The Puppy License and its loss

About Paws for Thought - written by a friend at work, posted with permission.

Please note that these posts are written by a dog lover learning more every day and happy to share. They are intended to give you options and ideas to think about. They do not replace the help of a professional (such as a vet, behaviourist, trainer or lawyer).

Posts can be shared with others as long as you make sure that any references contained within the post remain with the post and please do not take chunks out of context. Preference is definitely for the whole post to be shared rather than pieces.
 
I particularly wanted to share this article, as I'm fostering puppies at the moment and am watching my dogs teach the little ones doggy language, etiquette and self control. They get away with a lot at this age but are told off in no uncertain terms when they go too far!
 
Also we recently had a young adult rescue Lab go on trial with a 4 month old puppy. Initial introductions were great, then the dogs continued playing happily at home, by evening the Lab decided that enough was enough and told the puppy off. The owner asked us to take back our aggressive rescue without willing to listen to a possible explanation. Such a pity the 4 month old puppy missed out on valuable life long lessons from the older dog.
 

 
Many pet owners are quite shocked to find that suddenly at about 4 ½ to 5 months of age adult dogs will appear to ‘turn’ on their cute and adorable puppy….it also comes as quite a surprise to the pup! So what’s probably going on here?

Puppies go through a particular period of socialisation between 3 to anywhere between 13 and 18 weeks of age (depending on who you listen to) during which they need to learn as much as they can about the world they are going to be living in and the people and other creatures that inhabit it. It’s also a critical period for learning about being a dog and what is and is not socially acceptable in dog communications and interactions. Future posts will delve into this critical period – there is just so much to share about the world of dogs : )

This period is critical for developing positive relationships with other dogs and development into a behaviourally healthy dog. Research shows that puppies who are isolated until 16 weeks of age are more likely to display fear in all sorts of situations and be the recipient of aggression from other pups and dogs. They generally seem unable to develop normal relationships with other dogs – it’s like they don’t learn the language through lack of experimentation and practice (otherwise often known as play). The scary thing is that when talking about isolation we’re not just talking about being locked in a solitary cage but also any other means of restricting the pups experience of the world so puppies that don’t get to socialise and play with other dogs of all ages (and sizes, shapes and colours), puppies that are raised in sub-standard breeding arrangements and highly sterilised and sterile kennels and pups that spend time in a pet shop window or just locked into a back yard or laundry. All of these can lead to a wide range of potential issues with a pup and its development but the focus of this post is specifically dog-to-dog social development and the end of this special development period.

Puppies up to 4 ½ to 5 months of age appear to have something called a ‘puppy license’ – something that allows them to be an absolute pest to older dogs without repercussion. You see puppies being down right rude in dog terms doing things like jumping on older dogs, stealing food and toys from adults, barking right in the face of an adult or worse still humping them – and the adults just seem to put up with it, and even expect it – at least well socialised dogs do (dogs with good dog communication and social skills).

However at about this age the license expires as the puppies hormone levels change and they develop psychologically. Adult dogs now start to insist on the puppy controlling their behaviour and being more respectful in their interactions – and this comes as a shock to many puppies who ignore the more subtle signs until an adult dog (maybe their best pal at home, a friend at the park or a total stranger) snaps back – figuratively and sometimes literally. The adult dogs might:

· Bark (roar) at an adolescent displaying inappropriate behaviour.

· Plant the adolescent’s face into the dirt with a well placed paw (something my boy was doing to other younger and over the top puppies at only 12 weeks of age – and which caused some distress until I figured out what was going on).

· Knock the adolescent with their muzzle or mouth.

· Snap at them.

The messages might be relatively peaceful and quick or they might appear and sound like a major scuffle if not full out fight – and the adolescent will generally be doing the majority of the screaming. But if there are no wounds then do not panic – now or the next time you see or meet this adult dog or any adult dog, or your adolescent will pick up this fear from you and act on it. This does not mean that you should put up with inappropriately socialised/skilled adult dogs or other adolescents bullying and picking on or terrifying your pup – so if you are concerned, if blood is drawn or punctures made then seek professional help.

