This is not an exchange or trade, it’s a repair. You can have them fix up to two (2) harness straps. Here’s the info:

Wiggles Wags & Whiskers
Attn: Harness Repair
1405-C Babbage Lane
Indian Trail, NC 28079

Please be sure to include the following information:
Name
Address
Phone Number
and a $5.00 Check to cover return shipping and handling.

Wiggles, Wags, & Whiskers is very proud to offer their chewed harness warranty as it brings lots of customer satisfaction. It only takes a few days to fix the chewed harness and it is promptly returned to the customer’s address.

Note: this does not apply to harnesses from any other brand, including the Easy Walk harness. In fact, I don’t know if anybody else has such a great warranty. If you have one of those that’s chewed, you can try having REI repair it, or buy a new harness, like the Freedom harness.

So I barrelled over there in my car and slammed on the brakes beside her.  “Can you please stop hitting that puppy?” She looked up, slightly embarassed, and tried to excuse the hitting, since the puppy had just jumped up and bitten her child.  I told her that there were lots of great ways to get the puppy to stop biting, and I’d love to show her.  But of course, it’s hard to be receptive when a perfect stranger comes and criticizes you from their car window, so she politely walked off. At least she didn’t yell at me.

Was my request enough? I didn’t have time to mention that her puppy is not a bad dog, that almost all puppies bite, and that if she keeps hitting her dog, her child will probably do the same, and she’d end up with a real bite instead of a puppy bite. 

I’m terrified for that puppy and the family, but I think she may have been one of our new students, so there’s hope. I recognized the Freedom harness that we give away with our classes.  The puppy was young enough that she’d probably gone to only one class.  Maybe she hadn’t watched the videos that were emailed to her about biting. Maybe she just needs to be shown what to do. Our trainers will hopefully have a chance to convince her that there are better ways to keep dogs from biting kids. For starters, we teach bite inhibition, Leave It, Touch, tiring out the puppy with exercise, having kids play with dog by dragging toys on ropes so they’re further away, and teaching kids to Be a Tree (fold “branches” – arms – and turn away), among other tools.

Sigh.  I hope this puppy’s family comes around. I hope you don’t train using intimidation with hands, collars, or shock, and if you do, please stop hitting that puppy!

When: Saturday, February 20th, 2-4 p.m.

Who: Shy/fearful/standoffish puppies (15 spots) and regular puppies (5 spots). They can be shy around dogs, people, or both. Puppies must be current on vaccinations (not necessarily finished) & 2-5 months old. No professional dog trainers, please.

How much: Free if you bring a puppy, $15/person if you leave your puppy at home. All attendees must give permission to use footage of dogs.

Where: Seattlle, Magnuson Park Activities Center (the ‘Brig Building’), View Ridge Room

Click here to learn more or sign up!

Can you spread the word? Please Tweet or Facebook this, or if you’re going to visit a pet store, coffee shop, or dog park in Seattle in the next week, print this out and post it: Flier for Puppy video shoot. Thank you!

Tawzer Dog Videos filmed my 90-minute Behavior Adjustment Training seminar in Novato last month, and it’s now available for sale in our online store (click here). We ship orders out on Fridays only, so if you’re looking to get it as soon as possible, then get it from the Tawzer website, when it becomes available.

Here are some clips from the intro of that seminar:

(if that doesn’t work for you, you can view it on YouTube).

We should get copies on Thursday, February 11th, so orders placed this week will *probably* go out on Friday.

I could use a lot of volunteers in Seattle. Are you interested? Here’s what I need:

1. Dog-human teams that can be decoys in a set-up for BAT with a dog-aggressive dog. The goal is to have the student dog remain calm and happy around the decoy, so it shouldn’t be very stressful on your dog. Decoy dogs should not be aggressive or fearful, and should be over 2 years old. I can usually keep the sessions aggression-free, but there is a risk that your dog will be barked at. When we work up close, there is always a fence between the dogs or the dog is muzzled (when I’m feeling very confident), so there is no risk of a bite. We start very far away and move closer as time goes on. Volunteers can opt out at any time.

2. Child-adult teams that can be decoys in a set-up for a dog that is afraid of children. The dog barks but has no history of biting or snapping at any humans. Again, all attempts will be made to keep the session happy and bark-free and we will set up barriers so that there is no risk of a bite. Sessions can take place wherever you’d like. One good location is an outdoor cafe in Ravenna where you and your child just have lunch as we walk back and forth. I’ll treat you for the meal! (This is my dog, Peanut. He’s actually a therapy dog for an assisted living facility, but we haven’t done enough training with children.) Kids 0-13 would be best, since he’s fine with people over about 4′6″.

