Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Volunteer Work- making lives better!

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

Clare and Ellie

If you are thinking about adopting a dog or buying a new puppy from the pet store, might I suggest you volunteer at your local SPCA for a few months first?

Here is my reasoning. If you haven’t had a dog before, or haven’t experienced the joys of rescue dog ownership then a few months as a volunteer will help prepare you for the kind of time and effort you will need to put into your new family member. And to be realistic if you are finding it very difficult to even set aside 3 hours, once a week to volunteer how likely is it that you have the time needed to take care of a new puppy or dog for the rest of her life!?

If you are able to work in a couple hours a week dog walking for the SPCA, it will give you a very good idea if you can handle a dog with “issues”.  I say this because many of the dogs given up to the SPCA have been given up because of some VERY simple and easy to fix behavior problems. Problems like Jumping up and “high energy” are two that we see a lot. These dogs were not out of the ordinary dogs by any means but so often people adopt or buy a cute puppy and don’t go to the trouble to teach it manners or give it the exercise it truly needs, then when it hits adolescence at about 8 months old they get hit with all of the extremely normal dog behaviors and are shocked that their dog doesn’t “listen”.

If you see these issues up close, by volunteering, my hope is that you will  make sure to start teaching your new dog from the very first day you get it so you avoid these same problems or better yet you fall in love with one of these abandoned dogs or puppies and decide to adopt rather than buy!

I am sure you can all tell that I am a huge fan of people adopting rather than buying puppies. This is because there are SO MANY dogs and puppies sacrificed every year due to over population. Most of these dogs are executed simply because there is not enough room or resources to take care of the abundance of abandoned dogs (and cats). So yes, I advocate adoption from a shelter! Second best is to find a reputable breeder (someone who breeds for temperament and socialization) if what you really want is to have a purebred. I understand the appeal of puppies at pet stores, but really take a step back and look at what you are promoting. Then think of how much your home would mean to a dog that has been abandoned by the family that was suppose to love him forever?

Dogs For Adoption

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

The Dangers of Sand

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

DSC_3441

You have seen Cooper featured on my website, in my blog photos and of course, as my logo! But poor little Cooper won’t be “dancing” or jumping, or chasing his beloved ball for awhile. About 3 weeks ago now Cooper had and accident while we were on the beach. He was happily and with a single mindedness chasing his ball as fast as his little legs could carry him up and down the sand. Ripley, our SPCA special, was there as well. Ripley gets mighty curious about the wide world and was off exploring the possible contents of the flax (there might be toast!). Cooper was as ever, charged up and waiting for the next Chuck-It toss. So charged up in fact, that he launched him self off the two foot drop from the grass to the sand, he hit hard but kept running, so I through the ball. He spun, snatched the ball out of the air, and… sat down.

So a very similar story goes for many dogs playing on the beach it turns out. Somehow the sand is a major catalyst in this sad tail. The way the sand traps the foot, allows the top of the leg to extend past the knee (it should really stop at the knee) and rupture the crutiate ligament, the main ligament the stabilizes and hold the joint together. Yes, ouch.

Although Cooper didn’t say ouch, he didn’t even flinch. He was sitting and nudging the ball towards me as if to say “ Come on, I’m fine! throw the damn ball already!”, but poor Cooper couldn’t stand up. It was a real Monty Python moment (its just a flesh wound!) and he was game for some more chasing. Needless to say that is not how the day turned out.

I called my vet there and then on the beach. Made an appointment for an hour later and I was soon getting the news that the most likely cause of his lameness was a crutiate rupture.

It has been a long three weeks, and there will be another 5 weeks of crate rest for Mr. Cooper. You can see from the picture, taken 5 days after the surgery, that he is not at all happy with the situation.

I know after any accident, that you will always blame yourself, whether it was avoidable or not (it always feels avoidable after the fact) but I really wish I had know about this “sand” issue before. I would have made a rule not to throw the ball unless we were on hard packed sand. Another interesting thing to note is that this injury is frequently seen in herding dogs with high “drive”. Drive is the term used for dogs that work with a single minded focus. It is great when you need a really reliable herder. Not so great when he isn’t paying attention to anything but sheep (or a ball in Cooper’s case) and ends up hitting a fence or twisting in just the right way to rupture the crutiate.

The good news is that the prognosis is good, he should be able to walk again in a few weeks and eventually chase a ball in a few months, but maybe not on the beach anymore.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Book Review: “Don’t Shoot the Dog!” by Karen Pryor

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

DSC_3012

Originally published in 1984, “Don’t Shoot the Dog!” became an instant must read for any trainer, educator, or coach. It outlines in plain easy to understand English, how learning works.

I have actually been trying to get a hold of a copy for the last 5 years with no luck until it was finally reprinted in 2008 and I miraculously found it at a book store in Paraparaumu!

