Three months ago, I introduced Otto to canoeing. This was only a couple of weeks after my husband had unwittingly traumatized Otto by dragging him across some fast-moving streams on a fishing trip. When I briefly described that event in the August 09 issue, I don’t think I mentioned that this fishing trip happened when I was out of town; I didn’t learn that Brian was going to take Otto fishing until after it was all over. Brian tends to fish for many hours in a focused way; had I known about the trip, I would have tried to convince him that bringing the dog would be a distraction, and that
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Otto would need support and attention on a new type of adventure. Otto has, on a number of occasions, shown himself to be a little anxious about new experiences. So I’ve tried very hard to introduce him to strange places or activities in stages, always leaving plenty of time to allow him to explore and learn to deal with novel situations at his own pace. And I don’t take him anywhere new without a lot of high-value treats on hand, so I can reinforce any effort on his part to be brave – and to classically condition him to enjoy trying new things. In the long run, I want Otto to be able to confidently and happily go camping, backpacking, hiking, fishing, and, yes, canoeing with us.
However, I think Brian’s view is that I’m coddling the dog. Despite his many years of proximity to Whole Dog Journal’s editorial office, he’s really not a “dog person.” On the other hand, he likes Otto! So he probably thought no further than to associate walking in the woods and by a stream with Otto (something we do all the time) with bringing the dog along on a fishing trip.
A fine point that didn’t occur to Brian: Otto likes wading quite a bit, but he doesn’t like to swim. He can swim; I’ve seen him paddle well when he accidentally steps into deep water. But he tries to avoid this.
So, anyway, it was a disaster. Brian had to cross the stream a number of times; the stream was deep enough (to a dog) that it involved swimming a few strokes; and it was fast enough that Otto was frightened and dug in his heels. Brian dragged him across, losing Otto’s collar and tags at one point – and losing Otto’s trust and interest in accompanying Brian out the front door for a week or two afterward.
Nobody is perfect Fast-forward a few weeks; Brian and I had a free afternoon. He wanted to fish. I wanted to introduce Otto to our very long, wide, flat-bottomed, stable canoe. We decided to try to accomplish all our goals. This time, though, we had an alternate plan: If Otto was not happy in the canoe, I’d take him for a hike along the river instead, and Brian would fish from the canoe.
I brought Otto’s life jacket, a bait bag full of cut up hot dogs, a thick mat for Otto to sit or lie on, and two leashes, so we could both hold leashes, in effect “cross-tying” him (without tying him to the canoe, of course!). We put the canoe in the water, and I put the mat on the floor. I stood in the water, holding the canoe steady, and said, “Otto, here!”
I expected him to sniff and stretch cautiously toward the canoe, and maybe put a foot on the edge. Instead, he jumped in! And immediately looked at me for some hot dogs. And then sat on the mat and looked at Brian like, “What are you waiting for? Get in the boat!” He rode calmly and quietly, watching birds, and occasionally getting up to lap at the water over the edge of the canoe. It was as if he spent his whole life riding in a boat.
Late that night, still excited, I bragged via e-mail to Terry Long, one of Whole Dog Journal’s regular writers and an experienced trainer. “What?!” she teased me, “You didn’t break it all down into steps, by securing the canoe so it would rock on shore first, then doing some shaping to let him know where to sit, not to move around, how to get in and out?”
So, I’m almost as bad as my husband! I know a lot, but not as much as a professional trainer. Fortunately, the foundation of positive training that we’ve laid is sound enough that Otto forgives our occasional mistakes. But my goal is to make fewer in the future!
1. If you have a mixed breed dog, Check out the Mixed Breed Dog Clubs of America, which offers conformation, obedience, and rally competition for mixed breeds.
2. Keep all your training sessions short and positive with your show dog.
3. Use a high rate of reinforcement when teaching a new behavior. Gradually reinforce your dog less with food and more with praise as he masters the tasks you are teaching him.
4. Check out author Vicki Ronchette’s book, Positive Training for Show Dogs, for more detail on training dogs for the show ring.
Sitting at ringside at a large dog show recently, I spotted a woman getting ready to go into the group ring with her Visla. After watching for a few minutes I commented to a friend that I thought the dog was clicker-trained. There was something very telling in the way the dog interacted with her handler that led me to believe that the dog felt comfortable trying things to impress her handler. After speaking to the handler, I found that the dog was clicker-trained, and had, in fact, been trained entirely with positive reinforcement methods. It is always very exciting for me to see people using these methods for the show ring.
You don’t have to be a judge to be able to recognize a show dog who loves what he is doing. A dog who really loves to show and enjoys what he is doing is obvious, even to the untrained eye.
Dog Show Basics
Almost everyone has been to a dog show or at least seen one on television, but not everyone knows how they work or why they exist. The original purpose of dog shows was for breeders to have their breeding stock judged. Many breeders will not breed a dog until the dog has completed its championship. The dogs who most closely match the breed standard in structure and temperament are the most desirable ones.
The largest registry for purebred dogs is the American Kennel Club (AKC). Most dog shows in the United States are AKC shows. There is also a United Kennel Club (UKC) and a Mixed Breed Club of America for people to compete in conformation with their spayed or neutered mixed breeds. I strongly recommend that anyone interested in doing dog sports with their mixed breed check out the Mixed Breed Dog Club. This organization allows mixed breeds to compete in conformation, obedience, and rally. It’s a lot of fun and a great way to get started in showing.
Successful Show Dogs: What it Takes
So, what does it take to be successful and win at dog shows? Besides having a dog who is a correct representative of his breed, you also need the dog to enjoy his “job.” Part of what makes a successful show dog is showmanship. A show dog needs to be able to perform and look like he enjoys it. The only way I know to preserve and enhance enjoyment of this work is through positive reinforcement techniques.
An important piece of the success puzzle is the relationship between the dog and the handler. In order for the dog to enjoy what he is doing and feel comfortable and relaxed in the ring, he needs to have a strong connection or relationship with the handler, whether the handler is his breeder, owner, or a professional handler. Positive reinforcement training can help strengthen that bond. Training methods that focus on positive reinforcement, rather than physical punishment, allow the dog to trust and feel safe with his handler; that, in turn, allows the dog to relax and enjoy strutting his stuff in the ring.
Clicker training and other positive training methods have made their way into many different areas of dog training, from teaching good manners to family pet dogs, to agility and rally competition training for professional canine athletes. The behaviors that are necessary for agility or obedience are much more complex than the behaviors required of a show dog. It only makes sense that positive training should find itself a place in show ring training as well. My goal is to make it the norm!
Positive reinforcement training can not only teach a dog the behaviors that he needs to perform in the ring, but also teach them in a way that the dog can have fun with and enjoy. Positive training allows the dog to try things and figure stuff out without having to worry about getting physically punished in any way. This, in and of itself, is incredibly powerful, particularly when part of the end goal is a dog who looks like he’s having fun.
There are three core behaviors that a show dog must learn to do well. He must be able to “gait,” “stack,” and be examined. Gaiting means moving at the proper speed and in the proper position without pulling on the lead, so that the judge can evaluate how the dog moves.
Stacking means he must be able to stand still on the ground (if he is a small dog, he must also learn to stand still on a table), so the judge can observe the dog and form an opinion as to how the dog appears when standing still.
Finally, a show dog must be able to stand still and remain calm while a judge examines him. The judge must actually put his or her hands on the dog to determine the overall structure of the dog. These are not particularly challenging things to teach. In fact, I have found that they are quite simple when using the clicker and other positive reinforcement techniques.
Equipment
To best show your dog’s conformation in the ring, you’ll need a special collar and leash combination.
For small dogs I like to use a Resco, “all in one” style collar with lead. The Resco is basically a loop with a slider that slides down to keep it snug where you want it on the dog’s neck. For medium or large dogs, I recommend a martingale style collar that closes up enough to keep the dog’s head from slipping out, but doesn’t continue to tighten like a choke collar would. There are “all in one” leash and collar martingales, or separate martingale collars that you can attach to a matching leash.
Clicker Training
I use clicker training a lot when working with show dogs. I see clicker training as sending non-emotional information to the dog. If your timing is good and your training plan is well thought-out, the clicker allows you to clearly communicate to the dog what, exactly, you want him to do.
How does this happen? The clicker tells the dog that whatever it was that he was doing when he heard the click was the behavior you want, and that a reward is coming.
In order for a dog to understand this, you have to set up a few training sessions for teaching the dog the relevance of the clicker. You do this by simply clicking and then giving the dog a treat. Practice this about 10 times in each session, then take a break. Make sure that you and the dog are not always in the same position or in the same location. You want him to learn that a click results in a treat, no matter what. Once you have done this, you can begin training some behaviors.
Keep your training sessions fairly short. Three minutes is enough time for a good session. Several short sessions throughout the day is plenty to teach the show ring behaviors. It’s fine to teach multiple new behaviors to a dog at the same phase of his training. However, it will help the dog if you work on each new behavior during its own, separate training session. For example, work on gaiting, and then take a break before moving on to stacking.
First Behavior: Gaiting
Gaiting a show dog seems like a simple behavior, but if you think about it, it’s pretty complex. You aren’t just “walking the dog.” Rather, you are asking the dog to walk at a certain speed, in a specific space in relation to your body. You don’t want the dog to pull on the leash, but you also don’t want him lagging behind. You need his tail and his head to be carried in the correct position for his breed. You don’t want him to sniff the ground or watch you as he moves. Oh, and he needs to look like he loves doing it! That’s a lot to ask for! You must train in baby steps to get there.
