Canine Behavior Specialist Services - Case Study - Seminars
SERVICES:
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'The Paw Man' is a Brisbane Australia based company owned and run by Grant Teeboon.
The services offered by The Paw Man are not a dog training service as such, rather The Paw Man specialises in correcting problem dog behaviors. Everything from simple leash pulling to the most determined canine aggression. Other problems dealt with include:
- Lack of control over the dog
- Unwanted aggression toward people
- Unwanted aggression toward other dogs
- Disobedient behavior
- Dominant behavior
- Nuisance barking
- Destructive behavior (chewing, digging & fence running)
- Pack hierarchy problems, and
- Any other problematic behaviors.
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Consultations: are by appointment only within the
Behavioral solutions can be provided on many different levels, from minimal force for softer dogs, right up to full behavior extinction routines for tougher dogs. This way the owner can choose the speed at which the dogs behavior is changed,..... gradually or immediately.
A consultation lasts for three very intensive hours.
You will receive:
- One to one instruction. The fastest way to learn.
- Individual assessment of your dog. (Why it does what it does)
- All methods tailored to your dogs unique character.
- An in depth canine education.
- A handy reference manual that will give you all the knowledge and understanding you need to get your dog back under control.
- A full explanation as to how and why all supplied methods work. 12 months guarantee (if the problem isn't fixed by using the recommended methods then The Paw Man will come back for free until it is)
- 12 months phone/ Internet support.
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Where does the problem really lay?
Experience gained over the past 28 years show that apx. 90% of all canine behavioral problems are caused by the way the owner interacts with the dog.
Therefore 90% of all canine behavioral problems can be solved by altering the owners interaction with the dog.
The Paw Man specialises in educating dog owners in the correct way to interact with their canine companion. If you read the 'References' section you will see many testimonies from past clients who will verify that this is not a slow and gradual transition, but rather a rapid transition that can appear miraculous in the short time frame of a three hour consultation.
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The Paw Mans qualifications include:
- 28 years service as a Police Dog Handler with the Royal Australian Air Force. Click here to see a photo of Grant with his last dog.
- 13 Years at the
- 28 years of in-home consultations.
- Numerous published articles
in
References available on request. Some samples are included on this site (Click on 'References' button) .
Methods used by The Paw Man are classical conditioning in the form of the Koehler method (pronounced 'keeler'). The Koehler method mimics mother nature in that it uses a balanced mix of praise and aversives. The Koehler method is used by 90% of all Police and Military Dog organisations around the world. As The Paw Man specialises in dominant and aggressive dogs, most of the methods employ some sort of aversive to extinguish the unwanted behaviors. Pure positive methods, although less efficient, can also be supplied upon request.
This case study profiles a Chronic fence Jumper and leads you through the
questioning process that finally finds the cause and then the solution to this
difficult case. Some times K9 Behavior is not what it first seems. The Case
Study below is typical of the hundreds of K9 Behavior Consultations by The Paw
PROBLEM
Chronic Fence Jumping
SITUATION
I was called by a senior instructor of a local Dog Obedience Club to assist on a consult they were unable to solve.
The dog in question was a German Shepherd. The dog lived in the owners back yard which surrounded the rear of the lowset brick home. The rear yard was fully fenced with 2 meter high picket fences on the front and both sides, and 1.5 meter mesh fence on the rear.
The side fences were separating the yard from the neighbors and the rear fence separated the yard from a cow pasture. The dog had ample shade, lots of visual stimulation, toys and everything any dog could desire.
The owners had spent thousands of dollars on proper fencing in the back yard and due to the dogs fence jumping behavior it was evident that they had spend hundreds more on height extenders for the fences, but to no avail.
EVALUATION
I used a behaviorists approach for the consultation. I started by gathering as much information about the situation as I could. Questioning of the owners revealed the following information:
- The fence jumping behavior had been occurring for a long time (several years), but had increased markedly since the wife started working.
- Both owners worked but the wife working was only a recent development.
- The dog was treated very much like one of the children. These people were very devoted to their pet.
- The dog was very play/fetch oriented, actively soliciting humans to throw items for it to retrieve.
- The dog has no dog to dog (or dog to human) aggression problems.
- When the dog escapes it usually goes to the neighbors place to socialise with the occupants which were both human and canine.
- No matter how high the owners made the fences the dog always managed to find a way to jump it.
- Owners told the story of how the dog got injured jumping the side fence one day and ripped itself wide open, requiring veterinary treatment and over a hundred stitches. While the dog still had all the stitches in, it still jumped the fence although it could barely walk.
- The dog showed no interest in the cows that occupied the back paddock. At this point in the consultation, questioning of the owners was put 'on hold' for a cup of coffee and I proceeded to study the information gathered so far. The following conclusions were drawn......
CONCLUSIONS
- The dog only escaped when no one was home.
- The dog was well exercised and had a stimulating environment.
- The dog jumped the fence despite a crippling injury, therefore the dogs motivation to jump must be extremely high.
- Nothing could be found in the yard that could possibly compel the dog to jump (escape behavior).
- Initial thoughts were of Separation Anxiety (S/A) but the fact that the dog jumped the fence whilst injured and barely able to walk seemed uncharacteristic of normal S/A.
Casual discussion with the owners continued over coffee. As is often the case, the one elusive critical piece of information emerged almost by accident.
The owner stated that for the first 18 months of the dogs life it was never left alone. If they ever went out they took the dog by car to friends around the road who would babysit the dog until the owners returned.
This meant that the dog was conditioned from puppy hood that when the pack went 'on the hunt' by car that the dog always accompanied then. Effectively the dog was never conditioned to being left alone on any occasion. Even after 18 months of age the dog was always baby sat. When the wife eventually started work, the dog was totally unprepared to be left alone.
Rather than just separation anxiety (S/A) we have chronic S/A with extremely high stress levels creating an almost frantic desire to rejoin the departing pack. As is usually the case, this situation was created by the dogs owners. Any other dog treated the same way would react similarly if not in an identical manner.
After I delivered my diagnosis they confirmed it with other bits of information.
The dog always jumped the fence as they were driving away from the house. They often saw the dog in the rear vision mirror as they drove away from the house. Each time this happened they would stop the car, let the dog inside the car and drive it to a friends place to be looked after. (This action alone had a major reinforcing effect on the fence jumping)
SOLUTION
As you would expect, any solution to this problem has to be two pronged. Firstly, condition the dog to being left alone for very short periods and then build the time frame up to a usable level.
Secondly, the dogs S/A has to be treated. S/A is at its peak at the moment of the last pack members departure. So an activity was introduced to soothe and occupy the dog at that time. The dog was given a mutton flap or a rubber Kong filled with peanut butter.
This was given to the dog at the moment of the last pack members departure. Once the dog had finished its new activity the owners had departed and the dog was blissfully unaware of their absence. This approach worked well and the dog now stays comfortably at home.
The Paw Man is available as a guest speaker for discussion groups or seminars.
Topics included are;
- Dog Psychology (What really makes your dog tick)
- Canine Aggression (Dog to Dog & Dog to Human)
- Canine Body Language & its interaction with Human Body Language
- The principle of Threshold Of Discomfort (TOD)
- The correct application of Aversives and Praise
These seminars can be aimed at any level from Novice to Instructor.
The Paw Man also does maintenance training for dogs
belonging to currently licensed Security Guards.
NOTE: Dogs belonging to unlicensed persons will not
be trained to be aggressive.
The Paw Man reserves the right to refuse to train any dog or any handler for any reason.
Last Updated: 30 Jan 2007.
