Touching and Brushing the Hoobie Monster

Hoobie has been very extreme in not wanting to be touched or petted at first (except under his own terms). I have talked about the medical issues and his early history that contributed to this sort of fall out. He likes to be petted now. He even likes it when you approach him, unless he is resting sometimes. Or guarding someone. Well, there are still circumstances, but the act of actually petting him does not seem to be a phobia anymore (with those he knows).

In fact, he is under my desk right now, getting the occasional rub on the head (in a space that he used to like to guard, from the front while in a down, are specific instances where he is not totally comfortable giving full reign). He is muzzled, because this can sometimes be a point of contention. I have been training him, however, that when he comes to me and shares a space that is mine, he has two acceptable options. He is very welcome to leave for instance, should he not want to be petted. With chronically ill animals, this is an important point, because sometimes they have a valid reason for not want to be touched. The best way for us to know that, though, is for them to give a non aggressive signal, like leaving to their "place". The teaching of it is more abstract than obedience exercises, and needs consistency to be at all clear. The second option, is to accept the petting. The unacceptable option is to blow. With a muzzle on or other equipment, it's much easier on the dog to correct them during an unacceptable incident. Hoobie still does these on occasion, but they are ending quicker and quicker, and without the build up and severity that they used to.

So I have been introducing in a few different ways. One is very related to how I got Hoobie to accept and like to be touched. When he comes over for a pat, I give him a brush instead. If he stays and growls, I brush him about five more times after the last growl and then say "break". This way he knows that I will only continue X amount of times. If he keeps returning, I know he is liking it, but testing out his new theory on what I will do. Therefore, I become predictable and more safe. Also the activity becomes predictable and safer. The reasons for not using treats have to do with his medical issues and history, and the fact that it does not work with Hoobie. Luckily, there are other things that do.

Another thing I will do, is bring the brush along when we are doing an activity that Hoobie particularly enjoys, like a swampy walk. This is a walk where Hoobie gets to immerse himself in all the watery areas in the woods like creeks and wetlands. There is nothing Hoobie likes better than this, and so I start to associate things that he was leery about with these things.

Another way I go about it, is to start making it part of a command. Sit becomes, sit and be brushed for four times. Stand, down, et all become commands that require something extra to be done to make it successful. Again, it's the predictability that helps Hoobie relax and become accepting of touch and grooming things. He probably hates the toweling off and paw handling for any length of time more than anything now. I try to make the balance of his decision to be accepting, vs this is what you are required to have done. Hoobie is a dog where it's hard to find the right balance, but when you do find it you know it. You don't want to be overly firm, and you really don't want to be not firm enough. Hoobie needs communication to be right on to improve, and that's the most challenging part of Hoobie. I will talk a little more about this tomorrow, and some examples of when the right balance is achieved.


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Updates....

So sorry that I haven't published for awhile. We had this big reunion party that we were planning, and executed...let's just say I no longer remember what it was I did with my time before the party LOL. Unlike my husband, I didn't have vacation the previous week, and have been enjoying a very busy business this summer, despite the state of the economy.

Then a bit of recovery period was needed. So what has been going on here:

Hoobie: Hoobie is staying with us through August. He needed to have a biopsy while in my care, and while his owners came up to visit and get a taste for handling him. He regressed a bit after the biopsy, but I am happy to say we have him largely back and moving onto more things. He is a very detailed dog, so these things are going to sound ridiculous as a goal to any dog trainer LOL. Collars on and off without taking a fit, being brushed while not taking a fit, nail clippings---while not taking a fit, not guarding the back seat of the car, still working on the food resource guarding (this remains the most difficult) and toy resource guarding (not so much except to hand him the toy, this is when he gets most aggressive otherwise he will drop it so you can pick it up), not panicking when strangers are around, and on and on. Oh, and all things related to grooming (ear cleaning, clippers).

There is the most fun loving friendly dog in here, but I would say this is the most phobic dog that I have ever seen. It's very very easy to loose his trust for a bit. The fact that he is allergic to everything, has thyroid, and a chronic stomach problem not so helpful. He rallies though. For instance today he had the most fun for an hour or two or racing through the woods and swamp with everyone else. A Springer is a sight to behold in the wild woods!!!

Magoo: Doing wonderfully in his training of course. Surprisingly, this is Hoobie's best friend as far as playing goes. Magoo and Hoobie race through the woods and swamp together. Very, very opposite dogs. Magoo is willing to please always whether it benefits him or not. Hoobie is only willing to please if it benefits him, however, that does not mean he's not a friendly and loving dog. Hoobie is very complicated in every way, and Magoo is very simply. Magoo is WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). Hoobie's system is complicated and needs frequent repair. Hoobie is super smart, which can either make him easy or super hard to train LOL. Magoo has smarts, but he is not super smart, making him very easy to train. Magoo trains with whatever. Pets, treats, toys, play, or nothing; Magoo is willing. Hoobie is food intolerant, a resource guarder, but also works best for fun or exercise and of course the outdoors.

Magoo is going to be a dog that you never need to worry about in any situation. Hoobie is a dog that his owners will always need to be aware of his body language. They are both great pals. Go figure!!

Leon the Boxer: Leon knows how to heel now, it's necessary for his owners to take the lessons now as well. Looks like this might work out next week. Leon is a boxer that is just too eager to play with other dogs, while having just a bit of a worry about what the other dog might do. His is really the sweetest thing with everyone, and when he knows the other canines, it looks like he is a friend for life. I expect that he will have many new friends in his future, and the rough edges will smooth out with his owners careful care and training. I am not sure that he will ever be very happy with dogs that growl at him as a greeting at first, but he may get the hang of ignoring that as long as his owners always keep him safe. When you get a rescue, you don't ever know everything that happened in his past, and he may have had a few rough encounters with other dogs in the past. Many dogs enjoy coming here, as they know this is pretty much a safe place for socializing with other dogs.

Leon My Doberman: Looks like his knee is recovering, and it may have been another injury other than his ACL that was bothering him. So thankfully, we don't need to consider bringing him for surgery at the moment, plus he is able to enjoy the rest of his summer with supervision and an eye on his activity level.

Leon took his very first watery adventure in the swamp lands today. I was very impressed. I think it finally dawned on him that the water really is only so deep. I hope one day that he warms up to swimming!!

Jack My Doberman: I hate to even jinx myself by saying this. Finally, I think I have come up with the formula for Jack to enjoy quite a bit of other dogs being here. Ironically, it has also affected the way I operate with the dogs. Jack likes a good two sessions of hard play during the day with the dogs he likes. Those are most of the dogs here. The exceptions to that rule seem to be Petey, Magoo, Logan, Teddy (who is coming in a few days), and I am sure there are a few others that I did not think of.

Molly: Not a current dog, but one that was here a few years ago. She turned out so well, that her owners are actually about to pull the trigger on dog number two!! They enjoyed the training so much, that dog number two will also be training with me. No better compliment than that. They also let me know that Molly is enjoying another off leash summer on the beach as a good little citizen.

