Stanley is in the parade

I wanted to write about Stanley today; a Chesapeake Bay Retriever that I met many years ago.  When I first met Stanley it was in the San Diego area at the beach for a shoot.  I met his Dad, Craig as well and as usual the shoot was a lot of fun.   We were also joined by another woman who had two Chesapeakes there as well.  All that the dogs had to do was play in the water while I shot away.  Right off it was obvious that Stanley was a natural water dog.  He had the drive and natural intensity of the breed.  The humans chatted about the dogs, both Stanley and one of the other dogs were rescues.  Stanley had only been with Craig a matter of months when I met him but they already had an amazing bond.

The shots turned out great, how could they not when the dogs were in their zone?  What a great turn of events; Stanley had been dumped only months before a few blocks from Kern County Animal Control on Christmas Eve.  He roamed the streets for several days before he was picked up and then moved to a rescue group in San Diego.  It was there that Craig fostered and later adopted Stanley and as they say the rest is history.  Since that fateful day Craig and Stanley have come together as an awesome water team participating in Dock Diving and Surfing.

 Bakersfield news all about Stanley

 Stanley's story is yet another sad one with a very happy ending.  Stanley will be on top of the Natural Balance float at the Rosebowl parade so keep an eye out for him.  He'll be the dark brown stud muffin on top.  How's that for mov'n on up?  Pretty great I'd say.  From his past life of a lonely dog left to his own in a backyard to riding atop a float at the Rosebowl parade with his Dad.  That's a very happy ending.  Way to go Craig and Stanley

Signals

I remember way back in the beginning, standing on the sidelines watching a guy work his dogs in the obedience ring.  He was way up there as far as levels go and there was no speaking going on.  "Cool," I thought to myself, "how cool is that?"  He went through his paces, silently motioning to his dog.  His dog understood everything and it was poetry in motion.  I was spellbound.  Little did I know it at the time, but teaching a dog hand signals is very easy.  The part that is not so easy is attention; of course your dog must be watching you to "get" the signals right?

Watching is the key and one that dogs are far more equipped than us to perform.  It's what they do, how they communicate is through body language and to communicate in this way one must watch.  We humans do a lot of babbling, often we aren't even looking at one another when we speak.  But dogs are always watching us, I love watching dogs watch humans.  The other day I was walking behind a woman st the park with three toy poodles, they were adorable.  One of the dogs was constantly seeking eye contact which she was not getting.  Her owner was busy talking to a friend but the little one never gave up and as they left the park she was still trying to connect with her owner.

Teaching hand signals is most easily done by luring.  Ever see the Frisbee dogs, how everytime they are about to get a toss they run around their owner with a simple sweep of their owners hand?  A Frisbee in the hand motioning around your back and then quickly throwing as the dog comes around accomplishes this.  A sit is taught almost immediately by luring food from the dogs nose up over their head.  They quickly respond to this hand motion by sitting.  Same with down, as the dog is in a sit lure your dog to the floor by bringing the food from above their head to the floor.  This hand motion soon becomes the signal to "down."

Sometimes a behavior has a very common hand signal, sit is a swoop, down a motioning downward, stay the all familiar hand out in front.  But what if you want to teach something that doesn't have a hand signal?  Consider how you are going to teach the dog the particular behavior, what hand motion will coincide with it nicely?  Will you remember the hand signal?  Is it different enough from other signals so your dog will not become confused?  Choose your signal and cast it in stone.

Now many people say that there dog will only do behaviors if they have food in their hand.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard this.  The big secret to get rid of that annoying food prerequisite is to get rid of the food.  After several luring repetitions our dogs recognize a hand signal, take the food out of the signal hand and continue to signal exactly the same way.  Put the food in your other hand behind your back, or on a shelf beside you .  Deliver the food reward with your other hand, not the signal hand.  So even though you have not lured your dog with food they will still follow the hand signal because they got the reward.  Then you ween off the treats intermittently. 

Teaching hand signals helps to keep your dog constantly watching you.  If they aren't watching they might miss something.  It is helpful when your dog grows old and possibly loses their amazing hearing.  I have always used hand signals with my older dogs.  It's also very impressive, stand proud, you spent a great deal of time teaching your dog and it shows.

Dementia

At first you see the symptoms as just that of an old dog.  Then they start to get really strange, so strange you start to wonder "what the heck is going on?"  I've had a lot of old dogs and although they all have slowed down, become frail or just plain wobbly they have not seemed off in the head to put it nicely.   If you are a longtime reader then you know that Jessie had started out with an odd behavior of standing at the back door.  I thought she had somehow associated this with feeding, now I am thinking that it may have been the beginning.  She has now since moved her door standing to the other side of the house, upstairs in the hallway.

Dementia is in the house.

Dementia:  severe impairment or loss of intellectual capacity and personality integration, due to the loss of or damage to neurons in the brain.

