Brujo's Maine Vacation

Presenting Leon in Life is Just a Beach:)

Alright here are the takes in our first acting debute. Actually there were a few more takes, until I figured out that instead of trying to guess where the frame was in the video, perhaps I should mark a spot on the beach, duh!! I guess this would be obvious to anyone who has done any kind of video project before, and especially if you are using a tripod (non moving without assistant).

None of these takes are exactly what I want, there is something wrong in each take, but I am viewing it to give me an idea to get closer to what I want. As I was shooting this, I knew Leon was a bit ramped up doing this over and over again:) He loves this work. In order for him to look not so bouncy or to try and steal the leash from me so he can retrieve it LOL, we need to work on our form a bit more.

I am going to keep practicing this with Leon, but I don't know if this is the best story line for a commercial. There are a bunch of people watching me (where you can't see of course, I would have rather set them up behind me), so I am pretty nervous and distracted as I am doing this. I am not a great performer. Huge stage fright.

However, I am planning on doing presentations and seminars regarding the generalities of dog training and kennel safety. So I best be getting used to having a crowd. I also would like one of my two demo dogs with me:) So I have to feel confident from them (something I learned a lot about in competing).

So here is my first attempt, and no I would not say this is a good representation of the final product that I am working towards:) This is a work in progress however.

Want to have fun experimenting with your dog? It's easier if you have some commands that they understand. Mannerly Mutts Dog Training provides effective, efficient, and reliable dog training services in York County Maine. Please call 207-361-4395 for your Maine Dog Training needs. Or e-mail Maine Dog Trainer, Robin Rubin, at mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com.

Daycare's Woodsy Walk

Is your dog trained well enough to belong to an off lead daycare? If not, call Maine Dog Trainer, Robin Rubin, at 207-361-4395. Or e-mail for your Maine Dog Training needs at mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com. Also serving New Hampshire Dog Training and Massachusetts Dog Training needs with an easy commute to York Maine.

Spring Time Training Opportunities

Spring has not weather wise "sprung" yet in York Maine. I live a bit inland in the woods, and my lawn is still covered with the winter wonderland that was this winter. My sea side neighbors have said goodbye to most of this convection of the cold season.

Still, it's not as warm as it usually is at this time of year. Most of my day is spent in the thirty and twenty somethings. Oh for fifty degrees, we are living for it at Mannerly Mutts. Not quite light shirt weather out, though I have managed to stop wearing long johns for most of the day.

People are so starved for this in Maine, that they are actually out on the beach now just about whenever the sun manages to peek beyond the clouds. The moment it goes behind though, you find yourself on an isolated beach again. This has allowed me to transition my goals and my clients goals back onto the beach. While I enjoy the distractions and opportunities given by the untrained dogs and irresponsible owners that do attend to our beaches, it also gives me pause for the dangers people put themselves and their dogs in.

The other day as I was training Jackie fetch, a curious two children and their two dogs (on flexi leads) ran one half mile to check it out. The parents chatted where they were half a mile back, without any regard for where canines or children went to. The boy's dog slipped his improperly attached collar, and started running up the ramp to the street. Now I am in charge not only of my dog, my video equipment which is in peril, but two strange children and dogs who are not prone to listening to the strange mean woman telling them directly to act and get their dog's collar on. The parents are too far away for me to call to them to help. And anyway, a tragedy may occur as I wait for them to notice anyone is in danger and get to them. A half mile away, an untrained dog, and unaware child are all great ingredients to an incident.

Next day, Minnie (my client's dog) and I are on the beach for a mid afternoon jog. Minnie is very much enjoying the opportunities to stalk seagulls. A sheltie comes onto the beach, and the owner happily enough disengages the sheltie from the lead. She does this so confidently and happily, that I am sure this dog must have an excellent recall. The owner obviously knows of the sheltie's love for chasing seagulls. Sadly, no recall and the sheltie runs up nearby stairs to the road after the seagull. I see the panicked owner dash off to pursue her dog that is easily a quarter of a mile away now. Luckily tragedy did not strike, but it takes just that small amount of time for it to strike if it's gonna.

This always happens when I walk the Great Danes and the families are about. Children run from anywhere on the beach to get to the dogs. Sometimes this creates a great opportunity to jog with the dogs and stay away from the children. Is this because the dogs aren't friendly? No, in fact Roxie and Harley live with children and frequently see them on the beach with their owners. This is because the dogs exercise needs should not be put on hold, while I explain to children the appropriate way to interact with dogs. Children have been taught to expect that all dogs are friendly everywhere, and in fact available to them like animals at a petting zoo. In fact, dogs are people's great companions who may have quirks, feelings, and phobias. Not every dog should be subjected to a mob of people (large or small) that have no understanding of interacting with them.

Then their are the poor parents who are aware and have taught their children properly. They see me stiffen as their child runs past, because I have been taught too many times that parents are not teaching their skills to their children. I want to run up to those parents and kiss them on the lips, when they say "oh Johny knows to respect a dogs space." And Johny just proved that when he ran past to play with his friends in the waves, rather than flinging himself at the dog I am currently training. I am normally in body block position by now if it looks at all that way, and depending on the dog that I am training at the time:) This is because I am concerned for that child who does not know they are doing anything at all wrong. There is going to be no time while the child is in full on run and lung mode to explain the proper etiquette of dog greetings!!

