​Did you know that dogs have personal spaces just like us? Most of us appreciate a cuddle at certain times but it needs to be appropriate. And there’s the odd person who really dislikes physical contact.
            How do we recognise the difference between these people? We look at the signals they give us as they approach. (It may be that with social distancing we lose our spontaneity in this respect. But, for now, I’m talking about what we did before Covid-19.)
            Some acquaintances greet us with outstretched arms. The signal they are giving is friendly, spontaneous, loving, and we readily return the embrace. Other friends or acquaintances walk forward with a smile, or at the most the offer of a handshake. And we read their signals clearly. Some time ago, my son had a lovely girlfriend, whose family believed in greeting one and all, including strangers, with an engulfing embrace. I found this an invasion of my personal space and they ignored my signals but I had to endure it for the sake of my son. However, it was most annoying.
            The same principle applies to our dogs. There are some dogs that are quite touchy, feely. But you never see dogs with their paws draped around each other. And there are some breeds that have huge personal spaces. The trouble is we don’t bother to read the clear signals a dog gives us as we approach. After all, we would hardly rush up to strangers and throw our arms around them. Yet, we run up to small dogs, puppies, handsome looking canines and proceed to stand over them, billing and cooing, trying to stroke them, and patting their heads. And lots of us ignore the warnings of the owner that the dog is unused to petting, under-socialised or is just plain aloof or fearful.
            Some dogs suffer in silence, cringing as the person in question invades their space despite their signals. But the first clear signal in all dogs is to look away – a sure sign that they find the oncomer’s greeting inappropriate. Every dog understands that signal. Why can’t we? But the person keeps coming forward, staring at the dog with hands outstretched. If the dog is a rescue and under-socialised, merely of a nervous disposition, hates being touched by a stranger or dislikes people standing over him in a seemingly threatening manner, then this is big trouble.
            First of all, staring is impolite for a dog. So is the direct approach. And, if the dog is nervous and the owner isn’t taking action to avoid this situation, the dog becomes stressed and feels he must protect himself if his owner fails him. A stressed dog reacts to anything that frightens or causes alarms. He might cringe, give a low growl, or even a dry snap, or worse still, connect with his teeth. Those are his signals. As far as he’s concerned, he’s showing his discomfort, yet you keep ignoring him, so his warnings get more and more serious! Get the picture?
            You could argue that the owner shouldn’t bring his dog into public until he is socialised. But he won’t be socialised until he visits public places. What I feel is wrong is the approaching person who believes the dog will benefit from his attention! Never mind the signals that the dog is giving or the possible request of the owner for him to back off.
            At this time, it’s so important to respect the owner’s wishes, and more importantly, respect the signals from the dog. Obviously, the dog needs training but he will only get it by being gently exposed to all sorts of different situations.
            In my dog obedience classes, I ask people to walk their dogs very slowly towards another person and dog. I’m teaching them to recognise their own and other dog’s signals. Obviously, if an owner’s dog begins to get anxious about moving forward, then it’s time to stop and allow him to process things. Or it may be even better to move one or two steps backward until the dog sits down or stands quietly thus, indicating that he can cope at the bigger distance. If, as handlers, we’re quiet in this situation, our dogs can read our signals and relax as well. But, more importantly, we’re respecting and reading the clear signals we’re getting and not forcing or overwhelming our dogs by making them approach another animal when that troubles them.
            If we just walk our dogs into an awkward situation with another dog, it could leave a deep and lasting impression on dogs’ psyche making them reactive or fearful of other dogs.
            When you next look at your dog, try to read his signals. You can tell when he’s looking forward to a walk by his increased energy and tail wags. But how about looking at him when he’s approaching something new? Look at his overall demeanour. Is he making himself smaller in size? If so, he’s telling you he’s unsure of this, and rather fearful, so he’s saying he’s no threat. When he barks as he approaches other dogs, you have to understand the bark. Is it accompanied by his hackles raised, a hard eye, ears back and straining excessively on the leash? If so, he’s being confrontational. But, if that bark sounds aggressive but the dog is acting fearfully, he’s giving a warning not to come any closer because he really doesn’t want to have to do anything. It may still sound aggressive but his body language is telling another story.
            Reading dogs’ signals is a fascinating occupation and one that I find very absorbing. But, then that’s probably one of the reasons why I became a dog trainer!
 

