clicker training Archives - Page 3 of 6

Happy Dogs, Happy Veterinarians

January 13, 2012

I took little Miss Caysun to the vet today to get her up-to-date on some vaccines. It was going to be a quick in-and-out visit — shots and then we'd hit the door. As usual, things don't go as planned. The shots went ok, don't get me wrong. But I mentioned, in passing, "she's got a little bit of mange on her nose," the veterinarian took a look and immediately said "that's not mange."

What? Of course it's mange. Mange is easy. Mange is common. Mange requires little treatment. It's got to be mange.

Nope, he said, mange isn't raised like that.

Crud. Which is funny because that's both what I thought and what her nose looks like.

Because I have the best veterinarians in the world, they made a little time for me in the schedule (I didn't need an appointment to get the vaccinations, since we'd just been in the week before for a wellness check and forgot to get the updated vaccinations…). And they had to do a little needle aspirate in her nose to see what's doin'.

I say that as if it was no big deal: just a little needle aspirate. That's because it wasn't being done to me. What that means is that the vet has to stick a needle into the rough, cruddy part of her nose and draw out some cells to look at them under a microscope. Yes, needle into nose.

Ouch.

It looked as painful as I'm sure it felt. I had to turn my head, I'll be honest. Little Miss wasn't a happy camper. After a couple of pokes, she decided she was done with all that nonsense. Thankfully they got enough goop off of and from inside the crud that they didn't have to fool with her too much more.

The veterinarian and vet technician were terrific. They had some squeeze cheese spread all over a tongue depressor stick to keep Caysun's mind off of the needle in her nose. They went slow and easy, they let me feed her while it was going on.

But there was a needle going into her nose! She wasn't happy. The moral of this story is: because she wasn't happy with what went on, I need to do some remedial veterinary work with her. I will be taking her back to the veterinary hospital when there isn't anything scheduled for her. I want her to have at least 5 visits that are exceptionally good. Visits where stuff like this happens (and only this):

the veterinarian and the techs come out and play with her in the lobby
the veterinarian and the vet techs come out and feed her sirloin (that I bring, of course) in the lobby
she gets to practice already known (and favorite) behaviors in the exam room and earn delicious salmon, sirloin, etc.

Why spend time going back to the animal hospital and working on these things? Isn't that a waste of time?

Because Caysun's just 6 months old. She'll be seeing a veterinarian for another 14 years I hope. I want all of those vet visits to be easy and fun for both the dog and the vet. And if the dog's not happy, ain't nobody happy, especially the vet because it's hard (and dangerous) to examine a dog who doesn't want to be examined!

So it's well worth those 5 or so "un-vet" visits to help dissolve this one unpleasant one. 15 minutes here and there are invaluable for when she's got an emergency and she needs to be calm while the veterinarians and vet techs make her better.

My vets and techs are great. They're willing to spend the few minutes playing with and feeding Caysun when I drop by. They know it's a good investment of their time, too.

Transitions

October 31, 2011

We've been raising service dogs since 2001. That handsome dog on the left is the very first dog we raised: Rocky. He died earlier this year, sadly. He was loved by two families: ours and the family who needed him as a service dog. It was quite a life.

We turned Ike in yesterday to Hero Dogs. He's now onto the second leg of his journey in becoming a service dog. He'll stay with Hero Dogs for another six months or so, receiving advanced training, then he'll go onto be paired with a service man or woman who needs Ike's assistance.

At each turn-in, I think a lot about the dog, naturally. I wonder if we're doing right by the dogs. They didn't sign up to become service dogs. They don't know that when we leave them at the agency, their life changes immediately. It's not like we tell them as puppies "This is just temporary. Don't get used to it. There are big changes for you, buddy."

My husband tried to console me with the thought that NO DOG chooses his home, his people, his environment. Neither do horses. Or cows. Or any animal, really. And he's right. Of course he's right. Transitions are just tough, no matter how you frame them.

It's a grand job, really, being a service dog. I think it's a much better life than the average pet dog has, to be honest. The service dog has a purpose. He's mentally stimulated every single day. He's more than loved, he's needed. He gets to go everywhere with his person. And that's pretty darn cool.

But of course, I'm a little melancholy around turn-in time. It makes me want to invent a way to communicate with Caysun so I can tell her that we've got big things planned for her. That in another year, she, too, will move on from our house (and from our dogs) to a brand new life.

