Why is the dog doing THAT?

Lopey the Bulldog, Chapter 856 RABIES, home owners' insurance and total jerk offs

2010-04-25T04:44:00.000-07:00

Haven't been here in a while so in brief... Daisy is great, kids are great and spring is on the way. Oh, and my F key is broken so if I drop any F's please forgive me.

With Spring comes free rabies clinics. Lopey, my massive 140 lb American Bulldog does not often go to the vet for the following reasons:

1. he has a shoulder deformity (not painful) that the vets offer to fix... for several thousand dollars
2. he has entropia (a genetic eyelid deformity, again nonpainful) that they offer to fix -in two separate surgeries- for a minimum of $1,600 per eye. They usually follow up this suggestion with the fact that it is cosmetic surgery and may need to be re-done in the future
3. he is HUGE, dopey and friendly and usually knock people down just wagging his tail
4. he is in good health

Lopey was due for his 3 year rabies vac this Spring. I researched the available clinics and found one in Monmouth Beach. Noice! I brought Daisy first and when I got up to the registration, the girl looked at her papers and said, Oh, no, she's has her 3 year vac. So I went home and got Lopey.

Lopey doesn't get out often, but I must say he was very well behaved and friendly. Not that I let him play with any of the other dogs or cats, mind you. Nonetheless, we were one of the last dog-owner pairs in the firehouse. The vet and tech had a great time laughing about him as he IS pretty funny/scary looking. The main comment was that his head looked like a basketball. The vet was a bit nervous about me holding him while he gave him the shot but I said, Go for it. This dog can't feel a thing. All in all I felt pretty good about the whole process and was proud that my fairly untrained bulldog behaved so well.

Disappointment #1: when I got home I looked at Daisy's papers. Her vaccination was not up to date. The girl at the counter looked at the Reminder section of the papers. Now I have to take her to another clinic in a couple of weeks.

Disappoinment #2: yesterday, I received a WARNING from the Long Branch Health Czar that I need to license my "WHT AMER BULLDOG" before the 29th or I will get a $90 fine. The license itself is $10 for a neutered animal and $15 for an intact pet.

I don't really recall the last time I licensed a dog frankly and I don't really see the need for it. Being a former Rottweiler owner, I tended to NOT license my dogs as some homeowners' insurance companies will DROP you without notice for having a dog on their HOT LISTS. Just so you know there are a variety of non-threatening dogs on these lists (eg. St Bernard, thank you Cujo; a whole smattering of terrier-types, thank you irresponsible pit bull owners; Rottweilers, of course, because they are death-on-wheels killing machines; some lists even include labs as well) but strangely missing from these lists are the dogs that I was most often called in for training. A short list, Yorkies, min pins, Cockers and OLD ENGLISH SHEEPDOG. I could go on and on. The worst bites with damage I ever took were from a lab and cairn terrier, not counting formal protection training where I was wearing a padded sleeve.

Frankly, I'm pretty pissed that Long Branch is threatening me with a fine. Are they really so hard up for the $15? Now, I get it that they want an active real list of dogs in residence, however I don't really see the need for it. My dogs are contained, cared for and under control. This is the ONLY formality I have balked as a dog owner (OK, Lopey's not neutered but that's because I was warned about putting him under as his has a strange "tick" in his heartbeat and I was warned by two vets that it could be risky). The WARNING they sent could have been a bit less antagonistic. I would have even welcomed a personal visit from animal control!

This may effect my vote on election day. Just kidding. But I guess now I have to add one more errand on Monday and go get my "dangerous dog" a friggin $15 tag to hang off his collar.

Sheesh! It's been a while...

2010-02-12T04:27:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since I've blogged about my dog or adventures. Oh, I've had plenty! I'll be addressing a few of them in the next few posts. Here's a quick preview...

1. Daisy barks at everyone that is not a household family member. She hates and loves large parties. She freaks out and shakes when kids ambush her. She loves or hates a guy named Trez. She is still not on her training collar as I have not received it yet from an old associate.

2. The reason I have not yet received the training collar is that this old associate is tempting me to go back to work with him at a local kennel. I am weighing my options (but frankly, I need to get my own puppy in order before I even think of heading out to train others!). I really do need some adult time away from home.

3. My Aunt Laine's Labra-doodly-o, Piper is driving her crazy... as a four month old pup should. I put in a couple of rescue calls to her and I think he is on the right path now... for the moment.

4. My Mom is being jerked around financially by a large (nameless in this blog) teaching hospital. Every time she brings in her Westie the bill jumps to thousands. The dog is only 8 years old. He just had knee surgery, needs the other knee done and they "discovered" that he had some dental work that was necessary. I have a lot to say about these teaching hospitals and will be blogging my arse off shortly. Oh, the same hospital is also trying to convince my mother's friend to sustain the life of her cancer-ridden Wheaton Terrier with chemo, radiation, etc.

5. I am also in the process of restructuring my personal life as well. But that won't be included in this blog. As juicy as the gory details are, I will be keeping this private... unless I start another blog, that is.

6. One last note, somewhat relative, I officially HATE Valentine's Day and anyone that "goes to Jerrod" should be smacked in the head.

Bloggin soon. Hope the few of you that follow didn't miss me.

More Reunion Photos

2010-01-19T02:45:00.001-08:00

Daisy's Family Reunion

2010-01-19T01:50:00.000-08:00

For weeks now I have been trying to get together with the three girls who helped bring Daisy into our family: Jessica, Lori and Alicia. Jessica owns Daisy's mother, Stella and recently moved here from (Viva!) Las Vegas, one of my favorite places in the whole world. Initially I thought it would be good to let Jessica and her family settle in. Then came the holidays. Then school started back up. With the date of my brother in law and his wife arriving as well as my son's second birthday looming, I put the pedal to the metal and had them over for a Dog Party. If I hadn't we probably wouldn't get together until next year as we are all fairly busy. Alicia couldn't make it as she lives some distance away and has young twins (being the mother of two dissimilarly aged children, I have no idea how she showers or goes to the grocery store with two, let alone schlep out to the shore to go to Dog Parties! God bless her!). I was fairly bummed Alicia couldn't make it as it was her post on Facebook that brought us all together and put Daisy into our family.

I did have some conerns about how the two puppies, Daisy and her brother Cody would interact. Being five months old, they are on the cusp of sexual development. If Cody was already matured enough to "bust a move" on his sister she would attempt either to throw him off and "correct*" him or she would go for it herself and do nothing. When Jessica asked if I thought they would be OK together, I made a bad joke about Cody being at the "Jersey Shore." Stella had been under a year old when she had her litter of six and Jessica suspects that is why her original owner was so determined to re-home her. It is possible (nay- probable) that Stella mated with her original owner's poodle-bichon male shortly before she was given to Jessica's family. You decide from the pictures. We all think it is pretty obvious without Maury Povich getting involved. But I guess it holds true: what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!

FYI it is not advisable for any dog to have a litter until after they are a minimum of one year old, ideally over two years. Stella came through her pregnancy and delivery fine, but Jessica provided her with excellent veterinary care, including an ultrasound for a "head count." Though procreation is the most natural thing in the world, small dogs and large head-ed breeds (ie. bulldogs and the like) often have more complications with an unstructured breeding and can develop pups that are too large for a natural birth. Also, unstructured breedings can result in an extremely large litter. Female dogs can be fertile from 1-3 days. Eggs continue to drop and can be fertilized by several different males over this period.

Cody did try to mount his sister, as well as his Mom (can't blame a dog for trying!), but in general they were all more interested in playing, running, barking and trying to get food from all the shorter humans in the house. I was very pleased at how well they all got along. No fights at this reunion!

Oddly enough, though they are all different in appearance I was surprised by how much their behaviors were common. Even their bark patterns and triggers were the same. I really wish I took some video and posted it here, but alas, I can't get the videos to load on the blog so I've been lax about taping Daisy. Eventually I'll figure that out but in the mean time, here are some still of the party. Mind you, they are all fairly fast moving dogs and I did my best to capture the moment!

Training Collars to some, Torture Devices to other

2010-01-12T05:09:00.000-08:00

There is a huge selection of training collars available. I will obnoxiously discuss them here in order of intensity. WARNING: this is a long post!

1. No collar. Well, this is fairly simple. Don't bother to put a collar on your dog. Make bets to see if he does what you want. For the very lucky few who accidentally find a stable, happy-go-lucky personality pooch this will work great. For the majority of us, not so much.

2. Flat, buckle-type collar.... can be adorned with spikes, semi-precious jewels or other decoration. Again, this will work well for folks with fairly compliant pups or teeny-tiny teacup breed that are not experiencing Napoleonic behavioral issues. Many a medium-grade Lab has been started on their flat collars by this trainer but the tend to graduate to a more meaningful correction by nine months of age. I like to add the clicker into training with the flat collar as it gives the dog the indication when he is doing something right. If you are not going to "mark" the bad behavior, you must "mark" the good behavior in a meaningful way.

3. Body harnesses. Some dogs are anatomically constructed so that neck collars and head collars are explicitly NOT an option. For a specific example, the Maltese, while not immune to aggressive or highly unwanted behaviors, are built with a soft trachea. Applying collar correction WILL injure the dog so a body harness is often a good option to preserve the dog's well being and good health. Likewise, pug-faced dogs have a less efficient cooling system due to their distinct facial construction. Restricting airflow with a neck collar or a flat collar, even briefly, can stress out pug-faced dog enough to cause him to pass out in the worst case or just not train well in the mildest case. One word of caution if using a body harness: dogs respond to pressure with counter-pressure. This is the reason sled dogs will pull like mad through snow and ice and weight pull dogs will knock your socks off by pulling carts loaded with cement bags. If you chose to use a body harness, you must employ targeting bait work and possibly a clicker to "mark" the good behavior.

4. Head collars. Many of you have seen these collars on the street and thought they were muzzles. Quite the innovation in training, the concept is that of the horse bridle without the bit: where the head goes the body will follow. I am a fan of this collar but far too many owners run out, buy one, put it on the dog, completely stress him out then throw the collar in the drawer, never to be used again. As a professional I had an entire filing cabinet drawer filled with head collars from owners that failed to use them correctly, distressed the dog enough to put him off the head collar forever and gave up on them. Although the packaging claims to be an instant fix for behavioral issues such as pulling on the lead, I strongly urge anyone desiring to use this nifty collar to employ a trainer that is conversant with the collar as well as experienced in training with it. Be careful, the master trainer that apprenticed me asked me to do an initial application and lesson with a head collar by myself during the first week of my apprenticeship. I refused and then watched him completely stress out two owners and one Lab. This is a delicate, subtle device and WILL NOT provide instant behavioral correction. Bottom line: consult with a trainer if you want to use this one.

5. Martingale-type collars. These collars equip the handler with a mild correction. You will most often see them on greyhounds as they recommended for the breed especially if they are racing rescues. They are effective as well on smaller, more delicate breeds providing they are responsive to gentle direction. Again, good "marking" of desirable behavior is critical for good success. They are available in many thicknesses, from wide, flat collars to rolled nylon and cotton with chain connectors. Good correction control is important: if you find you are correcting the dog's front feet off the ground you are applying too much pressure and should modify your technique or consider a different corrective device.

6. Nylon or cotton slip collar, also known as choke-type collars. Lots of folks start out thinking that a fabric slip collar is a "nicer" alternative to the traditional chain link "choke" collar. While this may be a good idea for young pups that will eventually graduate to a chain-type slip collar, I have often seen "shaving" of the fur around the neck from the fabric rubbing. Also, the concept behind the slip collar is not to choke the dog. This is called coercive training and will be discussed in a later post. For the time being, understand this is not an ideal philosophy in training and is fairly archaic as well as abusive. A slip collar should provide an effective, meaningful distraction from the dog's attention. For example, if you tell your dog to Heel and he is more interested in the squirrel running by, you need to redirect his attention to you, the handler. Correction is a tap on the shoulder, not a slap across the face.

7. Chain choke-type collars. As with the fabric slip collar, some "shaving" of the neck hair can develop from poor, incorrect application of this training device. One of my biggest beefs with the consumer products in the dog industry is the availability of this collar. Not only can this collar seriously injure the dog with a minimum of improper application, but far too many folks run out and just start yanking on the dog with complete abandon of sense. Also, the cheaper the collar the worse the damage can be. Many people allow their dogs to pull to the end of the slip collar, gasping and panting far ahead. Remember: dogs respond to pressure with counter pressure. If he is pulling to the end of the lead, he is going to try to pull through the collar's tightening though it is a futile effort. With time, the dog can develop a "calloused" muscle around the neck known to some trainers as "tire neck." Essentially, the dog will pull so much and brace against the correction, that the neck muscles will build up to protect against the tightening chain. Even worse, many owners fail to remove this collar with tragic results. It is unfortunately not uncommon for a dog to hook his collar and hang himself when wearing this collar unsupervised. Also, we have all heard stories of dogs having the collar embedded in the neck skin from failure to resize. This collar should always be used with the support of a trainer. It takes a good amount of practice to achieve a good, sound correction with this collar. Technique counts.

