Welcome to this week’s blog.

This week, we’re exploring whether our dogs can develop preferences for other dogs based on breed alone. Scroll all the way to the end for a bonus section on what to do if you feel your dog’s breed/mix results in them constantly getting barked at by other dogs.

This was a fun topic, and one that I walked away from with a resolution to take a more refined, nuanced approach to discussing breed likes & dislikes with future clients.

Happy Reading,

Can Dogs Have Breed-Based Preferences?

Do dogs really dislike other dogs based on their breed alone?

It depends who you ask. Leading canine scientists say there isn’t much compelling evidence that dogs differentiate between different breeds, suggesting that a dog’s opinion of another dog—positive or negative—is unlikely to be determined by that dog’s breed/mix.

But according to many dog owners, the answer is a resounding YES! Clients of dog-reactive dogs who completed our pre-consult Behavioral Health Assessment call out the following breeds as prime targets for increased levels for reactivity from their own dogs:

• 1st place: German Shepherds (13.2% of respondents)
• 2nd place: Huskies (11.4% of respondents)
• 3rd place: a tie between Doodles and Pit bull-types (9.4% and 9.3% of respondents, respectively)

Breed Preference or Something Else?

Why the discrepancy between scientific opinion and dog owner beliefs about our dogs’ breed-based preferences? Based on our experience, there are probably a few things happening that explain the difference.

We examine three of these likely reasons below (for more potential explanations, visit here and here). The first two suggest how we might falsely conclude that our dog has a breed-based preference. The third explores why using breed alone to specify preference often leads to an incomplete, oversimplified view of our dogs’ likes and dislikes when it comes to other dogs.

I. Breed Popularity

It is worth considering that we might develop the (incorrect) belief that our dog is particularly reactive toward a certain breed/mix of dog simply because that breed is really popular: our dogs encounter a whole lot of them on walks, and so it just works out that our dogs also react to a lot of them on walks.

Let’s consider doodles, for example, who tied for third on our list of breeds/mixes most likely to elicit increased reactivity from other dogs. In most cities and towns across the country, it’s nearly impossible to walk down the street without passing a doodle or two (or ten). Goldendoodles alone were ranked as one of the top 5 dog breeds in the US in 2021, according to Rover—and that doesn’t factor in other popular poodle combos like Labradoodles, sheepadoodles, and so on.

If your dog encounters 8 dogs on a walk and 6 of them are doodles, it’s likely to work out that they react more frequently to doodles than to other breeds. It’s easy to see how one might start to assume their dog is especially reactive to doodles, when in fact doodles simply make up a higher proportion of the dogs they encounter.

II. Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias is the tendency to interpret information and events in a way that confirms our existing beliefs.

If we start to believe, for one reason or another (perhaps because of our own dislike for a certain breed or because of a negative past experience we’ve had), that our dog is more reactive to, say, pit bull types, than other breeds of dogs, it is very easy to fall into the trap of then concluding that all reactivity directed at pit bulls is happening because of their breed, but to conclude that reactivity toward dogs of other breeds is a result of myriad other factors, like how close the dog passes by, how they are behaving, our dog’s current mood, and so on.

And every time we (mistakenly) attribute reactivity in this way, our belief grows stronger that our dog, indeed, cannot stand the sight or smell of pit bulls.

Confirmation bias is something that’s nearly impossible to avoid, but we can combat it by being aware that it exists, and by asking ourselves questions that challenge our current views.

III. Breed or Phenotype?

The points above about breed popularity and confirmation bias point out potential ways we might draw incorrect conclusions about our dogs’ breed preferences.

Thissection on Breed vs. Phenotype captures—in my opinion—what what we get right and what we get wrong about what we believe to be our dogs’ breed-based preferences. And, it highlights ways that we as dog owners can dig in and develop a richer understanding of our dogs’ behavior.

Scientists generally agree that dogs regularly assess other dogs based, in part, on their physical traits. It’s just that a fondness (or dislike) for certain physical traits doesn’t necessarily equate neatly to a dislike for a specific breed.

Indeed, framing a dog’s preferences in terms of breed alone—a common tendency of dog owners—may lead to an incomplete, oversimplified understanding of our dogs’ likes and dislikes. We may think our dog is reacting—positively or negatively—to a specific breed, when they’re really reacting to a specific phenotype.

What’s a Phenotype?
A phenotype refers to the set of observable traits or characteristics—both physical and behavioral—displayed by an individual animal, resulting from the interaction between the animal’s genetics and their environment.

Let’s use our trusty German shepherd as an example (sorry GSDs, you’re one of my absolute favorite breeds but a whole lot of dogs do seem to find you…unsettling).

You may have concluded, through repeated observation, that your dog hates German shepherds: they react to German shepherds at a higher rate and with more intensity than they do with most other breeds they encounter.

But is it really German shepherds they dislike? Or is it large dogs with pointy ears and long snouts who lean toward them while making lots of prolonged eye contact?

If your dog passes by a German shepherd who is calmly sniffing the ground, body relaxed and turned away from them, paying them absolutely no mind, will your dog still have an exaggerated, extra intense reaction toward them? Or will they respond to that GSD more like they would any other large breed dog?

Does your German shepherd-hating dog also have a harder time with other medium-to-large, “wolfy” looking individuals who stare and lean forward, like malinois, huskies and some other larger northern breeds?

The Interplay of Physical Traits & Behavior
More often than not, when we feel like our dogs despise a certain breed, what we’re actually seeing is a dislike for a certain combination of physical traits and behaviors. Depending on the scenario and the individual dog, either behavior or physicality can hold more sway in eliciting either a positive or negative reaction.

Case in point, the clients of dog-reactive dogs referenced earlier in this newsletter rated dogs with certain behavioral characteristics as far more likely targets for increased reactivity than any specific breed/mix. Energetic/excitable dogs (31.9% of respondents) and “pushy”/forward dogs (26.2% of respondents) topped the list as most offensive to their reactive pups.

On the flip side, twenty-seven percent (27%) of those same reactive dog owners shared that their dogs react more frequently and more intensely to large dogs than to small ones. Dogs understand—consciously or subconsciously—how BIG other dogs are. The bigger an individual, the greater potential threat they present to your dog if an interaction goes south. It’s natural (and often prudent) for many dogs to be more cautious of larger breed individuals, especially in up-close interactions.

There are other physical traits that rate as naturally more concerning to our dogs. Dogs with upright/pointed ears, broad muscly chests, or naturally high tail carriages might be perceived as more agonistic (combative), regardless of that dog’s intent. And, traits like really long, fluffy hair or hair that covers a dog’s eyes can be scary or off-putting to lots of other dogs.

If this all seems complicated, it can be helpful to visualize a dog’s physical traits and behaviors as separate entities that can each create a positive, negative, or neutral impression on other dogs. Those individual impressions can then compound to create a very positive (or very negative) overall picture. Or, physical traits and behavior can sort of offset one another—as in our example of the dog who typically dislikes large breed dogs with pointy ears and long snouts who stare and lean, but who can tolerate a German shepherd (negative impression based on physical traits) who is calmly sniffing the grass (positive or neutral impression based on behaviors displayed).

Impactful Experiences Matter
It is not always the case that a dog takes into account both physical traits and behavior when sizing up another dog.

If a dog has had a very negative or traumatic experience—or multiple negative experiences—with a member of a specific breed, they may come to associate just the physical characteristics of that breed as threatening. As a result, they may react with an automatic, classically conditioned negative response to the sight of a dog who shares those physical traits, regardless of how that dog is behaving.

On the flip side, some dogs may come to hold very positive associations toward dogs whose physical traits that resemble their own—not because they know they “look like me”, but because their earliest memories are of their loving mom, aunts/uncles, and siblings who held shared physical characteristics.

On a light-hearted personal note, our first to Instinct Helper Dogs, Buster and Sammy, came to react with unbridled joy toward every approaching Dachshund they saw after falling madly in love with a completely delightful little Dachshund pup named Dallas, who lived with us for several weeks for a Puppy Raising camp. (Buster and Sammy helped us raise dozens and dozens of puppies, and they loved most of them, but none left such a lasting impression as Mr. Dallas).

Are We Just Splitting Hairs?

Sort of, but they’re hairs worth splitting!

At the end of the day, is it really that harmful to believe that our dog dislikes some breeds more than others?

It depends. It can be mostly harmless to rely on a kind of mental shorthand and track your dog’s preferences for other dogs by breed instead of by phenotype. But it’s important to recognize that doing so might leave you vulnerable to having an oversimplified, incomplete view of your dog’s likes and dislikes. Which, in turn, makes it more likely that you will make certain missteps and mistakes with your dog around other dogs.

Challenging yourself to take a more nuanced view of your dog’s likes and dislikes becomes especially important if you are trying to help them with issues like fear or reactivity toward other dogs on leash, or if you are working on trying to develop a “friend profile” to aid in off-leash socialization.

Because now, instead of assuming that your reactive dog will automatically LOVE every golden retriever that crosses their path, you can start to know that your dog enjoys most golden retrievers and dogs with similar physical features, who approach them with a soft, wiggly body and are responsive to your dog’s requests for space, but that they dislike over-the-top excited goldens who rush into their personal space and ignore their cues.

And, instead of automatically crossing the street when you see a German shepherd down the block, you can assess how that GSD is behaving as an individual—while also reading your dog’s behavior, of course—then make an educated guess about how much distance your dog is likely to need to feel comfortable.

Share Your Thoughts
Which phenotypes (physical traits and behaviors) does your dog typically love or typically hate in other dogs? Has your dog had a past impactful experience—positive or negative—with a specific breed that still influences their behavior today? We’d love to hear from you!

Send us an email at dogsunknown@instinctdogtraining.com

Bonus Section:
Help Your Dog Appear Less Threatening to Other Dogs

If you own a breed or mix whose physical appearance (and/or current behavior) makes them appear more threatening to other dogs, there are some simple things you can do to reduce your dog’s “threat level” and thus, make them a less-frequent target of reactivity and aggression from other dogs:

• Work on unprompted attention and leash skills around other dogs.
  • Unprompted attention means your dog will spend less time doing long, fixated staring—a super common trigger that causes other dogs to bark/lunge—and more time doing 3-4 second looks, then reorienting to check in with you. Walking on a loose leash instead of straining/pulling at other dogs also makes other dogs far less likely to react negatively toward them
• Work on sniffy games around other dogs.
  • Sniffing is a common displacement behavior many dogs use to avoid altercations or interactions with other dogs. It’s very effective at diffusing tension, as other dogs seem to get the signal that the dog in question isn’t looking for trouble
• Adopt “Dog-Friendly” Grooming Practices.
  • If your dog’s hair typically covers their eyes, trim it so their eyes are clearly visible (and consider keeping their facial hair shorter in general). This helps others dogs get a better sense that they are, indeed, looking at another dog—and they can better tell where your dog’s attention is focused. And, it ensures YOUR dog isn’t left feeling anxious from impaired vision.
• Maintain proper leash length and use basic defensive handling around other dogs, as outlined here.

Even if you feel like your dog seems unaffected by getting barked and lunged at by other dogs, take time to work on the skills above. The goodwill and tolerance they are currently displaying can wear down over time. It’s far easier to protect your dog’s behavioral health and maintain positive or neutral feelings toward other dogs through proactive training that reduces how often they’re getting yelled at by other pups.

NEED TRAINING OR BEHAVIOR SUPPORT?

Check out the resources below!

Check out Instinct’s award-winning podcast, Dogs Unknown (fka DogLab), hosted by Instinct Co-Founders Sarah Fraser (me!) and Brian Burton.

• WATCH on YouTube
• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Spotify

Join one of our free, live training & behavior seminars via Zoom!

Hosted by Instinct behavior consultants, these seminars include a 1 hr presentation plus live Q&A session. Open to all!

RSVP for a Free Seminar

Sign up for the Nature-Driven Nurture Foundations course in our Online School. Learn our groundbreaking canine behavioral health framework that teaches you how to optimize your dog’s training & care based on their unique, individual Nature. This self-paced course includes:

• Access to private Alumni Facebook group
• Twice-monthly Zoom Q&As with Instinct co-founders

Register for the Course!

Or, contact your local Instinct for fully customized training & behavior support with certified, veterinarian-recommended trainers and behavior consultants.

The post Do Dogs Really Dislike Certain Breeds? appeared first on Instinct Dog Behavior & Training.

Welcome to week’s blog.

This week, we are highlighting four of the most common ‘high risk’ behaviors we see otherwise caring, responsible dog owners engage in when out in public with their dogs—along with simple ways to adjust those behaviors to better protect the safety of everyone in the community.

Happy Reading,

Four Common Ways We Put Our Dogs’ Safety at Risk in Public

If you are reading this blog, odds are you’re a smart, considerate, responsible dog owner who cares a whole lot about your dog’s safety and the safety of others in your community.

These are the types of amazing dog owners we are lucky to work with every day at Instinct. AND, despite the level of care and personal responsibility our clients display, many of them have at least a couple of big blind spots when it comes to protecting the safety and wellbeing of both their dog, and others in their community, when out in public.

Below, we review four common ways we see otherwise amazing, smart, caring and responsible dog owners put their dogs’ safety at risk, while placing other dogs and people in uncomfortable—and sometimes dangerous—situations.

If you have a super friendly dog who loves meeting people and other dogs, it is easy to assume those friendly feelings will be reciprocated by others (or at least, to assume that others will be unbothered by the approach of a sweet, happy dog).

But there are so many dogs and people who feel uncomfortable about another dog entering their personal space uninvited. These individuals may be fearful, reactive, or aggressive. They may have health conditions (physical or otherwise) that make the approach of an unfamiliar dog feel unsafe for them. Or they may just be busy, distracted, or have other priorities.

