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Learn about the day to day life of a successful private dog trainer in Chicago, IL. Gain insight into the challenges of being a trainer as well as tips to help you with your dog.
February 2008 - Posts
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 I received two calls this week that that reminded me about the importance of making sure a dog is physically healthy before I recommend training strategies. One call was in regards to a 3-year old dog that recently started whining uncontrollably whenever his person was out of the room or out of the home. He also had a few housetraining regressions and his guardian found a few accidents when he got home.
Since it has been more than a year since he was taken to the vet, I recommended that he gets a full vet checkup to rule out physical issues including a urinary tract infection. My instinct tells me that this potential client will call me back telling me that the anxiety is still present. I think that the dog in question might have separation anxiety and also boredom due to the brutal Chicago winter we have had. It is quite difficult to provide enough exercise for a dog when the weather is below zero and there is a lot of ice and snow on the ground. My radio show about Winter Dog Training Blues discusses suggestions about inside training during inclement weather if you are struggling with this common challenge.
Another call was from a client that hired me after discussing her dog's health history and initially ruling out obvious health issues. Her dog recently started showing signs of aggression towards guests in the home as well as on walks on leash. He is a 3-year-old Pitbull mix and he used to be comfortable with everyone. The first nipping incident was in December and there have been a couple more nips and growling at guests since then. I think that these incidents are due to anxiety and reactivity that has increased over time until it showed up as aggression. The dog did not seriously injure anyone and showed signs of anxiety before each incident. He is also reactive to the doorbell and one incident happened during a dinner party after ten people arrived, each ringing the bell and getting the dog worked up each time. A dog's vet history is always discussed whenever there is a sudden change in behavior, including aggression. One reason that a dog might become aggressive is if he has had an injury, skin infection, hip discomfort, arthritis, or other physical pain including dental issues. For instance, if a dog has hip dysplasia and has pain when someone pets him, he might growl or bite someone if they come over to pet him because he doesn't want to be hurt again. Another common issue if if a dog has a serious trauma such as getting hit by a car. When that dog is moved after the incident to get treatment, there are bound to be episodes of pain due to the handling and the injury. Later, that dog will remember the pattern of handling and pain and might tell someone to back off by growling or biting instead of risk getting hurt again. When Do I Recommend to Call the Vet? Possible Urinary Tract Infection
If an older dog that was previously housetrained starts to have accidents in the house it might mean the dog has a urinary tract infection. It might also mean separation anxiety or stress due to a move or change in someone's work schedule. Signs of a urinary tract infection include: - Frequent urination when you are home and out of the house (if the accidents only happen when you are out of the house, it might be separation anxiety)
- Your dog tries to urinate and no urine comes out
- Blood in the urine
- Foul smelling urine
- Tender lower abdomen
- Fever
- Lethargy
Possible Injury, Arthritis or Other Physical Issue
Dogs can show aggression or changes in behavior from many different physical issues. I have seen barking issues, aggression, depression or dogs that "just don't seem right" and are unfairly labeled as stubborn or willful during training. Recent events that might lead to a change in behavior include:
- Allergy or other skin condition
- Injury related to car accident or dog fight
- Older dog showing signs of arthritis or hip dysplasia
- Dental issues including an impacted tooth or infection
Help the community by sharing any of your experiences with health issues that showed a noticeable change in your dog's behavior. Comment below.
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 Do you have a new puppy or planning on getting one soon? Are you worried that you are doing the wrong thing? Confused about all the different ideas you are getting from friends, family, books, television shows and the internet?
Listen to Jeff Millman of WatchandTrain.com on Thursday, February 28th at 6:30 CST to his internet radio show Five Things Every Puppy Guardian Should Know and call in or text questions to get on the right track. Jeff will be discussing the most important training strategies that everyone should do with a new puppy. What do you think is more important, socialization or teaching a dog to sit? What can you do to lessen the chances a dog will be aggressive later on? What if a puppy barks in the crate? Is it ok if a puppy skips a meal? Housetraining? Nipping? Jumping? What is the most important strategy right now? Jeff will discuss his top five, but if you have puppy questions, call in! Don't miss this chance to talk to one of the best.
Listen. Call. Get FREE advice from one of the best dog trainers in Chicago. Jeff runs a successful private dog training business and also publishes high-quality dog training video lessons that are viewable instantly on a computer. He only uses positive reinforcement and studied with Jean Donaldson at the world famous Academy for Dog Trainers in San Francisco, CA. Get started on the right foot and learn from one of the best. When is the show? Thursday, February 28th at 6:30 CST. Listen directly on your computer and get all the call in information here.
