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This month we are featuring Julie Bjelland Lokhandwala of www.webDogTrainer.com. Julie has generously offered to give training advice.
Please note that any issues you may have regarding agression we ask that you feel free to ask questions here, but always work directly with a professional behaviorist/trainer so they can monitor your pets progress.

Julie Bjelland Lokhandwala is a Writer and Dog Trainer who has written a dog training book that is featured on her website: www.webDogTrainer.com. Her impressive Dog Training career includes being a highly regarded trainer at the prestigious Guide Dogs for the Blind school, an organization known for creating some of the best-trained dogs in the world. Julie holds a B.S. degree in Education and has studied both Canine Behavior and Human Psychology. She has also been running her own successful obedience training/behavior modification business for several years. Julie is known for her extensive talent in dog training and dog behavioral psychology and her methods of training are welcoming, encouraging and motivating.

Julie continues to publish many informative articles on dogs that are featured in several prominent dog and pet magazines, newspapers and animal rescue organizations all over the world. She also donates generously to help dogs in need. Her passion for helping people have the best life possible with their dogs shows through in all that she does. Imagine life with a well-trained dog!

Julie offers coaching and consultations through her interactive Dog Training web site that allows dog owners to ask Julie any question about their dog through her personal, one-on-one live chat consultations!

**Julie is offering Petfinder.com friends a special 30% off discount for her services! Visit the Join now page at www.webDogTrainer.com and in the Promo code box type in: PETFINDER30

-Julie

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 12:42 pm Post subject:

OK - here's a training question for my foster dog.

I have an 8 year old GSD. She had zero training when she arrived. She has completed basic obedience classes. She does not know how to play. After watching our dog for quite some time, she has figured out to chase things we throw & grab them. The “give them back to be thrown again” part is lacking.

I don't need her to play - just stop barking when she sees our dog playing. She seems to be fixated on making him stop playing. She will stop the barking if I tell her “quiet” but I would prefer to teach her not to start. I need to train her to recognize play as acceptable behavior.

Julie's Answer:

Hello,

First of all let me say, "Thank you", in appreciation to you for having a foster dog in your home! We value people like you who help save lives by fostering dogs until they find their 'forever' homes.

As I understand it, your question is that you want to teach your foster dog not to bark when your dog is playing.

Understanding why your dog is barking may be the first step in getting them to stop. Based on your description I would say that the causes of your dogs barking are due to one of the following reasons: to seek attention, to identify itself to the other dog, excitement, and/or anxiety.

To prevent these types of barking you can use a combination of refocusing her attention through obedience techniques and relaxation. Here are a few steps to follow that can help solve your problem:

Step 1: Exercise your dog to drain their energy at least twice a day.
In all behavior modification situations the very first step is to make sure your dog has had enough exercise. Each dog has a certain amount of energy stored up and when that energy is not drained, it can develop into problem behavior. Your goal is to get her tired out. You need to base the intensity of the exercise on your own dogs energy needs. Some dogs are high energy and take a lot to tire them out and some dogs will need less. Dogs also like to leave the house and explore the world with you. Plan on taking her on at least two walks a day. If she lies down and is tired out when you come home you have reached your goal! Once you have drained her energy you can move onto step two.

Step 2: Change your dog's focus and try to get her to be calmer.
If you watch your dog and observe what her body language is BEFORE she starts the barking you'll notice subtle cues that will tell you it is about to happen. Most likely she is having intense focus on your other dog. What you can do to prevent it is to change her focus BEFORE she barks. Give her something to do to change that focus such as a down stay command with a nice chew bone. Once she is more relaxed you can try releasing her down stay and see if you can keep her in that calmer state to prevent the barking. Once she starts barking again, do another down stay and try to get her calm again. If you are finding it very difficult, try practicing at a distance from the playing dog and when she is doing better you can move closer and closer to the object of her excitement. Your goal is to try to keep her from becoming overly excited. Over time, this method will teach her some self-control so she can learn to be around the other playing dog without becoming overly excited.

3. Reward for good behavior.
Offer sincere praise and occasional treats for a good down stay with no barking.

4. Be Consistent and Practice.
It may take some time but with consistent practice you can reach your goal!

I hope this information helps you. Keep up the good work and let me know if you need any more advice! We'd love to hear back from you on how it all goes!

Julie

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 5:56 pm Post subject:

My dogs are very well behaved most of the time. Except when people come to the house, especially when it is someone that they love a lot, like my mom, my sister or my vet. Then they go nuts jumping and trying to give kisses. The problem is that my mom is almost 80 now and I am afraid that they are going to either knock her down, or scratch her and make her bleed.

I have tried leashing them (which I can only do if I am expecting someone), having treats in my hand (again, I can only do it if I am expecting someone) and just plain putting them in the backyard until whoever it is gets into the house. When they are let in, they still rush the visitor. Geez, Jasper is a certified therapy dog and he still jumps on people that come into our house! He would never, ever do that in public.

Some ideas on how to semi-control or manage this would be great! Thanks!

Julie's Answer
Subject: Preventing your dog from jumping up during greetings.

This is a great question because it is among one of the most common problems people have with their dogs so I am sure a lot of people will benefit from your question, so thanks for asking it! The key to fixing this problem is to teach your dog to associate greeting a person with a calm, sit position. It takes some patient practice but this can be done and the results are wonderful! The basic idea is that you set up situations for your dog to practice over and over until they are ready for the "real" greeting. Follow the steps below:

Practice Greetings near your front door:

1. Teach a good sit on command.
Hold a treat in your hand and ask your dog to sit. Say the dog's name, then the command "sit". Give the treat as soon as their rear end hits the ground. When your dog is consistently sitting for you, start to wait a second, then two, then three, etc… before giving the treat so that over time they learn how to sit a little longer before receiving the treat.

2. Practice having your dog sit on a mat near the front door.
Get a mat for the dog to go to and place it next to the front door in the spot you would like your dog to be during greetings. The mat is what the dog needs to be on when guests arrive. Keep treats near the door and practice showing the dog to their mat, having them sit, then offer the treat. Give it a name like "go to your mat". Repeat until your dog consistently sits on the mat calmly.

