A recent news article described how birthday parties for pets are increasing in popularity.  Two high-end parties were described, with pooches and owners showing up at facilities that cater to dog parties.  For the dogs, there were birthday cakes, treats, games and costumes. Owners described how the parties brought (human) friends together and seemed to be great fun for the dogs.  Dr. Nicholas Dodman of Tufts University, a veterinary behaviorist interviewed for the article also expounded on the benefits of such parties.  "The opportunity for dogs to interact with each other, for whatever excuse, enables fulfillment of a basic biological need," Dodman said. 
Certainly we have celebrated our dogs’ and cats’ birthdays for many years and our dog Coral got a party on her first birthday with a few friends and their dogs attending.  A survey published in 1992 by animal behaviorists Victoria Voith, John Wright and Peggy Danneman revealed that these events are not uncommon.  They found that the majority of owners surveyed celebrated their dog’s birthday. 
While the benefits of pet birthday parties for people and their dogs would seem obvious, there are some concerns that were not mentioned in the article that are worth considering before you throw  that grand party for your dog.  First, the cakes and treats for the dogs need to be chosen very carefully. Human food can upset the digestive tract of many dogs.  Even purpose-made dog treats can cause illness if the dog is unaccustomed to them or has food allergies.  Our first Dalmatian Katie would immediately vomit after just a taste of ice cream or even the ice-cream substitute made just for dogs.   Sick dogs at a party are no fun for anyone.
Another consideration is how treats and toys are distributed to the dogs.  Some dogs become possessive of bones, large treats and toys, leading to conflicts.  Small treats that are quickly consumed are less likely to be the source of conflict. Play with toys should be carefully supervised and ended if it appears to become too rough or threats or fear are seen.  This is even more important if both big dogs and little dogs are attending the party.
Perhaps the most important concern is that the dogs get along and that it is a pleasant experience for all.  While Dr. Dodman’s statement that dogs have a need for the companionship of other dogs may be true in general, it is not true for every dog.  Some dogs are overwhelmed and frightened in the company of many other dogs, particularly if some are unfamiliar. 
Coral was overwhelmed in this way at her party when two unfamiliar dogs approached to greet her at the same time.  There are other dogs that do not have a strong need to be with other dogs.  Like some people, these dogs are happiest being the only dog.  
Be sure that the dogs that are invited are comfortable with other dogs and manage the first contacts among the dogs appropriately.  For dogs that are unfamiliar with each other, consider introducing them one-on-one with each other before they all come together. 
The key to a successful party is close supervision of the dogs, watching for behavioral signs of fear or threat, taking quick action to defuse any conflicts and creating a social environment that is fun for all.  With a little planning you can create an event that really will be memorable.   Just don’t forget the camera!   

You can read the original article here.    
 

We recently invited you to a complimentary webinar we conducted about how fear affects behavior problems.  One of the reasons we know this is an important topic is because so many problems we deal with are fear based, but often go unrecognized as such.  The 100+ questions we found as we were reviewing our “most burning question” page on AnimalBehaviorAssociates.com certainly supports that belief.

Questions related to fear included fear of and aggression toward other dogs, fear of being crated, fear of being left alone, noise phobias, fear of and aggression toward people, fear of other cats, fear of only certain family members, fear of riding in the car, and generalized fears that are having a significant negative impact on the pet’s quality of life. About 75% of the questions had something to do with a fearful behavior, yet in many cases the wording of the question indicated the person asking it did not recognize the behavior was fear motivated.

Why does fear as a motivation go unrecognized so often?  Is it because in general people are still viewing their relationships with their pets – especially their dogs – as first and foremost one of a “pack leader”, “I’m the boss and you do what I tell you” role?  In that case, a pet’s lack of compliance with its owner’s wishes would immediately be interpreted as an act of defiance or rebelliousness.  If we think we know what the reason for a behavior is, we are less likely to step back and observe what our pets are telling us and consider alternative explanations.

Another common thread in many of these questions is the unspoken expectation that pets are supposed to be able to easily adapt to all kinds of situations without becoming fearful or aggressive, and choose the “correct” or most desirable (from our point of view) behavioral response.  Consider these comments:

 "She (a terrier mix) used to jump around and whine when dogs walk by but now she barks…. and has snapped at another dog coming up to say hello"
 "My terrier has always been a nervous dog. He would hide and bark from afar anytime he was scared, but during the last few months he bit twice."

Both dogs had a history of being agitated, frightened or both in the presence of other dogs but effective techniques weren’t used to help the dogs behave differently.  After some period of time, the behavior escalated to aggression.  That’s why it’s so important to recognize fearful behavior and intervene in a timely fashion – to help these dogs overcome their fears, learn new behaviors, prevent the fear from becoming worse and potentially developing into an aggression problem.

