Dog Social

"I am talking about a foster animal injuring or killing a resident dog or cat. In the Twin Cities alone over the last year and a half, I know of five different instances of a foster dog killing a resident dog and one instance where a foster dog killed a resident cat. I have to assume there are more instances that I don’t know about, because this isn’t a topic people openly talk about."

The Risk of Fostering I have been fostering animals for over 12 years, am an animal behavior guru, active in the rescue community and a veterinarian. I know many animal professionals, rescuers, and fosters and have noti…

Some excellent information on dog park safety along with some cute cartoons!

We are pleased to announce the launch of our Dog Park Safety Project; a series of posters that are the result of a collaboration between the IAABC, Dr. Jessica Hekman and artist Lili Chin. The goal of this project is to promote safety in dog parks and in dog play through community education.

The final--and trickiest--step in difficult dog integration. Here's our article on Sharing the House.

8. Imperfect Dog Introductions: Sharing the House The whole point of our imperfect dog introductions is to (hopefully!) end up sharing the house with difficult dogs who may not have initially trusted each other. Each positive or neutral interactio...

The Yard Introduction is probably the hardest part of integrating a dog into your household: Actually allowing them to get close enough to touch, sniff, and potentially play.

7. Imperfect Dog Introductions: Yard Introduction Yard Introduction I prefer introductions to be performed outside. It gives everyone some breathing room and space is important. I will perform a yard introduction before using an indoor leash or dr...

Some management options to consider when your household is almost integrated: Tie downs, leashes, and drag lines.

6. Imperfect Dog Introductions: Tie Downs, Leashes Indoors, and Drag Lines Tie Downs, Leashes Indoors, and Drag Lines First, a brief description: A tie down is a tether that is attached from the dog to a solid surface (preferably a wall) An indoor leash is being held by s...

Visit The Imperfect Dog--Essentially Dog Social but in an easier to read and organize format. We have a new series regarding the introduction of reactive/selective dogs into the house.

https://imperfectdogblog.wordpress.com/2016/01/12/imperfect-dogs-dog-dog-introduction-overview/

Imperfect Dogs: Dog-Dog Introduction Overview Slow and Steady Keeps Everyone Happy and Safe Over the next week, I will be introducing a guideline to introducing dogs with a little emotional baggage. I realize that there are many dogs that can ...

Management is often the biggest key to success!

MYTHBUSTING MONDAY: "When a dog ________, you have to _________ so he learns not to do that."

So goes most of the training advice of the last century. Human beings are amazingly creative when it comes to punishment (just look at medieval torture devices), and dog training is no exception. From devices that intentionally cause pain and discomfort, to innocent-seeming products like "The Pet Corrector," which is a can of compressed air, and ultrasonic "bark control" boxes.

Here are two problems with this line of thinking and the consumer industry that supports it:

1) It only occurs after the dog has ALREADY barked, jumped, run off, snapped, etc., and

2) Dogs don't misbehave just because they haven't been told not to.

Unwanted behavior is caused by a variety of factors that vary with each individual dog.

DOGS DO WHAT WORKS. Dogs bark for a variety of reasons. It scares off the mailman (or at least that's how it appears to your dog). When a dog jumps on visitors, it gets people to pay attention to her. By allowing dogs to practice unwanted behavior, there's a better than even chance that the behavior will work for them BEFORE you can administer the punishment. Also, if your timing is off, the punishment won't be associated with the unwanted behavior, but with YOUR behavior. This is how dogs end up learning to avoid owners who reach for their collars, or worse, start to use aggression as self-defense, or quickly eat something after hearing "leave it."

So, what are you supposed to do? Outsmart your dog, that's what.

Parents don't leave sharp objects laying next to exposed outlets and then scold babies for electrocuting themselves. They baby proof the house. Putting away dangerous items and using a variety of tools to lock cabinets, cover outlets, and discourage busy toddlers from getting into places where trouble could happen.

This is management. By carefully managing your dog's environment, you can prevent a lot of problems.

Once that's done, you can work on teaching better behavior. When the "bad" behavior is no longer working -- meaning you've prevented opportunities for it to happen, thereby preventing opportunities for it to be rewarded -- you can now focus on making "good" behavior work better for your dog.

How? Well, that's where you use the formula in the image below. You know that ________ is a problem. Now, think about when it happens. All behavior has a trigger (antecedent). It could be the sight of something, the sound of something, even the smell of something.

When you identify the trigger, you can predict the behavior. When you can predict the behavior, you can manage it. Common management tools work in most cases, but you might need to get creative.

Dog owners are always surprised that such a simple solution exists. They never even considered that they could place their dog behind a baby gate in the hallway before opening the front door because they were so focused on what to do AFTER the dog escaped...or jumped...or snapped.

Now, here's the catch: Everyone has to be consistent. Management won't work if Mom is the only one doing it, but Dad thinks that's silly and a magical snap of the fingers (which worked on his last dog) is all it will take, or teenager forgets to put the gate up. But, that's true of training, in general. Everyone needs to be consistent...or the one person who can be consistent must take on full responsibility.

Once a solid management plan is in place, training sessions can begin. Training is not what you do or say once something goes wrong, it is practicing for those situations - this is why sports have "training practice," not "after-school football tournaments."

Training is practice. Management just helps you control WHAT your dog is practicing!

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
These images are free to share on Facebook via the “Share” link. Downloading for redistribution online or in print form is strictly prohibited. ©2015 Lisa Mullinax. All rights reserved.

A heart-wrenching story on how some canine aggression cannot be healed.

I Killed My Dog Today Today my wife and I asked our vet to kill our healthy, affectionate, three-year-old pit bull that we love. Otto left the world in a manner befitting the time he spent on it. It took a veterinary...

We love seeing owners embrace safety for their dogs. Stella is gorgeous and looking ready for the holidays!

Stella in her muzzle with her Xmas ribbon.
Stella is 13 and has recently become reactive around noises.
these include being reactive towards small dogs who run at her yapping, she is fine if they are silent but can't stand the yapping.
she also has arthritis so doesn't enjoy being jumped on and can snap a bit- she always gives a warning growl but other people ignore her and let their dogs run and jump on her.
so the muzzle is so I know she won't be in any trouble if someone complained. (she has never bitten a dog but has snapped a few times)

Some tips for training your dog from the Onion--it's odd to agree with some of them! (i.e. 'Remain patient during training sessions with your dog, as English is not its first language.')

Tips For Training Your Dog Bringing a dog into the family can be as difficult as it is rewarding, and pet owners must set rules and boundaries for the newest members of their household. Here are The Onion’s tips for training your dog

Homer is 16 years old. Over the last year, we have been noticing his cognitive function slowly decline. What can you do for a dog in his situation? Here is a great article on the subject:

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/11_12/features/Caring-For-An-Older-Dog_16086-1.html