Dog Training Today with Will Bangura for Pet Parents, Kids & Family, Pets and Animals, and Dog Training Professionals. This is a Education & How To Dog Training Podcast.

#158 Keeping Your Dog Safe and Happy: Summer Heat, Heat Stroke, and Behavioral Challenges: Dog Training Today will Will Bangura, M.S., CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, FFCP

• Will Bangura, M.S., CAB-ICB, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, FFCP is a World Renowned Dog Behaviorist, Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, Certified Professional Dog Trainer, and a Fear Free Certified Professional with over 36 years of experience with the most difficult • Season 5 • Episode 158

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How can you ensure your furry friend stays safe when temperatures soar? Tune in as we share essential tips and critical insights to keep your dogs comfortable and protected throughout the summer months. Learn the simple back-of-the-hand test to check if the ground is too hot for your dog’s paws, and get detailed comparisons of using boots versus socks for paw protection. We also give you step-by-step guidance on acclimating your dog to wear these protective items, making sure their paws stay safe without adding stress.

In our next segment, we tackle the serious issue of heat stroke in dogs. Recognize the early signs of heat stress and know the immediate cooling techniques that can save your dog's life. From identifying symptoms like excessive panting and lethargy to taking your dog's temperature correctly, we cover all the crucial steps. We emphasize quick action and the importance of veterinary care, while also comparing the effectiveness of booties versus socks for paw protection in hot climates.

Finally, we address behavioral challenges such as aggression and anxiety in dogs. Discover effective strategies for managing aggressive behavior, including counter conditioning and desensitization, and learn how to create a safe environment for everyone involved. We provide actionable advice on dealing with resource guarding and anxiety, particularly in family settings. With personal anecdotes and professional tips, we aim to help you foster a harmonious relationship with your pets. Don't miss out on our heartfelt thank-yous to our listeners and tips for a safe Fourth of July celebration with your pets.

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Speaker 1:

Thanks for watching. We'll be right back. 4,000 pets helping you and your fur babies thrive. Live in studio with Will Bangura answering your pet behavior and training questions. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome your host and favorite pet behavior expert, will Bangura. Would you like?

Speaker 2:

to go on. Are y'all ready for this?

Speaker 3:

Well, good Saturday morning, dog lovers. I'm Will Bangura.

Speaker 2:

And I'm Jordan Marsteller.

Speaker 3:

And you're watching another episode of Dog Training Today. We're here each Saturday morning on Facebook Live. Do me a favor please hit that like button, hit that share button, so that more people can benefit from what we're doing. If you're listening to this on our audio podcast, if you love what we do, please hit that pause button. Just take a second. Hit that pause button and give us a five-star review. That helps us to be able to reach a lot more people. Well, dog lovers, how is everybody doing? Hey, it's starting to get warm. So let's remember that when we've got our dogs out, when we're going for a walk, even though it might not seem like it's that hot out there, it might be too hot for your dog's paws, for your dog's pads. What's the rule of thumb? How do we know?

Speaker 3:

whether or not. How do we check to see hey, is it too hot? Do I need to have some kind of footwear, some protection?

Speaker 2:

some covering for my dog. Yeah, it's super simple. It's really simple because the fact of the matter is Will it could be 80 degrees outside and that ground might be too hot for your dog. You do not ever want to go based off of the temperature outside. What you do instead? You step outside, you take the back of your hand and you place it onto the concrete. If you cannot hold the back of your hand on the concrete for 10 straight seconds, it's too hot for your dog's paws. Plain and simple 10 seconds. And that's Mississippi's, by the way, that's one Mississippi, two Mississippi, all the way to 10. If you have to pull your hand away before 10, or if it's like you're struggling to keep your hand there, go on and protect your dog's feet.

Speaker 3:

Now the other thing that you can do, you know. Let's say that you're out there with your dog, right, and you're standing still and your dog starts tap dancing like Sammy. Davis, jr Okay Um the candy man.

Speaker 3:

Can I don't know who that is, um, but the candy man, can you know who that is? Um? But anyway, so you know the obviously, you know you get them doing the little dance. You know that it's it's. It's too hot for them, but it easily, easily, can be too hot, especially for um, a small dog, yeah, a small dog. You know, the bigger the dog a lot of times the thicker right and the more coarse the pad is. Yeah, on the pond, and they are able to tolerate the heat more than smaller breed dogs you get these toy breeds and it can be really devastating for them.

Speaker 3:

So it can be terrible, you.

Speaker 2:

They will literally melt their pads off and they will just rip off onto the concrete. I've seen it happen. I've witnessed it happen and it's not good. It's not good. So protect your dog's paws out there, folks.

Speaker 3:

So I think one of the things that I want to talk about today, in a little bit, is how do you get your dog used to wearing boots or wearing socks, and what's better? Should I put boots on my dog for protection wear for my dog's paws, or should I use socks? What's the best thing? And how do you get them used to it, because a lot of people struggle with that.

Speaker 3:

So I thought we would spend just a couple minutes and a little bit talking about that. The 4th of July is right around the corner and for the last few weeks, we've been talking about fireworks and dog anxiety and what you can do to help your dog feel more safe, more comfortable, less stressed out, less anxious on the 4th of July. So I want to take a few minutes to talk about that as well. Today and you know talking about the heat because we are in the summer a lot of people don't know this. And what did you learn? I'm curious, I'm putting you on the spot here but when you were in the military because you were a military working dog handler what did they teach you in terms of heat stroke, for example, how long can it take for a dog to get heat stroke? Did they ever discuss that with you?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, absolutely, we had to take so many Um. When I was in the military, I uh I made the mistake, the the mistake of uh walking away from my vehicle with my dog in the back when it was against our policy to do so Um, and as a result, I had to hold a uh PowerPoint presentation on heat injuries and dogs and I teach my entire kennel.

Speaker 3:

I picked the right person, so I give you the floor, sir.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely so. Here's the thing. Uh, when it comes to heat stroke and dogs, it happens so much faster than you would imagine. So, um, some dogs, they can. They can enter severe heat injury, like they can have a severe heat injury within 15 to 30 minutes of being outside, depending on how hydrated they are and what the temperature is. So many factors go into it, whether you have a long coat dog, a small dog, a large dog, how much water they've been intaking in general, the level of activity that they are doing while they're outside, in general, the level of activity that they are doing while they're outside. Now let's talk about what these heat injuries look like.

