How to Crate Train your DogYour dog’s attitude to their crate depends on how you train them to use it. It’s unlikely that they will be nervous about their crate when they see it for the first time.You must take the time to show them that being inside their crate isn’t a punishment, it isn’t a scary place, and they can relax and feel safe when they are inside.
When it comes to crate training, it doesn’t matter how old your dog is. The same methods are used whether they are 6 weeks old, 6 months old or even 6 years old. Remember that your dog is an individual, and not all dogs learn at the same rate.
The first step in crate training your dog is to put the crate in your living room with the door open, and let them have a good look at it. They will smell it, and may even walk inside. Get a handful of your dog’s favorite treats, those special ones that are kept just for training sessions. Diced chicken is popular with most dogs. Use the treat to lure your dog into the crate, and even if they only put one foot inside at first, give them the reward. That’s a good start.  If you’re concerned about a crate taking up a ton of space in your living room, you may want to get wood dog crate.  These dog crates serve as an end table in your living room and eliminate the need for a bulky crate that takes up extra space.

Spend five minutes on this process, and repeat it several times a day. Make sure you never rush your dog, and always finish your training session on a happy note.
When your dog is quite happy to stroll into their crate for the reward, you can then throw a snack into the rear of the crate. It should land far enough back so that they have to walk right inside to get it. This is teaching them that good things happen inside the crate. They will probably come right out of the crate after eating their snack; that’s quite okay.
At this point, start giving him his meals in the crate, again with the door open, and this will also encourage a positive association with it.
It’s time to start closing the door. In the early stages, throw a treat into the crate, and when your dog is inside, shut the door for just a second or two, then open it up and give them another reward. Repeat this process again and again, so they learn that there’s no need to worry if the door is shut.
Over time, slowly increase the duration your dog spends in the crate with the door closed. Give them toys such as a stuffed Kong to keep them amused while they are inside. Because all of their interactions with their crate have been pleasant and have involved a delicious treat, they are unlikely to be bothered by being locked inside.
This is a long slow process, and the time it takes varies from dog to dog. It is very worthwhile taking as long as your dog needs, because there are many advantages to having a dog that settles in a crate. Vacations, travel and even forcing them to rest after an operation are always much easier with a crate.

BEFORE u bring the new dog home.. be prepared.  what u do before the new dog comes home and what you do the frst hour will make a HUGE difference on if the dogs stays!  Read this one page…

Click this  link.. 3 minutes that will change your life..

BEFORE you bring the new dog home..

1- If small. bring home in a crate..

2- Take them through the house and into the back yard. If they try to escape, they will try to leave the way they came in.

3- Have them IMPRINT on the area where they will be staying  for the first few weeks or until trained.

4- If you have a pool. BEWARE.. they may swim but not know how to get out of the pool.. see pool training blog.

I could not tell you any much better then this link.. It is difficut to do.. but is they r your dogs.. leave.. do the “jolly routine” as u go.. they should follow.. now read on..

eHow

BUT.. the short of it is to  separate the dogs by grabbing their hind legs and walking them backward (like wheelbarrows). If you can get another person to help, do it with both dogs.  If you are alone, do this to the more aggressive dog.. secure the dogs away from each other before releasing them.

You will thank me for this one… This will only take a couple of weeks but do reinforce often.

Keep a dog whistle next to the dog (or cat) food and treats and use it EVEY TIME you feed.. Blow the whistle and use the “come” command with praise EVERY TIME… Start using the whistle for training when you call your dog.. NEVER PUNISH when a dog obeys the “COME” command..

You will be very pleased when you soon find that your dog comes to your verbal command even if you do not use the whistle… Your dog will have learned the vocal command .. If you have a dog that is not food motivated.. good luck! Many sled type long-haired dogs are not food motivated…

Silent Dog Whistles about $10-12..
Invented by Acme in 1935, the Silent Whistle is the perfect choice people who live in an urban environment, where noise is a factor. Most dogs hear quite clearly frequencies that the human ear cannot. Both models are adjustable within the frequency range of 5400 Hz. to 12,800 Hz. So they can be tuned to your dog’s specific hearing level. Whether your dog is working close to you or at a distance this model is the perfect choice

MORE detailed instruction…

COMING WHEN CALLED You must have the ability to recall your dog, no matter what the situation or other temptations. The best way to achieve this is by ensuring that returning to you is a rewarding and highly pleasurable experience available to them. To do this it is essential that you never punish your dog for returning to you regardless of what they were doing before (or how angry it made you!).

Recalling a young puppy is often quite easy as they often lack the confidence to wander far away. It is important to take advantage of this period in building the recall command and associating it with very positive experiences. To get your dog’s attention and make it return to you, be prepared to step out of your comfort zone in terms of your own behavior. Use high pitched voices, clap your hands, jump up and down. Make yourself seem as interesting as possible to your dog. If you are really desperate, use a treat or run in the opposite direction to your dog. Their natural chase instinct nearly always gets their attention and brings them running. When they get to you, heap on the praise, hug them, play a short game or a tummy rub. Anything that makes them think returning to you is just the real business.