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I don’t know about you but the dismal, cold, cloudy weather last week made ‘lockdown’ very difficult. The sunshine today has lifted my spirits and I feel a little more normal!
            As it was cold as well as miserable, I wasn’t too keen to stay outside after I’d walked and played ‘footie’ with Juno. But all she wanted to do was have fun with me outside. So it was time to work on indoor games to test her brain and skills. Getting a dog to use its brain is as tiring as going for a long walk.
 
Muffin Tin Game: I got this game from online and haven’t yet played it. But it sounds like fun. (I know everyone is baking madly at the moment but your muffin tin will be empty at some stage. And don’t forget to wash it well after the game!)
Take your muffin tin and place a treat at the bottom of each cup. Then squash a tennis ball on top. Let your dog watch you doing this. Then hold the tin and encourage him to ‘Find the Treat’! Make sure he gets really excited and has fun removing the tennis balls to get the treats.
            (There are lots of interactive games online for you to buy but the above is homemade and, thus, free!)
 
Find the treat under the mug/bowl: Have three solid mugs or bowls and let your dog watch closely while you place a treat under one of the containers. Say ‘Find it’ and watch him sniff a particular mug/bowl. Lift it and if it’s the right one with the treat, praise as he eats it. If he sniffed the wrong one, lift the mug/bowl, say ‘Oops’, and reset the mugs and ask him to try again.
            Once he can find the treat immediately most of the time, you can raise the bar.
Place a treat under one container and shuffle it with another one of the three. That means the treat has been moved one place. Ensure your dog is watching closely. Then say, ‘Find it’. Pick up the mug/bowl he noses. If the treat is there, he gets his reward plus loads of praise. Wrong mug, ‘Oops’ and repeat.
            When your dog is nosing out the treat at once more times than not, then create more difficulty by shuffling all three mugs for a couple of times. Once he’s nosing out that treat each time, then shuffle the mugs for longer periods.
            In both instances, make sure you enter into the spirit of the game. Get excited! Let him know he’s a star when he finds the treats immediately. But don’t flog the games to death. Repeating each one five times is more than enough otherwise your dog gets bored. You want him coming back for more the next time.
 
Object Choice: This game helps your dog to really use his brain. If you’ve not got too much experience in training your dog, I would suggest that you start by asking your dog to ‘touch’ your hand. You hold out your hand, palm facing, near him. He’ll probably imagine you have something in your hand so will automatically sniff it or even paw it. Just say ‘Good’ and reward. As he begins to automatically ‘touch’ your hand, say ‘Good’ and add ‘Hand’ Touch’.
Then start with toys that your dog already plays with such as a ball or tug toy. Sit him down and show him the toy. Say ‘Ball, touch’. You’re looking for him to touch it with his paw or nose. When he does. Say ‘Good!’ and reward. When he automatically touches the ball each time, introduce another toy, and go through the same procedure, naming the second toy.
            Once he’s touching the second toy, hold each one, with one much closer to him and name the specific toy and ask him to touch it. You can change the toys around so the other is closer. (Remember the whole point is to name the toy.) When this becomes automatic, hold both at the same distance and ask him to touch one or other, naming the specific one.
            Get him familiar with the two items and then gradually add another toy, one at a time. Soon you’ll have him touching that toy when you name it. And, finally, you can place them all in a row, stand back and ask him to go up to whichever toy you name and nose or paw it.
            (When the ‘lockdown’ is lifted, you can then show off your dog’s amazing skills to all your friends!)
 