Brujo: Having an excellent if stinky time here. My friend brought his dog who had just been skunked up on vacation. He did let me know of the incident before hand. Brujo was just dashing through the creeks here with his buds (Oona, Hoobie, Magoo, Leon, Jackie, and Lucey). Brujo is also adept at opening just about any door in our house with the exception of the outside doors (unless the front door is open to the screen door) and the door to or from the mudroom. He is very talented, and serves as a warning as to try not to have lever doors when you have a smart dog.

Oona: Oona's owners are welcoming a pink and furless new family member to their pack. A ten pound boy has arrived, and Oona is enjoying her time here as her owners concentrate on their new arrival. Oona has fallen for Minny Manny, the chihuahua and pug mix that comes here to play. She also likes Brujo, but prefers the smaller Minny Mann. Poor Bru Bru.

Oona also has a very maternal side, as does Lucey below. It's so cute to see her try and groom little Minny Mann from head to toe.

Minny Manny: Still remains the boss of the pack when he comes. For a dog that's like three pounds, he is quite impressive as he plays with dogs that are 100 plus. He is also not afraid to tell them to back off. He shares the love connection with Oona. Everyone loves Minny for some reason, even though he can be a bit bossy at times. He's Hoobie's favorite to hang with as well.

Lucey: Our Westie girl still remains a little spit fire and hunter. She is the perfect mix of ruff and tumble, and lady like demureness. Somehow she pulls this off!! Lucey is also very maternal. She is so patient with the big ruffian boys that we have here.


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LEON THE BOXER

Leon started his lessons the other day. Still seems like a very nice, sweet, and possibly the mellowest boxer that I have ever met. He seems to love everybody and everything, which is a bit of a problem because he likes to pull his owner over to potential canine playmates!!

The first lesson (basically longe line and sit on the dog) done correctly should begin to cut down on this quite a bit, and then heeling around distractions will further it for Leon. He is not adverse to doing what you want him to do:) He just needs to be taught exactly what that is.

Every new client has access to a blog with the training plans. Also, they can feel free to call me should they have any problems during the week. Each session when coaching a client takes an hour or more. If I feel a client needs additional help during the session, I don't charge them more for the additional time.

It's hard to imagine that someone left him in a shelter, but it seems that it may have been very lucky on Leon's part. No one was home with him very much according to the shelter, and so he took care of his needs for activity and elimination himself. Then a family found him, and immediately looked after his needs including training. It is such a pleasure when this happens!! Hopefully the transition into his new family keeps going smoothly.

And of course, I freaking forgot to take a picture of him, yet again, while I was enjoying him. Sigh next time, and if it should not be raining out, perhaps a video.


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Welcoming Carole and Jean from Canada/Hoobie's Owners

Hoobies owners have made the trek from Canada. There is a little known Inn across the street from our street called the Ridge Road Inn. They have efficiency suites or small apartments for a weekly rental. The place is fairly new, and the owner is a very nice lady that likes dogs. Due to the rain and their late opening, I don't think many other people have arrived there yet. So it should be nice and quiet, and a quick walk down to the ocean as well. Course I was hoping for , maybe, the rain to stop. Seriously, the weather is never like it is right now, that being non stop rain.

Just looked at the weather forecast, and it's not making me feel very confident that I will see the sun again. You know once it comes, it's going to be like BAM HOTHOTHOT!! So our Canadian visitors are going to be wondering why we like to live here LOL. Really, we are not usually surrounded by damp and fog. We have been spoiled in that normally, around this time of year, we enjoy some very nice weather.

So the first visit with Hoobie went well. We haven't started the lessons with the owners yet. The stories they tell of Hoobie ruling their lives are horrifying. Hoobie used to need to be moved from room to room, just so the owners could enter their own rooms! If they left Hoobie out in the house, and went out themselves but forgot their key----Hoobie guarded the house from his own owners! He guarded each owner from the other owner (which we will be watching out for now, he hasn't displayed that towards me or my husband). Hopefully someday they will be looking back on those memories and laughing about them.

So now the lessons continue with Hoobie, and begin with the other very important part of the canine/human relationship. After a board and train like this, when the owners are reintroduced to their dog, it's a frightening thing for the owners. While they may see improvements, they may also feel like suddenly they can't read their dog, because they are not feeling free to charge up and boss the humans around anymore. Suddenly this dog seems unfamiliar, and the predictability the owners once had a strange comfort in is no longer there.

I can imagine how strange it must be to once have a dog that you needed to watch every move around, suddenly not be acting the same way. After all, the owners have not been involved in the training process thus far, nor seen the changes that have developed. They aren't used to this dog that is capable of not running every aspect of their lives. So now the owner education begins!! Wish us luck.

And someone, please bring me the sun back. I am so sick of being damp and mosquito bitten.


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Tier Of Goals When Training The Behaviorally Challenged

Going to have to use Hoobie again, as he is my only behaviorally challenged training client at the moment LOL (thank goodness). So when a client like Hoobie comes in, the first thing I do is envision for that dog, what I want for him if he was my own dog. The next thing that comes into mind is the laundry list of things I ideally want to accomplish before the owners bring him home. Here is an example of such a list that comes to mind, and sometimes changes as I know the dog. For Hoobie, here is my list of priorities that mold the way I train the behavior modification part, and also influence my training of obedience exercises (like having a pet part of every command):


TIER OF GOALS FOR HOOBIE:

PRIORITY ONE-SAFETY FOR OWNERS (WEEKS ONE TO TWO VERY MUCH SO-AND ONGOING):

• Crate training in and out of crate. (includes muzzle off which is an indicator for Hoobie that he is going into the crate, and leash off which can also be an indicator)
  
• Acceptance of muzzle on and off when needed. It's so far really been muzzle off, as that was an indicator that he's going into the crate, when the muzzle is being used.


• Acceptance of training collar on and off.


• Later came the PVC pipe idea to get Hoobie off the muzzle with resource guarding issues, yet provide an in between place for him that keeps me safe while he aggresses, and does not make it necessary to give a strong correction. (or get a strong correction)


• Later came the e-collar to cut down on the extreme reactions of Hoobie to in the crate in duration, and also so hands do not become the focal point of being made to do something. He does very well on the e-collar on low levels.

• Not allowed to hump other dogs when out with them. Also, I don't mind that he investigates dogs, er, private regions. However, allowing him to prolong this beyond what is necessary usually leads to humping.

• Do NOT have the mindset to make excuses for bad behavior of Hoobie. Assuming he is not having a convulsion of some sort, and has not been hit by a car, tired is no longer an excuse that Hoobie just misbehaved. We can acknowledge that he is not ready yet for something, but it doesn't excuse it. There is a difference, and I need for the owners to have the mindset that bad behavior is not an excuse for Hoobie. The allowance for this, and the avoiding of things that might upset Hoobie are the reasons for his increased aggression. Now that he is going in the right direction, we need Hoobie to be firmly pushed in the correct direction and not backslide.

• Also later, the car goes to good places, not just the vet!!

PRIORITY TWO-LEADERSHIP (HEAVY WEEK ONE AND ONGOING):

• Nothing in life is free. Using what he knows and what he is learning to work for what he wants.

• Longe line, learn to follow and pay attention to leader without needing to be tugged or pulled along.

• Heeling, learn to follow and pay attention to leader in an exacting position.

