Question: Advice needed for a shy 16 week old puppy

Until you help the pup with her/his fear issues, you are going to have to be extra vigilant around front doors, when on leash walks, and in the back yard.

Why can't I pet your dog?

Why can't I pet your dog?

 

If a complete stranger walked up to you and asked, "May I drive your car?" or "May I live in your house?" or "May I have your purse", your response is probably going to be "NO!"  Now imagine if the reply to your response is "Why?"  How do you answer that question?  If this happened to me, I would either ignore the person or respond, "It's my house; I paid for it, I owe you no explanation."

Spiritually, my dogs are my family members; but legally, they are my property.  So when I tell someone that they can't pet my dog, can't give my dog a treat, can't approach my dog, etc.. why do I owe some explanation? They are my property; I pay for their food, their vet care, their training, etc..

 

Let's say that dogs are our family members and not property.  If  a stranger walked up to you and asked, "May I pick up your kid?" or May I take your kid for a ride?" I'm assuming your response would be a resounding no. Imagine once again if the response from the stranger is "Why?"  Do you really owe that person an explanation?   But let's say that you do provide a why.  Your response might be, "I don't know you, I don't trust you with my kid, and my kid doesn't want to go with you."  Now imagine that the well meaning stranger then says "But I'm good with kids; look at your boy, he wants to get in the car with me."  How do you now respond to that?  Do you owe a response?

 

So, am I supposed to simply let you touch my dog because you are "good with dogs?"  Do I really need to explain why I don't want my family member, my property touched?

 

If you still need an explanation why certain people don't want strangers touching their dogs, here are just a few

• The dog could be in training and strangers approaching the dog might hamper that training
• The dog could be shy and afraid of strangers.  Some pet owners like to ease their dogs into getting used to new people.  Forcing petting on a dog will only make that shyness worse.
• The dog might have some nervous issues that might cause him/her to bite if approached incorrectly.  The pet parent doesn't want you to get hurt
• Additionally, the pet parent doesn't want her dog to get a bad reputation for biting or have to have his/her pet put down for biting.  So it's safer for everyone if you keep you distance.
• The pet parent might be uncomfortable with strangers even if the dog is comfortable.

 

If you have a strong desire to pet dogs, instead of insisting that you force yourself on strangers' dogs, here are some other ideas

• Volunteer at a local shelter or with a local rescue groups
• Sadly there are an abundance of unwanted dogs in this country, so volunteering your time at a shelter will give you a never-ending selection of different dogs to pet. I suggest spending extra time with large black dogs. In general, they tend to have a harder time getting adopted. Even better, ask the staff who hasn't been out of their kennel in a while or ask who gets the least attention, who are the most misunderstood dogs. Then spend time with them.
• Look into a dog-related profession
• Pet Sitting
• Dog Walking
• Dog Training
• Dog Grooming
• Spend time with dogs who belong to friends and family - humans who have given the okay for their dogs to be petted.

 

Puddin and Shawshank Redmeption

Puddin and Shawshank Redemption

As you can see in the picture below, Puddin has been working on getting out of the house one scratch at a time -- much like Andy Dufresne, the character in Stephen King's Novella: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.  In the book and the movie (The Shawshank Redemption) based on the book, Dufresne spends 20 years tunneling his way to freedom using a tiny rock hammer. 

Just like Dufresnse's accomplishment, I had become concerned that 15 years from now, I'd have a little Puddin sized hole in my front door.

 

Click here or on the link above above the picture below to read more about Puddin and how trying to reduce Matt-Matt's barking might have had a unexpected and positive affect on Puddin's separation anxiety.

 

Puddin's Separation Anxiety

 

Puddin's Separation Anxiety

 

When Puddin "happened" to me in March 2010, I hadn't planned to have her very long.  She gave me painful eczema and who needs a puppy at my age anyway?  Since she wasn't going to be there long, I decided to not go through the stress of integrating her into the family (Lupe and Matt-Matt can be tempermental with newcomers - to put it nicely).  So we played musical rooms for a while. Puddin would stay in the bedroom in a crate when my dogs were out, then we'd switch.   Puddin never complained about being crated or about being alone.