Liz Mahony
www.corkdogtrainingclasses.com

​​Week three and you’ve either settled into a routine or you’re climbing the walls with the enforced confinement!
Whichever it is, why not take a break and do something positive with your dog?
I’ve found that Juno has been ignoring some of my commands and only doing them after a fashion or when she feels like it. So this morning, I used our walk as a good way to reinforce some of those that she’s been fudging.
 
The Sit
            Juno’s pretty good at that one unless there is a distraction outside, which can happen on the walk. Today her speed of walking was increasing as one of the routes I follow takes us past her favourite pal. Anticipating seeing him makes her thoroughly deaf!
            So I insisted she stop, sat, and, most importantly, made consistent eye contact before I allowed her to carry on. At first, she kept looking away to see if her friend was in the garden. I kept encouraging her to look at me until she concentrated on me and then came the reward – to go and investigate. It took a while, but, in the end, she did really well. Once she performed the command, immediately sitting and making eye contact, then I said ‘Good’ and released her. I always try to remember to use a release word/phrase.
           
 Have a release word/phrase.
            Whenever I want to cross a road or need Juno to sit and wait for a passing car, I use the ‘Sit’ command, then ‘Look at me’, ‘Good’, and finally ‘Go Free’. Juno has very little patience so after a car has passed she likes to get up and go immediately. We’re working on this process because it means we’re keeping connected the whole time.
            Not only that, it means that she might be listening and sitting for me but, then, whizzing off doing her own thing. That’s not good enough because often there might be another car coming immediately after the first. So, it’s really important to keep her connected with me until I release her.
            She doesn’t ‘do’ patience which means I really have to work at this! Apart from anything, it will help her learn self-control. And I’d got a bit lax about reinforcing the commands.
You can use ‘Go Free’, ‘Off you go’ or just ‘Okay’ as a release.
 
Don’t keep repeating yourself!
It’s very important that you don’t keep repeating any command until you finally lose your cool and yell it in exasperation. Your blood pressure is off the Richter scale by then and you’ve lost self-control so don’t expect your dog to have any either!
            Instead, when it comes to practising a command, work on it at home and always on lead so that your dog can’t just walk away from you.
            Have your treat ready and in view, then ask for the command you want just ONCE! If your dog ignores the request, put the treat back in your pocket, and turn your back on him. Then turn round, take the treat out, and ask again. Your dog should automatically perform the command, in which case, say ‘Good’ and reward.
            Don’t practise working at any command for longer than 2-5 minutes or your dog will become sulky and slow to react. That makes him less inclined to train again. Instead, finish quickly when he’s performed well, give him a big cuddle, and tell him he’s a star!
Better still, follow it all up with a game. How positive is that?
 
