Puzzle Me, Please! - Part 4

Puzzle Me, Please! - Part 4

By Taylor Heid

We get asked all the time what toys we would recommend to keep dogs busy at home! Our last blog post about different enrichment toys for pups was back in 2019 on DIY projects at home. Previously, we also posted Part 1 and Part 2 blogs on our store-bought suggestions. However, store-bought enrichment toys have taken off in the last 5 years with more creativity and a focus on dog behavior. Did you know sniffing and licking is a calming behavior for our dogs? So not only can we keep them busy, but now we can help them in facilitating self-regulation through encouraging these natural behaviors. 

There are so many options that it can be overwhelming to know how to choose which type of toy will be best for your dog! We recommend first looking at what your dog seems to enjoy, both with their current toys and in their natural self-soothing behaviors.  If your dog had their choice of activities, do you think they would most like licking, working at an interesting food puzzle, sniffing, or chewing? 

For example, I observed that my dog, Riley, had been licking frequently in the evenings. She was displacing this need onto inappropriate items (her fur/paws or furniture!). Once I realized licking can be a self-soothing behavior I jumped on the internet to find some licking toys to help transfer this behavior to more appropriate items that would serve the self-soothing purpose even better!

It can take a little trial and error to discover what toys serve your dog’s needs best and which they enjoy the most. Don’t get discouraged! The most important thing to consider is what gives your dog the most benefit on top of some fun.

Here is our updated list of enrichment toys that get the thumbs up:

These are affiliate links. Summit does receive a small “kickback” if you purchase via the links below, at no additional cost to you.

Lickables

Licking is a natural calming behavior. Toys that encourage licking can be great to cure boredom and simultaneously help your dog regulate their many emotions! Here are two different toys that promote calming licking behaviors.

LickiMats - There are so many to choose from! They can serve many different purposes, such as adding a suction cup for baths. Collect them all! Here are one and two examples.

Pupsicles -  These can be more of an upfront investment, but I think worth it for the long run. I am enjoying how easy it is to make the pupsicle treats at home. You can buy pre-made ones for ease, but you can also create your own with the treat tray to accommodate allergies and make low calorie treats for everyday use. Here is the most popular pupsicle on the market by Woof. 

Feeders

New designs of feeder bowls are coming out constantly. I think it is fun to have different designs so when your dog has mastered one, you can switch it up to keep them stimulated. Here is one from Outward Hound I am excited about. It is definitely on my wish list for Riley, as she could use a new challenge. 

We have always been a big fan of SodaPup’s durable treat dispensing toys (we even keep them in stock in our training room)! Recently, SodaPup has come out with a whole new collection of feeder bowls. They have created many new intricate designs, but the cool thing is these bowls can also be used for other activities, similar to the lick mats. Make sure to check out their instagram for so many ideas! And a bonus: they are from Boulder, Colorado! Here are some of my favorite new designs: Honeycomb & Great Outdoors 

Tip: If you aren’t sure what to fill your food-based enrichment toys with, there are many store bought options. Check out your local pet store for squeeze pouches or other pre-made dog treats made specifically for filling enrichment toys. You can also look for dog-friendly recipes online, or keep it simple with just some kibble in a layer of water and freeze it! Freezing all your treats is a great way to up the difficulty of a toy and make it last longer!

Sniffing Toys:

You may remember when snuffle mats started taking off around the pandemic. These were crafty DIY options for stuck at home play. If you aren’t familiar, a snuffle mat is anything that encourages sniffing behaviors (another naturally calming behavior). At first, this was commonly done through fabric in fun designs to hide the treats in. They were such a big hit that they have become more commonly manufactured. Here are a few examples of how snuffle mats are being taken to the next level: Themed Mat & Roll-Up Snuffle

Chewing toys:

Lastly, we have the classic chewing toys. Benebone has taken the lead for me when it comes to chewing toy brands. Just when you thought there couldn’t be any more designs, they consistently come out with new shapes and flavors to keep it interesting for dogs. I personally really appreciate that Benebone provides unique flavors, which helps my allergy dog who can’t have the typical dog flavors; like chicken, beef, and pork. Here is Riley’s current favorite from Benebone, but make sure to browse all their new bones: Fishbone

It is important to evaluate the difficulty of toys your dog needs. Some toys come with varying difficulty levels, like puzzles. Start with level 1 and work your way up to prevent frustration. Even if your dog masters level 1 immediately, it will still give them the confidence to keep at it when the difficulty is raised. Always observe your dog with a new toy to ensure they are playing with it appropriately and safely. 

The point of all these toys is to enrich your dog in different ways (encourage being calm or using brain power as a form of exercise), and it is a bonus that your dog stays occupied and distracted. We also recommend sitting with your dog while they are playing and having fun for a great bonding opportunity too! 

Did we miss any of your favorites on the list? Tell us in the comments! 

Happy puzzling!

