Effortless

I heard that word today in an old training manual while browsing the internet.
One of the number one things I have learned training dogs, being with dogs, learning about dogs, is that they come pre-trained. We break them, we give them bad habits. Through our body language and our responses to their actions we train them, mold their personalities into the range of behavior problems we see today. 
I learned this the best with Gus, other then his retrieving he has never received formal training. I never treated him for heeling, never taught him to sit. He watched he learned and he met my expectations through other dogs. Effortless was how I trained him.
I tell my students walk into my classes 'I want you to have a clear image in your head of what you want your dog to be. If you feel it isn't possible, then your dog will never reach that level. As soon as you believe your dog will do the expected his behavior, he will.'
Effortless is how training should be. I expect my puppies to act like adults, I remember they are puppies but I treat them like adults. That way when they become an adult there aren't new rules or expectations. Their transition is effortless.
Whenever, I put my hands on a leash, my intentions are clear, my boundaries are clear. I am secure in who I am and what I am doing. The dog knows this and acts accordingly. If I do it right their is no fuss. I like to show people what their dog can do. They are not untrained but they haven't been expected to act that way.
This way when you are met with resistance you know immediately that something you asked was unclear. There is a stark difference between effortless and effort. If your always fighting your dog then you will never know. I preach softness is paramount to my students because no one understands how training could be effortless, once soft is mastered they can understand that training is effortless. Keep your training effortless too and you will start to read your dog better and your partnership can only grow.


~Happy Tails~

10 Months In

Gus is now over 10 months old, he now is starting to act like a an adult. He is still the baby brother but he has come a long way and I am proud of him everyday. These are the top 5 question I have gotten thus far having a standard poodle

1) "What are those in his hair?" This is the top question I get and it amuses me every time, no they are not beads or bows, those are hair bands and they are so he can see.

2) "That's a lot of hair, does it take you a long time?" No it doesn't, should it, probably, but I am a bad show dog owner ;) and bath and a brush once a week isn't that hard to me. Yes it does take probably 4 hours each time but I think it's meditation.  Plus I didn't get a poodle to keep it clean.

3) " Do standards come that small?" Yes they do he is 35lbs and I love his size. Being that there is no limit to standards they can get a big, but I am not a big dog person. I wanted a bird dog, a convenient dog so to me he is perfect.  What good is a bird dog that tips over a boat?

4) "What are poodles like?" That's a hard one sense he is my only one I have ever had. He is like a lab but smarter, still ball crazy, still happy go lucky but with more hair. He has baby brother syndrome and he thinks he is a lap dog. He loves everyone but still wants to be my guard dog.

5) "Is this a labradoodle?" No.

When to use a prong, choke and electric collar

The loudest people are always the ones with the strongest opinion.

Yet again I read another training article on training a dog not to pull. I am curious by nature and sometimes I am pleasantly surprised, other times (most times) I am greatly saddened by the state of affairs in the dog training community.

And I quote "The good ol' choker is a classic. It works very simply to cut off the dog's air supply until he does what you want. If he can't figure it out, you just keep jerking until he learns how to avoid being suffocated. Fun for the whole family."(for my own sanity I wont publish the link outright but if you want me to send it send me a private message)

If you seriously think this is how they work. You are so terribly wrong and I feel so sorry from you and you should really just shut up till you know better.

My 'abused' dog in his shock collar a year ago.

Giving a correction is an art form. It is not for a newbie or really anyone who has never given a correction before, and would probably take a whole book to define let alone teach. The prong, choke and electric collar are all for giving corrections. Used properly they can change a dogs behavior and outlook without harm to the dog. My belief is they are a band-aids, I want my dogs to be able to work on a flat collar but hey they can't always yet. If the environment is to stimulating I need to be able to keep control. Corrections are by feel, I want subtle and soft dogs. I know how to use a prong, choke and shock collar to get me there. I know how to be safe, my dogs are excited when I pull out the chains cause we are going somewhere interesting and new. They do not fear me. If I have to correct them more than I few times I have an error somewhere in my communication.

I wish I could teach the correction in words but I can't. If you think you may need one of these ask someone who has spent years using them. General positive trainers don't know how and I think it's unfortunate. If you don't know how they work you will never learn how to help a dog off one.

But please find someone who knows how to use one nothing rubs me raw then seeing them on wrong with the dog chocking and no one figuring out that's not supposed to happen. Some people call 'em chokes, I call them a chain because it's what they are not because enough idiots got together and got their dogs gasping for air and snapping their trachea's.

