K-9 Partnership

Christmas Puppy?! STOP & READ

2011-12-16T20:54:00.000-08:00

STOP! THINK TWICE ! IS THIS NAUGHTY OR NICE?
GIFTING A PUPPY AS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT

Don’t give in to your childrens’ pleas and get them a pup for Christmas. Yes, they will probably be very excited to see a small pup on Christmas morning but let’s take a look first on what you as an adult before brining home a puppy for Christmas. This is a serious life-long commitment that shouldn’t be done on impulse. Giving a puppy at Christmas might be a joy but come January it will be a head-ache. Experts agree, that giving a pup for Christmas as a gift will often end up having the pup/dog paying an awful price.

Have you done all your research and had a Pre-Ownership Counsult with a Certified Professional Dog Trainer? Here are some things to consider:

1) Where does the pup come from? Many puppies that are bought at this time of year come from pet stores or were ordered on-line that come from people that breed for profit with no concern for health or welfare of the pups. They are supplied by Puppy Mills. If you get your pup from a breeder PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH!!!! Even registered “breeders/judges” can operate for profit. Check out their credentials and where they are raising their litter. Is it clean? Can you meet the parents? No reputable breeder would ever, ever consider placing their pups to a store or place then on-line. In fact, a reputable breeder and some shelters will refuse to place pups at any time during the lead up to Christmas. The importance of knowing the breeder, dogs, litter, facility is so that you can be prepared for a healthy pup. Getting a pup from a pet store or on-line you are more then likely to get a sick and at high risk of behavioral problems.Check out Dogtime’s Consumer Alert: Christmas Puppies and AKC Judge Accused of Hoarding

2) Have you considered the time of year it is? Puppies under 16 weeks of age poo and pee a lot. It’s cold outside and the days are short. It’s not the ideal time of year to be housetraining a puppy. Do you really want to be taking your pup out every ½ hour for potty breaks?

3) Did you figure out how much a DOG will cost you on a yearly basis? How much is the dog? Food for a year? Veterinary bills? Training classes? Dog supplies and equipment? Boarding? Grooming? Are you prepared to spend up to $7,000 in the first year? Do you know how long that type of dog will live for? The Cost of Owning a Dog

4) Do you know if the entire family would like to live with a dog? Maybe there are members of your family that are nervous/scared of dogs and/or allergic. Everyone in the family has to be on board with adding a new member.

5) The next thing to consider is lifestyle. Are you single and work long hours? Do you have a family with young children? Do you have a parent living with you? Are you active? Do you like to travel? Do you have allergies? Does someone in the family have health challenges? Do you have cultural considerations? Have you ever lived with a dog before? If so, were they indoor pets? These are just some of the questions to think about so that you can properly make an informed decision on breed type, sociability, coat type, and size of the dog you think might best match your lifestyle. Hiring a Certified Professional Dog Trainer for a Pre-Ownership Consult would be money well worth invested to help you determine what kind of dog would suite your needs.

Puppies require a lot of effort, patience, and dedication. They usually aren’t housetrained until about 6 months of age and you’ll need take some time off work to do some ‘alone time’ training to prevent any sort of separation distress or separation anxiety from starting. Puppies don’t stay puppies for long. They soon transition to adolescent / young adults that tend to have ‘selecting hearing’ and push boundaries. You MUST start with puppy classes as soon as you get the pup home. Check out DogTime’s Match Up

6) Who is the recipient of this gift? A child? A Grand-Parent? Realize that with children, that you will be the primary care taker. The excitement of getting a puppy will fade quickly and then the puppy will be ‘second news’. Elderly parents may be able to handle a active pup but some would no sooner be burdened with a pup than they would with a human baby. Puppy have very sharp teeth which don’t do well with children nor elderly people.

7) Are you prepared for shedding or drooling? Are you ready for chewing and digging? Are you ready for barking? Are you ready to take the dog on daily walks and to take it to a park to run? Dogs are dogs. This means realize that dogs do dog type of behaviors which are normal for them do to such as chewing, digging, barking, chasing, resource guarding, jumping up to greet…. Too many novice owners punish or hate ‘normal’ dog behaviors which makes for a frustrating and miserable home for both the humans and the dog.

Here are some suggestions on what do to instead:

1) You should try Fostering a dog first. This is a temporary arrangement where you get to take care of a dog in your home that is sponsored by the Shelter it comes from. This benefits the pup/dog in gaining experience in living in a home and it gives him/her a break from living in a shelter.
2) Volunteer at your local shelter
3) Donate blankets or old towels to a shelter, dog toys, cat toys, pooper scoopers/baggies, bleach, and/or new or used collars and leashes.
4) Donate money which allows shelters to buy supplies to take care of the animals
5) Maybe there’s a shelter Winter Ball you can attend where it would help them and benefit the animals
6) See if you can become a Trainer’s Assistance in a positive group dog class. See if there’s a Victoria Stilwell Positively Dog Training member in your area or try Truly Friendly Dog Training.

