Travel Safety this Summer with Wolfie

Hey, it’s Summer Time and time to hit the road or air for our family vacation.  I think I know what to do to make sure Wolfie is OK, but I want to be sure…

Whether you travel by car, truck, plane or train, help ensure a safe and pleasant journey with your pet by taking these safety precautions:

General Travel Tips:

• No matter what your mode of travel, the single best safe practice you can employ to keep your dog safe during the journey is to keep him restrained.
• Affix current identification to your dog. Even better, have him micro chipped, which provides a permanent form of I.D. to help ensure he is returned to you if he becomes lost.
• Carry a recent photograph of your dog to make it easier for others to help you look for him if he gets lost during the trip.
• If your dog is prone to anxiety or motion sickness, consult with your veterinarian about using pet tranquilizers for your dog appropriate for the particular type of travel you will take.
• Feed your pet his usual meal one to two hours before travel. (If your dog is prone to motion sickness, feed him two to four hours before travel.) Do not give him food or water during travel as it may spill, forcing him to lie in a mess during the trip.

Cars and Trucks

• No matter how long or short the journey, your dog should be restrained. An unrestrained dog is dangerous to himself and others. He can become a flying projectile that can injure you, your passengers or himself.
• Secure your dog in the back seat (dogs riding in the front seat can be seriously hurt if the airbags deploy) with a pet travel safety harness or car seat, or in a pet carrier fastened to a seatbelt. If you drive an SUV, install a pet barrier to keep the dog in the back area of the vehicle as well as securing him in his harness and attaching it to the hooks in the floor.
• If you must transport your dog in the bed of a pickup, use a crate or carrier secured to the truck bed to prevent him from being thrown into traffic at a sudden stop.
• Do not allow your dog to ride with his head out the window. Road debris and other flying objects can injure his eyes.
• Before you set out on your journey and after arriving at your destination, give your dog plenty of exercise. This will help him be more relaxed and able to acclimate to his new surroundings.
• When stopping for a break and before you open the car door, attach a leash to your dog’s collar so he can’t escape. Even the most obedient pet can become disoriented when traveling. Always use a leash to walk your dog.
• On a long car ride, stop every four hours or so to allow your dog to relieve himself (be sure to clean up after him), stretch his legs, refresh himself with a small drink of water, and help him understand that he’s going to another environment.
• Watch for temperature extremes. Your car is like an oven under the blazing sun and a freezer in the bitter cold.

Airline or Train Travel

• Whether he will go in the cabin with you or in the cargo hold, your dog will need to travel in an airline (or train) -approved carrier.  Check the airline (or train line) website for requirements.
• If your pet will travel as cargo, check for restrictions on any health/immunization and other requirements.
• Use direct flights to avoid mix-ups during transfers or the possibility of delays in getting your pet off the plane.  Ask the airline if you can watch your pet being loaded and unloaded into the cargo hold.
• Upon arrival at your destination, open the carrier as soon as you are in a safe place, and then clip a leash on your dog so you can safely examine him. If anything seems wrong, get him to a veterinarian right away.

Follow these precautions and Wolfie will love your family vacation too.  For more information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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Your Dog and Your Family The Dynamics

My Uncle and I both got puppies from the same breeder at the same time.  When we got them, they both appeared to be just alike.  Now, my Uncles 1 year old Terrier is as calm as calm can be.  Wolfie, his brother, is just a complete crazy nut.  What happened?

The answer is pretty simple, but sometimes the simple things are the hardest to recognize.  From our experience in training over 2,000 doggies in South Florida, family dynamics has a great deal to do with how they are going to act.

If the family is made up of older adults who are normally calm and lead structured lives, their doggie will normally be calm and sedate.  If the family lives an active lifestyle, has children who love to play and chase them, and are always having friends and neighbors over, they will probably have a more active, social, engaging, and (sometimes) annoying doggie.