8. Prong collars. I have heard many a gasp when I have pulled this type of collar out of my training bag. They come in all sizes. I myself have a Mighty Max prong collar suited for a toy breed that I have worn as a bracelet to many a dog show for a laugh (see last post for a cute photo). The prong looks like a medieval torture device but again is only as dangerous as the handler makes it. The concept behind this collar is to give a full neck correction by compressing the loose skin of the neck. The prongs are not stabbing the dog in the neck! High quality prong collars have rounded prongs. I have heard stories of brutal trainers flattening the prongs to create a more painful correction but this again is giving into the old school technique of coercive training and is not an ideal practice. I presented my sister with this collar for her pit-mix and while she did have some reservations the collar has provided her family with a consistent meaningful correction for a dog that was heading down the wrong path. Consider this collar the power steering of dog training. It is applied in many situations and for many types of working dogs. Many handicap assistance dogs are given this collar as the potential owner many not have the physical capability to administer a meaningful correction with another device (ie. paralysis, arthritis, etc.). Also, if there is a incongruous difference in handler and dog size this collar may be necessary for effective correction and handling (ie. 200 lb Mastif and 95 lb owner). I know I am singing the praises of this collar, but it really can provide a novice handler with good control in a fairly short period of time, but like my other examples it must be sized and used at the direction of a good, experienced trainer.

9. Remote, electric collars. Electric collars have come a long way in recent years. Many collars now offer a vibrate feature which is excellent for owners with hearing impared dogs. Commands can be trained with a series of vibrations and hand signals rather than the traditional verbal command/hand signal combo. Remote collars now offer variable corrections from the hand-held remote (years ago you had to change the intesity level from the collar by removing the prongs and going through a whole rigamorole) and some electric fence systems have a Train and Contain option. Technique has also made some advances. Some years ago I was completely against electric collars as I worked with a "behavioralist" who shocked the snot out of my softy Rottweiler Buster which resulted in him becoming MORE prey aggressive. At the urging of a fellow trainer in Florida Mike Harvey I accompanied him to a three day workshop with Fred Hassen. So the legend goes, Fred was just a regular dude that had a negative experience with a "trainer" using traditional "shock and stop" techniques, in essence blast the dog with the highest level of correction as a deterent for unwanted behavior. Again, as the legend goes, Fred fired the "trainer," kept the collar and worked out his own technique with remarkable, REMARKABLE success. His technique involves "tapping" low level corrections coupled with verbal and hand signal support to guide the dog back to the desired placement or command. His work with professional working dogs and aggression cases is simply amazing. Videos of his work can be found at www.youtube.com. Search his name and you will be amazed to no end. He established two schools for remote collar trainer certification, one of which is in Las Vegas (Mike Harvey is a certified trainer in both traditional techniques and Fred Hassen's remote techniques). I strongly urge anyone seeking to get truly amazing (yeah, I know I used the word "amazing" a bunch of times but watch the videos and you'll see why) off lead results to hire one of Hassen's certifed trainers. I do not recommend using a remote collar without a competant trainer and a veterinary OK. Some medical problems such as seizure disorder may disqualify a dog for this type of device.

As you can see there is a big selection of training collars. I like some more than others. However, it is up to you and your trainer to determine what will work best for your family and your dogs. Consistent correction from ALL family members is crucial to success so a device that works for everyone must be employed. Likewise the device must suit the dog's personality. Buster was eventually clicker trained on a flat, padded aggitation-collar (used to pad the dog's neck for pulling in bite/protection work). This may seem like a contradiction in devices but it was what worked best for him. Buffy, on the other hand, could take a full level remote stimulation though she was half the size of Buster. I have met poodles that could take no more than a gentle prod and bulldogs that didn't even need a collar. I have trained labs that could tra-la-la through electric collar stims when out in the field birding. You should consult, experiment carefully and train responsibly.

Until again... train well!

The Fifth Month of Puppy's Life: What Will Happen to Daisy Next

2010-01-12T03:44:00.000-08:00

Oh, Daisy!

I know most of you are freaking out at the picture to the left. To be sure, I will get to this seemingly torturous device soon enough. The coin in the picture is a quarter for scale (I am not the best macro photographer).

Daisy celebrated her fifth month on the fifth of January. She has been losing LOTS of teeth. Miraculously, I am finding them here and there in the house. Prior to this I have only found two dog teeth. One of Lopey's puppy teeth and one of Buster's adult canines that Buffy broke taking a Nylabone from him. Puppies most swallow their puppy teeth as they tend to come out while eating kibble. Human instinct urges us to soften up the food or to give substitutes during the teething phase. I try not to do this as when pups are teething they tend to not eat as heartily as they otherwise would. Daisy was a bit slower but she still made it through the worst of it when her bottom baby canine was hanging to the right. It was all I could do to not pull it myself!

I posted the tooth updates on Facebook and my friend Alicia (the catalyst for the whole Daisy scenario; thank you forever, Alicia!!!) asked me what the Tooth Fairy was bringing Daisy. I jokingly replied, "A heat cycle." Unfortunately this is not a joke and I am patiently waiting for Daisy's menses, her first period. I have two indications that this is pending.

1. Lopey has no control over his "thang" when he sees her and begins panting. Lopey is not neutered and is a bit of a perv. He recently attempted to sexually assault one male visitor, albeit a cute one. Nonetheless, Lopey's hog is nearly as big as Dasiy so we're gonna have to be a bit careful when she is fully blown in "heat." I really would hate to see them breed!

2. The neighbor's dog Jack was mounting my daughter. I know it seems far afield but Ella was wearing fuzzy pajamas and had been cuddling with Daisy all day before we stopped over. He basically smelled that good doggie smell and was intent on getting some. Smell is far more relative to dogs than form. Jack was fairly relentless but is only 20 lbs so it was easily fixable.

In addition to her physical changes, the fifth month will bring some mental developmental changes that are fairly significant and very welcome: the onset of long term memory. Until the fifth month it is a fairly futile endeavor to force orchestrated obedience. Puppies simply do not have the capacity or attention span to respond consistently or reliably to technical commands. At this point, we will be working toward RELIABLE response to commands and to achieve this end a training collar must be introduced. Daisy will be required to Heel (walk calmly at the left with no pulling and sit automatically when the handler stops), to hold a Sit or Down until released with the command OK and, most importantly, to Come and Sit at attention in front of the handler from increasing distances.

Until this developmental stage, most trainers will use a "back door" approach and "catch and praise" when a pup commits a desirable behavior. Now, Daisy will corrected when she fails to complete the task at hand.

Many trainers are against training collars, finding them cruel and painful. However, it is my belief that a training collar is only as abusive as the trainer. Heavy handed correct on a flat, buckle-type collar can injure a dog just as well as a prong or choke-type collar. Finding the "sweet spot" and leveling a correction to match the infraction as well as the dog's temperament, anatomical construction and size will achieve successful, consistent reliability; abusive correction will make your dog fear you... and training.

Please see the next post for a detailed discussion of various corrective training devices.

Daisy will be fitted for her collar this week. As she is so bright and enthusiastic, I am predicting she will be a grand success. Her potty training is nearly complete. She squeaks at the back door when she needs to go out and only has accidents in the house at the handler's failure to take her out. I have actually stopped using the crate and have left her out when no one was home several times with good results. I have rarely seen a pup house train so well so quickly.

Please see the next post for more on this subject... Until then, good luck and good training!

Why Dog Owners Should Be Ever-Vigilant

2010-01-08T07:47:00.001-08:00

So my good friend Dave had an interesting week. His cute little dog Benny spent some time with the vet due to a... wait for it... ingested WINE CORK!

Have no fear, Faithful Readers, Benny is just fine and passed the cork. As this was a happy ending story I had no problem making some Champagne and popping jokes on Dave's Facebook page. Dave himself drew and posted the silly picture I have posted here (with permission).

As the owner of a puppy, I must urge that all owners keep their homes as puppy-proof as possible. However, for a lot of us this does not end when puppyhood ends. I have Ella fairly well trained that if she leaves her toys on the floor Daisy will get them and ruin them as well as get sick enough to go the vet. Buffy the Wonder Dog, one of my Great Rottweiler Dogs of Ward, was a massive chewer despite a small fortune in appropriate "chewies." I had a collection of remote controls, cell phones and paper currency (I'm not kidding) that Buffy had destroyed until WELL into her adulthood.

Chewing is an idle time endevour for dogs. Think of their chew toys as magazines to read. They are not mad that you left and they are not seeking revenge for some human indiscretion or perceived neglect. Blame not your actions for your dogs chewing behavior, but firmly find cause in your lack of actions. Certainly I am not suggesting that you spend your day engaging your dog in stimulating animal activities, but make some time to train and play. When you are absent, give your dog a nice "chewy" to while away the hours until your return. I am a big fan of the Nylabone products (specifically the "chocolate" flavor) and the Chilly Bone, which can be soaked in water and frozen for teething or hot weather relief.

Now as far as Benny is concerned, he may or may not have been bored. I have hung out a great deal with Dave and he is a great drinking buddy! (Love ya, guy!) I have a feeling Benny was just trying to join in the party. Dave, next time pour him a glass of that vino and put his feet up!

Don't get mad, D! Glad the whole thing worked its way out and the little dude is OK!

Daisy's First Christmas

2009-12-29T04:15:00.000-08:00

"Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all, from Daisy the Dog!"

Okay. I have been neglecting this blog with all the holiday hullabaloo but I had gingerbread houses to build and Buche de Noels to roll... and eat. Daisy ate A LOT of stuff that hit the floor while I was baking.

Believe it or not, Daisy was NOT the first one up...

But she was pretty eager to get downstairs!

She wasn't sure what to make out of the shiny paper.

Then Pepper showed her how to chew on the ribbons!

Daisy got not one but TWO pet Snuggies, one from Ella and one from Grandma. She pulled both off within seconds!
Pepper apparently did NOT get what she asked for.

All in all it was a fun, exhausting day! And Santa was good to little Daisy!

Who Says Daisy-s Can't Bloom in the Snow?

2009-12-27T10:30:00.000-08:00

Joe, Anna, Bella... Rocks! Oh, and Merry!

2009-12-12T16:00:00.000-08:00

I just had a number of conversations with my old business partner Joe Rocks about a dog and had quite a great time teasing him. You see, Joe saved my business and I owe him a debt of gratitude that I am hard pressed to truly express. I had just hired Joe as an assistant when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. I gave him the choice to either run for the door or stick it out and see what happened. Joe, a recent grad from Rutgers, magically happened to be a phenomenal dog trainer and increased our business by nearly 400%. I made him a partner very quickly and he royally kicked ass!

One of the interesting things that happened during his tenure with me was that he found his dog Bella. It is just one of the many occurrences of a dog finding its owner and the story deserves telling.

For some time I had been donating training to a local rescue group and developed a nice rapport with one of their agents, Robin. She had a shipment of pups coming up from the southern states from "kill shelters" but had found homes for all of the puppies. Upon their arrival, she discovered that there was something wrong with one of the pups and was not sure if placement with the intended family would be a good match. She asked if Joe and I would take a look at her and make a call as to the dog's stability. We invited her to bring the pup to the kennel and were greeted by a drooling, neurotic mess. She was a young, black flat coated retriever mix with a huge ass. Sorry, but she really did have a big ass. We put her up in a kennel run and she retreated to the corner, face first and head down. She utterly refused to give any eye contact or even acknowledge human or canine presence. I warned Joe that she didn't look good and that the only other times I had seen dogs behave in such a manner was when they were brain damaged. I gently told him to not get attached and that we may have to tell Robin that she would not be suitable for placement. You see, brain damaged dogs are not predictable and often uncontrollable and should not be placed in a home that can not 100% guarantee civic safety. It's a very hard match and most times it is better to put the dog down than risk liability.

She was really pretty though and I am a sucker for a pretty dog. After throwing a bazillion treats into the kennel I told Joe the we were going to use a bit of brawn: we would force her to come out and assess the damage. We both geared up for being bit up, locked down the training room and I went in and leashed her up. The pup wouldn't walk, wouldn't look up, wouldn't take food. Not the types to give up, Joe and I gave her the best 10 minutes of our careers and then put her up in the kennel again. I called Robin and asked for a few more days with the puppy to see if we could bring her around.

She never snapped at us. Her disposition couldn't be measured; she was just in sheer terror. After a few more phone calls, Robin found out the pup had been born at the shelter in Georgia. Her mother was brought in probably as a stray and was pregnant. The shelter had been really overcrowded -hence the large number of pups they had sent to Robin's rescue- and the conclusion we collectively drew was that the pup had had very little human contact. It was surprising that she wasn't interacting with the other dogs at our kennel. We even tried to put her up near my Rottweiler Buster, who was just a big mushy boy and loved everybody and every dog.

Joe's birthday was a few days away. Robin told us that they had called the dog Bella after me (yikes!) so we started to call her Bella.