After researching dementia; I have come to discover that she has many of the symptoms. Dementia is common in old dogs but not all old dogs get it.  Jessie is the first of all our old dogs to have it.  We visited the vets today to make sure that we were not dealling with anything else.  She now also has a grade 2 level heart murmur which she did not have before and I will get the results of a urine analysis tomorrow.  But we are pretty sure it's just dementia. 

There is not much to do about this and it sucks bigtime.  During the day she is pretty much in a coma from being awake the entire night.  She is now peeing in the house at night.  The dementia causes her anxiety at night, and this may lead to the peeing.  I'm heading out in a moment to pick up some potty pads, a first.  We have gone over the whole nighttime scenario again and again.  We had her in our room lastnight just to see if she could settle out of her crate, no.  She got me up at 11:30, I let her out and went back to bed, she paced and paced and paced.  She scratched, flapped her ears, paced at the patio door and paced some more.  With a fear of no sleep for anyone I took her down to the kitchen, let her out again and got a bed set up for her. 

I watched her for a while as she paced around the kitchen seeming like she was on a mission but wasn't sure what the agenda was.  "Someone has to get some sleep," I said as I turned out the light.  She never settled and when my son got up at 4:30 he said she was pacing and howling.  This is the toughest thing I've dealt with, everything else we've been through with the dogs just needs nursing and tlc.  There is not much to do for this dementia but we are going to try drugs to help her relax at night.

The vet has given me Clomipramine, typically used for separation in dogs but also dementia.  She got hers in cottage cheese this evening and has been tucked in.  Hopefully she will have a good night sleep and this will all work itself out.  I can only hope for a good night sleep for all.

Hachi

I watched Hachi (A dog's tale) last night, I've been wanting to see it for a longtime and finally it arrived today (Netflix)  So after dinner we all headed down to the family room, Luke of course was out in front.  He did his regular happiness spin and settled down in front of the coffee table facing the tv.  Then before the movie started he decided to take up the end of the sofa on one of the cushions.  My husband moved the candles so that Luke could see the tv, I'm not joking he does watch t.v. and he did watch the entire movie.

The movie was much better than I had anticipated.  Richard Gere stumbles upon the adorable puppy at a train station.  With no one in site to claim the puppy he brings it home to a wife who is none too happy to see it.  She (Joan Allen) plays the cold hearted role demanding that they place the dog, in the beginning.  Of course she quickly see's the special relationship between Gere and Hachi and allows the dog to stay.  It is a heartwarming story based on a true story that unfolded in Japan 1924.  Hachi was apparently an Akita and has a place of prominence on an Akita Club site.

The Akita is not a dog for everyone, they are a very large, strong and intense breed.  The Akita can be dog aggressive as it was originally bred to fight.  But with the dedication of many great breeders they are becoming a more social breed.  They have a natural guarding instinct and need a great deal of socializing from early on.  I had the chance to photograph some beautiful Akitas several years back and they could not have been better behaved and friendly, big but very friendly.   Akitas are wonderful dogs in the right home with an educated owner, they are not for everyone.

No matter what dog you get, whether it be a mix or purebred there should be much thought, research and consideration into the decision.  Don't run out and buy the cutie from the movie, no dog is like the movies.

I would definitely recommend the movie Hachi, it was really good and of course, about a dog.

Opening presents

Luke's pupils are dilated here, he's in the zone.  And being given the go ahead to tear he has become over-stimulated and quickly moves onto the next where he is then stopped in his tracks.  If you don't want your dog to enter "the zone," you don't allow this level of excitement.

This one is actually his and at the end of the gift opening.  This was a good opening.

Ah presents; who doesn't love presents?  Well Luke adores new presents and considers every package that comes into the house a possible gift for him.  The gift monster was man-made, a creation of allowing a behavior to grow.  "Oh look how cute."  Last Christmas it became quite obvious that the behavior had to be placed under control.  But I mean honestly, how cute is it that he wants to open every gift?  And combating everyone in the room that thinks he is the cutest thing ever is not an easy quest.

Here there is a lull in the gift opening, look at that innocent face.

So we tackle the problem head on; a firm "leave it," is used to let him know what he is and is not allowed to rip open.  As long as the person who is doing the unwrapping cooperates then everything goes to plan.  Luke walks away and lays down knowing that this is not for him.  Several times he went over to the gifts to find one for himself which again was adorable because it was his but not so cute if he had wrecked someone elses gift.

The process of changing a behavior must be done with consistency and the more over stimulated a dog becomes while doing it the more you must stick to your guns.  Luke needed several very serious "leave it's," from Mom.  This let him know that we were not kidding about the destruction.  We then had a dog that was under control, sure he still wanted to rip into every gift, opening it to display the goods inside.  He wanted to see what was inside but he didn't.  He waited for the "okay" from the owner of the gift and then went to town if he was given permission.

What a good boy; "As good as gold and better."  

Boxing Day

Happy Boxing Day  this is my favorite Holiday because this day has the same charm as Christmas without all the work.  The day for us is spent lazing around; although we did run the dogs bright and early.  We eat lots of leftovers (love leftovers) and spend time with the family.

