Dog Behavior Blog

Dogs Do Not Like To Be Left Outside

The other evening some neighbors came over for dinner. They are great dog people. They have rescue dogs, and do all the right things in taking care of the dogs’ ailments and infirmities.

That evening, as they sometimes do when they are not home, they left their dogs outside in a large run next to their house.

While we were having dinner, we could hear the dogs barking non-stop. My neighbors were surprised. They thought that the dogs would enjoy being outside.  The weather was warm and balmy, the stars were out in glorious magnificence, and a gentle breeze blew whiffs of tangy vegetation. What’s there for a dog not to like?

Dogs barking when left outside is a common problem. People often make judgments about what they think a dog would like, and assume that a dog would like to be outdoors while they are gone. However, dogs are social animals, and when one of their pack is missing, they bark as a way of expressing their alarm and a way of reuniting the pack. If the dogs’ people had been sitting outside on their porch next to the run, the dogs would not have been barking. But the people were missing, and so the dogs felt the need to bark as a way of expressing their agitation.

The same situation applies when people put their dog outside at night, and the dog barks or howls non-stop until morning. The dog feels separated from his pack, and barks in alarm trying to get his people back. Besides, the night is often scary with strange noises and smells, and the dog may get frightened without the support of his pack members.

In both cases, the solution is simple: Leave the dogs inside the house. When the dogs’ people are gone, the dogs might still bark in alarm, but at least they have all of their familiar smells, food, and sleeping places where they can go to sleep.  Sometimes leaving a radio or TV on will help pacify the dogs and help reassure them.

Where there is the potential for dogs to be destructive when left alone in the house, crate training could be the answer. A dog left inside a crate could feel secure and go to sleep as long as the dog has been familiarized to the crate through prior training, and the crate is safe for dogs in its construction.  This capitalizes on the dog’s behavioral response to sleeping inside a den.

In dealing with dog behavior problems, the important thing is to think like a dog.

--Con Slobodchikoff

Dog Saves Man From Mountain Lion

A friend told me an amazing story. She lives in a rural area where there are relatively few houses, surrounded by woods.

Not too long ago, she, her husband, and their dog were doing their usual morning walk in the woods. Just as they were about to go home, their black Rottweiler/Lab mix dog ran off. They called and called, but the dog was nowhere to be found.

They went home, thinking that the dog would be waiting for them by their front door. But the dog was not there. Since the dog had tags with their phone number, they hoped that someone would find the dog and would soon call.

Not too much later in the morning, their phone rang. The caller had found their dog and asked them to come.

When they came for the dog, the caller had a story to tell.

He was out alone, walking in the woods about four miles away from where my friend was walking with her dog.  He stopped near a pine tree and was startled to see a mountain lion on one of the lower branches, crouched and ready to pounce.

Suddenly, a large black dog ran up, positioned himself between the man and the tree, and began barking at the mountain lion. Then the dog started to herd the man toward his truck, always keeping himself between the mountain lion and the man.

When they got to the truck, the dog jumped in and settled down into the passenger seat. The man drove back to his house and called my friend and her husband to come and get their large black, Rottweiler/Lab dog.

But the story does not end there. The man explained that he was a Native American shaman, and had had a dream several nights before that he was attacked by a mountain lion and was saved by a large black dog.  He kept thanking the dog for saving him.

In terms of time, the dog would have had to have run the entire distance in a straight line to reach the man and the mountain lion when he did.

And having herded the man back to his truck, the dog was quite happy to be taken home.

Was it just coincidence? Or was it something else?

--Con Slobodchikoff

Cutting the Nails Of An Unwilling Dog

Perhaps one of the most dreaded pet care tasks of all is cutting a dog’s nails. Dogs tend to be afraid and many struggle madly as a means of avoidance, people put it off because it is so aversive with the result that success becomes even harder to achieve, and sometimes a small but painful injury actually does occur. Gee, I can’t imagine why there is any dread involved!

After I got my PhD, I spent almost a year working as a dog groomer in order to gain dog skills. As a result, I have cut the nails of dogs who range from the most docile to the most devilish, wiggly, and even aggressive dogs. No matter what their individual temperaments and reactions to nail clipping, they needed to go home with properly trimmed nails, so I know a few tricks about getting the job done.

First of all, let me say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a professional such as a groomer, veterinary technician, or a veterinarian cut your dog’s nails. Of course, it is an expense, not to mention a hassle, to take your dog to have this procedure done, but if it means the nails get trimmed properly, it may be worth it. As a behaviorist, I focus a lot on the relationship between people and dogs, and all that good work building up a trusting relationship can be ruined if a dog is truly frightened of you when you cut her nails. It’s far better to have those negative feelings associated with a groomer or somebody at the vet’s office than with you.

