But in the context of the situation this isn’t what was actually happening. These two dogs had just met and were getting to know each other. The dog on the left had cropped ears (thanks to some scissors) and a docked tail. Although she was very friendly with other dogs, sometimes other dogs couldn’t read her friendly intentions because of her “alternations”.

Watching these two meet each other and interact was a lot of fun. Since the traditional fast tail wag was out of the question, there was a lot of “shake offs”, yawning, and excitement bordering on over stimulation (piloerection). But these two soon realized the other’s friendly signals and started to play. The dog on the right however, still mildly concerned (because of Zoe’s cropped ears?) that maybe Zoe was too intense, so throughout the game she would “hip nudge”.

Hip Nudging is an “appeasement” behavior, signally friendly intentions and usually the communication is something like “I like you, do you like me?”

Dogs will hip nudge each other and humans that they like as well. This is not a  “dominance” behavior because there is not competition for a resource. Is it attention seeking? Yes! Can it become obnoxious? Yes again (just look at Zoe’s face, she is tired of being nudged)! If your dog is constantly Hip nudging you, then maybe she is feeling a little insecure, or maybe she has learned it is a good way of getting attention. If she does it occasionally, then take it for what it is, your dog likes you!

Arabella is a beautiful Border Collie (cross?) with a wonderful temperament and lovely manners.

She has only been in Waikanae a couple weeks but I expect she will be in hot demand. She gets on well with the other dogs and walks nicely on a lead. She has obviously had some previous training. The work I did with her was simply to introduce her to the clicker and help her get comfortable in her new environment. (Clicker work is a fantastic confidence builder!)

Spring is on its way already, so now is a great time to get that dog you have been wanting to keep your feet warm all winter! Arabella loves a cuddle and is a soft and gentle soul. She would love to spend time, and maybe even go to work with you!  As a Collie she will have a lot of energy, and she is not quite 2 years old, so you may want to think about doing agility, she is a quick learner and would love the exercise!

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I meant to ask if you had seen the last episode of ‘Make the Politician Work’ on Sunday (TV1 7.00 pm)?  It featured Simon Power working at the Auckland SPCA.  I could hardly bear to watch and wound up howling my eyes out.  I so admire you for striving to save as many lives as you can by helping the SPCA centres you work at assessing, retraining and rehoming their many homeless dogs.
Sunday’s programme was a prime example of what you referred to in your blog ‘Dogs with questionable backgrounds or worse’ where perfectly ‘reformable’ dogs are needlessly (and I think a tad far too hastily) dispatched for the sins of pulling on a lead, holding onto a toy and (horror of horrors!) eventually biting a fake hand shoved in their food bowl whilst they are eating.  Just appalled me.  The majority of domestic dogs in the community would be instantly euthanized based on that criteria.  It certainly doesn’t encourage (as you so astutely note) people to donate to SPCAs around the country.
Whether it’s due to a lack of resources (either financial or human) or knowledge, I find some of the comments made on shows featuring the SPCA pretty bizarre for an organisation that ostensibly is about saving lives rather than destroying them.  They seem to be fond of the phrase “we aren’t going to win with this one” (ie we’re going to take yet another life).  Another justification they use for euthanizing dogs is that “he/she is wary of people”  (wouldn’t YOU be wary of people if all they had done to you was abuse, neglect and otherwise mistreat you?! – I would think that demonstrates a degree of intelligence on the part of the dog!).  Add to that the fact that a ‘shelter’ or ‘kennel’ environment is extremely stressful for most dogs, let alone those who have been subjected to acts of cruelty and is it any wonder that many of the dogs there are not immediately inclined towards being ‘canine good citizens’?!

Dear M,

I didn’t see that episode but I did hear about it the next day from a friend of mine at Wellington SPCA who thought exactly as you do about how the Auckland SPCA did not do itself any favours there. She was very worried that people would see that and assume that Wellington SPCA was the same organization (although related they are actually run by very different people). Although Wellington SPCA is by no means perfect, they just received a national award based on their re-homing program.

I am sometimes concerned that through my work with the SPCA people may associate me with the bad press they hear about shelters but then I think of something Nelson Mandela once said “No war was ever won from the outside.”

I certainly hope that Auckland SPCA is better than that show made it out to be or gets reorganized by people who actually care about saving lives.

Moe is a playful and sweet, 7 month old, who has been brought up in the puppy run of Newtown and has now been down in the dog run for 2 months.

He is confident and confortable playing with most other dogs and loves people. So far in training, we have practiced sit, down, focus, target, choosing to heel and stay! He really enjoys the training and is very attentive! a couple weeks back I decided to see how he was on a walk. With Moe’s confident attitude, in play and socializing, I figured he would be a bit of a lead puller, boy was I wrong!

We walked for 30 minutes around the SPCA/Newtown area and he was calm but by no means a confident puller. He stayed close to me (especially if anything surprising happened) and responded very well to the clicking for a loose lead exercises. We had a really nice walk, no barking or scared behavior, just a little unsure of the big wide world. He seemed happy and relieved to have me there to watch his back!

