THE OTHER END OF THE LEASH

Like many people, I’m classically conditioned to associate “New Year’s Resolutions” with broad, generic and doomed-to-fail pronouncements, like “I’ll be healthier!”  “I’ll lose 20 pounds!”  “I’ll be an all around better person!” “I’ll kind and generous to everyone I meet!” I made my share of impossible resolutions in decades past, and like most of them, they fell apart before the end of January. However, as is often the case, learning about behavior and dog training has helped me to come up with focused and attainable goals, so now I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions, I made one or two commitments for the year to come.

We know that commitments are most often kept if 1) they are focused and specific, 2) they are attainable and 3) they are made public. Not that you have to blog about them yourself, but at least tell your friends, write them down, post the on your mirror …. do what you can to put them out into the universe in some way.

For example, I always make one related to my own nutrition. Instead of “I’ll lose X number of pounds,” or “I”ll eat healthier food,” last year I decided to eat sardines once a week. (By the way, the word “decision” originated from “decis,” or to “cut off” — as in, “cut off all other options”. Truly making a decision – truly – means selecting one option and completely eliminating all others.) Did I eat sardines 52 times last year? Nope, but pretty darn close. They aren’t my favorite food, but they are really, really good for me (and the environment, they are one of the few fishes not over harvested). I mix them with my favorite honey mustard and a tiny bit of mayonnaise and put them on crunchy yummy toast and eat them with a big salad. I’ve gotten to look forward to my sardine night, no kidding. (FYI, Willie gets one sardine, from a tin of unsalted, water packed sardines, every night.)

The year before it was “eat beans” (lentils, kidney etc) at least once a week. I aimed for twice a week, and have found it easy to do. I make lots of soup with beans in them, or buy Amy’s organic soups (I love you Amy). This year?  Continuing with what works, I’m staying focused and specific. This year it’s “eat greens 2 times a week.” (greens as in kale, chard, collard greens). They are so so good for you, and I’m developing a taste for them.

Uh, isn’t this a blog about canine behavior and dog training? Yup, and you probably already know where I’m going with this. Every year I make a commitment related to Willie too. Last year it was to start working Willie off the farm more, with thoughts of occasionally getting back into herding dog trials. As you know, we entered our first one in October, and although we weren’t perfect by any means, we did well and had fun.

This year, my commitment to Willie is to increase his comfort at working sheep with spectators and to increase his comfort at working at over 100 yards away off the farm. (I guess that’s two commitments – but you’ll see they are related.) I’ve learned over the years that Willie is profoundly affected by others watching him work. I thought that it was primarily me – that I changed when people were watching us work – and I’m still sure that is a factor. It doesn’t phase me to work dogs on a stage at a seminar, but working sheep? Ah, a different story altogether. Lordy if only others could have seen some of the work we’ve done just the two of us! But over the years I’ve realized that, more than any other dog I’ve had, Willie himself gets nervous when there are others watching us, no matter how it impacts on me. His work at the trial also made it clear that once we were over 100 yards (a pittance in a trial), with the addition of spectators, Willie listened less and worried more.

So that’s my commitment to Willie: to get him working sheep out and about as much as I can this summer, and to gradually increase the distance at which he is comfortable working off the farm. Not much I can do about it now though… too much snow to even think about working sheep. Of course, this is party for my benefit, because I love working Willie on sheep, but he loves it too, so it’s a win/win. (I just, one hour after posting, re-read this and realized how very unspecific it is! Very unlike my specific commitment re nutrition, yes? So here’s my revised commitment: work Willie off the farm once a week if weather cooperates and I’m in town. Work Willie once a month summer/fall in front of other people, trying to replicate a trial like setting. Ah, much better!)

What’s your 2011 commitment to your dog? I’d love to hear it.  . . Just make it focused, specific and attainable. Just like dog training, you need to set yourself up to win so that you get reinforced, rather than learning to fail. (I think we trainers and dog lovers often do that to ourselves: set up expectations we can meet and then feeling guilty about it.) You’ll find making a decision (cutting off other options) about the one commitment you’re going to make an interesting one in itself.

