Paws News July 2009

“Paws Abilities” - Behaviour & Learning Centre
Newsletter Number 32 – JULY 2009


A warm hello to all Paws family and friends,
Well lots of info in this issue and lots happening at our school. Our K9 Good Citizen Test is booked for the end of this month and the response has been overwhelming. There is still a few days left to enter – if you are interested please contact me at mobile 082-890-0905 or (if we still have cables) at (011) 969-4467 or via e mail. We will need payment in advance, as the packs have to be ordered and paid for in advance from the Kennel Union. I would like to thank everyone who has entered, and good luck to all of you for the 25th July!


CLASS / ASSESSMENTS
These have been taking place without a hitch and I must commend the students for exhibiting such a high standard. You guys really keep us on our toes! Well done to all students who achieved a “pass” and have subsequently been promoted to the next grade. I would also like to express my gratitude to all fantastic instructors who give of their time and energy to make sure that our school runs with such precision. Their dedication and hard work is appreciated!

The next assessment is to be held on the 26th September 2009 – again good luck guys!


FUN DAY CHALLENGE 8TH AUGUST 2009.
We are pleased to announce that we will be holding a Fun Day on 8TH AUGUST 2009 This is going to be a Fun Day with a difference. None of the old games we used to play. We are planning a completely brand new, exciting, challenging day for everyone. We are developing and putting together games which will incorporate some of the skills learned in training class and various games and activities to get our dogs (and handlers) minds working.

WE WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND AN INVITATION to all the dog training schools in our area (and indeed any school, group or individual who would like to join us) for a fun filled day of fun and games. We promise that we will keep you busy and entertained!

The only requirement is a socialised dog that is under control – and will of course need some basic obedience.
There will be a small entrance/cover/gate charge of R20 for the day, and there will be refreshments and snacks on sale at the venue which of course is our training grounds in Cloverdene, Benoni at Paws Abilities. We would appreciate bookings so that we can arrange enough refreshments to be on sale. Please give me a shout if you need directions. The school is situated near main highway access.

Please contact Louise at 082-890-0905 for any further information or e mail her at louthomp@mweb.co.za


CONTACT AGILITY CLASS
This is held each Saturday afternoon at 3:30 after the rest of our training classes in order to accommodate handlers who don’t want to make an extra trip to the grounds.

The cost for MEMBERS is R50 per month, of which the money is put back into the school for maintenance and upgrading of equipment. NON-MEMBERS will be charged the normal monthly training fee and a joining or registration fee to cover admin costs.

Anyone interested in joining can give Louise a shout at 082-890-0905 louthomp@mweb.co.za

Precision obedience is not essential, as we will take you back to agility basics if needed – and the skills required for agility and obedience are vastly different. Dogs are run individually – however, some basic off leash obedience is necessary. Please note that our agility course is set up in a fenced off area.


THE PAWS ABILITIES “FAMILY”

We pride ourselves on being part of a greater group or club - if you like. You can spot us from a distance! Gentle handlers who don’t need to yank or frighten our dogs to get the best out of them. We are a special group, and I for one feel it is a privilege to belong to such a group.

In fact, all the instructors at Paws Abilities feel that this is YOUR SCHOOL, Your Club House, the facilities belong to YOU the members. Without our members – there would be NO PAWS ABILITIES.

To facilitate a greater, far-reaching way of communication, we have started a Facebook group, which is called Paws Abilities Behaviour and Learning Centre

We have also started a BLOG, which you are all welcome to join and contribute. The Blog is hosted by MWeb and is called “Paws Abilities News and Views” and I regularly post topical items of interest with regards to dogs, animals, training, behaviour and other (sometimes a bit more controversial) issues which can be discussed. Both are great places to interact (and vent a little if you like) and we welcome all contributions to whatever topic we are discussing. Lively discussion is something that I really love!

