Dog Blog

Graduation Day

Desi graduated from her class at Unleashed. I don’t think she was at the top of the class, but she did graduate above the rest since she was the largest dog there.

According to my husband, “My work here is done.” Wrong! Training never stops. This was called a beginning class for a reason. There is so much more that Desi needs to learn. Her distant work leaves little to be desired. Her duration on any of her skills is less than stellar. Yes, there is plenty of training left to do.

But I don’t want to diminish the accomplishments of my husband or Desi during this class. Desi does respond to Al much better now that he took her through this class. He doesn’t always use all the learned cues, but he’s a work in progress.

Desi is not digging this game!

Desi and Al had a little help from Nicole during the Dress Up Game. The object of this game was to see how many items of clothing could be put on the dog within a certain amount of time. From Desi’s face, I would say she thought the object was torture the dog. There is validity to this exercise, however. Teaching your dog to put up with all sorts of handling is a good idea. If a dog can be calm during this exercise, a dog can be calm in other circumstances as well i.e at the vet’s office if they need to put a bandage on the dog. Desi won the game by a carrot, which was put in her shirt pocket in the last second. Al and Nicole were pleased; Desi was just glad it was all over!

Training should be fun. Games help you teach your dog skills in a fun way. When looking for a training facility ask about their teaching methods. There always should be a fun element as this makes people want to work more often with their dogs. Unleashed and the Dog Spot both use fun and games to teach owners how to control their dogs.

If you haven’t already, it’s time to sign up for some classes and get your dog trained. You will find out it’s a lot of fun and your dog will learn some new skills to help make your animal companion a good citizen in your home and neighborhood.

Congratulations to Desi and Al on their graduation from one of many classes to come. (Don’t tell Al that Desi already had two previous classes…we want him to feel proud of all his accomplishments!)

Al and Desi graduate

Stay...or is it?

Once again, I missed class due to my new job. Don’t get me wrong, I love my new job at Monticello Animal Hospital and am grateful to have a job in this economy. It does, however, mean that I miss Desi’s training class at Unleashed Dog Training. Fortunately, my husband jumped in to take over the lessons with our “puppy” Desi (now almost one year old and over 100 lbs).

Al has been a good sport as I didn’t warn him what exactly he was getting into with this class. The first class that Al attended covered handling your dog. He looked at me sternly when I got home and said, “I had to pick her nose!” Now I must say, I hadn’t quite expected that response. I also covered handling exercises when I taught classes, but I must say I never went as far as sticking fingers in the dog’s nose. Luckily, Desi is used to me doing all sorts of handling with her so she did fine as Al “picked her nose.” Something he refuses to continue to practice at home.

This week’s class covered expanding distance with the stay. Erika, the instructor, was kind enough to send me pictures to update me on my husband’s and dog’s progress in class. As I looked at the pictures at home with Al, he announced how well Desi was doing on the stay in this picture. I gave him a sideways glance. He knew I was on to him. I’ve trained enough big dogs over the years to know when a dog is actually staying or actually giving up. This is a picture of a dog who has given up. Large dog breeds in particular, often have a limit as to how many times they will repeat an exercise before they declare they have had enough. Oliver my mutant miniature poodle is happy to repeat exercises as many times as I want him to perform them. As a matter-of-fact, he gets more animated with each repetition so I have to keep my voice calm to keep him calm. My Saints are the opposite. Delilah had about a 15 minute window in which to train before she would lie down, roll on her back, and beg for a belly rub. It took a lot of enthusiasm to get her up and moving again.

Now why do I feel it’s important to write about catching my husband in this bluff? Because I have seen it so many times throughout the year while helping others train their dogs. People want their dogs to succeed, so often they will convince themselves that the dog is doing well when in fact the dog is training them. For instance, a dog who is put into a stay. The person tells the dog to stay, backs away, and the dog begins to come towards them. Instead of stepping in and stopping the dog from doing this, the person will quickly say “come” to make it appear that the dog is doing the exercise perfectly. In this scenario, the person is rewarding the behavior of breaking a stay before being told, instead of reinforcing a solid stay.

