Harsh training methods

I am on many groups; for training, breed related and photography. On one of the training groups I am on currently; there is a discussion on chokem vs positive training. The group is a positive training group which is what I am and proud of it. The discussion was sparked by someone supporting the harsh and archaic methods of the big tv star Ceasar Milan. Its a hot topic these days in the world of training; he has single handedly moved training back several decades.

As a positive trainer you look to educate a dog; it is based around rewarding the behavior you want from the dog which will at a high likelihood repeat itself. Most behaviors are broken down into achievable size steps which quickly head towards the final goal behavior. Many positive trainers use clicker training; personally I do not use a clicker and rely on my own voice. I believe that leadership is very important with dogs, dogs are pack animals and thrive with a good leader. Being a good leader means that you educate, guide with patience and are reliable.

Choke'm training uses a completely different method and relies on a collar to deliver the message. When a dog is doing something you don't like; you yank on the collar giving a quick pop; a "don't do that" message. Ceasar does not believe in praise; or at least he didn't before, I have not watched it in a longtime. He may be changing his ways because of all the controversy. On his show the choke collar is always placed up around the ears which is a very soft and vulnerable spot on a dog; of course you have control when you put a chain around there.

From much experience both from the past and present I have seen harsh training methods create anger. Its all about stopping your dog from doing things. There is no thinking involved, just stopping. If your dog does not stop; of course it is human nature to grow frustrated and impatient leading to anger. I have so many sad stories of harsh training methods. I was called into one family after a harsh trainer totally ruined their beautiful Golden puppy. After he was through with him all that was left was a shell of what he once was, so sad. The good news is that I did help the family to bring back and retrain this guy with positive methods.

And then there was the lady I talked to in a store who asked if a dog rolled over and peed was that normal in training? I was appauled and cringed and the image, she told me about her soft yellow lab who was yanked and yanked in an obedience class by the trainer. The dog looked at her guardian with "help" in her eyes. The lady didn't know any better but when her dog finally dropped and peed she thought maybe something wasn't right, how sad.

I worked with a dog who had definite aggression to a raised hand; especially when there was something in your hand. We found out later that the huge dog rescue group uses a paper towel roll to hit the dogs in the face so that they don't bark. So the fall out behavior was a defense mechanism. I have so many stories I could fill a book, sad.

Alpha rolls are another huge misconception and being reintroduced by the big tv star. An alpha roll is a last resort; wolves in the wild do not regularly roll their pack members. Lower pack members will drop in submission but the only time a roll is used is if all else fails. That is when there is usually impending violence in a pack. Constant alpha rolls can completely break a dog or cause needless aggression; it's a loose, loose situation.

Do yourself a favor and start researching. There are many great dog behaviorists out there, Ian Dunbar, Patrica McConnell, Jean Donaldson. Below is a great article.

http://www.4pawsu.com/dogpsychology.htm
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Wednesday stew

Good morning; I have to vent this morning. I had my dogs at our "private" field for a good dose of exercise yesterday when someone came into the field. Tilley couldn't care one bit who is in the field as long as I keep tossing her ball. But at the time this person invaded our privacy; it was Luke who was doing the retrieving. It is essential that Tilley be in a down stay during Luke's turn or he won't be having a turn. She is like lightening and he doesn't stand a chance of ever getting the ball before her.

So in walks this guy who I see all the time with his tiny little poodle. Luke is in the middle of a retrieve so I call him to me and surprisingly he comes very quickly. Luke is one of those dogs who just has to go and greet other dogs no matter how much I do not want him to. Oh he always comes back right away but he has to go; even when I can see that it is a very bad idea. So I had Luke by my side.

I really couldn't understand this guy being in the field, its sort of a one family field. It is not a dog park so when it is in use, you stay OUT. He knows me and my dogs; he saw my car parked at the entrance of the field which says SherrisPhotographics.com on it so he knows its me. So there I sit with my poodles in much anticipation of the next throw, waiting and waiting and yep, waiting. He is wandering around, occassionally glancing our way.

Finally the smaller version of my dogs takes a crap. That's what we were waiting for. The guy makes a feeble attempt at looking like he is searching for his missing dog poop bag and then slowly wanders away. AH HA!!!!! he is one of the lame dog people who don't pick up after themselves. This is one of the things that bothers me the most. This field where I bring my dogs is really nice, I don't know what I would do without it actually. It boggles my mind how people can just let their dog take a crap and leave it. AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH I don't get it. Honestly, I'm going to put up my own sign at the field; PICK UP YOUR DOGS SH**.

Okay, I'm vented. Jessie has been under the weather the last couple of days. Friday night my husband and I went out to see GARTH BROOKS http://garthbrooks.com/ Wildfire show in LA. That's right 4th row center, amazing. Anyhow; while we were away Jessie took advantage and scarfed back several chocolate bars and peanut butter cups my son happily left on his bed. I found this out the next morning. Luckily there wasn't much chocolate on either but there was a heck of alot of sugar. So she had been in a "I feel crappy" type state since Saturday morning.

Yesterday when I returned from a photo shoot; was the first glimpse that she was feeling better. She greeted me at the door with a ball in her mouth doing her happy routine. So she is feeling much better this morning and is begging to perfection again. Think she learned her lesson? I know she didn't! Ask me how I know.

overcoming fear

Fear comes in many forms. Fear is a common behavior issue in dogs and I have worked with many different fear based issues; all having different causes and levels. How you approach a solution to a fear based problem must be well thought out and researched. If you go head on; introducing the cause of fear at a 100% level; known as flooding, there is a great chance of more damage. I have a real soft spot for fearful dogs; its tough being in a human world without the benefit of speech.

If we are afraid of a situation, object or environment we can communicate our discomfort to the people around us. This lets everyone know upfront what is going on and why we may be acting in such a manner. For many dogs who are fearful; their guardian may not understand nor be able to help them tolerate or overcome their fear. Tackling fears should never be attempted with archaic methods of training or flooding. Force; both physical and mental only causes more fearful behaviors. Flooding is when someone puts the dog into their worst fear situation at a 100% level.

You must start working with a fear behavior at the lowest level of reaction; meaning you are looking for the point of reaction from the dog and want to move back from that. The best example I can explain this with is the very common arachnaphobia of humans, fear of spiders. The first step would probably be to drive by a building where there are known spiders, no spider in site. Getting closer to the building might take weeks or months depending on the level of your fear. But there is no point in trying to move to the next level; a more concentrated submergion if you cannot make it at the last level.

What you are trying to accomplish when working with a fear based behavior is to change the base behavior when around the fearful situation. Meaning that if your dog is unbelievably afraid of men wearing hats and has to this point barked, peed and basically come unglued; we want her to now look at men in hats as a good thing or at least non threatening. So you must take it slow; flooding puts your dog into a state of panic where nothing can be accomplished. You have to convince your dog that men in hats are a great thing and this is done with patience.

Slow and steady wins the race and definitely achieves a higher level of success when working with fear based behaviors. There is no hurry; each success should be a small one. I have broken some fear based behaviors down so small that no person other than the guardian and myself would even notice each step. A small success could be a glance; an ear raise or a change in body posture.

