To answer your question, yes and no. When training dogs, I use whatever the dog finds rewarding. It’s not something that we can choose for them – just like I can’t choose what you find rewarding. One of my dogs is not overly food-motivated; he is motivated by scent…so much of our training is done while outdoors and I can use a “go sniff” as a replacement for “here’s a treat”. My other dog is incredibly food and toy motivated, so I alternate between them depending on the moment.

I would be very wary of any trainer who refuses to use treats to train; it’s like applying for a job and the HR Manager saying, we don’t use money to compensate you – we use praise. Would you work for “good job”? Likely not – we have our own reinforcers (success, fame, money, etc…) and expect to be rewarded when we do well. Dogs are no different. Working with dogs, we have to reward the behaviours we want repeated, otherwise the dog will do a cost-benefit analysis the next time and say “well, it wasn’t worth it last time, so I’m not going to bother this time.”

When a trainer uses punishment (or even a “balanced” method using treats and corrections), you get confusion. The dog takes a chance every time he’s asked to do something. There’s a 50% chance that he’ll get rewarded and there’s a 50% chance he’ll get yanked by his neck. That makes for a fearful, anxious dog who cannot learn in that environment. If the dog is a strong-willed dog and can withstand that punishment, he may tolerate it for a while but then lash out and bite later (this is what happened to me early in my career when I used corrections – I got mauled.) If the dog is meek and “soft”, he may simply shut down and avoid all interaction with people as they bring fear and pain.

I have signed a code of conduct that states that I do not use fear, punishment, pain, intimidation to train dogs. I treat dogs with respect and in turn, I work with the happiest dogs who trust people, listen to their guardians and are wonderfully successful. When I do use treats, we wean off very quickly so that there is no dependency. We replace the treats with toys, affection, scent-games, socialization, whatever the dog finds rewarding. This is the only method that is scientifically proven to work with dogs.

You might ask “how do you discipline your dog?” Instead of punishing, I set the dog up for success by preventing problems, teaching alternate behaviours before bad habits are built, and redirecting any behaviour I don’t like. “Positive” doesn’t mean “permissive” – I just can’t justify punishing a dog if I haven’t taught him what I’d rather he do.

When dealing with puppies, it’s so important to use food as a reward as it’s what they understand, and the process is much faster (and more enjoyable) for both of you. If a trainer is not using food when training puppies, I can only imagine what they are doing to train them. Likely corrections. Imagine punishing an infant – it’s the same thing.

There is so much conflicting information out there, but if you keep your focus on science-based training rather than television shows or “overnight trainers” (ones who just hung a sign saying “trainer” without any education or training), you’ll do just fine.

A few resources from the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior to leave you with:
Puppy Socialization Position Statement
Punishment Position Statement
Dominance Position Statement

Parker is ten years old now and up until this point has been absolutely phenomenal around children and has been a pretty tough dog in stressful times.

This Christmas was particularly hectic as family gathered (all the siblings were here this year), most of us sick with varying colds and flues, and me working crazy hours trying to wrap up my year end and get my school opened on time. I could tell that Parker was uninterested in most of the goings on this year as he seemed to want to spend more time upstairs in bed than down with everyone around the tree. (Although around meal times you’d be hard pressed to find him anywhere but under the table, clever pup.)

A couple of days ago, my aunt and cousin came over with my two little second cousins who Parker has met many times before and loves dearly. This particular visit, they were pretty excited by all the festivities and spent a while running around with Matchbox cars in their hands. At first Parker didn’t mind sitting at a distance and just watching but as the excitement level rose, I could see him offering a few yawns and lip-licks here and there. He came to sit with me and I massaged him as I spent time chatting with my family and the kids ran around. This soothed him for a while but I could feel the tension in his body. I gave him a potty break and then sent him up to bed…but he came back down moments later, wanting to be with us instead.

