Dog Training Secrets - Stop Stopin' Start Doin'

Or otherwise.....

How to Stop a Dog …..

Well, how are your New Years Resolutions going? Hearty congratulations if you’re still on target! But why are old habits so hard to resist?

Perhaps we’d have more success if we actually set out to makes our lives easier? Surely then we’d be breezing through 2018 feeling much more positive?

Our new years resolutions tend to be along the lines of stopping drinking, stopping eating sweeties, stopping spending too much money etc. The reason that it’s so difficult to stop these unwanted habits is that our brains have developed pathways that are now, easy to follow. With our new plans, we are essentially trying to delete brain memories!

Plus, perhaps more importantly, it’s all “negative”.  Really, we’d actually all do much better by thinking “Positive” -  by considering what “To Do” instead: take up knitting, read more, go for a walk, learn something new. “Doing” is much easier than “Stopping”.

Teaching our dogs benefits in precisely the same way:  stop thinking “Stop That” and start thinking “Do This”. 

For example:

• Instead of Stopping Jumping, teach a solid sit.
• Instead of Stopping Barking, teach go to bed
• Instead of Stopping Pulling, teach them to walk beside you.

Ok, so I’m hearing you say, “…but my dog already knows these things”.

Well, here’s THE secret – Practise Makes Perfect!

What? You knew that already? Of course, we all know that. Not a very good secret then…

The trick, or rather, the forgotten element when considering training our dogs is that we miss out many required practise steps. It’s like leaping from learning the first few notes on a piano to playing in a major concert.

Just like us, our dogs require practise, gradually changing the circumstances and introducing new difficulties. For example, to “stop” jumping : start off rewarding a 1 second sit and then gradually build up to 10 seconds. Then you move about a little – but reward a 1 second sit, gradually building the time. Then introduce a mildly exciting toy, but again reward a 1 second sit and then gradually build up the time OR toy excitement whilst consistently rewarding sit. And at the end of this wee 2 minute practise session, play with your dog with the toy.

So, please do have a wee think about your habits with your dog and see what would benefit from this thinking-flip. Ofcourse, please do get in touch with any difficulties via  www.PawsAbility.co.uk or anna@pawsability.co.uk

First Published in the Northern Times, Jan 18

Author - Anna Patfield 

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A New Years Resolution - Check out your dogs food...

At this time of year, most of us spend some time reflecting on the year past and the year to come. We think about the happy and sad moments and perhaps review some choices we’ve made. What, if anything would we like to change?

Well, a recent Facebook discussion came to my mind. Someone asked if it would be ok to feed their dog a certain human breakfast cereal. My response was a simple, no – it’s better to feed dog food.

I was rather surprised at the outburst that ensued. Surprised, not by the outburst itself, but rather at the reason.

To explain: there is a part of the dog owning world who strongly believe that dogs should be fed raw food or at the very least, grain free food. I had responded to the question without giving it very much thought. The argument that followed went very must against the grain. (Pun intended, sorry!)  Loads of people came out in support of feeding cereal to their dogs for breakfast, surprisingly the opposite to what I’d expect.

It was actually a pleasant surprise – I’d found somewhere outwith my normal “reads”. The thing is that, there is so much information around today that we each fall into seeing only a very small portion of the world’s views. Indeed, these “truths” are reinforced every day. But we are living in a tiny bubble. We generally don’t see anything that encourages us to think differently.

Going back to the breakfast story. The group in question are feeding along “traditional” lines. They would be most likely shocked to hear the view of those pet owners at the opposite end of the spectrum. But is either camp right?

Well, evolution tells us that they both are. Dogs are a highly successful species. Their predecessors adapted to take advantage of new biological niches; their digestive systems evolved to be more able to use carbohydrates. As we humans changed our lifestyles and started to grow crops, those canines who could digest carbohydrates faired better than the others. There are now an estimated 525 million dogs in the world as opposed to possibly only a few hundred thousand wolves.

There are of course many reasons supporting the dog population explosion. But part of that is most likely due to their highly adaptable digestive system. They can survive and thrive on many types of foods from raw feeding to vegetarian diets. (Please don’t shoot me down – I’m not saying either is good or better than the other. It’s what science says.)

Once again then, let’s get back to breakfast. Should dogs be fed breakfast meals designed for humans? Traditionalists would say that it’s fine. Grain free addicts would be appalled. Human nutritionists would say that the sugar and salt in many human breakfast cereals is bad for all of us. Canine nutritionists would say that dogs should be fed dog food (or a nutritionally balanced meal).  Who’s right? Which group belief system matches our personal world view?

