Pet Photo Day

To celebrate Pet Photo Day, here are some tips from a Top Dog Model Finalist herself!

Treasure's tips for dog models:

• Expect and demand a lot of special treats for your efforts!  Don't work for free! 
• Be creative with the props!  Fluff the blankets, push props around, taste them, knock them over, lay on top of them, the sky's the limit!
• Always show them your good side!  Top Dog Models never take a bad picture!
• Good photographers enjoy a challenge!  Keep him/her guessing.  Be unpredictable.

Some of her favorites:

• Turn your head in many different directions to provide a variety of shots and to show off your many expressions and moods.
• Get up and spin as fast as you can when the flash goes off.  It's fun!

And finally,

• Static electricity in long hair is the worst!  Take a spray bottle of conditioner spray to every photo shoot. 

 

 

 

Knocking out Boredom!

Let’s take a moment or two to focus on boredom.  How do you feel when you’re bored?  I often feel antsy, as if I have energy to do something, but I can’t figure out how to use that energy.  I fidget and I might pace or shift position frequently, trying to alleviate the feelings.  I suppose a dog feels the same way.  Energy and desire to do something, but nothing captures his interest to do at the moment.  Or perhaps he is kept confined to an area that prevents him from doing much. 

Why is boredom in our dogs a bad thing?  Boredom can lead to our dogs finding ways of entertaining themselves that we might not think are the greatest choices – chewing, tearing things up, stealing from counters, barking, digging, licking a paw for hours on end to create a sore, etc.  If we make it our mission to prevent our dogs from being bored, we can supply them with exciting choices that we do approve of.  What an easy way to encourage great behavior choices from our dogs!  We can give them lots of new experiences to choose from so they don’t have time to get bored!

There are many dog food puzzle toys on the market for this very reason.  Dogs love new challenges – especially when food is involved!  These puzzle toys stimulate their desire to hunt and problem solve.   Food is a great enrichment tool because it is easy to get and keep a dog’s attention with food.

What are some other games and activities that can prevent your dog from being bored?  Being outdoors is a great idea, but just being stuck in the same fenced yard day after day is not going to prevent boredom.  Getting your dog out somewhere new provides lots of sights, sounds, and smells that are new and exciting and sure to peak your dog’s interests.  How about a hike or a swim in the pond?  If you don’t have a pond, a kiddie pool will do.  Float various toys and treats in the pool for your dog to chase and bob after.  A block of ice made in a plastic container can have special treats and toys frozen into it and can be floated in the pool to provide gradual fun as it melts.

You can create an obstacle course in your yard using things you find around the house and garage.  Some cement blocks or bricks can hold a broomstick to create a low jump or several in a row can make cavalettis for your dog to practice stepping over.  Different surfaces and things for your dog to go over, under, and through, can be a fun game to play together. 

Playing hide and seek and find it games can be fun for both you and your dog.  Hide the toy or treat, or yourself, and then encourage your dog to search and find it.  As your dog gets better at the game, you can find harder and harder hiding spaces. 

Bringing out a new toy or bone can be exciting, just because it’s something new!  Rotate toys and bones by putting some away for a while in the closet, then bring them out and they will seem new for the day!  My dogs enjoy smelling new smells and will often spend a long time investigating what I’ve brought them to check out!

Use your imagination to give your dog new and different things to do every day to keep its mind and body active.  You will also be encouraging behavior choices that you like, and not giving him time to get bored and make his own choices that you might not agree with quite so much!  And you and your dog will enjoy investigating together and having fun!

 

Compulsive Behaviors in Dogs (Blog Request)

I’ve been asked to write about compulsive behavior in dogs.  This is a broad topic and one that I personally don’t have too much experience with, although I have had a few dogs through the years with behaviors that seem to fit the description of compulsive.

In searching various sites online, I’ve put together a definition that I think explains just what a compulsive behavior looks like.  In most cases, it is a normal dog behavior that is exaggerated and performed repetitively for long periods of time and most likely out of the normal context.  These behaviors can interfere with the dog’s normal every day activities.  The dog has an unrelenting urge to do the behaviors over and over again.  It is not something they can control without interruption.

Some common behaviors that may become compulsive include spinning, tail chasing, fixation and chasing of lights or shadows, pacing a specific path or pattern, circling, and chewing, licking or sucking on a particular body part, creating sores.  Of course, there are others, but these are ones I hear about most often.

