Psychometric testing is very common amongst recruiters who are trying to establish if a person is well suited to a particular job.

Drives are something which fit into four basic categories for dogs Prey Drive, Pack Drive, Defence Drive (Fight) and Defence Drive (Flight).

Every dog is born with these innate drives but as the dog develops and gets older, their drive levels change. As an owner, your life will be helped if you can measure which drives are the most dominant in your dog’s individual character make up – and we’re here to help you do it. Understanding and recognising the canine drives can help us learn what makes our dogs tick.

When it comes to giving a quiz to you dog you might find they’ll be more inclined to eat the test paper rather than answer the questions so you’re going to have to answer on their behalf!

What Are The Drives:

Prey Drive: The dog’s hunting instincts are governed by their prey drive. Dogs who are excited, really excited, by anything and everything that moves. Dogs who never tire of chasing, chasing, chasing. Dogs who love to chase and who struggle to resist the temptation to run off and pursue anything they can see in motion, no matter how far away – this would indicate a strong prey drive.

High prey drive dogs are usually harder to train, especially in the hands of less experienced owners. However, as dog’s with this nature are so keen to be working, if their code can be cracked and the energy correctly channeled, high prey dogs tend to excel at obedience, working trials and anything which requires large amounts of mental and physical stimulation.

Pack Drive: All dogs are pack animals; some are better at pack life than others though. Dogs with a strong pack drive take their position in the family very seriously. They thrive if pack order is clear; they enjoy their individual role within the pack whether it be as a protector of the pack or being protected by the pack.

Pack dogs don’t want do things which may disturb pack life therefore they are normally very calm, very adaptable, non confrontational and content, family dogs. Pack dogs rarely, if ever, need to be dominated and they are perfectly happy to do as they are told, when they are told in order to keep pack harmony in tact.

Defence Drive (Flight): If you are ever in a position where you are faced with a dog who is barking directly at you and who is clearly not happy at you being in their way, if it so happens that this is a high defence drive dog with a flight instinct then there’s every chance the moment you take strong, confident strides forward, showing no aggression toward the dog but lots of assurance in your own actions, they will probably make a run for it, trying hard to get as far out of your way as possible.

So long as you don’t trap a dog of this nature in a corner, they will nearly always make a break to get as far away from you as they can. They are very nervous of new things; they don’t like anything at all which could even remotely threaten their personal being.

They will almost always bark in a fast, almost panicky fashion when presented with what they consider to be a real threat. If they are trapped or confined they WILL bite, usually very hard very fast and very often and they do it because they are scared for themselves.

This character trait can be diminished by nurturing the dog, not confusing the apparent signs of aggression as the dog being particularly bold (or in fact, particularly aggressive), they must be re-assured regularly and above all there fears should never be used against them. Everyone knows it can be quite amusing to see a dog jump on the sofa when the vacuum cleaner starts up but overstepping the mark with a dog of this nature will greatly enhance the problem for years to come.

Defence Drive (Fight): This is the dog that won’t run when confronted. This is the dog that won’t jump on the sofa when teased with the vacuum cleaner. This is the dog that, when presented with a threat to their personal wellbeing, will attack, will bite (hard) without a second’s thought and will adopt the kill or be killed attitude (not literally) in situations of conflict.

Dogs of this disposition will challenge for pack leadership, they are usually dominant by nature, defensive yes, fearful rarely. Strong ownership is required, curbing a fighting instinct, it could be argued, is a lot tougher than appeasing a flight-type response to confrontational situations. If you own this dog, you MUST win all challenges, you MUST never back down, you MUST be aware that a fun game to you, if he wins, will represent weakness on your behalf and that will be a big problem for you as the dog develops.

If you can be consistent and can read all the tell-tale signs of a high fight-defence drive as well as your own dog’s body language you won’t have a problem. Strong personality, leadership and consistency from you is the key and you will have a dog to be very, very proud of rather than a potentially ticking time bomb.

How To Test Your Dog’s Drives

Here are some personality traits all categorised under their appropriate drive headings. The more yes answers you give for each question will give you an idea of your own dog’s individual drive levels. Give yourself a point for each ‘Yes’ answer you give, below and then add up which category your dog scores highest in.

For example: If you answer yes to 85% of the questions in the prey drive category, your dog clearly displays a strong prey drive instinct and you can assess that against the advice given previously for high prey drive dogs and so on.

Prey Drive
Does Your Dog: Yes No
1. Sniff the ground or air frequently? ____ ____
2. Get excited by moving objects? ____ ____
3. Stalk cats, dogs or other objects? ____ ____
4. Bark in a high pitched voice
when excited (yip)? ____ ____
5. Pounce on his/her toys? ____ ____
6. Steal food from work surfaces or other hidden areas? ____ ____
7. Shake and “KILL” his/her toys ____ ____
8. Rip soft objects apart? ____ ____
9. Gulp down food, never leaving any scraps? ____ ____
10. Like to carry/fetch things? ____ ____
11. Like to dig? ____ ____
12. Bury things?