3. Now practice the entry.
Bring your treats with you, leave the house and re-enter. Ask your dog to sit on their mat when you enter and treat them when they sit. Be calm and consistent. When your dog is doing well you can add the knock at the door and ringing the doorbell before entering.

4. Invite a friend.
Now that your dog is consistently sitting on their mat and patiently waiting for their treat you can invite a friend over to help you further practice your dog's ability to do a proper greeting.

As you can see, the idea is that you intentionally set up circumstances for your dog to learn and be successful with and with practice and consistency they will soon learn that a greeting with a calm sit offers a delicious treat! Eventually when your dog is doing really well you can begin to slowly offer the treat only every other time, while replacing it with sincere physical praise. So sometimes they will perform the greeting and receive a treat, and sometimes a nice pet.

*Tips:
v Instruct your visitors not to pet your dog during a greeting unless they are sitting calmly.

v When your dog is sitting nicely it is very important that they are rewarded for it every time, either with a treat or with genuine physical praise.

v As with all training it is important to make sure your dog is receiving enough exercise. At least twice a day your dog should be taken out for exercise to the point they are tired out when they get home. A dog with too much pent up energy will not be able to learn a proper greeting.

v Use high quality treats like cooked chicken breasts if more motivation is needed.

I hope you find this information helpful. Your hard work will pay off and I am sure your mother will feel more comfortable visiting and be happy with the results! Let me know how it goes!

Julie
www.webDogTrainer.com

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 12:34 pm Post subject:

I have a 3 year old Pom/Yorkie/Maltese mix. He is obsessed with balls. He would play fetch 24 hours a day if only he had someone whose arm wouldn't give out. The problem is that when my son tries to play with any type of ball, (football, baseball, soccer, etc.) Wicket goes nuts. Even if my son is outside playing, Wicket barks his head off and jumps on the door trying to get out. I usually have to end up shutting the inside door and closing the blinds so he can't see out. What can I do to get him to know the difference between his fetch time and my son's play time?

Julie's answer

I feel for you because my own dog has a stick and water obsession so when anyone has a stick or are running the water hose we also had these same sorts of problems when we first adopted him at age 2 many years ago. He would fixate on it and have to have it. There is a solution, albeit it will take some practice and patience on your part.

Most dogs that are trained well through obedience will behave and do pretty much whatever we want them to do because they have learned to "trust and respect" our commands and what we are asking them to do. Obedience is a form of communication between our dogs and us. It gives us the tools to teach our dogs what we expect from them in a way that they understand. When done well, obedience is a lot of fun for your dog and it is very rewarding for us! So obedience trained dogs that are told 'no' or 'leave it', will leave it alone. With small dogs it can be more challenging because often people find it is easier to just pick your dog up rather than train them to behave in a certain way, but here is where it becomes necessary to learn obedience well. Even small dogs need to know your rules and learn how to follow them. So the first step is working with your dog with some obedience so that your command of 'leave it' will mean something to him.

The next step is to make sure Wicket understands which balls are his and which ones are not. This is done through practice. For example, my dog is given certain toys that he knows are his and other toys he knows are my children's toys. How does he know the difference? Well, he was told, "leave it" whenever he went towards the toys that are not his. When he did leave the toy, I'd quickly offer him physical praise or a treat and give him what toy he was allowed. Your timing of saying the command and your timing of rewarding for leaving it are very important for them to learn it well. You should work with the command leave it during intentional set ups while he is on leash with just a few balls at a time. So the command "leave it" will be a very valuable tool for your dog to learn. You will need to be EXTREMELY consistent for this to work. If for example he is allowed to have a certain ball one day and not the next it will be more confusing for him. But, if every time he understands which balls are his and which ones he is not allowed to touch he'll learn it quickly.

One of the most important steps to resolve your problem is that you'll need to re-focus your dog's attention on something else, when your son is playing outside, through obedience to stop the obsession before it starts. So when your son is going to play with a ball you'll want to be ready and work with some obedience, like a 'down-stay' BEFORE he starts. When you notice your dog start to "lose concentration", start to ask him for more commands like: sit, down, come, etc…So in that intense moment you are asking for him to pay attention to you through different commands, and not focus on the balls. It is a way to make him calmer so he doesn't reach that crazy 'have to have it' stage. There are some precious seconds that happen just before your dog reaches that crazy have to have it stage that you'll want to intervene and change his focus by giving him something else to do. If you wait too long and he reaches that crazy stage it will be very hard to refocus him. Watch his body language and learn how to catch him BEFORE that moment begins. The idea with this refocus is that it teaches your dog to be calmer, to take his eyes off the balls and relax. Teaching your dog a long down stay will be very valuable here. If you release your dog from the obedience and he starts to get too worked up over the balls again, go back to the obedience. If your timing is good and you are very consistent, over time your dog will learn how to be more relaxed and calmer around your son playing with balls nearby and you'll be very proud of yourself too!

It will take time to resolve this issue because it is an intense moment for your dog but if you are committed to fix it you definitely can through consistency, repetition and practice.

I wish you the best of luck with it and let me know how it goes and if you need any further advice!

Julie
http://www.webdogtrainer.com/

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 6:55 pm Post subject: Treat Focus & Recall

Great questions and answers! I can use the excited greeting info to make my 5 minutes of fame coming home from work everyday a bit more enjoyable. Thank you!

I know a lot of commands can be achieved with the reward of treats or praise. My two (a 5yr lab mix and an 11mo dutch shepherd mix) have learned a lot with the rewards of treats. And it’s amazing how fast they learn!

But what do you do if they become so focused on the dispensing of the treat they pay no heed to the command?

Example: Zak (the young one) has learned from Nitro all about retrieving a tennis ball. The issue is the Drop or Out command. Nitro has it down pat treat or no treat. Zak on the other hand plays ‘keep away’ he will not drop or release the ball unless there is a treat involved (And he knows when you're faking!).

Then when he sees you have the ‘goodie bag’ he forgets all about the tennis ball won’t even give it a second look. He is so focused on getting a treat; forget about asking him to retrieve the ball again. Then Nitro gets in on the act because she’s afraid she’s going to miss out on some goodies and I get mobbed. Thankfully they’ve both learned Sit.

