Baby Kisses Dog

I have seen tons of pictures recently showing babies and toddlers face-to-face, lying on top of, or tightly hugging their dog. Babies and dogs together aren't anything new—and the photos are sweet, but have you ever noticed how uneasy the dog often is? Perhaps these photos stand out to me because I am both more aware of how a dog communicates and I have two new grand-(great?) nephews (1 year and 9 months). More often than not, the poor dog looks like it is tolerating the interaction and gratefully, is well-behaved enough to suffer through the interaction. But how many people unknowingly subject their dog to the discomfort and their child to the danger? It seems like a lot.

I came across this video showing very subtle dog communication around a wee one. I sent it off to both new sets of parents. They may be comfortable with the interaction between their baby and their dog, but do they know their friends' dogs as well?

After Lucy passed away, we briefly trialed-for-adoption, a male pup around a year old. He was a sweet, young thing, but I realized almost immediately he harbored more issues than I was skilled to deal with. Although he suffered several bizarre personality traits, the clincher for his return was nipping a neighbor's young daughter. The little girl, around eight at the time, came over to see our new pup. She was shy and stood quietly by her mother, when Jake came up and nipped at her shirt. No one had anticipated that. He didn't touch skin, and neither the mother nor her daughter was bothered by it. The little girl was unharmed. However, I was greatly concerned! We travel a lot and are in many different situations which include children. I did not want a dog that needed constant monitoring; I had already experienced that with Lucy. After much distress on my part, the young dog was returned to his foster home for more evaluation.

Lovely Bella is as sweet as can be, but she isn't used to babies who grab her fur for balance or grab her neck to hug or topple accidentally on top of her. Whenever we are around small ones, I monitor her and the babies like a hawk and do not allow close interactions. I am guarding Bella as much as the baby. Bella is far more quick than I and a baby's face is far closer to Bella's teeth.

On the street, there are several things I do when a child runs up to Bella, as often, the parent with the child does nothing.

• First, I safeguard Bella. I make sure she is not anxious (never the case) and next to me. 
• I explain to the child they should never run up to a strange dog. 
• They should always ask the owner permission to pet the dog.
• They shouldn’t shout or grab at the dog—all things that can frighten it and precipitate a bite.
• When greeting a strange dog, they should extend a fisted hand, fingers down, for the dog to sniff (safe-guarding small, tasty fingers).
• When leaving, it is wise to walk, not run, from the dog.
  
  

A bit of overkill, perhaps, but if the parent is non-responsive, I assume the child hasn't been taught how to behave around an animal. Better to know how to approach an animal safely, than risk a bite.

Recently I read the article, Why Some Pet Photos Make Me Nervous, by Dr. Nancy Kay, DVM. In it she advises parents to:

• Actively teach young children how to interact with animals in a gentle, respectful fashion. Role model this behavior every chance you get.
• Be reminded that every animal is capable of unpredictable behavior. Never leave a young child unsupervised with an animal, even if that animal happens to be the beloved family pet.
• An eating or sleeping animal is wearing a “do not disturb” sign which should be respected.
• If your pet enjoys spending time in a crate or other small, enclosed shelter, consider this to be their sacred space and bar young children from entering.
• Avoid subjecting your pet to unnatural, uncomfortable poses for the sake of a photo!
  
  

Respect a dog's sense of space—and be responsible for your child’s interactions with pets.

Great Point of View Regarding Training

I came across this article today and had to share it. I couldn't agree more with the author! In Common Misunderstandings About Training and Behavior, author Kelly Gorman Dunbar writes about two important facets of our human-dog relationship. One, the use of treats—to use or fade out, and two, our misinterpretation of dog behavior—are they being willful or are we being unclear.

I'm sure you've noticed that after you've phased out treats, and months (or years!) have passed, your pup seems to ignore or forget basic behaviors. "Oh! You want me to stay (sit, heel, etc.)?" And meanwhile, you are thinking, "Wait a minute! You learned this years ago!" Ms. Dunbar hits the nail on the head when she writes:

"Yet it seems that people want their dogs to do their bidding without getting some sort of reinforcement in return. It’s interesting to me, because this is not how we humans operate; we expect to get paid for a job well done. Nor is it the way of the rest of the natural world. We mammals do what works for us to keep us healthy, happy, and alive. Behavior is driven by its results or consequence; life is inherently rewarding or punishing."

