Great Deal on Gentle Leader Harness

Doggyloot has a fantastic deal today!   Currently, they are offering the Gentle Leader harness from Premier for only $15!  That is a fantastic price for a really incredible product.

I have found the Gentle Leader to be the very best option amongst the harnesses / halters on the market, and I have tried many of them.  I think that Premier's other product, the Easy Walk, is also a good product, but for Mumble and me, the Gentle Leader really works the best.  It helps me to keep Mumble from dragging me down the street when he decides to pull on the leash to chase a squirrel or whatever, and also gives me good control over him if he "misbehaves" for whatever reason.

Now, I am not a person who believes that something like a harness should take the place of good training.  I don't think that you should view a harness as the "easy way out" rather than training a dog to walk nicely on a leash.  But this is the real world, and no dog is perfect, and a good tool that will help you without being negative to your dog is acceptable in my book! 

Check out the doggyloot deal to snatch yours up at a great price today!

Canine Good Citizen

Last night, Mumble and Chopper had their "final exam" in Obedience 2 class at the Zoom Room in Culver City. The class was all about learning the behaviors and skills necessary for the AKC's Canine Good Citizen program so that the dogs could pass the CGC test. You can read all about the AKC's CGC program, the test, and the purpose of CGC on their website, www.akc.org/events/cgc/, which provides a lot of useful training related information as well as details about how to be evaluated. I'm really grateful that the Zoom Room offers the class and test, and there are also some other programs in the LA area that have similar obedience classes.

Chopper's mom has written a good description of the test items from last night's exam on her blog, According to Chopper.

Going into the exam, I wasn't honestly sure that Mumble was ready to pass it. In fact, we had signed up for a second 6-week class of Obedience 2 at the Zoom Room, thinking that the advanced obedience training is good practice either way, and that 12 weeks would probably be better for mastering everything required for the test. Mumble is extremely smart and good at training, but he sometimes is very willful and has a mind of his own about how he wants to behave. That what you get with the combination of a Border Collie and a Bull Terrier - I always say "a smart & stubborn breed plus another smart & stubborn breed equals a crazy Mumble!" This is why its necessary to keep doing all of these training activities with Mumble - not because he hasn't already learned most of these things, but because he is a dog that requires lots of structure and practice on an ongoing basis or else he decides for himself how to act. So I was worried about a few of the items, as I thought it would all ultimately depend on how Mumble was that particular day.

One thing about the test, as opposed to training / practice, is that you cannot use treats during the test! You have to reward with praise, petting, etc. Dave said if he "saw" the treats, that was a problem, so I basically hid some in my pocket so that Mumble would smell them and I could occasionally make my fingers smell like treats in case I needed to distract Mumble. I don't know if this is technically allowed or not, but that's what we did. I'm not sure this was a good idea for Mumble. Basically, he knew I had the treats somewhere, and that he wasn't getting them, so he just stared at me and even barked / begged when he still didn't get a treat. When I would "shush" him or say "quiet," he's just do his really soft bark that he uses when he wants something. I think he thinks "quiet" means bark quieter instead of don't bark at all!

The first thing I was worried about was getting Mumble into the test area calmly. Generally, Mumble comes barging into the Zoom Room raring to go, because he is use to doing something exciting like agility when he's there. Last week, we kind of had a "practice test" for the next-to-last class. That day, I took Mumble to daycare at The Loved Dog, where he goes a couple of times a week to play with other dogs all day (herd them and boss them around, more like). He absolutely loves it there and usually comes home and goes to sleep right away. I figured he'd be pretty tired and mellow when we went to the Zoom Room that night, but I was WRONG. Instead, he seemed to be hyped up and energized. It was like he couldn't regulate himself from the freedom of playing and doing what he wanted at TLD during the day to the structure of the class and wanted to keep playing and being rambunctious instead. When we came into the Zoom Room, there were several "extra" people there - people who were observing the class to check out the Zoom Room, and people who were friends/family observing specific dogs (including Chopper's grandpa). In general, even on a good day, Mumble is suspicious of anyone new at the Zoom Room. I think he's been going there so long that sometimes his "I want to be in charge" mentality is hard for him to suppress when he's there. If we are in the middle of a class and someone comes in the door, he stops what he's doing and gives a warning bark. So when we walked in and he saw a bunch of strangers, and was already on alert and hyped up, he just immediately started barking. Dave said that would be an "automatic fail" if it were the real test.

Thus, last night I was trying my best to keep Mumble focused before we even went in the door to prevent a repeat of that situation. He did really well coming in, and during the middle of the test there actually was a real-life-situation of a disruption by someone who was not in the class. Someone who works for Dave came out of the back room - a person Mumble has barked at in the past - and actually stood about 3 feet from where Mumble was in his down-stay to talk to Dave briefly before leaving. I was working hard on "look at me" to keep Mumble focused, which worked because he did not get up or bark.

