Capping Intensification

One of the best ways to prevent an ugly situation from ever occurring with your dog is by addressing any shift in behavior at its lowest level of interest, (ears perked forward, closed mouth, crinkled forehead, a glance away from you), before it has chance to escalate into something that cannot be reversed. Timing is of utmost importance. A split second can either cap the behavior from escalating even further, or make it worse. Seeing theses signs that lead up to a moment of aggression, growling, guarding, or taking off after the cat, before they actually happen, and giving a firm enough correction at just the right intensity is clutch. A split second too late, and you may find yourself chasing the bad behavior in frustration, making matters worse, and even better yet, risking the chance of your dog redirecting onto you. Seeing these signs in your dog just takes practice.

Ruebyn used to charge the TV whenever he saw something he felt was threatening on screen. It ranged from another dog, to a horse, to sheep, any animal for that matter, but also certain human beings, or helicopters, motorcycles, to airplanes. Okay, just about everything! It was adorable when he was 6lbs. Aww look, he’s smart, he recognizes animals and people on TV! Hah! When he grew up and is attention to detail blossomed into a full blown attack towards the mounted electric fireplace, the behavior obviously needed to be addressed. Through careful observation of even the slightest adjustment in interest from him, I was able to cap his state of mind in the split second before his interest exploded. Done. Explosion diffused before it had the chance to ignite.

Study every minute, subtle difference in your dog’s focus from you, to what is diverting his attention away. This is where a “tap on the shoulder” is necessary to regain your dog’s focus back to you before it escalates. Focus on those subtle changes in behavior that consistently show up every single time he has an incident. If we can learn to address the small transgressions at just the right time and intensity, chances are they will never turn into nasty ones!

Human Negligence

Human negligence is causing the euthanasia epidemic we are seeing in our country. Dogs fall victim to human ignorance, thoughtlessness, and poor management on a daily basis. A lack of realizing the importance of discipline, order, and obedience training can turn a remarkable dog with an immense capacity for companionship into a destructive, aggressive, or hyper annoyance the next. It is this staggering irresponsibility that is killing 5 million adult dogs and puppies on a yearly basis. Instead of investing the time it takes to avert bad behavior before it has a chance to manifest, owners are quick to give their dog’s up due to the now substantial time and financial investment needed to reverse the behavioral problem. Dog ownership is a 10-16 year commitment to managing a healthy, structured relationship. This has the potential to enrich all lives involved. Deciding to add a dog to your family isn’t something to be taken lightly. You can’t just bring a dog home and expect it to know how to navigate through life without leadership. The relationship requires a willingness to invest time and energy in training, before any dangerous or destructive issues have a chance to begin. This investment is one well worth the effort with the enormous bond that can be cultivated when respect between species is practiced regularly.

Keeping Your Cool

One of the hardest skills to master, at least for myself, was keeping my cool when things get hairy with my dogs. Not freaking out when they embarrassed me because they were misbehaving, badly, again. One of the funniest scenes from the movie Best In Show, always comes to mind for me when I think back on how I would overreact whenever it was time to pack the dogs up for a road trip. In the movie, there’s a couple who’s prize Weimaraner starts having a meltdown backstage and they can’t get it to calm down. Making matters worse, the female owner freaks out about her dog not having its busy-bee, “where’s the f*@*ing busy-bee” because the stuffed animal will make everything okay, mmm-hmmm.  Well you guessed it, the Weimy ends up biting the judge, thereby disqualifying him from the competition all together. I could see a little of myself in that owner when I look back a couple of years ago. I was freaked out, overwhelmed, and even panicked when the dogs were manic inside of my car, believing that raising my voice to the highest octave was going to somehow soothe them into submission. It took a whole lot of practice, study, and personal development to get to that place where my emotion stays neutral while training. It is essential if you are to be effective. Correcting when relaxed and confident is the best way to deliver the information you’re trying to convey to your dog. If you have personal baggage, or are emotionally off even by the slightest, your dogs will sense it, and it will only escalate their state of mind, making matters much, much worse. So take a deep breath, find your center, clear your mind, and start from the very beginning. Raising your voice only escalates an already pressure-filled situation. Take your time! You will find your message will be much clearer for your dog. This picture speaks a thousand words. Oh, if I only had a before picture for you guys to see the turnaround. I am so proud of these guys. Thanksgiving is going to be a wonderfully  Calm, peaceful trip, and one that I will forever be thankful to Jeff Gellman and Sean O’Shea for showing me the light. 

When Abuse Becomes Our Excuse

When Abuse Becomes Our Excuse

Porter, AKA: Pooty, is a rescue from a backyard breeder that didn’t want to incur the cost of his medical expenses needed to get this guy healthy. He was a sickly dog with massive ear infections, an eye infection, and cryptorchidism. Add to this, being unsocialized with humans or dogs for the first year of his life. All of his interactions and decisions were based on his fear and anxiety. His eyes were in a constant bulge of distrust whenever a hand came too near. Oh how this poor little dude found the jackpot with me! He couldn’t have found a more loving, caring, responsible owner! Or so I thought.

I carried his story of neglect around with us everywhere! Massive amounts of affection were given at every instance of insecurity, promising him reliability from me. Sweet talking and coddling this boy is what I did best. And boy did he want to please me. At my every step, my little shadow-dog followed me room to room. He was fantastic at at obedience. My new bestie!

