How to have a safe and happy dog

Written by: Annie Aubrey & Amanda Jackson

We recently received a post on our Facebook page which highlighted some common issues we see here in New Zealand.

I tied my dog up outside a shop and saw two women let their very young kids chase around my dog trying to pat her. I said to them three times, please don’t pat her, one of them yelled at me and said they’re not patting her. I said to them my dog is freaking out, can you not see that? They got shitty with me and started yelling they didn’t pat the dog.  Did they not see my dog’s anxious body language? Do I put a sign on my dog saying do not pat me?

We asked our expert, Annie, to put together a response that may help other people avoid this type of stressful situation; we then asked Amanda, our IT person who is a relatively new dog owner, to put the theory into practice and write up how it went.

A calm submissive dog is relaxed and happy

As a dog owner, you will at some stage come across people who want to pet your dog when you don’t want them to for whatever reason, so what can you do to:

• avoid any unpleasantness when you make the request not to touch your dog;
• ensure your dog will not be aggressive or anxious;
• ensure your dog is safe and people/other dogs are safe too.

When you understand dog language you know your dog is very intuitive with how you are feeling. Whatever emotion you are in, your dog knows exactly what it is, even if you don’t.

When you are the pack leader your energy is calm assertive, this allows your dog to be in calm-submissive energy.  Calm submissive is the energy your dog is happiest in.

If you are in anything other than calm assertive pack leader energy, your dog will react to it.  If you are feeling anxious your dog may feel anxious, this can escalate into your dog wanting to run away, or into aggression.

When pack leader energy is absent your dog will try to fill the breach. He does not feel safe when the pack leader is absent.  The minute you feel any kind of energy apart from pack leader energy, your dog perceives you to be weak.

When addressing persistent people who want to pet your dog the only thing you have control over is yourself.  Be very aware of your energy and no matter how cross, angry or upset you feel, you must not give in to these feelings, you must pull yourself together; Stop, take a deep breath,  get your breathing under control and feel balance return to your body.

It’s down to you. Your dog expects you to keep him safe.

You do not want your dog to misinterpret your feelings and create a situation that at the least could be unpleasant, and at the worst cause an injury to another person or dog and end with your dog having to be put down.

Be the pack leader!

What is calm assertive (pack-leader) energy and how do you become it?

“This is the energy you project to show your dog you are the calm and assertive pack leader. Note: assertive does not mean angry or aggressive. Calm-assertive means always compassionate, but quietly in control.”
Cesar Milan – http://www.cesarsway.com/tips/basics/glossary-of-terms-from-cesars-way/

It is very important for everybody to be in calm-assertive pack-leader energy around dogs, even children.

When Sam and I go into schools teaching children about dog language, we ask the children who are their heroes and what do they think heroes feel like inside themself? Always, without fail, the answer is: happy, proud, confident and feeling very good within yourself. This is calm-assertive pack-leader energy.

From this space you may not be able to influence unwanted attention to your dog, but you will influence your dog’s behaviour. Your dog will feel safe no matter what is going on when you are the pack leader, your dog can enjoy being in calm-submissive energy.

From pack leader energy comes safety for all,

especially your dog.

Walk your dog on a lead as often as you can, this is where your dog learns to respect and trust you and where you both develop a strong connection with each other.  Your dog will tell you how you are feeling by his behaviour.  Before you start out on your walk, visualise how you want the walk to go, have the thought in your mind of your hero to put you in pack leader energy.  Try it. It’s fun.

If your dog starts pulling on the lead, come back to yourself first and check your energy, if that is all good then check to see if your dog has become distracted and make the correction on your lead to distract him from his focus.   The point of the walk is to have your dog be focused on you, not on other dogs, smells etc…

Sam knows he is working when he is on the lead.  You are aiming for Exercise, Discipline, Affection – in that order.  I will explain more about these three points in another blog post, for the moment just make sure we are all on the same page where discipline in the sense of the walk means giving your dog a job that is not over until the walk is over.  This is healthy for your dog as he gets to exercise his brain at the same time as his body.

How Amanda discovered calm-assertive energy

This task wasn’t as easy to figure out as I first thought, but it was fun figuring it out.

Having to stop and think about what calm-assertive energy is, and how to achieve this state, has made me question the various interactions with my dogs in order to figure out when I naturally achieve this state and how best to always obtain and project this energy when around the doggy duo.

To start with I needed to understand how my energy affects my dogs.

I’ve noticed within our pack of three that the pack energy constantly changes.  Both my boys are very aware of the energy I present to them, so even when I think I’m being calm assertive and in control, if it’s just a show I’m putting on, a mask of sorts, then my dogs are not fooled.  They don’t look at what I’m doing, they don’t understand the words I’m saying, but they do sense what I’m feeling and the energy that goes with it.

For me, calm-assertive is the frame of mind where nothing is bothering me, I’m completely relaxed, totally confident, and proactive instead of reactive in my behaviour and actions.

The best way to explain proactive and reactive would be a driving analogy, say you are driving along and you watch the car in front and you panic break to avoid hitting them when they stop suddenly, that is a reactive behaviour, however, if you are driving along watching the road ahead of the car in front and you see a child run across the road so you slow down before the car in front even reacts, then you are proactively ready for the situation, you have plenty of time to stop and have absolutely no stress and no panic braking.

