Smart Dog

Gift Ideas for Your Dog

Everyone gets their dogs' presents for under the tree. Our dogs love unwrapping their presents on Christmas morning - the more paper flying, the better!

If you're like a lot of us, you're not done your shopping yet. Which is good because I've got some ideas I think you (and your dog) will love!

The good folks at Hartz sent us a box full of their newest Angry Birds toys. We let the Smart Dog U toys test them out and the verdict is in:

They love 'em!

If my dogs like something, I generally like it, too. And the Angry Bird toys fit the bill for both the human and the dog. 

Here's what I love about the toys:

• ease of purchase -- they're at Walmart! (And other places, too, it's just that Walmart's so convenient for us.)
• cost -- they're high quality toys, but won't cost you an arm and a leg
• quality -- I like that these toys are well constructed and that they've lasted more than a week! Our dogs are a little rough on toys. Most toys aren't intact after a week or so. These are still going strong. 
• variety -- there are four different types of toys (Hard Heads [my favorite!], Plush Ball, Tuff Stuff Flyer [another SDU favorite!], and Two Heads). 

I like the Hard Heads toys because of the squeaker. Our favorite game is to squeeze all the air out of the toy, then toss it into the air for the dogs. It takes awhile for the toy to "re-inflate" and there's a long, drawn-out squeak that makes the dogs silly. You know that crazy cute head tilt that dogs do? They ALL do it simultaneously when we squeeze all the air out then let it re-inflate. Great for taking pictures if you want to get that cute head-tilt in a photo!

The Tuff Stuff Flyer is another favorite because of it's construction and durability. There's a different character on each side of the toy (which is fun all by itself, we think!), and the material is tough polyester fiber with stiff, durable double rings (covered by fabric) so the toy stays in it's disc shape even after repeated throws and retrieves. If you're looking to play tug with your dog, this is a great toy. There are three "handles" for you to grip while playing. In our house, the dogs like to tug with each other, rather than with us. Often, we'll get three or four dogs in the game. This is a nice toy for them to tug because everyone has a spot to grip. 

Have you tried these toys yet? If so, leave me a comment and tell me what you think. I'd love to hear from you!

Hartz sent us these toys free of charge, for our dogs enjoyment, and for a review. My review is an honest review, not influenced by Hartz. 

 

 

Don't Have Food to Reward Your Dog? No Worries!

 Have you ever wanted to reward your dog for a job well done, but  didn't have food treats with you? Consider playing with your dog to  reinforce good behavior! Not everyone wants to spend life storing  food in pockets. (Have you ever found a pocket full of food after it  has gone through the laundry? It’s not pretty, I can tell you that!)

 Instead of being a slave to food treats in my pocket, I introduce my  dogs to “real-life rewards.” Occasionally, play takes the place of food  as payment for a job well done. My dogs find the opportunity to chase  a ball, to chase me, or to have me chase them even more fun—and  unexpected—than food.

  Dogs, like humans, play long after they have “grown up.” I think     that’s one of the many reasons we get along so well with our canine  friends. Play is just as much fun for us as it is for our dogs. Just the  one-on-one attention your dog gets from you during a play session  can be as reinforcing as the play itself—and can contribute to a strong  relationship between you and your dog.

Read the entire article on Karen Pryor's Clickertraining.com.

 

My Escape

It's no secret that Tango's my favorite. Over any other dog. (Talos runs a very close second.) I'd rather spend time with him, or travel with him, or work with him, or just hang with him. So when opportunity came callin', Tango and I went running straight for it!

An entire weekend away. Together. Alone. Without any other dogs. It's been a long, long time. I realize I might sound a bit odd: "escaping with my dog," "time together alone." I'm not maladjusted, I DO love my husband just as much as I love my dogs, I'm not a crazy-lady. 

However.

Tango and I have this special thing. We're cool just hanging out together. He enjoys hanging out with just me as much as I enjoy hanging out with just him. We're sympatico.

[How do I know this? That he loves it as much as I, you wonder? Easy. He's a different dog when we're together alone. He smiles more, I swear! He's got a pep in his step, he'll frolick like a pup again. Take my word for it, the dog is happy!]

Anyway, we had the chance to escape last weekend, just the two of us. And we ran like the wind. Actually, we sat in the car for 7 hours, two of those hours stopped dead in traffic, but who's really counting...

Off we went to Karen Pryor Academy's first ever reunion! [KPAs Dog Trainer Programs is the flagship course for people who want to become dog trainers or who want to take their business to the next level.] Tango and I were the first group to graduate way back in 2008. KPA was great for Tango and I: it was a terrific excuse to work with him every day - we had exams to pass together, for goodness sake!

