Open gates

"The gate is open," a cry that can strike fear in the heart of just about any dog owner these days.  It has taken me several days to get it together to post about this since I was so mad, angry, lusting for blood when it first happened I didn't dare post anything.

Last Thursday at 3 a.m. I got up to hand the gate keys to the snowplow guy. I then waited for him to go out and unlock the big gates and bring the keys back to me.  The very last thing I said to him was, "don't forget to close and lock all the gates".  Get that part?  All the gates!

Over the years I have gotten myself something of a reputation for being lacking in sympathy when the cry goes out that someone has lost a dog or dogs because a gate was left open or a door not shut properly, or whatever.  If I respond at all, my very first question is why wasn't the dog or dogs trained to honor gates and doors, open or closed and why, oh, why, weren't the dogs taught to come when called.  Each time I would write such a post after I hit the send button I would always wonder just what sort of bad luck I was bringing down on myself due to my stance.

Back to Thursday.  When I got up, I just glanced out the window to make sure the plowing had been done the way it was supposed to be done.  At the same time, I made note of the fact the big gates were shut and locked, never thinking to look any further.  I opened the office door and let Sanity and Ellie out.  Next I headed downstairs to the kennel room and let out all the dogs who were staying with me.

With everyone outside I made my way back upstairs and went straight to the kitchen porch to collect buckets, unthaw them and put out fresh water.  Having taken care of their morning toileting, all the downstairs dogs were hanging around the porch waiting for the water buckets.  Put fresh water buckets down and headed to the kitchen sink to start washing dog food pans.  Barking.   More barking.  Even more barking.

Wait a minute!  That barking didn't sound right.  In fact, that barking sounded all wrong.  I dropped the pan in my hand to pretty much fly to the office door and check on dogs.  I could see even before I opened the door that all the downstairs dogs were accounted for since they were all lined up at the fence.  Not just lined up but staring intently at the street.

When I got the door open and stepped out on the porch my stomach sank and my heart started to race overtime.  Both the small gates were standing wide open.  For heaven's sake, we have not one but two gates that must be unlocked, unlatched and opened in order to get in or out.  The point is one of safety.  Well, so much for safety in this case.  Not only had said gates not been locked or even latched, they had been left standing open.  And just where, oh where, were Sanity and Ellie?

Ah, yes.  That barking that wasn't right was coming from them.  They were both all the way out at the street at the far corner of the property barking at a walker.  At least I think it was a walker, couldn't really see much because of all the brush, but I could have sworn I saw the tail end of a coat, walking, not running.

I called, "Sanity, come" and "Ellie, come". Only had to make that single call to each of them.  At once without any hesitation, they stopped the barking, turned on a dime, spit out nine cents change and beat feet at top speed all the way back to the house and inside.  I was so shook I simply called all the rest of the dogs to come back in as well.  To H*LL with the gates for the time being.  You can sure believe I was pretty snarky towards the snowplow guy.

A bit later, when the day really got going the gates did get closed and latched and all the dogs got to go back out and play in the snow.  Have you trained your dog to come when called no matter what?  Now I have to go back to the training board and refresh gate manners where Sanity and Ellie are concerned.  But, oh how beautiful a reliable recall is to behold.

Hear me shout!  Happy New Year!

Yes, I know there was a picture yesterday with lots of dogs saying the same thing.  However, I wasn't allowed to say anything and now I AM!  So there.

Happy New Year 2011

Some of the Team Applewoods got together today for a photo shoot.  They wish all of you a Happy New Year.

Plan for 2011

Off and on, year after year, I rant about the terrible shape dog ownership is in.  It gets blamed on first one sort of animal rights group after another.  The rant continues as one truly awful bill becomes a law after another. Doors continue to be slammed shut on dog owners and of course this past year has seen the black death of animal hate spread to all our farm animals as well.  Things sure do look bleak, and yet, and yet...

A few days ago I sent a post to a small email group I belong to in response to the current and seemingly prevailing view that any sort of formal dog obedience is somehow useless.  Here is my response to that thread.

I freely acknowledge the fact that the commonly held belief of those who don't understand what a true golden treasure AKC obedience offers are the ones who are the loudest in their insistence the trials are not necessary, not wanted, of no use, etc.

This stance is not a new one; it's just that in the last few years it has sadly become the most prevalent one.

As an obedience instructor just what do obedience trials offer you? The answer is they offer you a way to check your skills AS AN INSTRUCTOR. Of course, you will need to understand the rules and make sure your students are properly prepared prior to entering. What you will find (IF) you do your job well, is that your top students will always have scores in the mid-190 range and your average students will have scores in the 180 range. Your poor students will take twice as long to achieve a Companion Dog title and they will do it with scores in the 170 range. All of them will be proud of what they have done and most will want to continue with more advanced training.

As a trainer just what do obedience trials offer you? The answer is they offer you a way to check your training skills. They help to keep you intellectually honest. If you are training dogs for others they serve as a way to insure you are turning out a top quality product and one that has been proven by your peers in as unbiased a manner as possible. All this will do is bring you more business.

As an owner what better way to test your skills, hone your abilities, get to show off, pick up some bragging rights and just generally improve your overall relationship with your dog.

People fear what they don't know. Lazy people never manage to make it through the door when it comes to entering that upper level of a human/dog relationship. A relationship only achieved by learning and then teaching and then finally molding yourself and your dog into a smoothly working team. Once a smooth team, the obedience ring brings so much joy and pleasure to both team members.

Truly it is a shame so many of those in the very best position to bring back well trained dogs as the norm refuse to take part in doing so. Leave the "skinner-box" mental attitude to those who don't train, but simply manage their dog through a few tricks. Take "real working dog" attitude with you and step in that ring. You will love the difference.

What I have seen happen here consistently for more than 40 years is that the good trainers train for everyday life, spend 2 weeks to 2 months learning ring skills and then step in the Novice ring and clean-up. They come back from those trials walking taller, talking softer and hooked on dog training. They are the hope of our(your) future. Continue to fail them as many of you have been and within the next 10 years it will all be gone and so will your rights to even own a dog, never mind actually train one.

My reason for reposting is with the hope of stirring up some action.  Not just a comment or two, not even a post or two elsewhere, but real, honest-to-goodness action. 