If your dog is showing signs of compulsive behavior, it is important to have a complete veterinary exam done to rule out any medical cause for the behavior.   In extreme cases, the veterinarian may prescribe medication to help reduce ongoing compulsive behavior. 

In my personal experience, periods of stress seem to prompt the compulsive behaviors to start.  And once they start, they are difficult to stop.  The dog’s level of stress is often a factor as to how intense and long-lasting the outbursts of behavior are. 

In researching this topic, I found suggested that compulsive behaviors begin when the dog is stressed or frustrated and it discovers the behavior helps it to feel better and reduce the feelings of stress.  This is reinforcing to the dog, so it continues the behavior to help it feel better.  Over time, the dog is practicing this pattern and it becomes worse over time. 

I can see how this can be true.  I’ve had dogs that showed compulsive pacing behaviors and trotted out a fixed pattern in the house and/or yard repetitively, almost as if they were in a trance.  These were dogs that had lived for years in small confinement and most likely paced their small cages as an outlet for boredom and frustration. 

When these dogs were stressed even slightly, the pacing behaviors started and continued until I was able to interrupt them.  It truly did look as if they were in a trance, not thinking at all about the behavior.  They were just performing on auto pilot as a way to numb themselves from what was going on. 

Everything I read pointed to stress as being a major cause and trigger for compulsive behaviors.  Some sites mentioned dogs that were tied up or confined for long periods of time to small areas, and/or were left along for long periods of time, showed more instances of compulsive behavior than others. 

So, what can be done to reduce compulsive behaviors in dogs?  Begin by writing down the compulsive behaviors you observe and anything surrounding that situation that may be a trigger for the behavior to begin.  As much as you can, remove or minimize the triggers that start the behavior.  It may be possible to put your dog in a different room before specific events happen (guests coming, microwave beeping, etc). 

Work with a trainer to begin to desensitize and counter condition some of the lower level triggers.  The idea is to help your dog to develop a new emotional response to the trigger, so hopefully instead of feeling stress (which will trigger the compulsive behavior), your dog can begin to feel calm or happy about it.

When you see the compulsive behavior begin to happen, distract your dog and redirect his attention to something else.  Try to engage him in a game or with a food puzzle or a chew toy.  You must help him substitute something else to do.  Don’t punish his behavior in any way.  He is not being disobedient.  He is stressed and he doesn’t know what else to do in that situation.  You must help him. 

Lowering stress levels overall will certainly help to reduce the behaviors.  You can read previous blog posts here about ways to recognize and lower stress.  Enrichment and exercise are also good stress relievers.  Moderate exercise is good for both you and your dog.  Heavy, frenzied exercise for long periods of time is likely to increase your dog’s stress levels instead of helping to lower them. 

Enrichment is always a good idea to keep your dog’s brain engaged and thinking.  Food puzzles, Kongs, chew toys, teaching tricks, giving him normal outlets for dog behavior (digging, chewing, and tearing), letting him explore new sights and smells, nose work games, etc.  All of these can be helpful in giving your dog other things to do and think about. 

I hope you’ve found this post useful.  Here are three websites I found while doing my searches that seem to be the most informative about compulsive behaviors in dogs. 

http://www.petmd.com/dog/behavior/evr_dog_behavior_compulsive_disorder

http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/compulsive-behavior-dogs

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/11_10/features/Dogs-With-OCD_16069-1.html

 

 

Excessive Barking in the House (Blog Request)

One of the questions I hear most is whether my deaf and deaf/blind dogs bark.  While I would love to be able to say no, the truth is, that yes, they do bark.  As do my dogs that can see and hear.  It’s what dogs do – they bark.  If you are going to live with a dog, I think you need to accept the fact that they bark.  However, sometimes that barking can be excessive and seem to be for what humans believe is no good reason.  Our dogs, of course, always believe they have a good reason for barking.  How do we strike that compromise that allows our dogs to be dogs, yet protects our sanity as humans?