I also put the Paws Newsletter on the Blog each month so if you delete it by mistake, it is an easy place to review it and catch up on items that you have lost. Join us for a chat soon …………………


PAWS ABILITIES SCHOOL RULES

We seem to have some confusion about what is and is not allowed at the training grounds– so to rule out any kind of misunderstandings, have set out our school rules in (I hope) as clear and concise manner as I can. Please, all students read through them and take them to heart!

õ PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE RESPECT OUR GROUNDS AND EQUIPMENT and keep them clean and tidy. We have all worked sooooo hard to get and maintain our school, the equipment and grounds. If your dog digs ANYWHERE, PLEASE fill in the hole!! If your dog destroys something – fix it or replace it! We have wonderful facilities LETS ALL WORK TOGETHER TO LOOK AFTER THEM!

õ If you use any of our training equipment, dog sport equipment, jumps and agility equipment, water dishes, - puppy mats, crates –, whatever - - - Please pack away after you have finished.

ü SCOOP THE POOP: Handlers must clean up after their dogs’ toilet! We provide packets and a bin for the disposal of waste and litter. OWNERS WHO DO NOT TO “SCOOP THE POOP” WILL BE FINED!

ü Also, PLEASE DO NOT LET YOUR DOGS TOILET IN TRAINING AREAS – the scent is extremely distracting when the other dogs are working. This is also to encourage future good ring craft and good dog owner manners. Also essential for your dog’s health – Remember - Worms can kill!

ü Lastly, PLEASE DON’T LET YOUR DOGS URINATE ON OUR AGILITY EQUIPMENT OR ON OUR NEW CLUB HOUSE VERHANDA!

õ PUNCUALITY: Handlers should arrive at the grounds at least 15 minutes prior to class. This is so that the dog can be taken for a slow stroll, can have a good sniff, can be provided with toilet opportunities (a full bowel is not conducive to learning), and a chance to settle down. Handlers arriving late will not be permitted to join a class until this has been done.

õ If you arrive LATE (and the class is already busy with an exercise,) Please do not barge into the group, and disrupt the entire class! Be considerate of others, and please show respect for the dogs who are working and trying to concentrate. Wait quietly in the background, until the particular exercise is completed.

õ REMEMBER TO RESPECT OTHER DOGS PERSONAL SPACE – PLEASE Don’t crowd, or encroach on another dogs space – especially a dog/s you don’t know. NOT ALL DOGS ARE SOCIALABLE AND FRIENDLY!!!

õ SOCIALISING: Dogs are not permitted to socialise during class without instructor permission. Handlers are, however, encouraged to stay after training in order to permit their dogs to socialise (if the dogs are compatible). Dogs must learn the difference between work and play. During class, the only play that should be permitted is play learning or structured play - between handler and dog. This assists the learning process. It helps to make the handler more “valuable” and, in that matter, makes the dog more eager to please her.

õ HOMEWORK: As all learning is achieved through the “building-block” approach, all handlers should prepare themselves and their dogs for the following week’s lesson by putting into practice what they have learnt in class at home. This does not have to be formal homework. It is quite sufficient for a handler to perform three to five minutes’ homework a day as part of their daily routine. There is no excuse for not being able to perform a couple of minutes’ homework a day!

õ METHODOLOGY: All training methods must utilise positive reinforcement. No harsh treatment of dogs will be permitted. In addition, all training equipment must be approved by instructors. Equipment that could be considered inhumane or painful may not be used. No choke chains, pinch collars, or electric collars are permitted. With “difficult” dogs, alternative non-confrontational methods will be found.

õ Problem dogs “issues” are often resolved via a private behavioural consultation or private individual lessons, until such a time that the handler possesses a level of control where the dog will not disrupt a class or pose a danger to other dogs/handlers or to the public. In fact, the dog training field is not an idea environment to resolve behavioural issues – more time, and input is necessary which is why a consultation is usually recommended.

õ CONTROL: During training class, all dogs are to be kept on leash, unless told otherwise by an instructor.

