Training With Passion

March 5, 2015Leave a comment

Interview By: Marie Collett

As professionals we are always striving to learn more and increase our skill level, however this passion is not limited to training professionals. There are also amazing owners who see their furry family members as both student and teacher, and through their commitment to developing that special bond acquire a level of knowledge that could rival that of many full-time trainers. Eileen Anderson, of eileenanddogs.com, is one of these owners and we were privileged enough to correspond with her about her personal quest for knowledge.

Through reading her award-winning blogs we are able to witness those precious moments between Eileen and her dogs when a mutual understanding emerges and see how it strengthens their bond. There are aspects of behavioral science that are admittedly difficult to navigate or comprehend, but she has a gift for being able to cut through the jargon and make the material more accessible, allowing readers of varying skill levels to understand and apply the lessons to their own lives with their beloved pets. You may remember some of Eileen‘s posts as ones we’ve shared on the Helping Hounds social media pages. Here’s a little bit of background in case you’re unfamiliar with her work.

Eileen Anderson, BM, MM, MS

Eileen is a passionate amateur dog trainer who writes about learning theory, her life with three dogs, and force free training in her blog and other publications. She brings a science background, critical thinking skills, and teaching experience to her writing, with a focus on making training accessible and learning theory comprehensible to pet owners.

Eileen has worked professionally as a writer and academic editor, a network administrator, taught remedial college math, and trained all levels of computer skills in academic and workplace settings. She has a lifelong passion for making technology accessible to women, people with low literacy skills, and other underserved populations. She is now channeling that same urge to translate, explain, and make concepts comprehensible into the subjects of humane treatment of dogs and joyful companionship between dogs and people.

She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music performance, and a master’s degree in engineering science. She received the Certificate of Excellence for completion of Susan Friedman’s professional course, Living and Learning with Animals, in 2012. She lives in the mid-Southern U.S. and works at a non-profit that helps impoverished women access medical care.

When we contacted Eileen to request this interview, she was gracious enough to not only answer our questions but to include some wonderful links and videos as well, which help to illustrate some of the discussion points.

How did you become interested in dog training and behavior?

Like many people, I got a “problem” dog, although I hate calling her that now. The only problem was my ignorance! I got Summer in 2006, and at the time I had one other dog, my rat terrier Cricket. Before that, all my dogs had gotten along with each other OK and fit into my human life without a lot of trouble. I was not prepared for it when Summer, who was more than twice Cricket’s size, was aggressive towards her. (Actually, I’m not sure Summer “started” it, but the size differential made it a serious problem.) She could also jump my back yard fence, chewed everything, and drooled and ignored food toys when I tried to crate her. Before Summer, all my dogs had spent their daytimes in my yard all day when the weather was good, and just the fact of her fence jumping changed my life completely. I could never again “send” my dogs into the yard to potty or to spend a couple of hours unsupervised; I would have to go with them every single time. This seems like a trivial and natural thing now, and I no longer even want to leave my dogs in my yard unattended for any length of time. But at the time it was devastating to me, as were some of the other changes I had to make. I hadn’t known I was taking on a “project” instead of just getting a dog.

In any case, I ended up at the local dog obedience club, hoping that “obedience” would help Summer’s aggression and other issues. It didn’t help in a big way, but it started me down a road to find positive reinforcement training, classical conditioning, and learning theory. Summer is a much happier and confident dog now, and I have trained every other dog who has come into my life as well. Getting Summer changed the direction of my whole life, and I will always be grateful to her for that, besides appreciating her for the cool dog she is.

Do you have a favorite breed? We won’t judge!

I must say I do. I love rat terriers. Even to look at one makes me feel warm and happy. The sharp lines, their short coats and bouncy movements, their musculature—they just look “right” to me. I’m sure anyone who loves a particular breed knows that feeling. I am partial to terriers in general, but rat terriers are the ones for me. I love that combination of tough and sweet. When they are patrolling for varmints they are singleminded and all business. When they are in the house with their people you couldn’t imagine a sweeter companion.

I don’t currently have a rat terrier at my home and I may never again, but I am “godmother” to one dear rat terrier whom I see frequently. All my own dogs right now are mixed breeds. I have to put in a word for Zani though, my little hound and terrier mix. I think she **should** be a breed. Don’t worry; I’m not intending to add more puppies to the world! She is spayed. It’s just that she is perfect! Such a great looking, clever, and good-natured little dog. (She may be part rat terrier; that would explain why she too looks so “right” to me!)

