Cautionary Tale

I know this story all to well, yet I'm writing to tell you I was the one who fell down the rabbit hole. I have warned my husband for the past 26 years that you cannot trust your beloved dog to always perform at 100%. I fell into the same trap to which too many dog owners succumb—expecting your dog's behavior to be consistent.

I was returning from a walk with Bella today. My car was parked at Petsmart from earlier shopping in which she was not included. (In fact, I rarely bring her in there.) I had Bella on a SIT by the car and was about to slip her seat harness over her head when she bolted. She has never done this before; never expressed any interest in doing this. "Bella, come!" failed.

She dashed past parked cars and was nearly hit by a car passing in front of the store. Bella was totally oblivious to anything but her desire to get in the store (almost amusing now after the fact). As she was jetting into Petsmart, a woman caught her collar. The driver, other shoppers, everyone was great. Everyone stopped to see if she was okay. Another woman followed me back to my car to make sure Bella was okay and told me a similar tale with her dog except her dog was hit. Awful!

I mention this story because I was so shocked by what she did. I have been lulled by the fact that she always waits patiently by the door to have her seat harness put on. So please, don't fall into my trap. Your dog may do something unexpected when you least anticipate it. Error on the side of caution. I will always keep a hand on her collar in that situation.

Bella's First Snow

Who said a frisky puppy can't get friskier? We were hit by snow and below freezing temperatures at the beginning of this week and though we haven't had new snow, temperatures haven't risen and nothing has melted. I've learned Bella is not a burrower but a sproinger. (Lucy, ever the nose dog, what look up from tunneling with a mountain of snow on her snout. It was very endearing.) I wish I'd been able to capture Bella's behavior, but am cursed by being a bad photographer. You're lucky to get picture of her standing in the snow.

Bella making fresh tracks.

Her only frustration is that we lost a tennis ball in the snow and haven't played ball since then. The tennis ball she has in the back yard (one is buried under a mound of shoveled snow) has turned into a green ice cube. She's thrilled by it, but there is no bounce.

Keep-Aways or Another Name for Poison

A friend recently went through a scare with her dog. She was entertaining and a child fed their dog some grapes. It wasn't until later that evening that the dog became horribly ill and they needed to rush him to the emergency vet. After discussion with the vet to discern what the dog might have ingested, they realized what happened when the husband recalled seeing the little girl "sharing" grapes. (He didn't know they could be toxic.) Their dog is fine, thank heavens, but the outcome could have gone the other way.

As we approach the holidays, our homes are often filled with friends, family, different food and plants. Please pay attention to where your pup is. You never know if someone is unwittingly sharing food with your pet. To keep your pet safe and you sane, post the number to your local 24-hour emergency vet (or the National Pet Poison Control Hotline: 888-426-4435) on your fridge.

Here are some links regarding pets and poison:
Humane Society
AAHA
ASPCA

Graduation Day

Today was the last session of our Noseworks class. I must admit I'm glad my Saturday mornings will be my own again, although I really have enjoyed the classes. Diana taught this class and her enthusiasm was contagious. She makes learning fun for the owner despite the fact that the owner's dog is quite noisy! (Ahem! Quiet Bella!) Actually today there were several noisy dogs, so I wasn't nearly as embarrassed!

We had an overly full class so too many dogs—six, as a matter of fact. The room in which we work is tiny and six enthusiastic dogs was not only raucous, but didn't allow very many turns, nor many sessions within a turn. However, it was fun to see how the new dogs (doing a make-up session) worked.

At the end of class we did a run on scent which is going to be the focus if we go on (which both Shari and I will do after the holidays). Instead of using various sized open boxes and placing a kibble in the box or along the wall somewhere, Diana put out five pizza boxes with holes punched in the lid. The kibbles were inside (we haven't yet worked with more difficult scents like birch) and the dog had to indicate which box held the odor. Sounds simple, but even the stellar nose dogs had a hard time with this.

For the first time, the owners did not know which box held the scent, so we had to key into our dog to know when they'd found something. On some occasions it was obvious—Bella tried to walk off with the box—but usually it was really subtle. Because the dog couldn't see the food or get to it, they might smell it, but often walked on.

When Level II begins, it will be interesting to see how alert the owners are to their dogs picking up the scent. I think it will still be lots of fun, but much more difficult.

On a last note, I talked with my vet yesterday about the class. She's taking her very old lab through the program. Her dog is deaf and nearly blind and was becoming increasingly more reclusive. Since the dog has been doing the class, she said the dog is much more lively even at home and now searches for toys in the dog box. Very sweet.

Let Them Think

I just read a great article by Victoria Stilwell on letting your dog think itself through a situation. Because I've been spending more time on training recently, this post was beautifully timed.

