I said I would comment on each entry in the series. This time I don’t have anything to say. Jill shares a deeply personal and touching story – for me to try to add to it would be superfluous.
What Do You Want?
August 10, 2009 By
This weekend I took Buddha to an outdoor event. I wasn’t going there to work or anything — just to wander around. Buddha’s my best dog for that. He loves people and tends to not react to other dogs unless I tell him he is allowed to say hello.
There were quite a few people at the event with their dogs. One of the side effects of spending a lot of time coaching people on handling their dogs is that the running commentary in your head never stops. (I have to wonder – do orthodontists walk around parties looking at teeth? Do housepainters silently critique their friend’s living rooms?) Usually I can squelch this commentary down but sometimes well, I end up composing an entire blog post justing watching one person.
I saw a man with a beautiful example of a “macho” breed of dog. He (the dog) was a large intact male and was prominently wearing a prong collar. The man was holding the leash taut and had it wrapped around his hand, leaving the dog just about enough slack to comfortably stand at his side. As we walked by the dog looked at Buddha. The man immediately jerked the leash and said “NO! STOP!”
I kept walking, mentally shaking my head and thinking “Well, at least he didn’t make that idiotic tsst noise.”
A few minutes later I stopped and got myself and Buddha something to drink. An acquaintance came by and we chatted for a few minutes. I told Buddha to lie down. I noticed the man seated in a nearby booth with his dog standing immediately next to him on that short, tight leash. Every few minutes the dog would get a correction – a leash jerk and a “NO!”
My biggest problem with what I saw is this: at no point did I see or hear the man tell the poor dog what to do. It was all what not to do…although I’d wager the dog was baffled as to what the man wanted from him.
Meanwhile note what I said did: I told Buddha to lie down. I made it perfectly clear what I wanted, and had he gotten up I would have immediately told him to lie down again. The man and I both (seemingly) had the same goal — for our dogs to remain quiet at our sides for a few minutes — but one of us was frustrated and scolding our dog while the other was having a conversation.
How many times have you thought “I wish my dog would stop…?” Do yourselves both a favor: reverse your approach. Start thinking about what you
The Puppy Diaries: Part 3
August 6, 2009 By
Great news in Puppy Diaries this week!
The Abramsons hired a trainer and have signed up Scout for puppy kindergarten – with a trainer that I am privileged to call a friend and colleague.
Diane Abbott is the real deal. She is a fantastic trainer with an absolutely wonderful manner with both people and dogs, which Jill Abramson more or less describes in the article. Diane and I attended ITCtogether and I was lucky enough to share Jack (pictured below) with her during the Level I course.
[singlepic id=9 w=320 h=240 float=left]
This week’s entry is fantastic, packed with great advice for biting, chewing, diet and barking. I especially like this quote: “Concentrate on what we want,” Diane urged. “Don’t give attention to what we don’t like.”
I’m really looking forward to next week’s entry!
A Very Sad Story
August 5, 2009 By
I find the story of how Cotton, a dog belonging to Diane R. Krieger, ended up being “disarmed” very sad and a little bit disturbing.
Cotton displays aggressive behavior toward people. The present tense is very deliberate: even by the Krieger’s own admission, Cotton still bites people. He even bit the photographer while the pictures were taken for this story.
Maiming a dog (yeah, I said it) is not a solution.
I’m not going to critique the article point by point, as it would be a bit tedious. For example the article opens with “Not even Cesar Millan‘s ‘idiot-simple’ method could ease Cotton’s biting problem…’” Cesar Millan methods are “idiot simple?” Then why does the show open with, and return from every break with a disclaimer?
The article goes downhill from there. Cotton has a bite history, but he runs free contained only by an invisible fence – dooming unexpected guests. He managed to slip a leash when the photographer came as “the restraint has yet to be invented that Cotton couldn’t wriggle out of.” More likely the restraint has yet to be made that Ms. Krieger can be bothered to correctly fit to her dog.
Reading the article I can’t help but think that the family didn’t really stick with any one method for any length of time, bouncing from “miracle fix” to “miracle fix.” Of course, given that the most popular dog training show is consistently showing dogs miraculously “rehabilitated,” it’s not really surprising is it?
So when a veterinary dentist says he has a “miracle fix” (Krieger’s words, not mine) it’s not a surprise that Cotton was subjected to it.
Please consider these two quotes:
For all the technology, Nielsen says the most profound effect of canine disarming is psychological. “You can see it in their eyes almost the moment they wake up from the anesthesia,” he says. “It’s like they’re wondering, ‘who took away my knives?’ ” An epiphany that humbles and subdues them for all time.
And then Krieger goes on to discuss an amusing (if you’re not the one who just lost part of your teeth) comparison to the Bumble in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Later:
As for Cotton, he seems to be in denial. When he gets the opportunity, he still pounces at any man who ventures onto our property. A few days after the disarming, our gardener Guadalupe Davila obligingly offered his booted foot for Cotton’s delectation. After 30 seconds of ferocious gnawing, Cotton had only succeeded in lightly scoring the thick leather.
Another miracle cure bites the dust. Along with part of Cotton’s teeth.
The Puppy Diaries on New York Times
August 3, 2009 By
The New York Times started publishing a new series called “The Puppy Diaries” a couple of weeks ago. It’s a well-written series, intended to be more entertaining than educational. Over the next year Jill Abramson will be telling us the story of Scout, the Golden Retriever puppy she recently brought home.
Golden Puppies on Bench
Taking the Plunge With a New Dog sets the scene for what looks to be a fun series. Jill mentions some training books and a certain TV show that I am not too fond of, but it’s clear that she loves dogs, misses her previous dog dearly, and is doing her best to do the right thing. Jill discusses how they acquired Scout from a breeder – the “right” way if one decides to go with a purebred dog – and tells us how they chose the name based on the character in To Kill a Mockingbird. As someone with dogs named “Caffeine,” based on her energy level, and “Buddha” because I think he really does have that nature, I really appreciate Scout’s name quite a bit.
In “Chewing Toward Bethelehem,” the second entry in the series, Jill Abramson recounts the problems she is experiencing with chewing. Scout is chewing everything she can get her mouth on. For anyone who has raised a puppy, this is about as surprising as wet on water.
Jill spends quite a bit of time discussing how she manages Scout’s chewing by keeping an eye on her and putting the items she doesn’t want chewed out of reach. This is great! Management is the first step, and if Scout never has a chance to chew on undesirable items now, it greatly increases the likelihood that she won’t develop the habit later in life when she doesn’t have an unbearable desire to chew everything in sight. However, there is no mention of addressing Scout’s energy level. While puppies chew as their teeth develop, they also chew to burn off energy. Some extra exercise can go a long way. The Abramson’s may very well be addressing this, we just don’t know. (The wonderful photos on Flickr seem to indicate that Scout is getting around though.)
This episode also briefly touches on food, which can be a very thorny topic with puppies. Scout is showing interest in people and has gotten a little demanding about it. I can’t say that I agree with Henry’s theory on Scout “recognizing” the whipped cream on top of a bowl of strawberries as the yogurt that is placed on her food, but I do like the family has chosen a path and is working together to stick with it.
More next week. I am looking forward to it. What do you think of the series? Let me know in the comments.
