Teaching the MARK

My favorite clicker with attached wristband.  

Ready, set, action.  Just kidding.  Teaching the "go to your MARK" is easy and it is what movie stars dogs learn and understand.  They are required to go to a MARK and do a particular behavior.  Watching a video last week had me wanting to extend my MARK training.  Elsa has a couple of "place" type behaviors which are another version of the MARK.  

First I got out my click and Trader Joe's O cereal.  The clicker is a great way to work away from your dog.  It is used to mark a correct behavior at the precise moment that it occurs.  When paired with a reward, it is a fast way to teach.  But if you are planning on using a clicker or verbal "yes" as I do as well; you must learn how before trying to implement it.  I have seen many people using the clicker incorrectly. 

To the MARK, notice her tail movement?  Elsa loves learning. 

On her way into a down and having fun. 

Next, I placed the X on the carpet with painters mask and thought about what I wanted Elsa to do.  She already has her "bed" behavior where she must go to any blanket, bed or pillow when asked and lie down.  It is a casual behavior which we use mostly for when we are eating.  She also has her "chill" which is used for when someone comes to the door.  She has a very specific little rug that she needs to go to and stay there until told that she can move.  Being that Elsa comes unglued when visitors come over; we are still working on that one.  

So for this "MARK" exercise I wanted her to go to the MARK and sit.  Sounds simple?  Getting her to the MARK was easy peasy; having her sit was not.  Elsa's go to behavior is a "down" so having her stop short of going down took some work.

Elsa is use to offering new behaviors so as soon as I put the tape on the floor she got started.  She was going to the spot almost immediately although she had a good look around to see if there was something else that she was to incorporate into a new behavior.  She had a quick look at Dad's guitar and a random paper on the floor.  I picked the paper up and gave her a "error marker" when she looked at the guitar again.  My error marker is a low non verbal sound, mmm mmm.  I didn't want her scratching the guitar in attempts of figuring out what I wanted.  

First she got a click for simply going to the tape; which she achieved quickly.  Then we moved to the "sit, not down" part which was not easy.  Catching her before she went down required timing.  I used error markers for when she went down before I could catch her.  This lets her know that she has made an error right away so that she is not left hanging.

I also moved her from a down to a sit several times, to correct the error.  It didn't take her long to figure it out once I got an error marker in as she was on her way down.  Catching the mistake before it happened helped her immensely.  Once I have the "sit" solidified, I will work on other behaviors on her MARK.  

As far as training at home for fun, the sky is the limit.  Elsa learns so quickly that I'm always trying to think up something to teach her.  She is a very enthusiastic learner and often bold.  If she doesn't think that I am working up to par, she lets me know.  What a girl.  

For some reason I was unable to post her video here today.  If you'd like to see her in action, please visit my FB page.  Just dogs with Sherri.  You will see in the video that I am using "yes" instead of clicks which is easier when trying to video.  

Categorizing temperament traits

They are all different.  

Why is temperament testing so important?  Many people or breeders don't think that it is; they allow their new puppy buyers to pick, first come first choose.  But most people have no idea what they are looking for.  Sure, they have an idea of the perfect Lassie soon to be in their life; but sadly that doesn't often end up as planned.  What they want and how to choose it comes from experience and new puppy buyers don't tend to have that.  Choosing the wrong breed and/or the wrong dog within a litter happens a lot. 

Within a litter of puppies there are many different temperaments; there in-lies the problem.   Which puppy would best suit your family and lifestyle?  If you have one or more dogs already; then choosing a good match is more difficult.  You have personalities to match up.  That said you are the leader, the boss of the pack and you have to live with each one.  So choose wisely and if you can, go with a breeder who does temperament testing and knows their litter extensively.  Each puppy is very different from the other.  Even in a very "even" litter there are differences.  

I was looking at Elsa yesterday as she stood watching out the living room window.  She was watching for lizards; which has paid off for her several times this summer.  Luke use to do the same, as did Tilley but they were all very different.  Tilley was very high drive; crazy style, high drive.  This high drive created an issue with shadow chasing.  Once I realized this OCD issue I very quickly moved it to an outlet that I could control; and Tilley became an amazing Frisbee dog.   Tilley was a high energy dog that was very happy to lay on the couch as well.  A nice combination.  She had a very accessible "off" switch.  But even with her high energy and high drive she was not highly interested in playing.  She played a bit but she was much more interested in her chase activities.  If she was involved in a chase she would completely ignore anything around her.  

Comparing Elsa's drive to Tilley's, they are very different.  Elsa has extremely high drive but is much more controllable.  She has a high drive to chase but does not zone out.  Her energy level is probably higher than Tilley's was.  She can go all day without batting an eyelash; and if there is anything going on as far as action, she's in the mix.  She loves to play more than any dog that I have known and adores her friends.  So you see, even though Tilley and Elsa may have scored very similar in the drive section of a temperament test, they were and are very different. 

Luke had drive but not crazy drive.  He was an amazing retriever but did not want to participate in the activity all day long like the girls did and do.  He was reactive, meaning that every emotion he had was bigger than most in outward behavior.  Whatever Luke was feeling, you knew it.  Not much got past him; but nothing gets past Elsa.  She is hyper sensitive to anything and everything going on around her.  She is a need to know type of gal; much like I am.  :)

When I temperament test, I read between the lines as well as the score the actual tests.  This of course is where breeder knowledge of a litter comes in as well.  I often chat about my "between the lines" thoughts with the breeder and we discuss each puppy as an individual.  A puppy may be the most active in a litter; which to the average puppy buyer looks like fun.  But, that puppy may have a whole agenda of their own.  It may involve activity but not with you or other dogs.  They may have a tough time settling once they are wound, maybe not.  Just like the puppy sitting in the corner may not be the shy one that he looks like.  Many puppies who sit back and watch are highly intelligent, thinkers.  

