January is National Train Your Dog Month!!

The Association of Pet Dog Trainers is once again promoting the benefits of reward based training and socialization for all puppies and dogs through National Train Your Dog Month. There are lots of events, free downloads, and cool stuff available free to everyone on the National Train Your Dog Official Website!

FREE WEBINARS-To help the public, animal shelters and others in the pet care industry, APDT has recorded free webinars for the public with many well-known pet training and behavior professionals. These will be available starting in January on the National Train Your Dog Official Website and are completely free.

• Shelter Dogs: Good Choice or Bad? - Trish King, CPDT-KA, CDBC
• Got C.L.A.S.S.? Canine Life and Social Skills for Pet Owners - Ann Allums, CPDT-KA
• Housetraining Basics - Teoti Anderson, CPDT-KA
• Loose Leash Walking - Gail Fisher
• It Takes Two: Successful Cat and Dog Interactions - Jacqueline Munera, CCBC
• Feline Issues: Litter Box and Scratching - Katenna Jones, MSc, ACAAB, CABC, CPDT-KA
• Dog Safety: What to Teach Your Kids - Joan Orr, MSc
• Setting Dog and Baby Up for Success! - Jenn Shryock, CDBC
• Separation Anxiety in Dogs - Melissa Bain, DVM, DACVB, MS

FREE CHATS-APDT has also set up a calendar of Facebook "chats" with professional training and behavior consultants throughout the month of January on a variety of topics focusing on the training and care of dogs, cats and even rabbits! Anyone with behavior and training questions can join the chats to learn more about their chosen pet. To join the chats, visit the APDT Facebook page at the date and time listed below.

All about Bully Breeds! Anything You Want to Know about 'Pit Bull' Type Dogs
Mychelle Blake, MSW, CDBC and Katenna Jones, MSc, ACAAB, CABC, CPDT-KA
January 2, 12 pm Eastern

Leash Manners
Gail Fisher
January 6, 12 p.m. Eastern

Adopting a Dog
Trish McMillan Loehr (ASPCA), MSc, CPDT-KA
January 9, 2 pm Eastern

Things to Teach Your Children to be Safe around Dogs
Joan Orr
January 12, 6 p.m. Eastern

Safety around Dogs for Babies and Toddlers
Jenn Shryock, CDBC
January 12, 7 p.m. Eastern

Housetraining
Teoti Anderson, CPDT-KA
January 18, 6:30 p.m. Eastern

Introducing Cats and Dogs
Jacqueline Munera, CCBC
January 24, 12 p.m. Eastern

APDT CLASS: Canine Life and Social Skills
Ann Allums, CPDT-KA
January 25, 12:00 p.m. Eastern

APDT Rally
Ann Allums, CPDT-KA & Ali Brown, MEd, CPDT-KA, CDBC
January 25, 1:00 p.m. Eastern

Common Dog Behavior Problems (Barking, Digging and More)
Marjie Alonso, CDBC, CPDT-KA
Katenna Jones, MSc, ACAAB, CABC, CPDT-KA
January 27, 4 pm Eastern

All About Cats
Mychelle Blake, MSW, CDBC and Katenna Jones, MSc, ACAAB, CABC, CPDT-KA
January 30, 5 pm Eastern
FREE PUPPY AND DOG TRAINING TIPS-APDT has complied a list of articles for new puppy/dog parents about the importance of training and socialization. Check these out:

• The Benefits of Training
• Help Your Dog Love Visiting the Veterinarian
• "Real Life" Training
• The Importance of Socialization
• Teach Your Dog to Play With Toys

You can check out the complete list of articles at the National Train Your Dog Month Website.

Resolve to train your dog in 2012! You can join on of Jenn's classes and check out her Blue Dog website for the January schedule including puppy classes, adult dog classes, Rally-O, Canine Life and Social Skills, and K9 Cross Training. Let's make 2012 a wonderful year for new puppies and dogs with reward based training and a positive start!!

And here are more links on finding a reward based dog training professional in your area:

Association of Pet Dog Trainers

Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers

International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants

Animal Behavior Society

American College of Veterinary Behaviorists

Happy Holidays!!

