Dog Behavior, Medicine & Training - BOSTON

by Drs. Dodman & Dunbar

EBT-001   $370.00 

Friday: Fear & Aggression

9:00am – 9:15am Introduction

9:15am – 11:00am — Dr. Nicholas Dodman
Dominance Aggression: The Classical View & Modern Thinking
One of the most common forms of canine aggression is owner-directed aggression, formerly known as dominance aggression. The classical view was that dogs who growl, lift their lips, snap or bite their owners over resources, postural interventions, or admonishment, are displaying “dominant” behavior toward them. Thus, owners were told to dominate their dogs to become the “alpha” and to use physical methods to straighten out the relationship. It is now known that anxiety and conflict fuel owner-directed aggression and physical methods of dealing with it lead to increased aggression. Avoidance of conflict and proper leadership, on the other hand, can reduce or eliminate the problem without need for physical intervention. Methods of reducing owner-directed aggression will be discussed in detail during this talk.

BREAK

11:15am – 1:00pm — Dr. Ian Dunbar
Etiology, Real Danger & Treatment of Dog Bites: Safe & Easy or Difficult & Dangerous?
More time is spent diagnosing the underlying causes and motivations for aggression than actually resolving the problems. Objectively assessing the real danger (by wound pathology) of biting dogs reveals, that the vast majority of cases are relatively safe and certainly quick and easy to resolve and only a slim minority of cases are difficult, time-consuming and potentially dangerous.

LUNCH BREAK

2:00 – 3:30pm — Dr. Nicholas Dodman
Fear Aggression & Territorial Aggression
Fear aggression is expressed toward unfamiliar people rather than toward family members. It is produced largely as a result of under socialization and a sub-optimal environment during puppyhood. Territorial aggression is also directed toward strangers but occurs only in or around the owner’s home. The latter may be due to over protectiveness or fear and the two types are quite distinct. Methods of dealing with fear aggression and territorial aggression will be discussed in this lecture.

BREAK

3:45pm – 5:15pm — Dr. Ian Dunbar
Desensitizing Fear & Building Confidence
I have always felt that with the exception of OTT play aggression, most dog bites are fear-based. However, regardless of how the dog’s “aggression” has been classified (e.g., dominant, fearful, maternal or idiosyncratic), my training protocols are always the same, comprising, classical conditioning, progressive desensitization and teaching basic manners for better control and to increase confidence and pro-social behavior

5:15pm – 6:00pm Q&A with Drs. Dodman & Dunbar


Saturday: Anxiety, Phobias & Hyperactivity

9:00am – 10:45am — Dr. Nicholas Dodman
Separation Anxiety & Treatment Protocols
Separation anxiety is a problem that affects up to 15% of the 18 million dogs in the United States. The causes, diagnosis, and treatment of separation anxiety will be discussed. Though there are new FDA approved drug treatments for separation anxiety, none is a panacea and separation anxiety remains a tricky problem to resolve. State-of-the-art treatments and their efficacy will be discussed in this talk.

BREAK

11:00am – 12:45pm — Dr. Ian Dunbar
Separation Relief (for Dogs & Owners) & Re-channeling OCDs
Many owner-absent (dog home alone) behavior problems stem from owners trying to suppress normal, natural and necessary dog behavior with punishment. Thus, many dogs simply cannot wait for their owners to leave home, so that they may safely act like dogs when left at home alone. OCD behaviors, including owner-absent OCD behaviors, need to be re-channeled to appropriate and acceptable outlets. OCD dogs are so re-trainable, because they are as obsessive and compulsive about the solution as they were about the problem.

12:45pm – 1:00pm Q&A with Drs. Dodman & Dunbar

LUNCH BREAK

2:00 – 3:30pm — Dr. Nicholas Dodman
Storm Phobia & Other Canine Phobias
Storm phobia can be so severe that it can cause affected dogs to leap from second-floor windows to escape their terror. It is an extremely difficult problem to treat – let alone train out of a dog – but new methods can help owners make useful inroads into addressing this problem. The value of desensitization, drug treatments, and other logistical treatments will be discussed.

BREAK

3:45pm – 5:15pm — Dr. Ian Dunbar
Hyperactivity, Reactivity & Lack of Attention (at Home with Owner, On-Leash & Off-Leash)
When dogs collide with adolescence, hyperactivity and reactivity wax and attention wanes. Reactivity requires oodles of classical conditioning (with effective operant conditioning appearing as an unexpected co-star). Hyperactivity and lack of attention require all-or-none reward training. Hyperdogs are so trainable — the motivation is already there! Attention and reliability (measured by decreases in Command: Response Ratios) come when hyperdogs are calmed. Decreasing hyperactivity and reactivity allows dogs to maintain their quality of life.

5:15pm – 6:00pm Q&A with Drs. Dodman & Dunbar


Sunday: Medical & Training Solutions for Medical & Training Problems

9:00am – 10:45am — Dr. Nicholas Dodman
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
Since the 1990’s, it has been known that dogs, like humans, can exhibit obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCDs). OCDs take the form of repetitive disorders arising out of stress and anxiety that are performed repetitively and out of context. These behaviors and the many different forms they take will be highlighted as will various treatment measures including the use of anti-obsessional medications.

