The Amazing Ripley loves to exercise his brain and body while playing Treibball.

This fall I was invited by Elsie from Pawzitive Attitudes in Regina to participate in a pilot class for an emerging dog sport called Treibball (pronounced “tribe-ball”).  Elsie recognized that winter is especially tough on dogs who become housebound.  “Exercising the mind is as important or even more so with some dogs because all the physical exercise in the world won’t calm a dog who is mentally underworked.”  Last year, with great success, Elsie introduced indoor scent games (now called Canine Brain Games).  This year, as an additional option to help stave off cabin fever – both for dogs and their two-legged friends – Elsie is offering Treibball and two easier versions: Puppy Treibball and DogBall (an offshoot of Treibball).

If you’ve never heard of Treibball before, it’s best to look up some videos on the Internet to understand it.  The dog sport was developed in Germany and can be described as a combination of herding and billiards, but instead of herding sheep into a pen, the dogs have ten minutes to push, in a certain order, eight large exercise balls into a goal.  The eight balls are worth different points and are set up in a triangle like billiards; the handler directs the dog to specific balls using herding commands. The dogs cannot push the balls with their paws but must move the ball using their snouts or other body parts. The handler can use a herding staff to help move the balls into the goal but must remain within arm’s reach (18 to 24 inches) of the goal and off the playing field.  As I mentioned earlier, it’s best to see it.  Treibball is open to any breed and any size (smaller dogs use smaller balls) and is great for dogs that like to chase or herd.  It’s fun and can provide various levels of exercise depending on the abilities of each dog, but most importantly, it stimulates the mind and can be played indoors.

I was thrilled at the chance to participate in the pilot class even though I don’t have my own dog.  Thankfully, a kind friend graciously offered to let me borrow Ripley, one of her four dogs – dogs she lovingly refers to as the Four Dogs of the Apocalypse.  Ripley, an exuberant two and a half year old Portuguese Water Dog still in the throes of perpetual adolescence, was in dire need of something to channel his energy and stimulate his mind.  The Treibball class seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Week One:

Ripley surprised me.  Based on his usual behaviour while on walks in the neighbourhood, I anticipated that he would be over-stimulated by the presence of other dogs in the class, but instead he focused entirely on me, the two-legged treat dispenser.  Even the stressed dog beside us couldn’t draw Ripley’s attention away from the wiener pieces I was doling out as we began the basics of Clicker Training.

Ripley was new to Clicker Training, but he picked it up almost immediately.  The hand touch was easy for him to figure out, and the target stick was mastered once I put a treat on the end of it.   Ripley was “on fire” and I tried to match his pace.  He eventually became a little frustrated with me as I fumbled along, trying to get the order of things and my timing of the clicks right while managing the numerous items in my hands: clicker, treats, leash, target stick.  We took a break – as much for me as for Ripley.  My hands were covered in hot dog slime, but I petted him anyway and he didn’t seem to mind.  The short break helped me and we spent the rest of the lesson practicing and having a blast.  I brought Ripley back to his home happy and smelling of hotdog, something I’m sure his fellow four-legs appreciated.  

Week Two:

I was a bad student.  Borrowing someone else’s dog isn’t the ideal situation, and despite my best intentions, I had not made time to practice at all during the week.  Reminding myself that the class was just for fun, I rationalized that it would be an interesting experiment to see how much Ripley could learn without any practice during the week. 

Just like the previous week, Ripley was unconcerned with the other dogs and was ready to work for hog dog pieces.  We reviewed the skills from last week, and Ripley surprised me again by performing as if we had been practicing all week.  When Elsie had us move on to new skills, “The Amazing Ripley” performed as if he could read my mind.  He oriented himself directly opposite me (like 6 and 12 on a clock face) and adjusted his position as I moved in an arc to the left and the right  (8 and 2, 4 and 10).  When we added the big exercise ball, setting it in between us, it became obvious that Ripley did not want the ball to get between him and his two-legged treat dispenser.  It didn’t help matters either when the ball wouldn’t stop rolling on the slanted floor.  Treat delivery was slowing down and Ripley wasn’t sure how to speed things up again.  He became frustrated and learning was not happening.  Earlier that day Ripley had been out for a two-hour romp with the other dogs, so he was probably a bit tired and over-stimulated.  We decided change to some easier skills and end class early on a good note.  We’d run out of treats anyway.  It seems I need more work on dropping one treat at a time instead of ten. 

 Week Three:

Ripley was a rock star again.  There was no class the previous week, so it had been two weeks since Ripley’s last training session.  This combined with the distraction of having his mom there to watch the class could have been too much, but it wasn’t.  Maybe he was extra motivated by the yummy premium sausage pieces his mom brought for him.  During the review of the skills learned so far, it was obvious that the lack of practice was my problem.  I fumbled again with the items in my hands and I sometimes mixed up the order of cue-click-treat.  I saw that other participants were stepping on the leash instead of holding it, and I found that helped a lot.

We started to work on directing our dogs to move to the left and the right, and we used a small orange cone to serve as an obstacle.  The leash tipped over the cone and tangled around me and had to be “sorted out” constantly.  This was slowing down the treat delivery and Ripley was not pleased.  He became frustrated as he tried to figure out what he was supposed to do to get me to click and drop a treat, and he began to jump and do air snaps with his jaws.  I slowed things down and broke the task into smaller segments.  I lured him to the front.  Click-treat. I cued him to sit.  Click-treat. I had him stay while I moved to the other side of the orange cone and got into position.  I gestured for Ripley to move around the cone.   Instead he barreled right over it, knocking it over as if it were a target to hit.  Well, it was the shortest distance between two points, so I couldn’t blame him.  I was becoming a tad frustrated, too, and I wondered if I was doing something wrong.  But I looked at Ripley: his tail wagging, his mouth smiling, and his eyes sparkling with anticipation of the next “treat delivery opportunity” and I knew I was doing it right.  Ripley was having fun.  That was all that mattered.

After a short break for me to get things straight in my head, we got back to the fun.  I’m not sure what I did differently, but Ripley moved around the cone.  We practiced it again and again.  I hoped Ripley would remember it for next week.