But wheatever your dogs fear; realized that this is very real to your dog. It is a sad way for a dog to live so do your research; hire a professional positive behavior specialist and help your dog to climb out of the fearful way of life they lead.

Its raining cats and dogs, mostly just dogs

Its raining again and its raining hard. We had a moment this morning when it stopped and I rounded up the pack and sent them out. Luke is my biggest rain wimp being that he was born and raised in Southern California. He went out and made a fast U turn to the door. I told him through the door "hurry up." So he turned around again and made a mad dash to the grass; barely even squatted and he was done. Everyone ran back into the house; you'd of thought it was blizzarding out.

I had several shoots scheduled for today which will be cancelled due to train and I'm really hoping that I can squeeze everyone in this week if indeed it does stop raining. The areas around here where there was so much fire damage are suffering now. Anyone in the bad mud slide areas have been evacuated; I can't imagine having to grab the kids and the dogs and leave everytime we get bad rains. This will happen until the land has a chance to take root again. Which luckily seems to be happening now.

I was on a drive to a shoot lastweek and noticed that all the hills have a green haze on them; really beautiful. We've had alot of rain already this year so although its good it is also bad. And then there is the dogs who hate the rain or at least going out in the rain to go to the bathroom. This was probably my biggest complaint from training clients. Sometimes the answer is to go out with your dog. Just go buy a raincoat and deal with it; we get rain for such a short time here in Southern California.

I am looking forward to a day of writing; my training book is almost done and I have photo work to do as well.

Well, I best get at it.

The transformation of non-dog to dog person

What makes some people “dog people” and others not? What does it take to turn a non-dog person into a dog person? It takes but a fragment of a moment for these non-dog lovers to discover the connection that a human can have with the canine species. In the blink of an eye the transformation of non-dog to dog person occurs.

Throughout the not so distant history there are I’m sure; 100’s of stories of people who never got the whole “dog thing” who transformed into diehard dog people. I for one have been a dog person my entire life; I never had a choice in the matter it was always there. Many people I talk to want to know my background; did I come from a dog family? Nope.

To be a true dog person; you were like that from the start and only found out with the introduction of a dog into your life to discover this fact. Or your life took a new turn with the unexpected relationship you formed with a member of the canine species. It could be a childhood memory that took you into the category of “dog lover.” It could have been the dog you added to your family for the kids and never foresaw a connection.

Did that little puppy that you brought home for the kids wriggle it’s way into your heart when you were not watching? Maybe a friend asked you to pet sit for them. Perhaps you didn’t even like dogs let alone love them. But being the good friend you are; you agreed. Within a day or two you noticed that this other species had a personality. Not only did it put up with you being in their house with them, they seemed to like you.

Within a matter of days you actually enjoyed spending time with this canine species. Once your friend returned home and took over the care of her dog again you missed the little guy. How could this happen to a person who was so not into dogs? You know how it happens? by the sheer fact alone that dogs are amazing and give us more than you could ever imagine. Until you have loved and been loved by a dog you are truly missing out on an amazing experience in life.

It can happen to the most stuck in their ways non-dog people; those who couldn’t imagine sharing their immaculate home with an animal. An animal that not only sheds all over the house (mine of course do not shed), but they might pee or poop on the carpets, drool, scratch or chew things up as well; how could this creature be in your home?

All it takes is the moment of connection and your sunk.

Saturday morning

What a beautiful morning; blue sky, little bit of white clouds and nice cool temps. It is already 9:00 and my dogs are all curled up on the bed. They have had their morning cookie so they are good for quite a while before they actually need to get up. I haven't eatten so I'm getting pretty hungry.

It looks like we will have nice hiking weather unless of course the canyon is soggy and mucky. That means that we will be bringing alot of the canyon home with us. Then there is the much needed foot bath for all. The dogs also need their nails done today which is always quick and easy. But for many dogs it is a dreaded event and for many guardians it is a dreaded event. But it doesn't have to be; you can turn it around very easily.

To make your dog cool with having their nails clipped you must introduce a positive association to the event. If you just force them to have their nails cut; holding them down tightly so that they cannot move things will get much worse. The tighter you hold them the more they panic. So you have to take it slow and yummy. You can use anything that you can dish out in tiny little bits, peanut butter, cheez whiz, roll treats etc.

You want to introduce the clipper and treat, treat, treat. Ah the clippers mean treats. Then you touch the clipper to their feet, treat, treat. Then get them use to you holding their feet, one at a time and only for a second and again treat, treat, treat. When they are cool with this you try to cut one nail, thats it. Lots of treats! Once you have that work on doing four nails and treats all through the way. You can have someone else delivering treats if you like; this can make it easier.

So now that you have a foot done you work on doing all the feet with lots of treats through the entire process. All of these steps can takes days or weeks depending on how much your dog does not want their nails cut. But make sure you take a slow enough time so that it is a positive experience.

Then you can work at progressing to all nails for a big treat at the end, but that should be about a 6mos. goal. I still at the age of 7, 11 and 12 treat my dogs after getting their nails done. They look forward to it and actually hand me their paws to get their nails clipped.

Happy clipping.

What's on the menu?

This morning I am cooking up Halibut, brown organic rice, ground flax seed and frozen spinach. Yum.

How to learn to learn

Over my years of training I have occasionally come across a dog that has no concept of learning a behavior. It has taken us quite a long while just to get the idea of doing something; to take on a position when given a verbal or vocal cue. It is much like the dogs who do not know how to play. It is so sad when I see or hear of it; they have no idea when either a soft stuffed toy is thrown down for them or a ball tossed in their direction that they can get some sort of enjoyment out of this item.

I have always talked to my dogs; we have very long conversations which are of course pretty much one sided. My girls don't give me much of a reply but my boy Luke communicates back to me pretty amazingly. Teaching a dog to learn is best achieved using food. With a really yummy treat; something choice that this particular dog would enjoy; can get you good results. What you have to do is break down a behavior into tiny steps of succession.

Breaking a behavior down helps with frustration levels. If a dog that has never learned before is to strive to achieve more then they must get some sort of pay off. It is very much like working with a very under confident dog; they just don't have it in them to offer up behaviors. So at the slightest sign of anything given to you; you have a party and a big payday. These uneducated dogs really have no idea what you want from them so the concept of wanting them to do something is the start.

What you have to do immediately is stop handing out freebies; treats that are given for nothing. Sit is always the easiest behavior and can be taught to dogs in one minute up to maybe 15 min for an uneducated typed. One also has to start communicating with these dogs; they need to know when certain sounds come out of your mouth that it means something. Once a dog gets the whole "learning a behavior concept" you can run with it. But until then you are pretty much up against a brick wall.

Usually these type of dogs shut down very quickly when you first start working with them. They do not understand why they are not getting the treat that is in your hand. Sometimes if they are so focused on the treat that they cannot think of anything but the treat; we have to lessen the yumminess of the treat. It has to be good enough to work for but not so good that they cannot think. These dogs need extreme patience from their educator. It can be frustrating for both involved so if you find yourself loosing it; quit and start again tomorrow.

