August 8, 2010
Yesterday was the closing day of yet another Peaceable Paws Academy – this one our Level 2 Instructors Course. We tend to not get as much interest in this one as our Level 2 Behavior Modification (BMod is sexier), but it’s an excellent opportunity for trainers to hone their teaching skills – teaching humans is a very different skill set from training dogs. The students take turns teaching our Peaceable Paws Basic Good Manners exercises to each other, and as we do in our Level 1 Academy, students are working with shelter dogs.
This week’s group consisted of:
Bob Ryder, from Normal, Illinois, with 8-year-old Dixie, an owner-surrendered Lab/Chow:
Heather Smith (also a PPaws Apprentice) from Fayetteville, Pennsylvania, with Sierra, a 10-month-old Border Collie/Aussie (according to the shelter, but I’m convinced she’s a Kelpie, or Kelpie mix. Tell me what you think!):
And Alicia Williams, from Blacklick, Ohio, with 6-year-old Rocky, a Shepherd/Lab mix from the same home as Dixie (more about that later):
We also had two shelter employees, Heather and Kelly, attending the class, so our Academy students can get input from “real” humans as well as their co-students, and Shirley and me.
Heather worked with Princess, a 4-month-old awesomely-smart Puggle-something mix (already adopted!):
And Kelly worked with her own recently adopted and very adorable puppy, Pippy, one of a litter of three maybe-Pit mixes – Kelly calls her a Bulldog mix, but actually I think maybe Pit-Boston Terrier mix.
Each day we start the morning with a discussion about teaching-related topics, principles of behavior and learning, and/or review the previous night’s take-home quiz. When the shelter dogs arrive everyone gets to go for a hike to work out some of the shelter kennel stress. Then we convene in the training center for the day’s lessons. Each instructor teaches his/her exercises, then we break while everyone fills out their evaluation sheet for that teacher. Then the next instructor teaches. We video the sessions as well, so we can critique as a group later.
After lunch we do one-on-one coaching sessions, which are also evaluated and critiqued, and then end the day with more group discussion on a variety of topics including marketing a training business, developing a class curriculum (each student has to write up their own to present and hand in on Day 6), and ethical dilemmas. It’s intense, especially if you’re not accstomed to being evaluated and critiqued, but students tell me they learn a lot!
 Heather coaching Alicia, working on "'possum"  Bob coaching Heather on Sierra's much-needed polite greeting behavior On Day 6, Saturday, we start with the 2-hour written final exam. Although the quizzes are take-home, open book, the final is not. As students finish up the exam their dogs arrive for the last time from the shelter, and they get to take them for one more hike before the afternoon practical final. Good-byes are always teary as students load their dogs into the van to return to the shelter after the practical. The Humane Society of Washington County is a full-service, open-admission shelter, so while they have an admirably high adoption rate, adoption dogs are rarely but sometimes sadly euthanized. Occasionally a student even adopts her academy dog during the week, but not this time.
Side-note: This set of good-byes was particularly hard. Two of our academy dogs, Rocky and Dixie, were older, and owner-surrendered from the same home. Dixie in particular was having a hard time with the stress of the shelter environment, and tended to be quite vocal about it – a behavior likely to be a turn-off for prospective adopters walking past her kennel. We suggested the shelter keep her kenneled with her “brother,” Rocky, which helped a lot with the vocalization, and we are hoping they will doing a story on the pair to tried to get them adopted together as a “two-fur.” At PPaws the two were wonderful – we often let them roam the training center while we had our discussion sessions, and you barely knew they wee there. They would be a perfect adoption for someone looking for a ready-made pair of family dogs. (Spread the word!).
 Dixie (left) and Rocky (right) need a together-forever home for two wonderful ready-made adult dogs
For the Instructors Course, I assign each student three behaviors from the no-longer-produced but delightful My Dog Can Do That game. I give them their assignments on Friday so they can prepare, and they have to pick two of the three to teach to the class on Saturday. Among the assignments this session were:
Stand Tall
Sit Pretty
Pick Up Your Room (put toys in a basket)
And
Take a Bow
Heather Smith, now Heather Smith PMCT (Pat Miller Certified Trainer) came away from this academy with high-scoring honors. She has earned her PMCT by virtue of completing the Level 1 Academy (Basic Dog Behavior and Training) and both Level 2 Academies. We just started offering this title last year, and Heather is the 29th PPaws student to attain it. Congratulations Heather!!!
