Difference between revisions of "Troubleshooting"

Revision as of 11:08, 28 January 2012

I want to preface this section with two caveats:

1. Dogs are not perfect. Nobody's dogs are perfect. When I first started getting seriously into training, I thought that professional trainers' dogs must surely be impeccably behaved near-robots who never barked at strangers, always executed their cues with total precision on the first request, and probably didn't even shed. Yeah, no. Turns out they bark and blow off commands and leave hairballs everywhere, just like my mutts. Dogs are dogs. Expect them to act like it.
2. Most troubleshooting in foster care is about management. The dogs that come through WAGS generally do not have serious behavioral issues. Most of what you'll be dealing with is relatively simple stuff: chewing, counter surfing, nuisance barking, and so forth. These issues are best dealt with by not giving the dog a chance to practice bad behaviors, i.e., by managing his environment to keep him out of trouble. That's really all you have to do; nuisance behaviors tend to die out on their own if the dog doesn't have the chance to practice and get reinforced for them.

In the unlikely event that you end up with a dog whose issues go deeper than the basic problems discussed here, please consult with your foster coordinator. Severe fearfulness, aggression, or separation anxiety may warrant professional intervention and are certainly beyond the scope of what the average foster caregiver should be asked to handle. Under no circumstances should you have to keep a dog whose behavior puts you, your household, or the dog herself in danger.

With that in mind, here's a quick guide to troubleshooting some of the most common problems you may encounter.

Barking

If barking is a potential source of trouble for you -- for example, if you live in apartment or condo with noise-sensitive neighbors who are home all day -- the first step is to ask for a foster dog who is likely to be on the quiet side. Beagles, hounds, terriers and toy dogs tend to be quite vocal. Senior dogs and young dogs (a year or less) tend to be quieter.

The next step is management. Use curtains or blinds to cover windows that look out onto busy streets or squirrel-filled yards where your foster dog might be tempted to camp out and bark at all the goings-on. Don't leave your dog outside in the yard where he might be tempted to bark to relieve his boredom. If your foster pup barks at you for attention or food, ignore his demands and reward him only when he sits quietly (remember: [[Nothing_In_Life_Is_Free| nothing in life is free!). If your foster pup gets over-excited while playing and erupts into spasms of barking, give him a minute or two in time-out to teach him that excessive noise makes the fun stop (but also be aware that this type of barking is difficult to quench, especially in the limited time you'll have as a foster parent).

Training a positive interrupt ("Quiet!" or "Thank you" used to cue the dog to stop alarm barking) is very similar to the Foundations#Attention.2C_Please.21! "Attention, Please!" exercise, and can be useful for dogs who like to sound the alarm a little too enthusiastically. Give the cue -- I use "Quiet!" -- and click/treat your foster dog for turning and looking at you. Do this until he seems to get the idea, then practice by interrupting him in not-very-interesting activities (chewing on an old familiar bone, wandering around idly, etc.). Gradually increase distractions and move the exercise outdoors. When that seems to be working, try it when he breaks into barking. Only click/reward when he is looking at you and being quiet. I don't train this cue routinely, because most of my adolescent foster dogs haven't reached the stage of maturity where they're regularly sounding the alarm yet, but it's a handy thing to teach if your dog seems to need it.

Destructiveness

Dogs, especially young dogs, like to chew things. Hopefully you have provided a wide selection and ample supply of chew toys for your foster pup to choose from, so that she won't be tempted to gnaw on your table legs instead. Manage her environment to remove temptations: if you leave your favorite shoes lying around in easy reach, and the foster pup destroys them, that's your fault, not hers.

If you're having problems with digging, the fix is even simpler: don't leave your foster dog alone in your yard. Some breeds, particularly terriers, dachshunds, and other "earth dogs," have been selectively bred for hundreds of years to pursue small prey underground. You can't expect these dogs not to dig; the instinct is in their blood. If the foster pup were your dog, and you had the space to spare, it might even be worthwhile to build a dedicated doggy sandbox in your yard. But since this dog is likely to be a temporary tenant in your life, unless you plan to dedicate yourself to similar breeds in the future, it's probably best just to manage the problem by limiting the dog's access to your yard and garden.

When you leave the home or are otherwise unable to supervise your foster pup, crate her. Put a stuffed Kong and a favorite chew toy in there to keep her occupied, and don't leave her crated more than a few hours per day, but use the crate.