I know Bella loves "payment" and as soon as it arrives, she is more anticipatory to the next command. Sometimes that payment is food, sometimes a bit o' loving, or maybe some ball time—but the point is, the reward works. I don't always have food with me, but I consciously bring training treats with me on certain walks or adventures, just to reinforce heeling, sitting at stops, paying attention. It works!

Ms. Dunbar goes on to write about what some owners say is their dog's willful behavior. She counters with:

"I often say that dogs don’t generalize well and that’s why we have to painstakingly break things down into tiny exercises to teach with clarity. However, there are other reasons a dog might not be learning what you are trying to teach. Or perhaps it’s not that they don’t generalize well, but rather that they really just aren’t getting clear instruction most of the time. We humans are incredibly inconsistent. We have such terrible and confusing habits as changing verbal cues (is it Off or Down?), changing the reward marker if we have one, and not telling the dog when she’s got it right."

Early on, my husband and I were wondering why Bella wasn't "getting" a couple of commands and we realized we were using different words. I was using "down" for laying down and "drop" for spitting something out of her mouth; he was using "drop" for both the former and latter command. Oh boy! So we agreed to use "down" for laying down, "drop" for downing at a distance and "out" for spitting things out. But I've noticed we occasionally use "out" for when it's okay for her to proceed us through an open door. No wonder she doesn't always respond—she's confused about what we're asking of her!

Training us is much more difficult than training the pup. Not only do we need to be consistent with the words used, but it's necessary to use clear markers when a command is executed (timing is so important here), when training is over, or when we're just talking/working with her. I wish I had not used "OK" as completion, as that word has come back to bite me several times. "Release"...or another uncommonly used word, would have been much better. Perhaps a reason for another training session for us!

CGC Certified!

I am interested in taking Bella through some therapy dog training to see if I can combine my love of Bella with my desire to volunteer. It seems to do any therapy work with your dog, your dog first has to have his or her CGC certification (Canine Good Citizen).

Yesterday I went to a great training facility, Riverdog, to get an evaluation. The trainer said we could just go through the test instead. Yahoo! Bella passed with flying colors! Now it's on to therapy classes to see what good we can do in the world. Good dog, Bella!

Giving Table Scraps

We have a fairly strict policy at home about treating Bella with human scraps. Depending on what the food is, we are okay with it as long as we aren't cooking or eating. I don't want her drooling while I cook, hoping she'll get something, or begging at the table.

Recently I had an incident with a house guest who was liberal with handouts. Although I give her kudos for telling me, she mentioned she'd fed Bella some avocado and did I mind. I know there is controversy around avocados, but I was not concerned about the little bit she gave her. However, that she gave Bella anything without asking me first, did concern me. Not only for health issues (did she know about grapes, for instance), but for the fact that I don't want our four years of training to go down the tubes in a single week! I asked that she please not do it again.

Case closed I thought, but then saw her giving Bella bread and cheese. I asked her please do not feed Bella scraps. She apologized and laughed, "Oh! Her face is so cute and she looks so hungry!" I agreed to the cuteness (of course!), but assured her that Bella wasn't starving, but a bottomless pit.

The next day, same story, different page. Stop! Feeding! My! Dog! She was contrite, but not apologetic.

Lucky our guest has left–but she's left us with a dog who now puts her face too close to plates, food, compost all the while sniffing and drooling. It will take some undoing, I fear. Before where Bella would lie in the kitchen, out of my way, and watch, she's now underfoot. Each time I have to remove her to a further corner or put her on a down/stay while eating. What a bother to continually remind her one week of a bad guest and free handouts does not mean a perpetual license to beg.

Have you experienced this with others trying to ingratiate themselves to your pup via free food?

Baja's Second First–Mountain Biking in the Bufadora

Biking through the cactus last year.

