It’s one of those jobs you just don’t ask a native (and lifelong) Californian to do: review dog coats. The only time I tried it, I failed; I separated the products under consideration into two categories – rain coats and warm coats – and was taken to task, rightly, for not providing a choice for dogs who have to go out in freezing rains. Because… a freezing rain? I have never experienced such a thing, much less had to walk my dog in one.
I was reminded of this recently, when I flew into Edmonton, Alberta, in order to tour the Champion Pet Food manufacturing facility north of there. I have never, ever, been somewhere so cold before – and they were having a relatively warm week for that time of year. The whole time I was there, I kept thinking, how on earth can you walk your dog in this cold? How do their paws not freeze?
Well, I guess they do; at least, the only dog I saw being walked the whole time I was there (about 36 hours) was wearing boots. I’m sure that while coyotes and wolves and even feral dogs either adapt or die in such cold, dogs who live indoors most of the time do need boots to protect their feet when being walked. The ground was just solid ice, whether frozen snow, dirt, or concrete.
On WDJ’s Facebook page a month or so ago, I linked a humorous (at least to me) YouTube video of dogs who had just been fitted with boots and were walking in them for (apparently) the first time. SO MANY people commented how cruel it is to outfit the dogs so and them laugh at them, as if boots on dogs is some great cruelty. I’m telling you, cruelty would be walking an indoor dog without boots in an Edmonton winter. Or even in Boston, say, where dogs are commonly treated to frozen sidewalks and salty slush, the better to burn any cracked paw pads that inevitably develop in cold winters.
Hey! You readers who live in incredibly cold places! How do you help your dogs cope with the cold? We’d love for you to share your favorite tips and tools.
I don’t know why it always surprises me when someone refers proudly to their strict adherence to prohibiting their dog from getting any “people food.”
I understand they are proud because they believe they are doing the right thing that they think “people food” is somehow bad for dogs and that they are keeping their dogs well (and well – behaved, even) by not “spoiling” them.
What I don’t understand is how people have come to regard what I’m going to call * real food * could be bad for dogs.
Of course, there are a few foods that shouldn’t be given to dogs, such as chocolate and macadamia nuts both contain substances that are toxic to dogs. The list of prohibited foods gets much longer if you include foods that no one in their right mind would actually FEED to a dog, such as avocado pits, raw bread dough, and gum containing xylitol. And then there are foods that shouldn’t be given to dogs in large amounts, the absolute amount of which is dependent upon the dog’s weight: onions, raisins, grapes, and fatty trimmings from meat.
But generally, these individual items are not what people are talking about when they say they don’t give their dogs “people food.” What they really mean is, leftovers. And there is no good reason at all to NEVER give your dog leftovers from healthy foods you eat yourself. Healthy food is healthy!
The converse is also true: foods that are unhealthy for you (such as fast food burgers and fries, pizza, mashed potatoes loaded with butter and sour cream and fatty gravy) are no healthier for your dog. Moderation in all things! An occasional treat of a reasonable portion of one of these foods is fine; it’s not going to ruin your dog!
Common sense applies. I wouldn’t recommend sharing from your plate in response to whining or begging behaviors unless you love those behaviors and never plan on eating with your dog in front of other people. Reduce the total amount of food that a dog receives on the same day that he receives a lot of table scraps so you don’t make your dog fat. Don’t replace the majority of your dog’s “complete and balanced” diet with a nutritionally incomplete and wildly imbalanced diet. I mean, they could surely survive and even thrive on our scraps and dogs do survive and thrive on nothing but table scraps all over the world, and have for millennia! but for optimum health, you want to make sure they receive a full complement of the proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals that dogs need (human and canine requirements being different).
But do give your dog some “real food”! With the exceptions noted above, good food fresh, home – prepared, heavy on the vegetables and whole grains and lean meats is good for him, too.
First, lets teach your dog the value of the click. Begin that lesson by once again hand-feeding all your dogs meals over the next four days. In general, I find that hand-feeding is a good exercise to reintroduce whenever my dogs (or other dogs that I am boarding and training) are learning a new, difficult skill, or when I sense that they are beginning to lose focus.
1. CLICK AND HAND-FEED Sit on a chair or, if its easier, on the floor and have your dog sit in front of you. With her food bowl in your lap or at your side, hold the clicker where your dog cant focus on it. Be silent and keep other sounds to a minimum. As soon as you click, hand-feed a bite of food. When your dog finishes the bite of food, pause for a moment, make sure you have your dogs focus on you or on her food, and then click again. Let your dog see you reach immediately into the bowl for her next handful. Pause once more before clicking again. Repeat these steps about five times to help your dog begin to make the connection between the click and the food. Most dogs pick this up fairly fast and enjoy this new game.
2. PAUSE BEFORE FEEDING This time, pause a second longer for the click; continue to feed immediately after the click. On each of the next five handfuls, lengthen the intervening pause by one additional second. Then, on the next five handfuls, randomize the length of pauses between clicks from one to the 10 seconds. Keep giving the food immediately after the click. Remember to stay silent.
3. KEEP HER FOCUS Your dogs happy, animated body language will let you know she is getting the connection between the click and the food. Once she figures that out, try adding a slight delay after the click before giving her each handful of food. Watch your dog to see if she is looking at the food after the click; this means she understands that a treat will follow each sound of the clicker. It also means she is having fun learning what, to her, is another game.
For subsequent meals, go through Step One more quickly, saving more of the meal for Steps Two and Three. Within a few days, your dog should be making a clear connection between the click and the food. Remember to hand-feed her at different locations to help generalize the connection between the click and the treat.
I don’t know about you, but my Facebook news feed is often cluttered with posts regarding lost dogs. In the past week alone, friends or family shared photos and information about half a dozen different lost dogs, from all different parts of the country and lost due to all sorts of circumstances. I find these posts doubly sad, because not only are the people bereft for the loss of their dogs (and the dogs unquestionably scared out of their minds, cold, and hungry), many of the incidents described appear to have been avoidable – with hindsight, of course. But the point is, if people thought more about the bad things that can happen when they least expected them, and worked to prevent them, many of these tragic “lost dog” cases would never happen.
For example, there is a California family looking for their dog, who slipped his collar in the middle of being attacked by a loose dog on a walk, and who ran away in terror from his attacker and his family. While it’s arguable that attacks by loose dogs can’t have been prevented, what is certain is that if your dog’s collar can slip over his head in ANY circumstances, you need to walk him with a different type of collar or harness on! Well-fitted limited-slip collars (a.k.a. martingale collars) are best for many dogs with slender heads and thicker necks.
A well-adjusted and secure harness may be best for dogs whose neck and body anatomy (such as stocky Pugs) make any collars too risky.
I see many, many posts describing lost dogs with no collars (and therefore, no tags) on, which detail a variety of non-emergency reasons the dog was not wearing his or her collar (meaning, the dog didn’t slip the collar in a panic, but rather, wasn’t wearing a collar at the time of his or her escape). As long as gates can be left open, doors can be incompletely closed, a car accident can happen, and so on and so forth, your dog should have a collar on. However, second lines of defense are smart to employ with any dog who has a propensity to wander, or who is a flight risk when frightened. Securing a baby gate outside your main traffic doors or setting up exercise pens inside or outside the door in an “airlock” formation can prevent a door-darter from being rewarded by a quick (and risky) taste of freedom. And of course, car seat belts (or crating your dog in a car) are a great method for both protecting your dog from escaping your car after an accident and making certain he doesn’t bolt out of the car when the driver or passengers enter or exit.
One of the very first behaviors I begin to teach any of my own dogs or foster dogs is a recall, and I practice this behavior a LOT, in an effort to keep it super fresh and super reinforcing for my dogs. I almost always carry treats on a walk with dogs – and if a dog I am walking is new to me, and/or if the place I am walking is extra-challenging (for example, somewhere we might encounter deer or rabbits, or in town, where we have to pass by highly aroused dogs on the other side of fences) – I carry extra-special, over-the-top yummy treats, such as sardines or fresh roast beef.
