Doggy DayCare – A how-to guide

https://positively.com/contributors/doggy-daycare-a-how-to-guide/
(Victoria Stilwell – “Positively”)

Doggy Daycare is one of the fastest growing businesses in the pet care industry. As human culture changes, so do the needs of pet owning consumers. Housing in much of America offers less opportunity for our dogs to have enriched lives within the confines of their own backyards than it has in the past. Yards are smaller and often our communities have neighborhood covenants that do not allow humane fencing. Owners have more pressure and expectation put on their time and proper exercise, training, and enrichment of man’s best friend often falls by the wayside of an increasingly demanding lifestyle.

Doggy Daycare can be a valuable solution for many dog owners. Not all dogs, however, are appropriate for daycare. Some dogs, just like some people, are more introverted in personality. These dogs would prefer to have their needs met by a private dog walker rather than a boisterous doggy daycare environment. Just because your faithful companion does not enjoy daycare does not mean there is something “wrong” with him or that anything needs to be fixed. It is just as acceptable for a dog to prefer the companionship of one or two close friends as it is for a dog to love the doggy daycare lifestyle. For a fantastic article on this particular subject, please follow this Link

I have been professionally involved in the pet care industry for 15 years and I’m a big fan of doggy daycare, so much so that when I decided to embark on opening a large dog training facility, I chose to include a daycare option for our clients. There are quite a few dog behavior experts who are not fans of doggy daycare and I completely respect that opinion. However, I contend that their issue is not with doggy daycare, their issue is with how some (maybe even most) doggy daycares are managed. Since doggy daycare is a completely unregulated field, meaning anyone with any background can open a doggy daycare with little or no experience or certification, the consumer must be vigilant to thoroughly interview the facility to determine if it is worthy of caring for your beloved pet. It should be our expectation that these facilities offer excellent, scientifically based, programs for our dogs – not just a place to “burn off energy.” How do we educate ourselves and other dog owners on selecting a doggy daycare? As I began to explore this question, I decided to do a google search of how to select a human daycare center and then do a google search how to select a dog daycare center.

A quick Google search of how to select a human childcare center brought many pages of advice. Here are a few of the most common items listed to consider by child development experts:

1. Adult to Child Ratio

2. Group Size

3. Caregiver Qualifications

4. Accreditation

5. View the facility from a child’s perspective

6. Ask about undesirable behavior management policies (aka discipline)

7. Everyday education and developmental stimulation

8. Caregiver’s ability to communicate with, and act on, child’s communication

9. Consistent schedule of daily activities and development

10. Keeping with your philosophy of child rearing and care

Let’s compare that to the quick Google search of how to select a dog daycare center:

1. Cleanliness

2. Small dogs and large dogs separate

3. Temperament Evaluations

4. Loving Staff

5. Safety

That’s it. With few exceptions, that’s the criteria in article after article. I feel like this is such a disservice to our dogs. They are our companions, our feeling, thinking, and dynamic dogs that do life with us. I fully understand that children and dogs are not the same, but there are similarities in needs for a fulfilled and thriving life. I would like to see our list of childcare and our list for dog daycare look much more similar. I would like to see us, as a society, begin to think about the situations as meeting the same end goals. Dog daycare can no longer just be about “getting out energy.” It should be about so much more!

Let’s go though the list of how to select a childcare center and apply it to dog daycare centers:

1. Adult to dog ratio: According to many canine behavior experts the dog to adult ratio should be no more than 15:1. As with child care, smaller ratios are even better! (information is according to the ASPCA guidelines)

2. Group Size: There should never be more than 10-15 dogs to any individual group. Additionally, each dog should have 75-100 sqft of playspace for each dog in a group. That means that for a 15 dog play group, the facility should have no less than 1500sq ft just for that one group of dogs. Did you know that many dog daycares have so many dogs that each dog only spends fraction of the day outside of a cage? Make sure you ask how long your dog is actually in his play group each day and how long he is in a cage each day. (information is according to the ASPCA guidelines)

3. Caregiver Qualifications: Staff members at a dog daycare should be well educated on dog behavior, body language, Canine CPR, health, play style, and behavior management. They should have received training from a qualified, certified, professional in these areas. Ideally the facility will have a certified animal behavior specialist overseeing the staff and management of the dogs.

4. Accreditation: Unfortunately there is no inspection/qualification driven accreditation organization for non-veterinary dog care facilities. There are several “purchased” accreditations, but these do not require inspections in order to be approved, they simply require membership dues. The best option at this time is to look for a daycare center that has owners, managers, or staff members with individual accreditations and certifications in animal behavior and training.

5. View the facility from the dogs perspective: Is it safe? Is the fencing secure? Do the other dogs seem to be having a good time? Is the staff interactive? Are there plenty of places to rest? How long is the dog actually in their group each day? How long are they in a crate/cage each day?

