Tag: agggressive behavior in dogs

In Tad We Trust

Michael Baugh CPDT-KA, CDBC

I get to see Tad again tomorrow, and the anticipation has had me thinking about the brilliant truth of teaching and learning.

Given the right set of circumstances, a learner will tend toward making the right decision.  Scientifically that means if we set up the environment correctly our student will succeed.  That includes both environmental cues and pleasant consequences for the learner.  So much for the nerdy part.  Here’s the softer part.  All of my students really are working toward success; it’s the natural tendency of progress.

A perfect learning relationship

There isn’t anything inside Tad that predestines him to behave poorly.  There’s no internal badness in dogs that we humans have to break or dominate.  Dogs, like all other learners are naturally (meaning it’s in their nature) built to discover the easiest right choices for behavior, and to act on them.  In fact, even “bad” behavior is at the time the perceived right choice for the dog.  Our job as teachers is simply to clear the path, make the choices we prefer more obvious, and reinforce those correct choices joyfully.  That’s teaching.

I always trust my client dogs to find and make the right choice.  If they don’t, I look at myself first to make adjustments.  I never look inside the dog for sinister intentions with flimsy labels like stubbornness or jealousy.  What can I change in this student’s environment to make it easier for him to make a correct behavior choice?  When he makes that correct choice, how can I tell him he got it right so that he makes that choice again in the future?  I joke that dog teaching isn’t a religion it’s a science.  Still, it takes a whole lot of faith to ask those questions, trust the dog, and trust the process.

I smile every time I remember that humans can be trusted too.  When we talk about a learner’s environment, we’re really talking about relationships.  A supportive, empathetic relationship between a teacher and a learner (and really we’re all co-learners) sets the client up to succeed, every time, without exception.  I nod respectfully to the late Carl Rogers who brought this knowledge to us.  Humans are naturally built (meaning it’s in their nature) to ascend to the highest level of success possible, given the right environment and relationships.  Abraham Maslow called that “self actualization,” and all of us are on the path.  My path as a teacher and a learner fills me with faith every day.  I trust the people I teach, and the dogs they teach in turn.  I learn from them too.  Certainly, it’s not always easy.  Tiffany will tell you that, as will Tad in his own way.  Still, we travel on together, clearing the path for our better selves, applying the science with abiding faith.

The Tadlands

Michael Baugh CPDT-KA, CDBC

The clinic where Tiffany works and Tad hangs out is much nicer even than it looks in pictures.  There’s a pleasant chime that sounds when the front door opens.  I was pleased as I walked in that I didn’t hear Tad barking.  Tiffany greeted me in the lobby and asked me how I wanted to meet Tad this time.  “Just let him out,” I said, and around the corner he came.  Tad ran up to me like we were old friends.  I couldn’t have wished for a better start to my day.

Behavior science is the language we use to communicate with the non-human animals in our lives.  Don’t worry; I’m not going to geek out on science again.  During our visit we taught Tad to sit and focus, and how to say “hi” to visitors, and how to lie down and chill out with his Uncle Michael, and how to stand calmly at the baby gate and watch people.  All that is grounded in sound behavior science.  It’s also good communication.  If we can change our behavior a bit, and Tad changes his in kind, then we are definitely communicating.   And the cliché is true – good communication builds good relationships.

Tad hanging out with me in the lobby

There’s little doubt that Tad and Tiffany have forged a powerful bond.  They are learning to communicate at a much different level now, and they are making progress together.  It’s cool to watch and I count myself incredibly lucky to not only be witness to it, but deeply involved in the process.  We all know how easy and wonderfully alluring it is to fall in love with Tad online.  It is something altogether different to be with him in person.  For just a few seconds Tad tucked his head into my arms and pressed his forehead against my chest.  I scratched him behind the ears and kissed the top of his head.  No one said a word.  Then we all got back to the work at hand.  The moment had passed, but it was sacred nonetheless.

Tad didn’t bark once, or growl or lunge the entire time I was there.  I’ve actually never seen him behave that way, and that’s the way it should be.  Tiffany tells me he’s doing those things less, and not at all when the front door chimes.  We’re changing his life, and changing his behavior.  We’re creating opportunities for him to succeed, and relishing in that success with him.  There’s no need to set him up to bark and growl and lunge so we can tell him he’s bad.  He was never bad, just afraid.  Of course, all that is changing now.  There’s no need to be afraid anymore.  We even have a plan in the works to curb his play biting (most of his bites were attention-seeking).  I hesitate to make any predictions, but Tad is improving.  I’m hopeful he will continue to do so.  Very hopeful.

I don’t like goodbyes so I didn’t make a fuss over Tad when I left.  I’d stayed longer than expected, and I would have stayed longer still if there had been time.  I headed south toward Houston and remembered Tad pressing his head against me.  It made me smile and remember why it is I do this work.  Before long I’ll be back in The Tadlands, at the smartly appointed clinic, stealing a moment with the rag-tag dog no one wanted.  When did I first notice he was stealing my heart?

 

Keeping Tabs on Tad

Michael Baugh CPDT-KA, CDBC

I like to stay in close contact with my clients.  This is especially true for cases which involve bites, or even lunging and barking.  With my newest clients, Tiffany and her dog Tad, I’m using an online training journal.  Tiffany and I share the journal on Google Docs.  Daily, or at least every other day, she adds an update on her progress with Tad.  I respond with feedback, and sometimes notes on how we can make his behavior-change plan more efficient and more effective.

The journal really helps all of us involved.  It keeps Tiffany thinking about our training plan every day.  She observes Tad more keenly and works with him more regularly, because she knows I’m expecting journal updates.  The journal also helps Tiffany reflect on her own progress with Tad, because she has to take moment to stop and record her thoughts.  Writing in the journal is a planned “pause and take a deep breath” moment.

As a behavior consultant, I benefit a great deal from the online training journal.  There are several ways a behavior change plan can get slowed down or derailed altogether.  One is poor execution.  Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t about beating up the client.  Tiffany, as an example, is an extremely committed and intelligent person.  However, two weeks will have passed before our next appointment (even a week would have been a long time).  Much of the material she learned to help Tad is detailed and technical.  Mistakes happen.  It’s better to catch those along the way than two weeks down the line.  The online journal is very helpful with that.  As her coach, I can help her catch execution errors within a matter of hours rather than weeks.  Of course, there are occasionally problems with the training plan itself.  If an issue comes up on the training journal highlighting an error I’ve made educating the client, I want to be able to fix that immediately.

Tad benefits the most.  Two species are learning new information at once throughout this process.   One of the tricky parts of behavior cases like this is that both the human and the dog are putting brand new skills into action as they are learning them.  That can set both the dog and the person up for some added stress and possible mistakes.  For Tad’s benefit, it’s a good idea to have at least two human brains collaborating on his behavior-change plan daily.  Again, that’s where the online journal plays a key role.

Of course the journal is not a replacement for regular phone and email check-ins.  I do those with my clients as well, and that includes Tiffany.  The journal is definitely a more-is-better addition to the client-coach relationship.  We have two learners from two species taking in brand new information.  Add to that, in some of these cases the stakes are pretty high.  I’d rather not leave anything to chance.  And if everything is going well, then excellent; checking in is still worthwhile.  If nothing else, the online journal is a great way to remind Tiffany and I that we are both involved in helping Tad and that neither of us is walking this path alone.