• Auto sit, learn to pay attention to leader and stop when they stop (and in a consistent position).

• Recognizing the signs of when Hoobie is leading the owner/handler.

• How to recognize and address challenges from Hoobie.

• Resource guarding issues become part of leadership, but are addressed starting week 5, 6, 7 and most likely 8.

• Structure and discipline.
  

PRIORITY 3-TOUCH AND HANDS (THIS IS THIRD, BECAUSE WITHOUT SAFETY AND LEADERSHIP THERE WILL BE NO BEING ABLE TO TEACH HOOBIE THIS) AND OWNER/HANDLER TRUST:

• Petting feels good. Also verifying the fact that Hoobie does not appear to be aggressing because he's in pain when he's petted.


• Hands do good things. Hands open doors, hands get food, hands treat (when safe), allowing hands near means we go outside.


• Obedience training with Koehler molding methods. Very touch based training where molding Hoobie with hands allows him to realize that no hurt comes from this.


• Hands touch when he's feeling good outside, enjoying freedom, and relaxing with friends.


• When Hoobie approaches, instead of allowing him to demand attention, Hoobie sits and hands touch as he wanted on handler's terms not his.


• We started at points of his body that he seemed to enjoy, and then we spread out.


• Because he had learned to loathe touch, we needed to touch him first so that he learned it wasn't that bad in an obedience training way. Then, we allow him to indicate when he doesn't want it by walking away, and watching what the tail does. The tolerance of touch has been increasing in time and demand:) Otherwise, I would have the wait until he approached method. This is being done with strangers. However stranger interactions are very last on the priority list!

• Structure, Discipline, Clarity, and Consistency.

PRIORITY 4-RESOURCE GUARDING ISSUES (VERY BEGINNING STAGES OF THIS RIGHT NOW-DON'T KNOW HOW FAR WE WILL GET):

• This has been part of the crate training as well. Hoobie is not allowed to lunge, growl, bark, at anyone or thing passing by his crate or towards his crate.

• Hand feeding as the beginning concept of "everything is mine not yours". However, I will gladly share with you.

• Part of giving the medicine with the popsicle stick in the crate (as opposed to your fingers which would be a bit mistake right now) is for him to neither guard the popsicle stick (or try and grab it from you) or his space inside the crate. This is why children and adults who won't listen should not be allowed near the crate, and must be supervised to insure that they don't visit the doggie.
• In obedience, this has been done by walking by close to Hoobie, and expecting that he won't react while in a down or sit stay. In other words, Hoobie has believed in the past he owns all the space around him to:) Or guards it from his people. Also let's go removes him from his position if he has just woken up from sleep or looks a bit worried about "his space" (NOT).

• NO ON THE FURNITURE. AND THE TIMES I HAVE FOUND HIM ON THE GUEST BED, OFF THE FURNITURE IMMEDIATELY.

• NO IN THE FRONT SEAT OF THE CAR, AND THE BACK IS MINE TOO. MORE OF A TRAINING EXERCISE, AS THE OWNERS HAD A METAL SEPERATOR INSTALLED IN THEIR VEHICLE. THOUGH I WOULD LOVE FOR THE NOT TO AVOID THIS IN THE FUTURE, SO THAT HOOBIE CAN LEARN.

PRIORITY 5-GREETING KNOWN PEOPLE AND TRUSTING KNOWN PEOPLE (WILL BE IN THE VERY BEGINNING STAGES WHEN OWNERS ARRIVE BUT HAVE STARTED WITH MY HUSBAND):

PRIORITY 6-GREETING UNKNOWN PEOPLE AND TRUSTING THE HANDLERS IN GREETING AND BEING AROUND UNKNOWN PEOPLE (WILL GET STARTED ON THIS, BUT DON'T KNOW HOW FAR WE WILL GET) :

***Can I say that greeting children has not made the list. This dog is not safe around children. Children will not understand the ramifications in the near future of how to interact with a dog like this. Hoobie must be muzzled or in a crate out of the site and thought of children when they are around. And even muzzled, must be strictly supervised AND must have high quality muzzle that he can't get off or pinch through!!

Realize that each large and lofty goal has many steps and behavioral challenges in it. I mean for Hoobie it's as tiny as allowing the door clips on the crate to be touched without growling. That's how intricate the beginning steps have been with a normal stable dog that doesn't even become an issue.

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The Challenge Video/Spitting in Food

I have included a link that explains why some long time trainers include saliva in their dogs food. http://www.bharatbhasha.com/pets.php/41991 Now it's not that I am trying to dominate Hoobie, but I am trying to include anything and everything that may make him as accepting as possible that others handle things that he thought were his solely. This is also the process of teaching him that he does not need to aggress. He will get what he needs and wants by NOT AGGRESSING. I have never tried this, but I am not one to shirk a technique that may help a situation, especially if it does not harm the dog (it may harm me but not the dog LOL).

So here is my payment that I issued to Dogstardaily and the Dunbars to allow balanced trainers to talk about balanced training on their site!! Kelly Dunbar most likely did not know of the challenge, but she did indeed allow conversation for the first time from balanced trainers on why tools and methods work. Kudos to Kelly Dunbar. Again, I don't need them to talk about balanced training at all, but if they are going to say they are acquiring the term, bash it, or talk about it----they should allow for conversation that is not blocked or moderated.

The below is the video. When I say I will treat him with a lamb treat if he growls LOL, that is not what I mean. Since we are working with his meds, it's important that he get the meds so I don't walk away. What I do if he growls is I then do reps of sits and downs, and when he is not growling he gets a very small piece of dried lamb. Or I sometimes put that very small piece on the popsicle stick. He actually tends to be more cooperative when he's out of the crate, but I like him to be able to do either, so that the owners will have options of ways he can safely get his meds, but while also working with him to desensitize him to getting meds up high or down low as a normal thing. That is still working on the resource guarding issue.





One thing that I noticed is that his tolerance for both resource guarding and crate training went down when the two were combined in one exercise. So since this time, I have gone to doing them seperately again. One training time for resource guarding, the other training time for crate training. Normally it's not a problem for dogs to combine, but for Hoobie it seems the combo of the two just made his intolerance times four instead of divided by two. I want to go in the direction that makes both of these things easy peasy for Hoobie. Or as easy as they can be for him:) I think sometimes he may be almost as stubborn as I am LOL.

By the way, I think Hoobie has taken the crown from Hannah as most stubborn dog, and most stubborn Springer!!! Oh well, Hannah is still the Queen here when she visits, and Kate remains our teddy bear. Wonder what they would think of Hoobie??

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Woodsy Fun With Hoobie and Gang

On the point in the video where Hoobie comes out of his crate tail wagging, I was trying to point out that every when he is pissy he does this. However, now that we have established his responses to things, it's very important that he is acting appropriately before released from the crate. So now although I could open the door when he's pissy, and he would most likely be fine, that won't train him the appropriate response.

Most times he comes out of the crate without any aggression except for two instances 1) I have just put him in the crate 5 minutes or less ago and 2) He was just hand fed and it's only been a few minutes.



