ALL ABOUT PIT BULLS

First, Did you Know…

A Pit Bull is not a breed of dog, instead it is a term used to generally describe individual breeds of dogs that all have similar characteristics, the most common of which are...

One - American Pit Bull Terrier;

Two -  American Staffordshire Terrier; and

Three - Staffordshire Bull Terrier, short form name - ‘Staffy’.

If you would like to further test your ability to identify a Pit Bull you can click here. 

There are many other breeds that fall into the 'Bully Breed' class - for example the Bulldog, Bull Mastiff, Boxer, Boston Terrier, French Bulldog, Olde English Bulldog and more!

The Pit Bull breeds were originally developed during the 19^th century by crossing Bull Dogs and Terriers. Breeding focused on attaining characteristics to attain a good ‘fighting’ dog (if indeed that can be good at all - to me it is shameful that any human would want to use dogs to fight each other or another animal for human entertainment and monetary gain). To this purpose breeding was tailored to develop traits that were desirable in a fighting dog. Traits such as…

- High tolerance for pain (this just makes me very sad);

- High prey drive (like many dogs such as hounds);

- Strength and agility (like many dogs such as the German Shepherd and Boxer).


Despite the fact that many people today - upon hearing the word ‘Pit Bull’ immediately think of aggression towards humans - this was one trait that the three breeds did not have…and that this till holds true for Pit Bulls of today. Back in the 19^th century Pit Bulls were family ‘pets’ and pre-fight / during the fight they required a lot of handling by their humans - so reactive-aggressive behaviour to humans was not bred into the Pit Bull. And as to Bully Breeds being more aggressive than other breeds of dogs...in 2002, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta Georgia carried out a study that proved there are no specific dog breeds that are inherently viscous.


Some people believe also believe that  Bully Breeds have superior jaw strength enabling them to lock down on a victim like no other dog can. In 2005, National Geographic conducted a study to measure the bite force of various breeds of dogs. The bite force of the Bully Breeds proved to be less than that of other breeds such as the German Shepherd and the Rottweiler...and both of these breeds are no less likely to be great companions than the bully and other breeds!

The term 'Pit Bull' originated in England. During the Medieval period of the 1200's, bull baiting arrived in England - bull dogs were used to bait the bulls. Both bull and bear bating were a popular form of 'entertainment' considered as a sport and opportunity for gambling. In the 1800's Bull Dogs were breed with Terriers to create a faster more agile dog for bull baiting events. In 1835, both bear and bull baiting were prohibited when an act was passed in Parliament to stop the brutal sport. Unfortunately, today there are many places in the world were dog fighting still occurs legally and illegally. Pit Bull's are used both as bate and fighting dogs - having no choice but to participate they are cruelly treated, live a short life of pain and suffering all for the entertainment of humans. I am often struck by the thought that humans have advanced very little over the ages.

Today, Pit Bulls are probably the most feared and legislated-against (restricted and banned) dog in the world. Yet, in locations were they are not so treated, Pit Bulls are well known and loved family pets who not only get along with children but with other animals. They also excel at Agility, Fly Ball, Soccer and other such activities. Many Pit Bulls also work as Registered Therapy Dogs and other occupations such as Search and Rescue. 

So how did the Pit Bull get such a bad rap? 

Well, years ago it was the Rottweiler, the Doberman, the German Shepherd, the Boxer and the list goes on. All it takes is one incident and the media’s quest to sell their copy fuels the fire. The media knows humanity’s lust for blood and sensationalism and the media will get as much mileage out of a story as it can. The end result - the populace shifts their fear from one breed to another. And the more stories that can be found the bigger the stigma grows. 

It really is that simple. 

The sad thing is that most people do not even know what a Pit Bull really looks like and most reported ‘Pit Bull’ attacks - at least eight out of ten are not actually Pit Bulls! 

Think about this statistic…in 2006, an estimated 72 million dogs lived in households in the U.S. (U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook (2007 Edition)How many of these dogs are purebred, pedigreed, and registered, less than you might think - the very liberal estimate is maybe 25%. So 75% of the dogs in North America are not purebred. Further supporting the fact that most dogs attacks reported as being perpetrated by Pit Bulls simply are not. 

