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Should You Get Your Dog Microchipped?

This past weekend Hurricane Irene caused chaos up and down the East Coast of the United States. Houses were destroyed and many families were displaced in the storm. I was lucky enough to escape the wrath of Irene with minimal damage, but others were not so fortunate. People were forced to flee their own homes as they crumbled around them or flood waters washed them away. Many dogs and cats were lost in the midst of the pandemonium of survival.

As I read these stories, I look down at my own dog, Hayley, and wonder if we were separated in the storm would we find each other? That’s a hard question to ponder and no one likes to think about the worst case scenario but if you’re prepared and the worst happens, you will be glad you made the appropriate preparations.

Forget something as catastrophic as a hurricane, what if your dog just ran from the house or slipped his collar and took off. How would you be able to get him back? What precautions do you have in place in case the worst happens? Without any way to identify your dog, how would anyone know he was yours?

That’s where microchipping comes in. Although microchipping in pets is nothing new, many owners are still unsure of what it really is and if they should really bother.

How it works
Microchips are injected into the animal just under the skin, usually between the shoulder blades. It doesn’t hurt the dog (it feels like a typical injection) and has no real side effects. Each microchip is identified by a separate and unique number that can be read by a scanner when it’s hovered over the dog. Almost all vets and shelters have these scanners are able to quickly read the microchip that has been placed in a dog.

If your dog is ever separated from you and picked up by the local shelter the first thing they will do is scan him to see if he’s been chipped. Then they can look up your information in the microchip database to get your contact info and reunite you with your furry best friend.

It’s kind of like an insurance policy in that you will most likely never need it, but if you do it will prove to invaluable. However, unlike insurance polices microchipping will only cost you about $50. Well worth it, in my opinion.

Don't Judge a Pooch by its Cover

Just about every week I get called in to do a behavior consultation for a dog whose only real problem is that he’s stuck with the wrong humans. Or more accurately, his owner chose him for the wrong reasons. It always amazes me how so many people put so little thought into their choice of dogs. Instead of making an educated decision based on close observation, deliberation and research, they just go for the cute furry face and/or the long sob story that comes along with it.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised because we make the same mistakes picking our romantic partners with the same disastrous results. We’ve all been guilty of dating someone just because physically they’re a total knockout without really looking into what kind of personality they have. And all those kinds of relationships end one of two ways: quickly or badly (for me it was always both).

Getting a dog is not like buying a shirt. If the cool looking shirt we buy itches us like crazy, we just donate to Goodwill or use it to clean our toilet. That dog we brought home a week ago on a whim because he was so cute and had a hard luck story, however, cannot be so easily discarded. I know you mean well, but you’re really doing the worst thing for both you and the dog.

I strongly believe that there is the right person out there for every dog. But the other side of that is that for every right person for the dog there are a multitude of mismatches. You have to be realistic when looking to add a dog to your life and ask yourself some tough questions. Instead of beginning and basing your search for your new dog on the appearance of the dog, look first for personality and temperament. If you neglect to really research what kind of energy level and breed you’re bringing home you may be in for a harsh reality once your new pooch settles in at home.

A great example of this is when the TV show Frasier was popular many people fell in love with Kelsey Grammer’s furry co-star, Eddie and ran out and got Jack Russell Terriers. Wow, were they in for a big surprise when they discovered that their dog didn’t want to just lounge on the couch while laugh tracks played in the background, but instead required three hours of hard core, high impact exercise each and every day to keep them sane.

Then there are the good hearted people who rescue a dog with just because they feel sorry for its situations or back story. Another huge mistake. Yes, it’s amazingly admirable that you want to help this dog but if you don’t make sure you are the right match for him, you will not be helping him at all.

The decision to bring a dog into your life is a big one, both for you and the dog. Make sure you really think hard about the decision and base your search first on personality and temperament, then on looks. If you do that, you won’t have to pay me to come over and laugh at you as you tell me that you don’t know why your two-year-old Dalmatian destroyed your house, when you always give him his daily exercise of two, five minute walks around the block (on behalf of all the Dalmatians out there, thanks for nothing Disney).

To Treat or Not to Treat

Food rewards are one of the most effective ways to train your dog. Not really a big news flash there - just about everyone knows that Fido will do just about anything for some freeze-dried liver. The question isn’t if food rewards are effective, it’s when and how often should they be used? Should we use treats for every behavior we want to teach, and should we use them for problem behaviors we want changed?

Some trainers rely on the use of treats solely and rarely do any kind of training without their trusty treat bag, while others downright refuse to use treats at all. So it’s not surprising that there is some confusion on when is the appropriate time to use treats when working with our dogs. Personally, I believe that treats are a very powerful tool to train dogs, but that many situations are better addressed without the use of food.

To shape a new behavior (like teaching a dog to sit, or down), there’s nothing better than a tasty tid-bit to lure your dog. Treats should always be the first thing you go to when teaching any obedience command or trick. It’s simple, it’s easy and it works like a charm in almost every case. For those rare dogs that are not all that food motivated, the treats lose their power and we then to try another reward (like toys or affection). However, ninety five percent of dogs will perform quite well when motivated by their favorite snack.

I do not use treats for many behavioral issues though. For example, something like dog reactivity is best addressed without treats. I’ve seen people literally throwing treats at their dogs in an attempt to distract them from an approaching dog. Even if the distraction works and the dog ignores the other dog, at best you are putting a very temporary band aid on the problem. Instead, you need to work with the dog at a distance, change his state of mind and him move him forward. I’ve found simply walking dogs together to be the best way to work on this – with your treats holstered.

The big exception here is for cases of anxiety or fear. Then in addition to be very respectful of each dogs threshold of tolerance to a given stimulus, treats (especially high impact treats) can be used to encourage the dog to work slowly past his fears and reshape his perception to something positive.

Every situation and dog is different, so it’s not as easy as black and white. As a general rule I always use treats to shape new behaviors and rarely to alleviate a problem behavior. Since I think that raising dogs is very similar to raising kids I’ll give you an analogy with my kids. If my one daughter hits her sister and then stops hitting her, I’m not going to give her a reward for stopping. The rule is you don’t hit your sister and it’s time for me to do some parenting. But if my daughter refrains from hitting her sister in a situation that she usually does, I would reward her like crazy.

Now let’s take a similar situation with your dog. Let’s say my dog is chewing the rug and then stops as I come into the room. I’m not going to reward the cessation of her chewing, but instead I’m going to do some leadership (aka parenting). However, if my dog is a rug chewer and is headed toward the rug and she ignores it on her own or with a mild verbal correction from me, I’ll shower her with treats.

That’s my take on the treat paradox. Remember treats should always be used as rewards and not bribes. Treats are great but be cautious about spitting them out like a popcorn machine.

CSI: Canine

I don’t really watch too much TV, but just looking at the daily television listings of shows I see that there are quite a few versions of the CSI series. Every so often my wife lures me into to watching one and I’ve quickly learned that the CSI team can uncover any mystery by doing three things. The formula is always the same and I think it’s applicable for just about any unsolved problem, including issues with our beloved pooches. Those three key ingredients that the CSI team relies on in every episode are investigation, observation and questioning.

As a dog behavior consultant I use these skills in every single session I do and they are skills that you should employ when trying to understand why your dog does some of those unexplained things. I have cracked many of my cases wide open by interviewing my clients and going over details of their home environment and their dog’s daily activities. The more questions I ask, the more information I gather and the more I’m able to watch the dog, the clearer the puzzle becomes.

This is especially important when your dog does something that is out of his usual character or behavior patterns. Once you see a behavior problem begin where before there was none, something must have changed to cause the shift in behavior. You need to do some investigating to begin to uncover the reason for the new behavior problem.

Nothing happens “out of the blue” or for no reason. There is always an underlying cause that has triggered the dogs new behaviors, we may just not be aware of them yet. That’s why you really need to sit down and think about the issue from all angles and take a number of external factors into consideration. You need to think about what is going on in your environment and look for possible triggers that may have put the behavior in motion, and/or are continually reinforcing the troubling behavior.