6. Ask about undesirable behavior management policies: Discipline at many dog daycare facilities is shocking! Ask the facility what their policy is on discipline and then ask exactly how they enforce that policy. The facility should be positive reinforcement and force-free. The facility should NEVER use harsh corrections or the water hose to discipline dogs.

7. Education and developmental stimulation: Does the daycare offer a day-training program? What about dogs not in the training program but just the daycare program? What programs are in place to ensure your dog isn’t just spending the day being exercised physically but also mentally and emotionally?

8. Caregivers ability to communicate and act on the dogs’ communication: You should feel comfortable with the staff at your dog daycare. Staff education in dog behavior and body language is so important! Again, look for a facility with a certified dog behavior specialist overseeing staff education. All staff should be trained in the latest scientific findings in dog behavior and body language and should be well versed in the science of positive reinforcement.

9. Consistent schedule of activities and development: Your dog daycare should be able to give you an exact schedule for the pets in their care. There should be organized play, education, cleaning, feeding, etc. These schedules and policies should be easily and openly communicated by staff members to pet owners.

10. Keeping with your philosophy of dog rearing and care: It is so important to ask good questions. Dog daycare facilities should only employ positive reinforcement and force free tactics. Anything else is antiquated and scientifically proven to be harmful to your dog both physically and emotionally. It is so important to not just ask if it’s a positive reinforcement facility but to ask exactly what that means. How do they praise? For what? How exactly do they discipline and for what behaviors? Do they know why their reinforcement and disciplinary policies work? Can they explain them to you based on the latest scientific studies of animal behavior and cognition?

11. Temperament Evaluations: Every reputable doggy daycare should have a behaviorally sound temperament evaluation system. This is one of the largest weaknesses in many facilities. Ideally, this evaluation will take place over several hours so the dog is not rushed in his interactions or meetings with the existing dogs. A reputable doggy daycare facility should be able to tell you exactly how this evaluation takes place, why the person doing the evaluation is qualified to make an assessment, and what is and is not appropriate behavior throughout the evaluation. It is not enough to simply test a dog for aggression; it should be openly communicated to the dog owner if the dog is simply not having fun, overwhelmed, stressed, or unhappy. A reputable doggy daycare will let an owner know if daycare is not best suited for your dog simply based on the fact that your dog is stressed and not having fun, not simply for aggression.

Dog Daycare is a wonderful thing. I think it is an excellent solution for the cultural changes that are negatively affecting our family pets. However, we must begin to ask good questions and have higher expectations for the humans we are entrusting to care for our dogs. As you’re doing your research ask your local VSPDT for recommendations. If you are unsure whether you dog would enjoy daycare, contact your local VSPDT and ask them for an evaluation to help you decide if daycare would be a fun and enjoyable experience for your individual dog.

Additional Resources:

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/daycare-dogs

The importance of space!

https://positively.com/contributors/the-importance-of-space/
(Victoria Stilwell – “Positively”)

GIVE ME SOME SPACE, PLEASE!!!!!! Who among us hasn’t felt like this at some point in our lives? Well, here is a news flash: sometimes our canine friends could use a little space too. Owners don’t have to look far for examples of their pet wanting a bit more space. Many dogs take their “special” toy or treat and move further away to ensure they are at a “safe” distance before they can enjoy it. In multi dog households where fights have broken out, the fights very often happen in tight quarters (doorways, hallways, under the kitchen table). The tighter the space, the less options dogs have to get their point across. Many resort to snarling, snipping, and biting if they have no other options. Even hugging your dog can encroach on his comfort zone when it comes to his need for space.

The importance of proximity in a dog’s life is something that trainers and behaviorists are continuing to study. What we have determined is that a dog’s freedom to give or take space helps create a sense of safety for them. In almost all aspects of a dog’s life, the use of space is the difference between success and failure, conflict and resolution, stress free situations and stressful situations. The good news is that owners who grasp this concept can use it to their advantage! The appropriate use of space is one of the easiest and most underused tools available.

A prime example of this is when dealing with dog/dog introductions. Most owners are aware that it wise to keep a loose leash when their dog is meeting another dog. Ever wonder why? A tight leash restricts a dog’s options when meeting another dog. If the leashes stay tight, then the choice to give or take space is not there. By keeping leashes loose it lets each dog circle, sniff, play bow, ignore, or walk away from another dog. Without that choice, communication between dogs is limited. Without the ability to communicate properly, stress or frustration builds and that often leads to growling, snapping, or biting. Imagine trying to let someone know that they are standing too close and making you uncomfortable. If they don’t (or can’t) move back and you can’t move back, it can get pretty stressful. I might find myself a bit snappy after awhile!

