Shelter From The Storm

It's been a long time since I've logged any new entries. I started a few but struggled bringing them home. My father's passing sparked what's been a long period of questioning, self doubt and general gloominess about getting older and running out of time, big picture stuff that could exact more influence than I wanted it to. After all, working with dogs is far more often than not a joyful thing. I wanted the next thing I wrote about to have some of that. Let some fresh air and sunshine in the room. The general idea for this entry's been bouncing around my brain for a while now but I wasn't really sure how to approach it. This is about the people here in Rhode Island who work and volunteer for animal shelters and rescue organizations. It's too big for one entry so I'm going to address it as a series, each entry focusing on a different organization. I have an abiding affection for the people I'll be writing about here and that made me worry this will be just so much back slapping, no matter how I managed to present it. Then I thought, screw it, what's wrong with some public adulation? Maybe I'll manage to make it interesting, thread in some humor and intrigue. 

I know some of these fine folks more than others and of course our interactions have largely been by way of this common interest we share. You could argue I'm only seeing them through a narrow lens and that's not enough to shower them with praise. Fair enough. It's possible for example that a few of them are master criminals or evil geniuses in their spare time, not the selfless altruists I think of them as. That would be intriguing but I doubt it. It's also possible that some are doing the things they do for the attention they may garner on social media, but I doubt that too. That people respond to them and the things they do on social media site reminds me that everything is not complete shit, not superficial, innocuous, not meaningless. It's these people that collectively form a counter balance for the myriad knuckle heads that dot our little landscape. I won't waste precious key strokes blathering on about said knuckleheads, remember this is supposed to be sunshine and fresh air. Maybe a post script blurb on knuckleheads at the end of this? Yes that will do nicely. 

 While I'm thinking about it, a confession concerning the title of this entry which, you may have guessed, arrived by way of listening to Bob Dylan, an activity people of my age, along with musings about rotary dial phones and vinyl records, are known to indulge in from time to time. It's not a particularly clever way to find one's self inspired but as long as it remains illegal to sample psychedelics in this state, I'm left to work with what I've got. If said contraband should one day be deemed copacetic however, well, prepare yourselves for "How Come Your Beagle Looks Paisley?" I digress,...


Very well then, let the back slapping begin! I have to start with the Warwick Animal Shelter. It's been said our lives can be broken down to eight or fewer key moments that ultimately define it, send it off on a trajectory that changes us irreversibly. There are thirty-nine municipalities Sue and I could've moved to when we came here from Massachusetts in the late 90's but we chose Warwick and it's here where I met Ann Corvin, then the city's shelter keeper, now the director. She agreed to let me work with the shelter dogs there despite approaching her about it following a long period of tumult that had left some hard feelings between a local volunteer organization and some shelter staff. It's a long story best left to the people who were involved directly in it. Sufficed to say it got ugly and left some hard feelings behind. Volunteers were just being let back in albeit with a jaundiced eye. The shelter was an old, cramped, decrepit building. Passed tensions remained palpable on some days, everything seemed old, falling apart at the seams. None of that mattered in retrospect. This is where it all started. Without that sad, old building, without Ann's willingness to give me a outlet to work with shelter dogs, none of what's happened for me as trainer would have happened. It's worth mentioning the first dog I worked with bit me. I remember walking through the entire run that first time, looking for the dog who in my estimation would be least threatening, a little 35lb black and white mutt named, appropriately, "Snoopy". What could happen? I'd soon meet Barbara Emmons, the director of volunteers at the time. An RNP from local Kent Hospital, Barbara struck me immediately as someone who would never be distracted by bullshit. She and Ann got it and between the two of them, they'd play a big role in shepherding that shelter through some serious growing pains. Always with compassion, humor and intelligence. Marylou, Jan, Deb, John and his wife Cathy, Paul and his wife Ruth rounded out that first group of staff and volunteers. All great, people, each worthy of their own time here.  

