Thunderphobia in Dogs
Thunderphobia is the fear of thunderstorms and it can be severe enough to make a dog’s life miserable. It may be more common than you know. At least 20% of dogs suffer noise phobias including thunderphobia, according to ethologist Dr. Karolina Westlund, Ph.D. There are about 80,000,000 dogs in the United States and if 20% suffer thunderphobia the scale of the problem is enormous. It may be even greater, as Zazie Todd, Ph.D. wrote in Companion Animal Psychology in 2013. “Dogs that responded badly to fireworks tended to also react to… Continued
Zoophilia*: A Hidden Horror for Animals
I entered law enforcement at 20 years of age. When I retired 30 years later I thought I had seen the full spectrum of human abuse, violence and degradation. The cruelty of humankind no longer shocked me, though it wore me down. Through the years I never investigated a single case of sexual abuse of an animal and none of my fellow officers ever spoke of it. The crimes occurred under the radar, hiding in the long dark shadows of secrecy, pain and trauma. On January 25th of 2018 I… Continued
Dogs Require Daily Enrichment
As a professional dog trainer 60% of my cases are behavioral in nature. Training is about teaching dogs (and owners) how to do things while behavioral cases usually involve changing underlying emotional states such as anxiety, stress and fear. I often see lack of enrichment in the dog’s life in behavioral cases. I often hear from owners they have a “high energy” dog who engages in annoying behaviors such as excessive barking, chewing, jumping on people, and general inability to settle down. Very often the first recourse applied by pet owners… Continued
Santa Claus May Scare Dogs
People around the world enjoy the winter season and many nations celebrate a version of Saint Nicholas. In the United States I witnessed an increase in commercialization and marketing hype since I was a child and Christmas decorations now appear after Halloween in my locale. There is a lot of social pressure to “be happy” during the Christmas season. Personal and social expectations of “joy and happiness” rose substantially over the years and today pet owners may draw their dogs into the frenzy by dressing them in holiday attire or… Continued
Being Your Dog’s Best Advocate
In 2012, my wife and I enrolled in a therapy dog training class which led to a Pet Partners evaluation process for therapy animal teams. I partnered with Buddha and my wife partnered with Gandhi. It was only by working closely together for our mutual benefit that we truly became teams and passed the evaluation. The instructor taught me two significant concepts I had never before considered. One was that I was my dog’s best advocate, and the other was the application of PETS. Although I had kept dogs in… Continued
Halloween Hazards for Pets
Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. A bag full of treats and scary costumes make me happy, but these things can be a real terror for some pets. Hazards come in two flavors: environmental and edibles. I once trained a Dachshund puppy named Sparky* and he was a happy little guy, until he entered adolescence and a developmental fear stage. Then he became alarmed at every person passing by his home. He often stood guard at the window waiting for scary things to bark at. For Sparky, environmental things… Continued
Professional Training and Pet Sitting
As a professional dog trainer and behavior consultant I developed a working relationship with hundreds of families over the years, and many pet owners have asked for my recommendation when they needed a pet sitter or dog walker. This often arose when there was a planned vacation, a wedding or an unplanned absence from home. Some folks did not want to board their pets and for others that simply was not an option, as many of my dog clients are anxious or fearful of strangers. It was always difficult to… Continued
Does Breed Specific Legislation Work?
Recently a dog incident occurred in the tiny northern village of Plain, Wisconsin. As reported by TV news in the southern part of the state, a lady was walking her dog when three Pit Bulls escaped their home and rushed up to her. The lady ended up on the ground and was “scratched”. The news report did not explain how the lady went to the ground, that there was any biting or dog fighting, or which of the four dogs scratched her. Evidently the news editor felt the story was… Continued
Putting More Tools in the Tool Kit
Recently I worked with an adolescent dog that I trained as a puppy. Like many adolescents he suddenly forgot several of his training skills and got stuck offering two behaviors in specific circumstances. When greeting people he climbed upon them with his fore paws, seeking attention. And to greet another dog (while on leash) he pulled hard and quickly became frustrated he could not reach them, barking and screeching while his owner strained to keep her footing. I have observed that when dogs enter adolescence they often develop annoying behaviors… Continued
Choke Collar Pathology
Recently I persuaded a local pet supply store owner to sell me all his choke collars (at cost) and refrain from restocking them, in return for recommendations for safe body harnesses such as Perfect Fit and Balance. He was persuaded by data I presented to him about the pathology of choke collars. “I never knew they hurt dogs, and only carried them because people asked for them.” I never knew either, years ago when I went to a trainer seeking help with my Labrador, Jake. She told me to use… Continued
Dog Food Safety Recalls
Pet food safety is a big deal to me, and to my dogs. As my dog’s best advocate I want to know what is in the bag and whether it will harm my dogs. I would like to believe I can depend upon news media to inform me of safety recalls in pet food and training treats so I can keep my pets safe, but that seems to be a false belief. In the past couple of months I learned of about eight safety recalls, including products which killed pets.… Continued
Electronic Containment System or Ambush Predator?