Pack Drive
Does Your Dog: Yes No
1. Get along with other dogs? ____ ____
2. Get along with people? ____ ____
3. Bark when left alone? ____ ____
4. Urge people to pet them or make lots of effort to snuggle up to people?____ ____
5. Respond positively to verbal praise? ____ ____
6. Like to be groomed, stroked or touched often? ____ ____
7. Make strong eye contact with you? ____ ____
8. Tremble or whine if left in a stay position? ____ ____
9. Follow you like a shadow? ____ ____
10. Play with you or other dogs happily? ____ ____
11. Jump up to greet people, even if he/her has never seen the person before? ____ ____
12. Show a lot of reproductive
behaviour, i.e. mounting other dogs, people etc ____ ____

Defence Drive (Fight)
Does Your Dog: Yes No
1. Investigate strange sounds or objects? ____ ____
2. Love to win at tug of war games? ____ ____
3. Bark or growl in a deep tone, bark with a clear, un panicky tone? ____ ____
4. Guard their territory? ____ ____
5. Guard you? ____ ____
6. Guard his/her food and/or toys? ____ ____
7. Show indifference to being petted? ____ ____
8. Dislike being groomed? ____ ____
9. Bite on lead when being corrected? ____ ____
10. Dominate other dogs? ____ ____
11. Like to fight or challenge even in a playful way? ____ ____
12. Get picked on or even attacked by older dogs than him/her? ____ ____

Defence Drive (Flight)
Does Your Dog: Yes No
1. Run from new situations or show unease? __ __
2. Hide behind you when insecure about anything? __ __
3. Avoid direct confrontations by leaving the area? __ __
4. Run away when being told off or if training is going badly? __ __
5. Crowd you when walking at heel (i.e cling to your legs)? __ __
6. Raise his/her hackles when meeting
someone new or coming up against a strange dog? __ __
7. Avoids direct eye contact with you when you are facing him/her or if left in the stay position?` __ __
8. Crawl on belly or turn upside
down when being told off? __ __
9. Tries to escape if being examined or held by a strange person or even you?__ __
10. Urinates when he/she thinks they have done something wrong or are about to get told off? __ __
11. Urinates during a greeting, even in excitement? __ __
12. Bite or nip when cornered or bark/whine in an uncontrolled, panicky tone? __ __

Now, add up your scores

Prey Drive /12
Pack Drive /12
Defence Drive (Fight) /12
Defence Drive (Flight) /12

We will be publishing a follow up article, explaining more about the drives.

Stay tuned!

A handsome yellow Labrador.

As a puppy, I taught him to do lots of things. Sit, stay, come back, walk to heel, lie down, bark on command, give a paw – all, so much fun, so easy to accomplish.

Then, almost overnight, he started acting like a teenager.

Probably because he was one!

More worryingly, I had moved him on to a point where I actually wanted to compete with him in working tests and trials.

He had everything in his locker; he was fast, strong, intelligent, REALLY intelligent and he loved to work.

But his recall was – at best 50/50.

If I’m totally honest, he’d only ever recall if the level of distraction and temptations around him were minimal.

Fortunately for me, I was learning the art of whistle training.

Fortunately for me, every dog I’ve ever trained since  – regardless of breed, regardless of discipline, regardless of exactly what level the dog was at – have ALL been trained using a whistle.

It’s only now, at a point where I know more of the theory of canine learning that I appreciate just how and why whistle training is so incredibly potent.

The whistle, you see, is constant, consistent, emotionless and incredibly easy to operate – you don’t even need to charge it up, follow an instruction manual or get a new one every other month.

They cost less than a tenner, yet I still have the same whistle I used 10 years ago and which has been utilised to train hundreds of dogs.

I won’t go in to the technicalities of how to teach whistle training right now (that’s something for later!) but I will happily explain some of the principles that make the whistle so incredibly valuable:

1) A whistle can be used by ANYONE! Now I know that seems obvious, but think about it. Most family dogs have many different voices in their ears, day in day out. A whistle sounds the same whoever is blowing it. Whether it’s a child or the dog’s owner, the dog trained to recall to a whistle will do so regardless of who is blowing it. Although there ARE ways in which you can make your whistle recall unique to you.

2) A whistle lacks emotion. Ever tried to recall your dog when your in a panic? Or a hurry? Or even when you’re a bit angry? Think your dog can’t tell? Think again! A whistle lacks emotion and it is consistent – something which is absolutely crucial to successful dog commands.

3) The sound of a whistle carries a long way, not everyone’s voice does. Besides, nobody wants to be the person at the park who’s bellowing at their dog to come back. A whistle is a sharp, sophisticated way to communicate with a dog outdoors.

4) Dogs love the whistle. If trained properly, the sound of whistle can be as exciting to a dog as the sound of the biscuit tin being opened (yes, THAT exciting!). Believe me, my dogs go absolutely mad for the sound of the whistle and there is nothing – absolutely nothing – in the world that prevents them recalling when I blow that whistle. Don’t believe me? Well, I was thinking of doing a little challenge. I let my dog have their dinner, let them begin eating it and then see if I can recall them away from their meal mid-eat. Personally, with my dogs any way, their evening meal is the top of the tree in their list of favourite daily things – except a whistle will BEAT their food for attention.