Overall fatal incidents from dog attacks in general are extremely rare. About 75 million dogs reside in the US today. About 32 fatal dog attacks occur each year. To better understand how out-of-kilter most people’s concept of dog attacks are take a look at purely human attack fatalities. The human population of the US is about 300 million (4x the dog population). Humans in the US murdered 16,000 humans (500x the number of dog-related deaths). 

So one the whole, not only are dogs much less dangerous to humans than humans are, but the number of actual Pit Bull related attacks are extremely low. Here is a great bit of information to put things in a little more perspective…

In 2002 the American Temperament Testing Society statistics showed that American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers (both ‘Pit Bull breeds’) and Rotweillers passed the good temperament test +80% of the time. A very high passing grade! Other common family dogs did not fare as well. For example Golden Retreivers and Bichon Frise received a 77% rating, Chihuahuas and Lhasa Apsos received 71% (you can view the test results at the American Temperament Test Society .

Recently the American Temperament Testing Society carried out another round of tests - pit bull terriers received a very high passing rate of 90.6%. The average pass rate for the other 121 breeds tested was 77%. The tests involve putting each dog through a series of unexpected situations - including involvement with strangers. Pit bulls have been proven - once again NOT to be inherently aggressive. Aggression in an individual dog, any breed - is a result of acquired behavior - forced on the dog by a human.

So, How About Taking a Look at Just How Sweet Pit Bulls Really Are…

Well, you can start with this Yes, Pit Bulls Suddenly Snap;

And then take a look at this Gentleman Duke - A bait Dog’s Salvation;

And lastly this Pit Bull Bigotry - Public Perception and Legislation.

For those of you who are not sure what a bait dog is - Pit Bulls are still used to day in legal (in some US States) and illegal (in other US States and Canada) dog fights. To train the dogs to attack another dog ‘bait’ dogs are used. Dogs that are submissive, sweet natured dogs are used as bait dogs. They end up severely injured, live a short life of torture and pain and then are killed - some are lucky enough to be rescued. Duke is one such dog. 

So, the next time some one says something bad about a Pit Bull, I am hoping you will stand-up and say - ‘hey wait a minute, you are wrong and here is why’. 

I will be following this article up with one on Breed Specific Legislation - which sees a lot of Pit Bulls condemned to death in Canada and the USA.
 
One Last Thing - You Can Help Pit Bulls In Ontario 

If you agree Pit Bulls are not the evil demons that the media and others have made them out to be, and would like to see them treated as they should be in Ontario - as loved and respected canine members of society -  you can help make sure that the ban on Pit Bulls is repealed by signing this petition. You may not be aware but (shame) Ontario is one of those places that instituted Breed Specific Legislation against Pit Bulls. 

Breed-specific legislation restricts people from having dogs based on dog breed.This requires breed identification of each and every dog. As noted above, this gets into murky water as there are far more cross breed dogs in North America than there are pure breed registered dogs. Most mixed breed dogs are a genetic conglomerate resulting from more than one generation of mixed breed dog interbreeding. In addition, a dog that doesn’t meet any single breed standard may be categorized as a type of dog rather than a specific breed, i.e. a Shepherd, a Terrier, a Pit Bull. This means that the primary means of identification for a mixed-breed dog is a visual glance followed by a guess - very subjective. Pretty much the same way the media identifies a ‘Pit Bull’ as the guilty dog in an attack. 

Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant, who pushed for this ban on Pit Bulls in Ontario, proposed this manner of identification:

“I’ve said before and I will say again, if it walks like a pit bull, if it barks and bites like a pit bull, wags its tail like a pit bull, it’s a pit bull.” (Ontario Hansard 38-1, November 4, 2004.


And so it stands. Make no mistake BSL is racism, to make things worse it is racism born of ignorance and it is lethal. Many Pit Bulls and dogs who people think may be Pit Bulls are put to death because of this legislation. Euthanized, gassed to death, heart sticked and so on.

