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Dog Hobbyist News In This Issue:
* From the Alpha Dog
Jadzia is the hog, and will take up the entire back seat. If Lyta is bumped by Jadzia, she will growl and snap. Kira likes to stand the entire way, and look out the window. Did I mention I have leather seats to boot? I put Lyta in front with me, even though she is the biggest and I end up getting stomped on by her until I get her settled down. Jadzia sprawls across the back with Kira standing over her. I finally get to back out of the garage, out onto the street and down the block. Things are going smoothly with Lyta drooling on my leg and Kira drooling on my head. Every time I have to put on my brakes, Kira slides. She really hates the leather seats. Anyway, slipping, sliding, drooling and whining, we finally make it to the pet store. I get the girls out of the car and into the store. Of course they have to stop and sniff everything few feet. A little dog sees my monsters and hides behind its owner and I get an evil eye from the owner, probably wondering why I'm bringing three vicious dogs into the pet store. Each one wants to go a different direction, but they really do listen to me fairly well while on leash. We get going in the right direction, but each one wants something different. Kira grabs a stuffie she thinks in interesting, Jadzia a pig ear, Lyta just looks around in wonder, hiding behind me. Since this outting is for them, I let them each pick out what they want. They each get a new stuffie, I get pig ears for them and I even get a new kitty toy for Shadow, who doesn't get to go on these outtings. Not all the folks in the store think like the person with the little dog when we first came in. The girls get plenty of awws and pettings. The girl at the check out gives them each a treat and we are ready to go. Back into the car, with Kira taking over the front this time, Jadzia and Lyta the back. Kira is content to lie down with her stuffie for a change, but there is some bickering over the back seat. Jadzia finally figures out that Lyta is not going to stand and she curls up in one corner. We have a relatively calm ride home, just a couple of snarls from the backseat with Kira letting them know with a look that she wants some quiet. Once home, the girls have a romp in the backyard in the snow, then come in with their new toys to take a little nap. This will keep them happy for a day or two....then what?
Melody Golubski New at DogHobbyist! The new message board system at PetHobbyist.com is ready for its next phase of testing... the acid test! We are currently using the new boards in DogHobbyist, and it's going amazingly well. Please come by http://forums.doghobbyist.com/ and visit them - they have many new features including "Find new," "Today's posts," signatures, email if someone responds to your message, and lots of other new features. We hope you'll enjoy them and will join us in our online community. Our hosts and members guarantee a good time! Those who come to our weekly chats may notice a few differences there too. Because there was a problem with unwanted SPAM private messages, Webmaster (who hosts our chats on their servers) has implemented a few improved security features. Those who access the chats via the java links on our website will notice only one difference: You now have to accept a very short (about 1 second even on a slow dialup connection) download from Webmaster when you enter the chat room. This tiny program is deleted when you close your browser window, so it will have to be re-downloaded every time you come to a chat. Since it takes so little time this won't really impact your ability to come into the chats. It will, however, surprise our regulars who aren't expecting it! Those who access via mIRC, IRCle, or other IRC clients will notice more changes. One, you cannot send private messages anymore unless you are using a registered nickname. Two, if there is no host in the room, you will not be able to enter unless you are using a registered nickname. (This will not affect java users.) It is a good idea to register your nickname, and it's also very easy. The easiest way is to log in via the java link on our website at http://www.doghobbyist.com/chat/thedogden.html and then just click on "NickServ Panel" in the "Commands" drop down menu, then on "Register." (Note: sometimes it takes a short time for the menu to appear.) Enter your password and email address, then hit "Register Nickname." BE VERY SURE NOT TO MAKE A TYPO OF YOUR PASSWORD, AS YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE THE NICKNAME FOR 21 DAYS IF YOU FORGET OR LOSE THE PASSWORD. DO NOT GIVE ANYONE YOUR PASSWORD; THIS IS THE SAME AS GIVING THEM YOUR NICKNAME! That's all you need to do this time, but in the future, you will be asked for your password when you enter your registered nickname. We hope to see you at our chats - check out our schedule at the end of this newsletter!
