Summertime Space

Ah Summertime! Sun, lakes, trails, biking, hiking, playing, and getting out!  Summer is when even the most introverted of people get out and get more active.  This also means that many dogs are out and about too, some which don't like people, kids, dogs, wheels, or other things.

A common theme I've head this Summer is, "my dog is aggressive towards other dogs."  While there are aggressive dogs, typically the underlying issue is a lack of space and understanding on the handlers part.  Most dogs do well with other dogs, if they have the proper space and their handler understands their dog's body language.  Giving your dog space on walks, seeking the side of the trail as others pass, taking a longer route to avoid the barking dogs in a yard, and keeping your dog on leash at the lake isn't cruel.  It also doesn't make you a bad handler.  It's actually setting them up for success. 

No one loves every person they meet and dogs are no different.  Expecting a dog that instantly snaps at others, growls, or avoids dogs all together to be a social butterfly isn't fair.  So rather than wishing you had a socialite, respect the dog you have and be realistic in your expectations.  Dogs that need space aren't bad dogs and as handlers the best thing we can do is honor our dogs needs when we're out and about. 

The next time you take your dog out, just pause. Assess whether the environment is one they'll be comfortable in.  If you answer yes, plan extra time to take the space you need for success.  This small but important thought process will save you and others a lot of headaches.

The Allure of Dog Treats

We've all been there.  We're marching the isles trying to choose dog treats and find ourselves surrounded by beautiful packages.  Bright colors, fun designs, and happy dogs on the front.  How often do you look past the bag and read the ingredients?  Or do you just trust the front of the bag when it says No By-Products and Grain Free! 

Freya loves Lamb Lung, string cheese, and pot roast!

This past week all I've done is research dog treats, because I want to offer more variety for you all.  Let me tell you, company names can be misleading, packaging claims are far from the truth, and those lovely grilled chicken breasts on the front aren't what's going into the treat.  And before you say, my dog LOVES XYZ TREAT, I'm going to stop you and say one simple thing.  I love caffeinated pop, especially for breakfast (don't judge,) and it isn't even sort of good for me.  Let me tell you a little secret, your dog will love single ingredient or minimally messed with treats even more than your sugar, grain, fat filled treats! 

Believe me, nothing gets my dogs doing backflips more than freeze dried lamb lung, baked chicken breast, or some lean stew meat.  They love single ingredient stuff!  I used to swear by a few brand name treats, and to be fair there are good ones out there.  However, more often than not, the flashy packaging and allure of gluten free, grain free, cage free, antibiotic free, by-product free, or whatever else they claim catches us.  The real telling sign for a treat are the ingredients and where an ingredient is coming from.

So in a treat ingredient list, you have to start at the beginning and work your way down.  For example, if I saw the following ingredient list: Chicken, Ground Rice, Ground Barley, Malted Barley, Vegetable Glycerin, Tapioca, Natural Flavor, Cherries, Sunflower Oil, Salt, Lecithin, Phosphoric Acid, Rosemary, Turmeric, Sorbic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Mixed Tocopherols, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Propionate.

I'd know that the largest amount of this treat is chicken because it's right at the beginning.  However, I'd also know that the ground rice, ground barley, and malted barley combined probably outweigh the chicken.  Why is this a problem?  Barley, especially malted barley can send your dogs system into yeast overdrive.  So while chicken is the first ingredient and there isn't soy, wheat, or corn, you still have a high grain content in this treat. 

The other sneaky ingredients in this treat are things like salt, which no dog ever ever needs.  Another sneaky one is cane molasses, which is the equivalent of sugar, corn syrup, and glucose.  Sugars and the grains that dogs metabolize to sugars (like wheat, corn, and others) are good to avoid because they lead to yeast production and some strange behaviors.  Just drink pop for a week and take vitamins, then see how you feel.

Next, start to get curious about sourcing of your meat products.  Where is the meat coming from, cull lots, Canada, Organic Farms, Australia, Brazil, irradiated piles?  It's good to know what's going into your dogs treats.  The good companies boast about USDA inspected facilities and human grade meats, which is a great place to start!

Next time you find yourself surrounded in that treat isle, start asking questions, flipping bags, and doing some research.  You'll be shocked to see what you find.

Marathon Walks - And Why You Don't Need 'Em!

So physical exercise like walks and hiking are AWESOME for your dog!  But let's be honest.  We don't have 2-3 hours every day to march around the neighborhood with our dogs.  No one enjoys taking a revved up dog for a 1-2 hour walk (or drag in most cases. Which is why you should always play or train your dog BEFORE a walk.)  So learn to use your time wisely!  