So here is how you can help…

Randy Hillier, MPP for Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington, tabled a bill in Queen's Park to repeal the breed-specific legislation passed by the McGuinty government in 2005, commonly known as the “pit bull ban”. Subsequently Randy created a website and a petition to help support the bill to repeal the ban, just click here .

Thanks for reading this, every little bit we do to help change the perception of Pit Bulls can save a sweet misunderstood dog’s life! We can change the future and make it a better place for dogs.

References:
Stop BSL http://stopbsl.com/
KC Dog Blog http://btoellner.typepad.com/kcdogblog/
American Temperament Society http://atts.org/

TYPES OF AGGRESSION IN DOGS & HOW TO AVOID CREATING IT

The most common types of aggressive-reactive behaviour in dogs result from the dog being...

A - Insecure, nervous, tense, fear based reactivity;

B - Bullying, dominating reactivity.

When these psychological conditions noted above are not addressed and resolved a dog may become:

• Fearful reactive-aggressive, or;
• Defensive reactive-aggressive, or;
• Offensive reactive-aggressive.

Some typical signs of these behaviors are:

• Fearful reactive-aggressive - backing away, trembling, low growl, whale eyes.
  
• Defensive reactive-aggressive - barking, bared teeth, growling,  fearful body posture (lowered head, tucked tail, ears back, whale eye) and may back away.
• Offensive reactive-aggressive - barking, bared teeth, growling,  offensive body posture (direct eye contact, erect ears, high tail) while moving or charging forward.

This behaviour may be directed at animate objects such as dogs or other non-human animals, at humans and at inanimate objects as well.

As an example most aggression in dogs occurs due to lack of leadership in the dog’s life - in the absence of proper direction a dog may become anxious, insecure and fearful. If dogs were pre-wired to be aggressive rather than social there would be very few dogs left standing. A dog in its natural state is a social being, a pack animal with the potential inherent to get along with others.  There are very few dogs born with 'bad wiring’. When a dog goes bad it is almost always a human who is responsible for the bad behaviour.

When puppies are young they learn their social skills from the adult dogs in their dog family. Now, as long as the adult dogs’ natural social state has not been negatively disrupted by human influence the adult dogs will teach their young how to get along without being aggressive. If you are thinking - yeah but what about the 'Alpha' - dominate dog...you need to read this.

Things go wrong when we humans...

A - Separate the dog from its early socialization processby removing the puppy from its parents and then;

B - We fail to take up the leadership role to coach and mentor the dog in the acquisition and maintenance of social skills - providing rules and boundaries.

In this day and age of technology and our fast paced-life we have lost an awareness of all of the ways in which we communicate. We have lost patience. We attempt to direct our dogs - we assume we know what we are doing - but most often people do not. 

A dog learns aggressive-reactive behaviour because a human enables the behaviour in a dog. Either by failing to provide leadership or by actively abusing the dog. Usually when a human enables the aggression it has happened by accident - completely unintentionally.

Here are some typical ways that dogs develop aggressive reactive behaviour…

A - Dogs that lack proper coaching and mentoring can become insecure, anxious and fearful. When a dog is insecure it will either be overly submissive or overly defensive. We see these same behaviours in people as well. If you are insecure, anxious or fearful you are either going to recede into the background or overcompensate by being a bully - it is the same for dogs. If your dog is nervous around humans or other dogs and you are nervous too - you tell your dog it is right to be worried. You enable the behaviour. If your dog has been attacked in the past by another dog and you are unable to let the past go, you enable your dog’s nervousness and aggression towards the other dog.

B - Dogs who receive the wrong type of affection at the wrong time can become aggressive-reactive. When you reward a dog for being in an excited state the dog learns that being excited is good. When a little dog is insecure and starts to react (snarl, growl, snap, bark) at a bigger dog - if you pick the little dog up, you have just rewarded the little dog for reactive behaviour. Your dog learns that reactive aggressive behaviour is ok.

C - Dogs who are allowed to take-over their humans, their homes, their toys, the furniture etc. without any rules that they can understand - these dogs can become aggressive. The rule - they own and the human fears to intercede. The human has inadvertently taught the dog to be a bully.

