As we’ve done 11 times prior—spanning nearly four years–today’s program involved setting aside the usual “Talking Animals” format in order to present the show-length feature, “Ask The Trainer.”
In each instance, listeners are invited to call or email questions about their dogs or cats, particularly involving behavioral issues or training concerns. The Trainer these listeners have an opportunity to consult is Glen Hatchell, the now-retired Behavior and Enrichment Manager at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, and an accomplished dog trainer and behaviorist. He is also a former WMNF programmer, and occasionally guest host “Talking Animals”—as he’ll do on March 26.
In today’s edition, before taking the first listener question, Glen spoke about the importance of socialization for dogs, drawing partly on three books by authors and behaviorists he admires to cobble together a definition, and go on to broadly discuss the concept.
From there, Glen responded to an array of calls and emails, starting with a listener who emailed about the female dog she had adopted, 3-5 year-old bully mix—an “owner surrender due to aggression,” according to the shelter, Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center. When the dog arrived at her new home, “she barely made a sound,” but has since become a frequent, puzzling barker…
Suggesting that heavy barking was a running theme, the second caller (with a Shih Tzu and a teacup poodle) described a morning ritual involving a walk in Crestlake Park in Clearwater with her dogs, and others, when one of them (in a pram!) starts barking, touching off a chorus of barking…
The next caller outlined an instance of conflict—and periodic aggression—amongst her two dogs, with an odd catalyst: her partner’s son, who collects skulls, brought into the house a skull that still had “meat” on it. This set off some ongoing ugliness between the pair of pooches, with one apparently holding a grudge about the skull, and often looking to start a fight. Glen recommended she visit the website of renowned expert on dog aggression, Michael Shikashio…
There was a cat question! It involved a young feral cat that the emailers had been feeding outside, had decided to bring the feral inside, where their five-year-old rescued cat was living—who was immensely unhappy about this development. The emailer implemented the standard protocols for introducing a new cat to a household, and had some success giving them Temptation treats, placing the treats closer and closer together. So, there was progress, but limited progress—they still squabble when in close proximity, if there’s no treats around. Noting that cats aren’t as likely to defuse a situation as dogs are, Glen urges the emailer not to eliminate the treats. Resources include The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT), International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC).
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