Does Your Dog Lack Confidence?

Friends of mine rescued a Boston Terrier named Bridgett. She had a number of health issues that had to be treated and a broken leg as a puppy had left her with very little self confidence.
A good holistic diet helped her behavior, as did Bach Rescue Remedy. But she still preferred to hide under furniture, never really participating in the wonderful things her new life had to offer.
Bridgett was 'conditioned' by the people caring for her while her broken leg mended to believe she should remain hidden and protected.
She needed confidence building and one of my recommendations is my favorite confidence building game which I call 'Find It'.
Take a favorite treat, set it a few inches away from the dog and ask him/her to 'find it'. Praise him when he goes to it and reward him with the treat. Each time, move the treat farther away until finally it can be hidden out of sight (under a table or a pillow for example) and the dog has to really work for his reward.
This develops confidence as it is the urban equivalent of hunting down and securing a food kill, it appeals to his basic instincts and makes him feel like a viable member of the family pack unit and not a passive pup meant to stay at all times hidden from sight in his den.
I have used this successfully with a number of dogs and one of the keys to success with this game is a lot of praise when the treat is found.
My Standard Poodle so loved this excercise that in time I could hide a treat really well and keep him occupied looking for it in the house for as long as 30 minutes!

Understanding a Behavior Problem is Key to Solving It

Today a woman contacted me about a behavior issue she was having with her Beagle named Belle.
Belle it seems, had been in mourning since the recent death of her litter sister, Anna who lost her fight with cancer..
Since Anna's death,Belle had become a chronic barker. So much so that two dog trainers had already been consulted. One trainer had the horrible suggestion of crating her and when she barked, to spray her with water. The other trainer said it was a breed trait and the only way to stop her was to purchase an electronic shock bark collar. And the vet said she was in mourning for Anna and wanted to treat her with anti-anxiety drugs, most likely Prozac or Diazepam.
“Does she bark when you are with her?” I asked.
“No, only when she goes out in the yard or when I go to work”, she replied.
“Is it a repetitive woof that goes on and on and on without ever changing?”At which point I woofed in an attempt to imitate a dog.
“That is exactly how she sounds!” the woman said.
And lastly I asked, “ Since Anna's death, does she follow you around the house sticking right with you?”
“Like I was glue!”
“Belle is deaf.” I told her.

The woman was very quiet as my words sunk in. Then she said that Belle had stopped coming when she called her. She thought it was stubborness.
She had also noticed that she could walk up on her when she was asleep without waking her. The vet said it was because she was barking herself into exhaustion.
No, I told her, it was from deafness...
Anna had been her hearing aid dog. The two litter sisters had been inseparable all their lives. As they got older, Belle depended on Anna to hear commands to come and to initiate barking if the 'bogeyman' made a noise outside. Belle then followed suit. But on her own, Belle was lost. Older dogs who are hearing impaired quite often bark incessantly when they are alone, even if it is just to go outside for a potty run. Since they know that they can't hear an approaching threat, they take proactive measures and bark...and bark...and bark...and bark.
Belle wasn't 'in mourning', but she was insecure now that Anna was gone, and her owner was going to have to take measures to provide the old girl with a sense of security...
We discussed a few options.
She said Belle was very active, with no signs of arthritis at all, so I suggested she get up earlier and take a long walk with Belle in the mornings.
Feeding her main meal in the morning (instead of at night) just before her owner goes to work will bring on relaxation and sleep. Dogs feel more secure when their tummy is full.

I gave her directions for using Bach Rescue Remedy, 4 drops in purified or spring water in her water bowl at all times, every day to just give her a general sense of well being and help alleviate fear.
Bach Rescue Remedy is actually five flower essences that work in harmony together. Those are Clematis, Rock Rose, Star of Bethlehem, Impatiens and Cherry Plum And I suggested 4 drops of the Flower Essence Heather, which is often given for dogs who whine or bark when left alone.
Her niece will come by during the day and check on Belle and at bedtime, she will be sleeping upstairs in the master bedroom instead of downstairs alone.
I don't think anything will really be the magic bullet as Belle has never before been alone in her entire life of 13 years. That is hard enough for a dog to adjust to without also coping with age related deafness. But her owner feels better already, now that she understands the underlying cause of the behavior. Her frustration with Belle has been replaced with compassion...and that makes it easier for everyone to cope.