D - A dog has been abused by humans - this can make the dog insecure and fearful - the dog will seek to protect itself. To stop this behaviour you must help the dog gain confidence, you must show the dog that there are other ways to navigate through life - just as you would do for a person. You can read my Boxer Robbie’s storyif you want to understand more about this cause and affect.

So, aggression is normally induced by humanity. No dog wants to be bad. All dogs want to have the opportunity to receive fair instruction, coaching and mentoring to help them be social happy members of society - the same thing that a child wants. Children don’t want to be bad - but when they lack the proper guidance, just like a dog they have little choice.

When we do not take the opportunity to correct the dog in a respectful, firm way without anger, fear or other emotions we create psychological damage in the dog. We miss an opportunity to change future outcomes - we make one more mistake in the dogs’ life - we set the dog up for future failure…just as we would be doing with a human.

  

The great thing about dogs is that they are easier to psychologically rehabilitate than humans are. Why, because dogs do not hold grudges. Because dogs live in the moment it is easier to change a dog's 'bad habits' than it is a human's. Humans carry grudges, dogs do not. Dogs are very forgiving and will, given the opportunity treat each day, each experience as a new beginning. It is only with difficulty that we are able to convince, permit and allow ourselves to do the same.

Patience, will, determination, persistence, respect and a little understanding of dog and human psychology are key. Coach and mentor the dog, train its human.

A dog is willing to give so much to their human - but what is the human willing to give to the dog?  

To enable the best in your dog you must think beyond yourself, your momentary needs your emotions. I believe you must broaden your understanding of affection, leadership and partnership. You must understand how dogs communicate and how you can unintentionally communicate the wrong thing. You must understand how dogs assign respect. You must understand what leadership really is and is not. And you should understand that there are many ways to share affection with your dog. Only when your have truly understood these concepts will you be in a position to enable the best in your dog.

If you learn to look at every element of your relationship in a more dynamic and holistic fashion you can learn to combine what you want with what your dog requires.

To have a happy, well balanced canine companion the human needs to make sure that they fullfill the needs of their dog. This is where it so often all goes wrong. Many of us, with the best of intentions, do not realize (that just because we love our dog and ensure we provide it with lots of affection the best of food, treats, a comfy place to sleep, etc.) that we have not met our dog's needs in a way that will best benefit them. 

To understand more about how to best support your dog and avoid the development of aggressive reactive behaviours you can read these articles.

Communication

The Sensitivity of Dogs and How We Communicate

The Intelligence of Dogs

How Dogs Assign Respect

Affection and Your Dog

Learn to Be Aware of When Your Dog is Asking for Direction

Don’t Argue With Your Dog - Direct Your Dog

Leadership

Be Your Dog’s Pack Leader

Do Not Dominate Your Dog - Debunking the Alpha Myth

The Golden Rule for Dogs

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Training;
• Behaviour Modification;
• Rehabilitation;
• Nutrition;
• Health

Whether you are experiencing dog behavior problems and would like assistance, or just want to bring your dog up to be a well-balanced canine -  I offer both a local and international service for people with one or multiple dogs. 

I work with all breeds - from small (i.e. Yorkie, Pomeranian, Chihuahua, etc.), medium breeds size (including Pit Bulls) and large breed dogs...

 

International e-Consultation 

Sessions, Advice via email for National and International Clients - Dog Training, Puppy Training, Behaviour Modification, Nutrition, Health 

In-person SessionsDog Training, Puppy Training, Behaviour Modification, Rehabilitation – Ottawa, Ottawa Area, Outaouais, Ottawa Valley

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WHAT OUR DOGS CAN TEACH US

"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semi-human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." -- Edward Hoagland 

If we are willing to open our minds to see, we can learn much from dogs about ourselves. They can help us be more aware of our own behaviour and give us a second chance to grow into better, wiser and happier individuals.

Dogs do not require training unless they are to learn a skill such as search and rescue. 

To learn good behaviour dogs simply need to be communicated to in a fair, aware and respectful manner. I can walk into a home where a dog always jumps on guests, yet without saying a word to the dog I can provide it with direction instantly - the dog will not jump on me, the dog will be respectful. It is not a trick - I did not use my voice to communicate I used body language and my state of mind. I communicated to the dog in a language that he/she  understands.