 

As time went on, for some strange reason, I had trouble finding a good family for Puddin.  I didn't want to keep her separate from the the fur kids and me for a long time, so I started integrating her.  But because she was a puppy, I still crated her whenever I left the house to keep her out of trouble.  As Lupe and Matt-Matt got more used to her and as she proved that she was potty trained, I started letting her stay out longer and longer. For some reason it seemed that the more freedom I gave her, the more upset she became about being crated when it was time to go into the crate.

 

Eventually she got to the point of fretting terribly; and she produced excessive drool (her fur would be soaked in it by the time I got home). She could have easily become dehydrated.

So I started doing everything the books/articles/professionals told me to do i.e. not making a big deal of going and coming, acclimating her to the crate, feeding her only in the crate, food puzzles, classical music, ticking clock, pando music, dog appeasing pheromones, short trips, covering her crate, moving her fromm a larger crate to a smaller crate, wire crate, plastic crate, calming herbs, etc..etc.. but she continued to get worse.

 

I read a couple of articles that said dogs with separation anxiety will often panic when crated.  So I made the decision to let her have full run of the house with the rest of the dogs.  When I'd come home from work, I'd find toilet tissue and chewed shoes in the living room, but no drool. I left a video camera running when I went to work -- filmed her in the crate and outside the crate. The video of her inside the crate was hard to watch (she would fret and drool and try so hard to set herself free.  But she was fine free in the house (other than getting into typical puppy trouble)

 

Soo, problem solved right?  Well, for some reason, she'd do fine when I went to work (going out the door to the garage) but she still fretted, drooled and scratched the front door when I'd take one of the other dogs out for a walk. Hence the Shawshank Redemtpion Door. I videoed the front door during a dog walk and saw that she fretted the entire time that we were out. 

 

So, if I leave out the garage door, I'm gone for 5 or 6 hours at a time and she doesn't fret at all - not even when I first leave. But when I go out the front door on a dog walk for as little as 20 minutes, she frets terribly.  What's the difference? It would seem that she'd be more upset about me leaving to go to work.  It didn't matter which dog I'd take out, and I'd always leave at least one dog behind with her so she wasn't alone when I went on walks.  And surely she'd know that the garage door meant gone for a long time and the front door meant gone for a short time (some separation anxiety articles talk about a "safe door" - a way to let your dog know when you are returning so they know what to expect).

 

Matt-Matt's Excessive Barking

Switch to Matt-Matt and his excessive and annoying barking when he is happy/excited.  I thought I was doing the right things to stop Matt-Matt's barking,  but we have been doing exactly the same thing for the past 3.5 years with the same results.  I grab a leash, he barks excessively. I stand there holding the leash and wait for him to sit and be quiet. Then I attach the leash and we go.  Lupe even knew that Matt-Matt was holding up our dog walking time. She'd put her mouth over Matt-Matt's mouth and bite down in an attempt to shut him up.

 

After reading Turid Rugaas's book - Barking: The Sound of Language. I realized that Matt-Matt knows, "I bark, I stop, I go for a walk" Also Turid says that I can't issue any commands or talk to Matt-Matt at all. I can't even ask him to sit. I can use hand signals but I can't talk.  I also can't look at him when he is barking because that means attention.

 

So, I stopped all talking when going out for a walk.  Which means I stopped telling the others: "wait", "go back", "no" (when they try to cross the barrier). I just show them the palm of my hand and turn my head. If someone gets past the barrier, I calmly and quietly put a slip leash on the offender and walk him/her back to the other side of the barrier then go back to calmly and quietly leashing whomever was going for a walk.

The hardest part about being completely quiet was not praising the dog who who does what she is supposed to do. Lupe goes right to the door, sits calmly and waits for the leash to be attached. Since I couldn't talk at all, I just petted her as I attached the leash.

 

Back to Puddin's Separation Anxiety 

Well Matt-Matt stilled barked excessively.  But a strange thing happened. When I got back from my walk, there was no puddle of drool at the front door.  This happened 3 nights in a row (I'm being consistent).

