After Death Experiences

My dog, Jack, died on 12/23/2009.   I have not experienced anything unsual after his death.   I wish I did, but then again, I hope he's on to bigger and better things.   My sweet boy deserved everything life had to give him, and I can only hope he is back on his way to more adventures.

However, I do believe that I have had contact before.   My cat, Clyde, died many years ago.   He was very old, but it was especially taumatic for us because we needed to help him along via a vet.   I returned home with my husband sobbing, and then stopped suddenly.   I heard the distinct sound of his purring.  Clyde had an unbelievable ability to purr so loud it WOULD wake you up, even if he was in another room.   I believe I heard it distinctly that day, as if to say "don't worry, I am all right".

To leave the pet category for a moment, my Grandmother also died many years ago.   Although she died in a nursing home, her house was vacant without owners until her passing.   I felt the need to drive over, and sit on the stump of the boison berry tree that I climbed in my youth.   As I drove into the driveway of her house, I smelled her perfume, which was a rose type of perfume.   I can't conjure up that smell if I try, but I smelled it distinctly that day.  Also on a day of a big decision (which I can not remember now), a music box that had not been played in ages went off.   I attributed that to my Grandmother's approval or wish of good luck.

A few years before my Grandmother, my Grandfather died the day after Thanksgiving.   I felt someone distinctly tug on my pony tail after he died.   There was no one else in our house.

How about others?   Any after death experiences that you attributed to passed love ones?

Jackie, CD Passed this Morning Around 5 AM

I just can't express how heavy my heart is right now.  A chunk of my heart was ripped out this morning by three words uttered to me by my husband upon waking..."Jack is dead".   Whatever had laid dormant until the "hairball incident" finally claimed our Jack.  

Jack was still warm when I rushed to his side.   Robert had been checking on him all night, and had last seen him alive at 3 am and drinking water.   I touched him at 5 am, and he was still warm.   I thought "oh he's still with us, Robert was wrong."   Alas, my beautiful boy had indeed gone.  His paws were getting cold, his gums were icey, but other parts were still warm.   He must not have left too long ago.  

It's so unfair.   You put all this love and care into this life, and it's ripped from you before you are ready.  We have been lucky in that Jazz died of old (and I do mean old) age, both our cats (Clyde and Mustache) died of old age, and our dog Neptune died of heart disease but he lived a couple more years than expected.   It was no fun, but we were more prepared for the deaths of our previous pets.   Three of old age, and one that lived with a very serious heart condition longer than expected.

Jack had barely been sick a day in his life.   Before coming to us at the age of two, I understand he had a few obstruction surgeries.   He a list of behavioral issues that came with him, some of which I expect came from this thing dwelling inside him.   My husband and I ironed out a lot of those behavioral problems so the list was short, and spent a lot of time working with and having fun with him.   Jack loved spending time with us.   He was such a smart dog, and so loving.   He was a foster that was supposed to go back to DRU, and then go onto another family but he wormed his way into my heart.   I could not let him leave, and try out another few homes.   He had come home to live with us as his final destination.

He and I shared a huge accomplishment in getting his Companion Dog.   I would have never thought Jack (due to his dog aggressiveness) would have been capable.   I should say especially with me, never handling a dog in competition before.   Jack stuck with me though, and we both completed that adventure together.   Had we been dealt better odds, we probably would have gone on to do more things.   Jackie was an amazing dog.   I admired his ability to find anything dead or alive in the woods.   Few things crack me up more than remembering the "turkey incident" with Jackie, and the look of pure joy on his face as he chased a very angry turkey towards me.   Who knew turkeys had a temper?   And that when I called, Jack off the turkey that the turkey would go after Jack.   Or the time he danced into our yard with the deer leg in his mouth.   Things with Jack WERE NOT dull ever.   He loved the woods, and he loved his dog friends that he accepted.   Most of all, he loved his family.  And I assure you his family loved him back in return.

I just wish he was still here.   I still can't quite believe that he isn't.

Skiing Lessons Relate to Dog Lessons-Day 2 Vacation

I was able to leave the dogs today to attend my lesson and ski.   I am not overly protective of my dogs, but a health issue happened that I will get into on another post.   In the meantime, an epithany came to me regarding my ski lessons.

In my ski lessons, I am the paying customer.   Each year I pay an instructor named Jose (pictures to follow at a later date) to tell me where my skills improve, to boss me around while practicing those skills, and to select the best terrain to challenge my skills.   Often on the other side of this relationship, I think "if only my these nice people would hold the leash correctly, or walk straight in a way the dog understands, or hold their right hand with the leash straight by their side instead of floating"...If only they would do that, their homework and training would flow so much better.   Often, I am just happy they have done their homework, and we can fix out the kinks anyway.   The most important part is that the homework is done, but I wish people would realize that those other minute things, and committing them to their motion memory is equally as important.   Imagine the decrease in frustration and stress this would cause.

However, it took me many years (not weeks) to begin to learn this lesson myself:)   I resolved to implement and focus on my lesson today.   There is a reason that Jose tells me to lean on the tongue of my ski boots, to face the way my skis are going rather than up hill, to put my body weight downwards not upwards of the mountain, to plant my poles on the steep terrain turns, to stop looking at my skis and watch the tracks ahead of him, and to stay in his tracks so he knows I am doing well.   At the end of the lesson, I felt that I had accomplished more in any other lesson.   My mind was whirring with the information, and I was fighting the wrong motion memory in my body.   At the end, I had begun the reprogramming process, and I lasted three hours on some of the steeper terrain that I had done in the past.

Yeah me.   Remember there is a reason that you are told to do things a certain way.  In the end it's not only for the success of an inter species relationship, but everyone's safety as well.

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Doggie Vacation Day Angst - Day 1

The dog's vacation preparation started the day before we left. The first order of the day was to accustom our dogs to the rental Dodge Durango, which was Necessary as the Nissan was in the shop. Dogs have no idea the pleasures that await on a vacation, especially if this is the first time.




As a baby puppy, Leon, had come over on a plane, went on a trip to MO with me for a seminar, and went on our last ski vacation until now. In that time, our two current vehicles were the only ones that Leon had ever been in. I often joke that my Nissan is like Leon's baby crate. He used to travel with me from lesson to lesson, before I bought a place big enough to have lessons at in my Nissan all the time. Once he goes in, generally, it's nap time. So poor Leon did not know what to make of the bohemoth rental car.