 Tradional PPaws group-class photo, high-scoring Heather on the far right  Oh - I forgot the part about Bob falling off the bench... After all our students had departed and Shirley and I finished tidying the training center, I decompressed with a ride around the farm on Mikey. Paul recently mowed a new trail with the tractor, and it was wonderfully relaxing to explore new territory with Monarchs, Mourning Cloaks and Tiger Swallowtails sipping nectar from wildflowers all around us, brilliant yellow goldfinches picking seeds from the thistles, and red tail hawks soaring overhead.
 Seeing the world from between Mikey's ears Warm Woofs and Happy Training,
Pat
PS – No entries in the contest from last week’s blog yet… anyone working on it?
July 22, 2010
Summer is certainly our very busy time here at Peaceable Paws, and the endless weeks of 90-plus degree heat seem to be making our academies and workshops more tiring than usual. So here it is Thursday already, the AC in my office is not working again (and it’s going to be over 90 again), and I’m waaaay behind on getting this blog done. I intended to get to it last Sunday, immediately after our Level 1 Academy, but Sunday was the Humane Society of Washington County’s “Bone to be Wild” motorcycle ride, and I was just too hot and tired when it was done to think about writing. So here we are… better late than never!
Academy week was terrific – hard work, and very satisfying. We had great humans and great dogs – always an excellent combination. The week is about half hands-on training – we work with dogs from the shelter – and half lecture and discussion.
Day One we talk in the morning, then go to the shelter for a tour, and to select dogs. My wonderful husband Paul does the tour. I usually arrive at the same time as the students, but a storm was threatening, so I phoned to tell him I was delayed bringing horses in, and they went ahead without me.
Good thing! As Estie (one of our paid staff) and I were bringing horses in, Sturgis the pig decided to go walkabout. He usually sticks pretty close to the barn, but when the horses were all in their stalls, he was nowhere to be found. Estee and I spent a frantic 45 minutes calling, banging the garbage can lid (which usually brings him running because it means food) and searching for him. I finally found him halfway down the ½-mile long driveway. Just as I pulled up behind him in my car, I saw him nose the horse’s electric fence, give a piggy squeal and dash toward the road. Damn!
I headed after him in the car and he finally turned off into the edge of the woods. Phew! Now – how to get him back? I didn’t have his leash and harness with me, and didn’t want to leave him to go back to the barn for it. I had been toying with the idea of teaching him to walk up a ramp into the car, but hadn’t put that into his training repertoire yet, so that was out. When we got him last October I could pick him up, but I was pretty sure he’d grown too large for that. I gave it a try anyway, and ended up sprawled on the ground, hanging on for dear life, with no chance of lifting him.
Finally I engaged my trainer brain and used a little gentle negative reinforcement, swinging a leash behind him, annoying him just enough to herd him back to the barn and safely into his stall. Then I raced to the shelter, arriving just as Paul was finishing up the tour.
The seven Interns had 10 dogs to choose from. They get to spend a little time with the dogs, then each write their 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices on a slip of paper, and I get to decide who gets whom.
This Academy, we had:
Gina Burger, working with Sparrow, an intense but very responsive Collie Shepherd mix.
Diane Curran with Brandon, a somewhat solemn Akita mix that I adore
Jana Frank with Bongo, a happy Husky mix with a great sense of humor
Joan Morse, CPDT-KA (high scoring graduate!) with Nook, an adorable, thoughtful Dachshund/Jack Russell mix
Tracey Peter, a shelter employee, started with Abby, a very attentive Border Collie/Chow, but Abby got sick on Day Two and Tracey switched to Guinness, a much more challenging Hound mix. Guinness finally agreed to lie down on Thursday.
Gayle Rojas, worked with Teddy, a remarkably wonderful Boxer. Academy assistant Steve Buckman is still trying to figure out how he could add Teddy to his pack of two Boston Terriers.
And last but certainly not least, Susan Duffy did an excellent job with Willow, a 4-month-old Lab mix pup who was almost as mouthy as Maggie, our recent foster Westie.
Tuesday through Friday we had a discussion session each morning until our dogs arrived from the shelter, and then everyone got a 45-minute hike around the farm to reduce stress and burn up shelter-kennel energy.
Then a group class, where we teach our 6-week Basic Good Manners curriculum in 5 days. There are additional discussion sessions each day where we sort out the mysteries of canine body language, operant and classical conditioning, schedules of reinforcement, laws of shaping, rules of stimulus control, business basics, ethical dilemmas, and more. We also do two additional training sessions with dogs each day, during which I work one-on-one with the Interns and their dogs. Students are invited to observe any of our evening that are going on during the week, and they get three take-home open-book quizzes.