As you make your observations and do you’re investigating you have to remember that dogs think differently and have very different motivations than we do. So you need to try to put aside your human way of thinking and get inside the mind of your dog. Try to understand his perspective and remember that even though he’s your furry little guy, he still behaves according to canine patterns.

You should also question all family members even if you think that they are in no way involved with the behavior issue. They are possible witnesses and even suspects (that may be unknowingly contributing to the behavior) that need to be questioned. The more digging you do, the closer you will get to understanding what’s really going on.

This three step process of investigating, questioning and observing is the systematic approach I use each and every time I work with a behavior problem. And although I may not have the high tech equipment of the TV CSI team or the witty one-liners of the stars, I’ve been pretty successful in solving quite a few unsolved mysteries using their same formula.

Make your own CSI team and start to investigate the perplexing cases with your own dog and see if you can uncover the real reason for any new issues and then you can accurately work toward making them right.

As for me, I’ll continue my relentless cold calling of the television networks pitching my CSI: Canine.

Take That Mailman!

Watch any cartoon with a dog and you’ll learn that dogs come preloaded with two things: chasing cats and barking at the mailman. The cat thing we can chalk up to a run of the mill species rivalry, but why the mailman? After all, the mailman (and femailman) seems pretty nice - the only crime there’re guilty of is delivering us too many bills. So why do so many dogs go postal when the mailman makes his daily approach toward our house?

The answer is the front window. Dogs that have access to look out the front window of the house are much more reactive at people walking by and coming to the house. And every single day they get rewarded for their behavior.

Let’s look at what happens from the dog’s perspective.
1)Mailman approaches
Your dog thinks: “Here comes this strange looking guy in a uniform walking right up to my house. I’m going to bark my head off to scare him away.”
2)Mailman drops mail in box and walks away.
Your dog thinks: “That’s right, you better get out of here. Ha – I scared that punk away. Yay for me!”

Your dog is rewarded every single time the mailman leaves. Your dog thinks his reaction is what sent him on his way. The same holds true for anyone walking by (or walking a dog by) – they walk in front of your house, your dog reacts, and they leave. Fido thinks he’s doing a fine job protecting the perimeter.

This is why treating barking at people and dogs as they walk by the house is impossible. For us to successfully work on this issue we would need to control the person coming toward the house. The person walking by would have to stop when the dog reacts and wait while we work with the dog to get them back to a calm state of mind, and then have them continue on their way. Just try getting the mailman to do that.

There’s just no way to control the environment, so it is impossible to work on. The best thing to do, if possible, is to not allow your dog access to the front window. I know it sounds like a cop out of training but there really is no way to properly address this behavior. And dogs that react at people and dogs at the window are more likely to carry this habit outside and react on leash.

Sometimes you have to accept that the situation is uncontrollable and instead of solving the issue, we concentrate on trying to manage it. So if you can, close up the shades or keep your dog away from the lookout points. His barking is not going to get better and your mailman is thinking of throwing that Ikea catalog at the window.

Everyday Opportunities

One day last week I was strolling through the park with my trusty sidekick Hayley. Although I usually try to take in the walk as Hayley does (enjoying the present moment, unconcerned with past events or future obligations), this day my mind would not be quieted and I was lost in thought as we ambled around the bendy paths of the park. Because my focus was far from our walk, I didn’t notice the squirrels until we were about eight feet from them.

There were two of them: one sitting on the concrete path in front of me and the other was on Hayley’s side but just off the path. Although I just saw them, I’m sure Hayley had been following their activities for a number of steps. I slowed my pace just slightly and gave Hayley a quite, “shhhh – shhhhh – shhhh,” to remind her that I was still here and would prefer that she did not obey the terrier instincts screaming at her.

Hayley’s facial muscles relaxed at the sound of my voice and her ears moved back from an alert position to a relaxed one. We got to within about five feet of the little guys before they decided to bolt off toward the trees. Hayley noted their retreat but didn’t give chase.

I couldn’t help but smile as we continued on our walk, thinking back to when I first adopted Hayley and how she would charge after any woodland creature within on hundred yards. Wow, how far we have come.

What I find most impressive about Hayley’s impulse control is that I never formally worked with her on her squirrel addiction. I didn’t set out at specific times with the goal of working with her around small animals, but instead took advantage of everyday opportunities. I walked with Hayley two to five times a day, every day. And whenever we happened by an area where squirrels were active, I would take a moment or two to work with her to change her state of mind in their presence. I wouldn’t spend more than five minutes each time, but did it consistently.

Step by step, day by day, she got better and better. Squirrel chasing was not high on my training priorities since it is an easily manageable problem with the use of a leash. So I never went out of my way to work on it. When the situation presented itself, however, I always took advantage of it and used it as an opportunity to teach her instead of adding on yet another high arousal chase repetition.

In our daily life, we have so many similar opportunities to teach our dogs a little something. It doesn’t take long; it only takes a little initiative. Take a look at the time you spend with your dog and see where you’re missing easy chances to improve your dog’s behavior. The simple everyday tasks like giving your dog his food, to going out the front door for a walk are perfect places to take five extra minutes and help shape your dog’s behavior. Over time, those simple little training snippets can have a real long term effect.

Guest Blogger Dr. Mark Nunez Talks Medications

There are MANY dogs out there that can greatly benefit from a little pharmaceutical intervention. There are also just as many people out there that are apposed to "drugging" their dogs. This is no doubt an extrapolation of a negative stigma the "drugs" have in our society. Antibiotics are drugs. Would you ever consider withholding an antibiotic from a sick child when there is no doubt that it would cure the illness? Medicating your dog may not be an appealing idea to you, but often times medications can be a tremendous help. Stress and anxiety inhibit learning, in dogs as well as in people. Think about it, how well are you going to learn if you think your life in truly in danger? Your main concern is to escape that danger, be it real or perceived. Same goes for dogs. If anxiety can be decreased, learning can be increased. There are several types of medications that can be used.

- Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRI) and Tricyclic Anti-depressants – Medications such as Prozac (Reconcile), Zoloft, and Clomicalm will cause an increase in the serotonin levels of the brain, producing a calming effect. They also have an effect on other neurotransmitters, such as norepinephrine and dopamine. This class of medication is meant to be taken for a period of months to years. The positive effects of these medications are seen after taking them daily for 4-6 weeks.

- Benzodiazepines – Medications such as Valium, Xanax, and Klonopin are anti-anxiety medications that start to work in about 30-45 minutes. These can be used on an as needed basis, but can also be used daily until the SSRI’s kick in.

- Phenothiazines – Acepromazine, or Ace for short, is a VERY commonly used drug in veterinary medicine. It only sedates. It does not have any anti-anxiety properties and is not a good choice for dogs with anxiety. It makes the owners feel better because their dog cannot display the anxious behavior. The dog’s brain is still experiencing all of the stress and anxiety that the situations brings about, but his body cannot show it. Plus, it actually heightens sensitivity to noises! This medication should also be avoided in dogs that have seizures and in Boxers, sight hounds, and giant breeds.

- Anxitane – Anxitane is not a “medication,” it is a nutraceutical for the brain (like glucosamine is for joints). It decrease the frequency of alpha waves in the visual cortex of the brain. This make visual stimuli (rain and lightening) less stimulating. It has no side effects and does not cause sedation.

These are the most common medications that I use in my behavior practice. They can be used as a single agent, or in combination. Generally speaking, the longer and more severe a behavior issue is, the more likely I am to recommend medication as a part of the over all treatment program. That said, medications are not a cure all. In fact, when used alone and without behavior modification, they have a very poor success rate of about 25%. However, when used in combo with behavior modification, you increase your success rate to about 85%! Most of these medications can be discontinued after a certain period of time, but occasionally they are needed for life.

Dr. Nunez is a practicing veterinarian, while also assisting patients through The Balanced Canine blog and his own online veterinary pharmacy.

You Get What You Pet

How would you feel if I told you that you the cause of some of your dog’s issues? I know you probably don’t like hearing that but I’m sorry to say it may be true. No one means to enable their dog’s problems but all too often we’re to blame.

