If you are a large rescue or organisation please send the message out by promoting trainers and behaviourists with qualifications (academic) and FULL insurance. Verify all claims of certification and membership of associations or groups. Check out these associations with specific reference to how a member is assessed, who assesses them, how and why they are qualified to assess a person, what protocols are in place for colleagues assessing colleagues? What is the pass criteria, how is this documented and most important what is the code of ethics and what happens when a member breaks this code? Remember self regulation is no regulation.

Industry standard and regulated organistions include the Association of Pet Dog Trainers UK (APDT UK), Association of Pet Behaviour Councillors (APBC), Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT), Centre of Applied Ethology (COAPE). Good trainers are and want to me members of these groups.

For now and until this area is regulated please ask questions, do not do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable and always dig deep and find the meaning of titles, associations and certifying bodies.

We booked him for a full panel of bloods with our vet and this is where it all began. The symptoms of liver disease are often vague and subtle at the early stages especially. He’s initial bloods showed up some liver dysfunction that needed further investigation. He had bile acid testing done several times and it was confirmed there was most certainly some problems in this area. Over the months that followed he had lots of test run and was referred to UCD. In August he was diagnosed with a Congenital Liver Disease called Hepatic Microvascular Dysplasia.  At first, I thought this was a death sentence for him, but we learnt lots and now he has a happy and almost normal life through medical and dietary management.

 What is HMD/MVD:

The liver is responsible for lots of functions in dogs including filtering toxins, waste removal and bile production to aid digestion. The blood is carried to the liver via the portal vein which branches out into smaller and smaller vessels to be detoxified. Microvascular Dysplasia is diagnosed when these microscopic vessels are abnormal and blood is going back into circulation without being detoxified and cleaned.

Symptoms:

 They are rarely consistent and there is range of symptoms from very mild to severe and not all dogs while suffer the same ones. This condition doesn’t usually present until the dog is around age three unlike a portosystemic shunt which symptoms usually come to light when the dog is much younger and usually under one, some of the symptoms include anorexia, lethargy, salivating, vomiting, diarrhoea, hepatic encephalopathy which is an impairment of the mental state due to liver dysfunction often seen as aggression, pacing, circling, pressing head, apparent blindness and even seizures and a zombie like state. Charlie’s most obviously symptoms where lethargy and staring with occasional vomiting and diarrhoea, lack of appetite, head pressing and becoming more aggressive with other dogs. Since Charlie was only aged two his symptoms where mild but I would spend a lot of time with him and quickly notice small changes in his personality.

 Tests:

Charlie had the following tests: Basic Panel of Bloods,  Bile Acid Testing,  Ultra Sounds,  Liver Biopsy,  Blood Ammonia Testing , Vitamin B12 tests & Zinc Level Test.  It took several months to get conclusive diagnoses as many other things had to be ruled out, mainly a Portosystemic Shunt which is another form of Liver Disease.

How do we medically Manage Charlie:

The hardest thing to get our heads around was that Charlie can have no meat or fish protein and plenty of other foods are off the menu too! This is essential to his care this would result in further toxin build up and damage to his organs. He gets prescription food from the Vet made especially for dogs with Liver Disease. He can also have small amounts of cottage cheese, egg whites, goats yogurt so we have become a dab hand at making him special cakes for his training as hotdogs and cheese (which were his all time favourites) are off the menu forever!

The amount of protein he eats per day has to be measured to ensure his symptoms are kept under control. He also needs to eat numerous small meals per day to ease the work load on his liver.

He also takes several medications and supplements which include:

1. Lactulose X 3 times per day – binds ammonia in his bowel and ensure he poops frequently throughout the day

2. Long term antibiotics X 2 times per day – to decrease bacteria in his blood

3. VSL-3 – Probiotics (because he is on longterm antibiotics and this is the most suitable since it contains no manganese which dogs with liver disease don’t tolerate well)

4. Zentonil (Sam-E) – prevents more liver damage

5. Heptosupport – supports normal liver function with Milk Thistle and vitamins

6. Zinc & Vitamin E – Dogs with liver disease are often lacking in these

It sounds like a lot and at first it was difficult to get the hang of it all, but now it’s like second nature to us. Charlie is a happy dog again who enjoys long walks on the beach and doing agility training. It most certainly hasn’t been a death sentence and we are very lucky to have our beautiful dog doing very well thanks to a little bit of effort and our amazing vet who always goes to great lengths to help and support Charlie.

