BARKS from the Guild Autumn 2014

Issue No. 9 / October 2014

TRAININGExaminingFood Toys

BUSINESSResolvingConict

PUPPIESSetting Upfor Success

CANINEThe PrisonPup Mutt

FELINEBehaviorUnmasked

EQUINETo Bit orNot to Bit?

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from the GuildBARKS

An environmentally force-free online magazine from the Pet Professional Guild

The Many Faces of Behavior Myopia:

What Bella Is Really Saying

Published by the Pet Professional Guild9122 Kenton Road, Wesley Chapel, FL 33545

Tel: 41 Dog-Train (413-648-7246) www.PetProfessionalGuild.com

Editor-in-ChiefSusan Nilson

[email protected]

Contributing EditorsBob McMillan, Elizabeth Traxler, Kiki Yablon

The Guild Steering CommitteeJan Casey, Diane Garrod, Caryn Liles, Debra Millikan, Susan Nilson, Anne Springer, Heidi Steinbeck, Angelica Steinker, Niki Tudge, Catherine Zehner

BARKS from the GuildPublished quarterly, BARKS from the Guild presents a

collection of valuable business and technical articles as well as reviews and news stories pertinent to our industry. BARKS is

the official publication of the Pet Professional Guild(PPG) and is distributed free to all members.

SubmissionsBARKS encourages the submission of original written materials. Please contact the Editor-in-Chief for contributor guidelines

prior to sending manuscripts or see: www.PetProfessionalGuild.com/ForcefreeindustrypublicationPlease submit all contributions via our submission form at:

www.PetProfessionalGuild.com/BFTGcontent

Membership ManagerRebekah King

[email protected]

Letters to the EditorTo comment on authors work, or to let us know what topics youwould like to see more of, contact the Editor-in-Chief via email putting BARKS in the subject line of your email. BARKS reserves

the right to edit for length, grammar and clarity.

AdvertisingPlease contact Niki Tudge at [email protected] toobtain a copy of rates, ad specifications, format requirements and

deadlines. Advertising information is also available at:www.PetProfessionalGuild.com/AdvertisinginBARKS

PPG does not endorse or guarantee any products, services or ven-dors mentioned in BARKS, nor can it be responsible for problemswith vendors or their products and services. PPG reserves the right

to reject, at its discretion, any advertising.

2 BARKS from the Guild/October 2014

BARKSfrom the Guild

The Pet Professional Guild is a membership business league representing pet industry professionals who are committed to force-free

training and pet care philosophies, practices and methods. Pet Professional Guild members understand force-free to mean: NoShock, No Pain, No Choke, No Prong, No Fear, No Physical Force, No

Physical Molding, and No Compulsion-Based Methods.

There are so many talking points in this issue its diffi-cult to know where to start... At the very beginning,our cover story details the somewhat prolific practice ofbehavior myopia, something many of us have, no doubt,been guilty of at one time or another. As trainers, behav-ior consultants and pet owners, we owe it to our compan-ion animals to take their emotional state(s) into accountwhen they are performing what we consider to be undesir-able behavior. By watching body language closely, takingnote of the nuances and making sure we are not blindedby the overt, in-your-face behaviors, we can often unlockthe mystery of a behavior problem and treat it at its core,rather than just tap the surface.Next, we have an informative article on puppies which

covers the essential art of housetraining and preparingyour home for your pup before he even arrives. For theadult dogs, we have an insightful article on how aversivemethods actually make aggressive behavior worse and howquick fixes are no substitute for the long-lasting resultsbrought about by positive reinforcement. In our ongoingseries of life with a deaf dog, we look at some of thegadgets that may or may not be helpful in training. Wealso relate the story of a rescue puppy who grew up to be-come an integral part of British Columbias progressivecanine prison program. As always, the issue of dogs bitingchildren is a relevant one and we feature the first of a two-part series detailing ways to create a relationship of mutualrespect and empathy between the two.Not forgetting other species, we debate why there is so

little education on feline behavior in the field of veterinarytraining and also shed some light on some common felinebehavior problems. For the bird lovers, we discuss the im-portance of ensuring a bird in captivity - who may usuallyspend 60 percent of his day foraging for food - stays phys-ically and mentally stimulated. For the equestrians, we in-vestigate various types of tack and ponder whether a bit isactually an aid to communication or an instrument of torture.In our business section we continue our discussion of

conflict resolution, highlight the importance of financialplanning, and showcase the many reasons why dog train-ers do in fact make excellent salespeople. Once again, thank you all for your excellent contribu-

tions. Without your input BARKS would not be possible.

Editor-in-ChiefSusan Nilson

Food for Thought

BARKS from the Guild/October 2014

C O N T E N T S

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4 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENTNiki Tudge gives an update on the PPGlicensing program and 2015 convention

7 EVENTS, NEWS & EDUCATIONLatest developments and events at PPG

14 AVOIDING BEHAVIOR MYOPIA: RECOGNIZING THE SUBTLE SIGNSBehavior modication protocols must acknowledge covert and subtle behaviors too, say Angelica Steinker and Eileen Anderson

21 WHEN FOOD TOYS FAILEileen Anderson discusses the pros and cons of food puzzle toys

25 PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURESetting up before your puppy comes home is key, says Barb Levenson

28 AGGRESSION BEGETS AGGRESSIONDiane Garrod examines the eect of aversive training methods on a dogs psyche

30 GADGETS AND GIZMOSMorag Heirs answers common questions about recall and gadgets for deaf dogs

33 A LIFETIME OF SUCCESSJoan Orr on creating empathy and respect between children and dogs

36 THE MIRACLE MUTTGail Radtke relates the tale of Lanie and her work in prisons and hospitals

40 THE ELEPHANT ON THE STAIRSElephants trained using positive methods are more productive, says Bob McMillan

43 HELP IS HEREBook Review: Leslie Clifton reviews Juvenile Delinquent Dogs by Sue Brown

44 TO BIT OR NOT TO BIT?Dr. Lisel ODwyer details the ethics of various tack

48 VETS NEED BEHAVIORISTS TOOJane Ehrlich contemplates the absence of education in the eld of feline behavior

50 FELINE BEHAVIOR UNMASKEDJane Ehrlich responds to commonly asked questions about cats

52 A CRY FOR ATTENTIONLara Joseph details the importance of foraging for birds in captivity

55 A NEW APPROACHNiki Tudge debates conflict resolution skills to improve client commitment

59 THE PRO-ACTIVE PET BUSINESS OWNERPlanning the nancial side of your business is essential, says Marie Poliseno

60 FETCH MORE DOLLARS: LIKE PEAS IN A PODGood dog trainers can be very eective salespeople, says John D. Visconti

62 MEMBER PROFILEIntroducing Mary Jean Alsina of The Canine Cure, LLC

64 PPG SPECIAL EVENTBack to Basics: Five-Day Dog Training Workshop in Tampa, FL

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M E S S A G E F R O M T H E P R E S I D E N T

2) Applicants must have completed 30 continuingeducation credit hours at professional seminars, work-shops and/or webinars within the previous three years.

3) Applicants can be either full-time or part-timeprofessionals; eligibility is determined by the number ofhours of experience.

4) Applicants must provide proof of business insurance(US only).

5) Applicants must have a professional and up-to-date website, a professional Facebook Business Page or aMerchant Circles account.

6) Applicants must provide two written referencesfrom fellow professionals confirming their date of entryinto the industry and confirming their logged hours of training.

Now that I have captured your interest I can assureyou a lot more details will be rolled out in the near future.

The 2015 PPG Annual ConventionThe official name for the inaugural PPG Convention is:The Force-Free Summit - Reaching for a Higher Standard.

The goals for this summit are to: a. Help build awareness of our organization and a

stronger collaboration between force-free pet professionals.b. Help build communication and networking op-

portunities with the veterinary community and veterinaryeducators.

c. Showcase a very interactive and fun educationalformat.

The convention will take place in Tampa, FL from 11-13 November, 2015 and we plan to live-stream the entireproceedings. Our Convention Committee is already busyputting all the foundations in place, and Dr. Karen Over-all will be opening the event. If you would like to make apresentation at this, our very first convention, please fillout this application form.

10 QuestionsPPG recently published a new member handout titled 10Questions to Ask Your Dog Training Professional - BEFOREYou Hire Them! which is also available on our website. Cre-ated by the PPG Steering Committee, active PPG mem-bers may use this educational piece as a business tool tohelp guide their clients. Hopefully we will educate thegeneral pet owning public at the same time and help directthem towards force-free training methods.

Here are the 10 questions featured in the handout:

Dear PPG Members,

Welcome to your October issue of BARKS from the Guild.I hope you are as excited about reading this issue as wewere when we first received all of these great articles.This is an incredible edition.

It seems like January was only a few weeks ago yetsuddenly I find myself thinking about where I would liketo be this holiday season. Yes, December is just aroundthe corner and, once again, it will be time to plan and de-velop our strategic goals for 2015. One of our key goalsnext year will be to roll out the PPG Local Area Chapters.I had hoped to have this finalized this year but other,more urgent items pushed it aside.

At the beginning of this year PPG had many keygoals, two of the biggest being our Licensing Force-FreeCertification Program and our 2015 Convention. Both arealready underway and we are extremely excited aboutthem.

