Trick training

Several years ago I wrote an article for the K9 Magazine called a view from Canada. It was about life with dogs in Canada. For the article I wanted a shot of a dog holding a Canadian flag. I had previously taught Tilley to "hold" items in her mouth so she obliged for these shots.

Tricks; useful or useless? Let's face it; when you see a dog that can do a huge array of tricks, you're impressed. Even the simple handshake can impress when strategically placed in a precisely perfect moment.

Trick; a clever or dexterous feat intended to entertain, amuse, etc.

Regular training and trick training are all the same; at least to our dogs. The difference for us is that basic training helps us to communicate actions from our dog that assist in living day to day. Tricks are more for entertainment purposes; although this is the simplistic way to look at trick training. Being that tricks are impressive; they can be used to elicit interest. I have often used trick training to involve the children in a family, kids love tricks and they love to show their friends the tricks that their dog can do. This alone can get the family coming together and thinking that their dog is a way cool dog.

Dogs are never too old to learn; usually it is we humans that stop teaching. I remember one training client of mine years ago; an older very serious gentleman. As we started in our training I offered that we could teach some tricks after all the basics were dealt with. He shook his head with a stern look on his face and said "no tricks." He was not teaching his dog any silly tricks. Ah; a challenge I thought to myself. So I came up with non-silly type tricks for this particular situation and slipped them into the training without using the term "tricks."

The dog was taught to "back up" which is useful when maneuvering. "Catch" was taught so that it could be used as an attention redirection and "paw" was learned to assist in nail trimming. ;) Before long this gentleman was asking "what else can we teach him?" The sky's the limit for teaching our dogs behaviors or tricks; however you want to term them. Many tricks can be taught in a matter of minutes; others are more complex and may need many separate sessions before linking a large behavior together as one.

Our dogs see no difference in learning to sit vs. learning to shake a paw. Spinning is as simple to learn; or perhaps even easier for many dogs than the down is to grasp. I love the simple fact that trick training gets people excited about training their dogs. Many people give up quickly with the boring sit, down, stay exercises but add a "high five, bow or roll over" and they light up with pride.

Any dog can learn to do trick behaviors; some are physically challenged so you might need to tweak the trick to individualize it. Also all dogs learn at different rates; and in different ways so take the time to get to know how your individual is best suited to learn. The tough thing about training anything new can be our inability to think up the behaviors and how to teach them to our dog. No trick is useless; time spent connecting and communicating with your dog is always a good thing in my books.

A new day-our morning routine

I can hear Luke dreaming as the day ends and I drift off. The morning alarm seems to go off within moments of falling asleep and I hear Tilley; she is stirring and licking her legs again, something that has become a habit since the onset of her Vestibular disease. I don’t want to wake up; but it is time, Jessie is ready to get up and she joins me down to the kitchen. At nearly 14 she is amazing; she charges down the stairs and dives off of the fourth step to the landing, with lightening speed she flies to the door. Sluggishly I finely get to the door to let the very impatient lady out to quickly relieve herself. Everything is fast in the morning, Jessie has one agenda and one alone, food. She is back before I have a chance to get the mugs out and she waits. While I prepare breakfast she does a little early morning grooming on the bed in the corner of the kitchen. Once everything is ready we head up to bed again; she is way ahead of me.

She charges up the stairs and stops for a split second making sure that I am indeed coming with the food. We regularly have breakfast in bed with all the dogs; sometimes Tilley stays in her bed but she doesn’t miss out on any of the goodies. And as any Jack Russell would do; Jessie is spinning and leaping lest I forget to hoist her up onto the bed. Grabbing her is much like grabbing a wreathing fish; first thing in the morning she’s a bundle of energy. Once settled in we enjoy our coffee and the dogs enjoy their morning snack. Luke is still asleep but with Jessie’s first chomping sounds he has one eye open and is partially 'sready for his goodies.

Jessie gets her piece of cheese first; she first in line. I toss Tilley her piece; she is not budging and knows that her snack is only a toss away. Then I offer Luke his piece; but it has to be a small piece. He cannot deal with large pieces of anything first thing in the morning and will reject it if you try. And unlike the girls who gobble down the food tossed to them; if you throw Luke's treat at him he is highly offended and again it will be rejected. Even when I follow this strict protocol of his; a baby sized piece, hand fed, he will often reject it from me but eat it from Dad.......geeeesh. But I love our morning and this is the way that morning should always be.

After our breakfast snack and a blog; our day starts, well at least mine does. As I get ready to hit the gym the dogs get comfy for some extra snoozes. They know that I’m not taking anyone with me so there is no “take me” displays. Before I leave I check that the dog door is open and I’m gone. Once I’m back; the “take me” begins; that is once they are up and at it. I am often greeted at the door; sometimes I’m not greeted at all. This depends on the day before and how tired everyone is. I like to switch things up so the three dogs are juggled for walks and destinations are switched up daily as well. Whomever is not going for a walk clearly understands this by the absence of their collar or harness; so they usually go back to bed at this point knowing full well their turn will be on my return.

Once everyone has had their exercise; me at the gym and the dogs on their walks it is time to consider our official breakfast. The dogs must have been home and cooling down for at least 45 min. before they eat. Even food is switched up; they don’t eat the same meal each day, always something different. As they eat their breakfast; I clean up the kitchen and casually supervise. Jessie has taken to her new eating routine and immediately goes to the bed after finishing; she gets her treat and waits for her release. Tilley is done next and proceeds to snorfle around the kitchen steering clear of Luke while he finishes. This can take a while; he’s not exactly a speed eater. He often walks out of the room; with his bowl half full of food. I’ll call him back and ask him to finish; sometimes he obliges, other times he gives me a look and walks out of the kitchen once again. Okay we’re done; Jessie is release and she rushes to pick up anything carelessly dropped by the poodles. Now the day begins; which for a house full of seniors is usually a trip back to bed, at least for a while.

