Raised hackles, or pilo-erection, is a reflexive behaviour. When dogs are over excited their hackles will reflect this arousal. The behaviour can be misinterpreted as aggression. While pilo-erection is seen during aggressive encounters; it is not an aggressive behaviour. Raised hackles during high intensity play and fear reactions is quite normal. Some dog’s hackles will be up at the shoulders and continue all the way down to the base of the tail, while others may have hair that is only raised at the shoulder blades, or base of tail alone.

Another dog’s reactions to a dog with raised hackles will vary: some may find it intimidating while others ignore it. The important thing to remember is that your dog is not doing it on purpose. Pilo-erection is reflexive, the only way to stop the behaviour is by decreasing the intensity of the moment.

If your dog regularly has raised hackles when he plays, interrupt his play more often, especially if other dogs seem intimidated by his play style.

If his hackles only go up when he is fearful, teach him a relaxation cue. Karen Overall’s Relaxation Protocol.   Hackles can be a good indicator of stress so pay attention, don’t punish.

As trainers we are at fault for this, we have spent so much time stressing the need for socialization we forgot to explain what we meant. Socialization means Desensitization, not flooding.  We want a puppy to have positive interactions with a variety of people, dogs, and situations,  so he learns to be comfortable or ignore those things as, normal and non threatening. It doesn’t require a “puppy party”, just a willingness to take treats to new locations /situations and give the puppy a nice experience when there.

Flooding is the “sink or swim” method. This method advocates putting a puppy in a large group of other dogs, children, or adults and letting them learn to “deal with it”. The common reaction to this method is that the dog is initially frightened, then eventually gives up trying to escape. A person not educated in dog behaviour might see this and assume the puppy has relaxed, or is “calm, submissive”. What has actually happened is that the puppy has  gone through a mental process called “learned helplessness”.  He has not desensitized to the environment, but learned that he cannot escape–  he has “shut down”.  When a dog learns that shutting down is a way of escape, then he is more likely to do this in the future, this is not a happy, socialized dog. This is a dog who has been pushed to the point of a physiological break.

Another common response to flooding is sensitization. The dog becomes more and more panicked until the owner finally relents and removes the dog. The dog has now learned that panicking is what he needs to do to escape and will panic more quickly and more intensely in the future.

Flooding is an unpredictable and dangerous training method that can have serious fallout which can be completely avoided by proper socialization methods.

Here are some ideas for setting up a good socialization routine with your puppy.

Park outside a Veterinary clinic and giving the dog a treat and praise for being quite as other dogs pass by the car, let the dog enter the Vet centre, get weighed, then fussed over by the staff before leaving (no shots or exams).

Take  your dog to a local park to see kids on scooters, wheelchairs, games, people, other dogs (all at a safe distance to start with) and get a treat whenever someone passes by. Not only will your puppy learn that these new things are harmless and ignorable, but they will also learn that they can come to you if they are nervous and you will make them feel better (early stages of a recall cue).  They will learn appropriate clam behaviours in the situations because that is what you are reinforcing at an early age!

You can even help re-socialize a dog who is fearful or anxious using the same technique (and bigger distances to start with).

These are common drivers of fear across species according to Janis Bradley in the book “Dogs Bite but Slippers and Baloons are More Dangerous” :

[“I didn't volunteer for this" – We fear things, we are forced to be exposed to – so where we have a lack of control over the situation.

"I can't control this" – We fear what we deem we cannot control. If something seems unpredictable it is also deemed risky.

"This isn't right" – We fear what we don’t deem to be normal. If we don’t know what normal is then we fear what we assume is not normal or what we don’t understand.

"This has never happened to me" - We fear the unfamiliar. If we have not experienced something before, we can only imagine and our imagination can conjure outcomes that may be much worse than the reality.

"Everybody's talking about this" - We fear what we are told we need to fear based on others experience when we don’t have our own. We equate a level of risk with the amount it’s covered in the news/media.

"Children in peril! Children in peril!" – We fear what could threaten our young.]

When I receive a call about a dog who has bitten, the questions I ask are all about giving myself and the client perspective.

1. Where did you get the dog from? This tells me how the situation started– behaviour doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Did the dog come from a puppy mill (pet store dogs frequently do). Did the dog have a traumatic moment or has he been frequently harassed in the home? i.e. Is this hereditary or is it a learned behaviour?

2. What damage has the dog bite caused  and how many times has he bitten? Knowing the bite history: the dog’s history of bite inhibition and escalation, allows me to assess and predict a prognosis for the dog.

