In this weeks exclusive podcast, Karen and Jon discuss the problem of dogs that won’t come back. What to do, how to tackle it, and easy tips to sort the problem once and for all. Are you ready? Then listen in now!

WARNING – your dog recall problems are in danger of being solved!

Listen to the WildPaw podcast, with dog expert Karen Wild and Jon Buscall, here:

or Subscribe on iTunes

Want to read more? Want to try it for yourself in more detail?

Karen has produced a mini e-book available here:

Her methods characterise the practical, no-nonsense and fastest ways to help counter those everyday dog problems. No hefty training regime and no elitist terminology, Karen spends every day teaching families and dogs how to work together and this mini-book personifies that approach. Start helping yourself and your dog to a better walk, today! Go to e-book to find out more

In this weeks exclusive podcast, Karen reveals her original, simple and fully tried and tested method to stop those lead problems once and for all. It really works. For listeners, Karen’s advice to Jon during this podcast has led to him commenting “the lead training tips worked within TWO days. The pups are awesome on the lead now.”

Listen to the WildPaw podcast, with dog expert Karen Wild and Jon Buscall, here:

or Subscribe on iTunes

Want to read more? Want to try it for yourself in more detail?

Karen has produced a mini e-book available here:

‘Walking on Lead’ for only £2.99

Her methods characterise the practical, no-nonsense and fastest ways to help counter those everyday dog problems. No hefty training regime and no elitist terminology, Karen spends every day teaching families and dogs how to work together and this mini-book personifies that approach. Start helping yourself and your dog to a better walk, today! Go to e-book to find out more

Here is one of Karen’s clients telling us about her experiences;

Walking with my girls used to be the best part about being a dog owner, but after some bad experiences for both me and my dogs things started to get a bit more difficult, and something that once was a joy, soon turned into a nightmare, and after some misguided training tips things just got worse. Until I got pointed in the direction of Karen, I had almost lost hope. And even after our first session she helped build my confidence and helped make it all seam a lot less overwhelming, and helped me see I needed to start with the basics and build up to the more tricky things. So we started working on getting Garbo to walk nicely without dragging me everywhere. And it’s been amazing how quickly we’ve managed to get her walking along nicely next to me. In such a simple way, but getting her to keep her focus on me, and my feet. As you can see in the little video I took. So when I change speed or stop she’s still right there next to me. And we’re now ready to calmly take the next step in our road to happy walks, and not get rudely dragged into more trouble.

First of all, sit down and slow down. Dogs pick up on your signals, so if you are stressed out, that won’t help.

Too much to do?

• The Dog - Is the dog tired? Puppies often seem to get more mouthy and frantic when they need a good nap. This can happen especially if you have a busy home or at busy family events which will tire your dog out more quickly. So, don’t be afraid to give them a quiet place to sleep when you spot the first signs (usually a child yelling that the puppy is hanging off their trousers or sleeves). A crate is good, or a quiet corner, or use a houseline to keep puppy near you and near their bed. This is not ‘punishment’ as such, although it is ‘time out’. Why leave your dog making mischief and learning all the attention for unwanted behaviour lessons that go along with it?

• You - Well, it could be that you are just plain tired. A client of mine rang me the other day saying she could no longer cope with her young dog due to his behaviour. It turned out after we had had a nice chat, that the poor lady had had very little sleep as she has young children. She is a terrific parent and has been very succesful in training her puppy so far. Nevertheless, a setback had really knocked her for six. It’s not as obvious as it sounds. My job sometimes involves feeding back what I am hearing to give an owner a bit of an outside view. In this case, she was tired out and the puppy’s normally bouncy antics were just too much on that day. The cure? Give it a couple of days and bring back the household controls such as a houseline and regular naps – for you and the dog too. You could even ask family, or a neighbour, or doggy day care just to take the dog for the day while you get things back within your comfort zone. It works!

Not enough to do?

Well, yes, opposite of the above, and more common in older dogs in my experience. The old saying goes, ‘a tired dog is a good dog’ (note: not an ‘overtired’ dog – see above, and make sure your dog doesn’t have hip or back problems!). Here are your essentials:

• How easy is it for your dog to get their dinner? Really easy? In a bowl, lasts two seconds? Make them work for it with a treat ball, pyramid or tug-a-jug toy. On a budget? Consider scatter-feeding by sprinkling your dog’s food in the garden to make them hunt for their food. Or, hide it in small mounds. There is no law in the dog world that states ‘Food shalt be served in a bowl’. Your dog has a highly developed nose and often an excellent hunting instinct. Get them to use it.

