Another Pet Blogger Hop Saturday

Sometimes it happens that a dog (or other animal), no matter how loved, is in an incompatible situation.  And to be the best advocate for that dog is to find her a new home where the environment, the situation, the family is better suited.

We had this situation unfold over the last couple weeks.  A wonderful young dog was living on a farm.  But she somehow got hold of a very, very young baby farm animal and killed it.  So the family had to decide whether it was a training issue, a rehoming issue, or a euthanasia issue.  We worked with them, tested the dog, observed the dog and recommended rehoming.  Last night, a friend connected us with a family looking for a dog.  It looks like it's going to be a perfect match!  For this dog, it just took a little while to find the right home for her.  We are happy to have been a part of this dog's new life and are thrilled to know that she will live a long and happy life.

It's the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop -- enjoy these great blogs!!!

Blog the Change for Animals

Today marks another day to blog the change for animals.  This is a day for animal bloggers to share our thoughts and our blog space regarding helping animals.  I thought a long time about this post.  How can I, with my relatively small number of followers (blog, Twitter, Facebook), make a significant change for animals?  How can I, with my economically affected, somewhat limited income help animals?  How can I, with my own animals, my family, and a small business, find the time to positively influence how animals live?

I came to an epiphany this morning -- none of that matters.  What does matter is my willingness to try, my ability to help even one animal, my perseverance and hope in the indomitable human spirit and our capacity to love and care for others. 

So, my blog the change for animals message is simple and concise -- take that first step.  It doesn't matter if it's a small step, a baby step, or a giant step -- just take it.  Adopt an animal from a shelter or rescue, secure your animals in your vehicle when transporting them and tell your friend to do the same, take a training class, donate a training class for another family adopting a dog, be a dog walker or a lap for kitties for animals without families yet, donate food, litter, toys, blankets, beds -- whatever is needed, donate to the "Never Shock a Puppy" initiative to help buy safe, humane collars for dogs, transport an animal in its journey to a forever home, donate to the breed rescue of your choice, volunteer to write a newsletter article, edit a newsletter, stuff envelopes, or donate a prize for a fundraiser, spend time with children teaching them about safety around animals, kindness to animals, and exemplify being the change not only for animals, but also for children too!  There are infinite ways to be the change -- one is going to work for you, right where you are in your life at this particular moment in time.  So take that first step and start being the change for animals.

A couple weeks ago we received a call that changed our lives.  A local rescue called to tell us about a pregnant beagle that was found wandering in a parking lot.  We have not fostered dogs in the past for a variety of reasons, so the call was not about us fostering her, but about helping them to find a foster home for her and her yet-to-be-born puppies.  It was a call to step out of our comfort zone.  No one knew it at the time, but it was.  It became very clear, very quickly that it was our call to get out of the boat and to do what is good, right, and necessary and be the foster family for this mama beagle and her puppies.  Lucy (formerly known as "Daisy") has been with us a week and will forever be with us in our hearts.  We know she will be adopted to a loving family once her puppies are weaned and we are excited at the prospect of giving them this wonderful, loving dog.  We are impatiently awaiting the arrival of her puppies so we can love them, work with them, and prepare them for lives with their forever families.  We are honored and humbled by all this means not only to us, but especially to the mama and her puppies.  We took that first step -- will you take it with us by finding what you are meant to do to be the change for animals?

Chapter 2 -- Waiting...

Mama Beagle has been with us one week today and we are still waiting for puppies to make their appearance.  It's definitely a lesson in patience for all of us!  I can't imagine how Mama Beagle must feel -- and I have to wonder how dogs view the pregnancy experience.  She gets bigger every day and it's exciting to feel the puppies poke at us and move.

We have tentatively changed her name to Lucy and plan on naming the puppies with Peanuts character names.  She looks like a Lucy to us and is responding to us calling her that.  She is very comfortable with us and prefers to be on someone's lap at all times.  We are amazed at her agility with that big belly!  She is still jumping up on the couch and maneuvering the steps just fine.  She is a good girl and so far, the worse thing about her is her obsession with food -- she's a terrible beggar!  We are working on it, but not worrying too much about it right now since we have to wonder if it has something to do with the puppies and her need for increased food.

Some photos from the last couple days:

Chapter 1 -- The Arrival at Our House

Mama Beagle's arrival at our house last night was relatively uneventful.  She does not like the stairs to our basement where the whelping box is, but she doesn't mind being picked up and carried, so I guess that's kind of a non-issue.  Our girls already love her and our dogs are just fine with her.  We are keeping her in the kitchen, basement, and backyard right now -- just during the acclimation period.