This is what I want for 2011, not just for me but for all dog owners, dog trainers, dog obedience instructors.

1. I want to hear from dog obedience instructors who are honestly looking for ideas that will get dog ownership back on the right track.
2. I want to hear from those of you who are already starting to be successful in some small way. 
3. I want to hear from you with each successful step forward your students take. 
4. I want to read about how one dog trainer in one town managed to use the success of a couple of students to gain 4 more students, and then used those 4 students to gain 8 more students and the 8 in turn became 16, etc.
5. I want to hear about how all those students took their well mannered and well trained dogs off to some AKC trials and earned not just Companion Dog titles, but first places, and yes even a High In Trial or two along the way.
6. I want to have the pleasure of reading about how 8 of the original 16 have now mastered the real test of a good owner and taught their dogs to retrieve.  Not just a dumbbell in a sterile environment, but real retrieve work in the real world.
7. I want to find out that the 8 students who taught the retrieve also understood the true importance of teaching the Broad Jump as well as the other requirements of a Companion Dog Excellent title and they all earned the right to put the letters CDX after their dog's name.
8. And being the greedy sort I am, I want to find out that of the 8 students who earned a CDX, 4 of them are now true dog training students and are working on the oh so technical skills necessary to train a real UTILITY dog.  That way, they really have a wonderful and useful dog at home and in the community and a dog that has the right to the letters UD after his name.
9. Of course, for 2012 I sure hope to learn that of the 4 who traveled all the way to Utility 2 of them go on and earn a UDX and one of them manages an OTCH (Obedience Trial Champion).
10. My final wish? I want all those now successful dog owners to band together and march on their "city hall" and take back the freedoms that have been lost because of the animal rights movement.

Anyway, happy holiday season to all the rest of you.  May your leashes be well used and someday soon only be needed for safety reasons rather than because of some law.

Season's Greetings

aDSC_0162
Originally uploaded by samd517
Sanity on the right, Rugby in the middle and Jasmine on the left are helping me wish all of you a Happy Holiday season this 2010.

Come train with us next year and learn just how much fun dog training really can be.

Jean Cyhanick pledge

If we as a group continue to sit on our hands and do nothing there will be no more dogs in 10 years.  Harsh?  Black helicopters in the sky? Another of Margot's "the sky is falling" rants?

Nope.  Not at all.  For background go to http://got50.blogspot.com/  If we as owners, trainers, breeders allow the travesty in Virginia to stand, then we will live to see the dog vanish from our homes, hearths, fields and hearts.  I'm not a breeder.  I don't even get to many dog trials/shows anymore, but I still have managed to pledge $50 from my very slim budget to help fight this battle.  It's my battle.  It's your battle. It's our battle.  Please make a pledge and then when they let us know where to send the money, actually sent what you pledged.

Margot

Here is what others are saying:

Not yet, but soon!

With the help of a generous loan from a pet-law member, we now know we
can do it. We would have to pay the loan amount back, so WE STILL NEED
PLEDGES but we no longer need to worry that we won't be able to pay
the attorney in time for him to make the filing deadline.

I have some details to clear up with the attorney's office which is
semi-closed today due to snow in the area. Then I have to write up the
payment instructions and get them ready to send to those who have
pledged; even with a good mailer, sending out almost 300 emails takes
some time.

I'll let the lists know when the instructions have been mailed.

WE DO STILL NEED PLEDGES. We're only able to make the $35,000 total
with the aid of the loan so WE CAN'T QUIT WHERE WE ARE.

The story of what happened to Jean is at: http://www.got50.blogspot.com/

in the second post. Those who want to pledge can email me at: waltah @
earthlink.net (take out the blanks). Instructions for where to send
payment will be emailed within a few days.

PLEASE GET 'Jean Cyhanick pledge' in your subject line so your email
doesn't get lost. I'm still finding pledges in out-of-the-way places
and I would hate to think that we'd lose any!

I've send out acknowledgements to most of those who have pledged: If
by Friday PM you haven't heard from me saying "Thank you" then please
send your pledge again.

I can't tell you how impressed I am at all the support you've given
Jean and this effort. While there are no guarantees, THIS IS A
WINNABLE CASE and Jean has a good attorney.

Don't think of this just as a court case: Appealing a verdict on a bad
law gets attention in the legislature, especially in the committees
that made that law happen. The legislative process is definitely
messy, but VA General Assembly members do want to get things right. A
law that comes back from an appeals court in a pine box is very likely
to get a stake through the heart in the Assembly.

You'll also be helping a breeder who did nothing wrong and had the
courage to face spending the rest of her life in prison in order to
prove it.

PLEASE FORWARD

Walt Hutchens
Timbreblue Whippets

Training by the Wish method revisited

Way back in August I posted about an incident that happened to one of my students and her dog while they were in the Novice A obedience ring doing stays. The following comment was just posted about that entry. However, I get the feeling the writer in question may have actually attempted to read some of my earlier blog entries. How many? Who knows, but it does appear to me that perhaps reading comprehension skills may not be quite up to par. Either that or my ability to tell the story using words, pictures and video is just not up to the task at hand.

So, first the comment:

Patty Sontag said...
It really sounds like many of the people posting think the only way to train a dog reliably is with force and harsh corrections. I trained my Kerry Blue to his UD with positive reinforcement - no ear pinches, collar corrections, prong collars or electronic collars. HE NEVER BROKE HIS STAYS, EVEN WHEN OTHER DOGS CAME UP TO HIM AND GOT IN HIS FACE. He NEVER NQ'd on stays on his way to his CD or CDX - NEVER! I proofed and proofed his stays and they were solid before I stepped foot in the ring - my instructor made sure of that. Perhaps other handlers, instead of showing their 9 month old puppies in Novice, should wait until their dogs are a bit more mature and have more self control before putting them in situations that they can't handle. I know I would certainly appreciate that. The problem isn't positive reinforcement, it's the people who are in such a big rush to get their OTCH by the time the dog is 2 or 3. Don't shoot the method, shoot the stupid person at the other end of the leash who has entered their dog WAY too early without being sure that their dog can handle the situation. Anyone who knew him wanted to be placed next to him - they knew he was solid. Unfortunately, I lost him to cancer 3 weeks ago and picked up his ashes this morning. He was one GREAT dog.

