WEEK 2

DAY 9

Jessica, Rob and E. are all going on vacation to the outer banks this week.
S., Ottis, Lynx, and Amber will be watched by three different people while they are gone.

Kieran, Jess’ best friend, Angie, Jess’ half sister and me.

Between the three of us we should do a pretty good job of messing up the routines and the household.

Kieran’s stay begins Saturday till Monday evening when I take over.
Kieran, coming from a big family and being the big sister is quite like a mom herself. I had no doubt that S. would be well taken care of and kept to her daily routine. She loves children and S. loves her.
The animals on the other hand may need some intervention, so I made an effort to get up to the house everyday and started working with Amber on her obedience and manners.

“So, how’s it going?” I asked while watching butt naked S. and Amber frolic in the kiddy pool.
“S. is doing well, but Amber had some accidents in the house. She was sleeping so I went upstairs to put S. to bed and I came down and she had messed.”
The “keep the puppy with you at all times” rule is for every human in the house, whether permanent or temporary.
I explained to Kieran some of the training we had been doing with Amber.
Nothing in life is free and extinction training.

Why nothing in life is free.

There has been an ongoing debate between animal behaviorist and trainers whether dominance is the driving force behind a dog’s behavior and how they interact with the world around them. Many argue that dominance of the pack, that includes humans, will always dictate how your dog behaves and unless it is constantly controlled, your dog will battle for that position and bad behavior will result if not done so.
To be a good leader, does one have to be dominant? Dominant means to rule over or control. Lead means to have one follow, or to show the way.
Different training practices have resulted from these conflicting beliefs and theories.
This is what I believe.
When most think of dominance it instills a picture of harshness, intimidation and breaking of ones spirit to gain control.

Hitler ruled with dominance. Gandhi did not.

As a parent, hopefully I raised my child with the sense of respect , and trust with out using intimidation and fear, and hopefully I have done the same with my dogs. I have to be honest, though, I did not think this way when working with dogs twenty years ago.
Ah, now does this mean that I never say no to my grandchildren or my dogs? Would you try to reason with a one year old as to why they shouldn’t touch the stove? No. Would it mean I may have to get really stern with that child to get my point across? Yes. I feel there should be a balance between the both.
Ok, so what does all this have to do with “nothing in life is free?”
It all goes back to leadership. A lot of owners push their dogs into “good behavior” by harsh physical or mental punishment instead of reinforcement. I have been in homes where the dog was so well behaved it wouldn’t move from its bed. When I walked into the room, it wouldn’t even raise its head in greeting. This is not a happy animal. If you look at the rest of the family, they all probably have that same look. Everyone is well behaved and controlled but with a price. Their spirits have been broken.

In most cases, when I walk into a home the dog is totally out of control, along with the kids. Neither the dog or kids know who’s in charge.
In both cases whether they realize it or not, with no consistency, lack of reinforcement or over

use of punishment, owners are creating poor relationships with their dogs, .

Do you teach your children to say please before they get something? Do you reward them for something right even if not asked? Do you take away something important to them as a punishment?

Well, this is what I am teaching Jess to do with Amber. Jess will be controlling Amber’s recourses to gain the sense of leadership. The trick is to figure out what her dog finds very valuable. It could be food, toys, sniffing, running, even Jess herself. Amber will have to say “ please” for everything by offering different behaviors such as a sit or down before getting her dinner, attention or play. Make sense?

It’s definitely control, but without the use of force.
Jessica will also be using classical conditioning and associative learning. These are not theories these are scientifically proven methods teaching.

WEEK 1

Introducing a new animal to an existing household can be tricky.
Before even going into the house, take your puppy to her “potty spot”. She will most likely pee, just from stress. Then introduce one dog at a time outside. Leave the leashes loose or take it off. Let them sniff each other everywhere and I mean everywhere!


Ottis has been around numerous dogs in his life, so one more in his yard wasn’t anything new. He sniffed, she sniffed, and he walked away.
Lynx the cat was a different story. He took one look at Amber as she walked into the house, his tail blew up, he instantly looked ten pounds bigger and his eyes where the size of dinner plates. He flew off the chair, slid into the wall, and went headlong into the baby gate before disappearing for three days.


As I scanned the living room I asked, “So where did you put the crate?”
“What crate”
“You didn’t put the crate together yet? When are you going to do it, tonight at 8:00? I’ll go get the crate.”
As Amber wandered the house and got her bearings I reminded Jess that she needs to watch Amber like a hawk. Either tie her to her waist or lock her in the room with her. If she could not watch her, put her in her crate. Rob and E. will be the hardest to convince on how important this is when housebreaking a dog.