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  My clients always ask me for product recommendations because I train dogs all the time and have experience with many different products. I also go to trade shows and talk to many store owners that I know in Chicago about which products they find to be high-quality and effective. A few months ago I found this product that helps with the ever-growing problem of plastic bag waste. I read that other countries even charge customers up to 25 cents per bag at stores to motivate consumers to use reusable nylon or cloth bags. I love that idea. But, as dog guardians we have to have a way to pick up waste on walks. I did the math and was horrified to find out how many plastic bags I use each year. Since I have three dogs and I need to pick up after them, on average, twice a day they numbers look like this: - 3 dogs, 2 pickups per day = 6 plastic bags per day
- 6 x 7 = 42 bags per week
- 42 X 52 = 2,184 bags per year
My youngest dog is 4 years old, so for the last 4 years I have used approximately 8,736 bags! BioBag is a product of Norway and helps alleviate the problem by being 100% biodegradable and 100% compostable. On their site they say: "Regular polyethylene-based plastic bags can take well over 100 years to
degrade and are not compostable. Less than 2% of all plastic bags ever
get recycled. Plastic bags litter our streets, backwoods and waterways.
Studies indicate that 100,000 marine animals and 2 million birds die
each year from ingesting or being caught up in plastic debris. Some
manufacturers are blending additives to polyethylene to produce
"degradable" bags. Unfortunately, this process fragments the bags into
pieces of plastic debris that do not meet the ASTM D6400-99 standard
for biodegradable and compostable plastic. These pieces cause serious
harm when mistaken by animals and birds for food. BioBag products use
no polyethylene in the production process. We are fully certified by
the Biodegradable Products Institute to be 100% biodegradable and 100%
compostable. Please be sure the biodegradable products you buy are
properly certified" I use these bags as often as I can and find them to be very useful. They feel different than regular plastic and almost wet to the touch because they are biodegradeable, but I find them to be strong. Even if everyone used products like these part of the time, we could all make a big difference for us and our animals.
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I am proud to announce the release of my new video: "Puppy Biting and Rules of Tug". Puppy biting can be one of the
more frustrating and painful puppy behaviors. Puppies normally explore
the world with their mouths and don't understand that biting is not an
appropriate way to interact with people. In the video I demonstrate specific strategies to teach a puppy to have a soft mouth and play gently. One strategy shows the proper way to teach a puppy to play tug of war. Playing tug is often misunderstood and many people incorrectly think that it causes aggression. If taught properly, tug is a great way to teach a puppy to have a soft mouth and also tire him out! The video also contains instructions for teaching a dog to drop objects on cue. This is useful both for playing with a dog as well as for safety measures if a puppy grabs something that might be harmful. This video has over 12 minutes of useful information. As with all the videos, it also includes detailed notes that complement the video information and further explain all of the exercises shown. You can also explore my other videos including a video that I releases at the beginning of the month: "Off Leash Control - Stop" which is perfect to prepare for dog park romps in the Spring. Enjoy the video, and happy training!
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 I went to the IKC dog show in Chicago on Friday. If you have never been to a dog show, you should definitely go to one at some point. I go to network with other dog professionals and learn about new products and . . . of course to see the dogs! I wanted to share a quick post and show you some of the pictures I took and share some of my observations about the day from a dog trainer's perspective. It is impossible for me to be around dogs and not think about dog training.
When I go to dog shows, I don't really have a detailed agenda. I just take in as much of the excitement as I can and usually gravitate to the herding shows. I just love walking around, meeting people, and seeing all of the wonderfully behaved dogs that are treated with such love and care. I also really enjoy meeting the vendors and talking with them about their products. I met two vendors this year that really caught my attention. I met the owners of Pure Fresh and Simple, based out of Chicago. They are a family operation and they were all so enthusiastic and friendly about their products. After trying their product when I got home, I can see why. During a quick training session, my dogs could not get enough of the high quality freeze-dried chicken and tripe treats that I bought. They also have meals for dogs as well. Everything is human-grade quality and comes from plants inspected by the USDA. Important in these times of pet food recalls. Another product that really caught my attention was developed by Scott Freeman and is the Nature's Logic brand of food. I had heard of this food, but had never tried it. Scott took the time to explain his philosopy and what separates his food from the masses. His products focus on truly natural ingredients. I never knew that there are a lot of fantastic foods that label themselves as "Natural" but to be called "All Natural" like Natures Logic, the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) requires that the product cannot have any chemically synthesized ingredients in the product. One quick look at the label of the food and ingredients such as Chicken, Kelp, Broccoli Powder and Artichoke jump out at me. It doesn't contain the laundry list of extra vitamins like the other brands, which learning from Scott, can have ingredients from China. Nature's Logic has only natural food ingredients. So far my dogs have loved the food and the transition was easy. I think I might have found my new favorite food for them to supplement their raw diet.  I also met some amazing hard working people from local animal rescue organizations. I always introduce myself to rescue organizations because my website can be a valuable resource for free information for new adopters of often stressed out dogs. I work with many clients that rescue dogs from shelters and rescue organizations and they can sometimes have unique, challenging issues such as separation anxiety, fear or aggression. Greg Shives, the Director of the Chicago English Bulldog Rescue, Inc. was definitely enthusiastic and passionate about helping the Bulldogs that need a home. I met Peanut, one of the Bulldogs that his organization is helping.
