Chimps with Wolves

A couple of weeks back I got an email from my friend and CityDog trainer, Liz, asking if I’d be willing to help her train her Border Collie Rose learn how to herd sheep.

“Hang out with my bestest buddy Rose and a bunch of sheep at the same time? Jack pot! Count me in!” *

* Not my exact words, but it might as well been

So this past Friday I drove out to Belmont where apparently there’s a habitat area to help out. My role was that of a “Corn Gent,” as Liz put it; meaning I’d stand in the middle of a field tossing corn while sheep gathered around me to eat said corn. Nothing fancy, but it allows Liz to concentrate on working her dog instead of worrying about the sheep scattering. Also, it’d give me a chance to watch a Border Collie in action and see training work outside of the Sit/Down/Stay/Come taught in class.

It was quite a fun experience and I look forward to helping out again. Both Liz and Rose are new to sheep herding, only really starting this past Spring, but seem to doing well at it. Both are learning to read and communicate with each other better as well as learning to read the sheep and different scenarios better. Sheep are skittish creatures and things can go from calm to woolly chaos very quickly, so trust between Liz and Rose is also building. It’s also interesting to see positive reinforcement being used to train a BC to herd sheep as traditional methods are mostly used. Good to see you can teach your dog to do even complex tasks such as herding by using R+.

And thanks to the power of the iPhone I was able to capture some photos and a video of the event.

Pics and video after the jump…

Read more…

The Fourth of July is two days away, meaning hot dogs, chips, BBQ and laughs. For the most part, your dog will probably love Independence Day. An myriad of people to try to steal a few snacks from and endless amounts of head and butt scratches. However, dogs and loud noises don’t usually mix. Fireworks are no exception.

Loud noises raises your dogs stress levels and triggers their “fight or flight” response. And when it comes to Mother Nature and the animal kingdom, loud noises equal danger. Think of a thunderstorm or fallen tree. So when loud fireworks go off, dogs freak out and can end up hurting themselves or even running away. As my mentor points out, more dogs are lost on the Fourth than any other day during the year.

Play it safe when it comes to your pup this weekend. Here are a few tips:

• Keep them indoor and have someone stay with them if possible.  If your dog is extremely noise sensitive, don’t leave them home alone. Make sure doors are locked and they can’t bust through windows and screens.
• Turning a noise the dog is used to up louder can help — such a TV or radio. Try keeping the blinds and windows down to help dampen the noise, too. If it’s hot, make sure you have the AC on and/or a few fans. The noise from both can help drown out the fireworks.
• Have their kennel or crate in the same room. If they get scared, they’re most likely going to hide in a small and comforting area. If you’ve crate-trained your dog, it’ll probably go in there.
• Don’t console your dog if he freaks out. Doing so will just reaffirm their reaction. It’ll be hard. You’ll feel like a jerk for “ignoring” your dog, but your dog doesn’t know the difference between praise and consoling. You’re giving it attention and attention is a reward. Rewards reaffirm the action. Instead, try to get it to play a game or work for you (i.e., puppy sit ups) and reward with attention and treats.

Be sure to check out Melissa’s blog post for more Fourth of July tips. Lisa Spector, for Dog Star Daily, has a eight more tips for this weekend as well.

Happy Fourth!

City Water Taxi — which normally shuttles commuters, tourists visiting the USS Constitution and Logan-bound passengers  — now offer a three-hour round trip outing to the 62-acre, uninhabited Lovell’s Island for a leash-free dog and owner romp. The 25-minute ride provides stunning, seven-mile views of Boston.

Owners can bring a picnic lunch for themselves and their dogs. Old ship wrecks are scattered around the island and there are woods, dunes, walking trails the remains of World War II fortifications.

Groups of dog owners generally board at Long Wharf/Columbus Park in Boston’s North End or at Scups Restaurant in the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina in East Boston. Individuals and their dogs will be matched with others for a 12-person minimum per trip. Departure time is usually Saturdays at 11a.m.