If you have learned to use one, then you will know when you need one. It is that easy. I know my dogs, I know when to use one. There is no magic cure all in training and no magic answer. You have to do what you think is right and if your wrong, learn from it and try something else.

Dog whistle hanging in the rear view...

 

There is a dog whistle that hangs on my cars rear view mirror, a subtle testament to the life that I live.  Some people hang dog tags, dream catchers, crosses, ear plugs, anything that reminds them of their life and for easy access. It's one of the ways we display to the rest of the world who we are and what we do. 

Well every time I take a turn it swings into my view and I am reminded that hey maybe I should take my dogs out working.

They say training is a way of life, for me it is. 

Photos..

I would have stories to tell but its been a long day...

Start of Fall Photos

Just three images from our morning walk on Oct. 2nd ...

Training Anarchy

It is an every trainer for themselves kind of thing, it's the everyone is wrong approach, it's the wrong approach. Today I was pleased to find a trainer who I didn't know who responded with this same gripe. But the vibe was still there she looked at me with disdain when I said positive trainer. I look at her and said for the new owner with a new puppy why overwhelm them, let's make the choice simple like we do for the dogs and start them easy. I am never apposed to teaching a dog no, once she got that bit the air seemed to lighten a little bit. But the point stands why do we fight other trainers so hard. There are tons of us and even more dogs. Not every person is right for every trainer and every dog. I have tried to keep an open mind and heart in these situations but still I inadvertently put my guard up.
It's every trainer for themselves, a dog eat dog world, out there... one day I hope it's not and I no longer worry about running into another trainer.

~Happy Tails~

Words for thought: On training

The wisest words on training I have probably read this year... 

To be the best trainer that we can be, we are striving for an impossible goal - a goal that we will never achieve. Even though we set our clear goal, and aim for it, as we begin learning and growing to what we once had our sites set on, our goal will no longer be good enough. Our eyes will have gotten trained to desire a more finite picture, one that we previously could not see. This makes training dogs both impossibly hard, and very alluring!

This is the frustration that I see in many people after having successfully trained their first dog. My mentor says that training your first dog is like successfully completing your first 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle. You can admire your hard work and skill, but in no way has it made the task easier, nor will it allow you to cut corners for your next 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle. Granted, you might be more careful about losing puzzle pieces, or forcing pieces into the wrong spot, but you will still find the same effort, dedication and work is required to complete the second puzzle. And maybe more, depending upon the puzzle, because generally our future dogs are more challenging, not less so.
There is nothing easy about getting good; it demands effort, grit and deliberate practise, in wind, rain, sleet and snow, often with very little improvement from day to day. It is in these moments that our once 'work' of training our dogs slowly becomes a love and passion as we get hooked on the details and nuances required for each and every dog.
Most often we get the dogs that we need, meaning that the skill required is just within our reach with effort and determination. Though sometimes the work seems too hard for our skill level; the improvements non-existent despite our effort and commitment. When stuck we need to set up moments for ourselves where we can get our motivation back. This might be walking or training with friends, going to a weekly class to keep you on track, journalling, or long peaceful walks where you can clear your head and think.
Only our inner engagement will make us good trainers. We need to stay engaged, and must be thinking about what we are doing. There is nothing rote about training dogs. If you are just going out and doing, that is all that you will ever do. Reading this blog, going to a seminar, or attending weekly class will all have zero benefit if you don't process it, understand it, and later reflect. All true masters of dogs have spent their 10,000 hours thinking. Not reading. Not learning. But thinking, practicing, thinking some more, and practicing again.
Don't get me wrong. Learning is needed. But learning will often be coming from your own mind, when you work out your problem and brainstorm for solutions. If you cannot find a solution, you can ask, but asking alone without first brainstorming won't teach you how to think. It is even useful to remember things that you did, that got you the wrong result. That action that got you something, even though it was not wanted in that moment, might be right tomorrow when you need that result.
My long winded moral to this story is that we must all learn to think. We must have the tenacity and inner grit to train our dogs even when we don't want to, and then we must process and think about what went right, and what we need to change. Our practice must happen often enough that we remember this into our next session so that we can actually change.
Becoming good takes a long, long time, and probably three dogs before it becomes more fluid. But it is worth it. The process with each dog is such an honor that we are all blessed to have.
Monique Anstee
Victoria, BC

Fear: The great stigmatized training motivator

I got your attention now?