Allowing your dog to pull up close to people or other dogs indiscriminately can be an annoyance to others at best. But it’s also a real risk to your dog’s safety—many dogs will respond with aggressive behavior if an unfamiliar dog invades their personal space on leash.

TRY THIS INSTEAD:

To reduce risk to your dog and keep others safe & comfortable, follow these three simple guidelines:

If you and your dog are standing still in the presence of people/other dogs:

• Step off to the side to allow ample room for others to pass by without needing to come within contact distance of your pup
• Keep your dog’s leash at a length where they are unable to invade someone else’s personal space bubble as they pass by

If you and your dog are walking in the presence of people/other dogs:

• Position yourself so you are between your dog and the person/other dog as you pass by—like doing an Arc-By, but without the arcing motion (unless your dog needs the arc to feel comfortable, or unless the other dog appears to be on the verge of reacting).
• Again, keep your dog’s leash at a length where they are physically unable to come in contact with the person/other dog they are passing, should they pull out to the end of their leash
• In my humble opinion, this should be the default dog walking etiquette. This small change would drastically reduce the rate of reactivity in dogs, and it would also reduce the number of snaps/bites that occurred with people passing by.

Creating a buffer and staying out of others’ personal space allows other dogs and people to feel comfortable, confident, and safe in your presence.

AND, it keeps your dog out of reach of dogs who may be reactive or aggressive, or people who may be overbearing/overwhelming to your dog. Your dog will get barked at, growled at, and snapped at WAY less frequently. The fewer negative experiences your dog has, the less likely they are to become uncomfortable (and potentially reactive) about other dogs or people passing by.

Some dogs truly relish the attention of strangers. One of our original Helper Dogs, Buster, was this way. He was a true social butterfly and loved nothing more than to be doted on by strangers.

Even so, we didn’t allow strangers to wrap their arms around him in a hug or lean in to kiss him on the head. We prevented them from just reaching out and giving him an unsuspecting pat, instead creating a bit of space and allowing him to approach them to initiate the interaction (which he chose to do 98% of the time).

And, we watched for signs that he was done saying hello (sniffing the ground, turning his body away, staring off into the distance) and created space for him when those signs appeared.

Why go to such lengths with a super friendly, social dog who loves people? Because we wanted him to stay super social and friendly. And, because all of us, no matter how extroverted, like to feel as though we are in control of when, how, and how long others are allowed into our personal space.

Protecting your dog’s personal space for them becomes even more important if they are shy, cautious, fearful, or reactive with people, or if they are a young puppy. Otherwise, these dogs will quickly learn that it’s up to them to figure out how to stop unwanted interactions and create space for themselves.

How to Protect Your Dog’s Personal Space:

There are lots of different techniques you can use to protect your dog’s personal space in public. And, because setting boundaries with strangers can feel awkward or uncomfortable for many, it’s important to find the approach that feels most comfortable and natural to YOU—one that allows you to be kind but firm in advocating for your dog’s needs.

When it comes to human strangers approaching, phrases like: “Oh, could you wait there please, he/she likes to be the one to approach” can be very effective—assuming your dog is social with unfamiliar people.

For more detailed suggestions on how to keep people from invading your dog’s personal space uninvited, you can check out this blog on effective boundary setting, and this blog on utilizing the Protector Position with your dog.

When it comes to protecting your dog’s personal space around other dogs on-leash, your best bet is generally just going to be a calm, quick “abort” away from the approaching dog via a u-turn or a wide arc-by (see our video on defensive handling here).

You want to give your dog the opportunity to socialize—we get it. And many folks just assume that taking your dog or puppy to the dog park is what you’re supposed to do.

But dog parks and other off-leash play spaces filled with unfamiliar dogs present unique challenges and risks, and are really only suitable for a small subset of dogs with certain personality traits, behavior profiles, and training skillsets.

Here are three common categories of dogs who are most often better off skipping the dog park:

Newly Adopted Adult Dogs

Until you know your new dog and their behavior profile a little better, until they have a chance to feel fully settled and comfortable in their new home, until you develop a deeper connection with them AND until you build up some responsiveness around distractions, it’s best to avoid the dog park.

Try this Instead: Seek out low-stress interaction opportunities like parallel leash walks with a friend’s sociable dog, followed by a mellow one-on-one play session in a neutral space.

Puppies

Puppies are in the process of forming their view about the world and the dogs and people in it. They are super impressionable to negative experiences, are easily overwhelmed, and are also sometimes targets for certain types of adult dogs who find puppies objectionable and annoying.

This makes the dog park a really risky place for young puppies. Not only can they easily get physically hurt by rambunctious adult players (or by overzealous correctors), they can be left with lasting negative impressions about dogs following a scary experience at the park at this age.

Try this Instead: Opt for a well-run puppy class or one-on-one puppy play dates with other pups or with friendly, puppy-savvy adult dogs instead.

Fearful Dogs, Dog-Selective Dogs, & Dogs Who Resource Guard

If your dog is fearful of other dogs, dog-selective, a dog who guards sticks, balls, water bowls, etc. from other dogs, or a dog who sometimes gets into scuffles with other dogs as a result of normal/typical greeting and play behaviors, the dog park is just not the place for them. And we know it’s really hard to take that activity away when you feel like they actually enjoy the park some of the time. But the reality is, it’s simply not fair to your dog or to other dogs in the park to put them in this situation.

Try this Instead: For dogs who fall into this category, it’s generally best to work with a skilled behavior consultant who can help you determine which types of socialization activities are best suited to your dog’s unique needs.

To learn more about our views on dog parks and dog park safety, check out the Dogs Unknown episode, “Dog Parks: the Good, the Bad, the Ugly.”

Given that so much of our dogs’ time in public is spent on-leash, we understand the temptation to give your dog a little extra freedom by sometimes letting them off-leash in designated on-leash spaces. Really, we do.

But please, please don’t do this, for your dog’s sake and for the sake of the people and other dogs in your community. Even if you feel your dog is impeccably trained. Even if you think you’re unlikely to encounter another dog/person. Even if it’s just for a minute or two, like going from your car to the house (if you live in a populated area), or from your apartment to the garbage chute down the hall.

The safety risk to your dog is real: what if a squirrel runs out into the road and your dog follows? What if they trot up to a passing dog who reacts aggressively to their approach? What if they bolt into the woods after wildlife? What if someone on your apartment floor opens their door with their reactive/aggressive dog or their young child? All of these scenarios, and so many more, are ones in which we’ve personally known clients or friends/family who have seen their dogs seriously injured or worse.

Even if you decide you are comfortable with the risk to your dog’s personal safety, it’s unfair to put other dogs and people in your community in the position of dealing with an unfamiliar off-leash dog approaching them—no matter how friendly your dog may be.

The approach of an unfamiliar off-leash dog is often incredibly stressful for people and other dogs. Many people are afraid of dogs, or simply dislike being approached in an uncontrolled situation. Many dogs are fearful, reactive, or aggressive with other dogs, and being approached by an unfamiliar off-leash dog can be seriously detrimental to their behavioral health and to any behavior modification work their owner may be doing to try to bolster their confidence.

Even if your dog stays right your side, it’s incredibly nerve wracking for a dog owner to walk their fearful or reactive dog past an off-leash dog as they grit their teeth and hope and pray that the other dog will remain by their owner’s side vs. running over to try to greet them.

Try this Instead:

Consider purchasing a few different leash options that make it easier for you to choose to leash up your dog vs. letting them off-lead in on-leash spaces:

• Slip Lead. If it seems like an unnecessary hassle to put on your dog’s full gear for super short/quick trips, like going from the house to the car, or from your apartment to the garbage chute down the hall, consider purchasing a slip lead and using it just for these quick outings. Slip leads generally aren’t an appropriate option for regular walks, but they can be a really convenient and super speedy choice for transporting your dog quickly from point A to point B—and they’re far safer than not using any leash at all.
• Hands-Free Leash. If you really like having your hands free while on walks with your dog, you might consider purchasing a hands-free leash that secures around your waist. Expect that you’ll still need to hold the leash with your hands when you are passing close to people or other dogs, or if your own dog has some reactive tendencies and needs more active handling from you.
• Long Line. If you find yourself letting your dog off-leash in public parks that are designated on-leash, in empty tennis courts, etc.—because you really want to give your dog more freedom but you don’t have a safe off-leash space available to take them to on a regular basis—consider purchasing a 20 foot long line to allow your dog more freedom in these types of spaces. Just be sure to follow the guidelines outlined in point #1 so your dog doesn’t become an on-leash space invader.

Know Better, Do Better

If you’re “guilty” of engaging in any of these behaviors, please don’t beat yourself up over it. They’re SO so common (hence the reason for this blog!).

I have heard countless clients say, “I WAS that dog owner, the one who let my friendly dog pull up to every other dog on walks, until I got my current fearful/reactive dog and realized how stressful/harmful that can be for other dogs and owners. I just had no idea.”

And, when Brian and I were very early in our dog training careers, before we had our own facility, we were 100% guilty of sometimes taking dog-selective dogs into the dog park to work on socialization—it’s not something we’d ever do now, but we did it then with the very best of intentions, and with what we thought was appropriate risk management (observing the dogs inside first, going at quiet times of day, not taking in any dogs with dangerous bite histories, etc.).

We don’t know what we don’t know. And, when we are caring, smart, responsible humans, we work to adjust our behavior when we learn a new way of doing things that can better protect the safety and wellbeing of our dogs and others in our community.

Weigh In!
What do you think? Have you and your dog been personally impacted by any of these high-risk behaviors? Do you have go-to tactics and strategies you use to keep your dog (and others in your community) safe when you and your dog are out in public? Share your thoughts at dogsunknown@instinctdogtraining.com

NEED TRAINING OR BEHAVIOR SUPPORT?

Check out the resources below!

Check out Instinct’s award-winning podcast, Dogs Unknown (fka DogLab), hosted by Instinct Co-Founders Sarah Fraser (me!) and Brian Burton.

• WATCH on YouTube
• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Spotify

Join one of our free, live training & behavior seminars via Zoom!

Hosted by Instinct behavior consultants, these seminars include a 1 hr presentation plus live Q&A session. Open to all!

RSVP for a Free Seminar

Sign up for the Nature-Driven Nurture Foundations course in our Online School. Learn our groundbreaking canine behavioral health framework that teaches you how to optimize your dog’s training & care based on their unique, individual Nature. This self-paced course includes:

• Access to private Alumni Facebook group
• Twice-monthly Zoom Q&As with Instinct co-founders

Register for the Course!

Or, contact your local Instinct for fully customized training & behavior support with certified, veterinarian-recommended trainers and behavior consultants.

The post High-Risk Behaviors Of Smart Dog Owners appeared first on Instinct Dog Behavior & Training.

Welcome to the blog! This week, we’re exploring some of the ways we might be missing the mark when it comes to learning about dog body language—an invaluable skill that benefits not just you and your own dog, but every other dog who crosses your path.

Happy Reading,

Seeing the ‘Big Picture’ of Dog Body Language

Most dog trainers and behavior consultants—myself included—believe pretty strongly that educating people about dog body language is one of the most important and impactful things we can do to protect the safety and well-being of both dogs and people.

But, since having a (human) baby, I’ve been questioning the approach we typically take with dog body language education, as it seems to leave many dog owners with some serious blindspots when it comes to being able to quickly and easily see the Big Picture of our dogs’ behavior.

Behavior Under a Microscope

Many dog body language resources and educational tools focus on helping people be able to zoom in and identify a laundry list of discrete, “dog-specific” behaviors that can indicate feelings of fear, anxiety, or frustration.

At first glance, this makes perfect sense. After all, we’re two totally different species. We should focus our energy on learning all these dog-specific signals—paw lifts, lip licks, displacement sniffing, shake-offs, etc.—that we, as humans, are less likely to intuit…right?

Human-Specific Body Language?

Since having our daughter just over a year ago, Brian and I continue to be surprised at how many smart, empathetic, well-meaning people (friends, family members, strangers, people with lots of experience with babies, etc.) try to engage with her, despite her showing obvious (to us) body language that she isn’t comfortable or interested in interacting at the moment—something that’s become more frequent as she’s entered her current “stranger danger” phase of development.

Indeed, unless she starts crying or actively tries to crawl/walk away, folks seem to assume she’s “fine” and take this as a green light to proceed with approaching and interacting as they like. Of course, we step in and advocate for space on her behalf before it gets to this point, until she’s old enough to be able to do so on her own.

Which brings us to the topic of this blog: the subtle and not-so-subtle avoidant behavior that people so often miss in our daughter isn’t “human-specific body language”—it’s the very same body language many people are overlooking with dogs.

It seems the education we need most isn’t reading dog-specific body language, per se. It’s reading body language, period.

Missing the Forest for the Trees

Learning about the various stress signals of dogs is very helpful, truly. But it’s important to internalize that these discrete, species-specific behaviors are highly context specific. Many of them—though not all—are just as likely to indicate a state of happy anticipation as they are a state of fear or anxiety. And the presence of any one stress signal or displacement behavior reveals only a tiny piece of the overall puzzle.

We would all be well-served to first zoom out and attune ourselves to the bigger-picture body language and behavior that can very clearly tell us whether a dog—or a baby ;)—wishes to avoid interacting with us or others around them.

If you’d like to read more about the context-specific nature of displacement behaviors and “stress signals”, check out this blog by the always insightful Dr. Patricia McConnell.

A “Forest First” Approach to Body Language

If you want to up your game when it comes to reading dogs (and babies, and human adults, and whole host of other mammalian species, too!), try taking a “Forest First” approach.

