Agilely Avoiding Posting

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been busy. But, now that I'm back, I want to inform you on what is up with Penny, Cookie's sister. She has been taking a class at Woofs! Dog Training called Puppy Agility. In this class, she is learning things with clicker training. Clicker traning is where the owner/trainer clicks on a clicker, immediatly when the dog follows the command. For example, with Sit, the clicker is clicked when the dog's butt touches the floor. Cookie told me he was also trained this way at Woofs! during his Adult Dog Obedience course a few years ago. Anyway, after the click, the dog is rewarded with a treat.

Penny has learned Sit and is working on Down. She also has gone through tunnels after Cookie consistently at Cookie's house. At Puppy Agility, she did a certain type of tunnel that is no longer in competitions and a series of puppy bumps to train her for harder jumps. Penny is enjoying agility and Cookie is enjoying having some time by himself! Classes at Woofs! Dog Training are highly recommended for all dog ages! Check them out and if you have a puppy, look into Puppy Party, see my previous posts, "Puppies Galore!" and "Pupdate" for more information about Penny's Puppy Party Experience. Remember to check out classes at Woofs!

One Dog, Two Dog, Domestic Dog, Aggressive Dog

I have received a letter from a reader via the Blogger Contact Form on the right. This question may help you and your dog deal with a similar problem.

Dear, Lassie

My Person frequently takes me out on walks with my other dog friend Mishty. And there is this other dog on my block that keeps getting aggressive with me and Mishty. He is a domestic dog but likes to wander the neighborhood by himself! He is so aggressive and will wait outside my house gate to bark at me. What should I do?

Sincerely, Murruku

There are some unknowns that make this question more difficult to answer, like, "Is the dog getting aggressive physically?" and "What is the dog's body language showing?". However, I have researched and found the best way to deal with the dog.

Dear Murruku,

You cannot solve this problem without the help of your people. I will send a letter telling them what to do. But there is still something you, as a dog, can do. Don't fight back unless you are being physically attacked, in which case your person should get involved safely. Showing the other dog aggression will not stop it, but encourage it. You also want to stay safe if the dog is off-leash. Which, although it is not allowed, still seems to be happening. Your owner will continue further instructions.

Love, 
Lassie

Dear Murruku's Person,

Your dog, Murruku sent me a question about the dog that shows aggression towards him and Mishty, his dog friend. I told him it was a problem that would have to be resolved with you. Here are some steps you can do to help him.

1. Identify the type of aggression. The types of aggression that are possible in this situation are dominance aggression, fear aggression, territorial aggression, punishment aggression or pain aggression. It is most likely not territorial, because the dog is not on his territory, however he may suspect the whole neighborhood to be his territory, since he wanders by himself around the neighborhood. Depending on how the dog is treated at home, this aggression may be because of punishment from the owner. If the dog is in any type of pain, that might be the source. Considering the dog waits for Murruku instead of the other way around, fear can probably be ruled out. This makes dominance aggression the most likely. The dog would be trying to show dominance to your dog. 

2. Talk to the owner. It is against the law to have your dog off-leash if they are not on your property. Also, ask how they are treating their dog, so to be able to identify the aggression. Make sure to ask if they are injured or in pain. Knowing this, it should be easy just to talk to the owner about the problem and discuss it amongst yourselves. If you cannot resolve the conflict with them, you may have to get the authorities involved about the off-leash dog. Remember to always start with talking to the owner and confirm it is not possible to work it out with them. 

Once all of these steps have been completed successfully, your problem should be solved. If it is still happening, talk to the owner again until it has stopped. Hope this helped!

Love,
Lassie

Remember that this advice is not just for a specific insidence; you can do this if your dog is having trouble with a more aggressive dog, or if your dog is the aggressive one. In that case you can take him to training classes to try to fix the problem and don't forget to identify the aggression!

Cone of Shame: A Vet Tale

Usually, a puppy is spayed or neutered, unless the owner is planning on breeding the dog. The medical term for a spay is an ovariohysterectomy, which is the female dog's surgery. The male's is an orchetomy. These surgeries stop the dog from being able to have or make puppies. There are different views on when to have this surgery done. Before or after the 1st heat cycle are the common ways of thinking. The 1st heat cycle occurs around 7 months, but varies by the dog. Penny's people asked me for advice a while ago and they had the surgery yesterday, 6 days before her 4 month birthday.

Dear Lassie,

When should Penny have her spay surgery? Is it beneficial to wait until after her 1st heat cycle or her 1st litter? Or should we go ahead with it now. Thanks in advance!

-the Andersons

I responded with this letter answering there many questions.

Dear the Andersons,

I would recommend doing the surgery before her 1st heat cycle. This will decrease the risk of certain diseases that can be fatal such as mammary cancer (breast cancer) than can occur in dogs. If you spay after the 1st, but still before the 2nd, the risks will still decrease, but by less than before. Also, heat cycles are very messy and your dog getting pregnant will be difficult to deal with before, during and even after the puppies arrive. I would get her spayed at around 4 months to help reduce risks or diseases and definitely before her 1st heat cycle.

Love,
Lassie

Today, they wrote back, sending a pic of post-surgery Penny.

Dear Lassie,

Thanks for the advice! We took her for her spay yesterday and the vet said she did great! Although she's pretty out of it and tired, which Cookie is very happy about. The vet said it was normal and she should be back to usual in 10-14 days. That's also when they remove the cone and the stitches on her incision. We are waiting for that time so we can play with this puffball again!

