2-minute dog trainer – Phoenix at 14-16 weeks

Because Phoenix is a rescued pup we’re not sure of his birthdate. The rescue group, on Feb. 20, guessed he was born 12/20/11, and was 8 weeks old.  I thought he had to be older than that (who ditches an 8-week-old puppy in rescue?!?).

So now, the first week of April, he’s either 14 weeks old, or a little older. I’m waiting for his teeth to start falling out at that 16-week mark to have a better idea of how old he is.

I’m going to establish a birthdate of 12/15/11, making him 16 weeks old this week. We’ll see what happens with his teeth.

Regardless of the precise age of this pup, he’s learning rapidly and is a joy to train.

First, the resource guarding is a constant training opportunity for us.

Instead of a little growl when I touch his bowl, I get a happy face and a wagging tail. I always hold the bowl and stroke Phoenix’s back, and the tail continues to wag.

If I touch his face with my free hand, the tail stops wagging, but he doesn’t freeze up anymore. This is going to be a long-term training objective, and we can’t ever forget that he doesn’t like having his food bowl approached.

He has half-a-dozen behaviors which he offers in sequence when I pick up his food bowl.

He loves to offer:  sit, down, 2-o-2-o contacts, front, heel, table, and go-to-bed (get in crate and lie down).

For breakfast we work on contacts. I’m allowing him to climb the ramp now, so 2-on-2-off is done in motion, at some speed.

For lunch we work on pause table (on the living room ottoman) and go-to-bed (with his crate).

We’ve added a new exercise for dinner. I’ve set up 3 hoops (ala NADAC) in the yard and am teaching “go on” as a cue to keep engaging the hoops.

If the sequence of 3 hoops is 1-2-3, I start with #3, “YAY” and reward, then #2-3, “YAY” and reward, then #1-2-3, “YAY” and reward.

We reverse direction and repeat the exercise. I can generally get three of four of these sequences in for a single bowl of food.

2-minute dog trainer, Tempest finds heel

A week ago I came to the conclusion that Tempest was NOT going to debut Sept. 25 in rally obedience.

Because Tempest’s debut was put off (for months, actually), my goals have changed.

Instead of encouraging him to dance with me, whether in agility or rally-o or obedience, I’m limiting my movement and asking him to think about what I’m saying.

He’s learning quite a few words, including (but not limited to):

1) “T” means “pay attention to me,” versus “Tempest” which is his name. “T” is a cue in itself, while “Tempest” means another cue will follow.

2) “Come” which means “drop what you’re doing and come to me.”

3) “Leave it” which means “drop the mulch,” “walk away from Kory’s dinner without stealing any of it.”

4) “Lie Down” which means freeze in a 2-on-2-off position on the contacts. This was Bud’s language with Kory and he’ll be running Tempest some of the time, so I surrendered my choice of language on this one. Upside is we get to use the same words on an agility course. Downside is Tempest doesn’t actually know that “lie down” means “lie down.”

5) “T-down” means “lie down.”

6) “Heel” is a cue meaning “move into heel” or “move to stay in heel” position. Most important — key to my rewarding the performance — is moving. It’s important that Tempest sees heeling as a sport activity, rather than as a begging or groveling position.

7) “Settle” means lie down and relax quietly, whether in a crate or in the living room.

In addition to the words he’s learned, Tempest remembers all my foundation training, including “sit” is the way you ask for things like going out through the door, coming in through the baby gate, and entering or exiting a crate or pen.

At the strangest moments I’ll find him sitting facing the back door (Mommy, please, may I go out?).  Or sitting in the dining room facing toward where I’m sitting and the other dogs surround me (Mommy, are you coming this way to feed us?). Or sitting in the training building facing the open door as the rest of us follow him in (Kory, would you please come play with me?).

Sit has become his default, his means of controlling his environment. And I love that.

Down has become his self-control posture, and his means of calming himself. I love that, too!

2-minute dog trainer, Tempest fulfills his destiny

I’m sure it sounds strange to dog-sport people, but one of my puppy’s jobs is to be a demo dog for our training protocols, and an ambassador for Houston’s Country Dream. 

Tempest got to visit the Parkersburg (WV) Humane Society yesterday, to demonstrate positive reinforcement and clicker training for agility.  He’s four months old.

Tempest is my best advertisement. When he behaves beautifully, students want to know how we trained those behaviors. When he behaves badly, students may think “What a brat Marsha has! She must suck as a trainer.” <g>

There were a few things I did with my first puppy, Banner ’96, that I’ve changed with Tempest. Having taught remedial basic obedience (fixing the horrendous behaviors permitted from puppyhood), I have a philosophy about how to properly raise a puppy.

If I don’t apply what I know to Tempest’s upbringing I’ll be disappointed in myself.  And my credibility will be diminished. The biggest problem with not applying my philosophy is that I’ll be forced to FIX things. And remedial training doesn’t stick nearly as well as initial training.

Take, for example, contact training. If we begin training the puppy by letting them run across the contact zone, applying no training to the bottom of the ramp, we might have a dozen nice “running contacts” in the course of a couple of weeks.

