Dog Talks

Do you have conversations with your dog like I do? If I stop to think about it, I know they understand very little of what I am saying, but I talk away at them anyway. Sometimes, I even get responses back that seem eerily appropriate. Dogs can pick up on a lot of cues, from our tone and cadence to body language and respond to that. Sometimes, they hit the nail on the head and reinforce our belief that they understand us so well. I think many people do not give dogs enough credit for what they understand. However, we can also confuse our dogs and make learning more difficult if we don't stop to consider the perspective of the dog. Dogs learn human language as we do, by association and repetition. It does not matter what words you use for any behavior, as long as you are consistent. Students are constantly asking me what words to use for specific behaviors and every time I answer, it is up to them. The dog only knows what they are taught. Recently, I was doing some training with a woman and her puppy. I showed her how to teach the puppy to spin in circles. She loved it and was excited about the puppy learning to "dance" with her kids. The next week, she was frustrated that the puppy was not doing the trick well and told me that she even tried changing the cue word from "dance" to "spin". Her thought process was that the puppy knew it was not really dancing and therefore would respond better to "spin" since that was what it was actually doing. I could not help but chuckle a little. In the same week, I had an agility student question if using the word "charge" to refer to the A-frame was too exciting for her naturally hyper dog. I asked her if she had already taught the dog that "charge" meant to be excited and she said no, but that it is a common use for the word. It took a full explanation on my part to make her understand that her dog had no predisposed understanding of the word "charge".

Now, once we teach these words, we need to use them correctly. I am often correcting students who are telling their jumping dogs to "get down". I ask them, are you really looking for a "down" here (as in lay down) or are you wanting the dog to "get off".
I too am guilty of this. Since my dogs have so much freedom when walking on retractable leashes, they will often make a turn at a sidewalk intersection, but I want to continue straight. I will say "this way" and they know to change directions. One morning, we were near the end of our walk and we hit a point where we could go right or straight and still get home. Luey was ahead and turned right and I said to him, "oh, are we going home this way"? Of course all Luey heard was "blah blah blah this way" and immediately changed direction. I felt bad because he was tracking a scent and I pulled him off of it for no reason other than a poor choice of words.

Go ahead and enjoy your little chats with your furry friend, but if you are having any behavior issues or not getting training results, take a look at how you are acting first and remove extraneous words and actions, it may be that simple.

How Soon We Forgive

Dogs can have a profound effect on our emotional state. Usually, it is positive. They make us smile when we come home, they make us laugh with their silly antics. They are comforting when we are down and soothing while we relax. When bad things happen to our dogs, we naturally worry or cry. The loss of a dog can take a terrible toll on us. But how often have you noticed a dog making you feel hurt or jealous? Sounds a little strange doesn’t it? But it is true. Even though they have no way to knowingly cause these feelings and we really shouldn’t take their actions to heart, we sometimes do. In my current puppy class, there is a Havanese pup that is home with “Mom” all day and “Dad “works. There is a strong bond between Puppy and Mom that is actually interfering with Dad’s ability to form a bond. He tries to act tough, but you can tell it is hurting his feelings a little. Mom had to work the dog most of the class, but Dad still carried the little girl out, snuggling her against him.

Recently, Bailey spent the weekend with his breeders, a mother and daughter, at a conformation show that we were unable to attend. Brittany, the daughter, is Bailey’s handler at all conformation shows. She has a special relationship with Bailey; she was around for his entire singleton puppyhood and now gets to see him with some regularity because of shows. After the three day weekend, Brittany brought him home and he was his usual wild self, not even calming down to say good bye to Brittany. She tried so hard to get his attention and have him be still just for a minute and he would not. Finally, she said “fine, jerk”. I could tell that it hurt her feelings just a little that she could not get the attention she wanted from him. I too felt bad because I would (and have) feel that same way if I wanted his attention but he was more excited about something else. (Like how he completely forgets I exist the second he gets to doggy daycare and then refuses to leave after an entire day). Bailey has no idea what he is doing; he is just living in his happy moment, being a dog. But we emotional humans feel it inside, even though rationally, we know we should not. Like a good dog, we do not stay upset for long. As Brittany turns to leave “the jerk” still bouncing around the yard, she calls behind her in the usual sweet voice reserved for him, “I love you”.

What on earth(dog) is bikejoring?