Speaker 2:

The first thing that you're going to notice when your dog is entering the beginning stages of a heat injury not necessarily heat stroke, maybe heat exhaustion, which isn't as bad, but it is still something that you want to pay attention to You're going to start noticing excessive panting. That's normal. Your dog's running around having fun. It could be 30 degrees outside and your dog is going to be excessively panting if they're exercising hard enough. But what you have to check for is does my dog stop panting in order to drink water, in order to eat food, in order to lick itself, things like this. Is the panting so intense that they physically cannot stop? If they can't stop, that's your first sign. Now how do we test for that? Well, you can offer them water. That's going to be one easy way Offer your dog some water, and if they cannot stop panting to drink that water, it's probably time to start some cooling techniques. A little bit of alcohol, like rubbing alcohol. Put it onto a Q-tip or onto a rag or something and you just waft it in front of your dog's nose. What's going to happen because of that alcohol? It's going to force them to close their mouth. I'm not exactly sure what the science is behind it, but it forces them to close their mouths. Now, if a dog is beginning stages of heat stroke, they're not going to close their mouth in response to this rubbing alcohol. They're just going to keep continuing to pant. You're not going to be able to get your dog to drink water. They're going to start acting lethargic. They might even start acting a little confused.

Speaker 2:

When this occurs, the science tells us we need to aggressively and immediately begin cooling our dogs. We used to say that we could put our dogs into shock if you cooled them down too quickly. But the new science is telling us otherwise. It's telling us that we want to begin immediately cooling them off. And how do you do that? In ice bath, genuinely. You take ice water on towels. You start draping these towels over your dog, start pouring ice water onto these towels.

Speaker 2:

Now where are we focusing when we're trying to cool off our dogs? The chest, the armpits, the pads? The reason why you're doing these spots is because dogs do not sweat on their own, and sweating is how we cool ourselves off as human beings. Your dog can't do that. They control their temperature through their mouth. That's why they're uncontrollably panting. But we use their pads because that's going to be some of the thinnest skin that we can actually start cooling off at. And then we want lots of chest because it's going to start cooling down their internal temperature.

Speaker 2:

Right, never put the water onto your dog's head. The reason why this is is because if they're in the sun, if it's really hot outside, that water can actually increase the temperature on their head, and we don't want that to occur. We don't want their head to start heating up even more from the heat beating down on the water, and that can further propagate the heat stroke or the heat injury problems. So if you believe that your dog is experiencing heat stroke or heat injury, what are we looking for Again? Is your dog uncontrollably panting? Is your dog acting lethargic? Will your dog drink water? Can you get your dog to eat his favorite snack? Is your dog just laying down and not getting up, not responding to you? They just look like they're dazed. When you start noticing this and you've begun the cooling, you also need to get your dog into the vehicle and to the vet immediately, because in the military, into the vehicle and to the vet immediately, because in the military we were trained to do things like give our dogs IVs to force that rehydration. But the average person isn't going to know how to find that vein and give their dog an IV. So get your dog to a vet, plain and simple, as soon as you start noticing these things.

Speaker 2:

If you have a dog that you're able to take a temperature of your dog, how do we take a temperature? It's all rectal and average temperature for a dog is 99.4 to 103.5. That is the safe zone for a dog. Anything above 103.5 and most dogs, 101.5 is actually going to be their upper level of their internal temperature, but anything above 103.5,. We're starting to get a frying of the brain and that's why you want to make sure, if you can get your dog's temperature, take your dog's temperature, but don't I'm telling everyone out there if you've never taken your dog's temperature, do not take your dog's temperature for the first time when you expect that they have heat stroke or heat injury. It's not going to be a pleasant time, they're not going to enjoy it and you probably won't enjoy the result of what occurs when you stick something up your dog's rear. Yeah, they could get aggressive.

Speaker 3:

They could bite especially your large dogs.

Speaker 2:

The reason why this is is because when it's hot outside and you give your dog a large intake of food or water and they're doing lots of heavy exercise, they can experience something called bloat, and bloat is when their stomach flips. And when their stomach flips, it seals off the way in and the way out, and it is almost always fatal without intervention from a veterinarian, and it's more likely to happen in large dogs and in hotter weather. So that's another thing to take into consideration. Make sure that you're also giving your dogs plenty of time before their exercise and after their exercise. Now what about booties or socks, which are better?

Speaker 3:

I've had to do that a lot with being that I've been in Arizona quite a bit longer than you have with dogs, that we need to put protection on their feet. Yeah, my preference, my personal preference, are socks, yeah, okay, why? Because the booties, first of all, measuring the booties and getting the proper size boot for your dog's feet yeah, that can be a challenge. Number one, number two they're just, they can be clumsy. Even good fitting boots are a little bit clumsy.

Speaker 2:

And they don't have the same grip on those booties as well. I've seen plenty of dogs slip and sliding in those booties.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, but I find that it it that most dogs it takes longer for them to get comfortable with boots than with socks. Now, for dogs, a lot of times the best socks for the dogs are infant, baby, human, infant socks. Okay, go to a secondhand store, you can get a whole bunch of them. Right, go to a secondhand baby store. You can get all kinds of baby socks and use that. Um, and it also just fits a lot nicer.

Speaker 2:

it's not as clumsy, it fits nicer, um, they don't fall off yeah like boots, do so fall off all the time, unless you're buying those really nice, really expensive, you know, like the Vibrams, or like you know the Top Dog, or Elite. Canine booties. Yeah, exactly, exactly. Unless you're putting Gucci bags on your dog's feet, they're going to fall off.

