*Does* music soothe the savage beast?

Sometimes Elka is whiny and anxious for no reason that we can tell. Sometimes it's something we can do nothing about at the moment, like ice falling off the side of the house (note to self: insulation).

She can be distracted, and sometimes consoled, but the same thing doesn't work all the time. A peanut butter Kong only does so much when you stop licking it periodically to mohawk up and grumble around the first floor. I think it's worse for her if we know what the deal is, because we can't make her understand. Sometimes "leave it" just isn't good enough. In a way, this is a "willful disobedience" sort of situation; we're telling her, "it's okay, get over it", but she's like "no, for serious, THERE'S SOMETHING DANGEROUS WHY DON'T YOU CARE??!!?!?!"

Adventures in Winter Recall

Our -12 degree potty routine, our three feet of snow potty routine, is send Elka out back, call her back when she's done. And she gets done pretty quickly, and with good efficiency, as I've mentioned. Lately, though, some of that distractibility has crept back. God knows why, it's still -12 some mornings, and there's still three feet of snow out there.

But, I've begun to utilize the three count. I'll tell her to go potty, I'll say hurry up, and then I start to count. If I reach 3, I call her back and we go inside. Mostly, she gets busy at 2, if I even need to count.

Dog Bite Prevention (though sometimes, you can't)

We've all heard about cases where a dog has bitten a child. Arguably, too many cases. Funny for me to say, perhaps, being a Dog Person™, but obviously, I can explain.

Lots of dog bites you hear about seem, from the outside, to have been completely unavoidable. Small child left alone with dog, child starts crying, dog has attacked the child. No adults there to see what happened. These cases are, in my mind, the fault of the adults. Dogs should not be left alone with tiny children. Tiny children do unreliable, misunderstandable things. Tiny children have little to no intent in their actions. Dogs, in general, have a specific set of reactions to stimuli.

Oh yeah, and last week was Dog Bite Prevention Week.

(drawn by Lil Chin)

Command Clinic: That's not your problem.

"That's not your problem" is a cue I developed with Elka, because of course I can't possibly take peoples' advice when they say to keep cues simple. She's smart enough, I feel that simple cues don't always get the point across. Or, they come to mean a broad category, and don't really apply to the next category.

So, while "Leave it" would suffice for most dogs, for Elka, "leave it" refers to items, objects, and wildlife in the yard.

"That's not your problem" applies to other dogs, either in view or barking blocks away. It applies to people walking past on the sidewalk across the street, car doors closing, people coming home next door, etc. The longer phrase seems to assure Elka that yes, I do see the issue, and she can leave it.

Does your dog work? Should your dog work?

On Terrierman's Daily Dose, he wrote a great post lately entitled "And What is the Work of Your Dog?" His is a blog that I read frequently but do not often comment on. I don't know about working terriers. My dog experience is largely and completely related on this blog, and doesn't amount to much when compared with others, both on and off the blogosphere.

It's a very good question, though. Dogs only recently became our couch adornments (I mean, other than the toy breeds, whose whole point is to be couch adornments). Pretty much every breed was created for a purpose, some more specific than others. It's worth looking at the history of your breed, and considering your expectations of your dog, and how their lives go.

Canine Body Language: Piloerection

There are times Elka becomes aware (or decides that she's aware) that Something Happened outside. Or that Somebody is there. Or maybe the wind blew. Something.

But she'll go look out the door, or a window, growl or grumble, and sometimes give a bark. Invariably, when she decides she's the home's protector (or at least that something requires our attention), she sports a "mohawk", as we call it. Or, as Real Dog People call it, piloerects. Piloerection is when the hair stands on end; on a sleek, short haired dog like Elka, it is really very apparent.

Take Two Aspirin and Call Me In the Morning

Yesterday morning, Elka woke me up. This isn't unusual, right? It was 9:30, about our regular walk time. She wasn't whining or asking to go out, though. She didn't hop off the bed because she detected Action in the Kitchen. She didn't step on me while repositioning. She nosed at my hand and flipped it with her snout until I woke up.

She's never done that before, and I asked her if she wanted to go out, and she hopped off the bed then, and waved her left paw at the door as I reached for the doorknob (this is something she's started doing lately, which I find adorable). When we got downstairs, though, she didn't want to go out. And I realized I had a headache. Not a migraine, thankfully, but enough that I took some Aleve, drank some water, and went back to bed for a little while longer, Elka shadowing each of my steps and settling down next to me again.