In Desi’s case, she was being stubborn by lying down and giving up. In order for her to learn that giving up is not an option, it’s crucial to get her up and moving again. Getting animated will often help. Having a different smelly treat as a backup can also help entice a dog to continue to work. If a big dog learns that lying down and not moving is how to get control of a situation, a person will do a lot of standing around while waiting for the dog to get back up. Having said that, also know your dog’s limitations and keep your training sessions within those limits only pushing the time forward slightly each training session to increase the time the dog will work.

I recently enrolled Desi in a another dog training class so I could work her around distractions. Little did I know that I would be changing jobs mid-class and have to work on Saturdays, missing our class time. The instructor suggested my husband take Desi in my place, and I laughed. Al is a great guy, puts up with all the critters that have paraded through our home over the years, but training and discipline have never been his strong suit. He’s more the loveable teddy bear type and the dogs think that at times he is just one more furry critter in the household.

After discussing it over with the instructor and explaining to her that her suggestion may not go over well, my husband surprised me once again. He agreed to take Desi to class saying, “She’s my dog too.” This is the first time in our 22 years of marriage that he really has considered one of the dogs “his.” Don’t get me wrong; Al loves all the animals. Dodger the cat rubs up against Al’s beard and they snuggle, Lucy the Yorkie gets Al to play endless fetch, and Jasper the German Shepherd leans against Al on the couch with his head on Al’s shoulder…Al loves the animals. This, however, was different. Al was claiming ownership. After all, he was instrumental in Desi entering our lives as I really didn’t want a puppy or another St. Bernard. It was my daughter and Al saying she was “destined” to be in our lives, that convinced me to take in yet another rescue and a puppy no less!

I warned the instructor that Al rarely has any hand in training the dogs, so I wasn’t sure how he would do. He has read my book, In Delilah’s Eyes: Dog Training from a Dog’s Perspective, numerous times as he helped edit the book. He also occasionally gives out dog training advice to his friends, showing me that he has listened some over the years. However, I do feel that training a husband can be more difficult than training a dog. I wasn’t sure how invested Al would be in the dog training class.

Al and Desi play muscial chairs.

On my lunch break, I received this picture from the instructor. My husband participated in a game of musical chairs with Desi. The object of the game is to circle the chairs while the music plays and when it stops, get the dog to sit and then sit on the chair yourself. From the picture I can see that Desi was a little distracted, but Al stuck to the rules, got her attention (with the help of a meatball) and ended with a successful sit for both of them. His comment when I got home was that others were cheating as they sat on the chair before the dog was sitting. Clearly he was getting into this training stuff!

Handling Exercise

The next picture I received from the instructor was during the handling exercise. Al was on the floor with Desi touching her feet wondering what was so difficult about this exercise as Desi flopped on the floor and relaxed. They were the envy of the class.

Of course, this reminded me of the time my son came home from Kindergarten and announced his teacher had taught him how to tie his shoes after we had been practicing the skill with him for months. Al took all the credit for Desi being relaxed during handling despite my working daily with her from the time she was a puppy and entered our house. However, I didn’t say anything as he was so proud of his Desi girl, and I was proud of him for taking her to class.

So, perhaps husbands aren’t as hard to train as I thought. It seems that with consistency, repetition and love, husbands are able to learn a few things. Al was so proud of his baby and ready to take on the next class. Of course, I haven’t seen him practicing any of the skills throughout the week, but training is a process of baby steps for some. Looks like I’ll be doing the practice, and he’ll be taking the credit. I’m fine with that. I was just happy that my son learned to tie his shoes in Kindergarten, and that my husband is willing to participate with Desi in class.

Pinned ya again!

A question often asked when dogs are playing is how do you know when enough is enough? Dog play can be loud and look pretty vicious. So what exactly do you watch for when dogs are playing to know if all is going well or not?In this picture, Desi has pinned Jasper. Desi is 11 months old. Japer is five. Jasper is actually the dominate dog between the two of them. He has “allowed” this pin. If you look closely, Jasper actually still has his ball in his mouth–something I taught him to do while playing because he can get rather mouthy. Plus the count on this pin was less than four before Jasper was up and chasing Desi again.  Going back to play is another clue that this is just that–play.