I hope that everyone who celebrates Christmas had a great one; we did as did the dogs.  Luke was in full swing yesterday; opening presents is one of his favorite activities and this joy can sometimes become a bit of a hinderance.  He learned the wonders of gift opening on his first Christmas; we always get the dogs something.  Once he opened his first gift he thought it would be fun to open them all.  Encouraged by onlookers he has become a little bit of a crazed gift opener.  If someone does not want his assistance you must be very firm with a "LEAVE IT".  Then he just wanders off to the next gift.

Both Luke and Tilley opened their gifts, which were these that I blogged about earlier.  And they also got adorable gifts from my son which I will post hopefully tomorrow.  Jessie has yet to open her gifts, we're dealing with a few very difficult issues as of late with her (more on that later as well.)

The dogs had turkey for dinner as did we, turkey and tofurkey that is.  The dogs had just the real stuff, the tofu turkey was for a few of the humans.    I always save the organs for them and they get turkey meat, cooked carrots, cabbage and egg shells.

I am enjoying this quiet Boxing day surrounded by the dogs.  Happy Holidays everyone.

Merry Christmas

May your toys be squeaking and the tennis balls be plenty.
Let your beds have great warmth and your cookie jar always full.
May you enjoy each and every moment with your companion.

To all the canines and their wonderful companions, have a wonderful Christmas.   From my doghouse to yours.

Comfort

Does comfort every get old?  Nope.  Plain and simple; who does not like to be comfortable?  I love nothing more than climbing (and I literally mean climb) into my bed; with flannel sheets that are prewarmed by a dog.  Hate to get into a cold bed at night?  Ask your dog to lay there while you get ready for bed; works wonderfully and they don't mind a bit.  Once it's warm just ask them to scootch over a bit.

It's early and I've just had my coffee.  I can see out my window that the sun is just starting to come up, looks like it will be a beautiful sunrise.  Jessie is completely under the covers; I'm not sure how she breaths under there but she loves heading right down to the bottom of the bed.  Luke is curled up a few feet away; of course on top of the down comforter and Tilley is still in her bed right beside us.

I have to admit it makes me very happy to see dogs that are comfortable.  Especially when it is an older dog but any dog will bring a smile to my face in the lap of coziness.  It bothers me when I see dogs laying on concrete and I always want to grab a bed to throw under them.

When you're a kid you can sleep just about anywhere.  I remember many a sleep over both my own and my kids sleep overs where there are kids sleeping everywhere; all over the floor.  Try that when you are middle aged; doesn't feel so good.  I'd be the first to shotgun the couch; somehow as you get older the floor becomes much harder.

Dogs naturally gravitate to comfort; I've never had a dog that didn't lie on clothing that were dropped on the floor.  And even when they are on my bed; they much prefer to nab any clothing item to snuggle up with.  Not only do they like comfort; they really like the smells of home and you.

I can hear Jessie snoring under her pile of blankets down at the bottom of the bed; I guess she breaths just fine down there.  Luke is curled up tightly in his corner of the bed and Tilley is just now eyeing my husbands warm spot on the bed that he has vacated.

There's no place like home.

New boots

Continuing with my rain blog from yesterday, I needed boots for all this rain.  I got new boots and I'm pretty excited about it.  Since we moved to California from Canada I lost my rubber boots somewhere.  I hadn't replaced them because frankly it hardly ever rains here.  But it's been raining more and I wanted to not have to do the tip toe thing around outside so we were off to find rain boots today.  It wasn't easy, I don't know how many stores I went into only to find Large, x-large or above size 10 left.  I take a 5.5 or 6 so obviously most of the kids around had scooped up my boots.

 I finally found some at Greenthumb nursery where my hubby suggested we check out.  I have to tell you that what I found I was very excited about.  There they were, after umpteen trips in and out of stores with no boots in hand, I had found them.  And not only had I found them but they had my name written all over them.


I got these Holey Coastal boots.  They don't go up as high as a normal rubber boot but I'm not splashing around in deep puddles, just shallow ones.  I love walking in the water and mud and not worrying about it.  I hate it when I step in a puddle in my runners and it seeps through the sides slowly drenching my feet.  These are sort of Crocish I guess you could say but man are they comfortable.  And as soon as I saw them I thought about the walks I take in the early morning as well, returning with soaking feet.

These are very comfortable and have a great sole.  Of course it was the paw prints that caught my eye.   When we went into the store I saw them immediately.  My husband said "hey Sher, check these out" but I already had a pair in my hands.  Like I said they had my name written all over them.  Dog walking shoes, how great. 

I'm a utility gear gal, I love anything that makes my life outdoors or with dogs easier.  And these fit that description to a T.

It's still pouring

It's raining again, pouring would be a more accurate description of what is going on really.  It started last Wed and today makes it a week of rain, strange for Southern California.   We do get bouts of rain but typically they come in the January/February months.  Which is precisely the last time I remember getting as much rain.  So we are in for a very green New Year which isn't a bad thing.  

