Of intelligence and memory

Viva, UAG2 BJF Renejade Debt of Honor, CD, RA, MX, MXJ, EAC, O-EJC, TNN, WAC, TT, ATT, FFB, CGC

Dogs are not very smart. Scientists and researchers assure us of this. They are not anywhere near the intelligence of the greater apes, they say. When confronted with a sleeping dog who has REM and is giving off soft yelps while his feet twitch, scientists will say that absolutely is NOT dreaming because dogs aren't smart enough to dream. Dogs are so stupid, researchers and some trainers will tell us, that they can't remember why you're mad at them if they peed in the corner 2 hours ago. If you don't catch them in the act, they won't remember what they've done.

The great apes use tools, scientists will say, and tool use is the hallmark of upper level brain function. The great apes can even, with years of work, be taught sign language, so they may tell us what they want and need.

I think those scientists and researchers have never lived with dogs or if they do own dogs, have never bothered to open their eyes and actually pay attention. Do dogs use tools? Well no, they don't pick up sticks to dig for ants like the famous chimps that Jane Goodall observed years ago. Instead, when she's hungry, Cala will go get her metal food bowl, bring it to the living room, pick a spot on the hardwood, and drop said bowl. Loudly. Then she'll flip it upside down, put her front feet on it and scoot it around the room, all the while giving me pointed looks. "Hey. Lady. I'm hungry. Yo. Are you stupid? How much more obvious can I be?"

See, dogs, they don't need a stick. They have the bestest tool ever. Dogs learn that if they go to a door and sit and scratch or bark, their special handy-dandy tool will haul itself off the couch and come turn the knob. If that tool is a bit sluggish, a dance and a yip will hurry it up nicely.

Dogs don't need sign language. Why the heck try to speak or get your paws to work? Just sidle up to the human and put an appropriate look on your face and presto, that special itchy spot gets scratched just to your liking. The human stops too soon? Head butt them and they'll start again.

Dogs can plot and plan too. I once watched a fascinating interchange between Cala and Zipper. Zipper stole one of Cala's toys and took it to his crate. She instantly wanted that toy more than anything in the world, and he was not having any. He had the advantage, being on home ground where she couldn't circle around. So after several unsuccessful tries at outright taking it back, Cala stepped back and stood there a minute. Then she left the room. When she returned, she was carrying a different toy. She set that toy on a chair in full view of the crate and left the room again. Nothing stirred for five minutes. But sure enough, a Min Pin nose poked out of the crate. He looked around. No Cala. Out he came, and hopped up on the chair to steal the other toy. And the moment he cleared the crate, there was a big black blur. Cala was in the room, into his crate, snatched her toy, and back out of the room before he could do more than turn around and watch.

I spent yesterday in Warrensburg, at the United Doberman Club National. It's actually going on all week, but I only had the one day to go down and visit old friends and watch breed and obedience. The breed judge was May Jacobson. May bred Viva's sire, and for the first 18 months of Viva's life, May saw her often though Viva never lived with May. Then Viva came to live with me. For the next three years, I'd take Viva to a National and she would, astonishingly, recognize May. Even though they never lived together. Even though she would only see her once a year, for about 15 minutes. The last time May saw Viva was about 5 or 6 years ago.

One of my reasons for going down yesterday was to take the now 10 1/2 year old Viva down so May could see her, a living tie to Bro, her sire, that May loved so much who is now gone. I admit I was curious. Would Viva remember? That would be quite a feat after all these years. And the answer is, yes, she absolutely did. Viva is cordial but reserved with people she doesn't know, or, if they have treats, she backs up and strikes a "please feed me now" pose. But after a few seconds of sniffing May, Viva suddenly reared up and gave her a great kiss, squeaking in pleasure, then proceeded to do very un-Vivalike puppy wiggles, tail stub vibrating madly.

Call dogs stupid. Go ahead. I dare you.

Today, I am sad

Lis' and Diva

The agility world is large, yet small. The sport has always been especially supportive of people. There are surprisingly few egos involved. And thanks to the internet, a lot of us "know" each other, even when we've never met.

Over the years I've had some great conversations with a lady from Texas who runs Chinese Cresteds (yes, Chinese Crested dogs, the little bald dogs, do quite well in agility). Lis' and I have not always agreed, in fact sometimes we've clashed. But I've always respected her opinion. And I was shocked, along with the rest of the agility world, to get the following message on April 14.

"To all of my fellow agility competitors and friends, Last Tuesday I was admitted to hospital, for eight years I have fought breast cancer. I have been diagnosed now with AML Leukemia and have been given approximately three weeks to spend on this wonderful earth.

I have chosen not to do any more chemo as I believe I have received and given all this life has to give and take. With the help of my dear friends in Dallas we were able to talk the Dr's into spring me out of hospital today. Tomorrow at the Dallas Agility Working Group's trial I will run my darling Chinese Crested Diva for the last time - it wont be pretty, no one will be able to guess who's handling style I will use and I don't even know myself - just staying on my feet will be an achievement and to run with my very best friend and to be among friends will be enough to give me the energy I need to get through the day. ...

If you want to do anything for me pray that Diva and I can achieve a super Q, it is all we need to become ADCH together, but even if we don't get it - I know I am blessed to share what time I have with my dogs and my friends. Please wish Angela Lancaster all the very best with my dogs in the future, she is going from the cheesiest Yorkies to a couple of naked Cresteds and I know my dogs will continue to be well loved and respected and they will be in the agility ring again at some time to play. Many thanks for all your love and support over the years, I am indeed one of the lucky ones that get to say thanks in 'person' before my time.

Remember this weekend to enjoy your friends, dogs and should success come, enjoy and embrace it, if it doesn't never forgot the love of this game and the friendships we have forged. Thanks to everyone who helped me with my journey I sure do appreciate you all. Run Fast, Run Happy--Lis' Kristoff"

Lis did indeed run Diva that very weekend for her ADCH. That run can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zlhkMwppKw

Just yesterday, we got a message from one of Lis's friends. Diva was only leaving Lis's side for food and to go outside. And today, Lis' is gone. She passed away at 9:00 p.m. last night. Her positive voice will be missed.

When dogs get older

Viva is 10 1/2 now. She has arthritis in her feet. She has spondylosis (arthritis in her spine) which she's had for several years now. Some days she's a bit lame, even with glucosamine.

But she's also a tough old bird. She still chases Cala and plays growly-games with Zipper. She still gets steaming mad at me if I bring her to the training building then don't actually work her, because she thinks she should work. Most people who meet her have no idea she's over 10, though just this year she's starting to get a very few flecks of grey in her muzzle.

It's a sad fact that dogs age far more quickly than we do, and larger breed dogs faster still. Any Doberman who lives over 10 is considered to be older than the norm, and I do have a lot of hope that Viva will live several more years yet. But I'm also seeing some other old-age changes. One of them is that she doesn't always make it all night any more. No, she doesn't go in the house. Instead, she goes to the kitchen door and barks. Until I wake up. Now mind you, there's a dog door in the basement she could use. But she also now refuses to go down the basement stairs at night. She'll go during the day. She'll come back in the basement door and up the stairs when I let her out the kitchen door. But she's decided she's not going down those steps at night, I need to let her out. Her eyes are fine, she just doesn't want to do it.

And I've noticed something else this spring. She's starting to be more reactive to storms. It's an odd thing I've heard happening in older dogs, especially older Dobermans. Throughout her life Viva has always been bomb proof about storms. Doesn't even notice them. Sleeps through them. The only time she ever reacted was when we were about to get an extremely severe or tornadic storm. She'd be a bit restless until the wall cloud passed and the pressure dropped, then she'd be fine. I can't tell you how many times it's been hailing with 50+ mph winds and both of my dogs have been sacked out, dead to the world. But now Viva seems to be getting more sensitive to the storm's approach. This morning she was anxious and panting. I do think it's tied to pressure, and perhaps to the beginning of diminshed hearing.

