Further to my previous posts about wolves and their relevance to dog training, have a look at:
In future when someone asks me about my job, I’m going to say ‘I help to interrupt the cycle of violence that develops when animals are abused” – or something to that effect – if you can suggest a shorter, catchier phrase, please let me know!
We all know that violence begets violence, in families, in society.
But just recently I’ve been 
reminded that humans using violence against animals can lead to violence against fellow humans. I’ve been reading Training the Best Dog Ever by the late Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz and she quotes some alarming observations for the USA, and I’m sure the same can be said for other countries: American Humane (the organization that issues the ‘No Animals were Harmed’ disclaimer for movies and TV shows) reports that violent criminals were significantly more likely than nonviolent offenders to have “committed childhood acts of cruelty toward pets” and that abuse against animals occurs in an overwhelming majority of households where there is documented child abuse and neglect.
Sylvia-Stasiewicz makes the point that by using positive reinforcement methods to train our pets, we lay the foundation for peaceful interaction between humans. Children who see animals abused by adults learn that that is the way we deal with behaviour or situations we don’t like. Abuse, as we know, is often subtle and not necessarily overtly violent. It can be while a dog is being trained or just the random acts of unspeakable violence seen every day by animal welfare organizations the world over.
Children who learn to treat their pets with respect and consistency absorb a way of interacting that will stand them in good stead as adults. It’s not a quantum leap to make the conclusion as the author does: “…positive dog training strengthens our families and communities.”
Sometimes when I say I’m a dog trainer, or run a puppy school, friends and new acquaintances smile and imply it’s a ‘sweet’ thing to do, ‘how cute’, and I could let it make me feel that my job is not an important one compared to some. But knowing the link between animal violence and human violence and that at Rose’s Puppy School we train with positive reinforcement, respect and love and how that feeds into a stable society I’ll stand a little taller and know my job matters!
I’ve just watched this happy dog show with a broad smile on my face. No matter what your opinion on dogs doing ‘tricks’ it’s clear these dogs are having a ball.
Key things I noticed:
Don’t underestimate what your dog can learn with the right attitude and patience on your part, plus a little imagination and a whole lot of time!
Why does it matter if dogs aren’t really wolves in doggie clothing?
There was a subtle shift in my mind set when I began to take this on board a couple of years ago. What we think tends to inform our actions. So if I think my dog is really wolf, and wolves have such a bad rep, then I need to be on top of keeping my ‘wolf’ in check. So even though I love my dogs, I have to be a disciplinarian and strong authority figure. I cannot let my guard slip (especially with large German Shepherds who are way too smart!) and need to sit on any ‘signs’ of rebellion.
But once I understood that the information is flawed (see previous blog “Wolf?”), I did quite a bit of thinking over time about how that would change my relationship with my own dogs and how I would advise owners of the cute little pups who come to Rose’s Puppy School. It was important that my thinking led to responsible advice handed out to trusting humans. The wrong advice could lead to injury and heartbreak further down the line.
So yes, dogs need guidance and leadership from their humans, but they don’t need punishment. Behaviours we find unacceptable can be interrupted and made unsuccessful consistently for a puppy so that that behaviour falls off the possible options the dogs has to pick from in a given situation. Instead we can substitute behaviours that are more acceptable that we reinforce over and over until that option is the dog’s first choice.
I love hearing from owners about how the puppy is learning not to jump because they have made jumping boring by ignoring the bouncing baby and teaching them to sit and greet a hand instead.
A problem owners often come up against is when their otherwise loving pet decides that couches are made for him, and growls because they try and turf him off. He’s not actually telling them that he’s the boss and a higher ranking animal. He’s just saying he likes that spot and isn’t willing to share or move. You’ll need to entice him off the couch and onto his own bed (lots of yummy treats or a delicious stuffed hoof will make that change a much better option) – do NOT punish him for being on the couch or growling – that could rouse his resource guarding instinct and lead to an argument you may not win. For a while restrict access to the couch when you are not there to remind him he has his own bed. Keep reinforcing the correct sleeping spot and cue ‘on your bed’, ‘go settle’.