Because of our recent weather the dogs have been doing more sleeping.  Although my guys now at 10, 13.5 and 14.5 sleep a great deal normally, rain makes everyone sleep more.  I have been having to consciously get everyone outside to relieve themselves.  Left to their own they will hold it until they can hold it no longer, that's not comfortable for anyone.  If it is pouring like it is at the moment they will go to the door and look, then decide that they really didn't have to go afterall and go lay down.  This is when I don my rain gear and get the treats out.  Hey, if I expect them to get wet, I'm getting wet.

So we all head out, albeit very slowly.  Jessie takes 1/2 inch steps so the 15 feet to the grass takes a while.  She, unlike the poodles does not understand the whole "hurry and you won't get as wet," thing.  Tilley tries to move but with her Vestibular it takes a while as well.  Luke is a run out and go and run back kind of guy, thankfully.  So I wait while the girls do their things, and when they are done I cheer like they just completed a marathon and give them a treat.  Wow?  A treat for going to the bathroom?  This puts a spring in their step and they forget he rain momentarily.  On the next trip out they have a quick second thought, then quickly remember the food/pee trade and out they go.

We've also been doing more indoor retrieving.  It is of course short runs and more repetition but it gets tails wagging none the less.  Jessie is good for one, maybe two if she's really in the mood, mostly not though.  When the dogs were young and we had bouts of "inside" time we played all sorts of games.  Hide'n seek was a big favorite with my guys.  We've always played it with all of our dogs and each one has loved it.  We actually spoke about trying it again this weekend, it's been a while.  We have to be careful because of Tilley's slant but I'm sure she'll be up for a short search.  

Another wonderful game was hide the treat.  I'd get out old blankets and hide Charlee Bear treats throughout.  Of course the dogs were put away while I dispersed the goods and then let out.  I would tell them to "find it," and off they'd be on a mad search.  They loved this game as well.  

Sometimes you just can't get out, but that does not mean that you can't spend some quality time together while getting rid of a bit of excess energy as a bonus.   

Inside a rescue group

Looking for a forever home.

These baby girls are looking for their forever home.

I have met many rescue groups, visited far too many shelters and worked with countless second hand dogs. There are lots of rescue groups popping up and I wanted to have a look into a well run group to see what makes them tick. How much goes into the actual rescue, rehabilitation and placement when it’s done right? So I looked up a local group here in Southern California, I.C.A.R.E. dog rescue. I made a trip out to one of their adoption events to get some photos, meet some dogs and a few of the people who are dedicated to finding great homes for some unwanted dogs.

As I write this blog there is a new post on this rescue groups FB, fosters needed for 13, 3 week old puppies with no Mother.  Rescuing dogs is far more commitment, dedication, passion and work than most realize.  Countless hours spent nursing, training, rehabilitating and caring for a dog that will hopefull someday be a families best dog ever.  It is a selfless job and thankfully there are many wonderful people out there willing to give up there time, to save a dog. 

I.C.A.R.E. is run by a group of committed people who take unwanted dogs and find them a wonderful forever home. These unwanted dogs are placed in great foster family homes (no kennels here) until they can find their very own family. Foster homes are essential with this type of rescue group, so I.C.A.R.E. is always looking for people who would like to get involved. They solicit new foster families via Craig’s list, their Facebook page, website and events. “We can’t take anymore dogs until we get more fosters,” said Danielle who is one of the founding members and adoption coordinator. This is the wonderful thing about a group like this, each dog is put into a home where they can relax and be more themselves. This allows the foster family to let the adoption people know what it is like because they have seen firsthand how the dog behaves in a home environment.

This very handsome boy is looking for his new family

"Can I live at your house?"  Those eyes!!!

 When someone contacts the group as a prospective foster they must fill out a foster application, foster contract and have a home inspection done. Once all the visits and paper work are done its go time. The foster guardian is given a dog and all supplies needed to care for the dog. The group pays for everything; the only requirement from the foster family is a happy, safe home environment. This makes it much easier to obtain foster families for more dogs to be saved.

  What a doll.

I.C.A.R.E. displays their available dogs at adoption day events, their website and Facebook site. I found them through Facebook. When a family is interested in one of their dogs they are required to fill out an application, then they go through a slew of other related questions and are invited to come to an event to meet the dog. If they have children, they meet there.  If they have another dog they can meet at the event or have their trainer come out to the house to see if it is a match.  If that goes well and they still are interested in adopting the dog then a home visit is required. These steps ensure that the best match can be made and there is no need to re-home again.

After the home visit an adoption contract is signed. One stipulation on the contract is that if for any reason the owner needs to find a home for the dog that it MUST be returned to the rescue group. Dogs are micro-chipped with the new owner information and the rescue information as a back-up. Safety nets are always a great idea.