 

So I don't way a word, no drool. Talking to everyone, drool. 

 

When I leave for work, I quietly tell everyone that I love them, tell them what time I plan to return, and I give them a "job" then I leave without any fanfare.

But taking one or two dogs for a walk was a huge fanfare. I'm telling dogs to stay and not cross the barrier, I'm praising dogs for doing what I say. I'm saying a lot of unnecessary things like - "Lupe. You just went for a walk. It's Murphy's turn now"

 

So although I knew that for dogs with separation anxiety, you don't make a big deal about leaving the house, I was still doing it every time I took the dogs for walk.

 

There is still chaos when I go for walks; Matt-Matt is still barking; and Puddin is still trying to get past the barrier when it's not her turn, but least for now, there is no puddle of drool on the floor when I return.  I'll see if things improve as I work on my own will power to be quiet. And of course I need to continue my education on dogs and how to help them using positive techniques. 

 

Epilogue

Tonight made the 4th night of me not talking at all when taking the dogs for a walk.  After my first trip, I came back home to a little bit of drool. Not nearly as much as before.  I turned on my video camera for the first walk, but Puddn knocked it over in her zeal to get past the barrier.  Puddin went on my 2nd round of walks. Then I took Murphy out for the 3rd and last walk of the evening.  I put the video camera on a tripod and was able to film the door as I was gone. No drooling, no scratching at the door. She doesn't look happy of course, but we seem to be getting somewhere.

Poor Lupe, I didn't know that she stood at the door, cocking her head and listening for every little sound that might be me coming home :(

Here is the video. It's 25 minutes condensed to under 3 minutes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5cbxmJ9ykI

 

Further Info/Resources

The Shawshank Redemption

• Excellent movie and book.  Not your typical Stephen King - no psychotic clowns or psychic prom queens drenched in blood, but it's not for the squeamish and definitely not for the human children.  More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shawshank_Redemption. Warning  - it summarizes the entire story :)

Barrier

• The barrier I use in front of my door is a 3 in 1 metal SuperYard.  It doesn't really stop the dogs from getting to the door but it does slow them down.  It can also be used as a playpen for smaller dogs or puppies. I purchased mine from Home Depot. See a Walmart Photo here

Separation Anxiety

• No long, sorrowful goodbyes. No excited hellos. This can make SA worse.  Some dogs do better in a crate when they have SA.  Some do worse.  Start with short trips so your dog will know that you are returning.  Some people have said Dog Appeasing Pheromones have helped their dogs. Others say that some natural remedies like bach flower essences work.  I strongly caution against using psychotropic drugs unless you have fully exhausted all other avenues and the dog is about to hurt him/herself. These drugs can have negative affects on a dog's liver. Come to an SA Big Dawgs training session and talk to Jimmy for some great advice.
• Great article on separation anxiety here. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2865.  It explains the excessive drooling. But I do caution strongly against the pyschotropic drugs (clomicalm, reconcile) unless 100% absolutely necessary.  Exhaust everything else first.

 

 

 

Puddin and Shawshank Redmeption

Puddin and Shawshank Redemption

As you can see in the picture below, Puddin has been working on getting out of the house one scratch at a time -- much like Andy Dufresne, the character in Stephen King's Novella: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.  In the book and the movie (The Shawshank Redemption) based on the book, Dufresne spends 20 years tunneling his way to freedom using a tiny rock hammer. 

Just like Dufresnse's accomplishment, I had become concerned that 15 years from now, I'd have a little Puddin sized hole in my front door.

 

Click here or on the link above above the picture below to read more about Puddin and how trying to reduce Matt-Matt's barking might have had a unexpected and positive affect on Puddin's separation anxiety.

 

Puddin's Separation Anxiety

 

Puddin's Separation Anxiety

 

When Puddin "happened" to me in March 2010, I hadn't planned to have her very long.  She gave me painful eczema and who needs a puppy at my age anyway?  Since she wasn't going to be there long, I decided to not go through the stress of integrating her into the family (Lupe and Matt-Matt can be tempermental with newcomers - to put it nicely).  So we played musical rooms for a while. Puddin would stay in the bedroom in a crate when my dogs were out, then we'd switch.   Puddin never complained about being crated or about being alone.

