A Housetrained Dog Doesn’t Necessarily Have to Ask

I read a great tip from an article by dog trainer Kathy Diamond Davis the other day.

The question was how to bring an outdoor dog inside. The dog was an adult and had never been housebroken. Her perspective was this:

“I don’t train my dogs to ask when they need to go outside. I take them outside on a schedule. Their bodies easily adjust to wait until the next scheduled [potty break]. I get many questions from people who don’t consider their dogs housetrained until the dog will get their attention and persuade them to stop what they are doing and take the dog out every time the dog needs to go. In many cases, this is expecting too much from the dog.”

Kathy’s distinction between training a dog not to soil the house and training a dog to let you know when he/she needs to go out is important.

Without knowing it, I have trained my dogs the same way. We go outside first thing in the morning, after every meal, whenever I come home (no matter how briefly I’ve been gone) and last thing at night before bed. This way, the dogs have predictable breaks, and they “hold it” until the next break. Of course, if they’re not feeling well, have drunk too much water at the dog park or otherwise need an extra break, they get extra breaks. I also let them out if they’re hanging out at the door.

But I like Kathy’s suggestion that we take responsibility for getting our dogs outside for a potty break, rather than giving that responsibility to our dogs.

Check out Kathy’s book, Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others, or read her blog at http://kathydiamonddavis.blogspot.com/

- L

How to Housetrain Any Dog … Really!

Here are some tips that will make housetraining faster and easier. It works on puppies or dogs. Even an adult dog can be put on this program and successfully be housebroken.

• You can train a dog to us a specific area of the yard by keeping your pup on a leash every time you go out, and go directly to the designated part of the yard. Later, he’ll only use that part of the yard. This lets you enjoy your yard without worry about stepping on something.
• Take the puppy outside after he eats, sleeps, plays/exercises, or comes out of the crate.
• Praise him verbally and with a pat when he does his business. Then go immediately inside. This will show him the purpose of going outside. I would not recommend leaving the dog out in the yard all day, because it confuses housetraining.
• For the first two to three days — while you’re home with him — put the puppy in his crate with something to chew so that he associates the crate with good things. Let him stay in the crate for an hour, then take him out and immediately go outside. Do this twice or three times per day.
• When you have to go back to work, make sure the puppy is empty (you may have to go for a walk to assure that he empties out), then put him in his crate with something to do (chew bone, etc.).
  A puppy can be expected to “hold it” for the number of hours that matches his age in months. So a four-month-old puppy can only be expected to hold it for four hours. This is true up to about 10 hours. That’s as long as any dog should be expected to hold it.
• Dogs sometimes pick up from us that there’s something wrong with being left alone because of the way we act when we leave and when we return. Do not say “goodbye” to him or change your voice or make a fuss when you leave the house. Just leave. When you come home, again, don’t do the high-pitched, excited voice or the overdone affection (until after you both come back inside). When you walk in the door, calmly take the puppy outside before you do anything else. Your whole attitude should be, “See? There’s nothing to it.”
• Many people think that a dog is housebroken when he comes to you to ask to be let out, or scratches at the door. Don’t put the burden on your dog. Take him out on a regular schedule and he’ll know that there will be an opportunity to go soon. This will help him to hold it until the next potty break. Take him out first thing in the morning, after every meal, right before bed, and anytime you come home, no matter how long or short a time you’ve been gone. He needs to know that when you walk through that door, he’s going out.
• If a dog is having diarrhea, additional breaks might be needed. If you see your pup hanging around the door, let him out.
• If you take him out on a schedule, you’ll learn when he pees and when he poops. If you’re taking your morning break and he hasn’t pooped like he ususally does, you know that he’ll need to go while you’re at work. In this case, maybe a walk would give the results you need. Paying attention to what’s normal will help prevent a situation where he’s locked in his crate and half an hour later, he needs to go.
• If you let the dog sleep in your bed, be aware that when he wakes up and moves around during the night, he may need to go out. If you have him in a crate, you may have to set the alarm and take him out. If he cries at night, cover the crate with a blanket.
• If he soils the crate, don’t punish. Just take him out, then clean it up and continue with the routine. Being confined in a stinky crate is enough of a lesson for him.
• After a while (at age 9-12 months), you may not need the crate as much, and you can start letting him have the run of the house while you’re gone. If he makes a mess, go back to the crate for 3 months before trying again. By age 1 (or before), he should be trustworthy in the house while you’re gone. But keep the crate for him so he can go to his private place whenever he wishes.

If you have a doggie door, the procedure is the same, until he learns to go out by himself. But you should still be there early on to praise him and to train him to go in a certain part of the yard.
 
