Over vaccinating

Are we killing our dogs?  Yes, and the statistics are growing.  When my husband got home from a meeting the other night he had much to tell me.  He had sat with some old friends when the topic went to dogs.  One of the guys he sat with had told him about a dog he lost due to vaccinations.  He had taken in a dog from the neighbors on the day they were packing to move.  They didn't want it anymore (another blog) and asked him if he did?  He took the dog and the following day brought it to the vet.  There they filled the dog up with every vaccine possible.  The dog died in the yard the very next day.  The poor dog's body couldn't take it and shut down.   My husband then shared what he knew about over vaccinating and titer testing.  (Am I proud?)  Shaking my head as the story unfolded; I was so sad for the dog.  "How do we let people know?" I asked my husband.  So many still do not know.

This dog and many others die needlessly each year due to pumping them full of vaccines.  Why?  Because the big pharmaceuticals push them on the vets and the vets push them on us.  That is unless you've got one of the great vets out there.  In light of the fact that many of us now know that we are giving our dogs too much vaccines, those very companies that we think are trying to save our pets are  doing even further damage.  They are coming up with new illnesses to use more vaccines for.

I could fill this page with articles on over vaccinating, here are just a few.  

New illnesses, more drugs

Do Vaccinations affect the health of our pets?

Not harmless

Being in the thick of the dog world I often read about new rescues picked up, saved, or placed in foster.  I shudder when I read, recently brought utd on vaccines.  This means that the dog was refilled with vaccines.  Titers should be given before giving dogs more.  I know that it is common protocol to shoot them up as soon as they are brought in but we should stop and think.   When I volunteered at the local shelter here (don't even get me started on that) I watched as they injected vaccines into dogs as soon as they came in.  I asked once "what if they already have all their shots?"   "They all need these," was the reply I got.  The idea was that they might infect the other dogs in the shelter.  Many of these lost dogs were already getting to many vaccines by their owners thinking that they were being good owners by getting their yearly shots.

Let's just think for a moment; something we humans tend not to do much of.  When a vaccine is given, the body attempts to fight it off, this is how immunity is created more or less.  But if we give a whole cocktail of vaccines the body is taxed and the immunity that the shots are meant to build up is lowered creating a dog that is now susceptible to many diseases as the body has no fight left.  There is much research about young dogs getting the very diseases that they have been vaccinated for due to receiving too many vaccinations or too early.

Many young shelter or rescue dogs become ill because as young as 6 weeks old we alter them; which means they have a full on surgical procedure far too young.  Then we fill them with all sort of vaccines for their body to process and we are surprised that they get ill or worse?  If a dog comes into a shelter carrying some sort of illness with them; giving them a vaccination is not going to get rid of it.  What it will do is prevent their body from healing itself or being able to heal at all.

If just one dog can be saved from me writing about over vaccination again, great.  Please share what you know about vaccinations and our dogs.  So many do not know, many dogs die because their owner just didn't know.  Sadly there are vets out there that close their eyes and either refuse to learn or ignore.  Many of you have these vets that are pushing yearly vaccines.  Do you research, your dog deserves it.    

When to train

Even out enjoying the scenery, ya gotta be on your toes.  

Every time I have a new training client they ask the question "how long should I train a day?"  My reply is always the same "all the time."  Yes when you first have a dog, whether it is a puppy or an adult second hand dog; you need to step into a training mode.  It may feel uncomfortable for a bit, until it becomes second nature but keeping yourself in training mode helps to speed things a long.  So what does that mean exactly?  What it means is keeping on your toes, basically.

When people use to use conventional choke collar training; you would have a session or two during the day to do your training.  The training was intense and serious. With positive reinforcement training there are times when you are going to teach a new behavior but the rest of the day you need to stay in your 'training mode.'  Staying in your 'training mode' teaches manners and enables your dog to learn how to behave and deal with living in our human world much quicker.  What it means is that you don't let things slide.  You don't teach one thing during a training session and then allow your dog to do whatever they please the rest of the day.  They learn the rules and they learn to live with them.

So if you teach your dog physical boundaries within your home you must enforce those constantly until it just becomes how it is.  If you ask for a 'stay' or 'down' during your day to day then you must enforce it.  Don't allow your dog to run a much when you aren't in a training session.  I've met many amazingly trained dogs who were very obnoxious in their day to day.

Far too often I see people doing serious training out at the park but those same people go home and don't enforce anything.  Yes it is work to enforce, guide, lead and educate but it makes for wonderfully behaved dogs.  Some owners have more work cut out for them than others.  Not all dogs are the same, some are pushers, some can be downright obstinate.  But the more you live life in your 'training mode' the easier it gets.  Your dog quickly realizes that this is the way it is, bottom line.

I am always very impressed by a well behaved dog; even more so than a dog that has learned a million tricks.  Any dog can learn tricks but not all are given the chance to learn how to behave in their day to day lives.  A lack of guidance is failure on an owners part of the bargain.  Dogs come into our life knowing how to be dogs; it is what we love about them.  It is our job to show them how to be dogs in a human world.  I know many people who claim that "they don't tell their dog what to do."  The dog has no guidance, no direction, no assistance on making decisions.  Heck, we tell our children what to do all the time and they have the advantage over dogs in that they are already humans, albeit in the making.  Dogs are entirely different from humans so they need our help.

When I hear people saying "bad dog," (I abhor the term personally) I think "no bad owner."  More often than not, an owner has not taught their dog not to do whatever it is that they are doing wrong in the owners eyes.  So their dog is........well............being a dog and the human thinks that is bad.  What is bad is not giving our dogs the education that they need to live happily in our world.  Give your dog some guidance, step into your training mode today and don't get out of it until your dog has a handle on life in a human world.  That does not mean that you need to be "training" per say; all day, every day.  It means that you will be guiding and leading all day every day.  Got it?

Hang with the good ones-leave the bullies to fend for themselves.

