At what age should I start training my puppy?
Why should I crate train my puppy/dog?
Are electronic (non-visible) fences good to use?
Why don’t you use choke chains or prong collars in your training?
What is your opinion of electronic (shock) collars?
How do I stop my puppy from biting me?
Why should I spay or neuter my dog?
How do I keep my puppy from chewing on everything?
What’s the best way to housetrain my puppy?
How long will it take to train my dog?
The Gift of Growl: Is growling ok?
Shock Collars: Great Positive Training Tool or Devil Incarnate?
 

1. At what age should I start training my puppy?

        The sooner the better! Actually, very responsible breeders start training their pups as young as 5-6 weeks, so by the time they are placed in homes they already have a good start. Your puppy starts learning the moment he first sets foot in your house. You might as well make sure he learns the right things from day one.

        Peaceable Paws accepts puppies in classes starting at age 10 weeks. The only reason we don't take them sooner is that we want them to have at least two of their puppy shots for protection before they start romping with their classmates. At one time, when most trainers used choke chains and prong collars, puppies didn't start classes until they were at least six months old, because of the potential for serious damage to a puppy's tender trachea, occasionally even resulting in death, from the use of those force-based tools. Now that more and more trainers are using gentle, positive training methods, we have no fear of harming a young puppy, and we can start them at a very early age. We start new 6-week classes every month at Peaceable Paws, so you never have to wait more than a few weeks to get into a class. If you don't want to wait even that long, we can schedule one or two private sessions to get you started on the right training path until the next class begins. 

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2. Why should I crate train my puppy/dog?

        The crate is an extremely valuable behavior management tool. It takes much of the pain out of puppy-raising by keeping your pup safely confined when you can't directly supervise her. Puppies are usually housetrained in a surprisingly short time with the use of a crate, and the crate gives you peace of mind, knowing that your dog isn't peeing and pooping all over the house, or chewing on electric cords and antique furniture when you're not there to watch her. 

        Dogs are den animals, and if properly introduced to the crate, they usually love them. The crate can be your dog's own portable bedroom, so if you travel, or leave her at a kennel or with a friend, your dog can take her own little piece of home along with her wherever she goes. 

        Here are some crating tips:

Crates Are Good For:

•  Housetraining: If it's done right, crating can make housetraining a snap. Dogs come with a natural aversion to soiling their own dens. Even puppies will try very hard not to eliminate in their crates. Properly done, a puppy's crate is placed in or just outside the master bedroom, where Buddy has the comfort of his nearby human pack for company, and his humans can hear if Buddy wakes up in the middle of the night and cries to go out. Too often, new dog owners make the huge mistake of putting Buddy's crate downstairs in the laundry room. The puppy, fresh from the comfort of his mom and littermates, is frightfully lonely and cries his sad little heart out. Finally he does go to sleep, only to wake up at 4:00 a.m. with a full bladder. Now he cries again, desperate to get out and not soil his bed. The owner hears from afar, if at all, curses the noisy puppy and blames the crate for making Buddy cry. Buddy, unable to hold it any longer, finally poops and pees in his crate, then curls up unhappily in the mess. Human finds a filthy crate and puppy in the morning, exiles Buddy to the back yard and sells the crate at the next garage sale. The banished Buddy never learns how to be in the house, and the owner is convinced that crates are horrible.

• Owner Peace-Of-Mind: Not only is a properly crated Buddy not pooping and peeing all over the Berber carpeting, he is also not chewing on electrical cords and antique furniture legs. Humans can sleep peacefully at night, or enjoy a leisurely dinner and movie date, without worrying about the mess they will find when they get home. Buddy gets to stay inside, happily nested in his den, rather than pacing the back yard, looking for ways to dig or jump out, barking at squirrels and disturbing the neighbors.

• Protecting Buddy: Your relatives are coming over for dinner. As much as you love your dear sister, her children are little hellions who love to torment poor Buddy. For his own safety, you invite Buddy to escape to his crate before the kids arrive, give him a stuffed Kong toy to keep him occupied, and return to dinner preparations, secure in knowing that he is out of harm's way behind your closed bedroom door.

• Protecting the Kids: Unfortunately, Buddy's prior bad experiences with your sister's kids have left him with a definite aversion to small humans. Although your best friend's kids are exceptionally well-behaved and love dogs, you just don't trust Buddy around them. She's on her way over for coffee with her youngest child, so once again Buddy escapes to his crate. (Meanwhile, you make a mental note to contact a positive dog behavior counselor so you can overcome Buddy's fear of children while he is still a pup.)

• Safe Traveling: There's no arguing that a dog in a crate in a car is safer for all concerned than a loose dog in a car. Loose dogs can cause traffic accidents. Even if the dog doesn't cause the accident, a loose dog becomes a dangerous flying missile in a car that stops suddenly for any reason. If windshields are broken out in an accident, a loose dog can escape onto the highway and cause another accident there, or vanish into the wilds of unknown territory. If the dog remains loose in the car, he can be a serious deterrent to emergency personnel if he tries to protect his injured human from their rescue efforts. Safely confined to a crate, his chances of contributing to or being injured in an accident are greatly reduced.