• Make sure your dog gets plenty of exercise. A half hour spin around the block is not really enough. Two walks a day, please, if you find your dog is being a bit of a nightmare. If you can’t do that yourself, get a dog walker to help you.

Having problems with this? Bad dog day every day?

Well, if people like you didn’t exist I would not be as busy doing my job as I am, so first of all pat yourself on the back and say ‘Welcome to the human dog-owning race’. Lots and lots of people are in exactly the same situation as you, and I am here to help if I can.

It might be that your dog barks at other dogs. You can find free help on that subject here on this blog in several places: Help! My dog barks and Dog-dog aggression.

Dog won’t come back? Does this mean you can’t take it off lead to exercise it properly? You could download my mini-books ‘Rock Solid Recall’ or ‘Stop your dog Running Away’ (choose the adolescent dog tab)

Maybe your dog is pulling you on its lead. Again, there’s a mini-book ‘Stop your dog pulling on the lead’ on this very site that will help you with fast, non-gimmicky results. If that isn’t for you, get someone in to give you tailored advice – it doesn’t have to be me! Consult a qualified expert for proper help.

So, next time you are pulling your hair out, don’t go for a hair of the dog (it’s a drink, folks). Take a deep breath, assess what you can do, take the advice above – and above all, think  ‘In six months, it will all be very different’.

Ever played ‘Management Bingo’? Words like ‘throughput’, ‘pushback’, ‘customer-centric’… Brand new phrases that give a fancy spin to something old and familiar, to give it a glossy spin of new discovery.

Nowadays, we are in grave danger of doing this with our dogs, and it’s worryingly prevalent. I read the other day that a trainer commented they do ‘positive dog training with balance’. *Cringe*

There are so many techniques, magical phrases and slogans bandied about these days it’s a challenge to keep up. How on earth can a dog owner know what they are going to be getting from their chosen trainer? Can we trust what dog experts on TV actually say? Are they blinding us with jargon, or did they just make it up? Are we at risk of too many technical terms with not enough meaning, trying to sound more important than they really are?

Hopefully I don’t do this myself but I suspect I do. So, to atone for our sins, I wanted to write a little about what I feel should be the underlying philosophy of working with and training dogs, no matter what you call it!

House rules/Boundaries/Discipline/Balance

What is wrong with making sure the dog does not rampage round your house destroying everything in its path? Nothing. Why would you allow your dog to run off lead on the streets or charge up to other dogs in the park? You wouldn’t. If your dog was chewing on your hand, you would stop it – wouldn’t you?

It is normal to make sure these things cannot or will not happen. It’s part of dog ownership, nothing new about that. Don’t allow your dogs to do things that you find unacceptable, but accept that they will try. They are dogs after all! If just being fair and clear to a dog suddenly becomes something otherworldly called ‘balance’, what have we all been doing all these years?

The question lies in the ‘how’ to do these things, rather than what it’s called – that is where the true skill lies. And no, skill does not mean squashing a dog flat.

Dominant/Submissive/Alpha

The word ‘dominant’ is gone (apart from a few dinosaurs clinging to a meal ticket, maybe), but oddly, the word ‘submissive’ is not. ‘Alpha’ has been withdrawn by the term’s initial advocate, David Mech (see it on youtube, here). Terms that, for a dog, are supposed to imply some magical curative factor involving throwing your weight around and acting just a bit macho.

Let’s move on from these ‘management bingo’ specials, and look at what is needed here. Forget old-fashioned hierarchical ‘alpha’ theories. Dogs are great opportunists. If you have an animal in front of you that wants something badly enough, they are going to stand up for themselves to try and get it. I don’t just mean food, and toys. I mean places, comfy spots, patches of sunlight, people, smells… anything that a canine could desire. In fact, sometimes what they want most of all is to get away from a situation.

Some dogs are likely to stand up for themselves more than others, for lots of reasons. It doesn’t mean they are taking over with malicious intent to own the world. So, if you have a dog that is desperate for all these sorts of things, think smart. Use those desirable things to help you gain control. And gaining control does not mean squashing a dog flat, either.

