Barks From The Guild

Transcript

Barks From The Guild (An environmentally force-free online magazine) The Pet Professional Guild Vol. 1, No. 3 October 2012 No Pain, Lots To Gain. Relationship Relationship--Building Between Pets and People. In this issue:  Where do Conditioned Emotional Responses Originate, and How Can We Alter the Resulting Behavior? Taking a New Look at Old Methodology  Choke & Prong Collars: Health Concerns Prompt Changing Equipment in Dog Training  Halloween: A Trick or Treat for Fido?  Kids & Dogs & Resource Guarding  An Interview with E-collar destroyer Nando Brown  Plus book reviews, upcoming seminars, and more! Don’t Miss Out! In this issue, there are great member deals on insurance, products and training programs! Message from the Founder IN THIS ISSUE… Columns I always look forward to writing my quarterly President’s message. I feel it’s a time when I can connect with you all on a more personal level. The difficulty with this project is always what to write about. I always have so much I want to share with you all. As we approach our first anniversary as an organization, I wanted to take this opportunity to share some information with you about our current business status and our future vision. It has been a very busy few months and on a daily basis we receive emails from many of our members. I try, when time allows, to call members directly who pose questions or suggestions through email or social media networks. It’s really important to me that I hear from you directly and gain a really good understanding of the challenges you face in your businesses, the tools you need to help your business grow and the support you expect from our Guild to do this. Later this year we will be rolling out our 2013 Strategic Plan which will include our goals across each of our key focus areas, Membership Education, Member Products, Services & Programs, Member Advocacy & Community Outreach, Member Communication, Marketing & Public Relations, and our International Membership Committee. Those of you who have taken the time to share your thoughts with us will be delighted to see that many of your suggestions have contributed to the development of this plan and establishing our key business goals. On a more immediate issue, I wanted to address a few questions that I receive regularly. First, all of the FREE monthly PPG education webinars are recorded so they can be viewed in the comfort of your home at your convenience. Education is an important part of who we are and where we are going so this is an important task for us. We are also now beginning to host paid member webinars. If you are interested in hosting a webinar then please complete our member webinar proposal form on the website. Once the content has been approved by the Member Education Committee, we will confirm the dates and times with you so we can actively communicate the updated webinar schedule with our other members. Our working volunteer committees are now taking a more permanent form. We have lots of members working with Committee Chairs on our 2012 goals. If you are interested in joining a committee then please let us know. It does require a time commitment but I believe it is very rewarding and we are helping to shape our industry from the inside out. Founder’s Message—N. Tudge Medical Perspective—B. Jordan Upcoming PPG Seminars Book Review—A. Springer Choke & Prong Collars—N. Tudge & A. Steinker Doorbells, Dracula & Dum Dums — J. Shryock Kids & Dogs — J. Orr & T. Lewin Ask Leah—L. Roberts International News—contributed Member Profile—A. Steinker Product Review—L. Fisher The Guild Steering Committee Niki Tudge Catherine Zehner Diane Garrod Angelica Steinker Leonard Cecil Leah Roberts Anne Springer Contact The PPG Member Communication [email protected] Publication Information [email protected] Advertisements [email protected] International Communication [email protected] Mailing Address 1778 Linda Lane Bonifay, FL 32425 Telephone 41 Dog-Train www.PetProfessionalGuild.com Newsletter Editor—C. Zehner As members, you have complete control over your business profile (Continued on page 8) Our key business purpose is to initiate a serious effort for the education of pet care providers and the public coupled with an emphasis on building collaboration among force-free pet trainers and professional pet-care providers. We aim to publicize “our voice for the profession” that advocates for mutually-agreed guiding principles for the pet care industry. 2 From a Medical Perspective ... Where do Conditioned Emotional Responses Originate, and How Can We Alter the Resulting Behavior? Taking a New Look at Old Methodology. became well-known for their research and discovery of conditioned reflexes. More Early researcher Charles Darwin regarded the dog as a speimportantly however, cial animal that is comparable to humans. Behavioral expert Pavlov’s team performed Ivan Pavlov taught us about behavior and conditioned reflexresearch on very different es by studying behavior patterns in response to specific stimprinciples in comparison to uli. B.F. Skinner set the standard for our current understandother labs at the time which ing of learning theory and operant conditioning. Lifelong oballowed for more observation servation and research by Turid Rugaas identified specific of canine behavior in relation to husignals with which dogs communicate and manage their enmans. All of the dogs had names and interacted with the revironment. Such driven individuals have laid the foundation searchers both in and out of the lab and all information gathfor a more knowledge-based profession, but what if we conered was then applied to the study (Pavlov 1927). In additinue to ask why? Why do experiences become memories? tion, Pavlov’s colleagues respected the individual personaliWhy do those memories then have the ability to impact futies of the dog and therefore did not generalize specific beture behavior? And, Why does counter-conditioning work? haviors to all dogs but only to dogs that belong to specific By studying the brain at the most fundamental level we could personality types (as defined by Hippocrates). Because of then gain insight into how the brain truly processes experihis research methodology, he was also able to observe ences, how those experiences result in conditioning, and marked individual differences between dogs in relation to how we can later alter that conditioning to achieve desirable previous experiences and ability to perform during the trainbehavior. ing experiments and frequently referenced similarities with A brief history of dog behavior and learning research human behavior (Teplov 1964). Unfortunately, much of the team’s research was criticized by ethologists at the time who We know why dogs perform operant behavior —it is benefifelt that the dog was not being studied in its “natural” envicial for them to learn how to perform a specific task. But, why ronment due to the extensive human interaction and theredo they display specific behavior when they are experiencing fore any data collected was deemed invalid (e.g. Lorenz the emotions of respondent conditioning? The answers lie in 1954). In the last decade this topic was re-addressed studycombining the two distinct sciences of neuroscience and ing DNA sequences and anthropology. The conclusions ethology. Ethology refers to the general study of animal bewere made that most likely the bloodline of the wolf split into havior in their natural environment. Neuroscience is a vast two sub-species 40 million years ago and the earliest evifield of study involving specific processes of the central nervdence of a domesticated dog 14,000 years ago, allowing for ous system which includes two specific sub-areas of study very different adaptation of cognition and behavior between that are of particular importance to professionals in the cathe canine as we know it and today’s wolf. This discovery nine world. The first sub-area includes neurobiology which lead to redefining the dog’s natural environment from the studies how the brain processes experiences, emotions and “wild pack” to one with cohabitation with humans and facilithe ability to store information (make memories) for future tated comparison studies between canine and human behavuse. In the last decade neurobiology and psychology comior. Now we can reliably say, based on Pavlov’s experibined to form the second sub-area of interest called neuromental approach, that dogs can be regarded as the first anipsychology. Neuropsychology studies how the stored informal models of human personality mation (or memories) impact future and furthermore, that the generalbehavior, what takes place within ized focus of his work on condiPhoto of modern canine brain the brain when we try to change the tioned reflexes provided the basis resulting behavior and how we can for comparative studies on dogs and assist the brain in order to accomhumans (Miklósi 2007). plish a positive change. We know that dogs are not little humans in fur Similarities in emotions and becoats. Therefore, in order to draw havior conclusions regarding our companNumerous studies performed to ion animals utilizing both animal gain a better understanding of huand human studies, we need to first man behavior and corresponding understand specifically how human processes in the brain have utilized and dog behavioral responses are animal research. The dog was a similar and understand the processpopular choice for study up to the es in the brain that elicit the reearly sixties, then largely avoided in sponse. By Bethany Jordan, DogSmith® CDT, CVT, CPDT-KA Copyright 2012 Pavlov and his team of researchers (Continued on page 4) 3 functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) study with two research due to the conflict over the natural environment, bedogs. The dogs were desensitized to the confined space, fiting viewed as an “artificial animal” because of its symbiotic ted with earmuffs for protection from the loud noise and lifestyle with humans (e.g. Herre and Rohrs 1990). In the last trained to lay still for 30-40 seconds at a time for the imaging 20 years however, the dog has re-emerged as one of the preprocess. The study focused on one specific operation of the ferred subjects due to a number of reasons. First, dogs are brain; the anticipation of reward or lack thereof. Each dog was very social animals. According to an article on experimental imaged as they were given a hand signal that predicted a psychological research from the University of Florida, “this treat and the area of the brain that then responded to the sigallows for investigations into the mechanisms that produce nal was captured and analyzed (Berns 2012). The caudate and maintain conspecific social behavior, as well as the cogregion of the brain associated with rewards in humans nitive and behavioral by-products of those mecha- showed activation in both dogs when they saw the signal for nisms” ( Freuerbracher et al. 2011). Secondly, because dogs the treat but not for the no-treat signal (Pochon 2002, Daw have a close evolutionary relationship with humans, there is 2006). This FMRI study has revealed significant scientific evithe potential to produce unique cognitive skills and behavioral dence for similarities between humans and dogs for basic repertoires that are closer to humans than any other species responses. We can then examine the brain on a deeper level ( e.g., Hare & Tomasello, 2005). A few studies from the early to gain further understanding of conditioned emotional re60’s were designed to evaluate “intelligence” of the dog in sponses (CERs). comparison to humans and resulted in incidental findings that How experiences become conditioned emotional rewe can now relate to respondent conditioning. For example, in 1965 Seligman performed research intended to identify sponses neurosis in humans (Lichtenstein 1950, Solomon and Wynne A conditioned emotional response (CER) includes changes in 1953). In the study he subjected dogs to punishment (electric behavior, the autonomic nervous system and hormonal activishock) and observed their behavior. What he found was that ty elicited by a conditioned stimulus. In order for CERs to take most dogs seemed to "give up and passively accept the place the brain must exshock" even when perience associative given the opportunilearning. To further unty to escape and derstand this process we theorized that the need to examine the limbehavior was atbic system which is also tributed to the dog referred to as the emoassociating the tional control system and painful shock to huis the area responsible mans and having no for associative learning. control of the enviThe limbic system is ronment (Seligman composed of the amyget al. 1965). This dala, the hippocampus shut-down avoidand the hypothalamus. ance behavior is Through both human and also identical to huanimal studies we know mans experiencing that the amygdala is reCanine Neurons and Nervous System post-traumatic sponsible for emotional stress disorder (PTSD) and has since credited Seligman with organization and considered the central hub of fear prodiscovering what we commonly refer to as learned helplesscessing and the hippocampus plays a large role in contextual ness. processing of memories. In other words the Amygdala is in(Continued from page 3) More recent evidence that dogs display behavioral similarities with humans during emotional states includes an evaluation performed by child psychologists called “Ainsworth’s Strange Situation” test. This test is used to describe the pattern of attachment behavior with children. In the test, a child and parent were placed in a room. The child’s behavior was observed when either the parent left or a stranger entered the room (Ainswoth 1967). The test was observed by Adam Miklósi and colleagues at the Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest. They found that the observed behaviors were identical to dogs when the owner left the room indicating a strong behavioral similarity between dogs and children when experiencing emotions related to attachment. Further comparison studies relating to cognitive ability of dogs and children have revealed distinct differences in learning and capability for insight (Miklósi 2007). However, reflexive behaviors relating to emotion in humans have been mirrored in the same studies performed on our canine counterparts. volved in implicit emotional memory and the hippocampus is involved in explicit memory about emotions (LeDoux 2007). The hypothalamus initiates the five F’s: feeding, fighting, fleeing, freezing and fornication and is therefore responsible for controlling the expression of fear responses. Recently, Emory University performed the first conscious The brain is composed of two types of cells — glial cells and The hypothalamus is also the area that initiates the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis resulting in a surge of endocrine hormones such as adrenalin and cortisol for a quick response of the body (Post 1998, Schaoter 1996, McCarthy 1995). These areas provide the basic foundation to respondent behavior by creating associative learning and when the conditioned stimulus occurs at a later time, it retrieves the associative memory in the amygdala which is connected to the hypothalamus and activates areas responsible for behavior including the autonomic nervous system and HPA axis. The Role of the neuron in conditioned emotional responses 4 neurons. Glial cells provide support and protection for neurons. It is the neurons which allow the limbic system of the brain to perceive, learn, memorize, experience emotion and carry out observable actions (behavior) through both electrical and chemical transmissions. Chemical transmissions initiate responses in other neurons by utilizing neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, acetylcholine and oxytocin. FMRI studies focus on metabolic changes observed in neurons in specific areas of the brain which have allowed scientists to understand which parts of the brain activate with a given stimuli. By taking a closer look at neurons themselves we can understand how the brain can initiate a reflexive emotional response. Neuronal plasticity has gained increased attention in the field of neuropsychology in the last decade. Plasticity is defined as the ability of the nervous system to change in response to an experience. According to The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy, “the growth and connectivity of neurons is the basic mechanism of all learning and adaptation.” When it comes to learning there is one common factor in ALL studies performed on dogs — the ability to master the task is directly related to previous experience. This is due to the ability of neurons to form connections between multiple areas of the brain to recall past experience and automatically initiate a response with the purpose to be as efficient as possible. To prove this point — it is impossible for a human to write a whole page of random numbers. Each time it has been attempted a pattern between the numbers is always revealed (Corzolino 2012). This is due to the connections between neurons. The brain becomes “hard wired” to act in a specific way for each specific experience. Neurons can continue to grow and form new connections in two ways. First, they can expand the length of the dendrites to connect existing neurons forming new pathways. Secondly, in the last decade it has been discovered that the areas of the brain responsible for ongoing learning actually experience neurogenesis, or the development of new neurons with experiences (Eriksson et al 1998). This is particularly relevant when dealing with CERs. In the case of a traumatic or potentially life threatening experience, new neurons are formed and pathways connected to provide an immediate and efficient response and any connection between neurons that are inefficient for survival are never developed, allowing for quick lifesaving actions. For example, humans with PTSD physically cannot speak when experiencing a stimulus that recalls the previous event due to the lack of connection to Broca’s area (the area of the brain responsible for verbal expression) (Corzolino 2012, Post 1998). Since talking is not a necessary skill when escaping a life threatening experience the connection is not formed. Instead, advantageous connections are formed for ideal evaluation of the situation including those parts of the brain that perceive visual and auditory stimulus and those that have previously initiated successful escape of the threatening situation such as coordination and movement. It is important to remember that the body has adapted for centuries to be as efficient as possible. The close proximity and relationship between neurons allows for extremely quick memory storage, recall and appropriate action (Corzolino 