TAKE YOUR PUPPY FOR A WALK lasting 20 to 30 minutes before arriving at your class. That way, she will have unleashed some of her pent-up energy and excitement.Puppies and dogs don’t enter our lives with owner’s manuals that explain how to understand their quirks and avoid undesirable behaviors. In many cases, new owners think their new dog should behave just “because he loves me.” Often, unfortunately, part of the reason behind our constant litany of No! Bad dog! Drop it! Down! Bad, bad dog! is poor pet parenting on our part. After all, dogs take their cues from what we say, how we say it, and what we do. They are not trying to misbehave; they just need to know what the rules are and how they fit in the family. It is our job to explain those things to them and to teach them how to become part of our lives.
This section addresses some of the most common challenges I’ve heard from frustrated owners. Take heart; you’re in good company. Even professional dog trainers and animal behaviorists have their share of trying times. But with consistency, persistence, and kindness, you can convert a canine who is driving you crazy into a dog who is a sheer delight.
Q My new puppy and I just enrolled in a puppy obedience class, but we’re not exactly wowing the trainer or winning over classmates. Happy, aptly named, gets so excited in class that I sometimes lose grip of her leash and she is off playing with another puppy, trying to steal treats, and jumping in people’s laps. I think we’re going to flunk the class. Any advice on how I can gain control of this bundle of energy?
A First, kudos for enrolling Happy in a puppy class. It is essential for all pups and newly adopted adult dogs to become students in a reward-based obedience class. These classes do more than just teach your dog to come, sit, and stay. They provide an ideal venue for you to bond with your dog, to expose your pup to other dogs and people, and to learn the rules of canine etiquette. Some dogs are visual learners — puppy see, puppy do — so watching appropriate behaviors being rewarded may be good incentive. Having to go to class is usually good incentive for the owner to practice between sessions.
Don’t worry; you and Happy will not become puppy-school dropouts. Remember that, as with all youngsters, a lot is going on both mentally and physically inside your personality-plus pooch. She is easily distracted and has no impulse control, so your job is to provide the limits for her behavior until she begins to understand what her role is. Here are some insider secrets to achieving puppy-school success (and a diploma).
TAKE YOUR PUPPY FOR A WALK lasting 20 to 30 minutes before arriving at your class. That way, she will have unleashed some of her pent-up energy and excitement.
ARRIVE FIVE TO TEN MINUTES EARLY to allow your puppy to satisfy her uncontrollable need to meet and greet other classmates (both people and other puppies) and to relieve herself one last time. Many puppy classes have socializing as part of the lesson plan. For those that do not, this “play preview” can help Happy work through her excitement.
DON’T FEED HER BEFORE CLASS. Depending on the time of the class, wait to serve up dinner until after the class or feed her only a half-portion, saving the rest for later. Hungry puppies are more motivated to perform for treats in class and won’t need to take an urgent bathroom break.
KEEP YOUR HANDS FREE by stashing your belongings in the trunk and clipping your car keys to your belt or tucking them in a pocket. You need your hands free to handle the leash, dole out treats, and give clear hand signals to your puppy.
WEAR CASUAL, COMFORTABLE CLOTHING. If you wear shorts, expect to depart sporting grass-stained or muddy knees, not to mention scrapes and scratches from exuberant puppies. Stick with sneakers or other low-heeled, comfortable shoes with nonskid soles.
DON’T WEAR SUNGLASSES. If the class is during the day, wear a visor or baseball hat to block out the sun. Your puppy needs to see your eyes at all times to grasp your messages.
HAND OUT ITTY-BITTY PORTIONS of a highly palatable treat. You want to give your puppy a taste of a reward, just enough to swallow in few seconds. At first, give treats for every mini-success, because puppies tend to have the attention span of a gnat. Don’t wait until your puppy completes all tasks before rewarding with a tiny treat.
BE BRAVE and ask what you may think is a dumb question. What you perceive to be a strange behavior in your puppy — such as shredding toilet paper or splashing in her water dish — may be shared by someone else in your class who is too shy to ask.
KEEP YOUR PUPPY ON A LEASH unless otherwise instructed by your trainer and give yourself enough space so your nosy puppy can’t reach other classmates.
Tap into vocal tones to help deliver your messages. Bring both your upbeat, happy, good pup voice and your stern, low, knock it off tone to class.
Q I feel like a terrible dog owner. Abby, my young retriever mix, doesn’t always listen to me. She is really a sweet girl, but sometimes she becomes unruly. She chases our cat, jumps up on visitors, destroys the flowers in my garden, and tries to steal food from the counter. Sometimes I get frustrated and yell at her, even though I hate to do it. She cowers and leaves the room, and I feel awful and guilty. I am tired of saying no, no, no all the time. Help!
A Don’t be too rough on yourself. Not even the most esteemed professional dog trainers are perfect each and every time they work with a dog. Mistakes happen. It’s part of being human. One issue in your case is that Abby, like many large breeds, will take a little longer to mature than a smaller dog. Goldens and Labradors are generally considered “grown up” by age two or three, compared with Yorkshire terriers who have formed their adult brains by age one.
The key to successful training is to encourage your young dog to perform desired actions and to reward her when she nails a given command or task, rather than punishing her for bad behavior. It’s also critical to provide suitable outlets for her to unleash her need to leap and chew. Over the years, I’ve identified several ways to avoid common training mistakes.
First, take on the role of leader, not bully. There is no need to raise your voice or berate your dog. Make sure the tenor of your voice is friendly, engaging, and confident. If you are feeling frustrated or impatient during the training lesson, Abby will pick up those anxious emotions and the lesson will be a failure. If you can be an effective teacher who relies on positive reinforcement techniques, however, you will earn her respect, instill her with confidence, and win her love and loyalty.
Second, puppies and young adult dogs are easily distracted. The only way to make your dog comply with your training is if you have her undivided attention. When you begin any training session, pick a place and a time where distractions are kept to a minimum. Start by calling your puppy by name and rewarding her for any eye contact with you. Once you are certain your pup knows her name, you can teach her watch me to sustain longer eye contact. Take a small food treat in your fingers and slowly bring it up to your face as you say watch me. Deliver the treat when she looks at you for at least two seconds. As she learns that she is rewarded for paying attention to you, she will be more motivated to look to you and await your next cue.
Third, you must be consistent, consistent, consistent. Decide which verbal and physical cues you want to use for sit, lie down, stay, and come. Then stick with them. If you use the word stay in one training session and the phrase don’t move in the next, you create confusion. Be consistent with your commands and your dog will eventually catch on.