He chose a spot between my feet as I rubbed his ears and asked the kids to find a quieter activity than running. (Who actually listens the first time?) It was at that moment, the older one scooted under the table right behind Parker with quite a bang and squeal. Parker turned and before you can blink, he air-snapped. I caught his muzzle and turned him to face me. “You’re a good boy – I hear you. Let’s go.” I said. I asked my family to send the boys to the family room while I get Parker out of the way and they comply quickly and happily. I bring Parker to his favourite spot on the main floor – his bed. He lays down, visibly calmer and puts his head down for a snooze.

No punishment, no scolding, no grabbing the child and rushing them away, no panicking, just management and more management.

“My dog is great with kids – he would never bite.”

Well, my dog is great with kids, but he most certainly will bite if he feels he needs to.

I failed him in this particular situation. He should have been removed from the hustle and bustle at the first yawn, not 10 minutes later, not an hour later. I’m lucky, plain and simple. I’m lucky that Parker is as tolerant as he is around children and that I’m able to recognize the signs of stress and anxiety. I should have acted sooner so that he wasn’t at his threshold, but I got greedy (as we all do) and based my current perspective on past experience assuming nothing had changed.

Like I said, Parker is ten now. His patience has lessened, his tolerance is lower and his favourite pastimes have changed. My lesson is to grow with him and to occasionally adjust my expectations based on current experience among other factors…and to always practice what I preach.

Silly rabbit trainer.

When we bring home our dog from the breeder, we have these ideas in our minds about obedience and what we’re going to accomplish with this dog. We work so hard, putting our blood, sweat and tears into training our dogs and sometimes we get so caught up in the process that we don’t enjoy the dog. We forget that our dogs are still dogs and while we’re busy teaching them cues and behaviours, they’re being so accommodating and compliant but sometimes they just don’t want to do it.

A couple of years ago, my marketing was covered in the word “Obedience” and every client that came to me said “I want my dog to be more obedient”. It never sat well with me as it triggered flashbacks of my early days of forceful dog training (corrections and the like). One day I woke up and decided that the word would no longer be in my dictionary. I would replace “obedience” with “training” or “teaching”, and “command” with “cue” or “signal”. I would not treat my dog as a slave who must obey me, rather a companion that has free will but has been taught appropriate behaviours and my language so that he can understand when it is imperative that he listen to me (for safety or simply for reward).

It changed everything, having those words replaced. It felt so much better and suddenly my relationship with my own dogs was different.

A common question I get as a trainer is about loose-leash walking. I always laugh because Parker doesn’t really walk loose-leash. If you’ve ever seen me with my dog, he’s rarely in a perfect heel and the leash is rarely draped in a lovely U from his collar/harness to my hip. He has three legs and needs momentum. This means, I’m the sled that he pulls around the city for the most part. I’m okay with this. He’ll heel if I need him to and he’ll walk nicely if I ask…but frankly…I rarely ask. He does everything else so beautifully and this is the one thing I don’t really care about with him.

The common question is “how can I get my dog to walk loose-leash on the first walk of the day? He drags me around until he finds a spot to “go”and ignores all of my requests and even the treats that I offer!” Here is my response:

As for the first walk of the day, I never ever make my dog heel or even walk nicely in that situation, to be honest. They’re so desperate that it’s all they can think about and frankly, it’s one time where I personally don’t care about training. Dogs have to be dogs sometimes and if that’s the only time he pulls, I don’t see it as a problem. I let my boys pull me (not literally) down the street when they’ve got to ‘go’ – I run with them so that they can get there faster. Once that business is done, both my dogs are so much more receptive and appreciative. Look at it this way: when I have to go to the bathroom first thing in the morning, I don’t stop and offer 10 minutes of niceties to my partner – I just get from bed to bathroom and when I’m finished, then we can have a conversation. Business is business.  Too much information. I know.

