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Enforcing good
leadership.
Leaders go first right? I do think this appeals to the more primeval
side of the dog, and is very symbolic. I will often get very good
feed back on this technique from the client, as it keeps the dog
nice and calm as they leave the house for example. It can transform
the experience the client has at doorways in general, leading to
a much quieter experience once outside.
I also see a number of ‘calming signals’ at this point,
especially when the dog is finally getting the message and decides
to stand back and allow the owner through. Licking of the lips,
standing back, circling, sitting or lying down are a few that readily
come to mind.
Keeping the dog calm.
Coming closer to the point of regular calm behaviour for a dog will
make a genuine difference both in the home and outside, and it is
then that other more subtle changes can take place. Other behaviours
that simply come from an excitable state of mind will often fade
of their own accord.
For example, I went to see a lady recently with a very worked up
collie bitch at 17 months of age with essentially nervous-aggressive
tendencies. To get from the lounge to the gate out of the garden
there were five doorways/gates. These included a regular internal
door, two UPVC style doors, the garden door, and the gate at the
top of the garden.
What had been happening is that the lead was going on in the house,
and she was being pulled in no uncertain terms through all of these
doors with the dog jumping and barging along the way. It was a mess.
The dog was having its head, but also getting more and more excitable
(like an escalation up the scale) and then of course stressed along
the way. The lady was being shown repeatedly who was leading the
walk, and then she was confused as to the dog’s reactive behaviour
once outside!
Working on good manners.
Would she allow a member of the family to barge in front of her
as she approached a door I asked? Of course not, so why allow your
dog?
Changing this situation would get the dog to slow down, think about
the process and be conscious that the owner is on the other end
of the lead. This alone will create a shift in the dog and create
calm. Calm is good! Excitability leads to stress, stress leads to
bad behaviour, and potentially health issues longer term as the
stress is ‘discharged’ so to speak.
Ok, so what’s the solution?
Well, assuming the lead isn’t even on yet;
I get the owner to bring the lead out of the drawer or off its hook.
This is where the dog will often go loopy and show it’s general
attitude to what’s about to follow. In fairness, a few dogs
remain pretty calm and relaxed, but most will get going at this
point.
I insist that the dog is not going anywhere until it is sitting
nice and calmly. Any jumping up or barging then the lead gets slapped
on the counter, and we cross our arms and look away as if to say
‘suit yourself…I can wait’.
Once calm is restored (patience and a good sense of humour in large
doses can often be very useful here!) the lead is lifted once again,
and we give it another go.
Remember that we’re looking for calm, so it’s
important to remain relaxed, avoiding eye contact with the dog too
to prevent subtle conflict and stress. I encourage people to slow
everything right down to enable them to think about what is happening,
rather than to just do it in autopilot mode. Also bare in mind that
the owner is not destined to this routine forever more, it is a
case of retraining the dog into understanding that calm will work,
excitement won’t.
Sometimes it may take quite a number of tries to lift
the lead before the dog settles, but most will after two or three
attempts if they’re excitable. Once the lead is on you may
be in to a pulling situation straight away, so remain fixed and
bring the dog back in until it understands you’re now in control.
The next step also requires a great deal of patience with some dogs,
but with a few you can get out in thirty seconds or less.
A few prerequisites at this stage then:
1. The lead remains slack at
all times unless the dog bolts outside.
2. No commands are to be given. (They often get
in the way).
3. Avoid eye contact, and remain calm and patient. |
Depending
on which way the door opens etc. place one hand through the lead’s
end, and the other hand on the handle. Open the door just an inch
or two, the dog will either try and claw at it and squeeze it’s
nose out, or they might get a bit worked up and whine etc. The dog
may leap up at the handle too, so a brief check on the lead will
help here.
The idea follows that over a period of time (the longest I ever
remained at this stage may have been ten minutes) the door can be
opened more and more until you feel that you are able to slowly
make an exit. Each time the dog goes to slip out first, the door
is shut again. The dog will often do a full circle behind me and
I quietly turn with it ready for another go. I should make the point
that we are not trying to give the dog’s nose a bash here!
I may apply light pressure if the dog really holds the nose there
preventing me from shutting the door, but this would be applied
very slowly giving the dog every opportunity to remove the offending
part of his body. Most dogs pull the head back very swiftly when
they see the door closing anyway!
Eventually, it gets to the point where there is enough space for
you to move outside. This is also the trickiest part as the temptation
for the dog to go on ahead is pretty high. The lead will come into
play here if the dog makes a run for it, as closing the door at
this point is hard to do given the distance to travel. However assuming
the dog does go before you, lift it back in with the lead and close
the door yet again. Wait a moment for calm to return and start again.
Keep any verbal to an absolute minimum if anything.
This all sounds rather long winded seeing it on the screen, but
in actual fact it all goes very quickly. Placing the lead on, and
opening and closing the door is where the time is used.
Once you decide to go on ahead, I actually falsely move a foot ahead
as if to show I’m leaving to test the dog. If all is well,
I will then carry on leaving over the threshold almost in slow motion
so as not to excite the dog into following me. Also at this point,
I find it much better to swivel to face the dog closing any space
with your body position to prevent rushing to follow you. So in
essence you are both turning to face your dog and slowly exiting
at the same time.
If done slowly enough you should be able to get outside, stand on
the step and look back at the dog as it is by now waiting for the
word to follow.
Count to five in silence to create a small wait, then call the dog
on with a quiet but encouraging voice.
Some dogs will come and stand next to you calmly, others will shoot
out like a greyhound out of the opening gates so be prepared either
way with a good stance! Most will come outside calmly to impressed
quiet gasps of amazement and delight from the owners…very
satisfying!
Now the dog is mentally ready to face the walk, or sometimes I may
suggest they do this all again a few times each day for practice
and to break down the old habits.
The other way to approach such a scenario would be
to tell the dog to sit and wait or stay as you leave, but the dog
is not learning much in comparison. Doing it the way I describe
will get the dog to think for itself, and come to its own conclusion
about what is happening…making it something that is far more
likely to stick and work well into the future.
Internal doorways are much the same if you find the
dog is hot on your heels as you go from room to room. For this situation,
I simply move to block the dog as I exit the room, and maybe hold
a flat hand out as if to say ‘hang back…let me through’.
Conclusion.
Who would have thought you could write so much about going through
a doorway?
Well, it just goes to show how important it is, and as I said above,
the positive comments it gets as feedback is very encouraging.
A calm dog is a happy dog that’s much
less likely to pull and show other undesirable behaviour.
Nick Jones MCFBA
Alpha Dog Behaviour.
Contact : www.alphadogbehaviour.co.uk
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