Alternatively, I carry favorite toys for any toy-obsessed dogs I walk with. And I practice with dogs on a short leash in a low-distraction environment before graduating to a long line in a low-distraction environment; a short leash in a higher-distraction environment before moving up to a long line in a higher-distraction environment… you get the idea.
Also, if I’m not feeling really positive about the dog’s demonstrated ability to return to me brightly and quickly in any circumstances, I make darn sure the dog is never, ever completely “free.” He’s either on a leash, or in a secure crate, house, kennel, or yard until he’s demonstrated a SOLID recall in the face of all sorts of distractions.
Please! Fewer “lost dog!” postings, and more, “Wow, that (collar, crate, seatbelt, training) really paid off!” stories.
Wow! It’s the start of WDJ’s 18th year of publication. Sorry to sound like a cliche, but where did the time go? When I was hired to edit the inaugural edition of the magazine in early 1998, I had an extensive history of editing horse magazines; I told my new boss flat out, “I don’t know that much about dogs!” Of course, I had a dog – I’ve always had dogs – but most of what my publisher had planned for WDJ to cover was new to me, such as raw diets, minimal vaccine schedules, complementary and alternative veterinary medicine, and especially, force-free training.
My boss, who was responsible for the purchase of the magazine that I had been working for – The Whole Horse Journal – wasn’t worried. “Horses, dogs . . . How different could it be? You’ll figure it out!”
He was kidding, of course. But he had faith that I could take what I had learned working for a magazine that covered species-appropriate diets and alternative and complementary veterinary care, and apply it to the dog world.
I knew I could, too – but I have to admit, I’ve wondered more than once since then, why hadn’t I already made the leap? How could I have known so much about holistic horse care and never considered using the same principles to improve the health of my dogs? For that matter, how about you guys? How many of you avoid GMO foods and buy organic for yourself and your family, but think nothing of feeding (artificially preserved, artificially colored, corn-heavy) Kibbles ‘n Bits to your dog?
Or are you one of those curious sorts who does it the other way around? Who buys the most expensive, top-quality dog foods or home-prepares a diet comprised largely of grass-fed meats and fresh, local vegetables for your dog, but eats fast food and junk food all the time yourself? Pot, meet Mrs. Kettle.
Interestingly, the one area where I had already integrated what I learned about force-free and fear-free horse training into my life was in raising my son. I had already had a decade of exposure to modern horse training methods that preserved a horse’s interest in and willingness to work with humans while learning and practicing difficult new tasks, and I wanted to use the same principles of education when teaching my son how to learn, work hard, and behave well. I had learned that no animals can absorb and remember new things well when they are afraid, intimidated, disinterested, bored, or constantly told they are wrong. I was thrilled to discover that force-free training was an even bigger force in the dog world than in the equine arena, with far more research and educational opportunities and far wider acceptance and use.
When my son (who is now 22) was born, I took great pleasure in consciously interacting with him in such a way as to preserve his enthusiasm for learning. He was four when we launched WDJ and I immersed myself even more deeply into positive training. I have to say, it’s worked as well with him as it has for all my dogs since! They are all a pleasure to be around.
Here is my new year’s resolution, however: I want to try to better integrate what I know about keeping my dogs healthy into my own healthcare regime. My dogs are at a healthier weight than I am! They eat a more appropriate diet for their species than I do! And they certainly see their doctors more often than I do! (We exercise about the same amount, though, because all of my exercise is taken with them at my side – ha!)
Any of this resonating with you? Drop me a line and let me know.
If your dog is exhibiting some behavior you don’t want, you may have wondered, “Why is he doing it?” does he not love you? Is he trying to dominate you? If he knows you don’t like whatever it is he is doing, then why does he keep doing it? Is he not your best friend, after all? I think the answer is that he behaves the way he does simply because he has some need that the behavior helps him meet. He may not even find the behavior particularly fun to do, as is the case with most reactivity. But your dog has learned that behavior is a way to get what he wants or needs.
Think creatively about what your dog gets as a result of doing a problem behavior (whatever he’s doing that you want to change). In other words, what is the functional reward for his behavior? Think of the functional reward as a “real life” consequence that reinforces the problem behavior. Has your dog learned that barking at strangers makes them move away? The fact that the person moves away creates safety in the dog’s mind by putting distance between him and a stranger. That is the functional reward for his barking.
Once you know the functional reward(s) for your dog’s problem behavior, the next step is to find other behaviors you can encourage your dog to do that can reasonably lead to that same reward. For example, you can reward your dog’s choice to turn his head away from approaching strangers instead of barking at them. That would make looking away a replacement behavior for the problem behavior of barking. Sniffing the ground, yawning, sitting, or looking at you are also appropriate possible replacement behaviors for reactivity. Reinforce the replacement behavior(s) by using the same functional reward that your dog earned from doing the problem behavior. For example, when he looks away (a replacement behavior), happily walk your dog away from the stranger, thereby increasing the distance between dog and stranger (the functional reward). That’s the core concept of Functional Analysis using the functional reward of the problem behavior to pay for more appropriate behaviors. The functional reward concept can be applied to just about any problem behavior. Behavioral Adjustment Training is a way to apply the scientific concept of Functional Analysis to reactivity problems: use the functional reward of reactivity to pay for more appropriate social behaviors.
To read more on ways to deal with fear, frustration and aggression in dogs, purchase Behavior Adjustment Training by Grisha Stewart at Whole Dog Journal.
A replacement behavior is what you teach your dog to do instead of the problem behavior. The key to making this work is when replacement behavior becomes a more efficient or more effective way for the dog to earn the functional reward than the original problem behavior(s). Lets go back to the example of the dog who rushes across the room, barks, and scratches the door when you reach for your keys or his leash. If you clip on the leash and open the door to let the dog out after he does all of that, you are providing him a functional reward (the fun outing) for his behavior and you will have to repaint your door much more often. If that has happened with your dog, your best strategy is to start requiring him to sit before you clip the leash on. If the dog is bouncing around, simply set down the leash and patiently, silently refuse to clip the leash to the collar until he sits. Sitting becomes the replacement behavior for jumping and acting crazy because you have made going for a walk contingent upon polite behavior: your dog gets to go on a walk fi, and only if, he is calm. Making the functional reward of walks and car rides contingent upon sitting will quickly calm down the situation at your door.
To read more on ways to deal with fear, frustration and aggression in dogs, purchase Behavior Adjustment Training by Grisha Stewart at Whole Dog Journal.
Apologies to that rockabilly Eddie Rabbitt, but not everyone loves a rainy night. Especially if there’s thunder and lightning. Fear of thunderstorms – formally called astraphobia – is surprisingly common in dogs; some experts estimate that up to 30 percent are affected with it to some degree or another. (Most cats, apparently, couldn’t care less.) The most severely thunderstorm-phobic dogs can become intensely fearful and panicked, to the point where they become a hazard to themselves.
“I’ve seen them go right through windows, and chew through doors, drywall, even chain-link fences, breaking off their teeth and nails,” says holistic veterinarian Stephen Blake of San Diego. “They get into such a level of panic that they just aren’t thinking.”
In some cases, owners are able to trace a dog’s fear to an identifiable trigger. “Some dogs definitely have experienced something bad that makes them afraid of thunder,” says Nancy A. Dreschel, DVM, PhD, who has studied and written about thunderstorm phobia. As part of her research, Dr. Dreschel, an instructor of companion-animal science at Penn State University in University Park, Pennsylvania, met a dog who slept happily in the family room of his house – until a wood stove in the same room got struck by lightning. He was afraid of storms ever since. And can you blame him?