So I plead with parents, please educate your child that not everyone and every dog likes children flinging themselves at them. If adults displayed that sort of lack of control around small babies and toddlers, parents would be up in arms. (maybe some people do, but I am very respectful of babies and toddlers safety and that their immune systems are not fully developed as yet----as well as a parents fear that someone might try and kidnap their child). Be aware of what your child is doing on the beach. There are all sorts of dangers there. (strange humans, dogs, water, busy streets with cars) There may not be a human there able to help your child should they get into trouble.

Be careful and aware out there!!

K-9 Solutions Dog Training, Inc. Commits Libel AND DEFENDS IT

Marie Finnegan of K-9 Solutions Dog Training, Inc. committed libel on 3/21/2009. She not only committed libel, but she defended it in an e-mail as follows:

"I'm sure they will love to see the stuff you wrote slamming me in past posts. Don't contact me again or further contact by you will be considered harassment. "

So commenting on one's videod performance truthfully from a blog that's titled was judge me based on my performance is the SAME as lying about someone. I mean if one is ashamed of their own skill level and blog posting, that is my fault? So now it's open season to lie about me.

Marie says about me that I "refuse to attend seminars by anyone even remotely in the positive camp herself. Tail wags, Marie" Apparently she didn't check my public resume too thoroughly when she lied. http://www.mannerlymutts.com/Resume.htm. The Carolyn Scott seminar, the tracking seminar, and my YEARS volunteering at WARL and the Sterling Animal Shelter, guess what? All positive. My apologies for learning the correct use of other methods and tools, as well. And learning them to a measurable standard. My bad.

Marie Finnegan's research skills must be just as good as her dog training skills. (wonder why she doesn't take this representation off the internet) http://k-9solutionsdogtraininginc.blogspot.com/2008/10/danno-graduates.html Yipes, I couldn't even believe it when it was verified that she thought this was a heel. Never mind a heel in any reasonable stage of training. Ooooookkkkkaaaayyy.

Wow. Please let mainetoday.com know that their blog members should not be committing libel. Especially if it's just because it irks their members that another trainer is different and has achieved her goals consistently (and knows how to train a heel and what it should remotely look like). wea@mainetoday.com is the contact at Maine Today. And Miss Marie can be found at CanineHelp@aol.com. She is also the owner of the blog above.

Jackie CD Open Jumps Practice

Want to have this much fun with your dog? Call Mannerly Mutts, Maine's Dog Training Resource, at 207-361-4395. Or you can e-mail Maine's Dog trainer, Robin Rubin, at mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com. Also New Hampshire Dog Training, Massachusetts Dog Training, and other geographical area services. Don't forget that we have a residency and board and train program.

Anti-Breeder Bill Being Introduced in Maine NOW!!!!

Here is some information on this bill, before I urge you to contact law makers and task force members mentioned to KILL THIS ANIMAL RIGHTS BILL.....NOW regarding HP666 (how's that for irony) and LD 964. More information on letter templates and contacting others within the industry. Let's protect responsible breeders who do a wonderful job, and seldom make any money off of it. Responsible breeders are not the problem, nor should they be funding the failings of sub standard breeding operations. Those operations should be forced to pay for their irresponsible behavior.

http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/91130.html (excellent article on the problem with this bill. also note, the search and seizure on private property without a warrant. This is happening in other states, where law abiding citizens are loosing their pets under this. By the time they straighten it out, their pets have been put to sleep or have died from old age)

http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/nov08/081115a.asp
http://janus.state.me.us/legis/LawMakerWeb/externalsiteframe.asp?ID=280027515&LD=2010&Type=4&SessionID=7http://www.pijac.org/files/public/ME_HB_1545.pdf (includes state politician information)

http://www.maineanimalcoalition.org/artman/publish/article_1330.shtml (information on members of the task force)

http://www.betrbeagle.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=3055 (some explanation and logging on why this bill and others are alarming to those involved with dogs or pets in Mane)

http://www.camospace.com/archive/mod_blog/id_5085/title_more-dog-bill-madness/ (more reasons why people are concerned about this bill)

http://www.downeast.com/The-Tipping-Point/October-2008/A-Dogpile-in-Senate-District-15/ (maine politics and animal welfare)

http://blogs.mainetoday.com/dogslife/001753.shtml (shows strong support from HSUS, which causes me a lot of pause. HSUS? The same one responsible for killing puppies in North Carolina. Yeah, they have dog's best interest in mind)

http://members.boardhost.com/MolosserTalk/msg/1232400111.html (oh, it's hitting New Hampshire as well!!!!)

This is an anti-breeder bill NOT an anti substandard breeding practices bill. It "fines" each regardless of the status of their operations. It may put out of business those wonderful breeders who actually aren't in it for the money, but to keep some quality in the breed and lines. But even that is not the end goal.