There will probably come a time, though, when the puppy wants to speed up. And the best way to cut time on contact equipment is to hop across that yellow area.

Then we go back and try to retrain that contact but, in the heat of competition, the puppy reverts to what he first learned — running the contact and jumping off prematurely.

Remedial training is a poor second or third choice.  So I’m taking Tempest’s initial training — whether agility, obedience, or rally — very seriously.

Imagine my pride when I took Tempest to be my demo dog at a local shelter during their kids’ camp on Thursday.

They wanted a simple agility demo but I didn’t have the way or will to haul a bunch of equipment. I actually prefer to demonstrate more fundamental training concepts in the context of agility.

So my demo topic became clicker training a puppy from — 1) the agility tire to  2) an open crate on the ground to  3) jumping into a crate in the truck.

My training tools included my truck with crate, a small tire, a portable crate, two strings of cheese, my clicker, and my 4-month-old puppy.

I began with a brief explanation of the principles of clicker training while getting Tempest through the tire multiple times. Since he’s doing so much rear-awareness work (2-on-2-off training), he tended to hop through the tire with his front feet and straddle it, looking at me as if to say, “is this it?”

Once I started moving he discontinued that behavior and began hopping through. As I talked to the kids, Tempest would continue his tire work, to the giggles and applause of the crowd. I reached down, unhooked his leash, and he stuck right with me, staying completely focused.

We then switched to “go in” with an open crate. Tempest applied the same work ethic to the crate that he’d applied to the tire. Popping in and out of the crate, stopping occasionally to ask his question, “What do I get if I just stand here?” To which I answered nothing.

Someone in the crowd asked about Tempest’s 2-minute dog training with each meal, and I told them what he does with stools, milk crates, contact obstacles, any raised surface.  One of the kids picked up a large brick and brought it over to our work area.

I gave Tempest his stupid-pet-trick cue — “What do we do with that thing?”  He immediately hopped onto the brick, moved his front feet to the grass, and stood with his rear feet on the brick.  YAY!  Laughter, giggles, applause …

I continued talking about positive reinforcement training and how we get our dog to offer behavior (all the while Tempest is offering performance with the tire, with the crate, with the brick), building their confidence and making them more comfortable in strange situations by allowing them to pick their own footsteps.

For example, in my experience, most car-sickness in dogs is a matter of them being stressed in a vehicle. If we teach them to hop into the vehicle, to enter a crate willingly, we can make them more comfortable in a vehicle.

I explained to the crowd that Tempest wasn’t able to hop into his crate in the truck due to his size, but that I was working at getting him to “attempt” the jump in, and would help him get into his crate.

As I said that, I pointed at the crate in my SUV, and said “get in!” in the same tone I’d used for the crate on the ground.

Tempest gave a massive HOP and climbed right into his crate !!   The crowd went wild. <g>

I was so proud of his steadiness, bravery, composure, and brilliance.

2-minute dog trainer, loss of Wizard

The loss of old dogs at our home continues with Wizard’s passing this morning.

The events of Wizard’s death are so fresh and raw that I’ve twice begun this blog with a detailed description of the events. Then I’ve deleted what I wrote. Twice.

I want to celebrate the marvelous dog Wizard was, rather than sharing the details of an old dog who woke us up struggling, paralyzed, and who died staring into my eyes, completely trusting my ability to make scary stuff go away.

When my first marriage was bearing down “on the rocks,” I immersed myself in dog activities. Dog rescue, dog training, dog obedience instructing, dog temperament testing at a local shelter, dog search and rescue, and dog shows took bigger chunks of my time.

The last few months of my first marriage included my first experience at euthanizing an old dog, sharing the experience with my then-husband, being so moved by the event that I wrote an essay about it, winning the opportunity to renew our vows and possibly a 4-day second honeymoon, having my husband refuse to partake, spending valentine’s day at the local shelter temperament testing adult dogs, and finding Wizard in the puppy room.

The moment I met Wizard I knew he was mine. I thought about nothing else for 2 days before I adopted him for good. I’ve occasionally referred to Wizard as “the straw that broke the camel’s back” but, in reality, my ex-husband’s girlfriend probably provided that straw. We just weren’t his thing.

Wizard always had a heightened sense of home security. Here’s one of my funny Wizard stories … he was a character.

The first day of my life post-marriage, I returned from a day at work and fixed myself a frozen dinner. I walked it from the kitchen to the dining table. Wizard started barking at the kitchen door, sounding like someone was right outside the door. I didn’t think anyone had managed to get to the door without my knowing it, but I went to check it out anyway. After a few seconds looking out the door and seeing nothing, I said “Wizard, I think you’re losing it, ’cause I don’t see anyone … Wizard? Wizard?”  He was gone … I went to the dining room and there he was, front feet on my seat, eating my dinner.

The second day I returned home from work, fixed my dinner, and walked it to the dining room. Wizard again exploded at the kitchen door. Remembering my error the day before I pushed my dinner to the middle of the table and went to check what was bothering Wizard. “You’re losing it again, Wiz — I don’t see anything — Wizard? Wizard?” I returned to the dining room and there he was, back feet on my chair, front feet on the table, again consuming my dinner.