We took Bella mountain biking in the Bufadora! This is a large cardón cactus forest at the end of our bay. Last year we kept her to the sand road skirting the area, but yesterday took her onto the trails. My concern was that Bellie's Australian Shepherd genes keep her running alongside my husband's bike. Not viable in a cactus forest! She tried to maintain her position, but she understands the command "Ahead." We tried to keep her there as much as possible.

This year has seen a lot of rain; the whole drive down we talked about how green everything was. The forest was truly spectacular. Desert grass skirted the trails, cactus were in bloom and everything was green, green, green. The trails were in excellent condition as the rain had packed the sand. Cycling was easy because of it.

No one puts their dogs in booties down here, even though I was told to bring them.  Although I had them in my Camelback, I didn't make Bellie wear them. Every major trail intersection, we'd stop and check her paws. She was good to go!

The temperature is still cool and there was no need to worry about her overheating. We had plenty of water with us. We'll keep riding with her until the morning temps prove to hot.

Tricks & Commands

Our weather has been inordinately cold. For a full week, day time temperature have not cracked freezing. Even the office, which is normally the warmest room in the house because of the heat generated by the computer, is cold. It's sunny and beautiful outside, but I just don't have the clothes to stay comfortably warm outside for very long. This creates a puppy occupational hazard.

To combat bored puppy syndrome, I decided to work with her on different tricks and commands. There are two I'm concentrating on at present. The first is the command "out" so that whatever she has in her mouth she spits out. She is actually pretty good about it, but I want it to happen instantly. If Bella has something she really loves (her tennis ball) or something she really wants (food) in her mouth, spitting it out won't happen immediately. In the case of food, I may have to "dig" it out. Here's a great video showing an example. Now if I can get Bella to do it as quickly as Pip, I'm in luck!

The trick we're presently undertaking is weaving between my legs. At this point, with luring, she's doing great. Luring means you walk a dog incrementally through the steps by having them follow food or a toy. The holdup is our ability (or lack thereof) to maneuver our hands and treats effortlessly to get Bella moving smoothly. (We are finding ourselves not quite agile enough!) This will be great for later if I choose to take her through agility. Basically, you hold food between your legs with the dog facing you. Guide the dog in between your legs, sweeping your arm around the back side of your leg to the front. Transfer the treat quickly to the other hand and guide her through and around the other leg. Here's a good video showing the technique. Eventually we'll stop luring and work with hand gestures.

These are as good for Bella as they are for us and as always, if done correctly, she’s learning and mentally stimulated and we’re bonding. Gotta love that!

What? Another Class?

This is the question I was asked the other day. Yep. Another class. This one is called "Clicks and Tricks" and it's offered at my favorite facility, Seattle Agility Center. I've found a wonderful instructor there (although they all are great.) Tawnya, the woman from whom I've taken several classes, said something that clicked at the end of our Rally class. I knew it intuitively, but I hadn't verbalized it. She said, "I'm glad you are taking Bella through more courses. It keeps her thinking and helps with your bond." I might add that it keeps me thinking also! I love working with Bella and enjoy learning more—and better—ways to do things with her.

I find this particular clicker class exhausting for both the B Girl and I. I am not adept at it yet (a little slow on the click and treat) and I'm sure this causes confusion with Bella, but we both like it and Tawnya is great. She drops little comments that are spot on and like all instructors, I'm sure she is thrilled when she sees a student "get it."

I am presently working on not using Bella's name as a correction. I think dogs are intelligent enough to get your tone of voice and know that their name said in "that" tone means they had better pay attention and toe the line. Yet I also understand Tawnya's advice that giving verbal instruction instead of just using the name as a correction is more positive and pro-active.

I'm ready! I'm ready! Whaddya want? High five? Spin?

Bella and I are clicking our way through rolling over (so far she is merely laying down, no "over" so far), high five with both paws (my girl is definitely right-pawed), spin (check!), grabbing and retrieving a basket (she nudges it, but has not mouthed it yet).

Leash Work

Have you ever noticed how people manage their dog leash? I think it says a lot about the whole relationship with their dog. Are they paying attention to their dog and where their pup is walking?

