Anne Sinclair-Puchtinger B.E.S, M.A.
Canine Behaviourist
The secret to a happy, balanced, obedient family dog begins with calm,
fair, confident, and consistent leadership. Even though we often think of our
canine friends as our “furry little Kids”, dogs are hardwired to live in
packs with a very set hierarchy of rules and boundaries.
Unfortunately, we don’t always understand this sometimes complex
language and social structure, and when this happens in a world where dogs and
humans come together, our dogs begin to exhibit unwanted side effects.
Examples of these
side effects are separation anxiety, aggression, leash pulling, soiling in the
house, possessiveness, phobias, obsessive behaviours such as a fixation on ball
fetching, and many others.
I CAN HELP YOU RELATE TO YOUR DOG IN A REASONABLE WAY SO YOU CAN CREATE A HAPPY, HEALTHY, BALANCED, PACK.
FOR PRIVATE CONSULTATIONS,
PLEASE CALL
519-641-2832 or email <weimaraners@sympatico.ca>
All inquires welcome!
All breeds welcome! All
challenges appreciated!
Phone
consulting available for all provinces! Services
donated to Canadian Weimaraner Rescue!
STRESS AND CALMING SIGNALS- by Anne Puchtinger
Stress is a term that has become so commonly used by humans it is almost as synonymous as coffee. Unfortunately, the demands of modern society and the increase in the number of dogs going into rescue have made stress a frequent term in the dog world too. The problem with using such a general term to describe canine behavioural issues is the tendency to just label the dog as being "stressed" and then see that as the end of the problem.
Stress is really a general clue that our dog is having trouble coping and we should be looking for all kinds of signs that our canine friend needs help. Dogs are excellent communicators and use all sorts of ways to tell us something is wrong, but, it is often the humans that are the ones who are slow to get the message. Owners can really help their dogs by learning to "read" them, which means understanding their body language, facial expressions, and sounds to name a few.
Another valuable tool we can learn from our dogs is their ability to use "calming signals". This means that dogs use their bodies to communicate with each other to send messages and to calm themselves and each other down. For example, have you ever watched an obedience trial when all the dogs were lined up to do their sit stays? Did you notice the dogs had their heads turned away from each other? These dogs were actually calming themselves down in a stressful environment.
Calming signals can be a very useful tool in rehabilitation as well. For example, I have used Cagney, my rescue girl, to calm another dog who was overly excited. She did this by continually turning her head when the other dog approached, until finally the other dog was calm and quiet. The head turning also tells the approaching dog that the approach was "insulting" and "offensive" and thus the exercise works as a reprimand in their language as well. All dogs know how to use these signals but some dogs may have suppressed their ability and appear not to use it well. Dogs that over-react, that "charge" other dogs, or are aggressive have this issue and need to be handled by a professional so they can learn to use their language more freely again.
Examples of calming signals are
? head turning
? scratching
? licking the lips
? yawning
? holding one paw up
? sitting, or lying down
You can try calming signals on your own dog as well. For example, if your dog likes to come up to you and demand affection or play, you can simply turn your head and ignore your dog and watch what happens. If you are patient, your dog will likely give up and walk away. However, if your dog is particularly excitable, you may have to ignore him and get up yourself and walk away, saving this exercise for another time. You can also try yawning or any of the other signals on the list, but just remember, your neighbours might be watching.
As mentioned earlier, it is very important to be able to understand your dog and when he is exhibiting signs of stress, and then, know what to do about it.
