Friday, February 22, 2008

Dog Parks: Tranquility or Chaos

Dog Parks: Tranquility or Chaos?
“Why I don’t Recommend Them”
By Robert Forto, PhD

I have been a canine behaviorist for the past eighteen years and I have to go on the record and state that I do not like dog parks. I think they are an accident waiting to happen. Many people, especially in Denver, Colorado love these parks and they think they are a tranquil place for their dogs to run, romp, and play with other dogs.
After dealing with aggressive and violent dogs my entire career this is the furthest from the truth. I deal with aggressive dogs every day. It is my specialty. While it may be true that many, and maybe most, dogs will do fine at the dog park, with little if no incidents of a problem, you are just bidding your time. A dog park is not a natural place for dogs to be.
The Dangers of Dog Parks
Almost daily I get a call or an email from someone telling me about the problems they have with their dog because they think he is aggressive, or a story about how their dog was attacked when they were on walks or running loose at a local dog park. I have even addressed this problem and have a class that meets on Saturdays. I call it my Growl Class. You would be surprised of how many people have signed up for it. Not just owners with Colorado classified banned breeds. We’ve had everything from miniature poodles to English sheep dogs.
People ask me how to deal with overly aggressive dogs that belong to other owners. They ask me to show them how to handle their dog so that they can “teach” someone at the dog park how to handle their dogs. They ask me questions about their own dog not trying to stick up for or defend themselves when they are approached by an aggressive dog. Many people have watched television shows and they were told that the dogs need to work it out for themselves. I say--so far from the truth!
The concept of dog parks was well intended but not a researched enough idea by the local state and city governments. The idea of a park is to bring people and families closer together—not to build internal strife and conflict that sometimes resembles doggie gang warfare! Many dog parks allow dogs to run off-leash in lush acreage of surrounding utopia--what a disaster. The main problem stems from people who just do not understand canine pack structure. The City Council’s that set up these open space wonderlands are politician’s not canine handlers--they should have consulted an expert. What it equals is that the dogs in these parks are out of control. Too often as well, the owners are completely oblivious as to what their dog is doing at the dog park. The owners are often observed using cell phones or doing other things that distract them from monitoring their own dogs’ actions.
The average dog owner does not take the time to understand, much less install, pack structure. They do not know how strong the pack instincts are in their family pets. These drives can, and often do, click into high gear when a dog is taken into a park with strange dogs. I meet with people every day that come into my training center and they say that this dog is the alpha dog because he is the male, or he is older, or he is stronger, or he is my favorite. Canine pack behavior is a very complex dynamic that should not be under-estimated. I spent the better part of my career studying pack structure with a team of thirty-five Siberian husky sled dogs. I lived and slept with these dogs. I became a part of their pack. I learned many life lessons from them. The most important one: do not under estimate at dog’s potential ever.
When a new dog comes into a park that other dogs visit every day the new visitor is often seen as an intruder into “the personal territory" of the regular visitor. More often than not they are not seen as a new found friend. This often leads to either territorial aggression, dominance aggression or fear aggression. Instincts kick in and pandemonium develops. Owners are running and screaming towards their dogs, a fight breaks out and the utopia is now in chaos. Someone inevitably gets hurt.
DOG PACKS in the PARK
When a group of dogs, three or more, are allowed to run together in an area where there are no strong pack leaders (human pack leaders), they instinctively try to establish a rank order, or pecking order. If there are several dogs that want to assume a certain rank within this new pack there are often problems. Too often, this results in dog fights to determine what rank a dog will assume.
It is a mistake to assume that every dog in the park is a well-mannered, well-trained pet. Just because its playing with other dogs does not mean that it will play with your dog. The issue of rank has already been settled with these other dogs and the game may be going according to their rules. Your dog will not know the rules and can easily get into trouble. Too often when a fight breaks out between your dog and the leader of this pack the other dogs in the pack will also jump in and go after your dog.
The vast majority of dogs do not want to be pack leaders. They are perfectly happy with their owners assuming the position of leader. As such these dogs expect their pack leader--their owner-- to protect them. That's why these dogs will run to their owner when they fell threatened by another dog. When an owner does not protect his dog the dog is in conflict and loses confidence. When the owner ignores the perceived threat their dogs often move into fight or flight.
When you stop to think about it, normal people would never expect their young children to fight adults that were threatening their home. So why do people expect their young dogs to show aggression to older dogs? In most cases, the owners simply lack the understanding of pack drive and dog training. People get caught in the trap of thinking they have a German Shepherd from working police bloodlines and it should be tough!! Well, it doesn't work that way.
When new owners assume the position of pack leader and they do everything right when their pup is young the dog will grow up to be a confident adult dog. When owners drop the pack structure ball their dogs grow up to be dogs with aggressive issues (either overly aggressive or fearful). This is the primary focus of my work and why my aggression management classes are so successful. Canine training is not about training the dog. It is about educating the owner. I have been known to say that dog training is 90% people and 10% dog. I wholeheartedly believe that. I have conducted many seminars called “Leader of the Pack” and there is a weekly show on cable that promotes “Be a Pack Leader.” But do you really know what that means? Do you know how much work, how much time and energy, how much of a commitment it is going to take to give you that empowerment? Being a pack leader to your dog can not, and should not, be compartmentalized in a 30-minute program where the magic of television makes everything alright.
Dog fights are scary business. They could literally mean life and death. I am sure you have heard the horror stories. Is this something that you are ready for? I have been bit hundreds of times--often by the cutest dogs in the neighborhood. I have respect for all dogs. And I make it my business to earn theirs. Aggressive dogs need to be dealt with by a professional. Not an arm-chair quarterback at a dog park shouting “leave it!” because they read a book, or watched a show or attended a chain store puppy class.
My Growl class is a course out of necessity. People love their dogs and they love the outdoors. But dog parks are a plethora of chaos. Research shows that three out of four dogs are not trained. My definition of training has always been: “Control for you, routine for your dog”. If you have a dog that needs work with aggression. If you would like to better understand canine pack structure or if you are tired of your dog getting into fights at the dog park give me a call and we’ll talk about it.
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Robert Forto, PhD is the training director for Denver Dog Works in Colorado. He specializes in canine aggression. Please check out his website at www.DenverDogWorks.com. He can be reached anytime at 303-752-2818.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Every Dog Knows More Than You Do