What is your favorite type of behavior modification or training issue to tackle and why?

I love doing classical conditioning and counterconditioning. I love the idea—and the reality—that you can help an animal become more comfortable in the world simply by creating predictable good associations. It can be a long-term project, such as the work I do with my formerly feral dog Clara, under the supervision of a skilled trainer. Or it can be as easy as my five-day project that helped Zani overcome her discomfort with the movement of the elliptical exercise machine in my back room. When you free an animal of fears and phobias, they are free to make more choices in the world and have much more enriched lives. It is thrilling to me that I can help a dog do that.

What was your proudest training moment?

It actually relates to the classical conditioning I mentioned above. As a non-professional, I sometimes get training ideas that are not all that well thought through. They may have unintended consequences even if they succeed with the thing I intend. But this one was my own idea and it turned out great. When I got my feral puppy Clara, I was concerned that she would pick up Summer’s reactivity. Summer had at that time several triggers that happened frequently at home, including that the sound of delivery trucks would send her around the bend. Clara already had enough challenges from growing up in the woods; I didn’t want to add to her plate. So very early on I started giving her a great treat (canned cheese, her favorite) whenever Summer would bark. I did it so consistently that I got the full Pavlovian response; Clara would actually smack her lips and salivate when Summer would bark. Besides running to me wagging her tail. All the side effects of this training were good. It caused Clara to come looking for me whenever Summer barked, which then morphed into a strong recall. Little Zani learned the association and started showing up too, which inoculated her nicely from catching Summer’s habit. And finally—over the course of a couple of years—it took some of the potency out of Summer’s own reaction. She is learning to interrupt herself and come look for me instead of going nuts over trucks.

What is the one thing you would most like all dog guardians to know?

That you don’t have to have an adversarial relationship with your dog. Positive reinforcement based training is effective, and not just for easy dogs or tricks. When I first read about it, I couldn’t find any force free training local to me. I figured that positive reinforcement based training must be an exaggeration, some kind of wishful thinking. I was wrong. As I have learned more and more about it, every example I have ever seen of it “not working” is because of the limitations of the trainer, never some inherent quality of the dog. Training is a skill, and there is a learning curve. The people reading this are fortunate to have the wonderful trainers at Helping Hounds Training to help them learn those skills and enjoy their lives with their dogs…

In addition to the established eileenanddogs.com, Eileen also has a new website and an upcoming e-book that focus on sharing life with a dog who has dementia. With her characteristic accessibility and empathy, both promise to be valuable resources for anyone looking for information or support in regard to this condition. The website is http://dogdementia.com and the working title of the book is Loving and Caring for a Dog with Dementia.

She does it at home! Why not here?!

January 16, 2015January 12, 2015Leave a comment

Written By: Erin Wigginton, CPDT-KA

Have you ever wondered why your dog is an obedience rock star at home or in her group class but if you try to take her to the dog park or Petco she acts like she’s never heard “come” or “sit” before in her life? It’s the same story for dog owners everywhere and I hear “She really does KNOW how to (fill in the blank).” My response is always the same; “I know. I believe you. But to her, this context is so different that it’s too hard for her to follow instruction. Context matters and contextual changes that seem minute to us can make a world of difference to your dog.” She’s not being stubborn. She’s being a dog.

Dogs are incredibly observant creatures. They constantly notice (and are distracted by) things that we take completely for granted. The level of distraction that your dog faces with every outing is inversely related to how much practice he’s had around those distractions. Simply stated, the more practice your dog has in a certain context the less distracted he’ll be over time. It’s a process of desensitization. Consider the following. How many times a week do you leave your house? Where do you go? What do you encounter and experience? Now consider how many times in that same week your dog leaves your house. What does he experience? Who or what does he encounter? It’s probably a safe bet that you spend considerably more time outside your home than does your dog. It stands to reason, then, that everything (or at least most everything) you typically encounter are things that haven’t been novel to you in quite some time. Nothing is new or scary or exciting. For most dogs it is exactly the opposite. EVERYTHING is new and exciting…or scary and too much of either of those emotions (excitement or fear) will temporarily negate any training skills you’ve taught your dog. Add to that the fact that your dog isn’t just seeing and hearing all these distractions but he’s smelling all of them too and you’ve got a tough situation for us as dog owners.