Jack was less concerned, and settled himself in shortly. Leon needed a bit of a trip to the thrift store to find some cheap stuffed toys for him to suckle on. He was much better after that, but definately stuck in his "happy place" suckly trance.



I was so glad that we road around doing errands the day before in our truck. As much time as you try to spend accustoming your dogs to change, if you haven't in fact traveled for years with them, it can be a shock to the system. They have no idea long two hour hikes await, and that the rest of the day not skiing is meant to cater to them:) So we had a bit of time to start and acclimate them to the most recent new change. The next day the dogs were quiet and mostly asleep for the four hour ride (snow, or it would have been 2 hours) to Mount Washington NH.



But wait, there was a next challenge. We live in a wide open rural settings, and got a condo on the second floor of a development this year. It's right off the state park trails that the dogs are going to love. Before enjoying that, however, we needed to brave the "apartment like" steep stairs complete with see through balcony railings so the dogs could see the ground below. They, especially Leon, are still getting used to this.



To Be Continued...



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It's Okay to Admit Mistakes Isn't It Dr Dunbar?

There are two Dogstardaily postings that have me a bit puzzled. Dr Ian Dunbar talks on two trainers posts, that don't seem to be linked, where those trainers talk about mistakes they made with their dogs either under another trainer or with themselves.

Dr Dunbar goes out of his way to argue with these trainers own observations. What puzzles me is why? It's okay to acknowledge when we make a mistake or our thinking changes. Mistakes make us not change all things sometimes, but also recognize the individual personalities of dogs.

My suspicion on why he disputes these owners observations and feelings, is to fight the battle of dog politics. I wish we could all concentrate more on dog training, the lessons we learn, and the content that we can bring. Everything does not need to be disproven, it is not about egos here!!! Many Dog Personalites + Many Human Personalities + Many Pack Set Ups (a pack being more than one being) = Many Possible Solutions and Outcomes

I would love to have seen these postings that he is talking about, as I suspect there are some very important observations there. If anyone knows where I can find the originals, here is the links to Dr Dunbars most recent blogs:

http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/bad-puppy-classes
http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/can-too-much-socialization-ruin-puppy  (oops sorry, this one does have a link to Turid's blog, and I will have to read that momentarily)

My first dog, Jazz, had to suffer through my lack of experience when I was not a dog trainer.   Luckily she was a healthy and patient teacher.   Since the time where I was not even learning from a trainer, I have learned that putting pressure on the butt or back is not optimal and can make a condition that you haven't found worse.   I now mold my dogs, and wish I had known about that (Koehler of course) as a gentle way of guiding your hand down the back and cupping the bum.   Also great for discovering up and coming health issues in your dog's physicality.

There are tons of mistakes that I had made which I now know better.   It's okay to own and admit to them, and better yet pass off that knowledge to others, and perhaps you can avoid them from making a similar mistake.  Noone who is not evil does this with malice and the intent to damage their dog.   I do agree that guilt has no part in this equation.  I had a  client that made a similar mistake with her Great Pyrenes as Turid did.   In training, we found a better way to go about it.   If my client hadn't realized her mistake, you might thing her Great Pyrenes was unpredictable et.   To acknowledge and learn is a great thing.

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and coming to the Portland Examiner online soon!!!!

Forget Spring Cleaning, Spring Trials Await!!

In the cold of winter, It's always a challenge to find matches in which to test out your training.   At these matches, you can also test out what your score might be if you  would like.   Saccarappa Obedience club is holding three of these events, which they are calling Super Sundays this year.   January 17, 2010; February 14, 2010, and March 21, 2010 will be the dates.   Located at Westbrook Armory Stroudwater St Westrbrook ME the Judging will be from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM.

Entries start at 9:00 AM.   The flyer can be found on this link. ***AKC event FYI.

Additionally, I have started to identify the AKC Novice and Open trials that we will be attending this year with Jack, Magoo, and Bri.   Collie Club of Maine is having their Portland ME trials on the 5th of March.   Collie Clug of NH is having their Amherst New Hampshire trials on the 19th of March.   Sadly I am missing Casco trials in Bath Maine around April 17th due to a week with five new boarding dogs:(   However from May 20th to May 23rd in Scarborough Maine the Vacationland and York Obedience club trials will be going on.   This is awesome because you have four in a row, so if your dog wierds out on day one, you have some time to get them acclimated.   This will be the first of the outdoor trials, which I am better at.   I have yet to get a leg in a "real" indoor trial.   Once got a leg in an enclosed outdoor trial, but that is a bit different because it was basically outdoors.

A couple of things to remember when scheduling events:

• Check who the judges are, so that you know if you will duplicate on or not.   Remember three legs must be under three different judges.   Course, I never assume I am going to get a leg, so if one judge is going to be two places, then that next trial will just be one more experience if I got the leg the last time.   I have to say, the AKC does try to really rotate the judges well, so it's most always not a problem, but check.
• If you are like me and own a business, be sure to either blank out the days for business, or have a qualified replacement.   Luckily the winter and early spring months are easy for me to get away.
• Matches are the hardest to find, because they are not online so much.   Sometimes, only internal club members may know when these are, if someone forgets to post them on the individual clubs online website.   The best thing to do is stay in contact with these club secretaries so you find out or subscribe to the listing that comes in the mail (however, I have forgotten how to do or find this LOL).
• By having a free online account with the AKC, you can keep track of your dogs events, schedule events, and be reminded before the closing dates of events come up.
• Infodog.com is an easy way to online enter into trials.   They can't always guarantee that you get in, and there is a fee for each entry of approx 15.00.   However, if I really want to get into that trial, I have found that I will more than likely get in using this service.

I will be looking at up and coming UKC events later.   I have heard you can modify exercises, and would love to have my dog Leon compete, if I could substitute stand for sit (bad knees).  Don't know if many of those events come this way or not.

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Training Here, There and Everywhere!!

Magoo is in training for AKC Novice.  We are still working on public performance before signing him up for his first trial.   I will need to see if there are any run thrus or matches (during winter here, that is a rare thing) that we can go into before our first attempt.   Worse comes to worse, we will use the crowd in Fitchburg to start to prepare him.