The other thing I was worried about was walking past other dogs / reaction to another dog. This was something we practiced a lot back when Mumble took his Therapy Dog class, but he was never really good at it. In real life, this is the thing we struggle with the most. Mumble's border collie instincts and behaviors are really strong / dominant. When he sees a dog or cat out on a walk that he wants to see, he goes immediately into a herding stance with intense eye gaze, kind of hunches down, and perseverates on the dog until he gets it to come to him. I can keep him going and get him refocused on me instead of the dog only if I catch the behavior in time. He knows he's not supposed to hunch down and try to herd the other dogs, so what he does instead is lay all the way down on the ground to stare at them. If he lays down, it's almost impossible to get him back up and walking unless I practically pick him up!

During the class, we walked past the other dogs while we were doing the "loose leash walking" item, walking in a circle. Dave would have us go around one way with the dogs on the outside of the circle, then the opposite way with the dogs on the inside so that they were basically passing by each other (it was a small circle). Back when we were doing the Therapy Dog class, we did this "item" in two ways - one was by approaching each other from a specified distance, stopping in the middle and shaking hands, during which time the dogs were not supposed to lung towards each other, try to play, jump on the other dog/person, etc. In the other situation, the other dogs in the class would be lined up on either side of the room and one dog and its owner would walk between them. Both the dog that was walking and the ones that were sitting on the side were supposed to show no more than a casual interest in the other dog.

Mumble has no concept of "casual" anything, certainly not of a "casual interest" in something. If he's interested, its a perseverative/obsessive kind of interest! So this was certainly not his strongest item. During the test last night, Dave had us do the second way we use to do this in Therapy Dog - all of the other dogs (there are 10 dogs in this class) formed two lines on the sides, so that there was a path down the middle, and each dog took a turn with its owner walking down the middle. The dog was to walk nicely and was not supposed to try to go to the other dogs. As soon as this item started, I felt my blood pressure go up because I feared that Mumble would think this was a great opportunity to go around and visit all the other dogs in the room.

To my pleasant surprise, Mumble actually did very well on this. He walked nicely with me the whole way, only sniffing the ground occasionally and never once trying to herd any of the other dogs towards him. There was one dog in the class he never has liked (the dog barks annoyingly almost constantly), and when we got close to that one he kind of glared at it for a second, but then kept going immediately when I said "come on." I guess that passed for "casual interest." I totally give credit to Dave for our success in this - one thing I definitely know that I have become better at with Dave's training and guidance is how to keep Mumble under control.

The item I was not worried about was "coming when called," although there was a time that Mumble would have not passed this. Here, I have to really give the credit to Tamar Geller (owner of The Loved Dog) from whom we took a obedience class (Basic Manners) when Mumble was still a puppy. The very first day in that class, Tamar started teaching us the "here" command. She took each dog in turn by the leash and walked with it to the other side of the room away from its owner. After a few minutes, (she had dropped the leash), you were supposed to call your dog and hopefully it would run back across the room to you. Every other dog at least partially did this task. Some of them started towards their owners and got distracted; some were slow at coming; but they all eventually got there. Except Mumble. He absolutely just stood there next to Tamar and could care less that I was shouting his name and clapping and doing whatever I could to try to get his attention. It wasn't until the sixth and final class that Mumble ran to me when I called his name. Every week we worked on it at home and in class. What I learned from Tamar (through tears that first day) was the importance of your relationship with your dog, and how that is just as important for training as your dog's intelligence and other factors. When I realized the meaning of this and worked on it from that angle, Mumble learned to come to his name because he wanted to come to me. Now, every time we do this at the Zoom Room, including last night during the test, Mumble watches me and waits patiently the whole time he is in his down stay, and as soon as I give him the command (which I can do in any of three ways - saying his name, saying "here," or two taps of my hands on my knees/legs) he runs really fast straight to me and immediately sits.

Mumble's grandma, of course, thought that I never should have doubted him! I guess I have to give him much more credit now that he's certified as a "good citizen!" On the other hand, Rascal (the cat) had his doubts even afterward. When we got home last night, Mumble and Rascal chased each other around, playing, and Mumble basically chewed on Rascal's whole head (which he does until Rascal kicks him in the face). Rascal gave him a look like "someone gave YOU a certificate for being good? really?"

Mumble on Bed Rest?!

So Mumble has been limping a little bit over the past week, and I took him to the vet on Friday for a check up and to have her look at the limp. It's not really a pronounced limp, more like a slight hobble in his gait, and I couldn't for sure isolate which leg it was, since he continued to bear weight on all of them. The vet did a thorough orthopedic exam, carefully examining all of his joints, etc. She found that one leg (his front left one) was not extending as well and was the location of his pain, and called it an "overuse injury."