Expanded Safety Routines at Summit Dog Training

Expanded Safety Routines at Summit Dog Training

At Summit Dog Training, we care about you and your dog’s health and wellness. Whether we’re supporting your dog with behavior modification or giving your puppy a positive start, health and wellness is very important to us! This awareness extends to your dog or puppy’s physical wellness. As you may have heard, there have been some increased cases of a severe canine upper respiratory virus reported along the Front Range. In light of this news, we are expanding our cleaning and sanitizing steps to ensure safety and wellbeing. In this piece, we’re going to specifically discuss the additional steps we are taking to keep our facility clean and safe. To learn more about our baseline cleaning routine, click here to read Our Facility Cleaning Routines for Puppy Wellness. 

In response to the virus in the Front Range community, we are implementing the additional steps below in an effort to do everything we can to mitigate the risks to your dogs when they visit our facility.  

• More Frequent Disinfection: We have increased the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting all common areas, training equipment, and high-touch surfaces from daily to multiple times per day between classes. This includes door handles, training props, classroom dividers, and other items that come into contact with multiple dogs.

• Individual Training Equipment: Whenever possible, we will provide individual training props for each dog, minimizing the sharing of items between different animals. This includes toys, training props like targets and platforms, and any other materials used during training sessions. We have eliminated the beloved sniff-boxes and soft toys from our class routines, as these cannot be easily disinfected between uses. We are encouraging our students to BYO sniff box or snuffle mat to your class or lesson for the time being.

• Health Screenings: As always, we kindly ask that if your dog is exhibiting any signs of illness, such as coughing, sneezing, or nasal discharge, please refrain from attending any classes or lessons until they have fully recovered. We will work with you to find suitable makeup options for you!  If your dog is approaching or past their due date for their Bordetella vaccination booster, we recommend scheduling this with your veterinarian.

• Increased Staff Awareness: Our staff members are trained to recognize signs of illness in dogs and will be vigilant in monitoring all participants in our services for any potential symptoms. If any concerns arise, appropriate action will be taken to safeguard the health of all dogs in attendance.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this time. These measures are intended to create a safe and secure environment for your dogs to the best of our ability. We encourage you to seek advice from your veterinary team as well!  If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to your Summit team.

Thank you for your continued trust in Summit Dog Training. Together, we can work towards maintaining a healthy and happy community for our beloved four-legged friends.

Camping With Your Dog

Camping With Your Dog

Now that the leaves have turned, the bugs are gone, and the temperature is cooling, we’re all itching to get the dog, grab the tent and head up to the mountains! Camping with your dog is tons of fun and full of adventure. Many of the same skills that our dogs need to be successful while living in our homes also apply to camping, with the added difficulty of being out in an exciting environment with extra distractions and fewer management options than we have at our disposal in our homes. Below you will find tips to set your dog up for success as you enjoy all that nature has to offer this fall. 

Teach a stationary “Settle” behavior! This behavior is useful in many different contexts, but especially in a camping setting. Having a reliable “Settle” cue helps to keep your dog out of the way of the camp stove while you’re cooking dinner, settle next to the fire, and gives them a clear spot to be in the tent while you get ready for bed at the end of the night. Check out this video playlist for instructions on how to get started on this skill with your dog! Remember to start in an easy environment and build up the difficulty from there.

Practice sleeping outside ahead of your first full camping trip. For dogs that are used to sleeping inside quiet houses, we have to remember that transitioning to sleeping outdoors in a tent or camper can come with a lot of extra little noises and smells. If you have the option to do so, try a test run close to home for your dog’s first outdoor sleeping experience. Make sure your dog has had plenty of exercise and is ready for bed before getting into the tent. When it’s time to get into the tent together, provide a designated sleeping space that is similar to where they might sleep inside your home (this is where you settle training comes in!). You may not always need to bring their big cushy dog bed along for your camping adventures, but especially for their first tent experience, we want to help them clearly understand that sleeping is the primary activity when inside the tent.

Teach your dog that people appearing suddenly is a cue to check in with you. Whether you are camping in a dispersed area or a busy campground, it’s important for your dog to calmly accept people and other dogs walking past your campsite. A barking dog can be an unpleasant surprise to anyone walking past, as well as yourself! With a little bit of proactive practice, you can help your dog be prepared for sudden visitors by teaching them that these are good experiences for them! Start by teaching your dog that when something happens in their environment, it is an opportunity to come and get a treat from you. Start this in an environment like the far end of a grocery store parking lot with your dog on-leash. When your dog sees someone walk into their field of view, give them a treat. Repeat this until your dog assumes that someone appearing suddenly is usually an opportunity to get something good from you! Then you can take this on the road and practice on hikes, at campsites, or any other environment you might find yourself in. Gradually build up the difficulty so that even if your dog is startled by a surprise hiker on an otherwise deserted backcountry campsite, they’re ready to reconnect with you quickly!

Ready to continue learning about camping with your dog? Click here for our Camping with Dogs Webinar! This webinar is taught by dog behavior and training experts who regularly camp with their dogs, and have coached many other teams to camping success. If you want additional support for you and your dog, we offer in-person Group Classes and Private Lessons in Fort Collins, Colorado, and virtual coaching right in the comfort of your home. 

