Rain Jordan, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP, Fearful Dogs Expert <\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/em>www.ExpertCanine.com<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/a> |<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/em>www.CanineFearSolutions.com<\/a> |<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/em> <\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/em>www.FearfulDogsProject.org<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Any time I sit down to trim one of my dogs\u2019 nails, the other dogs swarm around, awaiting their turn.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/strong><\/em>It\u2019s understandable if you think that\u2019s odd or maybe even false, given how frequently pet dogs are made to suffer restrained, forceful, and terrifying methods for nail care, bathing, and other grooming procedures.<\/p>\n Arguably barbaric practices continue because not enough people know that aversive methods aren\u2019t necessary.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Unfortunately for dogs, it has been and continues to be all too common for people, including many professionals, to use force and other aversives to achieve nail trimming.<\/p>\n In the early 2000s a vet tech instructed me to hold my trembling greyhound down on the ground with my knees so he could more easily trim her nails. She was already terrified before that, and would be much moreso afterward.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n All one has to do is really look at their dog, another sentient being who relies on you to protect them from pain, threat, and the frightening results, to see what is and isn\u2019t right.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The recommending, accepting, and practice of forced nail trims<\/strong><\/strong><\/em> has become a bit of a trigger point for me personally, especially as the guardian of a fearful dog and as a fearful dog specialist.<\/p>\n I know how much damage even a single scary experience can do to a dog, and that can be true of previously non-fearful dogs as well.<\/p>\n We pride ourselves on being a humane, pet-centric culture, but in reality, we have a lot of work to do.<\/p>\n Some people may not even realize that it isn\u2019t humane to hurt, force, scare, or emotionally disturb a dog in order to achieve a grooming goal.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n But it isn\u2019t, since we have other options.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Restraint and the speed that it provides helps humans, but can also do emotional harm to the animal.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n This article will provide step-by-step instructions for one of those options, implementing the best practices known as a group as \u201ccooperative care & handling.\u201d<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n CC&H is crucial for the well-being of our animals, for the well-being of our relationship with them, and for our own well-being.<\/p>\n After all, most of us will feel terrible if we physically or emotionally harm our pets. That can lead to guilt, self-shame, and other forms of personal distress as well.<\/p>\n Indeed, it is my belief that the more we allow our pets to suffer even small discomforts, the more it harms the human psyche as well. <\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The cognitive dissonance of saying we love our pets on one hand, yet on the other hand allowing them to needlessly suffer uncomfortable experiences, is undeniable. Of course no one is perfect, but we can learn more and do better.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Keep in mind that nothing in this article is meant to replace direct, professional guidance for your particular situation.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Please contact your anti-aversives, certified behavior consultant, canine, to help you ensure the best possible experience and outcome.<\/p>\n A few important principles guide our practice:<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n 1: Behavior that is positively reinforced\u2014that is, immediately followed with a high value, novel food item\u2014 is likely to increase in strength and\/or frequency.<\/strong><\/strong> <\/p>\n Food is a primary reinforcer and is generally considered more powerful and effective, when properly chosen and presented, than secondary reinforcers like praise, pets, etc. Secondaries can be conditioned to be more powerful, but that\u2019s not what we need to do for something like nail trimming.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n 2: Dogs, like humans and other animals, can quickly develop associations as a result of their experiences; these associations inform what the animal predicts will happen the next time a similar situation arises.