Canine Behavior Specialist Services - Case Study - Seminars
SERVICES:
Canine Behavior Specialist Services
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'The Paw Man is a Brisbane Australia based company owned and run by Grant Teeboon. Grant has been a Police Dog Handler with the RAAF for the last 32 years.
The Paw Man specialises in correcting problem dog behaviours. Everything from simple leash pulling to quite determined canine aggression. Other problems dealt with include:
- Lack of control over the dog
- Unwanted aggression toward people
- Unwanted aggression toward other dogs
- Disobedient behaviour
- Dominant behaviour
- Nuisance barking
- Destructive behaviour (chewing, digging & fence running)
- Pack hierarchy problems, and
- Any other problematic behaviours.
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Consultations: Are by appointment within the
Behavioural solutions can be provided on many different levels, from minimal force for softer dogs, right up to full behaviour extinction routines for tougher dogs. This way the owner can choose the speed at which the dogs behaviour is changed, gradually or immediately.
A consultation lasts for three very intensive hours and The Paw Man guarantees that if he cannot provide a solution to all your dogs problem behaviours in the time frame on the initial consultation then he will come back for free until a workable solution is found.
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 skills 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 support.
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Where does the problem really lay?
Statistics gathered over the past 32 years show that approximately. 90% of all canine behavioural problems are caused by the way the owner interacts with the dog.
Therefore 90% of all canine behavioural 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 Man's qualifications include:
- Over 32 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.
- 16 Years as an Instructor
at the
- 32 years of in-home consultations.
- Numerous published articles
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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 Service 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 behaviours. Pure positive methods 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 behaviour is not what it first seems. The case study below is typical of the hundreds of K9 behaviour consultations by The Paw Man.
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 of a low set 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 neighbours 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 behaviour it was evident that they had spend hundreds more on height extenders for the fences, but to no avail.
EVALUATION
I used a behaviourists 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 behaviour 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 neighbours 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 a story of how the dog got caught 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:
- The dog only escaped when no one was home.
- The dog was well exercised and has 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 behaviour).
- Initial thoughts were of Separation Anxiety (S/A) but the fact that the dog jumped the fence whilst injured 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 baby-sit 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 them. 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 is blissfully unaware of their absence. This approach worked well and the dog now stays comfortably at home.
The Paw Man is available for discussion groups or Seminars.
Topics included are:
- Dog Psychology (What 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 usage of Aversives
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. 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: 24 Apr 2011.