Separation Anxiety

Separation Anxiety

By Benah Stiewing

Separation Anxiety is a brutal behavior to experience for both you and your dog. Separation anxiety refers to a group of behaviors a dog will exhibit when left alone, from panting and pacing to ripping holes in the walls. For some dogs, their stress is relatively mild and you may not even realize your dog has anxiety around you leaving. But for others, separation anxiety can make everyday practices extremely difficult, like grocery shopping and going to work. 

From the mildest case to the most severe, separation anxiety as a disorder has one underlying commonality: Panic. Your dog isn’t acting out of spite, they aren’t annoyed about your absence, and they aren't trying to punish you for going shopping without them. They are so panicked about being left alone that they can't control themself.

Imagine this scenario. You are driving through a green light, as casually as you like, minding your own business. Suddenly a car comes flying through the opposing red light, right at you. You slam on your brakes. The car swerves, misses you by a hair's breadth, and then proceeds to speed away. Sitting there, gasping, you notice your heart racing; your hands shake a little. Now ask yourself this: In the moment the car hurled toward you, could you have willed yourself to relax? Could you have ordered your heart not to pound? Of course not. You don’t have control over the panic that overtakes your body in a situation like that, nobody does. The brain floods the body with adrenaline to trigger its emergency response. 

If you have a dog with separation anxiety, this is what they go through each and every time they are left alone. However illogical, excessive and disconnected from the reality of the situation that response is. Like us, dogs form strong social bonds, which is why the typical symptoms displayed with separation anxiety are those a dog would use to avoid being separated from their family: vocalizing, pacing, scratching, and Houdini-type escape attempts. These symptoms can bring about numerous problems, like complaints from neighbors, costly bills for destroyed property and frightening phone calls about your dog being loose in the neighborhood.

Your dog can’t just “get a grip” on their separation anxiety, but they can get better. How? In time, through a type of training called desensitization, your dog will learn that absences need not be a reason to panic. Desensitization refers to the act of changing a learner’s emotional response to one stimulus by pairing it with the emotional response of a different stimulus. In order to do this, we need to break down the behavior of your dog being alone into much smaller steps. We call these steps the Pre-Departure Routine. We systematically change your dog’s emotional response to these behaviors and then slowly build them together to create the entire behavior chain of leaving your dog alone. This process takes lots of time and dedication, but most dogs are able to make a full recovery from their separation anxiety. 

While we’ve provided a light introduction into separation anxiety training, there is so much more to learn! If you have a dog who doesn’t have separation anxiety but you want to be proactive, consider watching Separation Anxiety Prevention Training Starts Now! This pre-recorded webinar follows our CEO, Amber, as she raises her puppy with separation anxiety prevention in mind. If you want additional support for you and your dog, consider working with a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT). Trainers with the CSAT credential are highly trained to support your dog recover from separation anxiety. This training generally occurs virtually, since there is no added benefit to in-person work when focusing on separation anxiety. Our top CSAT referrals are Beth Friedman with Canine Companion Consulting & Jackie Johnston with Believe in Your Dog.  If your dog is suffering from separation anxiety, we strongly recommend reaching out to one of these excellent professionals for private training. We don’t currently have a CSAT trainer on our training team, but if you’d like to meet with us first to get our perspective on your dog’s case before seeing a specialist, we’d be happy to support you in a virtual consultation - just email us at admin@summitdogtraining.com to set up! 

Summit Dog Training offers group dog training classes & private lessons in Fort Collins, Colorado, as well as online self-study courses & online private lessons for education on how to live the best life with your dog!  If you are looking for more training support, please don’t hesitate to contact us! We’d love to help you and your dog get ready for any adventure.

Cooperative Care

Cooperative Care

By Benah Stiewing

Just like us, there are certain activities your dog has to do even though they may be difficult, or sometimes painful. For humans, we may not enjoy going to the doctor but we can rationalize why it’s worth getting poked and prodded. For our dogs, going to the vet can be terribly confusing at best and traumatizing at worst. It’s not uncommon for your normally friendly and easy-going dog to develop fear or reactivity when they visit the veterinarian. As positive-reinforcement trainers, a trip to the vet can be especially destabilizing to our dogs who are used to feeling heard and advocated for. Enter, cooperative care! 

Originally started in zoos and animal parks as a way to care for and treat large, often dangerous animals, cooperative care is the method of training an animal to not only tolerate physical actions and manipulations, but to actively consent to such behaviors. This method is rooted in autonomy and the positive effects of choice. We teach our dog that they have full control over what happens to their physical body in a certain context. There are times, like an emergency medical scenario, where your dog may need to be fully restrained and sedated for a medical procedure and does not experience any autonomy, but this is entirely separate from the context of cooperative care training. You can use cooperative care training for:

• Blood draws

• Vaccines

• Physical inspections

• Nail trims

• Teeth brushing

• And more!

