Ask the Doctor
Behavior Advice

• What Can We Do About Barking?

• How to Change Your Dog's Behavior: Some General Principles

• Bringing an Additional Dog into your Household

• Housesoiling: What to Do About It

• How to Get Along with Your New Dog

• Separation Anxiety

• Dealing with Fear of Thunderstorms and Other Loud Noises

• Resource Guarding in Dogs: It's Not Dominance

What Can We Do About Barking?

Everyone who has had a dog knows that barking can be anything from a minor annoyance to a major neighborhood problem. Barking is a difficult behavior to deal with for a number of reasons. First, barking is a natural behavior in dogs. Dogs bark to warn of intruders in the pack's territory. Second, dogs define "intruders" much more liberally than most people do, resulting in barking at the mail delivery person, visitors coming to the house, dogs walking by on the sidewalk, squirrels in the trees, and who knows what else. Third, some of the common practices we use to reduce barking in dogs such as yelling at the dog don't usually work very well and may actually increase the behavior.

An additional reason that barking is difficult to manage is that it is a complex behavior. Some behaviors are predominantly set off by stimuli that precede them. For example, if you accidently touch your finger to the hot stove, your hand with withdraw rapidly. You don't have to think about it - it just happens. Barking is like this to some extent. If an unfamiliar person or dog enters your yard, your dog will become excited and bark. Some dogs do this more than others, but they don't really need to think about it - it just happens.

On the other hand, some behaviors are predominantly affected by their consequences. For example, if you put your quarter into the slot machine and it pays off with $10, you will probably put more money into the machine. If the behavior produces a positive consequence, you do it again. Barking is like this too. If every time your dog barked, you gave him or her a treat, the dog would bark more often.

So - barking is both an elicited behavior and a behavior that is affected by its consequences. It has respondent and operant components (to sneak in a couple of technical terms). This is not unusual. Lots of behaviors are like this. But it does make them a bit difficult to manage. We need to figure out why the dog is barking. This will help us decide what to do. Remember that dogs bark for lots of reasons - there will usually be more than one.

Operant Barking

Dogs sometimes bark because they have been rewarded for doing so. It would be an unusual person who enjoyed dog barking so much that he/she gave the dog treats for barking. But what do we usually do? The dog barks, we yell "quiet" or "shut up" or worse. What we actually did was give the dog attention for barking - negative attention but nevertheless attention. The dog will probably bark more, not less. What other possibilities are there?

We could simply ignore the barking behavior. This will usually reduce the frequency of behaviors that are controlled by their consequences, but because barking is also an elicited behavior in dogs, this procedure is unlikely to be very effective and is certainly not very efficient.

One procedure that works well is to interrupt the barking behavior and then reward incompatible behavior. Interrupting the barking behavior with a squirt of water and then rewarding your dog when he/she is quiet is usually very effective. After only a few trials, your dog will stop barking when you show him/her the squirt bottle. Just squirt the dog, don't say "no" or interact in any other way. Timing is critical in this procedure. If your dog has stopped barking before you can get the bottle, do not squirt him/her and work on your timing. Keep the squirt bottle handy.

Respondent Barking

As mentioned earlier, dogs bark at intruders in the pack's territory. It's a natural behavior. One way to reduce this kind of barking is to convince the dog that certain people and animals are not intruders. For example, suppose your dog barks at the neighbor whenever the dog sees him/her. Approach this by teaching the dog that the neighbor is not an evil intruder, but a friend. Have the neighbor toss a treat over the fence whenever he/she sees the dog. Put your dog into a sit/stay and give him/her a treat whenever a delivery person comes to the door. Have visitors toss the dog a treat. The general idea is that good things happen to the dog when the people/dogs/etc. that elicit barking are present. These people, dogs or whatever become our friends rather than intruders, and it is not necessary to bark at our friends. You get the idea. You can use this same approach if your dog barks at people or other dogs on walks.

Recreational Barking

Sometimes dogs seem to bark for no apparent reason or they bark at stimuli you can't control like squirrels in the yard. If such barking is excessive, occurs when you are not at home, and results in complaints from neighbors, the behavioral methods described above may not completely solve the problem. If this is the case, it may be necessary to use an anti-bark collar. Anti-bark collars, especially those using electric shock, should be used only if behavioral methods have not worked. They should never be used with a dog who has just been adopted or is anxious for other reasons. These collars should never be used on aggressive dogs.

Anti-bark collars have sensors that pick up the vibrations from the dog's bark and deliver an aversive stimulus. One type of anti-bark collar delivers a puff of citronella spray under the dog's chin. Most dogs do not like the smell of citronella and stop barking after a few puffs. Other anti-bark collars use electric shock as an aversive stimulus. I prefer the citronella collar because it is more humane and has fewer bad side effects. If you must use an electric shock collar, turn the shock level to the lowest level. Increase it only if absolutely necessary. I also recommend that you shock yourself first to see what it is like. Shock collars with remote controls to be used by people are not a good choice for barking and are subject to misuse. There are also anti-bark collars that use high frequency sounds to deter barking. I have had variable reports on how effective these are.

Surgical debarking is an option for particularly intractible barking problems. Surgically debarked dogs are not silent. They often bark at the same things as before, but the sound is higher pitched and not as loud. I do not like the idea of debarking and dislike the "squeaky" sound that results. However, this is an option for some barking problems that cannot be solved by other means. It should be discussed thoroughly with a veterinarian and should only be used if nothing else will work.