Right now, I have been taking him into the cities of Portsmouth and Kittery to prepare him for flexi pulling or off leash dogs that may run up to us.   He is a one year old puppy of 155 pounds right now.   The main thing he needs to know is that it is not playtime all the time.   Can you imagine this guy dragging someone down the street to play with some strange leashed dog?   I assure you he has the strength to do such a thing.

He's my big pink nosed spotted bunny.   The other problem?   Magoo is like bringing out a huge bowl of candy, and then asking that nobody take any.   It's fairly annoying to train him out in public, as some people just won't leave you alone.   If I am out in public with a well mannered dog, the public thinks I am not training as it looks so easy.   In fact, I am concentrating and paying attention.   That is why I have a well mannered dog with me.   People don't pay me so that their dogs look ill mannered.

When we were in Kittery this summer doing this but with less commands to work with, a family told me how happy they were that he was training with me as I was "so kind to him".   A lot of the time I am made to feel, by people who neither have met me in person or seen me, that I might have some horns peeking out under my hair.   It almost brought me to tears that this person, who was watching me train, said that.  Then their are people that don't understand why you would be training at all, if this isn't going to be a service dog, sigh.   Oh well.  I can only assume that perhaps they don't live with dogs.

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Preparation + Repetition + Challenges = Training Plan with Standards

Margot Woods, a fine writer and trainer, wrote the attached piece on training a retrieve.   Or the lack thereof on training a retrieve.   It's a bit tongue in cheek.  The pictures are a great way to make a point.

However, the point is probably not going to get across to a novice or beginning trainer.   It also won't get across to trainers who allow their training standards to be sub par.  The point that I got from this is that if you train an excercise to a lazy or imperfect standard, then the exercise will be performed to a lazy or imperfect standard.   It's not the dog who is failing, it is the trainer if their intent is something better than what was acheived.

Why does it matter if the exercise is done in a sub par manner?   Here I will differ from some trainers and say to some people with some dogs it will not matter.   However, Margot trains dogs to do jobs.   A dog can not do a job with a sloppy or lazy communication (ie sloppy or lazy training in the first place) from their trainer.   Not everyone needs a dog that can do a job.   Not everyone needs to train an aggressive or behaviorally challenged dog to a certain standard so that they are happy OR even safe in public.  Many of the public either should or do, however.   For those folks, it is important to know what real training consists of AND how to measure it against the standard that is being trained for.

Of course the questions being made fun in Margot's blog are all part of the training plan BEFORE your dog "knows XYZ exercise".   Many owners don't get that their dog does not know the exercise if there are a list of "except fors" and "other excuses" long of why the dog won't [insert command of choice here} at a certain time.   Being that this is something the owner/trainer comes in contact with fairly often, it is something that the training should have occurred in before one can call "training completed on XYZ exercise".

Hence why I am going to Kittery today to put Magoo through his exercises.   I try to do a different place with different distractions everyday.   Magoo is pretty close to being ready to compete in Class B Novice AKC obedience.  I am so looking forward to it, and want to make sure everything is done so that I can be confident for Magoo when we go in the first few times.   It's going to be hard enough without preparation.

Real life outside the ring comes with challenges for our canine companions as well.   Be sure to prep your best friend before expecting them to perform or behave correctly in trying circumstances.

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Getting Pickles and Sadie Ready for Home

These guys have not been getting along well at home. Leadership, training, and getting to know what their dogs are telling them will get this family along way towards keeping both their dogs at home and with them.

This is the best part of my job, and why I do this. I enjoy reuniting families and educating them on working with their dogs for the best and most optimal results.

Many factors are causing the problems in this case, keep your fingers crossed for Pickles, Sadie, and their family:)

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Dog + Stomache Shaped Hairball = Surgery

Were you aware that dogs can get hairballs? Me neither, until very recently. I also did not know that hair could accumulate over time, in your dogs stomach, until it was dense and the size of a stomach. That is, until it decides to go elsewhere. In this case, traveling down to my dog's intestines.

Course this all started on a Saturday (when else really would something like this start). Well, I mean, unknowing to us this it started long ago, but the dangerous movement of "the hairball" moved into his intestines quite recently. I guess it's lease was up, and it needed roomier accommodations than my poor guy's stomach. Course what happened, was it got lodged there preventing nutrients from entering his body. The little things like water...never mind food.

There was poop and pee, which made us think it was a stomach virus not a blockage. It never ever occurred to us that something could have built up over time and moved. We are the kind of owners who are diligent about our dogs avoiding eating stuff they shouldn't eat. Our red boys are kept busy and active most of the day, which makes boredom behaviors less likely for them. I had not thought they licked excessively unless it was allergy season. I would not have known to be very concerned if they were to pick up lint or something on the floor, which they do not do often, but I don't rush to stop it if it has occurred. I had assumed things like this, if they are small in nature, most likely pass with everything else out of the intestinal track. Apparently, this is not always true!!! It caused quite an emergency situation that brought us to the Port City Veterinary Referral Hospital.

The vets could actually feel the blockage, below his ribs. So next was the xray to try and determine what it was. Other than a C shaped mass, that did not provide us with any clues. Asked to guess, I picked either my husbands socks (as he leaves them on the bedroom floor for me to pick up) or "something dead" that my dog may have snatched in the woods and gobbled before I noticed anything. I guess something dead would have been closer to the hairball that was removed (pictured at the top).

So last weekend, this was our excitement. These sort of things never happen on weekdays when your vet is available and open. It would have never occurred to us that something was lying in wait within our dog to move and block off his ability to absorb water and food. I am hoping now that I have lived the full scope of medical pet emergencies that I can experience. Somehow, I don't thinks so though.

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More Pickles to Day 5

Pickles clearly loves people, and being around people. Of that, there can be no question. He gets a bit separation anxiety which can be told by the mistreatment of his crate, and how he will dig in to bark if he can't see you for like a second (never mind minutes and hours). He's busy being trained that when he is quiet and calm, then he will see me at his crate door. Bossing me to come and get him pronto, does not get him anywhere (except early in the morning, as I want to make sure he doesn't need to go).