This brings to mind how awful yank and choke type trainiing would be for these type dogs; all dogs actually so I think that's on tomorrows blog. TGIF

Oh, as a sidenote and not dog at all I'm heading off to see Garth tonight in LA whooohoooooo. Actually I bet Garth has a dog, I should find out.

It never rains in California, uhhh yes it does.

About mid afternoon the clouds began to fill the sky; the house got darker and I should have got them all outside. I did manage to get my small girl out the door to have a quick pee but the poodles were sleeping and I hated to wake them. After all the rains had been few and scattered at the most.

I talked to a friend who lives a little more inland than we do; she stated that she was waiting for the impending storm; it was getting really windy where she was. As if on cue the wind came up and the rains started; I was too late. By late afternoon my poodles needed to go out; they stood by the kitchen door and rang their bell to let me know.

I opened the door to the outside; knowing exactly what was to happen. One glance outside at the rain pouring down and they quickly turned, they were not going outside. My male really had to go and once again he approached the door and wanted out. I opened up the door with the same result; he turned on a dime and was not going out. We did this a third time; I knew he had to go.

The fourth time my son ran out with him in hopes of coaxing him onto the grass; but he is not one to be coaxed into doing something he doesn’t want to do. So when I opened the door for the fifth time I told him “this is it; you have to go,” and shut the door behind him. Once he was out there he really had to go; so he made a mad dash to the grass, did his business and was back in a flash.

This is an all too common problem here in sunny Southern California; our dogs are not use to weather. So what we end up with are dogs that won’t go outside to relieve themselves in the rain. As a trainer it is one of the most common problem behaviors that I hear about.

So what do you do when your dog will just not go out? Well; you go back to kindergarten so to speak. You get out the best treat you can find, get your raincoat on or an umbrella (as long as your dog is not afraid of umbrellas) and you bribe your dog outside. Hopefully you have taught them a word for going; mine is “hurry up.” Once out there; tell them to do their thing and the second they do, offer them the big pay off.

Not all of the canine guardians deal with this issue but if you do have a dog that hates to go out into the rain; you are not alone. Many dogs will happily go out for a walk but not just to go to the bathroom. The positive association of a walk is enough to get them out there; not so much just to relieve themselves. So you can pull out the treats anytime it rains; it will not damage the normal routine of your dog. It is far better to reward your dog for doing something that they really don’t want rather than cleaning up the mess in the house, no?

Dogs at the beach

Yesterday I took my camera and headed down to the beach in attempts of getting some nice natural dog shots. I was hopiing that there would be some dogs enjoying themselves down there with their guardian. I was also hoping that their guardian would be interested in having their dog in the book I am working on. I approached one gentleman sitting on a bench with four lhasa type dogs and he was very uninterested. I don't get it but I don't care; so I just move on.

Then I ran into a couple of ladies with their mixed shep/collie type dogs who were having the best time. The dogs were romping through the water like it was their favorite thing in the world to be doing. It was such a pleasure to watch and even more of a pleasure to shoot. I got some nice photos; a couple that will hopefully end up in my book.

I am still on the search for great dog shots so if you are out there in the OC you may see me in my black Xterra with camera in hand. Oh, I'll ask before I shoot; I always do.

Working the boy

Males, they are something aren't they? I have to admit and I know I've admitted this in past but I'll say it again; I love males. There is something about a male dog that just tweaks my heart. If it was not for the fact that my boy Luke would feel completely dethroned I would have a house full of them. All my boys have been very special.

And the girls definitely work the boys. We all know who the real bosses are but for some odd reason we let the boys feel like it is they who rules the roost; even when it is so far from the truth. It is important for Luke to feel like he is in charge; and because of this I am constantly letting him know that he is not. Luke would not make a good leader. The girls on the other hand let him puff up and strut around; I guess they feel it makes him easier to live with. But when I enter the scene and deflate the overly stuffed gray matter of my boy he seems to come back to reality. Oh ya, Mom's the boss!

When we are out on our walks; when the dogs are off leash that is, the importance of being the leader is much more obvious. When Tilley runs out in front and turns to wait for us; that is exactly what she is doing, waiting for us to catch up. She will often wait until we pass her by and then she will get moving again. Luke on the other hand is always out front. He will run up ahead, turn to see if we are still following him; big difference. If for some reason he should be left behind which might happen twice a year; when he is investigating something and doesn't realize that we have walked past him, he has a fit. He immediately whines and moves up ahead at full speed.

Once out front he is happy again; afterall this is his only chance to pretend he is the leader. And he takes full advantage of these few moments in his life. When I take the dogs out on my own I make a point of changing directions just to keep him on his toes. Letting him be out front and feel like he is being a temporary leader makes him happy; so we indulge him most of the time. I can't imagine making him walk behind us like some trainers suggest. His off-leash walks are his moments in his imaginary world.

As much as he likes to think he is the king; the girls know how to work this boy. Mealtime is a very supervised event at our house as I have explained in the past. Luke eats slowly; he is always finished well after Jessie and mostly after Tilley. If the dogs are eating something extremely delicious they will want to eat Luke's. They know that moving in on his food will result in a growl so they use their smarts. Jessie stands to one side and stares at Luke; this makes him uneasy. The Tilley comes up in the rear and touches him ever so slightly. She keeps touching him until he cannot stand the pressure and moves away from his food.

These girls are smart; they know he doesn't like being pressured and would rather move away than fight for his food. Ah, the power we weild.

Rain again

Well I'm in full gear and back to work. I have a feeling I will be retaining a lingering cough for sometime. It's raining again which will definitely put a wrench in the works with my photography. Although i am hopin to get some nice rain dog photos, so I will be out in the rain tomorrow. My dogs are in full recovery mode after their weekend full of power running; sometimes it's good when Mom is really busy.

I had a great shoot today, met some wonderful people and fabulous dogs. At the moment my PC is working on my photos on the stove there is hamburger that I just brought home for my pooches. They will be happy with dinner for sure tonight. There is nothing like a warm homecooked meal on a cold rainy night.

I will be uploading several more shots from yesterdays shoot with my guys. I can't help it; you know they are adorable. :)

Dirty face close up

Not only did I have to wash feet when we got home, I had to wash this face.

Photos from our walk yesterday

Beautiful sunday morning walk

I just got back from a walk with the three dogs and my hubby. What a beautiful day, it is in the low 60s, sunny and bright. We took them on the normal canyon trail; and I brought my camera. I got some great shots. The canyons are turning green with the rains we had in early December. It is a nice change of scenery from the bleak scrubby look. There are still remnants of scrubs but the green is what catches your eye first.

I'm hoping to use some of the shots in my book that I am working on. Of course I will include that these three own me. They had so much fun and I actually encouraged digging today for the shoot. Typically I only let Jessie dig; she lives to dig and it gives her a great source of energy release and exercise. I don't usually let Luke dig just because he is a giant piece of velcro and Jessie has a wipe and go coat.

But today I let him go till his heart content and he did. I just now finished washing 12 feet and one very disgusting face. For a nervous ninny Luke is a very good boy about getting cleaned up. But that simply comes from past experience; he knows that I would never do anything to hurt him so he puts complete trust in me. I will hopefully post some of the gross face shots that I got of him; talk about a happy dog.

