Due to a glorious visit from five family members, straight out of a commercial for _______ (Fill in the blank–Allergy medicine? Arthritis medicine?), in which old people are still able to keep up with and enjoy the youngsters, I’m behind on everything else. “Everything else” being far less important than family, right? (Note: Using the word “youngsters,” makes me feel old right there.)
I was looking at past posts, as I do on occasion, to see if I could repost something I wrote that hadn’t been covered in a while, and was reminded that asking readers what they like to talk about has resulted in all kinds of good things. As in, me learning things I didn’t know before, and/or, didn’t know I didn’t know. As in, readers getting to bring up topics important to them that I have never covered.
So, the ball is in your court! What would you like to talk about in the weeks and months to come? I’m truly curious about what you are going to bring up.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: First of all, it’s like a Disney movie out here since Nellie has been gone. (I insert another word in front of “Disney” when mentioning this to friends. Insert word of your choice.) The chipmunks are line dancing on the garden wall, the bunnies have been getting busy under the bushes, and the Blue birds are practically pulling out strands of my hair for their nests.
This is wonderful: The yard is like a movie scene of carefree wildlife enjoying the summer. Three male Rose Breasted Grosbeaks at the feeder! Phoebee babies fluttering their wings so adorably I want to feed them myself. Chipmunks sitting outside the kitchen window cleaning their cute little faces with their cute little paws.
This is not wonderful: The yard looks like a scene from Watership Down, with multiple generations of rabbits having their own family reunions in front of the peonies–all the better to eat their way through my garden. I didn’t even bother planting snap peas this year; no time to build a fence to keep out the bunnies. A woodchuck ate all of my lily bulbs, chives, and who knows what else in one of my gardens. Chipmunks are non-stop entertainers in summer, and agents of destruction in winter. We have friends who had to buy a new car because the chipmunks ate so much wiring in their Prius it was unable to be repaired. The stories of how much damage they can do are endless. This is all a reminder that there was a reason that humans and cats formed a bond together. We will do our best to manage the wildlife while enjoying the flurry of small mammals and birds around the house. I’ll keep you posted on how we do.
But most of all, Jim and I had the joy of hosting my three nieces last week, each amazing in their own way, and two of my grand nephews. Here are a few shots of the special time we had together.
The boys, who live in a suburb, loved running free at the farm. They were GREAT with the dogs, and the dogs were great with them; that made the visit extra fun for me. (And, still: Note that every evening I put the dogs away in their crates for awhile. I must have had at least a 100 clients who said “But he was sooo good all day long at the family picnic!” Until he finally bit the four-year old, because he was exhausted.)
Running up the stairs that lead down to the Wisconsin River:
Every one got to go riding thanks to friends Taylor and Lou Ann. The boys (note the hands behind their backs!) learned all about safety around horses and how to be kind and gentle to them.) The star of the show here is Pocahontas, a lovely Quarter horse.
Everyone got to play in friend Donna’s huge hay mow; I snapped this photo of the light coming through an old window:
One last shot from the garden, which is mostly between blooms: Some late blooming Iris that remind me of flowers that are about to morph into fairies:
That’s it for this week. Time to muck out the house, get back to working the dogs, writing a novel, gardening in the garden, and trying to make the world a better place–for animals as well as people. I hope your week had even a fraction of as much joy as ours did, and I look forward to some interesting suggestions from you about future blog topics. I’m so curious what you’ll ask for!
Martin says
I’d love to learn more about how to teach coping skills to dogs. Nanuk has such a hard time regulating his emotions, and if he were a human, therapy would focus on teaching him skills to be able to do this better. Because he’s a dog, all the trainers and books have focused on changing his emotions around specific triggers. While that certainly has its place, it doesn’t help him learn how to live with his strong emotions (frustration, joy, etc.) or how to regulate them on his own. That means we either need to desensitize him to everything/life or he will always overreact when life throws him a curveball – even if we manage to work through his most common triggers.
Gayle says
I never knew how much “work” my cat did until she was gone!!!! Bunnies everywhere and mice in my basement! What the heck!!! The bunnies are not deterred by my dog which makes me crazy – and him too!!!
Future subjects….. how common is it and is there any difference in trying to deal with it when noise sensitivity appears in an older dog who never ever had any issues. Happening to a friends 4 year old lab. A very chill and super sweet lab that she’s had since he was a puppy got startled by gun shots when out in the woods – even though they had walked there many times in the past and had heard the gun shots without any reaction – but now he’s a hot mess – he doesn’t want to leave his house – he’s reacting to all sorts of noises. It just breaks my heart to see such a dramatic change in him.
