Posts tagged "Mary Burch"

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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Q: How can I get my recently adopted 1-year-old Maltipoo and my 14-year-old Maltese to be friends?

A: When dogs get much older, sometimes owners bring in a younger dog in order to keep the older dog company. This can work well when a young dog brings some spark and new life to the household. Sometimes, the only reason for adding the younger dog is to anticipate that the older dog may not be around long and this is an attempt to reduce the owner's pain when the loss occurs. (This only works if the owner is fully prepared to meet the needs of the new dog.)

Because there is a wide developmental gap between a 1-year-old dog and a 14-year-old there are different issues that can come up and it can be hard to anticipate which way it will go. The new addition could work out well, or the 14-year-old may be totally annoyed by the new 1-year-old pipsqueak who is jumping around and causing a ruckus.

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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Q: Why does Gus, my 2-year-old German shepherd, bark when the doorbell rings on a television show? We've never even had a doorbell, so it's not like he's expecting someone. Is it just the sound that bugs him?

A: When most dogs bark up a storm upon hearing the doorbell, it's because they're pairing the sound with what happens next. Doorbell rings; stranger appears at door. In behavioral terms, we would say the sound of the doorbell has generalized if the dog also barks when he hears a doorbell on television.

But, in your case, you've told us that you don't have a doorbell and Gus barks when he hears one on television. Has Gus ever been exposed to a doorbell, so that he learned that the sound is a signal strangers might appear?

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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Q. I am a college student and I have a 1-year-old dachshund, Tippy, that I got from a rescue group. I like taking Tippy for a walk, but she pulls on the leash the whole time. Why does Tippy insist on pulling on the leash even when it is choking the life right out of her?

A. It sounds as though both literally and figuratively, taking Tippy for a walk is a drag. Tippy is pulling to get to where she thinks she wants to go, whether it be to a new scent or down the street to see what's coming next. Depending on the dog and type of collar or harness, even though the owner's arm is out of the socket, pulling may not be bothersome at all.

There are several methods that are effective when it comes to teaching a pulling dog to walk beside you on a leash.

Technique A: If the dog pulls, you stop.
1. When the dog starts to pull, stop.
2. Stand still. Don't move forward with the dog.
3. Wait. The dog will pull, but eventually she'll stop.
4. When she stops pulling, you can praise her and move forward. Uh-oh, she is so excited that you're moving forward, she's pulling again. Now what?
5. Repeat the procedure. It won't take long until she figures out you aren't going anywhere as long as she pulls.

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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Q. I am writing about my dog Gunner. He is a German shorthaired pointer, and we adopted him as a young dog two years ago from a rescue group to be a companion to our older dog, Bear. Bear passed away last month. Gunner had never exhibited separation anxiety, but he sure does now. We can't leave him for more than an hour without him getting worked up. We recently needed to go out of town for a relative's funeral and we dropped Gunner off at the kennel where he had stayed with Bear. We were driving down the road and the kennel called and said we needed to come get him immediately. Gunner was throwing himself against the fencing, and biting and pulling at the fence so hard his mouth was bleeding. It was awful. We want to help Gunner with these issues. Do you have any advice?

A. My heart goes out to Gunner (and you). It is clear that Gunner is grieving the loss of his friend and companion. For separation issues, there is a protocol that involves teaching the dog to be OK for one second, then a few seconds, then a few minutes and so on, until he can stay by himself for several hours.But, in Gunner's case, I think the best and most therapeutic solution might be another friend.

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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Q: Why do my two dogs stand face to face and just bark at each other? It's like these two little ones are having a bark off. What are they thinking?

A: If you can hear me over the barking, I'd say that to speak and understand dog language, you need to listen to the barks and pay close attention to the body language of the dogs.

- Dogs bark when they are excited or want to play. If you watch the body language of your two barkers, do they eventually break away, run and play, do a play bow, or stir up a game? Barking related to play will usually be accompanied with a relaxed body posture and sometimes a wagging tail.

- Barks that are short, insistent yips can mean, "Stop that!"

- If you see a stiff body along with a low-pitched growl, the barking can be a warning sign as in, "Get out of my space!"

- Some dogs have a "look at me!" bark and some barks have the function of getting attention.

In general, canine barking is all about communicating. Listen to the bark and look at the body and behavior of what happens during and right after the barking and you'll soon be speaking fluent dogspeak.

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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Dear Mary,
Recently we adopted a 5-year-old male Yorkie from a local animal rescue foundation. He was a stud dog at a puppy mill and was not socialized at all. We adopted him to be my daughter's dog (she is 9), with the understanding that she will be in charge of the majority of his care (school and bedtimes permitting).

When we got Yoshie, he was very shy. Thanks to wacky schedules, initially I ended up spending more time with him than my daughter, and as a result, he is infatuated with me. However, he has no interest in anyone else in the house, including my daughter. When she tries to hold him, he scrambles to get away and has even growled at her. She's trying so hard to be patient, but this is breaking her heart. We would love suggestions for getting Yoshie more acclimated and bonded to my daughter. Right now she's in charge of feeding him both of his meals, she takes him out for almost all walks, she rewards him with tiny treats when he lets her pet him or approaches her, and she sits next to me when he is on my lap and pets him quietly and calmly. Do you have any other advice for us?