The PPG Licensing ProgramThis will be a professional licensing program that ensurescompetency, transparency and accountability. Our goalwhen developing the program was to provide a meaning-ful credential that supports pet dog owners by ensuring astandard for competent force-free professionals, who arefully transparent and professionally accountable. We thinkwe have succeeded in this.

In December we will be rolling out Phase One of theprogram (see Gatekeeper #1 below) for dog trainers and dogbehavior consultants. Phase Two will incorporate pet careprofessionals and other specialized pet trainers. I knowyou will have many questions about the applicationprocess since I regularly receive emails urging us to rollout this program, so here are some details about the ap-plication criteria so you can begin to review them. The ac-tual program is a combination of testing knowledge,mechanical competency and teaching ability.

Gatekeeper #1: The Application Criteria1) All Applicants must be able to demonstrate 300

hours of experience training in group classes and/or 150hours of private training consultations to be eligible toapply for the PPG license. One training hour unit is de-fined as 1 x 60 minutes of private training or 1 x 60 min-utes of one group class.

PPG Licensing and a Force-Free Summit

What dog training equipment do you use whentraining a dog or do you recommend I use? A force-free professional trainer will recommend usingequipment that has been designed with a dog's safety inmind. While collars are great for holding ID tags, theycan do damage to a dog's neck and throat if the dog iswalking with pressure on the leash (i.e. pulling).

We recommend using a properly fitted front- or back-clipping harness to lessen the chances of damage to thedog's neck and to keep him comfortable as he learns towalk on a leash nicely without pulling. We also suggest a6'-8' flat leash rather than a retractable leash. These givethe handler much more control and help avoid injury. Ifa dog is prone to slipping out of a harness then we sug-gest double-clipping the leash to a martingale collar aswell as to the harness. This is an additional security meas-ure.

A force-free training professional will never recom-mend the use of equipment that is designed to causepain or discomfort or restrict a dogs breathing. This in-cludes pinch/prong collars, choke/check chains, spraycollars and electric/shock collars. These collars are un-safe for the dog wearing them. Both the collars and thepain they elicit may become associated with people andplaces in the dogs environment, a pairing that can cause apotentially dangerous behavior.

What happens in your training program whenthe dog responds in the way you want him to?Fabulous things happen to the dog when he gets it right.Fun, toys, food Whatever the dog wants suddenly ap-pears. A force-free trainer will say the dog gets posi-tively reinforced when he does the right thing. Thismeans the dog gets paid and receives something hedeems of high value. Positive reinforcement should bedelivered by and paired with a happy, stress-free traineror pet owner.

What happens in your training program whenthe dog responds in the way you do not wanthim to? We believe that "bad" behavior should be ignored orredirected. If we teach our dog alternative behaviors thenwe can ask him to perform one of those instead of whatwe perceive to be inappropriate behavior. This helps thedog learn what to do and makes us feel better about ourdogs.

For example, when our dog jumps up on us we can ei-ther get angry with him or we can ask him to sit (whichwe will have previously taught him) and then reward him

BARKS from the Guild/October 2014 5


with our attention or a treat. It will not take long for thedog to realize that it is better to sit than to jump. Thisputs the onus back on us to teach our dogs the things weDO want them to do so that we can feel good about thedog and his behavior, rather than just get angry becausehe is not doing the right thing.

How will you punish the dog or advise me topunish the dog if he gets something wrong orexhibits a behavior I do not like Very simply, we ensure we are teaching the dog age-ap-propriate skills and always make sure we are not expect-ing too much too soon. We constantly ensure we aremotivating the dog correctly. If the dog has been trainedand the skill is appropriate for his age but he still gets itwrong, we very briefly remove something he wants such as treats, toys or attention - and then try again.

How do you ensure that my dog is not inadvertently being punished? In a force-free training environment it would be reflectedin the dogs demeanor and performance if he were beinginadvertently punished. A professional force-free traineris well-versed in canine communication and will immedi-ately be aware of any signs that a dog is uncomfortable.A professional trainer will regroup and reassess whatthey are doing to create the most empowering learningenvironment.

How do you know that the type of reinforcement you have selected to train my dog is appropriate? A force-free professional trainer will help you determinewhat is the most suitable reinforcement for your dogbased on what he likes, what best motivates him and howthe reinforcement can best be delivered within a trainingenvironment. Your professional force-free trainer will ed-ucate you on the different types of reinforcement andwhen to use them.

How will you know or how will I know if mydog is stressed during the training? A professional force-free dog trainer will do everythinghe/she can to ensure your dog is not stressed duringtraining sessions. Professional trainers are educated andexperienced in interpreting canine communication. Dogswho are whining, growling, snarling or snapping are ob-viously stressed but there are also more subtle signs ofstress that we also need to be on the lookout for. To dothis, we watch for signs via the dogs body language.

Some of these signs of stress may be: (contd on page 6)



1. Whale eye the whites of the eyes look like cres-cent moons.

2. Eyes wide open and round rather than soft andalmond shaped. Pupils may be dilated.

3. Furrowed brow.4. Mouth is closed and the corners of the mouth

(commissures) are either pulled forward into an offensive pucker or pulled back and down.

5. Panting when the temperature does not warrant it. Additionally, sweaty paw prints may be seen.

6. Ears set flat back against the head or very far for-ward.

7. Legs are stiff, possibly rolling forward up on toes.8. Tail may be held high or low (possibly tucked).

The wag is short and stiff and does not involve the entire rear end.

9. Neck may be extended to raise the head up high (ostrich neck).

10. Head turns away from trainer or training object.11. Body shaking.12. Paw lifts.13. Lip licking or tongue flicks.14. Sniffing the ground randomly (not on a scent

trail).15. Running away and refusing to come when called.

Which professional dog training associationsare you a member of? Your professional force-free dog trainer should maintainmemberships only with select organizations that advo-cate humane, ethical training methods that are minimallyaversive to animals. They should not or will not partici-pate in any organization that promotes or endorses

methods or training styles that use punishment, force,fear or intimidation.

Will you guarantee your training results? A professional force-free dog trainer will not guaranteetheir training results. There are too many variables in-volved and a professional dog trainer cannot controlthese. Instead, your professional dog trainer will work intandem with you to effect the most appropriate behaviorchange in line with your goals. The results will be de-pendent on many things, including your level of commit-ment and compliance to the recommended program.

How do you think a dogs behavior should beaddressed if the dog is growling or snappingat people or other dogs?An experienced force-free dog trainer will assess whetheryour dog is just overly aroused or has a genuine fear oraggression issue as the two can look similar. If your dogis anxious or fearful, exhibiting avoidance or acting out inan aggressive manner, then a program of desensitizationand counter-conditioning (respondent learning) can beused. This type of program aims to change the dogsemotional response to stimuli that previously upset him,thus reducing the probability of him feeling the need toresort to those behaviors in the future.

Using positive reinforcement (also known as operantlearning), your dog will also be taught behaviors he canhave recourse to in place of the unwanted behaviors. De-pending on your dog's individual circumstances, yourtrainer may ask you to take certain safety measures orconsult with a veterinarian to rule out or address any rel-evant medical issues.

Workshop, Surveys and QuizzesThe PPG recently held its very first workshop RefiningYour Training Skills with Emily Larlham at its new premisesin Tampa, FL. For a full report on all the action, see page7. We will be hosting many more fun, educational PPGevents next year so be sure to check out pages 12 - 13 formore information.

Finally, thank you to those who took our survey re-garding how best we can communicate with you. Over-whelmingly you answered that your preference was byemail, so by email it will be.

Dont forget your Force-Free Friday campaign either.Each Friday morning at 9.30 a.m. (EST) I host a ques-tion and answer session on our members Facebookpage. The winner, who must be flying their force-free

flag, gets to choose a we-binar of their choice.

A big thank you toeveryone who volunteerstheir precious time toPPG, for all of you whoblog, write, chat, promoteor are on one of ourcommittees. Thank you.Together we are buildingsomething great!

Niki TudgeCPDT-KA,NADOI Certified,AABP- Pro-fessionalDog Trainer,

AABP- Professional Dog Be-havior Consultant, is thefounder of the PPG, TheDogSmith, a national dogtraining and pet-care license,and DogNostics Career College.

Niki TudgePresident - Pet Professional Guild

BARKS from the Guild/October 2014 7

P P G E V E N T S

PPG has launched the first in a series of practical, force-free dog training workshops and educational seminars atthe new Canine Behavior Center on King Lake in WesleyChapel, FL.

The inaugural two-day workshop Refining Your TrainingSkills, which took place 27-28 September, 2014, was de-veloped by dog trainer and training instructor Emily Larl-ham in response to her own question, How can we asdog trainers improve our training skills?

Most people know Larlham as the genius behind theKikopup YouTube channel, a force-free trainer who freelyposts informative videos on specific training techniques.

The definition of refine is to remove unwanted ele-ments or to purify, explained Larlham. The focus ofthis seminar was on how we can open our awareness andconsciousness to our own actions and those of our dogs.We investigated how the choice of the marker, reinforcer,reinforcement delivery, reinforcement placement andwhat we do between training affects our training.

