Les Poochs

Monday we hit the beach and hit it hard.  It was a very low tide day meaning that we were going to get messy.  I wore my rubber boots and I'm glad that I did because I had to save the ball several times after Elsa and her Labrador friend ran out into the water with it and forgot to bring it back.  By the time we were done Elsa was completely soaked and filthy and a simple brush and blow out was not going to cut it; she was going in the shower.

I was recently sent several samples of Les Poochs dogs shampoos and conditioners to try.  For this bath I pulled out the Vitamin Enriched Conditioning Shampoo for Females on Elsa's body and the Puppy Tearless Shampoo for Females on her head.  Having the tearless shampoo makes washing near the eye area much less stressful.  Both the shampoos had a wonderful smell making the sudsing up process quite enjoyable in the shower.

Rinsing out the shampoo I could tell that her coat was really clean.  There was no gunky residue left, it felt light.  After she was out of the bath and given a blow out her hair was luxuriously soft even before being brushed and she smelled wonderfully fresh without a harsh perfume sort of smell.

Then it was Luke's turn, we were able to wait until the next day for Luke as he'd only gotten his ankles wet the day before.  So into the shower I chose Pooch Bright formula which is a concentrate so you don't need much.  It's purple, really purple and as I poured it onto my hands to apply onto Luke's coat it turned into a lavender color once diluted with the water.  The lather was as they say luxurious, it was so soft and soon he was covered in it.

After Luke had his blow out he looked amazing.  He'd had a dirty ting to him lately as it had been a while since his last bath, that was gone and his gorgeous apricot coat was glowing.  I love this purple shampoo.

Several weeks ago Elsa was in need of a bath once again after partying a bit hard at the beach.  To wash away the funk from the beach I used Les Poochs Tearless and finished her off with the La Pooch Creme Rinse with natural botanical extracts.  It kept her looking and smelling great until she ran in the low tide just the other day.

The feel of the dogs coats after using the Les Poochs shampoos was really clean and light.  Their coats dried to a maximum fluff and smelled great.  Now let's see how long until the next bath.

It's gotta say something

Sometimes even a "bored" shot is great.

As a dog photographer I am constantly on the look out for something being said.  That something I'm looking for is emotion; I don't care what emotion it just has to have feeling.  As long as a photo says something to me then I'm happy.  I hate empty photos, those posed shots that hold no emotion, nothing said.  I'm a candid shooter specializing in action photography; freezing a moment so that we can enjoy it.

Simultaneous interest

 

Never ending interactions.

Lots being said here, dominance, aggression and ball guarding all rolled into one.

I have been very lucky to have my own pack to shoot on a daily basis.  It has recently changed from a pack of four to a tiny pack of two but these two have more "saying somethings" in a few moments of a day than many have in a month.  Both Luke and Elsa have very expressive faces which I love to capture.  When I am out at the park or beach I love to catch posturing, communication and athletic action.  When I'm out with my own guys it puts a limit on how much I can shoot as I need to supervise there actions first.

Very serious about being serious.

Of course when I'm on a shoot I get to shoot specifically what I'm there to shoot.  It might be a party that I've been hired to shoot (those are a blast).  It may be a connection between an owner and their dog.  Perhaps some rescue dogs that are looking for a new forever home or specific shots I'm looking for.  When I shoot for magazines its either a breed specific or behavior specific that I'm shooting for so that can take a great deal of patience.  Both in that finding the dog and waiting for a particular behavior takes time.

In a single shoot I can easily click off 300-800 shots; very few of those get to stay, even fewer get the privilege of being shared.  Shooting moving candids; capturing life as it unfolds takes patience and timing.  Yesterday as I tried to capture images of Elsa fresh out of the shower it was nearly impossible.  She was zooming so fast that I thought I might not even get one good shot.  Often dogs are facing the wrong way; of course this happens often and as I move around to get the action they too move.

Lightening speed.

I'll do what it takes to get the shot; crawl around in the sand, mud or grass.  Lay on my back in the middle of a park, crawl under a dock, climb a tree or ladder, you name it.  An image that causes a feeling is a good image; which makes photography a very personal thing. One that says something to me may say nothing to you.  You may look at a photo and absolutely love it; the same photo may leave me flat.  It truly is in the eye of the beholder.

I'm considering heading to the beach today without my dogs.  I'm struggling with this, as a dog Mom I know how much they adore the beach but as a photographer I want to get some good shots of other dogs without having to constantly for my guys.  So I will pack up my camera bag, take a huge breath and lock the door behind me taking that walk to my car without my dogs.

Have a great day;

Raining

Tuesday morning rain; they called for it and it's here.  We hit the beach this past Sunday; early so it wasn't too crowded although by the time we left it was filling up.  As we left I said "if it rains this week I'm going to the beach."  An odd statement for most but when its raining, not too many people go to the beach.  So once I check out the tide charts we'll head off at the appropriate time.  After we get back I believe it is time for a bath.  I figure if the dogs are going to be wet anyway they may as well have a bath right?  I really wish that I had a waterproof camera but alas I do not.

Rain is a funny thing; some dogs hate it, others don't even seem to notice it and then there are the ones that love it.  My guys are fine in the rain except for going out to go to the bathroom.  Running full speed down the beach with the rain soaking their coat and filling their eyes is cool but taking a step out the back door to relieve themselves is altogether different.   Elsa really doesn't care about the rain, she has fun on her agenda 100% of the time so rain doesn't bother her.  Luke on the other hand will stick his head out the door cautiously as he thinks that he possibly smelled rain as I opened the door.  Once it is confirmed he lets me know that he has actually changed his mind; he doesn't have to go anymore, he is good for now.

Many dogs in California hate the rain and I always got lots of calls on those days.  "Sherri, he just won't go out," or "she just peed on the floor, right in front of me."  True some dogs would rather go in the house or literally explode before going out in the rain.  The solution is to go back to kindergarten, go out with them and reward them for going out in the rain.  Why not?  Wouldn't you rather just give them a treat than clean up the floor; worse still, the carpet?  If they really, really hate to go out into the rain then reward them for doing it.  Besides if you are standing out there with them it can't be that bad right?

