Prevention is the Key

Posted on November 3, 2010 by Jamie

I spent a good deal of time chatting with some of my dog loving friends online today after posting a link to another “Top # Dangerous Breeds” article. One thing that came up in our discussion was the general public’s lack of fluency in canine language. People are just completely unaware that a dog is telling them, quite clearly, that they don’t appreciate what is going on. If ignored, that dog could consider biting as a last resort to get that person to leave them alone! Then the dog gets the blame and becomes another statistic.

Slight whale eye, tongue flick, and ears pulled back. Most dogs do not appreciate being petted on top of the head.

Risa is still pretty afraid of people she doesn’t know. In general, she is more curious and willing to make friends but I’m very picky about who I let try and pet her. Why? Because most people don’t realize that they are making her uncomfortable. She’s pretty obvious, really. Risa will turn her head away or even turn completely away and leave. MOST people can recognize those behaviors even if they miss the tongue flicks, look aways, her ears pulled back tightly, and the whale eye. Yet, despite her signs of discomfort, people press on. “All dogs love me” they will say with confidence even though Risa has just told them that is NOT the case.

So what can we do to prevent dog bites? Education is key. Surely not everyone is as dog obsessed as myself and willing to spend hours reading books, watching videos, and studying dogs to learn their language. But we dog owners can enlighten the public when we’re out with our dogs. If someone tries to pet our dog with the common ‘over the head’ gesture, we can politely inform them that most dogs don’t appreciate being petted on the head. Instead, they could try petting our dog’s chest.

Even if you are unable/unwilling to help educate the public, you can still avoid problems but just not letting people pet your dog. Especially if you have a nervous, shy, or fearful dog. You are your dog’s protector. Don’t put him in a situation he cannot handle! Even if you must be rude, keep your dog safe. No one has the right to pet your dog if you don’t want them to (though some people seem to think they do). Like I stated above, I don’t let most people pet Risa. She’s had far too many negative experiences in the past with people who pressed on and tried to pet her despite her asking them to leave her alone. I want her to like people. 😉 So I only let people who can follow instructions pet her. Otherwise, we just walk on by. 🙂

Most dogs definitely do NOT like being hugged. Trying this with an unfamiliar dog could be a very bad idea!

If you’re interested in learning more about canine language, there are some great books out there. On Talking Terms with Dogs-Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas, Canine Body Language-A Photographic Guide by Brenda Aloff, and Canine Behavior-A Photo Illustrated Handbook by Barbara Handelman are all great places to start. You can also learn a lot just by sitting back and watching dogs. Drop by your local dog park or catch some videos on TV (or YouTube). I know I learned a LOT about calming signals by watching Risa.

(I would like to thank my parents for their help with the photographs of Risa for this blog entry.)

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Lure Coursing

Posted on October 23, 2010 by Jamie

Fun without Mom's help.

I was finally able to take Risa lure coursing again. She got to go and try it out in July this year and she had a blast. In fact, she had so much fun, she didn’t want to come back! So, after her second run, she took an additional two laps around the field and then took a brief tour of the training facility grounds. *Sigh* Dogs certainly keep one humble!

Today, I was hoping for better luck. After all, we’ve been working with the flirt pole and doing some recall work. Risa remembered the place as soon as she got out of the car. She knew she was in for some fun!

I signed her up for two runs back-to-back. I wanted her to see that coming back to me does NOT mean she will have to go back into her kennel right away. This way, I was able to set up a great reward for coming back to me after the first run: a second run! I also brought our flirt pole out with me in case I needed it.

I had planned on letting her stretch her legs and potty before her run but those thoughts were quickly dashed. As soon as I got her out of the kennel, she was dragging me towards the middle of the field. Guess she remembered how much fun she had last time. 😉 She managed to get away from me while the lure operator was setting up and did a short little run before her official first run. Our work with the flirt pole payed off. Risa showed no interest in the plastic bag ‘bunnies’ once they stopped last time. This time, however, she played tuggie with them making it a bit easier for me to grab her. I collected her with little trouble after her first full run and releashed her. Then, it was time for her second chase.

After her second run, she decided to evade capture again. She didn’t go far and just seemed interested in checking out the smells in the field. The course operator was so patient and tried to lure Risa back with the racing ‘bunnies.’ I was embarrassed, of course. But, as the lure operator pointed out, she didn’t take off nearly as far as she did the time before. So I guess there is hope!!

Once I wrangled Risa back, I took her for a walk to give her a chance to cool down and potty. Not to mention I didn’t want to just put her back in her kennel and be the ‘unfun Mom’ again. 😉 She was pretty social with both the course operator and the person who owned the facility. Overly social, one could say. No hesitation at all in greeting them and getting petted. I was very pleased.

Risa's kennel is surrounded by a blanket to keep visual stimulation to a minimum. She really doesn't like other dogs near her kennel so this helps her feel more safe.

Ris spent the rest of the afternoon in her kennel. I tossed her treats all day while she was kenneled for being calm and when dogs passed by. She was tired but there was no way she could nap. The activity and noise was too much for her. Not to mention she REALLY wanted another turn! As the day wore on, she got more and more anxious about missing out on the fun. I think next time we go coursing, I will take her home shortly after her runs. It’s just too much excitement for her.

