CozyDawg Dog Training

07/04/2022

Well described and applies to dogs too

A Facebook friend shared videos of some prep with her horses for fireworks. In the video, a group of horses was standing in a paddock and then what sounded like firework noises were played over speakers. The horses all spooked and ran.

I really appreciate this person's effort to prepare her horses for tonight, but it really got me thinking of how this process could be improved to make it less stressful for the horses and actually be effective at decreasing the horse's response to that stimulus.

What people don't understand is that exposure alone does not decrease reactions to scary stimuli and can actually have the opposite effect causing sensitisation. So, going out to your horses' pasture and playing loud firework sounds at random can actually cause their reactions to that stimulus to increase - that's sensitization. This is why our horses don't get better after experiencing a few 4th of July nights in America!

In systematic desensitization we slowly introduce the scary stimulus in small increments that the horse can handle. Every horse in the video reacted with flight, so this process was not systematic desensitization. It was not flooding either because the horses were able to escape- they ran and the noise stopped. This is why their process falls under sensitization.

It could work through habituation, but only if the stimulus occurred in regular intervals. Habituation happens when a scary stimulus is a part of the animal's habitat. For example, my horses were kept in a pasture that's fence line ran parallel with the train tracks. The tracks were probably twenty feet from the fence. When the first train came by, it terrified my horses, but after living in that pasture for a week, they didn't even bother to lift their heads from grazing when they heard the train. This is habituation. Horses learn to disregard stimuli that is unimportant in order to focus on other stimuli that is. This happens when the horse is regularly exposed to the stimulus and over time they learn that it does not harm them and they can safely ignore it. The key word here is regularly. The stimulus must occur often enough for the horse to become habituated.

Doing a few random sessions of playing firework sounds at full blast will just terrorize and sensitize horses to that stimulus. The intentions are good, but ineffective at best, and damaging at worst.

How can we modify this approach to make it less stressful and actually effective?

First, start by introducing the soundtrack at a lower volume. If the horses notice it, turn it down a bit and start there.

Second, play the soundtrack on repeat or at regular intervals in the days leading up to the 4th of July.

Third, gradually increase the volume to full intensity.

In this approach you are keeping the horse below threshold by systematically introducing the stimulus at a level the horses can handle and using the frequency of the stimulus to habituate the horse. It becomes a part of their environment and they know it won't hurt them and is not important. This approach could work without being too stressful or traumatizing.

Randomly inducing fear makes horses more fearful. That's sensitization. Counter conditioning is a great way to help your horse accept loud noises, but if you have a barn full of horses to prepare, a combination of systematic desensitization and habituation could help make nights like tonight a little easier on everyone.

Stay safe tonight.

01/01/2022

Someone asked me about life rewards and I thought bid share an example. Sorry for poor video- I was focusing on the dogs.
The black dog is Riley, who's been with us only a week. He went to puppy class before his mom got cancer and was home bound, so it's been a while. He does know "sit", but doesn't understand that he needs to do it on cue to get what he wants. He's learned to "cute" his way through, or just bulls through doors and gates etc.
So he really wants to run through the gate, but doesn't want to sit. River and Fezzik both sit to go through, and you can kinda see Riley think about it. I do repeat the cue, but only after a long pause for him to think on it a bit. He eventually recalls that "sit" gets him a treat, and may get him this, as well.
The marker "yes" gets him the reward of going through the gate and playing with the others, which works just as good as a treat.

The more different situations in which I ask for and get the behavior, the more consistent it will be. This is called "proofing" the behavior.

Life rewards and proofing is important to take your pup that next step past introducing the behaviors and is important whether you are rewarding with treats at first or never use treats.

12/30/2020

Alleviating separation anxiety is about changing the owner's behavior, too.

03/19/2020

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02/27/2020

Don't be a bully.

It's in Canada - a national anti-bullying day.
While bullying is a very serious issue, not to be taken lightly, bullying isn't limited only to human-to-human interactions. Bullying is defined as 'using superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone), typically to force him or her to do what one wants.' Let's face it, bullying horses happens. Frequently. It doesn't require great physical strength, and it can be performed by just about anyone.

Bullying of horses is often labelled as 'leadership', which is a much more pleasant sounding word. This is problematic. Most people don't want to be a bully, but who doesn't want to be a good leader?

I always recommend people watch training videos at least twice: the first time with the sound off, and the second time with the sound on. This approach can help people assess how the horse feels about the training session, and identify what training techniques are being used, while not being swayed by what the trainer is saying. Does the horse look calm, and are they being given adequate time to respond to what the trainer asks? Or do they look tense or frightened, and they are being intimidated with high levels of pressure or threats of pressure, into doing what is asked? If it's the latter, bullying is likely occurring - no matter what it is otherwise labelled.

