If your dog isnt ready then dont enter him!

I am going to try and write this post in a way that is helpful and educational and not at all frustrated and judgmental.  However, if I am being honest, I am a bit frustrated.  I cannot tell you how many calls and emails I receive from people who are desperate to get a private with me right away because they have entered a dog show knowing full well that their dog is not properly trained, not even close to prepared or ready for the show ring!  I do not understand why people insist on torturing themselves, not to mention their poor dogs by entering them in shows before they are ready.

I have said this many times before.  The behaviors that a show dog needs to learn are not very difficult to train.  The dog needs to be taught to stack, gait and accept gentle handling, BUT he needs to be trained to a level of reliability that makes it possible for him to perform those behaviors in a novel, highly distracting and stressful environment which a nervous, stressed out, emotional owner at the end of the lead.  It is not reasonable or fair to enter your dog in a show and give him (or yourself) a week or two or three to prepare for it.  People mistakenly believe that handling a show dog and presenting a dog well is easy and takes no work at all, but if that were true professional handlers would be out of a job.  It isnt easy, unless of course you know what you are doing and feel comfortable doing it and have trained your dog to a high level of reliability in highly distracting and stressful environments.

So please, dont enter your dog if he isnt ready to be shown.  If he isnt ready because he doesnt know what to do, if he is fearful or reactive, if he is worried about being touched by a stranger or if he simply needs more training, then dont enter him.  Best case scenario is that neither of you look ready and leave the ring disappointed and frustrated.  Worst case scenario is that you poison the whole dog show scene for your dog by asking for too much of a dog that is simply not ready.  Trust me, there will always be another dog show.  

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Tip of the Day Get off Your Bike if a Dog Chases You

Making it Worse?

We are asked this question quite frequently: What should I do if a dog chases me or my kids while we are riding our bikes? Most adults assume that if they have good speed they can outride a dog. A cyclist in our area was badly injured when dog ran down a farm lane barking at him. He sped up to try to get away from the dog, lost control on the gravel shoulder and fell off his bike. The dog sniffed him and walked away.

Avoid a Chase

Kids on bikes should never assume that they can ride faster than a dog can run, because most likely they cant. If confronted by a dog while riding a bike, the best thing to do is to stop and if there is time get off the bike so that the bike is between you and the dog.

The main motivation for the dog is the chase and when there is nothing to chase the dog will lose interest. If the dog does catch a moving cyclist this could result in serious injuries both from the fall and from the dog, whose natural instinct is to bite and shake prey that it has caught. It is best to defuse the situation by removing the dogs motivation to chase.

Some people have been told that they should get off the bike, but keep moving so as to keep the bike between them and the dog. This movement will just keep the dog interested longer. It is best to stand still even if the dog circles around the bike to investigate and even if the dog is barking and acting aggressively.

A Note to Cyclists on Busy Trails

If you see a person walking a dog on a leash ahead of you, make some noise to warn the dog handler so that they can move over to give you room to pass. They will be more than happy to do this. If there is only a narrow passing area, please slow down, or even better, get off your bike and walk past (with your bike between you and the dog, just in case). If the dog handler looks like they are having trouble with the dog, or they have multiple dogs, you are advised to walk your bike past. Blasting past pedestrians with a few inches to spare is not cool (dog or no dog) and could result in a surprised dog pulling loose and chasing you. In some mixed use trails, there could be loose dogs, be ready to stop if the dog looks like it might give chase. You may be fast, but a large breed dog in peak condition is faster.

Here is a video that shows the wrong thing to do if a dog chases you while you are riding a bike. Notice that when the cyclist moves the bike to try to keep the dog on the other side of it, this just makes the dog more interested in him. As soon as he stops moving the dog loses interest.

Here is a video that shows the right thing to do. Notice how much less interested the dog is when the cyclist stands still, compared to the previous video, when he kept moving around.

