Researchers in Vienna Demonstrate that Owner-Dog Relationships Share Striking Similarities to Parent-Child Relationships

A very interesting study has been published by researchers in Vienna. 

Lisa Horn (Ludwig Huber Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Austria & Ludwig Huber, Friederike Range Clever Dog Lab Society, Vienna) with Ludwig Huber, Friederike Range Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna claim that their scientific study provides an important piece of evidence for the similarity between the "secure base effect" found in dog-owner and infant-caregiver relationships.

The study is the first to show that the secure base effect in dogs extends from the Ainsworth's Strange Situation Procedure to other areas of dogs' lives and that it can also manifest in cognitive testing. A comparable effect has been shown in human children when they were confronted with a problem-solving task: those children that were able to use their mother as a secure base were found to be more motivated and persistent in solving the task. However, while the secure base effect is usually only evident in infanthood, where it balances the infants' exploration of the world with maintaining the crucial proximity to the caregiver, dogs seem to be unique in having retained this behavior into adulthood. Dogs living in animal shelters have even been found to establish preferences for specific humans after short positive interactions in adulthood, which already strikingly resemble attachment bonds.

Although the secure base effect we found in this study was specific for the owner, unfamiliar humans like the experimenter also seem to be able to provide some social support for the dogs. A similar effect has been observed in human children when they seek social support from non-attachment figures with whom they had been familiarized prior to the test. Although in adult dogs it has so far mainly been shown that owners are the ones who provide social support for their dogs, in dog puppies social support can also be provided by an unfamiliar human. 

It is likely that the presence or absence of the owner might substantially influence dogs' motivation in other more complex test situations. The owner's absence in the generally unfamiliar experimental setting might cause a lack of security, which in turn could influence the outcome of the test.

The message to take from this research is this: your dog is not a child and should not be treated as one.  However, in the same way that young children need to be allowed to develop their confidence and life skills by exploring the world from the safety and comfort of their mother's arms, so a young puppy needs to be able to develop its confidence and understanding of its environment from the safety of its owners arms.  So don't overwhelm your puppy by constantly throwing it in to new and stressful situations.  Rather gently expose it to new and unsettling situations, but always with a safe pair of arms for it to retreat to if everything threatens to overwhelm it.      

Puppy Dog Tales - The SIT, STAY, DOWN

Puppy Training - the SIT, DOWN, STAND

Teaching a very young pup the basic positions can be quite simple as they can be lured in to position more easily than a larger dog.  People who plan to exhibit their dogs in Breed Shows don't generally teach their dogs SIT as they need the dogs to stand for long periods in the show ring so they focus on teaching their dogs STAND instead.

Watch Mum! 

The first thing to teach your pup is to learn to pay attention to you by looking at your face, so when you feed the pup bring the bowl up towards your face and reward him verbally and with his dinner when he makes eye contact.  

The SIT

You will find that if you call your pup's name it is likely that the pup will sit as he lifts his head to look up at your face as it is so much higher than him.  If you know he will do this, call his name to get his attention then give him the command SIT.  When he sits, praise him and treat him immediately - behaviourists recommend rewarding within 3 secs of the dog complying so time 3 secs on a stopwatch to see how quick you need to be as it is a very short space of time!

The DOWN
When your dog is sitting, use a treat to lure your pup in to a DOWN position.  You can do this by showing him the treat by holding it in front of his face, then drop your hand to the floor immediately under his chin, at the same time giving the command DOWN.  As you do this he should start to lower his head to get the treat, so start to slide your hand along the floor away from his face - still saying DOWN.  His head should follow the treat and if you do it slowly and gently he will drop to the floor rather than walking forward. If he does drop to the floor, reward him immediately with lots of cuddles and praise and the treat. If he stands up, or lifts his back end off the floor, say 'No' and very gently try to manoeuvre him so that his belly is on the floor or he rolls over on to his side - at which point praise and treat as described earlier.  
DO NOT under any circumstances push your pup to the floor, pin him down or put pressure on his back or hips as you could easily damage his growing bones.   

The secret with this exercise is:

• Firstly to keep your pup calm.  If your pup has been over-stimulated by playing or some other physical activity, he will not be able to focus on you and your commands so wait until he is calm and able to pay attention to you.   
• Secondly only reward the required behaviour.  Don't reward a partial down or a 'cute' action such as giving a paw - you asked for DOWN so all that should be rewarded  is a DOWN.  Your pup learns by trial and error, so if he doesn't understand or doesn't get it right, say No gently and keep explaining what you want clearly and calmly.  If he is still very young you may only be able to try 2 or 3 repetitions before his attention wanders.  Be guided by your dog and work at his pace as all dogs are different and you cannot expect too much from a young pup.
• Thirdly make sure you DO reward the desired behaviour.  Your pup will probably accidentally put his belly on the floor just before he jumps up again so be prepared and the instant he hits the ground say Yehhh - Good pup - Well Done... etc and treat him.  It won't take him long to associate the belly on the ground and the reward.

