Canine Minds and Manners

Bringing baby home is an exciting and happy occassion, but if you have a dog it can also be a stressful and anxious time for some new parents and for the unprepared dog. When a new mom or dad is holding their precious little bundle, suddenly in front of them all they see is teeth where they used to see their furry, brown, loveable Fido.

With preparation it need not be stressful and frightening. Fido can learn to be happy with baby and baby can be safe with Fido.  The Dogs and Storks program is a tremendous way to help new parents prepare for living safely with baby and Fido.  The main thing though is being pro-active.  Don’t leave the training and education until the last minute or after the baby is born (though certainly we can help after baby is born, but it will just be a busier time), start preparing as soon as you find out you are pregnant.

Some of the key things to work on are getting a solid sit and down with your dog, especially at a distance, as well as practicing loose leash walking and add in the stroller as well to practice with.

Start getting your dog used to you carrying a baby by carrying a baby sized doll, especially up against your shoulder, this way Fido will learn that sometimes you are carrying something which when carried in a certain way can sometimes look like you have two heads!

Also invest in a DVD or download audio files from the internet of baby sounds that you can start out playing softly in the background and slowly playing the audio louder, making sure the fun times, such as play with you or good treats or perhaps a food dispensing toys stuffed with your dog’s favourite foods come with those baby sounds.  In this way you are desensitizing your dog to the sounds and also if you add play and good treats when the audio is playing you are also making a good association with those sounds for your dog.

Supervising is paramount, your baby should never, ever be left unsupervised with your dog for any reason and remember to make absolutely sure that the baby’s bedroom door is closed when the baby is in there.  Dogs can make a mistake and most of the time that is exactly what the event is that involves a dog and a baby, just a mistake borne out of possibly excitement, fear, anxiety or stress but nonetheless still damaging, don’t take that risk, don’t place your wonderful family dog in the position of making a mistake.

Have a plan, what will Fido be doing when you are changing the baby, feeding the baby, when you want to take a shower?  The educated and supervised use of a tether at a safe distance while Fido is engaged in a yummy food filled Kong can make for a happy, stress free, safe feeding time for mom and baby that includes Fido.

Getting your dog used to his crate, so that it becomes a happy, safe place for him is another great strategy so that you can use the crate at times when you can’t supervise.  A word of caution here though, the dog should not be crated for long periods of time just to get him out of the way.  He still needs to be a part of the family and still needs mental stimulation and physical exercise.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help with your dog, just ensure that everyone knows your rules surrounding the dog so they can be consistent and make sure that they are on the same page with respect to humane training.  It is even more important for a dog to be treated humanely and with positive training when the animal will be living with children.

You can also engage the services of a dog walker or doggie daycare for some additional assistance in exercising and supervising your dog, but again, use caution with what type of methods are being used with respect to your dog and make sure you get references.  We can recommend some excellent daycares and dog walkers if you would like to look into either of these services.

We can help you set up your home, manage and train your dog and be prepared so that you, your new baby and your dog can live happily and safely.

Contact krose@shaw.ca to set up your Dogs’s and Storks private session or group seminar today.

I spoke a few articles back about pathway etiquette, today I’d like to address off leash parks thing we need to be aware of and teach our dogs in order to be safe in that environment.

Living in Calgary provides us with all the amenities of the city while still maintaining incredible access to green space and nature.  Many of these natural environments are places where people can take their dogs for some exercise and socialization with other dogs and people.

Many off leash parks are extremely busy at or shortly after the supper hour and on weekends, especially in the morning.  My advice first and foremost is avoid these areas at the peak times.  More often than not the number of dogs in the park far exceeds a safe number and the majority of the dogs are not being properly supervised and have either no training at all or have not had training in incrementally distracting environments in order to prepare the dog for appropriate responses in the highly distracting off leash park environment.  This is a recipe for disaster and I have many clients who took their “Lassie” into the off leash park and came out with “Cujo” due to a 20 second tragic interaction in the off leash park.

