Ode To A Blown Coat, a poem

Ode To A Blown Coat

This is a poem about dogs who blow coat.
(Poodle owners, this is where you can gloat).
If you’re lucky it’s twice,
Or if you’re not, then it’s thrice
Per annum when all dog fur floats.

It creeps up on you slowly at first,
And it moves from bad then to worse.
You move room to room,
With your vacuum and broom,
But the roaming fur can’t be reversed.

In corners, fur tumbleweeds hide.
And the dander, it flies into your eyes!
Clothes are carefully chosen
To match the fur interwoven
Into all that you keep stored inside.

Dogs' coats soon look modestly bare,
Matching the slight disrepair
Of your home and your floors
Of your couches and doors,
And ev’rything still covered in hair.

“Why do you do it?” they cry!
“Endure the stress and the sty?”
...Our dogs are our hearts
And we don't wish to part.
The fur is a gift to remember them by. 

-----

I'm getting devoured in fur right now, so I decided to write a poem to memorialize this trying time of year. This is a little reminder that I am a dog trainer, not a poet. But, hey, fun! 

Dog training tip o' the day: "How long should I use treats for reinforcement?"

Dog training tip o' the day: "How long should I use treats for reinforcement?"

This is a question that gets asked a lot when training dogs. Obviously you don't want to ever have to be reliant on treats whenever you need to ask your dog to do something. Many a trainer has weighed in on how best to ensure your dog's behaviour be reliable regardless of whether you have a pocketful of chicken or not. I feel like there's another question underneath the first, which is,

"How long should I be reinforcing to my dog?"

People use treats for dog training because they are a primary reinforcer, that is, they are intrinsically valuable to a dog. They all need to eat, and most enjoy eating a great deal. But food is not the only reinforcer available to you -- there's play, praise, access to the environment and more. I almost always start training with food due to its intrinsic strength, but if food was the only reinforcer available in a trainer's arsenal then the trainer would find themselves very limited indeed.

The way I look at training is that you use a high degree of reinforcement to lay the groundwork for behaviours, ideally so much so that they become ingrained in a dog's behaviour patterns. For instance, when I ask Cohen to sit she complies almost instantly, and almost subconsciously -- we have done so many drills that compliance is almost guaranteed. Once that initial groundwork is laid then I'm granted more variety in the way which I choose to approach reinforcement, but I will Always. Reinforce. My Dog.

There is a constant mathematical formula running in my head evaluating where my dog is being reinforced and by how much. (Remember, behaviour that is reinforced is more likely to be repeated.) Is going after that scrap of garbage more rewarding than listening to me? What about running after that squirrel? What about that small child smeared with ice cream? The jogger? The puppy? These mental calculations may sound like a lot of work, but they're easier than they seem, especially with practice. Then I choose the appropriate type of reward for the situation.

This is where training and having a good relationship with your dog really shines. Training is the ultimate bonding experience. It teaches both you and your dog to communicate with one another and strengthens that special relationship that exists between a person and their four-legged best friend.

As you spend more quality time with your dog you become intrinsically rewarding to them. Your dog will look to you for guidance and feedback because that is the pattern you've created over the months and years of hard work. If your pup is anything like Cohen, she will enjoy spending time with you and earning your attention because listening to you is both entertaining and fun. And if your pup is not like mine yet you can certainly create this type of relationship if you're dedicated to building it.

This to me is the true payoff for training. All that time spent running drills for off-leash recalls and heeling eventually pay off by teaching both you and your dog how to listen to each other, and more importantly enjoy doing so. My presence is rewarding to my dog just the same way her presence is rewarding to me.

So, let's again look at the question, "How long should I be reinforcing for my dog?" By now I'm sure it's obvious what my answer is. You should plan to always be reinforcing to your dog.

When you first get your unruly puppy it might be tough to win out over all the distractions of the world without waving a piece of tripe in front of your dog's nose. You'll find yourself frustrated and wondering if you'll have to rely on these methods forever. But through being consistent and building up a relationship with your dog (ideally one free of intimidation and physical punishment) you'll find that less and less you'll have to struggle to keep your dog's attention. It's a beautiful day when you realize that your dog is voluntarily giving you her attention because she wants to and enjoys doing so. Building this reaction is a lifelong process and is probably the most worthwhile pursuit in building a relationship with your dog.

