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4/29/2019 0 Comments

ABCs of Behavior

There are two types of basic conditioning in behavior. Today, we are going to talk about the Operant Style. The idea of reinforcing or punishing behavior. Let's break it down to simplify it. Without this knowledge, you will always get stuck in trying to change behavior.

aka the Trigger

What precedes the behavior happening? What triggers it?

The Behavior

What is the behavior you're trying to work with or address?

aka Reward/Reinforcement or Punishment

What is the reinforcement?
What's the reaction to the behavior, from you or the environment?

Every behavior has a preceding trigger and a consequence that either increases or decreases the chance of that behavior happening again. If the consequence is reinforcing to the dog, it will likely happen again. If the dog doesn't like the consequence or something they were enjoying is removed, the behavior will be less likely to happen in the future.

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4/22/2019 0 Comments

How my experience working at a vet's office helps you!

Hey guys. Listen. There is so much info out there about Fear Free vet care and in fact, I am a Fear Free Certified Trainer and a massive supporter of the program but that's not where I'm speaking from today. Today I'm speaking from my own 8+ years of experience working in the vet field part-time.

Click to Learn More!

There is a delicate balance here between allowing the Veterinarian and Technicians perform their job in a timely and safe manner and using skills learned at home to make the visit less stressful. First, I encourage you to find a veterinary practice that is open to these fear free type methods, officially Fear Free Certified or not!

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11/18/2016 1 Comment

Puppy Socialization: Why and How

Puppy Socialization is a window of
opportunity and when it shuts,
be sure it doesn't slam!

Puppy Socialization

What does it mean to socialize your puppy and why is it so important?

Here's the nitty gritty of socialization. The first 8 weeks are on the breeder. Part of the breeder's responsibility is not only to medically and physically care for mom and pups but also to make sure the pups get a good solid start on their socialization. That being said, there is a limit to this. Until the pups have their first round of vaccines, it can be risky to get the pups out and about beyond the backyard. The hope is that a good breeder will bring people in, allow the pups to meet vaccinated, healthy and behaviorally appropriate dogs. These are all the reasons why, if you're going the route of getting a purebred dog through a breeder, you really need to do your research.

From 8-12 weeks old, the puppies are going through a fear imprinting period where good, positive experiences are essential. If you want your puppy to be good with people as an adult, you have to put effort into socializing him to as many people as you can during the 8-12 week old period.
Ideally, your puppy should meet 100 different people by 12 weeks old. It's not as hard as you think - people will swarm your pup when you go out. Go to a mall, a sports game, downtown.
Now here's the story there - socialization doesn't mean just throwing your dog into the arms of new people. It means creating positive experiences with those people. For some puppies, it's a no-brainer. People mean attention and therefore people are great! For others, people can be really scary so those puppies need more distance and treats to associate with the presence of people. If people mean the presentation of good things, you win! WHENEVER your puppy is around kids, you should be treating him. As much as your puppy may love people, kids are very often scary. They run, they scream, they get in the puppy's face, they pull on ears, tails, they tug the puppy around by it's collar... they can be very concerning very quickly. Additionally, puppies like to nibble fingers, grab pants, jump, etc so if you can redirect with food , it's a win-win!

If you want your puppy to be good with dogs, same deal but also a little more complicated. While you do want to allow your puppy to socialize with dogs of all sizes and shapes, you also have to be a little more careful about health and the behavior of the other dogs. As important at socialization is at this early age, it's also essential that we protect our pups from traumatic experiences because they will hold onto them for life. During this critical period of socialization, puppies also go through a fear imprinting period where any scary experience sticks with them, more so than that same experience outside of the fear imprinting stage. So if your pup gets bitten by another dog, he will remember that experience and may either generalize fear and caution to all dogs going forward or to dog with similar traits, or in similar circumstances to the scary event (ie if your puppy was on leash, she may become scared of other dogs when he's on leash, but be okay when off leash)

Experiences: Let's talk about the vet's office. Your puppy needs many vaccines during their first few months with you and the experience they have at the vet's office can sometimes make or break their future behavior both at the vet's office and with handling in general. Now, to be honest, there are just some dogs who are way more sensitive to touch and handling naturally. But most of it is learned both from his experiences with handling up to this point and also by the way the vet and techs approach and handle the puppy.

