I have been struggling with whether or not to write this particular blog. By nature I like give people the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their decisions, believing that most people are basically decent. Yet my street time as a cop has shown me that poor judgment can show its ugly head in many situations.
I read a column by a trainer recently. The trainer was contacted by phone. Someone had gotten a dog off one of the internet boards. The dog had started to show some alarmingly aggressive behavior. Apparently based on a phone description of the behavior and the trainer’s “knowledge” of the breed’s behavior, the trainer advised the owner to put the dog down.
The point of the article appears to have been to be very careful when getting a dog from this kind of a source. That is a valid and useful point. People are not always honest about why they want to place a dog.
What was so aggravating to me was that, unless this columnist is a poor writer, that trainer never saw the dog.
That just mystifies me. It is not that hard to get a pretty good idea of what you are going to be dealing with when someone calls. And some behaviors are so mild, that you can help them with just a few simple suggestions. You should be able to give the owner some good general advice on what they are dealing with in any conversation. But you should make it clear that until you see the dog, you cannot say for sure what the problems are.
But the trainer should insist of seeing the dog, especially if they think the problems are dangerous. To diagnose a dog as un-trainable over the phone is an extreme act of arrogance. Or it is the mark of someone who should rethink how they train.
Maybe someday I’ll find out it was just poor writing skills. But I kind of doubt it.
I wrote the paragraphs above two weeks ago but decided not to put it on the blog. Then the columnist wrote another column. The columnist got several e mails taking him to task on this. The writer made a point of how he had won over the worst critic.
When I was a field training officer I taught my young cops always try to get the suspect’s story. There were occasions when I had a solid case against a suspect. I had enough to do a warrant and make a good arrest. They seemed like slam dunk cases. But every now and then, when I got the suspect’s side of the story, the case fell apart. Either the crime hadn't occured or the supposed suspect was actually the victim.
It didn’t happen often, but it did happen.
They day will come when I have to advise someone to put down a dog. The dog will be so badly traumatized that it cannot be saved.
But I guarantee I will have seen the dog in person.
Doug
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Neighborhood Pack II
One of the frustrations when you are building a business (especially in a recession) is not having a big enough customer base to do some of the things you want to do.
So by the end of summer when we had enough dogs to make getting together in group possible, we started doing Neighborhood Pack sessions. Of course we did not call it that until we met Pat Rock.
The name is a dead on description of what happens. We form a pack. Last week's pack had a Border Collie, two Boston Terriers, a Min Pin, a Jack Russell Terrier, a Norfolk Terrier, and a Standard Poodle. Three of the dogs were under a year in age. One dog had extreme dog aggression and another was a rescue with severe seperation anxiety.
Now each of these dogs had finished their private lessons and was making progress. But to complete the training process the dog needed a couple of sessions in a pack. And that night they were.
We don't turn dogs loose. But there is a pack leader, me. And there are higher ranking members of the pack, who have to be respected. That is the owners.
There were no miracles. But there was progress. Everyone learned that the rules their owners have established apply in every situation.
The excitement of the night was when the dog aggressive dog managed to snap open his lead and get loose. He challenged every dog in the center. But there were no bites, just bluffing. Ane he quickly learned that unacceptable behavior results in a frim, but fair, correction. He still has a way to go but that was a big step for him. And every other dog in the room learned they can trust their owners.
Neighborhood Pack has be so successful that now every dog finishes training by attending three sessions. Since the dog learns from the other dogs, and the owners learn from each other, the dog and owner finish the training and cement their relationship.
This gives us the ability to take advantage of both one on one training, and group training.
Plus now you have a place to come back to from time to time to sharpen you and the dog.
Doug
So by the end of summer when we had enough dogs to make getting together in group possible, we started doing Neighborhood Pack sessions. Of course we did not call it that until we met Pat Rock.
The name is a dead on description of what happens. We form a pack. Last week's pack had a Border Collie, two Boston Terriers, a Min Pin, a Jack Russell Terrier, a Norfolk Terrier, and a Standard Poodle. Three of the dogs were under a year in age. One dog had extreme dog aggression and another was a rescue with severe seperation anxiety.
