Wordless Wednesday, Hi edition

Wordless Wednesday, LL Bean Style

Dog Walker Shaming

NOTE - Finnegan is filling in for the actual dog walkers.

Here is a topic dear to my heart for oh so many reasons.  It is multi layered. Stay with me, the ride may get bumpy.

 I am fond of the following saying "Maine, the place dogs should be."
 Why wouldn't dogs love it here? We have woods, ocean, lakes, streams, rivers, smells, wild life, and lots and lots of places to run. 

But guess what, in the immortal words from Close Encounters "We are not alone." The Internet  connects. I am hearing stories from outraged trainers, owners, service dog owners and even people who never owned a dog about wild packs of dogs in public places, off leash, being dangerous and out of control.

Picture this if you will. You are heading back to the car after an hour plus wonderful off leash romp with your dog. Your dogs are tired and just as you are getting in the van, a dog walker opens the door and lets 8 super happy excitable dogs out of their vehicle and they come charging at yours.

What do you think might happen in a scenario like this? 

That is right, we are so not alone. We share the trails with other dog owners, and not all are off leash.
We share the trails with people who don't like dogs, and people who are jogging, biking, ski mobiling , four wheeling,  hunting.

We share the trail with families with kids and babies.
We share the trail with friendly dogs and not so friendly dogs.
We share the trail with friendly people and not so friendly people.

The list goes on.

We share the trail with people who were friendly until they continuously  come upon groups of dogs with professional dog walkers.  Most loose in the parking before they even hit the trail. 

This my friends is recipe for not only disaster, but leash laws.
If we don't self govern ourselves, then it will be done for us.  Leash laws and even dogs  banned from popular areas are just around the corner.

I have a few  questions for those of you who hire people to walk your dogs.
How well do you know your dog walker and what is going on when you are not there?
Have you authorized off leash excursions?
Do you know how many dogs are with your dog?
Have you ever looked in the vehicle to see how safely (or not) the dogs are being restrained? 
Do you know how much if any training these dogs have had?

So what do we do?

Speak up, take video, take names and call the Cops or Animal Control Officer.

Please note - this blog is not intended to bash all dog walkers who have dogs off leash.  This blog is intended to draw attention to an ever growing issue that has affected me personally over and over again. 

 I know very few people who could safely handle 8 dogs on or off leash at once --- myself included.

With much thanks to Liz Langham of Tree Frog Farm for sharing the gang bang story.

Smile!

Prelude to a Kiss

Boring is the New Awesome

 Finn Cam

Meet Sophie!  She is the first ever recipient of the Gooddogz Training "Boring is the New Awesome" award.  My hope is that this high honor  will become more and more common. Those of us with dogs with issues crave for the day that we can just walk down the street and nothing, and I mean nothing happens.  Oh the awesomeness of nothing I say.

Sophie  was a referral from Mississippi. She came to Maine Via the over crowded no kill CARA shelter where my dog  Beck hails from.  Sophie and her Mom Mary trekked about 90 minutes plus each way to come and train with me,  even though I suggested other trainers closer to their home. It is winter in Maine ya know.

 They had a total of five sessions over the course of about 2 months.  3 in the back room of Pet Quarters in Windham, and 2 in down town Freeport.  Sophie had intense reactivity to both dogs, people and noises and was very reactive when in her house even though basically there was nothing there except a lot of new things to get used to.   Mary took her to a well known trainer shortly after taking her home and the dog barked and lunged for an entire session. The other trainer was quite upset that a rescue would adopt this dog out.  I am not saying I am a miracle worker and I offer that the dog the other trainer met was wound a lot tighter than the dog I met who had yet to trust and bond with her human. But still--she has come a long baby!  I am nearly as proud of them as my kids that  I gave birth to,  and in a sense, I did.  Dogs who don't fit into our world don't have many options if you get my drift. 

Without getting into Sophie's history, we can start with the part that before being relinquished for chewing, she lived with several other dogs that beat her up.  She has little or no vision in one eye due to a doggie house mate biting her, and she spent several months at CARA where she had no a chance of being adopted.

So what did we do that was so magical? Well, some basic obedience, a  lot of look at that, BAT and making her feel safe. BAT (Behavior adjustment training www.functionalrewards.com) works. Really it does.   For many of us, BAT is a way of life. We stop putting our dogs places that they can not handle. We listen to what our dogs are trying to tell us and we give them options.  "Hey dog, you don't have to go forward, you can retreat. Trust me, I got this. "

My last session with Mary was so boring in fact that I took my reactive dog out of the car.  We both did BAT and then parallel walked. Beck was not quite the (boring old aging) rock star that Sophie was, but he still made me proud.  Beck is a much more difficult and complicated dog than my last reactive dog Charlee but with the help of newer super dog friendly techniques, he can go out and play. Oh how I wish LAT and BAT were invented when Charlee  was younger.

So back to Sophie. I got this email today. Honestly, my heart is very full tonight.  Not only are they doing really well, but Mary is sharing what she has learned and is out there giving out good info and helping other dog owners. Love it.  Best to you and Sophie Mary.  I am Thrilled. Thrilled I tell ya.  This is  one of the  best emails I ever got from a client. 


