Mental stimulation

We had several dogs here visiting yesterday and after the fact Luke and Tilley were exhausted. It got me to thinking about mental stimulation. I believe that mental stimulation is as important as physical stimualation. It always amazes me how a big day out with lots of "new" things can tucker a dog out. Not all mental stimulation is positive; there are events that can simply drain a dog like going to the vet. Tilley gets so stressed out at the vet that she slips into a coma as soon as we get home and there she stays until dinner time.

You know how some days when you are really busy, not physically but mentally you are exhausted at the end of the day? I often feel like I didnt' really do anything but I'm so tired, but it is my brain that has been working overtime. This is the same for dogs, and yesterday we had a lot of communications between all the dogs. Heck even Tilley got in on the communicating which doesn't normally happen.

Stimulation is a good thing; too much can be a bad thing. That is why one of my common phrases is "quit while you are ahead." Don't overdo, just do. If a trip to the dogpark is on your agenda, make it a short and sweet one. Visiting a new mall with your dog? Make it an in and out trip, don't wait until your dog is on overload.

Dogs like humans can build their capacity to handle mental stimulation. And while you are mentally stimulating your dog, your brain is also getting a workout. That is if you are paying attention to what is going on with your dog, not just holding the other end of the leash.

Well I'm off to get a physical workout.

Can't take the wolf out of our dogs

Today I had Tilley and Jessie over at the High School for a big walk. It's becoming routine now for the girls to go on their own walk and Luke on another. Luke went with Dad and the girls went with me, neither of the girls can handle the extreme running or distance anymore so we take our time and do alot of smelling and strolling.

Tilley lags and Jessie is out in front going crazy with all the smells of rabbits, rats and other critters. There are lots to be found in and around the school and there isn't too much grass to irritate poor Jessie's grass alergy. We were walking along, taking our leisurely time when I turned around to see Tilley frozen, she turned her head as if on a pivot to look at me and then back again. She was slowly sinking and I strained to see what she was looking at.

I decided to just watch, Tilley's body slunk down like a truck on hydraulics that someone was lowering. Her movements became mechanical like and she quickly transformed from poodle to predator. She stood frozen until I called to her and even then she moved so slow and with purpose. Her movement was fluid and her height had been reduced to a fraction of it's normal stature. Tilley was on the hunt.

I have often seen this behavior from Tilley, Luke has done it a couple of times as well as Jessie but none are as drastic as Tilley. But, Tilley's chase drive is off the charts, always has been and the idea of an impending pursuit is more than she can physically control, primal genetics take over. No one ever showed Tilley how to stalk, catch and kill prey but it's there not far under that poodle coat of hers.

Some breeds have lost much of their prey drive. Some of the breeds who have been bred as lap companion dogs for many generations just don't react to movement the way others do. I've seen small dogs, sit and play with rabbits, birds and guinea pigs that amazes me. None of my dogs have ever had such low level prey drive. But for most dogs it is still there, not that they want to kill the object of their chase, the chase just stirs something deep within.

Once we passed the field of temptation for Tilley she was back to her poodley self. But the wolf lies in waiting for the next rodent to venture by.

Sunday morning

It's pouring, weird. I love the rain and I believe the dogs love the rain as well, if they can stay inside that is. At the moment it is very dark and coming down likes cats and dogs as they say. It is very peaceful and none of the sleeping canines are even flinching. There is something to be said for a good downpour, it will green the grass and plants up and wash away layers of smog residue that lingers on everything.

But there will be no walk down in the canyon this morning, the rain turns the canyon into a mucky mess which unless you are in the mood for an hour of foot washing, not a good idea. So today we may take a stroll at the park, if the rain let's up that is. It's a good day for cooking which I will be doing for human and canine alike.

The dogs need some general maintenance, nail cutting, ear plucking etc. I wanted to give everyone a bath but if it's not sunny out I'll skip that until another day. I like the assistance of the sun in drying the dogs quick and easy, no sense fighting Mother Nature, why not let her help?

I've been working a ton on my new website getting as much info on it as I can. If anyone has a great canine related product out there, let me know and I'll run it past my canines.

The rain is once again coming down in buckets, have a great rest of the weekend everyone.

The perfect dog

Ah gotcha didn't I, you thought I was going to boast about a perfect speciman and you wanted to know who and what that was. Well, I'm here to tell you that the perfect dog does not exist; nor does the perfect human for that matter. Each dog is an individual and with that comes personality traits, temperament good and bads and quirks. All my dogs have something, every dog I've ever met had something.

