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Arthur Lopatin

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December 21, 2020 at 1:00 pm in reply to: Muzzling a dog that snaps during muzzle training

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When he owners tried to muzzle condition did they start w/treats next to, on the outside, a little bit inside, further inside, etc? What about wrapping a small towel on the outside of the muzzle to create a ‘food bowl,’ putting treats inside and letting him go for it (of course, they’d have to be holding the ‘bowl,’ which might get iffy.

Was he real hungry? Did they use high-value treats? Each step of the way, did they praise enthusiastically but calmly? Did they hold the muzzle still, or even move it slowly a little away, NOT push the muzzle toward him? Did they move slowly. With a dog like this, it could take, maybe, 7 – 10 days.

R they clear that getting his nose/face into the muzzle is just the beginning. You have to go very slowly re: getting the straps on securely.

I’m wondering if it’s a great idea to put the muzzle in a dish besides his food so he gets used to it, and then conditioning him to it from a distance. Here’s why: it it’s next to his food bowl, he might get used to it and resource guard it, esp if he resource guards his food. In other words — it’s a question. i’m not sure — if he thinks it’s his and then what’s he gonna do? Also, how are they gonna condition him from a distance? Put the muzzle w/some peanut butter on it on a stick? I’m trying to figure understand the mechanics.

What I’m seeing in my mind’s eye are owners who are — quite understandably — afraid of the dog. I’m just concerned that their fear — if, indeed they are fearful — isn’t being communicated to the dog, thereby validating his dominance.

Does he resource guard his food? In other words, what happens when the owners approach his bowl while he’s eating. Also, do the owners pick the bowl up right after meal-time and the dog’s walked away, regardless of whether or not it’s got some food in it? If not, they should. Part of leadership. Ditto leaving toys all over the place. BTW, is he crate-trained? Are walks on his schedule of his owners?

No need to answer these questions. Just some ideas you might, or might not, have thought of alredy.

Arthur Lopatin

Member

December 18, 2020 at 7:47 pm in reply to: Muzzling a dog that snaps during muzzle training

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I think your right about postponing the vet’s visit. I defer to Mike re Level 5 Dominance. He knows far more than I do. Mike also said that the D&T wire muzzle is safer, in case you missed it when you were watching the vid.

But I’m seriously wondering if the owners aren’t exacerbating the problem by doing stuff like using a bed and telling him to go there. Y not use, ideally, a slightly soft mat on the ground or one of these things https://www.amazon.com/s?k=place+cot+for+dog+training&i=pets&crid=PK79ULP44QOJ&sprefix=place%2Caps%2C183&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_4_5

Dominance==first right to limited resources. letting him go on a bed and then moving away from the bed reinforces this dog’s sense of dominance, which is the opposite of what’s needed. Ditto demanding attention. Ditto demanding to go outside. The more you provide for him on your terms, and the less he feels entitled to demand from you the better.

Bottom line, imo, watch and rewatch the Q&A.. Mike’s got tons of experience w/this kind of thing. Also consider getting protective gloves. Have good leash handling skills. (Leash-Ninja Video Overview
www.leashninja.com
Leash-Ninja Video-Full Version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVerxTYpUnE&t=173s
&t=173s)
Gotta be very careful around a dog like that, but also be calm, aloof, speak in confident, quiet, friendly tone of voice, etc……AND be very careful. ….. question: does he ever give warning signs beforehand or does he just start w/his mouth/teeth? growls, curled lip, etc. at least some of the time? are there times when he does warn and other times when he doesn’t? to be clear, these are my questions. years ago, when I knew very little, I had a Mal-Shep mix who had some dominance issues, and I watched Mike work with dogs with similar issues. so i’m real interested. i hope you keep us posted. I’m sure Mike would be happy to field questions in the Q & A. Good luck!
Leash-Ninja Video Overview
www.leashninja.com
Leash-Ninja Video-Full Version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVerxTYpUnE&t=173s
&t=173s

Arthur Lopatin

Member

December 18, 2020 at 12:04 am in reply to: Muzzling a dog that snaps during muzzle training

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Based on your description, and w/o knowing his history, the poor guy might be fear aggressive, but it might be more likely that he’s a fear biter.

Here’s Mike’s description of ‘Fear Biter’:

Fear Biter

The term “fear biter” should not be confused with “fear aggression.” Fear aggression is a preemptive and proactive –“I’m going to get you before you get me or us” — behavior, while “fear biter” applies to a dog that bites only in defense, and only if flight is not an option.