I would like to discuss people today; in regards to dog but people specifically.   First let me say that I think that the internet is a magnificent thing.  Not long ago there was no access to information of this type so the fact that we can simply type a question in and get hundreds or thousands of references is pretty fantastic.  I also love social media.  I have met so many wonderful people on FB and love how people with common interests can come together and share their passions.

As I'm sure you all know I have several FB groups which I truly enjoy.  Being a dog photographer I often share images of my own dogs.  As I tried to finish up my book 'When Luke Met Elsa," I was looking for a final image.    I was searching through baby pics of Elsa when I came across one that I thought needed sharing.  I posted it on my group and went on with my writing.  Later on I checked in on my page and discovered that someone had very loudly (in caps) stated that poodles should not have long tails. I explained that Elsa had not had her tail docked and that I was happy about it.   This person further went on a venomous rampage about how dogs "should" be, and that did not include having a non docked tail.   From the tail issue she moved to attack different colors that she thought should not be permitted which many of the other members have and love.    But she was not content to attack the dogs that these people love, she moved onto the people themselves.  She brought up all sorts of things to fuel her tirade.  

The whole incident got me to thinking, why do some people feel compelled to shove their opinion down other's throats?  It boggles the mind doesn't it?  The high and mighty attitude that some people take to try to back up their opinion as if it is factual instead of just their opinion.  These type of people get really mean and the meaner they get the less people listen.  You would think after being this way for a while that they might learn how best to approach others and share their knowledge.  Needless to say I removed this person from my group.  I have well over 5500 others who are friendly, happy and kind; why on earth would I allow someone like this to ruin things for the rest of us?

I have been involved with other groups over the years where the "mean" people were allowed to stay.  They continued their rude ways, insulting others to fuel their egos.  Some people leave the group because they do not want to not put themselves through needless drama and nonsense.  I was one of those, I left two groups because of rude, loud mouth and egotistical type people.  My opinion on people like this is to cut them off and lessen the nonsense in your life.  Life is far too short to have people like this in it.  So many people in the large dog groups are there for the love of dogs.  They enjoy learning, sharing their knowledge and hearing about other people and their love of dogs.  This is what it is all about.  I love my groups and I will not allow them to be polluted by these types.

I have over the years learned how best to share information; even when it is a very "hot topic."  I have very strong opinions; some might even go so far as to say opinionated.  ;)  But I am very clear on who's opinion it is, mine and only mine.  If I want to share it, I will gently broach the subject; depending on feedback will factor in on how long I will continue for.  "Listen and take what you want from it," I say commonly when researching and listening to other opinions.  I probably learned the most about dealing with people by dealing with dogs.  As a dog trainer you can only educate, share and offer; you cannot force a person to do anything.  Once you are out of the picture an owner will do whatever they see fit.

 Thinking about the controversy over Elsa's tail the other day has me wondering what this person really wanted.  Did she want me to put my hands in the air and state "YES WE SHOULD CUT IT OFF; I was wrong to think that she should be allowed to keep her tail."  Why do they push, they push and push until everyone hates them.  Others turn and walk away while they stand and continue their assault on deaf ears or none at all.  What drives people like this?  Attention?  I think maybe.  We certainly know that it is not out of the goodness of their heart.  There are a lot of great people out there, hang on to those and let the others hang themselves.  

When Luke Met Elsa

Well I'm pretty excited to be done another book.  For several months I have been working on a book about the relationship between Luke and Elsa.  When Luke Met Elsa was sent for a proof printing yesterday.  This book is entirely different than PBJ and me; being that it is a small children's book.  It was not emotional draining to write like PBJ and me; it was actually fun, cute and like taking a trip down memory lane.  I cannot believe how many amazing photos I have of Elsa.  I went through them all; from the day she arrived back in September of 2011 to about a month ago.  Many days while writing it I found myself awwwwwing at the computer.

When the book was just in the 'idea' stage, I really wasn't sure what the story would be.  The pictures spoke volumes on their own but there had to be words of some sort.  After many days of pondering I decided that it would be geared to not wanting a new member in the family to take the youngest's place. There are many blended families now and people being remarried and having more children.  I think that many children feel this way and I hope that sharing those feelings through the adorable faces of Luke and Elsa that it might help.

I had never thought of writing a children's book over the years until I saw Luke and Elsa come together and photographed them.  Both Luke and Elsa have very expressive faces and being able to capture their emotions has been wonderful.  When I looked back at all the shared moments between the two; you can literally see the relationship growing to where it is today.

I also hope that children will learn a little bit about dog behavior and how they are different from us.   They are incomparable to humans in how they display their emotions.  There are teeth in the book that show emotion; this is probably different from other books.  But dogs are different and that very fact is important when speaking through them.  

I will post a link to my book when it is ready to go; keep an eye on my Just dogs with Sherri FB page for news.

This is the first children's book; but there will be others..............................

Tools to make a dog's job easy.

"I'm looking for a guard dog," says the voice on one end of the phone.  "I have just what you are looking for," says the other.  All the formalities are completed, paper work fill out and the proud new parents have their "guard dog" in hand.  As the puppy grows it becomes sweeter and sweeter, barely resembling anything guarded about it.  What was bought as a guard dog type is now a giant Rottweiler lap dog; and the would be guard dog owners?  Well........they adore him.  It just so happened that he turned out to be an amazing therapy dog.  They thought that they wanted a guard dog but as it turns out it is probably a good that he was who he was for this couple.  Scary enough in his appearance they were not well equipped to be a full on guard dog.

Many people get a dog by looks; you know, the shell.  "Look how cute that puppy is," "I want the one with the black body and white tail."  So you bring home the black dog with the white tail only to find out you have a high driven, job demanding dog.  You have no idea what to do with this dog and you are going out of your mind as your dog takes on every job that he can think of.

What is a dog's job?  There are too many to describe but finding the dog for the job has much more to do about each specific dog more than a breed or "supposed" lineage.  Dogs ending up in the wrong hands is not all the doing of the would be new owners.  No, many breeders place dogs just to place them instead of finding the right place.  Many breeders also don't know about temperament testing and miss small behaviors that will grow with age.  There can be vast differences in a litter of dogs.  I do temperament testing and it always amazes me to see how different puppies can be that come out of the same litter box.