MEANWHILE, back on the farm: I’ll look forward to sitting back and reading your 2011 commitments over the New Year’s weekend. I also look forward to being home more and enjoying the birds at our feeders. We’ve had more this winter than I can ever remember, including a Sharp-Shinned Hawk (think so anyway, could have been a Cooper’s but the tail seemed more square at the tip), who was attempting to feed on the other birds themselves.

Here are a few I got snaps of yesterday:

Black-capped Chickadee. (Love their calls -  “Chick-a-dee-dee-dee”). There must be 6 or 7 at the feeders everyday, along with a mixed flock of Nuthatches, Titmice, several kinds of Woodpeckers. Chickadees are oxytocin pump birds: cute, athletic, very tame.

Here’s the White Breasted Nuthatch. Always flocks with Chickadees in winter, feeds mostly off of insects hidden in tree bark. Is able to ‘walk’ straight down a tree trunk without falling off. Call sounds like “Yank Yank.” Love ‘em.

Another one of my favorites, the Tufted Titmouse. Usually only have two or three a winter, but also flock with Chickadees and Nuthatches. Much more flighty than Chickadees though, took forever to get this photo!

I don’t like to use the blog to promote things. The good people here at the office attempt to remind me that I have to make a living, but they have pretty much given up trying to convince me to use the blog as a marketing device. But on occasion they make arguments that even I can’t refute. In this case it’s “Don’t you want other professionals to have a chance to save a bunch of money? Don’t you think they’d at least want to know?”

So, okay, in hopes this is helpful to the professionals out there who use some of my books and booklets: There’s a good deal on now, 10 free booklets if you buy 10 Puppy Primers (which are already already 50% if you buy 10 at a time.) Your tax accountant will love it … if you have the money, and need more books for next year, spend it now. I’m taking the same advice. I have to buy a new computer, and as soon as I post this I’ll be driving to the Apple store.

Whew, I can check that off now. Someday I will get over being 1) a woman (my daddy the old-fashioned banker felt women and money should never mix. seriously.) 2) a child of the 60′s (poor is good! live off the land! eat berries and tubers!) and 3) an academic (money may not be made outside of academia –unless, of course, you are in business or medicine, in which case the sky is the limit.)

MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Willie loves the snow, which allows him to play frisbee because the snow dampens the impact when he lands. He and I have been going up the hill almost every day, me on snow shoes, he on those handy all-weather paws that dogs have. On Wednesday we’re going on a walk with a friend and her Bully mix. It’ll be interesting to see how they do together. They did well when younger, but the other guy is much older now. I hope they get along well, it’s great when Willie adds dogs to his circle of buddies. He met a herding cross last week, lovely young female with great dog skills, and he hated  her. Go figure.

The lambs are thriving. Truffles seems to be giving a lot of milk, so I am starting to cut back on the milk I’m giving them. They are not pleased about this situation, but we’ll weigh them to ensure that they are gaining weight and decide what to do from there. Both of the twins are incredibly rude: they leap onto you when you enter the pen FEED ME FEED ME FEED ME. Not a problem now, but it will be when they weigh in at 100 pounds. I think some clicker training is in order here.  (I did train an aggressive ram to ‘touch’ my raised hand to keep him from putting his head down and ramming into me. As long as their head is up you’re safe.) Should be fun actually to clicker train the lambs.

We’re still covered in snow here, although it’s supposed to rain Thursday. And then, of course, freeze. Yuck. The worst possible combo. Cross your paws for us. And thank you, sincerely, for all your holidays messages, I felt warmed and happy when I read each one of them. Here’s a bit of warmth back to all of you, some more photos from beautiful New Zealand.

In your heart, in your home, and in the lives around you.

From Willie and me, we wish you the best of holidays.

I just did a photo shoot for a magazine cover with Willie (more on that later) and I was reminded while doing it how many pet dogs are going to be asked to participate in the GREAT HOLIDAY PHOTOGRAPHIC ADVENTURE. Except I don’t think dogs would use the word “adventure” if they could talk about it.  I thought this might be a good time for a bit of advice, based on my experiences. I’d love to hear about yours too.

