Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Learn How to Talk Puppy

Out of all of the many things I have learned about working with dogs, one of most helpful was learning how to talk puppy. Sounds crazy, I know....so let me explain!

What I mean by "talking puppy" is to talk enthusiastically to your dog. Sounds simple enough. I've told clients who have issues with their dog pulling on the leash that they should try praising their dog. They tell me they do that and the dog doesn't respond. Then you're not "talking puppy!"


When I first began training dogs, I struggled continually with this concept. I'm generally a very quiet person and quite shy. Basically...I don't like to make a fool out of myself in front of people! So when I was in training class and was told to talk enthusiastically to my dog Elsa, I whispered some "good girl's" to her, with no results.


It was when I began competing with her in Rally-Obedience when I found my true "voice." In Rally-Obedience, your dog must stay by your side while you walk through an obstacle course. The wonderful thing about the sport is that you can talk to your dog throughout the entire thing, however, you can't use treats. Now, if you didn't know before, you know now...I am very competitive.

So Elsa and I didn't compete in Rally-O just for fun, we competed to win!
At our first show, I watched our competitors in the show ring and I watched their owners walk through the course like zombies...as if their dogs weren't even there, paying attention only to what they were doing, not to their dogs. And their dogs just weren't interested at all! So I wanted to make Elsa interested. I put all shyness aside, and I talked to her, A LOT. I told her she was beautiful, I told her she was wonderful...and she took in every single word! I made Elsa feel on top of the world! And she enthusiastically stayed by my side, rocked the course, and won a blue ribbon!

I took what I learned from that experience with the dogs that I walk. What a difference it made! No longer was I pulled along all day long, I had dogs that not only stayed by my side, but enjoyed staying by my side! They loved being told how wonderful they are...who wouldn't?!


And in addition to telling them praise, you can also learn to get their attention with certain phrases. For example, whenever I'm about to bring my dogs for a walk, or throw a toy, or give them a treat...in an enthusiastic voice I ask them "are you ready!?" All of those things...a walk, toy, or treat are rewards. So now they here "are you ready!?" and they know they're getting a reward! We also play "up here!" I hold a treat up high and tell them "up here!" and they jump up to get the treat. It didn't take long to teach them what "up here!" means and they absolutely LOVE the game. So now, if I really need to get their attention, I'll enthusiastically say "are you ready!?" or "up here!" and it's a guarantee I'll get them to look my way.

Sounds easy enough, and I'm sure some of you are thinking "well I already talk puppy!" Try talking puppy to your dog when you're outside walking and you see another dog ahead of you. If you're dog ignores your talking and only wants to meet the other dog, you're not talking puppy!

You need to talk to that dog as if he's the greatest thing in the world! Make your voice higher pitched, loud, and as enthusiastically as possible. And you should practice. Yes, practice talking puppy. Your dog will love it. Start without distractions, wait until your pup is dozing or busy chewing a toy, and start telling him how wonderful he is as enthusiastically as you possibly can. No doubt you'll get a wiggly, happy pup bounding up to you to hear more! Then try the same thing when you let him outside to go to the bathroom, and then on a walk...increasing distractions as he learns.


And believe me, your dog will let you know whether or not you are properly talking puppy! It's not an easy as it sounds, but once you learn, it'll be one of your best tools in training your dog!

Good dog!

Friday, March 11, 2011

How Studies on Animal Domestication Can Help Us Understand Our Dogs

I recently read a very interesting National Geographic article about animal domestication. It's a subject I've been very interested in since college...simply because our dogs are the very best example of domestication!

A study, which this article features, has been performed on silver foxes, begun by Dmitri Belyaev more than half a century ago. In short, researchers selectively bred for tame foxes, which has led to a group of foxes that greet people like dogs, crave human attention, and have changed in physical appearance with droopy ears, curled tails, and piebald coloring.


To read the article,
Click Here.

Though this study is very interesting, there's one point in particular that I found the most intriguing...which can directly effect the way we understand and train our dogs. I've copied this bit below.

"I'd like to draw your attention to this fox," says Trut, pointing to one snarling creature nearby. "You can see how aggressive she is. She was born to an aggressive mother but brought up by a tame mother." The switch, the result of the aggressive mother being unable to feed its kit, serendipitously proved a point: The foxes' response to humans is more nature than it is nurture. "Here," she says, "it's the genetics that change."

Identifying the precise genetic footprint involved in tameness, however, is proving extremely tricky science. First the researchers need to find the genes responsible for creating friendly and aggressive behaviors. Such general behavior traits, however, are actually amalgamations of more specific ones—fear, boldness, passivity, curiosity—that must be teased apart, measured, and traced to individual genes or sets of genes working in combination. Once those genes are identified, the researchers can test whether the ones influencing behavior are also behind the floppy ears and piebald coats and other features that characterize domesticated species. One theory among the scientists in Novosibirsk is that the genes guiding the animals' behavior do so by altering chemicals in their brains. Changes to those neurochemicals, in turn, have "downstream" impacts on the animals' physical appearance.

It makes me consider what our dog breeds were originally selectively bred for. Many were used for hunting, guarding, and fighting. What this study denotes, is that even though a fox is raised by a tame mother, if she was bred to be aggressive, she will grow up aggressive. Therefore, her genetic makeup has a large impact on her temperament than her upbringing.