Many people and breeders included think that activity level is a main ingredient for a working dog.  But that is not the case, just because a dog is active does not mean that they can take the rigors and stress involved in being an actual working dog.  Just like being a calm puppy does not make a therapy dog.  There is much more to look at when choosing a dog for a very specific job.  Balance is what I like to see in all dogs; of course balance in body but in temperament as well.  Lots of dogs are being bred for one thing and one thing only.  I really don't like to see this specific need breeding as overflow always finds it's way into regular pet homes.  Not too many regular pet owners can handle overdrive.

Humans have a tendency to want more; what's good in a small amount is greater in large amounts.  If we see something we like we want more.  But more is not always a good thing; often it leads to very bad things.  Many dog sports involve drive; a dog needs a certain amount of it to be driven in the sport of choice.  What I am seeing in many dogs is too much drive, uncontrollable drive which in the hands of someone who is not doing a driven related sport, means trouble.  When one trait is focused on; other great traits may fall aside leaving a dog less capable in the working field.  Calm mixed with drive as well as a good level of confidence makes for an amazing dog.  Believe me, I've met lots of high drive dogs that would work themselves ragged around the clock.  I've looked into the eyes of a driven dog who's pupils were constantly dilated with desire to work.  Those who were also scared to death of anything that didn't involve very specific chasing.  There needs to be balance.

A dog's main job is to be a companion as is ours.  We are meant to be the leader with a dog at our side.  If a dog is so driven that companionship is of little concern then that is a sad thing.  A dog's first job for me is that they be happy.  They need a solid connection to a human, physical touch, an emotional connection and an education.   They also need a outlet for their drive; whatever level that may be and be allowed to be a dog.  To do their job correctly they must be equipped with all of these; it is our job to give them this.

Elsa comes from hunting lines, she most definitely has drive.  Do we hunt with her?  No, I am not a hunter but she is given many outlets for her drive which keeps her very fulfilled.  She also loves snuggling up on the couch and enjoying the good things about sharing life with humans.  She is my constant companion and we take great enjoyment in each other.  It is my job to make her happy as she makes me happy just being Elsa.   Giving her what she needs is essential to creating a happy dog.  They don't come complete, there is always work to do.

I like balance, in my life and my dog's lives.  Being that I meet so many dogs in so many aspects of life; I get to experience lots of different takes on life itself.  No one can do a job to perfection without the proper tools.  That goes for dogs, they need outlets and the opportunity to be dogs.  But too much of a good thing can be a bad thing; balance, we all need it.

Sunday morning

Just a reminder that I am no longer blogging on Sundays, have a wonderful day.

The love of dogs

We love dogs, don't we?  I surely do.  I just love them.  I often get a chuckle out of my own behavior about dogs.  I will say to my husband "look how cute he is," and then smile knowing that I have probably said that same phrase thousands of times over the years.  "He" specifically is Luke.  But I don't stop there, no I love them all and each and every one can give me cause to say something.  I find it hard not to talk about dogs and if you happen to bring up the subject with me; best to stand back and pull up a chair because it will be a while.

When I am out at events that do not involve dogs (I know, weird) I can almost always steer the conversation towards canines.  Our society is becoming more and more aware of dogs.  For a good number of dog lovers, they have gone from the dog tied outside to the dog snuggled in our bed.  The more you learn about dogs; you discover a whole other world that you never knew about.  Non dog people don't "get it."  That is until they have that one chance encounter that changes their world as well.  The moment they connect with a canine; that single monumental moment that has so much impact that there is no going back.

There are more and more rescues popping up around the world.  That is both good and bad.  Good that there are so many loving and compassionate people ready to stand up to help those canines in need.  Bad because there is a need for more and more rescues.  There are more dog products appearing on the market as well.  Of course if you have a dog you need stuff right?  Like anything, there are good and useful products and then there are those things that are made for the dog but marketed for we humans.  Many of these products are useless; but it is the obvious surge in products that makes us aware that more people are becoming dog lovers.

For me, loving one means loving them all.  I love the tiniest little munchkins all the way up to the giant guys.  A dog is a dog in my eyes.  As different as they all are within a species; they are essentially one. One amazingly similar but vastly different species known as canis lupus familiaris or the domestic dog.    Their intelligence is far beyond what most people think.  They often outsmart their owners and their owners go about their little lives never suspecting this.  Dogs have a sense of togetherness, the pack mentality.  Together is better in the eyes of a dog; which I happen to agree with.  There is nothing sadder than a dog living a life isolated from other canines or humans.

As more and more humans realize the mutually beneficial relationship of living with a canine we take on more responsibility.  It is our duty to our dogs to teach others, to protect our fellow canines from those who will do them wrong.  If each dog lover stands up to help one other, our world will be a whole lot greater.  Like anything in our world, once there is a clear demand by humans; other humans will do wrong (puppy millers).  Dog lovers need to stand together and stop the wrong doings.

As I sit in my bed listening to the birds out the window, blogging and watching a Blue Jay fall off the feeder because it is too big I am surrounded by wonderful.  My two canines Luke and Elsa have just finished a share of bacon sandwiches and are now snuggled up until I decide to get out of bed.  There really is nothing like a dog, nothing.  Other animals share our lives but nothing else can even come close to a dog.  All they want in their life is to be with us; that is made clear by the constant shadows you can have with you on your day to day.  The older I get the more in love I am with dogs.  Is there anything more perfect than a dog?

The scoop on poop

As a dog person I'm sure the subject of poop is a regular one with you and your friends. It is for me and the people I hang with. But if you are the one picking up you tend to pay more attention to the solidity of the matter. Hey; if you are trying to pick the stuff up, there is indeed good and bad texture. And we have all known a time or two when we are watching; watching very closely for a certain item that we suspect may have been consumed to make a reappearance. If you have a puppy or adolescent at the moment; that time may have come more often in these early months of your life together.