• Hassle-Free Travel: Many hotels and motels are much more amenable to allowing Buddy to stay in their rooms with you if you assure them that he will be crated. Friends and family, too, may be relieved to know that your canine pal is safely crated and not making midnight raids on the refrigerator (or the cat) while everyone is sleeping. Easier on Buddy, too, when he can take his own portable bedroom with him wherever he goes - even if he gets left at home in the boarding kennel while you visit the family.

• Training/Time Outs: The crate is a perfect training tool for giving Buddy temporary time-outs in order to discourage inappropriate behavior. A time-out is not physical punishment. We don't yell at Buddy, tell him he's a bad dog and throw him into the crate. Instead, we use it for what trainers call negative punishment - the dog's behavior makes something good, in this case, Buddy's freedom, go away. Properly used, a time-out involves the use of a marker word or phrase such as "Oops! Too bad!," uttered in an upbeat tone of voice at the moment of unacceptable behavior (such as uncontrolled biting, or jumping up on the counter) to let Buddy know what the time-out is for. Then Buddy is gently escorted to his crate for a brief time-out. Once he settles down, he is released again and given the opportunity to keep his freedom by behaving well.

Crates are Not Good For:

•  Physical or Verbal Punishment: A crate is Buddy's safe haven. He should never be punished while he is in his crate. Children and adults should not be allowed to tease or torment him when he is crated.

• Long-Term Confinement: Buddy should not regularly be left in his crate for longer than four to six hours at a time, even shorter when he is a very young puppy. He gets very little mental or physical stimulation in his crate, and needs to be able to get out to stretch his mind and his muscles from time-to-time, to say nothing of emptying his bladder and bowels. Regular crating for periods of eight hours or longer could constitute abuse, and might induce Buddy to break housetraining. If a dog is regularly forced to soil his own den, he can eventually lose the instinct to keep his house clean and may be extremely difficult if not impossible to housetrain. Life in a box is not an acceptable life for a dog.

• A Substitute For Training: While it is perfectly acceptable to crate Buddy in order to prevent him from climbing into guests' laps during dinner, the ultimate goal is to teach him to be well behaved so he doesn't have to be crated when company comes over. This means that you have to take the time and make the effort to teach him good manners, so that his crate time diminishes as he matures and learns to control his own behavior. Training classes offered by a skilled positive trainer are the ideal place to work on Buddy's good manners in the company of other dogs and humans.

How to Crate Train

        The crate is a sturdy plastic, fiberglass, wood, metal or wire box just big enough for Buddy to stand up, turn around and lie down in comfortably. It can be used with the door open, at Buddy's convenience, or with the door closed, when mandatory confinement is called for. Some pups walk right into their crates and hang up a "Home Sweet Home" sign. Others need a little more coaxing. Even adult dogs with prior bad experiences can learn to love their crates, if we take it slow and make it positive.

    Remember that the crate should be just large enough for Buddy to stand up, turn around and lie down comfortably. He doesn't need to be able to play football in it. If you want to get one large enough for your puppy to grow into, block off the back so he has just enough room, and increase the space as he grows. Cover the floor of the crate with a rug or soft pad to make it comfortable and inviting, and you're ready to begin training.

        Start with the crate door open, and toss some irresistibly yummy treats inside. If Buddy is hesitant to go in after them, toss them close enough to the doorway that he can stand outside and just poke his nose in the crate to eat them. If you are training with a clicker or other reward marker, each time Buddy eats a treat, Click! the clicker (or say "Yes!" if you are using a verbal marker).

      Gradually toss the treats farther and farther into the crate until he is stepping inside to get them. Continue to Click! each time he eats a treat. When Buddy is entering the crate easily to get the treats, Click! and offer him a treat while he is still inside. If he is willing to stay inside, keep clicking and treating. If he comes out that's okay too, just toss another treat inside and wait for him to re-enter. Don't try to force him to stay in the crate. 

        When he is entering the crate to get the treat without hesitation, you can start using a verbal cue such as "Go to bed" as Buddy goes in, so that you will eventually be able to send him into his crate on just a verbal cue.
        When he is happily staying in the crate in anticipation of a Click! and treat, gently swing the door closed. Don't latch it! Click! and treat, then open the door. Repeat this step, gradually increasing the length of time the door stays closed before you Click! Sometimes you can Click! and reward without opening the door right away.

        When Buddy is staying in the crate with the door closed for at least ten seconds without any signs of anxiety, close the door, latch it, and take one step away from the crate. Click!, return to the crate, reward, and open the door. Repeat this step, varying the time and distance you leave the crate. Don't always make it longer and farther - intersperse long ones with shorter ones, so it doesn't always get harder and harder for him. Start increasing the number of times you Click! and treat without opening the door, but remember that a Click! or a "Yes!" always gets a treat.

        It's a good idea to leave the crate open when you aren't actively training. Toss treats and Buddy's favorite toys in the crate when he's not looking, so he never knows what wonderful surprises he might find there. You can even feed him his meals in the crate - with the door open - to help him realize that his crate is a truly wonderful place.