During another short break while Elsie explained something new, I knelt on the mat while Ripley sniffed around our little area.  I felt his nose by my right shoulder and when I turned we were eye-to-eye and he was wearing his doggy grin.  He then looked to his right, directly at the bag of sausage pieces resting on the chair, and turned to look at me again as if to say, “Well? What are you waiting for? Let’s get to work.”  To make sure I understood his message, Ripley released a sausage belch. 

Week Four:

Our lack of practice was starting to show.  We were supposed to combine multiple skills into a sequence, but Ripley hadn’t learned some of them well enough.  And neither had I as I struggled to remember that “Come By” is clockwise and “Away to Me” is counter clockwise.  At one point in the lesson, I tried to get Ripley to move from my side, out and around until he was lined up directly behind the ball, and then lie down (or at least stand and stay).  Ripley and I were having quite a bit of trouble, mainly due to our lack of practice during the weeks, and I asked Elsie for some help.  We divided the sequence into smaller segments to help Ripley understand and that helped a lot.  Later, during a break while Elsie explained the next exercise, Ripley decided it was time to get back to work and walked over to the exact position and stood there expectantly.  I had to click and reward him exuberantly.  No way was I going to miss the opportunity.  I hoped Elsie didn’t think I was being rude. 

Thanks to Ripley’s motivation and mindreading skills we’ve managed to keep up with the class fairly well without any practice during the week.  Now if only I could improve my accuracy and stop tossing treats into Ripley’s fur.

 Week Five:

This week Ripley showed a lot of improvement.  He seemed much calmer and was able to wait longer between treats and during breaks while Elsie gave instructions.  It helped that we didn’t learn any new behaviours this week but practiced last week’s sequences instead.  This gave Ripley and I some much needed practice time. 

One thing I knew Ripley needed to practice was the “push” cue.  We didn’t have much room in class so Ripley had only ever pushed the ball once rather than a series of pushes.  He’s a big dog and one push was all that was needed to get the ball to roll a couple feet to the goal.  He also pushes the ball with his chest rather than his snout, a technique I’m sure he chose to ensure he could keep his eyes on the treats coming out of my hand.  I asked Elsie about this and she said it was legal, as long as he didn’t use his paws.  If I had time I could train him to roll the ball with his snout by placing treats under the ball, but I figured I’d be happy with what I got.  Why fix what isn’t broken? 

 Week Six:

Ripley proved to be a master at reading human body language.  We worked on a new skill: getting the dog to back up in a straight line.  In the centre of the room Elsie placed rails on the floor wide enough apart for the dog and the handler to work between.  The rails were to encourage each dog to “back up” in a straight line away from his handler. Ripley figured out right away that I was asking him to back up, but this was not what I found amazing.  It happened while practicing on the sidelines as we waited our turn to work inside the rails. Ripley, several feet way, backed up slightly crooked; I unconsciously jutted out my left hip and angled my body slightly – as if I were trying to nudge him into position.  To my complete surprise Ripley straightened out.  It was not something I had planned, just an instinctive movement on my part. I knew dogs were good as reading human body language but I had no idea how good.

Week Seven:

 Today was the final class and we worked on back chaining:  combining all the pieces together bit-by-bit but starting at the end and working our way slowly to the beginning of the chain of behaviours.  After connecting all the pieces, we each took turns working in the centre of the room; this allowed more space to work from a distance and more space to push the ball across the goal.  I watched the other teams, pleased by their progress and fascinated by how different each dog’s style was.  When it came to our turn, I wasn’t sure how Ripley would perform, but we worked with what he could do at a distance he was comfortable with.  Two exercise balls were set up about eight feet away from the goal line.  Using “Back Up” and “Come By” and “Stay” I managed to line him up behind one of the balls.  It was time for Ripley to push the ball across the goal and I wondered if I could line him up again for a second push of the same ball. I gave the push cue and Ripley bumped the ball firmly with his chest.  It rolled across the goal and we all cheered.  No second push was needed.  As required in Treibball, I gave the “Down” cue and Ripley thumped happily to the ground, wagging his tail and wearing his wide doggy grin as he waited for his piece of hotdog.  I gave him a jackpot of several pieces and released him with a happy “That’ll Do!” 

Ripley and I had a lot of fun in the Treibball class, and I wonder what he could have accomplished had I been able to practice with him during the week.  I’m sure we’ll play Treibball at home when we can, especially when the weather is intolerable.  Who knows, maybe you’ll see “The Amazing Ripley” on the Treibball circuit one day.

For more information on Elsie’s Treibball classes call 345-2475, email pawzdogzone@gmail.com or visit www.pawzitiveattitudes.com

While browsing the New Books section at the Regina Public Library I picked up a copy of Reaching the Animal Mind: clicker training and what it teaches us about all animals by Karen Pryor (2009).  (It has a smiling dog on the cover.  How could I resist?) I recognized the name Karen Pryor, a well-known respected trainer and author of several books on animal behaviour, and knew it would be an engaging read.  I was not disappointed.

Don’t let the title fool you into thinking this is a technical read for clicker trainers. This book is full of fascinating anecdotes that will engage readers of any level of expertise, especially those who are curious about animal and human behaviour. Pryor shares the latest scientific knowledge of how animals’ brains work (including human brains) and why punishment-free training and teaching methods are so effective.  Even in its human application, called TAGteaching, it has shown amazing results for coaches and teachers of students with developmental problems.

As a bonus, there is a website to supplement the book (www.reachingtheanimalmind.com). The site includes related articles, links, photos, and, best of all, videos to illustrate examples mentioned in the book.  I highly recommend the footage of the clicker trained fish (See Chapter 4 section) and “Shaping Demonstration: Blowing Bubbles” (See Chapter 2 section).

If you love animals and instinctively know that they have far more intelligence and a greater emotional range than many “experts” believe, you will enjoy this book as I did. I know in my heart that Pryor and her scientific work will continue to help improve the lives of all animals.

Frankie, a loveable Boxer, has benefited greatly from homeopathy.