I love traveling the road with Tango. He's a master traveler - sleeps the entire way, quietly passing the time, and is ready to roll whenever the car stops. He'll pee just about anywhere (believe me this is a useful trait - you never know what the road will bring] and is happy just hanging out whether we're going at-speed or if we're stuck in a traffic jam.

He's easy-peasy at meetings and conferences, even when there are other dogs around. He solicits attention by flipping onto his back, rolling around, and grunting. Works like a charm. I usually slide from my chair onto the floor with him, egging him on. I'm telling you, we have fun together!

It wasn't all seminars and meetings. No way. Saturday night we had a grand time -- dogs and people -- at our host's house in southern NY state. And Sunday morning held a two-hour (pretty strenuous) hike that rewarded us with spectacular scenery and ice cold streams for Tango to cool his belly. 

It was just the getaway we needed. 

 

 

 

Former Friday: Talos Beats the Heat (video)

A little over a year ago, this is what we were doing on a hot Friday night...It's so hot right now, I thought this deserved to be posted again.

Talos hates the water - has hated it since he was a wee pup. It's been triple digits here in the Mid-Atlantic. The dogs don't even want to go outside until the sun goes down. We rigged up a cooling room for the dogs out under our only shade tree inside the fence. It's a garden hose on the "mist" setting.

Watch how 100+ degree weather changes a dog's mind...

 

K9 Nose Work: Lots of Information Here!

I found the sport of K9 Nose Work last year and I can't get enough of it! In addition to working with my own dogs, I've assisted at K9 Nose Work Camp in Georgia, I'm attending K9 Nose Work Camp in Pennsylvania in the fall, and I'm on-track to become a Certified Nose Work Instructor at the end of 2011. I hope my dog, Nemo, (the subject of yesterday's post about bad habits), passes his Odor Recognition Test (ORT) at K9NW camp this fall so we can begin competing next year.

My obsession with K9 Nose Work has led to my talking, tweeting, and writing about it, too! I just had a K9 Nose Work article published on Karen Pryor's site Clickertraining.com. And June's issue of Your Smart Dog, is all about K9 Nose Work (as was last month's article). If you're not a subscriber, you're missin' out! Click here to sign up (it's free)!

Last, but not least, here's the video I put together to show people what K9 Nose Work is all about:

 

K9 Nose Work: Catch the Craze!

K9 Nose Work ^TM is crazy fun. For you. For your dog. Wondering what K9 Nose Work is? I thought so. Take a look at this video to see some K9 Nose Work dogs in action! Smart Dog University has a new K9 Nose Work class scheduled to start August 3 (6:30p in Frederick, MD), if you think your dog would be interested. (Hint: You'll love it!)

   

Behold the Canine Nose

Your Smart Dog, Smart Dog U's newsletter was published today! Not a subscriber? You are missin' out, man! Jump on over and subscribe here so you don't miss the next issue (published the first Wednesday of each month). 

Here's one of the articles contained in May's newsletter, it's all about your dog's nose and how you can take advantage of it. Click to download the PDF version.  Download 5_K9NW

Not Tango's Fault, Handler Error

Tango and I have been practicing Nose Work. It's a relatively new sport, and for the first time on the East Coast, the Odor Recognition Trial (ORT) was offered.

This was a little bit of a big deal. First time it's been offered waaaay over here on the East coast. It's been a West coast sport for a couple years and is finally drifting over to us.

The trial is relatively easy: there are 12 boxes and Tango just needs to indicate the box that contains the scent (birch). He'd been rippin' it up at home -- finding the correct box every single time. He was good! We were ready!

Yeah, except I wasn't ready. We approached the start line and I gave Tango the "Find it" cue. Except he wasn't looking at me. Being the happy Labrador that he is, he was quite enamored with the judges. Oh, and the spectators, he liked them quite a bit as well. The boxes that might or might not contain the odor - yeah, not so interested in those. Which was NOT a good thing.

The leash got tight. Not a good thing. Tango sniffed the boxes, he sniffed the floor. He went completely off course. He wagged at the spectators. He sniffed the boxes again.

I panicked.

He paused at a box. I alerted. Once you alert, you're done. If your alert is correct, you "win." You get your ORT. If your alert is wrong, you're done. Finished. No second chance.

Well, Tango was wrong. Or, should I say, I was wrong. I thought I was right, but one day later (tonight), Tango proved how good his nose was. And with that proof, it was really easy for me to shift the blame from him TO me.

Here's how it went down: it was dark and I was throwing Tango's tennis ball in the back yard. He typically chases it, somehow locating it in the dark, and always brings it back to me. I throw like a girl (go figure) and I must have tossed it into the lilac bush. The lilac bush, for the record, was pretty far away. I should get points just for getting it TO the bush. Never mind the fact that I threw it into the bushes; we'll just ignore that for now, ok?