2012, Grillon 2007, Rosenkranz 2003). The amygdala is the first to respond to an early predictor of a previouslydangerous situation. The neurons of the amygdala then immediately initiate a chain reaction of impulses, utilizing connections formed with the hypothalamus, essentially “hijacking” other parts of the brain to initiate and carry out responses that have proven beneficial in previous experiences without cognitive thought processes. Take fear for an example. If a person approaching has resulted in a traumatic experience in the past the amygdala recalls the strong emotion of the trauma, disengages the cortex and instantly engages the hypothalamus and HPA axis resulting in an efficient response behavior that has proven to be the most successful to avoid, in one way or another, the predicted conflict. This knowledge provides evidence as to why such behavior cannot be “fixed” by basic training techniques. When we observe CERs in dogs this is also evident. Because of the lack of connections between neurons we see such behaviors as freezing and whale eye as well as other avoidance behaviors. These new scientific findings also explain why a dog that is experiencing the emotions of fear or extreme distress can only learn how to escape or avoid and also sheds light on shut down avoidance behaviors such as learned helplessness and disassociation. Why does counter-conditioning work? Successful counter-conditioning reconnects neurons and increases the plasticity of the nervous system by processing new experiences on a more conscious level. William James said, “Plasticity then, in the wide sense of the word, means the possession of a structure weak enough to yield to an influence, but strong enough not to yield all at once.” Our goal of counter-conditioning on a neuronal level is to alter previous connections between neurons or networks to change a response of fear to a response of joy by facilitating involvement of processes within the frontal cortex and prefrontal cortex (Rosenkranz 2003). In other words, changes in the synchrony of the activation of multiple neural networks may also play a role in the coordination of their activity and the emergence of conscious awareness (Crick, 1994). In humans this can be accomplished more easily through speech therapy. In order to tell an emotional story, networks that participate in language (Broca’s area), emotion and memory need to become integrated in order to relay correct details and proper affect (Cozolino 2010). For obvious reasons dogs pose much more of a challenge in accomplishing such integration of neuronal networks. However it is important to remember that association areas within the cortex serve the roles of bridging, coordinating and directing the multiple neuronal circuits to which they are connected (Cozolino 2010). According to Louis Cozolino, the actual mechanisms of integration are still unknown, but they are likely to include some combination of communication between local neuronal circuits and the interactions among functional brain systems. When we have an understanding of neuronal network integration and neuronal plasticity we gain more insight as to why counter-conditioning and desensitization protocols, when implemented correctly, are so successful and how we can contin(Continued on page 6) 5 (Continued from page 5) ue to expand our knowledge and abilities to help distressed dogs. We can therefore argue that the utilization of effective counter -conditioning techniques involves the frontal cortex and prefrontal cortex to facilitate the dog consciously evaluating the situation and forming new neural connections or networks, ultimately increasing plasticity and helping change the behavioral response. Much more research is required to truly understand the concept of neuronal plasticity in relationship to conditioned emotional responses in dogs and the impact on successful counter conditioning. However this may be a start to a whole new approach on how we view our beloved companions.  References Ainsworth, M.D.S. (1965) Infancy in Uganda: Infant care and the growth of love. John Hopkins Press. Berns, G. S., Brooks, A. M., Spivak, M. (2012). Functional MRI in Awake Unrestrained Dogs. PLoS ONE 7(5): e38027. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0038027 Center for Neuropolicy, Emory University Cozolino, L. (2010). The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the social brain. W.W. Norton & Company. New York, NY. Crick, F. (1994). The astonishing hypothesis: The scientific search for the soul. New York: Charles Scribner’s sons. Darwin, C. (1872). The Expressions of the Emotions in Man and Animals. John Murray. London Daw, N. D., Doya, K. (2006). The computational neurobiology of learning and reward. Current Opinion in neurobiology, 16:199–204. Eriksson, P.S. Perfileva, E. Bjork-Eriksson, T., Alborn, A. M., Nordborg, C. Peterson, D. A., et. Al. (1998). Neurogenises in the adult human hippocampus. Nature Medicine 4, 13131317. Maier, S. F. (2001). Exposure to the stressor environment prevents the temporal dissipation of behavioral depression/ learned helplessness. Biological Psychiatry, 49, 763-773. McCarthy, G. (1995). Functional neuroimaging of memory. The Neuroscientist, 1, 155-163. McDevitt, L. (2007) Control Unleashed: Creating a Focused and confident dog. Clean Run Productions, South Hadley, MA. Miklósi, Á., Polgárdi, R., Topál, J., & Csányi, V. (1998). Use of experimenter-given cues in dogs. Animal Cognition, 1 (2), 113 -121. MiklÓsi, A. (2007). Dog Behavior, Evolution, and Cognition. Oxford Biology. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Pavlov, I.P. (1927). Lectures on conditioned reflexes. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Pochon, J.B. Levy, R., Fossati, P., Lehericy, S. Poline, J.B., Pillon, B., et al. (2002). The neural system that bridges reward and cognition in humans: an FMRI study. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 99(8), 5669-5674. Post, R. M. Weiss, S. R. B., Li, H., Smith, A., Zhang, L. X., Xing, G., et al. (1998). Neuronal plasticity and emotional memory. Development of Psychopathology, 10, 829-855. Rosenkranz, J.A., Moore, H., & Grace, A. A. (2003). The prefrontal cortex regulates lateral amygdala neuronal plasticity responses to previously conditioned stimuli. Journal of Neuroscience, 23, 11054-11064. Schacter, D.L. (1996). Searching for Memory: The Brain, the mind, and the past. New York: Basic Books. Seligman, M.E.P., Maier, S.F., and Geer, J.H. (1965). Alleviation of learned helplessness in the dog. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 73, 256-262. Solomon, R.L. and Wynne, L.C. (1953). Traumatic avoidance learning: acquisition in normal dogs. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 67, 1-19. Feuerbacher, E.N. & Wynne, C.D.L. (2011) A history of dogs as subjects in North American experimental psychological research. Comparative Cognition and Behavior Reviews, 6,46 -71. Steinker, A. (2006). Agility Success: Training and competing with your dog in the winning zone. Library-by-the-lake, Holland, MI. Fox, M. W. (1964). The ontogeny of behaviour and neurologic responses in the dog. Animal Behaviour, 12(2-3), 301-310. Teplov, B.M. (1964). Problems in the study of general types of higher nervous activity in men and animal. In: Gray, J.A. ed. Pavolv’s typology, pp. 3-141. Pergamon Press, London. Grillon, C. (2007) Startle reactivity and anxiety disorders: Aversive conditioning, context and neurobiology. Biology of Psychiatry 52:958–975 Wynne, C. D. L. (2007). What are animals? Why is anthropomorphism still not a scientific approach to behavior? Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews, 2, 125-135. Hare, B., & Tomasello, M. (2005). Human-like social skills in dogs? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9, 439-444. Klein, E. H., Tomai, T., & Uhde, T. W. (1990). Hypothalamopituitary-adrenal axis activity in nervous and normal pointer dogs. Biological Psychiatry, 27(7), 791-794. LeDoux, J. E. (2007), Scholarpedia, 2(7):1806. Lorenz, K. (1981) The foundations of Ethology. SpringerVerlag, Wien. 6 Glossary of Terms Associative learning: A type of learning principle based on the assumption that ideas and experiences reinforce one another and can be linked to enhance the learning process. Autonomic Nervous system: (or involuntary nervous system) is the part of the peripheral nervous system that acts as a control system, functioning largely below the level of consciousness and controls visceral functions. The ANS affects heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, salivation, perspiration, pupillary dilation, micturition (urination) and sexual arousal. Counter-conditioning: A respondent conditioning process in which the learner’s previous conditioned response to a conditioned stimulus is changed. Counter-conditioning is used to change a conditioned emotional response from fearful to joyful, or anxiety to relaxation. Dendrites: The branched projections of a neuron that act to conduct the electrochemical stimulation received from other neural cells to the cell body of the neuron from which the dendrites project. Glial Cells: One type of cell located in the brain to provide support and protection for neurons. HPA Axis: The Hypothalamic, Pituitary, Adrenal Axis. A major part of the neuroendocrine that controls reactions to stress and regulates many body processes, including digestion, the immune system, mood and emotions, sexuality and energy storage and expenditure. Stimulates the release of cortisol, adrenalin and epinephrine. Neurons: an electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information through electrical and chemical signals. A chemical signal occurs via a synapse, a specialized connection with other cells. Neurons connect to each other to form neural networks. Neurotransmitter: The canine central nervous system uses chemicals called neurotransmitters to transfer information from cell to cell. The main neurotransmitters that involve canine behavior include dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, and GABA. Depending on the composition, some are excitatory and some inhibitory. How much, what type and how each is received by the nerve receptor will determine mental and emotional function. Respondent or Classical Conditioning: Occurs when a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (that elicits an unconditioned response). After conditioning has occurred, the neutral stimulus itself elicits what we call a conditioned response and the neutral stimulus has become a conditioned stimulus. The conditioned response is also referred to as a conditioned emotional response and is performed as a reflex behavior (no thought process involved). Whale eye: A behavioral response to fear where the dog displays the white part of the eye. Family Paws Discounted Licensed Products for PPG Members. Contact Jennifer Shryock to receive a 20 percent discount of these licensed products and become a licensed presenter of: Dogs & Storks Dog & Baby Connection 7 (FOUNDER, continued from page 2) and listing. If you login to the member area you can update all your information from your profile page. You have the ability to post photographs and update all of your services. You can also register for events, download marketing tools, and join our discussion group and much more. Please take a few minutes to review all of the membership areas and don’t forget the membership benefits. Each month we add more vendors and most recently The Clicker Company joined us as a member partner offering you discounts on products. I hope you enjoy this publication of “Barks from the Guild.” I think there are some terrific articles to read. If you would like to be published in Barks then please submit any original content you have through the submission page on the PPG website. So grab a beverage of your choice, a warm fuzzy friend and use this time to relax and catch up on some industry news and education. Kind Regards, Niki Tudge  Niki Tudge is the founder of the PPG and The DogSmith, a national dog training and pet-care franchise. Her professional credentials include; CPDT-KA, NADOI – Certified, AABP- Professional Dog Trainer, AABP- Professional Dog Behavior Consultant, Diploma Animal Behavior Technology, and Diploma Canine Behavior Science & Technology. Niki has also published many articles on dog training and dog behavior and her pet dog training businesses have been featured in many publications including The New York Times. *Available in U.S. only 8 Upcoming PPG Member Educational Programs The Impulse Re-Homing Phase with Jennifer Shryock What is Shaping and Why Use Shaping with Joan Orr When: When: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM (CST) February 6, 2013 3-4 PM CST Location: Recorded Webinar Location: Webinar Cost: Free public seminar Cost: $25.00 (USD) for PPG Members Many new parents experience bumps in the road as they make the transition into parenthood. As a dog professional there are things we can do to help our families during this time. Join us to learn about the Impulsive re homing phase so that you can better support families during this period in their lives. $35.00 (USD) for non-PPG Members This webinar will cover the basics of shaping using a lecture and many videos to illustrate the process. The following topics will be covered: 1. What is shaping? 2. Why use shaping? Topics covered. 3. The shaping rules 1. What is Impulsive re-homing phase? 4. How to set up for success 2. Common reasons 5. Human skills required 3. Signs and symptoms 6. Animal skills required 4. Support 7. Fun with shaping 5. Activities About The Presenter About The Presenter Jennifer is the founder of Family Paws Parent Education Through their two national programs, Dogs & Storks® and the Dog & Baby Connection™, they help families with dogs nurture safe, happy relationships among all family members, human and canine. Joan Orr is a member of The Pet Professional Guild Special Council. Joan is a scientist and internationally recognized clicker trainer. She was a member of the Karen Pryor Clicker training Clicker Expo Faculty (2003-2011) and content creator and advisor to the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior. To read Joan's bio click here You Can Advertise in Barks from the Guild! ! R O L O C L L U F FULL PAGE $145 1/2 page Horizontal $100 1/2 Page Vertical $100 1/4 Page $65 Business Card $35 For more information, contact Niki Tudge [email protected] 41-DOG-TRAIN ((413-648-7246) 9 Book Review Reviewer: Anne Springer Book: Author: Plenty in Life is Free: Reflections on Dogs, Training and Finding Grace Kathy Sdao Publisher: Dogwise Publishing (ISBN 978-1617810-64-0) Cost: Dogwise: $12.95 Amazon: $9.32 Kindle: $8.85 In her new book, renowned trainer and lecturer Kathy Sdao takes head-on the ubiquitous phrase, “Nothing in Life Is Free” (NILIF) with the joie de vivre that her seminar attendees will certainly recognize, and laying bare her own personal journey using these methods with her own dog, only to have him gently guide her to a kinder, more effective way. NILIF theory dictates that dogs must earn everything in life in order to establish the human provider of those resources as the leader. Humans should ignore dogs’ demands for attention, lest the dog think that he is the “alpha.” Sdao’s contention that using NILF might just be wrong will disconcert those who still believe that dogs want to dominate humans and the world. In Sdao’s reality, however, dogs just want resources, and they repeat behavior that earns them. While science no longer supports the notion of an alpha hierarchy among dogs or wolves, the NILIF concept seems to have “stuck” and become as popular among dog trainers as the dominance theory has amongst the general public. Sdao recognizes that it’s still a relevant tactic to reduce access to food for a while when working with a dog that doesn’t seem food motivated. (The only dogs that aren’t motivated by food are dead, so the issue is more about reducing competing conditioned stimuli or increasing the desirability of the food.) But she questions whether limiting access to food for a training session – or even 10 training sessions – means that the dog must work for every morsel it gets, for life, else it will begin to plot a coup against its too-benevolent owner? Sdao, an expert in the science of operant conditioning and an animal trainer for more than 25 years, challenges that notion as she simultaneously challenges us to avoid the tacit acceptance of all such ubiquitous protocols without more scrutiny. She cites the work of Dr. John Gottman, a psychologist who predicted with startling accuracy the likelihood of eventual divorce in couples by how they made and responded to what he called “emotional bids.” Verbal emotional bids are easily expressed by humans. In dogs, an approach, a look, a sniff, or a touch might signal an emotional bid. Sdao suggests that ignoring all of a dog’s innocent requests for connection might not be the right course and might actually be harmful, just as ignoring the emotional needs of a human friend might be harmful to that relationship. Behaviorists such as Karen Pryor have said that NILIF protocols are probably harmless, but never necessary, since all they teach the dog is what you expect in those particular circumstances. Sdao, however, wonders what damage we do when we ignore a dog’s efforts to simply be social with us. Her message seems to be that we should pick our battles, ignoring small nuisance behaviors and focusing on making a connection with our dogs in which they can please us, but more importantly, connect with us. She constructs a training regimen that doesn’t depend upon rejection of a dog’s efforts to connect. Her SMART x 50 protocol increases both connection and “right” behaviors by asking clients to notice their dogs – and especially notice the behaviors they like — marking those behaviors and rewarding them. Capturing, capitalizing on desired affiliative behavior, and reinforcing those behaviors create a stronger bond between people and their dogs, Sdao says. For Sdao, sometimes it’s perfectly OK to absentmindedly reach down and pat the dog that is gently nuzzling your arm – the world will not end. Cookies can be given for no reason at all, other than that you love your dog, and the world still will not end. Using affection and food to connect and to reward behavior you like is going to take your relationship with a dog to a whole new level. Of the trainers who reject dominance theory but use NILIF predominantly as a way for their students to practice their skills and teach dogs manners rather than with the goal to prevent dogs from ruling the world, Sdao asks, “Is it a useful construct in terms of the relationship that gets fostered between dog and owner?” In Sdao’s experience with her dog