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Mad About Leashes, or How to Manage Leash Aggression

Helping a dog to overcome leash aggression can be difficult, but here’s a proven training plan that uses positive reinforcement techniques.

Ask Professor Boo is our recurring, positive reinforcement dog training and behavior question and answer column. If you have a question that you would like to ask Professor Boo, please feel free to contact him.

Q: I have a 4 year old miniature schnauzer named Ozzie who has lived with me since last June. He is a rescue dog and he’s practically PERFECT in every way. However…..he almost always freaks out (barking, pulling, snapping) when we see another dog on-leash. I can never tell which dogs Ozzie will react to, and it’s only when on-leash. It’s much worse in the apartment complex where we live but it happens elsewhere too. We went to a trainer and she gave suggestions but they don’t work. When Ozzie is that upset, he couldn’t care less about treats! Nothing will distract him. When I tried to get between Ozzie and the offending dog, he actually bit me once! I try to avoid other dogs as much as possible, but I ‘want’ to go on long walks with my dog! What can we do, Boo?????
Woof,
Marian and Ozzie

This is a very common issue for a lot of dogs. I personally get a little pushy when I meet a cute lady dog and they often snip at me for getting a little randy if you know what I mean, but I digress…
Boo Answers…

Leash aggression can have several components:

Fear is probably the most common one and it usually builds over time. This can be a result of a lack of early socialization and/or have a personality component. It can also have grown out of generalized fear after bad encounters with other dogs.
Frustration is second in terms of creating ongoing arousal at the end of the leash. This can actually come from a great desire to go see that other dog for fun and games or be a combination of fear and excitement. Then, when the arousal is unfulfilled and hampered by a tight leash on a neck or head collar, it makes the frustration go from “I wanna, I wanna,” to “Aarrggg!” resulting in high levels of aroused behaviors.

The great news is that the fix is the same no matter what the underlying cause is so we don’t have to get Ozzie on a couch and ask him how he feels about his mother, etc.

What we do need to do however, is have a real good understanding of how desensitization and counter-conditioning (DS/CC) work.

But first, a word on equipment: Dogs have what is called an oppositional reflex – so when you pull tightly on a neck collar they will actually crank up more. This is used by K-9 officers to crank up their dogs before letting them go after a bad-guy and it’s also used in dog fighting to increase the “game-ness” and arousal of a dog – nasty business that dog fighting! So, your job is to completely take that out of the mix so the humans are not adding anything to Ozzie’s excitement – only removing levels of arousal.

Front-clip harnesses are lovely for this: The Easy Walk Harness, the Sensation, or The Freedom harness will all work well. This takes the oppositional reflex out of the equation and if you absolutely have to move Ozzie by putting pressure on the leash it will be a more easy pressure on him via the harness. Head-halters can add to a dog’s frustration and are not good for physically moving a dog out of Dodge if we get stuck, so we prefer the harness. I wear a front-clip harness whenever I’m out walking ‘cause it’s just easier on me overall – and I do tend to get stuck on smells – again I digress…

Desensitization and counter-conditioning (DS/CC) in short (and I do mean very short – this is the life’s work of many behaviorists and others and I am condensing their hard labors into a couple paragraphs): we need to change how Ozzie feels about the approach of another dog and change the default (conditioned) behavior he has adopted when they approach. This means that we take a primary reinforcer (treats) and we pair them up with the appearance of the other dog – in the world of neurology the phrase is “neurons that fire together wire together.” It has to be a primary reinforcer of Super High Value (SHV) because when we are trying to organize neurons to fire together for one thing – i.e. the behavior we want – the thing that is greater in value (either for good or evil) will win the firing supremacy. In other words the primary reinforcer needs to more valuable than the trigger is scary.

For example: if you have a dog who is afraid of cars and you just keep putting them into the car thinking they will just get over it, they may if they are going somewhere that is bigger in the positive sense than their fear of the car is in the negative sense. However, if the place they are going or the treat they get for the ride is not bigger than their fear of the car the dog will simply learn to hide from you when they know you are going to put them into the car because you have not changed how they feel about the car for the better but you have increased their fear to include you picking them up to put them into the car.

