Halloween is lots of fun for kids, but many dogs will be confused or upset by kids in strange costumes and by lots of people coming to the door, but never being invited in. Doggone Safe offers the following tips for dog owners, kids and parents:
Dog owners:
Secure your dog behind a closed door or in a crate in a room away from the front door or the party if children are meeting at your house.
Give him a Kong stuffed with hotdog, Rollover or other soft dog treats, Greenies or other long lasting chew. Ask your vet if you need advice on safe and nutritious chews for your dog.
Play music or leave a TV or radio playing in the dog’s room to help mask the sounds of the activity at the front door.
Close drapes so that the dog does not see people coming and going through the window.
If you have a dog that barks at the sound of the doorbell, disconnect it or watch for trick-or-treaters so that they do not have to ring or knock.
Puppies and dogs that like to chase can get overly excited by costumes with dangly bits or streaming material. Supervise very carefully if you have a dog that may try to play with your children’s costumes while they are wearing them. Teach kids to Be a Tree and stand still if the dog does start nipping at their costume since the more they move, the more exited the dog will get.
Keep your dogs (and cats) indoors around Halloween time. Pets have been stolen, injured or poisoned as part of Halloween pranks or other rituals.
Kids and Parents:
Avoid houses if you can hear a dog barking behind the door, you can see a dog behind a screen door or you see a dog tied up in the yard or barking behind a fence.
Never approach any dog, even if you know him. He may not recognize you in your costume.
If an owner opens the door and there is a dog there, just stay still and wait for the dog owner to put the dog away. You can tell them you do not want to come near the dog. Do not move toward the person and dog. Wait for them to come to you to give you your candy. Wait for them to close the door before you turn and leave.
If a dog escapes just stand still and Be a Tree (hands folded in front, watching your feet). He will just sniff you and then move on. Wait for the owner to come and get the dog before you turn away.
If you meet a loose dog, Be a Tree and wait until it goes away.
It is best to ignore other people’s dogs on Halloween if you meet them out walking. The dog may be worried about all the strange creatures that are out and about. Even if you know the dog, he may not recognize you in your costume.
Doggone Safe wishes everyone a safe and happy Halloween!
By Laurie Luck This is reposted with permission from the blog http://smartdog.typepad.com/ by one of our favorite dog trainers, Laurie Luck of Smart Dog University
I dont have the luxury of watching "feel good" segments or programs that contain dogs. Because I "do dogs" for a living, I see all the little signs, the communication signals a dog is sending, and nothing is ever cute anymore, but rather just filled with warning and distress signals from dogs.
Take this mornings "feel good" segment on The Today Show for example. It piqued my interest because it was about a service dog for a little girl who is connected to an oxygen tank 24 hours a day. The family procured a service dog to carry the oxygen tank for the three-year old girl.
The anchors on the show, the parents, and the little girl were oblivious to the many signs from the dog that he wasnt a happy camper. Based on all the publicity Kyle Dyer, NBC anchor in Denver, received when she was bitten on the face by a dog live on the air, I was hopeful that people had started to pay attention to dog body language.
Sadly, I was wrong. Below is the segment. Watch it once without reading the warning signals Ive listed below. Then watch it again, looking at the specific minute and second spots.
Some things to know before you take a look at the video. The red bandana is used to cover a prong collar on Mr. Gibbs, the service dog. A prong collar is a collar fitted with special barbs or prongs, that lie against the dogs neck. When pressure is put on the collar by pulling on the leash, those prongs dig into the dogs flesh around his neck. The pain from the prongs are supposed to be a correction to the dog so he wont do whatever it was again.
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1:24 - Mr. Gibbs ignores the girl. Girl pulls hard on the leash. Those prongs are now digging into the dogs neck.
2:39 - Girl is pulling Mr. Gibbs with the prong. Pause the video here and you can really see the pulling.
2:42 - Mr. Gibbs tries to go with the trainer (instead of the girl) and he gets a BIG yank from the girl. Do you wonder why the dog doesnt want to be with the girl?
2:56 - The first sign of stress from the dog: a lip lick and a look-away. These are both classic stress signals from a dog.
3:13 - "He gets beat in the head," the little girl says. Apparently she likes to swing a lot, and Mr. Gibbs cannot get out of her way. The father repeats the little girls sentiment and laughs a little sheepishly.