Her prescription:
Pain medications and supplements to support healing in the joint and muscle
Rest for two to four weeks; no agility, no doggie daycare, no play dates with dogs, no rigorous walks!

Mumble's "rest" and restricted activity began on Thursday, when I called the vet the day before our appointment and she instructed me to have him rest until we came in. So here we are in day three of the sentence and it's going reasonably well, although I already know what a challenge this is going to be for both of us.

Anyone who knows Mumble (or has ever read this blog) knows he is an extremely active, energetic dog. (I'm sure this high activity level is the biggest contributing factor to his current "overuse" injury). In times past, he has moved large furniture in my apartment, climbed things, escaped confinement, removed screens from the windows, etc in an attempt to find "work" to do when he is bored. I've implemented a combination of various activities and exercise to combat these issues, very successfully. The biggest components are doggie daycare, vigorous walks, and agility training, all of which have to be removed in his current regimen to allow for healing.

How do you tell an active border collie / bull terrier that he needs to rest?!

So far I'm trying to work a lot on his "mental stimulation" in an attempt to compensate for the lack of physical stimulation. Thank goodness for all of his training! I'm so grateful now for the timing of taking the Therapy Dog training at Zoom Room Culver City, as this gives us plenty of skills to practice that don't involve high impact physical activity! Walks consist of practicing skills like sitting next to me when I come to a stop, the "look at me" command, etc. We practice down stays in the patio area outside my apartment, and (try to) practice walking past other dogs without running towards them. Working on these things for every single walk means we can go out for just as long of a time period, but go slower / shorter distance. It's certainly mentally exhausting for me, so hopefully it is for Mumble as well!

I'm sure there will be lots to report as we go through these next two weeks, and I'll try to keep this updated. Wish us luck, and keep Mumble's healing in your thoughts and prayers!

Posted from Blogium for iPhone

Finally! A New Dogwalker for Mumble!

So, after many months of searching on craigslist.com, care.com, etc for potential dog walkers, dozens of emails back and forth between potential candidates, and a few in person meetings, Mumble and I have FINALLY found a new dog walker! I was determined to find the perfect fit for Mumble, someone I knew would work well with him, implement the techniques, etc as I want them implemented, and really just have that personality that is a good match for his. This morning, we interviewed a dog walker named Lynne (interestingly, the same name as the previous dog walker we loved).

Mumble was really testing her out and being difficult this morning. He was already stressed out because there was construction and repainting going on in our building, including work on our front door right outside. So I knew that Lynne had excellent potential when she didn't jump to any conclusions about him being "aggressive" even though he basically sat behind his gate barking or growling for the first 5-10 minutes she was there. Mumble can be loud and sound pretty intimidating, but he has never been actually aggressive to anyone, and someone who assumes that rather than really reading the signs he is giving off correctly is not the right match for him (i.e. the previous dog walker we interviewed who alluded to "kicking dogs in the chest" when they jumped on you and made a statement that Mumble was "aggressive and trying to be dominant").

Lynne, Mumble and I all went on a walk around the neighborhood, and Mumble did really well with her. Basically, he was showing off for her, walking next to her and looking up at her and not pulling on the leash. I warned her that while he's overall a well behaved dog, he isn't always this perfect on the leash!

I showed Lynne all of Mumble's tricks, behaviors, and other skills he is working on and knows. It was another good sign that she really paid close attention to everything and asked a lot of questions about his training and how to work with him. Mumble will bond better with someone and also respect them more if they work on some of his skills and behavior training with him too, so I'm glad she's willing to do this.

The icing on the cake was when she mentioned that (if I was OK with this) she would sometimes bring her 5 year old daughter along. Mumble LOVES kids, and I've worked hard on teaching him how to be calm around them and not to react when they run around or pull on him or pet him roughly. He's super motivated because he really wants to interact with kids, so he has basically learned to just be real still so that I'll let the kid come up to him. I think it will be great for him to have a child that he is around on a semi-regular basis and can form a bond with.

So... Lynne is starting later this week, and I'm really excited to move forward with this next stage for Mumble! He'll be staying home instead of going to doggie daycare a couple of times a week, when she'll be walking him. I'm sure there will be lots of adventures and stories as they get use to each other, but I am confident that she will be great with him and this is going to work out well!