The third day I returned home from work, fixed my dinner, and walked it to the dining room. Wizard again exploded at the kitchen door. Remembering my previous errors I picked my plate up and carried it, over my head, to the kitchen. On the way to the kitchen door I passed Wizard who was quickly heading to the dining room. As we passed he glanced up at me, spotted the plate over my head, did a double-take, looked sheepish and gave me a big doggie grin. I had passed his test, though it took me a few days to get it household security right.

We referred to Wizard as our head of security. He responded to all strangers with open loathing, hate, and aggression. He responded to all family and friends with adoration and cloying affection, affection best given while on your lap, on your chest, in your face.

We’ve asked ourselves many times in the last few months, “what are we going to do for a watchdog when Wizard’s gone?” Not one of our dogs takes it seriously when there’s a breach, not like Wizard did. When strangers asked, “will that dog bite?” I’d say, “it depends — sometimes yes, sometimes no.”  I figured anyone asking if my watchdog bites needs to know it’s a possibility.

Wizard is now with Tack, Banner, Bogie, and Birdie at the Rainbow Bridge.  Our home is quieter and less secure.

Thankfully, Kory began assuming the back-up security position, emitting a strange howl when he sees strangers in the driveway. As with any transition to a new security system, I’m sure there will be glitches.

2-minute dog trainer, last camp of 2009

Today we start the first day of the last camp of 2009!

This camp is followed by about 3 weeks of frenetic travel for Bud including two 3-day trials, a NADAC judging clinic, and 3 days of NADAC judges testing. He’ll be flying from here to Kansas City, home, then to Florida, then to Texas, and finally home again in early December.

Because of his busy schedule in the next month I decided to have him bring the big Christmas tree from the basement. My Mom and sister helped me assemble it and get most of the lights working.

This tree came with the house. No one in my family wanted it, so it stayed with the house for which it was purchased.

It’s a pain in the butt, frankly. I decided about 5 years ago to not buy “pre-lit” trees anymore. When one light goes a whole branch goes. The manufacturers give you all these instructions and extra light bulbs, but who in their right mind is going to try to follow the cords on a 300-light tree to find the one bulb causing all the problems.

What most folks do, of course, is buy a cheap strand of lights and add them to the tree. So wouldn’t it just be easier to buy the tree and the lights separately? That way, when a string of lights is broken you just replace them, rather than leaving them on the tree and adding more lights.

Anyway, bottom line, it’s November 15th and I think I’ve broken all my previous records by actually having my Christmas tree up in the living room. I even had it lit for a few hours yesterday, just for kicks.

Our campers arrived before dark so they didn’t notice the lit tree in the living room. They’ll see it tonight when they come to dinner. Their comments will be interesting.

This group of campers are all friends and most of the dogs working in this camp will be Brittanys. One camper’s aussie injured himself 2 weeks ago (chasing a cat and ran into a framed picture leaning against a wall — I have aussies, so I can picture the lack of impulse control that started the whole scenario).

She’ll be working a Houston loaner dog, my 9-1/2-year-old Dash. I still think of him as a youngster but I’ll have to keep an eye pealed to any signs of exhaustion on his part.

With only 4 dogs working in camp they’re sure to get a lot of work. On Tuesday, with evening classes coinciding with camp dinner, we’re going to give our 2010 camp schedule a test run.

Our 2009 schedule is all group training — 9-to-noon and 2-to-5 — with dinner at 6:00.

Our 2010 schedule is part group training — 9-to-noon — then private lessons or small groups — 1-to-5 — followed by an optional group meal at 6:00 p.m.

I’m really intrigued with the idea of being able to deconstruct the elements of a camp and allow folks to pick the events they want.

By pricing camps as components a 2010 camper may choose to do 2 or 3 days of a 4-day camp with their friends. They may, as a group, choose to fix their own meals in one of the cottages rather than coming to the log house for dinner.

And they may choose to join our Tuesday night classes and league play while here as well.

This Tuesday, with classes from 6-8:30 p.m. coinciding with campers dinner, we’re going to test out the 2010 camp schedule.

We’ll work group exercises from 9-to-noon, take a 1-hour break, then have either private lessons (friends are welcome to stay, videotape, take notes, whatever) until 4, take a short break, and meet for dinner before classes.

I’m looking forward to a busy month, followed by winter with lots of writing projects (including all the 2-Minute Dog Training homework for “Go Rally Training Manual”), some dog training, lots of swimming, and a few evening classes and workshops.

I’ll be reporting in DogSports magazine the results of my sport foundation training class. Hickory (aka “Kory”) will be my primary guinnea pig, though Hazard is going to be learning obedience and rally through the winter as well.

2 Min. Dog Trainer, local store closing

I heard through the grapevine yesterday that our local Petland suddenly closed.

I’ve not stepped foot in this store since it opened, primarily because they sold puppies from puppy-mills.

I’ve passed it countless times, leaving Lowe’s, and seen a recent Petland customer carrying their bulldog puppy, or yorkie puppy, etc. to their car. I always hope the person doesn’t have a horrible experience, and that the puppy lives to a happy, healthy old age, but I know in my heart that neither are likely.