Nowhere is having a safe sense of space more important than when working with reactive dogs. Finding enough distance is the number one tool used with these dogs. In all of my reactive cases, the first meeting has everything to do with proximity. The first question is “At what distance can the owner’s dog handle seeing the trigger without reacting?” Once we find the correct distance, we have a starting point in which everything else is built.

Providing enough space during any type of training is key in helping your dog succeed. I was observing a basic training class at a local pet store last week. Four out of the five dogs in the class were able to “sit” when requested. The fifth dog was too distracted by the other dogs to focus on anything, much less “sit” when asked. Watching from behind the lines, I saw the inevitable happen as both trainer and owner began to get more and more frustrated. They finally began pushing on the dog’s hind quarters, jerking his collar and hovering over him yelling the cue “Sit!”. This, in turn, stressed and frustrated the dog even more. Needless to say, there was not a lot of success during that exercise. By using available space to their advantage, things may have turned out differently. It would have been a good idea to move this dog further away from the distractions, get him to refocus and start again. Owners must practice at a distance where their dog is successful and build up to closer distractions over time. Being able to provide enough space is the first step to garnering improved focus from your dog in these distracting circumstances. Owners that are in class rooms that are not able to provide enough distance may find themselves a bit frustrated. Often, the difference of moving a dog 2-3 feet further away can lead to success! Teaching owners to creatively utilize space with their dogs can help them defuse many frustrating moments.

Proximity always matters to your dog. Training, meet and greets with people or with other dogs, parties, events, distractions….success with these has everything to do with distance. Using space to your advantage throughout your dog’s daily routine will help you keep your dog’s stress level low, set yourself up for successful training lessons and avoid unnecessary conflicts with other dogs! Now that is a tool we could all use!

In defense of harnesses!

https://positively.com/victorias-blog/in-defense-of-harnesses/
(Victoria Stilwell – “Positively”)

As dog owners, we are constantly bombarded with product after product recommended for walking our dogs. I cringe when I see dogs choking, coughing, and essentially strangling themselves on walks as a result of their collars. While prong and choke collars are the most obvious offenders, even a flat collar can be damaging to a dog’s neck if the dog hasn’t been properly taught to walk on a loose leash.

There are some very important reasons why you should consider using a no-pull harness for your dog. Here are just a few:

#1: TO PREVENT INJURIES
Just one incident of pulling or being jerked back on a collar can cause extensive injuries to a dog’s neck, including a crushed trachea or a fractured vertebrae. Even in more minor cases, the dog can still experience bruising and headaches. One study showed that over 90 percent of dogs in the study that presented with neck injuries were subjected to an owner that pulled or jerked on the lead. Other potential health issues include:

Hypothyroidism that can be caused from trauma to the thyroid gland at the base of the neck
Ear and eyes issues can be a result of extensive pressure on the neck
Behavior problems caused by pain or other physical injuries from the use of a collar. Because dogs cannot tell us about their pain and it is sometimes hard to tell if a dog is suffering, people often punish a negative reaction without realizing that the reaction has been caused because the dog is in pain.
#2: TO TEACH YOUR DOG NOT TO PULL
Dogs are highly intelligent and responsive to our cues, but they don’t think and perceive the world in exactly the same way that people do. You can yank and jerk your dog around time after time, and yet he will still continue to pull on the leash. Why? Because you haven’t taught him the right behavior. Leash corrections only serve to suppress behavior in the moment, but they don’t actually teach a dog how you do want him to walk. Those types of corrections can also lead to anxiety and reactivity on leash. There’s simply no place for fear, pain, or intimidation when teaching a dog how to walk on a loose leash. A no-pull harness can be a great addition to a positive reinforcement-based training protocol for teaching your dog loose leash walking.

Learn how to teach your dog to walk on a loose leash indoors
Learn how to teach your dog to walk on a loose leash outdoors

#3: FOR YOUR DOG’S SAFETY
Even if your dog walks beautifully on leash and you don’t have an issue with pulling, you never know what could happen in the environment around you. If you need to get your dog immediately close to you, whether it’s because a fast-moving car is approaching or perhaps a stray dog is wandering towards you, a collar isn’t going to give you the same safe control and ability to manage your dog that a harness will.

Read more about harnesses vs. collars.

Reasons why it is preferable not to keep dogs as outdoor pets only

As a rescue organization, we do not recommend dogs being kept exclusively outdoors, i.e. with no access to the interior of the home. Here are some reasons why we do not feel it appropriate (of course, this does not apply to dogs who may be kenneled whilst outdoors, or under supervision, or those that are walked outside of the garden on leash regularly):

1. Dogs are wonderful companions and as such, we believe they should be as much a part of your family as possible – hence wishing them to be allowed inside the house too. If you feel that a dog could potentially cause too much destruction inside the home, then perhaps getting a dog is not the best thing to be considering.

