A word to the wise: be careful how you treat — or don’t treat — canny costumed canines craving candy this Halloween; watch and learn:
2009…
2010…
Hmmm. What will this intrepid duo doo this year, I wonder? You can view more videos of Splash, Kiko and pals, including many helpful clicker training exercises, on the Kikopup YouTube channel… and we’ll be checking back to see what sort of spooky shenanigans they pull this year.
How many dogs can skip rope together at once? Thirteen adorable pooches, according to the 2012 Guinness Book of World Records.
“As most inventions and discoveries are made, this record setting dog trick happened purely by accident. The dog handler at Uchida Geinousha’s ‘Super Wan Wan Circus’ in Japan said, ‘One day Mayonnaise, an incredibly curious poodle, started to try and skip with us. She clearly really enjoyed it and we decided to get the other dogs involved. It’s become part of their playtime.’”
If you fancy teaching your dog to skip rope, here is a quick tutorial. See also 52 Tricks To Teach Your Dog for more fun times with smart pups.
Do you inadvertently train your pet for bad behavior? It’s easy to do, as this cute comic from The Oatmeal demonstrates. In answer to the question ” what’s the most common training mistake people make? ” Animal Behaviorist Dr. Sophia Yin has this to say:
And “Doctor Dog” weighs in with a couple of amusing anecdotes about the family cats training their people to open doors.
Basically, the rules are simple:
There’s enough more information and strategy about this single subject to fill up a library or two, but these simple training tips for humans will get you very far indeed in the You-Train-the-Pet vs the-Pet-Trains-You wars. 
This is an excellent article [PDF] from The Association of Pet Dog Trainers that makes some excellent points about dog parks. We all realize the benefits of socializing our dogs, but so much of the literature can tend to make us feel guilty if we don’t make it a regular practice to take our pals to the dog park and let them sink or swim in the deep waters of doggy society.
“A dog park is like a cocktail party, where you don’t know
anyone and everyone is drunk. You could have fun, but it
could be a disaster.”
In fact, it’s not always the best plan to expose your dog to the unbounded exuberance — and, often, aggression, dominance and chaos — of the dog park. There are many reasons an owner may choose to avoid or limit such interactions in favor of more controlled meetings with fewer, better known canine pals. So if you’ve been beating yourself up because outings to dog park aren’t your (or your dog’s) cup of tea, relax. The Association of Pet Dog Trainers has your back.
By way of fun and informative Groovy Pet Blog, we’ve just learned about some great pet resources made available by the Dumb Friends League/Humane Society of Denver: They put out an amazing array of Dog Behavior Training Tips and Cat Behavior Training Tips. There are about 100 tip sheets per animal, offering advice on a variety of issues ranging from aggression and destruction to eating disorders and fearfullness. There are also some very good training sheets. This is a terrific resource!
Bonus: Get help with your dog or cat problem
They also sponsor a pet behavioral help service that offers free advice from trained pet behavior counselors. You can submit questions online, or reach them via phone. They generally offer responses within 2 to 4 days.
Question: I have a Boston Terrier and she is about 3-4 months old. She is starting to chew on furniture and anything she can get ahold of. We have given her several rawhides to chew on. How do I keep her from chewing on everything?
Answer: Chewing is a natural behavior for puppies as they go through a teething stage just like babies do. Even after their adult teeth come in they still need to chew in order to set the permanent teeth in the jaw. You mentioned that you have given her several rawhides to chew on. You may want to try some other types of toys as well if she is still chewing on inappropriate things. Some other tips include:
1. When she is left alone in the house confine her to a crate or puppy-proof room (see next tip)
2. Puppy-Proof your home (or at the very least the area where you confine her while you are away if not using a crate). Remove all items she can chew on, it may be helpful to crawl around the room so you can look at it from her perspective.
3. Make sure you give her a variety of appropriate toys to chew on so she does not get bored and also to help teach her things that are appropriate to chew on. Refrain from giving her old shoes or other inappropriate chew toys as she will not be able to distinguish between old and new. You want to avoid giving her mixed signals. You will want to find toys that cannot be chewed apart or accidentally swallowed. The Dog Guide website has a list of 8 Great and Durable Dog Toys you may want to check out.