 

As time went on, for some strange reason, I had trouble finding a good family for Puddin.  I didn't want to keep her separate from the the fur kids and me for a long time, so I started integrating her.  But because she was a puppy, I still crated her whenever I left the house to keep her out of trouble.  As Lupe and Matt-Matt got more used to her and as she proved that she was potty trained, I started letting her stay out longer and longer. For some reason it seemed that the more freedom I gave her, the more upset she became about being crated when it was time to go into the crate.

 

Eventually she got to the point of fretting terribly; and she produced excessive drool (her fur would be soaked in it by the time I got home). She could have easily become dehydrated.

So I started doing everything the books/articles/professionals told me to do i.e. not making a big deal of going and coming, acclimating her to the crate, feeding her only in the crate, food puzzles, classical music, ticking clock, pando music, dog appeasing pheromones, short trips, covering her crate, moving her fromm a larger crate to a smaller crate, wire crate, plastic crate, calming herbs, etc..etc.. but she continued to get worse.

 

I read a couple of articles that said dogs with separation anxiety will often panic when crated.  So I made the decision to let her have full run of the house with the rest of the dogs.  When I'd come home from work, I'd find toilet tissue and chewed shoes in the living room, but no drool. I left a video camera running when I went to work -- filmed her in the crate and outside the crate. The video of her inside the crate was hard to watch (she would fret and drool and try so hard to set herself free.  But she was fine free in the house (other than getting into typical puppy trouble)

 

Soo, problem solved right?  Well, for some reason, she'd do fine when I went to work (going out the door to the garage) but she still fretted, drooled and scratched the front door when I'd take one of the other dogs out for a walk. Hence the Shawshank Redemtpion Door. I videoed the front door during a dog walk and saw that she fretted the entire time that we were out. 

 

So, if I leave out the garage door, I'm gone for 5 or 6 hours at a time and she doesn't fret at all - not even when I first leave. But when I go out the front door on a dog walk for as little as 20 minutes, she frets terribly.  What's the difference? It would seem that she'd be more upset about me leaving to go to work.  It didn't matter which dog I'd take out, and I'd always leave at least one dog behind with her so she wasn't alone when I went on walks.  And surely she'd know that the garage door meant gone for a long time and the front door meant gone for a short time (some separation anxiety articles talk about a "safe door" - a way to let your dog know when you are returning so they know what to expect).

 

Matt-Matt's Excessive Barking

Switch to Matt-Matt and his excessive and annoying barking when he is happy/excited.  I thought I was doing the right things to stop Matt-Matt's barking,  but we have been doing exactly the same thing for the past 3.5 years with the same results.  I grab a leash, he barks excessively. I stand there holding the leash and wait for him to sit and be quiet. Then I attach the leash and we go.  Lupe even knew that Matt-Matt was holding up our dog walking time. She'd put her mouth over Matt-Matt's mouth and bite down in an attempt to shut him up.

 

After reading Turid Rugaas's book - Barking: The Sound of Language. I realized that Matt-Matt knows, "I bark, I stop, I go for a walk" Also Turid says that I can't issue any commands or talk to Matt-Matt at all. I can't even ask him to sit. I can use hand signals but I can't talk.  I also can't look at him when he is barking because that means attention.

 

So, I stopped all talking when going out for a walk.  Which means I stopped telling the others: "wait", "go back", "no" (when they try to cross the barrier). I just show them the palm of my hand and turn my head. If someone gets past the barrier, I calmly and quietly put a slip leash on the offender and walk him/her back to the other side of the barrier then go back to calmly and quietly leashing whomever was going for a walk.

The hardest part about being completely quiet was not praising the dog who who does what she is supposed to do. Lupe goes right to the door, sits calmly and waits for the leash to be attached. Since I couldn't talk at all, I just petted her as I attached the leash.