Fourth, opt for short training sessions. Unless you have an extremely attentive dog, training segments of 10 minutes or less will be the most effective. These mini-training sessions will work better for you, too, since they fit easily into your busy schedule. It’s usually possible to squeeze in a short training lesson before you head off to work or when you get home after a long day.
Fifth, think Las Vegas! Gamblers are attracted to slot machines on the chance of hitting a jackpot. The machines, by design, do not deliver a payoff with each grab of the handle. Psychologists call this intermittent reinforcement. Apply this theory to training your dog. Once you’ve taught the basics, bolster compliance by offering a treat intermittently. Keep Abby guessing about when she’ll be rewarded, and she’ll work harder for that tasty jackpot. You can bet on it!
Finally, take your training routine on the road. Abby may become a picture of perfect obedience inside your living room but act like a canine Dennis the Menace at the dog park. She needs to learn that she must obey you, no matter where she is and how many distractions surround her. Once you have success in the confines of your home, gradually reinforce these commands with her in other settings. You need to start with small steps and build up to success.
Q I thought teaching my dog to come to me would be a snap. Boy, was I wrong! Higgins is a six-month-old mixed breed with a mind of his own. I find myself having to yell at him to come back to me and scolding him when he finally does. It’s getting worse. When I take him to the local dog park, I have to chase him to put the leash on him when it is time to go. How can I get Higgins to come when I call him?
A There are three basic commands that are doggone vital: come, sit, and stay. These commands can be lifesavers. An obedient dog responds to come and turns toward you rather than chasing a cat into a busy street. Unlike a trained dog who ignores his owner’s calls in favor of an alluring odor, it sounds as though Higgins has never learned to come in the first place. When he is running around loose, he probably has no idea what you want and no real interest in finding out. Higgins is a canine teenager and has entered the stage in life when he feels the need to test and challenge authority. He needs to know clearly who’s in charge, and that should be you.
When you overuse the word come, it becomes meaningless. Repetition of a cue that is being ignored just teaches the dog that he doesn’t have to do anything. Some dogs wait until their owners say come for the 12th time before they stop running and turn their heads. Others decide that come actually means keep running around sniffing until my owner grabs me.
Another easy misstep is to over-speak when you want Higgins to come. You must pick a cue and use it consistently. If you call out, “Hey Higgins, I want you to come here right now, I’m not joking, Higgins, I really mean it, I want you to come now,” Higgins, in true doggy fashion, is most likely to translate all that chatter into “Higgins, blah, blah, blah, blah” and will never respond to your call. It got lost in translation.
There are many ways to teach Higgins to come when you call, but here are three of my favorites. Conduct your training sessions in a confined area like your backyard or a hallway or any place without a lot of distractions or places to escape. You want him to focus on you. (See Have Nose, Must Travel, page 35, for another good method.)
Game Plan A: Change your attitude. You mentioned that you scold Higgins when he finally does return. It is easy to be a bit peeved when your dog dashes off. But because of your harsh tones, Higgins associates the word come with reprimands. Why should he return only to be scolded? Try switching to a new word to get your dog to come back. Instead, say here or now or even bye. I used the latter on my former dog, Jazz, when he stopped heeding the come cue. I would simply say bye, turn my back on him, and walk in the opposite direction. He was back in a flash by my side. Even when Higgins seems to take his sweet time at returning, never yell at him for coming back.
Game Plan B: Make it child’s play by modifying the hide-and-seek game. In your house, have a family member or friend keep Higgins on a leash as you scurry into another room out of his view. Your helper then unleashes Higgins as you call out Higgins, come! in an upbeat, happy voice. As soon as he finds you, give him a treat, say yes! and repeat the game in a different room. This makes finding you lots of fun for Higgins.
Game Plan C: Play tag. Lightly tap Higgins on the back and say, “Tag, you’re it!” Then race away. When Higgins pursues you and reaches you, praise him and give a treat. If he doesn’t follow you, stop a few feet away, keep your back to him, and bend down. Pretend you are looking at the world’s most fascinating blade of grass or carpet fiber. Curiosity will get the best of Higgins, and he will come up to investigate what is so darn riveting. Again, praise and treat. The goal is to always have your dog chase after you, not the other way around.
Practice all three of these games in your home and in confined areas without a lot of distractions. Please do not let him run loose in open places near streets where he could get hit by a car. Always end these mini-sessions on a good note. When he comes back quickly, praise and treat and move on. Once Higgins consistently heeds your calls to him, then test his responsiveness in a backyard or dog park with only one or two other dogs around. Gradually, build up his recall until Higgins responds even in high canine traffic, like at a dog park on a Saturday morning.
Q My three-year-old beagle is a delight, but he has one vice: He insists on jumping up onto my furniture. His spiky hair gets embedded in the upholstery until it’s nearly impossible to clean. I’ve tried putting old bed sheets on the furniture when I’m gone, but when I come home I find the sheets on the floor and Peppy happily snoozing on the sofa. I got him about a year ago from a rescue group and can only assume that he was allowed to get up on the sofa in his previous home. I’m planning to purchase nicer furniture and upgrade the interior of my house soon. Before I do, I want to find a way to end Peppy’s possession of my sofa. How can I accomplish this?
A Credit Peppy for having the good sense to bypass boring bare floors and seek a comfy sofa for his snooze sessions. However, it’s your house and he needs to play by your rules. First, you need to provide him with a designated spot of his own. Before you begin picking out your new furniture, buy Peppy a comfy bed and put it in a spot where he will still feel like part of the family. When you are home, have him lie on it and reward him for spending time there. The world of canine décor has exploded recently, and you have many choices of functional but fashionable doggy beds and other canine comforts (even a small sofa of his own, if you like!) that will blend with your style of furnishing, be it rustic or elegant or anything in between.
As you begin your mission to relocate Peppy from the sofa to his own furniture, you need to make your furniture uninviting. Use fitted bed sheets instead of flat sheets so that you can tuck them in snugly. When you leave the house, pile items on your furniture to make naptime anything but pleasant. Take a plastic carpet runner, turn it upside down so that the hard points are facing upward, and lay it across your sofa and recliner. Or put heavy boxes of books on the furniture before you leave the house so there is no space for even a determined beagle.
Q I just adopted my first puppy. What’s the best way to teach Clara to sit when I ask her? I don’t like having to force her into position by pushing down on her rump. She does sit when I do that, but only for a couple of seconds before bouncing right back up to lick my face. She’s adorable and small now, but will probably be 80 pounds when she grows up, so I know it’s important to teach her while I can still physically handle her.