I’ve taken phone calls for obedience training from folks who have housetraining issues, temperament issues, health issues, and — when I ask where they got their dog — a fair share of them say Petland.

My pet peeve (no pun intended), by the way, is the fact that people will walk into a puppy-mill retail operation, pay hundreds of dollars (at only $39.99 a month for just 4 years!) for a puppy-mill product, but will balk at paying $50 for the dog training that will give them some tools to fix the issues they have with the dog.

I guess if I charged them $2.50 a month for 4 years they’d be happier with the price. What they really want is a free phone consultation. Afterall, we both love dogs, right? 

I’ll often help them longer than some folks would but still, the real point I want to educate them on is that a healthy, well-bred puppy from a reputable breeder, who has the parents on site, who has invested hundreds of dollars in pre-natal care, and who investigates her buyers, costs hundreds of dollars LESS than the Petland puppy.

The start-up costs (the cost of the puppy, transportation, bedding, crates, bowls, etc.) may seem higher unless you do the math, but thousands of dollars will probably be saved in health care over the next 15 years.

Oh well, enough of that. I’ve been reading stories on the internet about why Petlands in Ohio are being shut down. It’s a little disheartening, in case you attempt it, because it’s difficult to know that people behave so badly towards little animals — dogs, cats, rabbits, included.

Thank God they’re closed, and so sad for the little lives placed in their care by Hunte Corporation or other brokers of puppy-mill pets.

An interesting thing about being judged

Once you reconcile to the fact that you will be judged, to your face and behind your back, then the only questions become,  1) is the person doing the judging cognizant of all the facts? and  2) is the person doing the judging a peer to whom I must answer?

I wanted to record here, for posterity, an e-mail I received from a total stranger. In an attempt to judge me behind my back, Lori accidentally posted the comment to my e-mail address only. Ohhhh the horrors of e-mail. Can’t snatch ’em back, can’t delete them, they’re out there forever. And, once a message is sent to an address, the recipient owns it.

Lori’s accidental post to me read, “Why is Marsha still on HSOV   I think a Anyone that DUMPS their own dog at the shelter should have their name reMoved. Sent from my iPhone”

When I let her know her post had come just to me, and informed her that the adoption agreement I signed with HSOV 2 years ago stated that Blue must be returned to HSOV if she didn’t work out in my home, I received this judgement from Lori ….

“Marsha, I’ve not met you, you’re correct in you don’t know me. I did know who the email was from, it was obvious from your blatant advertisement regarding agility training at the bottom of it. What I didn’t realize was that you were the ONLY person I was replying to in the email.

I’d like to clarify what it is that bothers me.  I know what the contract says and you’re right…you did as the adoption contract requires, for that I applaud you. However, I also know that EVERY animal that comes out of that shelter is hoping to find it’s “FOREVER’ home, not a home that will keep it until ‘something better’ comes along as in the case of the dog you returned.

I have had dogs that fight, I have been bitten numerous times by dogs I foster or my own when they were in a fight. They still have forever homes, I would no sooner ‘return’ or give up one of my dogs than I would a child that has ‘issues’.  I take the time, and have the patience to work through the issues unless they are ‘unworkable’ (I’ve had only one that was unworkable and it was a foster that ate it’s 9 week old babies and tried to attack me when I went in to remove the last living baby). 

As a trainer, I would have thought you would have been willing to work through whatever issue you felt Blue had and if you couldn’t then you should have sought the help of a trainer that had the experience to work through it. If I were looking for a trainer for my dogs (I’m not, I already have an excellent one) I would not use one that I knew returned their own dog because they couldn’t or wouldn’t work with it.  I had heard that Blue had many certificates in agility which also makes me wonder even more why he was ‘returned’ as he obviously is a very intelligent dog.

Again, it’s just my opinion, I speak only for myself.  But I don’t feel that someone who adopts and then returns an animal to a shelter is stable enough to adopt again, nor be associated with the group they represent and returned their dog to at the same time.  If your association with the shelter is monetary, I’m sure they’re grateful for your donation, if you spend hours volunteering, I’m sure they’re grateful for your help. Please continue both donation and hours as the HSOV needs that kind of help.

 Shelters and rescues need the animals to go to forever homes, not have a revolving door back to them…it’s too expensive in emotional commitments and money and time to not have adopters you can count on for forever homes.

Just for my own closure I’m going to respond to a few of Lori’s points in this blog posting. I hope to address some of my disagreements with commonly-held beliefs, and also some of the social graces lacking in today’s youth. To repeat Lori’s letter, interrupted with my insertions this time …

“Marsha, I’ve not met you, you’re correct in you don’t know me. I did know who the email was from, it was obvious from your blatant advertisement regarding agility training at the bottom of it. What I didn’t realize was that you were the ONLY person I was replying to in the email.

Time to get out the directions for that Blackberry, huh?   Yes, advertising is blatant. And I’m guilty of advertising. We run a business.

