I love an analogy and I know that many dogs think they're Bruce Willis.
You know the plot, John McClain sees the danger of which everyone else is blissfully unaware. He starts to deal with it alone, the feds step in and tell him to back off, there's no threat. But McClaine knows better, his fine tuned senses mean he sees things that the dumb FBI agents or airport security guys refuse to acknowledge. He won't give up and if one of the feds gets injured while he takes on the threat all alone, then that's just "collateral damage", they should back off and let him finish the job. Eventually he finds one person who is on his side, someone who will listen, the calm, doughnut eating, wise patrolman, or the streetwise pawnshop owner. Now they start to work together and kick ass!
You're probably way ahead of me here, especially if you know how dogs (and Dog Listeners) think. Unless a dog is in the company of someone in whom they are totally confident. Someone who is wiser, more experienced, able, then they will have to take on the "threats" that life throws up at them, telling everyone else to "back off" while they handle it. After all, it's a matter of life and death - to them. Unfortunately dogs aren't aware that the paper bag blowing across the road is harmless or that the postman isn't an international terrorist so, to be on the safe side they'll investigate and deal with it their way - "go away".
This is where my analogy does go awry as Willis then goes on to machine gun everything in sight and blow up the rest. But we've paid good money to see him do that. In 3D, where available.
Nevertheless, until McClain can see that he can trust someone, then he'll trust no-one and sweep them aside if they get in his way. If they try to force him into line, then it's the feds that end up with the rifle butt treatment - they don't know what they're doing and they're getting in the way - so Bruce uses the only quick and effective means he has to tell them that. He means them no particular ill, it's just that if they start faffing about, then Jeremy Irons will blow up half of New York and everyone will be toast.
Now if he could trust the FBI to take him seriously and if he had confidence in them taking notice, we'd be dipping the first Nacho into the cheese sauce, the lights would be coming up, everyone would be heading for the exit looking for a refund, and Bruce Willis would probably still have some of his hair.
If you can calmly build your dog's confidence in you as a leader, not by force or "pulling rank", remember what happens to the most pompous twerps in "Die Hard", then he'll stand back and take notice of you and when you say "no problem" he'll accept it. Otherwise he'll put on a tatty vest, sweat profusely and start smoking again.
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
That dog is nuts!
We came home one night and walked into the kitchen to find our Terrier staring into an alcove under the worktop. Normally she will just give us a cursory sniff when we walk in and then settle down to see what's going to happen next, so were were intrigued about what on earth was going on. Any attempts to investigate were greeted with a bit of "territorial ownership" (or whatever jargon fits these days). She was very agitated if we tried to go near and growled. So we did what any sensible person would do in this situation, walked away and called her to us. No response - so we ignored her, better to make nothing of it, rather than increase any anxiety.
We pottered around elsewhere in the house for a minute or two and then called again from another room. Curiosity got the better of her, so she came out to see what treat we might have in store for her. I was then able to go and see what the fuss was about. I had been the culprit - some fallout from a lunchtime chicken sandwich had made it's way into the kitchen towel alcove, right next to a step stool that she's never been too happy about. She had no doubt spent the afternoon eyeing the morsel of chicken, while being scared to go and get it from next to the dreaded stool. When we came in she was torn between wanting us to get it out and goodness knows what else going through her mind.
The upshot of this was that it was a providentially fraught situation which, because of the Dog Listener approach, we were able to resolve without any escalation, shouting, physical restraint or confrontation. The fact is that a dog may seem to exhibit strange behaviour, but there is always a good reason for everything they do. It's up to us to realise that and that it may not always be obvious to us, but it's perfectly logical to them!
We pottered around elsewhere in the house for a minute or two and then called again from another room. Curiosity got the better of her, so she came out to see what treat we might have in store for her. I was then able to go and see what the fuss was about. I had been the culprit - some fallout from a lunchtime chicken sandwich had made it's way into the kitchen towel alcove, right next to a step stool that she's never been too happy about. She had no doubt spent the afternoon eyeing the morsel of chicken, while being scared to go and get it from next to the dreaded stool. When we came in she was torn between wanting us to get it out and goodness knows what else going through her mind.
The upshot of this was that it was a providentially fraught situation which, because of the Dog Listener approach, we were able to resolve without any escalation, shouting, physical restraint or confrontation. The fact is that a dog may seem to exhibit strange behaviour, but there is always a good reason for everything they do. It's up to us to realise that and that it may not always be obvious to us, but it's perfectly logical to them!