Jumping and sleeping quarters are just 2 of many areas of possible confusion when bringing up this different species. The more you read and listen and work with your dog, the more you’ll understand and learn about how to adapt her canine instincts to your human expectations.
So what’s the story with dogs and wolves? We hear here there and everywhere that wolves live in a hierarchical society using strength and aggression to secure a higher place in the pack; that they are led by an alpha male and female that exert their authority by means of dominant displays. We have also been told that dogs are closely related to wolves and therefore use the same social structure and that if we want to live with a dog we need to understand how to be the alpha somebody or other.
This is the theory that I’ve ‘grown up’ in the dog world hearing and to be honest using, without questioning it. But one aspect that has always disturbed me with this model is that talking ‘dominance’ gives some humans the idea that they can use physical force to get their dogs to listen, often going too far in their anger with a ‘disobedient’ animal. Once I learned about positive reinforcement and clicker training I was thrilled to have tools to work with my beloved GSDs without force, and from then on I did all I could to spread the word. Ever since I started Rose’s Puppy School in 1998 I’ve preached PR as the way to go.
The next ‘aha’ understanding came when I read ‘Dogs’ by Ray Coppinger and attended a seminar he gave in Cape Town. Here we learned about the differences between dogs and wolves and that the pack theory had been shown to be incorrect in the light of more recent research. Yeah for DNA!
So point no 1 is that wolves are dogs closest living relatives. However, point 2, dogs are not descended from wolves – rather modern wolves and dogs share a common ancestry that diverged 10 000+ years ago into 2 separate species.
Point 3: The wolves that were studied in the past were North American Timber wolves (less closely related to dogs than European wolves) in captivity. Unrelated, in confined spaces, leaderless, competing for food, space, and mating privileges. This is very different to the wolf in its natural habitat, now shown to live in family groups, usually mom, dad and the kids. In other words, a family. Successful families live co-operatively, with parents as leaders but the kids have roles to play too, especially the teenagers who help with the younger cubs. Observers say that there is little overt aggression in the wolf family groups, that is reserved for intruders. Not pussy cats no, but also not the dominance driven animal usually portrayed.
So wrong assumptions, wrong wolves, wrong situations have led us up the garden path and only in the last 10 years or so have biologists and scientists come to a better understanding through observation of wild wolves and DNA research. This is a very simplified version but if you’re interested, check out John Bradshaw’s’ In Defence of Dogs’ and Coppinger’s ‘Dogs’. I’m sure we’ll learn more in the years to come.
I haven’t even begun on the differences between dogs and wolves, but for now, using the wolf as a possible model: your dog needs you to be his ‘leader’ but not his boss, he needs your authority wielded with love, not aggression or dominance. You’re not the alpha, you’re the parent (if I can use that word without being accused of anthropomorphism). Science has shown that dogs are not trying to take over your world, they just keep doing what works for them and it’s up to us to mold their behaviour to fit into our world successfully.
Ray Coppinger : Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behaviour and Evolution
John Bradshaw: In Defence of Dogs (apparently now in paperback as “Dog Sense”)
Jean Donaldson: Culture Clash and Dogs are from Neptune
Pat Miller: Power of Positive Dog Training
Karin Pryor: Don’t Shoot the Dog 1985
Wolf?Lately I’ve been thinking about how to help people achieve relaxed, enjoyable walks with their dogs, using my years of experience walking German Shepherds and Jack Russell Terriers.
It starts with a good place to walk, preferably off lead, although it can still be a great experience on lead. Off lead is where most guardians come unstuck, but if you can get it right, the pleasure of walking with your fast moving, free dogs is immense!
So here’s what happens with my dogs:
We go regularly to the park – a wonderful, huge space ringed by the Hottentots Holland Mountains, with sports fields and open grassed areas. A river chortles along one side, at this time of the year it is boiling and tumbling rather than chortling after all the rain. There are lots of trees along the river so it’s a pleasure even in summer. Many locals run and cycle there, and of course it’s a dog walker’s paradise. There are busy times of the day when you can pass more than 50 people and their dogs, depending on which way you go. 