A I consider sit to be one of the essential cues to be learned by all dogs, and you are right to want to teach your pup while she is still small. Sit is your first choice when you want to keep your puppy from doing something you don’t like, such as chasing a fly in the house or happily tackling a visitor at the door. When in doubt, have your dog sit. It stops her undesired action and shifts her attention to you. Also, a dog who sits politely is a pleasure to be around and always wows onlookers in public.
There are two “hands-off” ways to teach your pup to sit. The first is all about timing. Whenever your puppy flops into a sit position on her own, say Sit! Yes! and give her a treat if you can or tell her what a smart girl she is. Try to do this every time you see her sit. During this training time, keep a treat bag on your belt loop or stash a few treats in your pocket so you can immediately reward the desired behavior. Some smart pups quickly learn to rush up to their owners and sit because they have been conditioned to receive treats. Remember, however, to make sure she is still sitting when you hand over the treat.
The second method taps into the power of gravity to get your pup to sit nicely. Place a small treat in one hand. Slowly glide your other hand up and over your dog’s head while she is standing. In a positive tone, say Clara, sit. As you guide your hand up and over your dog’s head, she will arch her head back to follow. The instant her rump hits the floor, tell her Sit! Yes! and hand over the treat. Repeat these steps four or five times per session. In time, your pup should sit whenever you say that magic word or convey it by using that over-her-back hand signal.
Training your puppy that great things happen when she complies and sits nicely will help you in your training sessions for other cues as well. Practice having her sit often and reward her with treats and praise. Once she understands the cue, you can give treats intermittently to reinforce the notion that desired behaviors reap rewards. A dog who sits at the curb attached to a loose leash while waiting for the light to change often earns compliments about her good behavior from onlookers. Dogs, just like us, love positive attention and these comments will help motivate her to sit on cue.
Q My neighbor Paul has a very obedient Rottweiler named Gus. If Paul tells him to stay, Gus will sit or lie down and not move until Paul tells him it’s okay. He waits quietly while Paul picks up milk at the corner store or has a cup of coffee in a café. My big friendly mutt Moose won’t stay put for a second. Maybe I have a little bit of canine envy. How can I get Moose to behave the way Gus does?
A Sometimes we need our dogs to remain in one place until we say they can move. Teaching your dog to stay is handy when you want him not to bolt out of your house or car when you open the door or give chase when the family cat enters the room. And, as with Gus, it’s nice to have a dog who will wait quietly while you do an errand. You want Moose to realize that if he stays in one spot until you say otherwise, he will be safe. He learns that even if you disappear from view into a store, you will always return (with praise for his good behavior, of course!) for him.
You can teach Moose to stay on cue, but don’t expect overnight success. First of all, he should know sit and down before beginning on this more complicated behavior. As you teach Moose to stay, keep the training sessions short and fun and always end on a good note. If Moose seems to struggle a bit, don’t move forward until he consistently succeeds in the earlier steps.
Mastering the stay command involves duration, distance, and distractions. At first, expect Moose to stay for just a moment while you stand next to him and there is nothing else going on around you. Put him on a long leash so you can control him if he tries to move. Your goal is to gradually expand the length of time Moose complies and the distance between the two of you. The final element involves Moose staying put despite distractions like other dogs or squirrels.
In training a dog, you need eye contact and undivided attention from him. First, teach Moose the watch me cue by saying his name and telling him watch me as you take a small food treat and move it toward the side of your eye. The goal is to get him to watch the treat move. When he does, hand over the treat. This teaches him to focus on you.
Next, put him in a down or sit position. Wait a second or two before you say stay! as you use your hand in a motion like a traffic cop halting oncoming cars and then reward with a treat. Gradually delay the reward to teach your dog that he is to stay put. With each successful stay, slowly extend the time before you reward from two to five to ten seconds and on up to a minute. If Moose should get up and move before the designated time, do not give a treat. Do not punish him, either — just return him to his original position and tell him to stay again.
When you are ready to have Moose move, give him a specific release word and hand signal. I use the word okay with a sweeping motion of my open-palmed hand. You could say we’re done or release — any term you will remember easily.
When Moose is consistantly solid for a minute, add the distance element by putting Moose in a stay and moving about five feet away while he is still on a leash. Reward him for staying until you return to him. Slowly build on his success by dropping the leash and expanding the distance between you. As he learns, add to the difficulty by walking behind him and moving around him. Again, if he breaks from his stay, just return him to position and start again.
The final step is to introduce distractions. After all, your dog does not live in a bubble. Things happen — a squirrel will suddenly appear on the sidewalk, or a skateboard will whiz by — and Moose may want to give chase. That’s where the stay command keeps him by your side. Start with mild distractions, such as having someone clap his hands or wave his arms. Take your training outside and have a friend walk by as you tell Moose to stay. Ask your neighbor Paul to help for a few training sessions by walking Gus past while Moose shows how much he’s learned. Go slowly and encourage Moose. Most of all, be patient. Deliver treats and praise only when your dog ignores the increasingly tempting distractions and stays put.
Q My elderly mother lives with us and needs to take medication for her heart and for high blood pressure. I worry that she may accidentally drop a pill on the floor and Pebbles, my pug, will think it’s food, eat it, and get sick. Pebbles constantly has her nose to the ground, trying to sniff out anything edible. Is there any way I can teach her not to eat something she shouldn’t?
A You are right to be concerned about Pebbles accidentally mistaking a pill for a food find. With her small size, she could become very sick and possibly even die from swallowing human medication. However, it is canine nature to explore using the nose and the mouth. After all, our thumbless dogs can’t pick up a tempting object in their paws and scrutinize it. They are designed to sniff and sample.
It is far better to be safe and prepared by teaching your dog to leave it and drop it. These behaviors work in partnership, so think of them as the Dynamic Duo for Dog Safety. They are effective whenever you need your dog to ignore something within reach or to release something already in her mouth, such as the TV remote or a bottle of pills.
To begin, put Pebbles on a leash and practice in a quiet room in your house to avoid other distractions. Teach her to leave it first. Your mission is to stop her before she can put the object in her mouth. Put a treat in your hand and make a fist. Without her knowing, hide a second treat nearby. Let Pebbles smell your hand. She will probably lick your hand, paw at it, and try to get you to surrender the treat to her. Practice some patience. Wait for her to give up and stop pawing at your closed hand for a few seconds. Then, praise her and hand over the hidden treat. Repeat this until Pebbles catches on that by honoring your leave it request, she gets the goodies.