        Sometimes dogs and often puppies can do the whole crate training program in one day. Some will take several days, and a few will take weeks or more. If at any time during the program your dog whines or fusses about being in the crate, don't let him out until he stops crying!!!!!! This is one of the biggest mistake owners make when crate training! Instead, wait for a few seconds of quiet, then Click! and reward. Then back up a step or two in the training program. When Buddy is doing well at that level again, increase the difficulty in smaller increments, and vary the times rather than constantly making it harder. For example, instead of going from five seconds to ten to fifteen, start with five seconds, then seven, then three, then eight, then six, then four, then eight, and so on. This is a vital part of a successful crate training program. If you let Buddy out when he is fussing, you will teach him that fussing gets him free. If, however, he panics to the point of risking injury to himself, you must let him out. You may have a dog with a Separation Anxiety challenge. (A crate is generally not recommended for dogs with Separation Anxiety, since they tend to panic in close confinement. If you believe your dog has a Separation Anxiety problem, stop the crate training and consult a behaviorist or a trainer who has experience with this behavior.)

        Once Buddy is crate trained, you have a valuable behavior management tool for life. Respect it. If you abuse it by keeping Buddy confined too much, for too long a period of time, or by using it as punishment, he may learn to dislike it. Even though he goes to bed willingly and on cue, reward him often enough to keep the response happy and quick. Keep your verbal "Go To Bed" cue light and happy. Don't ever let anyone tease or punish him in his crate. 

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3. Are electronic (non-visible) fences good to use?

        There are several reasons why I detest electronic shock fences. While I have certainly heard from people who have used them and are very pleased, I am also personally familiar with a number of electronic fence horror stories. I do not recommend them for my clients. I don't consider them an adequate means of primary confinement - for far too many dogs, there will always be a stimulus that is strong enough to entice them to suffer the shock and run through the fence. Batteries fail and collars malfunction. When I worked at the Marin Humane Society in Novato, California,  we regularly took in stray dogs who were wearing their fence collars. In fact, just last week our neighbor's Labrador Retriever visited us several times happily wearing his fence collar. In Santa Clara, California, my husband, in his role as a humane officer, responded to a call for a dog whose collar had shorted out and was constantly shocking the dog.

        Another of my objections to the non-visible shock fence is that it provides no protection to your dog from outside intruders. Other dogs, kids, and potential dog-stealers and abusers can enter your yard at will, and your dog is at their mercy. The fence can also contribute to aggression problems - if the dog associates the shock of the collar with a person walking by, or a bicyclist, or skateboarder, etc., he may become aggressive toward whatever he feels is the source of his pain. Finally, some dogs are very sensitive to electric shock, especially a shock that seems to come out of nowhere and attack a dog's neck. I have heard of dogs who literally refused to go out in to their yards because they were so traumatized by the electric shock collar.

        Sure, it may work for some dogs. I would never be willing to risk my beloved canine companions to the uncertainties of the non-visible electronic shock fence.

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4. Why don't you use choke chains or prong collars in your training?

        Choke chains and prong collars are tools of compulsion training, dependent on your willingness to force your dog to comply with your commands. At Peaceable Paws we use positive reinforcement training, meaning that we consistently reward the behaviors that we want from our dogs, and manage or ignore (when possible) the behaviors that we don't want. Because all living things repeat behaviors that are rewarding to them, by using positive reinforcement we can get our dogs to voluntarily give us the behaviors we want, rather than forcing them. We don't risk damaging our relationships with our canine pals through the use of force and punishment, and we don't risk the physical harm that can occur with the use of punishment-based tools. Just last summer, for example, a puppy in North Carolina was killed by a trainer who was using a choke chain.

        Training is not just about getting our dogs to respond to a list of commands. Training is about relationship - our way of being with our dogs. Choke chains and prong collars rely on pain to force compliance. I don't have to hurt my dogs to train them, so why would I use tools that, by definition, cause pain?

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5. What is your opinion of electronic (shock) collars?

         I don't like them, and cannot conceive of any training challenge where I would be willing to use one. I believe that it is possible to train our dogs without inflicting pain on them. Certainly there are trainers who use them, and use them effectively. Dogs can be trained with pain, but they can also be trained very effectively without it. Why should I hurt my dogs if I don't have to.

        By the way, don't be fooled by shock collar salespeople who try to tell you that the collars tingle, tickle, stimulate, or in some other euphemistic way just "get a dog's attention." Electric shock hurts. Ask them if you can put the collar on your own neck and turn it up to the highest level. 

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6. How do I stop my puppy from biting me?

         Biting is a natural puppy behavior. Puppies explore their world with their mouths, and they use their teeth extensively in play. Learning bite inhibition is an important part of a young puppy's education. If he bites his mom or his littermates too hard, they let him know. Mom may reprimand him roundly if his needle sharp puppy teeth close too hard during nursing, and his siblings may yipe and refuse to play with him if he bites too hard. One of the pitfalls of taking a puppy away from his littermates too soon is that he misses out on this important lesson. Pups should stay together with their litters and their moms until they are at least eight weeks of age.

        Even then, our pups comes to us with sharp baby-teeth, and we need to continue his bite-inhibition lessons. We can direct his chewing instincts toward appropriate chew toys (a stuffed Kong is ideal for this) as are various soft plush and rope toys. We can also imitate his littermates by giving a sharp, high-pitched "yipe" when he bites too hard, and stopping the play session by getting up and walking away. Our pup will soon learn that his behavior makes a good thing go away (this is called "negative punishment," and involves no physical correction whatsoever), and will learn to soften his bite so we will keep playing with him. After a brief time out of a minute or two, we can go back to playing. If he bites too hard again, give another yipe and do another time out. He'll get it eventually.

