Dogs. Bite.

I was about 10 years old and my dad was a police officer with a working K9 partner. He and another officer from his department had just competed in the state Police K9 Olympics. The other officer had just won third place overall and first place in Officer Protection. In other words, his ramped-up, trained attack dog had just been playing the “bite the bad guy” game. The officer was standing with his dog and his trophies and people were trying to take photos. Comfortable with this dog – I knew him, after all, and ever helpful, I knelt in front of them and went, “SSSSSSssss!” (This is the sound the agitator makes during training to get the dogs excited.) The lovely silver and white shepherd mix launched – right at my face - and connected on my forehead and chin with a wide bite, just as he’d been trained.

I fell on my fanny in shock and started crying. Mom didn’t have much sympathy. In fact, I am pretty sure she said something like, “Well, that was a stupid thing to do!” The dog was not punished, but this child learned a valuable lesson. Dogs. Bite.

Children are impulsive, lack common sense and usually cannot begin to read dog body language. Even if a dog is showing warning signals as obvious as a construction worker waving a “Stop” sign, the child will not notice. I blame Disney-type shows for this, as well as parents who think that the family dog is part of the family – a sibling – a human – and not a dog. Surely Bowser would never BITE Bobby – Bowser loves Bobby. “You should see them; Bobby lays all over Bowser – every day! – and Bowser never growls or anything.” Well, all fine and dandy ‘til one day Bowser’s tired and cranky. Maybe his ear is infected or his belly aches. Maybe he’s just tired of Bobby laying on him. Bowser stiffens. Bobby approaches. Bowser growls. Bobby thinks Bowser’s snoring. Bowser snaps. Bobby bleeds. Bowser is… put to death?

One foot per year of child’s age. That’s how much freedom you should give your child with the family dog. Your 5 year old child should be within a long-arm's reach of your intervention. Additionally, you need to know when to intervene.

If you live with children and a dog in your home, you have a huge responsibility to educate yourself on canine body language. (I highly recommend Brenda Aloff’s great book: Canine Body Language; A Photographic Guide. ) Understand that your dog is NOT human. He’s a dog. He will communicate like a dog (not like a wolf, by the way, but that’s an argument for another article.) He will likely give warning signals and it’s up to you to know how to read them and intervene if the child within your reach is annoying him. He may tolerate all sorts of abuse from your children – but should he? Do you reward him lavishly for doing so?

When a child in my home trips and falls on the family dog, we run to the refrigerator and the dog gets a glorious snack of whatever I can find quickly. A block of cheese – sure! – since we don’t have to go to the hospital!

Think about it. You live with a predator. With sharp teeth. Even dogs bred for companionship still have personal boundaries. What are you doing today to help your dog learn to accept mistakes from your child? What are you doing today to protect your child from being “stupid” toward your dog? Are you close enough to intervene before Bowser takes it upon himself to train your child? Are you aware how an older dog punishes a pup? It’s an escalation of force – one you’d do well to understand and prevent by keeping the one-foot-per-year-old rule.

My mom was less than 10 feet away when the police dog flew at my face. She grabbed me and the leashed dog was quickly restrained by his professional handler. If the bite had been worse, it would have been all my fault, but the poor dog likely would not have been forgiven. I am glad for both our sakes that it ended as well as it did. I hope to prevent other children from learning the hard way that dogs bite.

Seeing the Invisible

Lots of times I see the invisible. The dog tells me – sometimes directly through body language, sometimes through the owner’s voice describing a behavior. This adolescent pup was gnawing at my hands, increasing in bite force and starting to get wild-eyed – fear. “Don’t hold my collar like that, it scares me.” I think, “Why does that scare you?”

The answer wasn’t long in coming. The owner said, “This dog rolls over and pees every time I put the leash on him – and he just went out!” I didn’t ask the obvious: “Does that make you angry?” I already knew the answer. The dog told me: “I get scared when you touch my head-my feet-my tail- but I really want to play with you – see?” Wiggly body, open mouth, laugh lines and a twinkle in his eye. He says it louder: “Play with me?”

