-
Help With Easily Aroused Pittie Mix
Hi Everyone,
I am working with a foster family to address some issues with a 3 year old Pittie mix, the most pressing being that she started getting easily aroused and began nipping and mouthing/biting about 2 week into their taking her home.This is from an e-mail that the shelter forwarded me before I took on the case.
“I am reaching out ahead of our next virtual vet appointment due to some concerns about Storm’s behavior. She’s started to playfully bite with everyone in the household (3 adults). While cuddling and petting her, she’ll enjoy the attention and then start nibbling and biting at our hands, arms, legs, chest and clothes.
Today, she did this outside twice. Once with me during her post breakfast walk and with my mother during her afternoon walk. It was incredibly difficult to walk a short distance with her without her jumping and leaping about and biting at us. My mother’s coat was torn during an encounter with her this afternoon. None of her bites have broken skin or drawn blood but it is still unwanted behavior.”
We’ve had two virtual sessions so far. They reported that sometimes her arousal with the jumping and biting on walks can be unpredictable. This did concern me. They said it’s always play biting and not aggressive but it can get out of control. The bites can be hard enough to cause pain, but they have never broken skin. However, she has torn clothes and latched on to them. I’ve asked them to keep a journal of the incidents and try to observe the environment to see if they notice any triggers/patterns.
I had a few things in mind before meeting with them but then decided we need to work on Storm’s impulse control with movement in a low distraction environment, before moving on to more physical activities that might trigger arousal too quickly.
Storm has been very well behaved during our sessions and takes food gently. The family said her taking food has not been an issue.
I started by teaching marker training and working on Mouth Manners exercises. We are using a Mouthing Scale of 5 Levels Initially, accepting Level 3 (Moderate Mouthing. Slight pressure that does not cause pain or puncture skin). We start with an empty fist and the dog being tethered. The progression looks like this
• Closed fist in front of dog a few inches away then gradually decrease distance.
• Closed fist waving slowly around a few inches away then gradually decrease distance.
• Closed fist and wave quickly around a few inches away then gradually decrease distance.
• Repeat the above exercises increasing duration.
• Repeat the above a low value treat and then add higher value treats
• Repeat the above with lower value toys and then add higher value toys
• Repeat the above with your open hand and then your index finger
• Then shoes, clothing, and other tempting objects
• Then repeat all the exercises raising criteria to only accept Level 2 (Soft Mouthing, then Level 1, and eventually just pulling back and waiting).
We made it to a low value toy and Storm did great. She never mouthed or sniffed anything. She started to show some slight excitement when the low level toy came out but it never got to any concerning arousal level.
I also gave them some management techniques (e.g. tethering, acting like a tree, removing themselves from the room, etc). and helped them with some leash handling for outside. They were attaching the leash to the back clips of a harness. They didn’t realize the harness had a front clip so they are now using that. I also showed them how to hold the leash for better control as pulling is another one of Storms issues outside in addition to jumping and mouthing. I don’t know how they are doing with this yet.
We also discussed
1. Physical Exercise – They are very aware this is important. They live in the Bronx so that is a bit of an obstacle. They can’t easily put the dog out in back and let her run around. They throw a ball around in the apartment and try to play fetch with her but sometimes she gets too aroused and mouthy. I would like to work on Tug with Rules to burn off some of her energy but I am waiting to see if we can get some of the arousal under control before attempting that.
2. Mental Stimulation – They have limited resources so can’t easily buy those nice puzzle toys. I suggested feeding half her meals in the Kong through training. This is another issue because Storm is no longer motivated by her kibble as she has been given some nice home cooked meals. So, I suggested freezing the Kongs with some of her meals and start by thawing it a bit to prevent frustration before giving it to her. (We are also discussing on how to get her motivated by kibble again so we can use it for low value rewards).
3. Schedule – I asked them to put all of Storm’s activities on a regular schedule (e.g. meals, training, walks, play, rest, alone time). During the second session, I asked them to create a written schedule as they hadn’t adhered to a schedule yet.
4. Rewarding Wanted Behaviors – I suggested keeping treats around the apartment to reward any behaviors they capture Storm doing that they like. I am planning on teaching Targeting and Stay. “Go Find It” depending on how things go. I will also show them how to play “Go Find It.”
I would appreciate any other ideas anyone has to address Storm’s need for physical exercise keeping the above constraints in mind. I also would appreciate any other input on how to address Storm’s arousal issues, particularly outside – other types of training exercises we might try, perhaps?
I am hoping these Mouth Manners exercises will start to help. I just don’t want any major incident to happen before we can get things under control.
Sorry, this is so long.