õ NO BITCHES IN SEASON are permitted onto the grounds.

õ When on the grounds, all Pit Bull’s shall wear a full cage muzzle at all times – NO EXCEPTIONS!


LOOSE LEASH WALKING / CLICKER STYLE
By Aiden from Petzine
OK picture this - you're recovering from a broken ankle so you strap it up with a mile of tape then head for the hills with two big dogs. You climb for about half an hour up a steep, slippery, rocky hill and realise that it's getting late and the wildlife is starting to stir, which could potentially cause the dog off-leash to give chase or the dog on-leash to pull, which would risk an injury to your weakened ankle.
You do a quick review of the situation and decide that, although you will have to walk DOWN the steepest hill on your journey, it will be much quicker to return via that route and there will be less wildlife along the way.
The problem is - one gentle pull on the leash at the wrong moment while traversing the steep, unstable slope could cause a serious injury to your weakened ankle.
Here it is: my proven recipe for "Broken Ankle Downhill Dog Walking" that could save your life one day!
What you will need:1 dog trained to walk on a loose leash at least most of the time1 big bag of tasty, easily consumed treats (I use loaf or sausage style dog food cut into small cubes)1 leash, 4-6' in length1 flat collar1 clicker1 each Velcro dots, hook and loop
Sew the Velcro dots about 4-5" apart, near the handle of the leash. Join the two dots together, forming a small loop in the leash. This will be your indicator, if the bond between the two dots breaks, well, it could have been your ankle that broke! Hopefully it wasn't, but you know for sure that your dog pulled too hard - no ifs or buts.
If your dog is already trained to walk on a loose leash "most of the time", you can probably begin out on the street or somewhere with a few mild distractions. Or you could do what I did, limp up a great big hill miles from your car then walk back down it with wallabies bounding off in every direction! Your choice.
Take one step, then if the Velcro dots are still joined, click and give a treat.
Take two steps, then if the Velcro dots are still joined, click and give a treat.
Take three steps, then if the Velcro dots are still joined, click and give a treat.
You can keep walking while you click and treat, just resume the count after you have given then treat. Don't worry about counting the steps that happen between click and treat.
For every successful trial (the ones you click and treat), raise the criteria for the next trial by one step. For every unsuccessful trial (the ones where the Velcro comes apart), re-set your criteria back to one step. That is the basic idea. In practice, this could get tired very fast and most dogs who are already trained to walk on a loose-leash most of the time will be able to do better so there are two variations you can make:
- when a trial is failed (Velcro breaks), you can reset the count at a higher number, say 10% of the highest count you have achieved so far; e.g. if you have done around 100 steps, reset the count at 10 steps after failed trials
- - when a trial is successful (click and treat), you can increase the count for the next trial by more than one step; e.g two steps, or three steps. Uber-geeks might like to use prime numbers (yeah, you know who you are!)
(If all this seems confusing, just stick to the basic recipe until you have your head around that, then think about the variations)
Here's a tip, if you really are walking down a giant hill with a bad ankle don't be afraid to use a cue if you think the Velcro is about to come apart. The cue must mean something though, it must be trained. You can use a cue that signals loose leash walking, or an eye-contact cue, or a cue to target your hand. Click and treat, but re-set your count to one because in all likelihood if you hadn't used the cue the Velcro would have broken. The idea is not to teach your dog to give you eye contact or to target your hand, but to walk on a loose leash by default. The cue is simply to minimise the number of errors because errors can be reinforced all too easily.
So how did we go? Did Sabella pull me over and break my ankle? I'm pleased to say that she did not, and in fact when we returned to the car we decided to walk another (flatter) track and managed 300 steps without the Velcro coming apart or a cue being used. In fact, the next time we walked in that area we managed 300 steps several times and I walked out with half the bag of treats left over.
Behavior problems frequently seen in rescue animal by Gary L. Clemons DVM Introduction Rescue animals pose many problems that are not always apparent to those people adopting or rescuing them. Many of these medical problems may not surface for weeks, months, or, in some cases, years.
I will discuss some of the behaviour problems that we often encounter when dealing with rescue animals. First, though, I would like to discuss a few of the medical conditions that can greatly influence an animal's behaviour.
Medical Problems: Hip dysplasia and other related arthritic conditions can sometimes go unnoticed, especially in early or mild conditions. Often these dogs exhibit a pronounced pain response if touched or pushed on the spine or rump. Unknowingly, a small child could push or fall on one of these dogs and get bitten.
There are a whole group of medical ailments that can indirectly result in animals getting taken to the animal shelter by their owners. The first group of diseases includes many skin diseases we see in dogs caused by hypothyroidism and atopic or inhalant allergies. These dogs often have chronic ear infections, usually secondary to their allergies, and chronic pyodermas or skin infections.
They scratch constantly and often develop very objectionable, rancid body odour. The owners get discouraged with the scratching and bad odours and the dogs often lose their "house dog" status and become outside dogs. They no longer get enough attention, and they bark constantly (trying to get the family to come outside and play), which irritates the neighbours.
Often they find a way to escape and they run off. When the kids or other family members finally do come outside, the poor animal is so excited to see them that he jumps up, often knocking people down, scratching them, or getting them dirty. Usually, these "outside animals" receive very little grooming or bathing, their haircoats become matted, their skin condition worsens, and their next car ride is to the humane society where the owner is sure the pooch will find every dog's dream -- a nice home in the country.