The end goal of organizations like HSUS, who is pushing this, is to end pet ownership period. First they have convinced people that there is no need to train your dog to a standard, Now there will be no need to have dogs bred to any healthy standard. Next step? Dogs will not be available to be pets anymore.Use this information to send your concerns to your senators, legislators, and the task force members (the ones who have not already drank the poisoned punch). Two TDF (truly dog friendly) and one HSUS member are already involved and pushing for the success of this bill.

KILL THE BILL. That's the only answer and tell the Animal Rights people to go crawl right back under their rock (as opposed to the Animal Welfare people). There are unenforced laws out there right now that can protect animals against sub standard breeding operations. This is just a testing ground for Animal Right fanatics to wedge their foot in the door, as usual.

Number One Training Request-Dog Walking Nicely

As a trainer, the one training request I receive most frequently is "I just want my dog to walk nicely on leash"!!! It's also the easiest thing to teach your dog to do well. A command or instruction is not taught well unless it is finished to the point where your dog can deal with the distracting situations of everyday life. This includes:

• Cars passing by
• Neighborhood cars
• Small children screaming in the neighborhood
• Dogs being walked by
• Off leash dogs perhaps rushing at you and your dog in play or with other intentions. (you would rather not be worrying about what your dog is doing in these situations. It's better to have your dog trust your judgement and caregiving).
• Squirell running up a tree in front of you
• Bikers, Skateboarders, Joggers,

There are two directions that I give my dog for walking nicely on (and off) leash. There is "let's go" which means do not pull on the lead (or it means comes towards me if they are off lead). Then there is the command that most owners think is "too fancy" or an impossibility, which is the heel.

The heel is no harder to teach than walking nicely (ie not pulling) on a "let's go" command. The "let's go" command is used for informal walks where you don't mind that your dog sniffs the dandelions or marks the tree. You only mind that the dog does not put pressure on the leash. The heel is a position that the dog must take. This command is great for getting a dog to focus on what they are doing (as opposed to the dog walking directly towards you for instance) or for when you are holding or handling something else, and really don't want to trip over your dog. Heel is also great for city type situations so they don't wrap their leash around everything and everybody.

Below is a video of me and dog/human reactive American Pit Bull Terrier, Gigi, taking our first city walk in the town of Portsmouth NH. She walked by two dogs and did amazingly well

Not the best heel I have ever seen, but Gigi was just beginning to learn about distractions (especially ones that she wanted to attack) vs walking well on leash and trusting me to keep us safe.

This video of Jackie and I doing a run thru, is a better example of what a more fully trained heel (complete with auto sit) should look like.

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=+%22Jackie+Run+Thru%22&emb=on##

Jackie was a dog that I despaired of ever being in public off leash, never mind competing off leash! He earned his Companion Dog last 5/2008 (which means he had to have an acceptable heel, among other things, both on and off lead), and is now being readied for open competition. Whether this is in a ring or on the street, a well trained heel should look essentially the same. You may need to make allowances for an unexpected elephant in the middle of the road LOL, but the dog should be prepared and trained for any expected distractions.

The first week of training should be all about space and staying in the owners space. This is done with posted on this blog called "sit on the dog".

The second week begins with a dog walking with the owner between two points on longe line from days 1-3. I go into this in more detail in my training manual, but simply all the owner needs to worry about is walking between the two points without speaking to or paying much attention to the dog. I change this up a bit for puppies and some other individual needs. Until I mention it, this is all in very mildly distracting venues.

The second week days 4-6, you have notated some things that distracted your dog in your immediate area. You probably know of some without even observing your dog during this process (open doors, open gate, end of driveway, cat, kids, neighbors, food). Now it's time to set your dog up with these distractions, but the owner moves in the opposite direction every time the dog is not paying attention. This sets the dog up for the need to learn to pay attention to you, because "Dog Knows" where you might go next. Your dog needs to keep an eye on you now, so he doesn't loose you .

The whole point of this is you are getting your dog to think this is THEIR great idea. Staying near you is the only way to keep tabs on you.

The second week on day 7, you begin preparing for heel work but still on the longe line (15-20 feet of line that you have kept completely slack this whole time). This means that you move in the opposite direction as soon as the dog starts to get anywhere near five feet away from you. At this point, and for most dogs, when they see you move they will go towards you immediately. Most dogs do not get to the end of the line at this point.

Exercises like this can be modified in a bunch of different ways to the needs of your client. My mastiff client, Baby Bella, has a spidery toy that is dangled to have her dash up. Treats work as well. For the right temperament of dogs, a knowledgeable and well trained correction helps them right along. For corrections, the point is that it needs to be done well, it's not appropriate to nag or choke on the dogs neck.

The next week, you are working on the heel. If you are going to be sloppy on easy things like position and leash handling, then this will be a waste of time for you. You also want a trainer that knows the importance of these things. It is not hard at all to do this correctly, and it confuses me every time why someone would not train a heel in the correct manner, whether for competition or a walk down the street. It's just not that difficult, especially if you are a knowledgeable trainer.