Adults will also tend to self-handicap themselves less and instead play with more of their cunning, strength and brute power – now they might knock the adolescent over, pin them or stand over them. Any of these can cause the adolescent to scream or run from the scene giving high pitched yelps that cause us humans concern and often end in sanctions for the adult so that the conversation between adolescent and adult dog is not completed but rather interrupted by us with the adolescent getting off lightly – and sadly not learning the lesson as quickly as they would have if these interactions were monitored but only intervened in when either dog is in likely physical danger. The adult dog is also more likely to then try to get in and teach this cocky adolescent a lesson more quickly next time, therefore escalating the situation needlessly. If the adult dog gets the blame and is therefore removed from the dog park, class or home needlessly, removing a well socialised dog with clear communication skills from the social group and therefore reducing the number of well socialised dogs that other puppies, adolescents and dogs are likely to come across and learn from.

It is critical that the adolescent dog gains experience with adult dogs and learns to control himself, communicate clearly and interact in a socially acceptable way. Without this experience the pup grows to become an under-socialised dog – one that is likely to attract or cause altercations in the playground (park, footpath or any where else they meet or come within sight of another dog). If as an owner of a pup you get to the point of considering stopping dog contact please call for professional assistance immediately rather than socially isolating your pup – and if you’re not happy with the answers and approach you get keep looking. It appears virtually impossible or at least very hard work and a long term project to make up for the lack of this experience when the brain, body and psychology of the pup are programmed (ready) for it after the event (in later life).

It seems that male pups are particularly prone to being put in their place. It’s almost like they are suddenly wearing a sign on their back that says ‘kick me’ – and they are but the sign is six foot high and flashing red – it’s a surge in testosterone that every dog in the area can recognise much more easily than any sign and it seems to say ‘put me in my place before I get out of hand – I’m super male!’ Male testosterone levels start to rise by 4 to 5 months of age and reach their maximum at about 10 months of age before falling back to their normal adult levels at about 18 months of age. An adolescent male pup can have levels that are 5 to 7 times greater than adult levels, so you can understand your male pup is under extreme hormone attack (far more than any teenage male human) and that this can be a difficult time for them and therefore you – but one that you can both live through, particularly if you have some understanding of what is going on.

As puppies, both male and female, approach adolescence, they may be continually harassed by adult dogs – sometimes so subtly that you might miss the signals from the adult dog but should see a change of attitude in your growing furball. Adult male dogs will often target in on the adolescent male and make his life quite stressful. Luckily this particular phase is usually short as the pup quickly learns what is acceptable – showing active and exaggerated appeasement signals to adults.

While I might have made this change over period sound particularly scary you need to remember that this is about puppies learning how to control themselves and behave more politely and this takes time and experience. The adult dog’s role is to help the adolescent learn the social rules of interaction and while they will be forgiven mistakes at the beginning they are expected to get with the program pretty quickly as they gain more experience – and letting them have that experience with safe and well socialised/adept dogs is our role in this piece of their development. It’s VERY important that pups learn to talk “dog” and interact with dogs of all kinds and ages so that he or she can become a great communicator, peacekeeper and teacher of future generations as well as the life of the party.

What are your experiences with the puppy license and what your puppy managed to get away with?

What are your experiences with the change that occurs at the expiration of that license?

References

· Barbara Handelman – Canine Behaviour. A Photo Illustrated Handbook.

· Ian Dunbar – Dog Communication at http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/dog-communication

· Ian Dunbar – Social Hierarchies at http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/social-hierarchies

· Turid Rugaas – The Puppy and the Young Dog. About Growing Up at http://www.canis.no/rugaas/onearticle.php?artid=2

Also check out:

· http://www.examiner.com/x-10785-Nashville-Natural-Pet-Care-and-Training-Examiner~y2009m11d16-Puppy-License

· http://rufflyspeaking.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/puppy-license-and-adult-behavior-stop-separating-play/

· The Diary of Raising a Hearing Ear Dog - http://hearingeardog.blogspot.com/2007/11/petes-puppy-license-is-expiring.html

New Foods

Look at these gorgeous bellies!

Well they all enjoyed a raw chicken wing this afternoon, Winkie and Scooby finished at the same time with Blossom taking her time to savour the taste ;-)

Kidney is officially off the menu now, it didn't appeal to them at all in their last meal of the day so I had to resort to adding mackeral to their bowls to encourage them to eat more! 

