 Hello John,
I have a situation with my new 7 week old miniature poodle. I am introducing her to a crate and I want to be able to put her in her crate at any given moment whether it be for a “time out” or if we are too busy to watch over her during her inquisitive puppy stages and safety concerns. I want her to feel like that is her place. Can I use her crate/house for corrective behaviour while keeping it as her haven?
K.L. - Sooke, BC
Dear, K.L.
It's a shame that dog owners have to introduce their puppies to crates. It's a late start. Dog breeders are supposed to get the ball rolling. It's way easier on the puppy. Why they fail to do this is beyond me. It's a great gift to both the puppy and the new owner and all they have to do is leave a small crate in the whelping area as pups will naturally migrate to it sooner or later. It is simple enough for a breeder to move them there for sleeping and feeding. Unfortunately very few breeders help their pups out with this and so the pup's first exposure to the crate is when they're taken away from everything familiar, which unfortunately coincides with the imprint portion of their lives.
I'm a big believer that a crate should be an integral part of a dog's entire life. It it's done correctly and used consistently right up to adulthood which for the average dog is around 2 years of age it should have achieved “haven” status. Still, I keep it around life long as you never know when illness or injury might require veterinary prescribed “crate rest.” It's been my experience that this happens in pretty much every dog's life sooner or later and it's less stressful if the crate has been a life long constant.
The idea of a “time out” as a corrective strategy is questionable and sometimes even silly. I believe in nature's template and if it doesn't happen in nature I always scrutinize the concept. Too many dog trainers try to reinvent the wheel and for the most part I think the time out is an example. If a mother dog/wolf/ape etc. put a youngster in a “time out” when she came back to fetch the newly rehabilitated youngster she'd instead likely find, blood, bones and fur, as a predator would likely have taken advantage of the opportunity. Instead, what she does is correct the puppy each and every time it makes a mistake. She doesn't threaten with future consequence. She's the consequence and the consequence is swift and sure, firm but fair and mom dogs have a lot fewer problems with their pups then we do and somehow they grow up with their self-esteem intact.
At most, I like the time out concept from the perspective giving the dog owner a chance to figure out where things went wrong before they make a bad situation worse. As far as using it to correct your dog's behaviour, no. You correct her behaviour and pop her in there when you need a break. Just tell her, “Mommy needs a little time out to herself. You play with this toy and she'll come get you when it's safe.”
-John Wade (www.dogtrainingwithjohnwade.com) |
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 Dear John,
You recently gave advice to a Chesapeake Bay Retriever owner when she wrote about rough play with another dog and concern over how a little child would push things too far. I found it really disappointing. You perpetuated a stereotype of Chesapeakes being "vicious dogs" and ultimately said "give the thing away". Not train the dog, socialize the dog, be the pack leader and teach the child to be respectful. You said "give it away"
Regardless of breed, any dog can make a great pet ... but the owner does have to take time to do so.
-Ben
Dear Ben,
The column was about a Chesapeake Bay Retriever that on more then one occasion “rough played” the Schnauzer into stitches.
I often hear that "Regardless of breed, any dog can make a great pet ... but the owner does have to take time to do so." When people say this to me they generally have known well 3 or 4 dogs in their lives. Without reservation I know that this is patently untrue and is insulting and hurtful to the people that have been faced with such a horrifying proposition. To start with many dogs are so poorly bred in a world where knowing the difference between a male and a female dog is all it takes to be a breeder. I have met countless dogs victimized physically and mentally by this cavalier approach to breeding and by victimized I mean put down.
Many breeders, dog trainers and owners like yourself mistakenly believe that a dog can be "socialized" out of behaviour like this. Significant socialization impact has been proven to exist up until 12 weeks give or take a couple weeks. This was an adult dog. If a dog's behavior is as a result of what went on or didn't go on during this period, nothing, absolutely nothing can make the dog "like" what it fears. They might with the right handler, training and environment be taught to exert better self control but not always. Even were it possible, not every owner has the skill set to address the severity of some problems. It's the belief like yours that results in one out of two children being bitten by a dog before the age of twelve and get dogs like the poor Schnauzer killed.
I did not say Chessies were "vicious dogs" Their reputation or stereotype as you call it exists because of people that believe "Regardless of breed, any dog can make a great pet..." and lead other people to believe such naivety and purchase one expecting that they are the same a lab only to find out they are not.
If the owner was unable to handle this dog, it seemed likely that the other would have to live in fear of serious further injury - or worse, and instead of a "giving it away", someone would be giving it a needle.