So, what training thoughts that I tell my clients were reinforced as I was walking around the show?  Lesson 1. Dogs are not intrinsically aggressive. I always strive to educate people about the misconceptions about Staffordshire Terriers, Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Dobermans and the other myriad list of breeds that people erroneously label dangerous. I won't go into a full rant here, but most of the problems that are highlighted in the news about aggressive dogs are because of ignorant guardians, and mishandled dogs. One reason I love going to dog shows is because I am surrounded by knowledgeable, caring dog guardians that properly socialize their dogs, prevent problems from escalating, and provide adequate physical and mental exercise for their beloved dogs. I have trained dozens of Pit Bulls, Staffys, Rottweilers and other "dangerous dogs" and feel that because of their physical attributes they are not appropriate for the novice dog guardian. But, any dog can have major problems if they are bored, under-exercised or improperly socialized.
 Lesson 2. Proper socialization is critical. Did you know that this is how dogs at dog shows are kept in between events? Look at these calm Weimaraners. They are not being tortured and are not miserable. They have been raised properly and put in crates periodically throughout their lives because their guardians knew that they would have to be in this setting periodically during their dog show visits. If you take a two-year-old dog that wasn't socialized properly, does not like the crate, and has dog aggression, this scene would be cruel. The point is, proper socialization and care can alleviate many long-term problems that people have because they did not put the time in at the beginning. Of course, many of my wonderful clients adopted an older dog from a shelter and it came with its own baggage. That is not the adopter's fault. They are caring and wonderful for taking a dog in and teaching him or her to be calm and comfortable in a safe home. One of reasons we have such an amazing relationship with dogs is that dogs incredibly adaptable. They just need the time and attention to learn how to adapt to our world.
 Lesson 3. Dogs need a lot of care. I feel strongly that some people think that that there is no way that dogs need as much training, exercise and grooming as they actually do. They look around at all the dogs in their city and they think that there must be something wrong with their dog because of all the exercise he or she needs. "How can everyone actually provide all of this for their dogs?" That misunderstanding is one reason why dogs are crowding shelters and foster homes and countless dogs get euthanized each year. People bring home a dog without thinking through what is actually required. Well, dogs DO need a ton of time, money, energy and active participation in their development. There is nothing wrong with a puppy that needs two hours of exercise each day. Some puppies need that much, some puppies need less. Each dog is different with his or her special needs.
If you need help, there are many resources at my site and others to help you get through the rough spots. Dogs need a lot, but think of it as an investment in a relationship that you will have for a long time.
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 Don't miss my next radio show titled Dog Training Winter Blues on Thursday February, 21st at 6:30pm. Just to clarify, it says "Feb. 22nd" on the home page of my website. That is a technical problem from the BlogTalkRadio website. Normally the information shown is correct and you can look for my next show date. If you select the link, you will be taken to the correct page and it will show the correct date on the destination page.
You can listen directly on your computer by selecting the link above. You can also listen to any of my archived shows at any time. I will discuss strategies for training tips to practice inside to provide dogs with mental and physical exercise during inclement weather. Chicago in particular has had a brutal winter, and I know there are a lot of people and dogs with cabin fever. Listen and call in with questions for training ideas for you and your pooch! Happy listening and training!
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 I had a new client yesterday that was very upset because their 5-year-old dog bit their one-year-old baby in the face. My client felt terrible because in hindsight she understands that the situation could have been avoided. The dog is a little shy to begin with, and he got cornered in the bathroom by the energetic baby. The baby ignored the signals of discomfort exhibited by the dog and approached anyway. The dog bit the baby in the face causing bruising, but no blood, tearing or puncture wounds.
Most adults would know better and would have stopped approaching, but children often don't understand dog signals and that is why they get bitten more than adults. If you want to learn more about dog bites, you can read a fascinating book by Janis Bradley, one of my instructors at the Academy for Dog Trainers. Called Dogs Bite: But Slippers and Balloons are More Dangerous, this book tackles the fascinating topic of how overblown the hype is about dog bites. In the summary, it talks about the relative infrequency of dog bites versus other injuries: "A child is more likely to die choking on a marble or a balloon, and an
adult is more likely to die in a bedroom slipper related accident." When I interviewed my client about the facial bite I knew that the severity of the bite, while scary, was on the lower end of the severity spectrum. How did I know this? I follow Dr. Ian Dunbar's bite assessment criteria when assessing a dog bite. - Level 1- Dog growls, lunges, snarls-no teeth touch skin. Mostly intimidation behavior.
- Level 2- Teeth touch skin but no puncture. May have red mark/minor bruise from dog’s head or snout, may have minor scratches from paws/nails. Minor surface abrasions acceptable.
- Level 3- Punctures ½ the length of a canine tooth, one to four holes, single bite.No tearing or slashes.Victim not shaken side to side. Bruising.
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4- One to four holes from a single bite, one hole deeper than ½ the
length of a canine tooth, typically contact/punctures from more than
canines only. Black bruising, tears and/or slashing wounds. Dog clamped down and shook or slashed victim.
- Level 5- Multiple bites at Level 4 or above. A concerted, repeated attack.
- Level 6- Any bite resulting in death of a human.