When you are interacting with or observing someone, attune yourself to these two big behavioral indicators to determine whether the interaction is one the other individual would really rather avoid:

1. Watch for TENSION

Stressed dogs are tense—just like stressed people! And while the presence of tension doesn’t automatically indicate a negative emotional state, it does generally indicate a dog who, at the very least, isn’t feeling totally relaxed and at ease about a given interaction or situation.

Here are common ways to spot tension in dogs (and people, too!)

1. Do you see brows furrowed/knitted together?
2. Are the corners of their mouth tight or pulled forward?
3. Are their shoulders and body loose and relaxed, or are they stiff, rigid?

2. Watch for AVOIDANCE

A display of avoidant behavior doesn’t necessarily mean a dog (or person) is feeling scared or stressed. But it does mean that individual doesn’t want to engage with us at the moment, for whatever reason.

And unless we have a legitimate reason to need to press forward with the interaction, their signals of avoidance should be reason enough for us to hang back and give them some space.

Here are some common ways to spot avoidant behavior:

1. Is the individual sneaking quick, darting looks your direction, then looking away? Or perhaps they’re staring at you, but out of the corner of their eye. They’re probably not feeling very comfortable, and are trying to gather more information about you without interacting directly. Don’t try to engage with them just yet.
2. Are they avoiding eye contact altogether, deeply engrossed in the grass, a bird, their toy…basically, anything but you? They’re not interested in interacting.
3. Are they turning their head and/or body down or away from you, even slightly? Also not interested.
4. How is their weight shifted? Is the dog standing perfectly neutral, shoulders directly above their front paws? Or are they leaning back/away slightly, indicating a desire to avoid, or are they shifted forward/toward you slightly?

These “forest-level” indicators alone aren’t enough to tell you, for example, whether a tense dog who is staring at and leaning toward you views you as a threat to dismantle, or just really wants to come check out what’s in your treat pouch. (That’s when learning more about all the discrete, dog-specific behaviors becomes helpful!)

But “forest-level” indicators are generally enough to tell you when a dog absolutely doesn’t want to interact with you/others in the environment at the moment.

I See the Forest. Now What?

Seeing the Big Picture is great. But knowing what to do with that information is equally as important.

Step 1. Follow these Interaction Guidelines

Here are some general, high-level interaction guidelines you can follow based on whether a dog is showing signs of tension and/or avoidance

• No signs of tension AND no signs of avoidance?
  • With the guardian’s permission, follow these basic greeting do’s and don’ts to help ensure the dog stays comfortable and relaxed. And remember, “Invite, Don’t Invade”: when you extend an invitation to a dog (or baby) to engage with you, it works best to stay where you are and invite them into your space vs. moving into theirs.
• Showing signs of tension OR signs of avoidance?
  • Stay where you are and don’t try to invite an interaction just yet. Check your own body language and adjust if needed to assume a relaxed, neutral position, as in the graphic below.
    • If signs of tension or avoidance persist or escalate, give the dog more space.
    • If signs of tension or avoidance start to diminish, follow the greeting invitation do’s and don’ts above (with the guardian’s blessing). As above, be sure not to encroach on the dog’s space during your greeting invitation: let them be the one to ‘break the plane’ and move toward you.

• Showing signs of tension AND signs of avoidance?
  • Back it up. Create more distance, and forget about any attempts to engage or interact with them for now.

Step 2. Learn About the Trees

Once we refocus and make sure we are capable of seeing the overall forest, it’s a great time to then dive in and start learning about all the individual “trees” (i.e., discrete, dog-specific body language and behavior) that help to make the picture we are seeing even richer and more informative.

The book Doggie Language, by Lili Chin, is a fantastic resource for doing so!

NEED TRAINING OR BEHAVIOR SUPPORT?

Check out the resources below!

Check out Instinct’s award-winning podcast, Dogs Unknown (fka DogLab), hosted by Instinct Co-Founders Sarah Fraser (me!) and Brian Burton.

• WATCH on YouTube
• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Spotify

Join one of our free, live training & behavior seminars via Zoom!

Hosted by Instinct behavior consultants, these seminars include a 1 hr presentation plus live Q&A session. Open to all!

RSVP for a Free Seminar

Sign up for the Nature-Driven Nurture Foundations course in our Online School. Learn our groundbreaking canine behavioral health framework that teaches you how to optimize your dog’s training & care based on their unique, individual Nature. This self-paced course includes:

• Access to private Alumni Facebook group
• Twice-monthly Zoom Q&As with Instinct co-founders

Register for the Course!

Or, contact your local Instinct for fully customized training & behavior support with certified, veterinarian-recommended trainers and behavior consultants.

The post What We Get Wrong About Dog Body Language appeared first on Instinct Dog Behavior & Training.

Welcome to the blog!

This week, we’re answering a reader-submitted question about how to address their dog’s unwanted humping behavior.

While the advice given is tailored to this reader’s specific situation, there’s lots of helpful, general information included on this common, misunderstood, and less-frequently discussed dog behavior.

Advance warning: it’s a lengthy one! But, seeing how we respond to reader questions will hopefully provide you with more insight into the steps trainers and behavior consultants go through to choose recommendation options for an individual client and dog.

Happy Reading,

How to Address Unwanted Humping

We received this question from a reader in our mailbox, and thought it was a perfect one to feature in the newsletter:

“We have a sweet baby girl who has overcome some major trauma and developed a lot of confidence. Her only continuing behavior is humping. Sometimes it’s clear that the environment is overwhelming to her, but other times, nothing out of the ordinary is happening. She only humps one parent and not the other.”

We chose this question because it highlights a commonly experienced situation in which a dog is displaying an unwanted behavior with only one person in the household; and, because humping is a behavior that doesn’t get talked about a lot, and it’s one that is also often misunderstood/misinterpreted.

This lovely reader was kind enough to answer several rounds of follow-up questions. Below, you’ll find that additional background information, along with our thoughts and recommendations about how to improve the issue.

Cana, 2-year-old puggle

Background Information about Cana

Cana is a 2-year-old puggle, rescued by her current family at 6 months old. Her original family purchased her from a puppy mill at age 5 months, then placed her up for adoption 3 weeks later.

Based on her behavior, her owners expect she was crated for long periods, isolated, and reprimanded aggressively for pottying. She is unable to be crated comfortably.

In her current home, Cana lives with her human mom and dad, plus a doggy housemate named Lucca, a 2 year old female mixed breed.

Cana has never displayed any aggressive behavior to humans or other dogs. She loves being close to her people, is chock-full of wonderful puggle personality, and is very into food.

Cana & housemate Lucca

Overview of Cana’s Humping History

TRIGGERS

Cana’s humping is most likely to occur in the following situations:

• When new/unknown-to-Cana guests visit. Cana’s mom says:
  • “She’s very excited when anyone comes. Both dogs jump (we’re working on it). Cana wants to smell and greet, but she doesn’t like it when a stranger tries to pet her.  If they stand over her and pet her, she barks at them and gets away, but then reengages seconds later. If the guests follow our guidance and bend down, she is more eager to engage with them and be pet. After a few minutes of excitement, both girls go get a toy or bone and go chew on it nearby.”
  • The humping attempts usually happen after the guests have been present for an hour or more.
• When Mom plays fetch with Lucca
  • Sometimes, when mom tries to play with Cana’s housemate, Cana will approach and try to hump her
• Undetermined triggers
  • Sometimes, the behavior seems to happen randomly without a clear trigger present

TARGETS

Cana tries to hump the following individuals:

• Mom (primary target)
• Used to try to hump Lucca, but gave up as Lucca just kept moving away
• Very occasionally tries to hump their (female) dog sitter, who stays at the house with the dogs for a few days every few months (Cana really likes the dog sitter)
• Once, a female adult stranger
• Once, a friend’s toddler

‘TELLS’
(Behavior Precursors to Humping)

Cana’s Mom has noticed that, just before humping, Cana will start to circle her mom’s legs in a very specific way.

TACTICS TRIED

Cana’s Mom has tried the following tactics to interrupt/discourage Cana’s unwanted humping behavior:

• Least successful: Pulling her off, then distracting/redirecting her with a toy or ball
• Mildly successful: Saying ‘no’ as soon as she starts, then pulling her leg away; Cana usually stops for a few minutes, but then tries again
• Moderately successful: Picking Cana up and holding her until she stops (Cana continues to try to hump the air after she gets off mom’s leg). Mom usually talks in a calming voice while holding Cana. This usually works, but sometimes, Cana does go right back to trying to hump again.

Our Thoughts & Recommendations

First, huge kudos to Cana’s family for helping her to overcome a less-than-ideal start to life, and for providing her with such a safe, loving, and supportive home. And thank you to Cana’s mom for raising this question so we can all explore the topic together!

Disclaimer: The information that follows is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for individual behavior consulting.

Reasons that Dogs Hump People

Dogs hump people for a variety of reasons. Following are some common ones:

Self Soothing. Very often, humping appears to be a sort of self-soothing behavior that occurs when a dog is feeling stressed or overstimulated/excited. Often—but not always—dogs who hump to self-soothe are feeling some sort of internal conflict when humping: perhaps, for example, they are happy and excited about a new person visiting the home, but also feeling a little uncertain about this person’s presence. In these cases, the target of the humping may or may not be the individual who is causing the stress or overstimulation.

Stopping Unwanted Behavior. Sometimes, dogs appear to hump someone in an attempt to stop the person from engaging in a behavior (particularly an unusual or stimulating behavior) that makes the dog feel uncomfortable or agitated. For example, a dog may hump someone who is acting emotionally volatile—frustrated, excited, etc.—or who is moving in a way the dog finds odd/concerning—like doing yoga).

Expressing Frustration. Some dogs seem to hump because they feel frustrated about a given situation. For example, perhaps someone is playing fetch with the dog, and the dog is frustrated that the person isn’t releasing the ball fast enough. Or, perhaps the dog starts humping if a person tries to displace them from a certain resting or observation spot.

Attention-Seeking. Dogs will sometimes hump in an attempt to get attention or initiate play, though, in my experience, this is more common with other dogs than with people.

Hormones/Pleasure-Seeking. Dogs also hump for the more obvious hormonal  or pleasure-seeking reasons—particularly if they are intact males or females in heat, though other dogs will sometimes hump just because it feels good.

Medical Issues. If a dog is humping frequently, or if humping pops up as a new behavior, it can indicate a medical issue that’s causing irritation or discomfort in/around the dog’s genitals.

Why is Cana Humping? Does Knowing ‘Why’ Really Matter?

Our best guess, based on the information provided, is that Cana’s humping serves a self-soothing function when guests visit, and it serves to (try to) stop an unwanted behavior when Mom is playing with Luca.

Does Knowing ‘Why’ Really Matter?

Almost aways, understanding the underlying motivations for a dog’s unwanted behavior allows us to create a more effective behavior change plan:

While most plans to reduce humping will include some combination of the following:

• Identify triggers/causes of humping, then create a plan to prevent humping attempts as much as possible, through changes in routines and environmental setup, and teaching of needed skills
• Identify and implement techniques to effectively interrupt and redirect humping attempts when they happen

…what, exactly those plans look like will vary based on the dog’s motivations (along with their individual Nature and their Nurture environment).

For example:

• If a dog is humping to self-soothe, we can take steps to build their confidence in certain situations, and also teach them other self-soothing behaviors to replace the humping—like relaxing on a bed, snuffling on a snuffle mat, grabbing a toy to play with, etc. In these cases, we also want to choose a very calm, supportive interruption method that doesn’t add to the dog’s feelings of overwhelm.
• If a dog is attempting to alter a person’s unwanted behavior through humping, we often need to set gentle boundaries about our personal space, and teach the dog skills that more easily allow us to do so. Often, we also provide controlled opportunities for the dog to observe and get used to those movements they find concerning
• If a dog is humping because they feel frustrated, we might work on personal boundaries, but also focus on exercises to help build the dog’s frustration tolerance. We would also be mindful about how we choose to interrupt humping in the moment, and what additional safety/management tools we might put in place, as some frustrated dogs can escalate into aggressive behaviors when someone tries to stop them from humping
• If a dog is humping due to hormonal reasons/for pleasure, someone *might* choose to have the dog spayed for neutered to reduce how often it’s happening. One might opt to provide an “approved” outlet for humping, like a large stuffy kept in a dog’s crate, in combination with having a clear plan for interrupting and redirecting inappropriate humping when it happens.
• If a dog’s humping is due to a medical issue, we seek veterinary care to address the issue, then reassess what, if any, training and behavior interventions are needed to address any humping that continues to occur as a result of the dog having practiced the behavior for a given period of time.

Why is Mom Being Targeted More than Dad/Other People?

Sometimes, an individual person may be targeted for humping because they interact with the dog in ways that leave the dog feeling overstimulated or conflicted (lots of wrestling or physical play, prolonged petting or excited petting, regularly using a loud voice or highly excitable tone when engaging with them, etc).

Other times, the dog may be picking up on an individual’s uncertainty or feelings of discomfort around them, which then creates a cycle of “if you’re uncomfortable with me, I’m uncomfortable with you, too” responses between dog and person.

Neither of these explanations seem likely with Cana’s Mom. Instead, our best guess is that, because Mom handles more of the caretaking duties that can cause Cana to sometimes feel excited or overstimulated (walks, treat giving, etc.), and because mom is around more of the time, she was, at first, simply the more available option. And over time, she became the “go-to” option even when others were around.