Some of the biggest surprises with regards to perfection are from the dogs who seem to be almost perfect. The amazing statuesque Great Dane I met on a beach, terrified by my camera. The adorable little white poodle who loved nothing more than to sit in your lap, just don't touch his food. The big tough German Shepherd who would scare anyone by her appearance, big chicken at heart. Or even my seemingly perfect Tilley has obsessive compulsive disorder. So I am very sorry to give you this news but there is no perfect dog and if you are looking for one? You'll be searching into eternity.

But with all their quirks and strange behaviors they are all wonderful. Sure some are more work than others, some you actually need a professionals help to change some of the worst behaviors and some are what they are. You can always work with odd behaviors but there are some behaviors that run very deep, and will not change. What we really work to change in dogs is more how they react to things. We try to reassociate for them; change how they feel about a certain situation.

Say you have a dog that is afraid of garbage cans on the street. Why? who knows but you can help them with this issue by changing how they feel about garbage cans on the street. By using baby steps and something they love, whether it be a ball or liver and slowly teach them that when garbage cans are out they get to play catch or eat liver and that's the only time. All of a sudden your dog will be looking for those cans to be there.

My Luke is one of the quirkiest dogs I've ever met, he is a true nervous ninny and for all of his weird behaviors I love him even more; because he is my Luke and that is who he is.

Bashing my head against the wall

Okay, if any of you see me out and about and notice that my head is slightly flattened, you'll know why. Lastnight I made salmon for the dogs, yes Alaskan Salmon, yummy right? Well the girls thought so and I already knew that Luke was not going to think so by his absence in the kitchen. I fed the girls and decided to doctor up his meal so he might just eat it. Typically Luke is not a fish eater; he wouldn't do so well in the wild. (Wild poodle...........hmmmm)

Anyhow, I brought the food down to His Majesty where he was propped upon his thrown and placed the salmon, quinoa, liver biscotti and lots of butter down infront of him. He pulled his legs back recoil style and left. Nice! So I proceed to do the airplane routine which worked for a while but there was no way he was eating it out of the bowl. FINE!!!! And I left to go upstairs with his uneaten food.

To my surprise he followed me, wow maybe he wanted to eat the rest. I put it on the ground and ........................................nothing. Nope, he was not eating it but Jessie was waiting as patiently as a pirahna to devour it. I picked it up and thought "hey I'll get some kibble and throw it around, maybe he'll eat that." As soon as I poured the kibble into the bowl Luke's ears went up. What? He was interested in the dogfood?

Long story short? He ate two bowls of dry dog food. Somebody shoot me.

Wednesday morning

Good morning, the temps are heating up here in sunny California but from what I hear they are also heating up in sunny Ontario, Canada. I love this time of year back home, the snow and ice are melting and things that have been laying dormant for months are now peeking out from beneath their captor. It is a very dirty time of year, near impossible to keep the hounds clean and perhaps this is why dirt doesn't bother me. I've had my fair share of dirty dogs to deal with over the years so I just let it slide.

Yesterday I took Jessie for a very big walk around a park we frequent that doesn't have too much grass to irritate her little feet. She is severely allergic so we must hit the spots where there is little or none. We did our big adventure and were on our way back when I noticed a gentleman standing in our path with a big ole Golden. He seemed to be waiting for me, like we were old friends and he was lingering until I could catch up.

Jessie had decided that there was alot of peemail to smell in one particular bush so I just kept an eye on this guy while she proceeded to smell her mail. We were at this one bush a good 4-5 minutes and then she was ready to move on. He stood there with a big smile on his face when what I thought he was waiting for was what he was waiting for. For some reason he decided that our dogs simply must meet; and that's when the factual part of me kicks in.

Now first let me say that Jessie is a very nice JRT; she is a breed that tends to be very domineering and very dominant to say the least. She adores humans but when it comes to canines she simply demands that they bow down to her; which as we all know doesn't always work in our favor. So that I don't have to start the long and tedious explanation each and everytime I meet someone who simply must let the dogs talk I just yell out "she's not friendly." This works wonders.

When you say something like that people tend to listen; they pull their dog back while they themselves are moving in a backward motion. Very nice. That's right step away from the Queen. :) Jessie gives her best dagger stare on the way by and we are off on our way, homeward bound. Jessie is the boss in our house, she has lived with a few different dogs in her time, dealt with several foster dogs and puppies. Her initial response is a fierce one but being 15 lbs in a world of 50 pounders I don't blame her. Plus she always has to deal with Luke.

