The Latest News - Sorry for our absence!

Shadow is no longer Shadow, but Wild Bill Cody Coyote aka "Cody". We renamed him and watched a new dog emerge. He is a joyful, loving and gentle pup and we're very glad we got him. However - the day he ate pond scum and almost died was a fright. He was in convulsions when Dennis found him and took him to the vet. They couldn't figure out what was wrong with him after testing and xrays but finally got him to upchuck a wee bit of some pond yuk Dennis had raked out of the pond and left where a bottomless bellied malamute might munch on it. A night at Pet Em and a grand later he was back to normal. He has been coming to work with me and learning the ropes as my demo dog. He's good with people and other dogs, two prerequisites! He was mobbed by a group of preschoolers on a day-care field trip. All you could see was his wagging tail, and then he performed his signature move, the Alaskan Marshmallowmute Meltdown. You can see the meltdown performed below with his friend Matt. It includes a Showing of the Fishbelly, allowing all within reach to tickle his tummy to their hearts delight.

Turbo has been up to his usual hijinks. No rest for the wicked, he never slows down. His story: Being a demo dog has it's moments. Sometimes mom just gets out of control. For example, she decided it was her mission to sell a stroller. Fine and dandy but who gets stuck inside it while she wheels around the store? Certainly not Cody, that chicken. I guess his big fat malamute self wouldn't fit in it. Couldn't she at least have chosen the BLUE one?Things to note:
We'll no longer be carrying Active Care dog food. It will be replaced by Avoderm Large Breed formula. To learn more about Active Care and Avoderm please visit the Breeders Choice Website. http://www.breeders-choice.com/
So forgive me my absence readers, and look for more to come soon.
Tori, Turbo, Duke and Cody

Be A No-Brainer Trainer

Feef Speaks: When I found my mom, I was so scared! She was very patient with me even when I peed in her lap. But she's a smart mom, and she used really positive methods to help me understand her. It worked so well for me, she wrote it down so all you guys can have your moms and dads do the same. I highly recommend listening to her. She's a smart mom, and so now I'm a smart Feef. I call my mom the No-Brainer Trainer because she really worked hard to make it easy for me to learn!



Tori Talks: So often when we try to train our dogs we just try to bring too much to the table. Remember the old rule of KISS - Keep It Simple Sweetie. Stick with the basics. This Far Side cartoon by David Larson says it all:

Cue - Mark - Reward - Release

• CUE the dog with hand signal and voice. "Spot, WATCH ME". Use food as a lure if you need to. Hold a treat by your eye. Eventually, pointing the index finger at the eye will be the hand cue.


• When Spot's gaze scans across your eye for a nanosecond, MARK* the action quickly with a crisp "Yes!". Note: "Good Dog" is NOT a marker. It is a reward phrase to use AFTER the marker word. We commonly confuse these things, thereby confusing the dog, thereby making training more confusing for everyone. Lets not do that. Use "eh-eh" as a marker if he gets it wrong.


• REWARD - At first, reward immediately after marking the action. Say "Yes!" then add a praise phrase such as "Good dog!", and offer the treat. As your dog starts to understand that cue = action = reward, you want to require longer DURATION of the action before offering the reward.


• RELEASE the dog from the action. Do NOT reward if he jumps the gun. Use your eh-eh, and have him repeat the action. If Spot is jumping at the treat, RELEASE him before rewarding him.
  
  Dogs repeat behavior they are rewarded for! Dogs live in the NOW. Be sure when you reward the dog it is not jumping up on you, snapping at the treat, or engaged in other unwanted actions.
  * MARKERS can be either positive (YES!!) or negative (NO!!). Most of us have overused "NO", and it can cause your pup to "shut down" and be unreceptive to learning. This is why I like to use a more benign "EH" for training. Save "NO" for when the pup is doing some heinous act such as piddling on grannies antique quilt.
  FEEDBACK: Consider this - if your boss never said you were doing good or bad and then just went off on you and fired you, you would think it was pretty unjust that he didn’t give you a chance to do it right by telling you that what you were doing was wrong. SO... please give your dog feedback in the form of "yes" and "eh-eh". You have about 3 seconds leeway after an action to provide this feedback or it has no meaning to your dog.
  BE PATIENT: When you get frustrated, Spot will too. Just like you crunched gears the first week you drove a stickshift, or hit the wrong letters in typing 101, your dog will have to think about what you are asking. If you’re both getting frustrated, try something Spot already knows, reward, and take a break from training to play a while.
  BE CONSISTENT: Use the same word for a cue. Use the same word for a marker. Use the same word for release. These consistencies will help your dog "get it".
  DOGS DO NOT SPEAK ENGLISH. When training, do NOT use more words than your cues, markers, release and reward phrases. Why? All the other words we throw in are just junk words at this point, and confuse the dog.
  Keep it short & sweet. Have fun. Be patient. Be consistent.Work on training for about 15 minutes tops, then play some.

