Goin' to the dogs

The world doesn't have to be dog-eat-dog. Or dog-eat-futon. Or dog-eat-remote control.

But too often, that's precisely a dog's life. And for trainers committed to refining the habits of ill-mannered animals, improving a pet's disposition is always a challenge.

"There are many ways to treat a dog, a lot of them totally wrong," said Jim Crawford, animal trainer (or, these days, "behaviorist") and owner of the Canine Behavior and Training Center of Las Vegas. "It takes a lot of diligence, patience and recognition that no two dogs are alike."

Crawford, in practice for more than 20 years in Southern Nevada, takes a decidedly cerebral approach to his craft.

"I don't use corporate punishment," he said. "I don't physically punish a dog, I don't care if it's small or large. I try to approach each animal with optimism, logic and common sense."

Experienced trainers can interpret a dog's idiosyncrasies almost instantly. By the snarl of a snout or twitch of a tail, seasoned practitioners can sense if Fifi is prone to the visitor-repelling practice of peeing on pant legs.

But methods employed to cure an animal's obnoxious or aggressive behavior vary from the time-honored swat on the rump (no longer in vogue) to spiritual intervention (might never be in vogue).

In particular, trainers are eschewing seemingly tortuous training methods used in a bygone era.

"I won't use a shock collar, ever," said Dave Mahar, who has operated For Paw's Sake in Las Vegas for more than three years after training for eight years in Los Angeles. "Some dog trainers still suggest using them, especially to stop a dog from barking. I don't like them."

A shock collar, as the name implies, sends a low-range electrical charge to the animal via a hand-held remote device. A similar method of animal control, an invisible electrical fence (where an electrical wire is run a few inches under the ground and jolts an animal when it's about to stray away) is also a less-utilized method of teaching manners.

"I'm not a big fan of hurting an animal," Mahar said. "There are other ways to go, lots of other sensible options."

Crawford contends that developing a personal chemistry with a pet is critical to controlling the animal's behavior. Treating a pet like a child is not a bad idea, he said.

"If you remember that a dog is like a young kid, you'll have much more success in teaching it manners," he said. "Try to keep it as simple as possible. Just try to teach the dog manners, don't try to demand a whole lot of precision or you'll be disappointed."

Pet owners should be happy if a pet follows basic doggy protocol.

Doogy dos and don'ts

"Don't jump on visitors, don't poop or urinate on the furniture, don't break loose in a store parking lot or charge out of the front door every time it opens," Crawford said. "To do that, you need to work with the owners just as much as the dog."

During a recent home visit with Bruce and Cindy Bohler of Henderson, Crawford displayed his repertoire of commands and simple props used to keep a young animal in line.

In this case, the pet was an 8-month-old Newfoundland named Satee. Not only is Satee immature and thus prone to frolic, but at 100 pounds, leaping on an unsuspecting house guest could lead to a few cracked ribs. Not to mention a lawsuit.

"The first thing I teach a younger animal is about thievery of food," Crawford said. "There is always food around, on a counter top or in a kid's hand, and the first thing a dog wants to do is take it."

Crawford usually places a treat -- a doggie biscuit in some cases, or a hot dog -- on the floor near a dog's face. Satee was tempted by a small doggie snack placed a few inches from her face.

When she performed the inevitable -- lurched for the treat -- Cindy Bohler simply said, "no."

Satee stopped. Then, she went again for the snack. Cindy's reply again was, "No," followed by a tug of the leash.

Finally, Satee demurred. Crawford then placed the snack closer to Satee, then closer again, and the dog didn't budge.

Later, Crawford led the dog outside, where it's full of what trainers call "distractions" -- other animals, cars, pedestrians. He and Cindy walked Satee to the middle of the street and gave the ever-popular "stay" command, then walked past in different directions as Satee struggled to obey the command.

Even when Crawford bounced a tennis ball directly over the clearly frustrated Newfoundland's head, Satee didn't waver.

The reward was the "Come, Satee," call from Cindy, allowing the dog to sprint up the street. Satee also received the long-awaited snack.

"I'll set a dog up," Crawford said. "I'll give it a chance to break a rule, and if it does you have to break the thought."

In a gentle, but firm, manner. As deterrents, Crawford uses squirt bottles and plastic milk cartons filled with coins to shake an animal's thought process. If a dog is apt to gnaw on a leash or piece of furniture, a spray of vinegar water or a dab of bitter apple paste does the trick.

Also, Crawford will use a small cage as a sort of penalty box if a particular rule -- such as befouling the carpet -- is infringed upon.