Then if I may, question #2: What is the best way to teach a good reliable recall? I’ve been working on it with both of mine with a long leash (20 foot ?); But what about off leash? Say heaven forbid they slip a collar or are at a dog park. There may be times when I won't always have a pocketful of treats.

Thanks!
Kind regards,
A/M

Julie's Answer #1 of 2
Subject: Treats

Thank you! I'm so glad you found some of my previous posts helpful!
And, you have added another very good question! Yes, the question of dogs being too dependent on treats is a very good one! In my training experiences over the years I have seen many a dog that will only perform for treats. People often come to me asking how to get their dogs to perform without a treat. In my opinion treats are great to use for beginning obedience but should be randomly used as they advance in their training. If a treat is used EVERY TIME then dogs do become reliant on them. The trick is to use them randomly, so sometimes they get a treat and all the other times they receive some hearty, genuine physical praise. In fact, when I trained at Guide Dogs for the Blind we did not even use treats as a reward, only praise (verbal and physical) and we had some of the best-trained dogs I've ever seen. They may be doing things differently now as it has been a few years but at that time we had wonderful results without the use of treats, so my point is that dogs can learn without treats too. Good praise should be as good as a treat. Just saying "Good dog" isn't enough. You have to really, deep down inside feel happy that your dog performed well or they won't "feel" your praise. If you are mechanical about the praise, they won't feel rewarded, so always be very genuine in your praise and you'll find you can replace those treats with warm, wonderful praise.

In your particular situation your dog is so focused on treats they lose focus on the task. I would say, get rid of the treats. Don't even bring them with you. Definitely do not allow your dog to play keep away though. If your dog doesn't drop the ball on the return of fetch, the game ends for them, and that is not fun. Don't go and try to get the ball from the dog, just wait. If they don't drop the ball you don't play with them. This should work for most dogs. If you feel your dog doesn't LOVE fetch so they don't care if the game ends then you might need another motivator such as an "exchange". You can offer another ball or favorite toy they might love so they have to drop the ball to receive the new item. Dogs are very smart and eventually your dog will understand if they want to play fetch with you they have to drop the ball.

Julie's answer to Question #2 of 2:

Subject: Teaching a reliable recall

Teaching a good come command (also called a recall) is a very important command when owning a dog for many reasons. For one, you can have your dog off-leash and feel confident about getting them back to you at any time. But, it takes a lot of repetition, as does all of the obedience before it would be successful off-leash.

Take the command words themselves, seriously.
In order to later be successful off-leash you will want to begin to teach the come while on-leash so that you can back up the command with good timing. What I mean by this is; imagine you have called your dog to come to you while off-leash and they don't come, you have now begun to ruin that word for them because they realized they really don't have to come to you. But if the dog was on leash when you called them you could have made sure they came to you no matter what which makes the command itself have more meaning. Of course you will later have that off leash control but if you do not first practice it on leash you cannot have the proper timing to make it extremely successful.

Teaching the command COME
1. Put your dogs leash and collar on and get a treat or toy ready and in hand.
2. Walk to the end of the leash and visibly show the treat/toy to the dog and say their name and follow with the command come, for example: "Spot, come!"

Always say the dogs name first to gain attention and you should sound very encouraging with this command because you want it to be very exciting and wonderful for the dog to get to you. When the dog gets to you reward them instantly with the treat or toy. They should have a lot of focus on you now.

Do not say the word "come" over and over. You should try to say it once after their name and that would be enough. (Sometimes we repeat the command in the early stages more than once but when you begin to advance you want to be sure you only have to say it once). You do not want them to get into the habit of waiting until the sixth time you've said it!

When you are showing your dog the treat, hold your hand the same way every time. The goal here is that later, when you are not using treats, you will hold your hand in the same way as if you were holding a treat. It makes the dog have a visual with the command as well. The dog then later is visually stimulated to remember that treat and reward when they see your hand look the same whether or not you have a treat in your hand. It will help you have more focus from your dog later when we begin to use treats less. You will be replacing the treat with genuine physical praise, which will be just as great for your dog.

To understand how close a dog should be when they receive their treat, you will want the dog to be close enough where you could reach out and grab their collar if needed.

If the dog does not come to you at this point it is usually because of one of three factors; either your treat is not enticing enough, or there is something distracting your dog, or at some point in the past you made it a negative experience for the dog to get to you, probably unintentionally. So, try to go into a quiet environment with an amazing treat and be very positive and excited about having your dog get to you!

Your dog should race to get to you when called, NOT stop along the way, sniff and do something else before they come. When we are teaching a good recall (come command) we want our dog to come rather quickly to us without stopping.

When you begin this exercise note that the dog is in a release mode doing whatever they want before you call them. You should walk to the end of your 6-foot leash to call them. If they come to you before you call them that's great too! Eventually when you begin to practice this command they may start coming to you before you call and that is a good thing. Dogs are smart and may begin to anticipate your moves.

Be encouraging at this point in the training and have it be really fun and exciting to get to you. You want getting to you to be better than some amazing smell or site of another exciting experience that the dog might be focused on so you have to make it like a party when they do get to you. Do not give the treat until they have actually reached you. But, you want to treat immediately when they reach you and not delay it so that they feel very clear as to what you are happy about.

You can also try offering praise with petting or a favorite toy as a reward for getting to you. Make sure there are no distractions and you are acting very inviting right now like squatting on the floor with a treat for beginning to teach this command. If they still do not come to you try walking away to get them to follow you.

It is EXTREMELY important that in all situations it is positive to come to you. Dogs only remember the very last thing that happened a couple of seconds ago. So for example, say at one time you were angry at your dog and you called them to you to discipline them. What you actually did was discipline them for coming to you because that was the very last thing they did and that will be what they remember. I came across a client one time whose dog was actually fearful of coming because one time her boyfriend disciplined the dog when the dog came because he was angry about the dog peeing on the carpet. He actually disciplined the dog for coming to him, not for peeing when he did it that way. The dog thought it did something wrong for coming to them. So not only will your dog stop trusting you but they will not want to come to you either! Never make the mistake of having anything ever be wrong for coming to you. You always want to encourage your dog to come to you and make it very positive when they do.

