my favorite photo shoots

I love shooting dogs, that's pretty obvious. I love to capture the individuality of each dog and stop time for a guardian to enjoy forever. But even more than shooting dogs alone I love to capture the canine/human connection. Typically I get these shots as a guardian is attempting to position their dog for the shot they want. The guardian is fussing and pushing and pulling just as the dog reaches up and gives them a big one smack dab on the lips, THATS THE ONE!

Most guardians do not want to be in the photo when I ask so that is why I shoot some during the wrestling of getting their dog in position. Once they see them afterwards they almost always love them. Sure they complain how they look awful in the photo but doesn't everyone? I know I do. But there is no denying the love and special moment that has been captured.

This all started for me during a Bulldog shoot. I adore Bulldogs and if you have never had the chance to meet one in person, I highly recommend it. They are the most animated and expressive dogs I have had the joy of working with both in training and photography. Anyway this guardian was attempting to get his dog into position and instead of waiting I was snapping the whole thing. The shots I got were truly amazing and I was hooked. The guardian of the bulldog loved the shots and said they were the best shots he'd ever gotten.

To get these candid shots you usually need to be sneaky so I have a nice long lense but I'm checking out a longer one for even more sneaky shots. Hmmm dog paparazzi?

I'm going to a dog event this morning to hopefully get some of those amazing shots.

Rough night

Whew, I'm up late and dog tired. I spent alot of the wee small hours lastnight cleaning up Jessie's vomit. I got careless, its my own fault and I paid for it, Jessie ate a whole bowl of peppermint patties and then threw them up in her crate several times lastnight. Jessie sleeps in her crate because we bought a new bed around December and she cannot get up on it but she never stops trying which can be a bit disturbing in the middle of the night. She loves her crate and goes in everynight on her own.

Lastnight I awoke to her crying which is very unlike her, she is a good little sleeper and goes the whole night always. I took her outside and as I went to put her back in realized the problem. I cleaned it all up, put all new blankets in and went to get a glass of water. As I got back I took a quick glance in the crate and it was as before, a mess. I stood there stumped as to what exactly was going on when a faint sent of peppermint and chocolate hit me. ??????????????????????????????????????

Going back to earlier that evening I had taken my boy Luke to the beach but we weren't gone long. When I got back I thought my son and his friends had gotten into the new bowl of Peppermint patties I had put out on the table behind the couch. This is a usual scenario with three 17 year old boys around and I thought nothing of it.

Back to 2:00am, ah haaaaa! The boys were not the guilty party of the missing peppermint patties Jessie was. She had not made the typical ripped package path of distruction she usually does and must have scarfed them down whole. I have kept a candy bowl at the front door for quite a while but this was the first time I put peppermint patties in it, I'm assuming the scent got her. She snuck up on the couch, crawled over the back and devoured. At least there is not alot of chocolate in these and it was all coming out in her crate, thank goodness she was in a crate. Back to cleaning the whole crate again and put her back to bed.

As I crawled into bed in the darkness my husband hadn't even stirred. I was exhausted and thought to myself "I'll deal with this in the morning."

Me and my shadow

My clients have often commented about their dogs following them. Some just tell me about the constant following, some laugh about how clingy their dogs are and some complain. "This constant following is driving me crazy." You are not alone with your shadow, this is a common and normal behavior.

If you are ike many canine guardians you have a constant shadow or two, maybe even a whole pile of shadows following you around your home on a daily basis. I have three, two constant and one occasionally. Dogs follow, its what they do and it is a good thing that they follow. Yes some dogs can have following problems which can lead to separation anxiety but for the most it is a normal pack behavior.

Where you go, your pack goes. To watch this very normal canine behavior just turn on a documentary on wolf behavior. The pack leader will lead the pack to a nice resting spot, once the leader chooses a nice comfy spot and lays down the rest of the pack does the same. Then as the pack leader rises, stretches and yawns so does the rest of the pack right on cue. Waiting patiently the pack watches the leader for the next move.

Following is a pack activity and most dogs do it. Some dogs are very independent and just sort of keep their eye on you. And then at the other end of the spectrum are the dogs that need to touch you constantly, hmmmmmm not mentioning any breeds.............goldens. And again we humans can turn a normal following behavior into an issue if we constantly dish out non stop attention for this following behavior.

Following in the home should be just that and not an attention seeking or receiving behavior. Of course you can dish out attention for following outside of the home, that is a great behavior that we definitely want to reward but don't go overboard. You want your dog to be confident and well adjusted knowing that they can venture away a short distance and you'll still be there. A dog that is panic stricken by a split second separation is very difficult to live or deal with.

So when your dog follows you around think of yourself as the leader of the pack.

Jessie Regalbuto?

Jessie Regalbuto is a 15 lb, 11 year old white alpha bitch who is the oldest and highest ranking dog member in our pack. I have standard poodles for almost 25 years, other than my first dog Mandy who was an Airedale, Jessie is the only breed I've strayed with. Jessie was to be my husbands dog, ever since he was 16 when he first met a tiny dynamo named Dixie he had wanted a Jack Russell. So, 11 years ago when I was feeling like we needed to add another canine to our group I gave in and let him choose his girl.