Dogs and children under 12 are free. The cost is $35 per person with payment (cash or credit) on board. There is a one-dog limit per person. Boats can be covered and heated if needed.

You can reserve a seat at (617) 633 9240 or e-mail info@citywatertaxi.com.

Note: Dogs are not allowed on the Harbor Islands National Recreation Area during the summer season, so dog trips will end during the third week in June. They will resume after Labor Day. Hikers and cross-country skiers don’t need the warm weather.

A woman walks her husky in Yildiz park in the center of Istanbul, Turkey, during a snowy day on January 25, 2010. (MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images)

I’ll try to get a real updated post soon, promise! But I just stumbled across this photograph gallery on Boston.com on some recent dogsled racing events around the world.

Check the photos out — they are beautiful.

I remember first watching this a year ago. A shiba inu mother and her puppy litter on a web cam. They were several weeks old when I first learned of this puppy cam, but boy did it make getting through some long, dull boring work days a lot easier.

Apparently they’re back. A new litter — 3 males, 2 females –can be viewed online. Sounds like a good way to relax the mind for a few minutes.

Check out the shiba inu puppy cam but be warned, you might get hit with puppy cuteness overload.

I picked up Patricia B. McConnell Ph.D’s book The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs after my mentor recommended it to me with the review of “you’ll look at dogs completely different after reading this.” She was right. This book is phenomenal.

Whereas a lot of dog books talk about how to train our canine companions and give training advice, The Other End of the Leash compares and contrasts how humans and dogs interact with their own species and with each other. As McConnell points out, as humans part of the primate family, we’re so ingrained with certain behaviors that we easily forget that what we find to be socially acceptable isn’t the same in the dog world. McConnell clearly illustrates all the similarities and differences and where we,, as humans go wrong when interacting with our dogs. And she does all this in a reader-friendly way, mixing in anecdotes with scientific research. It’s a fast read and an informative read.

This isn’t a “how to train your dog” book but a “how to understand your dog better” book. She explains how dogs are expert body language readers, why rough primate play can cause trouble when we do it with dogs, how to get your dog to come to you when called, translating “primate speak” to “dog speak” and much more. How many times have we bent down and said, “Come Fluffy. Come Fluffy. Come Fluffy.” only to have Fluffy stare at you awkwardly and unmoving, or repeat “sit” a hundred times, each verbal command getting louder than the last with no results? McConnell explains why and how we can communicate better with our pups.

My favorite section of the book is her chapter on dominance and how social status relates to the behavior of both humans and dogs.  This topic of dominance and being “alpha” definitely wins the Inigo Montoya’s “You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means” Award, and trainers and owners a like will benefit from reading the chapter. McConnell explains why dogs prefer a benevolent leader over a status seeking “alpha-wananbe” and why “getting dominant” over your pup can make things worse.

If you really want to understand your dog better — and when we expect our pups to understand English, we should take the time to understand them — pick up The Other End of the Leash. You, and your dog, will be glad you did.

The U. S. Food and Drug Administration is warning dog owners and consumers not to use Merrick Beef Filet Squares for dogs distributed by Merrick Pet Care with a package date of “Best By 111911″ because the product may be contaminated with Salmonella.

There have been no reports of illness from the treats, but why risk it?

In December 2009, the FDA conducted routine testing of Merrick Beef Filet Squares and detected a positive finding for Salmonella. A follow-up inspection found deficiencies in the packaging and manufacturing processes.

Free come-when-called clinic: January 17th, 1-2pm

For those in the Somerville, MA area (or don’t mind traveling to the city):

City Dog Training in partnership with the City of Somerville will be hosting a free come-when-called clinic at Powder House Park (by Tufts) on Sunday, January 17th from 1-2pm. I’ll be there helping out, so if you’re free come on down and get some free dog training help. Remember, it’s Train Your Dog Month!

Check City Dog Training’s website for weather cancellations.

