Behaviour Archives - Page 4 of 13

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Donna finds shelter from Thunder Phobia

On May 22, 2014

The situation with Thunder Phobia thus far

We adopted Donna in January last year so the battle with thunder phobia has been raging for one year five months.

Thunder Phobia
The fear of thunder that descends the dog into terror that looks like this:Ears pinned back, whale eyes, tense mouth, pacing, climbing on furniture and humans, yawning, drooling, violent trembling, peeing and pooping.

Solutions we have tried

We’ve tried some products that are said could help with Donna’s thunder phobia – the Thundershirt, DAP collar and crate training.

I’ve just gotten a copy of the CD Through A Dog’s Ear and waiting for an opportunity to see how that works.

//Edit: Here’s the review of the CD and accompanying book.

The thing working best for us appeared to be counter-conditioning with food so I concentrated on that, using the Thundershirt, her Collar and Crate-training as additional aids.

Thundershirt, collar, lead

Counter-conditioning with food

So what happened was, everytime it rained and thundered, I would put a little dish of food in her crate hoping that would create positive associations to the thunder. She was very comfortable with her crate but only when it wasn’t raining. So for her to be willing to go into the crate to take the food was a good step in getting her to be even more comfortable with the crate. But once she took the food, she came out of it immediately.

Counter conditioning
To “condition” means to teach, and to “counter” means to change. So counterconditioning just means to re-teach the pet to have a pleasant feeling and reaction toward something that he once feared or disliked. We do this by associating the feared thing with something good so that it predicts good things for the animal. As soon as the dog or cat sees the thing, we give him a delicious treat to create a pleasant emotional reaction. Over many repetitions, the animal learns that whenever that thing appears, good things happen! Eventually, the process produces a neutral or positive emotional reaction to the sight of the previously feared or disliked person, animal, event, place or object. – ASPCA

So it became a long, tedious process of scooping out the food, putting it into the crate, taking the dish out again when she’s done and doing that over and over again as long as the thunderstorm lasted. And that could be the whole afternoon or the whole night. So you can see how it would take a toil on the human

The only reason why I persisted was because I could really see a difference. She started anticipating this routine when it rained. And she would bounce to her crate in excitement. Sure she noted the thunder with a frown even while she was lapping at her food, but at least she was no longer trembling violently or drooling or pacing around… for the earlier parts of the storm. She was lying on the floor in the front the kitchen watching me scoop out the food before running to the crate.

waiting outside while I am busy with her food in the kitchen Donna with her ThunderShirt which helps to lessen her pacing agitatedly about the flat when it rains.

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The downside to counter conditioning with food was that eventually she would reach the point of diminishing returns and I had to scoop larger portions to get her interest. And finally that would stop working as well. And if it were still thundering then the thunder phobia would make itself evident.

The good news – the more sessions we went through, the more I could lengthen the intervals between each treat, which means she could progressively stay calmer for a longer time. And at one point, she was calm by herself with low rumbles of thunder from the distance without my intervention.

That is, until we hit the dry season. Good news for me because it meant I could take a break and sleep well and be more productive in the daytime. But that also meant that whatever progress we made backslide-ed when the rainy season came again. Boo.

Finding a safe place to hide from the thunderstorm helps the dog to calm

For the longest time, we have limited her area of activity to the living room and hoped that with all the actions we have taken, she will slowly find it comfortable in her crate in the living room even with the storm.

It just wasn’t happening.

And when something isn’t working, it would be stupidity to continue so I thought I’ll change the venue and let her be in the study with me when it storms.

I did the same thing that I did in the living room. Treated her every time it thunderstorms. It took a bit of work at the beginning but comparatively quicker. Perhaps the work in the previous season helped get us into the mode of think about food and not about the storm so Donna was maintaining calm a lot easier.

Thunder phobic dog is unhappy but no longer panicking, even without thundershirt.
She doesn’t look it but this is better than if she were pacing around, drooling and freaking out in general. You can see she is unhappy still. Her jaws are tensed and clamped shut, her ears are pinned back and her brows are sort of frowning. But she is at least no longer panicky, even without thundershirt.