I did all the research that you are suppose to do being that this was an entirely a new breed for me. This was back in 1996 just before the Jack Russell boom. After pouring through all the JRT sites on the net and talking to numerous breeders we headed out to see some in person. The first pups we saw were at a farm where all the puppies in the litter were taking turns tormenting a pot bellied pig. The Mom was tiny and pretty cute but very aloof, it was when we saw Dad that we decided to get in the car and continue on our search. He was huge and resembled a rats nest, not the cute little smooth white fireball my husband had in mind.

So back in the car to see some more JRTs. Our next stop was another farm where the puppies were so tiny and scattered that we didn't even bother to have a look. The man clearly didn't even know how many there were suppose to be or where they were, this was obviously not the place for us.

Back at home I started with more research when I found The Bowery. With an impressive website and meticulous grounds around their home this looked like it might just be the place for us. I called and talked to the breeder for a long time and she had puppies available. The breeder had alot of dogs and many were International imports. She told me the good and the bad about the breed which is a must with a good breeder and I was just about sold on the idea of adding this new breed to our home.

After discussing the ins and out of a Jack Russell my husband he was sold, a quick call and we were on our way. Jessie came from Bancroft, Ontario and like where Tilley came from it is a beautiful part of Canada. As we pulled into the driveway we could see all the different jacks in their beautifully built pens. Once we met the breeder she brought us into her home and introduced us to two puppies she had pulled as a good match for our family.

In all honesty I chose the puppy who was not Jessie. A broken coat white girl with just the tiniest spot above one eye. She was sweet and a little longer legged that the other puppy. But we were there to find a dog for my husband so I stepped back and shut up. There was no choice for him it was Jessie. This was the dog he wanted and he really didn't give the other puppy a second look. With the tiny wriggling white puppy in his arms he had found his dog.

The trip home was pretty typical for a new pup, she threw up on the kids and they grossed out completely. Once home she immediately took the "top dog" status and at the young age of 12 weeks had her own 60 lb male standard poodle servant. Its been pretty much the same way since then.

Feeding time or control of the Tasmanian Devil

Feeding time in this house is a very controlled event. It has to be when you have a pack of dogs and one food crazed jack russell. Jessie has an auto immune disorder so she is on prednisone for the rest of her life, this added to the fact that she is a Jack Russell makes her somewhat of a tiny white shark. But she is a very smart tiny white shark.

Jessie will eat just about anything that seems to be edible so when it is actually time to eat she is a little out of control. If I just threw my hands in the air and said this is crazy or I'm just too lazy someone would definitely get hurt, and that someone would probably be Jessie.

I am the boss and the dogs know this fact, so that means I control the food. Each dog has their own bowl and their own spot where that bowls is put down for them to eat. The dogs are fed in the same order at every meal. This act itself eliminates any mixed signals of whose bowl is whose. It may seem like a little overboard but it sure makes feeding time a breeze. No one tries to eat someone elses food and no one is in a panic, except Jessie that is. But even though she is a whirling white food eater she is controlled in that she knows her bowl and her spot.

No sooner is Jessie's food down, its gone. She is fed first as the present "top dog," then Tilley and lastly Luke. It works out well this way but as soon as that little shark is done inhaling her food she is circling. Jessie is no fool but she sure is a dare devil and she has and does make death defying dives for the tiniest morsel of food. The poodles know that I will not allow her to take their food and that only a small growl is needed to give me a heads up that she is moving in on their food.

Because I love to watch canine behavior I find feeding time to be very entertaining. Luke now knows that the circling Jessie will not take his food because I will not let her so he occasionally will walk several feet away, turn around and come back to his food, because he can. I'm pretty sure it makes him feel like a big guy when he does this. But this does show that there is calm in the kitchen at meal time which is what you want.

In all of my years with dogs we have never had a fight over food, there is no need for any fighting. The dogs know the rules and know that anything outside of those rules is not allowed. They sometimes eat outside but in the same order and same bowls. It is very routine and structured but because of it I have no over excited or grabbing behavior at meal time.

Temperament testing

The subject of temperament testing is a pretty controversial one. These days there are the folks who think it is a bunch of nonsense and those who think that it is a very important part of raising a litter. I am one who thinks that it is important but I definitely do not think that the results are cast in stone. I tend look at things as movable, able to bend and turn corners.

When I test a litter the breeder typically has an idea of each puppies personality already. After all they have raised these pups from birth and know the litter as a whole. Temperament testing is about pulling each puppy alone, putting them into a strange environment with a stranger (thats me). This enables me to see how the puppy will deal alone, away from the rest of the pack which is usually very different from being with the pack.

