Luey is a good dog.

“He's a good dog”. A simple statement, but something I needed to be reminded of. I will try to make a long story, not so long. I spent this past weekend at an agility trial hosted by our dog club. For those of you not familiar with these, as members of the host club, you spend pretty much all day at the trial as a worker when you are not running a dog. For me, with one dog, running time totals all of maybe 2.5 minutes. The rest is waiting and working. And this day, there was a lot of waiting and working on top of a very unsuccessful day in terms of agility runs. My day started with a beautiful Jumpers run by Luey, that I blew on the very last jump by not being in position, causing him to knock a bar. Completely my fault, completely avoidable. Our second run of the day, well, we can probably blame some on Luey. He missed a contact and for whatever reason, known only to him, he would not complete the weave poles on two tries. While I am not generally competitive by nature, I do like to succeed and meet standards that we are capable of meeting. Neither myself nor Luey met those standards that day. So I was a little frustrated and unhappy about the day.
A casual joke with an acquaintance regarding my frustration resulted in her stating the obvious about Luey, “he's a good dog”. With that statement came a million thoughts in my head and my having to agree that yes, he is a good dog. Maybe he is not a superstar agility dog, but neither am I a superstar handler (or a superstar anything for that matter). What he is however, is everything that I want him to be in so many ways. He is my boy. He is my silly, tail wagging, wiggly, advanced obedience and trick performing show off dog who loves agility, works as a therapy dog, happy to be anywhere as long as he is beside me, whether it be an all day dog event or a lazy day on the couch. And at the end of each day, he must be snuggled next to me in bed with his nose buried under something.
I would not trade any one of his quirks for all the clean runs in the world and I am embarrassed that I forgot that for even one day. Luey IS a good dog and never again will anyone have to point that out to me. So I look forward to finding out what we can get wrong at our next trial in January. I will be fine with it, because I have such a good dog to get things wrong with.

Meat flavored pills are fooling no one

Rhymes with Orange is a comic in one of our local papers. Today’s strip featured the head of a dog and the caption “Canine Anatomy: What you didn’t know”. The picture pointed out the teeth, tongue and throat complete with spring loaded flipper for pill expulsion! How funny and how true.
Dogs and pills have always been a mystery to me. Our late beloved Chow was not overly excited by toys or treats. You could put a couple of dog biscuits down and they would eventually be eaten over a day or two. Believe me, I tried to find a treat he would eagerly accept, but I really never did. So, nothing about that “meat flavored” heartworm pill was appetizing to him. My trick was to mix them in with some canned food. That was his idea of a treat. Then came Luey, who is a treat hound, only turning his nose up at certain all natural treats which advertise no this and no that and apparently no flavor. I have had some pretty bad all natural, vegan type cookies, so I know where he is coming from. He also wants nothing to do with his meat flavored pills. I can trick him as well with the canned food. Once in a while he finds them, but usually he does not.
Then came Bailey, dog equivalent to a Hoover vacuum. This is a dog we can reward with his own dog food. So when he turned his nose away from the flavor tabs, I was floored. But no big deal, I can just hide them in canned food for him as well. Wrong. The little bugger finds them in there too! What is in these pills that a dog who rarely actually even chews can detect and eject? I am going to have to get creative now… the challenge is on!

Pet Safety

We are almost half way through October and I have failed to mention it is National Pet Safety Month. It is also Adopt a Shelter Dog month and Wishbones for Pets month and I could go on and on. I believe pet safety is of uber-high importance, it is something that we need to think about every day. I actually have had pet safety on the mind recently as it is now very dark in the early morning when my boys get their morning walk and soon it will be dark by the end of our longer, evening walks. Fortunately, we live in a neighborhood with sidewalks. We constantly work on staying on said sidewalks and not wandering out into the street.(Yes, I am talking to you Bailey). We have also taught the dogs to stop where roads intersect the sidewalks. My favorite safety step are the lighted, flashing collars they wear, which are conveniently sold at dogism.com. These are just a few examples of safety on leashed walks! Pet safety can be overwhelming. We have to worry about the foods they eat(or might eat despite our best efforts), plants we keep in the house, chemicals we use in and outside the home, toy parts on both dog and children’s toys, how we transport them… you get where I am going with this.