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Preparing for Hoobie/Owner Training

Part of a responsible Board and Train package, is follow up and training with the owners. Hoobie's very responsible owners are on route during their 7 hour drive to stay here for at least a week and train with Hoobie and I. This means there is some prep work involved right now to be sure things go smoothly. With a case like Hoobie's where structure is critical to the success of the training program, I start out by designing schedules that can be followed. Hoobie has many special needs that need to do with his health, and these must mesh with the client's schedule and the training plan.


POTENTIAL SCHEDULE 1 (FEEDING,MEDICATION NEEDS AND OWNERS SCHEDULE WITH AFFECT THIS SCHEDULE):

6:00 AM Out and Thyroid Pill (see handling instructions during medication)

6:00-6:30 AM Dog Training Exercises (see where alternate half hours can be placed)

6:30 AM Stomach coating pill (see handling instructions during medication)

6:30-7:00 AM Dog Training Exercises (see where alternate half hours can be placed)

7:00 AM Feeding and last pill on alternating days. (see handling instructions for medication and crate training to see alternate handling of putting Hoobie in, feeding times, and equipment options)

7:00 AM to 9:00 AM Down time in crate. (see handlign instructions for crating)

9:00 AM -12: 00 PM Out to bathroom and free time for Hoobie (assuming that he is acting appropriately. (This is also another place that a half hour training session could come at the end of this time).

12:00 PM to 2:00 PM Out to bathroom and then down time in crate. (see handling instructions for crating)

2:00-4:00 PM Out to bathroom and free time for Hoobie (assuming that he is acting appropriately) (This is also another place that a half hour training session could come at the end of this time).

4:00-5:00PM Out and Dog Training Exercises (See alternate places where a half hour of this training could occur).

5:00-6:00 PM Out to bathroom and down time in crate. (See handling instructions for crating)

6:00 PM Thyroid Pill (see handling instructions for medication)

6:00-7:00 PM Free time for Hoobie. (a half hour of training time could be put here)

7:00 PM-7:30 PM Feeding time (See Crating Instructions)

7:30 PM-9:00 PM Free time which normally includes hanging out and watching tv with family.

9:00 PM Out and Hoobie Crated for Night (See Crating Instructions)







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Alltop Welcomes Mannerly Mutts Blog to the Family

How cool is that? I had even forgotten that I submitted my blog for this.

Alltop has welcomed Mannerly Mutts Maine Dog Training Blog to be part of their family. We look forward to serving more information to more readers everyday about both the dog industry and dog training (and the joy of dogs of course).

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DRU's July Jackie CD

Jack is the Doberman on the rock on Long Sands beach:)

He's our personal Calender boy of July and August 2009!!








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Updates on June 27th 2009

First, before the updates, how cute is my dog? Both my dogs are very cute, but here Leon is allowing Robert to put him in his sweatshirt LOL.

I like the extra bit of fashion management my husband did by rolling up his sleeves.

Magoo-Our little Great Dane obedience student is doing well. His owner lives in Ogunquit, and has enjoyed walking him through town on leash to see what he can do. Magoofy is sweet natured, puppy like, and adorable. I am very fond of his light pink nose. When the large adult Great Danes come to visit, it's like Magoo thinks that is his mommy and daddy. Yesterday they ran through creeks and marshlands together. You know that puppy look of excitement and joy a dog has when they are really having fun? Magoo had that look along with the floppy limbs and ways of a puppy. He is my refuge after a day of working the harder dogs. To just be able to enjoy that puppy joyfulness and sweetness. It's a gift during the day, that is for sure.

Currently we are working on everything stay, time, and distractions. Stand stay, place, sit stay, and down stay. Down first time performance is still being worked on by weaning out any help into the position now. His owner was wondering why, since he is food motivated, I didn't start with treats. Well first, the nice thing about Magoo is he doesn't need to work with treats. He is pretty willing to do whatever you show him. More importantly, since we are going into competition, it will be twice as hard to train food refusal if I get him hooked on the goods. Since Magoo works well without them, there is no need. And if I need to, I will and then phase out the treats.

New Client Leon The Boxer- Can not believe I did not take a picture of this beautiful boy. Next time I will definately remember. A family just adopted him last Sunday. He is two years old from rescue. Really a handsome boy and seemingly mellow and very friendly. He kept trying to crawl up on my lap, LOL. As an owner of Doberman lap dogs and friends of two Great Dane lap dogs, I know that oh so well. Seems this guy is a lover.

The concern with him was that he was getting worked up when walked with other dogs. During our consult, it appeared he is just anxious to play with a potential friend. So that's good news and a problem with a clear and easy solution. My dog, Dobe Leon, helped us discover what was going on with Boxer Leon. Unless some behavior bends kick in, he just seems like a super sweet dog who would like to spend some quality time playing with other canines. They start lessons next week to work on the walking issues, so the owner does not find herself pulled over to potential new friends.

And the Hoobinator-Easier than week 5, but a mixed bag this week. He definately did not appreciate my brother in law and nephew being in the house. He did not even see them, but he heard them. It caused him to have a sleepless night and wake up in THE MOOD. We had a real temper tantrum when he was put into the crate so I could go get lunch with my brother in law. The other days he has woken up happy, but it seems to have renewed his vigor not to go into the crate. He has not done this for quite awhile, and he started to try and growl and redirect AFTER THE MUZZLE CAME OFF. Smart little bugger figured out when the most vulnerable time was. I am careful to keep the leash on until just before he goes in.

Now in the beginning, if his muzzle was on, he was growling as it was going to come off. Then if he was really being a problem, I would send him into the crate with the muzzle on until he had a change of mind. Once the muzzle is off, however, I am not about to put it back on when he's getting revved up. So we are doing reps going in and out of the crate as he earns his dinner, using the PVC pipe for safety. He seems to be starting to get it, and hopefully we can just go back to him entering the crate without making a fuss.

On week six, he also started showing his growling when your hands moved from far away when getting up from the computer, or when my husband went to pet our dog from 20' away. Finally, yesterday, I had left him in the room outside the crate for a good performance, and when I went back in he tried to come at me. So no more out in the room for him right now (not talking about the family or living areas, but the room he sleeps in. I suspect he's getting a bit territorial of it.) I would change up rooms, but then Hoobie gets nervous and doesn't sleep as well. Plus it gets a bit inconvenient. This morning, after he was put in for breakfast, I forgot something went in the room, and he tried to growl me out from the crate!! Such a bad boy, and so we did some reps of crate in out, and down/sit.

Yesterday, we also had a blast in the marsh with Hoobie. OMG, he was racing around like a young puppy, and he got completely drenched. He can sure swim. The rain that has been non stop is good for filling up the water spaces so dogs can swim and cool off in them. We will most likely do more of that for Hoobie today.

My Dog Leon-He has been feeling off for the last week or so. Finally today a noticeable limp showed in his left leg. I am hoping that he strained something not related to his cruciate. He is on strict bed rest now to see if he will recover from a mild strain, or whether we need to revisit the surgery for the left leg. The right leg was done last year or the year before. His knees are the reason that I do not compete with him, and let him do activities at totally his own speed.

I totally hate when my dogs aren't feeling well. Jack has not had many off days in his life. There was that day he got into the food bin, gorged himself, and had me in a panic because it looked like he was pregnant with 13 puppies. I either bungey the lids shut now, or put a whole lot of stuff on top of the food lid. That's the only day I can think of where Jack didn't feel all that well.