Start to introduce the whistle when recalling. To start with, you could just whistle yourself unaided and gradually move onto the dog whistle as your distances increase. Assuming your dog is able to sit on command, practice walking away from them a short distance, then using the pip-pip to recall. Sometimes return to your dog instead of doing the recall. This will stop your dog anticipating the command or always assume a sit/stay is followed by a recall.

If at any time your dog seems confused, keep calm and don’t start shouting (this will only make things worse). Go back to commands that your dog has mastered and start to build up slowly again. Training is always two steps forwards and one back.

re-print from LA Times

Fido’s little helper

By Carla Hall, Times Staff Writer
January 10, 2007

Photo Gallery

Animal meds

WHAT could be wrong with Shadow? The green-eyed, long-haired cat had adapted well to his Santa Monica home. There was a carpeted cat tree in the living room for his climbing pleasure. He appeared to have reached an understanding about sharing the house with the other resident feline.

Then one day his owners saw wet spots around the house: Shadow was urine-spraying. The door was a favorite target. So was the side of the sofa. And a corner wall of the living room.

Not to be confused with eschewing the litter pan, spraying is a ritual of territorial marking that cats sometimes do whether they are spayed or neutered — as Shadow is — or not.

Shadow’s keepers, Fernanda Gray and Elliot Goldberg, were distressed. Pet ownership, they believe, is a trust not to be betrayed. “I don’t throw animals away,” said Gray, who with her husband now owns three cats.

But Shadow’s spraying had tested the couple’s resolve. They had to replace draperies, carpeting and the sofa. Their veterinarian was running out of ideas to discourage Shadow’s habit.

Then Gray saw a small newspaper ad in 2001: “Spraying Cats Needed for Study.” Shadow was accepted into a double-blind study of an undisclosed medication’s effect on the behavior.

Fourteen days later, the spraying abruptly stopped.

The drug was Prozac. Five years later, Shadow is still taking the medication — half a 10-milligram tablet once a day — in its generic form, fluoxetine, a $16 supply of which lasts about four months.

“He’s still active, he’s still his hyperactive self,” Gray said. “But it just takes that anxiety away.”

THEY are the new “Prozac Nation”: cats, dogs, birds, horses and an assortment of zoo animals whose behavior has been changed, whose anxieties and fears have been quelled and whose owners’ furniture has been spared by the use of antidepressants. Over the last decade, Prozac, Buspar, Amitriptyline, Clomicalm — clomipromine that is marketed expressly for dogs — and other drugs have been used to treat inappropriate, destructive and self-injuring behavior in animals.

It’s not a big nation yet. But “over the past five years, use has gone up quite a bit,” said veterinarian Richard Martin of the Brentwood Pet Clinic in West Los Angeles. Half a decade ago, no more than 1% of his patients were on antidepressants. Now, Martin estimates that 5% of the 8,000 cats and dogs seen at the clinic are taking drugs for their behavior.

The use of antidepressants is another example of the growing sophistication of medical care available to animals and willingly financed by owners who see pets as cherished companions. For these owners, drug therapy is not just another indulgence like Louis Vuitton carriers and day spas for the pampered pet. In their eyes, medication is urgent. Indeed, the new Prozac Nation is not populated with the worried well of the animal kingdom; it’s filled with animals behaving so badly they’re in danger of being cast off to a shelter and, possibly, a death sentence.

“If you have a cat that sprays constantly, that’s not a cat you’re likely to keep,” said Elyse Kent, the veterinarian who owns the Westside Hospital for Cats. “We were compelled to try these behavioral modification drugs.”

Kent has been treating cats with psychoactive drugs, mostly for spraying or aggression, for 12 years. After a UC Davis study published in 2001 showed that fluoxetine reduced feline spraying — and following the success of Kent’s patient, Shadow, in a Prozac trial — Prozac became a frequent choice at her clinic.

“I’d say twice a week, someone comes in to get a prescription for Prozac or fluoxetine or clomipromine,” said Kent, who nonetheless estimates that at any one time only 1% of her practice’s 3,000 patients are taking a psychoactive drug. (“Six weeks to three months is the average” length of treatment, she said.)

Veterinarians who prescribe psychoactive drugs insist they are not Dr. Feelgoods for the animal set. They do medical work-ups on animals, they say, to rule out physical causes for destructive or neurotic actions and prefer to use behavior modification instead of — or, at least, along with — drug therapy. Sometimes they have to deflate the expectations of owners eager to place their pets on antidepressants.

“I tell people if I had a magic pill, I would give it to them,” said veterinary behaviorist Karen Sueda, who works at the VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital. “In most cases when we give medication, it is not going to be a quick fix.”

Said Curtis Eng, chief veterinarian of the Los Angeles Zoo: “My feeling is they are a useful tool — one of many — to decrease stress and anxiety on an animal. If you can relieve the stressors through a behavior management program, I would much rather do that. But sometimes you need a little extra help to get them over that hump.”