Puppy mill exposed

There was a lot of buzz about the Petland show on Animal Planet Monday night. Facebook was cluttered with "watch it" statements on many of the dog groups. The show aired on the Animal Planet channel; the puppy mill link to the huge pet store chain Petland was exposed. I made a point of watching; was it going to contain factual impact or was it basically an attempt from the waiving popularity of the HSUS to look good?

After watching the show I gave myself a day and a half to ponder the content. Now that I've thought about what I saw I can write about it. Obviously Animal Planet wanted the ratings; correct? As far as HSUS, Petland and the puppy mills; this is my take on the show. Empty. There was live footage of a young guy making the rounds; trying to get into the millers places to get some video footage. He continued throughout his adventure to tell the audience; that's us, how dangerous this was. There were a few glimpses of millers and their set ups; nothing that you can't see online with a quick search.

They had a few conversations between the investigator and the millers that were disturbing; and to people who really don't know that this is going on, those people would have hopefully seen the light. Petland is a Franchise and one owner was standing his ground that they do not buy from millers and that their puppies are happy and healthy. And then he claimed that they were "at least healthy enough to go home." The show interviewed several owners of puppies that had been sick; they used one child and her love of her puppy to drive the point home. They also used images of these puppies in little incubators at the vet office.

So what was the outcome of the show? Hmmmmm; at the end they said that there was a definite link from Petland to the millers; no sh*t. They said that they are hoping that Petland will stop buying from millers; I'm thinking they won't. The HSUS got some nice footage; are they doing anything with it? They did not say that they were prosecuting anyone; they stated that they hoped that Petland would stop buying from these people.

I think the show did nothing to help the dogs. Maybe; just maybe someone will stop and think before going into one of these big Petland stores and purchasing a puppy. But from experience I doubt it. Even after Oprah's big show on puppy mills the pet store at our mall is always packed with future puppy buyers. There is no reason at this time that anyone could say they didn't know; not after all the shows on the subject. They know; they just take the easy road and turn a blind eye. Also putting false blind trust in the young clerk claiming that these puppies don't come from a mill.

I'm telling you that all pet store puppies come from millers. No ethical breeder sells their puppies to a pet store, bottom line. YES; they all come from Puppy mills. The only answer to stopping this is to stop buying. The ones who own and run puppy mills are horrendous people (I have a difficult time even calling them people); they care nothing for the dogs. Dogs to them are merchandise and nothing more. The facilities are typically far from their home so that they can lead their life separate from all those noisy dogs. They care only about the almighty dollar; that's it, that's all.

These mill dogs live their life in a small cage; maybe fed, often not. They might get a bit of water but they get no human companionship, no love, no care. These dogs spend their life making money for the people who house them. The ones that run these places are cold as stone; there is no compassion. If the dog isn't producing they are either left to die in a cage or euthanized. No dog should spend it's life in a cage pumping out puppies for the brokers. I do not care if a cage is clean or not; there are a lot of new and upcoming "commercial" breeders out there boasting about their beautiful breeding facilities. STOP; DOGS SHOULD NEVER LIVE IN A CAGE, no matter if the cage is clean or filthy. Dogs should live in a home with a family.

The show gave us a reality check; a view into what is going on. No action was taken; we need action, we need to support those who will take action. DO NOT BUY FROM PET STORES; DO NOT BUY PUPPIES ONLINE FROM THESE PLACES THAT LIST THEIR PUPPIES. Pages and pages of puppies to buy from, pick your puppy, use paypal and they ship them to you. THIS IS A MILL; they just have an online store front instead of a pet store to sell their goods. Take a stand; don't set foot in a store that sells puppies, our dogs deserve at least this simple act from us.

A great greeting

Yesterday morning I had Jessie out for her walk; I took her alone because she had missed out the day before. As we made our way around the park I saw a friend of mine; she had one of her two dogs with her, the young one. Now; Jessie is well known around the dog world as............ let's just say not a social butterfly. I have discussed how I go to great lengths to avoid other dogs and keep Jessie from being retaliated on. But today as my friend and her dog grew nearer I thought this might just work. Although her dog is very young and very energetic she is very submissive and has excellent communication skills.

They grew closer and closer; I can't say anything to Jessie, she can't hear me unless I yell. So I gave her a heads up; with the smallest amount of tension in the leash I let her know that I was paying attention. And then I let it go slack but without any extra leash; just in case. The young dog started lowering her body posture about 3 feet from where Jessie stood; she also urinated just a couple of drops. Anyone who understands dog language could clearly see the interaction here. Jessie was standing tall; head up, tail up, no mistaking her dominance. The young dog literally towered over Jessie and probably out weighed her by a good 35lbs. Jessie stands 12.5" at the shoulder and this young gal is probably at least 24".

Even with Jessie's vision and hearing almost gone; she can still get her message across and somehow understood this young dogs communications. Jessie never growled; her hair did not go up, it was clear to her that this much younger dog understood who was boss. When everyone is clear on who is the supreme reigning Queen then huffing and puffing and putting on a display is simply a waste of time; Jessie knew this. Jessie is a very confident dog; so much so that I have had to save her from herself several times as she tried to tell a very dominant large dog that she was more dominant. It didn't go over well.

As far as the humans go; staying out of it is often very important for a good interaction. And that means leash tension as well as touching. If Luke is greeting a strange dog I make good and sure that there is no tension at all on his leash. The first sign of tension puts Luke on guard and he is likely to react to it with a dominant or aggressive display. When you allow a greeting interaction between dogs it is important to try not to pull your dog away by the leash. This act itself can cause an aggressive response. If you can teach your dog to listen to you under distractions; you will have a better outcome by simply calling your dog out of a dog/dog interaction.

Once we had a wonderful and very positive greeting behind us; the young dog started to bounce around with excitemeny. Jessie is not a fan of young bouncy pups so we made our exit. She stood and watched the young dog for a moment or two and then we went on our way. I was very impressed with my old cranky gal and very much so with the young dog. And of course I enjoyed every second of the interaction; dog communication at it's finest.

