Whispering trust

I remember bellowing across the empty room DOOOOOWWWWWWN; as I raised my arm high in the air to signal a down for my dog. Obedience class was not a relaxing place and for our dogs it must have been the night they hated each week. Heeling round and round, direction turn and continue round and round as you yanked your dog into place when they inched away in attempt to get to safety. Not anymore; not for this trainer anyway, nope there is no more yelling, yanking or pushing. That was alongtime ago and oddly enough it seems like a lifetime ago.

My training and behavior work now focuses on the connection; the human/canine connection. Building a better bond with your dog takes dedication and above all else trust. Trust is something that you cannot take; you must earn it and it is one of the most important things for humans and canines. Take for instance my boy Luke; nervous ninny type, worries about anything new and stresses about things he doesn't understand.

The other day I was scraping teeth; Tilley doesn't like it but doesn't fuss too much, Jessie lets me do it but would rather not. When it comes time to Luke he is amazingly good; this always shocks me because it is a pretty strange thing to be doing. The only reason he allows me to do this is because he trusts me; there is no way anyone else could do this. Same goes for teaching your dog new behaviors or living your everyday life with them. You must build trust.

Then there is communication aspect; there is no need to bellow out orders to our dogs (unless they are nearly deaf) so that they hear and understand what we want. In the lowest whisper ask your dog if they would like to go in the car? Or maybe ask them if they'd like a cookie? Bet those ears go up right away. Dogs hear far better than we do; why do we feel the need to yell at them? I also use please and thank you with my dogs. This was something that got my guardian clients big praise as well. When you say thank you to your dog; it is more than words. It comes from a different train of thought; one that is far from the "do it because I said" idea of training. I love when I hear people say thank you to their dogs.

Dogs are so much better than us at body language as well. Do an experiment tonight or whenever your dog seems to be wanting what you are eating. As they sit and watch your every bite; stop eating and freeze. For some dogs this will be enough to get a head turn in response. For others you may need the lazer beam stare so slowly turn your head looking them; you should get at least a head turn in response. Even better they will move away. You just spoke dog.

If you yell and get excited when dealing with your dog then your dog will do the same. They see you getting stressed out and upset and inturn will evolve into the same mode. Instead try to use calm, relaxing and quiet words. Speak softly to your dog and they will listen close. Use your body to enhance your communications with your dog; not only will it create a more claming atmostphere but it will give you and your dog a stress free environment in which to live.

Life's a beach

I spent Friday morning at Huntington Dog Beach; I hadn't been for far too long so it was great to get back. I know I just put up a display of water images but I wanted to share a few of my beach shots as well. The dog beach is a fun day for all dogs; big, little, long, short and everything in between. It's a social event for sure and Friday was a great one.

This gal was a hunting dog from New York, no doubt enjoying the California sun.

As I pulled into the parking lot alongside the beach, it was busy.  It's almost always busy, it's a popular place.  But I was lucky to grab a spot right away.  I threw some quarters into the meter, grabbed my camera and head out.  I was immediately scanning for dogs heading down to the beach, I can barely wait to get down there.  As I was heading down I noticed they'd put in some permanent restrooms, nice.  And the pathway down to the beach was resurfaced since I'd been which was great.

The sun was shining, and just there was just enough breeze to keep it from heating up too bad.  It was a glorious day and by the looks of all the tongues hanging out and tails wagging, everyone was having fun.

                                                           This girl was having the time of her life.

 Although the parking lot had been crowded the beach was quiet.  This area is also a big surf zone so many of the cars are not dog cars.  I sat and watched the goings on and then started shooting.  Talking to all the great dog owners at the beach is just about as much fun as capturing the dogs having fun.  And this day was just pure energy and fun for everyone concerned.

         It is so interesting watching the dogs do their initial greeting.  I could watch their behaviors all day long.

What a cutie.

I thought these guys knew each other.  But after talking to their owners I found out they'd just met.  They ran and played like they were long lost friends.

A boy on vacation from up North enjoying Huntington Dog Beach.

This little guy was one of the fastest dogs I've seen in a long time.  And smart, he kept diving into the water to cool off and then he was off again.

                                                                 Another Frenchie having fun.