Here are my completely biased observations:

• Flexi-lead walkers: I've written about flexis before and don't like them as I think owners are often oblivious to their dog. I find most either walking with a friend chatting, or on the phone—in either case, the dog wanders unobserved somewhere at the end of the lead. Pros: I have never seen a dog wrapped up in their flexi lead.
• Short leash walkers: Many have either a short lead, or a long lead that is looped enough times to make a short leash. The dog is on a tight heal. The dog? Old ones plod along looking resigned to the whole experience. Young dogs, eager to explore, usually are looking elsewhere with a gap on one side between their neck and their collar as they try to pull away. Not often do I witness an exceptionally well-trained dog healing no matter what their leash length. (This says a lot about dedication to training. I am no exception to this, unfortunately.)
• Long leash walkers: How frequently have you seen some dog at the end of their six-foot leash with the lead wrapped around a leg? These are the ones that most amaze me. Is the owner not aware of this? Don't they feel the odd pull of the leash? Hats off to the pups who just march along. What an uncomfortable walk!

I just got Bella a harness. Bella is an infrequent puller. She often walks ahead of me; I have not mandated a heal...sometimes to my regret. But on occasion, she'll spot the perfect stick in a yard and without a moment's hesitation, lunge for it. I worry about what that's doing to her neck, hence the harness. It has a chest d-ring and one on the back. A strap goes not only around her chest and across the front, but also between her front legs for stabilization. For inveterate pullers, hooking to both d-rings is supposed to give you much more control. I find the chest ring sufficient to eliminate the pull on me when that stick is spotted.

There are two things I am getting used to with this contraption. One is the feel of the leash swinging. It is a totally different sensation hooked to the front of Bella than a leash feels hooked to her collar. Two, because the leash is hooked to the front, I have to be more mindful if Bella is on my left or right. We live in an area without sidewalks, so sometimes it is necessary that she walks on my right, at others, she needs to be on my left. I'm trying to learn how to move the leash in front of her before she moves to a different side so the leash isn't over her back and pulling her in a circle away from me.

FOOTNOTE: I just switched her leash to the back d-ring. Much better! No wild swinging and she can walk on either side without an issue. Because Bella is not a dynamic puller, the extra control I might get from the chest d-ring isn't necessary. Easy schmeasy!

Clicker Training

I attended a make-up class this past weekend for a rally class I missed on our trip. We had a new instructor and the class was the first one for this particular session: Advanced Competitive Rally. They were kind enough to allow me to attend as I am not competitive and as a team, Bella and I are way below advanced.

The instructor, however, did nothing with rally, but worked us for an hour on how to use the clicker. For those of you who use a clicker regularly, you probably scratch your head at those of us who complain of being "clicker disabled." I have to admit, I am. Totally. Clicker disabled. I click at the wrong time, I click and don't treat, I treat and don't click, I treat when I shouldn't. It's an embarrassment.

But this class was great! Initially all she requested of us was to click when our dogs reacted with a box. She didn't care what they did, how they did it or whether it was the same reaction over and over again. Sniff, look, paw, back away, step on it—anything deserved a click and treat. We did that for two minutes, than stopped and let the dogs rest. Repeat.

For a new spin on it, she asked us to click at any new behavior. If they looked at the box, click and treat. But if they looked at it again, don't click and treat—wait until they offered a new behavior. Bella knew looking at the box got a treat, so she was confused that repeated glancing at the box didn't bring a reward. You could see the wheels spinning! Finally she pawed the box. Bingo! Click and treat! She nosed the box. Click and treat!

We did this exercise a number of times also. Always a duration of two minutes with a nice break between exercises.

The next exercise required us to use a hog pan. The pan was turned over with the bottom facing up. (The bottom was also covered with non-skid tape.) For this exercise, the instructor asked us to decide on what we wanted our dog to do with the pan. A student had brought her own bucket and she wanted her dog to knock it over. The rest of us used the hog pans.

One owner was only looking for her dog to put her front paws on it. Another wanted their dog's front paws on it and for the dog, keeping his paws on the pan, to rotate around the pan. Yet another owner wanted her dog's front paws on it and the dog to stand still. For me, I initially wanted Bella to put her front feet on it and eventually her back feet too. From there, I wanted her to sit. Ta-da! She did it! Smart puppy!