Never would I imagine the difference being in the study could make. The key difference that really showed that location made a huge impact in her behaviour was that once upon a time, she was happy to see her collar and lead when it stormed and now, she looks worried when she sees it!

She would go to the study by herself and look out again to see if you are going in there with her. I can only conclude that previously the collar and lead made her happier because she thought it meant we would go out and escape from the experience of the storm from inside the flat.

But now she has somehow got the connection that the storm was even scarier outside so she doesn’t want to leave the flat. She has started to anticipate the rain two hours in advance and paces about. Even when it hasn’t started raining yet and I thought to take her out for a short walk before it rains, she got worried and was reluctant to come and get her collar put on.

The living room with its floor-to-ceiling glass balcony doors does little to muffle the buffeting wind, thunder and the lightning flashes. So I have to smack myself in the head because it made so much sense now. That once she familiarises herself with the small study she would be more comfortable in it. She feels safer in it.

The study has become her Thunder Shelter.

From her height, it’s almost den-like. All she sees are cupboard doors, books on shelves and some junk we pile on the floor. No windows. Having the door opened makes her nervous when the thunder is particularly bad and she would pace to the door to peer outside. Closing the door helps her calm down even more.

Cheese on nose takes mind off thunder

laughing cow cheese

I didn’t like the smell of canned food in the study, so I switched the treat to slivers of cheese that I cut from a cube and deliver on a finger tip. She liked the cheese. But bringing your arm up and down to feed her little bits of cheese the whole afternoon is again tedious.

I remembered the Peanut Butter series of photographs that I saw on Instagram. Basically these are photographs taken of dogs trying to lick peanut butter off the top of their noses. I smeared the cheese on her nose.

Best thing I’ve ever done.

She didn’t like having cheese smeared on her nose, but it definitely took her mind off the thunder as she focused on trying to lick the cheese off her nose. She took quite a bit of time to clean her nose completely before I need to deliver her next treat to her mouth to make her happier. :P So no, she doesn’t get irritated by cheese on the nose all the time.

The dog decided that it was more efficient to scrape the cheese off with her paw and then lick the cheese off her paw.
She decided that it was more efficient to scrape the cheese off with her paw and then lick the cheese off her paw.

Nowadays, if it’s low rumbling from a distance she can stay on the floor or her bed under the table in the study without pacing or treats as long as there is a human with her. OK, I lie, it is still up and down when it comes to her and her moods so cheese treats are a necessity still.

And definitely when it thunders badly, cheese treats MUST be delivered in more amounts in order to distract her before she goes over threshold. (No wonder she’s gaining weight) Needless to say, we are spending more time in the study with the rainy days we are seeing this couple of weeks.

Still a long journey ahead

However, all bets are off if she is home alone when it starts to storm. The other day I ran home in the rain to find her on the dining room chair panicky and slobbering away. Saliver was all over the room. She jumped off when I entered and the lightweight chair slid away from her. It is dangerous for her to prance around like that especially in a fright. She was a mess.

Getting her to not react to thunderstorms when home alone without humans is a longer journey. But at least Donna has found a shelter in the storm to hide in relative peace but only when the humans are home.

I think the rain has stopped!
Goes out and looks left, right... and returns back into the room.
Goes out, licks butt, looks left, right… and returns back into the room.
safer to stay in the study

Dogs on Things in Pet Photography

By weliveinaflat

On May 15, 2014

In Behaviour, Photography

Maddie the Coonhound introduced me to the concept of dogs on things… and not just normal things like the couch or your bed. Maddie has been on some strange objects and made many beautiful pictures – like this, this and this.

But because I have a rather anxious dog at times, my first thought looking at Maddie’s pictures was – was she ever scared to be in this position with a camera aiming at her? Or this position, or this.

But see here, I am judging or at least questioning from the perspective of my own dog. And I really shouldn’t do that. I know absolutely nothing about her real life outside of pictures and some write ups online. Maddie appears to be very popular, having been on TV and also published a photo book. So if Maddie was truly unhappy, perhaps somebody would have pointed it out. Like in the case of Grumpy Cat over here.

