Collars


Elsa in her harness and collar for ID purposes.


Good Monday morning.................. I hope you all had a great weekend, we did.  I was just surfing around the web and came across a site selling collars.  The collars are the production of a television trainer who uses harsh training methods.  He has made the collar to look like something friendly and kind when it is nothing of the sort.  So, I thought I'd discuss my perspective on collars.

A long time ago when I was first into dogs, a very long time ago I used choke collars.  It was what you used back in the late 70s, they were all that there was really.  So I have used them and fully understand them. My experience with choke collars is why I do not use them.  I do not like pinch or prong collars either, I've used them too.  Many people jump to defend the choke or prong collar as a useful training aid, I disagree.  This is my opinion, you don't have to agree with me but I have the experience to back up my opinion.

The pinch/prong and the choke collar work by inflicting pain.  Even the smallest of yanks can deliver the discomfort needed to get the job done.  Both collars also create negative associations which in turn causes fallout behaviors.  Along with the aftermath of a yank comes injury to the neck.  There can be minor injury all the way up to severe damage causing lasting effects.  A dog's neck is a sensitive area.  Much like our neck set on a different angle and more muscled, it can be injured by whiplash effects of yanking.

The front of a dogs neck, the throat area and the area up behind the ear set are the most sensitive.  They have less muscle there to afford them protection so many dogs suffer trachea/esophagus damage.  The constant yanking of a collar on the front of the neck can lead to all sorts of damage.  When put up around the ears as instructed by the site I found this morning, even more damage can be caused.  I often see people using choke or prong collars along with an extension leash, this is a horrible combination.  With the extension leash on continuous extend it is constantly tugging.  Plus the fact that any people don't feel the impact with these leashes as the dog is so far away so that the dog is receiving even harsher impact.  Dogs running around on an extension often abruptly come to the end of the leash delivering severe neck whips.

Even a regular buckle type collar or head collar can be damaging when yanked on.  Just because you are not using a choke or prong collar does not mean that you are not damaging your dogs neck.  If you dog is pulling on a walk then that collar is pulling on their neck.  The whipping motion from a dog on a head harness can be intense, you must take great care not to allow a dog to take a full impact on their neck.

I cannot go over everything about collars in this one blog, it must be broken down into several.  What I want to get across is that our dogs necks are much more sensitive than many people think.  In my opinion dogs should be on harnesses.  There are many types of harnesses out there these days to choose from, I like the Easy Walk harness by premier for normal everyday walks.  But most harnesses take the pull away from the neck which is a good thing.  Although many harnesses create more of a tugging problem so training is a must.  You need to train your dog not to pull, there is no magic 'no pull' pill that you can give to your dog.

Collars should be used for ID tags.  If and when you are going to use it as a walking device then I believe that it should be as wide as possible.  Of course if your dog is like my Tilley was then it doesn't matter what you have on their neck because there is no pulling.  Tilley considered the whole idea of pulling on a leash extremely rude and would never partake in such behaviors.  But is was Tilley who got me to thinking that the neck is not what most people think it is.  Even the slightest of tug on her neck would set her to coughing.  Things quickly changed after the addition of Tilley for us.

I have some really great 2" wide collars that go on my dogs if I am planning to use collars for walking. It is a very rare occurrence as they can almost always be seen on harnesses.  I saw a woman the other day who was dragging her dog away from something the dog obviously wanted to sniff.  He was on a choke collar and she was pulling and pulling.  For some reason we just don't see the affect of this as choking our dogs.  Sadly choke collars can be purchased for mere pennies steering those who 'don't care' to buy them.

So many things in our past 'are' just because they 'have been' for so long.  As we continue our evolution in this world we must do just that: evolve to a better way.  Just because people from the past have said that this is how you do it; or even those continuing to do it today say it's okay, we must be able to see for ourselves that it is not okay.   Be a thinker, be a part of a better evolution for the life shared together; the canine/human connection.

Evolve:  a process of gradual, peaceful, progressive change or development.

I know that I am going to get lots of backlash from this blog, I have in the past.  But I stand strong on my opinion, and you have the right to have yours.




Chill



Watching Luke snoozing this morning on the bed, I'm still smiling after yesterdays little stress moment.  Luke is my stress monkey; always has been and I'm sure always will be.  I realized having spent three full days pretty much stationary with the dogs that I move around a great deal during the day.  I've tried to stay put for Elsa's sake and mine being that I have been carrying her up and down the stairs.  So yesterday when I had both Luke and Elsa in the nice cool family room I had to run upstairs.  I hooked Elsa to a leash that was under a leg of the very heavy coffee table and asked Luke to stay put.  Just in case I put a dog bed in the way so he could not follow me, so that Elsa wouldn't be upset.

I ran upstairs for about a minute and came back down.  Luke is a follower, my constant shadow so I knew he would have wanted to come upstairs with me had I not put the bed on the stairs.  Well, there he  stood in the middle of the family room staring at the bed.  "Why was this bed here?" Now he couldn't go upstairs after Mom.  "What if the bed fell down the stairs?"  This was most definitely distressing for Luke.  I smiled as I lifted the bed and went to sit down.  He turned his head sideways, opened his mouth wide and started to huff.  He did a huge stress yawn and dropped his head upside down into my lap.  I tousled his hair and lay on the floor trying to diffuse the moment.

Our reactions to stress or fear are the most important factor in helping our dogs.  Elsa does not stress like Luke does but she is more fearful of things that she does not recognize.  This is common in young dogs; the older they get the more they learn not to worry about things like this.  I am constantly on "chill" ready with Elsa.  Our reaction to a fearful situation can make or break a moment.  I am also always on the look out for things that might cause a fearful response.

Whether our dog is fearful of a stranger, responding to an unrecognizable object or stressing about a situation, we need to chill.   Our dogs are constantly watching us, aware of our every response.  So we need to keep our response in check, chill even.  We need to go above and beyond to stay cool.  Sometimes it is difficult to be relaxed when we ourselves are startled or frightened, but you gotta do your best.  Your dog is watching you.  The more you ignore a situation the better.  Sure you need to react and act but it needs to be in a way that emits calm, cool and relaxed.