Mental exercise is just as important as physical exercise for a balanced dog.  If you took 15 minutes in the morning, 15 at lunch, 15 when you get home, and 15 in the evening you would give your dog a full hour of mental exercise.  If you were to combine this with ever other day walks you would have one happy dog. 

So what the heck is mental exercise for a dog anyways?  Well this can run a gamut of things from tricks, treibball, rally, rally free, musical freestyle (heelwork to music), and agility.  All of these things help your dog learn new things and save you from marathon walks every day.  If you aren't sure where to start when it comes to these sports, take a class!  Or challenge yourself to teach a new trick to your dog every week.  YouTube is always a great source of inspiration!  Take the music video below, there are a ton of different tricks to teach.

Some food for thought about the video above...it took them SEVENTY TWO takes to get this one.  So when you start looking for perfection and instant success, just remember that it all takes time, ok?  Patience, persistence, and partying are the keys to fun trick sessions!

A great book to start with is 101 Dog Tricks by Kyra Sundance.  She also has a Trick Dog Title Program.  Another great trick title option is offered by Paws and People.  Check out both of these great programs to teach your dog something new!  You'll be amazed at how quickly 15 minutes of trick work tires out an active mind.

Movie Myths: Jurassic World

The raptors of Jurassic World were portrayed as clicker trained.  However, the clicker training wasn't shown in an accurate light.  Did you know that the click should happen once and then be followed by the reward?

Picture by Universal Studios

Just remember, a marker word or clicker should be timed when an animal is doing something right.  A true clicker trainer clicks minute changes in behavior and always rewards the click.  Multiple clicks without a reward, devalues the click.  So don't use Jurassic world as your clicker training example and make sure you pay attention in class ;) 

Puppies and Waiting

Constantly I hear about how a person has to wait with their puppy.  Wait to socialize, wait to train, wait to work with their puppy.  My response is always why? (I'm very good at asking this question, it's inbred in the inner workings of my core.) The answers I get are:

• "I don't have time
• I just have to be the boss
• My puppy is biting and aggressive
• "My puppy hasn't had all their shots, they will drop dead upon entering your door."

So now let's take a look at these common myths:

"I don't have time"

You have a puppy, a four legged young creature that relies on you for all his experience, social capabilities, and exercise.  You get out what you put in.  You can take a couple hours a week to prevent problems now.  OR, you can take 6-10 hours and a lifetime of management later.  A dog that may not enjoy other dogs, new environments, and people. Is that the dog you want? 

"I just have to be the boss."

Dominance Theory has actually been disproven by several world renown animal behaviorists. At best it shuts dogs down.  At worst it turns them into a very dangerous animal.

Patricia McConnell, PHD, Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist states in her book Other End Of The Leash that "The irony is that dominance is actually a social construct designed to decrease aggression, not to facilitate it...Any individual who truly has a lot of social status has enough power that he or she doesn't need to use force."

Just chew on that for a bit, and if you still aren't convinced hop over to Patricia McConnell's website.  It is chalk full of information about dominance theory and why dominance techniques do far more harm than good.

"My Puppy is Biting and Aggressive"

Actually, your puppy is learning about this world and how they fit in.  They navigate with their mouths! They don't have primate hands to touch everything.  That's why the mouth comes in.  Puppies biting/munching/chewing is totally normal and puppies biting each other is normal too.  It's how they learn to regulate their bites and not do damage (otherwise known as bite inhibition.)

If you want to save your sofa, shoes, and children get them appropriate toys and chews. Monitor them when they are out and crate them when you can't monitor.

"My puppy hasn't had all their shots, they will drop dead upon entering your door."

Well, we've all heard this one.  Whether from veterinarians, family, friends, clubs, breeders, etc.  I'm here to tell you that the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior put together a position statement on socialization (socialization is letting your dog experience kind people, dogs, and environments.)  They state outright that behavioral issues like fear, avoidance, and aggression are more likely to kill your dog.  Let's be honest, very few people want to have a dog that barks and lunges at people and dogs, redirects to their owner with bites when people pass, cowers in fear out in public.  This is the aftermath of missing this window.

Get your young puppies out and about.  The Critical Socialization period (10-16 weeks) cannot be made up later.  After this period you can try to socialize, but puppies that were lacking during this time don't have the same bounce back other puppies do.  They may carry bad experiences with them for life, where as the well socialized puppy can handle a negative experience and rise above it.

MORAL OF THE STORY

Don't wait!  Work with your puppy, meet other puppies and socially appropriate dogs, go places together.