Weekend Update November 7, 2009

November 6, 2009 By

iStock_000005743302XSmallIn order to make up for the crushing burden of a Yankee win in the World Series, this is an update filled with uplifting videos!

The new 101 Dalmatians Musical is using rescue dogs for their production!

What a wonderful outcome for these great dogs!

Daryn Kagan has a great story about Tony LaRussa, who seems to be a great guy (especially for someone associated with the Oakland A’s…)

Daryn Kagan brings us another story, in which Wily Coyote shows us how he survived all of those accidents in the cartoons:

Finally, if you are in Northern New Jersey, keep the drop in classes in Franklin Lakes in mind. We have 5 weeks left, and would love to see you!

How can I stop my dog from being afraid of being touched?

October 26, 2009 By

iStock_000010179099XSmallDo you have a hard time picking up your dog or touching his collar? Does he run away to evade your hands? Is putting on your dog’s leash a major undertaking?

Many dogs are afraid of hands near their face and/or afraid of having their collars grabbed. Being afraid of hands is often assumed to be a sign of abuse when in fact it is not. This problem can be caused by a lack of sufficient handling as a puppy, by a sensitive temperament, or as a result of just one bad experience.

Being afraid of hands and being picked up is especially common with smaller dogs. Human hands can seem huge to a small dog and almost always come from above, where they look even more intimidating.

Fortunately, this problem can be addressed with some very simple desensitization. We use a combination of treats and gradual touch around the head, face, and collar to change our dog’s opinion about being touched.

Get a generous amount of a very desirable treat. Feed your dog while very gradually moving your hands toward your dog’s head from the side or underneath, not from above or the front. Over time (this may take many sessions) you should be able to touch your dog and gently grab the collar.

When you can gently grab the collar, starting using the “gotcha” cue. Rather than making it a game of chase, you are making offering the collar (in return for a reward) a behavior, just like “sit” or “down.”

Keep sessions short and fun. It’s much better to have a few one or two minute sessions a day that one marathon session.

Here is a video.

(Neither of the dogs in the video have a problem with their collars being grabbed. Unfortunately the two dogs I am working on this problem with right now are also afraid of cameras. )

Weekend Update October 24, 2009

October 24, 2009 By

This week we had a graduation! Our first class at the Franklin Lakes VFW finished a fun six week basic course. Here are the graduation photos!

This week Daryn Kagan posted this wonderful video on her site about Baxter, a 19 year old therapy dog that is still helping people. It brought a tear to my eye.

On a related note, Senator Al Franken’s bill for service dogs for wounded veteran’s is one step closer to being a law!

In the “this is surprising?” department, many people say they would attempt CPR on their dogs. Duh. Here’s a video on how!

Last, check out this week’s post on Dog Star Daily for some information on the evolution of the domestic dog.

Have a great weekend!

Weekend Update October 17, 2009

October 16, 2009 By

It looks to be a dreary weekend for us here in the NYC metro area. It stopped raining Friday afternoon, but the forecast for Saturday and Sunday calls for a 70% chance of “ick” with a possibility of “ew” and “yuck.”
black_lab_grin
Have you ever heard of black dog syndrome? I first heard of it years ago when a transport driver that brought dogs to the rescue I was volunteering remarked on how good a job we did adopting out the block dogs we were sent. It’s interesting to see it discussed in the news.

Meanwhile, despite the predictions of economic recovery in news by rich people for richer people, shelters are still struggling with overpopulation. I hope the recovery, when it really does happen, happens for everyone.

In happier news, Science Now has news of a fascinating study about how birds appear to perceive physics, and how it compares to infants. Apparently when shown an image of an “impossible” situation, such as a ball floating in midair, the birds stared at the image longer than a “normal” one. Cool! I love reading about things like this.

In Folsom, a baby kangaroo has found a new lease on life. A very cute story with an adorable picture!

Last, I couldn’t find video on the current Kangaroo story, but here’s one from earlier in the year to satisfy your cute baby kangaroo fix:



This Way! – Avoiding Trouble on Leash

October 12, 2009 By

You’re walking with your dog and you spot something ahead that you do not want to pass or meet. Maybe it’s another dog that looks like trouble. What will you do?

“This way!” is a cue that tells your dog to immediately turn around and follow you. It is trained by practicing this move with a treat as a lure. The key is to use the treat to teach your dog to walk in a small circle around you, rather than letting the leash get tight and pull him. This brief video shows me practicing it, including a mistake in the beginning where I let the leash get too tight.




Rocky is having a really hard time with the slippery floor, so I cut the session short.

Start working on this behavior in a low distraction environment and then take it on the road. Whenever you start working in a more distracting area, use treats and then fade them away after your dog becomes proficient.

“This way” is a very simple technique that can help you get out of trouble quickly. It also had the added bonus of redirecting your dog’s attention to you, keeping his mind off of the distraction.

Have fun!

Weekend Update October 10, 2009

October 9, 2009 By

boxer_newspaperSaturday comes a day early this week, at least here on Dog Spelled Forward. I’m a little behind on editing video for tutorials, so I am posting this today.

First up is a wonderful article from the NY Times this week about the huge impact companion animals can have on people with special needs. It’s a great story.

Next we have a dog that can read. Allegedly. I think the fact that she offered “bang” when the “wave” sign came out says something, but I am a hopeless skeptic.

