Fallout behaviors

We’ll get through it together.

Fallout - an unexpected or incidental effect, outcome, or product:

Not all fallout is unexpected, in fact much fallout behavior is highly expected. How many times have you heard the statement “there’s going to be fallout from this?” I say it myself when I see life unfolding in a particular way as to forecast fallout. So what is fallout behavior?

When I say that there will be fallout behavior I mean that a life scenario that is in play is going to result in other issues that we will have to deal with. Pinch/prong collars result in fallout behaviors. A dog is inflicted with pain by pulling and very quickly associates that pain to whatever happens to be around when it is inflicted. That can mean aggression, fear, cringing at the presentation of the causer or any other number of behaviors.

Fallout is not typically associated with something positive; it is usually something bad that will occur and have to be dealt with. There will be fallout from this pandemic. Of course there will be all sorts of fallout for we humans as well as our dogs and many other things as well. A few things that will result from our unusual quarantine life with regard to our dogs will be and are:

• Under socialized dogs having to deal with a lack of life experience.

• Fear and suspicion resulting from a sheltered life.

• A new life to learn and live caused by the fact that many dogs have been surrendered and re-homed during the pandemic.

• Under trained dogs. Trainers like myself have also been quarantined.

• Dogs that will have to adjust to huge changes once things go back to normal. Acquired during the pandemic when everyone was home.

So what can we do to help reduce the impact of the fallout on our dogs? Baby steps. If you have a young dog that has been under socialized, take it slow. You don’t want to go from 0 to 300 miles an hour in a few seconds. Many dogs are going to be apprehensive to their surroundings and life in general. That includes proximity, we’ve been distancing so we need to close the gap slowly once it’s time.

The biggest thing that we will need to concern ourselves with is space and time. As you all know I am a big advocate of space, I was even before all this COVID stuff happened. But now we will need to focus on it even more for our dogs. Baby steps to success. Your dog may require a great deal of time to get back the a “normal” state and time.

Time with our dogs will have to be reduced slowly. So what if you have to go back to work full time in a few weeks? Start getting space from your dog now, slowly. Go out, somewhere, anywhere without them. Many dogs may suffer from separation anxiety due to this pandemic. Start removing yourself today, not drastically but calmly and methodically. Don’t lavish attention on them every second your are home; let your dog learn to be alone even when you are at home. Go out at different intervals, keep the tv turned on. Keep your comings and goings on the down low, no big deal.

With our help, our dogs will transition through this. We will all have fallout from this, it’s been a very strange time for sure.

A dogs mind - Riggs

Its Friday and I’m blogging while I wait for my videos to upload onto Youtube for my upcoming Boundary training course. If all goes well it will be up and ready by this weekend (I’ll let you know). While I write, both Elsa and Riggs are passed out in the office. They had a big run with Dad this morning then video shooting with Mom, it’s been a day already. Ahhhhhh the struggles of being a canine celebrity. ;)

I love dogs, I know, bit secret…not. I don’t know how many times a day that they amaze me. I know they are amazingly intelligent yet I am still blown away by the things they do, know and exhibit. Just this morning Riggs came into the bathroom while I was getting ready. He head to the shower and was standing turning his head at the closed shower door. “You want in there?” I asked him. He did, so I opened it and he stretched out to see the shower head off of it’s regular position and lying on the floor. Hmmmmmm. It was making a weird noise, a hissing sort of noise. He looked at me, looked at it several times as he attempted to show me that there was a problem.

“I know, it’s making a weird noise” I said to him. He left and came back again and right to the shower head, this was not okay with him, this needed attending to. Riggs is a specialist, highly intrigued, advanced perception and communication skills which makes him a specialist in his field (that of an extremely intelligent canine). He likes to know what is going on at all times and is concerned when things are not right. This shower head was clearly not right and he needed it fixed.

“I’ll fix it, just a minute” I told him as he stood at his ‘shower down’ post. I smiled and reached over his head grabbing the shower head and put it back where it should be, in the holder. He gave me direct eye contact, wagged and left the bathroom; all was well now in his mind. Riggs is extremely sensitive to everything around him, he doesn’t miss a thing; which is why he has a few more quirks than the average k9. It is his attention to detail that occupies much of his time.

Some dogs go through life just sort of coasting through, not noticing much of anything really. These are typically the easy dogs, not likely to notice or worry about much in their environment. Riggs on the other hand sees everything, smells everything and vibes everything. Heaven forbid I gasp during a movie; he’s on me immediately making sure that I’m alright. Just the other night a woman was creeping through a house; slow and hesitant in her movement, he started to growl at her. Crazy.

Each and every dog is an individual, they are their own dog and that distinctiveness sets him apart from others. He is a funny guy and I know him well; so when he exhibits a behavior of trying to show me something, I pay attention. Getting to know the dog inside of your dog is who they are. Sure they look stunningly handsome or beautiful, but who they are is on the inside. That is what has drawn me to them for so many years, what’s on the inside. They are truly fascinating.

Mistakes in dog training

I trained and photographed this happy guy years ago. :)

Mistakes are a normal part of life…right? We all make them but when we make mistakes in teaching our dogs, it can be the difference between understanding and not understanding for them. I see mistakes being made in dog training all the time. Mostly it is from trainers with little experience under their belt. They are out there trying to teach k9 guardians “how to” but they are doing it wrong themselves. A little error can make a big difference in how easily a dog “gets it.” Even long time dog trainers can get it wrong when they didn’t learn it correctly themselves.

The biggest mistakes I see being made are:

• Calling a dog out of a stay. Why? By calling them out instead of officially releasing, you plant a seed that they will be coming to you at some point which weakens the stay.

• Allowing a dog to eat (as a reward) what you have just told them to leave. Why? Like the stay, you are planting a seed that they are going to get what you have said is off limits. This weakens a leave it.

• Not enforcing a stay. Why? You teach a dog that stay doesn’t really mean stay.

• Using verbal cues incorrectly. Why? It is hard enough for dogs to learn in a simple, concise manner; mess it up and it is so much more difficult for them to learn.

• Using a behavior marker incorrectly. Why? Because behavior markers can be very powerful. Use them incorrectly and they lose that power. I cannot believe when I see a trainer prompting a behavior with a clicker; the click is to follow a desired behavior.

