Tuesday, November 20, 2012
how to teach a dog not to bite you when giving treats
Duane is sort of scared to give treats to Fifi and Hershey. (No problem with Tuffy and Coco). The problem is that they get so excited with the treat that they just chomp at the treat not thinking if you finger is in the way. [He's sort of scared with Kimo too, but not because he gets excited eating. But he's seen how Kimo transforms when he gets excited.]
I admit Hershey bit my finger one time in his excitement to get to the food. So I yelled ouch and waited longer for him to calm down more. And he's more careful/cautious now.
Here's the way I do it. First, you have to assume that the dog does not want to bite you, but wants to eat the treat.
So I hold the treat between the thumb and my finger with the treat sticking out a little way. Then have to dog wait and move the hand slowly to the dog with my knuckles toward the dog. I hold my hand until the dog calms and waits then I slowly turn my fist to present the treat to the dog. The dog has to pull out the edge of the treat with his teeth without biting my hand.
Alternately, with the treat between my thumb and forefinger, I put my fingers into the dog's mouth. So, since the dog doesn't want to bite your fingers, the dog has to carefully nibble on the treat without biting your fingers.
I admit Hershey bit my finger one time in his excitement to get to the food. So I yelled ouch and waited longer for him to calm down more. And he's more careful/cautious now.
***
I guess I just kind of came up with this on my own. Probably evolved from having the dogs tug on the jerky to pull it out of my hand. Sort of a tug game.
Here's a different (more wimpy) method. The dog in this post, Cosmo, reminds me of Kimo especially with his crazed look.
Why do all these American Eskimo/Japanese spitz have similar names? Cosmo has the K sound at the beginning and the mo at the end. Kuma was an American Eskimo on Dog Whisperer. Cotton (another dog whisperer case) has the K sound. Hoku (the other Hoku on Puna street) has the K sound (RIP). Chibi, ok that one doesn't quite match.
Protocol for Relaxation
This is Karen Overall's Behaviour Modification Program which uses treats (used as a salary or reward, not as a bribe).
This program is the foundation for all other behavior modification programs. Its purpose is to teach the dog to sit and stay while relaxing in a variety of circumstances. The circumstances change from very reassuring ones with you present to potentially more stressful ones when you are absent.
The goals of the program are to teach the dog to relax, to defer to you, to enjoy earning a salary for an appropriate, desirable behavior, and to develop, as a foundation, a pattern of behaviors that allow the dog to cooperate with future behavior modification (generally desensitization and counter conditioning). This protocol acts as a foundation for teaching the dog context-specific appropriate behavior. The focus is to teach the dog to rely on you for all the cues as to the appropriateness of its behavior so that it can then learn not to react inappropriately.
The Full Protocol
***
Karen Overall is a vet with a PhD in Zoology (awarded for research focusing on mating systems and egg physiology of a protected lizard -- I guess you gotta get it for something).
More articles from Karen Overall.
She writes about the myth of dominance. And says to embrace deference rather than dominance. [reminiscent of NILIF] To me, it's the same thing. But maybe not to others. The word dominance seems to have a stigma attached to it (if you're in the "modern" age) and can lead to abusive behavior.
[via p4r]
This program is the foundation for all other behavior modification programs. Its purpose is to teach the dog to sit and stay while relaxing in a variety of circumstances. The circumstances change from very reassuring ones with you present to potentially more stressful ones when you are absent.
The goals of the program are to teach the dog to relax, to defer to you, to enjoy earning a salary for an appropriate, desirable behavior, and to develop, as a foundation, a pattern of behaviors that allow the dog to cooperate with future behavior modification (generally desensitization and counter conditioning). This protocol acts as a foundation for teaching the dog context-specific appropriate behavior. The focus is to teach the dog to rely on you for all the cues as to the appropriateness of its behavior so that it can then learn not to react inappropriately.
The Full Protocol
***
Karen Overall is a vet with a PhD in Zoology (awarded for research focusing on mating systems and egg physiology of a protected lizard -- I guess you gotta get it for something).
More articles from Karen Overall.
She writes about the myth of dominance. And says to embrace deference rather than dominance. [reminiscent of NILIF] To me, it's the same thing. But maybe not to others. The word dominance seems to have a stigma attached to it (if you're in the "modern" age) and can lead to abusive behavior.
[via p4r]
Friday, November 9, 2012
Talk Dog Hawaii
Well, believe it or not, there’s a guaranteed way to make your dog stop barking, and it’s totally humane.
First you have to understand why dogs bark, their psychology, and ultimately learn to become the pack leader.
“Barking is the No. 1 problem people come to me for,” says master dog behavior therapist Scott Argus of Talk Dog Hawaii. “There are dogs that will only bark when somebody walks by the house, and they bark for 30 seconds and stop; there are dogs that bark all day long; and then there are all the dogs in between.”