The STAND

When your dog is sitting, use a treat to lure him in to the STAND position.  You do this by showing him the treat by holding it in front of his face, then moving your hand away from his nose, very slowly and parallel with the floor and giving the pup the command - STAND. You will only need to move your hand a few inches so that the pup comes up on to all 4 feet then praise and reward him.  Make sure you don't reward the pup for taking an extra step or walking forward - something they are liable to do if you move the treat too far away from their face.  Again, wait until the pup is calm and focussed on you before you try this; don't get impatient with the pup, and if he is very young then 1, 2 or 3 attempts may be all he can focus on before his attention wanders. 

Always finish on a positive note - so ask your pup for a sit as they usually learn that very quickly - then as well as praising him have a little game so that he looks forward to training sessions because he knows it will end with you being delighted with him!  

Big Boy crosses Rainbow Bridge

For various reasons it has been some time since my last post.  Sadly, one of the reasons is that Big Boy became even more poorly and after a lifetime of ill health he passed away at the end of last year.

It started sometime in November, when he began vomiting.  Not the usual "coffee grounds" and bile that usually signified a re-occurence of his gastritis but copious amounts of clear mucous that trailed all across the floor.  

When the usual 24 hr starvation followed by a light chicken and rice diet didn't help it was off to the vet and an anti-emetic injection.  This would work for a few days and then the vomiting would start again.  Although reluctant to cause him more stress through medical interventions I agreed he could go in for an exploratory endoscopy as we had reached the point where palliative care was the only other option.  

A scan and x-rays suggested shadows in his stomach and lungs but as he was being intubated in preparation for the endoscopy some sort of vascular mass in his lungs ruptured, there was blood everywhere and he nearly died.  They did however get him back and after a couple of days we got him home, although without a definitive diagnosis as further investigations couldn't proceed.  He was very weak, had lost a lot of weight in just a few days but once home started eating and was keeping food down. 

My son - his special friend - came home for the weekend to visit him, but by the following Wednesday Big Boy started refusing food and on the Thursday morning he told me he had had enough.  I have heard people say this, but this was the first time I have experienced it, and I'm not sure I can explain it, but it did happen.

My son arranged a flight home and an appointment was made with the vet but by that evening Big Boy was getting weaker so my son brought forward his flight to arrive first thing in the morning. I slept downstairs that night with Big Boy who seemed reasonably settled and in the morning I told him I was going to the airport to collect my son.  But as he got into the car, and we pulled away from the pick up point his phone rang.  It was my daughter to say that Big Boy seemed to be having a fit -and then almost immediately he stopped breathing.  And that was it, after 8 years he was gone.

When we got home, just a 20min drive, Little Girl and Little Boy were watching morosely, Little Girl quite obviously knew what had happened, and I let them both say their good- byes.  

The night before he passed away Big Boy had asked for the back door to be opened, and despite the bitter cold of December he lay there looking out at the garden as he always did when it was a warm, sunny spot, as if he were reliving old memories of happier days.  We had him cremated and scattered his ashes around the garden boundary where he so loved to patrol so he can always be with us and watching the other dogs.

Puppy Dog Tales - Rewards for Training

Little Boy is responding well to all the basic commands - SIT, DOWN and STAND.  

Obviously I use only reward-based training, and so I have a treat bag permanently attached to my belt so that I can reward wanted behaviours whenever they occur.  It is very important to let young animals know what is a 'good' behaviour, and what is a 'bad' behaviour so continual and consistent guidance in the form of rewards for 'good' behaviours is very important.  I do use voice, touch and games too, but with food-motivated dogs such as Labradors, treats make the whole process very simple.  

It does carry its own problems in that I have to ensure that the treats do not make up a large proportion of the puppy's diet - a young, growing animal needs a well-balanced dog food suitable for his age and breed.  Similarly, the older animals are prone to putting to weight, so the quality and volume of treats has to be strictly controlled.