Turbo adds his 2 biscuits worth: I'm pretty busy, and sometimes it's hard to listen. Mom makes it easy for me using only the words that have meaning for me when she's training me. When she's not training me, all kinds of stuff I don't get comes out of her mouth. I try keep up by just watching her face and listening for words I know for cue's to what she's blathering on about. During training sessions, she keeps it fun, uses only training words, and that keeps me interested. I've seen some other dogs people getting mad and those dogs just hate it when their mom and dad do that. So ask yourself this when you start up your next training session with your pup: Would you rather have Hitler or Jay Leno teaching you to sit?

Feef and Ichiro

Almost forgot about this one! What's a trip to Seattle without checking out Mariners turf? I'm sure Ichiro would be thrilled to know he has his image immortalized with me, the Feef!

A Stickery Situation

My human is positively anal about her stupid gates and fences. She locks me in the bedroom when she leaves. It is very frustrating. The only part of her house I consider far enough away from my princess bed to do my doggy business is the computer room. Even when I give her that much consideration, she insists that doggy business is to be conducted OUTSIDE. I get locked up. I can't go searching for treasure in the treasure bin (ie: trash can), I can't get in the laundry room and tip over the stinky white stuff (ie: laundry soap) and I can't get into the waterbowl room to drink out of the big porcelain bowl (ie: toilet). Besides, that's where she keeps Turbo the Terror in lockdown. Apparently she doesn't feel he has enough house manners to deserve any further area to roam in when home alone. I have to agree. I think he should be kept in a locked box myself.
As if that's not enough, she feels compelled to control our outside behavior too. She's got Fuzzy and Duke completely bamboozled with her tall fences, but not me. If she dares to go out that gate with me outside, I KNOW how to get out and follow her. Next thing I know, I'm locked in the bedroom, she's yappin' about coyotes and owls and eagles... whatever that means.
Now I am six pounds of rough tough cream puff, that is six pounds of muscle I might add. I can take care of myself! Why does she feel the need to contain us so strictly? Is she afraid we might escape and find someplace better? That we might have too much fun? That her regimented lifestyle might be disrupted?

Feef's Human Speaks:
Contrary to what Fifi thinks, I do it for her protection. I live out in the woods and yes there are eagles, owls, coyotes, cougars, feral dogs, cats, skunks, porcupines, etc. Luckily I don't have to worry about traffic, beings as we live on a dead-end road far from town.
"But they are dogs, dogs roam! Dogs should be allowed to run free, it is in their nature to do so!" I have heard that excuse before and I am the first to shoot it down. Yes, dogs roam if given the opportunity. If people weren't so lazy in general they would realize that the dog would enjoy roaming much more if his owner was along to share the world with! Oh, but "my dog pulls too hard"... or "I am soooo tired when I get home from work, I don't have the energy to go for a walk." With adequate attention and a little bit of diligent training, your dog will no longer pull (as a PetSmart pet training instructor, I KNOW this can be accomplished). If you are dog-tired, go for a walk. The fresh air will do you good and the excersize will give you energy, not deplete it. Try going for a walk in the morning, like the dog whisperer guy suggests. I agree with him on that one, the morning walk sets the mood for your dogs whole day and wouldn't be a bad way to start your day either!
This is the one that kills me. "I let him out to run as he likes at night but keep him in during the day". The theory here seems to be "at night he can't be seen, ergo he won't get in trouble." I guess at night there are less dangers to the dog, or less chance neighbors will see him getting in trouble. More likely the owner is just a lazy fool who wants to think nothing is going on. Probably takes the dogs collar off so if he is caught by animal control, or causing mayhem somewhere he cannot be identified.
Suppose your dog didn't come home after a nights romp. Lets see if I can think of a few things that might happen and the possible results.