“Every dog knows more than you do.”
–Nez Perce Native American Proverb

While I was doing research for my doctoral dissertation a couple years ago on Human-Canine Communication I came across this Native American Proverb and I thought it was anecdotal to my work with dogs. Not only are dogs my passion but I am also part Native American and I conduct and attend a lot of the ceremonies associated with that level of spirituality. As I sat and thought about that proverb for a long while and came up with the following, which is an excerpt from my dissertation:
Dogs can be proud of the old adage associated with them. The phrase “man’s best friend” tells us about the history of dogs and their basic nature. There is no better compliment or a truer characterization of dogs in general.
The dog’s only aim is to please its owner. The owner is the highlight of the dog’s life. The dog studies the owner, or trainer, and depends on them for its food, water, and shelter. The dog recognizes how the trainer holds their body when they are happy, angry, nervous, or tired. Many believe that a dog can sense our deepest feelings, and will gradually, adopt their owner’s character and personality.
Research has indicated that when a dog senses that their owner is in a bad mood, the dog behaves differently. The typical dog senses their owner’s mood and with ears back, will approach submissively as if to apologize.
Dogs are loyal companions whose lack of understanding is not their fault. Relatively few dogs that get scolded or punished ever know why. Dogs need to be disciplined in a way that enables them to understand what they did wrong. If the dog does not do what it is told chances are that the owner or trainer is at fault.
To give the dog a chance to please it is necessary that the owner and trainer use a system of communication that is simple and clear. Though people possess intelligence, reason, logic, and for the most part wisdom, they speak to their dogs in a confusing and illogical way. The widely used command, “Sit down!” and “Lie down!” are good examples of this. Both commands use two words when only one is necessary.
The dog will often carry out a master’s command but not because the command is stated correctly. The best dog trainers in the world have said that a dog is capable of learning as many as one hundred verbal commands in a lifetime. Many dogs that are considered “intelligent” know more than two hundred verbal commands and more than seventy hand signals. These “wonder dog’s” vocabulary grows to this level quickly and forms a very solid base. With this base, the trainer is able to communicate any action to the dog verbally. New words are added only occasionally and only when needed.
The above excerpt took me on a fascinating two year journey studying how and why we communicate with dogs and their relationships they have with us. The accumulation was a 360-page, highly technical body of work that I am immensely proud of. I have been a professional dog trainer for eighteen years and a dog musher for many more. I have learned a lot from dogs; about myself, about life, about death, about unbridled passion and a reason to dream. Few researchers have been concerned with the rate at which a dog learns and the relationship between humans and canines in regards to communication. This is the purpose of my work in which I have thrown my life’s passion into. I welcome all that read this article to visit my website at www.denverdogworks.com and read my dissertation: Chasing the Dream: A Study of Human-Canine Communication in the Sport of Dog Sledding (2005).

