A Puppy's Journey!

The project is complete!   Actually it was completed 6 months ago, but life has been busy with not only training dogs but also a trip to Africa.   Have a look at my new training book, it gives guidance for new puppies, and tips for adult dogs also.  All profits go to the National Borzoi Rescue Foundation

A Puppy's Journey can be ordered from:   http://www.beingborzoi.com/journey.php

Now that life is back to normal, I will catch up on what my own dogs, as well as my students dogs have been learning in upcoming blogs.

Listen To Your Dog

Our dogs try their best to communicate with us, we need to listen.

Today I was grooming young Java. He has been wonderful about standing on the grooming table while I dremel/grind his nails. Today he pulled his right front foot away as I went to hold onto his paw. I thought that odd. I tried again, thinking maybe I had tickled the bottom of his pads with my finger. Same response.

Instead of insisting he hold still, I checked his bottom pads and looked between his toes. Everything looked fine. But Java was telling me something was not right. I continued my search for what could be wrong. And I found what was causing some discomfort. Java's carpal pad was torn. This is the pad that is just above the dew claw. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paw


At first glance the carpal pad was not even visible.









But after I moved the hair away, I saw the torn area.








As always, my relationship with my dogs is priority. I cleaned out the sore area and will trim the nails on his right foot on another day. Listen to your dog, although not always immediately understood by us humans, they are usually trying to tell us something.

Rotate Dog Toys, Keep Them Interesting

Remember when you were a kid, and you found a toy or game in the back of your closest that you had forgotten about? Remember how it once again seemed new and you would play for hours?


It's the same for our dogs. They can get bored playing with the same toys every day. I give my dogs access to about 3 or 4 toys at a time, and hide the remaining toys. Every week or so I take away the ones they have been playing with and take out some 'new' toys. They play with their 'new' toys as if they have never seen them. They are more interested and play for hours.




Aunt Joy made our dogs this braided toy over a year ago, many washings and many times introduced as 'new' has given it many hours of playtime.

Indoor toys also become outdoor toys after they become ragged after many washings. That brings on another concept of 'new' toy. This blue monkey was no longer of interest indoors, but when I brought it outdoors, Melissa and Java ran and tugged for hours as if they had never seen such a toy with long legs and arms.














A forgotten toy found under the snow can also add hours of fun.












If your dog is given several toys as gifts on his birthday or Holiday, save a few for another day. Give him one now and save the rest for later. This green and orange ball on a rope was a Holiday gift, I gave it to the dogs the end of January.

Winter can be long enough here in the north east, let's keep our dogs' minds engaged by rotating their toys to make them 'new' once again. Same idea for their meals in interactive toys, think outside your usual Kong, try a Twist n Treat, Kong Wobbler, or Kibble Nibble Ball for a few days.





Best thing about a new toy, it challenges and tires them mentally. Some dogs will use their 'new' toys as a pillow.

Holiday Safety Tips

Keeping the Holidays Fun and Safe for our Dogs

It’s here! The snow, the cold, and the festive time of year we’ve been waiting for. We attend parties, go shopping, have friends and family to our homes, and travel. It seems like we never have enough time to get everything done. But wait….our dogs are in the midst of all this!

To keep both humans and dogs happy and stress free, here are a few tips that you might find helpful.

1) Guests arriving mean open doors. Keep your dog safe by placing him in a crate, keeping him on leash, or make use of baby gates to prevent access to the front door.

2) Wrapping gifts equals scissors, tape, bows and ribbons, and paper. All can be enticing to a dog. Please keep all of these items out of reach. Plan on using one room for gifts and wrapping, the door can be closed and your dog will not be tempted.

3) Christmas trees with ornaments and lights are also very tempting for your dog. Consider the use of baby gates to prevent your dog’s access to the room.

4) Holidays mean an abundance of food. We humans might be able to handle the fancy appetizers, the eggnog, candy and desserts, but our dog’s digestive system is not made to handle such items. Although pleading eyes may tell you otherwise. Keep to your dog’s regular diet as much as possible; his digestive system will appreciate it.

5) Last year the grandchild may not have been walking. This year she is moving around and heading towards your dog! Not all dogs appreciate a toddler around their face or bothering them if they are lying down. Always supervise children and dogs.

6) Chocolate is poisonous to dogs, as are Poinsettias. If at any time that you suspect your dog has ingested a toxic item please call the ASPCA National Poison Hotline 888 426 4435.

7) Time is short this time of year; there is so much to do! Our dogs do not understand what all the commotion is about. Make time in your busy day for your dog, an extra walk, a longer grooming session, or a game of fetch, an extra special stuffed Kong. Anything your dog enjoys doing with you; make time for in your busy schedule. Your dog will appreciate the time spent with you…and the old saying is still true ‘A tired dog is a good dog’.