A typical fear biter may “fear bite” when cornered by a perceived threat, when getting nails clipped, or when he/she cannot escape various other types of fear-eliciting stimuli.

Dogs who are not fear biters, may bite in the identical circumstances. However, whether the bite is the result of protective/fear aggression or dominance aggression, will need to be determined by analyzing their behaviors and body language, preceding the bite. The true fear biter will have fearful body language and will prefer flight if there is an option.

That description comes from: https://dogtraining.world/knowledge-base/classification-canine-aggression-rehab-k9-1/

My hunch is that dominance aggression is probably a secondary factor, altho it could develop if the owners don’t have a good handle on leadership/dominance…..

Here’s a good read on leadership: https://dogtraining.world/knowledge-base/introduction-to-leadership/

It’s a good complement to NILIF.

Also, I highly recommend implementing the Fear & Protective Aggression Blueprint: https://dogtraining.world/knowledge-base/fear-and-protective-aggression-blue-print/

…. the Dominance Aggression Blueprint: https://dogtraining.world/knowledge-base/dominance-aggression-blueprint/

I’m wondering if the D&T muzzle is the best for this guy. U might want to check out the Baskerville muzzle. Mike likes the Basker. quite a lot. Soft, easy to feed treats thru the muzzle basket, tho that sometimes requires clipping one of the soft rubber cross-bars.

Here’s a good Mike vid re muzzle conditioning:

https://dogtraining.world/knowledge-base/train-dog-like-muzzle/

This dog’s been thru a lot, so imo — from personal experience — it will take a long time and a lot of patience to heal the psychological as well as the physical scars. The slower you go, the smoother things go, and the smoother things go, the faster the results. I hope his owners are going real slow w/everything, not trying to do too much too quickly…..w/everything from muzzle conditioning to desensitization and counterconditioning to stuff that triggers him. I hope they are dealing with one trigger at a time, rather than dealing w/a whole bunch at once.

I suggest that you post this as a question for tomorrow nights Q & A, so that Mike knows about this situation.

I hope this info helps. Kudos to you and the people who have made this dog part of their family.

Fear Biter and Pain Elicited Aggression

Arthur Lopatin

Member

November 19, 2020 at 12:59 am in reply to: Cart pulling update!!!!!!Rogue makes her first closed loop!!!!

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Ya mean Rogue’s gonna pull Santa’s Sleigh, instead of the Reindeer? (After Storm kills and eats the Reindeer?)

Arthur Lopatin

Member

November 18, 2020 at 10:40 am in reply to: Cart pulling update!!!!!!Rogue makes her first closed loop!!!!

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Good stuff! Any plans to try this in the great outdoors? Play your cards right & Rogue might be able to get a job delivering stuff for Amazon. 🙂

Arthur Lopatin

Member

October 28, 2020 at 8:53 am in reply to: Nugget’s First Snow With Me

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Re: ‘Easy,’ ‘Far Enough.’ and ‘Hold It.’ — All 3 are fine, provided you teach and use them consistently. Since they are Commands, if you are following the Full Predictable Command Sequence, you need to precede each Command with ‘Nugget.’ and then Correct and Praise in a timely, appropriate way. That said, I’m not entirely sure why you even need ‘Easy’ and ‘Far Enough,’ if you are doing Leash Manners Walking the K9-1 way, which is to finger pump as soon as that leash gets tight and say ‘Nugget,’ particularly when you are changing direction, but also whenever else you think you need to say his name to get his attention. Please understand: I’M NOT SAYING IT’S WRONG to use those words, but the whole idea behing Loose Leash Walking is to get your dog used to staying on a loose-leash without you’re having to say anything. So if you do use those words, just be consistent. Regarding ‘Hold It.’: I think that’s a very useful command. For example: to prevent forging at the door or the curb (if you’re not in Heel or you are still working on Heel). You might want to use it at the doorway, when you are going out for a walk, if Nugget forges. You also can work on it in your apartment. You could put two chairs next to each other (to simulate a doorway or curbside), walk between the chairs and say ‘Nugget. Hold It.’ I did something like that at doorways. General Observation: We instinctively use words, because we’re mere humans. Dogs don’t need no stinkin’ words, because they’re dogs. Body language, tone is what they ‘hear’ instinctively. They can learn our words, and they need to. But we need to get more body-language literate as well. I truly believe that’s greatest pleasures and benefits of being with dogs. And it’s part of dog ‘training.’ Some dog-researchers believe we learned our social skills and hunting skills from watching wolves hunt in packs, and later from hunting with proto-dogs. Just sayin.’