Thanks,
Amy
-
16 Replies
-
Im curious to hear how others weigh in on this issue….
My first instincts tell me that the dog may need more space and time to adjust to their attention if she has only had two weeks home and is 3 years old (was she /how long was she in a shelter?). She may enjoy the attention but be getting overly aroused by it. Outdoors there could be a lot happening to over excite her. Working impulse control makes sense and I’m thinking that taking a pause before or when the behavior starts and asking for alternate behaviors may help to assess what is triggering her and possibly help her focus her energy.
I wonder if there are other behaviors or observable physical responses happening along with the nipping that can tell you more about what is going on – is it over excitement or nervousness, etc? Is this one of those instances where a video could help you make an assessment?
-
@DoggoneSpecial Amy, thanks for bringing this interesting case study. I think @LisaD made some really insightful observations. I agree video would be a useful tool in making an assessment. I wondered if you had a chance to view the enrichment chat with Allie and Emily? I think that their approach would be a great one for evaluating and assessing this dog’s needs. It sounds like he went from one very stressful situation right into another. And in their talk, they discuss a similar case. Check out their book too – the whole approach will help this dog. The big question is “What is this dog’s unmet needs?” and “How can we meet them?” Regarding food puzzles, they need look only as far as their recycle bin! Regarding exercise, a flirt pole is great in a small space. Regarding brain work – scent games! Keep us posted on how Storm and his family are doing! Thanks again for sharing this case.
-
Hi Amy,
Great outline and description of behaviors.
I agree with Ms. Comdens questions / thoughts..
What do the humans do when unwanted behavior occurs?
Back to basics , does the dog know basics like sit, wait etc in attempts to refocus. and increase attention span.
Is there a toy the dog might like to carry in his mouth?
-
Hi Everyone.
Thanks for the great feedback.
Lisa – I think you hit the mark about the attention. They give her, as they say, a lot of “love”. My feeling has been that this may contribute to the arousal. They definitely need to provide her with more structure. My plan has been to teach them alternate behaviors (first being targeting as she is good with sit) but we haven’t gotten there yet. Also, if she is above threshold then it it will be difficult to get her to do an alternate behavior. That’s why I am first trying to teach some impulse control in low distraction situations so we can build to higher distractions. I’d like to use the alternate behaviors to prevent her from going above threshold. Your point about nervousness is well taken. I haven’t observed her outside. Indoors she is quite relaxed and comfortable. Great idea to get video on walks. I will see if they will be able to do that for me.
Catherine – It is funny you mention Allie & Emily’s Enrichment book. I saw them on a Webinar earlier in the year and finally downloaded their book last week. i haven’t had the chance to read it yet but now I will definitely start. I’ll check out their chat as well. Thanks for the great ideas about the flirt pole and the scent games. I have heard a lot about scent games. They are something I have wanted to put in my training toolbox but haven’t really looked into. I WILL NOW!
Barbara – The only thing the dog really knows is sit. The fosters have very little experience with training so I have started at the very basics with them – marker and Attention to Name. Before getting into other basics which I originally had on my training plan I felt an urgency to focus on impulse control given some of what they told me when we started our second session. I like the carry the toy idea.
Regarding progress: – I just got this response a little while ago to a followup e-mail I sent last night:
“As you said, using the front clip wouldn’t solve all of our problems, but it has been a really great help! We have more control while walking her and it makes a better experience for the both of us. I’ve been doing the exercises with her and she’s been doing decently.”
Thanks Again for all of your help!
-
Wonderful support for each other here, guys. And I do love the point about considering a toy carry. Very often we think the solution for jumping/arousal is to ask for a Sit since is naturally “opposite” or incompatible. However, you have to take the dog’s emotional state into account. Is Sitting realistic? Many dogs simply can’t do it in those situations. It may even add to their frustrations. Bravo on the idea sharing Amy @DoggoneSpecial @LisaD and Barbara @Achtung
-
Thanks David. Our last session I worked on Marker exercises with just the parents (No Storm) to help them with improving their timing. We also worked on targeting as I felt a “non-static” alternate behavior would be easier to implement on walks with Storm, help to build her confidence, and help the parents get more accustomed to training with a basic exercise. Storm enjoyed the target exercises.
I do believe some of the arousal I first reported has been attributed to fear and anxiety. On a recent walk Storm spooked after there was very loud blast. The parents said that now she is afraid to walk down the block now because of this. In addition to targeting, I added two scent games to their home training plan (from the great advice I received). I also added massage. I suggested they could do this in lieu of some of their “cuddle time” to help calm and relax her. I do love the carry the toy idea and will try to teach that in the next session, pending on how things go this week and what they report.