This is a fantastic book that offers lots of practical advice and solutions to help prevent and deal with a wide variety of puppy problems. The book covers topics from selecting the right puppy, from the right breeder to toilet training, mouthing and everything in between. It is essential reading for all new puppy owners :) Also check out www.dogstardaily.com Ian Dunbar’s fantastic website crammed full of information.

2. Book a Puppy Socialisation Course:

As soon as your Veterinarian gives you the go ahead, your puppy should start a puppy socialisation course, with qualified, certified and experienced pet dog trainers before your puppy is 16 weeks of age, the earlier the better! This will be the most important course of your puppies’ life and you should choose your trainer carefully. The right puppy course should have a mix of off-lead play, obedience exercises, owner education to help ensure the maximum benefit for all. Look for certifications such as the APDT UK, CCPDT, APBC and evidence of study, assessment and experience from your puppy trainer

 3. Crate Train your Puppy:

 This helps to toilet train and chew train your puppy as well as helping to build some independence and help your puppy deal with frustration and self control. Dogs or puppies should not be left in their crate for more than a couple of hours during the day and very young puppies will need to be taken out at least once during the night for toilets. Puppies and dogs like to keep their bed clean and should not toilet in their crate unless the crate is too big, they are unwell or they have come from an impoverished environment where they have lost this natural ability. Puppies and dogs love their crate especially when it has lots of comfy blankets and is covered over at night time. It becomes their safe place.

 4. Chew Toy Train your Puppy:

 Ban the bowl in favour of Kong toys, treat balls, tug-a-jugs and any other interactive toys you can find for your puppy. A Kong is the world’s best dog toy and will become a saviour when you have a young pup or active dog. Invest in some appropriate size and chew level for your pup, put a small bit of cheese spread pate, sardines or similar around the inside of the Kong, stuff the Kong with their kibble as tight as you can (I find a rubber glove works great), give this to your puppy in replace of feeding from their dish especially when you have to go out for a while. If your puppy is busy chewing their Kong, they will never learn that chewing your kitchen table legs and skirting boards is fun, they will also have a job and something to keep them busy so they won’t be barking and disturbing neighbours. Over time you can make the Kong more difficult lots of people pour a small bit of stock cube over their Kong and freeze them, helps with puppy teething too!

5. Ensure your puppy has 100 positive experiences with 100 different people:

 Research suggests that the socialisation period of puppies is up until 16 weeks of age and that in this time they should have 100 positive experiences with new people of different ages, sizes, wearing different clothes, carrying different items and so on. This includes children of all ages and sizes too. Bring tasty treats out on walks and ask different people and children to help you achieve this goal, ask them to feed your puppy to help create that positive experience, never pull or drag your pup over to something they are frightened of, this will make them more frightened and may create some problems when they are matured.

6. Ensure your puppy has 100 positive experiences with 100 new dogs before 16 weeks of age:

 This is the same as number 5, except with dogs! This is where enrolling in a puppy socialisation course will help.

7. Don’t put your puppies nose in their toilets or smack them on the nose:

 If your puppy makes mistakes it’s not his fault, he is only very young and you need to train him. Don’t let an untrained puppy have free run around the house he will just go to the toilet as he needs to, instead bring him out to the garden every hour and wait and reward him when he gets it right. If you find an accident it’s the person who was meant to be watching the puppy that should be in trouble – not the pup! Puppies that have their nose put in their toilets will often eat their toilets or go behind the sofa or under the bed because they want to hide it from you, not a very nice thought. Puppies that are smacked on the nose often become hand shy and once they mature often become snappy and unhappy about being approached – not a problem any owner wants to be dealing with.