My theory (even as a trainer) is that dogs cannot be expected to be “robots” and to be completely obedient (oh how I hate that word) all the time. There are times where I need my dog to defer to me and to respect my wishes, but there are also times where I need to let him be a dog and do what he wants (when it is safe). If my dog doesn’t listen to me in a situation, I simply take note and file it for later so that I can figure out why the motivation wasn’t strong enough, what his reinforcer was and why it was so strong, or if he simply *really didn’t want to do what I was asking of him* because of another factor that I wasn’t aware of at the time. I’ve learned to watch him carefully and assess the situation first. If I have any doubt about him responding to my next cue 100%, I don’t ask for it. I wait for an appropriate time, or if it’s an emergency, I go into management mode.

We can’t read their minds, but sometimes they’re too nervous to sit, too tired to do a perfect heel, too emotionally taxed to offer a hand target or a complicated behaviour chain. Most of the time they do it because we’ve spent so much time “programming” it into them, but they just want to be dogs and they work so hard to please us and our silly requests that they deserve it. You can “be the cookie” all you want, but sometimes they just want to “be”.

I went to a Christmas party a few weeks ago and when I was introduced to people as “that dog trainer I was telling you about”, I wanted to curl up under a table somewhere. I’m proud of what I do and I love it…but sometimes I want to be “Caryn” and not “Dog Trainer Caryn”. As soon as I heard the first person say “Maybe you can answer this question…I have a dog who…” I cut them off and said that I’d rather not “talk shop” but they can call me after Jan.2 and here’s my card. I realized then how important it is for Parker and Buster to have time where they don’t have to be “obedient” because if I had to be “on” all the time I’d likely lose my mind or start hating people in general.

Are there things that your dog does that are considered “disobedient” but you don’t care? Let’s have it. Put it on the table – I’d love to hear about it

‘Tis the season to be grateful. We wanted to send out a huge ‘thank you’ to everyone for the best year yet. Honestly. 2011 has been a dream come true and 2012 is looking even better.

This year was started off by connecting with some pretty incredible positive trainers here in Toronto and forging wonderful friendships. People often think that this industry is highly competitive and while there will always be that edge in any industry, to be honest; the bond that positive trainers have to each other is much stronger than any competition. We support each other, practice on each other, share our successes, our failures, our doubts and fears, our beautiful moments, our pride, our stories and even our clients. The bottom line is that we’re all in it for the same reason; to better the lives of dogs in our city (even around the world as far as we can reach) through education and force-free methods.

In 2011 we welcomed hundreds of new pups into our various programs, one of which has become a fast favourite and the cause of many a wait-list. Cranky Canine. The first and only class of its kind in downtown Toronto; a partnership of Whatta Pup! and Mindful Behaviors. We work with four reactive dogs in an intensive program that prepares each handler for “real life” with their feisty friend. By the end of the series, dogs who were sometimes labeled “aggressive” or “firecracker” or “short fuse”, are walking past each other on sidewalks, gazing lovingly at their handlers. All of this while proudly using force-free, humane techniques.

We spent countless hours/days attending seminars, conferences, workshops and classes in order to ensure we’re bringing the right information to the table when we’re dealing with you and your dogs. We would never want to pass along outdated or inaccurate information, so we’re constantly upgrading our skills for you.

In November 2011, Caryn Charlie Liles was named Executive Director of the IAFPP: International Association of Force-Free Pet Professionals (formerly IPDTA – International Positive Dog Training Assocation). This great undertaking means that we can share knowledge with other trainers and pet professionals around the world and encourage everyone who works with animals to use force-free techniques.

Near the end of 2011, we started making plans to expand and on October 25th, we signed a lease for a space of our own where we can offer classes, a place for private lessons, workshops, courses, playdates, and much more. This new space is in our favourite part of the city – Leslieville. Located just slightly north of Dundas Street East on Carlaw Avenue, our 950 sq.ft. space is soon to be called home.

The holidays will be spent with family and friends, and then we jump straight into minor renovations so that our space is ready for our Grand Opening on January 7th, 2012. (Stay tuned for your invitation!)

What strikes us most about 2011 is the amount of love and support that has come our way. Not just from family, friends and colleagues, but from you. Every day that you welcome us into your home to help you better communicate with your dog, every email that you send with questions and feedback, every card that comes in the mail with a thank you for “helping change a life”, every picture of your dog that is sent and cherished…every day is a good day.

