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By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

The conflict between Ukraine and Russia isn’t a favourable way to solve problems, but I’m not here to talk about the war. Today, I want to discuss the articles I see on social media relating to the dog population in Ukraine. I wrote an article a few years back about free-roaming and feral dog management, and I feel it’s time to revisit the topic. 

New perspective 
North American people and a few other large cities around the world tend to view dogs in a very different light than we do. The WHO-WSPA’s Guidelines for dog population management (1993) classifies dogs as restricted, semi-restricted, unrestricted, and feral. 

Restricted: fully dependant, fully restricted, and supervised by a human 

Semi-restricted: fully dependant and semi-restricted 

Unrestricted: semi-dependent and unrestricted 

Feral:  independent and unrestricted 

Most dogs on the planet fall into unrestricted and feral categories. That is because culturally speaking, people view dogs as, well, dogs. They aren’t fur babies or fur kids, dogs are simply dogs. In Ukraine, the estimated feral dog population varies between 50 000 and 100 000. In Canada, the stray dog[1] population hovers around 20 000 dogs. The Ukraine human population is 44M and the Canadian population is 38M. You don’t need to do complex math to see how problematic feral dogs are in Ukraine. With that said, let’s look at management strategies. 

Why rescues fail
Rescues that fly to countries to import unrestricted or feral dogs have a very noble goal, decrease the dog population and save lives. Unfortunately, the opposite occurs. When you remove feral dogs from the population they open the ecological niche. By removing dogs the remaining ones will simply reproduce and fill the niche once more. Only this time around, the local dogs will produce even more puppies. 

According to Izaguirre (2011), when a country combines culling and sterilization, a country can effectively reduce the population. Combining sterilization and culling increases the effectiveness of the management strategy, which in turn,  guarantees the country's overall success. I know this sounds inhumane, but when we look at it from an ecological perspective, it is the most humane way to control dog populations. 

There are currently 471M dogs residing on earth of which 200M are strays. The unrestricted/feral dog population is estimated to be between 700 000 and 900 000 dogs (WHO, 1990; Statista, 2018; NPR, 2017). It becomes clear that international adoption as a dog population management strategy is ineffective. The international adoption practice represents another major problem, health. A few years ago Canadian rescues imported dogs from other countries which passed on diseases to the resident dog population. The increase in imports during the Covid-19 pandemic pushed the Canadian government to change its legislation in May 2021 (CFIA, 2021). 

I strongly believe new strategies need to be considered if we are to effectively, safely, and humanly control dog and cat overpopulation. A discussion needs to take place as to why dogs find themselves semi-restricted, unrestricted, or feral. Furthermore, accepting our cultural differences is mandatory to understand the foundation of the problem. Rescuing dogs from the meat market or other living situations isn’t viable. I think it’s very arrogant of one country to tell another nation what they can or cannot eat. Maybe people have no other source of food. In any case, it all starts with education. 

References 
- Bögel, K, Frucht, Karl, Drysdale, George, Remfry, Jenny, World Health Organization. Veterinary Public Health Unit. et  al. (‎1990)‎. Guidelines for dog population management. World Health Organization.  

- Bringing animals to Canada: Importing and travelling with pets. Canadian Food Inspection Agency. (2021). Retrieved 4 March 2022, from https://inspection.canada.ca/importing-food-plants-or-animals/pets/eng/1326600389775/1326600500578 

- Dog and cat pet population worldwide 2018. Statista. (2022). Retrieved 4 March 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1044386/dog-and-cat-pet-population-worldwide 

- In Ukraine, technology offers humans solutions to the problem of stray animals. (2021). Retrieved 4 March 2022, from https://emerging-europe.com/after-hours/in-ukraine-technology-offers-humane-solutions-to-the-problem-of-stray-animals 

- Izaguirre, E. R. (2011). WIAS PhD project proposal on ecology and society. 

- NPR Cookie Consent and Choices. (2022). Retrieved 4 March 2022, from https://www.npr.org/2017/12/29/574598877/no-easy-answer-to-growing-number-of-stray-dogs-in-the-u-s-advocate-says 

- Smith, Lauren & Hartmann, & Munteanu, Alexandru & Villa, Dalla & Quinnell, Rupert & Collins, Lisa. (2020). The Effectiveness of Dog Population Management: A Systematic Review. Animals. 9: 1020. doi 10.3390/ani9121020 

[1] Unclassified dog population; consequently, lost dogs fall into this category.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

In the articles My dog Killed my Other Dog – Part 1 and Part 2, we discussed how dogs living together sometimes kill each other. The attack is often based on resources, medical conditions, or overall conflicts. Today, we will look at some of the consequences of these situations. Should the dog be rehomed, euthanized, or do we carry on our merry way as if nothing happened? Remember, dog training has absolutely no impact on what you're about to read.

Dog attacks
Dogs don't typically attack each other without any particular reason. There is always a motivating factor behind aggressive behaviour. Today we're not looking at why this happens but what we can do afterward. Many of our readers contact us daily either through messaging services, phone calls, emails, or comments directly on the articles for direction as to what they should do with the surviving aggressive dog. We need to consider the history of the dogs and the reason behind the attack. Every situation is different; consequently, it's difficult for me to pinpoint and solve every individual problem. Therefore, I will make general assumptions. 

Let's assume the dog is attacking either because of conflict or intraguild predation. Intraguild predation occurs when a dog kills another dog based on specific resources. In this article, the resource is the dog's critical space. It's not uncommon to see attacks and conflicts in dog overcrowded households. If you want to learn more about critical space, I invite you to click the link above and read the article. When space becomes a resource, we often see conflicts and attacks arise in dogs who have been peacefully living together for multiple years. Simply put, one day, the aggressor sees and seizes the opportunity and goes for the kill. It's that simple.

Conflicts can be about anything. As I mentioned, it could be about space, food, a toy, or simply the perceived conflict. For the sake of this article, I will consider that an attack occurred, and one dog died. The owners often take the surviving dog into aversion, which is completely normal. However, it's imperative not to make hasty decisions in these situations. You must understand that dogs solve problems according to canine social behaviour, not human law. You have just experienced trauma and need time to process this information.

Possible solutions after a dog attack
Here are some possible solutions to these situations. If the survivor has a history of attacks, the decision to euthanize is sound because rehoming these dogs will be highly unsuccessful. When dogs are highly aggressive by nature, rehoming them becomes a liability to the new family, shelter, rescue, foster, or owner. This type of dog aggression tends to increase when rehoming because the dog has gone through another very stressful event. The overall survival of an aggressive dog is slim to none. Passing on the problem to somebody else is just delaying the inevitable. 

Intraguild predation cases are different because the aggressor has no history of aggressive behaviour. The action is a reflex, not a thought-out process. The dog was responding to an innate motivation to eliminate a conspecific. In nature, predators often force an ill or dying member away from the group by chasing it. If that is not an option, the animal is killed. The reason is simple: an ill or dying animal will attract another predator, thus, posing a threat to the entire group.

The killer ensures the group's survival by eliminating the sick or injured. Our dogs cannot chase each other away because they are confined to a house; consequently, it becomes imperative that the animals be separated and managed at the first sign of potential illness or injury. The size difference between the two dogs also increases the likelihood the smaller dog might die. Euthanization should be thoroughly thought-out in these situations, and the decision should remain objective. If you cannot take care of this dog after the event, relocating or rehoming the dog might be a solution.

At the first sign of conflict between dogs, it is vital to seek out the help of a professional. When left unattended, the aggression will undoubtedly escalate, which increases the possibility of injury or death. I think each dog owner should take a dog behaviour class to identify problematic behaviours from the get-go. The hard eye is a typical dog behaviour that precedes conflict, yet it's a behaviour most people don't know exists. On the Dogue Shop's YouTube channel Husky Kills Poodle, we see hard eye at work; unfortunately, no one witnessed the behaviour and could not prevent the tragic death of a client's dog. 

All animals display aggression, and to believe certain breeds of dogs cannot bite or kill puts humans and dogs at risk. I find myself in this exact situation. Hariette is larger and heavier than Albear; therefore, Albear is at risk of being killed by Hariette. I constantly manage the situation because I'm very aware of the consequences of my inactions. Although my dogs have not displayed aggression towards each other, I remain fully mindful and objective that this could happen. Ignoring dog conflicts doesn't make them go away. 

Be proactive
When a person lives with dogs, it's their responsibility to ensure everybody's safety. You can do this by educating yourself through dog language seminars and supervising dogs at all times. I will never stress this enough; dogs are predators. Like any other predator, canines behave according to their rules. Don't let anthropomorphism cloud your judgment. Attributing human characteristics to dogs can only be detrimental to both species. 

I strongly recommend you visit the Dogue Shop's YouTube channel. Navigate to the playlist titled What Dogs are Saying; you can watch the edited videos from there. I suggest you watch these videos repeatedly to familiarize yourself with actual dog language, AKA behaviour.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Nearly two years have gone by since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, and people are still in a rush to get a dog. Unfortunately, the current situation reveals a much darker side to the pandemic. Almost every dog professional on the planet saw it coming, so let’s look at where we are in the Covid dog saga. 

A lot of people are still on the hunt for a dog and are desperate to find one. They shop online, adopt from shelters, or acquire dogs from overseas. I firmly believe we don’t need dogs from other provinces or other countries. We have plenty of dogs in shelters and rescues, which brings me to my first argument. Shelters and rescues are overflowing with returned covid dogs. People got dogs thinking it would be a love affair only to realize it’s not. Dogs are time-consuming, especially when they are puppies. Consequently, when dogs transition into adolescence and their behaviour becomes even more rambunctious, pet owners don’t want to deal with the situation and return the dog. 

Puppies are hard work. 
I constantly hear pet caregivers say I didn’t know a puppy would be so much work. Clients call in dog trainers and soon realize that the cost of a professional is higher than they estimated. Their expectations are also unrealistic. Puppies require time to mature and are physically unable to hold urine or feces until they are approximately 3 to 4 months old, sometimes for even longer. 

Young canines have critical phases of development, and sociability is the most important of them. When a person doesn’t expose their dog to the elements, such as people young and old, dogs, cats, animals in general, and things such as buses, traffic, sounds, and smells, the dog will most likely fear these living and non-living things FOR THE REST OF ITS LIFE. Unsocialized or improperly socialized dogs can also display insecure aggression. My workload has undoubtedly increased during Covid, and I only deal with aggression cases. 

Another contributing factor to misbehaving puppies and teens is the lack of sleep. Puppies need to sleep anywhere from ten to eighteen (18) hours a day. You read that right. Because people work from home, puppies don’t get enough sleep, and by 3 pm, they turn into little monsters biting and barking. Sleep-deprived dogs are grumpy and highly unpleasant to be around. The biggest complaint pet owners have is that they can’t work because the dog keeps barking. They leave the dog out of the crate for this reason; however, a free-roaming puppy doesn’t sleep. Furthermore, puppies chew on anything and everything when they are not supervised. 

A doggone problem is a dog gone 
The easy way out of a problem when it comes to animals is to get rid of it. Releasing an animal into the wild, to a rescue, or a shelter is simple. The first approach doesn’t require any effort whatsoever, whereas the other options mean facing your guilt, and who would want to do that, right?! I know I’m generalizing; however, I see posts for lost dogs so often that one must wonder what’s going on. I believe some of these runaways are simply peoples’ easy way out. Leave the gate open. Problem solved. 

For those who do face their quilt, rescues or shelters are the options they choose. I see so many dogs between 3 months and 1.5 years, having had 3 to 5 families. They are adopted and soon returned because pet owners realize how much work they have to put in. One client adopted a dog and two days later wanted to go to a dinner party expecting the dog to be calm and quiet in its crate. Guess what, it wasn’t. The person complained about the situation, and all I could say was, what did you expect? 

I wish I could get a few Aibos and lend them to people who think about adopting a dog. The AI behind this fantastic toy can teach people just how demanding a pet can be. Until I can get the funds to buy a few of them, I can only say the following; if you are thinking of bringing a dog home: 

1. Make sure EVERYONE in the family wants a dog 
2. Fill the breed questionnaire attached to this article and bring it to your future trainer 
3. Pay a trainer to help you find the right breed for you or your family 
4. Please DO NOT get a dog because it’s cute 
5. Do the math to figure out the monthly or annual cost involved with housing a pet 
6. Buy everything you need BEFORE you get the dog 
7. Ask the veterinarian for expenses related to healthcare 
8. You will need between 2 to 5+ hours a day to devote to the dog (feeding, walking, training, grooming, etc.) 
9. Make sure you have the financial resources if an accident happens 
10. Think about what you would do if you didn’t like the dog 

Cheers.