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How to Change Your Dog's Behavior: Some General Principles
 

Charlie is a two-year-old basset hound. When his people come home from work, he greets them enthusiastically, jumping on them and nipping at their hands. When people are carrying something, Charlie's jumping usually makes them drop it. When he jumps on small children, he knocks them over. Charlie's jumping has ruined clothing and scratched his owners' arms and legs. Charlie's owners hate this behavior. They tell Charlie "no" and "down" in a loud voice and sometimes push him to the floor. They have been told to hit Charlie with their knees when he jumps. None of these things work. Charlie's jumping has, if anything, gotten worse.

Missy is a five-year-old basset hound. She paws at her owner's arms and legs and often barks at her owner when she is ignored. Missy's owner thought her behavior was cute until Missy pawed too hard, upsetting coffee on a new silk dress. After this incident, Missy's owner told her "no" in a loud voice whenever she performed these behaviors and pushed her away when she began pawing. Missy's last performance spilled red wine on the new white carpet. Missy's owner is considering finding her a new home.

Charlie and Missy's owners are trying to correct their dogs' "bad" behavior. It's not working. What's the problem?

Myths and Misconceptions

One problem is that we sometimes treat our dogs like small humans in fur coats. If we tell them that something is wrong, we expect them to understand. Although humans, dogs, and probably all animal species obey the laws of classical and operant conditioning, there is one very large and important difference between humans and other species. That difference is language. Human language gives us the ability to carry experiences across time. For example, as a child, you may be punished for telling lies and told that telling lies is "wrong". Because you have language, you can internalize this information as a general rule. As an adult, you may avoid telling lies, not because you will be punished, but because you know it is "wrong" and punish yourself if you tell a lie. Humans can learn about "right and wrong" and carry that information through time because of their ability to use language.

Your dog does not have a verbal language. He or she will repeat behaviors that have led to positive outcomes and will avoid doing things that have led to punishment in the past because dogs do have memory, but the memory will be much more dependent upon specific stimuli than in humans. "But", you say, "when I come home after my dog has gotten into the trash, he looks guilty. He knows he has done wrong." Sorry! What is actually happening is that your dog is reading your body language. He knows you are angry about something - he probably has no idea what it is -but he performs innate submission behaviors because you are threatening him. You incorrectly interpret these behaviors as indicating guilt. Dogs don't have guilt or morals or ethics. They do what works to produce good results and they avoid doing things that produce bad results. That is basically all there is to it.

What Do Dogs Learn?

Behaviorists classify behavior into two types: Behavior that is elicited by certain stimuli (for example, salivation being elicited by food in your mouth) and behavior that is sensitive to its consequences (for example, continuing to play the slot machine because it has produced money). B.F. Skinner called the first type of behavior "respondent" because it occurs in response to environmental stimuli and the second "operant" because it produces changes in the environment that are good, bad or neutral from the performer's point of view.

For our purposes, except for those behaviors that are emotionally motivated such as fearful behavior or aggressive behavior, most of your dog's behavior is operant. This is good from a practical point of view. You can change your dog's behavior by controlling the consequences that certain behaviors produce. If your dog performs a behavior that you like, you can make something positive happen - for example, a treat - and your dog should continue to perform that behavior. If your dog performs a behavior you don't like, you can prevent something good from happening or, under some circumstances, you can make something unpleasant happen. Now your dog should do something other than the behavior you didn't like. Simple, isn't it!

Solving Problems

Let's see what we can do about Charlie and Missy. Take Charlie first. There are many ways that Charlie may have been rewarded for jumping in the first place. We don't have to worry about that. Let's look at what happens when Charlie jumps and when he does other things. When Charlie jumps on people, they frequently yell "NO" and push Charlie to the ground. We think of this as a "bad" outcome, but from Charlie's point of view, he just got attention. He may even think this is a fun game. He jumps, his owner yells and pushes, he jumps again and so on. If Charlie does something else like standing still instead of jumping, he is ignored while his owners go about their business. So - jumping produces attention even if it is "bad" attention and standing still produces nothing. What do you think Charlie will do?

What should Charlie's owners do? First, they have to stop rewarding Charlie's jumping with attention. This means ignoring the jumping. They could turn their backs, fold their arms and completely ignore Charlie's jumping until they hear his feet hit the floor. When Charlie has "four on the floor", the owner should quickly turn and give Charlie attention. Now jumping produces nothing and having four feet on the floor produces attention. What do you think Charlie will do?

Now let's take Missy. Missy's owner thought the behaviors were "cute" which probably means that she rewarded Missy with attention and petting. When Missy's owner decided that the behaviors weren't so cute, she continued to give Missy attention for pawing and barking. Sitting quietly on the floor and looking at her owner resulted in nothing for Missy. Missy's owner could reduce the frequency of pawing and barking by ignoring them and rewarding Missy for sitting quietly, but because Missy's owner is quite upset, we might want to speed up the process by making something mildly unpleasant happen when Missy exhibits these behaviors. For example, when Missy's owner sees her getting ready to paw, the owner could squirt her with water from a spray bottle or make a loud noise - both mildly unpleasant events. This procedure will also work when Missy barks. These things will only interrupt Missy's "bad" behaviors for a short time, so it is very important that Missy's owner reward other ways of getting attention. Missy can't learn what NOT to do.

How Do You Do It?