The Search for a New Dogwalker

Mumble is notorious for being resistant to staying at home alone. He has been known to escape confinement behind a dog gate (pushing it out of the doorway, climbing a bookshelf to get over it, and then climbing the moved-bookshelf to get to the kitchen counter and then over the gate) at the young age of 4 months; he moved a crate across the room while inside of it (resulting in a scrape on his back that caused a permanent scar), took a screen out of a window, ate / chewed through two doorknobs (mine and one at my sister's house - both have puncture marks from his teeth and are warped), and various other things to attempt to get out of any type of solitary confinement (or what he sees as such). More recently, he escaped out of a crate completely while we were visiting my sister for Christmas (my brother checked on him that day and called to say "was he in this pen-thing when you left him here? he's not now"). And then of course, he has rearranged my furniture... As in, pulled a large arm-chair several feet across the room so that it was behind the couch instead of next to it. I guess he thought it looked better there, or else was trying to move it to the window (when it use to be under the window, he loved to sit and look outside).

So figuring out what to do with him during the work day has been a constant source of stress for me. Originally, he was able to come to my office during the work day, but eventually the building owners put their foot down about that (although they seem to look the other way for smaller dogs). He started daycare at The Loved Dog at age 5 months, and for a while he was doing a combination of daycare there or in a pet sitter / dog walker's home during the week. Eventually this didn't work because unbenownst to me, Mumble had decided to be a "guard dog" at the pet sitter's house, and basically barked at the door most of the day.

Several months ago I found a great dog walker, named Lyn. You can read all about that process in an earlier post about Mumble staying home alone. Lyn was great because she was willing to listen and to work with Mumble according to the techniques / methods I already use. I showed her, for example, Mumble's "routine" for when I leave the house, which is something we learned in our training with Tamar Gellar, and she implemented it. I told her she had to be willing and able to say "no" firmly to Mumble if he was barking or pulling on the leash - that he knows how to behave but will "test" her. When Mumble started a Tricks class, I gave her a list and instructions of what he was practicing and she would try out some of the tricks with him when she visited. She was flexible, able to come multiple times during the day (more when he seemed hyper or anxious, for example).

And over the last several months, my life has become infinitely less stressful as Mumble has become more and more calm about staying at home. Of course, I know some of this is attributable to the fact that during this time period, he has had constant agility and tricks training, giving him ongoing and consistent "mental stimulation" which makes him better behaved in general. I know some of it is just due to maturity - Mumble at 1 year 5 months is just now starting to get out of the destructive puppy phase. But I also know a lot of it is because of Lyn, because she has been a constant in Mumble's life, and because she was such a perfect fit for what he needed in a dog walker.

So you can imagine the panic I felt when Lyn informed me that she is now moving away. She's very happy about this next step in her life, and I want good things for her! But selfishly, I of course wish she were staying nearby.

I'm faced now with the search, again, for the perfect dog walker. Perfect means available when I need them, flexible in terms of scheduling (it's not the same week by week), reasonably priced, experienced with dogs, and not too opinionated about how dogs should be walked / worked with. It is a time-consuming and exhausting task, one that took me a few months the last time around. I've google'd, searched through craigslist, talked to people referred to me by trainers and others, asked everyone I know if they know someone. I've emailed any and all persons who seem like they would be a good candidate and asked them my laundry-list of questions. You'd think this is a simple matter of availability + reasonable rate, but it's not so simple. The hardest part is finding the person who's personality is a good fit for how I want someone to work with my dog.

I've found that really experienced dog walkers, like "trainers," tend to be very opinionated about what works and think they know all about dog training already. And I'm sure they have great techniques, but I've put a lot of time and money into Mumble's training and I am more concerned with someone being able to do things my way than whether they can bring in their own training experience and techniques. My biggest pet peeve in this has been when I say "Mumble needs a lot of exercise and mental stimulation..." and I get cut off because the dog walker wants to show what they know and starts in with "oh yes, all dogs need at least XX number of hours of exercise" or "dogs really need activity and structure." It's not that they are wrong, it's that they are not listening. I know all healthy dogs need exercise and activities, but when I say Mumble needs that I am not just referring to what dogs need in general. Mumble is unique among all of the dogs in our little pack of dog-friends in terms of how much exercise he needs a day, so I think it is safe to say his needs may be beyond what the dog walker thinks of as "typical." On days he is at home now, he gets an hour long walk in the morning with me, two thirty minute walks with Lyn and another 30-45 minute walk with me in the evening. 2.5 or more hours of walking a day is probably more than the average dog gets / requires.

I'm not willing to risk, by having someone who is not right for Mumble, back-tracking to the days when he hated staying at home. When I leave him in the morning now, he is calm as he lies in his "stay" position waiting nicely until I get out the door and tell him "take it" (at which point he gets to get up and get the treats and toys I've put on the rug for him). He doesn't try to get up and follow me out, doesn't dry at the door. My neighbors no longer complain about crying or barking during the day. And when I come home, he is just happily waiting for me. As it should be.