  

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Not all wounded deer can be recovered even if you use a tracking dog

Time to get back to the topic of tracking dogs because we really fell behind with our blogging and emails. I apologize to all our contributors and those who are still waiting for our replies.

We received this letter from Judy Catrett on December 10. As you recall Judy lives in Georgia where it is legal to track with a dog off-leash. Mossy (aka Viola von Moosbach-Zuzelek) is an eight-month-old daughter of Tommy and Tuesday. Thank you Judy!

Just a note to let you know how Mossy is progressing.  We have now started doing a fair amount of tracking for hunters other than those that are guests of the plantation which Craig manages.  I had read Johns books, Dead On!  and Tracking Dogs for Wounded Deer prior to tracking season, but have found myself using them as a reference after several tracks recently.  I am always wondering what we (Mossy and I) did not do when we were unable to retrieve a wounded deer--so I dig into the books hoping to obtain a little more knowledge along with rethinking what we did and could have done differently on each track. 

Mossy Brooke continues to be an excellent tracker and her name has become well known around our little town and county as well as into some neighboring counties.  Since I last emailed you, we have been on several tracks that we were unable to find the deer.  One deer had a broken front leg--the hunter shot the deer straight on into the brisket area. Leg bone, a fragment of the bullet, and muscle tissue were found at the site of the shot.  Mossy and I arrived approx. 5 hours after the deer had been shot and after 2 inches of rain.  She immediately picked up the trail and actually jumped the deer within 100 yards of the last blood the hunter had found (this had been washed away by the time we arrived).  She was tracking off leash as she was in an area that was safe for her to do this and the briars were so thick and tall that it was almost impossible for me to keep her on leash.  I was 40 yards behind her when she bayed the deer. The deer immediately ran and she bayed it twice more during her trailing, for only a few seconds each time.   The deer had stopped bleeding and crossed 2 creeks during this tracking.  We trailed this deer for 1 1/2 miles and it was showing no signs of slowing down, so I stopped Mossy as I felt that this was another wound that would not slow the deer enough for us to retrieve it.

We had a similar experience with a buck that I think was shot above the spine and stunned for a few minutes.  This was the second buck that we have tracked this year with this type of injury.  Mossy tracked it on leash for over 1 mile. This track was 11 hours old when we arrived.  On arrival, she immediately picked up on the blood trail which dwindled to no blood within 150 yards.  She continued to pull strong on the leash throughout the entire track.  I finally had to stop her around midnight as this seemed to be a nonfatal injury with no bleeding being noted along the trail past the first 150 yards and I had to work the next day.

We then tracked a deer that was gut shot 24 hours previous to our arrival.  This deer was probably shot in the stomach as acorns and corn were noted at the shot site.  I certainly thought that this buck would be found.  There had been 2 to 3 inches of rain during the 24 hours that had passed since the shot.  She trailed the buck for approx. 1 to 1 1/4 miles total, off leash. She bayed the buck in a very thick pine thicket with terrible briars for a few seconds, but when the buck heard me coming it ran.  Mossy trailed it to a large pond which neither she nor I could cross.  The hunters (age 12) father owned this land and decided that there was no easy way to get to where the buck may have gone if he was able to cross the water and that he would watch for a floating deer or buzzards in the next few days.  This is one track that I am still puzzled over.  I certainly thought that the deer would be in the edge of the water and that the wound would be significant enough that Mossy and I could catch up with the deer.  I am still mulling this over in my head trying to decide what should have been done differently.

Craig took Mossy on a track in which the deer was tracked for 1 1/2 miles.  She was on leash on this track and Craig did not have a gun as the hunter was carrying a rifle and going with them.  After 3/4 mile, Mossy walked into a briar thicket and actually put her nose on the deers hip.  The deer was still alive --shot through the flank areas (gut shot)--and it stood up when Mossy touched it.  The hunter had been unable to keep up with Craig and Mossy in the briars and when Craig had to yell for him to come with the gun, the deer ran another 3/4 of a mile at which time Craig had to stop tracking due to property lines.  Craig has not tracked as much as I have and did not realize the importance of being self sufficient and having his own gun.  A lesson well learned he said after being dragged through 1 1/2 miles of briars by Mossy.