Our dogs are watching our every move.


Feedback



Feedback - a reaction or response to a particular process or activity.  Knowledge of the results of any behavior, considered as influencing or modifying further performance.

 Feedback is important, in fact it is essential in teaching dogs and I am all about feedback.  Ask any of my clients and they will tell you that I nag about a lack of feedback.  When you ask a dog to do something; they comply and you offer nothing in the form of feedback of any kind, you miss a great moment.  Feedback can come in many shapes and forms but the fastest and best way to offer it is in the form of sound.  The sound can come from you, just a sound emanated as no words are required.  It is an instant reaction to an action.

Timing is everything with feedback; it must be delivered at the precise moment to work.  Deliver it after the fact and you miss the mark having lost valuable time.  Feedback is all about information and being that we cannot talk to our dogs and explain it must be delivered at the correct time to carry the much needed information. Catching an unwanted behavior while it is happening is a great time to give feedback; you do not have to wait for the end of a behavior to deliver your feedback.  

 You can also deliver feedback just before an unwanted behavior starts which interrupts the act of the behavior itself.  Alternately you are left with a behavior that was deserted at the curb and you can then fill that space with something good.  For example:  a puppy is heading towards your favorite shoes.  Of course you see this happening because you are supervising 100% of free time, right?  Before they get to the shoes you give an AHHH and as they look to you for further instruction you praise and move onto something else to do, perhaps a basket of toys instead.  

 My error feedback sound for Elsa is a low, mouth closed sort of mmm.  I still use AHHH but it saved for more serious feedback.  Correct feedback is simply happy noises and lots of them.  Because I started giving feedback from the get go with Elsa the smallest sound emitted from me stops her in her tracks.  I try not to use words because they can be used for so much more useful things like tagging a behavior.  The word NO is strictly saved for big offenses in my home.  I actually rarely use it, but used it last night and this morning.  Being human we like to say NO for some reason and it automatically came out when Elsa went to chase a rat last night and thought about diving off the bed this morning.  My husband had put on casual Friday clothes  today and she mistook them for jogging clothing.  Both times I shouted NO there was no pre-thinking, it was strictly an automatic response from me.  

 When you have a new puppy, your days should be filled with continuous feedback.  This is how they learn, good and bad it is all feedback.  Chirping happily as they do all the wonderful things that you like and the low  disapproving sounds to mark errors.  When you start right from the beginning of your shared life it becomes second nature to deliver feedback and your dog becomes accustom to the constant learning curve.  Given no feedback of any kind leaves a dog to flounder around in our human world with no guidance.

 As a canine guardian, it is our responsibility to guide.



Luke is 12 today



Today is Luke's 12th birthday, I really can't believe it.  Being that my normal tradition is to post tons of pics for my dog's birthday I thought that I'd just post last years birthday blog.   If you'd like to see a ton of images of Luke go to the link below.   It has some cute puppy pics all the way up to grown up ones.

Luke's 11th birthday blog

I think that it is fair to say that Luke is the canine love of my life.  There have been a few before him but he most definitely has taken up a huge percentage of the room in my heart.  Love at first site?  Yep, it was love at first site for Luke and I and the rest as they say is history.  This past year Luke has been through a great deal and come out like a champion.  No one can ever believe that he is 12 years old as he charges around at the park.

There is something wonderfully glorious about senior dogs.  They have about them an air of "whatever," not much bothers them and they go through their day to day just happy to be with you.  Yesterday as I tended to Elsa (having just been spayed) Luke followed us and enjoyed in the all day long snacking and snoozing.  At one point I sat watching him on the office floor.  He was sprawled out sleeping when he did two very large stretches and rubbed his face on the floor.  Luke has always loved to rub his face when he is very happy.  He was liking this day of R&R with Mom and Elsa.

He is like all my dogs past and present, amazingly individual.  Luke is by far my most complicated dog.  The best way to explain Luke is to say he is very simple yet complicated.  He is crazy intelligent, over the top affectionate, devoted beyond belief, gentle, emotional, confident and loving.  He likes to pretend he is a tough guy but he is full of mush.  Watching him on Tuesday as he carefully sniffed Elsa from head to tail all the while wagging a low figure eight was heart warming.

12 years spent with this amazing dog?  I'm one lucky lady.  

No babies for Elsa



Elsa was spayed yesterday.  I took her in for 8:30 and had a quick visit with the vet before leaving her. In all of my life I have never had a dog that wagged at the vet.  Each and everyone of my dogs had their own way of displaying the terror that they felt when they had to go to the Veterinarians.  Almost all have shaken in fear, tried to climb inside of me or left their body mentally.  Luke growls and carries on trying to keep everyone at bay; but not Elsa, she loves everyone.  She nearly beat me half to death with her tail as she met each tech and then finally the vet.

I hated to leave her but after her clean bill of health it was time for Elsa to head to the back without me.  I shouldn't have worried at all, she was still wagging as she strut to the back and never even checked to see if I was coming.  No she was fine and seemingly having quite a good time.  I felt good, all the staff there are wonderful.  They give off a very caring vibe which surely makes an owner feel good.  So off I went to wait and worry until I got the call.



That call came just before noon "she's fine," the Vet told me.  She'd done great and was sitting up already.  We discussed a bit of when to pick her up and things I would need to know for the first night.  I let out a huge sigh of relief knowing it was done and she was fine.  We were to pick her up at 5:30 so until then I had to do all my running around for the week.

There is always a moment of sadness when I have one of my amazing dogs altered.  I remember the day I had Tilley spayed, I'd had moments of regret.  She was amazing and would have produced fabulous puppies.  Elsa is an exceptional dog and she too would have had some pretty spectacular babies.  I have no doubt that there would have been a line up of people wanting one.  But I will let the breeders do their job and I will do mine.  Elsa's full sister will be having puppies and those are the same genes that Elsa has.