The diggin dog

We had a great weekend; with our time spent mostly in the backyard working. We've recently taken down a fence that was a between our grassed yard and a dirt slope. With the slope now in full view we are fix'n to plant. Trees, grasses and flowers but for now it is simply dirt and it is very inviting for a good dig. Jessie is our true digger but she has pretty much given up the dig unless she finds a hole that is currently occupied and that she stands a good chance of catching the critter in the hole; otherwise she's pretty much over it.

In her younger days Jessie was a mad digging machine; this was what she lived for so we made sure that she had an outlet for this energy driven obsession. She was bred to go to ground; this is what these little terriers love. So to ensure that she did not single handedly destroy our yard we took her to dig regularly. The canyon close by was a great place for her to expel energy and get her fill of digging and dirt. I could watch her dig for hours at a time; she was a digging machine. Not only were her tiny little feet strong and precise; her mouth was the shovel she needed to remove much of the dirt. Yep; she used her mouth, often it would be so full of dirt that she had a difficult time dumping her load. With her mouth open as wide as possible and packed tightly with dirt she often looked to me for assistance. I would hold open her jaw and scoop then she was right back at it.

Tilley only digs if a shadow lingers; it may be on the grass but if it happens to land in the garden then she'll go for it. For this reason there are fences where the birds make regular shadows in the garden. This is enough to deter her digging and she is content to just watch the shadows. Then there is Luke who is a casual digger; he isn't driven to dig, it just sort of happens. And this weekend was the sort of scenario where it happens. Luke loves to accompany us as we work in the yard; especially if we are digging. He likes to check out each new hole, freshly turn dirt and the plants that are going in. He stands staring at the ground as if waiting his turn. He inhales the wonderful smell of dirt and every so often it stirs something in him and he digs. Once started he can wreak havoc with those feet of his; so you have to be quick to stop it.

When Luke digs you can see that it almost out of his control; there is a certain smell that gets him going. He also sees us digging and is very much a lead by example sort of guy. He is easily deterred which is a good thing; but it has to be caught at the very onset of the dig as that first toe takes the dip. Otherwise he really gets into it and the digging becomes more frenzied and the dirt flies. So what do you do if you have a digger and you don't particularly want your yard dug up? You must release the energy elsewhere. The main cause for a digging dog is excess energy. It may be caused by a lack of exercise or boredom; or the fact that they saw a critter go into a hole.

Often a fence is all that is needed; making it very clear that this area is off limits. If you have a dedicated digger then you may need to make sure that they are getting enough exercise; both for their body and mind. A dog left to their own in a yard with nothing to do; will definitely find something to do. So do not leave a digger unattended in your yard; they need feedback. If your dog is left to dig alone in the yard with no feedback; they quickly learn to love this energy releasing activity. They should only be in the yard when you can let them know that digging is unacceptable. Teach them that the yard is for other activities like fetch, chase, water games or learning new behaviors.

The old saying "A good dog is a tired dog;" still stands true today.

They aren't robots

Nope they aren't and I don't know how many times I've stated this fact. Long ago I expected my dogs to perform like robots; it is what my obedience teacher taught us. Times have changed and so have I; thankfully. My robot days are long since past; left in the cave with the choke collars. All people are different; just like all dogs are different and what one human expects from a dog, another may expect something entirely different. But as far as I am concerned; dogs should have wiggle room.

How often do your children come running immediately at your beckoning? Not so much eh? What about when your kids call you; do you run to them instantly, do you drop what you are doing and wait on them at their beckon call? I'm thinking; not so much either. So why do we expect perfection from our dogs? Are we asking too much from our canine companions when we offer no leniency? Do as I say the second I say so; hmmmmm.

Dog's have a mind of their own; they are their own dog. I know my dog's tend to have an agenda, and if they are otherwise occupied by a previous engagement it is up to me to figure out how to break through. Many owners call their dog "Fido Come;" the dog hears this on a regular basis but is doesn't mean anything. They hear it over and over but the end result is the owner walks away. This is how owners teach indifference. If you want your dog to respond to a verbal cue then you must empower your cue. A verbal cue must mean something; and it should means something good.

The quickest way to a dog who never listens is to never offer anything for them to listen to. "Come?" Why should your dog drop what they are doing and come to you? Is there something good happening? Do you have something yummy to give them? Or are they going to come; look at you and get nothing? That was a waste of their time and they learn this.

But even well trained dogs have off days; they are not robots. If I ask my dogs to come or go out and they are slow to respond; perhaps thinking twice about it or hesitating, they are only dogs. I have seen some very highly trained dogs baulk at their owners as they are pushed to perform on an off day. A flash head turn and hard stare delivers a clear message of "I'm not in the mood." Dogs; like us have bad days and when they do we should be flexible enough to accommodate.

Those who understand dog behavior and create a positive learning and interaction association get less non responsive behavior. If listening to you is linked with positive association there will be in turn more listening to you; correct? If you have created a "whatever" scenario, you speak and no one listens. You have things to say but your words have little or no meaning then your will have more non responsive behaviors.

There are two words that must always be listened to in my dog family and those are "here" and "NO." I reserve "here" for an super speedy recall if needed. It has been proofed and will be enforced immediately if not instantly responded to. This is a life or death verbal cue. And "NO" reserved to stop a dog in their tracks. I have tried very hard not to use this word unless I mean business; I do not throw it around willy nilly for every little thing. It has the same effect hearing your second name when your Mother was calling you as a child. "Sherri Lynne," was much more impactful than simply "Sherri."

I want it and I want it now.

I was standing chatting with some friends; Luke was trying to achieve eye contact with me. I looked at him and asked "what do you want?" He grabbed his bottle of water that hangs off my dog pouch and pulled. He had just had a drink of water; I don't want him drinking too much at a time on a walk so I told him no more. He then grabbed his bowl which is also attached to the pouch; hmmmmm. I do not like demanding behavior; Luke wanted attention and wanted me to stop talking and keep walking. "Knock it off;" I told him making it clear that this was not acceptable behavior. He then gave me a quick look and ran off.