Okay pup, we’ll play. See this food in my hand? I close my fist around it. “Want the food.” Lick-lick- nibble-nibble –bite –bite – turn head… “Get it!” I say and offer it to him. “Yum! – want more food.” Lick-lick- nibble-nibble –bite –bite – turn head… “Get it!” I say again. In a little while, he waits for the food… staring at it, knowing if he turns away, I will bring it to him. Another few minutes pass. I put food on the floor. He reaches for it. I cover it up. He looks at me. I reward from another hand. I uncover the food on the floor. He waits. I reward. He looks at the food on the floor. I say, “Leave it.” He looks at me. I give him several in a row – a jackpot! I pick up the food on the floor. I drop the food in front of him and say, “Leave it.” The dog looks at the food and then back at me; tail waving, smile broad. “I understand. To get yummies, I don’t touch what you put there.” The owner’s jaw has dropped and he says, “I don’t know what you just did…” I reply, “I am teaching him to think, not to react.”

A few minutes later, I lure the dog into a Down position two times. I add the cue, “Down,” followed by the lure two more times. The third time I say, “Down,” the dog throws his body on the carpet and grins at me. “Smart dog!” I say, and jackpot the choice. “He doesn’t know Down!” the owner exclaims. I hand the food to him. “I think he knows it now,” I say.

“Down,” the owner says. The dog flops to the floor, tail wagging. “Smart dog,” I repeat.

A philosophy shift is occurring. Training is possible without force. In fact, training is much faster without force. And look what a happy dog results! The owner shakes his head at me, smiling in wonder.

Suddenly, the invisible comes to light. The wife says, “He beats the dog with a belt.” I meet the man’s eyes. He does not deny it. I say, “You need to stop that. Are you willing to learn another way?” “Yes,” he says, looking at his wife. “The way I treat the dogs causes fights between us.” The wife begins her accusations, her frustrations splattering across the kitchen like a dropped jug of milk. I interrupt her attack. “I am pretty sure he’d like to change, or he wouldn’t have called me,” I point out. “Remember that positive reinforcement works for husbands, too.” I smile at them. She says softly, “You did a good job tonight, dear.” The room goes quiet.

As I drive away I wonder if I can help him see that pain and force causes fear and aggression. Maybe I can teach him to control his anger, to think things through, to put away the belt and consider a new way. I think back to something they mentioned earlier. “We are trying to have children.” I truly hope that in the coming weeks, my message of training with kindness is met with acceptance and a willingness to learn a new way. And, I hope the message sticks around when the baby comes. I hope that the invisible I see in the coming weeks will be bonds of love and understanding.

New Puppy Classes!

Celebrate National Train Your Dog Month by registering your puppy for a training class at Michigan Road Animal Hospital. Now there are two choices for small group classes!

Sensible Puppy Start is an early puppy socialization and training class for puppies 8 weeks to 4 months old. The class runs for 6 consecutive Wednesday nights from 6:15 to 7:20pm. Sensible Puppy Start includes information and practice on the 7 essential areas of successful puppy raising: Potty Training Socialization, Soft-Mouth training, Self-Control, Exam Training, Etiquette and Enrichment. You will learn everything you need to know about preventing problem behavior, stopping nipping and jumping and taking advantage of this unique window of time in your puppy’s development. Class time includes socialization with other class members and puppies. Included in your tuition is a comprehensive 90-page manual to remind you what you learned in class and monthly puppy field trips until your puppy turns 1 year old. Tuition is $149.

Sensible Puppy Skills is an intensive four-week training class for puppies 4 months through 12 months old. This class begins on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:30 and runs for four consecutive weeks. This class is 65-75 minutes long. Focusing on specific skills such as polite greetings, leash manners, Come and Stay, Catherine Steinke will show you how to practice with your puppy to instill good manners that will last a lifetime. Even if your puppy seems a bit unruly or out of control, you will learn how to gently and kindly train your puppy to settle down and obey you. There are no excused absences or make up sessions for this class so please clear your calendar for all four sessions. This class is repeatable and payment for each month is due at the first class. Included in the tuition for this class are step-by-step skill sheets and monthly puppy field trips until your puppy turns 1 year old. Tuition is $99.

The registration form for either class is available on the website. www.SensibleK9.com

Please contact Catherine Steinke by email for more information about these courses. Catherine@SensibleK9.com