The breeder brings out each puppy and places it in the room or area that I am testing and then leaves completely. Each test usually takes me about 15 min. as I like to run through the test and give the puppy time to get comfortable to the new area and the new person. Recovery time is very important, some recover quickly, some do not recover and continue to be very intimidated by the whole situation.

Temperament testing is probably one of my favorite jobs, who wouldn't like spending a couple of hours with seven week old pups? It makes no difference to me what breed I'm testing I love them all. Although the results do matter in testing different breeds. What might be normal for a litter of Cavaliers is going to be very different from say a litter of Australian Cattle Dogs or Rottweillers.

Once each puppy is tested they are given a number score, the number you want is a 3 or 4. This number is a rating on how the puppy is dealing with different situations right now and gives the breeder an idea of which type of environment to place them into. Once placed into their new home, a dog can change alot depending on their environment. Good pups can turn into amazing dogs, timid puppies can turn into very social dogs and great puppies can turn into fearful dogs. That's why choosing the right family is as important as choosing the right puppy.

Research and educate.

Do you really want a dog?

Good morning, the week starts over again and I'm contemplating about what to write. I had a great weekend, enjoyed all of my kids being home and relaxing. Now onto the new week, over the years I have met so many different types of people, dog people and non dog people that I sometimes sit back and think about it all.

I have helped many people choose a breed, find a breeder, choose a shelter or rescue dog or figure out if they really should have a dog at all. Lots of people think they want a dog, some really want a dog even after weighing all the cons but some people figure out that they really don't want a dog. During a "get a dog" consultation I ask alot of questions and I am very frank about my feedback for each individual.

Many prospective canine guardians feel sheepish about answering questions like "do you care about hair all over the house?" or "do you want to spend alot of time training a dog?" These question may seem trivial and shallow to some but there is absolutely no point in getting a dog like a Golden Retriever or Labrador if you cannot tolerate alot of hair. The same goes for activity and training compatibility. Are you a couch potato? Then you are not going to understand or want the type of drive a Border Collie or or Cattledog are going to have.

It is most importance to know yourself and know what you cannot tolerate, can tolerate, learn to tolerate, absolutely love or look for in a canine companion. I remember walking through a shelter once when a volunteer asked me what I was looking for. I told her I was just looking to see if there was a certain breed in the shelter, I was actually looking for a client and for a local rescue that I regularly scoured the shelters for. With my response the woman's kind face turned into a scowl as she blurted out that if I wanted a certain breed I didn't deserve to have a dog. I could have got into it with her right there but instead I decided not to lower myself to her level, smiled and moved away quickly.

Yes it would be nice if no one had any objections to living with any type of dog but the fact is that everyone is different. And a large part of the problem with dogs being dumped is that people do not "think" before acting. I put the largest blame on pet stores (more on pet stores later) as they rely on the impulse buyer which is the complete opposite of what should be done before adding a dog to your family. It is a huge responsibility and one that should not be taken lightly.

A dog deserves a family that has committed to raising and living with them for their entire life. They are not an item that should be returned like a garment of clothes you changed your mind about. So if people take the time to figure out what they really want in a dog "before" they get the dog and not after they get the dog there would be much fewer second hand dogs.

So when I ask the questions "do you like drool," "is your family active?" "do you want a pocket pooch?" and the answer is no, I say Good! These people are doing their research first, the way it should be done.

;)

Dads and their dogs

Happy fathers day to all of you great Dads out there. I thought I would discuss Dad's and their dogs today, it just seems fitting. Just like there are many types of kids Dads, there are as many different types of dog Dads. I've met some dog Dads that I'd like to kick out the front door but I'm not going to talk about them. There are the ones who average, not bad, not good but I'm not talking about them either. No, I'm going to talk about great dog Dads.

What makes a Dad a great dog Dad? Well for me they have an actual interest in their dog first off which believe it or not is not a given. They spend time with their dog and take an active role in the raising and living with their dog. They have also learned that brute strength has nothing to do with living with a dog/human relationship.

I have met many great dog Dads over the years and I'd like to share a couple of stories about some of these guys. Privacy is of utmost important so there will be no names named here but you know who you are!

A new Dad with two very rambunctious lab puppies. Not only were there two puppies but they were this families first dogs and they were lab which means double the energy. I am not a fan of two puppies at the same time, it truly is twice the work. This was going to be a huge challenge for this couple. The Dad in this family has an important career but still made it home each week to learn how best to live with these two which is very, very rare. I got regular emails with indepth questions on behavior and was given regular updates, nice, very nice.

The next dog Dad that fits into my "great dog Dads" category had just gotten a Great Dane puppy. Not only did they just get a new Dane puppy, they also had a toddler who I believe was not quite two and Mom was pregnant. That's alot for anyone to handle but he was there every week. He took a big role in raising what was going to be a monster dog. Once the decision had been made to add this big boy to the family they made the concious decision to make sure that it worked. Each week he paid close attention to everything I said bringing up issues and concerns followed with many questions. Each following week I got stories and updates of the week before, I love that. There is no question in my mind that he is not only a wonderful dog Dad but an amazing kid Dad.