So now everyone is in the back; they are cleaned up, had their breakfast and are now relaxing in the sun. I think I'll join them.

Have a great Sunday.

Cling-ons

As I had blogger block this morning; it just came to me that a great subject would be the "cling-on." You know those embarassing poops that just will not come off. And you know it almost always happens when you are standing in the middle of a crowded area. It doesn't bother me when it happens; except that I know people are uncomfortable when it does. In fact my own kids are fairly mortified if it happens in front of them.

My nice trip to Laguna Beach this week with my daughters started with just such an incident. It is almost always Jessie my little Jack Russell; and this I know is because she is a bottom feeder. Bottom feeder meaning she is constantly licking something off of the floor. With three human females in the house having long hair it is bound to happen on a weekly basis. Hair is probably #1.

So there we were; Jessie actually made it to the sand before pooping which was pretty much amazing. But as soon as she hit the sand the urge was more than she could bare and out it came. Jessie is also a travelling pooper which I hate. Anytime I have to pick up after her I follow a trail, it never comes in a nice neat pile. With her little body in pooping position and walking we waited and waited and waited. One of my daughters was dying and the other laughing at the dying one.

I know my dogs and this one seemed like it was going to work itself out. I stood between Jessie and her audience; I wanted to give her a little privacy although she could care a less. It finally happened; everything hit the beach; I picked it up and we went on our merry way. The incident was now history and a very good learning experience for my girls, sh*# happens; literally.

This sort of thing happens alot when you live with a pack of dogs. I can't even remember how many times I have had to assist in the removal of foreign objects. When you have a puppy; you can get daily surprises. All of a sudden you might just find something that you thought you had lost. But grass, plastic wrap, twin, thread and hair seem to be the biggest culprits.

The one thing you must do is get tough, get over the fact that you are helping your dog to eliminate some waste. Sometimes there is nothing out of the ordinary going on; just some unwanted poop that has lingered. Wiping rear ends does not end when your children learn to do it themselves, we have our dogs to keep us strong. I am the only one in my house that will help a dog in need when poop is the issue. Both my poodles are horrified if something remains when they are done. They will run around as if to escape the grasp of the unwanted poop. I have to help them; they need me.

I will not have one of those dogs who have a good year or so build up in their rear end; nope. So as I said sh*( happens; get over it and give your dog a hand.

The artful dodger

Have you ever been in the position where you had to grab your dog and you simply could not? You called and called and when you got the "nope" response your temper flared and you went for the physical grab? How hard can it be to catch your own dog? It can be very difficult; dogs are amazingly intelligent, agile and fast. Over the past oh 33 years or so I have been working with dogs of all breeds, sizes and personalities. I have also caught many a stray dog; let's discuss that first.

The latest capture was a stray on the street, a small black lab mix who was running from one sidewalk to the other. I had been in the midst of house hunting when we spotted her. With our hunting put on hold and the real estate agent left standing there we went into action. It is all in the body language; most stray dogs consider an approach from a stranger to be a bad one; they are usually pretty stressed out already. If you are intending to catch and send this dog back to their home then you need to outsmart them.

There are of course the dogs who love anyone and everyone; but I'm not talking about those. You need to use your body language to the best of your ability; you need to seem inviting, someone this dog can feel safe with. Being that you are a stranger you have a big role to play. Catching your own dogs is role playing but not to the degree that catching a stray is. You must immediately get down, bend down and turn sideways. Do not look directly at the dog but use you peripheral vision.

Threatening body language is a direct approach and a direct stare; you don't want to use these. I have had to completely turn my back on a dog or two to get them to come close to me. Once they approach use a very calm and soothing voice. Do not make any sudden movements and hopefully you have some treats on you. Of course you can't always have a treat when you are trying to catch a stray but make sure you have a leash type thing to hook up to the dog. My suv is full of leashes, all the time.

Once the dog is within grasping distance, slowly start to pet the dog to build trust. If they accept this without running then you are almost there. You want to slowly get a hold of the collar without letting the dog know that's where you are headed. Some dogs get very nervous once you have a hold of them so be careful. Hook a leash, belt or rope to them asap; this allows the dog to get some distance from you once you stand up.

Now how do you catch your own dog when they don't want to be caught? The first thing to do is monitor your body language; take a good hard look at what you are saying with your body. Even the best behaved, well trained dogs may bolt at the slight hint of anger. If I'm mad; typically my dogs scatter; it is in their nature to stay out of harms way and that might mean my way. Luke is my master body language reader, he is without a doubt the most sensitive dog I have ever worked with. Not a meltdown type sensitive but sensitive to signals I send.

There are times when I'm in a hurry; I'm probably running late and need to do a head count before leaving. I have walked into the kitchen where one dog stands only to see them move away from me. I am sending negative signals with my rushing around. If you get into an angry zone and approach your dog head on with direct eye contact I can pretty much guarantee they are going to leave your grabbing radius. Like a smack in the head it hits you that your body language is saying "I'm mad, get out of my way" But you really are just hurrying around. Once you realize this and adjust your body; everyone will calm as well.

You must never call your dog to you when you are angry; it teaches them to stay away from you. NEVER, NEVER DO IT. Teach your dog lots of different words for the meaning of come. Reward big time. Practice the "come" exercise often; give them a hug and kiss and let them be on their way. And if you are getting mad at your dog and you need to get them to come to you; an oscar winning performance is in order. Once you do get them, pull it together and praise them. Your dog should never hesitate coming to you when you want them to.

Chow time

Good morning again, as I stood here cooking up my guys beef I realized that I can now bring my computer down to the kitchen. My hubby got me a wireless linksys for xmas and I love it. I use to only be able to get service in my one corner of my bedroom, this is glorious. So I'm cooking up some beef for the pooches, I just finished my breakfast and the girls are patiently sitting in the middle of the kitchen. Luke is still on his doggy couch downstairs and hasn't even been out yet; which will be changing momentarily.

Lastnight they had quite the meal; lots of leftovers made for the gourmet meal deluxe. They had chicken, tri tip, lemon pasta, baby assorted organic lettuce, organic baby arugula, and apple. It looked very good and was gone in a flash, I can always tell when Luke is going to like a meal and this was one of them. We had lemon pasta with chicken, mushrooms, capers and baby organic arugula, yum.

I'm not sure what is on the menu for these guys or us for tonight; I'm going to think on it. I do know it will involve arugula; my new found favorite food.

Sherri

Canine epilepsy

I don't remember if I have talked about this on here or not before but I thought I would discuss my own dogs life with epilepsy. I am not a fan of medications either for dogs or for humans. Of course I think there is a time when you need them like my little Jack Russell who has an auto immune disorder and will be on preds for the rest of her life. But I think to pop a pill for everything that ails you is not good for anyone.

Luke had his first seizure over 5 years ago; it happened in the middle of the night as they often do and we thought that his leg had fallen asleep. He stumbled around and finally settled; we were left thinking "that was weird." About 2 months after the first incident he had another; this time he had a full seizure and it was very scarey. I woke up to him knocking into things; he then fell to floor and went stiff.

