Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cash, dogs that have been rehab'ed, dogs with disabilities, videos
I found these while clearing off my youtube account. There isn’t much on there, and even less dog stuff, but I thought these were fun!
This first one is my dog, Sam. (I’ve spoken of Sam before!) He was the first human-aggressive dog I retrained, and he eventually came to live with me. Years spent in a 10×20 run had damaged his spine; when he started having a hard time walking, his owners agreed that I should take him to sunny SoCal (from Toronto). About six months later he was really struggling with walking, so the neighbor girl donated her bike and my landlord donated his welding abilities, and we got a doggie wheelchair put together!
This was filmed late summer 2006.
Here is the same dog, Sam, squeaking. Though I never told him he couldn’t bark when I brought him home, so many rules changed for him that he simply didn’t bark, trying to be on his best behavior. When he saw my sister’s little dogs give their high-pitched barks and get treats for it, he decided that was the thing to do! The picture quality here is very poor, but you’ll get the idea of the sound. Hilarious!
And finally, this is Cash at about a year old, playing in the same yard that I played in as a kid! My parents were petsitting for me while I was at a movie, I believe (from listening to the narration). That’s mostly my dad and younger sister talking. I can’t decide if it’s funnier to watch Cash, or funnier that my dad videoed for almost 5 minutes!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cash, dogs that have been rehab'ed, lily, puppies, training, what dogs learn from each other
For the last month I’ve been boarding a puppy named Daisy. Now, Daisy has all sorts of issues arising from congenital aggression (i.e., a problem in her brain makes her aggressive). One of the many issues facing Daisy is the ability to deal with other dogs in a mannerly fashion.
Now, she really likes dogs. I mean, she really likes dogs! But if they start to play too rough, it can overwhelm her and trigger her aggression. When she started boarding with me, my dogs, Cash and Lily, would play with her. Over the first few days they would play too rough (Cash, a 107-pound king shepherd, Lily, a 65-pound pit bull, and Daisy, a 20-pound welsh terrier), and Daisy would panic and try to make them back off. When they backed off, she would continue to attack. (That’s when I would step in, usually with a squirt bottle!)
Cash and Lily worked with Daisy patiently, rarely losing their cool. Now, I noticed that she was getting much better with them. She’d learned that when she played too rough, they’d yelp and if she didn’t back off, the other would cut in and shoulder her away until she backed down. (Cash and Lily quite often work as a team this way. It fascinates me to watch!) Soon, she’d learned that if they yelped or tried to bully her away, she needed to back off. Getting pushier wouldn’t work; they wouldn’t stop until she settled down, but they’d remain calm and keep from triggering her aggression.
The next thing she learned was that if she got hurt or scared, she should yelp, and they’d back off. Once she’d learned this, her aggression lessened greatly. She’d never attacked my dogs with intent to hurt, but certainly with intent to scare: a small but significant difference in the dog world!
For three weeks, she got on quite well with my dogs. I was always there to step in (if I can’t see them, I’m listening for them) so that if someone yelped, I went out quickly to see what was going on. Nine times out of ten they’d already solved the problem, and were milling around sniffing each other carefully. The tenth time a sharp hist noise settled them down quickly.
Well, one of the things we’ve been working toward is getting Daisy into Doggieville, a fantastic doggie daycare (among other things) center in Mountain View. My thought is that if other dogs can help Daisy remember she’s a dog, and wear her out at the same time, her mother’s job will be MUCH easier! It’ll also give her mom a nice break from running home to check on Daisy, who can’t be left for more than 5 hours at a time (yet).
Today (or rather, as of this writing on Jan 27th!) was Daisy’s evaluation, and let me tell you, I was biting my nails! She’s been doing fantastic with my dogs, but my dogs are supremely well behaved and there are only two of them. I didn’t know how she’d do with A) a bunch of dogs and B) dogs that aren’t so well mannered. Anna and Chris (head trainer and owner, respectively) brought in one dog at a time to see how Daisy would do, slowly increasing the number and type of dogs in the room.
My biggest concern was that Daisy wouldn’t do well with a dog that was in her face or chasing her around, and we figured that out right away! One of the dogs they brought in was determined to let Daisy know who was boss, and barked and chased and barked and chased. Daisy handled it like a trooper, though, using everything Cash and Lily had taught her; she retreated, played elsewhere, retreated, played elsewhere, and finally hid behind Anna’s legs when it was too much.
I was also quite proud because at that point I leaned down, touched her lightly and said, “Just settle, sweetie.” She did, which I knew she would, and the other dog went trotting away. Daisy followed a moment later. Chris commented, “Wow, her off switch is really good!” I gave a big grin, because we’ve been working on that quite a lot! One of the things about a dog who doesn’t turn themselves off is that it’s more important for them to listen to us when we ask them to focus and calm down, so we can help them when they’re not sure what to do. Daisy did that excellently!
Daisy’s now been enrolled in Doggieville, having gotten along with all the dogs and handled all the stress with the grace and playfulness Cash and Lily have taught her. Thank you, Cash and Lily!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cash, dogs that have been rehab'ed, lily, pictures
I keep meaning to somehow put these on my webpage, but that hasn’t happened yet. Alas! Still, here are more adorable pictures!
Here we have Max and Ruby, two rescues, with their stocking from this year! Max and Ruby are very proud to be able to walk down the street, ignoring most dogs they meet. Even better, they’re fantastic at answering the door without barking, and they’ve stopped waking their mom and dad up in the wee hours of the morning. Yay! But MOST importantly… they’re really darn cute!
Here we have Layla, a boxer mix who suffers from biological aggression. Biological aggression can never be “cured,” but sometimes it can be managed. We’re still working on Layla’s food possessiveness, though it’s much better than it was! She’s also much improved in listening to her owners and not attacking dogs in the middle of play — two very important items that we’re glad to have managed!
