Smart Dog

My Old Dog

After our R.E.A.D. programs at the local elementary schools every week, Tango exits the schools then takes me on a short sniff walk. 

He's almost nine years old now. Our walks are a little different now than they were even two or three years ago. They're more...aimless now. When he was younger, he'd follow my lead, keep up with my pace changes, look to me for where we were going and what we'd do. 

Today, though, I noticed that Tango definitely led the walk. We went at his pace, he sniffed where he wanted, and he was much less open to my suggestions. 

I'm not particularly keen on watching my boy age. There's no alternative -- no acceptable one, that is -- to seeing him get old, I know that. But on today's sniff walks, he seemed more "old man" than usual. 

His face is getting gray, yes it's true. You can see the old man face coming in. For a long time, I was so proud of his "puppy face." Wherever we'd go, people would ask his age and be surprised when I'd say 5 or 6 -- even 7 years old. "But he looks like just a pup!" they'd exclaim. I'd smile and say "yes, he'll be forever a pup."

Now, though, he's growing into his old and wise face that comes only with age. I never thought about Tango aging. Why would I? He'd never be anywhere but by my side for the rest of my life, right? I don't even need to think about life after Tango, do I?

Oh, he's still spry and frisky and ready to roll -- he's not done living yet! (Regarless of my melancholy post...) He'll still chase the tennis ball enthusiastically, he'll still jump in and play with the others when the ruckus is just right. And as much as I love the face of an old dog, it does give me pause, makes my heart stop for just a beat, for I simply can't bear to think about how quickly dogs live their lives. 

Tango's only nine -- he's got quite a few years left. And my melancholy mood will be fleeting, I'm sure. It just feels odd to enter another phase of Tango's life -- his mature years. It'll take some getting used to on my part.

How to Stuff a Kong (or MANY Kongs!)

When you're stuffing Kongs for 4 dogs, it's helpful to pre-stuff a bunch, freeze 'em, then you've got them ready to go whenever you need them. I use the Kongs to buy me some time if I'm working on a project -- occupied dogs are good dogs. Also, every dog in my house gets a stuffed, frozen Kong as I'm walking out the door. They love to see me leave (and don't, therefore, stress about my leaving or being gone) -- it's a preventative measure to avoid separation anxiety.  

Our basket of empty Kongs.

Today as I stuffed Kongs, I took pictures, too, so you can see the process from beginning to end. We start with a basket of empty Kongs. I will run these through the dishwasher about once a month (top rack, no heat) just to clean all the spooge off. It's for my sanity only -- the dogs do not mind the spooge, believe me.  

We stuff our Kongs with peanut butter.

So we start with peanut butter -- you can put almost anything in that your dog likes. Some ideas: cream cheese, canned pumpkin, leftover mashed potatoes, plain yogurt, ricotta cheese, cottage cheese -- pretty much anything that's gooey. You don't have to stop there -- if you really want to keep your dog busy, toss in a few kibbles and shake the Kong around so the kibbles stick to the sides. Or, add some apple or banana pieces (no grapes or raisins -- these are toxic).  

PB is ready to go into the Kongs.

So. Now you've got your filling and your Kongs. Now just slide that knife into your filling, then put that filling all over the inside of the Kong. So the peanut butter's on the knife, now just run the knife along the inside of the Kong. I try to evenly distribute the peanut butter, but that's because I'm a control freak and like to have everything just so. The dogs don't care how the PB is distributed just so long as there's PB in that Kong!

PB stuffed inside the Kong.

 After the Kong is stuffed, I drop it into a big plastic bag. Why the plastic bag? We put our stuffed Kongs in the freezer. Frozen peanut butter takes longer for the dogs to get out, so it keeps them occupied for longer.  

Kongs get dropped into a plastic bag.

This plastic bag also keeps all the Kongs together so I can find them easily. And it keeps my freezer a little cleaner. 

 

The Kongs are ready for the freezer.