He says the two primary reasons a dog barks are fear and separation anxiety. But both stem from the dog thinking it’s the pack leader.
“A dog’s DNA is 99.8 percent identical to the gray wolf,” he explains, “and the importance there is the gray wolf is a classic pack animal – they work together and live together as an extremely tight-knit family. Their very survival in their minds depends on having a good pack leader. It’s literally life and death.
“So what happens is you bring a dog into your home, and after a couple of days, she says, OK, I’m a member of a new pack. I eat here and I sleep here. If I want to survive, I have to figure out who the pack leader is.
“Well, you behave like a human, and she thinks, uhoh, there’s no pack leader here, we’re all gonna die. So the dogs, by default, say if nobody else is going to do it, I will.”
As the leader of the pack, their No. 1 job is security, which explains the barking. They hear something outside and their responsibility is to warn the pack.
With separation anxiety, it’s not about feeling lonely, bored or abandoned, but rather about safety. “She’s barking because a member of the pack is wandering off, so the pack is no longer safe,” explains Argus. “I can’t be out there with you to guard you, and you’re not here to protect us if we get attacked, so by splitting up the pack, I only have two choices: I either have to get out and join you, or you have to come back and join me so we’re all together again.
“So that barking is the most typical response, ‘come back, come back, come back,’ and she’ll do it all day long. You can tell her not to, and she’ll look at you and say, ‘Are you crazy? We’re going to die. You have to come back,’ and she’s certain she’s right.”
So how do you become the pack leader? Well, in the eyes of the pack, the leader is the fastest, most competent and reliable person in the pack. To achieve this, the key word is anticipate.
“Anticipate what they’re going to do, correct them as they’re about to do it or praise them if they’re doing something right, and they go, wow, you read my mind, you’re a superhuman pack leader,” says Argus.
“What impresses a dog is your timing. And the solution is to convince them they are no longer responsible for the security of the pack. They’re responsible instead for paying attention to the pack leader.
“And we teach you how to behave like the leader of the pack, to talk dog so your dog understands what you’re saying (by using sounds and tones of voice), and reward them by saying yes (rather than with treats).”
[Cesar-bashers are rolling their eyes. Doesn't everybody know that pack theory has been disproven?]
Dog owners do need to be the leader of their home, not because the dog will become aggressive and take over but because these eternal puppy-like dogs need boundaries and a good parent.
Dog owners need to be good parents to their dogs just like they do for their children. Spoiled children with no rules and parents that don’t set limits create the same kind of mayhem. Dogs have to learn good behaviors and manners and their parents need to instill and make them follow rules.
It doesn’t really matter if you want to think of yourself as Alpha or parent, what does matter is that you set rules.
[so, sort of the same thing]
First you have to understand why dogs bark, their psychology, and ultimately learn to become the pack leader.
“Barking is the No. 1 problem people come to me for,” says master dog behavior therapist Scott Argus of Talk Dog Hawaii. “There are dogs that will only bark when somebody walks by the house, and they bark for 30 seconds and stop; there are dogs that bark all day long; and then there are all the dogs in between.”
He says the two primary reasons a dog barks are fear and separation anxiety. But both stem from the dog thinking it’s the pack leader.
“A dog’s DNA is 99.8 percent identical to the gray wolf,” he explains, “and the importance there is the gray wolf is a classic pack animal – they work together and live together as an extremely tight-knit family. Their very survival in their minds depends on having a good pack leader. It’s literally life and death.
“So what happens is you bring a dog into your home, and after a couple of days, she says, OK, I’m a member of a new pack. I eat here and I sleep here. If I want to survive, I have to figure out who the pack leader is.
“Well, you behave like a human, and she thinks, uhoh, there’s no pack leader here, we’re all gonna die. So the dogs, by default, say if nobody else is going to do it, I will.”
As the leader of the pack, their No. 1 job is security, which explains the barking. They hear something outside and their responsibility is to warn the pack.
With separation anxiety, it’s not about feeling lonely, bored or abandoned, but rather about safety. “She’s barking because a member of the pack is wandering off, so the pack is no longer safe,” explains Argus. “I can’t be out there with you to guard you, and you’re not here to protect us if we get attacked, so by splitting up the pack, I only have two choices: I either have to get out and join you, or you have to come back and join me so we’re all together again.
“So that barking is the most typical response, ‘come back, come back, come back,’ and she’ll do it all day long. You can tell her not to, and she’ll look at you and say, ‘Are you crazy? We’re going to die. You have to come back,’ and she’s certain she’s right.”
So how do you become the pack leader? Well, in the eyes of the pack, the leader is the fastest, most competent and reliable person in the pack. To achieve this, the key word is anticipate.
