Quick update on my upcoming third book…

I edge ever closer to completion of my Third book on dog and human behavior and, let me tell you, I am excited. This will be my best book thus far and I am so happy to unleash this baby on the wide world.

Recently my first book, Dog Myths: What you Believe about dogs can come back to Bite You! has really been gaining audiences all over the globe. Big thanks to anybody who’s read and recommended it because, as you know, if read with an open mind Dog Myths can alter the entire way one views dogs and truly help repair damaged relationships between owner and dog. My second book, So Long Separation Anxiety is also gaining readers even though it is nowhere where I’d like it to be (in truth it’s probably because I didn’t make that book available in paperback and because I priced it so low as a thank you to readers of Dog Myths and it’s human nature to value things that are priced highly. It’s a shame though because So Long Separation Anxiety goes over everything from eye-contact denial exercises, to proper doorway greetings, doorway exits, to calming crate work – no treats or drugs required – and much more it is great for new puppy owners or dog owners with older dogs suffering with horrific anxiety. Many readers of both books actual prefer So Long Separation Anxiety because it is filled with very practical step by step instruction on every page.

I’m hoping to release this third, upcoming book about our dogs’ incredible senses and the 4 Pillars of Dog Language by the Christmas season 2021. Fingers crossed we’ll get it done for ya!

Thanks so much to all you fine readers of this blog and please keep spreading the word about my writing because it helps the readers and dogs and my family. That’s a win-win-win baby!

-G

Reversing DOG AGGRESSION!

A food treat will NOT work in reversing genuine dog aggression. It may work (painfully slowly) on a dog with just a bit of reactivity but as far as a truly fearful, anxious, and or legitimately aggressive dog please know at the outset that you are WASTING your time, your energy, and your money on the behaviorist or trainer that handicap themselves because of their narrow thinking and belief that positive-ONLY is the only way to interact with a dog. The first system of the body that is shut off during a moment of Fight or Flight when the dog’s adrenal glands are pumping is the DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. This means that the truly aggressive dog will NOT eat a treat and make the positive associations that it’s supposed to during a real life moment when the dog is face to face with the neighbor or another dog that just ran up on it! THAT IS REAL SCIENCE! The digestive system is greatly turned down when a biological system (be it dog or person) is in a legitimate moment of fight or flight. This scientific FACT is a Massive Problem that positive only trainers have no answer for except that the dog was “over threshold” and should be placed a thousand yards back from the stimuli! HAHAHAHAHAHA That’s NOT Real Life! The positive-only trainer presumes that their way is the “only” way (it’s in the name of their method) and that also shows arrogance and, to be quite frank, a bizarre approach-because it’s so unnatural – to the wonderfully simple yet complex creatures we know and love as dogs. No dog on the planet uses food treats in order to elicit better social behavior from another dog or their pups. Friends, we don’t have to either.

Mother and Father dogs – any canine really – do NOT use food to rehab the wayward pup’s behavior. So why limit oneself in helping your dog if what we all should be looking for is the humane resolution of terrible behavior in the aggressive dog? Does this mean I’m saying punitive reinforcement is the best way towards reversing dog aggression? Certainly NOT! Many pro trainers that think “correcting” the dog through force is the only way forward can be just as handicapped in their viewpoint as the positive-only folks. Why not a balance like a good parent takes with the children they love and care for? And even more important – Why not something deeper than just pleasure or pain?

Dear Friends, I’d like to suggest to you (especially if you are a new subscriber to this blog) the idea that there is more to offer to the aggressive dog than raw reinforcement from either side. In my experience handling aggressive dogs (which is vast – I’m not going to beat around the bush. In fact my new apprentice just did the math on his limited experience professionally training dogs – he’s been training with me at the time of writing for just three months and has already handled over 500 dogs in private session after private session – and this does not even include his prior year working in the kennel of our Dog Language Center, and it does not include his work with any of our Behavioral Board and Train dogs. In just three months my young apprentice has worked with more dogs, many of these dangerous and a majority with reactivity and aggression and fear issues, than people will possibly even see their entire life! Personally, at the time of writing, I’ve had a very full sixteen years of behaviorally rehabbing dogs and asking the tough questions in hopes of getting to better behavioral answers for people and dogs and society at large. As to experience though please keep in mind – it doesn’t matter much if the person’s been doing it poorly for decades. Learning with an empty cup is critical for improvement. But let’s get back to the point). There is more to offer to our furry family members than the continued Fixation on reinforcement and motivation.

I’m not against an occasional treat (as the name implies treats should be infrequent. A treat is a treat…not the main meal!) I’m also not against an occasional correction (a dog goes to legitimately bite me while I’ve got it’s leash and I might, depending on the situation, correct that dog firmly all the while making sure to back it up and claim the space that it tried to take by entering my own space rudely – teaching it that although it tried to invade my space and bite it just lost ground because of the unsocial and possibly dangerous way the dog chose to interact with me. The main point though, Dear Reader, is that the claiming of the space is infinitely more important to the dog in most instances than the actual punitive reinforcement that just occurred. THIS is what a lot of folks seem to miss. They show very little comprehension in the way of understanding primal, simple animal and dog language and what I have coined as the 4 Pillars of Dog Language. The 4 Pillars of Dog Language are Touch, Space, Movement, and Energy. If you get those 4 aligned then life with your dog is always easy and the relationships, beginning with you and your dog and spreading outward to the wide world, get better and better and more and more rich and mature. It can be so good. This is the way to calmness and trust. Learning and applying the 4 Pillars is following the genuine way of the dog.

Oh just wait because my third book on dog and human behavior is coming out hopefully in 2021 and it’s going to be my best book yet! We go over the 5 Senses of our dogs and the 4 Pillars of dog language and how they pertain to every action our dogs take and the actions we take. These 4 Pillars are primal and elemental and can be observed in every interaction with any canid, at all times, anywhere! My upcoming book details a good portion of the Garrett Stevens Method and how to prevent or reverse a host of issues naturally and calmly and typically easier than the majority of dog training methods out there! We are so excited to get it finished and out to you all.

