Marley is ball crazy. Loopy, nutso, out of his freakin' bean when there is a moving ball in his environment - I know this isn't good. He loves fetch though, and I really wanted to introduce him to Fetch Tug from Neil Sattin's Natural Dog Blog
I brought out the hoses that Neil recommends and while Marley was willing to fetch them (my dogs seem to find rubber an unnatural retrieval materials, so I have to ask them to "bring" rubber toys to me until they get over the smell/taste) even a mild, minor, barely there game of tug made him ballistic. The hoses were both shredded in one session and he was an airborne, bouncing, screeching, teeth gnashing beast, all 23 lbs of him - in my face.
Next day I tried the game again. This time no tugging, just fetching. It was ended fairly quickly when he made a full body launch that included my finger.
Next session we switched toys to a 12 inch rope tug, two of them. He was still vocalizing and leaping, and the game ended with a full body launch that involved half of my hand.
Session after that, bruised, but still game, because I'm sure there's going to be improvement somewhere along the line, we head out with the two rope tugs. After a few tosses, a young man helping out at the store next door started up a conversation over the fence. As he came around to the other side, I found myself mostly chatting with him while Marley was engaged in a full spirited, QUIET, non-bouncy, non-lunging very grounded game of fetch. With each return he released the tug and lay on the ground for the next toss.
The light bulb went off. Fetch is hugely stimulating for him. My voice and eye contact and general focus on him just put him over the top. The conversation redirected my focus and Marley was able to get in a fetch groove that felt good without my added stimulus.
We've had a few wonderful fetch games since then (I listen to the birds, or contemplate a new Yoga pose: Mountain Pose with Tug Toy) and today we threw a little tugging into it after he was tired and in a groove, which he quietly enjoyed.
It was awesome, and I am so grateful that he finally has a fetch game that feels good and doesn't overwhelm him.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Thoughts on dog fighting
Marley and Stevie started fighting in January. With the exception of one time, it was always over space, and always in front of me. At first I thought they should work it out, but it quickly became obvious that that approach would result in injury or worse. Marley does not give in, even when Stevie repeatedly offers him opportunity to back away.
Interestingly Stevie is the one who was twice injured with significant punctures. Marley was sore, and his skin abraded, but Stevie never broke his skin even when thrashing him and holding him by the neck. He seemed frustrated, like he just wanted Marley to STOP. I also thought it seemed a lot like two kids thrashing each other.
We used the wheelbarrowing technique (from Leerburg.com) to split them up. The final (I hope) fight was in the yard, and I was alone. After contemplating a 2x8 (seriously), running into the house several times to get leashes and caribiners to tie them each to the fence, and finally deciding to go with a bottle of lime juice to avoid owner inflicted injury. It actually worked and kept them apart so we could make a safe transition to crates in the house.
The downside of the lime is that Stevie now won't play tug with me, but we're working on recovering from that.
I did have to juice them twice more at later dates to interrupt some posturing.
Neil Sattin and Kevin Behan both suggest looking at your home when dogs are fighting. What is going on among the humans? The dogs are our mirrors. After entertaining several possibilities, it occurred to me that their behavior was a fairly accurate mirror of my 11 and 13 year old daughters who have been struggling with space and privacy issues in just the past few months, and at times have gotten downright nasty with each other. They are otherwise best friends and have a very cooperative relationship.
Once we talked about this, the girls themselves suggested the dogs were mirroring their behavior. My older daughter said "she won't leave me alone and I just want to explode and make her stop!" Much to the delight of the younger one, she pointed out that Stevie must be her sister.
My house is peaceful. I will still not leave the dogs alone uncrated while we are not home for now, but it feels like we have an understanding of what has transpired, and my kids know that unspoken and unresolved feelings carry weight and have a bearing on ALL of us.
Interestingly Stevie is the one who was twice injured with significant punctures. Marley was sore, and his skin abraded, but Stevie never broke his skin even when thrashing him and holding him by the neck. He seemed frustrated, like he just wanted Marley to STOP. I also thought it seemed a lot like two kids thrashing each other.
We used the wheelbarrowing technique (from Leerburg.com) to split them up. The final (I hope) fight was in the yard, and I was alone. After contemplating a 2x8 (seriously), running into the house several times to get leashes and caribiners to tie them each to the fence, and finally deciding to go with a bottle of lime juice to avoid owner inflicted injury. It actually worked and kept them apart so we could make a safe transition to crates in the house.
The downside of the lime is that Stevie now won't play tug with me, but we're working on recovering from that.
I did have to juice them twice more at later dates to interrupt some posturing.