When the zoo was coaxing a male orangutan, Minyak, back to respiratory health and enough energy for mating, veterinarians consulted with a psychiatrist and put the primate on the antidepressant Remeron.

“He was put on it for depression,” said Eng, who noted a beneficial side effect: Miknyak hadn’t been eating well and the drug increased his appetite. The orangutan bred successfully, fathering a healthy baby in 2005, and he is being weaned off the antidepressant.

THE drugs administered to animals fall mainly into two classes of antidepressants commonly prescribed to humans: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and tricyclics.

Both groups control the levels in the brain of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that is believed to affect mood, depression and anxiety. The tricyclics also work on other neurotransmitters, including norepinephrine, which is thought to affect attention and impulsiveness.

In most cases, the drugs are being administered off-label, meaning they have not been put through the trials required for FDA approval for use in specific animals. (The Food and Drug Administration regulates drugs for both animals and humans.)

Clomicalm, a tricyclic manufactured by Novartis, is the only antidepressant approved by the FDA for dogs as a treatment for separation anxiety.

Veterinarian Scott Huggins, manager of technical marketing for Novartis, maker of Clomicalm, said that dogs are not intended to stay on it for life. “We don’t have specific studies on long-term use,” said Huggins, adding, “I do know it happens.”

In general, vets prefer to taper their patients’ use of the drugs. “We try to use these medications short-term,” said Kent. “Because they are not without side-effects.”

Antidepressants are believed to work on animals’ brain chemistry the same way they do on humans’. The difference is that veterinarians will not say they are treating clinical depression; many don’t believe an animal can be clinically depressed.

“A lot of the outward manifestations — decrease in appetite, trouble sleeping, not taking joy in activities — are there in dogs and cats,” Sueda said. “But you can’t ask a dog or cat, ‘Are you despondent?’ ”

But veterinarians will say that animals experience anxiety. Dogs with separation anxiety can bark endlessly, destroy household furniture, gnaw through fences or even fling themselves out of windows after owners leave. Birds have compulsively plucked themselves to partial baldness. Troubled cats maul their owners, hide for hours or refuse to use their litter boxes.

Bob Stewart, now the sole owner of a cat since his companion, Anne Marie Schmitt, died of cancer, recalls how his otherwise mellow feline would turn into a leopard-like creature. At one point, when Serendipity clawed Schmitt’s arm badly enough to send her to the hospital, Stewart says they considered drastic action. “If we could not have gotten her controlled, as much as we loved the cat, we probably would have had to find a way to get her adopted or send her to one of these shelters,” said Stewart, a retired game show producer who created the original “The Price is Right” and “Password.”

The owners refused to have the cat declawed. Instead, for the last several years, a daily dose of “triple fish-flavored” fluoxetine has, for the most part, quashed Serendipity’s desire to practice her hunting skills on humans.

“I thought it made sense,” said Stewart, sitting in his apartment with Serendipity resting nearby. “They feel pain as we feel pain. They feel happiness as we feel happiness. I didn’t question the idea that a drug could change the persona of an animal.”

As with humans, choosing the right drug and dosage for an animal is a process of trial-and-error. “A lot of behavior treatment is an art,” Sueda said.

No one knows that better than Amy Weber, who adopted Sam, a spayed female dog, 10 years ago. The Labrador/beagle mix appears sweet-natured and calm as she lies in the living room of the rambling Beechwood Canyon home Weber shares with her partner, Wendy Schwartz, and five pets. The couple’s other dog, Scout, busily scouts for affection. A hulking orange cat, Stripper, saunters by, pausing to swat Sam. The action elicits a gasp from the humans but only a quizzical look from Sam.

For several years, Sam was anything but calm when her owners left the house. She scratched doors, chewed through washing machine hoses and gnawed the wood trim on windows, sometimes cutting her mouth. If she was left outside, she either dug her way out of the yard or ripped through wire fences, scratching her head in the process.

Weber tried Clomicalm, tranquilizers, homeopathic remedies and Cesar Millan, the “Dog Whisperer.” But Sam’s separation anxiety defied all drugs and therapy for a time.

Although Weber, who edits movie trailers, put together a nearly full-time schedule of sitters and walkers for Sam, that didn’t stop the dog from going into a frenzy if Weber and Schwartz went out for the evening.

Then Weber hired Sueda, who put Sam on a regimen of Amitriptyline during the day and recommended Xanax at night if the couple wanted to go out. And she started the dog and her owners on a behavior training program.

(There are only 42 board-certified veterinary behaviorists in the world, according to Melissa Bain, chief of behavior service at the teaching hospital at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Technically, Sueda is not one of them — she hasn’t taken her boards yet — but she is, practically speaking, L.A.’s veterinary behaviorist.)

“I never look at medication as a cure-all — just like with people,” said the veterinarian, who delves into the history of each animal’s situation.

Appointments with Sueda aren’t cheap. A package of two lengthy visits — the first is two hours — follow-up phone calls and e-mails is $550, not counting what Sueda charges if she travels to the owner’s house.

