One of My Dog's Snarls (I call it "Smarl" smile/grimace) on Command

Last year I fell off the wagon when it comes to my running regiment.  I was up to 13 miles, but when my 8 year ancient dog, Snitch, died it broke my heart and I stopped doing a lot of the things that use to bring me joy.

Recently I chose it was time to initiation lacing my shoes and hitting the road again.  I take my 1 year ancient puppy and 18 month ancient dog with me when I run, not only because it makes me feel safe, but also because they need the exercise and mental stimulation of it all.

The other day as I was running (they are always in “heel” position when I run) a squirrel ran out in front of us.  I swear if I had seen it coming I could have touched it with my foot, it was that close and thankfully my dogs have a excellent “leave it” and know my expectations when it comes to running.  Otherwise, I would have had some road rash on my face, down my body and into the woods.  I live in a very rural environment!

As I stutter stepped and continued my run I beamed at the loyalty and obedience of such young dogs.  I was quite proud of them and could have understood if they had miss-stepped and tripped me to the road.

But it wasn’t until about 2 miles later that I realized how crucial excellent obedience is in my running curriculum.

An SUV slowed down beside me and I stopped.  As I stopped my dogs immediately sat and then I directed them into a “down” as I pulled the tunes from my ear.

The man in the car said “I have seen you running out here before and I saw that squirrel run in front of you earlier”  and I just sought after to tell you “your dogs are terrifying”.

“What!!???” I questioned, to some extent astonished that anyone would refer to my fur babies as terrifying.

“You have so much control over them, a person doesn’t know what they have been qualified to do or what they might be capable of.”

“I am very familiar with those breeds.”  He assured me.

“Well,” I said, “Then you must have a background in police and protection dogs?”

“Yes.  I have worked with many K9s over the years”  He agreed.

I assured him that I could neither confirm nor deny his crash without having to kill him,  haha.  But I agreed they were quite formidable and very, very well qualified in a variety of skills.

As he drove away I chuckled and gathered my dogs collectively I thought to myself.  It is right, I bet there is nothing more terrifying to someone looking to commit a crime on another person than a large, well behaved dog.  I don’t even know what HIS right intentions were stopping to talk to me while I was out running lonely.

Don’t get me ill-treat, I recognize that just the appearance of a large dog is a deterrent but a well-qualified dog is even more formidable!

This is not Intimidating

Imagine if you will seeing a huge imposing dog pulling his title-holder on his leash, sharp himself as he runs from tree to tree.

Now imagine the same dog in exact heel position, stopping and sitting when his title-holder stops, looking up at his title-holder’s every go and listening flawlessly to each command.

Which dog would you reckon was protection qualified?

Poorly qualified dogs are not scary, they are unpredictable but not scary.  A loud noise, a tossed treat, or a dropped leash would be all it would take for dog #1 to be gone from the scenario; but dog #2 might have been qualified to work through any distraction.

That is not to say that all well-qualified huge dogs are protection qualified, but it gives a criminal some pause to their thinking!

I have always been of the opinion that an obedient dogs is more of a deterrent, but to hear it from a passerby was conclusive!

As a female I often worry about jogging lonely, driving lonely, or otherwise being in a terrible situation, but having a dog by my side evens the odds a bit.

This is All you Need to Ward People off!

I have always taught my dogs to bark on command and with a small hand indicate in case I should ever need a modest fortification to warding off strangers.

When I had Rottweilers, my female Rottweiler loved all humans.  If someone stopped to converse in to us, her total body would wag; starting from her buttocks and working its way through to her ears.  She was adorable, but she wasn’t very imposing if you knew dog behavior.  But, I could at anytime by just clicking my fingers collectively get her to bark ferociously.   This would deter anyone from asking to pet her or wanting to talk to us.

On most occasions I let anyone pet her, but there were a few people I didn’t want getting that close to me while I was lonely, they just made me feel uneasy and so I would get her to bark.

We live in a scary world where people do unmentionable things to other people, but I don’t believe that aggression training or protection training is always the answer.

She had no protection or bite training but she had fantastic obedience and would bark at the drop of a hat and that was all I needed.  I didn’t need the liability of having a dog qualified to bite or be protective.

Sometimes I would lie and tell people she was so that they would stay away and not want to pet her, but again that was only if they gave me that creepy

I believe this IS Intimidating for Someone Looking for Distress

feeling.  I knew they would never “test” my statements.

Protection dogs or teaching your dog to be aggressive is a HUGE liability and sometimes once immersed in the process it can be very hard to control the dog.  For the most part I don’t recommend this type of training.

But, I do know the benefit at the initiation hand of training my dog to be obedient and teaching them to look scary.

Be very careful what kind of behaviors you promote in your dog training!  Even though I could and can get my dogs to bark, they never associated it with barking AT someone or driving someone away and so I was always safe and in control of situations as they arose!

