Fight or play?

Yesterday’s photo asked the question, ‘Is this a photo of aggression or play?’ If you guessed that this was a trick question then you guessed correctly!

Each dog has a unique style of play. My dog, a 5-year-old Border Collie/Australian Cattle dog mix, plays like herding dogs tend to do. She likes games involving chasing and herding behaviors, but she doesn’t like to be touched or controlled. Herding breeds (or mixes) like to be the controllers and don’t feel comfortable when things get out of their control. All dogs have a natural instinct of ‘fight or flight’ and will respond to that over any typical breed behavior.

My dog is fast on her feet but Rooney is faster! That’s because Rooney is a young Scottish Deerhound. Deerhounds were originally bred to take down stags (sometimes weighing 350 pounds or more) by chasing, grabbing and forcing them to the ground, where their necks were often broken. Rooney is less than two-years-old, and like many young dogs, his conduct is considered “rude” by older dogs. If you look closely at the picture, you will see that he appears to be biting Charlee near her vulnerable kidney area. Had this been a real attack, my dog would have been seriously or even possibly fatally wounded. Most dogs will automatically protect these vulnerable spots. When you factor in Rooney’s size and lightning speed, it’s easy to see why any dog would be afraid if they believed they had no escape. Dogs do not appreciate being treated like prey (even in play). This situation could easily have escalated into a full blown dog fight if their humans had not intervened - which is just what we did.

Rooney is a very large, strong, adolescent dog who would benefit from an education in manners from a “seasoned bitch”- an older dog to show him the ropes of proper dog interaction. But he hasn’t met his match yet. His size allows him to easily out-maneuver other dogs and this factor also contributes to his overall bad manners. He does take direction well from his owners and they are working on teaching him to be less intrusive with other dogs, coupled with lots of timeouts for engaging in overly rough play and continued playtime for exhibiting good behavior.

So what does all this mean for you and your dog? You will find that dogs who play in similar ways will generally get along better together. It’s in their play interactions that a dog’s intrinsic behaviors will become evident. Dogs have huge issues regarding “personal space”. Young dogs often invade this space, which can lead to aggression displays by the dog whose space they’ve blundered into. If my dog was “a seasoned bitch”, she would have let Rooney have it. But she isn’t so they have formed a hot and cold relationship in which Charlee tolerates him, but is often annoyed when he acts out. This is where humans must intervene. If you are the owner of a rude dog, then you must step in and appropriately correct your dog for his (mis)behavior. If your dog doesn’t respond well to ‘rude’ dogs, is elderly or physically unable to be part of rough play then DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO INTERACT. In our situation, the dogs came together as the result of their humans’ friendship (though maybe not after Rooney’s owner reads this!) and they are together on a regular basis. We are working on modifying Rooney’s play style by not allowing him to engage in rude behavior. Some human friendships suffer because their dogs can’t get along, but it’s unfair to subject your dog to encounters in which they are antagonized and uncomfortable.

Our dogs learn continuously, so don’t allow them to practice behaviors you don’t want them to repeat, or they will continue to do so. If Charlee could talk, I think she would tell me that she thinks Rooney is alright, but she doesn’t like it when he’s rude. I think she is grateful that we stopped him before things got out of hand. How do I know this? Because she runs back to me if she can’t calm him down and “asks” me to step between them for her. They both appreciate the intervention. Like children, dogs need time to chill out and regroup. And Rooney, like all young dogs (and most people!) is still learning self-control and how to live in our world.

Charlee chooses flight into the water

Charlee comes to me for protection

What do you think is happening in this photo taken today at the East End Beach?
Tune in tomorrow to find out.

Here is an excellent resource located on the Natura Pet web site.You can research individual ingredients of up to 4 different dog or cat food brands at a time by clicking on individual ingredients. I found the supermarket market brands of pet food especially interesting.
There is a huge correlation between what we feed our pets and how healthy , active and predisposed to learning they are. If your dog is experiencing food allergies, check out this excellent resource.
Think before you feed!

Brody

A friend, her twins and myself along with my three kids, crammed car seats into my minivan and took a ride to Pumpkin Hill Sugarhouse in Gorham along with some very cooperative weather. We chose this sugarhouse because of the resident Saint Bernards who are sometimes called upon to pull the maple sugar sleigh. Both Brody and Snickers are rescue dogs from Saint Bernard Rescue. There is a group of dedicated breed rescuers for just about any breed your heart may desire. Rare breeds may take some time to acquire, but with patience just about anything is possible.

