Canine Behavior Connection

04/02/2024

Got my results today, and now I'm a CDBC! Glad I finally did the thing, and thankful to everyone who's helped me along this journey from clients to colleagues to mentors!

For those who aren't familiar, "behavior" certifications in dogs are about working with big feelings and the resulting behavior (aggression, fear, anxiety, guarding, etc.). It's different that "training," which is what most people think of with "dog training": teaching dogs to do specific things like come when called, agility, stay on a station, etc.

The CDBC is a pretty hefty exam--free response, applied examples of terminology, analyzing scenarios, and three case studies of your own behavior clients' journeys start to finish, all evaluated by multiple reviewers.

Onward!

12/14/2023

The holidays can be the most stressful time of the year for people and pooches! I wish these three things for your dog (and you!) to create an enjoyable and safe season.

11/06/2023

Dogs behave the way they do for many reasons. They do NOT do things deliberately to be stubborn or ‘naughty’, nor do they aim to assert control. Outdated mythologies and training methods have detrimental effects on well-being and strain the relationship between a dog and their caregiver.

🧬A dog's breed and genetic makeup can play a significant role in determining certain behavioural traits. Dogs have genetic predispositions and breed-specific tendencies that contribute to their behaviour.
Some breeds are predisposed to specific behaviours, such as herding, hunting, or guarding.

The environment in which a dog is raised and lives can profoundly impact their behaviour. Early socialisation, which involves exposing a puppy to a wide range of people, animals, and environments during their critical developmental period, is crucial for building confidence and shaping a dog's social behaviour to reduce fear or aggression.

Overstimulation can cause all kinds of unwanted behaviours as it overwhelms their senses and can lead to hyperactivity or erratic responses. For example, if a dog is exposed to loud noises, multiple people, and various stimuli all at once, or on a daily basis, they might exhibit excessive excitable behaviour, poor impulse control, become agitated and exhibit behaviours like jumping, barking, or pulling on the leash, as their senses are overwhelmed by the excessive input.

Previous experiences and learning consequences can influence a dog's behaviour. Traumatic experiences, in particular, can lead to fear, anxiety, or aggression.

How a dog is trained and educated by their caregiver or handler can significantly affect their behaviour. Consistent, positive reinforcement-based training can lead to desired behaviours, while harsh or inconsistent methods can result in confusion or fear.

A dog's health, including their physical and mental well-being, can influence their behaviour. Illness, pain, or discomfort can lead to changes in behaviour.

A dog's emotional state, including fear, anxiety, and excitement, can affect their behaviour. For example, a fearful dog may display unpredictable defensive reactive behaviours or might avoid any encounters and run away trying to hide. While a confident dog may exhibit playfulness and a relaxed demeanour.

A dog can become frustrated and destructive if their mental and physical needs are not met. This dog, full of pent-up energy and boredom, may become frustrated and exhibit poor impulse control. In their frustration, they might resort to destructive behaviours, such as chewing furniture, digging up the garden, or incessant barking. This destructive behaviour is often an expression of their frustration and an attempt to alleviate their built-up energy and mental stress.

The type of diet a dog receives can significantly influence their behaviour, with high-quality nutrition promoting better energy levels, mood, and overall well-being, while poor diet choices can lead to issues like irritability, hyperactivity, or digestive problems.

As dogs age, they may experience canine cognitive decline, which can manifest as changes in memory, learning, and behaviour. This condition can lead to increased confusion, disorientation, and altered social interactions in older dogs.

It is really important to understand that each dog is unique, and their behaviour can vary widely, even within the same breed. Dogs use body language, vocalizations, and other forms of communication to express their needs, emotions, and intentions. Understanding a dog's communication cues is essential for interpreting their behaviour.

10/17/2023

And remember—exciting things your dog likes can also contribute to trigger stacking! Think of a kid at the end of the day at Disney and how their tolerance for anything is greatly diminished!

Ever wondered why your dog suddenly reacts to a seemingly minor event? It's called Trigger Stacking! Just like us, dogs can get overwhelmed by a series of triggers piling up, leading to stress. This increasing stress can tip a dog over its bite threshold. It is important to recognize these built-up triggers to put context to a behavior that “happened out of the blue.” Being aware of your dog’s triggers, its environment, and what has already happened that day can help you set your dog up for success.

07/05/2023

Muzzle training is a great, proactive skill for ALL dogs to have!

“Dogs wear muzzles because they bite.”

No ✋❌

Just because a dog is wearing a muzzle, does not mean that they bite. Many dog guardians utilise muzzles as a preventative measure to keep their dogs and others safe.