1. Hit by car. Possibly killed, meybe just maimed. Burial, or a trip to the vet. Possible lawsuit from car owner if damage is done to their car.
   
2. Shot. With a gun? Yes. I live way out in the country and people still shoot roaming dogs around here. The three S's rule is still the standby. Shoot - Shovel - Shutup. He might make it home, he might die on the spot. If you find his body, burial. If he drags himself home, a trip to the vet.
3. Skunked. Pew! No harm to the dog but oh my gawd the stink can linger for months! If you have a few gallons of tomato juice on hand, or if you can get him to a groomer soon enough you might get some of the smell out.
   
4. Stolen. You never see your dog again. You always wonder what happened.
   
5. Become prey. Whether attacked by another dog (or pack of), coyote (or pack of), cougar, bear, owl, hawk, eagle, or whatever, your dog could become something else's dinner.
6. Infested: ear mites, ticks, fleas, worms, ringworm, etc. Allowed to roam at large Rex can bring any number of "little friends" home with him.
7. Porcupined: And now we come to the reason I felt compelled to call Feef to the carpet on her imprisoned pup rant. I received an e-mail today with pictures of this particular pup who met a porcupine. He did NOT get this way in his own yard, he did not get this way at the end of his owners leash, he got this way because he was allowed to roam at large, alone.
   

I have had to remove quills from a dog or two, it is unpleasant for the dog and it is unpleasant for the person manning the pliars. Before you let your dog out again with no boundaries, please view the plight of this pathetic pit bull and reconsider:
This dog had over a thousand quills in him. He wasn't about to give up, was he? I have no idea whether the porcupine survived or not.
Even if the Feef never understands why I contain her I hope you will, and please, keep your pets safe!!

A Tricky Terrier

I'm the cutest dog in the world and I'm not about to indenture myself to the slavish ways of this brown-noser terrier. If you want tricks, he's your dog. I hear the tinkle of kibble on crystal so excuse me if I don't stay around and possibly be expected to perform in like fashion.
http://www.idodogtricks.com/index_flash.html

Blogging the Dog

Hello there! My name is Fifi and I am a dog. A small dog with a huge ego. Oh good heavens, I'm a Pomeranian and I rule my universe! You may call me princess Fifi as many of those who adore me do. It isn't easy being a doggy princess you know. I have to put up with things no princess should deign to acknowledge.
My human is a pet training instructor at a place with lots of Dog Stuff. She's learned everything she knows from me. Well she would argue that, but she is human, and I must be kind. I have worked with her extensively over the last two years and she is coming along quite nicely! I have to admit, I feared she would never get it, and I would have to live the rest of my life under her bed. However, things have changed dramatically over the past six months, and I am finally getting the recognition I deserve.
I live with my human, and three other dogs. They are no way as cute as me! The dang pup is a close second but even though he is also a Pomeranian he's NOT cuter than me. He's a little terrorist. I can't walk from my princess bed to my cut crystal water dish without him trying to shoulder check me or grab the ribbons off my cute lil' head. The two big dogs are not even close to cute. They come from the other end of the spitz spectrum, they are Alaskan Malamutes. Big, clumsy oafs, I always have to watch out so they don't step on me, lay on me, or otherwise compromise my cuteness. Sure, they were here first, but it doesn't mean they shouldn't bow to my supreme beauty.
Yes, it is difficult being the cutest dog in the universe, but I live with it. I hope to bring to you some small sense of my wonderful personality and especially my extreme cuteness in this blog. I will regale you with stories of how I met my human, how I rule the Dog Stuff place, and all the crazy antics the other dogs I must put up with engage in. This blog is my diary, my outlet, and my pathway to greatness! You have my permission to bookmark my blog, and of course you may also comment on how cute I am. Actually, commenting on my cuteness is a requirement of all humans I come in contact with. You may now tell others that you "Got Feef"!
Welcome to my world!