Back in California was the worst because it so rarely rained that it was quite shocking to the dogs.  I got use to going out in the rain with them so that they would go out.  I remember Jessie walking the few steps that she had to go to get to the grass; she would tip toe with her eyes squinting and her body seemingly painful with every drop that hit her, ridiculous really.  She would move at a snail speed as her entire body recoiling in disgust from this wet stuff falling upon her.  Once she was in and dried down she would tear off like a maniac.

I love the rain, I always have.  Give me a good thunder and lightening boomer and I'm in my glory.  So we will enjoy the rain today and take advantage of everyone else not enjoying it at the beach.  Then it's scrub time, stay tuned for puff pics.  Have a great day, wet or dry.

The mount

Not the actual mounting Golden

The sun is just coming up and I've been up for nearly two hours already.  Dragging myself out of bed before 5:00am which is actually before 4:00 am was brutal.  Even Elsa wasn't so keen on getting up.  I hate this time change; not only is it tough to get out of bed in the morning the already fleeting days speed by even faster.  Until my body adjusts I will suffer along with the rest of you all.  Good morning.


Mount -
 1.     to go up; climb; ascend: to mount stairs.

2.

to get up on (a platform, a horse, etc.).

3.

to set or place at an elevation:

Mounting; a common occurrence in dogs but unless one if breeding a pair of dogs it is a highly undesirable behavior.  Mounting can be rooted in several different categories.  Many puppies mount others because they simply don't know what they are doing.  They can become over stimulated and mount another dog.  It is harmless but nonetheless should be stopped.

Another reason is abnormal behavior; I see obsessive mounting in a large number of pet store dogs.  You've all seen them, the dogs that latch onto stranger's legs, other dogs and pretty much anything that is mountable.

Then there is the dominance issue.  Yesterday as we left the beach we were clear off of the sand and nearing the parking lot when I heard a commotion.  I walked closer to the sand to see what it was all about; there was a large male Golden Retriever and he was mounting just about all the other dogs.  It was a good thing that we were not down by them when this was happening.  As social and forgiving as Luke is; mounting is not something that he allows and nor do many dogs. 

Mounting use to be a common occurrence in our home.  Jessie being the very dominant little thing that she was would mount the other dogs whenever she felt the need.  If they were getting a bit rowdy and she didn't approve, she'd mount them.  She was only 15 lbs so it wasn't a full body mount, just a leg mount.  The fact that the other dogs considered her to be the leader they allowed it and understood what it meant.  Later on as they got older they would sort of laugh it off.  Even still I would always step in and stop it.

As far as mounting people or strange dogs; it is a big no no.  Even within one household it can become a huge issue and lead to many problems.  I see people at dog parks allowing the behavior and it is very dangerous.  I would say that mounting is probably one of the most common fight initiatives.  

As I watched the Golden try to dominate everyone on the beach it was sad.  This one dog was ruining everyone's time and you could see it on the faces of the owners.  DO NOT ALLOW MOUNTING.  I remember many years ago when I was at a dog park to shoot different dog behaviors.  There was a man in attendance with his small black scruffy dog, it looked like maybe a Lhasa Apso mix.  The dog was going through all the dogs on the small dog side of the park and mounting them; really aggressively mounting them.  There was growling and biting as well.  

One other gentleman who was not okay with this went over to help his dog, he was pushing the mounting dog off with his foot.  Well this started a very heated human argument.  The guy who owned the perpetrator thought that his dog had every right to mount whomever he desired.  Wrong.  He said "'that's what dogs do."  That is what dogs do and it leads to serious fights, even worse.  

Mounting can be a behavior that is commonly used with bullies.  It can be something that a dog has been allowed to play out with their overly indulgent owner.  Then again it can be a retaliation behavior brought on by a challenge.  Mounting is not restricted to males, in fact Jessie was a girl; a very dominant girl.  No matter what starts it; STOP IT.

Spring ahead

Spring ahead.........hmmmmmmmmmmm, not typically a fan of this time change.  It makes it so much harder to get up in the morning although today when Elsa got up at her regular 6:30 it was nice to think that it was actually now 7:30.  But like always I feel like I am ripped off with time.  I didn't blog early today because we decided to hit the beach before the crowds came and it was beautiful.  Chilly crisp air and glorious wind, I love the wind.  Especially when my dogs have enough hair to shoot blowing in the wind.

The red line shows  how hide the tide goes up.  We spent most of our time to the far right.

The beach was great this morning, low tide gave us three times as much beach.  If you can only make the beach during hide tide hours the beach is so much smaller.  I took this shot today to show you all what the beach looks like and realized how much bigger it is at low tide myself.  There are only a few more weeks on this beach and then that's it so we will be enjoying it.  Have a great day and I'll catch you all tomorrow.

Get'n their grump on

Good morning; I've got yet another beach blog.  Basically my beach blogs are replacing all of my park blogs; so much happens when you put so many different dogs together that I have lots to write about with each trip.  After checking the tide charts early yesterday; low tide was either very early or evening.  I opted to forgo my workout at the gym and hit the beach early. I love asking Luke if he wants to go; he was waiting on my bed as I held his head and lifted his ear.  He already knows at this point that I have something good to say.  "Do you want" is all I get out and he's off the bed jumping around like a puppy.  Seeing this Elsa charges for the stairs, they know.

It was really windy and very chilly, nothing like the 70 degree weather from the day before.  Happily there was only a few other people out this early; before 7am is a good time.  We walked onto the beach; no one was in close proximity.  Way down the end of the beach you could see a small group of people and their dogs.  It didn't take long for my guys to see them and off they went.  I could make out a PWD (Portuguese water dog) and probably a doodle but couldn't quite make out the others except that one was huge. 

Elsa hit the group first wriggling through the group she causes quite a stir but no one seems to ever get mad.  I was nearing the group as Luke got there and I worried immediately about a very large St. Bernard mix; he looked very dominant.  As I've said many times before Luke is not a fighter, he's a lover but pushed he will not back down.  They had a moment but I called Luke out immediately; lingering in that stiff place can lead to no good.  It is important to never pull a dog out frozen state, as it typically leads to a fight.

Watching this very large dominant and Luke was interesting.  It seemed that they both understood the situation yet had nothing to prove.  They kept their distance so the situation remained neutral.  The dog approached me and sniffed at my pouch which contained treats, he then froze and gave me direct eye contact with a lowered tail.  He was fearful and just realized his proximity to a stranger; not a good situation.  Before he could let out a warning bark at me I defused the situation by calmly turning and directing my attention elsewhere.  His owner saw this and called to his dog telling him to knock it off.