I noticed that some days a walk with my boys was the easiest thing in the world, they’re completely under control, well behaved and it’s a nice, pleasant walk, then on other days when stressed from work or not feeling very well, even though I pretended to be in control by using a strong voice, the dogs could sense that all was not well and they played up, pulled on the lead, and generally made life difficult, which made me more stressed and them more naughty in an ever increasing vicious circle of naughtiness and bad mood.  I also noticed when in this frame of mind that one of my boys became aggressive on the lead, when normally both my boys are the friendliest dogs on the planet, this is how I realised that I was no longer in charge and that it is my job to protect my boys.

I converted the idea of proactive and reactive behaviour into a method to use when walking the dogs, so even if I’m stressed I can still manage a nice, calm walk by proactively preparing before we even set off out the door.  By always watching ahead to get an idea of what may be coming up, or by knowing that at a certain spot my beagles always behave a certain way,  I can pre-empt and prevent issues from occurring. For example, by spotting a piece of food on the ground that someone has thrown away, I can give the discarded food plenty of space to avoid a food possessed beagle lunge and potentially dislocated shoulder, or sometimes I distract them with a fun command to complete whilst walking past the food, such as walking to heel whilst touching my fingers with their nose.   By being proactive this helps me retain a calm, stress free frame of mind, which in turn ensures I project a calm assertive pack leader energy to my boys.

Our dogs sense when we’re not in control of our emotions and are not fooled.

You can be upset, you can be stressed, however do not relate to your dog when you feel anything other than emotionally balanced.

Only humans will follow unstable pack leaders,
dogs and other pack animals will not.

Further Reading
http://www.dogchannel.com/dog-information/cesar-millan-dog-whisperer/article_energy.aspx
http://timrosanelli.blogspot.co.nz/2008/05/lessons-about-life-from-dog-whisper.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_5058593_calm-dog-doesnt-come-naturally.html
http://eadarian.com/tag/calm-assertive-energy/
http://www.naturaldogblog.com/blog/2007/07/dog-training-calm-assertive-relaxed-be-the-moose/
http://urban-k9.com/?page_id=68

Coming soon… Exercise, Discipline, Affection – three things your dog needs, and needs in that order.

Sam’s July Newsletter

Written by: Marj Mulholland

July 2012

Sam says, “On Wednesday 20 June I went into DOGGY HOSPITAL and had a really big lymphoma (that means a fatty lump) removed from my side.  Apparently lots of dogs and people can get them.   I am lucky that there were no nasties there, it was an uncomfortable spot and was getting bigger.

I was a bit nervous when I realised that my Pack Leader was leaving me. I know that my Pack Leader would only leave me when she knows the Vet will become my Pack Leader and I will feel safe.  Well I am home again and a bit sore but getting better every day.

ANNIE SAYS:

It is hard for us humans when we have sick pets or have to leave them in someone else’s care.  We need to know that all the staff love our pets in order for us to feel safe leaving them.

As humans we need lots of talk and reassurance and we often feel upset and anxious.  This is normal for us but we must remember that animals love it when we do the opposite.   So if your pet is left in someone elses care, the best gift we can give our pet is to give them what they need, and that is being in Pack Leader energy (stay calm and assertive).  Then our pets will know they are safe, no matter where we leave them.

WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

“I went to Royal Oak School in Epsom Auckland for five days.  Boy, it’s a real big school.  They have 26 classes there.  Lots of lovely kids and they were very well behaved.  The second day I was walking across the playground and there were suddenly crowds of little people all calling my name.   I was a bit overwhelmed and looked like a “rock star”, but I looked at Annie and she didn’t look anxious, so I relaxed and just went with the flow.

I have been on a big road trip to Wellington.   I was at Seatoun Middle School right beside the harbour and was again a “rock star”.   Even the teachers wanted to meet me and could not keep their hands off me.

After that I went to WelTEC at Petone and Annie talked to the Vet nursing students – they learnt lots about how to handle dogs, sick and well.    I liked travelling in the car on my big adventure – lots of walks in the rain and cold, even snow on the mountains on the Desert Road– perhaps I’ll not have my woolly coat shaved next time I drive south”.

If you want me to come to your school, contact Annie my Pack Leader.”

See you next month….”

“You can send me a doggy get well card. If you like!” send to sam@samsdogrules.com

Don’t forget to send in your questions to me, either here in the comments, or by email to sam@samsdogrules.com, or on my Facebook page.  You can even Tweet your questions to me, my Twitter name is @SamsDogRules.   I will answer them personally and in the next newsletter.

WOOF!!!   

Dear Sam … Get Well Soon

Get Well Soon Sam

11,708 reported dog attacks on New Zealanders last year!*

Sam holding court

*NZ ACC – NZ Herald – 25 January 2012

With a New Zealand average of more than 30 dog bites per day, Annie and Marj, founders of Sam’s Dog Rules, passionately believe there is an urgent need for Sam’s Dog Rules education to be made available to all New Zealand children and families.

A lack of knowledge of the language that dogs understand and respond to has led to significant levels of trauma in the lives of children in New Zealand, and brought about the unnecessary destruction of thousands of dogs, that could otherwise have been avoided.

Sam’s Dog Rules will make a difference!

Practising No Look! means Sam feels safe to check you out.

Practising No Look, No Talk, No Touch rules