I’d like to clarify what it is that bothers me.  I know what the contract says and you’re right…you did as the adoption contract requires, for that I applaud you. However, I also know that EVERY animal that comes out of that shelter is hoping to find it’s “FOREVER’ home, not a home that will keep it until ‘something better’ comes along as in the case of the dog you returned.

Anthropomorphism at it’s finest. Dogs hoping for forever homes. The resting place of the purist. Well, sorry, but my 13-year-olds were hoping to get to retire without being beat up every day. My dogs were hoping to not have Blue’s teethmarks on their muzzles.  Most troubling in this is Lori’s contention that I kept Blue until “something better” came along. She’s ignorant of the fact that Blue was going to be my agility and obedience dog. That no one could replace her. I’ve no idea what other dog came along to displace Blue. Right now I’m without a performance dog.

I have had dogs that fight, I have been bitten numerous times by dogs I foster or my own when they were in a fight. They still have forever homes, I would no sooner ‘return’ or give up one of my dogs than I would a child that has ‘issues’.  I take the time, and have the patience to work through the issues unless they are ‘unworkable’ (I’ve had only one that was unworkable and it was a foster that ate it’s 9 week old babies and tried to attack me when I went in to remove the last living baby). 

Lori doesn’t get real specific here about just what happens to her foster dogs (must assume she doesn’t keep every foster) or dogs that eat their own babies. Either she does work through every issue or she does not. It sounds as if, at some point on the continuum of behavior, Lori chooses to cut her losses and remove the dog from her home. If she fosters she may even choose her own pack over the foster dog, putting the good of the many over the good of the one. We’re left with more questions than answers.

As a trainer, I would have thought you would have been willing to work through whatever issue you felt Blue had and if you couldn’t then you should have sought the help of a trainer that had the experience to work through it. If I were looking for a trainer for my dogs (I’m not, I already have an excellent one) I would not use one that I knew returned their own dog because they couldn’t or wouldn’t work with it.  I had heard that Blue had many certificates in agility which also makes me wonder even more why he was ‘returned’ as he obviously is a very intelligent dog.

Blue was a “she,” so I’m even more convinced than ever that Lori has never met Blue and is making a blanket judgement on me without getting all the facts. Dog trainers are no different from other dog people. Just because we train dogs doesn’t mean we’re more able to maintain a stable of fractious, dangerous dogs. My belief is that Blue’s perfect, “forever,” home is waiting out there for her. Keeping Blue put my pack at risk and kept her from ever finding the perfect home. Whether Lori feels I’m a poor dog trainer is of no consequence to me. In my heart I know I do what I can, more than most folks, to ensure that dogs are healthy, cared-for, loved, and cherished — whether they’re in my home or in a student’s home.

Again, it’s just my opinion, I speak only for myself.  But I don’t feel that someone who adopts and then returns an animal to a shelter is stable enough to adopt again, nor be associated with the group they represent and returned their dog to at the same time.  If your association with the shelter is monetary, I’m sure they’re grateful for your donation, if you spend hours volunteering, I’m sure they’re grateful for your help. Please continue both donation and hours as the HSOV needs that kind of help.

An interesting bit of adoption information is that “open adoptions,” as practiced by many shelters including HSOV, are designed to eliminate just this sort of judgement on adopters. The rule of thumb for shelters is this — you adopt a dog or cat and, if it works out that’s perfect — if it doesn’t work out please return it to us so we can try again. The most important lesson I’ve learned in the last 20 years (and clearly a lesson Lori has yet to learn) is that there is no home that is perfect for all dogs, and that there is no dog that is perfect for my home. There are project dogs, there are lovely dogs, and there are dangerous dogs. Each relies on a situation to create either bad news or good news.

Open adoptions are designed to ensure that dogs are not dumped on back roads, shot in the head, or confined to a pen for eternity. Open adoptions allow people to give a dog another chance, in another environment, in  another home, without being labeled “unstable.”

So Lori considers me unstable, though is willing to back-pedal and accept, on behalf of the organization for whom she clearly does not speak, my donations of time and money.

 Shelters and rescues need the animals to go to forever homes, not have a revolving door back to them…it’s too expensive in emotional commitments and money and time to not have adopters you can count on for forever homes.

Again with the blanket statements. All warm and fuzzy, with no real content. Blue went to the Ohio Cell Dog program, to be trained by an inmate who may have a life-changing experience with this brilliant little girl. This inmate may decide that his or her life is worthwhile, that improvement is possible, and that the future holds promise. The people who adopt Blue from the program may provide her with the one-on-one home life Blue so needs. Blue’s brilliant obedience and agility behaviors may influence them to continue her training, thus moving them into the world of “dog people.” Hopefully all this will happen without the judgements of the ignorant and/or pure.

The final message with which I’d like to leave the Lori’s of the world is this … before you judge someone  1) put yourself in their shoes,  2) decide if you’re really qualified to judge them,  3) examine your own life,  4) determine if this is how you would wish to be treated, and  5) be as kind to people as you would be to an animal.

In the end we’ll all be judged on how we treated others in our lives. Were we kind?  Did we do unto others as we would have them do unto us?  Were we encouraging, or did our holier-than-thou attitudes create a sense of anger or inferiority in others?

