Autumnal Equinox

Happy Fall!!!

It's here already, the first day of fall or Autumnal Equinox .  Many of you will celebrate the change of season; while others dread what the fall brings with it.  In just a few short months fall will turn to the dreaded, winter.  I for one love the fall season; although here is Socal the only change is light.  The shadows are longer, and the days are shorter; but the temperatures still remain at the top of the thermometer.  I long for the fresh bite in the air that lives now only in my memory.  Having grown up and lived much of my adult life in Canada; fall means cooler temps, cleaning up the yard, getting the house ready for winter and enjoying the color of Mother Nature.  

Fall was always my favorite season; a time when you could go for long walks without sweating.  When the dogs displayed an added bounce in their step and the pesky bugs were ending.  I love Fall.  Here in Socal it means that cooler nights will be coming.  They aren't here yet but I was able to turn the A/C off last night.  We are expecting temperatures up in the 90s again this weekend, ugh!  There will be cooler daytime temperatures coming but we have to wait for them for a while.

The ingrained sense of wrapping up is still with me and  I cannot shake it.  Chopping down the flowers that were once amazing blooms.  Cutting the wilted plants that have been stung by the impending pre-winter frost.  Storing bikes, wheel barrows, garden tools and summer toys away for hibernation.   Summer was fleeting back then.  Now it is almost like a never ending summer but I still go through the motions, I have to.  

I remember my dogs following me around the yard.  We spent hours upon hours outside, cleaning up.  They loved it as much as I did.  While I burned broken branches in the bonfire pit; they grabbed fallen sticks here and there.  Preparation for winter was big but enjoyable.  There were a few years that we even got our Christmas lights up before the frigid temperatures and snow were upon us.  

Yesterday I started  my yard clean up.  Something I prepare for now, is rain.  We are suppose to get a lot of it this winter and I sure hope that we do.   We need it desperately.  So I was up on the ladder cleaning gutters.  What a messy, messy job but I love it.  Elsa brought her ball to me and lay it by the bottom of the ladder.  I smiled and told her that I couldn't reach it.  Of course I'd climb down every once in a while to toss it for her.  

After a couple of hours of gutter cleaning, I needed cleaning.  Elsa and I will be spending a great deal of time in the yard for the next couple of weeks.  The yard will be tended to; wrapped up for the winter.  Even if the winter is not really coming here to us; in my head and heart it is still time to wrap up for hibernation.  

Blah!!!

Cupcakes for dogs, you bet I tasted them. 

The nice woman handed Elsa a treat from behind the counter which she very promptly spit out, blah!!!  I said "oh she just needs to check it out first."  Elsa reached down and had a sniff at the item she had seen cause to remove quickly from her mouth.  She looked at me as if to say "you expect me to eat that?"  I laughed inside while handing the once bitten and spit out bakery item to the woman.  "Sorry, she's not eating it," I explained.  "Oh, let's try this" she said handing Elsa a freeze dried piece of liver.  I had no doubt that she would gobble that down, and she did.

As a longtime baker of human baked goods and foodie; I love good tasting food.  This love of food flavor has seeped into my dog's bowls.  I make dog cookies and my dog cookies have to taste good.  Yes, I eat taste them and they have to be good.  So many times I open a box of dog cookies and shudder at the smell.  "Does anyone ever taste these things?" I often ask myself and the dogs.  Even fancy "dog bakery" items may look very fancy and adorable but if they don't taste good, a dog may not eat them.    

Some dogs will eat anything, true.  But, from personal experience, the more they are offered a varied diet; the more fine tuned a dog's pallet becomes, like our own.  If a dog is only offered one type of food throughout their life; then yes, they will be stunted as far as food experience.   I'm sure that much of the dog food out there does not taste great so if they are offered an alternate food at some point; then most would likely gobble it down.  But, if a dog is offered a wide variety of foods so that they develop a preference for one item over another; then they can begin to differentiate between what they will eat, like to eat, eat if nothing else is available or not eat at all.

Luke optimized fussy; never have we ever had a dog like him.  I don't know how many times we would say "what dog turns down meat?"  Luke, that's who.  Luke knew what he liked; but it went further than that for him.  Luke knew when and where he liked to eat particular foods; he was a fussy guy in general which added a tad of craziness to his food fussiness.  If you tried to offer him what he would classify as a "nighttime snack" in the afternoon, well... he just had to leave the scene.  It still makes me smile. 

Most dogs like food.  That said, if they have never been offered a variety of food items then they will not have expanded their food pallet. Most dogs like this just wolf back and don't think about taste.  Sort of the opposite of those humans who are fussy as far as food.  They don't like "different" food because they don't know different tastes.  Although dogs who have not been given the opportunity to expand their food experience, they may seem to like anything.  Many dogs who eat cardboard like kibble may gobble anything that resembles real food compared to their dry option in the bowl each day.  