Speaker 3:

So whether you're using a boot, yeah Whether you're using a sock, there's usually. You put them on the dog and my experience has been they either freeze and they don't move and they're scared, they just kind of freeze, or they start just running around like crazy and it's funny. You put the boots on the dogs oftentimes and when they first take off they look like a dressage horse because they're lifting their paws so high. It's actually pretty funny. So get your, get your video out when you do this to your dog, because you might get some really cute video of your dog. But obviously, if they're freaking out, we don't want that really cute video of your dog. But obviously if they're freaking out, we don't want that. And the best way because it is it's a big deal. I mean, dogs don't. They certainly were not bred and they are not here to be wearing socks and booties. That's just not part of their nature. Okay, and so that is a very strange thing for dogs, what I do, and it's important, I think, for dogs what I do, and it's important, I think that you need to desensitize them to the booties, desensitize them to the socks, and this doesn't have to be a crazy long process typically, but the first thing you want to do is just bring it out and let them sniff it, let them check it out, let them let them sniff it. You know, if they're a little hesitant, hey, maybe give them some treats. While while you're doing that, then you want to bring one sock or one booty and just bring it to your dog's paw. Touch that sock or that booty to your dog's paw and give it a treat, and do that a couple of times. And if your dog likes that, then go ahead and slip that booty on one paw or put the sock on one paw and reward, and then take it off and reward, and maybe, depending upon you know you watch your dog's body language. How difficult was that for your dog? You know to do something very quickly, very simply, very easily. Nothing that's daunting, no duration of having to wear that, so it's just basically on off and something wonderful happens at the same time. We're given a high value food reward and something wonderful happens at the same time. We're given a high value food reward, yeah, making it as least threatening as possible for your dog. Now, if that seems to go well, then do the same thing, just with one, but on a different paw.

Speaker 3:

I like to start first with the front paws.

Speaker 3:

I think that most dogs handle things with their front paws better than their rear paws.

Speaker 3:

That's what I have found. So I start with the front paw and when they get comfortable and I create a positive association, just with putting that one sock on and off or that one boot on and off, and then I'll go from the, say, the left front paw to the right front paw, and I'm not keeping it on them for any duration, but if that's going well, then what I like to do is I like to go ahead and hook a leash up to my dog, either to their collar or their harness whatever I use for my dog and I'm going to then take that one booty or that one sock and I'm going to put it on that one paw because my dog was okay with it, and then I'm going to go ahead and put the other one. Up until this point I've only done it to one paw. Now I'm going to put the sock or the booty on the other front paw. So now I've got either socks on the two front paws or I've got booties on the two front paws, but prior to that.

Speaker 3:

I put the leash on the dog, yeah, and as soon as I put those booties or socks on, I'm rewarding. But as soon as they're both on, then we start going for a little trot on leash, okay, and we're moving our feet pretty fast and I'm giving treats and I'm just going oh, what a good dog. Yay, all right, creating a really fun experience. And now we will.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, a lot of dogs, a lot of dogs. They, they will not a lot. Dogs interact with the world using their mouths. What am I supposed to do, or what are what are our, our viewers, supposed to do if their dog, even though they're walking every few steps, my dog is stopping and biting at these socks? What am I supposed to do in that situation?

Speaker 3:

Well, in that situation, you have gone too far in this process that I'm describing, too fast.

Speaker 2:

There we go.

Speaker 3:

Your dog is not ready for that. If you see that happening, then what you want to do is try to stop and just see if you can feed it, see if they'll take food. So stop moving, see if they'll take food in their mouth and they're busy doing that and not using their mouth to be trying to bite at the booty or bite at the sock. Ok, now they may not take the food because they may be way too stressed out and they may really want that sock off or that booty off, and that's fine. If that's the case, take it off Now. Tomorrow you're probably going to be just taking that sock or that booty out and not bringing it super close to your dog and needing to pair that with a positive reinforcer, like a high value food reward, and bring it so your dog can see it, reward, get rid of it. Bring the sock or the booty into your dog's view, reward, remove it. If you use a marker system, if you use clickers, if you use a auditory verbal marker, use your marker system. Show the booty or the sock, click, reward or mark and reward and little by little, get that sock or that booty closer to your dog. Little by little get it closer to their paw, just tiny, baby steps, successive approximations. Don't go too quickly. Watch your dog's body language. Make sure they're not showing any signs of anxiety, stress or fear. If they are, you need to back things up a little bit. You're moving too quickly. But when you begin the process of getting it real close, you might just touch that sock or that booty for a brief second onto their paw and reward them. And then you may have to just touch it for a little longer and reward, and a little longer and reward, and maybe put a very light pressure and reward and a little bit heavier pressure and reward and a little bit heavier pressure and reward, only going as fast as what your dog can handle.

Speaker 3:

Now, at the next step, we want to begin the process of putting the paw into the sock or into the booty, and here again, we might not be able to put the whole sock on right away. We might not be able to put the whole sock on right away. We might not be able to put the whole boot on right away. We might only be able to put just a tiny bit of that paw in there, very briefly, as we give a food reward and pull it out Again everything that we're doing each step along the way. We want to make this fun. We want to make this stress-free. We want to make this an exciting process. It shouldn't be something that causes fear or stress Absolutely not. So we've got to get this whole notion of man I just got to get these boots on and go yeah Out of our head. The whole goal needs to be getting your dog comfortable with it Exactly.

Speaker 2:

And let me tell you, folks, I get it, I get it. It is frustrating because you're sitting here saying, but Will Jordan, I want to be able to take my dog out and go do things. Let me tell you something I was too lazy to train my dog in booties. I really was. I made a decision that I wasn't training my dog for booties, but you know what that meant. Every time I took her out with me, it meant I was carrying my dog around. I genuinely carried my dog around. We'd get out of the car, I'd pick her up and I'd put her on my shoulder. I'd walk into the store, I'd take her off my shoulder and then we'd finish our shopping. We'd get out of the store, I'd put her back on my shoulder and I'd walk to the car. And I did this every single time that I went out.

Speaker 3:

You spent way too much time lugging dogs around in Afghanistan. That's the truth. That's the truth Only you know. I mean, I've seen all these pictures, you guys, you always got a dog on your shoulder. It seems like in the military so it's just like oh hell why? Why train in the wear the boots?

Speaker 2:

just put them on the shoulder you know, jump out of an airplane, you know exactly, exactly crazy but, no, but seriously, what I'm saying is is, if you're not going to do the training, you got to be willing to do the annoying other option instead, which is, I guess, you're going to be carrying your dog around.

Speaker 3:

No, it's kind of like those people that don't want to go through the work of training their dog to jump in the car. Yeah, right, right, they're always lifting up. You know, and you get these people. You know, like you know some uh 98, you know, 60 year old woman who's trying to lift her Great Dane into her SUV or something like that.