Often, a conditioned response like that can be reversed, Dr. Dreschel says, through counter-conditioning, that is, pairing the negative stimulus with something the dog enjoys, such as food. It’s the more ambiguous cases, where the dog just seems to develop a thunderstorm fear out of the blue, that are more challenging, because no one really understands what elicited the initial reaction, and the dogs aren’t talking.
“Some theories suggest that there is something aversive about the storm itself,” Dr. Dreschel explains, with guesses ranging from increased static electricity to changes in barometric pressure. “Perhaps there are things in the air that are uncomfortable to the dog, so his skin or his fur hurts. Maybe the storm-associated noise is actually painful to dogs; they hear things that we can’t.”
Another theory suggests that some dogs are genetically predisposed to thunderstorm sensitivity, including Golden Retrievers and some herding breeds.
Preventing Thunder Fear in Dogs
It can seem as if the recommendations for preventing these intense reactions to thunderstorms – or at least making them more manageable – are as numerous and varied as the affected dogs themselves. What most everyone can agree on this: There is no sure bet, no tried-and-true cure. What works for one dog might have zero effect on another.
Trial and error, then, is your best bet. Be open-minded and creative in how you approach this problem. Dr. Dreschel recalls that one of the dogs in her study would be terrified of storms while in the house, but, inexplicably, did just fine in the car. While she does not recommend a rain-drenched trip to the minivan for every dog – if it didn’t work, the potential toll on your upholstery could be staggering – she does applaud the spirit behind it.
“It’s a very individual thing,” she says about helping a dog through storm sensitivity. “You just have to keep trying.”
Many veterinarians and behaviorists recommend working to prevent the problem before it begins, by rewarding the dog as a puppy whenever she is exposed to the sights and sounds of a storm. Have lots of extra-special treats on hand; repeated reinforcement teaches the dog that raindrops and thunder claps mean the yummies are on their way.
To desensitize dogs who have exhibited stress behaviors during a storm, Katherine Houpt, DVM, professor emeritus at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York, uses a storm-simulation CD, initially played at low volume. As a reward, “the dog gets something he never gets otherwise – for example, only salami when you do desensitization.” When the dog hears the storm sounds, teach him to go to the safe place where he will ride out the storm. (More on that below.)
In subsequent sessions, gradually increase the volume of the CD. If your dog is taking and eating the treats, then chances are he is coping well, since there is an inverse relationship between stress and appetite. If he stops taking the treats, reduce the audio level until he’s comfortable enough to eat again.
Dr. Houpt recommends adding flashing lights to the desensitization process, recalling one ingenious client who used strobe lights. But most people, she admits, aren’t that zealous. “For the lazier ones, I say play the CD whenever you feed the dog.”
The limitations of the CD storm sounds, of course, are that they are just one sliver of the experience. Dr. Dreschel recalls a storm-sensitive dog who sailed through the audio experience, “but during the first storm of the spring, he ate through a door.” That said, if the CD can desensitize the dog to at least the sound part of the thunderstorm experience, it might lower her overall anxiety – a good thing!
Create a Den Environment
Thunder-sensitive dogs benefit from having a sanctuary when storms roll through. “Provide them with a safe spot, in a basement, or in a crate,” Dr. Dreschel advises. Think about places that would offer a sense of sheltering enclosure, such as the back of a closet. Often, your dog will show you where she thinks she will be most comfortable. The feeling of being enclosed and buffered is important, so draping a crate with a heavy blanket can also help.
Not all hidey holes are equal, however. Dr. Dreschel notes that many dogs will seek out tiled rooms such as bathrooms, as well as showers, bathtubs, even that hard-to-reach space behind the toilet. “Some people have wondered if it has to do with being grounded and not statically charged,” she muses. Similarly, other experts report that dogs seem to do better in metal crates rather than plastic ones, perhaps also because of their conductivity.
Since the storm is associated with flashing lights, select a low-light or well-curtained environment, or even, ideally, a room without windows.
A word of caution: Severely phobic dogs often panic during a storm, trying to escape at any cost to themselves or their surroundings. In such cases, a crated dog can inflict great damage on himself. Conversely, whatever “den” environment you provide, situate it so the dog has access to it whenever he likes.
Use a Calming Jacket
Some owners of thunderstorm-sensitive dogs report amazing results from body-wrap products such as the Anxiety Wrap or Thundershirt, which apply gentle, steady, constant pressure, sort of like sartorial acupressure.
“The pressure wraps work for the same reason that swaddling a baby works,” Dr. Houpt explains; they provide a comforting sense of being gently held.
Dr. Houpt draws a parallel to the work of Temple Grandin, whose autism gave her insights into lower-stress livestock handling methods. “She felt that pressure calmed her, just as putting a steer in a pressure sling does.” As a young woman, Grandin designed a self-operated hydraulic “hugging machine” that would dispense therapeutic, stress-relieving pressure that triggered a sense of well-being.
Try Medication in Extreme Cases
Melatonin, an important hormone that creates an overall feeling of well-being, is high on the list of supplements to try for storm-sensitive dogs. Dr. Dreschel uses it on her own thunderstorm-phobic dog, a scruffy black mixed-breed she acquired 12 years ago, in the middle of her research.
But dogs with more severe storm reactions are perfect candidates for anti-anxiety drugs. While many owners are reluctant to medicate their anxious dogs, Dr. Dreschel notes that anti-anxiety pharmaceuticals can be incredibly useful for reducing irrational phobias.
Please note that tranquilizers sedate the dog but do not address her underlying anxiety; they can, in fact, significantly worsen the anxiety, and so are contraindicated for thunder-phobic dogs. In contrast, anti-anxiety medications can help prevent a panicked state in storm-phobic dogs.
“Dogs who are phobic can’t be distracted,” Dr. Dreschel says. “It’s like a person having a panic attack.” Drugs can lower the stress threshold, “so that maybe you can get the dog to think.” Until a dog is in that more stable state, she can’t process information well or learn to manage her stress response.
Dr. Houpt generally recommends a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), such as a generic form of Prozac. These drugs work by blocking a receptor in the brain that absorbs serotonin, a neurotransmitter that is important in maintaining mood balance; this has the net effect of increasing the amount of available serotonin. A dog needs to be maintained on this drug long-term in order for it to be helpful; it’s not a “give as needed” solution.
In contrast are antidepressants such as Trazodone or alprazolam (the generic form of Xanax). These drugs may be given situationally, as needed, so the dog doesn’t have to be on meds all the time, only when a storm is coming. While many owners are hesitant to fill psychotropic prescriptions for their dogs, most are more accepting of the as-needed approach: “A storm is coming, give the dog her meds.”
This is important, because behavior experts suggest that getting the seriously phobic dog on medication sooner is better. “My pet peeve is that people wait too long” before giving the drugs, Dr. Houpt says. Similar to taking migraine medication before the head-splitting pain begins, “you don’t want to give it once the dog is terrified; if a thunderstorm is forecast, give medication now.”
Holistic Remedies for Fear of Thunder
In addition to a conventional medical approach, there are several holistic remedies that are well worth a try.
When those black clouds start gathering over a thunder-phobic dog, Dr. Blake’s first line of defense are flower essences. Distilled from the blooms of trees, shrubs, and flowering plants, these tinctures are considered very safe and can have an emotionally centering effect.
Dr. Blake uses Rescue Remedy, a combination of five essences that “are good for panic situations,” he says. “If you know there’s a storm coming, you can put four drops in the dog’s drinking water. Or you can put them in a spritz bottle with water, and when the dog starts to get antsy, mist him with it, or mist your hand and rub it on his face.”
Because flower essences are so gentle, “you can do this every few minutes, and it can reinforce the calming effect,” he says. “It takes the edge off.” Other flower essences to consider are mimulus (for dogs who are focused on the storm), aspen (for dogs who seem spooked in general) and rock rose (for panic).
