As I'm sure many people do, I enjoy watching dogs interact with each other. As a trainer, I often receive calls to help dogs that don't always get along with other dogs. Over the past years I've observed a few interesting interactions with my own dogs that I thought I'd share.

The youngest dog in our home was adopted about 2 years ago - he was a stray that had only been in the shelter 1-2 weeks. The day I was at the shelter looking for a new addition to our family, I took our older dog who had been in our home about 4 years. After evaluating about 6 of the shelter dogs, I introduced my top choice to our existing dog. The meeting was uneventful except for the youngster's high energy and desire to rough-house for play.

After filling out the required paperwork, we packed up and headed home. About 60 secs away from the shelter, the youngster began annoying our older dog who responded with growling and snapping - we were about 15 seconds away from a dog fight in the back of my vehicle. I quickly pulled the car over to provide a brief and "to the point" meeting for both dogs. Afterward they both lay calmly in the back of the vehicle for the remaining 30 min ride home.

Once home, it was clear to my older dog that the youngster was "off limits". In doing this, I assumed responsibility for the youngster's behaviors, especially as they pertained to his interactions with my older dog. Over the coming weeks and months, there was a lot of work in calming the young and overly enthusiastic dog - he needed to learn house rules and better social skills with our older dog. We never had any other dust ups or fights.

Fast forward 2 years later and we were visiting family for a holiday meal. Our dogs were invited over, and our relatives had 2 dogs of their own in their home. All of our dogs had met previously, but one of the dogs in this home is a female who can be a bit controlling at times. In fact, the first meeting between her and our youngest dog almost resulted in a fight as well. Over the past year, we've managed several visits for these 2 dogs (although limited due to schedules), and they're interactions continue to improve but still require some supervision.

In any event, after dinner the dogs were playing - this was actually very nice to see because it was a first in the 4-5 times they had been together. However, after a few minutes things were winding up and some problem growling by the female was beginning. As I headed over to deal with the two of them, I was heartened to see my oldest dog beat me to the scene and split the two younger dogs up. My oldest was now "looking out" for his younger house mate, a dog he once wanted to fight with.

So what is the point of all of this? Well, I often believe some of life's lessons are embedded between the lines. In this case, I always contend that early and clear direction from owners can have lasting impacts on how dogs interact with other dogs, especially those in the same home. Letting dogs sort things out for themselves, or not identifying and effectively addressing behavior that can escalate over time, is a common thread I see in many of dog to dog aggression cases.

Also, helping dogs that lack social skills requires work from owners. Just cutting dogs loose to interact with other dogs void of human guidance (at a park or a home or a day care) is a recipe for worsening these problems, not helping them. Getting my 2 dogs to be calm and nice didn't happen overnight - but it did happen.

Finally, if owners take a firm leadership role in a home, you'll be giving your dogs every opportunity to develop a healthy relationship with each other and with you! It was very heartening to see my oldest dog come to the defense of a juvenile dog he once wished could go.

Interactions between dogs are ongoing, quick, and dynamic. If you want to help your dog be better behaved around other dogs, it requires ongoing supervision and timely, dynamic feedback.

There have been an increasing number of stories this time of year regarding dogs that are being killed in animal traps. As towns and cities grow, and urban-wildland interfaces change, pets in these areas may experience unintended human made hazards. This story is about a man who was arrested for setting traps in a public park - some of which killed dogs. The video below is from out west, but it also indicates that dogs getting caught in traps is not uncommon.

Also, owners with dogs near wildlife areas should remember that nature poses hazards as well. This time of year there are many dogs falling through ice on lakes and ponds. Throughout the year I see stories regarding attacks by large predators looking for food (or sometimes protecting domain). Wolves and coyotes can pose threats to dogs of many sizes, and birds of prey can take smaller dogs.

