Dr. Gail Clark, "the K9 Shrink" canine behavioral psychologist, teaches and employs only proven psychological principles and positive learning methods for training dogs without fear or force, thus facilitating the devoted, loving companionship every dog owner desires. Dr. Clark's unique methods are effective, sensible, straightforward, and easy to learn and apply in any busy lifestyle. In this blog, Dr. Clark answers frequently asked questions.

The Dog Park: a Dangerous Dog Party.

The vision that inspired the construction of dog parks was to provide dog owners with a safe, fenced area, for well-behaved, social dogs to run, play, and socialize together. In reality, the dog park is a dangerous dog party and a haven for the untrained, unsocialized dog to release pent up energy and wear out so that they behave better at home. Often these out of control, unsocialized fur balls of energy can be aggressive to both dogs and people. While aggressive or dangerous dogs may not be welcome in the park, most dog parks are not supervised or regulated to prohibit undesirable dogs from entering. The only supervision at the dog parks is the dog owner who may not have a lot of experience or knowledge about dog behavior and body language and are often too busy socializing with each other or talking on their cell phones to pay attention to the dogs.

Generally, there aren’t capacity limits at the dog park, so a space that is often no larger than a third of a football field may have 1 to 75, loose, untrained dogs, ranging in size from Chihuahua to Great Dane, running, chasing, and body slamming each other. Turning untrained, unsocialized dogs loose in a small area to play doggie football or socialize on their own is like turning a bunch of preschool kids loose on a playground without any supervision, rules, or boundaries. The overcrowded, unsupervised dog party is the perfect environment for a huge K9 brawl.

The Dog Park Social System.

Dog parks may seem like a true fun party for your dog and a great way to socialize, but in actuality, many dogs are learning inappropriate social and play behaviors. The dog park attendants, often lacking proper social etiquette, mob and intimidate the dog at the entrance of the park. Imagine going to a big party and being the last one to arrive and everyone comes to the door, looks you up and down, from front to rear, sniffs you all over to see who you are and where you have been. If your dog or puppy doesn’t become frightened at being mobbed at the entrance, he is, at the least, learning an improper socialization style. There is always a bully on the playground and when the puppy gets bowled over by the bully or during a group romp, he becomes either afraid of other dogs, or worse, the new bully on the playground, negating any socialization benefits.

Other risks.

Aside from the danger of dogs getting injured in fights at the dog park, the doggie football style games of racing around, jumping, sharp turns, short stops, and body slamming can cause serious injury and expensive repair. The close contact games also provide a great breeding ground for bacteria and the spread of disease, whereas, limiting your dog to playing with just a few of his healthy, close friends in a clean backyard greatly reduces health risks.

Other options to the Dog Park.

Don’t go to dog parks unless you can choose and regulate your dog’s playmates. Set up play dates in your own backyard with a friend’s dog or plan to meet at the dog park during an off time so just your dogs are playing. Supervise the play and start with short sessions initially, because just like kids, dogs play hard and get dog tired and irritable. Irritability often leads to reactionary snaps that can snowball into a full-fledged dogfight if the play gets too rough, even among the best of friends. Intervene before the play gets out of control. If a third dog shows up to play, introduce them one at a time and make sure all of the personalities are compatible. Ideally, all of the dog owners have good control over their dogs in case the dogs need to be stopped or called back if the play gets out of hand.

Dog park parties, where your dog gets to run and rump with his own kind are a great idea and can be safe and a lot of fun when you exercise caution by supervising the games and friends that play with your dog.



Question: I received a complaint from animal control because my Papillion barks at squirrels in my backyard non-stop. I called a dog trainer who sold me a small dog electronic bark collar. I set the collar on the lowest level, but my Papillion still acts depressed and scared. What should I do?

Answer: Electronic bark collars use strong aversive shock every time the dog barks. Shock collars are harsh short cuts or quick fixes that can do more damage than good when used without proper basic training and on dogs that don’t have the temperament to take the harsh correction. Your Papillion’s depression, or his inactivity you have interpreted as depression, stems from fear. He doesn’t understand that his barking set off the shock so he is lying low or quiet to prevent getting another shock. When dogs are hurt or afraid, they freeze or become inactive, and may even roll up in a ball. As time passes, your dog will test the waters by gradually getting more active, and if he doesn’t get shocked again, he will eventually return to his natural energetic self. Unfortunately, that includes barking at squirrels again.

Training without Fear.
In the meantime, positive training can teach your dog to stop barking at squirrels. A knowledgeable animal trainer can show you how to teach your dog to obey your commands, such as “quiet,” through positive methods and without severe collars that choke, pinch or shock. A dog, like a young child, doesn’t understand what is acceptable behavior until you teach him the rules. When a two year old child grabs something that doesn’t belong to him, you don’t shock his hand, you teach the child social etiquette and to ask politely. When you want a dog to stop barking, teach him a “quiet” command, or a command to “come” that draws him from the center of the squirrel condo. There are many gentle and effective training options an experienced, knowledgeable animal trainer and behaviorist can offer to change misbehavior without resorting to aversive shock or force methods that create fear.