These directions take up pages and pages with good information, so I won't print them here. Plus, if you don't know what you are doing, it's best to have a knowledgeable trainer guide you through the process. At some point, you are rotating locations that you are practicing your exercises which have built a language one word at a time for your dog. I pick four different outdoor areas and two different indoor areas that I do my training. You are working your dog about an hour a day 6-7 days a week while you are doing this. Someone who will be successful will do this cheerfully, patiently, consistently, and enjoy the process.

In the end, the most awesome gift and reward that you will give your dog is increased time with you and increased freedom. No treat or toy in the world trumps that:)

You will notice in my pictures AND video that the leash is completely loose. This is how it should looke with a dog in the midst of training or a trained dog. Any tightness of the leash is manipulating an untrained dog.

Regarding equipment, I personally do not like head halties or harnesses that cinch under the arm pits, as the correction never stops even if the dog is walking correctly. These tend to rub sensitive dog's skin raw and make it uncomfortable to walk!! Not my personal goal for my or my client's dogs.

Regarding classes, I prefer to offer private classes first, and only group classes to my students who have done the work. The reason? Well an instructor is not going to know all dogs in their class really well when they meet them for the first time, which could lead to some unexpected and not safe situations. Beyond that though, the human and canine do not get the one on one attention that they deserve to work with this issue. You are starting with maximum distraction which makes it hard for everyone to learn.

This particular posting was inspired by a question on mainpets.mainetoday.com.

Newborn News and Responsible Dog Care

Scooby+Annabelle+alone time while unaltered=PuppyX3 (males)

Yup, this will happen to you if you leave two unfixed dogs together.

Good news, since Annabelle is acting normally and comfortably in her role as new and nursing mother, the next three to four weeks is all about taking care of Annabelle's needs, and Annabelle will take care of the rest (barring any complications, of course). I need to be sure to increase Annas food intake to about four to five meals, supplementing this with cottage cheese, yogurt, and wet dog food (in addition to her kibble).

A mother dog does not, generally, willingly go to her food or water at this point. So the food and water come to her in that I hold the bowls for her during feeding time so she does not need to leave her precious new charges. Outside to the bathroom, I carry her down so that she goes outside. Once inside, you return mommy immediately to her puppies.

I am also sure that she is comfortably situated out of the din of dogdom here. She has her own whelping box that is house inside a large crate for her comfort. The crate is in the corner and draped with blankets to make sure it's den like. I also have the heat turned up in the room to keep it extra toasty warm.

Again, please keep your dogs responsibly so this does not happen. The last thing needed, especially in this economy, is unwanted puppies OR dogs. If your family is in a situation of turmoil, remember that bringing another living being into the situation is not always the right OR more responsible choice!!

Need your dogs trained? Call Maine's Dog Training, Robin Rubin, at Mannerly Mutts Dog Training. 207-361-4395 will get your questions answered regarding your Maine Dog Training needs. Or e-mail mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com. Southern New Hampshire and North East Massachusetts dog training needs are met as well with a short commute:)

Nature Gets in The Way of Training Plans, Again!

Meet Annabelle and her newborn pups. Apparently, it's no longer a suspicion that there is a pregnant foster female at Mannerly Mutts LOL. I was there for the birth, which only took one hour and 45 minutes for all the three puppies to drop. Annabelle now has the waist line that a normally dog should, again.

Looks like three boys are in the house (four if you include daddy Scooby). Annabelle is an excellent mother. Thank goodness, she was all over what to do, while I watched to be sure everyone was breathing and out of the birth sack. Annabelle was so on top of everything. She did wonderfully.

I, however, was a nervous wreck. First of all when it started, I new exactly what was happening. I was nervous immediately that the puppies would be stuck. It was at a time where the veterinarians were all going home. Luckily, just as true panic was setting in and I was gathering up emergency numbers and the numbers of every breeder that I new to ask questions of....the first puppy popped out. The relief!!

Next came the worry of are they breathing? Are they out of the birthing sac? Does Annabelle know what to do? Thankfully, Annabelle was amazing and new what to do. At one point I thought I needed to help a puppy out, as I thought his leg was stuck. It was not the leg, but the actual umbilical cord still attached inside mom. Thankfully, mom knew just what to do there too, as I was contemplating the possibility that I may need to do something. The first one came out at about a half hour into labor. The last one emerged at about one hour forty five minutes. So although it felt like forever watching poor Annabelle being uncomfortable but bravely giving birth, it wasn't that long at all. I still think I sprouted a few more gray hairs .

The moment she was done, she got herself into the whelping box to start caring for her baby puppies. She's quite protective of them, as a good mother should be. She is also not so cooperative about going out or taking water and food for herself right now. She does not want to leave her precious three (looking like males) charges.

Scooby is beside himself since Annabelle wants nothing to do with him right now. He seems very interested and concerned for her and his puppies.

Such a beautiful thing to watch her with her puppies. Hopefully her owners will be situated soon, and have a plan on what to do with three new additions:)

Color me quite surprised by the way. Although I had a strong belief that she was pregnant, I had thought since the vet hadn't caught this, that we would have at least 4-5 weeks before needing to worry about the birth. The puppies are clearly healthy and robust. It is really amazing.