Finally, Saturday morning arrives – time for the written final (not open book) and the practical exam, where each student demonstrates to the group what s/he has accomplished with her/his dog during the week. Finally, after tearful good-byes to the dogs, I meet individually with each Intern to talk about their academy experience, and how we can help them attain their goals for the future. Congratulations, Interns! Two Level 2 academies to go and you can add PMCT (Pat Miller Certified Trainer) after your name!
Left to right: Gina and Willow, me, Joan and Nook, Jana and Bongo, Susan and Willow, Tracey and Guinness, Gayle and Teddy, Diane and Brandon
I’m always a little sad to see everyone leave, but I know I will see many of them again – at future Peaceable Paws academies and workshops, and at seminars and conferences – Clicker Expo, APDT, and more. I am also always hugely impressed by how much humans and dogs can learn in just 6 days. I see students leave with a much better understanding of the scientific principles of behavior and learning, and with much greater confidence in their skills as trainers. The dogs go back to the shelter with a solid repertoire of basic good manners behaviors, and in some cases a new-found grasp of the value of having a relationship with humans. They also get a certificate for a free 7-week Peaceable Paws good manners class, and their new humans get a copy of the PPaws class training book so they know what their dogs have learned.
Now – onto the next events: a Shaping Workshop this weekend (one of my favorite things to do!) followed by an Instructor Academy the week of August 2nd.
Questions for the day: Will it ever cool off? Will it ever rain?
Oh, by the way, as of Tuesday, all the Academy dogs except Teddy had already gone to their new homes. That’s a record!
Warm Woofs and Happy Training.
Pat
July 7, 2010
I know I’ve about done the Maggie story to death, but I need to add that Westie Rescue did come and pick her up Saturday, and they report she’s doing well in her new foster home. They agree that her teeth are very sharp, and promise to let me know when she’s placed in her forever home.
 Thanks, Westie Rescue, for taking care of our girl! Here are some last-minute photos of her playing tug and hanging out while we waited for Rescue to arrive:
 Maggie's favorite game - tug  Lotsa different ways to play with a tug toy  You can even play all by yourself  Have a great life, little Maggie Faith! Other than that… IT’S HOT OUT! – in the upper 90’s the last several days – 98 here yesterday, and predicted again today, with more humidity as an added bonus. Who says there’s no global warming? We have a Level 1 Academy next week and I’m hoping it cools down some, or we will all be wasted. Academy weeks are pretty draining as it is, I can’t imagine…
Last week and this one have been a little slow, thank goodness. Our Reliable Recall class graduated last week, and it was heart-stopping to see how gorgeous Grace was, the Belgian Tervuren, stretching out full speed in response to Kristy’s call from the far side of the back hayfield. Grace ran, and ran, and ran – recall after recall, dragging a long line just in case – but she came beautifully, perfectly, every single time Kristy called her.
Shea, the Australian Shepherd, was also letter-perfect for Rhonda, and Estie’s Cattle Dog Annie, of course – Estie has a hard time getting far enough away from Annie to be able to call her!
Speaking of classes – new ones start next week. I get to teach the Downtown Hound class, and Shirley is teaching another of my favorites – Clicks for Tricks! Both are quite fun – the Downtown Hound class does two sessions on the streets of nearby Sharpsburg, with a planned stop at Nutter’s Ice Cream. We also go to the Outlet Mall, the C&O Canal, and City Park. Fun!
 Last year's Downtown Hound class at the C&O Canal I learned something new about pigs this week – some of them “blow their coats.” I’d always heard this term in relation to show dogs… but in just 2 days Sturgis lost almost all his hair – it was coming out in handfuls! I know pigs are quite susceptible to mange, so we were a little worried, but Internet research turned up the “blow their coats” tidbit, and his hair is already growing back in quite nicely.
We take a week off from classes for major holidays, so things are really slow this week. We even have time to find some wonderful farm creatures. The first one was alive, in the barn – Maggie thought it was a great puppy toy but I rescued it and set it free. The second Paul found on the ground, at the end of its short life span, and saved it for me. Beautiful! I love having a husband who understands that a dead moth can be a wonderful gift.
Stay Cool!
Warm Woofs and Happy Training,
Pat
 Harley knows how to stay cool!  In living color  Memorex
April 22, 2010
Every Tuesday morning 9:30am finds me doing assessments of prospective adoption dogs at the Humane Society of Washington County (www.hswcmd.org) in Hagerstown, Maryland, where my husband Paul is the Executive Director. I am committed to this volunteer time because I firmly believe that shelters have a responsibility to make every effort possible to place the most appropriate canine companions in the best homes available for them. Assessments give us information that can help make the best placements.
