The fear of loud noises stems from two possible reasons. One: Your dog’s belief that he/she is the pack leader and is unprepared for the outside world. Or two: Your dog was spooked by a loud noise, be it thunder, fireworks or other noises, and you reinforced the startled behaviour. The two are generally intertwined. The dog believes that it is the pack leader and a loud noise startles the dog. The dog does not understand the outside world and you reinforce the behaviour by cooing your dog. This sends the message that the dog is reacting correctly. The pack leader is responsible for the safety and well being of all the members of the pack, (all humans and animals in your home), and the ‘den’, (your home). A lack of understanding the outside world and the strange and sometimes scary noises coming from that world create stress and frustration. This leads to anxiety when your dog hears a noise that they interpret to be a danger to the pack and den. This anxiety can cause your dog to shake violently and lash out at people and objects. Seeing your dog in this state will cause you, the owner, to become increasingly upset. When your dog sees you upset, and senses the unstable energy you are projecting, it increases his/her anxiety, making it a vicious circle. The first steps to de-sensitize your dog from loud noises, is to assert your leadership, thus taking the responsibility away from your dog. Once the responsibility has been removed your dog will look to you for guidance when things become scary. If you are relaxed and calm your dog will follow suit. You should start applying the steps of “Pawsitive Training”. This gentle way of training will have your dog giving up their responsibility of pack leader and electing you in their place. Having elected you, your dog will be willing to follow your leadership and guidance, thus making it easier to train your dog and remove bad behaviour. (An incomplete outline of the steps of Pawsitive Training are available in the article: “How to Tell if Your Dog Has A Superiority Complex, And What To Do About it” in Training tips at http://www.pawsitivek9.zoomshare.com ) After you have become the pack leader and your dog still has a fear of loud noises, you can start to de-sensitize your dog. Many dogs have found relieve from their loud noise fear after the responsibility of leadership is gone, however there are a few that still get very upset at the noises. This is due to the constant reinforcement over the years. It helps to have a tape of the loud noises that upset your dog. Try to place a tape recorder around when the noises occur, like out on the porch during a thunderstorm, fireworks or construction noises. This tape can be used on a regular basis to help de-sensitize your dog. If you are unable to tape the noises you are going to have to wait until the noises occur to take advantage of them. When the noises occur, place a lead on your dog and lead him/her into a living room or kitchen that has a comfortable open area. If you have applied the steps of “Pawsitive Training” correctly, your dog will be looking to you for guidance. Always remember to remain calm. Never show your anxiety to your dog. You must remain calm and assertive at all times. Your dog will look to you for leadership, and if you are upset in any way or are projecting the wrong energy, they will be able to tell. Have lots of your dogs favourite treats readily available. The key is to distract your dog from the noises. Once your dog understands that the noises are not harmful and the world will still keep turning and life will still go on regardless, your dog will not be bothered by the noises. During the noises, practice basic training commands such as, sit, down, stay and heel. Even if your dog doesn’t listen to you completely and still looks around anxiously, keep a positive attitude. Talk calmly and happily to your dog over and over. Do not say such things as; “Its ok.” This again is a re- inforcer of the behaviour. Talking calmly and happily to your will re-assure your dog that there is nothing to fear. If your dog is hiding under a piece of furniture, do not try to cuddle with them and re-assure them. This will signal to the dog that they are doing the right behaviour by hiding because you are encouraging them. Only encourage them when they are out in the open and acting normally. It is important not to let your dog hide during the noises. Remove furniture and close doors to rooms that your dog would use to hide. After your dog seems to have relaxed a bit with the basic commands, try playing a game with your dog. Good games are, hide-n-seek and “find it”. Always remember to be in control of the rules of the game and when the game ends. Letting your dog decide will only bring back your dogs sense of leadership. With a tape of the noises it will be easier and faster to de-sensitize your dog. When using a tape of the noises you can adjust the volume. This allows you to gradually raise the volume from very low to normal based on the sounds your dog is having trouble with. This makes it easier to get your dog used to the sounds. Problems will arise if your dog still believes that he/she is still the leader. You must make sure that there is no doubt in your dogs mind that you are the leader. If your dog has believed that they were the leader for a long period