Speaker 2:

I'm like do you realize that your dog could just lift a paw? And be on the seat, yeah.

Speaker 3:

Anyway, but getting back to the paws and getting back to protection and socks and booties, so eventually I want to get and socks and booties. So eventually I want to get that one soccer booty on, and maybe I've got to get the dog moving with just that one.

Speaker 3:

Yeah absolutely, because maybe it can't handle two at a time and then I go from one to two. But usually if I get the dog moving and I like to get them on leash and I like to have my treats and reward them and get them moving, and we don't move and take too many steps before I take it off and then we put it back on again and reward, because it's not just hey, it's a lot of repetition of on off, with lots of fun things happening, lots of food rewards.

Speaker 2:

I want to really iterate that.

Speaker 3:

Oh, you should be having a party.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, when you start moving, you got to move, it should be like your dog brought you the winning mega millions ticket Exactly.

Speaker 3:

And you are like yes, yeah, and that you know, and the dog's tail is just going.

Speaker 2:

Yes, yes.

Speaker 3:

And if you are the kind of person that can't get animated, you're going to struggle with dogs that struggle, yeah, because, let me tell you, your energy, that animation, getting them happy, getting them excited, being able to change that underlying emotional state with your energy, is a huge skill. And so, yeah, you know we're used to doing it, we're professional dog trainers and behavior consultants. And so, yeah, you know we're we're used to doing it, we're professional dog trainers and behavior consultants. And so, uh, we do these things. But these are things that you need to know. Just think about it the more fun, the more fun you make something.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, all right, the quicker they're going to learn and the easier it's going to be for you I mean, just think about it.

Speaker 2:

Do you if you're, if you don't enjoy doing something?

Speaker 3:

how much?

Speaker 2:

time are you going to put into it?

Speaker 3:

How much time are you?

Speaker 2:

going to put into it.

Speaker 3:

And let me ask you this If you're anxious and nervous, how well are you learning something new? You're not right, exactly, so make it fun for you. So again, I've got one paw at a time. We start moving. Short duration of movement, lots of on and off of that one paw, yeah. Then I get the two front paws Okay. Then I start working on one rear paw Right.

Speaker 2:

Same process, same process is what I just did in this, in this, in this time frame. Well, uh, I've done the first paw, I've done the second paw, I'm working on the third paw. Do I have the booties or socks on the front two feet at this time, or am I doing one paw at a time?

Speaker 3:

It depends If you can, if your dog will be okay with and tolerate you going one, two, three, meaning the two front and then the back, just like I said with when you're just doing the front you may have to do left for a while, just left, right for a while, just right. Then you might be able to do both left and right front paws. You may have to then do one rear paw at a time and then two rear paws at a time and then two rear and one front, or two front and one rear. Yeah, again, the dog and how your dog responds, your dog's body language. Looking at your dog's body language, looking for stress signals. We want a dog that is completely relaxed, loose signals. We want a dog that is completely relaxed, loose.

Speaker 2:

Um, if your dog is showing stress signals like lip licking, tongue flicks, uh, wide eye, or what wide eye, yeah, or whale eye, if you will or trying to just pull away from you right or your dog's tail touching ears showing its teeth growling.

Speaker 3:

I mean stop excessive licking.

Speaker 2:

A lot of people don't realize this. If your dog is lowering their posture and reaching, they do this thing. Where they lower their posture just a little bit, they stretch that neck out and they do these little licks, these licks like on your hand or on your arm or maybe even on your face. That is a stress signal that is your dog saying please don't hurt me. That's all that's going on there, and it looks like we might have just lost Will a little bit. So in the meantime, I'm going to keep talking about this. If you notice that your dog is giving you any of these stress signals like we said, lip licking, tongue flicks. Like we said, lip licking, tongue flicks, whale eyes, showing of teeth, growling, even something that is excessively licking Slow down. Instead, you want nice low and slow tail wags. You want your dog to be happy and excited, dancing around, prancing, you know, just having fun, having a blast. Prancing, just having fun having a blast. These are what you're looking for in your dog in order to make sure that they are actually enjoying what's going on. Yeah, I think Will will be back with us in just a few minutes.

Speaker 2:

So now we're at a point where we've done the front paws. We've done the back paws, maybe we've done them separately, maybe we've done them together. But now we have to start getting our dog moving, one new booty at a time. So maybe I've put it on to just my back paws and I get one front paw. Get your dog moving, Get them moving around. Lots of fun, let's have fun, right. Make your dog excited. We're giving them treats the whole time. And these are short explosions of energy. Okay, it doesn't need to be long, it doesn't need to take a while, it's just five to 15 seconds just running around with your dog and then stop, get those booties off, and then you're just going to relax for a second. The moment that those booties come off. I want you to go and just chill. You're just going to sit there, sit back, relax and do nothing. Oh, look, we got Will back.

Speaker 3:

Never mind me while I pop in and out of the studio. Here I'm having problems with my laptop. It just all of a sudden just wants to crash on me. It says oh, something happens suddenly and we need to reboot.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, never mind that we're live streaming here oh, the good news is the good news is it's good that we've got two of us, because at least the stream doesn't go down when I pop out exactly so we show must go on, yes, and so just got to get me back oh, actually we just got a question from.

Speaker 2:

We just got a question from demir. Um, the question is any suggestions on how to handle a dog who, all of a sudden, has been getting more aggressive with my daughter, even if I put him in the kennel and she just casually walks by without looking at him or talking? He is recently fixed and he is a four-year-old rottweiler. What?