The beginning

The play started across the yard and moved along while both dogs growled and tussled around at each other’s face. (Note the ball is in Jasper’s mouth already.) Desi is gaining in the play fight with her head over Jasper’s.

As Jasper maneuvers around to put an end to this “upper paw” that Desi has, the play moves across the yard. Notice the tails are fairly relaxed and low. Neither dog is showing any real arousal to this game.

Now the playing field is even

As the play moves further across the yard both dogs are even, but Jasper makes one bad move–he turns too tight and his back legs start to slide in the snow as he jumps at Desi.

Jasper going in for the upper paw (or head in this case)

Desi takes advantage of his misstep and pushes a little harder with her head. Down goes Jasper and she has him pinned as seen in the first picture. Ball still in his mouth.This whole endeavor was full off woofs and growls. Pushing and lots of mouth play–even with Jasper holding the ball. It sounded as if they were going to kill each other.

Dog play can be very rough. If both dogs keep going back for more, then it’s usually safe to say it’s all a game. If you feel that one dog may be getting angry or there is a bully who goes back and picks on a dog who tries to walk away, that’s when it’s time to step in. Call the dogs to you in a happy voice. Redirect them to some other game, whether it be to chase balls or frisbees. Keep the play light and happy.

Never reach in to pull dogs apart whether you think it is in play or not. Dogs play much rougher with each other than they should with us. Fur can take a lot more teeth than skin. If a fight does break out, grab tails or back legs if you have to, but never reach in for collars. Most of the time dogs can be left to play without human intervention, but you should always be there to supervise just to be on the safe side. If necessary you can separate dogs who get too excited and carried away for a short “quiet time.” Just like humans, they can get tired or cranky and act out when overexcited.

I love to watch  my dogs run and play. It’s so much fun to see them having a good time with each other. They have learned what they can and can’t get away with each other. Well, mostly Desi has learned there are boundaries when playing with a German Shepherd, and she respects those boundaries.

Sit Happens--Desi looks like it's the end of the world. The rest of the crew knows good things happen when you sit.

In my article to be released in the Rural Virginian on November 21, I have challenged everyone to work towards a reliable “sit” cue. For those of you who read my blog, you have a chance to get started a little early. Why the Sit Happens Challenge? Well, you see, I have failed once again as a trainer. I discovered that Desi does not have a very reliable sit cue. She is familiar with the word. She will do it when in front of me and asked, but if I turn my back and ask for a sit, I get nothing. Well, not nothing, she tries to walk in front of me, but that’s not what I want. I want a dog who has a killer sit. No, I don’t mean an attack sit, I mean a sit that happens no matter what is going on when I ask.

Sit can be the greatest default cue a dog can know. If your dog is running toward a road and you have a reliable sit cue on your dog, you know your dog will plop in a sit the moment you ask for it. If there is a dog fight at the park, and you ask your dog to sit, you know your dog will do it, no matter what’s going on. THAT my friends is a reliable sit cue, and that is what I’m going for with Desi. If I teach her nothing else in life, I want her to know that when I say “sit” no matter where I am or she is, she will do it.

The challenge part is to get a dog who will do a reliable sit by Thanksgiving. I don’t expect that Desi will have a sit cue that will get her to sit while mid-chase of a squirrel by then, but my goal is to have such a good sit that when there is a crowd at the door and she’s excited, she will keep her bottom on the ground when asked. I’m asking a lot of an eight-month old puppy. Right now when I ask her to sit she gets a look on her face as if I’m asking the most horrible thing in the world. Holding still is not something she likes to do at this stage!

I looked through my pictures on my phone and discovered all my pics of Desi are action shots. She’s always moving. Even when she does sit when I ask for it, the sit doesn’t last long. My failure as a trainer, not her failure as a dog. How did this happen?