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n If a dog predicts unpleasantness, he will seek to avoid, or possibly self-defend if avoidance isn\u2019t possible<\/strong><\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n If my sitting down next to my dog with nail trimmers is followed by forcing, hurting, or scaring my dog (force, restraint, and pain are scary),<\/strong><\/strong> a negative association likely is made, and the dog may now anticipate that when Mom sits near me with that nail thing, something bad will happen next if I don\u2019t get away.<\/p>\n In other words, the dog in this example predicts that an unpleasant experience is about to be delivered, because a person near dog with nail trimmers in the past led to unpleasantness.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The trimmers now represent the aversive experiences of force, fear, and possibly pain. <\/span><\/p>\n 3: In this way, an unpleasant experience can lead to future avoidance of stimuli associated with that previous experience.<\/strong><\/strong> <\/p>\n If I were to continue delivery unpleasant experiences related to sitting next to my dog with nail trimmers, the fear, avoidance, or more obvious self-defense behaviors may get worse.<\/p>\n At first it might be just the trimmers that the dog finds harbingers of unpleasantness, but over time, the dog might also associate me with unpleasantness<\/strong><\/strong><\/em> if I continue to insist on delivering it. <\/p>\n Ignoring the dog\u2019s concerns and continuing to deliver aversives tends to make avoidance or other negative reactions worse over time, both in strength and in scope.<\/strong><\/strong> <\/p>\n Sensitization to the aversive stimuli and generalization of the animal\u2019s response to other stimuli present at the time of the original aversive experience are very real possibilities.<\/p>\n 4: Pleasant experiences build positive associations.<\/strong><\/strong> <\/p>\n However, it can take myriad pleasant experiences of a previously unpleasant stimulus before a dog will no longer seek to avoid that stimulus. <\/p>\n Positive associations can counter, but don\u2019t erase, the negative ones.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em> The memory of negative experience, even just one, tends to be tenacious and symptoms may return if other aversive experiences occur.<\/p>\n 5: The lesson for us: To have a happy, cooperative, behaviorally stable animal, we must drastically reduce unpleasant experiences for them while generously increasing their pleasant experiences.<\/strong><\/strong> <\/p>\n In terms of nail trimming and other necessary procedures, most dogs will need plenty of slow, careful, small, and incremental pleasant experiences associated with the process before they are ready to cooperate with\u2014or, in some cases, before they begin to seek out\u2014nail trimming.<\/strong><\/strong> <\/p>\n The reason my dogs swarm when one is getting nails trimmed is that they know it signals opportunity for pleasant experience in the form of high value primary reinforcement.<\/p>\n We systematically \u201cdesensitize\u201d<\/strong><\/strong><\/em> a dog to a previously aversive situation by breaking down the exposure into very small pieces<\/strong><\/strong>\u2014think hair-splitting rather than step-taking\u2014ensuring that the dog is happy and comfortable the entire time. <\/p>\n If the dog shows even small signs of concern or hesitation, we\u2019ve gone ahead too quickly, or for too long, or too intensely\u2014 somehow we didn\u2019t split enough hairs along the way.<\/em><\/p>\n We \u201ccountercondition\u201d <\/strong><\/strong><\/em>a dog to a previously aversive situation by working to change their associations to positive ones. <\/p>\n We can change associations with nail trimming by starting at the easiest possible level and duration of exposure, immediately following each exposure with a novel, high value primary reinforcer (treat item), and\/or by pairing the nail trimming process with a continuous flow of high value treats once the process begins and until just after it ends. <\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Eventually, the D\/CC process results in the previously aversive situation becoming a predictor of something great, such as turkey, for example.<\/p>\n The anticipation & receiving of the pleasant experience of the novel, high value food results in more positive associations and predictions regarding nail trimming.<\/p>\n Once the dog expects that the nail trimmer means a feast of yummy, novel food treats is about to ensue, and that expectation is continuously fulfilled without pain or force, nail trimming can become a cooperative, pleasant experience.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Think of desensitization and counterconditioning as conjoined twins. They are delivered together.<\/strong><\/strong> <\/p>\n Exposure to a previously aversive stimulus that is not immediately followed by a something of primary high value (the turkey, e.g.) is not good counterconditioning because the lack of a quickly following primary reinforcer means there is nothing special and wonderful for the dog to associate with the exposure. <\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n And the delivery of a primary reinforcer without the systematic desensitization process of ensuring tiny increments, short durations, and low intensity during exposure will not itself suffice because a yummy piece of the best food in the world won\u2019t make a dog feel better when he is already in pain or emotional discomfort. <\/p>\n The food won\u2019t matter as much if the dog is already experiencing unpleasantness. Generally, unpleasantness trumps. Certainly, for something as delicate as nail trimming it does.