From that time on he occassionally had seizures; they were always months apart until the day when he had two. I had done a ton of research, I always do. I am one of those need to know everything that is a part of my life. So I was in search of what could be causing these seizures. The day he had two was very strange, he had one in the morning which he had never done before. Then in the afternoon as we left the field where I run the dogs he had another; again this was a first.

So off to the vet we went; I'm glad the older vet was there because he does not believe in pushing drugs. We discussed Luke's seizures in depth; he had a blood panel done and finally decided that he should not be put on drugs unless his condition worsens. I was happy with that because the typical medication which for epilepsy is phenobarbital can be very hard on a dogs body (link below).

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/phenobarbital.html

Over the years I have watched Luke's seizure like a hawk. I'm the epilepsy investigator, the FBI for symptoms and causes. What I have found is that most of Luke's seizures are brought on by stress. Luke has grande mal seizures; they last a good 20 minutes when he has one. They have remained mostly the same with slight variations in each. Luke seeks me out when he is going to have a seizure; he is well aware before hand. If I am not around the next closest human works. We lay him down, get comfortable ourselves and help him through it.

He has never bit or emptied his bowels which I am very happy for. Up until about a year ago he had only stiffened up and not actually convulsed. His last two he had a little flopping around in the second session. His seizures have two parts; the first he is stiff then he seems to be coming out of it but slips into the worst second part where he obviously is not coherant any longer, he's gone. This is the part you have to be very careful about, he can claw you pretty badly. After each seizure he is very clinging; he must be touching me for a full hour after each episode. He is a very highly intelligent dog so he searches for clues as to what happened after a seizure.

We actually call him "Luke sky watcher" because he looks to the heavens for days after he has a seizure.

What I have noticed of late is that Luke has not had a seizure for a longtime, I almost hate to say it. But I have now been feeding the dogs strictly "real food" for almost a year and I believe it has made a difference. Luke had a string of seizures when we first moved; we get alot of breezes in this house and this causes door slamming. One guaranteed cause of a seizure is if he is awakened out of a sleep too quickly. If the girls start barking and he is sleeping, he may jump up and be running before he is awake; this almost always causes a seizure. The same with the slamming door when he is asleep.

So although I don't have a cure we seem to be making good progress in the food department. And you'd never know my crazy blonde boy is epileptic to meet him.

Good links below.

http://www.canine-epilepsy.net/

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/

New toys

I was not planning on purchasing new toys. With Christmas just over; our dogs have several new carcasses laying about. Jessie actually has one that somehow managed to stay intact; I think Luke does not like the feel of it so has pretty much left it alone. And Tilley has but one that escaped the malicious jaws of Luke and Jessie with everyone on high alert to protect her new toy from them. But I was at the mall and the old toy store was going out of business so with my daughters I entered the store looking for a deal.

The store was half empty; but I managed to find one bin of stuffed toys. Many of the stuffed toys for kids these day contain those little bead things; which are not good for dog toys. I finally found three small stuffed toys without any removeable parts. They were a mere 1.99 each; a price I can live with when I know their fate. I got a cute dragon, an orange teddy bear and a larger yellow teddy bear which would be for Tilley.

Once home it takes but a split second for my dogs to know what has come into the house with me. They are very polite; waiting to know if these new toys are for decoration or for them. All I need to say is "what did Mommy buy?" and they know they are for them. Typically they get pretty frantic; new toys are delivered in the same order as feeding time. Jessie gets hers; which she usually drops immediately wanting to know what else there is. Then Tilley and last but not least Luke.

They were all surprisingly calm and patient yesterday. I believe it is because there has been so much emphasis put onto who's toy is who's since Christmas. Jessie took her toy right away and went to the window bed. Tilley never takes her softies from our hand; she gives them a once over on the floor before the mouthing starts. Then Luke gets his toy; the dragon of course was for him and he never hesitates. He grabs and runs.

With new possesions everyone was happyily occupied for over an hour. By dinner time Luke had still not tore into his new toy; perhaps because there was no squeaky in it. These weren't dog toys; they were meant for kids so they were much softer and better made than the normal toys; no these were special toys.

We were all at the dinner table when my husband came home; there was the usual large greeting. After he sat to join us; I asked Luke to go get his new toy to show to his Dad. Right away those giant ears of his are up and listening intently, "go get your new toy and bring it to Daddy." Luke has a huge vocabulary but I must remain calm so that he doesn't get overly excited; once he is out of control he cannot focus.

Off he went to the other room; returning with his new dragon tucked tightly in his mouth. It was obvious how happy he was with himself with his tail held high as he strutted around the kitchen. My daughter was amazed that he brought the correct toy to show us. Luke does love to grab the other dogs toys but with Christmas just over he has had much feedback over this stealing behavior.

As he stood in the middle of the kitchen beaming over the dragon he now called his own; no one could help but smile. This big blonde goof with his prize possession; it just doesn't get any cuter.

The Beach

I took my little Jack Russell; Jessie to the beach yesterday. The poodles had their big power run in the morning so I was free to take just the little one. Both of my daughters joined me, very nice. Jessie definitely has an agenda at the beach; let all the other dogs know that she is the queen of the world and attack and kill the shore birds. Both are attempted, neither accomplished but she still has alot of fun.

Jack Russells are a very tenacious breed, almost all of them are very dominant. The best that Jessie can accomplish with another dog is being civil, sort of. If I do not allow her to greet another dog and it happens to throw her a look; its on. I walk Jessie on a extension leash when I'm at the beach, it gives her a sense of being "off leash." And it gives her a chance to try to catch a few birds; which is really enjoyable to watch.

First she spots her subject, her head drops and her pace slows. Her enthusiasm is hard to control, she is very much like a stick of dynamite. She's smart, she knows how far she has to be to the bird to even have a chance. She inches closer and closer hoping that the seagull is not noticing her creeping; even though she is the only dog anywhere near and there aren't many people at the beach either. Then the burst and she's off coming to a quick halt at the end of the leash and then the energy overflow circle run.

Typically the circle is just once around me at the end of the leash and she moves onto her next victim. She makes me smile, this whole process brings her alot of happiness. I'm not a big fan of extension leashes, I think they can be very dangerous in the wrong hands. You must take extreme caution when you use them and if anyone is anywhere near; you must reign in your dog and lock it. When I walk past other people or dogs on the beach I keep her at 3-4 feet. By doing this I usually initiate some leash aggression from her but having her loose out there with the chance of wrapping around someone is not a good idea.

Luckily it was very quiet at the beach yesterday, the water was cold and the sand was just as cold. Halfway into our walk the bottom of my feet were growing numb from the cold. One of my daughters said "if I had my suit on I'd dive in." She then put her foot in the water and took back her statement.

Jessie was a very tired tiny bundle on the ride home; and quickly passed out before dinner. A happy little girl.

Dogs of all sizes

As you all know I love just about all dogs; it makes absolutely no difference to me what breed, color or size a dog is. A dog is a dog and the heart of a dog comes in many shapes and sizes. In my training and my photography I have met everything from the tiniest of pocket pooches to the grande size of the Great Dane, Mastiff and Borzoi. I believe the tallest dog I ever met was an Irish Wolfhound way back in my early days. But a close second would be a very handsome Great Dane obedience client of mine that I quickly fell in love with.