3. I explain to the client the dynamics of dog behaviour in an attempt to demystify the dog’s reaction to a perceived threat, then discuss how they can learn to read their dog’s subtle body language to prevent future incidents. Understanding that a dog’s behaviour is rarely unpredictable, allows the client feel more control over the outcome of the situation. We will also discuss the basics of a Behavioural modification program to re-train the dog for more appropriate behaviour.

4. I frequently get the response “how did this happen? All my other dogs have been perfect.” Fear responses and anxiety are a matter of  genetics as well as early learning experiences. Understanding the cause of a behaviour enables a client to see that behaviour as no different from another dog in the same situation. Knowing that they aren’t alone and this issue has been solved before, shows people that there is a proactive way of addressing the problem without feeling powerless.

5. The justification that the owner must put the dog down for the safety of their children or so they are not an “irresponsible dog owner” is an excuse that allows the owner an ‘easy out’. They won’t have to do any work. They may even book a single session in an attempt to soothe their own guilt. My answer to this is “The only irresponsible thing is to do nothing at all. If you feel you must euthanize the dog, that’s your decision, but it is also responsible to learn how to manage and re-train a dog.” The process is not going to happen in one session and it takes a strong commitment. Progress, however,  can be apparent very quickly, but it is usually going to take weeks or months to reach a goal level. Not all dog owners are willing to make that commitment.

There is a fine line between giving someone the facts and chastising them. I try not to rebuke because hindsight is 20/20 and at least they are asking for help now.

I don’t mind someone who thinks that training might be the answer they need (because it usually is). I do mind when the only thing the person wants to hear is that I agree with them; their dog is un-trainable and should be killed. The answer is never that simple and I refuse to take responsibility for someone else’s decision.

I won’t give people false hope either. I won’t tell them their dog is going to be “cured”. Aggression is a learned behaviour and can be unlearned but that takes time and patience. The willingness to set aside your ego and listen. The willingness to adjust your own life in small ways to help your dog. The willingness to be a good friend to someone who has been asking for help.

The thing I have not had to teach her at all, is walking on lead. She walks like an angel. She watches you on the walk and follows your lead easily. She doesn’t pull or yank and doesn’t mind her head halter—she is eager to wear it. She does sometimes get distracted by children that walk towards her and her breathing speeds up, she wants to go say hi! A big girl like her saying “hello!!!!”  to a five year old on a walk is not recommended and she is easily lead away. 

Most recently we have been working a nose-touch cue (‘target’) and ‘down’ on a verbal cue. She is progressing well in all her training and will be a fantastic dog for an energetic family. Especially for someone who likes long walks.

These behaviours are most noticeable when a dog wants to greet someone but is nervous about his welcome (or nervous about approaching). You will also see conflict behaviours during play when one dog wants to continue play and another needs a break.

In the first scenario– approaches– you will see affliative/bonding ritual behaviour; crouching/ducking, lip licking, and a fast wagging but slightly tucked tail.  The dog may even demonstrate a very submissive “belly up” behaviour if concerned about their welcome.

The  conflict behaviours we see when a dog is unsure in a social or an environmental situation are; a front paw lift (the beginning of a pointers’ point behaviour) , airplane ears– ears are flat out and sideways (hard to tell in some breeds because of ear shape. Seen in the pictures below…

Notice some other behaviours associated with these two? Closed mouth and eyebrows together (tense face muscles). Toungue flicks are also common.

Mounting is another common conflict behviour.  Its very embarrassing to most humans, especially if your dog has singled out a guest’s leg for his amorous advances.

Before dog behaviour was well documented, researched, and understood, mounting was seen as a “dominance” behaviour.  Which says more about humans than it does about dogs…

Mounting behaviour is also seen in scenarios where one dog is not trying to pin and dominate another dog, but is simply trying to get that dog’s attention. in these cases it is an attention seeking behaviour.  Whether the receiving dog protests the mounting or  simply moves away, they usually turn to face the mount-er so as an attention- getter mounting  works very well.

In the case of mounting human legs it is a stress release/anxiety behaviour. If the guest has come into the dog’s home and he gets  excited or  nervous about the visitor he may start to “hug” their leg. My own dog Ripley used to try and mount me when he was over excited just after dinner time. This indictaed to me that he needed a break.  For Ripley, that meant going outside for a few minutes to cool off! No yelling or making a big deal, that would have only increased his excitement or created anxiety that would have worsened the behaviour.

These days he isn’t much of a mount-er so I was very surprised when a guest came over  and Ripley did not run immediatly to his crate for safety. He seemed to recognize her and started soliciting attention and treats from her (it is unusual for Ripley to show affiliative behaviour to anyone other than me).   At the same time he was still very nervous–although very excited and obviously pleased to see her, he started mounting her leg. Not a good look on a 37 KG Mastiff X! But she was a dog person and understood the problem so we laughed it off and gave Ripley some time to relax on his own.