To reverse dog aggression towards others, be they people or other dogs, the core issue and the solution for genuinely helping lies within the 5 Senses and the 4 Pillars. We must consider the sensual nature of our dogs and the order in which they developed these super senses. We must understand how the brain and body of the canine employs these incredible senses and when the initial disturbance occurs. We must observe how the dog is touching the owner. We must take serious note of how the dog receives touch from the owner and from other people or dogs. We must learn from nature and consider the effects of pressure and the release of pressure. We must understand how social grooming and how touching displays among many species reveal the family structure and an orderly or chaotic and out of control hierarchy. We must intelligently observe the environment and truly see the space around the handler’s body, the dog’s body, the triggering stimuli/other person or dog’s body. We must question all animals and seek to learn about how important these spatial adjustments are. We must cultivate the fine art of movement and get out of our own heads as we allow ourselves to enter the world of the dog and the fine movements and words that that world contains. If we cannot move well results could be stymied. We must seek to guide touch, space, and movement if we ever hope to influence the energy of the animal.

Friends, there is so much more to offer the dog suffering with aggressive than just watch me, sit, down, stay, or come. There is so much more than just immature reinforcement and micromanagement through “work” and obedience. The dog of today doesn’t need more work despite what you may have heard. Let’s not confuse the professional working dog and its high drive training methods with what most dog owners of today have and what they desire – they want a CALM and TRUSTWORTHY family member and not a hyped-up work machine! Examine most dog training methods though and it’s just more excitement and more bribery and more punishment and more work…all of which do NOT lead a dog into calmness and more sociability! Those are the facts!

Friends, there is so much more than positive-only or punitive mostly available to our dogs. The fixation of reinforcement has been holding back new discoveries in dog training, language, and behavior for decades…let’s try and move past it, shall we? If you and I become more curious and intelligently question the 4 Pillars we’ll all be well on our way to further discovery into the elemental and terrifically clear language of animals and we’ll truly help dogs come to an understanding of their own nature. “He who asks a question may be a fool for five minutes but he who never asks a question remains a fool forever.” We must ask better questions if we desire better answers/results with our dogs! Calm the energy and any behavioral problem disappears. To get to energy though we must go through the gates of Touch, Space, and Movement! We must employ the 4 Pillars.

If you liked this one please let me know in the comments because I can continue it if we get enough response and I’ll give a couple practical, naturally calming solutions in the next one on the aggressive dog.

-G

The aggressive dog – three common mistakes owners initially make

The aggressive dog is usually overcompensating for fear.  (It is often the same with people)  As discussed, fear in a wild canid is a perfectly normal and totally acceptable part of survival in the wild.  If the wild animal has triggering fear behavior it serves to keep the individual alive longer.  But fear presenting as aggression in our domesticated dogs, dogs that live with families in our modern world, is a serious and often misunderstood problem.  Most dog training tactics NEVER help aggression.  This is why aggression is so serious and why I say it’s almost always misunderstood.

Over the many years I’ve observed two tactics that clients employ when dealing with their dog’s aggression.

1.  They don’t do anything.  Believe it or not this happens quite a bit!  Let me clarify.  Obviously they do something because they’ve sought out our professional help (certainly the right call to make when encountering serious aggression issues).  So great job on that.  But, when they arrive for their first appointment they typically do NOT do anything (physical) during the exact moment that their dog needs it the most!  They don’t take action.  I mean to say that many clients (the first time they arrive at the Dog Language Center and take their dog out of the vehicle to begin the session) do NOT attempt to intercept or cut off the dog’s intense staring, barking, screaming, lunging, or snapping!  I have often observed them holding onto the end of the leash for dear life and that’s about it.  They let the crazy dog lead the way.  The aggressive dog is just doing what it’s been allowed to repeatedly do, and thus, seizes control of the space all around the owner.  The reactive dog hits the end of the leash and keeps the tension there in order to ramp up its energy and achieve even more anti-social behavior (directed right at me or at Jesse, my apprentice)

2.  They do the wrong thing.  Sometimes I’ll watch and see that the aggressive and fearful dog is usually being comforted by the owner (they say, “It’s OK” or “Your fine” repeatedly) and, as discussed many times on this fine blog, the dog is now being verbally reinforced by way of soft human talking for the wrong (fearful and aggressive) state of mind at the completely worst time to do so!  Often the aggressive dog will, with the unwitting aid of their owners, position their rear end (the exact body part that cannot bite or attack) near the centerline of the owner’s body.  The rear end of a dog is the part that is supposed to be available for smelling by other social members of their species. Please pause and reread that last sentence.  It is quite common for us to see the dog sit on or right near the owner’s feet.  The aggressive dog is, in simple terms, hiding it’s butt and simultaneously signaling that it is not at all social because it’s hiding its most social and smelly side – the butt!  A dog’s rear end contains a lot of scent – that is the natural gateway to gaining proper information that leads to greater levels of social relation.  Wise dog owners must Never let their dogs position the backside at the owner’s feet or position their body under the owner’s body by way of sticking the dog’s butt in between the owner’s legs.  In this dreadful position the fearful and aggressive dog can truly fight because they now have their socially open/vulnerable backside fully covered (anti-social position) and seemingly protected and reinforced (by the owner)!  In this position the dog has its weapons out in front of the owner and directed straight at the person or dog they intend to bite!  It is a horrible position to let the dog get into and about half of our clients (initially) allow their dog to get into this fighting position.  Remember, the aggressive dog is masterful at manipulating the touch, space, and movement of their owner.

3.  They attempt training at an improper time.  Most forms of dog training (however advanced the training may be) are excitement-based and externally-based and that’s NOT beneficial for excitable, anxious, aggressive, or fearful dogs!!! When the owner gets their dog to sit, or watch them, or stay right with them instead of allowing their dog to freak out on a stranger (or on a strange dog) or instead of allowing them freedom to sniff and explore and actually be social – the owner seldom realizes that all the obedience commands in the world (all the sits, downs, stays, et cetera) usually amount to niceties that have little or nothing to do with the real social work and experience we need to accomplish within the dog and within the owner’s psyche!  In fact, many caring dog owners rely on “training” as a crutch because they know that their dog is quite unsocial and cannot be trusted.  So, they often pile more obedience training upon more obedience training in hopes that if they just had TOTAL control their dog wouldn’t attack a person or bite another dog.  Friends, total control is and always has been an illusion.  Anyone who thinks total control is possible is living in a dream world.  Good leadership, however, just like good dog ownership, seeks to balance control with freedom.  At Stevens Family Kennels and Dog Language Center we teach people that too much attempted control results in eventual rebellion within the dog.  Just as too much wild freedom without some basic rules and boundaries will most certainly result in chaos.  Good dog owners, like good parents, or good government officials, must be aware of the locus of control/freedom and rebellion/chaos.  Balance is key – as all nature testifies.  Please think about that.