Nick, the answer was no. His “aggression regression” was misinterpreted as dominance, but she ultimately came to believe that the trigger was not a desire to be “alpha,” but rather the smell of alcohol on his targets. It was a trigger that was not recognized, much less addressed, during his rehabilitation training, but Sdao realized he had likely learned an unpleasant contingency associated with the smell of alcohol, which triggered an abovethreshold response when he encountered the scent. No amount of NILIF could prevent that, and when Sdao realized it, she began to question the entire NILIF premise. In the first chapters of the book, Sdao takes the reader through her own religiously spiritual journey – an odd beginning for any book written by a consummate scientist. This is a bump in the road worth riding out or even appreciating because the destination is delightful – the notion of us all becoming “choice architects” for our dogs, cherishing them as individuals and as sentient beings. Sdao gradually supports her premise with a wonderful coupling of science, ethics and “grace” as the title suggests. We are entreated to become feeders, rather than leaders. For those who feel unease during the first chapters (and some will definitely be a bit disconcerted by her deep religiosity) persevere because the technical aspects of teaching dogs without using NILIF will unfold in glorious simplicity laid on the foundation of her experiences, both spiritual and scientific. This book may well, if gently, 10 Choke & Prong Collars Health Concerns Prompt Changing Dog Training Equipment By Angelica Steinker and Niki Tudge © 2012 Effective training procedures lay the foundation for an animal’s healthy socialization, capacity for learning and will help prevent behavior problems. Since a wide variety of equipment and tools are commonly used when training pets and in their daily activities, the pet-owning public needs to be aware of the potential problems and dangers some equipment may pose. Specifically, the use of collars and leads that are intended to apply constriction, pressure, pain or force around a dog’s neck (such as ‘choke chains’ and ‘prong collars’) should be avoided. Consistent with their commitment to “force-free” training and pet care methods, the Pet Professional Guild (PPG), the Association of Force Free Dog Training and Pet Care Professionals does not support the use of choke and prong collars and, rather, recommends the use of flat buckle collars, head halters, harnesses and other types of control equipment that are safer for the animal and the handler. While precise data is not yet complete, there are many documented cases of injuries to dogs caused by the use of choke/prong collars. These injuries include, but are not limited to, soft tissue damage, eye problems, strangulation (in some cases leading to death), tracheal/ esophageal damage and neurological problems. Many vets have treated such injuries and are aware of resulting deaths. As more research accumulates on the hazards of choke and prong collars and more data is compiled documenting the damage these types of collars can cause distinguished veterinarians world-wide are joining the discussion and are calling for professional dog trainers to commit to eliminating choke and prong collars from their training programs. Niki Tudge, founder and president of the PPG, states “training should be conducted in a manner that encourages animals to enjoy training and become more confident and well-adjusted pets.” Respected veterinarian and thyroid expert, Dr. Jean Dodds, recommends against choke or prong collars “as they can easily injure the delicate butterfly-shaped thyroid gland that sits just below the larynx and in front of the trachea. These collars can also injure the salivary glands and salivary lymph nodes on the side of the face underneath both ears.” In addition, notable veterinarian, Dr. Karen Overall, VMD, PhD, Diplomate ACVB, offers the following guidance from her client handout, Protocol for choosing collars, head collars, harnesses and leads and from her new text (out the end of Dec/beginning of Jan), Overall KL, Manual of Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Dogs and Cats, Elsevier, St. Louis, 2012: Choker collars “Dogs are often routinely fitted with something like a choker collar as part of a training program. Choker collars are usually either made from chain, leather or a rolled, braided nylon. When used correctly, choker collars are actually one of the best examples of true “negative reinforcement;” when the dog pulls, the collar tightens and either the sound or smallest amounts of pressure indicates that dog has engaged in an undesirable behavior; when the dog stops - that pressure is released (and in the case of a chain the sound of slippage occurs) and the dog is unimpeded. It is the release from the negative stimulus (the tightening of the collar) that is the reward. Unfortunately, virtually no one uses choke collars in the described manner. Instead, most dogs placed on chokers, ‘choke.’ When they are allowed to pull on the collar and permitted to sustain the pull these dogs learn to override the choker. In doing so they are also at risk for laryngeal damage, esophageal damage, and ocular damage (change in the blood vessels in the eye). The dog that pulls harder has no choice: dogs will always push against pressure which means they all pull harder. Traditional choke collars are an idea whose time has passed. When clients can get past their own misconceptions about how they look or what they mean, they will, with ever increasing frequency, choose a head collar or a no-pull harness for their dog. Used correctly these are safer, easier to use, and help to teach the dog better behaviors. They are a winning solution that could, and perhaps should, eclipse the choker. For people whose dogs don’t bite but who dislike the idea of harnesses and head collars, a modified neck collar with a baffle is now available. The Scruffy Guider® has 2 neck straps that can be adjusted for a snug fit. The collar tightens down when the dog pulls in a manner similar to a fabric choke collar, but there is a baffle that prevents the collar from tightening beyond the point where it is just flush to neck. This is not the solution for an out of control dog, but it is another tool that may work for some dogs. Prong or pinch collars Prong collars are subject to all of the same criticisms as are chokers. Furthermore, they can do incredible damage to the dog’s neck since they can become embedded in the skin if the dog learns to over-ride them. Most dogs learn to over-ride these collars and people who use them often voluntarily comment that they need to use some degree of pain to control their animals under some circumstances. These collars, if sharpened - as is often the case, are intended to employ pain to encourage the dog to attend to the person. If left unsharpened, these collars are intended to provide more uniform pressure than a choke collar. Oddly, prong collars were intended to be a safer improvement over choke collars. That’s not how it has worked. For aggressive dogs, this the uniform pressure response — especially if accompanied by pain — can worsen their aggression, and for dominantly aggressive dogs, this response can not only worsen their aggression, but endanger the client. Were people to understand more about how dogs communicate and how these collars work, they would appreciate that responses other than pain and pressure are more desirable for changing an animal’s behavior. (Continued on page 12) 11 (Continued from page 11) These collars are no substitute for early intervention and the treatment of problem behaviors. For every situation which clients claim control is provided by a prong collar, a head collar is the better, safer and more humane choice, although it requires some investment of time to use correctly. Some dogs are fitted with prong or spike collars because they make the dog look “tough.” The problem, here, does not lie with the dog.” From a strictly physical perspective, Jim Casey, Mechanical Engineer, explains that, “A dog can pull against its leash/collar with more force than its own weight and can exert even more force if it gets a running start before it reaches the end of its leash. Considering a typical flat collar, an 80-pound dog can cause a contact force of approximately five pounds per square inch (psi) to be exerted on its neck. This force increases to 32 psi if a typical nylon choke collar is used and to an incredible 579 psi per prong if a typical prong collar is used. This represents over 100 times the force exerted on the dog’s neck compared to a typical flat collar greatly increasing the possibility of damage or injury to the dog.” For this very reason, many countries with a progressive approach to pet safety and health, such as Austria and Switzerland, have already banned prong collars. Psychological and Behavioral Effects In addition to possible physical damage choke and prong collars may cause there are also potential side effects that may lead to more extensive behavioral problems than simply leash pulling. According to Dr. Soraya V. Juarbe-Diaz, DVM, DACVB, CAAB, "using punishment to stop behaviors is not new. Notice I say ‘stop’ rather than ‘teach’ — I can stop any behavior, but I am more interested in teaching my students, animal or human, to choose the behavior I want them to perform because they can trust me, because I do not hurt them and they are safe with me, and because the outcome is something they enjoy. Mistakes are inherent in any type of learning — if I continually frighten or hurt my students when they get something wrong, eventually they will be afraid to try anything new and will not want to learn from me any longer. What most surprises me about the use of collars that choke (i.e. tighten around the neck so it is painful to swallow, difficult to breathe and could damage the tissue underlying the collar) is that people think it is okay to use them on animals, whereas they would recoil in horror if teachers in schools were to use them on human pupils. We use force, pain and fear to train animals because we can get away with it, in spite of sufficient scientific data in both humans and dogs that such methods are damaging and produce short term cessation of behaviors at the expense of durable learning and the desire to learn more in the future. You can go with so-called tradition or you can follow the ever expanding body of evidence in canine cognition that supports teaching methods that encourage a calm, unafraid and enthusiastic canine companion." James O’Heare, professional Animal Behavior Consultant, states, “choke chains, prong collars and other devices like it are intended to cause pain or discomfort. They operate on the principle of making the dog experience pain when they perform some unacceptable behavior. Any kind of training operating on this principle suffers from various pitfalls. One such problem is that it simply fails to address the fact that the behavior is being performed for a reason (reinforcement) and without addressing that reinforcement you simply have pain competing with pleas- ure, which rarely solves the problem. Even if pain does win out over pleasure in this case, you merely temporarily suppress the problem — it is a Band-Aid solution that, again, does not address the actual problem (why the dog performs that behavior to begin with). Another problem with training techniques and tools that operate on this principle are that punishment generates a number of robust and resilient side effects such as depression, disempowerment, redirected aggression, deterioration of social relationships, etc. Better all the way around is to use a flat buckle collar or better yet, a body harness and choose training techniques that operate on addressing the actual cause of the problem behavior. In other words, dogs do what works to get them what they want. Identify what they get out of the behavior and make that available where possible only for some other more acceptable behavior. Does the dog want to sniff a fire hydrant? Fine, they can have that, as long as they walk with a slack leash instead of pulling for instance. It's all about the reinforcers. Find out what they are and control them and you can train the dog without jeopardizing your relationship with them and their mental health." Bestselling author and dog behaviorist Jean Donaldson puts it like this: "These devices (choke and prong collars), when they work, do so to the degree that they hurt. With the advent of modern methods and tools they are irrelevant.” The PPG encourages all pet owners and pet professionals to embrace modern, scientifically based, training techniques and tools, especially the latest generation of no-pull harnesses which are free of the risks posed by traditional collars and offer far more benefits. By working together and voluntarily eliminating dangerous and cruel training equipment from our training programs, individuals, organizations and associations can help ensure our pets enjoy a nurturing, safe and stable environment better suited to prevent behavior problems and protect the overall well-being of the animal.  Angelica Steinker and Niki Tudge wish to thank each of the article contributors for providing their professional and expertise opinions on these pieces of equipment. Click here for a Downloadable handout on the fallout of prong and choke collars. Niki Tudge is the founder of the PPG and The DogSmith, a national dog training and pet-care franchise. Her professional credentials include; CPDT-KA, NADOI – Certified, AABP- Professional Dog Trainer, AABP- Professional Dog Behavior Consultant, Diploma Animal Behavior Technology, and Diploma Canine Behavior Science & Technology. Niki has also published many articles on dog training and dog behavior and her pet dog training businesses have been featured in many publications including The New York Times. Angelica Steinker is the president and founder of Courteous Canine. She has authored Agility Success: Training and Competing with Your Dog in the Winning Zone and Click and Play Agility. She has also been published in the Journal of Applied Companion Animal Behavior and the Journal of Veterinary Behavior, peer-reviewed professional journals. She has been published in the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) Chronicle of the Dog Newsletter, Dog & Handler, Animal Trainer Magazine, Dog Sport Magazine, Dalmatian Quarterly, and Clean Run, the dog agility magazine. She is certified by the Association of Animal Behavior Professionals, and she serves on the Advisory Board and instructs at the Companion Animal Sciences Institute. Angelica is also certified as Dog Behavior Consultant through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. She has her CAP2 through Kay Laurence’s Learning About Dogs. Angelica has a Master’s degree in Education, which has served as the foundation for her continued certifications in dog training and her extensive understanding of dog behavior and operant and classical 12 Doorbells, Dracula & Dum Dums By Jennifer Shryock, B.A. CDBC The Halloween holiday in particular I find to be a trainer’s nightmare. Dogs practice barking wildly at the door each time a child trick-or-treats, costumes entice or spook dogs, leaving lasting memories, and then of course there is the candy factor. Here are some tips you may want to keep in mind for your families when it comes to future dealings with doorbells, Dracula and Dum Dums (popular candy in the States). Doorbells One of the most frequent complaints from clients is their dog’s doorbell behavior. “He goes nuts!” Halloween can be a nightmare or it can be an opportunity to work on this behavior. I often suggest that owners provide dogs a quiet place away from all the commotion at the front door. A room far from the door with white noise is ideal with a yummy KONG or other goodie. This way the doorbell is less stimulating for dogs and they are not as likely to practice obnoxious and undesirable behavior. Frozen high value stuffed KONGS or marrow bones are great for these times. Halloween can also be a great time to practice appropriate behaviors with the doorbell. This will require two adults — one to be focused on the dog while the other tends to the kids and hands out candy. I actually did this with our dogs and spent short periods in my living room away from the front door reinforcing calm behaviors in my dogs while my husband tended to the trick-or-treaters. This is not a good idea for dogs that have had no training with the doorbell but it can be a fun activity if you have been practicing and your dogs have known behaviors to defer to. We have several “go to” doorbell behaviors; one of our dogs heads to his crate, another goes to his bed and two dogs go upstairs. So, practicing these behaviors is fun and rewarding for all on a busy night. Following our doorbell games everyone gets a frozen KONG in their own spot. After many years of dreading the trick-ortreaters I chose to make it a game and work on desirable behaviors. Dracula and other spooky characters Halloween is the time when kids love to dress up and act out. Costumes disguise human appearance and can be unsettling for many dogs. I have found that this can catch many parents off-guard when their dog reacts to their child in costume. Talk to your families and remind them how changes in appearance can be scary to your dog. Dogs rely on predictable human behavior and body language. It is not uncommon for families to feel that if the child talks to the dog all will be well. This may not be the case. There are many dogs that cannot get past the visual change and will react negatively. This is important for us to communicate to the families we support. Costumes also have many pieces that can be fun or threatening to dogs. Tails might be fun to chase and swords could be scary. It is great if you create a handout or tip sheet for your young families so that they can be thinking about these and be proactive with prevention. Another common situation on Halloween I see is many dogs tagging along on the street with trick or trick-or-treaters. I strongly suggest families opt to leave their dog at home or have someone stay home with them. Nighttime can be challenging enough visually without costumes. Children running around and excited can be very stressful for even the calmest family dog. Having one adult stay home or being sure that the dog is in a safe and cozy quiet spot enjoying a high value treat is a great way to make this fun night a success. On this night in particular it is important that all dogs are inside the home and not left unsupervised in the yard where they may be vulnerable to pranks or other dangers. Dum Dums (popular lollipop in US) There is nothing more fun then after you trick-or-treat