So the search is on, and in the next week, Mumble and I will be meeting with a few candidates to see if they are a good fit. I'm hopeful we'll find someone quickly this time, so we'll see how it goes!

Tricks Training, Continued

So last night was the last class for Tricks 1, which Mumble has been taking (along with his friends Chopper and Charlie) for the last six weeks at Zoom Room Culver City. You can read my previous post about Tricks 1 (which covers the first three sessions) here.

Here's a breakdown of the second half of this training:

Week 4: In our class, we didn't introduce new tricks in week 4, I think because we had been a little advanced the first three weeks so there were already a lot of tricks in our repertoire. We spent week 4 practicing and honing the tricks we had already been introduced to, with the focus mainly on ringing the bell, going to the mark, play dead ("on your side" for Mumble; "bang" for everyone else), and Yum Yum (which remained really difficult for most of us).

Week 5: In week 5, we introduced skateboards, which certainly made the class interesting. The dogs were introduced to it using the "touch" command to attempt to get them just to touch the skateboard. Some of them (like Chopper and Charlie) caught on really fast and were already making it move along and attempting to ride it. Mumble, however, was terrified of the moving skateboard. I think for this to work for Mumble, we would have to introduce it the same way Jaime introduced us to the teeter (which also moves) in Agility 1. I was convinced Mumble would be terrified of it, but Jaime so carefully conditioned the dogs to it (first having them eat treats off of it just while it was stable, then having them put their feet on it and get treats, etc), that by the time it actually was moving while Mumble was on it he was convinced it was a treat machine, and it is now his favorite thing in agility.

Week 6: This was the last class, and for the most part we practiced the things we had already been working on. However, there was one new trick added to the mix this week - Jumping through a Hoop. We were each given a hula-hoop and we used treats to lure the dogs through, starting with the bottom of the hoop touching the ground and slowly moving it upwards. I assumed that Mumble would be good at this because he already knows how to jump through the tire in agility, but for some reason he was super resistant and stubborn about it. After encouragement and assistance from our instructor, Dave (who basically gave Mumble a pep talk and got him all excited before I called him through the hoop), Mumble finally went through. But anytime I moved the hoop in the slightest, he went back to being resistant. Chopper was nearby, and I saw that he went through the hoop pretty willingly, but he was always looking ahead and not really at where the hoop was, so he kept tripping on it. Basically, no matter where it was, he was trying to step through instead of jumping through.

Overall, here's what I thought each dog was best at:

Charlie: Without a doubt, Charlie's best trick is "play-dead." I wish I had a video of it to post here on the blog because it is so dramatic, it's difficult to really give an accurate picture of it in words. To set it up, Charlie starts out sitting with her mom, who instructs her to "run to daddy." As she starts running towards him, he says "BANG!" really loud, pointing at her with a finger "gun," and Charlie instantly gives off this loud bark, leaps into the air, and falls back down into a "play-dead" position on the floor. For extra drama she sometimes bites at her dad's pants leg on the way down (like "I'm going down but I'm going to try to take you with me!")

Chopper: It's difficult to say for Chopper, because he learned almost everything we attempted (he's very food motivated), but it's not like there is a clear favorite that is done dramatically like Charlie's play-dead. Chopper's overall best trick was probably "sit pretty," which he mastered exceptionally well, especially for a dog so big (which makes it more difficult to balance). However, the trick that was the most exciting to see Chopper do was the skateboard. Chopper has always had issues with skateboard and barks at the kids in his neighborhood when they ride them, so the fact that he was so eager to attempt it at all was pretty great. And he really did try to "ride" it, not just touch it. He would put his front paws on it and push it forward, but again, his size made this more difficult than for the other dogs.

Hunter: Hunter did most of the tricks pretty well, but I'd have to say that I think his best was the hoop on the last day. Most of the other dogs still looked as if they were figuring out the hoop since we only did it this one class, but Hunter was a pro right away. His mom could hold the hoop up pretty high from the ground and he would run over and jump straight through it on command.

