Crossover training

Sounds like some cool thing you might train your dog for, like, "Hey, my dog does crossover!" Sadly, it’s a state that many dogs and owners (and even trainers) find themselves in as they discover the wonders of positive reinforcement training. For those of us who started our lives and dogs with coercion based techniques, ie choke chains, leash pops, forcing the dog into a sit or down position etc, trying to figure out how to get an unruly or over excited dog to do anything nicely using rewards is, frankly, counter-intuitive.

Working with Caramel has helped me immensely as I used as little of my previous (coercion-based) knowledge as possible and now have a very clicker-savvy dog who is an active participant in training every day. She helps to remind me that Indy really needs a lot more patience and love while he figures out this new way of life. His typical response to the appearance of the clicker is "sit" then "sit harder" followed by "lie down" finished with demand barking because I still haven't given him that darned click. He knows sitting is good and down is good but other things have gotten him in trouble in the past so he's wary to try anything new. I have good news though, he's starting to figure out the target stick and he did learn to bark on cue so I remain hopeful that with a few more created behaviors he will truly begin to participate in the learning process.

Have a crossover dog? Experiences as a crossover owner or trainer? We'd love to hear your stories and how you have overcome some of the challenges you faced.

Gardening for dogs

May Long Weekend is past, our snow from said long weekend is now gone as well. This made me think of all the gardeners out there itching to get some plants growing for the fall harvest. For those who planted already hope the ones you put in before the snow are all okay.

For those of you who love to grow but run out of people to feed, don't forget the dogs! Granted some dogs might be less than enthralled that you grew them some veggies (mine come to mind here) but others might be thrilled. For those of you feeding raw or home cooked foods this is a good way to stock up on veggies to save yourselves a few buck in the winter when veggies are expensive, long distance travelers.

So what veggies should you be growing for these canines? Here are a few choices that I would opt for myself but this list is anything less than exhaustive.

Pumpkins - yes and lots of them, its great for loose bowels brought on by any number of things dogs might get into.

Zucchini - a great and productive plant and a nice fibre-y veg to add to a mix.

Carrots - many dogs like these as treats - Caramel says they're crazy.

Lettuce - any type will do, less so the iceberg variety and I might avoid the salad mixes as some of the more bitter and pungent greens could make for a reluctant pooch.

Beets - not so much beets for the dog but beet greens are great, if you don't take them all for yourself, but c'mon, you've already got the beets for you, give a little something to the canine!

That was just a small list of possible options - now a few caveats - do not, under any circumstances, feed onions to your dog. Also keep in mind that some veggies are better for them lightly cooked, eg steamed beet greens. It doesn't need to be much but it will help them digest some of the fibre and breaks down some of the anti-nutrients in the plant material.

Any questions about specific vegetables you might want to try just send us a message!

In bed with the Devil

Recently one of the biggest players in the natural pet food market, Natura, was bought out by Proctor and Gamble, one of the biggest players in, well, pretty much every market. My initial response was to treat this as catastrophic news, fearing an inevitable cheapening of ingredients and the loss of several of the most popular brands in natural pet food including Innova, EVO and California Natural as well as Mother Nature dog cookies. So why did this happen and what are the possible ramifications of this deal?

To start, Natura pet products has been a leader in product quality and innovation, they started the grain free "revolution" with their EVO line of dog and cat foods. In the midst of the major recalls in 2007 they were one of few companies who could say they were unaffected by the tainted products. For several years they have had phenomenal market growth but recently that has slowed. The official reason for this deal is to bring natural pet products to a wider audience, thereby increasing the overall health of all pets, everywhere. P & G as a company can facilitate this because they have the market share and the resources to fund and pursue it.

The problem is that P&G is not well known for placing quality first. One of the reasons they are a huge player is that the bottom line has priority. How do they plan on bringing Natura products to a wider audience at a better price and maintain its current level of quality? I don't know, maybe they hired out Santa's elves? Seriously though, economies of scale are great but they don't run infinitesimally. At some point, something is going to give and considering Iams and Eukaneuba are P&G brands my bet is on ingredient quality. I know I will be watching for any news on changes to the formulas or changes in ingredient sources, you know, like stuff from China.

It’s a doozy of a situation and future is unknown, all we lowly pet food consumers can do is hope the overall good of reaching a greater market outweighs the possible future of decreased product quality. Remember, you can always express your opinion of this deal with your dollars and choose to continue buying Natura (P&G) products or switch to similar products made by smaller companies whose reputation you trust.

Beyond The Bag

What about this homemade pet food? Or raw? There's BARF and RMB's and ground and supplements and so much more but how do we know we're doing what's right?

Bottom line: do what works for your pet.