Another important point to remember is that past behavior is a good predictor of future behavior.  Without intervention, it’s likely the behavior will be displayed in the future in similar situations and could also escalate.  Dogs that have been aggressive toward other dogs in the past are likely to be aggressive to them in the future.  Several questions in our box related to the advisability of leaving dogs that had severely injured or even killed one family pet alone with the remaining pets.  To us, the answer is quite clear.

We’ll answer questions about problems between family dogs in this month’s BehaviorEducationNetwork.com Pro members’ only webinar coming up on Thursday, November 18th at 5pm Mountain time.  You can attend this session and reap all the benefits of having access to Behavior Education Network by becoming a member. 

If you want to learn more about counter conditioning and desensitization techniques, which are often used to work with fear related problems, check out our DVD about those procedures.  Behavior Education Network members receive a 20% discount on the DVD and all products we produce at AnimalBehaviorAssociates.com
 

“Unrecognized Fears:
  The Effects of Fear on Behavior and Behavior Problems”.

Housesoiling, barking, destructive behavior, aggression, home alone problems – these are some of the most common types of behavior problems in dogs.  Which of these can be fear related?  All?  None?  Some?  And if they can be, how do you distinguish a housesoiling problem that is fear-related from one that isn’t? 

How would you know if a housesoiling problem was fear related or not?  Suzanne was answering a question In a recent online forum regarding a little dog that had begun housesoiling after 6 months of using a dog door successfully. Is this due to a lack of "leadership" on the part of the owner, a lack of housetraining, or fear related?  What sorts of questions would you ask to determine this?

Another common behavior problem is aggression toward family members.  More often than not, people are told this is "dominance aggression" because it's directed at the social group.  If we thought fear might be a factor, what would we look for?

Once we’ve identified a fear related problem, what do we do about it?  This will NOT be a session on behavior modification techniques, but we will touch on the options available for working with fear related problems.

This is what we’ll discuss in the complimentary one-hour webinar coming up on Monday, November 8th at 2pm Mountain time. 

There is no charge for this webinar but you MUST register.  You'll find the registration link on the Class Page  

When Janie first saw Cosmo at the shelter, she fell in love with him.  He was a two year old male Sheltie that had a sign that said “Very shy with people, but a sweet little dog.”   He was very shy with her at the shelter, but she felt sorry for him and wanted to give him a home.  She had lost her other Sheltie to cancer several months before and felt the time was right for another dog.  Cosmo did warm up to Janie over the next few days, but he was terrified of her husband Roy.  When Roy tried to be friendly with Cosmo, the dog  would run and hide, and if Janie held him near Roy he would struggle to escape.  But it wasn’t just Roy that was the problem.  Cosmo showed the same reaction to everyone except Janie.

Janie struggled with the problem for several months trying everything she knew, before calling us.  Cosmo wouldn’t come into the same room with us during the first hour we were at Janie and Roy’s home, and when he did come in, he would shoot past us and hide behind Janie.  He wouldn’t take treats from us and he wouldn’t play.  What caused Cosmo’s fear of people and how could he be helped?

Dogs are fearful of people for several reasons.  There may be a genetic predisposition to fearfulness of people.  Fifty years ago, researchers found that fears of people could have a genetic basis in dogs.  While extra socialization, behavior modification and medications all helped, dogs with these predispositions were never able to completely overcome their fears and behave like normal dogs.

Contrary to what you might think, dogs aren’t inherently accepting of people.  Dogs, like many mammals and birds have to learn whom to like and to whom to be fearful.  Most puppies that have good experiences with people during the sensitive period for socialization (4 – 12 weeks) grow up to be friendly to most people.  But if young dogs don’t have consistent contact with a wide variety of people, they are quite likely to be fearful of at least some people and may only be capable of developing strong social bonds with only a few individuals.  Inadequately socialized dogs can become less fearful of people, but it can require a long time and a lot of effort.

Third, traumatic experiences with people at any age can cause some dogs to become fearful of people.  Unpleasant experiences with children can lead dogs to become fearful of them.  Painful or fear-provoking experiences with adult humans who look a certain way, or dress or behave in a particular way can lead dogs to be afraid of anyone with similar characteristics. 

Often a fear related problem is caused by a combination of these factors.  When we work with fearful dogs, we often never really know what has produced the fearful behavior.  In Cosmo’s case, the shelter knew nothing of his previous life or experiences, so neither we nor his new owners knew what caused his fearful reactions.  Fortunately, knowing the causes isn’t always necessary to help with the problem.  In a future article, we’ll talk about what we did to help Cosmo.

In the meantime, if you want to know more about helping fearful dogs, take our On Demand Tele-webcast course by the same name.