Leon got some weird bumpy skin rash when he was a puppy and we were traveling. By the time we got to where we were going, it was already disappearing. Then we learned he liked to roll in dead things when he got a bit of mange. I was aghast. Not my puppy, he wouldn't roll in dead things. Then we found the flattened toad in our yard LOL. Oh well, I guess he is a dog after all, even if he is super cute. Then the knees started to give. Leon is mostly healthy, but his knees are his main health issue that can put him in dumpsville.

My Dog Jack- Has an owner that is too tired to train him most days. However, that's me, and I feel terribly guilty about it. So I am going to buck up, and get back to it with him.

Look how cute he is waiting for me at the top of the stairs. I just love my Jack. He is a ton of work, but well worth it and he has made me a better trainer. Jack has been the teacher of teachers so far.

He challenges me constantly, and learns so fast.

Sorry I don't write more about my non behaviorally challenged dogs here. I really should. As you can imagine, the ones with behavior problems take up quite a bit of my time.



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Balanced Training/Positive Politics/Postively An Example of Abuse

http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/walking-fine-line#comment-2118

Dogstardaily.com is allowing for conversation of Balanced Training (and why this site is not balanced). I think this is excellent. There are many great examples here of what balanced training is from posters like thinkdog, allgooddoggies, and dogrealist to name a few.

What did pop up though from poster user name, reflxyon, is an example of real abuse by a positive extremist? First of all she/he got an idea to use hot sauce as a replacement for an e-collar or prong collar to test on her dog. I am frankly horrified! Why? Because the actual punishment (not correction) does not go away even when the dog is in compliance. You are teaching the dog nothing other than to be uncomfortable for a twisted argument that doesn't even make sense.

The danger in this, and this site, is the complete lack of understanding of other training methodologies and equipment, that allow for people who have not studied them to put their dogs deliberately through this kind of abuse. Rather than learn about the equipment and why it's kinder than hot sauce, instead they deliberately chose to torture their dog. This is the kind of scary "science" that goes on to prove something. It's the complete lack of knowledge that leads to these sorts of things, never mind the total myths out there that everyone takes as fact without further investigation.

However, reflxyon does make one very important point that I am sure was not intended. When a prong or e-collar is used correctly, this can be seen by the dogs happily working state. If the prong or e-collar was used abusively as was done with the hot sauce, the dog would neither be happy to see the collar OR go on a walk.

Similar stories abound on other trainers misuse of equipments, and now their dogs are scared of them. This usually happens when people decide to use equipment on their own (and according to the myths), and use it abusively with their dogs. They did not research the methods and true use of the collar. That is something that I never condone.

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Dogstardaily/Dunbar Challenge

I normally don't make a challenge. However, since The Dunbars would like to own the word "balanced", and if as they say most dog trainers are balanced then....

Surely they will allow a balanced trainer to answer this post. I mean what is the problem if they are suddenly enlightened and balanced trainers, right?

See the reply named "wait a minute" from Cindy Bruckart. Cindy Bruckart has previously before been on boards arguing for Truly Dog Friendly, while not being a member herself. She was advocating for letting it take over APDT, and then everyone could just not follow the mandate. She also was a daycare provider that allowed dogs to hump in her daycare, and is now apparently a trainer. Yikes.

Anyway I am willing to run around clucking like a chicken on video if Kelly or the editors of the site allow a balanced trainer to answer the question (without being edited) regarding the equipment and how it works. I expect it would be similar to my answer below:) I could also put each morsel of Hoobies disgusting fish food in my mouth before feeding him (video taped for your amusement of course). I am doing this because their are those balanced trainers out there that hope The Dunbars shifty spots have changed. However, what has really changed is that they realize the slice of marketing pie is moving away from their ineffective one size fits all methods. Or I should say one treat fits all!!

What would my answer be to Cindy (God I should look up my old ones, surely she should know this by now or at least what the answer would be):

No Cindy dogs don't enjoy punishment. That's rather the point. They are not being punished when taught correctly.

Let's start with the fact that correction does not equal punishment. If I move a dog's leg over for a straighter sit, that's a correction and it would need to be an over the top extremist to think that was a punishment. I am showing the dog where I wish their position to be. If you follow a method like Koehler (ignoring the pesky paragraph or two that gets the extremists underpants in a twist---and that one could simply not use) then you are GENTLY MOLDING YOUR DOG INTO A DOWN FOR MANY REPS. That way when the time comes and you need a cleaner way to communicate the correction, you don't need to remotely blow them in the water. Remember the handler is controlling the piece of equipment and the level of correction.

Metal chain collars can also be used simply as a mechanism for holding the dog there, just like flat collars but they don't slide over the head. In fact a flat collar can make the communication all that much foggy and confusing by simply chocking or straining against it themselves. This also places tension on one spot.

What dogs enjoy is the freedom that the collar gives them once they are trained reliably off lead, the many more things they can do with their owners. So ditto for e-collars assuming you are using a method or plan that allows you to do training well.


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An Anynonymouse Gives a Good Chuckle/Myths

"but I don't think E collars or dominance like the outdated koehler method is appropriate, the first one adversly affects the nervous system,
the other affects the psychological well being of the dog."

See on this posting of Competing for Dogs Lives.

I mean really, I nearly fell out of my chair in a laughing fit. Realize that e-collars are powered by AA batteries. I mean do these people live in the backwoods somewhere, where people are hooking their dogs up to car batteries. Or are they just too ignorant to research and find something out about things that they have no knowledge of.

By the way, this anonymouse has been posting for a while on the pretext of looking for help. If you look at their posts, however, you will see that there is an agenda there quite clearly. These extremists clearly think the rest of us are stupid. The real puzzling thing is, especially since this comes from Pennsylvania, is why all the secrecy on who you are.

There have been other anonymouse posters lately too on my blog. Yet I don't delete them, I don't moderate them (unless they are spam, then that's deleted), I don't edit them, and I answer for myself. Weird huh? I wonder why anyone else who believes in what they are doing would choose to hide themselves????

And I love it when an Anonymouse calls the following quote from me ugly, on a blog where a lady is not only trialing her dog with a gaping wound, but this same dog has bad knees. Ever try kneeling in place for a minute if you have bad knees. Dogs need to sit in place for a minute (at least when trialing for Novice A Obedience---don't know about Novice Rally as that's quite a watered down experience). Seriously, considering this woman was bragging about doing this, I found this comment quite polite:


"Congratulations. However, please do not bring an injured dog into the ring in the future. AKC has rules about the fact that a dog should be comfortable.

These should be respected not short cut. I understand there is a money thing involved, but my dog’s comfort trumps $$$s any day."

As was this remark about dogs being luxury items:

"Personally, my pets are not a luxury, they are part of my family and responsibility. With the economy this year, we have so paired down our expenses not only to make our bills, but to be sure we have cash should an emergency crop up.

We also make sure preventable things simply do not happen to our dogs. We also have insurance policies on the one that we adopted as a puppy (rescues would be assumed to have to many pre-existing conditions).

