K9 Kindness promotes reward based training!

Jenn's been super busy with a new project called "K9 Kindness". She and a bunch of other local reward based dog trainers are working together to promote training your dog with kindness right here in the Triangle. Check out their super groovy logo by Top Notch Dog trainer Barbara Shummenfang. K9Kindness has a super new website with resources, articles, and videos all about how you can train your dog without pain, fear or intimidation. There's even a section where your human can submit your reward based training success stories. Most importantly, they are doing a "No Choke Challenge". They're going to give away 100 harnesses in exchange for choke, prong, or shock collars.

So dogs don't have to walk around like this:
Or like this:
Or this this! Yikes!:

They can walk around with their human like this:

That's much, much better. Amazing what the gentle training equipment can do. So stay tuned for all the K9Kindness events promoting rewarding training with your dog. And when you make a donation to K9 Kindness, it is tax deductible. Even better. Go to www.k9kindness.org for details. (Illustrations by artist Cathy Lester and courtesy of www.nevershockapuppy.com).

Dog Bite Prevention Week

Dog Bite Prevention Week is coming up May 15-21st, so here are some resources for understanding why dogs bite, the warning signs, and how to keep yourself safe. Millions of people are bitten by dogs every year, and there are lots of things you people can learn to avoid those bites. Children are especially vulnerable to dog bites, so it is so important that we teach them how to behave around dogs and supervise all interactions between children and dogs. Here's a video created by veterinarian and behaviorist Dr. Sophia Yin showing some of the warning signs of fear when a child approaches a dog.



Scary! That dog gave many warning signs, but the child didn't understand them, and there was no parent around to intercede. What can we do??!!

Dr. Sophia Yin has written a terrific blog explaining how to read fearful body language and why dogs bite when you humans greet us inappropriately.

Here's another poster by artist Lili Chin which shows how to greet and how not to greet a dog. Click on the picture to get a bigger version:

Here's a great resource called Dog Gone Safe. Their website is devoted to preventing dog bites through awareness and education.

And, please read this article by Dr. Sophia Yin called "Seven Tips for Preventing Dog Bites in Animal Care Professionals and Pet Lovers". And watch her video "How To Avoid Dog Bites".

Educating yourself about how to greet dogs properly and learning to read dog body language can go a long way in keeping you and your family safe from dog bites. Be safe!

Jet is 16 months old and still a puppy!

Time has really flown by because our puppy Jet is now 16 months old! She's about 50 lbs and has grown a big puffy tail. She is still a puppy in many ways, even if she looks like a grown up dog. She still has to sleep in her crate at night and be crated while Jenn and Eric aren't home, just to keep her safe and out of trouble. And I keep waiting for her to not have sooo much energy all the time. Jenn says that Jet is in her energy peak which is when 9 month-18 month old teenage puppies really require lots of activity, physical exercise, and benefit from continued reward based training. So Jenn and Eric are keeping Jet busy. Eric took Jet to Family Dog 2 at Paws4Ever that Jenn instructed. Jet learned to hold her stays, improved her loose leash walking manners, and learned how to do a little bit of Rally.
Rally is super cool for young dogs to continue their basic training skills in a fun way. You and your person practice heeling on a course set up with obedience skills. Here's Jet giving Eric great attention.
Now, Eric's taking Jet to Jenn's class called K9 Cross Training. It's for dogs that have already taken some basic classes and want to learn more skills in a creative setting. Jet's currently working on learning to ride a skateboard. That sounds so cool!
Boy, after all this training and keeping Jet active, this is the best part! A tired Jet!
Keeping your teenage puppy in fun, reward based training classes, providing lots of exercise, and containing them when you can't watch them are things you can do to get you through those most challenging months of your dog's adolescence.

Help for Your Puppy's Destructive Chewing

So your puppy is chewing you out of house and home? I've got some suggestions to keep your stuff intact. First of all, I do have some experience in this area. Jenn says that I was one of the worst chewers she has ever seen. I even tried to chew the mortar around the bricks of the fireplace! Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. And, I did eat part of a hat that some unlucky person left on the coffee table on one memorable occasion. Anyway, I'm here to suggest ways to help set your puppy up for success in managing their chewing habits.

1. You need lots of proper, durable, non-edible chews for your puppy to chew, like Nylabones, Kongs and marrow bones. Puppies will imprint on what you give them when they are very young. So don't give your puppy old shoes to chew on or you will have an adult dog with a shoe fetish. And stay away from plush toys unless you want them vivisected.
2. Put your valuable stuff out of puppy's space and supervise/crate your puppy so they are chewing the right things. Dude, if you leave your stuff on the floor and are not watching your puppy, you can't blame them when they chew up your favorite socks.

