Why Train Your Dog?

(by Ana Grimh, CDPT-KA; adapted from an APDT article, 'The Benefits of Training')

As we reach the end of the APDT's National Train Your Dog Month, Teacher's Pet would like to reflect on some of the fabulous reasons why one should attend training classes.

1. Puppy classes provide the opportunity for getting your new family member started off right (especially with regard to socialization).

2. Training classes provide owners with the tools to deal with common, normal doggy behaviors, such as housetraining, polite greetings, etc.

3. No matter what age you start training your dog, foundation training provides the basis for any
activity, behavior or job you want your dog to do.

4. Training provides dogs with basic manners that humans love - ie., politely greeting other humans, coming when called, walking nicely on leash.

5. A trained dog can participate in all family activities. Good manners are generally welcomed by other people!

6. Training enables you to choose from among a broad range of activities and dog sports to participate in and enjoy with your dog, such as agility, canine freestyle, therapy work, etc.

7. Training has been shown to be the single most important thing that keeps a dog
in his or her “forever” home.

8. Training builds your mutual bond, enhances the partnership and enriches the
relationship you share with your dog.

We are sure you can think of many more reasons why training class is important for you and your dog! Check out our website: www.teacherspettraining.com for class schedules!

Winter Walking Tips!

(by Brianne Statz, CPDT-KA)

Walking the dog is a great way for you both to get some exercise. However, walking in Wisconsin in winter is not exactly the easiest or most enjoyable excursion. But there are some helpful products that can make those winter walks better.

1. Yaktrax (http://yaktrax.com/) – While icy sidewalks don’t seem to faze the dogs, they can be very dangerous for people. Yaktrax attach to the bottom of your shoes or boots and help you stay vertical on your walks. I find them very effective, especially when the only free time I have is in the evening when it’s too dark to see all the icy patches.

2. Waist Leash (many brands available, such as Blue Dog Waist Leash (www.bluedogtraining.com) – While the waist leash has many advantages in walking and training, it’s wonderful in winter because you can keep your hands in your pockets! And if you do happen to slip and fall on some ice, you don’t risk dropping the leash and having your dog running free.

3. Paw Plunger (http://www.pawplunger.com/) – Winter can be very messy, when snow and ice start to melt and turn into slush and mud. With this device, you can come home, slip your dogs paws into it, and clean them easily. It does work quite well for cleaning the paws, although sometimes I wish there was a “full body” version.

Keep yourself and your dogs safe and warm, but you can still get out there and walk!

Foods to Avoid Giving Your Pet

(by Ana Grimh, CPDT-KA; adapted from ASPCA article)

Throughout the holiday season, questions may have arose about what is healthy and unhealthy to feed your pet(s). We are a bit late for the 2010 season, but here is a brief list of what to avoid feeding your pet(s)!

Chocolate, Coffee, Caffeine

These products all contain substances called methylxanthines, which are found in cacao seeds, the fruit of the plant used to make coffee and in the nuts of an extract used in some sodas. When ingested by pets, methylxanthines can cause vomiting and diarrhea, panting, excessive thirst and urination, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures and even death. Note that darker chocolate is more dangerous than milk chocolate. White chocolate has the lowest level of methylxanthines, while baking chocolate contains the highest.

Alcohol

Alcoholic beverages and food products containing alcohol can cause vomiting, diarrhea, decreased coordination, central nervous system depression, difficulty breathing, tremors, abnormal blood acidity, coma and even death.

Avocado

The leaves, fruit, seeds and bark of avocados contain Persin, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea in dogs. Birds and rodents are especially sensitive to avocado poisoning, and can develop congestion, difficulty breathing and fluid accumulation around the heart. Some ingestions may even be fatal.

Macadamia Nuts

Macadamia nuts are commonly used in many cookies and candies. However, they can cause problems for your canine companion. These nuts have caused weakness, depression, vomiting, tremors and hyperthermia in dogs. Signs usually appear within 12 hours of ingestion and last approximately 12 to 48 hours.

Grapes & Raisins

Although the toxic substance within grapes and raisins is unknown, these fruits can cause kidney failure.

Yeast Dough

Yeast dough can rise and cause gas to accumulate in your pet’s digestive system. This can be painful and can cause the stomach or intestines to rupture. Because the risk diminishes after the dough is cooked and the yeast has fully risen, pets can have small bits of bread as treats. However, these treats should not constitute more than 5 percent to 10 percent of your pet’s daily caloric intake.

Raw/Undercooked Meat, Eggs and Bones

Raw meat and raw eggs can contain bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli that can be harmful to pets. In addition, raw eggs contain an enzyme called avidin that decreases the absorption of biotin (a B vitamin), which can lead to skin and coat problems. Feeding your pet raw bones may seem like a natural and healthy option that might occur if your pet lived in the wild. However, this can be very dangerous for a domestic pet, who might choke on bones, or sustain a grave injury should the bone splinter and become lodged in or puncture your pet’s digestive tract.