The two-day event, attended by 65 trainers, dog own-ers, therapy dog handlers and a veterinarian, was spon-sored by The DogSmith. It was an open and free-forminterchange of how trainers can constantly improve and

refine their training skills, covering the basics of Larl-hams manifesto of progressive reinforcement training,generalization, proofing and behavior chains. She alsodemonstrated several examples of tearing apart a trig-ger, and discussed using multiple and varied rewardmarkers, which alternately end a behavior, serve as a cueto continue the behavior, or release the dog to collect areward.

Ten attendees in working positions had the opportu-nity to practice with their dogs under Larlhams tutelage,demonstrating the areas of focus.

I was honored how far some of [the attendees] hadtraveled, said Larlham. There were even two lovelyladies who had flown in all the way from England. As forthe dogs, they were all rock stars. I particularly enjoy itwhen the group of dogs is very diverse in breed and size.To name a few of the doggie attendees; there was Ban-shee the Papillon, Demi the Corgi, Jada the Doberman,Bree the Brittany and Copper the Norwegian Elkhound.Each time I work with a different dog I learn so muchand I am grateful to the dogs and handlers who attend.

The seminar will be available for purchase fromTawzer Dog as well as Larlhams Dogmantics Dog Train-ing. A further five PPG events have already been sched-uled at the Canine Behavior Center in 2015, including twoforce-free dog training instructor workshops, a force-freedog training workshop, a Tellington TTouch seminar,and a loose leash walking seminar for professionals anddog owners. An up-to-date schedule can be found on thePPG website under Continuing Education.

More pictures are available on the PPG blog.- By Catherine Zehner

Emily Larlham (third left) with some of the attendees at PPGsinaugural dog training workshop Refining Your Training Skills

PPG Launches Force-Free Dog Training Workshops


P P G N E W S

PPG offers an enticing array of membership benefits.Simply log in then go to Members on the top right-hand corner of the PPG Homepage, scroll down toYour Membership Benefits and then Vendor DiscountPrograms.

Our newest benefits are from Dollars and Scents Ac-counting Services and Pet Biz Insurance.

Dollars And Scents is offering members a 15 percentdiscount on a bundled package of services. This consistsof a 12-month subscription for business accounting andthe preparation of the current years federal and state in-come taxes - for both the individual and the business en-tity. Marie Poliseno, CPDT-KA and Certified PublicAccountant, is the owner of Dollars & Scents and willbe hosting a PPG member webinar to help you under-stand your tax liabilities later in the year. Keep an eyeout on our webinar listings for more details.

Pet Biz Insurance is also offering its services to PPGmembers. At this time there is not a master policy asthat requires a commitment of policy numbers but wewill be working towards this through 2015. You can clickhere to fill out the online application form. PPG still hasa master policy with Business Insurers of the Carolinasso now you can shop for the best price and terms basedon your individual needs.

Other vendors offering member benefits include:- PPG Online Print Store (various benefits) - Tawzer Dog (10 percent discount) - Holistic Canine (5 percent discount on website

design service, 10 percent on all other design services)

- Redstone Media Group, publishers of Animal Wellness and Equine Wellness Magazines (50

Benefits for PPG Members

We are always on the lookout for interesting features, member profiles, case studies and training tips to feature in BARKS.

If youd like to join the growing band of member contributors, pleasedo get in touch by email or via social media - Facebook or Twitter.

Weve made it extra easy by creating templates for member profilesand case studies so go ahead and share your ideas, skills and

expertise with everyone!

Become a Contributor to BARKS from the Guild!

percent off a one-year subscription ($12 for 6 issues) - BarkBox (20 percent discount) - TAGTeach (25 percent discount on recorded

webinars) - Xtra Dog (up to 30 percent discount) - Certified Fun Scent Games Instructor and all

Dognostics programs (10 per cent discount) - Dog Trainer ConneXion ($50 discount) - Business Insurers of the Carolinas (offer a

group liability insurance policy to PPG members)- Family Paws Licensed Products (20 percent discount) - Dog Kingdom (shop force-free and get a 10 per-

cent discount. You can also become an affiliate partner and benefit from your clients and refer-rals purchases)

- Dogwise (10 per cent discount) - Doggone Crazy (20 per cent discount) - Doggone Safe (10 per cent discount) - The Clicker Company (5 percent discount and

will put your logo on the clickers) - Positive Animal Solutions (10 per cent discount) - Your Mannerly Mutt (15 per cent discount)

Finally, PPG is now affiliated with the Journal of Veteri-nary Behavior. Members can get an annual subscriptionto the electronic version for just $30 or the print versionfor $45. Non-member rates are $168.

If you know of a company who would like to partnerwith PPG as a preferred vendor there is an applicationform at the top of the Vendor Discount Programs page.Any potential partners must be aligned with PPGs guid-ing principles and will be vetted accordingly.

Please note, PPG does not benefit from any of ourvendors offers; the discount goes straight to the members.


P P G N E W S

9

This summer PPG celebrated National Mutt Day with the creation of its very own Mutts Gallery, featuring photosof members mutts along with incredible tales of their rescues, their achievements once given a second chance andthe impact they have had on their owners lives.

Stories included mutts rescued off the streetsand highways of the Middle East, Asia, Europe,Africa and North America; mutts picked up asstrays with bullet wounds, serious injuries in onecase leading to amputation - or signs of physicalabuse; mutts who were emaciated, blind, deaf, sick,had rotten teeth or terrible skin infections; muttsrescued from the meat trade; tiny mutts who weredumped in trash cans; mutts whose owners lovedthem but were unable to adequately care for them;mutts who were left alone when their owners died;mutts with physical challenges; mutts from puppymills and terrified mutts who were just abandonedover and over again for various behavioral issues.

Many of them now compete in dog sports ornose work; some are award-winning trick dogs andknow how to skateboard or fetch a beer from thefridge. Others have become St John Ambulancetherapy dogs, first aid partners, prison therapy dogsor therapy dogs for children. Many of them toohave inspired their owners to embark on a changeof career and retrain as a dog trainer or animal be-havior professional.

National Mutt Day occurs twice a year - on 31July and 2 December - to raise awareness of theplight of the millions of mixed breed dogs currentlyfacing euthanasia in shelters around the nation.

Mutts Gallery

The question PPG members most commonly ask is DoYou Record Webinars? The answer is, Yes, we do.

All webinars are recorded and are available after theevent. If you sign up for a live webinar and cannot makeit we automatically send you the recording. If it is a two-part webinar and you miss the first part, you will receivethe recordings for both parts.

All webinars also come with an attendance certificateand most of them have CEUs for KPA, CCPDT andIAABC.

Note that the platform we use only allows 100 partic-ipants to be logged in at the same time, which explainswhy sometimes you may find a webinar is already full.

PPG WebinarsWe invite our members to get involved and con-

tribute their unique skills to our webinar program!

If you would like to host a webinar for your fellow companion animal trainers and behavior

professionals, submit your ideas here.

Topics may include training, ethology, learningtheory, behavior specifics... or anything else you

can think of. Well even do somepractice runs with you to help you

along (if you need them!)-

HOST A WEBINAR FOR PPG!


P P G N E W S

Member Website Features

Force-Free Marketing Tool

BARKS and Blogs

New Member Referral

October Education SpecialsOur excellent team of PPG Bloggers is now posting anew blog every few days on PPG World Services. Thegoal is to provide food for thought and to be educa-tional for professionals, their clients and pet owners ingeneral. You can subscribe to the PPG Blog to makesure you receive every blog directly to your inbox. Wealso post the blogs on our Facebook pages. The morethey are circulated and shared, the more we get theforce-free message out.

Talking of Facebook, BARKS from the Guild now hasits very own page. As well as the blogs, we also providesneak previews of upcoming articles in BARKS. Comeand find us there and join the debate. If you would liketo join our blogging team or contribute to BARKS fromthe Guild, email: [email protected].

Honoring Dr. Sophia YinIt was with great shock and sadness that the animal be-havior community learned of the passing of Sophia YinDVM MS on 29 September, 2014 in Davis, CA.

Dr. Yin was one of that rare breed - a veterinarianwho has also studied animal behavior. Having started outas a vet in 1993, she soon realized more animals were eu-thanized for behavior problems than medical issues andwas inspired to do something about it. She returned tothe books and earned her Masters in Animal Sciencefrom UC Davis, CA in 2001. From then on, she devel-oped her own unique philosophy, stating that: Every petneeds a human who can lead. Not like a boss, but like apartner in a dancesomeone who gives clear signals, re-wards desirable behavior as it occurs... and sticks to theplan consistently until the new, good behavior is a habit.

Dr. Yin was a great advocate for understanding whatour companion animals communicate to us via theirbody language and behavior, and was dedicated to help-ing pet owners achieve this using positive, scientificallysound methods. Dr. Yin also pioneered Low Stress Han-dling techniques for veterinary professionals to ensurethat stressed, anxious animals are handled and restrainedwith competence, compassion and empathy to maketheir visit to the vet as stress-free as possible.

Her passing is a profound loss to the animal behaviorand training community, pet owners and, most of all, theanimals themselves. You can read PPG member andBARKS contributor Annie Phenixs tribute to Dr. Yin here.