I will film this, along with a host of other whistle training guides and YOU too can learn how to:

• Have a bullet proof, 100% recall
• Ensure your dog is safe, off the lead in public
• Impress all of your dog-owning friends with a dog that comes back, first time EVERY time!
• Teach your dog to stop and stay at a distance
• Achieve almost ‘sheepdog handler’ like control of your dog, regardless of breed
• Have a simple, easy to follow dog training system that you can apply to ALL of your dogs, now and in the future

But before we release our ‘Total Recall’ dog training programme, you need to make sure you are properly equipped.

Here is the ONLY whistle I recommend.

Note: I do not recommend a silent whistle, I don’t ask people to make do with a slightly different model, I don’t advise people get any old whistle – No. I recommend ONLY the Acme 2.10 & 1/2 (Acme two ten and a half) whistle.

NOTHING ELSE.

That model and that model only.

I’m not saying other whistles might not work, but believe me – I’ve used plenty.

I’ve used a horn whistle, a thunderer whistle, an Acme 2.11 whistle and always, always, always I revert back to the Acme 2.10 & 1/2 for the most successful results.

Where can you buy one?

Acme Dog Whistle – No. 210 1/2
CLICK THIS LINK!!!

Should you by one?

Well, at less than £7.00 for the BEST piece of dog training equipment in the entire world that will last for years and can be used on ANY dog, now or in the future, doesn’t need batteries and won’t ever run out?

I’d say that was coming close to bargain of the century! Wouldn’t you?

1.) Aggression towards other dogs – Watch your temper! If you are tense, frustrated, or angry, your dog will mirror that energy right back at you, so it’s especially important to remain calm when dealing with an aggressive dog. But remember, always put your safety first! Seek the help of a professional to deal with this potentially dangerous issue.

2.) Overexcitement or hyperactivity – Overexcited or hyperactive dogs are not being challenged enough. Most often, they just require more exercise! Find a new activity to try with your dog – hiking, swimming, agility courses – or step up your current walk routine. Dogs require at least 30 minutes of a structured walk every day. Talk to your vet about how much exercise your dog can safely handle.

3.) Barking while the owner is away – This is most often a symptom of separation anxiety. You can help your dog to relax by communicating that being apart is no big deal. Instead of showering your dog with affection, practice no touch, no talk, and no eye contact for at least five minutes when entering or leaving your home.

4.) Barking at a specific stimulus – Take time to simulate the cause of the barking, and practice correcting your dog. If it’s the doorbell that sets your dog off, ring it when no one is coming over, so you can stay focused on the task at hand: helping your dog overcome this unwanted behavior.

5.) Problems on the walk – A canine pack leader leads, and so should you! Your dog should always be next to you or behind you, never out in front. Make sure you are the first one out the door and the first one to come back in.

Watch Cesar demonstrate these tips and more in his new DVD Common Canine Misbehaviors available at CesarsWay.com

Unfortunately, when the dogs are taken into another environment the owners are surprised to find that the dog or puppy is out of control. This is due to a couple of factors, not completing training the dog to respond in one environment before moving to a new environment and training in only 1-2 different environments.

With my recent addition, a 1 year old rescue Akita, I applied my own dog training advice. In just 4 months Jade as met over 200 dogs, rode in an elevator and has been in 2-3 new environments each week. To see her story go to my blog for the latest http://kcdogguy.blogspot.com/.

As a result she is non-reactive in any new situation and in each new experience I perform the same Come-Sits, puppy push-ups, stay and downs. If I get less than 80% success, she’s less than an 8. I return to those areas until she is at least an 8 and preferably a 10. I have the advantage of having access to hundreds of dogs at Wayside Waifs. Jade’s current goal is to do all of her exercises while 4 other dogs play off leash in the same area with her. At this point on leash she’s about a 7, off leash a 2-3. Ultimately, my goal is a perfect 10 off leash.

Making your own dog a perfect 10

Think of each new environment as ever expanding circles.

Before we know that a dog is ready to go on to a new environment with a particular behavior we need to test the dog. For the example I will use SIT. Let’s say in your home your dog will sit 4 out of 10 times when asked to sit. At this level your dog is a 4 and is not ready to go into another environment, especially if you had to lure your dog into those 4 sits you received. In another 2 days your dog is now able sit 9 out of 10 times without a reward each time. At this point your dog is a level 9 and is ready to move to a new environment, in this case you would go from the house to the backyard. Once in the backyard the dog now drops back down to a 5, or only a 50% response/success rate. You return to rewarding more often and in just a day your dog is back up to a 9 in the backyard. Now move to the front yard with the dog and repeat. What should eventually happen is in the front yard the dog may only drop to a 7 this time. Why? The dog is starting to generalize and should need less training in each new environment. Be cautious not to jump to quickly to the next area. For example, you move from the front yard to your local dog park and the dog drops to a 1. This indicates you jumped to an over-stimulating environment too quickly, a better area may have been quiet less traveled park. Dog training is timing and moving forward in small increments.

With each new area you may have to use a reward with each repetition, but only for the first 10 repetitions and then move quickly to every other, every 5th repetition and eventually 10 reps without a reward. Here is my suggested training transition schedule for an average dog:

Inside the home
Backyard
Front yard or driveway
Neighbors yard
Gas station parking lot or wide open public area.
Local park – baseball diamond (fenced in)
In the presence of another dog (10-100ft away)
Parking lot of pet store
Inside the pet store
Dog park parking lot/entrance
Around one loose dog
Around 2 or more dogs
Dog park
You can pick just one behavior you want the dog to do or wait for your dog to master several in each environment.