To sum up: do not comfort (with human talking) a fearful or aggressive dog during the exact moment that the dog is freaking out!  And be sure and do something – do ANYTHING – to physically change the bad or violent positioning your aggressive dog may be used to assuming in order to save his/her own hide and in order to simultaneously threaten any one who walks up to you!

Need more help?  Read my two books on dog behavior – Dog Myths: What you Believe about dogs can come back to Bite You! and So Long Separation Anxiety.  And keep an eye out for my third upcoming book (!!!!!!) that will be all about the 5 incredible senses of a dog and the 4 Pillars of dog language as it pertains to real world behavioral results and proper application of the Garrett Stevens Method!

Aggressive dog in a harness…world’s WORST IDEA! If this owner only knew about our handmade training collars (they work wonders!)

 

The many problems of treat training and “positive reinforcement”

“When the tiger bit at Horn’s sleeve, Lawrence made a move to intervene, tempting him with raw meat.  The trainer grabbed Mantecore’s leash and the tiger managed to knock both men down.”  USA TODAY

“A grizzly bear that appeared in a recent Will Ferrell film killed a 39-year old trainer with a bite to his neck…Randy Miller has 25 years experience training animals and his facility has had a perfect safety record, according to the website.”  INDEPENDENT  

“Swedish wolves kill zookeeper who raised them…Even after discovering the zookeeper’s body officials had trouble removing her remains.”  TIME

“Tilikum grabbed Brancheau by the ponytail and pulled her into the pool, then began violently swinging her around…died from a combination of blunt force trauma to the head, neck, and torso, plus drowning.  The attack happened during a performance.  It wasn’t the first time Tilikum killed someone either.  In 1991 he was one of the three whales responsible for the death of trainer Keltie Lee Byrne.”  GRUNGE

“Tyke entered the ring…kicking around what looked to audience members like a dummy. ‘We thought it was part of the show,’ one witness told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.  They soon realized the supposed dummy was a severely injured (elephant) groomer.  Panicked, audience members fled for the exits.  Tyke went on to fatally crush her trainer – who was trying to intervene – before fleeing the arena herself….Honolulu police eventually shot her 87 times before she succumbed to nerve damage and brain hemorrhages.”  HUFFPOST

“Utterback’s girlfriend heard something fall, police said.  She got up to see what the noise was and found Utterback on the floor with the dog biting his neck…by the time EMS arrived Utterback was dead.  Utterback’s girlfriend told officers the dog was their pet for a decade and was Utterback’s ‘best friend.'”  DOGSBITE

“Ashton McGhee, 1 year old, was mauled to death by a family pitbull-mix.  The child had ‘deep abrasions to the head, chest, and neck.’  The child’s grandmother and great grandmother suffered injuries while trying to pull the dog off the toddler.  The baby had been playing with a ball on the floor when the dog came in from the outdoors.  The dog attacked the baby, causing deep lacerations to the head and chest and a broken jaw.”  WHOP

“66-year-old dog trainer found dead in her backyard with multiple dog bites on her face and arms.  Elaine Richman was discovered dead with multiple dog bites…Richman had not been seen at her dog training classes for two days.  Police found Richman dead in her backyard with dog bites on her face, arms, and hands.  Two doberman pinschers were located inside the home.  The victims brother…said she had trained and showed dobermans for decades.”  MEAWW and DOGSBITE

Friends, when you or any other person – be they “professional” or not – reinforce a dog (or a wild animal) with FOOD in order to get them to perform obedience or tricks we must all realize that this in NO way means that genuine RESPECT is present in the relationship!  

Friends, if you lack real Respect then you must NOT give TRUST to the animal no matter how fancy the obedience, behavior modification, tricks, or alleged “training!”  

What everyone in the world labels as “dog obedience,” and “dog training,” “work,” and “canine behavior modification” in truth often has little or nothing to do with canine social skills and dog language!   

If people truly grasped dog language and The Four Pillars (and they clearly do not) horrific tragedies like some of those listed above would be preventable.

This is part one in a series I’m going to do for you.  In the second installment we will get to the heart of the issue.  Stay tuned!

(Also, don’t fret because I’ll do one on the many problems of correcting a dog and harsh handling)

-G

 

Smell the butt

Smell my butt.  This is one of the single most important things in all of Dogdom.  In the dog world butt smelling is vital.

Forget the slogan, “Have you hugged your kids today?”  I say, “Has your dog smelled a butt today?”  And (equally important) has your dog been smelled by another dog in return?  This is crucial when rehabbing aggressive dogs and fearful dogs and any dog that has dog-dog reactivity.  They need to gather information through the use of their primary three birth senses.

One of a pup’s first and most important sense as it is born into this world is the olfactory…the nose.  (This is the part everyone knows) A puppy or dog ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS smells the world before it sees it or hears it.  Think about this.  Look at your dog’s face.  It is triangular shaped because the nose comes first.  The first couple weeks of a puppy’s life are spent blind and deaf – Helen Keller style!  (Now think of the extreme growth occurring physically and mentally within the fast-growing pup during those early stages of life)

This leads us to the question,  What kind of learner is your dog?  If you went to school and they tested you they would then find out whether you are a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner.  This means your brain prefers to learn and experience the world either through the eyes, the ears, or with a more hands-on approach.  And if we, as good teachers and dog trainers, customize our teaching to help accomodate the pupil’s brain’s preference learning should then naturally increase because we are now “speaking the same language.”  We are working with the brain and playing to its strengths.  If a teacher can peak the interest or natural way the brain works, well, then their material is readily received and learning occurs quickly for the pupil.  At Stevens Family Kennels and Dog Language Center we view dog training and behavioral rehab the same way.  Dogs are touchers, smellers, and tasters first.  Later they become seers and hearers.