Education is a never ending process. We are in a constant state of learning; even those with closed minds learn stuff just by living and experiencing. The difference is seeing better and doing better. I have seen other dog trainers completely confusing their human and canine clients by trying to teach something incorrectly.

Nine years ago I took Elsa to a puppy class strictly for socializing. We went through the obedience steps that were being taught out of respect for the trainer; but her real training was being done at home by me (her Mom). If they offered up incorrect information, we just skipped it and sat out. One of the things they had us do was to teach our puppies to go to a blanket. Elsa already knew this, so we showed off a bit. ;) The problem came when we were to get our dogs off of the blanket, click and reward. So we were to click for our puppy going on the blanket and click for off the blanket. This was extremely confusing for the puppies. Am I to be off or on? I simply tossed a little kibble off the blanket to get her off but did not click as I’d been told to do. It made no sense.

There are so many different trainers and methods of training out there. I try not to watch trainers who I do not want to learn from. Although I do like to watch k9 guardians working with their dogs; but have a hard time not helping when they are not my students. Keeping lessons clear, concise and simple is the way to teach our dogs. When we get into a muddy area due to a trainer not clearly understanding what they are doing; we can confuse our canine students.

Much of my training philosophy is based on common sense. I believe that common sense is far too underrated these days. That said, the common sense must be based on canine communication requirements. Meaning that if I use some method that my or your dog will not understand, it’s not going to have a great rate of success.

Dogs learn through the action/reaction process. What happens when they do something?

feedback - a reaction or response to a particular process or activity:

If the feedback or direction is not clear, then you venture into muddy water. Muddy water is fun to play in but not learn in.

Have a training question? Ask me.

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Adherence

End of our walk, back in the car and onto some proof training.

I just finished looking up a word that I feel comfortable using in lieu of “enforce.” Why? Because we are just back from our walk; actually my first walk in a while. Since this severe heat we’ve been having and my bum knee my husband has been running Elsa and Riggs early in the morning. Their Dad could not take them out this morning so I decided for a short sniff walk for the 3 of us. I put my brace on, gave the pooches a little talk about tripping me and being extra good and we were off.

I have a ritual surrounding getting out of the car that is cast in stone with the our dogs. They must sit and be released before getting out of the car. It is the law and this rule must be followed. Things have changed a bit with Elsa since her stroke because we lift her out of the car. She goes first always, then Riggs.

I talk about enforcing behaviors a lot; but, I realized today that I do not like the term “enforce,” I think that it gives people the wrong idea of what I mean.

So here is the example for the day:

We got to the park, I lifted the back hatch and let Elsa out of the car first as usual. But, just as I did that a leaf blowing gardener made his way past the car and I said something to Elsa. Riggs had been sitting patiently waiting as he always is; but jumped out of the car before being released. He got out like I had released him and I was shocked, this was a first; so without a lapse in time I hoisted him very quickly back into the car. This is essential if you want a solid behavior and jumping out of the car before being released could possibly be extremely dangerous.

It is imperative to adhere to certain behaviors for everyone’s safety and this is one that is a must (because I said so). This morning could have lead to my leniency, but then I would have opened a loop hole. My knee is sore and I’m wearing a brace, I could have let it slide, but then what? I knew that there were extenuating circumstances this morning; a misunderstanding so to speak. But the fact was that Riggs had not heard a clear “okay” from me. “Okay” tells him that I am prepared and ready for him to get out of the car; and he did not hear the “okay” from me. He assumed he did, so he needs without a shadow of a doubt proof training.

He has had quite a bit of proof training already but it has been a while. Perhaps he knew that I am incapacitated somewhat? Whatever the reason we will fine tune his training, give him a refresher so that there is no doubt. This is done by throwing other words at him and making sure that he knows the only one that lets him get out is “okay.” My adherence to the rules was the right thing to do and as he sat and pondered how and why he was back in the car, he knew. I told him he was a very good boy when he sat, and we had a little chat. There is no anger involved with enforcing or adhering to rules. Although I think that the term “enforce” implies that to many.

I backed up, prepared for his dismount and said clearly “okay.” He hesitated and I had to tell him again; a consequence of what had just unfolded. I would much rather that my dogs hesitate than anticipate for safety reasons.

Questions?

Over weight dogs

Ibizan Hound - Lambeau (the picture of fit and healthy)

This is a touchy subject. It is difficult to talk about weight these days without people being offended, and rightly so. Weight in humans is a very personal thing; no one has the right to tell anyone else what they should or should not weigh. Each of us has our own life to live as we see fit, right? The one thing I will say about the subject of weight in humans is that there seems to be a trend towards nutrition instead of just a number on a scale, which I see as evolution.

But as far as our dogs go, they deserve to live the best life that we can offer them and that means keeping them lean. I’m writing this blog today because yesterday Elsa, Riggs and I passed by a guy with a very overweight Labrador that would not get up and walk. I was so troubled by this and thought to myself “if he just lost a few pounds, he’d be a different dog.”

Let’s face it, dogs are here for a very short time with us; and most of their lives revolve around the decisions that we make for them. Food is a big decision…what we feed, how often we feed and why we feed. We humans often use food when we feel guilty. We can’t spend enough time with our dogs so we give them goodies. Then our dog’s see how it works and look longingly at the goodie cupboard. We see our dog’s gusto for eating and feed more. They want more, we give them more because it makes us feel good. But it shouldn’t.

We should replace that warm and fuzzy feeling of giving our dogs extra food with giving them extra movement. I’d like to ask a favor of you all. Go grab something that weighs in at 15-25 lbs and run up and down the stairs a few times. How’s it feel? Not great eh? Most dogs are much smaller than us, and just a pound or two can make a huge difference to their ease of movement. Sadly the more weight they carry the less they move; it is as simple as that. It is hard to move when you are carrying around extra weight.

It is odd when I very gingerly tell clients that their dog “could lose a few,” they typically reply “really?” They had no idea. It seems for some reason that we aren’t good at seeing extra weight on our canine companions. Is it because we think cute and pudgy go together? I don’t know why but you know I’m going to look into it. ;)

I remember a big ah ha moment years ago when I had to carry my 47 lb Tilley up and down the stairs every day after she was hit with Vestibular disease. My knees felt it as I made my way down and they surely wobbled on the way up. “This is what it would feel like if I gained over 40lbs.” I thought to myself. Any extra weight at all is just that, weight to lug around for them.