Now for my comments:

Dear Ms Sontag,

I am truly happy for you and your success with your Kerry Blue. I'm sure your hard work and patience brought you much closer to this dog of your heart than you have ever been before. I'm also so sorry for your loss and know that the grieving process is at best a difficult one and at times a seemingly endless process of grey and dreay days, followed by cold and sometimes sleepless nights.

Know that the grieving process will one day complete its course and your lost KB will take a special place in your memories. Meanwhile, time marches on in a most relentless fashion.

From your writing you leave the impression of a dog who was a middle of the pack sort of terrier who never actually turned on to his true terrier nature. In a word, he was a "cold" rather than "hot" terrier. It does sound as if this was an ideal sort of dog for you and where you were/are in you travel up life's hill.

Your stated way of showing a dog what you wish him to do with, to or for you does work with a small percentage of dogs with a very specific temperament type. It is not confined to just a few breeds, but can be found across the total broad spectrum of domestic canines. Just because you happened to be lucky enough to stumble on one does not in any way guarentee you will ever have another one with the same skill sets. What is most likely is that any and all dogs you own from this point on will be much closer to the norm.

I do remain curious about the nine month old puppy you mention. Is this someone you know? It certainly didn't have anything to do with the dogs belonging to the students I have blogged about. The main student dog in "Training by the Wish method" was a Yorkshire Terrier who was almost 10 YEARS old. The Kerry Blue that is the feature dog in the "Taming of the Beast" is almost 5 YEARS old.

Ellie the Yorkie was a throw-away dog who had also been labeled a special needs dog. It was claimed that she was dog aggressive, people aggressive and killed things smaller than herself. Brandy the Kerry Blue came only AFTER two other trainers had failed her, she had seriously injured more than one dog, managed to land a bite on a human and been labeled by her country of residence as potentially dangerous. Quite frankly I'm still waiting to be introduced to the trainer/owner/dog combo who has successfully rehab'ed a dog with these labels, put obedience titles on them and seen them move successfully back into their respcetive communities.

Where is Ellie today? She is a hard working "school" dog. Her job is to demo just how to go about the business of training a toy breed to behave like a proper dog rather than a battery powered toy. She also helps train all the children who come here. With her help they are able to learn good, careful, thoughtful, kind handling skills. Skills that will go far to help them in many areas of their lives in the future. Oh, and yes she did finish that C.D. with a second first place and a HIGH IN TRIAL. Most of the time we think she is a very fine little critter. On occasion she slips back into her old ways and gets called "that little rat" and then quickly does something special to mend her slip.

Where is Brandy today? She has finished her C.D. with nothing less than a second place. She was entered in 4 trials. She qualified in all 4 trials. Currently she and her owner are busy putting the final touches on the Open exercised with plans on a C.D.X. spring of 2011. They have also started Utility training and plans along with our hopes are to see them in the utility ring by late fall of 2011.

Brandy is without peer when it comes to scent work as seen in these two video clips.


and



Brandy now has much better things to do than wasting time on small or medium untrained, not-dogs. What is a not-dog? It is one of those sorry, twisted creatures who have no jobs, no real training, no responsibilities and so are forced to spend their days slowly growing more and more stupid due to lack of metal stimulation and challenge.

Training by the Wish method

To read the original story that goes with these pictures please go to:

http://misterrugby7.blogspot.com/2010/08/fiasco.html

The early 1990's saw the introduction of a belief system that has probably done more harm to all dogs and taking formal obedience competition to its death throes than any other single thing. That system of training is what I have always though of as the "wish method of dog training". Based almost completely on idea that everyone has to be able to feel good about themselves without every lifting a finger to do the work necessary to develop both mind and body of the participants. In this case, the participants are on the right side the human and on the left side the canine.

Moving almost in lockstep with the "wish method of dog training" arrived the Internet and a way of communicating with others that made it possible for a person to never set foot outside their home and yet be able to show pictures of them teaching a dog to do all sorts of really amazing things. Now everyone with a computer and a camera or two could become the owner of Lassie and Rin Tin Tin all rolled into one.

Meanwhile, if you have managed to read this far you are most likely wondering what on earth is she ranting about this time or maybe it is more a case of "get to the point old woman". Humm...yes, well the point just happens to be that dogs need to be able to see/hear/feel the connection between cause and effect. To put it another way, they need to be given ALL the necessary information and then allowed to make mistakes and in doing so learn from those mistakes. This does NOT happen by pretending the mistake never happened. It does not happen through withholding praise or treats or toys. The biggest flaw in that way of doing things is always going to be the inability of the human to accurately gauge just what equals praise/reward to the dog.

So that takes us right back to actually training a dog to follow a set of rules and in doing so become successful at completing an assigned task. Not just completing the task, but doing so in a workmanlike manner. Completing said task in a way that doesn't just please the human, but more to the point pleases the dog.

The pictures below were taken of the Novice A ring at the Penn Ridge Kennel Club, Inc., in Harrisburg, PA on Saturday, August 14, 2010. As you can see it was a small entry. Small entries being the new norm and the warning bell there is something very wrong with the sport.

The group doing stays consists of mainly dogs representing the "power breeds". There were two exceptions and they were a Sheltie being handled by a very young girl and a Yorkie being handled by a first-timer. The line-up starts with a Giant Schnauzer sitting next to a Black Russian Terrier and ends with an American Staffordshire Terrier sitting between a Doberman and a Newfoundland.

Now let's look at what was wrong from the very beginning. Wrong before the handlers gave the stay command or left the dogs. You may not be able to spot it in the first picture even on close inspection. If you can't spot it in the first picture move on to the second picture.

Since the dogs are sitting on mats and the two mats have been taped it should jump out at you. What?

The line isn't straight. In the first picture it appears to be straight and yet, just as soon as the humans are removed from the line the Dobe shifts back and the AmStaf starts moving forward. Study the picture some more. The Yorkie was behind the tape line and now is in front of the line. What we don't know from the still shot is whether or not the Yorkie is forward in the second picture because the judge had the handler move her forward or because she shifted herself forward.