Bring'm with

The other day I was at a really great plant Nursery; I could spend hours looking around. There in an indoor area and a huge outdoor area that seems to be never ending. To my surprise there were alot of dogs there; one woman who had several bostons in a cart; a breed that I really like by the way. They are very personable and I have yet to meet one that was not. There was a big pit mix, and an old golden, these were just the ones that I happened to passby.

All were being very well behaved and the basket of Bostons was drawing a crowd. So what is the bring'm with ya etiquette? Well basically when you want to bring your dog into an area that is public and confined, the first thing you need to consider is that they can't bug people. If you have a dog that is out of control and wants to jump onto everyone who passes by then best to work on that before attempting the real thing.

You better be sure that your dog is okay with lots of people reaching out to touch. Everyone always wants to touch, especially children. If your dog is not comfortable with people touching them then leave them at home where they are comfortable. They also need to be okay with other dogs; no they aren't going to have to play but there is a good chance that someone else will have their dog and you don't want yours lunging at the others.

And being that this facility allows you to bring your dog; correct? You did check right? There are several places that are no no's when it comes to bring'm with you. One is a grocery store, anywhere they sell food is off limits. There are lots of restaurants where you can bring them but they must stay in the outdoor patio. Many places in Europe allow dogs just about anywhere; which is way cool. And because the dogs tend to go everywhere I would think that this alone helps in the social department.

If you are going to a public place; be sure that your dog is okay with it. If you plan on sitting down at one of the great places that allow our dogs to dine in an outdoor patio with us then be sure they have a really solid down stay. I recently took Tilley to the Lazy Dog Cafe in Orange off of Katella. My husband and I had a leisurely lunch while she patiently relaxed and had the occassional snack.

Several months back I took Jessie down to San Diego with me, she had a bad spell and I didn't want to leave her alone (well she's not alone) at home. So I joined my daughther and we ate out at a cafe for lunch while Jessie enjoyed alot of snacks. She didn't do a whole lot of laying down but she was very good and they were very accomodating to her. The waitor was very cute and brought her a little cup of water with ice.

If you do take your dog to dine somewhere with you be sure to bring a small towel or blanket for them to lay on. It also helps to give them a visual on where they should stay. Bone apetite!!!!!

Just chill'n

Yesterday I spent the entire day transforming a garden I have. I also wanted to put in a very casual type patio so that we could put a couple of chairs there. When we moved into this home the garden was completely filled with death and rock hard dirt. There wasn't a living thing in the garden which had obviously at one point been some sort of either veggie or flower garden. Being that our yard is already consumed by a good percentage of concrete I did not want to eliminate grass run area for the dogs.

So the above image shows you how we were able to obtain a patio type area without taking away any "dog area." The garden has always been off limits to the dogs as there is no need for them to be in there, besides fresh turned dirt leads to digging. I love spending time puttering outside with the dogs and they enjoy it just as much. Luke spent the entire day helping me dig and supervising my every move pretty much. Each hole that is dug must be inspected by him and each plant that is put in gets the once over before it is put into the ground.

Tilley spent her day sitting beside me and shadow chasing. She stays in the yard wherever I am but does her chasing back and forth, always sure to check in every so often with a gentle poke and off she goes again. By the end of the day Luke was growing tired and weary of his supervisor position and decided to try to fluff the lawn for somewhere to lay. After much frustration I went and got him an outdoor dog bed which he quickly curled up on to further his watch.

Spending all day outside is both tiring for myself and the dogs. Dogs typically spend a great part of their day sleeping so an entire day awake can take alot out of them, especially when they have a key role like Supervisor. ;)

On or Off the couch????

The big debate; "should I let my dogs on the sofa?" And the answer is yes and no depending on your dog. This is one of the most common questions and one that can make or break your relationship with your dog. My rule of thumb about couchdom is "when I say so," meaning that only when and if I say you can come up, you can come up. But we have a slightly different rule in our home and it is all due to Luke.

Luke is a digger, a fluffer of comfyness. About 70% of the time he fluffs madly and then makes his ritual 12 spins before laying down. Now I don't know about you but I'm not real keen on having him fluff my leather or fabric furniture. He has ruined I don't know how many dog beds which then are flipped over until he ruins the otherside. So my rule is only because of this digging fool and really has nothing to do with the whole "dogs on the couch." They use to be on the couch until his digging got worse and we got new furniture and before that it was always "only when I say so."