But because I will fail in my quest to invent a new dog-human communication device, I will simply raise Caysun the best I can: give her lots of love, teach her to be flexible, and to enjoy change.

Ike (left) excels at flexibility. That dog is happy anywhere there are people. Or dogs. Or birds. Or wind. Or food. Or…whatever. He'll be happy wherever he lands, as long as there's a friendly hand to pet him.

We bid Ike farewell yesterday. We'll see him again – we've been invited to stop by Hero Dogs whenever we need an "Ikey fix." Which makes us feel good and soothes the sting of turn-in just a little bit.

Like every other service dog we've raised, seeing Ike with his new partner will be the medicine that will cure this melancholy. Rock on, Ikey! We'll see you soon, Boggy Doggy!

Freshpet: Good (and Convenient) Food for Dogs

October 4, 2011

I got a chance to try a bunch of new dog food and dog snacks last week.Let me say right up front that I'm a little bit of a dog-food-snob. I try hard to learn as much as I can about dog food: how it's made, what goes into it, etc.

My dogs eat better than I do, truth be told. All of them are supplemented in one way or another, those supplements tailored to their age or specific health issues.

Lily, the pretty little grey-faced Labrador on the left, has allergies to beef and grains (corn, wheat, and the like). We buy a specific food that is grain-free and she's on an over-the-counter antihistamine everyday, as well as a complex of fish oils, Omegas, etc.

Anyway, I got a cooler full of refrigerated dog treats the other day and was pretty skeptical at first. I'm skeptical of almost all commercial dog treats – usually they're a whole lot of grains, a whole lot of fillers, and a whole lot of preservatives. All things I don't want to put into my dog.

I'll keep this short and to-the-point. Here are the vitals:

Who: Freshpet
What: Dog treats and dog food

I liked:

the packaging – nine (I counted) freez-paks in a cooler, shipped overnight (not cheap!)
the ingredients – in the Vital line, for instance, here is the ingredient list (no grains!): Chicken, Chicken Liver, Cranberries, Beef, Salmon, Eggs, Spinach, Vinegar, Peas, Natural Flavors, Carrageenan, Salt, Caramel Color, Inulin, Pomegranate, Broccoli. You can actually SEE the shredded chicken, the cranberries, and the spinach! It's actually identifiable (I think that's pretty amazing…)
the variety - In addition to the Vital line above, I also found the Dognation line impressive. The ONLY ingredient in the Sweet Potato Chews…sweet potatoes! Amazing!
the palatibility - my dogs LOVED this stuff!
the uses - I create a lot of food-stuffed toys for my dogs to help keep them busy and their minds active. Freshpet has so many different types of food and treats, I can find something that will work with whatever food toy I'm using that day.
the absence of preservatives - these treats must be refrigerated. Which may seem like a hassle (it's not), but that lack of preservatives makes me a whole lot happier about feeding Freshpet to my dogs. I want as little un-natural stuff in them as possible.
convenience and availability - I can get this from my local grocery store. Normally, grocery store dog food is an automatic "NO!" in my book — the quality is just too low, usually. Those grocery store dog foods are usually loaded with wheat and corn and the dreaded by-products. Not here — just the opposite, actually. What a (happy) surprise!

I'm adding Freshpet to my fridge. I will use it for both my own dogs, as well as my client's dogs. Whether you have a really food-motivated Labrador (like I do), or you've got a finicky, picky eater, these Freshpet foods and treats will get your dog's attention. And that's where the training begins! Happy, eager dogs + delish treats = easy and fast training!

**Freshpet sent me the food samples free of charge. These remarks are entirely my opinion — I wasn't paid to write this review.**

New Puppy = Everyone’s On the Same Page…Or Else

September 14, 2011

Ever want to peek behind the curtain of life with a dog trainer? Here's your chance. Complements of my (really wonderful) husband (despite the story I'm about to tell, in which he's the villain.)

So. I'm working really hard to get Caysun's Crate Love going. I'm crating her at different times of the day. For varying amounts of time. With me in the room sometimes, and sometimes not.

She's doing a great job. On the left you can see Caysun with her "big brother" Ike. She looks perfectly happy, doesn't she?