Yet another break. The final clicker exercise was for the dog to shake paws. However, we were to get close enough so when the dog's paw came down it would touch our knee. When there was contact: click and treat. Eventually the idea was that we would walk backward as the dog walked towards us tapping our knees with their paw, left paw to right knee, right to left. Bella was pooped. She could barely figure out how to shake and luckily the teacher recognized it before I did. She told me to just let Bellie rest.

Our final exercise was a five minute down with us wandering around and greeting each other. Bella almost made it. She was good until someone greeted me with a squeaky voice. That's okay. She'd worked hard in class and squeaking is so enticing. She went back down and stayed there for the remainder. All in all, a great class for the both of us. Seattle Agility and their instructors rock!

Rally!

Bella and I have started a new Rally class at Seattle Agility. What a great class! I've included a little video of someone running the course in case you haven't seen rally in action before. (I don't know who is in the video.) With our impending trip to Baja, I wanted to work with Bella on paying attention to me and being able to follow commands in very different environments.

I've lucked out. The class is very small and my instructor, Tawnya, is amazing. In two classes, I've learned more about how to train/work with Bella, than I have from any other class or teacher. I am completely jazzed about what we're doing. Because of Tawnya's eagle eye and great ability to communicate, I feel I'm able to make myself more clearly and more quickly understood to Bella. Who could ask for more than that!

Paddle Boarding with Bella

Bella is a water dog, right? I thought paddle boarding with her would be a snap—after all in the videos (see the YouTube video above), it looks so easy. A friend's dog is so addicted to paddle boarding that she has a hard time keeping him off other people's boards. The minute someone comes close to shore, her dog, Boone, hops on. I also wanted to get some practicing in before we head back to Baja this winter when I want her to be able to go out with me. I'd even looked into floats for Bella thinking if she fell off she'd be able to swim to shore if she couldn't get back on the board.

So the last time we were in the Gorge, I borrowed a friend's board to give it a try. Perhaps it was the wrong place to experiment. The Event Site in Hood River is a zoo. There are people, kids, dogs, strollers, windsurf and kite board equipment scattered everywhere, paddle boards and lawn chairs cheek and jowl to each other. Kids dropping food, people tossing balls, frisbees sailing through the air—chaos! To expect Bella to be able to pay attention is really asking a lot.

None-the-less, we were down at the water and she was game. I brought the nose of the board to the beach so she could walk onto it. Walking on proved not so easy. There were a few leaps off the board into the water—both for lack of balance and for the uncertainty of standing on a tippy surface. But my friend's board has a sticky surface, so once Bella settled in, I took off and headed out into the Columbia River.

I had paddled out perhaps 50 yards from shore when I saw the stick floating in the water. I tried to stir away from it so she wouldn't see it. Too late! Bella took a flying leap off the board to retrieve the stick; I flew off the board backwards. She returned to shore with the stick, dropped it and looked up at the nearest person to beg sweetly for a toss. I crawled back onto the board and gimped back to shore.

Lesson One was a bust. If it ever stops raining, maybe we'll get a chance at Lesson Two...

It's been a while...

Between leaving town for the reunion (very fun) and returning to "real life" (which means work for me) and a husband who is retired and wants to travel (so we do), I haven't had a moment to sit down and write.

Murray the Marvelous

So let me first introduce you to Bella's cousin, Murray. Murray is a five month old Wheaten Terrier and belongs to my brother. It's been a while since he's had a puppy (see here), so he has experienced moments of "buyers remorse." Remember puppies? Chewing, whining, peeing wonders!

Murray is a good dog though. He settles right down when he comes inside but still exhibits that wildness puppies have when they are outside. All of a sudden he gets a bee in his bonnet and tears around the yard at 1000 miles an hour. Love it!

They are currently trying to train him to an electric fence. He hasn't quite caught on yet and it's posing a problem as he is becoming timid in the yard. Hopefully, by working with him and the company that installed it, they'll figure it out. Fencing isn't an option and although their neighborhood is quiet, they live on a corner that sees a fair amount of traffic. Plus, they are only one street away from a wonderful river that has a very active pedestrian/bike path which proves visible—and very enticing—to a small dog.