Arthur Lopatin

Member

October 27, 2020 at 9:33 am in reply to: Nugget’s First Snow With Me

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Loved it! Cool Beans! Nugget looks calm & happy. You as well. That’s the most imptnt thing.

Gotta watch again, but a few nits: be consistent re: leash manners. when the leash gets taught, do something (you decide whether its finger pumping and finger pumping ’til the leash loosens and maybe saying ‘Nugget.’ ’til he looks at you, after which you praise in in a happy voice. The more consistent you are the easier it is for Nugget to know what it is he’s supposed to do. In that regard, I notice you used a couple (or more) words when the leash tightened. ‘Easy.’ was one of them, but there was at least one more. On the other hand, I liked the calm, authoritative way you used those words. The more predictable, the more consistent you are, the better. Nugget’s an impulsive adolescent. He needs a lot of calm structure. He’ll learn quicker that way. Also, was that a flat collar he was wearing? If so, I wonder why you didn’t use the prong instead.

Safety notes: I don’t know if snow is a normal occurrence where you live. If it is, please be aware that salt, especially when it gets between the ‘toes,’ is corrosive/painful, causes boo-boos. It snows a lot here, so I apply something called Musher’s Secret to Carrie’s pads when we’re walking on salted village streets. Also, with Haloween coming up, watch out what he goes for. Stuff like chocolate, macadamia nuts, anti-freeze and many other things can sicken or kill a dog. That’s why I think ‘Leave It.’ and ‘Out.’ are important for safety reasons. The alternative is a strong Heel. Both work if you are consistent. I like to give my dog more freedom, make sure she knows she MUST obey asap if I say ‘Carrie. LEAVE IT.) Once you do Phase 2 & 3 that’s much easier, but you can start now. It’s preparation.

Final note: Looking at the vid, it appears to me that you have ample space to work on all you’ve been working on in your apartment, whenever you feel ready. That’d be great. Onward to Phase 2!

Great vid!

Arthur Lopatin

Member

October 20, 2020 at 9:06 am in reply to: Nugget’s reaction to the delivery man

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p.s. — stuff like this is pretty common. it takes work, but w/a good plan you will turn this little lemon into lemonade; ie., solve the problem.

Arthur Lopatin

Member

October 20, 2020 at 8:36 am in reply to: Nugget’s reaction to the delivery man

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good thing you’re a good leash ninja. as a practical matter, ’til you get everything in place that’s needed to — hopefully — extinguish this behavior, I advise avoiding situations like this by putting distance between you and what nugget sees as a threat as quickly and calmly as possible. in this case that would be mean something like asking the delivery guy going up the stairs to please wait a second so you could turn around with with nugget and get out of his way. head to head/face to face encounters are fraught. best to avoid them. if it’s any consolation, stuff like this isn’t uncommon for many dogs. think flight-defence-fight-prey. nugget perceived a threat. flight was not an option. defence-fight was next on hit parade. so, yeah, there’s a very good chance nugget would have gone for the delivery guy, either to get him to back off (defence) or to beat him real good (fight). lots needs to be in place to change behaviors like this. ideally, reproducing situations like this in a controllable environment while working some combination of desensitization/counterconditioning, giving an alternate behavior, and phase 2/3 level discipline are what’s needed. but, for now, as a practical/safety matter, imp, ya gotta manage the situation; i.e., avoid by creating distance in a calm manner that shows you are leader hand you have things under control. i’m not sure if nugget was defending you, himself, or the two of you. as a practical matter, it doesn’t much matter, i suppose. but having watched you and nugget together and seeing how nugget looks at you, and considering his breed, i’m pretty sure he was protecting both you and him. i have a feeling he’d make a pretty good personal protection dog. but right now i think the path is to get more phase 2 obedience in place + management. if you’re really concerned and don’t think you can deal with all potential situations, you might consider a muzzle, but it’s the training and leadership that’s most imptnt. fear-aggression. leash-manners walking in progressively more distracting environments is something i would work on if i were you. speaking both from personal experience and apprenticeship experience & training a couple of aggressive dogs. another note: situational awareness whenever you are out is crucial. so you can avoid dangerous situations by creating distance.

Arthur Lopatin

Member

October 15, 2020 at 9:35 am in reply to: Nutrition advice.

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‘nother suggestion: dogymes. they are on the web.

Arthur Lopatin

Member

October 15, 2020 at 2:13 am in reply to: Nutrition advice.