        Do not use physical force or punishment, such as hitting him, holding his muzzle closed or forcing you hand down his throat. Some puppies will become aggressive when you do this, and others will learn to fear your hands. Neither of these is a good outcome.

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7. Why should I spay or neuter my dog? I want to have puppies!

        Approximately 6-8 million unwanted dogs, cats, kittens and puppies are euthanized in this country every year because there are not enough homes for them. If you breed your dog, you are a part of this problem, even if you find homes for every one of your puppies. (Overpopulation) Every home that adopts one of your pups is a home that could have taken a homeless dog or puppy instead - one that will end up dead on a shelter euthanasia room floor. In addition, you can avoid many health and behavior problems, such as mammary tumors (in females) and testosterone-generated aggression (in males) if you spay and neuter prior to the onset of puberty. 

        If you do insist on breeding, be sure you do it responsibly. That means purchasing a good-quality show-prospect puppy from a very reputable breeder, and being willing to spend the time and money to show her and confirm that she is worthy of perpetuating her breed. Then you need to do the research to find a suitable mate for her who will not compound her weaknesses, and pay to have various medical tests done to make sure her hips and eyes are sound. You will also need to pay to have the puppies vet-checked and vaccinated, and you will need to be able to take the time to socialize them well so they will be prepared to adapt to the big wild world when they leave the safety and comfort of their mother's side.

        Finally, even after you have placed your puppies in homes, you are morally responsible for them for their entire lives. If their new owners ever find themselves in a position where they cannot or do not want to keep their dog, you should be willing to take that dog back into your own home. This promise should be a prominent part of your sales contract.

        Think about it. If you want to raise puppies, instead of breeding, call your local shelter or rescue group and ask if you can foster a mom with young babies. You will have the satisfaction of saving lives that might otherwise have been ended, as well as knowing that you are not contributing to the tragic problem of pet overpopulation.

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8. How do I keep my puppy from chewing on everything??!!

         Manage, manage, manage. A pup who is still in the chewing stage should be under constant supervision, or confined to a safe secure puppy-proofed area. Provide him with plenty of irresistible toys. The best are interactive toys such as stuffed Kongs , Buster Cubes  and Roll-A-Treat Balls . A cold, frozen Kong can be especially soothing to a teething pup's sore gums. Soft toys such as rope tugs and plush toys are also very inviting to puppy teeth. When he wants to chew on an inappropriate object, direct him toward an acceptable chew toy. If he insists on going back to the table leg, give him a cheerful "Oops! Time-out" and put him in his puppy-safe place.

        The best puppy-safe places are in or near places of family activity. You pup will be very unhappy if you shut him away in an upstairs bathroom. We will be more content in his time-out place if it is a wire puppy pen set up in the middle of the den or living room, where he can still be among his human pack members.

        You can also try some of the commercial no-chew sprays and creams. They work well for some pups. Others just seem to regard them as icing on the furniture cake. 

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9. What's the best way to housetrain my puppy?

        Whether you are facing the challenge of housetraining a new puppy or retraining an adult dog with inappropriate bathroom behaviors, the approach is the same: manage the behavior to prevent mistakes from happening while you teach appropriate toilet habits. The differences are that while a puppy may not yet have the physical ability to control his need to eliminate for long periods, at least he probably hasn't learned to soil indoors and will have a very strong instinct to keep his den clean. The unfortunate exceptions are puppies raised in very dirty conditions (like many of the puppies raised in puppy mills and sold through pet stores), and those who have been forced to soil their crates repeatedly through improper confinement. 

        A healthy adult dog is perfectly capable of controlling his elimination urges, so in some cases an adult dog can be housetrained very quickly, especially if she hasn't spent much time indoors. If, however, she has a longstanding habit of urinating and/or defecating indoors, reliable housetraining can be a frustrating goal to achieve. In these cases we sometimes must settle for managing the behavior in order to prevent house soiling.

        We use the "umbilical approach" to housetraining puppies and adult dogs. This means that the dog is always either in a crate or pen, on a leash attached to you (or restrained nearby), under the direct supervision of an adult or responsible teen, or outdoors. Establish a daytime routine - go out *with* the dog every one to two hours. (If you want him to use a particular bathroom area of the yard, always take him on leash to this same spot when you go out with him.) Do not just send him out to "do his business" on his own. You won't know if he did anything or not, and you won't be able to reward him for doing the right thing. Go with him. When he urinates or defecates, Click! the clicker (or tell him "Yes!") and feed him a treat. Then play with him for a few minutes before bringing him indoors, as a reward for going. If he doesn't go, bring him back in, put him in his crate, and try again in a half-hour or so. When you know he is "empty" you can give him some relative but still supervised freedom for a half-hour or so.

        If he has a mistake indoors, do not punish him after-the-fact. It is your mistake, not his. He won't even know what he is being punished for. Quietly clean it up (using an enzyme-based cleaner like Nature's Miracle to be sure you get all the odor) and vow not to give him so much freedom. If you must spank someone with a rolled up newspaper, hit yourself in the head three times while repeating, "I will watch the dog more closely; I will watch the dog more closely; I will watch the dog more closely."

