Puppies playing with adult dogs

(Versão portuguesa abaixo)

It is very important that, during their growth, puppies get used to dealing both with people and with dogs other than their mother. That’s the way they learn their species’ behavioural codes, that they learn to relate and communicate with other dogs. If they are denied these experiences, when they are older they may experience difficulties in dealing with other dogs they meet along their lives. This may eventually lead to aggression due to communication problems.

You can read here an article I wrote for the “Cães e Companhia” magazine about the behavioural development of dogs from birth to adulthood. Unfortunately for some of you, I only have a Portuguese version of it. I hope to translate it in the near future.

Open publication - Free publishing - More cachorro

At home, our puppies are first introduced to other dogs of their breed/morphological type. At first they only interact with the adults on a one-on-one basis. Afterwards, as I assess the behaviour of the puppies and the adults, they can play with an increasingly larger number of dogs. In this video, 7 week-old puppies play with most of our adult Dachshunds and Drevers. Of course, this only happened after several weeks spent introducing the puppies to the adults.



After the puppies are comfortable with dogs of their type and size, I begin to introduce them to dogs of different size and behaviour.
On this video, the puppies are getting to know some of our Barbados da Terceira (Terceira Cattle Dogs).
One of the advantages of having dogs of different breeds, with distinct physical and behavioural traits, is that our puppies learn from a young age to interact with different types of dogs, learning the differences in behaviour and communication associated to different morphologies and functions.



IMPORTANT: I do not recommend anyone to place many adult dogs and puppies together. Only consider doing it if you have in-depth knowledge of each dog’s behaviour, both with puppies and with other dogs, and have excellent knowledge of canine behaviour and body language (so you can detect any potential problem before it escalates). Naturally, even so you should only do it if you can properly supervise the dogs. Playing can easily lead to an increase of arousal, so the dogs may unwillingly harm a puppy. Even the puppies’ natural awkward behaviour, different from that of the adults, may trigger predatory behaviour which, along with pack behaviour due to having several dogs together, may lead to serious injury to a puppy if there is not strict supervision by an experienced person!

What about you, what do you do to make sure your dogs goes along with everyone he meets on the street?

New update on Kikko

(Versão portuguesa abaixo)

I haven’t been here for a long time, as I’ve been incredibly busy at my jobs. However, I’ve had people ask me how Kikko was doing, so I guess it’s really time for an update...

 You know that saying “you only appreciate what you no longer have”? Well, in this case the general idea applies, but in reverse.
Over the last couple of months I haven’t had much time to work the dogs as I’d like to so I haven’t even been able to work well on the desensitization to the car noise. However, the question about how things were going got me thinking, specially about the last couple of weeks. And I realized that more and more often, when I arrive home, I think Kikko has “died” ;) – I am able to park and get home without having a choir of out-of-control barking. I also realized that during this time, he has been a lot more controlled on the leash, when I take him to the yard. Instead of continuing trying to “lift off”, when the leash pulls on the collar, he has been able to control himself and not pull – which my arm really appreciated! And when it is time to get home, he no longer starts to eat grass as if he was in a cow herd and there was no tomorrow!
So, overall, I see Kikko’s having a lot more self-control than before!
(Ok, granted, this weekend we’ve been having some set-backs, but my mom’s over for theEaster, so I’m hoping these are due to kikko’s excitement with her here, instead of one of those “2 steps forwards, 1 step back” situations.)
A little over one week ago, his barking went to an apparently totally out of control phase, it was really hard to get him to shut up (usually I just need to tell him to). However, since them there have been days he doesn’t even bark. So I think (or should I say I hope?) we are starting to head towards extinction of the barking due to anxiety…

A large Dachshund male on the left, a small Drever female on the right

Having breed a Dachshund litter and a Drever litter (breeds with the same overall type and similar function) with a 15-days age difference, it was possible to do some interesting comparisons. I know it is a small sample, but then again there are no Drevers in this side of Europe for a better comparison… but it seems to me that, overall, as puppies Drevers tend to be a much more immature than Dachshunds, taking longer to develop certain habits. They have a big difficulty in exerting self-control, they take a long time to house-break… but on the other hand they are also a lot “softer” than dachshunds, with less problems among them and eternal sweethearts! :)

In my Drever females, I’ve noticed that after their first heat they tend to change a lot, behaviorally – they become more extrovert, less shy, more “lady-like”. Kikko’s last sister is in heat right not, so this may be a sign that he is also starting to mature himself. Finally! ;)

(You have no idea what I'm talking about? No problem, just read the first part of the series,the second part of the series and the third part of the series)

Alguns dos meus cães // Some of my dogs

Este é um slideshow de alguns dos meus cães feito por uma amiga há algum tempo. É uma boa altura para o recordar! :)

This is a slideshow of some of my dogs made by a friend sometime ago. It's a nice time to remember it! :)

Pawprints in the heart

(versão portuguesa abaixo)

Like people, some dogs come and go, and some leave permanent footprints in our hearts. Through the several dogs I've had, worked with or lived with, I am fortunate enough to have had 3 I can call "dogs of a lifetime" - dogs that, due to particular circunstances, I've created a very special bond with, and vice-versa... As someone said - it gets easier , it doesn't get better!...