The other day in the park I watched as a young and very obnoxious dog attempted to control his guardian. The dog was off leash when I got there and by it's behavior I knew I didn't want it coming my way. I had Jessie and at 14 and grouchy she will not put up with obnoxious. The woman saw us and attempted to put the leash on; the dog was not helping. He was jumping; spinning and biting her arms and the leash. Once the leash was on he jumped and bit at the leash and her arms the entire time. She was fighting with him but he was winning; I was just glad she got the leash on.

All dogs can try your patience; some will test, some will push. The end result and lesson will result by what you do in return. Many demanding behaviors can seem cute to start with; "oh look he wants to walk himself." So if you don't know what is actually going on you can reinforce an obnoxious behavior. You not only allow it but you encourage it. Yikes.

Leash grabbing and yanking is a very common demanding behavior. Your dog may not feel like being on leash or want to go in an opposite direction as you want. They grab the leash and start pulling; or they start jumping up at you and biting. You may try to pull the leash back and a game of tug-o-war starts. That was easy; your dog simply had to tug on the leash and you oblige with a game. The annoying jumping resulted in a game of push and shove; it may not be fun to you but your dog got the attention he was seeking.

Depending on the demanding behavior will factor in how you should react. Ignoring is the first step; it is often all that is needed. If you watch dogs interacting they too use ignoring to deter attention seeking behavior. But if it is a persistant type dog or a behavior that has previously been reinforced; ignoring will often create a "gets worse before it gets better" situation. The best reaction is to nip it in the bud so to speak; at the first sign you must react. Often it can be avoided in entirety if you are quick enough. When you see the first sign of leash grabbing or whatever the demanding behavior is you do something else. Something that creates an incompatible behavior. Doing some heeling; learning a new trick, pick up the pace of your walk, do direction training, work on your dogs catch. By creating an incompatible behavior situation you get rid of the demanding behavior. But as is typically the case you must have good timing; you want to avoid any idea that the demanding behavior caused a good reaction; meaning reinforcing of bad behavior.

A good example is; Luke is demanding attention from me. So as to not create a reinforcing situation I will ignore him; walk away and make like I am involved in some other activity. As soon as he is distracted from getting my attention I will pick up the lead and get into some serious obedience training. If he decided to bite his leash while on a walk for some attention; he would not get it. He would get a huge sigh of disgust from me and ignoring. Defusing an attention seeking behavior is very tricky; you must take the utmost of care to have your timing down and in no way reward it.

If your dog is displaying a demanding behavior; think about what their agenda is. What are they wanting? Watch, ponder and learn. Many dogs bark outside so that you will then come and let them in; works doesn't it? Nudging at your hand while you are watching your favorite show is a great way to demand attention. Staring at the soaked tennis ball at your feet works like a charm. If they stare hard enough; you throw it right? Often these are the small things that mess up a good relationship; just who is in charge? And when you look at your relationship closely you may discover that it is not you at all that is in charge.

What I've learned in 35 years

Sunday will be the official day marking 35 years that I have been involved with dogs. It is my 48th birthday and it is 35 years ago that I dipped my toe in before throwing myself in entirety to the dogs. There have been times of lull and other periods of just so many dogs; but in 35 years I've learned a lot about dogs and life with them. When I started with dogs it was in the show ring; this is a place where many people get sucked into the dog world. It was a bit different for me as I did not have my own dog in the ring; at 13 years old we had a middle aged toy poodle at home. The dogs I had in the ring were the pride and joy of others.

Over the dog years I've had success, failure, happiness, sadness and everything in between. The canine learning curve has been huge; looking back I often am left shaking my head wishing I could take back some time. "If only I'd known then what I know now;" but I didn't and I cannot go back in time and change the wrongs I've done, no one can. So you learn and forge ahead. There came a point; a very defined turning point in my dog life when everything changed. It was the catalyst to my existing life and a moment I am very happy for. The day I shaved it off; you can read about that moment here.

Since that monumental day; things have been heading in a different direction for dogs and me. That day was over 20 years ago; which I cannot believe, but sure enough it was. And in those 20 years dogs became a bigger focus in my life as well as the behavior, emotion and well being of the dog in general. My early experience with dogs was the world of dog shows; that moved onto training in the most conventional method, just choke'm. Having my own dogs from the age 18 I had the chance to delve further, further into the dog mind. What I saw when I really looked into the psych of the dog was amazing and I was hooked big time. Far more interesting and awesome was the interior of the dog; sure the exterior is amazing, I love to look at dogs. But it is what shows itself on the exterior yet comes from the interior that has me completely enthralled.

Canine well being has become my quest; are they happy? When you research the real canine you discover that they have clear needs; are they being met? Just where does the dog fit into our human world? Are humans evolving along with the dog or are we falling short? There are so many questions; but dogs are a big part of our life, they just are. Do we adjust our lives appropriately to make sure that the canine fits in nicely? There are many areas where humans fail dogs severely; this is downfall. Our areas of failure need attention. We choose to have them in our world, we should make sure it is working and working well.

Dog behavior is not a science; there are always new findings and new ways to look at reactions we have not seen before. I can never get enough with regards to researching the canine. Whether it comes in the form of behavior, health, structure or training I love it all. And now I also capture the very essence of the canine digitally; this seems to be the icing on the cake. Being that watching dogs is about my favorite thing to do in the world, shooting them seems to fit that bill. So from the mere age of 13 when I was smitten by the image of a canine; 35 years later I am a gonner. Long lost to the world of dogs and I couldn't be happier.

The Dr. Phil show

I'm not sure if you all saw the show or not just the other day; it was on animal abuse. I just feel like I need to comment on the show being that this blog is all about dogs. First; I completely understand that the show was done for ratings although I am very happy with the stand that Dr. Phil took on the subject. I feel very strongly that we need to see these horrible things; they are out there, they exist and to hide your head in the sand because you just can't bare to see it does nothing to help the situation. I don't mean that you need to subject yourself to watching all the horrors but you cannot simply hide and pretend these horrific things do not exist. Dr. Phil put it out there for all to see.