Whatever your dog is doing always pay close attention to his state of mind. Your dog’s state of mind is tremendously more important than his behavior in any and every situation. You need to make sure that you never give affection to an unstable frame of mind. So whenever you dog is in an anxious, exited or overly aroused state of mind, that’s not the time to reward them - because whatever you reward will happen again.

The phrase to remember is, “you get what you pet.” If you pet an anxious dog, you’ll get an anxious dog in that situation, if you pet a happy dog, you’ll likely see a happy dog when the situation presents itself again.

This is where our human compassion can really mess us up because when our dogs are scared, anxious or uncomfortable our tendency is to console and comfort them. But this is the last thing we should be doing. You have to remember that our dogs cannot understand the words we’re speaking to them, they only make associations. So when thunder booms overhead and your dog gets startled and shows signs of anxiety and you start stroking him saying, “Don’t worry its ok little guy. It’s only some noise . . .,” what your dog is taking from that is, “This is a big deal, remember how you feel right now in this situation.” And they pair the stimulus (thunder in this case) with their state of mind when they receive affection.

By petting them we are rewarding their state of mind at that moment and telling them that this is a big deal. Like kids, if we tell them it’s a big deal, they will believe us. What we need to do when they get anxious is to ignore them and not make a big deal of the situation. They will look to us and see that we are OK with whatever it is that has them spooked, and that nothing bad has happened to them, so it must be a non-event.

Ignoring works pretty good if it’s one of the first times that the dog has shown the anxiety to something, but if it’s been repetitive and reinforced that’s not going to have a big impact. You should still not give affection at that time but you will also have to do some active counter conditioning in a controlled setting to help your dog see improvements.

In this post I’m focusing on anxiety because it’s the most detrimental state of mind to reward that is the hardest to overcome. Severe anxiety is a difficult thing to adequately address (especially if the trigger is something uncontrollable, like thunder) and will take a lot of time and patience to see improvements. In some cases it may be necessary to supplement behavior modification with medication. This is a little out of my area of expertise so I’ve asked someone more qualified to be my guest blogger next week and give you some information on the topic of anxiety and medication.

Good Morning Anyone?

This morning I was lucky enough to have time to go for a nice stroll with my furry traveling buddy, Hayley. We made it to the park nice and early before the heat of the day took hold, and although it was early and a holiday, there were plenty of others out enjoying the morning as well.

As Hayley and I entered the park we could smell the fresh vegetation, hear the birds singing their sweet songs and feel the fresh air on our faces. Ahhh, what a great way to start the day off. Hayley was out in front of me taking in the many scents that were demanding her attention while I casually followed, happy to share this moment with her.

It wasn’t long before we saw the first of many people walking in the park on this fine morning. Our first passer-by was a middle-aged man walking at a brisk pace. As is my habit, I tried to make eye contact with him and say, “good morning.” He mumbled something back that very loosely resembled, “morning,” and hurried past us without looking up.

I shrugged my shoulders, and wondered how someone could already be having a bad day at only 7 am. Hayley and I continued on but barely made it fifty feet when we encountered someone else: a woman walking her golden lab. As we closed in on one another I noticed that both Hayley and the lab were pulling toward one another eager to meet. What Hayley didn’t notice, that I did, was the dog’s owner looking at Hayley with wide-eyed discontent – it seems she had correctly identified Hayley as a pit bull and was letting her uninformed mind run amuck.

I respected her space and didn’t let Hayley interact with her dog (much to Hayley and the lab’s dismay), and continued on. We passed many more people and dogs as we made our way through the park, and I continued to greet everyone who passed by with a happy, “good morning,” and a smile. Some people pretended they didn’t hear me and hurried past us, while a few were quicker than me and greeting me before I got a chance. Interestingly, a large majority of the people I hit with my “good morning,” responded with a look of shocked excitement. The returned my cheerful hello and seemed grateful and happy for the interaction.

What I find interesting is that it was obvious that if I didn’t say anything to them they would have just walked right past me not even bothering to look at me. If they are friendly people, and indeed it seemed that they were, then why not make the first move and greet people right away?

In contrast, I watched every dog look genuinely overjoyed at the mere sight of fellow canine and downright insistent upon greeting them. I say, if our dogs can do it, why can’t we?

As always, our dogs seem to really know how to live life right. So the next time you’re out for a walk or heading down the hallway toward your office, try to greet the people you pass like a dog: with a smile and a tail wag (just watch the butt sniffing).

Cropped, Docked and Chopped

In today’s society cosmetic surgery is a widely popular and socially accepted practice. This is also true in the dog world but I think there is a big distinction between someone making the choice to get surgery done on themselves and doing it to an animal that cannot speak up for itself. Indeed, dogs don’t get a say about whether or not someone will lop off hunk of their ears or tail. Although I can’t read the minds of dogs, I’m pretty sure that given the choice, they would shout a hearty “NO!” to the question of ear cropping and tail docking.

Dogs were originally selectively bred to perform certain tasks for humans and we did everything in our power to make sure they did their jobs effectively. To make hunting dogs more efficient we docked their tails so that they would suffer fewer injuries to their tails when running through thick brush. Guard and fighting dogs got their ears cropped so that their opponents (both human and canine) had less to grab onto.

Although I understand the purpose that man originally cropped the ears and docked the tails of various breeds, I still have a hard time accepting it. I believe that we are truly blessed to have dogs integrated into the human world and that we should appreciate our unique relationship with this once wild animal with gratitude – not by taking a scalpel to their bodies for our selfish purposes.

Even if I was to go along with cropping and docking for the purposes of enhancing the dogs abilities to accomplish the tasks they were bred for, why the hell would you do it to dogs that are used as family pets? Chopping off the tails of Weimaraners and Doberman Pinchers, and hacking off a large portion of a Pit Bulls and Boxers ears serves no purpose in the everyday life of the pet dog. It’s done only so the dog will look like the breed standard, which was created a long time ago by very different kinds of dog owners.

Besides my obvious objection to putting a dog under anesthesia unnecessarily to remove pieces of a living animal for appearance reasons only, loosing part or all of their ears and/or tail greatly compromises their ability to communicate. A good portion of a dog’s body language is conveyed with the position of the tail, as well as the orientation of the ears. There have been studies done that have found that dogs with docked tails can be significantly handicapped in conveying fear, caution, aggression and playfulness. The main way dog’s communicate and build their relationships with one another is through body language, and when part or all of their ears and/or tail is missing their ability to signal to other dogs socially is greatly hampered.

Now that most dog breeds in the U.S. are not being used for their original purpose and are being bred to be pets, I think it’s time that the general public demand that breeders and kennel clubs re-evaluate the standard. Let’s stop this needless mutilation of our dogs and rethink what we are really doing. Instead of going along with cropping and docking just because that’s been the tradition, let’s think what’s really in our dogs best interested and do right by our dogs.

Dog’s put up with a lot of our human foolishness on a daily basis, so let’s start treating them with the love and care that they deserve. Let’s raise the bar of our compassion and better shape the course of our relationship with our pals, the domestic dog.

Making Sense of Dogs

As many of you know I’m an avid reader and can’t resist a new dog book when I see it. Recently, I finished reading Dog Sense: How the New Science of Dog Behavior Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet and thought I would give you my quick review of the book.

Dog Sense is book based on the scientific study of the domestic dog and enlightens the reader by separating fact from fiction. Since the world of dog training has so many differing training styles and ideas on how we should relate and train our poochy pals, it’s nice to have a book look into the actual facts that are backed up by real research. There’s way too much speculation and assumptions being made by many dog trainers who are stuck in outdated and ineffective training methods (many of which are harmful both mentally and physically to our dogs), so I for one was very happy to see a book with so much detail and rock-solid research to enlighten the masses.

The book is packed with so much information I almost don’t know where to begin telling you about it. One thing that I found most interesting was the history of how the dog was domesticated from the wolf. Bradshaw lays out the evolution of how the wolves of yesterday became the dogs of today. I also appreciated his discussion on pure bred dogs and how they are so genetically unhealthy. The general public has long been disillusioned thinking that a pure bred dog is genetically superior to a mutt. I love how Bradshaw compares breeding pure bred dogs to having kids with your cousin. I think that really puts it into perspective.

