A Boston Terriers Tale an update

The most popular article on this blog, judging by the number of views, is A Boston Terriers Tale.

I just got this picture from Mooses owner. Id like to share it and his e mail with you.


Doug,

I wanted to wish everyone at PPMIM a happy holiday season and give you an update on Moose. I would imagine a lot times in your business, you work with a dog and then owner and K-9 disappear and you never know the rest of the story. Moose as you remember was an adopted dog and a very troubled one due to 15 months of abuse. He had severe
fear aggression toward large dogs and men. I m happy to report, thanks to PPMIM, Moose continues to be a success story. He no longer has any fear aggression towards large dogs or strange males and hasnt for over a year. All the group therapy and continually practicing the principles learned has paid off with huge dividends. Moose continues to be an ambassador for the Boston Terrier breed. At the dog park he spends the entire time racing from dog to dog as if he is the official greeter. He really has turned into an amazing dog. Moose has demonstrated a passion for frisbee and runs side by side with his sister Lily(lab pit mix) like a veteran. In his down time his favorite thing to do is snuggle. I have attached several photos of Moose doing what dogs are supposed to do.. just enjoy life. Thanks again for providing a safe and controlled atmosphere which allowed Moose to shed his fears and become a normal, life loving companion.

David

Id like to take a lot of credit for this, but it was a good owner, comminted to his dog, hard work on both their parts, and a solid system that made this happen. I just got to see the results.

Doug

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A Boston Terriers Tale

In March I received a call from a man with two rescues. Both dogs had some behavioral problems that needed to be dealt with. But one of the dogs, a Boston terrier, was showing signs of severe aggression. The dog had just bitten two of his neighbor’s dogs, a boxer and a wire haired pointer, without provocation.

He had called Boston terrier rescue in a nearby state. The lady he talked to told him her rescue Boston had also been dog aggressive. She put the dog on doggy Prozac and suggested he do the same.

He did not want to medicate the problems, he wanted to fix them so he called me.

When we talked about the dogs there was a red flag on Moose, the Boston terrier. Moose was in his fifth home.

The more times a dog has been re-homed, the less chance there is of success. The reason is simple. A dog sees being moved not as a wonderful opportunity to start over, but as failure. The dog feels it has been kicked out of its pack. No matter how dysfunctional the pack is, it is the dog’s pack. When a dog goes from home to home without success, the dog can lose the ability to trust.

He came in with the dogs for an evaluation. Moose had a lot of aggression and was in really tough shape. But I saw two things that made me decide to work the dog. One there was just something about Moose that made me think he could come back. But more importantly I had an owner who did not want to give up on this dog and was going to apply the things I taught him.

Moose came in for his first private training session. It went well. He came back three weeks later for his second class. It was obvious that Dave had worked with him conscientiously and that Moose trusted Dave.

Then we moved him into my Neighborhood Pack sessions. This is where I can put your dog with other dogs and other people. I can find the triggers, show you how to recognize them, and give you the experience to deal with them.

At his first session Moose tried to start a fight with every other dog in the place. He was stopped before he got himself into trouble learning that Dave would not tolerate those behaviors and could now control him.

His second group Moose still wanted to go at with some of the dogs, but no longer had to challenge everyone. When his behavior was acceptable, Dave praised him. When it wasn’t Moose was corrected in a way he understood. Dave was becoming his pack leader, and you respect and obey the pack leader.

Each time Moose comes to group he improves.

There are still some hurdles for Moose to clear before we are done. He is fine with the neighboring boxer he bit, but the wire hair can trigger Moose by getting wound up. And due to being bullied by a Rottweiler when he was in another home he is still aggressive with Vino. But each time he comes in he is doing better.

Here is the e mail Dave sent me.

Doug,
Since you are a little better at analyzing dog posture, please take a look at the attached photo and tell me which dog is about to attack. To answer your question, yes the boxer is Angie and she has been bitten by Moose twice. One down and one to go. Buddy the Wired Hair Pointer, is next. If you remember one of our earlier conversations, the lady that runs (deleted) Boston Terrier Rescue suggested I put Moose on Prozac. Im sending this picture to her. Titled I dont need no stinkin Prozac. Just a good trainer and owner that doesnt give up.

Thanks Pikes Peak Manners in Minutes you help save my life.

Moose.

PS dad helped me type this

The picture at the top was attached to the e mail.

Doug

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Sorry Ive been gone so long

Back in 2006 I opened Pikes Peak Manners In Minutes when I retired from the Sheriffs Office.  This was never supposed to be a full time job, just something for an old cop to do.  The goal was about a thirty hour week and enough income to pay the bills.

And that is what it was until 2012.  Suddenly I was working six or seven days a week anywhere from 40 to 70 hours. 

As a result this blog fell by the wayside.  It wasnt that I didnt have something to say, it was finding time to say it.

Ive grown as a trainer and as a result at any given time I have about 60 to 80 dogs that I am working with.  Neighborhood pack has grown from one session a week to four.  Some days I get here at 9 and dont get home until 8 or 9 at night.

But this has become a very rewarding way to spend my retirement.  I get to watch so many dogs change and so many owners improve their skills.

Ill try to be better about posting things that may help you. 

And now I have to go work with a dog

Doug

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Making the command sit a Pavlovian response

While I do not use much food when I train a dog, I do use food to condition a response to the word “sit”.  I do this for a specific reason, to be able to disrupt a dog’s prey drive when all other commands fail.

A dog quickly learns that if I have a piece of food in my hand, the dog will not get the treat until he or she sits calmly facing me. 

In order to look up, a dog has to sit down.  So if I show the dog a treat and then lift my closed hand, the dog will sit down to see the hand holding the food.  I am very careful not to say “sit” as I raise my hand.  If I say “sit” as I raise my hand, the food becomes a bribe.  You sit down and I will give you food. 

But when the dog sits I give it the food as I say “good sit.”  What I am doing is programing a Pavlovian response to the word.  The dog associates the word sit with the pleasure of the food.  He also associates the act of sitting with pleasure.

After a couple or repetitions, the dog will sit when I raise a closed hand over his head.  Now I do not always have a treat in my hand, and the dog has a good enough nose to know whether or not I have food.  But hope springs eternal in a dog.  The dog sits for me since he knows the only way to find out for sure if I have food, is to sit still.

In my group classes, called Neighborhood Pack, I can stop almost any behavior just by walking over to the dog and holding my hand over his head with the fingers close.  The dog stops the unacceptable behavior to find out if I have food to offer.

This then becomes useful when my clients are out with their dogs.  The word sit can often change behavior, especially behavior in prey drive, when all other commands fail.

A dog may go into prey drive when it either feels threatened or sees prey.  Prey drive is a part of the fight or flight response.  When you dog goes after a rabbit, a deer, or another dog, it is in prey drive.  And prey drive actually causes bio chemical and physiological changes.  The dog’s eyesight, sense of smell and even hearing narrow on just the object of the prey drive. 

When all else fails we give the command “sit” and the Pavlovian response to that word is often enough to get the dog out of prey drive and back under control.

You can practice and reinforce this command every day.  When you feed the dog, raise its dish.  When it sits tell him “good sit” and then put the dish down.

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