The most important item on my desk.

Treat Jar – A precious item

Okay, maybe I should say the most important after my computer. Without my computer, I wouldn’t be sitting at my desk!

But this treat jar is key. It allows me to be ready to reinforce nice behavior on the fly.

The problem I needed to solve: Dan historically has barked (a lot! and loudly!) at delivery people and sometimes when the neighbors dog barks or if he sees deer outside. It’s stressful for both of us and really disruptive to my work flow, especially if I’m on the phone.

So, I’ve been consistently practicing:
Hear a delivery truck, or dog = come to me for treat jar time.
When I hear the truck or dog, I call him by saying “Dan!” in a calm, happy voice. He comes running! He still might woof once or twice and thats fine with me. A few weeks ago, he started to come when he heard the truck or dog, rather than waiting for me to call him. Even better! And the treat jar made this possible.

Here’s some keys to our success with the treat jar:

Special treats.

I use a kibble or dry treat that is different from his normal food. This makes it more interesting than his typical kibble, but will still last a long time at room temperature.

Experience with the jar.

I stumbled across this when I took Julie Daniels class, “Cookie Jar Games” through Fenzi Dog Sports Academy . You’ll notice my jar has a metal screw top. This is important. It makes a very specific sound when you open it. This sound can function as a “click” – a marker to tell your dog “that’s the behavior I like!”. So if I’m on the phone, I don’t have to talk to my dog in order to mark the behavior of checking in with me, I can just open the jar.

(By the way, Cookie Jar Games is available for sale as a self study course and all $$ goes to a fund for Julie’s current cancer treatment – link is here: https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/courses/4839)

How you give the treats is part of the reinforcer (part of what makes the behavior worth doing).

For Dan, it has been important to toss a few treats into his bed that is next to my desk. It sort of functions as a makeshift snuffle mat, so he can sniff around for the treats. This does three things.

  • It makes the treats more valuable, because there is a fun sniffing around activity that goes with them.
  • It also stretches out the treat experience in time. So if a truck or dog makes several noises across a few minutes, the doesn’t eat the treat and immediately run to the window and bark. He sniffs around for the treats for 15-20 seconds and then I can either toss a few more in the bed, or wait to let him offer another check in, depending on what I am doing and how intense the truck noise/dog barking is.
  • It gives a predictable place for the treats to land. So now when he hears the jar he actually stands between me and the bed. Sometimes he comes in and starts looking in the bed before I’ve gotten the treats there.

This isn’t just for barking, you can use it to reinforce any behavior you like. For example, if your dog is calmly resting in your office space, you can open the jar and place a treat near her nose (calmly). Or if your dog has stolen your underwear out of your closet, you can open the treat jar and trade treats for the underwear. Maybe give one treat to your dog directly for the initial trade, and then playfully toss a few more to add some movement (read: “fun”) into the treat-getting activity.

Finally, you don’t have to stop at one jar. We actually have 4 treat jars in our house. One by each dog’s crate for “going to bed”. One in the kitchen for calling in from outside, or going to mat while we are cooking/cleaning. And one in my office for coming when dogs bark/trucks come.

So, dig through your cupboards, pull out that nice jar you saved for something, someday, load it up and introduce your pup (and yourself) to the joy of the treat jar.

reactivity 1

Reactivity – An Epidemic

Leash reactivity, leash aggression, barrier frustration, dog reactive, dog selective…these are all terms used to describe basically the same problem. And it is a problem that is so widespread that I rarely leave my house without witnessing this behavior. In fact, my very own dog exhibits this behavior in certain situations. 90% of my clients have dogs that engage in reactive behavior.

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Above:  Dogs Reacting

I know that these behaviors aren’t new, but they are becoming more and more common and it is time to work towards preventing reactivity rather than  only doing damage control to fix reactivity.

Almost every dog owner I work with has a desire of either bringing the dog when they eat at an outdoor café, brining the dog to the beach or park, or taking the dog on a camping trip. We want our dogs to be integrated into our families and be part of the family activities. But, if that is the goal, we’ve got to put in the effort! It isn’t natural for dogs to be confined by a leash in a crowded place. That is a scary situation for them without the right training.

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Above:  Common expectations of the modern day dog

Modern dogs are either under or over stimulated most of the time. Mental, physical, and social stimulation is not evenly distributed over their day. They are alone in a quiet house and then walking on a busy street or unleashed at a crowded dog park.

60 or 70 years ago, dogs had the freedom to wander the neighborhood, visit with the children across the street, follow their owner on errands and so on. They were able to fulfill their mental, social, and physical needs independently. They could seek out the social interactions they needed in order to feel satisfied and they could avoid the situations they did not enjoy. Now, we control access to almost every experience our dogs have.

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Above: Historical dog, free to make choices

I think a big contributor to the problem of reactivity is the push to socialize your dog. Most dog owners now understand that in order to integrate their dog into their daily activities outside of the house, they need to do something. They need to socialize their dog. But, I think that sometimes more harm than good is done when attempting to socialize dogs.

I am not saying that socialization is a bad thing, but rather that it is usually done wrong! For most people “socialization” = “go to the dog park daily” or “meet lots of people and dogs”. This is not socialization. This misunderstanding of socialization results in repeated exposure to stressful situations that the dog is unable to avoid. What does a dog do when they can’t avoid a stressor? (Hint: What does any creature do?) They aggress. They fight when flight is not an option.

dog-greeting-300x200     Two dogs meeting on a walk

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Above:  Pushy and scared dogs meeting on leash,
two unhappy dogs meeting

Sometimes this aggression is a lunge, bark, or snarl of frustration. But sometimes it results in a snap, nip, or bite. Even the (only…) lunging, barking dog is causing damage though. He’s screaming at the other dog! He is teaching other dogs he encounters that some dogs behave this way seemingly out of the blue, despite the passing dog’s efforts to communicate “I mean no harm!”. Now the passing dog has learned that his communication was not effective. With repetition he will find another way to say “stay away, you are scaring me!”. It might look like aggression. And this is how reactivity and aggression spread throughout our communities.

To socialize correctly, we need to be more thoughtful about what our dogs encounter and how to handle that situation. The need for this comes from the intensity that has developed in our living situations. Because it is so easy for your dog to be overwhelmed, you have to break down every experience into smaller pieces. We need to make every new experience 100% enjoyable for the dog. We need to give our dogs the freedom to say “no, I don’t want to go to the dog park today” or “no, I don’t want to go to the dog park ever”. And we need to provide structure for social encounters so that we can develop dogs who are safe, confident, and happy.

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Above:  Good social interactions between dogs, positive experiences and happy dogs

How can we stop the reactivity epidemic?

  1. Smart, structured socialization.
  2. Teach impulse control.
  3. Teach leash manners.
  4. Prevent pushy greetings.
  5. Let your dog’s body language tell you when he’s nervous.
  6. Don’t assume every dog wants to meet your dog. Ask the dog’s owner then, ask the dog by observing his response to your dog.
  7. LEASH YOUR DOG, to prevent unwanted greetings.
  8. Interrupt inappropriate interactions by calling your dog or leading away gently, and rewarding the behavior of moving away.
  9. Don’t punish aggression or reactivity. It will make it worse.
  10. Get help right away from a qualified, positive dog trainer or behavior consultant if you notice any sign of reactivity or aggression in your dog. Don’t assume it will go away on it’s own. It won’t.