I typically start with the dog off-leash. I put some treats in my left hand and the clicker in my right hand. I let the dog know I have treats, and then I walk off. I click if the dog comes with me or if he even starts to come with me. After I click, I give him a treat at my left side, always with the dog’s head facing forward. I do not want the reinforcer to be delivered with the dog’s head facing me. Unlike heeling, where you may want the dog looking at the handler, in conformation we always want the dog’s head facing forward, so that the judge will always see the dog moving in profile.
Once the dog seems to understand what I’m rewarding him for, and is reliably moving alongside me, I will add the leash. At this point, I put the treats in my right hand and the clicker and leash in my left hand. Be sure to gather up the leash so it isn’t hanging down in a distracting manner.
Once again, start walking and click and treat immediately if the dog walks off with you – always delivering the treat with the dog’s head facing forward. If your dog pulls ahead, simply say “Uh-oh!” or “Oops!” in an upbeat voice, and go back to where you started. On the next attempt, try to click and treat very soon – before the dog has a chance to pull. Click and treat frequently, as long as he’s by your side. Do not yank or jerk on your dog’s neck; this will not help him understand what you want and it won’t teach him to like the conformation game.
Once your dog learns to move alongside you without pulling, you can begin to slowly “raise your criteria” – that is, require that he do a bit more before you deliver the click and treat. Adding changes is challenging, so only add one at a time. For instance, if your dog is watching you and pulling while you move, you might need to ignore the fact that he’s looking at you while you teach him not to pull. Once he isn’t pulling, you can begin to click only when his head is forward. Ask for small pieces at a time. This is really important because if you ask for too much, your dog won’t be able to figure it out and both of you will get frustrated.
Once the dog is moving correctly, in the right position and at the right speed, begin to click less often (lower the “rate of reinforcement”), until you are using mostly your voice as reinforcement, with infrequent treats. At this point, I put this on cue or command by telling my dogs, “Let’s go!” just as we take off.
Stacking
Stacking is the behavior in which the dog stands in the proper position for the written standard for his breed. There are two kinds of stacking: free stacking and hand stacking. Free stacking is when the dog finds the position on his own; while you may prompt him to reposition a foot or two, you don’t put your hands on the dog. Hand stacking is where you actually manipulate the dog into the position that you want.
photo by susan joseph
The dog will have to be stacked a few times in each visit to the show ring: immediately upon entering the ring; before being moved as a group; individually for hands-on examination by the judge; and at the end, for the lineup with the other dogs.
Small dogs will be examined by the judge on a table, so they must learn to stack both on the ground and on a grooming table. Medium and large dogs will be stacked on the ground. Some shorter but heavy breeds such as Basset Hounds and Bulldogs may be examined on ramp, or a lower larger table that they walk onto. Many people will hand stack the dog only for the judge’s examination and let the dog free stack the other times.
Hand Stacking
Don’t use a clicker for the hand stacking; it’s too easy to click right by the dog’s ear, which won’t be pleasant for the dog. Also, you will need both hands to hold the bait (treats) and reposition the dog. Small dogs will be hand stacked on the table and medium and large dogs will be hand stacked on the ground.
Start out with a good chunk of bait. With hand stacking, use bait the dog can nibble on, such as a slice of dog food roll (tubed food) or a chunk of chicken breast. Position the dog so he is standing sideways in front of you; you face his right side. With the food held securely and somewhat protected in your right hand, allow the dog to nibble and chew off little pieces as you position his body with your left hand.
Whether you place a small dog on the table or walk a large dog into a stack, always start with the dog’s front feet in the proper position; that way you have to reposition only the rear feet. When positioning the front legs, move the legs at the elbows. When repositioning the rear legs, move the legs at the hock. Never, ever reposition the dog’s legs by grabbing at his feet; this almost always makes him shift and reposition himself in a way that you don’t want. When hand stacking, always gently smooth your hands over the dog, keeping your hand on him, rather than pulling your hand off and back on his body, which can startle him and make him shift. Once he is in position, give him one last nibble, and then give him a break before you start over. Practice this until he is comfortable being hand stacked.
The next step will be to teach him to hold it. Stack him, then say “stay,” and pull the food away from his mouth for just a moment. If he holds his position, say “Yes!” and give him a bite of bait. Repeat this, slowly increasing the amount of time that you require him to stay put, as he becomes comfortable holding the position.
Some dogs will get too stimulated with a chunk of food and do better without the food being held at their mouths. For a dog like that, put the treats on a table nearby. Walk him in front of you (or put him on the table if it’s a small dog), then put your right hand into his collar, and gently talk to him as you reposition his front legs; then reach for a treat, give it to him, and then let him take a break.
Once he is comfortable with that, do the same thing, but then fix his rear feet as well. Gradually shape this behavior so you can stack him, have him hold the position, and then go and get a treat.
Free Stacking
Just like everything else, train this behavior in baby steps. Begin by getting some treats and your clicker. Initially, click if your dog stands, whether or not he stands perfectly. If he continues to stand, click and treat again and again. Move away and allow him to walk up to you, and click and treat him before he has an opportunity to do anything else. Continue to do this until your dog offers the stand position. Do this until your dog easily stands very frequently.
Next teach your dog how to stack himself in the position that you want. I like to teach the dog to “back up” (which means “step backward and reposition your rear feet”) and to “step” (which means “step forward so that both front feet are side by side”).
To teach “back up,” step slightly toward your dog and click and treat any shift of movement backward. Do not expect a full “back up” initially; shape it by clicking and reward increasingly correct, successive approximations of the backing up behavior. Another way to teach “back up” is to have the dog walk toward you in between two objects, such as the long narrow space between your couch and coffee table, and click and treat when he backs out. Once the dog is easily able to step back, say “back up” right as he backs, then click and treat.
To teach “step,” I simply prompt the dog by stepping back slightly and clicking and treating as soon as he moves a front foot forward. Once he can do this easily, say “step” just before you prompt him.
In the end, free stacking will look like a dance with you and the dog. If he doesn’t stack perfectly, you say “back up” and reinforce that, or “step” and then reinforce that. When he finally ends up just how you like it, say “stack” and then click and treat him! If he holds it, click and treat him again. Reinforce him richly when he finds the proper positioning.
Some people feel that show dogs shouldn’t be taught to sit because the dog will sit in the ring. This typically happens because the owners practice more sits than stands. If you reinforce standing a lot and make it very rewarding, there is no problem with teaching both sit and stand.
Judge’s Examination
Most social, well-adjusted dogs don’t mind the gentle handling meted out by a judge. However, you just have to make sure that your dog is comfortable with people putting their hands on him. Get him used to this as early as possible. Make it a part of your daily routine to put your hands all over your dog. Get him used to you examining his teeth. If you have a male dog, get him used to having his testicles touched. If you have a small breed that a judge may lift up (such as a Pekingese), get him used to this.
I like to let my dogs know what’s coming next by saying a word right before that part of the examination. Every time I examine my show dog’s bite, I say “mouth please!” so he knows it’s coming. I do this in the ring as well, to let him know that someone is about to look into his mouth. Once your dog is comfortable with you doing these things, practice by having friends do the same thing. Remember to let your friends know to be gentle and respectful when examining your dog.
Good handlers make showing a dog look easy. The truth is, the behaviors are not overly complex, but it will make your job – and your dog’s job – so much easier and more enjoyable if you really put the time into training them well. Using positive reinforcement techniques will not only help the dog enjoy the training process but also teach him to like the ring behaviors in general.
Vicki Ronchette, CPDT, CAP2, is a dog trainer and behavior consultant specializing in positive reinforcement training for show dogs. She is the author of Positive Training for Show Dogs: Building a Relationship for Success, and owns and operates Braveheart Dog Training, in San Leandro, California.
Forward! The judge cues the team to begin. The handler cues her dog to “heel” and, with her left arm bent in at her waist, briskly moves forward with her dog on her left side, heading toward the first in a series of signs that prompt her to cue one of a variety of behaviors. As she completes an “about turn,” a particularly challenging behavior for her long-bodied dog, she smiles, praises him, and moves on to the next sign, attempting to keep up a steady pace around the course of 20 signs. Wait! Did we hear her praise her dog in the ring? Horrors! Surely, the judge made note of that! He’s scribbling furiously now!