Then you can up the ante. Put Pebbles on a leash and bring out two types of treats: so-so and delicious. Drop a piece or two of the so-so treat on the ground in front of Pebbles and tell her to leave it. Restrain her with the leash if necessary. Once she ignores the temptation, hand over a few of the better treats to her and praise her. Practice this often on your walks to reinforce the desired behavior in different situations.
Next, teach the drop it command. Start by enticing Pebbles with one of her B-list toys. Let her put the toy in her mouth and play with it for a minute or so and then show her one of her all-time favorite toys or a yummy treat. As soon as she opens her mouth, say drop it. You are pairing the phrase drop it with the behavior — releasing the toy from her mouth. Praise her when she lets go of the toy and approaches you to take the new treat. Vary the objects (always getting her to trade up to a more desirable object) to expand her understanding of the drop it request.
These phrases should be in every dog owner’s repertoire. My neighbor Flo can testify to how valuable it is to master these commands. Buddy, her miniature schnauzer, likes to steal household objects and stash them in his bed. To him, it’s a game. To Flo, it’s a crime. One day, Flo accidentally left her hearing aid on the end table. Buddy quickly confiscated it and started to dash off. Instead of giving chase, Flo told Buddy to drop it in a calm tone. He did immediately and then sat. Her hearing aid was unharmed and Buddy got rewarded with a special food treat — not for stealing the hearing aid, but for obeying the drop it command.
A final pointer: resist shouting drop it in an urgent tone while you chase after your dog. If you are overly annoyed or emotional, your dog will either swallow the goody fast or run with it, thinking it has value. The best strategy is to speak calmly (even though you may be quite upset) and reward with a high-value treat.
Q We are planning to get a second puppy to be a playmate for Gladys, our schnauzer-poodle mix. Gladys is nearly 18 months old and is finally being trusted in our home without being confined inside her crate when we’re at work. We leave her crate door open and when she wants to take a nap, she heads into it. Soon we will be adopting Jake, a young golden retriever-poodle mix. How can we convert Gladys’s crate for Jake without her getting upset or territorial?
A I’m a big fan of crate training. Dogs are den animals. They don’t demand much. They don’t clamor for a giant master bedroom or a pile of feather pillows, but they do want and need a quiet place in the house that they can call their own. Handing down Gladys’s crate to the new pup may seem to make sense, but I encourage you to purchase a second crate for Jake. For one thing, unless her crate is quite large, it is likely that he will quickly outgrow it, as he will certainly be a bigger dog. More important, if Gladys likes her crate and uses it as her established den, you will avoid problems by letting her keep her spot and providing a separate cozy spot for Jake.
Furthermore, in case you need to evacuate your house in an emergency, your two dogs can be placed inside their individual crates for safe transportation and temporary housing. Crates used in cars allow your dogs to travel safely and keep them from getting injured in the event you must make a sharp turn or sudden stop.
That said, if you still don’t want two crates, then here is how to ensure that Gladys is gracious about handing hers down to newcomer Jake. Before Jake arrives, treat Gladys to a new doggy bed. Make sure it is comfy and that you place it in the same area where the crate is now. She has established this area of your home as her turf. Have her lie on her bed and reward her for spending time there.
Next, thoroughly wash the crate with an antibacterial cleaning product and let it dry completely. Do not use products containing ammonia because they mimic urine odor. Before Jake’s arrival, keep the crate out of Gladys’s sight for a few days to diminish her memories of her former canine bedroom. Then move the crate to a different location in your house for the newcomer. Provide new bedding that does not have Gladys’s scent. Young puppies are big chewers, so I would advise you to use clean, old towels for bedding and wait to get a proper bed until Jake stops chewing. I learned this the expensive way with a puppy who chewed up three foam-filled beds before I switched to towels.
As you begin to crate train Jake, curb any interference from Gladys by tossing her favorite toy or treat onto her new bed. Tell her to go get it, praise her when she does, and then have her sit or stay while you work with young Jake. Whenever Gladys goes to her bed, praise her. Make a big deal out of her fancy new bed. Make it seem like a million-dollar mansion in canine real estate terms.
Of course, it can be challenging for Gladys to sit nicely while you spend time crate-training Jake. So consider ushering her into another room or enclosed yard with a favorite chew toy. Or take her for a long walk beforehand so that she’s tired and more likely to nap and not interfere with the training session. Also, remember to book special one-on-one time with Gladys. Treat her to a fun walk or play with her in the backyard occasionally when Jake is in his crate taking a puppy nap.
Follow these guidelines to guarantee that your dog will regard his crate or portable kennel as a great place.
Select a crate only big enough for your puppy to stand up and turn around in easily. If you buy a crate to match your puppy’s eventual adult size, temporarily insert a divider until he gets larger.
Let your puppy investigate inside the crate on his own. Encourage his curiosity by tossing a toy or a few treats inside.
Feed your puppy in his crate. Quietly close the door while he eats and then open the door after he eats and let him go outside to go to the bathroom.
Make the interior of the crate comfortable with a blanket or old bath towel and a chew toy to keep him occupied.
Never put your puppy in his crate as punishment. Select a different time-out location, like a bathroom, when you need to stop an unwanted behavior.
Do not keep your dog in a crate longer than four or five hours at a time.
Q At first, we thought it was cute when our Scottish terrier puppy growled playfully at us whenever we tried to take a toy away from her or keep her from stealing a sock. But Mimi is now nearly a year old and her growls don’t seem so harmless. She hasn’t bitten anyone, but she definitely sounds like she means business. What can we do to keep this behavior from escalating?
A It may seem amusing when a puppy commandeers a sock or keeps you at bay when you try to take a toy from her, but this is a very bad habit. Left undisciplined, many dogs will begin to view themselves as the leader of the household and will progress from growling to snapping at, or even biting, people who challenge them.
This type of aggression may surface between 12 and 24 months of age as a dog gains physical and social maturity. If aggression directed at owners is allowed, the dog can become uneasy and anxious, and the owners frustrated and fearful, setting up a vicious cycle of behavior. Untreated, this canine bullying will only intensify. This is a particularly important time for you to be firm, fair, and consistent. Be aware that showering such a dog with affection, giving her unearned treats, and allowing her free reign of the house will reinforce this behavior, because the dog will feel that her top dog attitude is being rewarded.