So what do we do with that? How do we overcome it? The same way you overcame it as a child or young adult…exposure and practice. Now, I’ve written about socialization and fear periods in dogs and how those can shape the long-term behavioral health of dogs. Here and now I’m suggesting tips for behaviorally healthy dogs, young and old, whose owners simply want better reliability in different situations. If your dog if fearful (cowers, trembles, won’t take food, etc.) of many (or any) new situations or people or if your dog is reactive (barking, lunging, etc.) in new situations it’s time to call a professional for help. Never take a fearful or reactive dog into a situation which is likely to evoke a negative response without professional guidance.

For those fortunate folks out there with happy, confident dogs I offer this advice: practice, rest, repeat.

Practice: Get your dog out into different situations around new and interesting stuff. Figure out what your dog finds the most interesting or distracting. Write a list if there are more than a few. Then tackle the list one thing at a time. At first, distance is your friend. If your dog finds other dogs distracting, ask friends to help you with their dogs. Go for walks together but keep enough distance between your dog and your friend’s dog that your dog will still comply when asked for simple cues like “sit” or “wait”. I also really like using dog parks for this kind of practice. The trick is to keep your dog outside the fence. The fence keeps the other dogs from getting closer than you want them to, meaning you can use distance to your great advantage while still having a great opportunity to practice basic skills with your dog. When your dog is as compliant as you’d like him to be you can decrease the distance between him and the distraction and keep practicing. During this process I use food rewards even if I’ve replaced food with other rewards at home because I’m asking more of my dog in these new contexts and I need him to understand what I want and that it’s worth it to comply. If you use a clicker, that’s even better.

Rest: Always set a time limit (I usually recommend no more than 10 minutes) for practicing before you take a break. Taking a break will help your dog (and you) lower your stress level and perform better in the long run. A break can be as little a 2 minutes or as long as you need it to be. Don’t push your dog or yourself to a point of frustration. You want training to be fun and your relationship with your dog to remain strong. Show your dog that he can trust you to be fair in your expectations without getting frustrated with him for getting excited to see that new goldendoodle or the new neighbor.

Repeat: Practice often, two or three times a week if you can. The St. Louis area has a long list of dog parks and dog-friendly businesses where you can practice around all sorts of distractions. Some of my favorites are:

It takes time and practice to teach a dog to be compliant in many different situations but it IS possible! Get out there and practice with your dog. Put in the time and effort. I promise you’ll be glad you did!

The Young Dog’s Fear

January 9, 2015February 21, 2015Leave a comment

Written By: Erin Wigginton, CPDT-KA

Most of us have heard recommendations to socialize our puppies and I think that we can all agree that appropriate socialization is a wonderful thing. But why are we, as canine professionals, so adamant that appropriate socialization occur while the puppies are under 16 weeks old? Surely a five-month-old puppy should still be socialized. Yes, of course, but here’s the rub…socialization can become much more risky and remedial once a puppy crosses the threshold into adolescence and enters what is known as the “secondary fear period” (also known as “fear of new situations” or “FNS”). The “primary fear period” or “fear impact period” occurs while puppies are, usually, still with their mothers and have not gone to separate homes. Therefore, I will be focusing on the secondary period since it is most often experienced by new owners.

Before I go any further, allow me to define the “secondary fear period”. The “secondary fear period” occurs anytime between the ages of four months and eleven months of age. It is a time during which puppies are developing quickly both physiologically and mentally and are learning to test and experiment with their surroundings. This stage of development has great potential to shape your adolescent into a fantastic adult dog. Lacking early, appropriate socialization, however, it also has great potential to traumatize your youngster and create life-long behavior problems.

To safely maximize the potential in your young dog you can follow these simple steps:

Pay attention: Watch you dog for signs of stress or insecurity such as yawning, panting, or refusing treats (Signs of Fear In Dogs). If you notice these signs, remove your dog from the situation and give him time to calm down in a safe place. Unless your dog’s safety is at risk (an emergency trip to the vet, for instance), NEVER force your dog to endure a situation in which she is over-stressed. These situations can quickly turn from anxious to aggressive if you don’t help your dog to feel safe. Dogs can’t learn if they don’t feel safe so, safety FIRST and THEN training!

