Tess is helping me study

She looks asleep, but she's telling me to relax and not stress and vet school isn't all about the test scores.  And in approximately 30 minutes she'll wake up and remind me that it's healthy to get up every 30 minutes and engage in some puppy play.  Repeat as many times as necessary in order to learn the material for the test tomorrow. 

Cutie pie

Tess is back to normal from her incident with the German shepherd, and went running with me for the first time since the incident this morning.

Which makes for a much happier Tessie. She was pretty sure she was going to melt into a tragic puddle of goo every time that I put on my running shoes and picked up my keys without her.

Still on antibiotics just to make sure that anything going on with the joint and the superficial bit wound over it doesn't develop into anything, but is off of the NSAIDs and is showing no further clinical signs.

Things between harley and Tess are actually calming down now that they are allowed to interact (Harley is muzzled, which doesnt seem to mind at all.) Closely supervised of course, but regular, short sessions throughout the day.

Here's Tess this morning on the way to school.

 

 

 

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Tess pictures

 Where Tess spends the school day.  Sometimes Tess brings a friend and has to be in the smaller kennel.  But those are the shorter days and she doesn't mind.

Tess is not a fan of being in pain.  Neither am I.

Tess at the dog park!  I love this local (to school) park.  It's clean and safe.  She spends a lot of time running and playing, but to my delight she chooses to hang out with me as I catch up on studying when she wants some down time.

Tess is pretty sure that if she's cute, she gets to sleep here instead of her own bed (and she's right!)

Naughtiness

This is the face the naughtiness

 

 

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Nicknames

I learned a very interesting thing last night at dinner.

Apparently these days of double spacing after periods and such are OVER. I had no idea. It is grammatically/ stylistically incorrect to double-space now and the researcher I work for was recounting how she has had to go through whole manuscripts and remove the extra space and to get out of the habit of double spacing NOW. Ugh. This is going to be hard hard hard.

Although now that I look at this paragraph, the first in my life that I've not double spaced
after a paragraph is DOES look cleaner, more readable, and more like the stuff that
actually get published, I just have one question. AARENEX - WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL
MEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

OK, that was more of a whiny wail.

I'm sure AareneX has plenty of other things to do than to tell me I'm 20 years behind the
times.

Do your animals have nicknames? I used to scoff at them - you give an animal a name
for a reason, because that's their NAME, why wouldn't you use it? And then I got Tess,
and the animal's name took on a greater significance.

"Tess" means "turn your head and look at me, and acknowledge my existence because
something else is coming". It doesn't happen to mean any of the following:
- You are so in trouble
- You better stop it right now!
- You are so cute!
- A greeting

All of these circumstances are better served by real commands such as "leave it", a
recall etc.

By using her name in these circumstances, I'm diluting the positive association with the
name, and/or teaching her that sometimes "Tess" means look at me and sometimes
"Tess" means I'm just happy/sad/angry/playful or just talking about her in casual
conversation. (Reason #umpteenth thousand why dogs are better than kids: you can
talk smack about them in front of them and they are still blissfully happy).

My boyfriend is a big fan of affectionate nicknames with his dogs. He plays the "name"
game with them and they absolutely know their names, but then he has a whole
assortment of things he calls the dogs when he's playing with them.

Harley is:
-Ms. Pointy Ears
-Guard-a-puppy

Reed is:
-Foot
-Mr. Foot
-Happy foot
-Senior happy foot
-golden puppy/boy
-golden foot
-prancey foot
-Box of rocks
-cuddle foot
-THE foot

Tess is:
-Snarfer (named for the snuffling noise that she constantly does with her nose)
-White Devil (Matt is not always pleased with the plotting, expression she has when she
is made into a cuddly puppy against her will)
-Terrorist
-Drama queen

I have chosen "Snarfer" for my working nickname of Tess. I use Snarfer when I'm
playing with her and rolling on the floor, when I'm asking how she's doing, when I say hi,
in frustration when I'm trying to sleep and Reed and Tess have decided to do a
reenactment of sheep jumping across the bed while the insomniac counts them.