3:30 - "What do you say to him," the anchor asks. The girl answers "Down!" and "At ease." Both are dog training cues -- not "I love you!" or "Good boy!"
3:32 - Hit pause here. Is this dog looking to interact with the girl? Does he even acknowledge her?
3:34 - Slight "whale eye" from Mr. Gibbs. The whale eye is another sign of stress. This happens when the girl is laying on the dog. The dog has no escape, no say in whether or not he can get out of the situation. This is a recipe for disaster.
4:11 - Were now in the live interview with the anchor, parents, child and Mr. Gibbs. Pause the video at this spot. See the girl tugging on the prong collar? Every tug on the collar brings discomfort to Mr. Gibbs.
4:14 - The girl gives a double-tug on the prong collar, hard.
4:18 Another tug from the girl. The father finally rescues Mr. Gibbs from the daughters tugs by placing the dog back onto the couch. I wonder why the dog was trying to get down in the first place?
4:54 - Mr. Gibbs looks to the father for help out of the situation.
5:01 - Theres a big lip lick and a yawn. Two classic signals that the dog is stressed and would like to leave. He keeps trying to get down off the couch.
5:15 - Another lip lick from Mr. Gibbs. The signals this dog is throwing are increasing.
5:17 - Mr. Gibbs turns his head away from the girl to try to break off contact, but she just gets closer to Mr. Gibbs. Hes trying very hard and his patience is admirable.
5:57 - Mr. Gibbs is resigned to his fate.
6:15 - Girl squeals, maybe theres a little bit of a squeeze by her, Mr. Gibbs tries again to get up and leave.
6:20 - Another head turn by Mr. Gibbs -- another attempt to break off contact with the girl, but again she follows.
6:35 - Girl grabs Mr. Gibbs head, pulls it down, and grabs his eyebrows.
6:41 - Girl grabs Mr. Gibbs prong collar and pulls off the bandana covering the prong collar.
6:45 - Pause it here and just look at the picture. Is the dog happy about his circumstances?
6:53 - The girl is now pulling the bandana back onto Mr. Gibbs, getting it caught in his mouth.
7:01 - Mr. Gibbs is nearing the end of his attempts to get out of the situation and/or get some relief from this girl from the other people in the room. Finally he lies on the girl as a last ditch effort.
It looks very cute, but in reality, Mr. Gibbs lays on her in resignation -- not enjoyment.
There are reasons why most service dog agencies wont let a young child have a service dog. Unfortunately, this segment highlights the many reasons why. The child is far to young to have the responsibility of caring for a dog, her parents havent taught her how to kindly interact with a dog, and everyone is ignoring (or doesnt recognize) the dogs many pleas to be removed from the situation.
For more insights from Laurie, read Part 2 of this post.
Many dog bites happen over the holidays, partly because dogs are stressed and overwhelmed by changes in routine and increased activity levels in the house. Parents are also stressed and frequently overwhelmed as well. The combination can lead to a set of circumstances that conducive to unfortunate accidents in which a child is bitten. These bites DO NOT HAPPEN OUT OF THE BLUE. Sorry for yelling, but we have just heard so many parents and dog owners tell us that the dog bit without warning, that he has never bitten before, that he loves kids. The latter two statements are true in most cases, the former is not. The fact is, that the dog did warn in some way, it was just that no-one noticed. By the time the dog gets to the point of growling or snapping, he is stressed to the point where he is likely to bite. For many people these overt warnings, or even the bite itself are the only things blatant enough to be noticeable. Before a dog brings out the big guns of overt aggression he will signal his distress and anxiety with more subtle signs. Most commonly these include licking his chops or flicking his tongue out, yawning, scratching himself or showing a half moon of white in his eye when a child approaches or tries to interact with him. He may give a whole body shake after an interaction with a child. Slightly more obvious, but often ignored are signs of avoidance, such as turning his head away, shifting his body away or getting up and leaving. Effusive licking of a childs face is another way that a dog might try to increase distance. This type of licking should not be confused with affection. Read more about this.
We want parents to learn all about dog body language so that they know what to look for and how to tell if their dog is happy or stressed around their child and how to tell when intervention is required. We want all parents to know the warning signs so that no familys holidays are ruined by a dog bite incident. There is lots of information at our website, but the best source of information for parents is our online course: Basic Dog Body Language. To celebrate the coming holidays and hopefully prevent some nice family dogs from biting "out of the blue" we have put this course on sale for $20 until Nov 15.