Jackie, Ann (with Teddy) & Deb

Over the years the shelter would move into it's present location next door, it would be very nearly destroyed in the flood of 2010 before being restored to it's present state. With the brave efforts of Barbara Walsh, Mary Tilton and others who I'm no doubt giving short shrift to, the shelter was redefined in a way that's cleared the path for volunteers to help with things that the shelter's budget would not otherwise be able to accommodate. With that enter Maureen, Deb Arenburg, Noreen, Judy, Jackie, Maggie and several others. Staff and volunteers who've collectively done everything from, maintenance, huge fund raising efforts, walking the dogs, washing and cleaning, photographing the animals up for adoption, follow up on adoptions and even the bringing about the construction of an outdoor pen where dogs can run around, get some fresh air and be introduced to adoptive families. The extraordinarily improved conditions can be directly attributed to these people and their collective efforts. If character is best judged by who you are when no one is looking, it abounds here. There's no one there looking to be beatified and no one there who hasn't been witness to some genuinely inhumane experiences. 

Dogs, cats and the occasional ferret, parrot, turtle or rabbit find themselves at this shelter for different reasons. Some are inescapable, inevitable, others the unfortunate, unwitting result of neglect, bad decision making, uncaring and cruelty. It can seem unrelenting at times and while there's the occasional need to vent by way of the colorful use of expletives (strictly professional mind you, never with any member of the public present.) This group maintains a tight ship that takes time to make sure it's residents are finding some measure of enrichment while in their care. It's truly something and while not unique to the Warwick Animal Shelter it is here where I find my core. This is where I go to get grounded. It's also where I found Reno and Miles, two dogs that changed my life. Like the bumper sticker says, "Who Rescued Who?" 

I've said that shelter volunteers are altruists and that's true but volunteer work is not without some reciprocity. Watch volunteers interacting with the cats, dogs etc, walking, playing, training, helping with introductions, even feeding, cleaning and grooming. Meeting these basic needs feels good, a lasting good you take with you when you leave. The feedback from a dog that comes in filthy, parasite ridden and hungry when they've had a bath, been relieved of fleas and ticks and fed, given the medical attention they sometimes need. It's profoundly rewarding. There is the gloomy side as well. The hard business of shelter work. Recognizing that adoption may not be a safe option and the requisite choices that come with reaching that conclusion. That brings me to my post script.

I'm going to stand on my soap box and extend some long overdue feedback to a certain local group given to bloviation and no small amount of shit stirring. I think far too little of them to give them mention save to say their name is a transparent attempt to disguise their actual mission of poorly researched grandstanding, often before the state assembly. Normally I'd applaud civic minded activity but not here. They are an idiom and little more. In particular, "An empty vessel makes the most noise." a personal favorite,. Alas, I've let clouds and exhaust fumes into this otherwise cheerful entry but this particular group of knuckleheads, led by someone who's spent nary a moment in any animal shelter, is given to spouting libelous nonsense on social media about my friends at the Warwick Animal Shelter. Those employing the use of their frontal lobe and even a modicum of common sense will ignore them as I probably should. The angry, mouth breathing trolls who are their acolytes however, well that's a different story. The vitriolic, often threatening sputum typed in response to their ramblings is at it's least, fundamentally misplaced and at it's worse, very, very scary. To this group of empty headed troglodytes and their supporters I present you with both middle fingers. Take a break from trolling. You're not bound to suffer turd slinging from the likes of me, you're otherwise kind hearted blogger. I'm only grinning a little bit as I type this final sentence. Try critical thinking, you might like it.

These Aren't The Droids You're Looking For

QUESTION: How many Zen Masters does it take to screw in a light bulb?
ANSWER: There is no light bulb.

This is the joke that comes up so frequently in my lessons. It's probably a mistake to include it in this post, it will never have that chin rubbing "hmmmm..." quality again (assuming you've read this of course) This joke helps set the stage for what I'm ultimately, really asking my dog owners to do and that's to think differently about the problems they're having with their dogs. I'm also trying to establish a dynamic where you the dog owner are expecting your dog to think and problem solve, to understand why their behavior results in one consequence versus another. One is compelling, rewarding, the other is not. 