1. First and foremost, remember that big round black lenses can be terrifying to shy or nervous dogs. They look exactly like big, round threatening eyes (the kind that dogs get right before they bite you), and are very, very scary to some dogs.

I was rudely reminded of this when a TV station rushed me and Willie into a side room for a “teaser shot” before we went into the main studio. We were completely prepared for the studio, but not to be rushed into another room in a panic and to have a cameraman thrust his huge hand-held TV camera, with its huge, round black lens, literally inches from Willie’s face. Willie was terrified, began to bark and try to hide behind me, while the photographer chased him around my legs and I attempted (unsuccessfully) to 1) stop the cameraman 2) soothe Willie and 3) appear cheerful and professional while on camera.  You can imagine how much fun this was.

If your dog has any shyness at all, ask the photographer to stay well away from your dog and use the zoom function if need be. Your dog will thank you for it. (Be careful with flashes too… they can scare some dogs as much as the lens.)

2. Dogs asked to Sit and Stay in the middle of family photos must think we have all lost our minds. First off, how many dogs have been taught to sit and stay in that situation? Very few… usually “sit” is when they are facing you, so just asking them to face the same way as you is confusing to them. If  you want shoulder to shoulder shots, then help your dog learn how to do it. Ask him to sit beside you (not facing), and give him a treat when he holds that pose for a half of a second. It’s even better to have someone pretending to take pictures. We did that on the photo shoot yesterday with Willie (I’m teaching him that as a cue: “Photo Shoot!”, meaning sit beside me and look at the camera!) and he was such a good boy. Of course, we used the usual “shake the treat bag over the photographer’s head” for the perfect shot, but it helped to have Willie thrilled to get into position, beside me on the couch.

3. Honor your dog. If Fluffy just really, really doesn’t want to be on a Sit-Stay beside  Ginger, maybe that’s cuz Ginger has been sending her dirty looks all day. Give the dogs some choice about where they are going to be positioned. It matters greatly to them; more than to you.

4. And the best advice? Drop the posed shot and go for casual snaps of life as it happens. Aren’t those the ones you cherish later anyway?

What’s your advice? Any amusing stories about pictures with dogs in any context? I am sure everyone would enjoy them as much as I will.

I said I’d get back to the photo shoot that Willie and I did yesterday: Here’s the bottom line. Madison Magazine is doing a feature on me for their February issue, including a cover of me and Willie on the front. That is so kind of them and I am truly grateful. And if only there was a way to get that done without, oh, actually having to do it. Photo shoots sound so cool, but in reality are simply miserable to someone like me. That’s not because of the staff, at least in this case the art director and stylists were exceptionally nice, and have my undying appreciation for understanding about Willie. We talked about what Willie needed beforehand and the art director and photographer were fantastic: they put the camera far away (we ended up moving it much closer because all was going so well) and they gave me lots of time to get Willie acclimated. Overall, I’d say Willie had the time of this life, and I suspect it’s hard to believe he’s ever been anything but a perfect dog. Yeah, just what we wanted!

So Willie was the great part, he had a great time, and did virtually everything I asked him to do instantly and did it perfectly (did I mention how proud of him I was?). The hard part for me is that everyone has a vision of what the cover will be: the art director has colors and background picked out, the stylist needs your hair to be smooth and not frizzy so she looks like she knows what she’s doing, the style coordinator wants you to dress with at least a modicum of fashion and to match the vision of the art director. And you? Well, you want to look like YOU (but of course, your best possible version. Okay, maybe even a little better than usual? But still you, if you know what I mean.).  So you go in and they have clothes they want you to wear (did I actually blurt out “I’d rather be dead that put that on?” Yup, I guess I did.), someone you’ve never known does your hair and make up and you just never end up feeling like, well, yourself. So heaven only knows what the cover will look like. All I can say is that all the folks I worked with yesterday were truly kind and considerate, and tried hard to make me comfortable while still getting what they wanted.