Obviously, I am a fan of dog sports, but I had no idea what bikejoring was. Bikejoring, in a simplistic explanation, seems to be the off season sport for sled dogs. Using specialized harnesses, dogs pull a rider on a bicycle. (In my defense, Florida has a rather limited dog sledding season). Earthdog, a sport I have only seen on TV, is for the small terriers. Natural “ratters”, terriers navigate through tunnels trying to locate vermin (who have been safely placed in the tunnel) and perform a series of instinctual behaviors to find and indicate the presence of the vermin. The bird dog version of this is a hunt test and a new favorite activity of Bailey. Quail is planted in large open fields, two dogs run together, tracking the birds by scent. When they find the bird, they offer the classic “point” position for the handler to find and flush the bird. The bird is shot by a designated shooter and retrieved by the dog back to the handler. While I am not happy about the fact that live birds are used, this is exactly what these dogs were bred to do and it is pretty special when you see a dog allowed to behave so naturally. I have also never seen dogs so happy and excited and I have seen some pretty excited dogs at agility trials.

There are many, many dog sports, some more familiar such as agility, obedience, flyball, dock diving etc… I personally love it when you can find a sport that compliments your dogs natural instincts as well as its abilities. For example, dock diving and Labs, a pretty perfect match. Unfortunately, a variety of dog sports are not easy to find in a lot of areas. People are getting creative though. At one recent event, an organization was set up featuring border collies who played soccer. The idea is for people and dogs to play soccer together, check out soccercollies.com. I was also able to attempt lure coursing with Luey at another event. A fuzzy something was tied to a pulley system and was pulled in a large circle around a makeshift track. Dogs were having a blast. My velcro dog however, would not chase past the first turn as he would lose sight of me. Luey has his own unique instincts.

Type “list of dog sports” into Wikipedia for a lengthy list of sports with links that explain each to find your next dog sport.

Bacon Dog Treats

6 slices cooked bacon – crumbled (extra bacon never hurt anything)
4 eggs, well beaten
1/8 cup bacon fat
1 cup water
1/2 cup non fat dry milk powder
2 cups graham flour (which I can never find so I use whole wheat flour)
2 cups wheat germ (substituted whole oats when I ran out one time)
1/2 cup corn meal

(I will give you the directions as is, then I will add what I have learned)
Mix ingredients with a strong spoon; drop heaping tablespoons onto a greased baking sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Turn off oven and leave cookies on baking sheet in the oven overnight to dry out. Yield: about 4 dozen dog cookies. – Bullwinkle.com

Okay, here is what I have experienced when making these: a strong spoon does not help when the dough is so thick my arms are not strong enough to mix it. I just roll up my sleeves and get my hands messy. The dough also does not spread at all. Whatever you blob on the cookie sheet is what will come off the cookie sheet. With the bacon bits and any crisping the cookies do, there can be sharp little points if you just blob it on. I recommend forming small-ish, flat-ish circles or in this case, hearts. The dough is pretty sticky, so I spray my fingers with cooking spray to manipulate shapes. The flattening of the dough also helps with more even baking. My cookies usually bake for longer than 15 minutes, I look for browning and I do leave them in the oven overnight. Other than the samples the dogs get of course. Yield: two happy dogs in my house.

An Exceptional Read

I just finished a very interesting book. I use the word interesting because it was not a story, but a scientifically based education on dog physiology, psychology, biology, other ologies, behavior etc… it is called Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz. She has a very clever way of explaining scientific study, research, theory and conclusion in a non technical way and weaving it into story like prose. She uses examples from her own relationship with her dog, Pumpernickel. She shares with us how to relate the information to our own dogs. I found myself connecting with what she was explaining and at times exclaiming “my dog does that”! She goes into careful detail regarding the physical make up of a dog, how they see, smell and hear. She explains how their senses are similar and different to ours. There is no way I am going to do justice to this book trying to explain it. What I can tell you is that I feel a deeper connection and understanding of my dogs by having read this.
I believe this to be the reason she wrote the book. The book centers around the idea of seeing the world through a dogs perspective. Only a dog can really do this, we can only infer, just as any other person cannot really see the world as we do. Consider when someone says to you “I know how you feel” and you think, how can they know how I feel? Sometimes it is even upsetting that someone “thinks” they understand your feelings when you know they really do not. Now consider when your dog does something you are unhappy with. We often jump to human like reasons the dog got into the garbage or destroyed an object. Many feel their dog is upset with them or being vindictive. Did they consider that maybe the garbage just smelled really good and it is in a dogs nature to find and eat the source of the really good smell? Did they consider that the texture and taste of the leather shoe was highly appealing to an animal who naturally chews? The book will make you stop and think before you create an anthropomorphic reason for every action your dog makes. I can now think a little more about what something is like from my dogs perspective and tailor my actions or reactions for my dogs benefit.
This book will not be for every one or even every dog lover. While she has written a much easier and much more fun read than the dry and technical dog behavior text book I am struggling through, she does include much study and research. If you are not one to find the nitty gritty of behavioral science interesting, dog related or not, you will probably not find this book as enjoyable. Or if you do not want to know that there may be other reasons your dog licks you other than the equivalent of a human kiss, you will not want to read this.
The author however, is clearly a dog lover before a scientist. She readily admits that she still applies some human like traits to her dog, scientifically based or not. She is offering a new, better way of looking at our dog, not trying to spoil all of our fun.

