Dog Training Nation

In Dogs We Trust

You are here: Home / Archives for Behavior

Laser Pointer Games are Bad for Dogs

by

Beware of Laser Pointers

Laser Pointer Game Bad for Dogs
fotopitu/Deposit Photos

YouTube has many videos featuring dogs and cats diving head first for a stationary red dot. While it may seem like an innocent game at first, it can become a nightmare quickly. Laser pointer games are actually bad for dogs. 

Why Dogs Chase Lasers

At first, well meaning dog owners purchase laser pointers as a fun game for rainy days. They turn on the red light and flash the dot on the floor. Most dogs probably don’t notice at first, so owners begin moving the dot from side to side, which eventually catches their dog’s attention. Dogs are excellent movement spotters evident by the fact they notice a fleeing squirrel from 500 yards away. Similarly, a moving red dot piques your dog’s interest. The game is on! Soon, this innocent game of chasing the red dot turns into an obsession.

This fact may seem alarming and some readers may shrug off possible outcomes when playing with laser pointers, but I’m here to tell you I see negative outcomes from laser pointer games every day. Prevention is better than finding a cure. There are so many other dog games, so let’s put down the laser pointer and play games fun for everyone. 🙂

The Problem With Laser Pointers

When playing a laser pointer dog game, we never tell our dogs the game is about to start. We randomly turn on the laser pointer to start the game. Dogs are unaware the red dot comes from the laser pointer, so dogs will sit and watch floors and walls for hours, waiting for the infamous red dot to appear. Some dog owners assume their dog is asking to play the laser pointer game again and reward this staring behavior with a laser pointer game session. As a result, dogs have learned to stare blankly at floors and walls for hours because the red dot will eventually appear. Hopefully, you’re now understanding how laser pointer games can be problematic for dogs.

Worst Cases I’ve Seen

Dog Eats in Darkness

Some dogs that have played only a few sessions of laser pointing games begin obsessing over all moving lights, such as the reflection of car headlights on your home. Once, I had a consult with a dog that learned to stare into lights–I mean directly at light bulbs, especially when turned on. He refused to go potty, eat or drink. He was waiting for the light to move.

When probing further about this quirky issue, his owner mentioned light chasing had gone on for years and now her dog stares at lights turned on, waiting for them to move. And yes, they played laser pointer games with him as a puppy. Now, she must turn all lights off, close curtains and blinds, and feed her dog in darkness, so he’ll eat and drink.

Dog Starts Chasing Shadows

Another consultation was with a small mixed breed that would chase car headlights flashing inside his home. He sat by the front window waiting for the next chase. His owners purchased blackout curtains, which helped until he started shadow chasing. Shadow chasing is an obsessive compulsive behavior seen in many different types of dogs, including mixed and toy breeds. This dangerous obsession can quickly consume your dog’s entire life, as he would rather chase shadows than eat or drink.

Finding Help

Please don’t play laser pointer games with your dogs. If you’re currently playing this game, I highly advise you stop immediately. I think playing with your dog is fabulous and should happen every day just not with lights.

If your dog is currently obsessed with shadow/light chasing or staring, please don’t ever punish him. It will only make the obsession worse. Instead, find super yummy treats to redirect your dog from focusing on shadows or lights. Teach your dog “touch” or “look at me” in a safe environment first, then ask your dog to touch your hand or look at you instead of chasing or watching lights or shadows.

Now, some dogs just can’t stop the game. In this case, I highly recommend seeking professional help and going straight to the experts. Many experienced dog trainers can advise you on how to positively redirect your dog when he notices lights or shadows, so it’s best to start there. If your dog is ignoring any attempts, even when working with a qualified dog trainer, then it’s best to contact a veterinary behaviorist.

The best remedy is prevention, so share with fellow dog owners. Laser pointer games are terrible for dogs.

How to Deal With Fear Aggression in Dogs

by

Dealing With Dog Fear Aggression

Fear Aggression in Dogs
wujekspeed/Deposit Photos

Is your dog showing signs of fear and aggressive behavior at the same time? This behavior can be categorized as fear aggression. Fear is not uncommon in dogs and most aggressive behaviors derive from it. This behavior could be caused by a multitude of things, such as genetics, possible mistreatment or lack of socialization during the impressionable stages of the dog’s life (fear imprint period). Sometimes you may be dealing with a combination of these things, depending on the dog and situation.