and collect the loot then to compare and trade candy. In many cases this means emptying pillowcases out on the floor and sorting through the good stuff. Dogs that have been isolated or in their special place may be very excited with everyone back home. Candy on the floor may be too tempting for some dogs to resist. In order to prevent temptation of eating dangerous candy and wrappers I suggest to families that they empty their candy bags on a table or counter and go through it there. They can also pick another room away from the dog or the parents can have the dog on leash. This makes it less likely that the dog will want to steal candy or be in the way of (Continued on page 14) 13 Kids & Dogs — Resource Guarding of a person. Using this approach could increase the bite risk for children and visitors to the home since the dog will assume that Ding ding ding ding ding! ...this is the sound of the alarm bells any person intends to take his treasures and he may be less that should go off your in head when a client says something tolerant than with the ruling adult. along the lines of…“It’s so cute the way Fluffy loves my son – Another important lesson you can teach is the exchange. Inshe steals his socks and won’t let anyone near them.” struct your students to obtain two identical bones or Kongs and Many bites to children occur as a result of resource guarding. to stuff them with goodies and give one to the puppy. They can We are frequently told that the dog growls (but he would never then take the other bone or Kong and get the puppy interested bite of course) when the kids go near him while he’s eating or in the second one and take the first one away. It is very imwhen he has a special toy or bone. In the world of puppies, an- portant to take the first object away only after the dog has transother puppy approaching generally means that an attempted ferred his interest to the second one. The puppy will soon get robbery is about to take place. Dogs do not generally share their the idea that people taking things away is a good thing. If a child possessions or food nicely and they quickly learn from litterma- ever takes from the dog the possibility of a bite is greatly retes to defend it or lose it. A puppy may naturally assume that he duced (children should still be taught not to take anything away must guard his prized possessions from people as well. This from the dog, but best to be prepared in case it does happen). situation is easily prevented if the puppy is taught that people do The exchange can also be used to regain stolen objects from not take things from puppies, rather that they bring good things the puppy. Instead of punishing the puppy, trade for something the puppy wants more and say “give” or to puppies. “off” at the same time. The puppy will learn to give up objects willingly at the “give” You can encourage your puppy people to command, thus reducing the likelihood of a go up to the puppy while it is eating tug-of-war happening between child and (adults only; not children at first) and add dog. You can easily demonstrate this in something extra yummy to the bowl. Chilyour classes to show how well it works and dren can toss treats towards the bowl. how willing a puppy is to give up objects on Soon the puppy will welcome the apcommand in just a few minutes (even less proach to his bowl with a wagging tail. If time if you use a clicker). the dog raises his tail when a person approaches the food bowl, this is a serious If resource guarding problems do develop warning. You can teach your students to despite the best efforts of clients to prevent watch out for this raised tail warning. It is them, they should be encouraged to seek usually easy to demonstrate this to your professional help. Resource guarding can students during class. Give one puppy a develop into a very dangerous situation – a bone or a pile of kibbles and then take ticking time bomb – with a tragic outcome becoming more and another puppy near (taking care for proper safety of students more likely as time goes on.  and the pups). The eating puppy will almost certainly raise his tail. If the puppy is not inclined to any type of aggressive posturing, he will probably move his body to block the other dog from Joan Orr and Teresa Lewin are the co-creators of the educathe food or begin to eat as fast as he can. The students can ob- tional board game, Doggone Crazy! (www.doggonecrazy.ca) serve this and learn something about canine communication as and Co-founders of Doggone Safe – non-profit organization for you point out what is happening. If their own dog shows signs of dog bite prevention through education and victim support blocking the food, gobbling at an alarming rate or raising his tail (www.doggonesafe.com) when people approach the food bowl, the owners will recognize this as an impending problem and can go back to conditioning (DRACULA continued from page 13) the dog to welcome approach by adding yummy treats once the “great candy swap.” This is very important in homes again. with multiple kids and dogs. A little planning can tame the By Joan Orr and Teresa Lewin This approach can be used to prevent other types of resource guarding as well. For example, if the puppy is lying on his mat chewing a bone, the kids can walk past and toss really yummy treats onto the dog’s mat. Similarly if the dog has a toy, the kids can toss treats in the direction of the dog and keep walking. The puppy will soon come to view any approach by a person as benign and will not become defensive. Many people are of the unfounded belief that taking the bowl (or other high value object) away and giving it back is a way to teach the dog to accept this. Actually this teaches the dog to mistrust people coming near the bowl. The action that occurs immediately following the approach of the person is the taking of the desired object. Even if the object is subsequently returned, it is the taking away that becomes associated with the approach chaos at this time. Halloween is a great fun time for kids. Allowing family dogs a safe and quiet place to rest and enjoy a high value goodie is ideal. Doorbells, Dracula and Dum Dums mean planning and preparing for success when it comes to family dogs. Preparing your clients for this holiday will be appreciated by both the people and the dogs!  Jennifer Shryock, B.A. CDBC is the Founder of Family Paws Parent Education in Cary, N.C. and creator of programs Dogs & Storks, Dog and Baby Connection. She is the U.S. VP of Doggonesafe.com and a member of the Pet Professionals Guild’s Special Council. 14 Ask Leah . . . Why Does My Dog Pull? By Leah Roberts Why does a dog pull on leash? When asked of a group class, at least one will answer, “because he wants to be in charge.” In truth, the reason a dog will run out to the end of his leash and lunge has absolutely nothing to do with a desire for world domination. The simple answer is that your dog pulls because he wants to go “over there.” “Over there” are smells or activities going on that attract and excite him, and when he pulls on the leash, his owner obliges him by following. So the correct answer is that your dog pulls because it works. If pulling on leash works for your dog, the way to teach him to stop pulling is to no longer allow it to work. He wants to keep walking in a certain direction. As soon as the leash tightens, you must stop. Your dog will learn that he gets to go where he wants when the leash is loose and he will begin to pay more attention to where he is in relation to you and keeping the leash loose. To further strengthen your dog's choice to remain closer by your side, he should receive yummy treats and praise when in the desired position. What is Loose-Leash Walking? Loose-leash walking, (LLW), is not the same as heeling. A “Heel” required the dog to walk with his nose at his owner's leg at all times. This is necessary in obedience trials, comes in handy when walking across a busy street or in a crowded area, but is too restricting for most casual strolls around the neighborhood. LLW simply requires your dog to stay on one side (no criss-crossing to trip you up) and not pull. He can sniff, look around, and thoroughly enjoy his walk while at the same time allowing you to enjoy yours – without a tug-o-war! The bad news is that LLW is one of the most difficult behaviors for your dog to master. Reasons for this include: 1. We don't name the LLW behavior. Your dog knows how to sit and lie down, but when you try to teach him to walk beside you, it's an entirely new concept for him because we haven't named the behavior. 2. Distractions. He may be fine in your living room, but as soon as you step out your front door, all bets are off! And unfortunately, most walking is going to happen in the wild, exciting outdoors. So, whenever you teach a dog any behavior, it's best to start in the most quiet, distraction-free environment possible so that he has the best chance to succeed. 3. Owner habits. Not only does your dog have to break the habit of pulling on the leash, so do you! Chances are that you are so used to keeping tension on that leash in order to try to control your dog that you will have a difficult time training yourself NOT to hold it tightly or yank it. Learn a New Dance Learning to LLW with your dog is like both of you learning to dance together. And just like learning a new dance, at first it can be a little awkward as you learn how to pay attention to your different body movements and coordinate them with your dog's body movements. The first thing you should do is teach your dog the “touch” cue. What this means is that when you put your hand out, the dog moves to touch it with his nose. This will come in very handy for guiding the dog to stay at your side. Do the following exercises five times in a row for each. When your dog is performing reliably four or five times at each step, move on to the next step. (Note that where the instructions say to “click,” you can use any type of marker – like a verbal “yes!” - if you prefer not to use a clicker. Marking is important because it tells the dog exactly what behavior earns him a reward.) 1. Put your open hand right in front of your dog's nose, palm facing him. When he touches your hand, click and reinforce with a treat (C/T). 2. Put your hand close to your dog's face, but move it to the right, left, up and down. In this step he will have to purposely turn his head to touch your palm. C/T at each touch. 3. Move your hand to about 2inches away from your dog. Now he has to move toward your palm. C/T at each touch. 4. Increase to about 4inches. C/T at each touch. 5. Introduce the verbal cue. Say “touch” just before you put your hand in front of him. C/T at each touch. If you have a tiny dog, it can help to transfer the touch cue to an object like a long-handled spoon, a ruler or a fly-swatter. To do this, first put the object in your hand and cue the touch. Then slowly move your hand down the handle in small increments, each time cuing the dog to touch the same end that was originally in your hand. Like above, do each step five times and don't move on until the dog performs reliably four or five times in a row. Note that dogs can tire of the mental stimulation involved in training, so take breaks often. Body Position for humans Hold the leash in the hand furthest from your dog. For example if your dog walks on your left, hold the leash in your right hand. Adjust the length of the leash so that you there is slack in it when your dog is on the side you want him to walk, but not so much slack that it drags on the floor. If you move your hand, the area defined by the length of the leash will change and your dog won't get a clear message of his boundaries, so hold that leash hand steady against your waist. Also hold your clicker in that hand, with your thumb poised over the button. It is highly suggested that you wear a treat pouch, also on the side opposite your dog. If not, you will have to find a way to carry treats so that you can easily reach for them. Do not carry treats in the hand next to the dog. We don't want him to follow the treats – we want him to follow 15 you. You will use that hand next to the dog to guide him with “touch,” and to feed him in position. Basic Dance Steps for Beginners Again, do each step a minimum of five times consecutively and only move on if your dog performs reliably four or five times in a row. In all steps, it's very important that when you reinforce, the treat is held at the side of your leg, even if the dog has moved out of position. Hold the treat there until he comes to get it. Also note that your hand held out is a visual cue, and you may not need to use the verbal cue “touch.” Remember to C/T at each touch. 1. Stand still. Cue your dog to touch your hand held at the side of your leg. For tiny dogs, use the long-handled spoon or fly-swatter as an extension of your hand by holding it with the flat part (what you have taught him to touch) at your ankle. In this step, don't worry about your dog facing in the wrong direction. When you start to walk, he won't walk backwards! 2. Pivot slightly to the left and right, cuing your dog to touch your hand (or the extension) at the side of your leg. When he is reliably moving to your hand each time, pivot in wider circles. 3. Take a half-step with the leg next to the dog and cue the touch. 4. Take a full step with the leg next to the dog and cue the touch. 5. Take two steps (always starting with the leg next to the dog) and cue the touch. Keep increasing the amount of steps until you can walk six steps without stopping and your dog is moving with you. Intermediate Dance Steps the dog for the last step will give him a clear cue. If your dog moves past you and puts tension on the leash, stand still. Don't pull back. Ask him to “touch” or otherwise talk to him to get him focused on you again. Once he releases tension on the leash, praise, C/T, and begin walking again. Dancing with the Stars It's important to understand the different levels of difficulty in teaching this skill. Just like you can't go from kindergarten to third grade, you can't practice in a classroom or the living room and then expect your dog to walk nicely in public places with other dogs, people, sights, sounds and smells as distractions. It will take time to build up your dog's skill level. Kindergarten: Start out in your home. I do suggest that you use the leash, so that you can practice this part of your dance (holding it steady without using it to control the dog). Practice walking around the house, making left, right and uturns, stopping and starting. When he is staying with you reliably, start to move faster and slower so he can practice adjusting his speed to your pace. Clicks and treats should be coming once every 2-3 seconds at first, and then you can start weaning down by clicking and treating less often and only for the best responses. If at any time the dog's performance lags, click and treat more often! But remember that the click is used mark a rewardable behavior, not willy-nilly. You will have to be watching your dog closely to click those looks and movements toward or with you in a timely manner. Middle School: When your dog is doing well in the house, move to a slightly more distracting environment — a porch, back yard, driveway – but choose just a small Use an extension to teach area and be prepared for your dog's perfortargeting in tiny dogs. mance to degrade at first. You may have to increase the value of the treat used and will most definitely have to go back to C/T every 2-3 seconds at first. Now you can phase out the “touch” cue. Step out with the leg next to your dog and say, “Let's go,” which will be his cue to begin walking with you. Try to walk fairly briskly, as too slow a pace will bore your dog and cause him to lose focus. It's important to have a high rate of reinforcement. That means pay your dog about every two seconds at first. The way to do this is to C/T for the dog looking at you, or the dog moving near you. You can pretty much C/T for any behavior that isn't moving away from you. Help him be successful by talking to him and encouraging him. If your dog moves away from you, focus him back with the “touch” cue by your leg. C/T each touch. When the dogs is getting the hang of walking next to you, it’s time to teach the auto-sit when you stop. To do this, plan on taking your last step before the stop with the leg closest to the dog. Wait for him to sit (or give the hand signal or verbal cue for sit if he doesn't) and C/T the sit. Teaching the dog to automatically sit when you stop walking prevents a lunge against the leash if you suddenly stop to talk to somebody or look at something on a walk. Training yourself to use the leg next to High School: Still staying close by the house, increase the distance that you walk by short increments. Again, every time you increase the level of difficulty, you may have to increase the value and/or rate of reinforcement. College: Now you will be walking where there are other people and/or dogs – maybe around your neighborhood. Once you master one more difficult environment, you will have to tackle another. This step will go on for quite some time. Graduate School: This may be different for all dogs, but in general it involves the times they are the most excited. For example, getting out of your car to go to the dog park, groomer, or training class, in a pet food store, or even in the “college” environment when they see a human or canine friend, squirrel, or cat. It is ultimately important that you are consistent about what you expect from your dog at all times. If he is asked to walk nicely with you at some times and allowed to pull at others, your dog will simply become confused. It can be very difficult to be consistent when you have to take the dog on walks to places where he isn't ready. If (Continued on page 17) 16 (Continued from page 16) he's in the “grade school” level of learning, how do you take him for a potty walk around the neighborhood, which is too advanced an environment for him, and still be consistent? The answer is to have a way to tell your dog “now we are playing that walking game” and “now we are not.” To do that, you will have to plan ahead for each walking excursion so that you can set your dog up for success. The Two-Equipment Method Dogs aren't very good at generalizing. If we learn how to cook in one kitchen, we have no problem generalizing the use of the sink, stove, refrigerator, cookware and cutlery in a different kitchen. If a dog could cook, he would be stuck in the second kitchen because, in his mind, everything he needs is in the first. Dogs are great at discrimination, which is the opposite of generalization. If you teach a dog to sit when there is a jet passing overhead, he may not sit the next time you ask if there is no jet. The environment