Fear rules our lives. It dictates jumping out in front of traffic, running away from bears and crazy people. Fear has been stigmatized as a  training method to make your dog want to behave for fear of what you might do if they don't. For a long time positive only people have made a strong and true case that positive training teaches your dog better, which it does. But what we have neglected to pass along to friends or anyone who not along for the revolution and the following battle was that, while we no longer use fear directly, fear still plays its' role in training.

Fear is why we want our dogs to behave in public. But we better not be judged. Your dog better be not wearing a chain or a shock collar or a pinch collar. This fear that we have, being judged.We are driven by fear to have a well behaved animal; that our dog won't kill the neighbors kid. Fear is why we have moved to positive only training. But unfortunately it's why we can't discipline our kids, don't trust our neighbors even though our houses have gotten closer. We fear for ourselves because we can no longer give others fear without being labeled. I fully believe good dog to owner relationships are based on trust, that one will not hurt the other, or hurt will not come to them. But if done right our dogs trust us not to let them feel fear. No creature, us or them, wants to fear.

I learned this the greatest when I started hunting with my terriers. They trusted me, that if they went down that tunnel, like countless times before, they would succeed and scare the game into bolting. I built up their confidence, but I shut down their lash-outs and they trust me. They trust my commands are for their best interest, that I care for their well being. Dogs evolved along us to work with us, they are naturally inclined to trust our directions. But they have an ingrained fear already that if they do not listen they will not survive. This is a good thing, they do not need to be trained fear. This means that they are more inclined to listen and not run into traffic. They want to keep us happy.

Dog do need to fear us. In a way that if they do lash out something might be taken from them, whether it might be your attention, your approval or their ability to roam freely. I read in a brochure for training that someone kenneled dogs not because they were in time out but because they had been 'over-stimulated' and need time alone. I don't care how you approach that but when your dogs acts out and you kennel them (if your dog is kennel trained that's it's their happy quiet place) then that dog knows that when it acts out (biting too much, being too rambunctious) they have had you remove them and put them not with you. Which is a punishment.

When I saw that I almost lost it. We have become so afraid of being judged we no longer want to see a punishment as an actual punishment.

Our dogs trust us naturally but they also naturally fear disobeying us. We should always nurture the trust, we should always be proud of them when they do well. We should not forget that they evolved to fear disobeying us. It was important to their survival then and it's important to their survival now. They know this. We need to remember this.

Freedom forever, from barn life to apartments

I am that person. I have kept a terrier in an apartment for their whole life. People judge me and rental companies hate me. It doesn't help that terriers get a (well deserved) bad rap.
The thing is I know what I am doing. I have had a terrier my whole life. I can't imagine my life without their second opinion involved. They keep me down-to-earth, it might have something to do with their short stature, honest and lighthearted. So I should do right by my dogs after all.

That terrier smile.

But I know it's not true. They born with a wild side, one I have indulged and loved. They have wrestled in the hay, chased mice out of the grain and made friends with their other domesticated brethren. They have slept outdoors, jumped into rivers and water troughs, chased four wheelers, ridden in and on countless vehicles and now know what it is like.
I do not care what anyone else has said, there is nothing as brilliant as bringing out the buried genetic code within your dog. Watching a dog discover what it's like to let go and do what they were designed to do is honestly, for me, a moving experience and the closest thing I can find to miracles.
I believe that a farm dog is the happiest dog now. Before I did not quite understand what it could offer that I could not living in the suburbs. Now I have realized that while my dogs are happy just being and working with me, nothing takes the place of living that life.
I have always found time to take my dogs out and work them. Take them packing and back out into the great wide world and will continue to do so. I know they are happy just doing what I am doing even if that's just a stroll downtown.
Anyone who has had a farm or ranch dog knows they will always have that side of them. My dogs still can't help it. Anytime we drive by cattle or fresh cut hay they perk up. roll down the window and cry as we drive by.

True colors

Why do we judge dogs based on color?
If you work in the shelter system you have heard of the black cat/dog problem. The dogs that don't photograph well, the plausible stigma behind owning them. You traverse the show world you see it all the time. The desire for the perfect markings, color, favor for one color over another. Preference for even border collie white neck, with socks that come just so on both sides.  Preference for coat is its own collection of problems.
I am not immune to this. I hate all white jack russells, even with ticking, I do not find it pleasing to the eye. I try to not let it cloud my judgement or quality of the dog but alas it does. Just recently in light of Gus I have started to catch myself judging him. He is a phantom marked poodle and a poorly marked one at that. His markings are silver and subtle, handsome in its own way but nonetheless people judge him. He can't show AKC because he is not solid and the UKC will allow him but the phantom standard says they prefer the clean markings.
There is perfect reason for banishing some colors in breeds due to the linkage between certain color genes and genetic disease. Lethal white is the most common issue in a variety of mammals. But some color 'rules' are just plain silly. Dog 'color racism' is prevalent all over. Assuming certain colors or markings are attached to personality or behavior ( theoretically certain heritable traits could connect to color). I keep trying to tell myself that the color doesn't matter, only the dog underneath it does.