If your dog is performing a behavior you do not like, determine what happens when the dog does the behavior. Remember that for many dogs, any attention is better than being ignored.
2. Decide what behavior you would like your dog to perform in this same situation. Keep it simple and easy to do. Help your dog to succeed.
3. Arrange the environment so that the "bad" behavior produces nothing or a mildly unpleasant outcome and the "good" behavior produces pleasant results - for example, attention and a treat.
4. Be totally consistent and remember that TIMING IS EVERYTHING (outcomes must occur within a few seconds of the behavior) and that YOUR DOG DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
5. If your timing isn't good enough (i.e., the treats are across the room when you need them), look into clicker training where you use a sound (a click) to tell your dog that the correct response has been made. The click must be followed by the treat, but you have more flexibility in the timing.

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Bringing an Additional Dog into your Household
 

If you are bringing an additional dog into your household, either for foster care or as a new family member, there are some things you can do to make sure that the dogs are compatible and make the transition easier for everybody.

1. In general, dogs should be of compatible ages. People sometimes think that getting a puppy will give an old dog a "new lease on life". What will probably happen is that the puppy will make the old dog's life miserable and/or the old dog will be aggressive to the puppy. Dogs do not have to be the same age, but should have similar levels of activity.
2. Combinations of male and female or male and male are more likely to be successful than two females. Within households, fights are more likely to be initiated by females with the most troublesome combination being two females. This does not mean that two females cannot get along, but that combination is riskier than the other two.
3. Don't assume that the current resident will end up being the dominant dog because "he was here first". The dogs will work out their own relationship. If you interfere with it, you will cause more trouble. This does not mean that you should let the dogs "fight it out". This is likely to lead to injury to dogs or people and will make it more difficult for the dogs to establish a compatible relationship.
4. If you have more than one dog at home, the new dog should meet the residents separately to prevent any intimidation or "ganging up" on the newcomer.
5. If the new dog will also be meeting young children, do this after or before the dogs' meeting, but not at the same time. Keep the children out of the way when the dogs meet.

The Initial Meeting

The initial meeting of the dogs should be on neutral ground - for example, a park or playground. Resident dogs are sometimes territorial about their homes. Having the initial meeting in your home or yard puts unnecessary stress on both dogs. If you can't meet off of your property, the front yard will usually be better than the house or back yard.

You will need to decide whether the initial meeting should be on or off-leash. Dogs are generally more comfortable and less aggressive or fearful when they are off-leash. They have specific behaviors that they use to become acquainted and decide what their relationship will be. If they are held on leash, especially by nervous people, it makes things more difficult for them.

On the other hand, if the dogs meet off-leash and don't get along, you may have to break up a fight. A loud, surprising noise (not yelling), throwing water on the dogs, putting a tool in between the dogs, or spraying the dogs with citronella spray will often work to stop a fight. Do not try to stop a fight by grabbing a dog by the collar. This puts your hand in range of the snapping mouths and is very likely to produce an injury to you.

A compromise procedure in which you start with the dogs on leash and release them if there is no aggression might be the best approach. It is very important that the people participating are calm and do not overreact to the dogs' normal behaviors. If you are anxious, the dogs are going to be anxious. Keep everything jolly and positive - the dogs will be more comfortable.

Going Home

If the dogs get along on the initial contact, you can take them home, but separate them in the car if you can. Let them interact in the front yard before you go into the house or the back yard where most dogs are more territorial. Be sure that you have removed any items that could cause competition between the dogs - for example, your dog's food bowl (water doesn't seem to produce this effect), any toys, chews or bones, and your dog's bed, if it is accessible.

Do not give the new dog freedom of the house at first until you are sure that he or she is housetrained and that the housetraining has transferred to your house (sometimes it doesn't). If you have a dog door, be sure the new dog knows how to use it by running him or her through it a few times for treats. Pick up any objects in the yard that might cause competition.

Don't punish or scold the dogs for mild dominance behavior . If they get into an argument that looks like it might escalate into a fight, distract them with a jolly voice and other activities. Try to stay calm.

Living Together

Even if your household dogs do not compete over food or toys, the introduction of a new resident will make competition more likely. Feed everyone separately and pick up the food bowls when the meal is finished. Do not give chew toys like rawhides or bones unless the dogs are separated. Be careful when playing not to cause competition between the dogs - for example, tossing one ball for all the dogs or causing a melee over treats.

Be sure the new dog has a place to sleep and knows where it is. Again, it is not wise to let the new resident roam the house when everyone is asleep. Don't let the new dog appropriate the resident dogs' beds. Multiple dogs in people's beds is also not a good idea.

If the dogs have gotten along so far, it is unlikely that there will be any more trouble unless competition is introduced. Just to be on the safe side, before you leave the dogs alone together for a long period of time, do a test absence by leaving in your usual manner, drive down the block and sneak back to see what is happening. Dogs are much more likely to fight when people are around than when the dogs are alone, but you certainly don't want to come home to the results of a dog fight. Best to test it out.

You may find that the introduction of a new dog changes the relationships among resident dogs or their "personalities". If you prevent competition and excitement and keep everything calm and positive, things will usually work out just fine.

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Housesoiling: What to Do About It
 

Housesoiling with urine, feces or both is a problem that can occur in rescued dogs even if they have previously been housetrained. Rescued dogs often have unfortunate histories, multiple homes, and sometimes have never been housetrained at all. Dogs who were previously housetrained will often need help in transferring this training to a new environment. In addition, rescued dogs are often anxious and excited when they come to a new home and may inappropriately urinate or defecate simply because of anxiety or excitement.

It is wise to assume when you adopt a rescued dog that he or she is not housetrained. If this assumption turns out to be wrong, it is good news. Making the assumption will get you and your dog off to a positive start.

In starting to housetrain a dog (or give a previously housetrained dog a review), it is best to prevent "accidents" in the first place.