Life happened. As I look through the pictures on my phone, there are pics of my daughter trying on wedding dresses, pics of my granddaughter, pics of my youngest at college, pics of a Great Dane I’m training for someone else, pics of animals at work in the clinic,  pictures of a busy life. When do I find time to train?

Well, training should take place every day at home, and it does in my house. Desi knows to come when I call her from the backyard. When we go to a friend’s house to run on their property, Desi knows to leave the guinea hens when she starts to run towards them. She is learning, but I’m not taking the time to work with her one-on-one to perfect any of the cues she knows.

So I’m putting it out there, that I’m going to focus on just one thing in her training. Sit. How hard can that be? I’m going to dedicated 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon to training her to just sit. Sit when my back is turned. Sit across the room. Sit around different distractions. We’ll see how far I can get by Thanksgiving.

Day one was today. We worked on sitting while my back is turned. Yes, I confess she does not do this. She tried to circle around to the front, so I turned and blocked her from doing that. By the end of the session, she was sitting behind me with my back turned. We’ll find out tonight how much she remembers.

Anyone want to join me in this simple Sit Happens challenge? Let me know if you do and how it is going. Just like with an exercise class, if we do something together with others, we stay commited to the challenge. So let’s let sit happen!

Socialization is such an important aspect of raising a puppy. Introducing a dog to all sorts of people, objects, and situations is a great way to have a dog who can go anywhere and meet anyone. Today Desi and I went to Lee Park in Charlottesville  to the Pride in the Park Festival. We had so much fun, and we were able to check off things I never thought of adding to a puppy list for interactions.

Desi meets a C'ville Derby Dame

From Drag Queens to Derby Dames, Desi met so many diverse people. Although a little overwhelming with all the feather boas, sparkling dresses, roller skates, Desi handled it very well. She was greeted by so many wonderful people and dogs. She met a six month old doxie (Desi is six months) and the contrast in size was so cute. Desi smoozed with a Derby Dame while another one tried to recruit me as “fresh meat.” I thanked her for the invitation and told her it was best that I keep my feet firmly planted on the ground at 50. No wheels for me.

We watched the Drag Queens perform and the clapping was a little unnerving for Desi at first, but she soon got used to it. Children were lying in the grass with her snuggled up in her soft fur. One wanted to share her lollipop, but her mother and I decided that might not be a good idea. Desi did a very nice “leave it” when she was asked even when that lollipop was dangling in front of her nose. Desi was so good, I shared my watermelon popsicle with her.

It was a wonderful day and a great turn out for the C’ville’s first Pride fest. I didn’t know that Charlottesville had a roller derby team, so I learned something new. Visit www.charlottesvillederbydames.com if you want to learn more. I may watch Desi’s new friend, but I think I will avoid joining as “fresh meat.” Good day. Great people. One very tired dog. No complaints here.

Pooped Pup

As Desi was fast approaching six months of age, I knew it was time to get her spayed. I’ve never had a dog in my house go into heat, and don’t ever intend to have to deal with that. Plus spaying prior to heat has been shown to help avoid some cancers, so I wanted to make sure we got her surgery soon. Most importantly, I don’t want to add to the endless stream of dogs pouring in shelters by allowing my dog to have puppies. Since Desi is a big dog, I also decided to have a gastropexy done while she was under anesthesia. This is surgery that tacks the stomach to the inside wall to keep it from flipping. Bloat can be a big problem in big dogs. With bloat the stomach twists and can be fatal. By tacking the stomach, the chances of this is decreased. It also means, however, a longer recovery time.

A tired puppy post surgery

When you receive post surgery care instructions from your vet, it will usually say to leash walk the dog and keep quiet for seven days. Most people laugh at the idea of keeping a puppy quiet for seven days. With the spay and gastropexy the instructions say 14 days. HA! Yeah right! The first day was no problem. Desi slept peacefully on the other side of the gate away from the other dogs who might want to try and get her to play. Good plan. Keep dogs separated.