 
Liz Mahony
www.corkdogtrainingclasses.com

For anyone with children of any age at home, I expect the first thing you did in Lock-Down was to establish a routine.
            It’s just as important to establish a routine with your dogs. As I mentioned in a previous blog, they are delighted to have us at home and, if we let them, they will try to appropriate us solely for themselves. But, no matter how much we love our dogs and kids, all of us need space to breathe, recharge the batteries, and to focus occasionally on ourselves.
            If we allow our dogs to encroach completely, we’ll be storing up problems when life goes back to normal. If we’re not careful, we’ll suddenly find our dogs can’t live without us and they become emotionally insecure in our absence, and needy for our undivided attention.
            To avoid this, establish a few ground rules:
Your dog has a walk or even two at certain times each day. After that, he goes into bed/crate to settle or takes advantage of beautiful spring days outside for a while.
During that time, everyone leaves him alone so he has no distractions and he learns to be on his own. Remember that old saying: Let sleeping dogs lie! Adopt it as a house rule.
            If you already have a ‘needy’ dog, practice your own ‘physical distancing’. Close the door behind you, when you walk out of a room so your dog can’t follow you everywhere. Only return to the room if your dog is quiet. And don’t make a big fuss of him on your return.
            Some dogs want your attention all the time. So they nudge you, jump up, demand to sit on your lap, bring their toys over for you to play with them, whine or bark at you. Any of those behaviours sound familiar? Suddenly, you feel overwhelmed by all the attention because you also have to see to the demands of family members permanently at home too. Everybody wants a piece of you!
            When your dog does any of the above behaviours, avert your eyes from him and ignore until he stops. Just say ‘Good’ and carry on with whatever you’re doing.
           Remember, dogs are pretty clever. Any behaviour that isn’t acknowledged by you isn’t worth doing! However, if you keep telling your dog ‘No’ or ‘Stop’, he now has your attention. It may be negative attention but it’s still what he wanted!          
          By ignoring your dog, you keep your cool and your blood pressure down. Apart from those important things, it’s a more powerful way of getting the desired behaviour.
           However, call your dog over at other times (not when he’s asleep!) and make a big fuss of him or give him a game. You’ve started the behaviour and it means more to you and him because you really want to give him attention rather than him demanding it. Apart from the learning curve for your dog, constant demands for attention are extremely stressful. After a while you’ll lose patience and snap. Your dog reacts by looking hurt; you feel guilty, and the whole activity begins all over again!
            It’s important to find a happy balance so that you and your dog can enjoy each other!

Some of you know me already. You either follow me on Facebook, have viewed my website www.corkdogtrainingclasses.com, attended one of my courses or I’ve visited you in your homes.
         Whoever or wherever you are, newcomer or follower, welcome to this Blog for Dogs. This seems the time to set up one during this enforced confinement to help anyone struggling out there with their pet and in need of some enlightenment as to how to train, engage in play, generally relieve boredom, frustration, and worry that both you and your pet may be experiencing.
         Yes, I said worry. Do pets worry? Big time. They watch us as we take on more and more stress and they become stressed themselves. The greatest stress that dogs experience is living with us.
         Even so your dog must be really pleased you’re at home. He doesn’t understand that you may be worrying about your finances, the virus, family members, etc. He’s just happy to know his carer is there right in front of him.
         So indulge him. But use the time with him as quality time. Get out in the fresh air. Go for a walk, play ball. A brisk walk is better than anything. So instead of watching your clock because you’ve to dash to work, you can extend the time on his walk. He’ll love it.
         If he likes to play ball, then indulge him. However, only do it for between five to ten minutes. Any more, and he just gets wired up and takes the ball away to chew or hide it. If he won’t return the ball, you can train him. If, like my own dog, you have a dog wired to playing ball, have two balls. Throw one and ask him to come back to you. If he refuses or dances around you at a distance, show him the second ball. Bounce ball (2) on the ground to get his attention. Then offer it to him while holding out your other hand to take ball (1). I hold my hand right under Juno’s chin and say, ‘Give’. When she releases ball (1), I reinforce it with a ‘Yes’ or ‘Good’ and I throw ball (2) for her.
         After a while, you should just be able to hold out your hand and say, ‘Give’ and ‘Good’ without using ball (2). This method can then be used for all items that you want from your dog.
         And, finally, if stress is overwhelming you, trying sitting comfortably and stroke your dog mindfully. Not just patting him but concentrating on what you are doing. Stroking your pet relieves pressure. That’s why dogs visit Nursing homes so they can help the elderly.
         And here’s something else you can do. Try this TTouch action on your dog. The Tellington Touch method can calm your pet but it also has the same effect on you.
Sit by your dog and lay his ear flat on the palm of your hand. With your thumb, gently and mindfully stroke his ear in straight lines from his head down to the edges. All the Acupressure points are around the edges of the ear so it’s really beneficial for him. This Touch is also extremely helpful for nervous dogs. (See slideshow below.)
 

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