There are few people who can say that they wake up in the morning in anticipation of the day ahead; that they cannot wait to get to work, that they have the most wonderful clients imaginable…but we know how that feels because we live it every day and it’s because of you.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everything in 2011; for your support and encouragement, for laughing at our corny jokes in class, for liking our posts on Facebook, retweeting us on Twitter, sharing your lives with us and allowing us to become part of your family too. Every day you help make our dreams come true.

Happy Holidays and warmest wishes for 2012. We (as always) can’t wait to see you again.

Caryn Charlie Liles and the incredible team here at Whatta Pup!

Theresa and Joan had wonderful ways of teaching children how to Be a Tree in a larger classroom setting that I had never thought about after almost two years of doing this. I love when new information is shared and we can all benefit. Joan said something that resonated with me this weekend – something along the lines of “I love positive trainers – nowhere else will you see this gathering and sharing of ideas.” and it is so true. When I was a compulsion trainer, working at All About Pets and all those other shows…you don’t make eye contact with your competition. You work hard to garner more attention to your company and bring in more clients. There is no knowledge sharing.

As a positive trainer, you have an instant family and they’re good people with good hearts. You’re no longer “competition” – instead you are colleagues who share knowledge, collaborate on projects, refer clients, get to know and care about each other, support each other in times of need and applaud each other in times of success.

This weekend really showed that. Sitting there with Andre, Marlo, Heather, Janis, really drove it home and being a crossover trainer was truly reinforced for me.

I digress…

Midway through the day, we split off into groups and started working on our own projects which were based on whatever we wanted to utilize TAGteach for, once leaving the seminar. I had too many ideas and my head was full (not just because of the head cold either!) but I settled on one – teaching guardians to use proper body language when faced with a reactive dog. It was similar to our “Be a Tree” program but I wanted to gear it more towards adults and take it a step further. It was interesting to work through this with my group and think aloud while I navigated through the road map, or the “funnel” as we call it. Once I got into the groove, it was so much easier to take any behaviour and fit it into this “script” using all the tools that were given to us this weekend.

I was able to explain the lesson (why we’re doing this), give the directions (how we’re doing this) and clarify a TAGpoint (which specific behaviour I want to shape/capture), and then use tools like self-TAGging, TAG the teacher, and focus on the Point of Success.

It all sounds very methodical…and you’re right, if that’s what you’re thinking. with TAGteach the goal is to remove the emotion and “fluff” from teaching a specific behaviour. Sometimes we get so caught up in the “ooooohhhh good job!”, “come on – let’s try again!”, “yes, that’s it!”, and then explaining things over and over to no avail. With TAGteaching, you break down a behaviour, give specific directions, and then TAG the desired behaviour. You acquire the skill, practice it to fluency, generalize it, and maintain it. Sound familiar? Those are the four stages of learning. You can’t argue with science. ; )

When you remove this emotion and “fluff”, you get uninterrupted learning, focus, and faster/more accurate success. It sounds cold, but now that I’ve experienced it, it’s the most respectful way to learn and to teach. It’s clear. I wouldn’t want to learn any other way.

When I was the “learner” in practice exercises this weekend, I have to admit that I felt so much more calm and collected. I felt like I could compartmentalize everything in my brain and simply focus on the one task. Once it was quickly accomplished through practicing the TAGpoint, I got my reinforcement (“good job!”) and we moved on to the next behaviour. The process was so quick that I felt like I could learn to be a golfer or a snowboarder or even a gymnast in one weekend.

What did I learn? So much…but one thing that I took away was ‘structure’. If I structure my teaching, my learners can be more successful. By trying to multitask as I do, I’m polluting the process, causing confusion and asking too much. If I break down the learning and make it simple, the process is much faster and much more successful.

Mirkka once told me that while I’m clicker training, I should shut up. I finally understand. Yes, Mirkka. I will shut up. ; )

This weekend was a dream. Learning so much from such brilliant people. The compassion, passion, knowledge, skills, and humour that Joan and Theresa have are not only admirable but contagious. I am so blessed to have met these women and to be so fortunate to learn from them.