All day today, I'm working with Caysun, fiddling with different criteria of Crate Love. In between, I still have a real job to do — dog training and all the administrative tasks that go along with the job. The admin work is a job all unto itself, but I digress…

For me, crating is the ultimate "safety net" for both me and for the dog. I can work without worry or wonder. House training stays on track. There are no chewed shoes. It's great.

So. After working all day in my office (and with Caysun), off I go, merrily on my way to actually train some dogs (go figure), and I leave the Crate Love task to that really wonderful husband I mentioned earlier. The dogs are in his care for about 5 hours.

I come home and say to him "It smells like poop in here." (Hey, you wanted to peek behind the curtain, I'm not covering anything up – this is the real deal here.)

He says, "Yeah, the puppy pooped."

"Yeah, no kidding," I'm thinking, but I'm smart enough to keep that in my head. I ask innocently: "Was she in her crate?"

"No, I was in the shower."

"In the shower?! IN THE SHOWER?! You can't leave a 9.5 week old puppy unattended to TAKE A SHOWER!" Again, these are my thoughts, not my words. (Ok, so now I'm editing a little bit. There was some cursing in my thoughts. Four letter words. That start with F.)

What I actually said: "You can crate her while you're in the shower. That's actually a really good time to crate her." (Doesn't that sound better than a lot of F words?)

I swallowed a lot more bad words and went about my business. It was difficult – I worked all day today (and yesterday, and the day before) on getting Caysun comfortable in her crate. Crating her while he was in the shower would have been perfect practice for her. (And clearly, for him, too!)

So while I'm going about my business, I find another pile of poop! This one's in the dog bed! In the dog bed! And I was wondering why none of the dogs wanted to sleep in the bed…I had just found my answer.

I couldn't resist a see-I-told-you-so smart aleck remark about the value of crating, but I did limit it to just one.

I come out to the living room to move the crate into the bedroom, where Caysun sleeps in her crate – happily, I might add! - each night, and what do I run into? A big puddle of puppy pee.

I'm at work for 5 hours and there are (at least) three puddles or piles when I return. Really?!

Clearly, I need to spend a little more time working with my husband than I do the puppy. Clearly, the pup's got the Crate Love thing down pat. Just wished the husband did, too.

The Perfect Age to Start Puppy Training?

July 6, 2011

Puppies don’t come with instructions. There isn’t an Owner’s Manual. From the minute you bring your puppy home, he’s learning. Your pup will develop habits whether you teach him or not. It’s much easier to instill good habits from the beginning, than to try to undo bad habits later.

Confused about when to start your pup's education? Trainers and veterinarians agree: sooner is better!

If your pup is healthy, you can start puppy class as soon as your pup has begun (and as long as he's kept on) his puppy vaccination schedule. Dr. Brenda Griffin states in DVM360:

For puppies, the single most important part of a behavioral wellness program is proper socialization during their critical developmental period, which ends by 16 weeks. Owners must begin socialization the day they bring their new puppies home, and the clock is ticking.

Proper socialization combined with positive reinforcement-based training in the context of a group puppy class helps puppies grow into well-adjusted pets. Classes provide critical socialization time with a variety of people and other puppies.

Smart Dog University makes it easy for you to get your puppy socialization and dog-friendly positive reinforcement training with Puppy Charm School (PCS). Designed specifically for puppies (8-18 weeks old), PCS will help you build the dog of your dreams.

Focusing on five critical areas, PCS makes it easy for you to teach your pup what he needs to know, when he needs to know it. There are five areas of concentration in PCS: Confident Puppy, Social Puppy, Happy & Healthy Puppy, Good Puppy, and Parenting Your Puppy.

Confident Puppy teaches your pup to feel comfortable in any environment and to accept new experiences easily. Your pup will be an “easy keeper” because he’ll be just as comfortable at soccer practice as he is at the bus stop, and even at the veterinarian!

The more experiences your pup has before 16 weeks of age (4 months), the more laid back and easy going he’ll be as he grows up. A laid back pup grows into a well-adjusted dog.

Why It’s Important: Living in our world doesn’t come naturally to dogs. Their developing minds are wide open until 16 weeks of age. After that, they become less willing to accept new things, people, and experiences.