No puppies during the night.  We all went to bed wondering since we have heard that a big change like moving her to a new house could induce labor.  She appears to have slept well.  

This morning she is full of energy and tail wags for all of us.  Whenever she sees one of us, she is all a-wag and wanting to be petted.  She lays by the gate in the kitchen with Husker, our Golden Retriever, laying on other side.  It's almost like he's keeping watch over her.  She has not eaten yet today, so I am keeping an eye on her.  It may be that the morning's activities were too much fun to watch or that labor is imminent (or any number of other things!).   She is drinking water and pottying just fine!!!

Here are some photos from her first night with us:

Wow!  Look at that attention already!!!

Trying to get an "aerial" view of the belly.

Mama Beagle's very large belly!

Meeting our Daisy through the gate.

A New Chapter

We are about to open up a new chapter n our lives as a dog family -- tonight a pregnant beagle mama arrives at our house to have her litter of puppies.  She was a stray, found in a parking lot, pregnant and alone.  Attempts to find her family were made and no one has claimed her.  We really contemplated this.  Is this the right time?  Do we have what she needs?  Can we make a difference?  After discussing it, we decided this is the right time, we do have what she needs, and we can make a difference.

So this little beagle mama will have her puppies in our cozy, warm basement surrounded by new faces -- new, but loving and dedicated to helping her and her puppies.  Her name right now is Daisy, but we will be seeking a new name for her as our beagle's name is also Daisy!  We have decided to get to know her and then give her a name that fits her.  Our daughters are excited at the prospect of all those new puppies to find just the right names for!!!

We are nervous and excited and looking forward the new chapter ahead.  We will chronicle as much of the experience as we can.  Stay tuned for photos of beagle mama after she arrives tonight...

He Just Wants to Say "Hi!"

Our beagle, Daisy, is a vocal dog.  When she plays with other dogs, there is a lot of growling, grunting, barking, "aroo-ing" and other sounds coming from her.  She also gets a "mohawk" (the hair along her back stands up -- piloerection) because she is so excited.  She loves other dogs and loves to play with them.  But she likes it to go a certain way, she likes it to be on her terms.  This isn't a bad thing, it just is, and we are very aware of it.  So when she is meeting new dogs, we take care to observe the "protocol" we have learned from her.

I don't take my dog to pet-friendly pet stores very often.  Mostly because of the other people and their dogs.  Since Daisy is only about 22 pounds, little dogs tend to want to to "meet" her.  She's a little bigger, but not too much, and she is very laid back.  But if your dog is lunging toward us, growling and barking at the end of his retractable leash, I'm going to do a quick turn away from you while telling you my dog is not friendly -- please don't approach us.  For Daisy, this is not in her protocol for meeting other dogs and it is going to set her on edge, therefore setting the whole situation up for failure!

But because my dog is also being vocal and because her "mohawk" is up, other people think Daisy is being aggressive.  She's not.  She is being herself.  Excited to see a new dog, but nervous because this dog has lunged at her face.  We have learned to read our dog, to know when she is relaxed, excited, happy, nervous, fearful, hungry, tired -- the wide gamut of emotions she has.  If the other dog is too forward with Daisy, she is going to let them know.  If the other dog is polite and takes time to read the situation (as Daisy does), it will go very well.  She is a very expressive dog -- as long as the humans and the dogs are paying attention.

Letting dogs say "hi" while on leash is rarely a good idea unless the dogs already know each other.  Many dogs get very frustrated with the leash attached and meeting another dog while on leash may not be successful because of this frustration.  Dogs that are lunging at the end of a leash towards another dog -- no matter how friendly -- may be perceived as being aggressive by the dog they are trying to get to.  And some dogs just do not want to be greeted.  They may be wonderful dogs and love other dogs, but they may be working, they may be in training, they may not feel well, or many other things may be going on that make this not a good time or place to say "hi."

Please, always ask, from a reasonable distance (at least a distance where the dogs cannot make physical contact with each other) if you and your dog can greet another person and his/her dog.  If he/she says no, please respect that and be understanding.  Don't jump to conclusions or make judgments.  It could be anything or it could be they are just not in the mindset to successfully handle a greeting right at this time in this place.  If he/she says yes, he/she may share with you how it will go best for his/her dog.  If you know how it will go best for your dog, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE share that with him/her.  That way the dogs can meet successfully and start to develop a relationship.  (We strongly suggest observing your dog and learning how he/she best handles greeting new dogs, people, etc. -- that way you can be strong, knowledgeable advocate for your dog.)

