Expectations When Training Puppy Mill Dogs

I had the pleasure over the weekend of seeing two former puppy mill breeder dogs at a party for senior dogs at Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue. They were sweet and happy but I could still sense the idiosyncrasies that many mill dogs carry with them all of their lives: A little reticent to approach people, overwhelmed with too much activity. One of these dogs now has titles in obedience. His owner put a lot of time and effort into his training. Most mill dogs have the capability to learn obedience and live a normal life. But owners and some trainers must understand that these dogs may learn at a different pace than other “normal” dogs. Proper expectations need to be established or else frustration, disappointment and even anger at the dog or trainer may result.

As anyone who has adopted or worked with mill dogs knows, the tiniest sign of progress is cause for the biggest celebration. For example, most mill dogs cannot walk up and down steps. They were never exposed to them, so steps can be quite frightening. The thought of these dogs doing steps is almost impossible to imagine. But when the dog does a single step up or down, it’s a huge accomplishment.

Consider group dog training classes. Most beginner classes will expect the dog to learn how to sit, stay, come, lie down and walk nicely on a leash. Expecting a mill dog to do all of these is entirely unrealistic. Most of them will shut down in fear when they attend classes. Unless the trainer, owner and other people in the class are aware of this issue, the dog will be criticized and the owner possibly shamed for having such a dog. A much better and more realistic expectation for mill dogs in group classes would be that the dogs learns to relax a little and even learn to accept attention from the other dogs’ owners and the instructor.  That’s it. The owner can learn how to train the dog for sit, stay, come, etc. by listening in class to the instructions and then take this knowledge and teach the dog at home where the dog is more relaxed and better able to learn. It could take a mill dog ten times longer or more to learn obedience. Or not! Every dog is different and an individual.

I wrote an article for the Association of Pet Dog Trainers’ Chronicle of the Dog which gives much more information for trainers who are working with mill dogs. If anyone wants a copy, I can email it to you.

Plastic Fish

Time to switch topics from dogs to marine life. Please read this if you care about the creatures of the seas – and if you are a fish eater. I listened to a story on NPR about how our garbage, specifically plastics, is contaminating the oceans. It’s more than just an aesthetic issue of plastic bottles washing up on the shores (which is pretty disturbing too). 

Fish are mistaking bits of plastic for food and they are eating it. The plastic bits attract dangerous contaminants so when the fish eat the plastics, they are ingesting unhealthy toxins as well. Larger marine animals like whales and dolphins are being found dead, washed up on shore, and when autopsied, their stomachs are found to be full of plastic. The animals had starved to death because the plastic in their stomachs fooled their bodies into thinking it wasn’t hungry. I find this so disturbing and something we cannot ignore. 

While some people can look the other way – what you can’t see isn’t really happening – there’s more to this story and it affects anyone who eats fish. When the very small fish eat the plastic bits and toxins, they are then being eaten by larger fish and they are eaten by larger fish until finally, we humans eat the big fish.  It’s called the food chain. The toxins in the small fish enter the cells of the larger fish and accumulate. When we eat these fish, we are eating the toxins stored in their bodies. 

I’ve always eaten wild-caught fish instead of farm raised. I have read stories about what farm raised fish are fed and it bothered me. Now it seems that wild-caught fish are no healthier. What do we do?? 

It’s all of our responsibilities to cut down on the use of plastics and recycle what we absolutely can’t do without. Here are a few suggestions:

-          Stop buying bottled water – gallon bottles and especially the smaller, individual sized bottles. They are everywhere. Instead, buy a water filter like PUR or Brita and fill your own water bottles.

-          Bring reusable bags to the store instead of using plastic bags.  Whole Food Markets give you a 5 cent rebate for every reusable bag you use.

-          Buy larger sizes of common household goods such as laundry detergent and other cleaning and personal hygiene items.

-          Use waxed paper instead of plastic wrap whenever possible for storing and covering food, or better yet store items in reusable containers. 

Did I miss any suggestions? What do you do to help cut down on unnecessary waste? I’d love to hear your ideas!

