Sadie's In Clean Run Magazine!

Sadie has a whole paragraph in the 'Editorializing' article, Is There a Perfect Dog for Agility?, in the February 2012 issue of Clean Run magazine! I love that the author used my phrase for her: "recovering reactive." Sadie is not the best agility dog. She doesn't have the best form, the best drive, or the best temperament. But she has taught me far more about dogs and animal behavior than I would ever have thought possible.

Here's to the best agility dog for me!

Dog Parks Part 2: Assessing The Park

The obvious thing to look for, when deciding if a park is right for your dog, is a fence. Ideally, there will be a six-foot grounded chain fence completely enclosing the park, preventing wiggles under or jumps over. I’ve found that few parks have this. Our favorite park was actually only partly fenced, on the side by the busy road, and I have yet to see a fence over four feet high. Depending on the area and your dog, partial fencing may be acceptable. Sadie doesn’t run far, so she was fine having a mostly open park. Maxwell tends to get distracted by wildlife, so a complete fence or a long-line are necessary.

For the fully-fence park, a double gate is wonderful. The ‘air lock’ zone provides a place for owners to leash or unleash their hounds, as well as a safety for the dog who slips through an open inner gate. Not only is the middle ground an easy place to unclip Fido, it’s actually safer than taking him all the way into the park. I’ve seen dogs become extremely uncomfortable because they were brought all the way into the park on leash, only to find themselves surrounded by excited dogs and unable to escape. It’s a recipe for a fight, and a great way to make your dog hate going to the park.

Access to water is nice, but not critical. Many dog parks seem to have combo human / dog drinking fountains in or next to the park itself. Some may have a clear stream the dogs can drink out of. Be wary of still bodies of water, though, as they can harbor some nasty bacteria. Our favorite park has a little pond that Sadie likes to swim in. If she drinks any of it, she’s guaranteed to have stomach problems the next day. In cases like that, or where there’s no water, plan ahead. Bring sufficient clean water for your dog to keep hydrated.

I strongly prefer parks with soft surfaces. Grass, dirt, and mulch are great. I avoid gravel, and can’t even imagine pavement. Especially with an energetic, running dog, the chances of injuring paw pads is much higher with a harder surface. Soft ground also doesn’t get as hot during the summer. You'd be amazed how hot sunny blacktop can get on a sunny day. You'd be equally amazed at how imperceptive people can be about their dogs' discomfort!

Other nice features include a separate small dog area, safe toys and/or equipment for the dogs to play with, the availability of shade, and the size of the park.

There are non-infrastructure things to look for, too. A well-managed park will be clean. Though there may be a few ‘presents’ left on the ground, owners should generally be picking up after their own dogs and disposing of waste appropriately. If the surface is mulch or stone, it should be cleared out and replaced regularly. Grass should be kept reasonably short to reduce ticks and fleas. Fences should be well-kept, with no sharp wires or dog-sized gaps.

A good park will also have posted rules. While these will include the expected stuff, like cleaning up after your dog, and not allowing aggressive animals, they rules should also cover people. The posted rules at our nearby park prohibits children under a certain age, unsupervised kids under 15, running, screaming, and other behaviors that could lead to over-arousal and dog bites. While it would be great if there were someone to actually enforce these rules, I’m happy that they even exist… and are posted in big letters in two places.

For the dogs that are fine in an open area, you can also look for human parks that allow off-leash dogs during the off season. Many beaches accept dogs during the colder months. Though it may be too cold for the pups to swim, such areas often have a fair bit of land that can be used for fetch, Frisbee, or just sniffing around. Plus, you'd be surprised what weather dog will think is water-worthy!

Some of the best parks may be resident-only and/or have an annual fee. These are likely to be very well-maintained and managed, but you have to balance that with the costs. I hear that a town park fairly close to us is fantastic, but they only allow town residents to use it, and there is a fee. We have only been to free parks. Their quality can vary greatly, so be prepared to shop around a bit before deciding on a regular spot.

