Puppy Class in kids drawings

I came across these drawings today. They are drawings made by my daughter Fenja - drawn probably about 3-4 years ago. I would guess she was about 6 or 7 when she made them.

I remember when she drew them and gave them to me.

Before she got so very busy with after school activities, she used to love coming along to puppy class. Sometimes we have had many puppies living in families and several kids accompany their puppies and come along to the same class - other times there have not been that many kids or none. Being a mom, and also someone who believes very strongly our puppies benefit from having people of all ages take part in the class - I love it when kids come along. So, my own kids were a staple at puppy classes for quite a while. They were great helpers in setting up for class, and sometimes there were bonus puppies that needed a Junior Handler!

Sometimes we would get `bonus puppies` show up from a rescue or shelter.
I have always encouraged the local shelter to get in touch if they have Puppies waiting to be adopted and drop in to Wags` puppy foundation skills class, at no charge. I think it benefits everyone! The puppies get a little outing with some good learning, a volunteer is likely to accompany them - and it gives that volunteer a chance to perhaps learn something new as well as get out and mingle and let the puppy meet some additional people and dogs.

Fenja`s drawings all focus beautifully on the exercises we did with the puppies. (and we still do these types of things, among many others). 

The top drawing  shows an owner working with a puppy to introduce the puppy to go through a chute. It`s just a confidence builder and something simple and fun - yet is very helpful for some more advanced exercises later on. So, dogs who have been introduced to chutes and many strange objects as puppies have a clear advantage.

The middle drawing is equally descriptive :-) It`s extremely beneficial to introduce puppies to as many different kinds of surfaces as possible and get them comfortable stepping on and confidently walking on anything and everything they might later encounter. In the illustration the puppy is practicing sits and downs on a slippery surface (can you guess what the surface is? well clearly: a snow slider toboggan!)

And the final drawing below here shows all the prep work necessary to get ready to teach puppy class. It`s a big job to get ready for the little bundles!

Yup. That`s me with the purple shirt and the mop. Floors always get carefully cleaned before any puppy enters the training room. Carefully selected props and items are brought out. Here we`re obviously setting up the chutes as well as a tunnel. (I believe that to be one of Fenja`s brothers helping with the tunnel).

Before Wags` had a home base and a permanent indoor location, classes moved around quite a bit: I have taught in many different locations in Banff and Canmore. For some of that time I even lugged around my own flooring which was assembled before each class, and again disassembled after...(see the blue rubber tile in the top right: yeah, that`s what that is. This is an extremely accurate drawing!)

What treasures these drawings are. There were a few more...Maybe another day I can share the rest. 

Just let the puppies go - "they'll figure it out" ?

Some time ago I had a private one-on-one session with Meghan (not her real name) and her young adolescent dog, Sam (not his real name either). The main reason she had booked the appointment was because she needed some help with learning how to address Sam's fearfulness toward many things (including unfamiliar people) and reactivity toward other dogs.

As we sat on the floor talking, Meghan started by describing some events from the first couple of months after getting Sam. She had been told how important puppy class is, and heeding the advice, she took him to a puppy play group.

The play group was made up of a fairly large number of puppies, many of them considerably larger and older than 8-9-week old baby Sam. As people and puppies entered for class: they were encouraged to put the puppies down on the floor and let them go. Sam was completely overwhelmed by the commotion and all the rowdy puppies running up to him and often right into him, but the instructor tried to comfort Meghan and tell her it was all fine and that Sam would soon "figure it out."

The older, bolder puppies who had come to the playgroup a few weeks already were all wild and happy and excited, running around like kids too high on sugar - often bowling little Sam over as they swept around the room. Sam kept looking for an escape - his tail tucked,  his ears flattened against his head. He kept looking for a place to hide. When Meghan's instinct kicked in to protect him from some of the older puppies who kept coming over to him, running him over and pinning him to the floor - and she wanted to pick him up - the instructor told her not to do so: that this was important learning and again reiterated that "Sam would soon figure it out" and that this was all part of the very important socialization process.

Meghan's gut instinct was that Sam did not enjoy the play group. But she was conflicted because she had heard over and over again about how important it was to "socialize your puppy". She was told if she just keeps it up and introduces him to more and more dogs and puppies - "Sam would soon figure it out". She went back to that same puppy play group two more times. Each time with the same result. Sam would look for a place to hide: but Meghan was encouraged not to let him hide but bring him out to the face his foes. The encouragement being "Sam needs to figure this out."