Enjoying the journey is part of the joy of having a dog.  Make the journey a good experience for you, your dog, and the people and dogs you encounter along the way.

Daisy with Kendra in their last trial.  Love that attention and focus!!!

It's the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop -- we hope you can visit some of these great blogs and enjoy all they have to offer.

Coming When Called -- the Positive Reinforcement Way

Many, many dogs are surrendered to shelters, fitted with shock collars, or neglected because of behavior issues.  This is a sad, sad situation because this is something that can be fixed!!!  As trainers, our goal is to help people establish and maintain their relationship with their dogs and keep their dogs in safe, loving homes for their whole lives.  Every time we can help someone keep their dog, we have eliminated one more dog in the rescue/shelter system. 

One of the biggest complaints people have about their dogs is that the dog won't come when called.  This, of course, is an essential life-saving skill that is necessary for your dog to have.  Unfortunately many training programs do one (or both!) of two things -- either it waits until the dog is more "advanced" in her training to begin teaching it and/or they use an aversive to teach the dog that NOT coming when called will result in a painful correction.

Dogs don't speak English.  I know this may come as a shock to some people.  In order to communicate effectively with our dogs, we need to teach them "English as a second language" -- including their names!  (We also think dogs have a very sensitive intuition and understand our nonverbal communication of our emotions, our health, and who we are.  So go ahead and talk to your dog -- we do -- they are great listeners!  But when it comes to training, assume your dog is from a foreign country and doesn't speak your language.)  

As trainers, we think coming when called is so essential that we start to lay the foundation for it in our very first class by first teaching the dogs that when you hear a click, you have done something we like, and you are going to get something good for it.  Once they get this, we begin teaching them their names.  Say the dog's name (once!), the dog looks at you, click/treat.  Through all of these steps we are also teaching the dog that we may (or may not!) hold her collar, clip on the leash, play with the dog, feed the dog (along with the click/treat), or any number of other routine and/or fun items with the dog -- this teaches the dog to come whenever, wherever because you never know what great thing might happen when you do!  Then we follow a series of steps that build on this foundation -- saying the dog's name and backing up with the dog following you, playing the "round robin" game (everyone has treats and you call the dog from person to person, feeding as soon as the dog gets to you), having "lightning rounds" (Call the dog back and forth between two people as fast as you can get the dog going, treating as often as you can when the dog arrives at each person -- many dogs love this game so much they don't want/need a treat at each person -- and that's okay.  The reward is in playing the game.), and eventually adding distractions and distance to the teaching.  

We also have some "rules" we follow and teach that will help to establish and ensure that your dog will reliably come whenever you call her:  one -- whenever you call your dog to come to you, it ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS results in a positive (a treat, playtime, dinner, a toy, etc.).  No matter how many trees they sniffed, how long they took stalking the squirrel, or how slowly they responded -- when the dog gets to you, it's party time!  This is the hardest thing to do when your dog is being a dog and chasing a bunny or barking at the neighborhood kids, but it's essential.  It only takes one time for you to deliver a negative to your dog to erode the dog's willingness to come when you call.  Remember, dogs don't speak English, so you can say whatever you want, just say it in a pleasant, upbeat tone!  Two -- teach your dog that you may grab and hold their collar, clip on a leash, or otherwise restrain them when they come to you (see above).  This alleviates the "bobble-head" and "you can't catch me" syndromes.  If your dog is used to you sometimes holding them when they come to you, it will not be viewed negatively and you won't have a dog that stops just short of getting to you and won't let you get any closer to them.  Three -- don't call your dog to come to you to do something she doesn't like -- bath, nails trimmed, crate, etc.  Go get your dog and take her to where you need to be.  (For the crate we have separate and distinct cue that we have taught.)  Doing this eliminates the negative associations with the coming when called.  And four -- practice, practice, practice this for your dog's entire life!  If you want your dog to always come when called, then practice it diligently.  Integrate it into your lifestyle.  Call your dog every day for something and reward it.  If you don't use it, your dog will lose it.

We are involved with the initiative Never Shock a Puppy and we are helping to spread the word that there are alternatives to teaching dogs that are positive and pain free.  Please, if you are having issues with your dog, seek out a trainer that will help you actually teach your dog what it is she needs to learn.  Using a training collar that inflicts pain when the dog does something wrong only teaches the dog to avoid the collar and what it does -- it doesn't teach the dog what it is that you want from her.  There are an infinite number of ways to do things incorrectly, but only one way to do them correctly -- teach your dog the correct way to do things using dog and people friendly methods.

It's Pet Blogger Hop Saturday!  Enjoy these great pet blogs!!!