The history of shelter behavior assessments goes back only about 15 years, and is fraught with controversy. Sue Sternberg, who founded Rondout Valley Kennels, a non-profit private shelter in upstate New York, took the lead in the mid 1990’s by introducing what she calls “Temperament Testing.” As she toured the country giving training seminars for shelter staff she received a lot of criticism for her willingness to state that some of the dogs she was given to work with were not good adoption candidates and should be euthanized. Over the years, she continued to be on the receiving end of criticism from those who disagreed with her – some of it quite nasty. She bravely and firmly held her ground, and over time, temperament testing, or as I prefer to call it, “behavior assessment,” has become a pretty standard practice in the animal sheltering field. Certainly not all shelters do it, but the good ones do.
I hold Sue Sternberg in high regard. I don’t always agree with her, but I have huge respect for the work she’s done in this area. Others who have made significant contributions to the assessment discussion are Emily Weiss, Kelley Bollen, and Amy Marder.
No one claims that the behavior assessment process is an exact science, nor do we think it gives anywhere near a complete picture of who a dog is. Rather, it is a moment in time – a snapshot of what a particular dog did on this date and time in this place. Hence my preference for the term “behavior assessment” over “temperament test” – behavior is transitory and malleable, assessment means evaluation, while temperament implies more permanence, and test evokes pass/fail, and implies that once you’ve passed you’ve passed for good. While the assessment process cannot tell us everything a dog will do in the future, it can show us what a dog will do today, which gives us at least some idea of some of the behaviors in the dog’s repertoire.
We use a modified version of the assessment process that Kelly Bollen developed when she was at the Massachusetts SPCA. She conducted a two-year study there in order to test the validity of some of her assumptions about assessments. One of her key findings was that dogs she identified as “borderline,” meaning they had some behaviors that made them questionable adoption candidates, fared reasonably well in their adoption homes. Their return rate was slightly higher than the general adoption return rate, but the follow-up research found no incidents of extreme behavior as a result of the borderline adoptions – nobody got mauled. Our modifications were minor, just a little custom tailoring to adapt it to our shelter’s policies and procedures.
For several weeks now, all of the dogs I’ve helped assess have been suitable adoption candidates, without question. That’s not always the case, but it’s lovely when it happens. This past Tuesday, however, was another story.
We start assessments at 9:30, and usually complete the procedure with three or four dogs before we have to stop at noon. We assess in a multi-purpose room, and adoption interviews begin at noon so we have to clear out by then.
First on our list was a lovely Sheltie mix, maybe 1-2 years old. Happy, bouncy, confident, cheerful: she sat on cue and offered a paw, and was easily lured to do other behaviors. She passed with flying colors. She was one of who prompted me to say, “If I didn’t already have five dogs at home…” She was also one of those who leaves you scratching your head wondering where her people were, and why they didn’t come for her. She should find a home with little trouble.
The next dog was more troubling. Another stray, 4-5 year old Lab mix, maybe Lab/Pointer, who was very stressed and showed little interest in hanging with humans. There was nothing overtly impossible about him, but his lack of affiliative behavior makes him a poor candidate to be someone’s companion. We couldn’t get him to offer any behaviors for treats – he was too stressed to work for food. The strong scent of cow manure emanating from the dried dirt on his ear suggested perhaps a country dog who hadn’t ever had a close relationship with his people. His fear-response to certain quick hand and arm movements also suggested that whatever relationship he did have wasn’t always a nice one. We had to lure him with chicken to be able to put the slip-lead over his head, and even then he was very cautious and suspicious of our intentions. He passed his assessment too, as there was nothing overtly dangerous about him, but his adoption prospects are poor. He needs a very experienced owner who is willing to take the time to help him learn to trust people, and he may never be the normal, outgoing dog that most people are looking for.
Our final assessment was a deep dark chocolate-colored very high-energy 9-week-old Lab mix pup with a low tolerance for frustration. He had affiliative behavior in spades – in fact a little too much – probably a good candidate for separation issues if not handled properly. He reminded me of a dampened down version of Brooklyn, the pup I blogged about a few weeks ago, that Katie Ervin fostered, then adopted. This little guy didn’t show the fierce snarling and snapping that Brooklyn did when restrained, but his intensity and demanding behaviors spelled potential trouble. He persistently jumped up, trying to get in laps, and offered the endearing behavior of pulling himself up into your lap by pressing his head against your arm. In fact it surprised me when he showed no resource guarding behavior with the food bowl. My expectations were met, however when he growled fiercely at the fake hand that tried to take away his pig ear.