In my situation I would visit all these areas and get my dog to a perfect 10 on leash then repeat working these areas with my dog off leash or with a long lead. Since I train primarily with a long lead or no lead I moved through the above areas in 8 weeks with Jade.

I would not suggest moving the dog to the next area without working the dog up to at least a level 8. This may sound like a long process, but for the basic commands Look and Sit this is just a 5-10 day period. Remember, if you have no control over the dog you probably transitioned to a particular area too quickly. You can take your dog to the dog park or pet store before they are a perfect 10, but be aware they will not perform as you expect if you did not work up to the new areas.

Leash Walking to a perfect 10( 2 leash method)

2-Leash Method

I found that if given a chance when the dog pulls on leash the owner immediately pulls back causing the dog to pull and so the circle begins. To alleviate this problem and save hand, arms and shoulders of the owners I thought of a 2-leash method to walk dogs.

Begin with 2 leashes on the dog, on that will drag on the ground and the other you will hold lightly in your hand. Now imagine that you have a plane of glass the extends out to your left and right side. Start by standing on the drag lead at about the 3 foot mark and hold the other leash in your hand. Take 1-2 steps and then step on the drag lead and change directions This will stutter the dog a bit and he should turn to follow you. Repeat 2-5 times and then increase the number of steps you take before you step on the drag lead. DO NOT TIGHTEN the leash you are holding in your hand. This leash should stay loose and give the dog full length of the lead. Now take 3-4 steps and step on the drag lead, but do not stop. Try to keep a normal walking cadence as you tap the drag lead. We are trying to teach the dog without yanking back to walk within 3-4 of us, stop when we stop and turn when we turn. When you do stop, step on the drag lead and reward the dog.

Walking to a perfect 10

I measure how well a dog walks on leash by pulls per 10 feet inside and pulls per 100 feet outside. Beginning inside I will leash the dog to me with a 6 foot lead and walk down a hallway. If I am using the 2-leash method I will count the number of times I had to tap the drag lead. My goal is 0 taps per 10 feet in the house and 0 taps per 100 feet outside. This is a bit opposite of the 10 philosophy. With leash walking we want the dog to be a 0. Once the dog is non-reactive to the leash in the house and will walk around the home with me and not pull I am ready for the first transition, the backyard.

Once in the backyard I start counting my pulls or taps on the drag lead. If I can walk the dog 100 feet without a tap he’s ready for the front yard. Once I master the front yard I will then measure the number houses I can walk by before I have to tap. Once I can walk by 10 houses without a tap I progress to the next new area. Again, I want to teach the dog these basic rules, walk when I walk, stop when I stop and turn when I turn – without prompting. In this case you want to work your dog from 10+ pulls/taps to 0 pulls/taps per 10 or 100 feet.

Level 10 Stay

Stay should be taught as no motion whether the dog is sitting, standing, lying or on it’s back. Stay simply means do not move. Start with your dog on a 6-10 foot leash and just let the leash sit on the ground. If the dog should try and bolt, step on the leash and say Stop. Put the dog in a sit and present a flat palm to the dog and say Stay. Count to 5, reward the dog. Repeat 10 times doubling it each time up to 20 minutes(10 times). With each repetition take one step back from the dog. At the end of 10 repetitions you will be 10 feet away and the dog will be on a 20 minute stay. If the dog breaks at any particular point, work at that distance and time interval until they do not break and move. Once you can work up to 10-20 feet away from the dog and can get 2-5 minute stay 10 times you can move to the next area- backyard, front yard and so on.

To increase the dog’s staying power, during the initial phases start to wave your arms, turn around and make noise. Adding these distractions in will help desensitize the dog to distractions. Once the dog knows a Sit/Stay work on Stand/Stay and Down/Stay. Eventually the dog will learn that Stay means no movement in whatever position they are in.

Level 10 Come

Recall is the least practiced and most frustrating behavior for dog owners. To create a perfect 10 recall you need to train in several different environments, but also list your dog’s triggers. A trigger is what set’s your dog off or gets them excited. It could be cars, cats, birds, noises or anything that will distract your dog and cause him not to respond to Fido Come! The training starts the same as others, in the home. In the home take the dog’s food and split into 10 portions, get Fido in front of you and say Come and reward the dog like this the first 2 days. Then randomly call the dog to you in the house, once he comes when called 8-10 times in a row progress to the backyard and eventually the front yard. Use a long lead(15-30 feet long) in the front yard so the dog does run away.

Figure the Triggers

A trigger is anything that sets your dog off. List out your top 10 triggers and figure out at what distance your dog sees and the reacts to it. Your goal is to interrupt the sequence of events at the alerting stage and call the dog back before he reacts and bolts off. Be sure to have a long lead or a regular leash on your dog when practicing this. Set up situations that you can work on your dog’s top 10 triggers and start with the easiest one first. Once you can call your dog back 10 times from the easiest trigger move on to the next trigger.

Making your dog a perfect 10 is not difficult, just test your dog and establish his current level in different situations. If the dog is put in a situation you know he is not proofed for, don’t reprimand, but train him to react appropriately in different situations. The more places you train your dog the less reactive he will become and the more control you will have. Try this little tip, any new environment you go to with your dog, have them do 10 quick Come-Sits as soon as you are there. It sets the tone for the adventure!

