Book Review: It’s me or the dog: How to have the perfect Pet

In my opinion, this is an exceptional how-to book for dog people.

The author Victoria Stilwell is a dog-trainer who stars in the TV series It’s me or the dog. She uses positive techniques to train and build relationships with dogs, and helps dogs think on their own without having to physically manipulate, yell or scold, or otherwise be a brute to them. I love that she has a kind, calm approach that clearly demonstrates that you don’t need to “dominate” to train. As a bonus, the format is easy-to-read and is visually interesting, making this book accessible for even non-readers.

Highlights of the book are that it:

• provides a very good overview about how dogs communicate
• explains calm assertive, rather than aggressive manipulative approaches
• gives very specific step-by-step instructions to train people in basic obedience skills such as sit, stay, come and impulse control
• gives instructions that motivate dogs to think and want to do things because of the pleasurable consequences, rather than forcing them
• offers solutions to unwanted behaviours like barking, leash pulling, biting, marking (peeing), and separation anxiety
• without being preachy, explains basic animal welfare issues like avoiding pet store puppy-mill puppies, spay/neutering, choke chains/collars, shock collars and sheltering

Where this book is light is in its coverage of food and nutrition. I agree with Ms Stilwell’s overall recommendation to improve the nutritional quality of your dog’s diet. However, given that different dogs have different nutritional requirements based on their age, breed, activity level and health issues, and given that scientists, including veterinarians and small animal nutritionists can’t agree, I don’t trust her specific recommendations. (For example, my veterinarian recommends raw and Ms Stilwell says no to raw ... I trust my vet's recommendation.)

In summary, read this book, use her training techniques, ignore her specific advice about food, and talk with your veterinarian about how to improve the quality of your dog’s diet.

You can also access some practical training tips at Victoria’s web sites at http://positively.com and http://animal.discovery.com/tv/its-me-or-dog/, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

This book is available at any book store and the Regina Public Library.

Being safe: It’s dog bite prevention week

Crating your kids is one proven way to make sure a dog won’t bite them. (My now teenage nephews are going to kill me for posting this photo.)

Plenty of evidence shows that large breed, un-neutered male dogs that are chained and treated irresponsibly are the most likely to cause serious and fatal bites. So logic flows that if you have sterilized your dog and treat it responsibly, you’re off to a great start. But that’s just a start. Dogs have very few ways to tell you that they’re scared. They have specific body language and teeth. Every dog has a bite threshold, and you can do quite a few things to minimize the risks.

Introductions are really important. Train your child to behave around their dog so they:

• ask permission before touching a strange dog, “be a tree”, remain calm and avoid eye contact
• don’t squeal, run, take the dog’s stuff including food and toys, startle the dog when sleeping, give neck hugs

There are great online resources for parents and educators. Here are some particularly good ones:

• http://www.rch.org.au/emplibrary/safetycentre/DogsAndKidsV3.pdf
• http://www.be-a-tree.com/
• http://www.getdogsmart.com/

For older children, involve them in your dog’s formal training program. And, teach your children not to tease a chained or tethered dog. That’s one of the best ways to turn a good dog into an aggressive one.

There are also lots of things you can do to help your dog too:

1. Pick the right pet for your family. They’ve got different energy levels and emotional drivers. Make sure you research what you’re getting before you bring one home.
2. Socialize them to people of all ages when young. The more types of people your dog is exposed to, the better. Young. Old. Large. Small. Men. Women. Bearded. Bald. Everyone.
3. Train your dog. The canine good citizen test outlines 10 manners that your dog should comfortably do. Use this as a benchmark for your dog’s training routine.
   
4. Spay/neuter your pet to calm the hormones down.
5. Watch for warning signs from any dog –hackles are raised (hair goes up on its back), stiff posturing, lip smacking, growling, backing away, half-moon eyes or a hard stare.
6. Always supervise children around dogs. Dogs are animals, not people and never forget that.
7. Train your dog to react calmly around strangers especially the milk man, postal workers, meter readers, and others who show up regularly.
8. Teach a soft bite so if they ever do feel the need to bite, it’ll be a warning rather than a serious incident.
9. Protect your pet from harms way. Don’t let anyone do anything to your dog that could make it become scared, then aggressive.
10. If your dog has bitten, train them and manage them so they’re not put into a position to bite again.
    

When you take on the responsibility of a dog, you’re morally and legally responsible for its actions. Learn what you can, train your dog, and teach your children to behave around them so you can minimize your risks.

Double dog dare you: getting a second dog

Nothing beats the pure bliss of watching two dogs romp and play together. They seem inseparable. Where one dog explores, the other follows. They curl up together on their comfy beds into tiny balls so you can’t tell where one starts and the other stops. When they come to visit us at our kennel, double dogs are always happy – and that makes sense because they’re always hanging around, playing with their best buddy.