Dog Breed Questionaire - Work with a dog trainer to find out which dog breed is better suited for your lifestyle.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

What is FAST dog training, and why should you care?! I spend a lot of time coaching people on how to change undesirable behaviour, namely aggression, into more desirable behaviours. The best way to accomplish this goes is to FAST train. Let’s look at what that means and how it relates to dog trainers. 

Functionality 
Think of functionality as what works and what doesn’t work. If you are training a dog to stop reacting to other dogs by counter-conditioning sit, will this behaviour work in the long term or not? The answer depends on the environment, attachment style, and cognitive abilities of both dog and person. Remember the SCAT model? All determinants have to be present for learning to occur; however, that isn’t enough to guarantee long-term adaptable behaviour. 

If the consequence of the behaviour doesn’t work, we need to change it into something that does. Before we can do that, we must consider the antecedent of the behaviour and its consequence (ABCs). What comes before the behaviour and what comes after it is vital to a functional training protocol. When you can identify A and C, you can let the dog choose what B will work. 

Adaptability 
Behaviour adaptability is the process by which the dog can change its behaviour to suit the situation. Let's say your dog is reactive to other dogs. You are walking in the park when you see an approaching canine. You ask your dog to sit to avoid the behaviour that doesn’t work, lunge and bark, but the dog refuses to comply and goes off to sniff a fence post. Now you think the dog is disobedient and untrainable. This problem begs the question, is the dog genuinely unruly? 

From the dog’s perspective, sit might not work in the situation, but increasing the social distance by using a redirecting behaviour might work. The dog has thus chosen to disobey to obey. Dog behaviour needs to be adaptable to satisfy what works from what doesn’t work for itself. Our job is to provide for such adaptations. Training adaptable behaviour is more important than simply training operant behaviours. 

Sustainability 
Functionality and adaptability result in sustainability. Sustainable behaviours are functional and adaptable actions that work overtime. I teach dogs to learn how to learn and allow them to change their behaviours as they see fit for success. The key role here is to let dogs adapt their behaviour to problematic situations. Trust is the process that gets the task done. I might see dog behaviour that works, but my dog doesn’t. If I allow it to adapt by offering a different behaviour, my training becomes sustainable. 

Putting behaviour into maintenance isn’t a real-world process if you don’t consider the environment and your relationship. I see this way too often. People ask dogs to perform behaviour rather than let them chose what works from what doesn’t work. I see dogs making those decisions all the time; unfortunately, people demand the behaviour they want the dog to execute, and everyone fails.   

Trainability 
The SCAT model focuses on the social cognitive learning theory. The FAST model occurs between the social and cognitive determinants and directly influences the attachment style between dogs and humans. When I allow my dog to choose a behaviour it prefers within a situation, we have both succeeded. Trust is the consequence of choosing what works and what doesn’t work from the dog’s perspective, not the human’s. 

The choice of behaviour to execute also relies on its training. If the dog cannot perform the behaviour because of a physical, physiological, mental, emotional, social, cognitive, or environmental problem, we need to rely on other behaviours. Let’s take the reactivity example again. I like to train dogs to jump on higher surfaces to get out of problematic situations, but if the dog is a Chihuahua, that won’t work, so either I ask something else or allow the dog to choose which behaviour works for it. The Chihuahua might decide to sniff the fence post or walk the other way, in which case both behaviours would work for me too. 

I often find humans ask very little of their dog’s cognitive abilities. Trainers and clients train but don’t allow for functionality, adaptability, and sustainability. Professionals and pet caregivers both need to revisit training behaviours and how dogs problem-solve and make decisions. There needs to be more trust in the process and flexibility of execution. When dogs refuse to perform behaviours, maybe it’s because they ultimately know what works and what doesn’t work for them.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

I haven't written in a while because the Dogue Shop and Dogue Academy have been super busy this year. But, with a drastic increase in dogs worldwide and behaviour issues sky-rocketing, I decided it was time to speak up about lures and their negative effect on Covid dogs. 

Why Lures are problematic 
Everybody, it seems, uses lures to train dogs, and it's highly unnecessary to do so. It is counterproductive. Top trainers and behaviour experts worldwide all use lures to teach dogs, so I know I'm swimming against a powerful current, so be it, it won't be the first time; plus, I know how to swim, so I'm not scared. 

Lures are used to model dogs into desired behaviours; unfortunately, the dog doesn't need to think about what it's doing; it just needs to follow a cookie to get rewarded. Here's the problem, the lure becomes the cue and eventually the prompt to do the behaviour, AND it serves as the reward. Sometimes, the lure also becomes the conditioned stimulus and the reinforcement. If you're confused, imagine your dog. 

When lures are not faded out as fast as possible, they become crutches. Trainers come to rely on lures to train, distract, and modify behaviour when the lure in questions no longer serves as a distraction. Dog trainers then teach their clients how to use lures, and the cycle of behaviour problems start. 

The ultimate reason why luring is so problematic is because it doesn't teach the animal how to think. There's no room for creative thinking and problem-solving. In lure training, the desired behaviour can't be modified, changed, adapted, or substituted by the animal. 

Avoid Using Lures at All Cost 
Lure training is lazy training. Some professionals say it's a fast way to train animals, but is it? Trainers with excellent shaping skills can train a complex series of behaviours much faster than lure trainers. One ABA student just trained a dog to fetch a beverage from the refrigerator in 20h without using a single lure (watch the video to the right). 

With social cognitive learning theory (SCT), animals are encouraged to think, problem-solve, and develop new strategies to make desirable behaviours better. In the beverage behaviour, the dog was initially trained to pull a rope to open the door, but he offered a new solution to use its nose. Seeing the dog preferred his solution, the trainer changed behaviours and moved along much faster in the training process. I always wonder what a lure trainer would do in this scenario. 

Lure training doesn't create a secure attachment, and without a secure attachment, it's almost impossible to train a dog. Let me rephrase that. Dog training that uses shaping is much faster than luring because the dog has learned that we, as a team, can work our way through difficult problems. After all, we have built a relationship based on trust. Plus, a dog trainer that uses shaping and the SCAT model doesn't have to fade lures at each step; thus, he saves training time. 

You might have noticed that lures don't work when dogs are faced with difficult problems. There's no amount of food, play, or petting that will break a reactive dog's focus. Conversely, when dogs are encouraged to offer new solutions, dogs quickly learn they have decision-making power that can work its way through complex situations. 

Social Cognitive Learning Theory and Attachment in Dog Training 
The social cognitive attachment training (SCAT) approach to training explicitly requires dogs to think and problem-solve their way through behaviours because it's the essence of a secure attachment and cognitive development. George, the dog in the video, was taught using the SCAT model, and as an animal-assisted therapy partner, he loves to solve his problems. We can see the joy in his prance when he breaks through a physical or mental barrier. 

The SCAT model states that to build a secure attachment, the dog first learns to solve problems cognitively with the trainer's direct help and, eventually, the owner. It also describes how people must surrender their beliefs and projections about the animal and concentrate on the cognitive task. In turn, mental stimulation generates trust between the dog and the human. Trust nourishes the attachment and changes it from an insecure to a secure one. This interspecies problem-solving and decision-making connection generates a level of behaviour you never thought possible. 

Covid dogs have not been socialized because of isolation regulation, and with Canadian winters being what they are, an entire generation of dogs is now heading towards winter isolation. Spring 2021 will bring a dog population out of isolation and nearing adulthood; these dogs won't fair well in society. Lures will be of little use, and insecure attachments will yield frustration and anger. 

Dog Lure Training is Lazy Training 
To summarize this article, here's a bullet point on what has been discussed. 

• Lures don't teach dogs how to think or problem-solve 
• Lures are useless in behaviour modification 
• Lures require fading out, thus adding an unnecessary training step 
• Lures do not create or change attachment styles 
• Lures quickly stop working as distractions 
• Lures can be dangerous when dealing with aggression 
• Lures tend to become conditioned stimuli, cues, prompts, and rewards 
• Lures don't build trust between trainer and dog 

Professional trainers with decades of experience that use lures sadden me. There is no reason to use them. Lures are unnecessary, and I wish everybody would stop using them and teach others how to use them. I've been teaching puppy classes in Montreal's busiest park for decades, and we have never used lures. When clients come to us using lures, we stop them immediately. In five weeks, puppies learn to work for people, despite lures, not because of them. 

I urge you to stop using lures because Covid dogs won't respond to treats, and you'll be left with devastating consequences. Dogs are exceptional when it comes to creative thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making, so why not encourage them to learn.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE 

With the import of dogs from around the world, there is a growing concern for people's safety and that bothers me tremendously. Today, I want to discuss the ins and outs of dog aggression. I am warning you, that you might not like what you read, but that does not change the truth or the facts. Emotions almost always get in the way when assessing and working with aggressive dogs, therein lies dangerous situations and unethical practices. Dogs are dying and people are getting injured or killed. Journalists point to the Staffordshire breeds all the while omitting northern breeds that kill more people each year. This is unethical and biased reporting.  

Aggression is considered morally unacceptable in dogs, yet people tolerated aggression from other humans. Guy Turcotte admittedly killed both his children and yet it took two trials to convict him. Montreal by-laws state that a dog that kills a cat will be euthanized, yet a cat that kills birds and other wildlife is free to walk. Why does an aggressive biased view exist within the animal kingdom? If people feel the need to carry guns for self-defence, why are dogs not allowed to defend themselves with their teeth when threatened?  

Aggression Defined  
We discussed in past articles how fear and anger are opposite emotions; consequently, a dog cannot be fearful and aggressive at the same time. Aggression is the expression of anger, not fear. Expressed aggressive behaviours serve to either kill a threat or make it retreat. When a dog is confident, it will try to kill the threat. When a dog is insecure, it will display behaviours that make the threat go away. A fearful dog will retreat while displaying fearful behaviours. In summary, we have three types of reactions: confident aggressive, insecure aggressive, and insecure fearful. In true ethological description these three reactions are dominant aggressive, submissive aggressive (active submission), and submissive fearful (passive submission).  

Aggression Categories  
Depending on who you read, there are between thirteen and sixteen aggression categories. I like the thirteen list because it groups a few categories into one, for example, pain aggression includes illness and disease aggression. When I evaluate aggressive dogs it is important to determine which category they belong to (see list below) because behaviour modification protocols and euthanasia recommendations are dependent on proper assessments. I know, I said the taboo word, euthanasia. I will get back to that later. Some categories are easier to determine and yield a higher success rate than others. Redirected aggression and conflict aggression can be categories; however, redirected aggression is normally the consequence of another aggression category. Most aggressive displays are indirectly based on conflict, hence, I removed the conflict-related aggression from this list for simplification purposes.

• Dominance aggression  
• Possessive aggression  
• Sibling rivalry  
• Territorial aggression  
• Inter-male aggression  
• Predatory aggression  
• Play-induced / Excitement aggression  
• Excitement induced aggression  
• Insecure aggression  
• Maternal aggression  
• Learned aggression  
• Irritable aggression  
• Pain-induced / aggression*  

Other categories to consider:  

• Intraguild aggression  
• Human directed aggression  
• Idiopathic aggression  
• Genetic predisposition to high aggression (non-breed specific)  

Idiopathic aggression relates to aggressive displays or attacks toward non-living objects and people for no reason. For example, a dog sees rubber bins and attacks them ferociously. Of this list, intraguild aggression is the least known and discussed. I wrote two articles on the topic called My Dog Killed My Other Dog Part 1 and Part 2. We receive e-mails daily and the articles, pre and post-hacking, still generate the most attention. Before hackers, we had over one hundred comments and just as many private e-mails. We crunched the numbers and it turns out one dog kills another dog in the same household every 1.3 days, year-round.  

Aggression Cases  
Once I have identified the category of aggression a discussion takes place. During the session, clients and I discuss time investment, financial investment, emotional investment, public and private risk assessment, and possible outcomes. Euthanasia is normally discussed in this meeting. I do not recommend euthanasia often, but on the upside, I do know how long and time-consuming the behaviour modification process can take. Pet owners are not animal trainers; consequently, their life can become consumed by an aggressive dog and the training process. Furthermore, my training has prepared me to remain emotionally neutral when animals display aggression, that is not the case for clients. Clients are often afraid of their dogs.  

Public and private bite risks need to be considered in aggression cases because the dog and its caregiver become liabilities to the public. I know it can be heartbreaking to learn that the family dog poses a very high risk to the human and non-human population; therefore, euthanasia is considered a solution. If the dog has a biological issue and medication is not an option because of cost, side effects, values and beliefs, or inefficacy, then euthanasia becomes the most ethical decision.  