The group consists of the 5 founding members:

Daniel and Corrie Bravo (President and Vice President)

Danielle Robillard (Adoption Coordinator)

Elias Galvan (Behaviorist/ Trainer)

Amanda Tobon (Foster Coordinator)

and volunteers. It is like a big dog loving family with everyone working together towards one goal.

This group gets dogs in from owner surrender, shelter pulls, strays and rescue to rescue transfers. Daniel Bravo, President of I.C.A.R.E. says “sometimes we just get puppies handed to us from nowhere.” But wherever they come from; I.C.A.R.E. is a good place to land if you are an out of luck canine looking for a forever home. To date the group has 100% success rate, pretty impressive batting average I’d say.

GREAT NEWS:  Pooh Bear was adopted this weekend and now lives with a lady Pitty friend.

This little gal also got adopted; she sure caught my eye, what a cutie.

This blog is dedicated to all those who dedicate their time and life to saving dogs.  You are my heros.

Rabies debate

Rabies vaccines; it's a hot topic these days. www.rabieschallengefund.org The Rabies challenge has brought it to the forefront and is digging into the facts. I have always got rabies vaccinations for my dogs but now into their senior years and having health issues I am not willing to compromise their health. With Titers you can reliably test the amount of immunity a dog has to certain diseases.

Great article on Titer testing

With a good titer result; our dogs are still protected but sometimes this isn't enough for the officials. With simple common sense it should be; you can have titers done for humans as well and that seems to be enough for us. Why should be re-vaccinate when the dogs body has enough immunity? They are finding out that over vaccinating is alot more dangerous than once thought.

I have a very inquiring mind; I always want to know more. If I hear about an important issue that I hadn't heard before then I dig in; I want the facts. I listen to what people have to say; take what I think is important and toss the rest. Life is a constant education; to deny facts, to turn away in an "I don't want to know" manner is really useless.

Take the whole Autistic/vaccine debate going on in the human world right now. Many just don't buy it; thankfully many are also digging.

Information on the Rabies challenge

We are only human and humans make mistakes; but to turn away from the facts is a disservice to us and our animals. Before you re-vaccinate; research, research alot.

That space we all need

Any closer would be too close for Luke

I have to talk about space today. My husband and I ate lunch out yesterday at The Corner Bakery; great little place with great food. It was busy of course with all the shoppers out hussle and bussling. We sat down; got our food and were enjoying our lunch until; let's just say a very large guy came a pulled an extra chair, a fifth chair at a four table right beside our table. Normally I wouldn't mind this but the guy was literally up against our table; I mean touching our table. If he leaned back he would have been between my husband and I.

So as we sat there finishing our meal of course it made me think of the space our dogs need. I need alot of space; I do not like when people assume that they can enter into my personal space anymore than dogs do and like us they are all different. Like most people; the better I know you the closer you can get without it bothering me. So let's look at dog space. Last night Tilley had a primo position for sleeping; the other two dogs were wandering around looking for a spot. Everything was fine until they crossed an invisible boundary Tilley had made for herself and then she let them know. With the use of body language dogs make it perfectly clear when you are too close.

Of course some dogs have no personal space boundaries; some have very large boundaries and the boundary can have specifications. A dog may have a larger personal space designated for humans but dogs are welcome. Or it may be that only certain humans are allowed in and only certain dogs. Some dogs may only want humans in their space and not other dogs. Typically a dog let's their pack within a much tighter space than strangers; be they dog or human.

Within a dogs personal space specifications will be regulations; when, why and how you are allowed to enter into it. Humans should not assume just because a dog is friendly that they should enter the space completely. Dogs give signals and they may be so small that if you are not paying attention; you won't see them. Space issues are completely different concerning your own pack members versus strange dogs; the ones that you do not live with. Space is a safety precaution; both for humans and dogs. Space is what makes a fearful dog feel more comfortable and a very dominant dog less challenged.

A good rule to follow is to take it slow and always let a dog approach you; never push an approach. And save the hugs for the dogs you live with; don't hug dogs that are not in your own pack.

I love dogs

I love dogs; big secret eh?  So what is it that we, and I mean we as in those who love them as much as I do, what do we love about dogs?   I love everything about them, sure there are things that are not my favorite things to deal with.  Like looking for the foot covered in poop that got stuck on one of twelve feet; that ran through the house.  Then of course following the lovely poop path and pains takingly cleaning up each spot, that's all fun.  Okay; let's move past my evening lastnight, k?

Dogs are amazing listeners, they rarely talk back.  They don't interupt and will listen to you babble about whatevers on your mind for hours at a time and appear as though they are interested.  They are ready to go for a walk at the drop of a hat.  They'll sit and watch t.v. as long as you want to.  Dogs are very good at keeping you warm on a cold night.  I remember when we lived in Canada, I'd ask Tilley to lay on my spot of the bed everynight as I prepared for bed.  By the time I crawled into bed in the dead of winter my spot was cozy and warm, nice. 