This afternoon they come to the farm for photos for the article, inside the magazine. Ah, so much easier for me! It’ll be my fly-away hair and my very unfashionable clothes and Willie and the lambs… but holy moly, now I need to clean up the house! Oh well, too late!

MEANWHILE, back on the farm: 4 more inches of snow yesterday, and then freezing drizzle that coated the snow with a layer of ice. Poor Willie’s paws got so tired up the hill that he stopped asking to fetch his stick and just lay down. Wish I could put snow shoes on him (but if it keeps up I’ll get him boots). I’m still trying to adapt to the winter… not successful so far. We took more pictures of the lambs but they were terrible, but I’ll keep trying.  Right now the yard light is out (making walking down the icy hill to the barn an adventure), my internet doesn’t work at the farm, my television doesn’t work, my LP fireplace doesn’t work and neither does my printer. Ah life.

I’ve decided to cheer myself up with some flowers from New Zealand. I hope they make you smile too!

Boy do roses love NZ, and do Kiwis love roses!

Look at the pollen sacs on this loaded down bee!

Oh boy oh boy. We’ve just finalized arrangements to hold a seminar in Madison Wisconsin on October 29-30, 2011. Inspired by the seminar I did in New Zealand, I’m going to give a completely updated version of  Advanced  Canine Behavior on Saturday. The day will include state of the art research on cognition, play and development, and its practical implications to owners and trainers. Ken Ramirez of the Shedd Acquarium will present on Sunday, and will focus on raising the bar on your training techniques. I heard him give this talk in Massachusetts last summer, and left so inspired that I began attempting to train my pencil. Seriously, this man is fantastic.

We are totally jazzed about this seminar, and will have details about registration up on the website soon. We’re just finalizing some last details and will get information about how to sign up on the website as soon as we can…  maybe a few weeks or so. I’ll let you know when we can start taking registrations, but save the date now, it’s gonna be a great weekend.

MEANWHILE, back on the farm. Oh man, I have not yet adjusted to living in a freezer. It’s gorgeous, truly, and was even a balmy 18 F recently, but I’m still not used to it. Tomorrow the high is supposed to be 10 F, which is close to my cut off for long walks outside. Willie and I went snow shoeing (okay, only I had on snow shoes) two days in a row, but it was over 10 degrees. Once it’s in the single digits, I get wussy. (And Willie learns new tricks!)

The lambs don’t seem to mind in the least. Truffles’ twins are getting goat milk three times a day, and are growing like weeds. I tried to get a picture of them for you yesterday, but I can’t get them away from me to get a photo! We’ll get some this weekend when Jim can  help out.  But here’s a great photo of house sitter Danielle and Hans Solo, Snicker’s lamb, taken by her husband Mike . Mike and Danielle did an amazing job taking care of things, and they are great photographers too. (The photo of Willie in the last post was also taken by them.)  Get ready for an oxytocin rush . . .

I can’t resist writing a post about the birds of New Zealand. No surprise to readers, I was fascinated by the animals of NZ, many of which have been brought in for a variety of reasons. As many of you know, NZ has no native mammals except two species of bats, and has suffered greatly from the importation of many species, including the Australian possum, stoats (Mustela erminea, think weasel or ermine) pigs, deer, and many species of birds. Rats, cats and a host of other critters have hitch-hiked their way in and caused their own set of problems. By the way, the possum in NZ is nothing like the marsupial creature in North America. The possum in question, which is endangered in its own native land, is, uh… I’m sorry, I can’t help it … adorably cute. It is also eating its way through the forest of NZ, and is a terrible and destructive pest on native vegetation and animal life. One ran down the lane in front of our car one evening and we all resisted melting into an oxytocin haze as we recalled all the damage they do. Stoats too have wreaked havoc on native wildlife, especially ground nesting birds. Stoats were brought in to control rabbits, who were also brought in (will we ever learn?), and their importation (stoats) is considered one of the worst ecological mistakes made in NZ. What’s especially galling to me is that biologists warned against it, predicting disaster even in the late 1800′s, and they were completely ignored. Now the country is spending huge amounts of money (good for them) trying to control them and save several species of ground nesting birds, including the Kiwi.