around him may be incorporated into his learning of the behavior. You can use this to your advantage. To get the consistency you need to efficiently teach him to LLW, you can have him wear something that will mean to him “now we are practicing,” and something else that says “now we are not practicing.” around his neck when you aren't practicing, and take it off when you are. Remember that whatever you use as the “not practicing” tool will be eventually phased out. Pace & Practice It's important to build on successes, not failures. You can't over-practice the “easy” steps. Don't increase the difficulty (length of walk, place where you walk, etc.) until your dog is reliable at the previous step. Raise criteria in very small increments. For example, if your dog is doing great in the driveway and you want to continue down the sidewalk, at first only go 3 -4 feet down the sidewalk before turning back. Practice that until he's reliable before adding any more distance. The slower and more carefully you practice, the more success you have before moving on, and the less frustrating it will be for you and your dog. When you teach your dog to sit, you are really only teaching him what the word “sit” means. He already knows how to sit. He does it all the time. As stated previously, teaching a dog to walk on one side of you without criss-crossing, stay within the length of the leash without pulling, and pay attention to where you're going – and on top of that, to do it out in the big, wide, exciting world – is a totally new concept. So this is a behavior that you will need to practice. I recommend that you do at least 2-3 practice walks a day. Start off with five -minute walks. As you and your dog get better at doing this dance together, For example, let's say that your you can start increasing time. Note goal is to be able to walk your dog that this doesn't mean restricting your on a regular buckle collar. So when dog's normal walks to five minutes, you are practicing LLW, you would just the LLW practice part of it. As long have your leash attached to that as you are planning the walks so that collar. But when you are in an enviyou have the leash attached to the LLW in public takes PRACTICE! ronment that is too advanced for right equipment (or the bandanna on your dog to be set up for success, at the right time), it's okay if the majoriyou would attach the leash to a no-pull harness or a head ty of the walk is his normal, untrained pinging to the end of harness (a management tool). That way when he is too excitthe leash. If you are consistent, persistent and patient, you ed and pulling, you have some kind of power steering to prewill get there. vent him from yanking too hard. (Note that dogs need to be conditioned to wearing head harnesses before their use. One Last Note If this is your choice, see your trainer for instructions.) Your trained dog is allowed to lag behind, walk ahead, and Let's say you have graduated to beginning “College” level and sniff on walks. Let him explore! This is how dogs get their are just starting out on a walk around the neighborhood. For enjoyment of walks. As long as he is not putting tension on the first three-quarters of the walk, while your dog is the most the leash and is connected enough to your movements to go energetic and excited, you would have the leash attached to with you when you change directions, this is fine! the management tool and walk him the way you always have. Leah Roberts is the owner of Dog Willing, which teaches Then when you are almost home and he is calmer, you can owners and dogs skills that allow better communication with attach the leash to his collar, cue him “Let's go,” and practice one another. She is a founding member and PPG Steering LLW the rest of the way. After a few walks like that, you may Committee member, a mentor trainer for the Animal Behavior be able to attach the leash to the collar halfway home. And College and is currently participating in the Academy for Dog eventually you would be able to walk him all the way around Trainers online program. A nationally-respected writer about the neighborhood on just the collar without pulling. But when dog issues, her online articles can be found at Orlando Dog you take him to a feed store, you will probably have to attach Training and Behavior Examiner and Dog Star Daily. Leah is the leash back to the harness before taking him out of the car currently writing a book on how to teach Puppy Kindergarten because you have not yet generalized the training to that classes. environment. If you don't want to use a body or head harness, there are other things you can do to. One idea is to put a bandanna 17 PPG Worldwide … Grenzen setzen (Erster Teil ) Von Dr. Ute Blaschke-Berthold © Dr. Ute Blaschke-Berthold CumCane® 2011 [email protected] "Grenzen setzen" ist eine Phrase, die sehr oft gebraucht wird. Doch, welchen Inhalt hat diese Phrase? Was ist mit ihr gemeint, was möchte der Sender dem Empfänger damit ausdrücken? Es ist immer wieder klärend, sich mit solchen Phrasen zu befassen, die schon längst zum festen Inventar der Kommunikation zwischen Hundehaltern geworden sind. Ist "Grenzen setzen" ein Vorgang, der in der psychologischen Fachliteratur beschrieben wird? Oder ist diese Phrase eher die umgangssprachliche Umschreibung für einen in der Fachsprache anders bezeichneten Prozess? In der RatgeberLiteratur findet man sehr viel über das Thema "Grenzen setzen". In der Familie zwischen Partnern, zwischen Eltern und Kindern und in Arbeitsbeziehungen. Grenzen setzen als Alibi für Durchsetzung persönlicher Interessen ohne Rücksicht auf die Bedürfnisse des Partners. Grenzen setzen bedeutet: Interessen durchsetzen! Gerne wird ein Gegensatz aufgebaut, um Argumente zu untermauern. Verbreitet ist derzeit der Gegensatz zwischen "Leckerli und Spielzeug" und "Grenzen setzen". Das ist eine rhetorische Spielerei ohne jeglichen praktischen Nutzen! Positive Verstärkung wahllos und beschränkt bringt ebenso wenig befriedigende Erfolge wie Grenzen setzen ohne Hintergrundwissen. Was bedeutet die Phrase "Grenzen setzen"? Grenzen setzen bedeutet: mit mir kannst du das nicht machen. Grenzen wahren letztendlich Persönlichkeitsrechte in einer Beziehung. Dabei ist es egal, ob es sich um eine familiäre oder um eine Arbeitsbeziehung handelt. Grenzen regeln die Verhaltensmöglichkeiten in einer Beziehung. Sie müssen klar kommuniziert werden. Grenzen setzen ist nur sinnvoll, wenn der Hund das zur Diskussion stehenden Verhalten willentlich steuern kann. Es macht z.B. wenig Sinn, einem Hund vermitteln zu wollen, dass man seine Schreckhaftigkeit nicht duldet. Dieses Beispiel macht deutlich, wie wichtig es ist, sich genau mit diesem Thema auseinanderzusetzen. Das Erfahren von Grenzen gehört zum Leben dazu. Jeden Tag stehen Tiere auf und fragen: Welt, was hast du mir zu bieten? In jeder Situation testen sie, was für sie drin ist, um ihre biologische Fitness zu steigern. Das ist normal und überlebensnotwendig. Allerdings stecken in manchen Situationen auch Gefahren, die die Möglichkeiten einschränken und vielleicht sogar für immer beenden können. Es geht also nicht darum, keine Grenzen setzen zu wollen. Grenzen sind eingebaut und ihre Erfahrung ist nicht zwingend ein Fall für den Tierschutz (der sich eh nicht um Trainingsansätze kümmert). Es kommt darauf an, wie die Grenzen aufgebaut, vermittelt und erhalten werden. Eine erste psychologische Hilfe für den Hundehalter ist: wir setzen nicht dem Hund Grenzen, sondern seinem Verhalten einen Rahmen. Das richtet den Fokus weg von einem Konflikt zwischen Mensch und Hund auf Verhalten, das verändert oder verhindert werden soll. Menschen nehmen viel zu viel persönlich! Was ist dran: Grenzen geben Freiheit? In erster Linie geben Grenzen demjenigen Freiheit, der sie setzt und verteidigt. Demjenigen, der sie einhält, bringt dieses Verhalten Freiheit von Strafe. Deutlich erkennbare, also klar kommunizierte Grenzen geben einen sicheren Freiraum. Sicher nicht in Sinne von ausreichend, sondern sicher im Sinne von straffrei, ungefährdet und mit mehr oder weniger Handlungsspielraum, aber nicht unbedingt die Freiheit zur Bedürfnisbefriedigung. Deswegen ist es beliebter, Grenzen zu setzen als Grenzen zu akzeptieren. Grenzen setzen zu können ist gleichbedeutend mit Macht ausüben - für die meisten Menschen ist das sicher ein selbstbelohnendes Verhalten. Grenzen setzen verbessert sicherlich die Frustrationstoleranz. Alleine schon das Vorenthalten einer versprochenen Belohnung, wenn der Hund zu erregt nach dieser schnappt, setzt eine Grenze und fordert die Frustratinstoleranz des Tieres. In diesem Beispiel wirkt: negative Bestrafung! Negative Bestrafung ist der Entzug von Belohnungsmöglichkeiten. Grenzen setzen und bestrafende Konsequenzen sind oft dasselbe! Grenzen setzen - Grenzen bilden. Vorschlaghammer oder feines Werkzeug? Es geht nicht darum, etwas tun zu können - es geht darum, wie es getan wird! Das unterscheidet Stümperei und Durchschnitt von Erstklassigkeit! Grenzen setzen ... Das sagt sich schnell, das sagt sich leicht. "Das kann ich nicht durchgehen lassen!" oder ähnliche Sätze sagen Menschen, wenn sie sich ... Genervt, frustriert, hilflos fühlen. Wir setzen Grenzen nicht gegen das Tier, sondern wir setzen seinem Verhalten einen Rahmen. Grenzen setzen ist nichts anderes als die Veränderung von Verhalten; es gelten die Regeln der Lerntheorie. Grenzen setzen ist nichts anderes als Arbeit an Verhalten. Es gelten die selben Prinzipien des Lernens wie für alle anderen Trainingsaufgaben auch. Alle Versuche, Grenzen setzen auf eine andere, gedacht "höhere" Ebene zu heben, kippen unter einem einzigen kritischen Blick. Jede Arbeit am Verhalten eines Hundes ist Arbeit an der Beziehung! Jede Arbeit an Verhalten ist mit der Veränderungen von Situationen oder mit der Veränderung von Konsequenzen verbunden. Jede Arbeit an Verhalten ist begründet auf der Fähigkeit des Individuums zu lernen. Nennen wir also "Grenzen setzen" doch bei seinem richtigen Namen: unerwünschtes Verhalten unterbrechen und hemmen. Grenzen setzen steht nicht im Gegensatz zu Belohnung / (Continued on page 27) 18 Setting Limitations (Part I) By Dr. Ute Blaschke-Berthold © Dr. Ute Blaschke-Berthold CumCane® 2011 [email protected] “Setting limitations,” a phrase that is found especially often having to do with dogs and their training, leaves a lot of room for interpretation and discussion. Often “Setting limitations” is seen as a contrast to rewarding with toys or food, which of course is neither correct nor helpful, especially since “setting limitations” is a part of life. Limitations are set for us and we set them for others. “Limitations” are set, not only for and with us humans, but also for every living being. They warn of possible conflicts and dangers, help avoid stress in many instances and can even ensure survival (biological fitness). They describe rules for living together as well as see to it that personal necessities are fulfilled and the range of behavioral possibilities is defined. It is however important how these “limitations” for living together are established, communicated and preserved, which is so very important because illogical or ruthless, inconsiderate implementation simply in favor of one-sided interests/needs can cause unnecessary stress and frustration to the relationship. In “real life” with our dogs, we “ set limitations” for the exercise of her interests and behaviors. For example, just using a leash sets severe limitations on a dogs freedom of movement. It’s always frustrating to a certain extent to experience such “limitations,” as these also reduce ones own personal satisfaction with that experience. Every time we, in such a manner, set such a limitation, we also interrupt a specific ongoing behavior, but this interruption doesn’t always also immediately replace the undesired behavior with the desired behavior. That means that it’s not simply enough to stop or interrupt such unwanted behaviors; one has to then build up the desired behaviors one wishes. What’s especially welcomed by a dog are rules, which also take the desires/ needs of the dog into consideration. This also means that, in terms of actually living together with a dog, “setting limitations” doesn’t necessarily exclude rewards. They are rather training goals in which Learning Theory is implemented to be able to use different “tools” to reach those goals. In order to avoid frustrating the dog, it makes sense to first ask the following questions which address just these “limitations” we’ll be setting:  How long can the dog have freedom of movement?  How long will the dog walk on leash?   How often will the dog be sent to a specific place? How long will the dog have to lie there?  How often and long is the dog in a crate? “Setting limitations” is then nothing more than behavior modification and therefore also working on the relationship between dog and human. In this sense, the phrase “setting limitations” is incorrect because that would put the “mistakes” of the dog at the core of the phrase, instead of expressing what we really want: to give dog’s behaviors certain parameters without ignoring the dog‘s needs or, for that matter, even the dogs limitations.  zusammengefasst von Sarah Fee Ketelsen, DogFeeling, www.dogfeeling.net, Deutschland English translation by Leonard "Buzz" Cecil, Auf den Hund Gekommen, www.auf-den-hund-gekommen.net, Switzerland. Definiendo límites (Primera parte) Por Dr. Ute Blaschke-Berthold © Dr. Ute Blaschke-Berthold CumCane ® 2011 [email protected] "Definir límites", una frase que se encuentra a menudo en todo lo que tiene que ver con los perros y su adiestramiento, deja mucho espacio para la interpretación y discusión. A menudo "Definir límites" es visto como un opuesto a la recompensa con juguetes o comida, que por supuesto connotación no es correcto ni útil, sobre todo porque "definir límites“ es parte de la vida misma. Nosotros mismos seguimos límites (o reglas) y ponemos reglas a otros. Las reglas son establecidas, no sólo para y por nosotros los seres humanos, sino también entre todos los seres vivos. Remedian posibles conflictos y peligros, ayudan a evitar el estrés en muchos casos, y pueden incluso garantizar la supervivencia (eficacia biológica). Recogen las normas de convivencia, velan para que se cumplan las necesidades individuales y los diferentes niveles de comportamiento definido. Sin embargo, es importante cómo estas "reglas" para la convivencia se establecen, comunican y preservan, siendo extremadamente importante debido a que una aplicación ilógica, cruel o egoísta puede causar estrés innecesario o incluso altos niveles de frustración en la relación. En el día a día con nuestros perros, "definimos límites" por su bien. Por ejemplo, únicamente mediante el uso de una correa se establecen grandes limitaciones a la libertad de movimiento del perro. Siempre es frustrante hasta cierto punto experimentar estas "límites", ya que también reducen los niveles de satisfacción individual mediante dicha restricción. Cada vez que se "aplica dicha regla", también interrumpimos un comportamieto específico en curso, pero esta interrupción no siempre sustituye inmediatamente el comportamiento no deseado con el comportamiento deseado. Esto significa, que no es simplemente suficiente con detener o interrumpir este tipo de comportamientos no deseados, sino que también hay que construir las conductas (Continued on page 27) 19 Grenzen Stellen: Deel 1 Door: Dr. Ute Blaschke-Berthold © Dr. Ute Blaschke-Berthold CumCane® 2011 [email protected] “Grenzen stellen” is een vaak gehoorde uitdrukking als het gaat om honden en hun training. Deze uitdrukking laat veel ruimte voor interpretatie en discussie. Vaak wordt “grenzen stellen” als contrast gezien van belonen met speeltjes of voer, wat natuurlijk geenzins juist of behulpzaam is, helemaal omdat “grenzen stellen” gewoon een deel van het leven is. Grenzen worden voor ons gesteld, en wij stellen ze voor anderen. Grenzen worden niet alleen voor en met ons, de mens, gesteld, maar ook voor ieder ander levend wezen. Ze waarschuwen voor mogelijke conficten en gevaren, helpen in veel gevallen stress te voorkomen en kunnen zelfs overleving waarborgen (Biologische Fitness). Ze beschrijven regels voor samenleving, zorgen ervoor dat persoonlijke levensbehoeften vervuld worden, en dat het spectrum van gedragsmogelijkheden gedefiniëerd is. Het is echter belangrijk hoe deze “grenzen” voor het samenleven worden vastgesteld, gecommuniceerd en bewaard, omdat onlogische of meedogenloze onbezonnen implementatie, simpelweg in het voordeel van eenzijdige belangen/behoeften, tot onnodige stress en frustratie in de relatie kan leiden. In “het echte leven” met onze honden hebben we “grenzen gesteld” voor de uitoefening van haar belangen en gedragingen. Bijvoorbeeld alleen al het gebruik van een lijn stelt ernstige beperkingen aan de bewegingsvrijheid van de hond. Het is altijd tot op zekere hoogte frustrerend om zulke “beperkingen” te ervaren, omdat ze ook de eigen persoonlijke voldoening met die ervaring verminderen. Elke keer dat we als zodanig dergelijke “grenzen stellen”, onderbreken we ook een specifiek doorlopend gedrag, maar die onderbreking vervangt niet altijd meteen het ongewenste gedrag met het gewenste gedrag. Dit betekent dat het niet simpelweg genoeg is om zulke ongewenste gedragingen te stoppen of te onderbreken; men moet dan vervolgens het gewenste gedrag opbouwen. Wat er in het bijzonder door de hond verwelkomt wordt, zijn regels die ook de wensen/behoeften van de hond in aanmerking nemen. Dit betekent ook, dat in termen van feitelijk samenleven met een hond, het “instellen van grenzen” niet per se beloningen uitsluit. Het zijn simpelweg trainingsdoelen waarin Leertheorie wordt aangewend om verschillende “tools” te gebruiken om deze doelen te bereiken. Om te voorkomen dat de hond gefrustreerd raakt, is het zinvol om eerst de volgende vragen te stellen die gericht zijn op de “grenzen” die we willen aangeven:  Hoe lang kan de hond bewegingsvrijheid hebben?   Hoe lang zal de hond aangelijnd worden uitgelaten? Hoe vaak zal de hond naar een specifieke plaats gestuurd worden?   Hoe lang zal de hond daar moeten blijven liggen? Hoe vaak en hoe lang is de hond in een bench? “Grenzen stellen” is dan niets anders meer dan gedragsmodificatie, en daarmee werkt men ook aan de relatie tussen hond en mens. In deze zin is de uitdrukking “grenzen stellen” incorrect, want dat zou de “fouten” van de hond in het middelpunt zetten, in plaats van het uitdrukken van wat we werkelijk willen; het gedrag van de hond bepaalde parameters geven zonder daarbij de behoeften of zelfs de grenzen van de hond uit het oog te verliezen.  