 

Back to Puddin's Separation Anxiety 

Well Matt-Matt stilled barked excessively.  But a strange thing happened. When I got back from my walk, there was no puddle of drool at the front door.  This happened 3 nights in a row (I'm being consistent).

 

So I don't way a word, no drool. Talking to everyone, drool. 

 

When I leave for work, I quietly tell everyone that I love them, tell them what time I plan to return, and I give them a "job" then I leave without any fanfare.

But taking one or two dogs for a walk was a huge fanfare. I'm telling dogs to stay and not cross the barrier, I'm praising dogs for doing what I say. I'm saying a lot of unnecessary things like - "Lupe. You just went for a walk. It's Murphy's turn now"

 

So although I knew that for dogs with separation anxiety, you don't make a big deal about leaving the house, I was still doing it every time I took the dogs for walk.

 

There is still chaos when I go for walks; Matt-Matt is still barking; and Puddin is still trying to get past the barrier when it's not her turn, but least for now, there is no puddle of drool on the floor when I return.  I'll see if things improve as I work on my own will power to be quiet. And of course I need to continue my education on dogs and how to help them using positive techniques. 

 

Epilogue

Tonight made the 4th night of me not talking at all when taking the dogs for a walk.  After my first trip, I came back home to a little bit of drool. Not nearly as much as before.  I turned on my video camera for the first walk, but Puddn knocked it over in her zeal to get past the barrier.  Puddin went on my 2nd round of walks. Then I took Murphy out for the 3rd and last walk of the evening.  I put the video camera on a tripod and was able to film the door as I was gone. No drooling, no scratching at the door. She doesn't look happy of course, but we seem to be getting somewhere.

Poor Lupe, I didn't know that she stood at the door, cocking her head and listening for every little sound that might be me coming home :(

Here is the video. It's 25 minutes condensed to under 3 minutes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5cbxmJ9ykI

 

Further Info/Resources

The Shawshank Redemption

• Excellent movie and book.  Not your typical Stephen King - no psychotic clowns or psychic prom queens drenched in blood, but it's not for the squeamish and definitely not for the human children.  More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shawshank_Redemption. Warning  - it summarizes the entire story :)

Barrier

• The barrier I use in front of my door is a 3 in 1 metal SuperYard.  It doesn't really stop the dogs from getting to the door but it does slow them down.  It can also be used as a playpen for smaller dogs or puppies. I purchased mine from Home Depot. See a Walmart Photo here

Separation Anxiety

• No long, sorrowful goodbyes. No excited hellos. This can make SA worse.  Some dogs do better in a crate when they have SA.  Some do worse.  Start with short trips so your dog will know that you are returning.  Some people have said Dog Appeasing Pheromones have helped their dogs. Others say that some natural remedies like bach flower essences work.  I strongly caution against using psychotropic drugs unless you have fully exhausted all other avenues and the dog is about to hurt him/herself. These drugs can have negative affects on a dog's liver. Come to an SA Big Dawgs training session and talk to Jimmy for some great advice.
• Great article on separation anxiety here. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2865.  It explains the excessive drooling. But I do caution strongly against the pyschotropic drugs (clomicalm, reconcile) unless 100% absolutely necessary.  Exhaust everything else first.

 

 

 

Pyrometra is a serious infection of t...

Pyrometra is a serious infection of the uterus. If not treated quickly and aggressively the dog will die.  Sometimes the dog still dies after surgery. And the surgery (plus hospital time) can cost in the thousands of dollars. This can happen to dogs who have never had puppies.  The only way to prevent this horrible disease is spaying. 

 

A dog who developes pyrometra must be spayed to fix the problem. But this type of spaying is much more dangerous for several reasons -

- the doctor has to perform emergency surgery on a sick, unstable dog

- the doctor must remove a puss filled uterous that is many many times it's normal size.

- the surgery is much more dangerous and complicated

 

From Veterinary Partner.com http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=584

"..spaying, is one of the most significant aspects of female dog care an owner can provide. The benefits to the dog FAR outweigh simply not having puppies, though as pet over-populations looms as a societal problem it is important to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem....

