Fill Me Up

I enjoy the learning process and I want to soak up as much knowledge as I can get.  I also enjoy making connections between subject matters which may not seem outwardly related, but in the end most things like life, come full circle.  I began taking a pet nutrition class with Animal Behavior College.  The class so far does a good job laying down the foundation for basic nutrition principles.  The class starts off by describing the circle of life.  The study of nutrition has evolved and the information gained from studying other mammals has been extrapolated and is applied to dogs, cats and us, humans.  I’m in the early stages of the class and I have a ton of material to cover and absorb, but one nugget of knowledge had my brain working and also helped me staying grounded, is the idea of interconnection between humans and our furry friends.  The essence of our interconnectedness is being animals, specifically mammals and how our dietary requirements are really quite similar.

First, as you may have learned in biology or chemistry class, all matter is made up of atoms which chemically bond and form molecules.  As humans, we are made up of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen.  What do you know, our pets are also made up of the same. We and our dogs consume food comprised of these same molecules for everyday bodily functions which consist of breathing, drinking, eating which ultimately lead to overall survival.

One hugely important dietary requirement is the access and intake of water.  Water is necessary for survival.  A water molecule consists of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, the same atoms which make up not only our bodies, but our pets’ bodies too.  When water molecules come together, they form our drinking water, rain and the oceans.  All living beings need water in varying quantities to live. Here’s one way our lives intersect with our pets; all mammals are made up of 70% water.  Water is the conduit for biochemical reactions to happen within our bodies for our overall functioning.  Our bodies continuously go through detoxification/purification processes for clearing out waste products and cell rejuvenation.  The body has the ability to repair itself and having good quality and plentiful water for us and our pets allows for our bodies continue on in homeostasis.  When we lose roughly 10% of the water in our bodies, we cease living.  The same goes for our dogs or cats.

As you can see, our dogs and cats are in likeness to us from being social beings to our similar dietary needs.  My compassion for Jack and Bernie has grown.  I see Jack and Bernie with new eyes.  I’ve always known I am responsible for their access to food and water and I’ve wanted to ensure they have what they need for good health and well being.  Now, I’m learning its not just about supplying them with food and water.  As a responsible pet guardian, I understand and know about the impact of good quality food and water that is provided to my Bears.  It’s my responsibility to ensure they have access to this since they are unable to make those decisions for themselves.

Home Again

Eddie and I over the last weekend went to check out our new neighborhood since we’ll be moving in the next few months. I’m glad we had the opportunity in checking out our new community, at least this helped me more practically understand a new city in a new state. With any move, I’m always apprehensive. I spent the last 2 years in El Paso and I built a world here for myself. I started dog training and I hope I can carry this forward in our new home and town. What does stay the same and relieves my nerves in a move is my absolute love for my pups. I for sure missed them since we boarded them while we traveled. We picked them up yesterday and they sure are tired today!  I’m so glad they had such a great time! Most importantly, so happy they are home! :-0

 

Tired Bears

 

 

Be Positive!

Last week, I discussed finding a dog trainer to fit your values and needs.  If you want to read it, check out Don’t Be Fooled.  Basically, the intention of the post was to encourage the reader in considering his/her options for training methods and finding a trainer who uses a preferred method.  Now, I’m steering the discussion towards the problems with adversive or compulsive training methods and a better alternative in training your dog.

After last week’s post, I found myself encountered by a situation which made me think about writing this post.  Let me give you a snapshot of what transpired.  Every morning, Jack, Bernie and I go out on our daily run which meanders through the neighborhood and loops back to our house.  Usually, we end at the park so Bernie can roll around in the grass and Jack can just chill before we finish up our last mile.  Most days we are greeted by friendly neighbors walking their dogs and we sit and chat.  This particular day, Eddie had the day off which means, we all got to sleep in a bit more and Eddie came with us on our run.  Since we left early, we missed the usual crowd who makes their way to the park in the morning.  As we took our last pass by the park, we came across a couple walking their two dogs.  One was a lab or retriever puppy and the other was either a mini Schnauzer or Schnauzer puppy.  In any event, the Schnauzer became reactive when the dog saw the four of us.  The Schnauzer had high pitched barking and was unable to settle down.  This in of itself is not abnormal. What struck me was how the woman walking the dog responded.  As the dog was barking, she began yelling at the dog “NO” and repeatedly said “NO,NO,NO”!  Since that clearly was not working, she then crouched down next to the dog.  Her Schnauzer kept on barking.  She then smacked the dog on its rear end and yelled at the dog to shut the f… up!.  Well, let me tell you, this too didn’t have any effect on the dog as the dog continued on with what he was doing.  The only thing that helped in ending the barking was Eddie, Jack, Bernie and I who slipped by and moved in a different direction.

