Behavior modification Archives • Three Dogs Training

A little D.A.P.’ll do ‘ya.

Using D.A.P. can really help in addressing common, low-level behavior issues in dogs – especially when used with positive reinforcement.

It comes up frequently during my behavioral consultations and I’ve mentioned it before here on the blog, but I can’t say enough good things about D.A.P. (Dog Appeasing Pheromone).

I won’t say that it’s the Holy Grail of resolving commonplace behavior problems but it’s no sippy cup, either.

Natural appeasing pheromones are produced by lactating females shortly after birthing a litter and give the young puppies a feeling of well-being and security when they’re near mom.

D.A.P. works by mimicking those natural pheromones and helps to give adult dogs a similar sense of calm and relaxation to what they would have felt as nursing puppies.

Many clinical trials of D.A.P. both in home and shelter situations have shown that it can help as a relaxing treatment when used in conjunction with positive reinforcement desensitizing and counter-conditioning (DS/CC). My own anecdotal experience in the field has shown the same.

It really can help and – best of all – doesn’t have any of the negative side effects seen in many anti-anxiety pharmaceuticals such as deinhibition and others.

Additionally, D.A.P. can be used in concert with many psycho-pharmaceuticals (but please double-check with your veterinary behaviorist first.)

Keep in mind that D.A.P.’s effects are not dramatic and most folks know it’s working when the collar expires and the anxious behaviors return or the diffuser runs out and they wonder why the dog is pacing again – then they check the diffuser and experience a “D’oh!” moment. It is designed to simply take the edge off gently and inconspicuously. This allows us to better do our DS/CC work with your dog.

We can simply stop without the step-downs necessary with many anti-anxiety medications.

If your dog is a re-homed dog new to your home this can help them settle in faster. If your dog is not fully comfortable with everyone in their home this can help them be a bit more at ease. And, if it doesn’t work for your dog we can simply stop without the step-downs necessary with many anti-anxiety medications.

For our part, at home we plug in the D.A.P. diffuser. Porthos is a pretty anxious dog and when he’s stressed it affects his diabetes so it is just a precaution to keep him on an even keel.

D.A.P.’s not meant to address out-of-control anxiety issues and like psycho-pharmaceuticals it needs to be used in conjunction with behavior modification. So, if you’ve got a dog that exhibits low-level, occasional fears and anxiety related issues you might want to give a D.A.P. diffuser or D.A.P. collar more than just a look while you are contacting a behavioral professional.

Alpha. You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

Alpha is the most misused word in dog training and often leads to abuse. Here’s the correct definition of the word.

One of the most misused terms in all of dog training is the term Alpha. I hear this term used over and over again.

Alpha is a scientific term that allows researchers to identify the animal in a social situation who has the most access to the most resources from food to safe sleeping places to reproduction.

Alpha is not about force, aversives, bullying, or dominance.

Here’s a video by Dave Mech (pronounced Meech), the renowned wolf research biologist who coined the wolf “Alpha” reference in his 1970 book The Wolf: Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species, where he discusses how the term is woefully outdated because of subsequent research that proved their original Alpha concept was an unfortunate result of non-optimal study subjects.

It would be much like observing humans in a prison and extrapolating from that that all humans sleep with shivs under the pillows and use cigarettes as currency:

Being the pack leader is about being a parent and not a bully. It’s not about rolling your dog, kicking your dog, poking your dog with a snake-like sound, using shock, pinch or choke collars on them, or using any other aversive tool.

If someone tells you that to be the Alpha in your pack you need to dominate by force or cause pain to your dog, it’s not a position based in behavioral science but is simply their choice.

If you want to be the leader of your pack then be your dog’s parent.

Teach them, guide them, love them, play with them, redirect unwanted behaviors, and control access to resources. In short, be everything they’re instinctively expecting out of a parent and nothing they’re not.

Not only is this proven behavioral science, it’s just good plain old common sense.

Everyone’s looking forward to Halloween, but what about your dog?

While Halloween is great fun for us, it is often very stressful for a lot of dogs. Here are some helpful tips and products.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the year.

It distills everything that a holiday should be – fun silly enjoyment with chocolate!

Halloween also happens to be the day we adopted Boo, but that’s another story.

The air is crisp and kids are running around acting and dressed strangely.

There are knocks on your door constantly and there’s food being handed out from bowls that are probably at dog height.

Halloween activities are all great fun for us, but can you think of a combination of things that could put a dog more on-edge? (Unless, of course, you added firecrackers into the mix?)