If I was some big shot trainer, or had better self control, I probably wouldn't need to rely
so much on a nickname to cover up for my training deficiencies. However, for my needs
(which apparently include being able to yell "SNARFER" in exasperation across the
house when she's sneaking into my closet for the umpteenth time to steal a stuffed
animal) I really love having that nickname.

So when do I use her real name?

-when I'm sitting in the living room and I'm not sure where she is and all I want her to do
is peek her head around the corner of whatever room she's in.
-when I'm going to follow it with another command and I want to get her attention first
-when we are out for a run and I know that she's about to get distracted by something
and I either want to release her to go play with it, or give her a treat instead for playing
the name game
-When something really good is about to happen - getting fed, I came home early and
snuck into the backyard the back way and she's no where in sight, I have a special treat
in the kitchen etc.

I've even given a nickname to my cat Mickie in the last couple of weeks - "Ninja Cat".
(named so because she has gotten adept at sneaking into the bedroom to sleep on the
bed, where she is strictly forbidden based on Matt's low opinion of cats. She scorns this
opinion and chooses to appear only after a time when she knows the odds of Matt
actually getting out of bed to toss her out is very low. She increases her odds of staying
by silently sneaking on the bed to cuddle at his feet, and only gradually moves her way
up to sleep on his pillow, on top of his face around 4 am.

So who doesn't have a nickname? Farley. It's probably because Matt isn't around Farley
enough to help me out. I'm boring and unimaginative and he's responsible for the
creation of most of the nicknames.

I'm not sure that it's necessary with a horse, since she's usually attached to me when
we are working. But I can't whistle and it would be nice to have something that she
consistently comes to that also isn't something I use as a cuss word when she's about
to buck me off at the start of a ride. When I bring her a bucket after a ride I call out
"Farley Girl!" in a sing-song higher voice, and with that call I can get her to look and
whinny at me several acres away, so maybe that's her nickname - "Girl", to remind her
that even though I unthoughtfully saddled her with a boy's name, she's still a pretty little
mare pony. Farley is registered as "TKR Triforta", so perhaps "Farley" is a nickname,
but I'm not so sure.

It is my personal belief that horses rely more on body language, and a dog can be
trained to understand verbal cues regardless of overt body language. For example, Tess
will sit on verbal command whether I'm standing on my head, doing the jig, or
performing a cartwheel at the time of the request. How many horses have we seen
continue to trot on through a beginners frustrated "Whoa!"s as they clutch with their
heels and lean forward? Perhaps with a horse it's more important to choose a
nickname that within your frustration, it's impossible to say without making you smile just
a little bit inside, thus defusing the situation.

Do your animals have nicknames? Do you double space after periods (and will you
change just because of convention?)? For those of you with dogs or other animals that
you regularly require "off leash" control and don't rely as heavily on body language for,
do you differentiate between when you use their name and nickname? Or do you have
a special "show name" that you only use in the ring so that the dog knows they are
"on"? (If I had to have a ring name for Tess, it would be "Derby" since her full registered
name is "Tess of Derbyfield"). What do you think about my "horse versus dog" theory?

Zeke's update and new paper posted

In the interest of not being sued (the email has one of those confidentiality thingy's at the end) I won't post a reprint of the email I got back from Zeke's, but here's the summary.

They attributed the softer product to the new packaging (sealed better probably), and while they didn't outright admit that the formula had been changed, they did say that the Z-bones are designed to be softer --> I'm assuming that the unsaid statement is "....than the Z-ridges".  The reason given was that the softer product prevents it from breaking into potentially hazardous choking pieces.

Zeke's did say I could leave the bones out of the package to dry them out (tried that and it still isn't close to how the old product was), or baking them in a 120 degree oven for about 30 minutes.   Haven't tried that......

As far as the variety goes, they suggested the apple flavor as the closest to the original flavor Z-ridge that I liked. 