The book goes on to set the record straight on why using wolf behavior as the basis of how we understand our dogs is inaccurate.

"The main [myth] ... is that wolves are essentially an intrinsically aggressive animal that is continuously trying to take over whatever group they find themselves in and dominate it. And the new wolf biology really exposed that as an artifact — that particular view of wolves came from wolves in zoos and in wildlife parks, where a bunch of unrelated wolves were basically put together and told to get on with it and, not surprisingly, they got on with it by being aggressive toward one another. The new picture of wolf society is that wolves are harmonious animals. They live in family groups. They get along really well together, and they're almost never aggressive to one another. The aggression comes out when two families meet, so they have very strong family ties."

The big downside of the book is that it is written by a scientist and can sometimes read like a textbook, which makes it a bit of a hard read (I got the audio book which makes it much easier to handle), and may have too much info and go into too much scientific detail for the average dog owner. He does discuss some actually ways to train your dog, but I found them a little superficial (which is fine because this is not a dog training book).

All in all I found this book very educational and enlightening. For those looking for a light, quick read about dogs, you will probably be a bit frustrated and disappointed. However, if you’re looking for a very detailed, scientific look into the world of the domestic dog and its ancestry than this is the book for you.

Timing is Everything

I’ve heard the story too many times to count and it goes like this: “My dog pees/gets into mischief/is destructive when I’m away from home, so when I come home I scold/hit/yell at him. And he knows he’s done something wrong because he always looks guilty when I come home.” Sound familiar? There are a number of variations to the tale but the gist of it is always the same. The dogs does something it shouldn’t, owner comes home, reprimands the dog and now the dog shows signs of guilt when they arrive home.

Here’s the dog’s side of this situation: “My crazy owner comes home and sometimes does some very bizarre/hurtful/cruel things to me, so I just make myself as submissive as possible so he’ll leave me the hell alone. It’s really scary and I’m starting to get really afraid of him.”

Trust me when I tell you that dogs DO NOT feel guilt in any way. They can’t make associations to past events – they live in the here and now. What happened one minute ago is gone forever, never to be dwelled upon by your faithful poochy pal again. Because of this simple truth your timing of when you give praise and corrections is critical to your dog’s ever understanding the rules you set for him.

Basically you have about a two second window of opportunity to lay on the praise or give a correction and have your dog actually equate it to the behavior. Two seconds – that’s it. If any more time goes by you’ve missed your chance to teach him anything. That’s why supervision is so important for puppies and adult dogs new to a home. If you’re not there at the precise time your dog makes the blunder or does something good, you’re missing value opportunities to instruct him how to live in your world.

I see this all the time: Owner lets the puppy outside into the back yard but is too lazy to go out there with him and merely watches from the doorway. The puppy ambles into the grass, pees and trots back to the house where the owner is happily waiting with a friendly voice and a yummy treat. Congrats, you just rewarded coming inside, which although may be nice, it’s probably not what the owner thought he was rewarding. The pup has no clue that was for the peeing in the yard – that was eons ago.

If you come home and your dog has misbehaved or had an accident. Take a big tall glass of suck it up, clean up the mess and move on. Reprimanding after the fact is not only ineffective but detrimental. I don’t care how guilty you say he looks, he has no clue what’s going on. He only knows that you are insane and unstable.

Since you now understand that you need to supervise to show your dog exactly how to behave, also remember that every dog is good much more than they are bad. So you should be praising him much more throughout the day than giving corrections. If you’re not praising 90% of the time on any given day, you’re missing just about everything. Even the most disobedient dog is good most of the time, and you should be letting him know.

Take a look at how you praise and correct your dog, be honest about your timing and do better tomorrow. When you do, you and your dog will enjoy each other a whole lot more.

So Many Good Dogs

This past weekend I had the honor of being a part of the Best Friends Animal Society’s yearly East Coast Super Adoption event. This year the venue was in White Plains, New York, where thousands of people came out in hopes of meeting their new furry best friend. Over the course of the weekend around 300 dogs and cats found new homes. And although that’s a pretty impressive number for just two days, there were still hundreds left in cages on Sunday afternoon.

My job at the event was to help people choose the right dog for them and supervise meet and greets between potential adopters (sometimes with their existing dogs) and the dogs looking for homes. During the course of the two days I was struck by how many great homeless dogs are out there. Many people think that dogs in shelters and rescues are damaged goods with issues and problems. But the reality is that this is rarely the case.

Most homeless dogs are there because of human error. Often people don’t think the decision through before they get a dog and soon realize that they are not able or willing to deal with the responsibilities that come with having a dog. Or they fall for the cute face without realizing that the dog is not a good match for their family or lifestyle. Or they are irresponsible and don’t get their dogs spayed/neutered and now they have puppies out there with no one to care for them. Sometimes the dogs do have issues that need to be addressed, but often they are easily treated with some knowledge and time.

What I saw this weekend was dog after dog that was just plain great. I couldn’t believe how many truly lovable and adoptable dogs were there. I remember seeing one big, super sweet Mastiff/Great Dane mix on Saturday morning and I thought, “Wow, this guy will be gone before lunch.” When I saw him still hanging around on Sunday afternoon I was shocked. How could no one have snatched this great dog up?

The reason was because there were so many other great dogs available. Dog after dog that I worked with impressed me. They were all so great. If I came to this event and saw the 700 dogs there, I’m not sure how I would ever be able to choose just one to bring home – they were all so deserving.

It was hard not to come home with one myself, but I always promise my wife as I leave for these kinds of events that I won’t come home with anything that barks or meows. And indeed I saw more than a few volunteers leaving with dogs that they didn’t necessarily intend to come home with.

The point is that dogs in shelters and rescues are not damaged or inferior. On the contrary, they are most likely healthier both mentally and physically than most breeder dogs. They are just dogs with bad luck.

So don’t ever judge a dog by the cage it looks through. Meet them and see for yourself how many great dogs are out there waiting. But beware; once you meet them it will be hard not to bring them home.

Dogs are Not Impulse Buys

When it’s time to get a new pair of jeans you head out to your local clothing store, try a few pairs on, making sure the style is to your liking and the fit is good for your body type. Although you might get lucky, finding the first pair of jeans you grab fits and looks great, it’s more likely that you’ll have to spend some time in the fitting room until you find the one that works the best. This can be a lengthy process sometime but since you’ll most likely be wearing these jeans for years to come, it’s important to get the ones that are the best for you.

I’m amazed at how people can scrutinize intently over the purchase of a pair of jeans, while giving very little thought to adding a dog to their lives. The decision to bring a dog home should be home should be a family one that is researched and considered carefully. There are many factors that need to be examined both in dog and in the household.

I’ve had to do too many sessions trying to help people with behavioral issues because they got the wrong dog for their situation, or they rushed into bringing the dog home without taking the time to think out if they had the time, resources and/or desire to take care of a dog.

Puppies tend to be the victims of this much more than adult dogs. You see that cute little face and your heart tells your brain to shut up and just bring the cute little guy home to cuddle. A sad statistic is that over half of the puppies that get taken home won’t be there by their first birthday. The reason is usually that not much thought was given into getting a puppy and once the people realized all the work and effort that goes into raising a pup, they freak out and want a do over. However this is not some book you bought on Amazon – it’s a living thing.

Returning that pair of jeans is easy, but re-homing a dog is a bit trickier – especially for the dog. So think long and hard before you make the life altering decision to bring a dog home. If you do decide to do it, make sure it’s an educated decision so you get the right fit for your family and lifestyle. I give free consultations to help discuss what the best kind of dog is for each individual situation, yet I’m rarely taken up on it. Dogs can be a great addition to your family, but they can also be the very last thing you should get.

Get informed and think long and hard to make sure you making the right choice for both you and the dog. If more people considered the decision to get a dog more carefully there would be more dogs with only one human on their resumes.

Survey: Are you the first and only owner to your dog?

