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The Importance of Cooperative Care

    Last week I took my dogs in for their annual wellness exam. We had the usual shuffle and reminder — “No, it’s Penny’s turn on the exam table now, you wait on your station for your turn” — but overall, things went very well. Both dogs stationed to wait their turn politely (and were paid with treats for their quiet downs), and both dogs participated willingly in their voluntary blood draws, shots, and physical exams.

    The vet tech said the process was “very refreshing,” not having to struggle with a scared animal. I was happy because my pets were happy–we don’t have pets to scare them!–and because we didn’t have to wrestle two large dogs.

    Meanwhile, I watched a dozen dogs dragged or carried to exam rooms, scrabbling on the floor to get away or crying in distress. And that’s sad, because it’s so unnecessary.

    Flying — and Arriving — With Your Dog

      You may have heard about the young dog dying after a United flight attendant insisted that it be placed in an overhead bin. And then just a day later, a family flying United went to claim their elderly German Shepherd at their arrival in Kansas — and found only a Great Dane someone else was missing. Their German Shepherd had been accidentally sent to Japan.

      There is enough outrage over these incidents, as there should be, that I do not need to repeat it here. What I want to do is share how pet owners can prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future.

      Sir Didymus and Ambrosius, from The Labyrinth

      Working Service Dogs at DragonCon

        My friend Emilia sent me photos of this great PSA at Dragon Con this year. Dragon Con is an enormous pop culture convention annually in Atlanta, GA, with attendance of about 80,000 guests. They have a lot of service dogs working at the convention.

        Because many people still don’t know how to let service dogs do their job without interference, Dragon Con posted a PSA on their internal feeds so that attendees with service dogs could enjoy the event as much as everyone else.

        Bob Bailey and Karen Pryor advise Chris Pratt's character: "I clicked ambiguously and didn't reinforce consistently, and my animal chose a new alpha." "Reinforce better."

        Jurassic World and Training Dinosaurs

          You might not have noticed, but there’s been a bit of a reaction in the animal training community to the blockbuster release of Jurassic World. And not just the recreations of actor Chris Pratt’s pose — which I absolutely love, by the way. (No way I’m picking a favorite pic. Go scroll through them.)

          An incorrectly-worded service dog sign ("Seeing Eye Dog or ADA certified")

          Perception and Service Dogs

            This entry is part 21 of 25 in the series Service Dog Training

            An incorrectly-worded service dog sign ("Seeing Eye Dog or ADA certified")
            Don’t do this.

            I stopped on my way into the shop to take a photo of the sign on their door. Then I went in, did my shopping, and then gently mentioned during checkout that they might want to revise the wording on their no-pets sign to be more accommodating (and legally acceptable). The shop owners, two women behind the counter, were not aware that their wording was exclusive to many users of service dogs and also not even feasible — there is no such thing as “ADA-certified” — and were eager to learn more. One took notes as I answered questions.

            The clerk at a convenience store smiled as Mindy and I approached the counter to pay for my drink. “Your dog is cute, ” she said. “What exactly does she do for you?”

            I explained that I was training Mindy, that she didn’t assist me or anyone yet, but that in general it was considered unmannerly to ask a user of a service dog about their medical issues. The young woman hadn’t realized the implication of her question and agreed that it could be invasive.

            Most violations of service animal law are not intentional, or even from a position against service animals. Many people use “Seeing Eye dog” as a generic term, without realizing that the Seeing Eye is just one specific organization training dogs for just one specific disability. Saying “Seeing Eye dogs only” is like saying only persons with a specific brand of wheelchair may enter — but their intentions were probably friendly.

            The Training Game and What It Teaches: The Rat Is Always Right

              Many clicker trainers are familiar with what is almost universally known by the ridiculously simple name of The Training Game. It’s a shaping game played among humans, and most often a learner is sent from the room while the group determines a (physically and socially safe) behavior to shape, and then a trainer shapes the learner with the clicker to perform the chosen behavior.

              There are a number of variations on this game, many useful. The trainer (and observers) can learn a great deal by doing this! and it’s a great way to test various training concepts and approaches. There is a variation I have not used in nearly a decade, however, with good reason: It broke the learner.

              Puppy’s First Tornado – Preparedness for Pets

                This entry is part 7 of 7 in the series Storm Watch
                Tornado warning
                Tornado warning (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

                Spring came very late to Indiana this year, and I got complacent. With a lot fewer spring storms, I didn’t prep for tornados like I should have. So when the warning sirens went off a few minutes ago and I saw that a tornado had been sighted, I was unprepared.

                This is dumb. If you’re lucky, you get up to half an hour of tornado warning, if it’s considerate enough to touch down at a distance and with an observable and predictable path. The average warning time with today’s radar equipment is about 13 minutes, according to NOAA. But you might have just a few minutes, if even that.

                So I’m writing this post from my basement, waiting for the tornado to pass (it seems to be heading north of us) and making plans to improve my storm preparations.

                “A Walk in the Park” Is Supposed to Mean “Easy” – When Aggression Isn’t Funny

                  0529141318bYesterday Mindy and I met some friends at the park for a picnic lunch. I debated and then decided to make it a rare “non-working” outing for Mindy, so she wasn’t in her vest and was free to sniff around and be a puppy. (She gets plenty of puppy time at home, remember, but everyone can take a vacation once in a while!)

                  Another dog was with us, too, who has spent years recovering from severe fear aggression. She’s remarkably functional now — no one could guess, looking at her, how fearful and reactive she used to be — and she was really enjoying her day, too. Mindy and I respected her space, sitting at the opposite end of the picnic table, but everything was absolutely fine.

                  Until we started walking.

                  Service Animal Etiquette. Seriously, People.

                    This entry is part 7 of 25 in the series Service Dog Training

                    Cebus apella group. Capuchin Monkeys Sharing
                    Capuchin Monkeys Sharing (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

                    I was at a restaurant once when a woman was seated at the next table with her service animal, a Capuchin monkey. I was horrified when a man brought his son to her table to “meet your monkey” and pet it.

                    Seriously, mister, would you bring your kid over and say, “We think your electric scooter is really cool and my son wants to push its brightly-colored buttons”? Of course not. So why would you assume you can handle other medical equipment, which is what service animals legally are?

                    I’ve heard horror stories from those who use service dogs daily, but still I’ve been really surprised since I started working with Mindy at just how rude some people are around service animals. And while most people are pretty good at not interfering with her or at least asking before reaching for her, there are others which are ruining the picnic for everyone, and I don’t get it. I mean, we’ve had service dogs among us for nearly a century, right?

                    (Warning: I acknowledge openly that R+ is the best behavior modification option. But this blog post contains P+, in that I strongly criticize. Proceed with caution.)