It’s up to each one of us to be responsible for making a difference. We can’t rely on government or others to bring about change.

Veterinarians – Do They Know It All About Animals?

If you work in the animal business – trainer, groomer, pet sitter, pet store owner, shelter worker, rescue volunteer, veterinary field, etc.  – you know that there are as many animal “experts” as there are people. Even people who just have pets can talk as if they are experts. Most typical pet owners will either ask a friend or their veterinarian for advice when they are experiencing behavior issues with their pets or are looking for a good pet food. Can you trust these people to be experts? 

Very sadly, most veterinarians that I have encountered have disappointed me when it came to their knowledge of behavior and nutrition. (Yes, as always, there are exceptions! I do know a couple of vets who have good knowledge of the whole pet.) The reason that many vets don’t understand nutrition or behavior is that vet school simply does not focus on teaching this information, and that’s too bad because nutrition is an important aspect of both health and behavior. A poor diet affects animals no differently than us humans. If the fuel we put into us is not giving us the right nutrients, illness and even behavior problems will ensue.

A couple of years ago, I asked my veterinarian for a food recommendation for my senior dog and she recommended Science Diet Senior, most likely because the Science Diet reps had called on this veterinary practice or had exhibited at a conference for vets and had pitched a good marketing line that Science Diet was keeping up-to-date on nutrition research and incorporating that into their pet foods. Okay, so I did my own research and discovered that corn was the first ingredient in Science Diet Senior. A huge no-no for any dog, especially a senior. All dogs’ food must have a quality meat source as the primary ingredient. My vet is not the only one recommending these inferior foods; many people I speak with ahve received this kind of advice. It could be that the vets just don’t have the time to do their own research into nutrition, or they don’t know that they should. Or it could be strictly financial – many vets receive incentives from food companies to sell their products. 

Behavior is even worse when it comes to vets’ knowledge. So many of my clients came to me after receiving unbelievably bad advice from their vets. One lady called me in tears when her vet told her that her 5 pound Japanese Chin was a dominant dog and that he needed to be shown dominance by pinning him down. Pin down a 5 pound dog?  Really??!!!  I met this dog and he was nothing near dominant. He was scared. And if you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that alpha rolls should never be done to a dog. Especially a terrifed one. And don’t get me started on that whole dominance thing!

Another vet regularly advised her clients to knee the dogs in the chest to stop them from jumping on them. Ack!

And vets are often asked by their clients to recommend trainers for their dogs. Most vets rely on local trainers to introduce themselves and become familiar with their services. Many trainers are savvy with marketing strategies and will often bring cookies and other goodies to the vets’ offices to stay in their favor. If the veterinarians do not understand behavior, they will not know who is a quality trainer and who is not. I spoke with a local veterinarian once about their recommendation of a trainer who uses prong collars and alpha rolls. Luckily, I was able to educate her about better methods and discourage her from keeping this kind of trainer in business.

The bottom line is this: Just as we need to be informed about own health and ask questions of our doctors, we need to be just as informed about our pets’ health and challenge our veterinarians too. Ask questions, ask your friends, research on the Internet. The more you know, the better choices you can make for your pets.

It’s Just a Dog

An adorable Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was running towards the busy street as a neighbor tried to lure the dog from certain disaster. Another neighbor rang the owner’s doorbell and the owner, still in pajamas at noon, shook her head and said, “it’s just a dog.” The family’s other dog, a Yellow Lab, slipped through the open door and ran after his Cavalier friend. Now both dogs were in peril and the owner closed the door in disgust that she was bothered by such triviality. 

In college, I dated a guy who was from Southern Maryland. He lived on a small tobacco farm and they had a dog named Sparky. He was a nice, friendly brown mutt. Sparky was hit by a car and killed. My boyfriend’s father walked into the street, removed Sparky’s collar because he could reuse it, left Sparky’s body in the street and never shed a tear. Sparky was “just a dog.”