Now, you know something is up when your partner beats you into work everyday, by-passes the dogs we were being paid to train and is making googly eyes at the strange black dog from Georgia that may not be suitable for ownership. Joe was in love.

I called it from the third day we had Bella with us and I told Joe so. "That is your dog, dude! You know it," I said to him.

"No, no, no! I've got Jake [an Australian shepherd so hopped up on life it was hard to tell the back end from the front and all you can see is a blur of blue merle and flashes of white] and he's plenty! I've got a lot of work to do on him," he kept saying.

"I know," I told him pointing at Bella cowering in her kennel run. "But THAT is your new dog... sucka! You LOVE her."

"No. No, I don't," he said to me curtly as he pretended to storm out of the training room... with Bella in tow!

Joe took possession of Bella on his birthday and gladly paid the fee (an excessive fee in my opinion but the director of the rescue demanded that Robin tell us she wanted us to PAY for the pup despite the fact the we had boarded, bathed and trained the dog for several days at our own expense; some rescues just don't "get it"). For the next few weeks, she blossomed, still puked in the car and got a bit nervous when new things happened but she became a little lady.

Fast forward to today... Bella lives in great comfort and luxury with Joe in Buffalo, NY. She goes to an island dog park a few times a week and Joe often expresses concern for her time spent alone. He is afraid she is a bit lonely at his grad school apartment after living with him at his folk's place where dogs and awesome people are abundant and cheerful. Bella wakes Joe up by slapping his face... and he loves it. I guess Joe is a sucker too; I taught him a bit too well.

Bella came a long way from the scared pup we first met. She now chases squirrels with a vengeance and occasionally tries to go on wilderness adventures when they visit Joe's folks on their 20 acres in Upstate NY. She bosses other dogs around and has found her "inner wolf" expressing such with the wildest barkety-bark you have ever heard. She is just fine now and has a great life with Joe. I'm so pleased that they found each other, but I am a bit jealous 'cause Bella turned out to be a really cool chick-dog. Frankly, I would have wanted her for myself had I not had the two big Rotties and silly bullydog I had at the time. She reminds me of the really cool dogs you would meet at Grateful Dead shows that just tra-la-la-ed around the parking lot for a day or so until it was time to pack up and head to the next show. She's just a really cool nature girl. And she's really pretty. But she does have a huge ass.

Joe called me last week to tell me that his girlfriend Anna had found a Pit bull mix in the parking lot at her work. The parking lot apparently was an unlikely location for a dog dump as it is a secured lot but it is close to some sketchy neighborhoods. We dog-types always get a bit nervous when you find a bully-type near sketchy areas. Micheal Vick was NOT an unusual occurrence with Pit owners unfortunately. You always get a bit worried about who is taking the dog back and what exactly they are going to do with it. Joe and Anna determined that the dog was well cared for, in heat, probably lost and made great efforts to find her owner. Joe called to me get some input. The best I could do was ask him if he was going to name the dog Merry, Holly or Noel.

"Oh, no! We're calling her Girl. If I name her I'm gonna wind up keeping her. Anna's got a dog. I've got Bella. I DON'T need another dog."

This arguement sounded very familiar to me.

"Okay, dude," I said calmly, "Give Merry a pat for me and keep me posted."

"That's not funny," he snickered and hung up on me.

I was pretty sure Joe was keeping that dog, but it turned out she was a runaway from a nice family who cried when they were reunited. Joe and Anna did a great thing by keeping her safe and helping her get home. They even took her to the vet to get a rabies booster "just in case." I'm usually pretty bang-on about these "love matches" and frankly I was surprised the Joe and Anna didn't get a new dog named Merry/Holly/Noel for Christmas. There's still two weeks until Christmas. Maybe I can find them and unhousebroken, unneutered male Mastif with bad gas and a salivary problem and get it wrapped up for them. They could call him Stinky. Knowing Joe, he would make the best out of it and probably rename the dog Lemonade!

I really look forward to a life full of these updates and weird dog exchanges with Joe and his budding family. He is a great guy, a truly gifted dog trainer (though he's going to be an engineer! Hrumph!) and a good friend. I hope he's not too mad that I took the piss out of him a bit on the blog but I know he's following this blog and I just can't resist!

Sorry, Joe Rocks! You can let me have it about my ultra-mini breed Daisy any time you want. Oh, and Ella bought her a pet Snuggie for Christmas.

Oh, YOU shut up!

LOL

Where Am I? Oh, Yeah! Sweeping Up Glass!

2009-12-12T05:12:00.000-08:00

Oh, so I've been missing this blog. I have been knee-deep in broken glass, both Christmas and secular. Not only has the broken balls count risen, but for some reason I have been really spazzy with any type of glass I touch.

My own personal count is as follows:

1 gold glass Christmas ball

2 tall, iced tea glasses (the last of the set to my dismay)

3 (yes, three!) pint glasses (again, the last of the set. WTF?)

1 clear wine glass

1 heavy duty blue gobblet

1 Stella Artois bottle, full (this was fun cleaning up and I nearly had to call my in-college cousins for a Helpful Hint as I didn't want to get my broom and dust pan soaked with beer; in the end I just washed said broom and dust pan)

So as you can see I have been busy cleaning up glass objects and not busy training Daisy. In fact, Alan taught her to play fetch last week. (I suck as a dog trainer right now!) I did, however, nearly fall over at 6 am this morning while trying to put on Daisy's leash and nearly broke the sliding glass doors. Actually, I think it was Christmas Miracle #2 that I didn't break them as I hit pretty hard and scared the dog.

More to come as I mellow out from the Holiday Hulabaloo!!!

I've got glass balls! Oh, I've got glass balls! They're such big balls! Fancy, big balls! (now let's see if they stay on the tree)

2009-12-05T02:27:00.000-08:00

Please enjoy the 5:30 am photo of my partially decorated tree.

When I was pregnant with my first baby and worried about the pain of labor, all the mothers I knew told me, "Don't worry about the pain. You forget about it as soon as the baby is out." Not very encouraging advice might I add, but I guess to a certain extent it is true although my own deliveries were fast, uncomplicated and epidural-assisted experiences.

Apparently this phenomenon also effects puppy ownership and your choice of Christmas tree decorations.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I vaguely remembered having a few Christmas trees with decorations on only the top third of the tree. I can't recall the last time a poinsettia has graced my home (and I LOVE them!). Yes, children and pets do alter your life a bit and I had forgotten how much Christmas needed to be modified in order to be safe for all.

In addition to this, or rather, to add insult to injury, Daisy is going through a foundation developmental phase. Rearranging furniture, changing feeding times and anticipated regularities can disrupt the pup. I have rearranged the furniture and have recently switched Daisy to a two-time-a-day feeding. I feel like the plumber with a running toilet. Don't get me wrong! There was no way I was going to omit the Christmas tree for the sake of Daisy's comfort (trust me; she won't need canine therapy because I moved furniture and put up a lighted tree). But I have gone rather far a-field of my own teachings (and preachings).

I set up the tree slowly to let all biological organisms in my house adjust. Last night, Friday Family Movie and Pizza Night, we put up the bead garland and started on the glass balls (Alan calls them "bulbs" confusing all the children). It proved to be a bit too much for everyone. Ever try to untangle 72' of silver beads and get them on the tree without the children and puppy grabbing and running with them? Not the easiest thing I have ever done, I assure you. The fake tree was endangered. I was endangered of being killed by the fake tree! It is just the first of the Ward-Walker Family 2009 Christmas Miracles that the tree did NOT get knocked over. Daisy peed on my non-washable tree skirt. Ella broke two glass balls insisting that she was a Big Girl and could hang the glass ornaments. Angus re-decorated with the silver and red bead garlands... by pulling them off the tree, entangling them and throwing them back into the branches. I tried to keep as best a sense of humor as possible. It's not about the ornaments, I told the kids and puppy, I just don't want you to get cut by glass. I could give a crap about the dozen and a half glass balls from Target for $2.50; I've got boxes of them.

So my mantra the holiday season is "That [insert object here] is just not as important as you." I think it's a good one for this year. It's either that or "Get me another Bailey's please." We'll see how the holiday progresses.

Until then, the house count is:

Ella: two glass balls

Angus: no actual destruction yet

Daisy: peed on tree skirt; gnawed one gold, plastic snowflake; also gnawed a Burger King Madame Alexander Wizard from the Wizard of Oz doll

Not a bad count so far, but it's only day 5 of the 25 days of Christmas.

The Puppy Social Rebellion of 2009 and the War of Pee and Poop

2009-12-03T02:23:00.000-08:00

Potty training is NOT going well for Daisy. Unfortunately, this is to be expected. Extra unfortunately, my kids and husband are stressed out and acting out as well. Extra-extra unfortunately, I have a localized infection and just want to go have an undisturbed sleep in my car. Sigh. This, too, will pass.

Daisy has been with us just about 1 month now and she is 4 months old. Developmentally she is throwing all sorts of challenges at us but I would like to diverge and talk about what she is throwing at us supernaturally.

OK, don't get freaked out and click off! I'm not going to say my dog talks to me or starts barking 10 minutes before our friends arrive. Dog trainers talk about the Rule of Threes and they vary from trainer to trainer. My own Rule of Threes is as follows:

1. it will take a new dog or pup three days to accept and settle into a new environment

2. it will take a new dog or pup three weeks to learn and challenge/test the rules of a new environment

3. it will take a new dog or pup three months to accept his or her lot in the new environment (pack role, adherence to rules, etc)

Do the math. Daisy is at stage 2, or as we are calling it DEFCON 2. She no longer feels the need to go to the bathroom outside (thank you, makers of the Flexi-lead and associated persons!) and will literally pee at your feet after you stand outside in the rain for 20 minutes.

She is also trying to free herself from the Oppressive Leash. She has figured out that when the leash is off she can have more exciting and self-fulfilling adventures around the house. So she has taken to spinning. Spinning. Spinning. Bright little thing that she is, she tangles herself up in the lead next to me then looks up and squeaks. The first few times I fell sucker as I was working on the computer and untangled her. The loops were surprisingly loose. After bending over a number of times for Miss Puppy (pardon the pun, but it was intended), I realized that she knew, she knew I was detaching the lead to untangle her. She was "checking the fence for weaknesses" ala Jurassic Park.

She is continuing to hump, to hump, to hump her lovely puppy hump, but is being corrected for it so the occurrences are slowing down.

She is testing the rules in this house. Now the Rule of Threes is not technically science; that is why I refer to it as supernatural. Some trainers and behaviorists would argue that the timing is different but as the saying goes: the only thing two dog trainers will agree upon is that the other one is wrong. Nonetheless, there is a social rebellion that takes place with teenage pups in human households and our household is at the dawn of it. Daisy is not styling herself after Che or Lenin though. She may be more of a Stalin-type but we'll see. I'm not so sure she's looking for the Greater Good for the house and may be seeking better accommodations and privileges for herself and self alone! The trick is we humans have to squash the rebellion without alienating the rebels.

Developmentally, Daisy is at a crossroads. Between 4 and 5 months, within a purely canine pack structure pups are leaving puppyhood and entering adolescence. Correction, by other dogs, becomes much more severe. Silliness and frivolity of play is not tolerated as much. Remember: in the "wilds" whether they are in the backwoods of Southern US or the great forests of Russia, keen senses, observation and decisiveness are the main reasons for survival. Consider the seriousness of a wolf portrait versus your own silly lab mugging for a family picture. In this sense, perhaps we humans have allowed dogs to evolve a sense of humor through our domestication ("protection") of them.

Daisy, however, is still "our baby" being so cute and so small. Part of her testing involves nibbling at Angus's bare feet whenever she can. Angus loves on Daisy probably the most out of all of us. Whenever he can he will put his head on her gently and say, "Ohhhhhh, Daisy!" He also pets her everytime his passes her. Dominant dogs are not physically demonstrative with their love. It is the submissive dog that will do all the touching, nuzzling and rubbing. The Last of the Great Rottweilers, Buster and Buffy had a great show of this. Buster, being the submissive dog, would lick Buffy's ears routinely. Buffy would sit like the queen she was and let him so his service. I never once had to clean her ears until after Buster died. Thus, Daisy's seemingly playful nibbling is actually a power-play in response to Angus's human affection for her. She is challenging the pack order that Alan and I have established. Fortunately, she is not a rotten, mean-spirited dog that will continue to challenge her assigned role in an increasingly aggressive manner.

Her physical development is contributing to the unstable potty training as well. Pups are still developing nerve sensitivity through the first year. They are simply not equiped to feel the urgency to "go" at times. Also, their bodies grow oddly at times. For example, Daisy's tail seems just a bit too long for her body and even she is annoyed with its intrusiveness and has begun chasing it. Often, some organs grow faster than the cavity and they will press on the bladder or bowel tract causing the feeling of having to "go" or something will move and they instantly HAVE TO "GO." Either way, pups deserve a bit of understanding in this department. Calm guidence, whispered cursing as you stand in the rain and wind for the 47th time that night and proper correction for potty-ing failures are your only weapons in the War of Pee and Poop.