I’ve heard trainers suggest giving a cookie when the dog pees or poops. I don’t like this idea because then the dog becomes focused on the treat. Praise the dog and immediately go back inside. This will show the dog why you’re out there. This applies to yard training, of course. If you live in an apartment, you’ll just walk your dog on a schedule that he can count on.

10 Reasons to Adopt an Adult Dog

Let’s face it; puppies are work. Next time you’re looking for a dog, consider the many advantages of adopting an adult dog.

What Kind of Dog Are You?

There’s a fun website that’s been around for a while. It’s for a British comedy called Gone to the Dogs. But the best part of the site is the game that tells you what kind of dog you would be. Go to http://www.gone2thedogs.com/ and click “GAME” on the left side of the screen. After you answer each question, don’t forget to click the “Next Question” button on the right.

Somebody has put an awful lot of work into this quiz, both from the programming and design aspects. It’s great fun to play.

I’m a Hamilton Hound, a Swedish hunting dog that look similar to the American Foxhound. Who knew?

Lisa

Book Review: Let’s Have a Dog Party

I was puzzled as to why Ingrid Newkirk, founder and president of PETA, would write a book about dog parties. After all, it’s well known that PETA’s president opposes pet ownership. As she told Newsday (Long Island’s newspaper), “In the end, I think it would be lovely if we stopped this whole notion of pets altogether.”

So why write a book about dog parties? If it’s better for dogs to live without human intervention, why in the world would she promote parties? All you have to do to answer this question is to glance at a few pages. Ingrid Newkirk, who has described herself as a “publicity slut,” wrote a book designed to appeal to dog consumers, the type who dress our dogs in clothes, take them on vacations, and throw parties for them, in order to push her anti-pet agenda … on us of all people. I believe it’s her desire to chastise this type of fully involved ‘pet parent’ into shame by means of this book. The cute cover photo of a dog with some balloons and confetti, the pink and green design, and the celebrity endorsements have probably enticed a few dog owners to buy the book. But then you begin to read it, and you come across the activist language that reveals Newkirk’s real agenda.

The entire first chapter is about how to praise your dog verbally. I’m not sure what this has to do with a book on dog parties, but it’s rife with insults and harsh judgments against people who carry their dogs in carriers, English speakers who don’t speak another language, and people who try to mimic Newkirk’s English accent. At the end of the chapter is a list of words you can say to your dog to tell the dog you love him/her. It occurs to me that if Newkirk really understood the people she’s writing for, she would know this entire chapter is superfluous.

More evidence of this struck me as I read Newkirk’s account of how a fellow PETA staffer’s dog enjoyed rolling around in anything dead. (She’s a dog, Ingrid. They all do.) Newkirk advises that we give the dog what he or she wants (Newkirk claims that she herself goes to the beach and collects smelly things like “decomposing crab limbs and fish spines” and mails them to the dog’s owner, so she can let the dog roll around in them. Her point is to find out what your dog REALLY wants to do when deciding what sort of party to throw. As Newkirk puts it, “Is there some unfulfilled talent, wish or pleasure that it is your duty, as the controller of your dog’s almost criminally restricted life, to ferret out of her?” Among the things she suggests that your dog might like is “winking.” I’m not kidding. It’s on page 28.

Sprinkled throughout this book are shocking stories of animal abuse, which really put me in the mood for a party. Also curious was her advice to warn any human guests who suffer from migraines that a dog party is not “a peaceful and sedate affair that one might expect in a library,” (does anyone expect it to be?) and encouraging hosts to tell human guests to wear overalls (because jumping and slobbering are encouraged). She spends several pages raving about a couple of famous mechanics who do a radio show, because, among other things, they advise listeners to go buy another car if their dog exhibits fear of riding in the current one. The author proves, page after page, that she has no idea what people who throw dog parties are like, or what their relationships with their dogs is like.

There’s lots of circling away from the topic of the book – which is parties – with such diversions as recommended hotels, hiking tips, movies that dogs might like, what religion a dog might be, why the symbol for the heart doesn’t look like a human heart, what Christopher Columbus thought of Chihuahuas, and a 30-question quiz to find out if you’re the type of pet owner you “ought” to be. The list, predictably, reads like it’s speaking to an animal activist, not a real pet owner. It includes such statements as, I never leave my dog overnight at the veterinarian, I will not make noise when my dog is trying to sleep, I will never make my dog get off the furniture, and I have provided for my dogs in my will. Predictably, there is a plea to make a donation to PETA.