I think more often than not our dogs are confused when it comes to barking.  They don’t know whether we want them to bark or not.  Sometimes we may acknowledge their barking positively to announce visitors or even unwanted people on our property.  Sometimes we may laugh at their barking if they bark at something they think is scary but we think is cute.  Sometimes we may haphazardly mumble to them to knock it off or be quiet while we are otherwise engaged in some activity.  And still other times, we may become downright scary in our attempts to get our dogs to be quiet.  That doesn’t show the dog much consistency, and it doesn’t help to make clear to him what we do want him to do.

Some of us have the problem that our dogs bark at every little movement outside the window.  But if we leave our dog home alone all day with nothing to do but look out the window, can we blame him?  He sees something new and exciting outside the window to give him something to do, and he wants to join in!  If your dog has a consistent habit of barking, such as barking at things moving outside the window, it may be easy enough to prevent your dog from having access to that situation.  You can block your dog’s access to the window or put him in another room while you’re away.  You can buy window films that will allow light to shine in, but will block your dog from seeing out.  There are options only limited by your creativity.

Some dogs like to bark because it gets their person’s attention.  Sometimes we are aware of this behavior, such as when your dog comes and sits by the cabinet and barks for you to give him a treat, or if he sits and stares at you and barks until you pet him or toss his toy.  But other times it is hard to tell that what your dog wants is actually your attention.  He may bark and you may tell him to be quiet and if he barks again, you may get up and go to him to try to make him be quiet.  The problem is that if your dog only gets attention when he is barking, he may want your attention enough to get in trouble to get it. 

Instead, try paying more attention to your dog any time he is being quiet.  A gentle scratch behind the ears or a belly rub, a tasty treat dropped quietly by his side while he chews a bone … these things will go a long way toward minimizing excessive barking.  Behavior that is reinforced (rewarded with something the dog likes) will tend to happen more often!  So, paying attention to a quiet dog will tend to give you a quieter dog.  Paying attention to a barking dog will tend to give you a dog that barks more.

Decide in your mind what type of barking you will allow.  It’s not fair to a dog to expect no barking.  Imagine if someone forbid you to speak or make noises – ever!  Yikes!  So, when will you allow or even appreciate barking?  And in what situations would you like to diminish the barking?  You have to decide before you can teach your dog the difference.

I like to teach my dogs a quiet cue by rewarding them for being quiet.  Even my deaf dogs learn a quiet cue.  The end result is that when they are barking, I can give them the quiet cue and they know it is time to be quiet now.  But in the beginning, they need to learn what quiet means.  How do you explain to a dog what quiet is?  When a dog is barking, you can yell quiet all you want, but if the dog doesn’t already know what quiet means, he is unlikely to figure it out in that moment.  He is just as likely to think you are yelling, “The pizza guy is here!” 

I teach the quiet cue by giving the cue when my dogs are already quiet and then rewarding them immediately.   Any time I am reinforcing my dogs for being quiet, I cue them “quiet” and then praise them and reward them with things they like.  They begin to learn that when I say quiet they will get a reward, and they begin to have an inkling that this only happens when there is no sound coming out of their mouths.

The next step is to get their attention on me when they are barking.  I want the dog to look at me and be paying attention.  Sometimes this requires a touch to distract the dog long enough that he turns to see what I want.  I immediately give the quiet cue and reward immediately.  The reward has to come fast in the beginning before another bark can be said.  I keep containers of treats around my house in various areas to reward good behaviors quickly. 

There are other things that can help communicate to your dog that things are not as exciting as he thinks they are.  If you immediately jump up and run to the door whenever someone arrives, you are showing your dog how to behave – to jump up and excitedly rush to the door.  Dogs bark when they are excited!  Instead, put a sign outside your door asking guests to be patient as you may take a while to get to the door.  Take your time getting to the door.  Move and speak calmly.

When your dog barks, try to redirect him to do something else.  Even if you haven’t taught the quiet cue yet, you can run the other way (from what he’s barking at) and get him to chase you for a fun game, toss a toy for him to chase, have him go to the dog bed (if he already knows how to do that), etc.  Make sure you are breathing deeply and calmly.  If you are tense and holding your breath (which we often do when we are concentrating or hurrying), your dog will also be tense – and, you guessed it – tense dogs bark!

Lastly, but not any less important, be sure you reward your dog for being quiet when you want him to be.  Even if he just pauses for a moment before barking when he sees that cat outside or hears a noise, be ready to praise him and really reinforce his behavior with something he thinks is great!   Remember, if you pay attention to a quiet dog, you will get a quieter dog! 