Did you know that you can email fellow PPG membersstraight from their contact details on our website? Go toDirectory, find the person you want and email themstraight from there. You can also log in to your own ac-count, go to Edit Profile and set up photo galleries, setyour preferences, update your listing and change securityfeatures. Here, you can also choose what informationyou receive from PPG, how people can contact you andwhat is visible to the public.

The reason our GPS search system needs your homeaddress (if you dont have a training facility) is because itonly works with address coordinates and a zip code, sothe listing needs to be complete for it to work. If youcannot find yourself in a search then it means some-thing is missing from your listing. You may not wantyour clients to know where you live so, once you havefilled it in, go to your privacy settings and click Do NotShow to the Public to solve the problem. Please docheck your listings. If your listing is incomplete thenclients will not be able to find you and it is a lot harderfor us to drive business your way.

Need Your CEUs for 2014? This month we are offering10 recorded webinars for ONLY $15 each, available tomembers only. Slots are limited to 30 per webinar. Thewebinars are available from 12-30 October, 2014. Clickhere to see which ones are on special offer.

We are busy working on a new membership tri-fold tohelp you communicate and highlight your value as aforce-free professional to the veterinary community.One side will discuss the alpha/dominance myth andthe other will highlight the correct training tools andequipment to recommend to clients. The final piece willbe designed to be printed professionally. You will beable to access it through our PPG Print Store and mayinclude your contact details and logo on it if you wish.

If you refer a new member to PPG who qualifiesthrough our membership application process then wewill reward you with a $10 credit towards an educationevent. Please help us build our membership, we havepower in numbers.


P P G E D U C A T I O N

11

Upcoming PPG EventsWorkshops

Back To Basics - A Five-Day Level Two Force-FreeDog Training Instructor Workshop with Niki Tudge

and Angelica Steinker (Tampa, FL)Monday, 5 January, 2015 8 a.m. (EST) - Friday, 9 January, 2015 6 p.m. (EST)

Back To Basics - A Five-Day Level One Force-FreeDog Training Workshop with Niki Tudge and

Angelica Steinker (Tampa, FL)Monday, 16 February, 2015 8 a.m. (EST) - Friday, 20 February, 2015 6 p.m. (EST)

A Two-Day Seminar - Helping Dogs Thrive: Tellington TTouch and Other Life-Enhancing

Techniques with Lori Stevens (Tampa, FL)Saturday, 28 February, 2015 -

Sunday, 1 March, 2015; 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. (EST) each day (working and auditor spots available)

Back To Basics - A Five-Day Level Two Force-FreeDog Training Instructor Workshop with Niki Tudge

and Angelica Steinker (Tampa, FL)Monday, 13 April, 2015 8 a.m. (EDT) - Friday, 17 April, 2015 5.30 p.m. (EDT)

Master the Skill of Teaching & Achieving LooseLeash Walking with Daniela Cardillo (Tampa, FL):Three-Day Seminar for Dog Training and Dog

Walking Professionals/Two-Day Seminar for Pet Owners

Friday, 1 May, 2015 9 a.m. (EDT) - Sunday, 3 May, 2015 4 p.m. (EDT)

Live Webinars*Rocket Recall: If You BUILD It They Will COME

with Lisa and Brad WaggonerWednesday, 5 November, 2014 1 p.m. 2.30 p.m. (EST)

Learn How to Incorporate Fun Safe and Educational Play into Your Behavior Programsand Training Sessions with Angelica Steinker

Tuesday, 11 November, 2014 3 p.m. 4.30 p.m. (EST)Learn to Give Clients and Staff Hard News They

Will Appreciate Hearing with Niki TudgeThursday, 13 November, 2014 12 p.m. 2 p.m. (EST)Making Business Life Easier with Clients and

Employees with Niki TudgeTuesday, 25 November, 2014 5 p.m. 6.30 p.m. (EST)Tax Management Strategies - 10 Things You CanDo to Reduce Your Tax Liability with Marie PolisenoMonday, 8 December, 2014 12 p.m. 1.30 p.m. (EST)Learn About Fear in Family Dogs (Will Include at

Least One Case Study) with Lori StevensMonday, 15 December, 2014 10 a.m. 11.30 a.m. (PST)

* All PPG webinars are recorded and can be found in the education area on the PPG website.

BARKS from the Guild is a 60+ pagetrade publication available to Pet Profes-sional Guild members, supporters andthe general public online. Widely readby industry professionals and pet own-ers alike, BARKS covers a vast range oftopics encompassing animal behavior,pet care, training, education, industry

trends, business and much more. If youwould like to reach your target audience

then BARKS is the perfect vehicle toachieve that goal.

Advertise Your Business Here! The International Day of Celebration for Force-Free Training andPet Care (ICFF), PPGs annual advocacy and educational fundraisingevent, will take place on 17 February, 2015. To mark this day of cele-bration, PPG is running a competition formembers to submit their training or activityphotos and/or videos to one of six categories.

There are some great prizes on offerwith Best Overall Picture winning the GrandPrize: The PPG Annual Convention Package.This will include a $500 credit towards themembers airline ticket, hotel accommodation,food and the full entry fee into the Force-Free Summit. The prize is valued at $2000.

Members can participate from any-where in the world. Registration opens on 1 November, 2014.

Special EventThe International Day of Celebration for Force-FreeDog Training and Pet Care Professionals (ICFF):

International Virtual Photograph/Video CompetitionTuesday, 17 February, 2015 (registration opens Saturday,

1 November, 2014 - more details below)

Our advertising ratecard is available here.

Contact us for further details.

Virtual Competition Will Celebrate ICFF in 2015



Calling newbie dog trainers, pet enthusiastsand pet dog owners! February is the perfecttime to visit sunny central Florida to enjoyfive action-packed days of creative, fun dogtraining activities. The event is being hostedby The Canine Event Center in Tampa, FL,home to PPG and The DogSmith.

The Canine Event Center is set on 23acres of fully-fenced training areas againstthe backdrop of King Lake, a 500-acre in-land water feature hosting some ofFloridas richest bird species, yet only min-utes away from restaurants, malls and inter-state facilities. The location is a paradise forboth canines and humans.

Over the course of this workshop par-ticipants will learn professional dog trainingskills while their pet dog also learns somenew skills and tricks. Participants will enjoyeight hours of classroom tuition each dayas well as hands-on training. The program issuitable for pet dog owners, pet enthusiastsor individuals exploring the pet industry.

Each day will commence at 8 a.m. Therewill be a two-hour midday break for lunchand relaxation and activities will resume inthe afternoon from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. Dur-ing the week participants will also have theopportunity to visit our Dog Sports loca-tion and try out Dock Diving, Agility andLure Coursing.

Our training programs are packed full ofgames and fun exercises for both partici-pants and their dogs. For anyone interestedthe program will close with fun competi-tions and "Canine Good Citizen" Testing.See the box (right) for a selection of theskills covered.

CEUs: CCPDT - 21/IAABC - 36

Level 1 Dog Training Workshop with Niki Tudge and Angelica Steinker

A Five-Day Workshop in Tampa, FLMonday, 16 February, 2015 8 a.m. (EST) - Friday, 20 February, 2015 6 p.m. (EST)

Find more details about the event here or contact Rebekah King for more information

Key Pet Dog SkillsTeaching a downTeaching a stand from sit &downTeaching maintain/stayTeaching a release cueTeaching take it and leave itTeaching loose leash walkingTeaching a stand on leashTeaching nameTeaching watchTeaching lets goTeaching a hand targetTeaching find heelTeaching left and rightTeaching lookTeaching relaxTeaching a recallFour on the floorTeaching door mannersMeeting and greeting other dogsMeeting and greeting people

Skills to Instruct Others to PerformThe recallSit and maintainLet's goSpinTargetJump over an objectFour on the floor

Each of the following skills will be covered in the program if participants are registered for The Dog Training Certificate

or The Behavior Diploma:

Participants will provide some ofthese skills as videos to prove their

mechanical proficiency as part of thecertification process. We have

planned it so participants learn eachskill in the correct order at the cor-rect time. Participants will use someof these skills to demonstrate they

can teach another individual to performproficiently with theirpet dog. Details ofwhich specific skills

will be advised duringthe relevant module.

Puppy Specific BehaviorSoft mouthCollar behaviorIntroducing a leashHouse trainingTeaching a hand target aroundhead and body

Behavior DimensionsBuilding distance and durationSpeed and fluencyDistractions, moving, stationary,point of commitmentContext - generalizationIntensity, duration and frequency



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Two Types of Registrant:j Off-site accommodation arranged by participant.Program Cost is $550. Cost per day = $110.j On-site accommodation in a shared room. Pro-gram Cost is $680. Cost per day = $136.j RVs are welcome for $20 per night. There is nopower or water hook up.

Payment Terms and Conditions:j Payment terms are available for PPG Members,DogSmiths and DogNostic Students. j Three payments accepted with the full programbeing paid for 60 days prior to the course start date.j No refunds will be given.