Facing fear, Bud’s teeter discussion

Bud is initiating a discussion of teeter issues and he’s reviewing the different types of teeter fears.

I’d like to add my 2-cents as well, on the issue of fear in general. It is my philosophy, when faced with a dog needing training, that his or her fears are unwarranted or irrational.

There are, indeed, things in life of which dogs should be afraid, including, sometimes, the people who own them.

With puppies we must weigh protecting (not scaring) the puppy with building confidence (allowing the puppy to be scared and work through the fear).

I’ve seen demonstrations on the puppy Einstein process, where puppies are stressed in order to encourage the production of neuropathways for coping with stress. We have one dog who (allegedly) experienced this process as a puppy and, frankly, I don’t see any capacity in her for dealing with stress that doesn’t exist in our other dogs.

In agility or obedience training there is nothing the dog should fear. So their fear of jump bars hitting the floor, of teeters banging in the other end of the building, of fans being turned on, of crates banging, are all unwarranted or irrational fears.

A human analogy I often use is this — say your 6-year-old is afraid of the school bus — do you say, “oh, I’m so sorry you’re scared, okay you don’t have to go to school anymore …”  OR do you reason with the child, get them over their fear of the bus, and reward them for being brave? Of course you do the latter as there’s no way for your child to progress and be confident if they never face their irrational fears.

Perhaps the puppy has led such a sheltered (uneventful) life that even the slightest change in environment turns him into a quivering bowl of jelly.

Perhaps the youngster is relegated to a basement or garage and isn’t allowed to put positive associations with the banging and clanging of human existance.

Whatever the reason, when they get to agility class, we set out to reverse the fear, to reward away the fear, to build confidence by making positive associations with any effort at bravery. The reward of joining their owner and the food begins to override anxiety over the strange environment.

“Dash” — a case study in generalized fear …

In 2000 a woman bought a red merle aussie puppy from a well-known breeder of aussies in Texas. The 8-week old puppy was flown from Texas to Ohio. On the face of it this was a great plan. The puppy’s aunt was a world beater, fast and focused, intent on the work with the body structure to back it up. The puppy’s grandmother was biddable and fast.

Error #1 was with the purchaser, who heaped all her expectations of agility world domination on the shoulders of an 8-week-old puppy picked by the breeder and shipped, sight unseen, to Ohio. She was an average handler and an average trainer but she’d only trained border collies in the past.

Error #2 was with the breeder who, in the beginning throes of a divorce, allowed an unwanted pup from her most recent litter to be purchased by a total stranger without any references or knowledge of what his life was going to be.

Error #3 was with the purchaser’s choice of training methods. She decided to initiate a “nothing in life is free” and “tuff love” protocol with this 8-week-old puppy. For a couple of months she persisted with this.

Without knowing the pup I watched the train wreck unfold from afar. On agility lists we heard about how “Player” was being purchased from Texas (because no breeder in Ohio would sell to this woman) and how he was going to carry her to fame.

Within six weeks (pup was 3.5 months old) there were signs that he wasn’t working out, with the purchaser asking “is anyone going to the aussie nationals in Atlanta and could Player ride along to be returned to the breeder?”

In a few more weeks there was a general posting about a 5-month old red merle male puppy RESCUE needing a new home, with the rescue price listed.

I contacted the lady and asked,  1) is this Player, the puppy from Texas? (Yes),  2) is there something wrong with him? (No, we’re just unable to bond.),  3) why don’t you want to keep him?  (He’s a dud and all he’s interested in is food.)

I then contacted the breeder who begged me to go get this puppy, apologizing for having put him in that home, and asking if there was any way I could keep him. According to her the pup, now 5 months old, was clingy and sweet, preferring the company of people to the company of his litter, and a good prospect for training.

So Player became “Dash,” my sweet treasure of an aussie. When he got out of the woman’s crate he was “empty eyed.” He had few expectations of people by this point. He had no desire to interact with these strange creatures.

I put him in my crate, right behind the seat in my van, and he rode home with my fingers entertwined through the wires of the crate and touching his hair. By the end of the 90-minute drive he was leaning on my hand, craving some sort of attention and affection.

People involved with rescue and with shelter dogs will tell you that every adopter of a neglected or unwanted dog attaches a “story” to the dog. The story becomes the legend of that dog. Why he is the way he is. Why my home was his salvation. Why I’m going to heaven because I rescued him.

So that’s Dash’s legend, his story. But his real story is one of generalized fear — fear of everything including going into a crate, coming out of a crate, jumping up on things, jumping off of things, going in a door, coming out a door, going upstairs, going downstairs — conquered through positive reinforcement.

Instead of tuff love, Dash’s training protocol became “be brave or be lonely,” “be brave or be hungry.”  He had only to be a little brave to earn all the love and food he could stand.

After many months of rewarding bravery Dash became my “steady Eddie” in dog agility and obedience. He continues to battle his fears but has a foundation of reward-for-bravery and will, on most occasions, do what I ask with fundamental trust in me and my ability to keep him safe.