Of course, everyone enjoys the occasionally cookie too.

Dog training tip o' the day: Punishment will shut down behaviour but it may not address the underlying cause.

Dog training tip o' the day: Punishment will shut down behaviour but it may not address the underlying cause. 

Imagine you have a pot of water on the stove. The heat is turned on beneath it and gradually the water begins to boil. Then the water begins to boil over. "No problem," you say, "I'll solve the problem of the overflowing water by putting a lid on the pot!" The lid solves the immediate problem of water spilling out of the pot. However the heat underneath is still on and the water continues to boil. You just can't see it. Eventually the water boils over again, more strongly this time. The lid rattles, hot water pours out and you have a mess on your hands from a problem that you thought you'd previously fixed. Turns out you only masked your problem temporarily.

Now, to apply this to dogs, imagine you're walking your pup down the street and she sees another dog approaching. She barks, growls and lunges. You're displeased with this behaviour and don't want it to happen again (so embarrassing!) so you punish your dog by jerking the leash and telling her to knock it off to stop the behaviour. This may get her to snap out of her threat display, but it doesn't address the underlying issue. It doesn't turn the heat off under the pot, it just puts a lid on it. Your dog is likely still anxious (and may in fact be more anxious now since the leash correction and reprimand was pretty unpleasant too). That anxiety is the heat below the pot which is causing the explosive behaviour. 

Amazing Dog Tricks brought to you by Cohen the Australian Shepherd

I made a video! It was originally going to be to mark Cohen's 5th birthday, but I missed that deadline by a couple months. Whoops! But anyways, we had a lot of fun filming this video. It would mean a lot to me if you watched it, and shared it if you were so inclined. Happy clicking!

http://youtu.be/qftdlZngzgo

Unfortunately it's cancer. So here's a photo of a puppy. 

Puppy cancer.

After having lost my mother to cancer 5 years ago the diagnosis is pretty frightening. All told I'm doing well. I'm just relieved to at least finally have a diagnosis. Now we can actually DO something about it. Keep calm and carry on, right?

Life keeps throwing curveballs

This past week has been a bit surreal. My father has been in the hospital since last Tuesday, and it's scaring the crap out of me.

He was ill with what we thought might be bronchitis. He lost his voice two weeks ago. He went to his doctor for some meds on Tuesday, was diagnosed with an elevated heart rate and a mystery lung issue. The heart rate is being medicated, but they've not as of yet diagnosed the lung/throat issue, and they've requested he stay for tests and monitoring. Basically it could be an infection, or it could be cancer. And all the blood cultures taken have come back negative to date... 

So I've been stressed, to say the least. I never thought I'd wish so hard for an infection to be diagnosed.

To keep with the topic of the blog and to cheer myself up a bit, here's a photo of my dad the day we picked Cohen out of the litter.

I always though this photo had a Madonna-esque feel to it. 

Photo Friday

She's hot, but she's happy.

Boarded!

I was out of town for a wedding this weekend, and just about anyone who could have watched Cohen was out of town with me. So we boarded her.

As I've said before (a lot), Cohen is not an easy dog. She's rambunctious, loud, and has a history of guarding food and toys from other dogs. While talking with the woman who was boarding her, I stressed this... a lot. I wanted to make sure that she knew what she was getting in to before she was stuck with my dog while I was out of the city for five days. Better safe than sorry and all that.

Well, it turns out apparently I was worried over nothing.

I got Cohen back this morning. Apparently she did really well. She was fine with all the other dogs, large and small alike. Apparently her barking was under control. And most noteworthy to me, there were no reports of guarding (all food and toys were carefully controlled). The only vague negative was that Cohen could "get a bit silly"... your guess is as good as mine as for what that might mean. All in all, it was a success.

All this gives me hope that Cohen and Chihuahua-Megatron will coexist peacefully when Adrian and I finally move in. Of course this won't completely stop my worrying, but it'll lessen it. At least for a little while.

Diefenbaker

Snow day.