What this showed me was how pervasive compulsion training is in our society.  In actuality, this type of method is usually the most widely known because it being popular for so long and attention being paid to trainers who use these methods and have their own network shows.  First, compulsion trainers traditionally have more of a “since I’m in charge, I tell you (the dog) what to do and you must do it or else”.   In this experience of the woman with her Schnauzer, the woman demanded her dog to stop barking and tried negatively reinforcing her dog by yelling and smacking him.  What this teaches the dog is when another dog is present, I (the dog) get smacked which makes me (the dog) fear the other dog.  Therefore, if the dog continues in receiving smacks and being yelled at when another dog is present, the dog can potentially rev himself up to the point where he then is aggressive towards another dog.  Then the person’s response gets more aggressive.  Also, in watching the woman with her Schnauzer, she didn’t appear to enjoying her confrontation with her dog.  Her body language alone indicated she was tense, frustrated and irritated.  I wonder if she chose an approach of walking the dog away and rewarding when the dog was quite, how much better of a response of the dog not barking as long or at all while at the same time making her feel better about getting a desirable response.

In addition to actually creating and reinforcing reactivity with a dog by yelling and smacking the dog when the dog barks, a person who chooses to use compulsion methods must also think about the physical and psychological/emotion impact on the dog.

Let’s take Bernie.  Bernie is a more reserved dog.  He is more internal and more calculated in his behaviors.  Bernie is more cautious when meeting people, especially men and is very challenging to motivate.  After seeing the results of a pinch collar on Jack ( check out Pinch Collars, No More.. pinch collars are more in line with compulsion training methods) and understanding its effects, I knew this tool would be detrimental to building a bond and actually be harmful for Bernie.  Not only would using a pinch collar not be in the best interest of Bernie, but neither would compulsive training or yelling at Bernie as a consequence for exhibiting an undesirable behavior.  How come?  Well, as I mentioned, Bernie is reserved and pretty independent.  Giving Bernie a smack or angrily yelling his name, Bernie would withdraw.  He would hide and show fear towards us and refuse our attempts to get him to comply.  This would then set us up for failure in positively encouraging him later.  He would see as inconsistent and essentially, he would not trust us.   The secret with Bernie, which is adaptable to any dog who is independent and a bit more cautious, find those things which make the dog excited. For Bernie, he loves when he hears high pitched voices.  He loves working for food and he loves squeaky toys.  But, for him, he loses interest FAST!  Basically, when we are teaching a new behavior or reinforcing one already, we ask for the behavior.  When Bernie does it, we say good boy and reward him with a toy or tasty treat.  We constantly change up the reward and incorporate all of these things into a training session as a way in keeping his attention on us rather than get distracted with a bird or anything else he deems more interesting.  Since he’s motivated in many ways, it helps for him in making a positive association with a new behavior which in turn helps him learn and habituate it faster.  Win, win for the both of us!

Hands down, the job of the pet guardian, handler, or owner is bridging the gap between you and your dog, so you build a strong bond and relationship with your dog.  Compulsion training method only widens the gap between you and your dog, and inhibits learning potential.  Positive reinforcement offers both you and your dog a pleasant learning experience and one where learning is faster.  You may need to become more animated and use exciting toys or treats in order for your dog’s response be towards you.  You may only need little motivation in order for the dog to desire to work and get rewarded.  Whatever the personality of your dog, the only method I’ve found which works and works with reliable results which can be built upon with more challenging training is with positive reinforcement techniques.  Not only is the dog happier in working for a reward, but it leaves the handler feeling better in how the relationship is being built.

For more insight, check out Paul Owens, Original Dog Whisperer.  You’ll definitely see a difference in training between the other Dog Whisperer!