T R A I N I N G
When you imagine a fearful dog, what do you picture? WRITTEN BY: C.C. BOURGEOIS, C P DT- K A , C SAT, P M C T Wonder Dog University & CHRISTINE BAKER, CPDT-KA, UW-AAB, S B A , F D M , L S H C-S
I can tell you what I don’t picture - an adolescent, intact male labrador retriever reported to be dragging his owner across the street to chase squirrels. Yet, when I walked in my client’s front door for our first visit that was exactly what I found. Not exactly the exuberant, over-the-top whirlwind on a pogo stick aiming to lick me to death I was expecting. Wally* (*name changed to protect the perfect pup from paparazzi) was barking at me with a deep boom, not growling or charging but very clearly not inviting me in for a play date either. Despite this impressive show, he had his tail plastered to his belly and was reticent to come close to me, preferring to slink around close to his owner with brief little excursions forward to investigate. Wally was telling all of us that he was not comfortable with this turn of events AT. ALL. Despite this, Wally was eager to take the treats I was tossing to him (he is a lab, after all), happy to chase them in the opposite direction every time I told him to “Find It!” Before long, he was coming up to the chair I was sitting in, eating dropped kibble out of the snuffle mat and choosing to stick around. Pretty quickly, he was laying down, settling on a hip and touching my hand with his nose, having concluded this was a pretty good option for gaining more of my Charlee Bear Dog Treats. As Wally was warming up to the situation, I
learned a bit more about him and the puzzle pieces started falling into place. Wally came from a breeder who lived on a farm, and for the first year of his life had not so much as worn a collar. Free to live an outdoor doggie’s dream, chasing squirrels and playing with other dogs, none of the training or socialization imparted to him during those formative first four months included a busy suburban environment, where one is expected to tolerate an influx of strangers and leashed walks on a sidewalk, ignoring all passersby he’d like to greet and scent trails he’d like to follow. Early socialization and training that does not match up with the environment in which dogs are expected to live inadequately prepares them for life with their humans, and often results in fearful, even defensive behaviors as the dog matures. Add to that the loss of everything they know and traveling to live with a new family, and we can understand why stressful behaviors emerge. But what can we do about it? Luckily, there were some simple tactics we could use to modify Wally’s fearful behavior, as well as teach him the skills he needed to be successful (saving his poor owner’s arm in the process). There is a simple but powerful tenet in the field of animal behavior - if you can change emotions you can change behavior (thank you, Dr. Amy Cook), and so that is what we first set out to do. Through counter-conditioning (think Pavlov and his dogs) and systematic desensitization (think gradual acclimation), we can create a conditioned emotional response. We can rewire the dog’s brain to feel happier (or at least less distressed) during experiences that are necessary for everyone’s health and welfare. This is all the more pressing if the dog will be facing such situations during day-to-day life. It is the heart and soul of the now-burgeoning field of cooperative care training, where we teach the dog what to do during all sorts of situations that would otherwise be unpleasant while helping them to feel comfortable and confident in the process. Voluntary consent, or “start-button” training, is yet another tool, teaching the dog