I already feel like a better teacher.

Links

TAGteaching a child to tie shoes

TAGteaching a high jump

TAGteaching hula dancing (it’s not just for kids!)

Earlier this year, I was reading Karen Pryor’s “Reaching the Animal Mind” and near the end of the book, there is a chapter on TAGteach, which caught my attention and started me thinking more seriously about Certification.

TAGteach is a science-based system that uses an acoustic marker, constructive vocabulary and positive reinforcement to enhance teaching, learning, and communication. ‘TAG’ is an acronym for Teaching with Acoustical Guidance.

I had originally heard of TAGteach in 2009 when I became a member of Doggone Safe, which is co-founded by Joan Orr. At that point in my training, I was not a clicker trainer but was using a shaping and marking method loosely. I found that it was even more effective when I marked the behaviour of the humans who were teaching their dogs. Little did I know that I was already using this incredible technique of “tagging”.

As I learned more about clicker training, the more I wanted to become certified in TAGteaching. If you know me, you know that I love teaching. I love working with people, seeing results and being part of the thrill of success in small steps. So I contacted Theresa McKeon and asked her how to make this work. A couple of emails later, I was hosting Toronto’s first TAGteach Certification Seminar and harassing my trainer friends.

Today was Day One and while much of it was lecture and theory, there was quite a lot of hands-on exercises. The first one was an exercise that required a partner and 1-3 dice. Each partner picks ‘odd’ or ‘even’ and rolls the die; if you are ‘even’ and you get an even number, you TAG (using a clicker, which we call a “tagger” in order to avoid calling TAGteaching “clicker training”) and roll again. This goes on and you start adding dice one at a time to the mix so that it’s even more challenging. This is to work on our timing but it was also a great way to find out how each of us thinks and processes information. Do we actually take time to count the dots to find out if the total is odd or even? Or do we focus on patterns such as ‘if there is one dot in the middle, it must be odd’…

Once we got comfortable and even a little cocky, Theresa asked us to switch partners and it took a minute or so to get a new groove. It made me realize how difficult generalizing cues can be for dogs. They learn to sit with one handler and then when a stranger asks for a ‘sit’, they’re slower to respond if at all. Here I was, having trouble generalizing my skills in a classroom. Suddenly I was vowing to have more patience with the dogs and people that I work with. If I (as a professional trainer) was struggling to perform a task like this, how can I expect the humans I train to be dog trainers in a one hour lesson? (Not that I do, but it certainly puts expectations into perspective.)

Next, we worked on a fascinating exercise where we lay “manholes” (small paper targets) on the ground on a fake road (lined by masking tape) and had to guide a blindfolded person down the “road” without allowing them to step on the manholes. The catch? We could only use a guiding sentence using five words or less for each step. “Right foot one step forward”, “left heel to right toe”, “turn right two hours”, these became our new language. I was able to guide another participant down her “road”, avoiding all manholes and finally seating her in a chair. It was so exhilarating and satisfying once it was complete! I hadn’t even noticed that the whole room had stopped their exercises and were all watching.

We worked through a few similar exercises but the feedback went from five words or less to guide, to using only “YES” to guide, to using only “NO”, to finally using both “Yes” and “No” together. My friend Marlo Hiltz was the blindfolded during the “NO only” exercise and I have to say that watching someone go through an exercise where they are given few tools and little communication is difficult, but when that communication is all negative feedback, it’s horrible. My hands started to sweat and I felt quite anxious for her with each step more tentative than the last. Perhaps it is my history in correction-based training that brought back feelings of anxiety during this exercise, but I almost wanted to yell “STOP!!” so that she could feel successful and more confident.

It was so clear right there in that exercise that positive training was the best choice I have ever made in my life. I am so happy to have left outdated methods behind.