Pet safety even changes from season to season. However, a lot of keeping pets safe is common sense. Training your dog is also a good step towards safety. There is a ton of information out there on keeping pets safe. Some of it might not be so good, so verify anything questionable. Remember there are products out there too for keeping your dog safe, from harnesses in the car to high tech identification tags. So if October gets you thinking about your pets safety, you have a lot to think about this month!

What month would make a good National Dogism month…??

Doggie Stay-cations

Going out of town and leaving the dogs? Where oh where to leave them? Who do you trust and what can you afford? From standard kennel and pet resorts, to dog walkers and overnight sitters, there is an option that will most likely work for your dog and your budget.
When I was a child, we would take our dog to the vet to be boarded. I am pretty sure my Sheltie was kept in a cage and let out in a little yard a couple of times a day. You could not pick up your dog after 5pm or on Sunday. That was pretty much how it was done and the fact that he came home safe and sound was really all my parents were looking for. Today, we have a whole new outlook. I also believe, price is not as big of a factor as it used to be. We are no longer leaving our dogs to go on vacation, we are sending them on a vacation of their own.
Our first dog was a Chow my husband and I, um, acquired (a story for another day). He had a good temperament, but had his issues. Boarding was not a good option. We were lucky enough to have a friend come stay with him most of the times we were away. If it was a quick weekend, we could get away with a dog walker coming by. He was fine alone and could hold it forever. When we got Luey, it was a different story. Luey would not do well left alone for any length of time, nor was he a fan of the doggy daycare type environment. Our luck continued that we had good friends either willing to come stay at our house or take him in. We saved money too by swapping dog sitting services with each other. Adding a puppy changed things a little. Dealing with puppy issues and puppy energy is not for everyone. We had an occasion where we could not find a friend available for the weekend, so we simply split the dogs up so it was not so much work for one person. I know they enjoyed their one on one time as well.
There are professional pet sitters you can pay to come spend the night in your home if you do not have a friend who can do this. I have seen many people willing to open their homes to a small number of dogs and take them in as one of their own pets. They sleep on dog or human beds and just become part of the house hold activities. These might be good options for shy or nervous dogs.
Then there is the “pet resort” environment. These can be found as standalone facilities or a part of someone’s home. Rarely is a crate or dog run to be found, instead the rooms are furnished with comfy dog beds, usually music and/or a television, a half or windowed door so the dogs do not feel closed in and frequent outside play time with other dogs. Many offer grooming services, even spa like treatments, so your dog is pampered, beautiful and clean when you pick him up. Often, you can even watch your dog via “dog cams” over the internet while you are away. At a family event this past weekend, my Aunt and Uncle from Virginia were telling me what they saw their Bailey doing at “camp”. From what they described, it really was pretty much like camp.
It might be a good idea to check out some local options now, before the time comes that you have to decide where your dogs will vacation while you are away. Do some online research and then check out your favorites. Dog walkers and pet sitters usually insist on a meeting in your home before they commit. Pet resorts and hotels might have certain hours where they have the extra staff to walk you around. I would recommend checking for proper licenses and insurance, but small scale operations might not have this, even though they are very loving and reliable. Use recommendations from friends and trusted sources and most of all, go with your instincts. If something does not sit well with you, keep looking. There are worse things than wondering “does my dog even miss me”?

There is more than one way to skin a cat

If you do a search or browse books on a term such as “dog training”, you will be slightly overwhelmed by the various options and opinions. Many of the methods out there do tend to fall into general categories such as positive reinforcement, dominance theory, luring , shaping, clicker etc… the modern version of two broadest categories can be simply defined as “the Ceasar Milan way” or the “Victoria Stillwell way”. Please understand that neither Ceasar nor Victoria developed their methods from scratch. They are both based on long term dog theory, the dominance theory (Ceasar) being in existence longer than the positive reinforcement methods of Ian Dunbar(Victoria). Researcher beware – there are very strong opinions on both.
I encourage anyone who is interested in any dog training to do their own thorough research. Personally, I feel that there are pros and cons to both methods and which ones to choose or what combination of trainings to use depends largely on the dog and the handler. I also believe that as a trainer, I should understand and appreciate each method for what it is and while I can have an opinion, it comes down to what my students want and need. I would of course refuse to use older, harsh training methods that border on abusive. This can be a fine line, a very gray area to some, but I use my common sense.
Maybe both fortunately and unfortunately, there is a lot of emotion that plays into most if not all of the decisions we make regarding our dogs. Take care not to let emotion make the decision for you, but use your emotion to help you make a training decision you are comfortable with and not what someone tells you to be comfortable with.