 

All that's left now is popping the entire bag of peanut butter filled Kongs into the freezer and letting them get frozen. Now I'm ready for the week ahead! Or at least ready for the next few days, that is.  

 

 

Nemo Has My Husband's Number

 

 Oh, these two. They'll be the death of me. A dog trainer's dog + a dog trainer's husband = DISASTER. 

These are the first words out of my husband's mouth when I got back from teaching dog class last night: "Nemo ate your Junior Mints, not me."

Huh? 

I asked: "How did he get them when you were right here the whole time? Did you split them with him or something?" (Knowing this was 100% possible.)

He replied: "He got them when I was outside with the dogs."

This led to a lot more questions from me such as: If the dogs were outside, how did Nemo get the Junior Mints? Why were you outside with the dogs, anyway? Especially with all three dogs when one -- especially Nemo -- was left in here?

Anyway, the details aren't relevant, but let me tell you what I found interesting about this entire episode. Nemo steals only when my husband is home with him. Never when I'm home. 

And that's not the only thing that's different where Nemo's concerned. When we're eating dinner, Nemo puts his slimy, slobbery, drooley face right in my husband's lap. When my husband's done with dinner, Nemo will actually try to move my husband's arm out of the way and try to lick the plate. I'm dead serious. 

What does Nemo do with me at dinner time? Keeps his distance. I cannot stand to eat while a canine beggar is trying to work his magic on me. I'm impenetrable! I don't even allow the begging. Oh yes, I could ignore it alright, let the behavior extinguish on it's own. But I find begging so annoying that it's just not allowed. Beggars are asked to settle before they even become beggars. Before long, the beggars aren't beggars, but are instead, brilliant settlers. On my watch, that is. 

Back to the Junior Mints. It was, by the way, a movie theater sized box of Junior Mints. And my name was all over them. I had been saving them -- for that very night actually. 

So the Junior Mints. Here's what really blows my mind. Those Junior Mints had been sitting on the counter for two days without incident. I even broke my own rule and let the dogs have the run of the entire house while I dropped off a book at the library. Not a soul even moved from where they were napping. Nothing. 

So, why, I queried my husband, do you think Nemo stole while (1) I was gone and (2) my husband was the sole human being in the house. My husband's answer: "Because he's a bad dog, that's why," said with mock fierceness.

No. Because Nemo plays him like nobody's business. Nemo knows that my husband's not the most observant character. Nemo knows that my husband will be fooled when Nemo barks to go out, getting the other three dogs riled up and go running out, including my husband -- without Nemo. Nemo's a PLAYER! And my husband's the playee. 

And I'm just the girl who gets robbed of her Junior Mints after dog training class...

Three Ideas for Getting Your Dog into Therapy Work

Tango loves Mondays. Monday means Tango gets to visit two local elementary schools and be smothered with attention.

Tango's a therapy dog and his job right now is to listen to kids read. Kids who might not read as well as their classmates, they might have a little bit of a speech problem, or maybe they can't tell the difference between a period and a comma. 

Reading in front of classmates who may snicker, giggle, or poke fun at them actually inhibits their reading skills. That's where dogs enter the picture!

Dogs don't care if the kids skip a word, if they can't quite get the punctuation correct, or if they stutter a bit. Dogs just really like it when a child sits on the floor with them, softly rubbing the dog's fur as they struggle with each word on the page. Dogs don't judge. Dogs don't snicker. Dogs just eat up all the attention and will even offer an encouraging lick to the struggling reader.

Interested in getting your dog into therapy work? You're not limited to elementary schools and kids. Your dog could visit nursing homes, help relieve stress on a local college campus during stressful final exams, or visit wounded soldiers in the hospital.

Here are some ideas on how to get your dog ready for therapy work.
Good Manners Are A Must: Therapy dogs don't bark. They don't jump. And they aren't rough with their mouth. Get your dog into a local positive reinforcement (clicker training) class that specifically teaches good manners behaviors. [Good manners are Smart Dog U's specialty! We offer Canine Building Blocks to help teach your dog good manners!] You might need to go through your training class more than once to really solidify those good manners. Good therapy dogs are on their best behavior no matter how much the kids giggle and squirm, how roughly their handled by well-intentioned seniors, or how distracting the buzzes and beeps are on the hospital equipment. It takes time and practice, for sure.