A dog will usually tell you if your need to improve yourself as a dog will often reflect the state of their human.

If your dog is anxious and nervous the only way you can help your dog to overcome that state - is to learn  to truly understand your dog and yourself.  Most people will automatically look to see why the dog is misbehaving - I teach my clients to understand how they create and trigger unwanted behaviour in their dogs.

The best way to help a dog is to heIp the dog's human...I teach my clients how to become better communicators and better observers. I teach them to be  aware of all of the ways that we communicate - our thoughts, our body language, our tone of voice - our state-of-being...and then I teach them all of the ways that dogs communicate. Dog's do not read dictionaries - if you want your dog to understand a concept you must be capable of clearly exemplifying that concept...this is a fundamental and critical element of good leadership. To enable the best in your dog you must learn true leadership skills. In so doing  you improve your ability to communicate with not only your dog but with everyone in your life - your children, your spouse, your friends and co-workers.

Dogs can teach us about love and generosity, about living in the moment and seeing the small but valuable things that surround us everyday.

Dogs can also teach us to be less arrogant about our place in this world. 

If you allow yourself to see how truly intelligent and sensitive dogs really are you must also ask yourself what else have I missed seeing in the past? 

A whole new world opens up, where you can see the great value of non-human animals. The bonds they form with each other, their friendships and emotions are no less than that of a human. Dogs smile, they can be joyous, and sad, they grieve, they anticipate things that they enjoy and things that they do not like, they have dreams and nightmares. Dogs can teach us to recognize the intelligence and great value of other animals too. Did you know that cows have best friends? That elephants and whales are deeply bonded to their family members? Just two examples - there are so many. From this we can learn a deeper respect. And from this we can also learn to value the environment.

This is just a small part of what our dogs express and show us. Should we be smart enough to listen to what our dogs are trying to teach us our world expands and becomes a richer place. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Training;
• Behaviour Modification;
• Rehabilitation;
• Nutrition;
• Health

Whether you are experiencing dog behavior problems and would like assistance, or just want to bring your dog up to be a well-balanced canine -  I offer both a local and international service for people with one or multiple dogs. 

I work with all breeds - from small (i.e. Yorkie, Pomeranian, Chihuahua, etc.), medium breeds size (including Pit Bulls) and large breed dogs...

 

International e-Consultation 

Sessions, Advice via email for National and International Clients - Dog Training, Puppy Training, Behaviour Modification, Nutrition, Health 

In-person SessionsDog Training, Puppy Training, Behaviour Modification, Rehabilitation – Ottawa, Ottawa Area, Outaouais, Ottawa Valley

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  If you would like to:
 

  Return to my website clickhere;

  Learn more about sessions click here; 

  Contact me click here;

  Purchase a session click here.   

TO INTRODUCE YOUR DOG TO A CAT, RABBIT...

So, you would like to introduce your dog to a cat or another non-canine animal, maybe a rabbit!

As pack leader our role in a dog-to-other animal meeting is to coach and mentor, not to stress and panic! 

Teaching your dog good social manners with other animals starts with training yourself. 

My smaller cat 'Callie' waiting for the dogs to go by -
as the dogs walk by she plays with their tails!

IF YOU HAVE TRIED INTRODUCTIONS BEFORE & ITS HAS NOT GONE WELL…

Make the future different than the past. You must let the past go - you must not anticipate that the past will and must repeat itself - let it go from your mind (to all intents and purposes...respect it but leave it|). This allows the human and the dog to leave the past behind and its associations and move forward. Because dogs live in the moment it is easier to change a dog's 'bad habits' than it is a human's. Humans carry grudges, dogs do not, dogs form associations with places, situations and animate and inanimate objects. 

Dogs are very forgiving and treat each day, each experience as a new beginning. It is only with difficulty that we are able to convince, permit and allow ourselves to do the same.

Tibby, my larger cat with Robbie the Boxer and
Sarah the German Shepherd x Siberian Husky

THE TWO BIGGEST MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE…

ONE - Not having a basic understanding of what they themselves are communicating to their dog!

