posted July 22, 2004

NEW Q OF THE WEEK:

Define and describe outward symptoms and causes of:
Frustration intolerance

Part two:
List all exercises you use in class to teach skills that will be of most help to overcome this issue,
classroom management techniques you use to address this dog's behavior in class,
and outline any and all individual advice do you give dog owners.

FIRST IN FROM TERI !! - absolutely terrific answer! Lots of stuff I missed!

Frustration intolerance occurs when the dog is unable to accomplish something that he desires, or get what he wants, or cannot figure out how to accomplish something that is asked of him, or cannot change environmental factors so that his wants are met.

The amount of frustration might show itself on a simple level as whining or barking but can also escalate to acts of aggression as the level of frustration increases. An example of that occurred with my Gretchen yesterday, when my daughter and I needed to run errands and it was too hot a day to take the dogs. We left the house with no problem but then remembered we needed something at home and went back for it. kati when in the front door which has a glass sreened door. So while she was getting the stuff, the girls were sitting at the door looking very cute and could see me in the car. I made the big mistake of talking to them. Gretchen can be very good at slipping thru a crack and had decided that she was going to go with Mom. Kati, however, knows her well and was not about to let her slip thru. Gretch would sit on command but as soon as Kati moved to open the door, Gretch was ready to slip out. She did not at all appreciate being body blocked and vented her frustration by barking at Kati and her frustration finally escalated to biting at Kati's feet. So Gretch went from being pushy, to barking, to biting. (and roaring her disapproval)

A dog who wants you to play with them or pet them, might shove the toy in your lap, head butt you or get a nose under your hand or arm and lift it up, or put a paw on you, or scratch with the paws, or mouth you. The level of trying to get your attention, would increase as the frustration level increased.

We often see puppies grab the leash in their mouth and tug when the owner is not paying any attention or if the pup wants to go somewhere else.Some will bite the hand that is trying to restrain it by it's collar. Frustration at not knowing what their owner wants them to do might cause the dog to use calming signals (sniffing the grass, looking away, scratching, etc.) If the owner persists, the dog might bark in annoyance, (STOP IT, I don't know what you want) or growl and snap. This can also occur if an owner tries to move their sleeping dog or get it off the couch or bed. Frustration intolerance can also present itself with separation anxiety, sometimes magnifying to the point of extreme destructive behavior.

I think almost everything we teach in class is an exercise in overcoming frustration intolerance.

a.Teaching the sit and down, gives the dog something to do which can prevent frustration from escalating.

b. Rewarding correct behavior helps, but the students also need to be shown the correct way to reward. ie if the dog receives a treat every single time that he performs a behavior then he can become frustrated when the reward is not given. So we teach handlers to use a variable schedule reward method.

c. If the dog is very bossy and pushy with his owners and thinks it rules the roost, then we teach them about NILIF which is a means of obtaining good leadership.

d. We teach the "watch me" so the dog learns that it can always look to it's owner to find out what to do. Of course, that means showing the owners how to provide good leadership. This also provides the dog with an alternative to lunging and barking at the other dogs in class.

e. We show the owners how to teach their dogs to settle and "go to rug" so the dog learns how to relax and be quiet for awhile.

f. We teach them how to groom, touch, handle, and restrain their dogs so that the dog can be more tolerant of having it's body touched or held.

g. We teach them the correct way to greet and socialize with other dogs and people. This also includes door-way control and behavior with guests in the home.

h. We teach them how to get the dog to walk without pulling. This prevents alot of frustration for dog and handler. And what to do when you meet other dogs on your walks.

i. We show them how to teach their dogs to "leave it" and that good things happen when the dog does. I know there is tons more but it's late and I'm tired so "that's all folks"!

AND HOORAY! KIM!!!

part one
Frustration intolerance- A carolism for impulse control; the inablility of a canine to mantain a modicom of self control or mental focus in the presence of a reward.

part two
duhhhhhhhh, I dun know.....