When I first heard the term veterinary homeopathy I immediately thought of black and white advertisements crammed together in the back pages of a magazine, ads promising to help us grow hair, contact our loved ones from the beyond, make piles of money from home, and lose weight without effort.  This skepticism by association would have continued had it not been for my addiction to all things dog leading me to the Conexus Pet Expo 2011 in Regina.  There I attended a short seminar presented by Dr. Marilyn Sthamann*, one of about fifty Certified Veterinary Homeopaths in Canada, and her presentation on veterinary homeopathy sparked a curiosity in me that I had to pursue.

* Dr. Sthamann, DVM, CVH, works at the Lakewood Animal Hospital in Regina (LakewoodAnimalHospital.ca).

For the rest of this article, contact oberhund @ myaccess . ca

Frankie and Liz

For four years, Liz and her beloved Boxer, Frankie, had been living a nightmare.  Frankie had problems since the first day Liz brought her home at 8 weeks: highly inflamed ears she wouldn’t let anyone touch; open “hot spots” all over the top of her head, muzzle, and nose; itchy paws she constantly licked; and digestive problems, including severe diarrhea.  At one year old, Frankie was diagnosed as “atopic” (severe allergies, usually skin problems).  For the next three years, every day seemed to bring a new symptom and Liz was in constant contact with the vet clinic.

“I was fortunate to have a great vet who was willing to work with me and my very sick dog,” says Liz.  “For four years my vet had been treating Frankie with traditional (allopathic) medicine.  She would respond quickly, but the results didn’t last.”

By 2008, it was obvious to Liz and her vet that Frankie was not doing well and traditional medicine wasn’t working.  Dr. Ward suggested a homeopathic avenue and referred Liz to Dr. Sthamann. “I did not believe in homeopathy, but I was at the point with Frankie that I had nothing to lose.”

Liz and Frankie had a consult with Dr. Sthamann during which she asked about Frankie’s history and examined her.  The consult took about one hour and at the end Liz left with a few naturopathic products to help Frankie, including slippery elm for her gut, and Frankie’s first homeopathic remedy (liquid form, 10 drops once or twice a day).  Frankie was put on a fast to clean out her system. Next, Liz introduced the natural products for her gut and diarrhea, and Frankie was put on a raw diet.

“It was like a miracle,” says Liz. “Frankie responded quickly, as she had with the allopathic medicines, but this time the results lasted. There have been relapses over the last four years, but at each step Frankie got better and better. I know many people won’t believe me, but I could see her improve visually from day-to-day.” Liz emphatically believes Frankie’s improvements were a combination of things, with homeopathy being a large part of it.

“Frankie’s not a healthy normal dog: she still takes some medications and she still has to wear a sweater all the time to help with her environmental issues.  But I strongly believe that had I not turned to homeopathic veterinary medicine, I would have had to put her down since her condition was deteriorating so quickly.  Today, Frankie has a good quality of life and she’s not suffering.  These are things we could not have said when she was a year to two years old.”

“I think homeopathy is great if you can find the right person. I gained a dog in the end.”

How did Sue Ailsby, who lives just outside Regina, become the training advisor for this group based in California?   Sue is a well-known trainer and has given Clicker Training seminars all over North America since the 1990’s. “Some Freedom Dogs members had been attending my seminars in various cities,” explains Sue, “and eventually they approached me and said ‘You know, it would be a whole lot easier if you just came to California.’” Sue agreed and for the past six or seven years she has been traveling to southern California two or three times a year, volunteering her time to help train the Freedom Dog trainers.

Sue had preconceptions of what behaviours she’d be teaching; she expected that the dogs would need to be trained to help with physical injuries, such as carrying a camera bag, but that turned out not to be the case.  It was far more complicated and Sue had to get creative. “They can’t go to Walmart,” explains Sue when describing the problems faced by the marines with PTSD. “In their minds, bad things happen in public places; in public places there is no one to watch your back.”

Sue figured that a dog could be trained to offer behaviours that would interrupt and redirect a marine who was in the early stages of a PTS episode, but she knew that the Marine would be unable to step outside his own reality to offer a command.  How could these dogs be trained to recognize the common early symptoms of a PTS episode? Through the dog’s nose, of course.  By using the scent of adrenaline, a hormone the marines excrete during PTS episodes, the dogs are trained to offer a variety of behaviours to interrupt and distract the Marine.  Sue had each Marine provide an unwashed t-shirt that was worn during a recent PTS episode, and she used that as the cue to train the dogs to offer behaviours such as nudging, pawing at the Marine’s leg, pulling on the leash, turning away to watch behind the Marine’s back, and circling to keep an empty space around the Marine.  “To the average observer it would look like the dog was behaving poorly – pawing, pestering, pulling – but the dog is purposefully offering trained behaviours designed to distract and refocus the Marine.”

What makes a good Freedom Dog?  Intelligence is important: the dogs need to be able to learn and master a new behaviour in one day, but the dog must also have a stable temperament.  Just like other services dogs, Freedom Dogs must be able to remain calm and controlled in a variety of public places with various scenarios.  To illustrate this, Sue shares an experience during a training exercise at the military base about a year ago. “There were some visitors on the base and the officials set off a demo bomb for these visitors, but someone forgot to warn the Wounded Warrior Battalion and the Freedom Dog group.  During the session, a bomb went off nearby.  There was an air pressure wave, the walls shook, and the dust fell from the ceiling.  The Marines immediately hit the floor for cover, but the dogs didn’t think much of it at all.  The dogs seemed curious as to why the Marines were on the floor.”

As well as being intelligent with a stable temperament, a Freedom Dog needs to be of a certain size.  “These are Marines; they need a solid, larger dog, like a Lab.  A Chihuahua won’t cut it for them,” Sue laughs.   However, there may be a place for some medium-sized breeds, as in the case of the Marine who was afraid of dogs.  He really wanted the benefits of the Freedom Dog program but was afraid of dogs, so Sue let him work with her own service dog, Stitch, a Portuguese Water Dog.  He had a little trouble giving Stitch treats during the clicker training sessions: she kept coming faster and faster for the treats and this was making him nervous.  Sue pointed out to him that he was inadvertently teaching Stitch to hurry for the treats because he kept trying to pull away as he delivered them.  Sue instructed the Marine to remedy this by putting the treat directly into Stitch’s mouth, thereby eliminating her need to hurry for the treat.