So, I'm dissapointed.  I don't like the new, softer product and don't particularly want to pay top dollar for something that I'm going to turn around and bake in my oven (If my boyfriend doesn't like my biothane endurance tack in the dishwasher, horse blankets and pads in the washer, I'm not sure how he's going to feel about dog cookies in the oven.....).  I'm still interested in a dental treat that makes a difference, but for now, I'll probably give her plenty of other stuff for her to chew on like nylabones and ropes and hope that makes a difference.

I'm in the process of composing a Tess update post --> We tried agility lessons, found a book that changed both of our lives, and went on a 4 day backpacking trip together.  In the meantime, go over and check out this very cool paper that just published online: "Empathic-like responding by domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) to distress in humans: an exploratory study".  It's posted in the Mendeley journal club link found in the sidebar of the blog. 

Yet another Kong recipie

Very similar to the one previous to this one, but using a hard boiled egg.

Ingredients:
Kibble
Hardboiled egg

Put some kibble in the kong, slice a hard boiled egg in half.  Squeeze halves of boiled egg into mouth of kong.  The egg's rubbery texture does a great job not letting the kibble out too easily, while resisting being pulled out of the kong, but also enticing the dog to keep trying.

Kong Stuffer

A non-frozen suggestion that is lower calorie than some of the earlier suggestions

Recipe:
1/2 ripe banana
Kibble

Fill half way with kibble (I used ~1/2 of Tess's breakfast) and then break half of a very ripe banana into the large opening and slighly mash around.  The banana consistency does a great job of holding in the kibble and not sliding out, while still being accessible, even when not frozen. 

Zeke Dental update

Remember the glowing review I gave to Zuke's Zbones (their dental treat) as compared to Greenies? 

I need to update my thoughts a bit.....

I originally fed "Z-ridges".  They were on sale because they were being discontinued and replaced with "Z-Bones", a product that had a different name and packaging, but I was told was an identical formula. 

Here's the issue --> the flavor I tried was "Original Fresh Breath".  I haven't been able to find it in the "new" product, and I've been told several of the "old" flavors have been discontinued.  The only flavors I can find are ones like "carrot", "apple" etc.  The ingredient lists ARE very similar, but the products with the "extra" flavorings break down much quicker and seem softer than the one I originally tried.  And when I say broke down faster.......it takes her 5 min or less to get through the new one compared to 20 or more minutes for the original product.  I think it's because the flavoring ingredients break up the product enough that it doesn't hold together the same.  Could it also be because of the addition of tapioca?  I'm not sure, but at least until I can find a flavor that behaves more like the original fresh breath I originally tried, I'm not sure I can whole-heartedly recommend this product, and I'm not sure it's worth the cost to regularly feed.  Very disappointing how differently the "new" product performed (how long it lasted, perception of the "roughness" of the chewed surface etc.)

Here's the ingredient list for the product I originally fed: (Original Fresh Breath)
Potato starch
Vegetable glycerin
Cellulose fiber
Alfalfa concentrate
Natural flavor
Lecithin
Whey
Vanilla extract
Clove powder
Parsley powder
Nutmeg powder
fennel seed powder

Here's the ingredient list for the new "Z-bone" product: (Clean Carrot Crunch)
Potato starch
tapioca
Vegetable glycerin
Carrot
Pumpkin
Alfalfa concentrate
Cellulose fiber
Beta carotene
Lecithin
Natural flavor
Parsley
Ground clove
Rosemary extract
Fennel seed powder
vanilla extract
Calcium propionate
Zinc propionate

I'm going to contact the company and see what they say.  

Happy I gotcha anniversay!!!!!

One year ago Matt drove me to Oregon (and back in one day!) to pick up Tess in the rain.  She was a scrawny little thing with ears that drug in her food dish a definite opinion about life.  Not content to cuddle on my lap, she perferred launching herself, jumping bean style, at the dashboard to better see the scenery.  As much as I wanted a cuddly puppy on my lap, except for a few precious minutes here and there, she wanted to be in constant motion sniffing and exploring her world.

Oh, how little has changed.

As I look through my pictures I've taken over the past year, the vast majority are of Tess asleep...