Wrong dog, wrong job and it's very right

I had a moment of realization today. I was moving 6 horses by voice from one pasture through a barn to the next. My dogs a english jack and a standard poodle were trotting around calm and happy like every other morning. The jack, Doodles was moving ahead keeping them from falling off the path and then running behind to make sure they moved and back again to the sides. The poodle, still a pup was keeping his distance unsure still of how to make them turn but following my lead staying behind keeping them going forward weaving back and forth while I walked straight ahead.
This wasn't a trained behavior, it became our morning routine this summer with just a few reassuring words and 'wait ups' when they tried to cut in front of the herd for a few days and they mastered the horses. The idea that my 13 pound jack can move over a thousand pounds with just his sheer presence probably isn't the ego boost he needs. He has been around horses most of his life and as a jack is predisposed to being good with horses. It took two real sessions with the poodle to keep him from barking at the horses, probably 15 minuted total, in which he learned rather quickly the horses wouldn't get wiggy as long as he stayed quiet.
Among everything else, my jack is one of the best retrievers doesn't matter what I drop, throw or loose. If he knows its name (or even if he doesn't) he will do anything in his power to return it to me. And lets just say the poodle learned today that shaking the dummy bird leads to the dummy smacking you in the face. Yes the jack still will catch mice and go-to-ground. Yes the poodle, still coming into himself, finds great pleasure in diving into the water after a retrieve. But no it's not what they do.
People say match your dog to your lifestyle. You take that by saying my active lifestyle matches well with high energy dogs. I love working with my dogs, I need dogs that are intelligent and quick to learn. I am regularly in public space, I need dogs with good social skills. Many of these key features are breed features and can't be taught. But today I realized that there is a very grey area in which  my jack has learned herd and find pleasure in it.

The dogs and the herd later that afternoon

Old images deleted...

Not sure why but all the old images here were deleted. Sorry for any weird blank spaces.

Working Dogs: What is a working dog?

I have debated for a long time how I have wanted to approach this topic and I decided to do a series on working dogs, what they are, how to own and basically what it means to have one.

What Is A Working Dog?

The definition by Websters Dictionary of working is:

adjective: working

1. 1.

   having paid employment.

   
   

   • engaged in manual labor.

     
     

     "the vote is no longer sufficient protection for the working man"
   • relating to, suitable for, or for the purpose of work.

     
     

     "improvements in living and working conditions"
   • (of an animal) used in farming, hunting, or for guard duties; not kept as a pet or for show.
   • (of something possessed) sufficient to work with.
2. 2.

   functioning or able to function.

   
   

   • (of parts of a machine) moving and causing a machine to operate.

     
     

     "the working parts of a digital watch"

noun: working; plural noun: workings

1. 1.

   the action of doing work.

   • a mine or a part of a mine from which minerals are being extracted.
2. 2.

   the way in which a machine, organization, or system operates.

Nice try Doodles but you have,
to do something other than be
cute.

There it is in bold referring to use of an animal as "used in farming, hunting, or for guard duties; not kept as a pet or for show." I wonder how many grumpy show people they made with that. As much as I consider dog showing a sport and sometimes not an easy one at that, for the purpose of drawing a line it does not make a dog a working dog. But a working dog can show, that should be a clear distinction.

There should also be a clear distinction between 'Is,' as in currently working, 'was,'  sufficiently proven the dogs ability but currently does not work, and 'could,' the dog has the ability whether genetically or proven interest but hasn't consistently worked. A herding instinct certificate does not make your collie a working dog, as much as a terrier chasing squirrels is a working dog. 
But what is work? Work I describe as the work the dog was designed for. For many people the image of a herding dog moving sheep is what comes to mind. If your a terrier person it's a terrier bolting a tunnel (that's my thought). Or maybe it's a protection dog trained in schutzhund. What ever the case this is work. Carried through your dogs genetic personality and highlighted by nurturing this innate ability, work is an ongoing activity that your dog engages in.