Steve came home early to help pick her up.  We brought her home on a blanket in the back of the SUV along side me.  I'd already set up our huge LL Bean bed in the family room and she lay down there as soon as we walked in.  Luke came down and gave her the once over.  It was so cute to see him wagging madly as he checked her out.  Then he lay on the bed beside her and put his head down, happy she was home.  In the afternoon I had headed over to the medical supply shop to get some guaze; my idea was to wrap her stomach in gauze at night in case she decided to lick her incision.  What I found was stretchy gauze tubing.  I chose a piece that I thought would be big enough to go around Elsa and the above image is that, with holes cut in it for legs and tail.

At 9:00 we decided to call it a night.  I was sure that we'd be up during the night and we are up at 5:00 every morning.  I grabbed Elsa into my arms and as I carefully placed my foot on each step I was hit with an emotional moment.  It hadn't been that long since I'd been carrying Tilley up these same steps.  I'd done it for months and months.  Realizing how different Elsa felt from Tilley I tried to shake the thoughts away and got back on track.

So that she would not jump on our bed over night we set up the ex-pen.  She wasn't thrilled about it but it isn't that long since she slept in the ex-pen so she quickly settled in for the night. She awoke at 3:30 this morning and I took her out for a much needed pee.  Having not eaten but drunk a lot of water plus the fluids at the vets she really needed to go.  She had gone before bed as well.  Of course she went back to sleep after she went out, me?  Nope.

She has yet to eat, I'll work on that today.  I'm hoping that once she is up and moving around that she will feel some better.  She's a sad girl this morning though.  But as I try to type this she is draped across my lap making her a bit happier.  So here I will sit for some time as she rests quietly.  I was told 10-14 days of quiet, this is going to be a challenge once she is feeling better.  But for now she is not feeling great and is just happy to be home and with Mom.

Thank you to all the staff at Canyon Animal Hospital for taking such great care of Elsa.  And special thanks to Dr. Brower.

Have a great day everyone.



Good morning everyone, I have a very busy day ahead.  For those of you who don't know yet; my book has been released.

You can find it here if you are interested in reading it.

PBJ and me - the adventure that changed everything.

Here is a snippet from the 'Author's notes'


This book details our trip across the country.  December 2011, Brad (my 21 year old son) and I, along with our four dogs left Southern California.  We drove across the country to Connecticut not wanting to put the dogs on a plane.  We were headed to our new life; new home and whatever else lay before us.  It started out as an exciting adventure and quickly turned into something we never expected.  All the details are correct as far as my memory serves me.  It has been a crazy year and this was just a part of it.   

This is book #1 of 2; 2 is well underway.  

Please join me on our PBJ and me Facebook for questions, reviews and chat about the book.  

Have a great day everyone, stay cool.  It's another scorcher here in SoCal.  

He has a dominance issue



"He has a dominance issue."  This is what I was told by the vet techs after they tried to flip Luke onto his back for an x-ray.  All I said in reply was "no, he doesn't have a dominance issue."  I got to thinking about this after trying to get both Elsa and Luke to lay in the pool with me over the weekend.  I have written about how my sweet and very affectionate boy turns into Cujo at the vet several times.  He gets very afraid that people are going to take him away because they have taken him away before.  So in response he tries to keep them away before they can get to him.  Once in and settled he is great, but don't try to manhandle him onto his back.

As I tried to get Luke to lay down in our new kiddie pool with me, he struggled.  I knew he would and was ready to calmly guide him down.  I succeeded and he relaxed.  We have a very strong and trusting bond, but he becomes a little alarmed if I do something out of the ordinary.  Add to that the physical aspect and he grows suspicious.  I will never wrestle my dogs into anything, it makes them nervous.  Elsa was much more nervous about the whole thing so we just stayed at sitting in the pool.  We will move to laying later.

It is quite obvious that the more a dog struggles, the more you struggle causing the dog to struggle further.  So when a stranger tries to hold your dog down as they struggle, it can become a scary and stressful situation for a dog.   Sure there are those who don't care what you or a stranger does but many dogs do care.  I find that the more intelligent the dog is, the more they can become suspicious as to what is going on.  They are the thinkers.

I clearly remember taking Jessie in for a Titer several years ago.  As they began the process the tech wrapped her arms around Jessie and she began to struggle.  Knowing my little firecracker; it was clear that she was going to struggle until she got away.  Stepping in to rectify the situation, I said "I'll hold her."  As soon as I did she was fine, completely relaxed and allowed them to draw what they needed.

Building trust with your dog is essential.  But there will be times when they become highly suspicious with the added physical maneuvering, they will become more concerned.  Calm baby steps is the best way to help them to get over this.  Cutting nails is a common issue with dogs, this is because as they struggle we hold more tightly; causing them to panic from our physical hold.  So baby steps and lots of positive association.

Luke very quickly let me lay him down into the pool.  It was a comfortable position for him, the water was warm plus I was massaging him.  I never ask him to sit anymore, his poor old legs have a difficult time in that position.  So as he lay in the pool with me and relaxed.  Next time he will have a much easier time of it.   Some dogs just think more about things you want them to do.  I have often dealt with dogs who become very upset just as we start training; they grow suspicious simply because they have never been asked to do anything before.

Working through it all with tiny steps to the end goal is how to best achieve success.  Struggling due to a stranger manhandling them is very normal.  I truly do not understand why Veterinarians or their staff do not understand this.  It is one of those things over the years that continues to boggle my mind.  They deal with dogs everyday yet do not understand this very simply issue.  Of course this has lead me to putting another book to write on my list.

Just think about your struggle reflex if a stranger wrapped their arms around you and tried to get you to the ground with no explanation or prior experience in this particular situation.  Yep, it would not be pretty.