The canine language is based in “cut-off” or “calming” signals (because these signals allow for peaceful coexistence) without which there would be no pack.  There would be Zero ability to live together and survive together if there weren’t calming signals and pressure relief valves within our dog’s language.  The language of our dogs is complex.  All canines can use these signals and this language to release tension and get along socially – tragically though – many do not.  Their need for boundaries in order to be able to calm down enough to live and function in a group is basically what makes a canine a canine.  Dogs that are skilled in their own linguistics use tension and the release of this tension (displayed in their body language and in their energy levels) to communicate their intentions clearly to those around them.  These skilled dog linguists use proper movement and spatial pressure in order to calm/claim/correct the individuals in their social circle that may need help.  If the older example dog has had good leadership they seldom if ever overdo it and they seldom if ever under do it.  It is fascinating and freeing.  It might surprise you to know that in canine culture there is more freedom than in any human government on the planet.

Smelling instead of staring leads any dog into a more calm state of mind.  Make sure your dog is smelling other dogs and people and being smelled by other dogs…if you think it is “too late” and the dog is too much of a danger than increase exercise and increase the rules within your home environment AND THEN attempt to socialize by way of spinning your dog around (controlling the head and eyes and teeth – you cannot do this on a harness) and getting your dog’s butt smelled by a calm, friendly “example” dog.

Need help??? – Read my books on dog behavior and/or leave us a quick voicemail and we’ll answer your questions as soon as is humanly possible 253-653-4890 (calls and vms are handled on a first come – first serve basis!)  Stevens Family Kennels also has a new Youtube channel you might want to subscribe to.  Thanks

-G

Dogs: to drug or not to drug

That is the question.

Drugs.  Exactly when did we stop saying “No!” to them?  In truth, those of us in the Western world understand that we’ve all been slowly programmed by television “programming” that we’ve steadily yet heavily been consuming over the long years.  You, Dear Reader, know precisely the annoying commercials I speak of.

If you’re experiencing an erection for over four hours, if you have upset stomach, if you have delusions of grandeur, if you have hot dog fingers, “if you’re feeling sad and lonely, there’s a service I can render,” if you have thoughts of suicide, et cetera, et cetera, ad nauseam (and at this time please insert any other Latin phrases you’d like to into this poor excuse for a run on sentence).  My point, drugs are more mainstream than ever and if you don’t want to run the risk of acquiring them on a shady street corner in the ghetto with cash you can easily get them instead from your tidy, little, lab-coated, local, neighborhood, MD or your DVM (vet)

 

As for me, I grew up hearing drugs were bad.  Now, in the age of ultra convenience and instant gratification, they are often presented to us as a solution!  And because dogs and people are inextricably linked together, our poor decisions and cultural practices often have a way of pulling dogs down the exact same road.  Drugging dogs has never been more widespread than it is today.

I work daily to get dogs off of Prozac and other similar drugs.  My concern is the vets that readily deal these drugs often do NOT have an active plan in place of getting them back off of the stuff!  In several cases I have seen they just want to keep increasing the dosage.  That is a problem.  Frankly, my friends, at what point does someone say, What the hell is going on?  Is my dog supposed to be so neurotic in the first place that drugs are even on the table as a legitimate option for treatment?  Is this a natural and healthy existence for my dog?  Have you, Dear Reader, thoughtfully considered the financial aspects of paying to drug your dog every day of the week throughout its existence?  Have you thought about what a quality life really entails for man or beast?

Please understand I can only speak from my professional training experience (I work with, on average, six or more dogs and families usually six days a week) and I’m surrounded by seriously problematic dogs.  We have a great reputation for handling the monsters.  This isn’t your normal puppy class stuff.  It’s not the classic stuff where the “certified” trainer bribes their way through the miserable hour of training by stuffing hundreds of treats in the pup’s mouth in order to elicit the animal to “sit” for the hundredth time and, as the weeks progress the “group” class soon dwindles down to one or two faithful yet lonesome and disheartened souls.  No, no.  I handle all the dramatic, lunging, totally imbalanced dogs on the daily – be they fearful, anxious, hyper, dominant, skittish, and particularly aggressive.  Many of the dogs I deal with want to (and have) put a hurting on people or on other dogs.  In all my years dealing with these types of dogs we’ve discovered that exactly three were helped slightly by drugs!  And I’ve been doing this for a decade and a half!!!  The rest of these canine junkies were either unaffected by it, made worse from it, or given so much they acted like half-dead zombies!  (Again, this is just my experience with thousands and thousands of dogs, I’m sure there have been others that we haven’t seen that have, in fact, been helped by drugs but my point is why not natural solution first?)

Let me be clear.  I am NOT a vet.  I would never pretend to be and don’t desire to be one in the least.  While the vets deal with the dog body I specialize and work with the dog mind and the behaviors that flow from both the body and brain – resulting in energy and movements, and behavior.  (Again, I am just sharing what I’ve personally seen and worked with and what I’ve heard from all our clients over the many years.)   I’m writing this not to go against your local veterinarian but to try and get to you first to get the gears of your mind turning!  It’s okay to ask questions.

Why not seek out a more natural solution first?  Why on earth would someone who allegedly cares for their pet rush right out and get them drugs?  What happened to just saying No?  Or at least starting that way…?

My prescription:

If you have an aggressive or anxious dog I’d highly suggest employing extra exercise as a first, natural step.  Exercise mixed with heavy socialization (this means exercising out and about not just “exercise” done alone and in your stupid, boring backyard) can work wonders on behavior.  If exercised well (with definitive rules and with socialization) most dogs achieve a lower level of aggression and certainly a lower level of anxiety.