If you are interested in why some training methods do or don’t work for dogs, children or even adults then you will find this book extremely interesting. I train primarily using positive reinforcement and the learning theory that goes along with that. All of my clients get an introduction to this kind of theory and learn the basics in order to train their dogs successfully at home, but if only I could get every single one of them to read this book it would make my life so much easier!

Karen Pryor outlines the 8 ways you can change ANY behavior in ANYONE.

1. “Shoot the Dog”. This method obviously solves your behavior issue but is not the most appealing way to go…and teaches the subject nothing.

2. Punishment. Pryor talks about how punishment does and doesn’t work to change behavior (turns out is doesn’t work that well).

3. Negative Reinforcement. Removing an unpleasant stimulus when you get the behavior you want. This method is used by many trainers whether they realize it or not. For example pulling a horse’s reins to the right makes the horse turn right, in order to avoid the uncomfortable pulling sensation from the bit.

4. Extinction. No longer reinforcing a behavior you don’t like. This is a REALLY hard one to implement unless you have an iron will.

5. Train and incompatible behavior. I love this one. It involves a lot of new habit forming in both you and your pet, but once in place it is very affective.

6. Put the Behavior on Cue.  A bit of reverse psychology here. Put the barking on cue then only reinforce the barks you want. The dog stops barking unless asked to! Very nice!

7. “Shape the Absence”. You start reinforcing every behavior that is not a behavior you don’t like. I do this a lot when first teaching clients about marker training.

8. Change the Motivation. You convince the dog to WANT to do what you want them to do. Everybody wins! This is the method most used by successful trainers.

After outlining these eight methods, Pryor goes on to show you how to implement them in many different real world situations. In this new edition of the book she also has added a chapter in clicker “marker” training. She discusses when and how to use this type of training most effectively and why it works so well.

Pryor really is one of the leaders in animal training and by writing this book in 1984 was incredibly  ahead of her time. The ideas that she spells out in “Don’t Shoot the Dog” have been literally world changing and if it is possible, even more relevant today than it was almost 30 years ago.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Dogs on the Bed?!

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

DSC_2806

I had a call recently having to do with a highly reactive dog that was starting to bite and growl at his owners, the caller was a relative of one of the owners and she was certain that this bad behavior could have been prevented had the owner been more strict with their dog  “What did they expect when they allow the dog to sleep on the bed?!”  she asked me.

Is letting your dog sleep on the bed really as bad as people think? Some dog trainers still seem to think so. And certainly for a dog with uncertain boundaries in his every day life, being allowed to sleep on the bed  is likely going to promote the idea that the bed is at least partly his. This confusion in his life and in regards to the ownership of the bed can lead to exactly what my caller described. A reactive and quite possibly dangerous dog who feels it is is job to guard his bed, couch, home, food, bone, toy… etc. A dog like this doesn’t  realize that what he is doing could be worthy of capitol punishment in the human world. He is a dog that has assumed the role of “leader” for his house because he didn’t think his owners were up to the job, He is simply doing what any stressed, anxiety ridden, untrained leader would do; overreact and lash out in order to keep the troops in line.

I know, I have been there myself. I was an overworked, anxiety ridden, untrained manager in charge of a dozen teenagers in a large pet store in the US when I was just 22. I was out of my depth and had no idea how to get 12 adolescent adults to work with me or each other. I didn’t bite any of them, but I certainly was not the best manager in the world and I had been given no training to deal with the situation. Dogs get put into situations like this all the time, then punished for doing the best they can.

The thing is, all of this has absolutely nothing to do with  being allowed to sleep on the bed. Many very well known dog trainers allow their dogs access to their beds. To name a few, Suzanne Clothier, she talks about her dog’s  bed manners in Bones would rain from the Sky. Ian Dunbar allows his dogs to lay on him on the couch. I also am guilty of allowing my dogs to sleep on the bed or the couch. Do our dogs try to dominate us? Bite us? Do our dogs guard the bed or not allow us on our own couch? No, they absolutely don’t do any of these things because a bed is just a bed. In all other aspects of their lives, certainly the most important aspects, our dogs are given training, bonding, and leadership exercises as part of their every day life.

So here is the important question. If you allow your dog on the bed, will she get off if you ask her to? If the answer is yes, then great! If it is no, then maybe it is time to take a look at not just bed rules, but all the boundaries you have set for your dog and make sure she isn’t shouldering too much responsibility.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Kongs and Chewing

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

DSC_3060 Think of all the things your dog is NOT allowed to chew…chair legs, cell phones, TV remotes, your children’s toys…. the list goes on forever. And yet, somehow we expect our pooches to know these things are not to be chewed on, while maybe a half dozen other items ARE allowed to be chewed on. How does the dog know the difference?