Thanks for the feedback and support. Everyone’s ideas made me think more about how to approach this.
-
@DoggoneSpecial Amy, it sounds like you are heading in a great direction. Please do keep us posted on Storm’s progress. This is an interesting case study! Thanks again for bringing it to the community and engaging with those who replied so far. Well done!
-
Hello@DoggoneSpecial– I just was reding your case study (from last month) about the pit bull mix, Storm, the mouthing & arousal &B your work with her foster family– your Tx plan for this family sounded very well-thought out, and the support and suggestions from everyone who replied were equally thoughtful and very applicable also. And being a total beginner here (just starting my CATCH Master Class program, but have been involved with rescues an different shelters for several years) I had 2 questions – as opposed to suggestions, sorry- and I’m sorry to say they’re not going do much to helphere. First thing, I am impressed with this foster family’s committment to Storm! considering that this is their first-time out fostering and they might not have been prepared (or hopefully they were at least prepared by the shelter INFORMATION-WISE) for the emotional roller coaster that a dog with this issue can bring along. It sounds like the idea of putting a structure in for Storm is spot on, so to ease some of the anxiety or whatever emotion she’s hooked into, AS WELL AS for the humans so they can feel some sense of control. My question is about the human side of things: knowing nothing about the people’s situation other than that they live in an apartment in NYC and it’s not your typical suburban family kind of situation, just was wondering what kind of response you were getting to the plan, aside from the surface appreciation from folks that really need some way to work withthe dog? Did you pick up on any ambivalence initially about their working the plan? (and hopefully that isn’t an issue now since a month’s time has pssed) Did they – or the main caregiver- go ahead and make some kind of schedulefor Storm’s daily routines? I’m just curious. I have a social worker background and so it might inform my perspective in working with customers. The 2nd question I have is more generic: I’m not a newbie at aall where clicker training is concerned BUT it’s been many years since I used it regularly. You mentioned you were giving the fosters ‘training’ on using a marker first without the dog present: do you hve any suggestions for ME to improve my skills using the clicker, like any pre-dog practicing exercises? I’d reaally appreciate anything you want to share.
Thanks,
Nina (a.k.a. Beaglemania)
-
-
Hi Nina,
These are really great questions and I appreciate them.
I am going to start with the easier question first – how to improve your clicker/marker skills. Here’s a great exercise. You need a friend or family member to help you with this. Have them put up their hand in a fist facing you. Let’s say the criteria is that when they raise their index finger straight up, you will mark. All they need to do is randomly raise one or multiple fingers starting slowly and then progressing faster as your marker skills become more proficient. For example, if they raise their middle finger (Hah) you wouldn’t mark. Then maybe they raise their middle and index finger together, you still wouldn’t mark, Then maybe their pinky finger, then their fourth, and finally when they raise their index finger only, straight up, you will mark. Have the other person randomly mix up the fingers they raise even sometimes raising the index finger halfway (this would not get marked). When you get really good at marking you could then add the reward component. You can place treats in your pocket or a treat pouch. Each time you mark you would then deliver the treat to your friend’s other hand. Keep a count of how many you get right or wrong.
If you don’t have someone to work with you could also try to watch dog videos. Go on youtube and watch any training video or other dog videos and come up with the behavior you will mark. For example, since most dogs will sit, wait for the dog in the video to sit. As soon as his butt, hits the floor mark. This may take longer but look for training videos that teach the sit behavior and you’re bound to see it occur a number of times.
I have to jump off now for an appointment but will get back to you to answer your other question.
Best,
Amy
-
@beaglemania these are great questions and I love @doggonespecial suggestion for an exercise to improve your clicker mechanics. Another one I really like to use is having a friend bounce a tennis ball. When the ball hits the ground you’ll click. They can try to increase the difficulty by bouncing it from higher up or throwing it down harder for a quicker bounce. I also suggest to my clients that they stand in front of a mirror with their clicker and treat pouch ready to go. Practice clicking and then reaching in to your pouch to grab a treat and deliver it on the sink top????. Watching yourself do it is helpful to really evaluate your movements and mechanics.
-
-
Hi Nina,
Sorry, I meant to answer the second part of your question and hadn’t the chance to do so. I am glad you brought up the question about the type of response I am receiving from the clients and whether (and I am paraphrasing here) they have implemented my suggestions.
I did not include a lot about the client details in my original post nor in my responses because my focus was on getting as many suggestions as I could without convoluting things. With that said, this is an important component to the case, and a good reason, IMO, why we are not progressing as fast as I feel we could be.