Examples of stress are
? over excitement
? destructive behaviour
? over reacting
? mutilating or biting himself/herself
? excessive barking/whining
? panting
? aggression
? shaking
? scratching
? yawning
? sweaty paws
? short attention span
? allergies
? obsession/fixation for toys, objects, anything strange
? excessive peeing or pooping, diarrhoea
? poor coat
? poor appetite
? nervous, anxious, tense behaviour
? excessive licking
? restless, pacing
The best gift you can give to your dog, stressed or not, is to provide a calm, safe environment and be the best pack leader you can be. Dogs that are stressed can not cope with their given situation as "they" see it, so if they are to move on and learn and heal, they must have a calm stable home, and a calm, compassionate, consistent, fair, leader, or parent. If you do not represent that role to them 100% of the time then their stress will continue or even intensify. It also means you have to control your own stress. Sometimes people that rescue dogs find out about the horrific things that have happened to them, and because humans are compassionate beings we feel sorry for these poor dogs. The problem with that is dogs don't rationalise the way we do. They don't know we feel sorry for them. They only sense our emotion or energy, which, translated into their language, is weakness. Therefore, any emotion like sadness, anger, frustration, will only work against the rehabilitation of your dog. If you can just forget what he went through, learn to be his pack leader, and genuinely enjoy him, you will watch him blossom into the wonderful companion he was meant to be.
If you need help on how to understand your canine companion better, buy a good book, search the internet, seek the advice of a reputable breeder or hire a professional, but be assured, your efforts will be worth it.
SUGGESTED READING
Cesar Millan, Cesar's Way, The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding & Correcting Common Dog Problems. New York: Harmony Books, 2006.
Jan Fennell, The Dog Listener. London: Harper Collins, 2002.
Patricia B. McConnell, The Other End of the Leash. New York: Ballantine Books, 2002.
Patricia B. McConnell, How to be the Leader of the Pack….and Have Your Dog Love You for it! Black Earth, WI: Dog's Best Friend Ltd., 2002.
Turid Rugaas, On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals. Wenatchee, WA: Dogwise Publishing, 2006.
Temple Grandin, Animals in Translation. New York: Harcourt, Inc., 2005.
Bruce Fogle, The Dog's Mind, Understanding Your Dog's Behaviour. New York: Howell Book House, 1990.
Roger Abrantes, Dog Language. Wenatchee, WA: Wakan Tanka Publishers, 1997.
Cagney’s story started about 4 years ago when her owners contacted my friend Liette Fadden and said they wanted to give her up because they couldn’t handle her anymore. I agreed to foster her while Liette searched for a new home for her, so off we went to assess her and collect her.
It wasn’t long after we arrived that we were relieved her owners wanted to give her up because we realised she needed to be rescued. To this day I have never seen a dog so hyper and spun out of control, so much that she was unable to interact with us. She was covered with skin allergies, for which her medical file was a mile high with repeated treatments. Her skin was lobster red everywhere there wasn’t hair. All she would do was fetch her Kong over and over and over. Her male owner was so frustrated with her he actually hit her in front of me, which was my cue to get her out of there.
It’s kind of interesting because as soon as we put the leash on her and took her away to the car, she didn’t even look back, got in and laid down, almost as if to say “What took you so long?”
The next step was to get her used to her new home and my male weim, Merlin, and I knew my background in rehabilitating horses was going to help me. My vet agreed that her allergies were stress-related and that we wouldn’t treat her with medications, so over the next 3 months it was essential that I provide her with a calm environment while giving her compassionate, firm leadership. I also needed to introduce Cagney to the many sounds of the city, which were alien to her. Meanwhile, Merlin taught her how to be a dog and how to play. I even took Cagney to obedience classes with Anne MacDonald, which she excelled at.
We did some good work over those 3 months. Cagney’s allergies subsided (I remember massaging Rescue Cream on her every day), and she improved quite abit, but she still had a long way to go. Cagney was suffering from a severe case of obsessive-compulsive disorder regarding her toys, was still very hyperactive, and had fear aggression.
After the 3 months, Liette found a new home for Cagney with a very nice older couple and off she went to live with them for the next 2 years. Even though I got frequent updates, Cagney was very special to me and I missed her so much while she was gone.
At the end of 2 years, Liette got a dreaded phone call. Although they loved Cagney so much, she had become aggressive with visitors and had actually bitten a relative and nipped a child, so they had to give her up.