The thing is when something cute goes viral, it is human to try to mimic. Here’s Niner on things. And Norm Pug, sometimes on things. :P

Donna, as you know, has been on things as part of our urban parkour activities during walks. I try to get Donna to hop on the things herself and she is generally ok with jumping on things she perceives to be stable.

But new things can sometimes appear to threaten her mortality to her. Like these stack of canned food that was recently delivered to our flat. She was not entirely relaxed because this is something new to her, but not overly terrified either. She was of course treated for standing and staying there.

black and white mobile app sketch of a dog on cans

But pretty soon she grows less happy or comfortable with the whole situation. You can see the signs. The head looking away, the little frown of her eye brows and the tail has shifted inward a little.

black and white mobile app sketch of a dog on cans

So it’s time to let her off before she starts feeling even more negative. Happiness restores when she is allowed off the stack.

black and white mobile app sketch of a dog on cans

Knowing what signs to look out for makes me look at dog photographs differently nowadays. A photo that may have looked cute before would not now if I thought the dog was displaying signs of trying to cope with stress in the picture – licking, yawning, pinned ears, tucked tail, etc.

I have to say, it is easy to miss the signs when you’re looking through a tiny view finder. It is only when one looks back on the photos, magnified, and really have the time to peruse them do I find the finer details that indicate some level of stress or not.

So many pet owners are sharing their pet pictures on Instagram and Facebook nowadays. It makes sense for us to know what to look out for when taking photos of our own dogs. And at the same, know that we do not know the context the dog was in when looking at pictures of other people’s dogs online. A dog could be licking out of stress or he could be licking off peanut butter from his nose!

So relax, go forth and enjoy more photos of happy, well-loved dogs. :)

References
– Perching pooch Maddie shows off skills on Today’s set
– Meet Maggie the acrobatic dog who launched a dream
– This wild idea
– Maddie on Things
–

Donna at 12:00pm

By weliveinaflat

On May 8, 2014

In Behaviour

1 Day 1 World Project: Donna at 12:00pm – 1:00pm Tuesday

It’s when the dog goes still that you realise she is worried and nervous. She may look still but, if you touch her you can feel her quavering. In fact, if you look long enough, you’ll realise the trembling is quite visible. The whale eyes say it all. Why are you still taking pictures of me? – the panicky dog.

She doesn’t stay still for long, once she goes beyond threshold she would get up and tentatively wonder about unsure of where to go is the safest. My role is always to try to keep her as comfortable as possible, taking cover under the table without her going beyond threshold.

We’ve actually made pretty good progress. She hasn’t had an episode of fear peeing this year yet. However, there is still this dependency on the human being there, which isn’t good. Still, progress is progress.

For 24 weeks, weliveinaflat will post photos taken for a specific hour in that week.
We will cover 24 hours in 24 weeks. (I’ve no idea how we will do the sleeping hours, lol!)
More about the 1 Day 1 World Project here.

Do dogs choose who they play with?

By weliveinaflat

On May 1, 2014

In Behaviour

Now and then we bring Donna to a dog cafe to give her more chances to socialise with other dogs outside of walks and the dog run.

III cafe

But perhaps on this day, Donna was already tired out from all that excitement at the Pet Expo, so she chose to chill out under our table at III Cafe instead as we had our lunch. (Incidentally, this month’s Pets magazine has a picture of Donna as one of the dogs in the background attending the Pets Expo agility trial lesson!! It’s tiny but we’re there! LOL)

III cafe

At least, that was what I thought at first. But she did seem happy to move around and check out any new dogs that come into the cafe.

III cafe

But pretty soon, she goes back to laying in the middle of the cafe floor like she is the queen of the place.

III cafe

Sure, she takes note of all the activity around, but that’s about it. Seems pretty boring to me :P

One of the cafe patrons was so impressed by her being such a good, fuss-free dog she had to take a picture of her.

III cafe

And still she laid there.