Happy Holidays from Jenn, Jet, Bernie, me, and Eric!! Jenn was especially happy this year to have taken our annual Santa Paws picture early, before her accident. Otherwise, we wouldn't have a picture this year. We wish everyone a most happy and (especially) most healthy 2012!!

Jenn's Nominated for the DWAA Maxwell Award!

Talk about a bit of good news! Jenn just found out that the series of articles she wrote for the APDT Chronicle of the Dog about the Tellington TTouch Method have been nominated by the Dog Writers' Association of America for their 2011 writing awards. Jenn is a finalist for the Maxwell Medallion for Excellence, in the Subject-Related Series category. Winners will be announced at a banquet in New York City on February 12th. Jenn hopes she will be able to attend.

You can see the entire list of 2011 nominees here: DWAA Nominees List

You can read Jenn's nominated article series on her website, scroll down to "articles by Jenn Merritt": Tellington TTouch Series from APDT Chronicle of the Dog

Dog Owner Injuries-What Happens to the Dogs??

This has been the most boring month ever! Jenn was in an accident, she hit her head and fractured her ribs and has spent most of the past few weeks recovering and resting. Resting??!! Bor-ing! Resting is just not in a herding dog's vocabulary. And it was kind of freaky to watch Jenn walk slow and weird. We had to be really careful not to bump her or jump up. So, Jet and I have been spending lots of time looking really bored.
Eric's been taking care of us, and no offense, but Jet, Bernie and I cannot wait for Jenn to get back to her normal self. She keeps us all very active with play and training, and fun stuff. So, we've had to adjust to new routines and less activity, at least for a while. So what happens with your dogs if you can't care for them? It's really smart to think ahead and have a plan in place for what you would need to do in the event that you can't care for your dogs.

Here are a couple of tips that can help prepare your dog if you get hurt:

Staying with Friends-Your dog may need to stay with other humans for a while. Eric had to be with Jenn at the hospital and then care for her when she came home. This didn't leave him much time to care for three dogs. So, Bernie stayed with their friend Laura for the first week after the accident. This made things much easier for Eric to manage (taking care of two dogs instead of three). You should have a plan in place for where your dogs would go if you got hurt (with trusted friends, a local kennel, etc.)

Separation from You is OK-It is really important that your dog can function independently from you. If your dog can't function without you, that leaves them completely lost if you get hurt. It becomes very important that other humans can walk us, feed us, care for us. So, it's a good idea to teach your dog to listen and respond to other humans, not just you. Even just establishing a nice relationship between your dog and your neighbors, so if they ever have to come in a let the dogs out in an emergency, the dogs won't freak out. And your dog should learn from puppyhood that being alone is OK.

Leash Manners-I cannot overemphasize the importance of teaching your dog to walk politely on leash. Since leash walking is pretty much the only exercise we are able to get while Jenn is out of commission (no dog park, no play times), it is really vital that someone other than Jenn could take us for a walk, including family members and friends. Please see my previous posts on polite leash walking for more info.
Mental Games, Toys, and Bones-Thank goodness for mental activity! If your usually high drive, high energy dog has to adjust to a new, low key routine, you really need to give them stuff to do. We have lots of mental toys to work on and Jenn had lots of raw marrow bones in the freezer for us to chew on when we needed something to do. Here are more of Jenn's suggestions for good quality mental toys: Recommended Mental Toys

So, there are a few tips for preparing you and your dog for what happens if you get hurt. You may not want to think about it, but it is such a good idea to have some plans in place ahead of time.

Body Harnesses for Better Leash Walking

So we've talked about the importance of teaching your dog how to walk on a loose leash and why prong/pinch collars are a complete "pain in the neck", so what are other options for dogs that need a little more help on leash? The good news is that there are lots of options that don't put pressure on the dog's neck, so their airway/breathing aren't constricted.

Get a Real Leash-OK, before we get started talking about harnesses, the first thing y'all need is a real leash, not a retractable leash, which is downright dangerous.
These things get tangled, make your dog difficult to control, and dogs and humans can get awful rope burns. If you ever want to teach your dog to walk mannerly on a leash, get rid of the retractable leash a get a simple six foot leather or canvas leash.

