Adrienne Farricelli

Thanks as always for the update. While this setback is unfortunate, I agree with you that there's a bright side to it: it will provide an insight on what to work more on. If he's been rehearsing this behavior for 8 years, it's not unexpected for occurrences as such to occur during behavior modification for the simple fact that it is so difficult to unlearn something that has been for so long part of his behavior repertoire. Thankfully, he was nice enough to "use his words."

That's sure interesting, just to point us out how dog behavior can be unexpected at times! We may think one thing and then remote monitoring reveals a different picture. Particularly, interesting is the fact that when you are both gone it sounds like Abbi is chilling out, but then when hubby is out and you are home, she goes on howling/barking for hours non-stop. Keep me posted on what you see next time you must go out and leave the gals alone. Also let me know if there are any other behaviors you see during your video monitoring that seem to suggest distress. A disclaimer is warranted here for anybody reading this with dogs with severe cases of separation anxiety: while remote monitoring is a good way to assess dogs during absences, if being left alone is a too distressing experience and the dog has a history of putting himself/herself into peril or getting injured, it is not worth the risk recording them for the sake of seeing what happens. We already know with these dogs that things are severe, so best to start behavior modification right away and not leave them alone (unless with somebody) until things get more manageable. At which point, best to use remote monitoring only once the dog is calmer and better capable of coping with absences. Forgot to mention a small but important tip: if you are planning on using thundershirts when you leave the home, make sure your dogs wear it also occasionally at other times when you are at home or you are taking them out. This is to prevent the "putting-on-Thundershirts" from becoming another pre-departure cue. One may imagine smart Gertie saying something along these lines: "Hey, Abbi, did you notice? Every time they make us wear that thing, they are getting read to leave, eeek!!!" --Add sound effect of increased heart beats and increased respiratory rates. Just an interesting little-known fact: in dogs, separation anxiety refers to dogs who have formed a dysfunctional attachment to one person in particular. When that particular person isn’t present, the dog goes into panic mode and can care less of who is with them. Isolation distress instead refers to dogs who tend to panic when left alone. They just want a human and anyone will do eventually. This form is often to a milder degree compared to separation anxiety also considering that with these dogs taking them to daycare or having another person watch them when the owners are away helps them cope.

Yup, the goal is just that, to confuse them and break the association between our pre-departure cues and real departures until they no longer evoke strong emotions. Separation anxiety is common in dogs, but it also is one of the most overdiagnosed conditions in dogs. Many dogs are being misdiagnosed by dog owners (but often also dog trainers and veterinarians). So any dogs who are whining or destroy the owner's slippers or want to get out of a crate when confined alone are often labeled as having separation anxiety when they are just dogs who are just bored, plain lonely, reacting to noises or have confinement anxiety. Telling these apart can sometimes be a challenge because we can only see the "aftermath" and the behavior when we come home. One way to gather more info is to have a recording of the dogs when away and watch it from start to finish. For example, both Einstein and Petra used to do the most mournful howling when we left the house. We could hear it the moment we closed the gate to up to the end of the road. This would seem like separation anxiety because the howling was always contingent on our departures. A recording though revealed that that after a few minutes of howling, they both would settle and go on to a nap. Sometimes they would awaken and react to noises (they were always on guard mode when left alone) but then back to nap until our arrivals. Another example, a dog who used to be very anxious in the crate. Barking, whining chewing on the wires when confined in it upon the owner leaving. One day the owner recorded when this dog managed to find a way to get out of the crate. The recording revealed that once out she stopped vocalizing despite the owner being away, she cared less about looking out of the windows or scratching at doors or pacing by them. Instead, she chose to have fun and chew the remote control and do other non-legit stuff in the house she was reprimanded for doing when the owner was at home. Now, not saying your dogs don't have it, but it may be interesting recording and watching Abbi's behavior during the absence (several minutes after departure) and see whether she appears in distress or whether the heavy panting is associated with arrivals. If it' just contingent upon departures/arrivals, but she's calm (or at least able to self-soothe herself) in between, then the program may focus more on these two portions (practicing departures and arrivals and undoing the high emotions around them). The Furbo camera may come handy for this. Also, is this a new behavior or has it been there for a while? There is also senior-onset separation anxiety in older dogs that is the result of cognitive changes, physical changes and/or declining hearing/sight that makes these dogs feel more vulnerable when left alone and feel safer when they are around their family. Most likely you read these before but here are links about this: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/senior-dog-separation-anxiety/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/separation-anxiety/ If time permits, I will post in the next few days a more in depth protocol for separation anxiety.

