News

I've been away too long! But I got lots of good news while I was traveling (for business). My first stop was Orlando, Florida for the North American Veterinary Conference. I was with the Karen Pryor Academy and we talked to lots of vets and veterinary technicians interested in positive reinforcement training. I got to see several Behavior lectures presented by both veterinarians and veterinary technicians — they were fabulous. All of us — vets, techs, and Karen Pryor Academy faculty and students — are on the same page when it comes to teaching dogs and modifying behavior: positive reinforcement is the only way to go. It was refreshing and helped re-charge my batteries.

My next stops were local and both in Columbia, MD. On Friday, a group of positive trainers got together at Ruth Chase's Coventry School for Dogs for some socializing and training. Many of us brought our dogs, but none of us brought our camera, so there aren't any pictures. Nemo went with me and had a rollicking good time. His favorite playmate was a spunky 8-month old husky. They were fast friends and when it came time to leave, they didn't want playtime to end!

I was back at Coventry all day Saturday and Sunday teaching for the Karen Pryor Academy. I held my first workshop and had a terrific time with the three positive reinforcement trainers in my class. They brought their dogs and worked hard for two days. We were all exhausted (dogs included), but I think everyone learned a lot and had fun, too.

It's impressive how much interest there is in positive training. Just five years ago, people rolled their eyes at us "treat slingers," and spoke down to us as if we knew nothing. Stand by the science and the science will stand by you — I'm a believer in that, and it's really paid off for dog-friendly training. But most of all, it's paid off for the dogs who are taught with positive reinforcement. And that's why I'm in this business, after all.

We're "smardogu" on Twitter. Look us up – you'll get quick dog-related snippets, links, articles, tips, news, and information — all in 140 words or less! If you're not familiar with Twitter, here's what Wikipedia says about Twitter:

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.

Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to
other users who have signed up to receive them. Senders can restrict
delivery to those in their circle of friends (delivery to everyone
being the default). Users can receive updates via the Twitter website, SMS, RSS, or email, or through applications such as Tweetie, Twinkle, TwitterFox, Twitterrific, Feedalizr, and Facebook. Twitter had by one measure over 3 million
accounts^[1] and, by another, well over 5 million visitors in September 2008, a fivefold increase in a month.^[2]

Just got off the phone with my parents. Seems their little Rottie, Copper, got a pair of my dad's shoes and chewed them to bits. They were a little angry with her. I asked: "How on earth did Copper get the closet door open?" (knowing full well the shoes were left right there on the bedroom floor where Copper had free and easy access to them).

Sheepishly, my parents said they were at fault for Copper's antics, as they left the shoes out.

Not too long ago, they would have found the ruined shoes, showed them to Copper and shouted "No! Copper, bad! No!"

Which wouldn't have done any good at all. Except to make Copper think that  my parents are a little off their rocker and not to be entirely trusted.

So it seems I'm making some inroads at least. Little by little…

I'm also reminding them to praise Copper when she's doing something right. They tend to ignore the good and only pay attention to the not-so-good.

Turns out that timing is everything: if you notice and reward your dog for sitting instead of jumping (immediately when the dog sits), you'll get a lot more sitting. And a lot less jumping.

In the same vein, if you feel you must punish (correct, admonish, whatever) your dog for doing something, don't do it after the "deed is done." If you find a chewed up shoe, just throw it away. Don't drag your dog in to the pile of dead shoe, or pick the pieces up and put them in your dog's face and say "No!"

For the record, I never recommend punishing, correcting, admonishing, etc. Ever. You'll get much better results "dog-proofing the house, managing your dog's access to the house when you can't watch him, and giving the dog toys he likes to keep him away from your "good stuff."

More importantly, remember that your dog likes to chew shoes and put those shoes in the closet!

Think of it this way: I love brownies — if you leave them out, I'm going to snack on them. Same thing with dogs and shoes.

Instead of 2008 winding down, it's been winding up for us here at SDU. Yesterday, Laurie was interviewed for a radio show. The Doggie Chronicles is a broadcast radio program geared towards dog enthusiasts and pet lovers alike.

Shows include the latest canine news, in-depth interviews, product
reviews, and tips from some of the industry's leading dog experts. Join
host Lisa Gorman and her special guests each week for a lively
look at all things dog.

See it, hear it and get it with The Doggie Chronicles, the most unique dog lifestyle and news programming available today. We'll post a link to the broadcast as soon as it's available.

The segment revolved around the "Marley & Me" movie and how Mr. Grogan could have saved himself (and Marley) a lot of trouble by finding a qualified positive-reinforcement trainer (and using a crate!). See the Smart Dog Blog entry about Marley and Me.

Also, you should check out The Healing Art of Pet Parenthood, a blog by Nadine M. Rosin. "The Healing Art of Pet Parenthood" is a true story.
It is a book about the human-animal bond,
healing cancer holistically, senior canine care, and an empowering new take on the grieving process when a beloved animal passes away.
This blog hits close to home, as I just lost my senior Aussie, Lucky. She featured Smart Dog University on her blog this week.

Finally, the good folks at Typepad selected this very blog as one of their Great Sites and featured The Smart Dog Blog on their home page. We are honored to have earned this recognition.

Happy New Year to everyone and everyDog. We'll see you in 2009 with lots more good stuff!