Have a wonderful and safe Holiday Season

A Puppy's Journey!

It's been awhile since I have posted. I've been busy training my own dogs, student's dogs and putting the final touches on A Puppy's Journey

Soon to be released:

A companion to Being Borzoi & Forever Borzoi. 200 pages, hardcover, color photos

$39.95+$5 s/h USA

To order: http://www.beingborzoi.com/journey.php
OR: a check to ZOISTORY
2255 Strasburg Rd.
Coatesville, PA 19320

All profits benefit Borzoi Rescue.

Puppy Java goes to 4H camp

This morning a group of us helped at the annual 4H camp held on the grounds of Albany Obedience Club. The children rotate thru training sessions on agility and rally, and have different educational programs to learn more about dogs. I was there specifically to help teach the children on the needs of puppies, how we train them, how to approach them etc. It was also a wonderful opportunity to socialize our puppies with children. The puppies also had time to play with each other, another socialization opportunity.





We set up crates or x-pens for the pups to rest in between training sessions. It was a good opportunity for each puppy to practicing being confined in a different environment. We all had toys and chews to keep our pups occupied.

There were all sizes and shapes of puppies.
















Each child had a puppy to work with . We practiced the name game...where the puppy learns how to respond to his name. Java thought it lots of fun, 'Java' and he got a treat, 'Java' and he got a treat. A wonderful venue for our pups to learn how to respond to someone else other then their owners. After many repetitions the pups were able to turn away from mild distraction and look immediately to their handlers when they heard their name.

We also practiced how our pups should greet politely. Puppies want to be near our face, think of how many times we pick them up and hold them close to us. The rules change when they get too big and we no longer pick them up. So we need to teach them that keeping four feet on the ground, with the final goal of sitting, is how to get attention from us.


The pups had lots of breaks to walk outdoors to for potty breaks and to cool off in the wading pools.


The children each took a puppy and practiced handling a dog different then there own. It made me smile to see these young handlers talking in soft voices, helping the puppies out with a cookie to move them thru the club grounds, and encouraging them to try the pools. Best of all was the laughing and giggling along with the puppies playing. Kids having fun with puppies, and puppies learning many new and different sights. A perfect day!

Java and Bryce, always seemed to find each other, they are becoming the best of friends.

Puppy Java learning to 'Target'

Targeting is a skill where Java will learn to touch a part of his body to an object, known as the 'target'. Usually we teach dogs to touch their nose or paw to an object. Targeting is helpful in teaching our dogs to go to a mat, lying on it and remaining in place; for service dogs to open and close doors; to move our animals from one place to another; to teach them to go on or under obstacles; or to facilitate teaching tricks. It also helps dogs to learn about their bodies, for Java I wanted him to begin learning about turning his body to the left and right in a circle. This helps with strengthening his hind end and learning about hind end awareness.

I started to teach Java how to target a bit differently then I have in the past with my other dogs. Instead of teaching Java to first touch his nose to the center of my palm, I started with a target stick. Target sticks can simply be a spatula, a spoon, a stick with taped wrapped around the edge for visibility. Or you could opt for a more formal click stick which has a clicker built in. http://www.things4yourdog.com/clik%20stick%20by%20karen%20pryor or a target stick that has a red rubber end and also comes with a stand for distance work. Both can telescope to over 20 inches.





I wanted to give a target stick a try to see if it would facilitate his understanding of moving towards an object to touch his nose. I had already used my hands to do a lot of touching him all over his body, especially around his feet to accustom him to having his nails trimmed. Just for my own curiosity I wanted to see if teaching him with a target other then my hand would make a difference to the learning process.

I paced the target stick very close to his nose, he was interested in something different, he moved closer to take a sniff. The instant his nose touched the rubber ball, I clicked and gave him a treat.


Gradually I moved the target stick inches further from Java, he had to make the effort to move towards the target. I continued to click and treat each correct response.







I was late on clicking a few times, and clicked as Java was attempting to mouth the ball, no need to yell at him. He was just learning what this new game was all about. This is the beauty of clicker training, the only 'correction' the dog receives is the lost opportunity of receiving a reinforcement...his treat. Our relationship was intact, he still trusted me. I just withheld a click when his mouth touched the ball. The next rep I clicked a tiny bit early, just as his nose was about to touch the target, but before he opened his mouth. He quickly understood that it was his nose that needed to touch the red ball on the target stick in order to get a reinforcement






It wasn't long before Java was following the target stick.








I began moving it ever so slightly to the right, to get him to turn in that direction.

Java's first two lessons in targeting gave him a good foundation towards his first trick: 'spin'. Stay tuned.

Dogs just having fun .....in the mud!