Dr. Blake also has had some luck with gemmotherapy, which uses herbal extracts from the buds and emerging shoots of plants. “Lime is really good for calming and detoxing the nervous system,” he explains. “And walnut is a good one for transition.” As with flower essences, one to five drops of the tinctures can be added to the dog’s drinking water whenever needed.
More Holistic Options
Every major system of healing has an approach for dealing with acute panic and stress. In homeopathy, the remedy Dr. Blake reaches for is usually aconite, “which is very commonly used for panic attacks and fear.” Again, use the same technique for administering the white homeopathic pellets, which can be crushed and added to drinking water or a spray bottle. “You want to get it on their mucous membranes,” he says.
Essential oils are still another option. Lavender is traditionally used for calming, but Dr. Blake also likes an oil blend by Young Living called Peace & Calming that includes tangerine, orange, ylang ylang, patchouli, and blue tansy.
Dilute the oil in a carrier oil such as almond or olive oil (lavender on its own is so gentle it can be used “neat”), put a few drops on your fingers, and rub it into your dog’s ear flaps. “In Chinese medicine, the ears are the conduit to the kidneys, and kidneys are where the fear hangs out,” Dr. Blake explains. “It gets into the bloodstream quickly that way.”
From a holistic point of view, thunderstorm phobia is an indication of a deeper-seated imbalance. While these remedies can help mitigate the symptoms, Dr. Blake recommends working with a holistic or homeopathic vet to get to the source of the imbalance and correct it.
Calming Music
Dr. Blake has used classical music for a variety of behavioral issues in dogs, including separation anxiety and, of course, thunderstorm sensitivity. “Basically, you’re just trying to distract them a little bit,” he explains.
But all music isn’t equal when it comes to eliciting a therapeutic effect. The idea is to calm the dog, not excite her further. So when the Sturm und Drang begins, think Mozart, not Metallica.
For her part, Dr. Houpt recommends the Through a Dog’s Ear CDs and podcasts. The company’s classical-music selections are “psychoacoustically” designed to be easily assimilated by dogs, helping to enhance mood and active listening.
Be There for Your Dog
It sounds so very basic, but literally being there for your dog – if your schedule permits, and if the weather report is accurate enough to allow for advance planning – can go a long way toward helping her weather the emotional storm as much as the meteorological one. Your presence adds to your dog’s sense of security, which is what she needs most at this stressful time.
Dr. Dreschel reminds us that the theory that frightened dogs should not be comforted has been disproven. “When dogs are really phobic like that, you’re not reinforcing the behavior,” she says. “If they’re in that drooling, pacing mode, I’d go ahead and comfort them.” As for puppies or mildly affected dogs, who still are thinking and able to learn in the moment, “I would distract them,” she says. “And then make it positive.”
Denise Flaim of Revodana Ridgebacks in Long Island, New York, shares her home with three Ridgebacks, 11-year-old triplets, and a very patient husband.
There is a certain class of fearful dogs – those who are so afraid they don’t even trust the people who are trying to help them. These dogs can come from the streets, puppy mills, or someone’s backyard. Choosing to work with, foster, or live with a dog who is afraid of people is choosing to embark on a powerful journey. The ups and downs can be emotionally challenging, but the rewards of building a mutual trust where none existed can be an amazing experience.
Dogs may be fearful for a lot of reasons. Some dogs have a genetic predisposition for shyness or fearfulness. Some dogs are undersocialized, and to them the world can seem big and scary. Some dogs may have had traumatic experiences that led to a fearful response. For many dogs, we never really know the reason they are afraid, we just know they are.
Take Trill, for example. Trill is a mixed-breed dog who now shares her life with Evelyn Sharp, DVM, in Aptos, California. Trill was found roaming the streets with another dog. Any or all of the experiences of being lost, landing in the shelter, and getting separated from her companion could have led to a fearful response. She had recently had puppies, and the loss of those pups may have added to her stress and fear. But in Trill’s case, under-socialization and genetics were probably also in play.
At the shelter, one staff member saw some potential in Trill. A volunteer had also connected with her. Both saw some hope for Trill. They thought of Dr. Sharp because she had previously fostered dogs for the shelter, and they called to ask if the veterinarian might be up for taking in a foster dog who needed a little extra attention.
Sharp was not new to working with foster dogs who had a few issues. In fact, she’d just placed another fearful dog who looked remarkably like Trill.
When she first met Trill, Sharp saw that the dog was frightened. In fact, Trill wouldn’t come near Sharp, not even for a treat. But the dog didn’t show the slightest bit of aggressive behavior and seemed to calmly accept the presence of Dr. Sharp’s dog. Sharp concluded that a safe place and a little training would do wonders for this girl. After all, these things had worked well with her previous fosters. She agreed to take Trill home.
Trill turned out to be a greater challenge than Sharp expected – more afraid than she had originally appeared, and completely lacking in trust of humans. Dr. Sharp called me that first day and said, “I’m not sure what I’ve gotten myself into here. I think I’m going to need help.”
When Scared Dogs Escape
Building trust is complicated. Dr. Sharp did what had worked well with her previous fearful foster dogs. She brought Trill into a quiet room in her house to allow her to explore and acclimate. Sharp figured that she would show the dog where to eat and sleep, and let her explore her new surroundings. But Trill didn’t explore. That first day she hid in a corner, her eyes begging Sharp to stay away. “That was hard,” Dr. Sharp recalls. She wanted Trill to know she was safe, wanted the dog to understand that she was an ally. “But we couldn’t get there because she didn’t trust me.”
The second day, Dr. Sharp thought she saw a little improvement. Trill looked as if she was starting to check out the house. It turned out, though, that Trill was looking for a way to escape, and escape she did. She somehow opened the rear sliding door and ran into the woods surrounding Sharp’s house.
“I was so scared for her,” Dr. Sharp remembers. “I didn’t know how we would catch her. I thought she was gone for good.” Hoping for the dog’s return, and in hopes of luring Trill into a confined space where the dog might be caught, Sharp loaded her car with food and water, a familiar blanket, and clothing belonging to the person that Trill had connected with at the shelter. She placed the food inside a crate that sat on the back seat of the car. As luck would have it, Trill entered the car in the middle of the night, and went into the crate – probably for the food. But magically, the door closed behind her, and she was safely trapped.
Steps to Building a Dog’s Trust
After this turn of events, Dr. Sharp knew that building the dog’s trust and sense of safety were the most important things she could do for the young dog.
But it was turning out to be difficult. The house wasn’t big enough for Trill to find a safe spot, where she could relax without appearing to feel crowded. And she took no comfort from the resident dog and cat.
How do you build safety and trust with an animal who is this frightened? The following steps may help:
– First, let the dog be. Sometimes, scared dogs benefit more from being left alone. I offered this advice to Sharp at the time, but the idea was difficult to accept. “The concept was appalling to me,” she recalls; she wanted to keep trying to engage Trill.
But she could also see that what she was doing was not working, so she gave it a try. “When I finally stopped trying to get her to enjoy petting and touching, Trill became more interested in me.” Giving her more space and less attention worked!
– Develop a dependable structure. Sharp knew that a predictable routine had helped her animals and her previous fosters. When a dog knows when and where she will eat and sleep, when it will be time to go out, what others in the house will be doing and when, she may start to calm down. With consistency comes predictability, which can allow the stress hormones surging through a frightened dog’s body to subside. Repeated actions, done in a kind, calm, and non-confrontational manner, can also help build trust.
– Have patience. When you live with a scared dog, you will likely want her to feel safer, to change, to relax, and be happy. And in time, most dogs will, but you can’t rush the process. The change will only happen on the dog’s timetable, not yours. Be patient and wait for her to be ready to take a chance.