What is important to keep in mind is the fact that this 10 pound Yorkie is now in a very exposed and potentially dangerous position. She is still far enough back to be pretty much out of sight and therefore out of mind as far as the Giant Schnauzer, the Black Russian and the Sheltie are concerned. However, she is now also in full view of the Doberman, the AmStaff and the Newfoundland. Her danger is much clearer now. The AmStaff is up and hunting. This picture shows just how near the danger is while the handler slowly walks across the ring to attempt an intercept of her offending dog.

To play the "what if" game, just what do you think would happen if the Yorkie had been trained in a stress-free manner that never included any real consequences for the misbehavior of stay breaking? Before you answer look closely at where the Yorkie and the AmStaff appear to be looking. Note where the handler is. Note where the judge is. Note there is not a single steward in sight.

In the following picture we see it took the handler so long to reach the AmStaff it was already to the end of the line and offering a direct challenge to the Giant Schnauzer. One has to wonder what the handler was thinking when she wasted time going between the Schnauzer and the Black Russian to then grab her dog by the groin area.

Yes, the Yorkie is still holding her sit/stay. You aren't able to see her because of the distance left between her and the Sheltie. Tension had to have been running really high at this point.

Sure enough, the Schnauzer is unable to withstand the distraction and is willing to take the challenge. Now we see the Schnauzer's handler added to the mix. The Sheltie is still holding, but the pressure has caused a lift of one front paw.

Much noise and some spit while the two humans are forced to use lots of muscle to get them apart and keep them that way.

Two much pressure, tension, stress for the Doberman who gets up and does what? Appears to be moving across the ring toward the handler. Still no stewards in sight, but the Doberman handler has moved in to intercept her dog. And the Yorkie, all 10 pounds of her is still sitting right where she was left.

Come time for the down/stay and there is a very large hole left between the Yorkie and the Newfoundland.
For the Yorkie, who by the way is our very own Ellie is was just an interesting bit of entertainment. Don't know how the others felt. The thing that kept her safe was a solid sit/stay. What many of you readers may not know or perhaps don't remember is that Ellie came to us just one year ago as a "throw away". A victim of the sever downturn in the economy, Ellie was labeled a special needs dog. She was supposed to need a home without children, without other pets and she was labeled as dog aggressive.

Over the past year we have taught her the rules and they are exactly the same for every dog. It doesn't matter if said dog weights 6 pounds or 140 pounds, they all have to follow the rules. We taught her to be obedient in ways that matter. She comes when called, holds sit, down and stand stays with ease and confidence. She heels off lead as reliably as she heels on lead, neither lagging behind nor pulling ahead. So it just seemed reasonable to enter her in some obedience trials and test her training against the training of other dogs. She earned her first leg and a second place this day. On Sunday she earned her second leg and a first place. The two trials represent her first and second time in the obedience ring.

Group stays are NOT dangerous when all the dogs, no matter what the size, are well trained. The way I see things these days, there is very little chance for the average owner to actually be successful in the obedience ring even at the Novice (Companion Dog) level due to the sever shortage of qualified instructors.

Qualified instructors teach owners not just what they think they want, but also what they really need. Along the way the owners find a new and wonderful world opening up for them and their dogs. A world they could never have ask for since they didn't even know it existed.

As a trainer/instructor are you opening up the wonderful world of dog obedience training and trialing to your students? Or are you insisting is isn't necessary to do anything more than the very least amount of work necessary to help your owners feel good about themselves even if they end up having to kill the dog.

My current rant isn't truly over, I'm just stopping.


Last comment. All my students who attended these 2 trials came home with not only what they went to earn, but more. As for Ellie, she earned 2 legs toward her CD as well as a second place to be followed by a first place. I'm very, very proud of both Ellie and Sydney her part owner, trainer and handler.

More History of the Beast

It has been one year since Brandy first came here for help. The changes have been enormous to say the least. For anyone who is thinking about embarking on the journey to "save" or retrain a dog with documented dog aggression issues, I say this to you, "have a serious plan".

Here are the links to last year's history:

http://sanityshome.blogspot.com/2009/08/taming-beast-part-1.html
http://sanityshome.blogspot.com/2009/08/taming-of-beast-part-2.html
http://sanityshome.blogspot.com/2009/08/taming-of-beast-part-3.html
http://sanityshome.blogspot.com/2009/08/taming-of-beast-part-4.html
http://sanityshome.blogspot.com/2009/09/taming-of-beast-part-5.html
http://sanityshome.blogspot.com/2009/09/personally-i-have-always-found-watching.html

Actually you need not just a serious plan but the dedication and determination to see it through. If you aren't ready or able to spend at least 1 to 2 hours per day for an entire year working a training plan that spells out on a day-by-day basis exactly what is to be done and when, where and how each weekly test is to be handled, well do you really want to take the risk?

Brandy's journey included, but was not limited to learning a very solid sit/stand/down with stays, a reliable recall in the face of the very sort of distractions that got her into trouble in the first place and of course, solid, precise heeling both on and off leash.

Once the baby stuff was well along a serious working retrieve was added along with a drop on recall, and the hold used during the early stages of retrieve training was beefed up to be an exercise unto itself. Brandy has a stuffed toy that she is responsible for and which she carries every were she goes when she is out and about in public.

Since we are currently in the final, polishing stages prior to entering the necessary AKC Obedience trials with the FIRST goal being that of a Companion Dog title it became necessary to make very certain that she will not back slide and allow her strong prey drive to get the best of her. So, with the help of some serious, hard working little guys we set about the business of making as sure as possible Brandy has excellent control of herself.




The test of her self control was then tested at a match and guess what? First of all in the next ring was a toy breed dog doing Open (Companion Dog Excellent). Brandy did the "laser eye lock" and then was able to turn it off and continue working.

Will she ever be one of those "oh, don't worry she loves all dogs" kind of dogs? Never in this lifetime will that happen. However, I honestly believe that there aren't but a very, very few of that kind of dog anyway and most of them are less than 3 months old or more than 15 years old.

Is it too late?

My senior apprentice, Samantha "Sam" Daley has posted some thought provoking blog posts on her blog. I'm strongly encouraging all of you to head over there, read, think and perhaps post a comment or two. She sure could use the support right about now. http://misterrugby7.blogspot.com/

It all started with my assigning a very eye-opening task to all my students and just about anyone else who happened to be around me at the right time. The task is a simple one. At least it appears to be simple on the surface. Now I'm assigning it to all of you as well. Not only that but I shall take a page out of Sam's book/blog and call it a contest. As is true of all contests there will be a prize for the first person able to complete the task.