“Anticipate what they’re going to do, correct them as they’re about to do it or praise them if they’re doing something right, and they go, wow, you read my mind, you’re a superhuman pack leader,” says Argus.
“What impresses a dog is your timing. And the solution is to convince them they are no longer responsible for the security of the pack. They’re responsible instead for paying attention to the pack leader.
“And we teach you how to behave like the leader of the pack, to talk dog so your dog understands what you’re saying (by using sounds and tones of voice), and reward them by saying yes (rather than with treats).”
[Cesar-bashers are rolling their eyes. Doesn't everybody know that pack theory has been disproven?]
Dog owners do need to be the leader of their home, not because the dog will become aggressive and take over but because these eternal puppy-like dogs need boundaries and a good parent.
Dog owners need to be good parents to their dogs just like they do for their children. Spoiled children with no rules and parents that don’t set limits create the same kind of mayhem. Dogs have to learn good behaviors and manners and their parents need to instill and make them follow rules.
It doesn’t really matter if you want to think of yourself as Alpha or parent, what does matter is that you set rules.
[so, sort of the same thing]
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Kimo gets blessed
Mom called Donna to return her mini-cooler (padded container to keep food hot or cold).
She said she's at the church at the Penny Carnival and that they had spaghetti on sale for $3.50. And also that they were blessing dogs (apparently something new with the new pastor).
I took Tuffy and Fifi out first, but no trick or treaters except for Judy and Ethan (who gave me candy). I guess all the kids were taken elsewhere. After I retrieved them, I see Duane and Coco coming back with Judy and Ethan. Ethan was a little scared of Fifi and Tuffy. Judy too for that matter. Especially Fifi.
We reached the end and Duane decided to walk back with us. On the way back, Koa was loose with Jason. Tuffy wanted to sniff and they were OK.
Then I took mom to the car. I opened the gate and Kimo ran down. I opened the door and he went in.
The parking lot was pretty full. So I double-parked near the entrance (as directed by the attendant).
I took mom up the kitchen where Christie and Popo Wong were. And then to the dining room where Donna was. And bought some spaghetti.
Then I went to look for parking and wound up parking on Bates Street.
I walked Kimo up and he made some poop on the grass/weeds area. There was a guy and a dog at the corner waiting to cross. And we waited as Kimo stopped, apparently not wanting to come to close. Took him up the kitchen and he jumped up on Donna.
Then some lady said they were doing blessings on dogs. So I took Kimo down and warned Pastor Darren that Kimo had a bite history. So he let Kimo smell him. All was pretty good. But after reading the blessing, he went to sprinkle water on Kimo's head and Kimo kind of snapped at his arm coming over his head. But then I had him sit with his back to him. And he seemed OK.
Then I saw Donna Chu. And she remarked Kimo is so different now. And went to pet him with her arm going over his head and he snapped at her too. OK, not so different.
Back to the dining room. Christie and Popo Wong were in the dining room. And Kimo jumped up on Christie.
OK time to go. Christie took home Popo Wong. Donna took home ma. And I took home Kimo.
She said she's at the church at the Penny Carnival and that they had spaghetti on sale for $3.50. And also that they were blessing dogs (apparently something new with the new pastor).
I took Tuffy and Fifi out first, but no trick or treaters except for Judy and Ethan (who gave me candy). I guess all the kids were taken elsewhere. After I retrieved them, I see Duane and Coco coming back with Judy and Ethan. Ethan was a little scared of Fifi and Tuffy. Judy too for that matter. Especially Fifi.
We reached the end and Duane decided to walk back with us. On the way back, Koa was loose with Jason. Tuffy wanted to sniff and they were OK.
Then I took mom to the car. I opened the gate and Kimo ran down. I opened the door and he went in.
The parking lot was pretty full. So I double-parked near the entrance (as directed by the attendant).
I took mom up the kitchen where Christie and Popo Wong were. And then to the dining room where Donna was. And bought some spaghetti.
Then I went to look for parking and wound up parking on Bates Street.
I walked Kimo up and he made some poop on the grass/weeds area. There was a guy and a dog at the corner waiting to cross. And we waited as Kimo stopped, apparently not wanting to come to close. Took him up the kitchen and he jumped up on Donna.
Then some lady said they were doing blessings on dogs. So I took Kimo down and warned Pastor Darren that Kimo had a bite history. So he let Kimo smell him. All was pretty good. But after reading the blessing, he went to sprinkle water on Kimo's head and Kimo kind of snapped at his arm coming over his head. But then I had him sit with his back to him. And he seemed OK.
Then I saw Donna Chu. And she remarked Kimo is so different now. And went to pet him with her arm going over his head and he snapped at her too. OK, not so different.
Back to the dining room. Christie and Popo Wong were in the dining room. And Kimo jumped up on Christie.
OK time to go. Christie took home Popo Wong. Donna took home ma. And I took home Kimo.
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