An Exposition: In Which Melon Waxes Lyrical on Multi-Dog Management

Hello blogfriends.

Scruffy and Charlie, my most recent boarders, have gone home. I'm pretty sure they enjoyed their holiday and I refined my skills at multi-dog management.

Scruffy and Charlie: a rare snapshot with both boys

I owe a lot of this to another little guide: P. McConnell and K. London's Feeling Outnumbered: How to Manage and Enjoy Your Multi-Dog Household. I loved its advice on body blocking, and its general approach of 'teaching every dog good manners is the key to peaceful coexistence'. Makes perfect sense to me.

Most of all, though, I think this sudden foray into multi-dog management -- with Scruffy and Charlie at home, and Ava and Darcy at work -- has made me feel like the key here is management. Don't get me wrong -- dogs do need to be trained and you can almost always teach something new to improve situations. That's why I'm a dog trainer.

But I've also realised that management can be enough.

Ava: You call this management?

With multiple dogs, your time is split between them. Add to that normal life commitments -- for example, a homework assignment to finish, another dog job, and trying to fit in driving practice -- sometimes it's just about getting the dogs fed, walked, and getting in a little mental stimulation, whether that be with toys or training.

And I feel like part of understanding management is understanding that you won't be able to treat both dogs the same. Little Darcy, being only a few months old, spends half the day in his pen, while Ava can be trusted free in the house. Scruffy has to eat outside by himself while Charlie is inside with the humans, because Charlie needs to be coaxed to eat and Scruffy will steal his food.

Dog days of summer: I shut Scruffy in so Charlie could enjoy his iceblock

You won't even be able to treat your dogs equally all of the time. Some days only Darcy gets walked, because I can only take one dog with me to the cafe, and some days only Ava gets walked, because I'm out of time. And you know what? I'm realising that's okay.

Don't get me wrong, I wish Ava and Darcy could loose-lead walk nicely right now so that I could just walk them both together, and I really, really wish Scruffy and Charlie's owner could implement some more strategies so Charlie doesn't have to live timidly in the shadow of his brother. But I'm hoping that the more dogs I work with the more skilled I will become, so that I can achieve more in the same finite amount of time. Until then, though, I'm only human, they're only dogs, and we do the best we can.

Book Review: The City Dog

Basically, it looked pretty and easy to read

This book was another library find of mine. It's one of those large, non-fiction books you find on its own little stand because it looks new and colourful.

I came for a few 'recommended' books such as the Dunbar guides and having spotted it on my way out, grabbed it also. I was attracted by the modern cover design and easy-to-read typesetting, but it turned out to have a really practical, sensible approach to having a dog in the city.

In fact, I feel it provides a practical, sensible approach to having a dog in general. This Hamlyn (UK) book may not have had us 'down under' in mind, but Australia is one of the world's most urbanised countries. We also have one of the world's highest rates of pet ownership. So it's not surprising that I feel this book is practically a must-read for a new dog owner.

 The City Dog: The Essential Guide For the Urban Owner opens with an introduction to the idea of dogs in the city:

While it may be tempting to think of most dogs being at home in green fields and woodland, they can adapt well to life in the city and can flourish there, with a little understanding, training and care. (Introduction, p.6)

And I think this book provides us with just that -- a little understanding, training and care -- so that we can, in turn, provide our dogs with the same.

It presents a thorough understanding of the issues involved in having a city dog, from sheer size considerations for a dog navigating city streets to the necessity of 'leave it' in that environment.
Each double-page spread has eye-catching (and adorable!) photos alongside descriptions which provide an understanding of the relevant concepts without descending into jargon.

And the training exercises? Recall, Sit, Down, Leave it -- as well as attention, socialisation (with checklists!) and café manners -- are what I'd consider essential for any pet dog anyway, so I love that they are all there, with step-by-step photos.

And I think reminding owners about balancing their needs with that of their dogs -- such as bringing the dog along to the outdoor mall for a shopping spree but taking care pup doesn't leave hairs on the clothing -- shows that they really have covered the topic 'with care' and consideration.