Thank you so much for reaching out to us on behalf of Yoshie. It's clear that you care about him and your daughter very much, but you do have a lot of work on your hands. A 5-year-old unsocialized former stud dog is a handful for experienced adult dog owners, not to mention a child. I don't advise families with children to take on a dog with serious behavioral issues, as the challenges and risks can be great, but I understand that you have a big heart and want to give Yoshi a loving home.

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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I have two dogs. Hollie is 1.5 years and Rudi is 3.5 yrs. Although Hollie is generally self-assured, when we try to leave the house with just Rudi, Hollie barks and cries. She's not destructive, but she's clearly distressed to be left behind, despite the fact that she has her favorite toys and a Kong filled with peanut butter, which she loves.

Even when Hollie is left behind with a person, she's still unhappy. When we're on walks, if I fall behind with Rudi and my husband tries to go ahead with Hollie, she'll hang back. Hollie is a mixed breed, likely with some hound and shepherd in her, so I wonder if she has some sort of herding tendency or if it's just a sad display of dependence. What can I do to make her more comfortable when she's the only dog at home?

Hollie's situation is so fascinating because usually when we hear about separation issues, the dog has problems when the people leave the home. In Hollie's case, her separation distress is a result of Rudi, the other dog, leaving, which most often happens when the dogs are littermates.

I would suggest following the same protocol that is used for separation anxiety when the dog has a negative reaction to people leaving. You'll need to set up some times for training sessions apart from times when you really need to leave the house.

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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After my dog Mike does "his business," he always kicks and digs into the ground hard with his back legs, sometimes just digging up the ground and sometimes he sends his poop flying. He also does this on sidewalks as well. No matter what I do, I can't seem to stop this and it is kind of destroying my yard. Do you know why dogs do this? What could I try to get him to stop?

There are differences of opinion about the function of scratching the ground after a dog urinates or defecates. One theory is the dog does this to cover up the mess he's made. But your description of what Mike is doing certainly doesn't sound like an attempt at a polite coverup.

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior.

Dr. Burch has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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At the Meet the Breeds event in New York City, Mary Burch put dogs through their paces as part of the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) program. Here, we asked her to explain it to us.

What is the CGC program and what are its goals? Why would someone want to participate?
Started in 1989, the Canine Good Citizen Program is designed to reward dogs who have good manners at home and in the community. The tagline for the CGC program is "Responsible Owners, Well-Mannered Dogs," and this summarizes the goal of one of AKC's most rapidly growing programs.

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has over 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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I've adopted Max, an older dog. I would like to teach him to ride happily in a dog carrier so I can safely take him on trips or to the vet without him running around in the car or fighting against his doggie seat belt. We believe he's about 7 years old. Do you think I can still teach him?

Yes, Max can learn to ride in a dog carrier. It's never too late to teach an older dog new tricks. I'm assuming Max is a small dog and you can easily carry him in the carrier.

Some carriers have an opening in the top and others have both top and side openings. If you use a carrier with both a top and side opening, you can easily do training sessions to teach Max to go into the carrier on his own. Select a well-ventilated carrier that is big enough for Max to stand, turn around, and lay down when he is inside.

Start by letting Max get familiar with the carrier. Put it on the floor. Put a treat near the carrier and tell Max, "Get it!" Then put some treats inside the carrier so that Max has to go into the carrier through the side opening to get the treats. You might want to pair a very special treat with the carrier so that Max only gets this when he is in his carrier.

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has over 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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My dog, Duke, sometimes seems to have terrible nightmares. He moans and jerks around violently in his sleep and it is really distressing. I've read that owners should just let their dogs rest, but I don't want Duke to be scared or upset. Should I wake him up?

When your dog is thrashing around in his sleep, twitching, moving his back legs and yelping, you can't help but wonder what he's dreaming about. Is he chasing a bunny, fighting another dog, or giving a speech to an audience full of naked poodles?

Scientists tell us that dogs dream in a similar fashion to humans. And like us, they have critical periods of deep sleep. Dreams occur during the deep sleep phase, and even though Duke may not appear to be resting peacefully, he needs uninterrupted sleep. I would suggest not waking him unless the nightmares go on for long periods of time and he seems more tired than usual.

If you wake a dog who is in deep sleep, he could startle and bite you, or he may just look at you as though he's completely confused about why you're waking him. It's not clear that dogs remember dreams when they wake up.

If there is any question in your mind about Duke having a seizure, or nightmares of an intensity that can affect his well-being, videotape one of his dream sequences and show it to your veterinarian. But assuming that you've just got an active and vocal dreamer on your hands, make sure Duke is getting a healthy diet and exercise every day. And then let your sleeping dog catch some Z's.

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Do you have an animal behavior question for Dr. Burch? E-mail your questions to mary@pawnation.com. If you have questions or concerns about your pet's health, you should consult your veterinarian as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Paw Nation is not staffed to address individual questions about pet health, and we want your pet to stay healthy!