In Mimi’s case, you need to become a VIP (Very Influential Person) in her view while she is demoted to PHP (Pretty Humble Pup). Instead of trying to match growl for growl, you need to become the household’s benevolent leader whom your dog looks up to, the person who has more influence over her than anyone or anything else in the world. (See Paying the Price on page 156.) Whenever Mimi shows any sign of aggression, calmly put her in a bathroom. Close the door and give her a brief time-out (less than five minutes). When you open the door, ignore her for about 30 seconds. Banishment and withdrawal of attention are the most potent forms of correction because they remove a dog’s ability to control a situation.
You also need to work on properly training Mimi so that she understands basic obedience cues. (See Ignoring Temptation on page 169 for tips on teaching her to drop it, for example.)
Have everyone in your house and regular visitors practice these new rules. By becoming a better leader who is consistently gentle but firm, you will have better control of the situation and Mimi will be likely to stop growling and display better behavior. If her behavior does not improve, however, I favor being pro-active and seeking help from an animal behaviorist before growls turn into lunges or biting attacks.
Q When I get ready to leave the house and when I first come in the front door, my dog is always underfoot. She wiggles her whole body, wags her tail a mile a minute, tries to jump on me, and gives me kisses. More than once, I’ve spilled a bag of groceries because I’ve tripped over her or tried to reach down to pet her in an attempt to quiet her down. I love Katie, but what can I do so that I can come and go without this over-the-top demonstration of affection?
A Now you know how a rock star or other celebrity feels when surrounded by adoring but obnoxious fans. Katie is doing all she can to deliver canine love your way, even at the sacrifice of some groceries. Her slightly pushy behavior has worked so far in getting what she wants, which is your attention. Here is one way you can redirect Katie’s enthusiasm to allow you to walk in and out without having to play dodge dog. (See Clingy Canine, page 218, and Look Out! Launching Lab!, page 74, for other strategies.)
Situate a dog bed somewhere near your door where your dog can see you but not be in the way. Whenever you have five minutes and are in a patient mood, call Katie. Have her sit and stay somewhere else in the room while you toss a treat on the doggy bed. Make her stay until you excitedly call out Find your spot! as you point to the treat on the bed. Encourage Katie as she dashes to the bed to grab the treat. Praise her and have her stay on the bed for a few seconds.
Repeat this scenario several times. With each success, extend the time that she stays on her bed. Now, you’re ready to toss a treat and ask her to find her spot and stay there as you head out the door. Give her premium treats when she remains on the bed when you enter the house. Find your spot! works wonders when you greet someone at your door, leave your dog behind to go shopping, or want your dog not to be underfoot.
In my house, find your spot! generates a lot of anticipation and excitement because Chipper never knows which of her favorite treats she will get until she lands on the doggy bed in the family room. Sometimes, I put peanut butter in a hollow synthetic bone. Other times, I give her a dental chew or a handful of dried turkey treats. We both know the routine. I grab the treats and my purse as Chipper waits on the stairway landing. Then, I call out in a happy tone find your spot! That’s her cue to race down the stairs where she does a triumphant leap onto the bed and happily awaits her surprise goodies.
I keep a jar of treats in the garage so that before I even come in the door, I can say find your spot! and she will be waiting for me on her bed as I walk in. She knows to wait there until I toss her a treat. I use this command at bedtime, too, to get Chipper to tuck herself in her bed upstairs so I can brush my teeth and wash my face without tripping over her.
Q Callie, my happy Brittany spaniel, yanks and pulls constantly on the leash when I take her for a walk. If she wants to smell something a few feet ahead, she takes off with no regard for my shoulder or wrist. She charges back and forth in front of me or drags behind to check out different smells. Walking her is not fun. It’s trying and tiring. I scold her but she just ignores me and keeps pulling. What can I do so that she walks politely on a leash?
A Sounds like walking Callie is literally a drag, but you have plenty of company. There are legions of leash-yanking dogs all over the globe. Right now, the problem is that Callie doesn’t understand that you want her to behave a certain way on your walks. She is just excited to be outside smelling all those great scents. It can be challenging to reign in a dog on a “gotta sniff here, there, and everywhere” canine quest. Success hinges on improving her focus on you, using the right equipment, and developing your “benevolent boss” status, plus a lot of patience and practice.
What doesn’t work is yanking back. When a dog feels pressure on her throat, she responds by leaning into that pressure to get away from it. Yanking on the leash doesn’t teach her to stop pulling and can injure her neck and trachea. Because you are just continuing the cycle, you keep losing this leash tug-of-war, which reinforces her determination to yank even more.
You need to start by increasing your own “curb appeal” so that Callie pays attention to you rather than to that squirrel scampering up the oak tree, that stray soccer ball kicked in your path, or that beckoning smell left on your route by the cute Westie up the street. Before you head out the door, prepare a bag of treats cut into tiny pieces. Teach Callie the watch me command, so she will look your way when you speak those magic words. Practice inside the house for a few days first and then on the sidewalk in front of your house. Then walk a bit and call watch me again. Treat her sporadically so Callie never knows when a reward will occur. Dogs will perform more consistently if they aren’t rewarded every single time they respond.
You also need the right tools. Please avoid choke or prong collars. Some dogs react to these by becoming testy and aggressive, and if used improperly, these collars can cause injury. Instead, opt for a nylon halter, which fits behind your dog’s ears with a loop over the nose. The leash is attached to a metal ring below your dog’s chin. It comes with directions, but if you’re not sure how to properly fit one on your dog, seek the help of a dog trainer or your veterinarian.
The halter works by applying pressure to the dog’s nose instead of her throat. Because the nose is more sensitive than the neck, she will back away from the pressure rather than leaning into it. You can also use a no-pull harness that puts pressure on the dog’s chest. Remember that the halter and other similar types of equipment should be viewed as training aids, not instant solutions to the problem. It is not the equipment but how it is used that makes it effective or dangerous.
Let me emphasize that the halter is not a muzzle. It doesn’t prevent your dog from being able to breathe, pant, drink, chew, or pick up toys or treats. It does control her head movement without causing pain and with a minimum of effort, which will save your shoulder muscles. It also doesn’t need to be a lifelong accessory. Once your dog learns the habit of walking politely, you can gradually wean her off the head halter if you want to.
Introduce the new gear inside the house at first. Let Callie sniff and inspect it. Put it on her and distract her with treats if she tries to rub it off (something many dogs will attempt). Keep the mood light and playful and do not reprimand her for trying to remove it. Then take her out for a short walk with the goal of teaching her to associate the head halter with two favorite doggy pleasures: going for a walk and getting treats.