One benefit of doing this is that your child can learn more about dog safety.

3. A puppy that is afraid of people.

4. People to serve as decoys for the puppy. I’d love to have a vet’s office willing to help me with this, so if you work at a vet office and could do the set-up there, please let me know!

5. Someone interested in running the camera would also be great!

A description of the technique and some videos of what it looks like are on the Ahimsa website: http://doggiezen.com/blog/bat-posts

Benefits to participants: Information on how to use BAT plus a week of free drop-ins to our Dream Dog program. Info on the Dream Dog program is at http://ahimsadogtraining.com/dreamdog

Session times vary, but usually they are something like 15 minutes (if that’s all the child can do) to an hour.

Let me know if you’re interested in any of these volunteer spots. Thank you in advance!!!

At some point, I will be doing a research study on BAT, and I will ask for participants with human-aggressive dogs. That will probably be Fall, 2010.

I figured it would help to give students a chance to see progress, so I have created an overview sheet for set-ups. Clients will make progress if they do set-ups correctly and consistently.  It’s not enough just to do one set-up, for any method. With BAT, expect the sessions to decrease in length and increase in quality of interaction.  I did about 20 set-ups for Peanut with adults, and he went from not being touchable by strangers to enjoying working as a therapy dog in an assisted living facility.  The initial sessions were long and the sessions at the end were short, only a few minutes. 20 may seem like a lot of set-ups, but it only took a month of Saturdays.

Click here for the BAT session Overview sheet. There is a blank form and the second page is a filled-out sample. You might not use the same decoy 4 times, but it allows for that. I usually use decoys 2-3 times max, because the dog starts to remember them. Print a new sheet for each decoy. When you print out multiple copies, you’ll need to set your computer to just print page 1. Fill out whichever rows you think are most important, and do this for each session.

Dog trainers and behaviorists: you can print this out to use with your clients, but please leave the contact info on there. If you are posting it on a website, please use a link instead of putting the file on your domain.

Let me know if you use this, either by email or using the comments section below!

3 of the Ahimsa dog trainers went through the Karen Pryor academy, and one requirement was that we trained another species, besides for a dog. I trained an alpaca. Training a species that you’re not used to really forces you to look at the principles and the science behind clicker training. It works!

One thing that’s not clear from this video is that most cats don’t do marathon training sessions, like dogs do. Some cats I’ve worked with can only do 5-10 clicks worth, and they’re done. Some are also sound-sensitive, so you might start with a juice lid or a pen that clicks when you push the end of it.

We all hear negative news reports. It’s about time we focus on the positive! Ahimsa had a lot to celebrate in 2009. Here are 9 of the good things about 2009, for Ahimsa Dog Training and me, in no particular order:

• Ahimsa launched the Dream Dog program and (after some tweaking) people loved the flexibility.
• We continue to grow and improve. This year, Ahimsa taught more students than we’ve ever taught, in creative ways that we hadn’t used before. We got to make a difference in a lot of lives, both human and canine.
• In King 5’s Best of Washington contest, Ahimsa Dog Training was voted 3rd for the state, and the top dog trainer in Seattle.
• Ahimsa Dog Training ended the year with the same excellent staff that we started with!
• I went to an Association of Pet Dog Trainers conference and Behavior Adjustment Training, my system for working on aggression, fear, and other behavior problems, was a huge hit!
• I started grad school in Seattle for my second Master’s degree, which will be in animal behavior. That allows me the time to research BAT.
• The new Ahimsa Twitter account, @doggiezen, now has 1248 followers.
• My dog, Peanut, started visiting an assisted living facility as a therapy dog.  He’s come a long way from the dog who barked at everybody he saw from 150 feet away!
• I was interviewed on NPR in Seattle, which gave me a chance to think about the choices in my life, including becoming a dog trainer.

Please write your own list! Let’s overwhelm the world with good news.

(Or as Edie wrote, “Spill it! Why didn’t 2009 suck for you?”)

*****

Elliott Bay Animal Hospital is wishing you and your pets a safe and healthy New Year!

There is no greater gift you can give than to help other pet owners who are experiencing financial hardship pay for their beloved pets emergency medical care. This past year, due to your generosity, we were able to help 13 families with their pet’s medical care!
If you would like to make a donation, please make checks out to:
Elliott Bay Animal Hospital
And mail to:

Angel Fund
C/O Elliott Bay Animal Hospital
2042 15th Avenue West
Seattle, Washington 98119

We are also available to take donations over the phone. We gladly accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
Please note – Due to the modest size of our Angel Fund program it is not established as a tax exempt charitable organization.

