The Smart Dog U Blog

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!

Noseworks - The Cool New Canine Sport

Nemo and I went to an all-day  Noseworks seminar on Saturday. Noseworks is a new canine sport that incorporate's your dog's natural ability to use it's nose. 

I took Nemo because he's got an really good sniffer. Not only is his sniffer good, but Nemo really likes to use his nose! Here's the basic premise behind Noseworks:

Dogs have an amazing sense of smell and a natural desire to hunt.  The sport of K9 Nose Work is designed to develop your dog’s natural scenting abilities by using their desire to hunt and their love of toys, food and exercise.  It’s a great way for your dog to have fun, build confidence, and burn lots of mental and physical energy (from the Noseworks website). 

Noseworks is good for every type of dog: big ones, little ones; tall ones, short ones; fast ones, slow ones; mellow ones, hyped ones. It's really a sport for any dog that can walk and sniff. 

There is (of course) a competition set up for dogs who excel at Noseworks. The National Association of Canine Scent Work (NACSW) sets the standards governing the sport of canine nose work. NACSW is the only official sanctioning and organizing body for nose work titles and certification in nose work.

I'll be posting some video in the next few days of Nemo and the others trying their hand - um, nose - at this cool new sport. If there's enough interest, I'd be happy to offer some Noseworks classes for my clients. Interested? Leave me a comment!

Paths in the Snow

 Cooperatively, the dogs and I blazed some trails in our snowy backyard (aka the Arctic Circle). The blizzards brought more snow than we've seen in years. It's over the dogs' heads - yes, even Talos'!

The dogs were having trouble getting anywhere, and consequently, the area close to the house was, well, their bathroom. 

In an effort to:

1. relieve some boredom
2. ease my stir-craziness
3. have fun with the dogs
4. get some cardiovascular exercise and
5. move the doggie bathroom further from the house

I layered up and ventured into the snowy tundra. 

The dogs were excited when they saw me put my snow boots on. A walk, a walk! 

Well, kinda.

I trudged around the backyard like the Abominable Snowman, lurching forward one step at a time through feet of snow. 

Tango, the handsome yellow Lab, loved this new game. On my heels (literally!) with every step, he was my right-hand-man. Or should that be right-paw-dog... Anyway, he liked it. 

The longer-legged dogs, Nemo and Talos, found it easier to get through the snow. While still an effort, they could - if they got up enough momentum - leap through the snow like deer and forge ahead of me. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure which of us enjoyed that more - the dogs or me. I liked it because they blazed the trail for me when the lurched ahead. They liked it because, well, I'm not sure why, actually. It looked like a lot of hard work to me. But trust me, they loved it!

Anyway, the cooperative effort worked. I did relieve my boredom, I did ease my stir-craziness, I did have fun with the dogs, I definitely got my cardiovascular exercise, and I did move the doggie bathroom further from the house. 

But best of all, the dogs and I found a new way to enjoy this snow and each other. I loved watching them cavort and sniff, run and jump, and especially follow my tracks inquisitively, as if we were discovering uncharted territory together. Life is much more fun with dogs to share it. 

The Aftermath of Blizzard 2010 - Talos and Tango [Video]

The Mid-Atlantic has been hit with some serious snow this winter. I hate winter, but I love snow. I figure if it's got to be cold, we might as well have lots of snow. And this year, I've been a happy camper. We got about 30" of snow over the weekend and the dogs turned into puppies again in the snow. And we're expecting 10" - 20" tomorrow. When did I move to the Arctic Circle?!

Talos, naturally, had the easiest time getting around in the snow because he's the tallest. But Tango could keep up if a path had already been created. Here's a little bit of video of Talos and Tango playing in the snow.