The handler moves toward another sign and executes the “halt / sit / down / walk around” maneuver. As she releases her dog, she praises him again and even sneaks in a quick pat on the head. She can’t be serious! The judge must be grinding that pencil to a nub now! Does this handler not know that talking or touching your dog in the ring is not allowed? Ah, but therein lies the unique nature of “rally obedience.” It’s not just the signs and the greater variety of behaviors involved; it’s the philosophy of this sport that makes it distinct from its cousin, traditional competition obedience. Rally obedience was envisioned as a sport that would promote the human-canine bond by allowing more natural communication in both training and competition than historically had been available in traditional obedience. The game This is a sport that takes a variety of useful real-life behaviors and strings them together into a “course” you take with your dog, guided by signs that call out behaviors in both text and graphics. Depending upon the level of competition and venue, there are anywhere between 18 and 22 signs. In addition to common behaviors such as sit, down, stay, come, and leash walking (heel), here are just a few of the behaviors required: •Halt / sit / stand •Halt / sit / down / walk around •Halt / leave dog / recall over jump •Halt / leave dog / send over jump •270-degree turn, right •270-degree turn, left •Call front / finish right •Call front / finish left •Moving side step •Moving back up / heel back three steps / then forward •Moving stand / leave dog •Serpentine weave (heeling around cones) These are just some of the variety of behaviors that may be strung together in rally as your dog heels next to you around the course. There are many more, depending upon the venue and the level of competition. The dog’s rapt attention to the handler and his quick and correct response to cues are critical to smooth completion of each course. There are time limits to complete each course, and your speed in completing the course can mean the difference between placements (e.g., 1st through 4th). Each course is “designed” by the judge and, as a result, can vary widely from competition to competition. This is in contrast to traditional competition obedience where the heeling patterns are very similar, the judge simply calling out variations of “right turn,” “left turn,” “about turn,” “fast,” “slow,” and “halt.” In traditional obedience, the judge follows the team very closely, while rally judges give the teams more room to perform the behaviors. This can be helpful for dogs who might be fearful or stressed with strangers lurking nearby. Many of the behaviors are useful behaviors to train for real-life use. As Pam Dennison, author of Click Your Way to Rally Obedience, says in her book, “Passing other dogs or people on the road or trail, getting around a show site, even taking your dog to a flea market will all be easier, more enjoyable, and safer if your dog knows the rally moves outlined in this book.” Originally a self-confessed traditional competition obedience “snob,” Dennison first attended a rally seminar only to see if it might be something she could offer her students as an alternative to traditional obedience. She was hooked. She teaches it to her students and has competed with her own dogs in events offered by two organizations – the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) and American Kennel Club (AKC). Dennison’s book is a good resource, detailing the differences between APDT and AKC rally and providing lengthy instructions about how to train rally behaviors. This includes how to use the clicker in training and how to “proof” your training using positive reinforcement instead of punishment. (See sidebar, below, for additional books and DVDs.) Ann Ford of Hagerstown, Maryland, had also competed in AKC obedience before discovering rally. In 2004, she attended a rally seminar presented by Dennison. She was curious about this new sport because her Border Collie, Jenny, did not seem to enjoy traditional obedience. Jenny was a challenge because she was very easily stimulated by the environment, which made training very difficult. “Because I can interact with my dog throughout an APDT rally course, by verbally praising her and giving her food rewards (and also a pat on the head!), Jenny learned that working with me can be a whole lot of fun for both of us. She would pull and tug on her lead in the traditional obedience ring and we were both miserable, but in rally, she enjoys all of the exercises and happily dances next to me in beautiful heel position. I never thought I would ever be able to do any type of venue with her off-lead until we started rally, so I have a happy dog and I am a happy handler!
“That’s the most important part to me – that my dog is happy working with me. Rally has given that to us, for which I am so very grateful! Ribbons, placements, and titles are all icing on the cake. Rally has also benefited our overall relationship and communication. It has also very much enhanced our training for canine musical freestyle dancing, as many of the moves we use are rally exercises.” History Rally was conceived in 2000 by Charles “Bud” Kramer, a long-time obedience and agility aficionado. Kramer saw interest in competition obedience wane as agility’s popularity grew. He envisioned a fun, attractive alternative to traditional obedience. The AKC took his proposal under review in 2000 and launched its program in 2005. Meanwhile, the APDT launched its rally program in 2001 (see “A Brief History of a Rally Cool Sport,” below). The United Kennel Club (UKC) and Canine Work and Games (C-Wag) both started rally programs in the past couple of years. We’ll describe some of the differences between APDT and AKC rally; UKC and C-Wag each have their own nuances, as well. Attributes of a rally team Rally obedience is a fun, upbeat sport, but does not favor dogs with any particular physical structure or temperament. Actually, it is the handler’s approach to the sport that is the most important contributor to successful training and competition. Obedience training requires precision behaviors and focused attention and these can be a challenge for many dogs. Thus, the handler who is committed to making training fun and truly enjoys training as a conduit to better communication between the species will be most successful. Although some handlers see rally as merely a stepping stone to “real” competition obedience, handlers who embrace rally as it was originally envisioned will get the most out of the sport. If you have previously thought that competition obedience is not your cup of tea, you might want to consider this version. Rally competitor Ann Ford shares her view of the sport: “Rally folks – especially APDT rally folks – are a bit different from the traditional obedience people, in that rally is a very bonded group of exhibitors. Everyone supports and encourages one another so very much. We have gained some very dear, lifelong friends thanks to rally trialing, laughed at our mistakes together, cried with our wondrous victories together, encouraged those who didn’t have a good day to try again another time, critiqued each other’s runs with loving respect, and took the “newbies” under our wings in making them feel welcome and less nervous at their first trials. “I have noticed that folks who gravitate to rally are those who have or are working to improve their relationship with their dog, to engage in a sport in which all dogs can participate and enjoy. APDT is open to all dogs (mixed breeds too!) as well as handlers with special physical restrictions and needs, so it’s a win-win situation! “Retired agility dogs seem to excel in rally (especially with distance work), as do traditional obedience dogs, who also enjoy the more relaxed interaction with their handlers. Puppies can get great obedience and trial experience in their early training, and older dogs who cannot physically perform actively like they used to can take advantage of APDT rally’s willingness to modify some of the exercises so they can still participate.” Equipment and supplies The sport does not require a lot of gear. •Rewards – Both toys and treats are used. As Pam Dennison stresses in Click Your Way to Rally Obedience, a variety of reinforcers are important in rally training. Using food alone limits handlers, especially with small dogs who can only eat so much! Reinforcing with toys can be a great stress reliever as well. •Signs – Trainers who teach rally classes will have the rally signs. You can also purchase your own. •Jump/hurdle – A single jump, similar to those used in agility training, is used. Other kinds, such as a broad jump or a panel jump, might also be used in AKC.
•Miscellaneous – If competitions are held outdoors, you will need a shade canopy for you and your dog, as well as the usual accoutrements of water bowls, training kit, chair, and crate. Expenses This is a relatively inexpensive sport. •Travel and lodging – The most expensive part of competing is often the cost of travel and lodging, depending on how far you must go to compete. •Classes – Class costs vary widely throughout the country. But plan on anywhere between $65 and $150 for classes that meet once a week for six to eight weeks. Plan on taking classes for several months to prepare for competition. •Entry fees – Trial fees are about $20 to $22 per class. You might enter multiple classes depending upon prior titles achieved. APDT rally sometimes offers two trials in a day, which adds to your trialing cost (who can say no?), but also opens up the possibility of “titling” in a single weekend of trialing. Training Even if you never plan on competing, training rally behaviors is fun and those behaviors can be used in many day-to-day situations. You can train on your own or search out a class in your area. There are many good books and DVDs available if you choose to train on your own. If you are lucky enough to have a trainer nearby who holds classes, that’s the way to go since seeing the exercises demonstrated and being coached by an instructor (especially one who competes with her own dogs!) will help a lot. Ann Ford has been fortunate to have had many good trainers help her along the way. “At Pam Dennison’s seminar in September 2004, a lady who was also taking the class turned out to be, without our knowledge at the time, our instructor at our own training facility. It was Kitty Bowman. We are still learning with Kitty, who has been our friend and instructor from October 2004 through the present and, I hope, long into the future. Pat Miller introduced me to the clicker, and Karen Allen taught me positive reinforcement and fun training. It has really been a group effort! “Rally is the best venue I could ever recommend for any dog owner to learn. You can use it for teaching basic good manners and solid obedience skills that could even save your dog’s life. What’s better than to have your dog do a solid sit/stay or down/stay in an emergency situation or to learn a 360-degree left turn to where you don’t step on your dog’s feet or fall over them? Side-stepping, the dog moving with you as you are heeling, is great for maneuvering through a crowd.” Levels of competition There are three basic levels in both AKC and APDT as well as additional, advanced levels of competition in each that have been added over the years. The following is a brief description of the titling requirements at each level. Books such as Dennison’s contain lists of each venue’s required behaviors at each level. •APDT rally In APDT rally, you are encouraged to praise your dog throughout the course. Petting is allowed after the conclusion of the behavior(s) on a sign. Food rewards are also allowed at the conclusion of a sign, but food must be kept concealed in a pocket and you will have points deducted if you reach for the food before the conclusion of the behavior. •APDT Level 1: Performed on-leash. The course consists of 18 to 20 signs (or behaviors). •APDT Level 2: Performed off-leash. The course consists of 20 to 22 signs, including behaviors from Level 1. •APDT Level 3: Performed off-leash. The course consists of 20 to 22 signs, including behaviors from Level 1 and 2. Three qualifying scores of 170 or higher under two different judges are required for each APDT title. •AKC rally In AKC rally, you are encouraged to praise your dog throughout the course. Neither touching your dog nor using food rewards is allowed in AKC Rally. •AKC Novice: Performed on-leash. The course consists of 10-15 signs. •AKC Advanced: Performed off-leash. The course consists of 12-17 signs, including those from Novice. •AKC Excellent: Performed off-leash. The course consists of 15-20 signs, including those from Novice and/or Advanced. Three qualifying scores of 100 or higher under two different judges are required for each AKC title. Other differences Both AKC and APDT have additional advanced titles based upon an accumulation of points earned from these higher levels of competition, and AKC has team and pairs competition, as well. The different venues each have their own challenges, although AKC is thought by some to be the easier of the two venues and commonly used to get versatility titles (titling in more than one sport) for AKC competitors seeking that distinction. For APDT rally competitor Ann Ford, some of the most challenging exercises to train for were the directional jump, the “offset Figure 8 around food bowls with treats in them,” and the “halt / leave dog while running” exercise. “At the higher levels, the hand cues should not be as pronounced as in Level 1. For example, a cue for a ‘down’ should not be your hand and arm held high in the air and then going down to touch the floor. “There are many challenges. In the advanced levels, you should not have to give multiple commands. A brisker, more flowing, confident pace and execution of exercises should be in place. Proper placement of handler’s footwork for pivots is also very important, but especially at the higher levels. In addition, re-tries of an exercise should be minimal. Distance work for directional jumps, straight and recalls over jumps, and the stand / down / sit at a distance (with minimal hand cues) is a must at the higher levels of competition. This is indeed a challenging sport!” Ford remembers a particular high point in competition: “When we tried for APDT Level 3 for the very first time, Jenny was so beautiful on the course, her tail up over her back, her face totally lit up and smiling up at me the whole time, she was in her glory, even with all the demands of Level 3. “I did have tears, remembering the days when I almost gave up doing any competition with her because she was unhappy in the ring and I didn’t know what to do about it. Accomplishing our ARCHEX (APDT Rally Champion Extraordinaire) brought it all together: Jenny and I are a team. Rally helped bring our minds and hearts together.” How to get started Check out some good books and DVDs and call local trainers to see if they offer rally classes. Many obedience clubs now offer rally. View the APDT website or contact its office to find a trainer who offers rally classes. Some trainers teach only AKC rally, so be sure to get a couple of books that detail the differences between the two venues if you want to compete in both. Terry Long, CPDT, is a writer, agility instructor, and behavior counselor in Long Beach, CA. She lives with four dogs and a cat and is addicted to agility and animal behavior.