First, your dog should be given frequent opportunities in the area you want him/her to use for elimination. As you would do with a puppy, take the dog outside to the "spot", say "go potty" (or whatever cue you want to use for elimination), wait until the dog has eliminated and then reward him/her with praise and a treat. It will not work to simply say "go potty" and send the dog out the door. Putting your dog on a regular feeding schedule will help you predict when he or she needs to eliminate.

Second, when the dog is in areas where elimination is inappropriate (e.g., in the house), he or she must be supervised. This means keeping your eye on the dog at all times or attaching the dog to you with a leash so you will know where he or she is. Don't worry. You probably won't have to do this part very long, especially if the dog was previously housetrained. Watch for sniffing or other signs that the dog needs to eliminate. If you see these signs, take the dog out as described in the previous paragraph.

Third, if you cannot constantly supervise the dog, do not give him/her the run of the house. We are able to housetrain dogs because of their natural tendency not to soil their "dens". An entire human house is too large to be considered a "den" right away. If you have to leave your dog, confine him/her to a smaller area where elimination accidents will not be catastrophic (i.e., not carpeted). Gradually familiarize your dog with the rest of the house while under supervision and gradually increase his/her freedom if no housesoiling occurs. It will help if this small area is the same place where the dog eats and/or sleeps. Also, do not assume that you can simply crate the dog to prevent soiling. Crates can be very useful for housetraining puppies and for keeping them out of trouble, but crate-training is a lengthy process. Rescued dogs are not usually crate-trained.

Fourth, after the fact punishment will do no good and will make the problem worse. This includes yelling or scolding when you come home to a "pile" or a "puddle". Many people say that their dogs know that they have done something wrong because they "look guilty". The real reason that the dog looks guilty is because your body language is telling him or her that you are angry. The dog responds by performing natural submissive behaviors (looking away, cowering, tucking the tail, etc.). The dog doesn't know why you are mad - only that you are. Punishing the dog after-the-fact only makes the dog confused and afraid of you. If you catch the dog in the act of urinating or defecating, do something to interrupt (not punish) the behavior (clap your hands, say "no", etc.) and take the dog to the correct elimination spot to complete the elimination. It is not necessary to yell, scold the dog or punish the dog in some other way - just interrupt the behavior. When the dog eliminates in the proper place, reward him/her as usual.

A dog door from the house into the fenced yard is often very helpful in housetraining. If you look at it from the dog's point of view, a housetrained dog has a difficult problem, especially if the owner does not make sure that the dog has eliminated before going away for a long period of time. "Holding it" is probably just as unpleasant for dogs as it is for people. A dog door gives the dog control over when to eliminate. If you need to block the dog door at night (for example) so that you don't get visiting wildlife in your living room, be sure that the dog can tell when the door is blocked and that the dog has eliminated before the door is blocked.

Some other considerations in dealing with housetraining of a rescued dog follow:

1. Previous owners of the dog may have done a bad job of housetraining. If after-the-fact punishment has been used, the dog may be afraid to eliminate in the presence of people. This can be overcome with lots of praise and treats, but it will take time. If your dog sneaks away from you to eliminate or appears reluctant to eliminate when you are present, don't accompany the dog to the elimination spot but watch from a distance. When the dog has eliminated, call him/her to you and reward with a treat and praise.
2. If a dog has learned to eliminate on a specific surface (e.g., grass, gravel, concrete), he or she may be reluctant to eliminate on a different surface. For example, if a dog has been confined in a dog run with a gravel surface, he or she may be reluctant to eliminate on grass. If a puppy has been paper-trained, it may be reluctant to eliminate outside on a dirt surface. You can overcome substrate preferences with time and rewards, but sometimes you can also mix the substrates to aid the transition. For example, if a dog who has always eliminated on grass is now expected to eliminate on gravel, buy a piece of sod and put it on top of the gravel. By the time the sod dies, the dog will have adjusted to the new substrate. With a rescued dog, you will seldom know what the previous preferred substrate was. If you think substrate preference is a problem, be creative about trying different surfaces.
3. Don't expect your dog to make difficult decisions about where the correct "spot" is. For example, if you want the dog to use a particular area in the yard for elimination and not eliminate in the rest of the yard, you should not expect too much too soon. You should definitely not punish the dog for eliminating in the wrong place. Just keep rewarding for eliminating in the right place.

Remember that your dog wants to do the correct thing. A dog does not housesoil because he or she is angry with you or is trying to get revenge for something you have done. It is your job to show the dog what is correct and make it easy for him or her to do it. Then you will both be happy.

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How to Get Along with Your New Dog

Take It Slowly

Your new dog has been separated from familiar places, people and other animals. He or she is likely to be fearful of new places, people and things. It will help to introduce your new dog to new situations slowly. It is also important for you and other family members to remain calm around the dog as he or she adjusts to the new environment.