Monday, 10 May 2010
I'll be bark!
Thanks to Tony Knight for this story.
It seems that the issue of barking has become too much to bear for
some residents of California, so starting this week in Los Angeles, dog owners
now face $100 fines for repeated disturbance to neighbours caused by barking
dogs, and other cities are soon to follow. I recently noticed the scale of this
phenomenon while enjoying a hot air balloon ride last month. The sound of dogs
barking – mostly at the huge balloon sailing over their heads – was everywhere.
However, although I appreciate the Governator's decision, I do wonder what they
are going to suggest in order to stop the problem of dogs barking. I am worried
that sales of bark collars will soar (they cost more than $100 fine in some
cases which makes no sense), which ultimately are instruments of torture that do
not change a dog's mind. I bet they won't have discussed the reason why it
happens either, so yours truly will, AND sort it out too.
So what is the problem with the anti-bark collars? Here's one example that the
manufacturers would not have foreseen. I heard from some dog owners who had put a citronella acid collar on one of their dogs for excessive barking. They were
going through a canister of acid a week (not cheap stuff) and the collar was
working. One day they decided to sneak back to the house to see what was
happening (if anything). The sound of barking was already evident, yet when they
peeked inside the kitchen window, they saw the dog with the collar silently
sitting down, acid squirting in its face, activated by their other dogs, stood
around the collared one and barking. The collar was seen as the problem by them,
and barking is a way to try to get a danger to leave.
A dog barking while the owners are out is more than likely suffering from
separation anxiety, which can be greatly reduced by initially paying no
attention to dogs when you come back home. A dog barking at something while the
owners are in situ can be greatly helped by thanking the dog. That's it. Full
stop. Of course, that is not the full story but just doing those two things can
often dramatically change the dog's behaviour.
It seems that the issue of barking has become too much to bear for
some residents of California, so starting this week in Los Angeles, dog owners
now face $100 fines for repeated disturbance to neighbours caused by barking
dogs, and other cities are soon to follow. I recently noticed the scale of this
phenomenon while enjoying a hot air balloon ride last month. The sound of dogs
barking – mostly at the huge balloon sailing over their heads – was everywhere.
However, although I appreciate the Governator's decision, I do wonder what they
are going to suggest in order to stop the problem of dogs barking. I am worried
that sales of bark collars will soar (they cost more than $100 fine in some
cases which makes no sense), which ultimately are instruments of torture that do
not change a dog's mind. I bet they won't have discussed the reason why it
happens either, so yours truly will, AND sort it out too.
So what is the problem with the anti-bark collars? Here's one example that the
manufacturers would not have foreseen. I heard from some dog owners who had put a citronella acid collar on one of their dogs for excessive barking. They were
going through a canister of acid a week (not cheap stuff) and the collar was
working. One day they decided to sneak back to the house to see what was
happening (if anything). The sound of barking was already evident, yet when they
peeked inside the kitchen window, they saw the dog with the collar silently
sitting down, acid squirting in its face, activated by their other dogs, stood
around the collared one and barking. The collar was seen as the problem by them,
and barking is a way to try to get a danger to leave.
A dog barking while the owners are out is more than likely suffering from
separation anxiety, which can be greatly reduced by initially paying no
attention to dogs when you come back home. A dog barking at something while the
owners are in situ can be greatly helped by thanking the dog. That's it. Full
stop. Of course, that is not the full story but just doing those two things can
often dramatically change the dog's behaviour.
Friday, 26 March 2010
Hooray for the Principality!
Wales has banned electric shock collars and the harbingers of doom are predicting mad dogs roaming the streets and frothing at the mouth chasing sheep up Snowdon.
I saw a trainer on the BBC website who said that "in the right hands, these are a very effective means of control", there followed shots of a GSD heading out towards a flock until ZAP! he decided against it. Impressive stuff eh?
Well my first question would be: What the F-Ffestiniog was the GSD doing off the lead near sheep in the first place? It's bad enough using these without thinking about the bleedin' obvious, there's also the really, really big problem that generally these weren't "in the right hands", they would be in the hands of the inexperienced, the lazy, the downright cruel and all shades in between.