So we head down the beach with the group as I kept a close eye on the big guy and Luke.  Elsa was charging around with anyone that would charge with her.  The PWD grabbed her ball on a toss and she was after it to get her ball back.   I could see a man with his dog down the beach coming our way.  The dog was swimming after his ball but when he made his way out the owner was in a panic yelling "ball, ball, ball."  The dog was running around the beach and the man seemed to be frantic about it.  As we wandered further we got closer and closer to the swimming dog.  Elsa noticed him first.

I could see by his body posture that he was not in a friendly mood, it is was very clear.  Elsa loves to meet everyone and is a very talented communicator.  She immediately read what he was saying and was ready to rip at a moments notice.  He was grumpy alright; his posture read true.  Any dog that ventured too near his ball felt the wrath.  I quickly got Elsa's attention onto her ball and threw it down the beach as far as I could; we needed to distance ourselves from this guy.  Luke steered clear of this guy; there was just no misreading what he was saying.

The man who owned the dog seemed to have no control over his dog and was relying completely on the dog staying with the ball.  He shouted frantically "ball, ball, ball," once again as the dog left the water.  Dogs like this really should not be out in public off leash.  This beach is one of the very few areas where people can let their dogs off leash so that means that dogs will always be wandering over to this dog as he exits the water.  As we walked past the dog and his owner I heard a fight in the making behind us.  Turning around I could see that it was the PWD and the woman owner was running to get her dog out.  She hooked him up and head down away from the "ball guarder."

       

Come................PLEASE COME.........................COME

Having an 8 mos. old puppy with high drive can be a challenge; having her come when she is highly stimulated, nearly impossible.  Here in Connecticut the dogs are allowed on some particular beaches to run free until March 31st.  That is when the ball drops and there is no more fun on the beach, at least where our dogs are concerned. Just the other day when I decided to go to the beach at what I thought might be an off hour: kid pick up time from school I was very wrong.  Being that it was in the high 60s with the sun shining and the fact that Mar 31st is sneaking up on us very quickly it was packed.  It was also low tide which draws the crowds; there is  more beach then.

It was like a smorgasbord of dogs as we picked our way through them.  We always try to hit the "small groups" first; sort of a warm up session before diving into the thick of it.  Elsa played happily for a while when she got sight of a big buff yellow lab charging through the water after his ball.  At best Elsa is not reliable on her recall in high distraction areas; at worst she is deaf, I mean completely deaf.  Under perfect conditions she has an amazing recall; she flies towards me so fast that I often think that she is going to run right through me as she jams on her brakes at the very last moment.

Elsa is a retriever, she has very high drive and for some reason she loves to watch the boys play.  She considers everyone with a chuckit in attendance as her own private chuckers and will chase anyone's ball.  Although I must say that when she picks up someone else's ball that I can yell out "drop it," and she does instantly.  The owners always smile at this because balls are constantly swiped at the beach.  So there she was attached to this big boy who was doing his best attempt at ignoring her; she doesn't care.  When the owner pulls back and prepares to launch; Elsa is in pounce position.  The two side by side ready to go after it.

The owner of the gorgeous lab is obviously there to exercise his dog, not mine.  He fakes a toss to the right and Elsa bolts off.  He then calls out to his boy that he is tossing the ball in the water out ahead.  The dog charges off as Elsa is on her way back; she charges in after him but stops as the boy scoops up the ball.  I try several times to call her and seeing that she is at her "deaf" point I stop calling.  Continuing to call now teaches her to ignore a call.  So I wait; she is completely involved with this dog and his activity, she's loving it.  The dog doesn't seem to mind too too much that she is his shadow.

After a good length of time I call just her name and "ball."  She actually looks up for a second and is redirected to her chuck it.  I now have her attention and toss the ball for her.  On her return she spots the big guy again and drops her ball at my feet as she charges off once again to follow him.  I have to admit he did look pretty amazing charging through the water after his ball; I understood why Elsa wanted to be a part of it all.  So there are no more attempts at a recall; I wait patiently as she slows down and calmly walk and hook her up.  She's had more than enough exercise and we need to leave.  Being that leaving is a negative in itself you should never ever call them and then leave.  Teach them a word like leash which is what I use or simply go get them.

Calling a dog when you know that they are not going to come can undo a great deal of work.  We do most of our training at home or under mild distraction environmental situations.  At this point I want success and it is imperative to know when there will be no success.  We are not at the consequence level yet.  In about a month we will start working on consequences; if she doesn't come then I'm going to get her.  She will learn that it is a much better outcome if she herself comes  in lieu of me going to get her.

When I do have the need to go and get her there will be no anger, just matter of fact and seriousness.  When your dog is off leash you cannot force them to come to you, you just cannot.  So making sure that they like to come is very important.  If they don't want to come then they simply are not coming.

The Spleen

I wanted to talk about the Spleen this morning.  Jessie had her spleen removed when she was only 6 years old.  There are still questions about why the spleen was removed but at the time they opened her up to do exploratory surgery they said that it was enlarged.  About a year later I was discussing Jessie with a good Veterinarian friend of mine and she informed me that depending on the anesthetic that was used it could have been the cause of the swelling itself.  When Jessie was operated on they had no idea what they were looking for.  A possible blockage of some sort, tumor, something that didn't look right.  After all the poking and probing it was decided that she had an auto immune disorder.  Disorders of the immune system can tax the spleen but was it the cause for the swelling?  That we will never know.  What I do know is that she did just fine without it as she got older.

The dog spleen function:  Vet Surgery Central

The spleen is a large organ that helps with blood filtration and storage.  Dogs can obviously live without their spleen as Jessie showed but for the best optimal health they need it.  It is like a reservoir, called on when needed.

After Jessie had her spleen removed the only warning I was given was that she might have a more difficult time dealing with infection.   She never did have any infectious issues and lived to be fifteen and a half years.  She was on prednisone for many years but was weaned off for the last couple of years of her life.  We saw no change in her after taking her off of the tiny dose that she had been on.  We did have Jessie tested several times for Addisons which came back negative.