Except that I thought it went into the grass. I prompted Tango to "find it." That's the same cue we use in Nose Work. It was pitch black outside. I thought the ball rolled through the Hostas and came to rest in the Lilac Bed. Tango kept looking up into the lilac bushes.

I knew quite well that the ball was not in the lilac bush. I distinctly heard it roll through the hostas! I cued "find it" again. Still, this crazy dog is looking upward! What is his problem?!

Finally, in frustration, I turned the back flood lights on. Guess what I saw? About eye level (to me) in the stupid lilac bush?

That stupid tennis ball.

So clearly, the fact that Tango blew the ORT on Friday was on me. Not on him. He knew where his tennis ball was in the dark in the tree! Ok, so I was more than humbled.

I was a bit embarrassed. Not to mention I was crushed that *I* was the reason Tango didn't pass his ORT. It wasn't Tango. It was ME! Talk about humbled...

So. I'm not sure when our next chance at the ORT will be, but you better believe I'll train hard. I'll work my you-know-what off so I can be the handler Tango needs so he can pass the ORT. I have my marching orders: TRUST YOUR DOG!

Baby Steps

There are lots of ways a pup can get his food. He can work for it. He can eat it out of a food stuffed toy. He can find it scattered about the patio. One thing this little guy won't be doing is eating food out of a bowl. That's way too easy.

Teddy needs to keep busy, he needs to problem solve, he needs to take more than 30 seconds to eat his meal.

Food stuffed toys, like the red Kong in the picture, are great food-delivery systems. You stuff your dog's dry food (kibble) into the Kong, drop the Kong on the floor (so some of the kibble drops out and grabs the dog's interest) and let the dog figure out the rest.

To make this task fun and interesting, we make it really easy at first. We put the food into a large Kong - the kibble will fall out easier this way. After a week of feeding Teddy this way, he'll get really good at getting the food out quickly and efficiently.

The next step is to add a little bit of difficulty - enough to challenge his problem solving skills, but not too much that he gives up. Peanut butter or nonfat yogurt is a great "stuffer." Simply line the inside of the toy with the peanut butter (or yogurt), fill with kibble leaving a little room for some more of the goopy stuff. The peanut butter or yogurt is really enticing for the dog, and also slows him down a bit.

The middle portion is relatively easy - it's just kibble, and the hardest part to get out is the part where the food is stuck to the peanut butter way deep into the Kong. If you spent enough time letting the dog learn how to get plain kibble out of the toy, I'll be he'll remain committed to getting the last little bit, especially if there's some gooey goodies in there, too!

After another week of gooping up the contents of the toy, you can make the game even more challenging by gooping the Kong with peanut butter and kibble, described above, and then freeze the whole thing!

The frozen Kong  seems to be a favorite of Teddy's. He seems to really enjoy the challenge of getting the frozen peanut butter and kibble out. He's good at using his paws to help hold the Kong so it doesn't move around. 

Why do we care about stuff like this? The whole idea of "working for dinner" is a nice one - why waste the opportunity to train by simply putting the bowl of food on the floor for the dog to eat? Use your dog's dinner as treats to reward good behavior! Or, teach your dog how to become a problem solver by letting him figure out how to get the kibble out of the food-stuffed toy. The longer it takes the dog to eat his dinner, the more time you'll have to get stuff done without your dog sticking his nose into whatever it is you're doing! You'll keep your dog mentally challenged. You'll tire your dog out. All these things are GOOD things and can help a manic, overactive dog become calmer.

Building Body Confidence in Your Dog

Lily's a pretty agile girl. She jumps into the wheelbarrow when we're working in the yard. Jumps in when it's moving. And loves to stand and shift her balance trying not to fall. 

She delights in riding in the little trailer behind the lawn tractor, too. If it's moving and unsteady, she wants to be involved in it. Maybe this summer we'll get her on a wake board or water skis.  

In the meantime, I've found a great tool that helps Lily build her muscles, challenge her balance, and gain body confidence. I call it The Egg.  It's an exercise ball that's well, egg-shaped!

When introducing Lily to The Egg, I used really tasty treats and made sure The Egg was super secure. The last thing I wanted was her first experience with The Egg to be a bad one. 

Below you'll see the video I made of her first Egg experience (eggsperience?). I kept the session short, fun, and easy. Even super-confident, eager-to-try-anything-Lily thought The Egg was a little weird, but she quickly got the hang of it. She was able to get onto The Egg in two different ways: from the floor and from the couch. 

I'm looking forward to working with her more with The Egg. Once she gets the hang of it, I think the sky's the limit as to how far we can go with The Egg. Stay tuned and I'll bring you more from The Egg and give you some ideas on things you can do with The Egg and your own dog!