You know what? I'm just thrilled that I have an older dog who is doing those old-dog things. My most long-lived Doberman prior to Viva died just a couple of months past his 10th birthday, and I've had Dobermans since 1982. I've owned, loved, and buried seven others during that time. None of them made it to 10. It's a fabulous breed that's unfortunately riddled with health issues.

I bless each and every day I have with my old dog. I'm sure that in coming days I'll have to make more adjustments for her. She'll become less flexible, both mentally and physically. It's a small price to pay for the things she has given me since she entered my life those years ago.

A sad, cautionary tale

Viva popped open the chute end by rearing up, which sometimes meant tangles. When possible, dogs should be trained to run low and straight through the chute fabric. Unfortunately Viva never learned that method, but she was never seriously tangled.

This morning I heard a very sad story on one of my agility lists about a young up and coming agility dog in the Dallas, TX area. It seems that these folks have agility equipment in their backyard, and let their two dogs out in the morning while they got ready for work. The following is reprinted with permission from the post.

"After some time, Sue went to bring the dogs in the house, but Mattie was gone. With help from neighbors, they scoured the area but couldn't find her. When they got back to the house, they noticed that the agility chute in the backyard looked funny. The fabric had been bunched up in the barrel. It was typical chute fabric, not a tarp. Sue found Mattie's body tangled up in the chute. She had gotten twisted tightly in the fabric and suffocated. They tried to do CPR, but it was too late."

What a terrible tragedy for all. And it reinforces my opinion that dogs should never, ever be allowed around or on agility equipment unsupervised. The potential for injury is very high. Not just from getting tangled in a chute, but dogs could get legs caught on teeters, have bad dogwalk falls, have a tire or fall on them. If you let two dogs out to play, what happens if one flies up the teeter to slam it down and the other one is standing underneath it? I used to be so afraid of that happening with my little dog that even when we let dogs play supervised in Kathy's agility field, I'd go tip the teeter over on its side.

In addition to accident and injury, allowing dogs to run around unsupervised doing equipment can end up really sabotaging your training. If your dog learns that running down the dogwalk and leaping to the ground from four feet up is fun, and he does it repeatedly when he's out playing, how successful are you going to be at teaching a stopped contact? If your dog's favorite place to view the world is standing dead still on the top of the aframe, how fast will his aframe be? Besides. Having unlimited access to equipment diminishes its value. Having unlimited access to equipment without the owner nearby fosters lack of respect for teamwork.

So please, please do not allow your dogs unfettered access to agility equipment. It's not a play gym. It's a game for our dogs to play with us, using teamwork and rules. Not something they should be doing by themselves. It's one of the several solid reasons we at CCSC do not allow non-agility students on agility equipment.

Fruit & Nuts: a new game from Jura & Ailsa

Those who know Jura know that his most favorite game is to drop an object (ball, soft toy, yogurt container, stick, what-ever-comes-to-mouth-if-none-of-the-above-are-available ) on the ground and to stand over it and stare at it until some obliging mammal with a hand picks it up and tosses it in any direction so that he can retrieve it and begin the cycle all over again.  Some of us are particularly obliging and indulge his silly habit indoors (particularly dangerous depending on object dimensions & direction of toss), outdoors in any weather.  With his propensity to re-injure his lower back this game was banned for the last 8-9 months.  

His journey to VetHab to remove his excess poundage and re-condition his body, though, has had an bonus benefit - he can play his game again (albeit the biped who feeds, trains & plays with him a) has to be more sensible about the limits on the game & b) he is to be warmed up BEFORE playing the game).  

I usually shower as one of the last of my morning activities which means the dogs are exercised, fed and have usually performed whatever morning training will occur on that day prior to my being able to attend to my needs.  They hang out in the vicinity of the bathroom and one is usually on guard lest I happen to go down the drain during this dangerous activity (Not bloody likely - but they have to check behind the curtain just to be sure). Sometimes one of them (Jura) gets bored and has taken to dropping a object into the tub.  I pick it up and toss it out, he catches it (more points for leaping up and snagging it before it hits the floor), and he repeats the cycle.

This morning the object was an artichoke from Planet dog - it is chewy, fits a springer mouth and has a very eccentric bounce.  Ailsa wanted in on this game but was summarily excluded.  So she went off and returned with the eggplant which is even more unusual in its ability to bounce.  Luckily, Jura was not interested in swapping objects as that can be very boring.  By the time she was playing the game, I had removed myself from the shower, was dressed and completing the teeth cleaning routine, but my job as tosser is usually not complete and it ended up that the eggplant was deposited in the now empty tub - great distress for Ailsa as she did not know how to get it.  At this point I was interested because she can jump objects higher than the rim of the tub (agility table, for example and even up on to the bed) but she had not generalized about the tub rim.  Jura had the artichoke in his mouth and dropped it and I tossed it into the tub (well on our way to making ratatouille).   He popped in, rejected the eggplant and fetched his artichoke and popped out.  She - being smart at watching the older guys - did the "Ah ha!" and popped into the tub and picked up her eggplant.  Interestingly, she could not easily jump out with the eggplant in her mouth so she dropped it out of the tub over the rim and then jumped out of the tub.  

While I completed the morning ritual she made a new game for herself - pick up eggplant, drop into tub, watch it roll around, when it stops, jump into batch tub, pick up eggplant, drop over rim, watch it roll around the floor, jump out of tub, repeat until Mother leaves the bathroom.  Baker, who usually presides over bathroom duty from the threshold, was sufficiently intrigued to sit up and watch from just inside the door (his job appears to monitor who is in and who is out of the bathroom).

We will see if the game exists beyond today - I will add pictures but we are off to CCSC for fun & games.

Ginger

Reciprocal Actions

Way back in January I told the story of how Ailsa (at just over 6 mo) had taught Baker (just shy of 7 years) how to use the new dog doors and how she had been imparting the wisdom she had learned from her Scottish Mum in helping Baker to "get a dog life".  Well there was an interesting interaction last week when the tables turned.

We (Ailsa, Baker, Jura - he's home!, and I) and Robin's crew (Cala, Viva, and Zipper) decided to let the dogs get their "yayas" out at Bradford on Wednesday after work before the weather changed back to that dismal rain and cold.  The 6 dogs had a super time running free, hunting up voles, eating corn cobs, and sitting in muddy puddles.  We started out down the lane, then cross country until we were south of the big lake.  Baker and Jura both raised their heads, smelling the water and took off like a shot - Robin and I laughed that it was the first certain sign of spring that the dogs knew they could go swimming.  

Indeed, as the rest of us came to the top of the rise we could see the two springer boys swimming in the lake.  Ailsa on seeing her house brothers ran down to the water and allowed herself to go in roughly to the point where she could float but also touch down her paws - about 3 feet off the edge and she was content.  The three emerged from the water, shook wildly and then trotted further along the edge past a dock that was added last summer.  Not thinking, I tossed a frisbee into the water causing not just Baker and Jura to leap in, but also Ailsa.  They moved rapidly out to the floating object without trouble, Jura got there first and the three turned back toward the shore.  Oddly enough it was at that point that it dawned on Ailsa that she was a good deal further than 3 feet from dry land and she began to flail.

When a dog panics in the water they start to do what is described as a "doggy paddle" and it is not fun to watch - the head and torso rise out of the water and their front paws slap at the water quite ineffectively.  Worse, they become like sticks with a minimal volume with which to float - usually the next thing that happens in that they tire and go straight down.  