Unlike most service dogs, Freedom Dogs are not with the Marines all the time; instead they are used during the acute phase of the Marine’s recovery.  At the beginning, the dog accompanies the Marine to the psychiatrist appointments, which helps the Marine to open up; later the dog starts to accompany the Marine to other appointments.  For example, a trip to the convenience store might begin with the Marine going into the store with the dog and the trainer. Then, it might progress to the Marine going into the store with the dog while the trainer waits outside.  It is hoped that eventually the Marine will be able to go into the store on his own.

The acute phase of the recovery varies from weeks to years.  It’s a long process, but it is a very successful program.  Sue recalls how one Marine described his experience: “He said his front brain knows that there is no danger and that the dog is not a guard dog or a bomb detection dog, but the lizard part of his brain thinks danger is present and that if the dog is calm, he can afford to be calm as well.”

Sue finds her work with Freedom Dogs emotionally difficult at times but highly rewarding.  “One of the hardest parts of this work is listening to the boys tell their stories and watching them trying to cope with the devastation of how the war has affected them.”  Sue has faced some criticism for her work with Freedom Dogs.  “Sometimes people will say to me, ‘How can you support the American military? The War?’ But in my mind I’m not doing these things.  These Marines are kids. They didn’t know what they were getting into.  One eighteen-year-old boy lost both his arms one week after he was deployed.  In my mind this work has nothing to do with politics or supporting the war.  These guys are broken and I’m doing what I can to help them get better.”  And the program is succeeding.  For Sue, the best part is seeing the positive results and she is especially thrilled when she sees Marines who’ve been through the program return to help Marines new to the program.

Paws up for Freedom Dogs and the volunteers who help run the program.

Watching dogs watch other dogs on television is one of my favourite things to do. I’ll sit through pretty much any show as long as a dog is in it, and if I’m with a dog who also enjoys seeing dogs on television, there is no question of changing the channel. With the popularity of dog training shows, the odds of finding a program with a dog in it are good.

The prevalence of dog training shows appeals to the dog-aholic in all of us, but, as with most things, there is both a positive side and a negative side. Most of these shows do a good job of showing viewers that there is hope for many dogs, that most behaviour problems can be corrected, and that often problems stem from a lack of knowledge on the part of the humans. As well, many of these celebrity trainers advocate providing for a dog’s needs and instincts, helping viewers understand that dogs are not toys or little people. However, the problem with many of these dog-training shows is that they are just that: shows. Their overall purpose is to entertain, and so education becomes secondary to creating a thirty- or sixty- minute show full of exciting “jolts” that will keep viewers watching through the commercials.

Because these shows sacrifice education for entertainment, it would be unwise to use these shows exclusively as a knowledge source. (Think of home renovation shows. How hard could it be, right? Sure, you can pick up some useful tips, but you need more information to do it right.) Viewers often get an unrealistic idea of the effort and time that is required. What can take hours or even months can be edited down to mere minutes. As well, viewers often get an incomplete explanation of the technique or the impression that the technique requires no preliminary training or knowledge. This can easily lead to problems and frustration. Crate training is one example where if you proceed too quickly or use the crate inappropriately, the crate becomes a punishment and a new problem instead of a solution.

In my opinion, two of the most serious problems with people using these shows as their main sources of training information is firstly, the techniques used may be presented as safe or based on positive reinforcement, and secondly, the techniques may be interpreted as a one-size- fits-all solution.

In one show, to get a dog to stop pulling on a leash, the trainer suggests looping the leash around one’s waist then sprinting full speed and stopping abruptly. Sure, it can create results: the dogs on the show eventually learn to stay nearby and keep their eyes glued on the person with the leash, but at what cost? They are responding out of a fear of discomfort: they want to avoid being yanked at the neck when they fail to follow closely.This technique not only weakens the bond of trust and love between a dog and his person, but also creates the potential for injury to the dog and the person. I cringe when I see dogs running full force to the end of the leash and worry when I think of how easily someone could get tangled in the leash or pulled off balance by an unpredictable lunge. (Some viewers may confuse the previous technique with a similar looking one. Looping the leash through your waistband and having your dog follow you as you walk around in a controlled environment such as your house is a gentler, safer way to teach your dog to follow you rather than pull you. Note the differences.)

Often these shows include scenes where the trainers bring their own dogs into their clients’ homes, sometimes to show how a “good” dog should behave, or to provide a situation where unwanted behaviour by the “bad” dog can be corrected. There is so much potential here for things to go awry that I often have to change the channel. The editing makes it seem that this is the first meeting and that there are no safety precautions taken, and I worry when I think of someone trying this at home.

Sometimes people try the techniques with other people’s dogs. A fellow dog owner shared with me her recent experience with this at the dog park. A man in the park didn’t like her large dog sniffing around his smaller dogs, so, imitating a technique he saw by a celebrity trainer, he made his hand like a dog’s teeth and gave a correction to the large dog’s neck. According to the celebrity trainer, this is supposed to mimic what a dog would do to signal to another dog that he is “out of line.” What the man at the park didn’t know was that the lady’s dog was recovering from a serious ear infection and that the area was very tender. Thankfully, her dog did not retaliate with a bite to protect her tender neck area, but one really couldn’t blame the dog if she had. It would have been a natural, instinctive reaction. This television show did not convey that there are signals that the man could have used to communicate to the dog that he wanted him to back off – signals that do not require touching the dog at all.

What these shows don’t communicate well is that every dog is different and every situation is different. What might be tolerable for some dogs is detrimental to others. High-strung, reactive dogs tend to escalate their emotional state when they are jerked or prodded, which can result in minor problems becoming major ones. Sometimes these trainers promote risky, controversial methods, such as flooding. Basically, the flooding technique forces the dog to face his fears until he gives up or shuts down. Flooding overwhelms the dog’s nervous system and is generally considered a harsh technique that only dogs with very solid temperaments can recover from. A nervous or anxious dog does not have a solid temperament and there is a very real risk that flooding would make the problems worse and create an emotional wreck. As well, your dog would now associate you with a traumatic experience; so much for the bond of trust. A more appropriate approach would include gradual desensitization and counter-conditioning, but these don’t make for very exciting television.

