Is Your Dog a Loaded Gun?

No, I’m not asking you if your dog is a killer! But if you aren’t COMPLETELY sure your dog is safe in any and all of the situations you put it in, you need to realize it and make sure you protect yourself and others from a potentially dangerous situation. And I’m not just talking about Dobermans, Pit bulls, German Shepherds and Rottweilers! I’m talking about ANY dog because all dogs can (and will) bite if they are put in a stressful situation that they are not prepared for.

In the best case scenario, all dogs should be widely socialized. They should be exposed to the same wide variety of experiences that we as humans are. A well socialized dog is happy and confident and can deal with anything it encounters without reacting adversely. That’s not to say that they won’t react … after all, when you hear a sudden load noise you may jump and become “startled” but you don’t hit someone or run away and hide! Right?

Being able to completely trust your dog is not something that happens overnight. It comes with time. Sometimes it takes a lot of time. Depending on the dog, it’s surroundings, it’s past, and the baggage it bring into your life it can take months and even years to completely trust a dog.

Dogs coming out of a shelter experience often bring baggage like shyness or fear. Some even need basic training like house training and basic obedience.

Puppies are experiencing EVERYTHING for the first time, so they need time to learn and mature before they can be completely trusted.

All dogs must learn to trust you before they will ever become trustworthy. They need to know that no harm will come to it.Working with them on a daily basis is the best way to build trust. If you’ve read much of my stuff you’ll remember that I call it “bonding”.  Once you have bonded with your dog it will trust you.

Working with your dog will open the lines of communication and you will be able to tell your dog the things you want it to know. Training and working with your dog is a life-long project. Just like children, they need daily guidance and learning never stops.

Like any student, your dog must be tested. In the dog world it is called “proofing”. A dog is not 100% trustworthy until it is tested and passes the test in “real world” situations. Just because your dog will stay seated in your kitchen when you open the door, doesn’t mean it can be trusted on the street when a bunch of little kids come running toward him screaming at the top of their lungs!

As a dog owner you are responsible for everything your dog does. You must know how it reacts to every situation. If you don’t you are walking a loaded gun. If you are walking a loaded gun you MUST keep it away from a situation that could make it “go off” …

As a “loaded gun” dog owner, you need to be aware of your dog’s changing moods and attitudes. Body language is the fastest and best way to do this. If your dog becomes tense, frightened or confused when you cross paths with a new dog or a person in the neighborhood you need to know it and you must be able to calm your dog or remove it from the situation before something happens.

Anything can set of a “loaded gun” dog. Some dogs react adversely to someone who moves quickly. Standing over them while trying to pat them on the head can also get you bit. Still other may try to protect themselves if someone tries to grab their tail or touch their paws. I’ve even seen a dog turn and bite someone that is standing behind them.

My suggestion is to do everything you can to get your dog used to every situation this life has to offer. Take them everywhere you can and spend as much time as you can with your family and friends and their dogs.

Personally, My goal with any new dog I get or work with is to have the dog meet one new person and one new dog every day for one year. It must work because I have never owned a dog with social issues and the ones that started with them, didn’t have them for very long!

DANGEROUS STRANGERS … Aren’t Always People

As dog lovers, we all want to believe that every dog we meet is a happy and well-adjusted dog that loves to be petted and played with! Unfortunately that is nowhere near the truth!

Case in Point:
As Patchs and I were enjoying our walk the other day we came in contact with an elderly gentleman who was walking his two little dachshunds. Its was one of those peaceful scenes that would make a great painting.

As we came closer to them, the dogs both exploded into a volley of uncontrollable barking and lunging in our direction. In itself, this is not that uncommon. But this time it made me a bit concerned. That was because just a few houses away from us were several small kids playing in the front yard. They looked to be around 4-7 years of age.

With their tails tucked and the hair on the back of their necks standing straight up, these two dogs were showing me signs of fear aggression. They were obviously very uncomfortable and warning us to back away. The owner was apologetic. I assured him that I understood the situation and we moved back and across the street to defuse it.

We held our position for a minute or two and watched them move down the street. As they did, I noticed that the man also crossed the street to make more distance between he and the kids. I was glad to see that he was aware of the possible issues at hand.

My concern became confirmed as I saw one of the kids run to the curb as the two dogs began to pass by. I held my breath for a few seconds, but relaxed when I heard the child ask if she could pet the dogs.

The man thanked the little girl for asking but told her that his dogs were not used to being around kids so she better not take the chance. Needless to say I was very impressed with both the child and the dog owner.

After giving the man a minute to make his way down the street, we continued down the street. Sure enough, the girl asked me if she could pet Patchs. So I put Patchs in a “sit” and told her it was OK to come over. I took the opportunity to praise her for “asking” before she approached us.