Reviewed by Christie Keith
Today most of the trainers who claim to "speak dog" would probably shudder at her "harsh" training methods. Like most of her generation, Barbara Woodhouse believed in giving quick jerks and pops with metal training collars as part of her method, and while I don't recall her ever advocating anything harsher than that, it's possible that she did. But even if she herself thought that was the means she used to communicate with the creature at the other end of the leash, she was clearly wrong. The communication was going straight from her brain to the dog's, and back again, and I don't think the leash had much to do with it at all. So, you have a dog. And while your dog is certainly a wonderful dog, he or she isn't exactly, well… TRAINED. Perhaps she doesn't always come when called. Maybe he can't resist dumping the laundry basket. Maybe he growls at you over his food bowl, or she runs and hides when company comes to visit. Or jumps on guests. Or eats the couch. Or pees on the carpet. Or any one of the thousands of other canine behaviors that interfere with your happy family life, and send uncountable dogs to shelters every day. Barbara Woodhouse is dead, so who can come communicate with your dog? You can. And no, I'm not talking about psychic powers. In her new book Bones Would Rain from the Sky, trainer Suzanne Clothier points out the single great truth of living with dogs: The only indispensable element of a successful training program is the relationship between you and the dog. Wendy and Chance Wendy came to Clothier as a last resort, after numerous trainers in her area had failed to help her with her dog Chance. Having rescued him from a shelter after the death of her first beloved dog, she couldn't understand why he wouldn't listen to her, pay attention to her. She wasn't able to give him the freedom she had given her first dog. She couldn't even walk him if other dogs were around. Even after months, even after winning an obedience competition title, he would bolt from Wendy any chance he got. "Each time he had run away," writes Clothier," "(Wendy) could see that his mind and body were no longer connected. His eyes were flat, empty, his body moving in panicked flight from whatever had upset him. Until he calmed down, he would not return to her unless she or someone else managed to catch him. Each time he ran away, Wendy knew his life was in danger; living in suburbia, it was only a matter of time before he was hit by a car and injured or killed." Wendy went to a class where two instructors, working with another dog, used "stereo ear pinches" to force her to take a dumbbell in her mouth. They literally pinched her ears until she screamed and went limp. Wendy and Chance left the class, and she sought out another trainer to help her learn to reach him during his mad flights. "After briefly working with Chance, the trainer told Wendy that an electric shock collar was the only solution that might save his life. Reluctantly, Wendy agreed." The trainer so badly misused the controls on the collar that Chance screamed in pain. "Well, that should fry his little brain," Clothier describes the trainer as commenting at the end of the session. This time, the training method not only didn't work, it destroyed what ground Wendy had gained. Now Chance gave no warning signs with body language when he was going to bolt. He would no longer hold a stay for Wendy, no matter how brief. And his trust in Wendy, in the world, had been completely shattered. "Watching Chance and Wendy as we walked out to my training field, I had no doubt she loved her dog and that he loved her," writes Clothier. "But I knew from a lifetime of mistakes with animals that love alone was not always enough to carry someone where they longed to be. I understood how bewildering it was to stand lost at the end of a road that had been taken in good faith, each turn made in hope, every step fueled by a deep desire to get someplace that looked nothing at all like this unexpected destination. The road she had taken was a road whose twists and turns I knew all too well. But I also knew the way back. And I knew that all Wendy needed to find her own way back to where she had meant to go all along was contained in one simple phrase: What is possible between a human and an animal is possible only within a relationship." Clothier taught Wendy how to hear what Chance was saying to her with his eyes, his body language, and even his mad bolting and fear. She asked that Wendy see the world through Chance's eyes. "He was simply a dog, and for all his intelligence, his understanding of his world was shaped by what the person he loved and trusted had done and allowed to happen. He did not understand good intentions. He did not realize that her mistakes had been the result of misplaced faith in trainers. He knew only that there was no joy left in working with her, that she had repeatedly ignored or misunderstood what he told her when he lay on the ground in mute resignation or when he fled fearfully away, pushed beyond his limits. In every way he could, Chance had told her how he felt, but she had not heard him. He was simply a dog, and he had no way to solve this." Wendy had to learn, she said, to speak "dog." Clothier's book is as fluent a guide to the language as I've ever seen, unerringly pointing out the looming disaster and the rich potential in a thousand common dog-human interactions. Trying to train a dog without understanding what she so beautifully presents is like trying to take a college class taught in a language you don't speak. Immerse yourself in Bones Would Rain from the Sky, and see how improving the relationship between you and your canine friend improves your ability to communicate and work together. You'll still have work to do together, but you'll be speaking the same language at last. Copyright 2003 by Christie Keith. Used with permission.
We all know that dogs love treats, so as an added feature to our newsletter we will be sharing homemade dog treat recipes with you. If you try any of the recipes, please let us know how your dogs liked them. Any comments or recipes to share can be mailed to PHFasDog@pethobbyist.com. Our first recipe is made with the senior dog in mind but I am sure any dog would love them. Jerky Treats Use a low-sodium teriyaki sauce, especially for older dogs. 1 pound ground turkey, or substitute ground chicken or beef 3 teaspoons teriyaki sauce 1 to 2 cloves garlic 1/2 teaspoon ginger Preheat the oven to the lowest setting, 150 to 170 degrees. Mix all ingredients and spread thinly onto a cookie sheet. Place in the oven and bake for two hours. During baking, keep the oven door propped open. After two hours, remove the jerky from the oven and blot any grease with paper towels. Slice the jerky into one- to two-inch strips. Turn the slices over and return to the oven and bake two more hours. Allow them to cool, then store in the freezer. Makes about 2 dozen treats.
Monday 9-10 PM Sighthound Chat
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Spring is just around the corner. At least we can only hope. My girls are getting extremely bored with winter and need something to get them going. A trip to the pet store can give them a new and exciting outing. So, off we go. I bundle three large greyhounds into my midsize car, two in the back, one in the front. I have to put them in just the right place, because each girl has her own personality and quirks.