Dog Parks Part 1: Assessing Your Dog

This will be a multi-post series, with my thoughts on dog parks. I’ve written based on my observations of my own dogs as well as the experiences, good and bad, that we’ve had at dog parks.

Maxwell is an incredibly social pup. He’s only met one dog he doesn’t like (a tiny Yorkie that looked like it wanted to eat him alive) and he meets even the worst snarling with perked ears, furiously wagging tail, and a play bow. He then decides whether to physically initiate play (chin over the dog’s shoulder, gentle headbutt, or close air-nip), make a giddy run for it to begin a chase game, or just meander off in search of a more willing playmate. This makes him an excellent candidate for controlled group play.

Sadie likes food. By extension, she likes people who have ever, or might ever, give her food. Not surprisingly, given her highly reactive history, she doesn’t really care for other dogs. Maxwell is as extreme exception (she loves to play with him), and there are a few dogs owned by friends that she willingly tolerates. That means a wag, a sniff, and then a cold shoulder. If Maxwell gets the other dogs playing she will join in, but primarily to chase and corner him. She generally ignores the other dogs completely. This makes her safe in an off-leash group when well supervised, but not a good playmate.

The personality differences make them very different at dog parks. We humans love dog parks, because the pups can run and play and be crazy while we watch and chat with other dog-loving people. Maxwell often finds a good playmate who will chase him and/or roughhouse with him. Sadie spends a fair bit of time standing with us (occasionally whining softly) or wandering alone to sniff. If Maxwell’s play gets heated, she charge in after him and bark furiously. Sometimes the two of them will play together in earnest, but more often it’s Sadie joining another dog (or two or three) to gang up on him.

A few months ago, my boyfriend and I were at a local dog park enjoying a sunny afternoon. Maxwell had made friends with a young German shepherd, and was being merrily chased around the park. After a few go-rounds, two labs joined in… then Sadie came charging after him as well. The situation suddenly went from two pups have a bit of fun, to four large dogs pack-hunting my little guy. Maxwell ran and hid under a chair (occupied by another owner). The dogs went after him, barking and trying to flush him out. Not a single other person did anything to stop it. My boyfriend grabbed Sadie while I went over, carefully shooed away the other dogs (did little more than get them to back up a few steps) and coaxed Maxwell out. We left.

Dog parks are not right for every dog. Well supervised, they are fantastic for social animals like Maxwell. They are dead wrong for shy, fearful, aggressive, or reactive dogs like Sadie used to be. The Sadie of today falls somewhere in between; she can have fun when the right dogs are there, and when she feels like being social, but sometimes it’s just stressful. We never force her to play; if she wants to wander alone, she’s allowed to.

I’ve seen people bring dogs to the park that absolutely refused to walk through the gate on their own. Instead they get pushed, tail tucked, into the swarm of inquisitive dogs surrounding the gate. Or worse, the little ones get bodily lifted over the fence and dropped into the middle of the waiting mass of dogs. I’m a little amazed I have yet to see a fight break out when one of these reluctant dogs if forced in. And then there are the dogs that bare teeth at any animal that approaches, the ones who guard the tennis balls… I could go on.

Dogs who visit dog parks need to be not just dog-safe, but people safe. Expect there to be many other owners milling about, and assume that they are not truly dog-savvy. (Though hope that they are!) I’ve seen people practically grab a passing dog to pet them. If your dog isn’t going to respond well to intrusions in their personal space, they don’t belong at the park. Some of the basic things that I think a dogs needs to be able to handle are:

• Being grabbed suddenly, by the collar or body
• Being petted roughly on any part of the body
• People (including children) who laugh, shriek, and otherwise make exciting noises
• People (including children) who run around, carry fun toys, and/or may actually be afraid of strange dogs

On one of our most recent trips to the park, the dogs were both having a good time. The mix of dogs was smallish but well suited, and most of the owners seemed to be fairly knowledgeable about the basics of behavior. Then a family came in, consisting of mom, dad and a school-age girl, with their medium-sized dog. The parent come in and just start walking around a bit, no big deal. The kid, though, screams when a large dog runs up to sniff her (No! This coat is NEW! GO AWAY!), turns her back while looking over her shoulder, and runs away. In dog-speak, she just said Let’s play! The dog chased her, and the next thing I know, dad is pushing the dog away with the legs of a plastic chair and yelling. Apparently the dog nipped the back of her leg in excitement.

