Drop it

The "drop it" command is probably one of the most important things you can teach your dog. Dogs like to pick up all sorts of things; some eat weird stuff and other love to chew up anything and everything. It is imperative that your dog have a very solid "drop." Unfortunately many dogs resort to the swallow fast option when asked to hand over an object that is in their mouth. These are the one's that need training the most; as there are literally hundreds of dogs that need surgery because of what they swallow down in a panic.

The best as always is to start when you first get your dog; but you can start this at anytime. One of the important things to remember is to never, ever chase your dog down for an item. This is a game and one that most dogs love; dogs will go and find something they know they are not allowed to have so that you will chase them. For the swallowers; it is the chase that makes them swallow. They would rather swallow it down than hand it over.

What you have to teach your dog is that if they hand over an object; you will reward them. Most rewards come in the form of a treat but if your dog is not motivated by food you can use anything; a ball, a pull toy or a squeaky toy etc. You must train this when your dog has things that you can return to them; you need to teach them that you don't want to take their things from them. The object of the game is to teach them that dropping things is a good thing; drop the item, get a treat and get your thing back.

Typically in the beginning of training you need to bribe with a food item while associating the word "drop" with it. When you do enough training with items you can return to them; the couple of times that you cannot return an item do not have as much lasting impact. This should be done several times a day and even once they have a great drop, keep it up every so often to keep it fresh.

Drop can save your dogs life; or at least a trip to the vet, or a bout of vomiting and diarrhea. If they drop something amazing; like a bone or coyote poop make sure to go over the top with praise and a treat if you have it. My guys definitely like coyote poop and if they eat it, sure enough we have a day of throwing up dogs. So if I can catch them before it is swallowed, I'm impressed and very happy.

Make sure that "drop" is one of the things you teach your dog.

This is dog food?

Uno; he stole my heart.  He was so interested in the camera that he kept running straight at me.

Most of us grew up thinking that kibble is what you feed dogs.  Although I clearly remember peeling the string off of a package of Gaines burgers, and like the marketing ploy indicated it was beefy looking.  But was there any beef or anything else in this food that was nutritious for our dogs?   We bounced between canned food and the meaty looking burgers of Gaines for our little toy poodle.  When I think back now I shudder; but it was the line we were all fed; dogs eat dog food.  The idea has stood the test of time; although the quality is being challenged now and thankfully some new companies are stepping up to fill that kibble with real ingredients; ingredients that our dogs can actually use.

Sassy; what a wonderful girl and amazing athlete.

But not everyone grew up feeding "dog food" to their dogs.  This past spring I had the privilege of meeting Olga Esman of Poodleit.com located just outside of Ottawa.   We met through my Facebook group The Standard Poodle and set up a photo shoot when I made a trip back home to Canada.  While I was shooting her gorgeous dog we were chatting when the topic of food came up.  She mentioned remembering the first time she saw "kibble" and how she was shocked that this is what was fed to our dogs.  I thought it would be interesting to delve in a little deeper so we did an e-interview which follows.

Sherri:            Olga, where are you originally from and what did you feed your dogs while living there?

Olga Esman:   I am from Belarus, one of the former USSR republics.  We had a German Shepherd named "Bark" when I was growing up. My Mom cooked for him; oatmeal, buckwheat, and added lots of cooked meat (chicken, beef, chicken gizzards, liver).  We had an constant supply of big cooked beef bones from the kitchen of a local kindergarten - it gave us lots of meat for our Bark. He was very happy healthy active dog.  He also enjoyed cooked fish, big raw bones, blood sausages, some veggies, and pieces of dry bread as treats.

  

Sherri:            When did you first learn about kibble?

Olga Esman:   My first encounter with kibble was in Canada. 

Sherri:            What was your first opinion of processed dog food or kibble?

Olga Esman:   I was shown a big bag stored under the counter, and told that was a food for the dog.  It was a big shock for me - giving something dry and smelly to a dog????  Feeding a dog highly processed substance with questionable complex list of ingredients did not feel good at all.

Sherri:            What do you feed your dogs now and why?

Olga Esman:   The major part of my Poodles diet is raw meat (chicken backs, necks, gizzards, beef meat, beef hearts, tongues, beef bones, lamb bones), They also eat eggs (Sassy loves raw eggs, Uno - cooked), ricotta cheese and yogurt. They also love their cooked meals - thick soup made with old fashion rolled oats with meat, sweet potatoes, some herbs and garlic. They love cooked fish too.  I like to know what exactly goes into my dogs system. I do not even use prepared raw food mixes available at pet stores.  The meat I feed my family (humans and Poodles) comes from local farms, hormone and pesticides free.