Social Puppy teaches your pup to play nicely with other dogs, to recognize and use appropriate dog signals around other dogs. PCS will have controlled off-leash puppy play during each class. We’ll narrate the activities of the pups, pointing out the important things for you to watch for when you’re at home. We’ll show you warning signals as well as good signs that mean your pup is having a blast!

Why It’s Important: A dog needs repeated exposure to friendly and appropriate dogs his entire life. Dogs who can’t get along with other dogs have a “shorter leash” on life and don’t get to experience as much, or have as much fun as a dog who is easy-going and nice to other dogs.

Happy + Healthy Puppy teaches your puppy to be comfortable with routine grooming tasks such as nail trims and vet exams.

Why It’s Important: The earlier your pup learns the veterinarian isn’t scary, the easier it will be for you (and your dog, and your vet) to keep your dog happy and healthy. Your dog will need routine grooming and vet care to keep him happy and healthy – it’s easier if he’s cooperative (instead of combative).

Good Puppy teaches your pup basic “good manners” behaviors like sit, give it up, come when called, loose leash walking, name recognition.

Why It’s Important: Teaching appropriate behaviors from the start is the easiest and fastest way to a well-behaved dog. Teaching the pup what to do is a sure way to avoid problem behaviors (like jumping, barking, stealing socks, etc.).

Parenting Your Puppy teaches you how to deal with the most common (and the most frustrating) puppy problems. You’ll learn how to conquer puppy nipping, house training, crate training, barking, and stealing.

Why It’s Important: Giving you tools for dealing with the most vexing of puppy problems will allow you to spend more time enjoying your pup (and less time cursing the day you brought him home). Having the knowledge to deal with these common puppy issues ensures that the pup will have a consistent and predictable environment – one of the most important pieces of a well-adjusted pup’s life.

Scheduling
Puppy Charm School opens August 1 and we expect it to be popular. Register early to ensure you and your pup get in — before your pup reaches 18 weeks of age! Classes have ongoing registration — Register today and you can usually start classes the very next week, no waiting!

Where?
Classes will be held in two locations each week. In Frederick, PCS will be held Mondays (6:30p – 7:15p) Yellow Springs Veterinary Clinic (25 Thomas Johnson Drive, Frederick), and Thursdays (7:30p – 8:15p) at Mount Airy Animal Hospital (1308 S. Main Street, Mt. Airy).

Cost
When you register, you'll receive five PCS sessions. You have seven weeks to fit in those five sessions, meaning if you can't make it one week (going on vacation, business travel, etc.), you won't lose out on that session. PCS is $159 and is available only to puppies 8 – 18 weeks of age. If your pup turns 19 weeks before you finish your PCS sessions, you can use your remaining sessions in Canine Building Blocks.

Questions?
We're here to help! Please email Smart Dog U (laurie@smartdoguniversity.com) or give us a call (240) 394-1112 if you have any questions about Puppy Charm School. We'll see you in class!

Teaching is Time Well Spent

June 24, 2011

I'm sitting in a wheelchair, Ike faithfully by my side. I cue "let's go" and Ike moves forward with me. Going straight is pretty easy for Ike, he learns quickly to keep his feet out of the way and settles at an even pace. We're at Harris Teeter grocery store, doing a training field trip and I'm in a wheelchair to help mimic Ike's future surroundings.

Here comes the hard part — now we have to turn. It's an inside turn, which means Ike has to actually go backward just a bit to keep out of the way. His circle has to be tighter (smaller) than the wheelchair's circle. Uh-oh. We've not practiced this before.

With the clicker, all things are possible. And fast.

In only three tries, I'm communicating to Ike that moving backward is a good thing. It's a pretty complex skill, I think, for a dog to acquire. He has to go the opposite way from his handler. I've spent a year teaching him that being next to me is a really good idea.

The clicker gives Ike the information he needs: what behavior he should repeat. The precision of the click — and the fact that Ike's been clicker trained from 8-weeks of age — gets a behavior happening pretty darn quick.

The turn/back still needs work. A lot of it. But with the clicker, nothing's out of our reach. And it's fast. Because Ike knows the clicker, knows he can count on the clicker for information, he's ready and willing to learn. He wants to figure out this new game. He's a full and willing partner.

And did I mention he's not only smart, but pretty stinkin' cute, too? Brains and beauty… This picture's from Ike's adventure to Lake Anna, more on that in the next post.

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