Aggression Adoptions  
Too many dogs are surrendered with known aggression issues each year. Rescues and shelters, through no fault of their own, are often unaware of aggressive behaviours because people abandon their pet's life. Furthermore, an animal in a crisis often exhibits its best behaviour, but once relocated and the three-month adjustment period is over, aggressive behaviours emerge and people are left with difficult decisions. I have seen a rescue take back an aggressive dog I classified as dangerous only to make it available for adoption the very same day, without the mention of aggression. That is highly unethical and dangerous.  

Some people adopt a second dog and as time goes by, adopt another, and another. A year or two down the line, the young confident dog kills one, two, or three other dogs within the same household. Intraguild predation is one of the least known aggression types because it is not well documented or discussed. Often, this type of aggression falls into the sibling rivalry category, yet these dogs are not siblings; normally, a noticeable age gap separates the dogs. Intraguild predation does not necessarily mean your dog will kill again or is a vicious killer. A predatory brain does what a predatory brain does.  

Aggression Is What Anger Does  
By calling dogs fur babies or fur kids, people have come to anthropomorphically reduce the dog to a plush toy unable of any wrongdoing. Regrettably, people have forgotten that when the stars align, dogs will bite, or worse, kill. That is their nature and that is their function. To forget dogs are predators capable of hunting, capturing, killing, dismembering, and eating prey puts humans and non-humans at risk of such a fate. Aggression is not necessarily a bad thing; it is simply part of the genetic makeup of an animal. Organisms need a certain level of aggression to stay alive, thus, the emotion should not be ignored, but rather discussed and effective solutions implemented. One such solution is highly effective and has already been written into by-laws. Mandatory leashing of dogs is a law; consequently, law enforcers simply need to enforce the law without biases to reduce dog bites and attacks to nearly zero.  

To the questions asked at the beginning, I will let you share your thoughts. In the meantime, I propose a long reflection as to why dogs no longer have the right to exhibit aggression; why dogs cannot display their species-specific behaviours; why are dogs systematically killed because of people's ignorance; why cats can kill wildlife but not dogs, why cats who bite people are not euthanized, and why are people allowed to breed dogs who physically and behaviourally suffer their entire lives without any form of reprimand?  

Cheers, 
G. 

References 
- Casey, R. A., Loftus, B., Bolster, C., Richards, G. J., & Blackwell, E. J. (2014). Human directed aggression in domestic dogs ( Canis familiaris ): Occurrence in different contexts and risk factors. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 152, 52–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2013.12.003  

- De Oliveira, T.G. & Pereira, J.A. (2013). Intraguild Predation and Interspecific Killing as Structuring Forces of Carnivoran Communities in South America. Journal of Mammal Evolution. http://.doi.org/10.1007/s10914-013-9251-4  

Echterling-Savage, K., DiGennaro Reed, F. D., Miller, L. K., & Savage, S. (2015). Effects of Caregiver-Implemented Aggression Reduction Procedure on Problem Behavior of Dogs. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 18(2), 181–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2014.977383  

- Siracusa, C. (2016). Status-related aggression, resource guarding, and fear-related aggression in 2 female mixed breed dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 12, 85–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2015.12.001  

* Pain aggression includes illnesses, diseases, and accidents.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

If you are a Dogue Academy subscriber, then you have read our Newsletter and know about COVID dog syndrome. Yes, I termed that title because it reflects the entire 2020 dog population. A generation of dogs that will, for the next ten years, display behaviour problems due to non-socialization during self-isolation and quarantine. 

Socialization periods 
I have talked about critical periods of socialization many times before, in case you have not read our past articles, here is a little recap. There are many critical periods in dogs’ physical and psychological development; to make things easier, we summarized them as the neonate, socialization, adolescence, and adulthood period. The period we are most interested in is socialization. 

The socialization period starts at four weeks and is at its peak at eight weeks (Scott & Fuller, 1965), after which it starts to close and be completely closed at sixteen weeks. Critical periods are not on-off buttons; therefore, the onset of transition periods varies from individual to individual. For the sake of argument and simplicity, socialization occurs mostly at the breeders. Once people acquire their puppy, the critical period has started to close, and there is little time to expose the dog to social encounters and habituate it to life’s multitude of stimuli. 

During the pandemic, many people introduced a puppy to their family, and because of quarantine, did not expose their dog to other people, animals, objects, sounds and smell. Four months into the pandemic, people are coming out of isolation and want to take socialization classes. Unfortunately, four-month-old puppies will start to transition into adolescence, leaving socialization behind. 

What does this mean? 
Socialization is the result of exposure to stimuli. The effect can be positive or negative. During this critical period of development, dogs learn that people, animals, objects, sounds, and smells are regular occurrences; hence, they are non-threatening. The more exposure to life during this time, the better adjusted a dog will be in society. 

When dogs are isolated or shielded from stimuli, the outcomes are usually insecure-fearful dogs or insecure-aggressive dogs. Insecure fearful dogs want to run away, and insecure-aggressive dogs make people, animals, objects, sounds, and smell go away. Unfortunately, COVID dogs are highly likely to fall into an insecure category. This process is similar to the Winter Dog Syndrome I discussed in a previous article. 

COVID generation dog outcome 
Every dog professional saw this wave coming; unfortunately, we do not know what the overall outcome will be. I suspect we will have very insecure dogs that will require patience, training, compassion, and patience. Society might start to view dogs as they were before, dogs. The surrogate child and the anthropomorphic view of animals that have possessed humans for the last two decades might finally dissipate. Dogs are not people, children, kids, or babies. They are domesticated opportunistic predators and scavengers. They display fear and anger through passive or active threats, and we should view and care for dogs as such. 

Do not get me wrong; I love dogs. However, my view and approach have always been a symbiotic partnership and trustful relationship. I complete my dogs, and they complete me in return; I trust their hearing, and they trust my sight. They help me with my illness, and in return, I feed them for all their services, open doors, pick up what I drop, film for YouTube, and allow me to train them for all crazy ideas I have. 

SARS-CoV-2 will have lasting effects on people and dogs alike; consequently, the next ten to fifteen years will be incredibly different than previous centuries. For my part, I am anticipating an increase in aggression and fear cases. If you are a professional, be prepared to help, if you are a pet caregiver, be patient and seek help. 

Cheers 

References 
- Scott J.P. and Fuller J.L. (1965). Genetics and the Social Behaviour of the Dog. Chicago, IL: Chicago Press.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

The most common question we get when people call in for help is Can you fix my dog? First things first, for the most part, dogs are not broken. They are not objects we can repair, and they do not have parts we can change. Dogs often display desirable, aka normal behaviours or the occurrence of species-specific behaviours that occur the majority of the time. So, why are so many people calling in for behaviour problems? Let us look at the fundamental reason, and I am warning you, you might not like my answer. 

My pet peeve, and yes, the pun is intended!
One of my pet peeves is when trainers and other behaviour consultants write on their websites that they can address behaviour problems such as barking, biting, jumping, digging, stealing food, display aggressive behaviours, etc., and they can change your problematic dog into a well-behaved member of society. Here is the problem; none of those behaviours are problematic behaviours. The majority of dog behaviour problems are human problems. 

Dogs bark. In fact, humans breed dogs to bark. Compared to their wild counterparts, dogs are hyper-barkers. Any occasion is a vocalization opportunity in Fido’s head, so too are jumping, running away, digging, growling, and biting. Dogs love to react and pull on the leash; they enjoy chasing small animals; they like to eat trash or poop; canines roll in disgusting things; in essence, dogs display whatever behaviours they find enjoyable, and to them, that is not a problem. 

True dog behaviour problems
Problematic behaviours, or what professionals call clinical behaviour problems (CBP), are genuinely dysfunctional behaviours. We define a CBP as an action or reaction that prevents the organism from functioning normally. For example, a dog that guards its food does not suffer from a CBP; food guarding is a healthy dog behaviour. If a dog did not guard its food, it would have nothing to eat and it would die. A dog that guards its food to the point where it cannot eat can, and often does, suffer from anorexia. The dog’s weight will be dangerously low and will need pharmacological and behavioural therapy to help modify its eating habits. The same can be observed when a dog eats so fast it vomits and eats the food again. When the cycle goes on, the dog can suffer from bulimia and anorexia, and its overall health will suffer. 

Another common dog behaviour problem that is not a problem is aggression. Dogs are predators and function under different rules when it comes to conflict management. When dogs tell other dogs to get out of their space, or face, they do it with growls and teeth, not with flowers and chocolates. Those behaviours might be problematic for people who are unfamiliar with dog behaviour, but in reality, these behaviours are necessary, thus, considered healthy behaviours. Aggression-related CBP often results in self-mutilation or phantom conflicts with a body part. You most likely have seen these behaviours on television, or YouTube, most often labelled funny dog video. 

Animal Behaviour Professionalism
In my professional experience, people do not know the difference between desirable and undesirable dog behaviours, and that is perfectly fine. That is why clients hire us. That said, I have an issue with websites that list dog behaviour problems that are not. The downfall with this type of approach is that clients are led to believe their dogs can be fixed when, in reality, they are not broken. When a human goes to a psychologist or psychiatrist, do we expect the person to be fixed? No, we do not! So, if we cannot fix a person, how can people claim, as dog professionals, to be able to fix dogs? 

Throughout my thirty-four years in the dog training and animal behaviour industry, I have seen and heard many strange things; however, I have never lost my direction when it comes to transforming a pastime into a professional business. Exotic and domestic animal trainers need to step up and answer the professionalism call. Trainers need to educate clients and tell them what are the differences between normal and abnormal behaviours. 

There needs to be a discussion on why training goals are critical components to outcome expectations. If you are training or modifying animal behaviour in exchange for money, your criterion need to be realistic and professional. To tell a client their Australian Cattle dog’s ankle-biting behaviour can be fixed is unrealistic and unethical. Working to eliminate dog behaviours that were created by humans is unfair to the dog, and in my opinion, cruel. 

Cheers.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Captive domestic and exotic animals, which include dogs and cats, live a very different life when it comes to environmental stimuli. Humans directly or indirectly control every single aspect of an animal’s environment. People allow animals to roam, or not, and interact, or not, with other living beings and objects. Consequently, animals in captivity lack essential stimuli that allow them to thrive psychologically. To compensate for undesirable behaviour like pacing and chewing, people have designed and offered enrichment and brain games (BG) to animals to improve their overall wellbeing. That said, there is a misconception about brain games that I need to clarify. 

Enrichment 
We define enrichment as the action of improving or enhancing the quality or value of something. In this case, the improvement directly correlates with wellness. Enrichment strives to increase basic physiological needs ophthalmoception (eye), audioception (ear), gustaoception (taste), olfalcoception (smell), and tactioception (touch). 

Enrichment should be part of every captive animal’s daily regiment of behaviour expression. If Maslow’s basic needs such as air, safety, water, food, play, walk, reproduction, and thermoregulation are fulfilled through fixed action patterns (FAP), then enrichment serves as a natural expression of those needs. Thermoregulation is the only exception to the rule in warm-blooded animals.

When we place hay in a weaved firehose contraption, the animal does not need to solve a problem; it merely needs to use its foraging FAP behaviours. When we throw a ball, and a dog retrieves it, there are no problem-solving skills involved. The dog does not need to think or plan on how to get the ball; it solely needs to run after it, catch it, and bring it back. 

Brain Games 
We design brain games to satisfy psychological needs. When we offer a BG to an animal, the goal is to stimulate processes that naturally occur in an environment; but are lacking in a controlled space. Domesticated animals do not need to think about anything because people provide everything to them. Dogs do not need to find food; conversely, wild animals rarely stumble upon freebies thus have to satisfy the eating FAP. Yes, a lion might discover a dead zebra and get to eat for free, but that does not usually happen. Most frequently, lions have to find, chase, kill, and eat the zebra. 

We design BG to teach animals how to problem-solve. There are multiple steps involved to solve the game, and domestic animals might require our guidance and feedback to accomplish the required actions. A crow can get a piece of food when it solves all eleven steps of the BG. A dog removes a bone to unlock the drawer, then opens the compartment to receive the reward. 

A well designed BG includes more than a one-step process. Depending on the animal species and their cognitive abilities, BGs can consist of thirteen steps or more. Birds are notorious for solving lengthy procedural sequences. Dogs are good at solving two or more steps within a problem. The critical part to remember about BGs is that they teach the learner how to learn. Eating from a weaved firehose apparatus does not teach the animal how to forage; the animal already knows how because it is a FAP. 

Overall Differences 
To summarize the differences between enrichment and BGs, I have created a table with yeas and nays on the goal of the object/s used. Brain games are enrichment opportunities; however, the opposite is not true. Brain games are usually too difficult to be considered as enrichment. When designs are too complicated, animals simply give up. It is not worth the effort. 

