Australian Shephoarder

Transition

Winston has been gone nearly a month and Kodie for two weeks and now I am seeing the pack dynamics begin to shift. Treating the diseases of those two boys swallowed most of the energy and time previously alloted to training the two new puppies.
We settled on acquiring two new dogs because we did so well with our 6; no behavioral or health issues, good companionship & relationships; we felt we were ready to take on the challenge.
But, "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry..." so the famous quote says and after the arrival of Evelyn and Dusty it life became awry to the extreme. The conditions on which we accepted them were all of a sudden non existent. Instead of bringing them into a perfect world, they were brought in:
1. when the pack leader was non-existent (either not feeling well, recovering from tests, etc.)
2. second in command was also inflicted and became barely existent; but unable to lead (because of blindness)
3. human interaction/learning was less than preferable because medical necessities of the two above.

I'm not saying they were even remotely mistreated; or even forced to endure non-attention. We just weren't able to provide them the optimal environment that we would have liked to provide.

Now however, it's a whole new world & time to move on and the focus is clearly on pack dynamics & training.

Latest Pack Photo

They still sit and stay even without their leader and second in command.

Pop Training

The National Geographic Channel has had the series The Dog Whisperer, for a couple of seasons now. It features Cesar Millan (the whisperer) who usually makes house calls to dog owners in trouble. Even more informative and educational is the show's blog, which will answer pertinent questions that are more indepth.

Millan's background and experience with dogs qualifies him to be the expert. He has a deep, intimate and personal understanding of the canine psyche, although it is often too deep for the casual pet owner to understand & apply. His methods are professional, humane and effective.

His clients are varied and usually what make the show so interesting. Some of his clients have no business owning a dog, yet on the some of the most interesting episodes, his clients have more experience with dogs than Millan does.

As pop television dictates, each episode has a happy or uplifting ending (even if the producers have to put a costume & makeup on the bad to make it look happy.) Having a little experience myself, I know some of these stories will not live happily everafter. It will only last until the honeymoon is over. I know the methods work for Millan, but they just can't work forever after he leaves.

The show is entertaining and informative; and if it helps families with their relationships with dogs, then I support it 100 percent. In addition, he also is a major supporter of rescue dogs and is never impressed with breed specifics of "breed snobs."

As I watch the show, sometimes the clients amaze me with their SPT (stupid people tricks) and I wonder if Millan isn't thinking it also:

"You paid $1000 for a German Shepherd from a newspaper ad and are shocked that it is growling at your kids. Isn't that like eating a gallon if ice cream a day and being shocked you've gained weight?"

Ain't Misbehavin'

"Shame on you!" I yell at any of my dogs who misbehave. I say it in a low, angry growl-like voice and drag it out melodramatically. Each one of my little darlings has his or her behavior "problems." Or, at least that's what we humans call "problems," when actually, the "problems" aren't problems at all. Rather, they are a very common mistake humans make called "theory of mind." There's a recent article in Slate magazine which addresses this topic in a case that involves a dog owner named Heather and her rottweiler. The article from Jonathan Katz says:

To attribute complex thoughts and plots to their actions unravels the training process. Training and living with a dog requires a different theory: that these are primal, predatory animals driven by instinct. Rather than seeking animal clues to her dog's behavior, Heather imagined herself as the dog.

Further, the article says:

"Being angry at the human and behaving punitively—that's not a thought sequence even remotely possible, given a dog's brain. The likely scenario is that the dog is simply frightened." When Heather was home, she was there to explain and enforce the rules. With her gone, the dog literally didn't know how to behave.

The article goes on to talk about how humans usually make this mistake in understanding how dogs think (or rather how they don't think.) Here's the entire article.