I am working with Bella to loose leash walk on a buckle collar. I want her to decide for herself that walking next to me is preferable.Today, with clicker in hand, we set out. I can't say one way or the other whether I think she "got it," but I can say I did see her "think" and choose a more appropriate spot (by my leg) for which I clicked and treated. At this point, my chow-hound is lobbying for food, so clicking and treating was only when she picked the proper position, not for any signals from me. A video I watched recently also shows some training techniques for using the clicker while training your dog to choose this position. I have a harness that I may try on her, but haven't dug it out as of yet.

Another blog post I read compares gaming (development of computer games) principles to dog training. There were several comments in there that I felt apropos. One of the best was:

Complex games give us a way to measure our progress.  When we play a game we want to feel like we’re getting somewhere. That we’re accomplishing something. And a good game gives us a way (or better yet, several ways) to measure that. This innate need to feel that one is making progress is one of the reasons why it’s important to break a training exercise down into discrete steps and give your dog meaningful input at each one of those steps rather than just at the end of a task.

The author makes several other really great points. (Read it over and see what you think.) Yesterday in my Noseworks class the instructor is teaching us (the owners) to allow the dog to do its job—sniff out the treat—and to not confuse things by getting between the dog and the smell. He said we need to be careful when we're working on Noseworks at home, to break increased complexities of the "find" into small, successful-for-the-dog steps. In other words, avoid the "let's see if she can figure this one out" syndrome. For example, he said put a loose kibble 6 feet down the wall. The next time, put it 12 feet, then 18 feet. Build the "find" in small increments so the dog is always successful and learns how to structure the hunt.

Doggie Day Care

Bella's 1st Report card

I decided Bella could benefit from some doggie play time. Taking her to the dog park doesn't work as invariably someone is playing Chuck-It with their dog. If there is a ball anywhere at the park, there is Bella. So although she could have time to interact with other pups, she's actually oblivious to them. Amber, her best buddy, is a mature 8-year old and though tolerant of Bella's exuberance, she doesn't want to play with her.

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that Bella's social calendar is a concern, but in defense, we take her everywhere and she needs to be "socially acceptable." What I've noticed is if she sees another dog she is beside herself with excitement. When she does play, she's a little rough. This may be her style or she may need to play with other dogs and learn some doggie etiquette. There is only one other dog she knows who is young and energetic, but she rarely gets to play with her as Cherry's owners have quite a different schedule than ours.

I scoped out two facilities and chose Riverdog where she's taken a class. My vet takes her dog there and that seemed a mark in their favor. Another place I looked at had something amiss. What bothered me—though it was closer to home and less cost—was there was only one person to oversee the office and 20 dogs. I know how quickly a fight can break out and if the person was in the office, how quickly could she get to the fight? And wonder if there were two fights or a fight that involved multiple dogs? At Riverdog, there may be 10-15 dogs together with only one person overseeing, but the facility has four rooms and the dogs are matched according to style. If you had a quiet, older dog, for example, it would be in a different room than one with rambunctious puppies. Plus, their office is staffed by people who do not have to oversee the dogs. Multiple staff members mean that multiple people can help if warranted. I liked that.

At the end of our first visit (four hours), they gave me a little report card. Too cute! On the back they wrote: "A little shy and unsure at first, but came around after a while. Good ball player!" That's my girl—four paws up!

Relearning, Relearning, Relearning

I admit it. I am to blame. I know it. The buck stops here. When Bella acts up and cannot stop or control herself, it is because I have not done my job. So as of yesterday we've stepped backwards several paces. Time for the owner to relearn.

I took off her prong collar and do not allow surging, lagging or sideways lunges. Walking on a leash, no matter how normal (or not) the environment, requires Bella to pay attention to me. I am doing lots of stopping, backing up and going in the opposite direction.

In a day and half, she's doing much better, so I've obviously done something correctly, but it also indicates she's a smart, observant girl. This afternoon there was a yappy, ill-behaved puggle straining at the end of its leash towards Bella. My girl, though very eager to check it out and with only a very minor "Na!" from me, stayed at my side. That was fantastic—I was very proud of her.

I am also re-working stay. She's great at home and questionable everywhere else. On walks, I'm putting her on a sit stay and walking around her and dancing, albeit quietly and not very energetically. Initially, she broke her stay the minute I did any aberrant moves. Today she's holding it longer, but I'm also not pushing the limit. I want to keep it short, sweet and successful.

The other thing I need to do is devise a word (settle?) that she recognizes to mean lay down, be quiet and stay. In our Noseworks class, she is absolutely distraught when my friend,Shari, and Bella's friend, Amber get up to run their paces. She howls, low woofs and is anxious. So "settle" will be important. What I am presently doing with her in class is putting a tiny treat on her front paws and making her wait until I release her. That is working, but it is a known trick. "Settle" sans food–or self-control–will be the end goal.

Have you worked your pup with that? What did you do?