Next up was the exercise using only “YES” to guide the participant. It went fairly quickly but not 100% successfully. If she were about to step on a manhole, the “guide” would say nothing and if she were about to step in the clear, the guide would say “YES”. Ideally, upon hearing nothing, the participant would avoid stepping there and try another area. Instead, she continued walking, stepping on manholes the whole way. After two rounds of this, I felt somewhat disappointed. I thought “wow – she clearly doesn’t understand the exercise”…but after some discussion about rate of reinforcement, when Theresa’s wise words came back to me.

The success of the learning environment lies with the teacher.

I have done this in the past, where I have often thought “the dog isn’t focused enough” or “the handler isn’t working hard enough”, but in reality, the dog would focus if I worked harder at keeping his attention, and the handler would work harder if I made success more attainable and rewarding.

Raise the rate of reinforcement. Give clearer directions. Break down the behaviours. Watch body language closely; both canine and human. Don’t make assumptions.

We ended the day by teaching each other how to tie shoelaces. Yes. I know how that sounds, but it’s not as easy as you’d think.

All in all, in one day I learned so much about teaching and about myself…and I can’t wait to go back tomorrow for Day Two.

For months, I had been dreaming of holding reactive dog classes downtown because so many of my calls are from clients whose dogs are leash-lungers. While I felt I was making some progress, the process in private sessions is significantly longer when you have to depend on the weather, the neighbourhood, someone bringing a decoy dog, and other variables. I was finding that doing three sessions and mostly management was the best (most realistic and most economical) solution. Though I know it’s not entirely true, it felt like very little behaviour modification was taking place because people simply don’t have a thousand dollars to put into dog training, and depending on the reactivity level of the dog, that could just be the tip of the iceberg. If only I knew another trainer who I could trust and easily work with…

Not long after we met, Mirkka and I went for coffee and hashed out a few ideas. A coffee turned into phone conversations, a shared drive to PABA, shared meals, emails, phone calls, and then the dream of a reactive dog class quickly materialized. We spent months in planning, researching, reading, watching videos, attending webinars, talking to colleagues, practicing with current clients, and then in September 2011, our first Cranky Canine class was launched.

It sold out in less than 24 hours and I’m not sure either of us were really expecting that. We were elated.

Schaeffer, Teddy, Ira and Holden came along and in four weeks, we saw these four dogs go through some almost-magical transitions…not to mention the humans. Not everyone who joins our class is previously clicker-savvy, but I have to say that by the time they leave, they are proficient clicker trainers.

In the following blog posts, I’ll share with you the greatest lessons learned in these classes, the failures and successes, the key feedback received from the clients, and the feeling of fulfillment that was felt at the close of each class.

There are some things you can do to make tonight less stressful. Let’s look at our options:

• Before 6:00pm when the spookiness starts, take your pup for a good walk or run in the park – let them get all their beans out! Keep in mind that any off-leash area that is not fenced in may be too risky tonight as some folks are walking around in costume (yes, even in dog parks) and if a dog is spooked, they tend to run away. (Double check Fido’s collar and tags!)
• Double check your pumpkin – is it safely out of reach? Is there a risk of a fire if Fluffy knocks it over with the candle inside?
• Doorbell? What doorbell? Disconnect it for the evening and let the trick or treaters knock tonight. The constant doorbell can set your dog over the edge and then you might find that Rover is even *more* reactive to the sound after October has passed.
• Key word: KONGS. Stuff a few with delicious treats, peanut butter, banana, cream cheese, kibble, whatever your dog loves. Freeze them for a few hours to make it more challenging. Have these ready for trick or treating time.
• Once you’ve walked your dog, come home and set up a quiet room for them away from the front door. Play some quiet music or leave the TV on to drown out the noise and give them a comfortable place to lay down -a dog bed or a crate, with their Kong. Close the door and ensure it’s secured.
• While the trick or treating is going on, take occasional breaks to check on Scruffy and assure him with a little love or a fresh Kong.
• If Spot does need to have a potty break, do it during a lull in ghouls and goblins and keep him on leash at all times.

Chocolate is toxic to dogs and so are many of the candies that we hand out at this time of year. Keep your eyes peeled for anything that drops in the home, on the doorstep and especially around your property in the coming days.