Level 1 Dog Training Workshop Details

Helping Dogs Thrive: Tellington TTouch and OtherLife-Enhancing Techniques with Lori Stevens

A Two-Day Seminar in Tampa, FLSaturday, 28 February - Sunday, 1 March, 2015;

9 a.m. - 4 p.m. each dayWorking Spots and Auditor Spots Available

Seminar DescriptionThis seminar will introduce you to force-free, humane and gentle techniques for improving the life of your dog.You will be introduced to TTouch bodywork, movement and leash-handling techniques. You will learn how torecognize when your dog is stressed or fearful and what to do about it. You will also learn about how your ownbody posture and movement patterns can affect your dogs behavior.

Other topics include: canine body language, observation skills, analyzing behavior, enrichment, fear and stressand hind-end targeting. It will also discuss the importance of building a trusting relationship and what that in-volves.

TTouch is a method of working with animals that was developed by animal expert Linda Tellington-Jones as aresult of her experience as a Feldenkrais practitioner. As an experienced horsewoman she realized that some ofthe Feldenkrais rehabilitation exercises linking body and mind that were used with people could be used to helpanimals as well. She found that an animal's posture influences its behavior and that physical, mental and emo-tional balance are inextricably linked.

Working spots are $240; auditor spots are $160. PPG members can make two payments for the workshop overfour months but full payment must be made 60 days prior to 28 February, 2015. Please indicate this preference onyour registration form.

More information and online registration: Helping Dogs Thrive: Tellington TTouch and Other Life-Enhancing Techniques

Sponsored & Hosted by The DogSmith

See also back page for details of our Level Two Dog Training Workshop - Back to Basics

Learn the skillsof a professionalwhile your doglearns some newtricks

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C O V E R S T O R Y

The creation of a behavior modification protocol that ignores emotional information or does not create an improved emotional state is

behaviorally myopic, say Angelica Steinker and Eileen Anderson lunging, it can overshadow nuance and make us miss themore subtle behaviors. When this occurs, we actually over-look our obligation to improve the animals quality of life -even though we might be presenting a potentially effectivebehavior modification program. Dog trainers have an ethical obligation to do everything

they can to improve the quality of life for both the dogand the owner. Having completed a behavior modificationprogram, dogs should feel safer and happier. Similarly, theprocess should create dogs who are more resilient becauseof the improved baseline regarding joy and happiness which also leads to a more desirable result for the owner.

Causes of Behavior MyopiaFocus on Operant Conditioning Dog training tends to live in a world of operant condition-ing2. In the light of this bias and a failure to include re-spondent conditioning in a training protocol, emotional

1 For the purposes of this article we will reference dogs most frequently but the concept applies to all animal training and behavior modification programs, aswell as human-to-human interactions.

2 A full glossary of behavior terminology used in the article can be found on Page 20.

The fundamental goal of any behavior modificationprogram should be to improve the dogs1 andowners emotional states, both during and after theprocess. If emotional, genetic or medical information isomitted from the functional assessment process however,the ensuing behavior modification plan will be incomplete,which not only runs the risk of recommended interven-tions being inappropriate and misdirected, but may alsohave disastrous consequences. Unfortunately, behavior my-opia such as this is an all too common occurrence in ourindustry.From a dogs point of view, the most damaging aspect

here is the complete disregard for his emotional state. Itcan be particularly catastrophic when covert or subtle be-haviors are ignored as, arguably, they are the most impor-tant information a behavior consultant has. But we are allprone to focusing on what is most obvious. For example, ifa dog is engaging in overt behaviors such as barking and

FEARANGER

The Many Faces of Behavior Myopia:Recognizing the Subtle Signs

In this series of photos our cover dog, Papillon Bella, is showing an array of overt and subtle facial

expressions that convey her emotionsPolaroid Can Stock PhotoPhotos of Bella by Preval Photography

CONFIDENCEJOY

states (as indicated by subtle behaviors) are often ignored.There is usually much talk about incompatible behaviorsand the various reinforcement schedules, but an operantapproach only modifies the overt behavior, if that. Thismethod falls short from the ideal we should all be strivingfor: leaving both dog and owner with an improved emo-tional state.

Lack of Consideration of Emotions and Their SubtleIndicatorsIf a dog is barking and lunging at a stimulus then he is usu-ally fearful or angry. If the behavior modification protocoldoes not address his emotional state then it is flawed. Acustomized ethogram is a useful tool here to ensure allbases are covered (see example on following page).

Disregard or Ignorance of Dog Body LanguageIn order to interpret subtle behaviors, dog trainers need tounderstand canine body language. Some dogs are just hardto read, no matter how experienced the trainer. Certainbreeds are stoic and simply quiet in their non-verbalcommunication. Sometimes a dogs behavior can be glob-ally suppressed from the use of punishment and/or nega-tive reinforcement and these dogs can be particularlydangerous and difficult to work with.

Ignorance of or Confusion about ThresholdsThere is often a lack of clear understanding amongst thedog training community regarding physiological and be-havioral thresholds. The most pertinent thresholds are: Perception: this is the place or level at which the

animal becomes aware of a stimulus through its sensory organs. Reactivity: this is the point at which the dogs

sympathetic nervous system engages and manifests as thebarking/lunging/growling threshold that people oftenfocus their training on. Here, the dog experiences what isusually a fear or anger response, which includes a cascadeof biochemical reactions and respondent behaviors such aspupil dilation, evacuation and shutdown of the gastro-in-testinal system, and changes in respiration - all of whichare antithetical to a solid counter conditioning program. Stimulus Aversiveness: this threshold lies be-

tween the first two and is the point at which exposure tothe stimulus is aversive but the animal is not necessarilyhaving a full-blown fear response. Often, trainers are only aware of obvious, reactive be-

haviors and unaware of the small changes that occur as astimulus becomes gradually more aversive to the animal.


C O V E R S T O R YPerformed effectively and ethically, counter conditioningand desensitization (CC/DS) should be over the thresholdof the animals perception but under the threshold ofstimulus aversiveness. This is what we call The Safe Zone.

Lack of Education Regarding Mental Illness and Undiagnosed Physical IllnessLack of education and experience regarding mental illness,neurological problems and the stigma of mental illness arehuge issues in the dog training industry. Some trainers arenot trained or sufficiently skilled to identify a dog who maybe neurologically (i.e. has a head injury or brain damage) ormentally ill (i.e. has a psychiatric condition). Many do notinvolve veterinarians or veterinary behaviorists in cases in-volving aggression, anxiety or phobias because of a lack ofawareness they may require medication as well as behaviormodification. Mental illness can be hard to identify. While it is not the

role of the dog trainer or behaviorist to diagnose, we doneed to sound the alarm bell if there is a physical problem

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This dog is raising her paw which, in this case, is an overt appeasement gesture. Paired with her anxious facial expression this indicates she feels unsure or uncomfortable.The raised paw is often misinterpreted as the dog wantingto shake hands, which is another example of behavior myopia in action

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C O V E R S T O R Yhe is having a panic attack that is not being medically controlled. There are probably many undiagnosed and undiagnos-

able illnesses that afflict dogs and can lead to behavior my-opia within the modification process. It should be notedthat, just because we do not have a clear understanding ofan illness, it does not necessarily make it impossible to de-tect. For example, Milky the dog was prone to poor im-pulse control and aggression. Initially he responded tomedication and the aggressive behavior completely sub-sided. However, after a few years the problem returned.The owner took Milky to a neurologist for an MRI and,while the neurologist stated Milky was abnormal on theexam, the MRI was clear. The neurologist pointed out thatthe absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, as itwas her opinion that this dog was definitely suffering fromsome sort of neurological disease.

The Functional AssessmentThe process of the functional assessment systematicallyidentifies the relationship between behavior and the envi-ronment so that efficient and effective solutions can be de-veloped (Niki Tudge BARKS from the Guild: June 2012, page 35). The functional assessment includes:1) The Informant Interview, where anecdotal infor-

mation about the problem behavior is obtained from owners2) The Direct Observation Phase, where the problem

behavior is observed and the relationship between the dif-fering variables, antecedents, behavior and consequencesare measured and correlated3) The Functional Analysis Phase, which tests the

trainers hypothesis. The intended final product is a contin-gency statement the professional has confidence inIn many cases however, only the first two steps are con-

ducted, leaving out the important contingency statement in

- and this includes psychiatric conditions. A dog who has aurinary tract infection will not house train. Likewise, a dogwith a mental illness such as Obsessive Compulsive Disor-der will not be able to learn to stop jumping on people ifthat is his compulsion. The training will not be successfulbecause the biochemistry has already decided the outcome. Vets are trained mostly to look for physical causes for

behavior rather than psychiatric ones. It can be helpful toprovide a note for the vet which states something like,Can you please evaluate for possible anxiety disorder?Or, Is this dog ataxic, could it be he has a head injury? Canine Separation Distress is another challenging disor-

der that can be easy to miss. The condition often requiresboth behavior modification and medication. For example,in one case, after a long period of misdiagnosis, a dog wasdiagnosed by three different veterinary behaviorists as hav-ing virtual separation distress. Whenever his ownerturned his back, the dog would grab what the owner hadlast touched and begin to chew it destructively. The ownernever actually left the dog alone without crating him. Assuch, the dog did not exhibit the behaviors normally asso-ciated with separation distress, so it had been missed. Set-ting up a video camera and leaving the dog alone (not in acrate) immediately showed behaviors consistent with sepa-ration distress. The crate had been managing the behaviorproblem but not resolving it. With medication and behav-ior modification the dog was able to improve greatly. Thunderstorm Phobia is a disorder that may require the

use of medication in tandem with behavior modification,but often the sensitization to storms continues regardless.In cases like this behavior myopia has been known to re-sult in the monstrously inhumane and unethical use ofaversive stimulation. This involves shocking the thunder-storm phobic dog for destructive behavior when, in fact,