Xylitol

Xylitol is used as a sweetener in many products, including gum, candy, baked goods and toothpaste. It can cause insulin release in most species, which can lead to liver failure. The increase in insulin leads to hypoglycemia (lowered sugar levels). Initial signs of toxicosis include vomiting, lethargy and loss of coordination. Signs can progress to recumbancy and seizures. Elevated liver enzymes and liver failure can be seen within a few days.

Onions, Garlic, Chives

These vegetables and herbs can cause gastrointestinal irritation and could lead to red blood cell damage. Although cats are more susceptible, dogs are also at risk if a large enough amount is consumed. Toxicity is normally diagnosed through history, clinical signs and microscopic confirmation of Heinz bodies. An occasional low dose, such as what might be found in pet foods or treats, likely will not cause a problem, but we recommend that you do NOT give your pets large quantities of these foods.

Milk

Because pets do not possess significant amounts of lactase (the enzyme that breaks down lactose in milk), milk and other milk-based products cause them diarrhea or other digestive upset.

Salt

Large amounts of salt can produce excessive thirst and urination, or even sodium ion poisoning in pets. Signs that your pet may have eaten too many salty foods include vomiting, diarrhea, depression, tremors, elevated body temperature, seizures and even death.

Evaluating the Things We Don't "Love" About Our Dogs

(by Brianne Statz, CPDT-KA)

Five Things I Love About My Dogs:

1. Their infectious enthusiasm in greeting me when I come home, even if I’ve only been gone a
few minutes.

2. Watching them run, mouths wide open like they’re smiling, the picture of joyful.

3. Cuddle time – mentality, not size, makes a lap dog.

4. If I drop food on the floor, all I have to do to clean it up is whistle.

5. They’re just really freaking cute.

Five Things I Don’t Love About My Dogs:

1. Payton barks at other dogs and people going by the window.

2. They jump up when they’re excited (sometimes with very dirty paws).

3. Finley insists on stopping for a thorough interview of every single trash can if we walk on
garbage day.

4. Payton likes to race up the stairs, and doesn’t care who he has to cut off to get up or down as fast as possible.

5. They leave fluffy little fur clouds in every crevice of the house.

One thing that’s great about making a list of things I don’t like is that I can evaluate each one, and usually find a solution to help. Here are some examples:

1. Reward the behavior you want – For barking out the window, I spend some time watching out the window with Payton, and rewarding him for being quiet when someone goes by. He now will often just whine and look at me, rather than have a frenzied barking meltdown.

2. Reward an incompatible behavior – For jumping up, I taught the dogs “go to your bed”, and I can send them there to do sit or down stays until I am ready to greet them. I will also reward jumping nose touches out to the side, so they can jump, but not on me.

3. Foundation Skills – Leave it is a skill every dog should know well, and it’s perfect for this situation.

4. Self-control exercises – Asking Payton for a wait at the stairs gets me up and down without breaking a leg, and also strengthens his self-control.

5. Well, not everything can be fixed with training. That’s when I look at my list of things I love and decide they are worth it! :)

Play: How To Tell The Good From The Bad

Playing with other dogs is an important part of a dog’s social life. Frequent play sessions can help keep your dog’s social skills finely tuned as well as provide some great exercise. It can be very satisfying for you as an owner to see your dog having fun, but it can also be stressful if you’re not sure whether or not the behaviors your dog or his playmate are exhibiting are appropriate in dog play. Oftentimes playing dogs can look very rough and even aggressive. Here are some key things to look for that can help determine if you should let your dog play on, or if it’s time for a break.

Play face: When you see a dog with a very wide open mouth, you’re seeing a play face. You can see lots of teeth, and it can look frightening, but a truly aggressive dog will have a more closed and tense mouth with the lips covering the teeth more.

Play bow: When your dog lowers the front half of her body with the hindquarters still raised, she’s doing a play bow, a move to entice others to play. Play bows can be held for awhile, or they can be a very short and subtle bend in the legs.

Pawing: Using a front paw to bat at another dog is an invitation to play.

Role Reversal: When two dogs are playing, it’s a good thing to see them switch positions every now and then. First Spike is on the top, then Fluffy is on the top. First Maggie chases Sadie, then Sadie chases Maggie, etc.

Taking Breaks: Because play can be very arousing, and sometimes arousal can spill over into aggression, it’s good when dogs are able to take brief breaks from play. This may be as simple as taking a break from wrestling to offer a play bow, or to shake off. If you have a dog who doesn’t take breaks like this, talk to your trainer about how to help your dog learn this valuable play skill.

Growling: This can be one of the most difficult things to interpret in dog play. You really need to evaluate the rest of the body language because some dogs are just loud players. Generally though, growling signals a higher level of arousal, so look for the growly dog to take breaks from play as mentioned above. Also, if the growling is very low pitched, or decreases in pitch, that signals a more serious intent.

Hold one back: When two dogs are playing, if you’re concerned that one dog is bullying the other, hold the bully back for a second or two and see how the other dog reacts. If the other dog shakes off and walks away, you know the bully was a little much. If the other dog comes right back at the bully, they were having a good time and enjoying the play.