Body Harnesses-there are lots of different types of body harnesses, but they are not created equal.

This is an H Harness which has a connection on the dog's back. Dogs have an opposition reflex, so when we feel that tension in the leash, we pull forward against it. So an H Harness is basically a sled dog harness. It actually makes it easier for the dog to pull forward and when they pull it elevates them into really bad posture and horrible body language to other dogs. Not a good choice for most dogs. Let's look at some better options.

Sensation Body Harness-The Sensation has the connection on the dog's chest, which gives you humans more control and reduces pulling by eliminating opposition reflex. We don't feel the same instinct to pull against the front connection and we do with the leash connected on our backs. The Sensation is easy to fit, easy to put on us, and easy to use. This is one of Jenn's favorites and is available online and in pet stores for about $35.
Walk In Sync Body Harness System-The Walk In Sync is also a front clip body harness, but also uses a special leash with accupoints, that provide a boundary for the dog and handler. This harness is a little more challenging to put on, but the fit is outstanding. It does not cut the dog across the shoulders like the Sensation and provides great control. A very well made harness and effective system that retails online for a about $50 which includes the harness and leash.
Freedom Body Harness-the Freedom harness by Wags, Wiggles and Whiskers (a North Carolina company) is a unique front clip harness that uses a double ended leash and an additional connection on the dog's back. The double ended leash is much like what Jenn uses in TTouch. It's a little more challenging to fit, but does work very well for some dogs, especially large dogs that are ingrained pullers. It retails for about $40 and is available online and at pet stores.
So that's a quick run down of my favorite body harnesses. Remember that there is no substitute for also using consistent, reward based techniques in addition to choosing humane equipment. Need more help? Contact Jenn about enrolling in a training class to get you and your dog on the right track. Check out www.bluedogk9.com for details.

How to Teach Your Dog Polite Leash Walking

Teaching your dog to walk politely on the leash takes some time, energy and consistency, but the results last a lifetime. I'm going to talk about simple, easy techniques and gentle equipment to help your walks with your dog be more enjoyable for everyone, human and dog alike.

A Rewarding Approach to Leash Learning
Dogs learn by association. They do what works. And if pulling gets them where they want to go, they pull. We have to make the right choice (not pulling) the easiest (and more rewarding) choice to make. This starts with the human changing their behavior-not letting the dog pull them down the street.

We want forward movement with us to be the most rewarding thing, but with the leash loose. In reward based training, there are many variations on how to do this. Here's just one method used with clickers marking the dog's correct body position:



Balance Leash
Another method to help the dog understand that we want them moving with us instead if pulling us down the street is the Balance Leash technique. This is simply using the leash draped around the dog's chest to give a light signal to balance on all four feet. A balanced dog is not a pulling dog. Here's balance leash at work:



For more techniques on polite leash walking check out:

Dog Star Daily's article and resources for Pulling on Leash

Prongs are a pain in Germany too!

K9 Kindness is working hard to raise money for their "No Choke Challenge", which promotes training your dog without force or fear and provides free front clip body harnesses in exchange for shock, prong, and choke chains. Local reward based trainers working with K9 Kindness are leading the charge in providing fast, fun and effective methods for improving your dog's polite leash walking without equipment that hurts. Please help support the efforts of K9 Kindness by friending them on Facebook and making a donation to the "No Choke Challenge".

Here's a great video from a similar organization in Germany showing two very cute Aussies with tails. You don't need to speak German to get the point of the video.

Prong collars are a pain in the neck!!

This is a prong collar. Prong collars are a correction based metal collar that applies pressure to the dog's neck when it tightens.  Like any piece of training equipment, it must be used properly with knowledge of the intended use and the physical and behavioral side effects.  The problem is there are many folks are out there using prong collars on their dogs without any thought of using it safely, properly or what the experience is like for their dog.