Just then her mom came out of the house and asked what was going on. I explained the situation and told the mom that I was very impressed with her little girl. After talking with the mom for a few minutes I found out that the family had just gotten a new Yorkie from the shelter last week and that she is teaching the kids about dogs. I told her about the Iowa Dog Trust and my website “A Better Dog 4U” and offered my help if they wanted it. Then we continued on our way.

For many years we have made a very big deal of teaching our kids about the dangers of talking to strangers, but not all dangerous stranger are humans! It’s also very important to teach our children about the dangers of approaching dogs, cats and other animals that they don’t know.

Many thousands of dog bites can be prevented and the lives of thousands of good dogs could be saved every years if teachers, parents and dog owners will just take just a few moments to instruct the kids they know about these dangers. It’s up to all of us to keep our loved ones safe. The human ones … and our pets!

What Ever Happened to Honesty

In the immortal words of singer Billy Joel,

Honesty is such a lonely word.
Everyone is so untrue.
Honesty is hardly ever heard.
And mostly what I need from you.

While these words are true for humans, but they are also just as true for our four-footed best friends.

Dogs never lie.

Oh they may know how to play on our emotions … and to some degree every dog knows how to manipulate us to get what they want, but they never lie about it.

As dog owners we all need to learn how to “read” our dogs. With a bit of training and some basic knowledge about body language it is very easy to see what our dogs are feeling at any moment of the day.

If you know what to look for, you can tell when your dog is happy, sad, excited, scared or angry. Knowing what to look for can be critical because It can help you avoid some bad situations when you are out in public. Being able to read your dog will also help you read other dogs that you may encounter during your walks or when you are at the dog park.

Being able to read your dog can also help you when working with YOUR dog!

Not only is it important for us to learn to read our dog’s body language, it is also important to realize that dogs can read OUR body language as well. It is important to know that not only do they know some of the words we use, they also understand our vocal tones and feel our emotions (a.k.a. our energy or ora). Because of this we need to be in touch with our feeling and have them under control before we take Fido on a walk, train him or even interact with him.

EXAMPLE: You’ve had a bad day at work, and you are angry and stressed out when you walk thru the door at home. Your dog will immediately sense this and try to avoid it. But as you walk in to the house you want your dog to come to you. So, not thinking, you bark “COME” to your dog! Sensing your bad mood, the dog tries to avoid you and may not come to you right away. Not realizing why your dog is not coming to you, you may get mad at the dog … and the dog suffers your anger for doing something that comes natural to it … and that is avoiding unstable emotions!

On the other hand, if you take a few moments to remove your work related frustrations and stress BEFORE you walk thru the door, your dog will be glad to see you and come running as soon as he hears you put your key in the lock.

There are many other examples I could use, but you get the idea. Right?

Don’t lie to your dog! Tell him how you really feel, not how bad your day was!

Not Enough Hours in the Day!

It seems like I get out of bed, get to work, make a little supper and the next thing I know it’s time to turn out the lights and go to bed ….

I’d always heard from my parents and my friend’s parents that time passes faster as you get older, but I always thought that it was just a bunch of “who-ie” …. But now, it’s happening to me, and I’m that old!!! OH CRAP … I also just realized that I’m in Denial too

The only NON work thing I seem to be getting done on a regular basis is I’m going for walks with my dog. We try to go every day, but when it’s snowing or the streets are sloppy we have to rethink things a bit, and we have to find things to do at home.

I guess I should be glad I’m busy and that I’m able to make all the payments and keep the bill collectors at bay, but I’d really like to take a day off once in a while.

Does anyone else have these “Time Flies” issues or is it JUST me?

Bonding With Your Dog — Monday Funnies

In an effort to get your week off on the right foot … It’s time once again for the Monday Funnies. (I love Family Circus)

How many of you take YOUR pillows for a walk?

My thoughts on the Westminster Kennel Club’s Dog Show

As a dog lover, I try to watch everything on TV about dogs. I have a real thirst for knowledge and the view point of others.

But this year the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show was not on my list of things to watch. You see, late last week the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show announced that they were dropping Pedigree Brand Dog Food as its sponsor of almost a quarter of a century.

While it’s a free country, and they have every right to do it, I found the reasoning behind the decision a tad bit strange! It seams that they did it because Pedigree’s advertising direction (focusing on stray and abandoned dogs) is “too depressing” for them.

If you’ve been on a different planet, or just haven’t seen one of them, Pedigree’s more recent commercials focus on pet adoption by using emotional stories that tell about the lives of shelter dogs that have been abandoned, neglected or in some cases even abused.