Mumble: Mumble did anything that involved the "touch" command as the basis pretty well, including ringing the bell and going to his mark. He will run over and stand on that mark on command no matter where you put it, and is always accurate with getting his front paws right on it. But I think his best was ringing the bell, which is ironic given that the first week it was introduced he was afraid of making it ring and would touch it so gingerly, or on its side, or hover his paw over it instead of on it. Now, you can put the bell on the floor and point to it and he just runs right over and rings it. For some reason, he prefers to make it ring twice in a row ("ring ring - now give me a treat")

Now that Tricks 1 is over, we are considering Tricks 2, but will probably postpone enrolling in that because during the next 6 weeks (or "semester" at the Zoom Room), I will be out of town a couple of times so Mumble would miss some sessions. Meanwhile, Mumble and Chopper are both starting Agility League at the Zoom Room this Sunday, which will give us something to do. Eventually, I think the next level of Tricks will be great to continue to build on these skills, and it certainly gives Mumble a lot of much needed mental stimulation. One of the great things about it was that the tricks give you the opportunity for structure in other environments. So for Chopper, for example, Mandy is able to get him to perform some of his tricks when he is in the waiting room at the place where he goes to daycare / boarding. This is a great distraction from what is typically a stressful place / time for Chopper (who has separation anxiety). For Mumble, it gave the dog walker something structured she could do with him when she came for a visit, so that during those days he is at home, he not only gets the physical exercise from the walk, but the mental exercise of practicing the tricks as well.

"You call yourself a dog trainer?!"

Finding a good, reputable dog trainer can be one of the difficult challenges dog owners face these days. While there are certainly plenty of available "trainers" out there, the fact that anyone can call his- or herself a trainer makes it difficult to weed through the field to find a good one. It's not like there is a certification or licensing requirement that ensures trainers are appropriately qualified and experienced.

I've had a couple of experiences with "trainers" that illustrated this problem. Both involved the same person, who works at a pet store in my area. I have no idea what this particular store's policy is in regards to whom they deem worthy of the title "trainer," what experience these people have, or what ongoing training they receive. But this particular "trainer" is someone I would never want to be involved in training Mumble (or anyone else's dog, really).

(now, as a side note, I will readily admit before getting into the rant below that when Mandy first adopted Chopper, we took a dog behavior class at this pet store, and our instructor was great. We were naive then and just signed up for a class basically with no research or questions, and by luck alone, it worked out)

The first time I had a confrontation with this person was when Mumble was a little less than a year old. Mumble has had experience going out into public places since I got him at age 3 months. We go to the outdoor mall near my house on the weekends, the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, pet stores, etc. He used to come to my office on a regular basis. He's pretty good out in public and in stores, and for the most part stays right next to me. But of course, when another dog is around, he always wants to go and say "hi."

So one day we were in the pet store, buying dog food or treats or whatever, and Mumble was still a puppy and pretty hyper in general. He was behaving pretty well, but decided at some point that he wanted to walk the opposite direction from where I was going in order to sniff another dog. He didn't have his harness (he wears a Gentle Leader brand "Easy Walk" harness) that particular day. (In fact, now that I think of it, we may have been there to buy a new one to replace one he had chewed through, but that is a different story). So without the harness, he could pull on the leash pretty hard / far if he wanted to. Now, I am not saying that this isn't "naughty" behavior, but it is by no means aggressive or "out of control." At the time, Mumble was enrolled in Tamar Gellar's "Doggie Manners" class at The Loved Dog, and we were working on loose leash walking, but he had by no means mastered it yet.

A "dog trainer" happened to be wandering around the store at this moment, and he stopped to stare at Mumble. As I was attempting to get Mumble to focus on me and walk back towards me (rather than forcing him back by pulling the leash), the "trainer" came over and actually pulled the leash while it was still in my hand, jerking up on the leash so hard that Mumble actually yelped. He then started to lecture me about how my dog was clearly "out of control" and needed behavior modification training, how he had been watching me in the store and my dog was clearly trying to be dominant over me, etc. He said that I needed to immediately "establish dominance" over the dog or else he would become aggressive. He then explained that by "establishing dominance" he meant forcing the dog onto the floor and using my foot to hold him down by this throat.

Now, I'm sure many people subscribe to such aversive tactics as being valid training methods. And there may even be situations where it would be valid. But the method of training I had chosen to employ with Mumble, "The Loved Dog" approach with Tamar Gellar, is opposite in how it works. It focuses on positive reinforcement and building a positive relationship with your dog. In any event, in this situation, his "method" was entirely inappropriate, given that (1) I had in no way given this guy permission to implement such a tactic on my dog; and (2) Mumble was not actually "out of control" or dominant. In fact, I would think that suddenly jerking a dog's collar hard enough to cause pain would only create anxiety / fear in the dog, which are usually the underlying causes of aggression. I basically told him as much and stated that what he was doing would probably tend to cause the very thing he was claiming to prevent in dogs. He argued with me that the training I was attending was just a "feel good" training, and that my dog just continue to be out of control.

I chose to trust in Tamar, who is actually a known expert in dog training, rather than this guy who basically sounded like he had watched one episode of the Dog Whisperer and decided he knew everything about how to make dogs be "submissive" and therefore he could now be a trainer.