Positive Dog Training

This is the least understood one of all. Somehow it has taken on this ‘softie’ level of ridicule, where if trainers say they use ‘positive methods’, they are supposed to be sitting on cushions singing to the dog, or something equally ineffective. I have news for you. Clickers are not castanets! Trainers are supposed to be foolishly waving a cookie under a dog’s nose when it is supposedly in the (awesomely ridiculous title) ‘red zone’. Says who? I ask the question again – if that is the case, what on earth have successful trainers been doing all these years?

Correction/Rehabilitation (used in a ‘correction’ context)

Any fool can push a dog to try and bite them, that’s pretty easy. You ask the owner what their problem dog doesn’t like, and then you do exactly that, and hey ho, the dog is in the ‘red zone’. The dog didn’t have a choice in the matter and has been deliberately provoked. The important part is – the words make it sound acceptable.

Replace made up words like ‘red zone’ with the true representation of the dog’s reaction. Ask any Vet or qualified behaviourist, as they are trained to recognise physical signs of distress. They use accurate descriptions such as ‘panic reaction’;  ‘pushed beyond coping’? It gives a whole new, true meaning. ‘Oh look the dog is pushed beyond coping, it is trying to bite you’. This is not something any trainer would be proud of admitting to.

Where do we go from here? This is only a brief look at a growing problem.

Professionals can create a lot of confusion about basic behaviour and physiological processes. Surely, to help everyone, we could keep it simple.

Listen to the WildPaw podcast, with Karen Wild and Jon Buscall, here:

or Subscribe on iTunes

Other discussions in the podcast – Handling tips – Develop your ‘Doggy Radar’ – you can listen on the link above

House training with your dog (house breaking or potty training)

It’s a frequent question of what can be an infrequent but persistent problem. To really get to the bottom of it (sorry about the pun) you need to look at the bigger picture first of all. You can also listen to the podcast for the full version of these show notes.

Is it a new puppy?

In the podcast Jon describes his puppy housetraining routine for his 3 Bassett pups at Kennel Bjorkwood. It is well worth making sure that you establish a really, really ingrained habit. It is time consuming but worth it, for a new puppy. ‘Housetraining your dog’ is available on the Intellidogs site here

But what if you don’t have a new pup? What if you have an older dog that seems to toilet only at certain times, or overnight?

Keep a diary

What is the existing habit your dog has built up? What triggers the house soiling? Make a note of all the activities in the day, and record what, when and where the accidents occur. If necessary, leave a webcam or video camera running. Information is a very powerful tool in sorting out a problem.

What are you doing to help or hinder?

Are you punishing the dog when you find an accident? It’s probably way too late unless you catch the dog in the act. Anxiety will make a dog toilet in fear – and may even make them hide the evidence by hiding away and toileting. Or worse still, even eating what they produce. Predict when they will toilet and quickly act by taking them outside and rewarding them well when they do perform where you want them to!

Are you rewarding them enough for going outside? What if the weather is poor – why would they want to go into the dark or the rain? Maybe you have a nervous dog anyway. Some dogs will hold on during walks or outside and toilet in the house where they feel safer. You need to give them something worth going out for. Great food, or possibly a game, can follow when your dog goes in their outside space.

Build a new habit

Decide that from now on there will be no more mistakes. Set your dog up for success. If necessary, teach them to enjoy being in a crate so that you can limit accidents! You must ensure that your dog is understanding that the best rewards lie outside after they have toileted. Work out when the dog needs to go to the toilet – after they have eaten, had a drink of water, just woken up, just been paying. Go back to square one and teach from scratch! You can find a full description of this on my mini book chapter on housetraining your dog here if you are not sure what to do.

Is it ‘toileting’ or is it scent marking?

Male dogs (and sometimes females) can scent mark on territory, especially if they are in a new room, or someone else’s home. They may do it if they feel a little insecure! For scent marking behaviour, sometimes castration is the answer but it is not always a solution – talk to your Vet. There are some more tips how to prevent this on the podcast. If your dog is cocking its leg and producing a small amount of urine on a vertical surface, they may well be scent marking. You will need to have eyes like a hawk and watch for those signs of sudden alert sniffing on a vertical surface… interrupt quickly and take them elsewhere. Clean the area thoroughly using a good quality pet enzyme cleaning product to prevent revisiting!