I have worked with far more mid-sized to very large dogs due to the fact that very small dogs tend to get away with alot more unwanted behaviors. Afterall an aggression problem from a 150lb dog is going seem like much more of a problem than a 4 lb dog with aggression issues. The same goes for a dog who just won't housetrain; you're going to notice accidents from a 200 pounder much quicker than a 6-7 pounder.

But when I do get a call from a tiny canine guardian; it is either for a problem that has been going on for sometime or a guardian who wants a very well behaved small dog. Funny, no matter the size; a dog is a dog. Many tiny canines suffer from "in your arms" behavior through no fault of their own. Pocket pooches tend to be carried around alot making them much more susceptible to guarding guardian behaviors. How many people have met nasty little dogs in the arms of a guardian?

I remember attending a frisbee event with Tilley several years back where I witnessed a tiny Toy Fox Terrier with her tiny frisbee leaping and landing like the rest of our dogs. She had a huge heart in that little body and it made no difference to her that she was a mere fraction of the other dogs sizes. She had high drive and determination. And I applauded her guardian who saw her as the dog she was and not a fashion accessory.

I agree you must take more care to protect the tiny dogs but not allowing them to be real dogs is a true injustice. These little sized down canines have just as much right to do all the doggy things that dogs love to do. It is much easier for these little guys to join us on our daily adventures and exercising and entertaining them is on a much smaller scale as well. Heck they can go swimming in the kitchen sink; larger dogs need to hit a beach for a swim. But the tiny guys would love to go to the beach and check out all the smells and environment.

Tiny dogs should have the same amount of training and behavior modification as larger dogs. So should they be allowed to take part in dog activities that suit their stature. Obviously they are not going to be able to Skijorn or maybe not flyball because of their weight but they can do agility, frisbee, obedience, lure coursing and go to ground. They can do it all.

Back on track & safety supervision

After a trial new "dog food" experience I sifted out all the bad and got rid of it. Now that I feed my guys homemade food and raw; I am filled with guilt if I have to resort to dog food. I have been very sick over the holidays so one day I asked my daughter to please pick up a small bag of Canidae which is what I use to feed the pooches. Like a true Mother I felt so guilty putting their bowls down and having to resort to "dog food." But as I start to feel better; I'm over it and realize that sometimes you just have to slip a bit.

The dog food was just one day and they actually seemed to enjoy it for a change. Although Luke did give me one "dog food?" look. I am really looking forward to my husband getting out and fishing again as the freezer is now empty. I like to offer my guys a wide variety of foods so when I have a freezer full of fish it is easy to cook something different each night. Although Luke's absolute favorite food is beef.

Lastnight one of my daughters boyfriends was telling us a story about a man who lost his dog to choking. The dog had lodged a ball in its throat and with every attempt to save it; the dog was lost. I know a couple of dogs who choked to death on rawhides. One was a 13 year old bull terrier who I had known since she was a puppy. How sad to have a dog live to a ripe old age and then be taken so suddenly and tragic?

It is of the utmost important not to have small items laying around your home. We have two standard poodles who weight in at just over 50lbs and a small JRT at 15lbs. We deal with this by having only large toys and chew bones. Our little Jessie has adjusted to using whopper sized toys and chews, she a big dog in small clothes. I don't ever want to have to deal with any choking issues because of having too small of items laying around.

It is just as important to go through your dogs toys and chews to check for serious damage. We have a large basket of toys and chews and I regularly check to make sure everything is in working order. If there are any small or ripped pieces they get tossed.

Accidents happen but with special attention put towards safety, they can mostly be avoided.

Lastnight

Well, I tried a new "dog food" lastnight. I like to keep actual dog food on hand for times when I just don't have the time to make real or buy raw for my guys. Sort of like when we need to resort to fast food; its not optimum but those times do arise. I was at my local Henry's yesterday so I bought a tiny bag of Paul Newman's food to try. I got home and opened up the bag for my dogs to have a taste; they all liked the taste even Luke.

So I put a tiny bit of it in their food lastnight to see how that went, not good. In the middle of the night I heard the heaving, one of the noises that has you out of bed and running before you are even awake. Unfortunately it was Luke who does not have a long heaving process and moves quickly to hurl. With only a tiny light on I tried to get Luke out onto the balcony for his second round; dogs always heave at least twice. Of course I was doing something out of the ordinary so this upsets the poor fellow.

He was up on the bed running around trying to avoid me; it doesn't take much to freak out my nervous ninny boy. Once I had him I placed him calmly out on the balcony hoping that the rest would be upchucked outside on a hoseable surface. After several moments it seemed there was no more to come, very odd there is always two heaving sessions. So I let him in, cleaned up the first very small mess and went back to bed.

You guessed it; as soon as I had dozed off the heaving started again. This time I was like lightning with my head spinning as I tried to reach him in time. There was no pile, just a small spot on the carpet where he had placed his stomachs rejected portion of Paul Newman's food; I soaked it up, poured water on it and went back to bed. I knew he had another one in him. This brings me to carpet; who invented carpet. Honestly it is the most stupid surface in the universe. Even if you don't have dogs or kids it is still a giant sponge. Well this carpets life in my new house will not be long.

We mostly have tile and wood flooring which suits me just fine. I like the whole throw rug idea; something you can pick up and take to get cleaned or throw in the machine. Having dogs the age which my dogs are you start thinking more of senior mishaps now. There was a day that chewing and housebreaking accidents were more on my mind but not now. I like to have my house set up for ease of having dogs. I enjoy a hassle free life and if I want dogs and a hassle free life I have to work towards that.

There are many things one can do to make living with dogs flow; carpet is not one of them.

Sorry Paul, your food is scratched off the list.

Eye Contact

Here we are at yet another TGIF. This was not a great week for me and I am hoping the ones in the future will be more productive. This flu is really hanging on and just keeping me down enough to hold me in a sort of limbo. So today I will try to get things together and move on from this stupid flu.

I have been thinking alot about eye contact of late, other than body language it is everything in the dog world. There has been alot of averting eye contact in my house with the whole "new toy" and claiming issues. In my 9 years of training I only had 2-3 instances where I had to quickly avert my eyes due to not paying close enough attention to the canine I was working with.

As you know I am all about body language and behavior and these couple of dogs caught me off guard while I was discussing behavior issues with their guardian. One was a very large hound rescue who was having a difficult time adjusting to his new home life. He was doing well with his canine companion and his family but the issue was when new people came into his home and it was becoming increasingly worse.

So there I was in the familyroom sitting in the corner chair, I had already read this guys body language which had told me he was uncomfortable with my presence. As I discussed his behavior indepth with his guardian; he was mustering up some bravado when I glanced at him. When I took at peek he happened to be an inch away from my face which makes me uncomfortable. It would have been best to ignore him but as I had been discussing his behavior with the guardian he caught me off guard and I looked at him.

He was immediately threatened and reacted the only way that made sense to him, he startled and barked a huge, deep hound bark in my face. Up went the hair on my neck as I quickly averted my eyes and my body to diffuse the situation. This guy was very suspicious and was going to take alot of work on my part to show him I meant him no threat. Isn't it amazing how once glance from your eyes can change everything.

