Tag Archives: Dog behavior

Dog Behavior, Dogs

Toys, Play Dates and Pack Mates

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Dogs love to play, right? And they love their toys! So it’s natural to think that involving toys in a play session is totally normal and okay to do with multiple dogs. And it is, in some situations.

Toys can be a great addition to your doggy socials, but they can also be a source for resource guarding in some dogs. Which can lead to them having words or worse, with another unknowing dog who maybe wants to try to play with them, with that toy.

As a general rule; if I am inviting a friend dog over for the first time to hang out with my social boy who loves to play? I pick up all the toys and put them away. A new play date should be just that, a date between the pups. This keeps the environment as neutral as possible and allows the dogs to figure each other’s personality and play styles out. They focus attention on each other and will have a good time! I will continue to not allow toys between friends until they’ve built a good solid relationship with one another – after several play sessions, then I will slowly introduce toys to their dates. Which I’ll describe down below.

So, what about pack mates? The way that I have pack mates integrate has many steps and toys are a step in their bonding process that comes in time. Let’s say you started off with one dog. You have that pup for about a year or two and they’ve got their set of toys; some are favorites, most are fun, some are “eh”. Now you bring puppy into the mix. Puppy obviously needs TONS of toys and stimulation to keep them happy and nondestructive. But I don’t allow puppy to just come in and take over older dogs toys. That can cause undue stress in your pack and could lead to problems later on. Puppy gets their own area to acclimate / potty train / stay out of trouble / and play with THEIR set of toys. Baby toys. Teething toys that are softer for their baby mouths, etc. In some cases the older dog will bring some of their toys to the puppy – and those are the ones I start with.

Just like a play date, I have my new puppies play with my older dogs without anything around. Just for the first few days. I don’t allow full integration right away, it’s just how I do it, so when the dogs do hang out (and that is most of the day – when I’m there to monitor), they figure each other out and baby begins to learn their place in the family. This also strengthens the bond between dogs because, again, they only have each other to focus on. When I’m not watching and they go back to their puppy pen, everybody gets their own toys back.

This lasts maybe the first week. After that, I begin to add toys to their play. When I do, I bring out twice as many as there are dogs. The toys I bring out are the ones big dog brought to little dog to share through the pen, the bland toys, the “eh” toys. In other words I bring out all the toys that don’t mean much to the big dog. I keep their favorites up until MUCH later in their relationship. Tug toys, ropes, long floppy toys, things that they can both enjoy together and both have enough room to hold onto it at once. This minimized any jealousy or upset misunderstandings between the two. Gradually they get more and more toys to play with together, as they learn to share.

If I ever see someone getting possessive over an item I will take it and claim as mine. This keeps order in the pack, feelings from getting hurt, and prevents grudges from being built. Whoever that toy belonged to originally, I will return it to them when the puppy goes back up.

All of this doesn’t take long. They learn to share pretty quickly given plenty of time to do so. I rotate toys often and bring new ones out to keep things interesting between them. Also when you have multiple dogs, your toys get destroyed that much faster!

So what about a fully integrated pack and new toys? I ALWAYS buy multiple and always give them to the whole pack at the same time. This way they see it as all of theirs not just singularly theirs. When they receive the new toys together – they’re more likely to share them equally. Always remember though, if you’re giving something new, have an equal number of new toys to dogs, or equal +1 is better!

Dog Behavior, Dogs

Animal Brain Vs. Domestic Brain

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Oftentimes my clients will hear me talk about their dogs being in “Animal brain mode” or “Domestic brain mode” to help explain where their dog’s focus is. There’s a little more to it than just focus.

Dog domestication happened a LONG time ago – their ancestors came from their wild wolf cousins. There is a piece of their functionality that will always remain somewhat ‘wild’. This is their instinctual side, where prey drive and reactivity comes from.

I tend to work more with dogs that function at a higher percentage in Animal brain than they do in Domestic brain, because I specialize in severe behavioral issues and all forms of aggression. My dogs start out functioning at a level of instinct instead of partnership with their humans.

There was a study I read once, that when some dogs instinct kicks in during prey drive, the function of their hearing shuts off. They go so far into Animal brain mode that they literally cannot hear you, because that is the least helpful sense to a dog on the hunt. They gain laser focus and all they want to do is “GO get that thing!!”

I experienced this quite a bit with my Husky, Prince. When he would spot a cat or possum? That was it. There was no getting through to him. I can still see the hard look he would get. Eyes focused, body stiff, and those ears were pinned on the unsuspecting critter! I could yell or scream any command or even some of his favorite words “WALK? Bone! Prince, BONE! LEAVE IT AND COME GET THIS BONE!! Let’s go for a WALK!! DOG!!!” And before I could even finish my sentence… BOOM! He was flying after them. The joy of the hunt was far greater than any pathetic thing I could come up with.

Because I had so much practice with him and watching other clients dogs do the same when they’d spot a squirrel or cat or another dog on the leash, I got really good at spotting the signs and getting their attention before that Animal brain would click on. I could see the train track change coming up on the horizon. The trick is getting those tracks to not switch directions, to keep them going in a straight line in Domestic brain lane. That functioning partnership that we all love and know our dogs are capable of.

Domestic brain is where we like our dogs. They listen, they obey, and they stay in their own lanes. When I work with a dog to get them functioning more in Domestic brain, the transition is a bit stressful, for everyone involved. The dogs instincts are SCREAMING in their bodies, and they will succumb to it at times. But in order to work on it, they need to be continually exposed, in order to learn how to shut it off and stay in the right frame of mind. This is where our ability to be patient and loving and understanding comes in handy. And also a bit of knowledge in body language helps too.

So when your dog is barking out the window at passers by or rushing out the back door to go chase a squirrel, understand that they’re functioning off of something a bit more primal and calling them off may not always work. Catching their attention just before usually will.

Dogs

The Doggy Wrench

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“He’s YOUR dog, not mine!” “He won’t listen to me!” “You’re the only one that matters to her” “She doesn’t even like me.”

Have you ever said any of these phrases? Or heard your partner say them to you? It’s not at all uncommon for the doggy wrench to be thrown in the middle of a relationship. Some of the longest relationships have had their rough patches due to the dog. You are not alone!

I’ve had many people declare that I saved their marriage after coming in and helping them sort out their puppy problems. Sometimes it’s a basic behavior fix, and other times it may take a different perspective on the part of the humans in the house.

Look, fundamentally, you ALL are a part of your dog’s pack. You may not all have the same relationship with one another, but everybody living in the house is seen as a pack member to the dog. Whether or not they listen to you and/or “like” you, often has a lot to do with how you are thinking about them and the amount of interaction (or lack thereof) with them.

I tell my clients (and even family members) that all it really takes is 5 minutes a day to begin to build a bond with the family dog. They don’t listen to you? Grab a bag of treats and have them earn some through basic obedience or even tricks and games. Take turns filling the food bowl and placing it down for the dog – that way they can see that you provide for them as well. Small changes like this can have a HUGE impact on how your dog views you!

Sometimes, all it takes is finding something you like about the dog, maybe their ears flop over when they look at you a certain way, the way their eyes sparkle when they wake up in the morning and greet you, their coat is extra shiny in the sun, maybe they’re really cute when they get a squeaky ball and want to play. By finding things you enjoy about the dog that you can focus on, you’ll begin to shift your body language and energy towards them – and they will notice and respond with similar positive interactions with you!

It should be noted that if there are more severe behaviors happening such as biting, or attacking a family member – that should be addressed by a Behaviorist for more in-depth training and behavior modification.