Body language subtle changes
A fun video for observation purposes only. We often miss so much and we need to train ourselves to look for changes.
This is a couple of clips taken of my senior boy, waiting to pounce on his toy.
Can you spot any changes in the video clips?
Don't fall for gimmicks, quick fixes or false promises like the video below. We have all seen the adverts offering a quck fix or a shortcut.
First of all, we are not in the business of "fixing" dogs. Also, unwanted dog behaviour does not happen in a vacuum. It isn't just about the dog's behaviour, it is often about recognising the dog's emotional experience, how our actions and behaviours impact them, the dog's motivations, their environment and much more.
Quick fixes often involve harmful or aversive techniques.
Each dog is an individual and there is no universal method that works for every dog. Changing a dogs unwanted behaviour ethically often involves an holistic approach.
Don't get drawn into believing empty promises and false headlines - do your research before employing a dog trainer or behaviourist!
Red flag or green flag play?
Red flag play?
Green flag play?
How do you know - what do you see?
Some great comments and observations of body language and some excellent comments about context, which is so important rather than making a snap judgement. I'll now add some context. Does this change your initial thoughts?
CONTEXT
These dogs live together. The brindle dog at the back is 11 and male, the smaller black one at the front is 3 and female. The smaller dog had been lying on the little blue bed. When the larger dog came in, the smaller black dog grabbed the rope toy.
Another clip of the GSD and Staffordshire Bull Terrier playing. I have slowed the video down to make it easier to see so no sound in this one.
Would YOU interrupt or let it play out?
How do we know when to interrupt dog play? What should we look for? In general (this is not a definitive list and will depend on the individual dogs)
🚩body slamming
🚩focussed bites (some breeds will mouth but if biting is taking place, the play should be ended)
🚩play is one sided all of the time – unbalanced chasing
🚩muzzle punching
🚩increased pilo erection (raised hackles
🚩flattened ears or avoidance in one of the dogs
🚩biting or grabbing body parts
🚩barking at the other dog, especially in their faces
🚩becoming tense, stiff, or showing signs of fear (or aggression)
🚩closed mouth, curled lip, low warning growl (some dogs growl when playing but if accompanied by a closed mouth or retracted lips, interrupt now)
🚩wrestling or chasing each other for a prolonged time - without changing to another activity
🚩increased over arousal and escalation - play becomes faster or more intense
Did anyone notice the pilo erection at the base of the staffies tail? Much more physical contact is made in this clip and the interaction is much more intense. I called them away and ended play.
If you are unsure, call your dog away – it is better to call them away and interrupt play unnecessarily than leave it until there is a problem!
What should we be looking for when dogs play together? How do we know if they are enjoying it?
Here is a short video clip of Luna, our newly adopted girl and Bonnie. There is a big difference in size between them.
Look for
↘️Pauses between play - activity shift
↘️Taking it in turns to chase and be chased - role reversal
↘️Self handicapping - Luna makes herself small
↘️Open mouth "play face"
↘️Bouncy ineffective movements
↘️Mirroring
Update on little Willow
Oh my goodness, Willow is thriving at A17 boarding kennels and has already found a new best friend! Thank you Dave and Toby for taking such great care of her.
If you're interested in adopting Willow, contact GSDWF today! https://www.gsdwelfarefund.co.uk/dogsforrehoming
#AdoptDontShop #RescueDog #bestfriendsforever
Working hard on recall with our dogs can have many benefits!
I don't usually share posts of dogs needing new homes on here as there are plenty of pages for that and this page is about sharing information about dog behaviour but I am making an exception for Luna. I have been working with this gorgeous girl and got to know her really well. I would love to see her settled in a new home. Please share this post far and wide. She also has her own fb page where you can follow her antics https://www.facebook.com/homeforluna
Luna
• 2 years old, Sable GSD
• Bouncy happy girl
• Walks well on harness and lead
• Greets other dogs nicely out on walks
• Fully housetrained
• Fine being left for a while and will settle quietly
• Loves playing with humans
• Loves playing with toys
• Can settle quietly beside you on a sofa once she has had play, stimulation and exercise
• Loves long sniffy walks
• Travels ok in the car
• Greets children calmly
• Has fantastic recall
Luna’s needs: an active home with someone who enjoys walking. You will see in the video she is fabulous in the vet clinic waiting room, fabulous visiting a pet shop, meets small children beautifully, has visited a garden centre, loves being off lead. She has even recalled away from a squirrel.
