You know…this could be a regular feature for me. I listen to her show every day on the way home searching for some tidbit I can use in my own life to either make sense of something or change for the better. I know…that’s a tall order if you consider that most of what she says is fanatical nonsense…but every day she does come up with something that rings true. The first one was the one about women not being able to share intimacy with men they view as weak. That one was a doozy considering how I’ve spent the past year.

Today’s gem?

Everyone has a hole in their soul where someone or something was supposed to be good but wasn’t. Get involved in your community, concentrate on your kids, make new friends, and live life IN SPITE of it. It can’t hold you back if you don’t let it”

coughPETERcough

Now to come up with one that doesn’t revolved around MEN.

The “Gift” of Growling
October 2005

Why you should never punish a dog for growling.

A professional dog trainer or behaviorist can help you learn to see and interpret the signals your dog uses to try to tell you that he is uncomfortable, so you can remove the stressor – or at least, remove the dog from a stressful situation.

By Pat Miller

Clients always appear a bit stunned at first when I tell them their dog’s growl is a good thing. In fact, a growl is something to be greatly treasured.

These are my aggression consultation clients, who are in my office in desperation, as a last resort, hoping to find some magic pill that will turn their biting dog into a safe companion. They are often dismayed and alarmed to discover that the paradigm many of us grew up with – punish your dog harshly at the first sign of aggression – has contributed to and exacerbated the serious and dangerous behavior problem that has led them to my door.

It seems intuitive to punish growling. Growling leads to biting, and dogs who bite people often must be euthanized, so let’s save our dog’s life and nip biting in the bud by punishing him at the first sign of inappropriate behavior. It makes sense, in a way – but when you have a deeper understanding of canine aggression, it’s easy to understand why it’s the absolute wrong thing to do.

Communication efforts

Most dogs don’t want to bite or fight. The behaviors that signal pending aggression are intended first and foremost to warn away a threat. The dog who doesn’t want to bite or fight tries his hardest to make you go away. He may begin with subtle signs of discomfort that are often overlooked by many humans – tension in body movements, a stiffly wagging tail.

“Please,” he says gently, “I don’t want you to be here.”

If you continue to invade his comfort zone, his threats may intensify, with more tension, a hard stare, and a low growl.

“I mean it,” he says more firmly, “I want you to leave.”

If those are ignored, he may become more insistent, with an air snap, a bump of the nose, or even open mouth contact that closes gently on an arm but doesn’t break skin.

“Please,” he says, “don’t make me bite you.”

If that doesn’t succeed in convincing you to leave, the dog may feel compelled to bite hard enough to break skin in his efforts to protect self, territory, members of his social group, or other valuable resources.

Caused by stress

What many people don’t realize is that aggression is caused by stress. The stressor may be related to pain, fear, intrusion, threats to resources, past association, or anticipation of any of these things. An assertive, aggressive dog attacks because he’s stressed by the intrusion of another dog or human into his territory. A fearful dog bites because he’s stressed by the approach of a human. An injured dog lacerates the hand of his rescuer because he’s stressed by pain.

When you punish a growl or other early warning signs, you may succeed in suppressing the growl, snarl, snap, or other warning behavior – but you don’t take away the stress that caused the growl in the first place. In fact, you increase the stress, because now you, the dog’s owner, have become unpredictable and violent as well.
Once you learn the triggers that make your dog uncomfortable, you can try to keep them at a distance.

Worst of all, and most significantly, if you succeed in suppressing the warning signs, you end up with a dog who bites without warning. He has learned that it’s not safe to warn, so he doesn’t.

If a dog is frightened of children, he may growl when a child approaches. You, conscientious and responsible owner, are well aware of the stigma – and fate – of dogs who bite children, so you punish your dog with a yank on the leash and a loud “No! Bad dog!” Every time your dog growls at a child you do this, and quickly your dog’s fear of children is confirmed – children do make bad things happen! He likes children even less, but he learns not to growl at them to avoid making you turn mean.

You think he’s learned that it’s not okay to be aggressive to children, because the next time one passes by, there’s no growl.

“Phew,” you think to yourself. “We dodged that bullet!”

Convinced that your dog now accepts children because he no longer growls at them, the next time one approaches and asks if he can pat your dog, you say yes. In fact, your dog has simply learned not to growl, but children still make him very uncomfortable. Your dog is now super-stressed, trying to control his growl as the child gets nearer and nearer so you don’t lose control and punish him, but when the scary child reaches out for him he can’t hold back any longer – he lunges forward and snaps at the child’s face. Fortunately, you’re able to restrain him with the leash so he doesn’t connect. You, the dog, and the child are all quite shaken by the incident.