On the second day, Desi decided to jump the gate. Not a good idea with a foot long incision and newly tacked stomach. Ugh. User error! We were all in the kitchen out of sight and Desi wanted to be with us, so logic (in her mind) said jump the gate=get to family. I imagine halfway through the process she realized it was a bad idea but it was too late. Her stomach scraped the top of the gate and took out some staples at the top of her incision. Fortunately, the vets usually use several layers of closing materials and the stitches were still intact. The incision was oozing, so we kept an eye on it and kept it clean over the weekend.

Day three, Desi decided to get the zoomies and started to run from one end of the living to the other, making sharp turns and sliding on the wood floor. A quick cue of ”Desi stop” did stop her activities, but she was longing to go again. What to do? We didn’t go home with the “cone of shame” as we had what we call the “collar of shame” instead. This is a large collar that goes around the dog’s neck preventing them from being able to turn enough to lick at the sutures. Desi wasn’t trying to lick, so we hadn’t been using it. However, I got the idea that perhaps it would prevent the zoomies because she hated wearing it, so on went the “collar of shame.”

The dreaded "Collar of Shame"

This worked and Desi slithered up on the couch next to her daddy and sulked. The thing I like about this collar instead of the cone is that getting a dog in and out of the crate, eating and drinking, and maneuvering around the house is much easier. This collar was just a little big for Desi, but the next size down might have allowed her to access her sutures. I made sure she could swallow and breathe (two important things in life), and made her wear the collar. I wish I had used it earlier as she probably wouldn’t have jumped the gate if she it on. After watching her oozing incision for a few days, it was back to the vet’s office for a clean up and more staples. Luckily this was able to be done without having to knock her out again. Says a lot for the handling skills of the staff and maybe a little for the “down” and “give a belly” training Desi received. (I’d say more kudos goes to the staff holding her!)

So what do you do when the vet tells you your dog must stay calm for two weeks? Watch the dog closely, use the cone or a no-bite collar, and use a crate not a gate that might be jumped. Short leash walks, if allowed, helps the dog get out and get a little exercise. Be sure to ask how far your dog is allowed to walk. Training can be a good way to exercise your dog’s mind. Desi worked on learning “touch” an exercise where she walks to my hand or the end of a stick and touches it with her nose. She also was introduced to some dancing maneuvers like walking a circle around me, walking backwards (this is still being worked on as grace is not part of a St. Bernard puppy’s repertoire), and other simple tricks (none of which have been refined to date). When I say “dancing” I don’t mean jumping, running, or anything rambunctious, just simple moves that can later be put to music and speed increased when she is better. Teaching tricks challenges a dog. Working a dog’s mind can be just as exhausting as running and playing.

The gang's all out for a walk

I decided to brave a walk with all three dogs on my own. (Yes, I have four, but Lucy the Yorkie has a neurological condition that makes long walks difficult.) I put a Gentle Leader on the two big dogs and an Easy Walk harness on Oliver and away we went.

At first I questioned my desire to take on this task as we all got tangled up just getting out the front gate. Perhaps I was being a little ambitious? However, once we got on the driveway, got over the usual bucking and balking at the Gentle Leaders, we were off and walking. Desi and Jasper walked side-by-side on my left. I used a double hook leash so it was one leash for both dogs. Oliver walked on the right. Down the driveway we went actually looking like we’ve been doing this for a while.  I was a proud mama.

The walk was pretty uneventful. There was my graceful fall into the ditch as I tried to walk off the side of the road. I was fine and the dogs were kind enough to just stop and wait for me to get my act together. They kept their laughter to a minimum. We managed to pass a house with barking dogs (thankfully fenced) without a problem. A quick ”leave it” cue and they all kept walking. Desi wanted to play, but she followed the lead of the other dogs and kept her pace with the rest of us while longingly looking over her shoulder. She’s been spoiled by walks down to the river where she’s allowed to run free and play with dogs. This took a lot more discipline than those walks, but she managed it like a champ.

If you are going to attempt to take a walk with multiple dogs on a leash, I recommend training each one individually first. This walk wouldn’t have gone so smoothly if the dogs hadn’t all learned to walk on a leash nicely prior to a group walk. Jasper and Oliver have taken many walks together. Desi had been practicing on her own with the leash for a month now. I wasn’t sure if she was ready for a group walk, but there was only one way to find out. The weather was begging for us to come out and play as it was a cooler evening for a change. I’m glad I took the chance and braved the group outing. We had a good time. Everyone was good and tired when we got home. After relaxing a bit, they all had dinner, and settled nicely for the evening. We will definitely have to do this more often.