You will know your dog is starting to feel safer when she shows interest in you or your activities, for example, if she pokes her head out of her safe spot when you are preparing her dinner. When she is curious, looks at you with soft eyes, or starts to explore – these are signs that your previously frightened dog may be ready for a little engagement.
Making a Connection
Many (but not all) dogs enjoy being touched, and find comfort in having their chests rubbed, or receiving a soft massage behind their ears. The pleasure they receive from the physical contact can inspire the beginnings of a relationship. But Sharp found it difficult to get near Trill, much less touch her. She spooked with movement, so playing with toys wasn’t going to work. Trill would even skitter away when Sharp reached toward her with a treat.
Dr. Sharp got creative, and started to try to communicate with Trill through clicker training. “Training a dog without touching her was new to me,” Sharp says, but she started trying to “shape” Trill’s behavior.
One of the first clicker-trained behaviors she worked on was clipping a leash onto the dog’s collar. Up until that point, Trill would do anything possible to stay just out of reach. At first, Sharp just put some leashes around the house, and began clicking a clicker, and then tossing a treat to the dog, every time Trill looked at or went near one of the leashes.
Soon, Trill realized she received more treats the closer she went to one of the leashes, and she began purposely walking toward and then touching leashes with her nose.
Sharp was then able to then able to pick up a leash and ask Trill to touch (or “target”) it. Trill was learning to play the training game! With a few more days of practice and a little more shaping, Sharp was able to clip the leash on and off of Trill’s collar.
Treats didn’t work as effectively when Sharp began trying to train Trill to sit. At first, when Trill would sit and Sharp would step or even just lean toward the dog to reward her with a treat, Trill would move away. Sharp realized that she needed to reduce the pressure that Trill felt from being too close physically – and that Trill felt more comfortable with more distance between them. So she used that space as a reinforcer; she rewarded the dog for sitting by stepping away from Trill, and Trill would remain sitting.
Target Training
It quickly became clear to Sharp that training was going to be an effective way to connect with and build trust with the dog. The most powerful and transformative behavior that Trill learned – a behavior that led to learning many other behaviors – was hand targeting. “It was fabulous!” Sharp says. She used this simple foundation behavior to guide Trill, inviting the dog to move forward, turn, and come nearer, just with a simple hand touch. Later, she used the technique to encourage Trill to interact with other people.
Over the course of the first year, Sharp taught Trill 30 or more tricks and other behaviors, as well as the names of dozens of actions. Sharp can say the word “eye” and Trill looks up to have her eye cleaned; when she says “chin,” Trill will plop her chin in Sharp’s hand. If she says “pet,” Trill will walk over to get petted. Sharp also taught Trill to scratch her nails on a sandpaper board to keep them from getting too long while they work to improve her comfort with nail clipping.
“Clicker training has been a really big deal for us,” Sharp says. Trill learned that the clicking sound indicated she was doing something right, and that a reward for doing it was on its way.
What about when she wasn’t doing the desired behavior? Well, then nothing happened! The fact that positive results always came when she figured out and did the “right” thing, and that nothing negative happened when she didn’t know or didn’t do the “right” thing, gave her the confidence to keep trying to figure out what the “right” thing was. “With clicker training, we learned to talk to each other, and learned to play,” Sharp says. She credits clicker training with helping Trill lighten up, noting the dog’s enthusiasm and happy demeanor whenever Sharp gives her a cue or starts a training game.
Each and every fearful dog and handler is different. While clicker training worked like magic for Trill and Dr. Sharp, having a larger repertoire of techniques can be helpful. With a different dog or handler, one of these other techniques might provide the critical key to connection.
Classical conditioning is when a dog learns to associate one thing with another; it can be a very powerful tool for fearful dogs. Classical conditioning can occur through natural associations, for example, when you grab your hiking shoes and your dog gets super excited; in this case, she’s associated going for an especially fun or long walk with your hiking shoes.
We can also use classical conditioning to our advantage by design. It can be used to create a positive association for a dog between certain things, as well as to counter-condition something that may cause a fearful response.
For example, I used classical conditioning with my fearful dog to help her stop reflexively exhibiting a fear-based response every time she felt a slight tug on the leash. I started the process by giving her bits of roast beef every time there was an unexpected or gentle, planned tug on the leash. The leash tug would predict roast beef. Very quickly, she went from exhibiting a startled or panicked flight every time the leash tugged her collar, to happily looking back at me for the roast beef.
You can use classical counter-conditioning to help a fearful dog learn to accept you. If food falls from your hands each time you walk by your dog, he will undoubtedly begin to look forward to you walking by. If this is done repeatedly, the dog’s emotional response can begin to shift from fearful to feeling good. One caveat, though: You need to manage the interaction in such a way as to keep the dog below his fear “threshold” – the point at which he’s too frightened to think, much less make a calm, conscious choice of how to behave.
A dog will go “over threshold” when he is too close, exposed for too long, or at too high of an intensity to something that scares him. It’s obvious when some dogs are close to or over threshold; they may panic and try to bolt, or bark or growl in defensive fear. But with some frightened dogs, it may be more difficult to see; some may get abnormally calm and still or display only subtle signs of fear. (For more information on thresholds, see “Across a Threshold,” WDJ April 2013.)
Sandi Kohn
Social facilitation is another tool that may help a frightened dog become less afraid. If you have another dog (and especially if the dogs get along well), your resident dog may be able to show your fearful dog that you are in fact a safe person. When you all walk together, hang out together, and spend time training or playing together, your fearful dog may start to loosen up and see you as part of the group.
Exploring the world together can be very bonding and can build trust and connections. Taking walks together can help you bond. But even if your dog is a little too frightened to walk on a leash, you can explore together at home or in your garden.
For example, when my dog Chance was still new to our home, I would pay attention to the things she was interested in. When Chance would check out a bug on the ground, I would wait until she moved away, and then I would go and check out the bug, too.
Then I would focus on something else, say, a flower in the garden. She would follow me and check out the flower, too!
As this mutual exploration developed, Chance would invite me to follow her and see what she was doing. She also began to follow me to see what I was doing. We bonded through this mutual exploration.
SK Photography
Play can be another effective way to connect with a fearful dog. Some dogs are so afraid that they show no interest in playing. But I have found one type of toy – any sort of stuffed animal or ball on a string or rope – often works very well in engaging a fearful dog in play. With a rope, you can strategically move the toy, to try to entice the dog into chasing it or pouncing on it, without the dog having to be too close to you.
Let the dog “win” frequently, by allowing him to catch the toy or even getting to keep the toy. Getting your dog to have fun with you can help cement a budding trust.
Working With Your Dog’s Outside Triggers
Each of the techniques mentioned above can also help when you have to deal with outside triggers, that is, things in the world that you can’t control, such as a loud truck or motorcycle roaring by. Training and training games can help a dog who is unsure in a new environment acclimate quicker. Classical conditioning can help create new, positive associations as well as help shift your dog’s fearful response to people, other animals, and things to a happier, more confident response. Calm, worldly dogs can help less-socialized dogs learn about unfamiliar environments, and exploration and play can tap into a dog’s sense of fun and adventure, no matter what is going on around them.
Careful introductions to new places, people, and other animals can also help set up your dog for success. Dr. Sharp, for example, works to find Trill’s optimum levels of exposure to new and different things; she watches the dog’s reactions and tries to protect Trill from becoming overwhelmed. “I really pay attention to where Trill is and don’t expect her to be further along,” Sharp says. “I intervene if I know something is too much for her, but I try to walk the line between protecting her and giving her room to explore.”
Positive experiences cause exponential growth, Dr. Shar says. “The neat thing is, each good experience grows on itself.” Each dog Trill meets and has a good experience with opens the door wider for her to meet the next dog. Each person she meets and engages with makes her braver the next time.