I stayed a little over an hour, I never want to leave.  Just as one dog leaves another bunch arrives and I always feel like I'm going to miss out on some great shots.  But I'd left 3 long faced dogs at home so it was time to head home.  As usual on the drive home I take in the beautiful scenery down the PCH and can't wait to get back to HDB for another shoot.

I will be scheduling several ongoing beach shoots in the near future.  If you are interested in having your dog photographed, contact me at sherri@justdogswithsherri.com to find out dates and times.

This dog was amazing; I'm not accustom to seeing Huskies love the water quite as much as this gal did.

This was a big happy family, playing very rough and loving it.

Quite a variety at the beach.

A retrieving Doodle

STAY

I recently saw a guardian working on obedience with her puppy.  The puppy seemed to be doing wonderful at everything she was asked to do.  Then they came to the STAY, she did pretty good for a puppy of her age and then we got to the confusing part.  The owner made the most common training mistake with regards to teaching a solid STAY, she called her puppy out of the STAY.  The puppy is told to sit and stay, the owner walks away and then calls the puppy.  Hmmmmmm.  Common practice even with many trainers, so where lies the mistake?

To teach a solid stay, you want to give the idea that your dog is not to move.  By adding the COME verbal cue or even simply coaxing a puppy out of a stay because you are done puts more emphasis on the process of COMING, not staying. Often the COME is followed by praise and a treat.  So what is a puppy learning?  They are learning that COMING is great.  Therefore they are not learning a solid STAY.

When I teach a STAY, it means STAY until you are told that you can move.  In the beginning I always return to the dog, reward, pause and then calmly and boringly release them.  STAY like any other behavior must be taught small, both in time and distance and then grow in both categories as you and your pup achieve success.  There should be a release word to get out of a STAY and it should not be COME.  One word and one word only releases the pup from a STAY.  This needs to be taught, trained, practiced, proofed and practiced some more.

Praise and treat rewards should be given while the dog is in a STAY position.  This makes the STAY a great thing.  If you reward for coming out of a STAY or after the release, the STAY becomes irrelevant and the after behavior of coming or getting out of the STAY much more important.  This causes an anxiety effect "oh I can't wait to get my release word,"  wiggle, wiggle and the moving begins.

Along with the mistake of calling a puppy out of a STAY, is the ever present STOP sign hand in the air.  Give the signal and put it away.  You don't want to have to hold your hand up the entire stay for the rest of your pups life right?  Don't start something that you will have to undo later.

Also; never, ever use the word STAY if you do not intend to enforce it.

The first man in my life

I love the boys; something about a male dog.  The boys are different, more Momma's boys.  I love my girls dearly but the boys just seem to melt me.

Clyde was one of my heart dogs. If you are lucky you will have at least one heart dog in your lifetime, I've already had several. Sadly I think many people have had or have a heart dog but they just don't know it. It takes time to know your dog and time to build a relationship. I spend hours upon hours with my dogs, watching, listening, playing, learning and just plain chill'n with them.

I remember the day like it was yesterday. I drove out to North Gower, Ontario, Canada to choose my new brown boy. At first glimpse the task seemed insurmountable, there before me lay a sea of brown curly puppies. I'd landed in heaven somehow.  Way back when, I was there to choose whoever I deemed the cutest.    The task was made easier immediately by the fact that I wanted a boy. I have to admit I have a soft spot for the boys and anyone who has never had a male should do so. I'm not really sure at this point why I chose Clyde, he was adorable and brown just like his brothers but for some reason I thought this little brown boy should be mine.

Once home it took no time for us to bond. I remember one day running down to the basement; on my return back up the basement stairs I looked up to see standing quite proudly at the top, Clyde. He was too small still to make the death defying traverse down the stairs and could not wait for me to get to the top. He stood with his whole body quivering and as I rose up over him I could see his tail was vibrating "different tail I thought to myself."

Clyde had an amazing personality, happy, devoted, loyal and friendly to everyone. That is unless he felt the need to protect his family, not too many people know what amazing guard dogs standard poodles are. Clyde loved nothing more than spending the days by my side no matter what I was doing. Cross country skiing? He'd get harnessed and take me for a ride. Skating? He'd run along the snow banks out back on the pond to stay with me. Doing errands? Clyde loved to ride in the car. Even if I was washing the car Clyde would sit for the entire time it took to wash the car in the drivers seat and wait patiently.