I am realizing that wounded bucks will let Mossy Brooke get fairly close to them and they will have a stand off with her if they still have enough life left in them to possibly survive. This I think occurs because of her small size and bucks detecting her as not being threatening.  If I try to approach a buck with a wound that may not be fatal, it immediately bolts as soon as it detects a larger creature approaching.  It is almost impossible for me to get to the buck without making noise due to the thick vegetation and briars.  I would appreciate any feedback on how to handle these situations.  I think that this is one reason a lot of trackers in the south use larger dogs who actually catch the deer and keep them at bay until the person with a gun can get there.  Dont worry, I would never trade my Mossy Brooke for a larger dog.

Mossy Brooke is an awesome little dog with a love for tracking that cannot be described.  I consider myself very lucky to have her--for tracking and more so as a companion.   She is almost 8 months old and has now found a total of 26 deer (December 10).  

Hope you and John have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Judy

Mossy modeling her camo jacket with Erin prior to going hunting. Mossy stays in the car very quietly with her camo jacket when I take the kids hunting. I am also sending a picture of the buck that Erin killed on our hunt a couple of hours after this picture was taken. Mossy was not in the picture because Erin dropped the deer in its tracks. Mossy still had fun acting like she found it. All of the kids love Mossy as she does them. I take most of these kids turkey hunting in the spring also, so, if Mossy finds a deer for anyone, when they ask what they owe for her services, I request the favor of being able to bring one kid to their property for a turkey hunt next spring.  I am now having to keep a list of the places Mossy has earned us the opportunity to turkey hunt.  When I sit back and look at all Mossy has done here in Georgia--in addition to tracking wounded deer--I am overwhelmed. Introducing kids to hunting, the outdoors, and WHDs is awesome.

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What Would Dogs Do If They Had Thumbs

By Keikei Cole, Canine Guest Blogger

The other day the “Boss” was laughing about a holiday on March 3rd, If Pets Had Thumbs Day. Visions of high fives and thumbs up suddenly came to mind. After thinking about it for a minute, I knew this was something I could sink my teeth into, so I decided to bark out my own list of what Id do if dogs had thumbs.

You Tube videos. Yep, Id film and post funny hooman videos. Its fun to watch those hoomans – such interesting creatures. I can see it now, Keikei, the internet sensation of the Doggiesphere, made possible with opposable thumbs. The boss is always cackling over videos of my canine cousins chasing their tail or doing a slow motion shake. Id film hoomans in super slow motion trying to keep up with us at the dog park. Especially their face when were doing something they think we shouldnt be doing. Hoomans can move pretty fast sometimes. BOL.

The remote control would be mine. I like to watch Animal Planet as much as any doggie, but it would be nice to surf for something else and change the channel without having to use my nose or teeth. I would go with an exciting canine action flick or maybe a canine thriller. And Id have my own bowl full of CANIDAE TidNips™ and Snap-Bits™ to munch on. I might even sprinkle in some FELIDAE TidNips™ to kick it up a notch.

Texting looks sort of cool. I like the noise it makes. Id text my doggie pals in the neighborhood to coordinate a specific time when we all howl. Oh wait, this is even better – we could stare at a wall and pretend like we see something the hoomans cant see. That always gets them.

You know how some hoomans love to sit around playing cards for hours? Id get my own card game going! We would play the doggie version of Go Fish. Im sure youve heard of it. Its called Go Cat. If we get the wild card, we have to chase a kitty up a tree.

If I had thumbs, Id brush my own teeth. OK, I get the idea about brushing teeth. But whats with prying my mouth open just to shove some stupid brush down my throat? Whats worse is when the boss sticks her finger in my mouth. Think about it for a minute, that finger has hooman germs on it!

