Dog Training: Anatomy of an Evaluation
- Thread starter Jamie_Dog_Trainer
- Start date
- Jul 26, 2010
- 2,969
- 4
- 171
I'm not sure what the evaluation proves. I wouldn't expect a dog to behave the same way with the trainer as the family.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #13
So far, and this isn't the last portion of this, the dog has proven to be insecure, fearful, but capable of relaxing with a stranger, even as far as relaxing under some stress (pushig him away from food, still he continued to relax further), proves the dog enjoys being worked with, has a mind for learning and can take direction from a stranger. It also proves that the dog doesn't have a generally food possessive nature. If the dog had been aggressive or tense with ME during this, then of course, he is going to have further issues with the family that he is used to and can push around.
Very interesting - thanks for sharing!!
- Thread starter
- #15
Section 3: Active Evaluation, Food aggression with other pets
I asked if we could bring out other dog, the four year old Min Pin. What a cutie!!!
I remove all dog bowls from the kitchen and have both dogs follow me into the kitchen. I start giving a peice to the Min Pin, Calvin right away zones in on the food and I body block with a firm "NO". He backs off and watches me feed the other dog. He does a good job of staying out of the way after one verbal correction. The owners are both surprised and make comments on this. Then I take the Min Pins dish out and throw in a couple peices to her, she goes in for the food and so does Calvin. He gets another verbal correction, but ignores me and I have to step between them. At this time he wasn't focused on the other dog just the food in her dish. She eats the food and I watch him watching her. He gets slightly tense, ears forward, tail raised and stiffly wagging. I correct him verbally again, and also walk into him to redirect his attention and let him know I see that he was getting fixated on her. I explain my actions to the owners, they say that is the posture he always has when there is food around and other animals. So I explain to them how they can de-escalate a situation by correcting him/redirecting him before he actually goes after them.
After the second correction I continue to throw the food. This time he goes to the other side of the kitchen, lays down and keeps his eyes on me and his owners. He has purposely moved away and is laying down with his back to the other dog and her dish. This is him avoiding the situation and giving her space. I explain this to them, while I don't want him to be in avoidance of the situation I do want him to learn to respect these boundaries and not think he can control food situations as he has been able to do until now. Owners get it really well and I am pleased. I call Calvin over and give him one kibble and throw one in the Min Pin's dish. He only shows casual interest now in what she is doing. I feed her intermintantly for about five mins, while I ask them to observe his actions. After a short time he loses interest and lays down, flat on his side and almost goes to sleep. No longer in avoidance but accepting that he's not to bother the other dog.
The third portion is to see what he does when there is no food present but the bowl is left down. This has been an issue in the past with him aggressing over the other dog and the pig sniffing bowls. The Wife has several questions for me so while we talk I casuallty observe that the Min Pin goes to the empty dish, as she approaches Calvin gets up quickly, and stiffly walks past me. Again in a more fixated way. I give a shove with my knee and the word "NO". He understands what I am saying, lowers his body posture and sits next to me. Now he is fully relaxed, all tenseness in his body language is gone.
Section 4: Active Evaluation, interaction with 6 yo
After evaluating this with the other dog I opt out of watching what he does with the pig because at this time I had been there for over two hours, and I wanted to end on a positive note. I ended up staying another half hour while I was asked a bunch more questions. While this was going on the 6 yo got a ball and was playing fetch with Calvin. The 6 yo was able to take the toy directly from the dogs mouth without issue, also was able to tell him to Sit and Wait, which, to my surprise he did really well. Then Calvin was relaxing on the floor next to me and the boy came over and hugged him. I wasn't sure how this was going to go over and I actually held my breath for a second, it happened fast. I am so pleased to say the dog not only enjoyed the attention in a super relaxed way but he got up and followed the boy when he stopped. Then they layed on the floor together and played a little. It was great.
I asked the Husband and Wife if this kind of positive interaction was normal and they said they didn't know because they had always been worried and not allowed much of it, except for them to play ball.
I asked if we could bring out other dog, the four year old Min Pin. What a cutie!!!