What Causes Your Dog’s Fear?

First, you want to identify the source of your dog’s fear whether it’s strangers, other dogs or specific objects. Once you can identify the cause of your dog’s fear, you can work on the behavioral threshold (the distance where the dog is not reacting). This will help your dog learn to overcome and deal with the cause of his fear.

As someone who has owned a dog that suffers from fear aggression, I recommend working with a professional dog trainer who is experienced with this type of behavior. Dealing with fear aggression can be complex and a little overwhelming for a dog owner to deal with, so coupling up with a dog trainer will help your dog tremendously.

What You Can Expect and When

You’ll see your dog’s fear aggressive behavior become more intense around six months of age or at the beginning of the dog’s adolescence. The sooner you begin modifying this behavior, the better. As stated above, you might see your dog show signs of fear toward strangers, other animals and even inanimate objects.

Flight or Fight Response

Some dogs will show the flight response (running away) to the things they’re fearful of. This is generally categorized as being fearful. On the other hand, you might have a dog that shows the fight response (trying to move toward the object), which is considered fear aggression. The dog that shows the fight response is trying to scare the thing she is fearful of away.

Your Dog’s Body Posture

A dog suffering from fear aggression may bark, growl, show teeth, lunge and hug the ground within seconds, or have his hackles raised from the tail all the way to the shoulder blades trying to appear bigger than he is. His body posture may make him come off as indecisive. One minute he’s lunging and growling and the next he’s cowering and running behind you.

RELATED: Dog Aggression

How to Train a Dog With Fear Aggression

First and foremost I want to state that using any correction on a fearful dog can be detrimental to dog training. This will only cause a bigger negative association to what the dog is fearful to. The dog is scared. You can’t tell him to stop being scared. Building a positive association and teaching redirection with the use of positive reinforcement techniques will be ideal in a situation like this.

Select a High Value Reward

Begin by finding the highest value reward for your dog, such as steak, chicken or liver. A head collar is also a great tool to use in this training program, as it gives you much more control. Our goal is to have the dog become aware of the triggers and not react to them.

Treat Your Dog Around Triggers

As soon as your dog sees the trigger, feed your dog a treat one after another. Do not give the dog a chance to redirect onto the stimulus. While the dog is focusing on you and the reward, start moving the dog away from the stimulus where you know he won’t act aggressively. You will begin doing this for several weeks in small increments.

Move Closer

Once your dog is successful at seven feet from the stimulus, begin moving closer. For the next couple of weeks, work with your dog at a distance of five feet. As your dog’s confidence builds, then work with him at a closer distance.

Involve Strangers

When your dog is comfortable around strangers, start using them in your dog training. A great way to begin is to have strangers toss high value food rewards near your dog, as they walk by. Do not have strangers approach quickly or look at your dog–have them just toss a treat and move on.

If your dog doesn’t react to this, then you know you’re making great progress and can move forward. If your dog does show reaction to the stranger, take a couple of steps back and continue to build her behavioral threshold without additional stimulation from strangers.

Take It Slow

Remember to take these exercises very slowly. By going at a slower pace, you’ll be much more successful. It’s normal to want to push a little more when you see progress, but I wouldn’t recommend doing this, as you can overwhelm the dog and jeopardize your training.

I know this can be a frustrating situation, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. My Boxer Chanel began showing signs of fear aggression at five to six months old, which escalated quickly. She is now seven years old and lives with cats, a three-year-old child and another Boxer. There was a lot of training and emotions involved over the years, but I wouldn’t change it. She is my success story!

Sources:
www.iaabc.org
www.apdt.com
www.aspca.org

Causes of Lick Granuloma

by

Lick Granuloma Overview

Lick Granuloma
shotbychatty/iStock

When a moist oozing lesion develops on a dog’s skin, most dog owners want to identity the exact cause. If you’ve ever battled a fast spreading hot spot on your dog, you understand they don’t disappear overnight. It’s a battle that can last weeks. Just when a hot spot almost seems to have dried up, dogs either lick and scratch it, which brings you right back to square one. Interestingly, not all hot spots are caused by skin trauma. Many are self-inflicted by your dog and we call these lick granulomas.