Frances says
It is something you have touched on before, but I would love to explore how we can communicate better with our dogs, and understand better what they are trying to communicate to us. Not so much through human props like buttons that speak words, but using the sounds and signals that come as instinctively to dogs as language does to humans. Could we build on instinctive body language to create a means for conscious communication? I am remembering my niece who, before she could talk, called clementines *screwed up face because they were sour* and would ask for one by screwing up her face…
Teresa says
First of all, thank you for writing The Other End of the Leash. It saved my relationship with my dog. After being pulled down twice and getting concussed, I was ready to turn in the wrong direction. Your book was transformative for me. We’ve been training and have come a long way, but I spend more time observing and listening to her now. We spend more time sniffing and sitting in the park watching. She’s pretty high energy, so I was thinking let’s get the energy out of her. We still have long walks but are making more time for quiet time together and now she’s cuddling up next to me.
We walk and look for bunnies, and she sets them and is very serious and still, has a hard time walking away but won’t jerk me around when they run anymore. However, like your dogs, she can respond very emotionally. Mostly, when she’s a dog she wants to play with! It’s very hard to control her when she gets close. The other thing we struggle with is separation anxiety. It’s getting better, but we’re still working on it. I agree, it’s hard. We process our emotions with words, so what do we do with our pups?
Kelly Keeney says
Patricia,
First, YOU LOOK AMAZING!! What joy…
Second, I loved your webinar with ASPCA Pro about building resilience. I have re-listened to it many times and share it often. I would love to here more on this topic.
Jon says
Hello.
I just finished your book “the education of will.” Wonderful, intense and hopeful. thank you for making the effort to open up and share. I’d love to hear more details about the processes you used to help the dogs whose stories are mentioned in the book.
Lee Anne says
Cognitive behavior skills in dogs. I’m reading a lot lately about this and I understand the theory but I need help putting it into practice. The idea of teaching dogs to reassess a situation, to “think” before reacting. Laura Donaldson has a great online class but I’m left needing more help how to apply to the dog. Dr Katie Murphy is talking about this a lot too.
Susan Wroble says
Our dog is aging (now 13), and is now deaf. She was trained with voice command only, and we wished we had taught hand signals to make this period of life easier. What other things might people do beforehand to make the older years easier for our dogs?
Molly Purrington says
I would love to have you address working and living with highly intelligent dogs. I know we all say our pups are brilliant, but there are dogs that really are brilliant and supporting them to be their best dog selves is a bit different than other dogs. I have two Aussies – they are both smart and it is fun for me to live with them as they are so responsive. One of them, however, is highly intelligent. I know your experience with Border Collies might help us navigate this to the best of our abilities.
Carole says
I would love to hear your thoughts on bringing a senior and/or disabled dog into a new home. I recently adopted a geriatric blind Shih Tzu and it has been a learning experience introducing him to a new place with three resident adult dogs (and a cat who absolutely loves him). Two of mine accepted him easily, but the third needs to be crated when I leave them for a few hours each day. She growls at him when he stumbles too close to her and I do not trust her not to hurt him when I am not here to warn her to back off. I know the little guy probably won’t be with us for a very long time, and once he is gone, I would like to give a last home to another dog who simply needs a soft place to land for what’s left of her life. Any advice you can give will be very helpful.
Simply Cheryl says
I would love to learn how to help my dog act like a polite calm dog when people come over. He is neither food or toy motivated. His favorite think in the world is people. His been to numerous dog classes and has his CGC. We’ve had personal trainers here at the house but nothing has helped. Two trainers suggested an electric collar. Nothing works. At least we are down to 15 minutes of chaos before he calms down but it all starts over if another person arrives.
MinnesotaMary says
I have a request for a not-so-fun topic – behavioral euthanasia. It’s not common, but it is devastating for those who get injured or maimed (or worse) by the animal. It is devastating for the animal in question (90% of the time they are amazing, but that remaining 10% they are unpredictably dangerous). People tend to adjust their lives around the animal, and their lives get smaller and smaller. They spend thousands of dollars that they cannot afford at the vet, the behaviorist, the trainer, all to no avail. Some (many?) of the animals have organic issues like brain cancer that cause the dangerous behavior. It’s devastating to have to make the decision to let the beloved pet go, especially if that decision was forced as a result of an incident. The guilt and anguish and the “what if I had done this instead…” are awful. As you can probably tell, I’ve been through it with an old foster dog. I was devastated that, after spending a year with this dog in my house, I couldn’t “fix” him. I was there to save him and I couldn’t. I still feel guilt, even though I know it wasn’t my fault. There are resources that help but the experience and the after-effects remain with a person for years, if not the remainder of their life.