It's not that she isn't cute when she's awake, it's just that catching her awake AND not moving at the speed of light is hardly possible --> and she's just so darn much fun that I'm usually too busy singing and dancing and tugging and jumping....and generally having a BALL with my puppy to pick up a camera and capture the moment. 

I find that when I show off pictures of my pets, I tend to chose the same favorite ones over and over.  So, instead, for this special anniversary, my pictures have a theme.

I present to you, my favorite sleeping pictures of Tess from our first year.  (in no particular order). 

On the way home from Oregon.  The toy pictured came from a group of gifts given to me by my co-workers at my job I had left the day before.  When asked what I wanted, I replied "puppy stuff". 

 My recliner --> somehow when it's YOUR dog on the furniture it isn't nearly as bad as someone ELSE'S dog on the furniture.

 At the AERC convention

 On the way to school.  A more unusual position.....

 Yesterday.  In the truck. 

 An now for a close up.....(her ear hair looks funny because I let her play with Reed and he slobbered all over her).

 Another pic from the trip home from Oregon.

 My absolute favorite pic of Tess.  Taken the first day we were home.  I made the bed she's laying on :).

 With another toy from my co-worker

 Her favorite pal, Reed.

 Why won't she cuddle with ME like that!?

 At my aunts house over the summer.  By this time I figured out she didn't like hard surfaces, so there's a pile of towels for her to lay on.

 Can you pick her out?

 Her first service dog outing. 

 Camping again.

 More at the aunts house

 Not technically sleeping and a pretty awful picture.....but it's sweet.  It's late at night and she's keeping an eye on me. 

Dog Bite Prevention Week

Dog bite prevention week is coming up!!!!!  In that theme, I have several recommended links. 

Those of you on facebook saw me post this earlier this week

And here's an excellent post on dogs and children.

I. HATE. GETTING. BIT.

I've never had a serious bite.  Most of it is psychological fear thinking about GETTING bit.  I don't have a tragic story to share or even a particularly amusing anecedote.  I just absolute hate the idea of getting bit by a dog (or a parrot. And probably reptiles.  I'm working an exotics rotation tomorrow so I'll let you know).

I'm not a dog person, yet I have a dog I love, so I'm sensitive that not everyone welcomes my dog in their space (whether from fear, personal preference etc.).  Tess is unlikely to bite anyone EVER, but I still do games and "tricks" and watch her carefully in public to protect her and people who might want to pet her.  Any dog can bite under the right circumstances. 

I carefully watch dogs in public, especially if the owner seems especially unaware and the dog is stressed or showing anxiety, or engaging in behaviors that signal a dog that isn't under control, like straining against the leash.  Yes, it might be because they are "just so friendly and just want to stay hi....." but an over excited dog straining against the leash shows a lack of control and head on greetings on a tight leash, whether dog-dog or dog-human is asking for trouble.  :). 

Be safe, be aware, and please share your favorite story, picture, or post for bite week. 

Kong Stuffers

I use a lot of kongs and food toys to keep my busy not-so-much-a-puppy-any-more's mind engaged, and distracted from her neferious plan of world domination.  Or at least the "kingdom of bird" domination. 

As both a reminder to myself AND to provide ideas to others, I'm going to post stuffer recipies that I was really happy with. 


**Please note that they worked for my dog and me, but may not work for your dog.  I'm lucky to have a dog with a stomach made of iron.  Thus diarrhea and vomiting are unlikely no matter what crazy stuff I throw at her, and yes, I do feed my dog "people food".  Portion control is key, use common sense of dogs condition and activity level when choosing your food stuffs.  Your mileage may vary. 

General guidelines:
I like freezing the whole kong after stuffing it, so most of the recipes are frozen --> although they don't have to be.  It just makes them last just a little bit longer....while still making it possible for the dog to the food if they work at it, because it gets easier as it melts. 

Another option to make up "discs" of soft food that freezes hard that can be forced into the mouth of the kong.  This is a good option if I want to feed less in a kong, BUT still don't want it to be too easy to get the food out, at least in the beginning.

2-3 layers is good for stuffing. 