of time it may take longer to establish your leadership. Your dog will also look for any sign of weakness to take over again. For your dogs sanity and yours you must adopt the processes lined out in “Pawsitive Training” as a life style. Once you go back to your old ways, so will your dog, and problems will arise again. Many dogs with a fear of loud noises also seem to have Separation Anxiety. This is also something that must be taken care of to avoid a relapse. Does your dog howl, bark or cry when they are separated from you? Do you come home to destroyed furniture and objects? Has your dog tried to eat its way through doors, walls and windows? Than your dog has Separation Anxiety. Separation Anxiety is a very serious problem that will need to be addresses for your dogs sanity and for your own. By: Sarah Hill – Pawsitive K9 Consulting

Many people prefer using flexi leads when walking their dogs for a number of different reasons. One: It reduces the amount of pulling by the dog by letting the dog go off ahead or behind you. Two: It gives the dog more freedom to roam and smell the trees and bushes without causing you to stop or be pulled around. Three: Owners feel that their dogs are getting more exercise with a flexi lead because they tend to walk around more than with standard leashes that minimize the amount of space your dog has to walk in. Although these may seem like good reasons to use a Flexi lead over a standard leash, the use of the Flexi lead may be generating more problems than its solving. In the canine world, the leader of the pack is the one who always leads the hunt, (walk); the leader always walks in front of the rest of the pack and always leaves the den and returns to the den before anyone else. The Flexi lead signals to your dog that he is in charge of the walk and therefore must be the leader. This may seem like a minor problem. Many owners respond by saying: “My dog knows who is in charge.” Then before they are finished their sentence, their dog jumps right up on them. Jumping up is a sign of leadership and challenge. The most powerful training tool and leadership role is the walk. If you are unable to master the walk, it is very unlikely that you will be able to control your dog the way you want to at home. The standard leash, although minimizes the amount of room your dog has to move around in, will help you send a very clear message to your dog. By minimizing your dog’s space and activities while on the leash, you are sending a clear signal that you are in charge of the walk. You should always be the first one to leave your home and the first one inside when the walk is over. Your dog should always be either beside or behind you when on a walk. These two things send a very clear message to your dog that you are the leader. Just because you minimize your dogs space on the walk does not mean your dog will not be happy with the walk. Dogs crave order. A normal paced walk will be just as good to your dog. There is also no reason why you can’t take your dog to a ‘leash free’ park on occasion, and let them run around and smell all they want. Just remember, you are in charge of the amount of time your dog is allowed to run around, and a run in the ‘leash free’ is not as beneficial as an orderly walk with the leader of the pack. It’s funny to notice the amount of owners who have Flexi leashes for their dogs, and don’t understand how to use the locking mechanisms. This is yet another reason why Flexi leashes are not necessarily a good idea. Flexi leads can give your dog anywhere from 5 feet to 15 feet of free space. This is more than enough to get into trouble. When a dog sees a squirrel running across the road while on a Flexi lead, the dog has the available 5 to 15 feet to get up to speed, while the unsuspecting owner struggles to lock the leash. Then, not only does the owner have their arm almost ripped out of the socket, but the dog may get severe trauma to his neck and shoulders when the Flexi lead runs out of leash. Another example is an owner not knowing how to lock the leash and their dog runs out in front of a moving car. All in all, it is the owner’s decision what type of leash they want to use for their dog. However, if you are planning on using a Flexi lead, be sure to ask a sales associate to show you how to properly use and lock the leash to avoid any possible incidents. By: Sarah Hill – Pawsitive K9 Consulting

Standing at the park, I watched my dogs joyously run around with the other dogs. It was one of the rare occasions when I was able to leave work early and take my dogs to the dog park before fighting the rush hour traffic home. As always I was keeping a watchful eye on my two amongst the others. Always being ready to set things straight if a problem should ever arise. The group of 7 or so dogs headed back towards the park bench for a break and a drink of water. As one of the male dogs was taking a drink of water, another male mounted him from behind and started ‘humping’ him. “Oh my, Monty NO!” yelled the dogs owner as she grabbed her dog off the other. “I’m so sorry,” she apologized to the owner of the other dog, “I think he’s gay. He does this all the time. I don’t know what’s wrong with him!” As the other owners suggested things like getting her dog a girlfriend to spraying him with a water bottle I thought sadly about