It is as the saying goes "you are what you eat" and so are our dogs. What goes in must come out so keeping a close eye on the subject at hand let's you know that things are running smoothly so to speak. And speaking of smoothly; we all deal with the pick up issue; some guardians are steadfast in their obligatory job, some avoid and some simply pick it up and can't think about it, I know a few of these. For these "can't think about it types" it's okay to pick up the substance; but they must be quick and not hesitate for a moment, thinking about what you are doing for a split second and things can go very bad, very quickly.

Consistency is a big issue; those diehard low quality kibble feeders rely on the solid dry mass. The easy pick up, no residue, no mush to try to scoop, just a dry solid mass, nice. When you feed a more real diet you get more variation and it is definitely not a solid rock hard pebble texture. There is much more work in picking up after these guys and yes there is residue. And if you have a fussy pants like my Luke; there is no telling what's going to go in day by day so you never know what's going to come out.

I have a iron stomach; nothing bothers me, I'm not a gagger so when I pick up I just do it. But when I am out on my walks I inevitably see someone who is "not a pick up" type. Nothing makes me more angry than someone attempting to not notice their dog taking a crap. As I walk through the park and see the ones that didn't get picked up; I immediately notice the age of it and if it's fresh I do the culprit scan. Oh yes; I have been known many times to ask someone who is trying not to notice there dog dumping in the park "you're going to pick that up right?" It takes only a couple of these people to ruin it for all of the other dog people who do pick up after their dog. I mean honestly; man up and get the job done, or let your dog crap at your house and leave it sitting there to fester in the sun.

Now location is a factor when picking up poop as well. Many dogs are very specific about where they go; of course there are just as many that are happy to dump right in front of you. All the boys that have passed through my life have always preferred to go on top of tiny seedling trees; small bushes or weeds, this of course makes our job of retrieving the mass a bit more adventurous. When off leash many dogs like to eliminate on the perimeter; very nice, clean but often hard to locate after the fact.

Then you have the travelers; I had one of those as well. There is no telling how far she would travel while in the process of pooping. So when you pick up you follow the trail until it looks like the trail has probably ended. Not a fan of travelers. Hunch positioning is also a factor but this pertains more on the after wiping than the picking up. Luke is probably my best huncher ever; the mere idea of the possibility of remnants remaining on him is simply mortifying so when he hunches there is all but one place for it to fall and that is down. All my guys are great hunchers and I am rarely required to do the after wipe except on the rare chocolate pudding days. And don't tell me you don't know what I mean.

Just yesterday I was running Elsa when I discovered that many people had not picked up.  It is completely disgusting not to pick up after your dog.  Sure there is always that one time when you are out of bags but other than that, PICK IT UP.  We have a local neighborhood pooper which lives across the street and a bit down from me.  The owner lets the dog out daily to poop on everyone else's yard.  Having my office at the front of my house allows me to visualize this daily as well.  Elsa lets me know when the dog is out choosing it's daily spot and most days it is on a spot between the two houses across the street.   There must be a whole lot of s*&t piled up in there by now.  It is disgusting to allow your dog to go on someone else's yard and turn a blind eye.  If they go somewhere other than your house PICK IT UP.

Having dogs is a responsibility; one of those responsibilities is to PICK UP after our dogs.  Don't want to pick up poop?  Buy a dog statue or stuffed dog to grace your home.  Honestly.

Have a great day all you dedicated dog people ;)

Dissecting a catch - love of a retriever

I love capturing action sequences.  Without stopping moments in time; our eye misses many of the intricate pieces.  

Love his shot "did you get that one Mom?"  

Fat dogs

A lean, mean canine machine is a beautiful sight. 

When I am out and about with my guys we often run into dogs who need to shed a few pounds. Sometimes we meet dogs that need to lose more than a few.  It is always sad to me to see dogs carrying around weight that they need not carry. We ran into young dog at the park the other day.  Elsa has played with him quite a bit over the last few months.  He is about 5 months younger than she is and when we saw him I was shocked.  At 8 months old he looked like a 7-8 year old fat dog.  He ran over to us huffing and puffing; he was hefty to say the least.

Having an overweight or obese dog often goes unnoticed by owners.  The weight could have been creeping up slowly and they just didn't notice.  Sadly many pet parents are made aware of the issue when it has already done damage.  Joint damage, liver and/or kidney damage, heart problems etc. etc.  There are so many fallout health issues related to being overweight.   Dogs who are overweight also risk living a shortened life which is horrific without all the other ailments that can occur before that.

Many people have told me that my dogs are skinny.  Yes I agree that Luke is skinny, very skinny but much of his "too skinny" appearance is actually due to low muscle mass.  Elsa only weighs in at a few pounds more than Luke and although many people would consider her to be skinny as well, I believe that she is perfect.  She is highly active and extra pounds would cause her to haul the extra weight around putting stress on her joints and tendons.

How fat is too fat?  On a very tiny dog a couple of pounds can be too fat.  My little Jack Russell gained weight easily and I often had to cut back so that she could drop a few.  A few pounds on a 15 lb body is a lot.  Even with two extra pounds I could see a difference in her behavior.  Once she lost those couple of pounds she'd be back to her crazy self again.  Weight can spin into a dangerous cycle; a few pounds and you don't feel like moving as much.  When you don't move you put on weight.

The big secret to weight loss is cutting back on calorie intact and moving.  That's it.  Better food fuel into the body helps to create high performance.  If you have an overweight dog, start today.  You must start slowly if you have not been giving your dog the appropriate amount of exercise up to this point.  Begin with tiny walks and build on length and intensity to build a healthier dog.  Weight is a burden for both people and dogs; losing it can be a challenge.  Too much weight on our dog is all on us.  Dogs do not put weight on themselves.  They don't reach for a bowl of potato chips or plate of donuts like we do.

When cutting back don't skimp on nutrients.  Simply cut back on the amount of high quality food, do not buy into the 'diet' foods.  Below are some good sites about dog weight.