Although both terms are used interchangeably, enrichment and BGs are not the same. Most enrichment designs serve to stimulate physiological needs, BGs address psychological needs. I often give the following analogy. Going to the movies is enriching, playing sudoku is mind-stimulating: movies = Enrichment and Sudoku = Brain Games. 

My point is not to make one seem better than the other; my goal is to differentiate them, so you know what your design is doing to your animal. Enrichment does not tire out dogs as efficiently as BGs, yet, we do not give dogs BGs thinking they will solve the problem on their own, our direct influence, guidance, and feedback are required. 

In other words, use what is best for you and your animals and have fun. 

Cheers.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

My answer to the article that passed on the CBC website (see sources) 

The rules, first announced last December, are aimed at preventing dog attacks and maulings. Really? Nowhere on earth where this type of law exists has their been a decrease in dog bites. 

Under the law, municipalities are required enforce the province's regulations, which includes ordering dangerous dogs to be euthanized. A municipality can also pass its own stricter rules. Montreal adopted its own bylaw in 2018. Please consult your own municipalities.

Doctors and veterinarians will be required to report dog bites. People will now avoid veterinarians or lie about what happened. 

If a person is bitten, the doctor who treats them has to tell the municipality about the bite. Fair enough, we do need that, but are municipal inspectors truly professionals and can they actually assess aggressive dogs?

In the case of a veterinarian, if a dog that has been bitten is brought in for treatment, the veterinarian will be forced to report it. What good will that do? If no one knows the perpetrator, that's just inefficient. Most people involved in these situations just leave. Will the city or the province be hiring detectives? 

Dr. Caroline Kilsdonk, the president of the Quebec Order of Veterinarians, said vets can report bites that happen in the vet's office or waiting room. So stress and critical space invasion are reason enough to have dogs euthanized? Today, my dogs reacted to a dog who appeared from behind, silent like a hawk, and entered our critical space while I was doing a training exercise. Under this new law, if the person complains, my dogs could risk the death penalty because an untrained vet or city clerk can decide if my dogs are aggressive or not.

She said vets will probably not report small bites that can happen during an examination since the dog can be frightened or in pain. Well, this is just another form of BSL. I am seriously against that. ALL bites should be reported then. PERIOD!!! 

"[But if] we're doing a basic manipulation and the dog bites four or five times, you know, it's not proportional," she said. "So that could be reported." Again, BSL!!! 

People who have aggressive dogs and seek out veterinary advice may also be reported if their dog has bitten before, Kilsdonk said. We now know what's going to happen. People will simply not ask veterinarians. People don't want to lose their dogs, so I predict vet visits will decrease significantly. 

Once a bite is reported to a municipality, the municipality will order an assessment by a veterinarian to see if the dog is actually dangerous. OK, this is where I have a huge issue. Since when are veterinarians equipped to assess aggression? Will they have to come with my clients and I on walks? Will they ask me what clients and I have been doing to address the problem? You are asking medical doctors to be professional psychologists and psychiatrists. This is the worst decision EVER. So many dogs are going to die. 

"Dog owners with dogs who bite will want help from veterinarians that are experts on dog behaviour," she said. "[But] there's a possibility that the veterinarian will have to report." Again, such a wrong decision. Regular vets received a weekend workshop on aggression and are now experts? Sorry vet friends, but we both know that's just a flat out lie. 

Dogs deemed dangerous will face restrictions 

If a dog is deemed potentially dangerous, restrictions on the dog will apply. 

A potentially dangerous dog must be sterilized, microchipped and have all its rabies vaccines up to date. The dog will also need to wear a muzzle in all public places. I agree with this. It's just basic common sense. But what about enforcing leash laws??? 

The animal will also be prohibited from being alone with kids under the age of 10 without adult supervision. Why 10? The actual age should be 18. 

If the dog owner's home does not have a fence, or does not have a fence that will adequately contain the animal, other measures will be required. There must also be a sign warning people that a potentially dangerous dog is on the property. I agree with this too because it's just common sense. 

If a dog is declared potentially dangerous in one municipality, the ruling applies to the entirety of Quebec. Sounds reasonable. 

Dominique Alain lost her triceps in after being attacked by three dogs last spring. The incident left her disfigured and left her arm weak. (Denis Gervais/Radio-Canada) If you're going to use scare tactics, at least write the circumstances of this situation. 

Dogs can be euthanized under specific circumstances 

If a dog bites or attacks a person, leading to serious injury or death, the municipality can order that the dog be euthanized. With or without an evaluation? I'm assuming the latter. I have a question. Who will evaluate the dog? With only three veterinarian behaviourists (verified March 4, 2020 - see names below) for the entire Province, I wonder how Quebec will manage dog aggression evaluations?!  

A serious injury is defined as a physical injury that could result in death or "significant physical consequences" to the person. 

The rules also leave the door open to euthanasia if the dog presents a risk to the "health of public security" of the population. We have already seen this happen. If your neighbour makes a complaint stating your dog is dangerous, the city patrol (read non-professional person trained by another non-professional clerk) can decide if your dog lives or dies. WOW!!! That might open a pandora's box. Wait, it did actually open just a few months ago.

What if an owner doesn't follow the rules? 

There are penalties for owners who fail to comply with the new rules. 

The owner can have their dog seized and be banned from owning or keeping a dog for a determined period of time. Let's get real here, "seized" and killed, you forgot the word KILLED!!! What happens if your dog bit you? As in the image to the left. Is the dog reported? Seized? Killed? Again, people will lie because they don't want to lose their pets.

Owners can also face hefty fines, up to $2,500 depending on the infraction. If an owner hinders someone enforcing the regulation, including by giving "deceiving" statements, the fine can go up to $5,000. Sounds good to me. 

Fines can also double if it applies to a dog deemed potentially dangerous. 

Will this actually make things safer? 

Kilsdonk, the president of the Order of Veterinarians, thinks so. She said there has been a "major improvement" in how governments tackle the question of dangerous dogs. Here you need to read the sentence properly. The sentence talks about the government's actions, not an actual decrease in dog bites "there has been a "major improvement" in how governments tackle the question of dangerous dogs." translates to We, as bureaucrats, are doing good, but dogs still bite. All this political nonsense will do is build a data bank on dog bites. 

"There was some level of just letting things go, and some municipalities did not have any regulations. Some did not apply it seriously," she said. 

She said that most dog attacks in recent years took place in areas that did not have basic regulations for dealing with dangerous dogs. If there were rules in place, some of those attacks would not have happened, she said. Excuse me, if every municipality enforced leash laws, all this would be unnecessary. The vast majority of bites and attacks would not have happened if dogs were LEASHED. PERIOD!!! 

Kilsdonk also said there was some concern about how veterinarians are supposed to get in touch with their municipalities since every city and town will likely have a different system. Good luck with that. 

But she said she's optimistic that things will be better than they were before. Sweet dreams people. USA doctors and vets have been obliged to report dog bites for decades and guess what??? Bites did NOT decrease. 

"I think just the fact that now we will have a basic regulation everywhere … that there will be an improvement." Again, NO there will not!!! The government and veterinarians need to get real. Seriously!!!  

Gaby’s Two Cents. 
All of this means people will go underground, and some vets will accompany them. People will stop going to the vet because they will be afraid of a potential bite. With this law, dogs that are bitten will need to be reported, but what happens when these “bitten” dogs start to defend themselves? They will eventually be reported and die too?? I’m so disappointed, not to say angry, about all this. This law was not the original proposal. 

The weekend workshop veterinarians received a few months ago on aggression is by FAR adequate knowledge to evaluate dogs and decided on the outcome of their life. What happens if a veterinarian dislikes, not to say hates, certain dog breeds? I would like vets to contact me before they assess aggression cases, that way I know it’s done properly. Go to a vet behaviourist you say. Turns out we don’t have enough of them around; consequently, they are booked solid, sometimes months away. 

Maybe I should design a test for vets, just to see if they are indeed qualified to assess aggression. 

So many things are wrong with this law... 

Original Text Source - 
Quebec's new dangerous dog law comes into effect today. Here's what you need to know. 
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/dangerous-dog-explain-1.5483630 March 3rd, 2020.

Ordre des Medecins Veterinaires du Quebec
https://www.omvq.qc.ca/trouver-medecin-veterinaire.html 

* Board Certified Veterinary Behaviourists in the province of Quebec:

Centre Veterinaire DMV, Montreal
- Isabelle Demontigny-Bédard
- Sabrina Poggiagliolmi

Globalvet, Quebec
- Martin Godbout

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

There is an old saying that goes too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. You are probably thinking how does this apply to our profession, and with just cause. If you have read my articles in the past, you know I am not one to hide behind controversy; hopefully, the title got your attention and you will continue to read about why science and beliefs both influence dog training and behaviour. 

Positive Reinforcement 
Positive reinforcement (R+) is a quadrant within operant conditioning, which is part of a bigger learning theory called behaviourism. The other three quadrants are negative reinforcement (R-), positive punishment (P+), and negative punishment (P-). For the sake of this article, we will focus on R+ and P+. 

The definition of R+ is to add a desirable stimulus in order to increase the probability a behaviour will occur again. R+ is an effective and ethical way to train animals and humans. When the dog has exhibited desirable behaviour, it receives reinforcement and subsequently a reward. The reward is whatever the ANIMAL wants: water, sex, food, safety, shade, warmth, air, affection. Obviously, some of these elements are unethical to use such as air or sex, but for the most part, the other basic needs can and are used to train animals. Whether you are aware of it or not, animals can and do reinforce themselves with rewards you are unconscious of. 

Positive Punishment 
Positive punishment (P+) is another quadrant within the operant conditioning learning theory. The definition of P+ is to add an undesirable stimulus in order to decrease the likelihood a behaviour will occur again. This requires precision timing and efficacy, which are very hard to administer. In essence, punishments, both positive and negative, serve to make behaviours go away. When you think about it, punishment does make much sense when we are trying to create new behaviours. For example, to teach a dog to sit, P+ trainers will pull on a choke chain in order to teach the dog the behaviour; however, what is truly occurring, scientifically speaking, is people are punishing standing. From there, the dog is supposed to guess that a down sit is required. To summarize P+, dogs go through life avoiding pain and guessing which behaviours yield no pain. 

Human Reinforcement 
Humans acquire information from the same learning theories we utilize to train dogs and animals in general. Whether we are conscious or unconscious of our actions, P+ occurs in our lives on a daily basis. Red lights make you stop; social media notifications make you operate your cellphone; cold coffee makes you get up; a child crying makes your usher shushhhhh; your chronic lateness gets you fired; whatever the punisher is they all serve to make behaviour decrease. Unfortunately, people have associated punishment with severe pain. Most likely because they were victims of physical punishment or have seen or heard of physical punishments occurring to others. Nobody wants to go to jail because we like our freedom; therefore, the severity of the punishment regulates our behaviour. In other words, we behave because we want to avoid jail. 

Two and Two Together 
Our entire society is based on punishment; consequently, the vast majority of people believe in punishment, and a smaller and smaller amount of people believe in corporal punishment as a means of education. Whichever way we look at it, we were punished as children. When my son tried his first tantrum in a store, I looked at him and said Stop or I’m walking away! He threw himself on the ground, so I walked away. By doing so, I removed myself thereby adding vulnerability in order to decrease the likelihood that another tantrum (behaviour) would occur. You might agree with the process or not, that is not the point*. The point is, that my son never attempted a tantrum because the punishment was well-timed and effective. Punishment does not need to be physically or mentally painful to be effective. Thankfully reinforcement is on the rise, but let us be honest for a moment, R+ is lagging behind. This brings me to the introduction point. 

As professionals, we are required to change behaviours, normally from undesirable to desirable, for the well-being of our clients. Herein lies the problem which raises a serious ethical question. When dogs have learned from a punishment approach and we are called in to readdress behaviours that have gotten worse over time, we go in confident R+ will positively change the dog’s behaviour. Unfortunately, that is an extremely false and dangerous assumption. 

A P+ taught dog living with a P+ human will suffer greatly in the hands of an R+ trainer. Why? Because for X amount of years the dog learned by being told what not to do, therein comes an R+ trainer who starts to teach the dog that it has control of its reinforcement. The dog now learns what to do, and finds it pleasurable, but at the end of the session, the dog will return to a P+ home. The dog now finds itself in a desirable and undesirable conundrum. Obviously, some people can shift their beliefs and start R+ training the dog; however, there is a big proportion of the owner population for whom punishment is not only a rule, it is a belief system deeply ingrained within themselves and no amount of R+ dog training they receive, their punishment behaviours will not change. Reinforcement is simply unattainable and the dog will suffer. 

