Tailwaggers Update 7/31

Well, today was an exciting day. We got some rain in the afternoon, but luckily it came during naptime, so no playtimes were missed! All the big guys who checked in went right into group play. Rychew did great....so did Bonnie, and even Gracie got here in time to get in a play session. In the Yellow room.....Elise had a blast, and Tinkerbell was running wild. We all had fun. A great day.

Simple Statistics

There are specific breeds that have been titled "high risk breeds" since the mid 90's. Among those are the american pit bull terrier, akita, chow, rottweiler, among others (dobermans by some statistical reports). Why these breeds? Well, for starters....from 1979 to 1996 the pit bull and rottweiler topped the list of culprits guilty of non fatal dog bites in the U.S....believe me there are plenty more statistics available to diagnose thier behavior patterns as high risk, especially to a novice dog owner . But here is another statistic, less than .00001%, that's the percentage of bites that are fatal out of all bites annually. Thats an extrememlely low number of bites resulting in the demise of a human. Here is a disturbing statistic that was provided by Child Protective Services - they studied 350+ dog owners in the state of Ohio, that were broke into several categories......the most significant statistic was that owners of the high risk breeds (pit bulls, rott's, etc.) had higher criminal activity than any other ownership group......considerably higher. In areas that have nothing to do with dog ownership such as; speeding tickets, drug possession, weapon charges, and domestic violence. Think about that for a second. Child protective services will red flag a family for ownership of the dog, due to the fact it seems to predict human irresponsibility. The dog will catch most of that blame. Most people associate the dog as cultivating the culture, when they are just a product of the environment in most cases. Some breeds require diligent ownership, and strong leadership......some don't. That's why dogs are amazing, each a different personality.

Group Social Activity

There simply is no replacement for group social activities while boarding a dog. When a dog is able to view his/her boarding experience as an opportunity to experience (consistently) something he doesn't have the ability to in his day to day life, then the boarding experience becomes easier for pet and owner alike. Group socialized play allows that. Now, I'm not talking about 2 or 3 dogs of like breed together for 5 minutes at a time to use the restroom......real group interaction needs to cross breeds, ages, sex, and temperament. Groups also have to be supervised properly by experienced handlers who can be vocal and lead without issue. This is a desired task that most dogs are eager to accept in a boarding environment. We love it. They do too.

Saving "Francis"

Meet "Francis". Francis is one of many pit bull, and pit bull mixes that are abused, neglected, and abandoned here in Texas regularly. He was dumped on the streets of Dallas, and I was lucky enough to get the oppurtunity to meet him today. Tanner (another Tailwaggers employee) and I were able to get him cleaned up, in quarantine, and scheduled a vet appointment for him. It's really a shame that this happens so often here in Texas which has the largest number of educated, responsible pet owners of any state I have visited. We really should try to confront cruelty, the breed really does deserve better...

There Are No Bad Dogs (an excerpt)

Before we can begin to address how to solve a given aggression issue in a particular canine we must first understand why……..why does the dog aggress? As I stated before, I keep this part as simple as possible for my own sanity. There are literally thousands of individual reasons a dog may hold aggressive tendencies. There are the more commonly used reasons - foster homes, history of abuse, “dominant” behavior…….but there are many more plausible reasons that contribute to aggressive action - removal from the mother too early, physical inadequacies, particular phobias (both rational and irrational). That is why I use two simple categories that we can group all of these issues into, “Focused Fear” and “Fearful Anxiety”. Most aggressive tendencies fall under Fearful Anxiety, because most aggressive action is taken in order to alleviate what is being viewed as a stressful or threatening situation. In fact, if the dog viewed fleeing as an option it would most likely much rather do so. Canines are much more intelligent than they are typically given credit for. It is my observation that most dogs express fear through aggression, toward humans in particular, in order to avoid any confusion on the canines stance on the given issue. Under classic canine communication, fear may be exhibited by tucking the tail, raising hackles, etc. Unfortunately, most humans don’t notice or take the time to learn their canine counterparts language - so we misinterpret most of what a dog will tell us in the first greeting. In most cases where aggression surfaces, the dog has communicated to the handler or other parties involved that it is uncomfortable and will soon change behavior patterns. The dog will, in fact, give you at least one (if not several) opportunities to address the issue before it feels that you are either ignoring the communication or do not care. This is when the aggression occurs. Again, in my history, I have noticed that it is much more common that the dog feels this is the last possible way to communicate its fear in a way that will result in it having the pressure alleviated. A dog who has limited social history with humans may growl or show teeth at a first greeting, this is NOT an aggressive action. It is common canine communication, in fact you and I do the same thing with regularity. I walked into a supermarket last week and asked a young lady if they carried a certain kind of light bulb. She said she didn’t know what I was talking about. I then, like you have a hundred times, used my hands to show her the shape of the bulb and the size…..which elicited the response “Oh!, you mean that kind of bulb……sure”. When we approach a dog we are the supermarket attendant. The dog asks for something that we don’t recognize immediately, therefore it is forced to demonstrate it physically………by growling, or showing teeth. The problem here isn’t that the dog growls, that is its natural behavior. What is wrong is that we have labeled the growl a precursor to an attack, and become fearful upon hearing it. When you learn to understand what it means, it actually becomes a great insight into what your dog is saying. If your first indication to a problem is when your dog growls, you should take a deep breath and say “Wow, I must have missed something…..let’s go back and see if we can find where this begins.” - I say this because, the growl is not the beginning, there was communication before that we overlooked and ignored. That communication is what we must notice, understand, and evaluate because it is the most accurate indicator to the root of our problem. By the time we arrive at the growl or attack, we have traveled too far to identify the cause of the aggression and must backtrack.