As they age it gets even worse and sadly that is when our dog’s tend to really gain. They move less, we treat more because our dog’s seem to want more as they age. But in actuality we should be cutting back and feeding less as they naturally move less.

There is no big secret to weight loss.

There is no secret. Oh sure the folks who make the diet pills and special meals want us to think that there is a secret. The way to weight loss is simply common sense; more movement and less food. But this does not mean feeding diet or senior food to our dogs. It simply means cutting back on the amount. I am not a fan of these “diet or senior” foods as they cut back on much needed nutrients that our dogs need.

Just less food, not less nutrition is key.

It is our responsibility to give the dogs who share our lives, the best life we can give them. This means giving them great nutrition, lots of exercise for their body and mind, care, support and affection. Allowing them to get fat does not make them happy; and if we could ask them, they would tell us that they would rather run around and play than eat bon bons. Keep them moving and choose their nutrition wisely. The more nutrients a food contains, the less they need to fuel them. Sadly much of the food we feed our dogs contains so much of what they don’t need. More on that later. Now off the couch.

Success

Success - the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or

endeavors; the accomplishment of one's goals.

Success is something that is tough to measure. It can mean many different things to many different people. For me, success is an achievement; no matter how small or large. If it was a goal, even the smallest of goals and it was achieved, success!

Success is something I discuss a lot in dog training. Because with the idea of goals and success also comes frustration and the concept of failure. Frustration is also very prominent in dog training and something that I help guardians overcome themselves and learn to see it when it is happening with their dog. Frustration isn’t good for anything so we try to minimize it. More on FRUSTRATION in another blog.

When we teach our dogs, I often talk about baby steps. These baby steps truly help a guardian to see just how successful both their dog and they are doing. As a dog trainer, teaching people to train their dogs, it is my job to see that each part of the team (human and canine) achieve success, no matter how small.

In life, we often have a difficult time seeing success; both with ourselves and our dogs. So let’s break it down. Success means that a goal has been accomplished. Have you ever felt like a failure because your goal was too big, too unobtainable and felt too monumental? Well, that is often where the sense of failure comes into play. “This is too hard, I can’t do it.” or “I can’t, he isn’t getting it;” is what I hear often. “Oh yes you can,” is my default response because yes you can and so can your dog.

If your goal is too big and too unobtainable, break it down and make it into smaller steps for doable success.

If you are having trouble with something that you are trying to teach your dog and just can’t seem to get your head around it, ask me. I will help you to break it down into doable steps. If you have a goal that is leaving you paralyzed simply by the monumental task before you, break it down. Don’t look at the whole picture, break it into little bits that create lots of little success. It is much better for you and your dog.

Have a wonderful weekend.

De-sensitizing

The slightest movement and he is ready to go. I am working on this.

Sitting at my desk this morning, going through emails, putting my grooming course on sale, cancelling my gym membership etc, etc, and Riggs is driving me nuts. He is driving me nuts because every slight movement of my chair sends him flying off of his bed and ready to head to the kitchen. You see he had a big run this morning and the next thing on “his” agenda is breakfast.

I know he wants his breakfast, he tells me every morning until he has eaten, that he hasn’t eaten yet. He is bossy, running ahead of me each time I head towards the kitchen. Often I will deek him out, turning on a dime and going the other way. I am not a fan of bossy behaviors and do not want him telling me when it’s time to eat. He is a guy that needs things not so much on schedule. Of course it’s not entirely possible as our life often revolves around routine. But when I can switch it up, switch it up I do.

Riggs is slowly desensitizing to my office chair movement but, when it is pre-meal time he is having a difficult time. So I need to work harder around that time to change the meaning of chair movement.

Desensitizing - to lessen the sensitiveness of; to make indifferent, unaware, or the like, in feeling.

As far as my chair movement goes, I have to change the meaning of it. When it is around mealtime it cannot mean that I am immediately going downstairs to make dinner. Easy peasy right? Not so much. As I always say, every dog is different and Riggs locks in on routine and it takes work to get him out of it. Each and every time I sit in my office chair, I’m working on the chair movement.

• Move my chair, go in my drawer.

• Move my chair, turn the fan on.

• Move my chair, go to the closet and rustle around.

• Move my chair, bend over and pick up something pretend on the floor.

You get the idea, I am doing something other than leaving the room. Riggs is one of those dogs that follows, and I mean follows. I often can’t find him because I look around and don’t see him; only to look down and see he is at my feet. He is a close follower so if I move, he’s coming with me wherever that is. But this means that his sleep is being disturbed constantly, and I hate that for him. This means I have to push my chair around a lot to lessen his sensitivity to it’s (my) movement.

Anything can be desensitized, it takes work and commitment to want to change it. Probably the number one item that my clients need desensitized is their dog’s leash. Lots of dogs become unglued at the sight of their leash, so we work on having the leash around for lots of “non-walk” times. It is a step by step process but it s all about changing the meaning of the leash so that it is not always followed by a walk.

There are many things in life that need to be desensitized for our dogs.

Does your dog need desensitizing?

If you don’t see the comment section below, simply click on the blog title and it will appear under this blog.

Hot pavement

“CHECK THE HEAT BENEATH THEIR FEET” s.r.

CHECK THE HEAT BENEATH THEIR FEET s.r.

I had no hesitation this morning as I pulled up to my desk. Sometimes I sit and ponder a while as I enjoy my coffee, finally coming up with something that inspires me to write. This morning I’m inspired but not in a good way. My hubby and I spent the last couple of days in the mountains; we needed to get away. It was wonderful to breath the fresh mountain air, swim in the lake and basically enjoy a change of scenery. Everyone was socially distanced, masked up and being very conscious of what is going on in the world today.

All was great until we walked into town. On Tuesday afternoon we decided to take a quick trip into town. For those of you who are not familiar with Lake Arrowhead in California, it is a picturesque little town (very small) to meander around with shops and restaurants lining the walkways. I have always loved visiting the little town, no matter what season it is. But it’s summer and I am not a fan of super hot weather and walking in it is even worse.