how this poor dog was just being misread. After listening to their suggestions I decided to inform them of the real reason ‘Monty’ was ‘humping’ the other dog. Many owners believe that when their dog ‘humps’ something, be it a piece of furniture, toys, another dog, or even them, that it is a sexual thing. It is not. It is actually far from it. ‘Humping’ in dogs is a sign of dominance. It signals that the dog ‘humping’ is above the object that it is being ‘humped’. It is not a sign of sexual frustration, as most owners believe. Generally, if the ‘humping’ is directed towards objects it is not something you need to be worried about. (As long as it does not become out of control. Watch for possible frustration releases.) However, if the ‘humping’ is directed towards people it is something that needs to be addressed. “Humping’ other dogs is not always a problem if the subject is calm and submissive. However, if the subject of the humping is a dominant dog it can escalate into a confrontation. When your dog ‘humps’ you or any other human, it is something that must be dealt with immediately. The word dominance usually does not sit well with most dog owners. When most people hear someone talk about dominance in a dog they think of biting and growling. They immediately associate dominance with aggressive dogs. They think; “My dog isn’t dominate. He’s never bitten someone in his life!” They don’t understand that most cases of dominance has nothing to do with a biting or growling dog. That a lot of biting and growling dogs are often fear driven and have nothing to do with dominance issues. Dominance is also not a product of an un-neutered dog. Although un-neutered dogs will have a tendency to have more severe dominance issues than neutered dogs, dominance can be an issue within any breed, at any age and in both sexes. A 3 month old poodle puppy can be just as dominant as a 10 year old German Shepard if not more so. Many owners don’t want to believe that their dog may have a dominance issue. They are afraid of what their friends, family and neighbours will say. The truth is that their friends, family and neighbours dogs are probably just as dominant, if not more so, as theirs. The problem is that most people don’t know what a dominant dog looks like. What are dominant gestures are usually seen as funny or cute by an owner. Especially if the dog is a small breed. Some dominate gestures are: Jumping up on you and guests to your home, staring at you, mouthing you, food and toy possessiveness, pulling on the leash, barking at you when you are not paying attention to them, pawing at you, food and toy possessiveness, leaning against you, placing a paw over you and sometimes, separation anxiety. Dominance issues will very rarely escalate into attacks or bites by the dog. Growling may take place but is usually minimal. Of course there are cases where there is an extreme amount of dominance that results in a bite from a dog but this is usually only a snap or a ‘grab’ by the dog to make a point. (Grab – A dog literally grabbing onto a persons arm or other appendage using the mouth and teeth but only holding without puncturing the skin.) The odds are that nine out of ten dogs in your neighbourhood have dominance issues. It is extremely common and it is nothing to be ashamed of. Dominance issues are the number one reason for a number of different behaviour problems in dogs. Dogs with dominance issues are seen as dogs with a superiority complex. They believe that they are the leader of the pack and therefore show dominant gestures to the rest of the pack in order for the pack to understand what their status is. Dogs should never be the leader of a human pack. Dogs lack a complete understanding of the outside world to be an effective and safe pack leader. Therefore dogs that show dominant gestures have a superiority complex which is one of the main reasons for behaviour issues in the home. (To start correcting dominance issues read: “How to tell if your dog has a superiority complex and what to do about it” or call Sarah at Pawsitive K9 Consulting – (905) 683-0066) Aggression: There are three types of aggression in dogs. Dominance aggression: The most common type of aggression. This aggression stems from the dogs believe that it is the pack leader. This aggression usually arises when a dominant dogs gestures go unnoticed by the owners and the dog feels it must physically assert its status. This type of aggression is usually corrected by conventional behaviour modification techniques. If conventional techniques fail the dog may have low Seretonin levels which can cause aggression that mirrors dominance aggression. Medication may be needed to increase Seretonin levels and decrease aggression. (Prozac) Rage Aggression: This aggression seems to come from no where and usually unprovoked. This is also known as seizure related aggression. Dogs with this type of aggression will not respond to conventional behaviour modification techniques. The dog should be tested for seizures, (EEG), and anticonvulsant medications such as Phenobarbital will be needed. This aggression can be hereditary and the dog’s lineage should be reviewed. Territorial Aggression (Anxiety or fear based): This aggression often starts at a young age and is related to improper socialization to people and/or dogs during the