If you are thinking that Moe might be the right, new member of your family, I would suggest calling the SPCA and setting up an appointment to meet him in the play yard where you can see him at his best, then take him for a short walk to experience his more cautious side. If you meet him in his kennel, keep in mind that he has been in the stressful dog run for a while now and is not doing well in the kennel environment, not enough contact with people! He acts desperate to be let out and this can include barking, if this happens simply ask for a sit and offer him a treat and he will calm down quickly.

I think Moe will be a great dog for practically any home, but will need a fair amount of exercise (at least 2 walks a day and lots of play) for quite awhile.  If you are interested in an active dog, that will really enjoy training and maybe agility in his future!? Then get down to Newtown and check out Moe!

It is always surprising to me how free people are with the word “dominant”. People regularly use the term ‘dominant’ when talking about their dog’s personality or temperament. When questioned about their choice of words, they really mean that their dog shows dominant behaviors is certain situations.

Lets be clear, dominant behavior is behavior relating to control, mainly of resources. Resources are anything that can be in contention. This includes sex, food, toys, personal space, and even attention from caretakers. Social dominance is control of all resources, so ultimately if you are dominant your are also a higher ranking individual. Most dogs in a social situation that are constantly snapping, barking or fighting with other dogs are not actually dominant animals. They more likely frightened or stressed, and have poor impulse control and coping skills. A confident and “dominant” dog will usually be calm and savvy at reading and giving calming signals.

So what does it really mean when you say your dog is “dominant” to other dogs? Well, it depends on the context and is not necessarily, in fact rarely is it related to overall rank in a group. For instance, my small, 6 year old dog Cooper, shows dominant behavior to my younger, larger dog Ripley, in the presence of food. This does not include aggressive behavior, he simply sees food and pushes the bigger dog out of the way, Ripley allows this because Cooper is dominant in this situation. However, when a tug game is  involved Ripley is dominant to Cooper. Ripley always wins and Cooper always gives up. So although Cooper is older and tends to have a higher rank than Ripley, he is not dominant in this situation.

I am dominant to both of my dogs, not because I am bigger, meaner, or more physically capable, but because I am smarter, older, and have access to all the resources. I don’t need to bully my dogs, or pull rank to stay the dominant member of the family, I just am. The same way that your parents will always be your parents and therefore dominant to you (until they are too old or feeble and rely on their children to take care of them) even so, they may still get priority access to the best chair in front of the TV!

Dominance is about priority access.  When something is in contention among dogs a fight can ensue. The same is true among children. Through supervision and practicing impulse control dogs (and children) can learn to share, and communicate without using physical aggression. This lady was misreading her dog’s barking as dominance, when in fact he was barking because he had poor social skills and was stressed. Having a “dominant bitch put him in his place” would be unlikely to help him feel less stressed.

I was probably too hard on the lady at the park and I am sure I could have been more tactful, I probably wouldn’t have said anything at all if she hadn’t just kneed her dog in the face then called herself a trainer. I hope that our “conversation” made her think a bit, although probably not. It ended with her replying “Well that’s my opinion so shut up!”

Clyde is part of the same littler as Mylie, Kylie and Pixie. They are reportedly Mastiff /Greyhound crosses, although some of them look  more like German Shepherds! Clyde is now 10 months old and still hasn’t even been on trial once! No one has given this boy a chance.

Getting to know Clyde is easy. He is a soft hearted guy who loves a good belly rub (and will frequently throw himself on his back in order to get it) and a good cuddle. He yields quickly if he perceives a threat from a person or another dog, although he loves to play and doesn’t mind being knocked around a bit by dogs who like to play a bit rough.

Although Clyde does get along well with other dogs and should continue to socialize, I think he would benefit extremely well from a home where he was the only dog. He is so yielding that another more confident dog would push him out of the way and he would always let that happen.

Clyde has gotten along really well with the volunteer’s kids that come to play with him ( two boys ages 5-8) so I think a family with kids in that age range (or possibly even younger) would do well with a dog like Clyde.

Clyde does startle easily, so you may find that walking him initially may pose a few minor challenges. But he recovers quickly, so I would recommend starting with short, fun walks before moving on to areas with high traffic or long walks.

Please come meet our Clyde at Waikanae SPCA on one of these nice weather days!

First: The  issue has been going on for some time.

Second: The family feels as if the dog is doing it “deliberately” (I think they mean “maliciously”).

Third: They just got a new ——-. Fill in the blank with; sofa, rug, shoes, duvet…etc. And the dog has either already christened it, or they are desperately trying to prevent such an action.

Keep in mind that these are not normally puppies, they are 8 months-7 + years old and have regular incidents either everyday or at least once a week for months if not years. Frankly there is an issue if you dog is more than 6 months old and still house soiling regularly (I italicized regularly as there is always an exception for dogs who have been rehomed and such).

