Bringing a new dog home is an exciting – and stressful – time. If you’re lucky, your clients will seek out the advice of a canine behavior specialist. That’s you! You can also help your clients understand the need for advice by bringing up intrahousehold introduction, what they are and why it’s especially important they go well, in your basic obedience and puppy classes. Here are 8 tips to help your clients to a successful introduction:

1. Limit initial exposure to sharing the same household without meeting or greeting. This allows the dogs to become accustomed to each other’s scent. Minimally, your target goal should be several days, but up to 2-3 weeks is better for dogs that are easily stressed or dogs that have less than desirable social skills or play styles.

2. Make initial meetings low stress by allowing some distance between dogs, for example, by using parallel walking exercises.

3. Up close meetings are best accomplished in large, open spaces.

4. Dogs are generally more comfortable interacting off-leash, but if necessary a drag line can be used.

5. Introduce only 1 new dog at a time. In multi-dog homes, try for 1 new dog every 1-2 days, but only if introductions progress smoothly.

6. Be familiar with the dogs you are introducing. Do they resource guard? Have a good recall? Knowing a little information about the dogs will help you choose what tools you can use: food, verbal cues, toys.

7. Know how to interrupt interactions.  Some examples include: 1) Using body pressure by moving away from interacting dogs to get stuck dogs moving out of corners; 2) Using a food lure if there are no resource guarding issues; 3) Throwing a ball or introducing a lon, soft toy that both dogs can hold and tug.

8. Know when to interrupt interactions. 1) Freezing or stiffness should be immediately interrupted. 2) Lengthy play with no breaks should be interrupted. 3) Non-reciprocal play should be interrupted. 4) Highly aroused dogs should be interrupted.

Read more tips for creating successful greetings in our Greetings series: “Greetings Meeting the Friendly Stranger,” Greetings: Mom, You’re Home!” “Greetings: Meeting The Friendly Leashed Dog” and “Greetings: Choosing Not To Meet Leashed Dogs.”

Our blog posts “VIDEO: Change the Dog Toy, Change the Dog Play” and “VIDEO: Inappropriate Play – What Is The Certified Dog Trainer’s Responsibility?” discuss some aspects of good and inappropriate play. Recognizing appropriate play is an important skill certified professional trainers should develop and maintain. The best methods? Practice! It’s also important to be able to pinpoint and vocalize very specific behaviors that are appropriate. like and to help clients to understand

What do you see?

Here are some points indicating that this play session was appropriate:

1. Play is reciprocal. 

Both dogs are engaged in play. Neither is retreating into closed space or hiding. The Doodle is always chased, but when there is a pause the Doodle immediately turns around and re-engages the Black Lab.

2. Breaks.

Both dogs take very brief breaks from their play. These mini-breaks are brief moments of non-motion.

3. Body Language.

The Black Lab is loose and curvy, which is evidence that she is comfortable and relaxed. The Doodle is a little stiffer and quicker with her movement, evidencing slightly less comfort, but interested in engaging with the Lab.

4. Type of Play.

Primarily chase. The Doodle entices the lab to chase, but continues to check back in and re-engage the Lab rather than running flat out. The Lab appears comfortable following the Doodle’s lead on play style.

What do you see?

A few points:

1. Play is reciprocal. 

Both dogs are engaged in play. Neither is retreating into closed space or hiding. Each dog elicits play at some point in the clip.

2. Breaks.

Both dogs take very brief breaks from their play, as well as a few lengthier breaks. At one point, the smaller Lab mix lies down.

3. Body Language.

Lots of open mouths while wrestling, but not biting down. Facial muscles are relaxed. Both dogs bow or half-bow frequently and are relatively loose with their bodies – no rigid, tall stances.

4. Type of Play.

Primarily wrestling, with both dogs actively soliciting wrestling as a play form.

Remember, interpreting play is contextual. Observing only 1 dog or observing a particular behavior in isolation from the preceding and following behaviors can be misleading. Look at the whole picture. Practice by observing group play often, videoing when you have the opportunity. Finally, help your clients to understand what constitutes appropriate play by describing specific desirable behaviors. Improving your ability to pinpoint and describe to your clients what constitutes good play is another way to make yourself a great dog training resource for your clients.