Canine Good Citizen (CGC)  Test: The bare minimum requirements are the CGC credentials. The CGC is a 10-item test and it covers behaviors like walking on a loose leash, coming when called, reaction to distractions, and sitting politely for greetings. Take a look at the full list of CGC test items. A more advanced test may be required if you and your dog wish to visit schools, detention centers, psychiatric facilities, and hospitals. The more advanced tests can be administed by The Delta Society and require that both you and your dog are tested to ensure you make a good team. 

Join A Local Therapy Dog Group: Most communities have local therapy dog organizations that serve as an umbrella for coordinating all the visits and testing of therapy dogs. For help in finding your local organization, try searching for your town name and "therapy dog."

Not every dog would enjoy being a therapy dog -- two of my dogs at home wouldn't enjoy work as therapy dogs. Nemo is a bit wary of strangers in unfamiliar circumstances and Lily is not good if other dogs are present (your dog must be good with other dogs -- and by good I mean neutral [not good as in "Let's PLAY!"]). Even Tango has his limits: one of our visits is with a class of 8 special education students who can be noisy, (unintentionally) rough, and unpredictable. One hour is Tango's maximum in that environment -- I make sure that we're there less than an hour to ensure that Tango's never pressed to his limit. So be sure to take your dog's personality and preferences into consideration when you're deciding whether to give therapy work a shot. Honor your dog. 

Thinking About Another Dog? Things to Consider...

I LOVE my multi-dog household. I don't think we'll ever go back to having just one dog. It's not for everyone, for sure, but multiples fit well with our lifestyle, our house, our family. Here are some things to think about if you're considering adding another dog to your family:

Pros:

• Dogs keep each other company. I feel less guilty when I leave the dogs at the house. Those not crated can pal around...or just sleep. 
• Dogs entertain each other. I wind 'em up and let 'em go. Once they're all playing, I can sneak back to my computer and get some work done.
• Everyone has a dog (or two) to themselves. Tango is definitely my dog. Nemo is definitely my husband's dog. We share Lily equally (or is it that she shares us?), and Baby Caysun's everyone's and no one's  (except Service Dogs of Virginia -- they lay claim to her) because she's the service pup in-training.
• They clearly enjoy each other. These dogs play together, relax together, and stand guard (or at least pretend to) together. When one is gone (out with me, usually), the others appear quite happy to see the missing one when we return home again.

Cons

• They're expensive. Dogs eat a lot. They require lots of medicine. If you buy one toy, you buy FOUR toys. You need supplies in multiples: toys, beds, medicines, leashes, crates, bowls, everything. 
• If they don't get along, you're in trouble. Big trouble. If our dogs weren't good friends, it'd be a nightmare. Having two compatible dogs is heaven. Having even one incompatible dog will make your life a living hell. It can get ugly in a hurry. 
• Exercising multiple dogs can be hard. Yes, they will exercise each other if you have a large fenced yard. But if you've gotta leash your pups up and get them out for walks for exercise, it's going to take you a long time and a lot of effort to get them all the exercise they need. 
• You gotta train them all. Training is important with one dog. It's mandatory with multiple dogs. In fact, the more dogs you have, the more individual training they all need. Because handling just one dog can be challenging, but handling several dogs can be a real bear, even if one of those dogs has an issue (even a small issue can be magnified when you've got a slew of dogs). 
• Your house (and yard) will be a mess. I already spoke of my dog hair problem. I haven't yet shared our poop problem in the backyard. We pick it up. Often. And there's a lot of it. It's disgusting. It's a part of your daily life if you have multiple dogs. Let's just leave it at that. (But oh, the pictures I could post...)