This type of beginning training is laying the foundation for our dog to think that when they hear their name and the 'come' command they get a very positive experience when they reach you! It instills in them that coming to you is a very happy thing that they will always want to do.

Practice this several times a day over the next few days to weeks in several parts of your home. Your goal here is to be successful 100% of the time with the recall and for your dog to think it is just one big fun game right now.

Eventually you'll move onto areas with more distractions and even a longer 20-foot lead. The idea is that you slowly build up your dog's ability to do it under distracting environments. Once your dog is coming to you EVERY TIME with a 20-foot lead and in areas of distraction you are ready for off-leash!

If you practice this command consistently every day you will eventually be able to have your dog come to you even off-leash reliably.

Tips:

- Do NOT reel in your dogs leash with pressure when they are coming to you or else they will be dependent on that and when not on leash they will not come.
- If you find your dog is off-leash and you need them to get to you because of an emergency but they are not yet ready for a reliable come command off-leash you can make loud, kid like whoo hoo sounds while running in the opposite direction. The sound will get your dogs attention and the fact that you are running away will make them want to chase you. This is to be done only when you have no other choice. But a true good recall should be done with the practice outlined above.

Give Zak and Nitro a big hug from me! Good luck with it all! Praise with sincerity, and practice, practice, practice!! Let me know if you need anything else and how your dogs are doing!

Julie
http://www.webdogtrainer.com/

Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 9:45 am Post subject:

Hi Julie,

Thanks for sharing your valuable knowledge with us!

My dog is a 3.5 year old neutered male Boerboel (South African Mastiff). He weights about 140#. He is fairly well trained (has his CGC and has taken beg and int agility classes). He is a very athletic and hyper boy.

The problem: He has injured his right front shoulder and needs to stay calm for a week or so in order to heal. Normally he plays or trains for an hour or more every weekday and more on the weekends. Right now he is quite stir crazy and is inventing new ways to entertain himself by jumping, running, chewing and so on. He actually jumped over my dining room table in his excitement. He's also taken to harrassing the other dog (12 y/o fem. ACD) in my household and chasing the cat.

What can I do to help him expend some energy without injuring himself? I've tried Kongs, but he is very clever at getting the treats out (even frozen) and then turning the Kong into a self-tossed fetch toy. Because he is so large, he is a very strong and powerful chewer and chew toys (even Black Kongs) have a very limited lifespan around him. Toys as entertainment don't seem like the best way to go.

I was thinking about teaching him a few tricks, but I don't know how or know if this is a good idea.

Your input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Rebecca

Julie's Answer:

Subject: dogs injured-needs to be calm to heal-but going stir crazy.

Hi Rebecca!

You're welcome! I'm so glad you are enjoying my posts!
Wow, that is a tough situation to be in! I am sorry you are going through this right now. The very first thing I would do is talk with your Vet very specifically about what you are going through with your dog. It sounds to me that he might injure himself more by being at home doing nothing since he has already jumped over the table! You might also try looking into Canine Hydrotherapy which is beneficial in the recovery program for certain injuries and may be a great way to drain extra energy at the same time. Also, another option is the Tellington T-Touch, which is a method that uses specially designed circular movements of the fingers and hands all over the body and among its many benefits, has been used extensively to speed healing and recovery from injuries. I first became aware of the benefits of using this method while training at Guide Dogs for the Blind. This would feel great to your dog too!

As a trainer I know how important being busy and exercise is for a dogs state of being, especially young active ones. Does he like car rides? My dog loves going in the car so that might be another possibility for something to do- new smells to smell, etc. Perhaps you could even speak with an animal physical therapist. They would be specially trained to know what kind of exercise could be done for specific injuries.

If your dog is really in need of moving and exercise it might be worth looking into all of these options before he injures himself more at home. Even teaching tricks can take some physical movements so you'll have to get some approval on what can and cannot be done before you start. After you talk with your Vet and animal physical therapist and look into hydrotherapy and T-Touch you'll get a better idea of how to release some of that pent up energy and speed his healing.

Hopefully you and your dog will be on the road to recovery and soon be feeling great again! Please let me know how he does and if you find that one of these methods helped you come back and share it with us!
All the best,
Julie
http://www.webdogtrainer.com/

Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 8:34 pm Post subject:

Hi Julie!

I am glad that you are here to help us!!

Ok so heres my problem.

I work at a dog boarding kennel and we recently had a Akita Mix come in. the owner said, not to pull on the dog, and don't grab his collar.

When we were putting the dog in the kennel, it took the owners a 1/2 hour to get the dog in, and during this time the dog bit the owner several times, and in the end to get it in we had to muzzle it and pushed it in.

the first thing that came to mind was Bite inhibition, and the dog was taken from the litter too early, and didn't learn that.
and the dog was manipulating the owner.

So my Question is why is the dog doing this and how can they fix it?

Also while I was cleaning out its kennel, I accidently touched its collar, it snapped at me, and it gave no body signals or warnings!

I hope you can help that you, Krystal

Julie's Answer:

Subject: Aggression
Hi Krystal!

I'm glad I'm here too, thank you for the warm welcome! This question is a tough one though because anything related to aggression is almost impossible to fix in a forum where we just have a few paragraphs. Plus, Petfinder.com states in their rules for this forum to "work directly with a professional behaviorist/trainer so they can monitor your pets progress". What I do see from your description is that the owners obviously do not have obedience control over their dog's behavior if it took them a ½ hour to get the dog into the kennel. Plus, they seemed to have already experienced aggression if they knew enough to warn you not to touch the dog's collar. This all says a lot actually. Some forms of aggression can be neutralized with good obedience and a dog learning its proper role in the family, etc. and some forms of aggression need special attention. It sounds like this behavior may have been going on awhile so it is my suspicion the owners should seek the proper professional help.

We'll never really know the reason the dog is doing it because we can't possibly know the dog's entire history. But, in terms of knowing how to fix it, well, the owner has a lot of work to do. First of all they should consult with a trainer/behaviorist who specializes in aggression and has worked with dogs that have bitten their owners specifically. Not every trainer is capable of this kind of training, so please have the owners question the trainer and ask for references if possible. It would be nice to know whom else that trainer worked with and what the outcomes have been. When a dog bites his or her owner, it is serious and should only be dealt with by someone with A LOT of experience in aggression.