But what's vitally important is that they just don't work. Give a dog a job to do and often they will pursue their task to the nth degree, without regards to personal safety or pain. How many dogs have you seen virtually strangling themselves on a lead? The fact is that they can often exhibit extreme motivation and nothing physical is going to stop them doing something so important, whatever they think it is. So in the right circumstances - and that is going to be in most circumstances where a dog feels he has the safety of his group (OK- pack) to preserve. Nothing - sprays, shocks or poor folks hanging on to a lead, correction harness, or prong collar, is going to stop them.
Far better to change the dogs mind, give him calm leadership, ensure he's happy to be by your side and, for goodness sake, put him on a lead near sheep!
I saw a trainer on the BBC website who said that "in the right hands, these are a very effective means of control", there followed shots of a GSD heading out towards a flock until ZAP! he decided against it. Impressive stuff eh?
Well my first question would be: What the F-Ffestiniog was the GSD doing off the lead near sheep in the first place? It's bad enough using these without thinking about the bleedin' obvious, there's also the really, really big problem that generally these weren't "in the right hands", they would be in the hands of the inexperienced, the lazy, the downright cruel and all shades in between.
But what's vitally important is that they just don't work. Give a dog a job to do and often they will pursue their task to the nth degree, without regards to personal safety or pain. How many dogs have you seen virtually strangling themselves on a lead? The fact is that they can often exhibit extreme motivation and nothing physical is going to stop them doing something so important, whatever they think it is. So in the right circumstances - and that is going to be in most circumstances where a dog feels he has the safety of his group (OK- pack) to preserve. Nothing - sprays, shocks or poor folks hanging on to a lead, correction harness, or prong collar, is going to stop them.
Far better to change the dogs mind, give him calm leadership, ensure he's happy to be by your side and, for goodness sake, put him on a lead near sheep!
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Are you experienced?
OK, the title only chimes with people of a certain age (it's a Jimmy Hendrix album), but a couple of things have happened over that past few days that gave me reason to consider this.
My Good Lady went to see a couple last week with a cross-breed, multi-pedigree, mutt, call it what you like (my mum used to say, "we don't know what breeds he is, his mother wasn't looking at the time"). Fortunately he's not prone to aggression, but he was "highly strung" and was restless at the start of the consultation, chewing, throwing toys and pacing around. He was a very stressed boy.
During the course of the evening the owners said that he had been taken to training classes for 6 weeks and had been reasonably well behaved, but as soon as he left the class he was back to being uptight and stressed and had subsequently been getting worse.
Now, it doesn't always happen straight away, but by the end of the consultation the lad was a whole lot more relaxed and having a bit of a kip in the middle of the lounge. The lady owner was much happier and her partner made the remark that made me think: "The man at the training class seemed more interested in telling us stories about him and what he had done than doing much training".
This came back to mind when we heard this week from another client who my partner had helped last year. Their Boxer had been to training classes with disastrous results and they had engaged the trainer to come over for a one on one consultation. The dog had been really aggressive and the consultation ended with the trainer "hanging him up by the lead". Thanks to my partners help, he's now a whole lot calmer and the owners are very happy with his progress. It turns out that it was the same trainer.
Now my Good Lady, being the honest soul that she is, would be the first to say that she doesn't have extensive experience, especially compared to the trainer who proudly advertises his previous employment handling dogs and that he's asked to advise on dog matters all over the world. Nevertheless it seems to me that, even though she hasn't been a Dog Listener for a long time her experience is much more relevant to the needs of the dogs. Time after time she comes across dogs who have been subjected to "conventional" training and has been able to remedy problems, sometimes within minutes. (See "Why Dog Training Classes don't work).
"Experience" by itself seems to be a dangerous thing to rely on, it's relevant experience that matters. I well remember reading that "There are those that claim to have 10 years experience - make sure that it's not not just one years experience that's 10 years old".
My Good Lady went to see a couple last week with a cross-breed, multi-pedigree, mutt, call it what you like (my mum used to say, "we don't know what breeds he is, his mother wasn't looking at the time"). Fortunately he's not prone to aggression, but he was "highly strung" and was restless at the start of the consultation, chewing, throwing toys and pacing around. He was a very stressed boy.
During the course of the evening the owners said that he had been taken to training classes for 6 weeks and had been reasonably well behaved, but as soon as he left the class he was back to being uptight and stressed and had subsequently been getting worse.