Ethogram: Bellas Emotions and Corresponding Behavior

Bella is feeling mild stressabout being picked up (above).Her tongue flick and glazedeyes are subtle behaviors

Signs of Conflicted EmotionsBody wag while not letting

owner touch her Approach followed by darting away

Joy (Positive Emotional State)

Full body wagThank you licking of owners arm(an affiliative grooming behavior)Planting herself in owners lapTrying to lick owners face Eyes almond shaped Relaxed facial muscles

Commissure* relaxed and soft * note: commissure = corner of the mouth

Typical Emotions Include:Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust,

Sadness, Surprise and Anxiety

Signs of Stress (Negative Emotional State):

Soft groaningTongue flick

90 degree head turnPacing

Commissure pulled back and upTension between eyebrows

Eyes wide Tense facial muscles


C O V E R S T O R Y

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Step 3, which de-tails the an-tecedents,behaviors and con-sequences in meas-urable terms anddescribes the rela-tionship betweenthem (Niki TudgeBARKS from the Guild:June 2012, page 35). What follows is

a case study that illustrates unreservedly the importance ofa complete, accurate and insightful functional assessment.Owner Stephanie sought help because her dog Boomer

was redirecting aggression onto Jessie, the other dog in thehousehold. During the initial intake process Stephaniemaintained fights only occurred when she was present;Boomer demanded physical attention for about 10 min-utes of every hour Stephanie spent with the dogs. Duringone of these interactions Boomer and Jessie began fight-ing. The trainer concluded this was because Stephanie wasspoiling Boomer with attention. As a result, she was ad-vised to withdraw any affection from Boomer, which thetrainer said would decrease or stop Boomer resourceguarding her and, therefore, the fights. In reality thoughthe fights continued and actually got worse. The initial behavior assessment based on the trainers

interview with the owner and observation of the dog canbe seen in the box below:

Since the initial advice to stop giving Boomer attentionresulted in the fighting getting worse, the trainer re-evalu-ated the case and interviewed Stephanie a second time.More importantly, the trainer observed Boomer more care-fully to look for subtle behaviors and then completed acustomized ethogram. The following subtle behaviors were noted: Boomer would tongue flick and hold his breath if

Stephanie moved away and/or toward Jessie.

Boomers facial expression when demanding at-tention was very anxious. His brows were pulled up and to-gether and his commissure, corner of the mouth, waswrinkled. This had been previously missed. When Boomer was being petted by Stephanie this

expression relaxed. His muscles relaxed slightly and his res-piration slowed and his anxious facial expression melted away.Completing an accurate functional assessment in this

case helped the trainer theorize that Boomer had an anxi-ety disorder and, as such, had become dependent on hisowner for physical touch and comfort. This importantpiece of the puzzle had been missed previously. This is aperfect example of behavior myopia in action. Anxiety was consequently added to the list of an-

tecedents as the prime factor. This allowed the creation ofa new behavior modification plan which included: 1) seeking a veterinary behavior consult2) adding a relaxation protocol3) adding a counter conditioning/desensitization pro-

gram based on reducing anxietyBoomers dependence on his owner to relieve his anxi-

ety was gradually reduced through direct treatment of theanxiety. In addition, the veterinary behaviorist addressedBoomers underlying anxiety disorder. In Boomers case, the behavior myopia occurred during

the initial interview when the trainer inaccurately assessedStephanie as the cause of the problem. Significantly, thetrainer did not acknowledge the subtle behaviors and failedto recognize that the dogs frequent demands for touchwere, in fact, an indicator of anxiety. Instead, the overt at-tention seeking behavior was labeled as demanding. Thetrainers focus was also drawn to the number of fights andtheir intensity.It is obvious here how the behavior modification

process can lead to two different outcomes. Fortunately inthis case the trainer realized her mistake but mistakes likethis can be life altering in the most tragic way, with both

AntecedentsPresence of StephaniePhysical touch of Boomer

Presence of both Boomer and JessieBehaviorDog fight

ConsequencesDistance increase between the fighting dogs

Catharsis of tension

Physiological and Behavioral Thresholds


C O V E R S T O R Y

dogs and humans potentially at risk.In behavior modification, often our goal is to reduce,

replace or modify a given behavior. When we hear that adog who used to be comfortable with other dogs is nowreactive after a bad fight at the dog park, our goal is usuallyto return the dog to baseline and help him become the wayhe was BEFORE the bad dog fight. On the surface thissounds reasonable but it is actually behavior myopic. Be-havior modification has an obligation to improve the base-line and to change a state of fear to a state of joy. The consequences of behavior myopia can range from

minimal to far-reaching. A common result is that behaviorconsultants climb the ladder of a so-called humane hier-archy and end up using aversive interventions because theoriginal intervention did not work. Shocking or usingotherwise aversive stimulation is unethical with any animalbut is even more heart-breaking with an animal who ismentally or physically ill.

Many times an inaccurate functional assessment leadsto accidental flooding. For example, a dog who is undergo-ing behavior modification may be under threshold at adistance of say 100 ft. Ideal counter conditioning worksvery closely to the perception threshold and avoids movingtoward the aversiveness threshold. A dog will only be ableto experience joy if he is in the safe zone. Relief shouldnot be confused as joy. To avoid flooding, it is essential that behavior consult-

ants create a behavior modification process where the dogis only exposed to a stimulus that is NOT threatening. Ex-posures should be potentially joy eliciting. This means ALLexposures must be graded in a way that they do not triggerfear, anger or any kind of failure. This would includeflooding or causing the dog to show mild, moderate or se-vere signs of stress. Compiling an ethogram - which MUST include subtle

behaviors will help identify the dogs threshold. Assess-ing the threshold using only overt behaviors is likely tomake CC/DS fail. A dog is only in his safe zone when heis happy and/or playful and/or relaxed. Any other zonecomprises variations of aversive exposure or flooding andwill not yield ideal results. Nothing is more damaging thanthe accidental or deliberate use of flooding.

Its Okay to Be Wrong!As trainers, there are a number of options we can keep inour toolboxes to make sure we avoid falling into the behav-ior myopia trap:

Cognizant Behavior ConsultingCognizant Behavior Consulting (CBC) advocates for theimprovement of the emotional lives of dog and owner, forcritical thinking through self-awareness, and avoiding labelswhen possible. Blanket statements that a dog is domi-nant or needy are unhelpful; describing what behaviorlooks like is almost always more useful.In practice, CBC draws from multiple branches of sci-

ence to make an accurate functional assessment (includingthe physical, mental and emotional state of the dog) andthen creates and implements a successful behavior modifi-cation program accordingly.

Critical thinking Critical thinking helps separate truth from fiction. Some-times owners may make up stories to explain why their dogis engaging in a specific behavior but these may not matchthe facts. By pushing ourselves to be fact-based we canprovide better behavior modification.

The Subtle Face of DisgustBella strongly dislikes orange rind. When given one tosniff she responds with a disgusted facial expression.This a subtle behavior to most observers as she doesnot bark, lunge or bite, but simply displays the facialexpression and a slight head turn followed by a shortstare with an annoyed expression at the human whopresented the rind. Humans and canines share manyfacial expressions. Charles Darwin was the first personto propose the universality of facial expressions andPaul Ekman found this to be accurate in humans in the1970s. Today we know that dogs and other mammalsshare our emotional brain structures and brain chem-istry (Jaak Panksepp Affective Neuroscience: The Founda-tions of Human and Animal Emotions Series in AffectiveScience, Oxford University Press, 2004).

Bellas facial expressionexpresses her disgust


C O V E R S T O R Y

19

Angelica Steinker owns and operates CourteousCanine, Inc. DogSmith of Tampa, FL, a full servicepet service business and dog school specializing inaggression and dog sports. She is the National Direc-tor of Training for DogSmith Services and Co-Founder of DogNostics Career College. Eileen Anderson BM, MM, MS is a passionate ama-teur dog trainer who writes about learning theory,her life with three dogs, and force-free training in herblog and other publications.

Emotional ContagionAll of us have experienced joining in with someone laugh-ing when we have no idea what the joke actually was. Inthe same way, a dog can pick up on the emotions of atense owner. This process is known as emotional contagion.Beings vary in their abilities to send and receive emo-

tions. While some are strong senders because their subtlebehaviors are fairly obvious, others are weak senders. Indogs, these are the stoic ones who are much more difficultto read. Likewise, beings can be strong receivers (able toread emotions in others easily) or weak receivers (finding itchallenging to read others emotions). A Cognizant Behavior Consultant will implement emo-

tional contagion in the dogs favor. Many trainers recom-mend a technique called the jolly routine to be usedduring counter conditioning. This means the owner andtrainer display happy emotions and throw a party for thedog during a training approximation, a potentially stressfulsituation, or if a training mistake has occurred. They mayalso pair a jolly routine with a certain stimulus to in-fect a dog with happiness and prevent a failure or an un-desirable association between a stimulus and stress.