Sorry I cannot give you a quick answer fix here on this forum but I hope that my advice at least can point you and the owners in the right direction for how to arrive with a solution.

Let me also say I think it is wonderful you care enough to reach out to help them. I hope for a good outcome for all!

Julie
http://www.webdogtrainer.com/

Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 4:50 am Post subject:

Hi Julie! welcome to petfinder! Hope you enjoy chit chatting with us and our crazy mongrels Very Happy

My oldest dog coal is a lab/pointer/pit mix. He is extremely intelligent and very well behaved. We even broke him of his bad water fixation! His only bad habit involves playing with toys with other dogs. We recently added a puppy to the mix and she loooves to play with his toys and he does great with her. But when we take him to the dog park and he is playing fetch he will attack another dog if it goes near his ball. Is there any way to train him not to do this? We have stopped taking him to the park if another dog is around.

He does really well with other dogs at the park but he doesn't seem to like small dogs in the park he was attacked by a dachsund and now if he sees a small dog he will run across the park to get it! Obviously we have problems with trips to the park which is why we stopped taking him.

Also he has a bad habit of running across the park if he sees another dog and he will pull on his leash, bark, and whine at another dog. so any tips to control his behavior around other dogs would be fabulous.

He is so strange because he is great with EVERY dog we have ever had inside the house but outside he is completely different! Dominant, whining, barking, going after small dogs. Same thing with cats. He cuddles with my cats but outside he wants to chase them down and eat them!

Also (sorry this is so lengthy) we adopted a puppy from a free to good home ad. She was 6 weeks old when we got her, the original owners bred the mother and got rid of 6 of her siblings, then abandoned the 4 he couldnt find homes for. We took one of the 4 from the people who rescued them.

We are worried since she was taken from her mother early she will develop behavior issues later on. Is there anything we should be doing to prevent this? We are socializing her with people and other pets she is sooo super smart. She is a border collie/lab mix so at 10 weeks she knows how to sit, lay down, come, and goto bed.

Thanks so much Julie!
Amber

Julie's Answer:

Subjects: Leash frustration, chasing cats and puppy socialization.

Hi Amber!
Thank you for my warm Petfinder welcome!

It sounds like what you are describing is something we call "leash frustration". Dogs with this problem can be fine when they get to meet dogs while not being restrained by a leash; but as soon as the restraint is there, the problem arises. Your dog may be lunging at the end of a tight collar and leash and wanting to get to something. This kind of frustration can lead to aggression. Did you know that some trainers who do protection training and actually want to create aggression do so by having a tight collar and leash to bring out the frustration that leads to aggression? So, knowing this, it is EXTREMELY important that when dogs greet other dogs they do so with a loose collar and leash.

A dog's proper greeting. Dogs do not normally approach each other in a straight line, but because they are on leash and pulling with chest out, we often force that straight line which can actually cause other dogs to feel challenged. When the other dog is feeling challenged then they can send signals to your dog that escalates the problem without us even knowing it. Imagine if you were to meet a stranger for the first time and walk right up to them with your face an inch from their face! What reaction would that person have do you think? They would probably be uncomfortable and move away, or you may even get punched! It is like that in the dog world too. Your dog needs to learn the proper way to approach another dog. A good greeting is when two dogs meet by coming to each other in an arc, not a straight line, then they move to smell each other first in the area to the side of their mouth then on to their genitals. Then they continue to move without any long pausing or freezes. If your dog is known for approaching badly we can actually encourage the proper approach through some training techniques.

So, we need to encourage behavior in our dogs that other dogs will not feel threatened by. For example, our dog should learn to approach other dogs slowly and look away which will tell other dogs it is not a threat. One way for us to do this is to have them turn their back to an oncoming dog or drop treats off to the side of the road, which will encourage the dog to look away.

Teach your dog to calm down in stressful situations. If you are out on a walk and your dog is approaching something that is their trigger and may lead to aggression teach your dog to follow you and turn away from the object. Have a treat ready and put the treat near your dogs nose and when they begin to follow the treat make a turn so that you will be turning away from the object you want to avoid. Use your let's go command at the same time. Give your dog the treat lure after they have completed the turn. So here you will be getting your dog to avoid the object by following you and turning themselves in the opposite direction. Then you may choose to continue walking in the opposite direction or you may put them in a down stay for example with the threat behind them so they are not focused on it. Continue this for several minutes until you see your dog's body begin to relax. This also teaches a dog they can learn control near stressful situations.

You can teach a "Find it" command where essentially you are training your dog to look away from the object that may lead to aggression (in this case, another dog). Drop a treat on the ground and tell your dog to "find it"! After they eat the treat and come back over to you, give them another treat. The goal is to have your dog looking down for the treat and then focusing on you so that your dog's focus would not be on the distraction you are trying to avoid. Do this several times until the dog is very focused on you then throw the treat down, say "find it", and then walk away. Do this several times until the dog is quickly running back to get to you then add a command like, "let's go". Keep this up so that your goal is to have your dog either focused on the treat or you and then walking with you on leash. It is very important that your dog does not feel tightness on the collar so keep the leash loose. Practice this command a lot before you will actually need it in a real life situation.

-The aim of these exercises are to teach your dog to turn their attention off of oncoming dogs which in turn signals the other dog that your dog is not a threat.

-You as the leader should feel relaxed and calm when your dog is meeting another dog and your dog's leash should be loose so they do not feel pressure on their neck.

Some forms of leash frustration aggression can be neutralized with some of these techniques, good obedience and a dog learning its proper role in the family, etc. and some forms of aggression need special attention. If your dog has ever bitten anyone or you or others fear your dog then it may be time to seek a specialist's help, who has a lot of experience with this.

Chasing cats:
"He cuddles with my cats but outside he wants to chase them down and eat them!"

Some dogs also respond with aggression when their natural prey drive kicks in from seeing something move quickly such as squirrels, cats, cars, etc. It is important here again to take their focus off the "prey" immediately and gain control over your dog with obedience practice. What we do here when we take their focus off the object is stop the process before it escalates. Brush up on your obedience skills with your dog and practice first at a distance from outdoor cats and then slowly work up to being able to maintain the control near the cats. If you practice this well, over time your dog will understand how it is expected to behave near cats outside.

