Page 11 - Chow LIfe - Summer 2020.pdf

Mask Force:

Training Dogs to be Comfortable Around People in Face Masks
By Denise Flaim
May 06, 2020

From the Lone Ranger to Zorro, trainer and owner of Braveheart Dog Training in
we know good guys can wear California’s San Francisco Bay area.
masks.
Ronchette says signs of discomfort vary based on the
But just try convincing your dog individual dog, and might include growling, backing
of that. away, trying to escape or leaning away. Of course,
she reminds, there are varying levels of all these
As controlling the spread of the coronavirus becomes responses, indicating everything from mild concern
a paramount concern, the federal government has to panic.
recommended – and some states have mandated –
wearing face masks in public. While we humans have
acclimated to the sight of friends and strangers alike
wearing various face coverings – from surgical and
respirator masks to scarves and bandanas – our dogs
haven’t gotten the memo. And even if they did, they
wouldn’t be able to read it.

As various parts of the United States slowly reopen
over the coming weeks and months, dog owners
need to be aware of the challenges that face coverings
pose to dogs who have never before been exposed to
them.
See life through a dog’s eyes
“As much as we talk about dogs being scent focused,
a lot of how they engage with us is based on our
faces,” says Gayle Watkins of Highlands, North
Carolina, a dog trainer and founder of Avidog
International. Indeed, unlike wolves, who avoid eye
contact with humans, dogs have evolved to read our Accentuate the positive
faces to determine our moods – all the better to get The key to introducing any potential trigger is to link
along with us. it with the idea that “good things are happening,”
Watkins says.
“Dogs read subtle muscle changes that indicate a
twitch or a smile, and they read them much faster For starters, you might simply put a mask next to
than we do,” says Watkins, who also breeds Golden your dog’s dish during mealtime, or tape it on the
Retrievers and is a Gold-level AKC Breeder of Merit. wall above his food bowl, in the same horizontal
“They lose all that when you’re wearing a mask.” position in which you would be wearing it. To
demystify this new object, “show your dog the mask,”
Know the difference between desensitizing and Watkins advises. “Let him sniff it.”
overwhelming
Next, she says, start sort of wearing the mask: Let it
Just as you don’t learn to swim by being tossed off the hang from your ear, or wear it on your forehead, or
deep end of a pool, you can’t expect a dog to become under your chin – but not blocking your mouth yet,
comfortable with a face-masked human by thrusting so your dog can still decode the important non-
him into a room full of them. verbal communication coming from your mouth.
Instead, systematic desensitization is key. “You are After lots of repetition of these short, positive
exposing the dog to the mask at a controlled level, sessions, and once your dog has associated the mask
always making sure the dog is comfortable and only with good things being showered into his life, start
moving to the next step when the dog is ready,” wearing the mask for short periods. “Put the
explains Vicki Ronchette, a certified professional dog
mask on and walk to the cookie jar,” Watkins

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