What is Lick Granuloma?

Some hot spots are caused by skin irritants, such as flea bites, scrapes and allergens. However, excessive licking or scratching, which breaks skin and causes bacteria to set in, creates hot spots. Determining if your dog has a lick granuloma takes observation and a diary of events.

Many years ago, lick granulomas were considered a bored dog’s disease because it was assumed bored dogs would lick themselves when they had nothing else to do. When bored dogs would rather lick their paws or limbs instead of play with toys or enjoy a food stuffed toy, there has to be more to the story.

Lick Granuloma Causes

When drilled down, most lick granulomas are caused by a dog trying to self-soothe himself. He learns that slowly licking his paws or legs provides a calming effect. Self-soothing licking becomes a major issue when it becomes a habit. This is the first thing your dog does when he’s stressed. Your dog may be worried either because a new dog is added to your household or you’re away on vacation. As a result, your dog begins to soothe himself by licking. Self-soothing is normal. Humans reach for cupcakes or wine when they’ve had a hard day. When self-soothing begins to harm someone, then it becomes a problem.

Excessive licking can most certainly be caused by pain, so it’s important to rule out other causes before assuming it’s behavioral. Some dogs lick because there’s a foreign body trapped under their skin, a nerve has been pinched or they’re experiencing acid reflux.

How to Determine If It’s Behavioral

This is tricky because not all dogs display the same signs. I’ll share my personal dog’s behavior and several other behaviors I’ve witnessed while dogs have licked themselves to self-soothe. You’ll usually notice soft licking right before bedtime or naps. Sobek’s third eyelids will slowly slide up and cover his eyes–almost like he’s going into a trance. If you call your dog’s name while he’s licking, it’s almost like you’ve startled him. Sometimes, it feels good for your dog to lick an itch he’s licked before, so licking becomes a habit.

Keep a log of all your findings, focusing on when and where it happens. Is it after meals, before bedtime or when strangers visit? Does your dog slink away to lick, or does he lick other objects excessively like furniture, flooring and you? If possible, capture video and pictures, as this will further assist in finding the cause.

Lick Granuloma Treatment

If you suspect it’s behavioral, find a veterinarian who is board certified in animal behavior. These folks are vets who have completed a lengthy internship focused on successfully addressing behavioral concerns that cause medical issues.

As an experienced dog trainer, I’ll admit dog trainers are not equipped to manage lick granulomas. It’s completely out of our wheelhouse. Don’t get caught up with someone calling herself an animal behaviorist either. There is no such occupation, school or certificate program verifying someone as an animal behaviorist.

Now, dog trainers can certainly assist you after your veterinary behaviorist consultations. We can help teach your dog other ways to self-soothe himself besides licking. While it’s tempting to skip right to this part and bypass a veterinary consultation, it will take much longer for your dog to respond and that equals more vet visits to doctor up hot spots.

If you need help finding a veterinary behaviorist, I have some great tips and websites here. Do know even if you live in a rural area, your dog can still benefit from a veterinary behaviorist, as most will work with your regular vet. I’ll be brutally honest: it’s worth every penny to find a veterinary behaviorist, as you’re finding a solution now instead of spending hundreds of dollars on temporary fixes by so-called experts.

Until your veterinary behaviorist visit, continue to walk your dog, feed your dog using food puzzles and give calming products a try. Calming music, DAP products and supplements are great ideas. Just make sure your veterinary behaviorist is aware you’re using them. These suggestions won’t address the main issue, but they do provide an outlet for stress. Don’t forget to bring your log, pictures and video along to your consultation. It will help a ton!

How to Help Hand Shy Dogs

by

Hand Shy Dogs: The Real Cause

Hand Shy Dog
taviphoto/Deposit Photos

When a dog is “hand shy,” he usually ducks his head away when someone tries to touch him. If you watch closely, it’s not only “hands” that cause some dogs to shrink back, but also anything in fast motion (e.g. falling leaves or closing doors). If you’re really paying attention to a dog’s body language, you’ll notice he moves away whenever someone walks toward him too.