Here’s an absolutely insanely fast Labrador Retriever that is having the time of her life:




Special thanks to the Pet Connection blog for sharing that.

Over on Dog Star Daily I posted Six Ways to Change Your Dog’s Behavior Now and the post generated some interesting comments.

And keep in mind, the Blog Carnivals are here all month!

Weekend Update October 3, 2009 (with Puppy Diaries update)

October 3, 2009 By

kidsdogpaperIf you are following me on twitter, you may have seen that I have been dealing with a family emergency and my online time has been curtailed. This should return to mostly normal next week, but I may have to cut down to one or two posts here and one a month on Dog Star Daily. Since this week was cut short, this is a combination Puppy Diaries and Weekend Update.

This week that New York Times has a very entertaining three part series about traveling New York City with a dog. What a great resource the Times has become for pet owners!

Somehow last week I missed an entry in the Puppy Diaries! A guest author contributed a very touching story about moving to New York City and the tough decision she had to make about her dog.

Greg Louganis has starting competing in agility! USA Today has a nice interview with him.

An interestingly-named dog has won a photo contest. Was the fix in? :-)

And last, I leave you with this wonderful story:




Weekend Update – September 26, 2009

September 26, 2009 By

Happy weekend everyone! Here’s a couple of headlines from the past week in dog.

Daryn Kagan shared this great video of dogs surfing!

The New York Times published a heartbreaking story about people being forced to surrender their dogs because of new rules in public housing.

The AKC has announced their list of the most heroic dogs of the year.

It’s probably too late to sign up, but there is a fundraising walk for animals that have lost their homes due to foreclosure in New York City this weekend.

And this week in Dog Spelled Forward:

Two of my posts the past two week, my dog keeps taking stuff” and “my dog won’t come when called” are still getting a lot of hits. Take a look at them both if you haven’t seen them yet.

Also “five ways to stop your dog from jumping up” is the most popular post so far.

My post on Dog Star Daily this week How Dominance Can Make You Dumb started a few interesting conversations this week too.

Have a great weekend!

My Dog Keeps Taking Stuff!

September 25, 2009 By

Puppy playing with PhoneIt seems like your dog is always stealing something. Your dog steals your shoes. Your dog steals your socks. Your dog steals your remote control. Your steals your Crocs. (Sorry. I’m a Dr. Seuss fan.)

Stealing things can be very rewarding for a dog. Most dogs love to put anything and everything in their mouths. Many dogs also love to chase and be chased, and nothing gets that started quite like stealing an iPhone or half of a pair of Uggs!

We train two behaviors to help with dogs stealing things. “Give” or “Release” is for getting your dog to drop something. “Leave it” is for getting him to not pick it up in the first place.

We train “Leave it” by training a dog to avoid things. Avoiding means not even looking at an item, let alone trying to take it. The complete behavior is “turn away from what you are currently looking at and look at me”

Training starts with treats and is then generalized to other things. When fully mastered you can tell your dog to leave anything, including other dogs and people

This video shows the initial training:

You can see three steps with Jewels, an exceptionally smart puppy:

  1. Marking and rewarding not lunging at or trying to taking a treat from my closed hand
  2. Then my open hand.
  3. Finally from the floor.

The initial training really does take only a few minutes (the edits are because of a shaky camera, not time), and you do want to try to get the “leave it treat” to the floor very quickly. It was very fast with Jewels, but most dogs shouldn’t take more than 3 or 4 minutes.

Each time Jewels stops trying to get the treat (she does a great sit or down when she does – not all dogs do that) I mark the moment with “Yes!”

During the “open hand” part, timing with the “Yes” is critical. Your dog may only stop trying to get the treat for an instant and a “Yes” during that moment really helps convey what you are trying to teach her.

After you gain a high level of proficiency on the floor, the next step is to delay the “Yes” until you get solid eye contact from your dog. From there, you can start to practice on other items, first inside and then outside in the presence of distractions.

Look here more training tips and tutorials. Click here if you are interested in home or group class training.

Help! My Dog is Crazy! Part 2: Play

September 21, 2009 By

Funny catchingIs your dog crazy? Is your dog making you crazy? Are you getting nipped? Jumped on? Are you seeing destructive chewing? Chances are at least part of your problem is excess energy.

Play is a wonderful tool for burning off some of that energy. Done right, play requires your dog to think and gives him a chance to exercise some of his built-in behaviors such as fetching, tracking and tugging. This is much more effective than a walk. Walks are not bad, and a chance to check out new or at least different places is good for your dog, but they are rarely enough exercise. Mixing in some play can do wonders to “take the edge off.”

I put together a video of some play with my three dogs. It’s on the long side, but I think it’s worth watching all the way through. Watch for:

  • My throws are high and usually in the bushes. The extra work of finding the ball is part of the game!
  • I mix in some obedience, but I’m trying to have fun too and cut them some slack.
  • Each dog is different. I adjust the play to their style and their level.




Buddha wants to be chased and would rather drop the ball in front of me. (A year ago he wouldn’t play with a ball…we’re getting there.) Gage can’t run too much because of his arthritis and thinks that me walking circles around him is the best game in the world. Caffeine wants to do everything (at once if possible.)

Look here more training tips and tutorials. Click here if you are interested in home or group class training.