Day 2: Go Somewhere New

by lennearbNo Comments
Life always changes. Even if your dog is comfortable in all the places that are part of your daily routine now, you cannot be sure that routine won't change at some point during your dog's lifetime. It's good to work with your dog on comfort in new situations. Of course, the appropriate level at which to work on this depends on your dog. For more nervous dogs, taking a different walking route may be as much or more than your dog can handle. Confident dogs can handle a more challenging environment, but it still needs to be set to their level. I don't recommend starting even confident dogs with a new environment that will require them to stay for a long time. Look for something that allows a quick exit. In the DC-area, we have a number of dog-friendly bars and breweries, which can be a good place for this. Make sure you pick a time that the location is not likely...
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Day 1: Relaxed Down While You Move

by lennearbNo Comments
Relaxed down is one of my favorite activities, but it's true utility comes from incorporating it into everyday life. One way to do so is to help your dog remain calm and relaxed while you are moving around. Many times our dogs feel compelled to follow us—and we often encourage this—but it's not always convenient. Sometimes, we want our dogs to be able to stay still, and even relax, while we move around. Take the opportunity while you are doing something active but not all-absorbing to work with your dog on maintaining a relaxed down position. The photo at right was taken while I was playing Wii bowling. I had treats in my pockets and was rewarding Sirius Black occasionally for maintaining his position. This could be taken to the next level by looking for a more relaxed position from Sirius....
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January is Train Your Dog Month

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Happy New Year, everyone! January is a time when many of us reflect on the past year and make plans and set goals for the new year. If stepping up your training is one of your goals, why not start in January? January is also Train Your Dog Month, so it's a perfect fit. The Association of Professional Dog Trainers tip for 2017 is "Make training a part of your everyday life with your dog!" That's my goal for the month, and you can make it yours too. If you don't currently include basic training, such as sit before going outside or before getting dinner, this is a great time to start. If you already do this, you can step things up to the next level. To support this effort, I'll be sharing short daily posts with different training ideas, and also sharing the same ideas on Next Best Pet social media channels. Want to share your own dog training adventure? Use #31DaysofDogTraining...
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Costumes, Treats, and Tricks

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If the pumpkins, witches, and candy corn appearing everywhere didn't tip you off, let me be the first to tell you that Halloween is coming up this Monday. The time has come to prepare. I am not talking about the costume you have been laboring over for months or the mega bag of candy you bought at the superstore last month. I am talking about preparing your pets for a safe Halloween. Let's review three common Halloween dangers and how to prepare for them. Costumes Issue: Costumes may pose a risk to animals that ingest pieces of them, of course, but the bigger risk is animals being frightened by costume pieces which can alter your appearance, profile, way of moving and possibly even sound and smell. This applies to family members as well as friends, neighbors, and trick or treaters. Solution: Don't take your pets trick or treating with you or keep them with you when you answer your own door. Instead, confine them...
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Awareness

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The way you see the world changes when you have a dog. Suddenly, you are aware of the movement of squirrels, the presence of rabbits, and deposits of trash and litter in a way you haven't been before. Many people find this startling the first time they get a dog. Of course, even experienced dog owners can be surprised by how interested their new hound is in scents or their new greyhound in quick-moving animals. Getting a new pet is not the only time we can have to make these types of adjustments. Changes in the family situation can require similar adjustments. Introducing a new cat or small animal into the family? You will need to be aware of it's location relative to your dogs. Having a baby or have a small child visiting? You need to arrange for constant supervision. Changes in your pet's health can also require adjustments. Currently, we are learning to be aware of potential dangers we've always...
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Selecting Quality Cues

by lennearbNo Comments
When I am teaching new behaviors, the first cue we work on usually derives from movements related to the behavior being taught. Most families will want to go on to teach at least one additional cue (often a verbal cue, which I will use for examples in this post) for many behaviors. Personally, I prefer for my dogs to have a verbal cue and hand signal for most behaviors. However, the most obvious verbal cue may not always be the best one. Humans tend to prefer cues that "make sense." Since dogs don't share our language, they are not concerned about these elements. Here are a few elements of good cues: Clarity "Supercalifragilistic" might be a lot of fun to say, but it doesn't make a very good cue. It's so long that it's hard to say consistently, and it's likely to be hard for your dog to distinguish as a cue rather than a collection of syllables. One or two syllable...
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Something Unseen

Something Unseen

by lennearbNo Comments
Sorry that I haven't written in a while. It has been a bit of a rough period. As you're about to read. I have discussed before what happens when we change the rules for our dogs, but the truth is, we don't have to change anything: life is always changing. A few months ago, we started noticing some changes in Sirius Black’s behavior. He was no longer reacting to, or even seeming to notice, wildlife along our walks, unless it crossed directly in front of us. He also showed some hesitancy on walks, above what could be expected from the hot weather. He also had accidents in the house at times when he never would have normally. We had no reason to particularly link these behavior changes, and, at first, we didn't. Then, about two weeks ago, he started walking into things. This wasn't just an enthusiastic dog who wasn't watching where he was going. He was walking straight into trees. He...
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Take a Break

by lennearbNo Comments
We all have daily routines that we can go through practically in our sleep. I don't need to be really awake to leash the dog up for his early morning bathroom break, or even to brush the cat’s teeth and feed her breakfast. These are all part of my routine. I frequently see clients whose dogs could basically walk their normal walk route without any guidance, because there is never any variation. And sometimes this is a good thing. Following the same routines can be soothing and can save our energy for other moments or decisions. But life is not predictable, and following the same routine too closely can leave us unprepared for the unexpected. If we always take the same walk, what do we do when construction on that street makes it unpleasant or unpassable? If we always do the exact same tasks in the exact same order, what happens when a new baby, or dog, or job requires a change...
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Origin of a Bad Habit

by lennearbNo Comments
This is a story about a pizza. Fortunately, given the fate of the pizza, it was not mine. But that's not really the point of the story. Once upon a time, let's say in June, someone left a pizza on the counter in my house and walked away from it. At this point, we had had Sirius Black for six years and eleven months, and he had no history of going after things on the counter. In fact, I had a somewhat problematic habit of forgetting things on the counter, and he never went after them. On the other hand, before this, they weren't ever hot delivery pizza. This time, they were. When the owner of the pizza returned, some period of time later, the pizza box was on the floor and the pizza was almost completely gone. Before pizza, Sirius had no history of reward for grabbing things off the counter. Frankly, the counter wasn't all that interesting to him. After the pizza, there...
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Recognizing Our Limitations

Recognizing Our Limitations

by lennearbNo Comments
This article came to my attention today via a couple of animal professionals I really admire. One of them asked for other professionals’ opinions. I thought about responding via Twitter, but I decided this topic deserves a more extended and thoughtful response. First, let me say that despite my background in both psychology and animal behavior, I am far from an expert in emotional support animals. I am a believer in the ability of animals to help us feel better, including by providing comfort during emotional upheaval and on-going mental crises. In fact my own professional career with animals had its modest beginnings when I sought out volunteer opportunities with animal rescues while in college because I felt sad. All that is to establish that while I don't know a lot about emotional support animals, I am open to the belief that in some circumstances, they may be just what the doctor—or therapist—ordered. What concern me about the article cited above, and...
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