Your neighbors are upset by constant barking and howling in your absence and have contacted you repeatedly. You now need to replace your door due to damage caused from scratching and biting by your dog. When you are preparing to leave the house, your dog paces, pants, and whines uncontrollably. If any of these scenarios sound familiar you may be dealing with a separation anxiety situation.

Sadly, separation anxiety normally does not just resolve itself nor will your dog just “get over it.” A methodical, specific protocol is what is required to help your dog remain below threshold and slowly gain the confidence and comfort level to be able to be by themselves.

The following are five myths that folks may have come across in regard to treating separation anxiety.

1. DOGS: Only in a small number of cases is a separation anxiety dog helped with the addition of another dog to the family. If you suspect that a second animal may help your pup, it may be best to work with a trainer to briefly foster or try introducing the second dog to the situation. Better yet, is to work with a trainer on the specific separation anxiety before adding another dog into the household.
2. COLLARS: A shock or citronella spray collar may briefly stop the barking, however any type of aversive collars, of which these are two, have the added possible side effects of apathy, escape/avoidance, aggression, and generalized fear. Thus, to actually resolve the separation anxiety issue, it is best to get at the actual anxiety problem, rather than potentially creating new issues with “quick fix” collars.
3. AVOIDANCE: Separation Anxiety is an issue which is very unlikely to resolve on its own. Dogs with SA are in an extreme state of agitation-akin to a person suffering from a panic attack-which won’t just go away with repeated exposure and time. Instead, working on a well planned protocol with patience and consistency is the key to long-lasting behavioral change.
4. EXERCISE: Although exercise plays a vital role in your dog’s healthy lifestyle, exhausting your dog is no substitute for a carefully planned protocol of counter conditioning and desensitization.
5. FOOD: While food puzzles have their place in a larger program to treat separation anxiety, teaching the dog to be comfortable alone is different than teaching the dog to eat alone. Once the food is gone, the anxiety remains. A better plan is to use food puzzles to create positive associations as part of a larger protocol to help your dog build confidence while alone at home.

For additional information and/or to schedule a consult to discuss options on receiving help from a professional, contact PAW-Positive Animal Wellness.

Deaf dogs are dogs first, breed second, and deaf third. As such, working with a deaf dog in many ways is similar to effectively communicating with a hearing dog, but with a few obvious modifications. 

1. SIGNAL: You will want to use a visual “signal” with your deaf dog that conveys the message, “Yes! That’s exactly what I wanted and now you have earned access to something that you find reinforcing!”
2. ATTENTION: Any time that your dog looks at you, use your signal to mark that behavior and be certain to follow that marker with something that your dog finds reinforcing.
3. REINFORCE: Every marker is followed by something that your dog finds reinforcing. That is, each and every time you like something, mark and then reinforce it!
4. CONSISTENCY: Use your marker consistently. Keep the signal the same and be sure that each time you mark, you also reinforce behavior.
5. VALUE: Be sure that you are using high value reinforcers! You want it to be worth it to your dog to work with you, so keep reinforcers exciting!

For more information on working with your deaf dog, contact PAW today! Terrie is a deaf dog mom as well as a certified, professional trainer and will be happy to help you improve your deaf dog communication starting now!

Often times folks believe that their dog is being stubborn. I frequently hear, “he knows how to do it, he just doesn’t want to” or “she can do it, she just doesn’t feel like listening to me!”

The fact of the matter is that while dogs can experience joy, love, and fear, stubbornness is not in their repertoire. Hence, most times it is actually faulty communication at play rather than a decision to be obdurate.

Frequently, people also forget or don’t fully grasp that we are communicating via limited verbal (few words plus tone and inflection) and mostly visual (gesture, facial expressions, body language) information.

Dogs don’t speak the way that we do and with all of the confusing background noise, extraneous verbiage, and general distraction going on while we are attempting to convey something, it’s down right amazing that dogs are intelligent enough to glean what we want!

Let’s take an example. Say that we have three items on the floor in front of the dog: a book, a toy, and a cookie. Now, we’ll presume that I’m intending to train my dog to place the cookie on top of the book. I’m doing this via positive reinforcement, so I’m marking (with my clicker) and reinforcing (with a treat) each correct repetition of this behavior.

Two weeks go past and I’m fairly certain that my dog has discovered that with our three items, the toy actually has nothing to do with the behavior that we are training. Furthermore, he’s consistently been placing the cookie on top of the book for a significant time and as such I’m thinking that he’s got the behavior down!

After two weeks of us practicing, one day I cue the behavior and instead of what I’m expecting, my dog places the BOOK on top of the COOKIE?!!? What you say? Not listening you insist! Stubborn you exclaim!

Meanwhile, your dog is now really baffled and confused. Instead of your happy response to his actions, your face is contorted. There is no click and treat. You seem…upset.

Now, here’s a plausible explanation for what’s likely really going on: a lack of communication. While all along you believed that you were training: cookie on top of book. Your dog coincidentally placed the items in this order, however your dog believed the behavior to be: stack up the cookie and the book!

Do you see what has happened? It’s not your dog being stubborn at all. It’s a lack of clear and precise communication and thus confusion.

The solution, you ask? Teach and train! As Dr. Susan Friedman (exalted behaviorist) likes to state, “performance-feedback-revision.”

Your dog has let you know that there is a problem in the communication loop. Thus, you need to work a bit more on revising your training for success.

Do so and you will improve communication, have successful behaviors, and there won’t be a stubborn dog in sight!