Here is a copy of what I give to clients to help with the housebreaking process.
Housebreaking
1. Crate, Crate, Crate! They are not cruel and unusual punishment. If introduced in a positive way, it can become your puppy’s favorite space. Dogs tend to be clean animals and as a rule, do not defecate where they sleep. (Getting a dog from a pet shop or kennel, may blow this rule out the window) It should be big enough for the pup to stand and turn around in, no heavy beds or blankets (they will soak up the urine) and keep away from direct sunlight or heat. If the pup has to be in for extended amounts of time, he should be exercised adequately am and pm. That means, running, playing for a good 1/2 hour at a time. A walk to the mailbox does not constitute good exercise.
2. When you take pup outside. Go immediately to one area (10x10) and do not move until your pup has emptied. Praise,THEN…take him on a nice sniffing adventure walk. That is his reward. Letting him browse before he goes, will distract him and take a heck of a long time. You can also put a cue to his "business" (go potty). As he learns, he will go alot quicker and the cue is useful when in strange places. BE PATIENT!
3. If pup does not go, (over time you will get to know his habits) put him back in his crate, and try again in another 15mins or so. Or you can put him on a leash and tie him to your belt. BE PATIENT!
4. That brings us to the most important tip. WATCH HIM LIKE A HAWK!! No free roam of the house. In the same room with you or in his crate. They are very good at sneaking off and doing their business before you even notice their gone. If he does have an accident out of sight. Do not scream, hit, put nose in it or any other punishment. Their short term memory is just that. SHORT! The only thing you are doing is making the dog afraid of you.
If you CATCH him in the act, with a stern, growly voice tell him "NO" and quickly take him outside, saying "Outside" as you do so. Even if he did it all in the house, still take him out. Worry about cleaning it up after you come inside. BE PATIENT!


You can restrict their water, unless their is a medical reason not to do so. Pick it up after dinner time. He will be fine. Feed on a regular schedule, do not free feed. Check your dog food. The cheaper brands usually have alot of "bulk" in them, which will make more volume. It’s worth the investment to buy a better brand. It’s better for their health all around. I recommend Wellness, Nutro or proplan. PLEASE...no Kibbles and Bits. ugh!
Good luck! and....BE PATIENT!



We spoke the next morning.
“So, how did it go last night?”
“She was really good. She had no accidents and slept through the night. She’s really good with S. and S. really loves her. Ottis just keeps taking her toys. I haven’t seen the cat. “


E. came home from vacation and was surprised to see one of his birthday presents chewing on a toy in the middle of his living room. A hug and pat on the head, and E. was searching for his other gifts. Typical eight year old boy.


Day 3


Still no cat.


A phone call at work
“Mom, Amber attacked my kid”
“What do you mean attacked her?”
“Well, we were taking a walk, and we were running around a lot, and on the way home S. was in front of us and Amber jumped on her, knocked her down and grabbed her neck.”
“Holy crap!”
“I hollered at her, we started walking again, but then she grabbed her pony tail and yanked her down!”
“Holy crap! I’ll be right over after work”


So John Q, what is the first thing to come to your mind? Vicious dog? Beat the dog? Send it back or put it to sleep?


This is why I have reservations about small children and dogs. This is why NO dog should ever be left alone with a small child, especially an infant.
Amber is not afraid of children nor has she shown any aggression towards children. Remember adoption day? If she were to show any signs of fear, she would have shown it at that time when the amount of stress and excitement was high. She was comfortable and happy with all the kids. (Most aggression is fear based)



Amber was being a dog. Dogs chase prey. Puppies play with other puppies by biting the neck and pulling on tails. Amber saw a perfect opportunity and went for it.
After getting excited by running around and playing with Jess, she saw a rolly polly little person, not much bigger than she, arms waving back and forth, squeals and giggles, and one heck of a tail coming off that pretty little head. I also wouldn’t doubt that there was a yummy binky in there to be had. An imaginary target was painted on S. back, and Amber was going for the bulls eye.
I am not condoning this behavior and no one should, but people should realize whether they own a dog or not, that dogs do not have an on and off switch when it comes to normal dog behavior in our human environment. People should learn what these behaviors are, work with the animal to either control the behaviors or not put the animal in a situation that may permit the behavior to happen.


Did Jess handle the situation the right way? Yes, I would say so.
She scolded the dog, but not harshly. If she had, she could have opened a door up to fear or real aggression towards the child. This is called associative learning and I’ll get into that later.
What did Jess learn?
That she won’t play excitedly with Amber when the baby is around. She will play tug or running games when the baby is napping or in another room. She is using management to prevent the same situation from happening again. She is giving Amber a lot of exercise, so that when the baby is around, she will be too tired to play. Jess will redirect Amber if she is getting to excited with S. and reward Amber when she is being calm and gentle with S.
Jess and Rob with my help, will teach Amber obedience and alternate behaviors, so that her natural behaviors will be redirected in a constructive way.



Day 4


“Well, how’s it going?”
“She peed and pooped in the house.”
“Do you keep her with you at all times?”
“I leave the gate open so when I’m in the kitchen she can come in or stay in the living room.”
“Then she’ll go behind the couch were you can’t see her. How about when you go upstairs?”
“Well, that’s a pain in the butt to have to put her in her crate up there every time.”
“Yea,,,, so keep her tied to you or put a crate downstairs too.”
“Rob doesn’t want a crate downstairs.”
“Ok, then you’ll have a dog that pees and poops in your house.”


Day 5

Went up to the house.
There was a crate in the kitchen.