Finally up she goes to check out another dog which turns out unfruitful.

III cafe

She finally turns to check out the little dogs milling around her that she has been ignoring the whole time!! And then turns to me as if to say, “I tried, but they all ignore me!”

III cafe

Seems like same as for humans, it can be hard for dogs to make new friends, huh?

It seems like some people like to congregate around dog cafes with other humans with the same dogs. But for Donna, she doesn’t seem to be particular about just meeting other mongrels.

Rather Donna sometimes seem to be more excited about approaching dog breeds that she had a great time playing with before such as Westies. But more than that, I am starting to think that she has a size preference when it comes to making friends. Donna seems to like to approach dogs that are closer to her size, such as Shiba Inus, Huskies, Golden Retrievers and other mongrels.

Does that make sense? Do your dogs choose who they rather play with? And do you know why?
I would love to hear!

You are a pain in the nose, human!

By weliveinaflat

On April 24, 2014

In Behaviour

Three facts about your dog’s nose

Dog nose prints are unique like human finger prints!

But unlike human fingerprints, dog nose prints aren’t really used for dog identification as much as the microchip or the dog tag.

Still that hasn’t stopped pet lovers from trying their hand on DIY projects that help them capture this unique part of their fur buddy. There are some webpages that suggest dog nose print projects that can be fun for kids and the dog lover.

But our dog here would likely not take it kindly to have food colouring or china ink painted over her nose and then have a piece of paper pushed into her face to make a unique nose print project.

Nope, those tensed up pinned back ears and that tilt in the head to avoid the human and her camera says it all. You’re being a pain, human!

But even without that wet ink to make a nose print, my dog’s nose is typically wet and cold.

Why do dogs have wet noses and what use do they have?

Because they have wet tongues that lick their noses! Hahaha. Common sense, huh?

Although sometimes, when a dog is not feeling well, he/she may not lick the nose as much so it becomes dry. However, in this Q&A with a Monterey vet, the vet also makes it clear that a dry nose may sometimes be a symptom of illness but that is not always the case.

Brachycephalic breeds with short, high noses like the Pug and the Boston Terrier are also more likely to have dry noses since their noses are set too high and their tongues couldn’t reach them! This also means that such dogs have a higher tendency to suffer from noses that are cracked and dry on top.

Eat your hearts out, snorties! *Now that is just rude, Donna!*

But back to the wet nose, it actually helps the dog to (1) cool down (rather than overheat) and (2) to smell better. No, I don’t mean it makes Donna sweet smelling. (Wouldn’t mind if that were the case.) The wet stuff on the nose is mucus that collects chemicals present in the environment which the dog can lick to aid her in her mission to sniff and process all the different smells she is exposed to on walks, etc.

So yah, high five to the wet nose! *thumbs up*

The nose is to the dog, what eyes are to the human
(but sighthounds need not apply, I think :P)

Speaking of sniffing, there’s no looking down on Brachycephalic breeds even if they have to suffer from their funny faces and shorter noses due to humans breeding them to look cute. According to this dummies article, even flat nose dogs ~~smell better~~ ‘detect scents far better than humans’!

It’s kind of debatable if it’s the human’s loss or gain, I mean, considering I am picking up dog poo everyday… maybe not having such superhuman sense of smell is not a bad thing. :P

So stop with that sticking your nose high in the air, Donna!

And yes, I’ll get out of your face now, poor thing. (She’s persisting sitting there looking grumpy rather than walking away because she wants to eat the forbidden ice cream waffle.)

with 2 Brown Dawgs
and Heart Like a Dog.

References

Dog meets ice cream waffle – an unrequited love

By weliveinaflat

On April 18, 2014

In Behaviour

dog begs for waffle

Arghh! She said “Leave it.”

dog begs for waffle

Alright, alright, no poking my nose into the human food. Do I get some if I wait for it?

dog begs for waffle

…. ….

dog begs for waffle

This is more tragic than a Shakespearean tragedy!

dog begs for waffle

I don’t like this, human!