Clyde was amazing, he was not a big thinker; he was more a doer. He loved to wrestle with my husband and it got rough but they both enjoyed the rough and tumble. He loved to hike and loved to go on our daily adventures through the back forty. I will never forget him and often mistakenly call out to him in error. It is a slip of the tongue but one that makes me smile. To the end he had a vibrating tail, it never wagged but vibrated. Clyde is still in my heart and always on my mind.

Water

Now; I know that for many of you, the image of dogs playing in the water is but a sweet memory.  You are up to your eyeballs in snow and ice right now, there is no more water left unfrozen.  Well, hopefully these will cheer you up, give you something to look forward to.  Time whizzes by and before you know it, it'll be summer again.

Water and dogs go together, most dogs that is.  Of course there are dogs who are not water fans at all.  But for those who are; whether they like to dive in head first, paddle around the edges or simply sit and take it all in, the combination offers some beautiful images. 

And the winner is...............................................................................

I wasn't going to do this until tomorrow but I have a great blog that would definitely be second fiddle to the prize winner. 

The answers to the posted questions are:

Jessie, Tilley & Luke
100% of the time
Vestibular Disease
French Bulldogs or Frenchies
Coyotes

So here you go.


And the winner is...........................................................................................(drum roll)...........................

Congratulations Kathleen and Jody.  Kathleen gets the Ruff Wear prize and Jody will recieve the Sunz Jewelz prize.  Please email me at sherri@justdogswithsherri.com with your name and address.

Thank you all who participated.  We will have another giveaway in the near future, I hope you all play along.  Once again thank you all for reading Just dogs with Sherri.  I'll see you tomorrow.  ;)

That's it

That's it; the GIVEAWAY IS OFFICIAL OVER.  No more answers will be accepted.

The Giveaway BLOG

 

Wonderful prizes by:  Ruff Wear - FOR DOGS ON THE GO 

    And:   Sunz Jewelz - LOOKING THROUGH GLASS AT ALL THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Good morning everyone; I'm glad you have joined us for the Giveaway.  I'm so excited, this is our first giveaway, how fun.  Okay; these are the official rules. 

Below you will find several questions, you must write your answers in the comment area.  The little blue word comment at the bottom of each post.  Click on comment and leave me your answers.  The comments are moderated by me first so they will only be posted once we have our two winners.  Good luck, I hope you've been reading.  All answers can be found in my 2011 blog entries. 

The questions will remain on here until 7:00 pm tonight, so you have 12 hours.  GO.

Questions:

1.  What are the names of Sherri's ( my) dogs?

2.  How much time out of a day does a puppy need to be supervised?

3.  At a recent trip to a Wolf Center, one of the wolves was suffering from the same disease as one of Sherri's dogs.  What is that disease?

4.  A certain breed was given a photo tribute recently.  What breed was that?

5.  January had two wild animal blogs, one was wolves the other was what?

Good luck and thank you for reading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow's giveaway blog

To make the giveaway a bit more fair for everyone.  I will leave it open from 7:00 am - 7:00pm tomorrow.  I will gather all the names of people who correctly answer the questions and do a random draw from a hat.  So you will have 12 hours to get it right. 

Good luck.

Do I know you?

Excuse me? Have we met? Do I know you? Funny how many humans are drawn to touch dogs; they walk right up and lay their hands on our dogs. They do it without asking, they have no idea if your dog is friendly, fearful, sick or want to be touched. This was never as clear to me as it is with Luke. When he was a very young puppy he made it well understood that he did not appreciate strangers coming up and touching him. In fact; he quickly turned from a fuzzy faced little fellow into Cujo if someone carelessly walked straight at him. It didn’t take long to realize that he was indeed reactive. A reactive dog is basically a dog that reacts much larger to things than a regular dog. There are many degrees of reactivity; Luke’s is fairly low but because of it he has been my greatest teacher over the years.

Like many reactive dogs he never misses a thing, not a person, dog, object or even ant walking by goes without notice. And he wears his emotions on his sleeve; he is an easy read as I have said before. So when people wanted to come up and see this adorable blonde boy they headed straight for him. Making a short line from them to him and covering ground quickly. Luke immediately saw this and turned on Cujo; and when I say Cujo, I mean Cujo. Not a little growling or bluster, a full on teeth show, puffed up, on his toes growling and barking show. Of course this pretty much stopped people in their tracks, but they were usually pretty close by the time it started.

