Enrichment "room"

We decided to turn our old summerhouse into an enrichment room.  Ideal for these hot temperatures.

Cleaned, boarded out, carpeted and full of enrichment toys.  A lot more to do yet but it's a start!

Your dog's nose

Why using their sense of smell is good for dogs

The olfactory system of the dog is extremely sensitive compared to that of humans. Smells play a much more important role to the dog.  Dogs literally “see the world” through their sense of smell. Their olfactory bulb is 3 times larger than ours.

We know that dogs have around 250 million scent receptors in the nose. Humans have only five million. A large proportion of a dog’s brain is devoted to scent and the nose is the fastest route information can get to the brain. The olfactory nerves are responsible for smell and carry impulses from the olfactory organ of the nose to the brain.

The sensation of scent is the result of neuronal processing: from the sensory neurons, information is transferred to the olfactory bulb situated on the other side of the brain, and to the limbic system, which influences the emotional state of the organism.

This shows us how vital it is for a dog’s brain, for them to use their noses. Nose work, foraging, slow sniffy walks all make for a healthy brain.

• Boosts confidence in dogs
• Sniffing releases pleasurable endorphins that calm the dog’s brain
• Nose work games can strengthen the bond between you.
• Allowing dogs to sniff gives them choices – what to sniff and when to sniff
• Scent work allows them to problem solve, focus and tune out distractions 

This is a fantastic video that explains how dogs see their world. How dogs smell

Third visit to see this gorgeous girl.

Greenpeace Boarding Kennel staff have been working hard with her, desensitising/counter-conditioning her to the sound of the harness clips. She shows no reaction at all to the sound.

She is slowly coming out of her shell and her lovely personality is beginning to shine through.  Much more confident and curious today.

She soon came out of her kennel and followed me and ended up lying across my legs for affection.  She wore the harness over her head (no video this week sadly) and we left it on her for a brief period.  The next session we may attach it fully but it will depend on how she feels.  It is essential to keep a close watch on body language to avoid placing her under any stress. 

It is so tempting to try to speed things up and place the harness on immediately. This could be considered to be using the "flooding" technique.  The theory behind it is that the dog will just "get used to it".  What actually happens is that the dog just gives up/shuts down as part of his survival mechanism) or finds another coping mechanism (sometimes the use of aggression)!  

It is essential to go at the individual dog's pace, even more so with nervous and anxious dogs.  If we push too far, we can cause increased anxiety and even aversion towards whatever we are doing.

Small steps, allowing choices will build confidence as she learns there is nothing to worry about.

Why searching is such a wonderful activity for dogs

The human-dog relationship is deeply rooted in the biology of both species, the significance of which we are only just beginning to appreciate. 

Let's consider how dogs used to spend their lives. Only a few decades ago, dogs were let out the door in the morning and often didn't return until evening.  What did they do all day?  No doubt scavenging and lots of sniffing, meeting and greeting other dogs.  I am not advocating we return to this situation! Far from it, but we need to consider how our dogs spend their day and what opportunities they have for sensory stimulation.

Many animals, including dogs, exhibit a general curiosity about the environment and need sensory stimulation.

^Lindsay says "There may exist a physiological requirement for a certain amount of daily sensory and somatic stimulation that the animal needs in order to feel sufficiently content to abstain from exploratory activity. Sensory and social deprivation may result in the display of exaggerated compensatory reactions designed to satisfy an intensified need for stimulation and social attention." 

According to the *Coppingers, "a dog is a kind of canid that has evolved to co-exist with humans — as a pet, a worker or a scavenger (or, in some cases, a combination of all three)".

These days, most dogs are kept indoors and some may be lucky enough to have a slow, exploratory walk.  Many dogs experience a fairly fast-paced walk around the block with few opportunities to sniff. Others are offered exciting, fast-paced ball play in an attempt to wear them out. Dogs need to sniff, dogs need to be curious and be allowed to explore.

Animal Welfare laws demand that zoos and similar organisations must offer enrichment to the captive animals. What about our dogs?