Remember the old saying, "You are what you eat"?  Our doggies will often adjust to our environment so they "Are who we are".  Since most people are just fine with their calm, well behaved, and sedate doggies, let me focus on some times for the crazy, annoying doggies:

• Dont go nuts with Wolfie in the house.  He will get used to chasing you, barking, jumping, and stealing things from you in the house all the time.  He doesnt understand that he cant do it all the time and will find the most inopportune time to display these annoying traits (that you actually taught him).
• Be sure to find at least 30 minutes every day to play and go nuts with Wolfie in the back yard or any large, enclosed area.  Throw the Frisbee, toss tennis balls, scatter feed, or do anything else that gets him engaged and drains the adrenaline.  Do not play games that might encourage general bad behavior such as tug-of-war, chase-me chase-me, or jump-on-me with him.
• Have your children pet Wolfie calmly by stroking him from the back of his head to the middle of his neck.  This is a very calming and soothing experience for Wolfie.  It also teaches your kids and Wolfie how they can engage each other without going nuts.
• Ask your guests to ignore Wolfie for the first few minutes when they come over.  Wolfie sees your guests entering the house as "new playmates" and will almost instantly engage them by barking and jumping.  Have them ignore Wolfie so he will understand that his behavior is inappropriate.  After a few minutes after Wolfie has calmed down, they can then engage in calm interaction in the house or they can go outside and play fetch, etc.

The main focus here is to manage Wolfies adrenaline through your example.  If you are calm with Wolfie, you will not encourage a spike in his adrenaline that leads to the annoying crazy stuff.

If you have more questions, we would be more than happy to provide additional information.  You can contact us through our web site at South Florida Dog Trainers.

   

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Separation Anxiety in Dogs

When I ask people what is the worse thing about their dog is as we start training, they often reply “separation anxiety.”

But when I test the dog, I rarely find true separation anxiety.

I have seen true separation anxiety in just one dog. And I did not see it as a trainer, but rather when I was still a patrol deputy before I retired from the Sheriff’s Office.

My trainee and I were interviewing a witness. She was standing outside her front window. Her German shepherd, inside the house and at the window, became more and more frantic.

The dog actually jumped through a large plate glass window. It was horribly cut and bleeding badly. We held the panicked dog to the ground and attempted to control the bleeding. I got the local volunteer fire department to respond with bandages. We got the bleeding under control and the owner was able to transport it to an emergency clinic.

(By the way we stopped by the fire station the next day. The dog was doing fine. The owner sent the firemen a large picture of the dog, a flowery letter, and a huge pile of cookies and cakes, proving once again that people like firemen more than cops.)

This dog was the exception. What I usually find is that the dog is manipulating the human, not suffering from separation anxiety.

When the dog realizes that the owner is not going to let the dog go along or do what it wants, the behavior begins. In some dogs it is excessive whining, in others it is loud and demanding barking. The dog believes if it makes a big enough fuss, the owner will give in and take the dog along.

It is really easy to teach a dog this behavior. Here is the perfect way to do it.

Go and pick up a new puppy from a breeder that is a couple of hours away. As you leave with the puppy, it will act out. You expect that since it is leaving its Mom, litter mates and the only home it has known.

Puppies will usually fall asleep for the first hour or two. But then it wakes up and starts whining. So what do you do, you pull over somewhere. You offer food, make sure it isn’t thirsty, give it a chance to go potty, and play with it. In about a half hour you put the tired puppy back into the crate, and as you continue homeward bound, it falls asleep again.

After another hour or two, the puppy starts whining again and you pull over. The longer the trip, the more times you have to stop.

You get home and start getting the puppy use to its new home. It gets fed and watered. It gets held and fussed over. You are the perfect indulgent owner.

Now it is bed time. You’ve read the books, talked to the breeder, and maybe
consulted a trainer. Everyone told you to put the dog in a crate and ignore it.

But the whining convinces you the dog is in distress. You feel sorry for it. You think, “I’ll never get any sleep this way.” So you get the puppy out of the crate, let it snuggle up to you, and tell yourself this is just for one night.

You have just started the dog on the road to “separation anxiety.” And as the puppy drifts off to sleep next to you, it thinks “I know how to control these humans.”

Doug

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Separation Anxiety How Can I Help

Wolfie just goes nuts when I leave the house.  He barks and attempts to destroy everything.  The neighbors tell me that they think there is a "possessed being" in my house.  Is this "separation anxiety" and what can I do about it?

Separation anxiety is one of the most difficult issues to resolve in a dogs behavior.  It is brought about because of prior experiences as shelter or abused dog or lack of leadership in the current environment.  Over the coming months I will be discussing this in more detail, but, for now, lets get going on one thing we can do.

Wolfie and other dogs are very attuned to the sounds around them.  If their territory (home) sounds like everything is fine, they will feel that it is fine.  The way that they come to this conclusion is based on the "white noise" they are processing.  If they hear you doing the laundry or opening the refrigerator, everything is fine, Mommy or Daddy are home, no big deal.  If they dont hear this, they begin to increase their adrenaline and wonder where the rest of the pack actually are. 