Dr. Robert Forto, PhD, is the training director of Denver Dog Works in Colorado and he specializes in canine aggression. He writes a weekly blog titled The Gangline. If you wish to contact Dr. Forto he can be reached at 303-752-2818.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Evicted: Pets and the Foreclosure Crisis

Evicted: Pets and the Foreclosure Crisis
By Robert Forto, PhD

The house was ravaged — its floors ripped, walls busted and lights smashed by owners who trashed their home before a bank foreclosed on it. Hidden in the wreckage was an abandoned member of the family: a starving pit bull -- this was the image of a home in suburban California a week ago.The dog was too far gone to save — another example of how pets are becoming the newest victims of the nation’s mortgage crisis as homeowners leave animals behind when they can no longer afford their property.Pets “are getting dumped all over,” said Traci Jennings, president of the Humane Society of Stanislaus County in northern California. “Farmers are finding dogs dumped on their grazing grounds, while house cats are showing up in wild cat colonies.”The abandoned pets are overwhelming animal shelters and drawing fury from bloggers, trainers, activists and rescue groups, especially as photos of emaciated animals circulate on the Internet.
Denver Dog Works in Colorado has seen an influx of shelter-saved dogs at the training center in recent months. All of the new owners say the same thing: “I don’t know the dog’s history we just wanted to save his life,” as quoted verbatim from more than one client. While this is admirable at best, and a challenge none-the-least when it comes to training the dog to accept a new home the new owners are facing an up-hill battle.The first people to enter an abandoned house, such as property inspectors and real estate brokers, have discovered dogs tied to trees in backyards, cats in garages, and turtles, rabbits and lizards in children’s bedrooms.No one keeps track of the number of abandoned pets, but anecdotal evidence suggests that forsaken animals are becoming a problem wherever foreclosures are climbing. Denver is reported to have the highest number of foreclosures per capita. Colorado also has some of the highest number of dogs per household. The two combined equal a disaster on an epidemic scale for wayward pets.Despite months of warning before a foreclosure, many desperate homeowners run out the clock hoping to forestall an eviction. Then they panic, particularly if they are moving to a home where pets are not permitted. Many of these people have no money, their credit is a mess and they cannot afford to move into an apartment and pay the extra fee for a security deposit for the pet, which is often hundreds of dollars.The situation has become so widespread that the Humane Society urges home owners faced with foreclosure to take their animals to a shelter. Many shelters even have a no-questions-asked policy. In most cases, a pet owner is not required to give details about the reasons for turning over the animal. Some organizations even have drop off boxes where an owner can take a pet anonymously.Shelters are trying to keep up, but the spike in abandoned pets comes at a time when fewer people are adopting animals. Home sales are plunging to their lowest level in decades, and new homeowners are often the most likely to seek a pet.Even people who are buying homes are not adopting pets.“People are not bringing home puppies because times are tough, and animals cost money,” says Dr. Robert Forto, training director for Denver Dog Works. “It is a sad fact that dogs in this country are disposable. That is uncalled for,” Dr. Forto says.
The mortgage crisis shows few signs of easing. Many real estate tracking companies announce that countless homeowners started to fall behind on mortgage payments in the past six months, setting the stage for a record-number foreclosures this year. While the government and even our President have adopted programs for people in trouble, many do not meet the stringent qualification procedures. For others, it is already too late.Shelters all over the Denver area are fielding more desperate calls from animal owners about to be evicted. Many call as a last resort after being turned down by various rescue groups with no room for more animals.“They’re usually breaking down on the phone,” said a shelter dispatcher recently quoted on a blog on the Internet. “I’m quite direct with them that there’s a 50-50 chance the animals might be put down.”Still, shelter operators say, half a chance is better than none.“They may be euthanized at a shelter,” said Stephanie Shain of the Humane Society of the United States. “But they’ll be fed and have water and have a humane euthanization, as opposed to spending the last days of their lives eating carpet or wallboard.”Canine Behaviorists and trainers like Dr. Forto are furious with the “foreclosure pet” phenomenon, especially after seeing photos of emaciated animals on the Internet and those arriving at his training center in near feral condition. Some critics say the pet owners have already proved they are irresponsible by buying houses they could not afford or mortgages they did not bother to understand.The problem is exacerbated because most people grappling with foreclosure are returning to rental housing or moving in with relatives — two situations where it can be difficult or impossible to bring pets.What we’ve always known is that when times are hard for people, they’re hard for their pets as well.Abandoning animals is illegal in most states under anti-cruelty laws, but the laws are not rigidly enforced. In most cases it is just a fine of a few hundred dollars or the prospect of a misdemeanor on your record. A relatively small price to pay when you are facing homelessness.Occasionally, albeit rarely, a family will be reunited with the pet that they had left behind in their foreclosed house. In one case, a family was staying in a homeless shelter, and their dogs were being cared for by neighbors at the family’s behest. The family was able to find housing suitable for themselves and their dogs.But happy endings elude a majority of foreclosure animals.“Their best shot is for the owners to plan ahead some,” Dr. Forto said. “But they do not always plan for the unforeseeable circumstance of loosing their home. I do not see that happening anytime soon.”
Dr. Robert Forto, training director of Denver Dog Works, often trains many pets that are adopted from local shelters and offers discounts to those who call us and say they read this article. If you would like to schedule an evaluation with your dog please give us a call anytime at 303-752-2818 or via email at train@denverdogworks.com.