8. Teach your puppy Bite Inhibition:

 Probably the most important thing you will teach your puppy.  Puppies bite and its great that they do because this is how we teach them human skin is super sensitive.  You don’t need to hurt your puppy to let them know they’ve hurt you but once they bite down hard you can simply say OUCH and remove yourself or your puppy from the situation for a few seconds.  After some practice your puppy will start to inhibite their bite and be a lot more gentle.  Then you can let on it still hurts until they stop putting any pressure down at all and their biting will decrease until its just licking!  Off lead play with other puppies and well socialised dogs is also good for teaching bite inhibtion and should be covered in puppy classes.

9. Teach your puppy to be comfortable with being handled by you and different people:

 This will make vet and grooming visits a breeze for you and your pup. It will help remove any stress for you and your dog too. It will also be sure to save you money because you won’t need to have your dog sedated for things like having a bandage applied, stitches removed or a groom! Sit down every evening with your dogs dinner and touch their paw and give them some kibble, touch their ears and give them some kibble, look at their teeth, give them some kibble and so on….

10. It’s never too early to start your training!

You’ll make mistakes, your puppy will make mistakes, try harder, find out what they love, motivate them, be patient, be kind, most importantly enjoy them and have fun!

In order to show your dog who is the boss we are told to do the following things:
- Eat before your dog by pretending to eat from their bowl
- Walk through doorways before your dog to show them that you are more important than them
- Don’t let your dog pull you on your walks as you should lead the hunt
- Show your dog that ALL items are yours by frequently removing toys and putting your hand into the food bowl
- Stand in your dogs bed
- Scruff your dog
- Stare your dog down
- Hold your dog down and only release when he “submits”
- Never let your dog in your bed, on the sofa or somewhere higher up than you may be

I should say at this stage NEVER DO ANY OF THE ABOVE

We hear that owners should be “calm and assertive” and all dogs should “submit” to their owners in all situations. This is all so wrong in my opinion and a distorted view of how dogs should be and how the should behave. This kind of attitude towards dogs can cause many problems. I firmly believe that thinking in this way will create a block between you and your dog or puppy. Thinking in this way can stunt the development of a puppy because the owner is so hung up on not giving the puppy an inch that they forget about the need for the puppy to develop coping skills, self control and important life skills.

The contradictions surrounding dominance theories are just too many for me. Firstly we are advised not to let the dog rule your life and in order to do this we are supposed to arrrange meal times around the dog, get crackers to eat in front of the dog, run through doorways in front of the dog, frantically keep the dog behind us on walks and so on. Now surely adhering to the latter means that your life is being controlled by owning a dog?

Personally I like for my dogs to walk on a loose lead, this can be in front off, beside or behind me. As long as the lead is loose the walk continues. I like to be able to feed my dogs when I am ready and this is frequently before I eat. I like my dogs to sit up on the couch with me, this is why I have dogs, for the company and to share my movie treats with them from time to time. Most of all I like when my dogs stay calm even when I may be loosing my marbles! They are independent and able to cope themselves.

So I for one won’t be eating out of my dogs bowl, I won’t be trying to project any calm assertive energy onto them. I like them just the way they are and they are testiment to the fact that canine submission is not a requirement for a happy successful human to dog relationship.

We have been conditioned to believe that waggy tails and roll overs are a sign of a friendly dog but we regularly miss the many distance increasing signals that dogs display. Dogs do ask for space, if we don’t listen they may ask louder by growling and if we ignore that or punish the growl without dealing with the root cause then the dog will skip straight to the behaviour that will work – a snap or bite!

A lack of understanding of canine body language is not ideal especially in a multi dog household or where there are children. So it is a great idea to sit down and educate yourself on the language of DOG!

How can I tell the difference between a tap out and a roll over?
The phrase “tap out” is a wrestling term and happens when an opponent taps the ground with an open hand requesting a release.

In dog terms a tap out is a distance INCREASING signal. The dog will roll over almost vertebrae at a time with stiff or uncomfortable body language often accompanied by lip licking, puffing of the cheeks and kicking out of the legs. Ultimately the dog will end up on his back. Generally the dogs muscles are tight and the tail can be tucked into the belly or stiff.