Teaching dogs is a ton of fun, if you do it right that is. It should be fun, otherwise why do it?  I know paternal instinct plays a big part in having dogs, the need to care for others.  Having dogs keeps you humble, we all know that.  Hard to be all that when your dog stuffs his schnoz into your guests crotch eh?  How about when they leap in the air and plant a big muddy one on the neighbor who is dressed to the nines for a dinner party?  Pretty humbling. 

Sitting with dogs is amazing.  Just this morning I wrapped my arms around Luke as he lay sleeping.  I could feel his deep, slow breathing, it was enough to put me into a trance.  Seeing Jessie and Tilley curled up sharing one bed, brings such a huge smile to my face.  It is uplifting, and such a small thing.   A couple of months ago I was at the park with the dogs, I walked down a path to see an elderly gentleman and his dog who was also elderly.  They sat in silence, obviously enjoying the simple pleasure of each other's company.   Although they were saying nothing, doing nothing, it was quite a moving scene.   Seeing dogs run in the park is wonderful, I take as much enjoyment as I'm sure they do out of it.

I often think "what if I didn't have dogs?"  The house would be a lot cleaner, the lawn would be perfectly green, I'd have a ton more money, time and nice clothing.  And.................I can't even imagine it.  As I glance down at the food smudge on my pants and the tiny white hairs that speckle my shirt, I smile.  It doesn't take much to enjoy each other but when you try to explain it, it may seem an impossible task.  Just what is it that we love about dogs?  If you really think about sharing your life with the canine species, it is hard to find something that isn't incredibly, unbelievably amazing about a dog.

NILF

Many people offer up the NILF advice, but does it work and what the heck is it?  NILF - Nothing in life for free.  The concept is simple, the implementation is often much more difficult. Basically NILF means that your dog is not going to make any decisions concerning you. Does your dog stare longingly at a cookie jar and you quickly jump up and reward them? Do you pet your dog when they demandingly nudge your arm? Are you quick to respond to your dog’s demands to throw the ball once it is dropped at your feet? If your answers are yes, yes, and yes then things are going to change.


When a dog demands a behavior; whether it is a well meaning demand or an aggressive immediate demand; the result is the same if you comply. Your dog is running the show and this can quickly become your life, in the hands or should I say paws of your dog? Dogs are either leaders or followers; you don't want your dog as the boss of the house, no matter how cute they are. If you fail to be your dog’s leader then you become a follower and your dog makes the rules.

Often I will watch a dog and guardian interact as the dog slowly manipulates the guardian. When I see this behavior and enlighten the guardian they are typically shocked to find out what is going on. They hadn’t realized that they were acting as their dog’s servant. Giving your dog control of the decisions can turn bad very quickly. So how do you take back control of your life?

Simply by making and enforcing rules in your home. You will not give your dog affection when they are nudging for it; you will pet your dog when you decide to pet your dog. Your dog will eat when you decide, go out when you say so, play ball when you decide it is time to play and receive a cookie when you say so. By implementing these simple rules you take the lead; you can be the boss of your own life once again.
No more handing out food for free; your dog has to work for food. A simple sit for a meal is easy but a rule nonetheless. They want to play ball? They will have to wait until you are in the mood and initiate a game. Pack members who are not the leader; do not make any rules. You would never see a lower pack member demand attention from an Alpha Wolf. If and when the Alpha wolf feels like giving attention, that is when the lower pack members receive their attention and not before.

Making the rules takes only one thing away from your dog; and that is control. They will still receive attention, treats, playing, walking and mealtime but when you say; not when they demand them from you. The one thing to be aware of is that implementing NILF on a dog that is accustom to getting what they demand typically results in the behavior becoming worse before it gets better.

When a simple stare at the cookie cupboard usually resulted in a cookie; now all of a sudden it does not. This may cause your dog to stare longer and even start to bark. But hold strong and do not give in; it will soon start to diminish. And any attention can be good for a dog, even bad attention will be taken as attention; so ignoring is on the menu for most demanding attention seeking behaviors.

A behavior that is not rewarded in ANY way will soon disappear.  A behavior that results in a reinforcement, being food, praise, a ball will be offered again.  This will be turning around before you know it. 

Happy Friday  ;)

I'm heading out the door

I just got back from a walk at the park, it's beautifully chilly out.  I took Luke with me and it is a great time for me to think about what I'm going to blog about while he marks every tree in the park.  I talk, he listens, he pees and I think.   As we were strolling around the park I thought about what dogs need to know, I mean obedience wise.  I often do photo shoots with dogs that know nothing as far as obedience is concerned.  Of course as a trainer I've met lots of dogs with no formal training, that is until they met me. 

I think it's sad if s dog has no training, this really limits your communication ability and guidance.  A biggy is the photo shoot "can he sit there?"  "I can try," is usually what I hear.  "Does he know how to sit?"  And no sooner is it out of my mouth when the owner is applying pressure to their dogs hind end in attempts to sit their dog.  This is when I say "let's just let him decide what he wants to do."  And I mean it, I'm not being sarcastic.  The dog will do what he wants and I will get the shot. 

