Dog Behavior Blog

Becoming a Canine Pied Piper: How to have animal magnetism with dogs

We all know people who have a magical way with dogs. Dogs flock to them, choose them out of a crowd, and settle at their feet for love and attention at social gatherings. How do these “Pied Pipers” do it?  What do they know that most people don’t? Is there something about their animal magnetism that anybody can learn to emulate?

As a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist specializing in aggression and other serious canine behavioral issues, I am regularly in close contact with dogs who, to put it mildly, don’t make friends easily. I have to do everything right to keep myself and my clients safe around very challenging dogs. I have to get dogs to warm up to me enough to be able to gain their trust, help them relax, and be able to work with them. In short, I have to be a Canine Pied Piper. At work, this is a requirement for doing my job effectively. Outside of work, it is strictly recreational, but I still want to be the one dogs are drawn to, so I do the same things in social settings that I do at work. The things I do are effective whether a dog has serious behavioral problems, or is just like Lassie.

There are behaviors that anyone can adopt to become the type of person dogs are drawn to. The challenge in assuming these behaviors is that they are far from what comes naturally to most people. Part of being a Canine Pied Piper is being comfortable behaving a little less like typical people would and a little more like dogs do. There are three basic components to achieving canine animal magnetism, and the true Pied Piper does them all.

First, Pied Pipers present themselves properly to make a good impression and avoid appearing intimidating. Basically, this means dressing without accessories, as many dogs get spooked by anything that changes your basic shape. Going without hats, backpacks, big shoulder pads, or sunglasses and not holding anything (books, a clipboard, grocery bags, babies, or bulky objects of any kind) make people more likeable and appealing to dogs.

Second, Pied Pipers greet dogs appropriately. When people are greeting each other, they tend to face forward, approach directly, lean towards the other person, make eye contact while extending a hand to shake, and bellow out a hearty hello. This behavior is polite in human society, but rude and threatening in canine society. To endear themselves to dogs, a Pied Piper greets dogs the way they greet each other. They turn slightly to the side, lean ever so slightly away from the dog, and get low by squatting if it is safe to do so. They don’t stare, they don’t reach out towards the dog or touch the dog, they speak softly, and they let the dog approach them.

Third, Pied Pipers use the principles of classical conditioning to get dogs to associate them with feeling good so that the dogs want to be around them.  Before dogs have a chance to experience any negative emotions in their presence, Pied Pipers make sure the dogs feel good. Whatever they love most works best. For most dogs, a little slice of heaven comes in the form of really yummy treats such as steak, chicken or freeze-dried liver (no dry biscuits are going to do the trick), but some dogs prefer balls or squeaky toys, and only for the occasional dog will petting be most effective.

By presenting oneself properly, greeting dogs politely, and conditioning dogs to feel good, anyone can be a Canine Pied Piper and have that magic way with dogs.

--Karen B. London

Dog Behavior Course

Have you every wondered why your dog does what she does? Why your dog can learn certain things, but can't learn others? What dog body language is all about? What kinds of foods are good for your dog, and what kinds aren't? Why some dogs are aggressive? What breeds are good with kids, and which ones aren't? What are some good, solid principles of animal behavior that apply to your dog?

You could sign up for an animal behavior course at a college or university, but then you would have to come to class several times a week, and also take the prerequisite courses, such as beginning biology. And, chances are, you would not find out very much specific information about dogs.

Now, you will soon have the opportunity to take an online course in dog behavior. This course has been developed by Con Slobodchikoff, Ph.D. and Karen London, Ph.D. to teach you about how and why dogs do what they do. Slobodchikoff has been teaching animal behavior for some 30 years, and is President and CEO of Animal Communications, Ltd., a company that does dog training and helps people solve behavioral problems with their pets. London has been solving behavioral problems for a number of years, has written or co-written books on dog behavior, and is a popular speaker on the subject.

This course is coming online soon. Sign up in the sign-up box on the right side of this blog, so that you won't miss out on upcoming announcements about when the course goes live on the web. Learn about dog behavior from the experts.

--Con Slobodchikoff

Teaching Dogs Not to Bark at Passersby

It is common for dogs to bark out the window at everyone who goes by, and most dogs do not stop until the passersby are well out of sight. No amount of yelling, “Quiet!” ever seems to get dogs to stop barking, and can make some dogs even more enthusiastic in their loud behavior. This behavior is not confined to dogs who react to people and dogs when they meet, but can occur with dogs who tend to be sweet and friendly when they are in social situations. Most people with a dog who behaves this way when anyone goes by just want to know why their dog is carrying on like this and how to get their dog to pipe down.