Now each of these dogs had finished their private lessons and was making progress. But to complete the training process the dog needed a couple of sessions in a pack. And that night they were.
We don't turn dogs loose. But there is a pack leader, me. And there are higher ranking members of the pack, who have to be respected. That is the owners.
There were no miracles. But there was progress. Everyone learned that the rules their owners have established apply in every situation.
The excitement of the night was when the dog aggressive dog managed to snap open his lead and get loose. He challenged every dog in the center. But there were no bites, just bluffing. Ane he quickly learned that unacceptable behavior results in a frim, but fair, correction. He still has a way to go but that was a big step for him. And every other dog in the room learned they can trust their owners.
Neighborhood Pack has be so successful that now every dog finishes training by attending three sessions. Since the dog learns from the other dogs, and the owners learn from each other, the dog and owner finish the training and cement their relationship.
This gives us the ability to take advantage of both one on one training, and group training.
Plus now you have a place to come back to from time to time to sharpen you and the dog.
Doug
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Neighborhood Packs
Earlier this month my wife and I took our annual vacation. We like to pick somewhere we haven’t spent time before and head there to explore the region. Since neither of us had ever been to Williamsburg VA we headed out that way.
We were fortunate enough to be invited to visit Pat Rock who lives in the area. Pat is the president of the United States Lakeland Terrier club and a long time breeder.
The visit was wonderful. We talked about dogs, and got to meet all the dogs in her kennels, including two of our Tag’s pups. And much to our surprise, we found out Pat has Chicklet’s father. That will have to wait for another blog but led to some wonderful discoveries.
In one of our conversations we discussed the behavioral problems in dogs today. One of my observations is that more dogs than ever seem to need training.
Pat said that one of the reasons is that there are no longer neighborhood packs. When she said that a light bulb lit up.
I grew up in the late fifties and early sixties. As soon as she said that I remembered the neighborhood in Arlington, Texas where we lived while I went to grade school. One of the differences between that neighborhood and the one I live in now was that almost no one had fenced yards. You could step out our back door and look north to four or five open backyards. We had enough room to play football.
As a result there were always three packs running through the neighborhood. One was all the boys, one was all the girls, and the other was all the neighborhood dogs. The dog pack usually traveled back and forth to the two human packs.
There weren’t any leash laws back then. And people were much more careful about not letting intact dogs accidentally breed (I can’t remember a single litter in the neighborhood).
When a new dog came into the neighborhood, there was already an existing pack to join and rank had been established. The new dog quickly figured out its place. And if it was foolish enough to challenge one of the neighborhood kids, the pack quickly put it in its place. I can remember the occasional fight but not once was any blood shed.
And as I am writing this I suddenly remembered that the one dog we were all afraid of lived in one of the few houses with a fenced back yard. When he got out their was all kinds of confusion. Because he was not socialized to the various packs, he simply did not know how to act.
When a dog finishes its primary training here in our center, it goes into group sessions to make sure that both the owner and the dog know how to handle themselves around other dogs. What I am forming is a neighborhood pack. And as a result, these dogs are learning what the dogs from so long ago knew.
I kind of wish I could pull down some fences in my neighborhood.
Doug
We were fortunate enough to be invited to visit Pat Rock who lives in the area. Pat is the president of the United States Lakeland Terrier club and a long time breeder.
The visit was wonderful. We talked about dogs, and got to meet all the dogs in her kennels, including two of our Tag’s pups. And much to our surprise, we found out Pat has Chicklet’s father. That will have to wait for another blog but led to some wonderful discoveries.
In one of our conversations we discussed the behavioral problems in dogs today. One of my observations is that more dogs than ever seem to need training.
Pat said that one of the reasons is that there are no longer neighborhood packs. When she said that a light bulb lit up.
I grew up in the late fifties and early sixties. As soon as she said that I remembered the neighborhood in Arlington, Texas where we lived while I went to grade school. One of the differences between that neighborhood and the one I live in now was that almost no one had fenced yards. You could step out our back door and look north to four or five open backyards. We had enough room to play football.
