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.

Duchess, Internet sensation, is no longer with her owners

A Doberman puppy in Ft. Lauderdale may be ending her day today in a far better situation than she started. Though she was returned to her owners, with animal control saying they saw no signs of abuse, the owners were subsequently arrested on non animal abuse charges and the puppies (Duchess and a dog whose name I have not seen) were taken into custody as well.

(picture linked from Examiner.com article)

Duchess was apparently been chained out back of her family's house for hours, barking, and the neighbors report that they did not see food and water out for her. She also had no shelter, and a neighbor is quoted as having seen the puppy try to dig a hole and crawl under a porch for shelter. For reference, it's been 90 in Ft. Lauderdale. When people approached the owners and said things to the effect of "hey, can we take your dog to the vet? Hey, she needs water and food", the owner said "It's just a dog" and told them to get off his property. (We already know how I feel about "just a dog" statements)

Police had visited the home once already, and took Duchess who animal control, who determined that she was in good health and released her to the owners. I'm not a medical professional, but when I saw the picture I linked above, I thought it was of a dead puppy. Not one who had a "tub of high quality food" inside for her. I don't know how you can look at that little girl and say there are "no signs of abuse", though apparently when a vet did see her, she wasn't gaining weight because she had hookworm (according to the NBC 6 video). They were displaying vaccination records, maybe somebody should've said "hey, we shouldn't see a dog's ribs, spine, and hips" and done a fecal.  Also according to the video, straight from the owner's mouth, though a house dog Duchess was chained out back because she had a "discipline problem with barking". She's 8 weeks old, for God's sake. She's a baby. Puppies bark; do you put a baby outside for crying?

(pictures from Dogster article)

No dog deserves to be chained outside. There's a high correlation between dogs who are chained/tied up outside and bites, in fact. Obviously, this hits me hard, because I know Elka doesn't want to be outside without us. I tried to get her to go outside and potty without me once during the winter; she'll stand in the middle of the yard and bark at the house. Dobermans want to be with their people. I'd risk making the assumption that most dogs do.

Duchess does look like a sweetie (though somebody needs to clean hear ears up; they were cropped, and clearly have gluey stuff from tape all over them in the NBC 6 video.) I hope she has a good and happy life, and those nasty hookworms are taken care of.

Intelligence: a two edged sword

I may or may not have mentioned it, but I do so love blog hops (you might have noticed). I get to read all kinds of new blogs that I hadn't discovered before, and new people come to me as well! One of these new blogs was Bites and Tales, who commented on last week's Wordless Wednesday and who I went to check out.

Scrolling through, I adored the picture, and then came to a post on a topic near and dear to my heart: Smart dogs.

Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet Week

September 17-23  is Petfinder's Adopt-a-Less-Adoptable-Pet-Week! A strange thing to celebrate? Maybe not.

Here, of course, is where I'm going to plug Storm again, who isn't on Petfinder, but is apparently less adoptable. He's been at the Broome County Humane Society since July 5 of this year. He's 8 years old. He's an albino, which might be off-putting for Doberman people. Maybe not. He's a shy boy. But, according to comments on my last post about the "Conklin NY Dobermans", Storm is the last one left in the shelter. I don't see Dusty listed on the site anymore, either! To call the Broome County Humane Society (in Binghamton NY) about Storm, 607-724-3709 is the contact phone number listed on their web page. His animal ID is listed on his page as 16640033 

Conklin NY Dobermans for adoption: slightly more info!

On August 5, five Dobermans were left from the dogs who were rescued in Conklin, NY.

Go to bchumanesoc.com for information on the dogs, and for information on the adoption procedures, shelter hours, what the shelter's wish list is, etc.

Well, now there are 4 left! Or I thought there were....Dusty is back on the site again. I wonder if the removal of his picture (or its reappearance) was a glitch? I hope he wasn't adopted to a family unprepared for his Doberness, and returned already. That would be very sad. Dusty appears to be a fawn, perhaps with color dilution alopecia. Since I'm already speculating a whole lot, I might as well mention that a good and balanced diet might go a long way for Dusty, considering the situation from which the dogs were removed. He's listed as 4 years old.

Houston (my personal favorite; shh, don't tell the others!)

Storm (albino, with a sometimes crazy ear, apparently!)

Nani (red girl)

And last but not least, Sasha, who has at least one application in from a family who wants to take her home!

