"Poking a puppy's nose into its puddles is the most harmful advice": interviews with dog behavior experts

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

About how animal training differs from behavior correction and what mistakes owners often make when raising pets.

Nadya Pigareva and Nastya Bobkova have been helping dogs and their owners to understand each other for more than five years in the school of behavior correction and applied training. Experts told Lifehacker how to solve mental problems of dogs, why it is not worth transferring the properties of human thinking to four-legged ones, and how readers accepted their book "Smooth, Love, Praise".

Working with dogs is half, if not more, working with people

When did you realize that you wanted to work with dogs?

Nadya: I loved dogs since childhood, we had a dachshund Timka in our family. An absolutely amazing dog. Once we introduced him to our grandmother - an inveterate cat lady. Seeing Timka, she said with displeasure that a cat in a big house would be much more useful than a dog: "Even if I catch mice, I will not save them from them." The dog looked at her skeptically and rushed to the kitchen. From there, the clang of falling pots was soon heard. We didn't even have time to understand what had happened, but the dachshund came running back and proudly laid the captured rodent at the grandmother's feet. Since then I have completely fallen in love with the breed and with dogs in general.

Already in adulthood, I bought a puppy by ad (exactly the same, as it seemed to me then, a dachshund). What is a hand puppy? This is an unpredictable psyche and often a bunch of behavioral problems. And I was "lucky": the dog turned out to be anxious and aggressive. He threw himself on the males, he could bite me under a hot hand, he was a very excitable and restless comrade. I absolutely did not understand what to do with him, because I did not have any knowledge about problem dogs. But I don’t give up so easily. I went to the training ground to understand at least something about the process of raising and training dogs. For several months I was engaged in correcting the problems of my dachshund. Well, I got involved.

It turned out that even with my dog you can live perfectly if you know which buttons to press. Now it is an adequate, predictable, happy dog with which I feel comfortable.

When you know where the problem is, you can stop it on the approach and prevent a relapse. And I liked it all so much that I thought: why not take up raising dogs professionally? Then I worked as a waitress in St. Petersburg, and such a career development was, of course, an unexpected turn, but at the same time a tempting prospect. Then the profession of a specialist in correcting animal behavior was just in its infancy. It seemed that one could become the first and best in this business. Well, working with dogs is extremely interesting.

Nastya:I always knew that I would work with dogs. First, she brought the dog home from the street. We then lived with my parents and brother in a twenty-meter room of a hostel. I spent a lot of time with this dog, she even went to music school with me. In the photographs from the final exam, all the children are like children, and I am not only with a violin, but also with a black dog next to me.

In my youth, in the late 90s, however, there was still no such thing as a dog behavior correction specialist. There were dog handlers, servicemen, trainers at the playgrounds, but I wanted to work with difficult dogs, find out the causes of their problems and, as far as I could, somehow fix them. So as a child I, one might say, invented a profession myself, and then went to it for as long as I can remember.

When I finished school, I decided to go somewhere where they study animals. She left Severodvinsk for Moscow, became a student at the Timiryazev Academy. Mountains of literature about dogs, all available lectures and seminars, his own dog (again in the dorm room, but already a student) convinced that everything should work out.

What knowledge do you need to have in this job?

Nadya:Knowledge from the field of animal biology and psychology will be useful. You will have to read a lot, and it is better in English, get acquainted with the research, constantly monitor the latest scientific discoveries. But theory alone is not enough, because most things can only be understood in practice, interacting with live dogs.

But working with dogs is half, if not more, working with people.

Firstly, because the owner, not the specialist, trains the dog anyway. A professional only provides tools, his task is to explain to the owner what the problem is and what to do to make it disappear. Secondly, because the dog's problems are directly related to their experience of interacting with people.

It's not that people are to blame for these problems, but that, through ignorance, a person may not contact his dog in the wrong way. Therefore, the atmosphere in the family that asked for help with the dog needs to be felt. Here you can hardly do without a subtle understanding of people. I have always had such a flair, and for many years I have developed it, working with the owners of problem animals.

Nastya: There are many complex dogs, but no specialists. People live with difficult dogs, thinking that nothing can be helped.

After Timiryazevka, just in case, I also learned to be a human psychologist. Mental processes in dogs and children are similar. Babies up to about three years old live with emotions, like dogs. Both have poorly developed abstract thinking, so they cannot be responsible for their actions in an adult way or reflect.

What prompted you to open Pi-Bo behavior correction school?

Nadya: At the beginning of our careers, we worked as apprentices with a St. Petersburg coach. They took clients with whom she did not have time or did not want to work. When it became clear that we were good at solving dog problems and explaining the principles of training to people, we realized that we needed to move from apprentices to the status of independent specialists. And Nastya and I agreed to work together. They broke off relations with the trainer, started their own career and came up with the Pi-Bo brand.