I overheard a conversation in the elevator the other day (it is hard not to in an elevator and the woman was not trying to be quiet by any means), a woman was telling her coworker she was finally able to keep her dog off the couch by using a shock collar. I grimaced instinctively, thinking this seemed a bit extreme just to keep a dog off the couch. She noticed my look and defended her actions by saying “It’s not like electrocution, just a little reminder zap.” I was only able to give her a I hear what you are saying, but not really buying it look before they exited the elevator. In hindsight, I should have been quicker to pull out a card for the local dog training club and let her know we have alternative methods. While my reaction was involuntary, did I really have a right to make a face? She was not speaking to me, I did not have the full story and she was using a training method easily found at PetSmart. I use training methods that Ian Dunbar and Victoria Stillwell supporters would not approve of, would I want someone pointing that out to me?
I know there are going to be people who feel it is responsible to speak up on behalf of the animal at all times, while others will find a gray area of appropriateness. Let’s all agree on one thing though, should you decide to voice your opinion to someone who has not asked for it, be respectful and informative, not accusatory. I believe people will be more receptive to listening or at least consider listening if you do not instantly put them on the defensive.

How good is your recall?

As an instructor, I harp on how important a solid recall is, how it just may save your dog’s life one day. As a busy dog owner, I too struggle to find the time and motivation to really proof that recall. It is hard to comprehend that your dog’s life could be on the line. I convince myself that my dogs would “know” I was calling them away from a dangerous situation, should the occasion ever arise. But the reality is, I am kidding myself. My dogs have better than average recalls, especially my older dog, Luey, but they are not good enough. Luey has shown me on a couple of occasions recently, that we need to proof the recall.
The first incident, he was not on a leash because we were going to the car from the house. It never crossed my mind to leash him. He saw a dog across the street he wanted to see and he took off, ignoring my calls completely. Since then, I have been more careful to have him on a leash and pay more attention to what is outside the garage. That practice could not help me in the next situation though.
We have a small park in the back of our neighborhood where the dogs run all the time. There is a retention pond at the back of the park that is full of water this time of year and surrounded by woods. Between the many conservation areas in the neighborhood and the woods, snakes are not an uncommon site. We have even had a couple of alligators removed. We do not let the dogs wander into the conservation areas, nor are they allowed in the retention ponds.
We walked to the park one hot, record breaking afternoon, and apparently Luey was just plain over the heat. He bee-lined to the pond and started swimming around, having a good ol’ time. Of course, monkey see, monkey do, Bailey was in right behind him. It really was only 20 seconds or so before they finally came to me and no harm was done, but it was a long 20 seconds. Enough time a snake could have bitten or whatever else could have happen that I do not even know about. Even though my husband laughed as I told him the story, I was fuming. Maybe partly because they had just gotten a bath the night before. That will teach me!
So I am now dedicated to proofing recalls, going back to the beginning, being sure I have a solid foundation and practice, practice, practice. As a visual person, I do not prefer reading and writing “how to train a dog”. I like to see a behavior, I like to show a behavior. But there are a few key points in recalls that can easily be expressed.
1. Never call a dog to a negative situation. Do not call your dog to "come" to scold or to something they do not like, such as a bath or nail trim. Find another way to lure your dog to the desired location.
2. If you are unsure that your dog will come, do not call until you have a way to enforce it. Have your dog on a long lead where you can bring the dog to you before you call or be close by so you can reach out to your dog.
3. When the dog comes, it is a Party! Have high value treats and/or a toy. This is motivation for the dog to come the next time he is called.
Finally, practice calling your dog away from fun situations, such as playing with another dog and then letting him return. If you only call your dog away from fun when it is time to go, he will associate the call with the end of fun time and not want to come.
This is by no means an all inclusive list, simply important tips to remember. Please share additional tips that you may have.