Yes!
I get this question a fair amount. I’d rather get this question than have people simply skip puppy class, believing that their other dog(s) will socialize the new puppy. It helps to have dogs at home, but it’s not enough, and it may convince you to not be as diligent in socializing your new puppy.
Why it’s important to still take your puppy to a training & socialization class: Continue reading I have other dogs. Does my puppy still need Puppy class?
Your dog does a million cute things every day, if you look closely. Yoga stretches, head tilts, lip smacking, barking, you name it. Let’s turn one of them into a trick using clicker training! Here’s how: Continue reading How to Click Your Dog’s Cute Behavior Into a Trick
In this Newsletter:
Continue reading October News – Puppy Jr. High, Rally is back, more!
Some dogs are nervous about the clicker. It does happen from time to time, and almost all dogs will get over their fears, given the chance. So you have one of those dogs? Here’s what to do. Continue reading My Dog is Afraid of the Clicker!
It’s not an official recall yet, but Petsmart is pulling the following Smokehouse dog treats from their shelves, because of some dogs becoming ill after eating these treats. Continue reading Recalled Dog Treats – Smokehouse
In this post:
* Free Training Sessions moving to Thursday
* Volunteers needed for Growly Dog class
* Ahimsa won a “very close second” in the CityDog Magazine Top Dog awards (and the first place center isn’t in Seattle!)
* Upcoming classes
* Dog Training Conference Continue reading Upcoming classes, call for volunteers, free training
I could have used the headline that others used, “Pit Bulls maul sleeping woman…” but I think the more important detail here is how this happened. It’s not the breed, it’s the fool who chained them up outside. Yes, some pit bulls are dog aggressive. And yes, they are powerful. But I have seen dogs of all breeds that are aggressive to dogs and to people. And “Pit Bull” isn’t even a breed, it’s a description of several breeds of dog. When a pit bull gets into trouble, “Pit Bull” is in the headline. When it’s a labrador retriever, like the mauling of that woman in France who got face surgery, they don’t usually even bother stating the breed.
Continue reading Woman breeds, chains dogs, who escape & kill others
The cure below is for curing human hiccups, but do dogs get hiccups? (hiccoughs?) Yes. Puppies are more prone to hiccups than adult dogs. My dog had hiccups every single day when she was a puppy, and has since grown out of that. But I wanted to write this blog entry because I got hiccups last night and was so frustrated that I couldn’t get rid of them that my wife finally began searching the internet for a hiccup cure. Continue reading Hiccup Cure!
Once again, I have a boatload of news for you…
In this newsletter:
Continue reading Shy Dog class, Agility, Free Practice Class, more!
We have new classes!
The Baby-Proofing Your Dog workshop for expecting parents is completely new, and the Wallflower Shy Dog Class is a returning favorite.
I’ve also added a ton of new classes to the schedule: Agility, Basic Manners, Terrier classes in Burien, and a new Saturday puppy class in Burien.
Click here to see the schedule.
When I was growing up, the concept of having a dog in a seatbelt was never even considered. Even having a baby in a strapped-in secure, safety-tested car seat was a pretty new idea. But now that they are available, would you take your newborn home from the hospital just sitting on the car seat next to you? Or on your lap when you drive? Continue reading Seatbelts or Crates in the Car
People often ask what things around the house – and what plants – are dangerous for their dog. The ASPCA has a list of poisonous items. Some of them “just” cause vomiting, others are things that some dogs are allergic to and others aren’t, and some will kill any dog.
The ASPCA Poison Control Hotline is (888) 426-4435. It costs $55. I have also called the regular human poison number. Continue reading Household Poisons & Toxic Plants (Dogs and Cats)
I can’t seem to keep up with all of the different foods that have been contaminated with Melamine. I think what this crisis has shown us, more than anything else, is that most dog food manufacturers are relatively the same and treat our dogs as not being worthy of truly good nutrition. Makes you want to cook your own food. At the very least, find a place that is made in the U.S. that offers a balanced diet.