The last one I will talk about is our dog's Dad. He is one of the best dog Dad's and I know my dogs think so. He has learned to see what the dogs are thinking, he has learned how to communicate with the dogs to the best of his ability and has a very close bond with each one of our dogs. By living with me he has been submerged into a world of dogs not simply being the guardian of a dog. He is concerned with their happiness and goes out of his way to make sure he is a big part in their lives.

Many times he comes home with a special treat for the dogs and makes getting their treats a huge event which the dogs love. He loves to share his favorite food with the dogs and has many times saved the last bite for them. Right now he is running with the dogs down in the canyon, he does it because they love it and because it has brought them even closer.

Happy Fathers Day all you great Dads.

Weekend dogs

Good Saturday morning. My bed is filled with a tangled pile of dogs and I can hear the family getting up and moving about. All of my kids are home this weekend so it will be a full house. My children are 17, 20 and almost 22, no more little ones for us. I love when everyone is home, my son always has a bunch of buddies with him and my two girls have their long time boyfriends. The dogs also love when everyone is home, it is much welcome change from the weekday charge out the door.

As each person emerges from their bedroom the dogs give them a huge greeting which they miss out on during the weekdays. You can tell they enjoy the time they get to spend with everyone, they have hours of people fussing over them constantly. Each person works there way through the three dogs awaiting their turn to say good morning. Bowing is a big part of our dogs lives. Luke is the biggest bower, he loves to hold the bow position for up to 2 min. and he does it everytime he sees you again which could have been 5 minutes ago.

The dogs seem much more settled on the weekends when everyone is home, the whole pack is together and they don't have that anxious "who's missing" feeling. Typically the dogs follow me during the weekdays, Luke and Jessie are my constant shadows. Tilley is a bit more independent and just sort of checks in now and again but poor Luke and Jessie don't get much rest if I'm moving about alot in a day.

The dogs also know that if Dad is sleeping in that it means they get to go for their favorite run in the canyon. The canyon run is a a tradition which my husband has kept up since I badly injured my leg several years ago. After their canyon run the dogs come home with their tongues hanging out the side of their mouths and a huge smile on their face. Luke truly does have a smile after his runs which I will have to capture one of these days. Once back Luke only has time for Dad, it is an amazing bonding time for them and the customary Mom following turns to Dad following for several hours.

Weekends are good.

Have a good one!

shooting dogs

Good morning all, I'm super late this morning. I've been shooting alot of dogs recently and truly love the chance I get to meet so many great ones. Most recently I got the chance to meet 5 wonderful rescue dogs and their guardians for a very beautiful photo shoot. Because I have been involved with dogs for so long I know just about every breed there is out there except for maybe some of the newest or rarest. Many of the breeds I have only seen and not met in person so when I get the chance to meet a new breed in person I get very excited.

I like to know all the inner most secrets of breeds and like to take a moment and see them the way their admirers see them. It isn't very difficult to get people talking about "their breed." I know I can really go on about standard poodles, and if you don't want to hear it then it's best not to ask me about them. I love all dogs, of course there are individuals I'm not real keen on just like there are people I'm not real keen on but the majority of them I love.

I like to shoot au natural, no not naked but I guess naked as far as the dogs go. I don't like cute accessories like hats or scarves but prefer to have the dog just a dog. And if the dog can be doing their favorite activity whether it be catching frisbees, sleeping, swimming or just hanging in the backyard, that is how I like to shoot them. I try to bring out the inner dog and to do that the dog must be relaxed, to shoot a dog relaxed you need to know what stress looks like.

Being a long time dog trainer really helps me to see the first signs of stress. The general public may not know that a dog has a stressed face on but the guardian sure knows it and its not something you want hanging in your livingroom or in a magazine. So I work very hard at keeping the dog happy and upbeat. Having a big giant eye (camera) starring at them can be intimidating so I use my large zoom lense more often than not. And there are times that even that is starring too long and we need a quick break.

It can be a ton of work to get one good shot but I love it. It is a challenge, one which I thrive on and you need the patience of a saint most of the time. But the best thing about it? I get to spend the whole time with dogs.

Have a great weekend.

Staying with your dog at the vets

Tilley had her last antibiotics yesterday which means she will be heading back to the veterinarians for another urine analysis, she had a bladder infection. Going to the vets is not fun for her for several reasons but the first because they will stick a needle through her stomach and into her bladder. If you have never witnessed this procedure you will have a new respect for your dog once you have. Tilley is tough, much tougher than I would be.

Next Tilley will be in a state of panic until we leave the building, this is caused by the fact that she thinks I'm leaving her there. Its not easy to get her into the building and once in she shakes uncontrollably wanting to crawl inside of me the whole time. I remain calm and try to ignore her so as not to fuel the fire but it doesn't matter what I do really. The only thing I can do for her is not leave her.