Ethically Speaking 
When we are confronted with owners who firmly believe in punishment, our roles shift from dog trainer to wellness agent. We now have to assess if it is ethical to keep training or not. We must ask ourselves Is it ethical to teach a dog for one hour a week that it can get all it wants (so to speak) in exchange for reinforcement, but the rest of the time it will continue to be punished? Pleasure vs Displeasure. Humans who strongly believe in punishment are refractory to change, consciously or unconsciously; consequently, dogs in these situations become very conflicted and aggression can inadvertently increase. By no fault of their own, R+ dog trainers are making matters worse. As professionals, what should we do? Here are some ideas. 

1. We walk away after advising the caregiver you can no longer work with them if they are unwilling to change their belief system. Explain why behaviours will worsen. 
2. Advise owners to stop training altogether and offer a management approach for the behaviour problem. This way, everybody wins by not learning. 
3. If they are adamant about working with their punishment tools, teach them how to use them effectively. The goal is to decrease the use of punishment. 
4. Demonstrate how to say good boy and pet the dog after the behaviour, this way there will be some reinforcement in the dog’s life. Obviously, the dog should like being petted. 
5. Propose rehoming or surrendering if undesirable behaviours require such a solution. 

I have worked with hardcore clients who unconditionally believed people and animals could solely learn from being punished. I once worked with a 79-year-old woman who owned an out-of-control Belgium Sheppard. The lady refused to use R+, even after I demonstrated its efficiency, and made it clear I was not there to teach her otherwise. Before I told her I could not work with her, I did demonstrate how to use the choke chain efficiently ad effectively. For all matters of purpose, it was upsidedown and creating more pain by getting tangled in the dog’s fur. 

My approach has always been nonjudgemental. I prefer to explore both sides of a situation, problem, or belief system and come up with an ethical solution for all involved. Sometimes difficult decisions have to be made, but one thing remains, we all strive to improve the well-being of both humans and dogs. In certain situations, R+ is simply unethical, thus, we need to cease and desist. Our profession dictates the use of science; consequently, to deny one or all three quadrants of learning because they do not reflect our belief system causes more problems than it solves. Extremism never benefits anyone. I am not saying you should go out and use P+, that would be unethical nonsense. What I am suggesting is to think about how being narrowminded and unscientific affects animal and human wellness. I am suggesting we discuss science in its integrity and apply it ethically, even if sometimes it requires going against our own beliefs because too much of a good thing is a bad thing! 

* When my son reached the end of the aisle, I was there to greet him with open arms and a kiss (R+). The explanation of that process is an entirely different article.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

We know dogs have emotions and form bonds with us; however, sometimes human-animal attachments seem broken, or worse, unable to develop. Today, we will explore the various reasons why this happens, but more importantly, how can we change an insecure emotional attachment into a secure one.
 
John Bowlby was highly influenced by Konrad Lorenz when he decided to research and discuss attachment theory in the late sixties. His model proposed three attachment outcomes: secure, avoidant, and resistant. During the same time period, Mary Ainsworth added a research method to assess different forms of attachment, she called it the Strange Situation Classification. Her conclusion gave way to three types of attachment styles: secure, insecure avoidant, and insecure resistant.
 
Although similar, Bowlby focused on attachment as a fixed action pattern (FAP), whereas Ainsworth focused on acquired emotional connectedness. Both psychologists contributed to our understanding of attachment, but what about the human-dog bond? Can we form secure or insecure attachments with dogs? When you read the following definitions, simply replace the word infant or children with the word dog and see for yourself. I purposefully omitted sources to help readers make a non-scientific judgment.
 
Secure Attached dogs -
"Such children feel confident that the attachment figure will be available to meet their needs. They use the attachment figure as a safe base to explore the environment and seek the attachment figure in times of distress. Securely attached infants are easily soothed by the attachment figure when upset. Infants develop a secure attachment when the caregiver is sensitive to their signals, and responds appropriately to their needs." (Bowlby, 1988)

Insecure Avoidant dogs -
"Insecure avoidant children do not orientate to their attachment figure while investigating the environment. They are very independent of the attachment figure both physically and emotionally. They do not seek contract with the attachment figure when distressed. Such children are likely to have a caregiver who is insensitive and rejecting of their needs. The attachment figure may withdraw from helping during difficult tasks and is often unavailable during times of emotional distress." (Bowlby, 1988)

Insecure Resistant dogs -
"Here children adopt an ambivalent behavioral style towards the attachment figure. The child will commonly exhibit clingy and dependent behavior, but will be rejecting of the attachment figure when they engage in interaction. The child fails to develop any feelings of security from the attachment figure. Accordingly they exhibit difficulty moving away from the attachment figure to explore novel surroundings. When distressed they are difficult to soothe and are not comforted by interaction with the attachment figure. This behaviour results from an inconsistent level of response to their needs from the primary caregiver." (Bowlby, 1988)

If you believe these attachment definitions apply to you or someone you know, you are not alone. Most dog owners fall under one of these attachment styles. The good news is we can change insecure attachments to secure ones because dogs are cognitively and emotionally eternal infants, so to speak.

Insecure Means Behaviour Problem
When dogs exhibit undesirable behaviours, the problem often resides in an insecure attachment. The important thing to know is behaviour cannot be modified if the human-dog team has an insecure attachment; therefore, dog professionals will assess and address attachment issues first. Remember the Social-Cognitive article? We need to change dysfunctional units into functional teams through social-cognitive exercises before we can address the behaviour problem. Attachment functions in the same way.

Brain Games increase emotional control and through direct positive associations between game and human, secure attachments develop. In other words, when humans help their dogs solve problems, dogs learn to connect, bond, relate, attach to their humans; consequently, securely attached human-dog teams display better problem-solving skills and desirable behaviours.

To help you grasp the idea further, imagine you are in the kitchen and your dog rolls his ball under the couch. Your dog barks or runs back and forth from the couch to you. You realize something is wrong and investigate. You then see the dog heading to the couch and bark at it. You quickly understand there is something wrong. You bend over, see the ball, and grab the toy with your extremely long paws to solve your dog's problem. If you see yourself in this situation, kudos, you have a secure human-dog attachment.

Secure or insecure attachments are neither good or bad, they are what they are. I see attachment issues as tools to help us understand how dog behaviour evolves and why. As the old saying goes, once we recognize the problem, half the work is done.

References
Bowlby, J. (1988). A Secure Base. Oxon, UK: Routledge.
Boyd, D., Bee, H., & Johnson, P. (2009). Lifespan Development (3ed.) Toronto, ON: Pearson.
McLeod, S. (2007). Bowlby's Attachment Theory. Retrieved from: http://www.simplypsychology.org/bowlby.html
McLeod, S. (2008, updated 2014). Mary Ainsworth. Retrieved from: http://www.simplypsychology.org/mary-ainsworth.html
Horse Attachment - http://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2013/12/andrew-mclean-on-attachment-theory/

P.S. The beer bottle contained water. I use this image to visually represent behaviour problems. 

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE 

I have been told by students, over the years, Thanks to you, my dream has been destroyed! I am here to tell you why I did it and why am happy I did. As a teacher and educator, my role is to make certain your career in the animal world is safe and long-lived. That process is based on the time we share together. The Animal Behaviour Apprenticeship (ABA) and Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) programs are respectively 200 and 100 hours, which is a very short amount of time to become a professional, but that does not mean it is impossible... 

Why I Broke the Dog Trainer 
The first thing people write on their letter of intent when they apply for a program is I've been around dogs all my life or I just want to work with animals. The first realization that comes with being a student is you will always work with a human and an animal. It is not the other way around. Breaking the dream refers to the reality check future animal behaviour professionals get when they take one of the Dogue Academy’s programs. 

The second break comes when future professionals realize how little they actually knew about dogs. Even though a person might have been around dogs all their life, dog behaviour is far more complex than one imagines. Dog behaviour is an actual language canids use to communicate. When you learn it, you cannot unlearn it, and all the innocence of joyfully playing with dogs now turns from an emotional to a cognitive perspective. When students learn this harsh reality, my job here is done. 

Learning to work safely with animals is also a belief crusher. Once a person learns what dogs are truly saying, they realize just how much dogs really do not want to serve us unconditionally. Dogs are living organisms and at times, they have an agenda of their own. Dog behaviours are not always the direct result of human intervention or lack thereof. Dogs do have clinical behaviour problems, and dogs do not love everybody unconditionally. When students learn to work safely with dogs, my job here is done. 

In my class, you are faced with the realization that you do not have a special connection to animals, you just had luck, thus far. When the stars align, bites happen, regardless of the number of papers on the wall, and when aggression manifests itself, careers can end abruptly. So the question becomes, do you prefer a short pleasant emotional passion or a long cognitive animal career? When you can answer the question, my job here is done. 

Why I Am Happy I Broke the Dog Trainer 
I am happy I break my dog trainers because the process ensures a long and healthy, bite-free, career. Broken trainers are able to professionally safeguard the public from possible disastrous situations. I am happy I broke my students because they can uphold objective discussions void of emotional interference. I am joyful of the fact that future professionals improve the lives of dogs and people who take care of them. That statement is actually part of the Dogue Shop's mission statement. 

Finally, to my past, present, and future Dogue Academy students, I must say I am happy you are living your dream, but most of all, I am delighted you will have a long and safe career because I Broke You! 

My job here is done.

Cheers,
G.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

The following is factual information. When you need information about something, you should never ask your friends and learn how to actually use Google. Anecdotes and stories are not scientific. Science is not opinion-based, it is a tangible, measurable, quantifiable, and qualifiable information gathering process, also known as data collection. This article might seem controversial to some people, but facts are facts. The time has come for people to return to the time when dogs were treated as such and when being approached or touched by complete strangers was NOT acceptable. Remember that time in history when people educated their children on how to respect dogs as sentient beings? That is where these 25 facts will take you. 

1. Taxonomy (see photo)
2. Designer dog breeds are NOT hybrids. Your doodle, pomsky, poky, Skidoo, etc are NOT F1s or even F4s. They are mixed breeds, NOT hybrids.
   - A hybrid is a cross between two animals from the same genus -> dog and wolf = F1 or wolf and coyote = F1
   - A cross-breed is a cross between two animals of the same species -> Labrador and poodle = cross-breed dog or -> red wolf and grey wolf = cross-breed wolf
3. Dogs are NOT pack animals. 
4. Dogs display dominance. 
   - Wolves display dominance. 
   - Humans display dominance.
   - Birds display dominance.
5. Dogs are NOT omnivores.
   - Canids do NOT have flat molars to chew plants and extract vitamins and minerals.
   - Dogs are NOT vegetarian or vegan. 
6. Dogs see yellow and blue. 
   - Dogs do NOT see in black and white only. 
7. Dogs do NOT transpire through their skin. They excrete heat through their feet, ears, and panting. 
   - Pomeranians do NOT need a winter jacket. 
   - Huskies do NOT need winter jackets.
   - Labradors do NOT need winter jackets. 
   - Shelties do NOT need a winter jacket. 
8. Salt does NOT corrode dog footpads during walks. Moisture freezes upon contact with cold snow, ice, frozen cement, etc. That is painful.
9. Dogs are 15 000+ years old as a species. Dog kibble hit the market in 1951. Dogs did NOT evolve a new digestive system within 68 years. 
10. Dogs are opportunistic predators. 
11. Dogs are NOT humans.
12. Dogs are NOT like people. 
13. Dogs bite. 
14. Dogs kill. 
15. Dogs die. 
16. Dogs have emotions: anger, anticipation, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surprise, trust.
    - Dogs are not jealous.
17. Dogs CANNOT physically release tears, aka cry. 
18. Bladder size is proportionate to dog size.
    - Chihuahuas can hold their urine as long as Irish Wolfhounds.
    - Retention is a learned process. 
19. Dogs can eat 10% of their body weight in one sitting. 
20. Training does NOT cause obesity. 
21. Overfeeding and lack of exercise cause obesity. 
22. Dogs do NOT like being hugged. 
23. Dogs do NOT have fail-safe mechanisms. 
24. Canada has four official dog breeds: Labrador Retriever, Newfoundland, Nova-Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, and the Canadian Eskimo Dog. 
    - The Tahltan Bear Dog is extinct. 
    - British Labradors are  NOT a dog breed 
    - American Labradors are NOT a dog breed.
25. Labradors are from Labrador, CANADA.

Five bonus factual tidbits of information for those curious minds

1. Dog jaws do NOT lock.
2. The Canadian Kennel Club recognized 175 dog breeds
   - The FCI recognizes 344 dog breeds.
   - The FCI has 98 member countries. Canada is NOT one of them.
3. Dogs can taste a smell.
4. Behaviourism is NOT the only learning theory applicable to dogs.
   - Social-cognitive learning theory in animals has been studied since the 1950s. 
   - Dogs learn by imitation
   - Dogs learn by cognition
5. The clicker originates from WWII.

