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On Shocking Our Dogs

Trish King | Sun, 12/18/2011 - 09:46

Just because we can….doesn’t mean we should

I want to eat. Actually, I need to eat in order to survive. However, eating has become a battleground between my need for sustenance and my desire to avoid pain. At each mouthful, I could taste food, or an electric shock could hit the side of my face like a hot, burning, lightning bolt, causing me to gasp and pull back. But, often it doesn’t, in which case, I can take the next bite. But do I want to take the next bite? Need and pain fight each other. The end result is that I eat very carefully, one bite of soft food gently following another. I don’t snack and, while I can’t say I don’t enjoy my food (it still tastes good!) it comes at a price that is difficult to pay. This, by the way, is what happens when you have Trigeminal Neuralgia, a fairly rare condition that was once called “the suicide disease.”

Drayton Michaels, CTC works on leash training with Seymour in NYC

Drayton Michaels | Wed, 12/14/2011 - 08:40

Seymour is a dog living in foster care in NYC. I have worked with him three times since this blog and the corresponding video have been released.

http://youtu.be/8cgLdBBs_mY

Seymour is roughly 7 – 8 months old and a mix of we are not sure what. He has had a rough past; which I will not get into for the sake of time. Suffice it to say he has suffered some traumas in his young life from children abusing him.

He is now is a good environment and lives with two adults. They are dedicated and are working closely with me on his training and his behavior modification.

Seymour learns fast and is very keen with sits, stays and waits, following lures, speedy orientations to prompts and he has a great mouth, meaning no known bites and no known aggressions towards humans. He may grab a shirtsleeve or a hanging purse however!

Impulse Control for Everyone

Cindy Bruckart | Fri, 12/09/2011 - 10:17

In dog training there is a lot of talk about impulse control. I believe it’s such a big issue because most dog owners seek help when their dogs become adolescents, which is also the time when impulse control is at its lowest. This is even more the case with an adolescent who has had no practice in puppyhood. If you work with shelter dogs, I’ve just described the back-story of most relinquished or stray dogs.

Teaching longer sits and downs, introducing stays and leave its, are all part of developing impulse control in dogs. Working on loose leash walking and eye contact are also helpful. Basically, anything that encourages and rewards the dog to put aside what he’d like to do (pull toward something, look at something other than you, move toward you when you walk away, bolt through a door) and instead do some silly (to the dog) thing you’ve asked him to do.

Reducing Leash Reactivity - Video Featuring Drayton Michaels, CTC & Lucy the APBT

Drayton Michaels | Tue, 12/06/2011 - 05:56

Watch as Drayton Michaels, (CTC) behavior technician and dog trainer explains and demonstrates how to reduce leash reactivity. Along the way scent motivation, scent stimulation and reducing puling are addressed.

Lucy a 1 ½ year old female American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) was reported to have reactivity to running screaming kids, skateboards and sudden environmental contrast.

There was considerable behavior information taken prior to this first session, and Lucy and Drayton worked in the Urban Dawgs facility for roughly one hour prior to the leash walk. However there were no definitive determinations made about distances of stimulus during reactive episodes.

This was the first session with Lucy and what you see is what happened in real time. There were no set ups.

We hope this video will help you when working with reactive dogs.

Woods Walk Redux

Rachel Friedman | Sun, 11/27/2011 - 20:42

November has been a busy month for testing one of my favorite things -- measuring change. The other day when talking to my daughter Sophie I asked her to hand me a 1/2 full glass of water. She asked why I didn't say half empty. I answered it was the nature/nurture effect of growing up under the relentless optimism of my father, her grandpa, that must have rubbed off on me.

Yes And No: What Do These Words Mean?

Roger Abrantes | Sun, 11/27/2011 - 05:01

Yes and no are two very short words yet they convey the most important information many living beings can receive, on one level regulating their organic functions on another, their behavior, and ultimately, their survival. If I say these words don't require any explanation, everyone would probably agree and yet we'd be wrong. Did you know that in some languages yes and no don’t exist?

Trainer’s Souls & Chicken Soup

Shannon McKay | Wed, 11/23/2011 - 04:37

Twas with great shock and horror that I see my last blog was over two years ago! *hands head in shame and vows to be more diligent in future* In my defence though I can honestly say the last two years have been, without a doubt, the most trying of my life – think lovechild of The Bold & The Beautiful and Jersey Shore and you’re halfway there…

Abrantes and Dunbar in San Francisco in 2005

Abrantes or Dunbar—Who’s the Best?

Roger Abrantes | Mon, 11/21/2011 - 07:13

The other day after a seminar, an attendee came to join me at the pool table. I have a habit of selecting the bar with the most decent pool table as my after hours office wherever I happen to give a seminar. I invite the attendees to join me there in the evening, assuring them that they will be most welcome to ask me any question they like; and indeed they do, they approach the pool table, drink in one hand and pool cue in the other; and fire away.

Balls racked up, I took the break, didn’t pocket any balls, didn’t scratch and passed the game to my opponent, a local, female dog trainer in her late twenties. She took a shot and missed. Then, she looked at me with a radiant, slightly coquettish smile.

“Is it now that I can ask you any question I like?” she enquired teasingly.

“Yes, it is, but please do it before or after I take my shot,” I replied, stressing the words before and after.

Changing the Rules

Cindy Bruckart | Sun, 11/20/2011 - 09:13

I've changed the rules at my house. I've done something that I never thought I would do. I've decided that I no longer want to share my bed with four dogs.

I've also decided that the cats in my house need some space that belongs to just them. For the past three days I have had a baby gate at the end of the hall leading to my bedroom. When I go to bed I leave my dogs in the living room where they have their choice of furniture or dog beds. There has been some confusion and even some complaining, but everyone is adjusting.

I've also converted the spare bedroom (which is bed-less) into a cat sanctuary. There are scratching posts, kitty condos, a litter box and food. The cat room is also beyond the baby gate, therefore beyond the reach of any dogs. This was inspired by my newly adopted dog who hasn't yet figured out the rules about dealing with cats.

Grow Up With Har-Vest Special Offer

Rachel Friedman | Fri, 11/18/2011 - 06:55

If you can start out on the right paws with your young puppy developing loose leash manners in a positive and user friendly way, would you? Of course. Even if that meant having to shell out more bucks each time your pup outgrew a piece of equipment? Probably not. Having multiple kids allows for hand me downs.