Now, it doesn't always happen straight away, but by the end of the consultation the lad was a whole lot more relaxed and having a bit of a kip in the middle of the lounge. The lady owner was much happier and her partner made the remark that made me think: "The man at the training class seemed more interested in telling us stories about him and what he had done than doing much training".
This came back to mind when we heard this week from another client who my partner had helped last year. Their Boxer had been to training classes with disastrous results and they had engaged the trainer to come over for a one on one consultation. The dog had been really aggressive and the consultation ended with the trainer "hanging him up by the lead". Thanks to my partners help, he's now a whole lot calmer and the owners are very happy with his progress. It turns out that it was the same trainer.
Now my Good Lady, being the honest soul that she is, would be the first to say that she doesn't have extensive experience, especially compared to the trainer who proudly advertises his previous employment handling dogs and that he's asked to advise on dog matters all over the world. Nevertheless it seems to me that, even though she hasn't been a Dog Listener for a long time her experience is much more relevant to the needs of the dogs. Time after time she comes across dogs who have been subjected to "conventional" training and has been able to remedy problems, sometimes within minutes. (See "Why Dog Training Classes don't work).
"Experience" by itself seems to be a dangerous thing to rely on, it's relevant experience that matters. I well remember reading that "There are those that claim to have 10 years experience - make sure that it's not not just one years experience that's 10 years old".
Sunday, 7 March 2010
Why won't they leave Cesar alone?
It's Cesar bashing time again.
There's certainly an appetite at the moment for animal welfare organisations and veterinarians to have a go at the charming Mexican who has weaved his spell over British dog owners and is filling arenas all over the country. There are those who will fight to their last breath to defend his integrity and will give you a stony, "mad dog" stare as soon as his methods are criticised. Why is he so popular and why has he become so controversial?
Well he's on t'telly for a start, he's a charming guy and he has a fascinating back story of a childhood love of dogs, escape to the USA, illegal status and a meteoric rise to fame through the auspices of tinsel-town and new found celebrity friends. But it's here that the controversy starts. Cesar shot to fame after using his innate understanding of dogs, firstly by pointing out to the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith's missus the simple fact that dogs aren't little people in woolly coats. His charm was undoubtedly an asset here and his instinct for the basic premise of giving dogs what they need, rather than what the owners thought they needed, meant that success was assured.
But Hollywood loves a therapist and theories and buzzwords began to come into his vocabulary and inevitably, the books and TV shows reflected that. The problem is that it all happened back to front. Cesar undoubtedly has a way with dogs, its rough, tough and can be physical, but it's based on his experience and that's the bit that can't easily be replicated.
Some of what he does is uncontroversial, then there are techniques that he, when just a country boy, would have considered to be "tough love" and quite normal, but these techniques turn out to be unnecessarily brutal to those who are aware of the alternatives. These more heavy handed methods are fairly few and far between, but it's the middle ground that is the really big problem. Techniques that, with Cesar's experience and timing are seem to be effective and quick corrections, become brutal and downright dangerous in the wrong hands We're not talking about cruel people here, just those who are so desperate to control their dogs that they repeatedly apply his methods when they don't seem to be working, with increasing severity, despite the fact that they can be doing things that are counterproductive in subtle and not so subtle ways, making the whole situation worse.
To his credit it seems he's realised this. Take a look at his later shows and they move away from the more physical "hands on" methodology. I understand that he's due to discuss his methods with veterinarian and animal welfare groups this year and recently was heard to say that his shouldn't be considered a "how to" show.
There's no doubt that he loves dogs and despairs over the glitterati using them as fashion accessories. If he has made the air-heads realise that they are dealing with living, breathing creatures that have their own needs, then bravo to him.
But it all begs the question: what do we do with the books DVDs and recordings of his TV shows that are getting people into trouble with their dogs?
The calm, effective ways of learning to live in harmony with a calm, relaxed dog are not "televisual", they can't be solved in an hour's TV slot (with 15 minutes for commercials) and success doesn't come in a 5 minute revelation at the end of the show.
Our own Jan Fennell has been studying the dog for over 20 years, devised a method from the ground up that everyone, and I mean everyone, can follow safely - and it works.
Cesar has a disclaimer on his shows that suggests you "seek the advice of a professional" - there's no need to wait for him to shift his position, there is someone who can show you how you can do it too, safely, right now. A real professional who will stay with you for a lifetime - a Jan Fennell approved Dog Listener.