Note: There may be an element of comfort level with different gender presentations at play here, as well, given that Cana has only ever attempted humping with women, and with a young toddler. Cana displays some conflicted/uncertain behavior around strangers; it’s not uncommon for such dogs to feel a little more uncertain around masculine-presenting individuals. Thus, when she first joined the family, Cana may have been a little more reserved/inhibited with her dad, and so less likely to try humping him.

Key Considerations in Choosing Intervention Options

While all of the background info shared about Cana is important, there are several pieces of information that rise to the top when it comes to choosing intervention options that we feel are most likely to be effective for Cana and her family:

1. Currently, the most effective interruption technique Mom has tried involves physically blocking Cana from accessing Mom’s leg, while also providing calm, soothing feedback; the least effective is an attempt to redirect to a playful/stimulating behavior
2. When guests visit, Cana tries to self-soothe by laying down and chewing on a bone or toy (this is awesome!)
3. Cana is not comfortable being confined by a gate or crate, due to her early life trauma
4. Cana appears to feel conflicted about new people – curious, friendly and social, but also concerned/uncertain about them in certain contexts
5. Cana loves food
6. Cana has never displayed aggressive behavior with humans or dogs

Intervention Recommendations for Cana’s Family:
Laying the Groundwork

Recommendation #1. Start Behavior Tracking

For the next three weeks, keep a little notebook handy (or use the notes app on your phone) to jot down instances of humping/attempted humping, along what was happening with Cana in the environment just before the humping attempt occurred. If you can think of anything notable that happened earlier in the day (travel, a stressful walk, etc.), include that as well.

Behavior tracking can help you identify ‘triggers’ for those humping attempts that currently feel like they happen randomly. Identifying additional triggers makes it easier to then determine what additional training, routine adjustments, etc., would help Cana feel more comfortable/confident, and less likely to try to hump in those situations.

Recommendation #2. Skill Development

Here are a couple of skills we recommend working on with Cana. These skills can be used in a preventative manner to block physical access to mom during times/situations when humping is likely to occur. And, they can be used as part of our interruption strategy (described in Recommendation #4 below) to help Cana fully settle and relax after she attempts to hump.

• Bed/Stay. If Cana doesn’t already know it, we recommend spending some time each day to develop a very solid, relaxed “Bed/Stay” behavior, where Cana’s mom can ask her to chill out on a mat or bed for up to 10 minutes at a time, around moderate levels of distraction.
• Tether Time. At the same time, we recommend helping Cana can comfortable with being tethered (an alternative to a crate or gate, that can still serve to prevent physical access to mom when needed).

Recommendation #3. Environmental Design

If you’ve worked with an Instinct trainer or taken our Nature-Driven Nurture course, you’re likely well aware of how impactful the environment is on behavioral outcomes.

Here are a few recommendations for setting up your environment to help Cana (and you!) succeed:

• Mats/Beds. Make sure there is a mat/bed for Cana to lay on in any of the rooms where humping attempts typically occur
• Snuffle Mat. Invest in a couple of snuffle mats to use during guest visits, and during tether time training.
• KONGs. If you’re able, consider purchasing 4-6 KONGs or similar stuff-able food toys to use during guest visits (instructions included below). Having extras makes it more likely that you’ll always have a clean one available when needed!
• House Leash. This is an important one. If you don’t already have one, purchase a lightweight leash for Cana to wear inside the home.

Intervention Recommendations for Cana’s Family:
Reducing the Frequency of Humping Attempts

Recommendation #4. Implement a Predictable Guest Routine

Given that the humping attempts usual happen an hour+ into guest visits, it seems likely that Cana’s stress levels are gradually rising over the course of the visit, until she turns to humping mom as a way to relieve some stress and also, potentially, to try to redirect mom’s attention toward her.

Here are ways we can try to make guests visits more relaxing and less stressful for Cana—a good thing in general, and a way to reduce the likelihood that humping attempts occur:

Make the Initial Entry of Guests Less Stimulating:

• Prep a frozen stuffed Kong or hollow bone for each dog prior to the guests’ arrival. Ideally, opt for a size/shape of Kong that your dogs are able to pick up and walk around with.
• In addition, set a snuffle mat down on each dog’s bed.
• If possible, give your guests any dog-related instructions before they come inside. Ideally, text or call them in advance, or, if needed, step outside the door for a quick review when they arrive. You can also post a short list of instructions on your front door if you’re comfortable doing so. Here are some tips on getting guests to ‘buy in’ and follow your instructions:
  • Frame it as a request for help: “hey, we’re working really hard to train the girls to be relaxed when people come in. Would you help us with their training when you first arrive?”
  • Focus your instructions on telling the guests what to do, vs. what not to do. For example, instead of saying, ‘Don’t Lean Over’, try saying, “Back Straight when Standing” or “Kneel to Pet.”
  • Don’t be afraid to set clear boundaries, and include yourself in any boundary setting statements, e.g., “We’re not comfortable with that” vs. “Cana’s not comfortable with that.” People are often more likely to accept and honor a statement about your comfort level vs. about the dog’s comfort level.
• When the guests first enter, scatter some treats on each of the dog’s snuffle mats.
  • At first, the dogs may go back and forth between the guests and the snuffle mats. Over time, they’re likely to focus more and more on the snuffle mats and less on the guests.
• After a couple of rounds of dropping treats on the snuffle mats, offer each dog their frozen KONG on their bed. They may opt to parade around with it, to leave it and go to the guests then return to it, etc. That’s all okay! It’ll take some repetition for them to understand the new routine.
  • NOTE: Watch the dogs’ arousal levels and body language carefully, and step in as needed to gently make sure the dogs aren’t trying to steal each others’ goodies. If either dog is showing signs of resource guarding their Kong/long-lasting chew, we can regroup on ways to adjust the routine.

Reduce Stress During the Visit:

• If Cana is able to comfortably spend time in another room to decompress for portions of the visit, that’s a great option to try. Lucca can certainly join her if that makes it easier for her.
• If she’s not able to relax in a separate space, that’s okay too! You might opt to take the dogs outside for a little fresh air and potty break in the yard for 10 minutes, every hour or so (you can reduce the frequency of these breaks over time)
• Try positioning Cana’s bed at a spot in the room that feels somewhat private/protected, but still provides a view of the guests. For example, you might try placing her bed at the far end of the couch where you’re sitting, with a guest at the opposite end of the couch or across the room in a chair, vs. putting her bed right next to the entrance to the room, or close to where a guest is sitting.
• As described below, use short bed/stays preemptively if you see Cana’s arousal/stimulation levels rising throughout the visit.

Recommendation #5. Use Bed/Stays Preemptively

As you start to identify potential additional triggers for Cana’s humping through your behavior tracking, you cam opt to preemptively send her to her bed (tethered or not) before a humping attempt occurs. Provide her with a Kong, long-lasting chew, or snuffle mat during these times.

This serves two purposes:

1. If Cana is on her bed, she’s not able to hump your leg, and
2. Engaging in a relaxing activity like settling on a mat and chewing or licking something yummy can help Cana to down-regulate and make her less likely to try to hump when she comes off her bed.

Intervention Recommendations for Cana’s Family:
Effectively Interrupting Humping Attempts

Recommendation #6. Block the Response, Redirect to a Calming Activity

The recommendations above are important to help reduce the overall frequency of humping attempts in the future. But we can’t stop there.

It’s also really important to have an effective strategy for blocking and redirecting humping attempts when they do occur—one that supports the overall goal of reducing the frequency of the behavior while also helping Cana feel confident and comfortable moving through her day.

Here’s what we recommend:

• Use a House Leash. For the next 6 weeks, whenever you are home with Cana, have her drag around a lightweight leash attached to her harness or collar. If you are concerned about the leash catching on things or getting tangled when Cana and Lucca play, you can cut the leash so it’s only about 3 feet long with no loop on the end.
  • Why? The leash will provide you with a highly effective way to calmly and quickly block Cana from accessing your leg, without having to physically pick her up and hold her, or try to push her away with your hand. It will also provide you with an effective way to guide her to her bed, if needed, to help her fully settle/relax.
• Intervene Early; Block the Response.
  • Whenever Cana starts circling your legs in that telltale way that forecasts a humping attempt is coming, calmly pick up the leash as you say something like, “No thank you, Ma’am” in a calm, firm-but-friendly tone, and hold the leash away from you so Cana can’t access your legs.
  • You can keep light, steady tension on the leash as needed (just enough to prevent her from moving toward you) until she diverts her attention away from your leg.
  • Once she loses interest, calmly drop the leash and resume whatever you were doing.
• Redirect to a Calming Activity If Needed.
  • If Cana returns to try humping again, or if she tries in earnest for more than 60-ish seconds to keep getting at your leg while you’re blocking access with the leash, or if she quickly escalates into frustrated barking at being denied access to your leg, you can calmly tell her, “let’s go settle”, and then cue her onto her bed and ask her to stay for a few minutes.
  • Provide calm praise when she goes onto her bed. You can make sure there is always a bone or chew toy on the bed for Cana to access if she wants, but hold off on rewarding her with food in these moments to avoid an unwanted behavior chain developing.
  • If Cana tries to get off her bed repeatedly, you can attach the tether to see if it helps her settle (only do so after you’ve worked on tethering and you know she’s very comfortable with the setup in other contexts)

Focus on HELPING Your Dog
Humping is one of those behaviors that many of us find highly annoying (or downright offensive). It’s easy to get pretty emotional, agitated, etc. if a dog tries to hump us—especially if it happens repeatedly.

If unwanted humping is an issue with your dog, try, as much as possible, to hone in on the feelings that are driving the unwanted behavior. Then, focus on helping your dog resolve those feelings in a kind, productive manner.

Cana’s Mom seems like she’s already doing an amazing job of this! We hope the tweaks we’re recommending above will help them make some additional progress.

NEED TRAINING OR BEHAVIOR SUPPORT?

Check out the resources below!

Check out Instinct’s award-winning podcast, Dogs Unknown (fka DogLab), hosted by Instinct Co-Founders Sarah Fraser (me!) and Brian Burton.

• WATCH on YouTube
• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Spotify

Join one of our free, live training & behavior seminars via Zoom!

Hosted by Instinct behavior consultants, these seminars include a 1 hr presentation plus live Q&A session. Open to all!

RSVP for a Free Seminar

Sign up for the Nature-Driven Nurture Foundations course in our Online School. Learn our groundbreaking canine behavioral health framework that teaches you how to optimize your dog’s training & care based on their unique, individual Nature. This self-paced course includes:

• Access to private Alumni Facebook group
• Twice-monthly Zoom Q&As with Instinct co-founders

Register for the Course!

Or, contact your local Instinct for fully customized training & behavior support with certified, veterinarian-recommended trainers and behavior consultants.

The post “My Dog is Humping Me! How Do I Stop It?” appeared first on Instinct Dog Behavior & Training.

Welcome to the blog! This week, we’re talking about how to foster more independent behavior in your dog—whether you’ve just gotten a new puppy, or you want to build this skill in your constantly-attention-seeking adult dog.

Happy Reading,

How to Foster Independent Behavior

Do you have a velcro dog who never leaves your side throughout the day? Maybe they’re constantly nudging you for pets, shoving a ball into your hand, or barking if they’re unable to sit in your lap.

If your puppy or adult dog finds it really hard to relax solo, or engage in activities on their own, we have some tips to start fostering more independent behavior at home.

The Case for Independence

It’s normal for our dogs to prefer to be close to and engage with us when we’re at home. It’s especially normal for dogs in certain stages of life (puppies and seniors) to want to keep extra close tabs on where we’re at and what we’re doing.

But when that preference to stay close and engaged turns into a requirement for normal functioning, it becomes detrimental to both us and our dogs.

The reality of life is, we can’t engage with or respond to our dogs every second of the day. If we try, we end up frustrated, exhausted, and resentful. And our dogs generally end up having an extremely hard time when we actually do need to step away or disengage from them, because we’ve set an expectation that we’re (almost) always available and on call.

Even if we could manage to engage with our dogs 24/7/365, that’s not an ideal, healthy dynamic. If your dog only has eyes for you, they’re missing out on a whole host of enriching and satisfying experiences life has to offer.

It’s far kinder to prepare our dogs to be able to comfortably relax and entertain themselves during those times when we are unavailable to them.

Let’s get started!

Five Tips to Foster Independent Behavior

Here are five steps you can take to start fostering more independent behavior in your dog at home.

Note: These tips focus on helping dogs who persistently/continuously seek out engagement and/or physical contact when you are home with them. If your dog displays separation-related distress when you leave them home alone, some of these tips may support reduction of separation related behaviors, depending on your dog’s emotional state and motivations, but they should not be taken as a substitute for training interventions focused more specifically on addressing your dog’s separation anxiety.

A huge part of fostering independence is creating an environment in which your dog is actually able to behave independently. Here are 3 ways to set up your home to support independent behavior:

Create a ‘Yes Space’ for Your Dog

A Yes Space is a gated/closed room or sectioned off portion of a room in your home where your dog can truly do whatever they want, without you needing to step in to interrupt or redirect their behavior.

Plan to spend time with them in this space at first. Long term, the goal is to have your dog comfortably practice independent behavior anywhere in the home, but this is a perfect place to start.

Yes Spaces are especially important when you are trying to foster independence in a puppy, adolescent, or newly adopted adult dog who doesn’t yet have a clear sense of the household rules and boundaries (or, who has a limited amount of self control and may be quick to abandon what they’ve learned if they’re feeling a little upset or frustrated).

Why? Imagine you’ve been gently disengaging from your clingy puppy or adolescent, and finally, they decide to leave you alone and wander off, only to discover the most PERFECT (to them) activity: pulling and tearing at that oh-so-appealing fringe on your living room rug. You step in to intervene, and in doing so, interrupt their independent activity and restart the cycle of attention/connection-seeking behaviors.

