The Truth about the Dogs You See at Pet Stores

Sometimes people are determined to have a pure-bread dog and there is nothing wrong with this. However, please do not buy one at a pet shop. They will tell you what you want to hear but the truth is that the puppy is from a puppy mill. They will assure you that they are not but they are. Don't give any money to the large business of producing cute little puppies.

Dog rescue organizations, and humane societies across the county, have been trying to shut down puppy mills for years. Puppy mills are horrible places where female dogs are bred every time they come into heat. Puppies that come from puppy mills are most often low quality dogs that are prone to health problems and phycological problems as well.

If you buy a puppy from a pet store you are buying trouble, and heartbreak, for yourself. You will also be adding to the profits of the greedy puppy mill operators. Even if you buy one to help it out you will be contributing to the problem - just don't do it.

Don't be fooled, and don't let people you know be fooled. The pet stores and puppy mills put a beautiful face on an ugly problem. Dogs at puppy mills live in very small cages, sometimes many dogs to a cage. A cage, not a crate, because cages do not require as much effort to clean. The urine and feces falls through the cage and can be hosed up. These dogs have very little human contact and when they are no longer profitable they are killed.

Dogs (and all animals) deserve better than that. You know it, I know it, and frankly I think puppy mill operaters know it, they just don't care.

If you want a pure-breed dog find a responsible breeder. Go and visit the site where the dogs are kept (the mother, father, and all dogs of the litter) before you offer to buy one. Check to see that the conditions are sanitary and the breeding dogs are healthy. Look at the mother dog and the father dog to determine their general health and temperament before you consider purchasing a puppy. Traits from the mother and father are passed on to the litter. Ask if you might contact people who have purchased puppies from the breeder in the past.

If you avoid puppy mills, and encourage people you know to do so, it will be good for the new parent of the puppy and for puppies everywhere.

Now let's get busy training.

Shelter Dogs - they are not born to be one, they are made to be one

All of the dogs that you see in shelters were once normal puppy's who were eager to learn, and live in harmony with people and other dogs. The overriding reason that dogs are taken to shelters and dropped off are because of behavior issues. Far too often I meet someone with a new puppy and see a horrible future in store for the puppy because of the things I see the owner do, or not do.

The lack of training, or improper ineffective training techniques used will lead to predictable, preventable, behavior and temperment problems. It is your job to raise your puppy correctly, not your puppy's job to figure out how to be the good little doggie that you want. You MUST train them to become the dog you envision. Instead of making another shelter dog, learn how to train your puppy so you are both happy in the home forever. The time to save a dog from the shelter is when they are a puppy.

Introducing your old dog to your new one.

Do’s & Don’ts for Introducing a New Dog to Your Older Pets

Choose a dog of the opposite sex if possible. This will lessen the possibility of conflicts.

Choose a calm, well socialized dog.

The greater the age difference the better. Your older dog should be at least one year old before introducing a new dog to the pack.

Avoid competition and introduce the dogs off of your property. This will be less stressful on your older dog and help get things off on the right foot.

Do not force interactions between the dogs. Let them interact with each other at their own pace.

If the older dog growls, or corrects, the new puppy this is to be expected. The pup needs to learn their position in the pack.

Do not try to treat the dogs equally. Dogs do not like equality. They are pack animals and need to know their order in the pack. Treat your older dog as number one. Greet them first, feed them first and give them the most attention. Your new dog will not mind; they are happy to have a forever home.

Some dogs, and some breeds, are more possessive than others. If objects (toys, treats, etc.) create tension then remove the object and give it only when there is no chance of fighting. Corrections are fine but fighting is not.

Teach the dogs to eat together but do not allow them to fight over food. Remember, the food is yours and you are sharing it with the underlings in your pack. It is not the dogs and they should not fight over it.

When Skunks Attack!

Yesterday one of my friends had her two dogs attacked by a skunk and, as always, the skunk used the same battle plan that they have for centuries. And why shouldn’t they? It has shown to be effective all of my life and I am sure long before that as well.

