Some of the recent posts have brought up the question that many of us live with on a daily basis: how much training and attention do our dogs need every day? I get asked this a lot, and as I wrote in my essay in Tales of Two Species, I suspect that there's another fundamental question driving it (she says, speaking from experience). How much exercise, training and attention do our dogs need for us not to feel guilty? Fess up, don't you sometimes wonder if you are doing enough for your dog, and don't you sometimes feel guilty about not doing as much as you should? I am sure that many of the people reading this blog will say no, they don't feel guilty, and for good reason. I know that many of you take your dog out to classes several nights a week, take long walks in the country with Read More
Interactive Toys
A generous friend just sent me one of Nina Ottoson's interactive dog toys, and Will and I have been having a great time playing with them. Well, he plays, I watch. And, I think he is having a great time. And that's the question for the day. Is he really? Do dogs enjoy these toys as much as we like watching them? I thought of this the second or third time that Willie worked with the toy (Dog Fighter--an unfortunate name in this country, but probably not relevant in Sweden.). He had learned that there was food under the wooden knobs, but hadn't yet figured it out how to get to it quickly. After pawing unsuccessfully, which only pushed the knob in the opposite direction of what would release the food, he tried to chew on the knob. As suggested in the instructions, I quietly moved my hand Read More
New Puppy Primer
Wheeee! I've been working on an updated version of the Puppy Primer for six months now, and it feels SO good to finally hold the finished product in my hot little paws. In it, co-author Brenda Scidmore and I emphasize the benefits of positive reinforcement, of letting dogs initiate the correct action themselves when possible, the importance of realistic expectations and of going step-by-step in training. That last issue is such a big one to me: so many of the problems I see people having with their dogs relate to them jumping from Step 1 to Step 25, without knowing that there should be many steps in between. For example, there's (Step 1) sitting on cue in the kitchen while holding a dinner bowl and (Step 25) sitting on cue when 5 people come to the door and there are 3 other dogs barking Read More
More on Play Styles; Dealing with Problem Players
I've loved your comments about play styles after the last post. Keep them coming. One of the points that was made by many of you, that I think bears repeating, is that many dogs can adapt and learn new play styles from others. This is especially true of stable, well-adjusted dogs who aren't overly reactive to something new or challenging. Along with chase games and wrestling, several of you mentioned hounds (and English Shepherds!) who like to play "catch the prey" by chasing, play biting and then mock attacks at the throat. Another mentioned a play style that I've also seen, that I consider truly problematic. In this case, the dog chases another dog until he catches up, and then bites the chasee, often in the back leg, and brings him or her down. Eeeps. I've seen this quite often, and it Read More
Play Styles & Status Seeking: Correlated?
A short post today, but with a pithy question generated from the last post on play. We all agree that different breeds of dogs tend to have different play styles, with herding dogs, for example, more likely to engage in run/chase games and bully breeds more likely to wrestle and body slam. Wrestling can include many behaviors, but a common goal of wrestling in any species is to pin another individual to the ground. A lot of the wrestling/body slamming play in canines also includes chin over, leg over, vertical play and other movements that replicate the postures and gestures associated with high dogs seeking high social status. So here's the question: Do the dogs (in general of course) who engage in body slam/wrestle play tend to be individuals who care more about social status? I'll add Read More
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