About five years ago, my then-next-door neighbors decided to get a dog, and not just any dog. They’d spent years dreaming about and planning for the day they’d have both a landlord who allowed dogs and the time to spend with a dog. Now they had both, and they wanted to get a miniature Poodle, preferably female, and “apricot” colored. And they wanted to know if I knew any Poodle breeders.
Well, gosh. No, I don’t know any Poodle breeders, but had they gone to any of our local shelters? Looked into rescue organizations? Were they aware of petfinder.com?
Yes, yes, yes, the wife answered, impatient. The problem is, she had her heart set on a female, apricot-colored, and small. And she wanted to get a young pup, not an adult, so they could raise it from the get-go. And she didn’t want to wait a year for a dog who met this description to show up in a shelter.
I tried to warn these folks (an educated couple in their fifties) about the evils of puppy mills. I gave them articles that describe how to identify a responsible breeder, and told them about the risks of buying from unprincipled or ignorant puppy producers. I suggested that they go to dog shows – the Golden Gate Kennel Club show was not far off – and ask Poodle exhibitors about retired show dogs, or pups that didn’t meet conformation standards. Ask for references, I told them; somebody might know somebody who has a dog who needs a new home for some good reason – a divorce, say.
We had these conversations daily for a week or two. Then the wife announced gleefully, “I found our dog! There is a breeder in Texas who has a litter of eight-week-old miniature Poodle puppies, and one of them is an apricot-colored female! He’s putting her on an airplane tomorrow!”
“I’m happy for you,” I said (probably rather flatly). “I hope it works out.” Inwardly, though, I was hugely disappointed in my neighbors. Should I have shouted, “Don’t you get it? That’s a puppy mill! Goodness only knows what you are going to get!” Maybe. Would it have made any difference whatsoever if I had? I don’t think so. The couple drove to the airport the next day to pick up their pup. And it was weird, because then I didn’t see them or get a telephoned “puppy report” for about a week. I guessed that maybe I hurt their feelings with my opinions about adopting (as opposed to buying) and my lack of enthusiasm for their luck in finding their dream pup.
Only it turned out even worse than I feared. They enjoyed only a few hours with their new pup when she started going downhill. She spiked a fever and grew listless. They took her to a veterinarian, who suggested that she was probably closer to five weeks than eight and diagnosed her with pneumonia. The vet was also pretty sure she wasn’t a purebred Poodle, but only time would tell.
The pup spent the better part of the next three weeks in the vet’s clinic as she fought for her life. My neighbors confessed to me that they spent almost $8,000 on vet bills.
When the husband called the breeder to complain about the condition of the puppy – supposedly “100 percent guaranteed” – he was told, “Put it to sleep, send me a receipt for the euthanasia, a check for airfare, and I’ll send you another one, no problem.” They didn’t kill the puppy. She grew into a leggy (and fearful) white dog with a Poodle coat and a terrier face.
Meanwhile, on any day on petfinder.com, you can find hundreds of dogs who resemble Poodles as much as that pup did. As a matter of fact, there’s one in my local shelter now; she’s what reminded me to tell this story. Feel free to give this page to anyone you know who’s in a big hurry to buy a puppy of a certain description – or even a certain breed.
Dog growling is a valuable means of communication, something that we humans need to appreciate and respect rather than punish. Of course, we don’t want our dog to growl at us, but neither do we want him to fail to growl if something makes him uncomfortable; that’s very important information in a successful canine-human relationship.
It’s quite common for people to punish their dogs for growling. Unfortunately, this often suppresses the growl—eliminating the dog’s ability to warn us that he’s about to snap, literally and figuratively. On other occasions, punishing a growling, uncomfortable dog can induce him to escalate into full-on aggression.
So, if you’re not supposed to punish dog growling, what are you supposed to do? The next time your dog growls at you, try this:
1. Don’t push your dog over his tolerance threshold. Whatever you’re doing, just stop.
If your dog’s growl threshold is near his bite threshold – that is, if there’s not much time between his growl and his bite, get safe. If his growl doesn’t mean a bite is imminent, stop what you’re doing but stay where you are. Wait until he relaxes, then move away, so you’re rewarding the relaxed behavior rather than the growl.
2. Analyze the reason for dog growling
Why is your dog growling? Does he growl when you touch or groom him? Growling when restrained? Does your dog growl when making direct eye contact? How about when you take something away from him? Or making him do something? If your dog is growling at you all of a sudden, try to determine what has changed in your shared environment.
3. Explore ways to get your dog to do something that does not elicit aggressive communication.
Try to get your dog to behave without eliciting a growl. Lure him rather than physically pushing or pulling him. Have someone else feed him treats or use a Licki Mat while you touch, groom, or restrain him. If you don’t have to do whatever it was that elicited the growl, don’t – until you can convince him that the activity in question is a good thing rather than a bad thing.
4. Evaluate the stressors in your dog’s world and reduce or eliminate as many of them as possible.
For example, if your dog is unaccustomed to strangers, then having your sister and her husband and three kids as houseguests for a week would undoubtedly stress your dog. Noise-phobic dogs might be under a strain if city crews have been digging up a nearby street with heavy equipment or there was a thunderstorm last night. The vacuum cleaner is a common stressor for dogs. A loud argument between you and your spouse could stress your dog as well as you, and your stress is stressful to your dog. Harsh verbal or physical punishment, an outburst of aroused barking at the mail carrier, fence fighting with another dog. The list could go on and on.
Keep in mind that stress causes aggression, and stressors are cumulative; it’s not just the immediate stimulus that caused your dog to growl, but a combination of all the stressors he’s experienced in the past few days. This explains why he may growl at you today when you do something, but he didn’t growl last week when you did the exact same thing. The more stressors you can remove overall, the less likely he is to growl the next time you do whatever it was that elicited the growl this time.
5. Institute a behavior modification program for your dog to change his opinion about the thing that made him growl.
One way to do this is to use counter-conditioning and desensitization to convince him the bad thing is a good thing (see “Reducing Your Dog’s Anxieties,” April 2007 WDJ).
Another way is through the careful use of negative reinforcement as in a Constructional Aggression Treatment (CAT) program to teach him a new behavioral strategy when presented with the discomfort-causing stimulus. (For much more detail about CAT programs, see “Modifying Aggressive Behavior,” May 2008 WDJ.)
If you need help to create and implement a behavior modification protocol, contact a qualified behavior professional who is experienced and successful in modifying aggressive behavior with positive, dog-friendly techniques. Good places to start your search are https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/Zip-Code-Search, ccpdt.org, or my own trainer referral lists at peaceablepaws.com.
I was so pleased to receive my August issue containing a piece (Your Dog Nose No Bounds) about scent training, K9 Nose Work, and specifically reference to Jill Marie OBrien and Amy Herot. I am currently attending one of their classes and it is truly amazing work. The concept that I love the best is that, while most other dog activities are micromanaged by the human, scent work is the opposite, allowing the dog to be totally a dog and be rewarded for following her instincts! I cannot wait to take my other dogs through the program.
I stumbled upon this sport by accident. I train dogs and also foster for a local rescue group; my current foster is Clara, a nine-year-old female Rottie. Clara had pneumonia when pulled from the shelter and had never lived indoors. Her nails were long; Lord only knows how she walked. She suffers from chronic arthritis and spondylosis. I wanted to offer Clara an activity that she could participate in but her physical limitations really curtailed what she could do.
While she moves uber slow I noted that her nose was always going full speed, sniffing the ground, checking the air, finding the latest hidey hole of our cat. Search and rescue and tracking came to mind.
I started asking around and was told to check online for a fun version of tracking K9 Nose Work. A bonus: Jill Marie OBrien is attached to it. I first met Jill Marie in 1999 when she temperament-tested my first bull breed rescue. I subsequently saw her at training/behavior workshops held at SPCA LA, where she is the director of training and behavior. Jill and Amy Herot co-teach and they are knowledgeable and informative about scent work.
