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Dogs of Course
Education for professionals and training enthusiasts.
Dogs of Course is dedicated to improving dogs' lives through education and building stronger bonds between dogs and their owners.
Adolescent Dogs
When
Fri Mar 12, 2010 - Sun Mar 14, 2010
Where
Orlando, FL - United States
Instructor Dr. Ian Dunbar
Price
$270
Registration Info http://www.jamesandkenneth.com/store/show/EOL-001
Friday: Biting — Dog-Human Aggression
Misleading breed biting statistics and unrepresentative and sensational media coverage.
Hypothetical and practical behavioral models for the causes of dog bites, including instincts, drives, traits, interactive traits, situational behavior, subliminal bite stimuli, superstitious bite stimuli, and provocation.
Behavior vs. Temperament
Reasons why dogs bite
The relative danger of four types of dog based on whether or not they are socialized and whether or not they have well-developed bite-inhibition
Four stages of bite-inhibition training during early development
Easy and effective methods for prevention and treatment
Assessment of the severity of biting problems based on an objective evaluation of wound pathology:
Saturday: Fighting — Dog-Dog Aggression
Topics Include:
Development of social hierarchies — male/female and puppy/adult dyadic and group relationships.
Complexity of cooperative social structure—friendships, allegiances, and sharing.
The physical “dominance” myth
"Temperament" tests — reactivity vs. Danger; condemning occasional “bad” behavior vs. Objectively quantifying good behavior.
Friendly quotient — absolute count of friendly/appeasing behaviors per minute
Atmosphere cues
The purpose of play
The crucial importance of play-fighting and play-biting
Good and bad play groups
Fight:Bite Ratios to determine whether the dog is dangerous or not
Growl Classes — Classical conditioning and stimulus-blocking
Sunday: Behavior & Training Problems
Lure/Reward puppy training techniques are quick and easy, extremely effective, and a whole lot of fun. All goes well until the puppy collides with adolescence whereupon everything goes downhill — surprisingly precipitously. Adolescent dogs develop competing doggy interests and would much rather wander and sniff, or play with other dogs, than pay heed to their owners.
Common puppy behavior problems, such as housesoiling, destructive chewing and excessive barking increase in severity and frequency as the dog becomes stronger and more active. Activity increases to hyperactive levels, and jumping-up and pulling-on-leash are difficult to control. Separation anxiety becomes more prevalent and as adolescent dogs de-socialize, they become more fearful (and maybe aggressive) towards people and leash-reactive to other dogs. Much of adolescent training comprises preventing or resolving dog-dog and dog-human aggression.
Teaching adolescent and adult dogs and especially, resolving activity and temperament problems, requires specialized training techniques to achieve long-term reliability. Also, specific exercises are required to troubleshoot each of the four basic adolescent/adult noise-activity problems — hyperactivity, barking, jumping-up and pulling on-leash. By alternating a problem behavior with the specific desired behavior — Jazz-up/Settle Down, Woof/Shush, Hug/Sit and Pull/Walk — it is possible to re-channel the dogs’ exuberance into equally enthusiastic obedience. Alternating the two behaviors allows the once-problem behavior to be used as a reward for the desired response and the dog soon learns to enjoy sitting, settling, shushing and walking by your side.