Some doorknobs are impossible to open if you dont have thumbs. Imagine being able to open the door and pretend I was going to run away. The look on the bosss face would be priceless. Hey, now that I think about it, I could also drive her car. Whos up for a burger and fries?

It would be fun to learn how to run that carpet cleaning machine the cats dont like. That could make for an interesting afternoon irritating those fleabags while at the same time tidying up the rugs for the boss so I could get brownie points.

I could become a famous artist and paint a masterpiece. I would be known as Keikei, the Magnificent Canine with Thumbs. Yeah, I like that. Id travel the world, appearing on talk shows and signing autographs. And everyone would want one of my paintings.

I’d learn how to play the piano and then invite all of my friends over for a midnight howl. I’d reset all the clocks in the house to different times and then watch the boss try to figure out what time it really is. Sure, that might be a mean trick, but think of the funny video I could shoot!

If dogs had thumbs, I could sit on a park bench pretending to read a newspaper or do a crossword puzzle while keeping a watchful eye for squirrels to chase. I know that darn refrigerator door opens, but so far I havent figured out how to do it. Thumbs would make it much easier to raid the fridge for a late night treat.

Have you ever tried to catch a ball with a baseball glove on your nose? Of course you havent. But if I had thumbs, I would change the whole concept of playing catch! Hmmm, I wonder if there could be a market in doggie baseball gloves.

Oh, the endless possibilities…if only dogs had thumbs!

My feline friend, Rocky Williams, recently pondered the question, “If cats had thumbs, would they conquer the world?” I think not…but dont you dare tell Rocky because he might claw my face! BOL.

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Can Dogs Sense if Someone is Untrustworthy

By Linda Cole

One reason people pick a specific dog breed is for home protection. Dogs bred as livestock guardians, like the German Shepherd or Anatolian Shepherd, have a natural instinct to protect their flock and family. Guardian dogs and breeds used as guard dogs tend to have a natural distrust of strangers. But being able to sense if someone is untrustworthy is something completely different. Do dogs have a sort of sixth sense about people?

My first dog was an American Eskimo named Jack. I took him with me pretty much everywhere I went and he was exposed to a lot of different people. Most of the time, Jack enjoyed being around other humans, but there were times he refused to allow someone to pet him, even though I saw nothing out of the ordinary from the people he pulled away from. However, his reaction to someone was something I noted because it was unusual behavior for him.

We know dogs can sense danger when it comes to certain health conditions. Trained medical dogs can smell changes in blood sugar levels. Dogs are trained to detect high blood pressure, a potential heart attack or an impending seizure, and they can smell different types of cancer. Even untrained dogs can pick up changes in our health. That has nothing to do with a sixth sense, but it does show how sensitive a dogs sense of smell is. Scientific studies have shown that even humans can smell pheromones put out by other people which can give us signals about someones mood. If we can pick up someones pheromones, you know a dog has already processed that information.

Dogs are experts at reading the body language of other dogs and us. Canines living with cats learn to read their body language, too. They can look at our face and tell if were in a good or bad mood. Dogs are great at picking up subtle signs we dont even know were showing. When a dog is around someone whos nervous, excited or angry, they can smell and observe body language that could cause a dog to be apprehensive towards them. People with something to hide have a tendency to look away during conversations, and this isnt missed by dogs. Of course, we can also pick up on obvious signs of nervousness.

Tone of voice is another way dogs decipher our moods, and its how they learn when we are giving them commands, praise or correcting them. Dogs have a good ear, and if you give a command in the form of a question instead of using a strong, firm voice, youll have a harder time trying to train your dog. We use our tone to communicate what we want. I have no doubt that inflections we miss in someones tone of voice may be something a dog can hear, and it could cause him to react with caution. When you consider a dogs ability to read us in different ways, its possible they can sense something “not quite right” about someone.