The second instance happened last night. I was again at the same pet store, this time purchasing cat food for Rascal. Because we were in the cat aisle, where there was basically nothing interesting like toys and bones to smell and explore, Mumble was pretty bored and he was just laying quietly on the floor beside me. All was well until a small dog started to walk past us, and Mumble turned his body towards it, still laying down, and started what I call the "border collie stare." For those of you who don't know (as I didn't until I had Mumble and started reading everything I could about this breed), border collies use a stare or intense "eye gaze" to try to control other dogs. For working border collies, who are actually herding sheep, it used for their herding duties and referred to by handlers as "the eye." Mumble isn't herding any sheep, so he does it to get other dogs to come over to him so he can sniff them, lick them, etc. When he isn't laying all the way down, he has his head down and walks kind of low until he gets to them, all the while staring intensely. This is the border collie's "working position," and apparently Mumble considers it work to get other dogs to play with him. (It's called "creeping" rather than stalking. Here is a picture on some border collie merchandise that is a pretty good illustration)

Now I know that "creeping" or laying down completely is not a perfect behavior, and on walks, etc. I work a lot on this and on getting Mumble to focus back on me and to keep walking forward. The thing about border collies, however, is that once they have gone into "work mode" it is very difficult to refocus them, so this is always a challenge.

(sidebar: I remember the first time this came up in our "Doggie Manners" class. We were working on loose leash walking and Tamar came around individually to work with each of us. When she got to me, she asked me what my concerns were with Mumble on a leash, and I said well he does this thing where he just lays down because he wants to play with another dog. She laughed at first and said that most people would probably love for that to be their biggest problem. However, when she later saw Mumble doing this and saw the intensity of it, she said "oh yeah, this is something you have to work on." Still, she saw it for what it was - Mumble's way of "working" on a walk if he wasn't given other work to do. It is by no means an aggressive behavior).

So back to the incident. Mumble was basically doing his "creeping" to this other dog, and wouldn't you know that about that time, the same hoo-ha trainer walks by. This time, he says to the woman with the other dog "Oh no, you don't want your dog to go over there, don't let her interact with that dog, it is clearly being aggressive and might attack your dog." Well, I just lost my temper right then and there. I told him that my dog was not aggressive, and that clearly he doesn't know what he is talking about. I explained to the woman with the other dog (Sophie) that Mumble was a border collie, and this is what border collies do, and I apologized that I had not immediately noticed him doing it and stopped it but that it was not aggressive, and he really just wants to play. Well, the "trainer" could not let this go. He kept saying "look at how he is standing, that is clearly an aggressive stance," and trying to get between Sophie and Mumble. He then argued with me and said "there's no way that's a border collie, that is a pit bull or something, and he is aggressive." (well, Mumble might be part pit bull for all I know, but he is certainly border collie primarily by looks and behavior).

I couldn't believe this guy had engaged in another altercation with me (and Mumble). I don't know what he has against Mumble, but clearly he understands nothing about dogs, and it truly worries me that despite his ignorance, he is working as a "trainer" and other people are relying on him for "expertise."

So what these experiences have really highlighted for me, as I reflect on them after I have calmed down from the immediate angry reaction, is the importance of being careful who you choose as a "trainer" for your dog. Anyone can call themselves a trainer, so that leaves the burden on us, the owners, to really do our homework before we accept someone into our dog's life.

Here are some tips for choosing trainers:

• Get recommendations from friends, family, dog owners in your neighborhood and people you trust. Ask your vet if there is someone they recommend.
  
• When you get recommendations from others, ask them why they like / recommend this person. What do they know about the person's qualifications, personality, and methods?
• If you can't find a particular person who is recommended, check out organizations that provide training. Although every individual trainer will be different, usually the methods used within an organization will be similar. So, for example, Mumble and I took a puppy class with the West LA Obedience Training Club, and even though I didn't know anything about the person in particular who ended up being our instructor, I had heard good things about the organization as a whole.
  
• Whenever possible, talk to the person in advance. Trust your instincts about whether this will be a good fit for you and your dog.
• Research whatever you can find about the person / organization's methods and techniques. Humane training methods are essential, and positive reinforcement is preferable to aversive techniques.
• Find out about what training the person has received. Do they attend conferences and seminars on an ongoing basis? Do they have experience working under someone else who is known to be a good effective trainer?
• Investigate any affiliations the person has. Are they members of an organization, club, etc? If they say they are, or their advertisements say they are, check to at least make sure the stated organization exists.
• Most importantly, how does the trainer interact with your dog? I knew that Tamar was going to be a great fit for training Mumble instantly because of how she interacted with him and with me. She's so genuine and truly loves animals, and this is immediately apparent. The same has been true for our instructors at the Zoom Room.
  