Dogs can learn the difference but they don’t know it automatically, we have to teach them. However, if we had to teach them each and every item they were not allowed to chew on that would take years! So here are three easy things you can do to prevent inappropriate chewing, and increase appropriate chewing!

1. Manage the Environment: Put away things you don’t want your dog to chew on. This may seem obvious, but really a dog can’t be expected to pick out his bone from a pile of kid’s toys on the floor. This also means a new dog or a puppy must be supervised especially when learning house rules to prevent mistakes. If mistakes are prevented, the dog never gets into the habit of chewing the TV remote in the first place!

2. Get Him Hooked on Food Stuffed Toys!: This part is easy, introduce your puppy/dog to a Kong or similar heavy rubber toy, stuffed with tasty treats. I use a mix of dry food, “Superior Chunky” dog roll, and small pieces of cheese! Sometimes I add boiled chicken breast or freeDSC_3066ze dried liver. Give these toys to your dog whenever you leave him alone or whenever you want to be left alone for awhile! If you are concerned about weight, then use half his meal ration instead of treats.

3. Trading Up: In a dog’s world, if something is in your mouth it is yours. So if you haven’t trained a solid “Drop-it” cue don’t expect your dog to understand that he should give you his hard sought prize (TV remote excavated from the couch cushions) just because you asked for it. Without a good Drop-it cue you are only setting yourself up for a game of chase, which hardly solves your problem. So if you have waivered from the “supervision  at all times” rule, and your new dog just found your cell phone on a chair at perfect doggie-nose-level, then you are much better off pretending you don’t care about the cell phone, grab a dog biscuit, and offer a quick trade. Say “Drop-it” as he loosens his jaws to drop the phone and take the treat. Then don’t forget to PRAISE him! Praise is a powerful motivation to many dogs and the treat will only reinforce how wonderful it is to give you things.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Tug!!!

Sunday, April 18th, 2010

DSC_1282

I have had a number of people give me funny looks when I recommend they play Tug with their dogs. I have heard protests from “Won’t that make my dog act aggressively?” to “It gets my dog too excited.”So lets look at this critically. Does playing Tug make a dog more aggressive or more likely to try to “dominate” their owner?

If you are a leader that your dog trusts and respects then a simple game of Tug will not change your overall relationship with your dog. Dogs see their owners a lot like parents. Their first leader is in fact their own mother. A no nonsense  dog who sets boundaries and sticks to them. If this is the kind of leader you are, then it is downright silly to think that winning a game of Tug would so alter your dog’s perception of you that he would then try to challenge your authority later on. If you are a leader that sets your boundaries and sticks to them then you probably already have rules for any game you play with your dog.

However if you are a  a bit wishy-washy in your rules and you give in a lot when the boundaries are pushed, then while playing a game like Tug you probably haven’t set up any rules for the game to begin with. What I am describing here is a situation where the dog probably already feels like he is more responsible for you then you are for him, which would make it his job to decide on the rules. Therefore the game of Tug still would not make him more dominant acting than he already is!

My point is that any game in itself is NOT going to alter the relationship you have with your dog. Tug in fact is a really fantastic way for a dog to release a lot of energy in a short period of time. So if you just don’t have time to run your dog down to the park, then maybe a game of tug for 5 minutes will work out some of those beans!

I do recommend that you have rules for the game and stick to them! Your dog likes rules and yes, they will push boundaries  in any situation (just like kids) but they push them to make sure they still exist, not to try to challenge your authority! A great rule to stick to with Tug, is always make sure you win the last game, that way you can put the toy away when you are done with it. A Tug toy should not be a toy your dog gets to play with all the time, it should be a special toy you play with together!

If you find your dog gets “too excited” when playing Tug, that’s great! It means you have a perfect opportunity to coach your dog on how to have an “off” switch. Practice playing tug then in the middle of a match (before the dog is out of control) ask for a sit and a drop-it. Then continue the Tug game as a reward for the performed cues! Repeat this process for 5 minutes, then finish the game with praise and a treat!

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Book Review: Bones Would Rain from the Sky by Suzanne Clothier

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

Gee

This is one of the most important books on dogs I have ever read. When I decided to commit myself to becoming a really excellent dog trainer and behaviourist, Suzanne Clothier really clarified for me what kind of trainer I wanted to become.

As I first started reading this book I initially thought, uh-oh this might be a little too touchy-feely for me, just a little too soft hearted. I have never felt that you needed to be mean to be a good trainer, but I also had a strong influence (growing up in the time of dominance theory) that you had to be extremely firm and assertive when working with dogs.

While reading “Bones” I realized I had been much too focused on what to do if the dog “got away with something”, instead of why the dog might be trying to get away! Suzanne talks a lot about the importance of trust in the relationship with your dog and that has come to be a very important part of how I teach people to communicate and build the bond between them and their companion.