Each and every one of my dogs have had different likes and dislikes.  Jessie liked just about everything except citrus; she was a very typical Jack Russell in that she LOVED food.  Tilley liked most everything except for fruit, eggs and fish.  She would eat eggs and fish but did not prefer them.   Luke, well, it was always hit and miss with Mr. Fussy pants but he almost always loved beef, liver and anything with a very strong meaty taste.  Although as many of you know he loved butter, chips and smoked turkey cold meat (nitrate free).  :)  

Now as far as Elsa is concerned, she likes good food.  She has changed over the years and the more variety she is offered the finer tuned her pallet has become.  It is very easy to see what she likes and doesn't.  She loves fish, the fishier the better, YUCK.  She loves sardines and smelt.  There have been very few things that she has turned her nose up.  The occasional almond can be seen lying on the floor beside her bed, she is not a fan. Luke loved almonds so I tend to forget that Elsa doesn't like them until I see it on the ground.   She will not eat fruit unless it is smuggled into something that she does like; which is fortunately quite easy to do with her.  She is not a fan of raw meat but is learning to like it if it is flash seared.  I have recently discovered that she ADORES feta, the girl has taste.   

It always amazes me what we expect our dogs to eat.  Delicious is always better than simply edible.  Yep, even for our dogs.    

Growling

The dog growled as the woman approached.  The woman was the canine owner's friend; but as she got closer the growling got more serious.  This is when the owner said "stop it" in a very harsh manner, pushing him several inches.  I heard her explain then "oh he's fine, he just like to talk."  Hmmmmm.   Let's have a look at this.

The dog was sitting with it's owner at an outdoor cafe.  They were sitting enjoying the day until the woman's friend arrived.  This other woman had on a very large brimmed hat and had a leg brace.  Nothing strange, right?  For us maybe but the dog saw things quite differently.  As the growling started the owner had gotten mad, scolding and even pushing her dog; a clear sign to the dog that all was not well.  Having lost his ability to communicate he was then on pins and needles.  I watched him watching the hat wearing lady.  His eyes were wary and ready for anything weird that she might do. Not a good scenario.  

"We don't allow growling at our house."  "My dog is not allowed to growl."

How many times have I heard this?  Too many times.  

When a dog growls and we quickly stop it by scolding our dogs; we ultimately cut the lines of communication.  We remove the "heads up" that a growl gives us.  A dog learns to not to growl; which in turn can be a very dangerous situation.  

Dogs are not allowed to communicate?  Too many humans don't want any type of growling.  Why?  Because they think that growling is aggression.  Growling is not aggression, growling is a means to avoid aggression.  It is a communication given by a dog to express their feelings.  It can have many meanings but if you don't allow it then you basically silence your dog.  If you don't know how to read body language; then you, my friend, are up sh&ts creek without a paddle.

Of course there are times when growling should not be allowed.  My JRT Jessie loved to bully Luke when he was younger.  She loved to growl and snap at him for nothing, that was stopped.  But even growling within a pack is important; it is that "heads up" that you need before any problems arise.  

If your dog growls, listen.  Stopping a growl should be done by addressing why the growl is being used.  Sometimes a dog just needs space.  In the above scenario, the woman with the hat could have simply taken it off.  It was very clear that the dog saw it as a threat.  Helping our dogs does not happen by shutting them up and not listening to them.  Yes they do have opinions, emotions and feelings.  

Don't silence your dog from communicating; it's not fair and can be very dangerous.   

Betsy's Law

A new law has passed for dog owners in New Jersey.  Betsy's Law will help to protect pets from unsupervised night visits.

Betsy's Law - Sadly like many laws, it takes a death to make it happen.

After reading the law, I of course wondered about the rest of the States.  I'm still looking into that.  I do know that most of the Veterinarians that I have visited in the past have not disclosed this fact to me.  Not only did they not tell me but when asked; they didn't seem to think it was an issue once we got to that fact.

When Elsa was spayed I asked.  I know that it is customary these days to keep dogs overnight when spayed.  But if no one is there to see if anything goes wrong, then what is the reason.  It makes no sense at all if a dog is ill enough to be at the vet that no one be there to watch them.  Far better that your dog be at home, being supervised.  So when they told me that Elsa would likely have to stay overnight, I strongly objected.  There was NO WAY I was leaving her overnight, alone in a crate.  No she was coming home where I could watch her.

If your dog has to be at a Vets overnight, make sure that there are attendants present.  If not take your dog to an emergency facility that has overnight staff.  Our little Jack Russell was moved to a facility that had around the clock staff when she hit with auto-immune disorder.  When Luke had a strange bout last year I rushed him to the ER where they took him back and started on his vitals immediately.  Even if it had been 5:00 I would have still gone to the ER in case he had to stay overnight. 

If all State Veterinarians are not legally forced to disclose this, ask.  Ask in a way that there is no way around getting to the truth.  Always ask, knowledge is power.  Power can you the choice of making the right decision. 

Conquering fear

"He should just get over it," she said.  I looked at her and asked "what are you afraid of?"  She thought for a second as I looked at the young dog on the end of the woman's leash.  "I'm claustrophobic" she said.  Okay, lets meet at the building on the corner and we'll hang out in the elevator for a while.  Her face turned pale, "what?" she said, and so I explained.  That horrible feeling you have at the mere mention of going in an elevator, that is a fear of yours; it is very real and your body goes through a plethora of fight/flight responses in reaction to it.  The exact same thing happens to your dog when a child approaches.   I could see the light bulb turn on. 

Fear is fear and whether it is rational or not, it is a real fear.  Our dogs have fears and to brush them off as being silly is to fail our dogs.  If your dog has a fear, they need your help.  Not in the form of CODDLING, do not try to soothe your dog's fears away.  But show them that there is nothing to fear.  In other words, being an example for your dog. 