Many dogs will growl or posture if you try to move them off the couch, afterall they are sitting in your spot which is the ultimate position. But they think you are trying to take their spot. That is when things have to change drastically, and off they go. Dogs like this should never be allowed on the furniture, and that is specifically so you can take back your status of "leader of the pack." If you allow your dog to have the best seat and not be moved because everyone is afraid of your snarling canine then guess who really is the boss?

It's all about manners, manners, manners. So if your dog get's off when you ask and has no guarding of the spot or status seeking behavior over the couch then simply implement the "ask first" rule. It will work out best for everyone and you won't have your dog sitting ontop of your next guest in your home either.

Tilley is 12 today

Today is Tilley's birthday; she is 12 years old. So this entire blog will be dedicated to the one, the only Kalchan's Time for Tilley. I'm sure some of you will have heard much of this before but it's her day so, too bad. Tilley was born in Manilla, Ontario Canada in 1997. We first met when she was only 3 weeks old but I didn't know it; she was one of a pile of black wriggling puppies that I only got a sneak peek at but she was in there.

But before I got my peak, I met the relatives. Grandma, Uncle, Aunt and older sister. They were all wonderfully friendly dogs, and gorgeous. We talked for hours, we left no stone unturned and after all the discussion, meeting the dogs, peeking at the puppies I decided to return in 5 weeks. I made my 4 hour drive back home and waited.

With three young children at home 5 weeks goes by fast. The day came and I was off again on my four hour drive up to Manilla. What a beautiful drive, I passed lake after lake, it was the middle of May and spring was in full swing. Once I got to my destination it was time to pick my pick of litter. I first watched the whole gang, which is so confusing as they all looked the same. Then the boys got put away which made it a bit easier.

I quickly narrowed it down to Tilley and the big girl, I like the big ones. But with the breeders guidance I chose Tilley, she had been picked as "the pick." She was put together, average in size and had a connection in her eyes that you don't see that often. I love eye contact, it means even more to me now then 12 years ago but even then it was a big thing. Tilley has always used her eyes to tell her story, to communicate anything she needed to communicate to us or others.

So back in the car, which was a dark green caravan at the time. Tilley was in her crate in the back, it was just me so the safest spot for her was the crate. I stopped several times for her but she just stood there with drool pouring out her mouth. I hopped in the car and tried to get home as quick as possible, without speeding of course. By the time I arrived she was covered in ectoplasm (slimy drool)so I wiped her off the best I could before we made our entrance.

The kids were crazy for her and she quickly bonded with my son who at the time was 7. They have grown up together and to this day she holds a special spot in her heart for him. He has always been her little boy and now as she ages I can see the relationship changing as all do. He is more the caregiver and she accepts this change.

Over the years Tilley became obsessive over shadow chasing, a common problem with dogs that have off the charts prey drive. With specialized training we moved her drive to balls and frisbees. This then lead Tilley to performing on Pet Star, twice. (I'm still trying to find my video of it) She did amazing and won the hearts of all who were involved with the show, especially the camera guy in the back who she flirted with all day.

Tilley was my longtime demo dog, she attended my group classes and showed the other young dogs how it's done. She helped many a fearful or aggressive dog to rehabilitate and just be chill. She has a presense about her, a very non threatening presense which immediately calms other dogs. She has this effect on people as well as she has helped several people and children who were very fearful of dogs get started on overcoming their fears.

Tilley is now retired from her death defying flying act and enjoys a good walk with the family. After a recent visit from her breeder I was informed that Tilley's sister who I met all those years ago is still going strong at 15, pretty impressive. This leads to why it is so important to go to a good breeder. Tilley is not suffering at all in her older age. Whereas my Clyde at the age of 12 was a very crooked and sore old man.

To me Tilley's structure is perfection, and I am not talking about appearance at all, although she is quite the looker. She is put together the way a dog should be, she is athletic and has an ease to her movement. You can tell by watching her that her hips are amazing, everything is proportioned correctly. This will definitely lend itself to her happiness as she goes into her 13th year and beyond.

Tilley is class, she is the most mild mannered, polite, driven, athletic, loving, devoted, fierce protector, teacher that I have had the priviledge of calling "my dog."

Happy Birthday girl.

Good Thursday morning, I am not yet use to this time change but hopefully soon. Isn't it amazing how one hour can throw you off? Weird. It is overcast here and the sun is trying its hardest to rise, there is a slight threat of rain in the air but I'm hoping if it is going to rain it does it this morning. I have a shoot this evening, a sunset shoot and I love those.