Pickles has had good night sleeps since the first night. He had been quiet in his crate until yesterday, when a friend came over with their five dogs who will be staying with us in April. Hearing the new dogs and people outside gave him ideas. Unfortunately, I hadn't left him in one of the stronger crates, so he did manage to bend a wire until I could get up to him, when I realized what he was most likely up to. No harm done, I was more mad at myself for forgetting the owners warning about this. There are two crates that we have, where he has been excited, but unable to get anywhere with them. It would be nice to extinct this sort of behavior while he is here. Once he manages to get a little success though, then he thinks he will be able to duplicate it, and a bit of a tantrum happens:)

I have discovered that while other dogs may be Pickles second choice, and perhaps he may be guarding his humans from his canine companion (haven't met Sadie yet, or fully seen Pickle so I am on the fence about this), he does not seem to have anything against dogs per say. He also hasn't broken out into full play mode with or without dogs present. So his enthusiasm for dogs could be greater than or less than what I am seeing. I have seen that he is interested, and will go to them for comfort AND take comfort from them. The last two days, he has been allowed around dogs without my hand welded to the other end of the leash. A lot of time is being spent allowing him to come out, and training time is separate and at the end of the day so I can learn more about him when he doesn't feel my gaze upon him every minute. He is supervised every minute, but I try to pretend I am not paying attention to everything he does as much as is possible and keep everyone (including him) safe. Luckily, I have had very friendly and sweet dogs over, who are used to the "behaviorally challenged" and giving space when needed. It seems that Pickles is feeling safer and safer in this environment.

As I will expect to continue at home, Pickles is not allowed on the furniture with or without me OR with or without other dogs. It is so important that until he gets these relationship and pack issues worked out, that he isn't given the opinion that he has the same status or privileges as others who are abiding by the rules (basically no biting or attacking). He is allowed on dog beds. He has begun going out in the pen with others to go to the bathroom (without me holding a leash).

For the quieter dogs like Pickles (ones who tend to hold a lot in without a lot of show); I go slow and am not very cocky of the fact that he hasn't blown up at anyone. I have noticed that if he does the little lip curl, which I have seen three times since he has been here directed at another), it has been on face to face greetings or meetings. It's possible that this is a result of the injuries he has sustained (and which seem to be healing up nicely) on his muzzle. In other words, he might always be expecting another dog to make a move on his face. Or it could have been that I was there, and he decided the other dog shouldn't come near me. In any case, I move correct the situation quickly when he does this, and he hasn't protested. I am beginning my mental inventory on things that look like triggers. As I have said though, he has been a pretty good boy. This could be the fact that I am with him every second observing him, and he is figuring me out. Or it could just be that he is very mailable to a different way of being. I suspect some of that will be answered when Sadie comes on the last week. Also we will get some idea of what Sadie is all about.

Pickle has been working a lot on walking nicely with me, which we are now transitioning into a heel. Also on sit during distractions and things that make him uncomfortable, however not out in public just yet. That will commence in a couple of days though, on week 2. Most likely tomorrow we will go on a group walk in the woods, but Pickles will be on a leash attached to me. It will be interesting if this makes any spirit of playing with other canines creep out of him.

Pickle Dog-Days 1 to 2

Who said there are no such thing as dog training emergencies? Pickles owners had enough time to fill out the client interview form before needing to get him here immediately after a dog fight with his older sister, Sadie. This had been escalating recently, and the last four days involved incidents. The fourth day resulting in some really ugly bites on Pickles muzzle, neck, and inside his mouth.

It has appeared to his family to be him starting the altercation (and sounds like Sadie finishes it, typical girl). Since Wednesday, I have been training and gleaning as much information as I can from Pickles reactions and behavior.

The thing to remember after an incident like this, is that the dogs are a bit shell shocked that come here. So you don't get to know the true dog at first, though you can start to get some information about the dogs.

Pickles has presented to be a fearful dog around other dogs (at least in this environment, though the owner reports that Pickles has positive interactions with dogs off leash on walks). Body language isn't always the entire story, but that combined with reactions and other things the dog displays can tell you a lot. Pickles tail remained mainly tucked in between his legs on Wednesday and Thursday when around other dogs. He also froze a lot. When he was in the pen, and he saw the other dogs outside, he ran to the door and pressed himself against it. He has growled worriedly at dogs, but has not made a forward movement toward a dog. The dogs here that I have exposed him to are dogs that are trained to obey commands, and are dogs that I know will back off when they sense a dog is scared of them.

The dogs here have shown much sympathy for him when he is in the crate, however, they are wary of him when he is out of the crate (or had been the first two days). Pickles body language has been clear to me, and apparently to the dogs here to be saying stay away. Last night and today however, he has shown friendly interest. I keep all interactions with other dogs brief, and not during exciting periods where everyone is playing. I have Pickles walk with me when I go to let the other dogs out, so he can observe them discretely as they walk by and ignore him.

His training has begun with the "let's go" command, and the sit on the dog (long down but not a formal down, a leadership exercise) while around the other dogs while everyone is relaxing. By starting on a relationship that shows him that he can trust me to keep him safe, he is starting to relax among the other dogs. My husband even commented that he did not have the "low down" look today.

He does get a bit panicky when led towards new things at first. Overall, he seems mostly afraid, and willing to please. He seems interested in other dogs, but is not yet in a condition to mingle with them on his own.

Nicole Wilde New Dog Search Begins, But What Happened to The Moment of Zen?

On my the website of accumlated blogs, where most dog trainers there make a little spit up lodge in my throat, Nicole Wilde happily reports BEGINNING her search for a new dog since Mojo died in September 2008. Wait though did we forget a little moment of Zen that happened after Mojo died?

Now Nicole's previous problems with Zen the puppy German Shepherd, as reported in this linked blog, was that as an experienced and renowned dog trainer (or thought so by some IMO very niave people), she was caught unaware by the activity level of a German Shepherd puppy. She was also alarmed that when unmuzzled and having an injured claw removed that the puppy made a move for the veterinarian (I must have missed the memo that dogs can not feel NOR should not react to pain). I know, shocking and clearly an unbalanced dog by those two reportings or "excuses".

Now Nicole Wilde is on the hunt for a new victim, er dog or puppy. If only an alert could be sent out to rescues who are going to be thrilled to have her scope out their dogs/puppies, sigh. Here is the advice that I will be sending out to her:

1. Please consider NOT getting a dog and/or puppy if you do not have the time and energy to spend with him.


2. Please communicate to the shelter what your needs are. They could have a normal puppy with normal energy that may be too much for you. English Mastiff puppies are the closest that I have seen with a low energy threshold. Don't expect them to come clean, if you don't come clean with your limitations.