2. Many people have dogs outdoors because they feel that this is more of a burglar-deterrent for example. However, in our experience, it creates more barking problems than if the dog was allowed inside and responded to someone entering the home without authorization. Keeping them outdoors only can cause more barking problems, and this in turn can create more issues with neighbors if your dog is repeatedly vocalising.

3. Many outdoor dogs develop other bad habits, because of lack of human interaction and basic boredom – digging, destruction/chewing of items within the garden, climbing fences (and consequent escaping or leaving the property to ‘investigate’), hyper-activity when around people etc.

4. Lack of socialisation with other dogs and people can lead to more aggressive tendencies when the dog does meet other dogs/people.

5. Dogs kept exclusively outdoors can develop some more health issues, for example external parasites and fly-bites to the ears and other parts of the body.
They can also develop obsessive behaviours, like tail-chasing, self-mutilation and others from lack of contact with others.

6. Dogs kept exclusively outdoors can become frustrated and develop door-dashing/gate-dashing behaviours – whilst the family may remember to keep gates and doors closed, people visiting the yard (e.g. meter-men, gardeners, repair men etc) may forget, and this gives another opportunity for the dog to potentially escape.

7. Without supervision or containment, dogs who are kept outdoors all the time could become subject to taunting by children/people from outside the fence, and they could also develop fence-fighting behaviors.

8. Whilst it may not be common, there is always the risk of dogs being stolen from gardens/yards.

This is only a sample list of our own personal reservations.

Common aging issues in dogs: nuclear sclerosis

http://www.vetinfo.com/nuclear-sclerosis-in-dogs.html

The appearance of nuclear sclerosis in dogs is usually a cause for alarm to many dog owners, as the condition is eerily similar to cataracts and even glaucoma. The largest difference, however, is that nuclear sclerosis does not affect a dog’s vision the way that cataracts do. While treatment is not typically necessary, it is important for owners of newly diagnosed nuclear sclerotic dogs to learn how best to care for their dog.

Nuclear Sclerosis Explained
The lens is the structure of the eye that takes in outside light and refracts it onto the retina, located in the back of the eye, for visual interpretation. The lens is not a static structure, but rather one that is constantly changing and adapting to its environment, where new layers are developed to fit over the lens. As the layers build, the retina shrinks in size to accommodate the new layers. The nucleus of the eye is defined as the center of the eye containing the oldest forms of layering. As time progresses, those layers harden and a bluish, cloudy appearance develops. The true cause of nuclear sclerosis tends to be the natural result of the aging process, as there does not appear to be any breed predilection or outside contributing factors linked to the development of this condition.

Signs and Symptoms
The largest identifying factor is the cloudy appearance of the lens. For this reason, it is commonly mistaken for and misdiagnosed as cataracts. Because the condition amazingly does not cause any visual disturbances until very late in life, it is extremely difficult to recognize. However, because nuclear sclerosis develops as a dog ages, it is something that dog owners should begin to observe for around the 6- to 8-year mark. Any of the following symptoms may indicate nuclear sclerosis:
Cloudy appearance of the lens of the eye
Difficulty determining distances and range as the dog ages

Making a Diagnosis
Nuclear sclerosis cannot be distinguished from cataracts by the naked eye, and so a veterinarian must use special instrumentation to examine the eye. The pupil will need to be fully dilated in order to clearly expose the lens and make an accurate determination. However, even the most qualified veterinarians can still misdiagnose the condition, so it may be necessary to visit a veterinary ophthalmologist for a more firm diagnosis.

Treatment and Care
There is no treatment available that can reverse the effects of nuclear sclerosis, but because the true effects of limited visibility to do not often appear until a very advanced age, there is theoretically no treatment even recommended for this condition.
Cataract treatment often warrants complete removal of the lens; however, because nuclear sclerosis does not actually destroy the lens, there is no need for removal. This is another reason that an informed, qualified diagnosis should always be made prior to any treatment plans.
If a dog does begin to experience visual difficulties as he ages, the best method of treatment is good home care. Be sure not to change the dog’s environment overmuch so that he can still use his other senses to determine where he is and to lead his way.