-the Andersons

Flexible Exercise

Have you ever had to rush to keep up with your dog on a walk? Penny's people do. So they got her a Flexi-Leash. The leash helps with walking, so she can stay a full 16 feet ahead of you. Now, Penny's people don't have to run to catch up. This leash can help you too. But make sure you look at more information to find out if this is the right fit for your dog.

There are some rules with this leash. Remember, though the Flexi-Leash is very useful for walks, especially for puppies, they must be used only with a harness. This is because when you lock the leash, it snaps on her neck and without the harness, this could hurt the dog. Also, try to refrain from using them in a crowded situation, as they might get tangled. I would recommend only using the flat leash, instead of the cord, as it might burn your hands.

The leash Penny's people bought is the flat, 16' Flexi-Leash. You can buy one too, just click here.

Blocking Accidents

Penny's people sent me a letter a bit ago about housebreaking.

Dear Lassie,

There is a place right by the door (which is glass so she can see the outside) that Penny thinks is a place to use the bathroom. This has been intervening with her housebreaking. What can we do to get her to stop using that spot?

Sincerely,

the Andersons

I replied back to them as soon as I could.

Dear the Andersons,

What you should do is first make sure to disinfect and remove the whole smell of the area, so she can't tell it has been used before. Next, try to put something over the spot, like a box. Hopefully, that will prevent her from going there. But, if she decides then that the box is her spot, you have to take matters farther. You can try blocking off  the entire area. Use a couple of boxes and align them in a row to fashion a barricade, stopping her from getting to the spot entirely. Hopefully, she will soon realize that the outside is the place to go, not the inside. Tell me how this works out!

Love,

Lassie

And just yesterday I got my reply.

Dear Lassie,

Thanks so much for the advice! It is working very well! Penny rarely has an accident and is going a lot more outside! Also, a surprising outcome has occurred. Penny is now showing a clear sign that almost always means she needs to go. Every time she needs to be taken out, she will go to the barricade and peer over to the other side. Of course, it's not as good as going to the back door to be taken out, like Cookie does, but it is progress. Thanks again!

Gratefully, 

The Andersons

So, if your puppy is having trouble with housebreaking in a particular area, try these techniques.

Walk 'Till You Drop

Cookie has been very excited that he gets to go on more walks now that the new dog is here. In fact, he sent me a letter about it.

Dear Lassie,

Hey! It's been a couple weeks and I want to tell you that things are going GREAT!!! Well, mostly great. Although Penny has been jumping up on me, my people have been working hard to fix that. Actually, Camila wants to ask you how to make Penny stop attacking me and why it is that she won't stop after I repeatedly reject her. But anyway, the reason things are great, is because Camila and Mom keep taking me on long walks. Although it's with Penny, I don't mind since she doesn't jump on me during them. It has been so much fun to go on the walks and I'm hoping they'll continue. I LOVE walks!

Your friend,
Cookie

Dear Cookie,

Hi! I'm so glad you're having fun with her! I do have a plan for you and your people to stop Penny from annoying you all the time. I'm sure you'll love the plan because it involves one of your favorite things: walks! Yes, my plan is more morning walks to tire her out. It is also a bonding exercise between you two when you are walking in the same direction. What you can do, is get your people to take you and Penny on a walk first thing in the morning, before you two are together in the house. Then, Penny can be around you, but will have to leave to get played with and tired out if she tries to play with you in the way you don't like. Sorry to say, but this is all you can do. You have to wait it out until she gets older and less frenzied. In the meantime, just tire her out.

Love,
Lassie

Recall with Camila

Cookie hasn't sent me a letter, but Camila has. (She's Cookie's person, remember?) She sent it on Friday.

Dear Lassie, 

Yesterday, Penny went to Puppy Kindergarten where we were learning recall. I was wondering if you could do a blog post about getting a dog to learn their name and come when called. I know all about it now, so I can write the post if you want.

Yours Truly,

Camila

I replied "Yes" and we exchanged emails, setting up the whole post. This is what she sent me today.

Recall is all about coming when called. It's about knowing your name. It's important. So that's why we had to teach Penny her name. We did so at Puppy Kindergarten. There are two rules of recall:

1. Never call the animal away from something they are enjoying..
2. Never call the animal to do something they will not like.

Follow these rules and your pet should know their name in no time! For example, I followed Rule #1 today. Penny was playing in the mud and obviously, I didn't want her too. But, I remembered the rules, so I didn't call her out of her play, but instead went to go pick her up and take her back inside. I also followed Rule #2 later today. Since she was muddy, she needed a bath. Cookie hates baths, so we assumed Penny might to. So, we brought treats to feed her during the bath and went to go get her. We put her in the bath and as we thought, she didn't like it that much. But, it was over pretty quickly. Although she was wet, she was clean. Plus, we didn't break any rules.

A way to get them to learn to come is practicing and then sending them back to what they were doing. A good ratio from this is 10:1; ten calls when you send them back and one where you bring them in. But still, follow the rules. There is a simple thing you can do with your puppy to help them learn to come. Run away from them, crouching low. Call her name once in a high voice and then make high-pitched sounds until you get to your destination. Treat heavily once she is slightly past your side. Do this repeatedly and you will have a dog that knows their name and will come to you if you ever need her to.

Penny is learning her name and if you followed this post, your dog can learn their's too!