Not all kids are okay with dogs and not all dogs are okay with kids (especially in costume!) – please keep this in mind and be safe, not sorry.

Let’s keep everyone safe this Halloween! Have a great night!

This is that hardest part of my job – watching people do the above to their so-called “best friend”. Would you put a prong collar or choke chain on your best friend and yank it when you felt he/she was acting inappropriately or not being “obedient”? I surely hope not; otherwise you’ll have an empty phonebook in no time. Unfortunately our dogs don’t have the freedom to choose their best friend – they’re stuck with us for better or for worse or until we decide the relationship is severed.

The truth is, the TV/Media plays a HUGE role in our treatment of animals and I wish that Cesar’s producers had listened to Dr. Andrew Luescher when it counted.
I think the biggest reason is that we are an impatient species and as time goes on and technology becomes more advanced, we are used to (therefore learn to expect) faster results every time, without question. We want our dogs to behave as humans and we want it NOW.

No thought is given to the fact that these are still animals who are in a domestication *process* that will never end. They’ll never be human, yet we expect them to behave as we tell them to.

The other reason is that (thanks to popular TV shows) people don’t know how to accurately read a dog. We think that a dog who lays down during flooding is a “calm submissive dog” when really it’s a “emotionally shut down and traumatized dog”. We misread all these cues; we call a dog stubborn when it’s stressed and offering displacement behaviours or calming signals and we assume a dog is not trainable when we cannot be creative about finding his/her personal motivators. We punish warning signals (growling, snarling, barking) instead of listening to their communication and trying to learn their language.

We’re becoming a lazy species and that’s only going to get worse as technology gets better, I’m afraid. We are more focused on results than process, short-term rather than long-term effects, faster results and less “work”, obedience rather than relationship.

Our expectations are way out of whack and we need to work harder to keep them in check. Here, we have animals who are genetically prone to aggression as a means of survival and yet we’re asking them to live in *our* world and never raise a lip to protect a resource or bark in fear. We expect them to be okay with people practically molesting them on every street corner during our daily walks where we make them walk slowly and in an almost robotic manner. When a dog acts like a dog, we say he’s misbehaving out of spite, as if dogs have it *in for us* and are conniving and evil creatures.

In the I.T. world, we have something called PEBKAC – Problem Exists Between the Keyboard and the Chair. In the dog training world, I call it PEAHOL – Problem Exists At Handle of Leash. (Yes, I’m aware that when you say it out loud it’s “pee hole” and it’s quite hysterical.)

The best feedback I got this week was:

“I really enjoyed the approach of working within the dogs’ reality.  None of our past trainers worked that way.”

We all learn differently and so do dogs, so let’s pay them the respect they deserve as they learn ESL (English as a Second Language) and be patient. The bottom line is this: would you prefer to learn at the hand of fear and punishment? Or would you rather learn while having fun?

Date: September 13th, 2011
Author: Caryn Charlie Liles
Copyright, Whatta Pup!

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you’re not alone. When a dog acts possessively over an item, place or person we call it “resource guarding” and it’s more common than you think.

What you may not realize is that despite thousands of years of successful domestication, dogs are still animals. All animals have instincts and resource guarding is one of them. Dogs have to guard or protect their resources in order to ensure survival; if they don’t, they lose their dinner, their sleeping quarters, their mate, etc… Looking at dogs today, this may seem like a somewhat useless instinct as we provide our dogs with life’s necessities, but then again, what use is prey drive if they’re fed twice a day by us? What use is turning around three times before laying down to sleep when there is no tall grass to flatten on their cozy bed?

The bottom line is that these are all instincts that are pre-programmed into our dogs whether we like it or not. We can either punish them when they follow these instincts, or we can teach them to control these instincts and defer to us instead.

Resource Guarding is classified under the “aggression” umbrella but don’t let that scare you. Aggression is actually a perfectly natural part of a dog’s world; it is us who have decided that it is unacceptable. There are varying levels of resource guarding and I urge you to familiarize yourself with these levels so that you can deal with it appropriately.