Here’s what may have been missed in previous attempts.

**Desensitize/counter-condition for every dog** –

DS/CC needs to be done for each and every dog you guys see because we don’t know which one will set him off and if we aren’t proactively working our DS/CC program on each and every dog Ozzie could have an outburst which would be self-reinforcing and the reactivity would continue. Another reason this needs to be done for each and every dog is because although Ozzie may not be having an outburst he may still be cranking himself up inside. This is not unlike my human when she drives over a bridge: she doesn’t scream anymore, but her knuckles are white on the steering wheel so I know she’s not in a good state of mind and over-threshold.

Stay sub-threshold –

Another thing that may have gone wrong with the other DS/CC attempts is that your timing has to catch him where he is what we call sub-threshold. This means that he is not over-the-top reacting and can actually focus on the treats and a simple command to do nothing when approached by other dogs. My human uses either “look at that,” “who’s that” or “oh boy,” for her simple “do nothing” command since these are non-offensive to anyone passing by and are pretty easy things for most humans to say in a bit of a panic. Remember: all Ozzie has to do here is NOTHING and eat his treat in the presence of his trigger. So how do you stay sub-threshold?

Distance is critical –

You may not think Ozzie has spotted the other dog because he is not over-the-top, but canine senses are so acute that if you see the dog you can be certain that Ozzie knows full well there is another dog nearby. So always work at a greater distance where Ozzie is sub-threshold then slowly close up the distance over time.

Timing is crucial –

With a good enough distance for Ozzie to be able to focus on the treats you would say “who’s that” or “look at that” and IMMEDIATELY give Ozzie that piece of cheese or hot dog. (Oh yeah that’s the other thing – explore the world of SHVT [super high value treats] to see what will make Ozzie vibrate with joy and begin with that. Later you can work your way down to something less HV as he gets better and better around other dogs. Remember as the trigger gets less scary you can either close the distance or lower the value of the reinforcer.

Repetition –

This is what breaks most humans down. Remember, we dogs don’t generalize the same way humans do. And although we are working on a neurological level when we are changing the way Ozzie’s neurons fire together, i.e. meaning that SHVT = Dog, it does take a while for new pathways to be really well-formed in the brain. Also, please remember that we are also asking him to learn a new behavior in the face of his old trigger – the other dog – so this can take a lot of repetitions.

Avoidance –

As you are practicing your timing you will need to walk Ozzie in areas where you know you can control all potential doggie encounters so you can keep him sub-threshold. My human often tells people to plop their dog in the car (if they like cars) then drive to an empty parking lot or a strip mall where they know there won’t be too many other dogs and practice there. Then, when you are feeling good about your timing and awareness, you would start to shadow other dogs in a controlled environment. This is usually across the street from a vet’s office, or a down time at the local dog park where dogs will be going in and out, also pet stores can be a good location for this – so long as there are not too many other dogs and there is enough distance for Ozzie to be sub-threshold.

Set your dog up to succeed –

Once you and Ozzie have a good working understanding of your new command – your “look at that” or the “who’s that” command – and he is responding to you reliably on whichever of these you use when you see other dogs and you have decreased the distance on the shadowing adventures to equal the same distance you would encounter in your apartment complex then you are finally ready to “try this at home.” Remember to bring those SHVT out again in a heartbeat and be ready to retreat (get out of Dodge) if it goes badly and return to shadowing at a distance until he is ready to try again.