Choose instead times that are non peak hours and choose the lesser known parks.

Additionally, you absolutely must be supervising your dog at all times.  It is not appropriate to be deep in conversation or texting while your dog runs around terrorizing other park users. Be with your dog, interact with him, call him back to you and then reward him for coming to you by sending him back to play.

Ensure you have an excellent recall by practicing in incrementally increasing distractions and be highly rewarding to your dog when he recalls.  Behaviours that are reinforced in a positive manner, will be repeated.

Make sure your dog is getting DAILY physical and mental exercise, not just once a week at the off leash park.

Avoid bringing a toy with you, especially a ball, unless you are in an area where you will encounter very few, if any other dogs.  Even if your dog is great with sharing toys, the other dogs you meet may not be.

Unleash your dog immediately upon entering the park and preferrably before other dogs approach.  A dog on leash is very vulnerable, he has no flight option while on leash and he knows it.  This can be cause for leash aggression if the dogs feels he has no other option.  Using a punishing, leash correction for leash aggression is paramount to punishing your child harshy for being afraid of a stranger.  Do not walk your dog on leash in an off leash park, it is not fair to your dog on so many levels and can create issues that will be devastating. If you feel you need to have your dog on leash because he won’t come back when called, then the off leash park is not a reasonable option for you and your dog at this point in your dog’s life.  This is where the pathways on leash might be a better option for you.

For non doggie people, please don’t use a specifically designated off leash park for cycling and a play area for your children.  While all dogs should be under control and well behaved, they are still dogs and I find it so strange that we ask and expect more of dogs than we do of our children and of ourselves when it comes to controlled behaviour and good manners.  It is highly likely that you will be chased if you cycle through the off leash park because most people’s dogs while very well behaved are still dogs and so they will chase, it is instinctual and they are probably already in chase mode as they have been chasing other dogs in the park. To a dog chasing is chasing and it’s fun.  There are lots of other places for people to cycle and children to play, why use the off leash park?

Let’s be courteous to one another and our dogs as well as being responsible by training, supervising and managing our dogs as well as properly exercising them physically and mentally and for non dog owers by using other areas besides the designated off leash dog parks for pursuit of activities such as cycling and play for children and we can keep everyone safe and happy.

Calgarians are privy to miles and miles of pathways and beautiful parks and many of us choose to use these areas to exercise our dogs.  This is a wonderful way to spend time in the outdoors and with your canine friend.  Sometimes however, dog owners come in conflict with non-dog owners who are also using the pathways.  Here are few tips to keep things positive for all path users:

Keep your dog leash, not longer than 2 metres, at all times when in an area not designated at offleash by The City of Calgary, even if he is very well behaved and will stick to you like glue.  You just never know when that crafty rabbit, or very enticing person will be a distraction for your dog.

This should go without saying, but please pick up after your dog and more than that, after picking up please deposit your packages in the appropriate recepticles.  I know that most people have full intention of picking up their full bags on the way back, but I also know that many people simply forget and so the bags sit there until another good citizen picks them up or The City of Calgary employees, or worse they break open and cause a mess.

When other people with or without children, strollers and/or dogs are approaching you, a great idea is to move off of the path in a curved motion, let them go have a sniff as you come off the path or move off of the path and have your dog sit and focus on you, but remember to reward them for doing this.  It’s pretty hard to focus on one person when all this other fun stuff and distraction is happening, so reward your dog for doing it.  I recommend this because some people a very uncomfortable with dogs and so to be kind to them moving away is a good idea.  They may also in their discomfort, tense up or become vocal unintentionally, causing your dog to be uncomfortable and perhaps acting in a way he normally would not have done, had the person not tensed up.

Additionally, people with small children probably don’t want a strange dog poking it’s nose into their strollers.

Lastly, moving off of the path when approaching another dog especially in a curve, creates the more natural way of dogs approaching one another, rather than straight on.  This will make both dogs more comfortable and really dogs do not need to be meeting one another on leash in any event.  It is much better that they meet off leash, in play dates, daycares or even in off leash parks at non busy times.