This is why it is extremely important for breeders to interact with their puppies on many different levels.  Interact with and watch, watch them interact with other puppies, people, inanimate objects and on their own; how do they deal with the world around them when they don't have their posse?

Letting puppy buyers pick their own puppy is like putting a blindfold on and saying "okay, choose."    

Pay for performance

Don't you hate when you pay a lot of money for something and are let down by lack of performance.  It could be a great meal that you were expecting, a grand performance on screen or stage or even service somewhere or at your home.  It sucks when you have high standards; pay for it, and are let down.  No one likes to pay good money for a job poorly done.  There are of course those who don't like to pay for a job well done either; it's their money and they don't want to part with it.   Great service or performance should be paid for.  

I say, pay for performance.  In the canine world, that means rewarding a job well done.  That said, you don't want to become a human pez dispenser who just pops out treats for anything and everything.  What happens when you reward everything is that you create a "show me the money," scenario.   Got nothing to bribe a behavior with?  Forget asking.  This is not the way it is suppose to work.  Once a dog understands a behavior and is reliable at offering it, you wean the treats.  When a behavior is more difficult to perform; say in a high distraction area, save the treats for then. 

Not everything has to be rewarded by food.  The other day as Elsa and I walked down a shopping area; we stumbled upon a nice big plate of Mexican food that someone had dumped.  Elsa's nose is always going so she knew it was there far before I ever saw it.  She nosed over towards it and I told her to "leave it."  She immediately turned away and we continued our walk.  I did not food reward her but gushed at how amazing she was.  Had this been a couple of years ago, I would have rewarded with food.  Leave the food, get a food reward.  But leaving it is expected of her now.

When you expect above and beyond performance; meaning something that is really tough, grueling or requiring expertise, you need to pay for it.  That means either with a really great food reward or acknowledgment in a big way.  The more difficult something is, I like to resort to real pay, like food.  Leaving the food on the sidewalk was easy for Elsa.  The leave it behavior was ingrained in her at a very young age.  

Paying for performance is essential.  But even the little things should always get a "thank you."  Every single thing that I ask for is acknowledged when obliged.  Throughout my day you can hear me say "thank you," over and over and over again.  I do not like to see guardians ask for a behavior; have it performed by their dog and that's it, nothing said.  Our dogs don't have to listen to us; but if you have worked hard at creating a relationship and educated your dog; then you should thank them for obliging you.  

Thank you, always.  Pay, for high performance.    

Much being said but is anyone watching?

I sat on the leg machine watching.  Between sets I rest; not for long, just enough time to go again.  I was in my zone, listening to my rock'n "The boys are back in town,"  where I don't usually see much of anything because I'm in my workout zone.  But yesterday during my rest, I watched the human behavior unfold before me.  It was right in front of me.  When you remove the sound from an interaction, all you have left is body language. 

The two men were at an arm curl machine.  They were pretty far from me but straight in front.  One of the men was very buff; he obviously worked out a lot.  While the other one, not so much.  What was interesting was that only one wanted to be in the conversation.  Through body language I could see that the buff guy was done talking and wanted to workout.  He even made an attempt at ending the conversation by resting his hand on the other guys shoulder and then turning away.  A period to end it, so to speak.  

Well, the chatty Cathy didn't get it.  He continued to talk while the guy got back to his workout.  Even moving around in front of the guy on the arm machine when he felt as though he wasn't being listened to.  This was a one way conversation, common.  You know the type of people who only speak but never listen?  Even when they are trying to look like they are listening they are just waiting for you to stop talking so that they can speak.  These are not true conversations.  

The gym is a funny place.  So much is said with just body language.  There are those who go for the social aspect; while others (like myself) are there to workout.  Aside from the chatty Cathy's at the gym, much can be heard even in silence.  Body language is fascinating if you turn off the sound of communication; which is what I do as I enter the gym.  I very purposefully turn up my music to drown out the chatter.  I usually put my head down and workout.  I'm in my zone. 

Just last week as I sat doing some tricep dips; an elderly and very out of shape man stood in front of me.  After a minute of ignoring him (as that wasn't working to remove him) I took my ear piece out and said "yes?"  My body language spoke volumes, but he wasn't listening.  He proceeded to tell me what I was doing wrong and how I should be doing my exercise.  Clearly he doesn't read body language because even though I held my tongue I had a lot to say.  Before he finished his speech I calmly put my ear piece in and smiled.  He stood there not getting it.  Geesh. 

The interaction that I watched during my rest yesterday made me realize how much is said when you take away the sound.  Humans tend to use their voice far more than body language.  Our dogs use their body before voice; but if and when it is used, we tend to focus on sound.  Watching is far more important than listening in dogs.  

While the guy on the curl machine continued to workout; the talking man never stopped talking.  He didn't get the signal that the conversation was over; and that he was just spewing for his own need.  He wasn't watching any body language.  If he was he would have seen that the other guy was not interested in further conversation.  

As you all know, I am a watcher.  Yesterday's interaction gave a clear and precise message to me of just how important watching is.  Have we lost the art of visual communication understanding?  Maybe.  

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.