Our Family… Caring for Yours!

Elliott Bay Animal Hospital
www.elliottbayah.com

****

Related Post: How to Find Low-Cost Vet Care

That got me to thinking…what a great puppy socialization tool! Too bad I didn’t have this game 7 years ago, when Peanut was a puppy.

If dogs are raised in quiet homes without kids, they think it’s very odd when they meet them out and about, often leading to fear-based aggression.  Having a physically engaging video game like the Wii transforms quiet homes into a place where the adults occasionally jump up and down, punch the air, and giggle madly – basically, act like kids. Puppies raised in that environment will probably think that humans are crazy sometimes, and that’s ok!

To be on the safe side, it’s probably a good idea to give the puppy a chew toy, like a bully stick, once the video game begins, so that he’s got something fun to entertain him, too.  Otherwise, your puppy may end up turning the game into a chew-fest or decide that you really are scary, after all.

You could also do little short training sessions while you wait your turn. Then your puppy gets practice training in a chaotic environment. Excellent!

For older dogs getting used to the jumping about caused by the Wii (or other similar video games), you may want to give them something even tastier, like a stuffed Kong.

P.S. Don’t forget to put your remote away when you’re finished. It looks like an awfully good puppy chew toy.

The squeaker is free-floating, so even though Peanut is an excellent toy surgeon, the squeaker still works!!

We now have the lovely Pogo Plush squeaky toy in our store, or at least, we will have them very soon. Enough said. P.S. We can’t get them to you by Christmas, but your dog doesn’t know what the date is, anyway. It will make a lovely First Toy of the New Year.

I doubt the trainer specifically wanted to teach my dog to only work if food was present, but I was sabotaging my training, and we were on the fast track to teaching her to ignore me if I didn’t have a treat!

The reason I can say that with confidence is because I now know about two scientific concepts, blocking and overshadowing, that prevent animals (including humans) from learning a cue.

Overshadowing: if two cues are presented at the same time (like the word sit and the lifting treat), the more obvious one will be paired with the outcome and the other will be harder to learn (Pavlov, 1927). Which do you think is more obvious to a dog? The hand with food in it or the word?

Blocking: if two cues are presented at the same time (like the word sit and the lifting treat) and it is learned that one of them works by itself (the lifting treat), then it is significantly harder to learn the one presented only in tandem (Kamin, 1969). This is called learned inattention.

The cues I gave as examples are the lifting treat hand and the word sit, but the presence of the food is also a cue, as is your body language.

Furthermore, I was also supposed to say “Good sit!” which specifically paired he the word sit sometimes with NO CONSEQUENCE at all, making it doubly difficult for the dog to learn. Oh dear. (I wrote more on using the cue in your praise in another article).

So how do you avoid sabotaging your training?

• If you are using luring, teach the hand signal first, then transfer the cue to a verbal cue.  Do this by luring just a few times and treating when the dog is successful (to luring a sit,  put a treat to the dog’s nose, and moving it up so the rear goes down). Then quickly shift into using a pretend treat and luring with an empty hand. Click any attempts, and treat.  Gradually only click full sits.  Once the hand signal works to cue the dog to sit, then transfer the cue by putting two full seconds between the word sit and the hand signal. So it would be “Sit…….hand signal” or if the dog starts to sit without needing the signal, click and treat!
• Better yet, use shaping or capturing (click & treat when the dog sits on his own or when he starts to sit). Once the dog is offering a sit, begin to insert the cue before he does it, as if you are cueing the sit.  Then only pay for sits that you have asked for, or else the food becomes the more obvious cue and the word sit will be blocked.
• Clean up your body language so that only the word sit and the hand signal predict rewards when the dog sits.
• A natural consequence of using food or rewards in training is that the cue you want to teach the dog may be overshadowed by the presence of food.  One way to help overcome that is to simply teach multiple behaviors, like sit, down, and stand, so that the dog has to pay attention to your words.
• I also recommend using a counterexample to show that the cues are important on their own, even without food. Counterexamples have been proven to help teach previously overshadowed cues in humans (Heckler, Kaminsky, & Sloutsky, 2008).  Ask for sit, down, etc. when you have no treats on you. When your dog does them, say your marker word, like “Yes!” and run to the treat jar or refrigerator to get the dog a reward. Or use play: pull a hidden toy out of your pocket or instigate a game of chase-the-human.