There are families that are truly in peril and can’t afford the bill. However, what you can do is locate a rescue and be friends with them, so if the unthinkable happens, they may step in, pay the vet bills, and rehome the dog.

If you are not prepared for what might come down the pike medically or care wise in general for a dog, then you should not have a dog. I would sell my house (downgrade) and the contents of my house for my dogs first, if they could be treated and get better. We just paid several thousand dollars for my dogs ACL tear to be repaired.

Sorry, I am sure some will feel offended for the responsibility and love that I feel for my dogs. However, that is my opinion and my expectations of myself. Your opinions may differ and your mileage may vary, that’s okay."

Wow what an ugly comment??? Or perhaps just a difference of opinion which is ugly when I have it, but a difference of opinion when someone else posts something Anonymousely to my blog:) Yeah, then it's different, because I use all the tools int he tool box to help the dog. Evil, evil, trainer, I know.

Then to have the audacity to share what I know publicly and honestly. Clearly reasons for such attacks as the one recently from fearfuldogs.com. It's clearly okay when they bully with the ridiculous myths above and misinformation posted everywhere. But should anyone disagree with them in the most benign way, it's ugly and bullying. Or perhaps there is just no real defense for what is being done?

Another Anonymouse quote that made me laugh was "Too bad you can't think of any real content of your own". Wow, I must not be posting enough of my own procedures and video work LOL. I often get this comment that there is not enough content on my site (sarcasm intended) This most likely from someone who challenged to make me see what they could do on video. Haven't see any evidence of their training plans, cases, OR video. Well, there was the one video that was the reason for their challenge that they COULD do better. Hmmmmmmm. Quite awhile ago now.

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Behavioral Bends

Every shelter, rescuer, trainer, and adopter of an adult shelter dog should know about behavioral bends. The article attached is by Julia McDonough (posted under her old married name). The basic message is that dogs are not always WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). Dogs may show unexpected behaviors weeks or months after you adopt them. This does not always mean that the owner has done something terribly wrong!! In fact, what it may mean is that the dog is only now comfortable showing you this part of themselves. Dogs need to scope out the situation first. For trainers, this is especially important because a problem can not always be diagnosed over the phone or from even a day one consult.

For instance, our resident guest, Mr Hoobie, who I have been talking regularly about. Thankfully, I have a detailed history of Mr Hobbinators behaviors. So from day one, I have known what to look for. Now some of these behaviors have not surfaced until week 6. Those specifically being aggression from a distance on moving body parts (like if you are moving the computer mouse with your hands or even reaching for another dog to be petted 20' away). This first showed up three days ago, when my husband went to pet Jack, and Hoobie let out a low growl and stare. Then this morning, he growled at me when I moved my hand from the keyboard to the mouse. These are things that I had wished might NEVER show their face again, but I am well aware of behavioral bends. It's not that common or uncommon. It's not always negative. It's like when six weeks later a dog just starts to show you that they are a playing fool. Hannah, another Springer, didn't make it clear that she loved to play with other dogs for six months (she boarded with us after training, and showed absolutely no interest in playing until six months later---that is except with her sister Katie). That's a positive behavioral bend, she needed to feel comfortable enough around the packs that developed here to show that side.

Just ends up being another thing about Hoobie that is tough. I have been brushing off my clothes, using my mouse liberally, petting my dogs, and petting him for five plus weeks now, and on week 6 he chooses to show me it on his own. I don't know how much of a stink he is going to put up regarding not being allowed to do it. I am glad it's here now where we still have week 7, and perhaps week 8 to go. The owner is coming down this Monday to start being trained on handling Hoobie, and continuing his training and maintenance once home. He may actually give his owners less of a problem OR he may try to get things "back to his normality" as much as possible.

Any way, it's going to be important information for me. When I get a dog like Hoobie in, I pretend this is MY dog. I have just adopted him from the shelter. The unfair thing is that I do have background info on this dog, unless he has been adopted just days ago and the owner does not know that much about the dog. That's just one of the many things I love about Hoobie's owners, they have been very thorough and thoughtful of telling me what to be aware of.


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Interesting Cesar Milan DVD Featuring Other Trainers

No I am not a Milan fanatic by any means. I am alarmed quite frankly, when I see him working without equipment that could make training safer for everyone. He has a new CD out, and the positive world is abuzz about this. Ironic, as these are the same people who criticize others for pointing out what is out there in black and white that is wrong in the dog world of "purely positive" extremists. You know the ones that don't like to be "torn down" themselves (for calling dogs luxuy items which are disposable during hard times OR bring their injured dog to a trial OR unabashedly commit libel towards another and then defend it) but feel free to do it anonymously, indirectly by not exactly saying names, or directly if they feel the person has received too much fame and attention, but do not mirror their beliefs? Oh, and moderate and block comments as well of course (clearly not realizing I'll just comment about it on my blog).

They criticize Milan because this is a training video, and he is not (by his own admission a trainer). Apparently they could need read the video title which includes the phrase "and friends". Those "friends" are other well respected trainers. Uh oh. Did I just hear a large gulp of crow being swallowed?

http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/products/sns_dvd.php

I have heard that there are a lot of very well respected trainers on this DVD. It even has a bonus clicker training section LOL. Martin Deeley, a good friend of Ian Dunbar, even gives tips on the CD. I have personally met Martin Deeley, and he is a fabulous trainer (despite the fact that I don't personally care for Dunbar, and question his motives).

Seems like this would be an educational DVD for serious dog trainers and the general public all over. Even the positive trainers might have to agree on this . Sounds like a positively balanced CD to me. And possibly free at my vets office (which is not staffed that I know about with positive etremists), that would be too cool. I definitely want this for my collection, so many DVDs I have purchased from others have been regulated to drink coasters:)


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Hand Feeding No 6 and Hoobie Down Sit Stand

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Hoobie Hand Feeding for Resource Guarding No. 4

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Hanging With Hoobie

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Pawsitive Dog Blog News

Nicole Wilde shares a touching moment where she "rescued" a puppy. However, shock turned to horror as it was found out that GSD puppies have energy AND that have an injured claw messed with at the veterinarians might envoke a nip. Truly a heart warming story of "rescue". I would ask you to comment on this on dogstardaily.com or fearfuldogs.com, sadly they both block and monitor comments they don't like. How odd.

Laurie C. Williams comments on her dog's short fallings during a Rally moment. Clearly it wasn't the fault of the trainer not preparing their dog for the environment either thru training or warm up. Maybe it's just me that thinks it was always my fault if my dog is that ill prepared. Didn't know I could just blame it on Jack's short fallings.

Gillian Ridgeway and Kelly Dunbar are now lusting over the term "Balanced Training" and wish to own it under their extrimist views. Wonder why that is? And thanks for the "heads up"?

This dog's owner feels that cheating on AKC guidelines meant to protect the well being of dogs makes her a responsible "show person". Well, thank goodness she got her title even though her dog was uncomfortable.


This dog owner thinks it a far better idea to outlaw responsible breeders (because there are none, don't you know, and instead have only the irresponsibly bred dogs out there). Sounds like a great plan to scrap all the work done in breeding in temperaments and health. Instead we can complete the process of shelters actually becoming the puppy stores that they are beginning to become. Oh yeah, about thirty comments from others and the owner of the blog were deleted, I can only speculate as to why.