Great to hear Gertie has improved so much, you are doing a great job with her! Yes, sounds like Abbi is trying to ask for space and in a serious tone. That high pallet bed sounds like an awesome idea, just need to make sure she has no way to accidentally fall from it or get hurt jumping off, but I am sure there are ways to prevent this. Good luck, and wishing you the very best! Adrienne

Have used thundershirts for dogs with separation anxiety, fear of car travel or brontophobia. They sure help some dogs, others less. In any case, the higher success rates are obtained when their use is combined with behavior modification. Used alone, haven't seen much effect in the long run.

"Self-handicapping" is a social skill, (if we can call it that way) that some dogs perform naturally. The foundation starts in the litter when a pup bites too rough and the pup starts learning the ABCs of bite inhibition and "gentleness pays" and perfects through social play with dogs of different sizes and play styles and play with humans. The dog basically intentionally puts herself/himself in a disadvantaged position so to give the playmate an edge. This can happen often in dogs with inequalities (larger dog/smaller dog, adult dog/ small puppy) but to an extent that it's generally present in in every day dog play regardless of size since dog play often includes equalizers to allow fair play and fun among the parties. An important rule of play among dogs is that both parties must be having fun and needs to be consensual. It would be important therefore determining what is going on exactly in Abbi's mind. Is she having fun, is she slightly annoyed or is she very annoyed by it to the point of trying to send Gertie seriously away? It may not always be easy to tell. Usually, in a play group or doggy day care situation when there are dogs playing and we are concerned whether they are both having fun, we would momentarily remove the possible "instigator" and see whether the "bullied dog" comes back in hopes for more play. If the dog goes right back to the "instigator", then, we can assume that both parties are likely having fun. If the possible "bullied dog" instead goes hide behind a person or moves away or does something else, there are chances this form of play wasn't for him or he needs a break. Now worth mentioning, there is one type of play among dogs that goes something like this: a dog is lying down or standing and another dog plays the role of the '"intruder" approaching while the other dogs lunges and vocalizes as if to "send" the intruder away. Again though, we must evaluate what is going on Abbi's mind: Is she having fun, slightly annoyed or is very annoyed by it? In any case, let's give her benefit of doubt and assume she stands at the annoyed part, and on top of this, we also don't want Abbi to get hurt. There is a size difference and Doxies are prone to spinal issues so falling off from a bed or chair can spell disaster. Management through leash attachment in the morning might be the best option for now until we can get Gertie to learn to be well under verbal control to prevent her from engaging in rowdy behaviors around Abbi. During the day, or when you feel more up to it, you can then train her to "leave it" signaling not to go on the bed or wherever Abbi is sleeping (initially practice with the leash on) and engaging her in alternate behaviors such as hand-targeting, sits or doggy push-ups (reps of sit/down, sit/down) for the time being until she's under voice control and learns that it's rewarding to stick to you rather than go on an all-rowdy play mode. After reaching this fluency point, you can try without the leash or practice with a longer lightweight leash until she has the exercise down. Another option is to create a morning routine that replaces the jumping and all-over play. You want a routine that makes it a no-brainer for Abbi to choose. I am thinking along the lines of sending straight her to a mat in the office where there is a Kong waiting for her. Maybe have Gertie have one too while she's on the bed. Of course, do this only if none are prone to resource guarding. Ideally, it would help too to send Gertie out in the yard to play and release a bit of pent-up energy. Many dogs wake up in really festive mood (don't we love that?) to embrace the day and are at the peak of their energy. A little romp in the yard or a structured walk, may help her get in a little calmer state of mind. This can sometimes take the edge off some dogs and they play more gently. Healthy dog play in dogs with good social play skills is made of pauses, and generally, overly excited dogs give very little pauses. Redirecting play with a leave it or other cue that tells dogs to happily break apart and come to you for a treat can help provide the extra pauses. Games of tug among dogs (not for dogs who resource guard) gives dogs the opportunity to focus on the toy rather than rough pinning or body slamming. With puppies who are full of energy and living with older dogs, we often suggest keeping them separate for a portion of the day, and then letting them play only once the puppy is tired (generally mid afternoon, later evening) so that the play is less rambunctious. A great way to play for dogs with gaps in age or size is mouth play, where both dogs lie next to each other and are jaw sparring. You see this form of play in tired dogs. While we can to a certain extent teach a dog to play less roughly, it may be difficult to train a dog not to step over another dog especially if this is done inadvertently. Some dogs are just plain clumsy. Usually, dogs learn to be a little less clumsy when the other dog gets angry, but some dogs can be a bit thick-headed especially if they are in an over-excited state or don't take the other dog's warnings seriously. A bite may help some dogs as such learn their lesson, but then this is an aversive event and can lead to side effects (one dog learning to bite to keep distance and the other learning to react defensively) and we don't want to put dogs in this position. In a case of such, you will need to be Abbi's ambassador and redirect Gertie through "leave its" (or any other words you want to use, as long as you stay consistent), and reward her so that she gets fluent and responsive to you as needed. Alternatively, you can have Abbi sleep in one of those large xpens so she can rest undisturbed. There are some playpens that come in canvas but in my experience exited dogs tend to run through them or jump on them causing them to collapse and if Abbi is in one, she may get injured. Dogs must be trained to not do this. And then you have options of blocking off certain areas so Abbi doesn't feel the need to defend herself from rowdy play. This means often baby gates, or furniture blocking off passages. Some baby gates have a cat opening at the bottom where most small dogs can fit through but larger dogs cannot. This may give Abbi the opportunity to go in a safe area just reserved for her.