In single-dog families, you are their universe. You are the source of everything – including being their 24/7 live entertainment. At times, that’s great, and at other times, especially when they’re puppies or adolescents, it would be nice if some of their extra puppy energy would be burned off elsewhere. Enter, the second dog. After you’ve exercised and trained your dog, you can chill and watch your dogs run, interact and play. They can burn off more energy together in a half hour than you could ever give them in several hours – unless you’re into agility or other dog sports of course.

However, there is a secret dark side to double dogs. In addition to the extra space they take (think about two danes), double the hair and poo to clean up, and doubling your cost for food and veterinary bills (especially if both get serious, expensive medical issues), as with people, there can be personality issues – and those issues can turn into aggression and management problems. The most difficult problems seem to be with female/female and big/small dogs. Females can wrestle for dominance, and what would normally be a small scuffle between size-matched dogs can easily become deadly when yorkie and retriever sized dogs get into it. Another thing to watch for is getting puppies from the same litter. They’re awesome and adorably cute, but they can bond more with each other than with you.

Some believe that the ideal way to get a second dog is to get one, train it and bond with it, then get your second dog later. Compatible dogs include picking male/male or male/female rather than two females, and sticking to similar sizes. Once you’ve got two dogs, spend solo time exercising, training and bonding with each dog. If you already have a big and small dog, watch their dynamics, and possibly separate them when you’re not there to supervise them.

Personally, I’m really big on double dogs. I love living with Daisy and Buddy. Every now and then they still get on each other’s nerves – usually over a really, really tasty treat – but knowing that helps me manage around it.

If you’re interested in this topic, here are a few more resources:

• Fully Vetted blog posting
  
• Creative Dog Training’s podcast about getting a second dog
• Whole Dog Journal article When Packmates Fight (Payment is required to access this article)

Dealing with dog aggression: when your sweet, adorable puppy, turns into Cujo

We hear it over and over again “my dog would never bite”. That’s simply wrong – every dog will bite. We all know about some normally mild-mannered person who one day snaps and gets road rage – dogs are no different. They don’t have many ways to express themselves – so they use their teeth. They typically give several warning signs ranging from a growl to a stare and freeze, then move on to a bite. For some dogs, that progression is slow, for others, all of those phases can happen in a moment. This escalation process to an actual bite is called the “bite threshold”. Normal dog aggression occurs around specific triggers such as being touched, resource guarding “their” stuff – toys, food, etc., their people or around other animals. For example, a normally calm, submissive animal can appear to be vicious when approaching another dog while on a leash walk.

While many dogs are able to tolerate one stressor, trouble often occurs when a number of their stressors combine. For example, one dog dislikes, but tolerates toddlers, they tolerate when people take their favourite toy, and they tolerate loud noises. But, inevitably you have a loud family party, where a toddler takes the dog’s favourite toy. That combination could be too much stress for your dog to handle. Then wham, the dog bites, and everyone is shocked.

Here are a few things you can do to avoid aggression:

Be a leader
This is about being like a confident, assertive-parent. It’s not about being an aggressive dominant brute. You’re in control of everything in your dog’s life and they need to realize that. Use trainer Sue Ailsbury’s techniques to respectfully and responsibly put yourself in control of your relationship.

Socialize your dog to everything
Let your dog experience the world and different people of all ages, men and women. Let them see the world so they realize that it’s not a scary place.

Never use aggression on your dog
Using aggression builds fear. When you build fear, you’re also setting the stage for future aggression.

Handle your dog and their stuff
From day one, take away their stuff, make them move from your pathway and off the furniture, and be able to touch them all over. Ideally get other people to do this too so your dog is prepared for other caregivers such as vets and trainers.

Ask for and reward the behaviour you want – rather than tolerating what you get
Every day your milk man arrives, your dog goes wild, then watches him leave. His little doggie brain tells him that he’s done his job by sending the bad man away. Rather than allowing this behaviour, train your dog to do something preferable like sit or go to your mat. Reward that behaviour. Eventually your dog will sit or go to their mat when they see the milk man arrive.

Teach your dog to have a soft mouth
If you do this right and one day they feel the need to bite, they’re less likely to cause damage.

• Teach Your Puppy to Have a Soft Mouth
• Dr. Ian Dunbar's e-book, After You Get Your Puppy

Protect your dog
One of your jobs is to protect your dog from harm’s way so they never feel threatened. Being attacked by another dog is an easy way to build aggression into your dog. One trainer I know carries a riding crop with her when walking her dog. If any dog tries to harm her dog, they can’t. It sounds a little nasty, but I’d rather deter someone else’s aggressive dog than build fear into mine.

