I noticed a pattern in many of my clients with“ problem dogs.” The owners had watched the sitcom“ Frasier” and seen the Jack Russell named Eddie on the show. These owners wanted a dog just like Eddie: a cute dog full of antics that would be entertaining to own. What they found they had was an out-of-control dog that frustrated them.
I noticed a pattern in many of my clients with“ problem dogs.” The owners had watched the sitcom“ Frasier” and seen the Jack Russell named Eddie on the show. These owners wanted a dog just like Eddie: a cute dog full of antics that would be entertaining to own. What they found they had was an out-of-control dog that frustrated them.
I am a strong believer in reading books by highly successful trainers such as Turid Rugaas’ 2006 book“ On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals.” That book teaches a lot about canine body language and its meaning. Just as important is how dogs use different signals to keep the peace, and at times can use their behavior and communication signals to help calm down a tense situation. I feel this book was helpful when working to try and better understand dogs.
However, a trainer I knew from agility competitions was the one who taught me how to use this body language and communication information in a much more functional way when working with dogs. My lesson began while waiting for my turn to run Cookie on an agility course. Kelly was up next with her Boston Terrier, Hoosier. Just as Kelly stepped forward to run her dog, Hoosier panicked, which resulted in the dog snorting and struggling to catch his breath. I hardly had time to think how there was no way this brachycephalic dog could run agility, when Kelly stepped in front of her dog, squared her shoulders and in a light, upbeat voice said,“ Hoosier, get it together.” Hoosier calmed, which allowed him to catch his breath. Hoosier successfully ran the course, placing in the ribbons.
When I interviewed Kelly for an article called“ Calming Signals: Reduce Stress Before Competition,”( COTD FALL 2019) what I discovered was that nervousness is a trigger for brachycephalic issues seen in dogs bred with too-short noses. After Kelly read Turid’ s book, she experimented using calming signals with Hoosier, who sometimes had stress-triggered breathing issues at home. Hoosier learned how to calm down from cues Kelly taught him, giving her a tool when he got nervous before an agility run. After watching how Kelly used calming signals on dogs, I began to use them on fearful dogs and have also found success.
Years after owning our Terriers, I met a herding trainer when my daughter acquired a herding dog with the intention of competing. Rick was nationally recognized, and I found I could pick up tips simply by watching him work with my daughter’ s insecure dog. One day when walking toward the outside pen to watch Rick train,
I used calming signals for my first encounter with a client’ s dog named Benny:
Benny was known to bite people who entered the house. He looked at me and growled after I entered the house. I stood still and talked with the owner about the dog’ s history. While talking, every so often I’ d turn my head and yawn, a calming signal.
It took Benny a while, but finally he approached me in an arch. I stayed still except to offer my hand for him to touch. When he got close, he stopped and offered me a calming signal, the half head turn. I didn’ t move my hand toward him, instead I offered him another yawn.
Benny finally looked at me with a look that seemed to say,“ can we be friends.” I gave him a calming signal. Then he stepped forward and rubbed my hand. After that I could pet him affectionately.
I noticed a dog in a crate. When I looked directly at the dog inside, the dog reacted to my look as if I were causing her pain. After the lesson, I talked to Rick about this dog’ s reaction. He said that even though this was his best herding dog, the dog was what he called extremely soft, which meant she struggled with human-todog interactions.
Rick mentioned that people who are harsh or punitive with dogs who may be more susceptible to generalized anxiety can lead to dogs who show aggressive behaviors, such as biting, because of a fearful underlying emotional state. My studies on soft, sensitive, and shy dogs also support the development of aggression resulting from too harsh interactions with these kinds of temperament in dogs.
What may surprise some people is what these dogs consider punitive, such as me looking directly at them. Although the dogs were bold when working sheep, the dogs found human interactions hard to cope with. For these dogs, it would take a lot of effort and time to build a good, trusting relationship.
Since learning this, I’ ve been more attentive to how some dogs react to things we don’ t typically perceive as aversive. For example,
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