Feeding Time at the Zoo

These little puppies haven't been brought up in the best of conditions. They had a Malaseb (Antifungal/Antibactrial) wash yesterday which will be followed up with a soothing oatmeal wash tomorrow. Poor little Scooby (in the foreground below) is much too skinny for a pup, you can count his ribs and see his hip bones! We're feeding the puppies separately so we can monitor their intake and get them more nourished and healthy.

Play Bows - The Punctuation in Play

I took a short video of our Brittany girl, Kaeli, playing with our new foster puppies http://www.flickr.com/photos/25349942@N00/4317121130/

There was a lot of play bowing so I thought I'd also post an article on Play Bows :-)

This is one of many dog ownership tips I'd like to share with you under the name 'Paws for Thought' written by a friend at work who is passionate about dogs and is happy to share and discuss what she has learnt. Posted here with her permission. Please note: She is not a dog expert but a dog lover learning more each day.

The play bow and the wagging tail are probably the two most commonly recognised dog communication signals.  The wagging tail is often misread - so what do we know about the play bow?

The classic play bow position is recognised as:

* bum up.

* elbows touching or nearing the ground.

* ears up and alert (or sometimes back in what can be known as aeroplance ears).

* tail usually lowered or down but can sometimes be wagging.

* mouth partially open to fully open, lips relaxed.

* eyes focusing the same way as the nose is oriented.

They are usually seen as part of a series of bounds, chases and mock attacks.  For video clips showing the behaviour check out the listing at the end of this post.

It appears that plays bows are used:

* to intiate /invite play.

* to interrupt play when it comes too intense (Remember we are playing! This is not for real!) and to calm down.

* as part of possession games where the tail can tend to be up and the bow is down over the article. But this is not serious guarding which other dogs can obviously tell as they happily invade the space and continue the game.

* to signal the swapping of roles of chaser and chased during play.

* to show fiendly intentions, particularly as part of an introduction.

* to nullify what might be interpreted as an over-assertive approach (meant or not).

* as part of courtship behaviours.

Why is the play bow important? Because of its role as punctuation in making a dogs intentions clear during play. Play itself is a serious business for both puppies (who learn about themselves, others, prey, their environment, their strengths and weaknesses, dog communication and social rules through play) and adult dogs (who can use play to test themselves, try alternate behaviours that would otherwise be risky and practice communication and social rules while passing them onto the next generation/s and to get to know new dogs and their responses).

The play bow is not used randomly but with a purpose - as part of a set of social rules that must be followed. The play bow is a metasignal used to maintain social play when actions borrowed from other contexts (sex, aggression, prey killing etc) appear in play might be misinterpreted.

These other actions might include bites, particularly with rapid side to side movements and shaking of the head. Therefore the play bow often appears just before and again just after behaviour that could be misinterpreted - watch for them next time you see dogs playing together.

Puppies seem to learn the use of the play bow quickly as they grow and the response to it seems to be innate.

Dogs will offer these signals to humans in attempts to get them to play or sometimes when asking them to calm down or other interactions become too intense (such as trying to corner or chase down a dog with something in their mouth that you want or trying to grab them to get them back on lead when they don't want to come to your call).

People can also mimic the play bow to their dog. You can do this by:

* Getting down on all fours and sticking your bum up while lowering your shoulders and touching the ground with your elbows quickly and then leaping sideways in an invite to play.

* Bowing right down to your dog with your arms out in front, freezing their briefly and then dodging quickly left and right before moving on to play.

I hope you've learnt something more about this commonly recognised signal.

I certainly did in putting this post together. It also started me wondering about the comments of two particular dog owners (one of a Siberian Husky and the other of a German Shepherd Dog) who over the past year or so have talked to me about their concerns with their dogs and what people seem to take as play bows. Both dogs have a history of reactivity to other dogs, and in case aggression.

Both owners report that their dogs will focus intently on a particular breed or colour and size of dog and drop into a bow - but they both insisted that it was not a play bow.

People of course took it for one and thought their dogs were safe to interact and in fact then went on to force interaction which often ended with shock and horror. Both owners were beside themselves with frustration at other people not listening to them when they warned them off but insisting that they knew what a play bow was and what it meant.

Then lo and behold I got to see what they were talking about just last week at a park. The dog responsible certainly seemed to fall into a play bow position but there was an intensity to it that you do not see in a play bow - even from a distance it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I am now a believer - there is something else going on here.

