Choose and Raise a Puppy

The paw plunger

2007-11-03T13:36:00.000+11:00

Like a giant coffee cup filled with bristles, the paw plunger lets you wash puppy's feet without a whole bath. Handy device or useless gadget?

Might be useful after Duz's side trips through the mangroves.

Wagging School

2007-11-03T13:09:00.000+11:00

A little different from previous tv dog-training schools, Wagging Schools is a series of five minute programs each dedicated to teaching a basic skill like sit, lie down and leave it.

All the Wagging School videos are available to download onto your mobile device - in MP4, WMV and 3gpp format. Or you can download all 10 guides in one pdf (202KB).

Wagging School's Golden Rules

BE CONSISTENT:
When you make a plan of action, stick to it and don't change your mind later. If you ask your dog to sit, make sure it does so immediately every time! And if you don't want your dog on your favourite chair, don't allow it to get up on any furniture ever!

TELL YOUR DOG WHAT YOU WANT.
Many people just pull their dogs around either without speaking or being annoyed. Very negative behaviour.

BE FIRM
Don't just stand there waiting for your dog. Dogs need a leader, so tell it firmly and show it what you want. Then when it does it, praise it.

TIMING
Learn to say training word first, then quickly get dog to respond, then quickly praise or reward with a treat. Say it, Do it (quickly) & Praise it a lot!

PRAISE QUICKLY
The second your dog has done what you asked it to do, praise it well - use positive reinforcement only.

IGNORE MISTAKES
Don't say anything if your dog doesn't obey you, just simply ask it again and make it happen. Then give it lots of praise, of course!

The Good, the Bad, and the Furry

2007-11-02T15:04:00.000+11:00

There are quite a few of these books around - "Choosing the dog that's right for you". But Sam Stall tells it like it is, giving the most important information would-be owners might need to know about more than 100 varieties of dogs. Each entry addresses key factors, like size, coat type, temperament, exercise requirements, potential genetic issues, schedule demands (does the dog mind if you leave her alone all day?) and financial demands.

Helpful pet icons tell if a dog is aggressive, very smart, needs a lot of grooming, can make a lot of noise, etc.; while other icons pertain to owners, differentiating between couch potatoes and active folk, suburbanites and city dwellers, etc.

Whimsical sketches of each dog give an indication of personality. Stall's humor makes the book a little different from others available: describing a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel's watchdog potential, he says "the only way it could harm a burglar is if the guy tripped over it." He warns that "Goldens like to carry things in their mouths. They may trot around for hours holding an interesting piece of underwear before presenting it to houseguests."

guarding?

2007-11-02T10:49:00.001+11:00

guarding?, originally uploaded by illona.

An interesting discussion taking place on Flickr around Illona's photo taken at a dog park. What is agression? What is inappropriate play? Should someone intervene? Who? And how?

What is the role of the dog park? Are they good places to take your dog? Should they be more strictly 'policed'?

Genetics and Behaviour

2007-09-18T07:08:00.000+10:00

Nicholas Dodman is head of the animal behaviour clinic at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. Using brand new genetic 'chip' technology Dodman is exploring the genetics of common behavioural problems in dogs.

The correlation between particular breeds and specific behaviours has been obvious to observers; Dodman's experiments will uncover the genetic sources of these behaviours. He will initially look at flank sucking in Dobermans, tail chasing in Bull Terriers, and rage in Springer Spaniels.

With selective breeding and documented pedigrees, purebred dogs provide a powerful system for untangling genetic complexities.

While linking human and animal research is problematic, some commentators are hoping that Dodman's research will illuminate human psychiatric probelms such as aggression, self-harm, and obsessive-compulsive behaviour.

Positive or Negative?

2007-09-17T07:54:00.000+10:00

Interviewed for Bark magazine, Dr Nicholas Dodman said.

"I think that the direct punishment-based techniques are outmoded, a thing of the past, and should be avoided. Nobel Prize winners Lorenz, Tinbergen and Von Frisch might have disagreed on some points, but the three of them were all in agreement that punishment teaches a dog nothing except how to avoid the punishment."

"I work on the theory that if you can train a killer whale to launch itself out of a swimming pool, roll on its side and urinate into a small plastic cup, given only a whistle and a bucket of fish, without a choke chain, then you don’t need those confrontational techniques with dogs."