So my advice when faced with a dog exhibiting irrational or unwarranted fears is reward your dog for being brave. When you’re at home or in the car, on the street or at a store, reward ANY act of bravery or boldness with huge treats and praise and love.

Sport foundation, 2-minute routine (part 1)

In an effort to prepare for the TDAA Petit Prix in Wisconsin this October, I’ve implemented a few changes in lifestyle.

I’ve been swimming 3-4 times a week for 90 minutes (about 2 miles of swimming each time). My knee is feeling really strong and I’ve lost some weight.

But the most important routine is yet to be established. I need to start setting aside time each day to prepare Blue for the national event, and renew our partnership which was begun 2 years ago.

I plan to begin with the sport foundation 2-Minute trainers again. Blue has most of the skills but I figure it won’t hurt to begin with foundation work again.

Additionally we’ve begun working the girls through Susan Garrett’s 2×2 weave training. for the Petit Prix we want to add some area rugs to duplicate the footing dogs will experience at the nationals.

Additionally (!) I need to take Blue’s pause table “on the road” so she can work through her fear issues with men. These issues manifest on the pause table at trials, mostly.

Additionally (!!) I need to begin adding weight-bearing exercises for my knees. I want to work Blue dog jump chutes, pairing her jump conditioning with little wind-sprints for me.  I’ll begin with a straight line of jumps and progress to a large figure 8 so I can add distance jumping for Blue and front crosses for me.

Sound like over-kill?  Here’s some background information which will explain my mild obsession with Blue’s performance at this year’s Petit Prix.

When Bud created TDAA I was running Australian Shepherd’s exclusively. When I first heard the plan for TDAA I must admit I was a little offended. When Bud asked if I’d be interested in participating my response was, “help out an organization that excludes my dogs?”  Later I got excited about the games approach, the titling paths, and the whole concept of a little-dog venue.

At the time we had a trial group (at Dogwood Training Center) and we were holding meetings to prepare for upcoming trials. For our first TDAA trial we had ZERO entries.  I was shocked!  I said, “I can’t believe all of you with little dogs haven’t entered our trial!  If I had a dog eligible I’d have entered already!!”

Bud immediately said, “You can run Bogie.”  From that point on, whenever we had a TDAA trial I entered Bogie, Bud’s clever and biddable sheltie. We had a blast in TDAA, winning the first Petit Prix in the 16″ division by .29 seconds over Kathy Duffy’s Bobbie.

When it came time for Bogie to retire I figured I’d better keep my eyes pealed for MY teacup dog. Since I work with rescue and was considering volunteering at the local shelters, I figured a dog would fall into my lap some day. I wasn’t interested in seeking out puppies, but just had a mission in the back of my mind.

We moved to Country Dream (March 1) and engaged in a frenzied preparation for our first camp (April 31). We had the meadow bulldozed, the building put up, the cottages gutted and rehabbed, the guestrooms set-up, and I was able to find everything in the kitchen. <g>

On the last day of camp Sue Sternberg and I decided to visit the local shelters so she could arrange to become a transfer site for dogs from our area.

At the Parkersburg shelter she was greeted like a rock star. The staff knew of Sue, supported her efforts, and were excited about working with her. At the Marietta shelter the manager hid in her office, refusing to meet with Sue, until she got on her cell phone and called the staff of the Parkersburg shelter.

She had just received an e-hate-mail suggesting that Sue Sternberg is a dog-hater, a dog-killer, a dog-stealer, etc.  “Don’t let this woman into your shelter!” the e-mail warned. Of course, the folks in Parkersburg told the Marietta manager to ignore that e-mail and talk with Sue.

In the meantime, Sue and I had gotten out of my truck and both locked in on a dog in an outside kennel. She was the strangest looking dog either of us had ever seen. “Spook” had been turned in at the shelter just that day (I found out later) and clearly was expecting her family to come get her.  She was about 12″ tall (and about 30″ long, but that didn’t matter to me <g>).

Sue and I met with the shelter manager.  We returned to camp. For 2 days I thought about that little dog.

And, on that Saturday, I drove to the shelter and adopted Spook.  I decided her new name would be Blue, and that I’d see if she liked to train. If she did that would be great. If she didn’t that would be okay, too.

Thus began my journey with Blue.

In a recent e-mail to a teacup list (unfortunately folks rarely edit themselves on e-mail lists and often don’t understand why anyone would be offended by their words or tone — it’s something I try to remember when I write) several people indicated that it might be “unfair” for some of us to practice the ’09 Petit Prix games ahead of time, or work through strategies at the warm-up workshops in Wisconsin.

I thought about how agility organizations work diligently to “level the playing field” and how there is absolutely no way to make the playing field level or to make it fair, unless each and every exhibitor has their own category and only plays against their own performance, and in an environment devoid of people and distractions.

When one handler is judged against another there are always injustices. Add to that equation the wide variety of dogs and doggie histories, and the injustices mount up pretty quickly.

Unless and until there is a separate class at dog agility trials for middle-aged, overweight handlers with dogs rescued from the shelter after 9 months of being terrorized by a teenage boy — it will be unfair to compare our performance to that of other teams.