Dogs with external parasites can freak out some people, too. I often see clients who will never allow their dog back in the house after they discover the pooch has fleas.
Pass a few tapeworm segments on the bed covers and you might as well pack your food bowl and move outdoors. Some people just cannot deal with such things.
Behaviour problems
Malnutrition of very young dogs can lead to stunted development, both mentally and physically. Many of these dogs become so food-motivated that they become overly protective of their food bowl, chew toys, and treats. If they are rescued and then adopted by people who don't know how to interpret a dog's body language, there can be disastrous results. A good example occurs when a dog is lying by its food bowl and a small child strolls by, completely unaware of the dog's needs. The dog stops eating for a split second, without so much as a growl, and the child walks by. The dog assumes the child went past because it was protecting its food and the child was reading its body language. The next time the child nears and gets too close, the dog bites. The owner then takes the dog to the vet, often after the husband beats it within a hair of its life, to have it euthanized because it bit their child "without any warning”. Another dead dog or at least a trip to the humane society for just being a dog, and another child who grows up terrified of dogs.
Neglect may be one of the leading causes of many of the behavioural problems we currently see in dogs. As experienced dog owners, we know how important it is to spend a lot of time with puppies prior to the time they are 14-16 weeks old, or even better, prior to 10 weeks old. If they are never exposed to small children or strangers or never taken from their homes or yards, they can develop "fearful-aggressive" tendencies. When a small, active child finally corners such a dog, or a stranger reaches for the collar, they often bite out of fear. Shelter, here we come.
Families where both adults work often end up with dogs that never get properly housetrained because their owners are never home to take them outside when they have to eliminate. The pooch greets his owners at the door when they arrive home, and the owner grabs him, yells at him, and rubs his nose in his feces, usually several hours after the deed was done. This occurs every day. The owner is convinced the dog knows he did something wrong because he runs and hides when the owner arrives home. Pretty soon the pup becomes an "outside dog." I hope he doesn't bark too much or you know where his next home will be.
Destructive behaviour is another common problem. Dogs are often left alone all day. One day, a pooch gets real bored and decides to eat the couch. This time, he gets severely beaten, several hours after the damage was done. The dog thinks Dad must have had a real bad day at work because usually he doesn't get beaten as hard or as long. Get ready to move outdoors, pooch, because you can't be trusted inside any more. Please don't bark or run away, though, or you'll really be in trouble.
There is another classification of behaviour problem called "rage syndrome" that is frequently seen in Springer Spaniels. Many times, however, this condition is actually a "dominance-aggressive" syndrome in Springers. Similar conditions are called "mental lapse syndrome" or "idiopathic viciousness" syndrome. "Frontal lobe epilepsy" seen in Bull Terriers also has a poor prognosis.
These dogs often chase their tails and exhibit a type of rage syndrome where they become glassy-eyed and can often make unprovoked vicious attack, often directed at their owners. Most of these dogs are eventually euthanized because nobody knows when the attacks will occur or what provokes them. These animals are often beaten by their owners, which is very inhumane to do to an animal with a condition he cannot control.
