It has become common practice these days to take our new puppy along to puppy pre-school and most owners understand the importance of socialising our dogs from an early age. We might think that with such a good start our puppy is then ‘bomb-proofed’ for life but alas this is not the case.
As our puppy grows into adolescence and then into an adult dog, it needs to be socialised at every stage in as many different situations as possible, so they don’t become fearful of the unknown. (This is an important part of a guide dog’s training, where a young dog is taken into shopping centres, on escalators, etc. to familiarise them with the type of surroundings they will need to feel comfortable when later assigned to assist a person who is sight impaired.)
Obviously, we don’t need to go to such lengths to socialise our own doggies but should make an effort to ensure that they are introduced to people of different ages and gender, especially children and elderly people, who our doggies might see as being different because they may move differently, and even smell differently. Some dogs while readily accepting new female friends might be cautious with men they don’t know, and this is because they scent a man’s testosterone, and instinctively recognise that the male of the species are the fighters (usually anyway!)
A dog living in a quiet surroundings can find car engine noise, trains hooting and a large number of people milling around at close range very intimidating, so in this instance, socialising could include taking our doggie to our local shopping centre.
Owners love leash-free parks as much as their doggies, and these are becoming more accessible as owners press their local Councils for suitable leash-free areas. We should just be vigilant that our dog isn’t set upon by a less friendly dog (that in fact shouldn’t be allowed off-leash), as just one such traumatic experience could undo all the good you have accomplished to date with socialising your dog with other dogs and it could become inter-dog aggressive or fearful of other dogs. However, generally this is a great environment to allow our doggies to make new friends and play, and one that where you can socialise yourself with other owners.
The Barking Baritones
On a recent business trip to the Northern Territory, I was informed by a regular visitor to camps of our indigenous people that the first thing you hear on your approach is the barking of camp dogs to warn the occupants of strangers. This warning procedure, I’m sure, would have been one of the reasons our ancestors would have kept dogs around their fire camps in days gone by.
Yes, dogs bark as a warning but they also bark for attention, to communicate, out of fear or aggression and if excited. Dogs bark for many reasons and in many situations because barking is a large part of a dog’s natural behaviour however, something we humans can find extremely irritating. It is also the major complaint that most Councils receive.
Before we can alleviate the barking, we must first establish what is making our dog bark and then remove the dog’s motivation to bark. If your dog barks because of boredom, enrich its environment. If your dog barks outside to be let in, and you let it in, it will very quickly learn that it gets what it wants from barking. In this case, you are reinforcing the bad behaviour. You must wait until the dog stops barking before letting it in.
If your dog runs to the front fence and barks at other dogs being walked by, cover the fence so that your dog cannot see out. If your dog barks when guests call, put it away when they are expected, then have your guests throw your dog a treat from a distance when it stops barking and very soon your dog will be wagging its tail in a friendly manner when friends call.
However generally, when your dog barks, reprimand it with voice control saying “ah ah” but don’t shout, otherwise it will think you are joining in the barking (definitely a reason for it to keep going). As soon as the barking stops, say “good dog”. However, attention-seeking behaviour should be completely ignored.
Take away the motivation to bark and you take away the barking problem.
Child Safety Around Dogs
One of the more serious dog behavioural problems that has always concerned me is a dog’s aggression towards a child, and it has been my experience over many years that a lot of dog attacks on children could have been prevented with just a little more understanding of our dogs’ thinking patterns and natural reactions to particular situations.
For instance, dogs can get jealous, and even a good-tempered dog can be pushy and challenging towards a child who is looking to the parents for attention. In the same way that a jealous dog may push away another dog from an owner, a jealous dog can do the same with a child, so we need to be aware of this caring natural instinct and avoid making a dog jealous of a child, as this can bring out a dog’s natural aggression.
Ten child safety principles to keep in mind:
• Never go near a dog when it’s eating or sleeping.