Who doesn't love Fritos :D I wonder if eating them will give him a case of Frito feet. Turns out, though that snack food smell coming from dog feet is a matter of pesky yeast growing, yuck.:eek: Sounds like things are progressing nicely. I concur with you, best not to add touch at this point. Not only to prevent risks, but also to protect as much as possible any progress you have made so far. Setbacks can be costly in our piggy bank of successes. Perhaps Gertie is bonding more with you because of all the recent training you have been doing? It sounds like she wants to be with you. I know lots of dogs who want their owners to be near when they eat, some of them had separation anxiety though. Or perhaps she knows you are out training Momo and she wants to be part of it too? Every time I was clicker training I had to keep dogs in separated areas because they were so eager to do it. It seemed like they would rather work for the food than eat it straight food straight from the bowl...Yes, always best to keep an eye with changes in behavior just in case something medical is going on. Several possibilities as to what may be going on.

Thanks Lorine for the additional details. From what it seems, two fights appear to have happened in situations where there was over excitement going on. The third fight though we don't have information. In the first case, the fight was when you were coming home and the second case was when you were taking your client outside in his wheelchair (and from what it sounds I assume all dogs were left and right acting excited). Does this sound like the case? These two episodes provide a few additional pieces to the aggression puzzle although to truly know what is exactly going one would need an in-person evaluation, medical and behavior history taking, finding out as much as possible about antecedents (what stimuli or situations seems to evoke the behavior), followed then by behavior modification with the help of a professional for safety and correct implementation. It *might* be feasible at this point to *possibly* rule out rough play or rough play escalating into a fight considering that in latest episode the context didn't appear to be play-inducing (although at times, there may be several concomitant types of aggression at play) and it appears as if Dolly was attempting to stay away from Blue. This avoidance behavior suggests that there may be tension among the two dogs and perhaps Dolly is becoming aware that, in overly excited situations, Blue tends to "redirect on her. " In negative experiences as such, dogs learn quickly, even one episode may be enough at times, and when that happens it's called one-trial learning. Do you therefore see over-excitement as a common denominator in both incidents? If this sounds like the case, I can provide some information about redirected aggression in dogs (assuming this is what you are dealing with- I can only speculate unfortunately) and what methods can be used to diffuse situations and some general info about behavior modification, but once again, this requires the in-person intervention of a professional for safety and correct implementation.

You're very welcome! Best, Adrienne

Hello and welcome to the forum, It is difficult to assess a situation as such considering that nobody was in the home at the time of the fight and we are therefore missing important information. Perhaps, there was a toy or some other resource (sleeping spot, crumb on the floor) and one of the two dogs was resource guarding? Perhaps, they were playing and things escalated? Perhaps the dogs were barking or overly excited since you were both coming home and they redirected on each other? Perhaps it was just rowdy loud play. Pit bull play often looks and sounds rough particularly to those who aren't familiar with their vocalizations. Their sounds and play style alone are often misinterpreted as aggression. Now, not all dogs appreciate this style of play, so perhaps the other dog was saying in doggy language "hey I don't like that" but Blue ignored that and was taking it further. So many things could have happened. It could therefore be you never witnessed an escalation into rougher play because you have been so good in redirecting her at the earliest signs. It is difficult therefore to make predictions on whether things may work out in this new social group and what can be done. Any new introduction in a group of established dogs is at risks for squabbles along the way. The more dogs, the more there are risks for interactions start or exacerbate at some point. Whether they remain just noisy discussions where nobody gets hurt or escalate into serious blood-shedding fights is not something that can be predicted because there are too many variables and dog behavior can be quite unpredictable at times. Generally, most serious issues surge in households with same-sex dogs and dogs being close to social maturity (12 to 36 months) or in cases where there is a large age gap (younger dog with senior dog). However, true aggression is possible at any age, even in a young puppy. If this was true aggression, this raises a red flag for future issues especially in a puppy of this age. Because we do not know what caused this potential fight, it is not possible for me to garner enough info to provide specific suggestions. For certain, due to this past incident, it would be wise to not leave the dogs alone unsupervised from now on. In such a case, seeing a professional for an assessment remains the best course of action. While I understand there are no behaviorists in a small town, there may be some from farther cities who are willing to travel to assess the situation and gather better information. I must emphasize the importance of finding a behavior professional using humane behavior modification to prevent further stress and tension. There are substantial risks associated with fights in multi-dog households. We must consider the obvious potential injury among the fighting parties (and other dogs potentially joining in) and also the potential injury to dog owners and caretakers as they attempt to separate fighting dogs and risk becoming victims of redirected fights.