Many people leave the TV on for their dogs as "white noise" for their being home.  This could actually be a negative thing if the TV is not always on.  Wolfie learns "A=B".  If the TV is on, you are not here.  Oh my gosh, I have to react to you not being here!  I will bark and destroy! (Just for your information, this is bad.)

We have an interesting solution.  Record about 30 minutes of daily household activities you would normally perform.  About 10 minutes before you leave, turn on the recording.  From this point until you leave, be very quiet.  Now, leave the house while your continuous loop recording continues to play.  

Wolfie now is focused on your natural noises and has been be redirected from your departure and his need to initiate separation anxiety.

This is only one of several things you must implement to successfully resolve Wolfies separation anxiety, but it is a start.  In the coming weeks, I will publish more articles that will assist you to resolve this problem.  For more information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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A Tip For Your Dogs Separation Anxiety

Every time I leave the house, Wolfie cries and barks until I come home.  What can I do so that he wont be like that?

Wolfie is experiencing separation anxiety.  When you leave he becomes anxious and will cry and bark for long periods of time.  He will pace back and forth, sometimes jumping up on the window ledges to see if you are coming home yet.  Sometimes this behavior turns destructive.  He might start chewing on the baseboards near the door or on pillows and other pieces of furniture.  In one extreme case, we saw two dalmatians actually eat their way through a wall.

There are many things you can do about this.  For now, I would like to offer one of the suggestions I provide my clients having this problem.

Separation anxiety many times starts with anticipation.  When Wolfie has the ability to anticipate our departure and his solidarity, it builds up the adrenaline and can make the matter even worse.  What we must do is to eliminate Wolfies anticipation of our departure.

We are creatures of habit and usually have set routines for things we do.  This is almost always true when we leave the house.  We need to get our keys, check to make sure the doors and windows are locked, turn off the lights, grab our wallet, put on our shoes, grab our coat, etc.  Many times this process might begin up to 30 minutes before we actually leave.  Wolfie watches us every day and knows every one of our routines.  When he starts to see the "I am leaving" routine, his adrenaline and anticipated anxiety begin to build.  To minimize Wolfies anxiety, we need to "hide" our "I am leaving" routine from Wolfie.

Here is what you do:

• For the next three days, write down everything you do when you leave the house.  Start your list 30 minutes before you actually leave.  After three days, pull out your lists and look for a pattern of repeated actions you do before you leave.  Take these actions and make it your "I am leaving" routine.
• Now, every time you leave, mix up your routine or even eliminate some of the actions.  You might put your briefcase and shoes in the car the night before or leave your car keys in the garage.  Continue to mix up your routine for the next few days.
• Now, start to perform your "I am leaving" routine, but dont leave.  Get all ready to leave, walk out the door, come right back in side, and sit down to watch TV.  Repeat this and then work on the computer.  Even mix up the routine slightly, but dont leave.
• Perform the "leaving" and "not leaving" routines for several days.

What you have done is to show Wolfie that there is not a precursor to your leaving.  There is no need to get anxious because of particular actions.  Although this is not a complete cure for separation anxiety, it is a first step in minimizing the overall level of anxiety.  To completely cure Wolfies separation anxiety, he needs to have a clear picture of his place in the family and your leadership ability. For more information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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Canine Rage Disorder

I’m not a veterinarian so I can’t make any judgments about medical causes of this condition, but I have seen one case of extreme Canine Rage Disorder. So this blog is about rage and a possible behavioral explanation for the rage.

I received a call well over a year ago. A vet referred an owner to me. The owner explained that he had a French bulldog that was extremely aggressive. The dog was fine with another dog in the home, his wife and he, but would suddenly attack any other dogs or humans.

I like to know generally what I am going to be asked to deal with before people come in for an evaluation. But usually I wait to get the details. And I deal with aggressive dogs all the time. But this owner was almost frantic. He said he was reluctant to even bring the dog in for fear it would attack me. I assured him that I was used to working with aggressive dogs. I told him that if the dog did attack it was an occupational hazard I have learned to live with.

I will not work with any dog without the dog and owner coming in for a free assessment before taking the dog. First I like to have an idea of what the dog is like. And it is very important that the owner understand the Manners in Minutes dog training system and be willing to do the work required for the training to succeed. If the training is to succeed the dog, the owner and I must be on the same page and be able to work together.

I always come out to see the dog as soon as you pull up. I am watching the dog as you bring it in. The dog tells me a lot about itself from the minute I first see it. By watching this I get a lot of information about what is going on with the dog.

Except for that evening every aggressive or dangerous dog has told me, via body language that I needed to watch out. This dog gave me nothing to alarm me. But I was on guard because of our phone conversation.