The Task
All you have to do is to go out and find 10 dogs 1 year of age or older. Five must be intact dogs and five must be intact bitches.

The Reason
This task didn't come about on a whim. Nope, not at all. It got started because I shared some figures with a couple of my classes. The figures? It depends on which group you want to believe but here they are:

Coming straight from the mouth of the beast, also known as HSUS http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/pet_overpopulation/facts/pet_ownership_statistics.html75% of all owned dogs have been rendered sterile. On the other side of the field is the American Pet Products Manufacturer's Association. Take a gander at what their figures show: 72% of all owned dogs have been rendered sterile. http://charityguide.org/volunteer/fewhours/spay-neuter.htm

About 20 years ago HSUS gave us "Spay and neuter until there are none". A result of the "...until there are none" campaign has been to all but eliminate litters of puppies or even the odd one or two pups available at the local municipal shelter or humane society shelter.

What one finds at the shelter will be a heavy preponderance of dogs from about 9 months to 28 months of age. These dogs have lost their homes for pretty much the same reasons. Lack of training, lack of any place for the former owners to get meaningful help with training. These are the bullies, the fighters, the biters, the failure to housebreak and a host of other similar issues and they do NOT represent a problem of over breeding. These dogs all represent a problem of retention. They are unable to stay in a home because the lazy, permissive cult of the furchild has doomed them to failure.

The fact that breeding stock numbers have now fallen below a sustainable population level has given rise to a new breed of human. As they campaign to kill via desexing on the one hand they are becoming more vigorous at importing strays/mutts/street dogs from all over the world. http://www.naiatrust.org/resources/foreign_strays.htm After all, they have to find the poor waifs to raise the money necessary to keep those fancy new shelters open.

The Burning Question
Are dog owners all too stupid and lazy to behave in a responsible manner when it comes to the ownership of their dogs? Or to put it another way, since when is maiming and restraining actually more humane than supervision and training? Leashes have been used as successful birth control devices for eons. Real training, the sort that teaches a dog to be responsible for its own behavior is yet another form of birth control that seems to have been tossed out the window. Why?

More Bars in More Places

This really is about the Wednesday morning Open/Utility class. Like just about everything else in my life it seems the things I don't plan for, those things that just sort of happen or just grew are always the best. My Wednesday morning Open/Utility class is one of those just grew things.

It started out with two students who traveled a fair distance to study under me. They wanted Companion Dog Excellent (CDX) obedience titles on their dogs. This is my Intermediate level class. Both dogs already had their Companion Dog (CD) titles. The Novice class is where I normally teach the necessary requirements for basic living and it is those basic living skills that are the basis of the Companion Dog title.

The problem was the same as is always is when I face students in this condition. While it is true the CD was earned and in their cases, with good scores, the foundation was so weak unless we went back and rebuilt there was going to be no way I could give them what they wanted in a reasonable manner of time, if at all.

So they stayed. I taught and they were both good, diligent students with good dogs. The strongly rebuilt foundation made it possible to move on in a timely fashion and the CDX's were earned fairly quickly and with good scores. Then it was on to Utility Dog (UD). Meanwhile, a friend and her dog joined the class for a time. A couple of my Novice students joined the class.

The original two students completed the Advanced material (Utility Dog) and moved on to the really difficult stuff. Learning the art of keeping a dog's spirits up, keeping it enjoyable and at the same time building in more and more reliability, stamina and precision. In due time both dogs had completed the requirements for a Utility Dog Excellent (UDX) and shoot, if you are going to do that then might just as well finish up with an Obedience Trial Championship. So they did.

Of course, more students from my novice class and/or my retrieve class joined this lovely mid-week class. So here's what this bunch looked like this morning. It was cold and blustery outside, while inside in my little training studio six dogs and six humans were warm, comfortable and doing a nice mixture of new and difficult tasks along with comfortable and easy tasks. Here they are doing the down/stay part of a set of stays.

Seeing as how none of us seem to be able to "just train" we all agreed it would be fun to play around with the dumbbell visit again. So we lined everyone up and left them doing a sit/stay with a twist. Everyone one holding their dumbbell.

For those of you who might be wondering or perhaps don't recognize all the breeds. From the left they are Standard Poodle, Caruso; Doberman, Sanity; Labrador, Pete; Brussels Griffon, Cabot; Yorkshire Terrier, Ellie and Maltese, Rugby.

While it is true I could have just used one shot instead of three, it just seemed like it would be more interesting to show three of the 9 taken. See, while they were working on holding the sit/stay and the dumbbell we were all dashing back and forth, jumping up and down, making silly noises and just about anything else we could think of. Sure its true that the silly humans were either supplying distractions or just playing the fool. Meanwhile, the dogs were getting a chance to learn what I think of as 'steady under fire'.

It actually wasn't until later when I finally load the pictures on my computer that Sam and I both realized we had the beginnings of an AT&T commercial. In this case I get to say, More Dogs in More Places. No, there really isn't any point in sending this in to AT&T. Seems they don't want any outside suggestions. Poop on them, their loss, our gain.

Not a bad sit/stay. Not a bad dumbbell hold. And best of all a darn good More Dogs in More Places. AT&T, eat your heart out.

Sit on the Dog pictorial

I'm starting this pictorial out with toy breeds. The first thing to notice is that their size and special needs are being seen to, which makes this exercise both easy and reasonable.

The toy breed dog really should never be required to do any sort of a down in a location that has the potential of putting them in physical danger. Doing a 'sit on the dog' strictly by the book will do just that and serve to damage the trust relationship between dog and owner. So two changes are made. The first one is to supply a small bed with sides and the second is to place the bed UNDER the chair rather than on the left side.

Notice the position of the collar and the leash. There is just enough slack allowed in the leash to maintain the slight upward pull on the collar. Since the dog is actually under the chair the leash angle is toward the owner's left side.

Pay attention to the location of the leash. Even though the dog is ultimately going to be under the chair there is still the need to adhere to the left side rule at this time.

Generally when you see a dog doing what this Lab is doing the digging is accompanied by verbalization. The noise may be anything from an annoying whine to a loud bay and frequently settles in to steady cadence style barking if not stopped.

