Green Acres Kennel Shop

OBJECTIVE: To teach your dog to lie down on a single verbal or visual cue in a relaxed position, wherever they are, and to remain there until given another cue.

I have heard that some dogs like Poodles and Bichon Frises do not shed. Is this true?

While some dog breeds shed more heavily than others, all dogs, with the exception of hairless breeds, shed. Often people obtain Labrador Retrievers, believing that since their coats are short they will not shed very much. The fact is that Labs often shed quite a lot and have a tendency to do so year round. The northern breeds such as Huskies and Malamutes, while they shed year round, have a major coat blow in the Spring which usually lasts a couple of weeks to a month. Poodles and similar coated dogs do not tend to shed as much as the other breeds because they do not have a double coat. Poodle shedding is often deceptive; when they shed their hair it does not end up on the floor. Instead it remains in their coats and contributes to the creation of mats if not properly brushed.

While a dog’s growl can be upsetting and disheartening to us it also serves the very useful purpose of alerting us to the fact that the dog is feeling threatened or uncomfortable. It is the dog’s way of saying “If something in this situation does not change, I may feel threatened enough to bite.”

As a certified dog behavior consultant (CDBC) I deal with a greater number of aggressive dogs than the average person, I love it when a client dog growls. When a dog growls at me it is giving me a warning and an opportunity to change my behavior, thus preventing a bite from occurring. For this reason, I advise all my clients and students that it is NEVER wise to punish a dog for growling, even by saying “No.” Dogs that are repeatedly punished for growling eventually may not give a warning and immediately escalate to biting. A dog that does not growl before biting is a dangerous dog.

I recently received the following email from a prospective client. Since the problem they are experiencing is often typical, I thought I’d share their questions and my response.

I knew of Marian and Bob Bailey but had never heard them speak until the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) Conference in Valley Forge. After spending an hour with them and their chickens, I realized there was a great deal that the Bailey's could teach me. I knew they were having a 5-Day workshop in the summer, and like an eager retriever waiting for dinner, could not wait to signup.

Even though dogs do not 'talk' in the same way that we do, they do manage to communicate with other dogs’ quite well. Dogs use some forms of vocal communication (whine, bark, growl, howl, etc.) as well as a variety of body postures and movements to indicate their messages. Puppies learn these communication skills while with their litter and mother. Puppies separated from their litter before eight weeks of age run the risk of not having enough exposure to this process and may exhibit behavioral problems.

If you spend some time learning canine as a second language, you will be rewarded with a much better understanding of your pet and his behavior. With study and practice, you can learn to understand what your dog is trying to communicate.

OBJECTIVE: To learn how to stop your dog from inappropriately jumping up on people.

Jumping up to greet us is a very natural behavior for puppies and dogs, yet most people want to actively discourage this behavior. It is not a bad behavior to discourage, as a full-grown dog, at least the larger breeds, could inadvertently knock a child or elderly person to the ground.

The “Woof-Meow” show is on every Sunday at 8:30PM on WVOM, 103.9FM, the Voice of Maine. Hosted by Don Hanson of Green Acres Kennel Shop, the show focuses on educating dog and cat guardians about their dogs and cats.

AIR DATE: Sunday, February 11 & 18, 2007

GUEST: Colleen Pelar with Don Hanson & Kate Dutra

As humans, we often like to show our affection by hugging or kissing those we care about. While I am completely supportive of people showing affection towards their dogs, I try very hard to educate all of our clients and training students that dogs are not humans, and that they often find our need to hug and to kiss stressful and confrontational. While a very small number of dogs may learn to actually enjoy this type of contact, most merely tolerate it even though they find it objectionable; others choose to bite.

OBJECTIVE: To teach your dog to take things from your hand when cued to do so and leave things in your hand or elsewhere when cued to do so.

The Take It and Leave It cues are useful when you want to tell your dog he may take a treat or toy and when you want to tell him NOT to take a treat, toy, piece of garbage, the cat, or some other object he is not supposed to have. We teach this in the following manner:

I often say that living with a puppy is a lesson in humility, patience and surrender.  What I never realized was just how true this would also be in the golden years.  Don’t get me wrong.  In no way would I trade these times for the world, but as I see my previously strong and vital dog aging, it is impossible not to notice the similarities to his first year.  Emotionally, I am still shocked by how suddenly this aging process seems to have occurred, however intellectually I know that it has been going on less dramatically for quite some time.  My best advice to frustrated puppy owners is to enjoy their young ones energy level and curiosity, as there will most definitely come a day that they long for that mischievous attitude, and then can’t help but smile when a glimmer of it returns.