Ahhhh, it’s a dog’s life! This is Bella, a goldendoodle puppy. One of my favorite things is seeing her and her owner — who is almost as small as Bella herself — walk down the street. What a pair they make!
And finally we have Donzi, Cash, me, Lily and Bella, all but my dogs from different families, but getting along spectacularly. It’s nice to have good dogs!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: children, dogs that have been rehab'ed, expecations, philosophy, training, training in unusual conditions
I’m going to give you two scenarios:
Scenario 1:
Matrix is a ten-year-old shepherd cross. She lives with 2 children, ages 4 and 2. Matrix doesn’t much like the children: she growls if they get too close, and has even snapped at them for playing near her. Whenever her owners leave the room, they call her with them because she can’t be trusted.
Scenario 2:
Max is a four-year-old terrier cross. He lives with one child, age 2. He loves children, and his child loves him. They play together and adore each other. Max can be trusted with children, and has never shown any aggression toward them, no matter what’s going on.
Which of these scenarios is better?
Matrix’s parents realized they had a problem, and they called me. We taught Matrix to leave when the children walked up to her. Her owners still call her with them when they leave the room, in case a child trips and falls on her, and when friends come over to play she takes a rest in her own room, protected from the children, with her toys and her bed.
Since Max didn’t have any problem with kids, there was no reason to call a trainer. (I do know Max, as he was in training for leash manners, and I saw him around his boy. There was no doubt they loved each other.) When Max’s boy tried to give him a hug one day, Max was trapped, unable to escape, and nearly crushed by a child much larger than he was. In a panic and hurting, he snapped to get away. The boy went to the emergency room, and Max was put down.
Small dogs and dogs in pain are at great risk from children. My dog, Cash, is 110 pounds and loves kids. That said, if one of them lays on him, he’s too big (and too fit and young) to be hurt by it, and he’s big enough to get away. Most dogs don’t have that ability; most dogs are either too small or too old to escape like that. If your child is too young to understand that they need to be gentle and never hang onto a dog that’s trying to leave, then they’re probably too young to be left alone with the dog. What will your dog do when it’s trapped and hurting? Grab your dog’s leg when they’re walking and refuse to let go, or grab them around the neck and lay on them. Whatever they do, imagine if they did that while your child’s face was next to theirs, because your child was giving them a hug.
Most dogs that bite are already aggressive. Once pushed to that point, they’ll bite more easily the next time because they learn that it works. This bit of truth is wrong, though, when small children are involved. A trapped, hurting dog will bite even if they’re not aggressive. Calling your dog out of the room with you takes two extra seconds, and ensures that your child won’t hurt your dog — and can, therefore, save your dog’s life.
I would like to say this doesn’t happen often, but this winter alone I know of two dogs — friendly, sweet, child-loving dogs — who were put down after biting children who hurt them, trying to hug them. Is a hug worth your dog’s life? Please, teach your children to be gentle. Teach them to let go when the dog leaves. And until they’re old enough to remember to do so reliably, call your dog with you when you leave the room. It could mean the world to your family.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: classes, dogs that eat animals, dogs that have been rehab'ed, training
Hi, everyone!
As people have asked when my dog aggressive classes will be starting back up, I’m hosting them once a month through the holidays, and then we’ll start again more regularly in the spring. Dog aggression classes are by invitation only! I want my clients who are practicing to be as safe as possible. If you’d like to join in, send me an email (or comment here) and I’ll let you know about the cut rates for assessments before you can join class.
If you are a dog walker in the area, I’m hosting classes on why and how to walk dogs properly, including different types of techniques for doing so. I admit that my motives are mostly selfish: I want to refer my clients to good dog walkers that I know won’t mess up my training! If you’re interested in learning, email me or comment here.
Finally, keep an eye out on the blog for tips on trees, presents, and exciting ribbons coming up!
Jenna
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bobby, dogs that eat animals, dogs that have been rehab'ed, lily
Before I start, for the record in regards to the last post, Cash finally decided to go potty where I was telling him to go that afternoon. I’d already decided that if he waited until night, it was too much trouble and he’d win! But now he’s happily going under the stairs, and I don’t have to walk out to the bushes with him at night. Hooray!
Now, for the next post!
I have a conure, fondly (and sometimes not so fondly) referred to as Bobby da Bird by those who know him.
Bobby is utterly fearless when it comes to dogs, which is both a good and a bad thing. Lily da Pit Bill was, once upon a time, a bird killer. She’d stalk them outside, pounce, and quite often succeed in catching (and eating) them. When I adopted her, you can imagine this was of some concern to me! But time and effort (and a lot of chasing her away from the birds) paid off, and today she lives with Bobby da Bird peacefully.
I mention this because Bobby’s out wandering around on the floor at the moment, and when he decided he was ready to be picked up (and Lily was in his way), he crawled up onto her foreleg and sat there, contemplating whatever it is that birds contemplate. She licked him, but didn’t eat. Hooray! Then he climbed up onto her back and I picked him up from there. All in all, a hard day’s work — for Lily. Bobby isn’t worried in the slightest, but you can practically see the wheels turning in Lily’s head: I want to eat the bird. Must not harm bird. EAT BIRD. DO NOT HARM. Mom is watching! Bird is climbing! Do not harm! Poor girl did remarkably well. 
(I think Bobby is of the opinion that he could take her. He might be right.)
The next time someone tells you that it’s impossible to fight instinct or old habits, just tell them about the rodent-and-bird-eating pit bull who lets birds climb on her and mice run across her toes. (What, I haven’t told you about that? Hmm. Some other time. )
-Jenna