Level One is where you’ll find a perfectly acceptable level of resource guarding; your dog gives a growl, a sideways stare, a stiff body, even a bark as a warning to another dog approaching while she is in possession of a high value item (toy, bone, chew, food, etc…). The important thing is that the warnings remain as warnings and the other dog obliges and creates distance. Management and a watchful eye is advised here. You may consider contacting your trainer for assistance.

Level Two is where you’ll find a dog who gives the appropriate warning and then the other dog instead of creating distance, he decides to take action and “fight back” in order to gain control of the other dog’s resource. The dog with the resource will be bullied into letting the resource go and no conflict will take place. This is not ideal but it’s better than a conflict taking place. Management and a watchful eye is advised here. You may consider contacting your trainer for assistance.

Level Three is where things get a little riskier. The dog with the resource gives the appropriate warning and then the other dog instead of creating distance, he decides to take action and “fight back” in order to gain control of the other dog’s resource. The dog with the resource will engage in the conflict and a snarkfest ensues where no damage is done and the situation is quickly resolved. Management and a watchful eye is required here. You should consider contacting your trainer for assistance.

Level Four is increasingly dangerous. The dog with the resource gives no warning signals – instead, he instantly aggresses towards the approaching dog and the other dog is quick to retreat. No fight or damage ensues. OR instead of retreating, the other dog engages in the conflict and a snarkfest ensues where no damage is done and the situation is quickly resolved. Management and a watchful eye is required here. You should consider contacting your trainer for assistance.

Level Five is nearing the most dangerous level of resource guarding because we have a dog that has no warning system, aggresses instantly but luckily his bites are inhibited, meaning he may cause minimal damage but does not severely injure the other dog. Contact your trainer immediately and put in place all management techniques immediately. Do not delay.

Level Six is the most dangerous level of resource guarding because not only do we have a dog that has no warning system, but we also have a dog (or two) with uninhibited bites. This is where we see the most damage done as the dog with the resource has been pushed past his threshold and has learned that aggression works. The damage done by these dogs tends to be more serious in nature, requiring veterinary care. Contact your trainer immediately and put in place all management techniques immediately. Do not delay.

Warning Signals
A bark, snarl, growl, stiff posture, tongue flick, accelerated consumption of the item, or a lunge towards the threat – these are all warning signals. You may not like these behaviours but keep in mind that these signals are clear communication from your dog. It’s a warning system and it’s important to allow your dog the opportunity to communicate and warn others when he is uncomfortable or threatened. If you choose to punish these warning signs, your dog learns not to use them, therefore he jumps to the next best option; a bite. Never punish a warning system. Instead, listen carefully and jump straight into management mode until you can meet with your trainer to devise a behaviour modification plan.

Management
Management is key as resource guarding is rarely “cured” in an animal. In order to manage, you must be hyper-vigilant. Keep all high-value objects secured and out of reach when other dogs are around. When visiting the dog park, ask others to put the toys away until your pup has left the park, or simply opt for a leashed walk until the toys are out of play at the park. If you have a multiple-dog household, feed dogs in separate rooms or in their separate crates. Whatever you do, avoid allowing your dog to be pushed past his/her threshold at any time; don’t set them up to practice the behaviour!

Behaviour Modification
There are a few different ways to modify this behaviour, but none of them should involve punishment or harsh methods as this can make resource guarding much worse, much faster. The bottom line is that you want to teach your dog to use his/her warning system first and foremost. Then you want to teach them that when other dogs approach them while they have a resource in their possession, great things happen and the resource isn’t lost. The modification plan will vary from dog to dog but enlisting the help of an experienced, positive trainer early, is key.

Resource Guarding is often caused and/or exacerbated by stress, so do everything you can to decrease the stresses in your dog’s every day life. Have a vet examine your pet for any health concerns that might be causing this increase in aggressive behaviour as well.

Note: If your dog guards resources from people, please contact your trainer immediately as there is a different management protocol and program for behaviour modification.