Newkirk’s obvious contempt for dog owers – even as she tries to write a book for them – is evident in such passages as these:

• When talking to your dog, “sit on the floor so your dog doesn’t have to look up at you for once and suffer compressed dics in her neck.”
• “Remember that nasty animal experimentor Pavlov?”
• “Party hats should not be worn by adult humans or dogs of any age.”
• “Be clear that at this party … there will be no reprimands, harsh words or other improprieties.” Evidently, if a dog fight breaks out, Newkirk would choose let the dogs kill each other naturally, rather than employing any of that icky human intervention.

She gives practical ideas for invitations, such as making dog bone invitations (she then provides instructions for buying construction paper and cutting it into bone shapes … does anyone really need instructions for this?).

In the Guest List section, Newkirk states that ”a hound would be happiest if the rest of the world spontaneously combusted, leaving just the two of you alone together.” Okay, a) why is this statement in a book about parties, and b) wouldn’t you think Newkirk would refrain from using language that reminds anyone of her staffer, Bruce Friedrich’s famous quote, “I think it would be a great thing if, you know, all these fast food outlets and slaughterhouses and laboratories and the banks that fund them exploded tomorrow”?

The rest of the book is about the same: random ramblings about stupid dog owners, stupid humans in general, the horrible treatment of animals (by people and organizations other than PETA, of course), and tales the good deeds of PETA, an organization that financies terrorism and openly opposes animal ownership of any kind. At one point, she recommends gifts for dogs, including one – permancy – in which she chides us, “It is the look in the eyes of every dog and cat who has been dumped at a shelter, while they watch their person walk out the door. And not compe back. Ever.” This from an organization which euthanizes more than 90% of the pets it takes in.

The bottom line is that like everything PETA touches, this book is filled with concepts of a loving pet/owner relationship that Newkirk herself does not believe in, and is designed to lecture, shame, self-aggrandize and most of all, separate you from your money. My advice? Take a long walk with your dog and keep your $12.95.

Take Your Dog for a Walk

If your dog is getting antsy, anxious or destructive, there’s one thing that can help more than any toy, training device, music CD or drugs: go for a walk. A 30-minute walk every day cures most dogs of most vices within a few weeks. Dogs are meant to roam. A house or a yard are confining to them. Letting a dog out in the yard does nothing to cure his “cabin fever.” You know how you feel when you’ve been in the house with the flu for three days? You need to get out. You need fresh air, sunshine, a change of scene, somewhere to go. So does your dog. So if you see him/her becoming restless, barking more, getting into things he/she shouldn’t, chewing up you bedspread, digging and being more aggressive toward others, start walking. You’ll be surprised what it does to not only burn off excess energy, but strengthen your relationship with the dog.

A walk will also focus your high-energy dog before attempting any task such as training, putting medication on, traveling in a car, etc.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Dogs

This Saturday, July 12, 2008 on the Lucky Dog Show, we’ll be answering some tough, funny and altogether mystifying questions about dogs with Justine Lee, DMV, author of “It’s a Dog’s Life … But it’s Your Carpet.” You won’t want to miss this episode of the Lucky Dog Show. Listen via the Internet from anywhere in the world.

Finally, there’s a professional out there who’s not too embarrassed to answer the tough questions dog lovers have been asking for centuries:

• Is a dog’s nose a good indicator of his health?
• Can a Chihuahua and a Great Dane mate?
• Why do dogs eat their own poop?
• What’s the smartest breed?
• Can I get my dog’s ears pierced?
• Why does my dog roll around in dead animal carcasses?
• If I mix food coloring with Fluffy’s kibble, will it make her poop easier to find in the yard?

Veterinarian, critical-care specialist, and dog lover Dr. Justine A. Lee takes you behind the scenes to look at the training and off-the-record opinions of a certified vet, and answers all the questions you’ve always wanted to ask about your dog in her new book: “It’s a Dog’s Life … But it’s Your Carpet.”

Written by one of 200 veterinary board-certified emergency critical-care specialists in the world, “It’s a Dog’s Life . . .. but It’s Your Carpet” offers factual and funny answers to some of the most common, offbeat questions about our beloved companions. Justine A. Lee, DVM, DACVECC, is an assistant clinical professor at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine and a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency Critical Care.

Whether you’re looking for advice on pet rearing, solutions to your dog’s most frustrating habits, explanations of his weirdest quirks, or simply a good laugh, this show is sure to inform–and entertain–dog lovers of every breed. To listen, visit www.luckydogshow.com/upcomingshows.html and click the red “Listen Now” button on Saturday.