TWO - Being nervous, anxious, fearful or expecting / anticipating problems. 

When people do not have a complete understanding of all of the ways we communicate (and most people do not understand this!) create this situation, which gets exponentially worse if allowed to continue and then results in aggression. When you are nervous of your cat around a dog...the dog learns that when a cat is near, people are nervous, anxious and/or fearful. Dogs look to their humans for leadership…if you are uncomfortable you are telling your dog to associate a cat with nervousness, tension and fear and eventually this turns to reactivity - chasing and aggression. The dog does not create the situation - people do!  

This has nothing to do with training your dog - it has everything to do with training yourself. This is about is the psychology of humans and the psychology of dogs.

SO LET’s MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS RIGHT!

DO YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU ARE COMMUNICATING?

Before you answer ‘yes, of course I know how to communicate' please read on. If greetings have not always gone well in the past and you anticipate that this new greeting will also go badly - I assure you, you are right - it will not go well! 

Dogs are very sensitive and use their senses (sight, scent, sound) more keenly and consciously than people do. Dogs read stress & emotion in people before a person is even aware of how they themselves feel. They do look at our face to read our reactions. A little tension in a persons shoulder, clinching of a hand, tightness of the lips, narrowing or widening of the eyes, change in breathing, sweating. They know what you are thinking, what you are feeling! The affect of our state-of-being on our dogs is profound. If you anticipate trouble you create trouble! You create tension and sometimes that is all that is required to trigger reactivity in your dog. This tells your dog that you are not in control and therefore it cannot trust you or the situation. Your dog becomes insecure and nervous, even fearful. This is the trigger for reactivity - what you see as aggression.

Make sure you are not tense, stressed or anticipating reactive (what you probably think of as aggressive) behaviour from your dog. To lead by example you must be without any such emotions. You must be (calm) and have confidence in yourself and in your dog. Your state of calm, confidence will set the framework for your dog’s state. If your thoughts and body language are relaxed and confident you indicate to your dog that you are confident with the situation - this allows your dog to relax and normalize the experience of meeting another animal.

I am going to give you a few articles to read. Please read them as it is critical that you understand how dogs communicate and how we unintentionally communicate the wrong message to them.

How Dogs Communicate

How Dogs Assign Respect

So train yourself to control your thoughts, your emotion and direct your focus. Only then can you properly support your dog. Remember you communicate with your state-of-mind, and hence your body…not just by the words or the tone you use to speak.

 

DO YOU REALLY KNOW HOW TO DIRECT YOUR DOG?

Seems an impertinent question for me to ask but from working with my clients, I know many people do not realize that they only give their dog the beginning of an instruction. Then the poor dog is vilified for not doing what the human thinks they told the dog to do!

To direct properly you must be calm, confident and provide a full set of instructions. A full set of instructions consists of:

1. Getting your dogs attention;
2. Letting your dog know what you do not what him to do;
3. Letting your dog what you do want him to do instead, and;
4. Following through to correct your dog if he backslides into the unwanted behaviour.

The leadership role is one of coaching and mentoring with fair, firm, clear direction. Never match your dog’s state but you do have to match the intensity of his behaviour. I see a lot of people doing only step 2. Then the poor dog gets in trouble as it goes back to doing the unwanted behaviour as its human has not provided a full set of instructions! Blame yourself, not your dog!

Here are some articles you can read to understand leadership and help you hone your Leadership skills...

Be Your Dog’s Pack Leader

De-Bunking the Alpha Myth

Dogs and Affection

The Golden Rule

IT IS EASIER TO WORK WITH A DOG WHO HAS EXPENDED ITS ENERGY

I always say that dogs have two types of energy;

A - their daily quota of energy, and;
B - if they have not had enough exercise on a regular daily basis they can have stored energy in addition to daily energy;

They can also have a third type of energy - anxious energy! If your dog has anxiety issues it may also have nervous energy which results in chewing objects or itself, scratching itself, etc.

Dogs need to expend their energy to feel relaxed and calm. You cannot expect a dog with unspent energy to be focused and ‘reasonable’, happy or balanced. Dogs need to expend their energy on a regular (daily) basis.