This was long ago; he has come a long way from his puppy days of freaking out.  I have taught him to be more calm and of course watch how people approach.   He adores people, it was never the people he had an issue with, it was their approach.  Many dogs simply need time, space and a non threatening approach.  Anyone who knows Luke now would never believe that he use to be related to Cujo.  ;)

I started watching for cues; how far could people get without Luke feeling threatened? The answer was pretty close and if they changed their approach, they might just be able to come up and pet him with no big scary display. Most displays that are the result of an unwanted approach are totally avoidable. Many are caused strictly by the dog being on a leash and not having access to exit, this is huge. Most dogs do not want a stranger mauling them; as cute as they may be. Of course there are the dogs who do want anyone and everyone to kiss and hug and maul them, typically the Goldens. But they are few and far between.

Humans should use a general canine approach protocol, approach with casual, confidence and caution. That is to say; don’t approach by creepily walking up to a dog all hesitant like. You are sure to get a display if you are sneaking.

Don’t look a dog in the eyes; that is very threatening and unnerving to a dog.

Don’t walk straight up to a dog head on; again this behavior is considered threatening.

Don’t lean over a dog, this is a dominant behavior.

Do not rush at a dog; this can cause all sorts of behavior to arise.

Do not pet a dog on the top of their head. You will see a lot of ducking when you do this; again it is a dominant gesture.

And do NOT feel compelled to touch.

This may all sound very restrictive.  "How can I even say hi to a dog?"  It's easy, don't push, ask and take your time.  Let the dog tell you if they are cool with your approach.  I'm just saying don't assume that every dog wants you touching it, most don't.

When I meet a dog at the park or out somewhere I read, I read all the signals that I am being thrown. Often a dog does not want anything to do with me, but if I keep my distance we’re cool. That’s fine. I happen to be a person who has a fairly big personal space myself, step into it without being invited and I’m likely backing up immediately. If I’m in a line at a store and someone feels that they should stand so close to me that I can feel them touching me? You bet I’m going to take a quick step back and claim my space. Dogs don’t like it anymore than we do but for some reason, maybe it’s the cute fuzzy faces, we feel that we have the right to touch.

Even asking someone if their dog is friendly does not mean that a dog wants to be touched. Read the signs; are they standing still, backing up or slinking down in posture? This means keep your distance. Even if a dog is not approaching you is a pretty big sign. Tilley gives off really clear signs that most people get. She is quite timid with new people as far as advances. She gets very low and retracts, sort of scary like, but this is only if someone tries to approach her who she does not know. She is Miss Polite after all and it is very rude to rush right into touching with getting to know someone. If she is allowed to sniff and meet someone then she may allow a chest touch, but she’d rather you didn’t.  And if she has the proper amount of time to meet you then she'll probably end up in your lap.

Crouching down sideways is second nature to me now.  In fact it is so natural to me that I found myself doing it at the Wolf Center a month ago.  And surprisingly; it has the same effect with the wolves.

                              Don't forget tomorrow is the big giveaway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Giveaway now Thursday

Our GIVEAWAY will start Thurs. 27 @ 7:00am PST.  You must come to this site to enter.  Entries will be done via the comment section so make sure you have quick access.  I will be posting several questions; the answers can all be found in my blogs.  First to get them all right wins, it's that easy. 

Prizes so far are from Ruff Wear

and Sunz Jewelz
       
          Sunz Jewelz FB site

SHE'S NOT FRIENDLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay; give me a second............................pulling out my soapbox, okay good.  Up we go.  "SHE'S NOT FRIENDLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  My walk today was ridiculous; I frankly was a little astonished as I walked around the park with Miss Jessie.  For some reason I guess Jessie looks as cute as a button in her little red jacket/harness.  Everyone who was walking their dog came straight for us.  Oh; and not in a controlled manner, no they were coming and their dog was coming a good 15-20 feet out ahead.  Ah extension leashes, don't even get me started.

