Keeping in Touch

Networking is a wonderful thing. Not only can you enjoy the company of likeminded people, it can be really good for business too. If you are just walking your dog in the local park, then networking and chatting to other dog walkers is a fun and sociable thing to do. You can keep up with all the local doggy gossip (so can your dogs by the way) and important information can come your way. In my local park, someone has been putting down poison for dogs, knowing this can keep your dog safe from harm.
If like me, you are a professional in the dog world, then networking with other trainers, behaviourists, breeders, vets and dog minders and walkers is a really great thing to do. I never see other behaviourists or trainers as a threat to my business. We need to swap ideas, keep in touch, learn from each other, swap news, promote each others' businesses and if you are lucky you will also make friends with likeminded people.
I like to keep up to date with continuing education and training, any individual with a professional skill should do the same. I never stop learning and I am passionate about discovering the doggy world around me, and immersing myself in 'all things doggy' (quite literally sometimes!). I have seen boxers boxing, spaniels spanieling and pointers pointing! No amount of information is too small to lock away somewhere for a rainy day. For instance...
Today I was on a seminar about the different needs that different dogs have, according to their hard wired genetic breeding. Retrievers retrieve...of course. But what were Chow Chows bred to do? (you know the fluffy ones with the black tongues?), well nothing... they were bred to be eaten, as a food source in China - hence the word chow...ugh!

Help! My dog won't play!

I've come across more and more people who tell me that their dog will not play. Just not interested in toys, rough and tumble, retrieving balls or any kind of fun games. Well until we re-homed this Labrador bundle of fun, I too had a dog that was not interested in play.

Play is an activity or skill which needs to be learnt. It does not come naturally to all dogs and if this dog has missed out on a good early start in life, or with owners that didn't have the time to play then it may never learn. But it is never too late to start! You can teach an old dog new tricks! In fact, an old dog is more capable of learning new tricks because he has had a lifetime of learning what the rules of the game are!

So the rules of the game are; If I do something that my owner wants me to do, I get a treat! By getting a treat, little amounts of happy chemicals are released into the dog's brain. Hey, let's do that again and I might get another treat! You must also be prepared to make a bit of an idiot of yourself, by squealing and yipping and looking as if you are having a great time yourself! Keep the individual training sessions down to no more than 5 minutes each. As with my last dog Buddy, he was 10 years old before he learned to play, it took almost a year to do, but we made it!

Humans must be prepared to get down and dirty on the carpet, roll on the floor and make stupid noises! You must let go of all your inhibitions for your dog's sake! Remember, playing is a skill which needs to be learned.

Saint Roch - Patron Saint of Dogs!

On holiday in Madeira recently I made a special journey to a little town called Sao Roque, just outside the capital Funchal. Just one church in the town and not much else. The reason for this visit, you might call it a pilgrimage, was to visit the church. Saint Roch is the patron saint of DOGS! If you look closely at this photo you will see the dog with a loaf of bread in its mouth!
Saint Roch, also named Rocco or Rock was born in Montpellier. On his way to Rome he was ministering to the sick and poor when he himself fell ill. Struck down with the plague he was expelled from the town of Piacenza in Italy where he went into the woods to try to survive on his own. He would have died but for a dog that belonged to a local nobleman. This dog brought him a loaf of bread each day and gradually licked his wounds clean! Saint Roch survived and was hailed a saint! (personally I think the dog should have some recognition..)
So, according to the Catholic church, Saint Roch is the patron saint of DOGS!.. also the patron saint of knee pain, diseased cattle, the patron saint of falsely accused people and of surgeons! and about a hundred other worthy causes!

Sign of the Times

Dog walkers in my local park are outraged at this sign which was put up on the gate last week. I have been dog walking in this park since 1981. A wonderful, beautiful local resource. A huge open space with ancient oak trees, tennis courts, playgrounds and football pitches. It is a lovely open space and dogs have been getting exercise off lead for years without bother... until now.
I can understand fining people £80 for allowing their dog to foul and not pick up after them - fair enough. But to fine them £80 for letting their dog off the leash to have a run? You're having a laugh!
There may have been individual cases of dog aggression, young people in gangs with bull dogs seem to be everywhere these days. Penalising the rest of us is just not fair. Why not bring the problem individuals to justice, and not Mr and Mrs Normal and their elderly Golden Retriever. Actually, you are likely to see more dog to dog aggression if they are always on a leash.

By being on a leash, you may have cut down on their 'fight or flight' options if they feel uncomfortable or threatened by a strange dog. If they are off the leash then their body language is natural and they can show appeasement and run away if necessary. If they are on a leash their body language is strained and more threatening, and you have cut off their option to run away.. so theymay feel that they have to fight if they feel threatened. A sad state of affairs, but a sign of the times I'm afraid.

Modern Thinking

Just look at this dreadful contraption. I found this on sale in a Calais pet shop yesterday. This is a prong collar. It is supposed to inflict pain on a dog so that it obeys your commands. The harder you pull or jerk the leash, the more pain is inflicted on the dog. It doesn't bear thinking about does it?
Modern research and modern training methods are always only kind, fair and reward based. These are not airy-fairy, namby-pamby ideas; the scientific research has proved that if you reward a dog for performing a required task then you substantially increase the likelihood that it will do it again. If you punish the wrong task, then you achieve nothing positive. Your dog will not learn how to behave if you punish them for doing something wrong. Your dog WILL learn how to behave well if you reward the correct behaviour.
If you are looking for a trainer or a behaviourist for your dog, then please look for someone who has recent professional qualifications and experience. Reward based training is the way forward. Rolled up newspapers, threats, shouting, pointing and prong collars are history.

The Importance of Chewing

I bought Leo a new chew toy yesterday. This is a piece of deer antler. I have been reading about this product available for sale (at huge inflated prices) and I came across one at a show trade stand (The Doggy Snack Shack!) and decided to try one. He loves it! Hard enough not to splinter or break off, despite much trying! and natural enough to keep him interested for long periods of time. 24hours later, still chewing and hardly a mark on it.
Chewing is a necessary part of a healthy dog's daily activity. Chewing is immensely enjoyable for a dog, it produces happy and relaxing feelings for a dog. Chewing enables a stressed dog to calm down. Very often a dog that is stressed or anxious will chew something to try to calm itself down. Best you provide them with something chewable rather than them choosing something from inside your house that they think looks interesting and chewable!

I had a brilliant day last weekend at the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home annual reunion in Battersea Park. Lots of interest from owners of mixed breed dogs about DNA testing.
I have a couple of shows coming up in the next few weeks. This Sunday 11th September I will be at the K9 Capers fundog show at Dogs Trust in Harefield.
But on Saturday 17th September I will be at a fundog show at Kingston Maurward College in Dorchester, Dorset.
Then, on Sunday 18th September I will be attending a big event, the PupAid 2011 in Brighton. This is a big show to raise awareness of puppy farming. Supported by some big rock stars and musicians as well as some major dog rescue charities. I am particularly looking forward to this one.