Puppy socializing.
"We are worried since she was taken from her mother early she will develop behavior issues later on. Is there anything we should be doing to prevent this?"

It is wonderful that you are looking into this, good for you! At 10 weeks old your puppy is in the middle of the Socialization period 7-12 weeks and also the fear imprint period 8-11 weeks. This is an important time for your puppy. During the fear imprint period it is believed that any traumatic experience can have a lasting impact on them, so you'll want to gradually introduce them to new things and people. Try to make their experiences positive using praise, toys and treats. Don't force the puppy into fearful situations; allow them to slowly adjust. You sound like you are already doing some obedience, which is fantastic because you are establishing your leadership role and if done well your puppy is learning important respect. At this state they should also be learning bite inhibition from you and through A LOT of free playtime with other puppies and friendly adult dogs. Try enrolling them in a puppy socialization class if possible. If your puppy bites you too hard immediately stop the play with a time out as a consequence. Then, when the puppy has gotten reliable about soft biting you can begin to redirect all biting onto toys so that no more biting on you, is allowed. Make the experiences positive and consistent.

It will take some effort but the rewards are amazing! You and your dogs will be happier! I hope this information helps you have the best life you can with your dogs.

Take care, and let me know how it goes!

Julie
www.webDogTrainer.com

Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 6:03 pm Post subject: excited urination

My dog Sasha is a 2 year old Basenji mix. She has a problem with urinating everywhere when she is excited (usually when people come in the house). Other than this she is extremely well house trained. Any person who comes in the house and even looks at her will cause her to urinate. Two days ago she was so excited when she saw me outside the window, she urinated on our new couch. Is there something that we can do to stop this?

Julie's Answer:

Subject: Submissive Urination.

To understand why your dog is doing this it helps to understand dominance and submissiveness in the dog world. In a situation where overly sensitive dogs may feel intimidated and excited their response is to urinate to show that they recognize the other person or dogs dominance. It is very common for this to happen during greetings. It is VERY important to understand that punishment will only make the situation worse and they are not doing it on purpose or out of spite. In their dog world this is proper behavior. But, because they are living in our human world we understandably want to change the behavior.

First and foremost you should always make sure that your Vet rules out all physical problems. After that, you can move onto learning how to control the behavior. For submissive dogs, positive reinforcement for good behavior is very important to build their confidence. I would suggest an obedience plan that uses treats, favorite toys and other positive motivators for this type of dog.

Since greetings are the main culprit there are things you can do to solve the problem as well. Upon arrival, both you and guests should actually ignore her for the first few minutes to minimize the excitement, which leads to the urination. Walk in calmly, with no eye contact and no petting for the first 5-10 minutes. Just walk past her and act as though she is not even there. After the excitement of the arrival has ended you can acknowledge her in a calm way. When you do pet her do not stand over her, as this is a sign of dominance, just sit calmly and let her come next to you. Ask all guests to do the same. Over time, your dog will not get so overwhelmed with the greetings and the behavior should be controlled. Make sure you are exercising your dog regularly and having her relieve herself often and especially before you are expecting guests.

It will take a few changes but I am confident you'll be happy with the results and a clean house again! You and your dog will be happier!

All the best!

Julie
www.webDogTrainer.com

Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 6:20 pm Post subject:

wow that is a ton of help thanks so much Julie! I will definitely work with both of my pups! Luckily coal is great with saya so we can get her properly socialized. We will organize a nice puppy get together for her on weekends to work on socializing! She doesnt really bite at all just does the normal spinning in circles and jumping. She responds great to "no" and "bed" I like using the bed as a calm down spot! So for people asking about how to calm a dog down a calm down spot like a bed or crate is great!

So as far as calming signals for coal and calming him down is there any specific tips for doing that. He gets VERY overstimulated which is probably another reason he rubs other dogs the wrong way. when at the dog park he barrels over full speed and circles the other dog and then runs up at their face and licks them so i think he is making other dogs nervous.

Sorry so many questions! its so nice to get a professionals help! I think both my pups would benefit from a dog training/socializing class! thanks again!

Julie's Answer:

Subject: Teaching your dog to be calmer at the dog park.

Hi again!

I'm so glad you found my other advice to you helpful! As far as getting your dog to be calmer before entering the dog park…one of the most important things you can do when you have a dog that is overly excited in the dog park is to exercise your dog BEFORE entering. It is a misconception that dog parks are the place that a dog should get their exercise. Dog parks are for socializing. When dogs enter a dog park in an overly excited state of mind filled with pent up energy there are often problems that arise. If you want to go to dog parks with your dog I would highly suggest that you really tire him out before letting him go inside. One of the biggest reasons dogs develop behavior problems are because they are not getting their energy drained enough daily. Most dogs need a lot more exercise then they are getting and overly excited dogs need even more!

Secondly, I would suggest practicing some obedience with your dog daily. Obedience teaches dogs control and helps calm them through that control. Plus, if you notice your dog getting too wound up in the dog park you can call them over to you and ask for a down stay until you feel they have relaxed a bit before letting them loose again. Obedience training and lots of exercise are the keys to having a well-trained dog!

Let me know how it all turns out for you!

Julie
www.webDogTrainer.com

Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 6:47 pm Post subject: Barking

msladybug wrote

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Julie,

I rescued 4 poms last Oct. All the females were timid and affraid of loud noises or sudden movements but they were coming around for me.

I adopted out one of the pom girls several months ago. This girls name is Luna. Rose the new owner was aware of Luna's timidness. Luna does very well with Rose but Luna started barking at Rose's daughter so Rose and the daughter took Luna to obedience training, (I believe it was an 8 week course)

Luna did well with the training but she still barks at the daughter, the daughter can come in from outside, or walk into the room, or be sitting on the couch and get up for a drink and Luna will bark at her. This family loves Luna & Luna loves Rose, but they are at their wits end trying to figure out how to help Luna accept the daughter.

The daughter will give Luna treats and Luna will take them from the daughters hands but she is still uncertain of the daughter.

Is there anything I tell them to help Luna to stop barking at the daughter? Thank you for offering your help.

Barb.

