dog behavior

Misha was all in all a model pet. She was a great companion to her family and behaved well with visitors. The only thing that troubled her owners was Misha's awful whining fits when she saw other dogs out on walks.

Because Misha only whined in response to this stimulus, we could rule out the possibility that she was complaining as a result of a medical problem. We could also rule out separation anxiety, a common cause of the whining dog, since neighbors attest to her silence when she's left alone.

After spending a few hours with Misha and her owner, even accompanying them on a short walk, it was evident that her problem stems from a lack of adequate socialization with other dogs. It was clear that her owners had been quite protective of her from the start, likely because of her relatively small size as a Pomeranian.

In doing so, however, Misha was not able to see other dogs as animals that she could potentially engage with; instead she feared them or at least became over anxious in their company. The solution was a fairly simple one, but required a few patient steps:

Schedule play sessions with other dogs. Ideally, these would involve play sessions with dogs the owners knew and trusted, and also dogs that were not going to awe her with their size.

Let Misha greet "ok" dogs on walks. It is important that Misha interacts with her own kind. Of course, it is also important that her owner asks if it is ok that the two dogs greet. It's usually as simple as asking a passing dog owner "Can they say hello?" If the other dog is a risk, or seems unnerved by Misha's whining (she won't stop right away), then you can skip it.

Remain calm and in control when Misha interacts. Misha looks to her pack leader for guidance. If her leader is nervous about her networking with her own kind, then she will pick up on this and in turn feel uneasy about the process. The whining will continue, and she may even hide behind her owner.

NOTE: Ideally, you want to give her lead as much slack as you can, or even let her off lead if circumstances allow it. This is because a lead often directs a dog's body movement and changes their body language involuntarily. The effect is that they can become more vulnerable and possibly even defensive.

In this case, Misha was a submissive dog who posed no threat to friendly dogs, but needed reassurance that they posed no threat to her. Whining uncontrollably was her attempt to communicate that need. There was an easy solution, and an obvious and quite necessary outlet for her anxious energy.

read more

dog bed covers

There was a couple who adopted Bella, a Black Labrador. She was well-mannered and well-loved. For over a year, the dog was allowed to sleep on the bed. Then the wife bought a set of satin sheets, which she had been saving up for. She decided they were too nice, too delicate, and too expensive, to become “dogified” (a term that describes all the things that make you know a dog’s been there, including dog hair, dog drool, dog dirt, and that distinctive dog smell), and no longer wanted the dog jumping up.

So what could they do? They were told that this would confuse the dog. And this is certainly true. But in my email to them I also explained that their pet’s confusion is no reason to avoid the satin sheets they dearly wanted, and that the wife shouldn’t feel bad about her decision. After all, there are plenty of confusing things that dogs must adapt to that we can’t control or simply don’t realize.

However, I told them that taking away the dog’s privilege was not the problem, but doing so without in some way offsetting it with something else was. In other words, before the switching the sheets, they needed to provide Bella with a great new deluxe dog bed. In addition, they had to do some training to make Bella believe that it was just that!

This involved praise and reward when she went to it, either on her own or when asked. I also told them to spend some time hanging out right around the dog bed with Bella, even if the bed is placed near their existing bed, so that she didn’t feel like she’s been banished from the only social spot of the room.

The introduction of the dog bed was accompanied by a training regime in which Bella was asked “Off” the bed each time she was found there, and interrupted with a sharp “Uh uh” when she looked like she was approaching it. Through some patience and repetition, Bella figured it all out in a couple weeks and, to the delight of the wife, all before they upgraded their bedding.

The added benefit of this arrangement is that the dog develops a better sense of her own personal space. Oh, and as for the dog bed itself, it was truly deluxe. In fact - and I kid you not - they lined it in satin!