How can you visit with Saint Bernards and not think of the movie Beethoven. Of course any time movies feature dogs, the demand for the “breed flavor of the month” increases, and it is usually not a good thing for the breed at all. Unsavory types start breeding and weaken gene pools, and people always manage to get in way over their heads despite the best efforts of press and public relations who try to dissuade folks. Many dogs are dumped after the puppy breath fades, and the kids find a new favorite movie.
Movies such as: Beethoven (Saint Bernards), 101 and 102 Dalmatians, Babe (Border Collies), and Lassie (Collies) have never done a breed good. Even our president's choice of dogs affect dog and puppy sales, and in turn owner surrenders.

One of my all time favorite movie lines is spoken by Charles Grodin (the Dad) in Beethoven, when his family is trying very hard to convince him to keep the puppy they found.
He says:

"We’re people people. We’re gold fish people, we’re ant farm people.
We’re not dog people!"
St. Bernards are lovely dogs with sweet temperaments, but oy! the hair, the drool and the dirt.
And the moral of this blog:
If you see a dog in a movie or on TV, do not get one just like it!
The dogs of Pumpkin Hill are well loved and owned by true St Bernard lovers. Meeting them, petting them and watching them lazily soaking up the early spring sun would make anyone fall in love and want one, but if you are thinking of adding a dog to your family please do your research people!

We left with a jug of syrup-a birthday present for my husband from the kids. It will be hard for the rest of us to leave it alone!

Kids check where sap comes from

Can't tell from the picture, but we were STILL sinking into a foot of snow. I have bruises from the ice crust on my legs.

It has been a week of odd patterns. You know how some days you hear a song you haven’t heard in years suddenly played three or four times in the same day? That’s the kind of week I’ve had.

Monday - One for the record book filled with phone calls and dog obedience class sign-ups. It seems like everyone suddenly wants to sign up for training N-O-W! They’ve had my flyer for weeks… It makes me wonder though why they choose to call this particular day and not last month when they picked up the flyer. The dogs in my current graduating class seem a bit “high” but manage to settle down and do well for their final night.

Tuesday - More of the same. I am starting to think the full moon is to blame. Several pregnant women contact me regarding housebreaking issues occurring with their older dogs.

Wednesday – Clients seem unusually agitated and the call volume is up again. But today I don’t have time to return all of their calls and emails because I am on triage duty. That means that blood and gore get my first response, and there are only so many hours in the day.

Thursday – I spoke with four people who plan on getting pups sometime in the future (but not yet). What is up with that? One of the pups isn’t even expected until the fall due to a miscarriage.

Friday – The moon is full tonight. The Northern Native American tribes called this a ‘Crow’ moon and the Farmer’s Almanac refers to it as a ‘Worm’ moon - it’s supposed to signal the arrival of spring. Could everyone’s dogs just be experiencing a bad case of spring fever? Too early to tell; maybe I’ll have to start keeping a “moon” log? Purely for my own reference, I have begun keeping a log to record calls, emails, the reason(s) for them and their relative levels of anxiety.

For quite a while I have been noticing that the days preceding a full moon have been unusually “busy” for me. Today I am wondering if the way in which we humans act under the moon’s influence doesn’t contribute to our dogs’ behavior as well.

Wonder if I could convince someone to fund a grant so I can further study this phenomena? A couple of million should do the trick. It seems like there’s lots of funding for research about things we already know.

This story, written by well-known author, Jon Katz, has been circulating for awhile and has been sent to me many times for my opinion. As a member of a legitimate rescue organization, was I part of it? Do I know any of the people mentioned? What do I think about their actions? Inquiring minds want to know...

It is a story about the misguided intentions of some that can hurt the dedicated efforts of many other hardworking animal protectors.

Here is the gist of the story. A Florida animal lover and avid rescuer spotted ‘Fly’, a Border Collie, looking miserable and left tied to a tree. This person changed her route to work so she could check on the dog and observed after several weeks that the dog remained so. She spoke with a neighbor and was told that the dog hadn’t worked out as a herding dog (translation - the farmer didn’t train the puppy). Now grown, the dog was neglected and consigned to spending her days tied to a tree. The story then details how this woman snatched the dog and set the wheels in motion to transport it to New York state with a variety of help along the way.