Sophie the Gooddogz Poster Child

I have to tell you our latest tale: Sophie and I were taking a walk on the loop at the lighthouse today (pre-snow) and saw a woman with a beagle walking in the other direction. I thought about seeing if Soph would be ok walking past (she's been really good and the street is pretty wide), but when we got closer, I realized the beagle was getting hyper and pulling on the leash. Too much for her to react to, so we scooted up a side drive and did several "friend" treats. Sophie sat at my feet and calmly turned around to look at the dog and the woman said "wow, you're dog is so good." I told her the Sophie story. Turns out, Henry the Beagle is from Louisiana and is great with humans but majorly reactive to other dogs. I told her she should like Gooddogz on facebook (her name is Susan, in case she signs up soon), all about BAT, that you're the best trainer in the universe. While we talked, Henry and Sophie both sat calmly (about as far apart as Sophie and Finny, when we started them parallel walking). Susan said he's never that good with other dogs -- must be because Sophie is so calm (!!!!) Who knew Sophie would EVER be a role model??? Just had to tell you. Mary PS And the other day we were at the lighthouse and she suddenly barged in front of me and sat down, wanting a treat. I couldn't figure out how come... until I realized people were walking close behind me -- and she was telling me it was time for me to do "friend" -- who's training who?

 

*  update!  Mary just reminded me that Sophie had been returned by a Maine family for barking.  

 

 

 

Proud to be a CBATI!!

The first week of Novemeber,  I went down to MA and worked as a  Team Leader at the BAT 5 Day Instructor's Course. There were trainers there from all over the globe and as far away as Japan!  Grisha Stewart has created a tough certifcation process and even people who attended the course did not pass the  hands on part and did not get certified.  There is no rubber stamping here.  To read the qualifications, check the web site at www.functionalrewards.com

 Myself and the other local Team Leader both took Grisha's very first BAT 2 day course 3 years ago.  I see  BAT as the missing link in helping problem dogs, and I have had much success both with my own,foster, and client's dogs.    I took the written test on the last day and PASSED!  WOOT!! I look forward to helping more dogs and their people with aggression and reactivity issues.   Freeport trainer Lisa Walker was in my group and she and I are the state's first CBATIs.  



 Professional Dog Trainers Receive Dog Reactivity Training Certification


Nov 26, 2012  December Downeast Dog News

Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on linkedinShare on printShare on emailMore Sharing ServicesShare Professional Dog Trainers Nancy Freedman-Smith and Lisa Walker Receive Dog Reactivity Training Certification .

One of the most common dog training issues is over reactivity, often leading to stressed-out humans who euthanize or re-home those dogs because they don’t know how to find help. Now owners of aggressive or fearful dogs in Mid-Coast and Southern Maine can be assured of a trusted dog training coach.

Lisa Walker of Freeport, and Nancy Freedman-Smith of Portland, are among the first twenty dog trainers to meet the strict requirements to become a Certified Behavior Adjustment Training Instructors (CBATI). Behavior Adjustment Training (BAT) is a low-stress, non-aversive technique for working with problem dog behaviors such as aggression, fear or frustration.
BAT was developed by Grisha Stewart, MA, CPDT-KA, KPACTP, as an efficient rehabilitation technique to help her own fearful dog, Peanut. Stewart recently created the CBATI designation after BAT gained rapid international popularity, prompting repeated requests for referrals for dog trainers and behaviorists to expertly apply BAT to help families with dogs that cower, bark, lunge, growl or bite.

“As requests poured in for recommendations for trainers with BAT experience, I realized the importance of developing a certification process,” says Stewart. “The CBATI gives dog owners the confidence that they are working with a trusted dog training professional—a person who understands how to teach others how to use BAT, works well with clients, and has significant experience working with reactive dogs.”

The certification process requires a four-hour BAT video case study, a written exam with essay questions, a commitment to the principles of progressive reinforcement training, and a minimum of 200 hours of experience training dogs using force-free training techniques.

A dog-friendly method for rehabilitating and preventing reactivity in dogs, BAT works by helping dogs learn socially acceptable ways to deal with the things that scare or upset them. Instead of barking, lunging, or snarling, dogs learn to use “cut-off” signals like head turns and ground sniffs to communicate to their handlers that they are uncomfortable.

BAT is not just a way to prevent or rehabilitate problems; it also teaches two-way communication, which builds a more powerful relationship between people and their dogs. As professional trainers, Lisa and Nancy love the way BAT empowers their clients and their dogs, and makes situations that have been stressful for both, much more positive. Since they have had great success integrating the BAT methods with their clients as well as with their own rescued, reactive dogs, they jumped at the chance to improve their skills and become certified.

Lisa and Nancy welcome your questions and can be reached at:

Lisa Walker, CPDT-KA, CBATI
Center for Canine Excellence

(207) 653-0993
lisa@centerforcanineexcellence.com

www.centerforcanineexcellence.com



Nancy Freedman-Smith, CBATI
Gooddogz Training
(207) 671-2522

Gooddogz1@aol.com

www.Gooddogztraining.com