NEVER hesitate to bring your puppy to the vet just to socialize with the scale, the techs, and the waiting room. Any vet who doesn't support that... well... look for another.

Bring high value treats to the vaccine appointment. Don't rely on your vet to provide the treats. Some veterinary offices will have good ones, like spray cheese, but many won't and unless you have a pup with a Lab-like appetite, many puppies are too overwhelmed at the vet's office to take treats that are unfamiliar. So familiarize your puppy with a high value treat in a less stimulating environment. Use the cheese, chicken, turkey, ham, etc as a socialization treat when out in other public venues or when your puppy meets anyone new and then bring those beloved treats with you. When the vet comes in the room, treat your pup. This helps make them quick associations with the vet. Ask your vet if your puppy can get treats during vaccines! Don't be shy. Advocate for your pup

Frequently Asked Questions

I thought I wasn't supposed to take my puppy anywhere until he's fully vaccinated. So how can I socialize?
The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) has released a statement discussing the importance of early puppy socialization, preferably before the puppy reaches 12 to 16 weeks old. The AVSAB encourages owners to take their pets to puppy classes as early as possible, even before puppies have completed their full vaccination series.( http://AVSABonline.org/)

Basically, the risk of an under socialized dog having a low quality or shortened life span far outweighs the risk of pup who isn't fully vaccinated to pick up disease. Don't take your puppy to places where a lot of unknown vaccination status dogs congregate until your dog is fully vaccinated. Take your puppy to a pet store but put him in the cart. Take your pup to the park in a wagon. Make sense?

What if my puppy is fearful of people and runs away?
Then it's time to take the socialization on as a full-time job. Break out the really high value treats. Treat your puppy just for existing in the presence of new people. Don't force interaction. Find the distance at which your puppy is comfortable and reinforce the bravery

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8/4/2016 1 Comment

Day Training with Annie: Leash Reactivity

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4/6/2016 0 Comments

Access my older blog

I used to blog via "Blogger"
You can access my older posts there - back before kids!
http://missbehaviornh.blogspot.com/

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4/6/2016 1 Comment

Kids and Dogs... The realities of raising them together

Have you ever thought of your dogs as your kids? Or maybe you brought home a puppy and are cursing yourself, thinking it's like having a baby all over again and another baby wasn't in the plans. Well, me too.

Now, don't get me wrong - if you had asked me pre-kids whether I thought getting a dog would be like having another kid, I would've said ABSOLUTELY. Ask me now and I'll even more enthusiastically say ABSOLUTELY!!
Gosh. having dogs and young kids is hard work!

I have a daughter who is just about 4 going on 16. She's smart, (often too smart for me), driven, emotional, sensitive, eager to please, driven, stubborn. A border collie of sorts. Then I have a 20 month old. He's loud, always moving, equally stubborn, slow to warm up, clumsy, attention seeking, clingy, smart. A German Shepherd, by my classification. And then, lets see - there's Cora, who is 5. She really is a dog. She hates men, barks at trucks, likes to chase squirrels, but she's great on leash, and really great with other dogs. There's Felix. He's 9, going on 2. He is food driven to an aggressive degree if he weren't kept in check. He pees on everything, has a sensitive stomach, is sensitive to the touch, will bark at strangers and protect the house if I'm not home and then will love on them and shed all over them when I bring them in. Oh, and he's defensive around new dogs until he realizes they're not all like his older "brother". That brings us to Fletcher. He is 10, also going on about 4. He knows all kinds of tricks, is excessively smart, but is a bully to other dogs. Not aggressive, just a bully. He will stand his ground, will posture as necessary and doesn't back down. He'll get into a fight if the other dog also wants to stand his ground but has GREAT bite inhibition (the wonderful trait that separates dogs from the bully category to the vicious killer category when they scare with their teeth vs maul with their teeth). Finally, last but not least. There's Milo. He's a cat. He will find food anywhere, acts like a dog, doesn't learn quickly (I can't tell you how many times ive climbed into bed on TOP of him just for him to go sprinting out).