Training your dog takes time, repetition, gradual progression, patience, and consistency, and it also takes a solid knowledge base of how dogs communicate and learn. A solid base can be gained from reputable and varied resources and it should be maintained. As experts continue to attempt to get into the minds of canines, accepted theories evolve and dog-training techniques improve. By building and maintaining a solid knowledge base, we can more easily sort out the useful bits from these shows.

I’ll still keep watching for the entertainment factor and so will my four-legged furry friends. Perhaps one day there will be a channel dedicated to dog-related content and then maybe there will be some room for dog training shows with an educational focus. The Dog Channel: all about dogs for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I dare to dream.

Recommended reading to begin a good knowledge base:

• The Dog Whisperer: a compassionate, nonviolent approach to dog training by Paul Owens (2007, c1999) (NOTE: not to be confused with Cesar Millan’s book)
• The Dog Who Would Be King: tales and surprising lessons from a pet psychologist (1999) by John C. Wright, Ph.D.
• Don’t Shoot the Dog! by Karen Pryor (1999)
• Family Friendly Dog Training by Patricia B. McConnell and Aimee Moore (2006)
• Feisty Fido: help for the leash-aggressive dog by Patricia B. McConnell & Karen B. London (2003)
• How Dogs Think: what the world looks like to them and why they act the way they do by Stanley Coren (2005)
• How to be the Leader of the Pack … and Have Your Dog Love You For It! by Patricia B. McConnell (2007)
• How to Speak Dog: mastering the art of dog-human communication by Stanley Coren (2000)
• The Intelligence of Dogs: a guide to the thoughts, emotions, and inner lives of our canine companions by Stanley Coren (2006)
• The Other End of the Leash: why we do what we do around dogs by Patricia B. McConnell (2002)

Gunner, a four-year old Border Collie who was rescued in 2007, loves his volunteer work with the St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program.

Gunner, a four-year old Border Collie, is one of the most tolerant dogs I’ve ever met.  For 15 minutes he’s been laying quietly on his left side on a towel on the floor while three boys simultaneously groom their own piece of him: one boy at the head and shoulders, the second boy at the hind legs and belly, and the third boy at the tail – with its long, tangled, Border Collie hair.  Cathy, Gunner’s two-legged partner, is sitting on the floor with the boys and is patiently showing the proper brushing techniques for the various tools.  Gunner doesn’t seem to mind the novice, often exuberant grooming, sometimes rolling a bit to expose more belly to scratch.

Cathy and Gunner, a dog/handler team from the St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program, are visiting a structured learning classroom, something they’ve been doing every second week since late February 2011.  The students range from grades 5 to 7 and come with behavioural issues such as Asbergers’, ADHD, and ODD.  The activities vary for each visit: sometimes they go outside to throw the ball for Gunner, or let him run through obstacle courses, or practice walking him on a leash. This day the rain restricts the activities to indoors, so Cathy is having them groom Gunner.

The three boys are attentive and ask Cathy all sorts of questions while they groom: “Is it true that ticks suck your blood and then crawl inside you?” “How old is Gunner in dog years?” “Is it spring or fall?” (I was wondering the same thing, myself.)  The information shared during the visits, although important, isn’t the main goal.  Sure, there is educational value as the kids acquire and are able to retain information, but the real value rests with Gunner.   He serves as a conduit that helps to build the students’ confidence; his presence helps encourage the students to engage and communicate while they learn appropriate social behaviours and responsibilities.  Sometimes their visits require the boys to problem solve.  During one visit the boys placed a rod for Gunner to jump over while he retrieved toys the boys were tossing for him.  Gunner, however, was not jumping over the rod but was going under it.  Cathy asked the boys to come up with ideas that would solve the problem and they came up with two solutions: one was to lower the bar and the other was to drape a towel over the rod. Both solutions worked and everyone, including Gunner, had fun.

Part of what makes Gunner so appealing to the kids is his heart-wrenching story.  He was found in a rural area near Prince Albert during a very cold winter in 2007 with three bullet wounds to his muzzle.  He was brought to a vet in Prince Albert, and after an examination the vet discovered the bullets (22 shells) had lodged in Gunner’s neck muscles. (And they’re still there today.)  No one claimed him so the vet clinic called Border Collie Friends Rescue in Prince Albert; they took care of him, gave him the name “Gunner” and began to find him a new home.  Gunner’s foster mom was in Regina for an agility match and she brought him with her since he was still recovering.  “My neighbour saw Gunner and said he was just the dog for me,” recalls Cathy.  “I took him home to meet my other dog at the time and I fell in love.  He is totally awesome!”

All too soon the trio’s “Gunner Time” is over; they finish by each taking Gunner for a short walk down the hallway (on his leash, of course), and it’s the next group’s turn with Gunner.  He happily lies down on his other side for a second session of group grooming.  I wonder how Gunner will feel about another 15 minutes of tail brushing, but I don’t stay to watch.  Instead, I use this time to speak with the teacher.

It turns out the class is not new to animal therapy; the students visit a horse ranch regularly for such a purpose.  The teacher heard about the St. John Ambulance Dog Therapy Program through her school’s counselor, and she is very happy to have Cathy and Gunner come for visits.  The kids really enjoy their time with Gunner, and some of them even know what his true purpose is for, often making statements such as “Gunner is here; now it’s time for us to express our feelings.”

 Cathy and Gunner end their school visit with a 20-minute session with a girl in grade 4 from a different program.  She loves to read to Gunner and on this visit he learned all about wildebeests, lifting his head to look at the pictures when asked and thumping his well-groomed tail at the exciting parts.  He just started to learn about giant pandas before the time ran out.