So. While I love having multiples, I understand that it's not for everyone. Thank goodness I have a husband who also likes mulitples, who doesn't mind dog hair, and who is ok with poop-pickup once a week. If you're thinking of  adding another, my general thought is: go ahead (if you've considered all the cons above)! Just keep canine personalities in mind, sign both dogs up for training, and then jump in to the joy -- and chaos -- of a multi-dog household!

Love Grows

Everyone knows Tango's my favorite. He gets the choice leftovers, I sneak him extra tidbits, he gets prime seating, the works. 

Over the past few years, though, since I started working from home now that I think about it, Little Lily's been getting closer and closer to the top spot. 

I'm not her favorite, though. My husband holds that honor. She and Nemo live for that man. It's a little disgusting, really. She fawns over him like a schoolgirl with a crush. 

But I've been noticing that I've been moving up on her list, lately, too. Given the choice, she'll follow me throughout the house, even if my husband's home. Her favorite spot is under my desk -- she tucks in so tight -- while I'm working. I can't walk 10 feet to the bathroom without her following, even when I tell her that I'll be right back. 

She's getting older -- she'll be 10 this month (how can that be?!) and I think a lot more now about how much longer I'll have the pleasure of her company. With the addition of Baby Caysun, Lily's become more spritely and spirited, which I think also contributes to my growing fondness. 

Throughout her life, Lily's always been "in the middle." She's never been the top priority, and she's never been the trouble-dog. It's those in the middle that often get left out. I've been paying her more attention, and she's enjoying it, I do believe. I'm seeing a lot more of Lily -- like peeling back the layers of an onion. 

Which is funny to me. Lily's been with us for 10 years. She's not exactly new. But her maturity's making me look twice at her. And I'm loving the girl I'm seeing. 

Dog Hair Diaries

It's taken me years to capture the essence of what I do. But here it is: I live in dog hair. Not by choice, really. If I could hire a live-in housekeeper, I could live relatively dog-hair-free. But I'm a dog trainer. I'm not rich. Ergo, I live with a lot of dog hair. 

Until now, it's really embarrased me. I didn't want people to think I was dirty, or unclean. [And I'm not! Ok?!] But my house always has dog hair floating. It just does. And unless I sweep 3x a day, that's the way it's going to be. 

So I'm embracing it. The dog hair. 2012 shall be proclamed "The Year of Dog Hair." One of my business goals has been to do a lot more dog training videos. I didn't do many videos last year because the house was always a mess with the dog hair everywhere.

It was like a whole big deal to get a video shoot ready.

1. Block the dogs out of the room I wanted to shoot in. 
2. Wipe down the furniture (we've gone to all leather, as it's super dog-friendly and easy to keep clean) so all the hair on the furniture's now on the floor. 
3. Move the furniture so there's enough room to train.
4. Freak out at all the hair-bunnies under said furniture.
5. Sweep the entire room. 
6. Fill two sweeper-thingies full of dog hair. 
7. Prep the room for training (props needed, etc.)
8. Finally film.

By that time, I was either late for a private client or I was exhausted. Hence, not so many videos from me in 2011. 

Stay tuned. You'll see more videos from me in 2012. And a lot of dog hair. Look past it and focus the fantastic training that's going on. ;) 

 

Fits Like A Glove

Sometimes things are just right. Everything falls into place. Nothing's a struggle. 

Caysun fits into our household, into our lives, like she's always been here. Only a couple other dogs have fit so well: Rocky, our very first service dog; and Ivy, Lily's sister who stayed with us when we did a "puppy swap" to give her some more out & about exposure. 

We've had a lot of dogs. I think Caysun's the 11th dog to come through and when it's right, you know it. 

Ike, the Labrador we just turned back over to Hero Dogs for his final training, was a fun-loving and happy dog, but he wasn't the best fit for us. Funny thing is, we didn't realize how much he didn't fit until after he was gone. The week after he left, it was like all our dogs sort of came back to life again. Lily and Nemo played! It had been over a year since Lily and Nemo played together. We didn't notice it because Ike was always in the middle, always deflecting play between the other dogs to himself. He was the main player. If you were going to play in this household, you were going to play with him. He made sure of it. 