There are a few things you can do to build your dog’s confidence and end ducking and weaving dogs. One easy exercise is to pair delicious dog treats with your hands. Pairing food with touch seems simple enough, but there are a few things you’ll need to know before teaching a scared dog that human touch is rewarding. If you understand why dogs become hand shy, it’ll make the process of teaching new dog behaviors much easier.

What Causes Hand Shy Dogs?

Fear, But Not Abuse

Let’s discuss fear for a moment. We’ll compare it to human emotions because analogies paint a clearer picture of dog behavior, as we can relate it with our own behavior. Believe it or not, fear is different than abuse.

Fear is powerful. It’s a vital response needed to protect ourselves when we feel threatened. It’s deep within our very being. It’s instinctual and, at times, we can’t control it. Some individuals struggle with fear more so than others–you probably know someone who makes everyday decisions based on fear.

These people will usually discourage themselves from trying new activities and make statements, such as, “I want to run track, but I might fall down” or “I would love to open a new business, but I’m afraid to fail.” Everyone has these fears, but some people feel fear on a deeper level. It’s like their fear volume knob is turned up higher than others. The same applies to dogs. Some dogs are much more fearful than others.

RELATED: How to Train Fearful Dogs

Abuse is different. It’s something that happens to us. It’s neither an instinct nor emotion. Now, abuse can certainly alter our perspective on certain matters, but we can either rebound or succumb to abuse. It’s all about how we deal with it. Could abuse destroy a deep-rooted fearful person? It depends. If an abused fearful person learns self-confidence and practices it daily with great results, I think he or she can certainly live a wonderful life. This applies to dogs as well.

Abuse is a Dangerous Label

Yes, I firmly believe people hide behind the label of abuse. It’s almost an excuse for failure and, worst of all, not even trying. Humans seek to understand our meaning in life and abuse is a thick security blanket to hide under. It halts our learning because we think we can’t do this or that since we’re abused. Or worse yet, someone does a terrible deed, but it’s excused because he was abused. Since dogs can’t talk, they’re labeled with abuse too.

When dog owners make excuses for their dogs, they ‘re holding them back from life. I’ve seen terrible animal abuse cases and 80 percent of these dogs seek human contact–almost like craving warmth from sunshine. If any dogs should hate humans, it should be these poor tortured dogs. However, they don’t shrink back in fear. They’re rebounding from abuse.

Common Symptoms of Fear

Reactivity, aggression and anxiety are symptoms of fear, which is important to understand before trying to change any behavior. Many times, people focus on changing reactive (balking, cringing, charging) behavior instead of the cause, which is fear. Dog owners punish aggression (growling, lunging, barking), which is never a good thing. Addressing only aggression is like treating a stuffy nose caused by the flu. It’s short-term, but you’re not addressing the real issue.

RELATED: Dog Aggression

Training Exercises to Help Hand Shy Dogs

Now that you have a deeper understanding of why your dog cringes when touched, you’re now able to troubleshoot along the way. I’ve split this process into small chunks because it’s impossible to learn everything at once. You and your dog will become overwhelmed and then ultimately frustrated and give up.

If your dog barks, lunges or growls at you or other people, it’s important to contact a veterinary behaviorist. These signs indicate your dog is extremely fearful and needs additional assistance.

Grab some super yummy treats, such as baked chicken, hot dogs or cheese, and cut into pea-sized bits. Next, you’ll need a clicker. If you’re new to clicker training or need a refresher, take a peak at Clicker Training 101.

During these exercises, never force your dog to interact with someone. It will most certainly make his fears worse. Instead, reward your dog for voluntarily walking toward you, engaging in your hand and happily standing still as someone touches him. Once your dog happily walks toward you, it’s time to reward him when you’re moving toward him.

Touch

Start slow and reward your dog as he moves toward you and touches your hand with his nose. You’ll click (or say “yes”) when you feel him touching your hand. If this is too much, then reward any forward movement toward you even a shift in body weight or a step forward. After your dog learns to touch your hand, move to the next exercise.

