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So I just had to share an experience I had today.... mainly because I suppose it seems to happen quite often in "dog-land" and it just FRUSTRATES the heck out of me. It's when I see an unleashed dog racing over to me and my dog (on leash) or even a dog "released" to approach on a retractable leash (another story in itself).....so today I happened to say something. I hope the few words I spoke possibly sunk in and made some sort of an impact to the dog's owners....but I'm can't be positive since they were young teenage kids and I really didn't explain the benefits of my comments to the dog's owners. I can hope though. :)

So I was walking my sons in the big double BOB stroller and on leash alongside us walked Bosley, our 10 lb terrier. We cut through this one parking lot which dumps us out onto the street we need to get to.... you know, a simple short cut. As we approach the street and prepare to come down the side walk and enter the cul-de-sac area I see two boys (I'm guessing 11 and 17?) playing ball with their large lab/sheppard mix of a dog. Pretty large dog, 80lbs or so. Bosley perks up of course and I click/treat click/treat. He's always so good when passing other dogs. Well this dog was off leash. Here's the thing- I know MY dog is good- but you just NEVER know about the other dog, do you?! This is why there is a leash law..... and even if they say THEIR dog is "good", how do they know my dog isn't!?

We continue to walk by and their dog comes quickly up to Bosley's rear and sniffs. "Let's go" I say as we walk on without any hesitation. The boys meanwhile, are just standing there yelling at the dog to return to their side "come here, hey , -dog's name- , hey, hey, come here". The boys don't move a step. They continue to yell. CLEARLY the dog is highly distracted by my adorable terrier and wants nothing of the sort to return. We keep walking - but slowly enough so that if they wanted to they could grab their dog. I am keeping an eye on the behaviors the large dog is offering and things appear "fine". The boys still haven't moved. Again, the reason I write this today is because I finally said what I always WANT to say on my walks to others- EEK- but never do. I was very "courteous" when doing so- I said " Perhaps you should just come and get your dog vs just yelling at him." And......... what did they do? Just exactly that. Uh, yeah, duh! That dog would have joined me for my 3 mile walk had I not said anything! Okay, well at least for another few houses!

Too often do we just sit back and command! Especially when the dog is clearly overly stimulated to be "hearing" you in the first place. In addition, many people get far too confident with their unleashed dogs. It's just not worth taking the risk safety-wise nor fun for the dog if all he gets is what happened today- yelling, yelling and more yelling and then a big jerk on the collar and yanked back to their ball session.

The positive out of this is that my dog gave me all the attention I needed while walking past that incident. He knew that coming with me was going to earn him a nice reward. I hope those boys started to see a lightbulb at least BEGIN to turn on!

Clicker training other species!

Try it with your dog, your cat, your bird or your horse! Here Chrissy has learned to relax and settle as a result of positive training with the clicker. She has learned that this choice of hers gets her yummy rewards! With training, it's important to always give your animals opportunities to make their own choices- reward those you want to see again! Chrissy knows this behavior pays off!

I've always wanted a big dog!! I wouldn't however trade my 10 lb terrier mix Bosley for the world!

MY dog is smart!

Well I already KNEW Bosley was smart... but you know, sometimes being a dog trainer, you get so busy training OTHER dogs that you don't spend AS much time training with your own dog. Today the Boz-man and I worked on a bunch of targeting and shaping behaviors. He has always been great on the matt but today he chose (after working a few minutes on it) the large carpet, that is a recent addition to our family room, as his default matt. What a great idea! I just love watching dogs Think and learn and while doing so saying: "this mom? is this it? does this work?" He would skip right on over like an excited 2 year old in a candy shop and pounce on the carpet section waiting for the next request. What a cute little guy. I'm motivated to do even more with my dear little friend. :)

Our companions are SO willing to please. Don't forget to give them the opportunities!

4th of July and Summer Safety!

It's that time of year dog owners! The June gloom is behind us and Summer is here! I know because I got a pretty bad sunburn this past weekend and my back is peeling!

What does this mean for your dogs? It means you need to pay a bit more attention to them.

Make sure you NEVER leave them in the car. Not even with the windows down! Think ahead. If you must take them but can't take them in to where you are headed then go on that errand at another time! The car's temperature inside increases FAST and it gets extremely hot inside. ** you should never leave your dog in the car anyways!**

Make sure you always bring extra water for your dog! I went on a walk yesterday and made sure I shared my water with my dog. He's working too! And it's Hot outside! It's very important to keep the animals hydrated, as it is yourself. You can buy portable water bowls and even portable dog water bottles with a bowl attached!

Pay attention to how hot the payment is. Some dogs may burn their paw pads. If you're planning a noon-day walk, perhaps reschedule until early evening when the pavement is a bit cooler.

Some fair skinned dogs or light muzzled dogs may burn easily too. Check with your Vet for the best SPF skin protectant..

With fire works - the BEST solution is to leave your dog at home. Even a CD with calm music to cover up the loud noises going on outside helps too. You can look into purchasing calming collars which have a great effect as well.

Keep in mind dog's senses- especially hearing! are far superior than ours. So it should be no surprise that the fireworks would be a bit frightening to them. The idea of watching a firework show and having a picnic just isn't their cup of tea!! Do what's best for THEM....keep them at home and try not to go walking at the time fireworks may be going on.

Are you a Cesar Millan Fan? I hope not!

Finally more and more are realizing that Cesar's methods are not the most ideal methods to train dogs with. Finally...people are taking action. Below is the pdf of the letter from the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior to Merial who is considering promoting Cesar's and his methods in a Heartgard and Frontline campaign:

(copy and paste the following in your browser)

http://www.avsabonline.org/avsabonline/images/stories/Current_Events/merialletter6-10.pdf

They even have references to speak about the results of Cesar's training. "We would also be happy to provide you with additional peer-reviewed references indicating that the training methods televised on “The Dog Whisperer”often lead to increased aggression and human injury. " I think viewers forget this is ALSO a television show where editing is used aggressively.

I hope that you continue to use positive reinforcement with your dogs.....

Come on now! and GET Pawsitive! :)

The pioneer of clicker training

Karen Pryor has a new book out! I definitely recommend you read it. Check out her recent showing on ABC to hear and see a nice quick overview of just what it means to click!
link:


http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=7850537

She just needs a little more time to train the newscaster on the rules of the click--- click/treat click/treat ... :)