Posted Thu May 15, 2008 6:42 pm:

Opps. sorry petfinder i didn't mean to put this outside of pet topic can you move it there?
_________________
"Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."
Live simply; Love generously; Care deeply; Speak kindly; and Leave the rest to God!

Julie's Answer:

Subject: Barking

Hi Barb!

That's wonderful that you are such a great rescuer that you even follow up with the dogs you've adopted out! Good for you and thank you for that! If the daughter is old enough under supervision I would recommend she be the one that holds the leash during walks and also works with the dog herself with some simple tricks and obedience. If the dog begins to establish some trust in the daughter that should help. I would also recommend having the dog on-leash, attached to the Mom while she is in the home for a couple weeks so that the timing of stopping the barking is improved as well as giving the dog something to do (she will have to pay attention to whomever has her leash and follow wherever they are going). Just have them attach the leash to their belt and the dog has to go where they go. When the daughter walks by, have the Mom practice some obedience techniques and reward for good behavior. If you have the dog refocus on the obedience around the daughter the dog will soon associate that when the daughter is near, they do some fun obedience and get some nice treats so it becomes a positive experience for all.

I think that consistently stopping the barking with good timing as well as refocusing the dogs mind on some obedience and positive rewards will be the solution.

I hope it works out for them and come back and let us know if it does!

Julie
www.webDogTrainer.com

Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 6:57 pm Post subject:

Hi! It looks like the questions are piling up, so I'll make it short.
I have a 9 year old Beagle/Basset named Charlie. Charlie was turned into a shelter at 7 years old because his humans had to enter an assisted care facility. Apparantly they never taught Charlie how to be quiet. (Or maybe they were hearing-impaired and couldn't hear him.)

He barks at anything and nothing. He barks in my face while I'm trying to get his food dished up. And his bark is excrutiatingly loud! I am losing my hearing because of his barking! And nothing I do seems to help. I've tried NILIF. I've tried isolating him. Anything I do just makes him bark more.

Help!

Julie's Answer:

Subject: Excessive Barking

Hi!

First of all, let me say a big Thank you to you for adopting an older dog! I think that is just wonderful! I have quite a special place in my heart for seniors.

Sometimes dogs bark because they are bored, stressed, or out of habit. The positive thing about dogs is that their past behavior doesn't prevent them from changing. In fact, if you decide that from now on, your dog is not going to be an excessive barker you can change it. Don't think about his past, focus on the now. Having said that, let's talk about what you can do to fix the problem of excessive barking. If your dog is barking in your face during the time you are preparing their meal and then you give them their meal, they have just been reinforced positively for their barking. The proper way to be waiting for their food is calmly and quietly. So, from today on, things can change. Put a leash and collar on your dog and ask them to sit stay during the time you are preparing their food. Practice this daily and if your dog isn't very good at it you'll need to practice it in a quiet environment and work up to being able to do it during the food preparation (which is more difficult for them) when they fully understand the command. This is another example of when obedience training is VERY important. Your dog should sit and stay while you are preparing the food. Hold the food bowl up in front of him and wait until he is quiet before putting it down. So now he is rewarded with food for being quiet. You must be VERY consistent for this to work. If one day you put it down when he is barking then you'll destroy all the other days you worked hard at waiting until he was quiet. Dogs are very smart. If you know deep down inside what you want from your dog and you practice it every day and you are VERY consistent with it you will have success. If you give in one day because you are tired then you will not be successful in the future. It takes time and energy initially but when done well it will become easier and easier until one day you forgot it was even a problem!

There are different ways to teach a quiet command to a dog. Some focus on startling them quiet with a loud noise, like shaking beans in a can, while others use more negative punishment by turning your back on the behavior for example or leaving the room so you are not offering the attention they are seeking. Try different things and see what works. In my experience, a well-trained dog that has practiced a lot of really good obedience and where the owner is very consistent will be quite easy to change the behavior. You have to be calm, yet very sure of what you want from the dog so at no time are they confused.

Extreme barkers need to be kept busy, active and regularly practicing obedience and when they are not being trained you will need to manage the environment to help avoid their specific triggers. If your dog barks outside for example then when they are alone they should not be left in the back yard and instead kept indoors unless you are there to correct the barking. If they always bark at the mailman then when the mailman comes they should have their attention refocused either doing obedience or brought to another part of the house. The idea is that you begin to consistently stop the barking and you are very clear what your expectations are of the dog.

All behavioral problems cannot be fixed if the dog is not being exercised properly to drain their energy on a twice-daily basis at least. I know I preach this a lot but no matter how much we train our dogs they will have behavioral problems if that energy is not drained properly, so that is ALWAYS step one of every solution.
I know you must be frustrated but you need to take a deep breath and approach this with a new, calmer confidence. If our dogs sense we are frustrated or angry they perceive us as weak leaders and will not trust us to follow our commands. Write down your goals and how you'll accomplish them and trust in yourself that you can change this! You can do it!!

Good luck!

Julie
www.webDogTrainer.com

Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 12:10 am Post subject:

Hi Julie...

Sounds like you've given lots of great advice. I am definitely going to try the techniques you gave fostermom regarding jumping on visitors (mine do that too.)

My question is in regards to the interaction between my dogs and my cats. The dogs have not gotten to the point where they interact freely with the cats without supervision (not sure if that has been a mistake on my part, but I keep them separate alot because of the type of interactions they have had in the past). They are, however, pretty good with them when they are one on one with the cats. My lab/bc mix mostly just wants to figure out where the cats' food is, and he basically ignores them. The lab wants to play with them. She will lick their faces (much to their surprise) and bounce around them (which puts them off), but will lay on the bed next to them when she is calm.

My problem is when the two dogs are together. Then it becomes a free for all, let's chase the cats, and put everyone in to a tizzy kind of scene. The lab's bounciness usually starts it, then the lab/bc gets all hyped up and will paw at the cat until he runs, and then the chase is on. There have been a few times when the lab/bc has gotten overly aggressive and I was worried that he might try to hurt the cat. He is not like that when he is alone with either of the cats.

I have a feeling that the "pack" mentality and "prey drive" might be at play here, but I am not sure how to go about getting the dogs to interact positively with the cats when they are together. (I would love to see the four of them all getting along and curled up together somewhere. Hope its not just wishful thinking!)