Phew. I'm exhausted just mentioning everyone. I love my animals.. All of them, I do. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. But my goodness, having dogs and kids in the same household. Management skills need to be top notch! And my kids and dogs are great together. They all love my kids. My kids were taught from day one not to steal toys or bones from them, not to climb on them, not to pull tails, etc etc. My son is in the stage now of thinking any attention is funny and often having to learn things the hard way. But since crawling on or using my dogs as a step stool is not an option, no matter how much they seem to "not mind", guess what? He gets a lot of time outs, and so do the dogs. They still go in their crates for down time, mine and theirs.

Fletcher has recently been randomly taking off to explore the back woods of where we're staying, so guess who gets a long line when going outside again? Until I can work on the behavior, management. I can't go get him when it's just the kids and me at home, and rather than allowing him to scour the neighbors yards for some doggy friends... Leash. Sorry, kid. 10 years old and back on the leash like when he was a teenager. Hey, my dogs aren't perfect. Almost half their life or more, they've had to share with infants, babies, toddlers, a preschooler. And these are dogs that were here first, with a mild (Cora) to moderate amount of time spent training them. And that's with me knowing what to do, knowing how to read them, knowing how to respond to them. I'm not the average dog owner.

Management is an ESSENTIAL skill with all dogs because your dog, too, will have strengths and weaknesses. Maybe he's really great on leash but has a really poor recall because you live in an area where it's just not safe to practice off-leash training. I'm not all high and mighty and going to tell you that you'll be able to do it all. Raise kids, have a perfectly behaved dog. That's a hobby. Train what you can and what you need to, manage the rest. Maybe your days will get less hectic and you can do more of the former and will need less of the latter. But maybe not. Maybe you want your dog to clean up your kids crumbs under the table but don't want a dog who begs. Well.......you have 3 options. He can beg (granted, he can be trained to lay down and not be drooling in your lap) and get the food. He can learn not to beg and never get the food, or he can be crated, gated, MANAGED and then given clean up duty. That's life. Life with kids and dogs? It's HARD!

Anyways, that's my spiel for today. Hang in there with me!

www.familypaws.com

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YOUR CART

C.A.R.E Focused Education for Dogs & Their People

ABCs of Behavior

How my experience working at a vet's office helps you!

Puppy Socialization: Why and How

Puppy Socialization is a window of
opportunity and when it shuts,
be sure it doesn't slam!

Frequently Asked Questions

Day Training with Annie: Leash Reactivity

Access my older blog

I used to blog via "Blogger"
You can access my older posts there - back before kids!
http://missbehaviornh.blogspot.com/

Kids and Dogs... The realities of raising them together

Miss Behavior

Archives

Categories

YOUR CART

C.A.R.E Focused Education for Dogs & Their People

ABCs of Behavior

How my experience working at a vet's office helps you!

Puppy Socialization: Why and How

Puppy Socialization is a window of opportunity and when it shuts,​be sure it doesn't slam!

Frequently Asked Questions

Day Training with Annie: Leash Reactivity

Access my older blog

I used to blog via "Blogger"You can access my older posts there - back before kids!http://missbehaviornh.blogspot.com/

Kids and Dogs... The realities of raising them together

Miss Behavior

Archives

Categories

Puppy Socialization is a window of
opportunity and when it shuts,
be sure it doesn't slam!

I used to blog via "Blogger"
You can access my older posts there - back before kids!
http://missbehaviornh.blogspot.com/