Make sure your foster dog is getting plenty of exercise, both physical and mental. A dog who has acceptable outlets for her energy is less likely to burn it off by destroying your things. Puppies play constantly; healthy adolescents and young adults of most breeds need a minimum of 60 to 90 minutes of vigorous exercise per day. Mature adults still need 30 to 60 minutes. Walking on leash does not count as vigorous exercise for most dogs. Jogging, off-leash hiking, or romping at the dog park (assuming your foster pup is up to date on vaccinations and appropriate flea, tick, and worm preventatives, and is dog-social enough to enjoy the park safely) are better alternatives.

After the first week or so, walk in new neighborhoods: seeing new sights and smelling new smells is more interesting, and thus more mentally tiring, than the same-old same-old of your own block. Training is great stimulation; practicing Obedience 101 and schooling your foster dog in a few tricks are valuable exercises not only for their own sake, but in keeping your dog entertained and mentally limber.

If your foster dog only destroys things when you aren't around, and especially if her damage is focused on doorways, windowsills, and other thresholds, it is possible that what you're dealing with is not destructive boredom, but separation anxiety.

House Soiling

If you're following the protocol laid out in the Housebreaking section -- taking your foster dog out frequently, supervising her closely, and confining her to her crate for reasonable periods of time when you can't supervise -- but you're still having trouble with potty messes in the house, there may be something else going on.

Or not: puppies under about three or four months are notoriously messy, and adult dogs may still go through rough patches when they transition to a new place. Seniors are sometimes incontinent. Stress and abrupt dietary changes can cause diarrhea in dogs. But if it's been a week or more and your foster dog really should be able to handle himself, consider whether you might be facing one of the following issues.

Is there a medical problem? Incontinence frequently signals that there's something medically amiss. One of my foster dogs, who seemed previously to be progressing nicely in her potty training, suddenly started going diarrhea not only in the house, but in her crate. It turned out she had giardia. After she started on medication, the problem vanished. Another foster dog who had impeccable potty manners came down with diarrhea after snarfing some garbage while out on a walk. A 24-hour fast cured his ills. If your foster dog starts having accidents, and especially if those accidents involve diarrhea, try a 24-hour fast to rest his digestive system, and switch to a bland diet of rice, boiled chicken, and maybe a little canned pumpkin for a few days afterward. If that doesn't do the trick, a visit to the vet may be in order.

(Note: If your foster dog is a puppy under three months of age, diarrhea may indicate something much more serious than indigestion. Sadly, many dogs are not vaccinated against parvo or distemper in the regions that WAGS pulls from. While your foster puppy will have been fully vaccinated and subjected to a 10- to 14-day quarantine before being transported north, there is still a small chance that she might have been exposed to one of these pathogens en route or after arrival. If your foster puppy appears to be in major distress within a few days of arrival, please contact your foster coordinator immediately.)

Is it submissive urination? Are the accidents limited to small amounts of urine? Are they accompanied by appeasement gestures (rolling over onto the belly, averted gaze, cowering, etc.)? Do they generally occur when you reach for her quickly, approach the dog by looming or reaching over her head, and/or seem to be angry? If so, you may be dealing with submissive urination rather than an actual potty training mistake. Do not correct the dog for submissive urination. You'll just frighten her and make the problem worse.

Submissive urination is very common among shy dogs and puppies. Fortunately, it often resolves on its own as the dog becomes more comfortable in her new surroundings. Dealing with it is a combination of management (keep the dog on easily-cleaned surfaces, try to avoid triggers like looming over her or speaking to her in a loud voice) and building up her confidence with reassurance, gentle petting, and positive training exercises. You may also find it helpful to put the dog in canine diapers as a temporary measure.

Is it urine marking? If your foster dog is an intact adult male, or a male who was neutered late in life, and he's primarily spraying urine on raised objects or vertical surfaces, your problem may be urine marking. This is not the same behavior as house soiling -- it's driven by stress, anxiety, and/or a desire to anoint himself Top Dog and all sprayed areas as his personal fiefdom -- but you correct it in a similar fashion. Interrupt him and take him outside when you catch him in the act, supervise him closely indoors, restrict his freedom when you can't watch him, and be super vigilant about cleaning up messes with an odor neutralizer, since scenting another dog's urine (or his own) often motivates an extra squirt of urine in response. Canine diapers may help here, too.

Jumping and Mouthing

Separation Anxiety