This dog owner declares that they rescued (as a healthy puppy-normally we call that buying a puppy) their Dachshund. He calls his dog special needs because he is a normal Dachshund who he hasn't been able to train yet. Sigh. Such great positive rescuers out there.

While you will be able to post any positive comments on their blog (of course), the people who think these things are not representative of the dog community not to mention any part of positive dog care or training, will need to e-mail these people with their discontent. I know I have:)



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Charming and Active Hoobie

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Molded Downs W/ Hoobie and PVC Leash Attachment

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Have You Seen Bella?

It's raining today, but this is probably a good time to warm people about summer activities. Bella, a Female Puppy Mastiff, ran away from home after hearing some fireworks. She broke through a gate and was not on leash. She has been missing in the Long Sands York Beach area since last night.



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"Hand Feeding" Hoobie Day 2-Practice 2

Starting Hand Feeding With Resource Guarding Issues, The Good Moments:



I couldn't fit this all into the Youtube Permimeters, here are the bad moments and why it's a REALLY bad idea to train Hoobie with items that he is resource guarding. We are training to reduce the resource guarding here NOT training the down or sit. This is NILIF (nothing in life is free, and that especially goes for things that he will bite over).


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Welcome Back Happy Hoobie End Week 5

I would have to say this week has probably been the hardest with Hoobie. Week 1 may have been the winner as well, but it's hard to remember now that I did recover from it . Week 1 and 2 had me working at least six hours a day in care and training with Hoobie. After week 2, we had a two hour training session (rather than four hours broken up through the day) for all of week 3 and most of week 4. He was also unmuzzled (though still carefully handled) through those times. End of week four came a very important exercise that expands areas of touch and allowing that touch, the down using Koehler molding methods. OMG, this dog did not want to do the molded down. I think I know why this exercise over the molding of sit or stand was such a battle. This is used to get a dog under control at the vets or at home for medical assistance. It is more a matter of control to Hoobie rather than the actual touch part. I was very conscience of indications that he may be in pain. I did a 100 to 140 reps a day (inter dispersed through the day) with Hoobie. If there was pain, he would have been sore for the rest of the day, especially in the quieter moments of the day. Very likely, when he went to rest he would have shown discomfort going into a down.

Also like I said, this exercise is more than for teaching the down. Hoobie can do a down without the physical manipulation, though in training dogs like this I want first command and first performance. This is so important with a dog showing aggression towards....well anything....but especially for owner directed and resource guarding aggression. Most of the owner directed is fear based and control based. Fear based aggression or defensiveness is the easiest one to deal with. The bossy or dominant aggression is the harder one to convince a dog to give up. Hoobie has both.

The convincing him that petting is a good thing, hasn't been that bad (assuming there is no food or toy in your hand, and from the non controlling view of Hoobie - his back). Mostly that has been done with reward and positive reinforcement to this particular point.

Now remember Hoobie has food intolerance and resource guarding, and he aggresses when "treated" with either during training (and trust me I did put this too the test). In fact yesterday, with Hoobie's muzzle on, I fed him by hand or by hand with popsicle stick (this muzzle has a hole through the front, and Hoobie could in fact open his mouth wide enough to give me a good pinch in the front of his mouth). From now on, this is how Hoobie will be fed. He must give me a command for each bite. So just as my husband was saying "well isn't he doing good" I turned to explain to my husband he would still the aggressor if I moved, when Hoobie did indeed launch himself at me (or tried to), because I had turned to answer my husband. I almost forgot about that incident, until my husband came home from work and asked how that particular temper tantrum worked out (since that was the last time he saw me that morning, and Hoobie was still trying to get his way before he went to work). So today will be the second day doing that, but I am not teaching the down (though that is what I am getting), I am teaching some control of the resource guarding (down is still the molding of the down handling that is being taught). Today will be day two of handler feeding breakfast. We have three more weeks to go, and based on Hoobie's progress so far, it will take that much time just to really get started on it, unless he surprises me. This is always possible. In fact during week 3, I was sure that I had over estimated Hoobie's abilities and perhaps the training time LOL. I gotta tell you though, I don't consider even stable Springers to be the choice for a first time dog owner. They are tough and spirited and not that little a dog. Some weigh in at the same weight as a female Doberman. They are strong, and just because they are low to the ground does not make them small dogs. English Springers, like Hoobie, seem to be a bit smaller, but still quite built and active. He lacks bite inhibition, but I am sure that he has not unleashed the worst bite that he could give me. In fact, I am pretty sure he exhibited self control as he knows it.

Unfortunately, when SOME dogs learn the very true lesson that teeth=humans back off, they are going to lack any inhibitions about biting. So the trick is to teach them all sorts of situations and how to cope without biting. As you can imagine, there is quite a list of everyday situations that I would like to go over with Hoobie. I will touch on the most prevalent in the house, and in traveling with Hoobie. I am limited to my own creativity, and Hoobie's ability to get over his phobias within a time frame. These last two days, I have been very relieved to see the Hoobie that I know is in there again.

The very helpful things about Hoobie that allow for him to improve are:

• He really does like people, and he likes to be around people. He likes being petted right now by the people he knows in more varied situations than before. He seeks attention out even when he knows he is going to need to work for it. He runs to me for cuddles when he doesn't need to, he follows me out to lie beside me, he presses up against me for cuddling, he even comes on my lap (muzzled only allowed, if you move wrong and he was unmuzzled this would put you in quite a predicament).
• He doesn't mind touch, he just wants to be in control. To date, the humans ability to touch him at will has meant he will need to submit to something. Once we got going on the touch, I have had many requests (though I make him do something and do it on my terms) to be touched by Hoobie.
• Generally, when he learns not to be the aggressor on muzzle (truly not aggress, and that means you need to push him to see where he will), he doesn't seem to be the aggressor unmuzzled. When you start something new though, he doesn't generalize well, and so you need to muzzle him to again teach him not to be the aggressor in this new situation. At least there is a way, so that's good.
• He likes other dogs, which has been used as a reward. Course this is a reward that the owners won't necessarily have (and keep in mind that there are trained dogs here, not out of control dogs).
• He loves loves loves the outdoors. This is a huge reward.
• Excepting the down portion of training LOL, Hoobie does like the training. He likes doing it well and pleasing you. I expect the molded down will eventually turn into that. He likes giving me the down without molding.
• He is smart, but luckily not that smart. He can figure some things out that are not helpful, such as if he turns his body towards the front (which we are also training on approaching and touching from the front) he can delay the leash being put on or the muzzle being put on. Also he learned that not delivering the sit so willingly delays the whole down exercise!! However, he has not learned to hide his true intentions unmuzzled or with the PVC pipe. That is hugely helpful in knowing when he is truly progressing to the end goal.
• His body language is easy to read, even if his quick reflexes can be hard to avoid sometimes (at least twice so far). The watchful stare to the eyes is a challenge "if you come any closer or move unexpectedly I am coming for you". Shaking is usually when he is holding himself back from another bite or unwanted response to his handler. He is angry but barely controlling himself. I have only picked up on this a few times, and why it's so important to do molded exercises with dogs where you are touching them a lot, so you can feel their responses. When he looks away, you might not be able to get away with anything with him, but he is being respectful (ie letting you know that he is not challenging you). Panting means, he is doing what you want but not entirely comfortable with it. Tucked tail means the same. Tail wagging in the middle means he is pretty pleased with himself after a command or happy in general. High quick wagging tail means he is getting in an aroused state and a challenge may soon follow after.
• He can be moved quickly from a challenge to happy state, in general assuming he is not totally ramped up. Alternatively though, he can be happy and cuddling then totally concerned and challenging that you moved a certain way.