The non-negotiables: No young children as Luna can be quite bouncy and could accidentally knock a young child over but older children would be fine as she is very gentle with them and enjoys interacting. Visiting children would be ok as Luna is quite settled behind a stairgate. Only dog in the house – while Luna is fine greeting other dogs on walks and is very gentle saying hello to small dogs, she is very full on when trying to play with other dogs inside the house and gets very excited and boisterous. No cats or small furries though – she is not aggressive, but she would chase.
The importance of fear-free handling.
As many of you know who follow my page, I am passionate about working in a fear-free way with animals, giving them choices where possible. My own German Shepherd is quite nervous about new people. She is a rescue and has an unpleasant history with people so it was important to find the right match for her.
Freya has hip dysplasia and has regular underwater treadmill therapy which has helped her immensely. She needed a little additional help with pain management so Move More Veterinary Physiotherapy came out to do some work with her. I honestly didn't expect we would get very much done today as it is the first time she has met Laura. But Laura works with the dog in front of her, allowing them time and space to feel comfortable and listening to what the dog tells her. Laura was able to physically examine Freya, do some exercise techniques, use laser therapy on her and provide some massage relief! Freya even began to doze off! A huge thank you to Laura of Move More Veterinary Physiotherapy
Sometimes doing less is actually doing more!
Look for opportunities to do less with your dog and just observe them. Pay attention to what they are doing and observe what they interact with.
It is a golden opportunity to learn more about our dogs.
As most of you who follow my page will know I am very much committed to fear free training and handling.
My GSD is quite worried around new people and when I learned she needed underwater treadmill therapy I couldn't help wonder how we would manage it!
I want to give a huge shout out and thank you to Julie Smith of Craigard Treadmill Hydrotherapy for her patience and gentle consideration with Freya. She has tweaked everything to ensure Freya can cope through small steps to get used to each stage. I cannot recommend her highly enough. If your dog needs underwater treadmill get in touch with https://www.craigard-hydro.com/contact.html
Here's my girl walking the walk. :) #fearfree
We are often too quick to start shoveling food down our dogs to distract or "make them feel better" about the things they are worried about or react to.
I often talk about letting dogs calmly observe but how do we do that?
It means finding a place that is quiet and not too busy.
It means finding a place where their triggers are at sufficient distance they do not worry the dog.
It means not asking the dog to do anything - just observe.
It means not constantly talking to the dog and saying it's ok or telling them to look at things.
Keep it brief - no longer than 10 minutes and then go home.
You will see the dog in this video clip is sitting down - I did not ask her to do that, that was her choice.
She is scanning the environment a little but she is also using her nose. With practice and repetition this will become calmer.
We are now able to offer short practical sessions for those dogs who struggle with being handled for grooming or veterinary procedures.
Cost: £15
Duration: 30 minutes
Location: Holbeach PE12
Learning and memory is what makes each of us, and each of our dogs, a unique individual. Synaptic connectivity is the essence of learning and memory. It is a result of external and internal stimuli acting on the genes that create the proteins which make up our neurological system.
Journal of Applied Companion Animal Behavior Vol. 2, No. 1. 2008
LeDoux, J. (2002). Synaptic self: How our brains become who we are. New York: Penguin Books.
Why is fun scentwork so good for our dogs?
Panksepp, (1982) described seven emotion systems in the brains of animals and people. One of these systems is seeking which refers to enthusiasm and curiosity.
Dogs engaged in scentwork operate in a state of calmness, Hewings (2019).
Predatory motor patterns are a rewarding consequence for dogs. Scentwork provides the opportunity to engage and tap into the intrinsic reward system, allowing them to safely express their natural behaviours.