The prong is designed to give a correction for an unwanted behavior (for example, pulling on the leash).  As with other types of punishment based training techniques, the correction must be timed perfectly and applied with the right amount of force.  But what a lot of average dog owners do (who have pretty crappy timing even on the best of days) is just put the prong on without fitting it or using corrections and let the dog pull.  We pull less, cause it hurts, but you continue to use the prong for months if not years, so the dog learns to walk with constant pressure on their neck.   This is not what the prong was designed for.   If the prong is such an all around effective training tool, why do people continue to use it for that length of time?

It Works Because It Hurts!!  It doesn't take a genius to figure out the seemingly quick fix provided by a prong collar-the dog stops pulling because it hurts!!! You'd stop whatever you were doing too if you wore this thing around one of the most sensitive parts of your body. Here's what a prong collar leaves behind on human skin after only a minute of contact. Now imagine that on your neck where you get oxygen and blood flow.  What happens when you feel reduced oxygen and blood flow?  Nuff said.

What's It Like for Us-I can't imagine that thing being on my neck and those pieces of metal pressing against windpipe. It would make me really uneasy and anxious all the time.  This dog sure doesn't look comfortable. But what else can happen when you use a prong collar??
Break Away Prongs-Your prong collar can break apart unexpendedly.  About 10 years ago, Jenn was walking with her friend in Duke Forest one day and they saw a dog run past them and into the road.  The owner came running saying that the dog's prong broke apart.  Luckily, she got her dog back, but the owner learned an important lesson about prongs.   They are not as safe as they seem.  Jenn remembers this and has heard many other stories of prongs breaking apart and failing.  One of the top promoters of prong collars suggests using a choke collar with the prong just in chase the prong breaks.  Most people can't even manage using the prong correctly.  Just sayin'.

Not Meant To Be Worn During Activities-Prongs are not designed to be used during any dog activities, like running, playing, going to the park.  And never let your dog play with other dogs while in a prong.  That may seem like common sense, but there are people that take their dogs to the park and leave the prong collar on while they play setting their dog or someone else's dog up for a soft tissue injury or worse.  Not a good idea. 

Soft Tissue Injuries-Tissues injuries can occur if the there is too much force or pressure put onto the prong.  That could be leaving the prong on all the time.  Here's a dog that had his prong collar left on all the time creating pressure necrosis (decaying skin).  Uggh!  Your dog should never be tethered in a prong collar or wear it all the time.  And that goes for any collar that creates pressure.
Retractable Dangers/Neck-Spinal Injury-Prongs are especially dangerous when they are used with retractable leashes.   Exactly what happens if your dog runs like a shot out to the end of the 15 foot retractable leash while on a prong collar?  Ouch!!   When we are out on walks, we routinely see people using prongs and retractable leashes improperly.   If you are using a prong, please don't use a retractable leash with it.

 

Psychological Effects-Aside from obvious physical injuries and physical issues, behavioral side effects from using prong collars can be even worse and take much longer to heal or resolve. Because dogs are associative learners, many dogs react not just with avoiding the pain from the prong collar, but can also develop a negative association to whatever is around that predicts the pain sensations.  Most people don't even realize that their dog is developing a problem, because the dog learns to become unresponsive to avoid corrections.

So, you are out walking your dog, they see another dog down the street, they pull forward the handlers applies a corrective jerk on the prong collar, the dog associates bad things (pain on their neck) with the presence of another dog. With repeated experiences, other dogs = bad things and dog responds with increase arousal and reactions, and with even more intensity when the prong collar comes off. Jenn says that she sees this time and time again: behaviorally healthy dogs developing behavioral problems and reactivity after being put on prong collars.
Once the prongs come off, the dog is less inhibited and the pent up frustrations come out in force. So now you have a dog that doesn't pull as much when the prong is used, but hates other dogs or cars or people or children.   Eeshh!!

But hold on a second, because I think it is important for you to know that Jenn used to train with equipment like prong and choke collars until someone showed her that she could get the same (if not better results without causing pain or discomfort to the dog).  When she started using dog training methods based on positive reinforcement (rewarding what you like vs. punishing what you don't like), Jenn found that her training became more effective, more efficient, and it was a ton of fun for her and the dogs she was working with.   Jenn really liked that she could teach children the methods, and that you could start training puppies with reward based methods as early as 5 weeks of age. 

