Staff and Volunteer Training - Rescue Pit & Willow Center

Staff and Volunteer Training
      Rescue Pit & Willow Center

Animal Learning and Behavior

How Animals Learn
●   Consequences (Operant Conditioning)
     ○   Affects behavior
          ■ Dog sits → Dog gets treat → Dog sits more often
          ■ Dog jumps → You remove attention → Dog jumps less often
●   Associations (Classical Conditioning)
     ○   Affects emotion
          ■ Dog rides in car → Goes to dog park → Dog likes car rides
          ■ Dog rides in car → Goes to scary vet → Dog doesn't like car rides
●   Which to use?
     ○   Ask: Is the dog upset?
          ■ No - manipulate the consequences using operant conditioning
          ■ Yes - change the underlying emotion using classical conditioning

What Drives Behavior
●   Motivation
     ○   Gain access to the things they want
          ■ Food!
          ■ Toys
          ■ Comfortable resting spots
          ■ Outdoors
     ○   Avoid the things that hurt and scare them
          ■ Painful training techniques (prong, choke, shock collars, etc)
          ■ Loud noises (thunder/lightning, shouting, etc)
●   At Rescue Pit, we only focus on giving and taking away the things dogs
    want access to
     ○   We will never utilize the things that hurt and scare dogs

Behavior “Problems”
●   Not real problems for the dog
     ○   Barking, urinating on porous surfaces, digging, chewing, jumping on people to lick faces,
         and eating what they find
●   Doesn’t mean we have to like it or let it continue
●   What can they do instead that is acceptable to us?
     ○   Less “no” more “yes”

Fear and Aggression in Animals
●   Function
     ○   To protect the animal or its resources by increasing distance
●   Behavior Options
     ○   Fight
     ○   Flight
     ○   Freeze
●   Challenges in modification
     ○   Most cases are long and slow
     ○   Stressful for the family
     ○   Safety and potential legal issues
     ○   Social stigma

Fear and Aggression in Animals (cont.)
●   Fear Mechanisms
     ○   Genetics
     ○   Stress during pregnancy
     ○   Maternal behavior
     ○   Early environment (omission)
     ○   Bad experiences (commission)
●   Safety in addressing
     ○   Fearful or aggressive dogs should only be handled by survivor
     ○   Contact Rescue Pit or Dog Educated
●   Trust Account
     ○   Positive experiences = deposit
     ○   Negative experiences = withdrawal

Fear and Aggression in Animals (cont.)
●   In stressful situations, some animals shut down
     ○   Offering no behavior of any kind
●   After a few days in shelter, some new behaviors may come out
     ○   Be ready for behavior changes
     ○   Don’t assume behaviors will not change
●   Common Scenarios
     ○   Completely shut down → Pulling on leash
     ○   Completely shut down → Resource guarding or body handling sensitivity

Questions?

Enrichment

Mental Stimulation
●   Food Puzzles
●   Stuffed/Frozen Toys/Chews
●   Training
●   Music
●   Essential Oils
     ○   Lavender

Mental Stimulation (cont.)
●   In Kennel
     ○   Black Kong toys
     ○   Fleece toys/blankets
     ○   Frozen marrow bones
●   Out of Kennel
     ○   Anything they don’t ingest under supervision
●   Watch for:
     ○   Missing toys/chunks
     ○   Large pieces of fabric missing
●   Absolutely not:
     ○   Soft rubber or rope toys while unattended
     ○   Bed sheets in kennel (shred in strips)

Physical Exercise
●   Walks
●   Runs
●   Tug with Rules
●   Flirt Pole with Rules
●   Fetch

Contact Rescue Pit if you’re having trouble keeping up with a dog’s physical
needs. We may be able to lend some volunteer support.

Questions?

Working with Dogs
  Day to Day Information

Canine Body Language

Canine Body Language
Happy, Confident, Comfortable

●   Relaxed face
●   Ears up and forward
●   Eyes soft and open
●   Mouth open and relaxed

Canine Body Language
Distressed, Scared, Insecure

●   Lips drawn back to expose bared teeth
●   Ears are flat
●   Stares with hard eye
●   Corners of mouth pulled back
●   Whale eye - whites of eyes exposed

Distressed, Scared & Insecure

Distressed, Scared & Insecure

Distressed, Scared & Insecure

Distressed, Scared & Insecure

Body Language Video

Canine Body Language
Threat Signals

●   Cessation of consumption (freeze)
●   Accelerated consumption
●   Hard eye
●   Growl
●   Snarl
●   Snap
●   Bite