Just as we would find it difficult to settle down if we were revved up, so to do dogs - even more so. Unspent energy can lead to frustration making a dog more reactive and less attentive!

Before the introduction - give your dog a chance to expend its energy.

Shanny and Benjamen

LEARN TO READ YOUR DOG AND BE AWARE

I have worked with many clients’ who love their dog very much, but they think that their dog is a bad dog as the dog exhibits unwanted behaviour. I notice that the dog makes good eye contract, constantly looking at its people…but the people don’t see. The dog is trying to be positively opportunistic, but its attempts fail time and time again, because the humans are not aware and don’t see that their dog is asking for direction.

After providing direction to the dog once or twice, the dog quickly understands that it can look at me for direction and I will provide the coaching and mentoring it is seeking - the dog is a positive opportunist. It always was it’s just that no one was paying attention.

Just imagine how upsetting and frustrating this is for the dog. Yet the dog has never stopped trying…even though it was often reviled by its humans for being bad!

In the absence of direction the dog has little choice but to make up its own rules. Take advantage of the fact that your dog looks to you for direction - direct! I will show you how to really direct below.

SO LETS GO GREET THE CAT!

Jordie my German Shepherd x Alaskan Malamute and April

ONE - SET THE FRAMEWORK

You have to set the framework before you move forward with the meeting. How your dog approaches the cat matters! You must have control of your dog at every step of the way. This sets the framework for behaviour once the dog and cat are face to face.

A - Your dog needs to be, calm and quiet before you get up to the cat. Do not allow your dog to move forward in an excited state. If you are attaching a leash to your dog they need to be calm and quite before you attach the leash to their collar.

B - Once your dog is calm make sure you are standing up straight - your posture should be upright, confident, not tense - check your shoulders, arms and if you are using a leash make sure there is no tension in the way you are holding the leash. If you are gripping the leash with tension, if your arms and shoulders are stiff with apprehension and tension you are giving your dog a message - you are communicating that you are not in control of yourself and therefore you cannot be in a leadership position with your dog. You are enabling stress, anxiety, insecurity on your dog.

C - Your dog is behind you or beside you as you approach the cat, you are calm, confident, your dog is calm and is not in front of you. Remember, don’t engage in an argument with your dog, don't complain & whine! Tugging and pulling, yelling, frustration, anger - it’s all part of engaging in an argument.  If you are trying to provide direction to your dog - who is excited, anxious, reactive and you are also excited, frustrated, angry, reactive you are matching your dog’s state. You are most definitely leading by example - the wrong example. Dogs don’t like hypocrisy any more than humans do - would you

If you or your dog is not calm - STOP. I see so many people keep moving forward when their dog is not calm, when they (the person) are not calm. Stop, get your dog calm and then continue moving. If your dog is reacting and you keep walking you are telling your dog it’s OK to behave as you are. Stop regain control and then move forward.

Stevie my Sheltie, with Ginger and Benjamen

TWO - ENCOURAGE YOUR DOG TO USE IT’S NOSE
Encourage your dog to use its noise to greet your cat. A dog’s sense of smell is acute. In its natural state, dogs greet each other by smelling each other - not by jumping all over each other in an excited state. Excited greetings occur because the human has taught the dog that greeting (a human - child or adult, another animal) requires excitement. This is not a dog’s way. It is a human’s way. To teach this type of greeting de-normalizes the experience for a dog. Make the greeting normal and comfortable.

THREE - MAKE SURE YOUR DOG DOES NOT TAKE OVER

Remember it is your job to coach and mentor your dog - if you want your dog to give space and not crowd you have to tell it. If your dog is a little to eager / pushy you need to disagree with your dogs' behaviour. For instance your dog places his paws on the cat with a little too much energy or wants to lick the cat's face too much. Touch your dog and say 'no' and then say 'gentle'. Touch gets his attention, 'no' to indicate the behaviour is not appropriate and 'gentle' to provide the right direction. This is coaching / mentoring.

Dogs also claim space by moving into the space - by taking it over. If they crowd the cat too much you need to claim the space back.