So we don't have the general treats and arbitrary touch to use as rewards, but we do have situations and events to use as rewards. Here is the thing though, it is going to be impossible for Hoobie to be rewarded for every moment in life. Though improvements were made early on in the less advanced training by being sure everything was good and happy for Hoobie, the truth is there are going to be some times where Hoobie is going to need to deal with what we know as "real life". Sometimes, he is going to need to get up and go out from his crate without trying to bite his owners, just because he is not totally happy that they are approaching. We are not going to want to reward Hoobie for not biting just because his owners walked by, we need him to know this is not acceptable. These are not unreasonable requests for a dog. Luckily, Hoobie has owners that have had him from puppy hood, nursed him through the medical issues that helped him be this way, and love him. A Hoobie in the shelter would not even be a consideration, nor is re homing Hoobie.

So a major reason for rehabilitating a Hoobie is that he has a home that will work with him and that already loves him (and doesn't have children in it). Another hopeful indicator for me is that while Hoobie has accomplished punctures-which no one wishes for or wants and are quite painful, he has demonstrated less control than we would like, but he has demonstrated control. He did get training before, but that training totally avoided these issues or did not deal with them. By having the owner be as still as possible, not facing, and not daring to move hand with treat, this actually taught Hoobie even more how to control his owners. So Hoobie still had and has loads of room for improvement. Also, there is an actual happy, friendly Hoobie in there that can and does enjoy life (including his owners and handlers). Finally, his owners have already endured four years of this. Already just the care time of Hoobie could probably be cut down quite a bit by his more cooperative behavior. The main problem is that he is the perfect storm of a dog. Medical issues in his youth before learning the goodness of hands, being a Springer in general LOL (and I am NOT saying they are aggressive, I am saying that they will wear you down whether cheerfully, fearfully, or aggressively with enthusiasm), not being able to be weaned by his mother, and having the Springer knowledge of how to control your owner and handler:) In order to train him, you need to be more stubborn than a Springer, and that is saying something (if you haven't trained yours, you wouldn't be aware and they can be lovely untrained dogs. try training your friendly lovely Springer though, and they will cheerfully and with love give you their middle digit). Luckily, I am more stubborn than a Springer, though I admit to going to bed at 8:30 most nights for the last five weeks .

So at the end of week five, we have wiggling wagging Hoobie. Tomorrow, dancing and prancing Hoobie will probably arrive. Why? Because he is figuring out that just doing what I want is no big deal, and a heck of a lot easier than arguing with me. Cause I really don't give up. Once a dog connects the ideas that nothing bad happens to him and I don't give up; they become relieved and know the name of the game. OR you could say we have a communication or language going on now that is understood. If only we could speak English to our dogs, this would be a whole heck of a lot easier. I don't hold it against Hoobie that he has tried to bite me. I totally understand this is the only way he knows to react to the situation. It's not that he doesn't love his owners or like me, it's that he feels afraid and feels a lack of control over the situation. By doing it in a different way, he does get control over the situation in a way that make us both happy.

Rewards and praise are great for many dogs. Even some very stable dogs though can be made crazy by too much of this being used. Some owners think their dogs out of control and heightened state of expecting a treat at any moment is what makes a happy dog. I disagree, a calm dog is a dog that gets his physical and emotional needs met. My dogs don't need to turn inside out at the idea of a walk, they get plenty of exercise and activity everyday. Treats are great, but they are quite limited in my house due my concern over their weight and health. Also, I really want my dogs enjoying the work NOT the treats associated with the work. I can start exercises with a treat, if they are afraid of that position or if they are having a hard time getting it. Case in point with my dogs, roll over was a very hard exercise to teach my dogs even with treats. They just did not feel comfortable going onto their backs, especially around other dogs. Treats helped them get over it, but I really know they enjoy what they are doing when they give it to me without a treat. In a beginning puppy or adult dog, I may start with a bunch of treat luring, but I know the way to really test your dog is without reward or correction. Or I should say the test of a trained dog is without reward or correction. In other words, they are doing the work because they enjoy the partnership and communication.

The other side of training is corrections. These are needed when reward does not entirely do the trick. I freely admit there are some dogs that do incredibly well with purely positive training. However, not ALL dogs do well. I can't say whether most dogs do well or not, as MOST dogs are not trained at all and vary in stability in their home. My dog, Leon, for instance naturally does not do most anything wrong. My dog, Jack, is a very different story even though they are the same gender and breed. Both are lovely dogs, and I love them equally as I have loved all my pets. Their difference in temperament and ability make them no less my beloved dogs. If one needs more work than the other, that is just the way it is, and that is what I need to provide. Same thing with medical attention et al, they are still your beloved companion.

Should you allow your dog to control you though? No, it's not healthy for the owners or the dog. I assure you that when Hoobie is taking a fit, he is not happy. He is in fact, quite distressed. Obviously, his owners can not go on the way they were. Their life became so restricted due to their devotion to Hoobie. So the things we are doing like molding and leash corrections, are not punishments. They are directions. Punishments are what would happen when you are already to late to change the behavior. After Hoobie bit me for instance, I went on with what I was doing (giving the medicine) or taking off the leash. I did it in the same controlled way that I started, being a bit more careful, obviously. However there was no punishment. After the medicine, I did need to corner him with a stool nearby, but it wasn't a punishment--it was needed to pick up his leash without being bitten again. I am sure that act did not teach Hoobie anything. If I am putting Hoobie in a position that he has broken during aggression, that is not a punishment. It's just doing what we were doing before, as calmly and in control as possible. If it is at all possible, I don't make any indication that the dog has done anything. Screaming, getting nervous, yelling, et all serve to just ramp a dog up. Now there is a difference between a short loud noise when stopping something from happening, then a prolonged yelling or screaming. Also you need to be able to read whether that did anything at all. Some dogs are very non plussed by this LOL. Other dogs are very accommodating to a quick short loud sound or command. Mostly dogs are very conscience of calm, practiced, and deliberate action.

This means the trainer needs to commit to the action with authority and commitment. To do these things half way only prolongs the training time. Something we really don't need with Hoobie. Looks like we are able to move on from down to other things now with Hoobie. That does not mean stop training on the down, but it doesn't need to be the primary exercise (I don't think) from this week forward. This has been an important part of Hoobie's training, and although it held us up a little, it was very important in him allowing touch. I am not even suggesting that the owners would go around doing this to Hoobie years from now randomly (ie not as a structured exercise). However, realize that a dog with trust, fear, and control issues needs to be worked to accept much more than will probably be asked in the end. That way those normal every day things seem like no biggy later on:)

Video will be taken on some of this progress today.

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