Yesterday as Elsa and I arrived at our walk destination; a man got out of his car with two Briards.  One of the dogs was calm; the other was out of control and going off on Elsa.  Both dogs were black, hairy and large.  She snorted her stress about the situation and I very quickly slipped into my example mode.  I chatted happily "that's a crazy dog, let's go this way."  Getting into my "we don't care about that" zone happens very quickly.  I can call upon it at moment; but it takes time and practice to get there. 

The first thing I do is to loosen the leash; that is if I have enough distance to do this.  That is a big secret to it all, distance.  Elsa kept her eye on the dog but never said a word, except for her snorts which are a cue to me how she is feeling about a situation.  When Elsa snorts, I listen.  

Fear is best conquered by baby steps.  I remember watching an episode of the now famous television "dog trainer."  He was working with a dog who was fearful of a shiny floor.  Instead of slowly helping the dog to conquer his fear; he grabbed the leash and dragged him across.  It was horrific to watch.  I am not a fan of this trainer and his methods.  

Working through fears takes time.  Often our dog will give us an infinitesimal step forward; but if we don't see it as progress due to the size of it, we can miss opportunity.  Every tiny little progress is just that.  No matter how small, it is a step in the right direction.  When you get a whole lot of baby steps it comes together as a large progression to a bigger success.  This is how we help our dog. 

Dogs have fears, just like ours.  Just imagine if someone expected you to "just get over it."  



     

Collars, yes again.

Elsa and I were stopped the other day by a man who said, "I'm glad you have a harness on your dog instead of one of those bad collars."  I smiled and told him "yes, me too."  

Elsa is wearing the Ruffwear Front Range Harness

I want to talk about collars again today.  Yes, again.  I know, I talk about collars a lot but when I head out into the public it is brought to me once again.  This morning as I sat in my Xterra at a set of lights, a couple of folks walked by with a herd of dogs.  Each and every dog had a pinch collar on.  I thought to myself "perhaps they have too many dogs."  

I hate pinch collars and here is why.  They inflict pain.  Don't think so?  Then tell me how they work?  That is the big question isn't it; if they don't hurt then where in lies the magic?  The whole idea around a pinch collar is that they, well... pinch!   Right? right!  Oh you can call them a prong collar but they are still pinching.  

Pinch collars can do a great deal of mental damage.  They can cause a dog to form negative associations to things that cause pain.  A dog coming near and your dogs gets excited, pain infliction = negative association to dogs coming near.  Yank a pinch collar and you could be on the receiving end of redirected aggression.  

Now if you are a little old frail lady or gentleman with a giant dog who is out of control when walking; then may need to rely on a painful device.  My suggestion would be to not have an out of control monster dog; or hire someone who can control your dog, but hey, that's me. 

I remember the first time I was introduced to a prong/pinch collar.  It was sold to me as "power steering."  Yep, throw it on and it's like magic.  After my dog screamed having it on, that was that.  This was a long time ago; way before I was ever introduced to positive reinforcement training.  Pinch collars?  Nope.  

Dog necks are just that, their neck.  We should not be yanking them around by them.  Choke collars choke, so please throw all choke collars in the garbage.  The only time a choke collar should ever be used is when capturing and containing rescue dogs.  If you have a dog who can slip their collar easily then invest in a martingale type collar.  They tighten but do not keep tightening around the neck.  

Even a flat buckle collar can cause neck damage if you yank your dog around by one.  I rarely use collars for anything except to hang id tags on but if I hook a leash to one, it is most likely a 2" wide one.  Those rolled leather collars look snazzing but being so thin they put a great deal of pressure on the neck.  The wider the better.  
My dogs do not wear collars in our home.  Take great care if you leave collars on your dog and you have more than one dog.  Dogs can easily get caught up in each other's collar when they are playing.  Watching dogs play with collars on makes me shudder.  It happened to two of my males many years ago.  They were outside playing in the yard and got tangled together.  It was an awful scenario; one thinking that the other was attacking them.  It was not easily rectified by I finally managed to untangle them.  The two were quite shaken. 

If you do have to leave a collar on your dog; make sure that it is loose enough to come off if it got snagged.   NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER leave a martingale, choke or pinch collar on your dog, EVER!!!!  So many dogs have died from hanging by their own collar.  

In my opinion, a body harness is the way to go.  Yes, you will have to train your dog to walk nicely but shouldn't we be doing that and not relying on yanking them around by their neck anyway?  
     

Yep, still hot.

Fresh out of the shower.  

This  morning when I went down to get my coffee; I reached for the door handled and held my breath.  I was hoping that when I opened the door and stepped into the backyard; that I would be hit by a wonderful coolness in the air, nope.  Not happening, not yet.  Yep, it's still hot.  "Really?" I thought to myself; then calculated when this started.  It's been over a week now straight, not cool, not cool at all.  So it will be another indoor day.  

Elsa and I will get out for a walk early.  Then I plan on giving her a haircut before it heats up too much.  She had a bath yesterday and had her feet and face shaved.  I don't shave her face and feet too often because I think that hair protects both her feet and face from injury and perhaps bee stings.  But every once in a while it needs doing for sanitary reasons.  So off it came.  A poodles coat never stops growing so it has to be done; that or she might look like a Komondor dog.  Of course when I searched for the link of a Komondor I had to keep looking.  I can't imagine keeping a dog in a coat like that and wondered what they look like with a haircut.  Well here is a link, not quite like a poodle but a whole lot better than a matted mass of monster hair.    In my opinion they should be shaved; and I don't care what tradition says about it.  Why torture a dog to carry around that amount of matted coat?  