Here’s a native bird though, the Australian Gannet. After the seminar we got to visit a nesting colony of Gannets on Muriwai Beach, and it was heaven for me. Gannets are the fighter jets of the avian world, gorgeous flyers who spend most of their time on the wing over the ocean. When they spot food, they tuck their wings and dive like bullets. They only come to shore to breed, and the observation colony at this location allows you to watch their greeting ceremonies (necks twisting like DNA strands) when one member of the pair comes back to relieve the other on the nest. I could have stayed there for hours.

Here’s the Pukeko, pronounced “Poo Keh Ko,” another native bird of damp pastures and wetlands. It’s the size of a small duck, related to Gallinules (also known as a Purple Gallinule), and is best described by a friend of mine as a “Dr. Suess” bird. A traveling companion and I both think this particular bird had a youngster hiding in the grasses. We watched this one and its mate scold and display to us, but never leave the area, and Jim and I had seen a pair with a young one walking in the same area not long before.  Most importantly, showing you this picture gives me an opportunity to say PUKEKO over and over again. For reasons I can not begin to explain, saying PUKEKO gives me an inordinate measure of pleasure. PUKEKO.

Here’s the most famous bird of New Zealand, the Kea parrot. Keas are parrots found in the mountains of NZ, are highly social and scary smart. We were warned on the Milford hike to lock our doors in the lodge where Keas are common, and to resist being charmed by a Kea dancing in front of us like a tap dancer. Apparently while one transfixes you with its antics, the others sneak through the door behind you and rifle your backpacks. They also rip windshield wipers off of cars, tear open anything they can get their beak on, and one even broke into a tourist’s backpack and flew away with his passport. One of our guides told us there had been some interesting research on Kea cognition and cooperative problem solving, but I haven’t had a chance to find it yet. If anyone knows of any articles let us know in the comment section. If not, we’ll look it up at the office.

MEANWHILE, back on the farm: It was 15 F below zero (about 26 below Centegrade) when we got up Tuesday morning, after a 40 hour trip home. Exactly why I choose to live in a place in which it is 15 degrees warmer in the freezer compartment of one’s refrigerator is unclear to me at the moment. But the lambs are thriving, Willie is a happy boy, while Sushi is not pleased in the least. She asks to go out, stays out 60 seconds, cries to come in, and then asks again 30 minutes later. Apparently she is an optimist at heart. It’s warmer today, got up to 18 F!  Wheee!

Here’s a great photo of Willie taken by my amazing, perfect house sitters:

Just a few photos now, more later when more time (and can download a video of a working Huntaway when we get home)….

We’re on the Banks Peninsula now, just south of Christchurch, gorgeous place, staying at a B &  B called the Olive Grove (complete with olive trees and yummy high quality olive oil). Yesterday we went to a working NZ sheep farm, Paua Bay Farmstay, a fantastic place. Sixth generation farmers, great connection to the land and the history of NZ. Will write longer post on our visit, but here are a few photos:

Here’s one of their Border Collies (some called them Heading Dogs, some Border collies, while some say that BCs are different than Heading Dogs, although all derived from Scottish BCs.) S

Here’s Kate, a young Huntaway, doing the barking typical for her breed:

And here’s a tiny slice of the land on the way to this wonderful farm, which is also run as a small B & B. It is in a heart-breakingly beautiful area. If I’d known more about it I’d have lobbied to stay there. If you are going to NZ and are interested in staying on a working farm in about the most beautiful place you can imagine, stay here! I’ll write more about our visit later and attach a video of Kate working. We’re just back from a sail into the Akaroa harbor and a visit with the tiny Blue Penguin and a brief sighting of Hector’s dolphins.

More later, time for a nap!

Hardest thing I’ve ever done (voluntarily!), and the most rewarding. Here’s just a few photos from our adventures on the Milford Track, South Island, New Zealand.