After three visits to the play group, Meghan stopped going - deflated, unhappy but unsure what to do. The only thing she was somewhat certain of, was that this play group was not a place Sam enjoyed to be. 

Months then rolled by. Sam's fear issues now escalating and concern with other dogs getting bigger and bigger. And that's how I first met Sam and started to address these issues. 

Very unfortunately for a puppy like Sam: that puppy play group was really not a good confidence boost at all. On the contrary - within minutes of arriving the first time, Sam had already been convinced that perhaps this was not a safe place at all, nor were the other puppies safe. Add to that repeated exposure of the same...it would be like taking a young child to a playground full off bullies and saying "just go in there and join the fun - you'll soon learn to enjoy it".

When we put it into human language, we can see just how absurd that is - yet there is this very prevalent belief that somehow puppy "socialization" is just that: letting them loose together and they will all come out fine.

Sometimes we get it so wrong. 

"Socialization" is not a word I like at all. I think it encourages JUST that kind of thinking: just throw puppies into any group of puppies and "they'll figure it out - and better yet: they will learn to love it".

Maybe sometimes. But definitely Not always. What about all the many puppies out there - who are exactly like Sam and don't come out of it thinking it was any fun at all.

There are many things and situations we put our puppies and dogs in - the question we need to remember to ask is: 
"At what cost?" (to them). 
And the beautiful, yet simple question Suzanne Clothier reminds us to repeatedly ask: "How is this for you?"

Little wee baby Tommy -  on the left - is gaining confidence
by the minute and thinking he'd like to go see what this
big Betty-puppy is all about...

We need to learn to see what the puppies are saying in the moment? Their body language is extremely truthful: a direct mirror of how they are feeling - if they are not having fun: it really is our responsibility as their guardians and Best Friends to help them out. 

It's impossible to build confidence in a puppy who is pushed to feel overwhelmed, is scared and worried about his safety. 
They need, first and foremost to feel safe!

The iPhone photos here are from last nights' Puppy Foundation Skills class: where we could have had a "Sam situation". A tiny, wee baby puppy; Tommy - with three much older, bolder, way more rambunctious - and confident pups. Had we just thrown them together - I am not sure the little baby Tommy would have had much fun at all.

But instead we went very slow - to hopefully be able to go fast - later.

I like to start puppy class with the puppies on leash and by doing some training before we ever let them have an opportunity to play and go free. These 15-20 minutes are golden: for one, it allows an opportunity to work owner+puppy and practice some simple skills, but it also takes the focus and wild emphasis away from the other puppies and puts it where it belongs: on the dog-human bond. And lastly - it also allows plenty of time and opportunity to identify if there is a puppy in the group that needs to be given special consideration before the group is let go off leash.

Before we eventually did let them go off leash to have playtime, we had first talked about the big size and confidence difference in these puppies and how it was important to make certain that the older puppies would not be free to bowl over little baby Tommy. 
To gradually build him up: we encouraged him to stay in safe spots where the other puppies could not run into him! Having a tiny puppy sit protected by a person's legs on the floor is a great, safe spot for them to be able to see what's going on without being right in the middle of it.

The first several minutes Tommy spent sitting safely between his owner's legs.
He wasn't quite sure what to think about the older puppies. And that's fine! He's just a little, tiny baby. He needs to be able to develop at the pace he is comfortable and safe. 

All the people in the class were most fantastic, and all helped and "got it" about giving Tommy a safe "protector shield" so that the older puppies never once had a chance to take him out, roll him or bowl him over. Toward the end of the class - now with a good and safe experience under his belt  - he actually started to venture off and go explore a few feet away from the safety net of his person. And here's the gem photo to finish off with. Tommy, now braving it over to a much much bigger puppy: actually offering a baby bark, play-bow and inviting Betty to play!

What was the "cost" of going very slowly and carefully?

Confidence.

Working with Reactive Dogs

I was intrigued already the first time I heard about BAT - Behaviour Adjustment Training for reactive/ and leash aggressive dogs. It was about 3 and some years ago. BAT is a relatively new method that has taken off in just the last few years. It was developed by US-trainer Grisha Stewart  (formerly located in Seattle - recently relocated to Alaska...) and the hype about BAT went fast around the globe after 2009 when she first started spreading word about it in the dog training world...for more; check out the official Functional Rewards site.

