Author Archive
The WATCH and LEAVE IT commands
“Watch” means keep your eyes on my eyes. We teach this by showing the dog a treat while we place our face in their line of vision. As we give the treat we say “watch.” A dog will usually get this pretty fast. Then you can move the treat away from your face while tapping your nose with your other hand as you say “watch.” The movement of the treat-free hand draws the dog’s attention back to your eyes from the treat which they invariable track. As the dog’s eyes are on you, pop the treat in the dog’s mouth. The better your timing on this one the faster the dog learns it. Make sure you are only giving the treat while the dog’s eyes are on your eyes. Many dogs will avoid eye contact out of submission or respect and that is fine. Don’t demand direct eye contact from a submissive or young dog. Just make sure the eyes are looking toward your nose, forehead, or chin. As your dog builds confidence with this exercise they will look into your eyes.
“Leave it” means take your attention off of that thing (food, dog, person, goose poop, etc, and put it on me). To practice leave it, put a treat in front of your dog while he is on leash. Make sure that he cannot under any circumstance get to the treat! As you place the treat say “LEAVE IT” in a firm commanding tone and hold on tight to the leash. He will likely strain to get to the treat. Refrain from repeating the word leave it over and over again. Eventually, the dog will give up and often they will look at you…praise this immediately by giving them a treat from your hand (not the one on the floor) and saying “good dog” or something like that. The dog will then usually try to go for the treat on the floor and when they do you say “LEAVE IT” again in a firm voice and repeat. The dog will catch on fast. That is the first part of the exercise.
[flashvideo file=images/watchleaveit.flv /]
Ebbie gets a home plus an Annie update
My sister has a new member in her family!! Ebbie came home on March 1st. I am so excited for her.
Annie and her Kong
As she told me about Ebbie’s foster owner, I was reminded of my goodbyes with Annie this January. It is the hardest part of fostering, the trusting another to do the work of taking care of an animal you’ve grown to love, and the saying goodbye. I saw myself as my sister described how the woman who had cared for Ebbie gave her all her favorite things – her crate, her bed, her collar, her leash. We who foster love these dogs and want to give them a part of us when they leave. We forget that we’ve given them the greatest gift of all by simply being willing to open our homes to them when they are at their worse. I think of all the fosters I’ve gotten and how dirty they all are when they arrive. How badly then need a bath, and how much they smell. How they are full of fleas, worms, ticks. How scared they are, and distrustful, and angry or shy. How long it takes some of them to warm up. The significance of that first time they come to you for just a pet, a little comfort brings tears to your eyes. When they start trusting you and reaching out for you, then you know they are ready to go. And that is what is so hard – saying good bye right when they are ready to love again. You tell yourself that they (more…)
Bringing home a new puppy
This is Ebbie
My sister lives in California and is feeling ready to invite a dog into her life. She found this little guy, Ebbie. Here’s a link to his rescue organization.
Anyway, as we were talking I told her the advice I tell all new dog owners. And this applies to you whether you are adopting a rescue dog, a rescue puppy, buying a pet store dog/puppy (but you wouldn’t do that now would you?) or buying from a breeder:
First, bring your dog home and give him a walk around your neighborhood. For a small dog it can be a small dog walk – around 30 minutes. For a larger breed, a larger walk, at minimum an hour, better to be longer. Keep the walk controlled meaning the dog should be at your side or behind you. Remind him of his place as often as necessary, either by a gentle tug on the leash and a correction word/sound, or by stopping in your tracks whenever he starts to pull on the leash. If this doesn’t get his attention (more…)
Another to the rescue and random thoughts
Whew. That was a close one. Thankfully another rescue organization agreed to foster Nisha and her pups. And, I didn’t post this but there was ANOTHER pregnant mama looking for a place to raise her pups at the same time as Nisha and thankfully she too was rescued by someone else. I am relieved because I have so much I am doing now to get the house together. I knew that my head wouldn’t be in the game so to speak – I really need to have the rest of my life on auto pilot when I’m fostering. So now my job is to work on what is before me (painting and painting and painting ceilings…does anyone like painting ceilings?) and get that job completed.
Here are some dog related thoughts that have been bouncing around inside my head: Why do people hold so strongly to a set of beliefs, to the point that they become obstacles to understanding other’s beliefs? This doesn’t make sense to me. So many trainers hold so firmly (more…)
Why I Foster Dogs
People always say to me “you are so generous/wonderful/giving for fostering these dogs. I don’t know how you do it”
Well, here’s the real truth: Do any of you have that sort of life that takes up a lot of your time but doesn’t fill you up all that reliably? Fostering mama dogs gives me a sense of identity, purpose, and accomplishment. It meets my need to nurture little ones, LOTS of little ones. And it makes me feel important and needed. These things, while present in my life when the pups and mama dogs aren’t around, aren’t present in a large enough quantity to satisfy me. So, I foster dogs because I get so much from it. Because it is a lot of work. Because it is emotionally challenging. Because it is all consuming. So, the secret’s out. I get more from the experience than I likely give. But maybe it is equal. Either way, I’m fine with it.
A new mama dog in need?
Nisha is a mama in waiting
I got an email I was expecting to get. You know how you get a feeling that something is going to happen and then when it does it isn’t that surprising because you were expecting it? Anyway that’s what I felt when I got an email from Michelle (from H.E.L.P.), telling us about another dog that needed a home. She is a cute dog and the usual size, around 50 lbs. I’d take her in a heart beat. The time with Annie and her pups has faded into memory and the puppy room is just gathering dust anyway.
But here’s the catch – we are DEEP into remodeling our kitchen. And I mean DEEP. Like, today my neighbor and I sledge hammered our tile floor out, kind of deep. The thought of taking on another mama and her pups at this point seems exhausting and impossible, which means it will probably happen. See, I told Michelle that I’d prefer to have another foster (more…)