Brand-name Prozac can cost more than $100 a month, but most vets now prescribe fluoxetine, a monthly regimen of which can cost pet owners a few dollars a month to about $20, depending on the dosage.

Bain is wary of medications. “Drugs don’t work that easily,” she said. “And they don’t work without behavior modification.”

Much of what animals do, Bain said, is normal, just unacceptable — a result of owners incorporating their pets into close urban quarters. “Breeds of animals have not changed that much in 20 or 30 years, but human society has,” she said.

“What have we done to our animals? In the last 30 years, we’ve kept them inside, we’ve made multiple-cat households. A border collie, 20 years ago, was living on a ranch in Colorado, and now he’s living in downtown San Francisco. So he can’t do his typical behavior.”

Moustafa Seoud, a veterinarian for 17 years, sees drugs like Clomicalm or Prozac as “an easy way out.” Seoud, who practices at the Laurel Pet Hospital in West Hollywood, relies on massage, acupuncture and homeopathic treatments. “Homeopathic flower essence works well for cats with different problems — stress and anxiety and kidney problems.”

He dispenses different types of remedies for different problems: “Camomile is calming; Ignatia for grieving; Nux Vomica for nervousness.” One of Seoud’s clients said that one time, as he prescribed a homeopathic remedy for her withdrawn cat, he popped some of it into his own mouth and declared: “You can take it too.”

Conventional drugs seem to be working for Sam, the dog with the bad case of separation anxiety. Weber tells Sueda that Sam has been fine when she’s left the dog alone for a few hours during the day. And Sam has stopped following Weber around the house constantly. “She’s just calmer,” Weber said.

“That’s what we’re aiming for,” Sueda said. “A general, overall sense of calm.”

Borrowed from www.pethealthcare.net

Note: trying to fix this format!

Other techniques are often suggested for play biting.

Some involve harsh discipline, like slapping the puppy under the chin or forcefully holding the mouth closed.

Remember, pain can cause aggression and cause the puppy to become anxious, fearful or perhaps more excited.

These techniques also require that you grab an excited puppy; not an easy thing to do.  Some puppies may even

misinterpret the owner’s attempts at punishment as rough play, which in turn might lead to an increase in the behavior.  Physical methods are therefore not

recommended.  Owners who cannot inhibit the puppy with a yelp, could consider a shake can, electronic alarm, air horn, or ultrasonic device, as soon as the biting

becomes excessive.

The use of a head halter with a remote leash attached allows the puppy to play

and chew, but a quick pull on the leash can immediately and successfully close

the mouth and stop biting without any physical force.

By simultaneously saying “no biting”, most puppies will quickly learn the meaning of the command.  As soon as the puppy stops and calms down, the owner can allow play to resume, as long as biting does not begin again.

Remember that play biting is a component of play behavior in puppies.  Play is a form of social interaction.  Realize that your puppy is trying to play with you even

though the behavior is rough.  To ensure that you are in control, be certain that each play session is initiated by you and not the puppy, and that you can end each

session whenever you choose.

One effective strategy when the play gets too rough is to immediately end the play session and leave.  Social withdrawal can be a very powerful tool.  Leave the puppy alone long enough to calm down.

If upon your return the wild playing begins again, leave again.

Although it is tempting to pick the puppy up and take it out of the room, this interaction may be interpreted by your puppy as additional play and the biting may continue as you carry the puppy to a confinement location.

Believe it or not, this is not a housetraining problem. It has to do with some normal canine behavior patterns that you can and should deal with in a positive way.

Dogs are instinctively programmed to accept the authority of creatures (animal and human) that they consider to be superior to them. They seek the approval of their superiors and are eager to please them. Many dog owners prefer a dog who is submissive to people and eager to please, and selective breeding has produced many domestic dogs with this characteristic.

Some dogs are more submissive than others. Very submissive dogs, shy dogs that lack self-confidence and often young pups will urinate when in the presence of more dominant dogs and humans. It’s their instinctive way of telling the superior “You are my Supreme Master. Your wish is my command. Please don’t hurt me!”

Puppies usually outgrow this behavior as they mature. Dogs who are naturally shy, insecure, extremely submissive, or who have been abused may continue to exhibit submission in this way even as adults. It is generally an involuntary, subconscious reflex. The dog isn’t deliberately trying to do it. As a matter of fact, he may not even be aware that he’s doing it at the time!

Many dog owners mistakenly believe that this type of urination is a housetraining problem, and try to correct it with discipline. To their dismay and frustration, rather than improving, the dog’s problem gets worse! Because the message he’s sending is misunderstood by the owner, the dog is caught in a vicious cycle – his instincts tell him to urinate to please his superior by showing submission. But when he does, he is punished. He then tries harder to please by urinating even more. This results in more punishment, and still more urination. After a time, the dog may become so confused and insecure that he urinates at the mere sight of a human being or another dog.

