No, I don't think that's the right book for your puppy

At the library, I have an awkward problem sometimes. A person who's gotten a puppy or a new-to-them dog comes in looking for dog training books. Oh good, right? My favorite topic! (well, one of)

Not so good: the only dog trainer they've ever heard of is Cesar Millan.

I've given my opinions on Mr. Millan's methods before. And yes, I have read his show, and have read a bunch of his books. If I'm going to be opinionated about something, I prefer not to be factually inaccurate. And his methods, in practice, do not mesh well with mine.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!

Elka is not a dog bothered by fireworks (she'll lie to me about having to go out so she can try to see them. Protip: we can't see them from our house), but I get that a lot of dogs are. I'm surprised Elka isn't, really. This dog used to be afraid of plastic bags, and depending, they can still make her skittery.  But she wants to watch thunderstorms and fireworks. Sure, Elka. It's just how she keeps us on our toes, with no way to tell what she'll love and what she'll hate sometimes.

Never Stop Training

Yesterday, Patricia McConnell posted "Gotta Love That Recall" on her blog, and while I read and recommend her as often as I can, I also noticed the specific phrase which I've poached for the title of this post: Never stop training.

I'd been thinking about this lately, in fact, when a certain long nosed miss started nosing up to peoples' plates in a manner she had not otherwise displayed. I may or may not have been mostly unbothered by this, for it was rarely, if ever, my plate she was getting too close to. This is Elka, who I can leave in the car with McDonald's or other takeout and she will not touch is. Elka, who has been in a room with a coffee table full of nachos and dip and even pigs in a blanket and not touched a thing. Elka, who dropped a turkey sandwich she had in her mouth when I said "drop it", and left along a dropped tupperware of taco meat when I said "leave it".

(forgive the old picture, I don't have a new one of her lurking in the "safe range" of food that is not hers)

New (to me) survey: Dog aggression and owner aggression

I posted not long ago about how Alpha rolling was both not my style and also not a safely recommended training technique. A study in 2009 by the University of Pennsylvania veterinary researchers linked an exacerbation of aggressive dog behavior with punitive and confrontational training techniques, entitled "Survey of the use and outcome of confrontational and non-confrontational training methods in client-owned dogs showing undesired behaviors" by Meghan E. Herron, Frances S. Shofer and Ilana R. Reisner. Basically, if you're aggressive your dog will be too. Of course, Patricia McConnell beat me to posting about the study, but in a way, I'm glad. She's somebody I've heard of, read a lot, and am confident recommending her advice to people.

(Picture of Elka "paws up", taught through positive reinforcement techniques, to prevent this post from being a wall of text)

Spreading the Good Word

I work at the library, and often, though perhaps not as frequently as you might thing, I have opportunity to talk with other dog owners. Today I had a particularly fulfilling conversation.

A woman came to the desk, looking slightly lost. She said "I've tried to look this up in the catalog, but maybe I'm spelling his name wrong? It's a dog trainer. Cesar something..."

As you might imagine, from reading my blog, I flinched a bit. But, I looked him up, and explained that the name wasn't spelled like "Julius Caesar". I gave her a piece of paper with the call number, took a breath, and said "That's where you'll find his books, but may I make a few suggestions? I find his methods to be more coercive than strictly necessary, especially depending on the breed you're interested in. I have a Doberman, and they're just so smart, that kind of thing isn't necessary, and might backfire."