Changing Your Dog

Dogs communicate mostly with body language. Ears, eyes, mouth, tale, body orientation, posture and fur position all communicate both singly and together what the internal state of affairs is for a dog. The gross indicators of a frightened dog are ears flat back, tail tucked, the body orientation appears to be moving the dog away from the whatever is frightening it and it's posture is somewhat curled heading toward a fetal position. Most adult humans understand these indicators in a dog, but most do not understand that a dog that is leaning forward, tail straight up almost quivering, ears pricked forward, eyes front and fixed and mouth closed is NOT a sign of friendly interest.

Change the body posture, change the emotional state.

Body language is nothing more than an external expression of an internal state.

I'm sure those of you who watch Cesar Milan -The Dog Whisperer know that of all the trainers on TV he is the nearly the only one who uses a hands-on approach to handling dog behavior problems. His entire intention when rehabilitating a dog is to "calm" the dog, what he calls "calm submission". Cesar uses various methods to "calm" a dog. He "corrects" a dog with a quick attention getting jerk on the lead and he "touches" a dog to re-direct it's attention. The dog then calms down and generally the dogs he is working with sit or lie down on their own as part of going from an excited state to a calm submissive state. Cesar doesn't ask for a sit or down, but these are two posture's that a dog uses when he is calm and relaxed.

You can achieve the same "calm submissive" state by changing body posture on a dog. You wouldn't of course use this on a very people aggressive dog or one that is known to redirect it's frustration on it's handler. But in most situations, it is possible to change the emotional state of a dog (or a human) by changing the body posture. Imagine how hard it would be to punch-out your obnoxious neighbor when you are sitting in your recliner eating popcorn and watching a great movie. In the same vein, by simply asking the dog to sit and using your hands to stroke ears, mouth, head and hackles back to a more relaxed position, you can create a calm relaxed dog. This is not petting, and you are not trying to reassure the dog. Petting or reassuring the dog when he is in an unbalanced state of mind tells him that you approve of his unbalanced state. Instead, concentrate on changing the body posture using firm strokes of your hands at the same time you insist the dog sit quietly - but do not talk.

It goes without saying here, that YOU have to be calm for this to work. If you are frantically trying to push the dog into a sitting position and pushing and prodding the dog wherever your hands manage to land on the dog's body and loudly saying "sit, sit, sit, sit", you are not going to be able to calm your dog. More subtle signs of anxiety or frustration from you can also affect the process. We tend to hold our breath and thus tense our muscles when nervous (facts that do not escape the dog). Be aware of your own breathing and body posture and particularly your own emotion.

When coaching at the Walking Clinic, I stress more then anything not to put tension on the leash. This encourages aggressive and protective behavior and can put you in competition with your dog. Tension and a tight leash are not the same. The leash can be taut between you and the dog, so long as you are not tense. Think of it like the tautness between your arm and a heavy briefcase, just the weight of it alone causes your arm to stretch out and if you had a string attached between your hand and the case, it would be tight but you would be relaxed.

On the other end of the spectrum, you can use the same technique to calm a frightened, shy or timid dog. Gently pull the tail out from between the dogs legs and stroke it to a flat straight out or even an upward curving position. At the same time, lift the dogs head from underneath and stroke it to keep it up high and proud.