Gentle Paws Dog and Cat Training S R P I N G 2 0 1 5 PAWS & CLAWS Patty Homer, CPDT-KA, ABCDT Private and Group Training Dog Obedience Dog and Cat Behavior Pet Sitting Home Pet Nursing/Hospice Care Magic Walker No-Pull Harness Day Training***NEW In-Home Board & Train When Good Behavior is Physically Impossible There are many causes of behavior change in our pets including environmental deficiencies, traumatic events, gradual increase of behavior that has been left unchecked, and physical and mental ailments. Case Study: Bailey, a 5 year old neutered male Labrador Retriever with no history of aggression living with a family of 4 Dad, Mom and 2 children ages 5 and 8 has suddenly started growling and snapping at his family, friends of the family and strangers. This behavior started about 1 month ago. Bailey has not made contact with a bite yet, but the family fears that a bite is imminent and fears that they may have to give the dog up or euthanize him to keep their children safe. Cont d on page 2 Upcoming Events 206-370-2728 pattythepuppypro@gmail.com gentlepawsdogtraining.com Email me to receive the electronic copy of this newsletter! Annual Doggone Easter Egg Hunt March 28th There will be pony plop bingo, too! Petconnectionmaga zine.com PAWS Wildnight Gala & Benefit April 18 21 years old and up. Paws.org N. Cascades American Cat Fanciers April 19 th 10-3 Championship cat show - Tacoma Baptist School
PAWS & CLAWS During our consultation Bailey is very friendly to me and to the family. The family says that Bailey is unpredictable and that a growl or snap can come out of nowhere. He loves to be petted and sidles up to me as I give him treats and pet him under his chin and on his side showing no signs of aggression at all. Soon a pattern becomes clear to me. Bailey only bites when being petted on the head or low on his back. Since this behavior is new and selective, I recommended a vet visit for exam and xrays. The vet exam showed an ear infection and quite a bit of arthritis in his hips. Medication to clear up his ear infection, pain medication and Glucosamine supplements for his hips were prescribed and the aggression disappeared completely. No need for a dog trainer, just a veterinarian. Below are just a few of the physical ailments that can affect your pet s behavior: Ocular Eye sight changes don t only happen when a pet is aging, there are many breeds that have hereditary ocular diseases including Labrador Retrievers, Poodles, Schnauzers, Springer Spaniels and Collies to name a few. When a pet s eyesight is diminishing it can cause restlessness or lethargy during the day due to disturbances in their sleep/wake cycle, aggression, increased vocalization and anxiety. Auditory When a pet starts to lose his hearing, it can cause many of the same symptoms that ocular issues cause. Of course, if the dog can t hear, he will likely ignore your cues and not come when called and they can startle easily by people sneaking up on them, which can cause the dog to react defensively. There are a few breeds prone to deafness such as Dalmatians, English Setters, Australian Cattle Dogs and many white dogs of breeds that are not normally white. Ears An ear infection is a common reason for aggression when being petted around the head regardless of the age of the pet. Ear infections will also cause whining, rubbing their head on the ground and either increased clingy behavior or more independent behavior. Dogs with hang down ears are more prone to ear infections than other dogs. Recurrent ear infections are generally linked to allergies most commonly food allergies. Diabetes and Urinary Illness/Disease This can cause increased water consumption and increased urination. Any time a house trained dog or cat starts to have urinary accidents, it is important to have a urinalysis and possibly blood work done to rule out any bladder or urinary tract infections and/or diabetes. Hip Dysplasia/Arthritis These can both be very painful causing aggression due to being touched in painful areas or general crankiness due to constant pain. The list of breeds that are prone to hip dysplasia is vast just a few are Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Rottweilers, Pugs, Bull Dogs, Beagles and Lhasa Apsos. Hypothyroidism This can cause dogs to have lethargy and disinterest or intolerance to exercise or affection, aggression and even seizures. Cognitive Dysfunction With dogs becoming part of the family and having better veterinary care, our pets are living longer than they ever have which can lead to cognition problems. Cognitive issues can cause house soiling, aggression, confusion, not responding to his name and status changes between the pets. Anxiety Separation Anxiety (SA) is not as common as you hear about, but does happen; and when