One of the easiest ways to cut a dog’s nails is to give her something to keep her occupied while you work. A Kong or other hollow toy stuffed with something that is beyond delicious such as steak, hamburger, peanut butter, turkey, or cream cheese can often be enough to get your dog to relax and ignore what you are doing. A real bone, a chew toy, or any extra special treat may also do the trick. Let her have it long enough for her to get really involved with it before you even bring out your clippers. Make sure that she gets this same kind of special treat at other times so that she doesn’t get anxious and think, “Uh-oh, here come the clippers!” whenever the Kong appears.

Another trick to getting nails clipped without a tantrum or a wrestling match is to clip just one nail, and then immediately take your dog out on a walk. When I say, “immediately,” I mean that you cut the one nail, and the very next second you grab the leash, and say, “Let’s go for a walk.” By doing this once a day before a walk, you can cut all of your dog’s nails in about three weeks, and then start over again. After doing the one nail then go for a walk sequence for several weeks, many dogs will start to be happy when they see the nail clippers because they have learned to associate having a nail clipped with the happy event that always follows it—going for a walk. Once your dog is happy about having her nails clipped, you can do more than one at a time, working up to a whole foot or two’s worth of nails at a time until finally, you can do all her nails at once before going on a walk.

In some cases, I used a physical hold to be able to cut a dog’s nails. It works best with two people. If one person can get your dog on her side, kneel by her back, then lean over her whole body and hold onto the two legs that are on the floor side, she will not be able to move as easily as with most other holds. Then, the second person can cut her nails. True, most dogs will not like this, but if it allows you to keep her still long enough to cut her nails with a minimum of fuss, it may actually be less stressful for her (and for you!) than a prolonged struggle would be. This type of hold is best for dogs who struggle but do not try to use their mouths to stop you from cutting her nails. If your dog behaves aggressively, trying to bite you when you try to cut her nails, this hold is not a good idea.

If your dog is aggressive in the context of having her nails cut, first of all, please know that this is very VERY common—take it from a former groomer. If this is the only situation that brings out any aggressive behavior in your dog, do be wary, but consider yourself lucky all the same. If your dog bites or tries to bite when you cut her nails, it is perfectly acceptable to use a muzzle on your dog. I recommend getting her used to the muzzle rather than just slapping it on her, but then, put the muzzle on, cut her nails, and be done with it. I am of the opinion that it is more humane to use a muzzle and get her nails trimmed quickly than to fight and struggle over it for a long time, and then probably still not be able to do as good a job with the nails themselves.

Good luck! I hope at least one of these techniques helps you and your dog accomplish this task faster, more easily, and with less angst!

--Karen London

Stimulating A Dog's Mind

Note from Con Slobodchikoff: This is a guest post by Randall Johnson, who has contributed a number of other guest posts to the Dog Behavior Blog, as well as many comments on different posts. This post refers to the guest post by Dr. Alexandra Horowitz on October 26, 2008.

Once again, DBB is honored to hear from another leading researcher in dog cognition. In her doctoral dissertation, Alexandra Horowitz presented a convincing argument in favor of a rudimentary, or intermediate Theory of Mind and, by developing scales of attention and levels of communication (intentional and unintentional), she provided a framework for additional research into this fascinating concept, including an examination of whether this mental skill applies to other situations besides social play. Should other DBB readers be interested in reading more about it, a copy of the dissertation can be accessed through this site: http://crl.ucsd.edu/~ahorowit/dogresearch.html

Getting back to her guest post, Dr. Horowitz refers to a long-standing claim that “dogs have the intelligence of a three-year-old child”. Although she says she hasn’t seen evidence of this yet, Dr. Adam Miklósi, in his DBB guest post of October 20th, indicated that he and his team have found cognitive and emotional overlaps between dogs and human infants ranging from 1-1/2 to 2 years of age, which is still significant considering the phylogenetic distance that separates humans and canines.

Granted, making such comparisons is risky, but comparing other species to our own comes very naturally, doesn’t it? Some of us may go a little overboard and exaggerate, but when scientists take a closer look at these exaggerations, they often find a kernel of truth underneath it all. As for Dr. Horowitz’s closing comments that we don’t treat our canine companions as “theorists of mind”, well, there is a disturbing ring of truth to what she said. Most dog caretakers are employed outside of their homes and leave their dogs alone while they’re at work and, yes, we often ignore them in favor of other people or work demands. Although I work out of my ome and can give my dogs some attention throughout the day, I know I could do a better job of giving them more mental stimulation, or “advancing their intellect”.