I'll be working on my new website www.justdogswithsherri.com today. It's a ton of work to switch from one to another and move all the info, create new material and fetch photos. So I will be on my computer for the bulk of the day. I am going to take Jessie for a big walk, the poodles will be resting from their day yesterday in the canyon. We spent a good hour walking with a couple of other great standards and both Luke and Tilley were really tired lastnight. Tilley needs the day off from a walk like that.

It is looking and sounding very much like spring, the birds are really loud this morning. I never mind hearing birds early in the morning, seems hard to be in a bad mood when the sound of chirping wakes you. The trees beside my balcony have really grown so I plan on putting some feeders out there, both seed and hummingbird. Tilley loves when the birds come and she literally burns a hole in the grass. I have to move the feeders constantly. She sits beneath the feeder and waits, this only works if the sun is out because she is waiting for the shadow. She could care a less about the actual bird, only that it create a shadow for her.

Luke on the other hand loves to chase birds and will occasionally charge outside sounding very much like a grizzle bear, after a tiny sparrow type bird. Hey when there is nothing else to chase, a bird will do. Jessie like to chase them sometimes as well and in her younger years she chased, caught and ate one in midair. That's right, she was been dive bombed by a bird and she dove up and grabbed it. When my husband yelled for her to drop it, she swallowed. I'm thinking it was a swallow that she swallowed.

She could not do that today at nearly 13 but she is not beneath trying. Not that long ago she grabbed a little hamster type creature that they have here in California and swallowed it whole. Mmmmmm, have a good breakfast. :)

Leadership

Leadership: One who leads.

As volunteer guardians; ah yes you are a volunteer in the full sense of the definition. 1. a person who voluntarily offers himself or herself for a service or undertaking.
2. a person who performs a service willingly and without pay.

Yep, that pretty much sums it up. So as a volunteer it is your job to fill the leader position. And in very simply terms; if you don't, they will. Not all dogs are attempting to climb the leadership ladder but many are. Even when you think your dog is the bestest ever, they can be secretly plotting to overthrow the current leadership. So many of my clients who are dealing with leadership issues tell me "they are so good, they don't mean to be bad."

When a dogs behavior relating to leadership issues seems bad to us, it is not bad at all. Your dog is simply being a dog. In the human species there are leaders and followers, same in the dog world. If all the dogs wanted to be leaders it would be a huge mess. But many dogs are made to be the leader in a pack simply because there is a lack of leadership. Your dog may have never intended to be a leader but because you show no leadership skills they have had to step up where you failed.

Being the leader has nothing to do with brawn, being a good leader is all about level headedness, rational, calm guidance. Decisions are made by the leader, that's the simple part. But the real question is "are you making the decisions?" The important decisions are when do we eat? When do we go out? Where do we sleep etc.

I only have one dog at the moment who is a pusher, he pushes gently but often. Every once in a while he gives "not listening" a try and it doesn't work. It works with some people in the family but not the BOSS, which is me. If I say something, I enforce it and this is very important. Dogs learn by repetition, feedback and association. If they try not listening and it works, then they will use it again.

There must be respect for a leader, which means you must be a good leader. Being a good leader means that you have earned your status and not taken it by force. When I speak I expect to be listened to. Life in our home is calm and relaxed, the dogs know where I stand about issues and feel comfortable with the way things are. They never cringe away from me but will move when I mean business.

Being the leader means that I say when we do things, where and how. And if I put a sandwich in the middle of the floor and tell everyone to leave it, then they will leave it because I said so. Chances are my son will grab it though. ;)

Wow, this time change is really messing me up. I felt as though I was running behind all day yesterday with each look at the clock. I was shocked everytime I checked the time and felt like I had to rush to keep up. I hate this time change. I'm well into my poodle book now and loving it. And speaking of poodles, Luke got a haircut yesterday. He was very good about it even by the end he was still being fairly patient. The only thing he really hates about being groomed is his feet, he absolutely hates it and tries to keep them away from me at all cost. But I've learned a few tricks over the years so although I give him a quickie, he still gets them done. I purchased a great grooming shirt at the big Expo several weeks ago which works great. I no longer deal with hair in all my clothes even after washing. It actually keeps the hair on the outside and stays on the shirt. Once off I give it a shake and fold it up for next time. Although I'm not a groomer I do enjoy it on occasion. Typically I enjoy grooming when I have the time, if I'm in a rush they get the utility clip deluxe. Then when I have the time the get the fancier version. They still do not have any poofs on them but I am able to take the time and leave them a bit of coat length. It isn't often these days that I have the time to fuss over grooming but it is sort of relaxing when I can. I would put it in the same category as bonsai pruning or gardening. I have set up quite a few poodle shoots this week, can't wait.

