Now, let's be fair...

A lot of times some other trainer will say "Well, my methods fix dogs and are easier to do!" Normally these trainers use pain or force when it comes to dog training. And, I will admit it just this one time...punishment does work BUT punishment must be done at the exact precise second, be the appropriate amount of punishment and let's be honest...most owners will fail on both counts. The punishment will come well AFTER the crime and the punishment will not fit the crime. 

That being said, you're probably wondering why I'm talking about punishment when I abhor it so much. Well, Kayla, my assistant went to the State Fair yesterday. She went and was looking at the dogs and most of the dogs there from Illinois Humane of Springfield and Springfield Animal Protective League had on prong collars and shock collars. Now, if these organizations are SO up on the times why are they still using methods from the 70s?? Kayla brought it up and next thing she knew she was being yelled at by some cocky trainer named Joe Blankenship who is toting himself as a behavior expert. (The website originally stated he was a canine behaviorist but it suddenly has been changed!) According to his facebook page he went into business in July of 2013. I'm sure that month of classes he's been holding has made him an expert! I should also mention that as soon as Kayla brought up the fact she is in school for dog training he went nuts and demanded the cops be called to remove her. I'm amazed at how professional this guy is! A little girl of 120 pounds scared him enough to make him start screaming for the police  WOW! Hate to see what he would do with a human aggressive dog. Oh wait, he would just hang it until it gives up or hold it down until it stops snapping at him. He is a graduate of Tom Rose Dog Training School. Good for him. Here is some of the reviews I found for that school:

  "All I know is, I've seen some pretty piss poor "certified" helpers come out of there."
  
  "The Tom Rose School is not far from where I live/work, so there are a number of the school's graduates working in my area. Please, please think about attending a different school. I've seen what happens to dogs those people have trained. Once perfectly confident, stable dogs suddenly develop all sorts of fear problems, complete with peeing all over themselves. I don't know what exactly is taught at the school, so it's possible the graduates aren't following the directions they were given, but I have to wonder why more than one of them thinks it's a great idea to start puppy training by sticking a shock collar on it and zapping it for every mistake. I know groomers and kennel workers who have worked alongside trainers who went through the Tom Rose School, and I've heard all kinds of behind the scenes horror stories that I could potentially get into legal trouble for if I repeated them here. "

Ouch! So, my question is simple...why is the Illinois State Fair still having people come in to help with dogs who have this kind of attitude? Even the gun dog trainer was speaking about positive reinforcement today! David Dodd who was one of the "experts" they had do demonstrations with Joe Blankenship was once dismissed from a court as a witness because the judge found he had no education or training in order to be a credible witness. Doesn't that speak volumes by itself? 

So, here's my challenge to the Illinois State Fair (Department of Agriculture), Illinois Humane of Springfield, AND Springfield Animal Protective League and EVERY OTHER ORGANIZATION who is using these types of methods. Man up and learn to train a dog. Learn to train a dog so you don't have to cause them pain. Learn to train a dog so you can bond with them and have a mutual level of respect. Stop taking the "easy" way out and damaging dogs. Furthermore  the AVSAB position statements can be found HERE!  So, no need to believe me! Go look for yourselves. You can clearly see that the American Vet Society of Animal Behavior has denounced dominance AND punishment. 

Now should you want to contact any of those people above who's voice makes a difference, here is their email addresses and how to contact them:

Department of Agriculture: agr.pio@illinois.gov
Illinois Humane of Springfield: jmcbridenator@gmail.com
Springfield Animal Protective League: http://www.apl-shelter.org/dotnetnuke/ContactUs/tabid/128/Default.aspx You can use the drop down box to change it to send the message to the president of the APL. 

Demand that these people use better training practices rather than shocking dogs and using torture equipment! 

Wedding bells and 18 hours in a car

So, a week ago Kayla and I packed our bags and headed to the land of Cleve. Otherwise known as Cleveland, Ohio. Also known as place I used to spend my misspent youth. Cleveland houses Pit Bull Zen and we were given a chance to take some classes, spend time with friends and their dogs and get some much needed vacation time in. So we drove 9 hours to my parents and crashed for a couple hours before heading into town to walk with the Pit Bull Zen.

Zen walks are always magical for me. I see dogs who are normally scared or shy transform and walk along proudly or in my case calmly with the people and dogs. The last time I walked my own dog, Greyson, it started off a little rocky (he paw slapped a blind dog in the face) and then walked next to the same dog with no problems. There's a reason walks are a "no leash greetings" zone.

This walk was magical for me for another reason though. Her name is Polly. I know her foster mom through Facebook. Hope has done amazing things with Polly and while Polly still has a ways to go, they took a chance and came to the walk. Now, Polly has never met me. She is still very nervous around new people but this was the end result of our meeting.