One last bit of advice. If you do decide to get a puppy please, please, please don’t get it from a Pet Store or off the Internet. Get the pup from a reputable breeder that has clean facilities and has done some of the prep-work with the pup to make sure it will be an easy transition of him/her to their new home. You should also consider gifting help from a Certified Professional Dog Trainer that uses positive training methods. The best option for this sort of gift would be to hire a CPDT for a Pre-Ownership Consult so that your family and pup get started off on the right “paw”.

Merry Christmas Everyone.

2011-12-05T15:06:00.000-08:00

Another free digital greeting by Smilebox

2011-12-04T19:34:00.001-08:00

DOGS DON'T PURR

There are about 17,000 references to this topic on Google plus this one. Dogs do make a lot of vocalizations like any other animal.The one that can be the most misunderstood by non-dog savvy people, and more so by children, is a low growl.

Dogs can certainly growl for different reasons and in different contexts using different tones and pitches. When you hear a low 'belly' growl it's a warning. A low growl can be triggered by someone 'invading' the dog's space, especially if it's resting. It could also be resource guarding food or a toy.

Some might take this sound as purring, but dogs don't purr. If you have a concern about your dog or a friend's dog growling at your child or maybe even at an adult, you may want to read this blog from DogGoneSafe .

Dogs give subtle and not so subtle behaviors when they start feeling threatened, anxious, pressured or forced. Some give very clear linear escalations of aggression while others have truncated communications. The latter makes it more challenging to take appropriate action. Some dogs can get very intense in their communication but never
bite. While other dogs lack that control and bite because the recipient fails to respond to its communication. More often then not, a dog will warn you where they will bite you. Another misconception is that you 'avoided' a bite by moving out of the way in time. Don't be fooled. Dogs are much quicker then us so if they really wanted to bite you would have a some sort of degree of contact bite. Young children often get bitten in the face simply because they get in the dog's face and they are at face level with the dog. Older children usually get bitten on the extremities like adults. The best way not to be bitten is to respect a dog's space and communication. Preventing Dog Bites

Some people find it funny to push their dog's buttons. This can further sensitize their dog's sensitivity and make the dog's aggression worse. I really don't understand what is so amusing by teasing an animal to the point of anger and distress. It's quite disrespectful. I take that back, I do have an idea why people do this. It's a large disconnect from human and animal. The (non-savvy) person with the larger brain has no education or understanding of dog behavior - period. It's a clash of cultures. Wouldn't this sort of human behavior lead to animal abuse? Wouldn't it lead to young children having less or no empathy for other living things?

Read Pasado the Donkey's brutal story

Dogs can suppress some level of aggression if physically punished, but the potential for a dog to bite is always there. The old "master/dominance" approach to dealing with a growling dog can very easily backfire. A dog will learn to suppress its communication system under the heavy hand of its owner. One day the dog may 'snap' and bite. People that tease their dog into anger or growling for the fun of it are at high risk of causing a dog to 'snap' or 'bite out of the blue'.

Pushing a dog into anger for the fun of it

Dog being stressed and is conflicted showing stress signs

Teenagers teasing a small dog while it has a rawhide chew

My wish is that people would STOP doing these sorts of provocations towards dogs and attend my lectures/workshops to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the animals we live with.

Sibling Rivalry -When House Dogs Don't Get Along

2011-10-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

I'll be giving a Webinar on Wed Nov 9, 2011 on Sibling Rivalry. So, I'll briefly cover some of the information that will be presented. You can visit my website for information/registration which will be available in the next couple of weeks. K-9 Partnership

There are many, many factors that come into play in regards to domestic dog 'relationship' problems in a person's home. My approach is to first look at what true Sibling Rivalry is in nature and how different/similar triggers are with our pets.

In the book The Evolution of Sibling Rivalry by Douglas W. Mock and Geoffrey A. Parker, they cover many aspects to family structure. Family structure studies too place 3-5 decades ago with the conceptual roots taking hold in the 1960's/1970's when it became more widely recognized that most of natural selection functions at the level of individuals and genes. They reveal in the preface that there are various branches of science studying the same subject but aren't communicating with each other. Each branch of science will come to it's own conclusions and constructs with rare connections between them. Sciences do not work in concert with each other - so a lot of mis-understanding and mis-information can be had.

How many of you have every really given thought to what true Sibling Rivalry is? Mother Nature is raw and tough. Darwin put out the "survival of the fittest" theory leading organisms to compete for critical resources. The entire purpose is to pass on one's DNA to the next generation. This is the classical perspective of being selfish but in the last 30 years or so, there's been a new spin on theoretical biology - that of altruism. Hamilton's Rule - the more relatedness you share with kin the more you are willing to sacrifice yourself. Hamilton's Rule has been used to study altruism, aggression, and selfishness in social interaction. Dr. Marc Bekoff put out a paper on "Cooperation and Fair Play" that covers how a group interacts. He mentions Dr. Mech discovering that the number of wolves who would live together depended on the number of wolves with whom individuals could closely bond with balanced against the number of individuals from whom an individual could tolerate competition.