Thank You to My Wonderful Customers!!

Dear Customers,

Thank you for caring for your dogs. Thank you for providing for their nutritional, emotional, physical, medical, shelter, stability, and training needs. You do this for obvious love and caring for your dogs.

Not everyone does this for their dogs. You should know that my core customers are very special in this regard. It rips my heart out when I find myself emotionally and financially involved with "the other kind of" people. It's sad when I care more about their dogs welfare, than they do themselves.

Luckily, most of my customers (about 90%) know how cruel it is to put a professional through this turmoil, and deeply care first and foremost for the well being of their dogs, rather than selfish "other" needs. Thank you for not taking advantage of me, and providing these things for your dogs so I don't need to worry about them for you.

My dear customers, my heart is glad when your dogs return to you, because I know they are safe and loved. When the rare "other thing" happens, it puts a deep tear in my heart. Thank you for keeping a portion of my heart whole and healthy.

Yours Truly,

Robin Rubin

Sore Losers in Obedience/Assumptions/Action

I don't come across sore losers too often while I trial. Every now and then someone will regale you with a story that points out their training flaws NOT flaws in the dog. Recently this was discussed as a topic in dogstardaily.com, not under this view, but under the view of corrections being given and what was the right thing to do. Regarding that post as named "What Would You Do", I would have followed someone out of the ring if I had a real concern as to the treatment of their dog. People are much less likely to act out around witnesses than will. This also seems to me to be the more appropriate time to discuss this with someone, rather than before the "assumed act" even happened. It's hard for me to take this author seriously, as seems to be an extremist on one side of the fence. Therefore, anything that she might report may be overstated IMO.

What this post really spoke to for me, was a very small percentage of people who have adverse reactions when their dogs don't do well in the ring. To me, this is more of a training problem for the human, than a flaw in the dog:) Sometimes you don't see the problem until you are in the ring, and you notate it and move on. For instance, last trial with Jack, he was very interested in eating the horse poop flavored dirt rather than keeping a sit stay. So I wasn't angry with Jack, I just noted that we need to practice the sit stay (and down stay) with things he may like to eat on the floor around him.

One time, people assumed I was upset with Jack's performance because I hurried off. The reason I hurried off was that dog number 2 needed to get in the ring pronto for us to compete. I was actually hurrying off to be sure that Jack went to the bathroom first, and was situated comfortably before our spot came up. I heard the comment as I went by, but had no time (and frankly no interest) in correcting the assuming party. Jack just got a bit nervous at a wheelchair beep. We later worked on desensitizing him by finding similar audio beep files on the computer. No big deal. It was a very warehouse like situation too, and he was still getting used to booming echoes.

As a trainer and an owner, it's totally my responsibility, error, or learning in progress if my dog does not do well at a trial or in real life!! It's not his problem if he has not been taught that yet, or taught it badly. Not to say that I am against correction if the timing and situation are correct. A trial is not a time IMO where you really want your dog to experience anything negative, unless a real bad situation occurs (like another dog is on top of your dog or visa versa). Then that is not a correction in my book, and I am not even sure it's a punishment. It's owners taking responsibility for their dogs. I have been lucky enough not to witness this in competition yet. I have seen dogs break from position, play, walk to owners, walk out of the ring, bark, whine, et.... When any of those dogs are doing that, I am hoping that I have done my best training so my dogs won't follow suit in any way shape or form for their own protection. (ie avoiding dog conflicts)

There are times where you should ask or witness before assuming anything about another person. That is just wrong. I am not sure it was right that when the woman said her dog was going to get a correction, that the assumption was the worst. And if there was a suspicion there, that woman should have been followed out of the ring.

Unfortunately, some assumptions were made about Oprah in another post by this author. I was a little horrified that Dogstardaily.com allowed this. I mean you can't talk about all sides of training unless the website owner agrees, but you can potentially libel another's name without any facts? Hope they have a good attorney! You know there ARE more than a few purebred puppies that come into shelters. How does she think breed rescues came into existence????

Blah! Rain

There go my plans for today. I was going to spend some part (of what I imagined to be a lovely sunny day) video taping Jack and my work for Open (this spring or summer). Instead, I wake up to this gloomy and drizzly day, which significantly changes my plans. Video never comes out well in these gloomy settings, and I may need to buy myself some sort of lights for indoor video taping.

I should check the weather you say? Well, yeah, that would have been a good idea. It looks like Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will conform to my plans weather wise. I have three dogs that I need to walk on the beach today, so I will eventually be training outside with him, but not video taping so as not to ruin my video equipment!!

Also, I think we will do some indoor at home training for the video commercial that I am planning for the net. So it looks like a bit more practice before I am able to video again.

Jillian

Finally managed to get some Jillian pictures!! They did not come out as nicely as I would have liked. They certaintly don't capture her silly nature!!

In Case of The Worst!!

It's not only these economic times that are threatening dogs' homes, but other circumstances also threaten the stability of our canine companions' safe havens. Divorce, injury, homelessness, relocation, death, fire, earthquake, physical injury, and other things can become devastating situations for human owners, family, and their pets.