Collar Touch

Most dogs cringe when their collars are touched. They’ve learned that fun ends or they’re in trouble when their collars are touched. If you’re not comfortable with human touch and someone grabs your face or neck, you would cringe too. Click and treat as you’re moving your hand toward your dog, then reward him for letting you hold his collar. Move slowly. If he moves backwards, go back to rewarding hand movement toward his collar again.

Chin Rest

Teach your dog to rest his chin in your open hand. I save this one for last because it takes a lot of trust, which I’m sure you’ve already built during “touch” and “collar touch” games.

Always move at your dog’s speed. If he begins to regress, take a step back and build confidence.

You may also like: Why Your Dog is Shaking or Shivering When Not Cold

What to Do When Your Dog Bites

by

Dog Bites: If You’ve Been Bit, It Was Your Fault

Dog Bites
Ftvkun/iStock

Trust me, I’m doing my very best to control my personal feelings pertaining to dog bites, but it’s incredibly hard lately. Here’s the real deal. Being bitten is not part of the job when working alongside or sharing your home with dogs. It should never happen. Yes, never.

If a dog trainer or groomer brags about her previous dog bites, she’s basically telling you she’ll force your dog to comply. It also implies she’s willing to use so much force your dog will be forced to bite her to make him stop. Now, remember, millions of dogs are euthanized for biting humans every year. This is not a behavior you want your dog to learn. Trust me. When someone brags about how many times she was bitten, run away!

Dog Bites are Not a Badge of Honor

When I hear dog trainers, groomers and rescue volunteers boast about numerous dog bites like it’s a badge of honor, I become incensed. Witnessing newbie dog enthusiasts bragging about numerous dog bites in an attempt to convince dog owners of their extraordinary dog experience makes me sick. Oh, but seasoned dog professionals do the same thing, showing off their battle scars to further prove themselves as qualified professionals. Nooo!

Why Dogs Bite

Dogs bite for a reason.When they bite, it’s because they were forced to. Ninety percent of all dogs have high tolerance levels for human nonsense and will calmly try to disengage. Dogs will tell you you’ve crossed the line. If you keep pushing, you will be bitten. 

Let’s think about it in a different way. Do you walk around punching people in the face whenever they cut in line at the grocery store? How about when someone steps on your foot or cracks an inappropriate joke? I would hope not. Instead, you roll your eyes and walk away. Disengaging is best, as violence is used as a last resort. If all parties are allowed to disengage, everyone walks away unharmed. Now, you’ve learned (and practiced) how to successfully and calmly walk away from conflict.

RELATED: My Dog Growls at Me

What happens when you’re unable to disengage from an encounter? What if someone grabs your arm and pulls you out of bed, pushes you onto the ground, forces your mouth to open, pulls your hair,  snatches your arm as you’re trying to disengage or forces you to interact with something that scares you? Yeah, you would probably punch (in a dog’s case, bite) someone too. If this happens often, you’ll learn to punch someone’s lights out within seconds because this stops the conflict quickly.

If dogs are forced to bite someone, they will learn biting stops scary things from happening and bite more. Instead, listen to your dog. If he’s scared, leave him alone.

What to Do When Your Dog Bites

Listen to your dog when he tries to disengage during a stressful encounter. When dogs have had enough, they should be allowed to walk away and remove themselves from the situation. Believe it or not, choosing to engage or disengage is very rewarding for dogs–it’s just as rewarding as food treats.

Never reach in and pull a dog out from a kennel. Instead, make a trail of sprinkled treats outside the kennel and voila! When grooming dogs, give them plenty of breaks. Rather than restraining dogs during baths and nail trims, offer peanut butter stuffed toys tied to your grooming arm, so dogs will voluntarily stand still. Human hands should be for petting dogs and never for forcing, pulling, tugging or punishing.

Please never teach a dog it’s okay to bite.

READ NEXT: How to Stop a Puppy From Biting

Dog Training Nation is a dog training blog for pet owners and dog lovers. We cover a range of topics from puppy socialization tips to dog aggression to dog health. It is our hope you share our content to make the world a better place for dogs.

Dog Training Nation

Quick Links

Dog Training
Dog Behavior
Dog Training Videos
Become a Dog Trainer
About
Contact Us