“But, but, but my dog cannot be taken out precisely because he is aggressive or she is so anxious that it makes her worse.”  Please understand, in many cases coddling of the dog is actively contributing to making the entire situation worse.  Also – and this may just be me thinking this way but – if something “cannot be done” doesn’t that make you want to rise to the challenge of proving that it can, in fact, be done!  Doesn’t that entice or tempt you to try?  If your dog or pup is so bad you “cannot” exercise it in a social environment (a local park, the waterfront, a busy neighborhood etc) look into some pro training options.  You might even start with Youtube videos on heeling and leash work.  You know why I’m suggesting that you don’t go running to your vet for advice right off the bat…because their expertise is in treating illness of the dog body and performing routine spay and neuter surgeries, is it not?  Look to Ma Nature, and to common sense, and to this professional dog linguist’s advice because I’ve actually helped thousands and thousands of aggressive and anxious dogs and their households and done it all.Without.DRUGS!

Drugs should be the Last option when it comes to dog behavior modification. 

Add exercise and work on developing a great “Heel” command (where your dog can walk and remain calmly beside you – not in front of you).  Training the “heel” teaches respect fairly quickly.  It also rapidly decreases a dog’s natural energy reserve so that’s an added bonus.  (We’ve made a video on Heeling and Leash Manners available for purchase at http://www.gstevensdogtrainer.com And if you’re local we offer an incredible behavioral board and train option at Stevens Family Kennels and Dog Language Center that provides the massive pattern interrupt many aggressive, anxious, fear-riddled dogs desperately need – check us out at http://www.stevensfamilykennels.com)

Our dogs should adapt to our human way of life, sure, but not in the ignoble or darker side of humanity and society.  They should join us in the finer, elevated things.  Example: being neighborly and saying hello to people while on our walk.  Do this sort of stuff even and especially if it is very ugly due to aggression.  Every aggressive and or anxious or skittish dog needs more exposure to the wide world and not just to your home and property.  Work your heel and be at a safe distance, obviously, but get your aggressive dog on way more social outings.  And as you do that distance should naturally be able to decrease for the better.

I always tell clients, “All you have to do is keep control of your dog’s head.  In particular, the eye contact and the teeth!”  Once you do that you typically no longer have to fight the dog’s body for control (this ranges based on the size of the dog’s body).

By the way, if you cannot control your aggressive dog’s head and eye contact you MUST, MUST, MUST order one of my custom-fit, hand-made, training collars because they work miracles for people!  Incredibly strong, light weight, smooth-flowing and unobtrusive, our collars will out perform any harness, martingale, flat buckle collar, choker, halti, gentle leader, or prong collar on the market!  Check them out at http://www.gstevensdogtrainer.com (search the Custom Products page)

Aggression in our dogs is so mishandled by mainstream dog trainers, behaviorists, and vets.  They don’t seem to know the dog language, they don’t actually “speak dog” although they all claim to, they only do what’s already been done and yet they expect different or good results and that, Friends, is the definition of insanity.

We must all re-examine our dogs and their behavior.  We must all re-examine why we are acting how we’re acting and what we are doing with our dogs.  We must all confront the tempting trap of convenience as we move into the future.  We must reserve drugging the dog as one of the very last options of treatment especially if we truly care for our dogs like everyone claims to.

Thanks for reading and considering this.  This was another honest post for you and your dogs.

-G

Aggression in dogs: the possessive dog

The large dog lay resting comfortably on his bed in the family room.  The kid approached quickly to grab a toy soldier figurine that accidentally flew then slid across the room landing near the head of the German Shepherd.  As the boy came closer to the toy and to the dog’s bed a low rumble began.  The family dog was growling at the child.  The German Shepherd tensed – frozen in energetic anticipation of the explosive action that would invariably be coming next in the dog’s primal ritual.  Would be coming next if the boy continued on his toy-retrieving trajectory unabridged.  Fur stood up on the Shepherd’s back.  The animal was stiffened and ready to strike!

Sound familiar?  I hope not but dog aggression is currently and has been on the rise in the USofA.  As the world turns and people grow less connected to nature and more connected to comfort, convenience, consumerism, instant gratification, and all the digital insanity…basically, as we grow more unhinged in our own lives, our dogs will reflect these growing issues back to us and sometimes even on to us or on to the unwary child, family member, friend, or neighbor by way of outright aggression!

Have you ever been bit, snapped at, or purposefully threatened by a large animal equipped with a tremendous amount of bite force and long sharp canines?  For most dog owners it can be pretty intimidating.  For me it’s just another day at work.

In my daily work (averaging five or six private 1 hour training and behavior mod. sessions a day) I am now seeing an increase in resource guarding and/or possession aggression from the dogs.  Resource guarding is exactly like it sounds –  the dog claims whatever it deems a resource!  This is highly problematic and can be and often is downright dangerous.  Possessive dogs bully people (or other dogs) into submission in that they cause them to back away from “their” stuff, or “their” bed, or “their” food, or “their” person or “their” body.

Friends, those “theirs” I just mentioned – they need to go.  They need to go and go quickly from the mind of your dog, otherwise you are just biding your time, waiting for the ticking time bomb to go off.  So many well-meaning dog owners are blissfully unaware of the dangerous creature they keep in their home amongst their children and spouse!  Because so few people know the dog language they cannot identify the INITIAL stages of resource guarding  and/or if and when they eventually do identify it, they take a poor course of action in reversing and preventing it!

At this point we must, if we are being honest (and I’ve heard that’s the best policy) also add that many a dog owner’s philosophy of dog ownership is weak, non existent, or in the least, not beneficial.  Some dog owners’ philosophy of ownership, care, and handling amounts to wishy-washy fluff and not much more – they take the jelly fish approach to dog ownership and care.  They may even expect the dog living in their home currently to act like a prior dog they had, or like a childhood dog that they knew, or like a friend’s dog.  Dear Reader, if this resonates with you please understand this sort of relationship is not living, acting, or working with your dog to your full potential or to the dog’s.  Success always requires intentionality.

Step 1.  Think about your dog and about what kind of leadership (if any) you are providing.

Step 2.  Develop a philosophy of ownership or examine and possibly alter your existing, most probably, sub-par philosophy to include the main theme that NOTHING IS THE DOG’S!  Yes, let’s repeat that.  NOTHING.IS.THE.DOG’S.

Step 3.  Contemplate WHY your dog, your loving, furry family member, should definitively understand that NOTHING in his/her wonderful life with you is really his/her’s.