We have a client now that has moved into a shelter, where they were unable to take their dogs. Mannerly Mutts is happy to help out in these situations. Not everyone can find a willing party to hold onto their dogs until life stops kicking them around. Sometimes, it's better for the dogs to, at least temporarily if not permanently, get out of the environment.

When circumstances like the economy step in, it can be even harder to find a place that you KNOW your pets will be safe and taken care of in. What sort of things can you do to prepare for the worst?

1) Do your research BEFORE this happens, It's good to know what facilities are around you. Most of us need to take a trip or vacation sometime, get to know and research what type of kennels, daycare, and other boarding services exist around you.
2) Find out if your Veterinarian has boarding services that would be at least available for a short time, while you could relocate your pets.
3) Make sure your pet is trained for house and basic training. An easy guest is a more welcome guest. Perhaps even a guest that family members could help with. However, if they are going to mess in the house, and not come when called, this could be way more than you can possibly expect from your family members.
4) Make pacts with other dog people and friends. Perhaps make a network of people that are used to looking after each others pets, and would be available in an emergency.
5) Know what hotels closest to you take dogs or other pets. Realize that you are expected to go there with them .
6) Know what shelter policies are around you, and which ones do the best job. For instance, Doberman Rescue in Sandown NH would do the very best job at taking care of my dogs (in event of our death) and placing them.
7) Keep a listing of your dogs traits, personality, issues, medication, food, amount of food, exercise needs, ways to exercise, and any health problems. I need to do it again, but I used to keep an emergency page online that friends and family could refer to (so they wouldn't need to search my house). You could also e-mail this periodically.
8) If you take a trip, and are boarding your animals, let your friends and family know where they are currently boarded in case of an accident.
9) Identify how your family can get funds to take care of your pets and place them in caring facilities, in case you are not around. If you have pet health insurance, let your family and friends know about that.
10) Keep a listing for your family and friends about where you feel comfortable with them staying.
11) Keep vaccination records and health information somewhere easy to find. Let your family and friends know where that is.
12) Keep a record of what commands and training your dog knows, so that the next caregiver knows what to say to them (and/or how to handle them) so that everyone is comfortable and happy in their new arrangement.
13) Be sure that your pets have been spayed or neutered, unless you have bigger plans for them. Keep this information available to interested parties.

All of this documentation will keep people informed and best able to place your dog temporarily or permenantly in case of the worst.

Baby Enjoys Roxy and Harley

Here I am bringing a client's puppy, Jesse the Sheltie, out to the beach with my dogs. You will see me training my dog, Leon, to roll over while Jackie is behind me saying "Gosh Darn It I can do that". However, this video is really about lovely Harley and Roxy having fun with a baby running around on the beach.



Recently, dogstardaily.com wrote about babies and pictures in a different light. Most professionals know that dogs can look one way in a picture, but that the full story is seen more in movement. I am not saying that some people do not put children and babies in potential danger by taking still or video photos of them. Sometimes though, the dog is just stressed by the camera and is not about to bite or maul the baby, adult, or owner. Part of getting a dog used to the camera may be taking a few pictures of them so they learn the thing pointed at them is nothing to be concerned about. I can post my own picture of my dog, Jazz, looking stressed while she was alive getting her picture taken with me. She did not like the camera, but this did not cause her any injury and got her used to an occaisional picture being taken. In one picture she's like "noooooo!!!" In the other picture, she had gotten used to a little camera action. Still pictures and sometimes moving pictures do not tell the whole story in most cases.

To analyze a situation without the living and breathing beings in front of you, is to not understand what dog training is all about.



Want your dog this well behaved around strange people? Mannerly Mutts, Maine's Dog Training, can help. Call Robin Rubin, Maine and New Hampshire's Dog Trainer, at 207-361-4395. Or E-mail mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com for your Massachusett, New Hampshire, or Maine Dog (or Puppy) training needs.

An Engineer With A Bit Too Much Time on His Hands:)

A veterinarian that sees one of my clients regularly (very much north of here) shared this with me. It makes me think of my grandfather, who was an engineer before all these new fangled gadgets.

Don't try this at home!! This guy put a lot of thought into the safety of this for his baby and dog.

Ian Dunbar's Training "Trinity"

A Ian Dunbar's observations in the following video:

• (A) Some of Ian's Observations (note he seems to be talking about mostly puppy training vs adult dog training):

• Profession different as no one does what you tell him to do (example given stuffing toy with moist kibble-----of course)



• Vague terms like leadership (wrong or just not specific enough?)



