Comments on: Teaching a Puppy Not to Bite

By: kbehan

kbehan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:39:16 +0000

Basically it takes two to three years for the emotional battery to fully format, and I believe there are cycles that run even longer than that, and since these cycles are the true organizing principle I don’t believe the critical periods are the absolutes that the “mechanists” like to say there are. My children were born during the eighties and the rage then was that there was a magical moment of bonding that occurred between mother and child in the first instant after birth, and so many mothers who had c-sections were distraught because they missed this moment. Well I was there and I didn’t see any blinding link, my poor wife was exhausted and in pain, the children were terrified, and I feel the bonding thing worked its way out over the next days and indeed, was going on within the womb well before.
What happens in development is that when dogs hit two to three years old, energy that they could have previously been comfortable internalizing, they then shift and must externalize and then they need an instinctual license and so the higher processes of their nervous system invents a danger such as shiny floor as predator, so that they can vent this pent up energy. This also seems to happen at age 6 or 7 with noise phobias. I think a lot of this has to do with over stimulation but also how much more dogs are personified by their owners (which creates pressure) as well as the dog’s picking up their owners’ stuff that they then need to externalize. I guess we can sum up the dog raising protocol best by saying just be sure to let your dog be a dog.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:49:45 +0000

Kevin i just realised you partially answered some of the above previously , but are hoping you may still comment further?

Regards Mark

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:42:41 +0000

Hi Kevin – just came across this in relation to puppies. What do you think about Scott & fullers studies from the 60’s about “critical socialisation periods?”

I believe behaviourists are now using the term “sensitive periods” and that there has been some criticisim of the original study in terms of numbers and breeds of dogs used.

This is of interest to me as many puppy development programmes are based on these critical periods with advice given to basically expose the pups as much as possible within the first sixteen weeks of life. My observations are that this does not necessarily produce a secure confident dog. I still see pups with insecurities about shiny floors and new places etc, even though initially they seemed fine. One day, what seems out of the blue, the pup will be afraid of a place it has been to many times before, even though it was previously confident and did not have a negative experience at that same location. I am starting to question the necessity and value of all this exposure.

Your comments above made me wonder whether we are in fact over stimulating these pups and inadvertently creating some of the problems we were trying to avoid by exposing them to as much of our modern environment as possible.

Why do you think puppies develop these fears of places?

How would you develop a puppy to be able to cope with the changing environment a Police or guide dog would face in a big city?

I would be interested in more of your thoughts on raising puppies.

Mark

By: Cliff Abrams

Cliff Abrams — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:11:52 +0000

Wow. We will start doing this immediately, and Anne and i role-play this scenario every day. Helping him find his “off switch” to discharge his energy is *very* important for this guy. Actually, i’ve always been suspicious of the whole “no jumping up no matter what” viewpoint. I rather like it when our (normally quite reserved) dog shows his affection sometimes. For instance, he just had an overnight play session with our son/daughter-in-law’s dog. Then today, he *insisted* that we have some close-contact time together, and when Anne came home for our noon walk, he was all paws-on-shoulders and face licks. Not that you want him to do this to guests, but i think it’s good for “the family”. Thanks again very much for your advice.

By: Kevin Behan

Kevin Behan — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:11:33 +0000

Yes Cliff, teaching a dog its place is a good way to help him feel safe. And helping him feel safe for the first ten minutes as “the charge” subsides is very good as well. However the question remains about “grounding” out that electric energy when a stranger first arrives. This is the energy that has never been calmed (no matter how calm you try to be) and so it would prove therapeutic to encourage Lenny to jump up on you during that first tentative moment (before he’s sent to his place) and then engage him with pushing in for his food after he’s made contact. After he’s fully committed himself to you, then you can send him to his mat. In fact, I would have a friend come to the house and do this over and over (You can also role play with Anne and yourself knocking on door and practicing the routine) so that you can concentrate on the training and not have to worry about your guests. Remember, a football team learns a new play against their teammates when nothing is at stake, not against the opposing team on game day. It’s likewise difficult for animals to learn new things when charged by strangers. Teaching Lenny a new play could be how he can be fed for the next week or two so that he’ll have it down cold on game day. Good luck.

By: Cliff Abrams

Cliff Abrams — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:11:06 +0000

As usual, great advice. We’re teaching our dog (Lenny– 18 months old) to “go to your place” when either Anne or i come home. He is afraid of strangers (he’s a rescue pup with very bad previous owners). He’s gets excited, but goes to his place (a mat in the living room) and waits till we have greeted each other and he’s released “okay!” We’re doing this in an effort to get him calm when a guest comes through the door. Is this wrong? He’s very hesitant and growly when a stranger comes into the house, but IF THEY IGNORE HIM, he warms up to anyone in about 5 minutes of hesitant sniffing– women have a much shorter warm-up time. As you can imagine, it’s difficult to ask guests– let alone clients(!)– to ignore your barking, hair-on-end, dog. And talk about a transfer of energy/emotion. I admit that it’s almost impossible for us to remain completely calm in that situation– and it goes right to him. It probably sounds worse than it is– he’s otherwise a very good boy. Plays well with other dogs off leash, loves us, likes people he meets on our walks. We just want to train him to be calm and polite always– especially in the house. Thanks.