But really -- this is all just my very long way of saying I really enjoyed this book. I was impressed at how it could present such sound, comprehensive and relevant information in such a simple manner, with more than half the book being beautiful photographs and so few words! (... unlike me!)

Book Review: Before and After You Get Your Puppy

Have you been wondering how someone who has never had a dog has been raising a puppy? Well, the same way as any first-time dog owner does - read, read, read!

Blogs have given me a real insight into living with dogs and plenty of tips. But I'm going to start by telling you about some of the books I've read to skill up on puppies. In case you were wondering, I don't get books recommended or sent to me for review or anything. I just utilise a resource I really really love - the public library system. So that's where these books come from, mainly.

* * * 

I had heard from blogs that Dr Ian Dunbar is an excellent behaviourist, and I know he has an enormous body of work, so I checked out his books Before You Get Your Puppy and After You Get Your Puppy. I had actually picked up After... first at a used book store when I was looking for books to gift my neighbours who'd gotten a new puppy (yes, I do mean Penne) but after a flick-through very decidedly did not give it to them.

Why? The same reason I think these two books might be rather off-putting to potential/new puppy owners. Their approach is very alarmist.  

Let's start with the cover illustrations. Before... looks innocent enough, with the cute drawings of adult dogs reading about puppies, but After...'s cover is plastered with drawings depicting universally annoying dog behaviours - continuous barking, shredding up the house and two dogs with boxing gloves on (no prizes for guessing that one). In fact, look between the vivid drawings and you'll see there's actually a subtitle: After You Get Your Puppy... the clock is ticking!

I am obviously here to learn about the best, most thorough way to raise a puppy. And yet I found the language even more alarmist than the cover illustrations.

Before... states in the first paragraph of its first chapter that

"... some puppies are well on their way to ruin by the time they are just eight weeks old. It is especially easy to make horrendous mistakes when selecting a pup and during his first few days..." (p15, Chapter One: The Developmental Deadlines).

Okay, so an abusive first two months of life could leave its mark on a puppy. But Dunbar is talking about mistakes here. I find it had to believe that an innocent mistake from a well-meaning dog owner in the first few days home will "ruin" the puppy. The basic premise of After... seems to be 'after you get your puppy, you are already late to the game. Quick, do all these things, or you've messed up, big time.' And I find this, frankly, rather off-putting.

Once you get past the alarmist language, though, I found Dunbar provides some rather creative and practical ideas to achieve some of the goals. Puppy Parties are actually not such a bad idea, if you need an excuse for a gathering. The suggestions of catching up on social obligations with family and friends or simply inviting men over for sports night or women for ice cream and conversation actually sound doable and appealing to me. Sadly I haven't yet had a puppy of my own, but if I did -- I think I might actually do that.

Suddenly guests are happy to drop by... I wonder why?

Those of you familiar with Dr Dunbar will know that these strategies are suggested because

"Your pup needs to socialise with at least a hundred different people before it is three months old." (pg 29, Chapter Four: Socialisation with People).  

Now, putting the question of necessity aside, this struck me - like most, I imagine - to be impossible the minute I read it. Dunbar suggests having groups of six home almost every night of the week. Now, even the most social butterfly would struggle with that, I expect.

I also didn't know what he meant 'meet' or 'socialise with'. Does she have to just see a hundred people on the street, or do they have to all successfully ask her to follow basic commands, as he suggested is the entertainment at puppy parties? Most puppies get their second vacc at 12 weeks - exactly three months - so we can't put puppy on the ground outside yet, remember, Dr Dunbar?

But just for the heck of it, I kept a simple tally of how many people Ava met while with me in the first three months. I counted 'meeting' as having touched her. I only saw her on weekdays, I couldn't invite people over and not having a car, I could only take her as far as I could carry her on foot.