Sibling rivalry in many species start in uterine. The embryos compete for nutrients and space. What does it take to pass on DNA? Space and resources.

There are non-lethal sibling competition and lethal sibling competition. In some species, there's a correlation between increased sibling fighting when they are weaned from mother's milk to solid food. Dispersal of siblings usually occur prior to full maturity to lessen the threat on the resources. If they don't disperse, then it usually extends the potential period for sibling rivalry far into adulthood. In mammals, sibling rivalry begins as embryos and goes on into adulthood. Some species have many offspring to off-set brood reduction. Birds are especially vicious when it comes to lethal siblicide. Some mammals are born with weapons - teeth to fight off their siblings from a teat. This also lends itself to siblicide. Artic foxes and Red fox pups are known to practice siblicide using bites and kill-shakes. Coyotes are similar to foxes. They engage in serious fighting around 3-6 weeks of age. Spotted hyenas exhibit the species typical 'bite-shake' killing behavior within 40 minutes of birth.

There's sibling rivalry in birds, mammals, ectothermic vertebrates, invertebrates and even plants. So what is happening with our pets? First off, domestic dog behaviors are artificially controlled by humans in all aspects. From mate selection, mating, forced weaning, too early placement (removal from litter) prior to 10 weeks of age, when and where they eat, provided safety in shelter, some cultures cull a specific sex - or just do mass killings, and so on. I think most understand that domestic dog fighting occurs over a resource be it dinner, bone, valued toy. But there are other missed triggers. We also assume a domestic dogs social grouping is a duplicate to that of a wolf family. That is simply not the case. This assumption leads to a lot of trouble when living with multiple dogs. Wolves are not dogs and dogs are not wolves just as we aren't chimpanzees and chimpanzees aren't human. Social structure plays apart into cooperation and don't forget, WE choose which animals to live with - not the animals choosing which would cause less problems. Here are some links: wolf/dog comparisons Video- From Wolf to Dog

Through the process of domestication we've made our dogs more 'puppy-like'. They are to be very flexible in letting unfamiliar/strangers to socialize with them and they are by far more solitary then wolves but again - we force them into unnatural living conditions. There was a study done by D.W. MacDonald and G.M. Carr that looked at the variations in dog societies - between resource dispersion and social flux. What they found was that different groups of feral dogs behaved differently based on the environment they were in. Sylvatic dogs formed packs similar to a tight wolf family so that they could kill conspecifics. So grouping in a pack gave them strength. They did not show cooperation in raising or caring for their young or adoption of young as it's common in other wild canids. In contrast, the village dogs behaved more like the social system of red foxes. Some were very solitaire and didn't come together in a social group unless necessary. Dogs are a lot more fluid and most of them are accepting of others then their canid counterparts. Yet - they would do very well living as a single dog in a family home. Here are some links to look at:

What's Wrong With Using Dominance Theory?

Non-Linear Dogs

So what other factors might come into play when house dogs start fighting? Age, sex, high arousal, low tolerance threshold, illnesses, low frustration threshold, poor social skills, and early learning.
Other aspects that will be touched on in the webinar are environmental space effects on behavior, relationship poisoning, resource guarding and how to manage living with multiple dogs that are in conflict and an overview of some behavior change program techniques.

Here's another blog that covers how to live in harmony with multiple dogs: How Many Dogs?

Hope you can join me on Wed Nov 9th. Limited to 15 spots.

Working with a Blind/Deaf Dog

2011-08-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

I recently got the opportunity to volunteer my services to a dog living at an animal sanctuary that is severely visually impaired and deaf. I've just starting working with him to try to bring him some sort of order and enrichment to his life.

I'm developing a scent 'bridge'/'marker' for him by using the Manners Minder target stick, taping a cotton pad scented with vanilla. I'm charging the scent by associative learning - simply pairing the scent with treats. I'm also using the target stick as a means to direct him to the treat on the ground. He has some personal space sensitivities so I want to be sure that I don't invade his space and startle him.

Some of the staff have started stomping their feet twice as a cue for sit. He hasn't learnt this yet but I'm working on it. The sequence would be 1) stomp twice 2) dog sits 3) deliver scented target stick as marker and 4) deliver food reward/ opportunity to play with a small floor mat. He likes to tug and kill shake fabric.