Three dogs waiting for food to drop.

Bella and Molly are happy and tuckered from a long hike.

Three days after my return, we left again to join friends over July 4th. We are baby-sitting Bella's half-sister, Molly (same mom, different dads). Molly hasn't been exposed to mountain biking, so we took her on a 8.5 mile, level, shaded trail with plenty of water and a lake at the turn-around point. She did really well. Being an Aussie, she's all about staying with the pack!

Molly isn't a swimmer, but a wader. Again, as a herding dog, she felt compelled to chase Bella into the water as Bellie swam after a tossed stick, but ended up weeping until Bella returned to shore. It was fun watching the interactions between the two dogs.

We also got some hiking in with friends who have a border collie/sled dog cross. The three dogs had a fabulous time competing to see who found the best smell first. Luckily, Bella and Molly were great about staying close. They'd venture down the trail, but always turn and wait for us to reappear. The little BC cross was not so attentive. He's fairly new to his family, and this was his first time hiking. They will have to work with him to stay closer or will need to keep him leashed.

It was a wonderful weekend and it seems to have brought on official SUMMER WEATHER. Fabulous! I'm taking the girls out back to prune the espaliered apples. Lazy summer days.

Learning the Distant Drop

We're signed up for dog classes again. This time it is Intermediate Obedience through Seattle Agility. This particular class fine tunes some of the basics and introduces some new training. In general, I like taking classes. I'm not a trainer and feel the refresher is good for me and my dog. What I've found to be true for myself and friends is we tend to slide in our training once a class is completed. In other words, we get lazy about working with our dogs.

One of the things we'll be working on in this class is "Drop (and stay)!" from a distance. It's impressive to see in action, but more importantly, it could save your dog's life. Because we spend a lot of time mountain biking where Bella, by necessity, is off leash, it is imperative she responds to verbal commands at a distance. The example that is most often given, is that your dog is across the street from you (we won't go into what is the dog doing off leash over there...). You can't call him as a car is coming, but he's trotting back your way. What do you do? Shout, "DROP!" The dog plops down and stays there until the car goes by and it is safe to release him and call him to you.

The instructor is instructing us on how to teach our dogs to target a plate. This is fun and a great use of targeting. Let's assume you've already taught your dog to drop with the hand signal (looks like raising your hand in class to ask a question) at close range.

Place your dog at a slight distance from you. Position the plate at your toes. Make a big deal about placing yummy treats on the plate so the dog is E-A-G-E-R. Don't call you dog to you (you don't want to use "Come" in this instance), but say her name or "OK!" The dog will rush to the plate and gobble up the treats and then look up at you for more. Bingo! Say "Drop!" and give the hand signal. When your dog drops, load a few more treats on the plate. (I'm using a yogurt lid as a plate.)

Once that is perfected, move further away from the treat-loaded plate with your dog at a distance on the other side of it. Go through the same steps. When your dog drops, run up to the plate and drop a few more yummies down. Keep working the distance between the dog and the plate, and the plate and you until you have 100% compliance. At that point you can start fade the plate and start cutting back on the treats.

This is one of those exercises that bears regular practice and repetition. Hopefully you'll never have to use it, but if you do, you want it to work perfectly!

Entangled

Some of you probably remember the news article about the woman who died several years ago after being entangled in a dog lead. From what I’ve read about the original story, it is unclear just what happened, but one can surmise. The bike rider was running his two leashed Siberian Huskies alongside his bicycle when one—or both—dogs ran around the woman causing the leash to hogtie the woman. She fell, hit her head, and later died. This was a horrible—and preventable—accident. 

The story is once again circulating as the city of San Jose (where the accident occurred) just passed an ordinance mandating dogs cannot be on city trails attached to a leash longer than six feet. Those walking, jogging or bicycling with their dogs must stay to the right of the trail. To be honest, I think the new leash ordinance is great. I’m a dog owner, an avid dog walker, an avid bicycler and my husband often takes Bella on leash while he cycles city trails. I could rant along with many others about the misuse of flexi-leads, but it isn’t the flexi-lead, normal leash or the dog that’s the problem, it’s the owner.