it happens it is a horrible existence for the dog and family. Many dogs that tear things up or whine/bark when the owner is gone are just having fun (what I call separation celebration). Dogs with SA will eliminate, drool, destroy things in an attempt to escape like door jambs, walls, carpets, break through windows or hurt themselves trying to get out of a crate. SA should be addressed by a Certified Professional Dog Trainer in conjunction with a Veterinarian that has a behavior specialty. So, although I make my living as a dog trainer, my advice to you is when there is any sudden change in your pet s behavior, a trip to the veterinarian is your first priority. The money spent with the vet will not be wasted because if you still need to hire a trainer, you will have already have ruled out any underlying medical causes for the behavior 2
PAWS & CLAWS Facts About CATS! Did you know? **There are cats that have survived falling 32 floors. Cats can sense which way is down and if given enough time, they are able to twist their body to position their feet under their bodies. A study showed that cats are more likely to survive a fall of 7 to 32 stories than if they fall a shorter distance of 2-6 stories. **A group of cats is called a Clowder. Cats, however, are by nature solitary animals/hunters. **Cats are often lactose intolerant. Cats that are lactose intolerant will have diarrhea and sometimes vomiting. Cats don t need milk, please don t feed your cats milk. **The technical name for a hairball is a bezoar. A bezoar is a mass found trapped in the gastrointestinal system. **Cats use their whiskers to gauge if they can fit through a space. Their free-floating clavicle bones attach their shoulders to their front legs allowing them to squeeze through very small spaces. **Cats make about 100 different sounds compared to 10 from a dog. Picking the Right Trick Teaching your dog tricks is a great way to play with, bond with and mentally stimulate his mind. Use a little bit of caution when teaching tricks: **Teaching shake or give me 5 is not a good idea if you are interested in becoming a pet therapy team therapy pets should never put their paw on someone. **Teaching beg or sit pretty is not a good idea for any breed that is front heavy (deep chested dogs like Boxers, Greyhounds) or long backed dogs (Dachshunds, Cockers, Bassets). This can place too much stress on their spinal cords resulting in spinal injuries. 3
PAWS & CLAWS Manners please! Impulse control. This is not something dogs are born with (humans either). Unless you spend time teaching your dog to control his impulses, he will live his entire life doing whatever it takes to get what he wants NOW! Dogs with low impulse control have un-desirable behaviors like jumping, barking, pawing, digging, whining, bolting, pulling, grabbing food or objects out or your hands or off of tables/counters and just being rude. Dogs don t care if they are rude. Being rude usually gets them what they want one way or another. There are three approaches (protocols) to modifying your dog s behavior from unruly to polite. All three protocols need to be done simultaneously for your dog s behavior to change. These protocols are: proper exercise, teaching alternate behaviors and doing impulse control exercises. These need to be done consistently, often and by everyone in the house that is mature enough to participate. Proper Exercise First you must provide your dog enough mental and physical exercise. Nearly every dog needs more exercise than you think. Some breeds need more than others Shepherds, Terriers and Herders usually need more than Shih Tzus, Pekignese and Havanese and some individuals within the same breed need more than others. Feeding out of food puzzles, training and games can help with mental exercise. Walking, fetch, critter-on-a-stick (if you don t know what that is, email me), treadmills, day care, dog parks (for dogs over 6-8 months of age with plenty of dog socialization) and play dates are great ways to increase your dog s physical exercise. Teaching Alternate Behaviors Before you can expect your dog to be polite and ask nicely for things, you have to teach him that being polite pays off. Your dog needs to be highly proficient at sit, down and come. This means you have to practice this every day. Start rewarding with food until you dog knows what you want then wean off of food and start using praise, affection, toys/games and privileges (getting the food puzzle, going out the door, getting on the furniture etc.) Impulse Control Exercises Teaching stay, Zen, leave it, ramp up/down and watch me all help teach him that all good things come to he who waits. Zen is the act of delivering a treat and if your dog reaches for it, the treat immediately disappears. This is repeated until your dog stays in place as you deliver the treat right to his mouth. Teach leave it with food on the floor cover it with your hand and say leave it. You give your dog the treat only after he has backed away and stopped trying to go for it. For ramp up/down, put your dog on leash and get excited, jump and/or run around and then stop and ask for a sit or sit/stay. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Watch me teaches him to stop what he is doing and look at you. When he looks at you, he gets rewarded. If you have questions about how to teach any of these behaviors/impulse control exercises just shoot me an email! Happy Training! 4
