Fraser Animal Behaviour Consulting

WHAT A WONDERFUL WAY TO WRAP UP 2020. I recently received this update and photo from one of my clients. They had been having a few challenges with their dog, including fear of veterinary and husbandry procedures and reactivity towards other dogs. As you can read in the update below, they have seen great results, thanks to their dedicated commitment to their dog’s behaviour management and modification plan. (I’ve changed the dog’s name to X below.) ... Hi Lauren, I am absolutely elated, and wanted to send you a quick note on X’s progress! I have tried to digest and put into practice everything we've talked about, really improved my timing for rewards and counter-conditioning, and have been keeping an eye on X’s body language and indicators of his emotional state and changing plans/routes/daily routines as necessary. I am amazed at the difference this has made in just a couple of months! I feel like X is a much more "optimistic" dog now and he is significantly less anxious/vigilant outside. My partner recently commented that we have a completely different dog than we did this summer. Yesterday afternoon was an amazing milestone moment in our progress. I walked X around our neighborhood and stopped at a small grassy park with good sight lines. I had X on a long line and let him sniff around and practiced a few recalls. Then a dog popped into view, and before I could call to X, he noticed it and flipped around and came running to me full tilt to get a treat!! (He probably got about 10 treats for that move!) This happened three more times in the next few minutes as dogs and people walked around the outside of the park. Each time X noticed something, I gave one normal-voiced recall and he came running excitedly to get a treat. This is so vastly different from his reactions a few months ago, where he would become fixated, posture, and slowly move toward the scary thing. I am SO excited that we are changing his default reaction to come to me instead. Thank you so much for all of your support and guidance, it has been crucial in starting this change. Hope you have a wonderful holiday! To all of my clients, I wish you all the happiest of holidays, and a peaceful and healthy New Year. Lauren

I recently had the great pleasure of working remotely with Ella the Chihuahua and her person, Corey. Read on to learn more. #fearfreepets #fearfreecertifiedprofessional #clinicalanimalbehaviourist #squamishdogs

TAKING MEDICINE: SO EASY EVEN A PUPPY CAN DO IT At some point, most of our pets will have to take some sort of medication, whether temporarily or permanently. This could be pills, injections, eye or ear medications, or oral medications like my pup Corb here is taking. Many pets struggle to take their medications or be medicated, and this can cause them - and their owners - great stress. But it doesn’t need to be this way. Animals can be taught to voluntarily participate in s...uch treatments, using what’s know as cooperative care training. This approach uses positive reinforcement to teach the animal they can consent to taking their medications. As you can see in the clip, Corb is quite happy to voluntarily take his liquid medication. While it sounds a little counter intuitive- giving an animal the choice to take medicine - it is surprisingly effective. Even with medications or treatments which are mildly unpleasant, like injections or eye drops, animals can be taught to voluntarily participate. If you’re at all sceptical, have a look on YouTube for cooperative care and zoo animals. It works with tigers, hippos, hyenas, zebras, giraffes and more, and can work with your cat, dog, or horse too. I’ll be teaching cooperative care training here in Squamish in 2021. Stay tuned for all the details! #cooperativecare #cooperativeveterinarycare #fearfreepets #fearfreecertifiedprofessional #squamishdogs #clinicalanimalbehaviourist

KITTY CLIMBING THE CHRISTMAS TREE? GIVE THEM SOME CHRISTMAS CHEER: OPPORTUNITY TO 'HUNT, KILL, AND CONSUME'! Beneath the floofy exterior of even the most pampered puss lies the tiny heart of a predator (and a prey!). Cats have evolved to spend a good portion of their day hiding from other predators, while searching for animals to hunt, kill, and consume. In contrast, many indoor cats are fed set meals, in a bowl, which requires no mental or physical energy to acquire beyond s...Continue reading

CAUGHT YOU! Being good, that is. Simple law of learning: No matter what kind of animal you are, behaviours that result in desirable consequences are more likely to happen again in the future. We can use this law of learning to our advantage, to increase the likelihood we see more ‘good’ (wanted, from our perspective) behaviours again in the future. For example, if I would like to see an increase of my dog FigJam laying quietly on his bed (the ‘good’ behaviour) while I work ...on my laptop, I could provide him with something he really likes when he does this behaviour: food! This approach is something I have many of my clients do, using a ‘Caught You Being Good’ cup. Each morning, the client counts out 50 tiny, tasty treats (or pieces of the animal’s daily kibble/ration) and makes it their mission to catch their animal red-pawed in the act of being ‘good’, 50 times a day. Put the cup in a pet-safe location that also makes it handy for you to access as soon as you catch them in the act. PS this brilliant idea wasn’t mine originally, and I can’t for the life of me remember who to credit! #squamishdogs #squamishcats #squamishhorses #clinicalanimalbehaviourist #fearfreecertifiedprofessional #positivereinforcement #positivereinforcementtraining