If discipline won’t solve the problem, what will? Your task is to take the excitement and stress out of the periods that previously triggered submissive urination. Get cooperation from all members of the family. When you first get home, you can anticipate that the dog will get excited and urinate so you need to minimize the excitement. Instead of an enthusiastic greeting to your dog, quietly walk in the door and go about your business. Let him outside to pee as usual, but without any fanfare. If you talk to him at all, just say “Hi Rover” in a calm, casual tone of voice. Don’t make eye contact with him or pet him. After he settles down, very gently crouch down to his level presenting to him sideways (this makes you very non-threatening), then calmly and quietly praise him and tell him he’s good. Be sure to tell your family and visitors to do the same.

Do everything you can to boost your dog’s confidence. As he becomes more confident, he may feel less of a need to display extreme submissive behavior:

* Positive reinforcement obedience training does wonders for a dog’s confidence! An untrained dog is doesn’t know how to communicate with humans or how to behave, but the trained dog understands what’s expected of him, and the words you say to him. He’s confident because he has the tools with which to please his superiors.
* Socialization at training classes, dog daycare, at the park, or just going with you on errands and to visit friends can do wonders for your dog’s confidence. Have guests over who are willing to help out with this problem.
* Agility training is another wonderfully fun way to boost your dog’s confidence using physical obstacles and mental stimulation as well as new human words to understand and obey.
* Incorporate basic obedience (Sit, Stay, Fetch, Come, etc.) into your daily life and when your dog obeys, he gains confidence through your praise. Just don’t overdo the praise (this can result in a puddle!). A simple “Good boy” and gentle pat is enough.
* Minimize the occasions your dog makes you want to scold him; think about what your dog does that causes you to scold him. For example, does he get into the trash, steal your children’s toys or chew on your sneakers? By simply putting a lid on the trash can or putting it into a closet and requiring your family to pick up after themselves, these situations can be eliminated. The easier you make it for your dog to do what you want, the quicker he’ll learn and his confidence will grown. On the other hand, discipline, scolding and physical punishment will simply reduce his confidence and worsen your submissive urination problem.
* Dogs, especially shy or submissive ones, are very sensitive to body language and tone of voice. Bending over a dog is a “dominant” posture that may provoke an accident. Instead, get down to your dog’s level by crouching or kneeling, preferably at his side rather than head-on.
* These dogs are often intimidated by direct eye contact as well. Look at your dog’s face without looking directly into his eyes, and only for very short periods.
* If you are expecting guests, take your dog for a walk and get his bladder emptied ahead of time, and restrict water consumption for an hour before your guests are to arrive.
* When speaking to your dog, use a calm, confident, moderate tone of voice. Avoid very high or low extremes in pitch. Don’t “coochy-coo” or babytalk to your dog either. These tones can create excitement that results in submissive urination.

Don’t scold or punish your dog for urinating submissively. It will only make things worse. He can’t be held responsible for something he doesn’t understand or even know he’s doing. Instead, use these methods to get to the root of the matter: His basic insecurity and lack of confidence. When he’s made progress in these areas, submissive urination often disappears on its own. How long will it take? Every dog is different and it’s impossible to say for sure. With most dogs, following our directions will show a noticeable difference within a short time. Solving the problem altogether depends on your hard work, patience, consistency and willingness to stick with it.

Flea shampoo or dog shampoo?  Don’t buy into it, or buy it..

If your dog does have fleas.. use flea spray then shower ..and then use something like, Advantage or Revolution.. so worth it.. forget the off brands..  do a google search for best prices.

Have your dog shake with before he or she leaves the shower.. then keep the towel over them when they get out cause they will shake again.  Then you can get back into the shower and rince off..

Jackie Brown leaving the shower…

a MUST HAVE BOOK..     I refer to it often and even call Bill..ALSO AT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY…..

from Bill, worth the read..

HOW DOGS THINK
A NON-VERBAL LINK TO CANINE COMMUNICATION

copyright 1995 by William E. Campbell

Have you ever seen a device or a program designed to correct a dog behavior problem that explained how smart dogs are and how they think? Most plans or gadgets enable owners, literally, to declare war on their hapless pets. Little or no concern is afforded to what the dogs happen to think about them. In fact, the implication is that dogs don’t think at all … either they just react to external stimuli like robots , or respond according to genetically controlled “drives.” Dogs are rarely credited with the ability to solve a problem mentally; to analyze a situation; imagine ways to manipulate or control it, then take a pre-planned course of action toward a goal that was preconceived in the dog’s mind. In short, the dog is considered a real dummy, then treated like a dummy. But this concept is not correct. Dogs are smart. They can, and usually do, think rings around their owners. And they can do it because most owners have never learned how to think like a dog.

Understanding Non-Verbal Thinking

We all wonder now and then what our dog is thinking. If we wonder aloud, perhaps when mealtime is approaching and the dog is looking expectantly at us, we might say something like, “I’ll bet Tippy’s thinking, ‘When is my dinner going to be ready?’ ” In all likelihood, Tippy isn’t originating any thoughts about ‘when dinner will be ready.’ It is more likely Tippy is imagining (or ‘imaging’ in his mind) the words and movements you usually say and perform before getting his dinner; something like, “You want dinner, Tippy?” All that tail wagging and those pleading eyes are aimed at stimulating you to say it.