There are two sides to that incident. First and foremost, a dog at a park should know to never put teeth in contact with a person. Not even in play. That dog needs to learn impulse control and play where there are fewer temptations. On the other hand, nobody should come into a dog park and act like the kid did. There are posted rules, even, against running, screaming, and kids playing with the dogs. Should the kid have been bitten? Absolutely not. But this was a 100% avoidable situation that made an otherwise well-behaved dog look like a dangerous beast.

You really have to know your dog to appropriately assess their compatibility with dog parks. Should something unexpected come up that you don’t like, leave. Just because a situation isn’t bad yet doesn’t mean you should wait and see what happens. And for goodness sake, if your dog is bullying another dog, please intervene! If everyone did this, bad incidents would be greatly reduced and I believe both dogs and people would have much more fun.

A Winter Request

My dogs absolutely love winter, so they were thrilled when it snowed Friday night. They got to snuffle through several inches of fresh snowfall on Saturday morning. Their footfalls were the first to mar the pristine white blanket.

Not so well-loved, however, is the salt people are putting out on their sidewalks and driveways. Businesses especially seem to just dump the stuff, completely covering their walkways in sharp crystals. During our regular walks this weekend, Maxwell started limping twice, and Sadie once, all because of some salt that got stuck in their paws. And I don’t mean favoring one foot a little. I mean they did their best to walk on three legs until I could clean out the offending paw.

Please, please check your dogs’ feet often this winter. Watch their movements on walks, and clear out their paws any time you see a pup walking strangely. Check them mid-walk, just to be safe. Check them after you pass a particularly salty area, in case your dog is just hiding his or her discomfort. Check them before they come inside, regardless of if you think they are fine or not.

If you use salt, look into buying dog-friendly brands. There is salt available commercially that is especially designed to be paw-friendly, like Safe Paw. Yes, it is more expensive… but I think it’s worth it. I am planning to send letters to the condo association that maintains my complex as well as some of the larger local businesses (car dealers, office buildings, etc) requesting the change. Once I draft the letter, I’ll post it here. Feel free to join my paw-friendly winter campaign!

Just For Fun

First, I give you a truly amazing trick: dog on a chain. This dog clearly trust their trainer 100%, and is utterly fearless.

Next a preview of a Super Bowl commercial. How long does it take you to recognize the tune? (Warning: may contain nerdy content)

There's also an opportunity for dogs to show off at the 2012 Boatyard Dog Trials in Maine this summer. I love their rules:

         Rule 1: Either the dog or handler must finish completely soaked.
         Rule 2: Cheating is not only tolerated, but encouraged.
         Rule 3: There are no other rules.

And last but not least, here's one just for Subaru owners: a doggy photo contest! The winning dog has his or her likeness made into a plush toy, plus a professional photo shoot, plus the human gets some Subaru stuff. Act fast, though... the contest ends January 26.

Lockdown: A Correction And An Update

My original post misstated the origins of the magnetic lock. My boyfriend found it at a Babies R Us the night of the incident. I guess I'm just so used to everything coming from Amazon, that I just assumed that was the case.

In related news, when we got home from work tonight, the bottom oven drawer was yanked out again. And again, the cookie cabinet was snugly closed. I assume this behavior will extinguish eventually. Hopefully before she rips the oven out of the kitchen and chews off the cabinet knob!

Lockdown

In light of Sadie's recent adventures in the cookie cabinet, we decided to get a child safety lock. Now, my boyfriend couldn't find any at a hardware store, so we went to Amazon. What we ended up with can only be described as a feat of lock engineering.

The lock mechanism is nicely hidden inside the cabinet. You can flip a switch to disengage the lock altogether, or allow it to latch every time the door closes. And the door closes snugly, so Sadie can't get a paw in the crack and lever it open. That means, though, that humans can't get in either.

 Maxwell likes to help

Here's where the fun engineering comes in. The lock can be disengaged by a magnet. It comes with a nifty magnetic knob, which you simply place on the outside of the cabinet door. That unlocks it, and you can use the regular know to pull the door open.

Can you see the chew marks on the top, real knob?

The bottom one is the magnetic key.

My boyfriend installed it late last week. On Saturday, we left the dogs alone to go shopping and play pool. When we got home, the bottom of the stove had been yanked out yet again and the doorknob had been gnawed on. But the cabinet was still closed! The small packet of treats I'd intentionally left in it as a lure had worked, and proven the lock Sadie-proof...

That's not the small bag... that's the big bag!

...for now.

At Least It's Information

Yesterday was the ASCA trial.

Sadie turned out a so-so performance. She had a beautiful clean jumpers run (despite my terrible front cross that cut her off) for 1st and a Q. She also had a decent standard run for 3rd and a half Q. Apparently ASCA offers 5-point (half) and 10-point (full) Qs depending on your numbers of faults. Her other three runs all had downed bars, which I find disappointing, since I know how well she can run. Those earned her three more 3rd place ribbons. Yay for only three dogs jumping 24"!

Maxwell... The competitor in me is very disappointed. He would take a jump or two, then leave me at warp speed. Once he just went flying around the course. Once he charged through the exit to go find Sadie (hiding in a side room). Once he went 'visiting,' and ended up standing with his head in a bar-setter's lap, nub wagging, hoping to be petted. We didn't finish a single course.

On the other hand, he went farther with me on each run. The last course, I think he took four jumps and seriously considered the rear cross I'd cued before taking off. Clearly, we need to work on value for staying with me in the face of distractions. I'll probably ask someone to walk Sadie around while he runs in class, too, to reduce that problem. I'm glad we have a month before our next trial.

Even though I didn't get the results I was hoping for from the pups, it was still a fun trial. The judge was very nice, allowing me to put Maxwell over a jump on-leash at the end of our last run. (Some woman standing at the exit leashed him when he ran over... Who does that??) People were really nice and helpful about helping me run both dogs. (A mere two or three dogs between their runs) And best of all, Maxwell and I got to meet his 'little' sister!

Darby may only be 10 months old, but she's already built much more sturdily than Maxwell, has 7 pounds on him, and stands about an inch taller. Her mom got us special permission to use the outside training area to let them romp. The two pups ran like crazy, tugged on a stick together, and beat each other up. They were perfect playmates. Neither dog wanted to lose and end up pinned, so there was a lot of leg grabbing, face biting, and headbutting going on.

Thanks very much to Darby's mom, my friend who introduced me to Aussies, and another ARPH friend, who all helped hold dogs for me. I know you all had your own dogs to manage, and other trial-related work going on, but you really made the day easier for me. Thank you!

So now to figure out the where to go from here with the dogs' training.

Clean Up In Aisle 9

So, Sadie got into the cookie cabinet again yesterday.

It was the same exact situation: bottom section of the stove pulled out, door pawed open, plastic bits all over the apartment. Instead of dry biscuits and cookies, this time she got a pound of Zuke's (peanut butter flavor), roughly a half pound of biscuits, and a compressed rawhide. Thankfully she didn't get into the Pup-Peroni (the doggie equivalent of McDonalds fries), the 4 lbs sausage of Natural Balance, the freeze-dried treats, or the other rawhide.

She's also a bit of a b**** around food, so we're nearly certain Maxwell got nothing.

Her 'business' was fine that night, though lots of pee from drinking 2 bowls of water. She did wake us around 4am to go out... urgently. Sadly, she seemed okay on her morning walk, so we left her for the day. We should have called our dog walker.