Zusammengefasst von Sarah Fee Ketelsen, DogFeeling, www.dogfeeling.net, Deutschland English translation by Leonard "Buzz" Cecil, Auf den Hund Gekommen, www.auf-den-hund-gekommen.net, Switzerland Summary translated from English to Dutch by Annieke Lamers, KiaraLuna Clickertraining, www.kiaraluna- Estabelecer Limites: 1ª Parte Por Dr. Ute Blaschke-Berthold © Dr. Ute Blaschke-Berthold CumCane® 2011 [email protected] Estabelecer limites, uma frase que está muitas vezes relacionada com os cães e o seu treino, deixa muito espaço para interpretação e discussão. Muitas vezes, estabelecer limites, é visto em contraste com recompensar com brinquedos e comida, que obviamente não é nem correcto nem ajuda, especialmente desde que o estabelecimento de limites, é uma parte da vida. Limitações são estabelecidas por nós e nós estabelecemo-las para os outros. Limitações são estabelecidas, não só para e por humanos, mas por todos os seres vivos. Elas previnem conflitos e perigos, ajudam a evitar stress em muitas circunstâncias e pode até assegurar a nossa sobrevivência (Fitness Biológico). Elas descrevem também as regras de como viver em sociedade assim como assegurando ao mesmo tempo que as necessidades individuais são preenchidas e o potencial de possibilidades comportamentais é definido. É muito importante, no entanto, a forma como estas limitações para se viver em sociedade são definidas, comunicadas e preservadas, algo muito importante, porque a implementação ilógica severa e a favor apenas de um lado ou nos interesses de apenas um lado, pode causar stress e frustração desnecessários num relacionamento. Na vida real, com os nossos cães, nós estabelecemos limites que estejam no exercício dos interesses e comportamentos diários. Por exemplo, apenas usar uma trela estabelece severas limitações na liberdade de movimentos de um cão. É sempre frustrante até (Continued on page 28) 20 Auf einer Ebene mit den Tieren Mein Name ist Viviane Theby. Ich bin 45 Jahre alt und Tierärztin mit Zusatzbezeichnung Verhaltenstherapie. Außerdem bin ich Gründerin der Tierakademie Scheuerhof, in der es darum geht, Menschen auszubilden, ihre Tiere immer besser zu verstehen und gewaltfrei auszubilden. Meinen ersten Kontakt zu Tieren hatte ich auf dem Bauernhof von meinem Opa. Dort entwickelte ich eine besondere Beziehung zu den Kühen. Ich war noch keine 10 Jahre alt, als ich eine Herde mit 15 Kühen alleine hüten ging auf uneingezäunten Weiden. Ein Erlebnis, was damals sehr prägend war, möchte ich hier teilen: Den Vormittag hütete ich die Kühe auf einer Weide ohne Wasser. Mittags trieb ich sie dann zu einer Weide mit einem Bach zum Trinken. Auf dieser Weide war aber gerade ein Pfadfinder-Zeltlager, so dass die Kühe dort nicht bleiben konnten, sondern nach der Tränke wieder zu einer anderen Weide sollten. Ich hatte in der Herde eine ganze besondere Beziehung zu einer Kuh, die von der Rangfolge ziemlich niedrig in der Herde war. Magda war zugekauft, ist also nicht in der Herde geboren. Von daher gehörte sie nicht wirklich dazu und blieb eigentlich immer ein Außenseiter. Vielleicht war sie für mich deshalb so besonders. Auf jeden Fall war es Zeit, die Kühe wieder weiter zu treiben. Der Durst war gestillt. Eine junge alteingesessene selbstbewusste Kuh stand noch am Bach, weniger weil sie Durst hatte, sondern weil auf der anderen Seite das Pfadfinder-Lager war und sie dort gerne hin wollte. Auf mein Ansprechen reagierte sie nicht also ging ich auf sie zu, um sie dort wegzutreiben. Darüber wurde sie ziemlich ärgerlich und machte sich an, ziemlich wütend auf mich loszugehen. Magda stand in der Nähe und ging dazwischen. Sicher wäre ich sonst überrannt worden. So war meine Angreiferin genau wie ich ganz erstaunt und zog von dannen. Ich konnte kaum glauben, was ich da erlebt hatte. Da ging die rangniedrigste Kuh auf eine der ranghöchsten los, um mir zu helfen! Was ich dabei lernte: Freundschaft ist viel wichtiger als jede Rangordnung! Als ich älter wurde, lernte ich zunächst Landwirtschaft. Anschließend studierte ich Tiermedizin, weil meine Eltern selber keinen Bauernhof hatten und ich dann dachte: Dann kann ich wenigsten später meine Tiere selber behandeln. Die Tiermedizin hat zwar so ihren eigenen Reiz, aber erfüllte mich nicht so wirklich. Schon im Studium machte ich meine ersten Fortbildungen zur Verhaltenstherapie. Das war meins! Da ging es um Training und um die Beziehung zu den Tieren. Es ging zwar hauptsächlich um Hunde und Katzen, und so gar nicht um meine Lieblinge die Kühe, aber dennoch war das genau das, was ich machen wollte. Nach einem Aufbaustudium in Southampton mit dem Diplom in „Animal Behaviour Counselling“ eröffnete ich meine rein verhaltenstherapeutische Praxis im Jahr 2000. Noch im selben Jahr kam die Tierakademie dazu, weil wir leider keine Hundeschule in der Umgebung hatten, mit der eine Zusammenarbeit auf Basis der positiven Verstärkung möglich war. Denn gerade bei Problemhunden war immer noch die Standardlösung: Stachelhalsband und zeigen, wer der Herr im Haus ist. Und „Tierakademie“ deshalb, weil ich mich nicht auf Hunde beschränken wollte. über Training. Bis ich Bob Bailey und seine Chicken-Camps kennen lernte. Da eröffneten sich für mich wirklich Welten in Sachen Training. Heute würde ich nie mehr sagen, dass ich alles in Sachen Training wüsste und kann gar nicht verstehen, dass das mal so war! Heute weiß ich, dass ich immer noch eine Menge dazu lernen kann und bemühe mich immer darum. Inzwischen unterrichte ich auch mit den Hühnern, weil ich allen Menschen dieselben Erfahrungen wie mir wünsche. Auch dabei lerne ich immer mehr dazu. Wenn man mich nach meinen Hauptanliegen fragt, dann sind es eigentlich zwei: Zum einen möchte ich immer bessere Trainer ausbilden. Denn es ist gigantisch wie viel man über gutes Training auch in sehr kurzer Zeit einem Tier beibringen kann. So bin ich überzeugt, dass die Zwangtrainer keine großen Chancen mehr haben, wenn es über positive Verstärkung dieselben schnellen Erfolge gibt. Dazu sind jedoch gute Trainer nötig und ich habe oft den Eindruck, dass viele an dem Punkt stehen, dass sie denken, sie wüssten schon alles. Den Punkt gilt es also zu überwinden und immer wieder dazu zu lernen. Beispielhaft möchte ich einen Aspekt im Training herauspicken. Ich habe noch kaum einen Trainer gesehen, der Signale bewusst verwendet in dem Sinne, dass es ja eigentlich positive Verstärker sind, wenn sie über die positive Verstärkung trainiert wurden. Viel zu sehr ist in unser aller Köpfe noch verankert, dass man ein Kommando gibt, wenn der Hund irgendeinen Quatsch macht, damit er damit aufhört. Wenn man sich jedoch bewusst macht, dass ein Signal ein sekundärer Verstärker ist, dann sollte man es genau wie einen Click anwenden, eben nur dann, wenn der Hund ein tolles Verhalten zeigt. Das kann das Training enorm beschleunigen, setzt allerdings auch ein enormes Umdenken voraus. Hier kann man fast sagen, dass „zum Glück“ nicht alle über positive Verstärkung trainierte Signale sekundäre Verstärker sind, weil wir sie uns längst vergiftet haben, sei es über eine zu große Erwartungshaltung oder weil wir ein Verhalten doch mal „absichern“ wollten oder was auch immer. Da gibt es noch einiges an Potenzial um ein immer besserer Trainer zu werden. Mein nächstes großes Anliegen ist es zu zeigen, wie toll Tiere sind. Wenn man mal erlebt hat, wie schwer es ist, schlauer als ein Huhn zu sein, das ein Gehirn von der Größe einer Fingerkuppe hat, dann ist das schon beeindruckend. Bei den Hühnern gilt z.B. mit die strengste Rangordnung. Je mehr Menschen ich zeigen kann, dass man jedoch nicht über Dominanz zu tollen Trainingsergebnissen kommt, sondern über positive Verstärkung von erwünschtem Verhalten, desto mehr hoffe ich ein Umdenken zu erreichen. Mit meinem Buch „Die Hunde-Uni“ möchte ich deutlich machen, welch enorme Fähigkeiten die Hunde haben, wenn wir es nur schaffen, ihnen die richtigen Fragen zu stellen. So habe ich z.B. noch keinen Hund gesehen, der rechts und links (Continued on page 28) Dann gab es eine Zeit, in der ich dachte, ich wüsste alles 21 On a Level with Animals By Vivane Theby My name is Viviane Theby. I am 45 years old and a trained vet with an additional specialty in behavioral therapy. Additionally, I am the founder of the animal academy “Scheuerhof“ in Germany, which is concerned with training humans to understand their animals ever better and to train them without violence. As a 10-year-old child I had an especially close bond with a cow named Magda on my grandfather's farm. She was an outsider to the herd, not having been born on the farm, and was treated as such by the other cows. One day a highranking cow in the herd became irritated at me for wanting to drive her away from a troop of scouts nearby. Magda, the lowranking outside placed herself between me and this highranking cow to defend me. What I learned was that friendship is much more important than any hierarchy. I grew up to study veterinary medicine to be able to use that to take care of my own livestock. While studying, I attended courses in behavioral therapy and recognized this as my calling. After graduation I opened my own practice for behavioral therapy in 2000, the same year I started the animal academy. Dogs were also included, especially since there was no school for positive reinforcement-based training in the area. There came a time when I thought I knew everything about training — that is until I learned of Bob Bailey and his chicken camps which opened up whole worlds for me in terms of training. Today I know that I can still learn an enormous amount, and I continually strive to do so. So now I too offer chicken camps so everyone can have the same experience that I had. I continue to learn more and more from this as well. I have two main interests at heart: Firstly, I want to train ever better trainers. Thus I am convinced that dominance trainers will soon die out if positive reinforcement delivers the same fast successes. However, this requires good trainers, and I often get the impression that many reach the point where they think they know everything already. I would like to mention an example here: I have rarely met a trainer who uses signals deliberately and consciously, in the sense that signals themselves are positive reinforcers, if they are taught on the basis of positive reinforcement. In most people’s minds the notion still lingers that you shout a command if your dog commits some mischief, to make them stop. However, if you become aware that a signal is a secondary reinforcer, you realize that you should use it exactly like a click, namely only if the dog shows a desirable behavior. This can accelerate training enormously, although it also presupposes an enormous change in thinking. You could almost say that it is lucky that not all signals learned in positive reinforcement are secondary reinforcers, because we have long watered them down and ruined them, whether because we expect too much or because we wanted to “secure” a behavior, or whatever. Therein remains a vast potential to become a better trainer. Secondly my other main concern is to show how wonderful animals are. It is impressive to experience how difficult it is to outsmart a chicken, which has a brain the size of the tip of your finger. Chickens, for instance, have one of the most rigid hierarchies. The more people I can convince that it is not dominance but positive reinforcement which leads to mindblowing training results, the more I hope to bring about a widespread change in thinking. My book The University for Dogs aims to show the enormous abilities dogs have, if only we manage to ask them the right kind of questions. For example, I’ve never yet met a dog who confused left and right once he’d learnt it. Dogs can definitely learn concepts if they are taught properly. Thus, one of my dogs could tell the exact middle of nine objects. Isn’t that incredible? Nowadays more research is being undertaken to explore the cognitive abilities of dogs. My criticism of this kind of research is that it is mostly not conducted by well-trained trainers. Once again we recognize that many people believe they are trainers, even though they lack the necessary experience and skill yet are not able to accept this. With the exception of a doctoral dissertation which I co-supervised, I have never yet read a word in a scientific work about the skill of the trainer, which is after all an enormously decisive factor. Every single contact with the dog constitutes training. Often, wrong impressions about the abilities of dogs are created by bad training. In other words, we are not yet at the point where we ask dogs the right kind of questions, so that they are not yet able to show us their true cognitive potential. There remains much to do. And once you have recognised how clever dogs really are and what mental feats they are capable of, it is only natural to agree to a dog’s suggestion occasionally instead of trying to demonstrate at all times that you’re the one in charge. Once you have understood that we’re the stupid ones who don’t even know yet how we can ask dogs the right kind of questions, it is much easier to get on the same level with them. Finally I want to address something that is close to my heart, and that is the way in which dog trainers treat each other. Every dog trainer deserves as much respect and positive reinforcement as even the most difficult or strange dog. Unfortunately, this is forgotten far too often precisely by those trainers who work on the basis of positive reinforcement and who treat people completely differently than they treat dogs. This is a great pity, because it is true for people as for dogs that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this spirit, here’s to an ever-improving world of trainers.  Viviane Theby, Tierakademie Scheuerhof , Germany http://www.tierakademie.de Translated from the original German by Sabine Clemm via Sally Bradbury, Scallywags School for Dogs, http:// www.scallywagsdogs.com, UK Summarized by Leonard Cecil, Auf den Hund Gekommen, http://www.auf-den-hund-gekommen.net Switzerland. 22 Igualdad con los Animals Por Vivane Theby Me llamo Viviane Theby y tengo 45 años. Soy veterinaria y adiestradora de animales, y me he especializado en terapia del comportamiento. Además, soy la fundadora de la academia de animales “Scheuerhof“ (Alemania), dedicada a entrenar a los dueños de los animales a que entiendan mejor a sus mascotas y que los puedan entrenar ellos mismos sin violencia. Cuando tenía 10 años, mantuve un vínculo especial con una vaca llamada Magda en la granja de mi abuelo. La vaca siempre estaba apartada del resto del ganado pues no había nacido en la granja como las otras. Un día, una de las vacas que lideraba el ganado, se enfureció conmigo porque intenté apartarla del resto. Magda, que ostentaba un rango menor dentro del grupo, se interpuso entre la otra vaca y yo para defenderme. Lo que aprendí fue que la amistad es más importante que cualquier jerarquía. Crecí y estudie veterinaria con el fin de poder aplicar estos conocimientos en el cuidado de mi propio ganado. Mientras estudiaba, asistí a diferentes cursos sobre terapia del comportamiento y me di cuenta de que ese era mi camino. Después de graduarme, en el año 2000, abrí mi propia clínica veterinaria para la terapia del comportamiento, y ese mismo año empecé con la academia para entrenar animales. A ella también iban perros puesto que no había ninguna escuela en aquella área para reforzar el buen comportamiento basado en el entrenamiento. Hubo un tiempo en el que pensé que ya lo sabía todo acerca del entrenamiento animal, pero esto fue hasta que supe de Bob Bailey y su campo para entrenar gallinas, lo que me abrió todo un mundo acerca del entrenamiento animal. Todavía hoy sé que aun puedo aprender gran cantidad de cosas, y continuamente me esfuerzo para hacerlo. Por eso ofrezco estos tipos de campos de entrenamiento porque deseo que la gente tenga la misma experiencia que yo tuve. Y continuo aprendiendo más y más cada día. Yo tengo dos intereses: El primero de ellos es que quiero entrenar a los adiestradores cada vez mejor. Por lo tanto, estoy convencida de que los adiestradores que usan técnicas de dominio pronto desaparecerán frente al éxito de los que utilizan el refuerzo positivo. Sin embargo, esto requiere buenos adiestradores y a menudo tengo la impresión que muchos llegan al punto que piensan que ellos ya lo saben todo. Quisiera mencionar un ejemplo: raras veces he conocido a un adiestrador que use señales deliberada y conscientemente, en el sentido que las señales por ellas mismas son positivas y reforzadoras, si son enseñadas sobre la base del refuerzo positivo. En la mente de mucha gente aun perdura la creencia que uno grita una orden si tu perro comete alguna travesura, con el fin de hacer que pare. Sin embargo, si empiezas a ser consciente de que una señal es un refuerzo secundario, te das cuenta que deberías usarla como un clic, concretamente si tu perro muestra un buen comportamiento. Esto puede acelerar el entrenamiento enormemente, aunque también presupone un gran cambio en la manera de pensar. Se podría decir que es una suerte que no todas las señales aprendidas como refuerzo positivo sean secundarias, porque las hemos diluido y arruinado, bien porque hemos puesto muchas expectativas en ellas o porque queríamos asegurar el comportamiento. En ello reside un vasto potencial en convertirse en un mejor adiestrador aun. Mi segunda gran preocupación es mostrar cómo de maravillosos son los animales. Es impresionante experimentar cómo es de difícil ser una gallina inteligente, sabiendo que tiene el cerebro de la medida de la yema de un dedo. Curiosamente, las gallinas tienen una de las jerarquías más rígidas. Cuanta más gente pueda convencer de que no es dominación y si refuerzo positivo lo que lleva a unos entrenos con resultados asombrosos, más espero conseguir un cambio generalizado en la manera de pensar. El objetivo de mi libro “Universidad para perros” es mostrar la gran cantidad de habilidades que los perros poseen, si sabemos cómo dar las órdenes correctas. Por ejemplo, nunca he visto un perro que confundiera derecha e izquierda una vez que lo aprendiera. Los perros pueden aprender diferentes conceptos si son enseñados adecuadamente. Así, uno de mis perros podría señalar exactamente el medio entre nueve objetos. ¿Increíble, verdad? Recientemente muchas investigaciones parecen haber sumido explorar las habilidades cognitivas de los perros. Mi crítica hacia este tipo de investigaciones es que no son llevadas a cabo por adiestradores bien capacitados. Otra vez hemos de reconocer que mucha gente piensa que son adiestradores, aunque la falta de experiencia necesaria y las habilidades demuestran lo contrario. Con la única excepción de una tesis doctoral que yo supervisé, nunca he leído ni una palabra en un trabajo científico sobre las habilidades del adiestrador, las cuales son, después de todo, un factor decisivo. Cada uno de los contactos con el perro forma parte del entrenamiento. A menudo