I'm working with a couple with two beautiful little dogs. Levi, a miniature dachshund and Stanley, a beagle/dachshund mix. They are also expecting a baby and have concerns about how their dogs will adjust to the addition of the new family member. Levi doesn't like when John touches Felicia's belly to feel the baby kicking. Perhaps he views it as an aggressive overture, a preamble to conflict of some sort. He jumps, barks and nips at John's hand. Our goal was for Levi to reevaluate what this gesture meant to him. We wanted Levi to tell us that he wanted John to feel the baby kicking because ultimately, Levi's objections to this gesture could be symptomatic of broader misinterpretations which in turn can have a negative, even devastating impact on the human/animal bond. Conversely, it can lead to outright denial, which can lead to escalating aggression. There are ways to work through these problems with our dogs that often deepen the bond we have with them. Here's how we approached Levi's "What are you doing to Mom?" problem.

Stanley & Levi practice stay after hearing the doorbell.

The first step was to teach Levi and Stanley how great being on the floor is. This is not a semantic argument, this is Real Estate 101. Your dogs want the couch, they want the bed. but these coveted locals are off limits when there's a baby in the house, so our job is to convince them that these spots are not prime real estate as they believe, the floor is, their beds on the floor are. Resentment can fester into dangerous behaviors so removing conflict from the proceedings is a high priority, as it happens, it's also considerably more fun. I have another favorite way to frame this arguement, "These aren't the droids you're looking for." instantly relevant to fans of Star Wars Episode IV, Obi Wan doesn't massacre the inquisitive storm troopers, he changes the nature of the encounter in a way that is devoid of conflict. "I want to be up there on the couch!" , "Nah, you don't want the couch, what you want is the floor. The floor is awesome." "You're right, the floor is awesome, I love this floor. This is the best floor in the history of floors. Thanks for showing me." This may seem overly simplistic but that's it in a nutshell. The details of getting there with your dog may differ depending on their attachment to elevated perches and what they're compelled by but it's still about rewarding the floor while managing the couch and your bed. The elevated places are never bad which means they're not punished for being there, merely redirected to the floor where they're once again met with praise. Using things like Kong Wobblers or my personal favorite the IQ Ball is another way to use the food they'd otherwise be eating from their bowls (boring) into a game that unfolds on the floor (fun) adding further value to the lower elevations of your dog's living space. "But aren't some dogs fine on furniture? My dog's never acted aggressively on furniture" There's no question that some dogs are sweet as pumpkin pie in these situations, still, safety first. There's no down side to this exercise, quite the contrary. The dog owners I've worked with report that their dogs thrive in this modified dynamic because it's fun and they're getting more attention then they ever did before.  

Now that the two pups are very keen on being on the floor, we take to the couch where John, equipped with treats, presents Levi with an opportunity. Levi can have the treat, but only after John rubs Felicia's belly. Is this getting weird? No? Good, let's move on then. A quick rub, feed, another rub, feed, repeat. Now, ask Levi to sit. When he sits, John rubs Felicia's belly and feeds Levi a treat. "Levi Sit", Levi sits, John rubs Felicia's belly, feeds Levi, repeat. Here's where something interesting happens. We stop everything. If Levi understands his role in the proceedings, that one thing (sitting) triggers another thing (belly rub) to happen and that it ends with him getting a treat then,...wait for it,....Yes! Exactly! Levi will get things going again by sitting. He knows John's going to rub Felicia's belly when he sits, but now that's less important than the reciprocal effect of getting a compelling treat and now Levi is sitting on the floor to prompt a belly rub and a treat. 

This sets the stage for the sorts of things that happen once the baby is born. Feeding, changing diapers, playing etc. They can be predictive of a compelling consequence. No conflict, no yelling, no whaling and gnashing of teeth. Understood in these proceedings is that while troublesome, neither dog has a serious history of aggressive behavior. This approach is reasonable only when there is no such history. 

 Consequence changes behavior (Thank you Dr. Dunbar) 

Closer to the Heart

 

Dr. Dunbar wins the attention of a very cute, very distracted puppy.