If you have ever longed for that complete understanding, or that ability to communicate that is almost supernatural some people seem to have with their dogs, then this is absolutely the book you need to read. It is a real eye opener into the reasons why some relationships work and others don’t. Suzanne talks about not just being your dog’s leader, but being their trusted, benevolent leader who they would do absolutely anything for.

Basically anyone who owns a dog or is thinking of owning a dog would benefit so much from the ideas presented in this book. If you are a dog trainer yourself and haven’t read it, then do, you will have so much fun!

Suzanne Clothier’s Website

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Hip Dysplasia

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Bronco (2)

The sad truth is that many large breed dogs, will at some time in their life suffer from Hip Dysplasia. This can be a painful and debilitating disease, where the hip joint doesn’t fit together properly causing bone deformities and mild to severe arthritis.

Even at the tender young age of  1 year our puppy, Ripley (a Sheppard Mastiff Cross) has been diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia. In most big dogs the cause of this is bad genes from poor breeding practices but it can also be caused  by poor nutrition throughout the dog’s life.

The good news is that there are things you can do to try and prevent symptoms. We have started treating him with Cartophen injections. This is a series of injections, 1 a week for 4 weeks, then 1 every 3 months for the rest of his life. This is suppose to help “Inhibition of enzymes which break down cartilage in addition to stimulating natural inhibitors of these destructive enzymes. Stimulation of the production of lubricant and cartilage molecules by the joint cells. Improvement of the circulation of blood to the arthritic tissues, thus improving nutrition to the joint tissues. All this adds up to help repair and rejuvenate the damaged cartilage.”  Read more here.  We also have started him on a regimen of Glucosamine tablets that he will also be on for the rest of his life.

Then of course the most obvious thing you can do to prevent symptoms is watch your dogs weight! Always keep him trim and fit. This seems to be difficult for some people but really all you need to do is pay attention. Notice if your dog is getting a little chubby and take immediate action. Cut her dinner in half and see if she loses the pounds. If she still isn’t at a good weight after a month or two then cut breakfast in half as well!  DoDSC_2663n’t just go by what the bag of food says is the “optimal” quantity for your dog.

So far Ripley shows no obvious symptoms of the disease, and we caught it early so we have plenty of time for prevention. He is a trim dog, on a primarily raw food diet so it is easy to keep him in shape. I will update  occasionally on his progress, especially if he starts to show symptoms, but for now he will live life to the fullest (without over-exercising!) and we will deal with the hard decisions as we reach them.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Why Clickers?

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

Charlie 2

When I am doing a first session with clients I usually start with introducing them to a clicker. A clicker is a small hand held noisemaker, much like you would find at kid’s parties. But for the purpose of training, it is used as a marker for behavior. A clicker is ideal for this purpose because it is a quick noise that is almost instantaneous and completely repeatable. That means you can easily teach the dog by learned association, that if they hear a click, they will get a treat.

Once the dog understands that a click will always get them a treat, you then teach them that they can demonstrate behaviors and make you click. In this way they become active in their own training and actually enjoy the learning process itself!

Because of this, clickers are used all over the world to teach a variety of different animals new or complicated behaviors.  When I worked with Big Cats we used clickers as a means of communicating to our feline friends that we liked what they were doing. This is especially important because with many large predators you can’t force them to do what you want, you have to make them want to do what you want! Frequently you are working behind a cage wall so even if you wanted to you couldn’t use Rickiphysical cues to model the behavior you needed.

The same is true for dogs, if you can get them to want to do something, whether that is staying off the couch, going to the toilet on cue, or just shaking hands. You can show them how much fun it is to do the things you like! And lets be honest, if you don’t like something, you don’t do it, and if you do like something you do it even if someone doesn’t give you a cupcake afterwards.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Ian Dunbar- Notes on the Lecture in Christchurch

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

DSC_2431

I actually just finished reading his book “After You Get Your Puppy” the night before the seminar. I signed up for the Ian Dunbar lecture because although I had never read one of his books, he had been referenced in many of the dog behavior books I have read.

If I were to pick the most important thing I gleaned from Dr. Dunbar’s lecture I think the it would be how dependent we all are on our dog breeders in New Zealand. It is really up to them whether we start out with a puppy who is socialized with many different people/noises/situations so that they are a behaviorally healthy and confident pup or if we get a puppy that is physically healthy but will be prone to shyness and house soiling! The most important socialization for a puppy happens BEFORE they are 8 weeks old!

It sure would be fantastic if any of the breeders in the Wellington area are interested in this information or already socialize, chew toy and crate train their puppies before 8 weeks old, then I would love to hear from you. I would like to start a  page on my site with a list of conscientious dog breeders, so that when my clients are looking for a puppy I can give them names of breeders that I know will provide them with a puppy that is not only physically healthy but mentally health as well!

Ian Dunbar’s Website

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »