The Nylabone, and Nipping Bad Behaviour in the Butt

Nylabones have saved me a great deal of destroyed other belongings. Big, little, no matter the breed, dogs really, really enjoy these toys. Even Beckett has gotten into them -and he's not a toy dog-. So it is no surprise Chowmein's favorite toy is a nylabone as well. A puppy who is still developing her chompers, she will spend HOURS chewing her bone contently. Although there will be no habit of it, we wanted to make sure she would be okay left up to 4 hours crated -something that might be a reality wherever she is adopted. The more skills they have, the easier the transition to their forever homes. Suffice to say, Chowmein was A-Okay for her for hours and was quite surprised to see us home at the end. As if she was going 'Oh, I just saw you, and I was chewing my bone.'

AKA: The nylabone is a puppy's best friend!

NYLABONES

However, when one introduces toys into the mix, guarding behaviour can jump in too. Chowmein has potential to be "a guarder" (why do we figure this is just one of their many traits, I have no idea) but she's young enough to nip the behaviour in the butt fast. She's quite the sensitive bugger, and takes correction personally, so she's learning fast.

Chow with her Bone after Daycare

Catching the behaviour early in the puppy stage curbs it. Like a toddler trying to go 'mine, mine, mine' they have to be taught. Good dogs don't just 'happen', it takes a lot of patience, a lot of teaching, a lot of nipping bad behaviours in the bum. To be sure it is amazing so many of them turn out so well! I am always impressed to find well balanced rescue dogs who have little in the way of negative behavioural problems. Reality is, I'm spoiled with TG dogs. They learn from other dogs. Sure, they have some things to work through, but there are usually no huge issues on the plate to start with. Working on a blank slate is much easier than to work on one that's been scribbled on.

It is typical in our society to say: "Oh, my dog's a jumper." "Oh, my dog's a guarder." "Oh, my dog's a barker, or a puller, or my dog is anxious." As if that's a trait that's as built in as fact such as 'Oh, my dog is black, or oh, my dog is a Rhodesian Ridgeback." Behaviour is NOT a trait of a dog, it is learnt, and practiced. Of course certain breeds have tendencies towards different behaviours -herding or protecting, or being anxious for example-, but behaviour is learned. If at this stage Chow figures out guarding behaviours get her no where, she won't practice them anymore.

Regardless, Chowmein won't be "a guarder", she will be a dog that has learnt that it is in her best interest to guard. That is very different. It is not INGRAINED  in her, it is not part of her DNA that she be a guarder. It is learned behaviour. And so, funny enough, is NOT being a guarder. That is also not in her DNA, and it is ALSO learned behaviour.

Now, that's not to say her guarding behaviours are severe. They aren't at all. They're little signs. A puppy testing out behaviours to see if they work to get her what she wants. The curl of a lip, the postering over her nylabone, sometimes the quick nip of a dog that comes too close to me when she is there (only with really high-energy dogs). They're signs that most people wouldn't even notice. They aren't severe -which means they aren't a problem -YET-. The more she is able to practice the smaller behaviours and benefit from doing them (keeping her bone), the more she will esclate to get what she wants.

But Chow is really basically a 4-5 year old. She's impressionable, and she hasn't hit the bratty teenage stage yet. She's almost a blank slate.

So, what we're doing is very simple:

If she shows any guarding behaviour towards her bone when the other dogs are around, it IMMEDIATELY gets taken away from her. I don't even verbally correct her .By the toy's immediate removal after the behavioural 'the lip curl, or the postering' becomes a signal that the toy will be removed, not that she will not have to share. Since she'd much rather keep her bone, she is learning quickly -lip curl behaviour takes the toy away, so I don't want to lip curl. Not sharing gets the toy taken away, I don't want the toy taken away.

At the same time, to build tolerance for sharing,  I set a time limit on Lemon or Beckett, or if at daycare whoever is playing with the toy she willingly shared. After a bit of them playing with it, I take it away and give it back to Chow. This way, she understands that sharing, the toy comes back quickly. It is not gone forever. Therefore, it is not worth losing for a long time for, if she just has to share for a few minutes.

When it comes to the couple of times she's tried to guard me (only twice, and she hasn't tried again in a couple of days), I quickly remove myself from her prescence, and do not allow her to interact with me for a few minutes. The guarding behaviour -in Chowmein's case, an air-nip, a very minor guarding behaviour- instead of making it so that she keeps me, makes me go away. IE: the behaviour does the exact opposite of what she wants it to do. It is unnatural to practice a behaviour that doesn't benefit you.

With more advanced signs of guarding, the training would be more deliberate and focused, but for Chow, its a matter of 'you share, you get the bone a lot, you don't share, it goes away'. Very simple. Easy to catch on. And indeed she's catching on fast!

So working on the little things and nipping bad behaviour in the butt before she even becomes a teenager. In no way is she a bad dog! All puppies go through a testing of many, many different behaviours to figure out what works to get what they want. It is an exploration. Just like children who need to find ways to express themselves. To be in the world without the help of parents eventually. We expect our dogs to learn a lot on their own -they don't have their mums with them while they are young. So, we have to be their to guide them. Of course they learn a lot (more most likely) from other dogs too.

So, when you think 'my dog is a barker', 'my dog is a guarder, 'my dog is anxious' ask yourself what behaviours they are allowed to practice which reinforce those particular behaviours. And then, if you have the drive to try to change the behaviour (and believe me, its a heck of a lot harder when its been ingrained in them so many times that its almost like nature to them to be that way), ask yourself how to move around the variables to change that behaviour.

Think of it as somewhat of an equation.

For Chowmein's Toy Guard for Example

How Chowmein Intends it

Toy + Lip Curl = Other dog will leave/she will get to keep the toy, which equals a postive association with Lip Curl. Therefore, since it was positive, and worked for her, the chances of doing it again are more likely.

However, if you factor in my 'correction' you get

Toy + Lip Curl + Removal of Bone = Chowmein gets no toy. That is a bad outcome for Chowmein. Being a negative association, the chances of doing the behaviour again, are less likely.

Of course, you have to weigh those up against all the past experiences too. Just like you're own bad habits (like my chocolate addiction...) it won't go away cold turkey.

For example, Beckett has always been -and will probably always be to some extent- a 'marker'. IE: He lifts his leg on pretty much ANYTHING outside. For at least the first two years I had him, I didn't even really notice -or really, to be perfectly honest, know much about marking-, but was always embarrased when he'd lift his leg on something inappropriate like a stroller or other dog sometimes, or a bike. But through discplining the behaviour he has become a lot better.

Still thinking in equation it would go like this:

Lift Leg = I'm the big bad Man
Lift Leg + Putting on the leash on an off-leash walk = BUSTED. Marking makes my freedom go away. How the heck can I be the big bad man on a leash?

Of course, the timing has to be on as well, which is why he's usually worse for marking when he knows I'm about 5 seconds from him. There is no point for correction after that -they don't get the association to leg lift = leash for example, or lip curl = toy being taken away.

He still marks out on the trails, but not on every bloody tree or stump now. We're not perfect, and indeed, having a perfect dog would be a little boring don't you think? But we're getting there :)

Unfortunately, most of us don't know there is something afoot until there is a real 'problem'. All big behavioural problems have smaller triggers that have led to them. Of course in fostering its sometimes interesting to try to break down the behaviours as they've had different owners in the past usually. Anyway, I blab. And I'm sure you need no more equations!

I have no pictures of Chow and her Nylabone for tonight, but I can happily report that she is sharing it with Beckett as I type. She drops it near his nose, grabs one end and chews, takes a small break, sees if he wants a turn, and if he doesn't, she takes it back. Good girl! Eager-to-please dogs are really quite lovely to work with. You show them what you want, and they do it :) But still, they have to be shown.

Emily Out