Daycare, play dates, and puppy class. There are a number of opportunities for certified professional dog trainers to observe off leash play between client dogs. We’ve discussed what an important skill reading K9 body language is in the post “VIDEO: Change the Dog Toy, Change the Dog Play.” Observing play and educating yourself regarding good play can help you to become more comfortable identifying and encouraging good play, as we discussed in our previous post. But what do you do when you observe socially awkward, inappropriate or aggressive behavior? The following tips are for socially awkward and inappropriate behaviors. Aggression is its own blog topic!

1. Control the Situation.

If you observe play that is inappropriate in an off-leash activity that you’re supervising, it’s very important that you control the situation. Interrupt the behavior or redirect the dog that is displaying inappropriate behavior. If you observe anything unsafe, immediately remove the problematic dog from group play.

2. Inform the Owner

Explain to clients what constitutes good play, and help them to recognize in their own dog what is inappropriate. This can be a difficult conversation to have. Clients have a strong connection to their dogs, and factual accounts of behavior can be perceived as criticism. I have found it helpful to describe very specific behaviors and discuss how the continuation of such behaviors may place their dog at a disadvantage when playing with other dogs or possibly even be unsafe for their dog.

3. Educate the Owner to Manage and Alter Target Behaviors

Once you’ve educated the owner so that he can distinguish which behaviors shouldn’t be allowed to continue, be sure to explain in detail how your client can interrupt or redirect his dog. Depending on the behavior and the dog, toys, food, body blocking, and reliably trained cues can be used to interrupt and redirect. Pick the best tools for your client’s dog, and ensure your client is comfortable employing them. 

Watch the following clip for an example of mildly inappropriate play. Pick out the behaviors that you as a professional dog trainer would target to interrupt and alter.

The behaviors I would target for this dog include: vocalization, rigid body posture, over the shoulder pawing, and muzzle punching. Context is all important in analyzing body language. These dogs are clearly engaging in play. Some of the poodle’s behaviors could be perceived as aggressive in some situations, but here they are simply making the shepherd uncomfortable. But not so uncomfortable that she is refuses to engage in play!

Dogs are included more and more in their owners’ lives. Eating on restaurant patios, walking in the park, attending the farmer’s market, even grabbing a cup of coffee; these are all activities that owners can choose to share with their dogs. With the summer upon us, the number of opportunities for our canine companions to join our social calendar are even greater! As a certified professional dog trainer, you will need to help owners determine if their dog is ready for some of the activities they are planning. This post focuses on issues specific to public venues.  

There are a number of challenges facing owners and their dogs as they venture out into the public, including new and strange people, environments and dogs. The first step in assisting your clients is to have a frank conversation with them about whether their dog is a wallflower or a social butterfly.  These are broad categories within which not every dog will fit, but it allows you to start an important conversation about the ability of their dog to cope with meeting new people and dogs in unfamiliar environments. 

Some of the highlights to cover with clients include the following:

1. Dog-friendliness.

Most venues will require dogs to be leashed, but many people fail to leash their dogs even when required by law. Frequently, owners’ perceptions of their own dog’s friendliness, or social skills, with other dogs is flawed. Off leash dogs may approach your dog. Owners with reactive, or even aggressive, dogs may allow their leashed dog to approach even when cautioned not to do so.

What this means for your client? Being able to recognize the body language signals being displayed by your dog and the unknown dog can help in making a decision about whether to allow interaction or to intercede and remove your dog. Dogs that are intolerant of any rude canine behavior will not fare well in public. A good percentage of dogs in public have poor social skills, poor training, or a combination of both, and you may not be able to prevent an interaction.

2. People-friendliness.

You can’t control strangers’ actions. Perhaps you don’t see the small child reaching for your dog, or an approaching stranger discounts your advice as they reach for your dog. Both very common occurrences in public forums, especially busy and densely populated areas.

What this means for your client?