I became acutely aware of flexi-lead “issues” with my aggressive, but beloved dog, Lucy. Nine out of ten times, I’d see someone with their dog on a flexi and the owner was oblivious to what and where their dog was in relationship to them. Too often their dog would careen towards us immediately setting off Lucy. If possible, I would turn around when I discerned a flexi-dog in action, but it wasn’t always easy to do with an amped up, 60-pound dog itching for a fight. Too often, the flexi-dog would zoom directly at us before the owner could react. I could control Lucy, but if the other dog also had issues, the owner who was 20 or 30 feet behind, had much more distance between them and their dog making their control of their dog more difficult.

Personally, I’d love to see flexi-leads permanently banned. I’m sure they have a purpose and that some people use them responsibly. But whether it’s a flexi or a regular leash, the owner is ultimately responsible for their dog’s behavior and how it affects others in the immediate environment. I know it is impossible to always anticipate what a dog may do, but it’s a goal we should all strive for. An owner that doesn’t attempt to manage their dog in all situations is going to run into trouble at some time. Blaming the “other” person doesn’t cut it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “I’ve never seen my dog do that before.” Well, it isn’t the dog’s fault; it’s the owner’s issue! If you are taking your dog into a crowded urban setting, control your dog. Don’t put yourself, or your dog, into a situation that could cause another person—or another animal—harm. 

Teeth and Chuck-it

I've mentioned before that I am not a photographer, nor do I know how to use the options on my camera in order to take action shots of Bella, so the pictures I share are of her lying down or standing still. I've also mentioned how obsessive she is about fetch. We have three Chuck-its: one in my car, one in the van and one in the garage and they all get a huge work out. We have several friends who regularly play tennis, so our ball supply can get "replenished" on a regular basis.

One very happy, hot and anticipatory puppy!

The shot today is of one happy puppy waiting for me to throw the ball. Notice how hot she is (long tongue) and how dirty her tongue is (lots of muddy ball retrieving!) and how happy she looks! The path to her right is what she has worn into the mud going back and forth after the ball. This path is her center path, but both sides of the alley sport a Bella-route where there once was grass.

Now, for the not so good news... Bella has knocked the tip off of one of her bottom canines. I noticed this a long time ago and assume it happened in her teething stage when it was a constant battle to keep her from eating rocks. But I was shocked yesterday to see that the two premolars behind that one had also been "tipped" and that one of her lower incisors is missing. I can't say when this happened, though I am fairly aware of her body from constant touching, examining and teeth brushing. My conclusion is that it is recent. My horror that it has happened is compounded by the fact that she is not yet two! Did this come from playing fetch or chewing on bones?

The dilemma now is how to manage her desire to play ball and chewchewchew with the care of her teeth which she will need for many, many more years. One thing is for certain, she'll be playing no fetch with anything hard!

Busy Week, Odds and Ends

Not much happening dog-wise, but because of the beeline to Christmas, my life has been overly busy. Luckily my husband is able to occupy Bella during the day while I work. He's taken her biking on urban trails a couple of times this past week. One of the locations was around a local lake—big learning lesson for him. Bella is completely overwhelmed in new situations. It takes a while for her to remember her manners and recompose herself into a well-trained dog. Plus, anything to do with water (right up there with balls) sends her over the top. When they got home, my husband complained how much she was pulling on her leash.

Whereas my walks with Lucy were limited because of proximity to other dogs, my walks with Bella are limited to little or no water view. She just can't control her excitement and weeps and weeps. What I've found is a little bit of time by a lake is good training for us both. For me, it requires leash work and consistency. For Bella, it's a good reminder that she's still attached! If it isn't too cold, I'll let her swim or we'll play fetch with a stick, but this isn't always possible.

I'm going to make some dog biscuits today. Instead of buying all five of the family dogs Christmas treats, I thought I'd try my hand at baking them something. Much better, I think, with knowing the ingredients in the homemade cookies than the junk in some of the things you buy. I searched the web for recipes and will try the first one today.

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.

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.

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?