There's certainly an appetite at the moment for animal welfare organisations and veterinarians to have a go at the charming Mexican who has weaved his spell over British dog owners and is filling arenas all over the country. There are those who will fight to their last breath to defend his integrity and will give you a stony, "mad dog" stare as soon as his methods are criticised. Why is he so popular and why has he become so controversial?
Well he's on t'telly for a start, he's a charming guy and he has a fascinating back story of a childhood love of dogs, escape to the USA, illegal status and a meteoric rise to fame through the auspices of tinsel-town and new found celebrity friends. But it's here that the controversy starts. Cesar shot to fame after using his innate understanding of dogs, firstly by pointing out to the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith's missus the simple fact that dogs aren't little people in woolly coats. His charm was undoubtedly an asset here and his instinct for the basic premise of giving dogs what they need, rather than what the owners thought they needed, meant that success was assured.
But Hollywood loves a therapist and theories and buzzwords began to come into his vocabulary and inevitably, the books and TV shows reflected that. The problem is that it all happened back to front. Cesar undoubtedly has a way with dogs, its rough, tough and can be physical, but it's based on his experience and that's the bit that can't easily be replicated.
Some of what he does is uncontroversial, then there are techniques that he, when just a country boy, would have considered to be "tough love" and quite normal, but these techniques turn out to be unnecessarily brutal to those who are aware of the alternatives. These more heavy handed methods are fairly few and far between, but it's the middle ground that is the really big problem. Techniques that, with Cesar's experience and timing are seem to be effective and quick corrections, become brutal and downright dangerous in the wrong hands We're not talking about cruel people here, just those who are so desperate to control their dogs that they repeatedly apply his methods when they don't seem to be working, with increasing severity, despite the fact that they can be doing things that are counterproductive in subtle and not so subtle ways, making the whole situation worse.
To his credit it seems he's realised this. Take a look at his later shows and they move away from the more physical "hands on" methodology. I understand that he's due to discuss his methods with veterinarian and animal welfare groups this year and recently was heard to say that his shouldn't be considered a "how to" show.
There's no doubt that he loves dogs and despairs over the glitterati using them as fashion accessories. If he has made the air-heads realise that they are dealing with living, breathing creatures that have their own needs, then bravo to him.
But it all begs the question: what do we do with the books DVDs and recordings of his TV shows that are getting people into trouble with their dogs?
The calm, effective ways of learning to live in harmony with a calm, relaxed dog are not "televisual", they can't be solved in an hour's TV slot (with 15 minutes for commercials) and success doesn't come in a 5 minute revelation at the end of the show.
Our own Jan Fennell has been studying the dog for over 20 years, devised a method from the ground up that everyone, and I mean everyone, can follow safely - and it works.
Cesar has a disclaimer on his shows that suggests you "seek the advice of a professional" - there's no need to wait for him to shift his position, there is someone who can show you how you can do it too, safely, right now. A real professional who will stay with you for a lifetime - a Jan Fennell approved Dog Listener.
Friday, 26 February 2010
How to ensure your children don't get bitten by a dog.
Tell them not to go up to it.
Sounds a bit glib I know, but that is all there is to it.
If you want to interact with a dog, even if it lives with you, always, but always, call it over to you. If it doesn't come there's nothing lost - if you go up to it, all sorts of issues can arise, it may just be that it's taken by surprise - in any case it's not worth the risk.
If it's on a lead, then it's more than likely to be unhappy to be approached as it cannot assess for itself what to do. Putting a dog on a lead removes its ability to run away if frightened, so it's no surprise that, if unsure, it's going to give a "warning shot" - and that's usually with the teeth. It's all they have. If it doesn't you're lucky, but it's still going to be uncomfortable with an uninvited approach, after all, wouldn't you?
Simples!
Sounds a bit glib I know, but that is all there is to it.
If you want to interact with a dog, even if it lives with you, always, but always, call it over to you. If it doesn't come there's nothing lost - if you go up to it, all sorts of issues can arise, it may just be that it's taken by surprise - in any case it's not worth the risk.
If it's on a lead, then it's more than likely to be unhappy to be approached as it cannot assess for itself what to do. Putting a dog on a lead removes its ability to run away if frightened, so it's no surprise that, if unsure, it's going to give a "warning shot" - and that's usually with the teeth. It's all they have. If it doesn't you're lucky, but it's still going to be uncomfortable with an uninvited approach, after all, wouldn't you?
Simples!
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