Perhaps we’d rather make up our own minds?

Well, several years ago I started to question the potential links between canine nutrition and behaviour. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a significant amount of time studying the science of canine nutrition and researching the causes of behavioural problems in dogs.

The result was a book called The Good Dog Diet. The book explains the science, explores beliefs, looks at various behavioural issues, and most importantly, provides sufficient information to allow the reader to make up their own minds about how and what to feed their dogs.

Would this be a good new years resolution for you? Have a look at www.TheGoodDogDiet.com to find out more. Or of course, as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to email anna@pawsability.co.uk.

First Published in the Northern Times, Dec 17

Author - Anna Patfield 

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Should we train our dogs using punishment or reward?

There’s been a lot in the press and social media recently about the use of punishment and about animal emotion. An article on the topic, therefore, seemed pertinent.

First, let’s define what punishment is. The use of punishment in dog training is where we do something unpleasant to indicate to the dog that we don’t want them to do something.

Here are some examples:

• ·      A tap on the nose
• ·      Threatening them with a rolled up newspaper
• ·      Jerking their collar when they pull (whether using a choke chain or not)
• ·      Using a shock, spray or citronella collar to stop a dog pulling or barking
• ·      Using a prong collar
• ·      Shouting at them; saying “NO” or “STOP IT”
• ·      Saying “Was that you?”

So do you use punishment in dog training? I’m hoping that if you do, then you’re saying, well yes, but just the mild kind.

The thing is that dogs’ brains are really quite simple. We don’t need to punish the unwanted behaviours. We can simply prevent unwanted things from happening until new behaviours have been learned and the original habits have faded.  Applying such preventative measures also helps to reduce our need to be frequently annoyed with them (sounds good huh?). The less we use NO, the more effective it will be.

But here’s the question is: Have they actually had the opportunity to really learn what it is that you want them to-do? Dogs need plenty of consistent learning practise.  To teach a dog to “not jump” we need to teach them to “keep 4 paws on the ground”; to teach them to “not pull” we need to teach them that “be at my leg” is great.

If we haven’t taught them what’s right, is it really fair to punish them when they actually just don’t know any better?

If you do use more active punishment, then please just stop for a moment and think about how you are affecting your dog and how you’re affecting the relationship that you may be having with them. The recent reports from the BVA (British Veterinary Association) stand clearly against shock collars. No matter what people may think of their effectiveness, the stress of the shock remains long after the actual shock.

Of course teaching dogs can sometimes be quite complex. To get a better understanding of how to effectively train your dog and resolve any behaviour problems without punishment, please do look at PawsAbility.co.uk.

First Published in The Northern Times, 1st Dec 2017. Author Anna Patfield

If you'd like to read more about how dogs think and learn, please read this free e-book Dogz Thinkz Differentz

Help for Dogs that are Fussy Eaters

I see many dogs with behavioural problems whose owners say that there dog is a fussy eater. They’ve changed their dog’s food over so many times they can’t remember and finally found that if they mix up some chicken in the food that their dog will eat it all up. Sometimes… Sometimes they pick out the tasty bits and leave the rest. Sound familiar?

Of course the old school advice would be to just let the dog starve – when they’re hungry they’ll eat. Well that works too.  Sometimes… But I have known situations where owners have tried this approach, worrying every day that their wee pooch wasn’t eating, but sticking to this advice, only to end up with the dog eating grass instead of the food.

Whilst these two options may work and be ok, neither of these solutions is best. Adding tasty bits imbalances the diet, which may cause all sorts of problems and starving a dog may cause other obvious problems too. So, what’s the solution? Well, as per my article in May about car travel, a holistic and broader approach can help to resolve the issue.

Here’s some food for thought…..

Health:

Is your dog fit and well? It can be worthwhile getting a quick vet check. We may think that our wee pals are ok as they are eating some food, but there may be something stopping them eating less tasty food.  Issues such as toothache or an abscess could stop a dog eating, as could some other digestive upset from a mild infection to swallowing something they shouldn’t have.

Calories:

Is something else filling your dog up? Many dogs are very capable of managing their own calorie intake. Is your dog skinny, fat or just right? If the latter, then it’s highly likely that they are getting enough food without actually eating out of their bowl. Perhaps they are a tea and biscuit dog? Perhaps they get lots of doggy biscuits? Perhaps their bones and chews are filling them up. Perhaps you are using lots of treats for training? All these factors can just take the edge of hunger.
Keeping an accurate diary, with all the family being honest, will provide you with some answers.