What? Wait!! Hello???

Why did this woman bypass all the reasonable first steps and move right to “stealing” Fly? Could she be the only dog in the world that has been left tied outside? No! Did she know what the farmer’s motivation for doing so was? Was the neighbor’s story the real truth? How do we know that some little girl or boy did not love this dog with all their heart and in turn have it broken when the dog was taken? How should this situation have been handled?

Step A - Drive by at different times of the day.

Step B - Speak with several neighbors for a consensus of opinion.

Step C - Ask the farmer if he’s willing to relinquish the dog, and if not,

Step D - Offer money to “buy” the dog from him.

Step E - Request that the local animal control investigate whether the dog is indeed neglected and left out 24/7

Step F – Get a local rescue group involved in the situation.

What a waste of time, effort and resources! What a black mark on the rest of the rescue community! And for the record, I don’t personally know who stole the dog nor is she associated with any legitimate and reputable Border Collie rescue group I know. I don’t know of any rescue group that steals dogs. I am shocked that a well-known writer would reveal their new dog has been stolen and transported across state lines. I am also a bit hurt that we (rescuers) have been portrayed as emotionally needy women. I don’t fulfill my emotional needs snatching out-of-state dogs!

Epilogue: I contacted Mr Katz personally and he assures me that the dog was in bad shape when she arrived, requiring extensive physical and mental recouperation. He also told me that he contacted and mailed the farmer a check (for the ultimate ‘purchase’ of his dog). I have no reason to doubt he did so.

The first day of the spring at the Smith house did not evolve into the day I had envisioned all week. To usher in my favorite season I had planned a trip to Higgins Beach. However we wound up comemmorating the day performing a spring cleaning marathon.

My first inkling that the day would not be a 'day at the beach' occurred when my husband woke up, went to our 12-year-old son’s room and removed the mattress from his bed. Oh my!!! So that's the black hole into which all of our underwear, socks, hats gloves, miscellaneous shoes and things we had been searching for since last summer had fallen. Added to the assorted mix were plastic wrappers and leftover bits of food and...well, it was as good a day as any to clean up.

Isn't there always a reason not to clean? Three kids, a husband who travels for work, my job, dog walks…“Hi, my name is Nancy and I am domestically challenged.”

I did allow myself to observe the occasion though with one blissful half-cup of coffee in front of my home - my own private spot in Maine where signs of spring abound. I sat barefoot on the porch soaking up the spring sun and listening to the birds and the snow melt (really!). Within view were my budding tulips, daffodils, seedlings, geraniums and emerging green grass beneath the overhang of the house's southern side. Of course it wasn’t long before the 'cleaning crew' came looking for me and my getaway was foiled...but it was nice while it lasted.

See!

But the dog had the best plan of all and spent the entire day napping on her dog bed!

I woke up this morning thinking about my dog's behavior yesterday at the Quarry Run Dog Park in Portland. I was surprised and impressed by it and wanted to share the experience.

As we all know, there is a lot of snow! Snow to some dogs, means "Hey, now I can just step over this fence in my way!" That is just what my dog’s friend, Iris, a Border Collie-mix did.

Yesterday morning we were walking abound the park with a small group of dogs when Iris decided to wander away. Her owner was concerned and went to retrieve her. The snow accumulation is high in this area and Iris had managed to step over the fence and was heading up the hill towards the rock quarry (which is very deep). Though melting, the snow made going a little treacherous for Iris' owner. We could see her, an older woman, having difficulty making it up the tall hill after her. I said "I'll send Charlee".

So Charlee and I go down the hill we are on, and easily step over the fence to the road. I send her up to get the dog just as the owner disappears from sight over the ridge. My dog hesitates and I'm unsure if she'll follow, but suddenly she runs full tilt up and over the ridge. By now we have a crowd of about 15 owners all calling for Iris to "Come back". For a minute or so both dogs are out of sight and I don't say a word. Visions of both dogs frolicking to their death running head first down the rock quarry do come to mind when suddenly someone yells "Here they come!" and I see Charlee and Iris heading down the hill quite a way from where I last saw either one. I yell to the owner that Charlee has her, and Charlee flies down the hill to me, while Iris stops to sniff a bit more along the way. Once I started rewarding Charlee's rescue success with treats, Iris was right there for me to leash. The little stinker made someone carry her back over the fence too. This dog has taken "jaunts" before and has been known to be gone for hours.

