Inquisitive Canine: Tips for Keeping ‘Ruff’ Housing From Getting Too Rough, Part I
Feb 4th
I recently adopted Tucker, my 4-month-old male border collie and lab mix, as a friend for my 3-year-old dog Polo, another male of the same mixed breed. Upon meeting Tucker I was taken over by his rambunctious behavior, but I figured he was a puppy and that this was something normal, and as time went on he’d begin to adapt to our family and his new brother Polo.
However, a few negative behaviors still remain. Tucker is constantly picking on Polo, which is at times a gesture to begin to play, which Polo accepts, but when he does not, Tucker does not understand that he needs to stop. I am afraid Tucker may injure Polo, as he bites his neck quite vi-iously, and sometimes, this playing will lead to a fight of barking, flying fur, and biting.
I feel as if they are two alphas under one roof, and while I want them to get along, I don’t want either of them getting hurt. Also, Tucker has a way of getting into anything and everything he can get his snout on, constantly jumping up on tables and eating things that are simply inedible by anyone.
I feel like I am at a loss, as me and my family have tried all sorts of ways to correct these repetitive and undesirable behaviors such as time-outs, pennies in a jar, a mechanism that makes click sounds, a low-deep “NO” command, and many other humane ways. He also gets very defensive and vicious when passing by other dogs during a walk.
I fear these things will never stop and he may no longer be able to be part of our family. This is very troubling as I’m sure you can imagine.
Are there any steps we could take to trying to correct this behavior? A friend whose dog is in-credibly well-behaved had mentioned doggy boot camp, can you recommend any that are in the Tri-state area as we live in Connecticut?
Thank you
Lauren Pascoa
Dear Lauren,
Congratulations on the adoption of your new pup Tucker! He sounds quite lively, and one entertaining bundle of energy! To answer your question, yes, there most certainly are steps you can take to resolve the issues you are having in order to reach your chosen goals!
The behavior scenarios you’ve described sound like normal tendencies of a highly spirited puppy. I do understand your frustration, and reasons for wanting to correct these unwanted behaviors. As a reward-based, certified professional dog trainer I suggest the best approach to reach your goals would be to replace these objectionable actions with those that you and your family members want. This way Tucker and all others involved will get their perspective needs met.
I have broken down your concerns into four separate areas:
- Puppy play and tips on socialization
- Jumping and scavenging or counter-surfing
- On-leash dog reactivity when on walks
- Assistance on locating local dog training services.
My sidekick Poncho and I are breaking this advice column into two parts. For this installment we will address the rough-housing (or “ruff” housing!), followed by Tucker’s propensity to counter-surf and rummage through the home. In the next edition, we will provide training tips for leash-walking and resources on how to find local assistance.
- Tucker and Polo’s dog-play session: Your young spirited puppy, who also happens to be a mix of higher-energy breeds, wants to play with his older brother, who has most likely mellowed with age. And although Polo is still on the younger side, he’s probably had enough play experience to know how much he’s willing to tolerate from a puppy. Also, if Polo was an “only child” for most of his life, he might need some time to adapt to having another dog in the house, as well as a younger tireless one.
- A few tips to help both dogs enjoy life with each other during play would be:
- Reward both dogs for any and all nice play behavior! Be a cheerleader for both Tucker and Polo when they are playing nicely – ‘happy talk’ from you (and other humans) along with an occasional treat will send a message of “Nice play time boys!”, then you’ll get more of it. You can also reward Tucker when he is “listening” to Polo’s requests for backing off.
- Monitor play: Dog play can appear to be quite intense at times (and often is). You’ll know it’s consensual if both dogs remain together and interact. Watch for reciprocal behavior be-tween the dogs. For more about interpreting proper dog socialization and play, visit my dog training blog.
- Puppy classes and socialization: Reward-based puppy training classes are key for helping younger dogs develop into well-mannered, well-socialized adult dogs. You’ll also want to consider setting up play-dates for Tucker with other puppies to help him develop good play skills. In fact, proper socialization for dogs is important at any age. But don’t take my word for it, check out what my own inquisitive canine Poncho has to say about dog socialization.
- Scavenging throughout the house: Hunting and foraging are normal behaviors of dogs. If given the opportunity he or she is likely to take it, especially with a younger pup. Dogs are quite keen at finding their own forms of entertainment, which makes it even more important for you to manage your environment, along with arranging specific outlets for Tucker to target his energy. Here’s one other dog that enjoys the sport of counter-surfing. My sidekick Poncho has provided some nice dog training tips to help with scavenging.