Avoiding Projection and Denial Projecting occurs if a trainer accidentally or deliberatelyblames his own shortcomings on the client or dog. Theproblem with projections is that they are not based onfacts. When assessing a dog, the Cognizant Behavior Con-sultant should be aware of his own issues, biases and com-mon projections so they do not interfere with the trainingand coaching process. Denial is closely related. This too can lead to inaccurate

functional assessments. None ofus can entirely prevent projectionand denial, they are an integralpart of human behavior. Beingaware of these issues and owningthem, however, disarms the dam-age they may otherwise cause to amore ideal outcome. Behavior consultants need to

be honest with themselves abouttheir individual shortcomings. Forexample, some trainers might beaware they do their best coachingwith clients who are compliantand love their dogs. Clients whoare burned out or who have neverhad a reinforcement history with

their dogs may be a big challenge for some of us, but thisshould not mean we do not work with them. Instead, wemust work very hard at being non-judgmental and sup-portive.

No Quick FixUltimately, it is important that behavior consultants andtrainers strive to master both the art and science of thefunctional assessment. We should all make use of CBC,not just to include behavior analysis, but also all the neces-sary components of the behavior modification processthat will improve the service we deliver. Make a commit-ment to avoid behavior myopia in all its forms by pushingyourself to your creative limits and maximizing your self-awareness. There are no quick fixes to behavior problems,but positive, joy-centered CBC is a fun process that is self-reinforcing. While behavior myopia can be seductive, thealternative solution is an infinitely more powerful and joy-ful experience. n

- With additional contributions by Jan Casey and Niki Tudge


C O V E R S T O R Y

Glossary of Behavior TermsAntecedents: Stimuli that occur prior to a behavior thatset that behavior in motion. These can be cues orchanges in environmentAversive Stimulation: A stimulus that is positively pun-ishing or negatively reinforcing. Typical examples includeyelling, hitting, yanking or shockingCounter Conditioning/Systematic Desensitization(CC/DS): A process, if properly implemented, thatmodifies a dogs emotional state and therefore his behav-ior. The process by which trainers change fear or anger tojoy or relaxationConditioned Emotional Response (CER): The resultof successful counter conditioning whereby a dog nowhas a yippie response to a stimulus that was previouslyeliciting fear or anger responsesCovert Behaviors: Behaviors that are only perceivableby the animal. For example, the internal chemical changesrelated to the mammalian fear response are covert behav-iors, as are emotions and cognitionEmotional Contagion: The process of one being pass-ing their emotions to another via non-verbal communica-tion. Emotional contagion has two parts: sending (whena being is experiencing an emotion and is displaying itnon-verbally) and receiving (when another being is in-fected by the senders emotion). Beings can be strongsenders and/or strong receivers or weak senders and/orweak receivers. For more information on emotional con-tagion see Emotional Contagion (E Hatfield & J T Ca-cioppo, Cambridge University Press 1994)Ethogram: A customized list of overt and subtle behav-iors comprising the non-verbal communication of theanimal you are working with Ethology: The study of behavior in its natural settingFlooding: The process by which an animal is acciden-tally or deliberately exposed to a stimulus that causes himto fail in terms of the goal of training. A type of expo-sure therapy, flooding is a risky process whichhopes an animal will habituate to the fearedstimulus. There are ethical issues with this ap-proach since we are not able to get consent from ouranimal clients. In addition, it often results in the sen-sitizing of the stimulus rather than habituation. A com-mon example of flooding consists of taking the dog tooclose to a feared stimulus, thus further imbedding the as-sociation that the stimulus is scary (i.e. sensitizing)Functional Assessment: The process of systematicallyidentifying the functional relationship between behavior

and the environment to include multiple contingenciesNegative Reinforcement: An unpleasant procedure that re-moves an aversive stimulus as a consequence for the per-formance of a goal behavior which results in an increase inthe probability of that behavior being repeated. For example:repeatedly yanking on a dogs leash to force her into a heelpositionOperant Conditioning: Learning that occurs as the resultof the pupil making associations between a behavior and itsconsequences. Developed by scientist B.F. Skinner, it is alsoknown as instrumental conditioning, Skinnerian conditioningor S-R learning Overt behaviors: Behaviors that are obvious to just aboutanyone. Typical examples are barking, lunging, loud growlingand bitingPositive Psychology: An emerging field of psychology inwhich its creator, Martin Seligman, states that, ethically, psy-chology should not return clients to a normal emotionalstate but to a state of happiness. If a depressed client hasgone from being able to function normally to just stayingin bed all day, the goal of intervention used to be to returnclient to functioning. This is not enough! People need tolearn coping skills, resilience and optimism and most of allhow to have fun and experience joy. Traditional psychologyfocuses on what is wrong and fails to study how people whoare happy live their lives. Positive psychology bridges that gapRespondent Conditioning: Also called classical condition-ing, respondent conditioning deals with reflexive behaviorsand emotions. It is also known as Pavlovian conditioning,after the researcher Ivan Pavlov who first described thelearning mechanism. In classical conditioning, a previouslyneutral stimulus takes on a response-eliciting feature bybeing associated with another stimulus that already possessesthe response-eliciting property. For example, every time youget ready to practice a jump exercise your dog begins to

drool because he associates the jump with food Stimulus: Something an animal can perceive,that can be seen, heard, smelled, tasted or felt

Subtle behaviors: Tiny body language be-haviors that help communicate theemotional state of the dog. In-creased respiration, changes inpupil size or a rapid lip lickare all subtle behaviorsthat can be indicativeof distress but areoften missed

Can

Stock

Pho

to

This dog is showingsigns of anxiety but isnot yet having a full-blown fear response


T R A I N I N G

21

How manyof ushaveheard about food-toy failures fromour friends andclients? I triedthe Kong with mypuppy, but shedidnt like it, or,My dog is notsmart enough forthose puzzletoys!"

There is anever-increasing va-riety of food toysfor dogs and otheranimals on themarket. There are toys of differing complexity. Thereare toys that demand problem solving and toys that ne-cessitate complex motor skills. Dog owners are fortu-nate to have more and more choices to enrich theirdogs lives.

Yet many of these toys are gathering dust, have beenpassed off at garage sales or have even been thrown outbecause the owners did not realize that dogs need tolearn how to interact with them successfullyor be-cause the toys had features that made them frustratingor scary to the dog.

In this article, I will discuss some common problemswith food toys through the lens of applied behavioranalysis. Remember that the smallest unit of behaviorwe can analyze is an antecedent (a stimulus or event thatsets the stage for a behavior), a behavior (anything ananimal does that can be measured) and a consequence (astimulus or event that immediately follows a behaviorand influences its future strength).

Behaviors: Building SkillsThe most common problem with food toys is that the

dog lacks theskills to get tothe food andthe owner doesnot understandhow to teachhim.

Many foodtoys come withno instructionsfor the naivedog. For in-stance, toys thathave a cavitythat can befilled with food,such as Kongs,are assumed bymost con-

sumers to be easy and fun for dogs to use. The market-ing materials lead them to believe this, showing dogschewing, licking and batting around full toys to dislodgethe food and even playing with empty ones.

However, if the toy is initially presented at its mostdifficult level, which is often what is shown in advertis-ing, demo videos and discussion groups, many dogs can-not be successful.

The recipes found for these toys on the internetare often elaborate and challenging, with fillings solidi-fied by freezing or melted cheese. Special biscuits can bepurchased for some toys that cant be shaken or rolledout and require the dog to crush the whole toy or satu-rate the food by licking before it will get to eat anything.

When an owner presents a challenge like this to anew puppy or even an inexperienced, well-fed or timidadult dog, the animal will often sniff at the toy, perhapspoke it with its nose or lick it for a while, then give up.Then the pet owner may say, Well, my dog doesnt likefood toys, and also give up.

Lets look at what behaviors a dog needs to succeedat using one of these toys. They might include licking,

Eileen Anderson discusses the pros and cons of food puzzle toys and their significance from a behavioral perspective

When Food Toys Fail

Of the plethora of dogtoys on the market, none

of them are indestructiblePhoto by M

arge Rogers CPD

T-KA

chewing, pushing with the nose, picking up, carrying,dropping, shaking, batting with the paws or securing thetoy with the paws while performing some of the otherbehaviors. These are normal dog behaviors but that doesnot mean every dog will know how to use them in agiven situation. With some more difficult toys, they mustbe performed in a certain order.

As when training any behavior, owners need to startdogs at a level at which they can easily succeed and pro-vide extremely attractive consequences. The dog shouldbe able clearly to see, hear, and/or smell the food andget some of it right away. Cavity toys can be filledloosely with small, high-value treats, so that any move-ment by the dog is likely to immediately produce some-thing the dog loves. The opening can be smeared withpeanut butter or meat puree to encourage licking.

The difficulty can then be increased slowly as the dogrefines the physical skills to extract the food.

Consequences: Is the Toy Punishing the Dog?There can be problems in this area as well, when theconsequence of the behavior is either not reinforcing or,worse, scary.

