Is Love Enough?

For those of us who know dogs, really know them, the love comes easily. And for those involved in the hard and difficult work of rescue and sheltering, there is no shortage of love. It’s what fuels us, what keeps us going day after day. It’s what sees us through the anguish and the tears to get out once again and rescue and shelter some more. Love is the thing. But is it enough?

Psychiatrist Aaron Beck was writing about human relationships when he jumped to the answer. His book from the late 80’s was called Love is Never Enough. His idea was for people, especially couples, to use the tools of cognitive therapy to improve their lives together. Listen. Separate out feelings (at least don’t jump to feelings first). Be mindful. Love was not enough. It never was. We had to think as well.

What would Aaron Beck say about those of us who rescue and shelter dogs? Do we love too much? Does our love ricochet us into darker emotions, sadness, anger, hate, and despair? Does it paralyze us; keep us from acting at all because the problem of abandoned and suffering dogs is just too big? That was my story up until recently. Is love not only “never enough,” but is it also sometimes what gets in the way of doing the work? I won’t speculate on what Dr. Beck would say.

Here is what we do know, the sad facts:

Too many dogs are abandoned or born into homelessness. In Houston the numbers are huge.
These dogs suffer from health issues ranging from mange to broken bodies to heartworms. Most rescue groups raise funds for the proper medical treatment for all of the animals in their care.
Nearly every one of these dogs also suffers from behavior problems ranging from poor manners to extreme fear of humans to aggression toward humans or other dogs. Very few rescue groups provide professionally structured behavior care for any of their animals.

That last point interests me the most. Here’s why. 89.7% of dogs end up in shelters in the first place because of behavior problems (Wells and Hepper 2000). My colleague, Carolyn Grob, presented this bit of data and more at a recent Project Rusty Seminar in Houston (more about Project Rusty in a moment). So, we know going into this that at least 89% of dogs in rescue and shelters are there because of behavior problems. We know it like we know they have mange or a broken leg or heartworms.

Connecting the dots is pretty easy. If we help the dogs in our care learn better behavior, we increase the chance that their adoption will be successful and lasting. We justify the time and expense involved the same way we justify medical treatment. Adopters don’t want a mangy dog. Guess what? They don’t want a rude freaked out dog either.

So, let’s get back to the love. Won’t love and a little time heal most behavior issues, like fear and aggression? The short answer is no. In fact, with many dogs the problems just get worse. Can’t a dog learn to trust humans again? Yes, of course. But love and time are not enough, not really, not ever. And let’s not even talk about the jumping and leash pulling and other crazy hyper goofy behavior. Add some well-intentioned love and that unruliness can turn into downright rude-dog stuff. But, I digress.

What would Beck say? I’m not sure, but I have an idea. What if we step back from a moment and give this behavior thing some thought? We won’t stop loving. We’ll just starting thinking a bit. Let’s be mindful about training and behavior. There’s a process to treating medical issues right? There has to be a process for helping dogs act better and feel better around their new humans. (Of course there is, said the trainer).

In fact, there’s a time-honored and well-tested process for teaching animals how to act and feel better. It boils down to showing the dogs in our care that their behavior (their actions) matter. Good things happen when they behave a certain way (the way we like). Nothing much good happens when they don’t. Because we’re using rewards (reinforcement) like food and play, we’re also teaching the dogs that we humans are safe, nice in fact. We won’t get bogged down in the technical terms like Learning Theory and Classical Conditioning. We can just think of it like this. We teach the dogs what works for them in our crazy human world – and at the same time we teach them that we’re not all that crazy after all. Humans are pretty darn good it turns out.

The process is not hard. It can be fun once we get the hang of it. But, it’s not magic either. We have to show up, and we have to put in some effort. Get the dog out of the crate, into a space where we can interact with him one-on-one, and let’s start training. It’s like taking the dog to the vet for medical care, equally important, but with less hassle. Forget Aaron Beck for a moment. Here’s what trainer educator Ken Ramirez from The Shed Aquarium says: Training isn’t a luxury. It’s an essential part of daily animal care.