Citation: American Humane Society website

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Appreciation of Dogs

Appreciation of Dogs
By Robert Forto, PhD

It's amazing what dogs bring into your life. Today I was looking at my Siberian Husky, Ineka, who is well beyond the decade mark and thought about all the good things that have happened to me since he came into my life. It’s funny how a dog can be such a catalyst in one’s life. When we are kids they are the constant companions that we tell our deepest secrets to. When we are adults they give us hope and determination. In old age they bring a sparkle to our eyes and a smile to our faces. Their eyes are truly a mirror into our soul.
Ineka was one of the reasons I continue to be a dog trainer. Becoming a dog trainer has been such an unbelievable experience for me. I have learned so much and met so many people and as a direct result of my relationship with dogs.
My life has been so much fuller since Ineka came into my life. I have met some of my best friends and wife because of dogs. I have learned how to run a business, deal with people and write because of dogs. I have spent hours on a snowy trail, thought, sought and fulfilled dreams, and overcome unbearable adversities because of my passion and appreciation of dogs.
Of course, none of this would have been possible if it had not been for the dogs. Over the past seventeen years I have sought friendship, kinship, and insight into just a piece of their magnificent world and there is still so much to learn.

To those dogs who have taught me so much on the trail, in the kennel, in the classroom and as pets I am eternally grateful.

To Ineka, my rescued friend, I will always think of you when I work clients and their dogs, and my teach course for dog trainers, I just hope a little bit of you can be carried on through each person who learns from me and reads my text and discovers the passion of working with man’s best friend.

Robert Forto, PhD
Denver Dog Works