Might my dog have a medical problem?

Any problems like this should really mean that you take your dog for a Veterinary check-up first. Your dog might have an infection or a sign of something more serious, especially if there has been a sudden change in their toileting habits. If your dog is older, they can show a gradual decline in toilet training habits as part of their ageing process. There may well be other symptoms of this as well, but do ask your Vet or a qualified behaviourist about this. There are some things you can do to help.

If the worst comes to the worst and your dog is simply ‘leaking’ or is unaware that they are toileting, you may wish to invest in a dog nappy. It sounds crazy but these can often help you cope with an elderly or incontinent dog that otherwise has no other problems.

So – get those diaries started, and do seek qualified professional help! Housetraining can be conquered!

The free download on ‘Crate training’ referred to in the podcast is available by emailing Karen on podcast@karenwild.co.uk

This podcast was sponsored by 2Pure Petfresh - perfect for removing those housetraining spills – recommended by pet professionals.

Well, the answer is yes and no.

How long do I train my dog for?

I do, often, get my dogs to do something new and useful. Sometimes we revise old, useful things. Sometimes we learn old or new things that have no real practical use at all. It’s fun, good ways of communicating together, and is teaching the dog that I am predictably rewarding!

Usually, I spend as long as it takes to get the very first bit of the behaviour that I had in mind. Then, I leave it. I guess if you timed me, it would be around 2-5 minutes maximum. If you counted repetitions, that might give you a clearer answer, but then it wouldn’t necessarily be a guide for what you would need to do with your own dog. Then after a short break, I come back to it and we do a little more. Usually I finish after a few brief sessions and breaks and go off and do something else. I might spend up to an hour or so doing this throughout the day, as I have more than one dog and sometimes have up to 5 dogs to work with.

Now, most people will look askance at me if they have a very busy family life. They usually ask, ‘How do you fit it all in?’. I can see them self-defeating their purpose of having a lovely obedient pet, just by thinking they will not have the extra time to do this training, even if it’s 5 minutes at a time. After all, I am a professional dog trainer, right, so I have this kind of time that other folks do not have. Right?

Again – the answer is, yes and no.

How do I find this time to train my dog?

This is not a time for me to tell you about my personal day and how I constantly juggle to fit my professional, social and family arrangements into a coherent mass. In fact, we live in what feels like chaos a lot of the time. I don’t need to describe to you the busy world of a working adult, Mum or Dad, Grandparent etc – I am sure you know that already. Follow me on Twitter if you would like to see the kind of mayhem my day consists of!

The times that I do the above dog training, are fitted in and around my day. I don’t go into ‘dog school’ mode. I am usually waiting for the kettle to boil, or the oven timer to beep, or the TV adverts to finish… or when outdoors, for the traffic to pass so we can cross the road, or whilst I am reading a noticeboard in my village, or whilst I am waiting for my coffee in a cafe. I could be waiting for my children outside their school, or sitting working (for working, read ‘chatting to my nice doggy friends on Twitter’) at my desk. I might even be having a drink at the pub with my friends!

My point is this. Your dog may even go to dog training class, but the training in class – sometimes only once a week – is only a tiny part of what you both do for the rest of the time. You want a calm, happy dog that doesn’t race out of your front door. You want a calm, happy dog that doesn’t jump and mouth at visitors to your house. You want a calm, happy dog that ______________ (you can insert any behaviour of your choice here).

So, where and when better to learn such things than at these places? Where and when better to teach, than every part of every day where and when you actually want your dog to learn?

Your training class is your home, your work, your walks, your daily life. There are always periods in each day where you interact with the dog. Make them useful. Everyday training is simple, repetitive, and does not have to take extra time from your day.

So next time you are thinking ‘How long should I train my dog for?’ instead think ‘I am already training my dog, every second of every day’. Turn those precious seconds to your advantage!

Listen in to the WildPaw podcast where we discuss ‘Dog on dog aggression’ below

To get regular updates on iTunes, please access the podcast here and subscribe

Dog-dog aggression

Key points we discuss in the show

- Should all dogs get along?