This direction obviously doesn’t align with the kennel club’s showcase animals. They are into the pure-bred dogs with registered and distinguished bloodlines. (ironically this kind of dog is referred to as having a pedigree). WKC is obviously not about lovable mutts. It seams that they are only interested in and only want the top 1% of dogs. (After all, have you ever seen a mutt class at their show?)

The club’s director of communications David Frei, stating in a recent New York Times article that they want  “…people to think of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show as a celebration of the dogs in our lives” and went on to say,  “Show me an ad with a dog and a smile; don’t shame me” (NYTimes.com, 2012).

David, wouldn’t you say that saving a dog from utter destruction is a pretty good way to have a “celebration of the dogs in our lives?” After all, we can’t all afford a million dollar show dog!

On the other hand, there’s nothing wrong with a few “happy” and “upbeat” ads aired WITH the current Pedigree spots? And, I know they have them, because I see them everyday. The one that mentions nutrition and say something like: “From the tip of their nose to their wiggly butt” comes to mind.

While it’s sad that the show has decided to part ways with Pedigree for reasons that seem strange at best, the worst thing about it is that the adoption ads that Pedigree airs have had a tremendous impact on the numbers of pets being adopted. In 2007, Pedigree received $500,000 in pledges after the ads were shown over the course of the two-day show.

In a time when thousands of dogs are put down every day only because they don’t have a home, we are ashamed and saddened that the dog show has ended its partnership with Pedigree without finding some kind of middle ground. As a result, this puts thousands of shelters and rescues all over the county much shorter on the funds they need and the dogs that need these funds are at serious risk and may not live long enough to find a forever home.

What I find really disturbing is that while they (WKC) finds Pedigree’s ads depressing, they don’t have any problem allowing some of their members to “Breed IN” genetic problems and defects into their lines of “show” dogs. One case was recently brought to my attention through a website I visited.

It was about a merle Collie that is a Best of Breed winner at Westminster and currently ranked as the number one Collie in the USA.  The dog is a merle Collie who was sired by A double merle Collie who is BLIND and DEAF. The dog was intentionally bred so that he would ALWAYS produce litters of all merle puppies.

For those who may not know, “merle” is not a coat color. It is actually the definition of an incomplete dominant gene that controls coat color in dogs. Breeding two merle dogs together statistically results in 25% of the resulting litter being double merles. Puppies that result from double merle breeding are often smaller and the litters will frequently have stillborn puppies.

In most countries the breeding of two merles is forbidden due to the probability of the resulting puppies having severe health problems including:

- Deafness – from birth or will happen as the dog ages.
- Iris Coloboma – part of the iris is missing
- Corectopia – off center pupil
- Microphthalmia – Abnormally small eye(s)
- Anophthalmia – absence of eye(s)
- Blindness – blind from birth or may go blind as they age

(Read the full Story about merles) at: http://networkedblogs.com/tX0sN?a=share&ref=nf )

If you would like to let the club know what you think or if you agree with them, here is the contact info from their website.

Westminster Kennel Club
Director of Communications
David Frei
(212) 213-3212
david@westminsterkennelclub.org

Valentine’s Day and Your Dog

A recent news article said that Americans spend $17.5 billion on Valentine’s Day gifts! Good Morning America says a lot of pet owners not only purchased gifts for their spouses, they also spent a lot of money for gifts for their pets. In fact, they stated on their website that The National Retail Federation expects consumers will spend $367 million on their pets this Valentine’s Day. So, the following questions begs to be asked! Are you spending any money on your pets for Valentine’s Day? If so, how much. (Just a Ball Park number please).

As an alternative to buying a diamond studded collar, a Waterford Crystal water bowl, or Gucci bag for your designer breed why not do something for your dog that it will REALLY love and appreciate?

Instead of spending money, consider an investment of time. Spend some extra time walking or playing with your pet. If you can’t walk or play because of some kind of physical issue just spend a few extra moments hanging out and sharing a little extra quality time! It doesn’t have to be long periods of time either. Just 3-5 minutes several times a day will be greatly appreciated.

Dogs aren’t little four footed humans. They are animals that have been bred to crave human interaction. They don’t care how much you make, what kind of car you drive, or how big your home is! The only thing they really care about is spending time with you. They live to hang out with you and make you happy.

OK, I agree. Buying your pet a gift CAN make you happy. And there’s nothing wrong with buying your pet a nice gift once in a while! But I dare you to spend a few extra minutes every day walking or playing with your dog, and not walk away just as happy!

No matter whether you buy gifts or not, thank you for loving and taking care of your pets and their needs.