When Clara came to our home in April she was grumpy and shut down, not very confident, and unsure about people. Attending K9 Nose Work classes has helped her personality blossom! It is a sport in which any dog can participate, whether a pure breed or mixed breed. It is perfect for Clara because she can work in the ring and check the boxes at her own sloooowww pace and gets rewarded for doing what she is already programmed and inclined to do anyway smell!
Clara will not be going into K9 Nose Work competitions but she has become a winner by gaining confidence and a new interest in life and people. She now has so much more to take with her when her forever home materializes.
Sandi Mineo-Rust Los Angeles
Your article about getting the family dog ready for children (Family Planning, August) sounds like my three-year journey with a rescue, Tibby, my teacher dog. I want to share a tip that turned her from a child-fearing snapper to a child-seeker. We had dozens of neighborhood children swirling constantly, a stressful situation for me and the dog. I had the children, one by one, hold (with both hands) a jar of meat baby food under the dogs nose.
It worked because the child was engaged and not jumping around, waving his/her hands, making noise, trying to pet the dog, nor reach over her head. The children had to be still to hold the jar and were fascinated watching Tibby eat. They stood in line to get their turn, rather than crowd around the dog. The dogs mouth was in the jar, rather than in the childrens hands (as it would be when taking a treat). The children learned that they could get Tibbys attention by being silent and still. We now have a dog who tries to go up to every child she sees for attention.
Joan MacKenzie, CPDT Springfield, VA
In the 10 years Ive subscribed to Whole Dog Journal (kept them ALL and refer often) Ive never had anything hit as close to home as Bleeding at Both Ends (July). My Aussie, Cloudy, started with bloody diarrhea last Monday, then went the route with bloody vomit. First thing Tuesday morning, I was at the vets office; they heard bloody diarrhea and hustled her into a room to start testing for Parvo. Naw, its not Parvo, thinks I. After an x-ray, CBC, Parvo titer, subcutaneous fluids, and a bill for almost $600, we left with some Flagyl tabs. When I got home and e-mailed Cloudys breeder to whine, she essentially called me a ninny and told me to re-read Bleeding at Both Ends.
Okay, brain death sets in when Im under stress. Then all the tests made sense and I settled down to care for my dog. Good thing I had Cloudy to practice on because two days later my Corgi went through the same ordeal. Im in the 10 percent of same household occurrences. The article helped me understand and cope with what was happening. Im most grateful that it allowed me to stop beating myself up trying to figure out what Id done wrong. This week both dogs are happy and healthy.
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When I visited my brother and his very pregnant wife last month, to take pictures for ”Family Planning,” our August article about getting dogs ready to live with children, I noticed that their dog, Hannah, was quite a bit fatter than I had last seen her. I was surprised; Keith told me that he had been spending much more time walking Hannah than in previous months. The goal was to tire her out (a tired dog is a good dog) and to work on her training before the baby arrived.
Playing pet detective, I asked Keith if he had been giving her many treats on their walks. ”Of course!” he replied indignantly. ”We read Whole Dog Journal!”
”What sort of treats are you are giving her?” I asked – and the mystery was instantly solved. The treats were biscuit-style cookies, each about the size of an Oreo. A handful of these each day would certainly add up to quite a few extra calories for Hannah, even considering the extra exercise she was getting. Keith said he had been breaking the cookies so he could feed Hannah a greater number of small pieces, but I noticed that the biscuits were so hard, they were difficult to break into more than two or three segments.
I praised Keith for using positive reinforcement and classical conditioning on his walks with Hannah. But I also suggested that he use much smaller treats, and that he alternate between bits of biscuits and tiny high-value treats like pieces of chicken or cheese. My trainer friend Sandi Thompson describes the ideal training treat as a tiny burst of flavor in the dog’s mouth.
Keith admitted that he liked using biscuits as treats because they didn’t get his pockets all gooey. Aha! I had a perfect gift for him in the car: my bait bag, a fully lined nylon pouch that straps around the waist and can hold greasy, yummy treats and a plastic bag or two, too. Of course, I had to go buy another bait bag for myself; I don’t take my dog, Otto, anywhere without a mix of kibble and high-value treats to use for training and counter-conditioning.
My advice to Keith and Leslie was off the cuff; I had’nt yet read Whole Dog Journal contributor Mary Strauss’s article on how to help a dog lose weight. Since he’s a regular Whole Dog Journal reader, I’m sure he’ll get far more information and advice from the article (which appears in this issue) than he did from me.
In spite of all this buildup, I havent heard any reports about Hannah’s current weight, because mostly what I’ve been talking to Keith and Leslie about is their newborn baby daughter! And, of course, how Hannah is coping with the loss of her only child status. I was proud when Keith reported that, as our August article had suggested, he had been bringing baby Ava’s blankets and clothing home so Hannah could smell them, days before Ava herself came home from the hospital. And I was absolutely thrilled when he told me that all the training he and Leslie had been doing was really paying off; Hannah was calmly going to her spot when asked to do so.
Best yet, while she initially acted concerned and curious when Ava cried, Hannah was easily distracted by the treats that the new parents liberally dropped for her as they attended to the crying baby. It’s a winning tactic for counter-conditioning a dog who is anxious about a baby. Whole Dog Journal contributor Lisa Rodier recently sent me a note about her friend Samantha Fogg, a positive trainer from Georgia, who had a baby in March.
Samantha just started teaching classes again, with her baby, Emma, strapped to her chest. Her students have been instructed that any time the baby shrieks or cries, to feed their dogs. She told me last night that the dogs are now starting to look at their owners as soon as Emma makes a noise. How cool is that? Very, very cool.
Marking is not the same behavior as “my bladder is full and I have to pee.” Housetraining is just a matter of teaching your dog when and where to relieve himself. In contrast, marking is primarily a stress- or anxiety-related behavior, far more complex and challenging than housetraining. An occasional female will mark, but the culprits here are primarily male dogs. Here are five suggestions for dealing with marking behavior:
1.)Manage your dog’s behavior with closed doors, baby gates, leashes, crates, and exercise pens so he doesn’t have the opportunity to mark in another room undetected. If you catch him “in the act,” interrupt him with a cheerful “Oops!” and take him outside. While marking is not the same as housetraining, you can still send him the message that he’s allowed to mark outdoors, but not indoors.
2.)Reduce his stress levels. Identify and remove as many stressors as possible. This includes eliminating the use of aversives in training or behavior modification and removing known stressors from his environment, as well as counter-conditioning and desensitization to stimuli that trigger fear, anxiety, arousal, or aggression responses in your dog. Hence the importance of not using verbal or physical punishment or trying to frighten him if you catch him in the act; you’ll be adding stress, and could actually increase the marking behavior as a result.
Other useful tools for stress reduction include calming massage; aromatherapy; Comfort Zone (DAP, a synthetic substance that mimics the calming pheromones emitted by a mother dog when she’s nursing puppies); and Through a Dog’s Ear – a CD of classical music specifically selected for its calming effects on dogs.
3.)Thoroughly clean any soiled spots with an enzymatic product designed to clean up animal waste. Use a black light to find untreated spots. This will help you find undetected soiled spots from your own dog as well as dogs who may have lived in your home before you and your dog moved in – a common trigger for marking. Do not use ammonia-based products to clean! Urine contains ammonia and the ammonia in the cleaning products may actually inspire your dog to urinate on the spot where the ammonia-based product was used.
4.)Get him neutered. While this doesn’t always reduce or eliminate marking, it can help, especially if done sooner rather than later. Testosterone can be a significant stressor, particularly if there are females in season and/or other male dogs in the neighborhood.
5.)Use a belly band. This is a soft band of cloth with a Velcro fasterner, which you can wrap around your dog’s abdomen. For some dogs, the band inhibits marking behavior entirely. Others will happily soil the belly band, (you can attach a self-adhesive absorbent feminine pad to the inside the band to absorb the urine) but at least it protects your home environment from urine stains and odors. Change the pad as needed.
Note:Veterinary behaviorist Dr. Nick Dodman of Tufts University suggests that well-practiced marking behaviors can often only be resolved with the use of behavior modification drugs. If you are not successful in your efforts to modify and manage your dog’s marking, make an appointment with a behavior-savvy veterinarian to discuss the possibility of using anti-anxiety medication.
Your vet can also consult with a veterinary behaviorist elsewhere in the country by phone. You can find contact information for veterinary behaviorists at dacvb.org or avsabonline.org.
Pat Miller, CPDT, is Whole Dog Journal’s Training Editor and author of many books on positive dog training. See page 24 for book purchase and contact information.
Breakthrough experimental treatment includes surgery, gene therapy, and a vaccine
The University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine opened clinical trials in June 2009 for dogs with brain cancer. Any dog with a primary brain tumor (one that originates inside the brain) may be eligible. The program will cover almost all costs for dogs enrolled in the trial.
Batman is a 10-year-old German Shepherd-mix with an aggressive type of brain tumor one that usually causes death within a month of diagnosis. In August 2008, Batman was the subject of what has developed as a breakthrough experimental treatment. One year later, Batman has no evidence of the disease a response so impressive that the National Cancer Institute is funding further research for 50 dogs. If additional grants and donations come through, the number will be increased to 100 dogs. Without funding, treatment would cost between $10,000 and $20,000 per dog.