Moving Forward from Fear
As you probably already guessed, Trill is no longer a foster; Sharp intends for Trill to share her home for the rest of Trill’s life. They are in their second year of living together, and while it’s much better all the time, a challenge of living with an under-socialized or fearful dog can pop up at any time. Sharp says they still have a long way to go before she’d consider Trill to be a truly confident, trusting dog.
“Trill was more than just fearful about humans when I met her,” Sharp says. “The world was just too much for her. I don’t remember ever working with a dog who was that scared, even in a veterinary setting.”
Today, Sharp says, Trill mostly trusts her, though on occasion the dog will still get that “Should I trust her?” look in her eye. While Trill is better acclimated to the human world, and can go to the beach, travel with Dr. Sharp, and interact comfortably with most people and dogs, she still has a few significant hurdles to overcome. For example, Trill has yet to accept restraint and is resistant to some types of handling. Sharp says they are working on this, but it will likely take a long time before Trill is as comfortable with intimate handling and restraint.
The support of other knowledgable, positive dog people was critical to her success with Trill, Sharp says. She credits working closely with a trainer, as well as “the dog club meetings twice a week, all of the people at those meetings who knew to leave Trill alone and let her be, and the well-trained dogs who gave her room to get used to them slowly. It was all so important.”
But as challenging as it has been, Dr. Sharp says that she would do it again. “Trill is a good kid! She loves to learn and I love to train her. Trill forced me to be creative. She made me learn to train without touching. And now watching her go to the beach and seeing her run and run – it is all really fun.”
Mardi Richmond is a writer and trainer living in Santa Cruz, CA, with her wife and her formerly fearful feral dog, Chance. She is the owner of Good Dog Santa Cruz, where she works with fearful dogs and puppies and utilizes early socialization to prevent fear-based behaviors. Mardi thanks Dr. Evelyn Sharp and Trill for sharing their story.
After about six weeks of living with Trill, Dr. Sharp knew that the frightened, anxious dog needed something more. The training and behavior protocols were working in the sense that the dog was cooperative, but Trill still had a panicked look in her eyes much of the time. Sharp was concerned: No animal should have to live with that much fear, she thought.
Dr. Sharp made the decision to put Trill on fluoxetine (Prozac). Within a few short weeks, Trills panicked look went away. Trill began to engage more and learn faster. Soon she began to show signs of excitement and even happiness.
If you are living or working with a fearful dog, ask yourself: How is my dogs overall quality of life? Is she mostly happy and content? Or does her chronic fear affect her daily activities? If fear significantly affects your dogs quality of life, consider consulting with a veterinary behavior specialist, and ask if behavior
As Dorea Fowler and her two daughters were nearing the end of a road trip from Atlanta to Florida, Fowler allowed her 7-year-old Boxer, Ruby, to move up and sit unrestrained in the front passenger seat of her Toyota Highlander. They were traveling uneventfully down the highway at about 65 mph, as they had for hundreds of miles, when suddenly Fowler’s SUV was struck from behind. Upon first impact, the Boxer stood up; then Fowler’s vehicle spun out of control. As the car rotated, Ruby went airborne, flew across Fowler’s lap, and hit the driver’s side window with her head. The car then hit a guard rail head on. The vehicle’s air bag and seat belts protected Fowler (and her two children), but Ruby rocketed forward into the windshield between the driver’s door and air bag. When the vehicle came to rest, Ruby was lying on her side across the front seat. The Boxer was still alive, but rigid as a board, indicating to Fowler (an RN) that Ruby had a serious head injury.
Photo by Dorea Fowler
Obviously, Fowler is not the only person to drive with her dog unrestrained in her car; more than 80 percent of American pet owners admit to playing the same sort of vehicular Russian roulette with loose dogs in their cars. So far, there are no laws that require pets to be protected with car safety restraints, though at least one state (Hawaii) has made it illegal to drive with a pet on one’s lap – more due to the danger of distracted driving than to protect the dogs.
Dogs can certainly distract their drivers in any number of ways in a car, but it’s even more common for them to be a completely innocent victim – indeed, the most vulnerable victim – in a car accident. Mandatory seat-belt laws mean that most drivers and human passengers today are belted into cars, but few dogs receive this protection. Because most of them are unrestrained, our canine companions can become deadly projectiles in an out-of-control car, injuring passengers or themselves. Frequently, they are thrown out of the car (often through a window), and in pain and panic, bolt from the scene of an accident, never to be seen again.
Injury Prevention Options
Most restraint systems, including crates, car seats, and harness/seat belt combinations, can prevent our dogs from distracting us while we’re driving. Financial considerations, convenience, the size of our dogs, as well as the size of the vehicles we already own, may dictate that a safety harness and seat belt are the best of those options for simply keeping the dog out of the driver’s way.
We’d be willing to bet, however, that all of us dog owners who are willing to use a car restraint system for our dogs expect whatever system we use to do more than simply prevent our dogs from being distractions; we also absolutely expect that they’ll keep our dogs safe in the event of an accident.
Which is why it was so upsetting to read a recent study by a nonprofit, independent pet-safety advocacy group, the Center for Pet Safety (CPS), which reported that very few of the products intended to protect our dogs in cars are capable of doing so. Most of the car safety restraints included in the CPS tests exhibited “catastrophic failures” – in other words, they either broke, or failed to secure the crash-test-dummy dogs in simulated crashes.
Accident Sparks a Passion for Safety
The CPS was founded by consultant and long-time pet safety advocate Lindsey Wolko after – what else? – an incident on the road with her English Cocker Spaniel in the car. Wolko is one of the few dog owners who regularly uses a car safety restraint on her dog. She had chosen her dog’s restraint harness carefully, after scrutinizing lots of product labels, to make sure the restraint she chose was intended to not only keep her dog from being a distraction while Wolko was driving, but also protect the dog in the case of an accident.
The harness did indeed prevent her dog from hopping around the car. But it wasn’t until Wolko had that near-miss at rush hour on a major metropolitan highway that she realized the harness didn’t perform the way she thought it would. Cut off unexpectedly by another motorist, Wolko slammed on the brakes. The jolt caused her dog to rocket off the back seat, crash against the front seat, and become entangled in the harness’s long tether. Wolko’s dog survived, but was seriously injured.
Shaken and distraught, Wolko began investigating canine car-safety restraints from the perspective of a safety expert, rather than just a consumer. She soon discovered that U.S. manufacturers are not required to crash-test pet travel products before bringing them to market. Further, she learned that there were absolutely no independent standards for any tests that companies conducted to crash-test their products; while some manufacturers claimed their products were crash-tested, this information was useless to consumers (and their dogs) in the absence of test standards.
Independent Car Safety Testing
A woman on a mission, Wolko set out to create a standard for testing pet-safety restraints. She founded CPS, dedicating the organization to companion-animal and consumer safety, and set a goal for CPS to conduct rigorous crash testing on pet-safety products using realistic crash-test-dummy dogs.
In partnership with Subaru of America, CPS engaged the services of MGA Research Corporation, an independent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contract testing laboratory, to conduct crash testing of canine car restraints. CPS developed specially weighted and designed crash-test-dummy dogs for use during testing: a 25-pound “terrier-mix,” a 45-pound “Border Collie,” and a 75-pound “Golden Retriever.”
Crash-Test Candidates
Initially, Wolko focused her attention on products whose manufacturers claimed, in advertising or product labeling, that the product had undergone “testing,” “crash testing,” or offered “crash protection.” During her research, Wolko had found that most of the manufacturers who made a claim regarding crash testing referenced the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213, “Child Restraint Systems.” This is indisputably the most rigorous standard that can and should be met by any car-safety restraint. But Wolko also discovered that many of the manufacturers who conducted crash testing tested only the “medium” size of their product, rather than the complete size range in which the product was offered. She also found that, frequently, a manufacturer’s definition of “passing” crash testing was subjective. Most importantly, Wolko’s research revealed lots of product marketing claims that were largely unfounded.
