How I taught my dog to be a dog, my adventure as a doggy occupational therapist

Buddy- our schnoodle, shortly after adoption

About a year ago, my kids talked me into getting them a dog.  I had told them we couldn't have a dog until the youngest was potty trained, so the day after she started wearing panties, I was informed it was time for a dog.  I made a long list of requirements for said dog- he or she needed to be about a year old and already house broken, about 15-30 pounds- too big for a hawk to carry off but small enough I could pick it up easily, a breed that didn't shed much, and good with children.  I knew it was a very long wish list, but I also knew that many many great dogs end up in rescues each year, and since I had a great friend, Vicky,  who was actively doing rescue, I figured it would work out eventually.

After only 2 months of looking and thinking, we found Buddy.  Buddy's rescue owner said he was well behaved, house broken, about a year old, 24 pounds, good with kids and didn't shed.  PERFECT!  So, as quickly as possible, Buddy became a member of our family.  For the first 2 weeks, he was the perfect dog- he acted house broken, cuddled the kids, touched nothing that wasn't his, and slept in the floor at the foot of my bed.   After those 2 weeks though- Buddy started having accidents in the house, chewing up the kids' toys, and acting insane about being left alone.  Vicky said she would take him back if I couldn't handle him, but I just didn't want my kids telling their therapist some day about how "Mom got us a dog, but after 2 weeks she gave it away, that's why I do drugs."  

So, I started learning how to train a dog.  I read a few books and blogs, and realized that it was like parenting.  There are all kinds of experts with opinions, but you have to figure out what works for you.  So, my first big task was to figure out what was going on with the accidents in the house, because those made me the most crazy.  SO we looked for a pattern, it turned out that on rainy days, Buddy was finding papers on the floor under my daughter's desk and using those.  He must have been paper trained at some point.  The solution to that, was to actually walk him on rainy days, and teach my daughter to clean up under her desk.  I did yell "No" at the dog when I found his messes, and put him outside in what the kids called "doggy time out."  After a few weeks of walking him in the rain, I started just putting him in the back yard in the rain- I just explained to him he was going to have to learn to be a tough dog who could go take a dump in the rain.  And when he came in, I dried him with a towel.

We also realized he had a pattern of having accidents in the house after being left alone- not while left alone, he was always in a kennel or outside while I was gone, but after I returned, he would hide and poo or pee in the house.   I emailed Vicky to ask, what the heck, and learned that Buddy had had 3 owners in 4 months, and then been given to the rescue group when they were doing a adoption day at a local store.  So, counting the rescue and us, we knew he had had 5 homes in 6 months.  Well, that's enough to make anyone a little neurotic, isn't it?  I then realized, that if we had been gone for a day (I stay home with my kids, so there were many days we did not leave the house), Buddy didn't want to go outside and be away from us when we returned.  The solution for that was that if we were gone for a few hours, after we returned and settled in, someone had to actually take the dog for a walk, or go in the yard with him.  That relieved his anxiety of being alone, and reduced the accidents.

At the same time we were working on the house breaking thing, I was dealing  with the fact that all our Barbie dolls had become amputees- apparently their feet were just yummy.  So we bought him some raw hide treats that were long and thin like Barbie's legs.  He liked those.  I also saw that there was a pattern in how Buddy chewed up the kids' toys on days they didn't play with him- so I added "play with the dog" to our daily list of tasks to be sure got done.  Before having a dog, I thought that would come naturally, but it turns out, that had to be a learned behavior for us.

While playing with Buddy, I soon realized, he really didn't know how to play like a dog.  So I set out to teach him how to play fetch.  I kept a pocket full of small treats, and would throw a ball, when he brought it back, he got a treat.  After just a couple of days of working on it, he got pretty good at the game.  I also worked on the command "sit" a lot.  I realized that his high anxiety needed to be combated with some behavior therapy, so I taught him to sit for a treat.  And after he could do it well, I started extending how many seconds he had to sit to get the treat.  By forcing my anxious, jumpy dog to be still, even though it was just for 5-10 seconds, I was forcing his brain to settle down, and learn that I liked for him to be calm.   After a year, he still can't sit for more than about 30 seconds when waiting for a treat, but I think the practice of learning to be still and wait, has helped calm him in other situations, like when he is left alone.

One day, we took Buddy with us to a friend's house, and our friend tossed some treats for the dogs (his and ours) into the yard from his deck.  His dog, ran and found the treats.  My dog just looked confused.   I saw another opportunity to teach my dog how to be a dog.  So I started working with him on this skill.  I had to start slowly, tossing a treat just a few feet away.  Then I progressed to tossing it where he could easily see it, then a few more feet away.  Eventually he figured out how to watch for which area of the yard I was throwing the treat, and then used his nose to smell for where it was.  I am pretty sure before that, my dog really didn't know how to use his nose to find treats, we had tried various games we found in a dog training book, and poor Buddy just hadn't understood the game.

Another training activity that a friend explained to me, was the trick of teaching a dog who has run away from you, to come back.  She suggested I just keep a small treat with me, and whenever my dog ran out the front door, I give him a treat when he came back to me.  This may have been the best tip of all, as it helped me train my dog to actually come when called.

Because Buddy got so anxious and upset when left alone, I tried wrapping him in an ace wrap a few times- to give him the same effect as the "thunder shirts" they sell for dogs.  Looking at them, I realized it was a pressure vest, like I used to put on kids in schools.  Buddy didn't seem to like it though, so we gave up on that.

We have a kennel for Buddy in our dining room, and it seems that having his own special small space makes him feel safe and happy. It reminds me of how small chidden sometimes need a special spot, like a tent or cubby hole to hide in, away from everyone else.

 He is a much more balance and happy dog these days.  He still has an accident in the house on occasion, but they are much more rare.  He jumps up on people more than we would like, but even that is getting better with some patience and correction.  For jumping- we tell him no, I turn my back on him, and won't pet him unless his feet are on the ground- if he jumps on the kids too much, I put him in the yard for a short time out.  And then I let him come in and try acting the right way.  Jumping is now only a problem when we have left him alone for a while, and he is overly excited to see us again.

Before having a dog, I really had no clue how much "parenting" a dog takes.  I do feel like I have given my dog occupational therapy to teach him how to be a dog- or at least how to be a good pet.  Because that is his job- to be a great pet for our family.