Our group had a total of 15 people, only 6 of us from the US, all good and true friends. Here we are on Day 1, after a 2.5 hour bus ride, an hour long boat ride and a short mile hike to the first lodge: Matt, Becket, Jim, me, Kelly and Meg. After the photo we went on a 2 hour hike with a great guide to learn about the flora and fauna. It was fascinating (and our only walk without backpacks, what a joy!)

We walked 10 miles the next day, Day 2. They call it the “Easy Day.” We called it stunningly beautiful, and not always such easy walking, up and down hills, over some very tricky rocky areas.

Day 3: When they call it the hard day, you’d better believe them. Follow this valley back as far as your eye can see, and you still won’t be able to see where we started on Day 2. On Day 3 we only went 9 miles, but 5 of them were up up up, the last 2 miles up were, well, ridiculous. And then we were on top of the world, with perfect weather and a rare 360 degree view of mountain peaks all around us. One of our guides had been up 6 times this season and had never been able to see the views, it always being clouded over. The 4 miles down were tough–steep downhill on rocky, difficult terrain.

Day 4 is called the “Long Day” and I’m not sure 13 miles has ever seemed so long. The track was easy in some spots, but rocky and difficult in others. Most of us felt like our feet had been beaten by baseball bats by the time we made it to the end. But oh oh oh the forest is lovely; primeval ferns and lichens and fern trees and moss and flute-like bird song and it seemed impossible that a dinosaur wouldn’t be behind the next tree munching on vegetation. And the waterfalls? One after the other, one more beautiful than the next.

On Day 5 you wake up in Milford Sound, soak in the views, feel overwhelmed with gratitude at how lucky you are to be in such a gorgeous place with such wonderful people. Then a boat ride around the sound and a 4.5 hour bus ride back to Queenstown. Then hamburgers as big as your head from Fergberger’s, a couple of glasses of wine and then…. bed! Oh boy.  Here’s Milford Sound, from the window of our hotel room, no kidding:

More later –right now bed is calling. But I can’t end without thanks to all at Ultimate Hikes, including our guides Megan, Amy and Masako for doing such an amazing job creating this experience, and being so good to the land while doing it. And to a truly amazing bunch of friends–Matt, Kelly, Meg, Becket, and especially Jim, who made all the difference in the world. I love you all.

MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Lambs are doing well, although Truffle’s twins are being hand fed by my wonderful sitters (yeah Danielle and Mike!). As I suspected, Truffle’s udder is not working well, but she is giving some milk, and with all the great care they are getting they’re doing great. Willie is good, sounds like he is in love with his two new Cavalier visitors. Sounds like it is cold there though, 15 F, a far cry from spring here!

There’s a new book out for children that is designed to help them cope with the death of their dog. It’s titled “Give a Dog your Heart” and is written by Aubrey Fine, Ed.D., a child psychologist who has been using dogs in AAT as long as anyone. I’m not completely objective, Aubrey and I co-authored a chapter in his new Handbook of Animal Assisted Therapy, and I found him to be kind, compassionate and a joy to work with.

Still, if I didn’t like the book I wouldn’t post a note about it. The book is beautifully written and designed, has break your heart photos of a black lab, and a wonderful section at the back for children to use as an album and a journal. Hard as it is, pets are such a good opportunity to help children learn about how to wend your way through the woods when you are grieving. I just read an advice column in which a woman felt guilty because she took her child to a movie in which a pet died, and the child was upset. The columnist, yeah for her, wrote there was no reason to feel guilt, but that the movie was a wonderful ‘teaching moment’ to help a child learn that death is a part of life, and that we feel sad about the loss, feel grateful for a beloved pet’s life, and go on to celebrate it as best we can.

I’d love to hear about other books that you have found useful, especially for children. Any others out there?

MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Well, I’m not actually. I’m about in the middle of the Milford Track right now, deep in the  South Island of New Zealand. I pre-posted this, knowing that my connection to the internet will be sporadic at best.  Here’s a photo from home, to remind  me that it might be spring in New Zealand, but this is probably what it will look like when I get home.