Sherri:             What is your opinion on kibble now?

Olga Esman:   The strong "natural" trend in the kibble industry is very pleasing. 

Sherri:             Olga, have you ever tried your guys on kibble of any sort?

Olga Esman:    Yes. Uno was fed kibble until he was 9 months old. It was the Royal Canine. Uno was doing good on it, very healthy, good looking boy, but I was never content with feeding him kibble. The big poisoned kibble scare was a last drop for me.  I switched him to raw feeding "cold turkey" way :) He did great right away.

Some dogs will go through a period of diarrhea while switching from kibble to raw - this is a normal process of detoxification.

Sassy was fed Purina brand kibble before coming to our family. I switched her to raw at 11 weeks of age. It did not go well :( She has diarrhea, and was loosing weight. I put her back on high quality kibble and home cooked food, and did another switch when she was about 8 months old.  She did great the second time around.

Thank you Olga for taking time out of your very busy schedule to give us a look from a different perspective.  

come, Come, COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Step #1

Is your dog one of those that heads for the hills the minute they get the chance?  If their leash happens to come off; they slip their collar or someone carelessly leaves the front door or gate open?  Well, then you have work to do and lots of it.  Some dogs are runners, others trigger by movement, many escape just to have fun and then there are the ones who are just too excited to stop and come back.  Whatever type you have; they need to be trained to come.  Step #1  The way that you train a dog to come is to make the word itself glorious.

Far too often "come" means; the end of game, time to go home, come in because I'm going out etc. etc.  So you first need to think about this whole word "come," thing.  Does your word "come" have a negative connotation?  Think about how you use it; when, where and why?  If you arrive at the conclusion that it is indeed negative; then throw it out the window.  Pick a new one.  You can use any word you like; as long as it is only ever used for good.  And that means good in your dogs eyes; not yours.  i.e. Calling your dog to come when chewing on the couch would be good for you but not for your dog.

My special word for come is "here" but I might even change it up from that with the next one.  It needs to be a word that you can super charge; giving it incomparable positive power.  When you say your word you want your dog to jam on their breaks and head home as fast as they can.  So that means you have to do the charging; unfortunately you cannot just plug it in and expect it to be all charged up.  It is work giving a word such power; you must create the amazing association to it.

Use your word and give delicious treats, use it and feed your dog dinner or breakfast, go for a walk, play ball or frisbee, have a game of tug or invite them into your bed with your word.  In the beginning the treats should be the best, save a certain favorite treat like liver or chicken for use with your word.  Anything that you could think of that your dog would love; use it as a reward for responding to your new and powerful word.

Now get to work.

Don't flood fear

Flooding:  a form of psychotherapy in which the patient receives abrupt and intense, rather than gradual, exposure to a fear-producing situation.

Fear comes in many forms. Fear is a common behavior issue in dogs and I have worked with many different fear based issues; all having different causes and levels. How you approach a solution to a fear based problem must be well thought out and researched. If you dive in; introducing the cause of fear at a 100% level; known as flooding, there is a great chance of more damage. I have a real soft spot for fearful dogs; its tough being in a human world without the benefit of speech.

If we are afraid of a situation, object or environment we can communicate our discomfort to the people around us. This lets everyone know upfront what is going on and why we may be acting in such a manner. For many dogs who are fearful; their guardian may not understand nor be able to help them tolerate or overcome their fear. Tackling fears should never be attempted with archaic methods of training or flooding. Force; both physical and mental only causes more fearful behaviors. Flooding is when someone puts the dog into their worst fear situation at a 100% level.

You must start working with a fear behavior at the lowest level of reaction; meaning you are looking for the point of reaction from the dog and want to move back further from that range. The best example I can explain this with is the very common arachnaphobia of humans, fear of spiders. The first step would probably be to drive by a building where there are known spiders, no spider in site. Getting closer to the building might take weeks or months depending on the level of your fear. But there is no point in trying to move to the next level; a more concentrated submergion if you cannot make it at the last level.

What you are trying to accomplish when working with a fear based behavior is to change the base behavior when around the fearful situation. Meaning that if your dog is unbelievably afraid of men wearing hats and has to this point barked, peed and basically come unglued; we want her to now look at men in hats as a good thing or at least non threatening. So you must take it slow; flooding puts your dog into a state of panic where nothing can be accomplished. You have to convince your dog that men in hats are a great thing and this is done with patience.