Its also possible that if you have a feeling about someone, your dog is picking up on the signals you’re putting out. Dogs know us pretty well, and if you are uncomfortable around someone, your dog is likely to react the same way. Some breeds, however, are naturally wary of strangers and may have a hard time getting close to someone they dont know.

Researchers are learning to be careful when studying our canine friends to make sure dogs arent reacting to cues they put out. Chaser, the Border Collie dubbed the smartest dog in the world, was taught to recognize over 1,000 different objects, as well as the difference between a noun and a verb, and to understand short phrases. To make sure she was actually learning, the person testing her took great care to work in a controlled setting so Chaser wasnt reacting to their subtle cues. Dogs are so good at picking up the smallest signals we dont even realize were sending.

Most of the time, if you have a bad feeling about someone you dont need your dog to reinforce that belief. Over the years, Ive learned more about dogs, why they behave the way they do, how extraordinary their sense of smell is, and their expert ability to read our body language. There is no proof scientifically that a dog can pick up disingenuous intent from someone or that they even have a sixth sense, but Jack did teach me to think twice about someone he had doubts about. He was usually right. If your normally friendly dog has reservations about someone, it may be wise to pay attention to what he’s trying to tell you.

Top photo by carterse
Bottom photo by Les Chatfield

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Tip of the Day Get Off Your Bike if Dog Chases You

Making it Worse?

We are asked this question quite frequently: What should I do if a dog chases me or my kids while we are riding our bikes? Most adults assume that if they have good speed they can outride a dog. A cyclist in our area was badly injured when dog ran down a farm lane barking at him. He sped up to try to get away from the dog, lost control on the gravel shoulder and fell off his bike. The dog sniffed him and walked away.

Avoid a Chase

Kids on bikes should never assume that they can ride faster than a dog can run, because most likely they cant. If confronted by a dog while riding a bike, the best thing to do is to stop and if there is time get off the bike so that the bike is between you and the dog.

The main motivation for the dog is the chase and when there is nothing to chase the dog will lose interest. If the dog does catch a moving cyclist this could result in serious injuries both from the fall and from the dog, whose natural instinct is to bite and shake prey that it has caught. It is best to defuse the situation by removing the dogs motivation to chase.

Some people have been told that they should get off the bike, but keep moving so as to keep the bike between them and the dog. This movement will just keep the dog interested longer. It is best to stand still even if the dog circles around the bike to investigate

Here is a video that shows the wrong thing to do if a dog chases you while you are riding a bike. Notice that when the cyclist moves the bike to try to keep the dog on the other side of it, this just makes the dog more interested in him. As soon as he stops moving the dog loses interest.

Here is a video that shows the right thing to do. Notice how much less interested the dog is when the cyclist stands still, compared to the previous video, when he kept moving around.

 

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Dog Body Language How to Tell if a Dog is Happy Frustrated Scared Annoyed

By Laurie Luck
This is reposted with permission from the blog http://smartdog.typepad.com/ by one of our favorite dog trainers, Laurie Luck of Smart Dog University

I dont have the luxury of watching "feel good" segments or programs that contain dogs. Because I "do dogs" for a living, I see all the little signs, the communication signals a dog is sending, and nothing is ever cute anymore, but rather just filled with warning and distress signals from dogs.

Take this mornings "feel good" segment on The Today Show for example. It piqued my interest because it was about a service dog for a little girl who is connected to an oxygen tank 24 hours a day. The family procured a service dog to carry the oxygen tank for the three-year old girl.

The anchors on the show, the parents, and the little girl were oblivious to the many signs from the dog that he wasnt a happy camper. Based on all the publicity Kyle Dyer, NBC anchor in Denver, received when she was bitten on the face by a dog live on the air, I was hopeful that people had started to pay attention to dog body language.

Sadly, I was wrong. Below is the segment. Watch it once without reading the warning signals Ive listed below. Then watch it again, looking at the specific minute and second spots.