Teach dogs to find balls hidden around the garden or on walks.
Duranton and Horrowitz, 2019 concluded that that allowing dogs to use their olfaction through a regular scentwork activity makes them more optimistic and by allowing dogs their “foraging time” their welfare is improved.
Rather than throwing a ball or toy, try hiding it. Make it simple to begin with so that the dog finds it easily. Over a period of time, gradually make it more difficult.
If a dog seems uninterested in searching for a ball or toy, try hiding an interactive food toy.
Duranton & Horrowitz (2019) Let me sniff! Nosework induces positive judgment bias in pet dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science Volume 211, February 2019, Pages 61-66
Hewings, R. (2019) Scent training for every dog. First stone, Westline publishing, Warminster
Panksepp, J. (1982). Toward a general psychobiological theory of emotions. Behav. Brain Sci. 5, 407–467. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X00012759
SIT, SIT and more SIT
I know I've mentioned this before but it really is my pet hate.
Sit, sit, sit, sit and SIT. I hear this a LOT in people’s homes, out on walks, in the park, in waiting rooms etc. One of the first things that used to be taught in puppy class was SIT.
We now focus more on life skills.
While Sit can be a useful it is one of the most over used and abused cues.
Sit might be useful for example if a dog needs a blood draw at the vet or needs something to be examined that cannot be done if they are moving around.
However, dogs are asked to
SIT when another dog comes along
SIT for their dinner
SIT to go out
SIT to greet a visitor
SIT to cross the road
SIT before they go out of the door
SIT before they come in
SIT to have a harness and lead on
SIT to receive a treat
And on goes the list.
Asking dogs to SIT when they are emotional (fearful, stressed, over stimulated, anxious, reactive etc) will use up any impulse control they have and may even make their behaviour worse. Also, the sitting position can be extremely uncomfortable for many dogs.
Dogs are often uncomfortable or even in pain when asked to sit.
Have a look at the way some of these dogs in the video are sitting. Thank you to their owners for allowing me to share. Virtually all of these dogs in the video either have hind leg, spinal, arthritis issues or find sitting uncomfortable.
Try to count up how many times you say SIT in one day and then ask yourself, WHY!
WHY do I need this dog to SIT?
Re-connect with your dogs
Now for a bit of fun!
Bored or frustrated with your training?
Finding it hard to get your dogs attention, especially when you are outside?
Do you repeatedly call his name or use a recall cue and get no response?
Chirag Patel, Domesticated Manners came up with the concept of The Counting Game.
Instead of calling their name or using a recall cue that has failed in the past, we use neutral words to see if they can engage with us and re-connect.
Playing the counting game with your dog is a great way to help him on walks, when he is off lead or distracted to get him to re-connect.
We begin by dropping down a treat, saying ONE in a loud voice and using a big sweeping gesture as we do it.
Wait a couple of seconds and see if your dog looks over.
Now say TWO in the same way, dropping down a treat.
Continue in this manner until your dog runs over.
Quietly move away and begin again.
Watch what happens!
I am not using a sweeping motion in the video as my dogs already know what the counting game is but look how quickly he comes over.
A different perspective of the off lead connection game for teaching loose lead. It may look like she is a bit ahead of me for this video but its just the angle I'm holding the camera.
You can see at around 24 seconds she goes a little ahead (pulling if on lead). I simply change direction and mark/treat as she comes alongside again.
Please note: I didn't ask her to sit at the beginning - she was anticipating some fun Wait training . I will do a blog post soon about Sit! ;)
A useful tip.
I thought I would show you a common problem that can happen when trying to teach dogs to walk on a loose lead.
It is very easy to avoid.
Try to start training when your dog is calm and just wait for him to engage with you and as he comes over, drop a treat down.
I have deliberately kept treats in my hand for this clip. Watch how excited Jack gets as we come alongside the gas tank. He attempts to jump up. He is really excited and only concentrating on the food in my hand.
Use a treat bag or pocket and avoid handling the food while you train.