Alan recently suggested, in disgust with the number of accidents Daisy has had, that we paper train her. My mother had box trained her Westie so they could bring him on their boat and it really is a great idea. I had several clients that had "grass boxes" on their high-rise terraces and we effectively trained small and medium sized dogs to eliminate in these designated areas. I do not, however, want to give Daisy at this point of her development the idea that it is OK to go in the house at all. We have Pepper's litter box already and frankly I just don't have the space for another box for my darling Daisy. Besides, she CAN and will go outside.

Again, I must stress the house training is really a mark of the handler's diligence and determination. Accidents will happen but they are always, ALWAYS training opportunities, not a cause for yelling, screaming or chaos. I have corrected Daisy indoors a number of times and she will hold whatever is coming out of her when you tap the floor and say No. She is extremely responsive to correction and will return to her duty (again, pardon the pun) after a cooling down period outdoors.

No dog can be fully house trained at 4 months just as no child can be potty trained by 18 months old. The indication of successful house training is gaged by the dog indicating that he or she prefers to go outside just as potty training for children is gaged by independant use of the potty. I expect Daisy to be still on a schedule and a short leash (ok that's the last pun for today) for some time. The youngest dog I ever witnessed showing true, effective means of going to the curb independantly was an 8 month old labrador that had a doggie door and an older sheepdog who was showing him the ropes. He would go out without his sheepdog buddy when he had to "go." Don't get me wrong. Other dogs have shown behaviors that indicate some house training effectiveness but most times it is inconsistant. Daisy will cry sometimes to go out. But not always and a lot of the time we find Mystery Puddles that have long gone cold.

Still, she is a good dog and is becoming a bitch... I mean that in the most affectionate way! (I couldn't help one more pun) She will soon be heading into her first Heat Cycle as well as her second significant Fear Imprint period (the first was at 12 weeks). I will be discussing both here in time.

Until then, good luck and good training to you all!!!

(I am NOT proof reading this so please disregard all spelling and grammar errors and don't presume I am an illiterate twit if you find some. Thank you.)

How Many Shamwows Does One Puppy Owner Need?

2009-12-01T02:52:00.000-08:00

Alan and I tend to disagree on many subjects. I won't go into the rather long list of dissimilar concepts and preferences. The basic principles of dog training was recently added.

I have a large, hockey-style training bag that I would bring to home appointments that had every imaginable size and type of lead, collars to fit most occasions, Kong toys, chew toys, penny cans, clickers and all manner of items adapted to dog training. Three of the items I have in this bag are retractable leads. The name brand is Flexi-Lead. These leashes are great... once your dog is trained to behave on a lead and responsive to commands as well as the discipline word No.

Alan, not to be outdone by my own sweater shopping for Daisy, recently purchased a 16' Flexi-lead for our little Daisy. As he opened the package I told him it was not a good idea to use it yet. "Why not? Look how much room she'll have to 'go' when we take her out!"

That is precisely the problem. The further away your dog can get from you, the more independent decision making they attempt. A four month old puppy should not be making ANY decisions on her own. It would be akin to asking my four year old for directions to the mall. Puppies -to be sure pre-dogs- thrive and work cooperatively with humans when consistently led and directed by humans. Keeping them on a short leash makes a huge difference in responsiveness and behavior.

If you recall, I potty train pups to "go" on a Hurry Up command. Well, as a result of the introduction of the Flexi-lead, Daisy now chooses to tra-la-la outside rather than "do her business." A number of times I have brought her back inside only to have her leave a puddle right at my feet. Sigh!

This too shall pass. If you are training your own puppy along with this blog please keep in mind that nerve sensitivty is still developing in pups through the first year and that they are still learning to recognize the physical pangs of potty urgency. The trick is to catch them in the act of potty-ing inappropriately. This is so crucial to successful house training it can not be overstated.

Until then, good luck and good training... and be sure to have a lot of Shamwows on hand!

The Swat Heard 'Round the World

2009-11-27T04:21:00.000-08:00

The relationship between Pepper the Cat and Daisy the Dog has gone a bit south. Now, they are not drawing blood and I'm not sure Daisy realizes it, but Pepper has had just about Enough! from this silly little dog.

Pepper has always been a fairly solitary cat. She was Alan's only pet for years and enjoyed a mostly quiet, cat-friendly existence. When Al started the renovation on the beach house he intended to leave Pepper at the site. I thought, seeing that Al was spending all his leisure time at my house in the evening, that it would be better to move Pepper to my place. Pepper was not too happy about this arrangement as I still had Buster and Buffy as well as Lopey the Bulldog. We kept the dogs in the yard and house all day with Pepper confined to the bedroom for the most part. She had free reign of the house all night but mostly stayed on the bed with us. Since out return to the beach house, she has once again been on her own in the house. We have a heated "garage" that is really an office, gym, woodworking shop and dog kennel. It's as big as some folks' houses so it is ideal for the dogs to crate up in at night (During the day they had outdoor kennels and the yard to exercise).

Then came Daisy.

Now, Daisy is an indoor dog to the Nth power. She is small, delicate and gets chilled fairly easily. There is no way she could ever be a "kennel dog." I may eventually turn her out to Buffy's pen (equipped with a Warning: Police Work Dog sign attached) but that will be only in really nice weather. And probably for only a few minutes. Thus, Daisy is thoroughly an Indoor Dog.

When I brought her home, I told everyone, "The dog does not go upstairs until she is potty trained." I also thought to myself that this would give Pepper some dog-free space and time to adjust before Little Miss Daisy would rampage through the upstairs. As you know, Faithful Reader, Daisy was brought up into bed and under the covers on her first night by yours truly, Hardcore Dog Trainer. We now let her run about upstairs too as it is carpeted and her little Grinchy feet are so tiny and delicate we worry that they are sore from playing on the tile and hardwood on the main level of the house. (Could we be any more sissy-fied?)

Pepper, while patient, is becoming less and less keen on this arrangement. Daisy is now pouncing at and on Pepper both up and downstairs. The dog is officially chasing the cat. While Pepper has not yet made contact she has made it very clear (to us at least) that she can and will scratch the crap outta that dog if it continues to push her. Daisy certainly means no harm and just wants to play, but there is a communication breakdown that is typically normal between cats and dogs.

Dogs and cats mainly use posturing and body language to communicate (I personally think cats also use extrasensory abilities to manipulate their human keeper/slaves, but that is for another posting). Again, I must reference Stanly Coren's How to Speak Dog as an indispensable "translation" resource from Dogese to Human language (I'm not entering the "do animals have language debate" here; just trying to keep it simple with use of the contentious word "language"). However, Catese is completely converse to Dogese.

Let's start simply: with a bit of noise. Consider this, what does it mean when dog growls? A growl expresses anger, fear and rage. Mainly negative and aggressive feelings. What does a cat do that sounds like a growl (besides a growl, which they do do)? That's right, Faithful Reader! They purr. Typically cats purr when they are contented and comfortable (note: there is evidence that cats may purr during times of stress in an effort to comfort themselves, but again, let's keep this simple). Imagine your dear, sweet cat having a lovely nap on the couch, purring away and your dog walks by. The purr may well be interpreted as an aggressive, offensive act and BAM! It's on and dogs and cats no longer live in harmony.

My favorite aspect of the contrary qualities of Dogese and Catese is the Play Bow posture. When a dog commits a Play Bow it serves to indicate to another dog that any following behaviors are not to be taken seriously. Wrestling, biting and general rough-housing usually follows and typically does not end in a full on battle royale because the Play Bow serves as a disclaimer for any too rough actions. Cat's will do a Fear Arc when stressed. This is the typical Halloween cat position, back arched and fur bristled. Unfortunately, dogs interpret this as an invitation to play. Misunderstanding ensue and I am reminded of the story my Russian Language professor told us about the missionary at the Russian border who mis-spoke the word sumka (suitcase) as suka (THE C-word) to a lovely, zoftig Russian matron who proceeded to detain the Reverend as well as his sumka.

Pawing too is a contention for dogs and cats. Dogs will paw enthusiastically as an indication of play and as an attention getting behavior. Cats, being far more delicate in the initiative stages of play and tend to be more subtle in their demands for attention. So pawing, too, results in misunderstandings and bitch-slapping (pardon the pun; I couldn't help myself).

A final discrepancy discussed here is Tail Wagging. Tail Wagging for dogs should always be considered a reflection on the dog's heart rate and level of excitement. The carriage of the tail indicates the level of confidence. A low carriage shows a lack of confidence; a tail held high is high confidence. Just to be sure, dogs will wag their tail when threatened and it is my experience that most protection trained dogs will wag furiously when taking the (bite) sleeve. Joe and I stressed this in our Mail Carrier Safety Seminars. Cats wave their tails high and quickly as a warning. It usually means, "I'm pretty pissed off. Back up, M-F'er, before I scratch your eyes out." Dogs sometimes think this is an invitation to play.

As much as I love dogs, they can be a bit dense when it comes to cat relations. The cat, as a creature, is fairly self-assured and contained. As solitary animals, they really don't need any interference from us bumbling humans and it is, in my opinion, that they will condescend to our Renquist-like (spelling? it is early after all) servitude if we human so choose to serve them and share their homes which we provide. Dogs, on the other hand, need a solid hierarchy to exist successfully. The solitary dog is not safe and they must lead or be led. Specific jobs are allotted to specific roles in the dog pack and everydog must work at his or her position. Collective success (and thus, indiviual survival) is dependant on good leadership and contribution from all pack members.

Cats could care less about the collective success of the community. I've read unfortunate stories about cat owners who have died while alone in the house with cats and have had bites taken out of their remains. Gross but true. (I wouldn't put it past as dog to do the same but he or she would have to be really, really hungry!). Cats are true believers, no, advocates of survival of the fittest. And they couldn't give a flying squirrel about any other critter, feline or non-feline.

Thus, it is not only language difficulties that plague the communications between these two creatures but cultural differences as well. Unfortunately, there is little us humans can do to mediate the above differences. Our best bet is ride out the storm and let the dog take its hits. Which will happen often as, again, they can be quite dense. As for our Daisy, she is just not getting that Pepper DOES NOT want to play. Pepper has growled, Fear Arc-ed, pawed without contact and Tailwagged to no avail. In my opinion, she has been fairly patient, but Daisy will be getting a whack sooner than later.

I'm just hoping it won't be The Swat Heard 'Round the World. I'll keep you all posted!

She's Humping... And She's NOT a Camel

2009-11-25T02:55:00.000-08:00

There is nothing in the world wrong with two dogs humping. There is something profoundly wrong with my 5 lbs dogs humping my ankle!

Many people are shocked that female dogs will hump as much (and sometimes more) as male dogs. Buffy the Rottweiler would hump the be-jesus out of Buster the Rottweiler despite a good 25 lbs difference. Her method (she would first sit on his head then hump down the entire length of his back) was fairly humiliating for a number of human male observers who would encourage Buster to "man up" and hump her back. He never once did. Buster was content to be an "indian" to Buffy's "chief." No matter where Buffy went she carried herself with a sort of haughty-ness and confindence rarely seen. Certainly, she was one of the brightest -if not THE brightest- dog I have ever owned or trained and thus well suited to lead. A dog has few politics and Alpha Dog ascentions are not popularity contests and there is no campaigning for the position. A dog TAKES the lead; he or she does not ask for it. And there is little chauvanism in the domesticated dog world: a female can and will lead a pack.

Industry, will and brains gets a dog to the top of the pack. Sometimes such subjugation takes the form of humping from either male or female. Humping or mounting behavior is not a sexual drive or a perverted practice: mounting is all about dominance. While size does matter in the dog-dom, problem solving can take a small dog a long way. The smarter dog, while disproportionate in size, can rise to the top of the pack when consistantly clever and watchful. Even if she is a female. This brings me back to my darling Daisy.

From my previous post you will all note that Daisy was falling in to place in our house and getting a bit more comfortable and rambunctious so I have stepped up her training to include a formal, submissive Heel command. Within days she began to mount Angus when he was on the floor. As the smallest member of our pack and another "puppy," he naturally would be the first target in Daisy's ascention attempt. In addtion, this was a test of the exisiting leadship heirarchy. She wanted to see what we (Alan and I as implicit leaders) would do. Of course, this behavior was corrected and redirected, but her method transmongrified: she now latches on to my leg when I am walking away and gives me a few subtle pumps. Essentially, Daisy is trying to catch me, Leader Extrodinaire, with my guard down. This Back Door behavior would be considered gross bad form among us humans. Recall the wild west where one should never shoot a man in the back. But dogs just don't work that way no matter how much we domesticate or fancify them. Somewhere at the core of my 5 lb-er there is a wolf lurking and plotting to take this pack for her own. She is testing the chinks in my armour.

