By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
As the year ends, dog trainers and other animal-related professionals look back on the year to try to predict the year to come. Some of my observations project a change in human behaviour. Covid dogs will turn four years old in 2024, and the longevity of many dogs is bleak.
The main reason some pets are re-homed or euthanized is directly proportional to their lack of socialization. There is a reason the puppy phase is called the critical period of social development. This socialization period teaches dogs what to expect later in life; it normalizes stimuli.
I personally thought that people knew how vital it was to expose dogs to their future environment between the ages of four and twelve weeks; unfortunately, I was wrong. The technological era has set access to information back many decades. There is too much contradiction on the internet to make sense of conflicting facts and data.
Add to the confusion, poor breeding and financial gain, and the dog world explodes into what we are currently experiencing: aggression and fear. Bites more than doubled since early 2019. You might think pit bulls inflicted these bites and death, but you would be seriously wrong. Mixed breeds, specifically doodles, are the most popular dogs acquired during the pandemic; thus, statistically, they outrank bully breeds. The numbers are similar in the US and UK.
Another factor in increased dog bites was how people selected their dogs; their purchases reflected human impulse buying behaviours. Many buyers did not visit the breeder, dogs, or puppies before they brought their dog home. Furthermore, most doodle owners are first-time pet caregivers. Mixing two hunting breeds together and expecting a calm and relaxed animal is simply unrealistic in a mass-market world.
Dog Bites
Bites are still on the rise, and doodles represent large numbers of incidences. 60% of Canadians became dog owners during the pandemic, and 15% plan to buy a dog in the upcoming year (2024). Unless people realize that Google is not an adequate source for dog training information, the number of bites will continue to rise.
Doodles are flooding shelters and rescues for a reason: they bite. Lack of socialization, poor genes, and lack of training is the recipe for aggression. You are likely to comment that your doodle does not behave aggressively, but statistics prove otherwise. Look at your local dog walkers; seven out of ten dogs are doodles.
Food for Thought
In the last fifty years or so, the top three dog breeds sold across the world have been the Labrador, Golden Retriever, and German Shepherd. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier, in the UK, is the only bully breed to make the top ten; consequently, pit bulls* cannot be the number one bitter.
The number one reason pit bulls show up in statistics is because mainstream media solely reports on this breed. The website Dogbites is another biased source managed by a person victim of a pit bull dog bite. I rarely see bully owners for aggression, but I see doodles come in weekly.
Choosing a Dog
Contrary to popular belief, there are thousands of dog breeds. Rare breeds are generally healthier. You will avoid dog bites and other unpleasant behaviours with proper selection, socialization, and training. You do not want a dog that bites or fears everything new; it is simply not a healthy situation. I urge you to do your homework and find a science-based dog trainer before you start your dog owner journey.
I have added the Breed Breed Questionnaire I use with my clients. You can scroll down and download it for your needs. The document does not offer a specific breed because I sit with clients to help them figure it out. After all, it is my job to know the various categories of dog breeds that best suit your lifestyle and personality.
Cheers.
G.
Source:
- Burnett, E., Brand, C.L., O’Neill, D.G. et al. How much is that doodle in the window? Exploring motivations and behaviours of UK owners acquiring designer crossbreed dogs (2019-2020). Canine Med Genet 9, 8 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40575-022-00120-x
- CDC-QuickStats: Number of Deaths Resulting from Being Bitten or Struck by a Dog, by Sex — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2011–2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:999. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7236a6
- Chang, J. (2023). Number of Dogs in the US 2022/2023: Statistics, Demographics, and Trends. Retrieved from https://financesonline.com/number-of-dogs-in-the-us/
- Perrin T. The Business Of Urban Animals Survey: the facts and statistics on companion animals in Canada. Can Vet J. 2009 Jan;50(1):48-52. PMID: 19337613; PMCID: PMC2603652.
*Used as a general term.
Dog training apps seem like a blessing for dog owners, so I decided to review a few of them and report back. I selected 
New perspective 
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. 
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. 
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 doggone problem is a dog gone 
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. 
Sustainability 
Trainability 
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. 
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. 
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 smells. 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. 
COVID generation dog outcome 
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 
Although both terms are used interchangeably, enrichment and BGs are not the same. Most enrichment designs serve to stimulate physiological needs, and 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. 
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. 
Ethically Speaking 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
Pros: 
Why I Don’t Use Lures to Train Dogs 
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. 
The question I am most often asked is how do we teach a dog to stay. It does not matter which behaviour you teach the dog because stay will be trained the same way. It is important to teach stay because it allows us, humans, to manage situations more efficiently. In addition, a solid stay conveys feedback to the dog. So, how do we train a dog to stay at the Dogue Shop? Well, we do it the social-cognitive way of course. 
How to train a dog to stay 
In summary, you will repeat step five and double seconds each time. When you hit your dog’s threshold or the maximum length of time he can stay, you will remain on this number till you can push through in seconds. You will push through by increasing one second at a time and then try to double it. If he succeeds, continue with the original number. Here is an example for visual learners. 
You will only add one of the 3Ds once your dog masters your target stay length ten times in 10 different locations. The 3Ds are duration (stay), distance (you, moving away), and distractions (life in general). Start with duration, followed by distance and end with distractions. You can practice inside first and move outside as soon as possible to generalize the behaviour. Remember to only practice one behaviour at a time. People tend to jump the gun and set up their dogs for failure, and we would not want that.