- A couple of other handy tips would be to provide motivational interactive dog friendly toys that Tucker likes. (Not ones you think he should like but ones that he actually likes to play with). Reward Tucker for playing with his own toys. Yes, I mean give him a little treat and a “Good boy!” for all of those times Tucker chooses to pick up his own toy. As a double reward, please acknowledge with praise and a treat for those times when he ignores the forbidden items that were left out.
Which brings me to one of the simplest solutions: if you don’t want Tucker getting into something, put it away. Management may not teach Tucker exactly what you want, but it certainly sets him up for success by preventing him from practicing behaviors you don’t want.
Puppy behaviors can be exhausting, but remember, Tucker will soon outgrow many of them, becoming the well-adjusted good-mannered adult dog you all want. With guidance in his play sessions, and providing alternate outlets for Tucker to help relieve all of his energy, I’m sure you’ll be reaching your dog training goals before you know it.
Remember to tune back in for the next installment of Dear Inquisitive Canine where we revisit the art of loose leash walking, and provide a few resources on where inquisitive dog guardians can find local dog training services.
Positive Reinforcement in Dog Training Backfiring Resulting in Aversion Therapy
Dec 8th
One of today’s private dog training sessions went askew unintentionally and I thought it’d be something good to share with our Inquisitive Canine audience.
As a certified professional dog trainer I choose to use techniques that are considered the most humane, least intrusive, and that are quite rewarding to the dogs (and people) that I work with in my dog training classes and with my private dog training clients. I’ve actually been called “the chicken lady” by a few folks – not because I train chickens professionally (although yes, I’ve been to chicken camp I-III which is a separate topic altogether). Nope – it’s because I more often than not use chicken (the lean human variety you can find in almost all supermarkets) to train dogs. 
Not for every behavior, no. I consider this edible delight “high value”. Meaning, I use it for behaviors a dog might deem “expensive” such as coming when called with lots of distractions, and ignoring cyclists, skateboarders and kitties. I also use it in situations where I am taking the “learning by association” approach – aka: classical conditioning. If I want a dog to like something – for example taking a bath – then I pair it with chicken (or something that’s of equal value to the dog).
Take a look at Poncho in these pictures. Between scrubs and rinses I am giving him little pieces of chicken. I’ve been doing this for awhile now. Why? Well, he’s not really much of a water dog. But he does enjoy getting dirty – rolling and playing in who knows what. This means he’s gonna get a bath. He now will walk into the bathroom and jump up on the ledge for me to place him gently in the tub. So all is good with bath-time. The chicken (and other treats) have been working.
So, when can this approach backfire? Well, if the animal finds whatever motivator you’re using more of a punishment! Oops! And that’s exactly what happened to me today!
I was meeting a new client – she is a very savvy, enthusiastic and responsible “dog mom”. She has had both her dogs since they were puppies. Started immediately with puppy training, then adult classes. Provides enrichment, exercises and socialization. Well, it seemed there were some sibling and pulling on leash issues going on which was the reason for the consult. Simple enough, right? With only reading through the behavior questionnaire I had sent her I was already thinking about a plan of action.
Like every private dog training client I meet with I bring a variety of food rewards – including the ever loving chicken: freshly defrosted and smelling scrumptious. Upon meeting this kind person and her lovely dog it seems her pooch took a complete 180 of his normal reaction to meeting strangers. He first approached with that wiggle-waggle loosey-goosey body ready to be scratched under the chin and given a yummy treat. Well guess what! The dog sniffed the tidbit of poultry in my hand, immediately froze, gave me a ‘whale-eye’ stare, hackles up, ears back, body stiff and no longer loosey goosey – then started the ‘whooof whoof whoof’ at a pitch which indicated he was afraid, uncertain, apprehensive and wanting nothing to do with me.
Said the owner: “He’s never done this before! He’s always loved everyone he meets! I’m so sorry.” Well of course I’m not going to take it personally – we’ve all met people we were uncertain of. But I promptly wanted to start figuring out why the sudden change in behavior.
Well guess what folks? Turns out that just yesterday the dog had eaten about three squeakers from various toys, was very sick, and as usual received boiled chicken and rice for his meals – which he proceeded to throw up, in addition to the toys. I’m going to venture to speculate that is was the smell of the chicken that did it to him. Yep – made him relive the entire experience all over again without actually having to relive it. And guess who was at the other end of the chicken? Yours truly. Go figure! Of all things! Kinda similar to the gin incident I had as a youth….but again, that’s a story for another time…
This just goes to show you how well classical condition works to teach an animal to love or hate anything. It’s just too bad for this poor dog that it had to be with something like chicken! (Heaven forbid I ever get sick on sourdough bread)
Fortunately we were able to get through our lesson. But let’s just say for the next session I’m already planning on bringing this dogs favorite items: ham and ice-cream! I’ll check first though to make sure he hasn’t developed an aversion to anything else. 