BREAK

11:00am – 12:45pm — Dr. Ian Dunbar
Obsessive-Compulsive Dog Trainers
Nowadays, most pet dog trainers are well versed in scientific-based learning theory. However, theory is theory. Theory in practice can be entirely different. Most learning theory is based on research studies of computers consistently delivering precise and finite, quantum consequences (food pellets or electric shock) to laboratory rats and pigeons. Dog owners’ inconsistencies are a major constraint in training. However, via their binary, analogue, verbal feedback (verbal praise and reprimand), pet dog training may transcend learning theory. Praise can always be differentially reinforcing and punishment need not invoke fear or pain.

12:45pm – 1:00pm Q&A with Drs. Dodman & Dunbar

LUNCH BREAK

2:00 – 3:15pm — Dr. Nicholas Dodman
Medical Causes & Treatments of Behavior, Temperament & Training Problems
One of the cardinal signs that a dog is not well is that he starts to behave differently. Also, when dogs are acting inappropriately, medical conditions sometimes underlie the problem. I will address problems like hypothyroidism, partial seizures, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and medical causes of house soiling. In each case, signs that might lead an owner to suspect medical involvement will be itemized and therapeutic regimens discussed.

BREAK

3:30pm – 4:45pm — Dr. Ian Dunbar
Training Causes & Treatments of Behavior, Temperament & Training Problems
Most behavior, temperament and training problems are caused by inconsistent or unintentional training, or by a lack of training. Regardless of etiology, most utterly predictable, yet nonetheless, surprisingly common, problems are best resolved via behavior modification and simple basic training techniques. Although often an excuse for not training at all, prevailing organic or medical conditions only emphasize the need for yet more training.

4:45pm – 5:00pm Q&A with Drs. Dodman & Dunbar


Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman is one of the world’s most noted and celebrated veterinary behaviorists. He grew-up in England and trained to be a vet in Scotland. At the age of 26, he became the youngest veterinary faculty member in Britain. It was at that time that Dr. Dodman began specializing in surgery and anesthesiology.

In 1981 Dr. Dodman immigrated to the United States where he became a faculty member of Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. Shortly after his arrival, Dr. Dodman became interested in behavioral pharmacology and the field of animal behavior. After spending several years in this area of research, he founded the Animal Behavior Clinic — one of the first of its kind — at Tufts in 1986. He received an additional board certification in animal behavior from the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. Dr. Dodman began to see clinical cases in 1987 and since 1990; he has devoted all of his time to his specialty practice of animal behavior.

Since the mid 1990s, Dr. Dodman has written two textbooks, over 100 articles and contributions to scientific books and journals and four acclaimed bestselling books, including The Dog Who Loved Too Much, Dogs Behaving Badly and his latest, If Only They Could Speak.

Dr. Dodman appears regularly on radio and television including: 20/20, Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Dateline, World News with Peter Jennings, Discovery Channel, NOVA and Animal Planet. In addition, Dr. Dodman is a columnist for the American Kennel Club’s quarterly publication, AKC Family Dog. This column was nominated as column of the year (2005). Dr Dodman also writes a column for Life Magazine that is read by an estimated twelve million people weekly and writes a column for Martha Stewart’s Body and Soul magazine. Dr Dodman has made a pilot television film of his own – sponsored by The Humane Society of the United States – that is under currently under review by various TV outlets. Good Morning America producer Patty Nager has dubbed Dr Dodman their /ad hoc/ pet behavioral expert.

Dr. Dodman lives near Tufts University with his wife, Dr. Linda Breitman, a veterinarian who specializes in small animals, and their children.


Dr. Ian Dunbar is a veterinarian, animal behaviorist, and dog trainer. He received his veterinary degree and a Special Honors degree in Physiology & Biochemistry from the Royal Veterinary College (London University) and a doctorate in animal behavior from the Psychology Department at the University of California in Berkeley, where he spent ten years researching olfactory communication, the development of hierarchical social behavior, and aggression in domestic dogs.

Over the past 35 years, Dr. Dunbar has given nearly 900 one-day seminars and workshops for dog trainers and veterinarians in an effort to popularize off-leash puppy socialization classes, temperament modification, and owner-friendly and dog-friendly dog training. Dr. Dunbar is the Founder of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers in the US — the largest and most influential association of pet dog trainers in the world. Additionally, he has helped establish APDTs in other countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Mexico and Spain.

Dr. Dunbar has written numerous books, produced many videos about puppy/dog behavior and training, and hosted his own television show in the UK — Dogs With Dunbar. He taught the world’s first off-leash puppy classes (SIRIUS® Puppy Training), developed and wrote the American Kennel Club Gazette’s Behavior Column, and created the ultimate dog show — the K9 GAMES® — an annual event in Japan.

Dr. Dunbar is currently Director of the Center for Applied Animal Behavior in Berkeley, California, where he lives with his wife Kelly, along with dogs Claude, Dune and Hugo and kitties Ugly and Mayhem. Along with Jamie Dunbar, Kelly and Ian’s current project is www.dogstardaily.com — a free online, daily multi-media magazine for dog people.