Trisha says
Keep those requests coming! I’ve got a list started and I’m already raring to go…
Pam says
I have a 10 year old rescue. Small dog unknown mixed breed. He is very suspicious of strangers coming to house. If said stranger doesn’t get down and pet and makes friends he will nip at legs when they walk. Also if anyone moves fast unexpectedly he nips. He loves to chase one of my cats and wildlife outside so wondering if something with the fast movements?
Candace Weber says
Lovely report. I’m very pleased that you reminded us that dogs need their down time also. My 3 do well resting and calming in their crates, especially when the “hubbub” of visitors gets intense.
I have a lovely 3.5 y/o ESS spayed female who barks at me for attention. Ideas on how to turn this around appreciated.
HFR says
Couple things to suggest:
How much should we adjust our lives to fit our dogs? I, for one, will turn down plans that don’t include my dog which I know we all do but how much is too much? Like with children, when do our needs matter more? And, of course, when are we overestimating what is not “fair” to the dog? My friends will say to me “believe me, he doesn’t mind as much you think he does”. Does he?
Also, I see someone mentioned the problems of having a smart dog but what if you have a slower one? Is autism in dogs a thing? I really believe my dog is on the spectrum but has there been any research done on it? If not, any thoughts in if it’s possible given what we know about autism in humans?
Thank you!!!
Anne says
We now have a very handsome, smart, and affectionate Sheltie who is 9. However we’re haunted by the memory of what our previous dog, a (mostly) Huskey who was my soul-mate, endured when when she was 13. We realized she had some arthritis, but we now realize we were in denial about signs of her cognitive decline. For example, one night when she wandered off during a walk, she got lost in our neighborhood. And she didn’t at first appear to recognize us when we finally found her standing in the middle of a nearby street. Then one day I heard her suddenly collapse in our house and found her on the floor, struggling but unable to stand up. She was also unable to focus her eyes. We immediately took her to our (then) Vet, who diagnosed her condition as some kind of inner ear problem that was “not treatable.” The Vet said she might spontaneously improve in 2-3 days; but if not, she’d never recover. So we put a mattress on the first floor & took turns caring for her and trying to get her to drink and eat. Unfortunately, after 5 or 6 days of watching her suffer with no signs of improvement, we decided that euthanasia was the only moral option. Now we’re afraid that the same thing might happen to our Sheltie. Are there any new diagnoses and/or treatments for this type of condition that have developed since 2013?
Chris Johnson says
Just last night I lost my 14 year old girl, very suddenly & unexpectedly. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by many friends and family who know this loss is nor “just a dog” but how to navigate through a world that doesn’t get how debilitating this grief is. And though I personally don’t have this issue currently, how to help other grieving dogs in your household. The pain is real for all involved.
Teddy says
I would like to second BOTH of HFR’s suggestions – I’ve been wondering things EXACTLY along the same lines (including believing that my dog may be on the spectrum, if that’s possible – or as my brother calls it, neuro-atypical!)! Thanks, HFR!
Mireille says
Hei! We are currently trying to deal with an issue with Shadow and we are just so puzzled. And I am wondering what this can be / how we can help him. We moved from the Netherlands to Norway in august 2020. On the day before our move we had to put to sleep his brother. We moved and he was fine, never missed his brother, unbans was home a lot and massive hikes etc. We moved once in Norway, had several holidays here, he learned to be a Kano – dog, just fine.
Norway has been closed for visitors a long time, so we did not have many visitors, some new people came around. he instantly bonded with a nice Dutch guy who dogsitted for us a couple of days in our home – went fine. Last november first known Dutch friends, but although we were very close, she has not seen the dogs that often (they own a cat, so we never went there and we sometimes went for walks, but we mostly talk on the phone, because of busy lives etc). In april friends came who he knew better. They also had dogs, we had walks together, she came to our house often, and he wanted basically nothing to do with them, the weird things was, they brough Spot’s ashes. And he came into the house carrying them and Shadow kept avoiding him all the time, we tried walks and cookies and stuff but no. Not ok. After they left, he had trouble sleeping and kept waking us up at night for several nights. He firs5 comes to my side of the bed, sits and stares at me and huffs in my face. I tried petting him, putting him in his basket etc but he can keep this up for ours, both on my side of the bed and Hubbies. Things normalised, he calmed down but than my brother and mother came, he was truly very happy to see my mother, we had a great weekend but after that, same pattern, not sleeping and keeping us awake. And this weekend again visitors, he started immediately ‘playing ghost’. He clings to us a lot, went with me to the bathroom and this is behaviour we have never seen. And I wonder, is het getting old and having difficulty coping with the unrest (almost eleven) or can it be that he is confused by these blasts from the past? (And maybe fears going back – just kidding). And how do we help him? How do dogs deal with memory triggers?