For the puppy I am using a mixture of his kibble pellets and dehydrated liver cubes.  The latter are available in little tubs from pet stores, have no additives or chemicals and come cut in to little cubes of about 0.5cm.  They are quite soft so I can break them up further with my nails and so can treat frequently using the tiniest of pieces.  The older dogs can have problems with sensitivity to wheat so for them I use gluten-free beef or chicken chomping chews.  These are made from 50% meat, and are soft, thin flat strips about 15cm long x 2cm wide.  As with the pup, I break the strips in to about 4 pieces to have in my treat bag, and reward with a small piece broken off one of these quarters.  The size of reward can thus be varied as appropriate for larger or smaller dogs.  

If your dog is very overweight you can measure out the dog's daily kibble allowance, and instead of feeding it all at one time in the dog's regular meal, you can put half of it in your treat bag and use that to reward behaviours.  If your dog is fully grown but is very stubborn, you could try not feeding a meal at all and instead put the dog's daily kibble allowance in your treat bag and reward desired behaviours constantly during the day so that he has to work for every piece of kibble.  However, if you try this approach you would need to be careful that you were consistent and fair in your rewarding, and that your dog was an adult, in good health, and no longer growing as puppies need a different feeding regime to adult dogs.  

For the older dogs, if I am trying to teach them something new or difficult, or trying to encourage them to do something they are worried about - such as getting Little Girl to do the Dog Walk at Agility - then I will use small amounts of a high-value treat.  High-value treats are exactly what they sound - a treat that is of high-value to your dog.  It could be a piece of cheese, or fish, cream, a piece of hot-dog sausage - whatever your dog adores and will do anything for.  Obviously, to keep their status as 'high-value' you must limit their use to those occasions when you are having problems otherwise they will lose their value. You can also use them to distract your dog when working on resolving behavioural issues such as inappropriate barking.

Puppy Dog Tales - Health Scare

Earlier in the week we had a health scare with Little Boy.  He had dinner as usual around 8.30pm, and pooped normally about an hour later.

I had decided to go to bed early and about 10.30pm was beginning to settle the dogs for the night when Little Boy wanted to go potty.  I took him out and was horrified to see he had what can only be described as 'projectile diarrhoea' - what seemed like a huge volume of liquid squirting out his back end as if coming out a hose.  There was no blood but he was horrified and very dejected-looking when he came indoors.  He sat looking thoroughly miserable as we tried to figure out what could have caused it, but as far as we were aware he had not eaten anything untoward either in the house or garden.  However, puppies put everything in their mouth as part of normal development so, although it was unlikely (as we have a dog-proof house) it was always possible he could have eaten something toxic without my knowledge.  

A short time later he vomited, and shortly after that he again had 'projectile diarrhoea'.  By now I was really quite worried so I called the emergency vet service and took him down to their hospital.  My main concerns were parvovirus - and the worry that even if it wasn't parvo that he could go downhill rapidly overnight due to dehydration.

He has had only his first set of vaccinations so is not yet able to go outside for walks, but in order to socialise him he has been carried on walks and met other dogs not only then but when taken to the Agility club - again for socialisation.  In addition my other two dogs, although fully vaccinated, meet many dogs when on walks, at Obedience and at Agility so they could have carried home a virus.  Foxes and cats also visit the garden so they too could have brought something in.

On arrival at the vet hospital he vomited all over their floor, but on examination his temperature and all other vital signs were fairly normal, although his upper gastrointestinal tract was very painful.  Because he is only 10 weeks old and so in the middle of the first developmental 'fear period' I declined their offer to keep him in overnight for observation as he didn't need antibiotics, rehydration nor a glucose drip. We took him home with a sachet of electrolyte solution and settled him down for the night.  He had liquid diarrhoea again overnight but no more vomiting and loved the electrolyte solution.  He kept drinking it and trying to dig through the bottom of the bowl as if he expected there to be food hidden underneath.  His stools started to return to normal by midday, and he was tired but otherwise quite normal.  He had another check-up with our vet that evening but given a clean bill of health and the incident put down to an unspecified 'virus' or ingestion of unsuitable material.  He was on a light diet of chicken and rice for the next day, then his normal food was slowly introduced and he has made a complete recovery I'm delighted to say. 

Puppy Dog Tales - Time-Out

Little Boy is a very bold puppy, liking nothing better than a good rough-and-tumble with Little Girl.  However, he has still to learn self-control and does not like her gentle(-ish) reprimands in the middle of a play session.  He has a tendency to lose control when this happens and launch himself at her in fury - all snapping teeth and furious growls. She wisely ignores him, but when he catches her in a tender spot she can leap up, or thrash about in surprise - kicking him halfway across the room with her back legs.  She also starts to lose control when he starts mad labbie dashes and joins in, chasing him through the house or around the garden with the result that he usually gets stood on or run over.  Furthermore, in the last day or so he has started humping whatever part of her body is convenient when in the middle of an exciting tussle.  He has also been growling at us when we interrupt his game by picking him up (for his own safety), or if we interrupt him in the middle of something he is enjoying.  