(And for those who think that breeders only like dogs that do well in shows or breeding... Top was a stray we picked up from the street, Nikko came from a backyard breeder, had no papers, incorrect coat, a temperament that left much to be desired and was never bred from and Leão wasn't even mine! Breeders are people too!)

Top

Top was my first dog. As I used to say, he was a “90% Smooth Haired Dachshund” – too much like a Doxie to be a mutt or a cross-bred, too bad to be a pure-bred! ;)

He was found on the streets on December 27, 1985. No one claimed him back, despite our efforts to find his owners, so we ended up keeping him. He came into my life at a very complicated phase for my family and was my companion during the most important phase of my growth. And he influenced decisively my personal and professional life. It was thanks to him that I acquired my passion for dogs, that I chose my work (well, after I decided I did not have the guts to be a vet), that I chose “my” breed – the Dachshund is and always will be my first and last breed.

He was probably one of the most famous dogs in Oeiras, the town I grew up in, at a time when dogs could still walk free on the streets. Actually, at the time I was known as “teacher Margarida’s daughter”, “Paula’s sister” or… “Top’s owner” :)

And even if he died so long ago, the void he left in my heart is still unfilled…

Nikko

If Top was my company in what I consider the most important phase of my growth, Nikko was mine as I entered adulthood. He went with me through 4 different homes, shared the best and worst moments of my life, taught me the joy of training dogs and the differences in motivation caused by different methods, When he wanted, he sure knew how to be a brat, and would grumble when he did not want something (specially after he was run over by a car and broke his hip), but he soon learned to comfort me when I was down – it was difficult to be sad with him fooling around! Until the end he was an eternal puppy, and nothing would make him happier than playing with balls, of all possible sizes.

You left too soon Nikko…

Leão

I only knew Leão as an adult, or rather, as he was leaving his adolescence, at 1.5 years., when he was taken back by his breeder. We clicked since day one! He came highly suspicious of people and afraid of men, and for about one year I was virtually the only person with whom he was able to relax. Which helped in us creating a very special relation, he was the type of dog who knew what I wanted and felt, and reacted accordingly, without me saying anything. He taught me a lot about the relationship between people and dogs and about inter-dog behavior. He was the dog that we took to schools and TV in divulgation activities, who we’d let loose among children, and the same dog was a formidable farm guard. He was the dog that could be with several other dogs, males and females, adults and juveniles, without any problems, capable of disciplining youngsters without aggression – if you didn’t know what to look for, you’d only see dogs playing, if you knew what you were seeing, you could see all the discipline signs in the necessary degree and nothing further.

But above all, and despite having a different owner, we both knew he was “my” dog…

Separation problems - update

(Portuguese version below)

I haven’t updated the blog in a very long time, partially due to an excess of professional work. So, let’s update the situation regarding the separation problems I’ve been dealing with…

Most of Kikko’s problems became quite manageable with time, as he settled into his new life. Most of his anxious bark ended, he now typically only barks with the normal situations – like seeing strange people or tractors passing in front of the house. He is not pulling a lot on the leash, even without the halter, although he will still do it when he’s excited. In his crate, although not totally relaxed during the day, he will stay quiet in the normal situations – like when he is locked up to sleep at night. The main problem remaining is his anxious (and noisy!) bark when he feels me arriving home after I left for a few hours.