Behaviour is behaviour, whether it is licking, barking, aggression, or mounting. Don’t take it personally.

1. Raising Criteria (successive approximation)

2. Breaking Down the Behaviour

3. Vary the Reinforcement

4. Relax Old Criteria When You Add New Criteria

5. Plan Ahead

6. Don’t Change Trainers Mid-stream

7. Be Flexible! When necessary, Change the Plan

8. Don’t Stop a Session Abruptly

9. Regress When a Behaviour Deteriorates to Refresh Your Dog’s Memory

Ending on a positive note is easy if the training session has gone well overall, but there are some pitfalls to watch out for so you don’t end the session leaving you or the dog feeling that what just happened wasn’t very fun. Training should be fun! If it isn’t then something else is wrong.

So what if the training session has not gone well. Maybe the behaviours were not broken down small enough for the dog to ‘get it’. Maybe you had a break through with the training, and instead of stopping their you got greedy and kept going, only to see the behaviour regress significantly? Believe me I have been there, so how do we turn it around and end the session on a positive note so that your dog wants to keep coming back with enthusiasm?

1. Go back to a really simply cue, something the dog has learned a long time ago and finds very easy, like sit! Sit is one of those cues that most dogs can do almost anywhere at anytime. You can end a session with an easy cue like a “sit” and that will mean your dog finishes the session on a win!

2. Play a game. If ‘Target’ is as fun for your dogs as it is for mine, it is a great game to end the session on. It is fast paced and very rewarding!

3. End on a breakthrough. If you have had a breakthrough during the session, even if you would normally train for longer, end the session there! This is hard to do because as trainers we feel reinforced when our dogs finally get it, and we want to keep on going. We have all done this at one point or another then kicked out selves for not stopping when we could.

I have had a lot of fun with this top ten, it always helps to go back to the basics even with your own learning occasionally! I know it has not just been me enjoying these either because although many of you are lurkers, and don’t tend to make comments I have seen the visit count rise by double every time I have posted one of these Top Ten posts, so I know you like them!  So, I am thinking of another Top Ten. Top Ten Behaviours? Top Ten problem  prevention for puppies? If anyone has a particular subject you think would make a good Top Ten let me know!

Now… 10: Always End on a Positive Note!Cuddling Puppies! How cute is that?!

2. Breaking Down the Behaviour

3. Vary the Reinforcement

4. Relax Old Criteria When You Add New Criteria

5. Plan Ahead

6. Don’t Change Trainers Mid-stream

7. Be Flexible! When necessary, Change the Plan

8. Don’t Stop a Session Abruptly

9. Regress When a Behaviour Deteriorates to Refresh Your Dog’s Memory

Behaviours (like any activity) will regress id they aren’t practiced regularly. In many cases what we want is for the behaviour to be so well practiced that they become muscle memory.

So if you see that your trained behaviour has started to deteriorate then instead of letting your dog practice at this less than ideal level, go all the way back  to the beginning of the training to refresh your dog’s memory.

Most of us only train a behaviour well enough to get to the next level of that behaviour. Then we only train that level of the behaviour well enough to get to the next level. This creates an upside down pyramid shape to the learning process. This upside down pyramid does not have a strong foundation base so as soon as you bring that dog into an environment he isn’t used to he won’t be able to perform the behaviour (the pyramid falls over).

Lets go back to your maths… when you were learning addition and subtraction you would have needed to learn how to count before hand. You need to know how to do addition and subtraction before you can learn multiplication/division. You need to understand all of those things before you can start with algebra and on to calculus!

So let me ask you this. How long did you practice counting before you were introduced to addition? How long on addition before multiplication? Algebra? Calculus?  Weeks if not months of each of those, yes? Now. How long did you practice “lay down” in the house before you asked for your dog to “lay down” outside? In the park? when friends visited? in a class? at a competition? I bet is was a lot less that weeks or months… I bet it was days… maybe even hours…

Dogs are amazing, they do learn these kinds of things quickly if given the right conditions. But it is unfair to ask a dog for a calculus level “down” when he has only practiced addition level downs for the last few days at most. What will likely happen is the dog will not be able to perform the behaviour at all, or he will try a fail. A lot like what would happen if you put a calculus level question on an 8 year old kid’s math exam.

Rule 9 for easy shaping means that you have to regularly revisit the easy levels of the behaviour in order to build your behaviour like a right side up pyramid. Create a large stable foundation to build the next level on, and your pyramid will not be knocked down easily.

Each exercise/chapter starts with the goals for each behaviour and then finishes with a problem solving section that really zero’s in on the problems  people encounter in real life situations that may mean you need to tweak the exercise just a little.