Take it slow: If you see that your dog is nervous, give him options. Allow him to go at his own pace to explore/investigate/greet and never push/pull him toward something he’s unsure about. If someone tells you you should just make your dog “face his fears”, have them consider that if you take away a dog’s option to flee, all he’s left with is the option to fight…who wants that? It also demonstrates to your dog that he can’t trust you to keep him safe which hurts your relationship and will slow any training process!

Make positive associations: If you know your dog will be exposed to something new or potentially frightening, make sure you bring truly tasty treats with you. As your dog behaves appropriately and becomes less fearful of the new situation, reward him! This will help him to associate wonderful things with formerly stressful situations and help him be more comfortable in the future. I always do this when taking youngsters to the vet.

Practice often: Improvement doesn’t happen without deliberate practice. Practice short sessions (15-30 minutes) a couple of times each week. It’s also helpful to keep a journal of your progress. It can help you see what needs more work and also be rewarding to look back on and see how far you’ve come!

Get Help!: If you are concerned that your dog is very fearful or even becoming aggressive in certain situations it’s time to contact a professional. Talk to your vet about options and search for a reputable force-free trainer in your area (www.apdt.com or www.clickertraining.com). If you happen to be in the St. Charles, MO or St. Louis, MO area, feel free to contact Helping Hounds! We’ll be happy to help!

It’s All About Relationship

December 30, 2014Leave a comment

By: Erin Wigginton, CPDT-KA

Over the summer I took my “Big Dog”, Andre, to an obedience practice and tried something new and a little scary. I took off the leash.

Let me give you a little history on my relationship with my “Big Dog”. I adopted Andre in October 2009 and hoped to jump into training immediately with the goal of someday soon competing with him in the obedience ring. Within a week of bringing him home I became aware of some significant behavioral issues, including severe separation anxiety, which would prevent us from entering competition for the foreseeable future. To make a long story short, it took over 18 months to sufficiently rehabilitate Andre so that we could actually participate in an obedience show. He was my first 100% force-free trained dog. I have never used a physical correction on him.

Fast forward three more years and it is the summer of 2014 and Andre has, so far, acquired two titles and is on his way to a third. We went to a practice session at Purina Farms’ beautiful Event Center in July and I got brave. I thought, “I’ve got an excellent relationship with my dog, he’s well-trained and is almost always immediately compliant…I bet I could take off his leash and he’d be good.” Never one to set my dog up for failure, we were all alone in a large practice ring at the end of the enormous room. Although there were dozens of other people and dogs at the other end, Andre was attentive and followed me closely.

Then, I did it.

I took off the leash and a part of me panicked just a bit. What if he runs off? What if he goes to greet another dog inappropriately and won’t come back? But you know what? He didn’t. He sniffed the artificial turf, “reading the doggie newspaper” as we call it, but never strayed more than a few feet from me. I asked him for sits and downs and stays and he did them all perfectly, just as he does them at home and at other on-leash practices. I called him from long distances and he came directly to me and offered a lovely sit every time. I was so immensely proud of my once-anxious-now-confident boy; I was positively jubilant!

As I released him from his final stay and reached for his leash, which was lying on the turf, it happened. My worst fear. Another dog and handler entered the ring next to us…and Andre noticed. He straightened up, ears perked, eyes intent, and started off trotting toward the flimsy accordion gate that separated the two practice rings. Despite me inner desperation and fear, I managed to draw on my many years of practice and call sweetly (not scolding), “Andre, leave it. Come!”

I stood almost dumbfounded as my 85-pound, imposing, beautiful dog happily pranced in a u-turn and came directly to me just as I had asked. I was beaming. I threw him a party, right there on the turf in the ring. We danced and laughed and ran and played – all on-leash, of course, since fate is not to be tempted twice. We left that practice joyfully exhausted and I with a new-found respect for and trust in my canine companion. All the time and effort had been worth it and had done exactly what I set out to do – develop a loving relationship with my dog upon which I would be able to rely when the time came. The time had come and my relationship with my dog had won the day!

There is little else that is as rewarding as seeing proof that your dog not only answers you when you ask him to but that he does so, not because he fears the consequences of failure, but because he loves you as much as you love him.