A roll over is more of an open body language gesture. A happy floppy lose movement. All of the muscles are loose, the body is limp and free with the tail free moving and not tucked into the belly of the dog. The legs are loose generally straight out and again floppy plus there is no kicking out or pushing away. The dogs face will be soft generally with tongue hanging loosely out and soft eyes.

How can I learn more about canine body signals?
An excellent DVD on canine body language is available from www.dogwise.com online DVD and shop for canine related books.
Title: THE LANGUAGE OF DOGS – UNDERSTANDING CANINE BODY LANGUAGE AND OTHER COMMUNICATION SIGNALS DVD SET
by Sarah Kalnajs

Interesting reading from the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behaviour

To Quote:

While we can get ideas of the types of behaviors to study in dogs based on what we know about wolves, the best model for understanding domestic dogs is domestic dogs. Dogs have diverged significantly from wolves in the last 15,000 years. Ancestral wolves evolved as hunters and now generally live in packs consisting most often of family members (Mech 2000). Pack members cooperate to hunt and to take care of offspring. In a given year, generally only the alpha male and alpha female mate, so that the resources of the entire pack can be focused on their one litter. Dogs, on the other hand, evolved as scavengers rather than hunters (Coppinger and Coppinger 2002). Those who were the least fearful, compared to their human-shy counterparts, were best able to survive off the trash and waste of humans and reproduce in this environment. Currently, free-roaming dogs live in small groups rather than cohesive packs, and in some cases spend much of their time alone (MacDonald and Carr 1995). They do not generally cooperate to hunt or to raise their offspring, and virtually all males and females have the opportunity to mate (Boitani et al. 1995). Marked differences in social systems, such as those just described, inevitably lead to notable differences in social behavior.

And

The most common cause of aggression in dogs is fear. Pinning a dog down when he is scared will not address the root of his fear. Furthermore it can heighten the aggression (AVSAB 2007). In fact, a recent study of dogs (Herron et al. 2008) found that confrontational
techniques such as hitting or kicking the dog for undesirable behavior, growling at the dog, performing an “alpha roll,” staring the dog down, and enforcing a “dominance down” frequently elicited an aggressive response from the dog. The aggression may also be redirected toward inanimate objects, or other animals or people besides the owner. Even non-physical punishment, such as a harsh verbal reprimand or shaking a finger at a dog, can elicit defensive aggression if the dog feels threatened by it.

Read the full statement here:

http://www.avsabonline.org/avsabonline/images/stories/Position_Statements/dominance%20statement.pdf

Anything over 4 hours is excessive for a dog to cope alone especially if this is a regular occurrence.

Thankfully there are now many things you can do to help the situation.

Change the Feeding Pattern
What you will need:
1. Large KONG Toy x 2
2. Premier Treat Ball
3. Nylabone

Rather than feeding your dog from their bowl in the morning put their food along with some tasty extras into a large KONG toy. The KONG should be very interesting so use left over meat, cheese etc. The food should be stuffed inside so as it does not easily fall out. You can see recipes on www.kongcompany.com

Use a safe treat ball such as the one from Premier and put the dry food inside. The dog will learn to roll the ball and the food comes out. This will keep him mentally occupied especially if he has missed his breakfast that morning and needs to work to get the food out.

Leave a flavoured Nylabone for your dog to chew on. This will be far more interesting than your decking.

Daycare
Invest in Daycare for your dog. Spend as much as you can afford on daycare days for your dog where they can learn, socialise and receive training during the day.

Dog Walker or Sitter
Invest in a good dog walker or pet sitter. If someone can call to break up your dogs day that will be a considerable help. Spend as much as you can afford on a dog walker. Expect to pay €15 per walk.

Weekend and Evening Time
Spend as much time as possible with your dog at the weekend. In the evenings allow your dog inside regardless of muddy paws. They need human interaction and if they are outside all day it is unfair not to give them attention in the evening.

Training Classes
Enrol in a fun training course. For 1 evening a week you will spend time with your dog training and enjoying each others company.