In order to understand this behavior, we must take a step back and see what toys really represent to dogs. Dog play, as in human play after all, shares some similarities. Just as children practice games that mimic chores observed in adults (cooking, playing doctor), puppies and dogs often play in ways that include the enactment of hunting moves such as stalking, chasing and pouncing. On top of hunting moves, dogs during play may also borrow behaviors from other facets of life, and therefore, you may see elements of fighting behaviors, fleeing behaviors and even courtship behaviors added in the mix of a dog's play behavior repertoire. Playing with toys borrows many elements from hunting. To a dog, as gruesome as it sounds, stuffed animals tend to represent prey. They will therefore chase the stuffed animal, pounce on it and then will "finish it up" by shaking the toy (which in nature would mean shaking to break the neck) and then breaking it apart. So it's totally normal behavior for dogs to destroy stuffed toys and they may also do it for some extent out of curiosity should they detect a squeaker or some other things inside (stuffing) that is fun to get out. Caution is needed here: I don't know how many surgeries our vets had to do with some dogs who swallowed squeakers and had a surgery due to blockages, so there's an element of risk (especially with smaller dogs who have trouble passing them). While there are some dogs that are gentle with their stuffed animals (often behind this are dog owners who have taught them to inhibit their natural destructive behavior but this eliminates all the fun), left to their own devices, dogs tend to destroy stuffed toys rather than sleep and cuddle with them as we may expect children to do. Hence, the classical dog owners' big search for tougher toys that can withstand dog teeth overtime.

Thanks for the update. It's always best to be conservative and it sounds like your trainer's advice to refrain from doing the crate exercises was sound advice. Many dogs are more reactive in the dark and if the setup doesn't seem ideal, best to wait until things are better under control in other settings. By the way, here in Arizona, screen rooms are called "Arizona Rooms" just to add it to the collection;)

Hello Thornhills, Welcome to the forums. Glad to hear this info turned out helpful. I wished there was a cut and dried answer for the time to dedicate in each session, but as you see there are several variables and the best answer ultimately comes from the dog: observing how his attention span is, whether he is still enthusiastic and watching for signs of tiring or getting bored and then adjusting those sessions accordingly. Always end those sessions on a positive note (ask the dog something he knows how to do well and reward). The objective is to leave the dog wanting more to maintain motivator value. Happy training! Best, Adrienne

Hello Holiver0711, Thanks for the update. It seems like things are going very well with your new addition. Kudos to you for paving the path for a great introduction. Ahh, yeah, puppy biting... they will bite on many occasions. We need to provide them feedback that their nips hurt us, so that they can refine their biting, so you initially don't want him to stop nipping entirely at first. Yes, with drivey dogs like German shepherds, yelping can excite them more and lead to more biting, so another approach you can try is to add a verbal marker when he hurts that won't excite him much such as a "ehhh-ehh" or "no bite" followed by your withdrawal from play, turning your back around or even leaving the room if he persists. Make sure all family members are on the same page. If you are stuck on the issue of him keeping on coming back, once you got tired of providing him repeated feedback that nipping hurts and lots of praise when he is gentle and/or redirects and plays with his toys, you can try to give him a longer lasting treat so that you can have a break from continuously redirecting him. So let's say he will let go or drop an item, let him have a stuffed Kong or Kong Wobbler stuffed with a portion of kibble to work on (that you have prepared in advance purposely for this and away from your other dogs so that they do not feel frustrated). This should give him something to be occupied with and hopefully this will also tire him out. Alternatively, keep several tennis balls handy in your reach so that every time he comes to nip you can redirect him to chasing the ball. To prevent a behavior chain from establishing (e.g. nipping just to get the ball tossed), at some point, right before he nips, ask him for a behavior such as a sit or target and then toss the ball. Remember: sometimes when pups are very intent with nipping they may be tired or cranky. You can then end the session with an interactive toy such as stuffed Kong so that he relaxes and possibly nap right afterward. Also, invite him to independent activities that distract him from your hands such as the treasure hunt game or the muffin games from the brain training course (play these away from your other dogs to prevent resource guarding issues). Also great games to play are targeting (as these encourage alternate behaviors than nipping) and the airplane game to teach him that looking at you instead of a treat you are holding in your hand grants him rewards. Starting basic obedience training with sits and downs also empowers you and can help you redirect him from the nipping when these behaviors become fluent. Stopping a puppy from nipping is a long-time process, that won't happen overnight. It's part of the pup maturing and learning more impulse control and better ways to interact with their humans. We aim to have it solved (or to a great extent solved) though by the time a pup is 5-6 months as that is when their permanent teeth are coming in and their jaws start getting much stronger. Not to mention the onset of doggy adolescence. It is great that your pup is playing with your other dogs. This should give him the opportunity to drain some energy and learn some manners. Puppy classes though remain a great way for further refining biting as the pups enrolled get to play with other puppies in a monitored and hopefully safe environment (pups should have received their first booster shots and the facility should adhere to strict hygiene measures to prevent spread of diseases such as parvo).