As a result there were always three packs running through the neighborhood. One was all the boys, one was all the girls, and the other was all the neighborhood dogs. The dog pack usually traveled back and forth to the two human packs.
There weren’t any leash laws back then. And people were much more careful about not letting intact dogs accidentally breed (I can’t remember a single litter in the neighborhood).
When a new dog came into the neighborhood, there was already an existing pack to join and rank had been established. The new dog quickly figured out its place. And if it was foolish enough to challenge one of the neighborhood kids, the pack quickly put it in its place. I can remember the occasional fight but not once was any blood shed.
And as I am writing this I suddenly remembered that the one dog we were all afraid of lived in one of the few houses with a fenced back yard. When he got out their was all kinds of confusion. Because he was not socialized to the various packs, he simply did not know how to act.
When a dog finishes its primary training here in our center, it goes into group sessions to make sure that both the owner and the dog know how to handle themselves around other dogs. What I am forming is a neighborhood pack. And as a result, these dogs are learning what the dogs from so long ago knew.
I kind of wish I could pull down some fences in my neighborhood.
Doug
Sunday, August 9, 2009
"Don't Tase me Bro."
Last week I played phone tag with a gentleman about training his dog. I finally got in touch with him late that evening.
He has a rescue dog from breed rescue. I was really excited because the dog was of a breed that I had as a child. I really like that breed and have not had one in to train yet. I really want to work with that breed.
He told me they had already picked a trainer. I asked him if he minded telling me who he picked. There is one trainer in this town who is an out and out crook. I figured if he had picked this trainer I would do my best to talk him out of it.
He told me it was the chain that uses shock collars. I asked him if he understood what shock collars did. He said he did. I offered my standard free demonstration and asked him to reconsider using a system that gives an electric shock. I told him to read my blog about shock collars. He said he would and then call me the next day to arrange to come in.
He never called.
Losing client to someone else is no big deal. But this one really got to me. I figure if you go to the crook you get what you deserve. But I couldn’t get over why someone warned about what shock collars do would still chose that method.
I finally figured out why it bothered me so much.
I was one of the first deputies on my department to carry a Taser. When we first got them there were not enough of them for everyone to have one so they selected certain people to carry them from each shift. I believe the criteria was that you were known to be a $%*# magnet.
As part of the training you had to be hit with the Taser. I had spent more than one end of shift in the emergency room over the years. Plus I had both back and neck surgery. I understand pain. But when they turned it on, it was the most excruciating pain I have ever experienced. I would have bought the operator a car to turn it off. And I am talking a good car, like a Rolls.
Maybe we should require owners to get tased before they are allowed to use a shock collar.
Doug
PS. The dog in the picture was not shocked, but it was taught to trust.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Catahoula dog
I trained my first Catahoula dog about a year ago. A couple brought in an eight week old puppy for puppy class. They said the female was a rescue and that they had been told she was a Border collie mix.
In the Manners in Minutes system we do not train puppies. We do however show you how to condition the puppy so it is ready to fully train at 16 weeks.
When the dog came back eight weeks later, I remarked to the owners that I would have expected a Border collie mix to be larger at four months. They told me that when they took her to the vet he told them he thought she was a Catahoula. Then as they were leaving a man recognized their dog as a Catahoula, since he owned two of them.
The Catahoula is a dog bred in Louisiana. The dog is used for both herding and hunting boar as well as other game. It is descended from Native American dogs. They come in a wide range of sizes and coats. One distinct feature is their webbed feet.
The dog is very intense and very pack oriented. But they are herding dogs and are easy for me to work. This dog turned out to be a very nice student.
Since then I had only seen one pure bred Catahoula and one Great Dane/Catahoula mix.
Earlier this week a Border collie mix that is deaf came in for an assessment/demonstration. When I looked at the coloring, I asked her if the dog might be a Catahoula mix. She did not know. However when we checked his feet, we found they were webbed.
I asked her where she got the dog. She got it from a rescue group from the San Luis Valley area in central south Colorado. It was the same group the first dog came from.