And not leave her is what I try to do. Not an easy job at the vets and as I set to leave each time I prepare myself for the inevitable battle. I have had many very bad incidents at the vets, not one particular vet but differnt ones. The worst incident and undoubtedly the trigger for my behavior now was when a vet tech let Tilley escape from an enclosure that should have been secure.

I had Tilley in for an ear cleansing, the vet took Tilley out back and gave her to a tech to flush her ears. I already had a bad feeling in my stomach but chalked it up to being an overprotective Mom. Left to sit alone in the examining room I could hear some turmoil going on outside my door. My vet didn't come back and all I heard from an almost hysterical voice on the other side of the door was she ran across the road. I ran out to the lobby and demanded to know what happened. Everyone just looked at each other with dread.

My blood was starting to boil, you really don't want to mess with my dogs, honestly. I started to scream "was it a poodle?" "was it a poodle?" Finally someone said yes and I charged out the front door frantic. We were on a very busy street at noon. I couldn't see her anywhere and my voice was already horse from screaming for her. I ran back into the building and demanded to know which way she went.

To make a long story short, Tilley found her way home. It truly was a miracle as we had only lived in this area for 2 weeks and never walked it until this day but just like Lassie she found her way home. The vet never did come back to talk to me, no calls, no apologies. And each time I drive by that vets I see the gate in the back that was meant to contain my terrified dog left open still to this day. So this is the reason Tilley does not like to go to the vets and the fact that I did leave her again at another vets when she was spayed.

So, now when I go to the vets I will not allow them to take my dogs anywhere that I do not go. It actually bothers me that they even think that this is a good idea. The last time I ran titers on my dogs I let them know the second I was in the door that I had to stay with them. They were fine with that and when I pushed it and said I would do the holding they were a ittle irked. You all know the techs do the holding but just imagine how your dogs feel about that. A total stranger wrapping their arms completely around your dog and squeezing tight. Its actually awful to put our dogs through this.

The first to have her blood taken my little Jack Russell and the tech held her tight as I tried to get Luke under control so that I could do the holding. She said she was fine doing it but I could see the tell tale signs of Jessie's stress level as she wiggled to get out from the grasp of this woman. I had to be a little forceful but after Jessie was in my arms she was much calmer and allowed the other tech to draw her blood.

I would like to have things changed at the vets so that being there to comfort your dog in a stressful time in common procedure. And not have to fight and argue my way each and everytime my dogs need to have something done to them. Now I know there are people that don't have the stomach to do any of that, they'd much prefer that the vet take them away and do all the nasty stuff out of sight out of mind. But shouldn't we have the choice? I wouldn't have never handed off my children at the doctors and waited in the waiting room, uhhhhh no.

Now Luke at the vets is another story I'll have to tell you about later.

where is the natural gone

Yesterday I had my two poodles out for a run, I hop around alot with them trying to find open spaces that I can run them in. We had our fun and it was getting hot so we went on a photo shoot environment hunt. I would say 95% of my shoots are done outdoors in a natural surrounding and it is getting harder and harder to find great places to shoot.

I decided to drive down the road that runs along the side of the canyon to see if there were any great spots when I came across the field where I use to regularly run my guys. It was gone, all I have left of the huge open field leading to the canyon are memories. As I stood in the now "new and improved" field I tried to get my barrings. The beautiful open natural field has been replaced with a man made park. I have to admit it is a nice park but the natural beauty is gone. I didn't recognize it at all.

Where there had been a flat wide field to run was now filled with grassy hills and pathways speckled with benchs leading to a play structure. There was no chance my guys were getting off of their leashes in this newly sculpted park. No, gone are the days of running free until they could run no more where we were never interupted by others. My dogs and I loved this park, I'd done many landscape shoots there and even had a rattlesnake encounter in this natural setting.

Sad, very sad.

Time for Tilley

Thats actually my girl Tilley's name, Time for Tilley. I didn't give it to her so don't roll your eyeballs. I'm not big on these fancy registered names and believe me I've heard some doozies. I use to show in the conformation ring and some of the registered names I've heard made me roll my eyes.

Now that I have told you about Jessie and Luke I figure its "Time for Tilley." Tilley came from a breed in Manilla, Ontario Canada which is a beautiful part of Ontario. My husband was working up near there and found an add in a local paper for silver standard poodle pups. At the time I was looking for another puppy to add to our family but had not had any luck. I know what you're thinking, you never buy a puppy from a newspaper add! Well, thats usually correct but I figured I'd go see these dogs.

It was a four hour drive from Ottawa which seemed so long until I saw the scenario. The whole trip was scattered with lakes and forests so I didn't mind the drive at all and before I knew it I was in Manilla. Manilla is just outside of Lindsey for you Ontario folks. I had no intention of purchasing a puppy yet, I wanted to see what the rest of the family looked like and talk in depth to these people about their dogs. The puppies were only 3 weeks old at the time so there was no fear of an impulsive purchase, which was a good thing.

