Look and Listen

MICHAEL BAUGH CPDT-KA, CDBC

HOUSTON – A lot of people think their dog has selective hearing when it comes to basic obedience cues, especially coming when called. No matter how many times they call their dog, it seems he’s just not listening. Some folks even worry their dog may be ignoring them out of spite. Fortunately, that last one probably isn’t true. He just hasn’t been trained yet to tune into you when you call.

It turns out the key to really effective dog training isn’t so much about listening. It’s about teaching your dog to look at you. Dogs who are keeping their eyes on you are also keeping their ears attuned to what you are saying. In fact, most precision obedience training is really about the dog’s visual attention, not his listening. Dogs actually learn visual cues (hand signals) more easily than they learn verbal cues (words).

Start at the beginning. The first thing I recommend people teach their dog is eye contact. It’s important that dogs learn to focus their attention on our faces. It sets them up to catch our verbal instructions on the first go around. It also allows them to better read our facial expressions for feedback on how they’re doing (dogs are experts at reading human facial expression, even subtle change in our expressions).

Here’s how to do it. Keep some of your dogs kibble in your pocket. Every time you catch him glancing up at your face say “yes.” Then, immediately follow up by giving him a piece of his food. This is called capturing a behavior. In a short time, your dog will be watching you all the time regardless of whether or not you have food on you. Once you he’s doing that you can start calling his name (only say it once please). When he responds to his name with a look up to your face, immediately say “yes” and treat him. Repeat this often so that his name becomes like a magic word that draws your dog’s attention to you immediately every time.

Before long your dog will be glued to you, watching attentively for further instructions. Your friends will all say, “Wow he really listens.” Of course you’ll smile and agree, because you know he’s looking at you.

(from myfoxhouston.com)

Calming Shelter Dogs

Michael Baugh, CPDT-KA, CDBC

Sometimes the best thing you can do for a shelter dog’s emotional well being is nothing at all. But, please don’t misunderstand. “Nothing” in this case doesn’t mean neglect. If fact, this kind of “doing nothing” takes a great deal of attention and patience.

Dogs in shelters live under a great deal of stress and constant stimulation. People are coming and going. The lights are on for long hours. Dogs are barking and jumping and pacing. It’s a heartbreaking cacophony to those of us who work and volunteer in shelters. For the dogs it’s nightmarish. And it leads to progressive behavioral deterioration.

It’s no wonder so many of these dogs are frenetic when we take them out of their runs. They jump on us with apparent glee. They wiggle and wag and pant. Their excitement is over-the-top. We’ve all seen this before. They are filled with joy to be out of there and interacting with us. That much is true. The trouble is they are so aroused by their environment that they have no idea how to control themselves around people. They look crazy. It’s no wonder. They live crazy lives.

Because we care and because we love them, many of us reflect their joy and excitement right back at them. We pet them; tussle their ears and talk our sweetest most energetic baby talk. Then we trot them out for potty time and exercise. There’s no real harm in that. We’re only human after all. But are we doing any good? Is this dog learning how to live in a home with a family? Or is he just learning to freak out and jump with exuberance on every new person he meets?

I know. Those are hard questions to ask ourselves.

Let’s try this instead and see how it works. Behave the way you want the dog to behave. It turns out that dogs are very good at reading our body language, facial expressions and overall emotional tone. Be calm and project that calm onto the dog. Take him out of his run quietly, with a gentle hello. Walk outside at a normal pace. It’s okay if he’s jumping and pulling. This is new and he’s been living the bad version of la vida loca. Patience. Once he’s gone potty find a nice place to sit and quietly give him focused attention. Exercise is a good thing, but shelter dogs need quiet “down time” more than anything. And if it’s with a human being (you) all the better. Just sit quietly and observe. Breathe. Loosen your shoulders. Wait for the dog to calm with you. This may take a while. Say nothing.

If the dog looks at you, smile and in a gentle cooing voice say “good.” When you pet him, do so gently and slowly. You’ll find it’s very easy to accidentally get him wound up again. That’s okay. Start over. Once he starts to calm again, whisper “good boy” or “very nice.” The words are less important than the sound of them, soft and relaxing. Imagine the dog laying down at your feet, drifting into the first relaxing moment he’s had all week. Pet with long gentle strokes, no scratching or tussling. Good. Treats for eye contact, sitting or laying down are fine. But you might notice food is arousing to the dog as well.

This calming technique is great for dogs in foster care or ones freshly adopted from shelters. It’s a perfect way to just chill out with a dog who’s otherwise been wound up all day. I do it with my own dog. And I recommend it for every dog you visit at the shelter. If you’re lucky enough to interact with the same dog more than once, see if you notice a change in his reaction to you. Most adopting families want a dog who can settle down and do nothing with them. And sure enough, that’s exactly what you’re teaching your shelter dogs. Do nothing. And enjoy.

Play Biting Hurts Too

Michael Baugh, CPDT-KA, CDBC

You don’t need a dog trainer to tell you this, but I will anyway. Getting bitten by a dog hurts, and putting the word “play” or “puppy” in front of it doesn’t make it hurt any less. It does, however, say a lot about the intention behind the bite. We sometimes call that the function of the bite. It’s basically what the dog is getting for his biting effort. Knowing that can help us stop the problem.

Dogs who bite out of anger or fear usually get relief when they bite. Whatever it was they were angry at or afraid of, goes away. If they were upset by an activity (being groomed for instance), the bite stops the activity at least for a little while. The function of biting is to stop something, or make something go away. These can be tricky cases for behavior consultants because part of the solution is to help the dog like the thing or activity that currently makes him bite. (More on that another time).

Dogs and puppies who bite while playing are trying to get something going. They don’t want you to go away; and they don’t want an activity to end. Instead, they want your attention, your full attention, now. The function of biting is to start something, or get something. It works too, doesn’t it? We may spend hours ignoring our dog, but the minute he grabs hold of our pant leg look what happens. He’s now the center of attention. We stop everything to attend to our little shark.

By the time I get called in on these cases, the dog in question is usually pretty good at getting people’s attention by biting. I like to look for what gets the dog started on his biting rampage. Sometimes it’s just the site of a person. Other times it’s a fun game that gets out of control. I also like to look at what happens immediately after the dog bites. Most of the time the dog gets a whole lot of attention. Remember, even scolding is attention. In either case, we’re actually teaching the dog to bite more.

What can we do about it? The answer is, a lot. First, steel up your nerves and take a deep breath. Biting in general is very impersonal. It’s just a behavior that yields a result. We can influence what starts the biting. If you know what activity gets your dog going, avoid it for the time being. (Example: if wrestling with your dog gets him started on biting, stop that activity). We also have control over many of the consequences of biting. If your dog is biting for attention, withhold that attention. I recommend taking the process a step further. The opposite of attention isn’t ignoring; it’s ending social contact altogether. Put the dog in his crate for a short time out. He’ll learn quickly that his teeth don’t get him what he wants, which is you.

We can and should also teach our dog good manners, proactively. We don’t want to spend our whole relationship with our dog reacting to his biting. Instead, show him what really gets your attention. In my household, sitting, attentive watching and coming when called get my attention every time. Tricks do too. I especially like it when my dog, Stella, rests her chin on my knee. Too cute. Shower your dog with attention for those good behaviors, and always be on the lookout for your dog doing something right.

(originally published in Houston Dog Blog)