Just a dog – those words ring in my head and bring me such sorrow. How are some people so unaware of the individuality of each dog and their mission in life to be our reflection?  The people who have these attitudes towards animals generally treat people with the same disregard. And those who love dogs (and other animals) and respect them as God’s creatures know that animals deserve to be treated kindly. 

As someone who believes in karma, otherwise known as “what goes around comes around,” those people who disrespect animals are in for some hard lessons in life. It may come back to them directly as a lesson from the animals or it may come from somewhere else. 

While it may be difficult to make someone see the divinity in animals, I think the animals are speaking up in their own way – through many of us who are becoming their voices – and it’s our purpose to speak for them.

A Journey in Frustration: FInding a Good Dog Breeder

I’m so glad that I don’t have to be concerned with buying a puppy (because I only adopt older dogs). It’s a confusing proposition, especially if you are conscientious about avoiding puppy mills, pet stores and bogus Internet sites. I’ve always coached people to first go to shelters and rescue groups. But some people are set on a specific breed and don’t always want to wait until a puppy comes into one of these organizations.

If you want a certain breed, the next step is to find your local breed clubs which usually consist of responsible AKC breeders. Many of these breeders in the clubs are involved with showing their dogs in dog show competitions. A friend of mine recently tried to find a reputable breeder by contacting several breeders in a local club and she met with significant resistance. She called and emailed these breeders and only one of them responded. Only one?? If the public is being told to stop buying puppies from questionable breeders, what are they supposed to do if the so-called reputable breeders won’t respond to potential buyers? The one breeder who did call my friend bad-mouthed other breeders who were not breeding their dogs to show them competitively.  Apparently, breeding dogs to be “just pets” is looked down upon by some breeders, regardless of the high standards they employ when breeding their dogs.

Then my friend spoke with the breeders who bred “pets” and those people spoke disparagingly of the competitive breeders. They claim that the competitive breeders are charging too much for their puppies; the competitive breeders say that the pet breeders are charging too little. Who can you believe? My poor friend didn’t know what to do. (Thank goodness, she found an amazing older dog and rescued her!)

So where does that leave the potential puppy buyers? Very confused, that’s where. It’s no wonder why people buy their pups wherever they can find them – pet stores, Amish farms, Craigslist, etc.

Can’t the AKC help? Let’s explore that question in another post.

The Amish – Is It Okay to Abuse Animals for Financial Survival?

My local PBS station, WHYY, aired a show last night called The Amish: American Experience. Over the years, the Amish have evoked quaint visions of horse-drawn carriages and bucolic farms, the simple life so many of us long for. I used to think that way – until I  met my first dog rescued from an Amish puppy mill. And when I heard of an Amish man whipping his pony in front of a Walmart because it refused to  continue pulling a carriage the 5 miles home that should have been pulled by two horses, not one small pony. Or when I attended the candlelight vigil for the 80 dogs who were shot by the Amish farmer who wanted to avoid paying to take the dogs to see a veterinarian.

I posted a comment on WHYY’s Facebook page yesterday when they promoted the show, saying that I hoped that The Amish showed how they are mostly responsible for making Pennsylvania one of the worst states with puppy mills. Someone responded to my comment that the Amish are struggling to support their families and need to breed puppies to make money. I responded, “it’s getting harder and harder for most families, Amish or not, to support themselves.” Does that give them license to abuse animals?

Of course, not all Amish are puppy millers and some of those who are do respect the animals and treat them kindly. We shouldn’t generalize any group of people. My comments are pointed at the ones who treat animals like they are just another crop and exploit them.

Many Amish are having difficulties making a living with farming (as illustrated in last night’s show) due in part to the very large families that they need to support and competition from large corporate food producers. So they look for other ways to make money. Breeding puppies is cheap and easy – and they can get away with very low standards of health and breeding. Most of the public still have the same notion of the Amish that I once had. They arrive to buy a puppy, see the old farmhouse and an emotional, sentimental response follows. The brain then thinks, “if I feel good, then this must be a good place.” That “pure bred” puppy for sale is in reality not always pure bred and may have genetic health problems. And yet they charge several hundreds and even thousands of dollars for this sub-standard quality.