Here are many reasons someone may opt to muzzle their dog:

Scavenging
To protect wildlife
Prevent grabbing or mouthing people or dogs
Medical management such as for wound licking or jaw surgery

These are just a few! However, there are many people who choose to muzzle their dogs due to the extra consideration other people and dog guardians give them - often preventing bites by simply sending a clear signal to others that space is needed.

Consider this: Waiting for a dog to bite before introducing a muzzle… is sometimes too late, dogs shouldn’t have to bite in order to ‘qualify’ for a muzzle!

Introducing a muzzle BEFORE a dog bites is the responsible thing to do, there’s so much judgement when muzzling a dog that ‘hasn’t even bitten’ and that’s contributing to the number of dogs that have successfully bitten - if a muzzle was introduced earlier we might have been able to avoid a bite, potentially saving a life!

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06/25/2023

Caring for the WHOLE family—human and animal—is key to successful behavior change for your pup! It’s normal to struggle emotionally when you live with and love an animal with challenging behavior. Sometimes well-intentioned dog professionals aren’t skilled in navigating these conversations and can say hurtful or even harmful things. Fortunately, positive shifts in this realm are beginning to creep into the field!

07/23/2022

05/24/2022

Sometimes the dogs we end up with are really challenging and nothing feels like it goes according to our plan. The grief from that is real, and must be processed to help your relationship.

None of us went looking for fearful, aggressive, reactive, separation anxious, or medical dogs. Most of us wanted hiking partners, brew pup patio buddies, dogs who could go anywhere. We thought it would just naturally happen because of that old saying "it's all in how you raise them." They would be raised right, so it would work out fine.

Maybe early on there were red flags. Maybe you didn't notice until they became an adult. I wish it was as easy as placing a puppy or rescue dog in the right home and adding love to "fix" things. So many people struggle with how things could have gone, should have gone, what they might have done wrong. There's a lot of baggage we carry into training from the past.

Many people want to negotiate out of the problems with their dogs. "What if we don't follow the plan? What if I can't manage it? What if I just wait for them to 'grow out of it'?" It can be hard to reconcile the dog you wanted with the dog that you have. I understand. I didn't know Zelda would be epileptic and how devastating that would be.

Mourning the dog that you thought you were going to have can help you move forward with the one you have. Forgive yourself for mistakes and commit to changing patterns moving forward. Thank your dog for doing the best they can with the cards they were dealt. Forgive them for hating the strangers at the brew pup. Forgive them for lunging on walks. Understand why they don't want to meet your friends who come over for dinner.

We often hear "train the dog in front of you." I suggest we love the dog in front of us. That doesn't mean we aren't going to be frustrated, sad, angry. That doesn't mean we aren't going to wish we had a dog who could go anywhere and do anything. But it might help us appreciate what they can do and who they are. We wish it were different, and so do they. Mourn the dog you thought you'd have and fall back in love with the dog in front of you.

04/15/2022

Did you know that play can be used in changing dogs’ behavior, especially “big feelings” related behavior? Amy Cook and her method amazing, and I love building mine and clients’ play skills!

03/10/2022

Adult dogs who truly enjoy settings like the dog park are actually rather rare! Learning more about what’s normal can help you choose activities that you AND your dog enjoy!

Surprises me when humans have a blanket expectation on dogs, often based on what THEIR ideal might be or some limited collection of data about a particular dog -
Dogs are straight forward - yet also complex .
Getting realistic and prepared for changes in temperament is good for your relationship and can help you welcome new information and facilitate health and safety .

Did you know.......

10/14/2021

A great, free resource for you and your 0 to 100 pup!

Is your dog easily excitable, or have a hard time calming down? Seems excessively friendly or barks intensely and seems to "not listen"?

If so - this episode is a MUST listen. Certified Behavior Consultant Elisheba Fay has a wealth of information to share about arousal in dogs - what it is, what triggers it, and how to de-activate arousal.

Seriously - this episode is practical, fascinating, and we are sure you will understand your dog better after listening. All rescuers, shelter workers and fosters will learn a ton from this conversation, so please tune in!

Art and Science Behavior Services and Elisheba Fay thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

You can listen wherever you get your podcasts or:

https://anchor.fm/sdr7/episodes/Understanding-Arousal-Will-Change-Your-Dogs-Life---With-Elisheba-Fay-e18mk98

07/28/2021

I get many inquiries about service dog training, but few pan out between me sharing this type of information, and the enormous amount of work it takes to train a service dog—a job that the vast majority of dogs are just not suited to do. Service dogs can be game changers for certain people, but the process is much more arduous than almost anyone expects!