I have heard good things about these gadgets for separation anxiety. Personally, I haven't used technology in this way though. Mostly did remote monitoring when the dog is left alone to measure the ratio of improvements versus setbacks so to time the owner's absences accordingly. I can see them put to great use though in delivering treats to counter condition owner absences, but yes, this won't be feasible in a crated dog. With search and rescue dogs, we often stimulated barking by making the dog overly excited about a toy or other item the dog desired strongly and then hiding it behind our back. The dogs would eventually bark out of frustration. There are several other ways, but most require assessing what made dogs bark in the past, and presenting the same triggers, although these can present a challenge since most triggers do not present reliably unless they are sounds that can be recorded. Some dog owners have success by barking themselves. I used a howl to evoke howling in my dogs in the howling trick video, but Einstein didn't really ever have a good howl and often ended up barking like a seal.

So sorry to hear about this possible "setback." I wouldn't be too concerned yet though as there may be chances Momo may have been mostly reacting to Gertie rather than you or perhaps the whole "stimulus package" of energy could have startled him and unsettled him. Of course, this is just speculation. I didn't see what happened, but I can imagine that the "excited energy" could have put him in a state of uneasiness and cause him to snarl, growl and bare teeth just to communicate his desire to maintain his possession and eat in peace. Being in a crate could have also contributed to triggering a more intense form of "fight" response rather than a warning followed by "flight." Perhaps if he was out the crate, he would have just growled as a warning, picked up the Kong and moved away with it to a safer spot where he could lie down and relax. In a crate, this option isn't there and hence why he may have felt the need to emphasize his growl with a pearly white display. Now, not implying a crate is not good, just pointing out that it may have triggered a more emphasized response due to not having the chance to move away. By all means, a crate is always a must with resource guarders for safety to people and other dogs, just caution is needed to not evoke the behavior when possible-- but we all can have "oops" moments. Management is often the most challenging part of behavior modification. It's much better though to have a response as such and the dog being crated, rather than the uncertainty of what he may have done if out of the crate. Better safe than sorry. Now, if the snarl was directed towards Gertie, among dogs, a display as such may be acceptable as long as it just ends at that, dog A makes the point "this Kong is mine!" and dog B slithers away "you can keep that, I can care less about it." This is an acceptable scenario for conflict resolution in dogs who resource guard and share the household -- it's a ritualized aggression display, a form of communication where nobody gets hurt. Problems start when dog B doesn't heed the warning or refuses to respond to it or dog A takes things to a further level and attacks without even giving dog B the opportunity to retreat. In any case, you did good in tossing Momo treats just in case that display was directed to you or both you and Gertie. It might be you may have inadvertently been included in the" stimulus package" since you were with Gertie. This way, by tossing treats his way you were able to emphasize to him that you do not mean to steal his goodies, but actually add to them. Yes, discuss this with the trainer you are working with, she may want to include crate exercises to the food bowl ones you are doing if he appears tense when you approach the crate when he is in possession of a resource. Also, if he has showed ever aggressive displays at Gertie (or your other dog /cat) discuss those as well. Best, Adrienne

Hello Jennifer! Have you tried to practice away from the window? Perhaps the window is acting as a distraction. Also, consider the general rule that a behavior should be put on cue once it's reliable (80 percent). It might be too early to put it on cue and she may be confused. For how long have you been training her "speak?" Generally, you'll keep marking and rewarding the barking behavior up to the point where the dog starts offering the behavior on his/her own. Then, when you can reliably predict the behavior, you can then add the verbal cue. First you would start saying "speak" as the dog is doing the behavior for several reps. Then you would say "speak" just as the dog *begins* to do the behavior for several reps. Then you'll say speak just before the dog does the behavior. Worthy of noting is that, just like pawing, training a dog to speak may get out of hand if not put well under stimulus control. Are you planning to use the camera in the same room with all your dogs? Just wondering whether that may trigger resource guarding in case your dogs are predisposed to that. It's my understanding that the camera is capable of delivering several treats at once in different directions so that may help but not sure how dogs may react if they happen to go after the same treat.