We tell and show how to behave with a dog so that the problem disappears

Tell us about your school. How do you help?

Nadya: This is a school of behavior correction and applied training. As can be seen from the definition, we have two main areas of work. We go to clients' homes with consultations and conduct classes in the hall for those who want to teach their dog "manners". We also conduct seminars and master classes for those who simply want to learn more about the dog's inner world. We are working together in these areas. We also have partners who, under our brand, are engaged in dog training, sharing our ideology.

Nastya: We tell the owners of animals and, most importantly, show how to behave with a pet, so that the complexity with which they turned to us disappears. If we go for a consultation, then we start by figuring out what the problem is, according to the owner.

If the dog pees at home, this is just a symptom. Our job is to figure out what will have to be "treated" here.

To begin with, we will rule out medical reasons by sending the client to the veterinarian. And then we'll look at behavioral problems. For example, a dog may have an unhealthy relationship with a family member or separation anxiety. Then we develop a correction plan, explain it to the owners and support them online until everything works out.

If we are talking about group courses, then these are classes once a week, in which the dog not only teaches commands, but also gets used to performing them with other animals. We explain to the owner how to communicate with the pet, so that he understands him, and why it is important.

Nadya: We call ourselves specialists in the correction of dog behavior. We can also be called trainers, but our training program is very different from the classic OKD (general training course). We develop useful skills that will make the dog a comfortable and controllable urban animal, and do not strive for the beauty of performing commands that are not particularly necessary in everyday life, such as "fetch" or "barrier".

It is important for us that as a result of the training, the dog and the owner develop a relationship in which they are satisfied with each other, understand each other and have a pleasant time together even on a walk, even on the couch, even on vacation.

At OKD, however, they often pay more attention to the beauty of command execution and standards. For example, on the OKD exam, the dog must make a “sit-lie-stand” complex without moving the front paws from one point. In our country, the command “sit” can generally be performed in a prone position. We are only trying to ensure that the dog locks in place and does not leave it until the owner gives permission. It's the same with the "stand" command. We teach not to get up beautifully, but to stop in front of a road or a puddle.

Nastya:The dog handler is usually represented as a professional who works with service dogs. This work has its own nuances. For example, specialists may refuse to work with adult dogs or with animals with an unstable psyche: they will not make ideal guides or border guards.

Nothing prevents us from making an excellent companion out of any dog. Our goal is to teach masters how to deal with dog problems and show how to achieve obedience in all conditions. And we focus not on sports and service standards, but on the convenience of the owner and the safety of the dog. It is convenient, for example, for the hostess, so that her woolen son would walk on the command “near” not to the right, but to the left, let it go like this.

With what problems do owners and their dogs come to your center?

Nastya: One of the most common problems is the so-called separation anxiety. The dog cannot stay at home alone, howls or eats everything in the apartment that it can reach. Some people think that if the dog behaves like that, then he is bored and needs to come up with some kind of entertainment. In fact, the normal dog, being a predator, sleeps most of the day. And if she is rowdy, then she is anxious and needs to somehow remove this anxiety. For example, making the dog's environment more understandable and predictable.

The dog cannot be warned with words that, for example, mom and dad will now go to work, but in the evening they will definitely return and will not leave him alone in the apartment to die. Therefore, you need to become predictable owners: leave every morning after a series of rituals.

Let's say they got up, drank coffee, took the dog out to pee, fed him, said the code phrase: "You're at home" - and left. It would also be good to make an evening return routine: they opened the door, told the dog to wait for the owner to change his jeans for a dressing gown, and then greetings and hugs. The more rituals in the life of an animal, the less it worries. This means that he no longer wants to howl and gnaw the sofa at home alone.

Nadya:Another problem with which we often work is untidiness. Don't think that most dogs urinate in corners, of course. It's just that this is the most difficult problem to cope with without the help of a specialist. The owners unknowingly also aggravate the situation, scolding the dog for puddles and heaps in the wrong places. You cannot do this, because uncleanliness is not the dog's fault. The problem can have a variety of causes, from health problems to increased anxiety.

Well, the aggression of fear (the aggressive behavior of a dog caused by fear. - Ed.) Is also a frequent reason to contact us. The owners sometimes do not suspect that the dog is afraid, it seems to them that he is simply angry. And living with an "evil" dog is much more unpleasant than with just an ill-mannered one. She can either cripple the owners, or run into a dog fight. Therefore, the reason to turn to specialists here is iron.

A common mistake is to project your vision of the world onto dogs

How often are the owners themselves to blame for the problems of pets?