At this point Liette was faced with an awful decision. Should she put her down, and how was she going to break the news to me? Well, in the end Liette made the appointment, but couldn’t go through with it. Cagney came back to live with her. Afew weeks later I offered to take her in, and after 1.5 years she is still with me.
Cagney returned to me a lot calmer dog although she was 20lbs. over weight at the time. Her owners had been very good to her, had showered her with affection and toys, and they were calm people themselves which helped, but unfortunately her other concerns were not addressed.
Over the next several months I began again working with her doing the usual techniques like providing calm, compassionate, firm leadership, obedience training, re-introducing Cagney to city noises and walking on a leash (which was next to impossible due to her pulling like a freight train). I also used methods like ignoring when coming into the house, not letting the dogs initiate play or affection, and keeping Cagney off the bed. Needless to say, Cagney improved quite well even to the point where all my neighbours were making positive comments about the change in her.
This praise was great except that I was still unsettled because I knew that she still had severe fear aggression. She was definitely more comfortable around people but I still wouldn’t trust her, and her aggression toward other dogs was awful. Anytime a new dog came near her she just went nuts. Also, her obsessive-compulsive disorder really hadn’t improved either, and she continued to fetch her toy in a frenzy for hours on end with no sign of stopping. The other problem was the walk. I bought every product on the market to try to stop her pulling but to no avail, so every time we went out I would return with an injured arm and back.
I talked to vets, trainers, and other people in the business and everybody said to take your dog out to remote areas and just let her run. This way you don’t have to worry about her aggression because you won’t run into anyone, and you won’t have to walk her. Well, I tried that for awhile with both my dogs, and a funny thing happened. It didn’t help, and in fact my male, Merlin, who was used to going out for walks in the neighbourhood, started to become more aggressive and territorial. Ok, so now I was really stressed.
It wasn’t until early this year that a friend recommended I read a book called Cesar’s Way, The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding & Correcting Common Dog Problems- by Cesar Millan that I finally found the relief I needed. If you like to read, go and get this book NOW! And, if you like it, watch his show, The Dog Whisperer, on the National Geographic Channel.
In his book Cesar says that if you have dogs with aggression issues or any other issues for that matter, you need to confront the problem and not isolate your dog from it. If you do you will make the behaviour worse. So, if you have problems walking and meeting other dogs, then walk you must, and often. Ofcourse, you must master the walk, and he explains how.
There is so much information in this book it is staggering, but one thing I take with me every day is that in 20 years of working with dogs, Cesar has only had 3 cases that could not be fully rehabilitated. When I read that it struck me that Cagney was not going to be #4 and that it was going to be possible to bring her even farther along and that I was going to cure her of her aggression, her poor-walking skills, and her obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Now, armed with new skills, I kicked Cagney’s rehabilitation up a notch. Merlin, Cagney, and I would go out every day for at least an hour (they are 9 yrs. old), and walk quietly as a pack with me, the pack leader in front, or at least, with them at my side. Every day we sought out all kinds of distractions and I taught them avoidance techniques and ways to keep them in the “zone”. Meanwhile, I worked on Cagney’s obsessive issues with some new exercises and tweaked some of my leadership skills in the home to make sure I was 100% consistent. I also stopped using obedience commands and instead started making use of sound, touch, posture, and blocking techniques.
How are we today? I am happy to report Cagney has blossomed into a wonderful companion and a good citizen. She is able to be around adults and children and tolerates other dogs too, which I thought would never be possible. Her aggression is all but completely disappeared. In fact, she has become quite the submissive dog who is more than comfortable letting someone else protect the pack. Cagney has also let go of her obsessive behaviour too and will actually drop her toy and go do something else which is monumental for her. As for the walk, Cagney will now walk at my side obediently in the “zone”. She still pulls abit, but nothing like she used to, and my arms and back thank her.
So, when I think of how far she has come, and how close she came to getting that dreaded needle, I get a little tear in the corner of my eye. No dog has given me so much joy or taught me so much about not giving up than my little Cagney.
Thank you for sharing this story with me.
Anne Puchtinger