• Owners Just Get It All Wrong

• (B)Three skills:



• 
  
  
  (1) Reward/Correction



• (2) Differential reinforcements - different levels of rewards



• (3) Punishment - stimulus which decreases the preceding behavior (according to Ian maybe it shouldn't be painful or fearful)

Above you can see the main points that I got out of Ian's following video:

The first premise is that dog training is unlike any other profession. I am sure that quite a few teachers will be surprised to hear this! Having been in another profession in my life, that of an accountant in a public accounting firm, I would have to submit the difference is not that people magically listen to your advice in another profession. Additionally, one of my biggest beefs with Ian's talks (while charming and funny to those not looking for any real content), is the way he talks down to people, or doesn't even think that there may be a valid reason why an owner is objecting to a solution. In accounting, I had plenty of owners of corporations not listen and not take advice. In one extreme case, they were arrested at an airport as they smuggled their "non reported" cash out of the country. Unfortunately, the officials did not assume this was just a matter of skimming off the top, but thought it was a drug deal. In other cases, upon listening to the client, we needed to find another or method or way for them, BECAUSE WHAT THEY EXPLAINED MADE SENSE.

If you suggestions make sense and end up working, you get an owner that will follow your advice and methods to the best of their abilities (there is a learning curve you know based on the expertise of the client). People are not by nature stupid or ignorant, but they do expect that you will somehow prove what you are saying, and your experience with what you are saying. It could be that day that they get the proof, or it could be the next week that you see them. If the proof doesn't come along after they ARE LISTENING and doing the work, you will loose your credibility.

It also makes sense to screen clients so that you don't take people's money, who are simply not willing to train their dog. Most screening programs that a knowledgeable dog trainer creates can screen out about 95% of people that don't want to do the work with their dog, thereby saving them money and wasted time. Letting a client know, generally, what you are all about can help with that too. I think too many trainers will take on anybody just for a quick buck, rather than contemplating whether they will be able to help this person and dog out at all.

Premise number two, people use leadership as a vague term. Maybe, but I argue that every term is vague without a definition or example. These are not ground breaking observations here, people. I have several definitions and articles on leadership and what it means for my clients. It is not a vague term. And if it is vague, does that mean you discount leadership as a wrong way to go about things? I think we can all point to leaders (people that we want to emulate) that went about it well, and those that went about it badly. My first mentor in dog training is a very talented intelligent individual, but IMHO they went about things very badly. Their leadership skills were good in some areas, and counter productive in others. One can have good and bad leadership skills, and the trick is to pull out the good ones and give even more examples of good leadership skills. To me, the bottom line of leadership in a human and canine partnership is that the human is responsible for care and safety of the animal and all those around the animal (or canine). While I tighten up a bit more in that definition in my own writings, I think this is not a vague definition or mandate.

Premise number 3, owners just get it all wrong all of the time. I wish that were true (my bottom line would expand considerably), but I see some pretty well behaved dogs out there, who did not have the services of a dog trainer. Owners may get some things that they don't know about, or don't understand, or haven't figured out for themselves yet.....wrong. Not all owners get it wrong. Certainly if their dog is still alive by the time they see you, owners do not get EVERYTHING wrong.

The fact that Ian is saying this, is making me believe that he might actually be talking to dog trainers. I am hoping all these simple concepts are being shared with Novice Dog Trainers, and not Professional Dog Trainers. Many of Ians talks go like this, with no real knowledge being passed on at the end of the lecture. If you are going to talk about the actual definition punishment in dog training theory, for Gosh Sake be a little more detailed in the history of where it came from. That could be knowledge that someone, who knew very little to nothing about dog training, could take away from such a lecture.

The "trinity" that Ian then expands on is basically just the first point. Correction and reward are part of training. Really you don't say? The he talks about rewards being more or less depending on action. Then he equates correction with punishment !!!! Yipes, and says that it doesn't have to be scary.

By the way, punishment is an action that has taken place due to 1) failed training or 2) failed opportunity for training. A correction is an act that redirects the dog to a different (or correct) behavior. There is a huge and definite difference in MY dog training world between the two.

Punishment example would be:

More than one dog in a room. One dog is guarding something, but the human in charge does not see or pick up on the body language. Next thing you know, one dog is going for the other dog. I would jump in with a very strong body posture and tone of voice. I would most likely then confine the offending (and/or) non-listening party. However, this is not a correction or a training method.

Correction example would be (in the same instance):

More than one dog in a room. One dog is guarding something. Human notices and says "Let's Go" or "Crate" or "Sit" (we are assuming the dog knows, really knows, these terms) and redirects the dog to another action. Human does not stop watching at this point, but watches for an opportunity to continue the lesson.

If a dog has not been reliably trained to these commands, this might instead be the stepping on a dragging leash and walking the dog away from the area.

Sit on The Dog Exercise (as promised)

Exercise: Sit on The Dog (do not confuse with the down exercise later on)
Equipment needed: Metal Training Collar (for puppies a flat collar will due but be sure they can't slip their head out if it's too loose), 6' leather lead, chair for handler to sit on that they aren't too worried about (IE an antique chair would not be a good idea, especially for a dog that might try to chew something other than their toy while you aren't watching, but a good metal folding chair will do), silence which means no verbal commands, praise, or corrections. Also no conversations of any sort with your dog.