Looking after other peoples' dogs

2011-03-08T20:32:00.000-08:00

Keeping a dog for a friend or a friend-of-a-friend is nothing short of an eye opener. I've helped friends in the past to look after their dogs when they were out of town, I've done Board & Train services for clients and I've fostered two very special little dogs. There are a lot of things in the "background" that most people don't think of, so here is a little insight to living with a 'temporary' dog.

Isabella my Ridgeback with Tori my client

Taking in a dog for the first time effects my entire family and routines. I keep the new dog separated from my dogs between 2days or for the entire stay. My decision process is to let the new dog settle in and to get to 'meet' my dogs by sight, sound and smell before being in the same space together. This means that I have to separate my house using baby-gates and exercise pens. Sometimes I create 'air-locks' to prevent nose to nose encounters. After a couple of days, I can judge how all the dogs are doing by reading their body language and if they are seeking to investigate and be near each other with affiliative behaviors.
If all is well, then I will prepare my Safety Kit and get ready to let the new dog access to Isabella. I choose Isabella first because she has a calmer demeanor and is more accepting of most dogs. Based on her responses, that will let me know whether or not to introduce Gunner to the new dog. Gunner is a lot more selective in the dogs he 'likes'.

So what's a Safety Kit? This is something I learnt while interning at the SF/SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers. When it was time to introduce a new intake dog to other dogs for play-time, we were always ready with equipment to break up scuffles/fights and always had a plan of action before the introduction. So, I will have some or all of the following tools: air horn, water hose turned on, welding gloves (or bite gloves), extra leashes, swine sorting panel or paddle (basically something solid that you can place between dogs), citronella spray, pepper spray, and towels. So depending on the behaviors and the environment - I'll have some of those things ready - just in case.

I'm in bed with Isabella, Kirby and Gunner

Most all newcomers get integrated into my family within a week, meaning that the baby-gates and exercise pens come down. Most all newcomers learn really quickly to 'read' Gunner's behavior and leave him alone. Gunner has really played with and enjoyed a few dogs which takes me by surprise. He has a high energy play-style so he did well with Kirby, a large Carolina Dog and Brooklyn, a high energy lab.

Sleeping behavior is another big hurdle to overcome. Some of these dogs have never been away from home and/or their owner. So some have a bit of separation distress for the first few nights. They either sleep in our bathroom on-suite, in their own crate or use one of our two large crates we have in our bedroom for Gunner and Isabella. It sometimes makes for a very disruptive few nights until they habituate to the new arrangement or I figure out what helps them relax and sleep. So far, knock on wood, we've had very few difficult dogs at night.

If the dogs don't get along, then that means that the baby-gates and exercise pens stay up with added 'air-locks' in place with sheets covering them to limit visual access. It also means a lot of rotations of which dogs have access to the dog yard/potty area. The separation also effects my husband. It's not an easy thing to live through.

We've have many, many dogs come and go. Taking care of that one extra dog changes your day. Some are really easy to look after while others require a little more attention.

Another thing to consider is health requirements. Without properly screening the new dog's health history, you run the risk of exposing your dogs to parasites/illnesses not to mention bringing in those things into my home. Some dog kudies can be transmitted to people. So it's important to have any incoming dog fully vaccinated or show titers results, have a negative fecal result (or constantly be on a monthly parasite prevention pill), flea and tick treatment (holistic or otherwise or bring in a certified letter from your vet to state that your pet is flea/tick free), bordetella vaccine - I think that's it.

Sometimes being in a new environment for some dogs can be upsetting resulting in some loose stool or diarrhea. Some dogs are just 'normally' soft in that department. This is a topic that needs to be discussed with the owner. Soft stool or diarrhea usually means some sort of inflammation in the gastro-intenstical area. So a bland diet is called for. I would need to know at what point they would consider it concerning enough to take the to vet. Diarrhea can be very dehydrating. If a bland diet doesn't help after a day or two then a vet visit is necessary. It's especially concerning when then is some blood in the stool. This could either be a rupture blood capsule from the dog forcing to something more critical. So as a pet-keeper, I need to have some basic knowledge on pet vital signs and reading health conditions. That is why I took a PeTTech First Aid and CPR course. Not only is it an important thing as a pet owner to have knowledge of but reassuring to someone leaving their pet with me.

Once the dog is picked up and gone home there's a sense of 'stillness' that is felt. Then things to back to the way they were with just me, my husband and my dogs. It's not as easy at it seems taking on another dog. It's more then providing a roof, food, play, attention, and walks. They get integrated into your lifestyle. I'm totally responsible for the health and well-being of this 'guest' and the stability/happiness of my family.

Invisible fences and hot wire fences - country living

2011-02-06T15:13:00.000-08:00

If you live in the county then invisible fences and hot wire fences are a common place. But just because they are common doesn't mean they are safe or good. Invisible fences can have multiple security/safety issues not to mention causing pain and emotional anxiety in some animals. Older models would also burn if left on when wet. Here are two videos of people 'testing' what it feels like to have an 'invisible' fence device work.