Dang.
Once upon a time, that behavior would have earned him an immediate “no adopt.” Resource guarding display is such a dramatic behavior that it’s an easy “rule-out” when you’re making difficult decisions. However, some time ago our shelter revised their assessment guidelines and came up with a clearly spelled-out description of what guarding behaviors allowed for adoption and what didn’t. Because the pup didn’t actually grab the hand, he fell into the “adoptable to a very experienced home with no children” category. Saved, by the skin of his teeth. In fact, if he’s still around, he may be a guest her for the week of May 10th, which is our upcoming Level 2 Behavior Modification Academy. His prospects are better because of his young age, but he still needs a very committed, experienced owner – someone like Katie – to help him work through his inappropriate behaviors.
It’s hard sometimes – seeing how humans have damaged their dogs, and seeing dogs who have potential for recovery if just the right home could be found. There just aren’t enough “right homes” out there. Most truly experienced homes aren’t eager to take on an adult dog like the Lab we assessed who will be a major project. We all want reasonably easy dogs!
Here’s a follow-up on our Level 1 Academy dogs… last I heard, O’Malley, Lance and Curly had been adopted; Blizzard and Bean had applications; and Sweet Pea, Charlie and Taz were still available.
I’m off to Wisconsin tomorrow for a seminar, and to visit my teen years stomping grounds. If you’re coming to the seminar, be sure to come up and say hi!
And, of course, it’s still spring here at Peaceable Paws…
Warm Woofs and Happy Training!
Pat
April 18, 2010
Yesterday afternoon saw the conclusion of yet another Peaceable Paws Level 1 Dog Trainer Academy. These are always exhausting yet fulfilling weeks for our students as well as for Peaceable Paws staff, and always end with lots of tears as the humans say good-bye to their canine co-students.
Here’s the graduation photo:
A hearty congratulations to all our successful Interns, and a loud shout out to High Scoring Graduate Kelly Spring, from Washington DC, whose very creative business name is “Spring Training (for Positively Good Dogs)” at www.SpringTrainingForDogs.com . Kelly worked with Lance, a wonderful Siberian Husky who was so stressed about all the recent changes to his world that he didn’t really start working well for her until Friday. Kelly’s attitude throughout was upbeat and positive. They rocked their practical final:
And another well-deserved shout out to Intern Christy Crone of Williamsport, MD, an Animal Care Technician at the Humane Society of Washington County, for earning the highest score on the practical final with her Academy dog Taz, a slightly undersocialized and very sweet Shepherd/Hound mix:
Our other wonderful canine and humane students this week were:
Leah Jordan, of Philadelphia, PA and the exceptionally laid-back St. Bernard, Charlie. Charlie was a star at “Leave-it” and had a great time playing with Blizzard (see the next Academy team):
Check out this video of Charlie and Blizzard romping in our indoor arena:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zipRxNnFi4k
Here’s Blizzard, a Great Pyrenees mix, also very laid back except when she’s playing with Charlie, with her Academy human, Laurie Scible of Shady Side, MD:
Sue Romano, of Fairfield, PA – a long-time Peaceable Paws client, with her high-energy Academy Lab mix, 4-month-old O’Malley. This pup started the Academy as a very out-of-control, mouthy youngster with a very low tolerance for frustration. Sue worked wonders with him this week – he was a star on his practical final, and now has great prospects for succeeding in his soon-to-be new home:
Sarah Matisak, from (somewhere in) West Virginia (Animal Care Supervisor at the Humane Society of Washington County) also did admirably during the week with this lovely little Pit Bull Terrier. Sweet Pea is aptly-named. She started the week a little serious and shut-down, but blossomed in Sarah’s capable hands:
Petra Manis of Tarrytown, PA, owner of “Sweet Trick! Positive Dog Training” (www.sweettrick.com ) had a great week with little Bean, who overcame all the stereotypes about tiny dogs and learned to down on verbal cue (at least some of the time), walk politely on leash, do a lovely recall, and more. He even sniffed noses with my Scorgidoodle, Bonnie, who outweighs him at least three times, without doing the little dog defensive-aggression response. Petra was aching to adopt Bean, but she rents and her landlord doesn’t allow dogs.
And last but not least, is Vicky Hellerick of Plumsteadville, PA, and the adorable Cockapoo, Curly. Curly was first in the class to reliably offer a verbal down, and had extracurricular fun with Vicky, “creeking,” and jumping over jumps in the outdoor arena. Vicky also wanted to adopt, but she still lives at home and her parents said “no.” Dang!
