found dog today

this dog was found on Sunset Rd Bowen Island today, no collar or anything, very nice boy... he's at my house awaiting the finding of his peeps

Happy 2013!

My only New Year resolution... I am going to post here at least 3 times a week!

I hope everyone had a great holiday and is now ready to get back to real life. Classes are starting back up after the break with the new "A Walk in the Park" class, 11:30 am Wednesdays. We meet at the Miller Rd entrance to Crippen Park with our dogs, and walk in to the lake and back around the 'lollipop' loop. This takes about an hour, and gives everyone a nice walk to practice leash walking and self control in a real life situation. Levels classes membership includes this class, but everyone is welcome to come. There is a $10 drop in fee for non-members. This class is rain or shine or snow, try and be on time or we may leave without you. (if this happens you can try to catch up, we will take the right hand trail at the fork and go left down Magee Rd to the return trail)

I have just updated the calendar to show all the classes on offer, and the timing of my holiday in Mexico, so you can check that out. I am available for private sessions weekdays and some evenings.



this is the link to my website with the calendar!

See everyone soon!

okay so the link does not seem to post... i will put it in the comments

Barking

Barking.

This is a topic much on my mind always, as I live with Norrbottenspets dogs, who are naturally, bred-to-be barking dogs. They bark when they hunt, while they play, at intruders, when they are happy... They like to bark. However, they are fairly easily trained to control themselves, and moderate the noise. Most dogs have more difficulty learning to not bark.

Unfortunately, unlike Isa here telling me a story about what she had been hunting, most barking is a sign of distress. The dog is barking because they are afraid, insecure, nervous, lonely, frantic.... not happy barking at all. We had a neighbour for a while who would periodically leave their dog outside while they were at work. The poor thing sang all day, howl after howl. I eventually had to call bylaw about it, as I could not get them to understand how upsetting it was for their pet to be locked outside when no-one was home.

The major cause of excessive barking that I see is a lack of leadership and rules in a dog's life. They are insecure and nervous about the environment because they are being left to 'look after' the world, and they cannot do it. Dogs that bark at every little noise in the night (or day!). Dogs that panic every time someone walks by the house. I have had dogs that stayed with us that leaped up out of a sound sleep barking, while 6 other dogs lay around completely relaxed. Nervous or what? Most of these dogs also lack obedience training, and many have issues about being left alone.

People who approach me about training their dog not to bark are often puzzled and frustrated by my response. The first thing, I tell them, is to do a round of obedience training. NO, they say, we want the dog to not bark! Unfortunately it is not like that. If you have no control over the dog, cannot call it in from the yard, are unable to get it to lay quietly by your feet... you probably can't get the dog to shut up. You also probably have very little relevance in your dog's life. The best route to peace in the yard is by changing the way your dog views his role in the yard- is he barking at the intruder? Or is he barking at YOU, to tell you about the intruder... It's a big difference.

overload

So it's sort of funny. For quite a while I have been planning on getting going with this blog, and i had a couple of ideas about what I would write about. Now I have started and made a commitment to myself that I would write SOMETHING every day, I have so many ideas that today I can't decide what to do! Admittedly some of them are pretty whiny, and I think they can safely be ignored... like the one about why after 3 nights here the boarding dog decided she couldn't sleep in the living room... best to leave it alone.

I am putting together a program for the continuing education classes here on Bowen. It's something I have thought about off and on for several years, but never made the move to do it- generally I remember when the class book comes in the mail, just a bit late to be effective! This year I have started to submit a proposal, having emailed about it on the weekend and found out that this is the week you must get your proposal in......

My plan is 3 pairs of classes, one theory and one practical, and 2 stand alone lectures. The theory part of the paired classes can also be taken as stand alone. I will cover the Basics of Clicker Training, paired with a practical teach your dog with a clicker class, Why Your Dog Pulls paired with a Loose Leash Walking class,and a Recall and Off Leash theory class paired with a Really Reliable Recall class. The stand alone classes will be Dog Language, myths and reality, and Aggression, Fear and Anxiety- causes, management and solutions.

I am really hoping that other people will find this stuff as interesting as I do, and are willing to come to classes to learn more about their dogs.

thunder and other noises

We are having a thunderstorm! Not something that happens often on Bowen, but there you are. We also have a dog with noise phobias boarding with us, so I was watching her closely to see if the thunder was bothering her. She's a bit nervy, but fine, although the bread maker freaked her out beeping last night... she has just sthttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifarted barking at the thunder, which is a bit strange.