Here's an excellent BLOG about this topic: Invisible Fences: Not a Recommendation

More often then not, it comes down to finances. What can contain an animal at low cost? There's little regard for how safe these devices/products are. I strongly believe that if you have an animal, the best way to contain it is with safe fencing.

Once you've lived on your property or in the area for a while, your dog gets to know what the "loose" boundaries are. You can invest in boundary training but there will always be something that Mother Nature throws at you that will just be too tempting for your dog to leave alone. Why take the risk. A proper fence keeps your dog safe and secure and unwanted animals out.

Here's another article against electric fences: Why I Really Hate Electronic Shock Fences

UK Parlementary Statements: Animals (Electric Shock Collars)

This also 'bleeds' into the unecessary use of electronic shock collars for training. They should be banned.

Wales - the first part of the UK to ban shock collars

Just as an aside - we've move 891miles from California to Washington state. In CA we lived on 3.7acres in a country setting. We had cats, deer, coyotes, jack-rabbits, skunks, cotton-tails - all in our 'yard'. Gunner and Isabella stayed within their boundaries as long as there wasn't wildlife to chase. We've been in our new location for less then two weeks. Our road has horses, a couple of cows, some peacocks, two cats that like to hang around our house and Jim saw a rabbit. I've also heard a band of coyotes howling the other night. There is no fencing around our new location except for a special 'dog yard', so I've been keeping them on leash until they become more familiar with their new surroundings.

One day last week, we were coming home in the Vanagon with the two dogs, I opened the door to get their collars on and OFF they went at full speed chancing a cat. No response to the recall cue or 'freeze' cue. The intensity of the stimulus was too intense for them to comply. They managed to run into a neighbors enclosed hot wire field. After some time, Bella was able to come back. I was worried how she was going to cross the hot wire. She managed to go under the bottom wire without touching it. Gunner, on the other hand, turned towards another fence out of my sight. I heard him cry and I immediately saw him coming my way. He lacerated his upper arm, a little cut on his nose and a burn mark on his other leg. He yelp and came back to me.Seems he may have ran into a barb-wired fence.

The laceration was deep enough to require sutures so I loaded him up and off we went to see our new vet. A few stitches later a lessen learnt. They aren't familiar with their boundaries yet; I have to factor in some 'come when called' with moving critters; they have to learn to avoid hot wire fences; and leashed will be part of their new life in WA for a while.

Insight into teaching a workshop

2011-01-09T20:16:00.000-08:00

I just taught a Fido Come workshop this past Saturday at WorkinPaws in Hollister, CA. It was a very chilly morning. First off- this topic can become a 4 day workshop as John Rogerson does it so trying to cram key points in 2.5hr was a challenge. Where to start? What do you teach? What's involved in putting a workshop together?

Since there is so much to cover and the participants come from different aspects and have different needs I had to make sure I hit key points during the workshop. Planning takes place at least 2 months prior to the actual workshop date. I do a lot of research on what other trainers are doing and teaching and then start putting together a rough outline of games and topics. Next is deciding how to conduct/run the workshop. I borrowed a Bob Bailey approach: lecture- demo mechanical skill- have people practice - then repeat. This gives the dogs down time and allows the owners to be able to focus on the lecture.

I had to make sure I had some basic foundation games and then gradually increase the challenge of the exercise. Some participants work in agility, some were just pet owners wanting to learn, some had issues with prey chasing - so I wanted to give people the knowledge of how to build challenges, know what to do when you have failure and how not to 'poison' the cue.

As the day got closer, I put together a final outline of lecture topics and games with a time-line so it keeps me on track while I'm giving the workshop. So there's at least a weeks worth of dedicated work putting it together. There's a lot prep work to putting a workshop together. Then it was D-Day.

Susan started off pointing aspect of the property - and I quickly covered safety aspects of how to handle their dogs. I started with a short lecture because I wanted to get people up an active very quickly. 1st to keep their interest but more importantly to assess each team and get them moving to warm up. Then another lecture then more games, more lecture and more games.

I had the help of an assistant - Tracy Dixon. Without the extra hands and eyes it would make it more of a challenge for me. It's not easy to split your attention/focus on several dog teams. By the second half of the workshop I noticed that time was running out, so I had to skip a few things that I wish I could have gotten more in depth. We covered some fun games but I hope that some of the learning theory/reinforcement keys were emphasized. The games are the skeleton of 'come' without knowing the rules and learning theory you wont get far.

Kraig and Susan Paulsen were kind enough to offer their facility for my workshop. Did I mention it was a cold day? This is there new puppy Kinetic. How cute can you get?

If you attended, please let me know one thing that you would change.

APDT 2010 Atlanta

2010-11-02T20:39:00.000-07:00

Just spent 5 days in Atlanta for the 17th Annual Educational Conference and Trade Show for the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. I got to see some new speakers but missed out on others due to conflicting lecture times, so I'll have to purchase those when they come out on http://www.prolibraries.com/.