Sounds great, right? Let’s get started! First, you need to build your context of choice. You need to teach your dog how they can opt in and opt out of training by teaching your dog a stationary behavior! If you aren’t familiar with teaching that behavior, click here for an instructional video. Once you have trained your stationary behavior, we are going to use being on the mat as a way to opt-in to the training goal at hand. If your dog is on the mat, they are consenting to the behavior you are practicing. When they leave the mat, they are saying no. If at any point your dog leaves the mat during a training session, you must respect that choice and not encourage them to come back on. Remember that cooperative care is about autonomy, so it’s imperative that you honor your dog’s choices and allow them autonomy. 

After building an environment of choice, cooperative care breaks down a behavior (like nail trims) into many much smaller steps. Let’s explore nail trims as an example of how cooperative care works! Below we have broken down the act of trimming a dog’s nails. Please keep in mind that this is just an example and you may need to modify the steps/progression for your own dog. 

1. Hand moves towards dog’s head

2. Hand touches dog’s foot

3. Hand grasps dog’s foot

4. Hand grasps dog’s foot for 3 seconds

5. Hand grasps dog’s foot for 5 seconds

6. Hand grasps dog’s foot for 10 seconds

7. Go back to step 1, with the clippers present in the space (at a distance where your dog notices them but isn’t in a state of fear). 

1. Repeat steps 1-6 with the clippers in the space.

2. Continue repeating steps 1-6 at each stage of the clippers moving closer to you and your dog. Once the clippers are within reach of your body, move on to step 8.

8. While one hand is grasping foot, the other hand picks up clippers

9. Hand holding clippers moves dog’s foot

10. Clippers touch dog’s foot

11. Nail is placed in the clipper

12. Clipper is closed around the nail

13. This cycle continues for each toe. 

That’s a fairly complex set of behaviors, and we need to desensitize our dog to each step in that process. The general rule is 15-20 successful repetitions per step before moving on to the next. Remember, this is a general outline and you may need more or less steps depending on your dog’s overall comfortability with nail trims. 

While we’ve provided a deep dive into using cooperative care for nail trims, there are so many more possibilities for this training method, like baths and haircuts! If you want to start cooperative care with your dog but aren’t sure where to begin, consider enrolling in Cooperative Care for Better Veterinary & Grooming Visits! This 3-week virtual class is bursting with information, presented through recorded lectures, written instructions, and demonstration videos. If you want additional support for you and your dog, we offer in-person Private Lessons in Fort Collins, Colorado and Chatham, New York, and virtual coaching right in the comfort of your home.

Summit Dog Training offers group dog training classes & private lessons in Fort Collins, Colorado, as well as online self-study courses & online private lessons for education on how to live the best life with your dog!  If you are looking for more training support, please don’t hesitate to contact us! We’d love to help you and your dog get ready for any adventure.

Counter Surfing

Counter Surfing

By Benah Stiewing

Counter surfing is so much fun... for your dog! Dogs typically counter-surf for two simple reasons - it's interesting, which enriches their daily life, AND it often pays off with some high value rewards! However fun this behavior is for our dogs, it's typically not something we want them to practice in our homes. Not only is this hazardous for your food and other objects on your counter-tops, it can also be dangerous for your dog if they were to find & consume something unsafe. Below you will find enrichment, management, and training tips to prevent counter surfing and provide your dog with alternative behaviors that are safe and simple. 

Because dogs often choose counter-surfing as a fun activity when they are bored and don't have other, more positive outlets, we have to consider enrichment as a key part of our behavior modification plan for counter-surfing. When considering your dog's enrichment needs, you have to take into account your dog's age, breed, & preferred activity level. A dog with a high drive for hunting and working will be getting a lot of mental benefits from their counter-surfing routine, and we need to be ready to replace that with appropriate outlets instead!

Easy Enrichment Activities:

• Do training games or food puzzles for many of your dog's regular meals.

• Keep a freezer full of frozen Kongs & other stuffable toys for a regular mental exercise when your dog needs it!

• Teach your dog sniffing games on the ground, like find the treat or the toy.

• Add in some extra walks, runs, hikes, or other physical activities to your dog's weekly routine.

• Click here to view our recommended enrichment items & food puzzles!

Management is an essential piece of resolving counter-surfing behavior. If your dog is able to regularly practice getting up on the counters, and subsequently receives reinforcement (even in the form of a tiny little crumb of food), then they are likely going to continue to exhibit this very functional behavior. While we are working on replacing counter-surfing with better behaviors, we need to restrict our dogs' access to areas that have counters when we aren't around to supervise and redirect.

Even when we are around to supervise, sometimes our attention can be divided (i.e. cooking

dinner) and our counter-surfers can use that opportunity to sneak a tasty snack. Having a good management plan in place can help prevent that from happening! In practice, this could look like: 

• Use baby gates or exercise pens to keep your dog out of the kitchen when unsupervised.

• Keep food away in the pantry, cabinets, and/or refrigerator. 

• Avoid leaving food on the counter as much as possible. 

• When in the kitchen cooking, use tethering to keep your dog restricted to certain areas. 