        If you catch him in the act, calmly interrupt him and take him outside to his bathroom spot. Again, do not punish him. If you do, you will only teach him that it isn't safe to toilet in front of you, and he will learn to run to the back bedroom to do it.

Keep a daily log for one week, writing down when (and what) he goes. Once you have this documentation of his routine, you can start reducing the number of times you take him out, based on his elimination schedule. As he becomes more trustworthy, you can start to give him more freedom. If he backslides it is your fault, for giving too much freedom too soon. Back up to a more restricted routine, and proceed more slowly.

        At night he should be crated, in or near your bedroom. If he wakes up in the middle of the night and cries, he probably has to go out. You must wake up and take him out, Click! and reward when he goes, then bring him back and immediately return him to his crate. We don't want to teach him that crying at night earns a play session!

        Dogs do not house soil out of malice or spite. They just don't think that way. If your dog urinates or defecates every time you leave him alone in the house, chances are it is related to stress, perhaps separation anxiety, not malice. Punishing him will only make him more stressed, and make the problem worse. If you are having serious housetraining problems, you may need the services of a trainer or behavior consultant. The majority of dogs, thank goodness, want to keep their dens clean and will happily learn to use appropriate bathroom spots if given the chance. Just one of the many things we love about them...

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10. How long will it take to train my dog?

        Her whole life! Seriously, this is an impossible question to answer. It depends on you, your dog, and your training goals. My 14-year-old terrier mix, Josie, is still learning new things. Every time you are with your dog, every day, one of you is training the other. If we stop training our dogs, we become the trainees - which doesn't usually bode well for the dog-owner relationship!

        Most basic training classes are six to eight weeks long, with you going to class once a week with your dog, for about an hour each time. At the end of a basic class, some dogs are well on the way to being reliable with their basic cues and behaviors, others still have a long way to go. Once you have completed basic training, you can find opportunities to continue your dog's education to more advanced levels, where he will become reliably responsive to your hand signals and voice cues, even at a distance, even in very distracting environments. Finally, if you choose to do so, you can pursue training even further and explore the almost endless list of great dog sports and activities.

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11. The Gift of Growl

My 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 consult 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 only contributed to and exacerbated the serious and dangerous behavior problem that has led them to my door.
On one hand 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. 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.
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.
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, and 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. And if you succeed in suppressing the warning signs, you end up with a dog who bites without warning. He learns that it’s not safe to warn.
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 get mean, 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.
Time to change your thinking.
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 your dog 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. 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 smidgeon 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.

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12. Shock Collars: Great Positive Training Tool or Devil Incarnate?