As a dog’s head goes, so goes the direction of her body. A slight tug on the leash will automatically move Callie’s head back to look at you. No longer focused on moving forward, she should stop and look to you to see what’s next. Let a few seconds pass, and then resume the walk or abruptly change directions or pace. Keep her guessing. Reward her for keeping her attention on you.
If watch me and the halter aren’t working as well as you’d like, act like a tree. Trees don’t move. If Callie starts to yank, stop and remain still. Do not move forward again until the leash is slack. Or take a couple quick steps backward until she pays attention. Once she is focused on you, resume walking and dole out treats only when the leash is slack, not tight. When Callie is walking easily, point out her good behavior by using the proper word. Some people say heel, but I prefer walk nicely. It sounds more civilized. Praise Callie and treat her for her stretches of walking nicely.
Training a dog to stop tugging on her leash takes time and patience, but the payoff is worth it. The two of you can enjoy your walks together, and your role as leader will become more firmly established with your dog, which will benefit your whole relationship.
COSMO, A FOUR-YEAR-OLD neutered cocker spaniel, behaved like a barroom bouncer when his owners Gaby and Tony asked him to do anything he didn’t want to do. He gave clear warnings, increasing from growls to displaying his teeth to actually biting, when they tried to groom him or move him off their bed. Twice, Cosmo nipped Tony when he tried to put a choke chain on him. At night Cosmo took over their bed, reacting strongly if disturbed from a deep sleep and snapping while settling down.
Despite of his aggressive displays, Cosmo would sometimes roll over and release a small amount of urine when he was excited or feeling submissive. This behavior is not uncommon among cocker spaniels. On the positive side, Cosmo was not aggressive around other dogs, while he ate, or when resting inside his crate. The couple could easily take his dish or toys away from him.
My diagnosis was that Cosmo suffered from moderate dominance aggression, social status aggression, anxiety, and submissive/excited urination. No medical condition was found, but his front right footpad never grew completely, which may explain why he was hypersensitive to having his nails trimmed. Instead of trying to clip all his nails at once, I advised Gaby and Tony to clip one nail at a time and reward him after each one with a high-value treat, to develop a positive association with grooming. I suggested that they immediately replace the choke collar they were using with a halter-type collar. In Cosmo’s case, the use of the choker only fueled his aggression.
Addressing this dog’s undesirable behavior took patience and time. Cosmo was placed on an antianxiety medication, which helped him become calmer, especially when awakening. The owners took some basic safety precautions, including not permitting him to sleep on their bed any longer. Instead of leaning over a sleeping Cosmo to wake him, I encouraged them to stand at a safe distance and call out Cosmo’s name to wake him. The goal was to try as much as possible not to set Cosmo up for failure by trying to force him off a bed or startling him from a deep sleep.
Cosmo had never received any formal dog training, so we worked on teaching reliable compliance with basic behaviors: sit, down, stay, come, and quiet. If Cosmo displayed aggression, he was placed in a closed bathroom for a short duration. On a positive note, we tapped Cosmo’s favorite activity, playing fetch, and had him earn playtime.
After just a month of behavior modification and medication, Cosmo’s behavior improved. He stopped growling when being groomed or told to move. He listens to Gaby and Tony and appears to be a more contented cocker spaniel.
Contributed by Patrick Melese, DVM
Q Tasha, my black Labrador retriever, never seems to tire out. I can play fetch with her for over an hour and she still wants to play. I take her to a doggy day care three times a week, and the manager tells me that she romps all day with the other dogs. Yet when I come to pick her up, she has energy to burn. She is almost two years old. Will she ever tone down her activity level? I love her but wish there were times where she was quiet and calm.
A Some dogs do seem to behave like furry wind-up toys that never wind down. These overactive dogs do everything at top speed and rarely seem to nap or relax. When not playing, high-energy dogs may pace, yap nonstop, or display an unquenchable desire for attention. In Tasha’s case, her breed is well known for having plenty of energy and for maturing late, but even the most rollicking retriever should settle down sometimes. It is possible that her behavior is caused by an underlying health problem. Though rare, dogs can be diagnosed with hyperkinesis, the canine equivalent of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Always in a hurry, and sometimes frantically active, dogs with this medical condition possess rapid heart rates and won’t stop until they are completely exhausted. Book an appointment with your veterinarian to give Tasha a complete physical exam to rule out any medical causes and review any medication that she may be taking, because certain medications can trigger anxiety and hyperactivity as side effects.
If she is indeed just a high-energy gal, you can address some behavior remedies. You’re on the right path by playing fetch with her and letting her use up her ya-ya’s at doggy day care. In addition to burning up energy, try introducing some fast-paced, combination commands designed to work her brain and her body. For example, ask Tasha to perform doggy push-ups: a rapid series of sit, down, sit, down. Once Tasha gets the hang of it, she will look like she is actually performing a canine version of our push-up. These fast movements are fun for lively dogs.
Expand her trick repertoire and teach her to do three rollovers in a row or have her circle you three times before you hand out a treat. In addition to walks and day care, let Tasha swim and fetch balls in safe waters when the weather permits. Swimming doesn’t tax the joints, provides a great aerobic workout, and is a natural activity for Labs. Check out Canine Jocks Rule on page 200 for more ideas for active dogs.
Once you have Tasha more dog-tired, you’re ready to incorporate part two of my game plan — teaching her how to settle on cue. Work on this when she is already tired. The settle signal rewards a dog for exhibiting calmness and quietness. You are reshaping her behavior by giving her frequent praise and an occasional food treat as encouragement. During quiet times, perhaps when you are watching television at night, put Tasha on a long lead. Step on one end. Whenever she plops down or sits quietly, wait a few seconds, then say settle and calmly hand over a treat. If she becomes excited, ignore her. Wait for her to quiet down again before rewarding with a treat. As she learns what is expected, gradually extend the time between your cue and her reward.
As you interact with Tasha, watch your energy response and tone of voice, too. You don’t want to accidentally accelerate her actions. At night, try giving her a purposeful massage while you speak softly and calmly. Gently praise her for toning down her energy level and reward her for moments of quiet and calm behavior. Tasha sounds like a fun dog who definitely will never bore you!
Q My best friend has three young adult miniature pinschers who don’t seem to understand that their bathroom is outside. Her house has wall-to-wall carpet and when I visit, I am taken aback by the smell of urine. The dogs may be small but the smell is strong. My friend always apologizes and dismisses the severity of the problem by saying the puddles are small and cleanup is easy and quick. I’ve had dogs all my life and currently have a large poodle who lets me know when she must go outside. She never makes messes in my house. Any advice on how to help my friend?