 Yep, that is a Polly on a leash with me holding it and the leash is loose. When we would start getting too close to the other dogs she would shy away and start to move in the other direction. I would stop, let her sniff and happily say "Let's go!" and off we would go again. She only started eating my treats at the end when we were all wore out and sitting in the grass. 

And here we are sitting in the grass! And look, there is another dog, Inara, within feet from us and Polly is too tired to care. (That and the turkey sausage that I lured her with.) So yes, the Pit Bull Zen walks are magical. And, you can read Polly's journey by visiting her mom's blog! 

So, in two days we saw dogs, worked with dogs, learned from Laurie Schlossnagle with Side By Side Dog Training, did some PBZ accounting, Kayla got to attend CLASS with Calvin (who wilted like the delicate flower he is from the heat), and saw two new PhD's for CLASS earned. Oh, and we drove 18 hours in there somewhere. Was a whirlwind weekend. Lots was learned, lots was done, and the best part of the weekend for me was meeting this guy...

BonZai!! Bonzai was one of the "27" who were taken into custody when they were found in Collin Rand's home in December of 2011. He was adopted by my friend Sandy Smith and while she fostered him for Pitty Love Rescue, Sandy fell in love and became a foster failure. I can't blame her after meeting him. He climbed right into my lap and licked me and licked me. I didn't mind one bit. When I went to thank Sandy for loving him I started to tear up. Watching his progress from a far has been amazing. He has made leaps and bounds. Sandy has used Positive Reinforcement with him and Bonzai had no problem welcoming Kayla and I into his home and showing us love while we loved on him. Again, thank you Sandy for loving him! And thank you Cleveland Police Department for acting on a tip! 

Well, the weekend was over and we came home safe and sound. While we were in Cleveland though Kayla decided that it was finally time to get married to her fiance of quite a while. Kayla's pit mix, Cupcake, was one of the first reactive dogs other than Greyson I worked with. I still remember meeting them in the park and we were just going to walk our dogs and see how it went. I couldn't get within eyesight of Cupcake without the lunging and barking happening. In the past year I've watched an amazing transformation happen. 

Through positive reinforcement and BAT, we were able to have Cupcake at Kayla's wedding. A dog who in the past was so human reactive you would think she was trying to eat your face off was able to flip on her back and ask for belly rubs from the guests. Her trigger which has always been males, no problem! Teenagers who normally terrifies her, no problem! Kayla has busted her butt working with Cupcake and following every crazy idea I've thrown at her and this is the result...

In the middle of the park, surrounded by strangers and things that have always been her triggers, she was calm and she was excellent. (I'm sure Kayla would appreciate if I mentioned the black lab, Sasha, has always suffered from Mange and skin allergies. She has been having a flare up and she looks 100 times better than she had in the past.)

I have to say I'm highly impressed with Kayla's drive to succeed with not just her own dogs. Kayla also finds feral kittens and brings them home, socializes them, gets them spayed and neutered and then finds them wonderful and amazing homes. It was suggested on my Facebook page that this was a wedding for a dog and a cat. Nope, Kayla just happens to give her heart to every animal she helps. While I can't bring another animal in my home because of Greyson's reactivity Kayla makes up for that by seeking out the feral strays in her area. AND she starts classes shortly with Dognostics for Professional Dog Training. Kudos to you Kayla and ignore the people who just want to rain on your parade. 

In closing I leave you a picture of Greyson. Greyson doesn't play well with most people but this picture means a lot to me. A reactive dog taking his toy to a child to ask for play. This is a first for Greyson. And while I am proud, I am still vigilant as any parent should be with a dog and a child.

Do or Do Not, There is no Try

Goals...do you make them with your dog in mind? I remember one of the best pieces of advice I was ever given was "Go home, make a list of what you want to be able to do with your dog. Make an entire list. They can be anything short term, long term, what you want to do tomorrow with him or a year from now. Write them all down." I did just that. The list was rather short. 

• Pass Obedience 101.
• Be able to go in the car without being puked on.
• Be able to walk in the park.

I went back to class and showed them to the trainer. She giggled and told me to please take the lesson seriously. I thought I had. I made goals. I did what she asked. Well, okay so I didn't put a lot of thought into it. I looked at Greyson as being defective and that was how I was writing the goal list. Shame on me. Shame on me for not believing he was capable of more than just walking in a park. 

“[Luke:] I can’t believe it. [Yoda:] That is why you fail.”

Have faith in yourself, in your dog and really reach for the stars. If I wrote that list today, over a year later, I'm pretty sure it would be a totally different list. In fact I know it would be. It would probably be a page and a half long. And now I know that Grey is capable of some very amazing things. 