It makes life a whole lot simpler if you just teach your dog a few verbal cue.  A verbal cue is the command, sit or down for instance.   But training takes time, consistency, patience, perseverance and understanding.  Ya got all that?  Dogs are really quick learners and once you get the basic idea of teaching a behavior, it is pretty easy to educate your dog.  I like being able to ask my dogs to do things and have them understand what I want.  Doing everything by physical touch is tough, many dogs become over stimulated by touch.  Being pushed and shoved around works against you and your dog. 

For starters, I think every dog should first know their name.  You'd be surprised how many don't.  Then to come when called, sit, down, stay and no bolting out open doors.  So that is the bare minimum that I like to see.  Of course the sky is the limit and it's not all verbal cues that they learn.  Dogs can learn hand signals, body signals and linked behaviors.  They are pretty amazing actually.  But like I said it takes commitment; if you give that commitment you will open up a whole world of communicating and canine behavior. 

The more you learn about teaching your dog the easier it is to understand canine behavior.  You will get to know your dog on a far deeper level once you've unlocked the secret "learning" key.  Training is never a waste and done in a fun and positive way it can only be a win win situation.  Canine minds are a true wonder, watching how quickly they can learn a new behavior is truly amazing.  Start today; teach your dog something.  And if you're like me, you'll love every second of it. 

The comforts of home

I was out shopping yesterday afternoon, not long, only about an hour and a half.  If I have to be out all afternoon running around I will often plan my trips around stopping at home when I can.  So I popped in to drop off a few items and check on the dogs.  They were so adorable, all three sound asleep on the couch.  I soon heard the tell tale thumping of Luke's circle tail.  The wag he reserves for his family at very happy times, this was one.  I walked around to see him flopping around like a fish, we snuggled and kissed.

Jessie then sat up "something going on?"  She looked around and lay her head down again, her hearing is nearly non existence.  I walked over and gently touched her so as not to startle her too much.  She started crying, this is what she does when she is very happy.  We had a quick snuggle and she went back to sleep.  No one was excited enough to get off the couch.   This fact makes me really happy, knowing that all my old dogs are so comfortable at home.

I glanced over to Tilley thinking that she would be awaiting my greeting next, nope.  She was sound asleep and snoring with her head stuffed down into the couch cushion.  I had to smile, she was so comfortable and looked it.  I quietly ran upstairs and got my camera thinking that she'd have moved by the time I got back down, nope.  She was still stuffed and snoring.  I quickly snapped away and she never budged, it wasn't for another hour that she would raise her head out of the corner.

I love knowing that they are all hanging out.  They are not the touchy feely type of dogs with each other but they do enjoy being in the same room.  And I find now with Jessie loses her hearing and sight that she seeks Tilley out often to lay with.  This is whats it's all about, creature comforts and my creatures deserve as much comfort as I do.  All dogs do, it makes me sad to think of dogs laying on a cold concrete surface.  If you have  any extra blankets, consider donating to a shelter or rescue group.  Even an old blanket can make a huge difference.  

Pet's eye view

I recently stumbled across a cool little gadget.  Being that I am a photographer of dogs, this totally peeked my interest.  The Pet's eye view camera, a camera that hooks onto your dogs collar and takes pictures on their voyage.  It holds a total of 40 shots and will take pictures either every 1 or 5 min., depending on what you set it on.  I chose the 1min. setting for the trial shoots. 

I have to say I was skeptical, even my phone takes horrible images so I didn't hold out much hope for quality.  But I have to say I was surprised, not amazing quality but fully recognizable images.  It is very easy to use, not too many moving parts.  I hooked Jessie up first and immediately noticed the flaw with her.  She walks with her head down, constantly sniffing so I figured her chin was what was going to be photographed.  But it took her chin and other things.  And it did make me realize just how short that little munchkin is. 

Side muzzle shot

Our park

Some of the images were just too blurry to recognize.  She may have turned quickly just when it was shooting so these are a few of the best shots.  And as you can see, she's very short. 

Then I had my husband hook up Luke and go for their jog and we pretty much got the same results.  Pretty good shots unless he was moving too quickly. 

                                                      A blurry shot, movement in the car

                                             Blurry chin shot

                                           The trail

                                              Trail with railing

                                             Car ride home with Dad

So then the little camera was hooked up to Miss Tilley at home.  These are a few pics that she took while lounging around the house. 

She took a shot of Luke

Me

And Luke again, hmmmm she's looking at Luke a lot. 

So I figured that this would be the best way to test and review this product.  Let the dogs do their thing and show you what they got.  It is fun to use and then look at the images.  I had fun seeing how they see things.  It runs a little under 50.00 and is definitely fun to play with.  

The only down side is that it must be plugged into the computer all the time because if the charge runs out, that's it.  It also only holds 40 images which must be deleted each time before using.  It would make a great gift for a dog lover who has it all.  