Specific stuffs:
-2 of any of the following: cottage cheese or yogurt (I like plain), rice, applesauce (non-sweetened).

-Canned food with chunks of meat in a "gravy" (like Taste of the Wild).  Smear peanut butter on the small hole.  Loosely fill the kong with the chunks of meat and the drippings, fill with water and freeze solid (1-2 days).  Meat chunks are easier to get out, but must work thorugh the gravy flavored ice.  This recipe lasted HOURS and she didn't get frustrated with it and give up. 

-Chunky cut up fruits and veggies like apples, carrots, bananas.  A bit of peanut butter smeared on the inside of the kong and across small hole.  Fill with water and freeze.  Or mix in yogart/canned food and freeze. 

As I come across other combinations that I like, I will post!

Treats for Dental Health? Greenie Review

After watching Tess come out of anesthesia and how miserable she was, AND knowing the dental health IS important to overall health of both animals and humans....I'm really interested in NOT subjecting my dog to any procedures that require her to be knocked out than what is strictly necessary.

I don't brush Tess's teeth.  See my comments on the nail-trimming post...Eventually I will be able to handle her mouth, have her open it on command etc --> but in the meantime it's a battle that I do not need at this point in our training. 

So, I need other options.

I give her plenty to chew on - but she's a powerful chewer (even for a 30 pound dog) so I have to chose carefully.  For example, nylabone dental chews (blue bone with nubbies) is one of her favorites......but she can destroy one in just a couple of hours, and can tear off big enough chunks to give her diarrhea and vomiting......The only chew products that are tough enough for sustained chewing are also too hard for them to do an effective job cleaning the teeth and gums.  I also worry about how hard they are that they might actually do damage to soft tissue in her mouth.  Any soft toys are instantly destroyed before my eyes and destuffed before I can blink twice. 

Some people swear by rawhides and other edible chews.  Tess snarfs them as fast as possible and I've had to pull more than a couple out of her throat and every time I take one away because it's getting to a "snarffing" stage it increases the value of that rawhide because she knows she only gets it for a limited time and she snarfs it even faster.  She's very food motivated and its hard to convince her I have ANYTHING of larger value than the rawhide that she possesses. 

So, I decided to try a dental chew product, like greenies. 

In fact, I tried exactly that: greenies.

They have a couple of things in their favor.   They were developed by a vet, they are recommended by vets, they are certified by a dental pet organization and they've been around for a while. 

So, I bought a month's supply.

Especially because they are pricey and have to be fed at least 5 days/week to be effective, I wanted to evaluate them critically.  Do they really work?  Was this good money spent?  Will feeding this product once a day do something else to my dog nutritionally that is unintended? 

I did some internet research.  I was esepcially concerned that there seemed to be NO data supporting their claim that when regularly fed they improved dental health....except perhaps keeping breath fresh, which is the least of my concerns (although it can be a small indicator of oral health). 

It looks like there were some concerns over the digestibility of greenies and a possible risk of GI obstructions - but greenies had been reformulated recently and were much more digestable, including being able to dissolve/be soft in glass of water over night.  This at first reassured me - but I was also confused how something the consistency of a gummy was helping to keep her teeth clean.....

Especially something she didn't exactly spend anytime chomping down on and swallowing. 

Then I learned something else.  Greenies was recently bought by the "Mars" company (yes --> that Mars company you are familiar with in the human world) and the product was immediately reformulated (to be the more gummy texture I had noticed).  Additionally, wheat - which I believe was absent before - is now like the 2nd ingredient on the label. 

And folks, unless I've missed something major, that's the final nail in the Greenie coffin for me.  No clear evidence or explaining of how this product works to promote oral health, the product is eaten in under one minute with no apparent oral effort, and it contains a significant amount of wheat. 

I started to look for something else. 

Zeke's brand dental chews were on sale at the local pet store so I picked up a back.  Once called "Z-ridges" I believe they are now called "Z-bones".  Same formulation, but different name and packaging.  Wheat and corn free, it takes Tess 1/2 hour to get through one.  The texture is a mix of hardness that breaks off in tiny chunks when aggressively chewed that are rough enough to create some abrasion, but soft enough not to do damage. 