I came in to a big mess in the hallway, trailed into the bathroom. (At least she got that part right!) She also must have drank a ton of water again, because she peed in her home for the first time in recent memory.  Thank goodness for those rental carpet cleaning machines at the grocery store!

So my boyfriend may come home mid-day tomorrow, just to be safe. And we're trying to get a child safety-lock for the cabinet. In the meantime, all treats have been moved well out of range!

TED Partner Series: Ian Dunbar

This talk by Ian Dunbar is an absolute must-watch. He discusses positive training in both dogs and people. Go watch it!

Maxwell's First Trial (Plus, Sadie Kicks Ass)

January first brought about not just a brand new year, but also Maxwell's second birthday and his very first agility trial!

There was a USDAA trial in Hamden. That's where Sadie's first ever trial was held, so it seems only fitting for Maxwell to run there, too. I didn't want to stress him out too much, so he was only in Gamblers, Standard, and Jumpers. Sadie was in those, plus Snooker and Pairs. Overall, that meant eights runs for me.

There were only a handful of 22" Performance dogs, so it was tight! When Maxwell ran, I had to have a friend hold him while I ran Sadie (she was always first dog on the line), then do a fast switch to run Maxwell (3rd or 5th, depending on which run). I felt bad for Sadie, since it shortened her 'celebration' time with me after her runs. It also meant less re-connecting time with Maxwell before his courses. Luckily, he's a little superstar.

Maxwell knocked zero bars, took zero wrong-courses, and never went zooming. Was he stressed? Absolutely. He refused to complete the weave poles, visited the scoring table (well hello there, ladies!), and went to check out an open door once. But he ALWAYS came back to me, and we finished all three runs tail high and together. I had gone to the trial prepared to take one or two jumps and bail, just to give him success in the ring. Instead, he far surpassed my expectations. He didn't Q in anything (though Jumpers was a mere 1.5 seconds too long) but he did place top 4 in everything! In fact, he beat Sadie in Jumpers.

Gamblers: We would have killed this course, if he had taken the last jump on my first queue. Instead, he got distracted and our time was up.

Standard: Other than his stress at the weaves, a stellar run. Man, I love to watch him move.

Jumpers: He really shows his potential here. Except when he goes to investigate an open door, he really takes my queues and shows enthusiasm. This run really drilled home to me that he needs handling at much more distance than Sadie. I got too close to one of the far jumps, and he nearly ran around it. I realized just in time to give him some personal space.

Sadie was just phenomenal as well. Top four in all five courses, three Qs. I really couldn't be much happier with that dog. Her enthusiasm is off the charts, along with her confidence. Someone who saw her run 6 months ago wouldn't even think she's the same dog. In fact, I think her confidence is the reason she missed the other Q's: she runs so strong now, that she has started to drop bars in competition as she charges through the courses. That, and she was probably tired by run #5!

Running pairs was a blast. My friend with Fake Mudi was our partner. Her dog is much less seasoned than Sadie, so he is still a bit unsure of himself, but they were awesome. A clean run from them, then a great performance from Sadie gave us both a nice Q. Yeah, Sadie tried to snatch the baton from me... it was exciting!

Gamblers: We just managed that A-frame contact. Phew!

Standard: Dog-walk contact hit by a toe... but it's enough for the Q. Apparently the contacts are shorted in USDAA, so that was probably a big factor. Also, do you see those weaves??? Holy cow! 12 poles like it's nothing!

Pairs: So much fun! I want to run this more often. And more fantastic weaves! Next time, Maxwell and Fake Mudi?

Snooker: Silly dog took the wrong jump, just as we were entering the closing. Great run anyway.

Jumpers: Smooth, fast, happy. A good way to end the day, even if she did take out a bar.

All three of us went home tired and happy. And now I'm plotting Maxwell's next public appearance...

So Much To Say

I have at least three big posts swirling through my head, and haven't had time to write them yet. But never fear, updates on the way!