Barbara says
This is something I wonder about when my dog is barking. Sometimes, late at night when we leave him outside for a few minutes (so he can pee before bed), he barks like this: “bark bark” “bark bark” “bark bark”. Just in 2’s. I wonder if he is asking if other dogs are out there to answer back? Or is he worried about the dark, and wants to let any strange animal to know he is there, or ? We have had other dogs who have done this also.
A discussion of what their barking means would be great.
Jasmina says
I would like to talk about EXTREME thunder and firework phobia (I adopted her when she was 3 years old, she’s now 5 years old).. her coping mechanism in those situations is to run to the door, jump on the door and surrounding walls while whining and panting, her heart is racing as she’s trying to get out. She doesn’t hear me when I talk to her, doesn’t want me to comfort her, it’s almost like she doesn’t even see me, her only mission is to get out. If I take her out, she doesn’t calm down, she pulls on the leash in an effort to run from the trigger, or pulls me back to the appartment. When we come back to the appartment, she wants to go back out. CBD oil doesn’t help, neither does medication (the dosage given by the vet). She can’t be motivated to engage in any other activity (toys, food, tricks etc) for desensitization or counterconditioning. It’s enormous stress on her mental and physical state. I’ve provided several safe space options for her in the appartement, but to no avail. How to approach this? While researching, the last option, guaranteed to work, was medication, but it turned out ineffective for her. Maybe the dosage isn’t right, but the vet doesn’t recommend a higher dose. What can I do to help her deal with this? She is an anxious dog, had very bad separation anxiety in the first few months, but I have been able to help her with that (Your book I’ll be home soon helped a lot), we’ve done obedience course and have made a lot of progress with her anxiety and reactivity, she is very much engaged in training, walks nicely on leash, has great focus, but this remains an insurmountable problem and I fear for her health having to deal with so much stress so often (thunderstorms have been quite frequent here in Croatia in the last month, and fireworks are just as sudden and unpredictable because many people don’t care that it’s illegal to use it outside New Year’s period). I would really appreciate any type of advice because the only answer I’ve gotten is that it’s all but impossible to teach a dog not to be afraid of those things…
Thank You.
Jaime Lardinois says
Love the subject of autism in dogs. I just adopted greyhound I fostered for many months. He is very shy and has idiopathic fear. Although not common, it is seen often enough in the breed. I’ve read these “spooks” have a form of autism. I’ve just started CBD oil for him and we can actually go for a short walk with my other dog. Before this we could not go further than 50 ft. down the sidewalk, at the same time every a.m., quiet neighborhood. I realize he may never feel safe going on walks and will be happier just romping in my fenced backyard.
MinnesotaMary says
Maybe more of a veterinary question, but what sudden changes should signal a visit to the vet? Pressing head against the wall is one I can think of. Anything else that might easily be reasoned-away, but really is important, if not emergent for a vet visit?
Terrie says
Grief in dogs. I foster and have done a couple cases where the owner has died and no one in the family could take the dog. While it’s not the same as what people experience, it’s clear they do feel loss, not just stress of a change.
Gayla says
Chris Johnson, Condolences to all the beings in your household.
I doubt there’s a soul on this blog who doesn’t have their heart going out to you right now…
Anne says
If dogs can be “on the spectrum” (and I suspect they can be), perhaps doing some research about what works for people on the spectrum might turn up something useful. I remember reading about Temple Grandin (spelling?) years ago and being impressed by how she learned to comfort herself by creating a machine that encircled and gently compressed her when she was stressed. Equally significant is the fact that she was able to use this insight in her professional work with cattle.
nana~mary says
Hi Trisha!
Thanks for the opportunity to “throw out” ideas for future writings! In reading previous ideas, a few resonate with me.
First (and most important in my mind) is the subject of deafness in dogs. Our Cavalier had a vestibular event a couple of years ago. She lost her hearing, (but gained the most adorable head tilt!) Trying to communicate with her is next to impossible. She constantly wears a look of “I don’t get it!” I’m sure that our neighbors enjoy our attempts at sign language with her. “Come here” was easy. “Quiet…No Barking!” wasn’t. Any hints on how to communicate with deaf dogs would be greatly appreciated.
My second issue dovetails with my first…Our two dogs (Cavi and Westie) are both very reactive. We realize that dogs.do.bark….but we’d would love ideas on how to convince our chatty girls to use their inside voices! 😉
Michelina Dier says
I’m interested in dog behavior/separation anxiety. Even had I known my 7 month old, twice re-homed and surrendered by his original owner, Vincent, would display fierce separation anxiety, I would have adopted him-love at first sight!