[Pyrometra] is an extremely common disease of unspayed female dogs.

Without treatment the dog will die.

Treatment is expensive"

This site includes a non graphic drawing depicting a regular uterus vs a uterus with prometra.

Warning. Extremely Graphic Photos of Pyrometra in the following website

This site shows typical discharge and a picture of an infected uterus

http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/pyometra.htm

 

Next to the last picture on this site shows a picture of an extremly large infected uterus

http://www.lbah.com/canine/spay.html

 

For more info on Petcare:

Talk to you vet

Check out Veterinary Partner: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/

See my Pet Care Education Blog: http://petcareeducation.blogspot.com/

My Reactive Dog

 

Culebra Park is Worth the Trip

 

Some of you have met my special little red dog, Matt-Matt.  He really is a good boy.  He just gets a little over stimulated sometimes and he can be a little reactive on leash at times.  His Mom (me) is mostly to blame because I worry about him and of course he picks up on that.  Sometimes I hold the leash to tightly. That reduces his movement, affects his body language and can make him more nervous, thus reacting more.

 

Another issue I have that most humans have is attributing my human emotions on to his actions:  My other 3 dogs enjoy meetups so it's not fair to keep Matt-Matt away from meetups (in my mind).  So because I felt bad about not taking him out, I have taken him to dog walking meetups even though they stressed him - of course if he's stressed, I'm stressed, and if I'm stressed he's stressed and so on and so forth.

 

I'm not saying one shouldn't take their reactive dogs to meetups but for Matt-Matt's sake, I should keep him far enough at a distance so the he feels comfortable - far away enough that he doesn't feel the need to lunge or bark at others.  I've been telling people about Karen Pryor and how dogs should take baby steps but I've been a hypcrit because I have been tossing pour Matt-Matt direclty into meetups where he is surrounded from all sides by dogs.

 

I finally realized my mistake when I was reading a book by Turd Rugaas - Barking: the Sound of a language. It wasn't even the words in the book that got to me. It was a picture on page 31 of the book.  Caption: "Standing with your dog at a distance watching other dogs is a good strategy".  The picture shows several dogs in a large field (much like Culebra) with one person standing far away with his dog.  The dog standing far way looks very calm and the handler also looks relaxed.  At that moment I decided that is what Matt-Matt needed. 

 

I had not driven out to Culebra park before simply because I hate driving (for many reasons) and I have 3 other dogs at home. I like to make my individual trips short so that I can get back to the other dogs.  But after looking at the picture, I felt like the long trip (over an hour) would be worth it.

 

Not only was it worth it, it exceeded my expectations.  Matt-Matt was calmer, more relaxed and so was I. We started at the other end of the field. He did so well that we moved closer than I expected that we could in one day. He never barked, lunged, glared, stared, or even stiffened.  I know that Matt-Matt isn't going to be cured in one day, mind you. Maybe he won't ever enjoy a close-up meetup with a bunch of dogs. But that's okay.  I want to do what makes him happy, not what makes my other dogs happy; not what makes me happy.  Just like humans, every dog is an individual. Some humans love to go to night clubs, get loud and party with their friends.  I prefer a quiet evening at home with the fur kids.

 

Will your reactive dog be able to move as close as Matt-Matt and I did on Sunday? Maybe not or maybe you could have moved in closer. It depends on the dog. We have to be patient.

 

If your dog is reactive, I urge you to take the trip at least once, start at the other end of the field, give your dog a bunch of good treats.  Maybe even issue some commands.  You might be pleasantly suprised.

 

 So what are some general ways you can help your reactive dog:

●     Check your own behaviors.