Canine emotions

http://positively.com/dog-training/understanding-dogs/canine-emotion/#HowToRaiseAnEmotionallyBalancedDog

(Victoria Stilwell – Positively)

There is much debate on whether a dog’s experience of emotion is similar to that of a human’s or if a dog’s behavior is simply influenced by an inner drive to survive. While we cannot claim to have all the answers yet, science is helping increase our understanding of how the dog’s brain works, producing fascinating insight into the dog’s emotional world.
There are many people who think that while dogs might be emotional beings, their emotional experience is negligible and anthropomorphizing intent or trying to explain emotion in human terms, leads us to misinterpret what a dog is truly feeling. Ask any dog owner, however, if their dog has emotions and the answer is almost always an emphatic ‘yes!’ Just what those feelings might be is impossible to know completely, but scientific and observational study is bringing us a deeper understanding of what is going on in the dog’s mind.

Emotions and Behavior
It is an undisputed fact that emotions drive behavior, moving the dog towards comfort and pleasure, or away from discomfort and pain. Behavior is influenced by physiological processes including the activity of neurotransmitters and hormones. Neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, transmit chemical messages in the brains and bodies of dogs and humans and as a result both have the same physiological reactions to behavioral states such as joy, fear, excitement and pain.
Serotonin, for example, has a profound affect over emotions and is responsible for regulating mood, enhancing a positive feeling and inhibiting aggressive response. Dopamine helps to focus attention, promoting feelings of satisfaction. A lack of these neurotransmitters causes irritability, limited impulse control, over reactivity, anxiety and greater sensitivity to pain.
While the physical reaction is similar in both species, the way emotions are processed in the brain could potentially be where the emotional experience of the two species differ. Because human emotions flood through a cortex that is five times bigger than that of a dog (the cerebral cortex is the area of the brain responsible for social inhibition, impulse control, problem solving, thinking and learning), it might mean that while a dog still has impressive cognitive abilities, processing emotion is simpler, unadulterated by a humans’ ability to analyze. Simply put, when a dog emotes, the feeling is very pure and not complicated by complex human thought.

Emotion and the Senses
A dog’s nose dominates his brain; in fact the part of the brain dedicated to scent is forty times greater in a dog than in a human. The dog’s brain is literally built around the information it gets from scent and as smell is so closely linked to emotions, this provides even more evidence that the dog’s emotional experience might be even greater than we could ever imagine.
Have you ever smelt something that evoked a memory? When a dog or human inhales, scent molecules stimulate chemical messages that bypass other areas of the brain and go straight to the amygdala, the brain’s emotional center. The amygdala passes emotional judgments to other structures that collate memories and these are passed onto the cortex. Emotionally appropriate hormones are then released into the body, which also affect mood. Because a dog’s dominant sense is smell and so much of the brain is dedicated to processing scent, this is again strong evidence that dogs could be even more driven by their emotions than humans.

The Food/Brain Relationship
This knowledge provides us with crucial information not just on how the brain works, but how we can use the knowledge to help dogs learn and modify behavioral states such as anxiety and fear. Stimulating a dog’s sense of smell with food, for example, not only motivates a dog to learn, but is a valuable tool in changing the way the brain works.
Some people think that using food as a reward is tantamount to bribery but what they do not understand is just how powerful food is, not just as a motivator, but because food is incompatible with fear.
When a dog is fearful, a number of changes happen in the body. The heart beats faster, blood pressure rises and blood flow is diverted to muscles that prepare for fight or flight. If food is presented before the dog reaches a high level of stress, a positive emotional response can occur in the presentation or anticipation of the food.
There are circuits in the dog’s brain that encourage seeking or hunting behavior and circuits that elicit the fear response. When you turn on a dog’s seeker system, by presenting him with a tasty treat or a toy filled with food, and encourage him to play a game in the presence of something he fears, this activity will turn on his seeker system and shut off his fear. This is one reason why activities such as scent work is so valuable for fearful dogs. In a word, turning on the thinking brain deactivates the emotional brain, enhancing a dog’s attention with positive motivation and allowing him to move into a calmer state where learning can take place.

The Effect of Punitive Training on Emotion
Dogs that are trained with compulsion and force, i.e. trained to behave through fear or pain, suffer higher stress and anxiety than those trained using positive reward methods. Studies have shown that when a dog is punished by being pinned down on his back or side in an ‘alpha roll’ for example, cortisol is released into the body during restraint. Cortisol is a stress hormone produced by an activated amygdala and readies the body for danger. When high levels of cortisol are released, the brain is overwhelmed and this resulting state interferes with rational thought. A person might think their dog is submitting or becoming calm while he is being held down, when in fact the opposite is happening.
Stress from threat causes the dog to ‘shut down,’ effectively freezing him until the threat goes away. In this state of anxiety the dog ceases to learn and becomes more insecure, frightened and/or angry. If he cannot practice avoidance, the only other option left is to bite, which is why so many trainers and owners who use this method of punishment are bitten. Most dogs will get up and shake themselves after experiencing an ‘alpha roll’. This is known as the ‘shake off’, which is an effective way of relieving stress after a negative experience.