As we set out around the little town I noticed dogs. I hadn’t thought that anyone would have their dogs out walking in that type of heat. As we entered the main area of the little town a woman with a small furry dog in her arms and was leaving. As she passed by us I heard her saying “is it too hot for your feet?” I quickly bent over and lay my hand flat on the pavement. “Holy crap that’s hot” I said to my husband. A couple out in front of us with two dachshunds watched me, which I was happy for. The woman held one dog in her arms but the other very overweight large one had to walk. I imagined the heat that he was suffering.

The ground beneath us was not just warm, not just hot, but scalding hot. There was no way that any of the humans around us would be walking barefoot on it. Even the surface in the shade was hot. As the sun moves the shade moves as well…obviously. No spot there in the little town had been able to elude the scorching sun. I couldn’t tell everyone that the ground was too hot to have their dog’s on it; although in that moment I wished I had had a microphone hooked up to speakers all around. “Hey, listen up dog guardians, your dog’s feet are literally being burned as you walk them around here. Take them home, NOW.”

We left Riggs and Elsa at home with a pet sitter. It was a choice we made because we needed to get away and knew that we would be dining out in the heat. Everyone is dining out (outside) right now; you don’t have a choice to dine in. We had checked the weather and it was going to be hot. It is going to be even hotter today. There were a couple of dogs at the hotel and they were also a couple of the dogs who’s feet were being burned in town.

Please spread the word. I cannot emphasize how important this is enough. Some people don’t think about their dog’s feet when they are out. We have shoes on, of course we aren’t feeling how hot the ground is. There is a reason that we (my husband and I) head out with the early birds to run or walk Riggs and Elsa. The ground heats up very fast when the temperature rises. Even when it’s not super hot out, the surface under your dog’s feet can be extremely hot depending on what that surface is.

Not only does the heat from the pavement or other surface burn their feet, but the heat radiates from it and heats up their bodies, which are so much closer to the ground than ours. If you have dog loving friends, PLEASE share this. It is very difficult to intervene in someone’s life in the spur of the moment. Our human nature can cause us to become angry when someone we don’t know tries to tell us something (from experience). The more people who know before hand, hopefully the more dogs and their feet will be saved.

“CHECK THE HEAT BENEATH THEIR FEET” s.r.

This whole experience left me pondering on how to tell all the k9 guardians. I’m working on it.

Trust

Trust is everything for dogs but more so for particular ones. All dogs are different, each an individual to themselves. And although the entire canine species is similar, every single one holds within them, their own self. I write about this often because when you work with dogs you see just how individual they all are. It is especially eye opening when you temperament test a litter. You would think that a litter of puppies born at the same time to the same parents and raised in the same way by the breeder would be the same right? Wrong.

It is mind blowing how vastly different each puppy is and the

amount of trust

required to make each one of

those entities feel safe and trusting.

Some dogs are born and go through life sort of trusting everyone. They see the good in the world and are not the suspicious type; while others may assume the worst and be apprehensive of everyone. There are the two ends of the spectrum and everything in between when it comes to a need for trust.

The very first thing that our dogs need to trust is us. Are you trustworthy? Trust is huge and if your dog doesn’t trust you; how are they ever going to trust anyone else? Trust can be built and broken with one swoop; so when we build trust it has to be solid and geared to your individual canine.

Let’s take my two as an example. Elsa is a very trusting dog, it took very little time for her to trust her family and she trusts most people. Although she is not a push over and does not trust blindly. Elsa is a smart girl. She use to trust dogs as well but that trust was broken when she was seriously attacked by two bulldogs. That was it, broken. She is now very wary of strange dogs. She has a pile of friends and pretty much loves all puppies but she is forever changed.

Riggs on the other hand pretty much doesn’t trust anyone but his inner circle. Just his experience at the vet proved to him that he was right. These people that he does not know are not to be trusted. It is my job to maintain our degree of trust so I don’t allow strangers to cross his boundaries. This is extremely important in my role as trusted guardian. It’s a big job but it is our job to do it. It is also our job for those guardians with a wary to trust dog, to help them to trust more so that means exposure in baby steps.

Trust - reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.

Trust is huge and depending on the dog it can be easy or difficult to obtain. But once you get it, you have to keep it. We must stand strong as our canines guardian, it is our job. These dogs we live with put faith in us to do whats right; to help them work their way through the human world that they live in. It’s a lot, guidance, protection, food, shelter and knowing the ins and outs of your individual dog. Whether you just offer the bare minimum or go above and beyond for them depends on YOU, the individual that you are. Does your dog trust you?

You - the dog trainer

There is much to learn about each individual dog.

You, a dog trainer? Yep. If you have a dog and you’d like your dog to be trained correctly then you have to be your dog’s trainer. I know what you are thinking…”I’m not a dog trainer.” You may not be a dog trainer right now but you can be if you want to train your dog.

“That’s why I hired you to train my dog; because I haven’t a clue how to train my dog.”

As a long time dog trainer, experience has shown me that the most well trained dogs are those who live with people who want to know. K9 guardians who want to know all the ins and outs of their dog’s training and using that training. You have no idea how many times I’ve heard “Sherri, can you just live here?” Of course these folks are kidding, sort of; but the ease they find in dealing and communicating with their dog when I am there is far easier (in the beginning) than when I’m not.

The fact is that I’m leaving at some point and your trainer is leaving as well. So…you better learn from your trainer while you can. Our job as dog trainers is to teach you to train your dog. Sure there are times when we take the reins but our job is to hand them over to you at some point. That is why many dog trainers become expert watchers. It is our job to watch you as you work your way through the learning process. I need to make sure that you understand how, why and when to use your behavior training.

Dogs learn through association which means when you do something they will react and visa versa. This leads to the learning curve that we are going for. You must learn to behave as they learn to behave.

Association - the connection or relation of ideas, feelings, sensations, etc.; correlation of elements of perception, reasoning, or the like.

Have you ever considered that how you behave has a huge impact on your dog’s behavior? As many of you already know, I’m a watcher; my watching behavior has been instilled over years of helping k9 guardians teach their dogs. Every little thing we do impacts our dog’s perception of what we are trying to teach them. Dogs are intense watchers, it is built in as they are master communicators in body language. In fact they are far superior at communicating without sound than we are.