Our pets need us to correct them and to teach them what we want them to do. But even then, we cannot expect a dog not to be a dog. Dogs do think...they just don't think in human terms--like their owners. Here's another article on the topic from ESPN. Most of the latest thinking comes from the theories of psychologist Stanley Coren, author of "How Dogs Think." That's some good reading for anyone who is trying to deal with their dog's behavorial problems or tackle tough dog obedience issues.

Isn't it strange there's not a book like this on CATS?

Element of Surprise

One thing I've encountered in both the dog obedience (and daily behavior) world and the hunter-jumper horse world is the "element of surprise." When the animal with which you are working encounters something way out of the ordinary. How does it react? How does the handler/trainer expect it to behave? Obviously, there is no exact training for this; as it is just that: surprise and startle.

For instance: Winston gets the paper each morning. He has had operant training and knows what to do to earn his treat. As I've said before, he goes far fast and out of sight for a moment to retrieve. A few days ago, he encountered an element of surprise--two folks fishing (who didn't realize they were on private property). They were also caught unaware by a dog running at them at top speed.

Winston "spazzed." But what was he to do? He hasn't been trained for such encounters--the likelihood of tresspassers at 6 a.m. is fairly low.

Likewise, in the hunter/jumper ring, at one of my daughter's first shows, a custodian was emptying trash at the end of a line and flipped open a huge white bag; startling the horse which came to an immediate stop (My daughter, however, kept going and ended up about 4 feet away from the horse.)

Is there a way for us to teach animals to expect the unexpected? Years ago, in TDTC, in the beginner's course, someone would drop jumps behind dogs who were on a sit-stay. I think that exercise was helpful in handling distractions, but ultimately, only taught the dogs to sit and stay whenever someone dropped jumps behind them, and didn't necessarily help with an element of surprise.

Any advise or suggestions?

Feeding Frenzy

One of the hardest things to do with a pack of dogs is to change their feeding time. The gang of five is used to eating at 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Period.

Now most folks think dogs can't tell time, but these guys convince me otherwise. Since school is out, our lives have shifted an hour or so. Our alarm clocks don't ring so early and I'm trying to move feeding to 8 a.m. So, around 7 a.m., the lobby for food begins, and this is what my feet look like:

Flying Kodie

More fun waterplay...here's two pics of Kodie flying into the sprayer.

And, pic 2

Baby Bath

Record heat means waterplay for the pack. Everyone joins in and there is only one who HATES the water--Ruby. Ruby stays inside the house whenever the hose is turned on.

Here's a soaked and cooled-off Piper.

OCD

Winston has just passed his fourth birthday. It's hard to believe he's the old one...the elder of the pack, the sage of the group.

He's a wise dog and a good one and stays very focused. A kind of focus some of us call OCD or (or even addiction). He lives for (and always has) chasing tennis balls.

He looks graceful as he meets the ball mid-air. The ball lands in his mouth with a "spop" sound. Imagine that sound while viewing this moment of zen:

 

Chasing

Today my 9-year-old asked why Winston likes to chase the ball. Interesting question.

I told him that some dogs, especially herding breeds, love to chase "things." They've been bred through the centuries to herd (or chase) other animals thus doing work man cannot do.

One of the first things I tell people when they visit is to NOT run. If you run, they will chase you. If you stand still, you aren't any fun. My dogs will chase anything--balls, bubbles, frisbees, laser points, cats (until the cat gets tired, turns around and administers the death grip), and each other. That's why some dogs chase cars, rabbits, etc.

We often have unwanted guinea fowl in our yard (they wander over from a nearby home) and so I use Olive to flush them back out of the yard and get them on their way home. They all love to run, chase and they look beautiful when they run.

Also last weekend, I had a visitor who paid me the highest of compliments. She came into the back yard where the dogs were playing and she walked into the midst of them. She turned and said, "I have friends who have a dog, and they always jump up on you. Your dogs don't jump up on people. That is so neat."

And they don't. They circled her, sniffed her and checked her out, but then went on with their playing. She was very impressed and it was one of the nicest things anyone could have said to me.