Think for a moment about the tools and strategy that your dog uses to take over your space and your cat's space - your dog uses its body. You need to use the same tool he does - use your body to herd him out of the space while using your calm, confident state of being to support what you do with your body.

While working with your dog on this issue avoid looking, touching and talking as much as possible. You do not want to engage with him - you do not want to argue or debate with him - you want to direct him...there is a vast difference!

Use your body to herd your dog out of the space - back it out of your space by walk into the space it occupies or use your body by just leaning in or toward your dog, or use your hand/arm to point them away.

The technique you choose just depends on what works well for you and your dog and how committed your dog is to taking over the space.

When you are herding and directing move calmly and deliberately - not frantically. Frantic is what your dog is - you have to be the polar opposite. Firm, in-control movement. This is very important.

Persist with patience - also very important. Remember it may take a little effort to get your dogs' to stop being pushy - you need to have a stronger will than they do - just persistent with calm, confident patience.

Please read this article - it will help as well.

To Stop Your Dog From Chasing Your Cat

I cannot state enough how important it is to be relaxed, calm, confident and patient - it is everything!

This meeting should be enjoyed, it should be beautiful - and not infused with stress, tension and nightmare scenarios in your mind. 
 

Remember it is the human who creates the situation good and bad!


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Training;
• Behaviour Modification;
• Rehabilitation;
• Nutrition;
• Health

Whether you are experiencing dog behavior problems and would like assistance, or just want to bring your dog up to be a well-balanced canine -  I offer both a local and international service for people with one or multiple dogs. 

I work with all breeds - from small (i.e. Yorkie, Pomeranian, Chihuahua, etc.), medium breeds size (including Pit Bulls) and large breed dogs...

 

International e-Consultation 

Sessions, Advice via email for National and International Clients - Dog Training, Puppy Training, Behaviour Modification, Nutrition, Health 

In-person SessionsDog Training, Puppy Training, Behaviour Modification, Rehabilitation – Ottawa, Ottawa Area, Outaouais, Ottawa Valley

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes:

Please note - this article is for information purposes and is not a substitute for an in-person Session with me. When working with dogs I use many techniques - it is important to note that this article may touch on one or several techniques but not all. I select the technique that I use for a particular dog based on my observations of the dog and an intuitive, instinctive assessment of that dog's and its human's individual requirements. For example when I am working with a dog that is hyper sensitive and very physically reactive I will not use voice or touch. I use a lot of therapeutic touch on some dogs, others require the use of herding techniques and so on. Each and every technique must be combined with:

• an understanding of the real intelligence, sensitivity and capability of dogs;
• an understanding of how to read a dog's face and a dog's overall body language;
• an understanding of the full spectrum of ways that humans communicate and dogs communicate; 
• understanding and recognition of the individual that is each dog - no two dogs are the same...taking a 'cookie cutter' approach to techniques is not the way to work with a dog;
• a complete recognition and understanding of all the elements that feed a behaviour and create an issue:
•  the vast majority of people can only identify one or two elements...which vastly inhibits the ability to resolve behavior issues;
• behaviours do not exist in isolation - there are always many elements that feed a single behaviour, there all always multiple behaviours that create a behavioral issue;
• self-restraint and discipline on the part of the human who is directing the dog;
• sensitivity, awareness, intuition, instinct and timing on the part of the human who is directing the dog;
• to understand, connect with and adapt quickly and effectively to a dog's learning requirements you must be able to employ the same tools a dog uses - acute sensitivity, awareness, instinct, intuition and timing;
• kindness, endurance, consideration, patience, persistence, perspective, the ability and know how to let the past go, the ability to set realistic expectations at any one point in time;
• the creation of structure, rules, boundaries and limitations for each situation at the macro and micro level;
• understanding of all the elements that make up an instruction and direction to a dog...there are multiple steps involved in an instruction - not just one!
• absolute honesty - if you cannot be honest with yourself you will not be able to communicate clearly with a dog.

These are just some of the techniques that I teach my clients - it is a holistic, all-encompassing approach. If you are missing any one element of the above mentioned your success rate will be affected to one degree or another in implementing the techniques offered in the article presented above.