All of these behaviours are related and simply mean that he is becoming over-stimulated and unable to control his level of excitement.  At the moment they are a minor irritation, but if I allow them to continue he could become a rather unpleasant adult.  For that reason we have instigated a 'Time-out' rule and when he becomes over-stimulated he is gently removed to his crate and the utility room where he can be safely confined away from Little Girl and allowed to unwind and go to sleep.  He is happy to go to into his crate with a hide chew as it is not a punishment, but rather about managing his excitement levels.

'Enforcing' sleep periods also stops him becoming grouchy as if he gets over-tired he is not only bad-tempered but cannot manage to get to sleep and throws himself around from position to position, trying to get comfy. 

Puppy Dog Tales - The First Few Days

Little Boy is progressing well - and he has a new friend to cuddle!  

He is happy to go to his crate and be confined when necessary as he gets a Kong toy with a few pieces of kibble to keep him distracted as I leave.  He spends a happy few minutes rolling the Kong around the crate to get the kibble out then eating it.  The crate is covered with old towels so it is dark and draught-free, like a little den, and he can feel secure.  He is a clean pup and when confined alone he toilets mainly on the newspaper.   He performs on cue outside when given the command to Go Toilet and by watching him carefully inside, I can normally catch him and rush him outside.  He has a funny little walk when he needs to poo and he rushes around, nose stuck to the ground, circling, until he finds the perfect spot so that is always a useful sign for me to act quickly. If he remembers when playing, he will rush off to his newspaper to toilet, but he is usually too engrossed in his game to remember.

His training is going well, he knows his name, how to make eye contact, Go Toilet, Come, responds well to Leave and is learning Stand.  He is also learning by watching the bigger dogs that calm behaviour is rewarded rather than the hysterical, excited jumping up of puppies.  Jumping up to demand food or attention may be endearing in a little pup, but is extremely irritating in a full grown dog so we are not encouraging it and instead reward the instant he sits calmly and looks at my face. 

My main problem a the moment is trying to prevent Little Girl from hurting him accidentally.  They play a lot - she brings him toys and plays tug-of war, or lets him climb all over her, or they wrestle and play chases.  However she is also young (2 years old) so she can get over-excited very easily and starts charging about or play-biting him so he could easily be badly hurt.  Also all dogs need to learn self-control.  

We have all seen toddlers in supermarkets having a tantrum because they want a sweet or a toy and Mum has refused.  A very similar thing happens with dogs and puppies when they become over-excited and they start charging about, crashing into people or furniture, perhaps barking or nipping.   As with jumping up, this can be endearing in a little pup if no damage is done, and if children are involved they will probably find it great fun, playing chases with the pup, the children squealing and the puppy barking hysterically.   However, allowing this to happen without moderation is laying down trouble for the future as the pup is learning that out-of-control behaviour is acceptable and indeed fun!  However, when the dog is larger or fully grown it will still display these behaviours and that is when owners realise that the behaviour is no longer acceptable and that they have a problem dog.

Owners and their children should most certainly play with their pup - it is necessary for the pup's development and strengthens the bond between dog and owner. However, the owner is the leader in the relationship and must moderate the behaviour of the pup and those it is interacting with (be they adults, children, dogs or other pets) to ensure that play remains fun but if the pup does start to lose control and act hysterically that it is encouraged to calm down and play more quietly.  By gently restraining it and not allowing it to continue to play and telling it quietly to calm down, then allowing it to continue playing once it is calmer you are teaching it to manage frustration (at being denied play) and learn self-control.  It will learn that the appropriate behaviour to allow it to gain access to play is calm and happy and that if it doesn't moderate its own behaviour through self-control then play may be withdrawn.  If adults or children react to hysterical, out-of-control behaviour in a pup by squealing, laughing at it, chasing or egging on the behaviour (there are many videos online of owners doing this!) then the pup will see this attention as a reward and be encouraged to repeat the behaviour. 

It is easier to lay down boundaries and stop your pup from demonstrating unacceptable behaviours at this age so think carefully - do you really want your pup doing this when s/he is fully grown?   If the answer is NO then stop it now!