When it's time

This blog is dedicated to a dear friend of mine who is dealing with the loss of an amazing companion.

They are our bestfriends, our confidants, a shoulder to lean on when we need one and our constant companions. Our dogs give us everything they have to give and when it is their time to go, this can be one of the most devastating times as a guardian. As a guardian it is our job to care for our dogs no matter what. We have volunteered to keep our dogs happy and healthy for the short years that they are with us, that includes making the decision to let them go.

It is never an easy decision but often one that is set upon us without notice, when a dog takes a turn for the worse, when they have not dealt with a long illness this can turn our world upside down. We would all love our dogs to live with us our whole life but the sad truth is that they don't and their lives are often cut far too short by illness or injury.

It is at these times that we need to make the final decision to let them go. It is a selfless act, one that takes great courage and a love so deep for your dog that you don't want them to suffer one second longer. Clyde, now long gone and the love of my life was in bad shape at the end of his life. He was put onto morphine and had a spectrum of tests run with no clear results. "What was causing so much pain in my dog?" In the end I decided to take him off the morphine which was putting him into a constant state of panting confusion. I needed to see how he really was feeling, and it only took hours to know.

I sat on the floor, his head in my lap as he relaxed. I never stopped stroking his face, now nearly deaf I wanted him to know I was not leaving him. As Clyde slipped away in peaceful sleep a piece of my heart was permanently taken. I sat with tears streaming down my face as I let one of the loves of my life move on from his painful body and onto rest. Sadly this is part of being a guardian.

We must mourn; this is a very personal time. No two people will mourn the same but it is an essential part of loving and living with dogs. I truly believe that each dog that touches our lives changes us for the better, helping in our evolution. And when the time comes and we feel that our heart has room for another we will love again.

The addition of a new dog is never ever a replacement. There can never be an identical bond but we can fill a lonely void with another life. It is important to look at each new dog in our lives as just that, a new life, a new personality. And the dogs in our past will always be in our heart, our memory and our soul.

Social interactions

Good Sunday morning, hopefully you remembered to move your clocks ahead lastnight. If not do it now, there has been more than one year I missed appointments because I didn't remember. This is the crappy time change, yes it gives us more daylight but it makes hauling yourself out of bed in the morning near impossible. And the dogs? What the clock says means nothing to them, they know it's too early to get up no matter what.

I wanted to discuss socializing this morning, early and late socializing is so important. There are such ranges of puppies that no two are ever going to beidentical in their needs or their reactions. But one thing is for sure, they need to be socialized. Socializing can come in many forms but it should start early, really early. Many vets are now starting to come around to the importance of early socialization and how to go about it safely.

Puppies can be introduced to many different sights, smells, textures and sounds well before they could ever get out in the world. Having puppies experience many new things each day really helps to prepare them for our big and scary world. As a dog trainer I often meet puppies from the age of 7 - 12 weeks in their new home. It is then that the great debate begins. The vet says "no" and I say "yes," a carefully controlled yes but most definitely yes to socializing early.

I completely understand the need for great care when it comes to puppies but because puppies are a completely blank slate it is fairly easy to socialize them. This can be as simple as taking them to the side of your house and letting them explore where they have yet to go. Take them out into the front yard to experience perhaps cars, bikes and people passing by your home. Invite the neighbors over, especially if they have children.

Children are an essential part of socializing, but you must be careful that they do not overwhelm a puppy which can then lead to a fear of children. Puppies must go out on their own, away from the rest of the pack. If they are always within the pack even when they are out socializing they never truly learn to deal with what life might throw at them.

Take your puppy out in the car, go to coffee shops and anywhere that you can sit and take in the world with your puppy in your arms. Meeting many different people, all shapes, sizes, walking postures, hat wearing, men, women and children from the very young to the very old. I have to say that Luke has been my greatest canine teacher out of all of my dogs. He is super sensitive to literally everything, sound, site and smell. And it is through watching his over reactions that I have learned the what many dogs displayed but we simply miss the message because their communication level is much more subdued.

I'm a canine behavior watcher, I am constantly watching the signs. Often when I am out with people and dogs I realized when I get home that I could not tell you what any of the people were wearing, none of them. But I could tell you play by play what the dogs were discussing over the entire social gathering. If you watch for the subtle signals you might learn how comfortable or not comfortable they are in certain situations.