Can Dogs Feel Jealous?
If dogs have similar emotional responses to humans, does that mean that they can also feel a complex emotion such as jealousy? Dr. Nicholas Dodman, Director of the Animal Behavior Department of Clinical Sciences at Tufts University in Boston, believes they can. According to Dr. Dodman, jealousy can be defined as “Intolerance of rivalry; apprehension regarding the loss of another’s exclusive devotion; distrustful watchfulness; vigilance in guarding a possession.”
Guarding resources and space, monopolizing an owner’s attention and fighting with ‘siblings’ is all too common in a multi-dog household. “Why should we get inventive searching for other explanations for the behavior when the obvious one is right in front of us,” says Dodman. As the saying goes, if something looks like a duck, waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is probably is a duck. Sometimes the simplest explanations make the most sense!

Can Dogs Feel Guilty?
People are often convinced that their dogs feel guilty after they have done something wrong. To feel “guilt,” however, an individual must have not only a sense of self but also an understanding of how his or her behavior has affected others in the past and how it will affect others in the future. We are brought up in a culture that teaches us to consciously feel guilty, shameful, or embarrassed for things we have done – whereas although dogs do have a degree of consciousness and are aware of the immediate consequences of their actions, it is still not known if they are truly aware of how their behavior affects others. Because a dog’s cerebral cortex (thinking brain) is smaller than that of a human, it is believed that the dog does not have the capacity to generate something as complex as the self-consciousness needed to feel guilty or shameful.
Humans are well aware of how they think and feel and how their behavior might affect others. This metacognition or self awareness is linked to our reflective consciousness and is highly sophisticated. David Smith, PhD, a comparative psychologist at the University of Buffalo who has conducted extensive studies in animal cognition, reports growing evidence that animals such as dolphins and macaque monkeys share humans’ ability to reflect, monitor, and regulate their own states of mind. William Roberts and his team from the University of Western Ontario’s Department of Psychology studied whether or not dogs could detect deceit and thus determine whether a person was being helpful or leading them astray. The study’s results suggested that dogs relied heavily on human cues rather than metacognitive ability to learn whether someone was deceiving them.
So in order to be truly guilty, a dog must be mindful about the effect his behavior will have on others as well as knowing and caring what others are thinking and feeling. Although results of this research show that dogs probably do not have the capacity to feel guilt, what is great for all of us who love them is the fact that studies like these are being done—studies that will only help advance our knowledge about the way dogs think and experience emotion.

How to Raise an Emotionally Balanced Dog
When teaching your dog or designing environmental enrichment in the home or in a shelter, think about how your dog’s emotional system drives his behavior and what he needs from you to be confident and learn successfully. Environmental association will affect training successes and careful habituation is needed to ensure success.
Although you should not wrap your dog up in cotton wool, care should be taken to avoid emotional upsets, because fear memories are not erased by the brain and can be hard to modify. Appropriate exercise goes a long way in promoting emotional health and dogs that do not have this basic need fulfilled can take their resulting frustration out in many negative ways including inappropriate destruction, vocalizing, hyper reactivity and aggressive response.
With the enormous advances we are making in our understanding of what drives dogs to do what they do, it is no longer right or fair to devalue or dismiss a dog’s emotional experience as being inferior to ours. Knowing how emotionally driven dogs are, is it not more important that we treat them with the respect they deserve? And just like humans, a dog’s emotional well-being is influenced by early experience. Unstimulating or abusive environments, rough handling and hard punishment can damage emotional growth because stress related pathways in the brain are unable to develop properly, resulting in a dog that finds it hard to make social attachments or cope with domestic life.

– See more at: http://positively.com/dog-training/understanding-dogs/canine-emotion/#HowToRaiseAnEmotionallyBalancedDog

Leadership basics

http://suzanneclothier.com/the-articles/leadership-basics

(Suzanne Clothier – Relationship Centered Training)

A simple guide to regaining your dog’s respect in pleasant, non-confrontational ways.

by Suzanne Clothier

There are three basic aspects to leadership:
– Control of or undisputed access to resources
– Proactive intervention
– Ability to control, direct or inhibit the behavior of others

Behaving like a leader means that you must demonstrate ‘to the dog’s satisfaction!’ that your behavior is that of a higher status animal. Each dog will have different criteria for what constitutes adequate leadership skills on your part. And his expectations may change considerably as he grows & matures, requiring that you also make shifts in your approach.

Directing, Controlling & Inhibiting Behavior

From the dog’s perspective, only someone they respect has the right to control, direct or inhibit another dog’s behavior. Turned around the other way, this means that if you can’t control, direct or inhibit your dog’s behavior (especially at critical or highly exciting times), your dog is making it quite clear that he does not consider you higher status, in other words, he doesn’t respect you, a clear sign that your leadership is inadequate for that dog (though it may be quite adequate for another dog with a different personality.)