3. Since you are a professional, please make a decision soundly so as to not further traumatize another rescue dog like Zen. Knowing that he was having a hard time with relocating so many times, it was totally irresponsible of you to take him. While you might think you did him no great harm, who knows where he went next and how that further bouncing around affected him.

Also you might want to scan through all my blog posts tagged "before you adopt".

Thanks,

>Mannerly Mutts Dog Training
Mannerly Mutts Blog
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The Disappearing Collar Mystery OR Collar Quality

Gigi (female APB that boards here), Jack (my Doberman boy), Robert (my lovely husband), and myself were on a beautiful woodsy fall walk. Gigi had on her metal choke collar and was dragging a lead just in case we ran into someone. These are our woods back there, and every now and then a hiker or hunter is passing through.

So Gigi and Jackie are playing in the woods having a great old time as usual. Gigi is one of Jack's favorites, when I notice there is no leash or collar (metal) attached to Gigi anymore. She hadn't yelped or acted stuck once. The collar fit properly and snugly (in other words not an easy collar to slip off, even with human hands). The only thing I can think of is that one of the links must have worn and the collar just snapped off in the woods!!

Luckily, this is a dog that has been trained, so we weren't worried about a flight risk or anything. In fact, I should have just pocketed the collar and leash on the walk since she is so well behaved. I just like to have the leash handy with her due to her past experiences. That way I can be more relaxed if I stop and talk to someone, unexpectedly.

Had Gigi been in a stressful city situation where she normally does not do well OR this had been a green dog, this would have been BIG trouble. The collar that Gigi had on had been purchased from a pet store in Portland. The thing about buying from pet stores, in general, is that though they carry these collars, they aren't very knowledgeable about the importance of selling quality. Herm Sprenger is a name normally associated with collar quality in these types of metal training collars. The chains are formed well, and prongs are smoothed out. The cheap imports that many retail pet supply stores buy are from china, and who knows what kind of metal they may be made out of. If you are going to use these collars, please educate yourself on the brands to use, and the metals that are used. It is pretty rare for a collar to snap like this (and like I said, that is the only thing that I can envision happening since she was in our sight the whole time). By the way the price differential between a quality metal training collar and a cheap collar is not enough to sway the informed consumer. It's quality in the performance as well as the stability and material uses. If you have ever tested a substandard collar against a Herm Sprenger, you will know that what I say is true.

Perhaps once the leaves clear, I will find Gigi's collar and leash LOL. Until then, the case of the vanishing collar will remain a mostly unsolved mystery.

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Happy Fifth Birthday Leon (10/18/2004)

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Photographic Friday

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Articles on the American Temperament Society that Reference BSL

http://www.atts.org/ is where you can find out information on the ATTS test.

Stop BSL's Article which mentions ATTS

Dog Bite Org's Article which talks about ATTS

Rios Pitbull Article-Last Article Mentions Temperament Test in Types of Testing (also info on types of aggression, the people that developed temperament tests)

ASWA Newsletter With Article (scroll down) On Someone's Actual Experience With the Test I found it interesting that this person reported that the scoring is 0-10. If you get no zeros, you pass the test. I don't know if I would find that particularly relevant, unless I saw the actual score of the dog (or I should say average cumlative score of the dogs), and not just whether they passed or failed!!

Jim Engel's Article on ATTS-He talks a lot about the concerns that I have, and was one of the earlier supporters of the test. He also talks about the history of the test.

ATTS discussed as an alternative to other more concerning temperament tests.

Here are the initial concerns that I had about the test being used now as a general public temperament in an attempt to fight BSL or assume insurance companies can/will use this information wisely in the future:

1. If failed, it puts the blame on the dog and NOT other contributing factors. Worse yet, it puts the blame on the breed.
2. A test where you can only fail by getting a zero on a 0-10 scale does not impress me. I also don't like pass/fail tests. I used to take those in college to get the credit, and not need to worry about the grade.
3. The statistics provided to the public, and if this same breakdown is all that is provided to insurance companies is way too vague. I would really prefer it more if information such as whether the dog had previous training, the total of the test score, and other information was provided.

I hope you find these articles as informative as I did. I tried to provide every view that I could find without biase. I don't even know that I have a biase, what I do have is a thought process and need to know whether I am truly furthering something or hurting something now or in the future before following the herd.


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Hunting Season

For those of you that live in places where hunting can take place very close to your home, it's time to start locating your "orange" gear. All the humans and dogs here have orange vests (and in my case a hat). We actually have a tree stand located 10 feet away from our property line.

Find out about the hunting regulations in Maine using this link. This information and fishery and wildlife contact numbers can also be found on our webpage under the links section year round.


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Jackie and I at York Maine's Art in The Park

Hoobie One Week Anniversary At Home

It is with relief that I report Hoobie has had a successful week one back at home. Even when I work so hard on a case, I don't feel like anything has been accomplished until I hear that things are working at home. By no means is any one's job done just yet, but I have been pleased with the three reports on Hoobie that I have received in the last week from his owners. Even more importantly, the owners seem pleased and comfortable with the tools that I have given them.

Hoobie sounds like he is very happy at home. He is settling into the changed rules regarding his sleeping arrangements, and the behaviors that will no longer be tolerated. It's important that the owners keep this all consistent, as he is likely to "test the waters" during the next few weeks and months. I don't think that he can beat the positives in his own doggie life that have been made (and that will be an incentive to him):

• Hoobie has an area where he can sleep undisturbed (as do his owners LOL). With a chronically ill dog, it's important that they get rest and relaxation. A dog that gets unrealistically angry when awakened, IMO, is a dog that is not getting his ZZZs that are needed.



• As with the above point, Hoobie's daily schedule allows for down time for him to get rest during the day.



• He is no longer on sleeping pills to get through the night, and does not need to tolerate any adverse affects of those. (such as grogginess during his awake hours)



• He no longer has incidents of vomiting and diarrhea. One can only imagine that this makes him feel healthier and more active. (and more tolerant) We may have eliminated the need for one of his other three medications as well.
  



• He is able to be out more, and enjoyed a lot more by his human and canine friends.
  



• He is able to start making friendships with the canines that come into his home.
  