So, let's look at my new client's dog bite and assess the severity. Since there was bruising, but no puncture wounds, the bite can be categorized as a Level 2 bite. You might find it interesting that a growl or "air snap" with no contact is actually considered an act of aggression in Dr. Dunbar's chart. One reason for this being included in the bite chart is that, if left untreated, this behavior often escalates into more obvious aggression. So, it appears on the aggression radar screen because it means that something in the environment is causing the dog to react defensively and has to be addressed. There are many reasons why I took the case and was very optimistic about the chances for success: - This was the first and only bite to the child
- It was a Level 2 bite
- My clients are very willing to work to address the situation
- My clients realize that they need to be more proactive to keep their dog and baby comfortable and this situation could have been avoided
Thankfully most of my client calls fall into the Level 2 or 3 categories. I have worked with Level 4 dogs, but the chances for rehabiliation get lower as the severity climbs. I make my decision whether to take a case based on the willingness of the client to be rock-solid with management and positive reinforcement treatment, the history and number of dog bites, and the history of the dog's socialization and background. The worst situation is an older dog that doesn't show signals such as growling or snarling, newly adopted from the shelter without any history that has put multiple people in the hospital. The chances of success working with that dog are very low.
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 I frequently work with fearful or aggressive dogs. They are grouped into the same category because aggression always has a fear component unless an animal is hunting for food. Fear aggression manifests itself in warnings to tell the other dog or person to stay away. A bite is a more intense warning if the other warnings, such as growling, go unheeded.
Some dogs are uncomfortable around all people, but others will be much less reactive around certain people. My clients often want to know why this happens. On Friday I was working with a reactive female Shepherd mix named Meadow for the third time. I was hired to help her overcome her fear towards guests in the house (especially men) as well as her tendency to bark at outside noises. The first session Meadow exhibited the classic fear aggression signals of a stiff body, lowered head, wide eyes, moving her head back and forth while barking at me. As is often the case, the going was slow the first session and she barked periodically throughout the session. As instructed, my client gently moved her away to a more comfortable location each time she barked. Meadow is fortunate to have a fantastic guardian that put the time in practicing the recommended exercises, keeping her under stress-threshold and managing her movements by keeping her away from the noises when she was not home. My goal when working with my clients is to make sure they realize that it is important to keep their dog under stress-threshold the entire time. This is not always possible, but it is the goal. If a fear-aggressive dog barks at a person, is quiet, barks again when the person moves and then quiets down again, the treatment will take a lot longer than if the dog is quiet and calm the entire session. If a dog rehearses the anxiety than it will happen more easily. One way to think about it is that it makes the dog more reactive or "jumpy" and she is just waiting until the next moment when her brain tells her she needs to bark again. The third session is when all the hard work paid off. Meadow was much more comfortable with me and even came to me and allowed me to pet her and she leaned into me like we were old friends. While I was petting Meadow, my client mentioned that Meadow is fine with her daughter's fiancee, but reacts strongly to another male friend of hers even though she has met him more than five times. I asked my client if her daughter's friend was scared of dogs and she said, "yes". This is often the reason that dogs are uncomfortable with certain people. If a dog is not completely confident with people (as is the case with Meadow) and the person shows the universal signs of stiffness, slow and unsteady movements, or wide eyes, this provides the dog with a reason to be cautious. If one animal is nervous this might lead to aggression, since fear and aggression are related. Once a dog indentifies that a person is uncomfortable, she has to be more alert that this person might be a danger to her or her family. Another reason dogs might be uncomfortable is lack of socialization towards a certain race, body type, sex, or other distinguising characteristic such as facial hair, hair length, or clothing type. Some dogs are fine with a person until they put a baseball hat on and the dog goes ballistic. In my client's case, both of the men were white males about the same age and body type, so I ruled out socialization. It most likely was the difference in comfort level exhibited by the two men.
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 I just finished watching the documentary about Ingrid Newkirk, the co-founder of PETA. I really did not know much about her or her organization before this except for the various news stories that crop up here and there in the media. I have seen a few documentaries about animal rights and about 4 years ago Peaceable Kingdom: A Tribe of Heart Documentary was the final push I needed to become a vegetarian. I was on my way, but the poignant video about how animals are treated in animal processing plants was horrifying. The film contained a lot of secret footage showing how animals are treated as they are processed for food. All of the documentaries that I have seen have taught me something and made me think.
So, what did I think of "I Am An Animal"?