The Pack Dynamic

The “pack” dynamic, as it is currently viewed, is both accurate and overemphasized greatly. There seems to be a growing number of trainers and behaviorists who wish to address the “pack” mentality as it applies to domesticated dogs. It is usually accompanied by a speech of how canines recognize rank, and that they wont act out against the wishes of higher ranking members of the “pack”. That speech is accurate, but at the same time (unless accompanied by thorough explanation ) very misleading. It tends to give an owner the idea that he or she can control through domination. It gets even worse when you see a trainer or behaviorist who takes dominating poses and uses harsh abrupt tones while working a dog. When you apply these forms in any sort to aggression therapy, or for that matter an under socialized dog (which is very common these days) your result is disastrous in most cases. The dog learns nothing and the handler is frustrated in the best case scenarios……..someone gets hurt in the worst case.
The first thing that needs to be understood is how the true “pack” mentality works. First of all, we are all familiar with it. Substitute the word “family” for “pack”, and substitute yourself for the dog. That is what true pack mentality is. The “pack” is not simply a list of dogs who can physically intimidate or beat you up. Your “pack” as it pertains to the canine world is their “family”……mom, dad, brothers, and sisters, close friends and buddies. Therefore, the notion that a trainer can gain insight into the dog through asserting domination – especially initially - is unfounded at best. The only argument against that would be to show training results – which is not a true barometer. We all know there is no question a dog will perform to avoid being intimidated physically or vocally – but we all also know that the performance drastically decreases once the dog is returned to his “pack”. The response from the trainer will be that you are not enforcing the rules enough. The truth is you never established rules to begin with, and your dog is totally confused right now.
Look at it from this angle, your teenage kiddo is acting up at school a little bit, and her grades have slipped. You hire a tutor who cracks the whip and helps her pass her finals. In the human world we consider that a success. But in the canine world, we don’t need the student to retain the information just long enough to blurb it out on a test…….we need them to really learn it. Learn it and then apply it in the real world – immediately. As long as you employ “pack” fundamentals of this caliber in your training foundation it becomes almost impossible to make positive progress with aggressive behavior.
Another, more realistic, example is the Animal Refuge Foundation (ARF) in Sadler, TX. It is a non profit, care for life facility that is owned and operated by Martha Hovers and a handful of her trusted friends and employees. The acreage holds 300 dogs, give or take, depending on the success of adoptions. The majority of which roam free. Common sense and observation will tell you that they don’t function as one large pack. They actually function as many independent smaller groups that are responsible for one another. Yet, there is no question that they all recognize and know who Martha is. She is there every day from sun up until sun down. She cleans, medicates, and feeds every day. The moral of my story is……..I could be as intimidating as I possibly can be to the dogs at ARF, I will never be Martha. Those dogs respond to her wishes and needs, just as she does to theirs. She provides shelter and food, along with medication and a warm bed. All she asks in return is that you try to get along with everyone else. Almost unbelievably, the dogs at ARF listen to Martha's wishes exceptionally well. Otherwise, she couldn't manage an operation the size of hers – that only runs on donations alone. It is an amazing site of what a true “pack” mentality is – and to tell ourselves….. with a few hours of body posturing and intimidation we can achieve pack leadership…….is just foolish. It is a trust, and a bond that must be built and nurtured.
Again, most of what any trainer or handler will tell you about the pack and its dynamics will be fairly accurate. There are leaders and followers. Anyone can lead if pushed into it or allowed to, and anyone can follow if they so desire. Just remember that’s no different than most people. Dogs do not see themselves as a sub species to the human race. They enjoy being treated fairly. The conditions are different for each dog on what they consider fair and unfair - based on what they've been exposed to and taught (especially in their youth). Your dog may consider boarding at your vets office a nice quiet retreat based on the idea that he gets so much activity and exercise with you that it doesn't bother him to take it easy and sleep most of the day for the weekend. On the other hand, maybe you don’t board very regularly and your dog sleeps in your bed with you…….your friend would find the vets office deplorable, but would be way more apt to enjoy a stay a lush canine retreat. Neither is correct or incorrect for a dog, it just varies depending on their “pack” dynamic. Remember, your dog formed his idea of “family” or “pack” way back in the puppy stages. This isn't new to him. His “pack” awareness doesn't click on and off like a switch. It is always there, just like our idea of “family”. A trainer can not and will not evoke “pack” sensitive behavior, unless he is directing you to take on intimidating roles with your dog….which is a horrible idea. The results that are reaped from that type of training are actually fear motivated responses. The dog will respond to avoid the negative interaction from the trainer - not because he respects him as a leader. Do not fool yourself into believing that your canine friend is so robotic.
In short, the pack dynamic is a wonderfully true statement about the canine world. It covers different species and breeds, and is a loving nurturing bond. We should consider ourselves lucky to be a part of it. It is also a responsibility of understanding your dogs needs and responses. The best trainers I have ever seen tend to train shelter dogs and strays more than anything, due to the fact that most of the work they do with families……is hands off. They instruct the families on how to build that nurturing bond, how to rationally display displeasure – not for your own therapy, but so that the dog truly can understand when and where certain behaviors are allowed and forbidden.