Have an escape plan –

This means that if Ozzie is reacting you would move him a bit away from the other dog using some tension on the leash, then take a handful of those SHVT, rest them for a moment right on his nose so he can smell them, and then gently toss the snacks from his nose into the opposite direction of the trigger dog. He will follow the snacks if he is not too far over threshold and you can then relax tension on the leash and follow Ozzie in that direction and, if need be, keep the go-sniff treat-tossing up as you “Hansel and Gretel” him out of Dodge. (We place the snacks right on his nose provided he wouldn’t redirect onto you – which it sounds like he might given that he once redirected to bite you. In which case you would move him farther away just using the leash before attempting the “go-sniff.” Once he gets better at all of it – you will be able to just “go-sniff” him away when disaster strikes. Remember, you will have to practice the “go-sniff” when there are no distractions – so he knows it when you ask him for it in times of trouble.) Keep in mind that it is not ideal to muscle a dog around using the leash, but it things go badly – you got to get out.

As you can see, there are way more components here than just having treats in the presence of another dog. There is still way more than I was able to put into this response before my poor paws got tired from the typing. Just try typing by paw-pecking.

There are a number of books out there that may help and you can find the best ones my human has found in the Boo-tique:

Feisty Fido by Patricia McConnell, PhD and Bringing Shadow to Light, How to Right a Dog Gone Wrong by Pam Dennison, CBDC will offer you guys some great training tips.

Calming Signals, on Talking Terms with Dogs by Turid Rugaas will offer you a primer on canine body language.

For the Love of a Dog: Understanding the Emotion in You and Your Best Friend by Patricia McConnell, Ph.D will offer your human insight into the dog’s emotional world.

Hope this helps Ozzie and you, too!

The Comfy Chair It Ain’t

The Pet Safe Stay Mat has absolutely no place in positive reinforcement dog training.

Usually on the Three Dogs blog we like to bring you guys notices of classes, updates to the web page, and items of interest that may help you and your dog(s) live a happier, healthier life. However, sometimes we have to warn you about things and this is one of those times.

Imagine you have gone to visit your neighbor because you are new to the neighborhood.

They kindly offer you a necklace as a house-warming gift and they then proceed to go make some tea. You are sitting in a chair in the neighbor’s living room and notice something outside the front window. You get up to investigate the commotion out the window just across the room.

Suddenly, you hear a funny noise then the pain begins and at first you can’t tell where the pain is coming from. You begin checking yourself and find the pain is coming from the “necklace” your new neighbor just gave you. You try to get it off but it doesn’t come off. The pain is non-stop. You begin to run around to see it you can find something to help get it off, something to make it stop – something to stop the agonizing, confusing, scary pain.

As you are running, you brush the chair where you were sitting before this all began and for a brief second the pain stopped. That couldn’t be it – no. So you keep running; keep pulling at the necklace, now you are screaming and asking any deity to help you make it stop. You ask yourself, “What have I done to deserve this? What lesson could this possibly be teaching me?” But no good answer comes in the language you speak. The pain just won’t stop.

Unexpectedly the new neighbor grabs you and forces you back into the chair. You sit in the chair shaking and breathing heavily – afraid to move; afraid even to breathe too hard for fear it will start all over again. Even though the pain is stopped, the fear, the anguish, and confusion are all still there. What the hell was that???

It was the “Pet Safe Stay Mat”* brought to you by the people at Pet Safe who encourage shocking a dog into scared submission rather than easily rewarding them for doing what is fun and makes everyone happy around them.

Here’s their explanation:

The Stay! Mat functions by detecting your dog’s weight on the mat. If your dog leaves the mat while the unit is turned on, the mat will send a radio signal up to 6 feet in all directions. The receiver collar will receive the radio signal and produce a beep or beep and static correction until your dog returns to the mat. The correction type depends on the setting you choose. Once your dog returns to the mat, the beep and static correction will cease. (Two week training period required.)

In the words of Karen Overall, M.A, V.M.D., Ph.D from Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Small Animals:

“Shock collars are seldom used correctly, are more often overused or inappropriately used, can make any aggressive animal more aggressive, and may tell us more about the people who feel that they have to rely on them than about the pet’s problem…”

In the instructions for the cold-hearted “Stay Mat” it says there is a two week training period required but I can easily train a dog to hold a position on a mat for rewards in an hour or less. I can proof that behavior in a couple of 10 – 15 minutes sessions and have it reliable with distance and distraction in a couple days. So, why spend more time, more money and torment your dog in the process by using this device?