I disagree with some of PETA's tactics, and I don't agree with ever
breaking the law to prove a point. But, I have a lot of respect for
Ingrid Newkirk and her passion. It showed some of the history of the organization, her dedication to living simply, as well as some of the demonstrations and strategy sessions. I always
love to see how ideas get formulated and put out there for the world to
see. One aspect of the movie is that it made me think about my use of animal meat as treats and food for my dogs. I struggle with some of my day-to-day discrepancies. I am a vegetarian, but I feed my dogs the raw diet and have a freezer full of cut up chicken. I only buy free-range, antibiotic free chicken, but still it bothers me. I use and recommend a variety of meat treats for my dogs and my client's dogs. I know there are vegetarian diets for dogs, but the fact that they are so different from us makes it difficult for me to force a vegetarian diet on them if there is a chance that they need more than what that diet offers. I am not fundamentally opposed to animals (including humans) eating other animals, but I think we can all be more responsible about how we raise and consume meat. I still get blank looks when I tell people that I don't eat meat. "What do you eat?" is the common question. There is a huge misconception that vegetarians only eat salads. People can get protein from a variety of foods including nuts and tofu, without eating meat. The movie also gave me hope that some day all animals will be treated better. I spend a great deal of my waking hours working to understand dogs and helping others do the same. Most people feel a strong love and devotion to dogs and animals of all kinds, but there are those that think that animals don't deserve the respect and care that responsible guardians provide. I want to make sure that you know that it is okay to treat your dogs as members of the family. It is okay to allow them to sleep on your bed if you want, it is okay that you spend a lot of money to buy them a comfortable bed to sleep on, or to keep them healthy by taking them to the vet, it is okay that you buy them premium dog food to give them the best diet possible. The movie also made me think about different styles of training. I only use positive reinforcement training, but there are still huge numbers of people that use the "jerk and pull" or "traditional" training methods. I see it as my responsibility, as someone that has trained over 2000 dogs, to make sure people know about positive reinforcement training. I want to make sure that people realize that you can use positive reinforcement training and have a well behaved dog. A lot of people think that dog training consists of "Being tough" or "Being the alpha". Countless times I have heard clients say that their dog isn't well trained because "they are too soft" to use discipline. You don't need to be mean, tough, yell or use metal collars or shock collars to train a dog. That is my goal in life is to get that last point across to everyone. Let me say it again: You don't need to be mean, tough, yell or use metal collars or shock collars to train a dog. If your dog isn't well-trained, it isn't because you weren't tough enough and weren't the "alpha". It means that you need to learn more about training a dog! I interchange training and teaching when I talk about working with a dog. If done correctly, that is what you should be doing. What can you do to make the lives of animals better? You can treat your animals with the profound respect they deserve, you can get rid of the choke, prong or shock collar that you are using and tell your friends to do the same. You can make sure your dogs are getting the best positive reinforcement training that you can find. If your dog is an outcast because he isn't well trained, train him. Spend the time to teach him not to jump, teach him not to bark, work with him, not against him. Now I want to hear what you have to say. It is so much more fun if you take part in the conversation. If you are not a member, all you need to do is Join.
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I changed the comment feature for the blogs. Since I wasn't getting many comments, I thought that asking people to join the community before leaving a comment was asking too much. So, now you can leave comments without joining. You will still have to join to post questions or answers to the forums or download FREE training documents. I think that is fair. You do get many benefits for joining the community including being able to post photos of your dog, keep track of your favorite posts, post questions to the forums and receive emails when your questions are answered and being a full-fledged member of the community. So, I really want to hear what you have to say. Your comments will help determine what I write about and will help me help you. I know people are reading the posts (which is great!) but I don't want this to be a one-way conversation. The more interactive this experience is the more it will help everyone and ultimately help dogs. I happily put a lot of time into this site and I want to be the most helpful to my audience. I think you will find that you will have a richer experience if you share your experiences and questions. So, don't be shy. Why don't you try right now? Just type something in the text boxes below and let me hear from you! One reason I was hesitant to allow posts without joining is that I did not want SPAM posts. If you have something that to say that relates to this site, please contribute. However, please don't just leave a random comment with a link back to your site. If you want to talk about advertsing on this site, please contact me. Happy training, and have a wonderful day. Jeff
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 I am finishing up my notes for my radio show tomorrow titled Why We Love Dogs which will explore the reasons why dogs are such a special, integral part of our lives including some of the historical aspects of our relationships. I am sitting on the couch with my laptop and look over to see Trooper, one of my Collies, looking out the window at a passing dog. I looked at him and something seemed strange. Then I realized what was different.
He was quiet. This small fact encompasses a big part of why we love dogs. Trooper used to bark uncontrollably out of the window. This did not show up right away when I adopted him at two years of age, but started showing up after another dog suprised him and lunged and barked at him when we were on a walk a few years ago. This combination is consistent with Barrier Frustration which can start slowly for many reasons, including a trauma, such as Trooper experienced. I did all the exercises that I recommend to all my clients, but struggled with a common challenge that I see all the time. I did not have an easy way to block our bay window from Trooper that looks out over a highly-trafficked street with dozens of dogs walking by every day. Trooper's behavior wasn't a constant irritant and wasn't getting worse, so we just kind of dealt with it for a while. Finally, my wife and I rearranged our furniture a bit and moved the couch closer to the window and put a chair next to it so Trooper can't get behind it when we are not around. That was about two months ago, and it has worked wonders. If you have read any of my posts, watched my videos or listened to my radio show, you will know that managing a dog's behavior is an intregal part of my training philosophy. One key is prevent a pattern of inappropriate behavior escalating into an intense "habit". In Trooper's case, he has not been able to rehearse or practice his barking behavior, so his behavior has become less intense. Combined with a lot of "Good boys" for looking out of the window and remaining quiet, Trooper now is able to look out the window and remain calm. I identified a situation that was annoying, and helped Trooper change his behavior so it is not a problem any longer. Why do we love dogs? They are so incredibly adaptable, teachable and can integrate into our lives. Listen to my show tomorrow, February 14th at Noon CST for more reasons why we love dogs. Some of the stories may surprise you. One of my favorite topics is dog history and this is a great opportunity to share some of the stories that I know about dogs and people throughout history. If you listen live, call in with your own stories, or use the chat room to chat with me while I am on the air. Click here to access the show information the day of the show, or here for an archived version. I want to hear why you love dogs! Now I want to hear what you have to say. It is so much more fun if you take part in the conversation. If you are not a member, all you need to do is Join.
