Stop & Go

I am taking any opportunity I have to walk Rio and Deuce separately. In truth it makes the walks much more enjoyable for me.

Unfortunately for me, both Deuce and Rio were adopted when they were beginning adolescence and have not previously been taught to walk nicely on leash. For me a dog that pulls when walked is a real drag. It really pushes my buttons.

However, all is not lost, but believe me teaching an adult (or adolescent) dog not to pull requires LOTS of consistency and repetition and did I forget to mentioned tremendous amounts of
patience?

I have used many different techniques to teach these guys and my client’s dogs not to pull. By not pulling I mean walking on a slack leash either in front or to a side - either side. I do not want my dogs on a heel position when we are walking. I don’t find this to be necessary; after all aren’t we going to walks to have fun and relaxation?

Each dog is different in how they learn and what motivates them at a given moment. For example: Deuce as a herding dog would love to be able to chase cars, all cars while Rio (a beagle/cattle-dog mix) ignores them - so far at least. But try to get that Beagle to mind you when in the presence of a smell! You get the idea.

My training & leash walks with Deuce are peppered with behaviors that we use when sheepherding - the ultra-plus activity for a Border collie!

I have incorporated some of the cues I use when sheepherding to teach Deuce to walk nicely on a leash. One of the cues I use is the “Stop” cue which means just that: stop moving.

We begin with him on a loose leash and before he makes the leash taut (this is the critical part) I ask him for a stop.

Because of the way I have used the stop while sheepherding for Deuce it also means lay down on the spot. In between these two behaviors we walk and make turns as needed to keep that leash loose. This requires given Deuce constant feedback (stop, walk, good boy, etc.)

After just a couple of sessions I have seen Deuce walk for longer distances on a loose leash.

Now, trying to teach two dogs to stop pulling at the same time is one of the craziest things you can do. In essence the dog must first learn to individually walk on a loose leash without distractions say in a “boring” environment such as a living room. If the dog cannot walk nicely on a leash here, the chances of you being successful in the big outdoors are probably nil.

It is unfortunate that we live in a world that is enamored with effortless and fast results - no matter what the task might be. In addition, some quasi-dog training TV programs makes things looks oh
so easy.

Viewers who drink the cool-aid think that if someone can train a dog to do pretty much anything in a ½ an hour show the same should apply to their “smart” dog! Ah, what a trap this is. To prove my point I think of how freaking difficult it is for me to make changes in my own behavior… you know where I am heading, no?

So in between teaching my fab’ dogs not to pull, I try on double the session so that I can learn to breathe deeply and remind myself that quick and effortlessly does not exist! At least not in the world of dog training.

What Shall We Name Her?

How do you normally go through the process of naming your new pup? Click all that
apply:

1. Name him/her after a loved one?
2. After a past boyfriend or girlfriend who hated dogs?
3. Always loved a particular name and since you do not have kids, well you give your dog that name?
4. Always people’s names after all they are almost human.
5. Never a people’s name.
6. Something short that you can easily remember. Readers under 50 years old you are cheating if you click this choice!
7. You name your new dog taking a cue on his/her personality of a physical trait?
8. Other

For some odd reason I have been thinking about how I've been choosing the names of my dogs. I now have some idea, as I have been paying attention and I can also tell you that it is not a laissez-faire process for me. The reasons behind my naming are without true foundation but just personal preferences. For example: I had never given one of my dogs a “people’s name." I actually hate it when dogs have people names. Few dogs “wear well” a person's name I think… I like giving names that otherwise would go “unused." So far I have never come across a person named “Blue” or “Ringo,” etc. - both kind of lovely names. I also think that dog names – just like dogs are special so I spend laborious hours thinking of the name of my dogs. Sometimes I know exactly that my dog “x” should be named this way but on occasion I have been clueless.

Recently we adopted our new pup. She is lovely (not her real name :)!). I selected her after having a very clear idea in my mind of what kind of dog I wanted. I always favor temperament over looks. I must have a dog that is friendly to people and dogs alike. Must be keen to learning and active - bordering on the obnoxious… love, love those little naughty dogs. I had never adopted a couch potato… I would feel envious and bored if my dog slept more than the normal amount of hours for most dogs… an approximate 16 hours a day!