She saw a great deal out and about

Most of the meetings were incidental because I carried her with me to buy coffee or sit outside the shops. And yet the day she turned three months old, I had counted 28 people, including men, children and a toddler. She had also met three dogs, and seen the main road, trolleys, strollers, trucks and buses. Add that to the 40 or 50 people she must have met with her owners (they attended a couple of large family gatherings during that time), and Dunbar's magic number doesn't sound quite so elusive after all.

I am trying to amass a collection of dog books, so I would hang onto these books for reference as they have a few good ideas in them, but just from using the local library I am finding that there are many, many good basic puppy books out there. Most new puppy owners I know have bought a couple of puppy books they are going to use, and due to the alarmist language I don't think I'd recommend these two for that, even though their information is very sound. I want people to feel empowered -- not intimidated -- to raise their dogs well.

Have you read these two, or other Dr Ian Dunbar books? What do you think?

Book Review: On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals

Turid Rugaas is a Norwegian dog trainer who took in a stray little Elkhound named Vesla. While observing Vesla's behaviour with other dogs change over time -- from aggression and violence to calm communication with others -- Rugaas discovered that dogs have behaviours they use in stressful situations to calm both themselves and others around them down. She calls these 'calming signals'.

Rugaas was encouraged to write her theory on calming signals down, so she wrote On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals. The book is a short and easy read, because it's essentially a list of calming signals and how dogs use them. There is also a sentence on each signal suggesting how humans can use it, and this is furthered in the third chapter titled 'Case Histories' which gives examples of how she has used calming signals to rehabilitate her clients, who tend to be fearful or aggressive dogs.

It was a fun read really -- haven't we all wished we knew exactly what dogs were saying?

But in fact I think Rugaas deserves credit for not writing/marketing this book as a dictionary translating dog language. At least, I didn't get that impression. On a second read, I discovered she does claim that calming signals apply universally to all dogs (and wolves), that they will tell us what dogs are feeling, and encourages us to observe and use them ourselves. But I didn't get the impression of any ego involved at all. Even if the exact words say otherwise, I'm left feeling that the book doesn't claim any more than it should. All it says is what Rugaas has observed and used.

I have no idea if calming signals really exist or work the way Rugaas says they do. I don't have and have never had a dog of my own to observe. But I will certainly start following her suggested method of training myself to look for them, because the humble way Rugaas presents her observations in this book gives me the feeling they just might be accurate.

Are you aware of behaviours your dogs display when they are stressed? Are you aware of ways your dogs communicate to other dogs? What happens when you use them yourself?

Book Review: The Power of Positive Dog Training

Funny how life works, isn't it? I was on my way to Gatsby's for my next training session, wondering what I was going to work on. I was starting to feel a tiny bit lost and wished the books I'd ordered online would arrive sooner. I missed the train, and, sighing, ducked into the library to wait until the next one. It was there I found Pat Miller's The Power of Positive Dog Training, and as it turned out, this book was much more relevant and informative to me than the three more specific ones, and well worth the lost training time that day.

Turns out I read the 1st edition

What I like about The Power of Positive Dog Training is that Miller explains the thinking behind the two most fundamental things about clicker training: why train with positive methods, and the role of the clicker.

I have always trained positive since day 1 of my short and recent experience with dog training, because this seems to be the dominant theory right now (as opposed to the dominance theory - ha ha), at least from what I'm exposed to. I guess it seemed to fit in line with my moral views, but to be honest I hadn't thought very hard about it, I just started with what I'm told is effective, and hadn't come across any issues so far. But Miller gives the most reasonable explanation for why train positive that I've heard so far: both positive and aversive training work, but positive training is lower risk and builds a stronger and happier relationship with your dog.

