News

Great news from the American Kennel Club (AKC): they're now going to allow mixed breed dogs to compete for AKC titles in events!

Nemo's heritage is unknown (we think Great Dane and Hound), but he's certainly a mix of breeds. I've wanted to do tracking with him, but have been unable. Until now. Guess that means we'll have to get crackin' on training for our trackin'! (Corny, aren't I?)

Here are a few paragraphs from the AKC announcement:

The mixed breeds program will be implemented in three phases. As of
October 1, 2009 owners can begin enrolling their pets and receive an
AKC ID number. Then beginning April 1, 2010 enrolled dogs will be
eligible to compete in mixed breed classes at stand-alone AKC Agility,
Obedience and Rally events. Soon after they will have access to
benefits such as discounted AKC Companion Animal Recovery Lost and
Found service, a free AKC Canine Good Citizen® certificate for dogs
passing the CGC test, a free initial veterinary visit, a trial offer of
pet health insurance and discounted coupons for dog supplies.

The third phase will offer a dedicated Web site where dog owners can
interact via an online community with discussion forums and access dog
care video downloads, advice from experts and the most up-to-date news
on canine health and welfare. The site will be continually enhanced
with new features and benefits in order to respond to the changing
needs of pet owners.

I love hearing about Bo, the Portugese Water Dog who's now the First Dog. I also love that the Obama's use positive reinforcement to help Bo learn all that's expected of him. Here's a snippet from a recent conversation Michelle Obama had with some children visiting the White House:

So what did we learn about Michelle today?
She doesn't have much spare time, but these days what little time she
has is spent training and walking Bo. "Oh, my dog.  Oh, the dog.  Oh,
he is a crazy dog," she said as children giggled. He's still a puppy
who likes to play a lot, and chew on people's feet, Michelle says. At
about 10pm last night the First Couple was disturbed by the sounds of
barking and jumping around. Concerned that there was a problem, they
went to check what was wrong. "We thought somebody was out there.  And
it was just Bo. He was playing with his ball.  And it was like there
was another person in the house," Michelle said. Even in the White
House, puppy training ain't easy.  

The full article is worth reading. You can view it here.

Do you feed your dog at regular intervals (breakfast and dinner, for instance) or does your dog graze all day on his food?

I recommend all my clients feed their dogs at regular intervals and take the bowl up between feedings. Why? Predictability.

Predictability makes it really easy to house train a dog. What goes in must come out. If you control when it goes in, you've got a really good idea as to when it's going to come out.

Also, for training purposes, it's easier to work with a dog who doesn't have free access to food all day. How hard do you think Donald Trump would work to earn $5? Probably not very hard. Why?? Because he's got all the money he needs. He doesn't need $5 from you.

If you're giving your dog free access to his food all day, you're missing out on an easy way to let your dog know that all good things come through you. You're the gatekeeper — you give your dog access to his food. You can't do that if he's grazing on his food all day. Put the food bowl down twice per day for 30 minutes. What's not eaten will keep until the next meal.

High-quality, ethical breeders are few and far between. I'm happy to read the article about the breeder from which Bo came. Finally, a breeder who's really in it for the dogs, not for the money! Yahoo!