The dogs around 2-3 years old, while the cats are 6 and 10 yrs old. The 10 yr old I have had since he was a kitten, the 6 yr old is a relatively new adoptee. I was told though that he had lived with other cats and a dog. The lab/bc I have had since he was a 4 month old pup, while the lab I got about a year and a half ago. All but the 6 yr old Maine Coon are rescues.

Julie's Answer:

Subject: Dogs and Cats.

Hi!

Oh that's great you found the techniques from my previous post on learning a proper greeting helpful! Teaching dogs and cats to live harmoniously is something I've worked with lots of clients with great results. It's good that you have observed closely what happens just before the "frenzy" because knowing that will help you resolve it. I would suggest that you work with one dog at a time with leash and collar and practice some obedience: sit, down, stay, etc near the cats. The idea here is that your dog learns some calm control while being near the cats. It sounds like you have one dog that may be the instigator so work with that dog even more. What you will be doing is providing "memory control" to the dogs for what your expectations are of them. If for example you have practiced good obedience near the cats for a couple weeks while on leash and then one day they are off-leash they will have that memory of you being the leader and teaching them control so that your guidance will have more affect on them in the moment they need it.

After practicing separately, or together if you have more than one person to help you, you can begin to let them in the room at the same time as the cats. It may be easier to keep the instigator on leash initially so you have some control. The key here is to catch them BEFORE they chase. Observe closely and if you notice the dogs staring at the cats and not taking their eyes off of them it is time to do some more obedience to take their focus off the cats. They are allowed to look at the cat, but should be looking away and not fixating on them. There is a process that begins when dogs chase cats and the first part is the fixation, and then comes the chase or attack. If you stop the process and don't allow the fixation you will stop the attack. Plus, the obedience will help your word have meaning when you ask them to change their focus.

If your dog is starting to fixate, call them to you, and ask for a down stay with their backs to the cats until you notice they relax and are not fixated. You may have to do this over and over initially but if you are consistent with good timing your dogs will get the message that you as their leader are not going to allow it anymore. What also happens when you practice this obedience near the cats is the dogs become more relaxed around them and will not be sending threatening signals to your cats so you'll find your cats relax more as well which also makes your dogs relax! See how it works? Through your expectations you decide what to allow. Make it very clear to your dogs from today on that it is unacceptable behavior and they won't be allowed to do it anymore. This is why I suggest using leashes initially to have good timing and consistency. If you allow them to get away with the fixation and then the chase 1 time out of 10 you will ruin all 9 other times you practiced hard. So be VERY consistent, and practice daily and soon this problem will be a thing of the past!

Again, as with all of these techniques you will need to be sure your dog is exercised and worn out before you begin trying to change this behavior. If your dog has stored up energy waiting to be released when you practice this you will likely be unsuccessful. It would also not be fair to your dog. Remember, a tired dog is good dog!

I hope this helps you and that you can soon have a harmonious life with all your sweet furry friends! Your cats will thank you too!

P.S. Thanks for being such a great animal rescuer!

Julie
www.webDogTrainer.com

Posted: Sun May 18, 2008 8:53 am Post subject:

Hi Julie. I'm enjoying reading about other people's problems and your solutions.
My trouble is with my 10 year old dachshund, Earl. I adopted him from a shelter last year. Besides Earl I have a 13 year old female that's been here for 2 years and 2 older male foster dogs that came in January. They are all dachshunds and everybody is spayed/neutered. Earl is a friendly guy, but usually prefers to keep to himself. In the past 3 weeks or so Earl has started barking and running toward the foster dogs when they walk past him. They can be 10 feet away and just walking through the room or standing there and he will jump up and run barking toward them. The foster boys just keep on walking past or go the other way. He never does it to the old lady of the house or my prior male foster who was with us for 5 months, but he did do it with a female foster who went to her new home last week and an annoying young child who visited. I figure he is just protecting his space, but it seems to be getting worse and I'm not sure how to get him to relax and realize there is enough room for everybody.

Julie's Answer:

Subject: Senior Dog barking at foster dogs.

Hi!
I am so glad you are enjoying reading about my solutions to other people's questions! It is wonderful to hear from people like you that are adopting senior dogs and also fostering! Thank you for all that you do!

As dogs age they can undergo physical changes that can affect them in different ways and even alter their behavior. Painful underlying medical conditions such as arthritis or dental problems can cause recent onset aggressive symptoms in senior dogs. A change of vision or hearing can cause different sensory problems that may also result in changes in behavior. Sometimes even decreased mobility can affect how a dog reacts to events. Because your dog also had a new issue with a child who may have gone past the limits of acceptable behavior towards your dog it sounds as though there may be some physical or even mental changes going on due to his aging. You will need to discuss this with a good Vet and see if there are treatment options to help make him more comfortable. If it does turn out to be a physical cause then you will have to watch for signs of stress and carefully monitor interactions with visitors and between the dogs. There may even be times your dog may be safer and happier to be given a quiet place to hang out that allows him to be away from some of the situations that make him feel stressed.

Other things to consider are that in homes with multiple dogs there is a pack structure where one dog is often more dominant and often times it is the dog that was there first, usually the older dog. But, as the dog ages or new, younger dogs come into the picture there can be dominance challenges. This may also be what you are seeing. You as the owner will have to become the dominant one and use strict control of who gets what and when while working with obedience as well with commands such as sits and down stays. Close supervision of the dogs may be necessary and separation when they are alone.

I would also suggest that you put a Gentle leader head collar on Earl during interactions with visitors. These head collars are great for many reasons; one being that it will give you more control over Earl's behavior and they are also believed to cause dogs to feel calmer due to certain pressure points being activated during use. Monitor him and watch for increased signs of stress and stay in contact with your Vet. Be cautious and if you feel Earl could bite someone you will of course need to take actions to prevent that.

I hope this information helps you and that you can continue to be a successful fosterer and have a great life with your senior dogs!

Julie
www.webDogTrainer.com

Thank you to Julie and all that have posted for making this first moderated topic such a success. Everyone's participation has been tremendous and greatly appreciated.

Stay tuned for next month when we explore building shelter and public relationships.

Thanks again!

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