“Wait a minute”, you might say, “I’m not a trainer.” Well, that’s where Project Rusty comes in. That’s the group I mentioned a little bit ago. Project Rusty is a nonprofit organization in Houston with a mission to teach shelter staff and rescue volunteers how to be trainers. The truth is, you are already teaching the dogs in your care every day. Every waking minute they are learning, not just from you but also from your family, the cat, the bird, and of course from the other dogs in your home. The question isn’t whether or not they’re being trained (they are). The question is are they learning the stuff we want them to learn. Probably not.

Let’s change that. In the months and years ahead Project Rusty will be rolling out programs to help shelters and rescue groups better care for the behavioral health of their dogs. We’ve actually already started with interactive seminars. The next step will be more intensive learning programs for rescue groups, some of which are already in development. There will also be online resources for staff, volunteers and the general public. If behavior is the problem, then we will be the solution. All of us. Together.

So where’s the love? I can only speak for myself on this one. I love my dogs. I love some of my client’s dogs too, and most came from shelters and rescue groups. I write about love and compassion and hope and all the soft stuff. I’m that guy. Is love enough? Maybe not. But, maybe that’s also not the right question. Maybe the question is how do we love these dogs? What is the thing? What is the stuff of love? For me it’s the moment I look at a dog and understand and know in my heart and in my brain that she understands too. It’s communication, clichéd as that sounds. It’s learning and teaching and blurring the lines between the two. Who’s training whom?

Love is a verb.

When I’m training with my dog I am loving my dog. It’s in my actions, and hers too I think. Teaching is loving. Learning and teaching more is loving more. And, if that’s so then loving is the thing, loving thoughtfully with our actions. It’s what we do, mindfully and wholeheartedly? Can we ever really get enough?

Michael will be leading an interactive presentation about this topic on May 4th in Houston. Visit his Houston Dog Training Events page for more information.

Making Training Work with a Busy Schedule

Michael Baugh CDBC, CPDT-KSA

What gets in the way of helping our dogs change their behavior? Of course we need to know how to train our dogs. We have to learn new skills. Our dogs do too. But that’s really not the big obstacle. Our dogs and we humans are actually good learners. What really gets in the way?

Time.

We think training takes too much time, and we think we don’t have enough time to do it. How do we get around that?

A lot of dogs are very fast learners, even dogs who have some behavior related to fear and aggression. We can lay out a plan to teach them essential skills (often quite simple skills) to help them handle life in our crazy human world with a bit more, shall we say, grace.

Timesaving Training

There are lots of things we can teach our dogs using clicker training that take very little time, a matter of weeks if not days.

Eye contact and attentiveness. This takes next to no time.
Settling down on a mat. We can shape this behavior very quickly.
Following us / Coming when called. It trains quickly.

Of course we humans need to learn how to train these things, and that can take a bit of time. The good news is we human learners can pick things up as quickly as our dogs do. I’ve found that the Online Training Journal really helps speed up the learning process for us humans. Clients who log daily training activities give me a chance to coach clients daily and keep the process on track. That’s a huge time-saver in the long run.

More Awareness – Less Time

Once we teach some basic skills, maintaining (even sharpening) that training can take next to no time at all. We don’t have to schedule any training sessions at all (or very few). We just have to be more aware.

One of my best clients is helping her dog, Harley, adjust to having a new baby in the home. All day long, while my client is being a busy mom, she pays attention to what Harley does. And, throughout the day she praises and treats all the things Harley does well. It’s awesome. She actually keeps a log of all the great things she reinforces throughout the day and reports the results on her Online Training Journal.

Harley waited patiently while I made lunch – praise and treats
Harley rested quietly outside the nursery – praise an treats
Harley gave us extra space when I asked him to back up – praise and treats.
Harley played nicely with the other dog – verbal praise

Yes, she spent some time early on clicker training and teaching Harley some nice manners. But, how much time is this busy mom spending with training now? None. She’s just more aware. She’s training all the time as the day unfolds.