How to Teach an Old Dog New Tricks: Practice!
Nov 10th
Dear Inquisitive Canine:
My dog Andrew is an 8-year-old Boston terrier and, in almost all regards, is the perfect dog. I knew that training a dog was honestly the most important thing that I could do, to provide him protection. Andrew did great in all of the classes. He learned all of his tricks, minded perfectly and seemed to benefit from what was expected. The problem is that Andrew seemed to have a mind of his own outside of the class.
Certified professional dog trainer Joan Mayer and her sidekick, Poncho
Andrew doesn’t come when called by name in the house or out of the house. He doesn’t listen to the commands “stop” or “stay” unless you have a treat in front of him — and only inside the house. I can’t open a door without securing him, and I worry every time anyone comes in the house or leaves the house that he will run out the door.
It is a constant worry that he will go out that door and that I would never be able to stop or catch him. Even on a leash outside he doesn’t listen. It’s almost as if his hormones take over and he loses all brain connection when out in the world.
I have consulted with animal communicators and other well-known trainers, and still nothing changes. As an animal guardian, I want to be the best parent I can be. Please help.
— Andrew’s mom
Dear mom of Andrew:
Bravo for being such a responsible and caring dog guardian! You started Andrew out on the right paw by attending classes, recognized behavioral concerns and made efforts to resolve them. You deserve a treat yourself. Thank you for writing in.
I will be happy to provide some insight into resolving some of your issues. My sidekick Poncho decided he wanted to provide some dog training tips as well. Please check out his Inquisitive Canine blog post on what he has learned about coming when called.
The topics I’d like to address have to do with both management of your environment and with dog training tips that will help utilize what Andrew already has learned in class. Both elements are important, because when you’re not training you need to manage to help prevent unwanted situations.
In your case, management has to do with securing Andrew’s environment in order to help prevent him from practicing behaviors you don’t want — such as door dashing and taking off down the street. This means doors must remain closed, gates installed to block doorways, leashes to keep Andrew tethered to you, or sequestering him to an area of the house away from escape routes during those times when there’s an increased risk of someone leaving a door open.
As a side note, if Andrew is going to be sequestered somewhere for longer than a minute or two, you’ll want to provide some sort of enrichment such as an interactive food toy or chew bone. You want to avoid turning a management situation into a timeout.
As for training tips, it’s wonderful that you’ve already taught Andrew his foundation skills in a class. Now it’s time to take those behaviors outside the classroom. What is the best way to do this? Simple: Practice each one before you need them!
Similar to when we were kids learning all about fire, earthquake and tornado drills, you’ll want to run Andrew through his behavior drills over and over again in various locations in and out of your home until he becomes “conditioned” to hearing your cues such as “sit” and “stay.”
With enough practice, he’ll react accordingly without even thinking about it. Once he is able to “generalize” these actions, you can then add in one distraction at a time. This will make it easier on him and less frustrating for you while setting you both up for success.
For additional steps you can take to teach Andrew doorway manners, please check out this Inquisitive Canine column on greeting people politely at the front door.
Another dog training tip I’d like to bring up is motivation. All animals (including the human variety) need motivation to perform behaviors. Whether it’s something we want or something we want to avoid, motivation and consequences are what drive us to make behavior choices. For Andrew, right now the environment is much more motivating than the alternative — not getting to run around and play. So you’ll want to consider the best way to motivate him in wanting to stay with you, stay within the boundaries you’ve set and come when he’s called.
I appreciate that you’re already using treats. I’d suggest for keeping Andrew motivated under highly distracting situations that you use food treats that he would do back-flips over! Small pieces of chicken or even fish might motivate him to stay and play. You can then redirect his energy to playing indoors — fetch or tug would be good energy outlets that would still keep him safe inside your home. Plus, with toys, you’re able to direct him to the opposite area of the front door. In other words, toss the toy in the opposite direction of the door. Once he’s had the practice and has become conditioned to the routine, you can then use fetch or tug as his reward with food treats.
I appreciate that you want to be “the best parent” you can be, and as much as we’d all love to have dogs that are always 100 percent, no animal is perfect under every situation each and every time. But with proper training, practice and motivation, Andrew could certainly learn that listening to you is much more fun and rewarding.