Cheers,
G.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a human intervention system that serves to connect two individuals in order to facilitate therapeutic goals and objectives. The process can also be preventative in nature. When I tell people what I do for a living, the first comment I get is “I wouldn’t be able to do that, I’d get too attached.” Actually, the goal of AAT is getting attached. In my upcoming book, I will discuss the role of animal-assisted therapy on attachment.

My teams and I work very hard to attach to the participants in our programs because we are there to make a difference in their lives. The goals are to build secure attachments between ourselves and teenagers, to communicate their emotions, develop confidence and self-esteem, and to experience positive exchanges between people. Animals facilitate the process because of their non-judgmental personas. Dogs simply do not care about social status, branded clothing, vocabulary, finances, and other artificially created concepts. Dogs express joy or they do not, it is that easy. Similarly, we do not care about those things either. Our egos are checked at the door during AAT and teens appreciate that, which in turn, solidifies the bonds we are trying to build. In AAT, teens are allowed to be tired, frustrated, angry, joyful, fearful, or even disgusted. When people have issues, we simply encourage them to keep trying until they make a choice. We will do the same the next time around and remain consistent throughout the process. 

It takes on average six to eight weeks to create secure attachments with teens. Rats accelerate the process by one to two weeks. That said, time is of no concern to my team or me. Actually, it is the opposite, we pride ourselves on the connections and changes we see in students. School personnel also appreciate the changes they see in students, especially on the days we are physically on location. I enjoy working with each teen even if results are negative, for, we never truly know the impact we have had on a person. The exercises we propose to the participants are not always easy, but we do it together and that is what builds attachments. We never let a person fail, and in return teens never let animals fail. The cycle is one of deep connections based on mutual agreements of non-abandonment. In our social-cognitive triangle, we build the foundations of secure attachment. Rats a very proficient at creating secure attachments. 

Some cases are more poignant than others; consequently, when the end of the school year approaches, sometimes we need to swallow our tears, not because we are sad, but rather because we are happy to have experienced such positive changes. I believe it is inhumane to purposefully allow distance between people. In AAT, I build connections along the way to eventually hug the teens. That being said, we ask before we hug and totally accept no for an answer. Some students prefer not to be hugged and we respected their wishes. The end of the 2018-2019 school year was particularly hard for me because we were seeing off three students that had been in AAT for some time. I hope one day to cross paths with them and chat about their lives since AAT, but I remain extremely joyful to have shared the time we did. 

I love adolescent energy, the mind is so creative during this period of development. Erickson’s called the developmental phase of adolescence Identify vs. Role Confusion. If we want teens to become welladjusted adults, getting attached is easy when you know the outcome is a positive one, even if results seem like a failure. In reality, we can never know or say we failed because we tried. To me failing a teen comes in the form of detachment, not caring, or avoid bonding with them altogether.

Cheers,
G.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Job Description
Zootherapy: In my field of work, I call this practice pet the puppy. Most human-dog teams have little to no formal training. People do not implement or document behavioural changes, nor do they have specific goals for their target population. A side product of being in the presence of an animal often results in a feel-good state. This type of service is usually a volunteer position, and the person does not receive monetary compensation for the service. The Quebec legislature does not protect this kind of activity. 

This activity usually consists of a person bringing their animal to an establishment and allow the client to pet their animal. The person brings their animal to sick children, seniors, or people in palliative care. The goal of the contact serves to make the client feel better. Selected dogs are valued if they do not display any negative behaviours. I call these animals carpet dog. 

Animal-Assisted Therapy: Animal-assisted therapy falls under the umbrella term Animal-Assisted-Interventions. Dogs and other species are trained to perform specific behaviours according to the needs of the target clientele. Animals are required to facilitate the intervention process between the therapist and client or help prevent rebound behaviours in vulnerable people. The AAT professional plans specific goals and objectives and receives monetary compensation for the service. The Quebec legislature does not protect this kind of activity. 

The animal-assisted therapy practitioner works with an animal partner. The training process begins during the critical period of social development of the animal. Each field of work will target specific behaviour since each clientele is different. I work with teenagers; consequently, I socialize our dogs to this clientele. 

Emotional Support: The vast majority of people with emotional support dogs do not receive training. Untrained dogs do not serve a purpose other than accompanying a human and most likely, it makes them feel good. Without professional documentation and data collection, it remains unclear what biological, physiological, emotional and behavioural conditions are modified. Most people with an emotional support dog are refused access into establishments. The Quebec legislature does not protect this kind of activity. 

A person brings their dog everywhere to alleviate the symptoms such as anxiety, fear, stress, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder. The role of the animal is unclear, and the vast majority of these dogs are untrained. When I ask the people who e-mail me what they wish their dog to accomplish, they often do not know. 

Service Dog: A service dog provides a service. This type of dog is a highly trained animal that physically helps a human accomplish any given tasks. Some examples are guide dogs, sound dogs (1), physically disabled assistance dogs (2), or military and law enforcement dogs. Dogs can also be trained to detect diabetes or epilepsy; unfortunately, the science behind this practice is still trying to figure out what dogs are detecting and if their behaviour does indeed constitute a service. The Quebec legislature does protect this type of activity. 

The person with a service dog needs the animal to accomplishing tasks they cannot do on their own; as a result, the dog accompanies them everywhere. The training of a service dog is often lengthy and costly; therefore, the vast majority of service dogs come from non-profit companies organizations. The cost of a real service dog costs over ten thousand dollars. Yes, 10000.00$+. 

A Social Problem 
There is a rise in fraudulent service dogs everywhere in the country. People who claim their untrained dogs as a service animal pose a direct problem to people who are legitimately disabled and need their animal partner to accompany them everywhere. 

There are a few reasons why I do not train service dogs for other people. First, people buy a puppy thinking any dog can become a service dog. That is simply false; most dogs do not make it through the training process. Second, the cost. People do not want to pay upwards of ten to twenty thousand dollars for the training of their dog that might ultimately fail. Finally, it is time-consuming to train service dogs. There needs to be an adjustment period where trainers and clientswork together to transfer skills once the dog finishes its training. 

My team and I trained the animals in our animal-assisted therapy program; consequently, I know and trust these animals because they grew up in the presence of the very teens with which we work. One can now see why incorporating a stranger’s dog into the Dogue Shop’s animal-assisted therapy program is merely impossible. 

Cheers,
G.

References: 
- C-12 - Charter of human rights and freedoms. Part I: Human Rights and Freedoms; Chapter I: Fundamental Freedoms and Rights; Chapter I.1: Article 10. Retrieved from http://legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/ShowDoc/cs/C-12 May 2019 

- Fine, A. H. (Ed.). (2010). Handbook on animal-assisted therapy: Theoretical foundations and guidelines for practice (3rd ed.). San Diego, CA, US: Elsevier Academic Press. 

- Parenti, L., Foreman, A., Meade, B. J., & Wirth, O. (2013). A revised taxonomy of assistance animals. Journal of rehabilitation research and development, 50(6), 745–756. doi:10.1682/JRRD.2012.11.0216 

1 Dogs trained to signal phone, alarm, fire alarm, and other sounds relevant to the person. 
2 Dogs trained to pick up objects, fetch medication, or help with mobility.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

I get many e-mails from people proposing their dog as an animal-assisted therapy partner in our programs. I also receive multiple messages each month from people who ask me to train their new puppy for emotional support. I do neither, and the following article explains why. Please note, I wrote this article from a Canadian perspective. 

Definitions 
Dogs cannot be made into a working partner just because someone decided to. Out of every ten dogs born, one might make it as a service or therapy work partner. Yes, training is an essential component, but it is by far the only one. Dogs have genes and temperament of their own, and humans absolutely cannot change these characteristics. Before I can answer the question “Will my dog be good at…” I must first answer what does the job description require; consequently, the following definitions serve to clarify the differences between a service dog, zootherapy, animal-assisted therapy, and emotional support are. 

Zootherapy: Not found in the Oxford dictionary; Merriam-Webster: veterinary therapeutics; Collins: 1. Medicine - the use of therapeutic drugs derived from animals, 2. Psychology - a type of therapy that uses animals. 

The English use of zootherapy does not mean the same as the French definition. In English, the term zootherapy refers to the use of a medicine or treatment made from animals, i.e. glucosamine made from shark cartilage or omega supplements made from salmon oil. In French, they use the word as an umbrella term to define pretty much anything that involves an animal. When professionals incorporate animals into their human science practice, we refer to the process as animal-assisted therapy. 

Animal-Assisted Therapy: Not found in the Oxford dictionary; Not found in the Merriam-Webster dictionary; Not found in the Collins dictionary; Wikipedia - Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is an alternative or complementary type of therapy that involves animals as a form of treatment. 

When I conduct AAT programs, I often become a professional within a multi-disciplinary team such as social workers, psychologists, and specialized educators. The Dogue Shop’s program includes parents, teachers, and the school principal. Everyone collaborates in order to achieve specific goals and objectives such as communication, attachment, self-esteem, and self-awareness. 

Emotional Support: Not found in the Oxford dictionary; Not found in the Merriam-Webster dictionary; Not found in the Collins dictionary; Wikipedia: An emotional support animal (ESA), assistance animal, or support animal, is a companion animal that a medical professional says provides some benefit for a person disabled by a mental health condition or emotional disorder. 

The above definition is not present in the federal government legislature because Canada does not have a disability act. Each province is required to stipulate their position on the matter of assistance and service dogs. In Quebec, therapy animals are not covered by the legislature; therefore, the establishment a person wishes to enter with their dog has the right to say no. The only two service dogs protected by the Quebec provincial legislature are visual and autism assistance dogs (C-12, 1975). Other service dogs fall under Article 10 and are subject to interpretation by law enforcement. Cases are assessed one-by-one. 

Service Dog: Oxford: An animal, typically a dog, that has been trained to assist a person who has a disability; Merriam-Webster: a dog trained to assist a person with a disability; Collins: a dog that has been specially trained to live with and accompany a disabled person, carrying out such tasks as prompting them to take medication or assisting them to cross a road 

As mentioned above, visual and autism assistance dogs have the constitutional right to enter establishments and use public services. Other service dogs are covered by Article 10; however, they must get a medical recommendation for the service animal. Most of the following are accepted conditions: auditory impaired, visually, autism, physically impaired, and certain mental illnesses. Psychologists can diagnose mental illnesses; however, psychiatrists are medical professionals who can prescribe medication.

To be continued next week.

Cheers,
G.

By Gaby Dufrense-Cyr, CBT-FLE

I have not written in a while because I am very busy with the Dogue Shop, university classes, promoting the book, and raising a Broholmer puppy. All that said, there is a topic on my mind I wish to share with you. Too many people impose themselves into our dogs’ space to pet them, and these same people get angry when we tell them no. If you are one of those people, please read on carefully. If you respect others' space and retreat when dogs pass by, I commend and thank you. 

Unrealistic Expectations 
Humans expect dogs to behave flawlessly in any and every type of social situation. Well, guess what, people are unable to achieve that social norm themselves. Dogs are animals, and although our canine companions talk, most people do not understand dog language; consequently, our role as responsible animal caregivers is to translate for our dogs. When people ask if they can pet Hariette and I answer no, people tell me I am rude, and that is why my dog is fearful. Uhhh, what kind of logic is that? 

Frequently, people reach out and try to force themselves on our dogs to pet them, and I am here to tell you, this HAS to stop! First, how do people come up with the idea they can touch dogs whenever and wherever they want? By human standards, that is considered an assault. Secondly, do people not see most dogs do NOT want to be touched by random strangers? By human standards, that forceful behaviour is considered harassment. Thirdly, when someone tells you do not touch or pet my dog, there is a reason. Just continue on your journey and let us be. By human standards, that is the most respectful and courteous thing to do. Not all dogs are created equal. 

Insecure Fearful, Insecure Aggressive and Confident Aggressive Dogs 
There is no right or wrong reason why dogs do not want to interact socially. Some dogs are fearful and some are aggressive, just like people. There are three types of possible reactions in social situations involving dogs: they want to leave, they want you to leave, or they want to fight. 

- Insecure-fearful dogs will try to remove themselves from an unpleasant situation because they are afraid. The emotional response, in this case, is fear. For fearful dogs, strangers forcing themselves into their critical space (I will define this below) is considered unpleasant, hence the fearful reaction. The problem, from the dogs’ point of view, is that they are tethered to us and cannot effectively retreat. These situations increase their social fears and entertain the emotional response. 

- Insecure-aggressive dogs manage their social encounter with different emotions. Dogs who are insecure-aggressive want an unpleasant situation to go away, and they will be very adamant about making that happen. In these cases, the underlying emotion is anger, expressed as an aggressive response. There is no such thing as a fear bitter since fear and anger are opposite emotions and require a different set of chemicals to be expressed by the brain. 