07/25/2021

Content warning: infant death by dog

Please know that in the US (and most countries), dog training is a completely unregulated field. There are many self-proclaimed trainers spreading falsehoods that range from benign to deadly. For this reason among others, I advocate for regulation of dog training as a profession.

How do you select someone knowledgeable in the field? Glad you asked! Here are some resources:

https://apdt.com/resource-center/how-to-choose-a-dog-trainer/

https://avsab.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/How_to_Choose_a_Trainer_AVSAB.pdf

Now go tug guilt-free with your dog!

Here is a bust-worthy myth about tug-of-war we didn’t even know existed.

About one week ago, there was a very sad news item about a baby killed by a dog in Australia (https://salten.cz/2021/07/15/staffy-who-killed-a-five-week-old-baby-on-the-central-coast-viewed-infant-as-prey-experts-warn/). Such stories, while rare, unfortunately reappear again and again in the news. The local media interviewed a dog trainer who stated:

“…humans often teach canines to kill by playing games like tug-of-war with them. Dogs aren’t meant to have toys – they’ve only been around for 40 to 50 years and we now have more problems than we’ve ever had before. When dogs use their mouths on something non protein-based, they learn that it’s OK to do that with other objects. Tug-of-war is violent and riles the dog up, so we’re teaching them that’s okay.”

Playing tug with your dog will no more teach him to kill than playing fetch will teach him to knit. That’s ridiculous. A few thoughts to rebut the trainer’s comments a little further:

1. Dogs tug naturally. Not only that, but many will solicit “co-mouthing” with other dogs by shoving objects into their faces. Mutual pulling then ensues. Play is a necessary and naturally driven behavior and is needed to practice social skills and give-and-take. Some of the practice is also predatory, of course, but dogs are perfectly capable of killing prey without being educated in tug play.

2. Dogs aren’t meant to have toys? What does that even mean? And as far as 40-50 years of toydom, Nylabone has been around for 66 years (!), but dog people have been fashioning toys for their companions for as long as dogs have lain around their campfires. And, yes, it’s perfectly cool for dogs to put their mouths on non protein-based objects. Here’s a cool early 19th century Italian statuette of a dog playing with a toy: https://www.englishaccentantiques.com/product/italian-early-19th-century-carved-wooden-dog-playing-with-a-toy/

3. Tug-of-war can rile dogs up but the play can be well controlled by ensuring that tug is played with specific, tug-dedicated toys like a braided fleece or rope toy, by teaching the dog to let go of the toy on cue (by using food or a different toy with the cue, e.g. “drop it!”, then just using the cue. Of course, dropping the toy can be reinforced by giving the toy back and playing some more! And, finally, the play should be stopped if the dog’s mouth lands on human skin or clothing. Tug is an awesome game for redirecting an excited dog’s energy, such as at the end of a good, clean agility run , or for distracting a restless young dog who needs to wait her turn in training class.

The original story, of course, has absolutely nothing to do with playing tug. Safety practices with infants and dogs must include strict separation unless the dog is well controlled (leashed or verbally), and never, ever leaving them alone together. But suggesting that play can teach dogs to kill is over the top and diverts attention from more important and rational practices such as separation and active supervision.

07/22/2021

As an added bonus, most dogs are less likely to pull on a longer leash, too!

This is my favorite long leash (note: although flexis probably increase sniffing, please don’t use them due to safety concerns): https://www.mendotapet.com/products/mendota-snap15-leash?variant=8098355413094

Sniffing on walks are very important for dogs but do leashes matter?

I recently came across this cool study that looked at the heart rates of dogs and the time spent sniffing on walks. The dogs were walked on short leashes (1.5m), long leashes (5m) as well as off lead (unleashed).
What stood out to me was HOW MUCH MORE the dogs sniffed when they were walked with long leashes or walked off lead.

Sniffing, choice and freedom of movement is majorly important for the welfare of our dogs. In certain situations, maybe it's time to ditch the short leashes?

07/17/2021

Hi everyone--I'm Kara (she/her). After several years of service, Canine Behavior Connection is finally on social media! I plan to use this platform to provide education about how to best live and thrive with your canine partners in life, and to share the real life challenges and successes of behavior change with client dogs--and my own!

I strive to share the amazing information we do know about modern dogs and their welfare, and to be honest about all the mysteries our best friends still hold.

Image description: One small border collie climbs and angled log with the help of a white woman wearing a gray sweatshirt. A smooth border collie mix looks on from the foreground. Both dogs are wearing orange visibility jackets. The Colorado plains and the big blue sky with clouds are in the background.

Photo credit: Elisheba Fay

07/17/2021

07/17/2021