August 2016

Dissecting you dog’s behavior is a double edged sword. On one hand, figuring out the why can lead you to the right solution. Is your dog barking out of fear? Or frustration? Or just because they’re being a dog? Are they not engaging because they’re stressed? Or because there are too many distractions? Are they peeing in house because they have a UTI? Or because there is leftover scent from a previous accident?

On the other hand, overanalyzing can stress you out. And your stress effects your dog. And makes things worse.

So how do you draw a balance?

This is how I approach an issue –

Take a break and remove yourself or your dog from the situation. That barking dog? Move it to another room, leave the park, separate it from other dogs or people.

Watch your dog’s behavior. Are they confident? Or skittish? Watch that tail, those eyes, the stance. Do they look stiff? Could it be pain? Find out is there is a significant contributing factor to behavior that needs to be addressed to effectively solve it.

Figure out what exactly you want. For most behaviors I want more than just “don’t do that”. For instance instead of “no baking” I want “quietly playing” or “lay quiet on a mat”. Why is this important? Because we need to shape and train what we want for the dog to make acceptable (to us) choices in the future.

Facilitate what you want. Be proactive in training it. I absolutely believe that dogs can quickly learn to understand and cease behavior with a “no”. And sometimes that’s enough. But if the behavior is ingrained or the dog is bored or curious, they need more than that. For instance, when Kolt is bored and bugging me, I don’t just tell him no. I tell him to go lay down. Or I tell him “that’s enough” (ending the behavior) and give him something to chew on (providing an incompatible behavior).

Behavior can be complex but dogs are pretty simple. They react to situations and do what’s rewarded or what seems to work for them. So figure out how to communicate what you want and reward what you want.

And never underestimate the importance of appropriate exercise and just hanging out with your dog. So figure out what you both find relaxing. Because sometimes we just need a mental reset. And so do our dogs.

Being a search dog is more than just searching for people or human remains. Some days it’s about being a public ambassador. It’s showing people what a well trained dog is capable of, it’s meeting and greeting kids, it’s taking new and busy environments in stride. And when we demo, it’s working in all those situations.

My team took part in two different public events in the past week and Kolt and Kenzi rocked it –

All set up and waiting for people to arrive