Squamish is so lucky to have two certified and qualified dog trainers to whom I feel comfortable sending clients to, and Maren from Paw In Hand is one of them. For over 20 years Maren has been helping dog owners in Squamish, and her qualifications include: BC SPCA AnimalKind Accreditation Certified Behavior Consultant Canine Knowledge Assessed (CBCC-KA) Certified Professional Dog Trainer Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA)... She also recently became a Fear Free Certified Professional! Way to go, Maren! Maren is currently giving people a chance to win a private two hour session with her. Check out this post to learn all the details and to enter. Good luck!

COOPERATIVE CARE FROM THE ANIMAL'S PERSPECTIVE: NAIL TRIMS? EYE EXAMS? INJECTIONS? YES PLEASE! Cooperative care is a way of training animals to accept or even love participating in husbandry or veterinary procedures. Ear or eye exams, nail trims, vaccines - all of these things and more can be taught in a way that causes the animal to be happy, even eagerly willing, to participate. I enjoy training cooperative care behaviours so much that I just got the first of three titles w...ith my dog FigJam as part of a new Cooperative Care Certificate titling program. Although FigJam meets the requirements for many of the higher levels tasks already, everyone starts by submitting at Level 1 first. We are both looking forward to filming the next two levels. The ten tasks stay the same throughout the levels, but each level requires an advancing level of skill to perform. Here are the tasks: 1) chin rest; 2) lie on side; 3) restraint; 4) wear a muzzle; 5) foot handling; 6) mouth and teeth handling; 7) taking medication; 8) tolerating an injection or blood draw; 9) eye exam; 10) ear exam. You can read all about the program here: https://cooperativecarecertificate.com/ If you and your pet struggle with husbandry or veterinary procedures, I'm available to help. #cooperativecare #cooperativeveterinarycare #fearfreecertifiedprofessional #fearfreecertified #fearfreevetvisit

National Dog Day: as if any of us need more excuses to post pictures of our dogs on Facebook! In honour of the day, here are my three dogs. FigJam is a two year old Labrador Retriever. Fiver is an eleven and a half year old Australian Cattle Dog. And our newest dog is eight and a half week old Labrador Retriever, Corb. Fiver came to us at eleven months old from our local dog pound, while FigJam and Corb came to us from the same breeder, and are half brothers (having the same... mother, Vanilla). Somehow I missed National Cat Day, which was August 8th. If I could explain to him that people would like to admire a picture of his handsome self, I’m sure our fifteen year old cat Mr Big Socks wouldn’t mind if I was a little late in posting, and included him here too. We’ve had MBS for two years, after adopting him from New Westminster Animal Services. Let’s see your dogs...or cats! #nationaldogday #nationalcatday #everydayisdogday #everydayiscatday

Winter 2020 Classes! I'm pleased to announce that several classes will be offered this winter out of our new facility at Points East West Veterinary Services: My Muzzle is Marvelous Cone of Awesome Puppy Socialization... Cooperative Care I Heart Toe Nail Trims All classes utilize training techniques both you and your pet will feel good about. Please visit the link to learn more, and Subscribe to receive updates. https://www.fraseranimalbehaviour.ca/events

I’m thrilled to announce both that my husband will be opening his new practice here in Squamish late 2020, and that I’ll be doing some small animal behaviour work out of this new location also. Stay tuned for more details!

#TerminologyThursday All animals, including humans and dogs, respond to the same powerful principles of learning. One of these principles, classical conditioning, is responsible for dogs learning things we don't mind them learning, but also many things we never want them to learn. This short article teaches you about the basics of classical conditioning, so that you can avoid having your dog learn things you don't want them to learn.... #dogbehaviour #dogtraining #fearfreecertifiedprofessional #clinicalanimalbehaviourist #classicalconditioning #squamishdogs #squamishdogtrainer

A Sunday smile for the dog people.