You're very welcome! And if you cannot pinpoint an exact trigger, and the vet gives a clear bill of health, consider that in any case, most likely treatment remains the same: behavior modification with the help of a professional using some type of desensitization and counterconditioning program as outlined in these samples here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/overprotective-of-furniture/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-barking-someone-enters-room/

5) Toys....he doesn't know how to play with any toys...any suggestions? Being a border collie, perhaps your dog is looking for toys that are more fulfilling and keep his mind occupied. Interactive toys such as a Kong Wobbler or a Buster Cube may be more fun to play with compared to static toys he finds on the ground that are lifeless and don't provide rewards. Adding movement to toys may also revv some dogs up. Have you tried wiggling toys around, tossing them in the air or playing tug with him? Many dogs like to play with elongated toys like those crafted by Critter Skinz. These are stuffless toys with squeakers (monitor your dog so he doesn't ingest the squeaker) that many dogs love to toss in the air, shake and carry around. A flirt pole may also be a good way to train him some impulse control. Wiggle it and practice "wait","take" and "drop its."

4) Bullying other dogs at the dog park. He plays rough at times with other dogs usually that are submissive. Sometimes to the point that the other dogs run from him trying to hide. He likes to chase, tackle and pin them down. His tail is wagging and he doesn't growl or snarl at them but he does bark at them and tries to intimidate them. He has been in doggie daycares and they say he plays fine with the other dogs but the area isn't as open as the park where he can run. This is where solving problem 3 would be a tremendous help. While it is possible teach him a strong recall, we can't expect fast results there if the dog doesn't respond reliably in areas with lower distractions. If he blows you off at the dog park, then you risk "burning your recall" which means it starts becoming irrelevant just like birds chirping in the trees. To train a dog to come when called at the dog park, we are looking at an advanced level of impulse control as we need our dog to stop in his tracks when he's engaging in highly reinforcing behaviors. We better have something to offer that is worthy of stopping his play in his tracks, otherwise we risk turning into big party poopers who are not worthy attending to in the future. This can be problematic at dog parks, as food or toy rewards can trigger resource guarding and they are often even not allowed in several dog park facilities due to these liabilities. Another option is teaching a time-out, but again things can get challenging at the park due to distance and distractions. This also requires impeccable timing. Therefore, time-outs are best taught initially in a more controlled setting. As soon as we notice the problematic behavior, we can pronounce a warning cue (said in tone that denotes a warning) such as "slow down! or "leave it!" If the warning cue is heeded, we can then follow up with a cheerful "good boy" that has ideally been previously conditioned at home with treats and that its positive association with treats is maintained on several trials. If the "slow down" or "leave him alone" warning is ignored, then you follow up with a "too bad" followed by a timely timeout. The time-out may involve, removing the play mate and leaving the dog alone or removing the dog. Removing the dog by using collar grabs or other physical interruptions are prone to potential fallout and aversive side effects, that is, potential for creating wariness of hands and collar grabs or dogs who become difficult to handle and approach. Using food or a toy may work to help disengage, but once again only if there are no risks for resource guarding among the dogs. Some dog owners practice giving time-outs with a long line, to reel the dog in for the time-out, but this can be problematic as dogs get continuously tangled in the rope during play and this can cause dogs to become nervous and even fight. Once in a time-out zone, the dog can be "cooled off" and regain composure by asking him a few sits and downs before returning him to play. You may have a need to do several strings of timeouts in a row in the initial stages, until the dog start realizing that he gets a warning every time he starts engaging in inappropriate play, and that if he persists, a timeout will always follow. At some point though, rep after rep, there are chances that several warning cues given with good timing will have him start self-interrupting on his own. These methods are not very easy to implement and there may be risks too (hence why I always recommend a dog trainer/behavior professional to help out when working on behavior modification), but to sum it up, the best and safest way would be to skip the dog park altogether for now and restrict play to a handful of doggy friends. If your dog is engaging in bully behaviors, this is one of those cases where it may be just safer and better to have him stick to a few good doggy friends that are perfectly fine with his style of play and organize play dates with them. This is a better option than allowing him to rehearse bully behaviors at the dog park. For some dogs, roughness and harassment of dogs who are non-consenting with certain play styles, can be reinforcing. Such dogs purposely seek out their targets and purposely designate their bully behavior towards them. If this sounds like him, consider that this can be greatly distressing to the harassed dog which may lead to snapping and fights and conditioned fear-related responses that may be difficult to overcome. The advantage of limiting play to play dates with dog friends he plays well with is that your dog won't be harrasing anymore and you can relax knowing that all dogs are having fun (of course active monitoring is always needed!). With this one-on-one play in a backyard or other controlled setting, you also have more control over the situation and you are better able to coach your dog.