key development and socialization period of the dogs life. (3 Months of age.) This behaviour increases with experience and age. Most often seen in submissive dogs. Example: Mail carrier comes to the door to deliver the mail. The dog barks, going crazy behind the door or window, the mail carrier moves on to the next house making the dog believe that its barking made the intruder leave. This behaviour can increase in the owners car due to the fact that the dog believes that the people and vehicles outside the car are moving away because of its barking. Conditioning increased the behaviour, counter-conditioning is needed to solve the issue, also called flooding. Positive reinforcement works well with this type of aggression. Shake cans can be used to stop extremely aggressive situations. By: Sarah Hill – Pawsitive K9 Consulting

Separation anxiety has confused owners for many years. It was believed that separation anxiety was caused because the dog ‘loved’ the owner so much. The dog then became so upset at the owners departure that it would destroy anything it could get a hold of. Or bark or howl non-stop until the owner returned home. This would explain the over excited welcome when the owner would return home. The dog would jump up on the owner, bark and whine and sometimes jump from one article of furniture to the other, all in an excited, “Your Home!” way. Although that is how it seems to us, it is not the case. By interpreting these gestures in this way we are humanizing our dogs. That is we are assuming that dogs, and other animals for that matter, think and communicate in the same way we do. By humanizing our dogs we are ignoring what they are actually trying to tell us, creating aggression and frustration in our dogs. All creatures interpret gestures in a different way. Cats and dogs for example. When a dog is happy it will wag its tail back and forth with ears relaxed and slightly back and mouth slightly open. When a cat performs the same gestures it means something completely different. A cat will only ‘wag’ its tail in annoyance or anger. When a cats ears are back it is a sign of aggression and a mouth open means ‘hissing’ or a bite is coming. Is it any wonder why dogs and cats generally have a hard time getting along? They are constantly sending mixed signals to each other. The same applies to humans and dogs. If we were to come home to our children and they jump up on you and get all excited we would say that they missed us. We humanize our dogs by believing that this is what they are trying to say to us when they perform the same actions. If fact you are way off. It all comes down to superiority. Most owners send their dog’s mixed signals on a daily basis. The signals you send your dog are saying that you are unstable, (yelling, excited behavior), and below the dog in rank. Domesticated dogs follow the same basic pack instincts as wild dogs. Every pack has a leader or leaders, and followers. Since it is obvious that dogs do not communicate the same way we do, it is important to learn how they communicate, in order to understand what our dogs are trying to tell us, how we can talk to our dogs, and how to become pack leader. Dogs use basic body signals and energy to communicate. If you learn to interpret these signals, and focus on your dog’s energy you will find it easy to understand why your dog is behaving badly, and what it wants or needs. It is important for you to be the pack leader and not your dog. The pack leader is responsible for: the safety and well being of the pack, determining if visitors are a threat to the pack or not, leading the “hunt”, (walk), or any venture outside the “den”, (your home), and protecting the pack and den from outside threats. Your dog lacks understanding of the world, to perform the duties of pack leader. Your dogs lack of understanding and its belief that it is the pack leader, can lead to separation anxiety, excessive pulling on the lead, excessive barking and many more common behavior problems. If your dog believes it is the pack leader, and you, as their responsibility, leave the den without them, can send your dog into a frenzy. Think of it this way. Your five year old walks out of your home without you. The doors are locked and you are prevented from getting to your child. You have no idea where your child is going, if they will be safe and if they are ever coming back. You would be frantic trying to get out. You would probably try to rip down the door. If that didn’t work you would become hysterical and cry, even yell. You may become angry and look for something to wreak to relieve the tension and pain you feel. Sound familiar? These are generally the same feelings your dog is going through when you leave it behind. Your dog has no idea where you are going, if you will be back and if you will be safe. This creates anger and frustration. Just like us, our dogs need to find a way to relieve the tension. They do this by digging at floors and doors, ripping at windows and walls, and chewing furniture and objects. Again, sound familiar? When you come home to find the mess your dog has created, or a neighbor comes by to tell you of all the noise your dog makes when left alone, what do you do? Generally you punish the dog. You yell and curse and, sometimes hit your dog. You believe that because your dog has a ‘guilty look’, that it knows what it has done and knows that it was wrong. There we go again, humanizing our dogs. A dog cannot connect something it did 10, even 5 minutes ago to the punishment it is receiving now. What your dog sees it a confirmation of its fears. While you were out something happened and it wasn’t there it protect you, causing you to react this way. This causes your dog to become frustrated because it feels it is not living up to its job of pack leader. This can cause your dog to become increasingly dominant over you and increase the separation anxiety when you leave. The first step you must take in correcting separation anxiety is to establish yourself as the pack leader. Once the job of pack leader is removed from your dog it will relax and the anxiety will fade. (See Pawsitive Training) After establishing yourself as pack leader it is time to de-sensitize your dog to you leaving. Many times separation anxiety is corrected by Pawsitive Training, but for times when it is not there are simple steps you need to take. First you need to make a list of the rituals you go through when leaving the house. For example: Grabbing your keys and jacket, putting on your shoes, walking to the door and any thing you say to your dog or other family members before you leave. Generally owners will say things like, “I’ll be right back”, or “Be good”, to their dogs as they leave. This draws attention to your leaving and will create confusion and anxiety in your dog because it has no idea what you just said. For all your dog knows you are saying good-bye forever. You must never draw attention to yourself when you leave. Dogs pay great attention to your movements and body language. They come to understand that grabbing your keys and putting on your shoes means that you are leaving the den. You need to de- sensitize your dog to these cues. During your time at home, when you are not planning to go out, put on your jacket and grab your keys. Then sit down on your couch and watch some television. Once you grab your jacket and keys your dog will be paying attention to you. By sitting down on the couch it changes the cue. It says that although you may have done the things that generally mean you are leaving, you didn’t. After a while, get up and remove your jacket and place your keys back down. This signals to your dog that those cues are no longer reliable in assessing that you are leaving. This will need to be practiced often until your dog seems to pay no attention to these cues. It is important to distance yourself from your dog for a period of time depending on the severity of the separation anxiety. If it is only a mild case you may only need to distance yourself for 30 minutes before you leave and 30 minutes after you return home. If it is a severe case you will need to completely distance yourself from your dog until the anxiety is removed. By distancing yourself I mean no talking, touching or looking at your dog. This may sound cruel to you but it is a necessary ‘evil’ to remove your dog’s anxiety. It will reduce the attachment your dog has to you, thus reducing the anxiety when you leave. This is not to say that your dog will not love you anymore, and your dog will not think that you no longer love it. There is an unbreakable bond between man and dog. A little time apart is not going to break this bond. I promise. It will actually strengthen your relationship in a more normal, calm way. After your dog’s anxiety is removed you can reduce the amount of time you ignore your dog when you come home. Always remember the second step of Pawsitive Training, (the greeting). This still must be practiced to maintain your leadership. The next step is distraction. Purchase a rubber Kong toy, nylon bone you can drill holes into, or natural bone with marrow removed. Stuff the toy with peanut butter or cheese whiz. (You can purchase stuffers for these toys at any local pet store, however peanut butter and cheese whiz is much cheaper.) Give this now stuffed toy to your dog 10 to 15 minutes before you leave the house. If your dog is anything like mine however, you may need to either re-stuff the toy or give it to your dog 5 minutes before you leave. After your dog is engorged in the toy, you can silently slip out of the house. This acts as a diversion to you leaving. If your dog is food oriented, and does not go through bouts of not eating when you are gone, you can leave small treats hidden around your home for your dog to find. This is like a game to your dog that will also distract it from your absence. Separation Anxiety also happens when your dog is separated from you while you are still at home. This can be because you are restricting the dogs space in the house because of personal space or a room that you do not want your dog in, such as a guest room or entertaining area. This will cause your dog to go through the same actions of separation anxiety as if you had left the house. However you will be able to correct the behaviour while you are at home. It is important to correct the behaviour when it happens. As soon as your dog starts whining, crying or barking you must correct the dog and let it know that behaviour is not aloud. Correct the do with a stern; “No!” or key word such as “Quiet!”