The chasm between those who abhor the electronic/shock collars as an abusive dog training tool and those who support and promote it as an exceptionally effective and humane training tool is so huge it will probably never be bridged. In the middle of that canyon are those who believe that the collar can be an effective training tool for very limited circumstances in the hands of skilled professionals, and those who prefer not to use them but feel compelled to educate clients who insist on using them on how to use them properly.
How could the dog training/behavior community be so divided over a simple tool? Perhaps because the tool is not so simple – perception in large part depends on what you read, who you believe, and your own personal training philosophy.
Many trainers and behavior professionals who adhere to a positive training philosophy find the idea of using the sock collar abhorrent.
Dr. Karen Overall, highly respected veterinary behaviorist and author who ran the Behavior Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School for more than 12 years, says, “Let me make my opinion perfectly clear.: Shock is not training – in the vast majority of cases it meets the criteria for abuse… No pet owner needs to use this technique to achieve their goal. Dogs who cease to exhibit a problem behavior usually also cease to exhibit normal behaviors.”
Trainers who use and like the collars argue that the e-collar of today doesn’t even remotely resemble the shock collars of yesteryear. Collars commonly used 15 years ago had three to five levels. According to the companies that sell them and the trainers who use them, today’s collars are much more sophisticated, and can be adjusted to very low levels that create a non-aversive “stim” or “tap” sensation that shouldn’t even be called a shock. Indeed, Innotek’s ADV-1000 model has 15 levels, the while the Dogtra 200NCP goes even further, with a dial that ranges from 1 to 100.
Shock collars were initially used primarily for the administration of harsh positive punishment and/or negative reinforcement. If your duck hunting or Search and Rescue dog took off after a rabbit, you’d hit the button to shock/stop him with a significant jolt. The dog’s behavior of “crittering” makes a bad thing (shock) happen and the behavior consequently decreases; positive punishment. Or, if your dog didn’t come promptly when you called, you’d hit the button and keep the button pressed until the dog came and sat in front of you. The dog’s behavior of coming to you makes a bad thing (shock) go away, and the behavior of coming when called increases: negative reinforcement. (See Sidebar – The Four Principles of Operant Conditioning)
Since positive or “dog-friendly” trainers use primarily positive reinforcement and secondarily negative punishment, and only rarely and/or as a last resort use positive punishment or negative reinforcement, that would seem to rule out the use of the shock collar. (See Sidebar: APDT’s Definition of “Dog-Friendly”)
However, some trainers claim to use the newer models as a behavior marker for basic training – a positive reinforcer similar to a clicker; as a “Keep Going Signal” to tell the dog he’s doing the right thing and to continue doing it; or as a mild “interrupter” – like a tap on the shoulder, to say, “Hey, look at me!” Some even tout miraculous results – rehabilitating a fearful, unsocialized dog in 20 minutes; installing total off-leash control in 5 days or less; all resulting in happy, unstressed, well-behaved dogs and greatly enhanced relationships between dogs and owners. They argue that the label “shock collar” is no longer appropriate, and create new names for their tool and techniques, such as “e-collar,” “electronic collar,” “e-touch,” “stim,” and “tap” to avoid using the harsher sounding “shock” word.
Of course, the collars do work – at least some of the time. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be as widely sold and used as they are. Success stories about electronic underground fence collars, remote electronic training collars, and electronic bark collars abound. So do horror stories.
Jeff Dege of Edina, Minnesota, reports one positive outcome:
“After a year of not being able to proof my Bear’s recall – and several incidents of a failed recall that came close to killing him – I decided to give remote training collars a try.
“I did a fair amount of research, checked into a number of gun dog trainers, identified the one I thought best understood both what he was doing and how independent breeds respond to corrections. Bear is a Jack Russell Terrier. Then I bought a quality remote collar, and paid him for private lessons.
“It worked amazingly well – and very quickly. We were doing off-lead agility exercises in the backyard by the second week. When Bear headed down the driveway to explore whatever, I’d give him the recall command and if he didn’t respond, I’d give him a correction – at a setting lower than I could feel when I tried it on myself. And he’d come back immediately, and as far as I could tell, eagerly. In the second week, in perhaps a dozen sessions, I corrected Bear a total of twice. In the months since, I always have him wearing the collar when we practice off-lead in the backyard, but I’ve never needed to correct him.
“I do not, and will not, recommend electronic training collars without qualification. They’re easily misused. But I think they have their place, used in moderation, with some dogs.”
It’s easily possible for things to go wrong, however, with an electronic collar. My dental technician told me of her boyfriend’s Labrador Retriever who had a lovely natural retrieve – until he sent the dog off to a hunting dog trainer who used shock collars. The dog hasn’t retrieved since.
Part of the conflict in perception of the collars’ effect may come from different trainers’ interpretations – and responses to – dogs’ body language when the shock – or “stim” – is applied.
Two trainers recounted their observations from a seminar put on by a prominent “e-collar” trainer who promotes his methods as positive and humane. One trainer wrote a glowing report of how several poorly socialized, fearful shelter dogs were “cured” in a miraculously short time, and turned into happy, outgoing companions. Another trainer who attended the exact same seminar reported that to her, the dogs appeared completely shut down, offering stress and appeasement behaviors throughout the ordeal, and demonstrating classic “learned helplessness” behavior at the end of the session.
Another trainer told a disturbing story of the same “e-collar” trainer, different seminar. An owner attended the seminar with two dogs, both on shock collars. The owner and trainer were working with one dog, while the other waited in his crate. The dog they were working with wasn’t responding to the level of stimulus they were using on the collar, so they kept turning it up and pushing the button, still with no response.
Eventually they realized that the crated dog was screaming every time the button was pressed. They had inadvertently switched controls and were shocking the wrong dog at a high intensity! The trainer’s response when they discovered the mistake was to laugh.
It’s confusing, at best, to hear the convincing arguments of those trainers who claim to use electronic collars at a low setting as a gentle way of communicating with dogs. If pressed, however, most of them will readily admit to their willingness to turn up the dial if/when the dog stops responding to a low level “tap.” Most will also insist that it’s appropriate to use higher settings when they feel it’s necessary to apply positive punishment to a dog.
If you’re tempted by those trainers’ arguments to use an electronic/shock collar in your training, you won’t know until it’s too late if your dog will be one of the successes or one of the failures. (See Sidebar: IN THEIR OWN WORDS) By the time you find out, it may be too late to undo all the damage to your dog, your relationship with him, and his relationship with the rest of the world.
How does you decide your position on the use of this controversial tool?
Steve Lindsay, well-respected behavior consultant and author from Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, supports the limited use of electronic collars in educated hands, and argues for calling them “electronic” rather than “shock” collars. He writes in his recently-released Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training; Volume Three, Procedures and Protocols, “The combined advantage of immediate and reliable radio-controlled delivery of precisely regulated electrical stimulus (ES) make electronic training a viable and humane alternative to any traditional techniques for applying negative reinforcement and punishment.”
Lindsey bemoans the fact, however, that “large numbers of radio-controlled e-collars are sold in pet stores to relatively naïve and inexperienced dog owners without much in the way of appropriate instruction regarding their use, misuse and potential for abuse.” He acknowledges that potential for abuse is all too real. He also chastises collar manufacturers for not being more forthcoming with critical information about the electrical output of their collars (voltage, current and power, pulse and waveform characteristics) along with an explanation of the significance of the information, so consumers can select the product best suited to their needs.
Conversely, Dr. Overall holds unwaveringly to her position. “I know there’s a lot of discussion about what we call electronic collars. But they are all ‘shock’ collars by the definition of physics and their mechanism of action. They all seek to be aversive.”
In the end, each owner/trainer must make his or her own decision about whether the shock collar is an appropriate tool to use. Check out the resources listed below (Sidebar: RESOURCES), if you still need help deciding your position on the issue. It may depend on the dog, or the behavior and circumstances. It may just depend on your own personal training philosophies, and whether you, like me, are in line with Dr. Overall’s thinking and choose to use tools and methods that are clearly dog-friendly, designed to encourage dogs to think and offer behaviors without fear of aversive consequences – a dog-friendly philosophy that precludes the use of what I will continue to call shock collars.
SIDEBAR: RESOURCES

Possible Link Between Electronic Containment Systems And Aggression: http://www.leaonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/S15327604JAWS0304_;jsessionid=nhOA
Five cases involving severe attacks on humans by dogs who were being trained or maintained on an electronic pet containment system.