Most importantly, with reward based training there are none of the possible physical or behavioral side effects of using punishment based methods.   The same reward based methods are being used by K9 police trainers, guide dog programs, and with marine mammal and zoo trainers. 

Check out this poster with video links to learn about how reward based training techniques are being used in zoos all over the world to teach animals of every size and shape. 

If we can teach a killer whale to pee in a cup, can't we teach a dog to walk on leash without a prong collar??  Indeed friends. And that's the topic of my next blog. In the meatime, look at me rocking in my body harness and Jenn's use of two points of connection! Relaxed and balanced on all four feet without any pressure on my neck.   Want to learn more about the use of reward based training?  Check out the resources page at K9 Kindness.

My 4th Birthday Party!

Can you believe it? I am four years old. Amazing as it just seems like yesterday I was a tiny pup. Well, maybe not tiny.Anyway, Jenn and Eric once again invited some of my special friends over to celebrate.Jet, Bernie and I welcomed Jet's Aussie boyfriend Joey. My special girlfriend Mona the German Shepherd came too, and Jenn's friend Gloria with her foster puppy. Lots of special human friends came too including Jenn's mom and dad. All the pups got to run around, then we got special bandanas courtesy of Jenn's mom, who makes Jing-A-Ling Dog Bandanas. And then what everyone was waiting for....my cake!! Wow, Jenn made my most special 4th birthday party cake out of carrots and apples, peanut butter, eggs, flour and honey. And it was square too, decorated with cream cheese and biscuits.

It didn't take long for all the dogs to eat their pieces of cake!

We also did a gift exchange, so everyone could go home with something new and fun. I got a stuffed fox which is especially cool because it is flat and still has squeakers. Jenn says this is a great option for dogs like Jet, who like to pull the stuffing out of toys.

Thanks to everyone for coming to my party!!

CLASS Exercise #1-Wait at the Door

Jenn and I are training for my CLASS Evaluation. CLASS stands for Canine Life and Social Skills and is a new program by the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. The program teaches dogs real life skills through reward based training and is a three level evaluation that also tests the handler's knowledge of training and canine behavior. The first level is the Bachelor's or BA and there are nine test items and two bonuses that dog/handler teams complete. I'm going to talk about each of the test items and how Jenn and I are training and preparing for the test.

Test item number one is Wait at the Door:

Here's the deal, the handler cues the dog to wait at a doorway. The dog can be in a sit, down or standing. The dog holds the wait for about three seconds and then the handler releases the dog to go through the doorway.

How to train Wait at the Door with a sit using minimal cues and minimal effort:

First, make sure your dog's leash is on, so that just in case they break their wait, they don't reward themselves by dashing through the door. You don't necessarily have to use any other rewards in this exercise, as the freedom of going through the doorway is a great reward in itself.

Step 1: Keep the door closed and calmly wait for your dog to sit. Cue them to sit if absolutely necessary, but it's really important that dogs learn the door doesn't open until we sit. If at any point your dog gets up from their sit during the following steps, return to this Step 1.
Step 2: When your dog sits, reach over and touch the doorknob. If they hold their sit, continue to turn the doorknob and slowly open the door. If they stand up or move forward, go back to Step 1.
Step 3: If they hold their sit with the door open, step through the door ahead of them and release them to come through with an "OK".Once your dog is doing all three steps easily, you can begin giving a "Wait" cue as you open the door.

Why is this skill challenging for dogs? Cause it is exciting to go through doors! Controlling the impulse to run through the door is a challenge for many dogs, especially if getting out the door means going on a walk or going for a ride in the car.

Why is it important to teach this skill? Wait at the door can come in handy every time you go through a doorway with your dog. And it keeps your dog safe from dashing out the door. If you have multiple dogs, it is important to teach each dog individually how to wait at doors before you can get them to perform the skill together.

Here are 20 additional uses of teaching your dog to wait. Need I say more?