Friday, October 23, 2009

Magnuson Dog Park

On October 5th, without as much as a simple fact-check, KOMO 4 news aired a story about an alleged dog attack resulting in the death of a dog at magnuson dog park. Through talking with direct sources, local veterinarians, witnesses who were at the park that day, and animal control, I can assure you that these attacks are false. From the information we have gathered, the boxer was killed either by a car or other accident due to owner negligence, and was never even at the dog park that day. Why someone would feel the need to cover up their dog's death with an elaborate story that has created hysteria at the dog park is unknown, but it does go to prove an important point. If you do attend the dog park, always be aware of your surroundings. Keep and eye on your dog and other dogs around you. If you see rough play that makes you uncomfortable, either ask the owner of the rough-housing dog to please remove their dog, or leave the situation yourself. If you see behavior that is inappropriate, do not be afraid to notify the owner of that dog that you will call animal control if they do not remove their dog. If you see a fight break out, call animal control and let them know what you have witnessed. Give as much detail as you can. If there are others, exchange contact information with other witnesses and the owner of the injured dog. If anyone has a camera, which most cell phones today do, take photos of any injuries incurred by any dog or human victims.

We all want our local parks to be safe for everyone. Irresponsible behavior, be it a dog or human, is not to be tolerated. Never be afraid to report anything that makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Seattle Animal Control can be reached at (206)386.7387, and press 7 to speak to the dispatch officer. I personally keep this number on speed dial, don't be afraid to do the same!

And, on my own personal note, if you do own a pit-bull-looking dog that frequents the dog park, be very very careful, especially at Magnuson. There have already been two accounts of frightened dog park goers assulting innocent pit bulls, one of which was only a 5 month old puppy that was kicked in the ribs. Please protect your dog, and consider another method of socialization for a short while until we can get the media to air a retraction to this story.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

What To Do When You Find a Stray

Inspired by an event yesterday in which I rescued a very adorable little pup that almost got hit by a car, I decided to post a blog about what to do if you find a loose/stray dog.


A lot of dogs that have escaped from their yards or been allowed to roam free will avoid coming over to people for various reasons. Some will be extremely friendly and easy-going, some will be more fearful and stand-offish. For your safety and the dogs safety, here's a few pointers on how to attempt to call the dog over to you and safely check them for identification. Remember: always use caution when interacting with dogs you do not know. If the dog is exhibiting aggressive behavior, or you feel uncomfortable handling them, call your local animal control professionals to come out and get the dog. Give them the precise location in which you have seen the dog, a physical description, and any other information that can help them find the dog.

Getting The Dog

Do not approach the dog - he or she may view your approach as a threat and run off (potentially into traffic if you live in the city). Instead, try to make friendly, baby-talk noises to entice the dog to come to you. If you're a dork like me who has some form of dog treat on you nearly at all times, use that to help entice the dog to approach you. When the dog approaches, do not bend down or over her. This, again, is likely to frighten her and cause her to run off. Instead, let her sniff you (and take food from your hand if you have it). Have you body turned slightly to the left or right so you are not facing the dog head-on, and avoid making direct eye contact. If you have food to offer, dangle your hand loosely at your side with your hand open so she can see it. Do not try to reach your hand towards her, even to offer her a treat. If she seems comfortable with your presence, slowly kneel vertically down next to her (presuming this isn't a great dane... obviously for a large breed there may not be the need to kneel down to get closer to their tag). Do not hover over her. Slowly place your hand out flat, palm-up, under her chin to pet her. Do not try to pet the dog directly on their head or body. If she shys away, stop moving your hand and keep it still. Don't pull it back in, but instead let her sniff and become more comfortable before you try again. If she is comfortable with this, gently pet her under her chin, grazing her collar. Many dogs do not like their collars grabbed and will react if you try to do so abruptly. If you have a leash handy, make sure you have that ready before calling the dog over to you so you can attach it to her collar if she allows you to. If the dog freezes, growls, or pulls away when you touch her collar, do not attempt to grab it. If she has a tag, try and see if you can get a glimpse of the information on it without touching her collar. If you have a treat, hold it so she has to tilt her head slightly upward to get it, giving you a moment to look at her tag. If you have a leash, use this opportunity to clip it on to her collar. If the dog has no collar at all, do not under any circumstance attempt to pick the dog up or grab ahold of her. If you can loop your leash around her long enough to take her to safety, try that, otherwise call animal control.


If you have your own dog with you, do not let them greet. Even if the stray dog seems friendly, you do not know if she is vaccinated or carries any harmful diseases. If there is a tree or post nearby, tether your own dog to it (or keep them in the car if you were driving), then attempt to coax the stray over, away from your dog.