PAWS & CLAWS Cats Gotta Scratch! Cats love to use their claws! They use them in play, when stretching, as a threat, defense, to escape and to mark their territory. To keep their claws sharp, they need to scratch on things to remove their split, frayed and worn outer claws to expose the new, sharper claws. However, scratching from indoor kitties can be destructive to your home. It is not realistic or healthy to try to stop your cat from scratching. Instead teach her what to scratch on such as scratching posts, pads or boxes. I recommend having a variety of surfaces for your cat to scratch on some can be very inexpensively home made. Some of the things cats like to scratch on include cardboard, carpeting, wood/bark, sisal (or other heavy rope) and heavy upholstery fabric. Cats have personal preferences to what surfaces they like; some prefer horizontal posts, some prefer vertical, some enjoy both. All scratching options need to be sturdy enough not to slide, shift, fall over or collapse when being used. If your cat likes a vertical post, they typically want it to be tall enough that they can stretch as high as possible. Many cats will naturally go to their scratching posts, but many will find their own your furniture, drapes, carpet, etc. If you have one of those cats that needs some direction on where to take care of their claws, here are some tips: *Make the scratching post enticing! Don t force her to go to it; this can scare her away from it (and you). Sprinkle some catnip around it or hang toys on it. *Place a post in an area where she prefers to hang out. *Cover places your cat has been inappropriately scratching use double sided tape, cover with plastic, upside down carpet runner, tape some aluminum foil to the area. Then place a post next to the inappropriate object. *If you catch your cat scratching an inappropriate object, interrupt him by clapping your hands and/or loudly saying EH-EH. *Either keep your cat s nails trimmed or try out some Soft Claws. Soft claws are little plastic caps that are applied to your cat s nails with a special adhesive. They need to be replaced every month to month and a half. *DO NOT DECLAW YOUR CAT! Declawing your cat is not just removing her claws; it is amputating the end of all of her toes. It would be like removing all of your fingertips up to the first knuckle. It is very painful for your cat and can cause life-long pain and/or physical ailments including arthritis in the spine due to a lack of stretching that a cat normally gets through scratching, they can t defend themselves or escape quickly when in need, and many time create other behavior issues including irritability, aggression and inappropriate urination (they can stop using their litter box completely). *Keep that old, torn up scratching post when it becomes unsightly to you, your cat feels it is just right! Cats love to get their claws into shredded and torn material and the look and smell of the used post is familiar *Don t force your cat to go to her post. 5
PAWS & CLAWS FALL 2014 Gentle Paws Dog and Cat Training UNLEASH YOUR PET S POTENTIAL! Compassion, caring and safety are Gentle Paws top priorities. Gentle Paws offers affordable dog and cat training by a certified professional dog trainer with over 20 years experience. Whether you have a puppy/kitten, adult or senior dog/cat, Gentle Paws can help. Gentle Paws does not use a "cookiecutter" approach to training. Each pet and family is unique; therefore all training programs are individually created to fit the needs of each family. Using positive reinforcement with clearly defined rules and boundaries, Gentle Paws generates fabulous results! Your entire family including children and extended family are welcome to join the training. Private training in your home or out & about Pet sitting Home nursing (fluids, Hospice, medications) In-home Board & Train Single topic classes Day Training Home pet nursing/hospice care Gentle Paws Dog and Cat Training 206-370-2728 pattythepuppypro@gmail.com www.gentlepawsdogtraining.com If you would like to receive an electronic copy of PAWS & CLAWS, send us an email or give us a call!