A dog who is used to getting kibble for free in a bowlmay not be motivated to dig slightly wetted and frozenkibble out of a toy. He may have the appropriate behav-


T R A I N I N Gioral skills but the consequence does not merit the ef-fort. This problem is relatively easy to prevent or fix:add some higher value morsels and start off easier, asdescribed above.

One problem not so easy to remedy is when an un-pleasant consequence comes instead of, or along withthe food. A hard plastic toy may bang against a wall or atoy with electronics may beep or move in a startling way.If one of these stimuli precedes the delivery of thefood, it is the most immediate consequence of the dogsbehavior. If it happens regularly, it may come to serve asa conditioned reinforcer, predicting the arrival of food(like a clicker does). But it may also scare the dog somuch that he does not find the food worth the risk.

Dogs who are noise sensitive may not recover fromthis. Some may attempt to get the food without so muchmotion and their movements will become careful and in-hibited. Some will refuse the toy altogether.

One of my dogs became extremely frightened of thenoise that the Manners Minder (aka the Treat&Train), aremote-controlled treat dispenser, makes when it jams.She initially loved this device and using it actually addedvalue to any treat that was inside. But while most of thetime the consequence of her nice behavior was a treat(positive reinforcement), sometimes it was a horriblegrinding noise that would cause her to back away wide-eyed (positive punishment). I have stopped using thisdevice with her until I can take the time to counter con-dition her response to that noise.

So take care in selecting toys for sensitive dogs andexperiment with them before giving them to the dog.

Antecedents: Conflicting Cues?For most food toys, the discriminative stimulus (SD ), orcue, that food-seeking behaviors will be reinforced is thepresentation of a loaded toy. As the dog interacts with akibble toy, the sound of the kibble inside the toy be-comes an SD as well. Or rather a series of them: thesound of a lot of kibble rattling inside the toy correlateswith kibble being delivered more frequently; it predicts ahigh rate of reinforcement. As the toy empties, thesound changes, predicting a thinner reinforcementschedule. When the toy is empty, no kibble is audibleastimulus delta (S), or cue that reinforcement is notavailable. The dog learns to stop.

But a new toy on the market, the Foobler, gives con-fusing signals about when the food is available.

Dog food toys can be a goodsource of mental stimulation

when used correctly

workday fordogs lefthomealone.

You willalso want toteach yourdog how touse it. Atrainingplan wouldincludeteaching thedog that thebell meansfood isavailable, anda more complex taskthat when thefood stops coming out of the toy, he should wait, for upto 15 minutes, until the bell rings again. Although thereis no training mode for the toy, you can turn it on andoff manually to temporarily shorten the intervals be-tween the opening of compartments and build the asso-ciation of the bell with food delivery.

Such a plan could address possible frustration withthe toys reinforcement schedule but could not be reliedupon to prevent a dedicated chewer from taking mattersinto his own mouth during your absence. We would dowell to provide a different toy to dogs who have the abil-ity and inclination to chew hard plastic.

Skills, Training and Supervision We need to be careful consumers when we select toysfor our dogs. We not only need to provide toys that aresafe and fun for each individual dog but at times weneed to train the dog to use them. We need to watch forfear or undue frustration. For the dogs safety, we needto closely observe his interactions with a toy before leav-ing him alone with it. And finally, we may need to taketime to teach even an experienced dog about a toy with arule structure different from the one to which they areaccustomed. n


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The Foobler is a hard plastic ball that ejects treatswhen rolled. It contains six rotating food compartmentsand a timer. One compartment at a time is in a positionto release food and then, when the timer goes off, thenext compartment rotates into position. The owner canset the timer to control how frequently the compart-ments rotate; the interval can be as short as 15 minutesand as long as 90. Before the compartments rotate, abell rings to signify that pushing the toy will now payoff.

However, when a compartment empties and food iswill not be available until after the next bell, the soundof rattling kibble is still present. The dog can still smellthe food in the toy. With every other food toy an experi-enced dog has played with, these are cues to continuepushing. There is no S to let the dog know the food isnow unavailable and that ball pushing will not be rein-forced. And because the pushing has been reinforced onan intermittent schedulemeaning sometimes it tookone push to eject food, sometimes a fewboth withother toys and with this one, he will probably persist forsome time.

Whats more, when the dog finally perceives that thepreviously reinforced behavior is no longer working, hemay start to go through extinction. Extinction can be anunpleasant process. Its common side effects includefrustration and an increase in the variability of behavior.We try to avoid the former when training. The latter issomething we can plan for and use when shaping behav-iorbut that is a procedure that requires careful adjust-ment of criteria and observation of the dog and shouldnot be left up to a plastic toy.

Among other reasons, it could be dangerous to thetoy. I introduced three dogs to the Foobler. My smallestdog switched to gnawing on it when the active foodcompartment emptied and even she was able to inflictdamage. Another dog decided immediately that the mostefficient behavior was to chew the toy apart to get all thefood at once. Although she is only medium-size herself,she could have dismembered the toy had I not beenthere to remove it. It should be noted here that toys canbreak down, either quickly or over time, and should beinspected regularly for safety reasons.

So you will need to supervise your dog closely to pre-vent behaviors that are damaging to the Foobler, whichmakes it less than ideal for one of its intended purposes:spreading food-toy engagement out over the course of a

Eileen Anderson BM MM MS is a passionate ama-teur dog trainer who writes about learning theory,her life with three dogs, and force-free training in herblog and other publications. Find her blog at Eileenanddogs.com.

Dedicatedchewers can

make ameal ofeven the

most hardyfood toys


T R A I N I N G

Training: Golden Nuggets from PPG MembersThe Land of Yes: A Haven for Habituation

The Land of Yes is located on an acre of land with trails through a forestand meadow. It also features a picnic area where visitors can sit and chatwith other dog owners while the dogs do a little more romping.

What is so different about the Land of Yes is that various holidayscenes are depicted along the trail. It has been designed this way so puppies(and adult dogs too) can experience typical holiday scenes such as Christ-mas and Halloween.

What puppies do not experience in their first 16 weeks of life can scarethem as they mature. So our goal is to help them habituate to items theymight typically see during the holiday season.

We also have The Farm, which showcases a variety of farm animals(wooden or stuffed, not real!) and a Fairy Land with a castle tent and somefairies. Everything has been designed with the goal of helping dogs famil-iarize themselves with a host of random objects or animals they may en-counter during their lives and thereby reduce the possibility of neophobia.

- Ada Lana Simms CPDT-KA, OSCT, Reward That Puppy Dog Training Inc.

Neophobia is the fear or avoidance of new things. Neophobic dogsshow fearful behavior in new environments or around unfamiliar objectsor animals they have never seen. Fear includes behaviors such as trem-bling, panting, whining, avoidance or attempts at escape.

Source: ASPCA


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Prevention is Better than CureGetting the set up just right before your puppy comes home is

the key to future success, says Barb Levenson

Before my new puppy comes to the house I havemany things set up in advance, so my exercisepen, crates, potty area, food and toys are all readyto go the day the puppy comes home.

Management: I am a huge believer in managementas the way to prevent problems. Preventing typicalpuppy problems (e.g. biting, chewing, barking for atten-tion, counter surfing and housetraining) is much easierthan trying to fix them once they have become rein-forced. My main management tools are my exercise pen,crates and leashes.

Exercise Pen: This is where my puppy will be whenI am home and NOT training him. I work from home agreat deal so my puppy must learn to be calm and quietwhile I am working. I do not want to chase the puppyaround the house or have him with me while I am work-ing. Puppies generally find it near impossible to be calm.They are active little balls of fur and seem to want myattention every single second they are awake.

The pen is in my living roomwhere I will hang out at the endof the day. In the pen is a bucketfor water, toys (soft and hard) anda towel for a bed. The pen is al-ways placed on a piece oflinoleum, making it easy to cleanin the event of accidents.

I do not want my puppy run-ning loose in the house and find-ing reinforcement on his own. Iwant to be the most reinforcingthing in his environment. If Iallow him the freedom of thehouse he will find MORE rein-forcement in the environment be-cause he has more time toexperiment with it. I definitely donot want to compete with the en-vironment for my puppys atten-tion. I want him to want towork/play only with me.

Freedom: Being loose in the

house can allow the puppy to become over-stimulatedand aroused. My goal with the puppy is simple. I want acalm puppy whom I can switch on when wework/play and switch off when we are through. If thepuppy is loose in the house he will run all over the placewhich will be both reinforcing and stimulating.

I do not allow my other dogs to have a lot of accessto the puppy initially. I want the primary bond to bewith me. They will have plenty of time to becomefriends later on. I do allow the puppy to play with one ortwo of the other dogs every day purely to learn social-ization skills. Sessions last five-seven minutes.

Many of my clients do not realize the importance ofmanaging a puppy in such a way. They want their puppyloose so they can pet, play, sit with them on the couchand follow them from room to room. What they fail torealize is that the puppy is learning ALL THE TIME.Unfortunately, they usually find this out later when theyrealize the puppy is jumping, biting, barking and con-

stantly getting into trouble be-cause he

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BARKS from the Guild Autumn 2014