The St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program in Saskatchewan was restarted in 2007, and today there are 105 teams in Saskatchewan, 23 of them child-tested teams.  The Therapy Dog teams visit facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, and schools, but teams are also often invited to various events because a dog will always draw an audience.  “Lately there is an increasing demand for child-tested teams, in particular, especially for schools, so we’re definitely looking for more volunteers,” says Amanda Kish, Director of Community Services for St. John Ambulance (Saskatchewan Council). “It takes a special person and dog to become a St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Team.  Those that become volunteers find their lives changed once they see how much their visits mean to those they come in contact with.  To have witnessed the amount of joy and benefit this program has brought to communities, individuals, adults and children across the province is truly a great honour.”

Not just anyone with a dog can be a volunteer team.  Handlers must have a well-socialized dog with the right temperament (no aggression allowed), free time during the day, and be able to commit to a minimum of 60 hours per year.  The application process includes a volunteer manual with rules and information to learn, a criminal records check, references, and then the handler/dog evaluation.   Once accepted into the program, handler/dog teams must have a minimum of ten successful visits in an adult facility before they can apply to get a child testing evaluation.

The handler/dog evaluations are held in the spring and fall, both in Regina and Saskatoon. (Child testing evaluations are done on a “as needed basis.”)  During the evaluation, different scenarios are set up to simulate different experiences the dogs might encounter on a visit.   One of the scenarios involves the dog being surrounded by chairs that are slowly pushed closer and closer to him.   Dogs are tested to see how they react to wheelchairs, people with walkers or canes, loud noises, and in the case of child testing, a floor full of very tempting toys with some young children actively playing.

Donna Lewis, one of the evaluators, estimates that about 80% of the teams pass the evaluation.  “The most common reason for failure is the handler being unable to control the dog at all times with no pulling, lunging, or jumping,” says Donna. “You can imagine what would happen if a dog raced out of a room into a hallway in a nursing home and crashed into a frail resident.”  Donna, a dog trainer for over 30 years, has been a Provincial Evaluator for St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program for five years.  She was appointed shortly after being certified in the program with Flash, a Sheltie who passed away in 2010 at the age of 13, and loves her work with the therapy teams. “I really look for the best in each and every dog coming through the program. Some are born to be therapy dogs; you can see it in their eyes.”

I asked Donna if she would like to share some of her experiences with the Therapy Dog Program, and she was happy to oblige:

“I accompanied a new team to their facility one afternoon, and while there we came across a male resident sitting outside of his room in a high wheel chair with a tray on it. This man did not speak or show any emotion at all. He just stared straight ahead. The handler picked up the dog and placed her on his tray. She sat very still as if she was waiting for something. Slowly, the man’s hands both came up at the same time and touched this little black dog on her sides and kept his hands there. The dog continued to sit very still. The man never spoke, never moved, never blinked, but you could tell he felt a connection with her. It brought me to tears, and always does every time I tell people this story. It warms your heart, and you know that this program is very important to the people and families involved.

“We have one team that visits a ward at a seniors’ residence where some of the people are semi-comatose. The staff members ask for the dog to bark because they notice this sound brings some voluntary movement and facial expression to some of the residents. Then there are the blind people and the people with severe arthritis who rarely move but will reach out and touch a dog. There are many people who had a dog forty years ago and still cry when remembering their beloved dog. I often think one day this will be me. I hope someone brings a dog for me to pet and to talk to and to remember what life once was.”

I feel the same way.

If you are interested in volunteering with the St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program or would like more information about the program or booking visits, call the provincial headquarters in Regina at 522-7226 or visit www.sja.ca/Saskatchewan.

Ripley, a boisterous two-year old Portuguese Water Dog, chose to model the Thundershirt(TM) shortly after it was put on him.

Please be aware that a pet’s behaviour, especially sudden changes in it, can be a symptom of a medical issue.  Be sure to consult your veterinarian regarding your pet’s health, diet, and supplements.

Summer can be a stressful time for some dogs and the people who love them.  Thunderstorms, fireworks, motorcycles, and travel – these can all wreak havoc in a dog’s world.  Thankfully, there are many different things we can try to help calm our dogs.

Thundershirts(TM), Anxiety Wraps(TM) and pressure wraps use a gentle, maintained pressure over a large part of the dog’s body.  This is similar to swaddling a baby.  These products are thought to work by creating different sensations that travel to the brain and change the dog’s focus, thereby causing the dog to modify his behaviour.  Some people suggest a snug T-shirt on the dog will have a similar effect.

Pet massage, Reiki, acupuncture/acupressure, and music have all been shown to help calm and relax pets.  Linda Tellington’s therapeutic bodywork method called Tellington TTouch has been practiced all over the world for years.  Joshua Leeds and Susan Wagner, the authors of Through a Dog’s Ear : using sound to improve the health & behavior of your canine companion detail how sound can affect the nervous system and how music, especially slower, simper classical music can calm a dog.  They’ve even created CDs specifically for dogs.  (For a copy of a previous article about the use of music to calm a dog, email oberhund@myaccess.ca; the book and CDs can be borrowed from the public library or purchased at Metro Pet Market.)

Behavioural modification is another option.  Undesirable responses can be reduced or eliminated by using positive reinforcement to help desensitize and counter-condition your pet to the stimuli that trigger the unwanted response (i.e. anxiety). In simpler terms, this means you can calm your dog by slowly getting your dog used to the thing that is causing him to react; this is done by exposing the dog to the “thing” in very small, non-threatening doses with lots of positive reinforcement so the dog learns to think differently about the “thing.”  In the case of thunderstorms, some suggest using a sound recording of a thunderstorm and playing it at a very low level for short periods.  As the recording is played, the dog could be engaged in a pleasurable activity such as play, eating treats, or getting massaged.  As the dog becomes accustomed to the sounds, the duration or volume can be gradually increased, but not at the same time.  Some good books on this topic include Feisty Fido : help for the leash aggressive dog by Patricia B. McConnell and Karen B. London; I’ll Be Home Soon! : how to prevent and treat separation anxiety by Patricia B. McConnell, and Chill Out Fido! : how to calm your dog by Nan Kene Arthur.