So Elsa will get her haircut today.  She does not get shaved bald, she is left with about 3/4 " of hair.  Enough to protect her from the sun and keep her warm if it ever does cool off at night.  Hopefully we will soon be seeing nice 50 degree nights.  For over a week now we have been using an extra portable air conditioning unit in the bedroom.  It is either that or no sleep with the temperatures barely leaving the 80s.  

Have a great day, and wherever you are, stay cool.  :)

Leave me a comment, I LOVE to hear from you!!!!!

PTSD

I reached for the door handle and froze; hearing the shrieking tires of a car that could not stop in time.  Then came the all too familiar thud and crashing sound of two vehicles that have collided.  Shivers ran down my spine and I took a big breath.  It wasn't me, I'd missed the crash by only moments; but the remnants of my previous crashes are still with me.  After being involved in 4 rear end crashes; 3 within a few years of each other, I'm shaken.  

I continued into the gym; where I'd been headed when I heard the first sound of the crash.  I realized that I had a bit of adrenaline in my body; I hate the feel of adrenaline, it's like a caffeine buzz.  This of course led me to Elsa and her distrust of strange dogs.  Isn't it funny what some people expect from our dogs; but yet we deal with the exact same issues.  Just get over it, right?  Wrong.  Everyone is different and every dog is different.  I know that there are some people who could not get in a car again after being rear ended so many times.  None of the accidents I was in were ever my fault.  The last one left me with the biggest issue; that whole screeching brakes sound behind you.  I heard it and then they hit me, hard.  

Elsa has had several incidents where she was very scared.  One was when a huge Bouvier came out of nowhere and chased her; I hadn't even seen it coming.  Elsa ran for her life; having not seen it or been able to read any body language.  Next was the horrible Bulldog incident; when a very stupid lady walking her two out of control Bulldogs let one attack and latch onto Elsa.  It knocked her to the ground and remained attached to her loin area.  So yes, she does not trust strange dogs out of the shoot; and I do not blame her.  I am very careful who we say "hi" to and have as many "friends" over to play for her.  She ADORES other dogs who she knows and trusts.  In fact I've never seen a dog love her friends more, it is who she is.  But sadly life has taken away her trust of the unknown. 

Given life issues that can be thrown at us and our dogs, we deal.  I have worked with many dogs over the years who act aggressive due to being attacked.  Of course they act aggressive; wouldn't we if someone attacked us out of the blue?  What we do for our dogs after an incident is help them to move on.  Elsa and I walk lots of different places where there are lots of dogs.  I try to find the places with the least chance of loose dogs.  I don't trust people, far more than I don't trust dogs.  People don't know when their dogs should and should not be off leash. 

Our dogs learn from us.  If your dogs has had a fright of some sort; maybe a garbage can fell down right beside them on their daily walk.  Now they can't walk past a garbage can without freaking out.  Well, you bring a ton of treats with you and walk by, over and over and over and over again.  You work at showing your dog that it is a non issue, how?  By making it a non issue.  No coddling, no stopping, no nothing.  Swing your arms like you do normally as you walk and keep up the pace.  You can talk happy talk along with it.  But understand that your dog is indeed dealing with a fear; a real fear and we are here to help them.  

Did you have a good weekend?

Elsa showing off her "manners,"

We had a great long weekend and now it's back to business.  Much of the weekend was spent catching up on some needed rest and family.  Saturday, Elsa had her best friend over for a visit. It was a great visit for her and us with one of my best friends as well.  I drove down to San Diego to spend Sunday with my daughters who are both expecting very soon.  Then Monday started off with a great run for Elsa; then an intense workout for my hubby and I.  Monday late afternoon we hit HomeGoods to pick up a little extra little fall decor.  It was there I found the topic for this blog.  And finally yesterday my husband and I celebrated our 31st anniversary.  A full weekend and now it's over.  

So we were at HomeGoods on Monday afternoon where we spotted a little schnauzer with her owner.  First off, the dog was wandering around on an extension leash, yes.  The rule at HomeGoods is that the dog can come in but must be in a cart; which is a very reasonable request.  This little dog was roaming freely at the end of it's leash; around corners and tangling up other customers.

As much as I love dogs, and you know how much that is, DON'T DO THIS.  Why?  Because it gives dog owners a bad name, that's why.  Not only did these people not give others any regard as to their canine likes and dislikes; they were just pushing it as far as canine etiquette goes.  Their little dog also peed on the floor.  Yep, they poured a bit of water over it and then left the store.

I love dogs, I ADORE DOGS; but I hate when people do things like this.  It is just completely rude.  Just because you love your dog does not mean that others do.  Keep your dog to yourself!  Honestly, I was left shaking my head at these folks who had no regard for others.  I have seen many dogs in HomeGoods, mostly in their owners cart where they are suppose to be.  There was a huge German Shepherd in the store wandering around one day; the dog was not in a cart and I was shaking my head then also.  Obviously none of the store employees wanted to step up and say something.

There are right and wrong things to do with dogs; forcing others to put up with your dog is a big no no as far as I am concerned.   I really hate seeing people give us dog lovers a bad name.  Honestly.