One other thing I've always thought was important is that we as the owners have to be willing to take what works for us from whatever training methodology we use. Dog trainers, in my experience, are extremely opinionated (even most of the good ones), but your opinion matters too. I think it is important that if something doesn't work for you and your dog, you don't just continue it "because the trainer said so." You are your dog's day-to-day trainer, and you have to be able to effectively and realistically implement the strategies you are given. If something doesn't feel right to you, just take what works and discard what does not.

At the end of the day, remember that how your dog is trained, and what methods you use, is going to affect a big part of your life. Dog training is and ongoing, so whatever you learn from a class, you are going to be implementing your dog's whole life. Make sure, therefore, that it is something you can truly believe in and that realistically will work to benefit you and your dog.

Tricks Training

Mumble has now completed all three levels of Agility Classes at Zoom Room Culver City. We have had so much fun learning obstacles and learning how to put it all together to run through a course. As the end of Agility 3 started to wind down, you might think I'd be ready for a break from weekly training (we did, after all, start our first Agility class back in August, and it was immediately following our Loved Dog "Manners" class). But instead, I was a little panicky thinking of life without that structure of a dog class every week. Mumble is such a great dog, but he is also one of the most challenging dogs I've known! Not because of any behavior problems, but just because he is so darn smart and so energetic, he is constantly in need of a new activity! Going to agility every week had been so great for giving him the mental stimulation he needs on a regular basis!

Enter tricks training. The Zoom Room also offers a Tricks class (two levels actually), so we enrolled in Tricks 1. Each week we are now going to the Zoom Room on Tuesday nights to learn to play dead, ring a bell on command, take a bow, turn around in circles, and other exciting things.

The other dogs in Mumble's weekly Tricks class include his best friends, Chopper and Charlie, and one new dog, Hunter. We get there a little early and I take Mumble through a few agility course runs before class starts.

Here's how it has gone so far:

Week 1: The first week of class, we were given a clicker for training. Mumble is such a baby when it comes to unfamiliar noises, so of course the very first click caused him to tuck his tail down and try to run away. Both the trainer and I tried to get him to tolerate the clicker by giving him a treat, but he is very stubborn / strong willed, and once he decides he hates something, that is that! He clamped down his jaw and refused to even take a treat. So we gave up on the clicker until a later date... The first week, we were introduced to these tricks:
"Spin" - this is where the dog turns around in a clockwise circle. Learning it involves leading the dog around with a treat in your hand. Mumble kept sitting down halfway around, which was amusing, but not quite right ;)
"Twirl" - this is the same as spin but counter-clockwise
"Sit Pretty" - this is what some people call "beg" (or what Charlie's mom calls "Buddha"). The dog sits back onto his back legs with his front paws up.
"Take a Bow" - This looks like a yoga pose - the dog has his but in the air / back legs straight, and is leaning down in the front. Dogs do this all the time to stretch, but it turns out it is really difficult to actually teach!
"On your side" - this is apparently the precursor to playing dead. The dog goes from laying in a regular "down" to laying on his side with his head down on the floor too.
"Touch" - the dog puts his paw on your hand, like he would for shake or high-five. Mumble already knew this :) It is the pre-skill to learning to ring a bell, turn off a light, or touch a mark.

Week 2: By halfway through the second class, Mumble was able to tolerate a modified clicker - I first introduced him during the week with a clicky-pen / highlighter. Then during the class, I had a clicker which I had added layers of tape to so that it wouldn't be as loud. During week 2, we kept practicing the tricks from week one, with the following additions:
"Touch" became touching a bell. So on command of "touch," the dog touches a bell to ring it.
"Yum Yum" - this will be really funny if it ever works. It basically means that on command, the dog licks his lips! We tried to use a treat to get the dogs to stick their tongues out and then "capture" that moment.

Week 3: In week 3, Mumble was in the full swing of tricks training. He's figured out that the clicker corresponds with treats, and he was performing really well. In week 3, we added the following to our repertoire:
"Bang!" or play dead: We started saying "bang!" with the on your side trick so that it will eventually be linked to that for the dog to play dead. Of course, when I say bang, Mumble just jumps up and runs away from the noise!
"Mark" - an easy transfer from touch - this is where there is a mark (we used a small square of carpet sample material) on the floor and wherever you put it, when you say "mark," the dog runs over and touches it. Mumble had an advantage because in agility, the dog learns to "mark" a spot at the end of an obstacle, so he was on his A-game for this trick. Apparently, this is so that a dog working in TV will go to a designated spot.

So that's as far as we've gotten so far! Week 4 is coming up and we were instructed to bring a favorite toy and a toy box to start teaching the dogs to put their toys away. I'll be really excited if Mumble actually learns that one, as my living room is frequently scattered with lots of toys now. Stay tuned for further updates and pictures!