In my opinion the guest that he had on talking about his dogfighting career was a monster. It is honestly mind boggling to me that creatures like this exist. One thing is for sure after listening to what he had to say; and that is there is no changing a monster like this. I could literally go on for hours about what he had to say about his actions but I'm not wasting my time on it. What I do want to discuss is the fact that videos can be made and sold for profit on the subject. I feel that the people making these laws should be held responsible for the abuse. How can you make the act illegal yet be able to sell videos of these atrocities? Freedom of speech is what they claim to be the basis of the reasoning???????? How about not allowing dogs to be tortured?

Sadly this is but one tiny fraction of abuse. There are many speaking out to save animals; these hard working, dedicated people and selfless in their act. There are many others; creatures who have not an ounce of compassion within them. These are the ones that need to be stopped. Can you change someone who sees no wrong in hurting animals? I don't know; I would imagine there are many different levels or degrees of lack of compassion. What I do know is that this is what we as a society should be focusing on. Spread the word; educate others, take these acts out of the hidden dark corners and shine a pointing finger on them.

"Do not hide from the truths of the world; see, absorb, contemplate and act, make a difference." SR

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. " Ghandi

Supervision on bone day

Yesterday was yet another bone day for the pooches. As the girls get older they are needing a good old bone to chew on; a lot more often. I took three bones out of the freezer Sunday evening; they sat until yesterday morning in the refrigerator. Then at noon I put them onto the counter to warm up a bit. There was much interest in the bones; I swear the dogs can be on the other side of the house and know the exact moment that the bones are taken out. Luke is the first in the kitchen; he adores bone days.

After a couple of hours on the counter they are ready to serve up. The next question is "what am I going to do while they chew?" Bone chewing is a very supervised event; I don't want any scuffles. All three are very good about staying with their own bone but I don't want to open a can of worms so I supervise 100% of the time. I decided to make some cookies; dog cookies, poodle cookies to be specific. First time using my new poodle cookie cutter ;)

So while the dogs chewed I mixed,rolled and baked cookies while keeping one eye and both ears directed outside. Even though Luke is the most excited about chew day; he is also the first to be "over" the bones. So it is Luke who decides how long the chew lasts. Yesterday he was very quick; he was pretty much over it in 45 minutes, which was not long enough for my liking. Luke came into the kitchen to see what I was doing; leaving his bone to the others. Luckily the girls were more than involved with their own bones to notice that Luke's bone now lay unattended. I decided to try to spark a bit of interest back into the bone chewing for him so that he would get a bit more teeth cleaning.

We went out together; Luke watched me intently. I went over to Tilley and started the bone trade; Tilley's is traded for Jessie's bone, Luke gets Jessie's bone and Tilley gets Luke's. This always leads to more enthusiastic chewing "a new bone." So Luke chewed for another good 15 min., and the girls enjoyed their new chew. After the 15 minutes Luke came in again; he went into the living room. I was just finishing up my last batch and then I was going to gather the bones. After a couple of minutes I heard chewing. Oh no; not on the cream carpet, yep. Luke brought his big raw meaty bone into the living room to chew. That was my sign that chew time was over.

With cookies done and things to do I commenced the bone pick up. As I've said before; the bone trade really helps to eliminate the "loosing your bone" idea at my approach. After the bones are gone there is the scrap sniffing left to do. Once that was done it was into the kitchen to check out the fresh baked cookies. They all enjoyed chowing down on a poodle cookie; but I think Jessie especially like chomping the head off of a poodle.

Those eyes

The eyes have it; much of the information that you need that is. Even in a situation when you are dealing with identical body posture and tail positioning you can have different eye communications. The other day I was getting ready to go out and Luke came into my bathroom; his body said nothing out of the ordinary, his tail was held at it's normal high level but his eyes spoke volumes to me. "What's wrong?" I asked him and he immediately lowered his head and came close to me. Luke has a mole on the top of his muzzle; he had damaged it while lizard hunting I would presume and it was bleeding. I kissed his face; cleaned him up and put some ointment on it. He got a hug and was on his way.

Luke happens to be one of those dogs that has extremely expressive eyes. He is very easy to read which I love when I am looking for feedback. Eyes don't lie. Without changing position a dog can give a serious threat or warning with their eyes. A hard stare is typically the first warning an offender receives. It can be deliver with no change in posture and then escalates from there. Further threatening eyes are accompanied with a frozen posture but in a dominant dog displaying an escalated threat, toe standing, hackles up and tail held high. Even submissive fearful dogs use their eyes to warn. There body will display their lack of confidence but their hard stare is still a warning.

Luke often displays what I call googly eyes. This is when he is in an extreme relaxed mood and interacting with someone in his close family. His eyes will often close slightly and he blinks slowly. There is no mistaking happy googly eyes. A dog's communications are a full package, body stance, tail positioning and eyes. The eyes are often the first glimpse of a behavior and if you are watching closely; the eyes may give you enough information to stop escalated behaviors.

Not all dogs are great communicators. Many dogs that approach us when we are at the park have poor manners; or are uneducated in the ways of the canine. When a dog makes a direct approach they typically get into trouble. The same goes for direct eye contact; it is used to communicate dominance. So if a young puppy approaches a strange adult in a straight line with direct eye contact they are almost surely going to be reprimanded. There is an etiquette to be followed in the canine world; and not all dogs understand this. Canine interaction repetition can be the quickest solution to a dog with a low understanding of this protocol.

It is amazing how a dog can completely defuse a situation by simply looking away. When I greet dogs I do not give direct eye contact and after quickly analyzing a dog I then adjust my greeting appropriately. Many dogs with submissive behavior issues can be very easily helped by not looking at them. I have been called to many submissive peeing cases when eye contact is the problem. Upon entering the house I never look at the dog; tada!!!!! no pee. Sometimes you can even talk or touch the dog but don't look at it or the pee starts to flow.