COLLAR & HARNESS WARNINGS
I have some awful news. A dog that took puppy class with me this spring passed away last week. Her harness caught on the exercise pen that she was kept in when her owners were gone for a bit, and she strangled.
The family emailed me because they wanted to prevent other dogs from danger. They asked me to be sure to tell people that it was a Shih Tzu – not the kind of dog one might expect to leap acrobatically into the air and get stuck on something high up.
I had heard rumors of this problem, and put my dogs into breakaway collars, but having never actually known a dog that had this happen, I thought it was very rare and got rid of the collars.
Looking into it, it seems it’s common enough to warrant warning you: 91% of vets say they have had 1-5 dogs in their practice who have strangled in the last year. I have just ordered several KeepSafe breakaway collars, which bust open if the dogs tangle in something but can be clipped to work like a regular collar when on leash. You can get them at the training center starting next week, or you can order them on our online dog store.
If you do get a breakaway collar, or have your dog go collarless in the home, it’s *especially* important to microchip your dog.
Love them every day, and don’t sweat the small stuff. Life is too short for dogs, even if we do everything right.
FOXTAILS – Danger!
Foxtails are a plant seed that land on your dog’s fur and then keep burrowing in, given the chance. I’ve had clients whose dogs and cats have had them in eyeballs, paws, and skin. They are known to go deeper, too, into the animal’s body, winding up in hearts and lungs. The dog parks are full of them and they are traveling now due to the hot weather drying up the plants. I spent yesterday removing as many as I could from the front of the training center.
Continue reading Collar Warnings, Foxtails
Who knew that dogs could actually copy each other? Scientists have always said that dogs can’t learn by “modelling.” That is, they thought dogs couldn’t see other dogs doing something and then copy that behavior. Turns out they do that, and they do it in context! If they watch another dog going after a treat with his paw (rather than the mouth), they only copy that behavior if it looked like the dog had a reason they couldn’t see. If the dog had a ball in his mouth, they wouldn’t copy, maybe thinking, “well, he would’ve used his mouth, but it was full.” But if the dog had no ball in his mouth, they seemed to be thinking, “hmmm…Fido did it with his paw – must be a good idea!” They would paw at the food rather than following their instinct to go for it with the mouth. Now, we have no idea what they’re actually thinking, but this selective modelling is pretty amazing stuff. More info is in this Washington Post article from June. Amazing! So be careful about digging in the garden around Fido…
The Seattle Dog Play Classifieds have made news twice lately. They were featured in Seattle Metropolitan Magazine’s “Best of the City” issue, July 2007) and in the Seattle Times (“It’s a Dog Meet Dog World,” August 2006)
In the Seattle Dog Play Classifieds, you just list your dog or search for friends, based on play style, age, location, etc. The service is completely free and is used by dogs, puppies, and their humans throughout the Puget Sound. It’s open to the public, not just students of Ahimsa Dog Training.
I originally created this service as a way to find play friends for my own dog, and it worked! I’m glad to have a chance to help other dogs find friends, too!
Click here to visit the Seattle Dog Play Classifieds.
I have quite a few new bits of info for everybody and finally decided to make an online version of the newsletter. Here we go…. 🙂
A visit with friends turned tragic when a child approached a family dog with a bone. You hear about this sort of thing all of the time, but too often, people “correct” the dog by telling it not to growl, rather than changing the emotionally charge of the situation. Now the dog is still angry or fearful, but it’s been told not to growl at people any more. Then we get the Silent Biter – the dog who shows no warning before biting. Continue reading King 5 News Interview – June 07
I was interviewed by Susan Paynter at the Seattle PI about what’s new and interesting in the dog world. Click here to read the article. Wilson is now taking classes at Ahimsa.
This was one of the few times that I felt well-represented by a news article, probably because I was interviewed for a good amount of time and Susan had a chance to see what we do in person. Still, it’s rare, and I’m grateful!