Eric Gilbert
www.kcdogguy.com

Dog Travel Advice: Carsickness

Some dogs and puppies get carsick just the same as many adults and children do. If you depend on a car for most of your transportation, you will want to help your dog overcome carsickness as quickly and easily as possible. You can do a number of things to help your dog avoid or overcome carsickness.

From the start, help your puppy form a positive association with the car. Without starting the engine, sit in the car with your puppy on your lap for a few minutes every day. Praise and pet your pup. After a week of this, start the motor. Place your pup on the seat next to you. Pet and praise him, making the experience agreeable. After a week of repeating this once a day, get a friend or relative to go in the car with you for a daily ride. Be sure that your puppy has an empty stomach and has had the chance to toilet before getting into the car. Have your helper sit the dog on his or her lap. The helper must not allow the pup to squirm and wiggle around.

Take a short ride around in your car. Each week increase slightly the distance that you travel. (One-week intervals for each of these steps are not cast in stone. Shorten or lengthen the time depending on your pup’s reaction.) Be sure that when you ride with your puppy, you have someone in the car to help control him. If that’s not possible, put the puppy in a crate in the car.

Do not let your dog ride on the driver’s lap or crawl under his or her legs. This can become a bad habit and is very dangerous. Once your dog begins obedience training and understands to lie down and stay, employ this exercise in the car when travelling. Associate trips in the car with fun. Every car ride should not end up at the veterinarian, groomer, or boarding kennel. Use the car to take your dog to the beach, park, or woods.

Most puppies, like most children, outgrow carsickness. In the interim, doing the right things can minimise messes, limit nervousness, and shorten the time it takes for your dog to learn that car rides can be a lot of fun. If none of the above steps seems to help, contact your veterinarian. He or she can provide medical solutions, such as mild tranquilizers, that will help avert sickness when the dog must travel in the car.

Dog Travel Advice: Car Safety

We need to ensure that when our dogs join us in the car, or any moving vehicle, that certain safety measures are put into place, for our safety and theirs. If we crash or have an accident, more often your dog will come off worse if they are unrestrained. They can also cause crashes if they decide to suddenly leap onto your lap if frightened or startled. Your pet needs to be safely secured in a pet carrier, a dog cage, seatbelt harness or behind a dog guard. The most suitable restraint will depend on the needs of your pet, the size of your vehicle and also the size of your dog. Always make sure your dog is walked to and from the car on a lead, just in case of traffic or if your dog was to make any sudden movements.

For small dogs, or other small pets, a pet carrier is a good transportation method. Dogs should be placed in the carrier before reaching the car. It needs to be a comfortable size for your dog and should be held in place with the seat belt or by wedging it firmly in the gap at your feet. Never put a carrier in the boot of your car as your pet could suffocate or be knocked around if the carrier becomes loose.

A travel cage is suitable for most dogs and is often the most popular method of dog transportation. You need to leave plenty of space around the crate to allow for ventilation and movement, and ensure it is secured with the seat belt. These crates can often be securely fitted in the boot of an estate car. You should always make sure your dog is not placed where an air bag may cause any damage and suffocate your dog.

For most dogs – a safety harness can be attached to a car’s seatbelt to ensure that they do not move from their seat, very similar to how ours work. It should be securely fastened before the car moves to ensure the dog is comfortable and won’t get tangled in the straps.

You can also get dog guards fitted in the back of estate cars and larger vehicles with a large, open boot area. The guards restrict your dog from accessing any other part of the car but will not protect them in an accident.

You can also buy safety harnesses that will stop your dog from moving around in the back of the car. If you are unfortunate enough to have a crash whilst your dog is in the car, quickly try and calm your dog down by taking the carrier to a quiet place. Make sure you have them on lead so that they do not run off or into traffic. If you think that your dog is hurt or in pain then call a vet right away. Check that your dog is covered by his insurance for car accidents. If you feel that your dog doesn’t cope too well in vehicles, consider having travel training for your dog from a qualified dog trainer.

Dog Travel Advice: Long Journeys

If you know your journey is going to be a long one then you need to take a few extra steps to plan accordingly and ensure that you and your dog get to your destination safe and happy. Travelling with your puppy or dog can be a lot of fun. It’s a great way to bond with your pet while experiencing new surroundings and places along the way.

Although it is obvious that you do not plan on ever losing sight of your dog during your travels, you should still make sure that his collar is secured tightly and that he has updated identification tags. If for some reason you’re making a temporary stay for more than a day at a location until you arrive at your final destination, add an additional identification tag that has the address and phone number of that temporary location.

When you make a stop along the way, always leash your dog before he gets out of the car and keep a tight grip on him. Because he is in unfamiliar territory and may scare easily, the instinct to dart and run off may be strong. Keeping him tightly leashed will prevent this nightmare from happening.

Every time you stop for a break during the trip, make sure you give your dog a few moments to exercise. Take your dog for a short walk or run him around. This will help get his blood flowing so that he can relax better for the next few hours of the ride.