Speaker 3:

do you have to say about the first thing is you need to um, when you say daughter I don't know how old, I'm assuming this is a minor, but it really wouldn't matter um, it wouldn't matter if you were 60 and you had a 20-year-old daughter. Rottweilers, any dog, any dog that's aggressive, any aggressive behavior can be very dangerous. And the first thing that we always discuss is safety and management. Absolutely, and the daughter is 14, by the way, yeah, you need to have some safety measures in place to start with. Not that that's the first, not that that's the answer, but it's the first step to the answer is keeping your daughter safe, making sure your dog doesn't A bite, okay, and that's going to also entail some distance, all right. And that's going to also entail some distance, all right, because the further the distance your daughter is from your dog, the less upset your dog is going to be, and so your dog's not going to engage in that aggressive behavior. And again, not that I'm giving your dog a pass for the behavior. It's not okay, and not that this is answer, but the first step to the fix is avoiding the trigger. Number one, so that your daughter doesn't get hurt, and number two, so that we don't continue to aggravate your dog and continue to habituate and condition in your dog this underlying emotional state and behavior and association that your dog has, that whenever your daughter's around it's uncomfortable, it views that there's some kind of a threat and it feels that it has to be aggressive. Okay, yeah, the other thing that we need to understand, all right, is that this is not a dominance issue. Okay, this is not a dominance issue. This is not a dominance issue. This is not a dominance issue. That is a myth. No certified, educated, formally educated dog trainer, behavior consultant, behaviorist is going to use words like dominance and you've got to be alpha, you've got to show them who's boss. No, that's all BS, all BS. Study after study after study got over 40 studies. You can go to my website at dogbehavioristcom. Go to the menu, click on articles, find my article on debunking dominance and the myth of dominance. There's over 40 studies that you can look back to. That will prove my point on this what it is.

Speaker 3:

99% of the time, a dog is fearful. There's anxiety, there's stress, absolutely. Now, there doesn't have to be a real threat and that's what a lot of people don't get. They're like well, the dog's got to be dominant because there's nothing to be afraid of. Listen, no animal goes into fight or flight unless they perceive something as threatening. That means they've got fear, stress, they've got anxiety. Okay, you need to stipulate that absolutely.

Speaker 3:

Now the real work and this is important is about getting your dog to change its association and perception of your daughter. Where, right right now, for whatever reason, it associates your daughter as something scary, something fearful, where it wants your daughter to get the heck away. And when your daughter's too close and your dog, your dog's underlying emotional state becomes too intense, that anxiety, that stress, that fear is too intense. Your dog is, with its body language, with its verbalization, with whatever it's doing right now, distance increasing signals saying hey, get away. Maybe it's barking, growling, lunging, okay, yeah. So the first thing is keeping your daughter safe.

Speaker 3:

Number one. Number two not pushing your dog. Number three understanding this is not dominance. Number four knowing that punishment is absolutely the wrong thing to do. It's not about showing your dog who's boss. It's not about saying, oh, the dog's being dominant, we better nip this in the bud. Okay, you use punishment. That's just going to add more fear, stress, more anxiety to your dog.

Speaker 3:

Oh, you may shut down the outward behavior. That's what the dog daddy does. Everybody thinks it's magic. Okay, look, anybody can do that. Anybody can cause enough fear, pain or intimidation to shut down outward behavior, which are just symptoms. The cause, the root cause, is your dog's underlying emotional state, which is one of fear, anxiety and stress. That's what needs to change. There's no permanence of change. There's no true behavior modification if you're not changing that underlying emotional state. Now, in order to do that again, you've got to avoid the trigger, which means you've got to create enough distance between your daughter and your dog where your dog doesn't have a care in the world. And then you need to hire a professional. This is dangerous stuff, especially when we're talking about a Roddy that can do a lot of damage. Ok, it's dangerous with any breed dog. Even the smallest breeds could do a lot of damage, but big, stronger dogs they tend to do more damage.

Speaker 3:

Has a legitimate certification, that's, a certified dog behavior consultant, certified canine behavior consultant or a veterinary behaviorist Very, very important or working with the combination of both usually being the best. Now you can go to the website at dogbehavioristcom and there's in the menu you can find directory. Click on directory you can find certified dog trainers, certified dog behavior consultant, certified behaviorist, applied animal behaviorist, veterinary behaviorist We've got it all there. Go to dogbehavioristcom. However, beware, not all certifications are the same and that's why I direct you to my website, because I know that those folks are all legitimately certified, finding the right person so they know what they're doing.

Speaker 3:

Because the buzzwords you should be hearing are not dominance and alpha roles and showing the dog who's boss. The buzzwords that you should be hearing are counter conditioning, desensitization, all right, keeping the dog below threshold meaning that you don't set the dog up for failure by putting the dog in a trigger situation where we know your dog's going to get upset because your daughter is too close, and then correcting the dog and and listen folks the word correction. That's just a politically correct word for punishment. Punishment is a. It's completely unnecessary. I work with dogs very vicious dogs every day. We do not have to use punishment at all to rehabilitate them.

Speaker 2:

I don't think I have ever used punishment to rehabilitate one of these aggressive dogs Unnecessary.

Speaker 3:

So if there's trainers out there that say, hey, listen, in order to train a dog successfully, especially an aggressive dog, you have to use corrections. No, you don't. They don't know how to do it without using corrections. And all of the research, all the studies and my 30 plus years of experience show me, when you use punishment with dogs that have aggression, you just temporarily suppress that outward aggressive behavior and it adds more stress, more anxiety, more fear to the dog and eventually, because that pressure, that emotional pressure, builds and builds and builds and builds, that dog snaps and now the aggression that was suppressed is much worse. Now the dog's really lost its mind.

Speaker 3:

I get these calls all day long because some other trainer was using force, was using correction collars and telling them hey, you got to deal with dominance, which is total BS and a myth, and because they used a lot of pain, fear, intimidation, they shut that dog down, that behavior down, for two weeks, two months, but boom, it came back, always comes back. You've got to do real behavior modification and that means that you are taking painstaking lengths and time to stage proactively scenarios, controlling the environment, staging setups where you're exposing your dog to your daughter, but starting at a distance that's so far away, your dog can see your daughter but doesn't have a care in the world, and we have to create a very black and white cause and effect association where, all of a sudden, your daughter comes into view as soon as your dog sees your daughter at the distance, where they're far enough away that your dog doesn't have a care in the world, as soon as your daughter comes into view.

Speaker 2:

Feed, feed, feed feed, feed, constantly and continuously with the highest value food items.

Speaker 3:

Cut up pieces of chicken cheese constantly, continuously feeding for about one to three seconds the entire time that your daughter is in view and then have your daughter move out of you and, as soon as your daughter's out of you, stop feeding and then rinse and repeat out of you. Stop feeding and then rinse and repeat.

Speaker 2:

Now mind you the whole time.