Then yesterday I got a call from a woman with a blue heeler mix. It sounds like the dog has some serious pack order confusion. She is coming in later today for an evaluation. I asked her where she got the dog. It was a rescue. After talking some more about the dog I began to think that the Catahoula breed might be involved. She checked with her husband and although this dog was adopted from a shelter in Pueblo, it originally came from the San Luis Valley. Then they checked his feet. They were webbed.
Now with a dog that has unknown lineage, the only way to know for sure is DNA testing, and expensive and usually unnecessary procedure since the dogs are not going to be used for breeding.
But I am beginning to suspect there is either a lot of Catahoulas in that part of Colorado, or one very promiscuous dog running around.
Doug
In the Manners in Minutes system we do not train puppies. We do however show you how to condition the puppy so it is ready to fully train at 16 weeks.
When the dog came back eight weeks later, I remarked to the owners that I would have expected a Border collie mix to be larger at four months. They told me that when they took her to the vet he told them he thought she was a Catahoula. Then as they were leaving a man recognized their dog as a Catahoula, since he owned two of them.
The Catahoula is a dog bred in Louisiana. The dog is used for both herding and hunting boar as well as other game. It is descended from Native American dogs. They come in a wide range of sizes and coats. One distinct feature is their webbed feet.
The dog is very intense and very pack oriented. But they are herding dogs and are easy for me to work. This dog turned out to be a very nice student.
Since then I had only seen one pure bred Catahoula and one Great Dane/Catahoula mix.
Earlier this week a Border collie mix that is deaf came in for an assessment/demonstration. When I looked at the coloring, I asked her if the dog might be a Catahoula mix. She did not know. However when we checked his feet, we found they were webbed.
I asked her where she got the dog. She got it from a rescue group from the San Luis Valley area in central south Colorado. It was the same group the first dog came from.
Then yesterday I got a call from a woman with a blue heeler mix. It sounds like the dog has some serious pack order confusion. She is coming in later today for an evaluation. I asked her where she got the dog. It was a rescue. After talking some more about the dog I began to think that the Catahoula breed might be involved. She checked with her husband and although this dog was adopted from a shelter in Pueblo, it originally came from the San Luis Valley. Then they checked his feet. They were webbed.
Now with a dog that has unknown lineage, the only way to know for sure is DNA testing, and expensive and usually unnecessary procedure since the dogs are not going to be used for breeding.
But I am beginning to suspect there is either a lot of Catahoulas in that part of Colorado, or one very promiscuous dog running around.
Doug
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Dumb dogs
When I first speak with someone about training their dog, I ask a lot of questions. Now it is impossible to figure out everything that is going on with a dog without seeing the dog. But owners can usually give me a head start on deciding what issues have to be dealt with by talking about their dog.
There is one thing almost everyone does. They start describing the problems and then suddenly pause. They then tell me that their dog is either very intelligent or very smart.
They are telling me something I already know. Thousands of years of breeding dogs to do jobs insured that only the smartest and most capable dogs descended from their wolf ancestors
A dog can be intense, funny, obnoxious, high strung, and a host of other things.
But there are no dumb dogs. If you do meet a dog that someone thinks is dumb, you have just met a dog that has figured out acting stupid pays well at his house.
Doug
Monday, May 4, 2009
Rescue and Re-homed Dogs
The number of rescue organizations has mushroomed in the last couple of years. In addition to the breed rescue organizations and the local shelters, a number of other volunteer groups exist in almost every community. You see them outside the big chain pet stores on most weekends.
Rescuing a dog is a wonderful and generous act. But it is often very traumatic on the dog.
Dogs are pack animals. And for thousands of years dogs were born, raised, and worked, spending their entire lives within the same pack. They were working dogs and the farmer, rancher, or herder needed a pack to ensure that they had a reliable source of working dogs.
Today most dogs are pets, not working animals. So instead of staying in the same pack their whole lives, they end up moving at least once. Now to a young puppy (8 to 14 weeks) that move is usually not too traumatic. The excitement and attention of new people, combined with the fact that all the normal attachments have not been completely formed, make the transition to a new home comparatively easy.