Your dog may be touched or handled without your consent unless you are very diligent in watching who approaches your dog and are willing to intercede when persistent strangers continue to approach your dog after being asked not to. Be aware of what types of interaction your dog enjoys, tolerates, and dislikes, and keep this in mind when supervising interactions with strangers. If your dog is intolerant of strangers entering his space or touching him, then it is likely that only very limited public venues will be appropriate.

3. Car travel.

If your end destination is not within walking distance, that means a car ride. If your client’s dog gets car sick or simply dislikes car rides, pointing this out to clients will allow them to consider the state of mind of their dog on arrival.

What this means for your client?

Dogs that get car sick may need some time to recover before being expected to interact in a positive way with unknown dogs and people. Dogs that dislike car rides, especially dogs that become anxious, may also need a period of quiet recovery time after a car ride.

4. New environments.

Dog behavior changes in new places. There are greater distractions, increased stress from processing and experiencing the unknown. For dogs that are environmentally sensitive, these changes can be overwhelming.

What this means for your client?

The lovely greeting manners your dog has at home may not survive a trip to a new and exciting place. Your dog may not respond as quickly or reliably to cues. Be prepared for your dog to be on his worst behavior, but help him to be on his best. 

Discussing each of the above topics with your client will help determine if their dog is a wallflower and happier pursuing activities in less public venues. Help your professional dog training clients to make choices that keep their dogs safe and happy. Read our next blog post, “Welcome to the World,” about some simple steps you can take to help prepare the social butterfly dog for public outings.

One of the requirements of a dog trainer is handling client inquiries regarding dog bites.  As a certified dog trainer, you can choose to refer all dog bite clients to specialized experts or take a history and determine whether or not your client’s needs fall within your expertise. If you choose to handle dog bite cases, one of your first stops should be understanding the analysis of dog bites. 

Read more about how to analyze dog bites on the blog post “Analyzing Dog Bites Rationally and Systematically.” http://buddyschance.typepad.com/positive_dog_training_blo/2012/02/analyzing-dog-bites-rationally-and-systematically.html

Additionally, Raising Canine also provides webinar offerings addressing assessment of aggression and dog bites as well as a DVD which includes information and resources for you to use when analyzing dog bites..

In each of the videos below, there are 3 dogs playing.  Notice the differences in how the dogs engage with one another in each of the videos.  What changed?  The type of toy that was introduced to the doggie playgroup!  If you’re interested in becoming a professional dog trainer, learning to read dog body language is an important tool.  In these 2 clips, you can see how dog play can be changed through relatively minor interventions.

Video: Dog Toy is a Ball

Here are a few points of interest from this video:

1. Vocalization

Vocalization is simply one method of canine communication. In this instance, it is an indicator of the Labrador Retriever’s increasing arousal level. 

2. Where is the toy? How is it being used in play?

The Bloodhound has a large ball in his mouth.  He is showing strong possession (a desire to keep the toy – nothing wrong with that!) and is enticing the other dogs to chase him with it by slowing and presenting them with a view of the toy.

3.Type of Play

Primarily chase.  Chase is a great dog game. Like all dog play, it’s important that all participants are interested in playing, breaks occur periodically, and that arousal levels stay at a reasonable level.   

4. Speed

This is fast paced play.  The Bloodhound and Labrador Retriever are running at high speeds but there are breaks in play.  The clip starts in one of these play breaks. 

5. Rigid or Loose

Even though the Labrador Retriever and Bloodhound are running quite fast, their bodies are still relatively loose.  Compare the German Shorthair Pointer who is quite rigid and upright as he runs.

6. Also…

Notice how the Labrador Retriever utilizes his mouth in this video.  He is grabbing at shoulders, haunches, anything within mouth range.  The German Shorthair Pointer is engaging in play.  What you don’t see in this video is that the Pointer has refrained from interacting with the 2 dogs during most of the play session and has entertained himself by watching the other dogs play.  The higher level of arousal, fast movement, and/or vocalization triggered his interest to join in.