As hilarious as it is to have her barely discernable weight mounting me, the intent is still the same. She is aserting dominance and must be gently lead back to her pack position. Ambition is rare in the incapable dog; most will comply to the ascribed pack position and be quite content, as Buster the Rottweiler was. Daisy, however, seems to think that there is a better spot for her in this pack, that there is a rank that she is better suited for. Truth is a dog is a dog is a dog. How many times I went to a client's house and found the dog running the entire household, I can't say. Some people cater to the dog and then wonder why they bark, jump up and nip at guests. I simply refuse to have a dog run my house. Besides, Pepper the Cat has assumed that role and I don't think she'll give it up easily! Just kidding, of course!

As a final note on this reactionary dominance from Daisy I must say that I give her a lot of credit. Being a pack leader, an Alpha Dog, requires a great deal of responsibility. An Alpha must be sure to keep order during meal time, during travel, during rest. It is, no doubt, an exhausting endevour to keep your ducks in a row at all times. I presume this is more evidence that she is as extra-bright as I suspect.

The good news is that she will comprehend well. The bad news is the smarter the dog, the more creative and crafty she will be when getting into trouble! Note: Buffy the Rottweiler taught herself to open round door knobs when she was 5 months old and progressed to kicking the door closed behind her. I can't wait to see what Daisy does next. As long as she minds her alotted station in MY pack!

Good day and good training to you all! And Happy Thanksgiving!

Let the Heeling Begins... Daisy Spirals Out of Control

2009-11-24T13:01:00.000-08:00

When I was actively training dogs, I could estimate the behavior of the family dog based on the behavior of the family's human children. It is for this reason that I have banned all dog trainers from my home for the next year! Perhaps longer.

My children are fairly rambunctious. Not surprising as I quite remember my own childhood escapades and hear often about the ones I don't recall at family gatherings (it is for this reason that I stay home on Thanksgiving- just kidding!). Our house is very loud most of the time. My own Italian heritage and Alan's Scottish roots don't exactly blend to create a smooth, calm household. Don't get me wrong! We have F-U-N! But it is a wild place to be.

Daisy has completely adapted to this environment. All too happily. My potted palm tree has been dug up several times... by Daisy AND Angus! There is barking... and laughter, high pitched and often SpongeBob-like. There are several empty wine bottles in my trash currently. Daisy is still wearing and dragging her leash for control but we need to step it up.

How DOES one rein in an unruly 14 week old puppy, you say? Heeling. Heeling. And HEELING. Most of my old clients were confused about the term Heel so permit me to define this obedience task. Heel means walk at my side (left preferably as that is a naturally submission position for lesser ranking wolves and dogs in feral pack when traveling), don't step in front of me, pay supreme attention to me and sit when I stop. Simple. You are driving the dog. You are making up the dog's mind as to where he or she is going. With persistence and patience any dog and dog handler can do this. It is a kind and gentle manner of exerting dominance without coercing or abusing the dog.

Coercive or Force[d] training is using strength and -unfortunately- pain to induce the dog to do your will. Years ago this was the most popular method of training. There is such a wealth of information on dog psychology that it really is a disservice to the whole of dog-dom to persist with such archaic means. I refer all dog people to any book by Stanly Coren, especially How to Speak Dog. I would tell my clients: Steer with the nose, steer with the eyes, steer with the brain, but DON'T steer with the neck because there are teeth nearby! I accept aggression from dogs in only two situations: females whelping or caring for a litter or pain induction. Train a dog too hard and you ARE going to get bit. Also, you are just establishing a poor, fear based relationship with your dog. No fearful dog will ever be reliable.

So, with all this in mind, Daisy has begun the next phase of her education. Be assured I have not yet prong collared her (though I do have a Mighty Max Ultra Mini Prong that I wear as a braclet at dog shows). Currently she is being baited with BilJac treats... and my back is killing me from bending over.

She, however, feels and looks great. The storm is passing. If only I could get the kids Heel!!!

More to come! Stay well and train well!

The Difference Between Big Dogs and Little Dogs

2009-11-20T02:42:00.000-08:00

I rushed over this week to meet my Aunt Laine and Uncle Kenny's new dog, Piper. He is a very cute, black Labradoodle. I had Angus, the Junior Dog Trainer with me and Laine was the only one home so I really didn't do a full puppy class for her as promised but there is time as he is only 8 weeks old. Nonetheless, I found myself considering the differences between their puppy experience and ours with Daisy.

Firstly and most obviously, Piper is probably three times the size of her and much more substantial in form. In my opinion, this leads us to have a firmer, more consistant hand in training. I have trained countless dogs of all sizes and it is just much easier to "swoop" a bigger pup in for a sit or execute a wolf-roll when you know the dog is going to 50+ pounds. I'm sitll quite scared that I may "break" Daisy given her delicate figure and on her potty outtings I'm letting her make Dog Training Mistake #3: I'm letting her pull on the leash. This is a Cardinal (spelling?) Sin in dog training. The dog MUST follow your lead and NEVER pull on the lead. How many times I have seen a small dog pulling on a lead and thought to myself, "that dog is never going to take direction from the handler" I can't say. I have offically joined that club, certification be damned.

Secondly, big dog owners seem to know there is an urgency for training. Aunt Laine said to me, "I told everybody in the house: this dog is going to be good and he is going to be trained." Great afirmation on her part. When I had my last two Rotties, Buster and Buffy the Dogs of Ward, during the difficult stretches of their training I would say to myself, "I love training these dogs, I love training these dogs." Knowing your dog is going to be big does light a fire under you to have good control. With our Daisy, I find myself referring to my trick training books rather than le grande obedience guidelines and basic principles.

Thirdly, I am letting her jump up. Now, I am the first person to be annoyed when a small dog is pawing at my legs and squeaking with utter abandon. Years ago I had a great friend named Danny Breen who would love to come over and try to get Buster and Buffy to jump up on him. So well conditioned, they would plant themselves in unison in a sit and would utterly refuse to hop up no matter what bait he used. Buster was quite gregarious and agile and I worked very hard to stop him from putting his 90+ lbs on anyone. There is nothing quite so disconcerting as a Rottweiler putting paws on your shoulders and staring you down eye to eye even if he is "smiling" and wagging away. Daisy is certainly not a threatening dog but I'm well on the path of training her to be annoying.

I have a feeling I am going to be quite jealous of Aunt Laine and Uncle Kenny's dog. More of a working-type, obedience-ready kind of dog, I think he is going to be a more "funsport" kind of train, the kind you can teach frisbee fetch and a really soild Heel command.

Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't trade Daisy for all the world and she has a great brain. I had an instructor at National K-9 that had two protection trained Welsh Corgis that were an absolute riot. I also knew a trainer in Cherry Hill that had a toy breed she offered for home drug detection (ie. hire her to find drugs your teenagers have stashed in their room). Despite recalling these tiny rockstar-dogs I'm still wondering if I can get Daisy to balance on a ball circus-style.

The end of times is neigh for I have a minivan... and a toy breed!

You know you are up early when...

2009-11-20T02:22:00.001-08:00

We had a tough night last night. Oh, no! The puppy's great. The kids were bored and Ella was tired and mega-crabby. Daddy was super-ultra-crabby after having a "crappy night's sleep and a dream that [he] lost Angus in the mall." Daisy slept on her new bed in the kitchen pretty much the whole time the whole house was whining and carrying on.

Both kids went down for a nap in the late, LATE afternoon. Angus got back up, had dinner and went back to bed at the regular time. Ella, on the other hand, couldn't quite wake back up for dinner and was wildly crabby all through their deluxe dinner of Cap'n Crunch Chicken Fingers so she went directly back to bed.

Now, I take some ribbing from my friends and fellow moms that I put my kids to bed too early and that's why they get up so early (on the average 5:30 am) but Al experimented last week and kept them up 'til 7pm. Bad idea: they were speaking in tongues by 6:30pm. And they still got up at 5:30!

What does this have to do with dogs, you say? Well, Ella came into our room at what I think was 4:15am and was starving -having not eaten her dinner last night- so we went downstairs to have some Cap'n Crunch. Afraid that Daisy, left in the bed with only Daddy to respond to her potty cues, would make a Dealbreaker mistake I took her downstairs with us. She barely woke up as I picked her up, was completely disgruntled when I took her outside to potty in the rain and now looks annoyed that I am not feeding her ahead of schedule. She also abandoned my lap for her bed in the kitchen.

You know you are up early when you put your 13 week old puppy off!

Did you know...?

2009-11-17T03:28:00.001-08:00

The phrase it's "raining cats and dogs" originated in the 17th century when it was believed that many dogs and cats drowned in periods of heavy rain.

(I didn't cross reference this so I may have to amend it later.)

Did you know...?

2009-11-17T03:25:00.000-08:00

Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic -a Newfoundland, a Pomeranian and a Pekenese.

I could see the Newfie making a go of it as a swimmer but who put that big, honking dog in a boat?!

Who knew? I didn't!

Why Puppies are like Celebrity Deaths...

2009-11-16T08:02:00.000-08:00

I'm apologizing to the next set of victims in advance. It seems that puppy acquisition is akin to celebrity deaths: they come in threes.

Puppy acquisition #1: Aunt Marilyn was surprised by Uncle Dave with a Yorkie pup

Puppy acquisition #2: I found our darling Daisy via Facebook

Puppy acquisition #3: My Aunt Laine found a Labradoodle for her family at the pound

As a result of this apparently inevitable trifecta of pups, I will be no doubt posting lots of fun stories about all three dogs. God help all of us!

Hurry up, would ya?! Puppy Potty Training 101

2009-11-14T03:23:00.000-08:00

Of all the cool tricks my past dogs have done, none impressed young kids more than the Hurry Up command. I've had dogs that could sit up and beg, run madly in circles around my legs, open mailboxes and retrieve the contents but nothing, NOTHING impresses kids like having a dog poop and pee on command.

Most people are content with a dog being mostly house trained (having the occasional indoor accident). Professional working dogs must "finish up" before entering competitions or a client's home. Buster and Buffy both worked as demonstration dogs for my training school both on and off the kennel campus and the last impression you want to make on a potential client is a lifted leg in their living room or a huge Rottweiler-sized dump in their front yard. Also, you can be DQed in competition for an on-field elimination. As some competitions have hefty entrance fees you would be remiss to let your dog piss a few hundred bucks away. In addition, you will take a good amount of ribbing from your fellow competitors who will have trouble concealing their glee that your awesome female Rottweiler -who kicked their Dobie's ass in the the last season of French Ring- will not be able to compete in the day's bite work. Not that I know this from experience or anything! Hence, for serious dog folk we came up with the Hurry Up command. Named more for the comfort of human handlers' psychology when standing in below freezing weather, the command is simply to go Number One and Number Two. Outside.

"How do you teach such a fascinating and amazing command, O Dog Trainer?" you ask.

Unfortunately for this command there is no short cut. Diligence and determination on the handler's part is required. You must take your puppy out time and time again on a schedule that is appropriate for their age. Go to the same spot every time. Root yourself like a tree holding a 5-6' leash (your dog WILL be able to find an appropriate place to leave his leavings in 12' circle regardless of his size). Say, Hurry Up like a mantra. Say NOTHING else: no names, no curse words, no complaining about the weather or the time. Remain calm even if it is raining, snowing or the wind is at 50 mph. Your dog does and will pick up on your tension, tense up himself and... well, nothing will get moving if you catch my drift. When your dog starts to go (and he will; just be patient), ever so softly say, "Hurry Up, that's it." Praise gently when he is done with Part One; lavishly when he is done with Part Two.

Come rain or shine your dog will have to eliminate so keep making those trips to the curb. Your dog will get it eventually. Repetition, successful potty-ing outside and comprehensive praise go a long way with any dog.

As your dog gets better at this, extend the time between trips to the curb to encourage him to "hold it." Until then, keep the dog on a leash and near you indoors. Now, the leash is not a magic poop-suppressor; it just serves to keep the dog close enough that you can catch him eliminating in the house and correct that dog awful behavior. How do you correct it, you say? Stamp on the floor (again keep the intensity level appropriate for the dog's disposition) and say No. This should interrupt the dog, cause him to tense up and stop the flow and buy you enough time to get him outside and command Hurry Up.

Mistakes in the house are training opportunities, not natural disasters, so try to be as kind and patient as possible. With a bit of scheduling and consistency you CAN train your dog to "go" on command but they will make some mistakes. In fact while I was writing this, Daisy pooped by the back door and I missed it (Sheesh! She pooped twice already this morning! How much poop can this 4 and a half pound puppy make?!). Since I missed the act, there is no correction as dogs live completely in The Now.

Ah, well! Nobody's perfect. And she will poop again.

Good luck and good training to all you out there!

Take a Bow, Daisy!

2009-11-12T05:47:00.001-08:00

She also does THIS!

Postscript: as I was posting this my son pulled "Freak Like Me: Inside the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow" off the bookcase. Perhaps we should be working our circus skills now! I can take a hint!

Sit! Down! Stand! Good Girl!