Temporarily resigned to his fate our Lab is now quiet, in a comfortable position and able to take in his surroundings.

Babied and catered to this Portuguese Water Dog wants no part of the floor and tries for a lap.

When that fails, she sits hunched up and brooding. But not for long...

Surely the lap is not to be denied a second/third/tenth time and so she tries again and again. Each time she is simply pushed off and away and, if necessary, the leash is readjusted to allow less slack.

Finally getting the message, but only in part, Portuguese Water Dog grudgingly does a down. Notice she is still not willing to pay attention to what is going on around her. Because her curled up in a ball position is yelling, "I'm not here and I'm most certainly not going to play with you" we know there is still much work to do on this one exercise alone

And now we come to the large dog. Since this is what I call a 'naked' dog, i.e. one with short, tight coat and very little body fat, like the toy breed it makes good sense to supply a mat or bed for them to use during this exercise. No, it most definitely isn't spoiling or pampering. It's just good animal husbandry practice. Dogs with little coat/body fat protection are very prone to pressure sores on hocks and elbows. Besides which, this exercise is supposed to be teaching calmness, a willingness to follow and patience, not how long can you stay in one spot and suffer physical breakdown without complaining.

Meanwhile, our model is saying, "I ain't a gonna do it and you can't make me" Of course, the dog new to this sort of discipline hasn't a clue as to just what "it" might be. Being fair in this case simply means allowing the dog the necessary time to figure it out.

Here our model has resorted to pulling as hard as possible. Since there really isn't enough slack to allow for the necessary traction the pulling is short-lived.

Having figured out the guidelines of this rather strange human behavior, we are now treated to a calm, alert dog who appears to be very much with the program.

Please note that all the dogs used for these pictures are models well accustomed to posing and every single one of them are volunteers. Truth be told, one of them even threw something of a temper tantrum when she thought she might be passed over for the photo shoot.

No humans were injured during this production.

Sit on the Dog, aka: The long down

Because I am constantly getting requests to explain my 'sit on the dog' exercise I have finally decided to put a copy here. Before you go on to read the instructions you need to know these FACTS:

1. Students who actually come to me for training seem to find this a very difficult exercise.
2. People who hear about it, almost NEVER get it right.
3. People who read about it, seldom get it right.
4. Everyone wants to either add or take away some part of it.
5. More than 50% of those who hear about it or read about it don't believe it will work simply because it is TOO EASY.
6. When it is done EXACTLY as explained, it is 100% successful.

THE LONG DOWN (Margot’s sitting on the dog exercise)

There is a major difference in the down/stay and the long down. The down/stay can only be taught after the dog has learned to down on command. Teaching a dog to down on a voice command can take up to three weeks of working three sessions per day, every day. The dog must be wearing collar and leash when doing this exercise.

The long down can be taught in a couple of sessions. It has a totally different focus. It cannot be called a long down unless it is at least 30 minutes in duration. The dog has on a collar that it can’t back out of and a 6’ leather leash is then attached to that collar. The leash is then run, from left to right over the seat of a solid chair that does not have wheels. The owner then sits on the chair and the leash. The leash is adjusted so that when the dog decides to lie down there will be gentle upward pressure on the collar. At no time does the owner touch, look at or talk to the dog. The dog must be wearing collar and leash when doing this exercise.

The owner must have something else to do during the long down period. Read a book. Play a computer game. Write out all your complaints about having to do this stupid exercise. Talk to a friend. Eat a meal. Pay some bills. Do some homework. It really doesn’t matter as long as you are doing something. The only time you would acknowledge the dog is to push it away if it tries to climb into your lap or tries to eat the leg off the chair you are sitting in or some other behavior that is equally unacceptable. When this happens, you must take whatever physical means necessary to cause the dog to stop the behavior at once and not resume it at a latter date.

This is an exercise in leadership and dominance. You are supposed to be the dominant one and the leader. As such, you are the one who decides where the two of you will be and for how long and it is not a voting matter. This is an exercise in patience. Something every dog must learn if it is to survive to live a comfortable life. There are no maximum time lengths for this exercise. However, the minimum time is 30 minutes. The exercise should be practiced twice per day, every day. The dog must be wearing collar and leash when doing this exercise.

After the first couple of days, this is a very calming and soothing exercise for both parties. During the first couple of days a really determine dog will go through the most amazing series of behaviors. Not only that, they will repeat the series in the same sequence over and over. When none of the behaviors win them the leadership post they will literally throw themselves down, give a very loud humph and refuse to look at you. After this period has past it is all smooth sailing and happy tail wags.

Again, the long down has nothing in common with a down/stay other than the physical position of the dog. You can NOT leave a dog that is doing a long down because you are a major part of the picture. You do leave a dog that is doing a down/stay. You can NOT tell the dog or show the dog how to do the long down. You must give the dog the chance to figure out what the most comfortable position is going to be. The dog must be wearing collar and leash when doing this exercise.

There you have it. Nothing difficult about it. Very straight forward. And simply because it is so very easy just about everyone wants to twist it, change it, turn it into something it well and truly isn't and never was.

The back history one this exercise goes back more than 40 years now. I wanted to teach group classes that were really meaningful. Group classes that actually felt like a class room where learning was valued. To me that meant students sitting in chairs, able to take notes if they wished. It meant quiet, attentive students. But what to do with the dogs? The wild, untrained, heathen sorts. The dogs that had been labeled fighters. The dogs that had been labeled biters? The shy dog? The overly bold dog? How could I have 15 to 20 misfit dogs, dogs who had been kicked out of every club and training school for 50 miles in the same room with owners sitting quietly in chairs and taking notes on what was being taught?

Enter the sit on your dog exercise. Some first week classes were so bad each owner had to be escorted into the classroom and settled in place before the next team dared enter. By the second week of class the owner's had no need of an escort and by the third week I could walk into the classroom at the start of the class and find the quite, attentive students I so craved. And so was born the "sit on your dog" exercise. Over the years it has had much refinement and most was due in a vain attempt to get people to just do the exercise as it was taught. Neither add nor take away from the instructions, that it would seem is the true key to success.