My Luke is all about eye contact and when someone comes into my home it is imperative that they not look at him. He likes to challenge new people in my home, not in a real bad way but definitely in an annoying way. Many, many canine behavior problems can be solved by averting eye contact. Exciting or submissive peeing can completely go away by having people not look at your dog when they come into your home. When working with fearful dogs; whom I have a soft spot for the first thing we get rid of is eye contact.

Dogs watch our eyes, so if you use your eyes to speak to them they clearly read our messages. A good experiment for anyone to try is when your dog is moving in on something good that you are eating, lets say pizza; almost all dogs want a slice. Try pushing your dog away, it doesn't work great; they typically seem annoyed by it and keep coming closer. Getting mad and yelling works for a moment and then they are back again. Now try direct eye contact, also use your body posture. Freeze in position and stare directly at your dog. Now if you have never done this before you may get several different reactions.

What my dogs do is immediately move back and sit. I have given them a clear message that this is my Pizza and they will not be getting any by moving in on it. You may get shifting and questioning eye aversion. You may get the questioning stare or if you have up to this point never enforced any rules you may actually get a defiant bark. If you get a bark then you know that you have work to do. A bark says "hey, don't try to tell me not to eat this pizza."

Its all in the eyes.

Mood swings

Good morning, in a good mood this morning? Maybe, maybe not. Just like us our dogs have mood swings; they can be in a great mood, medium or lousy similar to us. Most dogs are fairly level on the mood scale so you have to look very closely to see how they are filling from one day to the next. Luke is my big scale dog; being that he is reactive all of his emotions are larger than most so you can really tell when he is having an "off" day.

It is important to know your dog and understand that if they are having a bad day that you give them the space they need. A bad day doesn't mean they are going to attack you; maybe that they just don't want to listen or do whatever you ask of them at the drop of a hat. Maybe they are not into a snuggle session this particular morning. I know that I get in bad moods; sometimes for no reason I'm just cranky. Typically once I'm in a mood; that's it for the day.

Luke is an easy read; he is a happy dog and mostly in a great mood. But there are mornings when we wake up that he is not talking to anyone. His typical greeting is a wrap around, open mouth, huffing, tail wagging type. On his "off" days he resembles a statue, he doesn't move; there is no greeting, no acknowledgement, nothing. My kids will say "what's his problem?" I explain to them that he is not in the mood to talk today. His behavior is very level, he doesn't talk to anyone and it remains the same typically until there is a large activity or I help him out of it.

It is again all about body language; your dog will tell you what kind of mood they are in. Understanding that our dogs have good days and bad days just like us is important. It is your job to know when there is a bad day, can you tell when your dog is in a good or bad mood? I love to hear about it.

Finger chomping

Good morning, seeing that I just nearly lost several of my fingers giving my Jack Russell her morning cookie I thought I would discuss this grabbing issue. Grabbing food fast or in a harsh manner is a very natural behavior for a dog although most of our domesticated dogs of today have learned that there is no a need to grab and dart. We have by example; taught them that there is no end in the food supply and that there is no need to fight for their food.

Most dogs have figured it all out but there are still many that have that built in grab and dash behavior when it comes to food. My Jack Russell is one; being that she is on prednisone for the rest of her life and the sheer fact that she is a Jack Russell makes her pretty much a crazed maniac around food. My poodles on the other hand are so gentle when they take food from your hand that I could let an infant feed them.

There are two types of grabbers, one who actually grabs the food and because of this reckless grabbing you can accidentally be bitten. Two the type who's jaws have too much pressure when taking food. I have only twice had to deal with the steel jaw type in my training and they are by far; much more difficult to change their habits. So just how do you stop a crazed food grabber? These grabbers take time, patience and great stealth to change their grabby behaviors.

For the speed grabbers you first need to take great control of the food, no dangling or loosely held food. You cannot suspend food over or infront of them. The food must be purposefully delivered directly to the mouth area and in a very tightly held hand. The whole idea around this training is "grab and you get nothing." It works because my little Jack Russell after becoming increasingly worse is now better.

1. Hold only a small portion of the food outside of your hand and the rest in a tightly closed hand so there is no accidental grabs. Put the food right down 1/2 inch away from their mouth. You don't want lunge grabbing so put it right at their mouth. The piece outside of your hand should be small enough that they have to work to get it. If they try nice and easy to get it, let them have it. If they grab fast or hard, quickly turn your hand with a firm OUCH or AHHH letting them know they are not getting it by grabbing.

Your feedback must be immediate, if not your dog will not get the message and will become frustrated with the whole exercise.

2. Watch closely, as they get better at this you are going to leave more and more food outside of your hand. You must watch for the smallest sign of lunge grabbing and stop it in its tracks. One grab will set you back in all of your work.

If you've ever given a steel jaw dog a treat and come out of it with a good blood blister then you know of whom I am speaking. These dogs will be given the same exercise but more carefully and with much more patience needed. They must begin to nibble softly from your hand before you move on to large nibble sizes. It is much more difficult for a dog to control the bite pressure of a grab than the speed of a grab.

It is always easier to teach a dog a new behavior when they are young but if you've missed that stage start today. Once they have a good understanding of what you are asking them do to with regards to grabbing then you can add the EASY or GENTLE word before offering food. Use your feedback; both vocal and body. Don't forget how much impact a body message gives our dogs.

With grabbers they can quickly forget all when aroused or over excited so never let your guard down. This is one behavior that can definitely come back to bite you in the a*&.

Now get to work on those little sharks.

Obedience

Obedience is important, but what exactly should your dog know? I am a big fan of obedience, it is a way for us to communicate with out dogs without having to man handle them. There are a few body positions that are important and rules they need to know. Obedience is a vague word in itself and there are many meanings. The first dictionary definition is: the act of obeying; dutiful or submissive behavior with respect to another person. This pretty much sums it up I think.

I speak more of behavior rather than obedience now and use the term obedience more for the military style competitive aspect of behavior. I definitely want my dogs to listen to me and teaching them to take a certain body position when linked with a verbal cue is important. The first and most important of course is the "come" behavior. Others that they should definitely know and comply with are sit, down, stay and wait. These to me are the bare minimum which every dog should understand and be able to perform.

I do not like to see dogs being controlled by physical means. Yes, there are always going to be times where you need to control your dog physically. But in general you should be able to control your dog verbally or vocally without relying on the physcial grab. This is only achieved with alot of repetition, training without distractions and working up to high distractions. Stay is one of the most important and one that most people don't really train to perfection. Many people tell their dog to stay but in their head they don't expect it. All behaviors need fine tuning over the years as most dogs tend to slip when we tend to get slack.

Rules are the same; taught and learned through repetition. Rules are more unspoken but taught the same. I have alot of rules, no jumping out of the car until told to do so, no jumping on the couch unless invited, no boltint out an open door etc. These have all been ingrained into my dogs heads and yes every so often they forget themselves and are rereminded of the rules.

By teaching body position verbal cues and rules you can communicate with your dog without the need of physical control, nice.