Guest Blogger Jeff Coltenback: Joint Health

Keeping pets healthy and happy is what I try to do on a daily basis. Every day I am afforded opportunities to help or educate pet owners and their pets on natural pet care. It’s my calling in life so to speak. It’s my passion. I always first promote proactive prevention for our pets. If a pet is healthy, is fed well, has adequate exercise, proper leadership, is not exposed to unnecessary toxins and lives in a healthy environment, offering natural supplements KEEPS that animal healthy. Unfortunately, many of our pets will get sick or injured, as only “children” can. It happens. So, reacting to their body’s needs is important. Natural supplements available to us today are abundant. There are animal parts (organs, glands, tissue, etc) that play a role in immune support. There are natural herbs that help fight infection. And, there are plenty of whole food supplements that aid in reactive and proactive health. And, of course, there are plenty of supplements out there that support the skeletal and connective tissue components of a dog’s body. You may even take them yourself. So, let’s take a brief look.

One of the most common types of supplements I often recommend is related to joint health. Dogs, like us, benefit from dietary supplements that contain ingredients like glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM and/or Vitamin C. A joint supplement containing glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM is, in my opinion, most effective. Glucosamine is a precursor to a major component of joint cartilage and connective tissue and can help degenerative conditions both reactively and proactively. Chondroitin is also a major component of cartilage. MSM, or Methylsulfonylmethane, is widely used for its reported efficacy as an anti-inflammatory agent. Aiding the dog’s body in controlling inflammation is crucial to recovery. There are also more and more joint supplements nowadays available in herbal form. The decision of which type and how much to use is best discussed with your Veterinarian or pet professional. This short article is not conducive to in-depth analysis. I will, however, offer that I prefer liquid forms of glucosamine/joint supplements. Many health professionals have cited the fact that liquid is more easily absorbed by the body. But, I have seen similar effectiveness from pills and joint chew treats. As for dosage of joint supplements, most commercial products have recommended servings listed on the packaging. I often recommend higher doses; of course you should always consult a professional if you are going to increase dosage.

For example, a recommended dose for my nine year old, 50lb Pit Bull is 750mg a day. Yet, I often give her up to 5200mgs a day depending on what her body is telling me. If she has an unusual period of activity, I may load her on this dose for a week or so (proactively). Then I drop down to a maintenance dose of 3000mg (spilt between morning and night). On normal, maintenance servings, she gets about 1500mg a day (twice the recommended dose). As pets age, they may need more or less for their specific situation and health status – just like humans. Depending on the breed and size of a dog, I will recommend starting them on a joint supplement at a certain age. For the purpose of this article, I will be general. For healthy dogs, I recommend starting them on a joint support regimen once they reach 5 years of age. If they are large breeds or have a history of joint problems, I may start them sooner. One of the most important aspects of a supplement regimen is that each owner trusts their own intuition as to what their pet needs. But, proper diet along with a natural supplement protocol is a great alternative to reactive or conventional methods of pet care.

Jeff Coltenback, founder Paradise Pet
specializing in nutrition and behavior
48 West Passaic ave, Bloomfield, nj 07003
973-338-0795
www.njpetshop.com

A picture from the photo shoot for our upcoming performance. Jeff's the one in the middle with a mouth-full of wood.

The Perfect Bedside Manner

I’ve been sick for about 2 weeks now and the consensus seems to be that I have walking pneumonia. I think one of the reasons that I can’t seem to shake this illness is that my kids have been on and off sick for about a month and in a violently coughing fit I bruised or broke a rib or two. What all this means is that I have not gotten a decent nights sleep in about a month and I’m exhausted.

Wow, that’s quite a pity party I just threw. I don’t mean to be a complainer, I’m just sooo tired.

This past weekend after a night of almost no sleep and feeling pretty yucky, there was just no way I could function. My wife took one look at me and sent me up to take a nap – my first of two that day. As I was about to walk up the stairs to my bedroom my gaze drifted past my dog who was laying on the living room floor looking up at me.

I stopped and locked eyes with her and immediately could read her mind. Her gentle face very clearly communicated, “I know you’re not well and I’m here if you need me.” From just her look I immediately felt comfort and with a twist of my hand she followed me upstairs and into my bed where she curled up between my legs under the covers. Together we had a very restful nap.

One the best qualities of dogs is that they are always there for us and have a unique ability to quietly comfort us just when we need it most. In the same situation people tend to verbalize too much and although they mean well they feel it necessary to give advice or an opinion when sometimes just quiet reassurance is all that is needed.

That’s where the bond with a dog shines above all other relationships. No matter what, they don’t judge, they have no opinion, and love you the same whether you are rich or poor, happy or sad, or well or sick. They are always waiting and available just when you need them most.

Today I woke up with my ribs aching and, due to a late night trip to the ER with my daughter, my head heavy and tired. As I slowly made my way down the stairs my first sight was good old Hayley looking up at me saying, “I’m here for you if you need me – just say the word.”

Why Your Dog Ate the Couch

Whether your pooch is just chewing the corner of the carpet, or totally dismantling your favorite chair, there really are only two good answers to why your dog is being destructive. 1) he’s bored out of his mind, 2) he’s really not ready to be unsupervised, or (most likely) both.

Most of the time the dog is not at fault for the destructive behavior – you are. I know what you’re thinking: how on Earth can it be your fault the dog ate your couch? Well, once we analyze the facts it becomes obvious.

How much exercise did your dog get prior to any destructive behavior? I’m always amazed at how greatly most people underestimate the exercise needs of their dogs. All dogs wake up with energy – every single day – that needs to be drained. That energy is coming out one of two ways: constructively or destructively. If you don’t provide enough constructive energy release your dog will find a destructive outlet. Every dog has their own destructive ways to rid themselves of that energy. Stereotypically, a Yorkie will bark all day long, and a Lab will chew apart your furniture, but every dog will have their own way to let out extra energy.

Certain breeds have higher energy requirements than others. The average Jack Russell Terrier needs about 3 hours of sprinting a day, so those little walks around the block are doing nothing for him. If you have a puppy or young dog that energy requirement goes up. No matter what, every dog is an individual and will have their own unique set of energy needs. My usual rule of thumb is whatever you’re currently doing to exercise your dog, it’s not enough (not matter who you are). I’ve only met a handful of people who, in my opinion, adequately provided enough exercise for their dogs on a regular basis.

Lack of exercise is the number one contributing factor to all behavior problems, and just about all issues are improved upon with exercise. It’s the most powerful tool you have available and its always part of my treatment plan for any and all behavioral problems. A tired dog is a good dog – always!

Next we have to determine if your dog have too much freedom. Way too many people give their dogs run of the house much too soon. Personally, I like keeping the dog’s world small and slowly expanding it as he learns the rules of living in this very human world. Giving your dog too much unsupervised freedom is just setting him up to fail. At his best, he’s a dog. And he will make decisions as a dog no matter what. Our job as responsible dog owners is to guide him as he learns the rules of the human world. We need to be there to say sitting on the rug is good, but eating it is bad. If we’re not there, it’s not his fault – it’s ours.

There’s no magical amount of time when you can say your dog is officially ready to be left alone in the house unconfined, you just take a leap of faith and try it. When you do try it though, you have to set him up to succeed. If you get up in the morning, take your dog for a ten minute walk, pat him on the head, say “be a good boy,” and go off to work for eight hours, you’re really not giving him much of a chance. The first time you leave him you want to run him like crazy, and then give him something to do (like a Kong filled with frozen peanut butter), and only leave him for about an hour. Then, slowly expand the time, always making sure he’s exercised and has something to chew on besides your valuables. That’s setting him up to succeed and before you know it you’ve created a well behaved habit of not getting into trouble while you’re away.

So don’t be so quick to blame Fido for sampling your furniture if you’re the one leaving him there like a coiled spring with nothing interesting to do. Find constructive ways to get him the energy release and supervise him so you can teach him the rules of the house before you leave him all alone to make his own decisions. Your dog is just doing what dogs do - be a dog. It’s up to you to show him how to be a dog living in the human world.

The Marching of Time

Time has a way of quietly moving forward. You don’t really notice its passage until you pause from your activities and take note of a reference point. It’s like when you go to beach and decide to take a dip in the ocean to cool off. You relax just past the breakers enjoying the day in the refreshing water and light breeze. It’s not until you gaze back at the beach after a while that you notice the gentle ocean current has taken you far from where you set up your beach camp.