However, my Nano is quite upset. Shivering and shaking, sticking very close to us, not a happy girl at all. Noise phobias are quite common in dogs, and cats too. Be it thunder, loud bangs, beeping such as a smoke detector (or bread maker!) odd noises can create a fear response in many pets. Fireworks is a huge issue for many as well. Every year hundreds of dogs are lost or injured due to panic responses to fireworks.

There are a number of things you can do to help your pet with noise phobias.

For a phobia to noises you cannot control, there are some things to help with the reaction, such as the well named "Thunder Shirts" or Bach's Rescue Remedy which tends to work best if given prior to the event starting. Providing background noise, a safe place to hide like a covered kennel and a calm reassuring manner will help make your pet feel safe. Personally I do not feel that the idea of ignoring a dog to avoid 'validating the fear' has any basis in reality. If your child was frightened you would never think to not comfort them and you would never feel that to do so was in some way teaching your child to be more fearful. Your calm presence can help your pet as well.

For phobias to noises you can control, like beeping and banging in the home, a systemic program of desensitization can go along way to help your dog learn not to be afraid. You must be certain while doing this that you keep the dog below their fear threshold while teaching- the noise must be audible but not loud enough to be scary while you work. If the dog is already reacting to the noise with fear you will not make any progress. Consult with a trainer to find out how best to proceed with your particular issue.

unexepected side effects

Sometimes you just can't win.
My dogs bark. The Norrbottenspets bark because they are bred to, the others bark because they are dogs. They have a great deal of freedom in the big fenced yard, and they like to bark at stuff going on in their world. In moderation, this is not such a big deal, but some days are just crazy, and if it bothers me, I'm sure it drives the neighbours nuts!
So I'm a trainer, there has to be a solution. I decided that the best way of limiting the barking is to teach the dogs that a bark or two is okay, but then you should come inside to get a treat. This works. Shooter now says "bark, bark" and runs inside. Unfortunately she doesn't stop barking, she just barks AT me instead of outside. But she gets her treats, and it really helps.
However, she seems to have generalized this idea, and I am getting the feeling that some days, she goes outside just so she can bark, run in, and get fed. hmmmm. A little too smart maybe. I still pay her, because she is doing what I taught her, even if she is using it to turn me into a treat dispenser...

Sometimes this sort of training backfire works to your advantage- your dog takes a skill you have taught and applies it in unexpected positive ways. Other times not so much. I thought I would teach Maisy to shake a paw, and in 5 minutes I had a dog that was pawing at me constantly. 5 years later, she will still offer the trick occasionally. Luckily I realized it was happening and stopped the training right away. She really thought that was a good trick, and with her mindset, it would have been very difficult to have her only do it on cue.... I taught her to go to her mat instead! Now that's a trick that you like a dog to offer you!

Anyway, my point with all this is be careful! Think about what you are doing and what you want your dog to learn before you start training. Try to ensure that your dog is really learning what you think you are teaching, and get things on a cue fast! Don't reward behaviours that you have not asked for, unless you have consciously decided it is something you WANT the dog to do unasked and all the time.

dog treats

so maybe i am weird, but i often ask for appliances for my birthday and christmas presents. i use the freezer i got for my birthday for raw dog food, and recently i have been using the food dehydrator i got for christmas to make real dog treats. i love it. i've experimented with a bunch of different things, right now my fave is thinly slicing either b/s chicken breasts or beef roast (lean, single grain roasts work best) and drying them to leather, then chopping the strips up in to bite size and finishing them off. doing the slicing when the meat is still partly frozen makes it easier to get uniform slices.
another big hit with the fur kids has been sweet potato, i've done it two ways. the fast and dirty one is simply slice very thin (using the mandoline i got for christmas)and julienne, then dry. break up the strips into bites when crisp... they love it. more labour intensive is my original idea. chunk up the sweet potato and bake till soft. then puree in the food processor (i bought that myself)and mix in some liver powder, pork fluff, flax seed, whatever you have. spread on the drying tray like it was a fruit leather base, chop it up small before it gets past the leather stage and put back in to fully dry. get it really dry or it will mold.
all of these have been huge hits with both my furkids and my clients dogs. i am mixing the meat treats with kibble in a zippie bag to store- the kibble turns into a meat treat.
sweet potato is super cheap, i use the cheapest meat i can get, and the over cost is less that decent treats from the store, and WAY healthier. i'm liking this alot.