Fortunately for all of us, this un-leveled playing field allows us to make countless excuses for our shortcomings or failures. “My dog is afraid of men.”  “My knees are killing me.”  “The photographer scared my dog.”  “For some reason my dog doesn’t like the timing system.”  And on and on and on ….

My intention is to arrive at the ’09 Petit Prix as prepared as I can be, as fit as I can be, and to apply my skills and knowledge as completely as possible to each run.

In the back of my mind, however, is the desire for Blue to place in her division this year. More on that later …

my shelter 2-min training

I’ve been shirking my commitment to the shelter duties I took on.

I made the decision to work at the shelter on a weekly basis back in November ’08, at the beginning of our quiet time. I had met and befriended folks at the Parkersburg (WV) shelter and we hosted a presentation by Sue Sternberg, who was here for an agility camp.

My goal was to provide the Marietta shelter (which I perceived as more needy than the Parkersburg shelter) with a volunteer station and materials to teach potential dog adopters basic obedience exercises.

I met and befriended the volunteer coordinator at the Marietta shelter and, when she was nominated and voted the shelter board’s new president, I agreed to assume her former duties and a small mountain of volunteer application forms.

As volunteer coordinator, I:

1) donated a volunteer station cabinet ($60) and framed instructions for dog-walkers ($40). On this station, I provided a sign-in notebook, SMART (Shelter Matchmaker And Rehab Training) team guidelines, several leashes from our vast collection, two canisters of disinfectant, and several containers of hand cleanser.

2) created a display board for “Training Tips by Marsha Houston” which included a large supply of my seven 2-Minute Dog Trainer brochures for choosing the right shelter dog and basic obedience training.

3) sorted through the mountain of volunteer forms and harvested e-mail addresses, assembling a team of 3-4 SMART team members.

4) Spent 2-3 hours every Friday and Saturday at the shelter January through April ’09, training dogs, talking with potential adopters, working with dog-walkers, and replenishing supplies at the volunteer station.

5) Coordinated volunteer events and projects for Marietta College students, fascilitating a wonderful PR notebook which is available to the shelter at no charge, and assisting 20 students’ efforts to clean and freshen the shelter facility — donated painting supplies and a 5-gallon bucket of primer ($75).

6) Walked dogs at the shelter, at We Luv Pets, and at adoptathons.

7) Assembed teams of dog wranglers for various transport efforts, preparing dogs for transport to other shelters and rescue groups.

8) Attended several board meetings, was tentatively asked about my interest in becoming a board member.

9) Created a new volunteer application, taking the existing TWO applications (2 and 3 pages each), and putting all necessary information on one page, plus adding the “do you wish to foster” questions.

10) Sorted through the mountain of volunteer forms and discovered that shelter staff were having absolutely everyone complete an application, including visiting classes of grade school students, college students, and children accompanied by an adult.

11) created call lists for 10-12 jobs at the shelter, including only pertinent information on contacting those folks, and gave the call lists to board president Snell.

At the last board meeting I arrived 45 minutes late due to a misunderstanding regarding the meeting time and the worst storm this area has seen in 10 years. I was informed that someone else wanted the volunteer coordinator job, someone who is a bit of a flake and who is disliked by the staff of the shelter.

Because we have a puppy at home I’ve curtailed my visits to the shelter which, regardless of disinfectants and meds used, is rife with kennel cough, worms, and parvovirus.

However, now that Kory has had his second set of booster shots, I can probably resume my shelter visits. With summer in full swing I really need to replenish the training information and sign-up sheets for volunteers and potential adopters.

So I’m going to plan a visit the shelter to  a) work with dogs,  b) fill the training display with brochures,  c) turn in the box of volunteer forms and,  d) resign as volunteer coordinator.

Additionally, I’ve decided to remain as a dog training at the shelter and as provider of dog-training information to anyone interested, but to NOT accept a board position for one particular reason.

I’m getting phone calls from adopters of dogs, from dog-owners who visit local veterinarians who refer them to me, and from residents of the city and county, asking for dog-training advice and am offering basic obedience training on a pay-as-they-play basis.

This income from dog-training will keep me from serving as a board member for the shelter. I can’t be a board member and have real or potential income from dog adopters.

Dodged a bullet there, didn’t I? <g>

Today’s task is to print more volunteer applications and dog-training brochures. Tomorrow I’ll deliver them to the shelter.

In other news, we have a nice, long break from the hampster wheel we’ve been on. I hope to use this time to work on cottages, plant more ground cover, tame the weedy areas around the training building, and complete my work on the 2-minute dog training handouts for Go Rally Training Manual.

Additionally, we have 4 major events happening in a few months:  a) August 1-4, Games Camp,  b) August 11-16, teacup camp and TDAA trial/seminar,  c) Sept. 29-Oct.4, teacup camp and TDAA trial,  d) October 7-11, TDAA warm-up workshop and Petit Prix in Wisconsin.

We have 5 weeks to prepare for the first and about 14 weeks to prepare for the last. All that while trying to continue swimming and getting more fit. That’s a busy summer, probably.