When looking at various training methods we have to consider what is the scientifically best proven approach – it is and always will be positive reinforcement because it has been proven to be both more effective and more humane than coercion. AND we have to ask ourselves: how would you like this done to you? Yes we are talking about dogs not people. But when we are talking about dogs we are talking about animals whose capacity to feel, emote, love, fear, and forgive is equal and sometimes greater than we humans can produce. And it is necessary to keep in mind that the way a dog’s brain and our brain processes pain and fear are almost identical – fight or flight. So it is valid to ask if this is something you would like to endure.

Please tell Pet Safe, PetSmart, and others who are carrying this product; tell your friends, your neighbors and anyone who will listen – this is not the way to teach an easy settle command. But it is a great way to torment your dog, teach them fear, and break down any hope at a trusting relationship with them since you will be the one putting them back “into the non-comfy chair.”

Shock collars banned in Wales thanks to the RSPCA and The Kennel Club!

After years of effort, the RSPCA and The Kennel Club of the UK successfully get shock collars banned in Wales!

For as much as I don’t mince words about aversive training methods, I especially don’t mince words about the use of shock collars in dog training. Apparently others don’t either:

Communications Director Caroline Kisko [The Kennel Club of the UK] said: “Electric shock collars train dogs through pain and through fear – they are a cruel, outdated and unsuitable method of training dogs.”

The Kennel Club of the UK: “… this barbaric method of training dogs.”

Claire Lawson, RSPCA public affairs manager for Wales, said: “This is a great day for animal welfare in Wales.” (1)

Electric shock collar ban in Wales announced

Based on years of solid behavioral science we know the use of coercive behavior modification like shock collars is inappropriate and cruel. While one can choose to inflict pain to punish a behavior, it speaks more to the individual’s preference than to good training techniques.

Although some people will suggest – even put forth as solid science – that shock collars are just another option in training, they have missed the core issues in behavioral science. As Murray Sidman (2) plainly points out in his book Coercion and Its Fallout, “[J]ust punishing the animal for doing something else does not teach it to sit. At most, punishment only teaches it what not to do.” (3)

He has much more to say on this topic and I will simply add one more of his comments here: “When we take all of its effects into account, punishment’s success in getting rid of behavior will seem inconsequential. The other changes that take place in people who are punished, and, what is sometimes even more important, the changes that take place in those who do the punishing, lead inevitably to the conclusion that punishment is a most unwise, undesirable, and fundamentally destructive method of controlling conduct.” (4)

I know some will say: “Yeah, but he’s talking about humans – we’re just talking about dog training.” Actually the experiments he is referring to have been on mice, dogs, monkeys, birds, and other critters – not of the human variety. We can see what happens to humans as a result of coercion from real-life observations. We know what happens to our animal friends by real laboratory experiments where we can clearly point to the coercion as the cause of a host of unwanted “fallout” behaviors, not the least of which are increased aggression or learned helplessness and complete shut-down.

As the overwhelming body of science against shock collars continues to grow, the tide against their use as being acceptable has begun to pick up momentum and this is just the latest example.

Cymru am byth!

1 BBC 25, February 2010
2 Dr. Sidman, Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University, International Fellow, Association for Behavior Analysis, former academic appointments include: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, EK Shriver Center for Mental Retardation, Columbia University, Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and others.
3 Coercion and its Fallout, pg 46
4 Coercion and its Fallout, pg 77

Dogs and cats playing together? Mass hysteria!

The different ways that dogs and cats play and the best ways to make sure that they play well together.