I’m noticing most of my friends dogs are going through the terrors of separation anxiety. Is there a root cause of separation anxiety?
I’m happy you had such a great time with grandkids! It looks fabulous❤️ Michelina
Melanie says
This is more a personal rather than a dog behavior issue, but any ideas of how to get over losing a young dog (5) that was your partner in a sport (Open herding dog). I am devastated beyond belief and my depression is starting to become chronic and severe. I don’t know how to get over this loss.
Suzanne Elshult says
I am always interested in anything having to do with how we consciously or unconsciously cue our dogs….of course of particular interest to me since I have a detection dog and am hyper aware of NOT wanting to cue in any way….so doing more blind and double blind problems.
Kris says
Thank you for asking. One of our dogs is a Goldendoodle and was a Rockstar with her training. She achieved 2 Canine Good Citizen certifications, but 3 months later she, my husband and 2 other dogs were attacked by another dog on a walk. While no one was hurt, the doodle got away from my husband and was running scared. She made it home safe, but now reacts, mostly to men. While it would work for us as home, she goes to school with me and I need her to not react. I would love for you to address how to retrain and/or work through this so that we can continue onto Therapy dog certification. Thank you!
Lisa says
Would you be willing to discuss poisoned cues and perhaps client experiences? We’re clients receptive to teaching new cues to replace old ones?
In that same vain, can you talk about trust with yourself dog? If it has been broken in the past, can it be rebuilt? Are there instances where that may not happen?
Trisha says
Chris, I am so very sorry. It’s just awful, no way around it. I’m so glad you have a good support system. Know
that our dog village is behind you!
Jill Sandleben says
I am hearing conflicting information on what to feed dogs. I feed my dog a high quality raw food diet (frozen patties that I thaw). Some vets are telling me that they are seeing some cardiac issues with raw food diets and they recommend kibble. I am now officially confused. What do you feed your dogs?
Betsy Batejan says
Interested in the link between microbiome and aggression/reactivity and whether this relates to grass ingestion! A lot to bite off, admittedly, but my own dog is severely dog reactive and eats grass like her life depends on it and as a dog walker/pet sitter I notice many of my clients that are dog reactive or otherwise reactive or anxious seem to like eating grass like it’s their job. Thank you!
Bruce says
I would be interested in your thoughts about succession management in dogs. Sometimes it works out that we have dogs of similar size, age, and energy levels. Other times we wind up with a mismatch.
Currently we have two dogs. Spouse’s dog is a 13 year old smaller dog with a wonky back end. My dog is a medium-sized “8-years old going on puppy” mixed breed, still a bundle of energy. The two dogs get along great, but we do not expect to have the older dog for too much longer.
When it is time to choose a new dog, do you have thoughts on getting an older dog to match ages, versus getting a younger dog? Thanks in advance!
Barbara says
I’d like to respond to Anne whose dog had the inner ear problem and was euthanized. Your story gave me chills. I had a similar experience a few months ago. I was walking my 13 yo dog Rocky, when suddenly he stopped, started turning around in circles and collapsed on the side of the road. He tried to get up but couldn’t. When I tried to pick him up he’d arch his back and I couldn’t lift him. He looked disoriented. I thought he was having a stroke or a seizure and that he was going to die right there in the road. It scared the heck out of me. I finally got him to stand up and we made it home. I rushed him to the vet. While there, he began to vomit, his eyes were unfocused, his head tilted to one side and he staggered around. Almost immediately our vet diagnosed Rocky with Vestibular disease. I can tell you that there still is no cure for it. All you can do is treat the symptoms – antibiotics for inner ear infection, anti nausea and anti motion sickness meds. Fortunately my story has a happy ending. As bad as things were for a while (not eating, bumping into things, unsteady gait), Rocky got better and except for an eye issue, is back to normal. Anne, I just want you to know that this diagnosis isn’t a death sentence. Many dogs do recover. There is good information about this online. Enjoy your time with your Sheltie and try not to worry. I know, easier said than done.
Charlotte Kasner says
There is paper available here re canine dysfunctional disorder (autism):
Glambos A (2021) The effects of social and non-social distracting stimuli on dogs with different levels of social competence – Empirical evidence for a canine model of autism, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, v244, 105451
Trisha says
Fantastic Chartlotte! Can’t wait to read.
Jackie d says
I’d like to read about dealing with frustration and over-arousal (in the dog, not the owner!) My spaniels seem to be hair trigger easy to frustrate, it makes training very difficult for me compared to other dogs I’ve had which I could shape to do things. They WANT to please, but training sessions have to be so short (maybe 20 seconds of calmness) that it’s hard to do more than get the treats ready LOL.
