treats into the next station . Even if a shelter doesn ’ t have the space to set up a Café LATTE loop , it can be done on a sidewalk and volunteers / staff walking dogs can bring treats to place in the stations as they go out and come back . “ It can help the dogs when they ’ re coming out hot from the kennels and they are pulling hard . They ’ re not engaged with the handler . This can help bring them down a little bit , and then they can go on a walk and when you come back , you do it again . So just set up the stations and then take the dogs out and just run them through all of the stations .”
He also mentioned a very simple pattern game of counting out loud 1-2-3 and then give the dog a treat . “ Practicing pattern games builds and strengthens new neurological pathways associated with the emotional responses and behaviors we are looking are looking for . When these pathways are strengthened , it will be easier for the pup to stay calm when exposed to triggering situations . Or for them to recover from being triggered after they are stressed . And because of the way the brain is wired , the predictability of pattern games helps push the triggering stimuli into the background of the brain .” It ’ s like using music to break a child out of a meltdown over not getting ice cream at 9 in the morning by singing a silly children ’ s song , he explained .
Decompression is a general process of reducing the dog ’ s mental stress . Studies have shown evidence that sniffing may promote optimism ; sniffing can lower the heart rate and decrease stress . And detecting and processing smells is enriching and energy intensive . Ferdie showed a video of a dog sniffing and how its pulse rate drops while sniffing even while on a walk . “ Field studies such as these gives trainers more tools in the toolbox because as technology advances , we ’ re able to see what ’ s going on under the skin . It ’ s giving us a whole new understanding of exactly what ’ s happening ,” he said .
Other ways to promote decompression are relaxation exercises . Ferdie recommends three books : Nan Arthur ’ s “ Relax on Mat ”; Karen Overall ’ s “ Protocol for Relaxation ,” and Suzanne Clothier ’ s “ Really Real Relaxation .” “ I like to think of it as basically just world watching . Hey , lie down , chill out with me . Watch the world . You don ’ t need to do anything to act on it . It ’ s not an obedience down . What you are really looking for is a decrease in those “ F ” responses and an increase in the relaxed , rest and digest functions .”
Ferdie mentioned a case involving Hank , an 8-year-old Hound found chained to a tree in rural Kentucky . He was brought to a New Rochelle shelter in New York . For months , whenever he left his kennel , he would just stand and stare at the door . If he was in the outdoor pen , he would stand and stare at the gate , completely disengaged from his handlers . He always stayed in the outside portion of his indoor / outdoor kennel , to the point where someone would have to go inside , crawl through the guillotine door and pull him back into his kennel because he wouldn ’ t come inside for food . Ferdie decided to sit with Hank on the outside part of the kennel , which faces a highway so cars are going by all the time . It was then Ferdie noticed with every door closing , or every metal bowl clanging on the floor , Hank flinched . “ He was so shut down
Ferdie Yau gives his 2023 conference session Resilience Conditioning in Shelter Dogs ( Photo by Petco Puparazzi ).
The APDT Chronicle of the Dog | Spring 2024 49