About a couple of months ago, I started to realize (and my neighbor confirmed it) that the dogs would start barking and howling when I left home to go to town (something that doesn’t happen every day, one of the perks of working from home most of the time). Personally, it is something I don’t particularly consider a problem (after all, several dogs together tend to bark easily), but to avoid potential hassles with the neighbors, I’d have to do something about it. But, having several dogs, to assess what I should do, I first needed to know who was the noise-starter – howling is a social act, where several dogs join in after one starts, so it is important to know who starts it to know whom and how I have to manage… But the fact that they only make noise when I leave and there is no one at home (if there’s someone there they don’t make any noise) makes it hard to evaluate the situation. The only option – filming the dogs! I don’t have a video camera, but my photo camera allows me to record small videos. Unfortunately, they are limited to a 10 minutes length, but from my feeling and my neighbor’s comments, the dogs would start the noise almost after I left and only do it for a couple of minutes, so that length should be more than enough. So, first I aimed the camera to the most likely suspect – Kikko, who was still adjusting, was the most anxious dog and the least used to being in the crate (all my house dogs are used to being crated when I have to go somewhere for relatively short periods). Well, imagine my surprise when I come back home and saw the video – 10 minutes in which the dog, although not totally relaxed, is quiet and even lies down to sleep near the end of the video! Hmmm… ok, we have another unanticipated (but not totally unexpected) guilty dog… So next time I aim the camera at suspect #2 – Pinhão. Although Pinhão is used to being crated (actually, he often prefers to go sleep and relax in his crate than being with the other dogs), his anxiety level has increased since Kikko came back – probably a conjugation of Kikko’s anxiety with my excess of attention towards him and unintentional lack of attention towards the other dogs, thereby breaking Pinhão’s routines, which are essential for him to have some stability and relax (Pinhão is a very anxious dog, although he has made a huge progress since I have him). So, I started filming Pinhão and voilá, the “guilty” one was found. It was indeed Pinhão who started the whining and howling. Trough several days of filming, I realized I had actually been very “lucky” when I first filmed Kikko, as actually both Pinhão and Kikko would start the whining and howling. And once they started to howl, the rest of the dogs would follow – I realized Drevers love to howl, and Dachshunds are not that far behind, although they are easier to shut up! ;) Interestingly, normally the Barbados da Terceira would not join in the howling.

So…now I knew who was starting the noise when I leave… Now, how to deal with it? First, I thought of getting Kongs for everyone, not just Kikko as up to then. However, this did not work with Pinhão, his problem was not boredom, and he is not especially motivated by food (not even chew bones).

Idea number 2 was to put Pinhão’s and Kikko’s cratesside by side. They have become best friends, so I thought maybe the problem was being anxious for not being together (despite the fact that at night there was no problem). That also did not help, the noise continued…

Letting them out in the yard to do their business before I left also did not help…

So, then I thought of something that, although would not solve the core problem, could make the situation more manageable… My oldest Drever Lupi is the dog that will more easily start howling – when she hears other dogs whining, when she hears sirens on the street, when she hears different and prolonged noises… She usually sleeps in the crate with the house dogs, but when I leave during the day I leave her in the garage with the other dogs. When Pinhão and/or Kikko start whining when I leave, she is the first to start howling. So, if I could stop her from starting to howl, hopefully I would not have the usual “symphony”. So, before I left, I started bringing Lupi home and to her crate, with the rest of the house dogs. Good result! Pinhão and Kikko will still make noise, but as Lupi is with them, she does not begin to howl, so the rest of the dogs also do not howl. Ok, so I don’t have the ultimate cause solved, but the neighbor’s problem is controlled while I look for a better solution!

At the same time, I also began to change my exit routines. Normally I follow a predictable sequence – I lock up the dogs that are out on the yard and close the garage door, I let the house dogs out while I change clothes, I put the laptop in the backpack, I crate the house dogs, I get the keys and I leave. I am now changing that order, for example, change my clothes and go do other stuff, let the dogs out (or not) and continue my usual life without crating them, etc., to try to break the fixed pattern of leaving. In the mean time, a few days ago I had to go without my car for a few days while it was being worked on at the shop. And that allowed me to identify one situation I had not realized before – when I followed my normal routines to leave the house, but by bus instead of by car, the dogs would not make any noise! And when I came back home by bus, Kikko would not bark so quickly and so loud, only when I was about to enter the house. Which means, apparently the main trigger for the dogs’ noise was not me leaving per si, but the noise of the car. Great! So I have finally (I hope!) identified the trigger for Pinhão’s and Kikko’s anxiety when I leave. And if it is indeed the car, I think it will be relatively easy to desensitize them – it should be enough to turn the car on and off at different, without necessarily me leaving, leave and come straight back, etc.

Now, hopefully it is a matter of time to see if the problem really gets controlled this way or not…

(If you have just arrived to this post and have no idea what I'm talking about ;), please read the first part of the series and the second part of the series)

Atlas of the Dachshund Brain ;)

Encontrei isto no site Dachshund and Dog Art by Terry Pond, e é tão verdadeiro no que diz respeito aos Teckels! :)

I found this at Dachshund and Dog Art by Terry Pond’s Website, and it is so true for Dachshunds! :)

(O desenho está disponível para compra no site / The image is available for purchase at the website)