Don't even try to get past the watcher

She's sharp, she's on the ball and she doesn't miss a thing, so don't even try.  Elsa is always watching and aware.  The other day we were walking along a strip mall area that we frequent.  It is a great place to walk for seeing folks, grocery carts, screaming kids etc etc.  We undoubtedly will run into someone who wants to touch or talk to Elsa which she ADORES.  Elsa LOVES people, I mean crazy googly loves people.  So when someone stops to talk to her; they get the full-on Elsa treatment which is good for anyone's ego.  

So we were wandering along, Elsa was sniffing everything that there was to sniff between working on some obedience, when a truck slowed beside us.  We were on the sidewalk area which is right beside where cars can drive.  It also makes a great place to work on "car chasing" issues or creating non issues. I took Elsa to the same place when she was young so she has no car chasing issues.  But, this truck had slowed and the guy inside was looking at Elsa.  

She looked and then took a double take.  "Why was he staring at her?" was her reaction.  She could not function, he was staring at her, she was staring at him.  She got a bit confused; she knows what a slowing vehicle means but didn't know the guy inside.  Elsa loves people but not when they do weird things.  She absolutely had to figure it out before she could continue.  

The guy continued staring.  I could see that he was interested in Elsa and what we were doing.  I'd been working on her "right," behavior which is like a finish in obedience but on the right side.  She was doing great until this guy showed up.  Funny how people don't "get" dog behavior.  If he did "get" it he would have seen that he was disturbing her.  

After looking at him a couple of times myself, he got the message and moved along.  It was a good distraction for her but one that she had a hard time with.  Elsa knows that when cars slow down beside us that we are usually going to talk to someone in the car.  This was confusing to her as he just slowed down enough to stare but was still driving along side us.   

Sometimes one thing can really give you a clear visual on your dog and who they are.  This one incident summed Elsa up to a T.  Elsa is the ever intense watcher.  She does not miss a thing and because of this; she can be hard to move.  Once she locks onto something that she needs to figure out; she needs to figure it out.   Of course now that she has experienced a slow driving gawker, she will be able to deal with the next one.  I guess we've never dealt with a slow driving gawker who just stared before.  :)   Most other slow driving gawkers have actually stopped to talk which Elsa is accustom to.  She did not like the non talking one.  

Elsa is a great reader of body language; perhaps she didn't like that she couldn't read his in his slow moving truck.  As much as she ADORES people; she has a clear understanding of who we give affection to.  We do not give the people who walk by not saying anything, the time of day.  If someone says "hi" to only me we keep moving.  Even if we stop to talk but the human only talks to me, then Elsa minds her own business.  But if they say hi to Elsa or reach a hand out, it's full-on Elsa time.  

Don't even try, you won't get past the watcher.  

The Horse Whisperer

An image of a gorgeous horse I took years ago that was used for a book cover.  

The weather has been hot, crazy hot; so over the past weekend when the temps. hit the high 90s we watched a couple of movies and documentaries.  Highly unusual for us to watch a movie midday but it was too hot to do anything else.  Flipping through the movies we stumbled onto Buck, the Horse Whisper documentary.  "Stop, I wanna watch that," I said.  So we did.  It was slow for sure but the behavior aspect and story is a great one.

By the end of the documentary I had several blog topics that I wanted to write about and a girl to feed.  It was 7:30 and Elsa knew that it was past her dinner time.  She'd enjoyed the afternoon of tv watching with her Dad; having been for a big burst of exercise in the morning, she needed some much needed rest as well, but it was time to feed the guns as they say.

I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary and Buck Brannaman brought up much of the same issues with  horses and humans, as dog and humans.  One main issue was anger.  Anger is something that I see in conventional choke collar training.  Instead of trying to figure a behavior out; choke collar training simply tries to stop it with the yank and choke.  

Anger also arises when we put too much expectation on a dog.  When humans don't fully understand canines and their natural behavior; it is often categorized as "bad dog behaviors," when in fact they are just being dogs.

In the Buck documentary, Buck Brannaman explains several times how anger should never come into the mix when working with horses.  

“[Be] gentle in what you do, but firm in how you do it.” – Buck Brannaman

Many people still use harsh methods in training dogs; some because they just don't know any different.  "Sherri, I wish I'd known," is a phrase that I have heard often.  Heck I've said it myself; "I wish I knew this earlier."  But life is about moving forward, not back.  We can learn from our past but we should not stay there and linger.  

When I was young and just learning about "harsh" training methods, there was so much anger.  If your dog didn't do what you wanted, we were taught to just yank on them.  The harder we yanked the worse the problem got.  Being young and uneducated about dog behavior at the time, I listened and followed along.  

A woman in the documentary who is also a horse trainer and grew up training horses with the harsh methods she had been taught; gave this quote about meeting Buck and learning from him.  I love it.  

"You don't realize how unjust it is until someone shows you a different path." 

This is so true.  Until you learn and allow yourself to evolve, you will never get it.  

I recommend watching the documentary, which can be seen on Netflix.  

I love gear

My red and white Canadian Maple Leaf carabiner has seen better days. 

"I love gear."  Well, let me rephrase that, I love useful gear.  I would prefer to get a great new carabiner over a lot of gifts.  Yep, not your typical girl; I love utility and the more real utility, the better.  Hence the great love I have for my very utility Xterra 4x4.  

Just recently my hubby and I took a trip into Cabela's.  Anyone who loves the outdoors knows and loves Cabelas.  I was in search of some new carabiners.  Why you ask?  I use carabiners all the time, although I do not purchase the actual mountain climbing, weight bearing; the ones that cost a fortune.  I buy the $2.00-$5-00 range ones that get old and worn so I need new ones all the time.  On our recent trip, Cabela's was a bit short on the my favorite type, the asymmetrical or pear shape with a solid gate.  