Slow and steady wins the race and definitely achieves a higher level of success when working with fear based behaviors. There is no hurry; each success should be a small one. I have broken some fear based behaviors down so small that no person other than the guardian and myself would even notice each step. A small success could be a glance; an ear raise or a change in body posture.

But wheatever your dogs fear; realized that this is very real to your dog. It is a sad way for a dog to live so do your research; hire a professional positive behavior specialist and help your dog to climb out of the fearful way of life they lead.

This and that

I hope that all you Mothers had a great day yesterday; I did.  We took the dogs for their morning run all together; the weather was beautifully cool and overcast.  Little Jessie is a funny little thing when she thinks that she is going for a walk, it is one of her few high moments of the day.  When she sees her harness I can hardly get it onto her as she fights me to get it on.  With her vision impaired, she is struggling to get it on as I am as well but I can see what I'm doing, she cannot.

Once she has her harness on she cries and I have to wait to pick her up until just before we go out because there she struggles as well.  She is so darned excited to get out the door that her little 14 lb body is rigid as she grunts and groans.  Then again once we get to the park she literally throws herself out of the car.  I cannot touch her until it is her time or she just hurls herself out.  So I push Jessie to the back of the SUV, help Luke out; push Jessie to the back of the SUV, lift Tilley out and then grab Jessie's harness tight.  She then proceeds the attempts to hurl herself out of the SUV.  She isn't jumping like a normal dog no; she'll go out head first, rear first, sideways or however she can get out.  This is new with the dementia.

Once out we had such a nice walk; Tilley and Luke both had ball time.  Tilley comes to life with a ball, you'd never think that she was a 14 year old dog.  But today she was favoring her back right leg a bit.  On Saturday night I'd noticed a wound of sorts on her leg; I'm not sure what it is from, could be a sebaceous cyst (Tilley has had many, many of these over the years).  Or it could again be a spider bite but by today it was looking a bit better after cleaning and wrapping it.  I will have a good look this morning to see how it is and we may be off to the vet yet again.

After our walk; we all had a cool down and then they had a nice chicken breakfast.  After that it was nap time for the oldies, that is until dinner time.  Old dogs sleep a lot.

HAPPY MOMMA'S DAY

It's Mothers Day; so first let me say Happy Mother's day to all the Mom's out there.  That means all you Dog Mom's as well.  I spent yesterday after noon at Shoreline Poodles.  I met Suzanne, the breeder last summer along with a wonderful litter.  How lucky am I?  I was invited to celebrate the first birthday of that litter.  As well; several dogs from the previous litter who were celebrating their 2nd were in attendance.  She is very pregnant at the moment; due in two weeks.  This will be her third and final litter.

This is Angie; proud Momma of all the pups in attendance.  How wonderful for a breeder to see all their pups at the age of one and two years old.  Each family shared their stories with the others; it was a wonderful day.   Every dog was very different; their lives all gone in different directions and yet they all came together to celebrate.   This is how you do it; staying connected with the people who have taken home one of your puppies is another step in the "good" breeder standard.  

This gal was celebrating her first birthday; what a cutie.  I met these puppies at the age of 5 weeks and then again at 7 weeks, it was amazing seeing them all grown up.

This very big boy was there to celebrate his 2nd birthday with his younger brothers and sisters.

Just a sweetheart.

Another boy, this guy was celebrating his first.

These gals really came together; sisters but a year apart they were having a blast playing.

Another of the 1st year celebration pups.

Happy Mothers day to all of you wonderful Mothers.  :)

Boggles the mind

I was surfing the net tonight; you know how you start looking for something and several dozen clicks later you are no where near where you started.  I really don't even know how I end up on these sights but you know what they say "inquiring minds want to know."  I do want to know; I want to know the good, the bad and the ugly.  And what I stumbled onto tonight was bad, a puppy broker.  They're out there and you should be aware, very aware.

The one I landed on tonight is called Purebred breeders; and basically they are middlemen.  They claim to inspect all the breeders who's dogs they sell, but I'm not buying it for a second.  This is just like the pet stores who sell the puppy mill dogs and pretend that they would never sell mill dogs.  Let me just say for a moment; no reputable and or ethical breeder would sell puppies through this type of online broker.  Buying a puppy online, sight unseen is very very dangerous.  You have no idea where the puppy is coming from; the health, temperament or the life this cute little puppy's parent are leading, you know nothing.

I went onto the site, chose a dog, filled out the form and it brought me directly to the check out.  Pay by credit card or paypal; it is as easy as that and they ship your puppy to you.  People do this; they put in all their info, pay the crazy amount asked for these dogs and hope that it all works out.  After only a small amount of research on the company I easily found all the complaints and warnings.  Frankly I have to admit that I knew they would be there.