"A lot of behaviorists won't use a (cage), because they think it's inhumane, but I try to keep it in an area where there are people and there is a natural environment around," he said. "Think of it as a kind of playpen. We put kids in playpens for a 'time out,' and it's no different for a pet."

Mahar also tries to read a dog's demeanor on the first visit.

"Just by the first couple of minutes, you can see how shy, how dominant, how curious a dog might be," Mahar said. "If I rattle my keys and toss them on the ground, you can tell a lot. If the dog sniffs and investigates, it has good response. If it cowers, it might be shy or skittish. If it ignores them totally, it might be too distracted or even stupid."

Mahar, however, will not reward an obedient dog with snacks.

"I just teach, teach, teach," he said. "I don't train with treats because treats are unrealistic. What if you want the dog to do something and you don't have a treat? You won't have a treat all the time, so I just praise, praise, praise, because a dog will like praise, too."

Mahar said animal behavior continues to become less predictable through generational in-breeding. Most purebred dogs (many for the sake of show) have been "made by man" for generations, he said.

"Look at the bulldog," Mahar said. "That dog has been bred by man to look a certain way and has all kinds of psychological and health problems. You have puppy farms in the Midwest that literally breed a brother and sister, then another brother and sister, and what you have is a dog that can be pretty screwed up."

Doggy drugs

In many instances, owners will cut directly to prescription medication to control the behavior of a pet. Both Crawford and Mahar agreed that using prescription medication on a misbehaving animal should be a last resort.

"I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to put a dog on Prozac if nothing else has been tried," Crawford said. "It shows me that someone is just trying for a shortcut. Drugs can be a shortcut if they're not totally necessary, and when you start using them, you have to keep increasing the dosage. It can be really unhealthy."

"I've only recommended (prescription drugs) two times in the past 15 or 16 years," Mahar said. "There was a Great Dane who wanted to kill me and was about my size. I couldn't work with it at all, a very aggressive animal. There was also a Shih-Tzu that felt like the only way to respond to me was by attacking.

"That was an aptly named dog, believe me."

Las Vegas veterinarian Dr. Gerald Pribyl said owners must be careful, but not afraid of, prescription drugs.

"Prozac was kind of a fad drug, just like for humans," he said. "There were variable results for humans. A new drug, Clomicalm, hasn't been released yet but has a 75 percent success rate with minimal side effects" (vomiting being the most persistent).

Clomicalm, to be available within the month, is designed to treat "separation anxiety," or the panic a dog feels when owners leave home for hours at a time.

"You can have a lot of problems with separation anxiety," Pribyl said. "Chewing or urinating on the furniture or carpet, excessive barking and whining are all caused by that."

To determine if and when an animal should be prescribed a mood-modifying drug, veterinarians usually take a battery of physical tests.

"We have to see if there's a physical problem. We take a urine sample, check to see if it might by a thyroid problem," Pribyl said. "We have to take blood samples, an entire battery of tests before we prescribe anything."

Though Pribyl said he prefers owners to seek behavior specialists in most cases, he's experienced heavy feedback regarding Clomicalm, which has been featured on "Good Morning America," among other major media outlets.

"People want to try it," he said. "I've probably received 25 calls about it. But it's like anything else and we'll judge it on a case-by-case basis."

Paranormal pooches

Pet owners' willingness to experiment with behavioral modification has even extended to the paranormal. Giggle if you must, but psychic intervention has been sought in some cases of animal training.

"I hate to use the 'P' word, because it's such a trip for a lot of people," said Laura Simpson, a self-titled "animal communicator" based in Finland, Minn. Simpson hosts a radio show with limited syndication (including Phoenix).

Simpson said she keeps busy with a private practice, providing psychic therapy for both humans and animals, and has a sense of humor about the innate skepticism of her vocation.

"I'm not going to tell you I actually hear things," she said. "But I hear an impression of a voice. It's usually about some issue that the pet wants addressed. Pets speak to each other all the time."

Simpson relates an incident with a giant Bouvier (a Belgian-bred dog, roughly the size of a Newfoundland or Great Dane) named "Star." She communicated with Star, prompting the dog to bark once for "yes" and twice for "no" when asked specific questions.

"Through that, I learned a lot about Star's issues," Simpson said. "His problem was he wasn't getting enough communication from the male owner, which we tried to correct."

Local psychics are reluctant to delve into animal communication.

"With a healer, it's more of a placebo than anything," Robert Leysen, owner of four Las Vegas Psychic Eye Book Shops, said. "I think, over the past four or five years, we've done between six and 10 animals. It's for someone who has tried everything."

Crawford smirked when asked about psychic communication for animals.

"Everything is up to the owner," he said. "If you're a good owner and do the right things, you'll have a good pet."

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