On the subject of autism in dogs, that’s a tricky one firstly as there is a lot of resistance and offence to the idea among the autist community and their families.
Secondly it is easy to assume that similar symptoms have a similar cause and this may not be the case at all. For example extreme deprivation in children can cause autistic type behaviours, but it is not the same thing.
I used to have a dog that some people might class as autistic. The behaviourist vet we saw with him said that in his opinion he probably had brain damage caused either by problems during birth, or from eating something poisonous as a puppy or young dog. (He was a stray.) In his middle years he developed focal seizures. We almost had to euthanise him for severe OCD but treating the seizures completely eliminated the OCD. Definitely something wrong with his wiring!
Anne says
Thank you Barbara for your empathetic reply. We’ve often wondered why our former Vet did not try any of the meds you mentioned that helped your dog. We periodically researched Vestibular disease online after we lost our beautiful Skye, and wondered if our Vet had missed something that could have saved her. We’re so glad that your story had a much happier ending – it makes us hopeful. Thanks again for taking the time to respond.
LisaW says
Just asking what we’d like to talk about and reading the replies is interesting to me. Martin’s comment about teaching coping skills had me really pondering how Olive got to be the dog she is today. While not anxiety or startle-free, she is the best Olive she can be, and I’ve been thinking about how we got to this point over our 11+ years together.
She was a stinky, bearded, scruff of scared when we got her from the transport truck. We were sold a make believe story of her history and had no inkling what was to come nor what a passage she would take us on. (Soon after we got Olive, the “rescue” was shut down for hoarding and animal cruelty.)
Over the years, we did our clunky best to gain her trust, to desensitize and counter condition, to redirect with “find its” and gentle games, to sit with her and do nothing just be. So much to learn and change was slow for all of us. (I often thought that so many folks in this blog community would be so much more adept at helping Olive, but we’re who she got.) At one point she had a village of professionals working together to make a plan for Olive. She learned tricks and games and relaxation techniques and had many setbacks due to her physical body being poorly built, and her PTSD, and phantom tail syndrome, and, and . . . . We muddled through.
Slow forward to today, and she is a grizzled-grey beard who has learned to self-handicap. She makes good decisions now such as, in the car, a space of fierce protectiveness, when she sees dogs approaching, she will literally turn her back so she doesn’t see them or react. When company (used to) comes over, she will hang out for a bit and then go to the bedroom and snooze. You can sometimes see her thought process based on her body language and her responses these days are more self-redirected than not.
She also trusts us as wholly as she can, and she will ask for assistance when previously she would have run the other way (tick removal, grassy poop, something in her teeth). Once the trust was strong enough, I think she could exercise more autonomy and apply the things we tried to teach her over the years.
This is a very, very long way to say that in my opinion, coping skills aren’t taught per se but just like triggers, good, consistent, kind, appropriate behavior practices eventually stack up to result in the dog finding their own way to cope rather than react.
And, she is now going deaf, which means she is less startled by loud noises, but we have to be careful to alert her to our presence and show her what’s happening. Hand signals used to teach her tricks have come in handy. Keeping a (loose) schedule is helpful, too.
We have barn swallows nesting out front and tree swallows with recent fledglings out back. They are the best parents I have ever seen, and they hover like a hummingbird and then snatch the bug in a millisecond. Graceful and acrobatic and accurate. Wow.
Sheridan Davis says
I’d love to see a list of your favorite animal books and movies. Dog specific is great. Art that gave you insights into the dog end of the leash. Your work of course would be on it Patricia, and I’m curious to see what you and your readership recommend. Thank you!
Louise says
Dog to dog reactions is a very interesting subject. I have a new dog, one year old, that gets very excited by other dogs. She plays too roughly for some dog owners to accept. She is very slowly learning to better manage herself. Any help would be great!
Shauna says
I am looking forward to learning more about all of these great suggestions. I would like to know how to handle neighbors who let their dog run loose and take the dog for walks unleashed. It’s impossible to talk to the people while their dog is loose without getting closer and I am afraid to go on walks now because there are multiple neighbors doing the same thing.
I would also like to know about heart worm/ flea / tick preventatives. Do dogs need all three? Are there side effects?