1. If your new dog has any possessions (bed, bowl, collar, toys), do not change them right away even if they are dirty, worn and unattractive. Time enough to replace them later. Your dog needs whatever familiar things are available for awhile.
2. Confine your dog to a limited part of your house at first and spend time with him/her there. This should be a pleasant, roomy space - not the unfinished basement or garage. The dog should not be isolated. Baby-gates can be used to confine a dog to a room without closing the door and isolating the dog. The dog can see over or through the baby-gate. If you do not have an appropriate space to confine your dog or if the dog jumps the baby-gate, put him/her on a leash and keep him/her with you. Confining or supervising your new dog will prevent problems such as housesoiling, destruction or other undesirable behaviors from getting started. Don't worry, you won't have to do it forever.
3. It is not uncommon for a dog who has been relinquished by his/her owner or has been picked up as a stray to have separation anxiety when left alone. Dogs with separation anxiety will bark, housesoil, escape, or destroy items when left alone. To avoid or reduce these problems, it is best to adopt your new dog when you do not have to leave him/her alone for a few days to a week.. During this time, leave your dog alone for short periods of time and provide him/her with distractions such as stuffed Kong toys. Gradually lengthen the period of time that you are gone. If your dog has severe separation anxiety, you may need to consult an animal behaviorist about the problem.
4. Let your new dog initiate social contacts with you rather than the other way around. Handle the dog as little as possible and do not put your face in his face. In the dog world, this is at best impolite, and at worst, a threat. Introduce the dog to his/her new family (people and animals) gradually and do not let small children interact with the dog right away. Children should not be allowed to interact with the dog without supervision until you are sure positive relationships have been formed and the children know how dogs should be treated.
5. Give your new dog many opportunities to eliminate in the area that you want him/her to use for this activity. Reward successful urinations and defecations with treats and praise. Confinement or supervision combined with rewarded opportunities to eliminate in the appropriate location will prevent many housesoiling problems. Dogs do not always transfer their housetraining experiences from one home to another. A basic house-training review may be necessary.
6. Keep a regular routine with your dog as much as you can. Walks, play, feeding, etc. should occur at the same time of day. This will provide your dog with a predictable environment that will make it easier for him/her to adapt.

Keep It Positive

As mentioned previously, your new dog is likely to be anxious and afraid when he/she first arrives at your house. He or she will adapt more quickly and become a better companion sooner if everything is kept positive. Again, everyone should remain calm around the new dog.

1. Make lavish use of treats and praise when your dog arrives. There are a number of dog treats that are very palatable and can be broken into small pieces. Small pieces of cheese or meat also work well. Carry some treats in your pocket and give one frequently. Until you are sure that your dog will take treats from your hand gently, you can drop the treat on the floor or ground in front of the dog. Present the treat on a flat palm rather than holding it in your fingers.
2. Do not punish your new dog no matter what he or she does. This includes yelling or scolding. Punishing or intimidating your new dog will not help him/her adapt to the new situation and will make everything more difficult. The confinement and supervision discussed earlier will help you to avoid many undesirable behaviors. If some undesirable behaviors occur anyway, ignore them for now. Time enough for behavior change later.
3. You can lower the frequency of some undesirable behaviors by rewarding an alternative behavior. For example, if your dog is barking constantly, rather than yelling at him/her, wait for an interval of silence. It may be as short as a minute or even thirty seconds. Quickly give a small treat before the dog can bark again. The next interval of silence must be a bit longer. If you started with a minute, try for a minute and a half, then give the treat. Gradually increase the length of the required silent interval. Always give the treat after silence, not barking. This approach will work to diminish any undesirable behavior where there is an alternative behavior that you can reward. If the dog is pestering you for attention, ignore the pestering. Remember to reward the dog with attention when he or she is calm and quiet.
4. Remember that you are a stranger to your new dog. He or she has no way of knowing that you have good intentions. The dog may growl or even snap at you if you push too hard. If this happens, quit what you were doing and figure out a positive way (treats) to get the dog to do what you want. For example, suppose your dog is in your chair and you want to get him out. You tell him to get down and he growls at you. You could get into a fight with your dog and maybe lose and get bitten or maybe win and your dog will be intimidated. Instead tell the dog to get down and throw a desirable treat in front of the chair. Now the dog will leave the chair and both of you will be happy.

Please remember that the suggestions given above are only a beginning in establishing behavior patterns that are right for you and your dog. If, after the initial adaptation period, your dog still has some problem behaviors, there are a number of sources of help. Look at the additional materials provided on the Basset Rescue web page. There are also books available on dealing with problem behaviors. Look for one that emphasizes reward rather than punishment and deals with problem behaviors, not just obedience training. Obedience training is fine, but it does not automatically correct problem behaviors. Do not buy a book that says you need to dominate your dog to get him or her to obey you. For really severe problem behaviors, you may need a consultation with an animal behaviorist.

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Separation Anxiety
 

What Is Separation Anxiety?

Separation anxiety is a diagnostic term that is applied to animals who become anxious and afraid when they are left alone. Their anxiety can be expressed in many ways, including barking or howling, pacing, destructive behavior, attempts to escape from confinement, and urination and defecation.

Separation anxiety is a very common problem in rescued or shelter dogs. This is not unexpected because a rescued dog has either been relinquished by his or her owner (the pack) or has become lost. He or she has been abandoned by trusted people and has often been in a stressful situation for a period of time. It is natural that such an animal may become anxious when people in his/her new home leave him or her alone.

Dogs with other histories can also develop separation anxiety. A common situation is one in which a dog is very dependent on the owner, is not well-socialized to other people, and is boarded or left with a sitter while the owner travels. The dog may show symptoms of separation anxiety after the owner's return.

Does my Dog Have Separation Anxiety?

The symptoms of separation anxiety include barking or howling, housesoiling, and destruction which may take the form of scratching on doors, ripping up woodwork, walls or furniture or escaping from crates or kennels. Destructive activities will often occur around doors or windows. In separation anxiety, one or more of these activities will occur only when the owner is absent. Such behaviors may occur for other reasons as well, but if they happen only when the owner is absent and never at other times, we can be fairly sure separation anxiety is the cause.