2009-11-12T05:08:00.000-08:00

Well, Daisy's training has officially begun. Not that I was slacking during her first week in the house or anything. I'm close to having completely reconciled my Big Dog Ownership Skills to my Circus Dog Ownership Skills. From earlier posts, you all know that our Daisy is quite adept at sleeping on the couch as well as in the bed. Her skills of manipulating cranky Scottish men are unparalleled and her cat-like agility is... well, supremely cat-like. In general, she is a darling 4 pound, 9 ounce pet and as my daughter said, "She clicked right into our family."

At twelve weeks she is formally learning SIT, DOWN, STAND in sequence. Puppies are taught these three commands in sequence with bait (ie. stinky food; I use BilJac liver treats) to train not only the brain but the muscles. Retention of formal, spoken commands at 12 weeks is somewhat still limited but developing. Hand signal are introduced by hiding the bait in your command hand. Capitalizing on a pup's ceaseless appetite and keeping the sessions short and fun for the pup are a great foundation for a good cooperative relationship with your dog. This is true for big dogs too. They benefit greatly from happy training sessions in the formative months and often one can avoid behavioral problems if positive, friendly handling is first employed.

Kids can also be introduced to the training, though this is subjective to age and ability (of the kid, not the dog!). My daughter has a tendency to give Daisy the whole treat after one sit rather than have her work all three commands because "She's SO hungry!" Just so you know, ALL puppies are hungry ALL the time; but that is why bait training works so well in the early months. Younger children can be employed as distraction. You can see Angus is doing his best to play with Daisy in the above picture yet she is still holding her commands.

As you pup gets more and more proficient at the commands you can extend the time of the command held. Not to brag but Daisy's up to a five second sit and just did a single five second down and stay.

One final note on this, training makes dogs TIRED. Most of you with pups have experienced the Frenetic Puppy Behavior (I will post a separate article for this alone) that is completely normal for young dogs. If you can map the Frenetic Periods during the day (most pups have two to four a day) you can start the training just before and capitalize on the explosion of energy.

Deconstruction of a Dog Trainer

2009-11-08T03:37:00.000-08:00

Today I will be giving Alan his first formal lesson in puppy training. Daisy has been with us for six days so far. Ordinarily I would have instructed the whole family in puppy basics on day one or two. The size thing is really throwing my training sensibilities for a loop.

Please don't misunderstand me and think I'm am untried with the "mini-minis." I have trained oodles of small breeds. In fact, the smartest dog I was ever hired to train was a toy poodle named Midnight that finished an in-kennel, three-week, off-lead training program in 8 days. I've always loved training Pugs for their sheer enthusiasm and I can't count the number of Maltese headcases I've had to redirect. The list goes on. However, I always said the small breed owners are usually less persistent, consistent and demanding of their small breeds as they can simply pick them up to cease annoying or unwanted behavior.

Somehow I have become one of these less-than-demanding, complacent owners. Despite all my education. Despite every lesson I have given to the contrary of my current behavior. Despite the fact that I know I could potentially create a monster-diva that will rule the house with iron (if not supremely delicately sized) paws. In these pre-dawn hours I am ashamed to call myself a trainer and am tempted to turn in my Trainers' certificate to National K-9 and submit myself for retraining.

I find myself quite torn and my inner dialog is running like a really poorly defended Lincoln-Douglas debate.

(Daisy must NOT pull on Ella's hair as it will set her up for other negative chewing habits)
(But she is so cute! Besides Ella doesn't seem to mind and is laughing)
(Daisy will progress to chewing clothes and possibly biting if it is not stopped now. You could face a lifetime of poor habits)
(But she is so cute! Besides she's only 12 weeks old! We have plenty of time!)
(Daisy is not learning to respect NO. You must train her to respect NO and your commands!)
(But she is so cute! And she's just a puppy and having fun. And how much damage could she do? Her mouth is so little! And she's so cute!)
Etc. and so on.

You see how this is going. I would never, NEVER accept or make excuses for a Rottie, Shepard other larger pup pulling on my four year old's hair. If Daisy were a Rottweiler, she would have been treated to at least of half an hour of structured puppy-play and command training. I have to remind myself that I got Buffy, our last Rottie, when she was 5 months old and I cracked down on her immediately. She was required to sit and stay at the door and only enter or exit after her handler did and commanded her to pass through the threshold. She was required to sit and stay for her food. She was doing 5 minute down commands on the leash. Daisy, at three months old, is extremely proficient at sleeping in my lap, burrowing around our feet in bed and standing on the couch cushions cat-style. I think that because small breeds are sooooo small we trainers qualify the dog as younger and less capable. At least when they are our own and the last dog we can reference was over 60 lbs!

So in response to my own Sucker Behavior I will put on my trainer's hat and gloves and get to work today. Alan doesn't so much need the lesson as much as I need to remind myself of what I am capable of and that size really doesn't matter when it comes to the dog. This little four pounder cutie-pie can certainly do what my Rotties all did.

OK, at the very least I can teach her to hop up in my lap for a cuddle!!!

Would you rather...?

2009-11-08T03:30:00.000-08:00

I've been getting up at 5 am. Now, I'm sure most of you think that this is due to Daisy being 12 weeks old. Indirectly, yes. You see, my darling daughter simply cannot bear to wake up and not check on her puppy.

So we are up at 5, having some coffee and watching the end of Sesame Street (who knew it was on at 5?). The question is: would you rather have your kid or your dog wake you up?

Now that I have had a cup of coffee I'd say either. Life is good even before dawn.

Mr. "That's Not My Dog" has left the building!

2009-11-05T05:07:00.000-08:00

I was informed this morning that Daisy is Daddy's Dog.

Mission accomplished! Thanks to all the Accomplices!

Dogs and cats... living together! Mass hysteria! (Not so much)

2009-11-04T05:10:00.000-08:00

Alan thought that a house dog was a bad idea as we have Pepper. Pepper is a cat. A not very nice cat. She barely tolerates my presence in the house and I often refer to her as Al's first wife. She is not cuddly with anyone but Al and often she gets "pissy" with him. She will swat at you as you walk by. She has scratched and hissed at both of my children on numerous occasions. She hates my mother as well (to be fair my mom really doesn't care for cats either and has shooed her unceremoniously off the counter where we keep her food dish so our son Angus doesn't eat too much cat food). If tempestuous would be a kindly, accurate description of her, bipolar would be the unvarnished truth.

When Daisy arrived Alan initially declared her "not [his] dog" but after a few minutes he put the onus on Pepper. "If Peppi doesn't like her, the dog goes." My response was that Pepper hates everyone! Not a fair test at all. Accomplice #1 agreed with me. I told Al that Pepper would probably swat at Daisy a few times and the relationship should evolve at its own pace. He wanted me to put the puppy on the bed with Pepper (Bad Idea #1). This would have been the short path to Daisy's return to South River and I refused. Daisy had already been around cats and proved she was stable and not too interested in messing with the Clawed Ones.

Long story short: Pepper LOVES Daisy. The Cat Who Hates All has made a friend. Let's hope it lasts!

I didn't see this one coming.

Funny. She doesn't look like a Rottweiler

2009-11-04T03:32:00.001-08:00

So my new dog is NOT a Rottweiler. So what? You wanna fight about it?

I have made the jump to toy dog owner rather rapidly and I'm pretty sure I know why I haven't had toy breeds before.

I'm a HUGE sucker.

With the big dogs, you don't worry so much that they are cold or hungry (anyone who has had a Rottweiler knows they are hungry all the time! They were Roman dogs of war after all so they really are Italian IMHO). Yesterday, I bought a sweater for Daisy. A SWEATER!!! I was so embarrassed that I kept laughing. I took my son for his morning 5 mile run/walk at the Long Branch promenade and Daisy came along. I think she walked a total of 30 feet the entire time. I had put a soft blanket in the under-basket and she rode most of the time with her head out looking at the ocean. She barked a HUGE blue pitbull and I found myself nearly sprinting away, terrified she would be bitten, hurt, mauled by this massive dog. (OK, who am I? I own a dog BIGGER that that one?)

Oh! and my dog training judgment has been altered as well. Daisy barked the crate her first night. So I went and got her (while barking, Training Mistake #1) and brought her into bed with me and Al (Training Mistake #2).

Since my whole tough, RottenGirl image has been shattered I'm considering getting a fancy dog purse. To match my steel-toed Dr. Martin's!

Christmas came early... without a crisis councilor!

2009-11-04T02:57:00.000-08:00

Well, I did it. I got a puppy. This is not -so much- an out-of-this-world kind of thing for me. In fact, for the last 28 years I have only been without any sort of dog for 6 days back in 2000 when I lost Bandit, my smallest Rottweiler, to cancer in Los Angeles. We still have Dopey Lopey but as I have blogged earlier, he is not really a "performance" dog.

I found myself looking casually (and secretly) on petfinder.com. I asked the Chief Buddy Amato of our own NJ animal cops (an unbelievably great guy if you don't know him of haven't seen him in the Asbury Park Press) for a recomendation letter in the event that I found THE DOG FOR US at one of the shelters or through one of the bazillion rescues in the North East. I glanced at the classifieds a number of times. Not really seeing THE DOG FOR US, I told my friend Christine that the right dog would find us and that I was committed to find a Family-Type dog. My Proposed Pet Requirement List began to read like the "Hurry, Nanny" song in Mary Poppins:

Small young dog required. Must like kids, cats, be thoroughly house trained and like-able. Must be calm, cute and smart.

Note: this description is a serious departure from my past dogs, all of which were over 60 lbs.

Now, I never expected to find love on Facebook. About a week ago, my friend Alicia posted a message about a female, toy poodle mix that needed and immediate home. Well, I thought, Ella has been asking about getting a "french poodle" so it wouldn't hurt to ask. After some back and forth about the puppy and the foster mom Lori (who I had gone to school with but had not yet friended on Facebook) I got to see the puppy. All puppies are cute and looking at her was the clincher. I got on the phone with Lori and made arrangement to "meet" the puppy. She told me her name was Daisy. My aunt lost a mini poodle not long ago named Daisy. Hmm, odd coincidence. I called Lori back the next day and told her that I may just want to take the puppy home if I really liked her and asked would that be ok?

Note: at the this point I have NOT consulted anyone in my family.

I enlisted Accomplice Agent #1 to take the ride with me and had Accomplice Agents #s 2,3,4 and 5 on standby for the expected explosions back at home. Under the guise of shopping, we got the Canine Contraband and raced back home to present Al with his new dog. You see, as with Lopey, I don't do Trial Periods with dogs. Once you claim them, you keep them. Lopey was picked when he was born into my hands. Daisy was mine as soon as I saw Alicia's post.

Al's first response? "That's not my dog."

Well, Al fancies himself a bit tougher than he actually is. In the last 48 hours I have been accused of "hogging the dog," attempting to make her mine and mine alone (apparently by training her) and not being a puppy sharer among other things. When I hand her over to him, he just melts and lets her kiss his face and talks to her in the high squeaky voice. Last night, he played poker on the internet and apparently Daisy was helping... by standing in his lap and blocking the screen with her little skinny body.

So no councilor was involved. The police were not called. No locks were changed. But I DID have to agree to a Vegas (or other debouched location) trip with his brother when he comes to visit this winter.

I think I can suck it up. Daisy is really, really cute!

Puppies, puppies everywhere!!!

2009-10-24T06:50:00.000-07:00

Every time I turn around for the last week, I am encountering puppies. Some friends of mine just had a planned litter. An uncle of another friend had a litter of mixed breed pooches. An old client found a pit pup at the train station and posted a message to a number of people including puppy-less me! I also just ran into an old dog-sort friend and she has a rescue that needs a home.

Is the universe trying to tempt me or torture me?

(whining) I want a puppy!!!

What I Want for Christmas

2009-10-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

I know what I want for Christmas. I must be crazy. I want a puppy. Faithful readers, you know from my last blog that I was anti-puppy as my darling daughter is asking for a "french" poodle (BTW "french" poodle means a poodle with a Continental clip which will be high, HIGH maintainance and roughly $80 a month with a professional groomer though I could probably work it out myself). However, something is missing. True, Buffy was a "kennel," working dog and not a house dog of late, but our house, our family is missing something. Poor Lopey, my other "kennel" dog is sad and is missing his buddy. Alan is against it for several reasons. Firstly, he doesn't want Lopey to continue being a "kennel" dog and wants to rehome him. That is NOT happening. Lopey is brain damaged and has only one home: this one. Secondly, Alan thinks that Pepper our cat may not adjust. Third, he wants to pick the dog and make it his. THAT is NOT happening. I told him as politely as I could that I am a professional dog trainer. This is my vocation. I did not interfere when he was building our house (his vocation) and he simply must defer to me on this matter.

However, he is so directly related to Santa that I think I will have trouble conveying my wish list to the man in red!

Perhaps I will have to celebrate Kwanza this year.

What My Darling Daughter Wants for Christmas

2009-10-10T04:41:00.000-07:00

My daughter has been asking for the same gift for some time. In addition, every time she sees a toy on TV she NEEDS IT. We told her that we will ask Santa for 2 gifts. He may bring more but she can only ask for two when we go to see him.