Stress:

Many dogs, even with mild behaviour problems can be suffering from some level of stress. This may simply put them off their food a little or can have major health implications. Stress impacts on the efficiency of the digestive system and may inhibit the desire to eat. Perhaps your dog doesn’t like eating when you’re not in the room? Or perhaps they are concerned that another family dog may pester them. Or there may be some other seemingly unrelated behavioural concern.
Writing down a few situations where your dog seems unhappy may highlight a growing problem. Staying beside your dog whilst they eat may help, in the short term at least. 

The act of eating:

Many times, fussy eating is actually more about eating than about the food. For instance, dogs with very short noses or undershot jaws may find it difficult to eat from a bowl, as may dogs with long ears.  The environment may also cause difficulties: a dog who doesn’t like the noise of a washing machine won’t like to eat near it; or the clanking of their name tag on the bowl might be unpleasant.

The food:

Finally, there are of course problems where dogs are actually picky about what they eat. Sometimes this is caused by preference to their puppy-time diet, or perhaps they’ve been ill whilst eating something. Most dogs will overcome any of the above ideas if the food is tasty enough; hence leading us to the fussy eater conclusion.

So, do please have a wider think about this. The important consideration when feeding is that they are getting a balanced diet. Doing some critical analysis on the ingredients in the food, rather than just randomly trying various options, may also provide you with answers.

For more information about dog food and behaviour, please look at www.TheGoodDogDiet.com and for behaviour help, please look at www.PawsAbility.co.uk.

Author Anna Patfield, Pawsability
First published in the Northern Times, Nov 2015

Considering HATE

Many pet owners and many who work with dogs use words such as Dominance, Stubborn and Hate when explaining dog behaviour.  Most trainers who consider themselves to be following what’s termed ‘modern methods’, become intensely frustrated with the persistence of such terms. Why is there such exasperation?

Well, along with some colleagues, I’ve been working on a new free e-book. The debate has been interesting and essentially, the problem appears to be terminology. Traditional beliefs consider dogs to be dominant when they pull on the lead or lie on the couch.  Science proves this untrue. Some arguments provide examples of such stealing toys to prove that dominance does exist. The book addresses the conundrum and provides practical training and behaviour advice.

Here’s a little insight into the book with regard to Hate.

We use the term Hate to describe our feelings for a plethora of scenarios. We may hate potholes. We may hate doughnuts. We may hate spiders. We may hate a person. But what do we actually mean? We feel frustrated that the potholes may damage our car. We don’t like the taste of doughnuts. We may well suffer from arachnophobia. We may feel very angry with a person. All quiet different. But, do we feel helpless to resolve these situations? Is it that frustration that we are trying to convey? And, do we then consider that we can’t help our dogs when they Hate something?

Well, the good news is, that for most scenarios, hate isn’t what’s happening in our dog’s world. They don’t (so far as we know) ruminate over what they may do in a given hateful situation. They don’t plan out ideas in their minds; they don’t think and play out options, which, for us, tends to intensify our feelings.

And that’s good because it means we can usually fairly easily help our dogs to feel calmer, more relaxed and behave more appropriately.

Let’s then consider some situations.

A common complaint is that a dog hates the posty. They may bark and growl and rip up the post or worse. When this all starts, the dog was probably simply scared of some potential intruder. Perhaps as he continues to ‘bark the posty away ‘ he becomes more and more frustrated. Perhaps he ends up feeling completely enraged. Perhaps this is hate, but, he probably isn’t planning revenge.

A second commonly used phrase is that a dog hates cats. For most situations, it would be valid to think that actually dogs love cats. They love the thrill and fun of the chase and just may end up in a successful catch. (We hope not of course!)

And our final example here, is when a dog attacks a hoover, we tend to say he hates the hoover. In fact, he is most likely scared of it although this may well escalate to anger.

So what can be done? Essentially there are 2 simple steps. We need to firstly, break the continuance of the habit and secondly, teach the dog how to behave differently; supporting them with a effective learning environment.

Of course, this is an over simplification. There’s no space to add any detail here and indeed, there may be much more going on in the dog’s life. But, if the behaviour’s not too bad, we really don’t need to just live with it; the solution may well be quite simple. For more intense and complex problems, please do seek out help from a good behaviourist.

And for more help, hints and tips please visit - www.PawsAbility.co.uk. To sign up for the free ebook please visit  Dogz Thinkz Differentz

(First published in the Northern Times 27th Oct 2017)

And finally... here's a helpful page to help to consider those things that your dog hates .. or dislikes ... or is scared or... http://chasingdogtales.com/14-things-your-dog-hates/#