Getting closer to work...

What about toy/ companion breeds? Theoretically you could prove that your Shihtzu or Chin is capable of doing the 'work' it was designed to do. Bred to be companions a dog should show that in temperament and actions. Dogs with CGC titles, therapy work, and other human engagement activities proves the dogs ability to 'work.' Maybe in not the transitional herding border collie sense but in a sense none the less. I urge breeders of these types of dogs to show these dogs innate ability to work in the sense they were bred to do. I also urge potential owners to search these breeders out if you want your dogs job to be your companion (maybe the world would have one less skittish Shitzu and that would be a good thing).  This is a gray area however considering the definition of working involved "not kept as a pet, or for show." But I think segregating these dogs out of a working standard is unfortunate and wrong.

Then there is the term "working breed." I think this is a terrible misnomer and stems from a variety of places, one of which is the AKC's Working Group. Which does involve a variety of breeds such as the Alaskan Malamute, Kuvasz, Great Dane, and Mastiff, that can work but whether or not a particular dog can work should not be based on this alone. Unfortunately this falls into the there is no real easy way to separate dogs into groups issue which won't be covered.


Hopefully this has given some insight as to what a working dog is and given you a way to form your own opinion of working dogs.

Work is hard, sleeping is better :)

Whats it worth? Choosing to register your dog...

Again I hit a brick wall with the AKC. Doesn't matter how many conversations I have had before with them, every time I find a new hoop to jump through. Doesn't matter that most of his relatives are accepted, if not titled AKC Russell Terriers, for some reason registering him seems to be the most difficult thing I have ever tried to do.
Now I do understand that he was not born as a Russell Terrier, now this is where it gets messy, when he was born the AKC had just moved the Russell Terrier as a breed 2 years prior, this left a lot of open doors for grandfathering his registration in. After a year of trying to figure out how to get him in I was told cross registering him EJRTCA (english jack russell terrier) and UKC (as a jack russell terrier) would accept him into the AKC as a Russell Terrier. After a second conversation with them recently I realized whats it worth it to me to register him? I have till the end of this year and then registration closes permanently for grandfathering any dog in. So why do it, why register any dog? Because for me its worth it.
In many instances you cannot compete with your dog in any official competitions unless they are registered. And I like to test my skills as a trainer, making this probably my biggest reason to register. Following that if you can't compete you can't tittle your dog. The AKC is the biggest club in America today and not being able to compete and tittle a dog with them is a huge gap in the competition.
Registration is another form of identification. Things happen and I like to know that information is out there that my dog is mine. The more proof the better. Most registrations require photo's to be admitted with your dog and they stay on file permanently. Needless to say even with a collar and microchip I still like knowing that there is obvious information out there who my dogs owner is.
Litter registration is probably the lowest reason I will register my dog and should be most people's I think too. Being able to prove your dogs predecessors lineage is helpful and worthy information, but for me, not a breeder, I do not really care whether or not I can register my dogs puppies if I ever have
 any.

Out working our retrieves on racoon scent over the weekend.

Most people who buy a pure bred dog will never have these sorts of issues. The dogs come with parents paperwork and an easy one step process to registration into a kennel club. Many times I envy them.... most times I think I am lucky to have been forced to prove my dogs lineage so many times, enough times that it is beyond a doubt he is a good as I know he is.

Jan 18th, Doodles

Note to Intact Dog Owners (or all dog owners)

I still have not neutered my dog nor have I ever bred him. It is completely possible to have a social well trained intact dog. I decided to write a note to intact dog owners, just like with breed stigma, this needs to be battled and moved into the light. And just like with breed stigma we need owners of these dogs to step up.

Dear Intact Dog Owners,
It has been a long time running concern of mine, as an owner of an intact dog, that we as a group are the driving force behind people having stigma against intact animals. Let me get something straight, having an intact dog does not make you special or better, in fact most of the time you are making your life harder. Intact in short means more hormones, more hormones have more force against your training. Having an intact dog is not an excuse for letting your dog learn to be aggressive. All dogs can learn to be aggressive saying its just because its 'how your dog is' is an excuse. But to make it so the rest of society feels safe if you want an intact dog, do right by your animal and work to make them better. Even if you have to work harder or train more or make them better then the rest, please do. We all need to work together to stop the stigma.
Thank you

P.S. I am not against spaying an neutering nor am I all for blanket laws of spaying and neutering. If you see someone with an intact dog please do not assume that dog is out of control or dangerous. It takes a society to make a change.