As more and more people discover social cognitive learning theory (SCT), I’m reminded just how slow the dog training and behaviour industry evolve. I practice and teach social learning on a regular basis. Actually, I’ve been writing about SCT for over a decade now. Although people claim social learning is new, rest assured, it’s not. The science of imitation in the form of Do As I Do (DAID) has been around since the 50s. 
Social Learning Experience
Future of Dog Social Learning
As the busy season comes to an end, I’m happy to blog again and hear what you have to say. This week, I want to talk about delinquent clients, and by delinquent, I’m referring to clients who don’t do their homework. You know, people who say “Yes, we’ll practice”, but each week have an excuse for why they didn’t. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to waste my time, even if it brings in money. So, let's look at the delinquency problem and talk about solutions.
Motivation Method 
8. Finally, when clients attend the following session, have a few human treat options already set out: cookies, candy, chips, fruits, granola bars, cheese, etc. to celebrate the end of a hard work week. Why: food serves as a reinforcer for people too. 
Someone asked me a pertinent question the other day: “Why do some trainers feel they need to dominate, punish, control, choke, or even electrocute* dogs?” The following is my summarised answer. As is the case with most of my articles, I invite you to comment but please leave your egos at the keyboard. 
The only way one can stop the projection is to realize it exists. Once the defence mechanism is discovered, education, and possibly therapy, can contribute to its demise. One has to bring the once unconscious process into the realm of the conscious. To achieve defence mechanism recognition, a skilled professional uses a technique called mirroring. In essence, professionals send triggering emotions back to dog trainers to address motivations for their behaviours. 
Pointing out inadequacies is not mirroring, it’s attacking. To mirror is to show the actual emotion occurring within the animal and let trainers see the truth for themselves. Once perception is achieved, the underlying emotions which motivate the defence mechanism can be challenged. Then, and only then, will we see changes in dog training practices? 
Future Dog 
For all those pro-kill pitbull people, I invite you to read the following reference list and open your eyes to reality as it presents itself. All dogs bite and kill, yes ALL DOGS. Need I say it a fourth time for you to understand, the problem mainly resides in the fact that a large percentage of the population has no working knowledge of dog behaviour.
If we want to make things happen, we have to stand up and make our voice be hear. I’m officially standing up, but I’ll need your voice to be heard. I want to present to you, pet owners, trainers, consultants, vets, vet techs, politicians, pet store owners, and every single person who works with animals a dangerous dog project proposal. 
1. All dog owners will need to take a basic training course in order to acquire their red city tag. City tags are already mandatory. 
Project Proposal II 
Consideration 
The study of dog behaviour and training is evolving at the speed of light. Learning theories are presently studied, and with a new understanding of our canine companion comes a new training approach. In a few years from now, I believe we won’t use many treats to train dogs. 
Endless Possibilities 
Training 
Do I use NRMs? Yes, but rarely. Do I know how to use them? Yes, totally. Was my no reward maker purposefully trained? Yes, I use try again when faced with very difficult tasks. Am I punishing my dog? No, my dogs know what it means. If anything, they get more frustrated if I leave them in a vacuum, or without a reward. Does that make me a bad person or trainer? No. You’re not either. 
When compared to other species, C. familiaris (dog) research is still in its infancy; therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise a behaviour we once thought held a certain meaning has now changed. Research serves to clarify our understanding of the world, so let’s discuss the significance of those changes. 
- Hypothesis 2: play bows function to clarify easily misinterpretable behaviours. 
Professional Adaptation 
We can be proactive about change and demonstrate how dogs learn. As the old saying goes Be the change you want to see. Professionals, yes you, go to your local parks and work with your dogs. Be active in your own field, demonstrate what it is you do best and clients will come to ask what you’re doing, but more specifically, how you’re doing it. You can train next to punishment-based trainers to demonstrate, without attacking, how fun, pleasurable and interactive training can be. 
It's snowy and rainy today. The overcast weather is predicted for the entire day, ugh! This is the type of day I dread the most because I feel grumpy, tired, and unproductive. I look at my dogs and like to imagine they too feel the same way. They sleep curled into a ball, and I, on the couch, wish I could do the same.
Dreary Dog Trap 
Doggone Good 
Lately, it seems, people want their dogs to be perfect. More and more people register for puppy classes to start their dogs off right. Then people register for private sessions, enroll in dog sports, obedience training. Pet guardians go out of their way to socialize their dogs. They visit dog cafés, bring them to the grocery store, the bank, in public transport, to work, or participate in all kinds of dog-related activities, and with Christmas just around the corner, too much of a good thing can become a bad thing.
When I say stress, you should also read eustress, the positive, or workable, form of stress. When you're in the zone (the orange part of the curve), a little stress can motivate an individual, but too much of it for too long can create distress. Optimal performance will vary from one dog to another, but overall the signs will be similar.
I do bring my dog to work, but when he needs downtime, I place him in a confined area behind the counter, door closed. The door will only open if he gets up to actively greet someone, normally a friend. I can tell you that Albear is behind the counter today and he hasn't moved since we came in this morning. This is normal since he spent two nights and an entire day at work teaching students the intricacies of dog training.
Statistically, the number of pet professionals who read my article each week represents approximately half of the people who visit my blog; consequently, I try to write about various topics to satisfy the wide range of readers that you are. It's not always an easy task. This week, I'll talk about the ABC model of behaviour for both professionals and non-professionals readers.
Behaviour Problem