The family jewels

Nuts, jewels, balls or testes, no matter what you want to call them we really don't see them around these days. It is customary in North America to have our dogs neutered; it cuts down on unwanted pregnancies and disease. Since neutering has become a more popular decision and shelters have implemented their spay/neuter policy; there has been a significant decrease in unwanted dogs. But like anything in society; it is not done across the board and the biggest problem regarding unwanted dogs are the puppy millers.

Show dogs; dogs that are shown in the conformation ring cannot be spayed or neutered. They must remain intact; unless they are in the veterans class. After all what is the point of showing and obtaining a championship title if you are not going to pass on those genes? So at dog shows you will see lots of balls; also in performance areas.  Dogs that excel in work or sport are often kept intact so that they too can pass on their wonderful talent genes.

On a walk the other day a family walked by with a pitbull; it seemed to be having some issues with regards to my dogs so I watched. As I turned around to see that they were on their way I noticed balls; what? I found this strange and wondered why this dog was intact. It did not look like a show dog; so why would this dog be intact? After discussing this topic with many families; not everyone is okay with neutering. When it comes to neutering a male, many men take issue. One client of mine that I spoke to about neutering did not want it done.  But once I informed him of the implants available he was very interested in the fact that he could purchase falsies for his boy. That's correct, they make fake ones.

This is one company that produces the artificial testicles called Neuticles. Yep; Fido goes in for surgery and comes out still intact but falsely. Will fake testes convince more people to neuter; I think so. And that is a good thing. Neutering a dog not only stops unwanted pregnancies and testicular disease but can help in some behavior issues as well. It is not a cure for aggression or dominance but can definitely help.

Neutering only lowers testosterone levels in a dog; it does not get rid of it. And although it may assist in lowering marking tendencies it will not cure other behavior problems. Behavior issues are always best dealt with modification procedures. Many consider neutering when their male starts to mature. They start to display male qualities that are not always desirable; and the owners thinking that neutering will stop all this take them in for surgery. Often they are dismayed by the end result as it seems to have made no change. Behavior problems need addressing and working with a dog will fix problems.

As with all surgeries there is risk. The older a dog is the higher the risk of being under anesthetic. There is also risk that the dogs body will not accept sutures; which is what happened to my girl Tilley. This can be a long and drawn out problem that may or may not require another surgery. This article explains some of the downfalls of spaying and neutering. Early spay/neutering considerations for the canine athlete.

It seems to be an issue with the boys. I remember as a teenager hearing my guy friends razz their buddies that their now neutered dog was an "it." This never seemed to happen to the females who got spayed. Neutering a dog in no way creates a less masculine dog; it may take a bit of wind out of an overly inflated sails but it's not going to make your dog a sissy.

Like I always recommend; do your research before you take the plunge.  Read everything you can on the subject and be informed.

A dog show

I hit a dog show Friday, I don't go to many but this was nice and close and a great locale.  The show was held by the Shoreline Dog Fanciers association of Orange County.  I spent most of my teenage years at dog shows, many weekends I'd be gone with friends to a show.  I handled a lot of dogs and I loved it.  I took handling classes from the best of the best in Canada, Martha Covington Thorne, author of Handling your own dog.  I have a copy nicely stashed away that I will keep forever.  I took Matha's handling class and after one very memorable Junior Handling competition Martha grabbed a hold of me.  She took me aside and told me to never give it up, the dog show world needed good handlers.  I will never forget that, and although I did give up handling I will never give up dogs.  ;)

So, it's been a while since I was at a show.  The last one I did go to was about a year and a half ago, the big Eukanuba Longbeach show.  And it was big, huge, crowded and congested and I didn't stay long.  Fridays show was great, it was held at the OC Fairgrounds and was sort of an indoor/outdoor deal.  There was lots of space and it wasn't spread out too far that going from ring to ring was a big hike.  I was there simply to watch, see lots of dogs, meet some new breeders and shoot.  I got all accomplished.

Showing is a huge commitment in time, whether it is in the conformation ring, obedience, rally, agility, flyball or any other event for dogs.  It can be weekend after weekend, living out of a motel or an RV if you're lucky enough to have one.  There is a lot of waiting, that's the part that I cannot stand, the waiting.  You get use to it and you make a lot of friends so all of the above activities are social gatherings.  It is surprising how well behaved all the dogs are.  They've grown up around hoards of other dogs, so they are well use to it.  It is surely a great socializing opportunity.

As well as dogs there are always vendors, lot's and lot's of vendors.  I wandered around looking for any "new" and amazing things that I didn't already know about.  Nothing spectacular caught my eye this time but I did see some pretty elaborate dog beds and lots of bling for dogs and their humans.  As always I enjoy seeing all the dogs, many breeds you just don't see on a day to day basis.  And you certainly don't see dogs groomed like the coated breeds in the conformation rings, especially my breed. 

I watched the owners of the rally dogs recieving their ribbons and scores for the day.  Everyone was smiling, even the very lowest scoring teams.  That says something about a show, smiles.  So as I left the building and head out to my car across the parking lot I thought to myself, "nice show."