I was there for several hours being introduced to the puppies Aunts, Uncles and Grandmother. I was impressed by how friendly they all were and how knowledgable these people were about their dogs and genetic testing. They had alot of questions about my family and I, dogs included. At the time we had a 10 month old Jack Russell and a 7 year old male standard poodle named Clyde, another one of my heart dogs.

Although I had met all the relatives I had yet to meet Mom. They told me that at 3 weeks they rarely let people view them and that Mom was not happy about strangers viewing her pups. But I was lucky enough to get a quick peek at Mom with her pups. They looked like black wavy guinea pigs and Mom was obviously not letting me any closer than the doorway which I completely understood. Some of the friendliest bitches turn into Cruella Devil when they have pups with them.

I made my decision and I would have pick of females when the time came. So home I went to wait 5 more weeks. The time went by quickly and I made the four hour trip to Manilla again enjoying the scenery the whole way. This time it seemed to take forever, of course because I was dying of excitment to meet my new puppy.

Once there I got to meet the whole litter and watch them interact. The decision about who would be coming home with me was all on me. The breeder told me who she thought would be a good choice but let me make the final decision. Once I had seen everyone they took away the boys, I was getting a girl and trying to tell the difference between all those curly black puppies was difficult.

Tilley stood out right away, she used her eyes alot. I'd never really seen a dog have so much eye contact and communication skills with their eyes at such a young age. She was quiet and little timid which I worried about at the time but she held her own in the litter. I like big dogs and in the end it was down to Tilley and her very much larger sister. I was leaning toward the big girl but the breeder said that Tilley was much closer to standard. The decision was made.

So I packed up my new puppy in her crate and we headed home. As I neared Carp it was already past dusk so when I pulled into our 275 foot driveway I did so unnoticed. The kids were the first to meet her and very much approved, she was adorable. Tilley was completely black with a blue face which gave the only hint that she was not to be a common black poodle. Next came the canine introductions.

Canine Hygene

Yesterday was hygene day at my house, every week I cut nails, every month or so I get the hemostat and the dental scraper out. I am a very "do it yourself" kind of gal, always have been. I know there are many people out there who would never consider doing these types of things on their own but once you decide to do it and give it a whirl it really isn't difficult. Trust is probably the biggest issue, your dog must trust you.

Nails are a breeze, I start this when they first come to live with us. I work hard to put a positive association on nail cutting right away. I don't think there is any dog out there that likes to have their nails cut so you have to make it worth their while to stand still for a few moments and let you do it. I always treat afterwards a really good treat and I still treat even now when my dogs are 7, 10 and 11. They know the routine and they know there is a jackpot at the end. I also make sure there is alot of attention and affection given during the activity so it is quite enjoyable.

As I said in a previous post, we just moved and we now have wood floors which don't hold up to freshly cut nails. This means I now have to file after cutting and we are working on this new feeling.

If you have a dog that needs to have hair plucked from their ears you know it is a constant battle. There are several thoughts on plucking ears, take it all, don't touch it and somewhere in between. That is where I am about plucking, I take enough to let air in there. I have seen what happens when you don't take any and when you strip the ear raw, not good either way.

Both my poodles sit quietly, even Luke who took much longer to get use to this than Tilley. They don't want to have their ears plucked and it takes quite a while to get them to come over and get comfy beside me. I get out my glasses, sit on the ground in the sun so I can see perfectly and get to it. It is very important to pull only a tiny bit out at a time otherwise it hurts them. And if you have ever used hemostats you must be extremely careful as they can pinch badly. I have to admit they are really great dogs and it amazes me that they let me do it. Of course Jessie doesn't need to have her ears plucked, there is nothing in her ears but some occasional dirt.

Now, as far as teeth scraping goes this is more of a challenge. It is a very weird feeling for the dogs and they must be accustom to you messing with their mouth. To keep my dogs teeth clean I give them what I call "flinstone bones" big leg bones from the butcher. They must be given raw so there is no chance of splinttering and they work like a charm. A couple of hours nawing on those babies and their teeth are pearly white.

But there are spots that need scraping so I do that. I do not believe in "teeth cleaning" at the vets if you can avoid it. Of course there are times when it must be done but if you clean your dogs teeth on your own you can get around it most of the time. Being put out for anything is dangerous and I know my dogs would not let someone else clean their teeth when they were fully awake.

You must be gentle and get them use to the scraping feeling a little at a time. Once they see that you are not going to hurt them you can give them a good cleaning after a couple of sessions.

Its all about trust.

How Luke joined our family

Pretty much everyday I have an incident with my boy Luke. Luke joined our family in the year 2000 and since then I have come to realize that he, more than any other dog in my life has taught me the most. Luke was the only one of my dogs that "chose me." I hate it when people say that but he really did choose me and never let up. I went to visit the litter that a trainer friend of mine had with no intentions of bringing home a puppy, honestly. The litter was sleeping in the backyard, all but this one blonde boy. No, he was too busy working on his routine with me.