• You can either tether your dog to your waist so you can supervise closely, or pick a nearby doorknob. 

The training game below is as simple as it sounds! We want to teach your dog that it’s more reinforcing to have all four feet on the floor. Through the enrichment and management techniques we discuss above, we’ve already made sure that your dog won’t ever be reinforcing for jumping on the counter. Now, we want them to learn what is reinforcing!

Four Paws on the Floor: 

• In your kitchen or other counter-surfing area, watch your dog and look for times when they have four paws on the floor. Mark and reward, then keep watching. Do they raise their nose up towards the counter surface, but keep their paws on the floor? Mark and reward! 

• If your dog struggles to even keep all four feet on the floor, you can ask your dog for a sit when they approach the counter. 

• Remember, we want to prevent the behavior, so ask them for a sit before they have begun to jump on the counter.

• You can add in mild distractions on the counter-top (think baby carrots or something else dog-safe) as your dog is ready!

Do you need extra support with your dog’s counter-surfing behavior? We’re here for you! If you want additional support for you and your dog, we offer in-person Group Classes and Private Lessons in Fort Collins, Colorado and Chatham, New York, and virtual coaching right in the comfort of your home. As you work through your dog’s counter-surfing, it’s vital to remember that your dog is simply being a dog and working to access what is reinforcing - the more we can understand this and pay our dogs well for desired behavior, the better we may serve our dogs.

Summit Dog Training offers group dog training classes & private lessons in Fort Collins, Colorado, as well as online self-study courses & online private lessons for education on how to live the best life with your dog!  If you are looking for more training support, please don’t hesitate to contact us! We’d love to help you and your dog get ready for any adventure.

Consent Petting

Consent Petting

By Benah Stiewing

There are few things better than cuddling up with your dog - simply petting a dog is scientifically proven to increase our oxytocin (a chemical that increases happiness) and decrease cortisol (a chemical that produces stress). However, it’s easy for us to forget that the fluffy, adorable dog in front of you also has needs and desires, and may prefer to be touched in certain ways at certain times, or not touched at all. Consent petting is the practice of reading your dog's body language to determine if, when, and how they want to receive physical affection. This practice is about promoting autonomy and choice in your dog, and can be extremely helpful for more shy or nervous dogs. When we give an animal the ability to choose something, rather than use force, we are showing the animal that we listen to them and will respect their needs.

As a general rule, if you touch your dog in a certain way and they move away from you, it’s safe to assume they didn’t want to be touched like that at that moment. However, just because your dog moves away once doesn’t mean they never want to be touched that way! You may love hugs from certain people at specific times, and other times want nothing of the sort. If your dog reliably moves away from you when you touch them in a certain way, you can assume that sort of touch is unwelcome, but if it only happens at certain times it’s possible they don’t like any touch under those circumstances. 

There are a few key forms of communication you can look for! These behaviors are often described as calming signals or cut-off signals, as they generally communicate a dog’s desire to pacify some form of perceived/felt stress or conflict. If you notice your dog practicing these behaviors during an interaction, consider pausing your action and giving your dog a moment to themself. These behaviors include:

• Lip licking: dog licks their lips or flick their tongue out from their mouth.

• Yawn: dog yawns, sometimes with their lips more curled back.

• Turning away: dog turns their head away from the person/dog that is making them nervous.

• Raised paw: dog slightly raises a front paw.

• Stiff body: dog’s muscles tense and movement slows.

• Tail raised: dog’s tail goes half-mast or slightly higher, maybe with a slow wag.

• Shake off: dog shakes off entire body.

Now that you’re familiar with some basic communication signals, it’s time to get started with consent petting! Obviously, your dog cannot say “Yes” or “No,” but they can use their proximity to a stimulus to let us know how they’re feeling. 

• When your dog places themself within an arm's distance from you, use your hand to scratch their neck, under their chin or behind their ears.

• It's always better to go under, than over! Reaching over your dog's head can be uncomfortable for them.

• Scratch them 2-3 times, and then stop and move your hand back onto your lap.

• If they stay where they are or move away from your hand, don't pet again.

• If they lean in, nudge you, or paw towards your hand, repeat the above steps for another few scratches.

• Repeat!

• As you get to know your new dog, you can learn if they like to be touched, how they like to be touched, and how they cmmunicate wanting or not wanting physical affection.

• In general, if a dog is moving away from you, that's a good indication to stop, and if a dog is moving towards you, that's a good indication to keep going.

Want to dive deeper into canine body language and communication? Consider watching our webinar, Learning Your Dog’s Body Language! This webinar provides a detailed, holistic approach to understanding your canine best friend.

Summit Dog Training offers group dog training classes & private lessons in Fort Collins, Colorado, as well as online self-study courses & online private lessons for education on how to live the best life with your dog!  If you are looking for more training support, please don’t hesitate to contact us! We’d love to help you and your dog get ready for any adventure.