Dogs grow old in various ways, both physically and mentally.  Many begin to lose their sight and hearing, and start to rely more often upon their sense of smell.  It never ceases to amaze me how I can be standing five feet away from my old pal calling to him at increasing decibels, and not until my voice has become quite loud does he respond to it with that look of surprise.  It saddens me that when I come home he is no longer even aware of my arrival until I seek him out.  Amazingly though, despite all this, he can still easily hear the light tinkle of the treat jar opening.  (In order to assuage my ego, I simply tell myself that his response is due to the high pitch of the glass and really not selective hearing.)

(A version of this article first appeared in Volume 11, Issue 2 of Green Acres Kennel Shop Paw Prints – June 2006, updated December 2006)

Green Acres opposes the use of shock collars because they; 1) cause pain and stress, 2) they can cause aggression and 3) because there are ample humane alternatives to training and containment. The use of shock amounts to abuse.

We first warned you of the danger of shock collars in our May 2004 Paw Prints. Since writing that article, we have obtained studies and information further supporting Green Acres position on this serious matter. Additionally, many canine behavior professionals have reached the same conclusions about the problems caused by the use of shock collars. Sadly, due to the continued popularity of electronic underground fence systems and the use of shock collars in training, we felt the need to address this topic again.

In my opinion it is NEVER appropriate to use electric shock to train a dog or any other living thing. There are far better ways to train, with far fewer serious side effects. However, since there are people advocating the use of shock collars, without fully understanding their dangerous side-effects, or perhaps not caring about the physical and emotional pain they inflict on dogs, I feel compelled to explain why shock collars should be relegated to the dust bins of history along with other instruments of torture, such as the rack and thumb screws. 

A Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) will assist you in resolving your dog’s problem behaviors. Typical behavior problems they deal with include aggression and biting, separation anxiety, inappropriate urination and defecation, obsessive compulsive behaviors, food or toy guarding, fears and phobias and other stress related behaviors.

OBJECTIVE: To teach your dog to get into a SIT position, wherever they are, when given a single visual or verbal cue and remain in position until released or given another cue.

OBJECTIVE: To habituate your puppy/dog to the many different types of people, places, dogs, animals and things in the world, so they are not afraid of these things.

We cannot stress enough the importance of socialization at this juncture in your puppy’s life. Dogs have a critical socialization period, which typically occurs between 8 and 16 weeks, allowing room for some individual variability. It is during this time that they will be most open to new and different experiences. What they are not exposed to during this time frame, they will be more likely to fear later in life. This does not mean that just because they were exposed to something they will never fear it, but it certainly decreases the chances of this occurring.

A Puppy Headstart class alone is not adequate socialization for your puppy. All puppies need to be safely exposed to as many different places, people, environments and situations as possible without over stimulating them. This is even more critical for the puppy that is unsure of himself, shy or fearful. It is essential if you hope to have your puppy work as a certified therapy dog or as any type of assistance dog.

Many are concerned about bringing their puppy out into public, as they have not completed their vaccination series. Since socialization is so essential to the behavioral wellbeing of a dog and since much of this period occurs before a puppy is fully vaccinated, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior recommends “…it should be the standard of care for puppies to receive such socialization before they are fully vaccinated.”¹   In a letter to the veterinary community at-large, Dr. R.K Anderson, a Diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and a Diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists states; “Experience and epidemiologic data support the relative safety and lack of transmission of disease in these puppy socialization classes over the past 10 years in many parts of the United States. In fact; the risk of a dog dying because of infection with distemper or parvo disease is far less than the much higher risk of a dog dying (euthanasia) because of a behavior problem.”²

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Why is training a dog so important?

Dogs are a separate species from people and as such have their own special needs and natural instincts. They communicate differently than we humans do, and many of their normal behaviors are counter to our own. When we bring a dog or puppy into our homes and our lives we are asking them to change much of what is natural about their existence. We not only need to teach them how to fit in but also teach ourselves about their needs so that we can learn to accommodate them and adjust our expectations to make the best possible situation for both species; dog and human. If we do not take the time to train our dogs and educate ourselves we will both be frustrated and not nearly as happy as we could be.