I decided that our new pup needed to be smaller than Deuce (still thinking about that Chihuahua I wrote about in my last post…) and a female. I'd much rather have “one of each” than the same sex. I know, I know some households have dogs of the same sex and they get along just fine- or even much better than just fine. But I am kind of a control freak and I am trying to bet on nature as much as I can. Dogs of different sexes “tend” to be better friends and if fights do take place they will be less injurious than fights among females. Fights between female dogs are, for the most part, more serious. There is numerous scientific literature to support this but, of course, there are always exceptions.

One has to wonder what is it about the sexes… would we say that the same applies to the human species? Women “friends” are less forgiving of their “friends” misgivings and more likely to erupt in full drama? I am just askin’… and moving on.

Now back to Rioja - our new pup - That IS her name. I will get to the inside story about her name in a second, but first I want to describe her. She is apparently a mix of cattle dog, beagle and… “x” mutt. She is about 30 lbs, and almost all white with some brown markings here and there. Some freckles over her body and a very lovely yet mischievous expression. She is “smart” as a whip and one might even think that she is trying to please me at almost all times. Dogs btw, do not do stuff to please us… it is more about what is in it for them… more on that in another post.

Back to Rioja (AKA: Rio). She is friendly towards people and dogs but at her young age of 7 months it is possible that she needs to feel more comfortable around new people and dogs. There is again some evidence about two “fear” periods among dogs. For the most part, they take place at around 5 and 8 months of age. This, of course, varies from breed to breed; bigger dogs mature more slowly and also there are variations from individual to individual. I guess mostly these differences are based on the experiences (Positive? Negative? And how many/often) the pup gets around this age. But in any event, what might happen when there is a regression in the dog’s confidence level might be to hormonal changes as the dog goes from puppy-hood to adolescences. I read this somewhere but maybe I am making that up – yes, I am over 50, so I'm allowed to forget, no?

The dog begins to feel concern when in presence of a new stimulus and might begin barking, lunging or moving away along with other behaviors. If one recognizes that the dog is now engaging in fear-related behaviors the best thing to do is to acknowledge it and bite the bullet. In other words: intervene.

When meeting new people, Rioja barks at new visitors to the home or when I am walking her and Deuce on leash around town. But, after a minute or so she decides to give them a go and either chooses to look at me for a delicious treat, and if she is off leash she comes back to greet the person now on her own terms. This lack of confidence also manifests when she meets new dogs. For her it's the older dogs that feel more threatening.

When I saw her at the shelter she was interacting (being kind of the “queen” there) with a bunch of other dogs her age… just playing and having fun. I also saw how relaxed she was among men and women she had met before. We even hung out with my friend Deb at the shelter’s lobby so that I could observe what she would do when new clients walked through the door. Based on her shelter resume and her behavior at the shelter, I took her home that day.

She has been to daycare (was stressful for her as her first day) but yesterday she played phenomenally well with another adult female. And she and Deuce play nicely and get along very well.

Once at home the name game began… we didn't want to continue calling her by her former name (a bit too cute for me) and we couldn't continue calling her hey, you… come here…. Not nice!

After throwing around many names, some lame, some difficult to pronounce and me somewhat deferring to John to select the name so that he felt she is also his dog and not only the “trainer’s dog.” But, John was more laid back about it or the names that he suggested I just couldn't live with. So after two obsessive hours of thinking this through and an S.O.S. email to my nieces and nephews in Mexico, I came up with a name that we both liked.

Rioja is one of the wine regions in Northern Spain. Two important things here: My heritage is from Northern Spain (Basque and Austrian) and I love red wine… search no more. John liked the name and we moved on.

Isn’t it true that in naming our dogs we begin bonding with them? And isn't this bonding one of the most salient aspects of our relationships with our pets? This I think is what makes the difference between a dog that is treated as family and one that might be relinquished to a shelter or lives outside attached to a chain. Of course, there are situation where people love their dogs truly – they are bonded and they still must surrender their dogs. The difference here is that in one case it is done as a matter of fact. When one has bonded with the dog and still must find the dog another home, the choice is an awful and painful one to need to make.

As mentioned above, I dislike giving my dogs people’s name. I think that it is very possible that – regardless of what one names the dog, the process of bonding with an animal is very similar to the process of bonding with a baby. I am not a mother so I have no experience about this but I do know that oxytocin - a natural occurring peptide in the brain increases when trust levels rise and thus it will aid in the bonding process since it is associated positively with that individual. It has also been found that oxytocin is responsible, according to Candice Pert, Ph.D. for maternal feelings in the brain, stopping infanticide and helping some rodents find permanent mates to bond in a monogamous relationship. Pert: 1997 Molecules of Emotion New York, Scribner, pg.68.