Go Lassie (Charlee) go! I was delighted to see that Charlee knew what her job was and she went to do it! She is a mixture of two high-energy herding breeds, Border Collie and Australian Cattle Dog and this experience has made me realize that I really want to test her skills on herding sheep this summer!

Intersting article in USA Today.

It reminds me a of Border Collie named Buddy whose owner contacted me about giving up the dog because his lawyer neighbor, was suing Buddy’s family for damages and to have him put to sleep after Buddy nipped one of their children while the kids were playing with the dog and a stick. Both families had two kids and the four boys were in the fenced yard with the young dog. No adult was present and the child did require medical attention to his arm.

Buddies family was devastated and called me to see about giving him up to New England Border Collie Rescue. I told him that we couldn’t take a dog with a known bite history, even if, as the owners had suspected, the dog was being teased and the entire incident was an accident and the dog really meant to bite only the stick.

These owners fought their neighbors in court and with every dime available to them. They hired the most well known and infamous Animal Rights Lawyer that money could buy and sent the dog away to be trained for two months. The trainer took the dog home with his own children and was one of the sworn witnesses. Not only that, but they got a HUGE petition of neighbors who vouched for the dog, then less than 2 years old at the time and they had at least 100 people come to court for them not once, but twice after the other party was a no show in court the first time around.

Buddy won and got to stay in his home. Both parties were out considerable money. The dogs family also sold their home on the beach to be rid of their next door neighbors.

Border collie- $600 dollars

Cost to keep dog – in the six figures

Look on you’re the neighbor's face when the verdict was read-priceless

Tonight on Animal Planet at 8:00 Pm I will be rooting for Rookie, the 12 year old Golden Retriever also known as the “Ambassador of Freestyle” and his owner Carolyn Scott. You may have seen their now famous Grease routine. If you have not seen it yet, click here to go to her web site.

Freestyle is my new passion and it is a lot of fun. It combines obedience and dance with music and tricks, and when done at a high level, it appears to be effortless and flowing. While you are on Carolyn's web site, be sure to read about the wonderful work she is doing concerning dogs with cancer.

I am not sure what the judges have been thinking about this season, but the judging has been…let’s just say, “different” from how I would have voted. Most surprising to me was the dog who balanced on a pole. Why is that dog a star? He learned only 1 trick after all and looked rather unhappy doing it. Some dogs did well doing tricks that really weren’t even tricks at all and the dogs doing the most difficult and complicated routines barely got a nod.

Don't forget to tune in tonight and Root for Rookie. While your watching don’t think for a minute that what Carolyn Scott is doing is easy. She just makes it look easy. Maybe that is why the Freestyle dogs do so poorly on Petstar.
For more info on Freestyle check the World Canine Freestyle Organization website.

Urrgghhh! More snow! For a great indoor activity - teach your dog to target.
For great step by step directions click here. Thank you Stacy of Stacy’s Wag N Train for this wonderful article. She tells me it is 80 degrees there in California today!

Basically we teach the dogs to touch a target with their nose or paw. It is a lot of fun and will strengthen your bonds, while making your dog more trainable and a better thinker. Target training is the basis for lots of tricks, and agility as well as a great thing to know when your dog makes their Hollywood debut. If you can send your dog to a target, you can send your dog to their “mark” in their next movie. We (trainers) are also having a lot of success teaching fearful dogs to target as an alternative to fearful behavior.

Be sure to raise the criteria VERY slowly. Do not “cue” your dog with hand or body and let them figure out what it is you want and training will go faster in the future, and your dog will be a better learning partner.

“All hail the dryer sheet!”

When my kids went off to school this morning, they brought a whole lot less dog hair with them than they did last week due to my new friend Bounce™. That’s because Saturday morning, on the way home from teaching, I stopped at the supermarket and purchased ONLY dryer sheets. I now have a supply of three hundred sheets a mere arm’s reach away from me at this very moment. Ahhh…life is good!

I wet a towel and threw their winter coats and all our fleece, hats, sweaters and the throw blankets through a dryer cycle. I have no special brand loyalty, but this particular day I did use the name brand. You should have seen my lint basket!
I’m not sure if generic versions would have done the trick quite as well but it can be embarrassing being a tumbleweed fur ball family! I wish I could toss the interior of my minivan in the dryer too.