las impresiones erróneas sobre las habilidades de los perros son creadas simplemente por malos adiestradores. Es decir, aún no estamos en el ese punto dónde estemos dando las órdenes correctas a los perros, por eso ellos aún no son capaces de enseñarnos su verdadero potencial cognitivo. Aún nos queda mucha por hacer. Una vez que hemos reconocido cómo realmente de inteligentes son los perros y de qué hazañas mentales son capaces, es natural aceptar las sugerencias que nuestro perro nos puede dar en vez de demostrar siempre que eres tu quien está al mando. Cuando entendemos que somos nosotros los estúpidos que no sabemos cómo dar órdenes a los perros de la forma correcta, es más fácil alcanzar el mismo nivel que ellos. Finalmente quiero transmitir una cosa que es importante para mi y es la manera en la que los adiestradores de perros se tratan entre ellos. Cada adiestrador de perro merece el máximo respeto como el más extraño de los perros. Por desgracia, esto es olvidado a menudo precisamente por aquellos adiestradores que trabajan sobre la base del refuerzo positivo y que tratan a la gente completamente diferente de cómo tratan a los perros. Esto es una pena, porque se puede aplicar (Continued on page 29) 23 Op Niveau Met Dieren Door Vivane Theby Mijn naam is Viviane Theby. Ik ben 45 jaar oud en een opgeleide dierenarts met een extra specialiteit in gedragstherapie. Daarnaast ben ik ook de oprichter van de dieren Academie "Scheuerhof" (Duitsland), die zich bezighoudt met het opleiding van mensen om dieren te begrijpen en te trainen zonder geweld Als 10-jarige kind had ik een bijzonder nauwe band met de koe Magda op de boerderij van mijn grootvader. Ze was een buitenstaander in de kudde, niet geboren op de boerderij, en als zodanig ook behandeld door de andere koeien. Op een dag, een hoog geplaatste koe in de kudde werd geïrriteerd door een troep van scouts in de buurt en werkte dat uit op mij. Magda, de laag geplaatste , plaatste zich tussen mij en deze koe en verdedigde mij. Wat ik leerde was dat vriendschap veel belangrijker is dan elke hiërarchie. Ik ben opgegroeid om veterinaire geneeskunde, te studeren en te kunnen gebruiken om mijn eigen veestapel te verzorgen. Terwijl ik studeerde volgde ik cursussen in gedragstherapie en erkende dit als mijn roeping. Na mijn afstuderen opende ik mijn eigen praktijk voor gedragstherapie in 2000, hetzelfde jaar ben ik begonnen met de dieren Academie. Honden werden ook opgenomen, vooral omdat er geen school voor positieve versterkingen training was. Er kwam een tijd toen ik dacht dat ik alles wist over opleiding, tot ik hoorde van Bob Bailey en zijn kippen kampen, een hele wereld opengesteld voor mij op het gebied van opleiding. Vandaag weet ik dat ik nog steeds enorm veel kan leren, en ik voortdurend moet streven om dit te doen. Dus nu bied ik ook kippen kampen omdat ik wil dat alle mensen dezelfde ervaringen hebben die ik had. Ik blijf leren meer en meer . Mijn twee voornaamste belangen : Ten eerste, steeds betere opleiders. Dus ik ben ervan overtuigd dat de dominantie opleiders binnenkort uitsterven en alle positieve versterking trainers de snelle en betere successen leveren Echter, dit vereist goede trainers, en vaak krijg ik de indruk dat vele het punt bereiken waar ze denken dat ze alles al weten. Een voorbeeld: Ik heb zelden een trainer tegen gekomen die gebruik maakt van signalen opzettelijk en bewust, in die zin dat signalen positieve bevestiging zijn, en ze worden onderwezen op basis van positieve versterking. de meeste mensen denken nog steeds dat ze een opdracht moeten schreeuwen om ongehoorzaamheid te voorkomen . Echter, als u zich bewust bent dat een signaal een secundaire bevestigen is, besef je dat het precies zoals een klik is, namelijk alleen als de hond een wenselijk gedrag toont. Dit kan de opleiding enorm versnellen, hoewel het ook een enorme verandering in het denken veroorzaakt. Je zou zeggen dat het een geluk is dat niet alle signalen zijn opgenomen als positieve versterking secundaire reinforcers, ze afgezwakt en geruïneerd zijn, of omdat we te veel verwachten of we wilden om "veilige" gedrag, of wat dan ook is. Daarin blijft een enorm potentieel om een nog betere trainer te worden. Ten tweede mijn andere belangrijkste zorg is te laten zien hoe geweldig dieren zijn. Het is indrukwekkend om te ervaren hoe moeilijk het is om een kip te slim af te zijn, die een hersenen de grootte van het puntje van uw vinger heeft. Kippen, bijvoorbeeld, hebben een van de meest rigide hiërarchieën. Hoe meer mensen ik kan overtuigen dat het niet dominantie maar positieve versterking die tot onvoorstelbare trainingsresultaten leidt, hoe meer ik hoop een grootschalige veranderingen in het denken teweeg te brengen. Mijn boek "The Universiteit voor honden" doelstellingen te laten zien de enorme capaciteiten die honden hebben, als wij beheren hen te vragen het juiste soort vragen. Bijvoorbeeld, heb ik nog nooit een hond ontmoet die links en rechts verward zodra hij het geleerd heeft. Honden kunnen zekere concepten leren als ze goed worden onderwezen. Aldus, kon één van mijn honden het exacte midden van negen objecten vertellen. Is niet dat ongelooflijk? Tegenwoordig wordt meer onderzoek ondernomen naar de cognitieve capaciteiten van honden. Mijn kritiek op dit soort onderzoek is dat het meestal niet wordt uitgevoerd door getrainde trainers. Nogmaals erkennen we dat veel mensen geloven dat ze trainers zijn, hoewel ze niet over de nodige ervaring en vaardigheid beschikken en, niet in staat zijn om dit te accepteren. Met uitzondering van een proefschrift die ik cotoezicht, heb ik nog nooit een woord in een wetenschappelijk werk over de vaardigheid van de trainer gelezen, die heeft immers een enorm beslissende factor. Elk contact met de hond vormt opleiding. Vaak, zijn verkeerde indrukken over de capaciteiten van honden gemaakt gewoon door slechte opleiding. Met andere woorden, zijn we nog niet op het punt waar wij honden de juiste soort vragen stellen, zodat ze nog niet in staat zijn om ons hun ware cognitieve potentieel te tonen. Er blijft veel te doen. En zodra U erkend hoe slim honden echt zijn en tot welke geestelijke prestaties ze in staat zijn, is het alleen natuurlijk in te stemmen met suggestie af en toe in plaats van het proberen aan te tonen dat alle tijden de baas bent Als u hebt begrepen hoe dom het is zelfs niet weten hoe wij het juiste soort vragen aan de honden kunnen vragen, is het veel gemakkelijker om op hetzelfde niveau mee te werken. Tot slot wil ik nog dit aankaarten , en dat is de manier waarop honden opleiders elkaar behandelen. Elke trainer verdient zo veel respect en positieve versterking als met de meest moeilijke of vreemde hond. Helaas, dit vergeten velen , juist door deze trainers die werken op basis van positieve versterking die behandelen mensen volledig anders dan ze honden behandelen. Dit is een erg jammer, omdat voor mensen zoals voor honden geldt dat voor elke actie er een gelijke is en tegenover reactie. In deze geest streef ik om een steeds verbetering wereld van trainers.  Viviane Theby, Tierakademie Scheuerhof, Duitsland http://www.tierakademie.de Vertaald uit de oorspronkelijke Duitse door Sabine Clemm via Sally Bradbury, Scallywags School voor honden, http:// www.scallywagsdogs.com, UK Samengevat door Leonard Cecil, Auf den Hund Gekommen, http://www.auf-den-hund-gekommen.net Zwitserland Samenvatting vertaald door Martine Verhoeven, dogs’dream, www.dogs-dream.com, Belgium 24 Ao Mesmo NÍVEL Com os Animais O meu nome é Vivane Theby. Tenho 45 anos e uma veterinária com especialidade em em terapia comportamental. Adicionalmente sou fundador da academia animal "Scheuerhof" (Alemanha), que se preocupa em treinar humanos a entender melhor os animais e treiná-los sem o uso de violência. enorme mudança na forma de pensar. Quase se pode dizer que é uma sorte que durante o treino baseado no reforço positivo, nem todos os sinais adquiram capacidades de reforço secundário, porque durante muito tempo teriamos estragado o seu significado, ou porque esperamos demais ou porque queriamos "consolidar" um comportamento, ou seja lá porque for. Só aí existe potencial para nos tornarmos melhores treinadores. Sendo eu uma criança de 10 anos já tinha desenvolvido um laço especial de amizade com a nossa vaca chamada Magda na quinta do meu avô. Ela era uma estrangeira à manada, não nasceu na quinta e era tratada como tal pelas outras vacas. Um dia uma vaca com rank superior na manada, ficou irritada comigo porque eu estava a tentar afastá-la do caminho de um grupo de escuteiros que iam passar. Magda colocou-se entre mim e essa vaca de rank superior para me defender. O que aprendi naquele dia é que a amizade é mais forte que qualquer hierarquia. Em segundo, a minha área de interesse é demonstrar o quão maravilhosos são os animais. É impressionante experienciar o quão difícil é ultrapassar a destreza de uma galinha, que tem um cérebro do tamanho da ponta do nosso dedo. As galinhas, por exemplo, têm uma das hierarquias mais rígidas. Quantas mais pessoas eu convencer que treinar não se trata acerca de dominar mas sim de nos tornamos fluentes em reforço positivo que origina resultados impressionantes, mais eu espero conseguir contribuir para uma mudança de pensamento. Cresci e estudei medicina veterinária, preparando-me para ser capaz de usar o que aprendi na minha manada de vacas. Enquanto estudava fui a cursos que ensinavam terapia comportamental e reconheci que aí estava o que eu queria fazer. Quando terminei o curso abri o meu consultório comportamental em 2000, o mesmo ano em que comecei a academia animal. Os cães também estavam incluidos especialmente porque na altura não havia nenhuma escola, na região, de treino baseado no reforço positivo. No meu livro "A universidade para os cães" almeja mostrar as enormes capacidades que os cães detêm, se soubermos perguntar as perguntas certas. Por exemplo, ainda não conheci um cão que confunda a esquerda com a direita depois de aprender as direcções. Sem dúvida que os cães conseguem aprender conceitos complexos, se os dispusermos a ensinar. Um dos meus cães conseguia distinguir exactamente o objecto do meio no meio de 9 objectos. Incrível, não? Houve uma altura em que achei que sabia tudo acerca do treino, isso aconteceu até conhecer Bob Bailey e os seus "chicken camps", que abriram um novo mundo para mim em termos de treino. Hoje sei que ainda tenho muita coisa para aprender e faço para me instruir cada vez mais. Portanto hoje em dia, eu também ofereço chicken camps porque quero que todas as pessoas possam ter acesso à mesma informação que eu tinha. Eu continuo a aprender cada vez mais. Hoje em dia, mais pesquisas estão a ser conduzidas de forma a explorar as capacidades cognitivas dos cães. A minha crítica a este tipo de pesquisas é que são conduzidas por treinadores experientes. Mais uma vez reconhecemos que muitas pessoas pensam que são treinadores, mesmo que não detenham a experiência ou capacidades necessárias, não conseguem aceitar isso. Com a excepção de uma dissertação académica que eu super visionei, ainda não li uma única palavra científica escrita acerca das capacidades do treinador envolvido, que é afinal de contas um factor decisivo. Todos os contactos que estabelecemos com os cães constituem treino. Muitas vezes, más impressões acerca das capacidades dos cães são criadas simplesmente por um treino mal feito. Por outras palavras, ainda não estamos no ponto em que estamos a fazer as perguntas correctas aos cães, e por isso ainda não estamos a atingir o seu total potencial cognitivo. Ainda há muito fazer. Por Vivane Theby Na minha vida tenho dois grandes interesses: Primeiro, quero formar treinadores melhores. Estou convencida que treinadores que se baseiam na dominância em breve desaparecerão especialmente se os treinadores positivos forem rapidamente bem sucedidos. No entanto para tal acontecer, é importante que existam bons treinadores positivos, e muitas vezes fico com a impressão que muitos chegam a um ponto e pensam que já sabem tudo o que há para saber. Eu quero dar um exemplo: raramente conheço treinadores que usam sinais deliberadamente ou conscientememente, no sentido em que esses sinais são eles mesmos reforços positivos, se forem ensinados na base do reforço positivo. Na mente de muitas pessoas ainda assombra a ideia de que temos que berrar um comando ao nosso cão quando ele faz algo que não deve, para os fazer parar. No entanto, se você souber que um sinal é um reforço secundário, você sabe como usá-lo exactamente como um clicker, nomedamente usá-lo apenas quando o cão oferece comportamentos desejáveis. Este pedaço de informação pode acelarar o treino duma forma exponencial, embora também pressuponha uma Assim que você reconhecer o quão inteligentes são os cães e dos feitos mentais de que eles são capazes, será natural concordar que por vezes mais vale a pena fazer a vontade dos cães do que estar constantemente a demonstrar que somos nós que mandamos. Assim que você entender que os estúpidos somos nós, que ainda nem sabemos que tipo de perguntas fazer aos cães, será mais fácil estar ao seu nível. Finalmente, quero falar dum assunto que me é muito querido, e é a forma como os treinadores se tratam uns aos outros. Cada treinador de cão merece o mesmo respeito e o mesmo nível de reforço positivo que qualquer cão difícil ou estranho. Infelizmente, isto é esqeucido muitas vezes, precisamente (Continued on page 29) 25 PPG Member Profile: Nando Brown By Angelica Steinker, M.Ed., CDBC, PDBC to put the dog to sleep, ending my faith in clicker trainers and starting the slippery slope to the dark side. Why force-free? Tell me about your journey to becoming a dog trainer. I contacted a trainer from the TV show Dog Borstal who told me my dog was dominant and a choke chain combined with "taking him off his feet" and a rank reduction program was the I have had family dogs my whole life but never really knew only way to deal with such a menace. Being a young adult their capabilities until I joined the Royal Marines and served male, I took it very personally that my best friend would take alongside one of the K9 protection units. When I got my first advantage of me after feeding him, sheltering him and loving dog as an adult I didn´t really see the need for training. She him. I practically became “the dog whisperer,” living by ridicuwas very easy-going, loved dogs and people but then I made lous rules and ensuring that I was always "dominant" in the a catalog of mistakes that led me to where I am today. I relationship by using nothing short of abuse. I am wracked bought a Cane Corso puppy (Balou) which was the wrong with guilt for the way I treated that dog but I cannot deny that I breed for me (although I was seeing an improvelove them, I was too ment in his behavior. inexperienced for that Our training plateaued much dog), from the but the questions my wrong breeder, chose mentor couldn´t suffithe wrong puppy and ciently answer started didn´t socialize the poor piling up, so I went in boy anywhere near as search of courses to much as I should have. I help quench my need to ended up seeking help know “why.” I instructed from local trainers and at a few other clubs, but presumed that all trainit wasn´t until I met Saers were the same. rah Whitehead that I felt the need to review my My first four classes theory on living with kicked me out for having dogs. After having a a reactive dog — a big second look at the dog plus my shaved world of clicker training, head and tattoos can this time with clear ingive the wrong impresstruction and support I sion apparently. But I began seeing vast imwas never given the provements in Balou´s Nando Brown, Head Trainer for In The Doghouse has a keen sense of advice on how to deal behavior and started to playfulness, as demonstrated by his “family photo.” Nando's interest with Balou´s issues. So realize that good behavlies with Working Trials, Mondioring, trick dog training and Rally but after taking advice of ior was very different his passion is dog behavior and he is keen to help any dog that has a one trainer to neuter from non-behavior or chance. Nando writes for various publications and hosts the "In The him, we arrived at the shut-down! Not long Doghouse" pet show on iTalk FM, studying and training under the likes vet’s office. I was comafter taking the leap to of Dr. Ian Dunbar, Sarah Whitehead, The Animal Care College, Drove pletely caught off-guard crossing over I had to Veterinary Hospital, Steve Mann & members of the Dog Borstal team. by a vet who, looking say good bye to my gorback, knew very little geous Cane Corso: he had gone in to the vets for a routine about canine body language and ended up with a bite to the operation so I never had the chance to thank him for all he throat! I was distraught and the vet, although shocked, wasn´t taught me and I promised him I would never fail another dog, hurt too badly. She gave me an ultimatum of either put the the way I had failed him. dog to sleep or go and see the Royal Veterinary College expert on vicious animals. I was thrilled that I finally had someTell me about how your business got started. one that would help me through what I found to be one of the toughest times in my life. I had the most loving and beautiful In The Doghouse was born through my experiences with dog that wanted to eat people. I arranged an appointment to Balou. I was fed up working at the club I was teaching at. One meet this Dog Guru at a very hefty price tag and was given a size did not fit all and I thought I could do a better job running training program which included counter-conditioning and demy own training facility.... so I did. My vision is for dog training sensitization. Seeing no improvement, I tried contacting this clubs to be a little like golf clubs (I don´t play by the way); you behaviorist to make sure I wasn´t getting my training all can turn up, hang out with like minded people, grab a bite to wrong. After two or three months worth of calling his office, eat and just relax or you can get stuck into a game. We have emails and even visiting the practice unannounced he rea way to go yet but we have grown to offer pet lodges, groomturned my call, apologized for being out of contact and offered ing, training, behavior consults and dog food. Hopefully we a home visit free of charge. When he showed up he told me want to expand in to doggy day care soon. 26 (GRENZEN continued from page 18) positive Verstärkung. Belohnen höflich nehmen, den Hund in Lernsituationen räumlich einzuschränken - alles das setzt seinem Verhalten Grenzen. Eine ganz besondere Grenze wird durch die Leine gesetzt! Leinenführigkeit setzt körperliche Grenzen. Einschränkung der Bewegungsfreiheit ist stressend und frustrierend. Grenzen gesetzt zu bekommen ist frustrierend, deswegen sollte der Hundehalter sich eine Prioritätenliste erstellen, um seinen Hund nicht übermäßig zu begrenzen, zu frustrieren.Frustration, Übererregbarkeit undAggression sind eng miteinander verknüpft. Überlegung: wie viele Grenzen werden bereits alleine durch Routinen des Zusammenlebens gesetzt?      