Do not let these sites fool you; they are selling puppies like merchandise.  This my friends is just another arm of the problem, an offshoot of puppy mills.  So many dogs; too many dogs, pumping them as fast as those little females will come into heat, be bred, have pups and do it all over again.  Often there are no middlemen, just the breeder who lists bucket loads of litters available.  To the unsuspecting prospective puppy owner this may seem great.  Look at all the choices; this is how you breed dogs.  The lists state; pups born April 04, April 10, April 18, May 1st and some older pups and adults available.  WHAT??????????????

All the photos of the adult dogs may or may not be behind fences; strictly fence shots is a red flag.  Click and buy is a huge red flag; and handfuls of litters is a huge flag.  Please do not give your money to these people; no matter how cute that little face staring at you on your computer screen is.  These folks want your money; that's it, bottom line.  DON'T GIVE IT TO THEM.  They will use it to further invest in their assembly line puppies.

A great breeder will make it very difficult for you to obtain a puppy; they are and should be suspicious.  You too should be suspicious, ask questions, go and see their home.  If you have any tiny thoughts that there are too many dogs; dogs that are not properly cared for or that this person is strictly doing it for the money with no regard for the dogs, leave.  As for those millers selling puppies online or through brokers; do not fuel their mass production of dogs.

Online puppy sales are big business; don't fall victim and don't help to keep these horrendous people in business.  It is all about supply and demand; let's stop the demand.

Yappy hour at the Ritz-Carlton

Thursday evening I attended a wonderful event that a good friend of mine invited me to.  I hadn't heard of it and after a bit of research; I was very excited to visit the canine function.  Yappy hour at the Ritz-Carlton; sound fancy?  Well it was.  Not your ordinary dog gathering; it was held at the upscale Ritz-Carlton Hotel.  Unfortunately I'd not been before so I parked across the street.  They have valet which I will definitely take advantage of at the next Yappy Hour.

I met my friend and her poodle out front of the Hotel; from there we were directed to follow the paw prints, cute.  It took us on a walk through the grounds and out onto a large grass area over looking the ocean.  The view was spectacular and the grounds, beautiful.  We were met by several people who explained about the event and told us where we could find everything.  There was also a gentleman with a tray of dog cookies which...........................if you can believe Luke loved.  We actually headed back there after a bit for another and Luke wolfed that down as well.  Excellent cookies; Luke says a definite 4 paws up.

There were lots of dogs to meet.

Some came dressed up.

Some even had their own driver.

The event is a fundraiser for the Pet Project Foundation; partial proceeds from the event go directly to help animals.  Wine, cocktails and beer was available for purchase and the featured vineyard was Mutt Lynch Winery.   They also had food available for the humans starting at 4.00 for their delicious tacos that we had.  Cookies for the dogs and flavored water; yes flavored water prepared by one of the chefs at the Ritz was complimentary.  They had bacon, cheese, beef, veggie, chicken and plain available.  I had a sniff of the chicken water and it smelled amazing; and as I was told that it was fit for human consumption I thought about it but went for the orange water instead.  Both Luke and his friend preferred the orange water that was set out for the humans as well, go figure.

Note on the far right, the orange water.  Below Luke and his friend Sally enjoy a glass.  

Mutt Lynch wines

On top of the cookies, flavored water, wine and goodies for the humans they also offered massages.  Both for  humans and the dogs; below this tall, dark and handsome receives his massage.  Tell me he is not loving this?

We got there early and after we arrived it was a steady stream of people and dogs coming in.  I was actually very surprised at the turnout; even as we were leaving there were still folks coming in with their dogs.

Yappy Hours is offered Thursday - May 5, June 2, July 7, August 4, and September 1 from 5 to 8 p.m.   There were a great number of dogs and the only squabble I heard was Luke having words with another male who was intact.  All the dogs were wonderfully behaved and having a great time socializing; as it seemed the humans were as well.  A great event; I will definitely attend next month.  Nice to step out for a glass of wine surrounded by breathtaking scenery and bring your dog to enjoy it as well.   

Human behavior

As per the norm; a quick trip to the park and I have my topic for the next days blog.  Yesterday I had the poodles out together, a little different but Jessie was sound asleep when I was getting them ready and I hated to wake her.  We got to the park and did a ton of sniffing on the way in.  Luke is not use to going snail speed so he spent his time sniffing everything in sight.  I typically take Luke out separately because he can handle and needs more exercise than Tilley but sometimes it's just good for both of them to walk together.  So there we were the three of us at the park.