Monday, monday!

Ah yes, still sick. I'm about fed up with this sick stuff, but I shouldn't complain. It could be far worse; I'm just not good and being down and not my busy self. My daughter said today that she thinks the dogs are liking me being sick. I think she's right, they seem to like the fact that when I sit down, I'm down for a good long while. Luke was my very attentive guardian lastnight. He sat watching me; he watched me so closely that I had to say something about it. I asked him if he would like to lay beside me and he jumped up from his post at the end of the couch and pretty near crushed me with his hip bones as the lay right on top of me.

Again this morning the dogs were more than happy to sleep in and even with some strong coaxing to get up and go out they reluctantly agreed to go with my daughter outside. They were only out for business and as soon as they were let back in; all three charged upstairs and barked to get back into the sick room. I believe they like us being more stationary and love laying for hours with us.

But hopefully tomorrow will bring more energy to get up and brush off this sick bug. I have alot of work to do and have to get out there and get some great shots for a new book I am working on. I can never wait to meet new dogs and especially a new breed that I have not worked with. I ask alot of questions of my guardians; those who have a breed that is new to me must wonder if I'm with the FBI; I ask that many questions. I like to know about all breeds and even if it is a breed I am accustom to I like to look at each one as an individual and learn from all the new dogs.

I am now specializing in Companions and their animals; I love the connection between people and their animals. I was specializing in dogs but what I want to capture is the connection between animal and human. For some that means a guinea pig, horse or kitten not just dogs. But dogs are still my real specialty within a specialty.

Not a great start

Well, we are not off to a great start for the New Year. My son came down with a bad flu, cough, fever and aches on Wednesday. Yesterday my husband and I came down with it. We spent the day watching movies yesterday and the same today. The dogs have been by my side the entire time. Infact Luke never even got out of bed this morning until well past 11:30; what a sleepy head. The girls had at least gotten up to go out but were back in bed with us right after.

My son let the dogs out early this afternoon for me and they came in frantic to find me. They obviously know that something is up. I was on the leather couch, a place I am only ever on if we are watching movies at night so they all ran around the house panicked to find me. Luke is the leader; if he cannot locate me immediately he tends to panic. He ran right by me several times but was in such a state that he didn't notice me there.

Once he calms down a bit he uses his senses to find me. I prepare myself for the onslaught, everyone dives onto me like they hadn't seen me in a month. I fed them only minutes before but I wasn't where they thought I should be so everyone gets nervous. These dogs are great when you are bedridden; they are more than happy to spend the day there with us.

Thank goodness I do not have a puppy right now. Things have to look up for the weeks to come, hopefully.

What breed you choose

What makes people choose a specific breed over others or the mixed breed? Visual impact is by far the first and most obvious factor. Some people who may know someone that has a breed which has impressed them temperamentally go that way. I have met many guardians who chose their dog after getting to know a friends dog. They became anamored with an individual or multiple dogs and decided that this was the breed for them.

The more popular visual decision is the worst way that someone can choose a dog. Dogs may be the complete opposite of what they look like. Take my breed; the standard poodle who look very much like an empty headed fashion model. Far from this visual appearance the poodle is highly intelligent, a superior athlete and all round amazing utility dog that will participate in any sport, performance or activity required. The poodle is so intelligent that they sometimes easily outsmart their guardians.

Some of the cute small breeds can be the most difficult to handle which contradicts their appearance. Take my little JRT; small, compact and adorable but this cute exterior easily camoflages an easily triggered, high drive and very dominant little breed. These dogs are often "dumped" once the unsuspecting guardians find out what they have. Sadly these mistakes could be easily be avoided by doing some research.

Even within a litter; a guardian may choose the worst puppy for their lifestyle. By choosing a dog by visual impact alone you miss the behavior signs. Even within a mixed breed litter there is a vast difference in puppies. Temperament testing alone does not create the final dog but environmental lifestyle impacts as well.

Research, research, research.

Wet Dogs

I'm on a mission and today is a great day to start. We are again suppose to have rain; it hasn't started yet but they say it's coming. I'm truly hoping that it is coming because I want some shots of dogs in the rain. This may sound easy but can be a challenge because I don't want my camera in the rain. Water is something that photographers stay clear of unless of course they have special protective gear.

Being that I live in Southern California I have not sprung for one of the fancy raincoats you can purchase for my camera but may do shortly. A couple of years ago I was regularly shooting H.S. Varsity football and when it threatened to rain one Friday night I set out to find some raingear. Living in SoCal; there was not much to choose from so opted for the ever popular plastic bag. But now I'd like to really get out there when it is not just raining but pouring.

So until I get some super rain gear for my camera I will be forced to remain under something. My camera is a beast when fully outfitted so I cannot hold an umbrella and shoot at the same time so I will be looking for permanent type covers to hide under. These rainy days are few and far between here in SoCal so maybe visiting Seattle or somewhere in Oregon might be a good idea.

Some dogs; especially the ones that live here in SoCal are not big fans of the rain and yet there are many dogs that don't seem to even notice. My breed loves the water but having a full coated poodle out in the rain is not my favorite thing. I don't mind that they get wet or dirty but it is the drying time involved; their coats are much like giant sponges. Whereas the short coated breeds like labs, Jack russells or Vizslas are wipe dry type dogs.

And there is always that "wet dog smell" that goes along with the rain. Well, here's hoping we get the rain today.

January 02, 2008

Good morning, well its back at it. I actually have one more day of the Holidays and then its back to the grind. I am looking forward to all the great dogs I will meet this years; oh and guardians of those great dogs. I have several big projects in the works and hopefully will have my book that is just about finished out for Christmas 08.

Funny how we make claims to change our lives each time the current year passes and we move into the next. Our dogs just keep on going; not knowing that there is anything different from one day to another. My dogs have a great life but not all dogs are as lucky so one goal of mine is to help the less fortunate dogs.

I will also do my best to get puppy millers and pet stores into the general public knowledge. There has lately been alot of news about millers and the link between pet stores but there are still people that don't know. I think celebrities are some of the biggest problem. They know about pet stores and yet they still frequent and purchase their dogs there. Celebrities wield alot of power and it is a shame that they do not use that power to shut the pet stores down.

I truly believe that if Oprah did a puppy mill special that things might change. It seems that Oprah can do what the regular media cannot; heck look at Dr. Oz and what we learn about health. If she could do the same thing with Millers I think we might just see a change in the publics purchasing of puppies.

One project I am working on will have me traveling around town quite a bit looking for great dogs to photograph. I am very excited about this and will have my dogdar on full power. I met a very cool little Italian greyhound two days ago down near Dana Point. You would have thought the little guy was out in a blizzard the way he was shivering. Even with the cute fleece jacket that he had on he was still very chilly. I really like IGs; they are a cute but fragile breed.

While looking out at the ocean I was attempting to describe a Leonberger to my guests. The Leonberger is mostly confused with a large shepherd mix; they are a wonderful breed. As I was looking for breed mixtures to explain what they looked like; there sat a Leo on the rocks. I did a wonderful shoot in the water at Dana with a leonberger several years ago which this dog was probably related to.

So, its a new year and I have work to do.