Pet education

Biggest Loser - Obie the obese Dachshund

Pet obesity prevention

The life we share with our dogs is far too short, don't make it shorter and less productive by creating a fat dog.

Problem solving

Good Monday morning; I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  We most definitely did, it was a long weekend for us as my hubby took Friday off and we had a great day at the beach with the dogs.  I want to discuss problem solving in dogs today.  Many people do not think that dogs think and/or problem solve like humans.  They may not have the exact thoughts that we have but they most certainly figure stuff out.

Last night sadly Luke had a seizure, it came on strangely and we first thought that he'd been stung on the foot by a bee.  But he started to buckle in the legs and fell into a seizure.  I lay him on the dog bed outside and sat with him in my arms.  It was a longer than usual seizure but less intense.  I sat for a good half hour on the ground with him as he slowly came out.  But while he was seizing I watched Elsa problem solving that made me smile, even though I had Luke in my arms seizing at the moment.

She has finally figured out the dog door and has worked up enough courage to actually use it without being coaxed.  She was oblivious to Luke's seizure and was merrily running around the yard with her toys. For a moment she stopped in her tracks and headed in.  I told my husband "she's getting a toy."  She knows exactly what toy that she wants to play with and will abandon all others to go and find 'the one."  I was surprised when I saw her go in the dog door on her own.  She has been going out but challenged by going in for some reason.  So in she went and I saw her pick up the new ball.  She headed towards the dog door and dropped it; then she came out. She turned around and stuck her head in the dog door. She had never carried a toy out the dog door before.

Then the whole problem solving started.  As I sat comforting Luke as much as I could I watched.  I happened to be very close to the dog door so I had a good vantage point.  In she went, picked up the ball and then as she started out the dog door, she put the ball down.  She wasn't sure that she could carry the ball out the dog door.  Out she came without the ball, looked in the door and saw it sitting there.  In she went again; picked up the ball and put it down before coming out once again.  Then she went back in, picked up the ball, put it down and ran all the way upstairs and out the kitchen door.  She went back to the dog door as if it would be there for her.  She thought for a moment.  Back in the dog door and grabbed the ball once again.  She pushed the dog door with the ball in her mouth.  She did this several times, even almost dropping the ball on the outside of the dog door.  We thought she had it when she pulled the ball in and charged up the stairs and out the kitchen with her ball.

We could see that she wanted to take the ball out the dog door.  After all the dog door is now an exciting thing for her, freedom.  She can go in and out at will, that's pretty great for a dog.  But she had finally chosen the original exit way as it held no challenge for her.  It was amazing watching her and we could not help but smile at the chain of problem solving that she was displaying.

Luke came out of his seizure and was in no hurry to get up.  He stayed in my arms a long while and then finally got to his feet.  After a little needed stabilizing he was good to go and is just fine.  I do not know what brought this seizure on, he has not had one in a very long while.  I'm just glad I was there to help him through it and to watch Elsa master the dog door.

Timing

Timing is essential in training.  Many people do not realize the degree of importance and deliver their message too late or too early. I am constantly working on my timing.  Our dogs have such amazingly fast minds that if you don't get in there and deliver a message quickly you can miss the opportunity all together.  I lump most of our human reaction to a dog action into the "feedback" category.  It is self explanatory and really helps us to think of it as just that, information.

Feedback:  a reaction or response to a particular process or activity.  Evaluative information derived from such a reaction.  Knowledge of the results of any behavior, considered as influencing or modifying further performance.

Delivering feedback at the precise moment of high impact is the best way to get your message across.  Let's say that your dog is looking at your shoe that you left out.  You watch and wait until the dog has the shoe in their mouth to say "hey, that's mine, drop it."  You missed out on a very influential line of educating.  Given the feedback before he picked up the shoe would have got the most important lesson, "don't touch my shoes."  Instead he rewarded himself by picking up the shoe and will learn to grab them when you are not looking.

As well as being fast and not lagging on the delivery of feedback we must learn to drop it.  Humans tend to hold grudges, its what we do.  But when teaching our dogs we should never hold on to extended feedback, it is useless.  When working with your dog or just in the day to day life lessons; deliver the message and move on.  Holding a grudge, keeping the delivery going we break down the bond that we are trying so hard to build.  Trust.

In and out, that is how feedback should be delivered.  If you are slow on your delivery then work on that.  If you miss a behavior and cannot give either 'correct' or 'error' feedback fast enough, move on.  Just move on and hopefully next time you will be fast on your delivery.  Teaching people to 'let it go,' is probably one of the things that I have to nag on and on about.  Eventually they typically get it but not without me standing right there and saying "stop, move on."

A correctly timed feedback delivery sends much needed information.  Drag it out and into the realm of grudge and you are spending time on useless and damaging human stuff.

In and out.    

See ya soon

Gone to the beach, see ya later.  :)

Where's the beef?

I've written about this before but sometimes it just gets to me so much that I have to write about it again.  I hate what I am seeing happen to dogs, not all dogs but many of them.  I am speaking about purebred dogs and the fact that they are losing their beef.  Of course there are some breeds who are gaining too much beef, like the English Bulldog.  Poor dogs can barely move anymore.  I'm talking about the breeds who are becoming finer and slighter in build.  "Flashy" is a word commonly heard around the show ring.  "Light movement," is another term I've heard.  Longer necks, longer legs, lighter than air movement, narrow heads, narrow bodies...........gotta catch the judges eye, right?  Honestly.

I put my hands on a standard poodle the other day and thought to myself "where's the beef?"  Sadly this dog was young and had little muscle; to speak of but his movement was most definitely light.  Luke is one of these dogs and as such he is suffering from his lack of muscle (beef).  His head is very narrow, his chest even more narrow and he has always had a lack of muscle.  Even in his young hay days he was very light in the muscle department and because of this could not move anything like Tilley could.