It’s time to change your thinking.

“Help!”
A growl is a dog’s cry for help. It’s your dog’s way of telling you he can’t tolerate a situation – as if he’s saying, “I can’t handle this, please get me out of here!”

Your first response when you hear your dog growl should be to calmly move him away from the situation, while you make a mental note of what you think may have triggered the growl. Make a graceful exit. If you act stressed you’ll only add to his stress and make a bite more, not less, likely. Don’t worry that removing him rewards his aggression; your first responsibility is to keep others safe and prevent him from biting.

If the growl was triggered by something you were doing, stop doing it. Yes, your dog learned one tiny lesson about how to make you stop doing something he doesn’t like, but you’ll override that when you do lots of lessons about how that thing that made him uncomfortable makes really, really good stuff happen.

This is where counter-conditioning comes in.

Counter-conditioning and desensitization teaches the dog that it is rewarding to stay calm in the face of stress. Your dog growls because he has a negative association with something – say he growls when you touch his paw. For some reason, he’s convinced that having his paw touched is a bad thing. If you start by touching his knee, then feeding him a smidgen of chicken, and keep repeating that, he’ll come to think that you touching his knee makes chicken happen. He’ll want you to touch his leg so he gets a bit of chicken.

Note: Make sure your dog’s discomfort with you touching his paw is not related to pain. If it hurts when you touch him there, counter-conditioning won’t work. It’s a good idea to get a full veterinary workup if there’s any chance your dog’s growling may be pain-related.

When you see him eagerly search for chicken when you touch his knee, you can move your hand slightly lower and touch there, until you get the same “Where’s my chicken?!” response at the new spot. Gradually move closer and closer to his paw, until he’s delighted to have you touch his foot – it makes chicken happen! Now practice with each foot, until he’s uniformly delighted to have you touch all of them. Remember that the touch comes first, so it consistently predicts the imminent arrival of chicken.

If at any time in the process – which could take days, weeks, or even months, depending on the dog and how well you apply the protocol – you see the dog’s tension increase, you’ve moved too quickly. Back up a few inches to where he’s comfortable being touched and start again. Or, there may be other stressors present that are increasing his tension. Do an environment check to be sure nothing else is happening that’s adding to his stress. Have the rowdy grandkids leave the room, give him a little time to relax, and start again.

Remember, dogs can’t tell us in words what’s bothering them, but they can communicate a lot with their body language and canine vocal sounds. Pay attention to what your dog is telling you. Listen with heart and compassion. Be gentle when your dog tells you he needs help. Come to his rescue. Treasure his growl.

-Pat Miller, CPDT, is WDJ’s Training Editor. She is also author of The Power of Positive Dog Training, and Positive Perspectives: Love Your Dog, Train Your Dog. Miller lives in Hagerstown, Maryland, site of her Peaceable Paws training center.

Today at work I was greeted by our IT guru.

A: Hey Lady! I walked past your cube a couple times yesterday and noticed you weren’t there. I asked J where you were!

Me: Oh yeah?

A: Yeah, he said you took a day of leave…just to take it. I was like “She never takes leave…it doesn’t seem right without her here…”

Me: Well, see, what happened was…I checked my leave balances? And noticed that I had some? And that’s just not right. I gotta deplete that…

And then A started laughing so hard I was a little worried that he’d pee his pants.

It’s good to be missed!

I just watched the Michael Vick episode of Animal Witness on Animal Planet. I hated it. I hated all of the dog fight footage they showed. I hated looking at Vick’s smug face. I hated the PETA rep acting like he gave a crap about the dogs. And I hated seeing the footage of the dogs when they were first removed from the property.

I liked Tim Racer and Donna Reynolds. I liked seeing the few gimpses they gave of the dogs as they are now (though anyone who pays a little bit of attention already knows how they are now). I liked hearing about how resiliant they are and how even the most seasoned evaluators were shocked by how dog friendly most of the dogs actually were, even though I’ve heard it before.

I would have liked to see more about the individual dogs and where they are now. I would have liked to have seen the foster families talk about the tranformation from scared dogs to confident dogs. I would have liked to have heard the former Sherriff deputy say that Surrey County was confident they would win their case against Vick once his federal prison time is up instead of saying another trial will be a waste of taxpayer money.

And, of course, I would have liked it if Michael would have had to serve more than 23 months in prison. I know it’s a waste of my energy and that I shouldn’t harbor grudges, but I feel true hatred towards a few different people. I personally know all but one of them. I’m glad I’ll never have the misfortune to make Michael’s aquaintence.

Back to school shopping. I used to love it as a kid. I am an office supply junkie! However, school supply shopping isn’t as much fun when I don’t get to pick but I DO get to pay. I hate the paying part.

