Due to the generosity of IAABC President Michael Shikashio, The Modern Dog Trainer was able to send a writer to the Animal Behavior Conference in Chicago, IL.
On April 18th and 19th, the IAABC (International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants) held a conference on animal behavior at The Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago. It was two full information-packed days. Fortunately, I had taken my laptop because 14 pages of single-spaced, typed notes later, I was floating on an education high!
Steve Dale – Being Real About The Human/Animal Bond
Steve started the weekend with a bang, throwing out some sobering statistics about the state of pets in our world today. Obesity issues, behavior issues, health issues, end of life issues. However, as he pointed out, many of these issues are because we love our pets so very much. Loving them to death, you could say. He did offer some other reasons we are seeing so many more behavioral issues in our beloved pets:
- we pay more attention to our animals, so we are bound to notice more issues
- “latch key” pets, home alone for much of the day
- genetic predisposition
- aversive training techniques
- lack of training/socialization
- not listening to real experts, only Google “experts”
- treating pets like people
So, as a modern dog trainer, what can you do to help combat this?
- community involvement
- education of clients/public
- social and traditional media
- introduce yourself to public officials
- good marketing – senior discounts, kitten classes, work with a shelter
- emphasize the importance of end of life care
Dr. John Ciribassi, DVM, DACVB – Fear Based Aggression
As a Certified Veterinary Behaviorist, Dr. Ciribassi said the issue he sees the most is fear based aggression. He discussed how so often it is made worse by well-intentioned owners trying to punish the behavior out of their dogs to maintain pack leadership. Doing this simply creates what he calls conflict aggression. The dog is throwing submissive body language – he is not at all confident. But he has learned that humans are unpredictable and that aggression gets him out of the situation. Dr. Ciribassi said that conflict/fear-based aggression generally shows up either at sexual maturity (6-8 months) or, more likely, social maturity (1-2 years).
Dr. Ciribassi’s protocol for treating this is:
- counter conditioning
- remove exposure to inciting stimuli
- desensitization
- appropriate use of psychoactive pharmaceuticals
Dr. Ciribassi said he does not advise taking dogs off pharmaceuticals if they are working. Work with a vet to taper them to the lowest effective dose, but trying to wean a dog off is similar to trying to wean a diabetic off insulin. It’s a disease that isn’t cured, a medical abnormality. He did say that it’s a lifelong process, that we never “cure” these problems; we just help people manage the problems so the dogs can stay in the home.
Dr. John Ciribassi – Possessive Aggression/Resource Guarding
“Dominance – assertion of one member of a group over another in acquiring access to a piece of food, a mate, a place to display, a sleeping site, or any other requisite that adds to the genetic fitness of the dominant individual…” E.O. Wilson
When Dr. Ciribassi talks about resource guarding, he has two different tests for it. The first, the equal opportunity test, involves putting a valued resource equidistant between two dogs and releasing them at the same time. The dog that gets the resource is more dominant when it comes to equal opportunity. However, the next test, the established possession test, is more telling. In this test, one dog is given a valued resource and allowed to enjoy it and establish possession. The other dog is then released. Whichever dog ends up with the resource is more dominant when establishing possession. The established possession test is the one Dr. Ciribassi was talking about during this session.
He pointed out that resource guarding has nothing to do with hierarchy between a dog and a person. It is all about resource holding potential. If it were based on dogs being dominant over people, it would imply that dogs would be able to come over and get us to leave something we have that they want. It is simply not about hierarchy. It is about value, possession, and the need to maintain control over a resource.
When it comes to resource guarding, punishing the dog or taking away the item is the worst thing to do. It increases the likelihood of the dog increasing their guarding or moving on to guarding benign objects. Dr. Ciribassi emphasized that hand feeding is not recommended because it keeps that conflict present with the dog.
Dr. John Ciribassi – Separation Anxiety
Dr. Ciribassi started by saying that people cannot cause separation anxiety. It’s a genetic abnormality. What people can do, however, is exacerbate the issue. He said that before beginning treatment/b-mod, it is essential to not only get an extensive behavioral history, but also a physical exam and lab work to rule out any medical issues. This is especially critical when the issue suddenly rears its ugly head in a dog that is full-grown.
Dr. Ciribassi said that the overall goal of treatment is to reduce dependence on owners and reduce significance of departure and arrival routines. This is managed through an extensive treatment plan that would require its own blog. He does pair the behavior modification with anti-anxiety medication.
Dr. Ciribassi listed several factors that can affect the outcome of treatment:
- the older the dog at time of diagnosis, the poorer the prognosis
- a dog with multiple diagnoses (noise anxiety, conflict aggression, etc) will have a poorer prognosis
- can the owners follow through with the extensive modification to their lives?
- can the owners follow through with medication compliance with their dogs?
- basic living situation of the owners
Laura Monaco Torelli – From Exotic To Domestic Animals
Laura spent some time telling us of the lessons she learned from working with exotic animals that have helped her become a more effective dog trainer, especially on the human side of things. Here are some of her tips:
- When working with your clients, it is important to remember “WOOF.”
W – What you want
O – One thing at a time
O – Observable and definable
F – Five words or less
- Be an empathetic teacher to both animal and owner
- Give discrete criteria that is easily followed, less than 5 words:
- “leash thumb in pocket” or “leash hand along seam”
- Have owners practice the skills before the dog gets involved
- We shape human behavior – avoid flooding your clients!
- Teach proactive husbandry care
- Slow steps = progress
- Learning is dynamic
Finally, Laura shared with us what she teaches first to clients – TACOS!
T – Targeting
A – Attention to handler
C – Cue a behavior
O – Offer a behavior
S – Stationing or settle on mat
Dr. Ciribassi, Steve Dale, Ruth Crisler, Michael Shikashio – What Is A Veterinary Behaviorist, A Behavior Consultant, A Trainer?
This was a panel discussion to round out the day. Many ideas were bounced around and much emphasis was made on the point that trainers, behavior consultants, vets and veterinary behaviorists all have to work together as a team to aid clients. Here are a few basic points that were thrown out for discussion:
- Trainers prevent problems behaviors
- Behavior consultants solve problem behaviors
- As trainers and behavior consultants, we never make diagnoses – we refer to vets
- There are only about 65 true Veterinary Behaviorists in the United States.
That was all just on day one!!! Click here for notes from day two!
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