10/20/10 started with a great presentation by Alexandra Horowitz, PhD. She discussed the world from a dog's point of view. By learning and appreciating what a dog is and how they perceive should lead to new approaches on how we think about research and training of dogs. http://insideofadog.com/author.php

“Discover why your dog is so sensitive to your emotions, gaze, and body language. Dogs live in a world of ever changing intricate detail of smell. Read this captivating book and enter the sensory world of your dog.”
—Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation and Animals Make us Human

Then the day was split between Kyra Sundance and Victoria Stilwell- why/how on teaching tricks.

Day two was "the" symposium on A Dog's Mind- Thoughts and Emotions starting off with one the best speakers Patricia McConnell. I just love her style and content. Got to see a new speaker for me - Dr. Clive Wynne - he spoke about he canine/human evolutionary development/bond and how we two species connect cognitively. He's student Monique Udell presented her research on social behavior of pet dogs in different contexts. Dr. Mynra Milani followed.

Day three I spent most of the day in John Rogerson lectures. I've heard of him for a while but never really investigated him further. This was the first time I got to see him. He was dynamic and said some things worth thinking about in regards to dog-dog aggression/society connection. He has a new book out called The Dog Vinci Code. http://johnrogerson.com/

Day four I went to a new speaker for me - Dr. Rise VanFleet. Her topic was on our greatest challenge - the owners. They can be inconsistent, fail to follow through, continue to use aversive methods and sabotage the training you recommend. She presented a lot of great skills for trainers to use to be non-judgemental and priorities problems and get easy behaviors done first to give owners empowerment and hope. Great, great presenation. Then I went to see Dr. Barbara Sherman - her presentation was on the use of behavioral drugs: review of drug studies. The big thing there is that psychotropic drugs along with behavior modification got the best results for behavior change. The last lecture of the day inspired me. K9 Nose Work with Amy Herot and Jill Marie O'Brien. What a presentation!!!! So awesome to see dogs work on scent. When I got home I emailed them to find out how I can become a Certified Instructor. No answer yet but I know someone in the SF Bay Area that is and I got to speak with her about what's required. Michelle said it takes about a year of work to become approved.

Day five - closing day. I spent my morning in a Media Training workshop. Basically how to present my business to newspapers, radio and TV - we did a mock '3 minute interview' and got to analyze our behaviors on film. The closing session was with Temple Grandin. What else do I need to say. She emphasized that we need to acknowledge that our dogs do have emotions similar to ours and that they deserve our respect and be humanely treated. She made a couple of passing remarks on Cesar Millan I think.... can't remember.

I didn't get out much except for lunches and a special dinner. Saturday night Victoria Stilwell arranged for her VSPDT trainers to have dinner together. I got to meet and network with new people and hit it off well with Katherine Bredeen of http://www.bekindtodogs.com/ I also got to meet Judy Luther of http://www.dogstars.biz/. She had called me up to talk about my experience with VSPDT before she completed her veeting process. We had spoken on the phone prior to the conference - so it was good to meet her in person. I helped out at Victoria's booth at the trade show on Friday night and got to speak about her new program of veeting positive trainers to be part of her global network to those interested.

I also got to meet Patricia Gorianoff of http://www.canineconcepts.co.uk/ via Melony a VSPDT trainer. We had a nice dinner Sunday night.

Monday is when I flew back home. There was early morning thunder storms and a tornado warning. Oh boy..... I thought it was going to be a long way back home but things actually worked out and I got home late Monday night.

Jacques goes back to HSSV

2010-09-10T16:11:00.000-07:00

I dropped Jacques off to HSSV on Thu Sept 2. It seems so long ago. Miss the little guy. I had Jacques for just about 3 weeks. He is a very loveable dog with sensitivities. I hope to visit him and assist any new foster or new adoption family with him. Here are some short video clips.

Jacques - Day 9

2010-08-24T17:18:00.000-07:00

Today is the 9th day that I've had Jacques. He's an interesting little fellow. He was found as a stray, had open heart surgery, stayed at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley then went to one foster, went back to HSSV and now is with me. I only have about another week or so with him. He is approximately 1yr old and I noticed that he isn't well socialized. He is a little nervous being in new places. He tolerates some activity of people coming and going but he can be frightened of a "off" or sudden change that startles him.

He loves playing with Isabella - see video down the page.
He loves dissecting toys.
He loves playing with your feet.
He likes to carry around your shoes.