When a dog comes in I have you wait at the door. The dog is always on a line. I watch the dog and ask a couple of questions. But I am really looking at the dog’s behavior and judging its reaction to the center. If all goes well I have you drop the line to see what the dog does next.

I was a little more cautious than usual but again did not see anything. I deliberately stood away to the side at a distance. Then I told the owner to just let go of the line.

When I do this I am looking at three things, confidence, curiosity and caution. The dog has walked in and has already figured out by smell that there have been thousands of dogs in here. To a dog that is supposed to mean that the center is possible a den for a really large pack of dogs.

First I want to see if your dog confident enough to leave your side. A dog that has no confidence will just stand there with rear and front ends lowered. A dog with too much confidence will start peeing on everything in sight to “mark” territory.

A dog with normal curiosity will quickly begin to explore. And if the dog has the right amount of caution you will see it in their body language. When you go to some other pack’s den, you need to be prepared for confrontation.

This dog stood calmly for a moment. He took two steps. Then he turned suddenly and latched on to my shin.

It hurt. But I was a cop for 24 years. Police work is a contact sport and I have the scars, healed broken bones and surgical reports to prove it. It wasn’t very high on my list of pain situations. And I don’t panic easily.

Normally I would have just growled hard at the dog and walked my way up the line (reaching down would have guaranteed an attack at my face) until the line pulled the dog off my shin. But the owner was panicking and any movement on my part would have escalated the situation and made things worse.

I stood there taking the bite and calmly told the owner to slowly pick up the line and pull the dog off of me. Then I had to calm the owner who was reacting all out of proportion to the situation.

After I calmed the owner I had him attach the dog to a point so that the dog could not make another mistake and started to find out what had happened.

The owner told me he got the dog several years ago. The dog was normal and had no aggression. When the dog was two it disappeared from his backyard.

The dog was chipped so they checked regularly with the Humane Society to see if he showed up. After a year the figured the dog was never going to show up. They bought another dog. They did report the dog as stolen.

After the dog had been gone for two years they got a call from the Humane Society. The dog was at the shelter and had been identified via the chip. They went and got him. The Humane Society told them that the police had gone to a home of an older lady on a mental health check the welfare. Due to the lady’s behavior they had taken her in for an evaluation which turned into a mental health hold. As there was no one to take the dog the Humane Society had been called. When they checked for a microchip they found one and discovered the dog had been reported as stolen. As there is no legal right to stolen items in Colorado, the dog had to be returned to the owners regardless of how the other woman got the dog.

They took the dog home and he seemed to be fine until they took him for a walk in the neighborhood when he tried to go after every dog or person he saw. They thought time would cure him but he hadn’t gotten any better.

Then the owner told me that he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from his military service. With all kinds of alarm bells going off in the back of my head I asked some more questions and then did some behavior testing.

My greatest concern was whether or not the dog had lost the ability to trust. If he had, then the chances that training could undo the damage were minimal, at best. As a rule of thumb I will not work with a dog that has lost that ability to trust. But there were some signs that he still had the ability to trust.

I do not like people to sign up for training at the end of the assessment. I want you to be very sure before you start with me that this is what you want. And based on what I now had heard and seen I wanted to think about this dog before committing to training it.

I sent them home with a brochure and told them to think it over. I also wanted to thing about whether or not I was willing to work with this dog.

I mulled it over for a couple of days. I decided that the dog was worth the effort. And I believe that if they followed my instructions that we could fix the behavior. But I knew if it failed the dog would be too dangerous to ever have even the slightest chance of getting loose. I decided that I would impose some unusual conditions.

I decided that if the dog worked with me, and it did not work, then I would refund their fees but that they would have to agree to put the dog down. If this dog was so traumatized that training did not work, the dogs life was one of constant fear and that kind of dog was just too dangerous to everyone.

Then I thought about the owner. I figured his wife would keep that agreement but I wasn’t sure about the husband. I knew they loved the dog and they might be tempted to keep it even if the training wasn’t working. Sadly sometimes there is no choice but to put a dog down. But not everyone will make the best decision for the dog.

Luckily they never called back, so the decision was taken out of my hands. I never learned what happened to the dog.

Assuming that all the information they gave me was accurate, I believe that whatever happened the two years that dog was gone filled that dog with rage. And sadly I will never know more about what caused it and if it could be undone.

I haven’t seen anything even close to this since, but I know the next phone call for this condition will come sooner or later. I hope the outcome is better.

Doug

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