Although direct eye contact is normally a dominant gesture; our dogs can learn that it is a good thing. It may be very difficult for a submissive type dog to learn but with small steps, lots of praise and reward they can learn to give "good" eye contact. Eye contact is a sensitive subject in the canine world; but oh those eyes.

Boundary training

Boundaries; everyone has boundaries, even our dogs do 'or at least they should. After much contemplation I thought that I would tackle this subject today. We've had a lot of work going on at our place this weekend. Lots of trees and bushes coming down and an old fence that was barely standing was finely removed. This fence was a secondary fence; it was basically a marker where our flat yard ended and the slope started. There are still fences between our house and the ones behind us though. It feels very weird and I was extremely curious as to how the dogs would approach this new environment.

The fence that was taken down was only 3 feet but enough to keep the dogs on one side. They were told only a couple of times when they put their feet up there that this was not an option. So even when a cat was on the other side it was well ingrained as a boundary. So when they first saw it gone there was much curiosity; sniffing, backwards leaning just in case something came down and they had to tear off. Luke is the most curious; but only slightly. There is a clear line where the grass ends and the dirt starts that was once behind the fence but is now a part of our yard.

The dogs are not sure if they should check it out; they understand that this was an off limits area. I took a good amount of time yesterday to go out and consider just what we will do with this now fenceless area. Luke was with me and watching me closely as I had a look around. I'd already decided how far I would allow the interest to go as far as the dogs going down the slope. So when he took his first step; ears up and full attention on me although not looking at me he was stopped in his tracks. By watching his body language intently it was clear that he was testing the waters.

The most important boundary for any dog is an exit that could lead to them being injured or killed; like your front door, side gate or garage. It should be very clear that they are never allowed to exit any of these areas on their own. One word and one word alone should allow a dog to cross a boundary. This is one area of training that needs to be very strict; no slack or casual "oh wells." When I train these types of areas as boundaries I do not put a verbal cue on the behavior; it is simply the law. So even if you are not around and a side gate blows open, hopefully your dog will think twice about going through it.

Boundary training is fairly simple; of course depending on your dog and their desire to go through a boundary. By stopping any crossing and rewarding a dog for not following you over a boundary; it is done with baby steps. First the boundary is established; then you work on going over the boundary and not having your dog follow. Treats should be tossed back over the boundary to your dog. Then you work on time spent over the boundary and then the stimulus is added. Pretending a neighbor is talking to you from the street or bouncing a ball on the other side of the boundary etc. Small steps are the way to achieve success and you should receive success at each step before moving to the next. Too large of steps can result in failure; don't set your dog up to fail. You will never regret setting clear boundaries and proofing them.

Learning boundaries leads a student to a clearer comprehension of the boundary itself. This then helps in dealing with the challenge of grasping additional lines in the sand.

To the Mothers

Happy Mothers Day to all of the Mothers out there. Mother :maternal tenderness or affection, caring for, tending to or someone to lean on. How many of you call yourself your dog's Mother? I know I do. When we say this; we clearly understand that we are not our dog's Mother, most of us do anyway. So why do we call ourselves out dog's Mother? It is very simple to reason that we have accepted that our dogs fall under the Mother's blanket of care. There are many stories of animal Mother's being the most fierce with regards to protecting their offspring. You don't want to cross a Mother's children.

Interfere with a Mother's children and you will be dealing with a fierce opponent. Fierce: violently hostile or aggressive in temperament b : given to fighting or killing. I have met a few canine Mothers who had no intention of allowing me to see their puppies. Even the best and most friendly female dogs can make a complete turn around when they give birth. I am never phased by this "come near and I'll kill you" message, I understand it completely. So for those of us who have stretched our circle of protection to encompass our dogs, you too understand the length we will go to protect our furkids.

I always tell people that I have 6 kids; 3 human and 3 fur. As our human children get older they need us less, so we often turn our attention to our furkids. A furkid always needs our care; there are degrees of needed care from puppyhood to senior dog but they need us and we need them. It feels good to care for our dogs; and they give us back far more than we could ever give them. Being a dog Mom is a wonderful thing; for those who have never tried it, I suggest you do.

I'm a dog Mom and proud of it; say it with me. Yeah; it is our day so have a wonderful one and enjoy being a Mom; whatever kind of Mom you are.

Hair to the rescue

Good Saturday morning; as usual I am snuggled up in bed with the hounds. It's later of course; being that it is Saturday. The dogs enjoy a slow start just as much as we do; a nice change of pace from the get up and go weekdays. They've had their cheese and toast; the girls have only a tiny bit because they tend to pack on the pounds easily. But Luke get's a load; anytime he is in the mood to eat we take full advantage of it. He is looking pretty good these days; he's on an eating role.

I wanted to discuss something this morning that one of my members from the Facebook group "The Standard Poodle" posted yesterday. I was totally blown away and being that our group has close to 1000 members now; well, that's a lot of hair. The post was about this group called Matter of Trust located in San Francisco. The group is helping to solve the environmental oil disaster by using hair, both people and animal hair. If you watch the You Tube about this hair solution; there is a part where they take a material made of hair and put it into a bucket of water and oil, what happens is amazing.

This effort is something that everyone can help with; dog owners, groomers and people groomers as well. ;) The recent oil spillage is catastrophic; who knows what long term effects will come of it? So now we dog lovers can help and it's really simple; so check out the website and get brushing and cutting.

Join their Facebook here.

Times are changing

Change is good; even sometimes when it doesn't feel good it can be a good thing. As canine guardians we are all faced with decisions we may not want to make. As our dogs near the end of their life; we are often forced to reconcile the end. In the wild our dogs would die a much earlier death; being debilitated they would naturally slip away. But being in our home and cared for around the clock; a dog can live a much longer and happier time. Although there still comes a time when we must let them go; this is simply a reality.

I often wish that when it is my own dog's time that they could peacefully go in their sleep. Laying on their favorite bed; relaxed, comfy and happy. Don't we all wish that for our loved ones when it is their time? But unfortunately we guardians often need to make the decision; when a dog is no longer happy, no longer wanting to go on. It is this time that we must as their guardian make the decision that none of us want to make.