While many of the concepts within BAT are not new at all - I personally felt that BAT added a very nice and fresh, new spin on working with these - often "difficult" dogs. What I have felt from the very first get-go and my own trials and experiments with putting BAT into practice, has been that it is based on a lovely premise of "can do" - as opposed to the many techniques out there, that may look great in books and on paper but are not very doable and practical in real life. And my experience as a trainer is very much that if *I* find something complex and not very doable - certainly my clients will not be very successful implementing that program into their lives! But, as mentioned - BAT is different, and stands on a strong idea of DOABLE - and I love BAT for that!

My own journey into learning more about BAT and starting to really use it began through watching video seminars and reading the BAT book and articles - and then experimenting with my own dog Pinot, who definitely is extremely space sensitive and has the potential to be quite reactive in certain situations. She was my initial guinea pig. I sure liked what I saw and experienced first-hand! That lead to setting up BAT trials in private sessions and pairing people in semi-privates to work on BAT concepts in pairs. I kept feeling impressed that these ideas are ones that everyone "gets" - not just the handlers  but also the dogs, who were happy to work under threshold, without explosions - as long as we just set things up for success! How lovely! 

Last winter and spring I started a Pilot Project and had an "Official Guinea Pig Group" and through several months gained some really valuable insight into logistics of a BAT group and how I might best implement a BAT class. And voila! This is where we are today. 

No one loves it when the their dog explodes and goes into big displays of often embarrassing behaviours (embarrassing to the owners). After a BAT session - the most common scenario is that everyone feels empowered after a full session of working with several different dogs - yet no (or extremely few) explosions or overt displays of leash aggression. 

Here are a few photos from yesterday. Yey for the troopers who came out in the snow! It was a very snowy (and gorgeous) afternoon. Fantastic training with all the dogs! I`ve had a lot of new people ask about BAT and how it works - so this is an attempt to explain a bit more  through pictures...

These first two images give a little snap-shot of what BAT is all about. In the above photo Chief T is assessing another dog/ looking ahead. In contrast to many other training methods that encourage the handler to always cue the dog to look AWAY from whatever is "scary" or "threatening", BAT allows and even encourages the dog to make this assessment and look at the other dogs. 

Because we make our very, very best effort to always work the dogs under threshold (perhaps playing with distance a lot initially and starting the work as far away from other dogs as need be) - we can very quickly get to a point where you will allow the dog to make this assessment of the other dog and then WAIT for a choice from your dog to offer some other - more socially appropriate behaviour, something other than reacting. That's what's going on in the photo below; he`s done assessing and has made a choice other than reacting. Look at Chief T - isn't that just gorgeous and elegant?! A choice he made on his own - without prompt or cue. It's truly elegant to watch this process in real time!

We also incorporate some other skills into the BAT sessions once the dogs are ready for that - below playing a variation of "Monkey in the middle" where one dog is holding a sit next to their handler while the other dogs provide distractions in their movement and passing / coming and going. Great skills to develop and build regardless of whether dogs are reactive or not :-) 

 Working on politely passing one another / no lunging here! Great training :-)

Below, Casey (to the right) has just made a lovely choice to offer a polite signal and she is being rewarded with increased distance and a happy dance in reverse giving her SPACE from the other dog (and praise) and the main reward for making that lovely choice.

At its best, watching a BAT session is about as "exciting"as this -it`s pretty calm and the dogs look relaxed enough that you would have the right to say "Well, THOSE dogs are not reactive".  And that`s part of the point. Practicing what we want to see more of! 

Sometimes people have this idea that in order to be able to help with reactivity or leash aggression, we must see those behaviours in the training sessions. Not so! In fact - on the contrary! A reacting dog is not a thinking and learning dog - but these dogs are. Well below threshold and able to think and learn - we`re definitely starting to see and hear great reports from the BATters who have been coming out to a few sessions now!

If you`re interested in learning more or a local wanting to join in Canmore and Banff area - you can get more info about Wags` BAT sessions here. Or fill in the contact form and ask about our outdoor BAT sessions! Would love to hear from you!


On that note - and until next time; Chief T wants to have the last word and say GIMME FIVE!