It’s a good thing she has this system worked out. We just learned a few days ago that she’s expecting a second baby. She’s going to need the extra time.

Michael Baugh CDBC, CPDT-KSA teaches dog training in Katy and Houston, TX.

The Whole Truth (so help me dog)

Truth is a slippery thing, subject to so much bias and spin. We know this, all of us, all too well. And, those of us who work in the community of dogs and their people know it particularly well.

We dog people are an emotional lot, and emotion is so often what clouds truth. We take on beliefs about our dogs and shore up those beliefs with what we see on TV or read on the Internet. It’s called confirmation bias; we hold true to an opinion and that belief is strengthened every time we hear it repeated elsewhere. A natural human process called cognitive dissonance blocks contradictory ideas; information that doesn’t support our beliefs is disruptive to our mental processes and set aside as false. We are, it seems, not a reliable filter for truth.

In the world of dog training there is a great deal of bias and dissonance. Some believe quite strongly that dogs learn from a social structure similar to that of wolves. The idea is that wolves and dogs both form linear pack hierarchies lead by alpha males and females. Humans teach dogs by showing their social dominance and become leader of the pack. It’s the basis for Cesar Milan’s approach, and that of many other trainers.

Still other trainers believe with equal vigor that dogs learn based on clearly communicated criteria and consequences. The idea is that dogs learn the same way all other animals learn, based on whether or not any given action is reinforced or punished. This is called Behaviorism. It’s rooted in the early 20^th century work of John Watson and B.F. Skinner.

Add to that other ideas. Many feel quite strongly that they can communicate intuitively with dogs both living and dead. Closely related is the idea that dogs have a sixth sense that allows them to know and understand us at a very deep, even unconscious level. This belief suggests dogs learn in a much more humanlike way, that they already understand what we mean and intend. For some, dogs even become mystical creatures, romanticized as much as they are beloved.

What’s the truth? It’s a slippery thing, especially when it mixes with strongly held emotional beliefs. The closest thing we have now to truth is the vigorous work of science. Contrary to what many believe, science is not a list of answers but a constant questioning. It is the search for truth, proposing possibilities and testing them against reality. An idea is tested, measured, and then presented for scrutiny. Others then test the idea as well, measure, and present. Ideas that test and measure what they clearly intend to are considered valid. Those that are tested many times by others with identical results are considered reliable. Validity and reliability are the hallmarks of good science.

When it comes to how dogs learn, I lean deeply into science. Some questions have been asked for nearly a century with valid and reliable answers. Dogs (all animals) do learn based consequences. Presented with a given situation, dogs will behave (act) in a way that reflects the consequences of that behavior in the past. Dogs who get treats when the come when called tend to come when called more often. We’ve taught dogs in this way, perhaps for hundreds of years.

Newer studies within the past decade indicated that dogs do not form packs with alpha males and females. In fact, we are gaining new understanding that suggests wild wolves don’t either, at least not in the way we once thought. Wolf packs are more like a family with a father and mother; the rest of the pack is made up of their offspring who remain with them for a year or more. The idea that dogs are trying to ascend to leadership of our human families has never been shown to be true. These early studies are promising in terms of their validity. More research will be needed to bear out their reliability.

The idea of animal communication is intriguing. It speaks to our attraction to things mystical and unknown. Mystery and questioning were the very things from which science was born. Still, there has been little research in this area. That said, there is early evidence that dogs can read our facial expressions and body language expertly, better even than chimpanzees can. That can look very much like evidence of a sixth sense to us, but is it more likely the very deft use of the dog’s existing five senses.

What then is the truth? How does it settle with our beliefs? To what can we grasp firmly when so much seems all too slippery? My answer follows the vigorous work of questioning. Lean into the science. It’s where faith finds firm rooting. Science is the universal codex of great things divine.

And what better way to explore the divine than through our dogs.