So while putting this post together I checked my references and did a web search. The closest thing I found was a reference to something called a prey bow and that reference was about this particular bow's use in play - as a pre-cursor to a pounce. More research required here methinks but in the meantime if you have a funny feeling about your dog (or any dog's) bow in a given situation or if another owner warns you off despite their dog giving what looks to you like a play bow - please heed the warning and move on.

References:

Barbara Handelman, Canine Behaviour. A Photo Illustrated Handbook.

Brenda Aloff, Canine Body Language. A Photographic Guide. Interpreting the Native Language of the Domestic Dog.

Susie Green. Talk to Your Dog. How To Communicate With Your Pet.

David Alderton. How to Talk With Your Dog.

Roger Abrantes. Dog Language. An Encyclopedia of Canine Behaviour.

Sophie Collins. Tail Talk. Understanding the Secret Language of Dogs.

Trevor Warner. Dog Body Language Phrasebook. 100 Ways to Read their Signals.

Marc Bekoff. The Emotional Lives of Animals.


Videos to check out from home:-

* The play bow in dog to dog play http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GaXWVPOFE4

* Puppy trying unsucecessfully to engage another (unhappy) dog to play - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FG3HENAXqE

* Putting play bow on cue - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tdqJeA_xe0

* Teaching play bow from a down as a hindquarters strengthening exercise - note the bow itself can be used as a stretching exercise before sport or play - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9LLd_LqFTM

 

 

The 5 F's

This is one of many dog ownership tips I'd like to share with you under the name 'Paws for Thought' written by a friend at work who is passionate about dogs and is happy to share and discuss what she has learnt. Posted here with her permission. Please note: She is not a dog expert but a dog lover learning more each day.

In later posts we’ll look at the subtle signs that a dog is not comfortable in a situation. But this post is about the five reactions that should shout to you that something is not right. These are commonly referred to as the five F’s. The first two being the commonly recognised ‘flight’ or ‘fight’ responses.

* Flight – To flee from a perceived threat (death, injury etc) is generally the first instinctive response.

* Fight – Fight usually kicks in when flight is prevented.

The other three less commonly known responses are:

* Freeze – The dog stands still. There is a fixed look to his eye and he is rigid throughout his body, even appearing to hold his breath. I’ve seen two types of freeze and they’ve both given me very different feelings.

The first is the freeze that happens for just a split second and makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Miss this warning or continue to push the situation and you are a likely candidate for dog bite. If you miss the subtle signals and you end up with a ‘freeze’ from an animal step back quickly and calmly and give them space and time and then change something about the situation (your approach or the environment) to lower their stress level. But beware if you’ve gotten to this level then the bite might occur before you can act. If this is the case then blame yourself for missing the signals, not the dog for a natural reaction to a stressful situation.  And no getting your dog to this point is not a game nor funny - despite a number of postings of videos on the web that claim this.

The second type of freeze you can often see labeled as stubborn or willful. In this case the dog can just plain refuse to move – to continue walking, to get into the car or to meet a particular person. If you push this then you can also end up with aggression because the dog has nowhere else to go (for instance if it is on lead) or us stupid humans keep chasing them down (in effect cornering them behind chairs or under beds) just asking for a bite.

You can also see this second type of freeze being mistaken for a dog that’s just relaxed and happy because it isn’t doing anything – wrong. Look closely the body language – tension, eyes, breathing etc will show you that the dog is pretty much overwhelmed and feeling threatened by the situation but just not sure how to respond (yet).

* Faint – This is a rare response but can happen. You see a real faint rarely (but sometimes associated with medical conditions) but you can see a more pronounced version of the second type of freeze described above where the dog drops belly down to the ground and refuses to move or interact. Again sometimes this seems to be mistaken for being stubborn or difficult instead of overwhelmed and extremely stressed - or even being good because it is doing nothing.

* Fool around (or fidget or fiddle) –Dogs that rush about, jump up and down, mouth, become rough or over the top, who can’t sit still, who lick you constantly or who drop into a roll to show their bellies everytime someone approaches or touches them can fall into this category. They use this behaviour as a coping strategy. This can even happen during training sessions with a dog or puppy, and definitely happened with my boy whenever we were in a competition situation – where he fed off my stress levels and couldn’t flee being on a leash so went for fool around instead. This is no more or less serious a warning though than any of the other five F’s. The dog is overloaded and stressed and we (the humans) need to let off the valve by changing the situation somehow.