One of the reason we like holidays so much is that they are departure from the norm of everyday life. We do different things. We adopt different schedules. In a word, things are different. For a large number of dogs an unexpected change in routine is like fingernails on a blackboard and can set off a spiral of stress-related, unhealthy behaviors.

Where to put the Chocolate?

The bowl of mostly chocolate should be up and away from the dog. Your dog should not be able to reach it by jumping or putting his paws up, or knocking it over.

What about all the knocking strangers in weird costumes at the door?

I can’t see anything through this Peephole!

Your dog doesn’t need to be right by the door. Have your dog in another room as far from the door as possible. Give your dog a stuffed kong or other puzzle toy so he/she is happily occupied. A stuffed bone, or goat horn would be good too.

I have written a number of blog posts on anxiety aids and have a number of products that can help in the Boo-tique.

If none of the anxiety aids or toys helps reduce your dog’s stress, your veterinarian may be able to prescribe some anti-anxiety medication.

Then it will be time to call a Certified Professional Dog Trainer and/or a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant so that next year your dog can have a

Happy Halloween.

Leadership, or Who Let the Dogs Out First?

The myths of canine social behavior, the misused and misunderstood concept of dominance, and building a strong relationship with your dog.

Ask Professor Boo is our recurring, positive reinforcement dog training and behavior question and answer column. If you have a question that you would like to ask Professor Boo, please feel free to contact him.

[dropcap]M[/dropcap]ost social organizations have levels of hierarchy to make them run smoothly.

When we emphasize humans as “Leader of the Pack” vis-à-vis their dogs this does not involve force or physical control.

Traditionally, in most canine and human societies the leader is the one who controls all goods and services – food, play, toys, outside, social activities, etc.

And the leader is the one who takes care of the family/pack.

We hear a lot about showing our dog that we are their leader by being dominant.

The behavioral definition of “dominance” refers to hierarchy in a social organization, not an implicit personality trait or forcefulness.

Example: your boss is dominant in the workplace because he/she is in charge of working hours, your tasks, what you get paid, time off, etc. However, it could be illegal or just unpleasant if your boss used force to support the hierarchy of the workplace. The good boss that has a good leadership relationship with his/her employees explains the order of the workplace at the beginning then he/she uses incentives, bonuses, and commissions to reward employees for work well done. Yet, even with this kindness and guidance this good boss remains in the “dominant” leadership position.

To build a good leadership relationship with our dogs:

We need to teach solid boundaries – like our boss expecting us in at nine – if we’re not, we lose pay.

We need trained behaviors we can request from our dogs – like our boss would ask us to perform our job.

We need to respect our dogs – like the good boss respects that you can’t work 24/7. You need enrichment time.

In the end, it doesn’t matter if your dog walks in front of you or goes out the door first.

In the end, it doesn’t matter if your dog walks in front of you or goes out the door first.

It matters that your dog is not pulling you because you have taught them it pays to walk on a loose leash = Trained behaviors and boundaries.

It matters that you can ask your dog to go ahead of you because maybe it’s easier for you at that moment = Requested trained behaviors.

It matters that maybe this is your dog’s free time to sniff and have some fun = Freedoms you allow because your dog needs enrichment, too.

To be a good leader for your dog, your relationship needs to be built on understanding, guidance, and respect; and you must take responsibility for Learning, Teaching, and Reinforcing.

The Anxious Greyhound, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Leash

Leash anxiety can be a common behavioral problem in dogs. Here are some great positive reinforcement tips on how to overcome it.

Question: We have two Italian Greyhounds, a seven year old male and a four year old female. The female has not allowed us to leash or harness her since she was about six months old. She is extremely nervous and skittish and generally difficult to deal with. She can run in circles for hours. As you can imagine, getting her to the vet or anywhere in general is a nightmare. Have you ever heard of this, and can this be corrected? We have had no problems like this with the older dog. Thanks.

Answer: While it might seem as if you’ve got one single issue with your younger greyhound, from what you’re saying it seems as if there are smaller, individual problems that are snowballing together.

On the one hand, she seems as if she’s leash-phobic, which isn’t entirely uncommon, and on the other she seems to be exhibiting the signs of a more general type of anxiety.

Let’s address the leash sensitivity first since it presents a pressing safety concern for her.

Almost no dog is born liking their leash. It’s something they eventually learn to love, tolerate, or even hate depending on the rewards associated with them putting it on. Going for walks, play, and general fun will make the leash much more attractive for a dog who likes those things.