No matter how hard an owner works, no matter how clever a trainer happens to be, the dog will learn nothing of value unless it is paying full attention to the lesson. That means the full focus of the dog's mind must be on the lesson and this is a thing that will never happen until the dog is given a chance to find that calm center point. The same, by the way, is true for the human. There really isn't much of anything useful to be gained by trying to teach or learn when the mind is in a scattered and unfocused condition.

Busy day

Well, this time Sam beat me to it when it comes to posting pictures and video about what is going on around here. To make matters worse, grind salt in my wounds and all that sort of thing, while they were in the training studio having so much fun, I was so tired I had fallen asleep and missed it all.

On the one hand I'm mad that I got left out. On the other hand I'm so proud of all of them I could just about bust. Does that qualify as being in balance?

Go here to see what I'm fussing about:
http://misterrugby7.blogspot.com/2009/12/where-do-i-even-start.html

And now with a toast from the past I bid you all a Happy New Year and may it be healthy and more prosperous than last year.

The Mighty Maltese

Sometimes a person just has to do what a person must do. In this case, Sam, Rugby and I got together and shot this quick video as a protest.

Yep! That's right. We are all protesting the misconception people seem to have about toy breed dogs and perhaps Maltese toys in particularly. Sam ordered a dumbbell for Rugby and had to deal with being told what she was ordering was too big. It wasn't.

Several months of hard use later it broke. One of the bells just fell apart during a training session. Since Mr. Rugby has also been taught to retrieve all sorts of things besides the dumbbell he "borrowed" a dumbbell from his friend Ellie the Yorkie. Meanwhile, Sam ordered not one, but two new dumbbells, thinking to have one to use and one for a spare. Again, she was told the size she was ordering was too big. Shoot, it wasn't too big the first time around and it sure isn't too big now.

She complained to me about the problem. I found I was most annoyed about this issue. See, just a couple of months ago I ordered a dumbbell for Ellie only to have the wrong size sent to me because what I had ordered was "too big". Not so.

Sam and I both filed a protest and Rugby's new dumbbells are on the way. Meanwhile a guy's gotta keep on training. So Rugby asked Sanity if he could borrow her dumbbell. She said yes. Here is Rugby, hard at work. As you can see, he's no shrinking violet, hot-house, sissy, purse dog. Nope, this is a serious working dog that just happens to come in a very small package.




I don't know about you, but I think Rugby is one super and very special, not-toy, dog. Wonder if his diet of raw, meaty bones has anything to do with his jaw and neck strength?

A December snow day

We really do have lots of snow on the ground. I had to pay a guy to come in with his snow plow and plow out the driveway and a big section of the old parking lot just so the dogs would have a place the "go" that wasn't butt high or over your head high.

Rugby had never met Black and Blue until now. Never mind Rugby's size since he seems to be of the opinion that somehow he is in-charge. Most of the time he turns out to be a wonderful icebreaker and then there are other times when he runs into some minor glitches. This is one of those glitch times.

Black and Blue are more than a little bit puzzled as exactly why this strange creature is trying to get them to do something. Anything. Some of the problem seems to be that Rugby's accent is different.
After all, they were here long before this strange looking snowball.He really should show more respect toward his elders.

Not to be deterred in the least Rugby continues to invite them to join him in a wonderful game. Blue just wants him to GO AWAY and Black isn't sure what to make of the entire matter.

Finally, Rugby gives up on them and heads off looking for someone else to play chase and be chased. Because he didn't stay around to coax them, they are just curious enough to follow him.

Sorry you two, but I'm outta here.

That's Ellie up ahead. Hurry! Hurry, Hurry! Gotta fly.

Hello, sweet thing. Chase or contact sport?

That's great! Contact sport it is. And Blue stands there wondering what on earth is going on.

All photos by Sam Daley. Thank you, Sam.

Rugby Photo shoot

All of these pictures and the video is brought to you by a person who NEVER allows a dog on her quilts. Now all I have to figure out is just how Rugby managed to get that person to waive the law for the length of time it took for this photo shoot.

The new naughty words

Take the time to watch the video before you read what I have to say about new naughty words.

We all know what the old naughty words were. They were the Anglo-Saxon expletives that are now heard routinely on TV, in the movies, on the streets and in the schools. They have become so common the only way a person can voice a complaint is when the speaker uses the same two or three of them over and over again to the point where it isn't possible to ascertain what, if anything, the speaker is trying to say.

Those are not the words I write about. The new naughty words are words like:

work
discipline
drill
memorize
leadership
submission
correction
contention
compulsion

The reason why or even how those eight words became the new profanity is totally beyond me. If you watch the above video all the way through and you pay attention to what is really going on there are some things that should jump right out and slap you in the face during the first viewing.

What? The extreme attention the dog is giving the trainer didn't happen through the use of food, toys, games, special training collars or prayer. That attention was earned with hours of hard work over a period of several months. That work didn't just include all of the bad words in the list, it also included both time and duration.

The dog is now at a point where he can concentrate with that level of intensity for up to 10 minutes. By this time next year that will have been pushed to at least 3 times that amount of total focus on the handler, with no lose of attitude. I'll say that part again just in case you missed it the first time. There is no loss of positive, good, upbeat, happy, confident attitude.

Why? Because during his training he was taken to the point of contention and helped to move beyond that point. On the other side of contentiousness lies self confidence, confidence in the trainer, trust, safety, pride of purpose and an entire host of other feelings and sensations that are only experience by those who are willing to practice make full use of all those naughty words and what each of them means.

Pride of purpose means knowing and understanding what the purpose is for starters. Pride of work is the strongest and most powerful reward of all. No food treat nor toy nor game will satisfy a dog who has been lucky enough to join with a trainer that understands leadership, work, discipline, and yes, compulsion.

Now, go back and watch the video a second time. See if you can spot the number of times the dog is corrected for making a mistake. Remember, there are no cookies, no toys and no leash. Then take a look at the background. In the upper left side of the frame you will see two other dogs. They spend some of the time watching and some of the time playing. They are not tied nor restrained in any fashion. When it is their time to work they will come out on the floor with the very same upbeat attitude seen in the Lab.

For those of you who may be wondering, yes the Lab is Pete. Under the table waiting their turn are Rugby and Ellie. Sam is the trainer.