Young'ns



Good Saturday morning everyone, it's already heating up here today so I think we are in for another hot one.  I've spent the last week pretty much hibernating in my office with the dogs.  I know they appreciate the coolness inside the house because every time I let them out they quickly go and stand at the door waiting to come back in.  I've been up with the birds to get them out before it gets too hot which has actually been really enjoyable.  There is nothing I enjoy more than walking my dogs when no one else is around.  A close second would be when other dogs are around off leash and everyone is having fun together.

Yesterday we ran into a woman and nice Labrador.  We approached and I asked if Elsa could say hi, the woman said "yes."  We had just arrived so Elsa was supercharged; she did her four footed leaps of delight at the chance to say hi.   Having a young dog with so much enthusiasm is so different from my old dog life.  When I say my old dog life I mean my life just months ago that was based around old dogs.  Tilley still had her zest for life but with Vestibular disease she was vertically challenged.  She slept, boy old dogs can sleep.  They spend hours upon hours sleeping the day away.

Jessie had lost her zest albeit for feeding time.  She was lost in a never ending confusion except when I would call her for a meal.  She would fire up Elsa with her tiny body charging to the kitchen and leaping  with anticipation; but it was a short lived burst of life.   Much of her day was also spent sleeping, that is when she wasn't circling.

Luke had slipped into a 'sleeping way too much' lifestyle.  He'd go for big runs and I'd get him off the couch anytime I could but with the old girls sleeping so much he just joined in.   Things are different now, of course Luke is sleeping a lot because he is almost 12 years old now.  But he is off the couch a great deal more and up hanging out with Elsa.  He is back to his non stop shadowing of Mom.  Elsa follows me constantly so he is back to doing the same.

Before we got Elsa I honestly felt that sometimes I had no dogs.  There was no dog activity, everyone was always sleeping.  I often said "if someone came to our house they would not know that we have dogs."  When dogs get into the "very old" stage it gets very, very quiet.  So, add a young'n and things surely change.  Not only is Elsa a young'n at a year of age she has a crazy zest for life.   She is very much an "I'll try it," kind of gal.  She loves just about everything, every dog and every person.  Her enthusiasm for life is contagious.  I will regularly watch her being over the top happy and smile.  Being that happy is a really great thing.

Having old dogs is wonderful, they are truly the golden years.  There are many moments shared quietly on the couch, just being together.  But having young dogs again brings back the energy; the whole "what should we do today" lifestyle.  I adore every moment, each stage shared with my dogs but after such a long stage of quiet senior days, this crazy energized stage is a nice change.

Have a great weekend with your dogs, no matter what stage you're at.

I support small breeders



This will no doubt be a controversial blog today.  Yep, that's right, I said it.  I SUPPORT SMALL BREEDERS.  Not all small breeders, there are small millers.  I support just the good ones.  I'm tired of people looking down at me and others who purchase our puppies.  Yes I did my research, chose a breeder, purchased a puppy and care for that puppy with every ounce of care in me.  She has been amazingly socialized, is in the process of being trained, is groomed regularly, taken to the vet, getting spayed next week, fed a real and nutritional diet and loved, very, very loved.  So, shame on me?   Am I a part of the problem of pet over population?  NO.


The problem is the big breeders; large and small, the millers.  I for one scoop all the mass production breeders into one big bag of millers.  I don't care if they have the newest, most modern facility to breed their dogs; they are still millers to me.  Mass production and distribution is the problem my friends.  Those who treat dogs as a product instead of the wonderfully intelligent creatures that they are.  Millers who care only for the bottom line, money.  Millers don't have to have a huge facility, it can be right in their back yard. They just keep breeding and breeding and breeding.  As long as the demand is there they will keep the supply flowing.  Disgusting.

Another problem lies in those who just let it happen.  They get a puppy, don't get it spayed and oops.  Or maybe not an oops, perhaps they breed their dog on purpose.  I've talked to many people who have dogs and they so badly want to breed their dog because it would be so cute to have puppies.  Or they want a puppy from their wonderful dog.  Worse still they want their children to experience the whole birth and puppy thing.  Then they are left with a litter of puppies they don't know what to do with.  The puppies get no socializing, no vet care.  So they offer them up to anyone who wants one and the cycle continues.

The problem lies not with the amazing, caring breeders who have one or two litters a year.  The breeders who have the litter in their home, socialize and temperament test their puppies.  No they are not the problem.  They check, double check and triple check a family before placing a puppy with them.  Sometimes they reject a potential owner because they care and are concerned with their puppies future.  A good breeder would never in a million years sell their puppy to a pet store and that is a non-debatable fact.  If a breeder sends their puppies to a pet store then they are a miller and a part of the problem.

Greed - a selfish and excessive desire for more of something than is needed.

Greed is the core of the problem in the whole pet over population, at least with dogs.  Greed is the core of almost everything gone wrong.  Sadly it may be the whole undoing of it all.  Breeders can turn bad quickly, they get a taste of the possibility of continuing money flow and they are hooked. Greed is the big problem.  I know several breeders who started out good and then greed took over.  It is pretty easy to evaluate a breeder if you just spend the time discussing puppies with them.  You may have to visit their home if you have any doubts; of course a home visit is always a good plan.

I can pretty much tell a good breeder from a miller quickly.  Care and concern if the first thing  that is noticeably missing in a miller.   They have a pushy "here take a puppy" attitude.  Whereas a good small breeder holds their puppies close until they are sure you are deserving.  I support those good ones and hope that someday they will be the only ones remaining.  People may have to wait for a puppy but anticipation is a good thing.

With this statement of mine comes the obvious fact that I support rescue as well.  I am a huge advocate of those who rescue and adopt and the tireless volunteers that do the rescuing.   I will most definitely adopt a rescue down the road as well.  But for now I will care for the two I have, giving them my utmost attention and love.

The Recall, AGAIN



RECALL:  to call back; summon to return.

This is probably one of the biggest issues that we have with dogs.  The whole idea around calling your dog to come to you often instills panic, doubt and negative thoughts in general.  Do you call your dog and just know that he or she will not come?  Teaching your dog to come to you reliably takes a bucket load of work and it should start on day one.  Practice, practice, practice.  The whole process is a priming for the big event.