3. You need to redirect your puppy if they are chewing something they shouldn't. If you catch your puppy with your cell phone in their mouth, don't turn it into a chase game. Calmly go get a toy and trade them.

4. Use a taste deterrent spray like Bitter Apple to pretreat your stuff. If your stuff tastes bad and puppy chew toys taste good, puppy will naturally gravitate to their own toys. This is also helpful if you have children/toys. You can treat the kid toys with the taste deterrent and puppy will learn that the kid's toys taste nasty.

5. Exercise helps too as tired puppies don't have the energy to rip the house apart, so don't forget exercise as a helpful part of puppy chewing management.

So, some consistent management on your part can go a long way to help your puppy/teenage dog navigate through their chewing phases which can last up to 18 months.

And, check out this article from Nylabone for more tips, "How to Prevent Destructive Chewing".

The Nylabone Company is offering a $2 off coupon for their non-edible chews. I really like the super tough Dura-Chews. Not the Flexi-Chews that are too soft for me.

Why you shouldn't put your puppy on electronic fencing-EVER!

Using electronic training collars and electronic fence containment systems (called E-Training) on your puppy is bad news. Really bad. And Jenn is no stranger to the negative impact of using electronic fencing (read her blog on how my friend Big Sandy lost her leg while on electronic fencing).But the companies and trainers that recommend these products don't want you to know what can happen to your puppy over time. They don't want you to know that your puppy's behavior, brain chemistry, and their health may be affected by being repeatedly given electronic shocks. They just want to take your money and give you the illusion that your puppy is safe and hope you don't ask questions later.

But dog trainers and owners are asking lots of questions about the safety and effectiveness of so called "fenceless fences". The real questions don't usually start until a dog's behavior becomes extreme and/or violent. And many times, the once trusting, friendly family dog is blamed instead of the system that has conditioned the dog to behave abnormally.

It all starts with learning. Dogs learn through associations, which is called classical conditioning. You know, Pavlov's dogs right? Well, that's how we learn signals and cues, and that good behavior = good stuff. But, we also learn that negative associations just as easily.

And with electric fence conditioning, you have no control over what your dog's associations will be. For example, a person walks by your house, your puppy runs up to say hello and gets a shock from the fence. The puppy now associates a stranger walking past the house with the shock. Stranger = bad things. This is why many puppies on electric fencing grow up to be adult dogs that have aggression and reactivity towards strangers.
Certified Pet Dog Trainer and Certified Dog Behavior Counselor Pat Miller explains, "I have seen at least 2 lovely, apparently very stable dogs, end up with serious aggression problems that I believe were totally and solely the result of their confinement in an electronic containment system. Different owners--one a Golden retriever, the other an Airedale. We salvaged the Golden; the Airedale was ultimately euthanized." This testimonial on e-fencing and many others by respected trainers can be found here.

This also explains why the number one issue that Jenn sees with dogs on electronic fencing is fear based aggression towards people, especially children and joggers. Why? What is usually running past your house or on bikes and skateboards? Right, kids and joggers. If your dog is outside unsupervised on electric fencing, who know what associations are being created day in and day out.
Richard Polsky, of Animal Behavior Counseling Services, examined the connection of shock/pain/aggression in five different litigated cases of dogs mauling a passersby in "Can Aggression in Dogs be Elicited Through the Use of Electronic Pet Containment Systems?"

The other thing that really worries Jenn is people using these shock/fence systems on young puppies. How does it affect a puppy's developing brain chemistry to get shocked? How is affects their heart and other organs? The truth is that no one knows.

What we do know is that experiments on rats at Harvard demonstrated that brain chemistry and emotional responses are altered by electric shocks:

"Vadim Bolshakov, assistant professor of psychiatry, and his colleagues taught rats that a certain sound they heard would be accompanied by an electric shock. After learning that unpleasant fact, the animals became startled every time they heard the tone whether a shock followed or not. Bolshakov and his team then examined their brains, and found conclusive changes not seen in rats that heard the sound or felt the shocks separately. " from the article "Brain Changes in Learning Measured" by William Cromie, 5/30/02.

What can keep dogs safe and secure without the risk of altering your dog's health and behavior? How about a real, physical fence? How about training your dog to come when called? Those are options that I can live with.For more on electronic fencing:

Why I REALLY Hate Electronic Shock (Invisible) Fences by Pamela Dennison

You can read Pat Miller's Whole Dog Journal article on electronic fencing here called "Simply Shocking: Electronic Containment Systems May Be Convenient for Dog Owners, But Are Not Safe for Dogs".

Why use rewards vs. punishment with your puppy?