Wie lange kann der Hund sich frei bewegen? Wie lange läuft er an der Leine? Wie oft wird er an einen bestimmten Platz geschickt? Wie lange liegt er dort? Wie oft und lange ist der Hund in einem Käfig? Was ist mit den Grenzen des Hundes? Er darf nach der Meinung vieler Menschen keine Grenzen setzen. Wie vertretbar ist das im Sinne mentalen Wohlbefindens des Hundes? Ist das Setzen von Grenzen in einer Beziehung einseitig, nur eine Einbahnstrasse? Zum Beispiel: Knurren setzt als Kommunikation eindeutig eine Grenze. Knurren wird meist als inakzeptabel eingestuft, vermutlich weil es als Affront verstanden wird, wenn einem Menschen Grenzen gesetzt werden. Grenzen setzen ist angenehmer als Grenzen respektieren lernen: Frustration, Frustrationstoleranz, Macht und Ohnmacht. Individuen grenzen sich und ihre Bedürfnisse gegen andere ab, sie setzen Grenzen. In einer Beziehung sollten die Bedürfnisse aller beteiligten Individuen Berücksichtigung finden. Je motivierter ein Hund, ein bestimmtes Verhalten auszuführen, desto schwieriger wird das Setzen von Grenzen sein: Gegenkontrolle!  (DEFINIENDO continued from page 19) deseadaslos perros reciben especialmente bien son reglas que también tengan en cnsideración los deseos y necesidades del perro. Esto también significa que, en la convivencia con un perro, definir límites no siempre excluye dar recompensas. Son más bien objetivos del adiestramiento en los que se implementa la Teoría del Aprendizaje utilizando "herramientas" para alcanzar esas metas. Con el fin de evitar la frustración del perro, tiene sentido preguntar primero las siguientes preguntas que abordan precisamente estos "límites" que se van a establecer:  ¿Cuánto tiempo va a tener perro libertad de movimiento?  ¿Cuánto tiempo va a pasear al perro con correa?  ¿Con qué frecuencia se va a enviar al perro a un lugar específico?  ¿Hasta cuándotiene que tumbarse el perro en dicho lugar?  ¿Con qué frecuencia y cuánto tiempo estará el perro en una jaula? "Definir unos límites" es entonces nada más que la modificación del comportamiento y por lo tanto también un aumento en la relación entre el perro y humano. Por lo tanto, la expresión "ajuste de límites" es incorrecta porque eso pondría a los "errores" del perro como el centro del problema, en vez de expresar lo que realmente queremos: dar a los comportamientos del perro ciertos parámetros sin dejar de lado sus necesidades o incluso los propios límites de su especie.  Resumido por Sarah Fee www.dogfeeling.net, Deutschland Ketelsen, DogFeeling, Traducción al Inglés por Leonard "Buzz" Cecil, Auf den Hund gekommen, www.auf-den-hund-gekommen.net, Suiza Traducido al Español por Itziar de Andres (via Nando Brown, In The Dog House, Malaga, Spain, www.inthedoghousedtc.com) What is the most dangerous thing you have ever done rescuing dogs? I have had a couple of close calls while looking out for dogs from dodging motorway traffic, jumping in to frozen lakes and climbing in to private premises to release dogs on chains that would have been caught in fires but it isn´t anything more dangerous than any other dog lover would do. Most force free trainers have seen your shock collar video. How did you come to make this video? The shock collar video came about after three consults in the same week featuring the poxy collars. The one in the video was kindly donated to me from a customer of ours who had it hanging around from years ago. It was a very quick laugh to grab the attention of people that were thinking about using one - after one night it had gone viral. I then started contacting some of my favorite trainers including my all-time hero Jean Donaldson who very kindly gave me their time for the rest of the series including the Choke Chain, Rattle Bottle and Alpha Rolls videos. Keep your ear to the ground because the Prong Collar video is well on its way. Can you tell us more about the strong woman behind you? OMG is she behind me? OK I best behave. I am the luckiest man in the world! Not only do I have seven great dogs I have an amazing girlfriend (she is going to read this so stop laughing). No, honestly, without Donna I would not be where I am today. We met at a dog training club and even had our first date there (romantic huh?). I think we make the perfect team and I am so lucky that when I start babbling on about dogs I have someone that humors and interacts with me instead of getting a glazed look in their eye like all my non-doggy friends, she even shares my love of Mixed Martial Arts. Donna has stuck with me through some pretty rough times and has always been a rock ... She is my soul mate.  27 (EBENE continued from page 21) (LIMITES continued from page 20) verwechselte, wenn er es erst einmal gelernt hat. Hunde können durchaus Konzepte lernen, wenn man es ihnen richtig beibringt. Das ist sehr faszinierend! So hatte ich schon einen Hund, der die Mitte aus 9 Gegenständen anzeigen konnte! Ist das nicht Wahnsinn! determinado ponto experienciar tais "limitações" uma vez que estas também reduzem a satisfação pessoal duma pessoa nessa mesma experiência. Sempre que uma pessoa estabelece uma limitação, também interropemos um comportamento qualquer, mas esta interrupção nem sempre substitui o comportamento indesejado por um desejado. Isto quer dizer, que não é só suficiente interromper comportamentos indesejados, existe a necessidade de construir os comportamentos que desejamos. O que é particularmente bem recebido pelos cães, são regras que também tenham em consideração as necessidades e desejos de um cão em consideração. Es wird ja inzwischen auch immer mehr an den kognitiven Fähigkeiten der Hunde geforscht. Meine Kritik an diesen Forschungen ist oft, dass sie meist nicht von gut ausgebildeten Trainern durchgeführt werden. Wieder sind wir an dem Punkt, dass sehr viele Menschen meinen Trainer zu sein, aber längst nicht die nötige Erfahrung und das nötige Können haben und das dann noch nicht einsehen. Außer in einer von mir mitbetreuten Doktorarbeit habe ich noch nie – selbst in der Diskussion nicht – in einer wissenschaftlichen Arbeit etwas über das Können des Trainers gelesen. Und das ist nun mal ein ganz entscheidender Faktor. Denn jedes Zusammensein mit dem Hund ist Training. Und oft werden dann Schlussfolgerungen über das Können der Hunde gezogen, die einfach nur durch falsches Training entstanden sind. Es werden den Hunden also noch längst nicht die richtigen Fragen gestellt, dass sie auch in der Lage sein könnten, uns über ihre wirklichen kognitiven Fähigkeiten Auskunft zu geben. Es bleibt also noch einiges zu tun. Ich hoffe, wenn die Menschen entdecken, wie schlau Hunde wirklich sind, dass sie sie immer respektvoller behandeln. Und wenn man mal erkannt hat, wie schlau Hunde wirklich sind und zu welch geistigen Leistungen sie fähig sind, dann ist es doch auch nur selbstverständlich sich z.B. mal auf einen Vorschlag des Hundes einzulassen als immer nur zu denken, ich müsste zeigen wer der Herr ist. Wenn man mal verstanden hat, dass wir eigentlich die „Dummen“ sind, weil wir bei vielem noch nicht wissen, wie wir den Hunden die richtigen Fragen stellen können, dann ist es auch viel einfacher sich mit ihnen auf dieselbe Ebene zu begeben. Ich bin fest davon überzeugt, dass wir wirklich große Fortschritte im Verstehen der Hunde erst machen werden, wenn wir ihnen auf Augenhöhe begegnen. Zum Schluss möchte ich noch etwas ansprechen, was mir am Herzen liegt, und das ist der Umgang der Hundetrainer untereinander. Jeder Hundetrainer hat genauso viel Respekt und positive Verstärkung verdient wie jeder noch so seltsame Hund. Leider vergessen das aber gerade die über positive Verstärkung arbeitenden Hundetrainer sehr oft und Menschen gegenüber sind sie dann ganz anders als Hunden gegenüber. Das ist sehr schade. Denn wie bei den Hunden gilt, dass Druck Gegendruck erzeugt. Viel besser ist es, eine gute Beziehung aufzubauen und dann über positive Verstärkung erwünschtes Verhalten immer mehr herauszuarbeiten. Nur mal so als Denkanstoß..... Isto também quer dizer, que falando de vivermos em conjunto com um cão, o estabelecimento de limites, estes não eliminam necessariamente as recompensas. Estes são apenas objectivos de treino nos quais a Ciência da Aprendizagem é aplicada de forma a nos permitir usar diferentes "ferramentas" para atingir esses mesmos objectivos. De forma a evitar frustar o cão, faz sentido primeiro colocarmos algumas questões que se referem a estas "limitações" que vamos estabelecer:  Durante quanto tempo pode o cão ter liberdade de movimento?  Durante quanto tempo irá o cão caminhar de trela?  Durante quanto tempo vai o cão ser enviado para um determinado local?  Durante quanto tempo vai o cão ter que ficar deitado ali?  Durante quanto tempo e quantas vezes fica o cão dentro de uma crate? Estabelecer limites não é mais do que modificar comportamento e como tal também trabalha directamente no relacionamento entre o cão e o homem. Neste sentido, a frase "estabelecer limites" é incorrecta porque implica que os erros do cão que estão implicitos na frase, ao invés de expressar aquilo que realmene queremos: que é dar aos comportamentos do cão determinados parametros sem ignorar as suas necessidades ou sequer limitar o cão.  zusammengefasst von Sarah Fee Ketelsen, DogFeeling, www.dogfeeling.net, Deutschland English translation by Leonard "Buzz" Cecil, Auf den Hund Gekommen, www.auf-den-hund-gekommen.net, Switzerland Translated from the English by Claudia Estanislau, Its All About Dogs, www.itsallaboutdogs.net, Portugal  In diesem Sinne, auf eine immer bessere Trainerwelt 28 (IGUALDAD continued from page 23) igualmente a personas y perros: por cada acción hay una reacción igual. Con este espíritu, aquí hay un mundo cada vez mejor de adiestradores.  Viviane Theby, Tierakademie Scheuerhof, Germany http://www.tierakademie.de Sally Bradbury, Scallywags School for Dogs, http:// www.scallywagsdogs.com, UK. Summarized by Leonard Cecil, Auf den Hund Gekommen, http://www.auf-den-hund-gekommen.net Switzerland Summary translated by Mireia Ferrer, via Sally Bradbury, Scallywags School for Dogs, http:// www.scallywagsdogs.com, UK Translated from the original German by Sabine Clemm via (NÍVEL continued from page 25) http://www.tierakademie.de por aqueles que trabalham com reforço positivo e que tratam as pessoas de forma completamente diferente daquela com que tratam os seus cães. Isto é uma pena, porque é verdade para os cães e é verdade para as pessoas que para cada acção existe uma reacção oposta. Translated from the original German by Sabine Clemm via Sally Bradbury, Scallywags School for Dogs, http:// www.scallywagsdogs.com, UK Neste espírito, brindemos a uma mundo de treinadores melhorado.  Viviane Theby, Tierakademie Scheuerhof, Germany Summarized by Leonard Cecil, Auf den Hund Gekommen, http://www.auf-den-hund-gekommen.net Switzerland Summary translated by Claudia Estanislau, Its All About Dogs, www.itsallaboutdogs.org, Portugal. WEBINAR mit Bina Lunzer: "Gehen an lockerer Leine: Wie Sie aus einem Schlepplift im Wolfspelz einen leinenführigen Hund machen" gratis für Dog iBox Mitglieder. Zielgruppe Menschen mit Hund. Aufzeichnung, erhältlich auf Dog iBox https://www.dog-ibox.com SEMINAR, 2 Tage, mit Bina Lunzer: "Gehen an lockerer Leine" Zielgruppe TRAINER. 31.10.-1.11.2012 indoor, beheizt - 250 SFR ohne Hund, 270 SFR mit Hund. Max. 12 Plätze mit Hund, es gibt auch passive Plätze. http://binalunzer.com/Hilfe!_Mein_Hund..._files/HundZerrt%21_ClickerzentrumCH_1211_T.pdf Veranstaltungsort: Clicker Zentrum Schweiz (in der Nähe von Basel und Bern http://www.clickerzentrum.ch/ Mehr Infos vom Veranstalter: Simone Fasel: [email protected] oder [email protected] SEMINAR, 2,5 Tage, mit Bina Lunzer: „Hilfe! Mein Hund ... zerrt!“ Zielgruppe: Menschen mit Hund, Clicker Zentrum Schweiz 2.-4.11.2012 indoor, beheizt - 250 SFR ohne Hund, 300 SFR mit Hund Max. 12 Plätze mit Hund, es gibt auch passive Plätze. http://binalunzer.com/Hilfe!_Mein_Hund..._files/HundZerrt%21_ClickerzentrumCH_1211.pdf Veranstaltungsort: Clicker Zentrum Schweiz (in der Nähe von Basel und Bern http://www.clickerzentrum.ch/ Mehr Infos vom Veranstalter: Simone Fasel: [email protected] SEMINAR, 5 Tage, mit Bina Lunzer: "Hilfe! Mein Hund ... zerrt!" Zielgruppe: Menschen mit Hund und Trainer. Ab 6.1.2013, indoor, beheizt - Einführungspreis 540 EUR. Max. 12 Plätze mit Hund. Veranstaltungsort: Hundesporthotel Wolf, Oberammergau, Bayern. Sie haben Lust auf eine ganze Woche „nur der Hund und ich“ in wunderschöner Wandergegend in der Nähe von Schloss Neuschwanstein? Und am liebsten würden Sie von dieser Woche mit einem leinenführigen Hund nach Hause fahren? http://hundesporthotel-wolf.blogspot.de/2012/05/hilfe-mein-hund-zieht.html Ausschreibung. Trainerseminar mit Bina Lunzer: Bridging & Targeting. Eisenerz, Steiermark: 17.11.2012 http://binalunzer.com/Willkommen_files/SemEisenerz_20121117.pdf Trainerseminar mit Bina Lunzer: Unerwünschtes Verhalten loswerden. Eisenerz, Steiermark: 18.11.2012 http://binalunzer.com/Willkommen_files/SemEisenerz_20121118.pdf 29 Hate seeing prong and choke collars on their pet dogs? So does PPG! Here’s a handout that you can print out from PPG! Simply click here and save this PDF., and print a few. You never know when you might make a difference with a pet owner, another trainer, a veterinarian or other pet professional. Spread the force -free movement! The Pet Professional Guild membership offers a variety of benefits for the force-free dog training and pet care community and others interested in the behavior and care of pets. It is the Mercedes Benz of the Pet Industry. The Guild is not designed to attract the masses — we aim to attract the best. The only pet care providers and dog trainers that are listed on our pages abide by all our guiding principles and are proud members of the Guild. Member Level Eligibility Benefits Supporter A pet owner who supports PPG Visit this page where you can proudly display your name and your pet’s names. Provisional Join Today Join Associate A pet business employee You will receive a basic business listing in our membership directory A pet business owner You will receive a deluxe business listing in our membership directory Join Today Full Join Today ! y a tod You will receive your name in our provisional membership listing and have access to our A dog training student or apmentoring programs as soon as they are prentice trainer launched. 30 Product Review — West Paws Tux® toy By Leslie Fisher Clifton , CPDT-KA Look What I Can Do! Training PPG member Leah Roberts, owner of Dog Willing in Florida, has been delighted with West Paws Tux® toy. Apparently her dog Madigan is equally enthralled. Leah has been searching for a Kong substitute —an interactive toy truly force free in all associations. After trying the TUX toy, she feels her search is over. Tux® is a dog treat toy that is guaranteed durable. It combines the benefit of being a stuffable and tossable dog treat toy that is guaranteed-tough Zogoflex®. WEST PAW TUX® TOY Features: Stuffable, bounces, floats, chew-resistant, dishwasher safe. Colors: Aqua Blue, Granny Smith Green, Tangerine Orange Size: six inches MSRP: $15.50 If you are not familiar with Zogoflex ® dog toys, Tux® is pliable, nontoxic, recyclable, bounces and floats. You may stuff your Made in Montana, USA dog's favorite treat into the cavity of Tux and let your dog play. Tux is also dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning. Tux ® is a treat toy and was designed to withstand chewing, but still be fun - with or without a treat! At left, Madigan is diligently excavating the stuffed frozen center of the Tux® toy. Tux floats, bounces and appeals to retrieving dogs. As well, West Paws:  Is an environmentally-friendly company.  Produces products from recycled materials.  Is a U.S. company and makes all products in the U.S. with U.S ingredients.  Guarantees durability of patented Zogoflex material. Please note that virtually any toy will succumb to the jaws of an aggressive chewer, no matter how durable. For this reason, put safety first and always supervise dogs with interactive toys. I will say my lab toy testers have not made a dent. Do take a look, and may the force free be with you!  31 The Pet Professional Guild stands alone as the only single point of access to a variety of information and tools provided by pet care professionals who adhere to a strict code of conduct. The Pet Professional Guild affiliates & members offer a selection of force-free, learning theory-based dog training services and professional pet-sitting and dog-walking services. Whether you’re a dog owner looking to solve a specific behavioral problem, a dog lover simply wanting to gain more control and clarity in your relationship with your dog, or a family burdened by the question of how to take care of your pets while you’re away from home, the Guild Members can help you. Barks from The Guild is the official Pet Professional Guild quarterly publication. The publication is circulated in March, June, September & December. © 2012 PPG. This journal may be printed once by the received, for personal use only and may not otherwise be copied or transmitted in any manner in part or in full without permission from the Managing Editor. Quotes of fewer than 200 words are allowed as long as the source is properly cited. BFTG is produced by Guild members with contributions from industry experts and featuring a selection of informative articles, reviews and news stories supported by regular columns. Members are encouraged to submit scholarly articles, opinion editorials, letters to the editor, member achievements, and other information pertinent to the industry. Articles submitted will be approved for publication by the Guild Steering Committee. Contributions to Barks from The Guild should be submitted to: Managing Editor [email protected] Don’t Miss a Thing! Subscribe to the Barks from the Guild newsletter Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook Follow the PPG blog Barks From The Guild Online Submissions will be accepted no later than four weeks prior to the publication deadline. The Pet Professional Guild is not responsible for unsolicited submissions, manuscripts, photographs and other proffered material. Submissions will not be returned. Submissions constitute permission for PPG, at its sole discretion, to use the submitted materials, in whole or in part, without compensation to the submitter. For reasons of space and editorial content, PPG reserves the right to delete or alter any solicited or unsolicited information or part thereof, that is submitted or reserved for inclusion in the publication. 32