Seriously as far as what we teach, I think all excercises lead to dogs overcoming this issue. I think the toughest part is dealing with the human who has one of these "kids" at the end of the lead. They are usually frustrated and ready to pull their hair out and shoot the dog in the process. Specifically, I think the Brenda Aloff impulse control treat delivery excersise thingie can help. And of course the word that keeps popping into my brain is CALM. Owners need to stay calm amd matter of fact. Start small, reward for little successes. Dont put the dog on a sit and expect them to stay for 5 minutes. Reward for 1 second, 2 sec, 3 sec, 4 sec, etc. Build up slowly and reward along the way. But keep praise in a calm fashion. I am thinking of Brandy the golden. Get too excited and she may spiral up like crazy and you have to work to bring her down again. Establish yourself as a good leader, NILF and hand feeding.

It seems like a lot of these dogs are given too much freedom to make their own choices. Little to no direction from mom or dad.

Clicker training I think really helps with timing.
Kim
PS- this answer SUCKS!!

NO it does NOT "suck"... it was a great answer - well, except for that "carolism" part! *LOL*

GOOD JOB, TERI & KIM!!

My answer:

Frustration intolerance = lack of impulse control = a state of emotional overload:

Visual description - (could be a mild or extreme intensity of the following behaviors, from mild acting out and hyper-excitement to complete hysteria): Barking, whining, screaming, rapid panting, lunging, toenails dug into the floor scrambling, standing on hindlegs, straining until breathing is difficult, spinning, grabbing, pawing at what it wants, climbing up onto the owners or nearby chair or table, even mounting. Redirected frustration - biting the leash or owner.

While some frustrated dogs may appear aggressive to the untrained eye, it might better be described as a temper tantrum in response to restraint when the dog can't get close to what it wants to see right up close or when it's under pressure to perform and doesn't understand what is expected, or when criteria has been raised before the dog understands the game (or in Gretchen's case, a training partner who isn't holding up her end of the bargain on the agility field! - see Teri's follow-up below.) Barrier frustration is a form of frustration intolerance. A dog who practices this behavior with no outlet or redirection will often escalate, as the activity becomes self-reinforcing and frequently his antics do get him an inch or two closer to the object of his frustration.

This is simply a dog who hasn't learned that patience pays. He hasn't been taught that the human is the conduit to what it wants and needs in life. He hasn't learned to wait for permission. He has no limits, no boundaries. You might also call this a "spoiled dog" if temper tantrums have indeed gained it access to its demands.

This dog's owners are probably exasperated and embarrassed by his behavior. It is important to not make them feel like the "bad student" - they already feel like they are ruining class for everyone. This dog may never have acted like this before in its life - of course it's never BEEN in this situation before! Be gentle and patient as you help them get their dog and their stuff to their seat and help them manage the chaos that is at the end of their leash. When the owner apologizes, point out the positive aspect to the whole class. This personality type would excell at activities that require persistence and energy: SAR, agility, herding, weight pull, etc. where diligence and drive are required. The energy just needs to be channeled in the right direction. Sometimes all the owner needs to hear is, "this is normal adolescent [insert breed] behavior in this situation - don't worry, it will get better. This is why you are here."

Part two of this Q of the week:
List all exercises you use in class to teach skills that will be of most help to overcome this issue and outline any and all individual advice do you give dog owners.

Attention exercises - encourage owner to reward all attention (C/T dog for voluntarily choosing to return attention to handler when distracted)
Restraint massage, handling, grooming
Clear release cue - permission to engage in desired activity as reward!
Sit/wait at doors, before feeding, before chasing a toy, before greeting
Stays with distractions
Doggy Zen - food in closed fist - back off, C/T
Leave it - food on floor/biscuits on paws
Leave it - heeling through items, C/T for attention
Brenda Aloff's food-to-nose exercise
Slack leash to the goal line
Donna Duford's food/toy drop-block exercise & Brenda's food under foot exercise
Body blocking
Sit for petting / Sit - eye contact - go say hi (greet other dog/person) call away.
Circle the room stopping in front of each student - sit/feed your dog, feed other dog, feed your dog, move to next dog
Encourage an on-leash enforced settle for a half hour while they watch TV or do email each night
Control games - you might even recommend tug-of-war with rules depending on the handler's ability

Time outs:
Enforced sit (nose lift w/GL- wait for sit and release tension)
Enforced down/settle (stand on leash, reward calm on varied schedule -be careful, these are the dogs who are most likely to bite you in the calf!)
Leslie Nelson's "push em out the door" time-out.