Splenic masses - Veterinary partner

Splenic masses ACVS

It was a splenic mass that took Tilley from us.  She was doing so well for a 14.5 year old dog.  Tilley was able to play with Elsa even though she struggled with her Vestibular disease affliction for two years.   A couple of months before we left California I had taken Tilley to the vet for a full blood panel.  The vet that I went to saw nothing wrong with her results, a bit high in the white cell but nothing to worry about.  (Had this been the beginning of the mass?)   That same vet asked us not to return because I had asked to be in the same room with Tilley.

I then took the results to a different vet who as soon as he saw the results said that she had an infection somewhere.  She was put onto antibiotics and did very well.  She was more back to her old self with a spring in her step.  Once we moved to Connecticut we started to notice a decline in her, I thought the move had taken a lot out of her.  After all she was 14.5, old for a standard.  That fateful morning she was acting odd, not herself.

After had been outside, my son carried her in stating that she just wasn't walking.  She lay on the bed in the kitchen and I cupped her face in my hand, it was cold, really cold.  I knew right away that something was wrong, then she went blank in her eyes and passed out.  She did this several times before we got her into the car and head to the vets.  

After all of the tests it showed a mass on her spleen, Tilley was bleeding internally.  She'd lost a lot of blood and was just hanging on.  

Sadly splenic masses take the lives of many older dogs.  I'm not going to go into more details as the above articles are very informative.

Loyalty

A very good friend of mine sent me an email yesterday; it was filled with images of dogs and people, the subject was loyalty.  The images were most definitely touching, heartfelt type moments captured and portraying the very essence of the relationship that many of us have with our dogs.  Just this morning while my husband was eating breakfast we were discussing my second bout of poison ivy on my face when he said "Luke and Elsa don't care."  No they don't and I'm glad of it.

What is loyalty anyway as far as our dogs are concerned?  For me loyalty is having a constant shadow; where I go, my dogs go.  It doesn't matter what I am doing; they are there to do it along with me, by my side.  At 11.5 Luke is slowing down, it is sad but true so I often tell him that I'm coming right back.  It pains me to watch him get up off the couch to follow me upstairs when I'm just turning around in a moment.   So I tell him "I'm coming back," and he is getting it.  Of course it is tough for him to stay put when he sees Elsa fly up the stairs after me.  I will often come go to him and have a good snuggle after I come back down making it well worth staying put for him.

Now that we are in Connecticut I bring my dogs with me much more often.  I will NEVER bring the dogs in the car if it is even remotely warm but have enjoyed taking them to lots of places in the Connecticut winter.  I also don't bring my dogs with me if I'm going to be lingering for any length of time.  Being an overprotective Mama; I don't risk anything with my loved ones and that includes my dogs.  They give me their loyalty and I give them mine.  It goes both ways, or at least it should.  Funny how we never think about it that way.

It is all about connection; for me there is nothing better than the connection between a human and their dog.  When I'm out and about I see it often; I also see a lack of it as well.  I hate when I see the lack of a connection and think about what the human is missing out on not to mention what the dog is missing.  The other day I was at an open new open space walking my two when I glanced over into a yard that was on the edge of the field.  There was a dog house and sure enough that wooden box had the telltale chain attached to the back steps that lead inside.  I couldn't see the dog inside but knew it was in there.  Really?

The whole scene boggles my mind; a dog house with a dog chained inside?  What is the point?  Neither party involved with this scenario is extracting anything but sadness from it.   The scene before me was like one out of the history books, something I'd not seen in so very long.  I know that it is a reality for many dogs but I'm just not witness to it often making it a shocking reminder that not all humans are loyal.

Our dogs are loyal beyond belief; even when their humans are not, a dog will give us their all.  But loyalty should go both ways; we owe our dogs as much as we expect from them.  They are truly mans best friend but sadly the human race has dropped the ball as far as dogs best friend.

When I sit on one of our big leather chairs; with Luke on my lap, his head buried under my chin I often think about the people and dogs who don't have this type of connection.  Loyalty is good thing.  How lucky am I to  share my life with my dogs?  They were brought into our family as strangers; but within a very short time we are one.

If all humans could be as loyal as the canine, just imagine.

Brakes

We are putting on the brakes here, backing up and rebooting the rules.  For those of you who have been reading since the addition of Elsa to our pack you know that she came in like a tornado.  She was never the meek one, always running, going and going.  So we quickly established rules; mostly waiting rules.  Since we moved and with the loss of our two dogs things sort of slackened a bit.  So at nearly 8 mos. old we need to pull in the reins and re-establish.

The biggest one for me is the in and out door bolting.  When we started her life with us with the door rules it was easy; it was just the way things were.  Then we moved here, I got a little lazy with my mind elsewhere for a bit and Elsa discovered squirrels.  So now when I open the door to let the dogs out the back it is like a stampede.  Not cool with  me, I like order.   She is wonderful at the front door, she knows that she NEVER goes out unless specifically asked, its the backdoor to the fenced area where she loses it.

Pretty reliably there are squirrels, birds or chipmunks out beyond the fence when she goes out.  Because of this she tries to get out as fast as she can before they leave, makes sense.  But she takes Luke out often, wipes out herself and generally is out of control.  So yesterday things changed, we are back to the "I don't think so" door rule.  That means no matter how long the door is open or how wide; she does not go out unless I say so.

This means that I can wait until her pupils undilate and her body posture relaxes.  Then and only then will she be allowed out.  As puppies get older they can become bold, rude, obnoxious, annoying etc etc.  It happens to the best of them but by establishing rules you can minimize these not so lovely traits.  We will be working very hard on the door today; lots of going outside and back in again.  Elsa learns rules and routine at an amazing rate so I have no doubt that we will be back on track within a couple of days.  It is hard when a dog has high drive and there are squirrels everywhere just outside the door; taunting, just asking to be chased.

Control, it's all about control, hers and mine.  

Beachy Sunday morning

The poster beach girl

The beach is a blast

Shaking off a splash

Can you tell how much she loves the beach?

A true water retriever

Getting much braver in the water.

These two just met; you'd never know it.

A poodle cling on

Luke does a great deal of standing, watching the goings on.

But sometimes running with the pack is fun.

Elsa's new BFF, a lab/hound mix.

