My first experience in a dog training class was in 1968 in Southern California. We were to teach our dogs to sit, stay, heel and come from ten feet away. From a Sit/Stay. That was it. A lot of energy was put into perfect heels (using leash jerks of course) and long Sit/Stays for no discernible purpose except blind obedience. Most training classes were based on obedience competition, as if family dog owners cared about perfect heel positions and long sit/stays. But an “obedient dog” was defined by “obedience competitions”. (For more history of training classes, see this interesting article about the evolution of obedience classes.) That was then, this is now, and it’s not surprising that things have changed. 1968, heaven help me, was 49 years ago, when we Read More
Archives for 2017
Can Dogs Feel Pride?
It’s Sunday of Labor Day Weekend and Maggie is exuberant. Her face is glowing. She’s leaping onto her hind feet and pirouetting in a half circle like a ballet dancer while looking into my eyes. If she’s not actually smiling, she’s doing a perfect imitation of a slap-happy human grin. We’d just done our first run at the WWSDA Labor Day Trial in Hudson, WI, and it went well. Nowhere near perfect, but still a lovely run, and the only mistakes were handler errors on my part. We ending up placing seventh on that run, sixth on the next, and 5th in combined scores. The only higher scores were handlers who run in the advanced class (Open), which includes, if not the equivalent of tennis stars like Serena Williams, the ones she plays against in the US Open. I was thrilled, in part because all Read More
Considerations for a City Dog. And Dental Supplies.
First, not to bury the lead--the book Considerations for the City Dog is a great book. I'll explain more about that later in this post, but let me start by describing how I learned about the book: In October 2015 my office got a call from the local post office. "You have to get down here right away. There is a package for you that is NOT media mail, although that is how it was sent. $2.61 is due before you can take possession of this package.” These words were said, through pursed lips by the postmistress in the Black Earth Post Office. They were followed by a lecture about the definition of media mail, that only books can be sent as media mail (which is less expensive than regular mail), and that we were to cease and desist engaging in such processes. Except, uh, we didn’t send the Read More
Always End on Good Note? (Please Don’t, Not Always.)
How many times have you heard or said "Always end a training session on a good note?" I heard it repeatedly when I first went into the field and said it myself, until I saw how much trouble it could cause a dog and his handler. I got to thinking about this training aphorism when I was working sheepdog Maggie this weekend, and she and I weren't able to drive the sheep in the "practice course" I'd set up for her. It was just too difficult a task for her and me on the particular day with those particular sheep. Years ago I would have switched tasks and set her up to do something easy before I said "That'll Do". But I didn't. I just called her back, said "All Done, that's a girl Maggie" and walked her back to the car. It got me to wondering about why I made that choice, rather than "ending Read More
Tree Frogs, Baby Spiders & Sheep Dog Trials
Those things go together, right? Well, they did this weekend. Lucky me to discover this Gray Tree Frog hiding out in the day lilies. They are small, can take on the color of the substrate they're on, and are only noticed if you are looking closely. Every time I find one in the garden it's like finding a jewel buried in the sand. I am assuming that not everyone will be as thrilled as I was to find a nest of baby spiders on a bud of my lipstick plants. But I was. I first thought it was a tent caterpillar nest, whose machete-like mouths can strip a plant of leaves in a day. I went to clear it off and when I touched the web the babies streamed out of the egg case. Three days later they were all gone. I wish them well. The best part of the weekend was the Cedar Stone Farm Read More
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