Your dog will grant you precisely the respect you have earned. No more, no less. And he will adjust that constantly. If you begin to act in sloppy ways, he’ll downgrade the respect. Clean up your act, and he’ll respond accordingly. You are not voted leader for life in the world of dogs, you earn the dog’s respect daily. The more intelligent, confident and ambitious the dog, the more likely he is to quickly notice tiny shifts in your behavior on any given day, and to test you and the rules regularly. This is why when changes occur in our lives, which result in changes in our behavior (as simple as being rushed for time to moving, changing jobs, or other bigger life shifts) prompt new behavior from the dog – he’s testing to see what the changes mean for him.

Basic training is important to help the dog understand that you can control and direct his behavior, something you will also be teaching him through your resource control actions. But you must earn the respect and the right to control the dog’s behavior. If you do not have control of the dog in non-stressful times – like meals or playing ball or even walking (pulling?) down the street – I guarantee you he’s not going to listen to you when something he thinks important happens (like a cat dashing across your path or a jogger going by or another dog appearing on the street, the person at the door, etc.)

Practice self-control with your dog frequently, as well as basic obedience in every place you can think of, and with you in every possible position. Act like a leader, earn the respect!

Proactive Intervention

Good leaders are watchful, protective and quick to act to defend. When you are with your dog, really be with him, and watching his responses to the world around him. Plan ahead how you will handle situations you know may be troublesome. Be someone he can rely on no matter what. If it helps, think of him as a guest at a party or family gathering who is unsure of what may be the polite or appropriate thing to say or do. If you were helping such a guest, how would you do this? By paying close attention, anticipating situations where help may be needed, and avoiding those situations that he couldn’t handle.

How do you know if your leadership is adequate for any given dog?

If you can control or have access to ANY resource without the dog challenging your right to it AND
The dog allows you to control, direct or inhibit his behavior in highly exciting or critical moments (quiet times with just you & the dog do NOT count; controlling the dog when a cat dashes past or someone knocks on the door or when guests comes DO count) AND
Your dog trusts that you will step in if necessary to protect him from other dogs or people, and is willing to defer to you on these occasions.

If there are weak points in any of these areas, you may need to make some changes in your leadership style. One easy, non-confrontationnal way to gain your dog’s respect is through resource control.

Regaining Resource Control

What Matters To Your Dog? Make a written list of the top 5-10 resources for your dog. This may be food, treats, toys, attention, play, special resting places, walks, car rides, etc. Hopefully you are on the list! Don’t waste your time or the dog’s by trying to control resources that don’t mean much to the dog.

What Can You Ask From Your Dog? Make a list of EVERY behavior your dog knows – whether formal commands or tricks. From this list, you will draw your ‘request’ of one or more behaviors which must be completed promptly, on one quiet command and executed exactly before you will provide the resource. For access to any resource, insist that your dog ‘give’ you something before you provide the resource.

A sit or down is a basic starting point; however, as the dog’s skills allow, make the dog work harder. Put 2 or 3 behaviors together; do not be predictable! Too many folks stay with a simple sit or down, never progressing to much more demanding requests as the dog’s skills allow. Remember how your mom got all excited when you were finally able to write your name? Well, it’s good to remember that these days folks take that for granted and expect much more from you. Asking a truly intelligent dog to merely sit is like asking Bill Gates for $100 – it’s not exactly requiring him to give something meaningful.

Making the request meaningful relative to the dog’s skills will sharpen him up – he must really concentrate and pay attention to you. Ask for any and all skills the dog has, and all the tricks he knows, and mix them up in an unexpected order.

The goal is the dog’s complete attentive cooperation, not a habituated response that requires no thought from the dog.

No Grading on the Curve. Set your baseline for acceptable responses and hold tight. If you want the dog to sit within 2 seconds, then accept NO responses that are slower. Being consistent is an important part of leadership. Smart dogs will push you hard to see if you’ll accept less or slower responses – that’s what got you both into this situation in the first place!

Consistency Counts! Be relentless. Your dog views you as his leader 24 hours a day. He cannot and will not understand your annoying boss, your in-law problems or your IRS woes as the reasons for your inconsistency. He believes what you say – every time!

Too Bad. If the dog offers a wrong or slow response, you can repeat the command, try again,or even gently remind/help him, you can offer verbal praise & encouragement BUT do not provide the desired resource till he gets it absolutely right. If the dog blows you off, quietly turn away and make the resource unavailable. This may mean putting the food bowl in the refrigerator and walking away for a few minutes before nicely asking again. It may mean walking away from the door you would have opened if the dog had played by the rules. It may mean ending the game of fetch. Try again in a few minutes to see if the dog is more willing to cooperate, but be sure YOU are the one who chooses to start again, not the dog pushing you to it.