Mealtimes offer a really simple way to add enrichment. Ditch the bowl, scatter feed, use interactive food dispensers, use some for training opportunities, use some for making walks more interesting.

Walks should be slow, at the dog's pace, allowing for plenty of sniff opportunities. After all, dogs have around 250 million scent receptors in the nose. Humans have only five million. A large proportion of a dog’s brain is devoted to scent. and the nose is the fastest route information can get to the brain.

^Lindsay, S. (2000) Handbook of Applied Dog Behaviour and Training Volume One, Iowa, Blackwell Publishing.

*Coppinger, R & L. (2001) A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behaviour and Evolution, NewYork, Scribner. 

Case Study

We had the pleasure of meeting this timid German Shepherd girl, currently waiting for a new home. She came into rescue very wary of everything, displaying a huge startle response to the slightest noise.

Our first session was to build a relationship with her. We spent time sitting in the kennel corridor, allowing her freedom to approach or move away.

Over time she chose to come closer.

It is so important not to try to lure dogs to come closer. They need to be free to make their own choice in order to build confidence.

It is ok to gently throw treats out towards the dog, ideally to her side or just beyond her. This helps pair positive things with the strangers' presence but avoids coaxing her over.

Before long, she began to approach and to use her nose.

By the end of the first session, she happily received and sought out affection.

We ended the session on a positive note.  It is important that sessions like this are kept short.

Greenpeace Boarding Kennels are looking after her while she waits for her new home. Obviously, she is still under assessment while we build up her confidence.  
Greenpeace Kennels staff are highly experienced in handling timid and fearful dogs and workers are able to avoid using a lead while she is in training. She can be let out from her kennel, directly into the paddocks and back again, avoiding any negative associations. 
Anyone new meeting her is introduced in the same way, pairing with treats. 
All interactions with her avoid any pressure being placed on her and she has already started to bond with various staff due to their experienced handling.

Second session

She has never been lead walked or worn a collar or harness.  She takes time to get to know people but when she does, she loves affection.  This video clip is our second meeting with her.  

Prior to this video clip, we introduce the sight of the harness by placing it on the ground, surrounded by tiny treats.  Before long she was pushing her nose right into it.  Next, we lifted the harness and held it in our hands while continuously feeding treats. When the harness disappeared, the treats stopped. This was repeated a number of times before we introduced wearing the harness.

In this next short video clip, you can see we have progressed to actually placing the harness over her head.  We are taking things very slowly to ensure a positive association is made with every single step. 

She usually finds it hard to relax when out of her kennel.  She came into rescue with another dog and often looks for him, pacing and unable to settle.  Here she is after our session.

Why we train in this way.

In dog training, we use Conditioning to create positive emotional and physiological responses to known triggers or new potential triggers. 

Conditioned emotional responses (CERs) include changes in behaviour. In order for CER’s to take place, the brain must experience associative learning. 

The limbic system is known as the emotional control system and is the area responsible for associative learning.

The limbic system is composed of the amygdala, the hippocampus and the hypothalamus. 

Through human and animal studies we know that the amygdala is responsible for the emotional organisation and considered the central hub of fear processing and the hippocampus plays a large role in the contextual processing of memories.  

In other words, the Amygdala is involved in emotional memory and the hippocampus is involved in memory about emotions.

Flooding is a technique that we should not use. If we placed the harness straight onto her we would potentially scare her and she may become fearful of the harness.  Flooding is cruel, can cause behaviour problems and often leads to dogs shutting down because they cannot escape the scary stimulus.

Instead, we use desensitisation and counter conditioning to alter their reflexive emotional and physiological responses, either by repeatedly pairing relevant stimuli with something pleasant or through careful exposure that gradually desensitises them. 

Our goal is to achieve a conditioned emotional response (CER) to the harness. Every time the harness is present, it means treats are given. She does not have to "do" anything for the treats to appear - that would be operant conditioning - treats are present every time the harness is present.

Desensitisation and counter-conditioning are all about overriding fearful memories stored in the brain and preventing new ones from forming, using force-free techniques.