Herbs, Chinese Herbal Medicine formulas, aromatherapy, flower essences, and homeopathy are other tools we can use to help calm our dogs.  Owners can research these on their own or purchase packaged formulas.  Canine CalmÔ is a product that uses aromatherapy; Rescue RemedyÒ uses flower essences that work in a similar way to homeopathic medicine.   Consulting a licenced homeopath may be a more successful route, since the remedies prescribed can be tailored more specifically to the individual pet.  Dr. Sthamann at the Lakewood Animal Hospital in Regina is a certified Veterinary Homeopath.

Probably one of the most overlooked tools to calm a dog is nutrition.  Chemicals, dyes, preservatives, low quality ingredients, high temperature processing methods, and poor storage methods (promotes mycotoxins) can cause serious behavioural issues.  Even something as simple as supplementing a dog’s diet with fresh (dog safe) food can deliver results.  (If you would like a copy of a previous article containing important information on feeding pets, email oberhund@myaccess.ca)

It’s important to remember that every dog is different and every situation is different; what may work for one dog may not work for another, and what worked for one situation, may not have the same results in another.

Thank you to Carol, owner of the four dogs of the Apocalypse, Kurt from Metro Pet Market and Judy from Nature’s Touch Animal Massage for their input.

True or false: Human food is unhealthy for dogs. Feeding a dog human food encourages unwanted behaviours like counter-surfing and food aggression. Dry dog food is better for dogs’ teeth than wet food. When it comes to feeding our dogs, many of us have trouble separating fact from fable, and much of our confusion can be blamed on misleading advertising.  Pet food companies, in their efforts to push their products, have inundated us with exaggerations and marketing claims that many of us have accepted as fact, to the detriment of our pets. Many people recognize that advertising claims should be “taken with a grain of salt”, but what about so-called “experts” who have television shows or books?  Surely they would be resources for current, unbiased information. Or would they?

While flipping through the May 2010 issue of Canadian Living Magazine, I stopped to read a snippet with the heading “Woof, What’s for Dinner?” (p.24). The author poses this question: “Is it OK to give a dog leftovers (such as lasagna, mac and cheese, chicken cordon bleu) instead of dog food?”  The answer (an excerpt from a recently published book by a celebrity trainer) begins with the instruction “Never feed your puppy, or any dog, human food” and includes ideas such as feeding human food encourages unwanted behaviours and dry dog food helps keep a dog’s teeth clean.  I knew some of the “expert’s” answer was inaccurate, and I wondered if it all was.  I decided to learn what I could about feeding dogs a healthy diet and discover what pet food misconceptions I still believed to be true. It makes sense that dry dog food would help keep a dog’s teeth clean, right?

I discovered early on that the topic is enormous so I decided to narrow my search by focusing on the advice presented by the “expert” in the magazine article. The information I’ve presented here is only a start; there is so much more to learn.  I’ve tried my best to present (in the space allowed) a general overview of some of the content that I felt was the most relevant and accessible to the average pet owner.  As with all subject areas and experts, there are conflicting opinions. I encourage people to do their own research from a variety of reputable, unbiased, well-supported resources.  Special thanks to Kurt from Metro Pet Market (www.MetroPetMarket.ca) and Judy Lechowicz, SAMP, AACC (www.PetMassage.ca) who directed me to some important resources to start me on my journey through this vast subject.

Myth #1:  Dogs should never eat human food. 

The belief that human food is unhealthy for dogs, although widely held, is highly inaccurate.  As most of us are aware, there are some human foods that are harmful to dogs (i.e. chocolate, grapes, xylitol, onions, etc.) and there are some foods that are unhealthy to humans as well as dogs (processed food, junk food, candy, salty or fatty foods, etc.).  This is the main argument for the standard answer by the pet food industry when it recommends that people should not feed dogs table scraps. What isn’t said is that most healthy human food is also healthy for dogs.  In fact, dog-safe human food is better for dogs than most dog food because of the low standards in the pet food industry.  Human grade meats, especially organic, non-medicated, free-range and grass-fed, are far superior to the questionable sources of protein in most commercial dog food.  This was aptly illustrated on CBC in September 2009 in the documentary Pet Food: A Dog’s Breakfast (http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/dogsbreakfast.html) wherein an old pair of boots, in theory, could meet the minimum standards for protein in pet food.

The book Not Fit for a Dog! : the truth about manufactured dog and cat food (2009) also exposes the poor quality ingredients in manufactured pet food and suggests a strong association with it and many common health and behavioural problems in dogs and cats.  In the section entitled “Better Nutrition, Fewer Health and Behaviour Problems” the authors state that they know this is true because these problems “are ameliorated and often eliminated after the afflicted animals are fed … organically certified, biologically appropriate … whole food diets … that are neither highly processed nor full of synthetic additives/supplements” (p.144).  In other words, the problems lessen or go away when the pets are fed better food.  The authors, all veterinarians, are so certain of this they’ve included some recipes for homemade dog and cat food.

Compounding the problem of poor quality ingredients are the processing methods of most commercial dog foods, especially extruded kibble.  During processing, the ingredients are subjected to high temperatures that degrade most of the original nutrients.  There is also evidence that the high temperatures can create dangerous cancer-causing compounds, and tests have shown that most dry dog foods contain these (See Spot Live Longer, p.92).

The quality of the ingredients and the processing methods are not the only problems with most manufactured pet food.  Another problem is the high grain content, especially in lower-priced pet foods.  Grain is a cheap source of protein, but it’s also necessary in the production of kibble, which requires a lot of starch. While it seems that dogs can digest some grains, cats have no known need for carbohydrates and they don’t digest them well.  This is one reason why many sources recommended that cats be fed canned food rather than kibble; the canned food tends to have more protein, less-grain based protein, and more moisture. Some veterinarians believe that the high amounts of grain in pet foods lead to obesity, diabetes, arthritis and food allergies.

In their book See Spot Live Longer: How to help your dog live a longer and healthier life! (2005) authors Steve Brown and Beth Taylor detail how grains might be the worst offender when it comes to the major ingredients in manufactured dry dog foods.  The low-quality grains used are often infested with storage mites and dangerous molds, and how we store the dry food in our homes often encourages the growth of the mites and molds. Storage mites are being linked to skin allergies in dogs, and molds produce mycotoxins that can suppress the immune system resulting in long-term health problems or in extreme cases, immediate death.  Brown and Taylor caution pet owners who purchase kibble to upgrade to a better quality and to purchase only enough that can be used in a week, keeping it in its original package and putting it in an airtight container (if the bag isn’t sealable) in the freezer, if possible.  More information on the problems with storage mites and molds and how we can store and handle kibble to help reduce these problems can be found in their book or on their website (www.SeeSpotLiveLonger.com).