I will admit that it looked tasty enough that I stole a little chunk from Tess and tried it.  :)  It was good.  Hard but chewy at the same time --> didn't get gummy.  Actually a pleasant flavor.  Made me wonder if I ate one I too could have shiny teeth without having to expend any actual effort.  :). 

Overall I'm really pleased with the Zeke bones and while I probably can't afford to feed them on a regular basis, I'll do my best to feed regularly enough to make a difference. 

If I was really brave I'd just give her a raw drumstick or wing or something and let that do its work....but I'm a wimp :)

I'm seriously scared

Tess is scary smart.

How in the world am I going to:

1.  Stay ahead of the this dog as we BOTH learn agility
2.  Not completely screw up this dog by inadvertently rewarding the wrong stuff.
3.  Keep her little mind active enough that she doesn't start developing alternative career plans such as "official stuffed animal destroyer", or "vet" (because at this point I pretty sure she could go through vet school and pass the boards before I can).

Just had a training session where I was reminded how very fast her little mind moves.

a.  We have only done 6 weave poles.  She's not solid on all her entries, so we stayed there for a while.  My trainer ("K") said that you don't want to stay at one place too long because they can get "stuck" so I decided to go ahead and add another 6 pole set in line and see how she did with 12 --> were our problems a lack of understanding or boredom?  Ummmm.....considering she flew through the set of 12 with NO problems and actually got FASTER with BETTER foot work, I'm thinking the latter.

As that little project only took 3 minutes of my planned training session I decided to do some shaping exercises.

b.  For the online clicker challenge I have a couple of tricks in mind, including her doing various figures around my legs.  I decided to work on a figure 8 through my legs at a walk.  This was our second session on this behavior, so of course I'm breaking it down in itty bitty steps and keeping a very high reward rate.......one BIG exaggerated SLOW step after another.  After one or two trips across the room, I was ready to start another one.  I stood, with Tess on my right, and my legs slightly apart.  "Ready?", asked.  In response Tess started doing FAST figure 8's through my only slightly parted legs, as I stood there.  Ummm....yeah.  Very good Tess.  Way to generalize.  I guess we have that one down.  Ummm.....how about going forward with me with your head between my knees?  OK.  How about backing up with me keeping your head is between my knees?  Ummm....I guess that's it for today. 

Tess is VERY good about generalizing.  This is bad, this is good.  It means that any errors in my training instantly carry over to all sorts of behaviors.  It means letting her break a control behavior (like house, sit, down, stand) at ANY time IMMEDIATELY transfers to training.  It also means that a skill learned on a "transition" object like a travel plank for contacts instantly transfers to obstacles.  It definitely keeps me on my toes and I quickly know whether I've screwed up somewhere......

Whew....sometimes I think I got a Border Collie with floppy ears.  Who likes birds instead of sheep.  And prefers to focus on birds instead of me.  Without a tail.  And without fear.

And by the way - having done exercises with friends, clicker training each other through shaping (friend has handful of m&m's and clicker.  Without luring, tries to shape a behavior in other person), I know from personal experience it is not the easiest thing to figure out how to get those m&ms!!!!!!  I'm in awe of how FAST Tess can figure out what I want.  That's genius right there....

An Online Challenge

Here's a fun online challenge if you are out of ideas of what to teach your dog next!

Join the facebook group here (if you have trouble, email me with your name and I will invite you from the facebook page), and then take a look at the challenges set on the youtube channel.

Read the details on facebook, but in a nutshell it looks like you chose a challenge and then post a video response of your dog doing then trick.  You can also "set" a challenge by emailing a video to the event organizer (see the facebook page).  The goal is to teach your dog as many tricks as possible in a year (cut off is April 30, 2013).  Please note the focus is teaching your dog to do these tricks using POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT. 

I suppose technically there are points and such for setting challenges and completing challenges, but even as competitive as I am --> I'm just looking forward to some inspiration over the next year.