Some things to know before you take a look at the video. The red bandana is used to cover a prong collar on Mr. Gibbs, the service dog. A prong collar is a collar fitted with special barbs or prongs, that lie against the dogs neck. When pressure is put on the collar by pulling on the leash, those prongs dig into the dogs flesh around his neck. The pain from the prongs are supposed to be a correction to the dog so he wont do whatever it was again.

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1:24 - Mr. Gibbs ignores the girl. Girl pulls hard on the leash. Those prongs are now digging into the dogs neck.

2:39 - Girl is pulling Mr. Gibbs with the prong. Pause the video here and you can really see the pulling.

2:42 - Mr. Gibbs tries to go with the trainer (instead of the girl) and he gets a BIG yank from the girl. Do you wonder why the dog doesnt want to be with the girl?

2:56 - The first sign of stress from the dog: a lip lick and a look-away. These are both classic stress signals from a dog.

3:13 - "He gets beat in the head," the little girl says. Apparently she likes to swing a lot, and Mr. Gibbs cannot get out of her way. The father repeats the little girls sentiment and laughs a little sheepishly.

3:30 - "What do you say to him," the anchor asks. The girl answers "Down!" and "At ease." Both are dog training cues -- not "I love you!" or "Good boy!"

3:32 - Hit pause here. Is this dog looking to interact with the girl? Does he even acknowledge her?

3:34 - Slight "whale eye" from Mr. Gibbs. The whale eye is another sign of stress. This happens when the girl is laying on the dog. The dog has no escape, no say in whether or not he can get out of the situation. This is a recipe for disaster.

4:11 - Were now in the live interview with the anchor, parents, child and Mr. Gibbs. Pause the video at this spot. See the girl tugging on the prong collar? Every tug on the collar brings discomfort to Mr. Gibbs.

4:14 - The girl gives a double-tug on the prong collar, hard.

4:18 Another tug from the girl. The father finally rescues Mr. Gibbs from the daughters tugs by placing the dog back onto the couch. I wonder why the dog was trying to get down in the first place?

4:54 - Mr. Gibbs looks to the father for help out of the situation.

5:01 - Theres a big lip lick and a yawn. Two classic signals that the dog is stressed and would like to leave. He keeps trying to get down off the couch.

5:15 - Another lip lick from Mr. Gibbs. The signals this dog is throwing are increasing.

5:17 - Mr. Gibbs turns his head away from the girl to try to break off contact, but she just gets closer to Mr. Gibbs. Hes trying very hard and his patience is admirable.

5:57 - Mr. Gibbs is resigned to his fate.

6:15 - Girl squeals, maybe theres a little bit of a squeeze by her, Mr. Gibbs tries again to get up and leave.

6:20 - Another head turn by Mr. Gibbs -- another attempt to break off contact with the girl, but again she follows.

6:35 - Girl grabs Mr. Gibbs head, pulls it down, and grabs his eyebrows.

6:41 - Girl grabs Mr. Gibbs prong collar and pulls off the bandana covering the prong collar.

6:45 - Pause it here and just look at the picture. Is the dog happy about his circumstances?

6:53 - The girl is now pulling the bandana back onto Mr. Gibbs, getting it caught in his mouth.

7:01 - Mr. Gibbs is nearing the end of his attempts to get out of the situation and/or get some relief from this girl from the other people in the room. Finally he lies on the girl as a last ditch effort.

It looks very cute, but in reality, Mr. Gibbs lays on her in resignation -- not enjoyment.

There are reasons why most service dog agencies wont let a young child have a service dog. Unfortunately, this segment highlights the many reasons why. The child is far to young to have the responsibility of caring for a dog, her parents havent taught her how to kindly interact with a dog, and everyone is ignoring (or doesnt recognize) the dogs many pleas to be removed from the situation.

For more insights from Laurie, read Part 2 of this post.

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