Remember, if you want a dog that will keep you from being bothered, work on your leash manners and obedience commands and that is all it takes to keep people at a safe distance from you and your companion.

Do You Want a Terrifying Dog? is a post from: Dog Obedience Training Blog

Go to Source
Check Out More Crate Training Information

Time can be measured in many ways. the blink of an eye, seconds, moments, minutes, hours, days, weeks, years, decades, lifetimes, centuries, millennium and yada yada yada. The benefit of such measure is often comparative — to reflect on how things are the same, how things are uncommon. Then getting subjective — how things are better, or how things are worse. Living and working hands on with dogs full time for over the past 12 years has engendered a greater awareness of the value of living in the second — it is a testament to the power of the animals I share my life with how many exact moments there are in life, even amid stress, sorrow, sadness, loss and pain. Yet at the same time, a wise man once told me (okay, so it was my father!), if you can look back at a year ago and say that today things are better or at least no worse, then you are doing well. Forward ho. Or something like that. So it is as an anniversary arrives I step back to become reflective.

read more

Go to Source
Check Out More Crate Training Information

Time can be measured in many ways. the blink of an eye, seconds, moments, minutes, hours, days, weeks, years, decades, lifetimes, centuries, millennium and yada yada yada. The benefit of such measure is often comparative — to reflect on how things are the same, how things are uncommon. Then getting subjective — how things are better, or how things are worse. Living and working hands on with dogs full time for over the past 12 years has engendered a greater awareness of the value of living in the second — it is a testament to the power of the animals I share my life with how many exact moments there are in life, even amid stress, sorrow, sadness, loss and pain. Yet at the same time, a wise man once told me (okay, so it was my father!), if you can look back at a year ago and say that today things are better or at least no worse, then you are doing well. Forward ho. Or something like that. So it is as an anniversary arrives I step back to become reflective.

read more

Go to Source
Check Out More Crate Training Information

The corresponding video to this blog is on You Tube http://youtu.be/fFR4xBhqrKU

In January of 2012 actor Nick Santino committed suicide after he euthanized his dog Rocco amid pressure from his condo board and harassment from his neighbors.

The NY Post reported that a Veterinarian had issued a notification that Rocco was “becoming aggressive” this has now been proven to be fake.

Nick had Rocco euthanized at the ASPCA not at his regular vet. In NY State any pet title-holder can have his pet euthanized without too many obstacles.

By all accounts from people that knew Nick and Rocco, they all said Rocco was a sound, friendly dog and Nick was a fantastic dog title-holder.

This film is not documenting any aspects surrounding this tragic event that deal with Mr. Santino’s personal life or the assumptions that have been made about his state of affairs.

We sincerely proffer our condolences to his family and friends.

read more

Go to Source
Check Out More Crate Training Information

Go to Source
Check Out More Crate Training Information

Look Familiar?

I get a lot of questions about potty training and quite a few come from the owners of intact, older male dogs.  But the problem is that urine marking is not a “potty training” problem!

A dog that cocks his leg on the furniture is much uncommon than a dog that squats and pees in a puddle on the floor.  Often one of my at the initiation questions as a teacher is: was the urine on a vertical or horizontal structure?  Marking often occurs on furniture, doorways, clothing, and anything else that might be new or your dog deems is his.

WHY do dog’s urine mark?

Dogs use urine marking to show their dominance and to mark what they reckon belongs to them.

For dogs, urine is not yucky or undesirable, in fact it is fascinating and exciting and a way of signing their name to something.  It is also a way to sense what other dogs have been in the neighborhood and a way to show confidence and to advertise mating availability!

An insecure dog may start marking.  Dogs that enter a new home, have the addition of a baby or another pet may also feel the need to mark.

This is an instinct in the beginning when the behavior starts, that can become a conditioned behavior.  It is vital to stop this behavior early before it becomes a habit or a conditioned behavior.

Do All Dogs Mark?

Not all dogs mark, but spaying and neutering at an early age is best!

Most dogs that do mark start marking when they reach sexual maturity (depending on the size of your dog) between 6 months to a year ancient.

Small breeds tend to mark more than larger breeds and intact males tend to mark more than neutered males or females.  Although many intact females may start marking prior to going into heat to let the other dogs in the neighborhood know she is available.

What to Do:

Keep it from experience!

Most dogs that are spayed or neutered will not start marking (and yes females can mark too!  Although it is more rare.)

Testosterone certainly plays a key role in urine marking, so neutering at ANY age can help even if the behavior has been conditioned.

Prevention is a much better cure than dealing with a behavior problem!  I recommend spaying and neutering at about 16 weeks ancient or when your vet has refined up your puppy’s shots.