In addition, dogs with separation anxiety are always aware of the owner's location. They follow you around the house. If they fall asleep and you leave the room, their first activity upon waking will be to locate you. If your dog voluntarily stays in a room alone or leaves a room where you are, it is unlikely that he or she has separation anxiety. A dog with separation anxiety may appear anxious as you begin your departure routine. He or she will be overjoyed and demonstrative when you return - even if you have been gone for only 5 minutes.

What Can We Do about Separation Anxiety?

Sometimes a newly-adopted dog with separation anxiety will become less anxious with time as he or she learns to trust the new owner. On the other hand, treatment is often necessary to reduce the anxiety. There are two main parts to the treatment.

First, we want the dog to learn that leaving and returning are a normal part of the daily routine and do not mean that the dog has been abandoned. To do this, we have to teach the dog to tolerate short periods of time alone. The first step is to see if your dog will let you go out of sight. Put your dog into a sit or down-stay and go around the corner. (If your dog will not do a sit or down-stay, you will need to work on that.) If your dog stays for a few seconds while you are out of sight, come back or call him/her to you and reward with praise and a small treat. If your dog follows you, do not scold or punish him or her - just try again with a shorter interval.

Once your dog will let you go out of sight, put him/her into a room with a distractor such as a preferred chew toy or a stuffed Kong toy and leave. Come back in a few minutes. Gradually lengthen the interval that you are gone. Behave normally when you come back - leaving and returning are normal things. A big production is not necessary.

Once your dog will tolerate being alone in a room, leave the house for a brief period, first giving the dog a distractor. Gradually lengthen the period you are gone. You will have to start with brief intervals (five minutes) and gradually increase them by only about five minutes each time. Once you get to a fairly long interval, say half an hour, you can lengthen the intervals more rapidly. Dogs don't have watches and can't read the clock.

People often make a production of saying goodbye to their dog when they leave and have a joyous reunion when they return. The joyous reunion may be fun for both you and your dog, but it is not good for separation anxiety. These activities make leaving and returning important events - not just things we do all the time. Your joyous reunion celebrations with your dog will have to stop. You can have fun with your dog in other ways.

The second part of the treatment for separation anxiety involves making it difficult for your dog to tell when you are leaving. Most of us have routines that we follow when we are going to leave and our dogs learn these cues. Putting on shoes is a common one. Picking up your purse, briefcase or car keys are other possibilities. A dog with separation anxiety will follow you around as you go through your routine, gradually getting more and more anxious. It is as if the dog were saying "I think she's getting ready to leave, she's really getting ready to leave, ready to leave me alone, there she goes, something terrible is going to happen, I am going to die. Aaaaargh!!!". The door closes and the dog starts to rip up the sofa in front of the window.

To confuse your dog about when you are leaving, you need to make the usual departure cues meaningless. Do this by occasionally going through your routine and not leaving. Take your briefcase, go out the door, start the car, drive around the block and come back. Store your briefcase in the garage so that you can leave for the day without going through the routine. Run the garage door up and down when you are staying home. You get the idea.

It also helps to give your dog a good distractor when you leave. Kong toys stuffed with the dog's favorite treats work very well. Something that the dog likes to chew but gets only rarely will also work. Toys are more interesting when they are rotated (not available all the time). One of my dogs with separation anxiety liked his stuffed Kong so well that he forgot about his anxiety and only anticipated his Kong when I was getting ready to leave. You may also want to occasionally give the dog the distractor when you are not going to leave so it will not become a reliable departure cue.

What Not To Do

It is very upsetting to owners to come home after a day at work and find that the dog has destroyed the front door or has urinated and defecated on the new carpet. What you have to remember at a time like this is that your dog is not doing these activities to punish you for leaving. He or she is doing them out of fear and panic. Dogs with separation anxiety often scratch and chew around door or window frames. The dog is trying to escape from a frightening situation. Punishment for destruction or soiling that occurs when you are gone is absolutely inappropriate and will make the problem worse.

Some owners think that they can reduce the amount of destruction if they confine the dog to a crate or kennel. Unless the dog has been previously trained to regard the crate or kennel as a safe place, this is a risky thing to do. Dogs with separation anxiety will often make Herculean efforts to escape the crate or kennel, often injuring themselves in the process. If you think your dog has been crate-trained, test first with short absences to be sure.

Owners often think that getting a second dog will provide company for the first dog and reduce the separation anxiety. This rarely works and can lead to other problems if the dogs do not get alone. The separation anxiety dog is usually looking for people, not other dogs.

What If You Have a Hard-Core Case?

If your dog does not respond to the procedures discussed above and remains destructive and anxious when left alone or if you do not have time to carry out the treatment plan described, there are some other options. One of these is "doggie day care". Day care centers are available where your dog will receive attention and opportunities for play with other dogs. To find one, start with the phone book yellow pages or with your veterinarian, make phone calls and finally make an unscheduled visit to the facility (without your dog). Note that doggie day care by itself will not cure your dog of separation anxiety. It only is a temporary solution.

Your veterinarian can prescribe an anti-anxiety drug for your dog which may make the separation anxiety less severe. Drugs by themselves are not a cure for separation anxiety. They need to be combined with behavioral treatment. Research has been conducted with dogs on the use of a drug called Clomicalm. Clomicalm is recommended for use along with behavioral treatment. Although there are other drugs that can be effective as well, some drugs interfere with behavioral treatment. You do not want a drug that simply sedates your dog. Discuss the issue thoroughly with your veterinarian.

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Dealing with Fear of Thunderstorms and Other Loud Noises
 

Fear of thunderstorms is a common problem in dogs in Colorado. This fear often generalizes to fireworks and other loud noises. Also, a dog who has been frightened by fireworks can generalize to thunderstorms. What can we do about this problem?