Nastya: We do not like to look for the guilty when we volunteer to solve problems. None of the sane owners create difficulties in the relationship with the dog on purpose. Most people have a dog for love and try to take care of it.

The reason for the problems may be the lack of information from the owner or the peculiarities of the character of the animal, and more often all this is in a complex.

For example, many do not know that you cannot scold a dog for hooliganism, from the moment of the commission of which time has passed, even if it is 30 seconds.

When owners practice punishment after the fact, the dog may become more nervous and lose contact with the owner. If the animal is initially prone to increased anxiety, all this often leads to fear of separation or uncleanliness.

Nadya:The owner of the dog can be captivated by myths and stereotypes, which, unfortunately, are still abundant on the Internet under the sauce of professional advice. One well-known wild animal trainer, for example, recommended poking a puppy into its puddles to be discouraged. And this is the most harmful advice that can be given in such a situation. Another equally well-known cynologist insists that dogs should be weaned from dominant behavior, preferably by forceful methods. But dogs do not dominate people, and unmotivated aggression on the part of the owner can make them neurotic.

And some end up with anxious or hyperactive dogs, animals with a dark shelter past. It is difficult to live with all this if there is no special knowledge.

Physical health problems that are difficult to see with the naked eye can also cause behavioral difficulties. A dog won't tell you that it has a headache. But it can become more excitable from this, show aggression or just behave strangely.

What myths about canine behavior or thinking do you most often have to debunk?

Nadya: The stereotype that the dog cannot be pampered, otherwise it will begin to dominate, perhaps remains the most beloved. The concept of dog dominance has created many complexities in the dog-human relationship. If you believe in this theory, you can make a bunch of mistakes in upbringing, followed by more and more problems.

For example, fans of the concept of dominance like to put the dog in its place even before it starts bullying. They kick her out of bed with kicks and shouts, beat her for trying to growl at the owner, or constantly take away food in order to check whether the dog perceives the father of the family as the leader of the pack. All these are terribly illogical, from the point of view of a dog, manifestations of aggression. As a result, she will cease to trust the owner, she will begin to be afraid of him. And, as a consequence, she will bite harder and more often, for which she will be punished even more. And then the fate of the animal is in question: either a shelter, euthanasia or a street, or (this is at best) life on a powder keg.

Nastya: In fact, dogs are infantile animals, they do not dominate over humans. A dog's owner is an authoritative parent.

Even if the pet does not obey or shows aggression, it is not because he suddenly decided to become an alpha in the pack instead of the mistress. They just didn’t teach him how to obey and what to do so that he didn’t have to bite.

Nadya:Another common myth concerns canine resentment, vengefulness, and guilt. Assuming that the dog has these qualities, the owners can scold him for untidiness, hooliganism that he committed while no one was at home, or for "shaming his mother for a walk."

Nastya:But dogs do not take revenge or take offense. For this, their abstract thinking is too poorly developed. People often mistake the signals of reconciliation for insult. Here the owner rudely kicks the pet out of the kitchen for begging. The dog sees the master's aggression and tries to merge with the terrain, so as not to get extra shots. Turns away, lays down sadly in place and does not shine. It looks very much like an offense, but this is not it, it is waiting for the storm. The dog will not vindictively urinate on the master's pillow either. And if he does so, then either he has a problem with his health, or psychological problems have developed in which the dog is not to blame.

What mistakes do owners make most often when raising a dog?

Nastya: Even we made a lot of mistakes with our first dogs. For example, I scolded my Peter for puddles in the wrong places, which is generally a tough taboo. And Nadia, probably, can boast of many shoals in the upbringing of the dachshund Poker, who at first ate her hands and rushed at the males.

Nadya: Yes, I made one of the common mistakes of all novice dog owners - I scolded Poker for the aggression of fear towards the owner, that is, towards me. And you can never scold for this, because this way of solving the problem only aggravates everything: the dog is afraid, therefore growls or bites, the owner scolds him for this, the animal is afraid even more and bites even more "angrily". And so on ad infinitum.

Nastya: A dog is not a man. It would seem that everyone knows this, but the main mistakes of upbringing arise due to the fact that dogs are assigned more responsibility than they can bear. For example, parents may reproach their teenage son for returning home late yesterday from the street. By the same principle, they communicate with dogs: they scold, for example, for a pot that the dog broke while the owners were not at home. But it doesn't work.

With the help of the book, we wanted to convey the idea that you can negotiate with any dog

What prompted you to write the book "Smooth, love, praise"?