A If I were to identify the primary negative trait of miniature pinschers, difficulty in house-training would top the list, though this trait applies to many toy breeds. Part of the problem is that tiny dogs physically just can’t hold their bladders for as long as bigger dogs, but often the issue is that the owners don’t insist on house-training as rigorously as they would with a large dog. Some people with small breeds such as Yorkshire terriers, pugs, min pins, and dachshunds worry about putting their precious pets out in cold or wet weather or may dismiss their messes as minor lapses and overlook them. But small piddles and poops still add up to a big problem that needs to be corrected, and all dogs need to learn that their bathroom is outside.
Unlike cats, dogs do not naturally house-train themselves — they all need help to learn proper bathroom habits. In your friend’s case, she has not properly housetrained her min pin trio and her house is suffering the consequences. It’s time for you to level with her about the odor in her home. Other guests to her house may not say anything to her but will be less likely to make return visits.
Offer to work with your friend and her dogs. Take her trio to the veterinary clinic to make sure they do not have any medical condition that may be causing them to have weak bladders. Most likely, however, they urinate indoors because they don’t know the difference or they are each marking their own territory within the house with their signature scents. Male and female dogs will both display marking behavior, especially if they have not been neutered or spayed. Studies show a dramatic drop in this unwanted behavior following sterilization surgery.
Your friend must start from the beginning and completely retrain her dogs if she wants to solve this problem. Ask if she is amenable to crate training her trio or confining them to one room (like a kitchen or other room with an uncarpeted floor) when she can’t be at home to supervise them. Establish a routine in which the dogs are ushered outside as soon as they wake up in the morning, after meals, after playtime, and before bed. Encourage your friend to praise each dog every time they do their business outside. If she catches a dog in the act inside, she should clap her hands loudly to startle and distract him long enough to grab him and take him outside. The minute he does go to the bathroom outside, she can heap on the praise and give a treat.
Accidents will happen during the training process, but it is important not to become angry or frustrated. When you vent those emotions, training stops and your dogs just become fearful or confused. It is futile, and foolish, to punish dogs when they do make puddles or defecate in the house. All they will learn is to do their business secretly or when their owner is not around.
Another step your friend must take is to thoroughly clean all her carpeting and furniture with an enzyme-based product that actually destroys the protein molecules in urine and feces and eliminates odor rather than covering it up with another smell. There are many pet cleanup products on the market that work this way. Do not use any products with ammonia, because it smells enough like urine to actually attract dogs back to the scenes of their crimes. When her dogs are thoroughly trained to go out only doors and not to have accidents in the house, it sounds as though she will need to replace a great deal of carpeting and padding. When she shops for new flooring, suggest that she consider pet-friendly types like tile or laminate!
Q My seven-year-old cocker spaniels, Billy and Bessie, are champions at begging for food. They each take a position on either side of me at dinner. Every time I put a forkful in my mouth, I can feel two sets of brown eyes boring into me. They really work on me, and I end up succumbing to their begging and giving them a little bit of food from my plate. The problem is getting worse. They are now targeting my dinner guests, some of whom do not take kindly to dogs watching them eat. I want to stop this behavior, but is it too late?
A Who can resist those begging eyes? That slight drool and ever-so-subtle whimper for a piece of your meat-loaf or a spoonful of gravy? Billy and Bessie have learned that when people gather around the dining room table, lip-smacking goodies seem to fall from the sky. With such rewards, of course their begging behavior is increasing. Unfortunately, some charming beggars transform into thugs who aggressively try to take food from you. Others gain too much weight from nibbling on high-fat table food and become ideal candidates for diabetes, heart problems, arthritis, and other health problems. A little bit of leftover chicken or steak won’t hurt, but it’s important to limit their intake.
My father used to love pulling up to the drive-through window and ordering three cheeseburgers with all the fixings: two for himself and one for his dog Keesha. He stopped when Keesha became very ill with pancreatitis, a potentially fatal disease. My dad never conquered his own fast-food cravings, but he did make smarter food choices for Keesha after that. Whenever he munched on cheeseburgers in his car, she enjoyed a high-protein, low-fat dog treat from the glove compartment. She slimmed down and became healthier as a result.
As for your chowhound duo, it’s never too late to break the begging habit. When you start your retraining regime, it may be easiest to usher them into another room when you have company, so you and your guests can dine in peace. Turn on a radio and give them treat balls with holes that they must nose around to make kibble and other goodies fall out. This makes them work for their treats and keeps them occupied while you enjoy your dinner.
When it’s just the family, start new habits immediately by not giving food from your plate to Billy and Bessie. Completely ignore their pleas for food (after all, you know they are not starving). Expect their begging behavior to become worse before it improves, because they will think that if it worked before, more of the same will work again. Everyone at the table needs to ignore both dogs completely. Don’t even look at them or tell them “no begging!” They need to learn that dogs should be neither seen nor heard at the table. If Billy and Bessie persist, then teach them to down and stay while the family is eating. This gives them something to do while you finish enjoying your meal.
You cannot succeed without enlisting the aid of your friends and family members. Explain that you do not wish to have Billy and Bessie fed from the table. Let them know that you’re doing this out of concern for the health of your dogs and the comfort of your guests. If everyone at the table ignores the dogs (no eye contact, no talking, no petting — nothing!), they will eventually learn that begging no longer yields a reward and that the proper place for treats is in their bowls after the people leave the table.
Q I must keep a leash on Boomer, my terrier mix, when we take walks in the neighborhood and in our local park. Otherwise, if he spots a cat or squirrel, he takes off and no matter what I do, he doesn’t stop. He does everything he can to catch these animals. So far, they’ve all managed to escape down a hole or up a tree before Boomer can reach them, but I’m afraid he will kill anything he catches. He not only runs away on our walks, he sometimes scoots out the front door when I answer the doorbell and chases a stray cat he sees through the picture window. How can I make him pay attention to me and leave other animals alone?
A Ah, the art of the chase. Most dogs will chase anything that runs, and terriers are particularly tuned to the hunt. Some animal behaviorists believe there is a genetic component to chasing. Once certain dogs detect movement, their eyes lock in, their predatory nature kicks in, and they charge. While many canines can’t resist dogging cats or shadowing squirrels, others take on bigger prey and will scurry after skateboarders, run after runners, or chase cars, which can be embarrassing to the owner and dangerous for the dog.