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has over 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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I have two big mixed-breed dogs, Sadie and Sally. Normally when we go for walks, I use two leashes so that I can better control them. I would love to try one of those coupled leashes, but I think I need to do some training before we get there. How can I teach my dogs to walk happily on one leash?

For those readers who may not have seen the leash you are asking about, a coupler is basically a piece of leash that has a snap at both ends and a ring in the center. Each end is snapped to the collar of a dog, and one leash is attached to the ring in the middle.

The coupler hooks dogs together so that their handler only needs to hold and manage one leash. Some couplers are short so that the dogs walk shoulder to shoulder. Others are longer, so that the dogs can be about three feet apart when walking.

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has over 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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My 13-year-old dog, Mike, is already deaf, and beginning to go blind. He is sleeping more and I seem to scare him when I nudge his bed or pat his back to let him know its time to go for a walk or eat dinner. Is there some other way I can communicate with him to let him know that I want him to follow me? I've never really trained Mike before.

Older dogs are near and dear to my heart. They can continue to live happy lives when we are willing to make some small adjustments to help them when blindness and deafness become a problem.

When your dog is awake, if he can't hear you calling him, using a flashlight or laser pointer is a good way to get his attention. With a few short training sessions during which you pair the light with a food treat, your dog will soon learn to look at or come to you when he sees the light.

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Director and Paw Nation's columnist addressing questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has over 25 years of experience working with dogs, and is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She's the author of 10 books, including the official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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I recently adopted a 3-year old mixed-breed dog named Sally. When other dogs approach, she will drop to her belly and won't budge. Sometimes she just stays there, and sometimes she springs up right as they're walking by and wants to play. This scares both the dog and it’s owner. What do you recommend?

From the way that you have described Sally's behavior, it sounds as though she is a submissive dog. When other dogs approach, submissive dogs will usually avoid eye contact with the other dog, keep their heads down or simply drop to the ground and lay on their backs with their bellies up.

It’ is as though the submissive dog is signaling to the other dog, “I don't want any trouble. If I lay down and expose my belly, you won'’t think I am trying to threaten you and you won'’t feel the need to fight.”

Just as you described so well with Sally, once the submissive dog knows that everything is okay, she will spring up ready to pounce and play. A relaxed body posture, wiggling, and play bows (where the dog has it’s front paws and head lowered) are indicators that the dog is ready to play.

Here are some suggestions to help Sally gain confidence around other dogs:

1. Organize play dates. Provide plenty of socialization and experience with other dogs. You can do this by inviting canine friends and their owners over for the afternoon.

2. Try controlled interactions on leash. As you take your dog for a walk, carefully observe another dog on leash that is approaching. If the dog is friendly (with a relaxed body posture) allow the owner and dog to approach and meet Sally. Have a happy voice and praise when your dog has appropriate reactions to the other dog. Whatever you do, don’'t baby your submissive dog (e.g., “there, there, you'll be alright).

3. Visit dog parks. To begin with, make sure there are only a few dogs present when you bring Sally to the dog park. One or two dogs would be ideal. If there are canine bullies who intimidate your dog, you should leave. If your dog is extremely fearful, she may not be quite ready for the dog park.

4. Consider agility training. This is fun for both dogs and owners and it is one of the very best confidence building activities for dogs who are submissive.

If your dog is extremely submissive and routine socialization does not help the problem, consider getting behavioral help from an experienced trainer or animal behaviorist. Most likely, you'’ll need to do systematic desensitization where you’'ll start with your dog at a distance and over time, gradually move her closer and closer to other dogs.

Good luck with Sally!

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Do you have an animal behavior question for Dr. Burch? E-mail mary@pawnation.com. If you have questions or concerns about your pet's health, you should consult your veterinarian as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Paw Nation is not staffed to address individual questions about pet health, and we want your pet to stay healthy!

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Director and Paw Nation's columnist addressing questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has over 25 years of experience working with dogs, and is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She's the author of 10 books, including the official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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I have a bichon frise that's going blind. I've heard of dogs being trained to help as a seeing-eye dog for their "siblings." Do you have any advice on how we can do this? The dog going blind is 6 and has been with us since birth. The other bichon frise is a rescue dog that gets along with her "sister" well.

It's great that you are already planning on ways to help your pet adjust to the changes in vision. Here's a link to a story on Paw Nation that is just exactly what you’'re asking about, i.e. one dog in the household being the guide dog for a dog who is blind.

There are some things you can do to get started. Remember, your blind dog will now see the world through the other senses of smell, touch, and hearing.

1. Establish a daily schedule with routines so the blind dog knows what is about to happen. This includes keeping meal times, play and exercise time, and bedtime routines fairly consistent. It is also important to keep everyday objects in their same places (e.g. the blind dog'’s food dish or bed is always to the right of the other dog’s').

2. Be sure to use verbal cues throughout the day to tell the blind dog what is happening. For example, "“Let’s go for a walk!”" or "“Time for dinner!"”

3. Have the helper dog wear tags or a bell on her collar so the blind dog can hear when she is nearby or is approaching.