Virtual Clicker Training

2007-09-16T08:05:00.000+10:00

The US PBS network's program Pet Tech featured Duncan, a virtual sheep dog who looks after a virtual flock. Created by a team at MIT's Media Lab, Duncan has a mind of his own and can learn to respond to verbal commands. Like a real dog, however, Duncan's performance often depends on the skill of his human master.

With advice from Gary Wilkes, they used a clicker to teach him a range of commands.

You can watch episodes of Pet Tech online.

Basic skills of clicker training

2007-09-08T17:54:00.000+10:00

What: Criteria
Before you start a training session, decide exactly what you are going to reinforce. Unless you know what you want, you’re unlikely to get it! Remember to teach in tiny increments, rather than expecting the whole finished behaviour all at once. The smaller the increments the more successful your dog will be at working the behaviour out for himself – and that produces the best learning.

When: Timing
The click marks exactly the moment that the dog performs the desired behaviour. It tells the dog “That’s what I want. That’ll get you a reward” You will find that you have to anticipate the dog’s action so as to click on time. It is better to click too soon than too late.

Where: Placement
While the clicker is the primary marker, everything that happens between the click and the treat is being reinforced. If you click a sit then your dog gets up for the treat, getting up without a cue is being reinforced. So where possible, reward the dog in position, or use the delivery of the treat to reinforce the behaviour. Eg click backing up, and toss the treat under the dog’s belly so she has to back up to get it.

How Much: Rate of Reinforcement
Keep the rate of reinforcement high, particularly in the early stages of teaching a new behaviour. Your dog knows how to sit. What you are teaching him is that it is worth his while to sit when you give the cue – so make it worth his while! As you raise the criteria you will be demanding more of your dog for less frequent reinforcement.

Intro to clicker training

2007-09-08T17:50:00.000+10:00

Notes for a workshop I gave at the ADAA Camp. They came from Bob Baily via Dani Weinberg and Helix Fairweather.

How to Teach a New Behaviour

1. Get yourself organized
Prepare small, soft, easily delivered treats or decide on another reward. Practice clicking and delivering the treat until you can do it smoothly and quickly.

2. Warmup
Start each training sessions with a few rounds of Clicking Attention. Just click and treat if your dog is new to clicker training, or ask for a few simple well known behaviours that you can click and treat.

3. Get the behaviour
Capture – Watch your dog and click and treat if your dog offers the behaviour.
Lure – Coax your dog into performing the behaviour with a strategically positioned treat. Only lure two or three times then let your dog figure it out.
Shape – Click and treat ever closer approximations to the behaviour. First step might be look at the target, then move towards it, touch with nose, press nose against it.

4. Change the picture
Start helping your dog generalize by changing your position, orientation, distance. Sit, stand, turn sideways …

5. Give it a name
When your dog is doing the behaviour intentionally and predictably, give the cue while the behaviour is happening. Then gradually give the cue earlier, until you can give it before the behaviour starts.

If your dog offers any behaviour other than the one you asked for, do nothing. Wait for your dog to figure it out, then click and treat when your dog gets it right.
Once you have built up an association between the cue and the behaviour, if your dog offers the behaviour when you haven’t cued it, ignore! Then immediately give the cue and click and treat the repeated behaviour.

6. Make it harder
Start delaying the click and treat, one second at a time, to build duration.
Raise your standards and only click and treat those instances of the behaviour that meet your new standard. You might ask for faster, further, longer, straighter … Work on one criterion at a time.

Go back a step if necessary to keep the dog’s success rate high.

7. Take it on the road
Ask for the behaviour in new parts of the house, garden, street, suburb … Practice in increasingly distracting locations, and introduce distractions to familiar locations.

Sapper Merlin killed on duty

2007-09-06T18:01:00.000+10:00

Sapper Merlin watches as Sapper Peter Lawlis eats a biscuit.

An Australian Cattle Dog cross from Brisbane he was working as a bomb detection dog in Afghanistan, when he was run over while sleeping in the shade of a vehicle.

Which mixed breeds?

2007-08-25T21:45:00.000+10:00

Reggies owner thinks he is part cattle dog and part fox terrier, however tests on the market in the US could let him know Reggies breed heritage for sure.

