ways to teach a dog to walk beside you on a loose lead. You won’t need to shout, jerk or get cross/stressed.

Reading the local newspaper

Remember to give your dog sniffing time. It’s his way of finding out what is going on around him, much like us reading the local newspaper.

If he is used to dragging you from sniffing place to sniffing place, use the sniffing as a reward and get your dog to walk one or two places next to you and then let him have a sniff for a while. Then repeat. Gradually you can increase the number of paces he has to walk before he can sniff again.

Reward is the way to go and reward often to start with – don’t be stingy

You should reward your dog often to start with, either by food, play with toys, getting to where he wants or sniffing. Choose the reward most appropriate to your dog at that moment in time, not what is easiest for you.

Distractions

You should avoid distractions that will upset your walk.

I realise that it can be annoying or difficult for you to avoid them, but if you can, it is better to avoid distractions, at this stage.

You could turn around or cross over.

Make it easy for you and your dog to stay calm.

Once you have the walking sorted, then you can start on the lower level distractions. But take advice. There are some really good and successful methods to help dogs overcome these problems now without pulling or shouting, so if you do not know

Take advice.

There are some really good and successful methods to help dogs overcome these problems now without pulling or shouting.

Puppy

If you have a puppy, start the practice at home and in your garden, on lead and off and then, when your puppy is allowed out, go for very short training walks so you puppy never learns to pull.

Do not think ‘good my puppy can go out’ and then proceed to take him on a specific walk. Your first walks need to be training walks.

It doesn’t matter if your first walks only last 5 minutes and you get no further than the first lamp post. These are short training sessions and will pay off handsomely in the long run if done properly.

Help is available

If you would like some help to stop you getting pulled on your walk by your dog. I promise, no jerks or painful methods used.

 

5 Things you do which can contribute to your pup’s bad behaviour

Accidental Potty Problems

As a dog owner, you should supervise your puppy at all times or confine him when you can’t be there. If you watch your puppy, you will start to recognise the signs that he needs to go to the toilet. You can also teach him to ring a bell to let you know that he needs to go out. Accidents will happen on the odd occasion but it’s your job to minimise the risk of it happening. This may mean using baby gates to confine the areas that your puppy is allowed to be in. However supervision is just a small part of it. It helps if you can work out your puppy’s routine around food. All puppies will want to go to the toilet after they have eaten. Some will go straight away and some will wait for anything up to 20 minutes. Puppies will also need to go to the toilet when they wake up and when they have been playing. When playing, look for the moment when your puppy suddenly stops and walks off. If your puppy does have an accident, don’t tell him off, just clear it up will as little fuss as possible, after all he is a baby and learning. Remember to praise him every time he goes in the right place.

potty

Chewing

Puppies are like babies and toddlers, they want to explore their environment and anything within reach is fair game. The only trouble is that they tend to chew to decide whether it is good or not and chewing also makes them feel good. So you need to minimise the risk of your puppy having something he shouldn’t. How is your dog possibly going to know the difference between that old slipper you have given him and your £800 Louboutin’s or that fluffy toy you bought him and your child’s favourite teddy? You need to control the environment. This means tidying up after yourself and putting things back where they belong after using them. If it isn’t meant to be chewed, then put it somewhere out of reach of your pup. Your puppy will sometimes need to chew though, so get him things he is allowed to chew. Deer antlers and kongs can be a good option.

shoe

Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety (where your puppy is very stressed and upset when you leave him which results in him crying, barking or ripping up your favourite pillows, or worse chewing holes in your couch or walls) is something that is very time consuming to correct which makes it important that it is not allowed to develop. Often new puppy owners get worried about leaving their puppy and the puppy can pick this up and then will be worried themselves, So the best thing to do is practise. Puppies, like babies need naps during the day, so put your puppy into his sleeping area, give him something to chew and then leave him. Initially, you can stay in the home but start to pop out for a short while and slowly build up the duration. When you come home, don’t make a big fuss. I know you are happy to see your puppy, but a lot of excitement from you is a very big difference to him being alone, so keep the greetings low key and you will help your pup to see these as part of life. If you are going to leave your puppy in a crate, play games so going into the crate is fun thing to do. If your puppy gets anxious when you are leaving him, get professional help as soon as possible. It is one of those things that is easy to help when it starts and very time consuming if allowed to become ingrained.

window

Digging

Some dogs just love to dig – luckily it is not all dogs but if you have one that digs, it can be hard to fix because they are usually doing it when they are in the garden on their own. I once had 4 Polish Lowland Sheepdogs that liked to help me in the garden and if I started digging a hole, I would have 4 noses in the hole too. Any shrubs and plants they saw me put in, they would helpfully dig them up for me as soon as I turned my back. I soon learnt to plant in secret if I wanted my plants to have a chance to grow. Luckily they didn’t dig at other times. If you see your dog, digging, distract him and fill the hole again. If he keeps digging holes, you will need to monitor him at all times so that you can distract or you could just set up a digging area for him and hide chews and toys in it. Your digging dog will love it.

digging

Begging

Some people love their dog sitting in front of them watching you eat every morsel and some people always save a little bit of food for their pup thus guaranteeing that the puppy will be keeping a close eye on you ready for that little bit of food. But for some people, this is the worst thing ever and the easiest way to stop this happening is to teach your puppy food manners so that he knows to only pick food up off the floor when you have told him he can and you can also teach him where he should be when you are eating and cooking. I would suggest a mat or bed to lay on.

beg

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