. Be sure not to repeat yourself as this will only sound like yapping to your dog. If after the command the dog does not stop its barking, whining or crying, place your hand in a claw firmly but gently on the dogs muzzle, closing the mouth while you repeat the ‘no’ or ‘quiet’ command. The dog will start to understand what that command means. You will soon be able to use this command when a few feet away and build up to rooms away. After stopping the crying, whining or barking with a command and/or physical interaction, have your dog sit and stay. When the dog is quiet for a short time give praise and possible treats to reinforce the behaviour. Positive reinforcement will go a long way. Petting and a ‘good boy’ is just as positive as a treat. It may take some time before the dog understands exactly what is expected and what it is doing wrong. It may seem like you are taking one step forward and two steps back, but with a little time and effort you will be able to remove the anxiety that is causing all the problems. Anxiety is a very serious problem. It is up to you, as a responsible pet owner, to help your dog dissolve this problem. By following the steps of Pawsitive Training, de-sensitizing your dog to you leaving, and correcting the unwanted behaviour, you and your dog will be able to live a normal balanced life together for years to come. By: Sarah Hill – Owner: Pawsitive K9 Consulting

To stop a dog from barking you must first understand why they bark. Dogs bark to signal to the rest of their pack, (meaning any humans or animals in your household), that they believe there is a potential threat to the safety of the pack. This can be barking at sounds outside that they can not see, strangers walking past your home or yard, visitors coming into your home and even cars driving by outside. One of the main problems with constant barkers is the fact that they believe that they are the “pack leaders”, therefore responsible for the safety of the pack. Not understanding this fact can lead to frustration on your part because to you it seems like your dog may be barking at every little thing for no reason. Barking signals the pack to be on alert. If you are acknowledging this by yelling at your dog or smacking your dog, it will confuse the dog. It sends the signal that you are mad at them for doing the job they feel they were elected to do. To stop a dog from barking, you must establish to them that you are the pack leader. This takes the responsibility away from your dog and places it on you. Giving you a more calm and relaxed dog. Your dog will still bark when it feels there may be a threat, but all you will have to do is use a signal phrase to stop your dog from barking. This can be anything from, “quiet”, “enough” or even “thank you”. Your dog will come to understand that once he/she has risen the alarm and you say your signal phrase, that you are handling the situation and the dog can relax, thus stopping the barking. I first ask you to read the article: “How to Tell if Your Dog Has a Superiority Complex, and What to Do About It” Follow the steps of Paws-itive Training laid out in this article. This is the first step you must take to effectively stop your dog from barking. The next step is to establish your signal phrase. Use a word that is easy for the dog to understand. One word that is not associated with any other training your dog has had. Example: If you used the word “stop” in previous training to stop your dog when walking, don’t use it again here. When your dog starts to bark, say your dogs name, to get their attention so they know you are referring to them, and use your signal phrase. Example: “Fido, quiet”, or “Fido, enough”. If your dog stops barking, praise them and give a food reward. I use food rewards to first introduce new training, however I have come across some dogs that will bark just to get the food reward. So after your dog has gotten the hang of things, you need to drop the food reward to every other time, then to once in a while. Praise will be just as good to the dog as a food reward. If your dog ignores your command and continues to bark, quietly and calmly walk over to your dog. Place one hand gently over your dogs muzzle to close his/her mouth while saying your signal phrase calmly. You must be very calm. If you are agitated or loud your dog will sense that you are upset and believe that there is a real danger to the pack, thus confirming its alarm signal. Once the dog has stopped barking, reward and praise. If, however your dog still believes that he/she is the pack leader, your attempts to stop the barking may do no good. The idea that a subordinate is telling the leader to stop what it is doing, only increases dominate behavior. This can lead to, jumping up on you to appear bigger and to look you in the eye, ( a very dominate thing to do), as well as food protectiveness, pulling on the lead and aggressive behavior. It is very important to establish leadership to your dog. This opens the door to easy training. This will take time and patience, but it will pay off. Your dog will come to understand that it is thanked for the alarm, and the cavalry is here to take over, signaling that his/her work is done. Soon all you will have to say is your signal phrase and your dog will stop barking. Leaving you to a calm and quiet home. By: Sarah Hill – Owner Paws- itive K9 Consulting & Top Knot Professional Grooming - Ajax