This past week I looked back at the beach. I took a good look at my trusty canine companion, Hayley, and noticed some changes that I wasn’t totally aware of. Since I’m with her every single day it I failed to notice that her steps have been slowing and her brown and white muzzle has a bit more white than a few years ago. I still think she’s looking great for a ten year old dog, but there’s no denying that time is marching on and she is aging.

And to my dismay, I’m aging too. However, because the canine life span is so much shorter than ours it’s happening much more quickly to Hayley. She has always been a high energy, athletic dog. We spent our early days together jogging, hiking and playing fetch for hours. Although we would both like to do all those activities at our original pace and intensity, we now have some limitations – and that’s ok.

It can be hard to face the fact that we can’t do all the things that we want or used to do (with our dogs and ourselves), but that is no reason to get us down. There are still plenty of pleasures in life that are available to us that can be just as, if not more, rewarding than all the fun things we used to do. To get the most out of them we need to appreciate what we have now, and resist the urge to make comparisons with the past.

Dogs have a great ability to live in the present moment, with no concern of the past. They never look back in despair over all the activities they can no longer do. Instead, they revel in what they can experience right here and now.

Dog behavior great Ian Dunbar always talks about how he would drive his aging rescue dog Claude (who has recently passed away) to a new field or wooded trail and slowly follow Claude as he slowly sniffed his way around. They would walk for thirty minutes or more but would travel less than ten square feet. Claude took his time savoring every sniff and had a great time.

Time is moving whether we notice it or not. It’s propelling us forward softly and consistently always and forever. Don’t be saddened by this realization - embrace it. Now-a-days Hayley and I spend more time walking than running; more time sniffing than hiking; and much more time relaxing than we do in athletics. And we’re both enjoying the ride together.

Car Safety

When I first got my dog I took her everywhere with me. She would travel with me while I worked (this was before I was a dog trainer) and we would go on frequent hiking trips all over New Jersey and New York. I have to admit that I really didn’t give much thought into putting her in my Jeep – I just opened the door and let her in the back, where she paced around from window to window while I drove to our destination.

Then one day, a speeding sedan ran a stop sign and slammed into my SUV as I was going through an intersection. The impact knocked my vehicle onto its side and sent it sliding twenty feet down the street. As always I was wearing my seat belt, which saved me from sustaining any major injuries. Hayley, my trusty companion, had fortunately stayed home that day. If she had been with me, she would have been thrown around the interior of the SUV and been seriously hurt or worse.

The incident was a big wake up call for me and from that point forward I gave important thought to how I travel with my dog. I don’t know about you, but my pooch is much more than an animal– she’s a family member. And I give her the same care and consideration that I give my children. I would never put my kids into my car without buckling them up and that goes for Hayley as well.

It makes me a bit crazy to see dogs roaming freely in cars with their bodies sticking half way out the windows. Car accidents happen every single day. There are over 16,000 car accidents each day in the United States. To me that sounds like a lot and I’m not taking any chances with my loved ones, and that includes my dog.

So, now Hayley gets seat-belted in just like my family. There are lots of great dog safely devices out there that can help your dog get to where you’re going safely. Personally, I use a comfy harness that secures Hayley in using the shoulder seat belt. They also have some for the little guys as well.

My dog is a 50lb. pit bull and with the seat belt on her head rests perfectly on the open window, allowing her to see out and enjoy the breeze. For small dogs who like to check out the world as it goes by, there are a number of great boosters seats that also keep your dog fastened safely.

The safest place to seat belt your dog in is the back seat. However, if you’re like me and have two car seats taking up the entire back seat, the front may be you’re only option. If that’s the case, make sure you always turn off the passenger side airbag when your dog is in the front. If that air bag does go off while your dog is there the impact will most likely kill him.

Keeping them seat-belted in also helps if your pooch gets car sick by providing him more stability. Anxious dogs also benefit from being belted because they are not able to move as much (the more a dog moves, the more energy they create – and that includes anxious energy).

All in all I can’t think of any reason not to be safe and seat belt your furry best buddy in when you travel by car. Sure, most of the time nothing goes wrong, but I love my dog too much to take chances with her life.

Just Breathe

Life can be a blur of motion and a cacophony (my new favorite word I just discovered in the book I’m currently reading and I just couldn’t wait to use it – threw it in my very first sentence! For those uninformed, as I was a day ago, it means a combination of discordant sounds) of noise. Our days race by, the next faster than the last, and if we’re not careful we can get caught up in the wake and not realize it.

I don’t know about you, but most of the time I find it hard to concentrate and focus on the task at hand because my mind is racing through my to-do list and mentally sorting out my upcoming obligations. I’m constantly multi-tasking as much as possible in an attempt to squeeze in everything that needs to be done.

This constant busy mental motion creates a less than appealing state of mind, specifically in relation to our interactions with others. When we’re rushing around with a busy mind we will be more easily frustrated, have a short temper, won’t listen well and leave bad impressions on those we come into contact with.

Although we may be aware of this happening with our family and friends, we may not realize how it affects our relationship with our dog. Our dogs are more sensitive than our human associates and are more easily influenced by a hurried, frustrated state of mind.

Dogs are very aware of how we’re feeling and their behavior will often reflect our energy. If your dog is acting up and you get easily frustrated and impatient, your dog will only respond with similar negative energy – usually in the form of his annoying behavior of choice. This will cause you to become even more frustrated and angry because now what should have taken you a few minutes to accomplish is quickly doubling and tripling in time.

Nothing good will come when you are in a rushed or impatient. There is a way to break this cycle and stop your mind before it derails, and it won’t take you any additional time out of your busy schedule because it’s something you are already doing: breathing.

Breathing may be something we do all the time, each and every day, but we rarely give it much thought and often take for granted its importance. I recommend taking a second or two to take a big deep breath before you begin any interaction with your dog. This one, cleansing breathe will help facilitate being calm and make you take note of how you are feeling. You will be surprised what a big impact this simple exercise can have on your interactions with your dog (and people). Before you enter into situations where you typically get frustrated, take a brief moment to take one big, cleansing breath. The more you do this throughout your day, the greater the positive change in your state of mind will be.

So start right now – take a deep breathe . . . Feels good doesn’t it.

The Time is Now

This weekend I did a phone consultation with a family with an aggressive Rottweiler. In addition to being very aggressive with strangers, he also shows aggressive behavior toward his human family. He will not let anyone handle him, resource guards just about everything, and cannot safely be taken to the vet.

I learned that the dog is eight years old and when asked how long the dog has been exhibiting the aggression, I was told for pretty much his entire life. For eight years his aggression has been slowly escalating and they have been living a life of constant management of it.

Recently, the dog was diagnosed with Diabetes which requires them to give insulin shots to him twice a day. When they attempted to give him the shots he reacted aggressively toward them. Without the insulin he will get weak and eventually die. That’s when they called me.

I did my best to give them some suggestions on how to best give the shots with some kind of safety, as well as how to work on changing his reactive behavior, but I didn’t have much confidence that it would be successful.

Early on Sunday, I emailed them inquiring on how things were going. The response I got was disheartening but not unexpected. They attempted to give him his injection but were unable to do it safely. Without the insulin, the dog got gradually weaker and they had to make the hard decision to put him down.

Eight years ago this aggression began, was unaddressed and continued to escalate. This did not have to end up way. Some of you may be quick to judge this family and wonder how could they have let it come to this? How could they not have done something about the aggression long ago? These questions seem reasonable but these were not bad people who didn’t care about their dog. They are like so many dog owners out there that either don’t see the issues with their dog realistically, or assume that they will get better without taking steps to correct them. It’s more common than you think.

The time to fix the issues with your dog is right now. Waiting and hoping they will improve will rarely do anything but make the rehabilitation harder and more time consuming. It’s all a numbers game. The longer your dog has been doing a behavior, the longer it will take to change it. It is possible to improve any dog’s behavior, but if they’ve been acting a certain way for years, things are not going to change in a week or two. And the longer you wait and trickier it is to work with.