If you notice signs of aggression, manage or modify it right away. Doing nothing is a recipe for disaster – either you or someone else will be bitten. Check with your vet to rule out that behaviour changes are not medically related – eg. if they’re in pain, they may snap. Don’t do anything that is likely to get yourself bitten. If you’re concerned at all, seek a professional trainer to help you out. When doing that, make sure you find one that uses positive techniques rather than aggressive, fear-based methods. Never tolerate behaviour in a small dog that would be unacceptable in larger dogs. What often starts out as cute puppy behaviours can turn into a nightmare.

Here are some additional resources to help you on your way:

• Good overview posting about dog aggression
• Lots of very good training podcasts about aggression, dogs with kids, etc.
• Good info by Dr. Sophie Yin
• Specific corrective skills from Jean Donaldson’s book entitled Mine

Living with dogs and kids

I’ve always loved animals. That’s my first dog King. He was my protector and my friend. I was always the kid who asked for cats and dogs – anything furry would do. For a while, my parents said “no” to pets, then I started keeping baby field mice in our porch. That's how I got Kitty and my dog Chuckie.

If you watch movies – especially Disney movies – dogs and kids always get along. In real life, it’s not always that way. Dogs are not people – every one of them has a bite threshold. For some, it’s short, for others, it’s long, but any dog can bite.

If you’re bringing a new baby into your life, you can prepare your dog for baby’s arrival in a lot of ways - read up about the topic, get into a post-baby routine before the baby arrives, tug at the dog as a child would, and scent the dog’s toys with almond oil to distinguish them from baby toys. Groups like Dogs and Storks have lots of useful information and tips.

And it’s also important to teach your children how to behave around dogs. While your own dog may be fabulous with kids, it’s best that they know what to do around strange dogs.

If you’re worried that your dog will hurt your young child, it may be in everyone’s best interests to find another home for your dog. Living in fear is not an option. Our own dog Buddy came to live with us because of that kind of situation, and its turned out to be the best thing for that family, our family, and for our Buddy.

If you’re interested in this topic, here are some additional resources:

Canine IQ test

Regarding Rover Podcast

Wall Street Journal article

DogGoneSafe Bite prevention rules

Learning about pet first aid

Last weekend I taught the Walks N Wags Pet First Aid class to a group of dog lovers – pet sitters, kennel operators/breeders, a dog sledder (who has 60 dogs of her own), a pet retailer, dog trainers, and a bunch of folks who simply love their pets.

Taking this class is a great way to learn about preventing health problems, and to stay calm and have confidence when dealing with illness and injury. A lot of people access pet first aid information, but there’s nothing quite like concentrating, practicing and talking about it for 10 hours to really understand it and feel comfortable in an emergency.

The next Regina class is February 20 and 21, 2010. To register, call the Regina Humane Society at 543-6363 ext 221. If you’re in BC, Alberta, Ontario and New York, check out a complete list of dates.

You can also check out more photos from the class.

Bond with your dog using positive training methods

Our first Golden Retriever Gryphon came to live with us in the eighties. We were young. We didn’t know what to do for him. We enrolled him in puppy kindergarten and thoroughly loved the experience. In addition to great early socialization Gryphon learned the basics of sit, stay, come and heel. We liked it so much that we signed up for the next class. What an eye-opener. The instructor told us to stick a dumbbell into his mouth, then pinch his ear until he held the weight. We couldn’t do it. We left and never went back. We couldn’t believe that good dog training included pain.

Years later with Daisy and Buddy we discovered agility. We had fun learning clicker training, playing games and exercising their minds. Then the new instructor yelled at Daisy until she cowered and hid in her crate. Agility was supposed to be a fun, bonding experience, and Daisy obviously wasn’t having fun. We left.

Today, I attended an incredibly wonderful workshop with Sue Ailsby. Working with dogs and llamas, Sue has experience with just about every competition possible. She’s wonderful. She believes that balanced dogs do things because they want to please you – and when you’re pleased, their world is full of good things. Her fundamentals are teach them to learn, reward their good behaviour, and ignore everything else. Within five minutes and without a word being spoken or negative correction applied, we watched Stitches (Sue’s companion show, sport, and service dog) figure out how to weave under a chair, then sit proudly on it.

Training can be a positive bonding experience for you and your dog. To learn about Sue’s BOOK of TRAINING LEVELS, visit her web site at http://bit.ly/g58Vh. When you research your local training options, look for instructors who use positive methods such as clickers, treats and affection, and avoid those who use corrections, choke chains and aggression to dominate their dogs.