Meeting the big boy water retriever

He's just as fun as the other guy.

FUN

Between playing Elsa retrieves, never a motionless moment

Ooop maybe one, waiting for the throw

Playing water sports is really helping with getting Miss Elsa use to the water.

The beach was filled with fun guys

This little tyke was so tiny and submissive yet not a push over.  Here Luke is testing the waters.

Chill'n in the water just because.

Sunday

Have a great Sunday; see you all tomorrow morning.

Take your dog

With all of this crazy weather lately I been thinking about how so many dogs are left behind in emergency situations.  Take Katrina; how many dogs were left behind to fend for themselves?    In Southern California's big fires there were many dogs were left behind.  There are always stories of people running for the hills without their dog; I simply don't get it.  I understand when there are times when it is every man for themselves; things are unfolding too quickly to gather anything but yourself.  But there are times when the whole family gets together and heads out as one but without the dog.

Everyone should have a plan; in an emergency, take your dog.  Never, ever leave your dog behind.  This might mean that you are forced to sleep in your car for a night or search longer to find somewhere that will take both your family and your dog.  I keep extra leashes in my car and collars.  If I ever had to pile them in during an emergency situation I want to make sure that there are collars and leashes.   How many stories do we see on television where people left without their dog or dogs?  Don't do it.

Its not only emergency situations when dogs are left; many people losing their homes for financial reasons are abandoning their dogs.  Can you imagine picking up and moving but leaving your dog?  I most definitely cannot.  There is no reason for leaving a dog behind in this situation.  Losing a home is heartbreaking and often the last straw in a very sad chain of events but leaving the dog behind without thought of their safety or well being is just not okay.

Be prepared; have a meeting place and go over the plan often with your family.  Things happen and when they do; do not forget about your furry family members.  Take your dog.

For those of you who are in the path of the tornados; stay safe.

TGIF

Its Friday once again and like most of you, I'm glad to see the end of the week.  We had a couple of rainy days this week which is no fun with a 7.5 mos. old puppy; a high energy one at that.  She is always on the go; she is a "why walk when you can run?" sort of girl.  So keeping her occupied can be a challenge on a rainy day.  With the rain I've been trying to finish my book PBJ & me.  I will do that today; it has been an adventure writing it, like living the original all over.  I will wrap it up today and then ship the last part to my editor.  From there I will reread the entire thing and then it's off to the printer and will be available for whomever would like to read it.  I'm very excited to be so close to finishing because I've got more books to write.

Wednesday it was pouring; the idea of bringing the dogs to the beach was not a great one.  Just imagine two giant sponges.  So we did indoor games.  Elsa played with her Kyjen toy for a bit then when she was done with that she pestered Luke until he gave in a played.  They played for a good hour, amazing to see him at 11.5 years old playing like this.  I really wanted to get to my book so I went on a hunt to find the KONG  I have several versions around the house but was looking for the original.  This thing has been in our home for years and years.  I can't even remember when I bought it; it might have been way back when with Mandy, my airedale.

So I got the Kong, dug through my homemade cookies to find the exact one.  I took the perfect sized cookie, squeezed the Kong as hard as I could and jammed the cookie inside.  A tiny piece was sticking out of the large end, just enough to entice.  I threw it onto the dog bed for Elsa and that was that.  I was amazed how long that thing occupied her for.  She was at it for at least an hour until her eyes slowly started to shut.  Of course they weren't shut for long, the moment I make a move she's awake and following me.  "What are we doing now Mom?"

The rain was still coming down yesterday and with the grass as soggy as grass can be, chuck it games were out of the question.  I sat looking at the dogs looking at me.  They followed me upstairs, downstairs, into the kitchen and back to the computer.  They wanted to go somewhere.  The beach?  Really?  It was cold and raining, not pouring like the day before but more like drizzle.  They gave me those eyes and I folded.  "Do you want to go to the beach?" I asked them.  Immediately they both ran to the steps that lead down to the front door; standing in anticipation and looking back at me.  

I'm glad they talked me into it because it was one of our best beach trips ever.  It was cold with a constant drizzle, the wind had kicked up which meant not many had ventured to the beach.  When we arrived there were three dogs on the beach; two other 7 mos. olds and a older lab.  The dogs had a blast and seeing Elsa run with the other two puppies was like seeing the sun come out.  She ran with an Italian Spinone and a Boxer/Poodle mix (first I've seen).

Luke wandered around, he watched the young ones playing and joined in a couple of times.  They played hard for a good half hour, Elsa even got rolled several times playing so hard with the other pups.  Then Luke caught sight of a PWD down the beach and wandered down to say hi.  Elsa and I said our good byes to the young ones and went to join Luke.  The Portuguese Water Dog was doing some retrieving practice and as Elsa ran up she jammed on her brakes; not sure if this all black dog was friendly.  She is very good at reading other dogs and never runs in before making sure.

She was a nice PWD but not into playing so we chatted a bit with the owners and then set off to the parking lot.  I knew that Elsa would be completely crashed later on.  We got home, blew all the sand out of their coats with my forced air dryer (which I could not live without now) and had breakfast.  That was that, two sleeping dogs for hours while I worked on my book.  Glad they hauled me out to the beach.

I hate this dog

"I hate this dog."  "This dog is driving me nuts."  "What's wrong with this dog?"  These are all phrases that I've heard far too often.  Much of the time the owner is completely at fault.  For lack of a better term, they failed.  They never trained their dog, never gave them an education, were absent through the formative months and now have a dog that was left to their own devices, to figure out life on their own.   Other reasons that I hear these statements are that the wrong dog is in the wrong home.  This again can have many different angles; many distinctive causes that lead to the same result.

When we look at the all of the dogs in the world there are so many to choose from.  More often than not, prospective new owners see a breed that catches their eye.  Not that the dog was acting perfectly, had an amazing temperament or inner quality that they loved but by their outward appearance.  Perhaps it looked like a tough type dog, maybe it was as cute as a button, distinguished in appearance or scary looking.  I have often told people when I was out and about with Jessie that they did not want a Jack Russell.  "She's so cute," they would state when they met her.  They'd seen several on television and thought for sure that this was the dog for them.  After several quick and easy questions I would inform them that they really did not want one.