So we checked out what they had and we left with a couple of new types for my carabiner collection.  :)  I got the a two pack of very small S-biners with wire gates; shown below with my new really great small Cabela duffle bag.  

The orange wire that is attached can wrap around anything you want to hang onto which is very utility.  I may use it for my walking pouch to hold my leash while engaging in retrieving work.  

Along with my 2 tiny S-biners I also got a doohickey, yes really.  This doohickey has a bottle opener (very important), screwdriver, ruler, wrench and box cutter all attached to a wire gate carabiner.  It is a very useful tool to have around so it too will be going in my walking pouch; I may need another to keep in my Xterra.  

Some things that I use my carabiners for:

- Holding my flip flops when I'm at the beach walking dog/s.
- Holding a hand towel when frisbeeing.
- Hanging Elsa's water bottle on.
- Hanging Elsa's water bowl on.
- Hooking things safely in my Xterra.
- Basically hanging anything I don't want to carry on.

Hands free is important when walking your dog, hooking up or attaching stuff to other stuff is important for safety.  I have a couple of really large carabiners in the back of my Xterra; just to hook things to, so that stuff doesn't fly around.  Get yourself some carabiners, you won't regret it.  Let the clip do the work. 

"My dog only gets dog food"

"My dog only gets dog food."  Quite the statement.  Do you have any idea how many times I have heard people tell me this with pride?  Oh yes, their Veterinarian told them to only feed dog food, no scraps or people food.  "People food"  I honestly hate that term.  Like all the food on the planet belongs to us.  Think about it. 

I was at Target just the other day; and as I passed a shelf filled with Beneful dog food I stopped in my tracks.  Hmmmmmm, I flipped the bag over and had a look.  Now, I already know that the foods sold at these type of big box stores are not good and should not be fed to our dogs but when I read the ingredients I was still completely shocked.  

Really?  Corn and corn gluten meal in the top three ingredients.  That and chicken by-product; meaning that it is all the stuff processed down into a meal that is not fit for human consumption.  Feet, feathers, heads etc.  Yes dogs can eat that stuff but just how much nutrition is in it?  Have you ever seen a wolf kill and eat a bird?  They don't eat the feathers.  They take food with very little nutritional value and process the hell out of it; in attempts of making it non spoiling.  

As a human, I need a great deal of protein to feel my best.  If I eat processed food I don't feel good.  Dogs need a whole lot more protein than we do in general and this is what some owners offer?  I remember years ago when I told a training client who had been referred to me by their Vet; not to feed a certain brand of very low grade dog food that the Vet had recommended.  That Vet called me and scolded me for going against what she had told them to feed.  She said if it happened again that she would not refer me as a trainer.  Think I changed my habit of educating people on dog food?  Not a chance. 

When you start to look at nutrition for your dog and for you it is eye opening.  You realize that much of what we eat and feed our dogs is simply filling the pockets of the big commercial food makers.  Most of them don't care what we feed or eat; just as long as they get rich.  

When you eat or feed, think.  Look at the days long ago when food was real, ingredients were simple.  Check out the list of ingredients on that Beneful bag, mind boggling.  Just because they call it dog food does not mean that we should feed it to our dogs.  

There are good dog foods and horrible dog foods, just like our foods.  Food is food and to consider our food as human food and the garbage crap left over to be given to our dogs?  Well, I don't think so.  Let's feed our dogs the way that they should be fed, with food, real food that their body can use as real fuel.  

Research and find the best food that you can buy for your dog.  Don't they deserve it?    

My fur-niece is 13 today

Today my fur-niece, Ruby turns 13. She is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever and I have had the pleasure of photographing Ruby a lot over the years.  I want to wish her the Happiest Birthday on this day.  Ruby lives with my sister, her hubby and three kids (my human niece and nephews) in Canada; who are all at Ruby's beckon call.  I get to see her when we head home for a visit.  Just a couple of weeks ago we were back in Ontario to see the family and of course Ruby.  

Miss Ruby and I on our last trip home. 

This past visit back home, Ruby gave me the warmest welcome; she was acting very much like a puppy again.  She charged around like mad, crying and leaping on me as she ran by.  We had the luxury of being waken up by Ruby in the morning and watching her fall asleep after her big days at the cottage.  She is one of the sweetest girls I know and I am so fortunate to call her my fur-niece.  
Happy Birthday Ruby, looking good.  


Some shots taken over the years.  

Ruby with her ever faithful tosser, her Mom, my sister.  

This shot was the cover of a dog magazine.

Looking pretty great after being groomed by her Aunt on this past trip.    First Toller I've ever groomed. 

National dog day

It's National Dog Day, but at my house it's dog day everyday.  Below are some of my photos over the years.  

Happy National Dog Day from Elsa and I.  

Wine tasting and dogs

One of the hundreds of Vineyards in OR.  Does it get any better than this?

I spent this past Saturday at some wonderful Vineyards in Oregon with my hubby and great friends.  Elsa was at home with my amazing sitter, but I was missing her terribly.  

There is nothing more beautiful than rolling hills covered in grapes; that is of course unless there are dogs in the picture as well.  When we arrived to one of our favorite vineyards, we were in for a nice surprise.  The two boys pictured below were decorating the floor of the tasting room at Coeur de Terre Vineyard in McMinnville, as we walked in. 