Offer Satisfying Entertainment Options

Invest in a selection of chews, bones, and toys that your dog really enjoys, and make sure they’re always easily accessible (including in the Yes Space).

Focus on providing items that seem to really satisfy your dog. Some dogs LOVE to shred cardboard. Others love to chomp incessantly on their favorite squeaky toy. And others love carefully dissecting giant ropes.

Provide options that bring your dog joy, but avoid items that seem to really amp your dog up and make it harder for them to relax, at least at first.

Provide Comfy Rest Spots

Like, REALLY comfy. Make sure every room where your dog spends time has at least one resting spot your dog deems very appealing (a spot that, ideally, isn’t located right next to you on the couch). Here are some options to consider:

• A super plush, cozy dog bed topped with an old comforter
• An armchair with a big fluffy blanket on it
• A faux fur blanket draped over one end of the couch
• A cooling bed (for those pups who run hot)

There are a couple of skills you can teach your dog that can make it easier for them to relax independently:

• Settle on a Mat and/or Bed/Stay
  • If your dog doesn’t currently know a pretty solid “Settle on a Mat” or Bed/Stay behavior, take the time to teach it to them. We’ll review settling techniques in a future newsletter; for now, if you’re currently working with a trainer, consider connecting with them about how you can teach or further refine this skill.
• Tether Time
  • Practicing tether time can go a long way in helping your dog learn how to settle without needing to be right next to/on top of you. You can check out our blog post with introductory Tether Time instructions.

Before you ask for independent behavior, make sure your dog’s needs are met. This is more than a standard disclaimer about making sure your dog generally gets a good amount of exercise and enrichment on a regular basis (though let it serve as that as well).

Before you practice “independent time” with your dog, make sure they’re fed, pottied, and exercised. And also, spend some time connecting with one another in a way that’s fun for both of you. For some dogs, a challenging training session can be a great activity to try prior to independent time, as it provides connection and engagement, as well as mental stimulation.

This one might sound a little silly at first, but it’s probably the most important tenet of fostering independent behavior in our dogs. Since it’s a big one, we’ve broken it into two different action steps for you.

Gently Revoke Your Dog’s All-Access Pass to You

Our goal here is to help your dog start to think of their attention-seeking behavior as a request, rather than a forgone conclusion. Often, this means you’ll need to commit to a new way of responding when your dog seeks attention from you—one that allows space for independent behavior to occur.

This is hard! After all, the rules of engagement are changing for both of you.

If you:

• mindlessly pet your clingy dog every time they approach you and paw at your leg or lean into you
• immediately make space to allow your dog onto your lap whenever they approach and nudge your arm out of the way
• automatically reach down and throw their ball the instant they drop it at your feet

…start asking for a bit of personal space and pausing a moment while you acknowledge the request, “oh, you want some pets/cuddles/to play?” Then, give a clear Yes (“Sure, let’s play!” or “Climb aboard, little buddy!”) or a clear No (“Sorry bud, not right now.”)

Now, hear this:
It is perfectly OKAY if your dog is unhappy with you at first when they don’t get what they’re expecting. It’s OKAY if they huff, or bark, or try harder to get into your lap. It’s okay if they get frustrated and start trying to destroy a nearby toy. Stay calm and feel confident that you are helping them learn an important boundary that will serve to make them a more resilient dog.

Give your dog the space and time they need to express their feelings in order to move on. If it helps, you can even acknowledge what they appear to be feeling, “I know bud, you’re not happy with me right now. I get it.” (This is more for you than for your dog, but I find it can really help some folks stay in, and convey, a calm, compassionate, and supportive mindset during this more challenging phase of the process).

Try hard to casually keep doing whatever it is you need or want to be doing—answering an email, putting away the dishes, or maybe just drinking your coffee while you watch a TV show.

Just as importantly, be prepared to help your dog if they’re really struggling. If 10-or-so minutes pass and your dog is still nudging, pawing at you, or barking incessantly, or if they are becoming increasingly agitated, it’s absolutely appropriate to help them find their way to calmer behavior.

Often, redirecting your dog to settle on a comfy mat or blanket—or doing a bit of tether time—is a good first-line tactic. Depending on your dog, you may find it helpful to keep a lightweight leash on them in the home for a period of time (only when supervised), so you can calmly pick up the leash and guide them to their bed without needing to give a lot of attention in the process. As you do so, be sure to keep your voice quiet and soothing. Try to stay in the mindset of HELPING your dog learn this important new skill of independence.

Don’t Interrupt Independence

If you see your usually-clingy dog resting quietly on their own or playing/engaging with a toy by themselves, leave them alone. Resist the urge to call them over, praise them, give them a quick pat, or insert yourself into the activity.

This holds true if your dog asks for your attention, then decides move on and find something else to do upon hearing a “Not right now, bud.”

If you see them practicing independence, don’t interrupt. Allow it to happen.

Building specific blocks of independent time into your daily routine—times when you want your dog to understand that you are unavailable to them—can go a long way when it comes to helping your puppy or dog learning to practice more independent behavior throughout the day.

A morning routine that includes independent time might look something like this:

• Morning walk or exercise in the yard
• Breakfast
• Snuggles, then training
• Independent time in your dog’s YES space while you answer emails or enjoy a cup of coffee

A few recommendations for successful independent time:

• If desired, you can give your puppy or dog a stuffed Kong or long-lasting chew at the start of independent time, to help them settle away from you.
  • This can work like a charm for some dogs: they’ll finish their Kong and then have a rest, or find another solo activity.
  • For others, they’ll quickly finish the treat and then immediately come find you to ask, “Okay, what’s next?”. If this happens, don’t get caught up in the cycle of trying to continuously find ‘projects’ to keep them entertained. Just follow the guidelines in Tip 4 above, to help them move on and find a way to entertain themselves.
• Start with just 5-10 minutes of independent time, and build up gradually.
• Remember, it’s totally okay to be in the YES space with them, or just outside of it, if that’s what your dog needs to succeed early on.

When to Push Through, When to Seek Help:

As your dog adjusts to your new boundaries, expect that they may escalate their attempts to garner your attention. This is totally normal and understandable, and, so long as you are being fair, kind, supportive, and consistent, things *should* start to improve over the course of 2-3 weeks.

That being said, recognize when you & your dog need help:

• If your dog escalates into aggression when you don’t respond affirmatively to their attention-seeking behavior;
• if they spend much of the day seeming restless, anxious, hyper-vigilant, unable to settle, etc.;
• and/or if, after trying the adjusted techniques here, they bark at you almost constantly unless you are holding them or actively engaging with them

…it’s best to connect with a behavior consultant and/or a veterinary behaviorist about additional interventions you can use to help your dog feel more comfortable standing on their own four paws.

NEED TRAINING OR BEHAVIOR SUPPORT?

Check out the resources below!

Check out Instinct’s award-winning podcast, Dogs Unknown (fka DogLab), hosted by Instinct Co-Founders Sarah Fraser (me!) and Brian Burton.

• WATCH on YouTube
• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Spotify

Join one of our free, live training & behavior seminars via Zoom!

Hosted by Instinct behavior consultants, these seminars include a 1 hr presentation plus live Q&A session. Open to all!

RSVP for a Free Seminar

Sign up for the Nature-Driven Nurture Foundations course in our Online School. Learn our groundbreaking canine behavioral health framework that teaches you how to optimize your dog’s training & care based on their unique, individual Nature. This self-paced course includes:

• Access to private Alumni Facebook group
• Twice-monthly Zoom Q&As with Instinct co-founders

Register for the Course!

Or, contact your local Instinct for fully customized training & behavior support with certified, veterinarian-recommended trainers and behavior consultants.

The post Clingy Dog? How to Build Independence appeared first on Instinct Dog Behavior & Training.

Welcome to the Instinct blog!

This week, we’re discussing a simple and sustainable mindset shift that can help you stay motivated along your dog’s behavior & training journey.

Happy Reading,

Ditching the Metamorphosis Mindset

(and adopting an alternative outlook)

This month, as we’re inundated with messages to transform ourselves and our lives—“New Year, New You” and all that—I’m reminded how unhelpful this Metamorphosis Mindset is in general, and how harmful it can be when we apply it to our training & behavior modification goals with our dogs.

So many of us enter into a training program with a vision of transforming our dogs into something/someone else. We envision setting out on the journey with our troubled, disorderly caterpillar, going through a few months of hard & messy work, then emerging out the other side with a stable, social butterfly at our side. A metamorphosis from Reactive Rover to Calm, Cool, Collected Canine, from Fearful Fido to Fearless Fluffy.

The problem with this transformational outlook? Every time your dog reacts to a trigger, or has a setback, or struggles to cope with a new situation, you are delivered a harsh reminder that they are not yet a butterfly. And all you can think is, “This isn’t working. They’re never going to be a butterfly.”

You feel disappointment, failure, and sometimes, resentment at your dog’s persistent caterpillar-ness—no matter how much progress you’ve already made together.

An Alternative Outlook: “Better Armor”

A couple of years ago, an article was published in The Atlantic chronicling the 3-month journey of the author as she attempted to become a more extroverted and less anxious individual. Spoiler alert: she did not experience a metamorphosis. She did, however, acquire specific new skills, and learn new activities and strategies, to help her feel more confident about navigating social events, and to better manage her anxiety.

Her description of the outcome she achieved has been rattling around in my brain since 2022: to paraphrase slightly, “I’m the same me, but with better armor.”

I was instantly struck by how apt this analogy could be in framing our behavior modification journeys with our dogs.

As noted above, setting an objective to transform your dog into someone else is a recipe for heartache. But setting out to equip them (and you) with a kick-ass set of armor to help them navigate the world feeling safer and more confident? That sort of compassionate, process-oriented goal-setting sets you and your dog up for a far greater likelihood of success over the long term.

Armor for Dogs?
“Armor” for our dogs can equate to specific skills like leash walking, offered attention, holding a stay, going to a mat, etc. It can include behavior modification techniques like relaxation and impulse control work. It can include proactive management strategies and tools like arc-by’s and u-turns, head collars, gates, and tethers. And it can include medical interventions like behavior medication.

Here’s why I love the analogy:

• Armor takes time to craft and fit. Moving through the world wearing armor takes practice. At first, it feels clunky, heavy, awkward, and unnatural. Over time, it starts to feel more like a second skin; it gives the wearer confidence as they discover their newfound capabilities (though, depending on the suit in question, it can always start to feel heavy and tiring if worn for long periods).
• Armor requires maintenance and repairs. It has weak spots. It is not infallible, but that doesn’t mean it’s not incredibly helpful and potentially lifesaving.
• The type of armor needed changes based on the battlefield (environment) and the unique needs and characteristics of the individual wearing the equipment.
• Armor is not meant to be worn all day. It is critical to be able to come home to a place where the individual feels safe and secure taking off their armor to recharge.

I could go on, but I’m guessing you’re starting to see the potential parallels to your outlook on your behavior modification journey with your dog!

Embracing a New Mindset Takes Practice!

Whether you’re just starting out on a behavior modification journey, or you’ve been trodding along the path for months or years already, consider this:

Whatever issues you may be experiencing with your dog, stop trying to transform them into someone else. Accept who they are. Then, set your sights on equipping them (and you) with the absolute BEST suit of armor you can possibly acquire to help them navigate the battlefield of life peacefully, happily, and safely.

2024 Resolution:
Same Dog, Better Armor

P.S. If this analogy doesn’t resonate with you, that’s 100% okay! We’d love to hear about the mindset, outlook, analogy, etc. that works for you, and that inspires you to continue trying to improve life for you and your dog. Shoot us an email at dogsunknown@instinctdogtraining.com to share your thoughts.

NEED TRAINING OR BEHAVIOR SUPPORT?

Check out the resources below!

Check out Instinct’s award-winning podcast, Dogs Unknown (fka DogLab), hosted by Instinct Co-Founders Sarah Fraser (me!) and Brian Burton.

• WATCH on YouTube
• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Spotify

Join one of our free, live training & behavior seminars via Zoom!

Hosted by Instinct behavior consultants, these seminars include a 1 hr presentation plus live Q&A session. Open to all!

RSVP for a Free Seminar

Sign up for the Nature-Driven Nurture Foundations course in our Online School. Learn our groundbreaking canine behavioral health framework that teaches you how to optimize your dog’s training & care based on their unique, individual Nature. This self-paced course includes:

• Access to private Alumni Facebook group
• Twice-monthly Zoom Q&As with Instinct co-founders

Register for the Course!

Or, contact your local Instinct for fully customized training & behavior support with certified, veterinarian-recommended trainers and behavior consultants.

The post Are You Feeling Discouraged About Your Dog’s Behavior & Training Journey? appeared first on Instinct Dog Behavior & Training.

Welcome to the Instinct blog! This week, we’re talking about how to help dogs who get really worked up when their owner returns home – whether that overexcitement shows up as jumping, barking, peeing, zooming around the house, or all of the above!

Happy Reading,

How to Create More Peaceful, Less Chaotic Homecomings

Does your dog lose their mind with excitement when you return home after leaving them alone? It’s totally normal for dogs to express their joy at seeing you after spending time apart. But sometimes, that joy can tip over into frantic, over-the-top excitement that’s not terribly fun for you or them.

Whether your dog is barking, jumping all over you, peeing from overexcitement, or all of the above, read on for some simple tips to you can use to create less chaotic homecomings.

