Hero Hounds

Recently there have been several stories in the media in which dogs were labelled heroes. “Hero dog saves boy from snake” is the story of Diesel the cattle dog-dingo cross who was hailed a hero after he leapt between a three year old boy and a brown snake, saving the boys life. Diesel received a near fatal bite and was declared the winner of the RSPCA’a animal achievement award.

“Dog rescuing dog a hero in Chile” was the title of another recent story in which a surveillance camera on a freeway in Chile captured a dog running on the freeway and being fatally struck by a truck. Then, another dog came trotting up to the injured dog and dragged it off the road and onto the medium strip, away from the traffic. The video was posted on Youtube and has over three hundred thousand views.

“Clever blind dog a rising TV star” is the story of Myron. Born blind he lost one eye at three months of age to glaucoma and the other eye two months later. Myron was adopted from a local shelter by his caring owners and his zest for life is infectious. Myron’s inspirational story has been told in magazine articles, during visits to libraries and retirement villages and on a recent television appearance on Talk to the Animals.

These stories and many others throughout the ages go to show that the term “hero” is not just for humans - hounds can be heroes too!

A Right Relationship - PART II

Hints for developing "A Right Relationship"

Understanding comes first.   
‘This for that’ assumes you have properly trained what you want your dog to do first. This means pairing a cue such as a hand signal and/or the word ‘sit’ with the behaviour you want (bottom on the ground) followed by a reward many, many times until your dog understands the connection between your cue and the behaviour. This is the ‘education’ part of your responsibility and in most cases will be made much easier for you and the dog if you are able to attend a good reward based training school.

Have a plan.

Many people complain about their dog’s behaviour but when I ask what they would like their dog to do they simply say “be good” but what exactly is ‘good’? Be specific and plan exactly what you will train your dog to do in every routine situation. For example when visitors arrive “I will train my dog to run to his mat and lie down.” Now what you want is clear in your mind and can be transferred into positive action rather than simply shouting at him for jumping up when visitors arrive. This is thoughtful, proactive training and reinforces the idea that you are quietly ‘in control’ of the household and can be depended upon to teach your dog what is expected of him in every day situations.

Take away rewards.

‘This’ for ‘that’ will only work if there is no choice of ‘or the other’. For example, you may offer your dog a treat for coming in the park but if he can choose to play with other dogs instead, he has chosen ‘ the other’ reward – that the environment has provided. Again proactive training is required. Attaching a long line on your dog before he is allowed to ‘go play’ gives you the opportunity to remove the reward of playing with other dogs. Your dog will learn that if I don’t respond to ‘come’ – play ends (you bring the dog in on the long line) and I don’t get a treat. If I do come, I get a treat, a pat and I get to go play again. It is vital that your game is always the best game in town.

Don’t get mad – get even.

Dogs are really impressed by people who are cool, calm and in control. Imagine this scenario and see which owner you would be more likely to accept direction from:

You are a dog out in the yard barking because the kids next door are spraying the hose at each other and screaming.

Owner A: opens the door, steps outside waving his arms around and shouts something very loudly – almost as loud as the kids. You stop and stare briefly then continue barking.

Owner B: Quietly steps out of the house with lead in hand. He attaches the lead asks you to ‘sit’ and gives you a small treat. You are led into the house and asked to settle on your mat for a while.

Owner A has probably achieved nothing. From the dog’s perspective, he joined in the noise making for a while then went inside. If Owner A has ever caught and punished the dog, it is unlikely he would even be able to quickly attach the lead as the dog would have learned to avoid him when he ‘looks and sounds like that!’

Owner B’s dog knew he was under no physical or emotional threat because his training has been based on rewards and positive, instructive interactions. The dog was therefore easily caught and brought inside. Never get mad, just get even by applying sensible management techniques to make it easy for your dog to learn what you want.

Enduring Motivation.

A ‘right relationship’ is built not through fear or intimidation but through trust and mutual respect. By applying the ‘this’ for ‘that’ principle consistently throughout your dog’s life, you are providing access to everything he wants through co-operation with you – a win-win situation for all.

Our thanks again to Karin Bridge, President A.P.D.T. for contributing this article.

A Right Relationship - PART I

The Association of Pet Dog Trainers is dedicated to enhancing the human-dog relationship through the education of both dogs and owners. Training your dog will be so much easier if you develop a ‘right relationship’ explains Karin Bridge, President of A.P.D.T.

If you really want your dog to co-operate with you and do as you ask you need to teach it not only what you want but also provide a reason why?

You might think of training as simply teaching your dog what words or signals mean - connecting a behaviour such as ‘sitting’ with a signal to sit. This should provide understanding to the dog of what we want.

However dogs are not robots, they will not necessarily do as you ask just because they understand what it means. You must also provide motivation for performing the behaviour – the why?

A classic example was my dog Jack who competed in the highest levels of obedience competitions, yet if my son’s friends asked him to ‘sit’ – he’d just stand and stare as if to say “your nobody special... why should I do it for you ?” This is a large part of ‘who dogs are’. Food, toys and praise are tools you can use to help provide motivation and encourage your dog to repeat the behaviours you want such as ‘sit’ and ‘come’. Ultimately however it is establishing a ‘right relationship’ with your dog that will ensure he will reliably comply with your requests.