This weekend, K9 Connection in Warwick, RI hosted a two day workshop with Dr. Ian Dunbar. Over the years Dr. Dunbar has been an important influence on me. What got my attention first was the example he set. Trainers and behaviorists  can debate who they relate to most but there’s little debate over his relevance. If you do what I do for a living you know who Ian Dunbar is and yet despite having few peers, he is approachable, intellectually curious and disarmingly funny. He’s quick to turn the spotlight on the trainers and dogs in attendance. He’s slightly compulsive, not allowing the one brown chair amongst the other identical black chairs in a game of dog training/musical chairs. Dog slobber was a problem, yup, one of the very best vet/behaviorists in the world doesn’t do dog drool. Go figure. Above all though, Ian Dunbar is an extraordinary and energetic teacher who wears his love for what he does like a superhero's cape. This weekend I watched a master at work. Two days of one incredibly clever idea after another went by in a relative flash. So much information had been communicated, it felt like a great movie I’d watch over and over again, collecting new bits of nuanced goodness with each viewing. A day after it was over it started to register with me that there was a wonderful subtext that had unfolded right in front of me. Everyone there had gotten more than we'd expected. At 5:30PM on Sunday, as the workshop drew to an inspired close, there was one final message that summed the experience we’d all had in a very sweet way. I won’t spoil it by elaborating on it because it’s something you deserve to experience for yourself. If you have an opportunity to see Dr. Dunbar lecture or workshop do it, don’t think twice about it. Do it if you’re an accountant, systems analyst, roofer or mechanic and you’ve never had a dog before. I say this because the subtext of the workshop transcends the otherwise obvious attraction for people who work with dogs. It was about being kind to one another as well as to our dogs. It was about the importance of doing the right thing. It was science vs. nonsense. Amidst all the wonderfully clever games and insightful techniques, I found myself rooting as an observer for the dog owners in the ring. Clapping and cheering for people and dogs I’d never met until this past weekend. It wasn’t just me, everyone was in on it and it happened with the seemingly effortless guidance of the brilliant and self described shameless teacher. If playing the fool drove home the point that everything he was sharing with us were things we could do ourselves, he was not above it. “Yes, by all means photograph, video tape, post it on YouTube, I’d like to think I’ll still be around after I’m gone.” Think about that for a minute. 

It's satisfying to learn that someone you admire a great deal would approve of how you do things. I appreciate the value of clicker training but am not a clicker trainer. I prefer to use by voice for audible cues, a personal decision I've doubted from time to time. However I was also compelled to reevaluate a number of ideas I've both relied on and thrust upon my clients with a great deal of earnest over the years. They include:

Don't Repeat Yourself: Unless you want your dog to think the instruction for "sit" is "sit, sit, sit"

only say it once. "Absolutely ridiculous!" was Dr. Dunbar's response to that question asked by a fellow attendee.  I could have looked at this as simply a difference of opinion but as a hypothesis, Keir and I tested it with Miles Saturday night. It works. To this I say to every dog owner I've beat that drum relentlessly with, I apologize.

The Verbal Cue Follows the Instruction: Lure for sit then respond with "Good Sit". Wrong again! The connection is not clear as I had thought. As a form of praise it's fine but the connection between the word and the lure (hand signal) is cloudy or non-existent. Again, Keir and I worked on this with Miles giving only hand signals first followed by only verbal commands, measuring response ratios. They were all over the place and changed as the venue changed. Lots of practice and proofing to be done there.

Always Use Food Rewards: This applies to other forms of reward (toys) that may not be on your person when a response is required. My argument stemmed from the use of choke, pinch and electronic collars. Response ratios can be maintained (reliable) so long as they're around, therefore treat rewards should always be around. Much to my shame and humiliation, wrong again. While for dog owners who are hyper-vigilant about having treat bags within arm's reach, get reliable responses from their dogs, there are situations that will trump the most compelling treats you can imagine. Higher value treats for more challenging environments, done that lots of times and while I'm not ready to toss out everything I've read, seen and done related to counter conditioning for proximity with primary and secondary reinforcers,  I did witness a game of follow the leader with roughly 30 dog/handler pairs. No treats used and lots juicy, behavioral goodness on display. The prolific use of treats are under review.

In this exercise, participants are asked to lie down next to their dogs the way their dogs are lying down.