But, an inability to originate thoughts in a spoken language does not make dogs unintelligent. Even people don’t actively think in a spoken language unless they actively ‘speak’ it. For instance, during a short vacation to Japan, if you don’t already speak the language, you’ll probably pick up the meaning of a few words. After a few natives look at you in the morning and say “Ohio,” you may eventually learn that they’re not curious about where you’re from, but are wishing you a “Good Morning.” Still, you won’t think in Japanese unless you live there a few months and actively speak it. Even a pet Akita will never learn to speak or think in the native lingo because their voice boxes, tongues and lips cannot formulate the sounds of Japanese … or English, or French, etc, etc. The limit of our dog’s language-learning is the meaning of the sounds of certain words. Luckily, dogs are quick to learn the sounds that are important to them.

With this in mind, when Tippy is prodding us about serving dinner, we’d be wise to discard ideas about complete sentences being originated and thought about, and replace them with the non-language concept of mental images. To illustrate this further; when most Tippys are asking for dinner they actually look from their owners toward the place where it is served, generally the kitchen.

Evidence of Imagery

Some very convincing research suggests that dogs think in sensory impressions; visual, sound and odor images, etc. This is not to say that they sit around on quiet days experiencing videos inside their brains. However, they likely share our ability to form and experience in their minds certain images, odors and sounds. The scientific basis for this idea came from Russia and was published in the US in 1973. A scientist name VS.. Rusinov¹ was studying the electrophysiology of the brain and had several dogs wired with brain wave equipment and radio transmitters. When the dogs were brought into the lab from the kennels for experimental conditioning tests, the electroencephalograph machine was turned on to record their brain wave patterns. This was done at the same time each day, five days a week. One weekend, purely by accident, Rusinov brought a group of visitors into the lab and turned on the EEG machine. Lo, the dog that was normally schedule for tests during the week at that time was sending wave forms nearly identical to his regular working patterns! When the testing time passed, the dogs’ brain waves soon returned to their normal ‘at rest’ forms. I never found any mention by Rusinov as to whether the dogs out in the kennel were actually performing their conditioned laboratory behaviorisms. Chances are they were not, but one thing is almost sure; compared to human experience in similar types of studies, the dogs were apparently experiencing them mentally^2,3.

The late Polish scientist, Jerzi Konorski,³ taught dogs to salivate and expect food in their trays when a light flickered. This was done regularly every few minutes. However, after a few trials, the dogs started salivating and looking at the trays as if the food were actually there, even though the light had not flickered. Konorski ventured that the dogs were hallucinating about both the stimulus (the light) and the reward for salivating (the food). One thing is sure: Something was going on in the dogs’ minds that made them behave as if they were happening.

Some Human Examples

Before going on with dogs, let us consider some facets of our own ‘mind’s eye,’ as suggested by Konorski. Imagine we have a date to meet a loved one at a busy restaurant. We get there on time and sit at a table near the door. Fifteen minutes go by, but no friend arrives. We begin to wonder if they are coming at all. We start watching people approach the door. Pretty soon, people with similar features almost cause us to call out to them. The more concerned and anxious we become, the more apt we are to mistake strangers for our friend. When he or she finally arrives, the pleasure and relief we feel is often mixed with mild displeasure. We are ambivalent … we have mixed emotions about meeting them in the future.

Almost everyone has mental imagery. Often, just the thought of a loved one conjures up their image. This can apply to sounds, as well. Think about your favorite musical piece and your can often hear it in your ‘mind’s ear.’ These are positive images. They are emotionally pleasant. At the other end of the scale, recalling a terrifying experience can not only create its images, but sometime even make us shudder. This is an example of negative, emotionally unpleasant images.

Back To Dogs

So it is with our dogs. When we are late getting home, or if they over-miss us because we spoil them with attention and petting every time they demand it, they very likely worry in images, too. They may well recall images of us and our activities, such as fluffing the pillows on the sofa, putting away record albums, handling magazines and books, putting on shoes just before leaving, sitting in a favorite armchair, etc. As a result of this, they often engage in activities which involve them with these images: Pillows wind up on the floor, albums or magazines are moved or chewed, a chair seat gets dug up, shoes are brought out of the closet. If they can’t have us there, they try to interact with things that symbolize us.

If dogs really do store up and recall images of us and life’s other objects and experiences, it follows that we might use this to our mutual benefit. But since most owners do not understand how dogs think, this imagery is where the seeds of most behavior problems are sown. Dogs receive and recall conflicting images of owners and many important experiences.