After exhaustive research of the market, Wolko found 11 brands of harnesses that met her criteria – products whose manufacturers made claims of crash testing and protection. These 11 would be the first products she tested.
Preliminary Testing
Each crash test costs about $2,000 to conduct, and the independent tests were going to be paid for by CPS and Subaru, not the manufacturers of the products. So, in order to potentially rule out any obviously inferior products prior to crash testing, CPS conducted preliminary strength testing of the harnesses.
Products purchased at retail outlets by CPS were placed on a solid dog-shaped form and pulled until the harness broke. If a particular harness withstood a five-second hold period at a specific load, then it was deemed acceptable to move on to the crash-testing phase. A failure – in any size harness – would knock that harness brand completely out of consideration for further testing.
Only seven of the 11 harness brands passed these static tests and advanced to the crash-testing phase.
Crash Testing
In general, CPS’s concept of the ideal harness would be one that, during impact, would keep a dog on the seat, control rotation of the dog (both fore and aft, as well as side to side) to help stabilize the dog’s spine, and keep adjacent passengers safe. CPS determined the following to be critical variables as to whether a harness was a “Top Performer” in these respects:
– Does the harness exhibit a catastrophic failure such that the test dog becomes a projectile or is released from the restraint? That is, does the harness break, freeing the dog to launch?
– Does the test dog stay on the seat for the entirety of the crash test? Even if the dog remains attached to the restraint, falling off the seat increases her risk of further injury.
– Does the harness have a tether that prevents adjustment to a length of six inches or less? Long tethers are dangerous, allowing the dog to launch and/or becoming wrapped around the dog’s body or limbs, leading to the risk of further injury. “Zip lines” are equally dangerous.
– Does the testing indicate uniform performance across all sizes?
The CPS used the data gathered in its tests to develop and publish its recommended standards for canine car-safety products: CPS-001-014.01, the Companion Animal Safety Harness Restraint System Standard.
At the end of the day, six of the seven harnesses included in the tests failed to meet the CPS-001-014.01 standards.
One manufacturer requested (and paid for) a re-test of its product, but only after making one change to their product’s application on the test dog dummy. The maker reversed the position of a carabiner on the harness, which improved the test result; however, it’s worth noting that the original position of the carabiner was set according to the product’s label directions. (Note: The CPS wouldn’t disclose the name of this product or manufacturer, because the manufacturer refused to sign a formal licensing agreement with CPS.)
Sole Survivor
The only product to pass the CPS tests and earn the CPS designation of “Top Performer” in the CPS 2013 Safety Harness Crashworthiness Study was the Sleepypod Clickit Utility Harness, which retails for about $90.
During testing, all three sizes of the Sleepypod Clickit Utility Harness offered by the company at the time (size XS has since been added) prevented the launch and controlled the rotation of the test-dog dummy; in addition, the dog remained on the seat after impact, and there were no equipment failures.
The Utility’s three-point connection is similar, conceptually, to the three-point seat belt required for humans by federal law. The harness is meant to be used in the rear seat (no front-seat usage!) where two side straps latch onto baby-seat anchors (which are standard equipment on all vehicles manufactured after 2003). The third connection point is via a seat belt, which is passed through the back of the harness.
Sleepypod uses a specific measurement – the total length of a figure eight around a dog’s neck and torso – to indicate which size of its product a dog should wear. The company recommends that small dogs (those who measure less than 31 inches using the measuring protocol, seen in the adjacent illustration) do not wear a harness, but are crated in a crash-tested and well-secured pet carrier instead. Very large dogs, too, are not considered good candidates for the Sleepypod Utility Harness; it’s not recommended for any dogs who measure more than 60 inches and/or weigh more than 75 pounds. (The heaviest test-dog dummy used in the CPS tests was 75 pounds, so the harness is untested at weights greater than that.)
Sleepypod
Wherein We Try The Sleepypod Utility Harness
Atle, my Bouvier, is a few inches shy of the maximum measurement, and weighs in at just under 75 lbs. Getting the harness on him was pretty easy; it simply slips over the dog’s head, with two adjustable straps criss-crossing the dog’s back, and then buckles on each side.
The “vest” of the harness itself is nicely padded, and hugs the dog’s upper torso. In my opinion, it’s not too bulky or overbuilt, and surprisingly lightweight ; it can even do double duty as a walking harness.
It’s easiest to clip the two side straps to the vehicle’s anchors first, put the harness on the dog, load the dog into the car and ask him to sit, and then attach the straps to the dog’s harness. The dog’s behind should be snug against the seat when he is sitting up. The final step is to thread the car’s seat belt through the back straps of the harness and click the latch plate into the latch.
Securing Atle into my vehicle with the Utility Harness for the first few times took a little elbow grease. My first attempt at stuffing him into the back seat of my sporty station wagon left me sweaty and a bit frustrated, and he was more than a little unsure about the whole enterprise.
After a bit of struggle, and repeated out-loud readings of the instructions provided with the harness, we retired to the house for a break and for some further research online. That’s when I discovered that Sleepypod’s website features slightly better instructions for attaching the two side straps than the ones included with the harness. (It turns out that a hook on the side strap needs to pass through a D-ring on the harness, then clasp onto another smaller ring.)
For my next attempt, I loaded Atle into our van’s rear seat. First I lengthened the straps as far as they could go, and then tightened them once they were attached to the car anchors and the harness. The van seat is a little deeper than the wagon’s, and has more head room, which helped.
I will say that trying to maneuver a large, hairy dog into a tight space can be difficult; ideally, he needs to be in a sitting position and perfectly positioned between the car’s anchors in order to clip the side straps to the harness. Once I got Atle clipped in, he was able to move fairly easily into a down position and seemed to relax. But then I found that sitting up became the bigger challenge for him.
I don’t know how my dog would fare in this rig on a long trip, but my first impression is that the product probably would work best for dogs who were not quite as large (or hairy) as Atle. With Atle pushing the limits of the size L, he might not be the best candidate for this particular model.
Next Best Car Harnesses
Instead, we might consider a newer Sleepypod safety harness model, the Clickit Sport. This product was not yet on the market when the CPS conducted its 2013 tests, but has been tested by the CPS since, and was awarded a five-star crash-test rating. The Sport is available in three sizes and is priced at $70.
The Sport does not utilize the side straps that gave Atle and me palpitations; instead, the dog is secured only with the car’s seat belt, which is passed through the harness behind the dog’s back. Atle and I managed this easily even in the back of my station wagon.
Sleepypod’s cofounder Michael Leung commented on the differences between the company’s Sport and Utility harnesses: “The Sport was designed with ease of use in mind, and is light-weight. The frontal crash tests prove that it is as safe as the Clickit Utility.” Note that the Utility adds much more lateral control of the dog, and would add more protection for a dog in any situation beyond frontal collisions (such as side impacts).
An XL size of the Sport model (for dogs up to 90 pounds) is currently being tested by CPS and should be available by the time this article is in print.
The Rest of the Car Restraints
As I mentioned earlier, the Sleepypod Clickit Utility Harness was the only one of the seven harnesses that were included in the 2013 CPS crash tests that earned a “Top Performer” designation by CPS. One other product included in the tests exhibited catastrophic failure in both of its sizes; they broke during the crash tests. The remaining five candidates all failed in some category. Complete results can be found on the CPS website, along with some fairly disturbing video of the crash tests.
CPS invited all of the manufacturers of the products included in the tests to attend the crash tests, though only some accepted the invitation. How did the manufacturers who attended respond? “For some manufacturers, it was eye-opening and a very collaborative effort,” Wolko says. “Others didn’t appreciate our interpretation of crash protection. After the public response to the testing started to affect some of their product sales, many stopped speaking with CPS. There are several brands that applaud our efforts, and they are the ones working to consistently improve their products.”