Note: Staying and coming-when-called are two very important bits of dog training every dog and dog owner should know. Not only does it make the owner’s life a bit easier but it can save the dog’s. So, if you don’t have a strong stay and come-when-called, want to work on it some more or have your dog meet other pups, mark your calendars and come on down

First Weekly Bark of the new year. Onto the headlines!

PETS: Resolove to spend more time with your dog
We all live busy lives. Between work, hobbies, errands and hanging with friends and family, sometimes when we finally have a minute to sit and relax we want to do just that. And our canine companions can suffer for it. This online column gives five ideas on how you can incorporate your every day activities with your dog.

Dogs get bored if they never leave home
It’s cold. A Nor’Easter just blew through your city and there’s a five foot snow drift in the back yard. Tough, I say! Your pup still needs to get out of the house, see the smells and smell the sights. If not, your dog can start unwanted behaviors in an attempt to relieve their boredom. Think of it as doggie cabin fever. This column goes over ways to keep your dog well exercised even during the dead of winter.

And Now for the Star of the Show
Training your dog doesn’t have to be all about “sit”, “down” and “stay.” This piece shows you five fun tricks to teach your pup, including “high five”, “boing!,” “weave” and “bow.”

After the jump, finding dog-friendly vacation accommodations and Vermont dog owners don’t dig city’s deicers.

Read more…

As I noted in one of my last posts (Winterizing your dog and avoiding winter hazards), I was dogsitting for a couple of friends over Christmas while they enjoyed their “second wedding” in Brazil. Their dog is Zach, a Lab-Border Collie mix that we like to joke has the intelligence of a Border Collie, but the attention span of a Lab. He’s a great dog who enjoys sitting on the couch, curled up in a big black ball of fur with his monkeys beside him. In fact, that’s mostly all he does.

Good ol’ Zach Dog has only two speeds — sit/sleep and walk. He’ll do anything for food and for a walk, but from all the times I’ve seen him he seemed to have no drive or impulse to play. Rope tug-o-war toys are merely just odd shaped pieces of twine  to him and if you throw a discs and or balls, he stares at you like you’re an idiot for throwing the darn thing in the first place. I even tried getting him to chase me after tossing the ball a few yards away and acting like the ball is the greatest object on earth in hopes to getting Zach to play, but nothing. He just stares at you and maybe yawn, bored by your tireless attempts to get him excited and interesting in the toy.

Never thought I’d see the day when a Lab-Border Collie mix wouldn’t want to go running after something… and yet, there’s Zach. Good ol’ Zach.

I tell you all this so you fully understand how important this most recent Christmas was for Zach… and for me as a trainer-in-training.

Kate, Zach and myself made the few hour trek to upstate-NY where my parents now live. Their part of town is pretty rural. Everyone’s backyards are huge and every other house has some sort of dog running around in the backyard. Pine trees line every yard. It’s like dog heaven and Zach being a city-dog must’ve been in smell bliss the entire weekend.

And me being the sucker for dogs that I am, bought Zach a few Christmas gifts — a new Kong, a bullystick (which he loved thoroughly all weekend) and some Bison Bites. Before one of his walks (and he got plenty of walking every day), Kate made him some treat concoction of Biston Bites smothered in peanut butter with some of his kibble sprinkled on top –  it looked like a canine version of something you’d see on Iron Chef America. After he devoured that we took him for a nice long walk, ending it by jogging around the final block (our attempt to get Zach to stop smelling every blade of grass).

When we got back to our house Zach continued to run around like a madman, actually taking part in a game of chase with me and stopping once in a while to fall in a semi-play bow. This went on for a few more minutes before we took Zach in where he continued to play (that’s right, I said it, play) chase in the house, chasing me up and down the stairs and running from one bed to the next and going into a play bow.

What caused Zach to finally play is a bit of a mystery to me. We couldn’t get him to run around and play chase the next day. Maybe it was the jogging at the end of the walk, Kate’s superdogtreat, all the smells and open space that upstate-NY provides, or some other unknown variable. Mostly likely it had nothing to do with me learning to be a trainer.

But, at least for a few minutes, Zach played.

It was a Christmas miracle.