Since cats and squirrels are Boomer’s preferred prey, let’s look at what’s happening with him. Some dogs chase small animals for fun; others chase to kill. From both instinct and practice, many dogs know how to grab and shake a small animal all in one motion and break its spine. Identifying a playful chase as opposed to pure predatory instinct is not easy, and you definitely don’t want to find out the hard way if Boomer is out for a romp or in for the kill. You need to stop his chasing behavior before he hurts a neighbor’s pet or chases a squirrel right in front of a moving car.
Identify as many specifics as possible when Boomer bursts into chase mode. Pay attention to the time of day, the location, the object being chased, and his specific physical and verbal actions. The more details, the better you will be able to predict his reactions and intercede to curb the chase desire. By doing this doggy detective work, you can start to identify a predictable pattern in order to come up with an effective treatment plan.
When you walk in the neighborhood or park, do not feed Boomer his full meal before you go or, even better, wait to feed him until after you return from your walk. You want him a little hungry so he will pay more attention to you. Fasten a treat pouch with his favorite goodies around your waist. You must keep Boomer on a leash while he is learning to pay attention to you. Each time you spot a cat, squirrel, bird, or any moving target, reorient Boomer to look at you by telling him watch me. (See To Err is Human, page 153 for more on this cue.) Then have him sit politely to earn a treat while he ignores these furry temptations. The goal is for Boomer to learn a new association. As he discovers that he gets a prized treat whenever he sees a cat, bird, or squirrel, he will look to you instead of speeding after these critters.
As for his bolting out the door, put him on a leash before you head for the door, especially if you can tell from his behavior that he has chasing on his mind. Always make him sit or stay before you allow him out the door. Do the same when you return from a walk so he gets the idea that he must stop and sit whenever he approaches a door. As he learns, practice leaving the door open for a few moments while he sits nicely (keep that leash on him, though!).
Throughout, please be patient, as the chase drive is very strong in terriers, and changing Boomer’s behavior may take a lot of time and repeated commands. For dogs with strong chase drives, holding a stay is very challenging. With some dogs, the urge to chase is just too strong to trust them off-leash in areas with squirrels and cats.
In addition to teaching Boomer better self-control, I also recommend improving his recall so that he can chase after an acceptable object such as a tennis ball or dog toy. When he heeds your call to come, reward him by flinging the acceptable toy in different directions and encourage him to give chase.
Q My dogs, Fred and Ginger, are terrier mixes who enjoy off-leash romps and love to snoop around in the woods. I like letting them run free, but there are poisonous snakes in our area and I want to keep them safe. Is there any way to get them to stay away from snakes and other dangerous wild animals?
A The primary culprit behind dogs and snakebites is canine curiosity. Most dogs love to poke their noses in shrubs, thick grasses, and other spots that may harbor snakes, skunks, or other wild creatures not so wild about dogs. Even though some dogs are naturally afraid of snakes, others respond to the sight of a coiled rattler with intense interest or even aggression. If a snake ventures into their turf, some dogs will fight first and suffer the consequences later.
According to my friend Kelly Burch, who has successfully taught hundreds of dogs to just say no to snakes, training begins in an outdoor setting. In his classes, the dogs are fitted with a special collar that emits warning signals and then kept on leashes as the instructor shows them a live, defanged rattlesnake. When the dog gets near the snake, the trainer releases an electric pulse from the dog’s collar that teaches the dogs to associate the snake with an unpleasant experience. That’s important because dogs have a tendency to hear a sound and hurry to check it out. They risk getting bitten in the face if they rush in and come face to face with a startled, angry snake.
In addition to helping dogs stay away from snakes in any locale, from hiking trails to their own backyards, snake-avoidance training can save human lives. Snakes are hard to spot, and hikers sometimes don’t see them until it is too late. A snake-trained dog with superior senses, however, can alert his human pals to stay away from places with snakes and avoid a potential accident.
TREATING SNAKEBITE IN DOGS
If your dog does get bitten by a snake, don’t panic. The vast majority of venomous snake bites are not fatal to dogs, but you should seek medical care.
Walk slowly back to your car, or carry your dog if possible. Excessive movement spreads the venom more quickly.
A snakebite is often very painful and may cause the gentlest of dogs to bite, so do not handle the wound directly.
Do not apply ice to the wound or apply a tourniquet or attempt to suck out the venom.
Do you share your home with a four-legged jock? Once you’ve laid down a foundation of basic obedience training, there are lots of organized sports activities for you and your dog to enjoy together. Here are a few to think about.
AGILITY. This sport appeals to dogs who love to conquer obstacle courses. Whether for fun or for competition, agility challenges dogs to wiggle through weave poles, jump through tires, climb up and down ramps and dash through tunnels. This sport is all about posting clean runs and quick times. Learn more about the various groups sponsoring agility events by visiting the Dog Patch Web site at www.dogpatch.org. Or visit the United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA), open to dogs of all sizes and breeds, at www.usdaa.com. Another resource is the North American Dog Agility Council at www.nadac.org. Purebreds registered with the American Kennel Club can compete in AKC agility; find out more at www.akc.org.
FLYING DISCS. This sport caters to dogs who love to leap, chase, and snag plastic discs hurled into the air by their owners. Points are based on the distance and difficulty of the catch. Open to dogs of all breeds and mixes. For more details, contact the International Disc Dog Handlers’ Association at www.iddha.com or the Skyhoundz Hyperflite Canine Disc World Championship at www.skyhoundz.com.
FLYBALL. Does your dog love to play tag and catch balls? Flyball may be his sport. Flyball is a relay race involving four-dog teams. Each dog zips down a lane, leaping over hurdles, to catch a launched tennis ball and race back to his starting point. The fastest team wins. To learn more, contact the North American Flyball Association at www.flyballdogs.com.
HERDING. Some dogs have built-in abilities to shepherd sheep, cattle, and other animals from Point A to Point B without bullying or harming the livestock. Learn more by visiting the American Herding Breed Association’s Web site at www.ahba-herding.org.
LURE COURSING. For dogs with a strong chase drive, this sport uses an artificial lure connected to a long line strung around a series of pulleys. The lure zigzags around a course with points awarded based on a dog’s speed and ability to follow it. More information is available at the American Sighthound Field Association Web site: www.asfa.org.
CANINE MUSICAL FREESTYLE. Love to dance with your dog? This sport spotlights human and dog partners performing choreographed moves to music. To learn more about this unusual activity, contact the Canine Freestyle Federation at www.canine-freestyle.org or the World Canine Freestyle Organization at www.worldcaninefreestyle.org.