Developing a ‘right’ relationship with your dog.

The first step is to earn your dog’s trust and confidence. This is done by providing him with all the things he needs to have a good life, not only the basics such as food, water, shelter and health care but also:

• Companionship



• Opportunities to meet and greet people



• Opportunities to meet and play with other dogs



• Regular exercise



• A safe environment both in and out of the home. Many dogs feel frightened in new environments. It’s your job to make sure your dog is enjoying play at the dog park or a hug from a young child. Supervise and intervene if necessary so your dog does not have to



• An education. Dogs need to learn human etiquette in a positive and nurturing way. Humans expect dogs not to pee in the house, not to pull on a lead, not to jump on visitors, not to dig holes even when bored, not to chase the neighbour’s cat, not to bark at invited guests but to bark at strangers at the door – and lots of other confusing stuff! Your dog isn’t born with this knowledge – he needs YOU to teach it to him

The second step is to teach your dog that all good things come from YOU! You may already be providing good things to your dog but does he know that? Rewards need to be provided as soon as your dog does what you want - ‘this’ for ‘that’. To help you remember, make a list of all the things your dog wants and a list of all the things you want. For example:

DOG DESIRES – ‘THIS’	YOU DESIRE – ‘THAT’
Food x 100 (mostly a proportion of the dog’s dinner NOT lots of special ‘treats’)	Sit x 100 (the doggy equivalent of saying ‘please’)
Go for walk (lead on)	Attention
Your attention	Come
Play tug	Settle
Run free (lead off)	Down
Chase ball	Fetch
Come inside	Quiet
Walk toward park	Walk nicely
Cuddle on couch	Shake hands

Now, it’s a simple matter of continually swapping something your dogs wants - ‘this’ for something you want - ‘that’. Assuming your dog understands what you want - distributing rewards ‘this’ for ‘that’ should ensure he also learns why he should do it for you.

Thanks to Karin Bridge, President A.P.D.T. for contributing this article.

Please come back for PART II of this article - coming soon....

To spoil or not to spoil?

Many people cannot resist the urge to spoil their dogs, mostly because they love them. Spoiling often takes the form of feeding special treats or allowing the dog to sleep on your couch or bed. Unfortunately, spoiling dogs too much can lead to health and behavioural problems, especially if the spoiling is done indiscriminately and not used as a reward for good behaviour.

I recently received a letter from a man who was caring for his parents Chihuahua, called Candy, while they were on holidays. He became worried when Candy whined and barked when he went on his daily bike ride, so he devised a solution. He bought a bike trailer (meant for carrying children) and now takes the Candy along for the ride. However, he is concerned that he is spoiling her too much and wondered what I thought of the situation.

My response was “no, not at all.” In actual fact I thought his idea was brilliant! Candy was obviously not used to being alone and was experiencing separation anxiety. By taking her with him he provided her with the companionship she craved as well as added socialisation. During these outings Candy got to experience all the exciting sights, smells and sounds of the neighbourhood. I’m sure Candy will miss these outings when her owners return from their holiday.

In my opinion, spoiling dogs is ok but only in moderation. Care should be taken not to indulge your dog too much, especially if using food treats to spoil them. Spoiling should be used as a special reward for good behaviour, rather than given willy nilly. This will reinforce good behaviour and teach your pooch that it is more rewarding to be good!

Landlords urged to drop ‘no pets’ policy

ABC News: Landlords urged to drop ‘no pets’ policy

Ryan from Pet Friendly Rentals has some interesting comments on the issue of renting with pets.

An article on the ABC News website appeared on the 4th of December, generating a huge debate over the renting with pets issue.

Ryan says:

It’s great to see articles such as this getting mainstream media attention as animal surrendering rates still on the increase with a lack of pet friendly rental accomodation cited as the number one reason.

Read more at Pet Friendly Rentals

Looks can be deceiving!

In my work as an animal behaviour consultant I see many cases where people make inappropriate decisions when choosing their pet, basing their decision on looks alone. While most people find puppies and kittens simply irresistible, many do not stop to think; how well will this animal fit in with my lifestyle when it’s fully grown? Choosing the right breed or breed type is more important than most people think and can minimise the chances that the pet will end up in a shelter later in life.

Consideration must be given for characteristics such as size at maturity, coat length, exercise and nutritional requirements. In addition, owners need to take into account how much time they will have available to provide companionship, training (if they want a dog), grooming and exercise. Adults are often easier to care for than puppies or kittens because they are already toilet trained and have passed the destructive juvenile stage. An added bonus is that many dogs already know some basic obedience. For people looking for a pet that is less fuss from the onset, a shelter cat or dog may be the most appropriate choice.

Research (and lots of it) is the key to deciding on the most appropriate pet to suit your lifestyle, budget and living situation. Reading books, surfing the internet and joining chat groups is a great place to start. Select-a-pet is an online questionnaire that can help you select an appropriate cat or dog for your lifestyle. See SELECTAPET for more information. Also consider speaking to breeders and people who own the breed or breed type you are considering. The more knowledge you gain on the particular type of pet you are interested in, the more informed your decision will be and the greater the likelihood that you and your new pet will be a perfect match!