HIGH-RISE LIVING + ANXIETY OR LEASH REACTIVITY = EXTRA CHALLENGES! As if having a dog who displays anxious, fearful, or aggressive behaviours weren't challenging enough! Some owners need to cope with and manage these behaviours in very close quarters if they live in a place with communal hallways, stairways or elevators. If this describes your life with your canine companion, the article linked below provides some sound advice. There are also suggestions for talking to your s...trata about possible changes to your building's rules to help everyone in the building live more harmoniously. You can read the full article here: https://tinyurl.com/DogsInHighRises #squamishdogs #dogbehaviour #dogbehaviourproblems #clinicalanimalbehaviourist #fearfreecertifiedprofessional Image from: https://tinyurl.com/JohnEdition

MASKS: GREAT FOR HUMAN HEALTH, POTENTIALLY TROUBLING FOR DOGS While the increased use of masks is great for public health here in BC, some dogs are fearful of people wearing masks. Masks make people look very different, and they prevent a dog from getting a full picture on a person’s mood or intent. ... As research is showing that masks can be a useful tool in preventing the spread of COVID-19, it’s a good idea to help your dog get used to people wearing masks. This infographic from The Dog’s Trust can help. If you and your dog need extra help with mask acceptance, I’m always available. #squamishdogs #fearfreecertifiedprofessional #clinicalanimalbehviourist

MUZZLES ARE MARVELLOUS! Why use a muzzle? Short answer: muzzles can be a useful tool to keep both people and/or dogs safe. Dogs wearing muzzles may be doing so for a number of reasons. For example:... -for dogs that have pica, a condition where the animal consumes non-edible things such as rocks, cloth, plastic etc. -at the veterinary clinic, when the dog may be frightened and the muzzle is an extra layer of protection to keep everyone safe -muzzles offer a visual cue to human onlookers to give the dog wearing the muzzle the extra space they may need -for dogs who are nervous of other dogs or people A properly fitted basket muzzle still allows dogs to eat, drink, and pant while wearing it. Dogs wearing properly fitted basket muzzles can still engage in fun, supervised activities with their owners, just with some extra protection. Teaching a dog to happily wear their muzzle doesn't take that much time. You can find many great resources at the Muzzle Up Project page: https://muzzleupproject.com/muzzle-training/ When training is done properly, dogs become excited when they see their muzzle. The muzzle predicts that good things are going to follow: treats, and then a walk or hike with friends! As responsible dog owners, we should do our part to help end the stigma around dogs wearing muzzles. How do you feel when you see a dog wearing a muzzle? As an animal behaviour professional, whenever I see a dog wearing a muzzle while out for a walk it makes me happy. It signals to me that the owner of that dog cares enough for their dog to take responsible steps to help keep them, and others, safe. I try and go out of my way to say a cheery Hello (from an appropriate distance), or even tell them how handsome or pretty their dog is. Next time you see a muzzled dog, try showing a little kindness towards your fellow responsible dog owner. #fearfreecertifiedprofessional #clinicalanimalbehaviourist #squamishdogs #muzzleupproject

#MethodologyMonday ‘Grandma’s Rule’ for teaching wanted behaviours. Remember back to childhood, when Grannie told you ‘If you eat your broccoli, then you can have dessert?’ Your Grannie was one smart trainer! She rewarded the act of eating broccoli (a behaviour you were less likely to do) by giving you the opportunity to eat dessert ( a behaviour you were more likely to do). While she may not have known it, Grannie was using the Premack Principle. It can be helpful to remem...ber it as an ‘if/then’ approach. If the dog sits at the door, then the door is opened so they can go for a walk. If the horse stands calmly, then their halter can be removed so they can be released in the pasture. If the cat sits, then the human puts kibble in the bowl. The power of Premack is that we are using reinforcers (things that make behaviour more likely to happen again in the future) that the animal would really like to have in that exact moment. Sometimes an animal would really like the opportunity to engage in a behaviour that isn’t eating a tasty treat, and we can use this to our advantage when training. In this short clip, my ‘if/then’ statement is ‘if you (FigJam the dog) sit and don’t pull, then you can chase David (from Points East West Veterinary Services) on his bike’. In this moment FigJam would MUCH rather chase David, then have a tasty treat. Done correctly, FigJam’s behaviour of sitting without pulling will be more likely to happen again in the future. Can you think of any opportunities where you could use Premack when training your animal? #positivereinforcementtraining #fearfreecertifiedprofessional #clinicalanimalbehaviourist