Once You've Got The Dog

If you are able to get any information off of the tag, such as a phone number, take the dog to safety and give the phone number a call. If you get a voicemail, leave a message including your phone number so the owner can call you back.
If there is no tag, or a tag with no information on it, take the dog to the nearest vet office. All veterinarian offices are equipped to scan for microchips in the event that a lost dog is brought into their clinic, and most are more than willing to help you locate the owner if the dog is microchipped. In the event that the dog is not microchipped, take her to the nearest animal shelter. Many vet offices are not set up to take in strays, but depending on the office they may or may not offer to take the dog in. Shelters are often the first place owners will check when they realize their beloved dog is nowhere to be found. Most shelters have a holding period for stray dogs before they are put up for adoption to give the owner ample time to call and come claim their pet. If you have any interest in the dog yourself, ask that you be contacted if she is not reclaimed. Depending on the capacity of the shelter, they may or may not be able to house her for very long once the holding period is up. Alternatively, if you have the ability to house the dog yourself and don't mind doing so, you can call the shelter and vet clinics in the area and give them a description of the dog, as well as your contact info so the owner can get ahold of you should they come looking for their dog. If you do take the dog in, be prepared to care for her if the owners don't call.

Again, if at any point you feel uncomfortable with interacting with the stray dog, call animal control. They have the proper equipment and are trained specifically for this purpose. Its much better to call them than to put yourself in harms way.

That said, most of the strays I've personally encounted have been neutral or very friendly in temperament and have not posed any threat to me leashing them up and getting them home. Which brings us to... (drum roll, please)... prevention! Accidents do happen, but we can do our best to try to make sure they don't.

1. Always have your dog leashed when she is not contained in your home or in a fully-fenced backyard. Never open the door without your dog on a leash or properly trained to wait before exiting the house. Leash laws exist for a reason, obey them.
Seattle's law states your dog must be on a leash of 8 ft. or shorter at all times in public, and must be properly contained on the property by a fence or tie-out when in your yard.

2. Have current tags on your dogs at all times. Accidents happen despite our best efforts, and when they do, we want someone to be able to identify our pets and get them home safely to us.
3. Microchip your pets. Collars can fall off. Microchips don't. A microchip can save your dog's life if they ever get loose and are turned in to the shelter.

4. Secure your backyard if you have one. Make sure every crack in the fence is filled, and there are no secret exit points your dog could escape from. If you don't have a fence, make sure you have a sturdy tie-out made of dog-proof material. Many local pet stores sell chew-proof tie-outs and long lines (which come in handy for camping, too!) Never leave your dog outside unattended for an extended period of time.

5. Train a solid recall command. Once your dog has accidentally slipped out of her collar or leash, your best ammo is a well-trained dog.



(disclaimer: I use the term "she" as a reference point to the dog. The entirety of this post applies to a dog of either gender, and all breeds)

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Deaf Dog 101: Living With and Training Your Deaf Dog

Deaf Dog 101 by Stormi King, CCS
Smart Paws Training and Behavior Solutions
www.smartpawsseattle.com

Repeat after me, deaf dogs are NOT harder to train than hearing dogs. They are not inherently skittish, "difficult", nor do they automatically startle or become aggressive when they reach a certain age. Like any dog, they simply need to be well socialized and exposed to as many new situations as possible as a young pup. Am I saying don't adopt an adult deaf dog? Absolutely not! They can make just as excellent companions as a puppy, and there are certainly more of them out there that need homes.

Special considerations for a deaf dog

Desensitization to reduce startling

From deafdogs.org: "These exercises are nothing more than training your dog how to handle, and respond to, various situations. They are no different than teaching a dog to sit. Your dog's personality will determine how much time you need to spend on these exercises. Some dogs are easy-going and fairly unflappable. Others are more sensitive, and will require more work. To desensitize a deaf dog to the startle effect of being touched unexpectedly, begin by walking up behind the dog when he isn't looking. Gently touch the dog, then immediately pop a treat in the dog's mouth when he turns around. The dog quickly associates good things (i.e., the treat) with being touched unexpectedly, and learns to respond happily. To condition your deaf dog to wake easily in response to a gentle touch, start by first placing your hand in front of the sleeping dog's nose, allowing him to smell that you are near. Next lightly touch the dog on the shoulder or back, pretend you are trying to touch only one or two hairs with your fingertips. Then gently stroke the dog with two fingertips, then with your entire hand. Most deaf dogs will awaken during some part of this exercise. When they open their eyes, their owner's smiling face, and perhaps even a treat rewards them. In a matter of weeks, the dog becomes accustomed to waking up when the owner places a hand in front of his nose, or lightly touches his shoulder or back. Waking up becomes a gentle, positive experience. As a deaf dog matures, he gains self-confidence and experience in a wide variety of situations. With many dogs, the likelihood of being startled generally decreases with age."

Getting your deaf dog's attention

Seeing as how you can't just yell "hey, fido!", you must get creative about getting your pups attention. As the joke goes "when the dog doesn't come, the deaf dog owner 'waves louder'". Indoors, if your floor allows for it, you can often stomp your foot, sending vibrations thru the floor, to get the dog's attention. If you are in a small enough space (this will work in a living room, but perhaps not in an auditorium), clap your hands as hard as you can. More than likely, the dog will pick up on the vibration caused by the clap. If your dog is not facing completely away from you, you can try waving your arms to attract attention. Note: you are a deaf dog owner. You can't be afraid to look like an idiot while talking to your dog
Outdoors, I would recommend always having your pup on a reliable leash unless in an entirely closed off area. If in a fenced in yard, check for potential holes in the fence or areas the dog could dig out. Once they've worked they're escape artist tactics, it can be difficult to get their attention, and, if you live in the city, it can be very dangerous to your dog. Long lines (you can buy them at pet stores, or even make your own with a sturdy rope and clip) are an excellent way to give your pup a little bit of freedom without being entirely out of your control. Most cities have leash laws that include maximum lengths, so be sure to check with your local laws to make sure your long line is in compliance.