Step 1: Examine Your Own Behavior

First things first, it’s important to take an honest look at your own greeting behavior with your dog:

• Are you adding lots of excited energy to the situation (“Squeeeaal, I’m SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU TOO, BUDDY!!!”)?
• Are you inconsistent in your responses—sometimes engaging in hugs and snuggles when your dog jumps, but other times scolding them for doing so?
• Are you trying to completely ignore your dog, pretending they don’t exist until they calm down? (This is super common advice, and while it’s not necessarily bad/wrong, we find it generally works better with a couple of tweaks)

Regardless of the specific technique you end up choosing for you and your dog, try doing the following as you return home, to establish yourself as a calm, confident and predictable presence:

• Before you open the door, take a deep breath and relax your facial muscles. Dogs are very perceptive and are acutely aware of human facial expressions – tension you carry in the door from work can be perceived as being directed at them
• Focus on your objective: to SOOTHE your overexcited pup and help them feel happy and *peaceful* again
• As you enter, say a brief greeting (“Hey Buddy, I missed you too”) in a warm, calm voice
  • The initial acknowledgement is important so your dog doesn’t worry that they’ve suddenly become invisible . Seriously though, wouldn’t it seem odd if your friend or partner walked through the door and acted completely oblivious to your presence, even as you tried in earnest to greet them with a warm hello?
• Keep your movements natural and purposeful
• Move immediately into your chosen calming technique

Step 2: Find the Right Calming Technique

Here are six common techniques we use to help dogs feel less frantic when their owners return home.

Note: Be prepared to try a given technique anywhere from 4-6 times to determine whether it’s a good fit for your dog. It will take more repetitions than that to build new, calmer greeting habits, but those initial 4-6 repetitions are usually enough for you to tell whether a particular technique shows signs of promise.

How to do it:

• Place a treat jar at your door
• As you enter, grab a big handful of treats.
• As your dog approaches you, throw the treats on the ground in front of her, before she jumps (Treat Bomb!)
  • For some dogs, dropping the treats on a snuffle mat, instead of on the ground, can facilitate quicker relaxation
• You can help by pointing out some of the treats to your dog
• Keep a few extra treats in your hand
• As your dog finishes the Treat Bomb, offer a few more treats from your hand, so long as four paws stay on the ground
• Check out our blog for complete instructions and a video tutorial

Great for: Dogs who find foraging activities satisfying and relaxing (e.g., dogs who become calmer after using a snuffle mat or searching for treats in the grass)

Not So Great for: Multi-dog households

How to do it:

• Purchase 4-6 classic KONGs or similar stuffable toys, along with a couple of cans of KONG stuffing or spray cheese (we’re opting for convenience – if there’s another, healthier/“cleaner” stuffing option that works for you to keep right by the door, go for it!)
• Place the KONGs and stuffing in a basket by your front door, out of your dog’s reach but easily accessible
• When you enter your home, grab a KONG from the basket and spray some filling inside
• Present the KONG at your dog’s nose level and allow them to lick at the filling for a few seconds
• Keeping the KONG at nose level, walk them over to their dog bed or a favorite resting spot, and set the Kong down for them to work on
• Check out a full set of instructions for the KONG station on our blog

Great for: Almost dogs all dogs, with the exception of dogs who are too worked up to lick at the KONG, even when you hold it right at nose level for them

How to do it:

• Place a basket of toys right next to the door (include a selection of your dog’s favorites – whether that be squeaky balls, stuffies, or tug-friendly options like rope toys)
• As you enter, go to the basket and encourage your dog to take out a toy of their choosing
• If they don’t/can’t choose for themselves in the moment
• Depending on their preference, give the toy a toss for them to go get, or invite them to grab hold for a quick game of tug.
• Keep in mind that, when arousal levels are really high, you’ll want to start with just 1-2 seconds of tug, then let your dog ‘win’
• If your dog takes the toy and parades around happily, leave them be – this is a win! If they come back to play more, reengage them in the game for a few more seconds.
• Repeat for 4-6 short games of tug, then say “all done” and give some (very calm) pets and/or go about your business

Great for: Dogs who really want to put something in their mouth when they’re feeling excited (retrievers and bully breeds come to mind, as a broad generalization, though individual dogs from all breed groups can fall into this category); dogs who love toys

Not So Great for: Dogs who currently get mouthy, jumpy and/or bitey around toys in general—that’s an issue you’d want to work through separately, at a less emotionally-charged time

How to do it:

• Keep a treat jar next to your door. As you enter, grab a handful
• Start off by asking your dog for their BEST/EASIEST skill; for many dogs, this is often a Sit or a Touch (hand target) behavior
• When they perform the behavior, give a calm-but-happy ‘good’ or ‘yes’, then toss a treat away from you for them to retrieve
• Repeat with a simple/easy skill and toss a treat away again
• Then, try an easy skill, but hand feed instead of tossing the treat
• Next time, ask for a slightly harder skill
• Over the span of 2-3 minutes, work your way up to asking your dog to do a Down and Stay—at first just for a few seconds, then building up to 20-30 seconds at a time (you may find it helpful to reward them frequently in the early part of the stay)
• Your goal is to focus your dog’s energy on performing some fun skills, starting with easy reps that give your dog the opportunity to move their body at first as they work off their highest levels of excitement and ‘find their brain’, then shifting to a more relaxing, lower-energy skill that’s conducive to helping reduce their level of excitement

Great for: Dogs who thrive when given very clear direction and guidance; dogs who generally seem content and mentally tired after you engage them in a mini training session at other times of day

Not So Great for: Dogs who have conflicted feelings about performing ‘obedience’ cues – for example, dogs who may display agitated barking, jump up or paw at you, or move away from you when asked to do something (that’s an issue to work through at another time)

How to do it:

• Staying calm, quiet, and relaxed, kneel down on one knee and slip your thumb under the front of your dog’s collar or harness, so their collar is touching the skin between your thumb and index finger
• Hold your hand steady at a level where your dog can stand comfortably, but is unable to jump up
• If/when your dog tries to jump, don’t say anything. Just stay calm and relaxed and let your thumb through their collar act as a sort of tether to prevent upward movement.
  • Important: It can be natural to reflexively pull down toward the ground as your dog tries to jump. Resist the urge to do so! Just keep your hand steadily anchored in position
• Exude calmness. Be sure to keep your facial muscles relaxed; avoid prolonged eye contact, and breathe slowly. I find it helpful to keep my chin pointed slightly up and away from my dog, to avoid an accidental headbutt to the face!
• When your dog’s front paws are planted on the ground, give them slow, massage-style pets on their chest or side. Really embrace the mindset of trying to SOOTHE your dog.

Note:

You’ll know this is likely a good choice for your dog if all of their energy and focus is directed toward you (trying to jump toward and lick your face, trying to jump and lean into you, etc) when you start the technique. This is a dog who REALLY wants to reconnect and engage with you direct after time apart. Stick it out for another 4-6 trials to see how it progresses. You’ll be showing your dog a new, more relaxing way to get what they want most: connection with you.

If your dog is mostly trying to bounce/pull AWAY from you, or if they become bitey/mouthy when you try this technique, it likely isn’t the best choice for them. Abort and try a different technique next time.

Great for: Dogs who truly love petting and physical attention. These are dogs who often melt into pets, and who love leaning their whole body into you in moments when they are less worked up.

Not So Great for: Dogs with handling issues; dogs who quickly become concerned or agitated about any sort of restraint

How to do it:

• Give your dog a brief but warm verbal greeting as described in Step 1
• Then, go about your business, largely ignoring any shenanigans or attention-seeking behavior until your dog starts to settle

Great for: Dogs who get really aroused/amped up about treats, toys, or petting in general; owners who find the other techniques challenging to implement while remaining calm and relaxed themselves

Not So Great for: Dogs who escalate their attention-seeking behavior into nipping/mouthing and/or persistent jumping and clawing at their person when ignored. In these cases, it can be helpful to work with a behavior consultant on a safe, practical, and effective greeting routine (along with additional skill building, if needed)

Overexcited Dog in a Crate or Behind a Gate?

You can still implement most of the above techniques (except kneel-and-soothe) while your dog is in their crate or behind a gate. Once your dog calms down a little in the crate, you can let them out, then repeat the technique(s) again if needed.

Step 2a: Transition to Relaxing on a Bed (If Needed)

For some dogs, you may find that, while the techniques above effectively bring their excitement down from a level 10 to a level 6 or 7, they require some extra guidance to return to a fully relaxed, peaceful baseline.

For these types of dogs, try asking your dog to relax on their bed for a few minutes, immediately after you employ a treat bomb, a brief game of fetch, or a few tricks:

• Walk over to your dog’s bed with a handful of treats.
• Direct them onto the bed and into a down position; for some dogs, eliminating verbal cues/feedback and relying only on hand signals can help them settle more quickly
• Begin rewarding your dog by placing a treat between their paws. Continue to reward every 3-4 seconds, then every 5-6, then every 8-10, as they stay in a down position on their bed for anywhere from 1-2 minutes.
• Watch for signs that your dog is starting to relax: their body and eyes soften, their breathing slows, etc.
• Then, casually and quietly say, “all done” and go about your business at home.

All of the above techniques can be mixed & matched to suit your dog’s individual needs. For some dogs, it’s really effective to use the Relax on a Bed technique as your initial intervention, then transition into giving a Kong or long lasting chew, or doing the “kneel and soothe”. For other dogs who are highly physiologically aroused (read: AMPED UP), they might benefit from doing a Treat Bomb followed by a few simple tricks, THEN being given a Kong on their bed. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Try out different combinations and observe your dog’s behavior to discover works for them! If that sounds overwhelming, remember that you can always reach out to your local Instinct team for some expert guidance.

MIX & MATCH TO SUIT YOUR DOG
All of the above techniques can be mixed & matched to suit your dog’s individual needs. For some dogs, it’s really effective to use the Relax on a Bed technique as your initial intervention, then transition into giving a Kong or long lasting chew, or doing the “kneel and soothe”. For other dogs who are highly physiologically aroused (read: AMPED UP), they might benefit from doing a Treat Bomb followed by a few simple tricks, THEN being given a Kong on their bed.

Don’t be afraid to experiment. Try out different combinations and observe your dog’s behavior to discover works for them! If that sounds overwhelming, remember that you can always reach out to your local Instinct team for some expert guidance.

What If My Dog Still Can’t Settle After 10+ Minutes?

If your dog really struggles to calm down—that is, if they remain highly excited for 10 minutes or longer—it may be a sign that there’s more going on than just some happy exuberance about your arrival home.

A few potential reasons that dogs remain highly aroused and excited for long periods after reuniting with their owner include:

• An excess of energy (mental and/or physical)
  • If you think this may be the case, try incorporating some more physical activity and/or enrichment into your dog’s routine for a few weeks to see if you notice a difference
• A need for more social connection
  • In these cases, it’s helpful to build more play and interaction into your daily routine
• Feeling conflicted about your return, either from experiences with you OR experiences they had prior to joining your family
  • Sometimes, dogs can be REALLY excited that their person has returned, while also feeling concerned they might suddenly get in trouble for some (unknown to them) reason
    • Common examples of this include a dog who has been reprimanded for house soiling or destructive behavior when the owner returns home; or, dogs who are sometimes scolded for jumping up excitedly
  • This conflict can often manifest as overexcited behaviors like persistent jumping/pawing, barking, heavy panting, and/or zooming around
  • Keep in mind: If this describe your dog, you may not be acting harshly or aggressively. Some dogs are just very sensitive, and can develop these conflicted feelings if an owner often arrives home feeling agitated or angry about something else entirely.
• An anxious, insecure attachment to you
  • Some—though not all—dogs with anxious/insecure attachments also display separation-related behaviors
  • In these cases, it’s often most helpful to connect with a behavior consultant to map out a plan to help your dog build a more secure bond

Be Consistent
When you land on an approach that feels good to both you and your dog, try to be super consistent and engage in that same routine every time you come home, so your arrival becomes a very predictable event.

Over time, as your dog transitions into being happy but not over-the-top excited at your return, you can generally fade out or greatly reduce any food rewards you might be using.

NEED TRAINING OR BEHAVIOR SUPPORT?

Check out the resources below!

Check out Instinct’s award-winning podcast, Dogs Unknown (fka DogLab), hosted by Instinct Co-Founders Sarah Fraser (me!) and Brian Burton.

• WATCH on YouTube
• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Spotify

Join one of our free, live training & behavior seminars via Zoom!

Hosted by Instinct behavior consultants, these seminars include a 1 hr presentation plus live Q&A session. Open to all!

RSVP for a Free Seminar

Sign up for the Nature-Driven Nurture Foundations course in our Online School. Learn our groundbreaking canine behavioral health framework that teaches you how to optimize your dog’s training & care based on their unique, individual Nature. This self-paced course includes:

• Access to private Alumni Facebook group
• Twice-monthly Zoom Q&As with Instinct co-founders

Register for the Course!

Or, contact your local Instinct for fully customized training & behavior support with certified, veterinarian-recommended trainers and behavior consultants.

The post Is Your Dog Overexcited When You Come Home? appeared first on Instinct Dog Behavior & Training.

Welcome to the blog! This week, we’re talking about 5 behavioral changes in dogs that can sometimes be connected to an underlying medical issue. We also discuss how to prepare for and navigate veterinary visits to help your veterinarian provide you and your pup with optimal care.

Many times, a change in our dog’s behavior seems to indicate a need for additional training or behavior modification. But in certain scenarios, a visit with your veterinarian may be the best first step.

Happy Reading,

5 Sneaky Signs You Should Take Your Dog to the Veterinarian

(and, how to get the most out of your vet appointment)

The connection between our dogs’ physical health and their behavior cannot be overstated. When your dog is in good health, they are better able to cope with stressors, exhibit impulse control, and enjoy daily activities

When your dog is experiencing a health issue—whether it’s itchy skin, an upset tummy, achy bones, a cracked tooth, or a urinary tract infection—their body experiences some level of stress and discomfort. In turn, their mood, cognitive resources, and tolerance for stress are all negative impacted.