These Academy dogs are now available for adoption! You can read more about them at the website for the Humane Society of Washington County:
www.hswcmd.org
I also owe a huge thanks to our Academy Assistant, Shannon McAuliffe, PMCT (Pat Miller Certified Trainer) from Phenix, MD, for all her help this week – transporting dogs, taking photos, coaching students, helping Shirley with cleaning and all the other Academy odds ‘n ends:
And of course a huge thanks to Shirley Greenlief, PMCT, CPDT-KA, our full-time Office Manager and PPaws trainer, who holds it all together for me so I don’t lose my sanity.
A personal footnote: When I left the Marin Humane Society in Novato, California in 1997 after 20 years there to launch Peaceable Paws in Monterey, California, I was concerned that I would have a smaller impact on the lives of animals and the people who love them. As Director of Operations and a sworn California Humane Officer of this acclaimed animal protection organization I had the honor and privilege of attending and speaking at national humane conferences, assisting other agencies throughout the state with disaster assistance and cruelty investigations, and editing and publishing for 13 years a quarterly magazine for animal control and humane officers called the C.H.A.I.N. Letter – publication of the Collective Humane Action and Information Network, a group that my husband Paul and I started, along with several other animal protection professionals. How could I ever have that kind of reach, I wondered, as a simple dog trainer?
Thanks in large part to the dedicated dog training and behavior professionals who have come through the many Academies, workshops and seminars offered by Peaceable Paws here and around the world, It’s gratifying to know I continue to reach dogs, and the people who love them, far beyond my own backyard.
Speaking of beyond my own backyard, next weekend I’ll be in Wisconsin (Milwaukee area) to give a seminar on Saturday, 4/24 – just a few miles from my childhood stomping grounds. I’m taking Sunday to do nostalgia tours.
And also speaking of backyards, here’s Lucy, Bonnie and Dubhy, hanging out under our favorite backyard tree in full spring bloom:
Warm woofs and happy training!
Pat
April 14, 2010
So… we’re on Day 2 of our first Academy for the year, where trainers come and spend six days here at Peaceable Paws. This is a Level 1 Academy – Basic Dog Training and Behavior. Students each select a dog from our local shelter (The Humane Society of Washington County) to work with for the week, and we go through our 7-week Basic Good Manners training in six days.
It always astounds me to see the progress our students make with these dogs in just one week. As many Level 1 Academies as we’ve done (more than 25 since we started in 2002) you’d think I’d get used to it, but it seems like a new miracle every time.
We also offer two Level 2 Academies (Behavior Modification and Instructor Course), a Level 3 Advanced Behavior and Training (this year for the first time) and lots of two and three-day workshops (Reactive Rover, Shaping, and Nose Games). You’ll get to hear about all of those as they come along.
Here are the players this week:
Vicky Hellerick and Curly – male Cockapoo, a little anxious, but first in the class to get his verbal down.
Leah Jordan and Charlie – absolutely wonderful St. Bernard.
Petra Manis and Bean – sweet little Chihuahua boy, who sometimes panics on leash. Petra succeeded in getting a lured down with Bean today – a behavior that sometimes can be challenging for the toy breeds.
Trainer Ann Marie Easton also worked with Bean last week when she was here for a Private Intern week.
Laurie Scible and Blizzard – calm, gentle dog – we’re trying to decide if she’s a Great Pyrenees mix (she’s smaller than a Pyr) or a Maremma. She’s more Maremma size, but there aren’t a lot of those running around stray…
Sue Romano and O’Malley – bouncy Lab kid who still has sharp baby teeth. Ouch! Sue got O’Malley to start doing verbal downs today as well.
Sarah Matisak and Sweet Pea – perfect name for this quiet little Pit Bull. Sweet Pea also did her first verbal down today.
Christy Crone and Taz – Shepherd/Hound? A little worried about the world, but doing really well in the Academy.
Kelly Spring and Lance – Beautiful Husky with two blue eyes; still a little distracted – hasn’t quite bought into the training game yet, but he’ll get it.
Dogs and students hike every morning for 45 minutes on our 80-acre farm before starting class – helps a lot with stress reductions for dogs and humans! Three training sessions each day, and a lot of discussion. Today’s topics: Stimulus Control; Reinforcement Schedules; Laws of Shaping; Behavior Assessments, and more.
I’ll let you know how everyone does by the end of the week!