So if your own dog has some issues that are concerning you, don’t wait, hoping for the best. Get proactive and start taking the steps today to improve the situation as soon as possible. Your dog is worth it.

A Day in Your Dog's Fur

The more I’m around dogs the more I realized how they hold the secret to a happy life. No, I don’t mean butt sniffing and leg humping (although I do enjoy both now and again). I’m talking about the things that really matter.

Most people have heard that dogs are present-minded creatures, which means that they “live in the moment” and don’t spend a second thinking about what happened in the past or what’s on tap for the future. Although you’re probably already aware of this, have you ever contemplated it and realized the simple power of it?

Dogs are all about the here and now. They don’t care what horrible things happened just five minutes ago, and are totally unaware of any unpleasant things on the agenda in the future. They don’t dwell on their mistakes and are unconcerned about their potential failures of tomorrow.

Dogs make the best of every situation that comes their way. They don’t look at the dogs around the neighborhood, envying them if they have a bigger house, nicer collar or a live with a human with more time to spend with them. No, they truly appreciate everything in their life, no matter what.

Our dog’s biggest pleasures come from the simplest (and most inexpensive) events. They jump for joy (sometimes literally) at the proposition of a walk – even when it’s only around the block; totally enjoy the bliss of a sunbeam to lie in; and reach the same level of crazy excitement each and every time you throw their favorite squeaky toy (usually the one way past its prime, that has very little stuffing left and a smell that is so unique that it defies adjectives).

There is never any judgment about anything either. Our dogs don’t care how much money we make or if we gain a few pounds, and they don’t hold grudges if we break a promise or come home late. No, they greet us with the same happy smile and friendly wag of their tail no matter what.

We can learn a lot from out dogs if we just open ourselves up to what they have to teach. So, I invite you to take at least one day to live like a dog. Whatever you are doing today, give it your 100% attention. Don’t think about the next task, the rest of the day’s responsibilities, or the crap that hit the fan an hour ago. Just embrace what you’re doing fully. Be on the lookout for many amazing, simple pleasures present in everyday life. Take a moment to hear the birds singing in the morning, truly appreciate your car, and greet all your family and friends with all of the love and energy that your dog shows you.

We spend lots of time trying to train our dogs how to live in the human world, take one day to let them show us how to live the life of a dog: a life of simple pleasures and daily joys.

The Little Things

Life moves at the speed of life. It doesn’t wait for you to catch and won’t give you more time if you haven’t finished everything you need to get done. There’s no way to slow it down and there is little chance of getting more hours added to the day.

Getting to everything that needs to get done on a typical day can be a big challenge and you’re forced to prioritize your tasks to want needs your immediate attention and put the rest off. When you’re faced with work, kids, spouses, and a long list of daily obligations the one thing that usually gets pushed aside is the dog.

For me, with twin girls, my business, my nonprofit, and my wife there is little time for myself or my dog. Those are the two aspect of my life that I have prioritized last, which means they usually get little or no attention.

I’ve recently come to realize is that, not only can I take care of both myself and my dog at the same time, but it doesn’t have to take too much time out of my busy day. Both me and my dog love spending time together, so by taking care of her, I’m also taking care of myself. Even on the busiest of days, I can feasibly take small increments of time throughout my day to spend with my dog, which can make a difference for both of us. Little things really do go a long way. If you take a few minutes here and there throughout the day, it can add up to a decent amount of time.

So here are my recommendations for you to get more out of your day with your dog.
1. Whatever time you currently get up, set your alarm for 15 minutes earlier and spend that time with your dog. Make your morning walk longer or spend that time playing with a toy.
2. Do some simple obedience or tricks (whatever your dog knows) 3-4 times throughout the day for five minutes. I like to do these before meal times or before we go out for our walks.
3. Before you go to bed at night, spend 5-10 minutes of quite time petting and loving your dog. Don’t do this while watching TV or talking to someone else – instead really spend the time with your dog enjoying and appreciating him/her.

When you do have the extra time (like on your days off from work or when the kids are at school) go for that long walk or some more lengthy playtime and interaction with your dog. Although we would love to spend an hour or two walking and playing with our dogs each day, it’s just not always possible. We can, however, carve out short periods of time throughout the day, which can greatly improve our day and give your dog some much needed (and deserved) attention.

So, get away from you computer right now and start your first five minutes with your friendly neighborhood Fido.

How to Pet a Dog

Although Dog Bite Prevention Week doesn’t take place until May (15th – 21st), I feel it’s never too soon to talk about ways to prevent dog bites from occurring. The sad thing about when dogs bite people is that most could easily be avoided. All you need is a little knowledge, and the time to get informed is right now.

Too many times I see people reach out to pet a dog, paying no attention to how the dog feels about their approach. Think about it? How would you feel if someone you didn’t know just walked up to you and shook your hand or gave you a big hug? Assuming it’s not Megan Fox, I would be pretty uncomfortable with this strange person invading my personal space uninvited.

Most people expect every dog to be a happy-go-lucky, super friendly, just waiting for you to come over and pet me pooch. And yes, there are plenty of those kinds of dogs out there but there are also some that have been under socialized, neglected or just plain grumpy.

Here are some tips when interacting with a new dog:
1. Taking a few moments to observe the dog you’re about to interact with and gage his temperament and mood.
2. Don’t approach the - let the dog come to you.
3. Try not to directly face the dog – keep your body at a slight angle(direct body orientation and eye contact can be a bit confrontational to some dogs)
4. If the dog is shy, don’t make sustained eye contact with him.
5. Let the dog sniff you first – that’s how dogs get to know you.
6. Hold out your extended hand, with your palm facing up.
7. If and when the dog comes over to you and you’re ready to pet him, give him a scratch under the chin or on the side of head – not over the head.

I usually squat down and rest my arms on my knees with my palms facing up. I don’t move to the dog, but instead wait for the dog to come me. If the dog is interested in meeting me he will move into my space, if not then maybe he just isn’t ready to interact with me just yet. The key is everything should be on the dog's terms.

This is a hard thing for many “dog” people to grasp because the urge to pet a cut dog can be overwhelming. Avoid the typical human tendency to stroke a dog over its head. This can be a bit too forward and uncomfortable for some dogs. Always scratch under the chin or on the side of his head under his ears.

Children should ALWAYS be supervised during dog interactions, and they should be taught how to respect and behave with dogs. I have 3 year old twins and I’ve spent lots of time teaching them exactly what the can and cannot do with our dog, Hayley. Kids are a bit unpredictable so I would always lean on the side of caution, especially with a dog you don’t know well. The victims of the majority of reported dog bites are kids, to you can never be too careful.

If you approach all situations with some thought and let the dog dictate how much interaction there will be, you should have a great encounter. Be aware, act smart and enjoy those doggies.

State of Mind Dog Training

One of the most difficult questions I get asked regularly is “what kind of dog trainer are you?”

It seems like such a simple request, but for me there’s no easy way answer that. People who ask that question are usually expecting one of two answers: dog whisperer or positive dog trainer. Those are the two big dog training philosophies that people are aware of and looking for, and the followers of both methodologies are very loyal to their own and distrustful of the other.

This makes my answer to the question, “what kind of trainer are you?” confusing because I am neither dog whisperer nor positive trainer and, at the same time I’m both. See? Now you’re confused.

My approach to dog training (and most things) is to always remain open-minded. This, I strongly believe, is the key to growth and development. If you close yourself off to something, you miss valuable opportunities to learn. Sometimes you discover something that you would never have thought of, and other times you get conformation that you’re way was indeed the better way. No matter what, you have more information and are able to increase your knowledge base about a subject.

I have never met dog trainer or dog training philosophy that I’ve agreed with 100%. However, I have found value in every single trainer I’ve talked to, watched, read, or shared a drink with. No matter who they are or what they believe, I’ve always come away with something.

As I’ve gone through my career as a dog behavior professional I’ve decided it’s about time I had an easy answer to the often asked question. Something that best describes my unique approach in which I train dogs and the people they share their lives with. So, if you really want to know, I’m a state of mind dog trainer. That’s the official title I’m going with because it best describes how I work with dogs.