How many dogs and owners lead a life of frustration because they are mismatched?  A lot.  Sadly there are dogs that come and go, breeds that are fashionable; the "in" dog to have.  Herding dogs are a big problem when put into the wrong life.  I have worked with many "herding" breeds that were absolutely amazing dogs; the problem was that all of their spectacular herding talents were high up on the undesirable traits in this particular family that had chosen them as their dog.  A nice little family, living in a quaint new development with 2 children and no yard.  They desperately wanted a dog and loved the look of the beautiful Australian Shepherds that they saw on television.  Not surprisingly it isn't working out.

These problems are not exclusive to purebred dogs; on no, there are mixed breeds that end up in the wrong places as well.  Even shelter or rescue dogs can end up somewhere that they should not be.  I've seen many people looking for their next wonderful dog at a shelter or adoption event; they are looking at all the different dogs and stop on the one with two different colored eyes.  "This one, I want this one;" the woman says to her husband.  They take their new dog home; the one that was the cutest and most unusual looking.  After only weeks of living together the woman is ready to throw in the towel.  The puppy is so high energy and with such a elevated degree of intelligent that the she simply can't cope.

I worked with a family where the Dad had wanted a huge Alaskan Malamute.  He'd seen them somewhere on his travels and thought that it would be a perfect fit.  Unfortunately he called me after the fact; his very large male was 10 months old, living in the backyard but running the household.  He had too much energy, too much attitude, a very dominant temperament and a tiny yard to release it all.  It was a sad situation because he was simply in the wrong place with the wrong family.  The house keeper who's job it was to care for this big boy was petrified of him.  It was an accident looking to happen.

Sadly there are times when people think they want a dog and even after acquiring one, they really do love it.  But they work long hours, they socialize long hours and truly don't have time for a dog.  The dog is left alone to figure it all out.  An alone dog is a sad dog; often labelled a bad dog.  They have no guidance, no companionship, no energy outlet, nothing.  So they make do as dog will and for that they are bad.  It  may not be that it is the wrong dog; it is just a dog with needs that are not being met.  The same dog in a different environment might be a superstar; perhaps with some training and guidance they could be paired perfectly.

Dogs are work, a lot of work and when people get a dog as a "token" object it does not work out.  A family can be complete without a dog (of course not my family); not all families need a dog.  Many families should never have a dog; it just is not a fit.

Dogs have personalities, different temperaments, varied levels of drive and intelligence; they are by no means a one size fits all.

These are a few of my favorite things

Probably one of my absolute favorite things is to walk with my dogs.  I of course enjoy doing this off leash if possible but if not I will enjoy the on leash version.   Not surprisingly, there are not a lot of photos around of me with my dogs; I am after all the one behind the camera most of the time.  But now and then my husband grabs the camera or shoots with his phone.  These photos are a couple of the few that are around of me with the dogs.

There is a certain feeling of calm when you are out walking with your dogs.  

Witnessing your pack have fun is fun in itself. 

The simple joy of enjoying each other

I often see people out walking alone, without dogs; a most foreign and lonely concept.

Sharing the magic.

A dog by my side.  Does it get any better?

The little one learning the ropes on our walk.  

Heel..............really?

My son heeling with Tilley, many years ago.  This photo was used for an article on Positive Reinforcement published in Off Lead & Natural Pet Sept 2005

As I said in yesterday's blog, I'm going to write about an incident at the beach and elaborate on it.   We'd had our fun on the sand and were heading back to the car when to my left I heard a commotion.   I stopped and glanced over; what I saw was a man having a fit at his dogs, one in particular.  He was walking two large and boisterous Golden Retrievers, it looked like two males but I'm not sure of that.  The man was yelling very angrily; then he stopped, yanked on his dogs really harshly and slapped one on the rear.  When I first noticed him he was yelling "heel, heel, heel."  Now I can almost guarantee that neither of the dogs knew what heel meant.

Does your dog know what heel means?  I cannot count the number of times that I've asked this question.  It is so funny to see people shouting out "heel, heel, heel" when their dog has no idea what heel means.  I use to run into a gentleman walking or being dragged I should say by his two dogs at the park.  As he walked by and his dogs lunged at Luke and I he would shout, "stay, heel, stay, heel."  I always walked by laughing to myself.  When someone shouts out an untrained heel command in attempts to get some sort of control and they are usually very frustrated.

FACT:  Dogs do not come to us loaded with the knowledge of a great heel.

Heel is one of the tougher behaviors to teach; it is not a simple act like sitting or lying down.  It is continual and they must learn to stay at your side as you move about.  Not only must they follow along in the appropriate position; they must also sit when you stop.  This means that they need to being paying attention; this is probably one of the most difficult things to teach.

Watching the man at the beach in such a state of fluster and frustration sucks the fun out of it all.  When I get to the beach I expect bad behavior; not crazy bad but over excited bad, heck we're at the beach.  The dogs know what the beach is, they know that fun is just down the sandy walkway.  I do not allow them to drag me to the beach and I do demand control; out of control dogs are never good.  We make frequent stops on our walk to the beach, they sit and get a treat. The dogs must sit before being released and wait for their release word.  But all of this is work, hard work that takes a great deal of patience, calm and time.

When someone becomes flustered by their dogs behavior it fuels the dogs excitement.  The owner is in fact displaying the same unruly behavior that the dogs is.  The owner needs to get a grip before they can attempt at a grip with their dog.  Now, asking your dog to heel when they have had no heel training is just ridiculous.  I am currently working on heel with Elsa, it is tough work.  We are working in non distraction areas still and will move to minor distractions once she is more solid.  I'm not much of a heel walker myself; as long as my dogs are not pulling, I'm happy.  But I teach heel because I like them to know that being by my side is a good thing.  I also teach my dogs to go to heel position when they are away from me.    I often use the "finish" and "swing" when out with my dogs.  Both are behaviors where your dog learns to go to your side.

The fact that this man had Goldens with him and was losing it was even sadder.  Goldens are extremely intelligent; I often tell Golden owners to just give their dog the obedience book and let them read it.  They learn quickly and are typically very happy to comply.   If you do not take the time to teach your dog how to act then you cannot expect anything but a lack of knowing how to act appropriately.    If you have not educated your dog how to walk by your side under high distraction environmental surroundings then DO NOT ask for something that is just going to frustrate both you and your dog.  Looking for obedience at this point is futile.