The boys lay there on the floor for a longtime before Jack got up to say hi.  Jack is the yellow guy on the left and Blue is the black boy on the right.  Jack is approximately 12 years old and Blue 4 years.   

Jack was the first to get to his feet and come visit.  Blue never did get up except to go outside, although he did accept attention when offered.  Jack came around the tasting bar for some petting and then plunked down again.  Anytime a person approached or walked near his tail would thump loudly on the ground.  He reminded me of Elsa and her thumping tail.  The two Labs were like magnets for us and the other visitors.  

  

The host at this vineyard is welcoming and friendly; giving a full run down on the wines and the dogs.  Both dogs were rescues who seemed to have hit the jack pot as far as where they got to live.  They were relaxed and enjoying the good life.  That's what it's all about right?  

With only my cell phone in hand, I tried to capture the beautiful images that were before me.  Two beautiful Lab boys living the life on a Vineyard.  You don't need a big fancy camera to take great shots.  

 It was very clear who the leader of this small pack was.  Each time Blue tried to get in on the attention; Jack gave him a subtle yet clear signal that he was the top dog.  Blue moved away and stood in the distance.

Blue heading over to see what Jack is checking out in the vineyard.  You can see Jack in the grapes on the left in about an inch.  

Jack, doing the rounds.

What an wonderful old face. 

Jack blends into his life.  

Jack lay at my feet and gave me a glimpse of his life.  

Our host was wonderfully engaging and as we went through the tasting; he explained each wine in depth.  The whole atmosphere and warm feeling of the vineyard and host make you want to stay a while.  The wines at Coeur de Terre are fabulous and we left with several bottles.  

Enjoying some attention from my hubby.

The life.  

Jack was an amazing dog and I feel honored to have met him.  I don't know how many times he gave me his paw, asking for more attention.  

Questions

There are no stupid questions, true.  That is if you haven't just ask the same  one and didn't pay attention to the answer.  If you don't know, ask.  Answering questions is probably my favorite thing to do with regards to helping others with their dog/dogs.  So many people think they know but they don't really.  

Dog behavior may not be brain surgery but it is most definitely 'difficult to figure out for humans.  I really cannot believe that humans can have an animal live in our house with no prerequisite courses or books to read first.  Yep, just add a canine to your family and assume that it's all going to go to plan.  Hmmmmmm.  

There is a great deal to know about dogs.  Facts about dogs in general, behavior, health and nutrition are a never ending learning curve.  Think you know it all?  Nope.  There is always something new to learn about dogs.  In fact, most people don't know anywhere near what they think they know about dogs.  

You see, even if you have a houseful of dogs; you still may not know about dogs.  To really understand dogs you must learn how they work; once you have that then your dogs at home can teach you much more.  But if you are looking at your dogs and seeing the wrong information or not seeing them at all then your dogs will teach you nothing.  

If you don't know, ask.  I am a need to know type of person.  Of course dogs are my passion but I like to know about everything.  If  am mid conversation with someone who is in the know; I may stop them for a factoid to further assist my understanding.  "How does this work, what happens when, what if," I ask a lot of questions.  One of the reasons I was so excited about my new vet is that he answered all of my questions.  

No question is stupid.  There are tiny little questions which require a yes or no all the way up to huge monumental life changing questions.  Even if you've been doing something or thinking something for years; if you have a question about it, ask.  Ask, ask, ask, ask.  

Next Q&A over at Just dogs with Sherri Facebook page September 10, 6:00pm PST.

Common sense and respect

Common sense - Common sense is a basic ability to perceive, understand, and judge things, which is shared by ("common to") nearly all people, and can be reasonably expected of nearly all people without any need for debate.

Unfortunately I do not see a lot of common sense these days.  Humans often leave me shaking my head for the lack of any sense at all.  Have we gone so far that we are losing the basics of common sense?  The loss of common sense mixed with a lack of respect for others is what I am seeing out in the world.  Just yesterday as we were leaving the park; a woman had a big lab off leash using her chuck it.  Of course I took the time to watch as Elsa was having her post workout drink of water.  As another woman rounded the corner with her two Boston Terriers on extension leashes, the Lab took note.  The owner of the Lab called to it and made a mad dash in attempts of grabbing her.  She obviously knew (had a preexisting knowledge) that the lab was not coming but running for the dogs. She dove for her dog and grabbed the collar as the dog tried to veer out of arms reach.  She hooked the dog up and then let the dog go once again as the Boston terrier lady quickened her step to stay out of bolting range..  

Common sense should tell us not to let our dogs off leash when they do not come when called.  This and respect for others should tell us to keep our dog on a leash; or wait until you have the park to yourself.  But it doesn't, so many people have lost their sense of common sense.  

When I am walking on a path with Elsa, we typically step off when people are jogging by, have strollers or little ones.  I consider this to be common sense.  Not everyone wants a dog 2" away from them.  But this is also respect; common sense mixed with respect.  I don't know how many times I have to make a huge circle around people with their dogs on the en of extension leashes.  FIFTEEN feet away from the owner and free to tangle whomever they like.  Not cool.  COMMON SENSE people.  Fine if you are out in a field with no one around but not in a public place.  As far as I am concerned those freaking leashes should all be in the garbage.

What about those who completely ignore body language?  Common sense should tell you that when someone looks away and moves away from you that they do not want to interact, right?  But yet people still advance with determination.  Mind boggling.  