http://insideofadog.com/index.php

The Name Game

Since we are on the subject of names, let’s talk a little bit about what your dogs name means to you and to him/her. Think about how often you say your dogs name and for how many reasons you say your dogs name. Sometimes it is a greeting upon entering the house. You say your dogs name to call them to you, to stop them from doing something, to get them to do something and I am sure there are other times. Now let’s think about how many different tones and cadences we use. We can say their name in a high pitched excited voice, we can drag it out, we can sing and we can shout it. Do you find there are times when you say your dogs name and you instantly have their attention (you are probably in the kitchen or have something they want. And there are those times you call your dogs name and they ignore you completely (they are playing with another dog, happily munching on a bone or understand from your tone that you are not happy. Have you ever thought about all this name calling from the dogs point of view? They are hearing a sound that they understand to relate to themselves, but sometimes they hear it before you give them a treat and sometimes they hear it just before you give them a smack. How confusing and frustrating this must be. How is this affecting the relationship you have with your dog?
In my basic obedience classes, I teach all of my students the name game. This is where you say your dogs name and when they look at you, they get a treat. It is that simple. (I recently attended a seminar with a very highly regarded trainer and she too emphasized her version of the name game. This helped reaffirm to me that this is an important exercise). The point of the game is to be able to always get your dogs attention. If they think they are getting a treat, they are very likely to look at you, no matter what they are doing. The second part of this however, is once you have your dogs attention, let them know what you want from them. If your dog is doing something you do not want them to do, simply saying their name may get them to stop, but it was luck and your dog learned nothing from it. You need to say what you want. Luey… stop. Bailey… come. You will only hurt your relationship with your dog if you say their name in a mean voice (because you want them to stop, but fail to say so) and then continue to say their name in a mean voice and then use some type of physical touch to make them stop. From the dogs point of view, you said their name harshly and then did something unpleasant. What a dog takes from that is to fear their name. If you are trying to get your dog to “come” by only saying their name, they are going to tune you out after about the third repetition of their name.
An alternative scenario is giving your dog a command without getting their attention first. If the dog does not perform and you do not consider the fact that maybe they did not hear you, once again, you are going to speak harshly to the dog and physically manipulate them in an unpleasant way and they will not understand why. This does serious damage to your dogs ability to trust and want to be with you. Without this foundation of trust, everything you try to do with your dog will be that much more difficult. So grab some treats and get started on the name game. You gave your dog that name for a reason, you want them to love it. Such a simple and rewarding exercise will make your dogs day and keep that trust in your relationship. You can play this anytime you or your dog needs a little boost. It is an instant connection with your dog.

What's In A Name?

Dogism is obviously all about the uniqueness of your relationship with your dog. A name can be a large part of that relationship. There are times when you do not choose your dogs name, especially in rescue or foster cases. Usually though, you find the name is well suited. For those names that we do choose, there are defining factors that usually relate to what we are passionate about. My brother named his dog Lotus, a definite clue about his love for sports cars. Luey is partly a tribute to his mother’s name, Lu Lu. It is also a tribute to a favorite Tampa Bay Lightning player, Martin St. Louis (pronounce it like the French do, not the city in Missouri). When St. Louis scores, the classic “Louie Louie” by Richard Berry is played. Jason will tell you that is only part of the story. Yes, St. Louis is an excellent hockey player. Can I help it that he is a hotty as well?
Bailey is a tribute to my mother. She had chosen the name Bailey (after the irish cream, one her favorite special treats) for the Cavalier King Charles puppy she decided on after the death of her beloved Sheltie. She was never able to have her Bailey, so I believe she sent me one.

Sometimes, your dog chooses their name for you. We had a chow chow named Kodiak because he resembled a bear. My Aunt and Uncle once had a Ryder after finding their puppy was a “good rider” in the car. You never know where inspiration will strike.
This is clear by the top dog names of 2010. It is not a surprise that people would name there furry friend “Buddy” or after the King himself, Elvis. I must admit, I did not see “Oprah” as a top dog name. 15 years from now, you can use this list to remember the pop culture of the time. Maybe it is just me, but Lady Gaga does seem a more fitting name for a dog than a person…

There are no rules or judgments (shame on me) when it comes to naming your dog, as long as it is all part of your dogism.

See the top dog names of 2010 at dogchannel.com