Worst Idea Ever

So, upon my nightly cruising of the internet I found an ad on Facebook that caught my eye. "Register your Emotional Support Animal". My first response was pretty typical of me..."What the heck is an Emotional Support Animal???" Then I realized what I was looking at.

It is a website that allows you to register your dog as a "service" dog and then buy certificates for it. I am floored by this! I have a friend who is a very nice all around guy who has a dog who he has had to fight to keep because of her breed and she helps him with his PTSD. He's a former Afghanistan Vet and she soothes him. The hell he has went through to keep her because of her breed has been insane but it has worked out. To see a "company" basically selling certificates just makes me queasy.

Dogs who are untested, unproofed, and basically not setup for success at being a service dog can now be a service dog. Wait! That makes no sense! This is a liability waiting to happen. This is a chance for the humans once again to screw it up for the legitimate service animals who are working their rears off for their humans.

Ever wonder why so many places don't allow dogs? It's things like this that cause that. The website is in no way affiliated with the ADA and I suggest that if you want a service animal you have your dog tested, trained and skilled in the ability they need. Otherwise, don't screw it up for everyone else!

Here is a link to the site should you wish to pelt them with rotten tomatoes...or just tell them they are going to ruin a good thing for so many deserving people! http://www.servicedogregistration.org/ Oh, and should anyone ever tell you "Fill out this webform and your dog can go anywhere it wants for free" is full of crap!

</Rant off>

No, Uh uh, Tsch, Nah, and all those fun things

Lately I'm seeing an epidemic. It's dogs who are behaving badly because they have no clue what their owners are asking them for. It's the dogs who jump. It's the dogs who mouth. It's the dogs who run around like a spastic chicken while the owner stands there makes a noise that is supposed to mean no.

And here's the kicker....when did anyone EVER teach a dog what those things mean? I mean really, what is the purpose of all these weird things that you are raising your voice at your dog for? It makes you feel better, right? You feel by saying at the top of your lungs "UH UH" that Fido might possibly stop what he's doing because you are being firm. Here's a thought...maybe Fido stops what he's doing because he thinks you're out of your mind? Or you might be scaring the crap out of him with these odd things.

So, in the last few months, I've come up with a solution! And it's a fun one too. The conversation goes like this:

Me: Give me one word, a fun word that everyone in your family can remember.

Client (Well, it was their 4 year old actually): Pork Chop!

Me: Okay, here's the deal. Every single time you want to say "No" or make a sound like "Uh uh" you get to say that word. So, when Fido is doing something you don't want him to, take a deep breath and quietly say "pork chop".

Client: **baffled look"" We aren't supposed to yell at our dog is what you're telling us?

Me: BINGO! (Thank goodness the dog's name wasn't Bingo!)

It gets the point across though. Even yelling "pork chop" at the top of their lungs basically has the same effect as "No", "Uh huh", "Tsch", "No no no no". I'm just giving owners an opportunity to see the futile attempt at using the words to train a dog. In most cases the family sticks with the process of replacing the "no" word and they end up having fun with it. The family in my example actually used "Pork Chop" for the kids and everything. It's hard to be upset when you are giggling at the ridiculousness of it.

The best way to get your dog to stop doing something you don't want them to? Train incompatible behaviors. Dog jumps all over people when they come in? Train the dog to sit and get treats. Dog barks at the doorbell? Train the dog to go a room when the doorbell rings. (This one is especially handy if you teach them the doorbell means to kennel up.)

I recently assessed a dog who seemed very out of control. Within a few minutes I had him sitting at my feet calmly and taking treats as I clicked for good behavior. When I first got there, the person who was handling the dog would ask the dog to sit. "Can you sit?" and when the dog wouldn't sit she would "UH UH" really loudly and harshly. This sends very mixed signals to the dog. I like to keep all training very upbeat and even when I'm not training, I like to still use praise and rewards for capturing good behavior. Greyson laying down on the floor next to the couch still to this day can get a "Good boy! Good down!" even though he knows what "down" is and he knows he's a good boy, it's the playing of the lottery to get rewarded. Even if it's just a verbal praise!

Now, this is not to say I'm perfect. I lose my cool at times. I've been known to yell. There have been plenty of "What in the world are you doing?"s come out of my mouth. The idea is that you don't want to be constantly sending those mixed signals to your dog. Sooner or later, Fido isn't going to know if he's coming or going and that's normally when I get the phone call.