Reward based training rocks! Using rewards instead of punishments to train your dog is not only a scientifically based, proven way to teach commands and modify behavior, it also helps condition your dog to love learning. Through classical conditioning, we associate good things with training and good things with being with you. I love to learn new things with Jenn, earning praise, treats, and attention in exchange for my good behavior. I look forward to our time together and I can't imagine wanting to learn anything if I was constantly corrected or punished. What fun would that be? It would be completely stressful. No thanks! Jenn also likes to teach reward based methods to children.
Kids can learn some terrific life skills using reward based training with their dogs including being gentle and kind, taking the time and patience to understand the dog's emotions, and using treats and praise instead of force and fear.
Author Stanley Coren recently wrote in Psychology Today, explaining:

"Classical conditioning of emotions provides one reason why reward-based training procedures should work better and establish a stronger bond between the dog and his trainer, than punishment based systems. Every time you give the dog a treat, or some other reward, you set up the event sequence "sight of you-treat-pleasant feeling." Even if your timing is off and you are not a very good and knowledgeable trainer, there is no harm being done in this case. Every instance of reward makes it more likely that the dog will feel better about you because you are actually conditioning the emotional response "sight of you-pleasant feeling."

You can read author Stanley Coren's whole article from Psychology Today:

"Reward Training versus Discipline Based Dog Training: Which Works Better" From Psychology Today By Stanley Coren

My Training Goals for 2011

Jenn says that we really need to put together some formal training plans for me, Bernie and Jet for the new year. Let's start with me (of course)!

Jenn's big goal for me in 2011 is to develop an individual Freestyle routine for us.

What is Freestyle? Canine Freestyle is a choreographed performance organized with music, illustrating the training and joyful relationship of a dog and handler team. It includes heeling, elements of formal obedience, tricks, and creative freedom between dog and handler. We've been doing group freestyle for several years with the Paws4Ever Drill Team for demos and parades. But individual Freestyle is even more challenging. Some dog/handler teams go on to compete in Freestyle trials and/or perform demonstrations in public.

We've started by taking a beginner Freestyle class out at Paws4Ever with instructor Julie Jenkins. This will give us some basics and Julie is a fun instructor. We'll be choosing a song that shows off my movement, choreographing some basic moves, and practicing, practicing, practicing.

Jenn also joined the Canine Freestyle Federation (CFF), which provides support to those interested in the sport of Freestyle.

Who-ha, sounds like I'm going to have a busy year.

Resolve to Train Your Dog in 2011!

Wow, it is 2011! And what a perfect time to make a resolution to spend more time with your canine companion with reward based training. To get us all on the right track, the Association of Pet Dog Trainers have proclaimed January "National Train Your Dog Month".There are tons of resources on their website dedicated to kicking off your year with reward based training. There are training tips, how to have fun and bond with your dog while learning real life skills and you can enter contests. Here's the deal:

"You can enter a photo and/or video that best illustrates how training can improve a dog’s life (and his or her owner’s life!) in the community at large. The photos or videos should demonstrate a dog or dogs and owner(s) using training in “real life” situations in the world at large." To enter, check out this page.

Jenn is no exception in her resolution to promote, support and practice reward based training. She has resolved to train me, Bernie and Jet on specific training goals. She's got lots of plans for each one of us in the new year. To track our progress, Jenn is going to use her holiday gift, a Flip video camera to show y'all what we are working on on my blog. Looks like 2011 is going to be a great year!

Happy Holidays from the Blue Dog Family!

Check out our awesome picture with Santa! We got to meet him and pose in our Jing-A-Ling Dog Bandanas. I think we all look pretty festive. Here's hoping 2011 is a healthy and happy year for you and your canine companions. Happy 2011!!

Marching in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Holiday Parade

This morning, we braved the cold and marched with the Paws4Ever Dog Drill Team in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Holiday Parade. Jenn was a little nervous that it might be too much for me, but frankly, I was awesome. Jenn was very proud of me. I marched the whole route and never made one bark or ort and did all our Drill Team moves. Before we started, Jenn put on my snazzy rugby style Thundershirt. She thought it might help me chill out while all the noises were going on around us, which it did. Like fire trucks, bands, drums, screaming people, etc. It was very exciting to see everyone in the crowds and we all wore our special holiday style Jing-A-Ling Dog Bandanas. We heard lots of interesting comments!

You can check out our parade video here. And see us doing all our parade moves: the wave, the tractor, side spins, tight lefts/tight rights, double circles, and the crowd favorite-the pinwheel. Drill Team is such fun! And we are always looking for new members to join. So if your dog knows basic commands and how to heel, you should think about joining. It's a fun and positive way to learn new things and work in partnership with your pup. Contact Jenn for details at jenn@bluedogk9.com.