I have to say that Elsa is very good at her recall.  She hasn't always been, when she was just a young puppy she never came when called under fun environmental stimulus which is entirely normal albeit undesirable.  You need to do a great deal of training for the recall, that is if you actually want your dog to come.  Some dogs never get any training around the come behavior.  Their owner simply belts it out every now and again and expects them to come running across the field and into their arms.  Hmmmm.

Extreme positive association must be placed on the word 'come' or whatever word you plan on using.  It makes no difference as to what word you use, but use that one word all the time.  NEVER, EVER put any negative association onto the word.  If you even once call your dog with the word 'come' and then scold it, put them in a crate, leave the park or dog park, leave to go to work then you are placing a negative on your word.  Even one negative association can slow things down or bring them to a complete halt.

If you do make a mistake and as we discussed yesterday; as humans we do make mistakes, then fix it.  If you call out "come" and then realize that you are indeed leaving for work, don't.  Treat your dog for coming, go out into the yard and throw the ball around or play for a bit.  Once you have erased your error with time; go get your dog, bring them in and now you can go to work.  Rectify the mistake.

Seize the moments.  Yesterday when I was out with Elsa she spotted a pine cone.  This was after her chuck it time when we wander around doing training.  She didn't know what it was and put her head down and went to discover.  Her interest was high so I took this moment to practice.  I called her "Elsa come," she stopped on a dime only feet away from the cone and ran to me, sitting right in front like the amazing girl that she is.  She got a few treats, praise and then was immediately released to go see what that thing on the ground was.  Had I not allowed her to go and see the pine cone afterwards then the whole thing would have been negative.  What she learned is that it was not negative, she got the food and got to see what that strange thing was.  This is an essential part of it all, knowing when to not call and when to call and release.

I have taught her to come to the word "leash" as well.  She is always rewarded and then hooked up.  I do not want to tarnish her "come" so I have implemented an additional word.  It may very well become tarnished and not elicit a lightening speed response but that's okay.  It is one of those "it is what it is" things.

So if you have not trained your dog to 'come,' get out there and get working on it.  Dogs don't simply come on their own unless you have created a "coming is a great thing," idea.  

Making mistakes



We all do it, some of course more than others.   Making mistakes, yep it's called life lessons.  I wanted to talk about the fear of making a mistake today because so many people ask me questions and then don't do anything.  The fear of making a mistake is great in many people.  Often they ask a dozen or more people the same question and then remain frozen, unable to take the leap.  Making mistakes if very  human, in fact when I make a mistake I commonly say "I'm only human."  Mistakes are important.

There are many different levels of mistakes.  Some are small, little whoooops all the way up to catastrophic ones.  When we are young we make many more mistakes, it makes sense.  We are suppose to learn through our mistakes so as we make them we should be learning right?  Not always sadly, many people just keep making the same mistake over and over and over.  They never sit back and look at how it's all working out for them.  If you are attempting something, anything really and you have made several attempts with no success; you must assess.

Feeling unsure as you attempt something new can be scary, but it should never stop you from trying.  Take feeding your dog real food; lots of people ask and ask and ask.  They wait years before doing it, afraid that they will get it wrong.  I completely understand this; our society has been brain washed into thinking that we can't just give our dogs real food.  The big dog food conglomerates have drilled into our head that they are the only ones who have the most perfectly balanced food with the precise nutrition that our dogs need.  BS!!!!!!!!

Research, research, research !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No one can know everything, not even close.  But you can learn a great deal by reading, listening and asking.  Take from what you learn what makes you feel comfortable and as NIKE says 'JUST DO IT.'  Sure you are going to make mistakes a long the way, you wouldn't be human if you didn't.

The food thing was just an example; I'm talking about pretty much everything having to do with dogs.  Grooming, training, health or anything else for that matter.  A very long time ago I read a question that my twin brother posted "what would you do if you had no fear?"  It was relating to the things in life that we don't do because we are afraid of doing it wrong.  The "what ifs?"  Admittedly I am a great "what if 'r" but it mostly comes into play when there could be any sort of danger situation, but not always.  Over the years I have made many mistakes and as I get older I have learned a great deal.  It's okay to be a "what if 'r" if it doesn't stop you.  Thinking first is always the best idea.   So many people make huge mistakes by acting, speaking or leaping without thinking first.

I guess where I'm going this morning with this is that we all make mistakes.  Humans make mistakes, bottom line.  But the fear of making a mistake should never stop us from trying.  I've known many harsh type trainers over the years who get work by making their clients feel like they couldn't do it.  As a trainer it is our job to make sure that you can and give you enough information to make you feel like you can do it. Lots of times over the years after being told by a client "I can't do this," I tell them "YES YOU CAN."  We then go through it and make sure that they feel like they can.

When you venture into unknown territory, keep your head down, read and learn.  Then take what you've learned, keep your head up and try.  Life is way to short not to at least try.  





Foolish moves


This is a Weimaraner but not the one from yesterday.  I shot this little pup several years ago, what a sweetie.  


Yesterday I was out with Elsa for a walk.  We headed out very early because the weather forecast called for heat.  I was glad we had because even at such an early hour it was warm when we got out of the Xterra.  We headed first to the field, it is a fenced in baseball field that many people use for free off leash time.  As we went around a corner I caught a glimpse of a mans head and heard him yell a dogs name.  I forget the dogs name now because I was so concerned by the whole ordeal.  He was angry and in a panicked tone called the dog again.  I stopped dead in my tracks as they came into full view.

A man around my age with two weimaraners.   A very large and over weight one and the one he was trying to get hooked up.  After he got the first one leashed he then moved much more calmly to hook up the big boy.  He moved in close to the play structure and away from the path.  I was a little taken back as I thought he would have shouted "there friendly," being that they'd been off leash.  He did not, he pulled his dogs in as we passed.  He was saying "good girl," to the one he'd been concerned with as she lunged and very aggressively barked at Elsa.