Neil Sattin and Kevin Behan both suggest looking at your home when dogs are fighting. What is going on among the humans? The dogs are our mirrors. After entertaining several possibilities, it occurred to me that their behavior was a fairly accurate mirror of my 11 and 13 year old daughters who have been struggling with space and privacy issues in just the past few months, and at times have gotten downright nasty with each other. They are otherwise best friends and have a very cooperative relationship.
Once we talked about this, the girls themselves suggested the dogs were mirroring their behavior. My older daughter said "she won't leave me alone and I just want to explode and make her stop!" Much to the delight of the younger one, she pointed out that Stevie must be her sister.
My house is peaceful. I will still not leave the dogs alone uncrated while we are not home for now, but it feels like we have an understanding of what has transpired, and my kids know that unspoken and unresolved feelings carry weight and have a bearing on ALL of us.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
How to teach your dog to eat POO
Marley is ball obsessed. I learned this in the fall, when the apples fall from the trees. Bright green tennis ball imitating apples.
Marley discovered these and in his quest to kill them, ended up learning that they gave a nice crunch, so he started eating them. This lead to loose stools, urgency and a totally off kilter crate schedule.
At one point he squished his way through the cat door we have in the fence (since removed of course) and spent about a half hour frantically eating apples before I figured out what was going on. By then the apples were fermenting and his belly was HUGE, so on the vet's advice we had him regurgitate. It was an impressive amount, and as a side note, the hydrogen peroxide must interact with something in the apples, because it was almost instantaneous.
Baker and Stevie have done a doggie-see, doogie-do and have started mimicking Marley's behavior. Their stools have obvious apple chunks in them, and now, Marley has started to eat their stools.
Wait, it gets better.
I'm trying to stay on top of hundreds of dropped apples (these are my neighbors trees, huge overgrown trees that hang over my fence - to be pruned shortly) and pick up every piece of poo without hovering, and the winter weather arrives. Frozen poo, frozen apples. It doesn't get any better than that.
At this point Marley has progressed from apple laden stool eating to eating any stool he can find, except apparently his own. Frozen stool are his favorite, and I can assure you that in 14 inches of fresh powder snow, a human with a shovel is not going to find them, but a dog with a nose sure is.
Now Marley is vomiting dog stool. He burps it too.
The snow is finally packed, stools are easier to find. All the animals have been wormed, the apples were cleaned up, but they still drop and here it is February. Pinecones are falling from the spruce tree, and they look suspiciously like stools, but they lack the crunch factor, because he hasn't started eating those yet.
And THAT is how a dog learns to eat poo.
Marley discovered these and in his quest to kill them, ended up learning that they gave a nice crunch, so he started eating them. This lead to loose stools, urgency and a totally off kilter crate schedule.
At one point he squished his way through the cat door we have in the fence (since removed of course) and spent about a half hour frantically eating apples before I figured out what was going on. By then the apples were fermenting and his belly was HUGE, so on the vet's advice we had him regurgitate. It was an impressive amount, and as a side note, the hydrogen peroxide must interact with something in the apples, because it was almost instantaneous.
Baker and Stevie have done a doggie-see, doogie-do and have started mimicking Marley's behavior. Their stools have obvious apple chunks in them, and now, Marley has started to eat their stools.
Wait, it gets better.
I'm trying to stay on top of hundreds of dropped apples (these are my neighbors trees, huge overgrown trees that hang over my fence - to be pruned shortly) and pick up every piece of poo without hovering, and the winter weather arrives. Frozen poo, frozen apples. It doesn't get any better than that.
At this point Marley has progressed from apple laden stool eating to eating any stool he can find, except apparently his own. Frozen stool are his favorite, and I can assure you that in 14 inches of fresh powder snow, a human with a shovel is not going to find them, but a dog with a nose sure is.
Now Marley is vomiting dog stool. He burps it too.
The snow is finally packed, stools are easier to find. All the animals have been wormed, the apples were cleaned up, but they still drop and here it is February. Pinecones are falling from the spruce tree, and they look suspiciously like stools, but they lack the crunch factor, because he hasn't started eating those yet.
And THAT is how a dog learns to eat poo.
Running Away to Feel Better
Stevie sticks to me around the house and in the unfenced yard. Going from house to fence has never been an issue. This week he has "taken off" three or four times, deaf to me, intensely involved in sniffing, around the neighbor's house, totally out of the norm behavior for him in our home environment.
Coincidentally, he has also been unwell, sporadic diarrhea, an episode of repetitive vomiting, and at times appearing totally normal, and other times obviously lackluster. Last night he also had urinary urgency, he seems to have been consuming lots of snow.
I suspect his extreme sniffing is self-soothing or escapist behavior. The adrenalin rush that accompanies the sniffing and hunting behavior eases his physical discomfort. He's a smart doggie and he's repeated it for some relief.