The problem: it can often be really tricky to recognize when our dogs aren’t feeling 100%, as the changes in their behavior aren’t always ones we associate with illness or discomfort.

5 Common Behavior Changes that Warrant a Vet Visit

Below are 5 common behavior changes clients bring to our training teams, often with the assumption their dogs will require some sort of training or behavior modification to resolve the issue.

Our first recommendation in all 5 of these situations is usually to schedule a visit with your veterinarian to explore potential underlying medical issues that may be causing or exacerbating the behavior change (assuming the change in behavior can’t be easily linked to a recent event or environmental or routine change).

Why? If an underlying medical condition is causing or exacerbating the change in your dog’s behavior, leaving that condition untreated means any training and behavior efforts we try to implement to address the issue will be far less effective, or altogether unsuccessful.

This one can creep up on you without you noticing. First, your dog acts distracted and ignores you when you ask them to hop up into the car, but with an extra prompt or two, they do still hop in. Over time, they get more and more reluctant. You notice they also sometimes balk at the top of the stairs. Or maybe they’re choosing to lay on their bed on the floor, whereas their absolute favorite spot in the world used to be next to you on the sofa.

It’s easy to interpret the lack of responsiveness in these situations as disobedience, and as a sign that you need to revisit your training foundations. Often, it can be a sign of increased physical discomfort and/or physical limitations caused by anything from injury, to arthritis, to disease or structural issues.

Your veterinarian can help you sort through potential causes. Once you have answers (and treatment, if needed) from your vet, a trainer can help with appropriate exercises to help your dog regain confidence around certain obstacles or objects.

This can also feel like your dog is being “disobedient” – especially if they’ve always been enthusiastic and cooperative about you suiting them out to go for a walk.

Speaking from personal experience, we’ve had clients in this situation find out their dogs were struggling with everything from ear infections to cracked teeth to tick borne diseases. In nearly all cases, the sudden reluctance to put on walking gear and go on walks was the only obvious, observable sign that something was wrong.

A recent study showed a notable connection between noise sensitivity and musculoskeletal pain in dogs.

If your dog was previously unfazed by most sounds, and they’re now showing notable stress at loud or sudden noises (e.g., ducking their head, erupting into barking, shaking/trembling, getting up and leaving the room, or panting rapidly), it might be a sign that they’re experiencing increased physical discomfort.

While there are a lot of non-medical reasons for a dog to suddenly begin displaying destructive behaviors, destructive chewing and/or the ingestion of non-food items can also be a sign of gastrointestinal issues, dental issues, or diseases.

This usually isn’t something folks bring to us as a stand-alone issue, but it is something that is sometimes mentioned in passing while we’re discussing their dog’s behavior more broadly.

As an owner, it can be easy to write this off as a simple change in preferences, or as your dog maturing. But if your dog really enjoyed gnawing on bully sticks, antlers, or other long-lasting chews, and the frequency of their chewing has significantly declined over the past couple of weeks or months, it may be a sign of a dental issue or something else that makes chewing/gnawing uncomfortable.

While we’ve highlighted 5 common behavior changes, keep in mind that any sudden, negative change in your dog’s behavior warrants reaching out to your veterinarian, especially if you can’t link the change to a specific event, routine change or environment change.

Get the Most Out of Your Vet Visit

So, you’ve noticed a sudden behavior change and you’ve called your veterinarian to make an appointment. That’s amazing! In order for your veterinarian to provide you and your dog with optimal care, it’s important to go into your appointment with a clear understanding of the information you want to share, as well as what you’re looking to get out of the visit.

As skilled and knowledgable as your veterinarian is, they don’t have the benefit of observing your dog’s behavior over the span of hours, days, months, and even years, as you do. Instead, they have only the small snapshots of time they spend with your dog during your 15-20 minute appointments.

Further, your vet’s observations during those appointments are often complicated by the fact that many (most?) dogs don’t behave like their typical selves while visiting the veterinarian. Some dogs are extra stoic and hide all but the most severe pain & discomfort; many have extra adrenaline and stress hormones coursing through their system that alter their responses.

Help Your Veterinarian Provide Optimal Care

If you are visiting your veterinarian to discuss a recent change in your dog’s behavior, there are some simple things you can do before and during your appointment to help your veterinarian tap into their wealth of specialized knowledge to provide you and your pup with optimal care.

Recommendation #1:
Be prepared to share with your veterinarian your observations about what has changed about your dog’s behavior.

When sharing observations, be as specific as possible. Focus on contrasting your dog’s previous/typical behavior with their current behavior so your vet can more clearly understand how far their behavior has deviated from their normal baseline.

For example, rather than saying, “he seems low energy lately,” try sharing something like this:

“He has always been super enthusiastic to go out on walks. He LOVES playing fetch, and he has always followed me around the house to keep an eye on whatever I’m doing. He’s always been an “up for anything” dog. Within the past few weeks, he only gets up from his bed may 50% of the time when I pick up his leash and ask if he wants to go for a walk  (this used to always make him really excited). When we’re outside and I throw the ball, he’ll often start to go after it but then stop, or he just watches it be thrown and looks at me. He still has moments when he runs and plays and gets excited, but not nearly as much. During the day he’s just hanging out on his bed instead of following me around – he often doesn’t even get up to greet me at the door like he used to.”

It can be helpful to make notes of your observations in advance, so you can easily read them off to your vet vs. trying to recall every important detail during the stress of the appointment.

Recommendation #2:
Tell your veterinarian what you are hoping to get out of the appointment.

Different clients have different expectations and desires going into a veterinary visit. Take the guess work out of it for your vet by sharing your objectives for the appointment. Then, let them share with you what feels achievable for this particular visit, and what doesn’t.

Here is an example of verbiage to try:

“I’ve been trying to identify any events or routine changes that might have contributed, but I can’t think of anything notable. I’m also exploring potential behavioral causes and routine adjustments with my trainer/behavior consultant.

During today’s appointment, I would like to:

• Hear more from you about potential medical issues that can contribute to the types of behavioral changes I’ve described
• Learn about any diagnostics you might recommend that can help us determine what, if anything, might be going on from a medical perspective
• Discuss whether there are any treatment/intervention options you can recommend we try immediately to help alleviate symptoms, based on what you observe and what I’ve shared.”

NEED TRAINING OR BEHAVIOR SUPPORT?

Check out the resources below!

Check out Instinct’s award-winning podcast, Dogs Unknown (fka DogLab), hosted by Instinct Co-Founders Sarah Fraser (me!) and Brian Burton.

• WATCH on YouTube
• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Spotify

Join one of our free, live training & behavior seminars via Zoom!

Hosted by Instinct behavior consultants, these seminars include a 1 hr presentation plus live Q&A session. Open to all!

RSVP for a Free Seminar

Sign up for the Nature-Driven Nurture Foundations course in our Online School. Learn our groundbreaking canine behavioral health framework that teaches you how to optimize your dog’s training & care based on their unique, individual Nature. This self-paced course includes:

• Access to private Alumni Facebook group
• Twice-monthly Zoom Q&As with Instinct co-founders

Register for the Course!

Or, contact your local Instinct for fully customized training & behavior support with certified, veterinarian-recommended trainers and behavior consultants.

The post 5 Behavior Changes That Indicate Medical Issue appeared first on Instinct Dog Behavior & Training.

Welcome to the blog! This week, we’re discussing the answer to one of our most common questions, “Am I always going to have to use food rewards to get my dog to listen to me?”

Disclaimer: Much of this week’s newsletter comprises my personal views on this topic. Every dog is an individual whose needs will vary based on their unique situation. If you see something that contradicts what your trainer has told you, consider it an opportunity to start a conversation on the subject, but please don’t immediately assume the advice they’ve given you is inappropriate or ill-suited to you and your pup!

Happy Reading,

Will I Always Have to Use Food To Get My Dog to Listen?

This is, perhaps, one of the most common questions we—and other positive reinforcement-based dog trainers—receive from clients. The most common answer given by dog training professionals goes something like this:

“To maintain a behavior, some level of ongoing reinforcement is required. But, it doesn’t always have to be food. Over time, you can gradually reduce the rate of reinforcement so that you are rewarding your dog with a treat 1 out of every 2 times, then 1 out of every 3, etc., until you’re just using food very occasionally.

As you reduce the number of food rewards, you’ll look to substitute them with praise and “life rewards” (things like, for example, asking your dog to sit at the door, then rewarding them by saying “okay” and allowing them to run out into the backyard to play).”

That response isn’t untrue, per se, but it is incomplete. And, importantly, it doesn’t address the unspoken concern that often lies at the root of the question.

Before we walk through different factors to consider when choosing to eliminate food rewards for trained behaviors, let’s take a closer look at why so many of us feel compelled to ask the question, “Will I need to use food forever?”

Food Rewards & Relationship Dynamics

While one could argue that there are some minor convenience-related concerns associated with alwaysneeding to have food with you to ensure your dog’s continued responsiveness, those usually aren’t the driving force behind the question.

Most often—at least in my experience—when someone asks if they will need to use food forever to get their dog to listen, what they’re really sharing is a belief that goes something like this:

“I feel like I shouldn’t have to use food forever. Once my dog knows a skill, they should just listen. Praise should be enough.”

In the vast majority of cases, this belief isn’t based in some power-hungry desire for total subservience from dogs. Rather, it’s rooted in a heartfelt concern that they are going to end up in a relationship with their dog that feels primarily transactional in nature.

And that is SUCH an understandable concern. It’s unpleasant and even hurtful to spend time with someone who you care about—and who purports to care about you—who generally seems to approach interactions with a “what’s in this for me?” attitude.

What most of us want with our dogs is a cooperative relationship built on trust, mutual respect, and genuine affection & appreciation for one another. And that can sometimes feel incompatible with needing to perpetually reward every single request, no matter how small, with a piece of food, in order for your dog to listen reliably.

If this sounds at all relatable to you, I hope the next section of this newsletter is helpful in allowing you to assess when phasing out the use of food rewards is realistic & reasonable—and when keeping food in play can actually be really helpful in fostering the type of relationship you want to have with your dog.

Factors to Consider Before Ditching the Treats

Here are some questions to ask yourself when deciding whether it’s reasonable and/or advisable to fade out food rewards (or toys, for pups highly motivated by toy play) for cued/trained behaviors.

Keep in mind: answering any one question a certain way won’t definitively determine whether you should or shouldn’t keep using food in a given situation or for a given behavior. Rather, your answers taken all together will (hopefully) begin to uncover a clearer picture of the best next step for you and your dog.

The more your dog finds a behavior intrinsically reinforcing, the more likely it is that you’ll be able to stop offering some type of external reward on a regular basis. Here are a few common examples of naturally reinforcing behaviors for (some) dogs:

• Retrieving. For some dogs—especially individuals of certain breeds—being asked to fetch someone’s slippers or keys is a highly reinforcing behavior in most contexts. After they learn the skill, many of these dogs will happily continue to do it without needing a food reward.
• Barking. Many dogs who are taught to bark on cue as a trick (not necessarily advised by us, but hey, it’s your call!) will happily continue to do it when asked without being offered a food reward, because to most dogs, barking with impunity is a whole lot of fun.
• Sniffing. Most dogs find sniffing naturally reinforcing in a pretty wide range of contexts. Dogs who start off learning “go sniff” with a treat scatter around certain types of distractions can often transition successfully to just sniffing around in the grass/dirt on cue, in the absence of treats.

If the behavior you are cuing helps your dog obtain something desirable or avoid something unpleasant in the environment, it is more likely that the behavior can be sustained by those natural consequences in the absence of food rewards.

Here are a couple of examples to help you identify potentially similar situations with your dog:

• Consider a dog who is very fearful of new people, who is taught to go to a pen when guests arrive at the home instead of doing their normal routine of barking while pacing frantically around the living room. Over time, some such dogs will find their new coping behavior—which allows them to effectively & efficiently avoid interactions with the scary guests—reinforcing enough that they eagerly do it on their own, with no food reward required.
  • Notably, it is often still advantageous to offer high value food rewards, a stuffed kong, etc.—not for the purpose of maintaining responsiveness, but for potential counter-conditioning effects to help the dog gradually become more comfortable about having guests in the environment.
• Now, consider a dog who loves going on car rides, but who finds it difficult to get into the vehicle on their own. Let’s pretend that food rewards are used to teach the dog to use a ramp to get up into the vehicle. The dog is nervous of the ramp at first, but gains confidence as they learn the skill. In all likelihood, it will be pretty easy to fade out the treats, because going up the ramp helps the dog access something they really want (a car ride).

This, to me, is one of the most important factors to consider. While the relationship we build with our dogs is incredibly important, the power of that bond has limits when it comes to the ability and desire of our dogs to listen to our cues in everyday life.

The more relaxed and comfortable your dog is feeling, the more likely it is that you’ll be able to lean on social rewards and the relationship you’ve built with them to obtain desired responses to your cues.

As your dog’s stress levels increase, their cognitive resources turn to more primal & instinctive priorities, like maintaining their personal safety. In such cases, praise and other social feedback can provide a lot of comfort, but it is generally a pretty ineffective reward for cued behaviors.

Offering higher value food rewards in these instances not only increases your dog’s responsiveness to cues, it may help decrease your dog’s stress levels and enhance their view of you as a kind, helpful leader.