Pawsitively Yours
John Wade
www.johnwade.ca |
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Hi John, A couple of months ago I adopted a 14 month old dog from a shelter. She is extremely timid. I have a great relationship with her, she is loving and friendly. She is still very scared on walks. Our main concern is in spite of my husband being a very quiet, gentle man, whenever he enters the house she barks and growls. If he sits in the living room with us she hides or paces. If he uncrosses his legs she panics and runs away. She refuses treats from him, won’t pass a chair he is sitting in BUT she will get up on the bed and lie down beside him and lick his hand when he pets her? I went to your website and downloaded your articles they are super but she needs extra help.
M.V. - Texas Dear M.V. One might assume she's had a bad experience with a man and therefore all men are bad. I have a similar affect on women. One date usually does it. However, sometimes they've just not had any experience being around men. I suspect that it is more the latter as her skittishness overall indicates this may be more of a socialization problem. Men move differently, sound differently and generally just act differently and the more sensitive of dogs can be a little skittish if they weren't exposed a lot before they were 12 weeks of age. I've no doubt you can help her with your husband but each new man could be a challenge so for the dog's sake you and your husband will always have to stay married. She has to gradually face her fear or she's either not going to get better or it will take forever and this can't be easy on her nervous system. You can pick up the pace with a few tactics that I'm sure she'll be able to handle. First look at this from her perspective. “Better safe then sorry, so run for it.” In her mind she survives the encounter because she runs for it. You may have met single men that embrace a similar philosophy. What your husband has to do is interrupt her instinct/habit to flee so she has to process things differently. If nothing bad happens or better yet something good happens she'll come around. I did this a while ago with a wolf hybrid, same scenario and it worked wonderfully. The hybrid was the same, she seemed to want to interact with the man but got all spooky unless the conditions were just right. We popped a leash on her in the house, gave the handle to the man and when she tried to high tail it she came to a stop and lo and behold her world didn't come to an end. He didn't do anything else, just held the leash, didn't look at her, didn't speak to her, just kept her from running. Once her body relaxed a smidgen he spoke gently to her and at first fearing the worst she tensed up again. If you think there are going to be Olympic quality acrobatics if she feels trapped use a longer leash. Better yet, use a 30' leash but only outside for the first while. He can clip it to his belt while he's checking fences or crops. Once she's gaining confidence he can move to shorter lengths. The key is that the leash is ALWAYS on. He has to be consistent. It's a bit of a pain but the return on investment makes it worth while. You can test her progress by tossing irresistible treats her way. As you've learned highly stressed dogs simply can't eat. I'm not saying stop if she won't eat just go slower with more distance. When she starts to eat them regularly for a few days in the context he has set up he can use a shorter line, and so on. Pawsitively Yours John Wade |
 Dear John,
Do dogs dream? Should a dog be woken up if he is dreaming? Our 18 month old black Labrador Retriever, dreams and makes a lot of noise, (not growling though) and his legs are often going a mile a minute. What should one do? - let him enjoy his dream, or wake him up? A person often wonders what they are dreaming about and we joke that this high energy dog is chasing rabbits in his dreams.
Thanks Joyce
Dear Joyce,
I used to mess with Elmo my Jack Russell Terrier when it looked like he was having a great dream. He was neutered so I figured it had to be about food so I'd carefully place a cookie where he lay so when he woke he'd think there was e “Treat Fairy” that he summoned in his dreams. I got the idea from Timmy our cat who used a slight variation. Whenever he detected Elmo having a bad dream he'd place himself face to face with Elmo so that the first thing Elmo would see after Timmy unceremoniously whacked him in the head to startle him awake was Timmy's gaping maw.
Through the use of electroencephalogram (EEG) on sleeping dogs it appears that if the similarity between readings found in dreaming humans is any evidence then yes they do dream. Like humans they enter a stage where they have rapid eye movements (REM) which is supposedly when dreaming takes place. They make all kinds of sounds, ranging from whimpering, growling, have jerky body movement, moaning, howling, very similar to the typical sleeping man.
As to whether you should “let a sleeping dog lay”, depends on the dog. I've never had a dog that woke up with a bad attitude but then again I've only ever had male dogs. Most dogs don't seem to have a problem with it and the reality is that getting woken up involuntarily is going to happen anyway so waking them suddenly and giving them a cookie isn't such a bad idea.
Pawsitively Yours,
John Wade
www.dogtrainingwithjohnwade.com
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 Hello Mr Wade,
I am writing to you to seek help with my 4 year old male German shepherd. From a pup he had aggressive tendencies. During the last 2yrs things have grown worse to the point of being dangerous. He now has to have a muzzle on or be put in another room when anyone comes to the door or he will attempt to bite. My boyfriend has 2 hounds, giving us a grand total of 4 dogs in the house which makes for a lot of chaos when anyone attempts to visit and now have a baby on the way. We have come to realize that we cannot handle these 4 dogs and in order to minimize the chaos our plan is to try and find a home for one of the hounds as he constantly barks and howls and is a "runner. Thanks Nancy B. |
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