Elsa is very cautious about greeting other dogs.  She is not a typical youngster who throws herself at just anyone.  She lowered her head as we walked by and just looked up as if to say "hi guys," and she got a full and clear message.  Her tail immediately dropped and she moved away quickly.  She was still on leash of course as we headed to our field, I can't imagine having her off leash at that point. I never said a word to the man as we walked by.  What I did give him was a long and telling stare.

Honestly?  He had that dog off leash on a path around a corner.  Really?  I was really mad and kept checking over my shoulder as we left the area.  I have worked very, very hard at making sure that Elsa does not have a bad experience before she is ready to deal with it.  When the dog did lunge at her I quickly kicked my "no big deal," mode into gear.  I calmly said "we don't care about that" in a happy normal conversational voice and she was immediately relaxed and okay because Mom was.  Had I reacted in a shocked manner, pulling her leash tight and speeding up my pace she would have gotten a frightened response and reacted accordingly.

As we finally got to our field I checked and checked again that he was no where in sight.  Elsa had her fun and upon heading out I spotted him near the structure again but with his leashes on.  If someone other than me had been walking down the path at a quick pace and not been paying attention it could have turned out very badly.  Just the owners behavior itself explained how his dog typically responds to other dogs.  Dogs like this should NEVER be off leash in public.  Especially somewhere someone is liable to walk by at any moment.  Yes I was brewing, stupid, stupid, stupid.

I just don't understand the risk.  I really don't.  If you know that your dog is aggressive, why would you have it off leash in public?  Specifically in an area where you cannot see other people coming by with dogs?  Leash aggression is one thing but real dog/dog aggression is quite another.   Lots of dogs are really friendly but can display leash aggression. This man showed by his behavior that his dog was indeed aggressive.  There is just no excuse for this type of behavior and he and his dogs are simply an incident waiting to happen.  Which as we all know will be no accident.  

 


Interactions

Upon meeting this grouch at he beach Elsa was given a clear message that he was not up for play.  She took off quickly.  


Yesterday I took Elsa to a local fenced in field area that we go to a lot.  Luke was off on a hike with his Dad, a much needed one on one since the beginning of the Elsa and Steve running team.  It had already started to heat up so we weren't going to stay long.  A couple of tosses with the chuck it, a quick look around and we were going to go home.  After a bunch of tosses and a walk around the area we saw some other people and a dog.  The way the dog was moving it looked like a puppy.  Either that or a not so coordinated type dog.  We went to see.

The dog was off leash and when the owner saw me they hooked him up.  Elsa and I approached as I could clearly see it was a puppy now.  Elsa hadn't played with a small puppy for a while.  I chatted to the owner and his son, this pup was a rescue.  He'd been found on the streets of LA by a friend of theirs.  They told me that they'd lost their other dog which was a Border Collie a year ago, when I asked "was it Patches?"  They looked at me, shocked to see that I knew the name of their deceased dog.  "I was his trainer," I told them.  Small world.  I knew they lived in the area and just took a guess that it might be them; how funny.

We reminisced a bit and then they let the pup off leash to play with Elsa.  I opted to leave the chuck it in its resting place as Elsa would not interact with the puppy if it was out and in use.  They ran and ran; the pup was only around 4 months old so could not keep up but did his best job to herd Elsa.  You could see him in action even at such a young age.  This was a hardwired behavior.  He looked like either an Australian Shepherd or mix.  Cute little guy, friendly with an abundance of energy.  This was great for Elsa.  Even at a year of age dog can always benefit from new canine interactions.  Especially young puppy interactions.

I did several recalls during their high speed chases and Elsa came immediately.  It didn't take long for the two to get very hot so we chatted with the pups owners a bit and then headed home.  Nothing can ever replace the experiences of canine interactions.  Each and every positive encounter helps to make our dogs, better dogs.  Both Elsa and the puppy benefited greatly from the chance meeting in the field.  Even though Elsa has been extensively socialized with dogs ranging in size from the smallest to huge guys she can always use more.  When you get the chance, seize the moment.


  

Time


A very special moment last summer with all my seniors at the beach.  


Time;  a particular period considered as distinct from other periods.  As between two successive events.

Time, we never seem to have enough.  How many times have you said "if I only had a few more hours in a day?"  We all wish there was more time.  For dog lovers like us we wish there was more time for the dogs in our lives.  That meaning that we wish they were with us longer and that we had more time to spend with them.  So how much time is enough time to spend with a dog?  When your dog or dogs live with you as an integrated family member time is easy.  With all the day to day interactions of what we call life there is a great deal of time spent together.  With a daily focus put onto an exercise or social outing it is really very little in the big picture.

Sure you can spend a whole lot more time focused on individual dog time but they don't ask a lot.  I spend most of my day with my dogs.  Where I go they go.  I will often load up with water and snacks to bring to my office so that they don't have to get up.  If I leave for even a second they are up and following me.  For Elsa this is fine but I hate to see Luke haul his old body up just to go down and get a snack and come back again.  Much of our time is spent hanging, just chill'n together.

Take a wolf pack in the wild; they do a great deal of just hanging out.  They are not always interacting and most running involves a hunt.  Wolves in the wild reserve their energy and do not waste it on willy nilly running just because.  Of course they do play and have social interactions as wel; but their life is spent with one another, time spent together.

Time itself is often the reason owners give for needing to find a new home for their dog; they simply don't have the time.  This for me is one of the lamest excuses.  I do believe that there are valid excuses to re-home dogs but not because you don't have enough time.  We all don't have enough time.  Yes there is time required with dogs.  At each different age there is a different demand on your time.  Puppies need lots of supervision and training.  But the faster you get them integrated into the family the easier it gets.  Middle age dogs are great but do need more exercise.  When dogs are well socialized they can also spend a great deal of time joining you on your daily outings.