Prosocial Behavior
●   With People
     ○   Jumping with a loose body
     ○   Tail wagging
     ○   Happy face
●   With Dogs
     ○   Play bows
     ○   Loose body
     ○   Happy face

Management
First Encounters

●   Approach calmly
●   Offer or toss treats
●   Stand straight, avoid reaching
    or leaning
●   Avoid prolonged eye contact
●   Move at the dog’s pace

Watch and Discuss

Management
Avoiding Dog/Dog Altercations

●   Ideally, only one dog out at a
    time
●   Do not allow bottlenecking
    through doorways
●   Avoid on-leash greetings

If dog/dog introductions are
appropriate, they should be done
off leash in the fenced in area
outside.

Management
Fight Protocol

●   All bets are off in a dog fight
●   First try noise: yell
●   If noise doesn’t work, pull dogs off by the rear (at groin, above knee joint) -
    think “handstand” and secure leashes once cooled off
●   If you can’t pull apart, use citronella spray
●   If you are by yourself:
     ○   Try noise, then citronella
     ○   If these fail, pull off more intense fighter or dog you are less likely to be able to control
         with your voice

Management
Survivor-only Dogs: Dogs that are deemed to be too fearful or aggressive for a
volunteer to interact safely.

●   Participate from a distance
●   Coach survivor through a particular process, if necessary
●   Contact Rescue Pit or Dog Educated

Management
Toys

●   Resource Guarding
       ○   RG is a very normal behavior in dogs
       ○   Leave dog alone when eating
       ○   Never abruptly grab a resource (food, toy, etc.) from a
           dog.
       ○   If a resource needs to be removed, “trade up.” Try to get
           the dog to focus on something new (like a treat) and toss
           it away from the resource so you can safely reclaim the
           resource.

Management - Equipment
YES!                            NO!

●      Martingale collars       ●     Prong collar
●      Flat buckle collars      ●     Choke chain
●      Harnesses - Most Ideal   ●     Shock collar
                                ●     Any collar or technique that
                                      uses pain or force to manage
                                      the dog

Handling & Management
Reinforcing wanted behaviors and managing unwanted behaviors.
Yes!                            No!

●      Treats                   ●     Scolding
●      Happy talk               ●     Hitting
●      Toys                     ●     Kicking
●      Distractions             ●     Spray bottles
●      Distance                 ●     Shake cans
●      Isolation (if desired)   ●     Any method that uses force, fear, pain or
                                      intimidation to train, manage or handle the
                                      dog

Kids and Dogs

Kids and Dogs
●   Respect
     ○   Their body - pet gently, don’t hug or squeeze
     ○   Their feelings - pay attention to body language, be kind
     ○   Their space - invite, don’t invade
     ○   Their stuff - train using treats and toys, don’t take things away
●   http://stopthe77.com

Kennel Exit Protocol
Carefully follow the Kennel Exit Protocol.

Intake
Information to collect:

●   Pet Intake Form
●   Complete upon arrival, or as soon as possible
●   Take notes on:
     ○   Body language in new environment/around new people
     ○   Was the survivor present?

Resources
●   ASPCA SAFER Evaluation
●   I Speak Dog
●   Stop the 77
●   Your Pitbull and You

Questions?

Hands-On Demos
      Liza

Body Handling

First Interactions
●   Body Posture
     ○   Calm demeanor
     ○   Stand to the side
     ○   Do no reach for dog
●   Tone of Voice
     ○   Light and happy
●   High-value Treats
     ○   Freeze-dried beef liver or similar
●   Treat and Retreat
     ○   Demo

Passive Hand
●   Used to make dogs feel comfortable with hands
●   “Petting” hand should stay still at all times
●   Let the dog interact with you
●   Demo

Fight Protocol: Wheelbarrow
●   Used only in latch-on dog fights
●   Grab at the back legs near groin
●   Hoist up and back
●   Demo

Questions?

Basic Training Demo
●   Sit
     ○    Lure with treat
     ○    Invisible treat
     ○    Exaggerated hand signal
●   Down
     ○    Lure with treat
     ○    Invisible treat
     ○    Exaggerated hand signal
●   Touch
     ○    Treat between fingers, close proximity
     ○    No treat in hand, close proximity
     ○    Added distance

Questions?

Thank You!