Inter-Household Conflict

Inter-Household Dog Conflict

By Benah Stiewing

Just like people, not all dogs get along! Some people are your best friends, other people are your acquaintances, and some people you just don’t like - and that’s okay! Unfortunately, we can’t always predict which dogs are going to get along great and which ones won’t. Whether you’re visiting friends or have recently added a new dog to your family, experiencing conflict between dogs within a household is challenging and often exhausting. Worrying about preventing or breaking up a fight can leave you tense and constantly on alert. In this post, we’re going to talk about handling inter-household dog conflict, but if you’d like to learn more about preventing inter-household conflict, check out this podcast episode from Pawsitively Dog-Powered! Please note: if there are dogs in your household regularly experiencing conflict that escalates into lunging, snapping, or biting, we strongly recommend seeking professional help from a certified trainer. 

In order to prevent conflict escalation, it’s important that you’re able to recognize the early warning signals your dog gives. These communication methods are called calming signals, or sometimes called cut-off signals because they embody the dog’s desire to de-escalate. The vast majority of dogs are not inherently aggressive and do not want to engage in violent behavior, so will do their best to diffuse a situation before it escalates. Below is a list of some common calming signs. When studying dog communication, it’s important to understand that just like us, dogs are nuanced and contextual. Your dog yawning doesn’t always mean they are stressed - they could also be tired! It’s important to look at the whole body and make an assessment of your dog’s emotional state based on the big picture. 

Calming Signs:

• Lip licking: dog licks their lips or flick their tongue out from their mouth.

• Yawn: dog yawns, sometimes with their lips more curled back.

• Turning away: dog turns their head away from the person/dog that is making them nervous.

• Raised paw: dog slightly raises a front paw.

• Stiff body: dog’s muscles tense and movement slows.

• Tail raised: dog’s tail goes half-mast or slightly higher, maybe with a slow wag.

• Shake off: dog shakes off entire body.

Pay attention to your dog’s body language over the next few days, and start to notice what calming signals they display. Once we understand how to read when our dog is becoming agitated, it’s easier to intervene earlier before behavior escalates. If you notice your dog yawning and lip licking when another dog comes close, ask your dog for a known behavior or say their name to help them create distance from the other dog. Reinforce your dog if they’re able to walk away and perform the behavior you asked for. We want your dog to know that they can create the distance they need to feel comfortable, and that we are their advocate and will help them create that distance when it’s needed. You want your dog to know that you hear, see, and will respond to their early warning signals that they’re feeling uncomfortable. If you’d like to learn more about calming signals, click here to watch a brief documentary from celebrated behaviorist, Turid Rugaas!

Management:

When handling inter-household dog conflict, we always want to focus on quality or quantity when it comes to time spent together. When you have multiple dogs, it’s quite normal for those dogs to spend 24/7 together. They eat together, exercise together, sleep together. Just like people, your dog is bound to get sick of spending that much time with someone! It’s critical that you create time and space for your dogs to do activities alone, like solo walks or solo cuddle time (if cuddling is something they enjoy). Have a dedicated activity that you all do together, like going for a walk with both dogs, or playing with toys out in the yard. When your dogs are spending time together, remember to look for signs of stress (as described above) and immediately end the experience if they start to arise. We want the stressed dog to know that those early warning signs will be noticed and responded to, so they don’t need to escalate to aggressive behavior to create the space they need. It’s critical that your dog trusts you to be their advocate, so they don’t have to.

We want to make sure your dogs always have the space to feel comfortable and secure, whether they’re with other dogs or alone. To ensure this, we want to bring in management! We can use objects like ex-pens, baby gates, crates, leashes, and muzzles to create a comfortable environment. We can use ex-pens, crates, and baby gates to provide separation and allow for each dog to have time apart. In the photos below, you’ll see one such separation! Cosmo is very selective when it comes to other dogs, so this was his set-up while visiting some friends who had dogs of their own. He has his crate, which is a safe and familiar space for him, surrounded by an ex-pen covered with a blanket. This way, Cosmo has three barriers of protection if he starts to feel unsafe - the blanket blocking his view, the ex-pen, and his crate. Keep in mind that this set-up is specific to Cosmo’s needs. For other dogs, we might have removed the chair and used a taller ex-pen.Your set-up is going to be specific to your dogs and what they need to feel comfortable. 

Training Support for Inter-Household Dog Conflict:

Supporting you and your dogs is our passion! We understand how challenging conflict in your home can be, and we are here to help. Private lessons are an excellent way to work on the relationship between your dogs, with an individualized training program created for you and your specific situation. Private training is available in-person in Fort Collins, CO, Hudson, NY, and everywhere virtually!  If private lessons aren’t an option for you on this set of behavior challenges, we highly recommend this online course by our colleague Katie at Wise Mind Canine, who specializes in multi-dog households!

Summit Dog Training offers group dog training classes & private lessons in Fort Collins, Colorado, as well as online self-study courses & online private lessons for education on how to live the best life with your dog!  If you are looking for more training support, please don’t hesitate to contact us! We’d love to help you and your dog get ready for any adventure.