Overall, I find this play more frantic, less relaxed or loose, than I like. The vocalization, repeated grabbing with the mouth, and the Pointer’s stiff body all point to play that is taking place in a higher state of arousal than I prefer.  Note that opinions among professional dog trainers vary broadly as to what constitutes appropriate or inappropriate play.  I would categorize this play as appropriate, but would direct the play to a calmer state if possible.  See how this is done in the second video!

Video: Dog Toy is Long Tug

1. Vocalization

If there is vocalization, it is minimal.  Again, vocalization isn’t bad, but it appears to be tied to increasing levels of arousal for the Labrador Retriever in the video.

2. Where is the toy? How is it being used in play?

The Bloodhound and Labrador Retriever each grasp one end of the tug toy.  Both dogs are showing strong possession (a desire to keep the toy – nothing wrong with that!) but there is significant give and take in the tug game they are playing. 

3.Type of Play

Primarily tug. Tug is also a great dog game. Like all play, it’s important that all participants are interested in playing, breaks occur periodically, and that arousal levels stay at a reasonable level.

4. Speed

The pace of this play is slowed significantly. 

5. Rigid or Loose

Both dogs are looser here than in the ball video. The Labrador Retriever ducks under the Bloodhound’s jaw and curves his body around. The Bloodhound even play bows into the down. 

6. Also…

Where’s the third dog?  He’s in the room, standing in a relaxed posture to the side and watching. 

Overall, I find this play more desirable. Play begins with a keep away game, similar to the ball video, but the pace simply never escalates, nor does the arousal level. Both dogs are engaged and very interested in continuing the game, but neither seems frantic or overly aroused compared to the ball video clip.  Less stress for the dogs, great social engagement, very good exercise – that’s win-win-win in my book!

What is to be concluded from these videos? That tug play amongst dogs is better than ball play? No. While true for this group, that’s certainly not necessarily true in many cases. The 2 videos shown are just a simple example of how introducing a toy to group play can change the dynamic of the play. Additionally, the quality and type of play can be altered depending on the type of toy, as is demonstrated in the video. As a professional dog trainer, having the ability to read body language and to influence play is very important. And what great fun – watching a group of dogs engage in safe, relaxed play!

There’s a lot of misinformation out there about dogs and tug! Years ago, someone decided that playing tug with your dog will make him dominant, and that mis-information has been making the rounds ever since. However, there’s absolutely nothing to back that up. Tug can be a great game to play with your dog – just be sure he knows and follows the rules.

I’m especially fond of using tug with dogs who mouth at hands and tear at clothes with their teeth.  A great game of tug can be physically demanding for the person, and clients are usually surprised by how much an active game of tug can tire their dog.  I work with my clients to structure tug play so that everyone, dog and human, can play hard but safely and without encouraging undesirable behaviors like mouthing, jumping, and scratching. 

There are rules to playing tug, and these are very important to keep your dog from learning obnoxious, pushy behaviors. If your dog loves to tug, he’ll learn these rules very quickly!

• The tug toy belongs to you – don’t leave it laying around for your dog to play with. You should initiate all tug games.
• Your dog should have a very reliable “out” (or “drop it”) command.
  • When you ask your dog to “out,” he must do it immediately.
  • If he doesn’t “out,” the game ends for a short time (30-60 seconds). If you can’t get the tug toy from him, just get up and walk away.
  • Keep repeating this until he gives up the toy as soon as you give the command. Start slow, when you’re just beginning the game and he’s not too worked up, then as he learns to “out” on command, gradually start training as the game becomes more intense.
• Your dog’s teeth must never touch your hand. If they do, the game is over for the rest of the day. Again, they’ll quickly learn this rule if they like playing tug.
• Everyone in the household must follow these rules. If someone does not follow the rules, they should not be allowed to play tug with the dog. These rules are for the safety of everyone involved, and will keep tug an enjoyable game for everyone.

Whether you’re a woman, a man, or a child, discovering the games that humans and dogs like to play together is an excellent adventure.  And with a little thought, you can choose games and play that improve your relationship with your dog, rather than harm it.