Given that the worldly wise Ailsa is but a puppy and not practiced in the water and given that I do not want her worrying about water and swimming, I began to strategize about how I was going to get her out of the water, how cold it was, what clothing would need removing, how many towels were in the van, etc. etc.  My rapid planning was interrupted when I saw Baker. 

He had been just ahead and to her left when she panicked.  When she started to flail he looked back and then slowly turned in the water toward her.  When Baker swims it is with incredible ease - he always carries his back level and his head barely out of the water - looks more like a partially submerged submarine with a nice clean wake.  He drew along side her and slowed until his head was near hers, the picture of calm and confidence. When she caught sight of him it was amazing as she almost instantly quieted and sank back into the same position that he illustrated thereby making herself an excellent floating object.  

I swear that he was smiling as he escorted her ashore, quietly, efficiently, and, best of all, with huge confidence.  Once back, she rapidly removed herself and had a great big, terribly wet shake.  I thought that she would stay away from swimming again that trip, but no, a few 100 yards further along she was back in the water (YEA!) albeit very close to shore.  When we go out again today, I will be interested to see how they both approach the water.

I can not tell you how proud I was of Uncle Baker for sharing one of his strongest talents with Miss Ailsa.

Ginger

Dogs being dogs

Those of us who train and do dog sports with our dogs expect a lot of them. Our dogs are pets and beloved companions first and foremost. But they go far beyond that. Our dogs are athletes. We demand a tremendous amount from them both physically and mentally. Agility in particular requires both peak athletic effort and the ability to think and react very quickly to a huge number of human body and voice cues. Many agility dogs will turn left or right on a verbal alone, know to come tight to the handler when their hand drops to their side, know each obstacle by name and have the ability to pick which obstacle to take based purely on that. And these dogs are letting all that information click through their heads while running 30+ miles per hour around a tight little course.

Of course getting that end result means a lot of training beforehand. It usually takes performance dogs in any sport 1-2 years to get ready to show. There are hundreds and hundreds of training hours in every dog you see in the obedience ring or agility field. Most of us train several times a day in tiny spurts (heeling while the coffee brews, hand targeting while the bread's in the oven, finishes when the commercial is on), with more intensive training 3-4 times a week. Then, of course, we're also doing physical conditioning. Some people use the treadmill at the building. Others of us go on long hikes, or have the dogs carry a backpack or pull a cart.

On top of that, our working dogs are in the public a lot. We demand that they be good canine citizens in all they do. We give a lot of demos and of course show on public property. We can't have a dog that goes all wingnut if somebody wants to touch them or a dog gets too close.

If all this sounds like a lot for the dog, it is. However, our dogs love to work. Very few breeds of dogs actually do not like to get out there and exercise their brains and bodies. Just like people our dogs love having something to do. I'd venture to say that our working dogs are probably far happier and well adjusted than many dogs. I promise they're way better off than that poor dog hanging out on a chain or in a run in somebody's back yard, more lawn ornament than functioning, thinking canine.

But sometimes we dog trainers start feeling like over-ambitious soccer-mom types. Every waking moment of the dog's life to be managed, directed, groomed. And you know what? Sometimes dogs just need to be dogs.

Part of how we let our dogs be dogs is to take them to a safe area and let them run off leash. They hunt, they get muddy, they run. And run, and run, and run (hey, added bonus, physical conditioning!). But Zipper, who has been perforce raised in a big-dog world, also gets an occasional added bonus. Yesterday afternoon was such a day. It was warm enough that he could go back to his breeder's house where he was born, and be part of a Min Pin pack. He and his dam stayed all afternoon in a big fenced paddock, with his brother and various other relatives in the next paddock over. They ran around and sniffed and barked at each other and did Min Pin things.

Last night I took home a happy, tired, and self-satisfied little dog who got to spend time just being a little dog in a little dog world.

Let's talk sex

Xander and Zipper playing

Okay, let's not. At least, not the way that sounded. But I do want to discuss some things about male dogs and female dogs, and I'll be using the correct word for females, which is bitch. (Want to know if someone is deep into dogs? If they are totally blase about throwing around phrases like "oh, she's a lovely little bitch," and "I've got a bitch in the classes" while sitting at a restaurant munching on won tons.)

I was at a 3-day AKC agility trial in Glen Carbon, IL this weekend. I traveled with a good friend, and left the two Doberman girls at home. She has a 5 year old intact male German Shepherd. Xander weighs just short of 80 pounds. And I had Zipper, also intact male, a Min Pin weighing in at a whopping 10 pounds. Let's put it this way. Xander's head is bigger than Zipper's entire body.

Zipper managed to collect two Novice Jumpers legs and one Novice Standard leg. In English, that means that he now is 2/3 of the way to his Novice title in both of those styles of agility. Jumpers is a numbered course where only jumps, weaves, and tunnels are used and Standard is the other common course type used in AKC. It involves everything in Jumpers plus contact obstacles; the dogwalk (thin plank raised 4' off the ground), teeter-totter, aframe, and pause table, where the dog is to sit or down for 5 seconds during the course to show control.

But all that aside, there were two things that struck me over the weekend. And both involved boy-dog stuff.

There are a lot of stories about intact male dogs. They're aggressive. They'll fight other male dogs. They'll go insane if a bitch in season (ready to breed) is anywhere within a 5 mile radius. Basically, they're dangerous and should be neutered at the first possible moment.

But Xander and Zipper? They don't read those stories. Xander, who could easily kill Zipper with a single bite, was exaggeratedly careful. Slowly, he play bowed. He gave teeny-tiny Shepherd kisses which were still big enough to soak Zipper's head and neck. Zipper, meanwhile, buzzed around Xander like a tiny bee on crack, wiggling and squirming in delight, throwing himself onto his back to flail his legs in the air. Not a tooth shown, not a hackle raised, just two intact males having a ball playing together each night at the hotel. So my foremost and best big memory of the weekend was of the two male dogs playing happily together.

The second thing I'll carry away from the weekend is starting to learn how to deal with a male dog when a bitch in season is indeed nearby. Because there was one at the trial, almost certainly being shown even though that's strictly illegal in agility. At the trial site Zipper was very distracted and very, very interested in the floor. He refused to down on the table Friday, too busy sniffing it. Had the same problem Sunday, and he spent a lot of time whining. It was an unmistakable sign. "Girl here! Really, really good smelling girl!" But though I did have more trouble with him than usual, he did manage to work, and even got those qualifying scores I mentioned above. Another myth down the drain, that male dogs can't think at all if there's a bitch in season nearby. They can and do learn to deal with it.

I'm all for neutering any and all dogs who are pets, who are mixes, who are not going to contribute to improving the breed as a whole. I absolutely agree that all adopted and rescued dogs must be altered before placement. But let's not assign blanket stereotypes to un-neutered dogs. Not all intact males are aggressive idiots, and for those that are, I hate to say it, but neutering probably won't fix it. Those of us with intact males DO have an extraordinary obligation in both training and management. We must teach our dogs what is acceptable behavior and what is not. We also must be 100% committed to never, ever allowing our dogs out of our direct control for a single moment. No wandering the neighborhood, ever. Always securely confined within a fence, in a crate, or on a leash. Period.

But please don't make the assumption that if our dogs are intact they are dangerous. Xander and Zipper would laugh at that one. Or maybe not. They'd be too busy playing to bother.

Living with Cala

Most of us who do agility want a dog with what we call "Drive." The word Drive is sort of a catch-all term, and it means different things to different people and can be applied differently to dogs. As an example, drive in a sporting breed could be tied to birdiness—the overwhelming desire to hunt/flush/point/retrieve birds.

