Q&A with ‘The Paw Man’ (694) – What’s In A Word? NG Hi Paw Man, My name is NG and Im from USA. I have begun to follow you on FB. Ive been training dogs now for about three years at a local store. Im just starting out but am gaining a lot of experience. Now, I have a slight issue with my 3 year old female Irish Setter, Fiona. Paw Man I assume that this is a store such as Petco, which I am lead to believe that was a haven for positive-only training? NG Ive asked different trainers opinions and tried but nothing has worked. Well anyways, Fiona when she was about a year old when she got into a fight with an aggressive Rottweiler at the dog park. Paw Man That alone can be a very traumatic and life changing event for a one trusting dog. NG Since then she hasnt been the same with other dogs. She had been going to the dog park since she was 3 months old and everything was fine until that day. Paw Man Can I safely assume that you did the right thing the first few times you went to the dog park…… where you keep the dog on leash and take the opportunity to teach your dog what behavior is appropriate when interacting with other dogs at the park?.... of did you just unclip the dog and cross your fingers? I would consider an off-leash dog park as the most complicated, challenging and high risk environment that you could ever take a domestic dog into and yet the vast majority of people take their dog inside the gate, unclip their dog and hope for the best and they even wonder why their dogs entire life can be affected by a single negative exposure to another dog…… and why shouldn’t the dog have trust issues…. After all you took it there, you released control over it and it came to harm. NG Shes great with her older brother (same parents, different litter). Ive tried to get rid of her fear of dogs but nothing Ive done has worked. Paw Man Some dogs are so traumatised by a single attack that they may be behaviourally scarred for life and may never be at ease around strange dogs no matter how passive they may appear. If this is the case with your dog then you may just have to resign yourself to the fact that your dogs has trust issues that may never be resolved. But if you are working as a full time trainer then I would hope that you have a mentor or senior trainer of some sort and you should ask them about two things; desensitization routines and counter-conditioning routines. If none of your supervisors are familiar with these things then try Googling them just so you get an understanding of how they have to be done and then start asking around the dog training community to see if any of your peers are versed in their use. Whenever dealing with dog to dog aggression issues it is critical that certain safety protocols are followed and that your strategy is carefully mapped out, along with a backup plan to follow if the results are not as positive as initially expected. The use of Remote Training Collars (RTCs) in cases of dog to dog aggression is something that only an advanced RTC professional should attempt. Please do not try ‘trial and error’ in these situations. NG Fiona, when she bites she does not give warning growls. She will also ignore dogs as long as they are not barking at her but the moment they get close she will go straight for the nose without warning. I was wondering if you had any ideas for me. I just want to be able to take both of the kids to the dog park without having to worry. Let me know what you think. Thanks. NG Paw Man Whilst she may not give warning growls, she will be giving precursor body language signals that indicate her discomfort at the proximity of the other dog. It is these pre-cursor signals that you have to learn, interpret and address. What type of aversives do you use? NG If they are too young example 3-8 months Ill use positive first. Then to reinforce behavior I will use chains collars, prongs (depending in the dog Ill use metal or plastic prong). Ill use shock if they owner agrees to try out the shock on themselves first. Paw Man I’m a little thrown by you language here. I asked what type of aversives you use and your first reply is that you use positives first…… you use positives to try and extinguish unwanted behaviors before you try aversives? If that is correct then you are going to end up with one very confused dog. You then go on to say that you ‘use chains collars, prongs’ and also shock to reinforce behaviors……. I am hoping that this is just an accidental misuse of a word and that you actually meant to say that you use these things to ‘enforce’ or extinguish and not reinforce behaviors. After reading it again I see that you are probably used to using the phrases positive and negative reinforcement…. but to just use the word reinforcement is very ambiguous and it implies positive reinforcement. So search within your dog training community for a senior trainer who is well versed in desensitizing and counter conditioning routines.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 12:38:44 +0000
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