Resilience Rainbow Case Study - Osha

Resilience Rainbow Case Study - Osha

By Benah Stiewing

The Resilience Rainbow is a framework developed by Bobbie Bhambree and Dr. Kathy Murphy. Resilience is an animal’s ability to recover after experiencing a stressful event. Bhambree and Dr. Murphy created a system to build a dog’s overall resilience and increase their ability to reach their baseline. To learn more about the Resilience Rainbow, you can click here. In this piece, I am going to cover the application of this concept with one of my dogs, Osha the 2 year-old Border Collie.

Osha is a stable, friendly-neutral, and confident young dog. She was raised with careful attention to neutrality around other dogs because she lives with another Border Collie who is fearful of other dogs. In January 2023, Osha was attacked by another dog. I use the word “attacked” lightly, as there were no injuries and it was a friend’s dog who rushed Osha. We frequently go on group walks with friends and their dogs, and this was one such walk. A new friend was joining us that day, and her dog rushed Osha as soon as she noticed her. Osha started showing appeasement signals (ears back, low tucked tail wag, rolling over to expose her belly) which only escalated (growl deepened, flipped Osha onto her back, snarling with lips curled back into Osha’s neck) the other dog’s behavior. The entire interaction lasted about 8-10 seconds before they were separated. After they were separated, Osha was clearly extremely stressed. After that day, we went on a 2-week break from engaging with any other dogs as she recovered. During and after this initial decompression period, Osha did not show any signs of increased stress around other dogs. She did not develop any reactivity, and continued to practice lovely skills around unfamiliar dogs we encountered out in the world. 

However, I had a gut feeling that something was off about Osha. As the weeks and months passed, I could not put my finger on it. By April, I finally had a realization that Osha no longer engaged in play with other dogs. Before the event, she was a moderately playful dog and would engage her dog friends in appropriate play both inside and outside of the home. I began to realize that while she was still neutral and appropriate with other dogs, there seemed to be a lack of joy and excitement. These are anthropomorphizing words, but there is no better way to describe it. She simply didn’t enjoy her interactions with other dogs anymore. 

It’s important to state that this is not an odd or abnormal behavior for a mature Border Collie to develop. It’s very normal for a mature Border Collie to become less playful with other dogs, and interested in other activities. I wondered whether the event had simply coincided with a natural development, but I had this sneaking suspicion that it had not. I spoke to my friends who are also professional dog trainers and behavior consultants, and shared my thoughts. We discussed putting Osha on behavioral medication to explore whether the lack of play was natural or not. If a medication helped ease enough anxiety, would she engage in play again, or still be more interested in other pursuits? I ultimately did not use medication with Osha, simply because she started improving before it happened, but it’s definitely something I would have brought on board with the support of our veterinarian.

While I was considering these options, I started intentionally building Osha’s resilience. I had always been extremely particular about the dogs I allowed to interact with Osha, but I began being even more selective. I only had her around other completely neutral dogs who would not invite her to play or engage at all, beyond a friendly sniff. I didn’t want her to practice the behavior of turning down invitations to play, so I exclusively had her around dogs who wouldn’t ask. If another dog was present, my other Border Collie was always away in his crate or left at home. While he can safely co-exist around most dogs, it’s not something he enjoys and I didn’t want her to observe any stress around other dogs, even the most mild. While I make it a regular practice to play with my dogs everyday, I started incorporating new behaviors into our play routine together. Instead of mostly tugging, we would also play chase where Osha would run after me and catch me, and hide and seek where Osha would have to come find me. After our play sessions, we would lie on the ground together while I stroked her legs and feet, taking deep breaths. 

After just a few weeks of implementing these changes, Osha engaged a Rhodesian Ridgeback friend in play. It lasted only about 15 seconds, but it was the first time I’d seen her play with another dog in months. A week later, she engaged a Border Collie friend in play, and it lasted a few minutes this time. Within weeks, she was back to her normal self, playing and having a ball with her dog friends. I was thrilled to see her happy around other dogs again. I can’t say for sure what exactly caused this shift in Osha. Perhaps my attempts to increase her security and stability around other dogs helped her feel safe enough to invite play, or maybe this was a natural progression she would have made anyway. However, I do believe that my integration of the Resilience Rainbow framework helped restore Osha’s trust in me to be her advocate and protector, and feel relaxed enough to once again let loose around other dogs. 

I am thrilled that Osha has regained her confidence around other dogs, and is once again able to engage in play and enjoy social interactions. However, I am still extremely careful about her interactions with other dogs, and am cognisant that one brief moment of fear and/or conflict could really set her back. Just like human variances in resilience, some dogs can experience an event like the one described above and shake it off (literally and figuratively!), while dogs like Osha may be heavily impacted by a stressful event. Even though Osha’s symptoms of anxiety have shifted, I still take the same precautions to ensure she feels confident, secure, and relaxed around other dogs. I carefully select her canine friends, and structure the experiences to be what she needs to feel comfortable. Knowing that the steps I’ve taken to relieve Osha’s anxiety have been effective, I will continue to do them for the rest of Osha’s life so that - to the best of my ability - I can preserve her confidence and continue to build resiliency. 