The senior dogs are where it gets really easy so when someone re-homes a senior I just don't get it.  They sleep most of the day and require very little as far as exercise.  The golden years are special, having just lived through some very golden years with my dogs I would never give those years up.   It is a very special time of giving back.  They give to us for so many years, their senior ones are where we can attempt to give them back even a fraction of what they have given us.

Time is relative; we all want more of it, that is clear.  But time with our dogs?  Priceless.




It's finally done


PBJ and me; an adventure that changed everything.


I am very excited to say that my first book of two detailing the trip from CA to CT and back is done.  When we started the whole process of moving I decided to do a photo journal about my son and my travel across the country with our four dogs.  As most of you know it turned out far different than I had imagine and now one book has turned into two.  With one done my focus is now on #2.  I spent a good part of yesterday working on it and two other books as well.  Looks like in the near future there will be several more books, about different topics though.  When I finished this one PBJ and me it made it easier for the next.  It is all a process and experience is the best driving force into the unknown.  Having done one I can much more easily do the next.  I started writing book #1 in Connecticut; little did I know that one would grow to two.

Through writing, re-writing and tweaking the book there were many tears shed.   Even though it was a very tough ordeal to have to live and relive, again and again it truly helped me to move on.  There are still tears to shed and every so often during my writing I will stop to remember.   I go over each event and relive it to freshen my memory.  Each memory sparks yet another that had perhaps gotten lost along the way with all the craziness.

I truly believe that "life is an evolution of oneself."  With each day, each experience and life adventure you create the person you will turn out to be in the end.  Life is not always rosey; then there are  sometimes that it is very rosey and wonderful.  It is through the good and the bad we call life that we become us.  The smallest of events can play a huge role in our life, just think about it.  A left turn instead of right can make a monumental difference.

My last year has been pretty crazy; I will hopefully finish it off and put it into the past, stored neatly in my memory bank to be drawn on when needed.  The first book was very much a great help in the healing process.  Hopefully the next will do as much.  Right now I am very excited to have finished one and I truly hope that you enjoy it as it unfolds into the next.

Bad dogs. Really?


This is not an aggressive Golden, he was just play stalking when I got his shot.  


An aggressive Golden Retriever, yes.  Shocked?  Many people are very surprised to hear anything negative about a well known and super friendly family breed like the Golden.  It can and does happen.  I have worked with several families who have had an aggressive Golden.  I have worked with an aggressive Miniature Poodle who was very small, white and adorable.  He was wonderful as long as you didn't tell him to do anything.

I met a woman in CT who's dog had been attacked by two Labradors who had been running loose.  They did a great deal of damage emotionally to the dog.   I ran into a very aggressive Labrador myself while in CT at the beach.  He was a typical bully, his owners had not instilled the "not acceptable" lesson with him. Even his dog walker shrugged it off as "ya he does that."  I was appalled as I watched him bully his way through the beach.  I told the dog walker that the bully Labrador's behavior was very dangerous and that he was going to get into some serious trouble.  The dog walker seemed shocked at my statement.  The very buff bully Labrador had decided to pick on a young male Labrador at one point.  The young Lab was a very cute and sweet tempered Labrador.  The bully nearly drowned him when his owner and I decided to vacate the beach.

"No bad dogs." Do you remember this statement?  Barbara Woodhouse   coined the phrase years ago.  Well I disagree, there are most definitely bad dogs just as there are bad people. But most dogs we might consider to be bad have had little or no proper guidance.  Serious problems can be caused by lack of human intervention or incorrect intervention.  People cause a lot of problems when they do not know what they are doing or don't do anything at all.  Take the bully Labrador at the beach; had his owners stepped in and shown him that bullying is unacceptable he may have been an entirely different dog.

Too much of a bad thing causes really bad things.  Take a dog who is overly excited by the presence of other dogs.  If he is given severe and painful corrections through a choke or pinch collar; he will quickly associate that pain to the presence of other dogs making him reactively aggressive.  The same problem could have an altogether different result by the use of positive reinforcement techniques to rectify the situation.

Am I picking on Labradors and Golden Retrievers this morning?  Nope.  I'm trying to get across that aggression issues are not breed specific.  It can happen to any dog, even good dogs with the wrong training or lack there of.  Just because you bring home a Golden Retriever or Labrador does not mean that you get off scott free.  You have the same responsibility as those with a German Shepherd or Doberman to make sure that your dog is well adjusted and taught what is acceptable and not acceptable.

Poor breeding can create bad dogs, dogs with very severe temperament issues.   This can happen with any breed or mix of breeds.   With extensive work from an educated trainer many of the problems arising may be fixable.  Sadly some dogs can never be helped, this is a fact.  There are on occasion dogs that just cannot be fixed.    Yes there are bad dogs out there but most of them are not bad dogs, they are uneducated dogs.  Dogs who have been given either no guidance to help them live in our world or very bad guidance through the use of harsh training methods creating a bad dog situation.  

Must love dogs



"Love me love my dog." This is a famous quote that is often seen written on magnets, t-shirts and plaques.  The general idea of the saying is a good one.  How can a person who hates dogs be with a person who loves dogs?  It is not a good combination for sure.  I know that I could have never married someone who didn't love dogs.  It is really amazing to me that there are people out there that do not like dogs.   Of course they will love dogs as soon as they meet and fall in love with one, it is only a matter of time until everyone is on board.  "You will be assimilated."  You know how it works right?  :)

"Must love dogs," should be a prerequisite to work with dogs.  But sadly it is not.  Many people who work with dogs are just 'whatever' about them.  I've run into all sorts of people who work with dogs who are obviously not dog lovers.  As far as I'm concerned to work with dogs you should love to hang with dogs.  Not simply want to get in on a good thing.  The fact is that real dog loving people spend a great deal of money on their dogs.  There are those folks out there who just want a piece of it.  The whole idea around 'loving dogs' is not a consideration for them; their love is money and they want a piece of the whole 'dog love,' thing.