Dog bite prevention week - waking up gently

An important excerpt from my newest book, Through A Dark Silence: Loving and Living with Your Blind and Deaf dog -

Teaching your dog to wake up gently:

"There is a myth that b/d dogs are dangerous because they will always bite when they are startled or woken up. Could this ever happen? Yes, it could. But it could also happen with a dog that can see and hear. Does it happen a lot? No. Most b/d dogs are no threat when startled. Can this scenario be prevented?  You can certainly lower the risk of this ever happening with your dog.

You can teach your b/d dog to wake up easily and happily. By teaching this skill to your new dog, you can prevent any issues from developing. Start training when your dog is awake and is aware of you near her. Touch your dog and then pop a wonderful treat into her mouth immediately. Don’t wait to see what your dog will do. There should be no lag time. Just touch and pop the treat into her mouth. Make these really special treats. You want your dog to really look forward to being touched.

Repeat this pattern of touch and treat many times quickly in succession. Then touch your dog and pause for just a moment before giving the treat. The sequence will become – touch, dog looks expectantly for treat, and then feed. Don’t pause too long, just long enough for your dog to show you that she knows the treat should come next.

In future sessions, touch different parts of your dog’s body. One touch equals one treat. As your dog becomes more tolerant of you touching various parts of her body, sneak in a random touch now and then when your dog is not expecting it. Be ready with that treat immediately. Be sure to continue to use great treats every time you touch her. The more you reward the touching, the better your dog’s response will be when she is surprised or woken up suddenly. You cannot do this exercise too much as long as you are rewarding every touch.

There may be times when your dog gets startled by a touch when you don’t have a food treat immediately handy. Try to minimize these as much as you can, but if it happens, be ready to reward your dog with something else she likes – a small game or lots of petting if your dog enjoys that. Being woken up or startled should always mean good stuff for your dog!

When your dog is sleeping, though, be respectful. Don’t wake your dog up unless it’s necessary. When you do need to wake her up, do it gently. Walk heavier as you approach your dog so she can begin to feel the vibrations through the floor. When you get close to her, you can blow on her gently to wake her up. If your dog is lying on a blanket, you can wiggle the edge of the blanket to gently shake her awake. If your dog is still asleep, you can progress to brushing her gently with your hand. It is best to touch your dog on her body, not her face.  That’s just for safety in case she does wake up with a startle.  Your hand will be away from her mouth.

Be prepared for a startle if your dog is sleeping soundly. Startling is a normal response. Just make sure that you are quickly offering your dog something wonderful! Usually the dog will recover immediately once she recognizes that it is you, and when you offer something tasty to eat, she will forget all about being startled. Be aware that your b/d dog may need you to use your hands to steady her as she wakes up. She may be disoriented as she wakes up suddenly and may jump up and bump into things nearby.  Maintaining a firm but gentle touch to her body will let her know you are there while you offer the food right near her nose.

Remember that startling is a normal response. You will probably not ever get rid of it completely. But you can diminish how much the startle bothers your dog by rewarding frequently.  And with lots of practice, you may notice your dog waking up easier and easier each time!"

 

To purchase a copy of Through a Dark Silence, click HERE.

 

 

Games Dogs (and Kids) Love to Play!

Fun and safe games for kids and dogs to play together with adult supervision

Dogs and kids seem like the perfect combination of fun, but their play together can very quickly get out of control and things can go south.   How can you encourage your children to play appropriate games with the dog?  By modeling appropriate games and play.  If you model wild and crazy games involving a lot of running, chasing, jumping and mouthing, that is how your children will want to play with the dog too, and that is how the dog will expect to be played with. This can lead to injuries and hurt feelings, because dogs play with a much rougher play style than most children.  Here are some fun and safe games that children can play with dogs while being supervised by a responsible adult.

The shell game:  Use empty flower pots or yogurt cups with a hole in the bottom.  With several pots, hold the dog while the child places a treat under one of the upside down pots.  She can move them around to mix them up a bit, and then have the child give the dog the find it cue as you release the dog.  It won’t take long for your dog to learn to enjoy this game!

Find it:  This is a progression of the shell game.  The child can progress to hiding the treat in new and easy places around the room for your dog to find.  It might be helpful for you to give the child suggestions of easy places, then medium, and finally harder places to hide the treat.  Hold the dog until the child gives the find it cue. 