This is Diefenbaker, or Dief (pronounced Deef) for short. He was my family's first dog. We did everything wrong with him because we didn't know any better.

He was another Australian Shepherd. When we first met him we had no idea what an Australian Shepherd was (uhoh). We saw an ad in a local newspaper (ohno) when we were at our cottage near Lakefield, went out to check out the litter from a pair of farm dogs with no health testing (ohmy). As we were driving up for the first time my mother mutters, "Those are the ugliest dogs I've ever seen."

We met the dam and the dam's sister, and the litter. The farmer suggested we take the tiny ball of fur chilling in the back since "he'd be the type of dog your girls could dress up." We came back a few weeks later to bring him home with us.

Cue 12 wonderful (if a bit clueless) years with this really fabulous dog. Despite doing everything so wrong, things turned out pretty right. He never learned how to walk at heel (we never learned how to teach him, more accurately), he would terrorize our cats, and didn't like other dogs in his personal space. But he was relaxed, very even tempered, and A Very Good Dog.

Dief about 5 months old.
My sister around 10. 

He was unusually laid back, especially for an Aussie. I don't think my family could have handled much more. He was also overweight (which I really regret). He was a deep chested dog with a pretty dramatic tuck-up, so again, due to ignorance and him not looking like a sausage, we thought he was just fine. A few days ago I chatted with a neighbour while out with Cohen and the neighbour remarked how fit Cohen was, and chuckled, "not like Dief!" Man, I didn't think he was that chunky. Oh my. Embarrassing.

The week he died was a strange one. He seemed fine one day, and a bit sick the next. Three days (and three vet visits) later he was put down. During those days I hand fed him his meals since he wouldn't touch them on his own. At first we thought it was discomfort from arthritis (apparently the x-rays showed that his hips were in significantly worse condition than we thought), but there ended up being a deeper, more significant issue.

My dad was out of town, and my mom had died a few years prior, so it was just my sister and I in the vet's office when he went. It was a very surreal, very sad experience. He was sweet and compliant up until the end.

The type of dog the girls could dress up.

He really set the stage for Cohen, who luckily hasn't had to suffer through nearly as much of our ignorance. I sometimes forget what it's like to just have a nice family dog (as opposed to a furry ball of energy who feeds off attention like a vampire). It's really all you need. Everything else is just gravy.

Are we having a good time? 

He's been on my mind a lot lately, so I thought I'd share a bit.

The glasses make the man.

It's probably no coincidence that in just about all my favourite photos of Dief he was wearing some sort of article of clothing. He was a funny looking guy.

Dief after an unplanned dip in the lake pre-canoe trip.
Upon showing his prowess in the water we quickly fitted
him with a lifejacket.

Docked

No tail. Not a lot of brains either.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about Cohen's tail, or lack thereof.

The breed standard of the Australian Shepherd calls for either a naturally bobbed tail, or cropped, not to exceed 4 inches in length. These days it's largely customary and aesthetic, but historically it was meant to delineate working dogs from pets (working dogs were not taxed by the government), and to avoid fur getting tangled in brambles and burs.

As well as the dock, Cohen has had her front dewclaws removed (again, as required by the breed standard). It's done mostly to give the front foot a clean appearance, and save the dog from potentially tearing it and injuring itself. (It's not uncommon for dewclaws to be attached rather loosely, and they're prone to injury.)

While I've met many people who are upset that some dogs have their tails docked, I've never been particularly bothered by it. The dogs never seem particularly bothered by it either, and I admit it's nice to not have to worry about a wayward wag clearing off my coffee table.

The dewclaw removal has bothered me more. Cohen has two furless patches where the dewclaws once were, and the lack of fur acting as protection means that she's prone to knocking the area while running. She often has tiny scabs there. I've also read that without a dewclaw offering stability in the foot, the way the body compensates for it can lead to tendon issues down the road. And while dewclaws often seem unused, they become important when a dog is taking tight turns at high speeds. Definitely not ideal in a sporting dog.

Speaking of tight turns, dogs use their tails as ballast while running. I'm concerned that the dock automatically handicaps Cohen in this regard. I'm sure she'll perform just fine, but could it be better? I don't know. If you've watched the agility fun match video I posted yesterday, Cohen makes a faceplant shortly after she was released from the start line, as she was asked to make a tight turn into the chute. Would she have fallen if she were au natural? 