Now that we have Elsa who is from much beefier stock, the difference is far more obvious.  Poor Luke was from show stock; the pick of litter even.  He was meant for the show ring but ended up with me. His lack of muscle had nothing to do with too little exercise.  He had and still has exercise alright.  He was a running partner with my husband, did frisbee, chuck it and hiked for great distances.  No he was given lots of exercise but when the muscle mass is not there, you cannot build it up.  We did the best with what we had so to speak but now that he is 12 he is most definitely handicapped.

Don't get me wrong, Luke is doing great for a 12 year old and most people are shocked to hear how old he is.  But, if he had more muscle he would be doing much better.  I see dogs stacked in the show ring; primped to perfection and then look at their legs.  "Where's the beef?"  It's not right.  I don't want Mr. Universe looking dogs but come on, give them something to use.  I remember when Luke was young and we would visit the dog park; I was so afraid that he would be hit by a buffer dog and suffer an injury.  I think that he has done so well because we have put so much attention on building strength in him, otherwise he'd literally have nothing.

Many dogs these day simply don't get enough exercise, like humans of course.  They sit around the house and yard all day and their muscles atrophy. They too will suffer the fallout of muscle loss far worse than a dog with good muscle and tone.  Even small boned dogs (don't even get me started on bone mass) like Italian Greyhounds can have good muscle.  Muscle is the meat or heart of movement.  It pulls everything together and gives our dogs their core strength.

Just because a trend is going one way does not mean that we must follow.  Following trends to be popular is a common human trait and often our downfall.  Put that trend in a ring of competition and it brings it up to a worst level, a fight for the ribbon.  That ribbon may only be obtainable if you conform your dogs to the petite requirements of the judge; are you willing to go there?  Willing to put our dogs at risk of injury to place the ribbon on your mantel?  We need to think of our dogs; "where's the beef gone?"

Moderation is often the best place to be for many things.  Too much muscle and a dog is handicapped in flexibility and movement, too little and they suffer from lack of movement and injury.  It's just sad, that we shape and model our dogs to best fit the modern trends.  Dogs from the past were much less flashy, not extreme like many of the dogs of today.  All I am saying is stand back and take a look at what you are doing.  Are you producing structurally sound dogs or are you sculpting a beautiful image that is lacking substance?  Even dogs that look beautiful need their muscle, their beef.

"Where's the beef?"

1000 words

Real food

Yep, the dogs would have had some of this with their protein.

Real - genuine; not counterfeit, artificial or imitation; authentic.

Food - any nourishing substance that is eaten, drunk or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy and promote growth.

I love this definition stated above.  Does your dog food fit into this category?  Very few do.  I use the term 'real food' where most people say 'people food.'   Sitting in bed with Elsa and Luke, we just finished sharing a plate full of turkey.  Turkey, just real turkey.  Every morning we share breakfast in bed.  Because of the possibility of bloat in my breed I don't feed them breakfast until about an hour after we get back from morning exercise.  But they need a snack before they start their day as do I before hitting the gym.

I love the fact that I can give my dogs pretty much anything and they will not get upset from it.  That is I can give them any 'real food' item.  The simpler the better when dogs are concerned.   Last night I made peanut, mushroom chicken on rice noodles for us.  The dogs got the chicken plain.  Although Elsa does love peanut butter and no matter how quietly I open a jar, she hears it and comes running.   My guys eat a huge variety of foods throughout the day.  I've grown accustom to giving Luke food whenever I can get it into him just to keep some meat on him.  So Elsa enjoys in this as well albeit at a much smaller portion size.   She tends to gain whereas Luke never does.

Real food is unprocessed, it still retains nutrients that the body can use.  The higher the quality of food the less you need to feed of it.  With many of the dog foods out there, so much of it is filler.  Feathers, peanut hulls, corn bran, cellulose etc etc.  All of these products that go into our dog force the digestive system to work overtime on something that the body cannot actually use.  It ends up reprocessed in your yard having no nutrient effects on your dog.

The other day I was having a bowl of cottage cheese for lunch.  Elsa of course came into the kitchen to see what I was doing.  I got out another bowl and put a couple of tablespoons in it for her.  She looked adorable with it on her nose.  It makes me feel good when I give my dogs good food.  I know that the turkey that we just ate will sustain me through a very rigorous and strenuous weight lifting work out.  So too will it get Luke and Elsa through their fun trip to the beach this morning.

Sure their are things that we all eat just because we love it; even though it holds little nutritional ingredients.  But the bulk of food that we take in should be something that our body can use.  The same goes for our dogs, get the good stuff in there.  If you are worried about stomach upset, start small.  Start by offering real food treats throughout the day.  Your dog's system will adjust to different foods making it possible to offer all sorts of good stuff.

The big dog food companies have brain washed us into thinking that we are incapable of feeding our dogs ourselves.  They have come up with elaborate schemes to show us that what they put into those well thought out and enticing bags is better for our dogs than 'real food.'  Hogwash.  There is so much information made available to us now about feeding our dogs. We can do it, we totally can do it.  Even if that means reading ingredients lists and choosing a better food, closer to real food than the low or no quality foods with the fancy bags.

I have heard many people say "that food costs too much." How much is too much for good nutrition?  There are better quality foods out there that cost just a fraction more but hold so much more nutrients within the bag.  I certainly understand that not everyone wants to feed their dog 'real food,' but at least look for a food that has nutrition within the bag.  The giant feed companies have done an amazing job at making us think that good food is cheap, dirt cheap.



 

A different tactic

"She'll get it."  I've been saying this for months, and she is "getting it."  Finally!!!!

I have been trying to get Elsa to use our dog door since we moved back to CA.  Before we left to go to Connecticut I did not want her using the door.  I didn't want her outside without me so I had held off teaching her.  She would watch the adult dogs go through; in and out, in and out.  She never tried to follow and the act of them going in out often sent her into a zoom around the yard.  She seemed mystified by their magical appearance and disappearance.