• He is able to enjoy walks outside the house around strange people and canines.
  



• His owners are able to take him for car rides now, without the fear of him trying to jump into the front seat with them and be out of control. He is able now to learn to behave in the car under his own steam, rather than have to remain behind the metal grate and separated from his family.
  



• He enjoys being petted now!!! Not just on his own terms because he is afraid humans are going to be unpredictable every moment now.

• For both physical and mental health reasons, Hoobie can now be groomed at home instead of having to be sedated at the vet's office.

And so now Hoobie gets to start his second chance at a stable dog's life in a human family. This has not been an easy case. I am very proud of Hoobie's owners for being the dedicated and responsible people that they are. You don't often have the privilege of working with clients like this.

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Days Off With The Boys

I have been spending a ton of time with my Red Boys, Jack and Leon. Pictures should be coming via my husband's cell phone of our outing at Art in the Park on Saturday. Such gorgeous stuff is there every year, and this year was no exception. Jack was very well behaved around the other dogs there. He gets very upset if he looses sight of his brother, Leon, however.

Sunday, we started by going to Paneras. Their training has gotten sloppy, and they were totally crazy together yesterday. They kept breaking their downs, and Leon did his woeful crying thing. Of course, they got tons of attention and compliments as we sat there. I was alone, so what I did was get my Chai and Pecan Roll first, then got them from the car. Leon's such a mother's boy, that he gets upset if my attention is not constantly on him LOL. Eventually, he and Jack just cuddled together and calmed down. We also took two long walks in the woods yesterday. Leon just likes to trundle along smelling stuff or race after his brother, Jack. Jack is all about movement and hunting in the woods. You have to watch him, as he is especially talented at finding things both alive and dead in the woods. Perhaps not as talented as my deceased dog, Jazz, however who would find and fling snakes at us in the woods LOL. Leon wants to be friends with all living creatures and does not automatically think of them as a snack.

In order to get their training back up to par, I am going to need to work them both separately and together in public. Also make sure the commands are in good form in the more quiet and less distracting situations.

We are going to the vet today as I found a rash on Jackie's stomach while during our beauty session this morning. I have noticed also that he has begun itching his ears a lot lately. Additionally, there has also been a change in the time that he goes to the bathroom. Lately, he has needed to go at 3am in the morning. It's no big deal to wake up with him, I am just worried that this change might be a symptom of something going on with him. Individually it might not seem like anything, but I always like to be safer than sorrier. Jackie is very healthy generally.

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What To Do With Myself This Weekend

So here I am on my first official day with no doggies other than my own since February 1st!!! It doesn't seem like having other dogs in the house would take up so much time, but truth is it does and now my day is open for all sorts of things:)

For one, I actually have time to update my blogs now with new articles and content. I definitely dropped the ball at the end of August, but I was getting so burnt out on work that I had nothing left. This gave me the idea that if next year is any busier, I better be healthier and in much better shape. I also just might be looking for an assistant next year to keep my sanity. I could really use someone to video tape sessions, clean the food and water bowls, poop scoop, load pictures and video onto the computer, walk the non problematic client dogs, and set up pre-lessons. It is possible that I might delve into group lessons next year, so it would also be useful to have an assistant for that. Right now the economy is only so so, and my business grew this year but I can't count on that continuing for next year.

Equally important, I have at least two dogs to ready for Novice trials. One just needs to earn her last leg, and one needs all three legs. Jack, I want to advance his training and think about bringing him to Open. Leon, I want to advance his training in the cute things he can do that people love on the beach. He has a hard time with his knees, so I try to stay away from sit stays and jumps. I want to improve his obedience again for when clients see him, but since he is neither aggressive nor a dog that will go into competition, I let him and I slack a bit on that .

Today the human AND canine family will be attending "Art in the Park" in York Maine. This is where various artists set up in a park near here. That should be a nice relaxing and fun time with the dogs. Jackie gets very upset when he looses sight of his brother, Leon, and this will also be one of the training things that I need to work with him on, though I don't know if it will be today.

Tomorrow will probably be devoted to cleaning. Sadly, I have not trained the dogs to do the mopping, sweeping, and cleaning of windows yet. Though I can reintroduce to Leon the concept of getting me things:)


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Hoobie Went Home Wednesday Afternoon

After four months here, Hoobie went home this last Wednesday afternoon. He had a seven hour car ride awaiting him, and a trip through customs. I heard from his owner waiting at home during the last three hour stretch that Hoobie was asleep in the car, as his other owner finished up their long commute.

The hardest part, for me, is over; but I still have a job to do when Hoobie is home in the form of being support for unexpected situations, and commenting on the training an maintenance going forward. I am hoping that news starts coming as soon as the owners and Hoobie are settled; so that I know how things are going. This is the letting go stage, which is hard for a trainer like me. Hoobie was my charge for four months of hard work. While I am so enjoying my mini vacation this weekend, and can feel the weight of everyday care and responsibility for Hoobie leaving my shoulders, it is still my job to make sure everything goes forward at home well. Plus, I naturally worry about my dogs and owners for a good few months after a behavioral case like this. Hoobie being the most behaviorally challenged dog that I have ever seen in my care. Luckily, he was only forty pounds!! He is also bright, able to learn, and the problem was not that he didn't like people (or other dogs).

I should be back to my daily postings, now that "summer season" has officially ended. My dogs training has become sloppy, so I will be concentrating on that. I will also be concentrating on finishing up my training manuals on adult dogs and puppies during this period of time. I will be revisiting whether I think Jack can go through Open reliably next Spring, and hopefully take in some seminars. Also, I am considering doing some group classes next year----possibly. We will see on that.

I will pat my back on the Hoobie case a year from now if his owners are happy and he is still at home:) For now, I wait in anticipation for news of my little monster.

I was very proud that before he went home, Hoobie's owner bathed, brushed, clipped his hair, clipped his nails, et without a blow. This is something any one of which, he needed to be sedated and put to sleep for at the vets. We also watched tv together as my husband popped in and out one night, this is something that Hoobie would race across the floor for to bite the incoming person, whoever it was. Now the trick is, to keep the progress going at home.

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Updates Ending on August

Magoo: I am currently training him on the last official exercie, the finish. I am also enlongating the distance for come front. These two exercises in obedience, you need to be careful of. That is you most likely want to do them completely seperately. In addition, I have found that using the command heel for finish makes it less confusing for the both of us. I personally train finish one way or the other, and others will train both different kinds of finishes. I may change this up with Magoo, though I am undecided on that yet.