In agility, we're a bit more generalistic. I think of drive as focus, intensity, speed, courage, desire, and resilience (ability to bounce back rapidly from adversity). The dog we're looking for in agility is not footing, body, or sound sensitive. The dog should have a "damn the torpedo's, full speed ahead" attitude. Who wants to work, and who is not happy without work. This is the dog who will fall off the dogwalk and immediately scream to get back on. The dog who wants to always go faster and will get impatient if you don't keep up. The dog you have to watch, because sometimes their drive will write checks their bodies can't cash.

Viva, Cala's dam, has drive in spades. She's retired now (shhhh, don't tell her). Over the years her drive has led to so many injuries I can't name them all, and now her body can't keep up any more but the spirit and the will to work is very much still there. Viva also has another critically important quality. It's called an off switch. She's a dog who could be sound asleep in the sun ringside. I'd wake her up, walk to the line, and by the time she got there she'd be screaming to go. So in spite of what she always looked like in the ring, she's easy to live with.

Now Cala, she's got insane drive. I've talked about that before. She's got all the intensity and speed and resilience. But focus? Not so much. And off switch?

Tonight I took all three dogs for a long run. Cala ran full out for a good 40 minutes or so. I came home, got their supper and mine and settled down to watch Dancing With The Stars (I love it, so sue me!). During Pricella Presley's waltz I was also being serenaded by pig grunts from the Cuz toy Cala was thrusting into my hands to throw for her. I kept putting it down, she kept giving it back. I finally got her to give that up. She wandered off. Came back and shoved a postcard into my hand. An invitation to a party at Rock Bridge Animal Hospital. I took it away from her. She wandered off again. This time it was a dog food coupon. Took that away. The next item to appear? Zipper's metal food bowl which she summarily dropped to the floor and stomped on. So much for a relaxing night watching TV.

This is pretty much how I spend my nights. She will eventually settle down, which is an improvement over when she was a puppy; she was six months old before I ever caught her laying down except when crated.

Living with Cala is endlessly amusing and also infinitely tiring. And now I must go. Cala is picking at Viva, she loves to nibble on Viva's head and Viva hates it.

Be careful what you wish for if you ever see Cala at the building and wish your dog had drive like that...

Since it's been requested...

Since Ginger mentioned it, I'll brag a little bit on the Pinhead's performances last weekend at the local ASCA show.

There are three types of agility courses in ASCA agility. Regular (Standard, with the contact equipment such as the aframe and dogwalk) , Jumpers (jumps and tunnels only) and Gamblers which I'll describe another time. I entered Zipper in Regular and Jumpers, which added up to him doing 3 agility runs Saturday and 4 on Sunday. That's a lot of runs for a young, green dog; in contrast, at most AKC trials you have 2 runs per day, one Jumpers and one Standard. AKC does have a new class that's gaining popularity, but not all clubs offer it.

When I started Zipper last fall, I was having a lot of issues with him being distracted. He'd stop, or sniff, or take off around jumps. Once he even left the ring. I think the causes are a combination of stress and uncertainty (sniffing is a classic stress behavior), not being quite sure what I want, and frankly, being an intact male Min Pin who is very visually oriented and sometimes has the attention span of a flea.

So I was especially thrilled with his progress last weekend. He stayed with me. We had some wrong courses, and his Jumpers run Saturday was very distracted. But for the most part he did really well. He ended up earning two titles, his Novice Regular and Novice Jumpers titles. And he got his weave poles in three out of four runs where weaves were present. One of his jumpers runs was especially fast and smooth and I started to get the feel of how we'll be working together as a team long-term. Best of all he managed to retain focus all the way through Sunday afternoon. By 7:00 p.m. Sunday night the little guy was done. I noticed he wasn't in the living room. He'd taken himself to his "big-dog" crate, a dobe sized Varikennel, and put himself to bed. Literally. He'd crawled under the blanket and was out like a light. A big exciting weekend for a very little dog.

Of winning and losing, triumphs and defeats

Zipper with his UKC Agility High In Trial winnings

I'm in the midst of a discussion on the Rally-Obed yahoogroup, and it's brought up some thoughts I want to share about what it means to do dogsport, on newbies and experience, on winning and losing and the effort therein.

This particular discussion is about the A versus the B classes. The A classes, such as Novice A, are for people who have never put an AKC obedience or rally title on a dog. The B classes are for people who have either put a title on a dog or the dog is co-owned by a person who has titled the dog. And at the moment we're getting a lot of cries of "unfair" because sometimes true newbies ended up being slotted up against much more experienced teams.

Let's say you buy a dog from a breeder who does obedience, and you buy on a co-ownership (both your name and the breeder's name are on the registration papers). You've never even owned a dog before and have certainly never trained one. Yet when you do train your dog and enter a show, you will have to enter the "B" classes. As such, you may be competing against people who have showing for years and have put OTChs (Obedience Trial Championships) on their dogs. Heck, the dog you're competing against might *be* an OTCh.

In another situation, a person may have competed extensively in other venues. Let's say they have a UKC UD and an ASCA CDX but have never entered an AKC show. They will get to compete in Novice A, because the AKC doesn't recognize titles from other organizations. So even the Novice A class, meant for those new to showing dogs, may hold some teams that are very experienced.

Some people feel this is unfair. That newbies shouldn't have to compete against these more experienced teams. That it's too hard for them, and that it's demotivating for them to lose. They deserve to not have to struggle so hard to get placements and they can't possibly win against those who have titled other dogs.

My reply to that is bullhockey (well, bull-something else, but this is a family blog).

I think that kind of attitude does a disservice to everyone, but especially those new green teams. It seems to be a general thought today that everyone should win just because they enter. We strive for mediocrity because that's all we need to do. Everybody gets a gift at the kids birthday party just for coming. Why should we work hard to when we can get a title just for showing up? Lord forfend there's any sort of real competition. It's not fair that we have to be in the same ring as those really experienced teams. We'll get beaten for sure.

The truth is any worthy endeavor is one that takes effort and struggle to attain. In any dog sport, (or any sport) what you put into it is what you get out of it. If you don't want to work hard, don't know the rules and don't train your dog, you're probably going to get beaten. Sometimes you will work hard and you'll still get beaten. If you won all the time, then winning would be boring. In order for us to truly appreciate winning, we need to understand that effort must be put forth.

We should never ask others to descend to our level of mediocrity in order for us to succeed. Instead, if we want to succeed, we must rise to a level that makes that a possibility. And that means that we're going to work hard. We're going to fail along the way. We may struggle. That makes success all the sweeter.

In most of dog sport, you really don't have to beat any other team to be successful. Your ability to "win" is tied directly to the amount of work and effort you put into your team. Very few titles (the OTCh is an exception) require you to get a first or second place. Instead, you simply have to meet a minimum score and get a qualifying ribbon. Get three of those under two different judges and you get a title. You've won. If you want a class placement (first through fourth place) on top of that well, then, you have to work for it. Whether or not somebody else has a multi-titled dog and is competing against you is totally immaterial. Any person can place first in any class at any show on any day IF they put the time into making that happen.

If you don't want to work very hard to get that title? That's fine. Just know that you aren't going to get the same score as people who were willing to train. It's not a level playing field. It's never going to be a level playing field. But it doesn't matter. How you do depends entirely on YOU.

Oh and I have seen some Novice A teams get out there and kick butt. Because they worked at it. You can do it too, but if you want to be great you have to be willing to put in the time and miles to get you and your dog there.

Progress for Jura

Thank goodness this week was significantly quieter, albeit busy & wet, than last weekend.  Indeed between replacing license, bank card, and losing cards with contact information there has been minimal time to train with the kids.  It shows that Ailsa has had her brain addled with hormones - at retriever class last week she first could not seem to find the bird dummies - ran right over them and when she did come back and find them she looked at the dummies like they were evil, smelly hunks of plastic to be brought back holding on to the least offensive piece with the incisors only (mind you, this is the dog who will fetch a dog poop bag fully loaded from the back yard and bring it through the famous dog door to deposit it proudly on my computer key board).  After watching Faith at work she seemed to regain some of her focus.