Frances says
Another thought. I have two elderly dogs and a youngster – now 13 years old, 13.5 years, and 11 months. I chose a stellar breeder for Freddy, the puppy, and he has been extraordinarily easy, but I am aware that a lot of that is also down to the effort Sophy, my older papillon, has put into teaching him and telling me how to manage him. (For example, at the first signs of crazies she firmly indicated it was time to put him to bed so she could have some peace – foolish human would have been tempted to play exuberant games to try to tire him out an already overtired puppy.) Do pups who have sensible, well socialised adult dogs mentoring them in their early lives have fewer issues than those raised entirely by humans? Different issues? No difference? I know I have been hugely grateful for Sophy’s help – the deal was very much that it was my choice to bring a puppy into the house and therefore my job to ensure he did not stress or worry the older animals, but she has chosen to educate him and play with him and it has been very good for both of them (and me!). Poppy, my toy poodle, announced on day 1 that she Does Not Do Puppies, and has stuck firmly to that policy.
Al says
I am still trying to teach my 5 yr old GSD not to lose the plot utterly when someone comes up the garden path. Once she’s in that mode she’s incapable of hearing or responding and is hurling herself at the French door and in a barking frenzy.
I am currently re-reading “The Other End of the Leash” and as I have decorators coming and going, started today to implement the “Quiet ‘no’ followed by banging a small plastic bottle containing dead batteries on my desk to startle and regain her attention, instantly followed by a rapid steady stream of her absolute favourite treats thrown around her on the floor to focus her attention away from the window.
My query is an ethical one. If I simply say “no” sharply, she barely registers it (not even an ear twitch and no effect on the barking & behaviour). (I’ve tried just banging my flat hand or fist on the desk, but this doesn’t break through the behaviour.) When I bang down the bottle/rattler on my desk, she doesn’t just startle, it plainly also scares her (visible from her cringe/crouch reaction). But she does stop barking and I have her focus that I can immediately act on with much calm but enthusiastic verbal praise and the treats. So I need to decide, given the fearful startle it causes, if it is fair to her to subject her to the bang on the desk, notwithstanding that it is the only means I have found to break her maniacal (and in itself highly stressful) reaction at the person coming up the path.
Patty Corbett says
Historically I have been a chihuahua and toy poodle person. However my second cat (that I swear must be human) is eight years old now and I am getting a new puppy, a Yorkipoo , that I intend to become top dog without demoting my cat from top cat because he deserves the position and has earned it. I would so appreciate any thoughts on how to make them both feel like they are center of my life. And I intend for them to be. Yes, I believe in the impossible.
Deborah Robson says
Others have more pressing and fascinating topics, and I suspect this has been covered in the notes above and am certain it’s in things you and other people have published (that I have read, viewed, etc., but currently cannot come up with the right portions of).
We have a new-to-us rescue Border Collie (of course). We’ve had multiple rescues, fosters, and mostly herding dogs.
This guy pulls on the leash, and all of the techniques that worked with the past pups are not working now. Also I’m now officially Old, which makes a difference in how much pulling I can withstand safely. He’s EAGER to see what is NEXT (that being, mostly, bunnies: we’ve done predation-substitute training with him and it helps a lot). A harness with a double-leash makes walking him possible for me. But it’s not fun, and mostly my daughter has to do the honors.
So–an oldie but ?goodie? – Oh, and the reason this purebred fellow went into rescue was that his previous owners said he didn’t “bond” with them. His socialization appears to have been with folks passing by their back yard on a bike path. He is amazingly friendly for a BC! He’s 4 and we’ve had him for 6 months. . . .
Jenny says
Maybe — How to keep calm to help your nervous dog??
I knew for year that my dog were bad with peope wjo wer afrais of them. But didn not know how to deal with this, Shouting at he dogs made it worse and intensified future incidents.
But I finally learned calming techniques for myself to help my dogs, and to deal with strangers who are afraid,
in a much calmer way
For example, my BIG German shepherd was friendly, and had the most magnificent bid bark.
I told everybody who came (except for the baddies) that it was his Welcome Song
Martin says
I’ve thought of a few more topics:
I’ve often heard people say that dogs need a job. Then, when they bring examples, it seems like they are talking about mental stimulation, including things I consider to be play. My question is, do dogs need to feel like they are a contributing member of society? Do they need to feel like the things they do are useful? Or is it really just the mental stimulation that matters, and play is sufficient to keep them healthy and happy?
Can emotions be taught through operant conditioning? Or are they too involuntary? I know that treats do not reinforce fear, quite the opposite. But I keep reading about teaching a dog to relax by reinforcing lying down calmly and putting it on cue. Does this actually teach a dog how to change their emotions on command, or do they just act calm without feeling calm (like they do when they take acepromazine)?
What cues are best suited for distance work in noisy environments? I thought Nanuk was blowing off his recall when he didn’t come back from a creek. After doing an experiment with my human family members where I recreated similar conditions, I found that they couldn’t hear my voice, no matter how loud I yelled. In a separate incident, I realized that I couldn’t always tell if a sibling was using a whistle – it blended in with the bird song. Now I’m wondering if he just couldn’t hear us, either, and want to switch to a cue I know he will be able to perceive. Visual cues won’t work as the creek is in a little gully – and because I can’t expect him to look at me on his own accord while engaging with something I want to call him off from.