There is a change coming for this time and I am hoping that it snowballs. Doctors like this one from Lap of Love come to your home and in a calm and familiar surrounding; let your dog peacefully rest. I have a very good friend who is a veterinarian who does the same and it is a welcome change.

For many dogs a visit to the veterinarians office is horrifying. My own dogs are petrified when we have to go and the state that envelopes them while they are there is not how I want them leaving me. No dog should have to spend their last minutes in such a state of fear. The end is never good but having someone come into your home when the end has made itself clear is so much more bearable.

As canine guardians we do our best to care for and keep our dogs healthy. We focus on exercise and mental stimulation throughout their life. We teach and guide them through the day to day trials of living in a human world. And in the end it is all on us to make the final decision. We know up front that our dogs will typically leave us far before we are ready but we must deal with this fact the best we can and in our own way. But now there are options; very welcome changes in the way things are done in the end.

We all know that our dogs are here for a good time; not a long time. In the end; there is definitely an overwhelming sadness for our loss. But with it should be a huge celebration of a life that we were lucky enough to share. I applaud the veterinarians who have made this clear choice; our dogs deserve at least this.

Off leash?? On the street??

Seeing a guardian walking with an amazingly well trained dog off leash can a beautiful sight. I am often asked from clients "when do we work off leash?" Yesterday as I arrived at the park; I unloaded Jessie and she started her sniff session immediately. We hadn't even left the spot where I had dropped her when I saw a couple heading our way. They were being followed by a very tiny yorkie; maybe 3-4 lbs. The dog was off leash and the couple was very much involved in a conversation as they walked passed us and up onto the street. I then realized that they were not going to check back on their dog; and the dog was coming to see Jessie.

The tiny yorkie had no apprehension when she approached Jessie. Because of Jessie's lack of good vision now she didn't see the little dog until it was right on us. She immediately postured and set about to teach the little dog a lesson in who the Queen of the world was. She was cut short when I opted to not engage in the lesson and got her moving on our walk. The little yorkie now a good 30 feet behind her owners trotted off with one glance back at Jessie. The idea of this tiny little dog on her own inspired this blog.

When is it a good time to have a dog off leash? I admit that having my dogs off leash and running free is just about the best thing. The dogs are free to run and play without restraint; but, there is a time and place for it. And I feel that a street in any shape or form is not the place. Anything can happen and in a split second a dog can dart after a cat, become spooked and bolt, or just forget their training and run off across a street. For me it is just not worth any risk of incident or accident to have a dog off leash while walking on a street.

The degree of reliable recall; having your dog come when called is also a big factor when considering taking off the leash. Of course if you never take it off then your dog is never going to get the off leash experience they need. Finding safe spots to have your dog off leash is getting harder and harder. There are dog parks which are a great safe place but many are too small and when you add too many dogs into a too small park you end up with a stressful situation. There are some amazing huge dog parks that I've seen online, lakes and acres for the dogs to run off leash, wonderful.

I often see people walking down the street with their dog 2-3 feet behind them off leash. I don't get this at all; adding a leash to this situation is basically like putting a seatbelt on as you set off to drive somewhere, a safety precaution. Adding a leash to a dog that is walking right beside you just makes sense and as a guardian it is your job to keep your dog safe.

Let's face it; we live in a leashed dog society. And although I do feel that leashes are overused there is definitely a time and place for them. Walking on the street is one place a dog should always have a leash on; they deserve that much from us.

Complicated yet simple

I often hear myself saying "who knows what goes on in that little head of his." This statement is most repeatedly about Luke; my thinker. He is a complicated yet simple guy; most dogs are very simple, simple in the good definition of the term (easy to understand). When you understand dog's; I mean really understand the way they communicate; learn and associate, you can then more readily "get" your dog. I am often called out to solve a strange behavior. A behavior from a dog is in simple terms; a reaction to an action.

Many behaviors can be figured out; dissected until you find the base cause and then sometimes we just never know why a dog displays a certain behavior. Dogs learn through association: connected, joined, or related to. They don't deal with long explanations; hidden agendas or mind games like humans do. Dog's don't hide behind the truth, they don't lie and they don't attempt to be someone they are not. All of this lends itself to a simpleness; that is as I said earlier, simple if you understand dog.

Take separation anxiety; how many people think that when a dog destroys things in your absence that they are angry and doing all of this destruction to show you? I know that almost everyone I speak to who is dealing with this considers their dog to be displaying their dislike for their owner leaving. Dog's don't do spite: a malicious, usually petty, desire to harm, annoy, frustrate, or humiliate another person; bitter ill will; malice. Dog's react; and if they are upset by the fact that you are leaving they will react in a form that anxiety causes. This often takes the form of pooping or peeing, chewing or trying to come out to find you.

Another example that I love "my dog only comes if I yell COOKIE." Let's take this statement apart in pieces. What happens when you yell cookies? The dog receives a cookie; correct? So when you call your dog COME; what follows? Usually the dog doesn't listen; there is nothing in it for the dog and you the owner probably get mad. You may voice your feelings or simply give up; hence the dog learns that come is either bad or neutral. It is a much better idea to come when you hear COOKIE. Without knowing it you have tapped into the way to train a reliable recall. ;)

I love to watch canine interactions; the number of these connections are down at my house being that many hours are spent in deep sleep. But when they are awake and communicating it is fascinating. Just yesterday Luke was laying on the bed beside my computer as I typed away. Jessie wanted to lay on the bed as well; both are dominant personality dogs. As she approached Luke froze so slightly it was almost undetectable by the human eye; but very much detectable by the canine eye. She immediately turned her head and backed onto the bed; it made me smile. She defused the situation simply by turning her head and not making a direct approach, simple.

Dogs are constantly learning; and you may be teaching things you don't want to teach your dog. This is often the cause of mysterious behaviors. "Everytime I talk on the phone by dog barks." Hmmm; do you get off the phone and address the situation? Do you speak to your dog immediately? Your dog knows how to get your attention without a doubt. Barking is sometimes caused by our reaction itself. Barking get's attention; when you need attention, bark.

