The Case of the Whining Greyhound

Michael Baugh CPDT-KA, CDBC

(from all things dog blog):

I have a situation I’d like to submit for the Ask a Trainer posts. My dog, Desmond, whines nearly all night long.

He’s sleeps in our bedroom, in his own large dog bed, right next to our bed. He has a blanket and a pillow, too. When it’s bedtime, he starts out fine, sleeping away no problem, but a few hours later, he starts whining and doesn’t stop.

At first, we were getting up to see what was wrong. We tried taking him out to the yard to go to the bathroom, but that’s never it. We’ve also tried simply ignoring him to make him stop, but that works only some of the time–and only after quite a while of him whining 45+ minutes. The only thing that makes him stop is when we pet him for a little while and/or recover him with his blanket. Even then, he sleeps for only a few hours and then starts whining again. We’ve also tried a nightlight, but it didn’t change anything.

Sometimes on weekends we let him sleep in our bed withus, and then he almost never whines. We don’t want him in our bed on a regular basis.

What’s his problem? Is he cold? Does he miss us? Is he scared? Is he just not tired enough (He goes out for a 30-minute walk/run every morning and we try to take him out for another 30 minutes after work but sometimes it doesn’t happen. We also play with him in the yard/house.)?

He’s 18 months old. Greyhound mix. We’ve had him almost 6 months. He’s done this almost the entire 6 months! We’re exhausted. Please help us!

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Dear Greyhound owner:

You present an interesting case, and a perfect one for helping us all understand how behavior works.

First, rule out any medical causes. As it turns out, most of the cases I handle don’t have medical causation. Nevertheless, we always want to make sure the dog isn’t in any discomfort or pain.

Second, identify the behavior you want to change. This may seem like a no-brainer, but in some cases it takes a bit of thought. My guess is that in Desmond’s case you want to change the whining behavior. Keep in mind behavior is an action, something your dog is doing. Waking up and whining.

(Read More)

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.

307041_220341031359673_157397620987348_653800_1263080296_n — 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.

Something to Chew On

Michael Baugh CPDT-KA, CDBC

Dogs chew. It’s not just a puppy thing either. Dogs actually chew throughout their lifetime. It helps pass the time, keep their teeth clean and diffuse stress. More than that, it appears to be fun and satisfying for most dogs.

A lot of folks ask, “How do I get my dog to stop chewing?” We should probably ask a different question. Perhaps, “can I teach my dog to chew something else other than my stuff?” Now we’re on to something. The idea is to teach your dog to chew this and not that. Here’s a straightforward two-step process.

Step one: limit choices. Make it more difficult, if not impossible, for our dog to make the wrong choice. If your dog is chewing furniture, keep him away from his target. If he’s tearing up clothes, make sure all the clothes are out of reach. Woodwork? Safely confine and carefully supervise your dog. Some trainers call this management. I call it good common sense. Don’t set your dog up to lose time and time again. The truth is your dog doesn’t live by a moral compass. There is no right or wrong; there is only available or non-available. Make the wrong choices hard to find.

Step two: make it easy to make right choices. Give your dog chewing options which are both allowed and better than the other options (like furniture). I’m a huge fan of fully packed Kong Toys. Don’t just smear peanut butter in there with a measly treat. Load that bad boy up with a meal. Then revel in watching your dog solve the puzzle of unpacking it. Of course, there are tons of other chewing options. My dogs love elk antlers. Stella, in particular, really enjoys cardboard paper towel rolls. Of course, I give these to her and we always supervise chewing. Avoid putting out too many choices for chewing. Remember, we want to make the choices easy. A room full of toys and chew sticks doesn’t make for easy choosing. Everything looks like a chew toy in that setting, and then we’re back to square one.

Changing your dog’s behavior is all about making smart changes in the environment. Left to their own devices dogs will do the best they can, but they won’t always make the right choices. With just a little help from us, they can win every time. Make it harder for them to chew on the stuff we don’t want them to chew on. Make it easy and rewarding to chew on the right stuff. Keep that up for a few months and watch what happens. You’ll be so happy watching your dog chew up something you gave him that you’ll wonder why you ever wanted to make him stop.

Originally published on the Houston Pet Talk blog.