How do you know if someone you are hiring loves dogs?  It is pretty easy to tell if someone loves dogs right from the start.  Although there are several types of dog lovers.  Two very different groups are the ones who are experienced in dog behavior and those who are not but love them just the same.  The ones who are experienced in dog behavior may stand back and seemingly not acknowledge your dog.  But they will immediately be talking about your dog.  They know how to greet and interact accordingly.  Those who are not experienced in dog behavior will throw themselves at your dog.  The ones who feel that every dog wants a kiss in the face or a big hug.  They love dogs but have yet to learn how to interact properly.

There are people who only love their own dog.  I ran into quite a few of those a couple of months ago.  Walking along the street Luke and Elsa stopped to say hi to a couple of dogs.  The woman holding the leashes of the dogs never even acknowledged our presence.  I left feeling strange about the interaction or lack there of.  Coming back up the street we ran into the same dogs and women.  My guys and the other dogs were happy to see each other again and the woman again showed that they had no time for others.  It was strange.

A dog is a dog right?  Right.  If you truly love dogs then you love them all.  From the tiniest pocket pooch to the giant monster breeds.  From the hairy monsters to the naked coat adorned.  No it doesn't mean that you want to live with every type or size but you love them as dogs.  They are all dogs, amazing creatures no matter what they look like.  I love meeting new dogs and hearing their story.  There are so many amazing stories that one could never finish writing about them.  They are a resilient species, amazingly intelligent, ever comical, committed to defend their guardian or simply stand by your side.

The heart of a canine; what's not to love?

Just dogs with Sherri



It is very quiet this morning, the sun is still tucked far behind the trees and Luke is fast asleep.  Elsa is out on a run with her Dad.  It amazes me in the very early morning how she can go from a deep sleep to running in a heart beat and with such enthusiasm.  Luke has lost that youthful early morning zest and is much happier taking his own sweet time to get up.  He typically is still asleep when I get back from the gym and then some.  I often have to tell him that it is time to get up.  The joys of being a senior.

As I was enjoying my first cup of coffee and watching the crows fly around my backyard I thought about my blog and what to blog about.   I have over the years had questions about my name, my business name that is.  Just dogs with Sherri.  So where the heck did it come from?  I've been Just dogs with Sherri for a very long time.  Before that I was Sound Dogs then Training with Sherri and finally Just dogs.  Sound dogs was a great name when I was just a dog trainer only.  The term Sound was referring to solid, a solid and upstanding dog.  Once trained the dogs then became Sound dogs.

Training with Sherri is pretty self explanatory, right?  Then I wanted something more, something catchy.  I'd been asked so many times, do you do weddings, people or product photography?  Just dogs soon became my default answer.  Sure I've toyed with offering other subject photography but I've stuck with dogs; Just dogs.  Just dogs with Sherri can remain pretty much forever.  Anything that I do, any new ventures business wise are all dog related.

I did consider the negative association with the term Just dogs.  It's just a dog, but I like to think of any negative connotation to the term as another persons problem, not mine.  The negative sense of the term has nothing to do with my Just dogs.  It just doesn't exist in my world, my world that revolves around dogs.  So the whole association only crossed my mind for a fleeting moment and it was gone.  Anyone who considers dogs to be just dogs in a negative is not someone that I am associating with anyway.

So there you have it.  Just dogs came from the simple fact that all of my business is with dogs, Just dogs.  Yes I do shoot other things and I have shot architecture, landscape and food several times but it is the dogs that I am focused on.  Recently when asked if I would photograph a couple for an anniversary with their dogs I explained.  I do dog photography, I am not a people photographer.  My photographs revolve around the human/canine connection.  I do not do posed "smile at the camera," photography.

I read a great article years ago that said that when you decide to venture into a business; choose one thing and specialize.  I took that to heart and chose my specialty, Just dogs.  Whether I am training, shooting, cooking or baking for, walking, playing with or writing about, it is all Just dogs.


Pool time

Here she is trying to get the toy with just a paw in the water. 

Yesterday we got a new pool.  We'd thrown the old one out when we moved, so we needed to find another.  It was not an easy task, we hit all the places that carry them and they were sold out.  Feeling defeated we headed for home; my hubby dropped me off and then went to the grocery store.  When he got home along with groceries he'd brought home a pool, I was so happy that he'd found one.  He got it at the little local hardware store, they always have everything.  

Almost a year ago to the day I published this blog full of images with Tilley and Luke playing in the pool. Elsa was only 2 weeks old and in Ohio when I shot these photos and did this blog.    Playing with Elsa and Luke in the pool was an emotional time yesterday.  We did a great deal of reminiscing over Tilley.   



So you can actually stand in this thing.

My dogs have always loved playing in the pool.  I throw the toys in and they retrieve them.  Tilley was my ultimate water dog, she loved to retrieve the toys from the bottom and kept her toys in a pile once she pulled them out.  Elsa had a couple of pool days last summer to watch how it was done but at the time she had no interest in participating and remained a spectator.  

But yesterday it didn't take her long to figure it all and realize that this activity could really be great fun.  She sniffed around reaching out far to try to get her toys floating in the pool at first.  It wasn't until Luke joined us and stuck his head in that she realized that she could get the toys that had sunk.  She also didn't realize that you could stand in the pool until Dad jumped in to show her how much fun it was.  

Luke joining in the fun with Dad.

Showing Elsa how it's done.  Although he kept trying to get the image of the octopus off the bottom.

She is a very intense sport girl.



She is trying to get the ball out with just her feet.  She pulled it up the side but couldn't completely get it out without sticking her face in.  

Learning to blow bubbles; this is a fascinating step.  You cannot help them, they must figure it out on their own.  Many dogs take a long time to figure it all out but Elsa did within minutes.  

After a full face submerge.


Two feet in and a full face submerge retrieve, success.

Both Elsa and Luke water retrieving.

Luke still trying to get his octopus out.


Elsa waiting intensely for the toy toss.

She was soon an expert.


Elsa waiting for her favorite toy to splash in the pool.  She is always willing to partake in a new sport. Its not a big pool but it sure brings a great deal of enjoyment for the dogs and  those who get to watch.