Both are focused on the ball. Desi's almost as big as Jasper now!

“That’s not a puppy! That’s a small horse!” This is a common statement I hear when people first see Desi after hearing about my “puppy.” Big dogs tend to astound people. They don’t always realize how quickly these dogs grow. If you check animal rescue groups for many of the big dog breeds, you will find many dogs who are around nine months old. The reason–”I didn’t know the dog would get so big.” Really??

When choosing a breed to add to your household, make sure you do your homework. It may be funny to watch Beethoven movies with a whole litter of St. Bernards rumbling through the house. It’s funny in a movie, not so funny in your house when tables actually go flying, and it sounds like a herd of elephants runny through your house when just one puppy is “prancing” around.

We love Desi. We knew she would be big. Her mother was around 120 pounds and her dad was over 200, so it stands to reason she’s going to be big. At six months, she’s almost as big as our 80 lbs shepherd. The problem is that when people see a dog her size, they expect the dog to behave like a calm adult. In reality Desi is a six month old puppy with all the energy and enthusiasm for life that puppies exhibit. She bounces. She pounces. She gets excited to see new people. Yes, we are working on her greeting skills and other training, but she is still a puppy and there is a certain amount of patience that is needed when living with one. Patience that I admittedly don’t always possess at the end of a long day!

Pretty much on target every night, I can count on Desi getting the zoomies at 8 p.m. This is when she decides that running through the house, bouncing over couches, and knocking over tables, cats, dogs, people in her way is the thing to do. Believe it or not I have actually set an alarm on my phone to go off at 7:45 p.m. to remind me to get her outside and play ball, stick, anything that will get her running prior to the zoomies destroying my house. If I don’t set the alarm, I lose track of time and before I know it I have a St. Bernard puppy jumping over the back of the couch and landing on my lap, which is often occupied by a cat or a small dog. By realizing her schedule, I can redirect this behavior to something a little more acceptable. Jasper enjoys joining in this evening run too and chases after the laser light (known to him as “The Dot”) while Desi chases him. The result is two big dogs with tongues hanging down to the ground and ready to settle nicely on their beds for the rest of the night. Ah peace at last!

Schedules are important for puppies. Big dogs do sleep a lot because of their fast growth, but that also means they have big bursts of energy when they are awake. Figure out your dog’s schedule and try to work with your dog to help make the ebbs and tides of puppyhood a little more tolerable. I’ve actually begun to enjoy the challenge to see how far I can get those tongues to hang out at night before bedtime!

Body blocking is a method used to help your dog learn what is ok and isn’t ok. Basically you do exactly as it sounds, you use your body to block your dog from going in a certain direction. This is different than say taking a knee to your dog when the dog jumps on you, which can cause harm to your dog. With a body block, you are simply stepping in front of your dog to block the dog’s view of what is stimulating the dog.

I use this method without even thinking twice as I’ve been doing this for 30 years now. However, perhaps I do need to rethink it a little with a 60 lbs puppy. When I’m walking and Desi wants to go toward another dog, I will place my leg in her way to block the movement, while I then redirect her to the proper way to walk and reward her for doing that instead of greeting the other dog. Her sudden lunges can be powerful at almost six months of age.

After a class of practicing walking and using a few body blocks to redirect Desi, I realized she had lunged into my leg rather hard. Normally a simple body block just redirects the dog, but Desi has taken to sudden jumps and lunges and she hit my leg with some force as we work on this new problem.

When investigating the bruise I knew was sure to be there, I realized that at least she hit hard with love. I don’t normally post any injuries since I’d be posting daily bruises from just being a clutz, but I thought the shape of this bruise was, well, sweet. Obvisouly, we need to work on this problem as I doubt future bruises will be as entertaining as this one!

Bruised with love!