The last thing you want to do is have to clean up the nasty mess of diarrhea inside your car. And your puppy or dog can easily give you this headache when you do not stick to his regular feeding times and with his normal food. It is very easy to feed your dog inconsistently when you are making a long trip by car. However, it will be best for both of you if you bring along bags of his normal food and only feed him at the same time you would at home.

Try to avoid traveling by car during weather periods of extreme heat and high levels of humidity. Dogs do not do well in this type of climate and if you must travel when it’s hot then be sure your vehicle is equipped with a dependable air-conditioning system.

Last but not least, as much as it is common sense, do not keep your dog in your car with the doors locked and windows rolled up. This is just basic safety advice that every person should know already, but unfortunately there are many accidents where dog’s die from heat stroke while sitting in a car during boiling hot weather.

Everybody wants their dog to lead a happy, fulfilled life. So here we’ve put together a list of activities that you can engage in with your dog. They’re not only fun, but they also provide a great way to exercise and to preserve your dog’s natural instincts and abilities.Tracking: Tracking is a great way to get your exercise and wear the dog out. It means exactly what it says: The dog follows a track laid down by another person. An article of the owner’s is placed at the end of the track and the dog must find that article by following the track. It is often said that a tracking test builds real character, as the terrain is often difficult and the weather is sometimes completely undependable; since the owner cannot assist the dog in any way, everything seems to be left to nature and the dog! Training this exercise is more time-consuming than difficult, and it requires a great deal of patience.

Several different tests are available from different associations, with different degrees of difficulty. Basic tests cover short tracks that have only a few turns and a short lag time between laying and running. More difficult tests include more turns, cross tracks, and several items left on the track to be found, with a longer lag time between laying the track and running it.

Weight Pulling: Weight pulling has long been a favorite sport for the Alaskan Malamute and Samoyed breeds, but in the past few years this competition has spread to many other breeds, including, of all things, the desert-dwelling Basenji. Pulling divisions are divided by weight and experience. Dogs are put in harness and must pull a sledge loaded with varying amounts of weight for varying distances in order to earn their points.

Herding: Herding competition has long been recognized in European countries and has been found in many forms in the United States. Many communities have stock dog fancier clubs or associations. Several breed clubs have initiated herding instinct tests, and the AKC has just initiated a Herding Instinct Test. These beginner levels allow you to assess any possible herding instincts in your dog and allow you to see if that type of competition would be of interest to you.

“Real” herding, which consist of gathering, driving and penning, as performed by the working stock dogs, is an event that will catch your heart. To see these intent animals working stock at great distances all on their own is truly an amazing sight.

Sled Racing: Sled racing can be anything from a friendly competition between two men and their dogs to a competition as strenuous as the thousand-mile Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race. Here again, the dog’s natural talents are emphasized. While Arctic breeds are most visible, many other breeds (including Poodles and Irish Setters) or mixed breeds can be very competitive.

Lure Coursing: Lure coursing is somewhat akin to Greyhound racing but is held in fields with twisting courses over uneven ground. Lure coursing is designed to test a dog’s agility, as well as his speed, endurance and prey instinct. The dogs are taught to chase a lure, which is really a plastic bag, and their enthusiasm for the chase is an unforgettable sight. For more information on this sport, contact the American Sight-hound Field Association.

Therapy Dogs: Therapy dogs are increasing in number by the day. Hospice services, Nursing and convalescent homes, centers for gifted children and even hospitals are opening their doors to visits by therapy dogs. These dogs can be of any age or breed (some organisations request only registered therapy dogs; others welcome any well-behaved and loving pet) and you and your dog may be able to volunteer your services (Google ‘pets as therapy dogs’ to see what’s on offer!)

Visits with a therapy dog may be just the thing that will bring relief or happiness to an otherwise ill or hard-to-reach person, and your joy at seeing your dog relate to these people is more than worth every minute of your time.

Dogs use their bodies and paws to express a variety of different things. Here we have some examples of common canine body language and explanations as to what they mean. This item also includes a 7 part video lecture on dog body language, we believe this to be one of the most comprehensive canine body language presentations currently available online.

Dog crouches with front legs extended, rear up, and head near the ground: This is the classic play-bow and means simply “I want to play!”

Stiff-legged, upright posture or slow, stiff-legged movement forward: “I am in charge around here!” and “I challenge you.” A dominant dog will use this posture to indicate assertion of authority and a willingness to fight for it.

Body slightly sloped forward, feet braced: “I accept your challenge and am ready to fight!”

Dog rolls on side or exposes underside: “Let us not argue” or “I am not a threat to you” or “I accept that you are in charge here.” This is a submissive response to avert conflict. Many dogs adopt this posture in a fairly relaxed and contented manner when they are around their pack leader. When your dog rolls on his back for a belly rub, he is actually accepting you as leader of the pack.

Dog places head on another dog’s shoulder or places paw on the back of another dog: “I want you to know who is the boss around here.” These gestures are commonly used by dominant dogs, pack leaders, and dogs that have aspirations of becoming a pack leader.

Mouthing: This shows up in dog-human interactions as the dog taking the handler’s hand in his mouth or, while walking, taking the lead in the mouth. Mouthing can be a serious sign of dominance challenging and shows that the dog does not accept the human as pack leader.

Dog places paw on master’s knee: “Look, I am here” or “Pay attention to me.” This attention-seeking signal has many variations. They include pawing the air in front of their master or sliding the head under the master’s hand.