Stay Cool. No need to be harsh, angry or confrontational. Simply draw a direct line from the dog’s behavior to the consequence. If you do this, this happens. For example, you ask the dog to lie down before throwing his ball, and he refuses. Oh well – game is over; you pocket the ball and walk away for a bit (maybe just 5-15 seconds; maybe much longer; all depends on the situation and the dog’s behavior.) Take home message for the dog: If you do not cooperate, I don’t play.

Earn Your Oscar! When necessary, be dramatic in your responses – acting shocked or deeply disappointed with the wrong response from the dog, sweetly encouraging if he’s almost right, and dramatic in your withdrawal should he really blow it. Often, handlers offer such “mushy” information that the dog has a hard time telling the difference between what’s right and what’s wrong. Harsh or angry is not necessary; but clearly delighted or disappointed can help the dog figure things out.

Educate The Dog The more your dog knows, the more ways he has to cooperate with you. Polish up his current skills, and keep adding new ones; more & more tricks, for example, gives your dog more ways to be right and earn what he wants. Training is communication, and communication is critical to healthy relationships. Besides, it’s just plain fun!

Child/dog safety guide

http://positively.com/animal-advocacy/dog-bite-prevention/child-dog-safety-guide/

(Victoria Stilwell – Positively)

Dogs make wonderful companions and need to be treated with care and respect. Most dogs are very friendly and won’t bite. However, some dogs bite because they’re fearful, angry, frustrated or are protecting something that is valuable to them. It’s vital that you recognize not just the signs that a dog is uncomfortable, but also the situations you could be in where the chance of a bite is more likely.

Dogs don’t bite without giving some kind of warning, but while some dogs might growl, tense up or bark aggressively at you, others will give warnings that are so subtle, they are easy to miss.

Here are a few guidelines you can follow when you are around dogs to keep yourself K-9 Safe and Smart!

• Never touch a dog that is unknown to you.
• Even if you know the dog, always ask permission from an adult you know to see if it’s ok to ask the handler if you can pet their dog.
• Even when you have permission, try not to invade the dog’s body space. Allow the dog to come up and sniff your closed fist (palm down, knuckles facing the dog). If the dog doesn’t want to come and greet you, respect that decision and leave him alone.
• Approaching a dog from behind or petting him directly on the top of his head can be threatening and uncomfortable for him. The dog’s back or chest is the best place to pet.
• If a dog moves away while being stroked he’s telling you that he’s had enough, so allow him to have space and don’t follow him.
• Never stare at a dog, kiss or put your face close to a dog’s face. Look at the dog briefly and then look away, look and look away. These are calming signals, which tell the dog you’re no threat.
• Dogs don’t like being teased.
• Avoid touching a dog that has been tied up or left at the end of a chain in a yard, outside a store or behind a fence
• Tell an adult immediately if you see a dog that is loose in your neighborhood. Don’t touch it.
• What would you feel like if a dog came up to you while you were eating and tried to take your food away?       I expect it would make you angry and you would try and prevent the dog from getting your food. Dogs are the same as humans in that they don’t like people coming up to them and touching them while they’re eating their dinner or chewing a juicy bone. Let eating dogs eat alone!
• Dogs can startle easily if they are awoken suddenly by being touched and they sometimes react without thinking and snap when startled, so let sleeping dogs sleep!
• Avoid taking a bone or toy away from a dog if she is playing with it.
• If you want to sit on a sofa or chair that a dog is sitting on, try not to pull him off. Always get an adult to remove the dog for you.
• If a dog scares you avoid screaming and running away. Put your hands together, stand still, look away and completely ignore him until he loses interest in you and goes away instead. The more boring you are, the less the dog will want to interact with you. When the dog has finished sniffing and walks away from you, walk slowly away and tell an adult.
• If you are at someone’s house with a rambunctious dog don’t feel embarrassed about asking an adult to put the dog away in a different room if he makes you feel uncomfortable
• If the dog tries to bite you, put a bag or coat between you and the dog and back away to a safe place.
• In the unlikely event a dog bites and you are on the floor, roll up into a ball on your knees, with your arms clasped around the back of your neck and stay as still as you can until help arrives.
• Remember that a dog is an animal and not a cuddly toy. Most dogs don’t like being hugged or kissed. Hugging in dog language can mean fighting and that is definitely not an expression of affection like it’s in human language. Be gentle with any dog and try not to engage in rough play.

– See more at: http://positively.com/animal-advocacy/dog-bite-prevention/child-dog-safety-guide/#sthash.oaKJtYGt.dpuf