Somehow this is all backfiring on me.

Several weeks ago she asked me for another little brother. Hiding my horror at the thought of having another baby at 40, I told her we wouldn't be having any more babies and that our family was complete. She promptly said, "Ok! We should get a pink French Poodle named Penelope!" I had to laugh. Being a Rottweiler and working dog enthusiast poodles are not really my cup of tea (or stein of beer if you catch my drift). Last week, Ella was telling me that she needed a number of toys on TV and I reminded her of the Santa Deal and asked her if she thought about what two things she was going to ask Santa for. She said, "A French Poodle." I told her I didn't think that Santa would be bringing that for Christmas. She said, "OK! How about a regular poodle?" I don't seem to be playing this game very well.

Jump to this week when we had to put our Rottweiler Buffy down. One of my concerns was how to tell Ella we lost our good, old dog that would have tea parties with her in the yard and was a co-owner of the Girls' Bakery in the playset. After we took care of Buffy, I dried my tears long enough to tell Ella that Buffy was really old and got sick and that she went to Heaven with Buster (Ella was too young to really get the loss of Buster two years ago). I asked if she had any questions and she asked how our dogs got from here to There. I gave a pretty creative answer and asked if she had anything else to say or ask. Ella said, "Well, if we don't have Buffy anymore maybe we should get a French Poodle?"

I think I'm in trouble.

Time and Tide Wait for No Man (wo-man or dog)

2009-10-10T04:12:00.000-07:00

Two days ago I lost a friend. A really good friend. I knew she was slowing down this summer and I was watching her become an old lady. It became apparent that we needed to call the vet. She started bumping into things in the yard and I was pretty sure she had gone blind. Being the last of the Great Rottweilers of My Life, the last of the Dogs of Ward, I resigned myself to the fact she would not be with us for long. The night before the vet I woke up at 2 am and stayed awake, crying for her and for myself.

Some people will say, Oh, it's just a dog so get over it. Buffy was so much more. She was brilliant and trained for everything from basic obedience to handicapped assistance, seizure detection and protection training. I took a fancy-pants agility class with her and she kicked ass. I trained her for French Ring and she kicked ass. The bitch did everything I threw at her. When I got certified in dog training she attended the school with me and was the belle of the ball. Everyone loved her and the instructors dubbed her Buffy the Wonder Dog. She was an inspiration. Oh, and she was pretty... for a Rottweiler.

What I didn't expect was for Alan to take it so hard. Buff was always a "guy's dog" and she preferred the company of men. She adored Alan and since we lost her mate Buster 2 years ago (to cancer as well) she clung to Al. Our first night without her Alan said to me that he was so mad that he was powerless to do anything to save her that had he been a younger man he would have gone out and gotten into a fight just to feel better. I assured him we had done the right thing and that she had gone on to Buster. I would have traded a number of things to have her health and whole again and felt fairly powerless and useless as well. Mostly I told him that time and tide wait for no man or dog. My grandfather used to say that. I guess our lives are changing. Our family is certainly changed and the energy around our home is changed. It's sad but we'll ride it out. And we will miss our old girl.

Apologies for being wordy!

2009-09-19T07:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry to all for the long posts! I've got a lot to say and I'll try to keep it shorter in the future. Joe Rocks, I'm sure, understands! LOL! Sorry for the go at ya, Joe!

The Pied Rottweilian Piper of Long Branch

2009-09-19T06:56:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to shake them Rottweilers! Everywhere I go I just happen upon one and wind up talking to the owners. I know we all have our favorite breeds and I am fond of several types of dogs (all the Schnauzers, poodles, pugs, labs and GSPs to name a few) but the Rottweiler just holds a special place in my heart. Even the most casual of comments results in a protracted conversation with complete strangers.

Case in point, while taking my son for a much needed run on the Long Branch Promenade, I saw a couple walking a beautiful female adolescent. Unable to help myself, I called over, "She's lovely! I own two." While this is not entirely true as I lost my big boy Buster to bone cancer a year and a half ago, I still occasionally say I have two Rotties before thinking about it. I do miss Buster desperately as he was a fantastic dog to the end. After a few strides toward Pier Village I heard the couple calling after me. Entering in a conversation about their beautiful Bella, they explained to me that they were having issues with the year old pup with children. I laughed and sheepishly told them I am a semi-retired dog trainer. They explained that they are taking her to Philly for a behaviorist evaluation as she recently bit two people during and interaction with a child. I gave the pup the briefest of evaluations and even witnessed the owner accidentally pour water on the pup's back and head. Bella had nerves of steel, was delightful and behaved exactly as a year old Rott pup with marginal training should. I recommended they follow through with the Philly evaluation, admitted my regret that I couldn't offer my own services as a trainer as I cannot promise to be as attentive to a heavy training case as I felt they would need and referred them to a well seasoned local trainer for advanced work. Then I took a good-natured ribbing from my friend Shannon who happened by us and asked if I had taken to just pulling dogs off the street to satisfy my own training needs.

Having cut my training teeth on Rotties, I know a fair amount about negotiating life with the breed. Firstly, they don't come trained, but they do come smart (pardon the grammar here). It always (in my opinion) holds true that the smarter the dog the more creative they will be in trying to get around your human commands. In addition, the more dominant the dog the more motivated he or she will be to test your leadership. Rottweilers are what some trainers call Make Me dogs. You have to insist upon obedience and for some Rottie owners this can be a long and tiresome prospect. They are not a dog for Everyman and I have talked many a friend out of getting one. They do not respond well to coercive, heavy handed correction; they do need correction but brute force can be met with brute response (more on this in a later post). Lastly, they have a prolonged puppyhood and "act up" sometimes into the third of fourth year.

A Rottie owner must contend not only with the iron will and physical strength of the dog but also the crummy reputation this breed has received. Poor breeding and less than responsible ownership are the primary reasons this breed has taken on such a nasty and frightening veneer. As a trainer, when educated "dangerous" breed owners I have stressed -to the point of annoying my clients- that supreme owner responsibility is critical. Physical fencing, electric fencing and serious, dedicated training are mandatory. Every safeguard must be put in place as any negative event will be blamed on your large breed, dangerous animal. Even if the toy poodle started it!

Despite all the flack this breed has taken, I just can't help but love them Rotties. Bella, I am hopeful, will be fine with more training from her owners and safe exposure to children that shows her precisely what behaviors will and will not be accepted. Few dogs are rotten beyond repair. Rottweilers in particular are just demanding of their owners and need to have firm leadership and guidance. In return, Rottie owners will have a dedicated canine companion willing to jump through flaming hoops or take a bullet for their families.

As for me, I will continue to blurt out praise for good looking and well behaved Rottweilers. Perhaps some of you will see me, leading a pack of majestic black and tan dogs toward West End and, hopefully, breed redemption. Until then, good day and good training to you all!

Oh, baby! Oh, baby! Oh, baby! How to Have Dogs and a Baby 101

2009-09-13T04:14:00.000-07:00

My friend Ed is expecting a baby. Well, his beautiful wife, Michele, is expecting a baby. Ed is just living vicariously through her! When my Aunt suggested I start this blog Ed and Michele came to mind as they have two toy breeds that pretty much think they are the masters of the universe. No offense to Ed and Michele, of course! Their dogs are not rotten or extremely unruly but exhibit the garden variety impish behavior I would expect from most dogs under 30 or so pounds. I warned Ed in advance that I would be mentioning his family in the blog and he responded with a good starting point for me. He said he knew that you should bring the baby's blanket home from the hospital for the dogs to smell and get to know the baby before he/she comes home and asked what else he should do.

I used to volunteer a free class at the Area's Biggest Baby Shower in New Brusnwick, NJ with my dog Buffy to demo how a dog should behave around small babies. Joe and I also offered a 2 hour Pre-Baby Class at Camp K-911. We highly recommended that expectant parents start preparing all pets in the family for a new baby as soon as they find out they are having a baby. When I found out I was having my daughter my own mother reacted with, "What are you going to do about those Rottweilers?" At the time I had two, Buster and Buffy, and they were just about as well trained as you could ask two dogs to be. They were both shining examples of the genius, precision and gregariousness that is often overlooked in their particular breed. I told my mother they would have to adjust to the changes in our family but that they would be staying no matter what. I told her they were family and they would learn to love and protect our newest and littlest member just as they had me. This is the same thing I would tell my clients: as your pack/family evolves and grows, your dog should be included in those changes. Having a baby does NOT mean the dog has to go, but change and evolve he must and this is done only with your guidance and leadership.

(Just to note, Lopey was a puppy at this time, but Lopey's story will have its own post... probably in several parts! Buckle up for THAT, readers!)

I break the process of Baby Training into trimesters to keep it congruent with the development of the pregnancy.

First Trimester:

1. Make a plan: Yeah, I know. You pretty much need to make one more plan while growing a baby! However, logistics are fairly important and the plan should be set early and enacted. Decide if the dog will be allowed to continue to sleep in your bed, on the couch, etc. If you start early enough in the pregnancy you will have plenty of time to make these changes slowly and kindly and create alternatives for your dog. (ie. a soft, luxurious dog bed instead of the couch, etc.). I do recommend that the dog be excluded from the nursery unless escorted by an full-grown human with a leash. Trust me on this one: mother-in-laws will go mad at the site of dog hair in the nursery and will probably call a HAZMAT team as well as DYFS the first minute you leave the room. You may feel that installing a doggie door and fence will give your dog a bit more freedom. You may want to incorporate a crate so your dog has his own room to get away from all the excitement. Discuss the logistics calmly and rationally. The important thing is to set a plan and put it into action.

2. Assess your level of obedience: No, this is not directed at the expectant father (though it would serve you well to brush up on following your lady's hints, subtle suggestions and outright demands!). Run down the list of basic commands for any dog: sit, stay, down, stay, come, stay, heel, stay. Notice some thing here? Stay (and I mean STAY PUT AND DON'T YOU DARE MOVE) is a vital command when expecting a new baby. You want to be able to put your dog in a place and not have him second guess you and tra-la-la over to you changing a dirty diaper as he will probably (worst case scenario) grab it and run around the house "redecorating" if you will. You'll also want to be able to answer the door with your sweet baby in one arm to receive the lovely -and daily- bunch of roses from the new daddy (fellas, THAT'S a hint!) without the dog bolting out of the door and creating a whole rescue drama that is not fun, amusing or exhilarating at all. If your dog is woefully lacking in these vital command, call a trainer and get a crash course. Remember, at this point you still have months to prepare.

Second Trimester:
1. Time to get moving: At this point expectant Mom should be feeling pretty good and still have some agility in her. Not that I'd have her jumping over double jumps or walking balance beams, but her center of balance typically has not taken a weird turn. I myself didn't feel awkward with my first pregnancy until about month 8 when I got stuck on the floor in a puppy class and Joe had to help me up and immediately put me on forced maternity leave after the class. with my second pregnancy, I was pretty uncoordinated at month 4. Using eating utensils was even a juggling act!
Nonetheless, Mom should get moving with the dog in baby-style. What I mean by this is you should incorporate the baby equipment into your life NOW. Push a stroller while walking the dog, start playing baby cries on the computer (there are a number of web sites that have these screaming infant recordings exactly for this purpose), set up a playpen, crib, etc. and get the dog used to seeing and negotiating all this new stuff. Some folks have a tradition of not bringing any baby items into the house until the baby is born. If this is the case find a trainer that offers baby classes. I had a whole spectrum of strollers, blankets, playpens and the like for this purpose. Clients could come to the school, train the dog with the equipment and go home. The benefits are not as good as having a real-life experience in the home. If your dog reacts negatively to the addition of all the accessories that come with a new little one you still have time to correct it.

2. Step up your training: Even if your dog's behavior is spectacular, you should make an effort to advance his training or add in some fun events, tricks, skills for him to master. The reality is your dog's grip on your attention is slipping and he may already know it. Engineering creative ways for him to continue to participate in the family will be super beneficial for his well-being. Retrieving the newspaper, learning to fetch the mail (this is a bit advanced but still possible) or helping to close doors (a fairly simple learning process) all help to incorporate your dog into the new family dynamic. A dog that has a clear set of rules and a simple, comprehensive job description is a happy dog. If advanced trick training is simply beyond you, establishing a regular and daily walk or fetch game. This should preserve a healthy dose of daily, private human and dog interactive time. Keep it Dog Time and be sure to leave the new baby out of it.

Third Trimester:

1. Adopt a needy, plastic baby: I know. You want the real baby. You are dying to meet him or her. So is your dog. His acute senses have him fully aware that there is massive hormonal changes in the air. My own dog Buffy actually started to act quite odd around me before I learned I was pregnant with my daughter. She was so odd, uncharacteristically gentle and steadfastly refusing to do any bite work that I actually took her to the vet thinking there was something physically wrong with her. It was only in later weeks when I found out I was expecting that I realized the cause for her odd change of spirit. It continued throughout my first pregnancy and recurred in my second. Trust me, your dog knows something is coming and he needs your help to navigate the pack change.