In the meantime, Jura has been off at VetHab being worked on a daily basis come rain or shine.  When I last reported he was safely in Raleigh, weighing in at 53 lbs.  During the first week they were able to get him working on the treadmill underwater so that he could work for 15 minutes without running out of steam.  He dropped 2 lbs.  At the same time his ears cleared up as did the staph infection on his head.  

The week of the 17th when I called he was plateaued at 50 lbs but he was now working alternate days with an 30 minute endurance run at 5 mph on one day and a strength run at 12 degree incline 3 mph, in 3 15 minute sessions.  

This last week that hard work was apparently paying off as they reported that he is down to 48 lbs and "Back to his old self".  In this week they have added a weight day where he runs with a pack containing 8 lbs.  In addition, apparently the cracks in his pads are healing and they have been making sure that his coat is brushed daily as he runs in water up to his upper thigh (to add resistance).  When I pick him up, I will have to groom him to remove the dead fur - springers have a double coat - the outer layer has the guard hairs which are relatively long and soft; the inner coat is "woolier" and when stripped out looks like liver fluff.  This inner coat keeps them relatively dry and maintains body temperature but left in place it can make those nasty mats that some dogs get and the color of that material fades in the sun and on exposure to chlorine in the water.  

Which remark made me happier last week?  The fact that his weight is back in the 40s or that "the Old Jura we know and love is back"?  Well, to know that "Jura" is back says boatloads - a) it reminds me that the staff at VetHab and Jura have a relationship, b) they know him, c) he likes to work and be active.  Jura is basically a low maintenance dog in that he is inherently content so it is easy to forget he is there.  On the other hand, if one engages him, he will light up and respond but the initiative has to come from the other person/dog.  Left to his own devices he would happily go about life without people and be a couch potato - if he had a choice of activity, it would be to be in the field working birds!  But if they are not there he is content to be content.   It is pleasant to have a dog like that but I now appreciate that I have to watch out or I will forget he is there just because he does not demand my attention.  I think that is what almost happened when he was out on the road.  

I hugely miss Jura in the house and in my company - I derive a certain strength from his calm demeanor.  It is just 2 weeks before I get to bring him back and I am already starting to plan how to make sure that he remains in the fit condition that he will be in from his 5 weeks in NC. 

He will be surprised by the pretty sassy young bitch in the house - she was a true puppy when he left - now she has that young adolescent air about her.  I think Ailsa will happily include Jura in her social duties as she is indeed pushy and unwilling to just lay around.  Already she makes Baker play every evening; adding Jura to the mix will be more fun for her and I will be trying to figure out how to keep the yard from covering the floors of the house!

Here is hoping that Robin & Kathy share the super runs they had with Zipper & Briar respectively last weekend during the ASCA trial because I want to brag on Mr. Baker but he can wait :)

This is the last week of classes this session and bitter sweet as I love having watched the progress of all the dogs and knowing that some will not be coming back :( as their owners have accomplished what they wanted from classes.

Breakthroughs—Cala

Okay, compared to Ginger my month has been really boring. No intact girls, so nobody in season. No 16 dogs in the house, no wallet being stolen (thank goodness!) I have, however, made some nice training progress with both Cala and Zipper. I'll detail Zipper in a different post.

As I described in the blog on fighting fire with fire, Cala can be a very challenging dog to train. I've been following through with the toy game with her, and I'm thrilled that it's having really amazing results. She's listening and following direction. At the Columbia show she was able to handle Rally Excellent well and take the jump twice, both days, without screaming. Her dumb handler (that would be me) blew by a sign on Saturday so no Q there, but she got a 96 and a first place in her Excellent A class on Sunday.

Right now I'm working on refining some skills with Cala. Cala has difficulty with the halt, side-step right, halt. In that exercise the dog is sitting in heel position and the human steps directly to the right one step with their right leg, then brings the left leg over to meet it. The dog should get up and also step directly right (no forward motion). When we started, Cala was coming over to the right with her head and front but mostly leaving her butt where it was, so that she ended up sitting crooked and wide. We have progressed to her coming over with her front end then swinging her back end in to sit mostly straight. That's satisfactory for Rally standards, but I'd really like to see if I can get her to sidepass. What I would like to see is her getting up and moving both her front and rear to the right at the same time in one motion, then sitting down. And recently she's done this a couple of times with a fun leap to the right. So I'm marking that with a click and a reward.

Another problem spot for Cala are straight fronts, especially from heel position. In Rally signs #41 and #42, the dog halts and sits in heel position, then must move to front (sit in front of and facing the handler) without the handler moving. So the dog has to get up, move forward, and swing around to face the handler then sit again. (The other lower-level Rally call-fronts allow the handler to step backwards several steps to help the dog get straight, this one does not.) Cala either gets up then sits right back down or she gets up and sits sort of facing me but really crooked. She loves left (swing) finishes so she tends to sit at about 9:00 or 10:00 when I want her to sit at 12:00. I had been using my left hand, the one nearest her, to signal for the front. Recently I started switching to my right hand. I take the right hand with a treat in it, bring it to just in front of her nose, then tell her to front while simultaneously drawing that hand out in a big clockwise circle then back toward my right side. It's helping tremendously and her fronts are much better. This is a classic luring scenario, but I will be able to drop the lure quickly and just use my hand at a real Rally trial.

In agility, the riot stick game is working beautifully; when we can work. At the end of February Cala jammed a toe when we were training contacts. So she was off of agility for 3 weeks. In her first training session back I did a single jump, the aframe, and she came running back to me with a bloody foot. She'd cut a toe pad on a different toe. Sigh. So it's really just been this week that I've done a bit more agility training in preparation for the ASCA trial this weekend. I'll let you know how we do.

Partnership Progress for March - Baker, Ailsa and the visiting Astra

Good grief - it is not possible that so many days have gone by without time to write a post.  Lots has happened since the first of the month - perhaps there will be time to fill out the bits & pieces.

March 2 Jura left for North Carolina and his rehab/conditioning in Raleigh NC; Ailsa developed a cough

March 3 Ailsa in Season & diagnosed with Kennel Cough; 10 days of antibiotics & quarantine from the building & other dogs; Kathy's guys immunized against Kennel Cough; all of the sheets, crate bedding, etc. washed & hard surfaces sprayed with disinfectant in the buildings.

March 4 Astra also appears to be coming in season so she came to live with Ailsa & Baker & me.

March 5 Baker may be neutered but his brain still remembers what it is to have girls around in season; the girls are more than pleased to have Uncle Baker to play with.

March 6 Astra has a cough; Ailsa no longer coughing; still taking antibiotics, though. The old black lab from across the street has broken through a slat in my fence - he may have arthritis & bad hips but the fine aroma of girls in heat revives his own inner passion; I construct a fence-within-a-fence on the deck.

March 7 Astra given cough medicine after seeing the Vet; long day because we had the building open for practice from 6-8 (or was it 9 -anyway it was late!)

March 8 Columbia Kennel Club dog show and Surprise of Surprises, Ailsa wins her puppy bitch class, goes winners bitch, then gets best of winners and best of breed and the two of us have earned her first point.  Only two majors and 14 more points to go ........   Needless to say we made no progress in Groups but we had fun and got a picture to prove it.  In Rally, Mr. Baker had a good time and did not know that his mother lost her way on course (absentminded professor type).  Oh and I stewarded for obedience in the afternoon - watched a really great Novice A class as a result & we had the building open again in the evening 6-9 but I was really bad and shooed the last two people away at 8 when there had been no one for the previous 45 minutes and it was cold and we were really tired. 

