Does your Deaf Dog like to chase your cat? Can you safely change this interaction? Often people end up with advice which might make the situation worse. Here is a training solution which works!

MANAGE:

Step one is to set everyone up for safety and success. This means that you want to employ management procedures to avoid your deaf dogs practicing this unwanted behavior. Using crates (if your dog voluntarily will go into his crate), baby gates, and/or tethering him to you with a leash are easy ways to avoid continued rehearsals of the behavior that you don’t want to see continue. 

PAIR:

Step two is to pair the sight of the cat with something positive. This way your dog begins to associate your cat with good things. There are two key points to this step. The first is to be sure that you give your dog a treat before he reacts to the cat. That is, when he first sees the cat, but before he begins to vocalize or pull (*key) pop a high value, soft treat in his mouth. This way the sight of the cat starts to equate to a yummy treat. 

The second key point is that you want to be sure that your deaf dog sees the cat before you give him the treat. The order is important as you want “scary cat” to equal yummy treat…not the other way around. Eventually when your dog sees a cat, the cat predicts a treat. Now your deaf dog will begin to look forward to a cat appearing.

REINFORCE:

The final step is when you mark and reinforce an alternative response to the cat. Instead of seeing the cat and beginning to bark, jump, howl, or chase instead you want your deaf dog to see the cat and turn to you! This behavior of orienting to you instead of the less desirable response is what you will reinforce.

It looks like this: deaf dog sees cat and turns to look at you. You mark and reinforce with a high value, tiny, soft treat. Your dog has now just learned that orienting towards you is much more worthwhile than bothering with the cat. Over time this new response to the cat should become your dog’s default behavior. 

With this in mind, work on consistently building this new skill set. Remember to:

• Manage the environment to set everyone up for success
• Pair calm cat interactions with high value treats
• Reinforce alternative behaviors you want to see repeated

Soon your deaf dog and cat reactions will be relaxed and mellow and allow for peaceful co-existace in your home!

If you’d like more help, please contact Positive Animal Wellness for one on one assistance.

Moose’s mom’s chart showing progress over time/Moose relaxing during a SA exercise!

Separation anxiety is a panic disorder associated with your dog feeling anxious, stressed, and afraid when left alone. Each dog may manifest this anxiety differently. However, the hormonal and neuro-chemical processes which occur when fear and/or anxiety are triggered means that your dog is unable to control his resulting behavior. 

Have your neighbors complained about your dog barking when you aren’t home? Do you return to find shoes, pillows, couches, or walls chewed up? Does your dog become stressed when you begin to get ready to leave the house?

These could be indicators that your pup might be suffering from separation anxiety. With true separation anxiety a dog is only comfortable with one specific person, however a more common scenario is where the dog is relaxed as long as there is (any) human accessible. This version is known as isolation distress, however also falls under the umbrella term separation anxiety.

Getting Started

To begin, the good news is that separation anxiety work is done remotely—as to be present changes the dynamics of the situation. A computer, wifi connection, and smart phone are all the tools and technology needed to get under way.

Step one is to do an assessment. This enables you to determine the starting point. It allows you to decide where to begin the training. The next step is to manage the situation so that your dog is not left alone for longer than he can handle. This is important in preventing rehearsals of the unwanted behavior while working on the problem. Finally, step three is a carefully crafted program of desensitization. To recap: 

1. 1. 1. Assess
      2. Manage
      3. Desensitize

An assessment is generally done via a platform such as Zoom or Skype. The goal of the assessment is to determine the point where your dog demonstrates an escalation in anxiety .  Now  you know where to start with the desensitization process. 

Management can be comprised of many collaborative components. Doggy day care, pet sitters, neighbors, and friends can help in avoiding more alone time than your dog can currently calmly handle while you work on the issue. 

Lastly, helping your pup to feel more confident and comfortable when by himself is possible via a specific program of desensitization. This means very, very, very slowly you will begin to build alone time duration. You’ll work at a pace that your dog dictates via his body language responses.

At the start it might be desensitizing to your movements—before you even leave the house. Later it may mean working in increments of seconds, then minutes before gradually putting those seconds and minute blocks of time together to get to real, appreciable absences. 

Desensitizing to micro-criteria breaks may look something like this:

Noting and working on pre-departure cues (PDQs) is a key factor too.  Your dog may start to feel anxious before you even leave while you begin getting ready to depart. Exposing your pup slowly and intermittently to the relevant PDQs and adjusting criteria in tiny increments can eventually lead to a dog who is relaxed for longer and longer durations.

Working as a team includes liaising with your veterinarianalso. Often a combination of medication plus behavior modification can help to yield the results you are seeking. The goal of medication  is not to sedate the dog, but  to allow your dog to relax enough to be able to gain some traction on the behavior modification protocol.

Resolution is generally reached via a lengthy process. But, in the end you will feel less trapped and isolated and more calm and confident in the fact that the chronic anxiety often associated with separation anxiety will be replaced by peace in your home.

If your dog is struggling when alone, you can schedule a brief 30 minute (no cost) consult to discuss how I can help! 

https://positiveanimalwellness.com/separation-anxiety/

Does your deaf dog look away, look at you out of the corner of his eye, turn his head in the other direction, or move so he can’t see you when you are giving him a cue? 

Often people say that their deaf dog demonstrates these behaviors when he “doesn’t want to listen.” However in reality, the above described behaviors are known as “appeasement” signals. This is your deaf dog telling you that he is anxious or uncomfortable—probably due to feeling confused or conflicted.

Training equals education and communication and the basis is motivation and communication. Therefore, if your deaf dog appears not to “listen” either the motivation to perform the behavior you have cued isn’t there, he doesn’t understand the cue, or it’s a combination of both scenarios. 

Too, when training you want to keep in mind the three “Ds”: distance, duration, and distraction. For example your dog may be able to respond to the cue for “sit” at home, however might look away when you cue this behavior at the veterinarian’s office. This could be because while your dog understands the cue for sit he has not sufficiently practiced it with this level of distraction or difficulty as yet. 

PRO TIPS: To “proof” your cues and encourage more appropriate responses keep the following in mind:

1. 1. 1. Practice, practice, practice your cues in a low distraction environment, close to your deaf dog first. 
      2. When teaching new cues remember to “label” using your visual (or tactile cues) them as they are happening so that your deaf can make the association between the behavior and the cue.
      3. Be sure that you have a consistent marker system so that you can communicate effectively with your dog when he’s done something that you would like to see more of!
      4. Carry high value reinforcers with you so that after you mark the sought after behavior you can reinforce it—so that it is more likely to be repeated in the future. 
      5. When building new behaviors be certain to mark and reinforce every correct response to the cue.
      6. If your dog does not respond appropriately, take steps backwards to make it easier for your deaf dog to be successful!

Need more help! Contact PAW today!