SMALL AMOUNT OF TASTY TREATS + ONE BIG UNDERHAND THROW = HAPPY DOGS Your dog(s) may appreciate this fun bit of enrichment: scatter a small volume of tasty treats over the lawn and let them find the treats using their noses. (Avoid this activity if your dog shows any resource guarding behaviours, e.g. aggressive behaviours, like growling, snapping, or biting, shown towards other dogs (or people) in the presence of highly valued items like food.) ... Activities such as this are a great way to activate your dog’s physical senses, as well as their brains, helping to calm your dog and make them feel more relaxed. Pro tip: I need to get some office work done now, so have given my dogs this fun activity to entertain them while I work. Lucky pups! #dogbehaviour #fearfreecertifiedprofessional #clinicalanimalbehaviourist

MR MISTOFFELEES WANTS YOU TO MAKE HIM A SPOTIFY PLAYLIST Research has shown that animals such as dogs and horses respond favourably to some music. Recently, this idea was also tested with cats, with positive results. Cats were exposed to one of three twenty-minute long treatments during three separate vet visits, spaced two weeks apart: exposure to music specially designed to appeal to cats, classical music, or no music. The cat's behaviour and body posture, and their respons...e to handling during the exam were both scored during the vet visits. Blood samples were also taken to measure physiological signs of stress. The researchers found that the cats showed lower stress and handling scores while listening to the cat-specific music, compared with both classical music and no music. The cat-specific music contained sounds similar to those made by happy cats, such as purring and suckling sounds, as well as frequencies more similar to the feline vocal range. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some cats may be struggling with the changes in the household, such as decreased quiet time to themselves. If this is the case, it might be helpful to allow your cat to enjoy a little extra peace and solitude, and the cat-specific music in this research might be the perfect playlist to accompany that time. You and your cat can listen to the cat-specific music, titled 'Scooter Bere's Aria', here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGyElqvALbY #catbehaviour #clinicalanimalbehaviourist #fearfreecertifiedprofessional

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Would you like to better understand your cat or dog, enhance your ability to read their body language so that you can know how they are feeling, and learn ways to decrease their stress and improve their happiness? This free course through Coursera can help you do just that. Brought to you by the University of Edinburgh (where I completed my MSc in clinical animal behaviour), you can access the course here: https://www.coursera.org/learn/cats-and-dogs #catbehaviour #dogbehaviour #squamishdogs #clinicalanimalbehaviourist #fearfree #fearfreecertifiedprofessional #animalbehaviour

If there is one silver lining during the Covid-19 crisis, it's that things just got a little easier for owners of leash reactive dogs. (And free help is available!) Dogs who are described as being leash reactive may display behaviours such as lungeing, barking, or growling while on leash, towards dogs, people, or other specific triggers. Having just returned from an on-leash walk with my own dogs, I can say how proud I am of my fellow community members for stepping up and fo...llowing recommended physical distance protocols for themselves and their dogs. Where we chose to walk, all dogs were on a leash, and everyone maintained at minimum 2 metres distance when passing. Conditions such as these make it much, much easier for dog owners who struggle with their dog displaying reactivity to triggers such as other dogs or people. Controlling the behaviour of others is often the hardest part of managing and training a reactive dog: careless (or clueless) owners may not listen when asked to leash their dog or maintain distance, or strangers may ignore an owner's request to not touch their dog 'But dogs LOVE me...' (as they approach with hand outstretched). Luckily, such behaviours have dramatically all-but-disappeared in many areas. If this is the case where you live, take advantage of these conditions, and use this opportunity to work with your dog. Short, frequent and positive sessions are much better than infrequent or long sessions, making this type of work doable for most people. This crisis is also seriously impacting people financially. These conditions make paying for qualified, professional help when you may need it most extremely difficult. For anyone who has a reactive dog and who is facing financial challenges, check out this wonderful free resource on working with your reactive dog: https://tinyurl.com/Free-Reactive-Dog-Course It was created by qualified dog behaviour professionals and it contains content that I can recommend. I will also continue to be available for remote consults throughout this crisis, for anyone experiencing behaviour problems with their dog, cat, or horse. Stay safe, be well. #dogbehaviour #squamishdogs #clinicalanimalbehaviourist #fearfreecertifiedprofessional

THANK YOU, CAT INTERNET, FOR THIS VIEWING GEM! PS - In multi-cat households, it is recommended to space out resources like food and water bowls, litterboxes, scratching posts, resting areas etc. Cats prefer to have their own personal access to resources. If they don't, stress can result. This can mean an increase in undesirable behaviours, such as conflict between resident cats, aggression towards owners, increased hiding, urinating or defecating outside of the litterbox, and so on.

