I often speak to groups on this one main subject. Many people expect their animals to act well all of the time and are surprised when they act out, misbehave or do any behavior not shown before. Many animals tell me that they do not get the attention they crave if they are good all the time. Negative attention is better than no attention. So I devised a plan. I would praise them if they acted good, telling them how I appreciate their wonderful attitude and patience through any ordeal or trying time. This could be a schedule change in work hours, vacations where they have to stay at home or with someone, accepting a new animal in the house, or people changes. It encompasses so many things and I believe it is our job to see how it affects their lives. So in thinking this way, I thought about a dog or cats normal day.

So let’s look at how a typical animal looks at their life. You get up, go to work and they go out to potty, have breakfast and go to sleep. They wait for your return. They don’t always understand where you go or what you do because in their world you go and come back at about the same time everyday. When you come home they are excited and want to play and eat dinner, go for a walk and get all of your undivided attention. In a perfect world, we could do that for them everyday. But our lives change and so do our needs, schedules and demands put on us by outside sources. So we do the best we can and sometimes/most of the time the animal gets shorted on his/her time with us. And we forget to tell them what is going on with us so they are still left in the dark, not knowing when we are coming home, and if they are going to be able to play outside with us. They get bored, they get lonely, they get angry. They still do not understand what is going on with us, other than we have a lot of stuff going through our heads that they don’t understand so they either start to blame themselves for our busy stressed lives or they act out. So, I always tell people, please talk with your pets about what is going on with your life. Tell them everything until you are blue in the face. Tell them how the boss put too much work on you, how you had to stay late, how Aunt so-in-so had to have you help her clean her closet, etc. Tell them it is not their fault most of all and promise to do something fun over the weekend. And then DO IT. All that aside, I have met lots of pets that understand their people work, understand vacations, and understand family problems. But I always stress the importance of good communication with your pet. Talk with them as you picture in your mind what you are saying so they get pictures and images as well as the words. It makes a world of difference in their understanding.

I have also seen that small little problems often become huge while no one is paying attention. Often times, something so trivial and small turns into something huge because it is not discussed soon enough. We can often look back and see that there were signs of problems, but we hoped they would go away so that we did not have time to deal with them, but dealing with them sooner than later will be far more successful. I often tell people that instead of looking for the solution, let’s look for the problem. Let’s not just tell the cat to stop peeing on the carpet, lets talk about why the cat is peeing outside it’s litter box and see what we can do to make the cat feel better about it’s surroundings. Let’s come up with compromises that make both parties happy. Often times, owners tell me that they were aware of the problem but offer many excuses to why nothing was done about it. So deep down, most people know without being conscious of knowing. They get it though they don’t know how. So go with your gut instinct, talk with your pet about it and say you are going to make it right for them.

That is easy to say, but not always easy to do. What if it is about a new animal in the house? How about a new baby? How about moving? All are such good examples of why animals react. We have to remember that their whole life surroundings are in your house. That is where they feel safe and secure and animals by nature do not like change. So we have to prepare them. We have to work with them. They all need a job. Job? Yes, a job. What I mean about a job is something that that animal does special for you. Maybe it is walking out with you every morning to get the paper, maybe it is taking a walk with you, maybe it is giving you a shoulder to lean on when you need it, maybe it is to be a foot warmer or lap warmer. But they all have to have a special job that only they know they do perfectly. And they have to have some endearing quality that you see in them that makes them so special to you. All of my animals have at least one trait that I admire from them. And it is different with all. They must feel special and unique. For example, if they play nice with the kids even when the kids don’t play nice back, you tell them that their patience is amazing and you wished you had half of what they have. Now you have started on your foundation for a confident animal.

Second, we must establish the foundation rule and give them boundaries thereby making them feel safe. Your foundation rule is always: I AM IN CHARGE. That must never change. This doesn’t mean the animal is beaten or afraid, it means they have to trust your instincts as head of the pack or face the consequences. Boundaries meaning baseline rules. Don’t go over 4 baseline rules and never compromise on them.

For example, baseline rules for my dogs:
1) No biting
2) Only growl if you look away, no staring at someone and growl
3) When I say no barking, I mean no barking
4) No pottying in the house

For Cats:
1)Show respect for the other cats, no pushing other cats off of food or water
or litter box
2)Come see me if you have a problem with another cat
3)No pottying outside the litter box

For Horses:
1)No biting for meanness
2)No kicking for meanness
3)No horseplay or roughness around people
4)No pushiness

So if any of these things happen then I know there has been a break in the communication I have set for my animals. By setting these up and having the animals know them, you have a baseline and solid foundation for your pets.

Now I am going to touch more on the Foundation rule: I AM IN CHARGE. This goes along with the consequences of not doing what they are suppose to do and also the timeouts. It is about making the energy that you send to them like a big strong monster when you are reprimanding them. Imagery means everything to animals. Scary but effective. No hitting. No beating. Use a higher, louder, deeper voice with certain words you use, such as “bad behavior”, while they are placed in their discipline crate or whatever their reprimand is. You must always believe that you are in charge and have the attitude of “How dare they!” Some animals need more of the big attitude and some don’t need as much – it all depends on the animal’s individual attitude. And never let an animal push into your space. Push them back into theirs. By leaning back to get away from your pet, you are letting them take advantage or have the upper hand with you. Push them back into their space even farther so that you are in their space to get your point across. This is one of the first steps an animal takes to undermine your authority. And there must always be consequences for their bad actions, making the correct path the easiest path to take. This is our number one priority, making the path of least resistance the easiest and correct action. By making the incorrect attitude or act the harder action to take, they learn that it is easier to do what is expected of them.

To Be Continued…
Check in December for more of the Setting your pet up to succeed!

Can you timeout a horse? Absolutely!