Once back home in CA I was ready for her to use the door, but she was far from ready.  We got the door several years ago and at the time I thought, "I don't know if Luke will use this."  He is such a nervous type and the idea of the door flapping on him as he went through might be too much.  The girls learned in a flash and within minutes of installing it, Tilley was in and out, in and out.  Even little Jessie figured it out.  She had one little glitch and that was that she pushed on a lot of spots before finding the right one.  So to rectify that problem I put a sticker on the spot where she was to push which was the bottom middle for the easiest exit.  This solved the problem.

I wrote about my dog door at the beginning of last year and in November.  

I really thought Luke might never use it, but we worked diligently on it.  Whoever happened to be inside or out when Luke thought about using the door was his cheering support team.  When he did finally work up the courage he was cheered for like the winning Superbowl team.  Luke took a while but to our delight and surprise he did it and conquered all of his would be dog door demons; and became a dog door user.

Then came Elsa; without question our most intelligent dog so far.  She learns crazy fast and has a scary intense brain BUT, she could not thwart the door.  I worked very, very hard at getting her through the dog door.  We worked on just the pushing part, with a clicker and lots of treats.  I tempted her with delicious morsels of food on the other side.  I tied the door up so that she would get use to using this spot to come in and go out.  I held the door open and worked on a smaller and smaller opening.  Believe me when I say, I have patience and I was more than willing to wait for another couple of months.  I would sit there for an hour at a time and wait as she pushed the door with her nose.

Pushing the door with her nose was as far as she was willing to go.  Last week I thought "this is ridiculous."  Such a smart girl.  You see Elsa's "issue" with the door was the 'it touches you when you go through,' thing.  If the door opened up for clear access once she pushed, she'd have been through long ago.  When she did go through as we held it open she would arch her back to avoid it touching her.  She would dart through as if it was going to attack her.  So this was a different problem than any of the other dogs.  I needed a different tactic.  I decided on the "I'm just doing it," ploy.   "I'm just pushing her through," I thought, and that is exactly what I did.

She had to learn that the sensation of the door on her as she went through was not going to kill her.  So when she was dying to go out and chase crickets in the evening I used that momentum as the perfect "push" time.  She had already got use to me holding the door open to go out so when she was amped  up with the crickets I said "go out" which is the word we've been using while shoving her butt.  To my shock I barely had to push, just a touch.  I knew that she had to get over her "the door might swallow me up," issue.  So I pushed her out many times the next day.  No more holding it open, she had to feel it.  I used treats inside and out and a lot of cheering.

Saturday she went on her own.  I was standing there behind her and motioned to go out but I did not touch her.  Yesterday she did it several times again without a touch.  Then we had a road block and I had to push again. Today she will only be coming in and out by the dog door.  Yep, its' a ton more work for me but we've come this far, I don't want to go backwards.

Even though Elsa is amazingly intelligent, she had issues with the door.  Intelligence and door usage are not the same in the situation.  Sure some dogs might have a difficult time figuring it out, not Elsa.  She knew how, she just had concerns with it.  This is a great example of how each dog is so different and how you must customize training per each dog.  She is a very confident dog but has a few concerns in life.  One is the dog door grabbing her as she goes through.  But hopefully by the end of the week she will just be showing that door who's the boss.  :)

Give your dog a bone

Yesterday was bone day; Elsa's third bone day to be exact.  Her first two bones days were fairly unproductive.  She is not a big 'raw' fan so offered a bone that is very meaty she just sort of looked at it.  

These are beef rib bones.  Before giving them to the dogs I cut off the extra bone piece before giving them to the dogs.  These ribs are the big beefy ones, not the short type. 

Luke gets right to it, there is no wasted time looking he immediately dives in.  Bones are wonderful tools for cleaning a dogs teeth.  I have never had my guys teeth cleaned.  I occasionally scrape excess tartar off myself but other than that I let the bones do the work.   

I put a blanket down on the grass for the dogs to chew on.  Luke got caught in it once but I fixed him all up and he continued.  

The molars are where the most work needs doing and once they get a good chewing going this is where the bone lands. 

It does not take long for a seasoned chewer to get down to the bone.  He will soon get into the bone itself, grinding it with his back teeth.  They do eat some of the bone but it is soft because these are RAW.  Only give RAW bones, never, ever cooked.  

Elsa picked away slowly; getting up every so often and going to have a look at what Luke was doing with his bone.  She watched intently.  She loves to learn and does so by watching.  

Check out those pearly whites.  There is no need to have a dog put out for teeth cleaning when you give bones.  It is the natural way to keep their teeth clean. 

Meat almost done.

Elsa finally got the hang of the bone thing and really enjoyed it.  I was so happy that she finally got it. 

Luke working on his front teeth for a bit.

Look at that bone now, I was so proud of the progress she made.  

She did her best on this third bone.  Next time she'll be a pro

Luke has got his bone clean in a short time.

Elsa of course had to chew close which Luke was very good about.  She only got one show of teeth when she ventured to close to have a look a his bone.  

About an hour into it Luke got up; letting me know that he was done.  He when he walked to the other side of the yard Elsa got up to have a peak at his bone.  Luke then came over to have a look at hers.  I don't typically allow bone swapping unless it is done by me but both were very calm.  Luke decided to continue his chewing with her bone so seeing that she picked up his.  The chewing continued.

Elsa shows how to work on your molars. 

This is much closer proximity than normal for chewing.  With Tilley, Jessie and Luke I always had to keep a much greater distance between them.  Supervision is a must with high value things like bones.  I sat and took pictures and fixed the blanket when it got bunched up. 

Luke and Elsa chewed in the morning, the sun was just breaking through into the backyard as they came to the end of the chew.  Then it was time to go indoors and turn on the AC.  It was 106 here yesterday and to be the same today. 

A great walk

Yesterday I had a really great walk with the dogs.  When I got home I was in a great mood, I just felt like "ahhhh, that was nice."  Mostly I get the dogs out once a day, sometimes twice.  I feel that it is very important that they get out and see the sights on a daily basis.  Often a walk turns out to be more work than others.  If there are a lot of dogs out for walks at the same time, if I cannot sneak in some chuck it throws for Elsa or if I just choose a wrong path.

