Every morning I start my day writing a list of things that I am grateful for. Sometimes they are big things (Jim, my dogs, opportunities to learn, grow and improve relationships between people and animals) and sometimes they are small (the plaintive Wooo Heee song of courting Chickadees, the deep, purple blue of the first spring flowers). This morning I surprised myself, by adding: I am grateful that none of my dogs potty in the house. House training and elimination control is like health, isn't it? If everything is fine, you don't really think about it much. But when it's not, it can be overwhelming. I went through two years living with old dogs who simply couldn't control themselves. Pippy Tay lost control of her anus in her last year of life (at age 15) and I picked up poop at least Read More
The Importance of an Emergency Stop; Fetching a Tree
A few nights ago I took the dogs out for their last potty around 10 pm, and things didn't go quite as planned. Instead of walking sleepily out of the house to his favorite place to pee, Will took one step into the fresh air and hurtled like a bullet into the dark behind the house. In a second, no more, I heard a cacophony of snarls, screams and growls. I knew instantly what it was: the local raccoon was raiding the bird feeder behind the house. I was sure this was the problem, since the big garbage can full of grain for the sheep had been raided for a few nights in a row until Jim got creative with bungi cords. The only critter big and strong enough to pry off a metal garbage can lid is a raccoon, and every year one trades wits with us over who gets to eat the grain, so I was sure that's Read More
Fairness in Dogs? Lassie’s Birthday Party
First things first! Lassie's party was a joy. Many of her friends came to talk, eat and belly rub, and Lassie proclaimed it good. Very good indeed. Lassie reveled in the attention, Willie got tons of petting too and we all ate ourselves silly. Only downside is that I forgot to take photos (camera out and at the ready on the counter...) of Lassie and all her friends. Big disappointment, I have a photo of my first Border collie Drift, at his 15th birthday party, and it means a lot to me to have it. He died 2 months later and I think that's part of what motivated me to have this one, and I'm so glad I did. However, I fully intend and expect to have a rip roaring 16th birthday party for Lassie next year, so I'll just get a photo next year. Here's a picture after the party of Lassie delving Read More
Positive Reinforcement is Defined by the Receiver!
Home. Ummmm, feels so good. Even though the trip was wonderful in so many ways, it is SO good to be home. As I wrote earlier, I greatly enjoyed presenting a seminar in Sweden---the people were so kind and interesting, and our vacation in the fjord country of Norway was heavenly. (see the photos attached). And yet... Dorothy was right. There's no place like home. I wonder how many dog lovers are as ambivalent as I. I love to travel. I love seeing new places, eating new food, learning about new cultures, eating new food, seeing the world from new perspectives, eating new food. Did I mention eating new food? (If you go to southern Sweden, you really, really want to try Äggakaka. It's an eggy, creamy, quichey, omelettey thing, covered with Ligonberry sauce. Yummy) And yet, as much as I Read More
Visual Signals before Acoustic?
"Puppy nerd" asked a great question in his or her comment: Given how visual dogs are, should one start an exercise with visual signals to help the dog get it right, and then switch to acoustic ones, or avoid visual signals altogether if you want your dog to pay attention to your voice? Well, this could keep us all busy for the next few months. I know this is a loaded issue, with people strongly advocating one or the other (mostly the latter in my experience.) There's no 'right' answer, at least not in my opinion. But then, I'm not a big advocate for there being one way to train. There are many roads, as they say, to the top of the mountain. I think what's most important is to be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of starting with visual signals. The first obvious advantage is Read More
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