In the City of Calgary, dogs must not be left tethered while unattended.  Many people leave their dogs tethered outside stores while they run in to do some quick shopping. This dangerous for your dog and for people who may approach your dog.  Even friendly, well socialized dogs, when left alone and tethered can quickly become anxious and fearful, a perfect storm for a potential bite.  Your dog could get loose and run off.  These are just a few reasons why it is not a good idea to tether, but again, it is also in violation of City Bylaws.

Have fun on the pathways, enjoy our beautiful city, but be safe, be aware, take care of your dog and look out for the safety and comfort of other path users.

As a part of basic doggie manners I teach all my clients doggie and human the
importance of the Life Is Infinitely Rewarding program.

On this program the dog sits (or whatever other behaviour you like, I recommend asking for a variety of behaviours, not just the same one over and over again )in exchange for a reward, resource, valuable article whatever you want to call it.  I look that this as being the dog saying “please” for his dinner, to go outside, to get his leash on, for a cookie, to play a game like retrieve or tug.  It’s just polite doggie manners basically and it is a wonderful way to teach arousal control and patience, not to mention safety for both people and dogs.  I do not look at this as a matter of leadership, I look at it as polite behaviours in my dogs.  They do the behaviour and they are paid with the reinforcement of what they find to be valuable, the cookie, dinner, access to outdoors.

One of the most valuable things to teach a dog within the Life Is Infinitely Rewarding program is to “Wait” at an open door until released by a verbal cue.

This from a politeness point of view alone should be enough to want to teach it, but let me make it a little more enticing for you.  How about safety, yours
and the dogs’?

I have four dogs and going for a walk it a highly valued life reward for them (as it is for most dogs but with four, large canine pals, well that’s 16 legs, plus mine and a combined weight at the door of over 300 lbs not including mine, wanting to get out into the great beyond).  So it’s dangerous for me in a
very big way.

My front door leads right into our street (doesn’t yours), which means that any dogs who plough past me through the door will go right out onto the road
(albeit not a busy one, but it only takes one car right).  So it’s dangerous for the dogs.

To teach the “Wait”, leash your dog (one at a time if you have more than one dog, kennel the other dogs) and go to the door.  Saying nothing at all, wait for your dog to default to a sit, all you need to do is wait which will be difficult for you as being human we just love to talk, but don’t, just be silent and wait. Most dogs have learned at a very early age that sitting gets them access to things that they want, so the majority of dogs will default to a sit, if you just say nothing.  The reason that I like the dog to actually defaulting to a sit, instead of being told what to do all the time, is the dog begins to actually think and then choose to perform behaviours and when this happens the learning accelerates.

When the dog sits (ignore any and all other behaviour) move your hand to the door knob, your dog will likely get up, so take your hand away from the door knob and again wait for his sit.

When your dog sits, your hand goes to the door knob, remove your hand every time the dog breaks his sit.  Once you are able to put your hand on the knob, trying opening the door a crack.  Your dog will probably get up again from sitting, close the door and wait for the sit again.

Repeat over and over again, opening the door only a crack at first so you can easily close it if the dog breaks the sit and you won’t catch Fido’s nose or paw in the door.

The object is to get the door all the way open and then use your release cue to allow the dog out of the sit and through the door way.

Your release cue is the cue/phrase that you use to let your dog know he is back on his own time.  For example, I ask my dog for a sit, she sits, I reinforce her for the sit and then I release her from her sit by saying All Done.  My guys have all been taught a formal stay but they also know that when asked for a sit or lay down, they stay in the requested position until I say “all done”.  Your cue could be “all done”, “ok”, “that’ll do” or “banana cream pie”, dogs don’t speak English so you can use what you like as a release cue, just make sure you say it and say it consistently.

It doesn’t matter to your dog or your relationship with your dog, if you go through the door first, the dog does or you go through together, what matters, is that the dog waits to go through the door until you give the release cue.

Now you and your dog’s are safe, plus they are well mannered and calm.