March 9 Second day of the Kennel Club show.  First I was a steward/timer for the rally Excellent class.  Then, Baker earned his second leg towards his Rally Advanced title and even got a placement ribbon (3rd, I think) - his Mom remembered the course.  He had just as good a time as the day before.  Finally it was time to show in conformation again with Miss Ailsa who MOST definitely was in season - She was a happy girl with a lilt in her springy step and we won our puppy class but she went reserve for the bitch class losing to the bitch who took breed.  No problem as it meant we did not have to wait around for groups which was good because standing on the concrete was really hard on my feet!  That evening the troops fell out and poor Astra had no company.

March 10 moderately quiet - recovery - Astra still coughing & not into her food; Ailsa ready to play, Baker going mad.

March 11 more of the same

March 12 I disturb everything by packing & leaving to give a lecture in Canada; my grad student Josh takes over the dog duties until I get back on Saturday March 15 (Having been supposed to get home Friday!  Helps if the airlines send an airplane to Canada - I am grateful in any case because they still had snow on the ground well above knee level).  In the meantime, Josh got to deal with the marauding labrador who had taken out 3 planks on my outer fence and knocked the inner fence down twice.  The panels were in the dog door (thank goodness) and the virtue of the girls maintained.  Chastity belts perhaps?  Needless to say, any excursion outside was on lead into the inner sanctum under supervision.  Astra was seen by the vet and given her round of antibiotics which cleared up her cough, restored her appetite, and energy levels by the time I got home. 

Sunday March 16  Got the chance to track Baker along with Briar, JJ, and Jamie's Weimeraner puppy, Faith at Bradford Farms in the morning.  Mr. B was most pleased to be away from the hormones and with Mom for the morning and did a super job.  I was pleased to not be traveling and super pleased with his work - more on that later.  In the afternoon the "girls" got to have their go - Kathy & I were joined by Josh and we walked Ailsa, Astra & Baker out at Bradford - needless to say, the little girls were on flexi leads but they had a real run and "airing"

Monday March 17 St. Patrick's day and Cardiovascular Research Day at MU so the kids were in their crates most of the day without much of my time except to have their meals

March 18 - more of the same - Ailsa by now has finished her antibiotics and Astra, while asymptomatic, is still getting hers.  

March 19 another full day but I have created some attention games for the girls - Baker got to come up to the building for Jump 4 class

March 20  Wow!  In the evening my friend & colleague, Dr. Meiser DVM came into town on her way to a Springer specialty in Dallas, TX.  Her adult dogs are taking part in an ongoing study at the University and had photographs taken of their retinas; she also had a litter of 6 puppies with her - some on their way to their new homes, some will be coming back. In any case there were 14 dogs in the house over night (they were quiet) Good thing the puppies had their X-pen & I have plenty of crates - Astra was outnumbered 13:1 but the puppies were her size.  

March 21 Bright and early as Dr. Meiser was reloading her passel of pups, Mr. James & company came to remove my fence (hey, if an old lab could take out 3 planks there was not much life left in the structure) - it did not take them long.  Problem was that I felt REALLY vulnerable with NO fence and just my "inner sanctum" and it did not take long for the lab to realize the vulnerability. In the late afternoon new beds arrived & old mattresses were removed (you know you need a new mattress when you sleep better away from home than at home....) In the evening I took the dogs with me to get groceries and do chores so they at least got out of the house.  Good news - Astra's last pill and all 4 of us slept well on the new mattress - even if it is way up there!  PANIC, though, No fence as there was concern that the concrete might not have set....

March 22 Holy Saturday and I paid for taking the dogs out on Good Friday evening and sleeping very, very well - somewhere in transporting them back into the house, making sure they could potty unmolested, bringing in groceries, getting everyone fed & bedded down for the night, I failed to lock the car door.  Further, apparently my wallet had slipped out of the pocket of my sweatshirt while I was in the car so, in addition to having the van rifled & all coins & small money that was in the variety of slots removed, my wallet went too.  SIGH.  I came out of the house just after 7 to take the guys tracking to see the hatch wide open and my heart sank. Thank goodness I had leant my GPS to Dr. Meiser so I did not lose that too.  We took a big deep breath & joined the tracking party for breakfast up at the 63 diner after Kathy and I first set two tracks for the more experienced dogs.   After breakfast we ran the tracks with Cindy, Vicky, Kathy & myself - both the experienced dogs and the little girls.   The Easter miricle was that Mr. James and his crew put in the fence!  No labradors invading, room for the kids to romp - not to mention that they are both coming out of season!

March 23 Easter - a day for Celebration (and cold, and gray and snow).  In the afternoon we took the dogs up to the building to clean up for next weekend - vacuuming up the fur and dust from the last month.  In the meantime, Ailsa and Astra had run of the entire building and they ran and ran and jumped and tugged and ran and played for what seemed to be hours.  Needless to say, they slept well.

March 24  Nothing much of note as I spent more time with Kathy cleaning the building and a quiet evening with the kids - all three now know how to have a good play session.

March 25 - The day to send Astra home with Kathy as she and Aisla seem safely past their "prime".  Baker had his jumping class, Ailsa had her hunter/retriever class - the hormones seem to have interfered a bit with her attention span but this too shall pass.

So that brings us up to date - the Australian Shepherd Club of MidAmerica will have competitions at the building this weekend - Conformation (Aussies only), Obedience & Agility (all breed, registered dogs) - see the web site for hours.  My intention is to get one more update on Mr. Jura and I'll tell you how he has faired since the start of March.

Ginger

Clicking the heel

It's been awhile since I posted an actual training post. I've already written several on the theory behind the clicker as a tool for training, and writing something about actually applying the theory is long, long overdue.

I'm using the clicker to teach Zipper to heel. Zipper presents some special heeling issues because of his size. I want to teach an attention heel, but having him heel and watch me in the eyes will not work, because he's too small. To look in my face he would have to forge forward out of heel position and also turn sideways. So I need to teach him a different focus point. I am also a trainer who is more interested in attitude than in precision. Zipper will probably only compete in Rally Obedience, where half-point errors are not counted. I want him to think heeling is really fun and exciting and I want him to be somewhat accurate, but my goal is not a 200 score.

To that end, I'm using a technique I found on the Mighty Mite Dog Gear Forum, a news forum addressing issues (including training issues) specific to small dogs. I decided that I wanted Zipper to target my left hand in the heel, and that I would drop my hand down and keep it fairly still to act as said target.

Now Zipper already knows to target my hand with a nose touch. I needed something to help him learn to target on my left that I could fade. At first I tried carrying a toy balled up in my hand, and clicking and dropping it when he was in heel position. It turns out there were problems with this. First, it was difficult to get even a small toy bunched up in my hand, especially with a line attached. And if I didn't have a line attached, when I dropped the toy he'd just run off with it. Training session over. Second, Zipper is extremely toy motivated....sometimes. If he gets at all stressed he will not play with toys, and if he's distracted he also will not play. So toys weren't working. He's always food motivated, but food also had one problem; the frantically boinging Min Pin. I'd walk along and I'd have Mr. Ping Pong Ball. Boing!-Boing!-Boing!-Boing!-Boing! I could not get all four of his feet to stay on the ground long enough for me to click.

Enter the paint stick. It just so happened that when we last painted the dogwalk, we had a couple of those cheap wooden stir sticks left over. I dipped the bottom 2" of each stick in green paint to provide a color/smell contrast. Next, I started to click Zipper for putting his nose on the stick. I only clicked if he nose-touched the painted part. I knew that I would not want him actually touching the stick but rather following it, so the minute he understood that the stick was the target, I went ahead and put it in my left hand and began walking with it.