The best way to have a well connected relationship with your dog is to learn all about your dog. That includes learning how they learn, how to teach them and how to better communicate with them. Yep, there are places that will do it all for you but “then what?'“ This might just leave you in a very disconnected human/canine situation of “how do I work this thing.” Learn about your dog today Have a question? Ask me, I love questions. :)

Puppy Socialization - now

This cutie…

These are strange times, there has been no time like this that we have known. So it goes without saying that we are all learning how to live in this new world of ours. With the “stay at home” orders many opted to take advantage of their time at home and add a new dog to the family. Puppies need socializing, they need it right away and depending on where they came from they may already need to overcome issues that they are exhibiting.

Each puppy is an individual so exactly how you socialize will factor solely on your puppy.

Socializing - to make social; make fit for life in companionship with others.

Socializing your puppy is all about preparing them for the life that they will live and the world that they will be living in. It is a big job but once your puppy joins the family it’s up to you. Hopefully the person who had your puppy before you gave them a head start in the socializing department. Although many puppies through no fault of their own have been deprived of early socialization. So once they come to you, it’s go time.

As I said, these are strange times and very different from just a few months ago. Things have changed and getting out and about is much more difficult. So what is the best way to socialize your puppy? Right from the start you can socialize in your own home; break your home into different quadrants, new places to explore. Your yard can become sectioned off so that your puppy obtains exciting adventures daily. Think “new experience” when you consider socializing.

I understand that many Veterinarians tell us that we should not take our puppy out in public until after all of their shots are completed; but if you do that then you will miss out on a great deal of “prime time” for socializing. Depending on when your puppy started their shots they may have had one set or two by the time you get them. You can safely start socializing in your home and even out on your front yard. I would not wait too long before searching for “safe” places for them to visit.

• The yard of a close friend to wander in, perhaps broken into sections as well.

• A neighbor who has a friendly dog in a safe yard.

• A shopping cart, through a store that is open.

• Lots of car rides.

• If you are lucky, maybe a littermate to come over for some play.

• Find other new puppy guardians to get together with.

• How about your garage?

Use your imagination, think new experience. Socializing means meeting new dogs or all sizes and ages, new people of all ages, wheel chairs, strollers, screaming kids, statues (a biggy), different surfaces to walk on, heights, climbing, big buildings etc. But take it slow, too much socializing at one time can backfire. Slow and steady wins the race. Let your puppy tell you how much is too much. Never push, allow your puppy to explore in their comfort zone. This beginning time is very important, it is your job to make sure that nothing bad happens. No mean dog encounters, no strangers touching when your puppy doesn’t want to be touched. If something scary arises, take it slow and positive.

So if you have a new puppy right now; and I know there a lot of you out there, get socializing. There is not time like the present.

Questions?

Dog training timing

Its all about the timing.

Positive reinforcement - blog #1

Behavior marker - blog #2

And this is #3 blog - timing.

Timing is everything, right? That’s what the experts say though I tend to disagree with this in much of our day to day; I think that “now” is the best time for most things. But as far as dog training, timing is everything. When and how you deliver a bridge or reinforcement is extremely important. Because dogs learn through association, but we might just be missing the mark completely. You may lose the chance to reward a particular behavior but you might also additionally be rewarding something else that you didn’t even realize.

Delivering a behavior marker or bridge allows you to give your object of reinforcement later. You can even lag when delivering the food, praise or toy. The most essential thing is that you marked the behavior using a marker or bridge. If you are using rewards alone with no marker then you have to be quick on the draw with your rewards.

Marker timing

Let’s say that you are training your dog to watch you on a walk. We can assume that you have already primed your marker so you are ready to deliver. As you walk along you pay strict attention to your dog, each glance at you receives a “mark.” The mark must come when your dog is looking at you, then the reward follows after.

The behavior marker is used to mark a very specific behavior. When we break down a behavior into baby steps, each progressive step is followed by a marker. This lets your dog know that they are on the right path.

I have worked with dogs who had a fear of a hand over their head and had a hard time just learning sit because of it. A hand over the head with a food lure is the normal way we teach this; but with a fear of hands we had to change it a bit. We started with a hand just by our side. When the dog sniffed it, we marked. Very slowly we moved the hand by baby steps and continual marking to get our hand over the dogs head and thus the fear was gone. Not only were we able to teach the dog sit but we also created a positive association to hands over the dog’s head.. Win, win.

Reward timing

If you are using a marker and have timed it perfectly then next follows the reward (the reinforcement). It must come soon enough for the link to the marker to be there. But as a dog learns about a marker=reward they will know it is coming. This connection is essential in using a marker.

If you are using strictly rewards without a marker then you have to deliver the reinforcement at the precise time that your dog is doing the appropriate behavior. And let’s face it, dogs being dogs (smart as hell) can see the smallest movement in reward delivery. Which means when you go to reward, they see it coming and no longer thinking about the behavior.

But as dogs are so insanely smart, they will eventually get it even if you are not using a marker. But, to offer your dog the best chance of success, your timing has to be good. As your timing improves, so will your dog’s ability to “get” what you are teaching.

There is so much to talk about with regards to training, positive reinforcement, markers, timing and more. But this blog is about timing and now is not the time to discuss anything other than that. When timing is good in dog training, it looks much like a dance between dog and human. It is glorious to behold.

Behavior marker

Once your dog learns about behavior markers they will wait for it.

You’ve read the blog on Positive Reinforcement right? Now we need to talk about behavior markers. You know that association is how positive reinforcement works. Positive activity, treat or reward for doing a behavior = reinforcement. This you have to understand to “get” positive reinforcement.

Dogs are smart, even when we don’t quite know what we are doing; they somehow learn what we are trying to teach them. But, if we learn how to teach our dogs it can become a speedy and rewarding process. Many years ago clickers came into light in the world of training. I learned the concept of clicker training way back in the 90s. Since learning about positive reinforcement and clicker training I never looked back on the neanderthal method of yank and choke.

Behavior markers were invented in the 60/70s by Keller Breland, Marian Breland Bailey, and Bob Bailey. Its first widespread use was with marine animals. The reason being was when you had to get a marine animal to understand what the “correct” behavior at a distance was they needed something to let them animal know, a whistle.

Let’s say that you are training a dolphin to swim across a pool and hit a balloon on the other side. How do you let the dolphin know that their touching the balloon is the correct behavior? You need something to bridge the behavior to the reward, a behavior bridge or marker.