This morning at Peets Coffee in Morgan Hill

Aug 20 outside of PetsMart near the airport

He LOVES to dissect toys

hanging in downtown Morgan Hill

Outting at PostOffice - he's not too sure

Jacques - Day One

2010-08-18T12:50:00.000-07:00

Monday August 16, 2010

Picked up Jacques from HSSV late in the afternoon. Got him home and settled into his own zone. I sectioned off the house to keep things low-key for him. Gunner and Isabella were able to see and hear him but weren't able to socialize right away. After a few hours I opened up Jacques area to give him more freedom and to meet both my Ridgebacks. Jacques was sooooooo happy to meet Isabella. Gunner is a little more reserved when meeting new dogs but they all got a chance to say 'hello'.

I decided to give him all the space and time that he needed before even trying to interact with him directly. He found 'his spot' in our TV area - under our sidetable - I gave him a little towel to lay on and he found one of the many deer/moose antleers in the house. He spent the rest of the evening playing and pestering Bella.
He needs a little education about 'self-interruption' during play.

During the day I would have to go up and down the stairs and in-out of my office. It become very apparent that going down stairs was novel to him. There were times I had to corner him to carrying him downstairs. He wasn't thrilled with it.

Going to bed was an experience. I didn't want to invade his space and wanted to give him the choice on where he wanted to be. He has a nice set-up with a crate in the kitchen and had the choice to be with us upstairs. In our bedroom I have 2 large crates and another one for him. Both Gunner and Bella are sleeping in our bed this week so he had the option. Gunner, Bella and I were all in bed - I was playing some 'spa' music from Pandora Radio since he was used to hearing Through A Dog's Ear at the shelter. I could hear his little feet run back and forth and then about 10 minutes into it - there he was. Once in our bedroom, I shut the door to contain him with us. He had the option of 3 crates and anywhere BUT being on our bed. He went immediately to under the bed which was fine. Whatever he felt comfortable with. Then about 20 minutes into 'sleeping' - he made it up onto the bed which caused Gunner to bark at him. Gunner has some personal space issues and more so when he's resting. So - I had to get Jacques into his crate.

I managed to get him from out under the bed and with strategic body placement and providing the necessary space - Jacques ran right into his crate. Horse training techniques come in handy for some dog behavior stuff. :) The rest of the night was peaceful.

Tuesday August 17, 2010

WOW! he jumped into my lap when I was IM a friend this morning. I was able to pet him without any stress. He continued to play all day with Isabella and even towards the evening Gunner got into a few play-bows with him. Another first for him today is he figured out how to go downstairs on his own. Guess what? He spent the next 15 minutes going up and down.

He has the freedom to go where he wants when he wants. Figured out how to work the dog door. And I found out that if I lay on the ground that I become the best dog toy. We had some really good play sessions today. He still is a little apprehensive with certain of my movements but otherwise he is doing better and better every day.

Bella tolerates him jumping up on her head - well to a point and then she runs out the dog door for some peace.

Here he is sitting with me in our armchair.

On the landing with Isabella and Gunner

Coming downstairs on his own!

He's pretty happy.

Nap time in my office.

Jacques aka Murmur - Needs a Special Someone

2010-08-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

I'll be taking in Jacques around Aug 16 for a month or so to work on some of his behavioral issues - the big one being FEAR. I met him yesterday while I was at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley. He has quiet the story. Once he gets to know a person he is a big love bug but he is pretty fearful until he learns to be safe and trusts someone.

VMS Performs Life-saving Heart Surgery for HSSV Papillon Mix

Every now and then our veterinarians come across a special animal that needs surgery to fix a medical problem. This was the case for Jaque, a shy, lovable 1-year-old Papillon mix who came to us as a stray in June.

During a routine medical exam, our veterinarians discovered that Jaque had a severe heart murmur. They took chest radiographs and found that his heart was moderately enlarged due to the murmur. Given his young age, they felt he had a condition called Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA), an abnormal persistent connection between the aorta and the pulmonary artery. During fetal development this connection allows the blood to bypass the non-functioning lungs during normal circulation. This connection normally closes in the first week of life. But in Jaque’s case, it never closed, resulting in one side of the heart becoming enlarged due to increased blood flow and pressure.

Dr. Julia Lewis, director of animal welfare for HSSV turned to Veterinary Medical Specialists (VMS) in Dublin to see if Jaque could he helped. Upon reviewing Jaque’s case, Dr. Anna Paling, a cardiologist for VMS, felt she could perform surgery to close the opening in Jaque’s heart so he could lead a normal life. The big problem: the surgery was more than we could afford. Dr. Lewis appealed to VMS and Dr. paling and they both agreed to discount Jaque’s surgery. Two weeks later, Jaque underwent open heart surgery. Three weeks later, his enlarged heart was decreasing and his murmur from the PDA was less severe.

Today, Jaque’s heart continues to show improvement and Dr. Paling says his risk for heart failure is minimal. He is currently in foster care where he is thriving and waiting to meet prospective families.