The last photo is interesting for me. I’m not sure yet, how upset or unhappy she is when she turns away her head like that.

with 2 Brown Dawgs
and Heart Like a Dog.

Life gets stressful sometimes…

By weliveinaflat

On April 13, 2014

In Behaviour

Donna has spent most afternoons this week tense and worrying about the possibility of rain and thunder in the afternoons. I said “possibility” because sometimes she stands shivering, with her tail tucked even when it is bright and sunny outside and 2 hours before it actually starts to rain. Does the air pressure change as early as 2 to 3 hours before it rains? Anyway, that’s Donna guarding the bedroom door in case the rain comes in down the hallway. Life gets stressful for this dog sometimes.

Evening tug games to alleviate the stress.

More relaxed.

Most relaxed.

Tug toys are made to hang on to

By weliveinaflat

On April 10, 2014

In Behaviour

Donna will hold on forever! from weliveinaflat on Vimeo.

OK, so not forever. :P

Donna loves tug. It’s probably hard-coded into her DNA.

I had to teach her to weave between my legs, sit on the weighing scale and touch her nose to my hand.

But tug?

She does it all on her on. Even more than she retrieves!

Dogs are predators and scavengers. They need an outlet for exercising their instincts. The predatory sequence is eye, stalk, chase, grab/shake, and beyond that kill, eat. The game of tug-of-war keeps the sequence at bay, trained properly, to grab/shake. It is a satisfying experience for the dog and can be a very good training tool. A healthy outlet for natural prey instincts is to understand that the key is to play the game with rules. – why dogs like to play tug of war

We have been told not to play tug with her before or at least to always make sure we win if we do.

The first video doesn’t show it but after some months, we found that it doesn’t really matter who wins. And honestly, I would have some issues with the dog’s intelligence if she were to persist to want to keep playing a game that she was bound to lose. I wouldn’t want to be the losing side all the time!

playing tug Give it up, human!

So now and then, we do let her win :P And interestingly enough, there was a couple of times where she would run willy nilly to her crate with her toy, before peeking at us to see if we follow. And when it looks like we’re ignoring her, she’ll bring the toy back. ;)

There are some things we do to make tug safe for dog and humans. That’s because even if Donna is not aggressive or protective over her toys (some dogs are, so tug may not be that great an idea just yet for them), there will be times when she gets too excited and accidentally nip or scratch the human.

1) Use a longer toy.
The longer it is the further your fingers can be from the dog’s teeth to prevent accidental nipping or biting. There will be times when Donna feels herself losing her grip on the toy and tries to adjust her grip on it to get a better hold of it. This is when she may accidentally bump her teeth to our fingers or hands.

playing tug
This toy may be a little short.

2) Training that teeth and skin contact ends the game
When Donna gets excited, she may try to snap at the toy to get it, particularly if it dangles enticingly just within reach. That of course means danger for human fingers to some extent. Stop play when dog gets too rough so dog learns that she gets to play when she plays nicely

playing tug
Another entirely too short toy when she grabs it by the middle. Watch out for those teeth!

3) Teach “drop it”
Particularly for Mr P’s case where tug becomes a rousing game, Donna can get over-excited. Being able to get the dog to drop the toy on cue means that we can go into time outs easier and let Donna regain calmness before she accidentally hurts us from being over enthusiastic in play.

Some dogs play growl when they are having fun at tug, but not Donna. She does however reserve the odd snort now and then. I don’t know for what but I imagine its to express disgust at the unfair advantage we have over her in the game :P

…(you) don’t want to lift the dog off the ground by the tug because it could hyper-extend their neck and possibly cause an injury. Try to mimic a dog when playing tug – they pull side to side or straight back. Their necks are built to have tremendous power from side to side, but not up and down. When dogs tug with other dogs you will never see one jerk or bounce the other up and down. – Should I play tug with my dog

References
– Why dogs like to play tug of war
– Should I play tug with my dog?
– To tug or not to tug
– Dog-training tip video – tugging with your dog
– Rules for Playing Tug with your Dog
– How police dogs work
– The right way to play tug with your dog