Photo by Sue Kirchoff
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The new treatment consists of three phases. Surgery is done to remove as much of the tumor as possible. The site is then treated with a form of gene therapy designed to attract the dogs immune system to destroy any remaining tumor cells. Finally, a vaccine is made from the dogs own cancer cells and administered to prevent tumor recurrence.
Since Batmans success, eight more dogs have been treated. In each case, their tumors shrank or disappeared.
This new type of treatment has the potential to be used for many other forms of cancer in both dogs and humans. Two comparative oncology specialists are working together: one is a veterinary surgeon, and the other heads the universitys neurosurgery gene therapy program. Their hope is that the lessons learned from treating dogs will lead to better treatment options for humans with brain tumors as well.
Mary Straus
For more information:
University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, (612) 624-7441; www.cvm.umn.edu
Veterinary Chain Stops Providing Cosmetic Surgery
Banfield, The Pet Hospital, will no longer crop ears, dock tails, or devocalize dogs
In July, the nations largest chain of animal hospitals, with more than 730 locations and 2,000 veterinarians, announced that it will no longer perform ear cropping, tail docking, or devocalization on dogs.
Banfield, The Pet Hospital, based in Portland, Oregon, has determined that its in the best interests of its clients animal companions to stop offering these cosmetic surgeries. In doing so, Banfield is conforming with this position statement passed by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) in November 2008:
The AVMA opposes ear cropping and tail docking of dogs when done solely for cosmetic purposes. The AVMA encourages the elimination of ear cropping and tail docking from breed standards.
The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association also opposes cosmetic surgeries. Ear cropping and tail docking are banned in Australia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Scotland, and parts of Austria.
The American Kennel Club, on the other hand, remains a loud voice of opposition to anti-cropping and anti-docking policies and legislation. The AKC position statement says, The American Kennel Club recognizes that ear cropping, tail docking, and dewclaw removal, as described in certain breed standards, are acceptable practices integral to defining and preserving breed character and/or enhancing good health.
The AKC further states, Any inference that these procedures are cosmetic and unnecessary is a severe mischaracterization that connotes a lack of respect and knowledge of history and the function of purebred dogs.
The Banfield announcement was released just in time to support the efforts of animal advocates working to ban devocalization of dogs in the state of Massachusetts, House Bill 344. That bill was scheduled to be heard in the state legislature in early August.
Pat Miller
Missing the Point
Removing or reducing a dogs teeth fails to address the cause of his aggression
In July, the LA Times reported on the story of Cotton, an American Eskimo Dog with aggressive behaviors, whose owners had opted for a procedure known as disarming the removal or reduction of healthy teeth as a treatment for canine aggression. The owner had reportedly tried everything to eliminate the dogs aggression, including clicker training, high-pitched electronic tones, pepper spray, throwing soda cans filled with rocks, and two visits from Cesar Millan.
While watching an Animal Planet program on extreme biters, the owner found Dr. David Nielsen, a veterinary dentist based in Manhattan Beach, who talked about a miracle fix: the disarming procedure.
Instead of extracting canine teeth, Dr. Nielsen cuts away 4 millimeters of tooth using a CO2 laser. He acid-etches the live pulp within, fashions a bell-shaped cavity that he packs with composite, and light-cures the top for a smooth, flat finish. He also blunts the sharp incisors.
The owners had the procedure performed on their dog at a cost of $1,600. They report that their dog still attempts to bite, but the worst damage hes done has been light scoring to the leather boot of their gardener, after 30 seconds of ferocious gnawing. A month after Cottons disarming, he still goes after strangers, but the severity of his bites have been reduced.
This approach has not been embraced by qualified, knowledgeable behavior professionals, nor do the results strike most positive trainers as a success.
Behavior studies confirm that canine aggression is best addressed through behavior modification programs that utilize classical counter-conditioning and desensitization; training that utilizes operant conditioning, such as the Constructional Aggression Treatment (CAT) protocol developed by behavior analysts Kellie Snyder and Dr. Jesus Rosales Ruiz, is also very useful for treating aggression. A combination of operant and classical conditioning, as described in Leslie McDevitts book Control Unleashed or Emma Parsons Click to Calm, can also produce a positive change in a dogs behavior.
Behaviorists are not alone in their criticism of disarming procedure; the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) also recommends the use of appropriate behavior modification programs. The AVMA issued a policy statement on the removal or reduction teeth in June 2005:
The AVMA is opposed to removal or reduction of healthy teeth of dogs as a treatment for canine aggression. This approach to managing aggression does not address the cause of the behavior. The welfare of the patient may be adversely affected because the animal is subjected to dental procedures that are painful, invasive, and do not address the problem. Removal or reduction of teeth for nonmedical reasons may also create oral pathologic conditions.
Dogs may still cause severe injury with any remaining teeth, and removal or reduction of teeth may provide owners with a false sense of security. Injury prevention and the welfare of dogs are best addressed through behavioral assessment and modification by a qualified behaviorist.
Pat Miller
New DNA Test for Boxer Cardiomyopathy
Both carriers and affected dogs can now be identified with certainty
Cardiomyopathy is a form of heart disease that affects a number of different breeds, including Boxers, Doberman Pinschers, and Cocker Spaniels. Boxer Cardiomyopathy, or more specifically arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), is an inherited electrical conduction defect that causes an arrhythmia, or irregular heart beat. The affected heart does not pump blood efficiently, leading to changes in the heart muscle that can cause fainting and sudden death. Because the arrhythmia may occur infrequently, it can be difficult to detect on examination, even by a specialist.
courtesy UMN
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In April, Kathryn Meurs, a veterinarian at Washington State Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine, announced that she had identified the mutant gene responsible for Boxer Cardiomyopathy. The gene is autosomal dominant; if a puppy receives it from just one parent, he can be affected. Even a Boxer-mix with the mutant gene could be affected. (Affected parents can produce normal offspring; pups who do not receive the gene will not be affected.)
A DNA test to screen for this mutation is now available from WSU. The test can be completed with an in-home cheek-swab kit or a blood sample taken by your veterinarian, and costs just $60.
The DNA test will be useful to breeders who can now hope to eliminate carriers from the breeding pool. It will also be helpful to pet owners, who can manage the disease even before any symptoms are seen, with inexpensive medications that can extend the dogs life. The average monthly costs for treatment are estimated to be less than $100, according to Dr. Meurs. It could also be used to screen puppies before they are brought home.
Mary Straus
For more information:
WSU College of Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Cardiac Genetics Lab See vetmed.wsu.edu/deptsVCGL/ Boxer/test.aspx or call (509) 335-6038
1. Include your primary care veterinarian in your healthcare team; rehab specialists have the most to offer when they are confident your dog has been properly diagnosed.
2. Look for a rehab veterinarian or educated, experienced rehab practitioner it your dog has any sort of mobility problems or weakness. Ask about her training and experience; she should be proud to describe it!
About a decade ago, my then-young Bouvier, Jolie, had surgery to repair a herniated disc. From reading Whole Dog Journal, I was vaguely aware that veterinary physical therapy or rehabilitation existed. I decided that a similar modality would help Jolie, and set out to find a veterinary rehabilitation specialist to help us with her recovery.
I asked the veterinary orthopedist who had diagnosed Jolie’s condition, but while he thought some sort of pool-based therapy might be useful for my dog, he didn’t know anyone who offered such a service. I was unable to locate anyone in Georgia to help Jolie, but finally found a practitioner in Alabama – Jan Steiss, DVM, PhD, PT – who was able to give us a variety of exercises to practice with Jolie to speed her recovery and help with mobility, strengthening, and flexibility.
Photo by Samantha Fogg
Fast forward 10 years, and the field of veterinary rehabilitative medicine, sometimes referred to as Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), has blossomed. Just as physical therapy clinics for humans have popped up across the country over the past several years, so, too, has the field of veterinary rehabilitation grown. Still fairly young, the specialty is unknown to (and perhaps not completely understood by) many consumers and even veterinarians.
It’s Physical Therapy for Dogs! (But Don’t Call It That)
Veterinary rehabilitation uses many of the same modalities and techniques for animals as physical therapy does for humans; the two are similar in almost every way. However, the specific term “physical therapy” is legally reserved in most states for use by licensed physical therapists and for licensed physical therapists who work with humans only. The term is frequently used erroneously in canine rehab.
The American Association of Rehabilitation Veterinarians (AARV) was formed in 2007 to educate veterinary surgeons, veterinarians, and the public about the role this specialist can play in our dogs’ health. The organization defines a physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) veterinarian as a doctor of veterinary medicine who has advanced training, expertise, and experience in the management of pain and loss of function through injury and illness.
Many PM&R veterinarians have post-doctorate training in the areas of orthopedic surgery, pain management, acupuncture, chiropractic, and/or rehabilitation that has led to specialization and/or certification in these fields. The AARV website elaborates, “The PM&R veterinarian is trained to evaluate the whole patient and not just focus on the perceived injury or illness. Following evaluation the PM&R veterinarian can perfect a treatment plan, monitor patient progress, and adjust therapeutic recommendations to achieve success.”
In a further bid to bring light and credibility to the field, a group of veterinarians have dedicated the past several years to creating a board-certified specialty in the discipline, the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. According to M. Christine Zink, DVM, PhD, the initiative is now at the American Veterinary Medical Association as the AVMA solicits comment from the public and the profession. If approved, Dr. Zink anticipates that the board certification will become a reality within the next year.