We had just walked by two absolutely adorable Shih tzu dogs that we regularly see at the park.  The two were tied to a tree while their owner worked out on some very cool outdoor gym equipment.  They seemed very sweet and were silent; obviously a bit intimidated by the bigger dogs but gave a tiny wag.  We were just about to round a corner when I looked back to see a woman who was not the owner of the dogs bending down to pet them.  They were fine with her petting them and jumped about happily.   But then she held her arms out looking like she was planning on picking them up and they both lowered their body posture and moved away.  The woman continued her approach; both arms held out in front of her planning on picking one of the dogs up.

I watched as the owner got up and went over to the dogs.  The other woman who was obviously a stranger to the dogs continued with her quest to pick up a dog.  The dogs were freaking out at this point; the woman was standing up looming over the dogs with her arms out and she had on black gloves.  One of the dogs whipped around as if it had given a nip or snap and the woman stopped her approach.  The owner had never stepped up to stop this situation, she should have.  Seeing that her dogs were quite distressed at the idea of a stranger picking them up she should have stopped it immediately.

Why had this stranger not noticed or understood the clear body language of the dogs?  We are not born with the innate understanding of dog communications but running away is pretty clear even in human terms.  But she chose to ignore the dogs attempts to keep her at bay and continued to pursue the dog.  This type of thing may not seem like a harmful event but it can have fallout behaviors.  It is imperative for an owner to stop this type of thing from happening to their dog.  It is our job to protect our dogs.

No one should EVER pick up someone else's dog.  Everyone should learn how to properly approach and touch a dog.  At the vets on Friday I asked the technician if she could inform the Veterinarian to assume a sideways approach when entering the room so as to not trigger a defense response from Luke.  She said that he typically ignores the dogs when he enters a room; also a great behavior and it worked well for Luke.  Of course there are dogs in this world that would love nothing more than to be picked up and cuddled by whoever, but those are few and far between.

Most dogs have boundaries, much like we do.  A head on approach, standing upright with your arms out is about as bad as it gets, other than all out running straight at a dog.  I know many people who lean right in to kiss dogs on the face or give them a big hug, this is very dangerous.  Dogs deliver a great deal of information with their body and if we read it correctly we will understand what they are saying.  Don't just dive in blindly; read and respect a dogs boundaries.

More on dementia

I am writing a book on Dementia; it will discuss our ups, downs, twists and turns.  The form will resemble that of a journal I guess to help those who may deal with it or have dealt with this horrible disease.  Like Alzheimer, dementia can strike randomly.  We would have never thought that our little tank built, sharp as a whip Jack Russell would have been hit by it.  Once feisty, tenacious and very dominant girl has been transformed into a lost soul.

This is the first dog of ours that has suffered from dementia; although a couple seemed like they had it as they got older but once you see it you know that a little confused is not dementia.  Jessie has very few agendas now; not long ago she was driven by food, movement and dominance.  She still likes her food but comes no where near the gusto of just a few months ago.  Her prey drive is all but gone; there have been a few sparkle moments but they are minute to what was once a very driven little dog.  And the dominance is also but a memory; there have been a few stray attempts but mostly it is gone.

Everything has changed in a matter of months.  Many hours are spent wandering; pacing and searching for something that she cannot find.  There are strange things going on in that little head now; most I cannot even guess at anymore.  She still takes comfort in my arms but can typically be found away from the rest of the family.  This is one common symptom of the disease; preferring to be alone, not a typical dog behavior.

Not only has Jessie been stricken by dementia but her sight, hearing and sense of smell are almost gone.  Her hearing is the worst; she can barely hear a scream and even at that I think it may be the vibration she is feeling and not hearing at all.  She is steadily getting worse; not at a fast rate, more like a snail pace but worse none the less.  It is sad to see a once vibrant force to be reckoned with succumb to this disease that literally sucks the life from a dog.  On her moments of energy it is good to see her come to life about meal time or walk time.  It truly is the little things.

Sniffing

As I said on my FB page yesterday; I was on a walk and spotted my blog inspiration for today.  I was out with the girls doing our snail walk when we spotted a lady coming our way with a nice black lab.  I was just about at the car and Jessie found an amazing scent.  She was stuck there for some time, getting as much information as she could.  I waited and watched the lady coming our way with her lab.