I think the line that has stuck with me the most from this book is

The difference is that an occasional poorly-timed or too-generous treat does no harm, whereas a single poorly-timed or overly strong correction can do serious, even permanent damage to the relationship between you and your dog. p12, Chapter 2: Train With Your Brain, Not Pain

The other thing this book explains really well is the role of the clicker. Not just that it works, or when to use it, but how and why it works. I would like to share the explanation given, because I know many of you train with the clicker, and know how to use it -- but do you know exactly why you use it? If you are recommending its use to others, can you articulate what exactly it adds compared to training with rewards but without the clicker?
I couldn't -- until I read Miller's explanation:

Let's pretend we are dolphin trainers and that we want to train our dolphin to jump out of the water on cue. We can wait by the side of the pool until he jumps on his own accord, then quickly call him over to the side of the pool and feed him a fish. But wait -- he now thinks he got the fish for swimming over to the side of the pool! How do we tell him the fish is his reward for the jump? We could try tossing the fish to him in midair, but that wouldn't be a very accurate or precise way to communicate, especially if our aim isn't very good! p46, Chapter 6: A New Leash on Life

She goes on to explain that we condition the dolphin to a reward marker by feeding a fish every time we blow a whistle, and then blow the whistle at the moment the dolphin does what you are asking for.

The reward marker ... allows you to communicate instantly and clearly with your dog when he does something right. p46, Chapter 6: A New Leash on Life

I personally think that you can train positively and effectively without the clicker (or equivalent marker), but using it is very helpful. Firstly to help communicate the exact behaviour you are reinforcing, as Miller explains, but even more, because it gives the trainer confidence. Learning to use it properly gave me confidence. Both dogs I clicker trained went from hearing and ignoring what was just another sound in the environment to giving me their full attention when I click it. Having the dog respond to it, so intensely, so instantly, reminds me that I can get my canine friend's attention, that I can make changes with a visible and obvious impact. The response to the clicker proves this, so having it in my hand gives me the confidence to keep going, even when I can't imagine how things could change.

I was able to take this photo because I clicker-trained Katie the boisterous Lab to Sit-Stay

(I also find using the clicker keeps me focused. I pay attention to exactly what behaviours my dog is offering/beginning to offer and when, and stay clear on the order of the process -- behaviour-marker-reward. (Not using food as a bribe!))

Has anyone here used the clicker with other animals or even human beings? (I've heard the clicker has been used with good effect in individuals with autism.) I'd love to hear your experience!

Now that I've finished reading it, I have passed this book on to K. Something I genuinely enjoy is having a project, doing thorough research, and finding an appropriate way to achieve it. People don't always share my enthusiasm for implementing my recommended solutions. (Really, Melon? By 'read' all of this, you mean 'skim over', right?) Luckily, K says she is actually looking forward to reading this book, and that it will even give her mind a break from her busy work schedule. I just hope it will provide her with some of the understanding it gave me about what we are doing.

The serendipity of finding this book, which so far has resonated with me more than any other dog training book, serves as a reminder to keep my chin up -- that helpful or interesting things can be found at the most unlikely of times.

The Great Gatsby Project: The Resources

It surprises some people who see me out with Gatsby, or others' dogs, that I've never had a dog of my own. You guys know better! One of the reasons I appreciate my blogfriends' visits so much is because you can advise from experience. 

All I can do right now is read everything I can get my hands on, and work with Gatsby as much as possible. I've got Mine!: A Practical Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs by Jean Donaldson, The Cautious Canine by Patricia McConnell and Plenty in Life is Free by Kathy Sdao on order already. 

I've picked these particular books because I think they'll be relevant to Gatsby. My friend spoils Gatsby to death so while I know most people would suggest the Nothing In Life Is Free (NILIF) program, I don't think my friend can manage that - she's still struggling with the difference between showing affection (hugs, kisses) and spoiling her dog (no boundaries). In other words, she doesn't know how to be a hard-arse with her baby like I can! So I thought maybe the Plenty-ILIF book, which advocates that hey, plenty in life is free for your dog, you just learn to reinforce skilfully, might help instead. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Lastly, if anyone can point me to any resources or contacts for Japanese Spitz, that would be really helpful. They aren't that common, are they? I don't see them around much, and I'm not finding anything breed-specific either in bookstores or on the Internet. I'd love to know whether Gatsby displays typical breed traits. Is there anyone in Blogville with Japanese Spitz?

So, what do you think? You guys are the experts, not me - I suspect having an actual live dog helps!