Much has been written about electronic shock (training) devices in their various forms. With all models a dog wears a collar fitted with an electronic device with two metal rods touching the neck of the dog, delivering electric shock. Delivery systems fall into three categories: 1) A person must press a button on a handheld remote control to initiate the shock; 2) The collar has a microphone to detect (barking) sound and trigger shock; 3) A buried wire emits a signal detected by the collar, triggering shock. I will address… Continued
Using C-BARQ as an Assessment Tool
I accept behavioral cases within my dog training practice when I have the necessary education and experience to help, and I refer cases beyond my ability to other professionals. Gathering as much information about the dog in question is important to know which is which. One tool I use is Canine Behavioral Assessment & Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) which is “designed to provide dog owners and professionals with standardized evaluations of canine temperament and behavior.” C-BARQ was developed by Dr. James Serpell, Professor of Animal Welfare at the University of Pennsylvania,… Continued
Transparency in Training and Behavior
Those in the world of canine training and behavior know there is a wide gap between philosophy and methods employed by professionals, and even some rifts between professional organizations. It can be confusing for those of us in the field, and more so for pet owners who just want help. I have heard the founder of The Pet Professional Guild, Niki Tudge, speak passionately about the need for transparency as a consumer issue. Until I heard her say so I never thought of it that way. Now I am more… Continued
Ad Hoc Advocacy
Advocacy opportunities sometimes pop up unexpectedly, as happened to me in November 2016. I contribute a column to a local weekly newspaper and while perusing an issue I found an interview with the public works director of a nearby village. He casually mentioned spraying herbicide in the dog park to control thistles. The director responded to my email inquiry and identified a specific 2,4-D product in use, inviting me to attend a meeting of the Park Board in two weeks. Knowing nothing about 2,4-D I did a little research and… Continued
Total Recall
I suspect most dog owners wish their dogs could be off leash and enjoy themselves without restriction, or at least be free of the leash in most situations. In that ideal world a dog could assuredly be called back on cue and no harm would occur if he occasionally strayed afar. My personal dog stewardship is limited to five Labradors. Three of them were very safe off leash, one was pretty reliable and the other was…a bit sketchy. To tell the truth his recall was not sketchy at all. It… Continued
Project Trade: Economics 101
In the spring of 2016 The Pet Professional Guild rolled out Project Trade, an “international educational advocacy program promoting the use of force-free pet equipment by asking pet guardians to swap choke, prong and shock collars” (1). In return for swapping their aversive gear, pet guardians are given a discount of up to 15% by participating Project Trade members. My goals include educating pet owners and eliminating aversive gear from the marketplace so I immediately charged out of the gate like a crazed terrier chasing a squirrel and joined Project… Continued
Reflections of a Force-Free Trainer
As I enter my second year of Pet Professional Guild (PPG) membership and the 10-year anniversary of retirement from my first career (and subsequent launching of my second career) I feel it is time to reflect on where I was before and after PPG. Each of us follow our own path and yet we have come together in PPG. In my youth I foolishly thought I was the master of my own fate, determining the course of my life and controlling circumstances through choice. Growing older I realized that had… Continued
The Power of Project Trade
When I first learned of the Pet Professional Guild (PPG) I had just recently worked with a handsome little elderly dog named Pete and acquired my first shock collar. Rough handling turned Pete into a hand-biter; adding a shock collar made it much worse. Taking it off Pete probably saved his life and spared his owner the heartache of euthanizing her long time pet, as many around her had been advising. I was highly motivated to see shock collars taken off all dogs and wanted to persuade a local legislator to… Continued
Taking the Pulse of Dog Training
As a professional (force-free) dog trainer I am always looking for help from researchers who investigate canine cognition and behavior, to glean new information and ways to apply knowledge gained from science. Since you are reading this I suspect you do the same. Sometimes the little things make a big difference, such as how a person approaches a dog. Recently I worked with clients who reported their adolescent Mastiff was calm all day while the wife remained home with the dog. When the husband returned from a long work day… Continued
Training is Simple as A-B-C
Animal training can serve useful purposes, be great fun and strengthen the human-animal bond. It can also frustrate folks, especially if they have not formally studied learning theory. Welcome to Learning Theory 101. Training is as simple as A-B-C. The “A” stands for antecedent and that is what occurs before a behavior. “B” stands for the behavior that you observe and “C” is the consequence of that behavior. If I ask my dog Buddha to sit using a word, that verbal cue is the antecedent. It gives Buddha a prompt.… Continued
See the Dog in Front of You
Anyone who has had more than one dog in their life has probably fallen into the pitfall of living many years with their “perfect” dog and then suffering a devastating loss. When another dog eventually enters our life we compare, looking at the dog before us through misty eyes and seeing the dog we wish we still had. Sometimes this sets everyone up for frustration and disappointment. At other times the consequence of faulty vision is catastrophic. My first two Labradors were safe and reliable off leash. Samantha was a… Continued
Advocacy is Where You Look for It
In April 2016 I attended the 11th annual Applied Animal Behavior Conference hosted by the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Each year veterinary professionals and students gather to learn about animal behavior, a subject not typically included in veterinary curricula. The conference was divided into small and large animal presentations. I only work professionally with dogs so I chose the small animal option. The entire day was focused on Dr. Marty Becker’s Fear-Free iniative and its practical applications. Steve Dale, CABC began by addressing feline enrichment and fear-free… Continued
What’s in the Bag?
What you don’t know could kill your pet. Like all dog owners I want my pets to be healthy and enjoy a long life as members of our family. My first puppy, Samanatha, was the joy of my life and it came as a painful shock when she died abruptly at just over 12 years of age. It was not long enough and I wondered why she died so young. In retrospect I remember buying the cheapest possible dog food and commercial treats, and giving her things to chew that… Continued
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