Making the most of management

Management is an important part of the picture with every client I speak to, and sometimes it is everything.

Amongst other things I call myself a dog trainer. Not strictly true, because I don’t train your dogs, I train you. Training can take time, so what happens in the meantime? Often that is management, engineering the environment and the dog so that we are preventing the behaviour we don’t want being practiced.

Management can have lots of forms - In the pic above, Fisher and Jess are having a quiet moment on lead, in a fenced off field  so that their arousal levels don't get too high while playing. Here's a quick run-down with some tips and examples of how it works in real life.

Physical Barriers

Barriers are simply a way to separate you from your dog, your dogs from each other in multi dog households, your dogs from visitors, your dog from things that you value, your dogs from the neighbour’s garden and so on. They can take many forms but are usually kiddy gates, shut doors, pens, crates and fences, or even just a spare box of piece of plywood.

Crates, pens and kiddy gates can be particularly useful with puppies to keep them away from things that they could harm or that could harm them. All my dogs have been crate trained, and they have started life off in a crate with a pen around and then progressed to access all areas. It means I can relax knowing that they can’t get to things they shouldn’t. I also always put a cheap offcut of vinyl underneath which can be easily cleaned.
 
Sometimes a barrier is even easier that that. I remember going to see someone with a collie and the puppy was constantly pushing her ball under the sofa and then barking. Cue humans to get up and remove it, only for it to happen again. It was becoming very annoying and the dog was practicing a great game that they didn’t want to reinforce. Two solutions – either a larger ball or something under the sofa as a barrier to stop the ball going under. Both were implemented. Calm was restored.
 
For many dogs kiddy gates are better than shut door as you can see them and they can see you. The transition between being apart and then opening up is easier. A dog shoving themselves through a crack in the door as you open it is much more difficult to manage than a dog over the other side of a kiddy gate that you can communicate with. They can often be a softer way of introducing visitors, as often energy can be reduced before being in the same space.
 
A simple shut door to a front room where the dog barks at the street, or a room where they destroy things, pee on the bed, or steal your kid’s toys can work wonders too.
 
Airlocks can be great in some households such as dogs in season, dogs that need to be fed separately and a household with only one caregiver so management of two dogs is hard. This simply means a couple of gates or a pen to allow easy access with a space in between..

Environmental Management

The first thing many puppy owners do is environmental management. That means removing all the things your puppy can chew away from puppy reach. Depending on the size of your dog, that could be a lot. For us it was mainly throw cushions on the sofa that went in a bin bag for a couple of months, because to Jess they were simply another soft toy. Once you have removed the ‘illegal’ items such as your glasses, remote control, table legs or puppy training book, the key thing is for your dog to get their chewing fix with the right items.

Sound is sometimes an issue for dogs. Noises from neighbours, cars outside, doors slamming all can be things that disturb a dog. White noise can be useful, or talk radio rather than music. This is all management too.
 
Moving furniture is an interesting one. Sometimes a sofa backing on to a window, or a table by a window simply needs to be moved away to remove access to a window. Moving a dog’s bed can also be a good tactic. I have lost could of the amount of times that a dog’s bed is in a walkway through the house, or right across from the door into a room, and it is clear that is causing some issues because they are getting disturbed each time someone moves around.
 
Internal visual barriers can be more useful than an open barred kiddy gate. For example with two dogs you are integrating, a blanket across the kiddy gate can be enough for both dogs to relax. I remember working with a client with two small dogs where they rubbed along pretty well in a lot of circumstances, but their beds were in a position where they could stare at each other. We got a large seat cushion and put it between the two beds so both dogs could relax. External visual barriers can be useful too. That can simply be closing a curtain or putting up some window film.

Equipment

What I am talking about here are leads, long lines, harnesses, tethers, muzzles and so on.

Leads or long lines are a safety tool. Living in Cornwall, we have high cliffs within a mile of where I live and I will ALWAYS  have a lead or long line on my dog. It’s just not worth the risk.

Harnesses, particularly ones with a front clip, can be useful while you are working through any lead training. Yes, all harnesses will change a dog’s gait, but I would rather that than my dog choking on a collar while pulling.
 
Harnesses in cars can be super useful, but just like crates, do go for a crash tested one. It means your dog can’t wander, you are complying with the law, and your dog is protected if you do have an accident.
 
Muzzles are used by owners with dogs that might struggle in certain situations, but one caveat for me is that they should not be used as an excuse to put our dogs in situations where we know they won’t cope. Muzzles have more uses than dogs who might nip or bite. Having had a large lurcher who liked to run like many lurchers do with an open mouth, having a muzzle on could protect playmates from an accidental tooth. I have worked with clients whose dogs scavenge to the point of multiple vet visits, and a muzzle simply prevented harm.
 
Jackets, bandanas or sleeves for your lead saying ‘in training’, ‘nervous’ or ‘do not pet’ can be useful for some. I quite like ‘in training’ because it says don’t interfere with me, but don’t be worried about me. It saves having to stop someone coming too close and getting your dog agitated in the process. 

Food and food toys

You have some friends round and you simply want to sit down for a chat. This is where a food toy, chew or bone may be able to help. I sat with a client recently with an exuberant dog and he spent an hour enjoying chewing on a bone while we chatted through the issues.
 
A carefully timed handful of cheese at the sharp end of a dog can be great to overshadow a check at the blunt end. No learning is likely to be happening, apart from thinking vets are cheese factories, but for that quick check, it is ideal if you dog is able to eat in that moment.

That’ll do

Sometimes we can engineer the environment or use equipment so that we and our dogs are safe and happy. Sometimes that is enough.  I am going to give you a couple of examples:
 
A couple with an excitable adolescent dog who finds it difficult to settle when they take him out. He walks well, but as a young dog, can’t sit still for long. This is curbing their social life. The dog has an amazing life, lovely walks, but they can’t take them with them to the café to meet with friends so they feel guilty and end up not going out. This dog is really happy being left at home in a room in the house where he is behind a kiddy gate and safe. And actually, as a live-wire young dog, the extra sleep is helping with his calmness. His training is going to take time, and in the future they may well end up taking him out with them (he probably needs to grow up a bit), but for the moment, he is left at home and social life resumes.
 
This is my own dog. She likes to chase, cats are her thing. We live in an area where the only cats she meets are feral and in the fields. I could spend hours training her to be super okay with cats, see them as friends, but life is short.  If she sees a cat on lead, I can manage her past. If she sees a cat in the field, it will pop through the fence and I can call her back. If she sees a cat in the garden, it can escape and she will be a bit excited, but no harm done. As far as cats are concerned, that’ll do. Leads, a recall and fences are enough. Training around other animals and livestock was more extensive and we can walk through most, on lead, without a second glance.
 
 
So there you go, making the most of management is a big topic that I have just touched the surface of. I could give you many more examples of how management has been part of the solution, and sometimes the whole solution. It you want to stop behaviour, want quick fixes and want to reduce stress, then management is your friend. Alongside, of course, seeking the help of a professional to work on the training side if needed.