The Amish show opened with this voiceover line, “The Amish represent something true and virtuous that is lacking in many of us.”  Tell me, how is being a puppy mill operator that dupes the public so virtuous? And can you guess? The show never gave a mention to animals. Of course not.

Survival or not, exploiting and abusing animals cannot be tolerated. And the only way to stop them is to stop buying their puppies.

Educating Children

If you are a regular reader, you know that my passion is to educate about behavior. I assume that most people reading this blog are adults. If so, then how do we reach children at a young age to teach them how to treat animals? It’s a source of frustration for me. Yesterday and today, I saw children walking dogs alone – no parents in sight – and doing things that were inappropriate. As you can guess, that makes me crazy!

And I feel so badly for the dogs because this improper handling may change their behavior for the worse. The dogs may then lose their homes.  In both incidences, the dogs were barking at my dog and the children yelled at the dogs to stop. More than likely, they learned this from their parents. Either because their parents yell at the dog or yell at the children, or probably both! Remember my post about yelling at dogs?? Yelling very likely will increase the behavior, not stop it.

I was soooo tempted to correct the children but I didn’t. They wouldn’t listen to a stranger and would probably call me a bad name J Besides, it’s not easy to explain to a young child in a quick minute that yelling increases the adrenaline that is already pumping through the dog, causing the barking. Yeah, never mind!

So then, how do we reach children? Some animal shelters have people called humane educators who go to schools to teach about animals. Sadly, due to economic constraints, these positions are often the first eliminated. Dog training classes are a great option. I believe all dogs should be enrolled in at least a basic training class with all family members attending. That way, everyone can hear and learn about the best ways to treat your dogs. Training classes are also a great way to bond with your dogs.

If you have kids, are you teaching them what you’ve learned in my blog and through other reputable experts who believe in humane training methods?  Please comment and tell us what you’re doing!

Top Posts

I find it very interesting to look at the statistics for my blog to see which posts are the most popular and what things people are searching for when they arrive at this blog. It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to see that people are coming here to learn, and that I have been able to provide quality education and help. And hopefully have spared dogs from getting turned into shelters or rescues or even euthanasia due to behavior problems.

By far, my post Why Cesar Millan is Not a Whisperer has gotten the most hits.  I can see that quite a few people have searched on different phrases such as, “don’t use the Dog Whisperer’s methods” to arrive at this post. Maybe people are finally catching on that Cesar Millan is not the expert he claims to be and that he needs to stop using detrimental methods. Sadly, however, I recently spoke with a dog walker who says that lots of people like to use that terrible “tsst” that Millan advocates. My wish is that people will gradually learn why that can backfire.

And speaking of Millan and detrimental methods, the next most read post is Showing Dominance. Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t find my blog by searching on, “how to pin my dog down” or “how to show dominance to my dog.” I hope that by reading this post, people realize that alpha rolls and pinning dogs down is no longer considered as acceptable training techniques. Being a good parent and benevolent leader is  by far the best way to teach dogs good behavior.

And tied for the third most popular post have been the training tips on submissive urination and attention seeking. Gosh, there must be a lot of dogs out there with these issues! Maybe these two problems are most misunderstood.  Or it could be that many dogs are coming from puppy mills with generic anxiety which cause attention seeking and submissive urination? I’d like to hear from you if you are one of these dog owners. Where did you get your dog?

Thanks for visiting and being an apostle for the animals!

Magazine Error

The Bark magazine has always had the reputation of high quality articles written by excellent writers. I was flattered to be quoted in an article in the January/February issue but saw that I was inaccurately labeled as a “behaviorist.” Lately, this title seems to be afforded to anyone who knows anywhere from a little to a lot about animal behavior.  Let me say for the record that I am not a behaviorist and I go to great lengths to let people know that I am not. Why? 