Safety
Only use a safety collar on your dog when left alone especially if your dog is in a pen or there is decking or areas such as fencing where your dog can get caught. Many dogs suffer death by strangulation when their dogs collar gets caught and the dog panics.
Instead choose a Safety Collar which will snap open should your dog become caught in something.

Under no circumstances should a puppy under 16 weeks be left alone for more than 2 hours. You must either employ a pet sitter or leave your puppy in daycare during this period.

All items listed above such as KONG’s and treat balls are available from www.DogTrainingIreland.ie/shop

1. Contact your vet for a full physical. This will rule out any pain or condition that could be causing the aggression.
2. Contact us so as we can assess your dog and devise an appropriate behaviour modification plan

Common Medical Causes of Aggression:- Hypothyroidism
- Hypoglycemia
- Brian Inflamation
- Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CDS)
- Hydrocephalus – most common in short-nosed breeds [brachycephalics].
- Encephalitis (bacterial or viral)
- Head trauma
- Brain tumor
- Epilepsy
- Brain Seizures

Other Causes Include:
- Inner ear pain, infection in the ear
- Mouth, gum or teeth pain
- Joint Pain caused by arthritis
- Ingrowing Nails
- Stomach Pain cause by intestinal parasites
- Anal Glan Pain, infection of the anal glands
- Urinary Tract Infection
- Allergies
- Injury
- Back Pain or Strain

Be sure to get your dog a full physical at least once a year and discuss any behavioural, appetite, general mood and overall health changes your dog may be experiencing.

If you are unsure contact

Anicare Veterinary Practises www.anicare.ie
OR
Cara Veterinary Practise www.caravetgroup.com

DogStarDaily.com is a free website for dog lovers — a daily magazine with news, blogs and articles about dog behavior; a comprehensive digital dog training textbook, with everything you need to know about raising or training your puppy or dog and especially, how to prevent or fix most common behavior problems; plus a place to share photos and videos of your favorite canine companions. We so strongly believe that puppy husbandry and training information is so important that it should be freely available to all, with the hope that dogs (and their humans) will be happier and healthier because of it. dogstardaily.com is growing everyday, with new content and features added on a regular basis.

A great little book by Barry Eaton which explains it all. So increase your knowledge for only €12.50 and get the facts!

Dominance Fact or Fiction purchase it here www.dogtrainingireland.ie/shop/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=209

—————————————————————————————————————-
Frequently the following problems are diagnosed as Dominance.

- Resource Guarding / Possession Aggression (growling around food or high value items)
- Pulling on the lead
- Jumping up on people
- Refusing to move off the couch
- Mouthing
- Sitting on your lap or on the couch
- Sitting in your way on a stairwell or landing etc

Firstly there is no such thing as Dominance or “Dominant Dog Syndrome” and to use this term is incorrect.

There are still many professionals whom advocate the “pack rules” and advise demotion techniques as a behaviour modification plan even though these have since been disproved. The problem is that demotion techniques only worsen problems such as resource guarding and possession aggression and frequently lead to bites.

So looking at this from a scientific and how dogs learn point of view and leaving aside human values (getting one up, jealousy, dominance, trying to lead, bullying etc) we must look at the dog and the individual behaviours that are being presented. We can then decide on an appropriate behaviour modification plan.

So we have the following:

Positive Punishment – Adding something unpleasant to an unwanted behaviour. The positive is + not positive as in good. EG of this would be adding a shock to a dog barking. We do not use positive punishment.
Negative Punishment – Removal of something the dog wants to reduce a behaviour. EG Ignoring your dog when they jump up.
Positive Reinforcement – Adding a reinforcer to a behaviour we want to repeat. EG using a piece of food to reward a sit.
Negative Reinforcement – Removal of something unpleasant to increase a behaviour. EG Loosening a choke chain when a dog sits. We do not use Negative Reinforcement.

With training we use Cue’s also referred to as commands and we apply those cues to behaviours that we want from our dogs. So for example we do the following to train

- Get the behaviour
- Mark/Reward the behaviour
- Add the cue to the behaviour

Dominance and Pack theories suggest that dogs have a pack structure, which includes humans and family members. Therefore we MUST be alpha in this pack in order for harmony to be present. This statement alone is seriously flawed since dogs understand the difference between themselves and cats, horses other animals so why would they see us as the same as them? Also there have only ever been a handful of scientific studies in the area of Dominance however there are thousands of studies to counteract the Dominance Theory.