A new exercise that I hadn’t started teaching until after reading this book, but I have found very useful since is the “Say Hi for Calm Greetings” or as  I like to call it “Greet and Retreat”!”

Although this book is billed as a training manual, I would recommend it to all my reactive dog clients as well as anyone who wants to prevent dog reactivity or just work on impulse control and reliable appropriate behaviours in everyday life situations.

“A good trainer can hear a horse speak to him. A great trainer can hear a horse whisper.”

the term was then picked up by The National Geographic to promote their new celebrity dog trainer Cesar Milan in 2004.

So what does “whisperer” mean, and what is the difference between a whisperer and a behaviourist, or simply a certified behaviour consultant or dog trainer?

It really is an interesting question because it can mean different things to different people. The overall explanation though seems to be best described as someone who uses the “Animal in the Wild” theory to predict and explain the behaviour of their domesticated animal. Paul Owens seems to be the only exception, and I would love to ask him directly what it means to him. And although Monty Roberts does look at wild horse behaviour and uses this information to convince a horse to “Join Up” with him he is most reliant on the horse’s own body language. My guess is that Owens has a similar method.

The “Animals in the Wild” idea is an interesting theory but one with very little scientific method behind it. It certainly makes sense to a layperson that a dog may act like a wolf, and a cat may act like a tiger. But when you extrapolate the idea out into what we actually know about dogs and cats vs. wolves and tigers, the idea really begins to break down, for instance…

The actually physiology of a wolf compared to the dog is similar but not exactly the same.  The body language and communication used by a dog is actually a very stunted, almost childlike version of the amazing communication skills of a wolf. Dogs have become almost a symbiotic species with humans, where wolves thrive in a natural environment devoid of humans.

Ultimately a “Whisperer” has no real definition, but I would be mildly suspicious of anyone who claimed that they were one (and I get very uncomfortable when people refer to me this way). I would want more information as it may mean they are really focused on the “Wold Pack Theory” of dogs essentially being wolves (an unsubstantiated and non scientific theory), or maybe they simply mean that they watch and listen to their dog’s body language and have a very strong relationship because of that.

A behaviourist is someone who understands learning theory and applies it to animals, a “Certified Applied Animal Behaviourist” is a person certified to do this by the ABS and are usually PHD’s in animal behaviour.  I have however, been told by clients, that they assumed a behaviourist was someone who understood their dog’s behaviour . This may be true as well, but that is not actually what behaviourism is!

So if I were to describe what I do, I would (tongue in cheek) say I was a Canine/Human Relationship Consultant. I do study canine body language and consider myself quite good at listening to what a dog has to “say”. I also am a behaviourist and have a very good working knowledge of learning theory and how to apply that to training. For now though, I think I will stay away for the title of “whisperer” until it is more clearly defined and less “mystical”.

I will also see this behaviour during play between dogs when one player has gotten a little over zealous and the other needs a break. Or (and this is going to be the most relevant to owners) during a training session when the owner is asking their dog to “Focus” or look them in the eye. Many people do understand that direct eye contact with a dog can be intimidating or even threatening to dogs and most people try to avoid this with dogs they don’t know very well. However it is easy to maintain ‘soft’ eye contact with a dog that trusts you and isn’t feeling threatened.

The training session scenarios looks like this…

1. Owner is trying to practice eye contact and leans in towards their dog.

2. The dog is mildly intimidated by this “lean over” and attempts the “I’m not comfortable” behaviour of looking away with a possible tongue flick as well.

3. The owner interprets this as the dog “ignoring” them, gets frustrated, and further insists on the eye contact by getting down close to the dogs face, yanking the lead, and increasing the “assertiveness” of their voice (yelling).

How is this miscommunication avoided? A good understanding of dog body language can help but even then we sometimes forget to pay attention to what our own body language is telling the dog (sometimes by accident)! It can help to use your video option on your camera and video a short session between you and your dog. It is much easier to see your own (and your dog’s reaction) to your body language.

If you are not getting the behaviour from your dog that you would like and you are not sure how to elicit it without repeating your cue, increasing your volume, or physically forcing the behaviour, then consider a change of environment. Practice in a less distracting environment for awhile so that your dog can get some easy repetitions in. You will find that his responses will get quicker and more confident with the extra practice in an easier environment, this will make is easier to generalize the behaviour to that more distracting situation later.

a Look Away is also the first sign that a dog is nervous when children approach. Look for this behaviour and make sure you intervene between a child and dog interaction if you notice the dog look away, tongue flick, or move away from a child. This will show the dog that you won’t put him in a situation that makes him uncomfortable and will build trust. It will also prevent a dog who likes or tolerates children to continue to like and tolerate them, instead of escalating their “back off” behaviour by growling or biting.