Nadya: We are just tired of meeting delusional statements on the Internet and already existing books that puddles in the wrong places should be punished, and sleeping with a pet in the same bed is a crime. For some reason, it is the dog theme that still remains terra incognita, where myths, anti-scientific theories and an elementary lack of information about how to live comfortably and safely with your dog are teeming.

Nastya: Dogs have recently begun to be perceived as companions. And in Russia, only service dog breeding has always flourished like that. Therefore, specialists are accustomed to interacting only with service animals, with which any problem is solved by elementary culling: a dog with an unsuitable psyche is not hired to work. Thus, a hyperexcitable dog will never be trained as a guide. A cowardly one by nature will not be hunted, because a hunting dog needs to calmly react, for example, to shots.

We often have clients who have been told by other professionals that their dog's behavior cannot be corrected. With the help of our book, we tried to convey the idea that you can negotiate with any dog and make his life and the life of the owners pleasant and joyful.

Nadya:We also want to have more clients for us and other dog specialists. This is not a question of profit, but of spreading the idea that even in the most difficult situation there are people who are able to help. Just as the state advocates for the spread of official medicine as opposed to self-medication. People are “driven” to polyclinics in order to identify and overcome possible diseases as early as possible. We are also for this: the owners of dogs want to show that there are ways to solve their problems. In the book, we talk about these methods in such a way that they believe us, try it ourselves, see the effect and come to us, if suddenly it’s not completely possible on our own.

Nastya: There are many dog problems, but there are still few competent specialists. In the book, there are enough recipes on how to cope with the shortcomings of education without the involvement of professionals. Those who read it, perhaps, will refuse the help of experts, because they will understand how to handle everything on their own. And they will most likely be great at it. So we will only have those dogs and their people who really need a serious correction plan and support.

How was the book received by the readers?

Nastya: As if they had been waiting for something like this for a long time. At the end of 2019, she took Top 2019: the most read books 41st place in the hundred most read books of the Eksmo publishing house. Now more than 12 thousand copies of "Smooth, Love, Praise" have been printed, and it seems that this is not the end. The refrain in the reviews is the thought: "Why was there no such book when I just got myself a dog?"

Nadya: In fact, we counted on this when we created it. What is the point of rewriting existing training guides or breed guides? Readers needed a book about how to build a comfortable interaction between a dog and a person in typical conditions.

For what is criticized and praised for "Smooth, love, praise"?

Nastya: We have not yet met any constructive criticism of the book. Ordinary readers fell in love with it, they practically try the advice we give and see the result. Those who get acquainted with "Smooth, love, praise" without having a dog in the house say that they liked the book thanks to the humor or interesting examples from the dog's life. Readers with a cynological background keep silent, perhaps considering us competitors and not wanting to do additional advertising for us.

True, there are reviews where people swear at the feminitives that we used, or at the "non-academic" presentation of the material. Let's say they didn't like the word "dog", which we, by the way, love very much. But all this is taste. You can't make a product that everyone, without exception, will love.

What general recommendations would you give to those who have recently got a dog and want to live with it in perfect harmony?

Nastya: The dog must be loved. Fortunately, a dog is such an organism convenient for living with a person that forgives many mistakes if he is loved. But it is better, of course, to think about education in advance. It will take a lot of time and energy, no matter how smart you get.

Nadya: I advise you to have trusted sources of information close at hand. It is no coincidence that googled articles, but the advice of specialists, whose work is transparent in terms of reviews, the number of solved dog problems, the personal experience of friends who enjoy your trust. If you name specific sources, then I would mention the founder of the School of Applied Ethology Sophia Baskina. He is a renowned Israeli ethologist with a dissertation on Human-Domestic Animal Interaction. Another important scientist in the field of cynology is the Norwegian trainer Thurid Rugos. In her book, she first described canine signals of reconciliation, which fundamentally changed our understanding of the interaction of dogs and humans.

There is such popular wisdom: if you want to develop responsibility in yourself, get a dog. Who or under what circumstances should you definitely not have a dog?

Nadya: I would argue with this wisdom. Getting a dog as a responsibility trainer is not a big deal. It is better not to train on living things. Therefore, first the responsibility, then the dog.

Nastya: A dog can be enjoyed by everyone who is capable of loving a living creature and taking care of it. If you want to have an animal in order to realize your thirst for power, satisfy ambitions or something else like that, then you better not.

What to read and watch to better understand your dog

Books

• Beyond the Leash by Patricia McConnell.
• “Don't growl at the dog,” Karen Pryor.
• Dog Behavior, Elena Mychko.
• Building Success by Susan Garrett.

Video

• The Dog Training by Kikopup YouTube channel is suitable for those who want to teach the dog interesting tricks.
• Canadian trainer Donna Hill will teach you how to train a dog with a clicker.