After the second correction I continue to throw the food. This time he goes to the other side of the kitchen, lays down and keeps his eyes on me and his owners. He has purposely moved away and is laying down with his back to the other dog and her dish. This is him avoiding the situation and giving her space. I explain this to them, while I don't want him to be in avoidance of the situation I do want him to learn to respect these boundaries and not think he can control food situations as he has been able to do until now. Owners get it really well and I am pleased. I call Calvin over and give him one kibble and throw one in the Min Pin's dish. He only shows casual interest now in what she is doing. I feed her intermintantly for about five mins, while I ask them to observe his actions. After a short time he loses interest and lays down, flat on his side and almost goes to sleep. No longer in avoidance but accepting that he's not to bother the other dog.
The third portion is to see what he does when there is no food present but the bowl is left down. This has been an issue in the past with him aggressing over the other dog and the pig sniffing bowls. The Wife has several questions for me so while we talk I casuallty observe that the Min Pin goes to the empty dish, as she approaches Calvin gets up quickly, and stiffly walks past me. Again in a more fixated way. I give a shove with my knee and the word "NO". He understands what I am saying, lowers his body posture and sits next to me. Now he is fully relaxed, all tenseness in his body language is gone.
Section 4: Active Evaluation, interaction with 6 yo
After evaluating this with the other dog I opt out of watching what he does with the pig because at this time I had been there for over two hours, and I wanted to end on a positive note. I ended up staying another half hour while I was asked a bunch more questions. While this was going on the 6 yo got a ball and was playing fetch with Calvin. The 6 yo was able to take the toy directly from the dogs mouth without issue, also was able to tell him to Sit and Wait, which, to my surprise he did really well. Then Calvin was relaxing on the floor next to me and the boy came over and hugged him. I wasn't sure how this was going to go over and I actually held my breath for a second, it happened fast. I am so pleased to say the dog not only enjoyed the attention in a super relaxed way but he got up and followed the boy when he stopped. Then they layed on the floor together and played a little. It was great.
I asked the Husband and Wife if this kind of positive interaction was normal and they said they didn't know because they had always been worried and not allowed much of it, except for them to play ball.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I wonder if Calvin did not see the humans as the dominant members of his pack. I think that maybe once the humans correct the pack structure, the aggressiveness and insecurity will be eliminated, or reduced to a manageable level. Calvin knew someone had to 'be in charge' and since they weren't, he felt he needed to, he just really didn't want to. (am I making any sense at all?)
I have noticed that since correcting the pack structure issues in my 'pack,' all my dogs have relaxed and mind much better. The bickering amongst them has even stopped (for the most part - darned females!!)
I would, just for the boy's sake, only ever feed both the dogs in crates. All my dogs are fed in crates only. Just seems safer - and easier, that way.
Just a thought.
Am I any where near close?
And thanks for posting, it's always neat to learn new/better ways of handling mine.
I have noticed that since correcting the pack structure issues in my 'pack,' all my dogs have relaxed and mind much better. The bickering amongst them has even stopped (for the most part - darned females!!)
I would, just for the boy's sake, only ever feed both the dogs in crates. All my dogs are fed in crates only. Just seems safer - and easier, that way.
Just a thought.
Am I any where near close?
And thanks for posting, it's always neat to learn new/better ways of handling mine.
Jamie, I have enjoyed this thread. Thanks!
Great stuff!
Thanks for posting this.
- Thread starter
- #19
Behavior Summary
Calvin is an unsocialized, insecure/fearful dog, his temperament is soft and he doesn't have a lot of life experience to deal with stress. His initial aggressive behavior is rooted in fear, probably fear of young children, especially boys. This is actually very common for dogs to be afraid of children, even without "reason" or a specific situation that causes the fear. Because Calvin didn't get any training in his first home, he lived four months with the situation of being afraid of the child, no socialization, no training of any sort, was isolated much of the time. He became bonded with the adult female of his first household. This woman didn't do anything other than isolate Calvin for his growling at her 4 yo. The husband would come home intermittantly. I believe, from his behavior, that the husband was probably harsh with Calvin. Between the mixed signals of leadership in that house and no training and socilization Calvin never learned new behaviors to deal with most people. After a time his aggression became a learned behavior-- his growling and snapping became the norm and his learned way to deal with fear.