I wonder if this could also be applied to a family that asked me about their English Pointer, who instantly took off and always seemed to need to be outside and whined constantly. Now you could say "typical pointer" but I would want to look into physical discomfort (whether structural or systemic such as thyroid imbalance or auto-immune) as a driver for the behavior because their description of it was so extreme and consistent. Was the only time this dog had comfort for his physical ills when he was self-medicating with adrenalin?
Coincidentally, he has also been unwell, sporadic diarrhea, an episode of repetitive vomiting, and at times appearing totally normal, and other times obviously lackluster. Last night he also had urinary urgency, he seems to have been consuming lots of snow.
I suspect his extreme sniffing is self-soothing or escapist behavior. The adrenalin rush that accompanies the sniffing and hunting behavior eases his physical discomfort. He's a smart doggie and he's repeated it for some relief.
I wonder if this could also be applied to a family that asked me about their English Pointer, who instantly took off and always seemed to need to be outside and whined constantly. Now you could say "typical pointer" but I would want to look into physical discomfort (whether structural or systemic such as thyroid imbalance or auto-immune) as a driver for the behavior because their description of it was so extreme and consistent. Was the only time this dog had comfort for his physical ills when he was self-medicating with adrenalin?
Monday, December 1, 2008
The Fear Factor
No, not Stevie's. MINE.
Last week when showing off Stevie in his new homemade hunting season safety coat, and looking for construction feedback from my friend and our local Postmistress Alvina, Stevie froze and snapped at her face when she was handling him. I had a flash to his first snapping incident at the vet's office. (I wonder who generated that flash, me or him?)
Alvina is a farmer, horse trainer, and mother to all. She hardly batted an eye and insisted she finish making her point about my tailoring. Stevie was stiff as a board by then, but I held his muzzle and let her finish.
Okay, now I could point out every single mistake I made, but really it boils down to this:
I am afraid that if my dog stiffens, I can no longer influence his behavior, and I lose my focus, and it's a done deal. This is my public confession so that I can move on and do what I need to with Stevie.
We just spent about a half hour out front doing some pushing and heeling to warm up. Stevie spotted workers at the convenience store hanging holiday lights and started barking, so I jumped on my training opportunity.
We ended up sitting on the bench out front with me just grabbing and working his back, neck and throat while people walked by or stopped.
Stevie has skin allergies and has spent the past 4 month scratching endlessly. He has funky hips and is bowlegged, and very touch sensitive. The total truth of how much his physical condition messes up his mental response really hit home with me as I observed him working today and then massaged him. This dog needs way more touch than he has been getting. If I can bring balance and relaxation to his body, I know the mind will follow, and today it did.
After I finished touching him, Stevie lay down behind my legs and sighed, in full public view. Imagine that.
Thank you Neil and The Natural Dog Blog!
Last week when showing off Stevie in his new homemade hunting season safety coat, and looking for construction feedback from my friend and our local Postmistress Alvina, Stevie froze and snapped at her face when she was handling him. I had a flash to his first snapping incident at the vet's office. (I wonder who generated that flash, me or him?)
Alvina is a farmer, horse trainer, and mother to all. She hardly batted an eye and insisted she finish making her point about my tailoring. Stevie was stiff as a board by then, but I held his muzzle and let her finish.
Okay, now I could point out every single mistake I made, but really it boils down to this:
I am afraid that if my dog stiffens, I can no longer influence his behavior, and I lose my focus, and it's a done deal. This is my public confession so that I can move on and do what I need to with Stevie.
We just spent about a half hour out front doing some pushing and heeling to warm up. Stevie spotted workers at the convenience store hanging holiday lights and started barking, so I jumped on my training opportunity.
We ended up sitting on the bench out front with me just grabbing and working his back, neck and throat while people walked by or stopped.
Stevie has skin allergies and has spent the past 4 month scratching endlessly. He has funky hips and is bowlegged, and very touch sensitive. The total truth of how much his physical condition messes up his mental response really hit home with me as I observed him working today and then massaged him. This dog needs way more touch than he has been getting. If I can bring balance and relaxation to his body, I know the mind will follow, and today it did.
After I finished touching him, Stevie lay down behind my legs and sighed, in full public view. Imagine that.
Thank you Neil and The Natural Dog Blog!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Stevie on a whim
There's a story behind this video. I was cleaning the basement and put out our old paperbacks, free for the taking (please don't tell my husband.) Last night it rained, so it was time to put three boxes of soggy books into the rubbish. This seemed like a job for Stevie, so here's a short video of him doing just that, along with a little heeling, courtesy of Natural Dog Training. Pardon my attire, I've been doing some painting.
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