A behavior marker can be a sound or word. I like to teach training with behavior markers because it is the best way to train. That said many of my clients do not want to use a marker or just cannot get the hang of working it into their training. Like I said, dogs can be trained without markers. But if you really want to get into training big time then you will want to use a marker.

A marker, whether it be a sound or word first has to be linked to the reinforcement (treat, ball, tug toy etc). Linking it the reinforcement to the marker is done easily with repetition. I like to use “yes” as my marker; it has been my marker for many years. So it looks something like this “yes” treat, “yes” treat, “yes” treat; until the dog is obviously getting that the word “yes” means a treat is to follow.

The item of reinforcement MUST ALWAYS be used with the bridge or marker. If you do not follow up with a reward then your marker will lose some of it’s power. The behavior marker or bridge is used to mark a behavior that is appropriate or desired by you. It follows the desired behavior instantly, the reward comes after and can lag if need be. The most important thing with markers is the timing of the mark. Timing is everything, which is why we often slow the learning curve with ours dogs, do to bad timing. Next blog is on timing.

Questions?

Positive reinforcement

This is a different blog than the one I just started writing. I was working on a blog about children and dogs and poof, it became about positive reinforcement. Like my thought process when I am speaking does on a regular basis, it jumped to another subject. I get a thought, something I hadn’t thought of and then I have to go with it; so here is the new blog, now on positive reinforcement.

First what is positive reinforcement?

Positive reinforcement is the act of reinforcing by offering a reward for a specific behavior or action. Through association (which is how dogs learn) the acquisition of the object of reinforcement raises the chance of the dog repeating the behavior.

Some people think that it is just all about the food; that is not correct and the reason why people don’t “get” it. If you went into the kitchen and started doing the dishes. Presto!...a piece of your absolute favorite cake appeared on the counter. Hmmmmm? Next time you went into the kitchen to do the dishes…presto, cake appears again. So you start thinking “how the heck did I get that cake to appear?” The next night you walk into the kitchen and stand there waiting for the cake. No cake arrives, more pondering. AH HA (light bulb appears over your head), the dishes! You start scraping the dishes and presto, more cake. By George You’ve Got It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Along with the item of reinforcement comes the behavior marker and timing. Both of these will be discussed in their own separate blogs.

So that’s the basic idea, offer a reinforcement and you up the chance of it happening again. But being that all dogs are different it happens a little differently with each individual. What is required for the reinforcement item is that it be good enough for the dog to work for. If the dog that is being trained hates liver, then that won’t be a good reinforcement item. Food is by far the easiest to utilize but some dogs are not food motivated so you have to find something that your dog will work for.

The idea around using something more than a pat on the head is to offer something that your puppy will really, really want. Most puppies do not care if you use verbal praise or pat them on the head; at least not until they get older. Bring out a good treat and now we’re talk’n.

I love watching puppies figure out how they got a tiny morsel of food. Tiny is the word, food rewards should be very small but large enough for them to know it’s in their mouth. If you give them a big cookie type treat reinforcement you will have to wait for them to chew it up before moving onto the next try. Think small, like cheerio small.

Stay tuned to learn how a behavior marker and timing lead to the fastest learning.

Fireworks results

It’s a love/hate thing for me.

So…how’d you do? How’d your dog do? After the big day, where are you with regards to fireworks? Did you do a great acting job? Were you able to pull off the “no big deal” routine? We were.

Elsa is afraid of fireworks, she wasn’t always but as often happens it came on as she got older. So over the past few years we’ve been working hard on our performance. We’ve played ball, done some serious food reward training and generally ignored the fireworks. We always stay home during fireworks; there would have to be something pretty amazing to get me to leave my dogs alone on a fireworks night.

So…Elsa was scared and because most of the big displays were cancelled, there were more backyard fireworks. This meant, more often, MUCH longer length of time and CRAZY loud every once in a while. It was bad and very hard to deal with. It is much easier when the city displays start and end in about 45 min. This went on all night with a huge boomer around 4:30 in the morning (WHO DOES FIREWORKS AT 4:30 IN THE MORNING).

But, she did pretty good for the erratic and unpredictable nature of the neighborhood wild ones. We ignored, watched a movie and let her do her thing. The fireworks started early in the day so our routine had to change. Because this was an ongoing thing, like all day and all night thing we just ignored and went about our business…which worked pretty well.

We left one of the doors open a crack so she could go out and in at her leisure. She would come out with us, sit and relax and then head in if it got too loud. We never changed a thing and continued to talk, watch a movie and basically do our thing. This really helped her and although she did pace and pant, it was not crazy like it use to be. It was very manageable.

Even at our late bedtime, it continued. Elsa was up on the bed, down off the bed, up, down, up down until the wee hours. She finally calmed and only slightly stirred even with the huge boomer at 4:30 in the morning. Remaining calm is the way to help your dog.

As for Mr. Riggs, this was his first big fireworks day as an adult. He did amazing and I hope that he remains as “whatever” as he was last night. We did our best to give off the “who cares” vibe and it worked. When it was insanely loud he sat up and looked at us. We continued to talk or watch our outdoor screen without acknowledging that a huge boom with light show had just occurred. He lay back down and went to sleep.

Well, so much for July 4th. But being that everyone was letting them rip in their backyards last night, I am sure we are in for more tonight. We’ll be ready. Love to hear how you did.

Fireworks and your dog

No you are not alone, many people cringe at the thought of any Holiday that calls for fireworks. With Canada tomorrow and July 4th on Saturday; we all need to be prepared. I made this video to try to help you get through this if your dog is fearful of fireworks; or if this is their first time.

The most important things to remember:

• Do not bring your dog to a fireworks display.

• Do not bring them to a display and leave them in your car.

• Do not leave your dog in your backyard; no matter how secure you think that it is.

• Make sure all windows are shut and locked. Screens will not keep a panicked dog inside.

• Turn televisions and radios on in the house. Louder than normal to help muffle the sound of the fireworks.

• Close curtains and blinds.

If you are staying home with your dog (I highly recommend this).

• Try to hang out in your most sheltered room.

• No coddling (trying to soothe, nurture or help).

• You need to portray a calm and casual demeanor.

• Turning on a good movie is a great idea.

• Save meal time for when the fireworks start.