Hide and seek:  Hold your dog and give the child a plastic cup with some dog treats in it.  Have the child get the dog’s attention by rattling the treats inside the cup a bit, then moving quickly to an easy hiding place.  As soon as the child gets hidden, release the dog and tell him to “find Lucy” (or whatever name you choose).  Because your dog saw the child hide and knows there are treats involved, he will probably hurry to find the child.  The child can then praise the dog and feed him treats with the cup.  Using a cup is helpful to keep small fingers away from the dog’s mouth while he’s eating treats, so they don’t accidentally get nipped.  Dogs can easily lick treats from the cup, or the child can dump the treats out of the cup onto the floor for the dog to eat.  With practice, the child’s hiding spots can get harder and harder. 

Tricks:  Older children can help you teach the dog some tricks and will delight in showing off the tricks to anyone who will watch.  This can be a great activity for children and dogs to do together, but again, be nearby and supervising.  It is easy for a dog to get confused, or for a child to get frustrated, and you may need to intervene and call for a short break for them both to regroup.

Obstacle course:  You can create an obstacle course with objects you have around the house.  Construct low things to jump over, or crawl through.  Cardboard boxes can be cut and taped into just about any shape.  Use different things for the dog to safely walk over, around and through.   Make sure your dog is comfortable doing all the obstacles with you first, before you add the child into the picture.  Then turn this into a game of follow the leader.  The child can carry a cup of dog treats to lead the dog through the obstacles – over, around and through.  You can make it a game where you hold a clicker or a small bell and when the child hears that sound, she should stop and offer the dog a few treats either from the cup or tossed to the floor.  This will allow you to pinpoint good behavior from the dog as a bonus (not jumping, doing an obstacle correctly, etc.) and will keep the dog focused on following the child because he knows he will be getting treats along the way!  You can even take turns and hold the dog while the child does the obstacles first, to “show the dog how to do them,” and then have the dog follow the child through. 

An important rule is to always supervise children and dogs when they are together.  If you need to leave the room, take one or the other of them with you.  Children move fast, dogs move fast, and they don’t speak the same language.  It is very easy for one of them to misinterpret something the other one does.  It is when these misunderstandings happen, that one or the other can get hurt.  Neither the dog nor the children can be expected to be able to make appropriate judgment calls.  That is a responsible adult’s job.  With appropriate supervision, a dog and child can become best friends.  I hope you find that together they can enjoy some of these games safely!

 

 

Specially-Abled Pet Day!!

In honor of Specially-Abled Pet Day (May 3^rd) …

 

 

What I have learned from my specially-abled dogs

When I let go of expectations, they accomplish things that far exceed anything I thought possible.  It is people who limit their animals with their own feelings of fear or doubt.

They need to be nurtured and protected, yet encouraged to fulfill their true potential.  Give them the freedom to be just like other dogs and to enjoy their lives to the fullest.

Their “disability” is just a difference, nothing more, nothing less. 

I have missed out on a whole world of information that I don’t need my eyes or ears to notice.  Now I pay more attention to subtle things in my day.

I’ve learned to be humble.  Sometimes the dog knows or notices things that I don’t.

I’ve been connected to some amazingly wonderful people and animals that share our journey with their own specially-abled pets.  I would not have met these friends if it weren’t for my dogs.

I started and keep this blog as a resource for others.  I hope they can learn from my journey.

Love is stronger than any problem that may arise.

Looking lovingly into your dog’s eyes is not dependent on the fact that she actually has eyes – it is about so much more than that.  It is a recognition of her soul and its connection to my soul.

A blind and deaf dog KNOWS when I open the refrigerator in the next room, and she can move at lightning fast speed to get herself in the way of the door closing, even when I thought she was sleeping!

Specially-abled dogs give us a way to connect to and teach compassion and acceptance to others.  While we often are afraid to approach a person who is different from us, something about a dog draws us in and we feel safe.  These lessons can carry over to the people in our lives.

They want the same things that we want in our own lives – love, safety, and acceptance.  They want a chance to do things for themselves.  They don’t want our pity.

There are always many ways to accomplish the same task.  One is not better than another.  Each way gets the task done in the right way for that individual.

I will always share my heart with at least one specially-abled dog!