Myth #2: Feeding a dog human food encourages unwanted behaviours.

Dogs are opportunists.  Counter-surfing, garbage diving, begging, stealing from plates, food guarding, nipping: these are all behaviours that will continue if allowed.  It’s not a matter of human food; it’s a matter of training.  If you don’t want your dog begging at the table, don’t feed him at the table; put the table scraps in his bowl.  And since most dogs find human food far superior to their regular dog food or dog treats, you can use human food to train desirable behaviours to counteract undesirable ones.

Contrary to this myth, it can be argued that the feeding of commercial dog food encourages unwanted behaviours.  A dog that is voracious will have little self-control around food, and a lot of manufactured dog food lacks the nutrients and/or quality protein to keep a dog sated.  The authors of Not Fit For a Dog! believe feeding manufactured pet food can lead to a variety of unwanted behaviours such as (but not limited to) “constant food soliciting/hunger; increased aggression/irritability/hyperactivity”(p.145). As well, there is strong evidence that commercial dog foods are largely responsible for many of the medical conditions that can require dogs to be put on medications that cause an increase in appetite (i.e. Prednisone).

Myth #3: Dry food helps keep a dog’s teeth clean.

This is based on the idea that hard, dry kibble will help scrape the teeth clean.  This sounds logical, but it turns out to be lacking in evidence. Some debunk this myth by referring to the impossibility of a pet’s pointed teeth crunching the kibble enough for the scraping action to have any effect beyond the tips of the teeth. This is supported by the observation that when pets regurgitate their kibble, many of the pieces are still whole, having made it into the stomach without being crunched up. In an article entitled “Dental Health Care for Your Pet”, Dr. Larry Siegler writes “crunching kibble and dog biscuits does not qualify as dental exercise nor does it remove plaque from the teeth.  Eating kibble and biscuits generally leaves behind small bits of food material that easily stick to the teeth and contribute to plaque buildup” (http://www.healthypetjournal.com/default.aspx?tabid=25107). It would seem that dry food doesn’t clean a dog’s teeth but may contribute to the problem.  If you are still a believer, think of it this way: if this myth was true, then we could toss away our toothbrushes and just crunch on hard crackers.

There are certainly other pet food myths circulating, but as mentioned earlier, the focus of this article is on the claims made in the “expert’s” answer in Canadian Living.  As I researched, I wondered how these ideas could become so widely believed, especially since there doesn’t seem to be any evidence to back them up.  I learned that these myths were born largely because of the efforts of pet food companies to increase their profits.

One of the “problems” the pet food industry faced was people supplementing their pets’ food with table scraps.  Back in 1964, dog food companies began issuing press releases about dog care that promoted feeding dogs only commercial dog food and warned about the dangers of feeding table scraps.  This information appeared in newspapers and magazines and on radio stations.  Years later, dog food companies stressed the “science” of canine nutrition which was too complicated for the average person in the kitchen. These marketing strategies worked and the mantra “never feed your dog human food” was widely embraced. The pet food companies also wanted to increase kibble sales since it is cheaper to manufacture kibble than canned food. Hence the claim kibble “helps” keep a dog’s teeth clean was born, despite a lack of data to back it up.  Vague words are popular tools in advertising. (For more information about the history of pet food marketing, visit www.carnivora.ca and from the Learning Centre link, read the article “The History of Nutrition”; it contains excerpts from The Long History of the Canine Race by Mary Elizabeth Thurston, 1996.  As well, read the first chapter in Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs: the definitive guide to homemade meals by Lew Olson, 2010.)

One doesn’t need a white lab coat and a science degree to feed a dog a well-balanced, species-appropriate diet, but it isn’t as simplistic as letting them eat our table scraps and tossing them a steak now and then.  There is a lot to learn, and despite the “bad apples”, there are pet food companies that do provide quality products. Educate yourself about pet nutrition and learn how to read pet food labels. Try starting with small changes and see the results.  Find an option that works for you and your pet.

Recommendations for small changes:

• Change from kibble to canned, especially for cats.
• Supplement kibble with some fresh, human-grade meats and raw, finely chopped vegetables.
• Upgrade your kibble. Look for brands with single source meats and fats, whole grains, and less toxic preservatives. The better brands are made from human-grade ingredients with little to no grains, and they often have packaging that will keep out moisture and air.
• Feed a variety of foods from different animal proteins and rotate them on a daily basis.  Don’t mix them together; rotate them.
• Avoid senior, “lite”, and diet pet foods because these are higher in carbohydrates and fibre and have reduced protein and fat; according to several resources, older and overweight dogs need fewer carbohydrates and better quality fats and proteins. NOTE: Senior dogs with kidney problems are often put on reduced protein diets. The authors of See Spot Live Longer claim that certain studies about aging dogs and protein consumption were misinterpreted which led to the belief that decreasing a dog’s consumption of protein could prevent further kidney damage.  The authors claim that these studies suggested that dogs with kidney damage should be fed better quality protein, not less protein (p. 159).

Books Consulted:

Not Fit for a Dog! : the truth about manufactured dog and cat food by  Michael W. Fox, Elizabeth Hodgkins, and Marion E. Smart (2009)

Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs: the definitive guide to homemade meals by Lew Olson (2010)

See Spot Live Longer: how to help your dog live a longer and healthier life! by Steve Brown and Beth Taylor (2005)

Web resources:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2005/02/05/pets-grains.aspx

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/dogsbreakfast.html

http://www.healthypetjournal.com/default.aspx?tabid=25107

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2009/07/07/pets-protein-dry-food-and-disease.aspx

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/KnowledgeBase/knowledgebasedetail.aspx?articleid=147

www.SeeSpotLiveLonger.com

www.carnivora.ca