It's a sad truth about horses that they can easily be bullied into doing what we want. It is also a sad truth that when an animal does what we want, we are HIGHLY reinforced for the behaviour we personally performed to get the result. This leads to us repeating the behavior again in the future. These are simply laws of learning, that result in the perpetuation of training techniques that really are no more than just effective bullying.

Don't be a bully, to any species. For more information on Pink Shirt day, visit: www.pinkshirtday.ca

02/16/2020

This is a great infographic that explains how stress affects an animal's ability to learn. Courtesy of The Academy of Pet Careers.

02/16/2020

Dogs are not wolves. They evolved from a common extinct ancestor, but they are not the same.
“In a paper published in the highly-regarded journal Nature, researchers identified genetic mutations in the genes of domestic dogs that allow for increased starch digestion relative to wolves. These results indicate that early ancestors of modern dogs thrived on a diet rich in starch, in contrast with the carnivorous diet of wolves. This is in direct opposition to ‘personal observations’ that state that dogs need to eat a high meat/low carbohydrate diet. Other, more limited, studies examine the link between protein content and problem behaviors in dogs. The results of these studies were that higher protein diets are somewhat correlated to increased aggression in dogs. “

Some thoughts on the mythology of dog diets and behavior.

02/11/2020

If you have a qualified dog and can get to OSU, please consider taking part in this study!

01/12/2020

01/08/2020

Over the years, many breeders, trainers, and owners have said that puppies should not be exercised until the growth plates are closed. I have been asked to rad

01/06/2020

A pawesome guide to helping an animal transition from shelter to home. We get so excited to show off our new rescued baby, but everyone wins when we go slow and you take a bit of time to build a bond and develop trust first. ❤️

12/15/2019

Everything here applies to dog training too, including debunking the alpha nonsense.

Sometimes people say things like “they kick and bite each other all the time! Nothing I do with my 140 lb body can hurt them.” Or, “I’m using the natural hierarchy by being alpha.” Let’s dissect some of that for a minute.

It’s completely natural for horses to kick and bite each other. It’s completely natural for this to happen when competing over resources, and it’s natural for these resources to be scarce. Nature lets horses starve to death slowly. It lets them get injured and die. Nature makes her share of flowers and she makes her share of toxins.

I once was with a woman in her field when a horse approached her too closely. Before I could even register what happened, she kicked it right in the chin. I asked her why she did that, and she said “I’m letting him know who’s boss!” If we decide to play that game, we have to understand the risk. If a horse kicks another, and the receiver of the kick retaliates, they have the same equipment to engage in that sort of competition. It’s true, that lady in her 110 lb body doesn’t pack nearly as much power as the horse. So, if he had decided to retaliate, she would have been in some big trouble. Training through domination works until it doesn’t - a lot of horses come to my barn because they have realized how strong they are, and how strong people are not.

Aside from the fact that domination in herd hierarchies have largely been debunked (you can read about that here ( https://www.google.com/amp/s/animalwelfarists.tumblr.com/post/101634709325/respect-and-dominance-in-training-debunked/amp ), a small person CAN cause pain to a horse. Look at the equipment we have to create fear, pain, and control. Chains, twitches, whips, bits, flags. Of course not all of these are bad and have to be used to create pain, but most training methods rely on some degree of fear or pain to keep control. So yes, the small old lady absolutely can cause pain, and can create learned helplessness, stress, and fear in her herd.

Lastly, we have big, supposedly superior human brains. We’ve studied horses, we understand their minds, and we can do better. We can train ethically for the same reason we wouldn’t let our horses starve or die of preventable diseases. Horses are extremely forgiving, willing creatures. Regardless of the fact that they can be deadly, they are largely peace seeking animals. They avoid conflict when possible. Horses that create or seek conflict are usually restricted for space, movement, resources, or have human problems. We can and should do better than to rely on fear or pain to work with horses. We have so much information at our fingertips, to not use it is simply not right.

“Nature is cruel, but we don’t have to be.” -Temple Grandin

11/25/2019

A great video on why agility dogs in particular but all dogs in general can enjoy great health benefits by their owners keeping their nails trimmed short! Dr. Leslie Woodcock, a specialize of performance dog's rehabilitation shares amazing insights.

11/07/2019

11/04/2019

Reward versus discipline training affects the bond between dogs and owners.