Speaker 3:

We still do highly recommend that you hire an actual professional we're going to talk to you about the process. However, it is critical.

Speaker 2:

You don't play around with that. You just don't play around with that. Yeah, it's dangerous, it's critical when it comes to aggression. You don't play around with that, you just don't play around with that. Yeah, it's dangerous. It's dangerous. And we actually have another question from Jamal, actually as well. Jamal says that they have a miniature Aussie and two young daughters. My Aussie gets anxiety and starts whining and jumping when me or my wife pick up any two of our kids. How do I stop him from doing this? Let?

Speaker 3:

me just say this we talked about successive approximations. Okay, and nobody likes to do that, because that means that you're doing things in baby steps and you've got to have restrictions in the beginning. Okay, steps and you've got to have restrictions in the beginning okay. But let me just finish for a second with the Roddy and and the daughter. That's 14. Go to my website yeah, dogbehavioristcom. Go to the menu, click on articles. Look for the extensive, in-depth article it's a few down on counter conditioning and desensitization. All right, that's going to be at minimum 20, some pages. It's going to go in depth on how we use counter conditioning and desensitization to change your dog's underlying emotional state and how it associates your daughter. Right now, your daughter is something scary. It feels it needs to be aggressive. That's got to change, where your dog views your daughter as something really cool, really good, really pleasant, something really good, and when that happens and you change an underlying emotional state, that aggressive behavior goes away. It goes away Absolutely.

Speaker 2:

All right now, jordan, absolutely yeah. Now. So for this mini Aussie, I'm going to make a few assumptions here, and, jamal, if you want to answer these questions or tell me if these assumptions are right or wrong, that would help a little. The first thing I'm going to assume is that you probably picked up and carried your mini Aussie around a lot, either as a puppy or even currently. You probably pick your dog up and hold your dog and carry him around because it's a small dog, I get it. And so what's happened as a result of this behavior is your dog has probably learned how fun and exciting and stimulating being up high in mom and dad's arms is. Ah, yep, there we go. Jamal says yes, as a puppy, he did pick up his dog a lot, so your dog learned that being up high was fun and exciting. And so the fact of the matter is, every time that your dog is seeing your daughters and this is just an assumption every time your dog is seeing your daughters being picked up by you or your wife, your dog is going hey, I want that, I want to be in your arms. I know what that's like, I want to be up there, and there's also the chance that maybe your dog isn't really paying any attention whatsoever to you, your daughters, any of that. We don't want your dog to have any reaction whatsoever. And then we're going to break down the motion of picking our daughters up.

Speaker 2:

So the first step to pick up your daughter is probably bend over and grab them, and so that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to have my dog on leash 50, 60, 40, 30, 100 feet away however far away my dog needs to be that they're not really reacting to the situation. As I bend over to pick up my daughter, I will then have somebody else with my dog and simultaneously feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed lots of food. This is called counter conditioning and desensitization, and I'm going to do this for about five to 15 seconds. After I've done that, I'm going to stop feeding, the same time that I then stand back up, and then I'm going to do it again. I'm going to bend over, go to pick up my daughter, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, and then stop and stop feeding my dog. I'm going to do this over and over and over and rinse and repeat this, and I'm just going to slowly, successive approximation, take baby steps to where I get my dog or my daughter up into my arms and simultaneously my dog doesn't have a care in the world. In fact, all my dog wants because they see me picking up my daughter is that food. That's all they care about. Because we have now changed it from oh man, mom and dad are picking up them. That's exciting, that's fun, that's happy, or I want that, I'm jealous. And now we've changed it to oh, that means food in my mouth, that means I'm getting steak, that means I'm getting chicken, that means I'm getting peanut butter.

Speaker 2:

Whatever it is that your dog loves, but it's got to be good stuff. It can't be like that store-bought crap. You know the little pet botanics. They're good treats, they're good for training, but not for something as in-depth as counter-conditioning and desensitization. Now, mind you, my dog is still probably like 50.

Speaker 2:

You can do treats, jamal. You can do treats, but it has to be high-value treats. It's got to be high value stuff. So what I recommend and the cheapest way, the cheapest way is to just take some chicken, like chicken breast. Boil up those chicken breast. Go to Walmart and get that great value bag, that like 10 pound bag it's like 13 bucks for a 10-pound bag, boil up a few breasts. Then you partially freeze those and dice them up into small little itty-bitty pieces. About two or three pieces of that chicken should fit on the head of a nickel. Then you just take all that chicken and throw it into a baggie and just keep that baggie in the freezer. That's going to be your training food.

Speaker 2:

Now, mind you, my dog is still about 50 feet away, 100 feet away, however far, when I move my dog closer to me, I'm probably going to have to go back to just bending over and I'm not picking my daughter up anymore. Because we move the dog closer, we start over and then we do that same thing. We rinse and repeat and we get my daughter and my dog closer together, closer together, closer together, until I'm picking my daughter up right next to my dog and they don't have a care in the world. All that they want is the food. And again, I wouldn't recommend training treats. I see your. Again, I wouldn't recommend training treats. I see your, I see your comment. I wouldn't recommend training treats. It's just not valuable enough.

Speaker 3:

We want something that is going to be very high value, very rewarding. If I wanted you to go out and dig ditches in 110 degree weather, are you going to work harder if I pay?

Speaker 3:

you a hundred dollars an hour or if I'm paying you one dollar an hour, you need to be thinking about high value or high palatable. The palatability is the value. What is the most tasty? What is the, the food item that your dog is going to go absolutely bananas for, just go insane for? Okay, that is motivation, that is currency. All right, that's a paycheck. The higher the palatability, the higher the value, the quicker you're going to get through this painful process that you're going to have to go through.

Speaker 3:

Quite frankly, it's inconvenient having to do this type of training. It's not rocket science, but it is very inconvenient. So, do you want to get through this quicker? Do you want to get through this slower? And you know there are and I'm not saying that this is you, but there are other people who are like well, you know what? I don't want to have to use food. I just want the dog to stop doing this shit. I have to use food. I just want the dog to stop doing this shit. Well, good luck. Yeah, I already told you what happens with punishment. Okay, you know, trust me. Yeah, I'm starting to get feedback. It's hard to find, but I'm getting feedback from people that have used the dog. Daddy.