The time in this first household, 8 weeks old to 6 months old, were the basis of his socialization, or lack there of. These months in his life could have turned out much differently if steps had been taken to address the problems when they presented. 2-6 months is when MOST socialization and learning social skills happens in a puppy. If they get no training and leadership, what they have learned on their own in this time can and does become a fixed behavior and difficult to train or rehab out.
How to move forward
In his second home he's in a much better situation. However, as we've seen the aggression is still there. It's now a learned behavior, and has escalated to the point where he is controlling of the 6 yo, yet another way of dealing with fear. When a dog becomes afraid of someone, often times their learned aggression will present in a controlling manner. Calvin has no respect for the 6 yo as any kind of leader. Thats natural too.
We also have the situation of the current family thinking that they were "replacing their perfect Golden with another Golden" (this is what they told me). The emotional toll that their other dog's death has played a significant roll in this. At the end of the evlauation they all agreed that it wasn't the best time to be getting another dog, especially of the same breed. They say their expectations were too high, if not unrealistic. I agreed with them and added that it wasn't fair for Calvin.
The fear the Wife has of Calvin is mostly baseless. She has never dealt with an aggressive large dog. She assumes that because the dog is aggressive with her son, and aggressive with her other animals that he will continue to aggress in other situations. She has been very tense with him in her dealings with him. To the point where the Husband is the only one who feeds the dog and takes him outside, other than occasional interaction with both of the kids in the house. She decided he should only sleep in the laundry room and is put there when they have guests.
The husband has a backround of wild animal training in a Zoo setting. We didn't talk a whole lot about this. Its obvious he works some with the dog, he knows sit, wait, and down. However the Husband uses his gender and voice more than any training in dealing with Calvin. Calvin isn't comfortable with men in general. I watched as the Husband dealt with Calvin. Lots of harsh commands, almost yelling. Calvin mildly shuts down with this type of communication, it is his way of dealing with the insecuriity he feels.
There are a lot of positives in this situation, however
For one thing Calvin is a young dog, he's got a lot of time to learn new things, new behaviors, and new reactions. Calvin's family is committed to fixing the issues that they have continued to allow to get worse. They saw first hand how Calvin enjoys learning, enjoys a challenge and is fully accepting when he's shown consistent and fair leadership. Training a dog allows some leadership to be established naturally. Training a "soft" dog such as Calvin will be easy. He's food motivated and really loves attention as a reward too, he is also toy motivated. All excellent things. One very specific training I would do with him is have the 6 yo start to establish a strong leadership roll with the dog. Have hiim feed Calvin every day, he can tell Calvin to "wait" then release when he's ready, he can walk Calvin around the house and practice different obedience. He can control all toys in a way that is fun for them both. He can brush Calvin (he loves to be groomed). This will be addressed more formally with the family as we start our private lessons. Calvin also shows a lot of promise in how fast he can relax when he starts to trust someone, he showed me that very quickly and the family saw it too.
Steps need to be taken so Calvin and the 6 yo don't have any further aggressive interactions. They need to be supervised 100% of the time, they must have positive interactions and do leadership activities.
I have already suggested to them that they get a wire crate in leu of the laundry room. Calvin needs more family time, needs to see that male guests aren't threatening and needs to be more of the "team". They have said they will get a wire crate and put it in the livingroom. The cate will be off limits to the other animals and people so that Calvin never feels cornered inside it, but allowed to observe what is going on more. I also suggest they start a re-socializion program with him. Have every one he greets give a treat but no touching, he will only get the treat when he is sitting or standing in a neutral posture. No treating for fearful postures. Calvin needs to meet many people weekly and have every meeting be a positive one. The crate idea and the re-socialization will be discussed in depth in our first private lesson.
I have discussed with them to allow Calvin to have a "clean slate", free of the too high expectations of their other dog, and move forward with training, keeping in mind that Calvin is an individual dog and not a clone of their other dog. They also see how he needs much more training and support because of his softer temperament and fear.
I don't think this dog is dangerous, but he could become that way. I don't see that these problems couldn't be solved with time, training, socialization, and consistent fair leadership.