FUN INDOOR HIDE & SEEK ENTERTAINMENT Put your dog in a separate room. Grab a small handful of low cal treats or part of your dog’s daily kibble. Hide single treats or kibble around your home, in safe-to-reach places for your dog. Let your dog loose to seek! Start by making things easy for your dog: try using just one room, and make the treats very obvious to start. Over the next little while, gradually make things harder: hide the kibble under items that are acceptable for yo...ur dog to nose or nudge aside, place kibble on surfaces that aren’t the floor. In this clip, I’ve started hiding treats under objects (dog toys) and on nose-height dining room chairs. As you can see, my dog’s haven’t yet quite figured this puzzle out. So while I’ll leave the treats there for now, tomorrow I may make it a little easier by moving the treats out until they are half covered. This is a great activity for dogs young and old, as demonstrated by FigJam the 18 month old Labrador and Fiver the 11 year old Cattle Dog. A pleasant side effect of such mental enrichment can be seen in the comments of this post. #dogbehaviour #dogtraining #squamishdogs #thingstodowithyourdog

INFO FOR NEW PUPPY AND CURRENT DOG OWNERS ***EDITED TO UPDATE THE VETERINARY CARE SECTION*** Covid-19 is presenting all of us with so many challenges right now. For pet owners, this can include three biggies that I will address: ...Continue reading

'WTF*' REMOTE CONSULTS ANNOUNCEMENT Effective immediately, I will be doing all new consults and follow-ups remotely through Skype or Zoom. Once things have settled down I will return to in-person sessions where required. While in-person consults may be the preferred choice for many behaviour problems, remote consults can work well for a variety of behaviour problems. As a clinical animal behaviourist, I can still use my knowledge and skills remotely to determine the WTF* root... cause of your animal's behaviour problem and construct a management and/or retraining plan to help decrease or eliminate unwanted behaviours. Meetings happen via platforms such as Zoom or Skype, and we also utilize other online resources such as YouTube and Google Docs. Just like with in-person consults, there is still zero pressure to clean your house or barn in advance of our meeting, but you can now even show up in your PJ's. *WTF = What's the Function? All behaviour serves a purpose (function) for the animal performing the behaviour. Dr Susan Friedman came up with this fun way 'WTF' of thinking about the function that performing the behaviour serves the animal. Does performing the behaviour eliminate pain? Satisfy an innate need? Result in increased distance between the animal and something they fear? Create other desirable consequences? And so on. Clinical animal behaviourists use their knowledge and skills to determine the WTF's of behaviours that owner's find problematic, devise new ways for animals to have their needs met, increase positive emotional states, learn new, alternate behaviours, and much, much more. As a pleasant side effect, the techniques we use also greatly enhance the bond between you and your animal. If you need help with your animal, you can reach me by PM. #clinicalanimalbehaviourist #dogbehaviour #catbehaviour #horsebehaviour

#ScienceSunday Scratching is normal cal behaviour. As a clinical animal behaviourist, you'd think I'd know better. I recently scored a mint-condition, new-to-me chaise lounge, at a bargain price - and in my favorite colour! I had barely gotten it set down in the house when our cat Mr Big Socks leaped up, settled down, and claimed it as a new favourite place to lounge. His black and white fur looks beautiful against the colour, and I've spammed all my cat friends with pics of... him posing on it. Despite only having had the Big Socks for 2 years, I know our 15 year old cat very well: his preferred treats (dry kibble), his preferred way to drink water (off the top of an empty shampoo bottle I purposely leave in the shower so that he can drink from the top every time the shower is used), his favourite toy and game (a Boinks Bamboozler, dragged across a freshly made bed), and even his preferred scratching surfaces...tightly, woven, cloth that is vertical. You see where I'm going with this, don't you? Next to the sound of a 3 a.m. hairball, the sound of a cat happily scratching their claws on my new piece of furniture is enough to waken me from a deep slumber, and launch me out of bed. Thankfully, this early morning wake up gave me plenty of time to come up with a plan on how to prevent Big Socks from shredding the chaise, and redirect him to objects to which I am less attached. For more information on why cats scratch, and what can be done to encourage scratching in areas where you do want scratching to occur, check out this comprehensive article on the topic: https://spring2020.iaabcjournal.org/scratch-this-not-that/ #catbehaviour