The beach

Ahh the beach, it takes but one trip to the beach to collect several blogs worth of behavior material.  Yesterday was no different; there was a wealth of happenings to talk about.

Driving down the narrow roadway and slowing our speed; we crossed the whine zone.  This is when the almost inaudible sound is emitted by Luke.  The tiniest of cries can be heard, but only if you are listening for them.  It almost like a heavy exhaled breath with a whistle on it.  Even though he knows long before we get to the narrowing road that we are going to the beach, he waits for close proximity to start the whining.  I think the point of crying is the spot where he is beginning to lose it; the reality of our destination is simply too exciting.

Once we finally get to the beach the dogs must wait to be hooked up and then we head out.  They are so excited that they can barely contain themselves.  Through the fenced sandy path we finally get to the open beach and have a look around.  We usually enter midway so that we can choose either left or right.  Luke is released first and runs out; turning around, he waits for Elsa's release.  She has learned that she must get enough control of herself to sit first, then wait for me to calmly unhook her.  As she's free the two run off some steam immediately.

Next it's onto socializing, being the weekend yesterday there were way more dogs than during the weekdays.  There was a large pile of dogs to the left, too many for my liking so we steered them away from that crowd and moved right down the beach.  I chucked Elsa's ball for her and she charged off after it with a feisty Jack Russell going for it alongside her.  The Jack made it first scooping up Elsa's ball; but not only did this little munchkin steal the ball, she told Elsa off as well.  She ran down the beach with Elsa in hot pursuit.  The tiny albeit mighty Jack was leaping and growling at Elsa and Elsa gave it right back at her.  After all this was Elsa's ball; and the little dog was being quite nasty about the acquisition.  It was the first time I've seen Elsa get angry at all.  Finally the Jack decided that the angry ball of fur wasn't worth the effort and dropped the ball.  Elsa scooped it up immediately and we moved on.

We ran down some great open beach until we came across a huge big lab mix digging a hole.  There was a small Manchester terrier looking mix leaping around the labs head barking and barking.  It was all in good fun and the lab didn't seem to mind the enthusiastic commotion from the obviously much younger dog.  The big lab stopped long enough to say hello to both Luke and Elsa and went back to his hole.  I am always very cautious around dominant males as Luke tends to draw attention to himself being the confident guy that he is.

We passed a herd of dachshunds which Luke took the time to meet.  There was also a large black hairy dog in the mix that Luke went to say hi to as well.  Luke is a very social guy, he is very confident but not a fighter.  He carries himself accordingly, he has a high and proud stature and because of it is often challenged.  More often than not he will simply walk away, he's much more a lover than a fighter.  When pushed he will not back down, but he will never throw the first punch.  

As we head further down the beach we lingered in some alone time.  We had a big stretch to ourselves and quickly enjoyed it before we had company.  Glancing over my shoulder to the left I saw a Rhodesian coming our way, a very large and very dominant female.  She locked eyes onto Elsa, tail high with a slow but deliberate pace.  "Oh, oh, she's going to give her a lesson" I thought to myself.  None of this hopping around the beach like a butterfly.  Elsa ran over cautiously, wagging like crazy she was obviously not what the grouchy old girl was looking for as she turned her gaze past Elsa to Luke.

She redirected her steely stare to Luke; he noticed immediately and approached her just as slow and upright.  They met standing neck to neck; rare for a male/female encounter but she obviously owned this beach and was going to let everyone know.  I watched for a second before calling Luke; standing too long in this position can not lead to anything positive.  You could feel the tension; Luke was not backing down to any girl on the beach.  Being the lighthearted guy that he is; he bounded off in my direction when I called him.  You could almost see the grin on his face as he kicked sand in her face as he left.

In most everything that I do; I try to always "quit while I'm ahead."  So with a wonderful trip to the beach we started towards the car; but not before running into another bunch of dogs.   There were three dogs coming our way, a beagle mix, a scruffy sand colored terrier mix and one that I could not make out.  From a far the shape resembled a small Vizsla; but the color was wrong, it was white.   The tail was docked so it was most likely a breed but it had me stumped.  As they got closer I was shocked to see that it was indeed a poodle, go figure.  I never see poodles shaved down like this.

She immediately let Elsa know that there were to be no niceties.  She froze and growled deeply; Elsa quickly  hopped away happily.  Luke approached her cautiously seeing right away that she was not the warm and fuzzy type.  She gave him the same message and he too turned and followed Elsa off happily down the beach.  We had a quick chat with owner; she said the dog was actually a labradoodle, it certainly looked like a poodle.  I guess the woman had got her when she was older but her tail was docked and she looked exactly like a poodle.  The dog growled at my hubby so we took that as our final cue to leave.

Walking through the parking lot to my xterra I was stopped by a commotion.  A man was walking his two very large Goldens to the beach.  He was yelling at them and stopped to yank on one, screamed closer to the dogs ear and slap him on the rear.  Hmmmmmmm (Blog tomorrow on this)  Have a great Monday everyone.

leave it

Tilley waiting anxiously for the "okay."

Good Sunday morning, I am sitting in bed blogging; I have a hot cup of coffee and a bowl of plate of chicken caprese sausages.  Luke is asleep at the end of the bed and Elsa is about 6 inches from the plate.  A couple of days ago I talked about "drop it" so I thought I'd discuss "leave it" today being that the dogs are in fact leaving my sausages.

Luke of course would not think of taking the sausages off of my plate; he is far to wise an old man now.  Elsa on the other hand would love nothing better than to snatch  my plate of food and scarf it down.  The fact that she is learning to have food in such close proximity to her and not eating it is amazing.  Especially for a dog like Elsa as she gets those intense sheep herding eyes on around food.

This morning I did not use any verbal commands or cues; I simply put the plate of food down and expected that she not touch it.  She is learning quickly.  Of course if I turned my back for a second she'd probably go for it but she is only 7 months old.  We like to eat dinner or snacks while watching movies in the family room; this means that our coffee table is often filled with easily accessible food.  It makes for great training sessions but you must be on high alert at all times.

Saying the word.