Step 4.  You must begin right away, today, to claim your dog and not the other way round.  Guys, all older dogs know this stuff (why are we as humans so slow on the uptake?).  All we have to do is watch the mother dog and observe grooming rituals, greeting rituals, and other common interactions among dogs in order to easily identify and learn Who claims Who in order to then apply these techniques and movements by adopting them into our own lives with our dogs.  Begin with your dog’s body because every dog on the planet with behavioral issues (no matter what the issue is btw) is somehow manipulating the owner using their body and using yours!  (This does NOT mean rolling them, or hurting a dog in any way)  We must claim them and we must occasionally deny them free and unhampered touching on OUR body even and sometimes especially if it appears “happy” or “friendly” to you.  (Also, in the case of the skittish dog, your human body should NOT become a comforting pacifier if you desire a healthy relationship and if you desire genuine maturity with and for your dog).

Imagine if your body was transformed suddenly into a dog’s body (like we see in the werewolf movies) and you were able to enter your home as an older dog…How would your dog greet you?  Rudely?  Politely?  Aggressively?  Fearfully?  How would your dog interact with you and touch your dog body and the space surrounding it when you sat down near or on the couch to relax?  Another question to ask yourself is…Would your dog’s biological birth mother (or any older dog for that matter) put up with your dog’s behavior as it applies to their bodies?

If you desire less possessive behavior from your dog – less resource guarding –  Then you’ve got to control who is touching who, and how the touch is applied, and when it is applied!  Please reread that last sentence like 50 times in a row.  It will help you.  It will help anyone who is open-minded enough to consider it.  Then you can begin all the other steps to continue treating resource guarding.

As you know, I could go on and on but I’ll end here.  For more info please read my books on dog and human behavior, Dog Myths: What you Believe about dogs can come back to Bite You!, and So Long Separation Anxiety available wherever books are sold!

-G

 

Was your dog abused? Are you continuing to abuse it mentally? You probably are due to poor yet commonly accepted dog training methods you’ve taken from the status quo

Today many dog rescue groups are working tirelessly to help an overwhelming number of dogs that have been physically abused. And although we know several of these same dogs have also been mentally abused once they are taken in, treated physically at the vets, and then placed in the rescue organization it seems we (as a society) are largely clueless about how to help them finally move on to a successful, relaxed, playful, “happy” dog life!   Dog owners can’t seem to get past the dog’s past.  It seems there is a large disconnect when it comes to solving mental abuse.

There is a host of quite common mistakes that are frequently made when we examine how the often fearful or aggressive “rescue” dog is handled.  (I will try and refrain from mentioning that many dog rescues are boldly lying to the potential adopters face about the level of potential dangers inherent in many of the dogs they are attempting to adopt out in order to fudge their “rescue” numbers!  That, perhaps is an issue for another day)

The whole focus after the new rescue dog is checked out and treated by the vet (and, Dear Reader, often if the dog is dangerous to people the vet gives a quick visual inspection…NOT even Touching the dog during the half-hearted exam!) anyway…the focus then shifts to fostering and simply getting the animal a “forever” home.  I’ll tell you now  – it’s too quick!  The dogs aren’t ready.  And they will NEVER be ready if the vets or volunteers aren’t prepared properly or don’t know what they are doing!  So, invariably, many dogs are returned a couple days or weeks or months later for aggression, phobias, anxieties, destructive behaviors, housebreaking issues, and in general because they were adopted out while still needing massive amounts of natural, calming behavior modification and socialization.

There is a giant disconnect and it is 100% behaviorally related between when the rescue dogs arrive at the vet/rescue and how they are handled while in the rescue to prep them for their new homes.  THIS is where many mistakes are happening and this is why so many dogs can’t be adopted out or if they are they come back so quickly or remain in their new home only to attack people or other dogs or cats!   Let’s take a closer look.

 

These dogs were (usually) taken out of physically or socially poor situations but then they are placed in very well-meaning but still mentally poor situations!  They are treated physically (somewhat) but then viewed as these poor, pathetic, victims and then typically forced right into a “positive only” -bribery and high excitement-based training philosophy that was doomed to fail from the beginning!  At this point, if they aren’t biting too much or if they are a physically good looking dog they will be adopted out…at least for a few weeks.  And, as discussed above, even if they are a danger to society many shelters/rescues will STILL try and adopt them out!!!

Once in their new home the dogs are most usually babied. (something any older, normal, social canine would never do to a younger pathetic newly placed dog or pup) If we, as people, act like pups and talk in high pitched tones all the time to our rescue dogs they may seem to like it but in reality you are just pumping them up in their energy as you attempt to “Sell” the dog on your friendship and love.  Most folks seldom if ever ask themselves what does this dog need mentally/psychologically from me?  Most rescue owners never honestly observe and learn from how a calm, social, normal dog would handle meeting one of these fearful new rescue dogs.  (Excepting, of course, you fine followers of this blog.  You and I now know better.) If one did consider how calm, socially normal dogs function in their society one would soon discover that dogs start out with a quick smell to identify and meet the dog then the calm, social dog would usually do the right thing and IGNORE the nervous, neurotic rescue dog.  They lead dogs play a little hard to get.  The ignoring is to establish who’s in charge and let the new rescue dog know that it’s the social and friendly way or the highway!  The ignoring also signifies a degree of trust and freedom in the newly blossoming relationship.  Healthy older dogs do NOT rush to sell or force a relationship the way 99% of people do with dogs!  Do we do that when we are introduced to a new dog?  Do we follow the dog way?  Or are we adding to the problem and bumbling through life?

Most people are totally wrong when it comes to rescue work!  They feel bad and present weak energy toward the “victim” dog.  And the dogs, being naturally intelligent creatures that depend on a pack to survive, quickly start manipulating more and more control of their bodies and then their crates and then whatever the hell else they want to manipulate or claim or control!  Their fears then grow and grow until they are biting anyone for touching “them” anywhere or flipping out on people if they go to walk by “their” kennel, or “their” food, or “their” owner.  It is a horrible and slippery slope when fear manipulates more of a foothold in the dog brain.  And it always, always, always does if the training methods are poor and if we, as people, do not follow nature’s wonderful example.

