Coronavirus: Our Response – Be Safe and Stay Flexible

Michael Baugh CDBC CPDT-KSA

Anyone who’s worked with me knows I preach this all the time: It only takes a small shift in the environment to change behavior (sometimes in a big way). And there aren’t many things smaller than an itty bitty microscopic virus.

Michael’s Dogs Houston dog trainers Victoria Thibodeaux and I are staying flexible and shifting our behavior in response to the change in our environment (I’ll say the name – The Coronavirus that causes Covid-19). Here’s where things stand right now.

We are still doing in-home dog behavior consultations and training lessons. There is no change in our schedule. However, you will notice some slight changes in our behavior.

We will ask if we can wash our hands at the beginning of our appointment and maybe again at the end.
We will ask that you have your own treat bag (the kind that can clip on to your shorts or trousers). We will not be passing our treat bag back and forth.
We will provide you with your own clicker and ask that you keep it. We will also not pass clickers back and forth.

We are waiving the cancellation penalty for illness. You can now cancel or ask to reschedule within 48 hours of your appointment if:

You have fever or other flulike symptoms (even the day of the appointment). Call and cancel or reschedule. Note: we will reschedule a minimum of 4-weeks later (time for you to recover and self-quarantine).
Anyone in your household has the virus.
You have been exposed to someone outside your household who has the virus.

We are on the honor system here. Do not cancel or ask to reschedule if:

You forgot your child had a game the same evening of our appointment (they are all probably cancelled anyway).
Your hairdresser had an opening and you want to go to that instead.
You had too much wine last night and you are hung over today.
Any other non-health related reason. Please, just be cool about this.

We will not risk your health in the interest of our financial bottom line. That would be selfish and stupid. We will cancel or ask to reschedule if:

We have fever or flulike symptoms. Note: I have seasonal allergies. To make sure I am not otherwise sick I’m taking my temperature twice daily
We have been exposed to anyone with the virus in or outside of our own household.

Remote Consultations – We will maintain our commitment to you and your dogs even if you or one of us is quarantined. I’m happy to say Victoria and I have been ahead of the curve when it comes to offering effective remote dog behavior consultations. We will be suggesting these for cases that are most appropriate. We will also honor your request to work remotely with us. Here’s a link to our Video Remote and Phone Consultations Page so you can learn a bit more about it. I’d also be happy to chat with you to share more information about how they work.

Quick Recap: Here are the main points to rememberer.

We’d still love to see you in person.
Let’s be thoughtful about our in-person meetings (scrub-a-dub-dub).
Rescheduling is fine – we may have to reschedule, too (but I hope not).
Remote consults are a good option.

Here’s the other thing you know I teach and preach all the time. Behavior changes. That is the nature of things. We can expect the behavior of this virus to change. It will not be as intrusive a factor in our lives forever. We will get through this – and Victoria and I will be here for you and your dogs through it and long after.

Stay safe and stay healthy.

Our Dogs and the Northwest Houston Explosion

Michael Baugh CDBC CPDT-KSA and Amanda Rietheimer CDBC CPDT-KA

At about 4:20 a.m. on Friday January 24th the Watson Grinding and Manufacturing Plant on North Gessner Road in Houston exploded. Two people were killed. The blast leveled the plant as well as neighboring businesses. Windows and doors were blown out of neighboring houses. Our house is less than mile away. It shook so hard pictures flew off the walls along with the nails they were hanging from.

We weren’t home. I woke up nearly 4-thousand miles away to a series of texts. “Are you okay?” “Are the dogs at your house?” “How are the dogs?” “Call me.”

My friend and colleague Amanda Rietheimer was staying with our dogs, Stella and Stewie. She and the rest of our neighbors had no idea what had just happened.

Amanda: Stella screamed for a long time, we think, because of the immediate pressure from the explosion. Both dogs began to pace and shake, having a hard time settling. None of us went back to sleep. Both dogs startled to just about any sound, such as the hot water heater crackling, the toilet flushing, the dishwasher running, or walking on the hard wood floors.

Michael: We were texting back and forth, but Amanda already had a plan for emergency behavior care. I don’t think we coined that phrase. but a follower on facebook asked me what it meant. Of course it included comforting the dogs, touching them and allowing them to stay close by. But there was more.

Amanda: We drilled the basic skills the dogs had long identified with fun and food.

Hand targeting sits and downs all over the house.
Hand targeting used to re-direct both dogs from fear of low flying helicopter outside (there were lots of those).
Scattered treats in grass to help them adjust to being outside for potty breaks.
Desensitization to common house sounds (mentioned above) using counter conditioning. Each sound was worked on in individual sessions, always using food as the reinforcer and using the familiar hand targeting behavior to re-direct.
As training progressed that day, we began to tap on the wall and windows to help dogs work on recovering from vibrations and sounds of this nature too.
To give the dogs breaks, mental stimulation was interspersed. This included snuffle mats, Kong’s filled with apples and a JW Pet Hol-ee Roller ball filled with apples.
The dogs began to get nervous to go in other rooms so we worked on relaxation going upstairs in the office first where they were comfortable then used hand targeting, sits and downs in the guest room to progress them with comfortability in a room they were unsure about. Jumping on bed to lie and lying on floor were key parts to training in guest room.