Wait. Back up. Let me describe that a bit because it's taken some juggling to get all the components right. I put the paint stick in my left hand, pointing down, flat side in front of Zipper. I also put the clicker in my left hand, flat against the paint stick, so that my thumb curls around and can click. I have to squeeze a bit to keep them both in there, but I don't want to tape the clicker to the stick, because I want to be able to slide the stick up over time. In my right hand are treats. When I click, I rapidly sweep my right hand over and treat in position.

At this point I've done three heeling sessions with Zipper, each about 5 minutes. We always start with Mr. Boing-Boing Dog, but by continuing to move forward and clicking when he's following the target with all four feet on the ground I'm already having progress. As of last night, he was moving forward and I was able to bring the stick up so it's no longer exactly in front of his nose but slightly above it. Over time, I will slowly withdraw the stick into my hand, so that my hand then becomes the target.

I also discovered another weakness in our training. Zipper thinks sits and downs are to be done facing me. I don't physically position Zipper (try to push or hold him in position with my hands) so I'm addressing this too with the clicker. At first every time I moved he'd get up. Again I realized a training weak spot--even when I've been working stays (very little so far) I've been doing so with him in front of me. So I worked a bit on me just moving back and forth, clicking when he stayed in position. I also worked on sliding sideways into him. If he accepted the slightest position that removed me from in front, I clicked. In essence, I have indeed taught him to watch my face when sitting and downing, so that's what he wants to do. I need to help him learn he can sit and down facing the same direction I am.

I'll update his progress over time.

Dining Out for Animals Today, March 18

Thanks to Matt Heger, my friend from CoMoWhineandDine, for this information:

Today is the annual event "Dining Out for Animals" during which many Columbia restaurants dedicate a portion of the day's dining proceeds to the Central Missouri Humane Society.

If you are going out to eat today, please consider stopping by the following:

Lunch (11-1):

• Campus Bar and Grill
  
• Flat Branch
• Harpo’s
  
• Village Wine & Cheese
  
• W.G. Grinders – downtown
  

Dinner (6-10):

• Addison’ s
• Bambino’ s
• CJ’s
• Flat Branch
• Grand Cru
• Heidelberg
• Jack’s Gourmet
• McNally’ s
• Pasta Factory
• Sophia’s
• Thai Kitchen
• Village Wine & Cheese

Dog show weekend

I can't believe it's Thursday already. Time has definitely gotten past me this week.

Last weekend was the annual Columbia Kennel Club dog show. I hope some of you got to attend. There were many of us there, including quite a few of the instructors and all three owners. Kathy was chief bottle-washer and help-recruiter for Obedience and Rally. Ginger showed Ailsa in breed and Baker in Rally. Andrea showed Trip in breed. And I showed Cala in Rally.

I didn't know whether I'd be able to show or not; Cala had jammed a toe in agility practice the week before and obviously if she was still lame I wasn't going to ask her to jump, even the two low jumps she would have to negotiate in Rally Excellent. But that cleared up in enough time for me to get a bit of polishing-up practice done, so I felt we were ready. Or at least I thought we were ready until Saturday morning when I let myself get in a state over a bunch of stuff and only managed to walk the course twice (and even then I was anxious and upset). I ended up blowing right by a sign. There are many things that are forgivable in Rally. But not even attempting a sign? NQ. Not Qualified. Big fat zippo. Oh well. The good part was that Cala did the jump, both times, without going into a Cala-screaming-frenzy. This was really, really good news since I had thought I might have to retire her from Rally due to this loud overenthusiasm. Screaming like a demented banshee is perfectly okay in agility. In Rally, not so much. Very bad form. Missing signs was the order of the day. I was hardly the only one; in fact probably a majority of the competitors missed at least one sign. The judge had designed for one size ring only to get there and find it 10' shorter. So there were a load of signs jammed down on the end, and for some you had to go by one to get to the correct one. Lots of people missed or got lost.

Sunday I managed to get myself sane and we did finally get an Excellent leg.

This week seems to be medical week. Zipper went to get his teeth cleaned and x-rayed for submission to the OFA for hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, and legg-calve-perthes. Viva and Zipper both had acupuncture treatments today.

And my beloved Cala, on equipment last night for the first time since jamming her toe, took a chunk out of the pad of a different toe. We walked into the ring. She jumped two jumps and did the aframe, and came dashing back with a bloody foot. No vet for her, it'll heal. But big sigh nonetheless. Fortunately I only entered her in Jumpers at the ASCA trial the end of this month. Because it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to get much training in.

Partnership responsibilities, nails!

Yesterday I got an email from Zipper's breeder. "Can you come over tonight and help me do nails?" She's getting ready to head to a National then the Louisville cluster and the kennel needed nails done. And since Zipper's also needed doing, I carted him along too.

Zipper tends to think of his breeder's house as a cool day-camp, where he gets to romp around and play with all his Min Pin friends. Poor guy, if only he'd known! We did him first, then two Poms, two Norfolks, and six more Min Pins. For the most part the dogs tolerated it as a less pleasant but survivable part of life. A couple were less happy but we all escaped with fingers and toes intact.

As I was reading Ginger's excellent blog about partnership responsibilities today, it occurred to me that nails are another really important partnership responsibility; and one that is too often ignored by owners.

Yes, teaching a dog to tolerate nail trimming can be a bit of work. Yes, you can take the dog to the vet or groomer. But I prefer to do nails at home. It's not only cheaper, but if I do them myself it happens more often. Further, if I have taught my dog to tolerate nail trimming then it's not such a huge hassle. I think we all know dogs that have a screaming hysterical fit at nail time, mostly because they have been terrified and hurt in the past. And they've been terrified and hurt because some vet or vet tech or groomer is having to deal with dragon nails and is intent on getting it done as fast as possible, regardless of the trauma to the dog.

The trick to getting a dog to tolerate nail trimming has several facets.

1. Start young if possible. A young dog will not be able to struggle as hard (and they all do struggle right at first) and you can get the upper hand more easily.

2. Use food. I do not reward AS I am clipping a nail, but I do bring out the food (good food treats!) before I start, show it to the dog along with the clippers, then give a small, soft treat AFTER each and every nail done. Tolerate a nail being trimmed, get a treat.

3. Regularly touch and grip your dog's feet even when not doing a trim. I am constantly "fiddling" with my dogs as they're on the couch or bed. I pet them, I look in ears, I open mouths, rub muzzles, and grip feet. I also gently pull toes apart. You should handle feet firmly without squeezing too tight. Feet are ticklish, so don't lightly brush. Just grip.

4. Be calm. Do not make a huge production of it. It's best if you catch the dog when sleeping or tired, and I think it's best to clip nails alone. Two people ganging up just makes it worse.

I like to trim nails on my couch. It's soft, the back helps prevent the dog from being able to escape, it's more comfortable for me AND the dog.

I use a combination of clipping (I use a Resco gillotine clipper) and a dremel for rounding. I clip first, then buzz the edges smooth with the dremel. With a puppy, I may start out just doing one foot per session or if it seems horribly traumatic, just a single toe. If you're rehabbing a dog that's been hurt before, you may spend weeks just getting the dog to let you handle their feet. Do not do nails yourself until you can handle your dog's feet without them levitating to the ceiling. Do not do nails if you're convinced your dog will bite you. You can use a muzzle, and/or work longer on the foot part. Handling feet, then handling feet with the clipper on the table, then handling feet with the clipper 6" away, then handling feet and touching with clipper, etc.

There's a lot of great information on doing nails at DoberDawn's website.

Optimally, nails should be done every couple of weeks or so. Because especially for agility, we want nails short. Long nails are not only uncomfortable for the dog (they force the bones of the foot backwards) but they're also dangerous. Dogs can rip them out on slats and it makes doing the dogwalk and aframe painful to say the least. As a general rule of thumb, if your dog's nails click on the floor, they're too long!