Please understand me.  I am on the side of the rescue groups and all the hard working volunteers and vets that spend their free time in so noble a pursuit as helping those animals that sometimes cannot help themselves.  I am aware that there are thousands upon thousands of dogs that are in the rescue organizations throughout this wide world.  And I am just offering a bit of honest advice as a pro trainer/behaviorist to help rapidly advance the cause of the dog in order to actually help these vets, rescue leaders, and volunteers and that in turn will help the animals both mentally and physically.  Tom Jefferson, writer of the Declaration of Independence and noted brainiac, and our third President said, “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”  Have we taken a healthy and honest look or is rescue work over-emotionalized to the point of lying to ourselves and others about whether a dog is a danger to our own children and to society at large?

I for one want to save as many dogs as possible but I want to help them physically as well as mentally and emotionally.  We must seek out better solutions than what is happening currently (in 2018).

 

I don’t want to rescue dogs to fill some gaping hole in my own life because that is not actually a healthy way forward…that is a mask, my friends.  We all know full well that those commercials they show us are intended to go straight to the heart and then to our wallet.  I don’t want to fawn all over a fearful or skittish dog because I know most fearful dogs can and actively do grow that overboard soft attention into possession and aggression.  I don’t want to live in a neighborhood where the vet is giving dogs a pass physically although the examination was barely conducted or shall we say conducted half-assed due to the vet being terrified of the dog and then…then they have the despicable audacity to lie about the danger level of the dog or its past, pawn it off on to some unwitting yet kind family as the rescue group crosses their fingers and throws up a prayer hoping that the dangerous dog stays in its “forever home!”  (I’m writing about a recent specific case if you couldn’t tell, folks.  But, believe me, this is not an isolated incident!)

I want better.  I want better for my family and our neighborhood.  I want better for my country.  I want better for the dogs.  These rescues need to wake up and focus more on quality as well as quantity.  They need to stop fudging their rescue numbers and look at the truth of 5 MILLION reported bites a year in the USA alone.  (And those are only the reported ones!) They need to look images of the 39 people killed in 2017 by dogs (most were killed by their own rescue dogs).

I wanted to share this with you all because I see and experience and have to do my darndest to avoid getting bit while actively rehabilitating dogs (behaviorally) that were in no way ready to be released to the public yet the rescue group adopted them out!

We need to rescue, sure, but let’s rescue the whole of the dog.  Let’s rescue physically of course but let’s be real sure to rescue them emotionally and mentally too!  (Dogs are dying for proper leadership)

For more insight on dog and human behavior order my hot-listed book, Dog Myths: What you Believe about dogs can come back to Bite You!  Check out the stellar reviews on Amazon and read how our book is changing households and calming and reversing behavioral issues!  Also, you may want to check out my newest book, So Long Separation Anxiety it gives real-world, hands-on, calming spatial solutions to successfully treat anxiety in dogs and prevent it in puppies!

-G

When dogs fight! Reversing aggression

 

Fight and flight behavior in our dogs is tragically becoming more and more common according to the facts and figures.  You, Dear Reader, and I are the ones responsible for this.  We cannot spell the word responsibility without including the letter I.

Friends, it lies with all of us to plant seeds of success now in the present day in order to prevent, reverse, and eliminate aggression in our dogs as we move towards the future together.  In this exciting installment from thecaninecalmer I’m going to give all you handsome and beautiful readers two straightforward techniques to help prevent aggression in your dogs.

1.  Cultivate a killer Heel.                                                                                                                 Heeling means the dog walks beside (or slightly behind) the handler.  Many dogs are complete freaks and blatantly rude to their owners as soon as they set paw outside.  We must not allow our relationship to go out the window the second our dog is on leash.  Make your dog mirror you.  Be cognizant of your center line (the line running down the middle of your body from your nose to navel).  I often encourage clients to play “hard to get” with their center line and their dog when walking in a heel.  This means we should utilize turns and sudden movements in odd directions.  This should stand out in stark contrast when compared to our boring, ol’ straight sidewalks on human designed streets.  Work your dog with turns and quick stops and varying paces.  Maintain a little rhythm and then, try to catch your dog or pup and switch it up and use broken rhythm.  (Good martial artists and boxers do this when sparring).  Keep your dog on it’s toes as you work the heel.  Your line influences his line ideally in perfect team work.                                                  (For help with your heeling we have a video available for purchase and our amazing custom-fit, handmade, training collar!  I highly suggest you take advantage of them because most dog training tools on the market are simply crap.  Put our collars to the test, I dare you)

 

 

2.  Control Eye contact.                                                                                                                             The majority of owners with aggressive dogs typically fail miserably at this.  My suggestion.  DON’T.  But…if you do then try, try, again.  After a week of practicing your heeling and as you steadily progress with the heel work controlling the eye contact whenever your dog wants to fight or bark, lunge, or scream at another dog (or person) it should now be easier to turn your dog.  Turning is critically important to your success and the behavioral rehab the dog desperately needs.  Do NOT turn too late.  Turn early and turn often.  Maintain the heel but don’t let your dog face the other dog.  Here is where you’ll have the opportunity to glean the ultra-important life lesson we call persistence.  I’ve learned my persistence from Pit Bulls!  Seize the day and don’t give up.

It is important to note here that when using the Garrett Stevens method or any beneficial naturally calming way of dog handling/training we do NOT pay the dog with food or even with high-pitched praise.  Please remember, external motivation (positive or punitive reinforcement) is never as powerful as internal.  IF your dog does indeed respond to a treat stuffed into his face right before he’s about to stare down another dog and then explode into a furry fiasco of fury and fangs I still would NOT suggest using a food treat.  Please pause and re-read that last sentence.  Whenever we pay a dog for a rigid obedience posture or trick…

1. It is Not calming.   2. It has little to no reflection on your relationship. (if the dog performs the command in exchange for payment it doesn’t mean your relationship is good)  3. The mother and father dog would NEVER do it.  4. It can eventually turn your dog into a very bratty Al Capone type creature.  5. For many people it can be difficult juggling an aggressive, lunging dog on a leash and the food treats and proper timing.  6.  It has zero to do with a dog’s natural social patterns and canine communication.  The main point being that if we have to pay a dog to focus on us instead of another dog even IF it works (and it usually does NOT with a dog with serious aggression or fear because the dog has shut off his smelling/tasting in order to turn up his vision and hearing – precisely because those senses (vision and hearing) are associated and utilized during fight and flight) then you gain an untrustworthy robot that performs “Watch me”s and “Stays” but still may not respect you and certainly cannot be trusted off leash with another dog.