So always keep it upbeat, positive, and remember, you can't yell "NO" at your dog if you're giggling because you agreed to say "pork chop" instead.

Radio shows, fundraisers, and a two hour roadtrip being lost

This morning I was on WQNA with the Flyover zone show. I met Hugh and Lana at an art show I was showing last month. My shirts tend to catch attention which is a great ice breaker.
The question I get asked all the time is "Pit Bull Zen? Isn't that an oxymoron? " Well, today I got to answer that and more on air.
I was nervous and scared to death. I took my good friend and former client (she's the mom to Cupcake) Kayla with me. I needed moral support and possibly someone to push me in the studio. Face it, facing a room of pit bulls with behavior issues makes me less scared than the human population! Humans...scary breed, I swear!
Anyway, on the way there I caught the promo for me and was squealing in delight! "Dee Goings, jewelry artist and dog trainer will be on shortly. We have three words for you...Pit Bull Zen!" Since I've started this path, it still gives me butterflies in my stomach every time I hear my name and dog trainer in the same sentence.
The big question was what is Pit Bull Zen. Zen isn't just force free training. It's also about what I can give the breed. It's about showing true breed ambassadors and taking this breed that has been vilified by the media and showing what they are capable of into the community and showing people well trained, loyal, and loving dogs. These dogs are loyal and have been so mistreated and a true disservice has been done them by humans. Humans fight them, over breed them and don't rightly train them as they should. A dog untrained and I mean ANY dog is capable of being dangerous.
In short, I am Zen. The dogs are Zen. We are Zen together through humane, force-free training and we are Zen to each other. That to me is the definition of Pit Bull Zen.
Pit Bull Zen, created in Cleveland by Dawn Streator and Liz Wyant has become a haven for Pit Bull owners, dog advocates, and dog trainers alike. It is a community where we can discuss intelligent conversations as well as ask for help. Dawn and Liz hold a myriad of great classes and I suggest anyone within driving distance check them out.
Hugh, the host of The Flyover Zone brought up the fact that he is scared of dogs. He was attacked by a German Shepherd and has always avoided dogs since. The dog he was attacked by was running loose and went after him and his bike for 30 minutes. I explained that more than likely that dog was quite scared of bikes (moving objects with humans attached tend to be scary) and the dog probably lashed out in fear. I offered to bring Grey in and click and treat every time Hugh could look at him while slowly moving Grey closer. Hugh wasn't thrilled but the prospect of treats he was into. See, I'm the cookie pusher. I treat for good behavior and a thing called extinction tends to happen. Good behavior is repeated and bad behavior becomes extinct as a dog will repeat behavior it is rewarded for. It's amazing what I can get a dog to do when I have a treat pouch full of nummy food roll chopped up. Yep, I'm a cookie pusher and proud of it.
Hugh mentioned that he had caught a couple shows of a Hispanic dog trainer. I asked if he meant Cesar Milan. Hugh wasn't sure but I wanted to explain that those methods of intimidation, domination, invading a dog's space is dangerous, and can be deadly for the dog. Dogs who are punished for signalling can become shutdown. Would you rather be warned by a growl, baring of teeth, and snarl or just have a dog go for it. What I do is scientific and has been proven to work. Cesar Milan is entertainment and when the general public start using those methods, they are risking having their dog bite. I don't even consider it good entertainment. It's painful to watch the dogs be served a dose of Milan. I'll stick with having dogs signalling.
Signalling brought up another topic. What signals? How do dogs communicate with us? I like to use Grey as an example. As he's been relearning to signal he will prick his ears forward, portions of the white of his eyes (commonly called whale eye) present, lips pulled back in grimace, and tail high and wagging slowly with a stiff body. When I see this combined I know to remove Grey from the situation as he has moved out of his comfort zone and is showing me loud and clear that bad things can happen if threatened. We take dogs, put them in our homes and expect them to follow all these rules humans come up with. We owe it to these dogs to teach them what we expect of them.
I touched on Grey and his sisters, our two cats. All three of my highly managed companion animals are dear to me and I know with our training and consistent reinforcement we are a much happier family.
Oh and I had to vote Bacon or Tofu. I don't like Bacon so I went with tofu. According to my husband that means I'm a Communist and should be investigated. Ha!

The photo is Greyson performing a random down which is a touchy position for him being so close to a human. All through positive reinforcement training.

You can download a copy of the interview at http://www.flyoverzone. com in the archives section.