Edited to add:  If you read in the commends, KimyandKaylaa has said that their application for Sasha has been approved, and she will be coming home on Saturday! Woo! Congratulations to them, and to Sasha!

The last time I posted about these wonderful dogs, Kimy and Kaylaa responded that they were so happy to have found my post! They are the ones who (with their MinPin) have an application in for Sasha, and they met all of the Dobermans when they went to visit! They said that Sasha of course stole their heart, and that Nani and Houston were both dolls. They said that Storm was rather reserved, and that he barked a lot to make sure everybody knows what a Big Boy he is. I'm sure this whole thing has been very scary for him, and I hope that a Dober-savvy person comes along to adopt him and give him a nice stable home life where he can gain the confidence that he deserves to have.

Dre, Pit Bull in Danger in Colorado

Remember Lennox?

Well, in Brighton, Colorado on July 31, an interesting thing happened. A run of the mill thing, really. Two dogs got loose, a pit bull and a Doberman. They were kind of freaked, and ran around for awhile, and were chased by people who were trying to catch them. They barked at people, and a lot of those people were scared and called the police. Once the dogs were finally caught, the owners were called. The Doberman went home. The pit bull is in danger of being euthanized for being "dangerous".

Not a single stranger was touched in this frightening barking spree. Nobody was jumped on. Not a paw or tooth was laid on a single person, by either dog.

I learned on Doggies and Stuff that there is a ChipIn to help Dre's family with the legal costs.  Dogster has run the story as well. There is a petition to save Dre, where you can add your voice (the petition page is where the above photo of Dre and Machomotto is from). The goal is 100,000 signatures. Currently, they're at 55, 095. My understanding is that Dre's next hearing has been postponed until August 21; at that point, let's hope that the DA looks at the FACTS rather than emotional opinions. A barking dog is not a biting dog. A biting dog is a biting dog.

Would you like some cheese?

Sigh.

So, after I wrote A small rant the other day, I didn't anticipate having another such story to share with y'all.

This story is a bit more uplifting, anyway.

The Funny Thing About Counter Conditioning

There are a few things I've worked on with Elka on our walks.

First all, the Holy Grail of walking a dog, especially a big one: loose leash walking. I'm happy to say that, combined with the clicker, repetition and improved consistency (I've never said I was perfect; I just play it on the Internet), Elka walks loose leash very well. I still Heel her on my right. We're also working on the left, for which I use the cue "Fuss", which is German for "heel", so we can act all fancy.

We've also worked on reactions to two persistently present things: barking dogs, and machinery, be it from construction or from yard work.

Product Review: The Unbreakoball

What's that you say? A ball guaranteed against destruction by your dog's tender mercies?  Yes, my friends, that is the Unbreakoball!

Considering all of the tennis balls we've gone through, I was more than willing to try something that was also a portmanteau.  That it's made in the USA is another definite bonus.

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?

How Noisy is Your Walk?

I've mentioned before the number of barking dogs that Elka and I pass on the way to our customary park. That's a pretty transient noise, though, nothing we worry much about anymore. Elka can and will consistently ignore the barking in the favor of performing various cues.

Once to the park, though, it's really very quiet. Occasionally there's a single bark to be heard, or kids playing in the pool or on the playground, but other than that, it's rather nature-y. Which is very nice, truth be told. Relaxing for me, few distractions for Elka, and we go home happy.

Dogs Barking

I don't want to be seen as anti-dog.

However, we have neighbors down the street who this spring, apparently procured two beagles.  They already had a small white fluffy dog (and I apologize, but I can't tell the under twenty pound, ungroomed, fluffy white dog category apart; bichon frise?  Maltese), and the small fluffy white dog has a very peculiar bark, that sounds like the signature scream of women in horror movies.  The beagles, well, howl and bark like hounds in those movies where they chase escaped prisoners.

Book Review: Barking, by Kim Campbell Thornton

Elka is not a problem barker.  She in fact barks appropriately, occasionally in play, but most often as an alert if she feels somebody's approaching the house who ought not be.  I promise I won't brag about this any more than necessary.

Barking is a big problem dogs owners face, however, as I discussed in Dog Manners: the barking edition.  Dogs bark; it's a main means of communication.  And dog barks mean something, whether we humans get the point or not.  So, if your dog is barking, and you think it's a problem, then there's a definite miscommunication going on.

Barking, by Kim Campbell Thornton, is a rather short book that discusses why dogs bark and what owners might do about it.