For me, I care more about state of mind (both the dogs and the humans involved) over anything the dog is actually doing. A dog’s behavior is a direct result of his state of mind, and your state of mind is directly influencing your dog’s mindset and, in turn, his actions.

The reason your dog does everything is based on his state of mind at the time. If you try to alter your dog’s behavior without changing his state of mind you will get nowhere fast. For example, I never treat jumping, I treat excitement. If your dog is calm, he’s not going to jump. Dogs make really bad decisions in anything but a calm state of mind. If you make a dog sit but his mind is not calm, you’ve only put a very temporary band-aid on the problem.

Your state of mind is extremely important as well. Dogs are highly influenced by how you feel at any given moment. If you are not calm and confident, your relationship and communication with your dog will suffer. We give our emotional baggage to our dogs. If you are anxious in a given situation, there’s a very good chance you dog will become anxious as well, or he will become assertive and take the initiative to get his unstable human away from the stimulus that he feels is causing you’re anxiety.

My first step in treating everything dog related begins and ends with state of mind. It’s the most important aspect that affects your dog’s behavior. Always strive to achieve a nice calm state of mind for you and your dog. Doing this will cure more behavior problems than any training tool or yummy treat out there.

I invite you to join me and embrace State of Mind dog training and see how your life with you four-legged pal improves.

Realistic Expectations

When I look back on the nine years I’ve spent with my dog Hayley, I cringe at some of the stupid mistakes I made when I first got her. Back then, I wasn’t a trainer - I was just a guy getting his first dog, with pretty much no real knowledge of how to train or live with a dog. Like everyone else in the same situation, I made more than my fair share of mistakes.

One thing I’ve realized is that you can’t feel bad about errors you made with your dog in the past. Many people beat themselves up for past blunders and mishaps, but it’s very unfair to do that. All you can ever do is the best with the information you have. Nine years ago, I did the very best with the limited knowledge about dogs that I had, and although it wasn’t ideal, it was my best at the time. So don’t think back to what you should have or could have done with your last dog, or when your current dog was a puppy. Instead, get yourself more informed now, do better today, and forget the past.

One of my big mistakes was setting unrealistic expectations for Hayley. I assumed she would come into my home, never have an accident, know just how to behave, never get over excited, instantly know my house rules, and understand whatever I wanted of her at all times. This, of course, was totally unfair to her, and caused quite a bit of unnecessary conflict in those early days.

I wish I realized then, what I realize now: that on her best day, Hayley is, and will always be, a dog. No matter what, she’s going to act like a dog – always and forever. If she sees a squirrel, she’s going to chase it; if someone new comes over, she’d going to be excited; and in a room with a perfectly comfy couch, she’s not going to choose to sleep on the floor. She’s a dog. And that’s more than just okay – that’s great! I wanted a dog, not another human roommate.

Once I came to terms with the realization that Hayley was indeed a dog, and merely acting as a dog should, I relaxed my expectations and began to enjoy the process of training her to better adapt to my very human lifestyle. Instead of resenting what I labeled as misbehaving, I looking at her with understanding and patience (well, maybe not too much patience), and worked to improve her behaviors.

Not only do you have a dog, but you have a particular breed of dog, which may come with some or all of those breed’s characteristics. If you get a herding dog, don’t be upset when it nips at the heels of running children; if you share your world with a Chow Chow, there is a good possibility that it will be wary of any strangers entering your home; and if you have a pit bull like me, you shouldn’t be surprised if she’s dog reactive.

Respect and love your dog for who they are and understand that there is a learning curve for another species coming into the human world. Even though your dog may be amazingly trained, there will still be those times when he forgets his training and remembers, “oh yeah, I’m a dog and that’s the mailman.” Bark, bark, bark.


Hayley and I
during our first
week together

A Matter of Perspective

Last week, the day after Christmas, I was relaxing at home with my family when I heard my wife call my name. She was standing at our front door, urgently gesturing me to hurry over to her. I hustled over and looked out at the street below. My house is set up on a hill on a busy street in Bloomfield, NJ, where cars zoom past at speeds well over the 25 MPH speed limit. On this day, however, no one was going very fast due to the accumulating snowfall and medium-sized dog walking in the middle of the road.

I quickly threw on my coat, grabbed a slip leash, and headed out into the late afternoon snow. The dog was literally walking in the middle of the street followed by some impatient drivers and a few people on foot who were trying to coax it out of the road. As a few of the Good Samaritans drew near, the dog broke into a light jog and veered off the road and onto the sidewalk.

As I approached I could see that the dog was a light brown, female, chow mix with a little stump for a tail, and a rather confused look on her face. I wasn’t sure if it was in shock or just a little disoriented, and although it showed no signs of fear or anxiety it was a bit wary of the humans closing in.

One woman tried to coax it over with some dog biscuits, while another person knelt down and tried to verbally lure the dog in. Both approaches didn’t work and the dog turned and jogged into the back of one of the homes lining the street.

The wind picked up and the snow began to fall at a more rapid rate, and as I reached the back of the yard I realized it was just myself and one other guy left in the chase. I felt the dog was unsure but not in any way aggressive or fearful, and that I just needed to gain her trust slowly.

Behind the homes there was a small wooded area, containing a small brook. The snow covered dog ran into the tree line and moved along the water’s edge for about 20 feet, then stopped and looked back at us. I turned my back to her and started walking backwards toward her. The other guy with me saw this and asked if I had done this before. I explained that I was a dog trainer and that I was trying to make the dog as comfortable with my presence as possible.

I don’t know if it was his confidence in my ability or the cold of the wind, but the next time I looked up he was gone, leaving me alone with the dog. I knew this was actually a good thing because too many people would only frighten this timid girl off.

She went deeper into woods and I slowly followed. After a time, she came to a section of fallen trees that left her kind of trapped in a dead end. The only way out besides coming back toward me, was a small path that lead back to the houses on my street. I carefully crept forward inch by inch. When I got about 10 feet from her, she started to walk reluctantly toward me. It seemed like she was going to risk going past me to gain her freedom. I got my leash ready, knowing I may only get once chance at catching her.

When she got within arms reach, I spoke to her softly and gently tried to place the loop of my slip leash over her head. I couldn’t get it around her neck and she bolted backward. That’s when she noticed the path leading back up to the houses and went for it.

My heart sank, thinking that I just blew my one and only chance to catch her. She ran up the narrow path and I followed, refusing to give up. She reached another house and started walking around one side. I sprinted around the other side of the house hoping to cut her off before she reached the street again. It worked and I came around the corner just as she reached the two cars parked in the driveway.

We played a little game of cat and mouse around the cars, trying to out maneuver each other, but at last she hesitated a little too long and I was able to slide the leash around her neck. The feeling of relief and triumph was overwhelming.

I arrived back at my house with my reluctant companion 45 min. after I had set out. During that time another inch or two of snow had hit the ground, and the darkening sky showed little signs of slowing. I called animal control, knowing that the odds of getting anyone out here in this weather was slim, but to my surprise, he arrived at my house in fifteen minutes. When I thanked Dan, the animal control officer, for coming out in such bad weather, he simply said, “no problem, that’s what I do,” and his smile revealed just how much he really cared for the animals under his care.

That night, a blizzard covered Northern New Jersey, blanketing the landscape with two feet of snow and gusty winds. I don’t think there is any way a stray, disoriented dog would have survived the night in those elements, unprotected.

Later that night as I was cozily lying in my bed, and the little stray dog was warming up at the Bloomfield Animals shelter, I thought about what had just happened. That little dog spent who knows how long out on the streets trying to elude capture, and when she was finally leashed up by this strange human and taken into captivity, it must have seen like such bad luck to her. She had failed – I captured and incarcerated her against her will – certainly a horrible event. However, when you consider the winter blizzard that would have probably killed her, had she remained outside, and that her human family came the very next day to take her back home, getting leashed and locked up was the best thing that ever happened to her.

So, no matter what negative things happen to you this New Year, remember that given some perspective, you may feel very differently about the situation. Storms always pass, winter always ends, and what seems like disaster can sometimes be your saving grace. Happy New Year.