The Wisdom Panel MX Mixed Breed Analysis requires a blood sample and is done in a veterinarian's office. The results come back in two to three weeks. The test is based on DNA samples from 3,200 dogs, covering 134 breeds and is expected to cost about $130.

The Canine Heritage Breed Test is a do-it-yourself kit from MMI Genomics. Owners swab the inside of their dog's cheek, and then mail it to the company. This test covers 38 breeds, costs $71.95 and takes four to six weeks.

These services join the American Kennel Club's DNA testing to confirm parentage using a cheek swab. The AKC maintains a DNA library of over 450,000 individual dogs which is used to protect and investigate pedigree claims.

Reggie says hi!

2007-08-18T10:56:00.001+10:00

Reggie says hi!, originally uploaded by marj k.

ACD Pedigree Database

2007-08-13T07:59:00.000+10:00

Pedigree of Ikenheel Diamonds N Dust (Dusty) Her lines can be traced back to Little Logic through Wooleston Blue Jack

"Sydney exhibitors saw Little Logic offspring, for the first time, among entrants at the Sydney Royal of 1947. These exhibits, and their sires' show record, created immediate demand for Little Logic's lineage. By the end of the 1950s, there were few Australian Cattle Dogs whelped that were not Little Logic descendants. The convergence on Little Logic continued into the next generation when Little Logic's best known son, Logic Return, also attained prominence in the show ring and popularity at stud.

The prominence of Little Logic and Logic Return in the pedigrees of modern Australian Cattle Dogs was perpetuated by Wooleston Kennels. Whelped in 1965, Wooleston Blue Jack was line bred to Little Logic and Logic Return, and Wooleston Kennels subsequently line bred to Wooleston Blue Jack, himself. For some twenty years, Wooleston supplied foundation and supplementary breeding stock to breeders in Australia, North America and Continental Europe. As a result, Wooleston Blue Jack is ancestral to most, if not all, Australian Cattle Dogs whelped since 1990 in any country." ACD Breed History Noreen Clark

Dog Diet

2007-08-04T19:04:00.000+10:00

Thommo has put on some weight - a combination of the sore feet, winter, and my being away. So he's going back onto Chris Zink's pumpkin diet.

"Take 1/3 of your dog's regular dinner away and replace it with 2/3 canned pumpkin. It only has 40 calories per cup so you can really increase it quiet a bit and still not be adding much. If after a week or two of weighing your dog on the same day at the same time, you don't begin to see a weight loss....increase the pumpkin and the lower the kibble until you start to see a steady loss at 1-2 pounds a week. Just like people, any more per week is unhealthy. Keep the dog on this level until the desired weight is reached then slowly decrease the pumpkin until you are left with the regular dinner. At this point you may need to increase your kibble some, but by weighing every week...it's readily apparent if you dog is still losing or starting to creep up again."

Princess takes a nap

2007-08-04T11:26:00.001+10:00

Princess takes a nap, originally uploaded by marj k.

Agilily - for all breeds

2007-07-30T07:44:00.001+10:00

ADAA Wallerawang Trial

2007-07-30T07:24:00.000+10:00

The action was fast and furious, keeping spectators riveted.

Dusty BAAD

2007-07-30T06:11:00.001+10:00

We had a wonderful weekend at the ADAA Wallerawang trial. The weather was brisk but fine, and Nicola's brazier and large quantities of mulled wine kept the frost at bay.

Many thanks to judges Wayne and Jody who were marvellous, particularly with green dogs and nervous handlers.

The cold made Thommo rather stiff, so he had only one run. But he enjoyed the gamblers course, deciding to do an A-frame a third time instead of starting the gamble.

Dusty got several quallies and a first place against some stiff competition. She earned her BAAD title at just her second ADAA trial, and is 3/4 of the way to her AAD.

Beginner Australian Agility Dog (BAAD) - Dogs that have gained four Clear Round certificates in Combined-Elementary Agility/Jumping Tests with at least two being gained in Agility Tests.
Australian Agility Dog (AAD) - Dogs that have gained four Clear Round certificates in Combined-Starters, Intermediate and/or Open Agility/Jumping Tests with at least two being gained in Agility Tests.

Though BAAD does suit her!