Just a bunch of randoms

I started collecting the quotes used in this blog several weeks ago. Had fine, high-fluting ideas about writing a deeply thoughtful, insightful, monologue on where we stand at the close of this year of Two Thousand and Nine CE. The first problem I ran into was that every single time I would start to write this amazing opus my mind would simply go blank. When I would finally come back to myself I'd be playing Solitaire.

Now I ask you, how is a well-meaning, reasonably thoughtful person like I thought I was supposed to write anything of worth when the blasted computer switched to Solitaire in such a sneaky fashion?

My final solution is what I am now offering you. The entire, current collection of quotes. They are well worth thinking about. They are offered to you with the hopes that you, my reader, will be led into doing some research on your own. I don't know about you, but I know I wouldn't have a life worth living if it was bereft of animals.

In my case, with my current living situation that means dogs, dogs, dogs. I want to continue to train them the way I have always trained them. I want my right to care for them as DOGS! I want to continue to be the owner and to use what is now a unPC term, I want to be the master (well in my case, I guess I need to say mistress).

I don't want to lose them. No, I don't want to be a dog mommy. No, I don't want to have the state allow me guardianship over a group of fur children. No, I'm not willing to live with a bunch of "little people in fur suits". I'm not willing to prevent my dogs from learning the joys of real work.

"Animal rights is mental illness masquerading as philosophy." Walt Hutchens

I continue to wonder if the real problem is that for one reason or another we now have a huge population of mostly women of a certain age and education level who are all suffering from Munchausen by proxy syndrome (MBPS) and the poor proxy just happens to be whatever animals they have taken a fancy to. These women also managed to raise a generation of young humans who seem to be pretty much neuters, insist their animals be rendered sexless and who are continuing the MBPS with a vengeance. The goal would appear to make the condition the legal norm. May G*d save all of us from such a fate.

"Animal Extremists and Animal Terrorists. The difference is that anyone falling
into those two groups will gladly deprive you of your civil rights, your
property and even your life in order to get what they want (witness the
story about the fur protesters in Morgan, UT who claim that "God hates fur"
and even carried a poster with a drawing of an automatic weapon and the
words "no compromise") ." barbarajhaines

Now that's another thing I just don't get. Here we are, living in a great country. A country founded on a person's individual freedoms. Pride of our civil rights and our right to own property seems to be falling out of fashion. In it's place is what? Socialism? Something even worse?

The solution begins when we spread the word: "When you donate to HSUS, a shelter
dog dies." Loretta Baughan

Now this is something we should all be saying every single chance we get. Money donated to the Humane Society of the US doesn't go to help any animals. It sure doesn't help the lost, broken, cast off dogs. It sure doesn't help the horses or the cattle or the sheep or the pigs or even the chickens. What it does do is help pass yet another round of human hostile, animal killing bills into law. As a certain TV personality is fond of saying, "How's that working for ya?"

To the Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly
Bill 241 without my signature.

This measure would make it a crime for
any person or entity to own or control more than 50 unsterilized adult dogs or
cats for breeding or raising for sale as pets. I support measures designed to
prevent animal cruelty and that punish persons engaged in the abuse of animals.
However, this measure simply goes too far in an attempt to address the serious
problem of puppy mills. An arbitrary cap on the number of animals any entity can
possess throughout the state will not end unlawful, inhumane breeding practices.
Instead this measure has the potential to criminalize the lawful activities of
reputable breeders, pet stores, kennels, and charitable organizations engaged in
raising service and assistance dogs.

For these reasons, I am unable to
sign this bill.

Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger

When Gov. Schwarzenegger refused to sign CA 241 into law, I was one of a great many who gave a sigh of relief. Sadly that was just one of hundreds of bills presented to legislative bodies all across this great land of ours. Why? What on earth has gotten into the elected officials? They continue to accept bills written by H$U$ toadies and then vote those anti-animal bills into laws. Laws that will do much harm and do no good. Strange behavior, strange indeed.

Animal Welfare or Animal Rights?
Here are some of the differences:
　
As animal welfare advocates. . .

• We seek to improve the treatment and well-being of animals.
  
• We support the humane treatment of animals that ensures comfort and freedom from unnecessary pain and suffering.


• We believe we have the right to "own" animals -- they are our
  property.


• We believe animal owners should provide loving care for the lifetime of
  their animals.

As animal rights activists. . .

• They seek to end the use and ownership of animals, including the keeping of
  pets.
  
• They believe that any use of an animal is exploitation so, not only must we
  stop using animals for food and clothing, but pet ownership must be outlawed as well.
  
• They want to obtain legal rights for animals as they believe that animals
  and humans are equal.
  
• They use false and unsubstantiated allegations of animal abuse to raise
  funds, attract media attention and bring supporters into the movement.
  　　　　 (The Inhumane Crusade, Daniel T. Oliver – Capital Research Center)

For now I will just ask you to read, think about what you just read and then read it again. I don't know about you, but no way will I ever be willing to believe my dogs are my equals. Well, maybe I could be convinced to change my mind on that matter when the dogs start washing windows. Certainly not before.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) spent less than 5% of its
$152 MILLION income directly aiding animals. Most of their money went to
executive salaries, travel and political lobbying.

If you really want to give your money away to be used for paying executive salaries, travel and heavy duty political lobbying, hey it's still a free country. It's your hard earned money and you should be free to spend it, give it away, bury it or burn it. In the giving away part, at least know what that money will be spend on. Know it will be spend on eliminating domestic animals. Personally I think that is a really bad idea, but that's just me.

Animal rights laws are another way for government to meddle in your life

We've got way, way too much government as it is, do you really want more?

Even Dobermans enjoy duck hunting and duck eating.

Serious Opinion Needed

I say this is a great picture. I love the expression on both faces. I love the pose. I think the color contrast is nice. Yes, it would have been nicer if Sanity's ear tip hadn't been cut off. Yes, it would have been better if the clutter in the upper right hand side wasn't there. But as dog shots go this one is a keeper for me.

I didn't take it. Yes, I did act as the 'handler' getting the poses, but I wasn't the cameraman. Nope, that skill was left to Sam (Rugby's owner).

Sam's blog is here:http://misterrugby7.blogspot.com/ She has lots of great pictures. Go take a look.

But now back to the voting thing. I already showed you the picture I like the best. Here is Sam's choice and a runner-up. You choose Runner-up

So what say you?