Sunday marked the beginning of Bite Prevention Week. Since opening the store I've been bitten four times. Three of them were my fault and one of them was partially my fault (I turned my back on a dog I knew to be people aggressive and the owner lost their attention for a split second). Fortunately all of the bites were very inhibited and didn't even break the skin.
I only mention this to illustrate a point. I've studied dog behavior and communication. I've probably been around thousands of dogs. And still I've had occasion to be bitten. So how do you avoid being bitten?
1. If you are unfamiliar with the dog, ask before petting.
2. Do not approach a dog head on. Notice when dogs greet, they tend to approach each other at an angle. When I greet an unfamiliar dog who seems a bit uneasy, I kneel down and position myself sideways. I then extend my hand just far enough so he can approach me, but not so close that I invade his space.
3. Know the signs. Dogs communicate with body language. Most dogs who may bite are fear bitters, meaning they bite because they are scared and are trying to get the person to back away. But the bite is usually a last ditch effort.
Signs to look for can include lowered head and/or body, ears close to the head and back, tail down and between the legs, lip licking, yawning, looking away, piloerection (hair standing up), snarling, growling, etc. A side note: These behaviors should not be punished. This is how dogs communicate they are uncomfortable. Instead you should try to diffuse the situation and work on some desensitization, a blog for another time.
A final note, and then a few links to illustrations: It doesn't matter how "good" you are with animals, some dogs are not going to like you. You can be the kindest, most gentle person in the world, but you may have to same hair color as someone who startled the dog, for example. That's just the way it is. It does not mean you should put yourself in peril or overstress a dog to the point that he may bite.
Dr. Sophia Yin has a great PSA put together. It's a little over 30 seconds long, but you may want to pause it a few times to check all the information: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrQ1KO4j2bc
This is a poster, also from Dr. Yin, on the more common signals I mentioned above, free for download: http://info.drsophiayin.com/free-poster-on-body-language-in-dogs/
Monday, May 16, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Name Change
I was thinking about how I wanted to approach this and it reminded me that I haven't posted some information I intended to. So let me start by saying the Central Missouri Humane Society has been overwhelmed lately and is looking for foster homes. I'll have more information about that up shortly, but consider fostering if you have the space and desire to help out.
That being said, we're also seeing a lot of dogs coming in that have been recently adopted. (Reminder that dogs who have been adopted from a non-profit get a 50% discount on self-serve washes within the first 30 days of adoption.) Some of the dogs get a name change with their new life, so I wanted to give a few tips to make this go smoothly and quickly.
Remember that all good things should come from you. A dog will come to you more consistently if it is a good thing. For example, when you take your dog to the park, call him, praise him, and then let him go back to playing, sniffing, or whatever. About the fourth or fifth time you call him, he is much more likely to come so you can put the leash on him and go home. Hearing his name and coming to you is not always a bad thing. So his name becomes a good thing.
When you want to change a dogs name, there are two easy ways to do this. First is just simply using the name. Every time you interact with the dog, use his new name. Not sweety, or silly or good boy (unless that his name). Without getting into the science of this, he should quickly learn that this is his new name. This worked for both our dogs, Lambert and Cletus... I mean Puck and Duncan.
The second way you can do this is more of a classical training (or respondent conditioning) technique. Say the dog's new name. When he looks at you, give him a treat. Repeat this until he looks at you quickly and consistently. After he looks at you without hesitation about five times you can start to fade the treat. Give the treat every second or third time. eventually you can fade the treat completely. I would have every member in the family do this so the dog learns to respond to everyone.
If this goes slow at first, back up in the procedure a little. Say the dog's old name. As soon as he looks at you, say the new name. Repeat this a few times until he understands the new name means treat, then go to the steps in the previous paragraph.
Again, until he responds consistently to his new name, you want to avoid using "pet" names (pun intended) for him, just to avoid confusion.
That being said, we're also seeing a lot of dogs coming in that have been recently adopted. (Reminder that dogs who have been adopted from a non-profit get a 50% discount on self-serve washes within the first 30 days of adoption.) Some of the dogs get a name change with their new life, so I wanted to give a few tips to make this go smoothly and quickly.
Remember that all good things should come from you. A dog will come to you more consistently if it is a good thing. For example, when you take your dog to the park, call him, praise him, and then let him go back to playing, sniffing, or whatever. About the fourth or fifth time you call him, he is much more likely to come so you can put the leash on him and go home. Hearing his name and coming to you is not always a bad thing. So his name becomes a good thing.
When you want to change a dogs name, there are two easy ways to do this. First is just simply using the name. Every time you interact with the dog, use his new name. Not sweety, or silly or good boy (unless that his name). Without getting into the science of this, he should quickly learn that this is his new name. This worked for both our dogs, Lambert and Cletus... I mean Puck and Duncan.
The second way you can do this is more of a classical training (or respondent conditioning) technique. Say the dog's new name. When he looks at you, give him a treat. Repeat this until he looks at you quickly and consistently. After he looks at you without hesitation about five times you can start to fade the treat. Give the treat every second or third time. eventually you can fade the treat completely. I would have every member in the family do this so the dog learns to respond to everyone.
If this goes slow at first, back up in the procedure a little. Say the dog's old name. As soon as he looks at you, say the new name. Repeat this a few times until he understands the new name means treat, then go to the steps in the previous paragraph.
Again, until he responds consistently to his new name, you want to avoid using "pet" names (pun intended) for him, just to avoid confusion.
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