Un-neutered purebred male dogs lead the list of "dominant aggressive" dogs. After the dog has bitten the kids and finally the old man, he will often strike back at the individual beating him. This combination of "dominant" and "fearful" aggression can be a dangerous combination for the new owners that might adopt the dog after its previous owners have finally taken him to the animal shelter.
As previously mentioned, many dogs are forced out of their homes because they are never properly housetrained, they are destructive, or they bite. Next, they get chained to a dog house because for some reason they try to run off all the time. Then, after they bark at the neighbour dogs, strangers, or sounds in the night, the neighbours complain, they end up at the humane society. Because the owners feel guilty about taking the pooch to the shelter and because they hope someone will adopt him, they don't tell the shelter the real reason they are abandoning the dog. They usually say they are moving or the kids are allergic to the dog. The kids, of course, know the truth: their dog is now living on a beautiful farm in the country.
Many of these dogs get adopted because they are purebreds and it may be only a matter of weeks before the behavioural problems resurface, often with dire consequences. These problems will continue as long as people purchase dogs without knowing how to properly train and socialize them, especially during the first four months of life.
It will take concerted efforts on the breeders' part to pay more attention to selecting breeding stock with good temperament and pay less attention to choosing animals solely on looks and proper movement. It will also take concerted effort by breeders to be sure the prospective buyers know the bad traits of each breed as well as the good ones so the new owners can be ready to head off problems before they get established. Most good breeders are already doing this.
Many breeders are already doing temperament testing prior to placing puppies, but recent works have shown little correlation between traits as a puppy and future behavioural problems. The handling a puppy receives once it leaves the breeders' home and whether or not it is properly socialized will determine future behaviour. The best use of temperament testing is for selecting dogs that will be able to excel in the obedience ring.
Breeders must make sure they are selling their puppies at the proper age- between seven and eight weeks old. I am alarmed how many times I have clients come into our office with new puppies that are five to six weeks old. All the breeder was interested in in these cases was having someone else take over the chore of cleaning up puppy papers. These pups never learn proper puppy play behaviour and bite inhibition, and their new owners suffer the consequences.
I personally feel that veterinarians bear a tremendous responsibility too. We have to be more than surgeons and diagnosticians. We must take a leading role in making sure new dog owners know how to properly socialize and train their puppies. We have to be able to teach them how to think like a dog and direct them to good puppy training classes before behavioural problems start. To do this successfully, we must see these pups around eight weeks of age, which means that breeder must make sure they direct owners to take their new puppies to the vet, even if the next vaccination is not due for several weeks. The veterinarian must schedule at least 30 minutes for the first puppy visit. The main emphasis of the first visit must concentrate on things such as proper socialization with small children, proper bite inhibition techniques, housetraining, destructive behaviour, and a brief description of basic 101 dog psychology.