So get yourself a Fake Baby. Find one at a garage sale, borrow one from a family member or purchase one. Ideally I would recommend one that cries. While I was pregnant with my daughter I had a Fake Baby that would laugh and cry at random (she cost about $20 and was worth every penny). In order to get her to stop crying you would have to pat her on the back or rock her. The Fake Baby was pretty tricky to console and one day my Mother visited during a significant training session with Buster and Buffy. I just couldn't get the Fake Baby to settle down; the dogs were doing great in patient down and stays. So I flipped the Fake Baby over and flipped the shut off switch. My Mother said, "Uh, Anna, you know, the real baby won't have a shut off switch." Touche, Mom, touche! Live with your Fake Baby! If your dog is going to make mistakes you want him to make mistakes with the Fake Baby! Carry the Fake Baby around. Put the Fake Baby to bed and tell your dog it is Quiet Time (aka. down and stay time). Put small amounts of baby powder, cleanser, wipes and lotion on the exposed plastic bits so your dog can become accustomed to the new product smells in the house. Basically, treat the Fake Baby like your real baby and command obedience from your dog. Again, at this point you still have time

2.Practice the Homecoming ritual: When Mom goes to the hospital, her absence, Dad's tension then elation will not go unnoticed by your dog. Anticipate a reactive dog when she returns. Rather than have Mom and new baby pawed when they arrive home, practice the following Homecoming ritual with a fake baby and stick with it when you come home.

Firstly, Mom should not, should not have the baby when she comes home from the hospital. Mom will be sorely missed for the 3-7 days she has gone "missing." Upon her arrival at home Mom should be sure to dedicate a lavish greeting to the household dogs sans baby. I cannot stress this enough. A new parent's reaction when a dog jumps up at a baby is to pull the baby out of harm's way. This will cause your dog to jump and this may teach your dog to jump at the baby to investigate. Remember that dog is just as interested in meeting this new person as you are. You can't fault him for that, but you can manage his behavior and manners. After a sufficient greeting, Mom (or a third party if Mom is in pain or excessively stitched or there is a significant difference in Mom/dog size) should leash the dog and Dad should bring in the new baby. As quickly as possible the baby should be placed in a bouncy seat, crib or similar sleeping apparatus. Be sure to keep baby at an elevated level. Don't put the baby, bouncer, etc. on the floor. Now, Mom and Dad should let the dog sniff about and investigate the new pack member. You don't have to let the dog get very close. No slobbering on the crib or baby. NOTE: YOUR DOG WILL GET EXCITED. When he does start to unhinge with excitement, start throwing him commands in near proximity to the baby. This will teach your dog that your commands still count, your rules still hold even though there is a new member disrupting the order of your pack and that his unswerving obedience is non-negotiable. Use your stay command. Down and stay around the baby's stations are critical.

3. Come to terms with the animal in your dog: My apologies to all of you that dress your dogs in Bark Avenue duds, have Poochi fur-trimmed carriers and the like, but the reality is your darling overly-bred, allegedly-domesticated pet is really an animal. I know you have loved him and raised him as if he came from your own loins, but the truth is he is a dog and every dog has the potential to "let the wolf out." I recommend that parents not allow children to be unsupervised with dogs regardless of the size of the dog until the children are between 10-13 years old. I will be discussing this further in another post but for now do not leave the dog with the baby. Be smart and err on the side of caution.

As a trainer, I found that the families that were most concerned about Pre-Baby Training were the families that had the least to worry about. Conversely, the more cavalier and casual the family, the more potential danger was apparent. I had one family that called me a few days after the new baby had come home and when I arrived for the class I was greeted by FIVE 100+lbs Rottweilers (two of which were un-neutered males), all unleashed and a five day old infant in a car seat on the floor. Loving the Rottie breed as I do but also having a profound respect for what they are capable of, I froze in the threshold of the front door. Frankly, I wasn't sure if the totally excited dogs would knock the baby over and injure her or attack me for intruding. out of the corner of my mouth I asked the family members to carefully and calmly leash up all five dogs so we could address them one at a time and reduce the Disaster Potential significantly. After some serious evaluation, I'm glad to say I convinced the family to crash course the dogs and we put a number of safety plans in effect until the dogs were fully and reliably trained. Fortunately, the dogs were all good-spirited and very stable and trained well and this story has a very happy ending with a satisfied family, well-adjusted dogs and, most importantly, a safe newborn.

This outline of training and expectation is merely a sampling of the creative methods that can be employed to incorporate. Obedience is the core of maintaining a good family pack in which no one has to go live with Aunt Edna. I must stress that if you have any doubts about your dog's ability to handle the new addition, if you have aggression issues the you have ignored or if you are simply unwilling to train your dog at all, you are courting disaster. Enlist a good, reliable trainer for a clear and dog-specific evaluation. Please keep in mind that there is no educational requirement or licensing for dog trainers in many states, nor is there a doctrine standards and practices. It is best to locate a certified trainer and most trade schools have a search engine on their sites. National K-9 School for Dog Trainers, the school from which I received my certifications, is an excellent school and turns out well-educated trainers who are instructed to use a variety of techniques to teach owners and dogs the basics of obedience and beyond. Ask for references and be sure they are experienced in teaching Pre-Baby courses. This is the most important training you and your dog will do, so don't slack off on it and certainly don't blow it off!

And remember, at this point you still have time. But get to work!!!

Something Wicked This Way Comes

2009-09-12T05:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the Ray Bradbury reference but I couldn't help myself given the wild and wicked weather we have had in the North East the last two days.

Well, as you may or may not know from scrolling down and reading my first post, my Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Dave recently got a Yorkie pup named Charlie. Charlie is 4 months old and super cute in the pics (I should be meeting him at some point this weekend). Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Dave have one 22 year old daughter home finishing her last year of college, two sons just starting college in Pennsylvania, one female Jack Russel mix named Jackie and three cats Penny, Tony and Sammy (aka White Strips, for her super white teeth). Uncle Dave has a knack for finding perfect dogs in perfect needs and this was the case with Charlie. Aunt Marilyn was a bit uncertain about this new addition but I assured her that two dogs are certainly better than one as they benefit from canine companionship and tend to occupy each other when you are unable to pay undivided attention to your pet.

Day 2 Aunt Marilyn said Charlie was a bit frantic when she brought him out to go potty. Now, anyone who has ever raised a puppy knows they have to go out about 8,000 times a day until about 6-7 months old, longer if you have a large or giant breed as they pretty much poop all day long! He would go on a paper station she set up for him but it was indoors and she didn't want to set up a paper habit that would be hard to break (Side note: if you do choose to paper train a pup and you have and adult dog in the house, buckle up! The adult dog is GOING to start house soiling too.).

So far this sounds like a housetraining problem, right? Well, it's not. This is actually a sensory problem. For those of you that don't live at the Jersey Shore (Sho-Wa if you're from North Jersey!) our weather has been quite a spectacle the last few days. We had a low pressure system meet a high pressure system and BLAM we had lovely stormy weather with nearly 50 mph gusts of wind.

Dogs react very strongly to weather and the reason is hardly supernatural. Snow and rain will intensify old and new scents. However, dogs can discriminate between old and new scents. They will sniff the spot and go, Oh, a large male peed here some time ago but he's long gone now so I may as well mark it with a P myself! The world is a carcophany (if you will) of scents and dogs tend to negotiate it gracefully and thoughtfully, but certainly not dramatically.

Enter 50 mph wind into the equation. What happens now is all sorts fresh, NEW scents are kicked up toward your dog. Your dog has already taken inventory of the local dogstock: a mini-poodle lives three blocks away, a bulldog lives across the river, a minipin is a few houses away. When the wind kicks up now your dog is recognizing the scent of a huge Italian Mastiff that magically was transported to your back yard! He can't see it, but it's there! It's there! It's there! For humans, it would be akin to hearing voices in the next room but instead of barking and going in circles we would either call the cops, the Vatican or the liquor store!

My advice to Aunt Marilyn was to cut the little guy a bit of slack during wild weather. Charlie has a bit working against him at the moment. Firstly, he's 4 months old and completely clueless how to behave with humans in a human household. Secondly, he JUST moved in with them and has a whole bunch of animal roommates to get to know. The wind storm was probably ill-timed for his induction in to my Aunt and Uncle's family but there is no perfect time to get a dog. Life will alway interfere and create variables that make it impossible to create the perfect puppy-rearing environment. So far they are doing just great, but we'll keep an eye (or a nose, if you will) on them!

More to come...

Got questions?

2009-09-12T05:14:00.001-07:00

I don't know if this is the smartest way to do this but I posted my email address so questions can be asked and (hopefully) answered. Subscribers feel free to pose questions. I will refrain from using real, names, email addresses, identities, etc. of subscribers I don't know personally as I am anticipating the same questions to be asked by varied sources. If you are family or a friend, I'm sorry but all bets are off and I'll be posting all sorts of embarrassing stories, situations and anecdotes about you and your dogs! Please try to keep a sense of humor and don't take me off the Christmas card list!

Good training to you all!

Why not, said the semi-retired dog trainer...

2009-09-12T02:55:00.000-07:00

I know a lot about a few things. I know a lot about all kinds of literature. I know WAY too much about the Russian Revolution and the execution of Nicholas II's family. I know a lot about baking bread. I know a lot about training dogs.

I have loved dogs and animals in general for my whole life. I've been training dogs for as long as I can remember. I became a professional, certified trainer after four years of college, much to my parent's dismay. (I did eventually impress them when they got a Westie and a King Charles I think) I have owned terriers, German Sheps, one gloriously fat and fabulous min-pin named Suzie and few Rottweilers. I currently own one super-smart 11 year old female Rottweiler named Buffy that is trained for scent work, bite work, agility, handicapped assistance and anything else a dog can be trained to do. Buff is getting on in years and is a ripe old retired bitch. I also own a disasterous American Bulldog named Lopey. Lopey is about 5 years old, 140 pounds of dopey dog and will probably live to be 25.

Having started a family a few years ago, continuing my dog training business did not seem to be a reality. When I was working full time with dogs I would put approximately a 60-80 hour work with a full time partner each week depending on how many dogs we were boarding. With kids it just didn't seem possible to dedicate myself to my clients and still be fair to my partner Joe. So Joe (the greatest business partner and most natural dog trainer EVER) went off to grad school for engineering and I closed up shop.

I made it a point to stay in touch with some of my clients. (Thank god for chain e-mails and Facebook, right?). I told the vet clinics that referred clients to the business that I would work as a consultant if they needed to refer anyone with dog issues who could not afford a traditional trainer. Out of thanks for the countless referrals, I offered this service free of charge. A few people contacted me, but not many. What I did find was that my old clients and family and friends would pitch me all sorts of good questions about why their dog would do this or what to do about that behavior. I drive my fiance Alan nuts because I could spend an hour on the phone discussing nuisance barking. As he says, I could talk the ear off a donkey.

Recently my sister Wendy got a new rescued puppy (probably pit-mix, definately cute and bright, bright, BRIGHT) and my Aunt Marilyn, Cat Maven Extrodinare, got a surprise Yorkie puppy from her husband Uncle Dave, Dog Lover Extrodinare. I ran over to meet Wendy's new dog Lilly and had a blast training her. I gave Wendy a STACK of books and told her read what she could and take what works from all the different trainers. I've been on the phone a number of times with Aunt Marilyn just to see how Charlie is adjusting and she's asked about a few of his behaviors. After giving her some protracted answers interspersed with human gossip she probably got sick of being on the phone with me and suggested the idea of a blog for me. So I said, Why not?

I always thought I was too cool to blog but since having "retired" I have only one trainer that I feel comfortable referring serious cases to. Most trainers are ego maniacs and will spend 3/4 of your lesson pitching themselves to you... every time you see them. Forgive me if I fall into this trap on the blog: it is the bane of most dog trainers but at least I'm aware of it. Most trainers stick to one "system" or school of training and claim "a dog is a dog." We have made such advances in behavior research that is truly a discredit to the dog to continue to my "will and stick" as has been done for centuries. Dog training is only as varied as people and dogs are. In other words, possibilities are limitless and it is the creative and open minded dog trainer and owner that will get the best results and develop the best cooperative partnership with their pets. Shaping behavior is a subtle, persistent action, not a bold and aggressive quest.

I hope that this blog will help people understand more about why their dog does this or that. I hope that this blog will help dog owners understand that there is more that one way to train a dog just as there is more that one way to skin a cat (Sorry for the pun, Cat Lovers and Aunt Marilyn!).

In closing this first, virgin blog, please read on with a sense of humor and an open mind. This blog will represent only one trainer's opinion and any given problem has countless solutions and methods. As the old saying goes, The only thing two dog trainers will agree upon is that the other one is wrong (wish I could credit this quote because it's genius).

Read on with humor, good sense and good training to you all!