Your dog may be barking out of the window for one or more of the following reasons. First, she might be barking out of frustration over not being able to greet the people parading in front of her. Dogs, like people, are not at their best when frustrated. Second, she may have learned that when she barks, the people go away, so that barking is an effective way for her to get things to return to normal. Third, she may be alerting the rest of the family to an intruder on or near the property. No matter what the reason she has for barking, yelling is unlikely to help. When you yell, “Quiet!” it sounds to your dog as though you are barking, too. Barking is a contagious behavior, so it’s no wonder that when you join the frenzy, she continues to contribute to it.

There are a couple of ways to handle this problem. One possibility is to teach your dog that when someone walks by your house, she should follow you away from the window. To teach her to follow you, be ready with a toy such as a hollow rubber Kong® stuffed with really great smelly treats. As soon as your dog notices the person walking by, put the stuffed toy right by your dog’s nose, say, “this way” and lure her to a place where she can no longer see out the window. Then, give her the stuffed toy so that she is reinforced for coming away from the window and she has something to keep her occupied for a while. Keep in mind the motto “The treat is mightier than the voice,” and remember to get your dog’s attention via her nose rather than her ears. The treats have to be very high quality—skip the dry bones and kibble and head straight for the steak, chicken, cheese or liver.

Over time and after many repetitions, start saying “this way” even before you put the Kong® by her nose to lure her away. With practice, you should be able to say “this way” and have her come away from the window to get her Kong® without having to lure her. Once your dog makes the connection between passersby and getting a stuffed Kong® from you, she may see someone through the window and come running to find you even without your asking her to go “this way.” If she does this, be sure to give her a stuffed Kong® to let her know that she did the right thing. Reward yourself, too, because you have successfully taught your dog a new and better response to seeing someone go by—coming to you rather than barking. Eventually, you can phase out the Kong® by using it only sometimes, rather than every time she avoids barking out the window.

In the meantime, a quick fix is to use prevention to avoid the problem. Blocking the view your dog has of passersby will go a long way towards making your life at home more peaceful. Whether you choose to close the curtains or block the windows with poster board, some ways to block the view are easy and inexpensive. It may not seem like a very satisfying answer, but it will keep your dog from strengthening her habit of barking at anyone walking by. Even if avoiding the problem is not a permanent solution to the problem, prevention itself is a very powerful training tool that’s worth using consistently.

--Karen B. London

Just Say No To Your Dog

In the training classes that I have taught, I have found that a number of people are reluctant to say “No” to their dog. In my classes, I stress positive reinforcement and trying to make training fun for both dogs and people. Some people see that as meaning that they should always let their dogs do whatever they want, and then reinforce only the desired behaviors.  The hope is that eventually the dog will only do the desired behaviors.

However, some behaviors are self-reinforcing (the behavior is its own reward), and dogs might not ever learn that some actions are off-limits as far as people are concerned.

So I suggest looking to the behavior of dogs for a solution of how to set limits. When a dog doesn’t want another dog to do something, the first thing she does is growl, using a low-pitched tone of voice.  The other dog immediately understands that he is transgressing a limit, and unless he wants to push things and escalate the encounter, he should stop what he is doing.

We can do the same thing with dogs, using natural dog behavior. If a dog is doing something that we don’t want her to do, we can say “No” in a low-pitched tone of voice. Actually, I prefer saying “Naaaaaah” in a low-pitched tone of voice, because that sounds more like a growl, rather than saying a sharp and short “No.”  I find that men, with their lower-pitched voices, have an easier time saying this than women, who tend to have higher-pitched voices. Conversely, women have an easier time mimicking the higher-pitched sounds that dog moms use to praise their pups, by saying “Good Dog!” in a high-pitched tone of voice. 

The important point is to make the “Naaaaaah” sound in as low a pitch and as loudly as possible. This usually has the effect of pulling the dog up short from whatever she was doing, and once she stops, she can then be rewarded with either a high-pitched “Good dog!”, or a clicker, or a food treat.

Using the concept of “No” sets up a system where the dog learns about boundaries. Let me add that under no circumstances do I advocate yelling at the dog, hitting the dog, or otherwise abusing her. A simple application of natural dog behavior is more than enough to train a dog to be a well-behaved citizen at home or on the street.

--Con Slobodchikoff