- Confident-aggressive dogs are just that, confident. Such dogs might want to interact socially or not, it all depends on how they feel at that specific moment in that particular situation. Note that the situation can change in a fraction of a second. Confident-aggressive dogs are pleasant until they are not. It is touch-and-go with them. 

Critical Spaces 
All three categories of responses are problematic for dogs when they are outside in public situations. Fortunately, there is a simple concept every human can adhere to; it is called critical space. Humans have a critical space; it is called intimate space. The critical space of a dog varies based on its size (see image). Think of it as an invisible bubble around them that ensures self-preservation. The social space protects the dog's critical space. It is the tampon area between critical and public space and serves to evaluate possible incoming conflict. 

Take a moment to think about all this. Would you like a strange to come up to you unannounced and stroke your hair and say “you’re so cute; I just want to cuddle with you,” I guess not, so why do people force themselves into unfamiliar dogs’ critical spaces? I have a few ideas about why, but I will keep that for another article.

What I can say about people forcing themselves into and onto a dog is that it is dangerous and irresponsible. In Montreal, should the dog bite out of self-preservation because a person forced himself/herself onto a dog, city officials will most likely euthanize the dog. The municipal ruling means your irresponsible gesture has cost the dog’s life and created a traumatic event for the owner.

Effective Solutions 
When you see a dog, open the space around it and ask the person if you can pet the dog. Keep in mind, the answer can be no, and if you are offended by the negative response, some soul searching needs to take place on your part. Dogs are not universal properties. My dogs are my working partners that benefit many lives. If something happens to my dogs, I can no longer work, and the students in our animal-assisted therapy programs would suffer the consequences. Our dogs are our responsibility, and we need to make sure they avoid harm from others. So, one thing needs to be very clear, if we need to be rude and unpleasant because you are forcing yourself onto our dogs, so be it, we will bark at you and bare our teeth. 

If you are on the receiving end of the leash, please use the hashtag #MyDogToo in the comments. You can do so anonymously when you comment, so no worries, we will not know who you are. The idea is to raise awareness by showing readers just how many pet caregivers are harassed by strangers. 

Cheers.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Dogs are social creatures; consequently, social animals socially learn from one another. It sounds redundant, but it is true. Life is not all about behaviourism. Other learning theories apply to dogs, and today we will look at social learning and locus of control. Perceived control is a fundamental component of wellbeing. Human and non-human animals need to know they have some control over the outcome of their lives because it makes them feel good. 

Dog Locus of Control 
Locus of control is the perceived control one has over the outcome of life events. If you are at a party and feel uncomfortable, your perception of leaving or staying reduces stress or anxiety because you know you can walk out the front door at any time. If the door is locked, your stress and anxiety will increase and possibly turn into a panic because you have no control over staying or leaving. It is essential for social animals to have control, or at least perceived control, over their environment and lives. Dogs are not exempt from this rule. 

Dogs who have some control over their environment are generally less reactive, aggressive, fearful, stressed, or anxious. Animals behave more efficiently when the outcome of a situation is socially and cognitively predictable; consequently, classical and operant conditioning is by far the only training options. 

You can classically or operantly train a behaviour, but ultimately, the perception the dog has about an event might not change. Emotions are good predictors of behaviourism failure. You can train a dog to sit in front of a firecracker yet it remains fearful of the stimulus (the noise). Yes, behaviourism addresses conditioned emotional responses, but social learning tells us results can be achieved much faster if the dog has a relationship with the human and has gained control over its environment as a result. 

Dog Social Learning vs. Behaviourism 
The old school dominate or be dominated mentality is an outdated and ridiculous idea that essentially boils down to removing (read punish harshly) all the dog’s possible control options. First, dogs do not care about world domination. Secondly, control and dominance are not the same. Dominance is a form of influential power between two members of the same species: dogs dominate dogs, humans dominate humans. Control is knowing or predicting the outcome of a behaviour.

Locus of control is the perceived outcome of an event based on internal motives and does not involve dominance. If a dog wants to go for a walk by exhibiting typical barks and tail wag behaviours, and the human responds by taking the dog outside, the dog has indeed controlled the human. Thus, Fido concludes he has some control over the outcome of the event because he made the human take him outside. That is not dominance, that is a symbiotic relationship established and maintained through social learning. 

The Importance of Control 
At the Dogue Shop, we purposefully teach dogs to take control of their environment because it prevents behaviour problems from developing in the first place. A dog that can make a human move away from a potential dog-dog interaction is less likely to act aggressively towards the incomer. 

A locus of control allows dogs to experience a positive umwelt. The reason is simple, social cognitive learning and perceived control increases feel-good neurotransmitters and hormones. When you work and achieve a positive result, you feel a strong sensation of joy. 

Imagine your latest successful accomplishment and how it made you feel. Did you experience joy, satisfaction, peace, or comfort? Did you rejoice in the achievement via self-gratifying behaviours like drinking a glass of wine or eating a piece of cake? If the answer is yes, then you know how your dog feels when he has some control over his life, especially when they lead to a positive outcome. 

Locus of Control Training 
The ability to control and avoid being control summarizes the life of any organism, plants included. In dog language, we talk about dominance and submission (all three types) as a means to an end of control, not as aggression or fearfulness. When dogs have a perceived sense of control, their emotions are less likely to escalate in either direction. 

The takeaway message is to train and allow your dog to have some control over his life and environment. I know, old school dominance trainers will disagree since their philosophy is based on dogs wanting to control, AKA dominate our lives. I assure you, dogs are not out there to control or dominate our lives. 

Cheers.
G.

References 
- Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V. S. Ramachaudran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior (Vol. 4, pp. 71-81). New York: Academic Press 
- Rotter, J. B. (1954). Social learning and clinical psychology. New York: Prentice-Hall 
- Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs: General & Applied. 80 (1): 1–  28. doi:10.1037/h0092976 
- Rotter, J. B. (1982). The development and applications of social learning theory. New York: Praeger 
- Rotter, J. B. (1989). Internal versus external control of reinforcement: A case history of a variable. American Psychologist, 45, 489-493

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

I get daily emails and private messages about dog deaths within the same household. You can read when or why dogs kill other dogs here and here. The articles discuss some of the more common reasons canines kill dogs they were living with for some time. Today, I want to add a very important notion about dogs you might not know. I am referring to the invisible spaces that govern non-verbal behaviour. 

Canine Spaces 
Dogs live under one rule: live to see another day. Consequently, dogs evolve under invisible spaces that serve to protect and keep them alive. The three spaces have names and functions, which, I will describe in a minute. First, I want to establish dogs are not pack animals. They are not wolves; therefore, dogs do NOT function socially like wolves. Yes, canids share behavioural similarities, but they all evolve in different niches. Dogs evolve in a niche that does not require cooperation to hunt; consequently, dogs are solitary animals that come together for specific needs but do not live together. 

Second, humans created dogs for humans, not other dogs. The human-dog social bond outranks the dog-dog social attraction. Many scientific experiments demonstrate that dogs follow human cues more easily than their wild counterparts do. Dogs actually seek assistance from humans, not other dogs, to solve problems. The proof is in the pudding, when the ball rolls under the sofa, my dog asks me for help, not my other dog.

Back to the topic. The three spaces are critical, social, and public. The red circle represents my dog Albear. The critical space is in light blue. It is calculated from the tip of the dog’s nose to the end of its back, excluding the tail and projects outward all around the dog, just like an invisible bubble. The yellow space is the social space and it stretches outward from the dog to approximately 150’, which is 45.7m in metric. Finally, the public space of a dog extends to approximately 1.5 miles or 2.4km. 

Reasons for Communication 
Dogs have adapted their language to accommodate these distances. Their language evolved to fill in the gaps, so to speak. Think about it for a minute. If you were far away from a friend and tried to signal her with your eyes I'm over here! would your friend see you? Most likely not. You would need a bigger signal like a fully extended arm waving in her direction. Conversely, if you are next to each other, the arm signal will appear out of context; therefore, you will make a small signal, say from your eyebrows, to signify follow me. 

Dogs have adapted their language in the same manner. If a dog perceives a conflict at the extremity of his social space, breaking eye contact will not work. At a far distance, the dog needs to adapt his communication. In this case, he would likely lower his tail and ears. If the dogs are next to each other, breaking eye contact is more appropriate. To summarise, big signals, aka behaviours, communicate information to far away dogs while small signals communicate information up close. 

Dog Overcrowded Households 
You probably realized while reading that a house can become overcrowded with two or more dogs, especially if the dwelling is small and the dogs are large. For an untrained eye, dogs might seem to live in harmony, yet as a professional, I see dogs displaying displacement behaviours, stress signals, agonistic postures, and so on. Silent conflicts often take place in front of humans, but when people are absent, dogs settle their unresolved quarrels and conflict resolution frequently leads to death. If you have a strong stomach, watch this video (very graphic, but not gruesome). It will give you an excellent understanding of how silent conflicts can occur in front of your eyes, and how powerless we are to solve them. Then, imagine all this occurring while you stepped out.

The best way to avoid overcrowding is to evaluate the size of the house, dogs, and the history of the animals. Dogs that have had past conflicts, with an injury history, are more likely to exhibit aggressive behaviours again and most likely with an escalating response. The following image demonstrates the space required for two medium-sized dogs to coexist comfortably. This means each room the dogs find themselves in would need to be minimally 6’ by 12’ or 1.8m by 3.7m. A two-bedroom house surface would have to be no less than 1152ft2 (ft2 = square feet) or 107m2 (m2 = square meters). These measurements only refer to critical spaces, ideally, dogs would require a house that covers their social space needs. That would make for a very BIG house; actually, it represents a 22 500ft2 or 2090.3m2 building. 

Last Considerations 
Before you embark on a journey that involves multiple dogs in your house, please consider their space requirements. For each comment I receive on the articles mentioned in the introduction, I receive two emails about unnecessary deaths. Approximately a quarter of the people who write to me have witnessed the death of their beloved pets. These traumas are lifelong lasting and most cases end with the death of the attacker/s, so in reality, two or more dogs have died because of overcrowding. If you watched the video, you now know you will never be fast enough to curb the death of a dog nor could you stop the attack. The average time it takes dogs to kill animals smaller than themselves is approximately 3-5 seconds. Yes, seconds. Canines are very efficient predators; never forget that, and never assume My dog would never do that! Avoid dog overcrowding through prevention, for it remains by far the best medication.

Cheers.
G.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

I receive messages daily in private and on the blog post My Dog Killed My Other Dog. I am very saddened to hear all your stories, so today I thought I would write to you and give you some answers and possibly peace and closure to mourn your loss. 

Amongst the people who write to me, many inquire about the outcome of their killer dog. I am going to explain it as straightforward as possible because people often ask me if they should have their dog euthanized. Unfortunately, I cannot give feedback on a case I do not know, thus, I write this article in hopes you find solace here, in these words. 

Why dogs kill each other 
Dogs are opportunistic predators that exploit vulnerabilities. Their main function is to survive and see another day; as such, dogs and their wild cousins, have developed complex behavioural processes to reach their intended goal. As you read on, please do not confuse predatory instincts with aggressive responses. The intent behind a predatory kill is to fill one’s belly with food. 

As mentioned above, the following descriptions are reasons why dogs kill other dogs. I will enumerate and briefly discuss them. Keep in mind each case is unique; therefore, all that follows refers to the general dog population. 

- Death by food 
Dogs need to protect their food or food source in order to survive. If they did not protect, aka resource guards their food, dogs would die relatively quickly; hence, it is abnormal for a canine to continuously relinquish its food to another dog, or person. 

Death by Food can be spontaneous or highly predictable. Normally, dogs will give off signs that their food is sacred and will do anything to prevent theft. When a little dog defends its food it will growl, snap, or soft bite the intruder. When a small dog warns a bigger dog, the size difference can mean death to the little one. These arguments contain loud growls, teeth, and fast action behaviours. 

- Death by age or sickness 
Dogs, like their wild ancestors, are opportunistic predators. This means anything that falls out of sync with normal behaviour can, and most likely will, be eliminated. A few examples are locomotion discrepancies (limping), smells of diseases (cancer, diabetes, or postulant sores), and high pitch cries are all giveaways something is wrong. 

Canines will kill a sick or injured animal to prevent drawing attention to themselves from other predators. Rarely will they consume the corpse. Younger dogs normally kill older animals in a completely silent and unpredictable fashion when the human is absent. In this case, size has little to do with the actual death. 