He started to sniff and she angrily yanked on him, he hunkered down.  With his ears back he shot a look at her and sort of ducked.  He was obviously anticipating more yanking.  She grabbed his collar and tried yanking him away from the spot where he'd planted himself.  He had no intention of moving away from the scent that he had found.  The owner was growing angry; she walked behind him and shoved him with her feet at the same time as yelling at him.  I could not understand why she wasn't letting him have a sniff.

Many trainers will tell you not to let your dog sniff; they need to follow along with you and not be indulging in their sniffing.  WRONG; dogs need to sniff, it's what they do.  I do not think that you need to stop at every single  bush or pole, after all you make the rules right?  But part of those rules must be taking some portion of your walk and giving it to your dog.  Even if you are a marathon runner; you can do both.  Allow your dog sniffing time at the beginning of your walk; then get your power work out in.  Often I want to do a really great exercise session of speed walking; of course that means I have Luke with me and not the girls.  We move out and if he attempts to sniff I tell him "let's go."  He understands what this means and we move.

Sniffing is imperative for dogs; especially when they are old like my girls.  It is what makes their day; so while they sniff I watch and like today I got my inspiration for this blog.  :)

Melanoma in dogs

While I had Luke at the Vets the other day for what turned out to be a spider bite; I had the Vet look at a couple of spots that have grown on Luke.  Being that we have three senior dogs; respectively we have lots of lumps and bumps.  Several have had me concerned; but after being tested they were nothing.  So Luke has had a spot on his face and on the back of his neck.  Both bumps have not changed a lot; so I wasn't freaking out, but wanted them checked.

I learned something new that day; almost all Melanoma found on the skin of dogs are benign.  Although if located in the mouth, foot area or rarely the eye; the Melanoma is typically very aggressive and malignant.  Humans often form melanoma from exposure to the sun; not dogs.  The cause of dogs who form Melanomas is unknown other than genetics and environmental factors.

As dogs age they naturally form bumps and lumps that often are just that; harmless bumps.  But it is always best to have them checked out.  I did and I'm really glad; now I know that they are harmless little bumps so I don't have to worry about these ones anymore.  Below are some great sites with lots of information on Melanoma, both benign and malignant forms.


Animal Cancer Center

Natural Dog Health

Vet Cancer Care

36 years ago

 It is my 49th birthday soon which will mark 36 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 36 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 21 years ago; which I cannot believe, but sure enough it was.  And in those 21 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.

New Vet

Not the way I like to go about looking for a new Veterinarian but I was forced to find one quick.  I have a Vet that I like a lot but she is a good 40 min. drive and my close Vet up and moved.  He never told me he was leaving; I heard it through the grape vine.  So I called this morning to find out about his replacement and the replacement was not there, so I looked around to find a new Vet.  The reason I had to find a new Vet today and first thing this morning was the fact that Luke had a very swollen foot.

We came home lastnight from dinner to find Luke frantically chewing his foot and limping.  I had no idea what was going on with his foot so got out my glasses and lay him down to find out.  After much proding; he looked like he had a very swollen foot.  He was in a great deal of pain and would not stop licking it.  So I decided to give him a pain killer, put him to bed and call the Vet first thing.  Hmmmmm; but who was I going to call? 

On the computer and surfing like mad to find a new Vet I came across one that is literally 3 minutes form my house.  It is a big facility that has a boarding kennel and does rescue as well.  It is fairly hidden; I guess that's why I'd never seen it.  Like I said I didn't have much time; so I made an appointment.  They fit me in early which I liked and the staff was very friendly and efficient.  One of the biggest differences from any Veterinarians offices that I have visited was the food in the lobby; it wasn't Science Diet.  I was amazed and thoroughly iimpressed; it was Orijen, the food that I give my dogs.

Luke was much more at ease than normal; although he was drugged up on painkillers.  He only growled once and that was at one of the techs that he'd already met.  It's all about approach and entry for Luke; so when the actual Vet came in I shuffled Luke as he came into the door.  Luke didn't growl and my now new Veterinarian ignored Luke, nice.  The Vet asked me many questions about Luke; gave him a thorough exam and finally checked his foot.  His prognosis was spider bite. 

We've been through this before and hope that it does not turn out to be the same drawn out sage of pain and wounds like Tilley had years ago.  But we found a great new Vet and we'll be back.

Correction

I love this photo of Luke listening to his Dad. 

How long has the term correction been used in the dog world?  I'm not exactly sure but in my books; far too long.  I have tried very hard to eliminate it from my regularly used terminology when discussing dog training.  Let's have a look at the term first.

Correction:  punishment intended to reform, improve, or rehabilitate; chastisement. 