So, is it territorial? Is your dog trying to get one over on you and “own” the house in your absence? (Usually the incidents occur when no one is around to see).  Or is it some sort of mild separation anxiety? Maybe your dog is anxious so pees out of fear of being left alone? Or maybe a “pack leader” issue of him being stressed that you have left the house without him and you are in some sort of danger?

These are all interesting and possibly true explanations. But does it matter? I tend to think it matters very little.

If it is territorial peeing than we need to manage the environment to break the habit and create a new better behavior to take its place. In the process of this we will hopefully learn a little more about the dog/human relationship involved and make adjustments to communication, leadership issues and relieve some anxiety the situation is causing the family (including the dog).

If it is anxiety peeing than we need to manage the environment to break the habit and create a new better behavior to take its place. In the process of this we will hopefully learn a little more about the dog/human relationship involved and make adjustments to communication, leadership issues and relieve some anxiety the situation is causing the family (including the dog).

I think you can see the pattern.

It is alright to look at an observable behavior and try to understand why it might be happening. That is absolutely necessary for cross species relationship building. But ultimately unnecessary to actually solve the immediate problem of regular, non medical, house soiling.

I find a good portion of a session is discussing why the behavior, while deliberate, is probably NOT malicious. The dog is not doing it to “get back at you” for going out late.

Look into your dog’s eyes, is he really angry at you, or is that just a projection of your own feelings at the time? It is funny to me that someone can be so close to their dog is then so willing to assume the worst intentions. Please remember that your dog is not like Jaykel and Hyde, he does not suddenly become a malicious peeing monster and take revenge on you for letting the cat sleep on your bed. He is the same dog, just isn’t making very appropriate decisions right now.

After attending the 2011 Volunteer appreciation evening for the Wellington SPCA last month, I started chatting with the new CEO, Iain Torrence and Nick Taylor, the manager for the Newtown branch, about introducing an intermediate and /or advanced dog walking skills training program. This program would be open to SPCA volunteer dog walkers who have completed the general volunteer orientation as well as the basic rules and skills for walking the shelter dogs at the SPCA.

Initially it will be offered on a sign up basis for those interested and hopefully it will encourage more dog walkers to gain advanced skills to help their dogs walk safely as well as prevent those “Feisty Fidos” from becoming leash reactive while walking.

Volunteers don’t always feel appreciated, many charity organizations are so busy staying afloat that they can accidently alienate their volunteers or forget how much volunteers do all on their own time! So this free training course is my thank you to all those volunteers who want to enjoy their volunteer time a little more and even get something back! Upon completion of the skills course the volunteer will receive a dancingdogs intermediate/advanced dog walker certificate.

This idea is propagated by various well known dog trainers like Jan Fennell, and Caesar Milan. (Although they seem to interpret dog behavior in the same way, they have very different methods of responding to it).

Some of the major themes of this idea; You need to “show your dog who is boss” usually by domination tactics and physical corrections like the infamous “Alpha Roll”, you need to be a “Pack Leader” and act aloof, confident and calm in his presence always so as not to lose your rank, you must never let your dog on the couch, your bed, or walk through doorway first.

All of these themes are based on observations that came from ethologists in the “field” in the 1970’s. Here is where the idea falls apart.

In the 1970’s Wolves were extremely hard to observe in their natural environment. Partly because they were almost extinct and were very hard to find. When they were found they were still hard to track. The technology used to track animals in the wild was cumbersome and often broke. So most of these observations were taken by wolves that were either wild caught, or raised by humans and observed in their “home” territory (a large fenced section).  You can see now how this breaks down down. The wolves were not actually being observed in a natural way. They were not among blood relatives and they did not have 100,000’s of acres to roam. It is no wonder really that they were seen as territorial and rank focused.

“The Wolf: His Place in the Natural World” by Erik Zimen, Published in 1981 is one of these books whose author, through necessity, had to focus most of his research on human raised, captive wolves, from various bloodlines. Although he does seem to realize this problem and endeavours to find wolves in the wild to study as well.

One of the really interesting points he makes is on page 208

“It was not superior young wolves who left the pack because of their competition with the alpha animal, as had often been claimed, but inferior animals; and leadership of the pack was “democratic” rather than “authoritarian”.

Wow, just wow.

He wrote this in 1981, how is it that the vast majority of the dog owning population still feels it is necessary to “pull rank” on their dogs, when as observed by Zimen in the 70’s that wolves in fact DON’T act this way!

30 years later it is time for a change to the “traditional” way of understanding and interacting with our dogs. It is not all about being a “Pack Bully” but being a role model for how we want our dogs to behave. If we bully them, that is how they learn to act with other dogs and other members of their human family (toddlers watch out!).

Lets take a step back from “Wolf Pack Theory” and start thinking rationally about our family canines. Dogs are dogs, not wolves. And even if they are like wolves, wolves are not what the majority of the population seems to think they are.