Dutch Study on Short and Long Term Behavioral Effects of Shock Collar Training:
http://www.ust.is/media/ljosmyndir/dyralif/Trainingdogswithshockcollar.pdf
Conclusion: That being trained is stressful, that receiving shocks is a painful experience to dogs, and that the S-dogs evidently have learned that the presence of their owner (or his commands) announces reception of shocks, even outside of the normal training context.

Study on Physiological Effects of Electronic Collars, sponsored by collar manufacturer:
http://www.petsafe.net/outreach/white_paper.pdf

Online photo of Border Collie being “snake proofed” with shock collar. Note stress body language – averted eyes, hunched body posture:
http://joycemorgan.com/TallPix.html

SIDEBAR: IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Shock Collar Stories From Dog Trainers

Helen Hollander
The Educated Pup, LLC
Lawrence, NY

In a lovely suburban Long Island neighborhood, there lived a lovely family with a lovely Golden Retriever named "Flash". Flash adored people. And being a typical friendly and energetic Golden, Flash loved running and exploring and sought any window (or doorway) of opportunity to do so. As he matured, and due to lack of training, he became too much for the family. The quick fix and solution to their problems was to enclose their property with an electronic fencing system. <sigh>
Flash spent many lonely hours outside, only to amuse himself with the bushes and occasional critters that dared to scamper across the lawn. How terribly boring and frustrating.
Every morning however, Flash eagerly awaited the local joggers who would pass by. As they approached his house, Flash would dart to the boundary and run back and forth barking his beautiful head off. "Hey! Over here...Come say hello! Wait...where are you going?" Sadly, instead of a warm hello from the joggers, Flash received that infamous "zap" instead.
As months passed, the owners became less and less attentive to Flash. By having him electronically contained, they had more time to do their own thing and became a bit too casual about maintaining the batteries in his collar. At the same time, Flash became more and more agitated and frustrated as the joggers appeared. He quickly learned their presence meant discomfort. Eventually instead of running toward the fence in hope of engaging the joggers in play, he ran to bark and drive them away .
One spring morning, the joggers passed. Flash, as he did every morning, ran to charge the fence line...only this particular morning, he crossed through it. His collar batteries were dead and he charged straight for the unsuspecting female joggers.
Flash was not the friendly energetic Golden he had been months before. He was now a very fearful, frustrated and crazed animal. One woman was thrown to the ground, her clothes torn. Fortunately, there were no bites of any consequence. " The owners were dumbfounded! What happened to Flash? Why did he ‘turn’ on these women?"
Long story short, the joggers were neighborhood women who knew Flash and the owners. Luckily, I was called by the owners. Luckily, they removed the electronic fence, replaced it with stockade. They learned there are no shortcuts in training...and that the only shortcut would be Flash's life. Flash is alive today and receives appropriate interactive one on one time with his owners. Many dogs are not that lucky.
Nancy Hansen
Pet Nanny Sitting Services
Lexington, KY

I went to a trainer that used an e-collar on my German Shepherd and still have terrible guilt feelings over it. This was about 2.5 years ago. After hearing my dog scream, it’s hard to believe it was nothing more than one experiences from carpet shocks. When I first went to this guy, he used positive reinforcement methods with my pup. I was so impressed with his patience. Then it got bad. I also observed dogs trained by his assistants and students in the AKC ring. The looked so unhappy.
Junko Takahashi
Bethesda, MD

One of my dogs, Dante (Wheaton Terrier), jumps and barks when a guest comes into my house. He is being friendly, but since he is a 36-pound dog, some people were put off by it. So, with a recommendation of a local pet store trainer I purchased an electric collar. First time I used it was when my sister’s boyfriend walked into the house. Since then Dante is very scared of him. He was fine with him until then… now every time the boyfriend comes over Dante’s tail is completely down and he either rushes into his crate or attaches himself to me and follows me around. Also, since my sister’s boyfriend is really tall, he now seems to be afraid of all tall guys.

Becky Shultz, CABC, CDBC
Minneapolis, MN

I had a client who was working with an underground electronic fence and the dog – a Ridgeback – was still blowing the wire, so they double-collared him. Still didn’t work, so they were talking about putting one on his groin area. I told the client that I’d work with him if he’d stop frying his dog, but they preferred the magic “button, button, button.”
Calling it “E-Touch” is putting a smiley face on shocking dogs.