In jest I picked him up and looked him square in the eye, "do you want to come home with me?" This is something I do alot when I am working with puppies and never truly mean it. After enjoying a whole litter of 7 week olds I returned home with a blonde poodle puppy imprint on my brain, I could not get this little guy out of my head. So after 5 weeks of torture I called my friend back and sheepishly asked if she still had the boy. No sooner were the words, "yes I do" out of her mouth that I was interupting her saying her "I'll take him."

Oh my gosh he was a doll, just picture loose golden puppy curls so soft that you swear he is a stuffed animal. But he was different right from the the getgo! Luke has been a challenge, not a bad challenge just a challenge from a training stand point. He is very emotional, sensitive, reactive and pushy. All this combined into one of the most amazing dogs I have had the pure pleasure of living with. He is one of my heart dogs.

More on all of Luke's quirks later!

Barking dogs

Good Saturday morning, I'm awake obviously. As usual I am awake because of stupid people. These people are stupid because they either have outside dogs, put their dog out early and left it out or just have no common sense to know that their dog who is barking constantly may be annoying others. Others, including me would like to sleep in a little on the weekend, but no these people make darn sure that's not going to happen.

Why do people allow their dogs to bark uninterupted? It truly boggles my mind that some people really don't get it. It is one thing if you live out in the middle of no where and your dogs annoying barking is only going to be bothering you but in a suburb, there are lots of people who are going to be bothered, me for one.

Barking in general doesn't bother me at all and a few barks here and there don't phase me either. It is the constant barking that gets to me. Especially on the weekend when you are pretty sure the owners are home and hearing it as well. The fact that the owners are listening to their dogs nagging barking probably adds to the annoyance. Just knowing that they are not doing a thing about it is annoying in itself.

My dogs love to sleep in on the weekendm, I truly believe if I slept until noon they would be right there with me. Of course weekend mornings are spent altogether snuggled in on our bed. I do get leg cramps and tend to be slowly worked off the side of the bed but its cozy. Once up I grab our coffee and crawl back into our very crowded bed for some more lazy time.

But, if for some reason one of my dogs needs to relieve themselves early I am very careful to bring them in immmediately after they are done. My boy loves to go out in the morning and let the world know he has arrived, usually a couple of barks will do. But those couple of barks may be enough with the others in the neighborhood to put someone over the edge. I know I do not want someone taking out their anger on any of my dogs.

A barking dog can be a real annoyance and there are many quick and easy ways to silence a barking dog. Ignorning the fact that they are barking constantly is not one of them.

Setting boundaries

Good morning! The sun is out already, nice being that it is June and here in Southern California we deal with June gloom. As I said in my last post I will explain how to set boundaries with your dog in this post. I will try to make it quick and simple, I'll try. What I do want you to understand is that there is no command for this exercise. We want your dog to know that it is absolutely not an option to go out a door on their own. If someone should happen to leave a door ajar your dog should know that they just don't go out, without you telling them that they can.

The first thing you need to establish for yourself is what boundary you will train. Even if you have several areas you want to teach say like the front door, side gate and garage door only work on one at a time. Once that is trained it is easy to train a new additional boundary.

Now you need to make sure there is a clear boundary for your dog so that they can understand. It may be a front door mat, the actual door or a change in flooring. Once that is decided and you have a clear view of where your boundary is, get your dog. Put a leash on your dog so that if they cross the boundary you have something to grab onto and if your dog is a guaranteed bolter, get a long leash on them and tie them to something, leaving the leash long enough for them to cross the boundary. Get some treats, small ones like the size of a dime (charlee bear treats) work great for this.

Start out with your dog behind you and behind the boundary, walk towards the boundary. If they try to follow you over the boundary you turn and walk abruptly into them. Body language is important for this exercise as it helps your dog to understand right from wrong.

Once back over the boundary you turn and try again. If they do not attempt to follow you quickly throw a treat back behind them. You want the treats behind them because you do not want them coming to you to get the treat. Make sure to reward the smallest of success, this helps them to move on more quickly.

Now try to walk over the boundary and touch the door handle, always be ready for your dog to fail. You must act immediately turning and walking into them. Dogs really do not like when you walk into them so this is a very good message to keep them back. Do not use words, you can use sounds as I find it nearly impossible not to grunt some displeasure to my dogs and use happy sounds for their success. But you are not going to tell them to stay, they are not staying they are just not to come over the boundary. (More on stay in the future)

You are going to make it harder and harder but in baby steps. Now try to open the door, always keeping one on eye your dog. Do this exercise in a very fluid motion, do not hesitate and move slowly or it is a very unnatural behavior from you.

Treat for success, move in and walk at your dog for failure. Only move to the next step once your dog succeeds.

When you need to get your dog back over the boundary it must be done quickly, calmly and with purpose. Walk into them and once they are over the boundary turn around right away and try again. You have your dogs attention right now, use it.

I'm sure you get the drift of the exercise now. You are going to push it and try to take a step outside and then back. Once you can do that, pretend to talk to someone outside (this almost always creates a boundary break so watch). Then you are going to start hanging around outside, don't forget to treat for them NOT following you.