Weave action

2007-07-25T08:33:00.001+10:00

Canine Chiropractic

2007-07-25T08:10:00.000+10:00

The August issue of Clean Run magazine has an article entitled,"Is It a Training Problem or Is It Physical?" by Tracy Sklenar. The first paragraph reads, "When agility dogs slow down, act stressed, avoid obstacles or leave the ring, we often look for answers in our training program. Perhaps there has been a low rate of reinforcement, or the dog does not understandwhat we are asking him to do in competition. Maybe the distractions are overwhelming,or the dog lacks motivation for the game. Sometimes, though, the answer is not to be found in training - it is only uncovered after a systematic and thorough medical workup. Many medical problems can affect our dogs' performance that are first seen (or only seen) on the agility field."

Australia now offers the highest level of Veterinary Chiropractic training in the world, through RMIT university in Victoria. The 2 year post-grad diploma, and 3 year Masters degree are available to qualified Chiropractors, Osteopaths and Veterinarians only.

The Chirovet website has some interesting articles on The Role of Chiropractic Therapy in Small Animal Medicine and Chiropractic and Acupuncture for Dogs & Cats plus a detailed FAQ and a guide to locating members of the Australian Veterinary Chiropractic Association.

Ag Ch Brenilly Wynona Ryder

2007-07-22T10:10:00.000+10:00

Le and Rabbit earned the last 1st place ribbon needed to gain them their Agility Champion title on the weekend at the Coffs Harbour trial. Once a dog has Masters titles in both Agility and Jumping they require 20 additional qualifying certificates in both Masters Agility and Jumping classes (40 qualifying certificates in all) with 10 qualifying certificates in each class being a 1st place.

Pre-emptive cues

2007-07-18T05:21:00.000+10:00

When I have finished sweeping, I tap the broom on the floor a couple of times. I've probably done this for thirty years, but I didn't know I did it until Dusty told me.

Duz wants to chase the broom. So I place her in a down stay, sweep a section and then tell her "Get it." She casts around and grabs the broom for a tug. This worked well for a while, then she began to consistently race for the broom, before my "Get it." She was predicting that the broom taps would be immediately followed by "Get it" so that became her cue.

This has sent be back to start line 'routines'. If I'm to have a set routine then I need to proof it so that she waits for the final cue - not one of the actions that precede it and therefore predict it. If I'm not going to go this route, then I need to vary what I do at the start line so that she is not picking her own cue from the chain.

I think I distracted him :-)

2007-07-14T06:59:00.001+10:00

I think I distracted him :-), originally uploaded by marj k.

At training today we were doing a number of exercises involving a send to the table.

Thommo

2007-07-12T18:22:00.001+10:00

Thommo, originally uploaded by marj k.

My Thommo - he's such a sook at the vet, everyone there loves him.

Osteoarthritis

2007-07-12T17:41:00.000+10:00

Thommo has had sore front feet for a while - he'd seem fine for days then be three-leg lame on one front foot or the other. A fatty lump on his right foot confused diagnosis but radiographs today confirmed that he as osteoarthritis in both feet. Other joints seem clear for the moment.

Arthritis results from destruction of the cartilage that protects the ends of the bones that make up the joint. Cartilage destruction can be the result of normal stress on abnormal joints or abnormal stress on normal joints.

Thommo does subject his toes to quite a bit of stress through a pouncing action as he stalks sticks and toys. He uses the same pounce to come to a stop on the contact obstacles.

There has been lively 'debate' in Australia over the ANKC's decision to remove slats from the A-frame and DogWalk last year. However, though some say dogs can no longer tell the difference between the Dog Walk and the Teeter, the absence of slats will allow Thommo to continue with agilty for a while longer.

I'll limit him to one or two runs a day and watch him carefully. I know from my own arthritic hands that it's usually a day or two after exertion that I feel the pain so I'll certainly start off with a "less is more" approach.

Treatment:
Cartrophen Vet - a series of weekly injections for four weeks, in conjunction with
Sasha's Blend - a combination of marine concentrates with high natural anti inflammatory and joint protective properties, it contains the full range of GAGS (glycosaminoglycans) including Keratin, Dermatin, Heparin sulphates and the commonly known Glucosamine & Chondroitin sulphates which provide the necessary nutrients required to stimulate healthy joint function.
Rimadyl (carprofen) - for occasional use to manage severe pain.

We've cut back on swimming with the cold weather - but I'll get the wetsuit out and alternate swimming and walking. They both need to lose the couple of kilos they put on while I was away, also.