For polishing later on, I will want to have people stand in as posts for his figure eight, and strangers "examine" him during a stand. I have a feeling I will have plenty of volunteers for this, as we are going out in public now.

If you don't train the exercises seperately, it is more likely that the dog will go right to finish instead of stopping at front. I have learned this the hard way LOL, and needed to retrain both of my dogs to do them seperately.

Hoobie Doobie: Hoobie's days resemble the following lately, as far as his training schedule:

1. About one half to one hour of maintence work (depends on how the performance is) every day on the exercises he started on so he remains somewhat fresh for his owners. So these are the sits, downs, stays, "let's go", place, crate, and heeling type of exercises.
2. At least one half hour to an hour of grooming work, which incorporates the obedience exercises. Hoobie operates better when he knows what is coming up. So if I say "sit", and brush him---then he knows this is going to be over soon. Typically, I use sit for brushing, clipping the front nails (with paw command), shaving, toweling, and ear cleaning. I use down for brushing and toweling especially his front legs, which is the area he is the most sensitive of. I use stand for brushing, shaving, and clipping his back nails. We can get through a session of doing all of these now pretty much without a "blow". The front legs are still the thing that he comes close to tantrums on at this point, and I suspect this is where the injections when he was younger may have been given. This is totally done muzzled at this point, and should continue that way for a long while. Hoobie needed to be put to sleep for this process before.
3. At least one half hour to an hour of territorial and guarding behavior work a day. Hoobie guards areas like the back of cars or the inside of his crate (even from the outside when his food bowl or toy are in there. He became very good with me alone with him and the crate, and I have been working him up to other canines (as a prelude to humans) being around the areas that he is territorial or guarding over. He is also a resource guarder, and so working him to not demand the cheese whiz that comes with his meds, but instead learn to "leave it" and "take it" in various different scenarios. He used to have a very hard time when territorial met resource guarding (ie cheese whiz through crate bars which is the safest), but that all came together a little while ago when we were alone. Now I expect him to do it when others are around milling outside the crate. It's the easiest and safest way to do it. He's good outside the crate most times, but I feel it's very important to use the PVC pipe just in case.

So now with Hoobie's homecoming getting close, it's time to coach at least one owner how to keep this moving forward. The trust and relationship that I have built with Hoobie also needs to be built with his owners. As with most couples, it looks like one will be at the head of Hoobie's training. The same is true in my house, my husband enjoys the benefits of the training but does not so much participate. The one problematic thing in a behaviorally challenged dog like this, is that one way or another, whether the other spouse is home less or not, he needs to learn that the more infrequent home inhabitor is just as important as the primary home inhabitor.

There are at least two ways that I envision this going. And I will write about that tomorrow LOL. I need to remember especially about silence and space in this next posting for Hoobie. At home, I think he was getting a bit freaked on being examined so much, and the owners need to remember there is a time and place for that BUT ALSO dogs need to be left alone sometimes as well for their own mental well being.

Akuma: He is starting on his downs and comes. Akuma's owner's left hand has become partially disabled. It's surprisingly difficult to train a young puppy with only one maine hand, even if it is the one that is usually used in training. It makes the molding into a sit or down a bit harder, and I have tried to modify what I can for Akuma's owner. Leash position, holding, and body movement and attitude become even more important when you have less body parts to rely on!!

Akuma does not really have any behavioral issues, other than he loves people and would love to pull his owner over to all people that he sees. Very friendly and sweet dog.

Leon #2: Leon's owner was able to take her first real walk without me. Leon is a lovely boxer but not so lovely on the first meeting of other canines. He can be quite alarming really, and there is a protcol that must be done before he meets other dogs. However, after meeting other dogs, he is a good friend and playmate.

Right now we are concentrating just on the ability to walk past other dogs that are leashed and minding their own business. It takes practice on the owner's part to remember to be calm and in control so that anxiety does not travel down the leash to inadvertently alert that something is wrong. He is not ready to be walked into a pack of strange dogs.

Leon also is a lover of humans in any form. He has two little girls of his own that he loves.

Tucker: Is a new lab puppy client that will be starting next week! I have met him boarding with me at 10 weeks old, and he is quite a little puppy. Love him. He is probably four times the size now!!


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Beautiful Mornings

In the mornings, I usually take sometime with the dogs here and relax on the porch with my coffee. The dogs are not always ready to play first thing in the morning, as they know they have a whole day of activity ahead. My dogs and the dog care dogs were mostly lying on the porch enjoying the cool breeze and the small finches in the middle island.

Preston was amusing himself and me as he would rush the island every time a group of finches would grow to a certain size. All the small birds flew up into the air almost as if it was staged for the cinema. Preston would then come back and wait yet again until the crowd of finches grew as the perched upon the Black Eyed Susans.

That is an old picture of Preston before he was trained to remain in the yard off leash. The worst thing he used to do was run at cars, cars he couldn't even see LOL. I have been having some problems with my computer, so I haven't been able to concentrate on downloading new more current pictures or video:( I would have loved to get Preston's pictures as he played yesterday morning.

The other dogs were too lazy to move!!

Big Dogs, Small Dogs, and All Those In Between

As a trainer, I talk a lot about temperament and individual personalities in the light of how they fit into training plans. There are other things that cause trainers to change things up. Sometimes it's subtle like a larger or smaller step to accomodate size. Sometimes it's the use of equipment to make the human part of the equation able to handle a much stronger species, until they are trained.

I got to thinking about this the other day, when I started on Magoo's finish. It's been, like never, that I have trained a dog of his stature all the obedience commands for competition. And so the first few tries at getting him to walk into position, were, well humorous. It wasn't that Magoo didn't want to do it, it was that my steps and speed back were for a Doberman or smaller NOT a Great Dane. You need to be clear with your body movements and adjust them to be clear to your dog. Once I got my stride adjusted, Magoo suddenly understood what to do. Otherwise, neither one of us was in position for the step forward.

When training a dog, think of the physical things that help your training program.

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Hoobie's Crate Finds A New Home

Hoobie is staying with us through August now. His home has been going through repairs, and his owner wants to train the visiting dogs that come to the house before Hoobie comes back. Both not bad reasons for Hoobie to stay put. It certainly will make the transition back home easier for both Hoobie and the owners.