Your Dogs' Parentage Affects His Behavior Too

Today,at the local pet training facility a dog trainer acquaintance was doing a private consultation with a dog owner who was having aggression issues with her dog.
The trainer is highly skilled and did the right thing by having a quiet, one on one with the owner as this dog would have been impossible in a class situation.The dog would intermittently lunge and snarl, pulling at the lead held by the owner and sounding really scary whenever anyone approached.
The trainer asked me if I would approach the dog, sure, I agreed. The trainer then warned me,''Don't look him in the eyes!”
Don't look him in the eyes, I thought, who started that rumor? Looking the dog in the eyes is another way to asses what is going on inside the dogs head. If he looks off to one side, he is submitting to your being a creature dominant over him but not always happily so, if he looks down, he is submissive and if he stares right back at you, he is unafraid of what your next move might be. He is self confident, he may be aggressive and it is just as likely he is not. I have never personally picked a dog to be a companion that did not look me straight in the eye when we met.
The trainer said the owner had made this dog aggressive. She didn't like some of his behaviors and her methods of correcting him had led to his aggression.
Approaching the dog I had nothing in my pockets to make friends except a key. I walked up, said 'hey ' to him softly and as he checked me out with a few sniffs, I offered him the key to smell. It was important to offer him a token something, making an offering is a universal sign of friendship understood by all animals,and I HAD looked him in the eye and found him to be unafraid, plus his earlier behavior made me surmise he considered himself the dominant dog in all situations....we were for the moment two creatures on equal ground...at least in his mind. I reached down and scratched him behind the ear to assure him I was not a threat...
The dog trainer continued her consult but my interpretation of the dogs behavior was different. While I was not privy to the home situation the dog was in, what I observed was a small passive woman who owned a dog who was very, very large and a combination of a guarding/protection breed and a hunting breed. This mix of breed characteristics contributed greatly in my opinion as to the problem the woman was having with the dog. Remember my post about 'every dog needs a job to do'? Well, this dog was a perfect example. He was the combination of two breeds whose sole purpose was to do their job in the field,the guard dog part of his gene's told him to guard something and the hunting dog gene's were programmed to do a lot of quick thinking independently. Add to this mix a female owner whose unassertive outward appearance said ' I need protecting' and you have a dog who has taken upon himself the job of protecting his owner because that is what his genetic makeup has told him he is best qualified for.
In my opinion this dog was not a bad dog, his owner simply had not given him a purposefull direction so he created his own.
When you have a purebred dog, it is easier to asses problems because you can take into account the dogs' genetic programming,when you have a mix breed it becomes more difficult to make an assesment .DNA testing of mixed breeds is becoming more popular and certainly has it's advantages when trying to determine 'why does my dog do that'?The first photo at the top of this post shows Guy, a dog I bred enjoying himself to the fullest doing what his genes said to do...hunt by sight. Granted, he is only chasing a plastic bag in a corn field but he fills fulfilled and you can see enjoyment on his face. The second picture shows how eagerly he awaits his turn to run,no one forced him to do this, it is in his genetic make-up. By the way, if you have a sighthound,particularly a rescued greyhound I whole heartily suggest lure coursing. It is a million miles removed from the dreadful track racing that has caused so many dogs to be abused and it fulfills their desire to run and hunt by sight. Dogs love it! It is a great family sport.( akc.org has info on coursing.)

Letting your dog fulfill his job requirements leads to a well adjusted companion. It doesn't matter the breed or mix breed of dog. If you have a terrier type, then let your dog "go to ground" even if it is just in the back yard.If you have a lap dog,let them spend time, one on one with you, as a lap dog. If you have a pit bull type, then channel that fighting instinct into play time games with toys not easily destructible. Like people, dogs need to feel fulfilled. Otherwise you will get unwanted displacement behaviors.
As a final note,every day, someone says to me,”Mutts are better”. Now everyone has owned and loved a mutt, I have had a couple I wouldn't have traded for the world,but really without purebred dogs, there would be no mutts, and if we don't support responsible purebred dog breeders who sacrifice their own time and money to do their best to insure good temperments and work to eliminate genetic health issues, then one day all dogs will look and act like the Pariah Dog. Is that what you want?