Equipment - Gentle Leader vs. Prong. A GL is recommended for any dog who is likely to redirect on its owner or become hostile to other dogs - a prong would escalate either situation. For dogs who are simply brats who can't wait, a prong would probably be fine, but you can't beat the calming effect of the GL..

Classroom management techniques to address the dog who is frantic to get to other dogs in class:

Just get it over with. While putting the noisy, bratty, meltdown dog in another room or behind a blind may seem the easiest and most practical management technique, these merely frustrated dogs often do better in the middle of the most crowded part of the classroom. The corner chair by the hallway to the bathroom or the seat right next to the instructor chair often work well.

Rather than increase the dog's frustration by banning them from the group, allow him a brief meeting and a chance to work surrounded by all the other dogs. This will often help him habituate to the overstimulation of the situation sooner. Of course the object is to not let the temper tantrum at the front door work to get him what he wants! Get the dog's attention and during a brief moment when the dog isn't in a state of emotional meltdown, reward the momentary firing of his brain cells by allowing him proximity to what he wanted to see so badly that he became emotionally overwrought. Next week, be sure this dog arrives early and is seated before the rest of the class arrives.

This type of dog will be space invasive so care must be taken to help them learn to wait for the ok to "say hello" and guide them to use appropriate greeting behavior - slow approach on a slack leash. They must also be protected from repeatedly getting decked for their poor manners by practicing proper greetings with safe dogs through quiet handling, control sits, attention and calm release cues. Caution all owners about allowing their dogs to run willy-nilly into the personal space of other dogs, especially adult or unknown dogs.

Listen to descriptions week one and encourage the owners to come early (maybe a half hour early and just sit on the porch) to give the dog a chance to settle down before the other dogs arrive and not come in late into a full classroom like a whirlwind with a tornado on the end of the leash. (This also gives the owners a chance to be calmer and less stressed.)

Encourage calming signals: yawning, deep sighs, reciting nursery rhymes. (Often handlers wind-up as much as the dog does. They need to be aware of how frantic stroking, nagging and their own frustration can cause the dog to escalate.) Have the whole class take a deep breath and let it out slowly. You will visibly see the dogs let go a little and the energy level of the room will decrease.

This dog probably won't be able to watch quietly while you work another dog, so use him! Sometimes I'll select this dog as my demo and sit on the floor in the middle of the main classroom and feed it for attention, allowing it to sniff a few stationary dog butts just to get it over with while praising and feeding the daylights out of the dog for noticing I'm on the planet. Then I'll return the dog to its owners and explain briefly what I did and what I want them to do. I will use that demo as an example to help the rest of the class learn how to redirect their own distracted dogs, so I'm not just taking up class time on someone else's problem. They all have distracted dogs, just not as distracted as THIS dog. (I'll also use this dog to demo leave-it exercises, to give the owners a head start and the dog some concrete information from the get-go, as this dog may require some exceptionally good timing to start.)

These high energy, easily frustrated dogs require a HIGH rate of reinforcement. They are likely to give up if they become frustrated, so they need to win and win fast to keep them in the game. Stingy owners will lose the dog quickly. Lousy timing and inconsistent handling will cause this dog to scream at its owners to make sense. This is the best reason to pick THIS dog as your demo dog. They usually make the most amazing demos as they transform from lunacy to total focus and make you look brilliant, and they desperately need to learn from your timing so they can have a grasp of the game before their owner tries.

Recommend the Leadership class, NILIF, hand feeding, control games!

Follow up from Teri!

Awesome answer - was Gretchen reading over your shoulder? How nice of her to demonstrate it so beautifully!

Oh Yes!!! I'm well aware of frustration intolerance where Gretch is concerned. It used to be very low where she & I were concerned.......she's gained patience with me with age.

How well I remember her in agility trials when I would be slow on commands or have a senior moment or cross her path too close. She would stop, give me "that look", start barking at me, and if all else failed........go for the feet. You could read her body language like a book........much to my extreme embarrassment. You will be happy to know that i did learn how to manage it. When I got "the look" I would stop dead in my tracks and turn away from her, regroup a moment and then go on. The reward for her patience was getting to continue. If she escalated to the bark, I walked out of the ring. She HATED that cause she knew she needed me to play the game corrrectly .....she's big on rules. But, I think most importantly I learned to really know the course and what I was going to do. Embarrassment is a good teacher. *giggle* Teri