Supervision

You must catch your dog IN THE ACT to let him know that what he is doing is ill-treat!  Again, this is instinctual for him to mark what he considers “his things”.  So you must be able to catch him and tell him NO.

Keep him on a leash or a tie down with you for many days.  If you cannot watch him, keep him in his crate.

Treat him like an 8 week ancient puppy and keep him confined to small spaces that you are in until you are fastidious he is not going to mark.

This requires Talent!

Learn to Control the Behavior

I don’t mind my dog lifting his leg in HIS yard when he is NOT on leash.  But, I do NOT allow him to lift his leg on EVERYTHING while we walk or run.  He must squat to pee to relieve his bladder while he is on a leash or only lift his leg when I tell him it is okay to do so.  I don’t want him to get use to lifting his leg and marking everything all of the time.  Walks and runs are my time and I wont be pulled to every tree so that he can sniff and pee!

Clean

Clean up the urine spots well with a urine enzyme cleaner.  If he can still smell the urine, he is more liable to re-mark the area again and again.

If there is ONE favorite spot, I recommend feeding him in that spot.  Dogs will not usually urinate where they eat, so moving his food bowl for a week or two might be effective.  But, if you are not careful about supervising him he will just start urinating somewhere else!

A Belly Band covers the penis and keeps the dog from urinating on objects

Belly Bands

Belly bands which is like a male dog’s diaper can also be effective.

I am more of a believer in training and supervision than I am in belly bands that can easily be taken off or chewed through; but, some people swear by them.  Dog’s don’t want to pee on themselves so one leg lifting in a belly band can be just sufficient to curb the behavior of even a chronic leg lifter.

Be patient!

This is instinctual and can be hard to curb, but if you place in the effort you will go back to having a urine free house honestly quickly!

Stop Your Male Dog from Urine Marking is a post from: Dog Obedience Training Blog

Go to Source
Check Out More Crate Training Information

I’m generally pretty silent with my dogs, other than chatting with them about my day or maybe what I had for dine.  I’ll praise them when they do something I like and direct them in some way if I need to alter their behavior.  If we’re on an off-leash hike, there are days that they might never hear a word from me, yet I’m still constantly asking them for behaviors and responses. 

My silence gives me control.  I want the sound and tone of my voice to mean something… I couldn’t give two craps whether they know my words.  If I’m walking one way and they go the other, I’m not going to yell “COME!” at the top of my lungs.  What control would that give me when it’s in fact vital for them to answer?  How is the dog supposed to know that “This time he really means it!” if my tone is always one of urgency?

read more

Go to Source
Check Out More Crate Training Information

“Blaming party bite victims for this nearly universal ignorance, but, just seems cruel. If we must assign blame for this kind of thing, perhaps we animal care professionals and enthusiasts should initiation by asking ourselves why we have failed to make what seems like common sense to us truly common. “

Jeff Silverman, The Blame Game: Who’s at fault when dog bites Denver news anchor?

Hear!  Hear!  For a long time I’ve been frustrated with conversations among dog trainers about the lack of behavioral information in the veterinary community, obnoxious behavior at dog parks, lack of puppies in puppy classes, title-holder non-compliance and the “stupid” things that dog owners do.

read more

Go to Source
Check Out More Crate Training Information

This weekend I was lucky sufficient to score some farm-fresh, organic eggs from pasture-raised chickens. They are delightful! For me, opening the egg carton to behold the soft appetite of pastel-colored eggs of uncommon shapes and sizes was akin to opening a treasure chest. Not to mention the thought of the rich, golden goodness that is waiting inside. Farm eggs look at taste nothing like store-bought factory eggs or even “free-range” eggs produced in giant industrial barns under deplorable conditions. They are more nutritious than industrially produced eggs too.

The woman who gave me the eggs mentioned that a visiting family limb would not eat these fabulous gems. The colors and variety in size and shape freaked her out. The eggs were… dirty! They had just come out from underneath the chickens after all. This visitor went on to give reasons for that she would only eat white eggs with an ink stamp of approval from whatever “farm”.

read more

Go to Source
Check Out More Crate Training Information

When a dog bit Denver morning news anchor Kyle Dyer in the face last week, it set the dog blogosphere and social media on fire. A high profile incident like this provides wonderful opportunities to help the general broadcast better know our dogs, how to be safe around them, and show them appropriate respect. The best example that I’ve seen of such education came from Dog Teacher Michael Baugh in a Houston TV segment that I highly recommend.  In most discussions other than Baugh’s, but, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend. Nearly every discussion (in fact nearly every single comment) that I’ve read has focused on who to blame for this tragic incident. The dog trainers and animal welfare advocates who make up most of my Facebook feed have frequently blamed Dyer herself.

read more

Go to Source
Check Out More Crate Training Information