For those who use the term correction to mean a yank on a leash; it gives very little information to the dog except for "don't do this."   I've probably used this example before but here goes.  I remember being on a float during a parade a couple of years back.  One of the woman who had brought her dog was having issues because the dog was nervous and barking.  There was another trainer on board, a conventional trainer.  His solution to the problem was to correct the behavior; meaning yank on the dogs collar.  The woman sheepishly obliged; which did nothing because she barely yanked.  He grabbed the collar and gave it an almighty yank, the dog yelped, his ears went down and he was then fearful of the man in the float, charming.

Often the fallout of a correction is fear and the dog learns not to show emotion.  A dog that stops displaying how they are feeling is a scary situation.  As a positive trainer; displaying is what I'm always looking for.  I want to see how a dog is feeling about everything, that's how we get it right.  Instead of yanking a correction on your dog's neck; use a verbal error marker, I use AHHH or WRONG.  Each dog learns what this means, basically "you got it wrong, try again." 

Picking out small behaviors to reward works far better than yanking.  For the pulling dog; reward like crazy when they are not pulling.  Keep their mind occuppied while on a walk, busy, busy.  When they start to pull you stop the walk, pulling = no walking. 

Yanking is a horrible thing that we humans have learned to do over the years.  I try very, very hard to never yank.  Unless of course it is Jessie on her harness because she can no longer hear me saying anything.  We communicate far more through touch and tugs now.  Poor little gal.  Dogs are not robots; they are very much living, breathing beings with their own mind and own agenda.  Teaching them what we want is our job; and positive reinforcement always works better than punishment training. 

Awwwwwwwwwww how cute

This morning I was out at the park with Luke; we were early again and like the other day we saw dogs that we don't normally see.  A nice woman and her two tiny dogs walked past us, a Dachshund and a little Chihuahua type, small and black.  We both commented on a new water fountain at the park which Luke had decided was a giant water bowl and she moved on.  They walked ahead of us and as I watched the little ones; thinking how cute I noticed that the smallest of the two was not being cute.  He was jumping up biting his owners leg; with no reaction from her he latched onto her pants.  After he'd finished with his owners pants he started on his long bodied buddy.

Funny how the little ones get away with murder.  If that had been a big Mastiff grabbing hold of the womans pants; well she wouldn't have had her pants on for long.  Her ignoring routine was appropriate; and in time the dog would perhaps eventually given up.  Hopefully before he tore a hole into one of her favorite pairs of pants.  Unless of course the tugging of the pants was rewarding in itself; so there lies the tiny dog getting off scott free routine.  Ignoring won't work when you have a 150 pounder latched onto your pants.  Training is in order.

I have been called out to homes numerous times because of the "dog peeing on the floor."  Almost every one of those cases was a little one.  Many people have a very difficult time getting angry at small dogs.  Small dogs have an err of perpetual puppy about them; or at least that's how many humans feel about them.  Small dogs often succumb to the small dog syndrome, that of being treated as a non dog.  Sad very sad.

Each tiny dog is just that; a dog and deserves to be treated as such.  They love to run, jump and play like the big dogs.  They need just as much training as the big guys and have as much if not more gusto for life.  So; step back and have a look at that little guy, that's one great dog in there.  Just waiting to come out and play with the big boys. 

Simple

Dogs; simple yet amazingly complex and wonderful. A mosaic of emotion, body language and facial expression wrapped up into a fuzzy, or maybe not so fuzzy singular representation of the canine species. Each as individual as the next; and yet as a whole a labyrinth of parallel generalizations. Yes there are many common denominators surrounding the species itself, but when broken down into minute pieces,very different indeed.

Where am I going with this blog? No where specific, but as my day yesterday was a discombobulated mass of technical mess* I headed to my dogs.  I sat outside watching them in all their simple glory.  Don't get me wrong; I am in no way stating that our dogs are simple minded.  On the contrary; our canines are exemplary geniuses.  The meaning of  "simple," that I am referring to is this:  unaffected; unassuming; modest, free of deceit or guile; sincere; unconditional.  A dog is simple at it's best definition and a dog is quite simple to love.

I watched as Tilley lay on the grass enjoying the warm sun on her old bones.  Jessie lay sound asleep; secure in her own yard and Luke was at my side watching.  I let out a huge stress sigh; which was immediately addressed by Luke.  He came and nudged me; they just seem to know.  And with a simple touch from a wet nose; everything was put into perspective.  Stupid technology; it drives me crazy, and there I let it lay at that.