Once you figure it out; it is all very simple yet fascinating.

Grey muzzle

This past weekend while out running some errands my husband said "look at that face." I looked over to the left and saw a small black dog with it's head out the passenger window. It looked like a chihuahua mix; solid black with a very grey muzzle which immediately gave away her age. Her eyes told of her years of experience; and that she was happy and content. This is a wonderful site; I love seeing happy old dogs; in their golden years and being taken care of and loved.

Sadly it is the old ones who often find themselves in rescues and shelters unwanted. Many people pass by these old dogs not wanting to have their hearts broken in the near future. But dogs in their golden years are usually easy; they don't require much training or exercise. What they do need is a soft bed; a gentle hand and a loving heart. Of course there may be adjustments to make; adding another dog to your home takes patience but the result can be life altering.

Opening your home and heart to an old dog is a selfless act; there is no expectations of all the exciting and fun things you may do together for years to come. No; it may be a very short time that an old dog shares your life, and that short time may be an amazing one. Many people I talked to who have adopted old dogs have told me the most amazing stories of love; life and laughter with these golden oldies. The more you offer of yourself to a dog; the more you get in return. What you may have considered a good deed often ends up a monumental moment in your personal evolution.

Our home is a very different one from several years ago. It is quiet and non hectic; there is no loud and rough dog/dog play anymore, that was in the past. There is more snoring; slower paced strolls have replaced our power walks and there is a much greater need for patience. But when I see my ole gals so deep in sleep it makes me realize that this is how it should be; there should be no cares for old dogs. Yes things are very different with old dogs; but it is all in the stages of a dog's life. These golden years are the more reflective ones; time spent remembering the good old days and dotting on our beloved seniors. Second hand old dogs may have lived a life that you are unaware of; there past a mystery. But at the moment they need your love; consider adopting a grey muzzle the next time you visit a rescue or shelter. It will do your heart good.

Can you see me now?

Good Monday morning; I'm watching the sun come up as I write this morning and am reminded of Jessie who has little vision left. Very sad but she does very well by using her memory. Unfortunately there are dogs who cannot see simply because they have hair in their eyes. I'm an eye fanatic; for me a dog must have a clear range of vision and if that means that they get an eye trim then that is what must happen.

We have a regular OES (Old English Sheepdog) at our park; he is very cute and when I first met the dog I could see his eyes, which meant he could see. Well he is now sporting the more traditional blind style that the breed is known for. I remember as a youngster; I was speaking to someone who had OES's. I asked if they could see; "yes, they can totally see." And I was left to ponder how this special breed could see through a wall of hair. Well; they can't, bottom line.

No dog can see through a ton of hair. For those of you who have long hair like me; you know how annoying it is when your hair is in your face, right? Imagine not only a couple of strands but a whole whack of hair right over your eyes; it must drive one crazy. So I'm a fan of the snip and see; yep, cutting the hair around the eyes so that your dog can see. There are many breeds and mixes that need the eye trim; mine is one of them. And when they are carrying a bit more coat an eye trim is always in order.

If one of my training clients is having difficulty seeing; I recommend the trim. I show the owner how to tell what needs to be clipped. Hold your dogs muzzle in the palm of your hand; move down to eye level with your dog. Look down their muzzle into their eyes checking for hair obstacles. Often the top of the muzzle needs trimming as well as the area directly around the eye. I remember one canine client who simply could not catch; as much as the owner worked on it, it just was not happening. As I watched the non progress I realized that the dog could not see because of a mass of hair on the top of her muzzle. We did a quick utility clip and presto; like magic she was catching in moments.

Often behavior issues can stem from a lack of being able to see. Dogs can become fearful or aggressive if they are unable to view the world as they should be able to. Hair in a dog's eyes is a big issue with me; I don't care what breed or mix you have, cut it. If you show your dog and they must keep their blinding locks then pin it up or tack it down but make sure that your dog can see.

And to squelsh the long lived myth that dogs can see through hair; well they can't.

I love my job

Looking down at my arms I smile at the scratches and band-aid on my hand. Seeing these scratches means that I have either 1. had a great gardening session which I love or 2. that I had a puppy shoot. These scratches were from a puppy shoot and she nailed me good. Those puppy teeth do it every time and to me they are remnants of a great shoot. I've been shooting a lot of dogs lately; I'm working on another book. I often feel the urge to pinch myself just to be sure that I'm not dreaming; my job is hanging with dogs.

As a trainer I'm there to teach or fix; but as a photographer I'm simply there to capture and have fun, nice. A couple of weeks ago I was headed down to the marina; the California sunshine was beaming in my Xterra window as I headed west. I arrived to meet a huge and lovable guy and his guardian. I couldn't wait to get started and we headed out to the boat; that's right I was shooting a dog on a yacht. I first got to shoot the boy on his yacht and then captured him riding in a boat with a huge grin on his face; it doesn't get a whole lot better than this.

There was the shoot the day before at the park; action shots of a dog having fun just being a dog. I spent nearly an hour watching this guy have a blast; running, jumping and retrieving his toys. He had an amazing red coat that flew in the wind as he tore by in pursuit of his ball. The shots turned out amazing. A couple of days before that had been my puppy shoot; a blonde bundle of squeezable cuteness. Sometimes I just cannot keep my hands to myself and I need to get a good fix of puppy.

Last week I had one of my favorite shoots; a walk in a wide open field to shoot a gal who loves to run. The task at hand was to capture her in motion and motion is what she gave me. How great is it to see dogs running simply for the love of running? Acres and acres of wide open space; canine companionship and great canine conversation with the guardian, darned nice.

To be a dog photographer you must have a bucket full of patience. It is not typical for things to run smoothly or without a good amount of challenge. I'm lucky that all my years of training have offered me a never ending supply of patience when it comes to dogs. I can easily shoot 300 or more shots in one sitting but I'm always aware when I've got the shot; that one I'm looking for. And after the shoot there is always time to chill with the model; a perk you could say.