training | Canines In Action, Inc.

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.

A black Doberman chilling in a red chair.

Practice Those Recalls

It’s no secret that coming when called is important. It keeps me from chasing a fast creature with twice as many legs as I have, and it can save a dog’s life, if she gets…

Enrichment (Productivity, Sanity) in a Time of Social Distancing

woman seated in chair head wrapped in silicone and plaster, with black Labrador puppy leaning into her lap and soliciting petting — No worries! This was during a bodycasting session and she’s fine. Penny was unfazed by the weird faceless human. #socialization

As many of you know, Clicker Expo was cancelled at the last minute last weekend. While we were all, attendees and faculty, disappointed (to put it mildly), I absolutely support the decision. I’m not going to talk about the math and what should have been done here before now, because that’s readily available. Today I want to talk about best behavioral practices in a time of increased isolation and even quarantine.

Let’s talk about behavior and enrichment in both people and pets.

Podcasts about Books & Training!

Active woman training service dog outdoors, promoting canine training and assistance.

I had the opportunity to chat with Melinda Schiller on her fantastic Elite Pets Podcast, in two episodes themed around my training books. We had some great questions about training and problem-solving and problem-prevention.

(Also there’s a bit of news hidden in the Fired Up talk!)

You can catch each of the episodes online:

Still An Easy Pill To Swallow

I’ve written before about training my dogs to take undisguised pills on cue. There’s a host of benefits to this:

I don’t have to worry about hiding the pills
I don’t have to worry about coming up with ever better tricks as my dogs get better at finding hidden pills
There’s no loss of trust when I hand my dog something she thinks is a treat and it turns out to be a pill (cue extreme side-eye)
I don’t have to guess whether the pills been actually swallowed or saved to spit later

Labrador on Klimb platform and Doberman sitting beside, both hopeful

Nail Trim: Making It A Choice Makes It An Easy Choice

I made a mistake yesterday. I went to a drawer in the kitchen. Not just any drawer, it’s the not-a-junk drawer, where I keep among other things the dogs’ nail trimmers.

As I opened the drawer, two dogs materialized behind me, sitting politely with ears forward and eyes bright. So of course I had to get the trimmers out.

It’s Here! Social, Civil, and Savvy, for Puppies

The new puppy and socialization book is ready to launch! This book is written for the puppy owner who wants to raise a pup to prevent behavior problems in the future, as well as for…

Why We Train (Hint: For When We Aren’t Training)

We’ve posted several times on training for when life catches you off-guard, like when you forget to put the meat in the fridge instead of on the floor. I had one of those moments today.

Over the weekend I was offered a big mirror, salvaged from a dressing room in the type of expensive store where I don’t usually find myself. I took it, because I didn’t have a full-length mirror, and put it behind my bedroom door. It didn’t have hanging brackets yet, but it was pretty secure in its place and I figured I’d get brackets this week. The dogs had seen it, knew it wasn’t a window to a new playmate, and generally they ignored it behind the door.

Until today, when the bedroom door was closed, exposing the mirror, and for some reason Undómiel decided to desultorily paw it — just once, and not particularly strongly. I saw and called her, but it was already moving. What followed was one of the longest seconds of my life, as the mirror tipped forward over my puppy who was looking back at me and couldn’t see it coming. I was on the opposite side of the room on the bed, with my feet up and a computer on my lap, and there was no possible way for me to intervene in time.

young puppy lying down beside table with cheese and crackers

Mindy-Penny and the Return to Ordinary Life

So Penny, née Mindy, is a pet dog now. Aside from the obvious things like no longer accompanying us into restaurants, church, grocery stores, etc., her life has changed in other subtle ways. Like, I can feed her what I want now, instead of sticking to a national brand available at any big box store. And she can have treats beyond her strict diet, like popcorn which falls on the floor during game night, which she previously had to ignore.

This has been a rougher transition than you would think. But really fun.

Assistance Dog Blog Carnival – a Call for Posts

I’ve been given the opportunity to host the Assistance Dog Blog Carnival, a collection of relevant blog posts on the topic of service dogs and their people.

This edition of the ADBC will go live on December 16, 2014. This round’s theme is:

Perceive.

This is an official call for posts! If you’d like to participate, write a post on service dogs, interpreting the theme “perceive” in any way you like.