See, it's all about putting what your dog is capable into perspective. By looking at short term goals and long term goals you have solid points you can cross off. They can be as simple as my "Be able to walk in the park" or as wild as "Gain a title as a champion trick dog". What I'm saying most though is, don't cut your dog short. Your dog is only limited by what you are capable of teaching him or her. Nowhere does it say you have to leave your house to gain a trick dog title. Nope, you can do that right from your living room! And if you think I'm kidding, I can explain further on how. 

The biggest lesson I learned though was to not cut Greyson short just by thinking he wasn't capable of things. I still remember how on a Pit Bull Zen Pack Walk I almost cried. Here we were, surrounded by dogs and other owners and Grey was just cruising along. Right next to other dogs and not a problem! People passing him on bikes, roller blades, people with their dogs and no problem! He did get tangled in his leash once and face planted but that was MY fault and not his. Here was my crazy, reactive dog and he was just being a dog, enjoying a great walk and was so exhausted afterwards he slept the entire way back to my parent's house. I was one proud mom! Granted he did introduce himself to another dog by slamming his paws into their face (AND that dog was blind) but the other dog just took it in stride and even spent a good amount of time walking with Greyson. He made me one proud Mommy ..and probably people thought I was crazy cause normally he just is a hot ball of mess with new people.

So, in short, make goals. Make them anything you want to. They don't have to be done in the next week, month or even a year from now. Now, take that list, and pin it to the fridge. You will be amazed at how quickly you start checking off those goals. Just keep at it. Keep working with your dog and see how many you can check off the list. 

And, while we're at it, here is some of the stuff on our list. :) 

Pass Obedience 101.
Be able to go in the car without being puked on.
Be able to walk in the park.
Go on a play date 
Learn focus protocol
Go an entire week without climbing into bed before morning.
Be able to complete day 15 of relaxation protocol in public.
Use focus protocol in public when necessary.
Learn 5 new tricks.
Learn 10 new tricks.
Pass CGC test.
Be left alone for 4 hours without dragging out my pajama pants.
Attend a party.
Attend a BBQ outside.
Attend a training clinic.

You get the idea...it's about making lists and then every chance you get to cross one off do it! Now, go make a list of goals and be as wild as you want to be! You never know what you'll be able to accomplish! 

To fail or not to fail...that is the question

I'm a firm believer of always setting your dog up for success. Sometimes, when we don't even realize it, we are setting up our furry pals to fail. It's the small things we are overlooking, and once you realize it, it's amazing the difference YOU can make in your companion's life.

This whole thought started for me with a conversation about using a mousetrap to deter counter surfing. I'm studying behavior right now and how a dog views the world. With having a noise reactive dog it's given me a new insight to his world.

There's several ways we can look at the aversion of the mousetrap. When the dog would jump up on the counter, the mousetrap (enclosed in a container) when moved would scare the dog and make him not want to jump up there again. What happens if the mousetrap doesn't go off? In my experience, the dogs I know may set off the trap, but do it anyway and just learn to avoid the aversion of the mousetrap. Or, in the case of my house, said dog would run from the sound, hide until he felt safe again and then refuse to step into the kitchen again.

Let's view why this would happen. Dogs view things with not just what they see and hear. Think about it this way, dogs associate us just not by sight but smell also. So, what happens if there is hamburger cooking or something with a distinctive smell when said mousetrap went off? The dog may associate the aversion wrongly. This can happen very easily and can be very bad as next thing you know; you have a domino effect of behavior scares.

I've found it simpler to set your dog up for success instead. I originally set Greyson up to fail by sitting dinner on the counter and clicking and rewarding when he ignored. When we moved into our new house Grey had a fear of our kitchen because that was the location where glass hit glass as we did dishes. Once we overcame that (with lots of patience and rewards) we reinforced 4 on the floor (as in 4 of his feet). He now sits and waits patiently for his turn to eat and treat. Now, had we done with the kitchen like we did with the rest of our house, it probably would have been simpler. In our house we remove temptation. Simple as that! We manage Greyson's interaction with items and normal household activities.

When Greyson was little it was summer time and of course that means flip flop season. In the matter of weeks, I went from 15 pairs of flip flops to none. Every chance he got, he shredded and devoured them. He wasn't picky either, we could be sitting in the room with him and he would grab one and start chewing. No amount of taking shoes from him worked. We traded out shoes for rawhides, toys, and chewies; and no luck. Inspiration hit and we had a shelf that was waist high. Greyson could "see" the shoes, but they were no longer in his domain ("the floor"). Voila! No more shoe eating. My floors no longer look like a crime scene of shredded mess.