Do you mean it?  You said it; but are you serious?  If you're not then forget about your dog listening to you.  Often when we make rules and regulations we sometimes let things slide; but there are a few behaviors that should never slide.  One of the least trained behaviors is "leave it.  It is essential that each and every dog be taught and understand what "leave it" means.  It's not easy for some; those who are not into sharing or have a high drive can find it difficult.  But all dogs can learn and perfect the "leave it."


The secret to this particular behavior is to make not taking something a good thing.  In the beginning of the training you are going to make it easy; really easy.  Dogs learn very quickly when they have success; so the most  infinitesimal progress will be rewarded.    The leave it verbal cue is to be used before your dog picks something up in their mouth.  So if your dog already has an item in their mouth; you would use "drop" or "drop it" which I covered a couple of days ago.   To teach the "leave it" behavior you begin by putting a low value item in one hand.  In your other hand that is held behind your back you will have reward treats.  The item that you are going to have your dog leave can be a toy; but preferably food, if your dog likes food that is.  Before opening your hand and putting it in front of your dog you say firmly "leave it."  You cannot allow your dog to take the item at anytime; you have to have really fast reflexes.


If your dog attempts to take it; close your hand quickly around the item and pull it away.  I also use ahhahh in a deep tone.  Then try again; remember to say "leave it" first.  If your dog does not take the item for a split second; praise and reward with a piece of food that you had in your other hand behind your back immediately.  Once they leave it for a second they catch on very quickly.  Dogs learn that they just need to sit there and not take the food and you will keep rewarding them for it; simple.  At that point you make it harder and harder; first switch hands, this usually throws them as the delivery hand now becomes the no no hand.


Leave it video

Once they can do both hands then you move your hand down until it is on the ground to do the exercise.  Most dogs loose it here as well; typically food on the floor is fair game.  Be very on guard; if they actually get the food out of your hand then it is much harder to get your point across.  Next you are going to say " leave it," put the food on the ground and your hand an inch away.  Reward again for a second of not taking the food.  Practice this throughout the day at short intervals and only progress to the next step when you have success at each.

The goal is to be able to drop food on the ground and have your dog not grab it.  If you practice the  leave it behavior often enough and make it beneficial enough for your dog; you may have a dog that never grabs for food dropped on the floor.  A typical response then turns to attention on you and waiting for the okay.  "Leave it" is an amazingly useful behavior; you can use it for many different situations once it is second nature. I will often use it when Luke and I are walking by a pushy type male dog; this averts a leash aggression issue.

For dogs who have an obsessive behavior for a particular object; this takes a lot of work to get to the "leave it" stage.  Tilley was very obsessive for tennis balls or anything that might be tossed so that she may chase and retrieve it.  But with hard work; she learned to leave a tennis ball and even a frisbee, even when tossed.  It is very important to get a handle on obsession in dogs; "leave it" can make the task a bit less daunting.

Giving your dog an education is never a waste; each and everything that you teach your dog makes it that much easier to teach the next lesson.  And this one really comes in handy.

Game time

Last Tuesday a box arrived at our door; I hoped it would be "the toy," and it was.  We had been sent a Kyjen dog toy to try out and review.  I was very excited to see if it would keep Miss Elsa occupied and happy.  It was a couple of days until I really got to give it a try; I read the directions first (which I don't typically do).  Seemed pretty simple, straight forward. 

Knowing that Elsa would be very interested in getting the kibble out of the toy I skipped the introduce, treat step.  I filled the compartments, put it on the floor and sat back with my camera.  Luke had a look first and as I suspected, he went and lay down to watch.

Elsa had a look see; but it didn't take her long to get started.  She knew what was inside the toy, now she just had to figure out how to get it out.

She licked at the hole in the yellow flap and actually got a piece out with her tongue.  Beginners luck, with getting a kibble out of the hole she continued to lick it for a bit.  When another one did not appear she started to nudge, this was probably less than a minute after the first kibble she got through the hole.  

She'd figured the flap thing out.

The flap creates an obstacle of sorts to eat around.  It doesn't open all the way which I like because otherwise she would eat the treats too quickly. 

She slops some onto the carpet and ate those up.

Check to see if there were anymore in there.

And moved around to the next compartment.

Remembering that she got a kibble out of the hole she started with that first again.  After producing nothing out of the hole she started to nudge.

So this was the trick.

Then I made it harder; I turned the red piece around to cover up the yellow flap.  The red piece has a hole in it as well.  She was stumped for just a second.

She began to lick the hole in the red piece.  When that didn't work to produce any goodies she quickly pushed it out of the way.

The red piece must be moved correctly or the yellow flap will not open.

Back to the yellow flap she tries licking again.

She never gave up and kept at it until all the food was gone.

Here she is trying to lift the yellow flap without moving the red piece first.

She got a bit over anxious and flipped it over.  It actually does produce some of the treats falling out of the hole but only one at a time.  I turned it back over then.

After getting the last few pieces of food out of the toy I filled it up again and let her do it all over.  I didn't want to do the review until I had given her another chance to use it on a different day.  So this morning I got it out and let her at it again.  She really seems to enjoy using the game and does not look for assistance.  She knows what to do and gets the job done.  

It is an owner/dog interactive toy; this is not a toy to just hand over and leave.  This toy should be used while you are there.  You need to move the red piece around for those smarty pants types and put it right side up when and if they flip it over.  Once all the food is gone you either need to put the toy away or fill it again.

This Treat Triad would be a very useful toy for those dogs who scarf down their food too fast.  It also breaks up the monotony of eating out of a bowl day in and day out.  

Young dogs can require a great deal of variety in their activities; this is a great one.  Elsa figured it out very fast as I knew she would; some other dogs may be challenged by this.  For Elsa, keeping her focused enough to remember how she got the food is great for her control.  

I offered it to Luke again today to see if he might just give it a try.  He stared at it, so I opened the flap.  He ate some of the food out of it and then I closed the flap.  He stared at the flap, stared at me, stared at the flap, stared at me.  He wanted me to open it so that he could eat the food inside.  Luke has never been one to offer any behavior that he is not asked for.  I knew that he would not use this.  

But Elsa loves it and I plan to use it often.  I will put different items in it for her and make it harder by tightening the red piece on the top.  The toy is lightweight so flipping it is easy; but once they realize how to get the food out of the flaps, they quickly realize that flipping doesn't work nearly as well as lifting the flap.  

Cool toy.