These unpredictable silent attacks are very slow-moving and meticulous. The attacker takes the dog by the neck, shakes it, and kills the dog in a few seconds. Same size dogs often kill their housemates of similar weight and height in the same inaudible manner; the difference is the length of time it takes to accomplish the kill. 

- Death by conflict 
Conflict is another common death occurrence in canids. Agonistic behaviours and aggression are means by which dogs manage conflicts. When there is a size discrepancy, some conflicts can and do, escalate into a deadly situation. A conflict can occur over social and critical space invasion or because of overpopulation. Households that have too many dogs for the available social space create tension, which in turn creates conflict. 

Arguments can also occur over breeding rights, toys, sleeping areas, attention from humans, or water bowls. When dogs feel their vital space, basic needs, or resources are at risk, they will defend them. These arguments contain loud growls, teeth, and fast action behaviours. 

Management is best 
The major difference between these types of deaths is silence and intent. When a dog wants to kill another dog to eliminate it from the environment, the attack is completely inaudible. You will not hear growls or barks from the offender. The victim might yelp for help if it can, but otherwise, the death is rapid and efficient, from a predatory point of view that is. 

When you have two dogs of different sizes, NEVER assume they are best buddies, especially when age and size differences are factors. It is best to separate them when you are absent or unable to supervise them. If your household contains multiple dogs, separate them into small groups based on size and health condition. 

Outcome scenario 
Death does not necessarily mean your dog is a killer. It might simply be circumstantial and never occur again. That said, people often know instinctively their dog is aggressive before the event occurred. In these cases, it is best to seek a professional evaluation before you decide on your next course of action.

If you have a multiple dog household, I urge you to take a dog language or aggression course and learn what dogs say to each other. Behaviour is highly predictable when it comes to assessing aggression or predatory instincts. Terriers are notorious for killing other dogs because of their high prey drive, so make sure you understand dog group dynamics if you have different ages and sizes of dogs. 

For morning resources you can read the Time to Say Goodbye article found on this blog. Please Note, I empathize with you; however, if you send me an email I will read it, but it is impossible for me to answer your specific cases as I do not know you or your dog. Best wishes on your journey and I sincerely hope you can find peace of mind with this article.

Cheers.
G.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

I didn’t think I would have to write about breed-specific legislation, aka BSL, so soon after Montreal reversed the BSL by-laws forbidding certain breeds. So, why am I writing? Because the provincial government wants to pass a province-wide ban on breeds, and dogs you didn’t think would be targeted, are. 

As such, all Staffordshire terriers, Bull terriers, Rottweiler, and eventually Huskies, German Shepherd, and all northern breeds and mixes of those breeds will not be allowed to reside in the province. Think about that for a moment, look at your dog or your friends’ dogs, and tell me without any doubt you can guarantee the breed/s of your mixed dog. Genetic tests can’t even prove your dog is a specific breed, let alone a combination of breeds.

When you stop to think about it, assessing dog breeds based on looks is equivalent to trying to identify the real Tom Cruise from his look-a-like. Unless you know who their parents are, there's no way we can differentiate them. When I assess a dog, I'm guessing which breeds were its parents, and contrary to what you might hear, nobody can identify the genetic makeup of a breed based on looks. 

Veterinarians will be obliged to identify breeds visually and assess their dangerousness. If your pure bread or mixed dog is classified as dangerous, regardless of circumstances, it can be sold to research facilities or laboratories that conduct animal testing. Yes, you read that right. The provincial government wants to end your precious pet’s life in the most horrific way possible: torture. 

The most concerning thing about Bill 128 is that it’s written to bypass Bill 54 which declared dogs and other animals as sentient begins. So, on one hand, our dogs are sentient beings, but on the other hand, they can be disposed of and tortured at will. If you are not outraged, you should be.

I will make this blog brief. Contact your representative and politely tell them what you think of Bill 128 and their disposable dog law. Use every social and print media you can think of to protest and say we do not want this law because ALL dogs are at risk. ALL dogs in these images are at risk.

Below is the link to Bill 128, read it, get informed, tell your veterinarian because they don’t know, tell your family, friends, and finally, get your dogs genetically tested, even if unreliable, it’s all you've got should you need it in court one day.

Cheers.
G.

Proposed Bill 128

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr

The rescue industry has a new source of dogs. Big rescue organizations go to South Korea or the Philippines and bring back canines destined to be on a restaurant or on the home menu. Some dogs come from the street while others are family pets stolen and sold for human food. This might seem like an honourable cause, yet a few reasons tell us it’s a bad idea. 

Today’s news headline is one of those reasons. The first case of dog influenza has been confirmed, and the dogs in question come from the latest seizure made in South Korea; most likely, they are the canines who were destined to be eaten, but the story doesn’t tell. In my opinion, the coincidence is too obvious to be a random occurrence. Rescues are directly contributing to the spread of diseases. Plus, what right does one culture have to tell another culture what they can or cannot eat?

Another reason to not import dogs from other countries relates to population control. Most of the worldwide dog population lives as free-roaming or feral animals. The vast majority survive by eating trash and a few handouts from tourists. When feral dogs reproduce, puppies are pushed away from the immediate environment because there’s not enough food to sustain an entire family. Once the 4-month-old puppies leave, natural selection controls populations. Dogs die from famine, diseases, or accidents. When rescues pull out litters, what they don’t see are dogs breeding to fill the now empty niche. Rescues are actually contributing to the problem; they are not solving the overcrowded worldwide dog population crisis.

My pet peeve is the actual, or should I say factual, problem feral dog populations pose to urban societies. When rescues pull dogs out of their environment, they are not prepared for our climate or environment. Most of these animals live on the street and are poorly socialized to live in such close proximity to one another. Serious behaviour problems are common in imported dogs. Furthermore, local human populations from those countries are not educated as to why sterilization should be a priority, or why sanitary living conditions or breeding should be mandatory. 

Finally, rescues should focus on dogs that need help within our borders. Quebec euthanizes approximately 500 000 dogs per year. I believe we have more than enough adoptable dogs in Canada without having the need to fly halfway across the world to get ill or socially maladapted animals. I believe we need to educate, not perpetrate. What do you think? 

Cheers.
G.

UPDATE:
Wednesday, January 10, 2018 -- The dogs in this story that imported from South Korea came from an organization in the USA. Please follow the link to read their statement. 

References:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/cases-of-canine-influenza-confirmed-in-southern-ontario-1.3750865 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/confirmed-case-canine-influenza-essex-1.4477588
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/south-korea-dog-rescue-flu-canada-1.4480058

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

The following taboo topic article might surprise some, but I assure you that dogs killing dogs within the same household is common. You have probably never heard of this phenomenon because people rarely talk about the situation. Today, I want to shed some light on the problem and offer tips on preventing deaths. 

Second Dog Introduction 
When you decide to get a second dog, meetings and introduction processes usually occur before the second dog becomes a full-time family member. The most common situation for a multiple-dog household is dog two (Fido) is younger than dog one (Rex). When Fido moves in, all is well, and friends might start to blossom. Both dogs enjoy each other and seem to do everything together. In other cases, Rex and Fido tolerate each other; tolerance turns to annoyance over time. 

Dog Aggression vs. Dog Attack 
There is a big difference between dog aggression and dog attacks. The former is a boisterous and fasts pace action exchange where individuals try to settle a conflict. The latter, on the other hand, is silent and somewhat stationary. A dog attack serves to kill the individual. In some cases, aggression can turn deadly, but in most cases, it never comes as a surprise. 

Multiple Dog Household Deaths 
Pet caregivers will consult when dogs with an age difference display aggressive behaviours. From there, we can work on behaviour modification and management. Clients leave with dog behaviour and training protocols designed to facilitate peaceful living arrangements. On other occasions, clients consult for aggression because one dog killed the other. This claim might surprise you, but unfortunately, it’s real. 

Younger dogs like Fido often kill older, more vulnerable dogs like Rex. From a canine point of view, the kill behaviour is expected. Dogs are opportunistic predators who exploit vulnerabilities. When dogs see an injured, sick, juvenile, or otherwise compromised individual, their predatory brain tells them to kill. Humans have tried to breed this out of dogs; unfortunately, most individuals retain their genetic makeup. 

Death by Dog 
So far in my career, I’ve evaluated over two dozen dogs for the death of an older dog within the same household. Clients present the case as a silent, unexpected attack. People are shocked by the situation and think Fido just turned into a monster. Fido rarely is a monster; he is merely a dog. The proof is in the pudding: Fido never attacks or displays aggression towards the other canines when the household has more than two dogs. 

The attack occurs when people are in another room or on a short errand. There is no sound from the attacker. The cries come from Rex. The high-pitched cries tell the attacker I am in pain; let me go! An attack never lasts long; it is usually over within a few seconds up to a minute. People never saw it coming; more often than not, they could not recognize the subtle signs. Dog language is complex. 

Take-Home Message 
Learn dog language if you have more than one dog in your household. You will need to identify the situation before it occurs. From there, you can separate dogs to manage the situation. Dog training can go a long way, but remember; we are working against natural behaviours. 

Please do not feel guilty about the death of a dog within your household; you didn’t know and couldn’t have prevented the situation. I recommend you take a dog language class and invite your friends with multiple dogs to join you. Make your experience known, for together, we can educate and prevent tragic deaths. 

I suggest you discuss the situation or comment below to share your knowledge. If you recently lost a pet and need counselling, please drop me a line. I know how hard it is to lose a friend under such tragic events. 

For the second time now, this blog post has been removed (without an explanation from our web host), along with the nearly 200 comments you shared. I am truly sorry and apologize for the problem. We read every comment and e-mail you send us every day. 

Please leave a comment; others seek solace in knowing they are not alone. Thank you for understanding this very frustrating situation.

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Many dog trainers use lures to train dogs. Lures are most often food, but they can be toys or even safety. There are multiple reasons to use lures, but the most common motive is to teach new behaviours. I don’t use lures to teach new behaviours and you will read why in the following paragraphs. 

Lure Definition 
The Oxford dictionary defines lures as something that tempts or is used to tempt a person or animal to do something. The lure can be any primary need such as food, water, safety, sex (yes sex), social contact, thermoregulation (environmental temperatures), etc. In essence, a lure is anything the dog wants. Oftentimes, food is used as a lure. 

Lure Pros & Cons 
The following reasons are not an exhaustive list, but it does convey the main reasons for or against lure training. Furthermore, this is my list and doesn’t represent the entire Dogue Shop students or staff’s reasons to lure or not to lure. For my part, I can honestly say, I’m a lure-free trainer. 

Pros: 

- Speed: lures allow dog trainers to capture behaviours faster. 

- Efficacy: lures produce a desired or intended result. 

- Learning: models the dog into a behaviour. 

Cons: 

- Efficacy: unreliable if the lure is not faded out immediately. 

- Learning: doesn’t allow for problem-solving skills to develop. 

- Confusion: lures are cues and rewards at the same time. 

- Generalisation: We can’t lure exotic animals into behaviours. 

Why I Don’t Use Lures to Train Dogs 
Lures can, and often do, become crutches. When lures are not faded out in the initial capturing sequence, they become difficult to eliminate later on in the training process. I know many renowned dog trainers promote the use of lures because it’s easy, and there lies problem number one. I believe luring is lazy training because lures don’t teach dogs how to think and problem solve. Problem number two is co-dependency, which develops when trainers use lures.

It’s too easy to go back to luring when dogs don’t respond to the cue, and with time, the lures lose their efficacy and behaviour deteriorates. The third problem is found within the definition. The word tempt means to present a desirable stimulus (primary need) to someone (or an animal), but not give it to them in the hopes they exhibit the desired behaviour. The animal might not exhibit the desirable behaviour, thus, the trainer will repeat the lure sequence. 

Problem number four is, to me, the most compelling reason why I don’t use lures. Exotic animals can kill us if we bribe them, and in my practice, if I cannot use a technique with all animal species, then I’m not using it with our dogs. Lure trainers argue dogs are not exotic so we can lure them, it’s easier. It might seem easier (that is totally debatable) or faster, but I prefer to take my time and teach animals how to problem-solve and think for themselves, and that includes dogs. 

Dog Social-Cognitive Learning Theory 
If you think social-cognitive learning is just about imitation, then you do not understand social learning. Learning to learn is the foundation of social-cognitive learning theory, and let me tell you when you learn how to use the theory, your animal will present you with behaviours you never thought were possible. 

Social learning is easier and faster than luring, but to see the process, dog trainers must allow new ideas to take root. The same applies to exotic animals. Wolves that learn how to learn will offer new behaviours faster, their behaviours will be more reliable, and the outcome will be a deepened bond. Finally, social learning requires A1 capturing and shaping skills, which when compared to luring might take a tad longer, but in the end, the animal will outperform a lure trained dog.

Cheers.
G.