Blog
I‘ve been looking at this page titled “Blog” and wondering what to do with it. I suspect it will take a bit to get it organized as i would like. It but for now i‘m just going to dump some random thoughts into it.
Thinking About Puppies
It doesn't matter if we are formally training our puppies or not, our puppies are learning from the day they come into our house. When I was breeding Rottweilers and training my dogs for search and rescue I used to tell people that “the time to start training puppies is the day they hatch.” Since the 60’s there has been research supporting the need to ”socialize” puppies within a short window of time. Bad news for those of us that habitually procrastinate starting anything. (Dont panic if you missed because you just adopted a rescue or life got in the way, as a professional member of the international association of animal behaviorists i believe there is evidence to support protocols to help even adult animals with less than great starts become the best they can be.). I cringe at the use of socializing concepts these days. Having raised and worked puppies for therapy, search & rescue, detection work and service dogs I have seen more damage done with the intention of “socializing Puppies” actually substitute the word confidence building for socializing and you may be introducing your pup the world with a better mind set.
If you just brought a new puppy into hour household. Do yourself a favor and prioritize working with that little one from day one. That doesn't need to be overwhelming and in fact should be lots of fun. Ok maybe not in the middle of the night when the little one needs a quick trip outside in the rain. There are plenty of books and handouts with titles like “house-train your puppy in 7 days” “house-training made easy” the point is if you start out day one and establish the habit of going out on a schedule teach the word “potty” as a cue to go, and you pay attention to prevent or mitigate mistakes you will in fact be well on your way to a house-trained puppy. Also don‘t let anyone kid you it takes time and patience to housetrain a puppy, and the pup needs to develop the muscles. My Rottweiler Torrie took months to housetrain. She would be so busy playing with the other dogs that by the time she realized she needed to go out, it was usually too late. She was successful eventually with patience and persistence, she grew up to be a search and rescue dog and never had an accident. It’s the same with other skills, if you don‘t let your adorable puppy jump up on your company, your adult dog will likely not jump up on your company. If you practice husbandry skills like toenail clipping or brushing and grooming from day one it will be lots less stressful with your standard poodle or old english sheep dog grows up and needs to be comfortable on the grooming table.
These first days are also the days for bonding with your puppy, making him part of your family. Leave lots of time for fun and exploring the world together. The world will likely look fresh and wonderful through the eyes of your puppy! Leave time to just hang out with the little one asleep on your lap, or teach him games, like bite chewy toys not your stocking feet! This is your opportunity to introduce your little one to the world he is going to live in when he grows up. Want your pup to join you on camping or fishing trips? Start with the boat on dry land getting your pup in and out. If it’s warm enough bring your puppy and let him explore the shore line of safe local streams or ponds. Planning on a road trip companion? This might be a good time for short to visit friends and family. When we are raising working dog puppies we spend lots of time just taking them into the environments where they are going to work when they are all grown up.
A friend just got a new puppy, so CHEC (Canine Human Enrichment Center) is going to be starting our puppy program. If you are in the Winchester VA area, and you have a new addition consider joining us with your puppy. Have fun and explore the world of puppies with us. The class is ongoing, so you don’t need to wait for a class to start.). It includes lots of basics information. All that stuff new puppy manuals give you: Details on how to house-train, How to address mouthing and biting, How to prevent destructive chewing. If you’d like to join us send an email to Laura@scentingdogs.com
Old Dogs
I help one day a week in a local memory care facility, doing activities with the folks there. As The dogs and i were walking i realized we spend a lot of time doing activities with the retired dogs as well. When i did search and rescue on the nice days when the weather was good for hanging out in the car I’d bring the retired dog along. At the end of the day it was always easy to find someone to lay quick trail, or hide a training aid for the old one in the car. Then i said for my old dogs “retired means every search is a walk up find” even if they were getting a lot of help from me holding the back end up and helping them over any obstruction in the trail. It was always hard when that pager went off (back in the day of pagers.). For the old dog that was left behind on the real searches. These three are different. Shelby the gray lady in the front was happy to retire and become the pet dog, Cagney, in the back, considers visiting people a worthy job so often joins me at the retirement community to explore her calling as a therapy dog. Lilly, the girl in the center, loved working and has no intention to retire. Sadly she got hit hard by age. Lilly’s hearing is almost gone, her vision would have her considered legally blind, and an immune condition that affected her ability to actually smell forced the whole retirement issue. I believe there is nothing worse than being put into retirement when you’d rather be working.
In the memory care facility by far the best activities for people are the ones that give them a sense of accomplishment and purpose. Making crafts is fine, but making crafts we can give as gifts to guests at an upcoming family night is usually received with more enthusiasm. So when a friend asked me to participate in a citizen science project with Shelby i added Lilly to the participants list. Shelby ended up with some medical issues and dropped out, but i couldn‘t bring myself to pull Lilly. The idea of sniffing boxes for the new target odor was the highlight of her life. Lilly certainly got me thinking about life enriching activities for elderly dogs.
But even more than that what about activities with a purpose for all dogs? Something to do that gives them or perhaps more importantly a sense of purpose?
The last decade has brought some real changes to the dog world. There have been an explosion of studies published about how dogs think and behave. The internet has made finding and participating in dog activities easier than ever for people that would have struggled to find access to these sports before. I remember when i wanted to teach my rottweiler sheep herding skills. We were in Maryland at the time, i started out in Virginia and ended up taking classes in Delaware. But then it was as much persistence and luck as anything else. Today it is a minute spent typing words into google then inbox is flooded with options. When I started using my man trailing dog to find lost pets there were only three of us doing that in the whole United States. Today there is support for lost pets in almost every community, certainly in most states.
I think this is a good time to get a puppy there are so many more opportunities for you and your puppy.