Yes Dog

Here is a tiny glimps of the chaos Kylo navigated so beautifully today.

Kylo is a really nice dog. If he doesn't like something you are doing, he'll struggle to get away, but he's not likely to put teeth on you. Sadly, because a dog won't defend himself, we often consider that permission to do all sorts of stuff they don't care for without consideration for their level of stress. Kylo is quite sensitive about having his feet touched, so when we aren't training other things, I've started doing some desensitization and counterconditioning toward grinding his nails and examining his feet. This is where we are today. I love this game because there's a beautiful communication taking place. Can you see where he says, "No, thank you,"? And do you see how he responds when I respect the no?

Since the sky is pummeling us with graupel right now (bb-sized snow pellets, not as nasty as hail but not as pleasant as snow), we are working indoors today, so we decided to have a little fun. Full disclosure: This smartypants arrived with a high-five that he occasionally liked to show me, so this was very easy to shape. We could add some duration to make it more realistic, but I'd say this is pretty good for a single training session!

Kylo isn't really here for cooperative care training. However, when I was brushing his very curly coat, I noticed that he was quite sensitive about having his feet touched. I also noticed that his nails were a little longer than I would have expected from a dog who sees a groomer as often as Kylo does. Maybe his nails grow really fast, but maybe his groomer is having a hard time keeping them short because Kylo isn't amenable to the process. He certainly didn't care for a brush on his feet! Also, just because a dog isn't a bite risk doesn't mean they are comfortable with all of grooming and vet care, so whenever possible, I want to make sure my dog actually feels good about the process. So we started a little cooperative care training. Here we are just beginning with foot handling. Can you see when he says no? Can you see when he gives himself a break? Any time he says no or asks for a break, that's good information for me. I'll go easier the next few repetitions to build up his confidence and his desire to play the game. Kylo is also new enough at this game that he isn't yet 100% sure of the rules, so he's still experimenting a bit. And that's fine, too! The rules of the game stay consistent, and he has ample opportunity to earn the treats within his current ability.

Alex has some carpal hyperextension in all four feet. This means that when he stands or walks, his "heels" and "wrists" are nearly touching the ground. This can cause a lot of orthopedic pain, and Alex's very careful movement on hard and rough substrates while being much more active and playful when he has a soft place for his feet are indicative of how much he modifies his behavior to avoid pain versus his real personality. Alex doesn't play very long. He's a low energy guy. This could be due to his pain issues, possible metabolic or other health issues, just plain genetics, or any combination of those things. His people will be further investigating potential health diagnoses after he goes home next week. But for now, he loves to play and to be silly for a short time on a padded surface. Just prior to this video, Alex was leaping up on his hind legs to catch a tossed toy, so he's pretty tired now. I do love seeing these glimpses of who these dogs really are. It's important to remember that MOST reactivity/aggression cases have a pain or other medical component to them. They aren't always obvious, so if our dog is demonstrating reactivity, we need to have a thorough medical assessment performed. Not only is treating our dog's health issues the humane and responsible thing for us to do but it can also have a profound effect on behavior.

Current state of nail grinding with Alex. We are now working on pushing those quicks back, but I have to be careful because the nail is tender as we near the quick. The bottom foot (his right) has historically been easier for Alex, so those nails are almost as short as I can safely make them at this time. Notice the conversation we have. When I grind too close to the quick, he lifts his head to tell me to stop. I do. Every. Single. Time. When I start again, I do it from a slightly different angle to get more nail without hitting the quick, or I switch to a different nail altogether. This conversation is essential for his continued trust while I gradually encourage those quicks to recede, which is necessary for Alex's overall orthopedic health.

Beginning desensization to dental and mouth exam with Alex.

Alex's dinner dance.

And here's Bodie's progress with harnessing!

Progress with Kylo's crate training. He had some pretty strong associations with me zipping the zipper, so that's what we are working on here.

I have a personal pet peeve, and I imagine I'm not alone in this. I get so frustrated when dogs are difficult to harness. Oh, I spent my years at a high-volume daycare and boarding facility manhandling (womanhandling?) dogs into harnesses, and I contributed to teaching them to have stress with harnessing. Now, however, whether a dog runs from the harness, plays tug with the harness, bites people when we try to put the harness on, or (in Bodie's case) wiggles so much we are both doing gymnastics to clip the clips, I immediately stop what I'm doing and... train the behavior I want. No one wants to wrestle their dog into a harness, and it only gets worse the more you do it! Bodie has some internal conflict around the harness. He loves hugs and closeness but not restraint. He tells me about his nervousness with wiggles and appeasement behavior (falling on the floor, jumping up and licking my face, mouthing my hands, etc.). Harnessing shouldn't make him nervous. It should make him happy! So we play this predictable game to help him learn the skill of sitting still while I gradually build on all the steps necessary to secure the harness. I use the verbal cue "harness" so that it's predictable. I'm not just grabbing at him. He knows exactly what to expect. And I follow the same patterns of my own behavior over and over to fasten the clips so that he can anticipate everything I'm going to do. If he wiggles, we stop. If he licks me, we stop. If he falls on the floor, we stop. In this way, he can communicate his overwhelm and get a break while I adjust my training as necessary. But if he can be seated and still for the seconds it takes for my hands to complete whatever step we are on, he gets chicken!!

Need a little joie in your vivre? You're welcome.