But for the older dog, the effect is much harder. And if this dog has been given up from a home where it has lived a while, that dog it has now lost at least its second pack. It begins to believe it cannot trust that it will be a lifelong member of a stable pack. In nature losing your pack means either death or the difficult task of finding a new pack and fitting in.
Move a dog too many times and it may lose the ability to trust.
When you get a new rescue dog, then the dog needs time to adjust to its new pack. Where we are all excited that the dog now has a secure and loving home, the dog is wondering if this time the pack will accept and keep it.
The dog will often come into your home as the Omega dog. The Omega dog is the lowest ranking member of the pack. It is often the stress relief to the rest of the pack. It will be nipped and harassed, but not harmed. It is the last to eat. Its only job is to play with the pack’s puppies. But in a well established pack even that dog has a sense of security and belonging. But a rescue dog may see this as only a temporary position.
We refer to this as the honeymoon period. Usually this is about a month, but it can be shorter or longer. The dog seems very subdued, submissive and passive. The dog is calculating how high it can move up in the new pack. If it decides it can be the Alpha dog at the end of the period it will “take over.” And if it considers you a weak or ineffective pack leader you suddenly have an out of control dog.
But if it has lost all hope it may actually give up on even being the Omega dog. And without the security of knowing it is a valued member of the pack neither your life or the dog’s life will be very pleasant.
Before you get a rescue, have a plan to establish trust. Also make sure you know how make the first few weeks as stress free and successful as possible. Talk to a trainer so that you know the things to do to make that transition work so that you end up with the kind of dog you want. And make sure the trainer knows the difference between working with a rescue dog in the honeymoon period as compared to a rescue dog that has been in the home for quite a while.
Doug
Rescuing a dog is a wonderful and generous act. But it is often very traumatic on the dog.
Dogs are pack animals. And for thousands of years dogs were born, raised, and worked, spending their entire lives within the same pack. They were working dogs and the farmer, rancher, or herder needed a pack to ensure that they had a reliable source of working dogs.
Today most dogs are pets, not working animals. So instead of staying in the same pack their whole lives, they end up moving at least once. Now to a young puppy (8 to 14 weeks) that move is usually not too traumatic. The excitement and attention of new people, combined with the fact that all the normal attachments have not been completely formed, make the transition to a new home comparatively easy.
But for the older dog, the effect is much harder. And if this dog has been given up from a home where it has lived a while, that dog it has now lost at least its second pack. It begins to believe it cannot trust that it will be a lifelong member of a stable pack. In nature losing your pack means either death or the difficult task of finding a new pack and fitting in.
Move a dog too many times and it may lose the ability to trust.
When you get a new rescue dog, then the dog needs time to adjust to its new pack. Where we are all excited that the dog now has a secure and loving home, the dog is wondering if this time the pack will accept and keep it.
The dog will often come into your home as the Omega dog. The Omega dog is the lowest ranking member of the pack. It is often the stress relief to the rest of the pack. It will be nipped and harassed, but not harmed. It is the last to eat. Its only job is to play with the pack’s puppies. But in a well established pack even that dog has a sense of security and belonging. But a rescue dog may see this as only a temporary position.
We refer to this as the honeymoon period. Usually this is about a month, but it can be shorter or longer. The dog seems very subdued, submissive and passive. The dog is calculating how high it can move up in the new pack. If it decides it can be the Alpha dog at the end of the period it will “take over.” And if it considers you a weak or ineffective pack leader you suddenly have an out of control dog.
But if it has lost all hope it may actually give up on even being the Omega dog. And without the security of knowing it is a valued member of the pack neither your life or the dog’s life will be very pleasant.
Before you get a rescue, have a plan to establish trust. Also make sure you know how make the first few weeks as stress free and successful as possible. Talk to a trainer so that you know the things to do to make that transition work so that you end up with the kind of dog you want. And make sure the trainer knows the difference between working with a rescue dog in the honeymoon period as compared to a rescue dog that has been in the home for quite a while.
Doug
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