Veterinary Medicine Specializing in Mobility
To learn more about canine rehabilitation, we talked with Evelyn Orenbuch, DVM, vice president of the AARV. Dr. Orenbuch has practiced veterinary rehab medicine in the Philadelphia area for the past seven years, focusing much of her time on sports medicine for performance and working dogs. Several of her patients are nationally and internationally ranked agility and working dogs. Her next most commonly seen patient is the geriatric (usually arthritic) dog. Although soon to relocate to the Atlanta area, she took time to discuss this growing field with us.
WDJ: Why become a rehab vet? Why not an orthopedist or a “primary care” veterinarian?
A rehab veterinarian is someone who specializes in neuromuscular and musculoskeletal conditions. This is in contrast to an orthopedist, who is also highly trained in these areas, but uses surgery as his primary tool. Orthopedists are good at diagnosing, but they are typically not the ones who guide a client through correcting a condition or strengthening an area of the body.
Primary care veterinarians often don’t understand the broad range of conditions with which the rehab vet is familiar. I think veterinarians as a whole are getting better, but I remember when I graduated from veterinary school 15 years ago – I didn’t know how to diagnose a specific type of strain very well. Back then, we were told that if you didn’t see it on an x-ray, then it’s a soft tissue injury. But what type? A bicep strain? Iliopsoas? Medial shoulder instability? A bunch of different things can be soft tissue injury and each should be treated very differently!
courtesy of Caring Canine
The typical protocol is to put the dog on a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID), and recommend rest for the dog; we call it “R&R”: Rimadyl and Rest. If they can do surgery, they do surgery. “R&R” might fix the problem, but often not permanently; it might just mask the problem. We’ll sometimes see a chronic waxing and waning of the problem after using the R&R approach. Well, if it’s a strain of the teres major (a scapulohumeral muscle) or medial shoulder instability, until you treat it appropriately, it’s never going to get better!
Another classic scenario is when a dog has a little pain in his hind end, so he stops using it efficiently, and puts more weight on the front end. Then he becomes weaker and can’t get stronger because of the pain and fatigue due to muscle atrophy. You’ve seen them – old Labrador Retrievers with huge shoulders and skinny butts. Unless we’re proactive about strengthening the hind end, the dog is never going to come out of the spiral.
But now we have rehab vets. Ideally, when a veterinarian sees that the dog has a soft tissue injury, she’ll send him to a rehab vet, realizing that the dog needs to see a musculoskeletal specialist. The bottom line is that the field is becoming a lot more like human medicine, in terms of specialization. There is just too much to know to expect one veterinarian to be able to do it all – and it’s odd that we didn’t realize it sooner.
What services and modalities should we expect a rehab vet to offer?
Because a good portion of what is going on during rehab is working on building strength, flexibility, proprioception, and range of motion, the means of addressing those issues will vary depending on who is administering treatment.
For example, I frequently use acupuncture and chiropractic. Other practitioners use those modalities and/or laser, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, hydrotherapy (underwater treadmill and/or swimming), massage, physio balls, wobble boards, land treadmills, cavaletti, weights, Thera-Bands, Chinese herbs, homeopathy, and nutrition. And that’s not an exhaustive list!
What kind of training should I look for in a rehab vet?
Ideally find someone who has trained at one of two schools in the U.S. The Canine Rehabilitation Institute (with locations in Florida, Maryland, and Colorado) awards the certificate of Canine Rehabilitation Therapist (CCRT) to veterinarians; the University of Tennessee University Outreach and Continuing Education Department, in conjunction with Northeast Seminars, offers a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner (CCRP) certificate.
But you might also find someone who has been practicing in the discipline for a long time. Maybe they don’t have one of the certifications, but perhaps they’ve spent a lot of time learning on their own, working with physical therapists, and getting invaluable practical experience. As with any specialist, you’ve got to ask them! A good rehab vet also usually has another modality such as acupuncture or chiropractic in her toolbox. Those kinds of tools allow the veterinarian to get a lot more done, including the ability to deal with both the condition and pain relief.
What are the typical goals of rehab and what are some examples of injuries or conditions we might see treated?
With hip dysplasia, we can use rehab to help with strength and flexibility. We find that we’re able to put off using pain medication and surgery to the extent that we’re seeing a lot of cases that would have needed surgery, now don’t need it.
If you know your dog has hip dysplasia early on, and you manage her, you can begin work early to prevent the hind end from becoming weak, and keep the pain at bay – pain that we often see in the low back and the muscles around the hips. Rehab can keep those areas loose, flexible, and strong.
After anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery, we used to see protocols that called for the dog to start walking for five minutes one week, then 10 minutes the next, and so on. There wasn’t anything else, and particularly nothing to address stretching and strengthening.
Now we can prescribe passive range-of-motion exercises to do at home; light weight-bearing exercises to practice early on; and starting hydrotherapy anywhere from two to eight weeks post-op. And sometimes we see the use of lasers, electrical stimulation, or ultrasound to help with tissue healing. With rehab, animals get better a whole lot faster; they return not just to functionality, but to the condition in which they were in, pre-injury.
When should I consider consulting a rehab vet?
Any time you have an animal who needs to work on increased strength, proprioception, and/or flexibility. And pain management is huge – it’s a big part of rehab. In fact, there is a brand new pain management certification offered by the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (IVAPM) called the Certified Veterinary Pain Practitioner (CVPP). The need to recognize and address pain in our animals is essential to their healing and well-being.
Rehab and pain management go hand in hand. It’s important to realize that you need both to get anywhere when dealing with pain. We can throw drugs at it, but if the animal is in significant pain, we need to be doing other things as well. For example, if a dog is stiff and painful, even doing things as simple as stretching and massage can be a big part of pain management.
How do I find a rehab vet and do I need a referral?
Both certifying courses (mentioned above) have websites that list graduate practitioners, but remember that these lists will include veterinarians, veterinary technicians, physical therapists, and physical therapy assistants, as the certifications are open to all of those disciplines. The AARV has a list of veterinarians who do rehab, and the American Canine Sports Medicine Association has a listing of rehab practitioners.
Usually a person can make an appointment to see a rehab vet without a referral. However, most rehab veterinarians I know would prefer to have a referral to ensure that the animal has been looked at, and know that the animal is healthy. On the flip side, the benefit of us being vets is that we can determine that!
How is a physical therapist (PT) or registered veterinary technician (RVT) who has earned one of the certifications best utilized?
The way I see it, the veterinarian is the “physiatrist” – a rehabilitation physician. She oversees and manages the case as far as the rehab aspect goes. She can then send the animal to a physical therapist (PT) who will help develop the rehab protocol.
Alternatively, a rehab vet can create the treatment and send the animal to a registered veterinary technician (RVT) who’s been trained to carry out a rehab program. PTs can be an important part of the team; they are well trained in biomechanics and can be very good at coming up with appropriate exercises to strengthen a very specific muscle.
Photo courtesy Orenbuch Veterinary Rehabilitation
One of the issues we face if sending a dog to an RVT or a PT without a vet’s supervision is that RVTs and PTs are not trained to specifically recognize or diagnose animal diseases. Therefore, if an animal is not being overseen by a rehab vet, we worry that conditions could be overlooked, affecting not only the rehab therapy but the overall health of the animal.
What are challenges facing the field?
The biggest challenge is educating our veterinary colleagues so that they understand when the rehab vet needs to enter the picture.
In what sort of case do you think your perspective as a rehab veterinarian is particularly helpful?
I’ve seen many cases in which a conventional veterinary approach leaves the client wanting; there is a lack of knowledge about the other tools that are available to us. Take intervertebral disc disease, for example. You might have a dog who is partially paralyzed or weak in the hind end because a disc is pressing on the spinal cord. Often, we can avoid surgery through acupuncture and rehab, by waking up nerves and bringing the dog back to function.
I’ve seen cases in which hip dysplasia was assumed because when the dog’s hip was extended, it was painful, but the dog never had an x-ray! It might not even be hip joint pain – there are so many other things happening mechanically. It could be something going on up in the back. I see a lot of sacroiliac joint dysfunction and pain that can appear to be a hip problem, when it’s really in the back or iliopsoas.
My practice is a lot of sports medicine. About 40 to 50 percent of my patients are agility or flyball dogs. A big part of rehab is keeping the dog in top shape. We have people who spend a lot of money on competitions – entry fees, travel, etc. – that the last thing they want to do is bring a dog who is not in top form to a trial.
A few weeks ago, I was at an agility trial and met a woman and her dog. She was completely distraught; her dog needed only one more “double Q” (a qualifying agility standard run and a qualifying jumpers run on the same day) to earn his MACH (Master Agility Champion) title. On day one of the three day trial, the dog tweaked something, and by day two she had to pull him from the trial.
I saw him at the beginning of the third day, and he was clearly sore, and head-bobbing lame. It appeared he’d injured his shoulder. I treated the dog once, then reviewed with the woman how to rest, stretch, and massage the dog, and she followed my protocol to a T. Less than two weeks later, they went to a trial and the dog was feeling so good that on the first day he went off course! But on day two, he earned his MACH.
Lisa Rodier lives in Alpharetta, Georgia, with her husband and two Bouviers. She is also a volunteer with the American Bouvier Rescue League.