Thinking outside the dryer
Nancy the Trainer’s Tip –

Prior to a thunderstorm, try gently wiping your dog’s body down with a dryer sheet to reduce static which is a trigger for some dogs. It may help to lessen your dog’s anxiety and stress and is definitely worth a try!

Nancy the Homemaker’s Tip –

Wipe fleece and other static-prone clothing down with dryer sheets to repel pet fur! At various times of the year, when my dog is more wet than not, I zip a few dryer sheets inside her bed to help minimize doggie smell. Bring on the mud season!

All hail the dryer sheet!

Not long ago I was contacted by a woman about a female one-and-a-half-year-old Labrador she had recently adopted. The woman had foolishly allowed her new dog off its leash and the dog took off to have herself a lovely day at the beach! When she was found she further endeared herself by relieving herself on the antique rug in the living room. The caller wanted to know how long it would take before she could simply open her back door , let the dog out into her (unfenced) yard and come right back in just like her old dog did. She told me that she was committed and “would do whatever it took”, but in the next breath wanted to know how many days, weeks, hours, lessons or classes, it would take until this dog could be just like her old dog.

In rescue we see a lot of ‘Buyer’s Remorse’ from people who’ve gotten a new dog soon after loosing an old friend. They get home and say to themselves, “Oh my, what I have done?” and predictably begin feeling overwhelmed during the adjustment period. My advice to them is to sit down, think hard, and make a list of the bad things their previous dog did in his younger days. Enlist the recollections of friends and family and I guarantee it will be an enlightening trip down Memory Lane! Most of their early puppy training nightmares and “bad dog mistakes” have been replaced by pleasanter images. This is especially true if they’ve have had the good fortune to see their friend well into old age. Being involved in rescue and training for as long as I have, I was confident this particular dog was wonderful but maybe not the best fit for her home and lifestyle. I contacted the shelter to discuss it further and let them know what was going on. Their response said it all! “Oh yes, the Instant Gratification dog - we get a lot of calls for those, but they’re on backorder.”

I had to laugh at just how true that statement was! We need to remember that dogs are in rescue for a reason. Some may have been a beloved pet given up due to circumstances beyond the families’ control, but most rescue dogs have received little in the way of proper obedience training. On average, most rescue dogs are given up during adolescence, somewhere between 8-18 months. Think puppy, but in a big dog suit...

When bringing home a new dog, or puppy, a major amount of adjustment in the family’s behavior may be required. If the dog’s needs are not being met, they will return the favor by developing creative ways to entertain themselves, usually doing things that we don’t consider appropriate/desireable, like barking, digging, or chewing. If you’re considering acquiring a new dog, research different dog breeds, keeping in mind your lifestyle, space available, housing and any other pets already living with you. Thinking about a Hound? Know that you may not have a dog with a reliable recall if the wind is just right, as scenting is a way of life for these breeds! Love the Herders? Ask yourself if you can truly fulfill this dog’s demanding needs for a job and exercise. Want the Terrier you see at the park? Speak to his owner and many other owners of terriers and read-read-read about the breed first to see if your personalities will mesh. Rescue and shelter people are quite knowledgeable and most do a great job of evaluating dogs for temperament before matching dogs to an appropriate home. Let them help you!

So what happened in “The Case of the Hotfooted Labrador” mentioned earlier? She was returned to the shelter and ultimately placed in a home with a very active young couple. Luckily for the dog, the woman who called me realized right away that she was not up to meeting the mental and physical needs of this particular young dog. Don’t get me wrong, I do not believe that animals are disposable, but matching mistakes are made. This woman had overstated her time and energy commitment, and had forgotten what it was like to have a young dog in her home again. If you are thinking of adding a new dog to your household, please do lots of research and don’t overestimate the time and energy you will have to commit to its training. Be honest with yourself and the people who are trying assist you. If is very stressful for dogs to be bounced around unnecessarily. Avoid having to experiment by recognizing you and your family’s needs before committing to a dog who won’t fit with those needs. In this case the adoptee made the right choice and opted instead for an older, quieter dog with a substantially lower energy level.

For a list of available dogs in your area check www.Petfinder.com