I tried so hard to follow proper Dog Purchase Protocol when I got Cohen. If I had to do it over again, I think I would have to really think about whether I was comfortable docking a potential sport dog. I think Cohen will be successful regardless, and I'm confident she'll live a long happy life. Luckily another sport dog is a long, long way off so I've got plenty of time to think about.

What about you? What are your thoughts on docking? Do you think your opinion would be different if you had (or didn't have) a breed who was customarily docked?

Fun match video

Turns out I lied - I am going to post a video of our run yesterday. As I said, the plethora of rewards serve as pretty severe interruptions to the flow of the course, but we're still in the early stages of it all.

I think once Cohen has a better generalization of contacts and her overall confidence increases her speed will increase significantly. As it stands now, well, I dunno.

Yeah, we do 'gility.

Looking particularly calm in her crate at our fun match.

Unfortunately I don't have any action photos. I have some video of our runs, but since they're instructional, with lots breaks in the action and mistakes they're not particularly interesting to watch.

Today was the second trip out to Daytripper Dog Training. I sign up for their instructional fun matches -- 4 different courses with toys and food allowed in the ring, plus a walkthrough and handling tips by a judge. It's a great way to spend a day out with friends and dogs, and a fabulous learning opportunity.

The courses are designed at roughly the starters level with a few more challenging bits thrown in. It's a great prep for September's potential trial.

Today was filled with a lot more good than bad. Here's a summary:

The Good

• Cohen is working well at a distance from me.
• Her contacts were much (much much) improved from last time (still not perfect, but better).
• Her focus-front is pretty good, with room for improvement.
• I managed to shape/lure her into the pool. She wasn't a big fan, but the water kept her perfectly cool despite the sun's heat.
• Her jump form is nice and tidy. 
• Her teeter was great! She was almost all the way to the other end before the bang, and stuck her contacts like a pro. 
• Between runs she was much less whiny than the last time.
• Her focus on me in the ring walking up to the first jump is adorable -- in a perfect heel, excited and ready to go.
• She is tugging really well around other dogs.
• She greeted other dogs at the trial politely. 
• Peeing on cue is just about the most handy thing I've ever taught her.
• I'm really learning to trust Cohen more. I can simply point her at a line of equipment and have confidence that she'll take each properly.
• Cohen's unusually focused on fetching when we're at Daytripper, and a few good throws are a great way to take her edge off between runs.
• Cohen is a big hit there. People are always complimenting her to me: she's pretty, she's soft, she's fit, she's improving... :)

The Bad

• Cohen got tangled in the chute and misjudged the following jump, tripping over it and knocking it around. Luckily she's pretty resilient (both physically and mentally) and suffered no lasting damage.
• Cohen knocked a bar or two (in addition to the tumble) during the day.
• She seems to be weaker weaving on my right side -- she popped out at the 10th pole a few times, and missed others. 
• Her table seemed unusually rusty. She didn't seem to put a lot of effort into sticking it. Maybe she was feeling some discomfort? I need to remember to decelerate in advance as well.
• I got lost on a few of the courses, and mis-labelled an obstacle or two. (Chute =/= tunnel)

I went up with my friend Kat and her Ridgeback Kiki. Kat's a bit newer to agility than I, but is coming along really well. She's still struggling with contacts and motivation. Sometimes I wonder what it's like to have a dog who actually gets tired.

Both dogs were thoroughly passed out on the ride home, and it's 6p.m. and Cohen is still sleeping. Maybe I won't have to walk her tonight after all.

Oh hey, more not-action photos!

Kiki and Cohen taking a break.

Could you say no to this face?

Photo Friday

Because I am lazy and haven't felt much like typing this week.

Agility fun match on Sunday. Fingers crossed that neither my dog nor I die of hot.

If you look closely, you can see an ant on the top of the stalk. 

Wordless Wednesday

Typical. 

Her mouth is moving. Sound is coming out. This is never a good sign.

Focus, damnit.

I dearly wish this photo was in focus. 

Recallin' like a pro.