3) Coming when called...we have trained him on this using treats but without treats or if there is another distraction he ignores us. Distractions are a challenge, but they are great because they get us thinking on how we can overcome them. Here is a little story I think is worth sharing. When practicing recalls with a dog that had a very high-prey drive, I noticed that this dog stopped a few times midway to explore a bush. So I knew I had the work cut out for me. I had to figure out how to make myself more interesting than that bush. I sat next to the bush, and rewarded all voluntary check-ins. In other words, every time he looked at more and came near me, I praised him and gave him 2-3 super high-value treats in a row. At the end of the session, he couldn't keep his eyes off of me. He just kept coming back to me more and more and the bush started becoming booooring. In the next session, I started to add a little challenge. While the dog was sniffing around and not looking at me, I tossed a little rock in the middle of the bush. This excited him a lot at first as he rushed to investigate, but then he grew bored pretty quickly when he discovered there was no prey. So he kept coming back to me as I was still in the game and far more interesting. After several rocks being tossed in the bush, he learned the bush was super boring and not worthy of attending to. Our next recalls were beautiful and the enthusiastic response made all the prior foundational work totally worthy. I would not train without treats for now, especially since he has not attained a level of training that warrants that yet. You need the treats for now, to confirm in his mind that great things happen when he comes to you to increase the bond and to make you interesting and worthy paying attention to. Recall is the most important cue dogs need to learn and we can't get stingy on this one since it can be a life saver one day. You may not want to show the treats in plain view (unless you are at the very initial stages of training), but hide them in your hand or pocket (or treat bag if you use one) and reward him lavishly for coming when called. Work in areas with little distractions and build up gradually. At home, you may find that kibble works fine, out in the yard, you may have to use higher-value treats, when he ignores a distraction, make sure you pay him high in doggy currency giving him several treats in a row so to leave a strong impact. Use a long-line in outdoor areas to keep him focused on you and less likely to ignore and take off. You can use the line to help your dog make good choices. You may find this read helpful. Notice how it says" Once your dog’s behavior has a high history of continuous reinforcement and your dog performs the behavior fluently at least 80 percent of the time, even around distractions (this may take 1-2 months), then it’s time to move to a variable schedule. It’s important to not move from continuous to variable too quickly as that’s often when behaviors start breaking down. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-listens-treats/

2) Ignoring us when called or trying to get his attention. This seems to be an ongoing problem also. There may be several reasons why this may take place. Here is a troubleshooting guide: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/ignoring-commands/ Often, a common reason for this is too many distractions and advancing into training too fast asking the dog to perform behaviors in a setting he is not yet ready for. Here is a little exercise: note down the times the dog hasn't paid attention and find what instead grabbed his attention. Then work on making yourself more interesting with whatever grabbed his attention. I will post in the next post an exercise I did with an issue I had with a dog ignoring me during recalls.

Hello WilliamKey, Welcome to the forums. As you may know already, border collies are wonderful dogs, but they need loads of exercise, training and mental stimulation. These dogs were bred to work very, very hard and they may take a compulsive edge to their favorite activities, and this may include as well activities that we may not be very fond off (barking at the doorbell, pacing herding bikes, cars etc). In order to help these dogs make good choices we must show them through absolute consistency alternate activities to engage in and make them far more rewarding. Here are some tips: 1) The issue of barking at everything outside. For this, you need to prevent rehearsal of the behavior when you are not home. If your dog is allowed to bark at stimuli when you are out and not bark when you are at home (when you work on distracting him, when you can), the behavior is put on a variable schedule and this means it will persist and become difficult to eradicate. There are several options to prevent rehearsal when you are not home or when you are home but can't train him. One of them is placing window film on the windows so to make stimuli less salient. This may help in some cases to take the "edge off", although some dogs still bark due to noises or shadows. Another option is to simply keep him away from the window area. This is the best options as dogs who are left alone often bark from insecurity or boredom (they find their own "job"). Less exposure to this "hot spot" often translates in a reduction of barking (out of sight, out of mind). Installing a baby gate to prevent access is an option or there are other means such as placing bulky items to block off access to the windows, at least until being trained to react less. Then, when you are home and have time to train, you can allow him in the area, but you must keep him leashed and at a distance from the windows at first, so he doesn't have the choice to rush to the windows as he always has done. I am not sure if you tried working on "Look at That," it's a brain game meant to train dogs to react less to stimuli. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/ You may also try training a "leave it" or "off" cue to remind your dog to stay away from the window area. With some dogs, I have found that placing myself in front of the windows, helps block them and remind the dog that the window area is off limits, at least until they learn to be less reactive. Caution though is needed. Some dogs are so aroused at triggers, that if you happen to touch them or interfere with their barking, they may snap or even bite. Having a professional help is always advised for safety and correct behavior modification implementation. Here is the section on how to train "leave it." You may have to start training it with easy exercises like leaving an item on the floor, before progressing to leaving windows as there is a likely a very strong rehearsal history in approaching windows and barking at triggers. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/ You can read more about a program to tackle "territorial barking" in this page, scroll down to the bottom where it says "Territoriality: Managing Behavior in Indoor Dogs." https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/behavior-training/barking/other-triggers/ If your dog isn't responsive to you when he's so focused on windows, that is often a sign that he is over threshold. Creating more distance often helps. You can read about threshold levels here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ Changing this type of behavior takes time (there's no quick fix), as the more the dog has practiced it in the past, the more it has established. It requires consistency and also tackling other aspects of the dog's life such as keeping them busy with brain games, lowering their anxiety if they are insecure, and giving them alternate "chores" to keep those working brains busy. With providing more exercise and mental stimulation, preventing access to windows when not being actively trained (so to preventing rehearsal), training a solid "leave it" or "off" and training alternative behaviors (redirect to look at you, then perhaps progress to having him perform a few obedience exercises) and making these extra reinforcing (use high-value treats), the barking behavior targeted at the windows should reduce over time. I will be tackling the other issues in the next few posts...