• Never go near a dog caring for puppies.
• Never run up to a dog – always approach slowly.
• Never throw your arms and hands around near a dog.
• Never look directly at a dog.
• Never smack or shout at a dog.
• Never roughly handle a dog.
• Never ride on a dog’s back.
• Never pull a dog’s tail, and be careful not to stand on its paws.
• Never play tug-of-war with a dog.
Little Dog Syndrome
Calling on a client recently, I was confronted at the front door by a vicious, snarling, little ball of doggie fluff. The client said she had left the little fellow in the house to show me the extent of its bad behaviour. This was not new to me; it’s known as “little dog syndrome”. Cute little dogs can often turn into monsters when strangers arrive. Dogs with “little dog syndrome” don’t allow just anyone to touch them.
So what’s going on here? Well, simply because a dog is cute and small doesn’t mean it knows it is cute and small, it’s still all canine in its mind and sees itself as a much larger creature. It is widely accepted that our dog’s ancestors were wolves and there are a lot of similarities between dogs and wolves. We have greatly changed their appearance, some traits and characteristics, but have only slightly changed their mind, so the smallest dog will take on the biggest opponent with no fear of consequence, because it’s all in the mind.
Small dogs can become very aggressive because our interaction with them indicates that they are the leader of our household, or in other words “our pack”. One of the duties of a pack leader is to protect both the pack and the territory, hence the aggression. Because our smaller breeds are often so cute and cuddly we tend to spoil them and often allow them the creature comforts we would not allow larger dogs, such as letting them sleep in our bed, allowing them on our furniture and forever carrying them around. This allows our dogs to see themselves as leaders and the main reason that they become over-protective of us, and their territory.
So can these little darlings be helped? Most definitely. We need to be assertive (not aggressive), consistent and kind in our interaction with our dogs. We need to take back our role as leader, then our small dogs will soon realise that we can actually protect ourselves and its need to aggressively over-react will soon subside.
Dog Whisperer® Tips
Avoiding Social Misfits
It has become common practice these days to take our new puppy along to puppy pre-school and most owners understand the importance of socialising our dogs from an early age. We might think that with such a good start our puppy is then ‘bomb-proofed’ for life but alas this is not the case.
As our puppy grows into adolescence and then into an adult dog, it needs to be socialised at every stage in as many different situations as possible, so they don’t become fearful of the unknown. (This is an important part of a guide dog’s training, where a young dog is taken into shopping centres, on escalators, etc. to familiarise them with the type of surroundings they will need to feel comfortable when later assigned to assist a person who is sight impaired.)
Obviously, we don’t need to go to such lengths to socialise our own doggies but should make an effort to ensure that they are introduced to people of different ages and gender, especially children and elderly people, who our doggies might see as being different because they may move differently, and even smell differently. Some dogs while readily accepting new female friends might be cautious with men they don’t know, and this is because they scent a man’s testosterone, and instinctively recognise that the male of the species are the fighters (usually anyway!)
A dog living in a quiet surroundings can find car engine noise, trains hooting and a large number of people milling around at close range very intimidating, so in this instance, socialising could include taking our doggie to our local shopping centre.
Owners love leash-free parks as much as their doggies, and these are becoming more accessible as owners press their local Councils for suitable leash-free areas. We should just be vigilant that our dog isn’t set upon by a less friendly dog (that in fact shouldn’t be allowed off-leash), as just one such traumatic experience could undo all the good you have accomplished to date with socialising your dog with other dogs and it could become inter-dog aggressive or fearful of other dogs. However, generally this is a great environment to allow our doggies to make new friends and play, and one that where you can socialise yourself with other owners.
The Barking Baritones
On a recent business trip to the Northern Territory, I was informed by a regular visitor to camps of our indigenous people that the first thing you hear on your approach is the barking of camp dogs to warn the occupants of strangers. This warning procedure, I’m sure, would have been one of the reasons our ancestors would have kept dogs around their fire camps in days gone by.