I wrapped my arms around my boy to enjoy the simple things in life and after much snuggling I scooped up Jessie and we headed in for some couch times.  Ahhhh; the simple things are the best things in life. 

*Not one, but two computers were down today.  I have my laptop up and running better than ever thanks to the Geek Squad but still await news on my desk top, here's hoping. 

Constant nagging

Yesterday I had Luke out for a walk in the park. There were more dogs than usual and dogs that we had never seen before. It was Easter Sunday so routines would haved changed for many people. We stopped and talked to a woman who had a 15 year old shepherd mix; she was making sure that he got out for his walks everyday, nice. We dodged a little tan scruffy dog that wanted a piece of Luke and then we walked by a dog who, was being nagged.

The nagging (persistently recurring; unrelenting)was in the form of collar yanking and meaningless words. The words were meaningless because they were falling on deaf ears. The dog had no intention of obliging what his owner was asking, let alone listen to her words. And the yanking was to give the words power; which it did not. The woman grew embarrassed and frustrated by her dogs lack of acknowledgement. She repeated "sit, sit, sit, sit and sit, followed by the constant yanking.

It was clear that she was fearing our approach and did not have a handle on her dog's behavior. So Luke and I made a big arch; the wise thing to do. And as we passed she praised her dog, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. So what was she praising? I would imagine she was praising for the lack of display, surely it was not because the dog was doing what it had been asked to do. Praising a dog for not going off on another dog is great; if and only if that is all you expected. If you have asked for different behaviors which have been refused then you need to be careful where you place your praise.

The best recommendation for a situation like this is to forget asking your dog to perform a behavior that it clearly is not going to perform. Asking for a sit when a dog is highly aroused takes a lot of pre-training. And to expect it without a great deal of training is just setting your dog up for failure. This dog was given direct commands which it refused and then was praised, this was mixed signals at their best. The yanking (which I abhor)only added fuel to the fire. The constant physical pain and annoyance would have made the dog only more aggitated.

The best thing to have done would have been to keep the dog happy and occupied as Luke and I walked by. Using lots of food or other type rewards and made the situation a positive one. "Oh look; when another dog walks by you get to have fun and or treats." This equates to dogs walking by is a good thing.

If you suspect that your dog will not do what you are about to ask, don't ask. It is best to get a handle on the behavior via many training sessions before asking. If you constantly ask and don't receive, then what do you think your dog is learning? Yep, these words meaning nothing.

Our actions speak volumes, and if we aren't careful they are volumes of mixed garble. This mash of instructions mixed with human emotion made for a message that was doomed from the start. Before you act; take control of yourself. Before you speak, think. And as always; lead by example.................chill.

Talking to the animals

How many words can a dog learn? Have you ever consider what your dog understands as far as human terminology? If you know your dog really well you should be able to see when they understand a word. All of my dogs respond to many, many human words each with their own little visual recognition twist. Luke is again the easiest to read; his responses are more demonstrative making it easier to see if he understands.

All the dogs know everyone's name in the family. I can tell each one to go and see a particularsomeone and they will; of course Jessie is not cannot do this now. I try to teach them new words all the time, even as seniors their learning capacity is large and they are more than willing to give it a try.

When you teach your dog the meaning of our human words it opens up the ability to communicate more readily with them. Take a crazed barking pack; my dogs often go off when someone comes in the door. If I tell them it is just Nicole (one of my daughters) then the barking changes dramatically from guarding to excitement barking. Which is much more tolerable.

If Luke won't eat his meal I will tell him that I put butter in it. He will then go and check out his meal, what a guy. I don't really know how large their vocabulary is but I know they understand alot and I am always teaching them new meanings of words.

Some newer ones are airplane, your grass (I planted a special pot for their eating enjoyment), bird, ice and beach. Each time we do something I explain to them what is going on. "We are going in the car to the park." "Go have a drink of water," "anyone hungry? I'm going to feed the dogs" I constantly talk to the dogs because repetition is the secret to creating an understanding of words that they hear on a regular basis.

Because my dogs understand so many words it can be difficult to tag a new behavior with an associated term as it may mean other things to them already. I have actually gone days before putting a verbal meaning on a behavior because I've had a difficult time finding a word that is new. That or finding a word that I will remember; I really forget easily so it has to be something that will stick in my head as well.

It is nice seeing how much a dog can understand. Talk to your dog; they are listening a lot more than you probably think.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to everyone. Hope you all have a special day today with your pooches and families. Please be sure to keep the chocolate out of reach, this day and Christmas are the most common days for food mishaps and our dogs.



I'll see you all tomorrow.