The first thing to do is observe your dog carefully when a thunderstorm occurs. Many dogs will appear anxious, pacing from one place to another. Trembling, panting, salivation, and sometimes urination and defecation will occur as the storm gets worse. Some dogs will seek a hiding place when they detect the first lightning flashes or distant thunder. If this is the case, you can enhance the hiding place by increasing its isolation from the sights and sounds of the storm. Providing a hiding place will not cure your dog's fear, but it will help him or her to get through the thunderstorm and firecracker seasons.

It can also be helpful to distract your dog during the early stages of a storm by playing a favorite game, cooking food, taking a ride in the car, or doing some other preferred activity. Because of the danger of lightning strikes, walks are not recommended unless the storm is far away.

Punishment or scolding will not help your dog and will probably make the fear worse. People are sometimes advised to ignore their dog when he or she is showing fear of thunderstorms. If this is not how you normally interact with your dog and amounts to rejecting him or her, it is not a good idea. On the other hand, you do not want to be overly solicitous of your dog. The best advice is simply to act the way you usually do with your dog.

If your dog does not seek a hiding place, but constantly paces from one location to another, the solution is more complex than creating a hiding place and requires that you do something about the fear itself. This procedure, involving desensitization and counterconditioning, is designed to eliminate or at least reduce the fear. Because we cannot control the intensity of natural thunderstorms, desensitization/counterconditioning is best undertaken well in advance of thunderstorm season.

First, obtain an audio tape or CD of a thunderstorm. A good one can be obtained from Legacy By Mail (360-683-9646 or www.legacy-by-mail.com). Get a recording without music and with lots of thunder. Make sure your dog reacts to the recording by playing it at a normal volume and observing what your dog does. He or she should show some of the same behaviors exhibited when a natural storm occurs. If this does not happen even when you increase the volume of the tape, another approach will be needed.

If your dog reacts to the tape, you will begin desensitization/counterconditioning sessions as follows. Use short sessions (10-15 minutes) as often as possible. First, find a volume level that gets your dog's attention but does not produce a fear response. Sit down with your dog while the tape plays, giving him or her praise, massage and small treats. If your dog remains calm, increase the volume of the tape slightly. Go very slowly. If your dog shows any fear symptoms including refusing the treats, go back to an earlier level. If you advance the volume too quickly and your dog becomes afraid, you will have to go back to a much lower volume. Take your time!

Any other effects that you can add to make the "storm" more realistic will help. For example, a camera flash or strobe light can be used to mimic lightning flashes. A cookie sheet in the shower is said to produce good "rain" stimuli. Your thunderstorm recording will include some wind and rain noises as well as thunder.

Some dogs are not afraid of the recorded thunderstorm when the owner is present. If your dog does not react to the recording even if you are playing it at a high volume, step out of the room for a few seconds and see what your dog does. If your dog begins to show signs of fear only when alone, modify the procedure as follows.

Find a volume level for the recording that your dog reacts to but does not seem afraid even when you leave the room. It is a good idea to "dogproof" the room as much as possible in case the dog does become afraid when you are not present. Give your dog something to distract him/her such as a stuffed Kong toy or favorite chew and leave him or her alone in the room with the recording playing for a short period (5-10 minutes). Stay nearby so that you can intervene if anything goes wrong. Gradually lengthen the period your dog is exposed to the recording while alone. If things are going well, increase the volume slightly and try again. The idea is to gradually work up to a long period of time and a fairly loud volume. Again, adding other stimuli such as light flashes to make the "storm" more realistic will make generalization to natural storms more likely. If at any point, your dog shows fear symptoms, go back to an earlier stage and start again. Remember to increase time and volume very slowly.

Even if your dog is doing well with the recorded "storm", he or she will still need help when a real storm arrives. Try to be with your dog when the first thunderstorms occur. Use the same techniques you used with the recorded "storm". This will help your dog to make the transition from the recorded "storm" to real ones. If your dog is doing well with real storms, it will still help to do activities your dog enjoys during storms.

If, after you have used the techniques described above, your dog continues to show fear symptoms during storms, you may want to discuss appropriate tranquilizing drugs with your veterinarian.

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Resource Guarding in Dogs: It's Not Dominance
 

One day when Dave came home from work, his basset hound Ross was lying in Dave’s chair.  Dave wanted to sit in the chair himself and so ordered Ross down.  Ross growled at him and bared his teeth.  Dave yelled at Ross to get down; Ross growled some more.  After a few minutes of yelling and growling, Dave lost his temper, grabbed Ross’s collar and threw him out of the chair.  During this interaction, Ross bit Dave on the arm.

Anne and her basset hound Agatha were on a walk. Agatha spotted and grabbed a dead bird.  When Anne tried to take the bird from Agatha, Agatha growled and would not release the bird.  After a brief yelling and growling contest, Anne grabbed Agatha by the scruff and shook her until she dropped the bird.  Agatha and Anne no longer go on walks because Agatha now runs away whenever she sees Anne.

Although Dave and Anne were successful in getting their dogs to do what they wanted, both interactions had bad outcomes.  What could these owners have done to get the behavior they wanted without the bad outcomes?

These interactions are not about dominance.  Ross and Agatha are not trying to take over the house and maybe later the world.  What they are doing is called resource guarding.  Ross wants to lie in the chair and Agatha wants to keep the bird.  As we would do if someone tried to take our wallets, the dogs defend the resources that they think are important.  What we have to do as the (presumably) more intelligent species, is get what we want without having a fight with the dog.