Mary Leatherberry
Santa Fe New Mexico
I met with a woman and her dog last week and noticed the little white flags indicate the underground fence as I drove up her driveway. I put the dog, a sweet, 8-month-old German Shepherd mix, on a leash and started to lead her out into the front yard. She tucked her tail and planted all four feet just inside the front door. Tried luring her with treats. No go. Realized she wouldn’t leave the house – at all – because of the e-fence. Had to go out the garage access door, directly into the garage, in order to get her to move. She wasn’t even wearing the collar, so there was no possibility of a shock. Of course she didn’t know that. And the flags were about 30 feet away from the door, so she had a “safe” zone. The owner said she thought a regular fence was “kind of expensive.”
Jenn Keegan
Pembroke, MA

Keegan was in “doggie daycare” 4 days a week for 6 months. I didn’t realize that during the training runs Keegan was on an electronic collar. Shortly after I found out, we stopped going to that training facility. Not long after that I began to notice that Keegan was afraid of dogs, primarily dogs that were larger than him, and especially German Shepherd dogs. I can’t prove that the electronic collar caused these issues, but Keegan was socialized to many dogs of various types from the time he was 14 weeks to well over a year old and never exhibited the kind of fear that I was starting to see with other dogs. I don’t doubt that he is predisposed to be fearful, but I think the electronic collar made a manageable problem significantly worse. This is a dog who previous to this completed his agility title by three clean runs in one show, and earned his CGC at age 18 months. He then became a dog that I was very concerned about walking off-leash, and one over whom I had no control over his response to German Shepherds.
On top of that, the electronic collar caused an infection where the electrodes met the skin that took a month to resolve.
Miranda Workman
Amherst, NY

My Boxer – before I know what I was doing – is one of those infamous dogs for whom the freedom of running through and outside the electronic fence system was more rewarding that the shock of running through it was punishing. Avi was wandering the neighborhood for quite some time before we realized she was gone. A neighbor brought her back. We put her back in the yard and watched. She would take a deep breath and run as quickly as she could through the fence line. She made a conscious decision – it wasn’t an accident or a fluke.
My father thought the collar must not be “high” enough. So, he turned it up. Fortunately, he wanted to test it before putting it back on Avi. He held it in his hand and walked toward the line. Before you know it he screamed and threw the collar nearly all the way across their half-acre lot. Not long after that they put up a stockade fence.
SIDEBAR: THE FOUR PRINCIPLES OF OPERANT CONDITIONING
Operant conditioning is called that because the subject, in this case the dog, “operates” on, or controls, the environment by his behavior. He chooses to behave in a certain way based on his expectations of the consequences of his behavior. His behavior may make a good thing happen, a good thing go away, a bad thing happen, or a bad thing go away. Since all living things want good stuff and want to avoid bad stuff, the dog will choose behaviors that make good things stick around and make bad things leave. We use this concept in training by applying one or more of the four principles of operant conditioning:
1. Positive Reinforcement (R+) – The dog’s behavior makes a good thing happen; behavior increases as a result. Example: Dog sits, you Click! and give him a treat; dog sits more often.
2. Negative Punishment (P-) – The dog’s behavior makes a good thing go away; behavior decreases as a result. Example: Dog jumps up to grab a Frisbee™ from your hand. You hide the disc behind your back. Dog stops jumping and sits – you throw the disc for him. (Negative punishment is most effective when it’s followed by positive reinforcement for a desirable behavior that replaces the undesirable one – in this case sitting makes a good thing happen – you throw the Frisbee™ for him to chase.)
3. Positive Punishment (P+) – The dog’s behavior makes a bad thing happen; behavior decreases as a result. Example: Dog jumps up – you grab his front paws and squeeze; jumping up decreases. The fallout may be that he decides he doesn’t like you touching his paws, and becomes resistant to and/or aggressive about having his nails trimmed and his feet examined.
4. Negative Reinforcement (R-) – The dog’s behavior makes a bad thing go away; behavior increases as a result. You pinch your dog’s ear (bad thing) to force him to pick up his dumbbell (a commonly used old-fashioned training technique known as the “ear-pinch). He opens his mouth to protest the pinch and you pop the dumbbell into his mouth and stop pinching. Opening his mouth for the dumbbell makes the pinch go away. Again, the fallout may be that he becomes very sensitive to having his ears examined and/or handled.
SIDEBAR: APDT’S DEFINITION OF “DOG-FRIENDLY”
The Association of Pet Dog Trainers is an international organization with more than 5,000 members world-wide, whose mission is to support the ongoing education of dog trainers and advocate for dog-friendly training, which they define thusly:
Defining Dog Friendly
The following statement reflects the opinion of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.
The Association of Pet Dog Trainers recognizes that dog training is a continuum ranging from unacceptably harsh methods to training that uses primarily positive reinforcement. We understand and agree that individual members of the APDT are free to choose the training methods and tools that they use in their training programs.
The APDT also recognizes that scientific studies have found that it is possible to effectively train animals using positive reinforcement and negative punishment.
Through its vision and mission statements the APDT is committed to using and advocating for training techniques that are "dog-friendly."
The APDT acknowledges that no generally accepted definition of dog-friendly currently exists.
Therefore, the APDT hereby defines dog-friendly as used in our mission and vision statements to mean:
"Dog-friendly training is training that utilizes primarily positive reinforcement; secondarily negative punishment, and only occasionally, rarely, and/or as a last resort includes positive punishment and/or negative reinforcement."
Finally, APDT membership is open to anyone interested in learning about training
 

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