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 I saw something horrifying on Saturday. I was working with two of my fantastic clients and their Bernese Mountain Dog puppy. I was hired to help McIntire with a bit of fear around men, hand shyness, and other assorted issues such as teaching him to have better off leash control. We were on the way back from a very successful session in the park when I saw something that made my skin crawl.
It started out developing into a scene that I have witnessed countless times in Chicago. A man walking his dogs and giving off body language that showed that both the person and one of the dogs was not comfortable with my client's dog. There is a lot of dog-dog aggression in the city and the congestion and sheer numbers of dogs results in frequent encounters with dogs that do not like other dogs. Studying dog behavior and signs of aggression and anxiety is not only a fascination with me, but a necessity for self-preservation. I would have had many more than 5 bites in the past if I did not know what I was doing. I can tell that a dog is anxious way before I am in harms way or put a dog in harms way. It was also obvious that the man had seen this behavior before as well, because he started to choke up on the leash and direct his attention towards his dog. Then it happened. The Yorkie stiffened, looked at McIntire and started growling. I had already suggested to my clients that we move aside and let the man and his dogs by, because it was obvious that the little Yorkie was getting more uncomfortable as we got closer. But, instead of stopping or slowing down, the man continued moving towards us as we were moving out of the way. And, no surprise to anyone his dog started barking and lunging towards the end of his leash. It happened really quickly. He said, "No!" and kicked his dog. His dog was probably 6 pounds soaking wet. The Yorkie did not yelp, or seem to care that much. But, it is impossible to know whether the assault caused any injuries that will show up later. He was also in a full frenzy telling McIntire to back off. Animals don't stop to assess their wounds during the heat of a fight. But, whether he was injured or not is not the point. We all walked by in horror and my client's mentioned how terrible the whole scene was. I agreed, but kept my deepest feelings to myself. I was angry. I was sad. I thought of what those dog's lives might be like. Living in fear each time they saw a dog, not only scared of the approaching dog but scared of the boots their person was wearing. What a tortured existence this must be. The ironic thing is I think one or both of the dogs had bows in their hair. What twisted person would take the time to put bows in their dogs hair, put them in a situation where they are obviously uncomfortable, and then kick them for acting like a scared dog? THE MAN MUST HAVE WEIGHED 200 LBS! Kicking a dog? A 6 lb Yorkie? I don't care if it was a 95 lb Rottweiler, it is the person's fault for putting his dog in that situation in the first place. The only excuse for ever being physical with a dog is if there is a dog fight or if the dog is attacking a person and the non-invasive methods including noise do not work to break it up. Dogs can cause damage very quickly. But, it is inexcusable to have a dog that has obvious fear around other dog and repeatedly put him nto a situation and then get angry with him. The man could have crossed the street. He could have told us that his dog wasn't comfortable and would we mind waiting a moment until he passed. He could have gone the other way. Fear and aggression can be incredibly frustrating. I train dogs for a living and I have to sometimes remind myself to make sure I am focusing on the small successes when I am training a fear aggressive dog. They can take one step forward in their progress and two steps back sometimes. They can seem to be ok in a situation and then lunge for no obvious reason. But you know what? It is not the dog's fault for being fearful. There are many reasons why dogs are fearful. It might have been improper socialization, or a trauma or genetics. But often it is a combination of the three and most of the time they can be helped. There are sometimes extreme situations that are unworkable and necessitate the need to rehome a dog to a less stressful environment, but most dogs can stay in the home. The terribly ironic aspect about the ribbon wearing Yorkie with the abusive man is that he might actually love his dogs but just did not know how to help them! Maybe he saw a television show that spouts the need to be "A calm leader" while the trailer for the show shows a woman dragging her Basset Hound down the street by a choke chain while the dog is lying on the ground. Maybe this guy just got bad advice! There is also a pretty good chance that he did not socialize his dogs properly and this whole situation could have been avoided. If you have an aggressive dog, I am telling you from the bottom of my heart that I feel for you. I am sure you would rather have a dog that runs happily through the park chasing butterflies and playing with all of the other dogs. I know that it stinks to cross the street and get looks from the other dog guardians that are questioning at the best or accusatory at the worst. I know that there are a lot of you reading this that adopted a dog from the shelter and now have a dog with an unknown history that shows dog aggression. I know most of you are so emotionally invested in your dogs that you would do anything to help them. But there are so many competing views on how to achieve your goal. You are probably not a professional trainer and want to spend quality time with your dog after a hard day's work. You want to have a dog, not a project. I understand completely. But, it is never ok to put a dog in a situation repeatedly and then get angry. There are lots of resources out there that can help you work with your dog. You can listen to my radio show on dog to dog aggression, look for a wonderful trainer. You can post questions to the forums. You can read Jean Donaldson's book on dog aggression. Don't practice alpha rolls, don't use choke chains, shock collars or prong collars. Work on lessening the fear and anxiety and work on teaching your dog to be confident and feel safe, not scared. Don't lose hope. Don't. Questions? Ask in the Forums. Are you frustrated by your dog's behavior? Have you witnessed something that made you mad? I want to hear what you have to say. Not a member? Join.