Once your dog has been taught how to behave when you give a command, he also needs to learn consequences for disobeying your commands. Consequences discourage undesired behavior and start with the lowest level of discomfort, like squirts of water or bursts of citronella from spray bark collars which are very effective at discouraging barking and do not instill fear in the animal. Experienced animal trainers have a bag of tricks to offer for the best solution to your dog’s barking or behavior problem.

Not all Dog Trainers have Experience.
Finding the experienced, knowledgeable dog professional can be challenging. Dog training has attracted many inexperienced newcomers in these difficult economic times because there are no regulatory licensing agencies or specific educational and vocational requirements for dog trainers. Anyone can advertise as a dog trainer or behaviorist and appear credible in newspapers, telephone directories, and websites claiming amazing results in print without being challenged. There are no degrees in dog training required to hang out a shingle or open a dog school, and yet hiring a competent trainer is as critical to the wellbeing of your animal as a good teacher is to a child. If you hired an inexperienced car mechanic and he burned up your engine, you could get another engine and your car would be as good as new. If you hire and inexperienced dog trainer and your dog becomes fearful as a result of harsh tactics, the damage is not easily repaired and your dog may never be the same. Before you hire a dog trainer or behavior consultant check out referrals, experience, and credentials.

Referrals.
Referrals and endorsements are good leads for starting your search for the right dog trainer. Conducting interviews and observing their work will lead you to the professional that is the best fit for you and your dog.

Professional Experienced Trainers.
Experienced animal trainers have a general knowledge about many different breeds and the training issues associated with both sexes. An expert dog trainer or behavior consultant has trained, hands on, a variety of breeds, recognizes the canine personality and temperament differences, and understands the importance of early prevention of behavior issues. The experienced, knowledgeable trainer teaches and motivates animals to learn and never uses methods of force that instill fear in the animal. A successful animal trainer or teacher is eager to discuss their training philosophy and strengths in education, learning, and behavior. Observe how the trainer teaches people and dogs. Note the skills, behavior, and attitude of the trainer’s dogs when they are relaxed and working.

Degrees and Credentials.
There are several online dog-training interest groups and organizations that allow paid members to use the organization’s name or acronym in promotional material, for example, Jane Doe, APDT, which simply stands for Association of Pet Dog Trainers. Some organizations require that a trainer complete an online test or course before they can don the organization’s acronyms, John Doe, CPDT, or Certified Pet Dog Trainer. Letters after a professional’s name usually denotes a degree or license, however, in the case of dog trainers, the letters may only mean a paid membership in an interest group or the completion of an online test. If letters that you don’t recognize follow the name of your potential trainer, ask what the letters mean in terms of their educational background.

Don’t’ turn your dog over to a trainer or take recommendations over the phone if you aren’t totally comfortable with the trainer’s credentials, referrals, experience, method, and knowledge. Remember, anyone can call themselves a dog trainer and everyone gives dog advice, just ask your next-door neighbor!

 Why is my dog so stubborn, and ignores me when I call him?

“My dog knows what to do, he is just being stubborn” is top of the complaint list from new clients. Owners are quick to label their dogs “stubborn” if their dog refuses to follow a command or perform a task he has done before, “he knows this, he is just being stubborn.” Dogs are not stubborn; they refuse to obey commands because they are, fast learners who haven’t had enough practice to accurately learn the task, slow learners who need more practice to learn the task, or dogs who have learned response resistance and know they don’t have to respond to your commands.

         1. The fast learner who picks up the concepts quickly, and responds correctly after you show her once or twice what to do, hasn’t learned the lesson, rather, she got lucky and guessed the correct response. She won’t always guess correctly and is therefore labeled stubborn.

         2. The slower learner is not stubborn about coming, she needs more practice to learn the correct response because she has a low success rate for guessing correctly or chooses not to guess.

         Regardless of your dog’s learning style, fast or slow, after they learn the lesson and the correct response pattern is fixed in your dog’s brain, she will quickly learn response resistance if you do not enforce or follow through with your commands.

Learned Resistance.
Learned response resistance develops in dogs when people don’t follow through with enforcing their commands. Dogs discover very quickly they don’t have to respond, because you either won’t or don’t know how to back up your commands. Even if stubborn were part of the equation, you simply need to be more stubborn and enforce your commands. You must follow through or enforce your commands consistently and persistently to avoid your dog learning response resistance or “stubbornness.” Teaching your dog to obey your command on the first request may mean the difference between life and death for her if she accidentally gets loose and runs out in the road.

Enforcing your commands is good leadership and imperative for building a healthy and rewarding relationship.