We have had a huge amount of rain the past two months. Last night the rains came again, and we had downpours thru out the day. Weather radar shows more rain coming, so I took advantage of a break in the rain to let the dogs get some exercise running thru the fenced wooded acre behind our barn. The ground is saturated and in some place we have a bit of standing water.

Java was the first to notice the puddle.












An invitation to play.












Lucy drops a toy in the water to entice Melissa and Java to play with her.












But Java finds the water more interesting, and the digging begins.


I am not sure if it was the texture of mud, the sound of the splashing water that gave Java the sillies or lack of exercise due to the rain earlier in the day.








But the muddy water went flying.

















I could have stopped the dogs from playing in the mud, but they were having fun. It is an area of the yard that is theirs to play and run, it is not landscaped, grass will grow back. The water has already seeped into the ground and I filled the hole while the dogs were eating their dinner in another area of our yard. Cleaning their coats is a bit time consuming, but it is well worth it in exchange for having tired dogs as we get ready for another round of thunderstorms and rain. And I will let you in on a little secret.....a little bit of kid came out in me and I had fun watching them get the sillies.

"Sit" Does your puppy really know what it means?

Somehow we all seem to teach our dogs to sit for their food bowls. Whether by luring: placing a morsel of food close to their nose and moving it a tiny bit so their nose goes up, their hind end goes down; or by capturing it: We see the dog moving into a sit and we mark the behavior and then reward with their dinner bowl. Every day, sometimes twice a day, our dogs are fed, we practice sitting, we add the word 'sit' and we assume they understand sit.

But do our dogs really know what sit means? What is their cue to sit? Positioning themselves in front of us? Seeing a food bowl in our hands? In the kitchen? Next to the counter? Dogs are very visual and may learn that sitting occurs only in these contexts. So do they really understand the verbal cue to 'sit'?

I have been focusing on teaching 15 wk old Java early on that correct responses to all cues should occur in all scenarios. I did help Java out by luring a few times. I also captured the action of sitting when he would randomly sit thru out the day. Click and treat each time he did and rather quickly he began to move into the sit position. I waited until Java was offering to sit for a click and treat before I added the verbal cue to 'sit'. The hand signal to sit comes built in if you lure the position. We practiced outside, we practiced inside in several different rooms. We practiced with the food bowl in my hand, and with my hands empty. We practiced with the lead on and the lead off. We even practiced at a farmers market this past weekend!

Every time I changed the place I was training at I lowered my expectations a bit. Sometimes I did lure him to help him out especially in a distracting situation . But I quickly moved away from the treat in my hand, to an empty hand, and then just the hand motion. When adding the verbal cue I would say the cue, pause, and follow it with the same movement of my hand that I had used to lure him into position. Sometimes I would see Java lowering himself into a sit, and I would add the word 'sit' as he was performing that action. Click and treat when he was in a sit. Using the clicker helped speed the learning process. Java has begun to offer behaviors in order to get a click which is then followed immediately with a treat.

Sitting at my side, instead of in front of me seemed to be challenging for Java. So I broke the behavior into tiny increments until he got the idea. When he knew the verbal cue to sit from in front, I moved slightly (think inches) to the right and asked him to sit, click and treat when he did. He was now sitting slightly crooked in front of me, think of it like a slice of pie...one slice over from center. Several reps were repeated at this angle until he was fluent in his movement to a sitting position when cued to do so. I then moved a bit more to the right each successive training session until he was sitting at my left side. I repeated this sequence for him sitting at my right side. Things moved more quickly once he understood that sit happened in places other then in front of me.

We practice each step of this on different surfaces: grass, carpeting, asphalt etc. We practice in different rooms of the house and different venues. For instance, at the farmers market I lowered my expectations. So much was going on, so many things to look at. I helped him out by asking for a few sits with him in front of me. That was a skill he knew fairly well in several different venues. Click and treat for each sit. I then turned my body ever so slightly and cued him to 'sit'. He did and got a jackpot, several treats in a row. Java was taking tiny steps towards learning how to respond to the cue to 'sit' no matter where he was in relation to my body.

Can Java sit with my sitting in a chair, sitting on the ground? The first few times I helped him by luring him into a sit. When he was beginning to offer to sit with me in this new position, without me luring him, I added the verbal 'sit' as he was moving into position to sit. I gradually moved the verbal cue to slightly before he began to sit. He now can sit on verbal cue with me sitting on the ground, in a lawn chair and to my left and right sides.

Does he know the verbal cue to 'sit' in all contexts? Not yet, but we are building a solid foundation to our final goal. I will also repeat all these tiny steps with the cue to 'down'. As Java learns to respond to various cues in different scenarios the learning will go faster. He will learn to generalize much more quickly. Until then, I will take each step slowly, always making sure he enjoys the training process.