Finally, last Friday we hosted the Spring MAAPPPT meeting here – the Mid-Atlantic Association of Positive Professional Pet Trainers. We did our annual dog pack hike, and shared thoughts about the unfortunate purchase of one of our favorite positive training product companies (Premier Products) by shock collar company Radio Systems. We are all sad and disappointed, and will be putting together a list for alternative sources for our favorite dog training products.
Here’s the hike:
Till next time… warm woofs and happy training!
April 7, 2010
Okay, so… I knew this would happen. Now that I’ve started to blog, every time something happens I think “Oh, I need to put that in my blog!” That means that at least this time around (and probably in future times, at least some of the time) you get a running commentary on my week.
Last week was a full one. First of all, the weather was scrumptious, reaching well into the 80’s by week’s end. I heard a weather reporter say it was the nicest two-day Spring we’ve ever had. Everything is starting to blossom… here are some of the flowers around the farm:
 Wonderful ground cover - taking over a whole corner under the kitchen windows. Anyone know what it's called?  The tree just outside our back door - only blooms for a few days but it's gorgeous! I don't know what kind of tree it is - I say every year I'm going to ask the tree guy, and I never do...  I know this one - tulips!  Hyacinths, I think...  And, of course, daffodils!! A Visiting Trainer
Trainer Carla Herbert was visiting from Florida for a private intern week, and we had a lot scheduled. She brought along one of her dogs – a Catahoula Hound named Kona, and we worked a little every day on various behaviors, including the one depicted below in pictures – shaping her to go into her crate. I noticed on Day One that she was hesitant to crate up, so we added that to the list of things Carla wanted to work on, and by Thursday Kona was happy to trot into her crate on her own.
 Kona - hesitant to approach crate  Well, maybe...  Is this it?  Yay - treats get tossed away from the crate!  I can go farther in...  And even farther!  Now I get treats *in* the crate.  By Thursday, Mom can even close the door! Monday afternoon I had a return client – an 80-pound dog who barks and lunges at other dogs – and people. This was his third visit, and while he’s made some progress, I know he could do better. I switched his owner from straight counter conditioning to more of a Leslie McDevitt “Look At That” approach, and it seemed like a better fit for both of them.
After shelter behavioral assessments on Tuesday morning, we met with the Behavioral Foster Care Committee. This is the still-embryonic program I referred to in my last blog. We’re going to call it GOLD Paw (Giving Opportunity, Love and Direction), and are looking forward to a September launch by the time we get all our ducks in a row. Meanwhile, shelter staff is already on the bandwagon – when I was at assessments this morning they were advocating for three dogs to go to behavioral foster homes – foster homes that don’t exist because the program isn’t up and running yet. But at least one of the dogs – a three-month-old Pit puppy – will come to our Level 1 Training Academy next week instead of being euthanized.
Wednesday and Thursday we had several interesting privates. A lot of intra-pack aggression cases (can’t decide if I’m getting more of these clients because I wrote on that topic in a recent WDJ article, or if I wrote on the topic because I am getting more intra-pack aggression clients), and one dog-human fear-related aggression. I do tend to have a preponderance of aggression and reactivity clients, but have never seen this concentration of aggression between dogs within the same home.
One case in particular stood out for me as a reminder that clients aren’t always seeing what’s really going on. In this home there are three large dogs – a lively adolescent (1.5 years old), and two aging, arthritic dogs (each 9 years old). What the clients saw as the young dog aggressing toward Older Dog A was actually a combination of the older, very arthritic dog being defensively aggressive toward the young, high-energy body-slammer, and the older dog being inappropriate with resource guarding until the young one decided he’d had enough and was going to stand up to the elder. Among my many suggestions for management and modification were:
- Increased exercise and play opportunities for the youngster with age and play-style appropriate dogs – perhaps a candidate for doggie daycare.
- Pain medication for a dog who is so arthritic she can barely walk.
- Feed the dogs in separate rooms to avoid resource guarding.
Sad to see good, caring owners who hadn’t realized the impact the addition of an energetic young dog would have on the quality of life of the two seniors, and who didn’t realize the importance of management when they did bring the youngster in, to prevent escalation of emotions to the point of serious fighting. And who have allowed their senior dogs to live in pain because more than five years ago a vet told them that Rimadyl would kill their dog.
Bite Inhibition
Last week I was also in the middle of writing an article for Whole Dog Journal on bite inhibition, so I asked Carla to take some photos of Scooter, our Pomeranian, biting me as I groomed him (below). Scooter has fantastic bite inhibition, so while he looks like a demon dog in the photos, you can see me smiling, because he never actually puts pressure on my skin with his teeth. And yes, this is the closest to a Dog Whisperer set-up that you’ll ever get from me.