4. Train her to not chew on inappropriate items. To do this place a tempting (but inappropriate) object on the floor along with a toy. When she starts to chew on the inappropriate object, quickly correct her with a firm “NO!” and point to her toy. Once she gets the hang of this with you in the room it is time to leave the room for short intervals. If you catch her chewing on the inappropriate object after you leave the room quickly enter the room and correct her. NOTE: you only want to correct her when you catch her in the act, if you do so after the fact she will not associate the correction with the undesirable chewing behavior. Training her using this method can take time so be patient and try not to get frustrated.
5. If, after working with her as in steps #1 through #4, you are still having issues with her chewing, you may want to consider contacting a professional dog trainer for assistance. The Association of Pet Dog Trainers website has a nice tool you can use to find a trainer in your area.
This week, we focused on rescue dogs but we also chanced upon another type of helper dog: a surfing dog named Ricochet. Ricochet’s story is awesome:
“Surf dog Ricochet’s inspirational video highlighting her journey from birth, to service dog training, to turning disappointment into a joyful new direction, to surfing with quadriplegic surfer, Patrick Ivison, to fundraising for charitable causes. She is currently leading a fundraiser for a six year old boy named Ian who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a horrific car accident that claimed the lives of his parents.”
Learn more at Surf Dog Ricochet
The exciting day is getting near. You’ve decided to get a new dog. Hopefully, you’ve researched the breed or breed type of the puppy you decided on to ensure it will be a good fit in your household. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, you want a couch potato dog breed, not a working breed that requires more time and exercise than you can or want to give him! One of the biggest reasons dogs end up in or are returned to shelters or rescue is because the dog turns out to be more work than the new dog owner expected. Try to choose a dog that will mesh with your lifestyle and be sure you are ready for the responsibility that dog ownership brings.
Prior to getting your new dog, you should ensure you’ve covered all the bases. Do you have a quiet place for the dog to stay in when you bring him home? Do you have a way to close off a living area in your home so you can give the dog run of the house a little at a time? Have you decided on what type of food you are going to feed the dog and purchased a supply? Do you have food and water dishes? Do you have a crate for your dog if you are going to crate train him? Have you purchased a leash, collar and any other necessities you may need? If you’ve done these things, GREAT! Now it’s time to look at other responsibilities you will have as a new dog owner.
The responsibilities that come with dog ownership are many. A responsible owner will have learned about the new dog’s medical needs. You need to choose a vet. If you don’t already have a vet, you should talk to dog owning friends and see who they go to and what their experiences have been with their vet. Within several weeks of getting your new dog, you should make an appointment with the vet you choose to have a general heath check up. You want to know that your new dog is healthy and you also want a record of your new dog on file with your vet in case you have an after hours emergency that requires medical attention! You should make sure all vaccinations and boosters are up to date. Ask your vet about checking a fecal sample for parasites. Also ask the vet’s opinion about heartworm preventative and flea and tick control.
One of the more common dog problems I am asked about is aggression towards other dogs. This problem is one that usually is best handled by working with a Professional Dog Trainer with experience in problem behaviors and behavior modification.
The root cause must be considered before embarking on a re-training program and sometimes the issue is totally genetic which means all the best training in the world is not going to change the dog’s reaction to other dogs. If that is the case, you must gain superb obedience skills in order to safely control you dog around other dogs, or go to other means to see that you are being responsible and not endangering other dogs you and your dog may come into contact with. This would include muzzling your dog whenever it is in public, never letting your dog off leash, and having a fenced area that will safely contain you dog at home.
I am often asked what a puppy owner should do to insure that they are doing everything possible to avoid aggression of any type in their puppy. The answer to that question is correct socialization with both humans and other dogs. Socialization in puppies starts very early in their lives, even before the new owner brings that puppy home at around eight weeks old. The socialization should start at three to four weeks old, just as the puppy is developing sight and hearing skills. The puppies should be gently held and rocked by the human owners, and given a chance to get used to human voice and sounds that are quiet and hushed so as not to startle the puppy.
Puppies that come from a home where there is very little or no socialization prior to going to their new homes very well may be shy or even fearful for the rest of their lives. If the puppy is not socialized properly between three and sixteen weeks of age, the resulting damage may be permanent in some cases. If the puppy is older than sixteen weeks when it is taken from it’s breeder’s and put into it’s new home, the result very well could be a dog with weak nerves who will always remain fearful in new and unfamiliar environments. Since dogs have the “fight or flight” system, some dogs will try and escape under this pressure, but other will become aggressive. This is why proper socialization is crucial to the dog’s future well being.