I've written before that training is a science and as such is evolving. Remember Bertrand Russell, "Science does not aim at establishing immutable truths and eternal dogmas..."  That’s an extremely important idea and segues nicely into my favorite hypothetical question, "Are you interested in the truth?" assuming the answer is "Yes." it follows, "Then you won't be upset if you're wrong." Still, I am a little upset. There are lessons that would have yielded more specific, more desirable long term results. I suppose that will always be the case. Engineers design bridges knowing all too well that more sophisticated, safer and longer lasting bridges will be possible in the future. So too will the science of training continue to advance thanks to people like Dr. Dunbar. 

Leaving K9 Connection this past Sunday evening, I wanted to thank Dr. Dunbar, tell him how much he'd inspired me but he's British and I'm shy when it comes to things like this so I'll say it here. I started the weekend feeling drained and down, I left reinvigorated and grateful for the experience. Thank you Ian Dunbar and thank you Jamie Dunbar for the invitation. Thanks also to Teri and Cassandra at K9 Connection for hosting the workshop. Great, great, great.

Quite Logical

It's been my experience that dogs are logical creatures. But as another Vulcan proverb concedes, “Logic is only the beginning of wisdom” and that means that dogs make mistakes based on otherwise logical assumptions. Without question, the most common one is jumping on people. While not a mistake necessarily it is a misunderstanding between we humans and our dogs. Here's why. When dogs are puppies they're amongst the cutest things in all creation. Small, furry, helpless and given the opportunity, jumping all over us. Most puppies are encouraged to do this by us. It's harmless enthusiasm at this stage in their lives and very few dog owners discourage it, quite the contrary in fact. When I was a kid, Pepsi ran it's famously effective ad featuring grandparents unleashing a litter of Labrador Retriever puppies on their grandkids. It's the perfect illustration of the information that's changing hands quietly beneath the adorable bedlam. I'm not implying anything sinister is being sewn into this exchange, not even that it should not be allowed to happen. It's beautiful if you ask me, if only all of us were this unabashedly enthusiastic about one another. There is a very big “BUT” however. Little 2lb puppies are fuzzy and delightful but some of them grow exponentially in their first year becoming adult dogs 50-150lbs and more. Now jumping is a problem and we don't want them doing it anymore. Imagine those Lab pups jumping on those little kids one year later,...YIKES! The kids aren't laughing hysterically, they're traumatized. Things have changed for us but for our dogs, well, they haven't got the memo and if they're unaware of your sudden distaste for them leaping into your grill for sloppy, wet smooches, then it's not fair to assume they'll understand why you're sticking your knee in their chest when they do.

 

To assume dogs know they're doing something wrong is to both ignore the messages we've unconsciously etched in their brains when they were puppies and assume they'll grasp an abstract concept like right and wrong. What's this? No right and wrong? It's anarchy, ahhhhh!!!! Relax, it's not the apocalypse. Consider this. If I were to shake hands using my left hand you might think it's odd but you wouldn't think it's offensive. Yet in some parts of the world it's a cultural norm to wipe with the left hand only, so offering it is not advised unless you intend to offend, in other words it's “wrong”. It's right to tip your waiter but wrong to tip the person at the drive thru window (Thanks to Mr. Pink for that revelation.) Dogs are not confronted by a jury of their peers, they don't editorialize, they don't pontificate, postulate or castigate. In other words, the concept of right and wrong is a societal construct, to assume our dogs are privy to them is not,...logical. 

So now we agree it's not wrong so to speak but we still don't like it. It's potentially dangerous and we want to bring an end to it. What can we do? If our dogs learned that we liked them jumping on us they can learn that we like it even better when they greet in a sit. I had this discussion with a local family I'm working less than a week ago. They're expecting a baby in the fall and with their 18mos old Golden Murphy jumping impulsively on his mom Kelley, this problem took on a real sense of urgency. It was with great satisfaction that as I got off my soap box, Murphy's dad Ryan produced a photo of his daughter Tori welcoming Murphy, then about 12 weeks old, as he jumped on her. I knew at that moment they got what I'd been droning on about. As Murphy began showing a marked preference for greeting in a sit (praise and treats) Kelley was able to sit down with a baby doll standing in for the real thing as Murphy greeted politely in a sit. Just as he'd been encouraged to jump as a puppy, he'd been encouraged to sit as an adult dog, it was a Vulcan mind meld! Fascinating...