The Puppy’s Dilemma

Consider the new puppy whose owners come home at regular times and join in an ecstatically joyful greeting ceremony. This imagery is quickly ingrained, and the pup begins to anticipate the experience, just Konorski’s dogs hallucinated about the flickering light and the food tray. However, as will happen in even the most well regulated household, one day the owner is late. The puppy begins experiencing the images of his tardy owners … starts fretting, pacing. Well primed energies, ready for the greeting ceremony, demand an outlet as the adrenaline starts pumping.

What’s going on in its mind’s eye or ear? It probably imagines hearing footsteps, perhaps even sees the door open… which doesn’t happen. But it should. This introduces conflict between what it wants and expects and what is really happening. Conflict creates frustration. Frustration produces anxiety, which triggers an even greater adrenaline rush. The pup searches for something real to satisfy its desire to ‘experience’ the owner … a magazine or book it saw the owner reading recently. It is rich with the owner’s scent. If it cannot have the owner there, it can at least have their genuine odor or taste. So it sniffs, tastes, maybe even swallows parts of the article. Naturally, this does not fully substitute for the whole owner, so the puppy’s social appetite is not really satisfied.

Finally, here comes the owner. The puppy innocently launches into its joyous, semi-hysterical ritual. The owner starts to join in, but spies the pulverized magazine or book. What’s this? Naturally, if not wisely, the owner angrily grabs the pup, drags it to the demolished object and scolds it, or slaps it’s snout or rump, or both. The pet’s single-track mind is riveted on the owner. It yips, rolls over, or struggles vainly to escape. Punishment concluded, the owner angrily picks up the remnants of the article and storms to the trash basket.

Psychic Trauma

The net result of this is a totally confused pup with a conflicting set of images of its owner. This sort of shock to the nervous system is called psychic trauma in both animals and humans. A conflict has been instilled between the positive image of the owner (happy Dr. Jekyll) and the negative (Mr. Homecoming Hyde). This creates frustration and anxiety about homecomings, growing in severity if the scenario is repeated a few times. (It is interesting that in many cases, owners tell us that the pup was fine for a day or so after the first punishment. This may equate to the human experience of repression, in which memory of the traumatic experience is suppressed, creating a sort of ‘backwards amnesia.’) Even when this occurs, since the punishment was not associated with the act of chewing up something, the puppy seeks out another article, perhaps a shoe, and the cycle is repeated until the total relationship between owner and dog is tainted with emotional ambivalence. Mixed feelings are eating away at the positive qualities of their relationship. Negative emotional impressions may start to dominate it.

At about this stage, many owners conclude that the punishment may not have been severe enough. That’s why the correction was not permanent. So they intensify it. The relationship erodes further as weeks go by. Enough of this cascading negative effect and the owner is ready take drastic action. The dog, now hyper-sensitive to its owner’s mood change, feels something is wrong. This often is reflected by new problems, such as submissive wetting when the owner comes home or approaches the dog at other times; off-schedule bowel movements or urination occur, etc.

Many pets act insecure, currying more favor when the owner is home, and hence, missing the owner even more acutely when left alone. Frustration and anxiety build, while the isolation-related, tension-relieving behavior mounts. The unwitting owner, who originally may have thought the dog is ‘getting even’ for being left alone, begins to consider it incorrigible.

HELP!

This is when outside help is often sought. A book is purchased. The veterinarian, breeder, pet shop, a trainer or behaviorist may be consulted. If lucky, the owner gets advice that brings genuine insight into pet/owner relationships and dog behavior. But, more likely, they find traditional quick fixes and the dog winds up in a desensitization program; gets dosed with anxiety relieving drugs or barbiturates; is stuck in a cramped crate or cage all day, or banned to the yard or garage, or has its mouth stuffed with chewed debris and taped shut for hours. Since none of these approaches deal with the causes, the ‘thinking dog’ and the total relationship with its owners and the environment, success is rare. The majority of these formerly precious pets find themselves rejected … relegated to the local pound for five to seven days, where the odds are 3-to-2 they’ll suffer society’s ‘ultimate solution’. But things don’t have to be so grim, if the owners learn some ‘dog think.’

Applying Positive Imagery To Solve ‘Separation Anxiety’

Dogs that misbehave when they are left alone are said to be suffering from separation anxiety. The term is a neat buzz-phrase; almost everybody uses it. It sounds professional. The trouble is, as a transplant from human psychiatry, it really doesn’t convey much useful information. However, the term is here, so we’ll use it in its broadest sense, which is; “a troubled feeling when left alone or apart from a certain person or persons.” This allows us to recommend a remedial behavioral program that deals with the realities of the dog’s total relationships. First, however, we must be sure that the dog’s veterinarian has ruled out the many physical/medical causes for anxiety, such as thyrotoxicosis, hyperthyroidism, pre-diabetes, encephalitis, allergies, hyperkinesis, etc. etc.