Hair bristles on back and shoulders: This is a sign of anticipated aggression. A ridge of hair bristling down the back is a sign that says “Do not push me, I am angry!” When the bristling extends to the shoulders it means “I have had it with you” and is a sign of an imminent attack.

Dog sits with one front paw slightly raised: This is another sign of stress but is combined with insecurity. It means “I am anxious, uneasy and concerned.”

Dog rolls on his back and rubs it on the ground: This is sometimes preceded by nose rubbing where the dog pushes his face, and possibly his chest against the ground in a rubbing motion or rubs the face with a forepaw, from eyes to nose. They often follow feeding or occur as the dog’s owner begins to prepare food. However they also can occur following or in anticipation of other pleasant activities.

Scraping the ground and ripping the turf with the paws: This is usually after the dog has defecated but may occur at other times. Dogs have glands on the bottom of their feet that provide each with a unique scent. What a dog is saying here is ” I was here and I am leaving my calling card!”

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written by Carol O’Herily

To BARF or not to BARF – that’s the bone of contention at the moment in the dog world.

Australian vet Dr Ian Billinghurst’s book Give Your Dog A Bone, which introduced the BARF (biologically appropriate raw food) diet for dogs, threw the cat among the pigeons when it was first published in l993.

While we long ago discovered the physical benefits of feeding this species-appropriate diet to our own dogs, we didn’t see it as our place to interfere with or try to convert those people who were happy with the convenience of feeding their dogs a commercially produced product.

After all, dogs are scavengers and will try to pick up nutrients from pretty well anything that even remotely resembles food – sticks, stones, faeces, wood, grass, garden plants, coal, soap, dog food. It’s when they start on other things like the kitchen walls, skirting boards, carpets, the remote control, the post or the family’s pet rabbit that their owners start to think about calling in professional help for a behavioural problem.

The catalyst for one dog owner calling us for help was when she came home from work to find that her new dog had dug up her old dog and was blissfully feeding on its rotting corpse in the garden. It took a lot of talking to get the lady to understand that what her dog did, though horrific from the human viewpoint, was perfectly normal and instinctive behaviour for a scavenger short on nutrition.

Most dog owners try very hard to do the right thing by their pet. They take it to an obedience class and put in a lot of work in an effort to have a well-behaved dog. It can be soul destroying when the dog’s behaviour is great in class but atrocious at home.

Frustrated owners often re-home these badly behaved dogs. Some are destroyed because they breached the bounds of human decency by biting somebody. People have come to accept that horses bite. So do cats, hamsters, birds, pigs and rabbits. When a dog bites a person, we kill them rather than try to understand what happened. Dogs and humans are two totally different species trying to live together as friends, but each species has vastly different rules for survival.

What we have come to understand after dealing with numerous problem dogs is the link between diet and bad behaviour. We’ve found that a lot, if not all, of the dog behavioural problems we treat happen for the most part as a direct result of the desperation and stress suffered by dogs when owners innocently give them a diet which is inappropriate for their species.

However, it is simplistic to say that all bad behaviour can be cured by diet. This is not a cure all. Dogs need to be treated individually, not only in relation to diet but also according to their environment, pack, breed and history. However, suitable rehabilitation of problem dogs can be achieved very quickly if re-training is combined with sensible feeding.

Owners are told that their dog will grow out of bad behaviour such as chewing, digging up the garden, jumping up and weeing all over the house. The good news is this is correct. The bad news is that some dogs can also grow into bad behaviour.

The connection is food. Pups are generally fed multiple meals from a variety of ingredients and they are usually very happy little creatures. Something happens between happy puppyhood and out-of-control adulthood. A once happy puppy can become desperate and very badly behaved if its nutrition diminishes at the same time as its growth speeds up.

Frequently the onset of bad behaviour can be traced close in time to when the frequent feeding regime was changed. If the feeds are reduced before the pup’s growth slows down, the puppy will instinctively seek to supplement its diet by trying to find edible items either in the house or garden. Unfortunately they don’t have a reference book of edible items, so they try anything and everything within reach.

These young dogs can become quite loopy in their search for nutritional supplements. One of the symptoms of this desperation is hyperactivity. The owner then tries to do the right thing and take the dog for long walks ‘to use up its energy’. This can actually make matters worse as the dog expends the energy needed for growth.

CASE HISTORY: We work closely with a small, private shelter called Just for Dogs in Derbyshire. Margaret and Doug Smith who run the shelter followed our suggestion and took on the BARF diet for one of the young dogs at the shelter whose behaviour was so atrocious that people would sidle gingerly past her enclosure when they were viewing dogs. No one in their right mind would want Sasha in their home.

Because she was housed in a kennel with a cement floor, she was deprived of her ability to forage and supplement her diet. Also, the stress factor associated with kennelling further depleted her of vital nutrients. She consequently became unmanageable in her desperation to supplement and survive. Her behaviour changed dramatically with proper feeding and Sasha is now happily doing much better.

After this experience, Doug and Margaret gradually adopted the BARF diet for all of the rescue dogs in the shelter. Their feeding and veterinary expenses have markedly reduced and the previously unwanted dogs are being d very quickly. It is easy to re-home a placid, well-behaved dog.