Honey the dog asks:

My name is Honey, and I am a 2 year old Cockapoo. My little brother, Toby, is a cat, and he came to live with us a few months ago. He is 10 months old. We love each other, but sometimes we don’t seem to speak the same language, what’s up with that?? For example, I do lots of play bows, really obvious play bows…. does he understand I am saying let’s play?? When he wants to play, sometimes he stares at me and then flicks his ear… also, sometimes he just bolts out from nowhere and tackles me….. any insights will be gratefully accepted.

Professor Boo responds:

I can really relate to this question. I have a cat, too – her name is Freya and my daddy found her in a tree in our yard.

She likes to chase me around and sometimes jumps at me. I never play bow her because I just don’t play bow easily. My big little-brother does play bow her but since he is 85 pounds she sometimes runs from him when he does this and sometimes she just sits there and looks at him funny.

I have also observed him telling her off when he thinks she is going to get in between him and his food. She understands this very clearly and is gone is a streak of black and white fur when he does this.

From my perspective, Freya knows exactly when I want to play and she lets me know when she wants to play. The same is true with Porthos. Dante doesn’t play with her too much these days. Although cats and dogs speak different species language I think they, like humans, eventually start to understand each other.

Dante doesn’t play with Freya much these days.

But in his prime he and Merlin-the-cat were great buddies.

Play is understood as play based on the consequences that follow

If they are having fun they will recognize it as play and log that away for later reference.

Dogs and cats that don’t like each other will clearly demonstrate their intentions.

Cats can hunker down, ears back, and they may hiss. Some cats will run away. Unfortunately, this can cause the dog to chase them. My cat Freya is a funny cat and she will actually chase me around the house. I don’t especially care for that.

Dogs who don’t like cats will often try to put more distance between them and the dreaded cat by growling, barking, showing teeth, etc. Dogs will more often (except in Freya’s case) be the chaser and chase the cat sometimes in a predatory manner and sometimes to drive the cat away.

Ultimately we can know it is play by the wriggly body language and bounciness from each. Threatening body language is hard and direct – no bounciness and joy can be seen. Either animal may want to make more distance between him and the other, or want to come if for fun and play

Honey, it sounds like you are communicating with Toby very nicely.

It is possible he understands you want to play but remember cats tend to play differently – they like to lie in wait then pounce (it seems they wait until they think no one is looking – but who really knows what’s in the mind of a cat). This could be why Toby stares, then flicks his ears, and then pounces. You have told him you are no threat and would like to play and in typical cat fashion he has understood this and said, “Great, I’ll get back to you on that in my own good time…”

While these are just my observations from my doggie perspective with Freya and even years ago with Tara and Merlin you can find more about cat behavior at this web site: Cat Behavior Associates.

Alpha. You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

Alpha is the most misused word in dog training and often leads to abuse. Here’s the correct definition of the word.

One of the most misused terms in all of dog training is the term Alpha. I hear this term used over and over again.

Alpha is a scientific term that allows researchers to identify the animal in a social situation who has the most access to the most resources from food to safe sleeping places to reproduction.

Alpha is not about force, aversives, bullying, or dominance.

Here’s a video by Dave Mech (pronounced Meech), the renowned wolf research biologist who coined the wolf “Alpha” reference in his 1970 book The Wolf: Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species, where he discusses how the term is woefully outdated because of subsequent research that proved their original Alpha concept was an unfortunate result of non-optimal study subjects.

It would be much like observing humans in a prison and extrapolating from that that all humans sleep with shivs under the pillows and use cigarettes as currency:

Being the pack leader is about being a parent and not a bully. It’s not about rolling your dog, kicking your dog, poking your dog with a snake-like sound, using shock, pinch or choke collars on them, or using any other aversive tool.

If someone tells you that to be the Alpha in your pack you need to dominate by force or cause pain to your dog, it’s not a position based in behavioral science but is simply their choice.

If you want to be the leader of your pack then be your dog’s parent.

Teach them, guide them, love them, play with them, redirect unwanted behaviors, and control access to resources. In short, be everything they’re instinctively expecting out of a parent and nothing they’re not.

Not only is this proven behavioral science, it’s just good plain old common sense.