So what happens if you missed the boat so to speak, you didn't do your job and now you have a grown unsocialized dog? You get out and start socializing, but you must take it in baby steps and not overdo it. There is a fine line between pushing a bit and flooding. Flooding - In flooding, you expose yourself to the feared thing not in small or medium size doses but instead, all at once in fullest intensity. This is not a recommended method of dealing with canines. You can not talk them through it and it typically makes matters worse.

There are several things that I feel very strongly about and this one may cause me to be called a nag by some, infact I know I nag because I even say that I nag about it to my clients. Socialize, socialize, socialize. Especially if you see a behavior issue arising, instead of hiding and running away from it, tackle it head on and help your dog. They will thank you for it.

Moving on

Well, with my first book out and under my belt I am moving onto my next endeavour. I have several books on the back burner that I started years ago, one is a training book that is almost done and I will be continually working on it to get it done. But as a "text" type book it will take longer than a photo book, with proofreading etc. What I am stoked to get going is my standard poodle book.

Lastnight I decided to go through some images that I already have and get them started, I made the cover which I am extremely excited about. This book will be different from my Dogs in the OC as some will be digitally altered making them more "artsy", but not all. Adding effects to an image is really a picture to picture thing, some images just call out to me to play with them.

I hope to capture the standard poodle in it's entirety and with as many standard groups that I am in, this shouldn't be too difficult. But it is now time for a poodle call, I'll be looking for you all out there. I will probably have to travel some but I love seeing new cities. I'll also be hitting some shows as I will include the ultra groomed show poodles as well as the shaved down guys like my own.

So I will be out there looking for you and if you have a standard poodle, chances are I'll be aiming my camera at your dog. Now off to the gym.

What is your inner passion

My passion is dogs, duh! There are all types of passions, frankly there are as many passions as there are people. My passion is a general one meaning that anything concerning dogs appeals to me. Whereas others may be interested only in competing in frisbee, or making movies with dogs or training search and rescue dogs. Pretty much anything that involves dogs, I'm interested. I am also interested in their past which is wolves and any other type of canid.

I prefer to spend time doing many different things with my dogs rather than choose one sport type event and commit to that. I like to get around and dabble in it all. I attended several frisbee events with Tilley but found the wait for the minutes of fun with your dog to be tedious. As amazing as she was as a frisbee dog I thought we could better utilize our time together. Most sports are like this, even worse when you get to the competitive stage.

I use to show in the conformation ring, samething. Wait all day for your one shot at glory although with competition does come glory. It is all about the glory no matter what type of competition you are in. I remember winning and winning big; both in the Junior handling ring and the regular conformation, I had boxes of rosette ribbons and trophies and not long ago they all got tossed as we tried to lighten our lives from the boxes of material objects one tends to collect over the years.

I discovered that I am much happier spending my time with my dogs walking, hiking or simply chilling. I love meeting other dogs, hearing about them and learning how they enrich their guardians lives. I love to photograph, write about, groom and otherwise immerse myself in the world of dogs. My passion can be fulfilled by the mere discussion of dogs and does not always need to be a hands on deal. I do alot of research; anything I haven't heard of concerning dogs and I'm on it.

So what is your passion? Your true passion that if taken away, you would no longer be you?

Retirement

Ah don't we all dream of the day when we can retire. It got me to thinking that my girl Tilley is now retired. Pictured above, this is how she spends alot of her retirement hours. Do dogs deserve to be retired? Do they want or need to be retired? Well that really depends on what the retirement is from, correct? Are they a house dog that sits around all day and goes for a daily walk? Then they don't need an official retirement then.

What I am talking about is retirement from something other than being the family dog. Tilley was a big frisbee dog; she has appeared on Petstar twice, did a movie premier after party in Hollywood which was very cool and pretty much been an amazing athlete. So there came a day when I didn't want to see her land anymore, her health and safety far outweighed my desire to see her amazing air flying. But just like with many people; retirement can be a difficult time. No more frisbeeing, ball retrieving down to a minimum; that can be tough on a gal who thrives on drive.

Every once in a while I would give her a toss just to see if she really needed to be retired; I felt guilty about the whole thing. It was a these few tosses that cemented in my mind that I was doing the right thing. Hard as it may be for the both of us it had to be done. So she went from amazing frisbee dog to ball retriever extrodinaire to now walker. She rarely runs on a free walk now and tends to follow close behind me. She actually tried to go after a ball thrown for another dog the other day and it was sad to watch.

Hey, it's going to happen to us all and as tough as it is for me to swallow she is growing old. So now it is time to give her the golden years she deserves.