I don’t know if you have ever seen a dog get hit by a skunk or not but if you have seen it once you will always immediately recognize it when you see it again. Imagine a dog who chases cats but does not see the invisible wall. That is how fast the dog stops pursuit after the spray. And that is when your dogs problems truly do become yours.

After it happens you have to get the dog home. If you are lucky it happened while you were walking around the block. If not so lucky, well then the dog has to ride home in your vehicle. If you don’t have a pickup with a kennel in the back I can promise you that by the time you get home you will have decided your dog is and idiot and you hope all the skunks for miles around just drop dead. Just hope that you can keep your eyes open and not gag too much. This is your first problem.

Your next problem when be when you get home. Now you have to let the stinky dog into your house. You can go to a dog wash if they have one in your area but this is not a good way to make friends. Once in the house you have to run a bath for your dog and get him into it. Now what do you do? On to your next problem.

I have never seen a dog shampoo that is worth a darn for getting rid of skunk smell. Tomato juice seems to be a urban legend that was started by companies that make tomato juice because it does no better than shampoo.

This spring a skunk hit our dogs two different times. The first time they did I found this recipe. If you are reading this write it down. Someday you, or someone you know, will be glad you did if your dog goes to battle with a skunk and loses. It would seem they always do.

Skunk Odor Killing Recipe
1-quart hydrogen peroxide
One quarter cup baking soda
1-2 teaspoons dish soap (Dawn is best)
1-2 bottle of woman's douche

1. Mix the solution together and rub down your dog with the solution being careful to avoid mouth, nose, eyes and ears.

2. This is where the douche comes in. Use it on, or around, the mouth, nose, eyes and ears. Also use the douche as a rinse if you happen to any of the peroxide solution on any of the sensitive areas.

3. Let the peroxide mixture sit on your dog for 5-10 minutes and then rinse it off.

4. Follow this up with a wash using your normal dog shampoo.

Now this is IMPORTANT: Do not cover the peroxide solution because when you make it you are in essence making a bomb, albeit not much of one but you don't want it going off none the less. Someone could get hurt. The mixture is quite harmless unless you try to contain it so after you mix it up use it then throw the rest of it away.

This recipe is not a panacea but it is the best thing I have found to remove skunk odor. If you live in an area that has a lot of skunks, or even if you don’t, you should keep the items in the recipe on hand. You never know…

Stupid Human Tricks

One of my pet peeves (no pun intended but it is funny) are idiots that do not know how to greet a dog. Almost never is it people who don’t know dogs and know they don’t know dogs but usually the people who know dogs (or at least say they do) but really do not.

Example: A week or so ago I was walking with a pit bull in downtown San Diego trying to get her ready to take her Canine Good Citizen test. We walked by a store where I knew someone who worked so I stopped outside the doorway to talk to him. As we were standing there a young woman walked by and asked it she could pet the dog. Sure I told her. She started petting the dog and before you could say Jack Russell she had her face pressed up against the pit bulls face and was kissing her. “I just love dogs” the young woman said as she stood up to leave. She demonstrated how little she knows about dogs, and I sincerely doubt that she knows how lucky she was. Had the pit bull been either the boxer or German shepherd I worked with recently the end of the encounter between the two cultures might have had a very different ending; Say with a run to the emergency room.

Sadly I see this kind of behavior from humans all to often and when something goes wrong somehow it is always the dogs’ fault. That just seems wrong. The dog did not ask you to pet them; they did not stick their face into yours (a very rude thing in the dog world and a challenge to fight to boot). Please, when you see people doing this most stupid of behaviors say something. You just might save them a few stitches and more importantly a dogs life.

I have attached a great cartoon of how not to greet a dog. It is very well done. Lili Chin did the work and you can view more of her work at http://doggiedrawings.net

Charger Fan

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit with a pit bull mix named Charger. Her owner asked me to do an evaluation of her because she was doing some resource guarding and was beginning to get a little aggressive with three dogs in the household and more aggressive with the female pack leader.

I met Teri, the mother, and Charger late in the afternoon at her place of work. I took along one of my dogs, Handy. Handy is probably the most stable, non-threatening dog I have ever seen. She will correct another dog once in a while but her buttons really have to be pushed so I use her often when working with shy or fearful dogs. So far she has never been hurt and we just hope we keep the same good karma going.