Remember that the dog is not thinking 'oh wow, stressful situation, I'm in fool around, or freeze, or fight and need to do something about it'.  They are reacting naturally to a certain situation and the feelings/response it creates in them whether that be fear, confusion, anxiety etc etc.   We're the ones with the bigger more complex brain and the theories about behaviour.  We're the only ones who can change the situation (for the better or worse) many times.  However if you watch dogs with great dog communication and social skills you'll often see them making those changes (often really subtle) that relieve the pressure.  More on this in future postings.

The puppies reacted to the stress of being moved by shutting down (perhaps the Faint response) so were popped into a pool of water to both cool them down after a long trip on a hot day and to help stimulate them to respond to their new surroundings.

Quick Puppy Intro

Scooby

Winkie

Blossom

Key Puppy Priorities

This is one of many dog ownership tips I'd like to share with you under the name 'Paws for Thought' written by a friend at work who is passionate about dogs and is happy to share and discuss what she has learnt. Posted here with her permission. Please note: She is not a dog expert but a dog lover learning more each day.

When you get a new puppy they are sooooo cute and adorable that it is easy to just spend your time cuddling, playing and watching them sleep.  However those first few months up to 12 to 18 weeks is critical to their development and the best opportunity you can get to solve potential issues (barking, chewing, house soiling, digging, separation issues etc) before they occur.  Most importantly it is really the only opportunity to ensure that your dog develops bite inhibition which is the thing that most drastically reduces the chances of them causing serious injury to others (dogs and people) throughout their life - so it's not an opportunity you want to miss. 

Thinking about this I checked out just a couple of my references for the top priorities for puppy development and this is what I came up with:

Dr Ian Dunbar who started off the world wide phenomenon of puppy classes identifies 6 priorities for those of you with new puppies to concentrate on.  They are:

1. Household etiquette including housetraining, chew toy training, teaching alternatives to barking and more as these problems are the #1 reason that dogs are put down or rehomed around the world.

2. Home Alone training so that your pet is comfortable if not happy to see you go is the aim. You want a dog that is comfortable being on his own and able to occupy himself appropriately (by your standards not his).   So many pups come home to lots of attention and time with the family and then the holidays end and the pup is deserted for 8 - 12 hours with no warning and no preparation. Hardly surprising they get into things we don't want them to or develop anxiety about being left alone.

3. Socialisation with people - particularly but not only before 12 weeks of age. You want a confident and friendly family pet don't you?

4. Dog to dog socialisation - between three months and eighteen weeks of age to establish reliable bite inhibition and forever after to maintain friendliness to other dogs.

5. Sit and settle down commands - these cues mean you can ask your pup to do something simple that stops them from getting up to all sorts of mischief instead of just yelling no after they've started.

6. Bite Inhibition - a priority.  This develops by about eighteen weeks of age. A soft mouth is the single most important quality for any dog. Hopefully, your dog will never bite or fight, but if he does, well-established bite inhibition ensures that your dog causes little if any damage. This is really the only chance in his life to establish this - so don't miss the opportunity.

Source: http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/developmental-priorities

Just to check out what others say I pulled Robyn Archer and Bill Gorton's book '1000 of the Best Dog Training Secrets' off my book shelf.  They identified their puppy developmental priorities as ensuring:

* Confidence in the environment.

* Confidence in themselves.

* Confidence in leadership (that's you).

* Acceptance of new objects.

* Accepting new challenges.

* Acceptance of crate and boundaries.

* Learning to fly solo (that's spending time comfortably alone)

* Learning to chew on the proper toys.

* Learning the concept of housebreaking.

Future posts will go into how to deal with a range of the issues identified in this post.  In meantime I highly recommend that new and prospective puppy owners check out DogStarDaily at http://www.dogstardaily.com/ and particularly the Training Textbook.  You can also download (for free) copies of Dr Ian Dunbar's two original books 'Before You GetYour Puppy' and 'After You Get Your Puppy' from the site - http://www.dogstardaily.com/free-downloads which if I can only get people to read two books are the two I would recommend without hesitation.

Whitley is a great young Lab cross looking for a new family to love.