Related blog post: To Treat or Not to Treat: Training Reliable Behaviors

Resources

Heckler, A. F., Kaminski, J. A., & Sloutsky, V. M. (2008). Learning associations that run counter to biases in learning: Overcoming overshadowing and learned inattention. In Proceedings of the XXX annual conference of the cognitive science society. (pp. 511-6). Austin, TX: Cognitive Science Society

Kamin L. J. (1969). Predictability, surprise, attention, and conditioning. In B.A Campbell & R. M. Church (Eds.), Punishment. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Pavlov, I. P. (1927). Conditioned Reflexes. London: Oxford Univ. Press.

There has been a resurgence in citing “dominance” as a factor in dog behavior and dog-human relationships. This concept is based on outdated wolf studies that have long since been disproven. Contrary to popular belief, research studies of wolves in their natural habitat demonstrate that wolves are not dominated by an “alpha wolf” who is the most aggressive pack member. Rather, wolves operate with a social structure similar to a human family and depend on each other for mutual support to ensure the group’s survival.

Dogs are not wolves. The idea that dog behavior can be explained through the application of wolf behavior models is no more relevant than suggesting that chimpanzee behavior can be used to explain the intricacies of human behavior. While wolves and dogs share some similarities in behavior, there are many more significant differences. Dog training and behavior modification strategies that rely primarily on misinterpretations of wolf behavior are therefore irrelevant, ineffective and can lead to serious negative complications.

While dominance is a valid scientific concept, the term “dominance” itself is widely misunderstood, such as when it is used to describe the temperament of a particular dog. Dominance is not a personality trait but a description of a relationship between two or more animals and is related to which animal has access to valued resources such as food, mates, etc. It should not be used in any way to support the belief that dogs are out to “dominate” us, especially as that misunderstanding causes some people to respond with force and aggression. This only serves to create an adversarial relationship filled with miscommunication and even more misunderstanding. The unfortunate result is often anxiety, stress and fear in both dogs and humans towards each other. The use of techniques such as the “alpha roll” on dogs, which is based on these mistaken beliefs about dogs and wolves, has no place in modern dog training and behavior modification. Dogs often respond to this perceived threat with increased fear and aggression, which may serve to make a behavior problem worse and ruin the dog-owner relationship.

The APDT’s position is that physical or psychological intimidation hinders effective training and damages the relationship between humans and dogs. Dogs thrive in an environment that provides them with clear structure and communication regarding appropriate behaviors, and one in which their need for mental and physical stimulation is addressed. The APDT advocates training dogs with an emphasis on rewarding desired behaviors and discouraging undesirable behaviors using clear and consistent instructions and avoiding psychological and physical intimidation. Techniques that create a confrontational relationship between dogs and humans are outdated. Modern scientifically-based dog training should emphasize teamwork and a harmonious relationship between dogs and humans that fulfills both species’ needs. Most of all, it should be a fun and enjoyable experience for everyone involved.

The Association of Pet Dog Trainers encourages and supports continued trainer education in order to promote gentle, effective, fast, and fun ways to train dogs using the most up-to-date information and sound, scientifically-based methods.

For more information, please see related information on our Web site at apdt.com.

I originally bought a Thundershirt for Peanut’s stress in the car. It helped! I even tried doing a comparison with having it on and off on different trips. 3 times with the Thundershirt – no shaking any of those times. 3 times without – shaking every time. TTouch practioners have known the benefits of anxiety wraps for a long time. Thundershirt is an affordable, attractive way to wrap your dog and reduce stress. Check out this video:

It’s supposed to help with all kinds of other fearful behaviors, too. I haven’t tried the Thundershirt in those settings, but I do know Peanut was positively giddy in his Thundershirt at Green Lake last week. I also know that the concept is very sound, as TTouch practioners have been using wraps similar to the Thundershirt for a long time.

Here are the facts of the Boxer story, as told to me by Animal Control:

• There was a senior Boxer at the water with a small dog, and there was a scuffle with pit bull – type dogs. The owner was not bald, but had short hair. He did have tattoos.
• The scuffle seemed to be of the ‘normal’ type that dog park fans see a lot of, with a lot of bluster but no injuries.  I’m sure it was still scary for all involved, but dogs of all breeds do get into arguments and it sounds like this was nothing to be alarmed about.
• The Boxer was never taken to the vet, because there were no injuries.
• No report has been filed by the Boxer’s owner, and she probably wishes this would all just go away (I had heard from another source that her husband didn’t want the dog at the park in the first place). Therefore, animal control is no longer doing special patrols, just the regular ones.
• After weeks of the mystery owner being unidentified, Animal Control got her name and made a visit, 3 weeks after the events at Magnuson.  The Boxer had no signs of injury and the woman reported no injuries.