There have been an increasing number of outbreaks of Parvo and Distemper across the country over the past year. Many people feel that the downturn in the economy has a role in fewer people being diligent about their pet's health. As the story below from GA outlines, many of these deadly diseases are easily preventable with routine check ups and annual vaccinations as recommended by your Veterinarian.

Unfortunately, failure to include vaccinations and health care as part of pet ownership places your dog (and other dogs) at risk. In many cases, shelters and rescues have had to put down dozens (or more) of dogs and close their facilities for extended periods while dealing with these infections.

If you have any questions about recommended vaccinations for your pet, call or visit you Veterinarian.

It's become common practice to use treats in training dogs over the past few decades, and IMO, that trend has led to some problems with our human-canine relationships. Personally, I have never used treats in training any of my dogs or those of my clients. While my dogs aren't always perfect, they have always been clear on their role in our home. We have never had any serious behavioral problems, disinterest in "listening", disobedience around distractions, fighting, biting, or unhappy dogs. The point of this post is not to condemn using treats, but to offer some thoughts for consideration outside this popular training box.

To start, using treats involves a negotiation - do 'request A" and get "treat B". While food can certainly be a motivator for many dogs, any dog working for food IS NOT working for the owner. Over time, this gumball machine approach can lead to a loss of respect in the eyes of a dog. When respect diminishes or is lacking, a host of behavioral and reliability problems often arise.

And what about those dogs not motivated by food or treats? Do you go down the "use better treats" or "don't feed your dog for 12 hours before training" path? Well, if better treats or a hungrier dog helps, how do you things will go when it's time to train around distractions or time to wean away from treats? Not well! I've received calls for behavioral assistance that other trainers declined because the dog wasn't "food motivated". These dogs learned just fine without food. And using food for addressing problem behaviors, in my experience, simply teaches clever dogs that misbehaving gets the treats out.

Last year I watched a lecture series by John Rogerson that discussed how using treats to deal with fear issues in dogs probably makes the problems worse. The argument being, classical conditioning should start by pairing a neutral stimulus with one that elicits a previously conditioned response - bell rings (neutral no natural response) with food (salivation conditioned response). When food is the only tool in the box, some trainers begin mixing a non-neutral stimulus (one that causes fear / anxiety) with food. This can actually reinforce a dog's fears because they begin associating food with the presence of something they fear.

Perhaps one of the reasons for the popularity of treat training is that it is viewed as "harmless". This belief has evolved treat training as a default standard for the do-it-yourself camp, books, internet, and (unfortunately) many trainers with limited exposure to diverse methodologies. I would argue that treat training is not always "harmless'. As noted through the examples above, it can set you up for a poor relationship with your dog, provide little reliability and safety around distractions, leave non-food driven dogs out in the dark, make many behavioral issues worse, and carries nutritional and obesity considerations as well.

My purpose is not to condemn treats altogether. I always mention to my clients that for many dogs, they CAN serve a useful purpose in early teaching and helping dogs understand positions (sit, down, etc.). I do not believe treats are necessary, however, and they DO NOT TEACH dogs that those 'positions' are non-negotiable COMMANDS. When do I give my dog's treats? When I feel like giving them a treat - not as part of training.

My work with dogs is always based on setting up a healthy and respectful relationship between dog and owner. While I use a variety of methods and tools to reach that goal, for the reasons discussed, treats are not in my teaching "toolbox". I believe focusing on a strong relationship, where a dog works for their owner rather than food, will always provide the best best long term results.

As has been a tradition, it's time for my annual post detailing some of my business statistics for 2011.

I would like to thank those who have had had me into their homes to work with their dogs over the past year, as well as those who have sent friends, family and neighbors to my service. I am looking forward to this new year, and continuing to provide professional in-home services to Central Ohio dogs and their families.

2011 STATISTICS
Dogs Receiving Service: 436
Clients Receiving Service: 333
Service Miles Traveled: over 6,000
Busiest Month: March
Quietest Month: February

Most unique breed seen: Vlcak (read more)