It is difficult to exactly pinpoint the underlying cause for your mom's Chihuahua recent behavior changes. We can only make assumptions. Resource guarding the bed or couch is usually a form of location guarding, that is, it takes place contextually when the dog is in these locations. The aggressive display occurs therefore in these exact contexts ( being on the bed, being on the couch). The fact she's also reactive when you walk in the room may be suggestive of fear-based behaviors that have generalized to several locations or you may be perhaps dealing with multiple forms of different behavior challenges. Worthy of investigating is whether there have been any recent changes in this dog's life. New place? New noises? Stress triggers? Anything different? New pets? Have you been bringing Blue over mom's house? Sometimes other dogs wreck havoc to a dog's established life even if just limited to brief visits. How long has mom been allowing her on the bed/couch? A veterinary visit may be in order if these behavior changes are recent and she never used to this way before and there are no potential causes/changes to explain the behavior.

What dogs would I not feel comfortable with them sleeping on the bed? --Dogs who are pushy. Pushy dogs aren't "dominant" dogs, they just happen to be dogs whose behaviors have been (often inadvertently!) reinforced by their owners and have gotten out of hand. These dogs are quick to learn to bark, nudge hands, engage in pawing behaviors and get into peoples' faces for just a little bit of attention. It's easy for these dogs to therefore jump on the bed and engage in pushy behaviors. These dogs need to simply learn better manners and to respect a "that's enough" cue before allowing them the privilege of being invited on the bed and doling them out oodles of attention. -Dogs who tend to resource guard beds and couches or who resource guard a particular person who is sleeping in bed (there are plenty of stories of dogs who won't allow a spouse to sleep in their beds because these dogs are protective of a particular person.) These dogs therefore bark, growl and show their pearly whites when they are laying on the bed or couch. These are distance-increasing behaviors meant to send the person away. But why do these dogs not want people or other dogs near the couch or bed? Most likely things go along the these lines. Dogs and humans are in a vulnerable situation during sleep. A sleeping place is ultimately a place where people and animals go to when they are in need of restorative sleep. Sleep plays a vital role in health and wellbeing and, therefore, these places are valuable and should be as stress- free as possible. Dogs who are protective of sleeping areas are not wanting to be "alpha," but are simply dogs who are not comfortable and have trust issues with certain people coming near them when they are in place where they feel safe. These dogs often need to learn to trust and relax when around the people they are guarding against. -Another category of dogs who shouldn't be allowed on beds are some dogs that may not resource guard the bed per se', but may turn snappy when they are touched or pushed off the bed (or any other surface) for various reasons (they are touch intolerant or are reactive when startled during sleep or just prior to sleep). Cases as such require an “off the bed” policy until the bed or couch guarding behavior can be modified (if feasible) with the help of a dog behavior professional using humane behavior modification techniques. Seeking the aid of a professional is important for correct implementation of behavior modification also considering that, when working with dogs with behavior problems, there are substantial risks of getting bitten. -Also, as a general rule of thumb, I also don't encourage owners of dogs who have separation anxiety or who may appear to be close to developing a dysfunctional attachment, to have their dogs share the bed with them. The reason is simple: we want these dogs to develop as much independence as possible.