 I hate being groomed!  I *really* hate being groomed!  I *really* hate being groomed and I am *very* fierce! Dogs on the Road
As Carla and I traveled around Maryland and beyond last week, we twice encountered dogs on the edge of the highway – always a heart-stopper. The old Humane/Animal Control Officer in me doesn’t let me drive past a dog on the highway, so of course we had to pull over both times. The first was a small Terrier mix, limping on three legs on the right shoulder as we were headed south on Hwy 81, at Exit 5. We had already passed the dog, so we had to do a three-loop cloverleaf to get back to where we had seen her. When we got back there, she was gone. I pulled the van over onto the curb of the highway on-ramp, and we got out and started up the hill.
Carla said, “There’s a person up there…” and sure enough – there’s homeless man living up there on the hill in the woods. I hiked up anyway, and he was sitting in a camping chair in front of his makeshift tent, clutching the little dog in his arms.
“She’s my dog,” he said defensively, and I assured him we were just making sure she was okay.
“She’s fine, she’s my dog,” he repeated numerous times. She was clearly well-fed, and the injury to her left front paw was old and healed, so I turned as started back to the van. He followed us at a distance, repeating that she was his dog, and stating several times, “The Humane Society Officer has certified that she’s my dog.”
I actually think dogs and homeless people go together well most of the time, and, reassured that the dog was okay, we drove off. Of course, when I got home I called my husband Paul (Executive Director of the Humane Society of Washington County), and as soon as I started describing the scene, he said, “Yep, we know him.”
“Do you give him food for the dog?” I asked. (Our shelter has a food bank). So now, they are arranging to drop off food for her, and have found a vet who is willing to donate pro bono vaccinations for the dog. They are also going to help clean up some of the garbage that has accumulated around his camp. All is well at Exit 5.
We saw the other dog on the side of a Pennsylvania highway on our way to see Dr. Karen Overall (more about that in a moment). Reddish-colored Pitbull on the shoulder, no collar, no tags… dashed back down the shoulder when I pulled over to try to coax him to me. Fortunately, Carla spied a young man walking toward us some distance up the road, so we drove up to him. He said it was his neighbor’s dog, and he was trying to get her back home. We handed him the only leash (good quality leather!) I had in the car, crossed our fingers, and continue on to Karen’s. (Note to self – keep cheap leashes in all vehicles at all times!) Since the dog was clearly frightened of us, we didn’t think it would be of any use to try to help him, so we continued on our way. We hope all is well on that Pennsylvania highway.
Reassuring to see two dogs we thought were in trouble who actually had humans looking out for their best interests, even if we did see them at high-risk moments. A friend of mine on the West Coast was not so fortunate. Cheryl Syring was driving home at night with a friend and they saw an elderly yellow Lab in the road in the path of an oncoming car. They flashed headlights and jumped out to try to wave the driver down, but to no avail – he slammed into the dog, and the dog died a short time later. In all my years in Humane/Animal Control work and the years I’ve spent since, rescuing dogs from roads, I’ve never had that happen. I cannot even imagine how horrifying that must be.
Ending on a happier note… our trip to Karen Overall’s home outside Philadelphia was to sit in on a consult I had referred to her – a client of mine with a drop-dead gorgeous Belgian Malinois who suffers from generalized anxiety disorder and an elusive liver problem. First time I’ve ever had the privilege of sitting in on a Karen Overall consult, and it was more than worth the three-hour drive each way. Although this young Mal was found stray last Fall, Karen agrees that he is an extremely well-bred dog, and was intrigued by the mystery of how he might have come to be a stray.
I had tons of “Aha!” moments during the four-hour consult, and a lot of reassuring confirmation for what I had already observed about this dog. But one thing Karen said in a new (to me) way was immensely valuable. She talked about treats, toys and praise, etc., being various reinforcers for dogs at various times, but, she said, “a dog’s most important currency is information.” They are always seeking to understand how their world works, and how to make it work for them, and they need information in order to do this. For an anxious dog, many behaviors we may read as “aggression” – growling, lunging – are ways of testing the environment to seek information. She reassured our mutual client (as I had already done) that when their dog was growling at them he wasn’t about to bite, but was merely offering information (I’m not comfortable here) and seeking information (what is happening, and how are you going to answer?)
Karen Overall is in my “goddess” category, and with this gem of information she has given me a whole new way to look at, and explain, various dog behaviors that are often troubling to clients. Thanks to Karen for being an inspiration and a leader in the positive dog training and behavior world!
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