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Cooperative Care & Handling (CC&H) is designed to make previously aversive experiences pleasant for the animal. <\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The dog and the handler cooperate to achieve the goal and there are positive payoffs for both. <\/p>\n If the dog isn\u2019t voluntarily, and without discomfort, participating, it isn\u2019t proper CC&H; if the dog does not want to cooperate, this suggests he\u2019s afraid or otherwise discomforted.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n That makes the experience aversive<\/strong><\/strong>, not cooperative, and it means more preparation is needed first.<\/p>\n This implies also that we must reject equipment that contradicts true cooperation.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n It’s a sad commentary on a culture that items continue to be designed and used that make it easier for us to force our pets, regardless of how the pets feel, regardless of how their behavior\u2014and therefore sometimes also their homes and even lives\u2014are at risk. <\/p>\n The following are examples of items that we recommend avoiding.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n AVOID<\/span>:<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Hanging sling (or any other immobilizing equipment, which is essentially equipment of force)<\/em>. <\/p>\n The hanging sling is not an appropriate tool for those seeking to avoid aversive experiences or to have their animal\u2019s behavior improve. <\/p>\n While it might make it easier to restrain a dog, the fact is that the dog is still being forced, not voluntarily cooperating. <\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Therefore, the dog is likely experiencing fear, discomfort, or other unpleasantness.<\/p>\n Some dogs may only appear to be comfortable because some will shut down when distressed; this shutting down can look<\/em> like calmness, but in reality is a passive form of coping\u2014after all, what choice does a restrained dog have? <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n It’s an interesting fact to be aware of that the sling type devices now marketed for restraining and forcing dogs are modeled after the Pavlovian Hammock of Seligman\u2019s psychology experiments in the 1960s, to restrain dogs so they could be shocked without ability to escape.<\/p>\n These experiments led to the naming of Learned Helplessness\u2014a malady also recognizable in some contemporary dogs such as those who spend much of their lives in cages, and\/or in other conditions where they are not allowed to escape or to refuse unpleasant experiences.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Learned helplessness, by the way, is associated with a variety of medical and behavior risks.<\/p>\n Unfortunately there isn\u2019t much awareness of it, and people sometimes believe they have an extremely \u201ceasy\u201d or tolerant dog whom \u201cyou can do anything to,\u201d not realizing the dog might be suffering a devastating disorder.<\/p>\n AVOID:<\/strong><\/strong><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Other similarly functioning restraints, whether by slip lead or leash attached to collar and a hook.<\/span><\/p>\n Again, restraint is a type of force that can usually be replaced with CC&H by the humane handler.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n Furthermore, tightening or pressure on the throat \/ neck area also pose physical risks as well as emotional ones.<\/span><\/p>\n AVOID:<\/strong><\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n Corrections for the dog squirming or otherwise attempting to avoid. <\/span><\/p>\n Squirming and avoidance attempts mean the dog is having an unpleasant experience and the handler should be working to help the dog feel comfortable.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Adding scolding, flicking, or any other \u2018correction\u2019 on top of the unpleasant experience will only make the dog\u2019s associations, fears, and future behavior worse.<\/span><\/p>\n AVOID \/ QUESTION:<\/strong><\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n![\"Rain](\"https:\/\/myfirstshiba.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/rain_jordan_full.jpg\" "\\"rain_jordan\\"")
<\/span><\/p>\nCooperative Care & Handling for Anti-Aversives Nail Trimming on Shiba Inus<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n
COOPERATIVE CARE & HANDLING (CC&H)<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Systematic Desensitization & Counterconditioning (D\/CC)<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Equipment for Nail Clipping<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n