Go hug an old dog

Don't touch me

Okay, today is suppose to be the day. I will keep myself very busy and try not to keep one ear on the door waiting. My book, it is suppose to come today. I will start now trying to keep my mind off of it. First I'd like to tell you about my newest website; Just dogs with Sherri. I just started it yesterday so there is still much to do on it and several completely blank pages. So give me a couple of days to get it looking half decent. I started it because I have alot of different websites, this one will bring it all together in one place.

I'd like to discuss the issue of dogs who don't like to snuggle or even be touched. I think about this each time I wrap my arms completely around my dogs and give them a giant bear hug. Not all dogs appreciate this, few really enjoy a big tight hug actually. There are many different degrees of body contact acceptance. Even in own my three there is a wide range of acceptance. Although there objection is a slight pull away, no growling or stiffening up ever occurs.

To really "get it" one must understand dog language; a hug for dogs is a dominant behavior. If a dog is hugging another dog unless they are breeding then they are being mounted. And for most dogs mounting is not okay. Sometimes dogs within a pack will mount other members, this helps to establish hierarchy. But a strange dog mounting a dog is a pure display of "top dogness" and something that should be deterred. It is a behavior that often starts a fight.

If you have a dog that is not the touchy feely type you have to accept it first. Then you can slowly help your dog to enjoy snuggles, you may never have a dog that loves a big ole hug but small hugs might just be okay. My Tilley is a good example, she loves to snuggle. She can often be seen up in someones lap; her head laying on that particular humans chest, which is likely a male. She loves her boys she does. But if that same persone tries to hug her, she clearly pulls away uncomfortably. So what's up with that?

The approach is what makes the difference, who is doing what? A direct approach and taking liberties is very dominant. If you would like your dog to accept your touch or snuggles then you must start slow and your you must pay close attention to your own actions. Your approach must be soft, not direct or threatening. Keep it short and sweet, don't over stay your welcome.

When I see strangers approach a dog and attempt to hug them it boggles my mind. I would never walk up to a stranger and hug them, how rude. So why do we expect a dog to accept a hug from a stranger? It is even worse for dogs because this is actually a very bad thing; well it is for humans as well if it is not a welcome hug. If you have a dog that growls at your approach or touch, that's a whole different ball game. Although it must be dealt with in baby steps as well. Creating a positive association to a negative activity can turn it all around; but you must move slowly.

By offering up your dogs favorite treat while you touch their feet or rub their ears can teach them to accept. Once they accept a small touch you can move on, but you NEVER move on until they are comfortable with the present touch you are working on. Most dogs can learn to enjoy hugs from pack members but do not expect your dog to accept a hug from a stranger or someone they do not live with; that is completely different.

But the fact remains, you may have a dog that is not touchy feely and some people don't have concerns about this. Just like people; dogs are all different. But when I wrap myself around my big blonde boy with his soft curls and linger, I love that he loves my hugs.

Good Monday morning

Good Monday morning everyone. It is 6:00 am and the sun is just coming up; what a beautiful sunrise today. There are clouds whispy clouds floating around which always add to the dimension of the sky. Although a pure blue sky means beautiful sunny weather; a cloudless sky is pretty boring. I've got alot to do today and the first thing is to check on Luke's neck when he wakes up.

The dogs are all curled up on the bed, they've had their toast and will now stay in bed until I make them get up. Luke tweeked his neck again yesterday; we haven't a clue how or when but after I finished washing and waxing my new Xterra I came in the house to find my crooked boy standing with his "poor me" face on.

I immediately asked my husband if he knew what happened this time and he said he did nothing. This is obviously a chronic neck issue now, much like my own after being rear ended twice in 4 years. Just a week ago he did the samething which I am sure he did by biting his toe nails. But this morning he is already looking better. I brought the toast in at 5:00am and he was on the bed in a flash; he does love his toast with butter on it.

So I'm trying not to think about the fact that my book might arrive today. I'll be keeping myself as busy as possible. If Luke's neck is good he'll have a much needed bath and then he can dry outside in the sun while I garden. The garden has been neglected over the winter months and was calling for some attention yesterday.

Monday is always the dogs day off; they have so much activity and exercise over the weekend that at their age now they need a day just to sleep. So while they sleep I will plan my week; I have several private shoot appointments and have to get working on finishing up my training book. It is just about done and just waiting for some training images to be complete.

I'll have to hit the grocery store at some point, the dogs had chicken and beef this weekend but breakfast will finish all of that off. I cooked up a great meal for them lastnight but you'll have to check out my other blog to read about it. It is now 6:20 and time for me to get up and head to the gym. Have a great week everyone.