Visiting Jacques for the first time with someone he trusts

Reactive Rover

2010-08-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

Spent Sunday August 8, 2010 at Kim Moeller's Reactive Rover seminar co-hosted by the Humane Society of Silicon Valley, Positively Trained and South Bay Trainers. Kim Moeller was one of my instructors while attending the SF/SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers and during my internship specializing in dog aggression.

She covered some leash handling techniques, basic default behaviors, management games dealing with dogs that are reactive to whatever stimulus. In this seminar she used dog-dog set ups but the techniques can apply to whatever your dog reacts to: bikes, skateboards, squirrels, kids running around, etc.

The front of the HSSV building

A lot of this was review- things that were covered in the Academy but Kim brings personal stories and 'joy' to working with difficult dogs. Check out her website: http://www.moellerdog.com/

Kim during a break

Stacy of Stacy's WagN'Train and SBT member working at the registration desk

Stay tuned as I'm preparing to launch a new Reactive Dog class this fall at http://www.workinpaws.com/ in Hollister, CA. 5wk program + 1 private lesson. 6 dog/handler teams only. You can visit my website: http://www.k9partnership.com/ for news about this class.

Drive Ball Foundation.wmv

2010-08-02T22:01:00.000-07:00

I'll be co-teaching a DriveBall class starting this September with Susan Paulsen of WorkinPaws in Hollister, CA

My Journey to Skill Improvement

2010-06-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

There are limited places to go to learn mechanical skills, learning concepts and training plans. In 2003 I took a workshop with Bob Bailey - a small taste of his now famous "Chicken Camp". Here is a link to Bob's bio : Bob Bailey Bio

Bob Bailey was married to Marian Breland Bailey until she passed away. She was one of B.F. Skinners students. Bob and Marian formed a company called Animal Behavior Enterprises. The purpose of Bob's Chicken Workshops, which are highly popular and sought after from animal trainers from around the world, is to develop mechanical skills and thought process/training plans to get to goal behaviors. Why use chickens? It's not about training chickens - very few of us have chickens or will get the chance to train them for specific behaviors. One reason to use chickens is that they are quick. Their behavior impacts ours. Timing is part of skill development. A fraction of a second off and you'll get a chicken doing another behavior then the one you intended. An example is that you'll get a chicken pecking at the red triangle instead of the black target or shakes the elastic band rather then pulling it. Chickens will also let us know about our choice of rate of reinforcement. If we are too slow - they will go to where there is food.

Bob Bailey says, “A chicken is the best teaching tool for training animals, offering more behaviors and more repetitions in the shortest amount of time.” That means we have a chance to get in a lot of repetitions in a short about of time. This also gives us a chance to undo a training mistake.

I learnt a lot from this mini-workshop. He has since 'semi-retired' and sold his Chicken Camp training to Terry Ryan of Legacy Canine. I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to take a workshop with him.

Then I stumbled upon Kay Laurence and her Clicker Competency Assessment Program. The purpose of the CAP: 1) to provide a clear pathway, with marked steps for learners to gain their skill, knowledge and understanding 2) to provide a certification system validating the competency of clicker trainers

With CAP it's about the handler being assessed and not per say how the dog performs. There are currently 4 levels. I've completed Level 2 and currently working through Level 3. I have two remaining criteria to work on and to hand it for assessment, then hopefully I'll gain my Level 3 Certification.

CAP Criteria

What I've found with CAP 3 is that I get sucked into the behavior - the quality, fluency and reliability that I forget about my skills - how I use the clicker, how I use rewards, which rewards to use, how to deliver rewards, etc. Video taping is a good tool to have in skill development. It allows you to re-watch a training segment so that you can really see what's really going on. My assessor pointed out some good qualities in my dog's responses and Kay was able to pin-point a weakness in my skill. So I just have to be a little more mindful of both my behaviors and getting the behaviors I plan for.

Hopefully in the next few months I'll have some good news to share.

Methods or Principles

2010-05-20T09:47:00.000-07:00

Recently Karen Pryor commented on whether trainers are simply using methods of training vs principles of training http://www.clickertraining.com/node/2873

It's blatantly clearn when trainers use the method approach vs understanding the principles of learning which leads more to refined skills and finess to the method used. It's like the compairison of a child learning the skill of writing to that of an accomplished calligrapher. One is coarse and unrefined while the other has art meshed with foundations and principles.

I've always emphasized the importance of really knowing and understaing behavioral psychology - the principles that either increase or decrease behavior along with being aware of setting events, motivations, and other antecedents that can 'color' a behavioral response. The other component to this refined approach is the ability to SEE behavior - stop and assess if that is the response you are working towards. Animals are telling us all the time what we are doing - be it good or bad. "Principle-based trainers keep the reinforcement contingencies clean and in effect from the start. Princple-based trainers observe their learners..."

I think that becoming a refined principle-based trainer is an evolutionary process and that the starting point is simply learning methods and developing some basic mechanical skills.