Michael: That’s emergency behavior care. In fact, it could well be the new standard in care. The dogs had human contact nonstop for the next 36 hours (never left alone). And, the training and enrichment continued for days after the explosion (as did the sirens and the buzz of helicopters). And that wasn’t all.

Amanda: We used Stewie’s medication (Diazepam) to help him cope with a storm rolling in mid-day that made him pace in the house. Stella had a hard time during the storm as well, but powered through with training. The dogs were sometimes hesitant to go outside but enjoyed the food-scatter game in the grass and seemed to relax. We fed all their food during training sessions and in enrichment toys to avoid stress diarrhea.

Michael: In fact, after we got home I talked to the office manager at Village Veterinary Clinic. They treated a large number of diarrhea cases the day of the explosion, most likely related to stress. On that same call we got a prescription for Stella just in case she has a hard time in the future with thunderstorms.

But, so far so good. By the time we got back home it was as if nothing had happened. Stella and Stewie, by and large, are their typical old selves. It was a scary morning for all of us, but they bounced back, thanks to a great deal of help and love from our friend.

Michael Baugh owns Michael’s Dogs Training and Behavior. Amanda Rietheimer owns Behavior Focus of Houston. Both are professional dog trainers and behavior consultants in Houston, TX

Toxic Training (When “Helping” Hurts)

Michael Baugh CDBC CPDT-KSA CTP

Training your dog doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact it can be fun and satisfying, and I hope it is.

The best dog owner / trainers seek out support from other dog enthusiasts, maybe even a professional dog trainer. We humans are great for helping each other out. And, sometimes we are terrible at it, no matter our best intentions. We can trip each other up and derail the learning process. If you’re part of a training team, with a spouse or other family member for example, remember to be patient, supportive, and encouraging. Avoid these three toxic training traps:

The Training Foul

Dog training is about learning timing and mechanical skills. So much of what we do when training is a precise sequence of events (Giving a cue –> Noticing the dog’s response –> clicking the clicker –>reaching in the treat bag –> delivering a treat). It sounds and looks easy until you try to do it yourself.

When we interrupt someone else’s training efforts and take over without our permission, that’s called a “training foul.” We’ve interrupted their training sequence and gummed up their learning in the process. Let’s not jump in with cues to help or click for them when their timing is off. At best, that’s unhelpful. At worst, it’s rude. Don’t do it. Let your partner come to a natural stopping point in training and then ask. “May I have a turn?” or “Can I share my observations?”

Holding Back

The opposite of The Training Foul can be just as bad – withholding valuable reinforcement. We humans thrive on reinforcement. “Let me know when I’m doing it right.” Our dogs are great at reinforcement. When we are training well, they respond. That taste of success is so very important when it comes to keeping the process going. Thank you, dogs. Equally important is the feedback and affirmation we give each other. Let your training partner know what you see that they are doing well. “Great timing on that click,” or “Good work keeping your hands at home position.”

Most of the time that’s my job as a trainer, coaching and supporting my clients. But, it’s not only my job. You can do it too. And, you should.

Shaming

This is the most toxic of the toxic training traps. I’m sorry to say, a lot of us trainers are guilty of it. When we shame our training parters, or when trainers shame their clients, they are stopping the teaching and learning process dead in its tracks. Shame is worse than criticism. Criticism can give us pause. It can even sting a bit. But, shame? Shame is crippliing. Shame suggests our training partner is simply not good enough.

“You need to be a stronger leader for your dog.” Shame

“You need to make your dog respect you.” Shame

“Your dog listens to me. Why doesn’t he listen to you?” Shame

“Here let me show you.” Training foul + Shame

Silence when the person training succeeds anyway. Holding back + Shame.

This can be tricky stuff. That’s why I call them traps. I don’t think people set out to be mean – to foul – to withhold – to shame. We can intend the best and still deliver the worst. It happens. So, my plea here is: be careful.

Dog training can be hard sometimes. Life can be hard. Take great care with each other. Take great care of each other. Tread lightly. Give thought. Take the time. Here’s my short list of how we can support each other well when we are working with our dogs (and it is a short list).

Take turns. This helps us avoid the training fouls. Ask to take a turn. When you are done ask your partner (or professional trainer) what did I do well?
Reinforce excellent training. Let your training partner know what you observed and what you think they did really well. If you are on a break or between reps training, give some constructive instructions for next round. (e.g. “This time I’m going to pay close attention to your hand movement. Do you remember the sequence?”).
Assume the best. One of my friends and mentors says “I choose to believe that at any given moment this person is doing the best they can with the information they have now.” That steers us away from shaming.

None of us set out on the journey of training our dogs to muck it up. We’re doing the best we can at the moment. And quite often the best we can do is to call in some help. And before long we might be the ones to get the call, to answer, and to step up and help.

Michael Baugh teaches dog training in Houston TX. He’s also mentored other trainers at lectured at the IAABC conference on coaching humans. Sometimes he mucks it up – resets – and tries to do better next time.