Sometimes we go to the beach at Strand. Here it can be more challenging for my big, energetic girls (GSDs) who cover so much ground quickly as the space is narrower with fewer options for changing direction and avoiding a possible problem. I am so proud of them when they meet and greet and politely choose not to respond to silly little yappers, or jumpy youngsters. They keep an eye on me and all I need to do is keep moving and maybe quietly call them away to have them break away and come after me. Shepherd bitches are not known for their patience so I am aware of their tolerance limits. Uschi usually chooses to not engage, but if she does she’s polite and disinterested. If she’s carrying a toy she’ll warn with a growl but never anything more. She’s a balanced dog with a happy temperament. Her daughter Minka is more reactive and much more interested in interacting with other dogs, but not keen on playing anymore. If a game starts I have to watch her that she doesn’t switch from ‘play’ to ‘prey’. Rather bossy, in typical insecure child fashion.
We’ve had 3 Jack Russells over the years and it’s been just as much fun with them, despite their terrier tendencies to prefer going down a mole hill to keeping up with me! Sometimes it was my 2 GSDS, Pepsi our JR and my dad’s JR Minchie too – 4 bitches all walking very happily together. Sadly we had to put Pepsi (see photo in post Reflections 27/12/11) and Minchie to sleep in May so now it’s just the big girls.
I’ll unpack my tips on achieving a happy walk in the next post.
Clients often ask me how they can help their new puppies get on with their cat. I feel a little inadequate to answer this as it seems like we’ve had both forever and whichever is the newest beast just slots into the family. But of course it’s not really quite so easy. A few ideas: If the puppy is new, I’d introduce it with lots of treats and clicker handy. Puppy needs to be restrained, but perhaps begin by allowing it to sniff back of cat and visa versa. Some people recommend putting the cat in a cage/crate and allowing dog to sniff and both to get used to being in the same room without the excitement level going up too much. Any time the pup looks like he’s about to get too focused or start chasing, I’d interrupt and distract him back to me, click and treat. Calm is everything!
The photo above is Uschi mothering and playing – really playing, bouncing around and paws patting – with a little kitten we fostered a while back. The kitten was awesome, quite unafraid, walked all over the dogs, loved being washed and actually initiated play with the enormous Shepherds. I am MAD about my GSDs with kittens. Being a vet’s house we often foster tiny kittens and the GSDs have never given us a second’s worry with them. I get quite choked up watching the inter species interaction and how each use’s it’s species calming signals and greeting rituals and somehow they understand each other. This kitten should’ve stayed in this house, it was divine! Lucky new owners.
Been away from my blog for ages, can’t believe it’s May already. It’s been a little quiet for puppies the last few weeks – always happens around this time of year. Just wish it’d happen during winter so then I’d have less worrying about the weather. We usually go on holiday May-June, it goes quiet for pups about April so when I’m available for class there are no pups, then they all start phoning a few weeks before we go away, so I can’t help them as there’s not enough time. Old Murphy has fun getting it all wrong! Sad to not be able to help owners and pups, sad to say goodbye to money!
This is Boris, just one of 4 Boerboels in class lately. Such a super firm character, going to be huge! Good luck Elle, Lynda and Helmien with your future giants.
As member of Good Hope GSD Federation Club, I’ve had my arm twisted to present a seminar. As I’ve been reading and learning more and more about how dogs are and are not related to wolves, I’ve decided to talk about that for the first part of the seminar. It’s important for trainers and owners to realize how our understanding of our dogs is affected by what we understand about wolves and the history of dogs. The second part of the seminar will be related to puppy development, urgent things puppies need to learn, myths around dog training, and a bit about adolescent dogs. It’s the first time I’ve made a power point presentation, so I’m hoping it’ll turn out well. I’ve been enjoying the challenge anyway.
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