Yes, dogs bark as a warning but they also bark for attention, to communicate, out of fear or aggression and if excited. Dogs bark for many reasons and in many situations because barking is a large part of a dog’s natural behaviour however, something we humans can find extremely irritating. It is also the major complaint that most Councils receive.
Before we can alleviate the barking, we must first establish what is making our dog bark and then remove the dog’s motivation to bark. If your dog barks because of boredom, enrich its environment. If your dog barks outside to be let in, and you let it in, it will very quickly learn that it gets what it wants from barking. In this case, you are reinforcing the bad behaviour. You must wait until the dog stops barking before letting it in.
If your dog runs to the front fence and barks at other dogs being walked by, cover the fence so that your dog cannot see out. If your dog barks when guests call, put it away when they are expected, then have your guests throw your dog a treat from a distance when it stops barking and very soon your dog will be wagging its tail in a friendly manner when friends call.
However generally, when your dog barks, reprimand it with voice control saying “ah ah” but don’t shout, otherwise it will think you are joining in the barking (definitely a reason for it to keep going). As soon as the barking stops, say “good dog”. However, attention-seeking behaviour should be completely ignored.
Take away the motivation to bark and you take away the barking problem.
Child Safety Around Dogs
One of the more serious dog behavioural problems that has always concerned me is a dog’s aggression towards a child, and it has been my experience over many years that a lot of dog attacks on children could have been prevented with just a little more understanding of our dogs’ thinking patterns and natural reactions to particular situations.
For instance, dogs can get jealous, and even a good-tempered dog can be pushy and challenging towards a child who is looking to the parents for attention. In the same way that a jealous dog may push away another dog from an owner, a jealous dog can do the same with a child, so we need to be aware of this caring natural instinct and avoid making a dog jealous of a child, as this can bring out a dog’s natural aggression.
Ten child safety principles to keep in mind:
• Never go near a dog when it’s eating or sleeping.
• Never go near a dog caring for puppies.
• Never run up to a dog – always approach slowly.
• Never throw your arms and hands around near a dog.
• Never look directly at a dog.
• Never smack or shout at a dog.
• Never roughly handle a dog.
• Never ride on a dog’s back.
• Never pull a dog’s tail, and be careful not to stand on its paws.
• Never play tug-of-war with a dog.
Little Dog Syndrome
Calling on a client recently, I was confronted at the front door by a vicious, snarling, little ball of doggie fluff. The client said she had left the little fellow in the house to show me the extent of its bad behaviour. This was not new to me; it’s known as “little dog syndrome”. Cute little dogs can often turn into monsters when strangers arrive. Dogs with “little dog syndrome” don’t allow just anyone to touch them.
So what’s going on here? Well, simply because a dog is cute and small doesn’t mean it knows it is cute and small, it’s still all canine in its mind and sees itself as a much larger creature. It is widely accepted that our dog’s ancestors were wolves and there are a lot of similarities between dogs and wolves. We have greatly changed their appearance, some traits and characteristics, but have only slightly changed their mind, so the smallest dog will take on the biggest opponent with no fear of consequence, because it’s all in the mind.
Small dogs can become very aggressive because our interaction with them indicates that they are the leader of our household, or in other words “our pack”. One of the duties of a pack leader is to protect both the pack and the territory, hence the aggression. Because our smaller breeds are often so cute and cuddly we tend to spoil them and often allow them the creature comforts we would not allow larger dogs, such as letting them sleep in our bed, allowing them on our furniture and forever carrying them around. This allows our dogs to see themselves as leaders and the main reason that they become over-protective of us, and their territory.
So can these little darlings be helped? Most definitely. We need to be assertive (not aggressive), consistent and kind in our interaction with our dogs. We need to take back our role as leader, then our small dogs will soon realise that we can actually protect ourselves and its need to aggressively over-react will soon subside.