We went to Wal Mart this year. Usually we hit Target and last year we went to Staples but this year we knew the biggest selection/cheapest prices would be Wally World. We didn’t do too bad. Each girl got a backpack and everything on both lists for $65. And that includes the silly monkey head erasers and the notebooks with puppies all over them. All three of us were happy with our shopping experience.

Today we went to church and now we’re just kind of hanging out at home. I have much laundry to do. All of the animals are clean and our newest addition is hopping around the living room. His name is Digger and he’s a black bunny rescued from the animal shelter at their Petstock adoption event. Yeah, I know, I needed another animal like a hole in the head. My plan is to bond Digger to Thumper. Thumper is still a very skittish bunny and doesn’t like human attention. I think she’ll do well with another rabbit. Usually a rabbit is supposed to pick her own bond mate but I saw Digger and had to meet him. After I met him I couldn’t leave him at the shelter. He’s very people social, just like the baby bunny boys. He’s a rex, which are the bunnies with the velvety fur.

Our rabbit cage is now the focal point of the living room. The ferrets have been moved to the dining room. Amber and I built the second half of the cage last weekend. We’re pretty proud of how it turned out.

I have now banished myself from the animal shelter, I told the rescue lady not to let me adopt anyone from her or else I wouldn’t be able to volunteer any more, and I’m not looking on Craigslist at all. I am way too much of a softie and pretty soon there won’t be enough room for the people in this house!

Still, I’m happy with my animals and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Dr. Laura said something today (shut up) that hit me like a ton of bricks. It explains SO much. She said:

“A woman will find it impossible to be attracted to and intimate with a man who she views as weak.”

Sometimes that lady does come out with some ideas that make perfect sense. The rest of the time she’s a wacko. I love me some wacky entertainment on the drive home.

This country was founded
When they banded together
So we could have freedom
Because they were Christian.

In God We Trust and
One Nation Under God
Two mottos we live by
Because they were Christian.

Everyone is still welcome
To seek refuge and prosperity
No matter what race or religion
Because we are Christian.

But just because you are welcome
Does not mean you can dictate.
We won’t take God out of School and off money
Just because you’re not Christian.

On the radio: the song “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know” with the lyrics “How many inches in a mile…”

Me to Amie: How many inches ARE in a mile?

Amie: Ummm…I don’t know, how many feet are there?

Me: How would I know?

Amie: Perhaps if I had that information I could tell you how many inches there are.

Amber turned 10 today. I can’t believe my baby has been here for an entire decade! Where did the time go?

I didn’t buy her any presents. Instead I offered her the chance to pick out $100 worth of clothes and she jumped on that. That might not seem like the best present for most 10 year olds…but Amber is a diva and LOVES shopping for clothes. She got two cute dresses, on cute shirt, and one Avril sweatshirt with a tank to wear under it. Oh, and a pair of shoes. $100 sure doesn’t go very far.

We went to Asahi (formerly Kobe) for dinner. We shared a table with a family who was there to celebrate their mother’s birthday. There was a birthday at every table! Amber was disappointed because she didn’t get her ice cream but we had cake when we got home so she got over it.

Next month Amie turns 13. Lord help me.

This evening when I got home I saw a young lady walking her two dogs. They were pit bulls and they looked so happy! One of them had a prong collar on but I didn’t think anything of it…I’ve use them on Chuck and Jezzy. Seeing those two dogs happily walking with their mom made me smile after a really long day. I said “Hi puppies!” They got wiggly, as pit bulls do, and their mom said “How you doin’” and then popped the collars of the dogs and snarled at them. “STOP pulling me, you don’t know her.”

I wanted to say something to her but I didn’t for two reasons. 1) She would probably take it out on the dogs and 2) she appeared to be somewhat of a hood rat and I don’t want to have to watch my back for the rest of my life.

I felt really bad for talking to the dogs. It was my fault they got excited and got a correction. I need to remember that not everyone treats their dogs the way I do. Jezzy loves to greet people and when people want to say hello I stop and let them fuss over her. I don’t let people approach Chuck any more though. I really should have taken that into consideration before I talked to these two dogs because I fully intended to stop and pet them…and my attention was not welcome by their owner.

I shouldn’t let this bother me so much, the dogs didn’t seem to even notice the correction, which is sad. That most likely means corrections are doled out pretty generously. It could be worse for them though. They could have owners who fight them..and these were very obviously not fighting dogs. I didn’t get a very good look but you can definitely spot a fighting dog from a mile away.

Next time I see them I’ll just smile to myself and come in the house to fuss over my own dogs.