- Ask yourself the usual questions about an incident – where were you, what was target, how long did it last for, what did you do, dogs’ body language.

- Barking – what is the dog saying? Is it saying GO AWAY? or is it saying “WHAT IS THAT?” or is it saying “I WANT TO GET CLOSER TO SMELL WHAT THAT IS?” or ’MUST CHASE…!”

- Body language of the handler: this can interfere with what the dog is trying to show, if the handler reacts

- Leads. These can prevent a lot of normal body language from the dog.

- Environment – How about these things?

• Pavements that are narrow and straight

• People and owners and how they react

• People and owners and what they have learned to do over the years

• People and owners and what they have taught the DOG to do over the years

• Practice – practicing a behaviour makes it better. Bark – take dog away. Bark – take dog away. Bark – take dog away. This can build up fear of the unknown as well as frustration.

- Early history? How about socialisation – back to the puppy years. How much did the dog mix, and KEEP mixing with other dogs?
This can also be affected by owners if they are afraid to let their dog intermingle in case the dog is attacked. It may have been in a skirmish before!
Dogs need to interact to teach social skills, so your boisterous teenager dog may experience a few knock backs in time.

- Also be aware of the sex of your dog – female dogs in season? Male dogs that ae not castrated? Dont rely too heavily on the neutering argument in relation to behaviour, because it doesnt stop the brain from having an impact on sexual behaviours BUT do be aware that smell is important to dogs.

What to do?

Based on all the above, let’s describe the ‘perfect’ dog

Well socialised, with adequate control, from early puppyhood and kept continuously in contact without any major frights along the way
Good social skills as a result, which lead the dog to make decisions on potential threat, chase objects and how they might react to keep safe and happy
Plenty of mental and physical exercise to reduce pent up energy, but not to overdo it and frazzle their brain – give them rest times too!
Training. Teach the dog that impulse control IS ESSENTIAL. Snatching, charging, jumping up, all these things are anti-social behaviours and are the same in the dog world as well
Good handling – owners be aware of your body language day in day out – what are you doing? This is fundamentally the most important part for me to teach to owners that have problems.

Each issue above will be dealt with in a forthcoming blog in more detail – in the meantime we love your comments so please write to us on podcast@karenwild.co.uk

This episode of the WildPaw podcast was made possible by 2Pure Pet Products! recommended by pet behaviour specialists to get rid of odours and bacteria caused by spraying, marking, or house training accidents!

The fact is, that all dogs are capable of biting and lots of them do! I decided to concentrate on dogs that bite and what to do. Well, it is essential that you do something. Never, ever let a bite, nip, snap at the air, go without being dealt with. Here are tips and thoughts on how you should approach what could develop into a really dangerous habit.

Listen to the podcast here

or subscribe on iTunes

*The podcast this week contains one expletive within the first 10 minutes*

Dogs that bite

I wanted to deal with some of the things we often hear spoken about dogs that bite, might bite, have bitten repeatedly. It’s really important to look at this as an issue that can affect all of us!

There are aspects of dog ownership, the law, as parents of our children and of course, as good citizens, that we need to know and can perhaps help communicate to the wider world when we can.

‘My dog would never bite’

Every dog is capable of biting. We of course trust some dogs to choose another alternative than biting but never forget that all dogs can do it. The odds are that every single dog would bite under certain circumstances, sometimes these circumstances might be more extreme than others. Remember that what a dog judges to be a threat may be different from our own judgement. Just as we as nice citizens do not naturally go round punching or kicking people, does not mean that we are not capable of it if we were fighting for our lives! Always remember then, that a dog bite is possible. Once we face this, we can deal with the potential problems that might arise as honestly and calmly as possible. It also helps give all our dogs the best chance at survival, since statistically, more dogs are euthanised as a result of behaviour problems than for any other reason when taken to their Vet.

‘My puppy biting is going to turn aggressive’

It is really important to understand that puppies bite as a means of exploration as well as play. It can also mean ‘go away’! Pups all need to learn that clothing, hands, feet, face, are out of bounds when it comes to biting. You must not scare or punish the puppy in order to teach it. Why? Because this teaches the puppy that people are unpredictable, scary creatures! Instead, teach puppy that it’s simply no fun. It’s not part of the game. If you watch puppies together, they do an awful lot of jaw-wrestling and grabbing at each other. It’s normal. Nevertheless in today’s world, it is unacceptable for them to do this to people. You can learn more about Puppy Biting on my ‘Ouch! Stop Play Biting’ download (scroll down the options on that page to find it).