I think it’s great that I found an activity Risa can enjoy that doesn’t involve me. Okay, so I have to drive her to the location and pay for it. But the actual event excludes me. She doesn’t need me to run alongside her or direct her to enjoy lure coursing. Risa is a dog who loves to run and chase. It’s in her genes to do this. It’s instinctual. She gets to be a dog. I know she loves dancing in canine freestyle and dabbling in rally. But those activities require her to work in tune with me and do things that aren’t really that doggy. It’s nice to give her a chance to do something she so clearly enjoys and fulfills a natural drive: the chase. 😀

You can click the following link to view a brief clip of Risa’s first run: Risa Lure Coursing

Posted in Lure Coursing, Training | 1 Comment

I Can Just Look Away

Posted on October 20, 2010 by Jamie

. . .though sometimes it’s really hard!

For a good month and a half, I’ve been working on keeping Risa operant while around other dogs. Since Risa no longer loses her mind around other dogs on a regular basis (it does still happen sometimes), I figured I could start clicking her for desired behaviors instead of just operating on classical conditioning.

So I started by keeping a fairly large distance from other dogs on our walks and waiting for Risa to look away. It didn’t have to be a major head turn. Even something as simple as glancing away was enough to earn her a click/treat. (Though, I’ll admit, this is hard to notice from the back of her head!) I also started working on stationary look aways. This is much harder for Risa as it gives her ample opportunity to stare and prepare herself for a reactive explosion. I’m still feeling my way around this new system, having relied on the old one for so long. But I’m seeing amazing progress!

Risa turns and looks away from another dog (her friend, Mokie).

On Tuesday, we attended an introduction to rally class. It’s the first class we’ve been to in a while and I was excited. Risa loves training classes but this one is in a new location with new dogs and people. A potentially stressful situation for her! It took a while for her to feel at ease but not as long as it used to. Her rally performances were quite good though she needs a bit of polishing.

I’m most proud of her for her ability to remain focused and thinking while we waited around for our turn. Despite not having worked on our new routine of “Look, Look Away, Click/Treat” for very long, Risa instantly realized this was just another location where that works! And we had PLENTY of opportunities to work on this. Besides the dogs in our class, there were at least 3 other rings of activity and dogs walking through the aisle where we stood. I think we spent more time there than in the ring working but at least I was able to utilize that time for other training.

The hardest part, for me, was letting Risa think. I have spent a lot of time managing situations. Calling her away, turning her away, etc. when a dog shows up. Especially in close proximity like last night! With most of the dogs, I was able to let Risa do her thing. I was concerned she would explode but she didn’t. She looked and then gave a nervous glance my way which earned her a click/treat. I was able to reward this series of events a LOT last night. The only problem was, I got tired. It is really draining to keep an eye out for other dogs and then watch your own dog so you can reward the appropriate behavior. There were also a few dogs who passed us who were not as well-restrained as I would have liked!! For those dogs, I turned Risa away from them and fed her as they passed. Aside from a small grumble at a dog who came over to sniff her through the ring gating, she was amazing and didn’t react at all.

She’s even getting it when I’m not prepared! At least twice last night a dog passed us without me knowing it was coming. What did Risa do? Exactly what we’ve been working on. She looked at the dog and then right up at me. It wasn’t until I saw her staring at me out of the corner of my eye that I knew a dog was nearby! Great job, Mutt!

Posted in LAT (Look at That), Reactivity | 4 Comments

Training Should be Fun

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Jamie

Training should be fun. Like a game show!

Variety is the spice of life, so they say. When training, I often forget to mix things up. At the Kathy Sdao seminar, she talked extensively about surprising our dogs with rewards they’re not expecting. She even goes so far as to hide hamburgers in trees to use as rewards for her dogs on their walk. 😉

I think it’s important to vary things up a bit when training. I know Risa would probably rather chase a squirrel than eat a treat while we’re on a walk. So, when I can, I’ve been trying to give her more varied rewards.

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Flirt Pole

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Jamie

I should have made one of these years ago. With Ris’ new love, lure coursing, it seemed it was finally time.

To make one yourself, you’ll need:
PVC pipe (I used a 1/2″ pipe that was precut to 2 feet in length)
Washer (I used a 3/8″ one but as long as the metal disk is large enough to cover the entire opening of the PVC pipe and the hole is large enough to fit the rope, you should be fine)
Clothesline (I got the polyester/polyethylene mix type since I wanted something strong but less likely to burn Risa if she got caught on it)
Duct tape
A toy/rag/sock

First I took the washer and I duct taped it to the bottom of the PVC pipe. I made sure to leave the hole open so I could thread the clothesline through. I then duct taped part of the bottom of the pipe so that I could have an easy grip. Then I measured and cut a length of clothesline. I first measured the length of the pipe and then added an additional 8 or so feet (this will vary based on the size of your dog and your own preferences; thank goodness I had 50 feet of clothesline so I could have made adjustments). Then I fed the line through the pipe and pulled it out the other side using pliers. I tied a HUGE knot at the end so that it wouldn’t come undone and wouldn’t fit through the washer hole. After that, I duct taped the knot to the bottom of the PVC pipe. Finally, I tied one of Ris’ toys to the end of the rope.

It’s amazing how quickly she tires chasing this thing. And how happy she is doing it. Seems like I may have finally found a way to give her love of running an outlet! Now I just need to find a way to implement this as a reward when we’re training too. 🙂

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