Calvin is an unsocialized, insecure/fearful dog, his temperament is soft and he doesn't have a lot of life experience to deal with stress. His initial aggressive behavior is rooted in fear, probably fear of young children, especially boys. This is actually very common for dogs to be afraid of children, even without "reason" or a specific situation that causes the fear. Because Calvin didn't get any training in his first home, he lived four months with the situation of being afraid of the child, no socialization, no training of any sort, was isolated much of the time. He became bonded with the adult female of his first household. This woman didn't do anything other than isolate Calvin for his growling at her 4 yo. The husband would come home intermittantly. I believe, from his behavior, that the husband was probably harsh with Calvin. Between the mixed signals of leadership in that house and no training and socilization Calvin never learned new behaviors to deal with most people. After a time his aggression became a learned behavior-- his growling and snapping became the norm and his learned way to deal with fear.
The time in this first household, 8 weeks old to 6 months old, were the basis of his socialization, or lack there of. These months in his life could have turned out much differently if steps had been taken to address the problems when they presented. 2-6 months is when MOST socialization and learning social skills happens in a puppy. If they get no training and leadership, what they have learned on their own in this time can and does become a fixed behavior and difficult to train or rehab out.
How to move forward
In his second home he's in a much better situation. However, as we've seen the aggression is still there. It's now a learned behavior, and has escalated to the point where he is controlling of the 6 yo, yet another way of dealing with fear. When a dog becomes afraid of someone, often times their learned aggression will present in a controlling manner. Calvin has no respect for the 6 yo as any kind of leader. Thats natural too.
We also have the situation of the current family thinking that they were "replacing their perfect Golden with another Golden" (this is what they told me). The emotional toll that their other dog's death has played a significant roll in this. At the end of the evlauation they all agreed that it wasn't the best time to be getting another dog, especially of the same breed. They say their expectations were too high, if not unrealistic. I agreed with them and added that it wasn't fair for Calvin.
The fear the Wife has of Calvin is mostly baseless. She has never dealt with an aggressive large dog. She assumes that because the dog is aggressive with her son, and aggressive with her other animals that he will continue to aggress in other situations. She has been very tense with him in her dealings with him. To the point where the Husband is the only one who feeds the dog and takes him outside, other than occasional interaction with both of the kids in the house. She decided he should only sleep in the laundry room and is put there when they have guests.
The husband has a backround of wild animal training in a Zoo setting. We didn't talk a whole lot about this. Its obvious he works some with the dog, he knows sit, wait, and down. However the Husband uses his gender and voice more than any training in dealing with Calvin. Calvin isn't comfortable with men in general. I watched as the Husband dealt with Calvin. Lots of harsh commands, almost yelling. Calvin mildly shuts down with this type of communication, it is his way of dealing with the insecuriity he feels.
There are a lot of positives in this situation, however
Steps need to be taken so Calvin and the 6 yo don't have any further aggressive interactions. They need to be supervised 100% of the time, they must have positive interactions and do leadership activities.
I have already suggested to them that they get a wire crate in leu of the laundry room. Calvin needs more family time, needs to see that male guests aren't threatening and needs to be more of the "team". They have said they will get a wire crate and put it in the livingroom. The cate will be off limits to the other animals and people so that Calvin never feels cornered inside it, but allowed to observe what is going on more. I also suggest they start a re-socializion program with him. Have every one he greets give a treat but no touching, he will only get the treat when he is sitting or standing in a neutral posture. No treating for fearful postures. Calvin needs to meet many people weekly and have every meeting be a positive one. The crate idea and the re-socialization will be discussed in depth in our first private lesson.
I have discussed with them to allow Calvin to have a "clean slate", free of the too high expectations of their other dog, and move forward with training, keeping in mind that Calvin is an individual dog and not a clone of their other dog. They also see how he needs much more training and support because of his softer temperament and fear.
I don't think this dog is dangerous, but he could become that way. I don't see that these problems couldn't be solved with time, training, socialization, and consistent fair leadership.
Thanks, Jamie, that was excellent
Similar threads
New posts New threads Active threads
-
Latest threads
-
-
-
Lethargic chick, not eating- Started by MangoCrow
- Replies: 5
-
-
High fail rate for heated drinker waterer bases?
- Started by RPw1690
- Replies: 1
-
-
Threads with more replies in the last 15 days
-