• Play a game of ball if you have a big time retriever.

• Be happy and upbeat, maybe a game of tug-o-war.

• Play a game of hide’n seek.

• Do not react to the fireworks.

• Do some training, use lots of great treats.

Just remember, you are not alone. There are a lot of us who need to help our dogs through the fireworks. Just remember, everything is fine…time for your Oscar winning “chill” performance. Best of luck and let me know how it goes.

k9 intelligence

A photograph from this shoot ended up on the cover of Dog World July 2007

2 Kuvasz in a very natural state of guarding.

k9 intelligence is a funny thing. Many people I talk to say “my dog is not the brightest.” Others think that there is no smarter dog than than theirs. How can intelligence be gauged? It’s not easy, in fact intelligence is quite a complicated idea to explain. That is because, like us…all dogs are different.

The canine species is highly intelligent.

Many people group specific breeds into intelligent/not intelligent groups. When in actuality they are all highly intelligent, but different. What some excel at others do not, just like us. Don’t put me in an office chair and ask me to shuffle numbers around, kill me. No thank you, that kind of stuff actually shuts me down. But ask me to write about dog behavior, train a dog or teach a cooking course and I’m on it. ;)

If we can grasp that humans are very, very different from each other; why can we not understand that each and every dog is it’s own dog?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “you can’t train bulldogs,” or “Beagles are untrainable.” That is when I roll up my sleeves and say “stand back and watch.” All dogs are trainable, that is unless there is something actually wrong with them. There has been one dog in my training career that I could not train and he had suffered brain damage after dying on the table when we was neutered. They brought him back but he was never the same. :(

Most people measure canine intelligence by their human interactions. Do they connect? Do they do what is asked of them? Do they grasp obedience training? Do they follow human lead? K9 intelligence has nothing to do with us. Whether or not they work well with humans is not a meter to judge intelligence by. Some of the smartest dogs out there don’t work well with humans because they don’t need us. While others are the ideal students, waiting on our every command.

There are most definitely smarter and less smart dogs, just like in humans. But they are all smart, how they are wired makes all the difference. What were these dogs bred to do? That is the difference right there. People, we humans have bred dogs for all kinds of purpose over the years; so now we have dogs that are hardwired for many different things.

Greyhounds - bred to run…fast.

Bloodhounds - bred to scent.

Jack Russells - bred to critter hunt.

Cane Corso - bred to hunt wild boar and guard.

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever - bred to troll (lure ducks into range) and retrieve.

Border Collies - bred to herd sheep with human guidance.

Akbash Dog - bred to guard flocks without human guidance.

There is a huge difference is all of the breeds above. If we add a Border Collie to our home where we sit much of the day watching television, there will be issues. If we add a Cane Corso to the family and don’t expect it to be a very intense guard dog, there will be issues.

Some breeds are more utility in nature. Meaning that they can and will be happy in many different situations and thrive. While others really have a strong drive that humans bred them for. Intelligence is there, the difference is in the individual. The big factor in all of this is us. What do you want to deal with in a dog? If you are not willing to budge in your lifestyle, offer a dog with a strong drive of some sort an outlet, then choose wisely.

Much can be said with an early temperament test. There are simple temperament tests and more extensive type that search out specific traits in a dog. All dogs are different, even within a litter.

When we look at mixed breeds we see a wider range of behaviors coming from two or more different breeds within one dog. I have seen people struggle with herding issues from the Border Collie mix. And someone who wanted to get into Frisbee competition battle with their Border Collie/Beagle mix as it stopped all the way down the field to sniff.

Sadly many misplaced dogs are the fault of ours. People don’t research breeds, they pick dogs from exterior instead of interior. This is probably the biggest mistake of all when adding a dog to our family . There is also a big misconception of mixed breeds being better dogs. They can be great dogs, just like all dogs but what breeds are in that dog? You may not want to live with a Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix but man that puppy is cute. You may want to have a running partner and end up with an adorable Bull terrier pup that wants nothing to do with running a marathon. Do your research.

Intelligence is a measure of smarts within a dog. That smarts might come in many different forms. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover and do not underestimate what a dog was bred for and it’s personal temperament. Just like us, they are all different.

Where your puppy comes from

Our dogs deserve the best from all humans, right from the start.

You want a puppy, you scour the internet and come across some adorable little pups posed in the cutest setting. The puppies still have cloudy eyes, they are only about 3 weeks old but you can buy one right away. Just pay online and the breeder will ship your puppy to you in a couple of weeks. DON’T DO IT.

I’m just finished reading an article on the CBC website where 500 French Bulldogs were shipped from Ukraine to Toronto, Canada. Upon arrival 39 were dead and others were dying. They were shipped to Canada to sell to unsuspecting puppy buyers. This is not just happening in Canada but the US as well and I’m sure other countries. It is a criminal activity where people can buy large quantities of puppies and then resell them to folks who have no idea for big dollars.

Should you buy a puppy site unseen online? NO. That said, if you get to know an ethical breeder who you know through other people then maybe. My girl Elsa is from Ohio, we live in Southern California. I knew of Elsa’s breeder for a long time. I knew many people who had a puppy from previous litters and the reputation of the breeder. We talked often on the phone, emailed and IM on Facebook. There was not a doubt in my mind that she was a reputable, upstanding, ethical breeder with integrity.

My breeder standards are high, I have written often on blogs just about finding a good breeder and/or rescue. Not all rescues are the same either. If you are looking for a rescue, do your research. There are rescue groups that are unscrupulous as well so do not think that all people who claim to be rescuing are doing that.

Sadly I hear about people sending money to “so called” breeders only to find out that there are no puppies. Other purchase one of these “online puppies” and receive a sickly little thing that barely hangs on or perishes. NOT ALL BREEDERS ARE THE SAME. Please read this and understand that there are wonderful breeders who are conscientious, take care of their adult dogs, test all their breeding dogs, screen potential puppy buyers, temperament test puppies and match to new home accordingly, keep in contact with puppy families etc. etc.

Good breeders do not let their puppies just go to anyone who has the money. Good breeders do not let their puppies go at 5-6 weeks of age or younger. Good breeders do not keep their dogs in kennels. Good breeders do not try to convince you to buy two puppies instead of one. Good breeders will not just send a puppy to you on a plane when you purchase them online with paypal, having never talked to you. Yes there are lots of breeders out there and there are lots of liars. Sad but true, finding a great breeder is a lot of work. But worth every second of that work.