From that day forward, the shelf was a key component in our life. We realized that by removing the temptation we received the resulting behavior we wanted (no shoes shredding). In all actuality, we didn't train Greyson this instance he trained us to remove items from his domain.

I call this management, rather than training. WE manage what he has a possibility to come into contact with. WE determine if we want a remote shredded by putting it up when not in use. WE determine if we want dirty laundry drug out, by putting IN the hamper and not in a pile on the floor. Since getting Greyson, our house is much more orderly due to us not wanting things destroyed.

Often times, I hear the words, "Well, I gave Fido and old shoes to chew on and he started eating my new Nikes!" Old socks are another I hear a lot about. Now, my question is simple...How is Fido supposed to tell the difference between new and old? When did humans expect dogs to learn such a thing? After I stop mentally giggling I turn to confused faces, to which I can only answer people by explaining that to a dog, there is no new or old, only theirs and theirs. Yes, that's not a typo. Once you give Fido his first shoe or sock, you have told him they are all his. You have begun his behavior.

Now imagine what happens if you remove those yummy feet-smelling treats. The unwanted behavior stops. Imagine that! How simple is that? I like to tell the human child in our house, "If you pick up YOUR stuff, the dog won't eat it." We provide lots of Greyson appropriate toys and chewies, but if YOU leave the temptation in his domain, then you are responsible for its loss.

Let's transpose the management theory over to the counter surfing problem. Remove the temptation. Don't leave food on the counters, tables or anywhere else. If you leave it there and you don't kennel or gate the dog, then YOU are responsible. I know people who don't allow the dog in the kitchen until they are done cooking, and after they put dinner on the table, they feed the dog and go have dinner. My father in law does this and it works great and he doesn't have a 100 pound boxer counter surfing. They are managing. A lot of people use gates and to me that is okay as well.

Now, let's move the management theory to walking on a leash. Dog pulls? Stop moving! Dog relaxes and leash goes slack? Start moving! Rinse and repeat! Sounds crazy, huh? Your dog will get it though and after a while, BOOM!, your dog is walking loose leash and all is well with the world. Well, sorta, ya know. Dogs are amazingly smart and once they pick up on how to get what they want, it's amazing what happens. By managing their ability to move forward during a walk, they will relax and they will work with you.

So, give it a try! Look through your house and see what you can do to manage Fido. You'll be amazed at what you come up with!

Letting go is never easy

I've been quiet for a little bit. I needed to sort out a few things. I'm not normally a very emotional person, but this has been a trying time on my emotions. I have become attached to Spudz and I had to make a very hard decision.

Spudz has wormed his way into my heart and has become a treasured piece of me. He has become so dear to me that I found myself calling myself Momma to him. And then after our training sessions I would put him back into his room at the shelter and I would drive home a mess. I started to want nothing more than to bring my baby boy home to live with his brother and sisters, but I knew that wasn't possible and it was slowly tearing me to pieces.

No matter what I did I can't get Spudz to like cats much less coexist with two female cats. And, I am the lucky guardian of two cats. I knew Greyson would be tough enough, but I can't fool myself into thinking I can ever make it work. Some dogs just can't get past their dislike of cats. My house would be as much stress as the kennel stress is getting to be.

So, when Becky, the president of Scott County Dog Rescue, started telling me about the family who was interested in Spudz I tried to put it off as "he's not ready". In my heart I was trying to still convince myself that I could make it work somehow, but I can no longer lie to myself.

Spudz has come as far as he is ever going to come in my hands while living in a shelter. Today sealed the deal for me in my decision. I took some friends to see the dogs and we let the dogs out to play and potty. Spudz was calm. To hear someone else who has no experience with dogs claim he was calm and a good dog, I knew I was holding him back.

The family is ideal, have teenage sons and have experience with reactive dogs. I was the one who was standing in their way. I had to agree that he is ready. He has the training, meds, and balance he needs to continue in a home. I know it will be a rough transition for not just Spudz but for me also. And, it won't be a quick process. There will lots of visits and meetings and Spudz will need to continue with a training schedule. Slowly we will transition him to their home and I know this isn't going to be easy for me.

I came home today and curled up with Greyson and just held him tight. Who knew training a dog can cause you to become so attached to a dog. I started this journey with Spudz because a vet said he wasn't a good candidate to be rehabbed and I refused to give up. I know our journey isn't over but I'm truly hoping that this family works out and can give him the home I know I'm unable to give him. Even if I was delusional enough to think I could for a while.

So, in closing, if Spudz gets a home, this will be my first huge training break through. And it was all done force - free and with love, and understanding of a dog who isn't acting out just to act out. Dogs are telling us things with their behavior and if we open our minds and hearts to understanding them, just about anything is possible.