Back in the day, when old-fashioned coercion training was de rigueur, it was generally accepted that if you didn’t teach a “forced retrieve,” you didn’t have a reliable retrieve. Today, as the field of modern, science-based positive reinforcement training has incubated and matured, we know better. While you can still find die-hard trainers who are more than willing to inflict pain on a dog to force him to hold a fetch object in his mouth, you can also find a growing number of trainers who are teaching happy, reliable retrieve behaviors without ever even considering the use of pain.
Photo courtesy of Kim Kilmer
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When you stop and think about it, given the natural propensity of most dogs to want to put stuff in their mouths, it’s pretty absurd to think you should have to force a retrieve. How hard is it to find ways to reinforce a behavior that our canine pals offer so willingly? Of course, back in the day, we used to punish our puppies a lot for putting stuff in their mouths! Maybe that’s why it was difficult, later, to convince them that we wanted them to pick something up.
Fortunately, those days are long gone. Whether you’re training the next flyball champion, working toward your Companion Dog Excellent and Utility degrees in competition obedience, or just looking to play fetch in the backyard, there are fun, happy, force-free ways to teach your dogs to retrieve. Reliably.
Know your goals Before you can start training your dog’s retrieve, you need to be clear on your training goals, or more correctly, your criteria. If you just want to toss balls and discs for your dog in your backyard, your criteria – meaning how you want the retrieve to look – are a lot looser than the criteria you would set for an obedience retrieve, or flyball competitor.
Let’s compare the criteria of a couple of different backyard retrieves:
• Low-Criteria Backyard Retrieve 1. Throw the ball. 2. Your dog runs and picks it up in his mouth. 3. Your dog brings it back and drops it at your feet. 4. Tell him he’s wonderful, pick it up, and throw it again.
• Medium-Criteria Backyard Retrieve 1. Hold up the ball and wait for your dog to sit (because your trainer told you this “Say Please” behavior was a good thing to do). 2. Your dog sits. 3. Throw the ball. 4. Your dog runs and gets it. 5. He brings it back and drops it on the ground. 6. Tell him he’s wonderful, pick up the ball, wait until your dog sits, then throw it again.
• High-Criteria Backyard Retrieve 1. Hold up the ball and wait for your dog to sit. 2. Tell your dog to “Wait!” and toss the ball. 3. Tell your dog to go get it. 4. Your dog runs and gets the ball. 5. He brings it back and drops it into your waiting hand. 6. Hold up the ball and wait for your dog to sit again, tell him wait, throw it, and send him to get it again.
Each variety of retrieve has its own criteria. A flyball retrieve looks different from an obedience retrieve, and includes teaching the dog how to properly hit the box that delivers the ball to him. A service dog retrieve is different still, perhaps requiring that the dog be able to identify objects by name, and find them even when they’re not in plain sight. For each specialized type of retrieve behavior, you’ll need to determine what the criteria are and figure out how to apply the principles of learning to make them work for you, your dog, and your training goals.
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Let’s look at how you could train the simpler version: the backyard fetch.
The puppy retrieve Smart puppy owners start reinforcing their pup for picking up things, instead of punishing him for exploring his world with his mouth. Trade your baby dog a treat every time he has something in his mouth. He’ll start picking things up and bringing them to you, instead of running off to chew on them.
If your pup approaches you with something in his mouth that he shouldn’t have, offer him a treat, pick up the item when he drops it, give him his treat, put the item away, and make a mental note to do a better job of puppy-proofing! If it’s something he’s allowed to have, you can toss it for him to pick up again. Keep trading each time he brings it back, and in no time your pup will be a champion backyard retriever. If you make it a point to play the trade game with a variety of different “legal” objects early on – soft toys, rubber, plastic, metal, wood – you’ll have a dog who will happily retrieve anything you ask him to!
If your dog’s puppyhood is long gone, don’t fret. You can still shape your adult dog into a super retriever. If there are some things he’s willing to pick up, start with those. If nothing goes in his mouth except food, you can start shaping from scratch. Remember that this is supposed to be fun, so keep it light and breezy!
Shaping a backyard retrieve Start by holding up a soft toy. If he looks or sniffs at it, “mark” the behavior with the click of a clicker (or a consistent verbal marker, such as the word “Yes!”) and give your dog a treat. Happy verbal praise after your click and treat helps your dog understand this is a fun game. Repeat this numerous times, until your dog is clearly intrigued by this new game.
Raise the criteria a little; perhaps now you only click and treat if he actually sniffs the toy. Repeat numerous times, until he consistently sniffs it every time.
Raise the criteria again; only click if he lightly bumps the object with his nose when he sniffs, putting a little more intensity into his sniffing behavior. Remember to keep it fun!
As he gets more intense about sniffing, occasionally he will open his mouth a little as he connects with the toy. When he’s opening his mouth more and more frequently, raise the criteria again, clicking only if his mouth opens, even just a little.
Eventually he’ll open his mouth on the toy every time. Now raise the criteria again, so he has to open his mouth a significant amount. Resist the temptation to stuff the toy in when his mouth opens, or you might intimidate him and make him back off. Let it all be his effort.
When he’s consistently putting his mouth all the way around the toy, start shaping for “duration of hold.” Raise your criteria just one second at a time; increase the duration of the “hold” only when he’s solidly performing at each new level.
Increase the duration – gradually! – until he will hold the toy for 5 to 10 seconds. If, eventually, you want him to drop the toy into your hand, make it easy for him by positioning your hand where the toy will usually fall into it, but don’t make that a required criterion yet; click and treat even if the toy misses your hand when he drops it.
Now place the toy on the floor and go back to the first step. Click and give your dog a treat for just looking at, then sniffing the toy, then putting his mouth on it, and eventually picking it up and holding it. The previous steps should go more quickly this time, as soon as he realizes it’s really the same game, just with the toy in a different place.
Next, toss the toy a short distance – a few inches – and repeat the previous steps, gradually tossing the toy longer and longer distances, until your dog is retrieving for you. If he starts dropping the toy instead of bringing it back, you may have increased the distance too much too soon. Go back to shorter distances and work on a longer duration of hold. Also, try backing away as your dog approaches; this encourages him to move toward you with more energy.
Finally, if you like, you can start asking your dog to “Wait” when you toss the toy, until you give him the cue to go get it. If you want him to deliver the toy to your hand, incorporate that piece into the shaping procedure early, as soon as he’s solid about holding the toy in his mouth for several seconds.
Photo courtesy of Dawn Bushong
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When the pick-up-and-bring-back behavior is solid and he’s enjoying the fetch game, you can raise the criteria again, and require that he deposit the toy in your hand before he gets the click and treat. Make it easy for him to succeed by offering your hand for the toy, and only click and treat if it hits your hand-target.
If he gets too enthusiastic about fetch and starts jumping up for his toys, put a “Say Please” program into effect; wait for him to sit before you throw his ball, flying disc, or other fetch object.
So there you have it: a decent backyard retrieve. That’s just one way to teach it; there are many others. If you have a dog whose mouthing behavior has been so suppressed he can’t be shaped into picking something up, you may need to start by creating desire for an object (see “Creating Desire,” below).
In contrast, if you have a dog like my Bonnie, who is always looking for the accidental artifact that she can pick up and carry around in her mouth until you trade her for a treat, you can skip all the early shaping steps and leap right to putting all the pieces together for a formal retrieve.
The obedience retrieve The formal obedience retrieve is a complex “behavior chain,” meaning a number of behaviors are strung together without a separate cue required for each one; completion of one behavior is the cue to start the next behavior in the chain.
For the obedience competition retrieve on the flat (not over a jump), you start with your dog in heel position at your left side, and tell him to “Wait!” while you toss the dumbbell. Then, on the single cue to “Take it!” your dog performs the following behavior chain:
Photo courtesy of Dawn Bushong
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• He goes away from you to the dumbbell.
• Picks up the dumbbell and holds onto it.
• Comes back to you with the dumbbell still in his mouth, and
• Sits in front of you, holding the dumbbell, without mouthing it.
Then cue your dog to “Give” the dumbbell (drop it into your hand) and “Finish” by returning to heel position. Since those behaviors require separate cues, they aren’t technically part of the behavior chain. In fact, obedience competitors have to be careful that their dogs don’t anticipate those two steps and add them to the chain, dropping the dumbbell and returning to the heel position without waiting for the cues to do so.
To avoid these anticipation errors, vary the amount of time that elapses between the “front” (when the dog sits in front of you), the “give” (when the dog releases the dumbbell), and the “finish” (when you ask him to return to heel).
To teach the complete obedience retrieve, you would train separately those segments that aren’t retrieve-dependent: Your dog should already be solid at the “Heel” behavior and thoroughly understand the “Wait!” and “Finish!” cues before you incorporate them into the retrieve.
You can use shaping and other positive training methods to create the precision you’re looking for in a competition retrieve – perfecting the position of the sits, adjusting your dog’s speed as he runs to the dumbbell and back, increasing the distance to the retrieve object, and fading any mouthing or tossing of the dumbbell. When each is perfected, strengthen the chain by practicing the behaviors in order, while fading any interim cues in the chain.
Remember that even if you’re working on a competition retrieve, with serious titles and trophies in your future, the training program should still be buckets of fun for your dog – and for you!
Thinking about a flyball career, or service dog work? Find out what the criteria are for those retrieves, break them down into all the appropriate pieces, and get started! Or find a good positive trainer who can help you with them.
Pat Miller, CPDT, is Whole Dog Journal’s Training Editor and author of many books on positive dog training. Miller lives in Hagerstown, Maryland, site of her Peaceable Paws training center.