In terms of importance, this ranks a close second to assessing your dog’s emotional state. When deciding whether or not to use food rewards in a certain situation, consider what else is competing for your dog’s attention at the moment. What other powerful primary reinforcers are calling out to them, OR, what potential threats are they trying to monitor and mitigate?

The busier and more complex the external environment, the more it will benefit you to utilize food (or some similarly motivating reward) in conjunction with your social feedback.

Here are a couple of examples of situations where I still continue to frequently reward my dogs with treats, even though they know the behaviors in question really well and can perform them successfully in a wide variety of contexts:

• Rewarding Attention On Leash. When we’re in walking in a busy, urban environment, I always have treats ready, and I reward my dogs frequently for offering me their attention while on leash. This keeps their leash skills solid, but more importantly, it gives them a fun, simple, predictable activity to do in a very interesting, exciting, unpredictable, (and sometimes scary) environment.
• Rewarding Settling in Public. If I take one of my dogs along to dine at a restaurant patio, I make sure to always have treats on hand. I’ll reward them for staying put on their blanket while other dogs pass, while the server approaches the table, etc.

In situations like these, food rewards are a simple and effective way to maintain your dog’s level of responsiveness in a challenging environment. But more importantly for me, they also just feel like a nice way to communicate appreciation to my dogs for checking in and choosing to engage in behaviors they wouldn’t choose as a default, in the face of some very inviting distractions.

Continuing to reward with food is likely to keep your dog’s responses especially speedy, enthusiastic, and reliable. When deciding whether or not to reward certain behaviors with food/treats on an ongoing basis, it can be helpful to consider the potential consequences you or your dog will face if they don’t respond to the cue—now, or at any point in the future.

For “high stakes” behaviors, I prefer to continue to reward my dog with the high value reinforcers as often as I possibly can. The most common example of this is Coming when Called.

Generally, dog trainers (myself included) will recommend that you continue to reward Coming when Called with high value reinforcers as often as you possibly can (like, every single time, forever, if you can swing it). Because the consequences of not listening can be catastrophic, depending on the context.

Phasing Out Food Rewards

Identifying a select number of fair, appropriate situations in which you remove or greatly reduce the use of food rewards with your dog (while continuing to use it in others) can provide a lot of peace of mind for you as an owner in knowing that you aren’t actually entirely dependent upon food to get your dog to listen.

If you are looking for situations where you can start transitioning away from food and other reinforcers that feel more “transactional” to you, here is my advice:

• First, make sure the trained behavior in question is one that your dog knows really well, and that they feel very comfortable performing
• Second, make sure your dog isn’t under emotional duress when being cued; if they’re feeling moderate or severe levels of stress when you are asking for certain behaviors, it’s best to keep the food in play
• Third, make sure the environment isn’t too highly distracting—this includes concerning/unpleasant distractions AND highly exciting/happy distractions

Once common example that often meets these criteria—and one that I implement personally with our own dogs—is asking them to Go to Bed & Stay if they need to be out from underfoot for periods of time at home (e.g., while eating dinner, putting away groceries, etc.).

Assuming you’ve met the three criteria above, it is often very fair to fade out food and lean more on social feedback—heartfelt acknowledgment/thanks, coupled with gentle boundary setting when needed—in this situation. Every so often, I may give our dogs a little piece of food as a way to say, “thanks buddy, I appreciate you doing this.” But it’s not expected or necessary for them to reliably perform the behavior. Instead, they receive heartfelt praise for going to bed & staying there, and they are gently led/directed back to the bed if they occasionally exit before being released.

Importantly, I continue to consider what’s happening in the moment and am prepared to adapt my reward strategy accordingly: Are there are unusual distractions present? Is one of our dogs feeling stressed or worried? If so, I’ll add food back into the mix to help them succeed and feel good about doing so.

A Thoughtful Approach to Food Use
Taking this approach to the use of food rewards—where you thoughtfully assess when & where to continue using food vs. when to try phasing it out, based on what’s best for your dog—fosters what is far from a transactional relationship. Rather, it allows you to position yourself as a truly safe, helpful, predictable and responsive leader who adapts to your dog’s needs in the moment, to help them succeed.

NEED TRAINING OR BEHAVIOR SUPPORT?

Check out the resources below!

Check out Instinct’s award-winning podcast, Dogs Unknown (fka DogLab), hosted by Instinct Co-Founders Sarah Fraser (me!) and Brian Burton.

• WATCH on YouTube
• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Spotify

Join one of our free, live training & behavior seminars via Zoom!

Hosted by Instinct behavior consultants, these seminars include a 1 hr presentation plus live Q&A session. Open to all!

RSVP for a Free Seminar

Sign up for the Nature-Driven Nurture Foundations course in our Online School. Learn our groundbreaking canine behavioral health framework that teaches you how to optimize your dog’s training & care based on their unique, individual Nature. This self-paced course includes:

• Access to private Alumni Facebook group
• Twice-monthly Zoom Q&As with Instinct co-founders

Register for the Course!

Or, contact your local Instinct for fully customized training & behavior support with certified, veterinarian-recommended trainers and behavior consultants.

The post How Long Do I Have to Use Food to Reward My Dog? appeared first on Instinct Dog Behavior & Training.

Welcome to the blog!

This week, we’re exploring the science of barking—more specifically, we’re taking a look at why certain types of barks are more likely to annoy us than others.

The research included in this newsletter is part of a larger research project that will inform an upcoming Dogs Unknown podcast episode, all about the evolution of barking in domestic dogs. Stay tuned!

Happy Reading,

The Different Types of Dog Barks

(and why some barks annoy us more than others)

Barking is a commonly cited nuisance behavior for many people, dog owners and non-dog owners alike. A study conducted in 2015 (Raglus et al., 2015) cites ‘nuisance’ barking as a huge behavior problem that is exhibited by as many as 1 in 3 pet dogs around the world (!), and is the cause of everything from relinquishment of dogs to shelters to neighbor disputes, fines, and evictions.

But not all barks are created equal on the nuisance scale…and there’s a good evolutionary reason for that.

Barking as Communication

First things first, did you know that our dogs’ barking is a product of domestication? Grey wolves—the closest relatives of dogs—bark in only a couple of very specific contexts. When wolves do bark, it includes a single bark or perhaps a short burst of barks. Further, most barking amongst wolves is displayed by juveniles as opposed to adult wolves. The same holds true for other wild canids. Indeed, barking has “turned out to be almost a ‘trademark’ for dogs…[who] bark in a strongly repetitive manner and in almost every possible context” (Pongracz, 2017).

Despite the fact that barking occurs frequently and in such a wide range of contexts among domestic dogs, up until these last few decades, it was assumed by scientists that barking didn’t really serve a specific communicative function.

Instead, scientists theorized that barking was a sort of by-product of domestication, rather than a communicative adaptation to help dogs thrive in their new human-centric living environment.

Our understanding of barking as more targeted communication started to change in 2002, when Dr. Sophia Yin published studies showing that dogs reliably use different types of barks in different contexts, including in states of play, separation, and territorial aggression (Yin, 2002; Yin & McCowan, 2004).

In 2005, Pongracz et al. conducted a study that analyzed barks in Yin’s original three contexts, plus three additional ones. The six scenarios tested included: “Stranger at the gate”; “Schutzhund training”; “Preparing for a walk with owner”; “Asking for a ball”; “Play with owner”; and “Left alone”. Once again, the researchers found that barks from different contexts had reliably different auditory characteristics.

Thanks to these studies (and a handful of others), it is now widely accepted that barking serves an important communicative function for our dogs—and that we as humans are pretty darn good at accurately understanding at least a subset of those bark types, regardless of our level of experience with dogs (Pongracz et al., 2005).

Some Barks are More Annoying than Others

So, we know our dogs reliably use different barks in different contexts. This is probably not terribly surprising news to any of us who share our lives with dogs. But, researchers have also recently found that there are select types of barks that cause us to become especially annoyed and agitated.

In 2020, Jegh-Czinege et al. conducted a study that had participants listen to different types of dog barks, then rate them according to how annoying they found them. The researchers found that bark types conveying a positive emotional state (happiness, playfulness) were negatively correlated with nuisance scores of participants, while bark types conveying a negative emotional state (fear, despair, aggression) where positively correlated with nuisance scores.

In short: happy barks don’t seem to cause us much agita, but fearful, desperate, and aggressive barks often test our nerves and our patience.

Perhaps you’re wondering which contexts, specifically, caused participants the highest levels of annoyance (or, maybe you’ve already guessed).

Both Jegh-Czinege et al. (2020) and Pongracz et al. (2016) found that, of the bark contexts they tested, people rated the following as most annoying:

• Barks that occur when a dog is left alone
• Barks that occur when a dog is alarmed about a stranger

Interestingly, it’s also these “negative emotional state” barks that human adults are most accurate at categorizing—we do a great job of identifying these types of barks, even when we don’t have any experience with dogs (Pongracz et al., 2005).

Your Heightened Annoyance Serves a Purpose

So, we’re really good at recognizing barks that convey negative emotional states. And, we find these types of barks particularly attention-getting and annoyance-inducing. Why?

Fearful, desparate, and aggressive barks have specific auditory qualities that activate biologically-rooted “emotion-attribution rules” we use to assess vocalizations of other (human and non-human) individuals (Andics & Faragó, 2018). Depending on the assessed emotion of the signaler, we register certain calls as more important and biologically relevant.

Researchers suggest that our heightened annoyance response to fearful or desperate barks is rooted in the same type of biological response we have to the sound of a baby crying: it’s an attention-getting, biologically relevant sound that signals an urgent need from a vulnerable/dependent individual. So long as the crying persists, we feel upset (annoyed, agitated, anxious, etc.), because its continued presence signals to us a need that is still unresolved. (Jegh-Czinege et al., 2020).

“Aggressive” barks (more accurately described in the literature as agonistic barks), are also very biologically relevant sounds. These types of harsh, lower-frequency vocalizations are pretty universal across the animal kingdom in situations where conflict is afoot (Morton, 1994; Pongracz, 2017). From an evolutionary standpoint, it’s really helpful for us to find these types of vocalizations especially attention-getting, as they can allow us to avoid or address a potential threat in our environment (either the dog itself, or a stranger the dog may be alerting to).

Where Do I Go from Here?

We won’t be getting into recommended approaches to reduce “nuisance” (read: unwanted) barking. At least, not in this newsletter—though stay tuned for future editions that will offer some practical “how to’s” you can try at home.

For now, if you are finding your dog’s (seemingly unwarranted or excessive) barking especially annoying lately, consider this:

1. Your high levels of annoyance may actually be a signal that your dog is having a really hard time with the situation, too. And they’re doing their best to communicate it to you in the best way they know how.
2. Even as you take a step back and try to empathize with the negative emotions behind your dog’s barking, take solace in knowing that it is totally normal and natural to still feel annoyed or agitated by their barking. Biology is a powerful force!

Lastly, if you’re open to it, take this newsletter as a gentle nudge to more closely examine the contexts in which your dog is barking. Then, connect (or reconnect) with your trainer or behavior consultant to explore ways to reduce barking that help both you and your dog feel better.

References:

• Andics A, Faragó T. 2018. Voice perception across species. In: Frühholz S, Belin P, editors. Oxford handb voice percept. 1st ed. Oxford (UK): Oxford University Press; p. 363–392. 
• Jégh-Czinege,N., Faragó, T., & Pongrácz, P. (2020) A bark of its own kind – the acoustics of ‘annoying’ dog barks suggests a specific attention-evoking effect for humans, Bioacoustics, 29:2, 210-225
• Pongrácz P. 2017. Modeling evolutionary changes in information transfer. Effects of domestication on the vocal communication of dogs (Canis familiaris). Eur Psychol. 22:219–232.
• Pongrácz P, Czinege N, Haynes TMP, Tokumaru RS, Miklósi Á, Faragó T. 2016. The communicative relevance of auditory nuisance: barks that are connected to negative inner states in dogs can predict annoyance level in humans. Soc Behav Commun Biol Artif Syst. 17:26–47.
• Pongrácz P, Molnár C, Miklósi Á, Csányi V. 2005. Human listeners are able to classify dog (Canis familiaris) barks recorded in different situations. J Comp Psychol. 119:136–144. 
• Raglus TI, Groef BD, Marston LC. Can bark counter collars and owner surveys help identify factors that relate to nuisance barking? A pilot study. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 2015; 10:204-209.
• Yin S. 2002. A new perspective on barking in dogs (Canis familaris.).. J Comp Psychol. 116:189–193. 
• Yin S, McCowan B. 2004. Barking in domestic dogs: context specificity and individual identification. Anim Behav. 68:343–355.

NEED TRAINING OR BEHAVIOR SUPPORT?

Check out the resources below!

Check out Instinct’s award-winning podcast, Dogs Unknown (fka DogLab), hosted by Instinct Co-Founders Sarah Fraser (me!) and Brian Burton.

• WATCH on YouTube
• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Spotify

Join one of our free, live training & behavior seminars via Zoom!

Hosted by Instinct behavior consultants, these seminars include a 1 hr presentation plus live Q&A session. Open to all!

RSVP for a Free Seminar

Sign up for the Nature-Driven Nurture Foundations course in our Online School. Learn our groundbreaking canine behavioral health framework that teaches you how to optimize your dog’s training & care based on their unique, individual Nature. This self-paced course includes:

• Access to private Alumni Facebook group
• Twice-monthly Zoom Q&As with Instinct co-founders

Register for the Course!

Or, contact your local Instinct for fully customized training & behavior support with certified, veterinarian-recommended trainers and behavior consultants.

The post Does Your Dog’s Barking REALLY Annoy You? appeared first on Instinct Dog Behavior & Training.