Book Review: Stress in Dogs

Stress in Dogs - Learn How Dogs Show Stress and What You Can Do To Help
by Martina Scholz & Clarissa von Reinhardt
2006
137 pages
ISBN: 1929242336
Available at Dogwise Books


This short volume very succinctly describes what happens when an organism (humans/dogs) are under stress and how that stress reaction affects the long term health and mind of the organism. The authors spend many pages describing the many symptoms of stress. They then go on to tell 4 cases studies about dogs who were under stress and how the stress affected the dogs, their behavior and their families.

The best part about this book was the section of stress related symptoms and the list of things a dog owner can do to help reduce their dog's overall stress level.

Book Review: The Other End of the Leash

The Other End of the Leash (Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs)
By Patricia McConnell, Ph.D
2002
240 pages
ISBN: 034544678X
Available from Dogwise Books

This book is not a "how to" training book. Or, rather, I should say, it isn't a cues/commands/tricks type training book. Instead, it is a book that seeks to outline the differences and similarities of humans and dogs and how each species communicates though the 5 senses. A reader can gain a deeper understanding of their canine companion and how to better communicate with him/her.

During the course of the book, Dr. McConnell shows how we, as primates, differ from canines and how those differences can cause problems. She also offers ways to help facilitate communication between the species.

My favorite chapter was "Chapter 3: Talking to Each Other." Dr. McConnell reviewed the ways that humans talk to their animals and really offered some great suggestions on how our tone and pace of speaking can have an effect on our dogs. She reviewed fast sounds and what those did to affect behavior and slow long sounds (such as "whoa") and how they aided in slowing down an animal.

Throughout the book, she talks about her own experiences with her own dogs and her student dogs, which really help to illustrate what she is writing about. I have to admit that the stories in the last chapter (Love and Loss) brought tears to my eyes.

I would definitely recommend this for any dog lover's library.

Manners for the Real World Class - Ella

Ella and I just finished an 8 week long class at Green Acres in Bangor. This is an intermediate level clicker training class and we worked on:

Backing up: Ella learned to back up two steps while standing. This one was a bit challenging to train because she had a tendency to sit rather than back up, so I had to watch how I moved towards her. A small movement with me leaning slightly back got her to back up while a larger one with me leaning forward caused her to sit. This is not a behavior that is needed for the Canine Good Citizen test (CGC), but is needed for Rally-O. And, it is a useful one to have on cue, since she could get stuck somewhere where I need to have her back up to get out.

We have more work to do on this one, since I would like for her to back up in a straight line about 20 paces using a verbal and hand cue.

Down: Ella has always been reluctant to lie down, so we worked really hard on this one. She will now stay in a down with me walking 5 paces backwards and will also hold her down for 20 seconds with me standing still. In order to pass the CGC test, she needs to stay in one spot while I walk 20 feet away and then return to her. She then needs to repeat it while I walk 20 feet away and then call her to me. This skill is also used a lot in Rally.

Ella and I will have to practice this skill in a lot more busy areas before we are ready for the test since she does not like to stay when there is a lot going on around her.

Heel/Loose Leash Walking: When we practiced this in class, she would plod alongside me in the heel position with the leash dangling loosely between us. She wasn't very enthusiastic about it, so we have been practicing this with her looking at my face and walking briskly. I changed her from using a regular harness to a show lead and that made a difference, too.

This behavior needs to be put on a verbal and a hand cue.

Paw: Ella is not very foot oriented (i.e., she doesn't usually touch things with her feet). But, I want to be able to teach her foot tricks and in order to do that, she has to learn to touch things with her paw. I started out with touching the back of her paw with my hand, but she would back away or lie down. Touching her paw is aversive for her, so we will work on that issue separately and I needed to find another way to lure or capture this behavior. Holly suggested that I place some treats under a lid and capture the behavior when Ella pawed it. So far, we have done two sessions like this and it is much less aversive for her and she seems to be getting it.

Recall: I have no trouble calling Ella to me in a class situation. What I need to work on is when she is with another one of the group - they tend to not come as quickly as they should.

Stand: This was a fun one to teach, since Ella caught on very quickly. She sits and then, using a hand cue, stands in place. This one is on a hand cue, but Ella touches the hand when it is presented, so we need to change that a little. She also needs to know the verbal cue.

Sit: We did so many puppy pushups (sit, down, stand, down, sit, etc) that she started downing when I asked her to sit. So, we have been working on duration in the sit right now. We are up to about 5 seconds duration and I can take a half step backwards.

This is on a verbal and hand cue.

Sit when Halt: This is an important behavior for Rally. Ella maintains the heel position when we walk and when I stop walking, she immediately sits. I have to work more on this one because she starts to come into the front position to sit, rather than just sit at my side in the heel position.

Touch: We started with Ella touching my hand with her nose and she will now target anything in my hand with the "touch" cue. We have used the target stick to practice heeling, since I can position her exactly where I want her to be using the stick. Ella has this one on a hand and verbal cue.