Every veterinarian should make available to each new dog owner a copy of one of the Ian Dunbar's "Sirius Puppy Training" video and make it required viewing. The video can be made available at cost or as a loaner at a minimal fee. We have clients leave a $10 deposit; they get the video for three days and when it is returned on time, they get the deposit back.
If veterinarians don't care to spend time providing this extremely valuable advice to their clients, they should at least make the video available. During the subsequent puppy visits, the veterinarian should ask the client if the pup is showing any behaviour problems and address them before they get out of hand.
We can never hope to have clients with properly socialized dogs if we don't make the effort to teach them. This all takes a lot of the veterinarian's time, and owners and breeders should be willing to pay for it. All too often, some breeders do their own vaccinations and medical care and only seek veterinary care as a last resort. Some seek care based on low fees, but low fees and good, quality care don't generally go together. Good breeders have their veterinarians examine their puppies and give them the first vaccination prior to sale.
We must all work together -- shelters, breeders, rescue organizations, breed clubs, training clubs, and veterinarians. We are all in this together. We all love dogs or specific breeds of dogs and we want others to share our joy of "man's best friend.".
I applaud everyone doing rescue work. Your time and effort often goes unnoticed by many. Keep up the good work





HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DOG WITH DISTRACTIONS By Aidan from Petzine
Hi Louise, once you leave your house with your dog, all your training will appear to go down the drain. How do you overcome these distractions? Find out right now!
What is reinforcement? Reinforcement is what happens when a behaviour is maintained or increased. Dog training is essentially a progression of reinforcements. Food, toys, play, attention and 'life rewards' such as being let inside or taken for a walk are all potential reinforcers.
Without reinforcement, behaviour will never be maintained or increased. This is fine if you want a behavior to disappear - simply stop reinforcing it. But if you want a particular behaviour, you need to reinforce it.
Most dog trainers these days use food as a reinforcer. It is by no means the only reinforcer, but food is convenient and, let's face it, all dogs need to eat!
Therefore, we start off training with food in a quiet, distraction-free area inside the house. We put any other pets out of the room. We turn off the TV. We wait until the kids are in bed. Then we shut the door and train. There are numerous books and articles explaining how to do this, so I won't re-hash the basics.
The problems begin when we get out of that distraction-free environment and into the real world. Here there are other dogs, birds, squirrels, cats, new smells, sights, sounds, people, cars, bikes, postmen - it's all out there! Our training usually starts falling apart once we leave the house.
But it doesn't need to.
The big secret to dog training is to always set the dog up for success. If the dog fails, we can't reinforce. If we can't reinforce, behaviour can not be maintained or increased. If behaviour hasn't been maintained or increased, training has failed. So we need to set the dog up to succeed. Going too far, too fast will only lead to failure. Allowing too many distractions or too big a distraction too soon is setting our dog up to fail. Without success, we've got nothing to reinforce.
The best way to set our dogs up for success is to control the environment as best we possibly can until they are well and truly proofed and ready for the big wide world. Let's say we normally train in our kitchen with the door shut.
Here's a list of things we can do to set up some low-level distractions:
1. place a tennis ball in the middle of the floor2. turn the radio on softly, then turn it up gradually throughout our training session3. have a friend come into the room with us4. put a piece of stale dog food on the floor5. wave our arms around6. turn the taps on halfway through an exercise7. whistle a tune8. roll a tennis ball slowly in front of our dog9. turn away from our dog
... or any combination of the above.
Remember, the secret is to always set our dogs up for success, so that we may reinforce (maintain or increase) their good behaviour.
If any of the distractions on that list are too much, then our dog fails. Just because I wrote it on my list of low-level distractions doesn't mean that your individual dog won't find any one of those things too distracting.
Be creative. Think of new things to add to the list. When your dog can cope with them all, start making up combinations. Invite two or more friends around to help. Have them toss a ball back and forth while you practise stays or recalls. Have one of them whistle a tune while the other waves her arms around. The sky is the limit so long as we always set our dogs up for success.
When we have trained with distractions inside the house, we're ready to find a quiet spot outside. No other dogs around, no kids playing, no cars screaming past, and hopefully no cats or squirrels. We train the behaviour, then start adding the distractions from our list, always setting our dog up to succeed.
That is all there is to it - manufacture some controlled distractions, build them up, and always make them just easy enough that your dog does continually succeed so that we can reinforce the behaviour.