The Program

Dogs that are unduly upset when left alone usually enjoy their owner’s attention and petting whenever they ask for (or demand it) when the people are at home. To apply the imagery concept to this relationship, we could say the dog ‘sees itself’ as directing, or leading the owner. When it wants some petting, it nudges or otherwise stimulates the owner, and the owner complies. The dog wants out, whines at the door or at the owner, and the door gets opened. Mealtime approaches, dog whines and prances, and dinner gets served. When the owner goes from room to room, the dog is either ahead, leading them, or close behind. This is the reality of their relationship, at least in the dog’s mind. But, when the owner leaves, against the dog’s wishes, the pet is predictably upset, and problem behavior occurs. This can involve barking, chewing, pacing, self-mutilation, off-schedule bowel movements, urination around the house, etc.

The leadership problem can be turned about by presenting a different reality to the dog; one in which the dog is pleasantly, but firmly and consistently told to perform some simple act, such as ‘sit’ whenever it attempts to gain attention or affection, or whenever the owner wants to give the dog some attention. All ‘sits’, or whatever command is used (‘down’ is a good one for highly bossy dogs) are praised happily as 3 to 5 seconds of petting is awarded; then the dog is cheerfully released with an “OK” or “Free.” (Free is a good release because OK is too common a word.)

If a really bossy dog refuses to obey, and many do when they realize their relationship is being turned around, simply ignore the situation, turn away and go on about some other activity, ignoring the dog. Some dogs have refused to respond for as long as four days before coming to terms with a follower relationship. However long it takes, after a few days the dog’s image of itself seems to evolve from one of giving direction to taking it with compliance prior to being petted, getting dinner, going out the door, getting on the couch, etc.

In moving around the house, whenever the dog forges ahead, simply about-turn and go the other way. This must be repeated until the dog walks patiently behind or, better yet, doesn’t even follow. It is also helpful, but not vital, to practice down-stays of increasing length during several evenings a week.

Images of Hyper-Emotionality

Most ‘home alone’ problem dogs get extremely emotional when their owners get home; some even get excitable when regular departure times approach. To supplant these emotionally over-stimulating images, sit quietly for about five minutes before leaving, in the area where the dog will be left. No eye contact or speaking is allowed. Then, get up and go without looking at or speaking to the pet.

At homecoming, enter quietly and ignore the dog until it quiets down completely. Then it is greeted happily, but briefly, away from the door of arrival. This subdued routine soon replaces the dog’s highly emotional mental images of returns and departures with calmness and serenity.

Here’s the tough part for most all dog owners: When coming home the place is a mess! Pillows have been chewed, or the chair is tattered again, or a pile of poop graces the doorway, or some other problem is evident. If we keep in mind that the dog has in the past suffered from conflicting images at homecoming, it is imperative that no emotion, or even attention, should be directed at the remnants of the problem; such as chewed up magazines, shoes, defecation, etc. Instead, after five minutes of ignoring the dog, it should be greeted away from the scene of the misbehavior, and then pleasantly taken outdoors or to another room and left alone while the mess is cleaned up. This avoids creating new (or reinforcing old) conflicting images of emotional reactions to, or interactions with, the debris, defecation, etc.

I have always called this ‘the secret clean-up’. It has worked wonders as part of programs ranging from digging in the yard to housetraining puppies. Just why it is such an effective adjunct to correction programs remains to be satisfactorily explained. In the meantime, we’ll have to say that the lack of an image of the owner and the mess is more beneficial to correction than is the image.

The Big Picture

So, there it is. Dogs think in images and we can mold and change their behavior in hundreds of ways if we will think as they do. For instance, on the negative side, a set up whereby a car screeches to a stop, horn blaring, just as a dog starts toward the street from the sidewalk, then praising its retreat, is a valuable exercise in negative imagery. However, it must be repeated until the dog avoids the street when cars are not present, as well.

Teaching the ‘panic’ command to come needs the dog’s name followed by a code word, a sound image that is exclusive to coming when it is absolutely necessary, and praise words or a vocal rhythm that is unique to that command, coupled with fast hand-clapping while taking a crouched position. These combined, positive images can create a dog that will dependably respond to your code word and come to your praise. It is especially important to teach this command when the dog is out of sight, as well.

]]> http://www.dogsandcats101.com/2010/07/17/behavior-problems-in-dogs-by-bill-campbell/feed/ 0 http://www.dogsandcats101.com/2010/05/25/the-dog-was-outside-all-day-and-then-came-in-and-peed-dumb-dog-no-dumb-owner/ http://www.dogsandcats101.com/2010/05/25/the-dog-was-outside-all-day-and-then-came-in-and-peed-dumb-dog-no-dumb-owner/#comments Tue, 25 May 2010 18:38:43 +0000 Jan http://www.dogsandcats101.com/?p=624 Here is what happens…

Fido is alone all day in the yard while you are at work…  He hears your car pull up and he wakes up.. all happy and tail wagging to see you.  You are such a happy owner so you let Fido into the house… Guess what?  Fido has not peed since before he fell aslepp three hours ago after that big drink of water…

What to do?  Go out side and play with Fido for a bit until you see him releave himself.. make it a habit.. dogs, and people are creatures of habit..

Very simple, yes?  and I am sorry I called you stupid..

-Jan