Most people have been through the pangs of dietary excesses and deficiencies at some stage. You may not consciously recognise it as such but you will probably relate to standing in front of an open refrigerator, wanting to eat something but not knowing quite what you want. Mothers of teenage boys will recognise this behaviour. At times of stress and change such as during the teenage years, pregnancy, lactation, grief, loneliness or excessive exercise, our bodies crave different nutrients.

Dogs are no different when some nutrient is missing from their diet. They are even more attuned to their body’s needs than we are and develop all sorts of ways to supplement their diet. They don’t stand in front of an open refrigerator, but they do raid food cupboards and feast on table legs, tissues (particularly used ones) and anything else that comes within teeth range.

Listed below are some common behavioural problems and a brief outline of how the problems link to diet:

• barking – to call the person who supplies the food (or) ‘stay away from my food supply’
• chewing – trying items to find out if they supply nutrients
• destructive behaviour – looking for the elusive “something” to satisfy a dietary deficiency
• digging – searching for nutrients
• pulling on the lead – on the hunt
• inappropriate toileting habits in the adult dog – marking areas in the house where food is regularly eaten
• food stealing – dogs are opportunists, especially when chronically hungry for appropriate nutrition
• obsessive behaviour – often relates to the obsessive need to satisfy a craving or an expression of frustration when stopped from foraging to supplement the diet
• sibling rivalry – the leader gets first go at the food
• separation anxiety – their only source of food supply (owner) has gone
• jumping up – to stimulate vomiting which produces food in the animal world

Any or all of these problems can and do create havoc in the home of dog owners who just want their dogs to behave like the dogs on television.

People Aggression

The more desperate the dog, the more desperate the behaviour. If dogs knew that biting whilst living with us in our world would result in them being destroyed they wouldn’t do it, particularly since all their actions are about survival. So why do they do it?

If you have ever embarked on a weight reduction diet with determination and have been very good for weeks eating all the right things and seeing results, you will know that there comes a time when you would happily rip the arm from someone to get a chocolate bar.

Inappropriate dieting can produce aggression in the most amiable of people. This can happen also with the sudden withdrawal of previously often-taken substances such as nicotine, alcohol, barbiturates or sugar. Quite a lot of commercially produced dog food contains addictive ingredients, some as innocent as sugar. The rapid fluctuations in blood sugar levels has a lot to do with dogs that have ‘a mad half hour’ either before or after eating.

Left to their own devices, dogs will forage all day and feed on a large variety of plants, insects, bacteria and animal matter. They will roll themselves in all sorts of smelly muck. They come home and spend hours “cleaning” themselves. They pick up a lot of nutrients this way and can become quite aggressive if owners try to wipe them clean or bath them. It’s not that they don’t want to be bathed, but more that they see your behaviour as robbing them of the vital dietary supplements they have managed to pick up and bring home on their feet and fur.

CASE HISTORY: Stroller, a fourteen-month-old Blue Roan Cocker Spaniel was booked in for destruction when the owner contacted Bark Busters. He had attacked his owner. In unravelling the story, we found that Stroller had jumped up on the table, snatched a tissue and run under the table guarding his trophy aggressively. What Stroller didn’t know was that the owner’s engagement ring was inside the tissue. She naturally went under the table to retrieve it and Stroller attacked her. She was heartbroken because she thought that Stroller had turned on her.

He was brought to Bark Busters’ head office farm for rehabilitation. One of the first things we noticed about him was the putrid smell from both ends. This is one of the signs of dietary stress that we look for. We started him on the BARF diet immediately. Over the next four weeks, the smell disappeared and so did his aggressive possessiveness with items. He took naturally to the diet as do most dogs and that, with a combination of training, exercise and manipulation, produced an absolute treasure of a dog that anyone would be proud to own. He doesn’t now need to ‘hunt’ to supplement his diet, as he was doing when he snatched the tissue. It would have been so easy to destroy him for his ‘aggressive’ behaviour.

Dog or Food Aggression

Dogs also learn to jealously guard areas where they regularly collect minute dietary supplements. This can lead to what appears to be dog aggression if a dog from another pack approaches what they see as their hunting grounds. They have no idea that the area they’re guarding is a public park.

Dogs that are regularly fed from a bowl placed always in the same place can become aggressively protective of the bowl since they see it as their only source of food.

They are particularly driven by food, as are most animals. If you want your dog to be well behaved, study what dogs are meant to eat and feed it to your dog. Don’t just take our word for it. Do your research. There is a huge groundswell of change happening as people become more and more aware of how diet affects behaviour.

Zoo keepers go to great lengths to supply food which animals in their care instinctively eat in a wild situation – bamboo shoots for the giant pandas, leaves from the eucalyptus tree for koalas, fresh fruit and vegetables for the monkeys. Zoo keepers go to these lengths because they know that this ensures their animals remain happy and healthy.

We are our dog’s keepers. Why then would we not feed them a diet which is biologically correct for their species? We should try to ‘listen’ to what they’re trying so desperately to us with their ‘bad’ behaviour.

About The Writer:
Carol O’Herlihy is a director of Bark Busters UK www.barkbusters.co.uk
She is an experienced dog trainer and has helped to rehabilitate many dogs with behavioural problems.