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I like this guy. The link below has a lot of URLs that have good info.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKJuFyGn5FE

He’s got a vid showing him buying dog food at Walmart. He shows the tab and sez it’s cheaper than kibble.

I feed my remaining dog (& the other one when he was alive) mostly organic raw beef and or chicken including muscle meat, bony meat, organ meat, vegetables &/or green tripe + fish oil and a lot of organic supplements. I sometimes feed air-dried food organic & sometimes high-quality kibble. But I think raw is best, as long as you have the right proportions of muscle, bone, offal.

I hope this helps.

Arthur Lopatin

Member

September 28, 2020 at 9:05 am in reply to: Stormy is in the air!!!

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bravo! what’s next? having her go after someone in the pool? i mean ‘packeninng’ someone in the water. as a matter of fact, i’m sure i watched a vid of a k-9 doing just that.

Arthur Lopatin

Member

September 17, 2020 at 10:04 pm in reply to: Boarding Nugget

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Hi, Taylor!

‘Likes other dogs,’ ‘aggression,’ ‘friendly, ‘plays well,’ etc. are, IMO, loaded terms. Some people watch dogs playing rough and immediately want to put a stop to it because they’re sure it’s gonna end in bloodshed. That might be so, but the dog’s might just be having a good time with each other and all the humans need to do is watch closely and be prepared to step in if things look like they’re starting to go to a bad place. I spent some time doing this at a doggy daycare. I learned from that expereince. What I’m trying to say is that terms like this can be misused or used vaguely or used in different ways by different people. I often meet people with dogs on-leash who tell me their dog is ‘friendly’ and ‘just wants to play.’ and is ‘ still just a puppy,’ when I none of those things is true.

The basic course on this website has several lectures on aggression and anxiety. And the Personal Protection course has some introductory lectures that are relevant for pet dogs. In addition to enabling you to suss out your daycare provider, stuff like this can help you progress in your dog training and enhance your relationship w/Nugget as well.

Also, If you have some time and are interested, here’s a good primer on body language: https://dogtraining.world/start-self-help/canine-behavior/dog-body-language/

and here’s one on types of aggression: https://dogtraining.world/knowledge-base/classification-canine-aggression-rehab-k9-1/

Isn’t it amazing how easily and naturally we bond with our dogs?

I hope Nugget has a happy stay at the boarding facility and is even happier to see you again.

Art

Dog Body Language

Arthur Lopatin

Member

September 17, 2020 at 8:16 pm in reply to: Boarding Nugget

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I haven’t had a chance to watch your ‘Walking with Nugget’ vid yet, but judging from Judy’s comments it seems you are making good progress with Nugget, that he’s bonded with you and has become accustomed to looking to you for leadership. That’s a precious thing, something essential for continues progress in training.

Nugget’s not wanting go go w/the daycare/boarding facility lady but being OK w/going toward the door when you went in that direction is a tell; i.e., it’s significant. So I think your assessment is correct.

I just hope the people running that facility know what they are doing and have well-trained staff. It’s great that they had nice things to say about Nugget but IMO, it’s more important that Nugget has nice things to ‘say’ about them. If I were you, I’d ask them some searching, probing questions about how the weekend went; e.g. what he did all day, who he played with, how he played, etc? Did they see any signs of separation anxiety when the door closed? If so, how did they handle it. Any aggression issues? How did they handle it? Some facilities have on-site cameras so owners can watch there dogs. Does this place have them? ……..

I hope this feedback is helpful and that Nugget, and you, had a great weekend. My sister-in-law lives in Switzerland. She travels a lot and boards her dog at a local facility. Her dog loves the place. I hope Nugget has a similar experience.

Arthur Lopatin

Member

September 11, 2020 at 10:01 am in reply to: Leash Manners

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great lesson. beautiful. your emphasis on getting command structure right was spot-on. but i hate those cloth leashes. makes it hard to be a good leash ninja. i think that’s y the leash was sometimes a bit too tight and the pumps more from the hand/arm, rather than finger. a good leather leash handled right can be as elegant, precise communication tool as an e-collar. another client-suggestion: relax your shoulder. you tire less easily and have softer hands on the leash if you’re shoulder’s more relaxed. lotta people nowadays tend to have chronically tense shoulders. the more relaxed you are and the better a leash ninja you are, the more fun both you and your dog will have. but it does take time (like learning to ride a 2-wheeler bike or drive a car), and command structure is more imptnt. you aced that, allie, imo. great lesson! i learn a lot just watching. thanks for posting your vids

Arthur Lopatin

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