Objective and Goals: This exercise starts the leadership portion of dog training in a very non confrontational way. You are defining the space and activity that the dog will inhabit while you are engaged in other activities. It starts the process of showing the dog how to quiet themselves down during certain times of day, and employ self control in distracting situations. You are also getting the dog used to releasing the tension on the collar and relaxing instead of fighting against the collar. This becomes so important as the training lessons continue.
STEP 1: (if using the metal training collar, otherwise go to STEP 2) Put the training collar on correctly when you let your dog out. Hold the collar by the top and bottom ring. Drop the chain through the bottom ring. Place the collar over your left hand. If you have done this correctly, when you tug on the ring that is not holding the chain (live ring), pulling the live ring will allow it to release. Otherwise, it will just tighten on your arm, and that is not what you want. Once the collar is in the correct conformation, position your dog at your left hand side, facing in the same direction that you are. Put your left hand on top of his/her head, then slip the collar off of your wrist and over his/her head instead.

STEP 2: Handler places the flat part of leather leash on the chair seat and under their butt, so that the snap attached to the dog and collar is on their left. The handle of the leash will must come out on the right hand side. The handler holds the other end with handle in his/her right hand to be sure the puppy or dog does not loosen up the distance at all. Remember that the correct handle grip is thumb through handle, and fingers close around and enclose the handle of the leash.

STEP 3: Handler must have something else to do during this exercise so that they do not concentrate on their dog. You may only correct mouthing at the leash or jumping up on you, but nothing else. Let your dog whine, cry, tug at the leash ET to figure out what is required of him. Corrections for leash mouthing or jumping up are simply either pushing them gently but firmly off of you, or removing the leash from their mouth. You DO NOT want to talk to them or make any kind of significant eye contact. Look quickly away and don't acknowledge them if you accidentally meet their eyes.

STEP 4: The timer for the exercise starts when the dog first goes into a down. After that the dog can go up and down, and again the handler can't say anything to correct him. This exercise must be done for the next thirty minutes minimum (in one stretch).

STEP 5: If at 29 minutes and 59 seconds the dog is in not in a down, wait for him to go back down before releasing him. I would introduce a release word at this point such as "break" to indicate the exercise has ended. Example of this would be "Dog's name, break" and you get up as you say break.

Distraction levels: During the first two to three days, you want to work with mild to moderate distraction levels. I usually start inside my house, and I change up rooms and places inside the house. I use opportunities like dinner, blog writing, book reading, television programming, ET to set the dog up for this exercise.

Once the dog has the idea of this, it's time to increase the distraction level. If it's a good time of year, I find a park with other dogs in it on leash. I may have a family member walk through bouncing a ball. A family member could also help by opening and closing doors to the outside. If understanding company comes over, this is an excellent time to do this exercise. Be very creative and especially target those areas that your dog will find challenging to calm down in.
Homework: 1/2 hour at one time every day, minimum. It must be for one half hour at a stretch minimum.

***Common owner mistakes are to pay attention to the dog, not to have the leash short enough, and not to be doing something else to keep them occupied.
This exercise is an excellent beginning to an obedience program, and to teach the dog to chill upon the owner/handler sitting down. Of course, owners/handlers are expected to give proper care which includes, food, attention, and exercise during the day.
Margot Woods developed this beginning to her Bedrock Basics training method.

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Me and Leon Share a Workout

It's sometimes hard to figure out how to get exercise in on cold slippery winter days without hurting yourself or your dog. I have many inside tricks and activities that I do.

Today was game and freestyle dance day. First, in order to give myself the best work out, here are the rules of Tug and Run:

1) I start out with tug toy. I run until Leon gets tug toy.

2) When Leon has tug toy, I can't cheat and give him any commands like out or leave it. I must by wits and strategy pursue him for the tug toy. This sort of game should be kept to those dogs that have been brought up to respect their owner and know how to play with them.

3) Once I get the tug toy, two things can happen. One, he could still have it in his mouth, at which point we commence with Leon's favorite game of tug. It's a great triceps and biceps work out:) Or Two, I get the tug toy without Leon attached to it.

4) If we are playing tug, I seek to win but can not (only if Leon's personality were to suddenly change where he got possessive of the toy, which has never happened since his birth to 4 1/2 years) tell him to leave it or out (though if I get a good enough work out in, it's sometimes tempting if I am getting tired). I can trick him by calling a name, or pretending to get tired, or waiting for him to try and adjust his grip and take advantage of that.

5) If I have the toy with no Leon by either winning tug or getting it that way in the first place, then he gets it on completion of something new that we are training on. I might also give it for great execution of something that I asked for and he already knows.

We do this for about a half hour with freestyle moves, a little obedience, and tricks. At the end, we have two tired and hot beings!! Then Leon is allowed to do what he will with the toy as he curls up on the couch or floor for some quiet time.

We also have another game like this that involves a ball, and I try and bounce it the whole time and play keep away. Rules are similar to the Tug and Run game.

Last night, I played hide and seek with both Jack and Leon. Leon will search until he finds me. Jack might give it up if he can scour the kitchen floors instead!

Sledding Video from A Long Time Ago

This is in the old Digital site in West Boylston MA. We all used to go sledding with our dogs in tow. Here is Marley (dog that passed away many years ago, and was our great friend), Micah (human adult), and Milo (human child) enjoying a sled ride together.