Pack theories suggest we should do the following. I will explain why each one is flawed in each point.

1. Eat in front of the dog/Eat first.
This is supposed to show the dog that you are alpha since the dog sees you eating first and knows his place.
The reason this is incorrect is because when studying wild wolves it is NOT the alphas that eat first but the females in whelp or the vulnerable young. Also a dog is a dog so they do not have to hunt for their food so this does not have any effect at all.

2. Lead the hunt.
This part of the theory suggest that we should always walk in front of dogs, we enter doorways first, lead training should mean the dog is at the side of or behind the human.
So why then do working dogs work ahead? The study of wild wolves hunting shows that is it not the Alpha’s who work ahead and lead the pack.

3. Alpha Rolls or physically holding down the dog in order to teach it to be submissive. Scuffing the back of the neck until a puppy submits etc…
This is the dangerous part of dominance theories and where most people and children suffer bites. This displays a pure lack of understanding of canine body language especially when the dog is displaying high levels of fear and stress while being held. Of course fear and stress are displayed in such a way that the human will interpret this as further dominance so you can see where I am going with this.

Remove, control high value items
This is also dangerous if the dog is suffering from Resource Guarding as we are ignoring the warning signals and pushing the dog to increase his distance increasing signals. If we ignore warning signals then we will be bitten. Therefore it is vital that all cases of Resource Guarding are referred to us.

Terminology
Everyone understands the term ‘dominant’ differently. Therefore we do not use the terms dominant, assert yourself over your dog, submissive, trying to rule the roost etc when training as it is not useful at all.

Dogs who are termed ‘dominant’ are generally not helped by being pigeon holed. The term ‘dominant’ is often a get out clause for trainers. So what now? Being dominant is not a solution and will not help the dog or the owner with problems that they are experiencing. I get particularly annoyed when resource guarding dogs or aggressive dogs have been termed dominant and treated using demotion techniques. Of course the behaviours have become worse and now by the time the owner comes to us we are dealing with a far more dangerous dog. In many cases the dogs are pts as the previous prescribed treatment has failed the dog and created further behaviours that are too dangerous now to modify.

Reactive dogs who get held down and made to submit can become quiet. The dog is man handled to the point of exhaustion, chokers are used and the dog finally goes quiet. This QUIETNESS some call calm submission or a calm submissive state is incorrect. That is not an opinion but a fact. The dog displays exhaustion, fear, stress and anxiety. So now the dog does not react but all that has been done here is that the dogs voice and warning has been removed. Until one day when the dog gives NO warning and another dog, person or child approaches and bang… one heck of an attack happens. So that’s 2 dogs dead for the price of 1 IMO. I get very angry watching this.

Ian Dunbar and Jean Donaldson have an excellent DVD called “Fighting Dominance in a Dog Whispering World” and it explains so much including the studies done that support the dominance theory (I believe and the study was not completed) and the studies over 10 or more years done that support Animal Behaviour as it is without the dominance rules.

I believe anyone who is training dogs has a huge responsibility to the owner, the dog and other dogs and owners. Everything that comes out of your mouth is taken as the truth and they way it is. Therefore if trainers believe in the dominance and pack theories they should at least be aware of the studies behind these and the NEWER theories. It is never to late to change your opinion based on these newer studies.

As Barry Eaton says
“We don’t have to be Alpha, dominant or pack leader, and neither does our dog. All we need to be is an owner responsible for guiding our dog, shaping and influencing its behaviour through correct socialisation and training so they can live in harmony with us”

I hope this information helps. For more info google “dominance” and the authors names below:

Ray and Lorna Coppinger
Ian Dunbar
Jean Donaldson
Barry Eaton

Or watch this DVD available from Amazon.com
[url=http://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Dominance-Dog-Whispering-World/dp/B0011CW4L4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1215356936&sr=8-1]Dominance DVD[/url]