What Can We Do?

Because resource guarding can be a dangerous behavior, our first step is to manage the behavior so it does not have bad consequences.  For example, instead of ordering Ross out of the chair in an angry voice, Dave could have squatted down, called Ross in a happy voice and invited Ross to come and greet him.  Ross would probably have left the chair voluntarily.  If this did not work, Dave could have tossed a treat a few feet in front of the chair.  When Ross got out of the chair to get the treat, Dave would tell him what a good dog he is and sit in the chair himself.  Oh, no (you say), Dave just rewarded Ross for taking his chair. Nope - actually Dave rewarded Ross for getting out of the chair.  Will Ross learn to get into the chair so Dave will have to give him a treat to get him out? Probably not, especially if there is a delay between getting into the chair and getting the reward for leaving the chair.

What should Anne do?  She has a more difficult problem because a dead bird is a really valuable resource.  On the other hand, Agatha can’t bite Anne when she has a bird in her mouth.  But, she can drop the bird and bite Anne awfully quickly.  Anne is going to need to be careful.  Anne should take a treat (which she always carries on walks) and offer it to Agatha.  Agatha will try to take the treat with the bird in her mouth, but she probably will not succeed.  Now, if the treat is good enough, Agatha will drop the bird to eat the treat.  But again Anne must be careful because Agatha may swallow the treat and try again to get the bird.  If Agatha is normally gentle about taking treats, Anne can hang on to the treat while Agatha nibbles on it and remove the bird at the same time. She can lure Agatha away from the bird with the treat.  Anne should try to move the bird a safe distance away from Agatha with a stick or other tool or with her foot rather than her hand.  Once the bird is far enough away from Agatha, Anne can pick it up and remove it.

So, you see the principle - if you want to get your dog to do something, arrange for something good to happen to your dog when he or she does it. When your dog is guarding something, don’t get mad; don’t get violent!  Use your head to figure out how to get the object away from your dog (or your dog away from the object) without having a fight with your dog.

Things Dogs Often Guard from People or Other Dogs

1. Food - the food bowl or special treats such as rawhides, bones, pigs’ ears, etc
2. Items stolen or found.
3. Preferred locations like the bed or chair.
4. People, especially the owner.

Although by using our heads, we can usually get things away from our dogs without a fight, it is better if a dog is taught not to guard in the first place or is retrained if he or she is already a resource guarder.  The training to do this is too complex to discuss thoroughly here, but if you need help, a book by Jean Donaldson called “Mine! A Practical Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs” gives detailed instructions on how to modify most types of resource guarding.  Pat Miller’s book “The Power of Positive Dog Training” has a good chapter on preventing resource guarding in the first place.

Following are a few more examples:

1. Guarding a bowl of food from people:  Give your dog her bowl of food as you usually do.  While the dog is eating, gradually approach the bowl.  When you see the dog tense up or see or hear any other threat, stop and toss a small treat near the bowl.  Then retreat.  Next meal, try it again. As your dog learns that your approach to the bowl means more food, not less, she will begin to welcome your approach, not threaten you.  Work slowly on this until you can hand your dog the treat while she is eating.  Remember that although your dog may stop guarding her food from you, this may not generalize to other household members. They will need to follow the same procedure.  Small children should always be kept away from the dog’s food bowl.
   If your dog guards her food bowl from other dogs, the best solution is to feed the dogs in separate rooms or at least out of sight of one another and supervise to prevent bowl-switching. Pick the bowls up when the dogs are finished. The same goes for dog-dog competition over high value items such as bones or rawhides.  Separate the dogs when they have these things and be sure that the objects are picked up before the dogs are again together.
2. Refusing to leave a piece of furniture:  Start by giving a verbal command like “off”: and throw a treat on the floor to lure your dog off the piece of furniture.  At this point, the dog doesn’t know what “off” means, so don’t expect a response to the word.  Use a happy voice, not a threatening one.  After a few trials, your dog will learn to anticipate the treat and may even jump off the furniture before you toss the treat.  Keep saying “off” and giving the treat when the dog jumps down.  Once this response occurs reliably, you can start hiding the treat until the dog jumps down.  Then you can start giving the treat only part of the time.  You will need to give the treat occasionally to keep the behavior going, but now your dog is gambling - doing the behavior just in case a treat will result.  It’s just like people playing a slot machine.
3. Stealing things off the kitchen counter or table:  Because of their superior noses, this is a common problem with basset hounds, but it is more of a people-training problem than a dog-training problem.  If you leave food items on the counter and your dog gets them, there is very little you can do to change the behavior.  The solution is to train your family not to leave food items where the dog can get them.  It is sometimes possible to booby-trap the counter, but most dogs will learn to tell whether the trap is there or not.  If your dog gets a really good item like the roast for dinner, there is very little you can do to get the roast back without a fight with your dog - no treat is better than the roast.  The best solution for this kind of problem is prevention.
4. Guarding the owner:  Some dogs will threaten another dog or a person who approaches the dog’s favorite person.  This is often interpreted as jealousy or as protection of the favorite person, but it is simply another instance of resource guarding. The dog is preventing access to the resources (attention, treats, etc.) that the dog gets from the favorite person.  A good way to deal with this is to remove the resource (you) when the dog guards you from a person or another dog. When the dog begins to guard, you simply leave the area.  If the dog is guarding you from a specific person, it will help to improve the relationship between that person and the dog.  It is also important to make good things happen to the guarding dog when he or she allows a person or dog to approach without guarding. Scolding or punishing the guarding dog will only make the problem worse.