Greed is where the bad breeders/rescuers come from. They see an opportunity to sell and make money and they take it. They don’t care who gets hurt along the way as long as they get their money. They cut corners to save a buck anywhere that they can. And they lie, oh boy do they lie; they even lie to themselves and believe the lies.

When particular breeds or mixes become the “in” type of dog, it can only go very, very wrong. Don’t get roped into believing all the hype about any dog or mix of dogs. A dog is a dog is a dog, do your research. Ask a million questions and expect answers. If the person on the other end of the phone or standing in front of you gets defensive about your questions, leave quickly.

Does the breeder have a slew of dogs and lots of litters all the time? leave quickly, hang up or get out of their website. Does the breeder do any health testing of the breeding parents? That’s a biggy, no matter what dogs or mixes of dogs are being bred. Health testing is a must and it shows that the breeder cares about their dogs and the dogs that they are passing onto new puppy families.

I honestly could go on and on and I will write more blogs on the subject because it is something I am very passionate about. Just know this, if you purchase a dog from Craigslist or Kijiji, you cannot know where the dog actually comes from and/or it’s health. It is literally a crap shoot. Many people want to save money on a puppy but then you pay for it later on. Best to go to a breeder who does their best to make sure that you get a healthy puppy.

Nough said…till next time.

Living in the moment

“Living in the moment” is a hot phrase these days, and rightly so. With everything that is going on in the world, trying to keep up with all the updates and news can make it difficult to stay focused. It’s not easy but being in the moment is worth every speck of work that it takes. Cell phones and a hectic lifestyle are the main cause of being elsewhere rather than where you are. How can we just sit and “be” when there are so many things pulling at us in different directions?

Dogs live in the moment…always. Yes they carry around baggage and some of their behavior may stem from their past life but they remain in the here and now. They aren’t sitting on your lap thinking about the dog they met in the morning. They aren’t playing with their house sibling, wishing they were on a beach somewhere else. They are here “in the moment.”

I try very hard to “be in the moment,” but like everything else in life, I can do better.

Moment - the present time or any other particular time (usually preceded by the):

The easiest way that I have found to be and stay in the moment is to pay attention to my surroundings. It is hard to be somewhere else when you are where you are. Hmmmmmm…read that again. Are you with the person and/or k9 you are with? What is going on right now? What are they talking about? What is your dog doing?

Living in the moment

• Watch your dog. I don’t mean glance, I mean really watch, like you are trying to understand them kind of watching.

• Put your phone down, have it with you but away except for cute dog pics. ;)

• Stop thinking about the past or future and focus on the now. (this is a tough one)

• Check in with yourself. This is often a neglected part of our day to day.

• Are you interacting with your dog? I mean the connecting type of interacting.

• Listen, the type of listening that comes from wanting to know more.

There are lots of things to help us stay in the moment with humans and our dogs. I often see people walking their dog while they stare at their phone. They have no idea what’s going on around them and sadly they are not out with their dog; they are simply the leash holder, if that.

We all have to use our phones and consider the past and future; but it shouldn’t take precedent when we could be “being” with someone or our dog. We need to work, we need to check in and we need to juggle life in general in our heads. But, when we take time away from “being with” and “connecting with” we truly miss out on the moments that matter the most. Some moments are completely missed by living in some other place or moment. Sad.

I believe that life is about the little things, the little things that make up the big picture of our lives. Just the other day Riggs was not sure he wanted to eat a new treat that I shared with both Elsa and him. He batted it around like a bug that might bite him; very much resembling a young puppy. It made me smile, it was a fleeting moment in time, the moment right before he decided to eat it. If I wasn’t there, watching and being “in the moment” I would have missed it altogether. I’m glad I was there.

Being “here” is a good place to be.

Pick that SHIT up

Elsa and I are just back from the park where we had to watch almost every step we took due to the huge amount of dog shit everywhere. Honestly! This has been a problem forever but it definitely seems to be getting worse. What are people thinking? Maybe they think that with everything else going on in our world, “what’s a little shit?” How about this? On our small slice normalcy (out for a walk), it would be nice not to have to step over dog crap.

I get it, everyone forgets, runs out or misses a bit once in a while. But COME ON PEOPLE! I have on occasion run out of bags; frantically scouring the depths of my walking pouch to no avail. I’m horrified when it happens but I will return, and I do. I get in the car, go home and come back with bags to pick it up. No I’m not a dog shit hero, I just have integrity and know right from wrong.

I have also picked what others leave behind. I use to run my dogs at a field beside a school and cringed at the idea of people not pick up where kids were guaranteed to be walking. There was a garbage can right at the gate so I’d pick up what other k9 guardians left behind and toss it. I do not appreciate having to pick up after others; in fact it pisses me off big time but it is the right thing to do.

These days there is too much to pick up. AND don’t tell me you ALL don’t have bags. Most parks and paths have poop bags dispensers; but you cannot rely on that, you have to carry your own. I almost always have several rolls in my walking pouch (that is unless I run out). I try to check my supply before heading out and I keep a good stack of them at home. There is no reason not to have bags with you; whether you buy them or grab a few extra from the dispensers, keep them on you. I have a roll in my car, a couple in my pouch and even keep a few in my training pouch for when clients forget theirs when we are out training in public.

I just got a new supply of poop bags from ED Ellen Degeneres (www.edbyellen.com) at HomeGoods the other day. As far as I’m concerned the cost of poop bags is an essential item when you have dogs. I know many folks who think that purchasing poop bags is not something they want to do but everyone that lives with dogs should.

I’m tired of writing and talking about YOU who don’t pick up shit. You know who you are because you don’t pick it up. You are one of those who pretend not to notice that your dog is taking a dump, the one who scours the park to see if anyone witnessed before walking away. You are the night walker who thinks it’s okay to leave it in the night, a cloak of secretive darkness. Nope, not okay to leave it. And you know who you are because you are the irresponsible one who lives dog shit lying around for others to deal with.

I don’t care what your excuse it, it is just that, an excuse. Stop making excuses and PICK THAT SHIT UP.

Don’t want to pick up shit? Don’t get a dog.

It is as simple as that.