As I was getting the dogs out of the car I noticed the lady with the two Goldens, I see her all the time.  She was done her walk and packing up the dogs to head home.  I had backed up to the curb which makes it less of a jump for Elsa and sometimes Luke likes to jump in the car when we are done so this is a small leap for him.  First things first, we headed off to the fenced in baseball field for Elsa to get her ya ya's out. I let Luke off first and he ran off so happy, in fact he charge off.  Elsa must then sit, get her leash off and wait for me to release her.  Once I do, stand back.  She sprints off to meet Luke then does a huge circle around the field at full speed returning to me to go around and get her throw.

Elsa has been taught to run around me before getting her ball.  This is something that Tilley learned early on in her frisbee career.  It allows you time to get the ball or frisbee out in front of them.  So while throwing the ball for Elsa I made my way across the field to the opening on the other side.  Luke was running and sniffing the perimeter and met up with us when we got there.  Both dogs were leashed and we started our walk then.

We walked through the playground where a very tiny girl shrieked in delight at the sight of Luke and Elsa.  Then over the small wood bridge to the open field.  We took our time, both dogs love to smell as we go.  Elsa is always on the look out for a friend to talk to and we did meet a very nice lady with her shaved Australian Shepherd.  I let Elsa do her greeting but was careful not to allow a tangle, the other dog was 13 years old.  We chatted and then walked together.  She was quite interested to know how the Elsa and Luke thing worked age wise.  I told her that it was great, gave her a bit of detail from our past and then she decided that she was going to get a friend for her dog.  We said goodbye as the Aussie and her head down a different path.

We were stopped several times by walkers and asked "are they related?"  One man with his tiny dogs was amazed when I told him that there was 11 years difference in the two.  He just stared at them shaking his head "really?"

We took the same path that we'd come down to head back because it was still in the shade.  It was getting very hot already and only 8:30 in the morning.  We meandered slowly but I could tell that Elsa could use more running time.  I did a serious perimeter check and there was no one in sight.  Unhooking Elsa she sat with intense anticipation for the "okay."  Then she was off, around me and out after the ball.  The next throw, I sent her out and gave the down sign which while chuck iting, is holding the chuck it up in the air.  She drops immediately to the ground on the other side of the field and I toss the ball.  She does her best to catch it before it hits the ground but misses and scoops it up on the first bounce.  What a girl.

It was hot and she had enough throws for the day so we head towards the Xterra.  I loaded Luke and Elsa into the back and then they had their drink.  Luke is the messiest drinker we've ever had and before they are done both Elsa and I are wet; as is the back of my Xterra.  I love when the two of them stuff their head into the bowl at the same time, they look so cute.  Then it was time for home, I gave them the "watch out," and they both take a step back.  Smiling I closed the hatch "what a nice walk."  I always feel very accomplished when Elsa gets enough ripping in and Luke has had his fill of looking around plus a little romp.

Dealing with grief

I am often asked "how do you get through it?" when clients lose a companion.  They also ask "when should I get another?"  Both of these questions are very personal as are my responses.  Dealing is a very individual and personal thing.  How one person copes may be completely different from another.  I thought that this was a good topic today because I found myself in tears yesterday.  I was working on my second book and had to go through the day we lost Tilley again.  There were moments of tears slowly coming down my face and then a time that I really needed to cry.  I pushed myself away from the computer and allowed for the moment.  The crying was over quickly and I took the time to think about her.  Then it was back to writing and I felt much better.

I was forced into the moment but it is very important to take the moments when they arise and deal.  Allow yourself to cry, remember and cherish the good old days.  Life is hectic and days can slip by with general day to day activities.  But when the moment arises you must seize it.  I will often stop and make myself take the time to think about Tilley, Jessie, Mandy, Clyde and the others in my life who have left.  It can happen at any time during your day to day; an event will trigger a memory, that memory  prompts a moment.

When you continue to share your life with dogs after the loss of a much loved companion, there will be more moments.  Each dog will bring about a memory from the past.  This is not a bad thing but another step in the healing process.  Elsa displays quite a few behaviors that are similar to Tilley.  She is a very different dog than Tilley but every once in a while I am stopped in my tracks by something she does.  Just the other night Elsa wanted on the bed, she came and gently touched her nose to my leg which was sticking out of the covers.  From dead asleep I was stopped in time, just for a moment but it was quite a moment.  Tilley use to communicate a great deal with the slightest nose touch.

The loss of a dog can be immeasurable; a life companion taken from us.  We spend so much time with our dogs, sharing each day together.  When that companion is taken from our life it leaves a huge void.  The grief is often overwhelming sadness.   A huge storm cloud can blanket your every thought completely encasing your life.  Allowing the sadness, the emotions to come in and interacting with each one helps you to deal with the loss itself.  Life goes on and we too must go on.  With the passing of each dog in our life comes the life lessons from our life shared.  Each dog prepares us to be a better companion for the next.

Having other dogs around when you lose one most definitely helps to get you through.  You have mouths to feed and care for so you must get through it.  That said, when you have other dogs you often don't take the time that you need, time is essential.  You must stop and remember, cry and cry some more.  If you simply push the emotions back to deal with at another time you really leave yourself open for more pain.  There are so many emotions that arise when you lose a dog, sadness, guilt, anger etc.   Each one must be dealt with as it arises.

I have been forced to take moments as I continue to write about my crazy journey to CT and back again.  Losing two dogs only three weeks apart was unbearable.  But it has been very helpful because at the time I didn't take those moments, I didn't have time to take them.  So as they are offered to me through the pages that I write I am taking them and feeling much better about the whole process, the circle of life.   Dealing with grief does not take away the loss, but it helps you to move on and makes the sadness livable.

When to add another dog to your life?  When you can no longer bare the absence of a canine in your life.  When your heart is ready to be filled again with the day to day antics of a canine.  Only you will know when it is time.  There is no right or wrong, only your heart and your life to say when.  There is a brightness and excitement that comes with getting to know the next amazing dog in your life.  You will know when the time is right.

Now, go hug your dog.