Respect for Signals: It’s important that dogs respect “back off” signals from other dogs. Freezing, looking away, and snapping are common signals that a dog needs more space. Ideally your dog will recognize these signals and leave that dog alone, but if he doesn’t, go over and call him away.

Raised Hackles: When the hair on a dog’s back goes up, many people think that dog is aggressive, but this is not necessarily the case. Piloerection (the technical term) just signifies arousal. Watch for other body language. If the dog also has a play face and is pawing, don’t worry about it.

Mounting: People are quick to assume dominance when one dog mounts another, but this has never been proven to be the case. The current literature is so varied on this, ascribing it to everything from stress to a play invitation. The bottom line is that if you don’t like it, or the other dog doesn’t like it, call your dog out of the situation. A strong leave it cue (take your attention away from that), can help if this is a recurring issue.

The next time your dog is playing with another dog, watch for these signs of appropriate and inappropriate play. Remember that it’s important to let dogs use their body language, so never punish your dog for communicating with another dog. If you or your dog are uncomfortable, just get out of the situation.

My Dog Is Barking and Won't Stop: Here Are TIPS!

(by Brianne Statz)

We recently added a challenging exercise to our group classes – spend 2 minutes or so working with your dog without talking. It may not sound that hard, but it’s surprisingly difficult for our very verbal human brains to accomplish. We like to talk to our dogs, and our dogs do build quite an impressive vocabulary, whether it’s words we purposely teach, like sit and down, or words they pick up on their own, like W-A-L-K. Despite their capacity to learn verbal cues, dogs are generally more visually oriented and communicate more by body language. That means they bark a lot less than we talk. But even so, barking is a behavior that many of us find irritating, and want to eliminate as much as possible.

Here are a few strategies to help curb undesirable barking:

· Train an incompatible behavior – It’s harder (though not impossible) for your dog to bark when he has something in his mouth. Teaching a “get your toy” cue can help for excitement barking, such as when you come home from work or you have a visitor at the door.

· Train an alternative behavior – If your dog knows that something other than barking will be rewarded, chances are he will choose that option. For example, say your dog barks at other dogs while walking. Every time you spot another dog, stop and ask your dog to sit and generously reward him for paying attention to you. As you do this more often, your dog will see other dogs as an opportunity to earn some goodies from you, rather than something to start barking at.

· Reward quiet – This one sounds simple, but can be a true test to your patience. Simply wait for your dog to stop barking and reward the quiet. It works best if you try to be preemptive and reward your dog for being quiet before the barking starts. For example, if your dog likes to bark when he sees someone walk past the front window, spend some time sitting with your dog by the window, and as soon as you see someone going by start lavishly praising and feeding your dog as soon as he sees the person. If he does start barking, wait for him to stop, and then reward. Up the ante by gradually waiting for longer periods of quiet before rewarding.

· Manage the situation – When you don’t want to work on training the bark away, do your best to manage the situation. Close the blind to the front window, give your dog a stuffed Kong or bone to chew, or do a day of doggy daycare to get him really tired.

Pets' Pet Names

(by Brianne Statz, CPDT-KA)

Does your pet have a nickname? Pseudonym? Alias? All of the Above? Most of us call our pets by a variety of different “pet names”. Here are mine:

· Payton, my Australian Shepherd is known by all of the following: Liam’s Sweetness Forever (registered name), Tony, Tony the P, PMan, Paytey, Jerkface, Steve Smith (by my brother who wanted me to name him that), and Turd Ferguson (from an SNL sketch – celebrity Jeopardy anyone?)

· Finley, my husky mix is known by these monikers: Fin, Finch, Finchface, FinBinley, and Findersox

· Joan the cat gets called all of these: Baby Joan, JoanBee, Miss Beazley, Little Miss and Snotface Joan

A pet name is a term of endearment and affection, and there is no harm in having them for our pets. Or is there? When it comes to training, they can actually be a problem. One of the first things we talk about in group classes is Name Recognition. We need our dogs to respond to their names so we can get their attention when necessary. We start out in our beginner and puppy classes by having each owner call their dog’s name and reinforce if the dog looks at the owner.
Through the rest of the classes, we work on adding distraction – bouncing balls, squeaking toys, etc., with the goal of our dog’s head immediately jerking around toward us when we call her name.

But when class is over, most of us don’t practice name recognition at home. And to add to that lack of practice once class is over, we frequently use nicknames. What is happening when I call my Aussie Tony, PMan, etc is that “Payton” may not be getting reinforced. So when I do call “Payton”, and don’t get the quick response I expect, I might get frustrated. I think to myself he knows his name – he should look at me when I say it!

Whenever your dog doesn’t respond to his name, take a second and think about the last time you actually rewarded (with a primary reinforcer like food – not with just a “good boy”) your dog for responding to his name. And the last time you rewarded a name recognition without any strings attached (i.e. without making him come inside or stay, or do anything other than simply look at you). All behaviors need to be reinforced every now and then to keep them alive.

Does this mean we shouldn’t have pet names for our pets? I know I couldn’t stop myself if I tried. It just means that we need one “go to name”. One name that we expect a quick response when we call it, and that we put the effort into training that quick response.