A huge resource for puppy help can be also found at Ian and Kelly Dunbar’s brilliant site, www.dogstardaily.com

————————————–

Other important issues about biting we discuss as part of the podcast (the below notes will be expanded into a full article soon, probably this weekend when I am less busy in my behaviour practice)

‘It was only a nip’

‘My dog has bitten a few times but he’s not aggressive’

What does an aggressive dog look like?

Are there ‘aggressive’ breeds? Can we trust statistics?

When does biting become a problem?

Has your dog bitten someone?

Don’t panic! Post op/pain/panic/old age/puppy – no need to rush them straight to the dog pound or the Vets for the dreaded ‘PTS’

Bite victim?

Always get a dog bite looked at as they can easily become infected. If it is you that got bitten by someone else’s dog – take photos.

For the dog – what can you do?

Do take action – IMMEDIATELY
Nipping it in the bud
Changing to a positive mindset – not one of denial

Biting and the law

Biting – and even a scratch from your dog – represents an aggravated offence under part of the Dangerous Dogs Act

Even if your dog was fighting with another dog and ‘accidental’ bite happens to a person – it is still an aggravated offence.

In summary – take it seriously, but take it calmly. A biting dog may not be its death-knell.

Usually it isn’t a problem to the barking dog! It is a natural behaviour to them. To us humans, though, it isn’t necessarily something we want!

In this week’s special podcast we talk about the issue of barking dogs using Jon’s own little barking Bassett Hound puppy as an example.

Because dogs bark for many reasons, our little podcast case study shows you the essential knowledge you need, to identify all sorts of factors BEFORE you begin to put solutions in. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ when it comes to a barking dog.

On the podcast we discuss these questions in detail and how you might go about considering the cause, so you can identify a proper, and long-lasting solution. Listen in and enjoy!

Listen to the podcast here

or subscribe on iTunes

The free download as discussed on the podcast, is available free for a limited time ONLY -  ‘Barking – Identifying the cause’.

If for some reason you cannot access this download here, please email us on podcast@karenwild.co.uk and we will send you the link!

Other items on the podcast

Strays – if you find a stray dog, is it yours? Who do you need to call? Listen in to the podcast, and see our special report in this website’s blog section. Stray dogs and the Law

Celebrity dog news!

Scouring the internet for weird and wonderful, I decided not to report on the dog that ate a man’s ear after his girlfriend had bitten it off.. (UGH!)

NO instead, I bring you…

Johnny Depp has had to be rescued from Angelina Jolie’s dog!

The 47-year-old actor is not a fan of dogs but agreed to watch their Mastiff, Jacques, whilst the couple went out for the evening.

Johnny stated “Foolishly I was persuaded to look after their dog Jacques for a night. He’s a huge bulldog. At first I had a terrible feeling, because Jacques smelt horrible. But then I told myself, ‘Come on, you will survive one night’. Everything was cool – until I sat down on the bed to take my shoes off. Jacques pounced on me from behind and kept jumping around on me. He’s not small. Around 175lbs of dog was hurled at me, which felt like about 300lbs. I shouted for help and luckily someone came to take that beast off me.”

Johnny and wife Vanessa are still friends with Brad and Angelina though!

He told German magazine TV Movie: “We often went for dinner with them. It was great. I’ve known Brad since the end of the Eighties. It was great to see him as a man and amazing father.”

News link for this report is here http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Entertainment/20110113/depp-rescued-from-angelina-dog-110113/

Well that’s enough in the dog world for this week – PLEASE send us your comments and ideas, questions and stories – or we will feel very lonely. podcast@karenwild.co.uk or on twitter www.twitter.com/wildpaw
Our next podcast will be on dogs that BITE. You may have a dog that bites, or you may have been bitten by a dog yourself. Maybe you have a dog in your neighbourhood that has a bit of a reputation, or is it your dog that has the bad rap?

I know this sounds a little bit like reality show host Jeremy Kyle, but we want to hear your stories on this so PLEASE write in to podcast@karenwild.co.uk

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