I want to get better at understanding dog communication. I’ve read and watched a lot of 101 material, but don’t know how to get to the next step. Even the DVDs had very little on auditory signals and often had still frames instead of showing the relevant movements. How did you learn to be an expert?
Peggy says
Thank you for the opportunity to suggest a topic! I’ve been a fan since your show on Animal Planet in the 90s!
I’ve had dogs since I was 11 and I’m now almost 60. I’ve had three dogs (all different mixed breed rescues) over the years who totally overreact to both praise and correction. Just saying NO to stop a behavior makes the dog flop over and show her belly. Saying GOOD GIRL results in a dog paralyzed, wiggling with happiness. All three learned SIT, but most attempts to train beyond that just get more sitting and wiggling, and a hopelessly confused pup. Stay is impossible. I’ve had 5 other dogs who my husband and I were able to train a good handful of commands (sit, down, stay, paw, leave it, off, stay still, excuse me, up, wanna go, walk with, get the ball, get the rope, go to the bathroom). Our current drama queen is Ginny, who we think is a healer/daschund mix. Please help us get across to her that NO isn’t the end of the world!
John Wright says
We had a cattledog puppy. I took him for a walk (1/2 mile from the road) and the brave little puppy ran down the trail out of sight. I ran off the trail and I flattened out in the grass.
He came back and he was alone on the trail. I think that I called him no more than twice. He figured it out and he found me and we had a very joyous reunion.
I was never able to hide from him again. He always knew where I was or he knew how to find me. And I never had to go looking for him.
He was not great at obedience, but he was a great hiking and camping companion (approx 15,000 miles off leash on morning walks) and that is what I really wanted.
So hide and seek is fun, but a good dog always wins. JW
Jane says
I’d like to see a discussion on what is known about the ability of dogs to understand human speech—not just single words, but syntax and multi-word phrases involving states of mind (happy+play, sad+bath). I keep getting ads in my social media feed for those talking buttons that dogs supposedly push and communicate relatively complex thoughts to the owner. I’ve watched a few videos and am not necessarily seeing clear evidence that this is happening. But boy would this open up a lot of possible training avenues for rainy days, if it does work!
Uta says
Sorry for being late with this. I would hugely appreciate information how best to train dogs with severe food-based issues for whom variation in treats and food-based rewards are not an option.
My late rescue papillon/terrier/x cross suffered from severe IBD and chronic pancreatitis, and we counted our blessings when we finally found one food that he was tolerant to (and yes, we tried everything, home cooked, raw, commercial), but we could never risk to change anything in his diet. Some breadcrumbs picked up on the street could (and did) send us to the emergency vet. We were lucky that the little one also remained tolerant to one type of treats until the end. But it was the same reinforcement for every lesson, every situation, from the first house training until the last day of his life. Every trainer and every book points out the importance of variety but we had to do without. Our solution was to keep the dog hungry (to some degree) so that even this one type of treat held some appeal and to mix the treats as reinforcement with praise and happy dances. But maybe there are other ways to deal with this. I read the blog discussions about Primary and Secondary Reinforcers and everything else I could find and I always look out for the topic in books, but I have not seen it really addressed so far. Maybe, because it is a very niche problem; however, after the third rescue dog in my house and several dogs of friends are also dealing (to various degrees) with these problems, it does not seem so very uncommon. Any input would be so very much appreciated!
Cindy says
I hope I am not too late to get another idea on the list. I have not owned a dog who had an obsession with balls before and am looking for any suggestions on this My dog is a coltriever( 1/2 border collie and 1/2 golden retriever), almost 3 years old , and is fun and pretty obedient dog most of the time, but if another person is playing with any ball in any place I can let her off leash, she cannot hear or see me–just runs with the other dog toward the ball as if it were a magnet.
Nora says
I thought I might throw in a (very belated) suggestion: I would really like to read more on the topic of attachment in dogs. I am particularly interested in hearing your thoughts on dogs who do not seem to attach well to their owner(s).
I came to think of this topic while reading Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Maté’s book ‘Hold on to your kids’ (which deals with attachment between parents and their children), and I was struck by how much of what was said in the book could easily be applied to humans and their companion animals – such as the fact that altering a certain behaviour that we consider problematic without having established a secure attachment relationship between the parent and the child first is an uphill battle. Similarly, training a dog who is uninterested in pleasing you is like swimming upstream – possible, but you really have to put in a lot of effort!