So; because these people were so far away I found myself yelling at them.  Like I don't already have to yell enough with a little deaf Jack Russell and Tilley losing her hearing quickly, geeeesh.  "SHE'S NOT FRIENDLY!!!!!!"  I belted out as they smiled and slowly reeled in their dog causing me to pause my walk and wait.  "Did they happen to see me rein in Jessie and keep her at my side?"  No because they weren't paying attention.  You have to always be paying attention; at least sort of.  Scanning, watching, assessing every situation, it's our job.  If someone walking towards you reins in their dog, then there is a really good chance that this dog is not dog friendly.  Or for some reason the owner does not want your dog interacting with theirs.  Pay attention.

One man that did this with his little Yorkie only stopped a mere foot or two in front of us, paused to take out his earphones and said "pardon dear?"  Ummmm; your kidding right?  I could have said "my dog has rabies," and he would have kept coming.  There's the lack of the human's ability to read body language.  My body was saying nothing like please come over here and visit us.  No, not even close. 

There are things in life when throwing caution to the wind is a great idea; not when meeting other dogs.  Caution is smart and polite.  Diving in muzzle first and hoping for the best is not the way to go.  It could get your dog bit.  So what should all of these folks done?  Upon seeing another person and dog approaching, slowly reel in their extension leash way before getting to us.  Then at least 10 feet away ask "friendly?"  Which I would have replied ever so politely "NO."

With Jessie it really is a hit and miss situation, but mostly hit.  So why bother, she is a very dominant little female, old, cranky and out to tell the world that she is still the Supreme ruler of all the land.  So; as I said why bother?  After trial and error on how best to deliver the message I have stuck on "she's not friendly."  It seems to get the message across fairly clearly, to the point, no mixing words etc. etc.  I would group today's events into the bad dog etiquette category. 

You know the old saying "better to be safe than sorry?"  Well it is alive and well in 2011.

There will be a "dog stuff" giveaway on Thursday, more specific info Wed on my Facebook group.  

Ruff wear giveaway

Just a quick note to let you all know that on Wed. I will announce a Ruff Wear giveaway.  Details coming Wednesday, stay tuned. 

Winding down

As I sit typing I look over at my sofa to see three very special canines wrapped in blankets and sound asleep.  We've had a busy day; poor little Jessie is catching up on her much needed sleep from her never ending Sundown Syndrome.  It actually does end, it ends the moment she gets up in the morning.  It is then and only then that she is down, down for the count for most of the day.  Then the cycle begins again.  As I sit and watch her deep breathing, under her blanket I wonder why she cannot simply sleep like this at night.  But for some reason, bedtime now means up time for the poor little gal.   So we are learning to cope.

The poodles are happily tired, they spent the morning at the beach.  For a 10.5 year old and a nearly 14 year old it doesn't take much to tucker them out.  Tilley is exhausted, I knew she would be but sometimes the exhaustion is well worth it.   We were going to head out this morning without her, the walk we typically do is far too much for her now.  But after watching her hop around throwing her head in the air I had to readjust.  We CAN take her, we just have to adjust our walk.  We will make sure we get parking close by and take the first ramp down to the beach.  There Tilley and I will sit and watch Dad and Luke run around.  It'll be great.

Great it was, it was so wonderful to see her enjoying the beach.  Yes it was a lot for her, maybe a bit much but she was happy, so happy.  Tilley is such a water dog and she was chomping at the bit to get in.  Of course with the California surf being pretty huge she just waded as did Luke.  They got caught in a couple of big waves which meant wet shoes for Dad and two very wet poodles.  We did it slow, slow is the secret to success here.

After a wonderful beach visit it was up the ramp again.  Dad and Luke ran ahead and Tilley and I took our time, we smelled the roses and took in the amazing scenery as we meandered up the ramp.  We went so slow that I bet she didn't even realize that we were going up hill.  By the time we hit the parking lot it was obvious that we were at the end of the energy allotment for the day.  I fluffed up her many fleece blankets in the car and lay her comfortably down.

The car ride home was a quiet one, two very tired poodles.  Once home we washed away the ocean from their curls and they took a few to cool down.  Then it was onto breakfast, second breakfast that is.  They feasted on turkey, raw beef, banana, tomato, vitamins and egg shell.    And then a much deserved nap time, just until dinner time that is.