Friday Fun: Elka the Talking Doberman

I don't have any video yet (I know, sorry), but one of the tricks we're working on with Elka is video-worthy: saying "Hello".

I've mentioned that Elka is very vocal, and that she says "out" when she needs to go outside to eliminate. I don't know how many talking tricks we're going to end up with (probably not as many as Mishka the husky on YouTube), but a few seems pretty cool, and viable.

The reason I even got the idea is because of this situation: A few months back, one of our college neighbors knocked on the door. It was her birthday, she said, and she was having a party. If they got too loud, she said please come tell them, and they would cool it. I was amazed and pleased; none of our college neighbors had ever done such a thing. She introduced herself (I forgot her name), I introduced myself, and Elka, who of course was standing next to me. She looked down and said "Well, hello Elka!" and Elka looked up at her and said "Hello." I was so floored I couldn't even think to reinforce her or anything, and we finished our conversation and went our separate ways. I turned to Jim, who was on the stairs, and said "did you hear that?" He had.


So, now with the lovely weather we've been having, we've had the screen in the front door again. Elka is re-acclimating to those sounds (people walking past, car doors, the screen jostling in the wind) and will alert us to each one of them. Awesome. Since they don't all need our attention, I've been working to redirect her. She hasn't yet said "Hello" cold, but will make reinforceable "Hello" noises once she starts going and then I say "Elka. Hello!"

She's a bit confused so far as to what I'm marking, but she's getting there. And she's "talking" more, which makes me think maybe we'll add more. I also don't want to muddy her "Out", which has gotten pretty reliable.

When Strangers Call

Last week, I posted 5 Things For Your Dog To Do When You Have Visitors. In the comments, the issue of accidentally rewarding behaviors I didn't want, or aggressive behaviors came up, and while they weren't what I was addressing, it was a good point!

Much as I try to talk the talk, I am not a dog training professional. If your dog is truly displaying aggression, be it human aggression or dog aggression, you should seek help from a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist, who will have studied extensively in areas such as those to meet your needs. The Internet, while a magical place of information and  fun, won't necessarily be tailored to your dog and your dog's needs, or adequately explain how you yourself can "fix" things, or even give an accurate and appropriate diagnosis.

That said, I covered briefly what your dog can do when you have friends over. I've posted a picture (that I'll post again here in a few words) of Elka waiting for a delivery person. But, what do you do when a stranger comes to your house? Jehova's Witness, repo man, delivery personnel, door to door sales? What is appropriate for your dog to do, and what do you want your dog to do?

House and Home

It's fall, or getting to be close enough.  That means a couple of things in my town.

For one, it's getting cold already.  We have frost advisories this week.  The leaves are falling now, and starting to blow around (which Elka loves to chase; it's very adorable).

It also means that the college students have moved back in.  There are two colleges in my town; the one that I went to, and a state school.  As a result, there are many student rentals around, including many of our neighbors.  Which means many people outside at all times of the night, and many car doors slamming.  After a nice quiet summer, Elka does not approve of these things.

Allergen Sniffer Dogs

I've mentioned my Service Dog and working dog love and admiration previously.  I'm always fascinated and excited to read about more uses that are being found for the skill set that dogs so obviously possess.

My latest example is from an article in the Seattle Times, though there are a few other examples across the nation: Peanut Sniffing Dogs.

Peanut allergies seem to have gone ballistic in the past couple of years, both in number of individuals affected and in the severity of the allergy itself.  When I was in school, I can't think of a single kid I knew who was allergic to peanuts in anyway.  Now, there are kids going into anaphylactic shock and even sometimes dying from peanut exposure.

Service Dogs: ins and outs

Elka is not a service dog.

A service dog, by definition, performs a service for the owner (or handler, depending on which terminology you want to use) that the individual would otherwise not be able to accomplish on his or her own as a result of a disability. A service dog is hopefully of steady temperament and a good working drive.  A service dog has been extensively trained and behaves appropriately while "on duty".

Here's the ringer, however: is there a nationally recognized certification for service dogs?

Nope.