Stepping back for a moment and putting it in human terms, in many ways on a behavioral level a leash to a dog is the same as a tie is for a man.

No man, young or old, likes wearing a tie the first couple times, but if they’re consistently told they look handsome in it – or if they get paid a million dollars to wear it – they’re going to learn to really like it.

Alternatively, if someone has to wear a tie to a job that they only kind of like but they get paid pretty well to do it, then they’ll tolerate the tie but – more often than not – will look forward to pulling it off the second they’re out of the office.

Finally, if the only time someone wears a tie is to go to funerals then the powerful negative associations they’ve made to the tie will essentially guarantee they’ll hate every second of wearing one.

Bringing it back to your anxious greyhound, for whatever reason she’s put herself in the “funeral” associative camp and your job is to get her from there to tolerating and then loving her leashes or harnesses.

Here’s my advice for how to deal with the leash issue:

Since her anxiety levels likely spike if she even sees the leash or harness, in the very beginning just bring it out so she can see it and give her jackpot handfuls of her favorite dog treats (or a tidbit of something super-yummy like cheese, hotdogs, etc.).
Do this once or twice a day for the first couple days to allow her to begin to associate the presence of the leash or harness with something really, really good.
- Please remember that if you are using the jackpot method, you will need to cut down on her regular meals – she does not need extra weight.

When she begins to display excitement as you bring the leash out – even if it’s just excitement for the treats – bring the leash or harness over to her, put it on the ground next to her, and give her the same jackpots or cheesy tidbits as before.
At this point we’re trying to build comfort with proximity to the leash or harness and repeat this process once or twice a day for a couple of days.

Now that she’s displaying excitement with having the leash next to her on the ground, hold the leash in one hand while feeding her the jackpot or other yummy goodies with the other.
- Like before, this is about building comfort with both proximity and having the leash or harness near her head and face so you’ll want to do this for a couple days as well.

Finally it’s time to move on to putting the leash on her collar or harness on her body – and like before it’s going to be jackpots or other super-yummy snacks while you clip her up and walk her around wearing the leash.
- Like the man in the example above learning to love his tie because he gets paid a million dollars to do it, your jackpots are her million dollars.

Once you’ve gotten to the point where she’s happy to wear her leash or harness, you are going to go very slowly as she builds up her confidence while she’s wearing it.

Dogs feel at a disadvantage when they’re leashed so you must be very careful so you do not undo all the work you’ve done.

(As an aside, I’ve written before on the topic of how best to handle leashes – Leashes, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and Mad About Leashes, or How to Manage Leash Aggressio n.)

My advice for the anxiety is…

Check with your veterinarian to be sure that she is healthy and find a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant who has experience with anxiety in dogs. That person will need to help you set up a protocol for desensitizing and counterconditioning your dog so you can change how she feels about the the scary things in her life.

There are a number of over-the-counter approaches that are worth exploring:

D.A.P. – Dog Appeasing Pheromone – is something that I’ve used with both my private and shelter clients. I’ve seen encouraging anecdotal evidence that suggests it does help the dog to reduce their anxiety levels. D.A.P. is nice because it comes in a wide variety of forms from house diffusers to collars to pocket-sized sprays, and I’ve noted no negative side effects from its use. (I’ve written about D.A.P. A Little DAP’ll Do Ya, which you might find useful to read.)
Thundershirts – like D.A.P., the Thundershirt is something used to address dog anxiety. Essentially, the Thundershirt is a body wrap that cinches snugly around the dog and functions in very much the same way that similar deep touch pressure calms patients with autism or ADHD. In short, the pressure exerted on the body causes the wearer to relax. Some dogs to not take to the Thundershirt if they are not the kind of dog happy wearing ‘clothes.”
ProQuiet help the dog produce more serotonin and is very useful for moderate anxiety re: car rides, some thunder or firework issues, mild stranger anxiety, etc. It is great for right-before an anxiety producing situation.
Rescue Remedy is for very mild anxiety situations, but it is worth a try to see if it supports your work.

Ideally you will need to address both the leash sensitivity and anxiety in parallel because the confidence she builds from the leash training might lessen the anxiety while the lessened anxiety from the over-the-counter approaches might allow her to better focus on the training.

All of this will take time and patience on your part, but desensitization and counterconditioning through positive reinforcement does – and can – work wonders.

And don’t forget while you are working on these items please seek out professional help to assist you with the root cause of your greyhound’s anxiety.

Good luck and let us know how it goes! Stay positive!