With Baby Caysun, the feel is so right. She's not over-the-top, in fact she's the most appropriate puppy I've raised in a long, long time. By appropriate, I mean that she's not bossy, she's not too, she always has the "right answer" to whatever situation she finds herself in. Maybe an example will clarify.

Nemo is used to playing with large, exuberant adolescent males. Talos and Ikey were his playmates for the past two years. You have to be rough and ready if those are your playmates! Naturally, now that Caysun's getting bigger, Nemo's trying his "big dog" play maneuvers with her. She can hang for quite awhile, but sooner or later, Nemo takes it up a notch too far for Caysun. She finds the closest object under which she can scoot herself, and waits out the playstorm. Nemo quickly realizes he's chased away his playmate, lays on the ground (or floor), and re-invites Caysun to play. As soon as she sees that invitation, she leaps out from under her hidey-hole and lands on Nemo's head. That's appropriate: she's not a scaredy, she just knows when the play's gotten a bit more rowdy than she can handle. And she comes right back when the play is reined in. It's nice. 

Another example of Caysun's appropriateness (or dog-savviness). I've described Lily, our almost 10-year old Labrador, as a librarian with her hair up in a super-tight bun. She's very matter-of-fact: no silliness, no foolishness. She colors inside the lines. And she'd like that you do the same, thank you very much. There was just one dog in Lily's 10 years that has been able to get Lily to really let her hair down (Rocky, who helped raise Lily from the moment we brought her home). We can add Caysun to that very short list. I've watched Caysun daintily approach Lily and very softly grab at her ears. She'll watch Lily's reaction to gauge which move to go to next: grab a little harder or move toward Lily's tail. If Lily gives her a "go away, kid, you bother me" look, Caysun heads toward the tail. If Lily merely ignores her, that means grab the ear harder. (Ignoring is Lily's way of saying "maybe I'll play with you; ask me again.")

I remember cringing the first few times I saw Caysun try to entice Lily to play. Lily plays about twice a year, and then for only about 10-minutes before she regains control, smooths her hair, and regains her librarian persona. I figured Caysun had to learn, and there's no better teacher than Lily - she's firm, appropriate, and there's no way to misunderstand her! Imagine my surprise when (1) Lily ignored Caysun (she normally cuts off any invitations immediately) and then (2) when I saw Lily's ears come forward and get "that look" in her eyes. I yelled to my husband to come and look, that's how surprised I was. And giddy.

I've even seen Lily solicit play from Caysun! Now that's something!

What this all means is that I'm setting myself up for another heartbreak in about a year when Caysun's got to go back to Service Dogs of Virginia. <Sigh.> Such is the life of a puppy raiser.

ORT? Check!

My sweetest of sweets, Tango, passed the Odor Recognition Test (ORT) for K9 Nose Work a couple of weeks ago!

This was a hard-earned acheivement for my boy. We tried at about this time last year, but I screwed us up and we didn't get it. 

Thankfully, this year, I was up to speed, and was able to call "Alert" when Tango found the box with the birch odor in it. 

What the heck is an ORT? It's the first step in getting ready for competition in the sport known as K9 Nose Work. 

What's K9 Nose Work all about? Read the article on K9 Nose Work I wrote for clickertraining.com. K9 NW is a cool new sport that's good for almost any dog. No matter the age, temperament, or physical ability -- almost every dog can have fun with K9 Nose Work. 

Another of my dogs is also into K9 Nose Work -- Nemo. Part hound, Nemo excels in the sport. He lives for K9 NW. Nemo will be my competition dog, but it was fun for Tango and I to achieve the ORT. 

If you think your dog needs an outlet for exercise and mental stimulation this winter season, check out a K9 Nose Work class near you! Smart Dog U has a class starting in February, but it's almost full already. If you're interested in trying K9NW with your dog, sign up, we'd love to spread the nose work fever! 

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.