Imagine for a moment, Dear Reader, if you were getting ready for the fight of your life.  You’ve paid your dues and have worked hard.  You’ve got a shot at the title.  Can you picture the moment before your fight?  Listen to the thousands of fans roaring in the arena awaiting your arrival.  Now let me ask you, Are you in the locker room warming up, stretching, and throwing punches as you shadow box and dance around or……….would you be sitting down to a massive Thanksgiving dinner and loading your fat face full of gravy-drenched turkey, your mother’s mashed potatoes, jellied cranberry sauce, and Stouffer’s stuffing?

When any creature is ready to fight they do NOT take food into consideration.  Aggressive dogs “turn down or turn off” their nose.  They turn off their smelling and tasting in order to ramp up their vision and then get ready to bite.  THIS here, folks.  THIS is what many dog behaviorists/trainers/vets CANNOT SEEM TO GRASP.  And so, those intelligent few of us that employ the Garrett Stevens method, those of us who are disciples of the way of the dog and have read Dog Myths well, to put it bluntly, we simply get much greater results than the behaviorist or trainer that clings to only one very limited answer to aggression, to fear, to anxiety, to hyperactivity, their answer is unnatural and non-calming, their answer of course, is food.  And food ad nauseam.  To consistently attempt to bribe a dog with food in order to get it to look at you is, when closely examined, ridiculous.  When fight or flight is presenting food is, naturally, the last thing on the aggressive dog’s mind.  (Only a horrible teacher would attempt to keep addressing the pupil using a sense that has been shut off)

Does this automatically mean if you’re not using “positive only” that you are now a low-born villain that ax murders old ladies after midnight every Wednesday?  Certainly not, although any behaviorist/trainer that limits themselves to the unnatural and non-calming and often ineffective methods of “positive only” (and many do) will readily label you as such.  However, all good human parents know that bribing a child is not a sustainable or healthy method for child rearing.  It is not good for the amazingly social and intelligent dog by your side either!

Typically people employing the “treats non-stop approach” see a quick and temporary bump in results (and by results I mean surface level obedience only NOT healthy social normalcy and wonderful canine communication and certainly NOT a mature relationship between owner and dog) but then, of course, it is accompanied by the all-too familiar steady, easily predictable frustrating failure in the long run for both owner and dog.  It is truly a viscous cycle that 99% of our clients will tell you happened to them before they found us and employed the naturally successful way of the dog.  Remember, BOTH positive reinforcement And punitive reinforcement were scientifically proven ( by teams of scientists in the 1970s and different teams again in the 1980s – turns out positive reinforcement isn’t modern at all) to fade in the long run and were BOTH not nearly as powerful and effective as Intrinsic motivation!  Remember, we should seldom if ever need to use treats or harsh handling when dealing with our dogs.

The RELATIONSHIP should be the REWARD!  Please re-read that and then tell your friends and family.  Tell your vet, and groomer, daycare and kennel owners.  Tell Everyone.  The relationship should be your dogs reward and your reward!  Intrinsically motivated dogs that learn to focus on the relationship, based in respect and trust and clear canine communication with healthy energy levels, will always achieve social normalcy before the extrinsically “motivated” food-bribed dog.

So work your heel and work on turning or angling to the right or left so your aggressive dog doesn’t go right into dropping doggy F-bombs (cursing and cussing by staring and mean-mugging every dog or person he sees) with every conceivable step he takes throughout your neighborhood.  Control his head and eye contact.  It should be nose before eyes because that’s how all canines are born.  Olfactory and gustatory must take precedence over the dog’s vision and hearing if one desires a calm and socially adept dog.

 

For more info please read my HOT-Listed book on dog and human behavior  Dog Myths: What you Believe about dogs can come back to Bite You!  and keep a sharp eye out for my next books.  (I’ve got two more coming down the pike for ya, hopefully available soon!)

Go here:  http://www.gstevensdogtrainer.com  -For our handmade, custom fit, training collars to help revolutionize your heel, or for our training video on Heeling and Leash Manners or, to schedule an appointment with me.

Have a marvelous day and keep socializing for success. PLEASE SHARE THIS so other dogs can be helped as more of us learn the dog way!!!

-G

ATTENTION! ACHTUNG! ATENCION!

Hear ye, hear ye!  On September 29th at 10:00 am (until 12:00) we are having a Meet the Author event!!!  Join us for a Book Signing and a mini-seminar of sorts about rightly and naturally relating to your dog or pup so that you’ll NEVER NEED FOOD TREATS AGAIN!  You’ll also never need harsh handling again!  (For those that have already read Dog Myths and actually have begun learning the dog language you know what I’m talking about! And we can’t wait to see you!)

Please bring your copy of Dog Myths!  And if any of the more brilliant and beautiful lot of you want to pick up another paperback to give as a gift to a dog-loving loved one in your life or to donate to your local pet rescue, or your vet, or groomer this would be a perfect time to snag one.  

It will be held on Saturday morning the 29th at Fort Fido Doggy Daycare in University Place, Washington.  There may even be (hint hint) goodie bags for both man and beast at this event!

We would love your support of this new and local author and for all the work we’ve done over the years, in particular, the successful rehabilitation of dogs after mainstream dog training and behavioral modification methods have failed miserably.

In closing, Please shout this news from the rooftops, tell your friends and fam, inform your grocer, your masseuse, the magician you hire for all your outrageous parties, your friendly neighborhood podiatrist,  the filthy transient on the corner, the good people at the archery club, the evening news, your underwater basket weaving group, the local herpetologist, and, above all, put this date and time down in your phones so that you’ll be there.

SEPT 29th Saturday  10:00am -12:00pm

Fort Fido Dog Daycare  (fortfido.com  6908  27th St W   University Place WA. 98466)

I can’t wait to see your shining, happy face.

-G

Post Script:  Please share this.  Yes, YOU, please share this, NOW, at this moment.  Thank you to that one or two of you that do.