Resource page has been updated

I have added some books, vidoes, youtube channels and websites to the resource page. 

As always, if you have a favorite that isn't listed, let me know!  I don't necessarily add resources I haven't personally reviewed - but I'll put it on my "to read/watch" list! 

Training Tess 4-20-12 "Nail trimming"

This week's training video is up!

FYI - I've started to include my initials "mnf" at the end of all my videos so it should be easy to search youtube and find my videos.  



This week I videoed Tess's nail trim.

BTW - I have no idea what the audio sounds like in this video because I uploaded it and annotated it in class on mute!  Audio wasn't important for this session anyways. 

Tess really resents any kind of restraint or "man handling".  Unfortuantley she's also very reactive to having her nails trimmed.  I'm not sure what she doesn't like about it - probably the requirement that she has to be reasonably still and not bouncing around, and the fact she's being touched, and maybe she just has really sensitive nails?  Today is the first time I quicked her (pre-video - I clipped the video so just a portion of the nail trim is shown), there's no reason for there to be a negative/pain association with clipping.

I've been trimming her nails while she's on her back and it goes MUCH better.  She associates being on her back with all sorts of games we play.  I'm not asking her to roll on her back for the session - I'm placing her in position - because I don't want to associate the "on your back" command with nail sessions for now.

Another important note is that the point of the session is desensitization/counter conditioning (DS/CC) - NOT training.  Thus, I'm not rewarding her for a specific behavior during the session - I'm trying to change her emotional response to nail training from a negative thing, to a positive thing.  Ideally, I would be giving her treats when I was actually trimming the nail, but not having 3 arms (nor 2 heads incidentally) she's getting treated between trimming the nail.  Sometimes I ask my partner to help me and the timing is much better (he feeds as I trim). 

Between each foot she gets a play break to work off any stress that has accumulated and to let her know that this is a fun game!

On her back she's not really restrained.  I've placed her in position and she's holding it voluntary based on the support of my legs.  I'm teaching her to accept restraint, and to roll into position - but again, 2 things that I'm working on APART from nail trimming, since the act of nail trimming has such a negative connotation for her.

Based on my experience with Tess, I'm not sure that regularly handling puppy nails and feet, and doing nail trims young necessarily guarantees you a dog that doesn't resent nail trims as an adult.  I was very conscious of doing the "right" handling things with Tess as a puppy - nails, teeth, restraint - and I've come to the conclusion that the dog's cooperation with those activities is partly based on their personality.  My hope is through DS/CC and a positive approach, eventually Tess looks forward to the game of nail trimming!

By George!

I think I've got it!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120402093940.htm

Here's the original reference:
Too dog tired to avoid danger: Self-control depletion in canines increases behavioral approach toward an aggressive threat
Holly C. Miller, C. Nathan DeWall, Kristina Pattison, Mikaël Molet and Thomas R. Zentall
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
DOI: 10.3758/s13423-012-0231-0

Here's a perfectly good explanation for some of the "zoomie" issues I'm having with Tess.  She's an active, bold, independent puppy and I require a LOT of self control from her.  By balancing my need for her to practice self control, and making sure that when I'm asking a lot of control from her (such as during agility practice) I haven't "depleted" my available store. 

I notice that if she's been a down stay most of the day at my side, she practically explodes with energy and I'm setting her up for failure to ask for tasks that require a great deal of control.  I always reward  when she chooses to practice self control - but there's only so much that can be asked of 13 month old puppy who's still building that pool of self control. 

I think that for now I'll be very conscious of my goal for the session in regards to self control - Am I working on increasing her amount of self control?  Is it a play session to restore her brain after a long training session and thus I'll ask a minimum amount of self control?  Or is it a "working" session with equipment or other tasks that require her to draw upon that reservoir of self control?

Hope this made sense - I'm still noodling it through in my mind, but I'm on the verge of an "ah-ha" moment.  I think :)

Training Tess 4-14-12

This week's video is up!!!