In my case, Indy hates kibble in all its incarnations so for him, raw food works. For my cats, they love kibble but it makes them fat and the litter box is ever so full and frightening (and stinky! Oh the stench...) if they have it. Raw really works wonders for them. Pfeiffer, or phatty pants as she is affectionately known, grew to immense proportions when she was the store cat by ripping open bags of kibble and helping herself. She has since become a housecat (terrorist with claws) forced to eat raw for lack of dry goods. While she has never been able to lose the weight brought on by her early years of indulgences she now has a beautiful coat where before she had what appeared to be greasy, almost slimy fur. Works for her.

The other side of the equation is Caramel. Hated kibble as a pup, I finally gave in around 6 months and let her eat raw which appeared to work for her for quite some time. Eight months or so ago I switched her and Indy to a less expensive brand for strictly economic reasons and dropped the variety in her diet to next to nothing. She and Indy previously ate a huge selection of commercially prepared raw foods but the cost was to much at the time. About 3 months ago I noticed that she had developed baldness in front of her ears and that in spite of omega-3 supplementation she was shedding an astronomical amount of fur. It's amazing how much hair a 33lb dog can produce! Turns out my "discount" brand didn't use whole chickens in their mix, instead it was ground chicken backs. This meant I was using mostly bone and skin and not much meat for sustaining my girl creating a huge mineral imbalance leading to a copper and zinc deficiency. She was tired, balding and grumpy. Now I have a homecooked recipe formulated by a canine nutrition expert designed to replenish her depleted stores of copper and zinc and detoxify her organ systems after the damage caused by an unbalanced diet. Two weeks in and her coat is softer, no hair regrowth yet but I remain hopeful that it will come in time.

Learning experience, I couldn't screw around with Caramel, she's got a more sensitive internal balance than Indy but I am taking this as a precaution and reanalyzing what I feed him to prevent possible issues for him in the future too. Know your dog or cat, and if something seems out of the ordinary it might be, so do yourselves a favor and check it out.

Management in Dog Training

10:27 AM

Humans, on the whole, are funny creatures. There is a huge industry built simply on child proofing the home for their own protection and yet people expect their infant dogs to "know better" than to get into the garbage, the cupboards or god forbid, the shoes. Puppies are naturally curious creatures and trouble is a common by-product of that curious state, so why punish when you can prevent?

Tips for preventing puppy mischief:

1: Use your eyeballs: Keep both eyes focused on pup when he's loose. The only way to keep him out of trouble is to keep him occupied. Play, training or cuddling are acceptable. Watching tv, doing the dishes, cooking or anything where your attention is elsewhere is not enough. World of Warcraft is a big no-no, don't be surprised if your pup jumps on your bed and uses it as his bathroom because you haven't taken him out when he asked. If you will be distracted use tips 2-4 to ensure your house is safe.

2: Use a crate - for short term confinement only! A good rule of thumb for puppies 8 months and younger is no more than 1 hour in the crate per month of age. The bladder and bowels just can't handle more than that and you will be facing a very messy crate and puppy when you get home. If you must be gone for extended periods set up a long term confinement area (see #3). In the crate give your pup something to do, a chew toy or other delicious attention keeper so she doesn't fuss for lack of attention from you.

3: Long term confinement area: Use an x-pen or small, puppy proofed (nothing chewable in reach) room add an open crate and several accepted chew treats or toys. Create an acceptable bathroom area using paper or puppy pads so that accidents are contained and not on any actual flooring materials. This will help you move the potty area outside completely as pup grows up. This space is especially important for dogs left home alone during the workday or when you really can't keep even half an eye on your pooch while home.

4: Tether - You can attach your dog to yourself or any immovable object in a safe area (chew proofed again) and give pup something to do. Chew treats and toys again are great, make sure you are watching for any potty behaviors so you get pup outside before an accident occurs.

5: Exercise - A tired dog does not get into trouble, they sleep instead. So play with your dog, train lots (learning burns tons of energy), take your dog for a long run or walk, go easy if this is a puppy as too much exercise of this sort can lead to joint problems down the road. Don't forget puppy puzzles, chew toys stuffed with your dogs food means every meal lasts a lot longer and keeps your dog entertained, and out of trouble!

6: Prevent Access - In all cases, where possible, prevent access to potential problems. Keep the garbage safely out of reach, keep shoes in a closet, have rooms with chewable furniture? Baby gates, they're not just for babies. I speak from experience here, Caramel will eat any shoe she gets access too, my slippers are favorite tug toys between herself and Indy. It was not a huge deal as long as she destroyed shoes that I didn't wear due to discomfort issues. Then she ate the left half of my very favorite pair of gorgeous stiletto heels, it's the only time I considered shipping her out of my house because next to dogs good shoes are my biggest love. In any case, all my shoes now reside on the top shelf of my closet, and you know what? Caramel hasn't eaten another one.

Management is key, if your pup can't find trouble, then he can't make the mistakes and will learn what IS good and acceptable based on what he is given.