Wolko cautions, however, that CPS recently discovered that some manufacturers are purposefully using the CPS video from testing to mislead consumers by proclaiming, “Yes, we’ve crash tested!” even if the product didn’t pass all of the CPS tests. CPS has also found manufacturers touting other connection options that were not tested but marketing the product as “safe.” It’s a classic case where buyer must be aware; don’t blindly believe the claims, but ask for substantiation. CPS hopes to run another harness test in 2015.
Hard Lesson
Remember Ruby, the Boxer mentioned at the beginning of this article? She survived her unscheduled flight around the inside of her owner’s car in the accident, but suffered a spinal-cord injury and mild brain injury. After months of intensive rehab and a $9,000 veterinary bill (paid for by the insurance company of the driver who caused the accident, who admitted to texting while driving), Fowler describes Ruby as still a “little wonky,” in that the dog still suffers from partial paralysis on her left side, and does not have full bowel control. Nonetheless, Fowler keeps her active and Ruby still loves to hike and run in the grass.
And how has car travel changed for the duo? After the accident, Fowler purchased a harness for Ruby and the dog now rides in the back of Fowler’s new SUV, secured in place. Upon learning that the harness she has been using did not pass the CPS crash tests, however, she said she’d be buying a newer one immediately. “It’s worth the money and emotional assurance to know that I’m doing all I can do to protect my dog!”
One of the most irritating – and common – phone calls I receive in my capacity as a professional dog trainer is when dog owners urgently ask me to help solve their dog’s behavior problemimmediately – even though, as it often turns out, the problem has actually existed for years. Sometimes, it’s even phrased as, “If we can’t get this fixed now, we’re getting rid of the dog; we just can’t take it anymore.”
But it’s important that I not allow my irritation to show, because frequently, despite the fact that the problem took months or even years to develop, the people really are on the verge of giving up on the dog. Sometimes, whatever has been going on with the dog has tipped the scales significantly enough to prompt the client to ask for help right then and there. I want to harness that motivation! I want to seize that moment and get everyone working together on a solution, finally.
I received such a call on a Saturday afternoon from an exasperated woman whose 4-year-old miniature Poodle had a housetraining issue. The dog had never been successfully housetrained, she said, and now she and her husband were desperate.
They wanted this problem solved now, immediately. “You have to help us!” On learning how long the problem had existed, I asked what compelled them to seek help at this time. “It’s gross,” she said. “It has to stop.”
People don’t generally book a behavior consultation because they suddenly consider their dog’s behavior gross after tolerating it for four years. I prodded a bit more. “Well, nothing’s worked. We must be doing something wrong!” Aha! It made me very happy that she hadn’t put the blame on the dog and that she appeared to recognize that there was something she and her husband should be doing differently. I figured I would get more details when I got there, and I booked them for that evening. Yes, it was a Saturday evening, but I kept thinking of all the fabulous training and practice opportunities they would get the very next day, Sunday, when they were both home all day. The timing was perfect.
I kept in mind that addressing a long-existing housetraining issue can be tricky, and it’s stressful for everyone involved, for a number of reasons, including:
– The humans are at the end of their rope (even though they’ve let it go on for several years).
– The dog is stressed because everyone seems to be so angry with her all the time.
– The humans are about to learn that the problem won’t be fixed overnight, and that they’ll have to significantly change their routine in order to make any progress.
– The dog is about to have the only toilet facilities she’s ever known, taken away from her . . . just try to imagine how confusing that must be, for anyone!
Logical Developments of Dog Behavior Problems
At the clients’ house, I was greeted at the door by a very enthusiastic, friendly little female poodle named “Silly.” I learned that the couple mostly worked on opposing shifts, and, to make matters more complicated, their schedules were unpredictable and irregular. This meant that a routine was difficult for them to stick to, and also explained why it was important that we meet “right now,” as it was one of the rare times they were both at home.
We quickly ruled out any medical issues as a potential cause for Silly’s “accidents,” as she had very recently received a clean bill of health from her veterinarian at an annual health visit.
My attention was drawn to a couple of training “puppy” pads on the floor – one in the kitchen and another in the bathroom. I asked if Silly had ever been trained to use the pads; the answer was “Yes, sometimes she uses them.” Sometimes means that the answer was actually no; she had never been trained specifically to use the pads – she just managed to hit them sometimes when she eliminated in the spots in the house that she preferred for elimination.
I asked if they had ever attempted to train her to relieve herself outside. They said, “Not really, but sometimes if we’re outside, she’ll go potty there and she knows we’re happy about it.” Again, I surmised that no formal training had actually taken place.
I also learned that the husband had, on several occasions and on the advice of several well-meaning friends, resorted to spanking Silly if she was caught in the act of relieving herself in a location other than on the pad. He had also “rubbed her nose in it” if a mess was discovered after the fact. As a result, Silly now only relieved herself in a corner of the basement when no humans were around, or in the living room during the night when everyone was asleep.
The owners also mentioned that Silly was free-fed, and while she used to nibble throughout the day, she now ate and drank only after the owners had gone to bed. They said she often emptied her water bowl completely during this time.
The Behavior Modification Plan
We began by removing the training pads and establishing scheduled feeding times, in order to promote regular digestion and elimination.
We also devised a plan that would allow Silly the opportunity to go outside every 30 minutes for the next several days, always accompanied by someone who could reward her immediately if she relieved herself outside. This plan might prove difficult for some owners, but I learned that the owners’ next-door neighbors (in a duplex) were actually the husband’s parents, fond of Silly, retired, and readily available. I quickly recruited them to help handle this task.
Silly is not crate-trained and is not comfortable being confined, so we established a large area in the kitchen that could be closed off, where she could be left alone for short periods between visits from the parents. When the owners were home, she was to be either actively supervised or tethered to them at all times. They were to continue the frequent visits outside, with the intention of gradually stretching the time between outdoor trips as Silly became more successful with her outdoor potty breaks.
I explained to Silly’s owners that punishing her, whether in the act of eliminating in the house or upon finding evidence of a previous “accident” indoors, would discourage Silly from eliminating in front of them. In order to help Silly feel comfortable eliminating – outside! – the owners agreed to stop punishing her for any “mistakes” that she made.
Immediate Progress
During my visit, I took several opportunities to step into the backyard with Silly on a long leash and was lucky enough to be able to reward her – not once, but twice! – for relieving herself outside. When asked if they were up for the task of doing this all day on Sunday, with the aim of creating opportunities to reward Silly outside, both owners were extremely enthusiastic.
After one week, with the help of the parents and the urgent commitment of the owners, Silly had slipped up only once during the day when left alone for longer than planned and not confined to the kitchen area. And now that she was routinely praised and rewarded for eliminating outdoors, she also began scratching at the back door when she wanted to go outside!
The couple is now optimistic that their problem will finally be resolved. Best of all, the relationship between themselves and their darling little dog – a relationship that had been damaged by the punishment and mutual distrust – is well on its way to being repaired.
Crises as Opportunities
President John F. Kennedy once noted that when written in Chinese, the word “crisis” is composed of two characters, one that represents danger and one that represents opportunity. Perhaps that’s what Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel had in mind when he was more recently quoted as saying that one should “never let a serious crisis go to waste,” because “it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”
Even life-threatening crises, such as when an owner considers surrendering or even euthanizing his dog due to serious behavior problems, can be seen as an opportunity for a trainer – or even just a friend with a better dog education or more dog experience – to help encourage and redirect the owner toward a smarter and more positive solution.
Not all conversations that begin with “You need to fix this right now!” grow into easy success stories like this one, and yet I can’t help but think that my having responded immediately, while the iron was hot, had a lot to do with fueling – and reinforcing! – the couple’s determination to address their problem in a new and better way.