Teaching Your Dog to Come When Called – Should be music to your dogs ears…
Nov 1st
Our latest Dear Inquisitive Canine dog behavior advice question comes from a responsible dog mom who has concerns about her dog Andrew dashing out the door. (Door dashing is considered a fun sport amongst us canines).
My certified professional dog trainer mom, and fellow dog behavior advice columnist decided to take care of the home management, enrichment and greeting at doors etiquette while I thought it would be best for this inquisitive canine to handle the running back to my mom when I’m called, AKA “recall” AKA “coming when called.”
Mom uses the same dog training tips and techniques with me as she teaches to students in her Ventura dog training classes and workshops, and with her private dog training clients. They were pretty easy and fun for me to learn, so I thought I’d share them with Andrew and his mom, as well as with our Inquisitive Canine readers.
- Be happy when you call us: I love when mom uses her happy voice – it means she’s in a good mood and loves me up when I arrive. She knows that using a deep angry voice will cause me to ignore her wishes! Just like when her mom or dad were upset with her as a child she learned a certain tone of voice predicted nothing good for her. I learned the same thing. No matter what I’ve done, she always loves when I come running to her – so she knows which tone of voice and which facial expression will prompt me to run towards her and not away from her.
- Only call us if you know you’re going to get the response you want: Otherwise it’s a waste of your breath which leads you to be more frustrated with your dog. If us dogs are in the middle of playing, chasing something or rolling in something dead, do you really think we’re going to come running to you if you’ve never taught us to do so? I think not. This means…
- Practice-practice-practice! First with no distractions, then build up one distraction at a time! Until your dog becomes conditioned to run to you immediately after calling him or her one time, it’s unlikely to happen.
- Motivation! Give your dog a great reason to come running to you. And remember, if you’re calling him or her at a time when the other motivator is highly competitive then you’ll want to make the reason for running to you worthwhile. My personal favorites are pieces of tuna, a fun training exercise like the ones in our Out of the Box Dog Training Game, and playing fetch with my stuffed squeaky toys. Mom just redirects the energy to a rewarding outlet!
As mom says, “Practice it before you need it!” This means, get out there and start calling your dog to you, because this is one of those behaviors that never goes out of style!
What to do About a Dog Who Digs Digging
Sep 3rd
This months Dear Inquisitive Canine dog behavior advice column is dedicated to a fellow inquisitive canine Harley. Seems that Harley is a fan of digging. Unfortunately his guardian’s aren’t appreciative of Harley’s abilities to re-landscape the yard. What a shame.
My mom the certified professional dog trainer has tackled our syndicated column, answering Harley’s guardian’s questions about what to do. I of course wanted to provide my own two cents – considering I am a dog who enjoys the occasional dig.
A few simple, easy-to-follow dog training and management tips would include:
- Reward Harley with a treat, praise, petting and/or a round of his favorite non-digging game whenever he is in the yard and leaving the dirt alone!
- Provide enrichment! Especially when Harley is left alone, to help prevent boredom related behaviors. Using interactive food toys, scavenger hunts and even creating his own digging pit can help direct Harley’s energy to specific allowable areas – he’ll be too busy digging through his own treasure chest or playing with his own games that he won’t care about digging in other areas.
- Review Harley’s exercise routine. If Harley is an active dog with lots of energy, you’ll want to up the amount of exercise he is getting to ensure he is more relaxed (and wants to nap) when left on his own. This includes other physical and mental activities besides walkies. Similar to humans tiring out after being at a computer all day, us dogs can get pooped out (no pun intended) after participating in a dog training class or dog training activity like Rallo-O. Even playing one of our Out of the Box Dog Training Game activity cards can set you both up for wanting to relax.
- Consider other options to being left outside: doggy daycare, pet sitters, dog walkers, getting together with a friend for doggy play-dates, or trading dog-sitting duties with other dog guardians.
- Re-evaluate Harley’s home environment: If he is more comfortable when indoors (as long as he minds his manners), consider creating a safe area of confinement inside your home. You can still use interactive toys to help keep him entertained.
- Use digging as a reward! Take Harley to an admissible area for digging, then use a phrase like “Go dig!” right before he does. If you put it on cue, you can then use the behavior of digging as a reward in areas he likes and that you won’t mind if it’s dug up. It also might come in handy if and when you need help preparing the soil in the garden.
For additional information on dog training tips for digging loving dogs, make sure you check out our Dear Inquisitive Canine dog behavior advice column, which can be seen in Noozhawk online news magazine.
Poncho Playing Archaeologist at Rincon
I wonder when mom and dad are taking me back to the beach? (That’s my favorite place to dig & roll) Hmm, something for this inquisitive canine to ponder…
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