Good luck and happy trimming. Tonight it's Viva and Cala's turn. Neither of them love nail clipping time but they run to the couch when I get the clippers out because the treats are worth it!

Dang- Partnership Responsibilities continue

Jura is my first English Springer Spaniel from Scotland.  He came with me to the USA at 8 weeks of age.  There were a constellation of reasons that I went abroad to get a springer rather than here in the US or Canada - so many that I might well blog on choosing a dog in the future.

Anyway, Jura, while an English Springer Spaniel from English show lines and pedigrees to match, looks very different from Springer spaniels in the show ring in the US (subject of another blog :) ). My goals for Jura are varied including having him do field work, for which his breed exists, to playing the agility game, doing obedience, tracking, and putting him in to the conformation ring.  Robin has spoken about the conformation show sponsored by the Columbia Kennel Club to be held at Boone County Fairs grounds this coming weekend.  The reason for conformation dog shows is to have the breeding stock evaluated by judges and to show the stock to other breeders.  I promised my Scottish breeder that Jura would be shown in the conformation ring even though I warned her that Jura looked different from the population of English Springers in the US.   

With the help of a handler, Santiago Pinto, who was living in town Jura went out to shows and, under judges who were used to the way Springers looked in this country 30 years ago, he earned 10 of the 15 points he needed for the title of "Champion".  Two of the wins making up the 15 points must be "majors" worth 3-5 points.  Points are based on the number of dogs entered and the region of the country.  As of last summer Jura was considered to have "pointed out" and he needed his two majors. Santiago was no longer living in Columbia and we decided that it would be good to send Jura out with a professional handler known for their prowess showing Springers.  Indeed that handler has an exceptional reputation with the breed and has completed Championships on imported springers.  Further, Jura was madly enchanted with her assistant who was the person to show him but there was an element that I left out of the equation that harkens back to earlier blogs: "Partnership responsibilities".

I left out the needs of my dog (duh).  He has been out "on the road" since New Years - he has been to Florida and to South Carolina and Georgia, Michigan, and Illinois when I caught up with him in Chicago 10 days ago.  He did not make any headway towards getting his majors and when I saw him in Chicago I knew at least one reason why.  He was looking well groomed - long ears, flowing coat but he was also moving without spirit.  The boy was a zombie and unfortunately, he was fat!  Standing still he looked OK, but moving he looked awful with a large rolling, lumbering gait and there was no spirit.  Bottom line he was not being abused - he was well cared for, but I put him in to the wrong environment from him.  He was a good boy, played well with the other dogs, ate his meals, etc. etc. but not a happy, fit dog.

Although he was already entered in more shows with the possibility of those elusive majors, I brought him home.  He slept for almost 2 days straight and he played with Miss Ailsa (she took him on as her second dog project splitting her time between Baker & Jura).  He came up to CCSC and got to run around the building, checking out the rings, crates of the other dogs, running over the agility equipment but he was still what I would call "sad".  

This weekend we had a super seminar with Dr. John Sherman and his wife Chrystal Crawford who established a fabulous canine rehabilitation program in North Carolina.  Jura has been a patient at VetHab so he was one of the "demo dogs" for the seminar as he knows how to run on a treadmill, how to do a number of the flexibility exercises, etc.  That was when the next cross road of the canine/human partnership was encountered.  What was made clear to me in the form of slow motion analysis of this apparently healthy dog was the fact that not only was he carrying extra weight (during his road time his mass had been increased by 25% in 3 months) that looked "OK" standing still was hurting him when in motion.  He gait had to change to accommodate the extra pounds of fat putting extra curvature on his spine at the bottom of the rib cage and just above the pelvic girdle (read back ache).  In addition he was carrying his weight to the front so his shoulder was already hurting and he was carrying his head down.In addition it became evident that Jura had also lost muscle from his rear as he no longer was being run like we do when he is here. Basically he is out of shape and he hurt and while nothing irreversible has happened yet my responsibility was to reverse the process.

I made a choice when I became aware of the situation for Jura.  I let him go back to North Carolina with the Shermans for 5 weeks of rehabilitation/conditioning.  They called Sunday evening to say that he had settled in and he has started his work on the underwater treadmill yesterday.  The water in the treadmill allows the dog to work while experiencing less of the the weight on the spine and shoulders - so as the dog is losing the extra pounds and building muscle they can work without being damaged by the extra fat.  

Do I miss him?  Terribly.  

Is it inexpensive?  No, it is expensive - but I was paying comparable amounts in pursuit of the "Champion" title and I was responsible for hurting him physically and emotionally.  

Was the handler responsible?  No, not really - my task will be to provide the handler with the information as to why the treatment of Jura, which while fine for the majority of dogs in their care, does not work for the athletic dog. 

Will Jura ever complete his Championship?  There is no telling.  I will make his completing the "CH' a lower priority as people who know their Springers and their breeding programs know who he is and what he has to offer and the presence or absence of a title will not change that, per se.  If there is a show that likely has majors and an appropriate judge I may consider entering Jura if it does not conflict with our other goals. First and foremost, he is my partner and my companion with whom I expect to be living for at least 8-10 more years.

Will he "forgive" me?  Likely, once he is back, fit and not hurting and if I take him to work birds and take him swimming and throw balls and bumpers and let him play with his girl friend Ailsa, and let him get muddy, and invite him to sleep on the bed, and....

I'll keep you posted as to his progress!

Ginger

Testing....testing...

Zipper decelerating from a dead run into a left turn. Even little dogs need to be athletes!

I'm getting my paperwork together to have Zipper tested for the genetic health disorders of Hip Dysplasia, Elbow Dysplasia, and Legg-Calve-Perthes (LCP) through the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). He already has been cleared of any genetic defect in his eyes, (CERF), heart, (Cardiac), and knees (Patellar Luxation). When I'm done, he'll be one of the most tested Min Pins in the U.S., if not the most tested. Most Min Pin (and toy dog) breeders don't do much in the way of genetic health testing. In some breeds this would be bad but as a breed Min Pins are incredibly hardy and healthy, often living well up into their teens and with very few health problems. Other than LCP, which is usually obvious by the time the puppy is seven or eight months old, the concern is mostly patellar luxation. So why am I doing all this testing?

Well part of it is because I do own an intact male and he may end up being used at some point. I also come from a breed (Dobermans) where there are a number of huge genetic problems which has shortened lifespans and quality of life. So genetic testing has been drilled into my head for decades and now I just can't turn off the compulsive need to make *sure* he's okay.

There's another reason I test and encourage anyone doing dog sports, especially agility, to test. I test because the sport I do with my dogs puts incredible physical stresses on their bodies. I want to know that their bodies can handle the pressure they're being put under. I think hips and elbows should be evaluated on every agility dog, and knees in smaller dogs or breeds prone to patellar luxation. Eyes should be examined to make sure the dog can see where's he's going and judge depth properly. And I submit everything to the OFA because I feel a commitment to supporting research and data which help breeders battle these diseases, so maybe sometime in the future we won't have to deal with them any more.

Mix or purebred, intact or neutered/spayed, it doesn't matter. If you are going to be training in any sport you need to know what's going on. And unfortunately these diseases are not limited to the purebred population. Certainly your dog does not need to be purebred to get an OFA certification.

Knowledge is power. If your dog does turn out to have one of these diseases, the world will not come to an end. In many cases, your dog may still be able to compete successfully for many years. And in fact, the fitter your dog is, the less likely he is to break down early from arthritis associated with things like hip dysplasia. So I always tell people to YES, train that dog with hip dysplasia. But educate yourself on the disease and work with your veterinarians to set up a training program that supports the dog. And listen to your dog.