Now, keep in mind, this is an extreme case. The aggressive foxes in this study have been selectively bred for aggressiveness over generations.


However, we must consider our selectively bred, domestic dog breeds. Like I said, each one was bred for specific traits, and in some cases that included strength, stubbornness, or combativeness. And what this study is saying, is that despite how an animal is raised, his genetic makeup will likely effect his temperament. That's why it's very important that we consider what each breed was bred for when we choose a new dog. And as trainers, we will have to consider the same with every dog we work with and customize how that dog is trained based on his current temperament, as well as the traits of his breed. As for those of you who have "mystery breeds," well you can't consider their predisposed breed traits and have to just wait and see what they will be like!


However, we are fortunate in that our dogs have been so well domesticated and our culture has allowed for many options to improve our dogs' temperament and make them a happy part of our family. And though some breeders still breed for sport, in most cases a dog's main "job" now is simply to be a companion to humans, and we can hope that most breeders are simply breeding their dogs to be healthy, even-tempered, and happy companions : )


It is scarcely possible to doubt that the love of man has become instinctive in the dog.

Charles Darwin

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Watch Out For Those Pesky Ticks!

We've all got dogs and we all live in New England so each and every one of us knows that ticks are a problem here! And unfortunately, what has also become increasingly prevalent is Lyme Disease, a tick-borne disease that our pups can get.

Though it's natural to expect ticks in the summer, they tend to come out during the cooler temperatures of spring and fall. So make sure to look over your pup after a walk through the woods or even a romp in your yard for these pesty little creatures.

There are two kinds of ticks that are found most often in New England. Dog ticks are large in size and when engorged, blow up to a greenish/greyish blob. Deer ticks, however, are a lot smaller...sometimes as tiny as a speck of pepper. They also grow in size when engorged, but not nearly as large as a dog tick. And unfortunately, it's the tiny deer ticks that carry lyme disease.

Though it's important to remove a tick from your dog immediately, sometimes we just can't catch them in time. So it's important that you watch for symptoms of Lyme Disease such as fever, lameness, swelling in joints, swollen lymph glands, lethargy, and lack of appetite. We've had a number of BlueDog pups come up with these symptoms throughout the past couple of years and each tested positive for Lyme. Fortunately, they all recovered after taking antibiotics and getting some extra love from their BlueDog walker : )

Feel free to email me if you'd like more information on ticks and Lyme Disease and ways to avoid both!


Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Westminster Dog Show Pictures: Best in Groups and Best in Show!

The most exciting part of the Westminster Dog Show is absolutely the Best in Groups and Best in Show. The atmosphere is completely different than during the day! After spending the entire day watching Best in Breed classes, everyone leaves until about 8pm when the Best in Group classes begin.

A bit of background info for those of you who don't know. There are 7 groups of dogs, based on what they were bred to do. During the day, dogs compete with other dogs of the same breed. The dog that wins the Best in Breed then competes in the Best in Group with every other Best in Breed winner of that group. Then, the dog that wins the Best in Group competes with the 6 other group winners for Best in Show! And the rest is history : )

In the evening, the arena is no longer broken down into four individual rings...it's one large ring with a sign for each individual breed, where that dog stands. What I found interesting was that those signs are actually boxes in which handlers can put supplies in....drool rags, toys, treats. The audience fills the auditorium and I'll tell ya, when all of the dogs walk in for the Best in Group, it's awesome. Everyone cheers and all the dogs trot in and to their respective signs. We would watch as the judge looked over each dog, then picked his favorites to trot around the ring one more time, then Best in Group is chosen! The handler and dog is always so excited, what a feat to accomplish!

But the best part of the show, hands down, was Best in Show. The lights go down, each dog walks in individually as it's announced, and the crowd cheers loudly for their favorite! I'd lie if I said I didn't get chills. And for any of you who watched, you know the Scottish Deerhound, Hickory, took the title of Best in Show. I had been cheering for her all along, what a sweet dog, well deserving of the title!

The arena set up for Best in Group: Hounds

The ribbons for first, second, third, and fourth. Wouldn't that look nice hanging on the fridge?!



Hound Group entering the ring.



The judge looks over a Basset Hound.



Apparently the Beagle was bored...he entertained himself by jumping into the box...and then posed for pictures!



Waiting their turn.



The Scottish Deerhound wins the group!



The Toy Group was next with the Pug and Shih Tzu looking their best for the judge.



The Yorkshire Terrier strutting her stuff.



The Poodle in the Sporting Group. The poodles that we walk, Kelsey and Vinnie, don't quite look like this!

Ok you had to have known I'd have a picture of the Collies.



The Bearded Collie getting ready to get reviewed by the judge. He ended up winning Best in Group for the Herding Group.



Collie on the big screen!



Bearded Collie wins the group and everyone congratulates his handler.



I couldn't resist posting a picture of the Great Dane and his handler. She was dressed head to toe in "bling."



Time for Best in Show!



The ribbon and trophies for the winner.



Each dog entered the ring as he was announced. In the spotlight here is the Pekingese. Saying it took him a while to walk around the ring is an understatement!



The judge has the winner picked.



Walking towards the Scottish Deerhound.



The Scottish Deerhound, Hickory, wins!

Happy handler. Happy dog : )
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