Treating is to get the message through quickly and clearly. Depending on the level of your bolter and age will be how long and how often you treat. My dogs never get treats for this now but they sure get happy talk.

The boundary you set is for when a door is open, if a door is closed a dog can cross the boundary at will. This is something you cannot always be on top of so futile to try.

When it is time for your dog to go out the door or gate or whatever you must make it very official. They are only to ever go out with one word. It makes no matter what that one word is but they must hear it before going out. Push your dog with this exercise, practice lots of different scenarios that you think might have your dog break a boundary. The more you train the more your dog will be ready for the real thing.

Questions?

Boundaries

Boundary training has got to be one of the most important things you can EVER teach a dog. Of course the most important boundaries are the ones that have danger across them. Say like your front door or a side gate that leads onto the street. I know that I love the fact that my dogs do not bolt out of our open door. And because they know about "boundaries" they are very easy to pick up on new ones.

We recently moved and I really was not sure how hard it was going to be to teach them all the new boundaries. Especially when there are three dogs they tend to feed off of one another and not listen so much. So we try each on their own first. Am I proud, they all stayed inside when we walked out the front door. Even when they had never been to this new home before.

A boundary can be anywhere, a separate room, a threshold leading from one to another or simply somewhere you do not want your dog to be. I'm going to explain the steps to teach a boundary in the following blog and will try to explain this as simple as possible, I'm working on a book which will cover it more in depth.

Learning to trust

One of the most important things I have learned over the 32 years I've spent with dogs is building trust. When I started out in the world of dogs I was a young 13 year old with a life of experience ahead of me. What I learned about dogs at the time was what was known at the time.

I've trained alot of dogs now and looking back I have alot of experience under my belt. Some of the experiences are not remembered as fond but just as learning experiences. I started training dogs with the conventional choke collar, choke'm method. At 13 I knew no different and followed the lead of my teachers.

Skipping ahead some 15 years or so I heard about positive reinforcement training and moved forward from that day on. Looking back at the old conventional type training I realize what a sad and damaging effect it has on guardian and canine. There is no trust building with this type of training. If they don't perform you yank on them until they do, no this only builds distrust.

Starting out using conventional methods of training gives me a greater insight as to why I do not use it anymore. Positive training definitely takes more thought and patience. Both of which I have come to realize grows with time and experience. There have been training cases where a dog is just not getting it and it is my job to sit and figure out why.

I have never been to proud to sit and ponder during a session, dogs are not a science. There is no one sure cure for all. And it should be all fun, so what one dog may think is great fun another may consider it to be highly stressful or frustrating so there lies the patience factor.

I want my dogs to know completely and entirely that I would never hurt them. When I rap my arms around them and pull them close I want them to feel no sense of concern but only the affection and love I have for them, complete trust.

More on positive behavior modification later.

Have a great one!

Queen Bee - Alpha dog

So, Queen Bee our little Jack Russell kicks into gear when things start to run a muck. We have three dogs Jessie who just turned 11 and is our resident alpha Jack Russell, Tilley who is a 10 year old standard poodle and Luke the one with the blanket hanging off of him will be 7 in August. After bath time poodles run a muck and Jessie lets them quickly know that there will be no nonsense from them.

Jessie is the Alpha dog in our house she always has been. Since the day she walked into our house she has owned it. At the time we had another male standard poodle, Clyde. Clyde was the most gentle, kind hearted soul and the love of my life. Clyde was a lover not a fighter. Being a softy Clyde never stood a chance with this new little dynamite stick. Jessie came in a quickly let him know that things were going to be different from now on. It was actually comical to see this tiny JRT puppy go and take anything she wanted away from him.

Many people feel that an Alpha dog is an aggressive dog with "issues." Not so, an alpha is a term to describe a dog with leadership desires. Some alpha dogs can become a problem which may be caused by a lack of leadership from the humans in the pack. And of course there are those alpha dogs that do let it go to their head and need to be reined in often.

A good scenario is when you have one alpha in a pack. If you have two alphas of the same sex, things can get a little hairy. When you have two alphas in the same household it is never more important to let all the dogs know that you are actually the supreme Alpha. You must be able to establish leadership with your dogs so that they look to you for guidance. If you allow a pack to run without a human leader, things can get hairy.

How much is too much? I allow my little Alpha to do mild disciplining. Once she has said her peace, thats it. No grudges, no follow ups or continual nagging. I run a tight ship and the dogs, even Jessie follow my lead. There is no stealing of items in this house, no food stealing no pushing anyone out of their bed and nothing more than a growl as far as communication. Once dogs have experienced a fight, they are much quicker to resort to a fight for control so we don't go there.

Many people say that they do not allow growling at anytime. This is not a recommended way to control a pack of dogs in my eyes. By removing growling you remove your dogs ability to communicate. This can then cause undo stress leading to aggressive outburtst.

So when things get out of Jessie's desired way of life she lets her canine subordinates know. A quick growl and that notorious lazer stare let them know, they best behave.