So Hoobie's education is continuing. The following has been accomplished with me, and needs to be transferred to Hoobie's owners:

• Commands learned have been let's go, stand, heel, place, crate, sit, down, leave it, take it, and stay. Now some of these he would perform before, now he is reliable in distracting circumstances.
• Grooming in a muzzle is no longer an activity for which Hoobie must be put out OR can only be in short spurts.
• Hoobie is enjoying petting, In fact, he often seeks it out from both of us.
• Strangers that are at all dog savvy are not considered an instaneous threat to Hoobie.
• Walking in public (with a muzzle to protect a public who might reach out to pet without a thought) is pleasant and Hoobie enjoys these.
• He is taking his medication in the crate through the bars in a sit (he's territorial and a resource guarder) with the use of the commands "leave it" and "take it" making him a more polite boy.

So now that he is going to be staying longer than expected, we have moved onto some more advanced parts of his training. It's all well and good that he trusts me much more around his food, treats, and space but what about others... It's hard to recruite strange humans (strange to Hoobie) to drop over all the time, but we do have strange and known canines coming over all the time. So while I am not expecting the owners to serve Hoobie's favorite food in the midst of a party while he's out of a crate, I am teaching at least more impulse control while in the crate.

This is important because he is territorial as well. So previously, tackling the resource and territorial aggression in the same lesson seemed too much for Hoobie. Now he is prepared for it. Can't find my camera, but right now Preston is lying next to Hoobie's crate and next to his food bowl. Hoobie is napping without concern. However, when Magoo just tried to approach, Hoobie started in with a low growl indicating he thought a threat was coming to his food.

I have just moved Hoobie's family room crate to be more in the traffic of both me and the dogs. His crate previously was in a solitary room and in a remote corner of the family room. If we can get him to stop guarding the small spaces, we can eventually get him to stop guarding whole rooms. This is a long term goal I am talking about, I am expecting that Hoobie will be crated according to the rules and schedules that we map out. Right now, the reason that he is not guarding whole rooms is because he is not allowed to be in the position where he would. It's part of teaching him the correct responses to replace the need to guard.

Part of training a dog like this, is to show the reasons why guarding is not necessary. You also want to show the dog what NOT guarding gets them. That is not guarding the car, gets a car ride to a fun place. Not guarding the crate, allows the crate door to open to all the possibilities there. In comparison, an altercation is not such a desirable thing for the DOG . That is what you are teaching, an aggressive reaction on the dog's part is not worth the loss in freedom and the other things they enjoy. Of course in order to do this, it's always good to be sure that you are not inadvertently giving a negative. For instance, when Hoobie's thyroid problems were untreated, a pet would have been and did become a negative thing. I'll talk again how we have been making this a positive thing, and how this was further continued to grooming et.

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Communication and Consistency

In working the case of the Hoobie monster, it has occurred to me how very important consistency is to communication. I already knew this, but in a case where "good" has become bad; it brings this point even more clearly home. In fact, Hoobie will probably be an example given to new students about the importance of consistency in communication.

I use "good boy" to praise a dog for good work done. This does not mean the exercise is over, but it does mean that I am very pleased with the dog. To Hoobie, at some point "good boy" meant that the bad thing was coming. A muzzle on, meant the bad thing is coming. These are all things that needed to be reversed. Now I could have decided to simply change the verbal word "good" to something else. Only problem is, that someone who does not know Hoobie could say "good boy". It's a fairly common thing to say to a dog, even when you just pass them on the street and are smiling at them.

First in order for "good boy" not to mean that the bad thing is coming, means you don't do anything negative after the good boy OR anything perceived by the dog to be negative (and this is a moving target as we are teaching Hoobie that previously negative things are really no big deal). "Good boy" is used AFTER some of these things when they are not accompanied by growling or "blowing". So for instance, brushing Hoobie four times, Hoobie doesn't growl, and then you give a "Good Boy". I knew when Hoobie was beginning to understand this was a good thing to be told this in these consistent instances, when the eyes lit up and the ears came forward and the tail went up and wagged. At the point that these things started to happen, I knew that I had turned "good boy" back into the positive association it should have been.

Now how did this become negative in the first place? This is an extreme example involving Hoobie, and usually does not grow to this extent. This is one way something said lovingly and with the intent to be soothing can be understood by the dog as something completely different. Hoobie was thought to need injections before everything medically wrong with him was figured out. The owners decided to do this themselves at home (not bad in of itself). However, when they did this and were holding him down, they said "good boy".

Because the consistency of a positive statement was compromised, this no longer meant what the owners intended. That is because dog's don't understand English per say, but they do understand actions and what things are linked to actions. If this situation popped up for me and I was involved, I would say to use a command like down or sit, where the dog is required to do this reliably. To prep the dog for this with good training is always good, but you could do this parallel in an emergency type situation where there is no time. The point is that you want to start to prepare your dog as well as possible before they are in the situation. You want words like "good boy" and "break" to consistently and through the owner's actions mean "well done, we are proud of you" and "it's all over". You need to practice this in other situations, because obviously you aren't going to give your dogs shots over and over to practice this. This way your verbal commands start to be an assurance as to your predictability.

So again, Hoobie is at the extreme of his phobic reaction to inconsistent actions paired with verbal commands. You can see how this can happen though. I have found that Hoobie in specific responds well to short term having to deal with something, then "good boy" makes his eyes light up, and then "break" makes him dance a bit. Then you can prolong these things like brushing, toweling, nail clipping, ear cleaning, and shaving into longer and longer sessions.

I have also found this is a great way to relax Hoobie should he get fearful in situations. I am touching and manipulating his back and front legs, and sometimes this does cause Hoobie to tense up a bit. So if he hasn't growled, I will say "good boy" and then "break". Then at a later time, I will casually do it again. He has been showing that he is beginning to cope with different and unexpected much better now. It is the trust that has been developed through consistency in communication.

This will be key to teach the owners when they come back, to be very consistent in not only discipline, but in their verbal communication with him in that it is married to the actions, so he can predict the situation. The better prepared he is, the more comfortable he feels with the situation.

One last note, it goes both ways. Hoobie knows that consistently a non-growling and sitting Hoobie gets the crate door open.


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