Missed the show? Hear the archive at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/luckydogshow/2008/07/12/Everything-you-Ever-Wanted-to-Know-about-Dogs

 

Dog Who Challenges Houseguests

I have a long-haired Chihuahua who is very territorial when friends come over. He barks and growls and, if unleashed, will run at them and bark at their heels. We have worked with a trainer about this but have not had success. When people come over, we keep him confined in another room while we are greeting our guests and when wait until everyone has settled down and then let him out– he usually calms down after a few sniffs and then does his own thing.

Some of our friends have taken it personally, insisting that they are dog lovers and never have issues like this with other pets. We try to explain to them that it’s not something they should feel is personalized and that our dog is just very protective and wary of strangers. He is actually very sweet and lovable once you get to know him.I have a friend who confided to me that she feels uncomfortable when she comes to my house because of this issue. She requested that I lock the dog in my bedroom while she is here and I told her that I thought that was unnecessary since he always calms down after the initial shock of visitors, but offered to leash him while she is here until she felt comfortable. I felt as thought that was a reasonable compromise, but she has told me that she will no longer attend gatherings at my house because of this and has even taken it a step further by saying that she is upset with me and feels as though I would choose a dog over our friendship.

My dog is not used to being confined and will consistently bark and scratch at the door until he is let out –which is the only reason I will not confine him. What should I do?

Diamond in the Ruff

 

Dear Diamond,

There are two issues here; your dog’s reaction to strangers in the house, and what it is doing to your relationships. Let’s take them one at a time.

There are two reasons why dogs in stable households challenge strangers: they’re either afraid or they haven’t been given boundaries to let them know which behaviors are unacceptable. I encourage you to find another trainer if the first one has been innefective, with the following caveat. If you don’t follow your trainer’s advice, do your homework, and be consistent with the techniques he/she teaches you, no trainer will be able to help. So find a trainer who can help, then do your part at home.

One thing you can tell visitors to do is a tip from Cesar Millan. When they enter the house, they should ignore the dog. No look, no touch, no talk, as Cesar says. Tell them that you’re retraining your dog and they can help by completely ignoring him until he quiets down. If you have a friend who is comfortable with dogs and willing to help, ask him to come over, ignore the dog until he calms down, then (without looking at him or talking to him), step into the dog’s space. This forces the dog to make way, which dogs in the wild will do for pack leaders. This helps to reinforce to your dog that all people outrank all dogs.

As far as your friend goes, I think she has a point. I once worked on a book project with an author who lived on a horse farm. She had a dog who nipped people’s heels. I’m a dog lover, but this frightened and annoyed me. And I never went back to her home again. Let me tell you what I would do if I were you.

I would get the dog a crate and get some great interactive toys that your dog can play with only when he’s in the crate. You can find some in the Home Alone department at www.FunStuffForDogs.com. When you let your dog out of the crate, pick up the toys and put them out of the dog’s reach. He only gets them when he’s in the crate. Practice this for 10 to 30 minutes every day for a couple of weeks, and your dog will be racing into that crate. Before a guest arrives or a pizza is delivered, put your dog in the crate. When the doorbell rings, put a peanut-butter-filled toy in the crate with your dog, then answer the door. If the bell rings before you can put your dog in the crate, you can say, “Just a minute” through the door while you put your dog in the crate. Practice this every time you order pizza or have anyone come to the house. This will help your dog to associate the doorbell with a VERY yummy treat.

You may be able to let your dog out when other people come to the house (and — with proper training — when your friend comes over). But do practice this crate/toy technique randomly when people come over. Soon, your dog won’t even care who’s at the door.

 

 

So now to problem number two. I think your friend has a point. I once worked on a book project with an author who lived on a horse ranch with a dog who bit people’s heels. I’m a dog person who’s owned large dogs all my life, but this behavior frightened and annoyed me. I never went back. Your friend doesn’t want to hear about how the dog isn’t happy in the other room. She wants to hear that it matters to you that she’s afraid or uncomfortable around your dog.

Other people don’t adore our fur kids like we do. All they see is the behavior the dog has around them. I have a large black dog who’s the sweetest thing in the whole world. She’d never hurt a fly. But I know she intimidates people. So I taught her to sit when pedestrians approach, to not bolt through the door at people when we open it, and to not bark at people. We should ask the dogs to accommodate humans, not the other way around.

Call your friend (don’t email her). Tell her you realize how your dog’s behavior affects her, and that you’re sorry you didn’t see how much it upset her before. Tell her you’re hiring another trainer to help with the problem, but meanwhile, you’ll crate the dog with a toy while she’s at your home. Then invite her over and do it. At the very least, reach out to her and invite her to get together at other locations so the dog is not an issue. Reassure her that you value your friendship. Friends are very important, and friendships must be cultivated.