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 A good strategy for dog training is to be aware of your rewards and how you use them. I recommend something called the calorie bowl to avoid over treating. But, using treats wisely is important for both keeping your dog slim and fit and creating the best environment for a motivated dog that loves to learn.
How can you do this? Understanding criteria can often differentiate a frustrated, novice trainer and a trainer that can train a dog to to anything within his or her physical capacity. Why is criteria so important? It is a very precise way of creating definable goals within each training session. Six years ago I studied with Jean Donaldson at her world reknowned Academy for Dog Trainers and this concept was a big part of the philosophy of the whole program. The Academy is part of the SFSPCA and so we were able to work with shelter dogs for all of our assignments. There were so many assignments that it was critical that each student learned how to train each dog as quickly as possible. However, Jean was not just interested in the final product when she tested the students for completing the various training assignments, but everyone had to take detailed notes during each training session. She wanted to make sure that her graduates understood how the dogs learned, and how to overcome plateaus, hiccups, regressions, and any other way to describe a dog not doing something that you want him to do! Criteria - Pay Attention to It
Criteria are the different elements of a behavior
that, when combined, create the final behavior that you are looking
for. Let's look at a training example and I will show you how to
segment your criteria into separate training goals. Pay attention to the criteria that you are working on in a given
training session and give a very special reward when your dog reaches a
new level of success. When teaching a dog to Come When Called, there are many possible criteria that a trainer can focus on. - The time between cue and initial response -- a lower time means the dog reacted faster (this is also called latency)
- Speed that the dog travels once he starts moving
- The level of distraction that the dog left behind when he started the behavior
- Distance away from the distraction (how close is the dog to the distraction)
- Distance away from person (how far away is the dog from the person)
- If there were any distractions that occurred after calling the dog before he arrived at the desired destination
- The final resting location that the dog placed himself when stopped (left of the trainer, in front, right, behind, 6 inches away, one foot away, etc.)
- The position that the dog is in when stopped (sitting, standing, lying down)
It is important to understand that you can't expect your dog to reach a high level of performance that encompasses multiple criteria until you have trained for each one. For instance, if your dog runs to you at full speed, with a short latency when he is 20 yards away from you when you are alone with him in the park, you can't expect him to perform at the same speed if he is distracted by a squirrel. However, you can focus on that criteria (performance around distractions) if you want to improve your dog's ability to come to you at the same rate of speed when there aren't any distractions. To avoid frustration and continue making progress in your training, you should lower your expectations for criteria in other areas and focus on the criteria that you are having trouble with. To continue the previous example, we have a dog that shows a high level of performance in when focusing on the following criteria: - 20 feet away (distance your dog is from you when you call him)
- Short latency (speed of reaction after giving cue, "Come")
- Speed of behavior (runs at a high rate of speed to you after start of behavior)
The criteria that is causing his performance to drop: - Rate of distractability around squirrels (high)
To counteract this training challenge, lower the criteria in the other areas to increase the performance in trouble area. So, a new training exercise might look like this: - You are 5 feet away from your dog
- Your dog is on leash (to gently help redirect him if when he sees a squirrel)
- Provide much more enthusiasm after saying, "Come"
Hold the leash and AS SOON as your dog sees a squirrel, say, "Come" and gently pull the leash towards you AND REWARD. Only say the cue ONCE and use a great deal of enthusiasm and gently walk away from the squirrel while holding the leash, if necessary. Continue this exercise focusing on the rate of distractabilty around squirrels as the training criteria. If you call your dog EVERY TIME that he sees a squirrel, eventually you should start to see a conditioned response of a faster behavior. Latency, or rate of response, is one of the criteria that you lowered until you increased the criteria of high distractability around squirrels. Now that you have raised one criteria, you can start going through your list and working on the others. Reward more frequently (small tasty treats) when your dog performs a behavior on the list of challenging criteria and his performance will increase more in that area. For instance, the first time your dog looks at you when you say, "Come" instead of charging after the squirrel, get really excited and give a few tasty treats. Your goal is to lower his distractability around squirrels, so when he focuses on you more, he should be rewarded for it. A snappy, well-trained dog exhibits behaviors that are conditioned responses. This is not the same as innate reflexes such as a beating heart, yawning or blinking. Innate responses are "built-in", while conditioned responsive occur after many repetitions. To use this information in your training, focus on creating a conditioned response around squirrels which will counteract your dog's normal desire to chase the squirrel. Then, once you have achieved a high level of performance with that new criteria, you can increase your expectations in the other criteria. In this case, you can move farther away, drop the leash (if your dog doesn't need that as a helper) and continue building up all of the criteria until your dog achieves a high-level of performance in all the criteria that you have identified. If you focus on criteria, you will naturally become a better trainer. Raise and lower criteria until your dog is performing at a uniform level and have fun in the process! Besides teaching "Come" one way to have more off leash control is to teach "Stop". You can learn how to teach your dog to Stop by viewing my new Stop video. Now I want to hear what you have to say. It is so much more fun if you take part in the conversation. If you are not a member, all you need to do is Join.