Summit Dog Training offers group dog training classes & private lessons in Fort Collins, Colorado, as well as online self-study courses & online private lessons for education on how to live the best life with your dog!  If you are looking for more training support, please don’t hesitate to contact us! We’d love to help you and your dog get ready for any adventure.

Adolescent & Teenager Dogs

Life With Your Teenager Dog

By Benah Stiewing

Just like in humans, canine adolescence can be a challenging time! Canine adolescence generally starts between 6 months and 12 months and ends between 18 and 24 months, but can fall outside of that period. During adolescence, a part of your dog’s brain called the hypothalamus begins to release a hormone called gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). Once GnRH is released in large enough quantities, it begins to stimulate the development of your dog’s reproductive organs, pumping out estrogen and testosterone. While critical to your dog’s healthy development, the sheer magnitude of these hormonal changes can cause some difficult behavioral shifts as well! Your dog’s change in behavior may shock or worry you, so it’s important to prepare ourselves and be ready to support our dog during this transition.

First, let’s discuss how we can manage our dog’s environment to help them feel comfortable and relaxed during their adolescence! It’s normal for your dog to have strong emotions about activities or actions that they previously may not have cared much about. For example, if you have family or friends that visit with their dogs, your adolescent may need more breaks and time away to decompress. Maybe your dog has had an excellent recall, even in high-distraction environments, but  now it’s less reliable. You and your dog can stay safe by keeping them on a harness and long-line. Baby gates, ex-pens, leashes, and your dog’s crate will really help you both through this developmental period.

Your dog may suddenly become more nervous around unfamiliar people and dogs. Never force an interaction if your dog is worried, this will only reinforce their anxiety. Instead, watch the unfamiliar people and dogs from a distance to  allow your teenager to collect information with a feeling of security. We do want to note that while behavior change is normal during this period, extreme behavior changes in your dog should be evaluated by a veterinarian and canine behaviorist. If your dog was solidly house-trained and then begins eliminating throughout your home, definitely have your dog evaluated by their veterinarian. If your dog went from sweet and friendly with strangers to suddenly biting your neighbor, seek professional support.

If you haven’t already, adolescence is the perfect time to start Look At That with your dog! Look At That, or LAT, is a pattern game developed by Leslie McDevitt from her Control Unleashed Program. LAT aims to neutralize the trigger (the thing that your dog has strong emotions about, like another dog or a scary thing) by reinforcing your dog for acknowledging the trigger. This exercise occurs in five steps, outlined below:

1. Your dog looks at the trigger.

2. While your dog is looking at the trigger, you say your marker word, such as “Yes!” or “Good!”

1. Your marker word is the sound you make (either verbally or with a clicker) when your dog is about to receive food. Because your dog experiences food as reinforcing, a behavior that is marked and rewarded will be repeated. You want to be consistent with your marker word because we want the word to have a strong positive association for your dog, or else they would have no reason to turn their attention back to you after looking at the trigger.

3. Hearing their marker word, your dog redirects their attention to you.

1. If your dog is unable to redirect their attention back to you, put food directly in front of their nose and try to guide their attention back to you. If you have to do this multiple times, you are too close to the trigger - create more distance and try again.

4. You reward your dog.

5. Repeat this sequence as many times as your dog will acknowledge the trigger, either by looking fully at it, or simply twitching an ear towards it.

Surviving your dog’s adolescence is all about meeting your dog where they are at. The rush of hormones they are experiencing can make them feel a little insecure and nervous, so the best we can do is recognize that and make life as simple and fulfilling for them as possible. Increase your time spent doing decompression activities together, like long, slow walks in nature where your dog is free to sniff and explore to their heart’s content. Instead of feeding meals in a bowl, switch to feeding in puzzle toys, like Kongs and Topls. Overall, we want your adolescent dog to practice relaxation over high-arousal activities, like fetch or going to the dog park. While these activities aren’t bad, we want to be careful to balance them out with decompressing activities where your dog is able to truly relax and you can take some deep breaths together. 

If you’re nervous about your puppy’s upcoming adolescence or currently in the throes of teenhood, we now offer Smells Like Teen Spirit! This is a 6-week virtual class that provides guidance, insight, and support for your dog to not just survive, but thrive during adolescence. The class is bursting with information, presented through recorded lectures, written instructions, and demonstration videos. 

If you want additional support for you and your dog, we offer in-person Private Lessons in Fort Collins, Colorado and Chatham, New York, and virtual coaching right in the comfort of your home. As you experience your dog’s adolescence, it’s critical to remember that your dog isn’t being bad, they are having a bad time. The more we can understand this and meet them where they’re at, the stronger your relationship will be. 

Summit Dog Training offers group dog training classes & private lessons in Fort Collins, Colorado, as well as online self-study courses & online private lessons for education on how to live the best life with your dog!  If you are looking for more training support, please don’t hesitate to contact us! We’d love to help you and your dog get ready for any adventure.