Speaker 2:

And, lo and behold, the behaviors came back and it didn't work. We're getting. We're getting a little bit more. We're getting a little bit more uh context here as well. So jamal also wants to know. He says he lives in a town home. How can I incorporate this in the house? He then also says that the dog is very protective over his first daughter so even with us picking her up, he loses his mind. So yeah, this is a resource guarding problem. That's what this is. Um. So, like I said, the second way, where your dog sees you picking them up and he's just uncomfortable with that, he's just uncomfortable. It's a well, I'm curious.

Speaker 3:

I'm curious as to whether or not this is a dog that easily gets overstimulated with other things Like what happens when the doorbell rings or the door knocks? Does the dog just lose its mind? What happens if the dog is around other dogs in close proximity and they're all barking? You know that type of thing. It's also about a teaching impulse control. Okay.

Speaker 3:

Teaching your dog place training, teaching your dog to wait at doorways, waiting for food, waiting for treats, teaching your dog drop it, teaching your dog leave it Place being the stay component of hey, you gotta have some impulse control here. Um, working with your dog, um around distractions, doing distraction work.

Speaker 2:

He says the dog only barks when it comes to the daughter.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Yep, he's a very well-trained dog.

Speaker 3:

Otherwise any other and I'm on any other resource.

Speaker 2:

So it's just the daughter? Um, yeah, are there any other resources, jamal, that your dog likes to protect besides your daughter? And to answer your first question, while you're answering that question how do you incorporate this in the house? Well, you might not be able to. You might not be able to start in the house, it just depends. You start at the biggest distance that you can create with a straight line of sight inside of your home. Yeah, he says it's just the daughters. Now, you start at the biggest distance that you possibly can.

Speaker 2:

For me in my house, because I also live in a townhome, that would be my front window to my back door, which is approximately 45 feet, 50 feet, and if that's not enough distance, then I might have to go outside, and I'm going to have to start outside, and then I move back inside when I get to a distance that I can accommodate that inside. So, yeah, this is something where you're going to have to be very slow. To put it in perspective, you have to bend over, grab your daughter, stand back up. The first thing that you need to desensitize is the motion of bending over. That's it. You're going to have your daughter in front of you and you're going to bend over like you're going to pick her up. That's where you're going to start. Then you move to maybe actually grabbing her. You haven't even put your hands on her yet. It's just bending over, and this is a slow process. It's going to take weeks at a time for each step. Potentially it may take a couple days, it may take a week, it may take weeks, it may take a month. It varies from dog to dog, but I really hope that that answers your question and at least gives you an idea of how to start.

Speaker 2:

In the meantime, like Will was saying earlier, go to dogbehavioristcom, click articles at the top and find the counter conditioning and desensitization article, which will go in much more depth than we can right here, and then, additionally, next week, we'll be here next Saturday morning. Come back, tell us how it's going, ask us your questions. If you have any other questions, we're also in the process of setting up where we can bring in guests on video as a part of the stream itself, so that may even be another opportunity for you as well, jamal, and any of our other viewers that are looking to get their questions answered. It is something that we're looking into. It's not something that we know when it's going to begin, but we are working on getting it to a point where we can actually bring you guys in on video. Awesome, I'm glad to hear that, Jamal. I'm glad that we were able to answer your question.

Speaker 3:

And please give us an update next week. And as always, it's so important especially when it's aggression finding a professional, finding a professional to work with, and you can go to dogbehavioristcom, you can go to our directory and you can find some of the top certified professionals, whether they be certified professional dog trainers, certified dog behavior consultants, dog behaviorists, applied animal behaviorists, veterinary behaviorists. We've got them all listed on our directory in the menu at dogbehavioristcom. Always make sure when there's aggression, the first thing you think about is safety, safety, safety, safety. Absolutely Always assume every and any aggressive dog can bite and, that being said, any fearful dog. I know I get a lot of people say oh well, you know, the good news is he just wants to run away.

Speaker 3:

Well, that's fantastic If he or she can, until he or she can't get away, and it's usually not a matter of if it's when you know you get yourself in the wrong situation. The dog gets cornered. You hope it doesn't happen, but trust me, every animal, every animal will go into fight when they feel cornered, when they feel threatened enough yeah, when they don't have the ability to fight anymore, to flee, it flees no longer an option.

Speaker 2:

Of course there is the the freeze option, but but it is much more likely that if you corner one of these animals, it is going to lash out and bite you, plain and simple. And that means a lot of people underestimate the value of management. I cannot talk about management enough. If you have a dog who bites, teach them to wear a muzzle. A dog who bites, teach them to wear a muzzle. Muzzle, train your dog, because if they're wearing a muzzle they cannot bite anymore.

Speaker 2:

If you have a dog that bites strangers when they come in the house, lock your dog up before strangers come in the front door. If you have a dog that becomes aggressive when you start grooming your cat, send your dog outside or put them in the bedroom, put them in the kennel where they can't see it, before you start grooming your cat. If you have dogs who are fighting over food, separate your dogs before you feed them. Management is the core it is the absolute core of any good behavior modification training plan, because without proper management the problem will not and I will say that again, it will not go away.

Speaker 3:

First step is management, keeping everybody safe, avoiding the triggers so the dog cannot continue to rehearse those behaviors, continue to have those unwanted behaviors, get more and more habituated, more and more conditioned and not only that, but exacerbate that underlying emotional state that we always talk about. That when we're looking at behavior problems we need to think about what is the underlying root cause and these behaviors. They are driven by emotions and it's about changing the underlying emotional state, and that takes time. Well, while you're doing the work, you've got to keep everybody safe, and so safety is absolutely important. Make sure you know we give you as much advice and help as we can. We get you to resources like the website dogbehaviorscom, where we've got over 93, I believe it is 93 in-depth articles on various different behaviors. Let people know about it.

Speaker 3:

There's not that many resources out there that have all of those free articles. We don't charge for anything. In some cases we've got training guides that are 20, 30, 40 pages long in depth. It's not just for pet parents, but there's a lot of trainers and behavior consultants and even veterinarians that go to dogbehavioristcom and get a lot of their resources from there. So check that out. Yeah, I want to talk a little bit Before we go we'll go over a little bit, but I want to talk a little bit, not too much, because we've done it week after week. But the 4th of July again is right around the corner. Absolutely. Fireworks and dogs usually are like oil and water. It is one of the scariest days throughout the year for dogs. No-transcript, but you probably don't have enough time right now.