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 Think your dog might have Separation Anxiety? Do know how to tell the difference between Separation Anxiety and boredom? Are your neighbors threatening to call the police because your dog barks all day?
Not sure what to do? Listen to my Radio Show on Separation Anxiety in Dogs - Identification and Treatment on Thursday, February 7th at Noon CST. You can call in with questions and listen directly on your computer. Go to my radio page for details.
If you miss my show, you can alway listen to any of my archived shows at my archive page. Separation Anxiety can be one of the most dangerous and frustrating ailments that a dog can have. Dangerous for the dog because they can get into such a panic that they can injure themselves. They sometimes get brought to a shelter or rehomed because of the emotional toll taken on the family. I have helped many dogs with Separation Anxiety over the years and I hope I can help you too. This show is important for anyone that has a dog. Learn how to prevent Separation Anxiety from happening, or help your dog if he or she already has it. Enjoy the show, and happy listening! Now I want to hear what you have to say. It is so much more fun if you take part in the conversation. If you are not a member, all you need to do is Join.
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 This is a really fun trick to teach. There are many steps involved, so just focus on improving a bit more each session. Eventually you will achieve the final behavior!
This behavior might take a couple sessions, or it could take much
longer. I always recommend that you focus on keeping your dog
interested each session vs. getting frustrated that he is not learning
fast enough.
You can watch a short video that shows Ranger taking a bow to see the final behavior.
Lets get started. Hand Signal
It is important to teach the hand signal before you start using a verbal cue or changing the cue to a different cue. DO NOT say, "Take a bow" at this stage. - Use amazing treats because you want your dog to be really motivated to follow your hand.
- One of the most challenging aspects of this behavior is to teach your dog not to lie down. Especially when working with a dog that has a lot of training, he might see the hand signal, anticipate that you are going to ask him to lie down and lie down automatically.
- Start with your dog in a stand position
- Slowly move the treat down and towards his tail in between his front legs
- Before he lies down, say, "Yes" and give a treat
- If he lies down, say, "Eh! Eh!" (it means wrong answer) and quickly move your hand up and away from your dog
- Continue working and try and get a bit more of the behavior each time. Move the treat slowly enough (this is called luring) so your dog is licking or smelling the treat at the beginning until it moves below his chest.
- Continue moving the treat until he realizes that lying down doesn't work and moving into the "bow" position is what works.
- To help him understand the differentiation, use verbal praise while you are luring him, "Good, good, keep it up" and say, "Eh! Eh!" and quickly remove the treat if he lies down.
- Once you get a good version of the behavior, (watch video here) say, "Yes" and quickly move your hand with the treat in it forward along the floor away from your dog and raise it a bit so he stands up. Then give him the treat when he is standing.
- That last step is really the "secret" to this trick. Once your dog does the trick, you want him to be motivated to stand instead of lie down. It is really important that you do not reward him when he is lying down.
- If you are feeling frustrated, end on a good note, take a break and try again later
Verbal Cue
Once you establish a very reliable hand signal you can now add the verbal cue. - Say, "Take a bow" (or what you would like) ONE TIME
- Wait just a moment
- Then use the hand signal that you have established above
- Everything else stays the same, use verbal praise, and "Eh! Eh!" if he lies down
- Say, "Yes" when you get the behavior
- Make sure that you move your hand up and away from your dog and reward when he is standing
- Eventually your dog will understand that "Take a bow" means the same thing as the hand signal
Change the Cue To Something Else
You can devise something very creative for the cue instead of the beginning hand signal or the verbal cue, "Take a bow". For instance, one of my clients bends at the waist as if he is doing a bow, and his dog bows back, very cool. The key for this is that you need to make sure that it is different enough from a cue that you already use, and that your dog is watching you when you show it. - Do the new cue (the cue that you want to use)
- Wait for a moment
- "Help" your dog understand what you want him to do by providing one of the other cues you have established, either the original hand signal or verbal cue
Troubleshooting - Do short sessions so you or your dog doesn't get bored or frustrated
- Always end on a good note - meaning the final behavior should be something close to the final behavior
- Make sure you say, "Yes" to mark the right behavior BEFORE he lies down and then quickly move the treat up and away so he stands
- Use really good treats
- Use a lot of verbal praise and enthusiasm
More Questions? Read the Forum Post that started it all, and ask your own questions as well. Now I want to hear what you have to say. It is so much more fun if you take part in the conversation. If you are not a member, all you need to do is Join.
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