While they have put more structure into Storm’s daily routine, despite my pressing the importance of a written schedule in a couple of the subsequent sessions, they have never done this. To give you more detail it’s a family of three. A mother and two daughters. The main client is the youngest daughter, Jade, but the others are usually around during the sessions, although they don’t always participate. When I need to make a very important point, I’ll ask Jade to bring in one or both of them so I can get everybody on the same page.
Storm has improved but I really don’t get as much follow through as I would like. After each session, I send Jade an e-mail with a summary of the session in addition to multiple handouts that I spend a lot of time on to give them step-by-step instructions on how to do the exercises we went over. Sometimes, I wonder why am I up all night writing these things out when often she doesn’t even read them, let alone implement my suggestions or practice the training. But in the end, I’ve learned not to get frustrated.I keep in mind something that Ferdie, my mentor and a trainer I greatly revere said about training – to remember to have empathy for the dog. This really resonated with me and changed my perspective when I train. I have learned to have more patience and tolerance. I have also tried to apply this in situations with humans (not as easy to do). I realize my client and her family are hard working people with limited resources. Even though so, they have been kind and generous enough to volunteer to foster a dog, a pittie mix with behavioral issues, no less. I try to keep this mind when they don’t seem to be what appears to me at times “trying”. They have tried a lot because they have taken on this foster for 6 months. That’s a great commitment.
I also realize that Jade, the main client, leans towards practicing those exercises she finds easiest where she gets quick results (e.g. Targeting) and tends to ignore others. This is understandable and common. I also realize when I am teaching her that she doesn’t always seem to get it. I haven’t pinpointed the problem yet as sometimes I think maybe she isn’t paying attention but I am observing her observing me and she does say she understands (another common human trait). A good example is, the last time we met I gave her instructions for an exercise. I told her, with treat in hand, in a sitting position to put that hand on her thigh facing up, fist closed, and to make sure it is anchored to her leg, as if it were glued. I repeated and emphasized a few times that her hand must be glued to her leg. I also demonstrated it. She observed and immediately positioned her hand in the air about a foot above her lap. I explained again that the hand needed to be anchored to her lap and demonstrated again. For some reason, she just didn’t do it and started with her hand in the air. Despite my trying to correct her again she continued the exercise with her hand in the air. I just left it alone and we did make some small progress with that exercise. I just worked with her “take” on things.
I decided after this to reduce the new exercises I give her and have her review and get more proficient with the older ones. We haven’t met in a couple of weeks because both of our schedules were both busy. We will meet again tomorrow and I’ll see where things are at.
I hope this answers your question.
Best,
Amy
-
So many great points here, @DoggoneSpecial Amy! I love that you pointed out Ferdie’s recommendation to have empathy – it goes a long way toward helping dogs and people. And – a simple reminder too – just like you remember his comment to you, you may make a comment to a client that really sticks with them in the same way! This is where empathy really matters – just pointing this out to them –
I realize my client and her family are hard working people with limited resources. Even though so, they have been kind and generous enough to volunteer to foster a dog, a pittie mix with behavioral issues, no less. I try to keep this mind when they don’t seem to be what appears to me at times “trying”. – Amy S.
– may be all it takes for them to keep trying. You validating them like this is powerful!
-
Thank you Catherine. The good news is they now plan to adopt Storm once her six month foster term is up in April. The other good news is that her mother finished her final chemo treatment yesterday (that’s when I met with them after a three week break). I had no idea she was going through that. It just shows that you never know what is happening in peoples’ lives and what they are dealing with..
Jade said she was very happy with Storm’s progress – although she admitted to not practicing the exercise we started in our last session. So we did that exercise again yesterday. Jade didn’t think Storm would remember it but she nailed the first level criteria immediately and did pretty well with the second level (which is where we stopped last time). Jade told me they use targeting all the time with Storm and that helps a lot . Storm loves it, and the rest of the family love it. My attitude is as long as Jade and her family are happy with Storm’s progress and there are no major behavioral concerns, we will continue both at Storm’s pace and at Jade’s pace.☺
-
This is great news about Storm’s adoption, Amy! I like your wisdom about having empathy and an open mind about what is happening in people’s lives. ????????????
-
@DoggoneSpecial This, right here, is a great attitude:
My attitude is as long as Jade and her family are happy with Storm’s progress and there are no major behavioral concerns, we will continue both at Storm’s pace and at Jade’s pace. – Amy S.
I think some trainers get into a mindset of trying to have client’s dogs (and clients) do everything “right” … but you are absolutely right – if they are happy with the progress and have a found enough solution with what you have taught and the pace you are going, then YAHOO! Celebrate and move on! Well done.
-
-
-
-
Thanks David and Catherine.
Log in to reply.