So what’s the problem you ask? Well let me tell you... A couple of years without structure or boundaries because I didn’t want to hurt Porter’s feelings more than he’d already been hurt, ended up rearing its ugly head in every instance of unfamiliarity for him. The doorbell meant bloody murder, house guest forewarned to never come through the door, mailman best stay outside, cat wandering past the Florida window was tonight’s RAW meal, crying, whining, barking, growling, fence fighting, car rides: forget about it, walking down the street: aggressive reactivity towards humans and dogs. What!? Cavaliers don’t act like that! My poor, sweet Porter, was now my most badly behaved dog EVER! I couldn’t do anything with him outside of the house or have friends and family over without him going completely bananas. This was no way to live folks!

So how did this all change? I changed my relationship from nurturer to Leader. I realized I was allowing Porter to make his own decisions when it came to something that makes him scared. Too much of the soft stuff only exacerbated his unhealthy issues. Because Porter’s nervousness overpowered his ability to make polite decisions, he was lashing out at quick movements, growling at strangers, and constantly whining. By setting up rules, boundaries, and structure, and moving from a place of feeling sorry for, or making excuses for, we were able to move forward to a healthier state of mind.

You see, holding onto Porter’s past was actually more harmful than the neglect he experienced itself. Moving forward as a leader, with rules and accountability for bad behavior, actually paved the way towards progress.

Feeling sorry for your dog should not be the reason to withhold structure because “he’s been through so much already.” Your dog needs a healthy future filled with accountability, rules, and boundaries that convince him that he no longer needs to make all of the decisions on his own. He has a Leader that loves him more than his story. You may want to ask yourself this: is it more abusive to let a dog continue on in a nervous, anxious state of mind because you feel sorry for him, or provide him with rules and structure that will free his mind from those very feelings? Letting Porter know “No” it’s not okay to act that way, I’ve got you, stop worrying about it, has drastically changed this nervous-Nelly’s state of mind. He is now able to just exist around other dogs and people without fearing for his life. That’s all we ever want for our guys, right? Balance and peace of mind!

Your Dog is Your Mirror

Your Dog is Your Mirror: 

Have you ever been forced into a situation where you had to spend your day with a person that was impatient, negative, anxious, unsettled, quick tempered, insecure, stressed, or always worried? Can you imagine the difference you would feel if that person were positive, happy, calm, confident, and patient? Now imagine how your dog feels when confronted with the same two situations. Which person do you think he would follow? If your dog is exhibiting any behavioral issues, chances are you may want to take a good look in the mirror. If your dog seems uncomfortable, stressed, or agitated, this is his expression of the surroundings you have created for him. His expression is a direct reflection of what you are putting out. If there is any imbalance at all within yourself, be assured your dog will pick it up and take that leadership role into his own hands.

It’s no wonder my dogs exhibited separation anxiety, manic insecurity on the walk, and obscene barking at the chance meeting of a stranger. I was one of those people that was cripplingly shy, constantly worried about what others thought of me, and a perfect cynic. I was always looking at the dark side of things, with little hope for the world we live in. Why the heck would my dogs look to me for guidance! Once my mindset started to shift ever so slightly, through daily affirmation and massive focus on personal development, I regained the confidence needed to take charge of my life and surroundings. My dogs finally looked to me for guidance. 

So the next time you feel like your dog is just plain stupid and doesn’t want to listen, you may want to take a good look in the mirror and ask yourself if you would follow you.

Calm On Command

Why so much focus on creating CALM with our dogs? Aren’t they supposed to have fun and run around like little maniacs? Creating Calm On Command can have a major impact on arousal and anxiety issues. By changing the overall state of mind of the dog, he will be able to make great choices, showing his best behavior.

Most dog owners are all too familiar with pets that are in a constant state of arousal. Arousal in our dogs can oftentimes be confused with excitement and happiness. When there is no on/off button to press, arousal can perpetuate really bad decision making, such as escalation into a dog fight, biting, charging the door, or barking incessantly at the cat passing by the window. 

Anxiety, on the other hand, comes in the form of heavy panting, shaking, drooling, whining, barking, or destroying your household items. An anxious dog doesn't have the ability to make good decisions either. Oftentimes, dog owners tend to feel bad for dogs in this mental state, and offer affection to sooth and comfort, Unfortunately, dogs see affection as a reward, and this then creates more of the same unwanted behavior.  

So how do we cultivate Calm On Command?  The Place Command is great place to start. Place encourages relaxation and impulse control. We trainers like to call it puppy meditation due to its ability to transform the dog's state of mind. It helps condition the dog to be relaxed. Giving your dog a non-negotiable task to perform, allows him to focus. Soon you see all of the arousal and anxiety dissipate, allowing for your best dog to shine through. 

All of those dogs you see charging the door, barking at guests, pacing in the crate, or whining, are in a constant unhealthy mental state. It's actually unfair to the dog to allow the behavior to continue.  Having that on/off switch is clutch in cultivating that healthy dog we all want to be a part of the family! 

So my story on creating Calm began with the inability to take my pack anywhere out in public. Porter would scream as soon as the keys jingled. Pulling the parking brake in my Jeep, forget about it! I had three hairy maniacs going completely bazerk! Porter and Harlow teamed up to let any guest know that they weren't welcome! Barking and growling at the slightest knock at the door was inevitable. If you could have seen how unstable my pack was, you would have laughed, or just not come over! Implementing the Place command on a daily basis when I'm cooking, working, reading, or cleaning has really transformed my house to one that is totally Calm. Reading and training with some of the world's best dog trainers, has inspired me to help others that may be enduring the same, or similar circumstances. 

So I'm telling you, Place is where the magic is at!