TO TUG OR NOT TO TUG? - SERIOUSLY, THAT'S STILL A QUESTION?
Taken from the 4 Paws University Sacramento files.

Somewhere, 30 years ago, someone got the idea that tug-of-war games created aggressive behaviours in dogs. Since most behaviour problems back then were attributed to "dominance”, and professionals didn't have the understanding of aggression that they do today, it stands to reason that they believed any game in which the goal was to gain possession of a toy from a human would cause the dog to "become dominant". There was also a time, when it was believed that birthmarks (especially on women) were the sign of witches.

Fortunately for dogs (and women with birthmarks), we are out of the dark ages. We now have a greater understanding of the causes of aggressive behaviours than ever before. Moreover, tug-of-war is NOT one of them.

In fact, tug of war is an excellent reward in dog training. Top canine competitors use tug as a reward in their training. If you watch closely, you will see many agility dogs that are rewarded with a game of tug at the end of their run.

In 2002, a study was done to determine whether or not playing tug increased the incidence of aggressive or "dominant" behaviours. The researchers concluded that tug games had no negative effects on the relationship between the dog and human. Tug-of-war is a fantabulous training exercise for teaching impulse control to your dog. Over arousal can turn into aggression (one example is leash-reactivity), so a dog that can learn self-control during times of high arousal, such as a game of tug-of-war, is a dog that is able to calm down quickly. It is important for all dogs, large and small, to learn proper impulse-control.


Tug of war rules include:

ü Tug is not played with a dog that has exhibited possessive behaviours over toys (we couldn't have to say it, but in an abundance of caution, we will). Talk to a certified dog trainer or accredited behaviourist if your
ü dog has exhibited this behaviour.

ü Control the game, control the dog: The human always starts the game. The human always ends the game.

ü The dog should only take the toy on a command of "Take it", "Tug it," "Get it," or other command other than "Okay"

ü Dog must not take or re-take the toy without command

ü The dog must learn "Out", "Drop" or "Give" on command.

ü If the human says "Out", "Drop" or "Give" and the dog does not comply, the human drops the toy and walks away from the dog.

ü If the dog's teeth touch the human during the game, the human says "Ow!", in a high pitch voice, drops the toy and walks away.

ü The human never chases the dog to get the toy back.

"WAIT!" you are saying. "If you drop the toy and walk away, the dog wins!"
WHAT DOES THE DOG WIN? A TOY THAT YOU NO LONGER WANT!

Take this test: If your dog is minding his own business, chewing on one of his toys and you walk across the room, pick up another toy that he had no interest in and start making exciting sounds and playing with the toy. Your dog will probably run across the room, abandoning the old toy and start dancing with anticipation for the fun, exciting toy you have in your hand.

The dog wants what you want. If you don't want it anymore, it quickly loses value. By dropping the toy and walking away, you are depriving the dog of the continued game of tug, which is much more fun than a limp toy that no one wants anymore. Most of the time, the dog will either follow you, presenting the toy for further play, or will quickly lose interest in the toy.

Remember, while dogs may concern themselves with hierarchies amongst themselves, those hierarchies are fluid and depend entirely upon the resources at hand. When it comes to your dog's relationship with you, all they are concerned with is that you control the food, front door, walkies and car rides. You also control the game of tug.
Without your cooperation, the dog cannot tug alone.



Well that’s about it for now guys. I will keep you all posted of our upcoming events and other exciting news and provide feedback of other events.

Paws Abilities Students - remember our 3-month grading will be taking place soon, and we have some lovely certificates to award.

Please give me a shout with any views, news and other items, subject matter or articles that you would like to see included or discussed in our newsletter

Chow for Now

Louise
Consulting Rooms: (011) 969-4467.
Please note that we are still without landlines due to continued cable theft so use the mobile line or contact me via e mail – thanks for your understanding!
Mobile: 082-890-0905. E-mail louthomp@mweb.co.za