Should common sense not tell people to leave their dogs at home when it is hot out?  The moment they lock the car door with their dog in it; common sense does not kick in?  The thought never occurs to them that maybe it might be hot in the car?  No common sense. 

Common sense can stop accidents but if there is no common sense, then what?  Walking a dog down a busy street without a leash is just stupid and common senseless.  Giving your dogs items to chew or eat that are choking size is done thoughtlessly and without common sense.  Allowing your dog to approach every dog you see without asking?  Not smart.  I knew a little dog who's owner allowed this and the last time I saw them the little dog was minus an ear.  Very sad.  Accidents happen, yes, but many could be avoided by simply using common sense.  


Where has common sense gone?  

Watching canines

 

Little Luna telling me secrets, she has a lot to say. 

Many mornings I sit and look at my computer screen; void of ideas to write about as I have been blogging for years now.  This morning I had a different problem, too many things to write about.  I started out with one idea which very quickly turned into three different topics.  So I will cover one today, another tomorrow and the final one the next day. 

Learning from our dogs

Each and every dog will teach us something.  Like us, all dogs are individuals.  Every dog that comes through our life in some way will our lives; teaching us bits and pieces that we can use. 

No dog in my life ever taught me as much as Luke did.  He taught me life lessons; but mostly he taught me about dogs and the very essence of a dog.  He had issues, the kind of issues that many dogs have when they must live in our human world.  The difference with Luke was his outward expression.  He was demonstrative, every emotion was bigger than life.  Seeing the world through Luke's eyes catapulted me to a place where many never get to go.  But this doesn't happen to everyone who deals with dogs.  Many don't see or care to see what is going on.    Lots of people just go on in their day to day never stopping to watch their dog or try to figure out what is going on. 

Watching is a must, watching and learning.  The first step is to teach yourself to watch; the next is to really learn about what you are seeing.  I often listen to new clients as they attempt to tell me what is going on with their dog.  The entire time they talk, I listen and watch.  I'm always watching.  I really can't turn my watcher off, Luke instilled this in me.  After I watch, I explain what is really going on.  They listen and an "ah ha" moment comes for them, it always does. 

It is amazing that just one misunderstood behavior can make things worse.  One wrong behavior from us can create a huge mess.  Learning about dog behavior comes with time and experience.  Yes you can read about it in a book but unless you have dealt with it, you really will not understand.  Even then there are many different ways to look at a behavior.

Having been a private dog trainer for years, handled dogs in the show ring, groomed, photographed and written about dogs; I have seen, experienced and dealt with dogs for forty years.   But just being around dogs does not teach you to watch; that must be learned and worked on if you want to be good at it.  I tend to be a watcher by nature; I do it in the human world as well.  I love to watch body language.  Humans can say one thing but their body or actions tell the truth.  This is where the "talk the talk, but do you walk the walk" saying comes from.  

Dogs say a lot and if you aren't watching, you'll never understand any of it.  It amazes how many people live with dogs for years and years and know nothing about dog behavior.  I often listen to people talking about dogs; I take a backseat and just listen.  People love to talk, not many really listen.  They may look like they are listening but most like to just talk.  Listening is important; for when you listen, you learn.  Watching and listening go hand in hand in our canine/human world.   
  

Common Sense-tomorrow



Questions-Friday

So hot

It's so hot.  Yesterday's temperature hovered around the 100 degree mark, too hot.  I hate this weather but as we  moved into August I know that it is coming.  Typically September is our hottest month of the year so a great deal has to be considered before exercising the dogs. 

The other day I was out with Elsa; we hit the park early in attempts of beating the heat.  We were there at about 8:30 in the morning but even still it was very warm already.  The first thing we did was to seek out the shade for some power retrieving.  The most  intense activity calls for the coolest spot.  Just getting in a few tosses was plenty in the warmer temperatures. 

Before hitting the path for a slower paced walk I checked the temperature.  The path is a light color so it doesn't heat up like a darker surface does; even still I tested before walking.  This is something you should always do when warmer weather has arrived. 

It truly boggles my mind to see folks out running or even walking their dogs when it is scorching hot out.  The temperature from the ground can be scary hot.  Our dogs are very close to the ground; much closer than us, so with the added heat coming from below they can overheat easily.  A warm walk for you might be an extremely hot walk for your dog.  CONSIDER YOUR DOG. 

CONSIDER YOUR DOG, please.  So many people obviously do not consider their dog when they head out.  I often take note of the heat coming from a parking lot as cross, heading into a store (while Elsa is safely at home in the A/C).  People regularly walk their dogs on dark hot surface without thought.  It's not fun for your dog and can be dangerous or lethal. 

Yesterday I let Elsa out back to pee.  As soon as she was done we head back indoors, it was unbearably hot.  I can't imagine leashing her up and heading out to walk down the street.  If you feel that you must take your dog out in the heat, hit the shade.  Consider the heat when you think about activity level.  Watch for signs that your dog is overheating.  Panting is how dogs cool themselves, regular panting vs. frantic panting are two different things entirely. 

Make sure you have water with you.  A little water more often is better than a lot of water gulped down at one time.  When it's scorching out, stay in.  Spend time playing indoor games when it's really hot out.  It won't last forever, the cooler temps will be just around the corner.  But for now in the high temps, keep cool with your dog.  Your dog will thank you for CONSIDERING them.