Speaker 2:

Quite frankly, we are out of time Between now and the 4th of July.

Speaker 3:

It's not going to happen. You're not going to desensitize your dog. So now it's about safety and management. All right, making sure, because a lot of dogs, when they freak out when they hear fireworks, they try to escape. And a lot of them do escape, and that's why shelters, um rescue organizations, the fourth of july, the days before and after the fourth of july, when fireworks are going off, those are the busiest days of the year for shelters, because dogs are escaping because of the sheer fear of the sound of the fireworks. So the first thing you need to do is make sure you stay with your pets, stay with your dog, make sure do not put your dogs outside especially if you know that your dog is afraid.

Speaker 3:

Don't leave to go. Oh, I want to celebrate and watch the the fireworks display. All right, you need to be there for your pet now. Make sure that you've got an id tag. If they do get away, we want to make sure that they can be identified and get back to you. Make sure that they're microchipped as well as having an ID tag.

Speaker 3:

All right, now, if you know that you've got a dog, because past years with fireworks has really suffered. I mean, had pretty severe reaction. Maybe they were trembling, maybe they were running and hiding and crying, maybe it got so bad that you know they lost control of their bladder and their bowels. But we hate to see our pets suffer and they don't have to suffer. Folks, you can go to your vet and there's nothing wrong with situational anxiety medication. All right, absolutely. It is dangerous for your dog to have high levels of stress. It is bad for your dog's physical health and well-being, not to mention their emotional health and well-being and the fact that they suffer. So if you've got a dog that suffers on the 4th and it's this late in the game right now, what is it? The 29th, 30th?

Speaker 2:

Today is the 29th.

Speaker 3:

All right, so when we're this close to the 4th and you know you've got a dog that really suffers. Please contact your veterinarian, discuss with them if anxiety medication would be beneficial, would be helpful for your pet. Always talk to a licensed veterinarian. Jordan and I are not veterinarians. We're not here. We're not here to give out medical advice.

Speaker 2:

We have the stuff that we like to use, but we are not veterinarians. At the end of the day, what I say is not an actual professional opinion when it comes to medication, but that is something that you can talk to your veterinarian and we do encourage you to do that, to talk to your veterinarian about that.

Speaker 3:

talk to your veterinarian about that. The other thing is okay trying to make your dog comfortable and trying to help your dog relax and to mitigate the stress and the sounds and even sometimes the flashes of fireworks. What are some things that we recommend, jordan, that people can do?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, the first thing that you're going to do is I want you to get on Spotify, get on Apple Music, get on YouTube, whatever and build yourself a very long reggae playlist Reggae, I'm telling you guys, I'm not pulling your leg, I'm not trying to be funny here. Science has shown us that the most calming music for dogs is reggae music. Create a playlist of just nice chill, bob Marley, whatever you want to put on, just some nice reggae. And then you're going to find the most centralized closet in your home. Okay, you're going to take all the stuff out that's on the floor, that's it. You're just cleaning out the floor, leave the clothing in the closet, put a bed in there, put a speaker in there, maybe put a speaker in there, maybe put some treats in there, some water, some blankets, whatever Anything that you can think of to you know, and maybe some stuff for yourself too, because you're going to be in there with your dog and you're going to, as soon as those fireworks start, start playing your reggae music.

Speaker 2:

Get your dog into that closet and sit down with them and just relax. And yes, I'm about to say it coddle your dogs during this time period. Love on them, snuggle with them, tell them it's okay. It's okay that you're reinforcing the anxious behavior. Think about it If you're freaking out, doesn't it feel nice to have somebody just kind of scratch your head a little bit or rub your back and tell you that it's okay, that it's fine. It feels pretty good. Your dog thinks the same thing. And then you're just going to sit out the fireworks inside of that closet with your dog and hopefully, the reason why we're leaving the clothing in there is to dampen the noise, because it's going to provide some deafening, it's going to provide some muting of the sound of the fireworks, and that's why we're also picking the closet in the middle of our home.

Speaker 2:

I would actually probably use my food pantry over here if it was me, but that's about how you're going to do it, because we're too late to actually do the work. And then, additionally, if you have a dog that's very severely scared, get them into the vet right now. Call your vet right now, and I do mean right now, as soon as this podcast is over. Schedule an appointment before the 4th and talk to your vet about situational medication. Okay, there are plenty of fantastic options out there to help your dog get through this situation, and that's about what you're going to do. Do you have anything to add? Will, and that's about what you're going to do. Do you have anything?

Speaker 3:

to add Will gotta get, gotta get this in here somehow, some way help. Ah, yes, no, no, no, no, no, no. We got this going on, or not? No, I don't know, can you hear that A little bit of reggae there? That's right, oh absolutely. You know, we always talk about it and I don't have that in our. I don't have that in the sound bank. I'm going to have to get that in the sound bank anyway, but, man, oh man. It has been a good show. It has been a good show.

Speaker 2:

It has it has. Thank you all. Thank you for our viewers, thank you for our listeners, thank you for the questions, thank you for interacting. Please, as we're wrapping things up today and we've gone a little bit over, please like, share and follow our page. That way, you don't ever miss any of these podcasts.

Speaker 2:

Yes, we do try to do them every single Saturday morning, but we do occasionally miss a Saturday. Usually, we will post if we're going to miss a Saturday, but you wouldn't know that unless you were following us. So please, please, please, please, please. If you liked what you heard here today, if you feel like we gave you something that really helped you out, or something that taught you a little bit something about training dogs or maybe we just put a smile on your face, like this video, share the video, please give us a follow and then, most of all, tell your friends about us. We are out here giving out this labor of love because we know dog training is expensive and we want to give people the free help that we can right here, right now. Thank you, guys, so very much. I appreciate every single one of you.

Speaker 3:

All right. Well, listen, everybody, have a wonder Fourth of July holiday coming up. We'll see you next Saturday. Please keep your pets safe, Keep them happy and we will see you next week. We're out of here.

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Will Bangura M.S.,CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, FFCP

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