Given how much this story has been stretched, I feel like we have no real information on who started the scuffle (versus it being an unprovoked attack), among other things.

The Husky incident is being dealt with by the police, not Seattle Animal Control. I’m not sure why.  The Husky did get a broken leg. It may or not have been the same dogs who fought with the Husky as the previous week with the Boxer.

In any event, please stay safe if you’re headed to the dog park.  Things do happen, dogs are dogs, and we need to be ready to get our dogs out of fights, if need be.  Practice coming when called, keep moving, bring your cell phone but don’t use it, and always know where your dog is at.

• Alternate rewards for when your dog won’t take food
• Easy Riding – tips for calm, safe car rides
• Quick Crate Training Tips
• What to look for in buying treats
• Dancing with Dogs (hint: you don’t have to dance much, your dog is the star!
• Is your dog’s microchip useless?

October 2009 articles:

• Good Growling? 5 things to do when your dog growls at you
• Passing Fancy – How to teach your dog to calmly walk on-leash past other people, other dogs, bicyclists, skateboarders — you name it!
• Needing Pain Relief – acupuncture
• Do as I Say, Not as I Do – Even the best-informed owners can make mistakes with their dogs
• Positive Show-Offs – Clickers and treats work as well for training show dogs as they do for the family pet.
• Rally Obedient Dogs – Handlers can encourage and even reward their dogs in the show ring in this very fun sport, “rally obedience”

Order Whole Dog Journal from us online today!

Here are some highlights of that video:

• At 0:27, he actually does a nice look away and retreats, and I didn’t notice, because I was fussing with the camera. I called him back and we ’started’ our session, even though he was already starting without me. That’s the cool part about this method, that the dog can train himself after a while!
• 0:36, 0:37, 0:39 he sees the triggers and we push on because we’re not quite at his threshold – we’re working on head turns and this is still a very easy distance.
• 0:39, 0:46 I stop and he looks at me after only a tiny glance at the triggers (kids). I decide that’s not close enough, that he can handle more.
• 0:49 Looks away from trigger, 0:50 big nose lick. I miss this. Another casualty of filming and walking at the same time.  This would’ve been a good place to stop.
• 0:55, solid engagement with the kids, has enough time to look and see what they are up to, then turns to look at me. I mark with Good! and reward him by walking the other way with him, away from the kids. Note how fast he walks in that direction.
• 1:10 – some calming touch. Not necessary, but it’s what Peanut and I do.
• More aware of the kids now. I return to our same spot and do two more trials. During the walk-away on the 2nd trial, the kids follow us, and you’ll see him look back. I like trials 2 and 3 better than trial 1, because it seemed more directed at the environment, rather than an escape into mom’s eyes. I’m more than happy to be his anchor, I’m just glad when he doesn’t need it.

The second video is the use of the Premack Principle to practice heeling. Remember, BAT is not just for aggression & fear, but also for other problem behaviors maintained by the environment, like pulling. The point is to set the dog up to succeed, then reward with what they most want in the moment.

The Premack Principle states that the opportunity to perform a high probability behavior will reinforce the performance of a low-probability behavior. One way to think of that is that if your dog gets freedom to act like a dog as a reward for listening to you, you’ll get a better-trained dog (it’s broader than that, but it’s a good way to think of it). In the video, I have Peanut heel and he can chew his stick as a reward. I do this because he used to pull whenever he had a toy in is mouth, because he’d want to go enjoy it. Now he’ll trot along, waiting for permission to go chew.

This is now already a trained behavior, so I had him come with me and walk. But visualize smaller steps, like just coming with me as a rewardable behavior. In our real life, he can go quite a ways before I release him to go chew.

From the Off Leash Area – Edmonds newsletter:

October 20th is the 3rd annual Halloween Howl from 11 am to 3 pm. There will be three best dog costume categories based on height requirements and one category for best costume of dog and handler! Costume judging starts at 2:00 pm, so don’t be late.

We will have a reduced-fee micro-chipping clinic ($25 cash) provided by Dr. G. of Helping Hands Veterinary Clinic. There will be raffles with wonderful prizes and a silent auction. Local businesses displaying their pet-friendly products and services will also be there to answer any and all of your questions.

Check the O.L.A.E. website and look under archives to view pictures of the last two
years’ costume contest winners. You don’t want to miss the fun! Let’s start thinking sunny thoughts for that day!

* 498 Admiral Way: Follow Edmonds Ferry Signs and turn west on Dayton St. and proceed to Admiral Way. Turn South on Admiral Way and go to the end. We are south of Marina Beach.