As many of you know, Will has a bad shoulder and he can't play fetch or flying disc without problems. If I just work him on sheep and take him on long walks we can keep it under control, but the "short stopping" associated with fetching aggravates whatever is wrong with his shoulder. (I haven't discounted surgery completely, but we are still in the 'gather information' mode.) That means that most of his exercise is working sheep, which works great when I'm home and feel like scrambling up the hill. But when I'm gone? You can't just have anyone go work your dog on sheep, that would be a disaster, so it is important to find ways to keep Willie exercised when I travel. Here are 2 videos of the game I've talked about in earlier posts. It's really not that new, just another version of the Read More
Scent of the Missing
Oh dear, I'm about to rave about a book that doesn't come out until April (April? Why did the Advance Copy come so soon?). Scent of the Missing, by Susannah Charleson is so well written I don't know whether to be inspired or to turn my computer off and never write again. It's a story about her partnership with Puzzle, a Golden Retriever who she trained as an Search and Rescue dog. I'm not close to done (but came to work late 'cuz I picked it up again this morning, couldn't put it down...), but it's a wonderful story (lordy I do love stories) and it's exquisitely written. Her descriptions of her dogs are laugh out loud funny and right on, and her use of language is so rich and sensory I'm not sure if I want to read her book or eat it. I'll write more when it is out, but I can't wait to Read More
Thunder Phobia in Dogs
I promised I'd write more about treating thunder phobia in dogs, beyond the earlier posting that it won't make things worse if you try to comfort them. It's such a serious problem for some dogs (and their humans), and everyone who has a dog who suffers from it deserves some help (or just support!). All I can do here is to summarize some of the treatments I have known to work.. a thorough discussion of treatments requires a booklet unto itself . I encourage you to send in comments to let others know what has worked for you, because if there's one thing I've learned, it's that there is no one treatment that works for all dogs. Counter Classical Conditioning: This is the first treatment I recommend, and it is especially effective in mild or moderate cases. I'm doing it now to prevent Read More
Willie Learns to use his Nose; Sheep Shearing Fun
One of my favorite games with Willie is to put him on sit/stay and then hide one of his toys in another room. I release him and tell him to go find his toy. We both think it's a hoot and get all waggy from the shoulders back together. We've played it on and off for months, but I started doing it on a daily basis in preparation for his surgery and restricted exercise. Until recently, Willie always looked for the hidden toy. It was overwhelmingly clear that he was using his eyes, and if he couldn't see it, he couldn't find it. However, after about a week and a half of playing the game 4-5 times in a row every evening, Willie completely switched strategies and started using his nose. The switch was absolutely obvious: he'd trot out of the room he'd been in with his nose in the air, sniffing Read More
More on Scent Marking in Dogs: Lisberg Study #2
Great comments about who goes when and where, keep it up. I love hearing from you. It is truly amazing how little we know about dog behavior, isn't it? But here's some more of Anneke's results, this time from good-ole-fashioned, ethological studies observing animals in their natural environment--in this case, the dog park. Dr. Lisberg observed olfactory investigation and urination at the entrance to a popular dog park, recording who urinated when and where, and who did Ano-Genital investigation (AG), or sniffed each other's butts. She found that males and females were equally likely to urinate immediately upon entering the park, but that males often urinated more frequently than females. No surprise there. "Resident" males (dogs already there) counter marked (over or adjacent marked) Read More