At first Charger was growlie but we soon put an end to that and shortly had the dogs taking treats while sitting side by side. Like most trainers I like to make money, and need to make money so I can keep on training, but I also like to be fair with people. I gave Teri some ideas to try at home so she could save money. If the ideas worked for her then great, if not then she could call me and we would set up a training schedule for her and Charger. So far I have not been called for training so I guess everything is going well. I have seen Teri a couple of times and get good reports on Charger.

All that you have read prior to this in this story is not really what the story is about at all. What it is about is how amazed I am about the behavior of dogs, well all animals I guess.

When I met Charger and Teri for the consultation Teri had a litter of kittens in her office. They were they in a box and were being well tended to by Charger. The mother of the kittens had been killed by a coyote. A friend of Teri’s found the kittens so she and Teri would take turns caring for them. When the kittens were very young Charger, the aggressive pit bull mix, decided that she would be the kittens mother. She would lick them and clean them up if they messed themselves and would take care of them the way any good mother takes care of her off spring. The kittens would climb out of their box and Charger would gently pick them up and put them back in. She allowed the kittens to crawl around on her and she would play with them.

Sadly, but as it always is, the kittens have gotten older and are just about ready to leave the care of Teri and her friend but I think it is Charger who will miss them the most. She found a moment of peace in this world and her peace was found helping another creature quite unlike her. She might have some problems with aggression but I can only wish that most of us had as much compassion for others unlike ourselves as Charger showed to her kitty’s. Thanks for the lesson Charger. You are beautiful.

Part of what training is all about.

Today I worked with one of my favorite dogs in the whole world, Bobbi the pit. In order to understand the background I have with Bobbi you can read a blog about her story on: http://www.deltasociety.org/Page.aspx?pid=508. Anyway, suffice it to say that Bobbi has been in my life since she was eight weeks old. We fostered her until she was adopted by Giovanna who later became our friend and when Bobbi needed training she turned to me.

I have been working with Bobbi off and on for over a year now. Between that training and the time she spent with us as a foster dog I have grown to love her very much. Bobbi started having some dog/dog aggression issues and it seemed like no matter what we tried she was not getting better. I was beginning to feel that maybe I was too close to the situation and a new set of eyes was needed to get a new perspective on things. In comes Zoe. (By the way, Bobbi was in Zoe's life at 8 weeks old as well)

Zoe and I have a professional relationship that over time blossomed into friendship. I guess that the friendship cemented itself after we attended the Association of Pet Dog Trainers convention at the same time. Now days we bounce ideas off each other regarding dog training (mostly I'm picking her brain, not the other way around). Zoe is very bright, a wonderful dog trainer, and the kind of person who gives dog training a good name. Today she showed me part of what dog training is all about.

Zoe is the trainer I asked to come into Bobbi's case to take a fresh look at it. Today she gave two hours of her precious time to Bobbi, Bobbi's parents, and me. After the training was over I think we all were happy that Zoe came to check in on Bobbi's case. Bobbi learned a few things, as did her parents and I. Besides the formalities of training I also learned what an important part of training is all about. The dog.

Trainers are an egotistical lot. I think we have to be just to do this job. If we don't have faith in ourselves, and our ability, why on earth would a client or their dog. Confidence is our first tool, and maybe the most important one, in our bag of teaching aids; Dogs read confidence like a book. Because of our confidence and ego we all to often do not ask for help when we should and the bottom line is the dog loses. We have to keep in mind that we don't have all the answers, we can't always find the solution and sometimes we need to ask for help. That doesn't make us any less of a trainer. In fact it might say something about who we really think is important and it's not us or even the client; it is the dog.

Because of Zoe taking her time to come and see Bobbi I think she is on her way to improvement. Zoe is not only my friend, she is a competitor, but she took time today not to make money but to work on the bottom line. Zoe knows what the bottom line is. I hope that I do and I wish more trainers did. All of us got into dog training because we love dogs and want to help them to a better life. We need to remember this. They really are our bottom line.

Thank you Zoe. I've learned a lot from you.