Dogviews

Queen for a Day and the Trash

Roxi "sat in" for a service dog last week. Some new clients were at the facility for team training with their new service dogs. One of the dogs was slightly injured, so Roxi was a stand-in for the day while he rested.

Boy, was I nervous! The result of all my work  was right there for everyone to see. Plus, she was in the room with 2 yr. old graduate dogs and she's not yet a year.

I didn't get to stay in the room, as I was just a distraction, but everyone tells me she did a great job. She even picked up her leash and did some of the advanced behaviors.  Show off!

Here are some pictures of her picking up her leash, and playing the clicker game, which works like this:  the client decides on a new behavior they want to shape using the clicker. Here, Roxi is learning to pick up a bucket. I'm working on a similar behavior called "Trash". When given the command, Roxi is to pick up an item and throw it in the trash. Here's how we've broken down the learning process. Your dog should already be able to retrieve an item.

Start by using a trash can, medium-sized. Use this can for every training session until the command is solid. I made the mistake in the beginning of using too small a can, which made it difficult for her to get an item inside. For those of you new to training, you can learn more about clicker training on Karen Pryor's website. The first step is to get the dog to just put their nose in the trash can. Click and treat for any interest in the can, and work up to deliberate head bobs into the can. Once the dog gets that she is to put her head in the can, start adding the command Trash. Make sure to click and treat when her head is in the can, not as she starts the behavior. We practiced just this step of the chain of the behavior for a good week.

Next, introduce an item into the process. I used a small rubber item. Start with something that your dog likes to pick up. Make sure to use this item for every session until the dog knows the behavior.  Throw the item a short distance. If the dog already knows a retrieve behavior, she will probably go get the item. If she doesn't, just throw it again until she shows interest. You may have to click and treat for little steps of progress here. For example, you may have to click and treat for interest, and then click and treat for mouthing the item, and then click and treat for actually picking it up. With Roxi, she picked up the item right away.

When your dog picks up the item, immediately give the command Trash. Hopefully, she will stick her nose in the trash can. When she does, click and treat and celebrate! The sound of the clicker and promise of food will probably cause her to drop the item. Even if she doesn't, don't worry. You can work up to only reinforcing drops later. Take it slow and give lots of praise.

The Road to Becoming a Service Dog

I am having this amazing experience with Roxi, an apricot Standard Poodle, on her way to becoming a service dog.

Teaching a dog basic obedience skills is fun for me. With both Norman and Vino, there was a time in the training process when things began to click...when the relationship between us became so deep that we both knew the other was thrilled at the progress. We could  read each other so clearly that I was reluctant to talk about it with other, less dog affected people for fear they would think me loony.

Training Roxi has reached that level of mutual understanding and we are both teaching each other new things every day. She's teaching me patience, subtleness and creativity. I am hopefully  teaching her to love learning.

I thought it would be great to share this journey with you. If nothing else, it will be good for me to reflect on the progress. My reports won't be nearly as deep as the beginning of this post...the stories are just too fun.

I've had Roxi about 5 months now. She's almost a year old. She is owned by a woman who used to be a trainer for Assistance Dogs of America, Inc., the organization I volunteer for. Tragically and ironically,  Roxi's owner was in a car accident a few years ago and now she herself is in a wheelchair. Hopefully, if all goes well, Roxi will assist her by picking up items off the floor, opening and closing cupboards and doors, fetching the phone and much more.

Roxi-roo, as I call her, knows all the basic obedience behaviors, such as Sit, Down, Stay, Come, Heel, Stand, Leave-it etc. She's not alway mature enough to control herself in all situations, but she will get there. She has all the temperament characteristics we look for. She's confident, friendly, loves people and food, LOVES to work and she likes to retrieve. There are very special things about her that make her excel. She never gets frustrated or quits. And she's always happy. Her tail is always wagging. The picture above isn't great, because it doesn't really capture her silliness. She looks very serious here, which is a result of her working gear. She knows when we're working and she becomes much more grown-up.

The funniest training story I have for Roxi goes like this. I was teaching her TUG. The goal is to get her to pull the drawer open using a rope tug that I tied onto the knob. We started with a large cupboard "drawer" that holds our wastebasket.

I started by removing the "rope" and playing a game of tug with her. Then I put it back on the drawer and clicked and treated her for just  showing interest in it. Pretty soon she was mouthing the tug, and then she finally gave a few easy semi-pulls which earned her a party! That was pretty good progress for the first session, I thought.

The next morning I let her out of her crate and she made a beeline for the kitchen and as soon as she saw me in front of the sink, she tugged open that drawer with such enthusiasm and purpose that I about fell over. It was a complete, full tug that opened the drawer all the way and almost pulled it off the tracks -- not a whimpy pull like the first session. Then she did a stately sit as if to say, "There! How's that for a pull? Now where's my treat?" I just cracked up. She must have dreamed about that lesson during the night!

Now, I have to ignore tugs unless I ask for them. She's pretty happy with that skill and sees it as a way to get food whenever she wants.

I have many more funny training stories to tell. Watch for new posts!

Holistic Recommendations for Dogs

If you're interested in holistic care for your dog, Christie Keith in her blog, Dogged Blog, just posted a great list of recommendations. Even though I have very healthy dogs, I once fostered a lab that had giardia, a nasty parasitic disease that forced me to pay my teenager to pick up poop in the yard because this guy's stools were DISGUSTING.

After treating the lab, not the teenager, he still had loose stools. Slippery Elm worked wonders to eliminate the problem.

Do You Think Cesar Milan is Sexy?

I know the title is shameless and sensational. But, if Cesar can do it, so can I.

Every time I see a new post or article touting the celebrity and success of Cesar Milan, I just feel compelled to tell people that there’s another way.

A recent article from the San Francisco Chronicle (thanks to Gina Spadafori for pointing it out to me in her blog) calls Milan sexy and the headline/byline of the article says the rest:

The Anti-Cesar Millan
Ian Dunbar's been succeeding for 25 years with lure-reward dog training; how come he's been usurped by the flashy, aggressive TV host?

One of my favorite books is "Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson. In it Donaldson, director of dog training at the SFSPCA, talks about the human-dog relationship and every time I can't figure out a dog's behavior, I re-read "Culture Clash". She understands dog behavior -- she has over thirty years experience observing it.   Donaldson says this about Milan's popularity:

"It's a backlash against political correctness," she says. "People are angry and life is frustrating and [when] someone tells them it's all about dominating something smaller and weaker? They'll go for that."

The good thing is this:  Pet owners want to learn more about their dogs. They'll tune in to someone if they’re interesting and entertaining. Those of us that know Milan's methods aren't safe and that positive reinforcement is the way to go just need to find someone sexy to get on TV.

I just bet that people would love to see my service dog-in-training Roxi throw away trash, pick up my keys and open the cupboard. And I never had to choke or alpha-roll her once.