The title of behaviorist is endowed to someone who has a Master’s degree or PhD in an animal-related field with many years of experience. They must meet certain qualifications of the Animal Behavior Society. I do not meet these qualifications, and no other dog trainers or consultants who also do not meet these qualifications should be calling themselves behaviorists. I have a great deal of respect for behaviorists and believe they alone deserve the title. After all, if you know something about medicine, you certainly don’t go around calling yourself a doctor unless you are a doctor!

I wrote to the editor of The Bark to point out the mistake and offered to write an article for the magazine to describe the various titles used by those in the dog training and behavior professions. I wrote two posts back in 2010 on that topic –  August 10 and August 16. I have not received a reply from the editor and that’s disappointing.  I believe it’s important that people know the distinction.

Okay, my conscience is clear!

Myths of Dog Behavior

In my years of working with clients and their dogs, and at shelters and rescues, I have heard quite a few statements about dog behavior that many people believe to be true. Here are my top six myths and the facts:

1.  “The dog did it out of spite.”

Oh, how many times I’ve heard this when a dog has housetraining issues or have chewed something! In reality, dogs are not spiteful creatures. There are other reasons for the behaviors such as inadequate housetraining, separation anxiety, or other stresses. Dogs seek pleasure and avoid pain, just as we do. More analysis of the situation is necessary to determine exactly why the dog acted that way. Usually, spiteful really equates to “scared” and even “bored” in the dog’s mind.

2. You should always go through the door first to show the dog who is boss.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that the dominance theory is nonsense. Dogs don’t need bosses, they need benevolent leadership and good parenting. When you force yourself through the door before your dog, a power struggle is certain to ensue. Instead, have the dog wait calmly at the door until you give the instruction to go ahead. It’s perfectly fine to allow your dog to go through the dog first as long you tell him to!

3. Feeding human food to dogs makes them beg.

Dogs beg because they have learned that they will get food from you. It doesn’t matter what kind of food you are feeding them! Dogs think in pictures (thank you, Temple Grandin!). If they see you giving them food when you are sitting at the table or somewhere else, they quickly learn that this is where they can get food. They associate that picture with getting good things. My dog, Gizzy, is fed small pieces of vegetables when I am preparing my salad at the counter. So he knows to stand by my side when I’m at that position, regardless if I am making a salad or washing the dishes! A better option is to always feed your dog from his bowl. If you want to give him human food, place it in his bowl and never feed from anywhere else. That way, he knows that his food always comes from that place.

4. When dogs hump, it’s a sexual behavior.

Let’s hope that your dog is spayed and neutered! With the huge problem of pet overpopulation and the killings in shelters, there is very little reason for any pet to be unaltered. Most humping behavior stops once the dog is altered. 

An altered pet may hump another dog or a person due to anxiety or an attempt to establish social ranking. You’ll often see an insecure dog try to hump another dog. Anxiety is usually at the root of humping behavior. Yelling at the dog to stop only increases the anxiety. Instead, divert the dog’s attention to something else – play and exercise is best to eliminate the anxiety hormones streaming through the dog’s body.

5. A dog who acts scared or tries to bite was abused.

I hear this constantly!  People assume that a dog who acts scared or flinches when someone tries to pet him has been hit by a person. While in some cases that may be true, many times it is because the dog has not been socialized with people. Our society likes to pamper and spoil our dogs. Many people get dogs as puppies and never allow the dogs outside of the house. Some dogs have never been exposed to children, dogs who live with only women may be fearful of men, etc. Get your puppies out and expose them to the world!

6. A dog who leans up against you is being dominant.

Eek, dominant, there’s that word again.  A dog’s behavior should not be assessed based on one action. Other behaviors and body language need to be considered. Many dogs like the affections of humans and love to be close to us. That does not make them “dominant.” They may be attention seekers.  I’ve met so many Pit Bulls who are “leaners” and are not at all aggressive or “dominant.”  They’re sweet and affectionate. If you are looking to see if a dog has a strong personality, assess other factors too. Does he look away when you look him directly in the eye? Are his ears and tail perked up? Will he allow you to stroke him down the back or hug him?  Dominance is not a character trait but an action within the context of situations.

How about you? Do you hear people say things about dog behavior that you know are just wrong?