○     Do you hold the leash too tightly?  Restricting your dog’s head movement?  Do you get nervous for your dog when other dogs/humans come around. Your perceptive doggie is going to feel this and react accordingly 

○     Do you scold your dog for aggressing? Yanking your dog harshly and repeatedly on the neck when she aggresses?  Do you poke your dog, yell at your dog, kick your dog, hit your dog when she aggresses?  This type of behavior tells your dog that when another dog is around, bad things are going to happen to him, thus making his reactiveness worse

●     Don’t alter his/her body parts

○     Dogs communicate with other dogs with their ears, their tails and the entire bodies.  Alternating a dog’s body parts can affect how they communicate.  So besides pain, surgical complications, etc.. shortening, cropping, docking ears/tails can have an adverse affect on their relationships with other dogs

                                     ■Of course this isn’t going to happen all the time.  But if your dog is prone to be reactive, cropping certainly isn’t going to help.  Dr Stanly Coren (in his book: How to Speak Dog) speaks of a friend’s dog who had to get his tail docked for a medical necessity.  The dog got into a lot more scuffles afterwards.  It may not affect how your dog reacts but it is going to affect how other dogs react to your dog.  Which isn't going to help a dog who is already reactive

                                     ■Of course there are occasionally medical reasons to do this.  Make sure the medical reason is sound and is a last resort.  Example. If a dog constantly gets ear infections, you can clean the ears daily or use an ear sock to open up the ears rather than cropping.

●     Don’t throw your dog into the lake.

○     This is a figureative way for me to say, don’t set your dog up for failure.  Example.  Your human child doesn’t know how to swim, you don’t throw him into the lake.  This will probably make him afraid of water for the rest of his life rather than teach him how to swim.   Instead of throwing your child into the lake, you take baby steps. First you get your child to wade in the water. Then you get her comfortable with putting her head under water. Then maybe you help her float while holding her. Then maybe you let her dog paddle a little....etc.

• The same can be said of your dog. If you know that your dog is reactive or nervous around other dogs, tossing your poor baby into a dog park is not only not going to help, it might make your dog’s reactiveness worse
• Forcing your dog to meet other dogs when she is nervous or aggressing is also not going to help.  Take baby steps, start at a distance far away enough to where your dog feels comfortable.  If this is 300 feet away, so be it.  There is no rush.  Take your time moving up to 250 feet, 200 feet, 198 feet, etc..
• Learn about body language and don’t force your dog to do things that might get him into trouble.  For instance face to face meetings can cause problems. Holding the leash too tightly, restricting your dog’s movement can cause problems

    ●     Spay/Neuter your dog

• So many reasons to get your dog fixed. Including aggression issues. You see it all time.  People get a puppy who is sweet and loves everyone but for some strange reason, at about 1 year to 15 months, this normally sweet dog starts reacting to other dogs (and sometimes humans) negatively.  One of the factors mostly likely is hormones.  It’s never to late to get your dog fixed, but the earlier, the better. Talk to your vet about a how early is acceptable.
• Read everything you can from Turid Rugaas. Excellent resource for postive reinforcement and understanding and appreciating natural dog behaviors  http://www.canis.no/rugaas/
• Then read everything you can from Karen Pryor: http://www.clickertraining.com/
• My favorites thus far - Click to Calm by Pryor/Parsons, Barking: The Sound of a Language by Rugaas, and My Dog Pulls by Rugaas

 

Related Articles/Links on positive reinforcment, reactive dogs, dog socialization, etc..

• San Antonio Big Dawgs - Dog Meetup Group:  http://sabigdawgs.com
• Karen Pryor - Clicking with Canines http://www.clickingwithcanines.com/id33.html
• Introduce your dog to another dog in 10 easy steps - Post on SA Big Dawgs: http://www.meetup.com/sabigdawgs/messages/boards/thread/9699044/0#37551542
• Dog Aggression - An enlightening Article - SA Big Dawgs Post: http://www.meetup.com/sabigdawgs/messages/boards/thread/9498186/0#36921829
• Fenceline Aggression - SA Big Dawgs Post about Youtube channel Kiko Pup- excellent resource for positive training: http://www.meetup.com/sabigdawgs/messages/boards/thread/9411093/0#36905037 
• Walking a Reactive Dog: http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddtbr7bw_816hptgp5gf
• Pet Care Education Blog: http://petcareeducation.blogspot.com/

 

Loose Leash Walking: Harnesses Are Not Evil