Dog Backpack Tip – What to put in it

A lot of people use back packs to increase the effectiveness of their daily walks.

High-energy dogs, nervous or anxious dogs and other dogs seems to respond to having a “job” (hauling around a backpack with some moderate weight in the packs). Plus, it uses up to three times the energy … a 15-minute walk has the impact of a 45-minuted walk with a backpack weighted appropriately.

But once people get their backpack, they wonder how to weight it appropriately. How much weight is enough? How much is too much? How do you get your dog used to a packpack and how do you gradually increase weight?

Here are some tips from www.FunStuffForDgos.com.

• Put the backpack on without anything in the pockets at first. Let your dog get used to it. Go for 2-4 walks with the backpack empty.
• If your dog is ignoring the backpack after 2-4 walks (many dogs even become eager to put it on once they connect the backpack to a walk), begin adding weight a little at a time. Go by the size of your dog. For our Irish Setter, I started with a 12-ounce bottle of water on each side. For a Cocker Spaniel, I would start with an orange or something of similar weight.
• Be sure you have even weight on each side of the backpack.
• Go for 2-4 walks with each weight before adding more. Keep the first walk with the new heavier weight short; don’t try to do a two-mile hike if you’ve just added weight.
• Do not add more than 10% of your dog’s own weight to the backpacks. For a 25-lb dog, don’t add more than two and a half pounds total (a pound and a quarter on each side).
• In the summertime, larger dogs can haul chilled bottles of water. This can help cool the dog.
• Owners of small dogs sometimes use beans to add weight to their dogs’ packs. Beans conform to the dog’s body, making the load comfortable. Plus, you have good control over exactly how much weight you add, and can add more in small increments.

View backpacks here: http://www.funstufffordogs.com/Qstore/Qstore.cgi?CMD=009&DEPT=1147968493&BACK=A0009A1B01193942869B1C01193943113C1F01193942869F1G01193943113G1I000010I1J01194355435J1

- Lisa Woody

Doggy Tug is Made to Last

We receive products every week from manufactures and entrepreneurs who think they have invented the next big thing in the pet industry.

Once in a while, they’re right.

This is one of the best new toys we’ve seen this year. The concept is simple. The execution is inspired. And best of all, the toy lives up to the hype.

The inventor of this toy, Kelly Stafford, saw her own dogs playing tug with anything made of fabric. Those of you who have this type of dog know that no sock, no tee shirt, no bed spread is safe. 

Most fabric tugs and plush toys wouldn’t hold up to Stafford’s dogs. But then she got the inspiration to create a stronger tug toy using industrial strength terrycloth wrapped around high-strength elastic, and bound in three directions with fishing line. Of course, no fabric toy is truly indestructible, but these toys are made to be so tough that they outlast any rope, plush or fabric toy out there.

I was excited to try these toys because I have the original destructo-dog. She’s the one on whom I test “tough” toys because she usually makes mincemeat out of them. Rhino-tough? Not tough enough for her. Pit Bull tested? Amateurs. I had also adopted a five-year-old Irish Setter with boundless energy, who had been an outdoor dog before we got him. This would be interesting, I thought.

From the line of toys, I selected some of the bigger toys for my two big dogs. We had just got the redhead, so the two of them were still getting used to each other. But I got them playing tug-of-war with the Doggy Tug Toy. They went to town with it and really put their backs into it. They pulled with all their strength. Then Finnegan decided this was a good toy for playing by yourself. He gallops around the house with his favorite one, carrying it so the heavier ends bang against his face, head and neck. He chews on it (I know it’s not a chew toy, but so far, it has held up to his chewing). He tosses it in the air. The Lab, too, has her favorite toy, which she plays with enthusiastically. We do not pick up the toys when we get home. We leave them out so the pups can play with them any time they wish. So there’s lots of unsupervised chewing and tugging.

These toys have withstood two solid months of daily playing by two roughhousing big dogs. I can’t say how impressed I am with them. The terry eventually begins to fray, but you can trim the strings off, throw it in the washing machine, and give it right back to the dogs. All parts are non-toxic. These toys are great for playing with your dog, for two dogs to play together, or for one dog to keep himself occupied with a sturdy toy.

Doggy Tug comes in several sizes, for toy through giant breeds to enjoy. Many of them have rubber tires, spikey rings or other toys sewn into the ends.

Pet owners who go through money buying toy after toy for their dogs will love the Doggy Tug. It’s a great value, lots of fun for the dog, and very safe for pet owners’ peace of mind.

Well done, Doggy Tug!