The weather was beautiful so I decided to take it to the front yard.  The contact behavior I'm working on is a "developing" skill, and I need to work on it in different settings.  The front yard is distracting, and the grass adds a challenge - but I felt we were up to it.

We've been working VERY hard this week on attention in the face of distraction AND playing tug with me.  I've not wanted to put too many rules on toy play because rules can be de-motivating, but Tess started to have a lot of "I don't wanna so I don't hafta" moments with tug.  I decided that enforcing "criteria" was different.  My criteria is: she has to take the toy when I ask, she has to hold on to the toy and shift her weight to her hind end and stay engaged until I tell her to drop it.  When I say "drop", she has to drop it.

Susan Garrett mentioned in her newsletter last week that not enforcing a black and white criteria is confusing for the dog and leads to puppy zoomies, shut downs, and stress.  Tess was exhibiting all of these during toy play, so I concluded that the lack of an enforced black and white criteria was probably the issue.

It really sucked for 48 hours.  I would ask for her to play with me at random spots (in the parking lot, in the car, prior to going outside, in the hallway etc.) and kept at it until she did a tug that met criteria.  I worked HARD.  She was stressed.  My entire school probably thinks I'm mental because of my wild behavior throughout school grounds in an attempt to engage my dog.  But I worked through every single "I don't wanna I don't hafta" moment for 2 days and then it was like a light bulb went on in her head and she now plays my tug game any where, any time with me.  It was the perfect example of how not enforcing a black and white criteria can hurt your training,  and you aren't being "nice" to your dog by making excuses or letting them sometimes do something and sometimes not. 

After reviewing this video, I probably need to make my criteria for the board more black and white ALL the time.  In the beginning because it was a new location, very distracting etc etc I didn't - I was being "nice".  You can see how much more distracted she was in the beginning - not as motivated, self releasing, not releasing when asked, not as focused - as compared to the end when I actually expected her to comply with the "rules" of the game: one hind paw on the board until I say otherwise, you actually have to release when I tell you so etc.

Overall I'm really happy with this session. 

A couple of notes about the session:
-I'm still too distracted at the beginning by the camera and getting the angles right.  It's better than last week though!

-IYC is improving.  She didn't try for the bowl more than right at the beginning, and just once.

-Need to stop "cheerleading" so much!  Good girl good girl good girl.....

-Really liked that she was more engaged at the end of the session than the beginning.  Actually timing sessions makes a HUGE difference. 

Parvo!!!!

Most of my "vet school revelations" end up over on the endurance blog, but today I learned a most amazing fact. 

Parvo wasn't found in dogs until 1978.

WHAT???!!!??? 

The disease that was THE puppy disease at the clinic at worked at - what we warned our clients about, the reason we recommended that puppies be carried into the clinic and not go anywhere until they were finished with their puppy boosters (not good advice BTW - it IS possible and NECESSARY to socialize puppies before their boosters are done) - yes, the disease I lived in fear of when I had to let Tess out of the car on the way home from Oregon so that she could pee.  THAT disease wasn't even in dogs until I was almost born. 

There's a very similar disease in cats that causes panleukopenia.  Apparently, cats having lived with this disease for a very long time, have learned to cope and do pretty well.  Dogs on the other hand....well.....apparently having the disease only 30-odd years makes it pretty awful. 

I knew about it coming out from both ends in the puppies, and how super infectious it is, but today I got to see the pathopysiology and let me tell you - it is not pretty.

Sure, there are other awful puppy diseases like Distemper, but to imagine a world where I don't have to worry about parvo is really hard for me.  To imagine what it was like to be a practicing vet in the 70's when this disease starting hitting dogs must have been amazing (from a disease/epidemiology port of view) and awful all at the same time.  It's amazing that we have such an effective vaccine against this disease that hasn't been around for very long. 

It makes sense to me why there are so many vets that still recommend that puppies are completely kept out of public places until after all boosters are done - the recent memory of a parvo epidemic is still fresh.  Better safe than sorry.  I also understand why the "older" generation (sorry....so cliche) sometimes seems a bit oblivious to the dangers of parvo. 

Veterinary Science is so cool!!!!!!!!