Leave-it in real life

While on your walk, Fido spots a wrapper with half a hamburger in it. You don't want him to eat it, because who knows where that thing's been, but his eyes are already dead set on it and getting his attention seems futile. What do you do? This is a problem that you will encounter at some point. And since we can't actively yell "leave it" when the dog is eyeballing something we don't want him to have, it pretty much renders the command useless in real-life situations. So how do we combat this? There are a couple of different ways.

You can teach a good "watch me" command, and anytime you see a potential hazard in the distance, be it food on the ground, another dog, or anything you don’t want your dog getting into, have your dog "watch me" before he see's the object and as you roll on past it. To begin teaching the “watch me” command, start in a low distraction environment. Starting in a park where there are a million distractions is too much to ask of a dog who is just learning. Hold a treat, or anything your dog truly desires off to your side, clear of the path to your eyes. Tell him “watch me” (use whatever hand signal you feel is most comfortable), and wait. Only give the cue once, and don’t try to coax him in to looking at you. You want him to be conscious of his behavior without manipulation. The moment he looks into your eyes, give him a thumbs up (or whatever your chosen marker is) and give him the treat. His glance may only be that of a split second, so watch closely. It may take a bit of patience on your part to begin with, but after relatively few repititions, you’ll see a light bulb go off. He’s learning that all he has to do to get what he wants is to look at you when you ask him to! Easy, right? Once he’s got the idea down, generalize the command. This means start adding different value treats and objects he’s watching you to earn, taking it to different locations, practice giving him the cue with your body in different positions in relation to his, building up the duration of his watch, and slowly building up the strength of your “watch me” to be useful in real life situations. Before he’s allowed to greet his dog-pal on a walk, ask him to “watch me” first. After repetitions of this game, his initial instinct when passing other dogs on the sidewalk will be to look at you before going to greet.

Another tactic is, once you have your pup walking nicely on leash, you can work on distraction training to "proof" the dog from going after tempting objects even when he does spot them. This is similar to the “watch me”, although there isn’t a cue involved. To begin, teach him the game of "red light, green light", which means, dogs pulls=you stop. This is also a portion of teaching general loose-leash walking, and teaches the dog that if he pulls, it doesn't get him anywhere. Once you have a 100% success rate in a low distraction environment, take it outside! Start leaving low-value items just outside of your pup's reach. If he tries to go for it, immediately put on the brakes. When he looks back at you, TREAT TREAT TREAT!! Keep upping the value of the "illegal" item (in other words, start with something that the dog shows little interest in, and slowly increase to something he's got a great deal of interest in). Always praise and treat when he ignores the illegal item!! Do your best to avoid slip ups where he actually gets the illegal item, because this will reinforce the undesired behavior of picking up the foreign object. Once you have 100% success rate with the illegal item out of reach, take it up a notch and walk past the object within reach. Keep an eye on your pooch, and if he goes for the object, be ready with a tasty treat and a gentle butt-tap to interrupt and redirect him with. Eventually, you'll have a pup that sees a steak slathered in BBQ sauce with a sign saying "eat me" on the sidewalk, and he'll walk politely on by.

The convenient part of having a deaf dog!
*Other dogs bark at him on the street, he hasn't a clue.
*You can make all kinds of noise while your dog is sleeping without worrying that he'll wake up. *You get the pleasure of not having to deal with squeeky toys, and if you kill the squeaker (which I do for sanity's sake!), your dog doesn't care.
*You have a dog that’s attentive to your every move.
*You can talk to your dog even when you've got a sore throat.
*You get to skip the transition step in training from hand signal to vocal cue.
*Fireworks are a-OKAY!



Training

Luring is your new favorite friend. If you have a food motivated pup, you can lure train a deaf dog to do just about anything. Again, this is really no different than training a hearing dog to sit, lie down, stand or come. You can use any hand signal you want for the cues, I personally prefer the faded lure signal as opposed to the ASL sign for a certain command. It’s easier to transition, and you don't have to worry about having both hands free to talk to your dog.

Ex of the faded lure hand signal: To teach a dog "sit" start with a treat in your hand at the the dogs nose. Slow lift the treat up and slightly backwards (think of it as shifting a car) until the dog's bottom hits the ground. Mark the behavior (for deaf dogs a quick thumbs up works great!), and treat. When you have 100% success, and the dog is even anticipating the signal, turn your hand so your palm is facing upwards at about waist level. Push your hand up slightly to simulate the lure. Treat from the opposite hand. It make take a few transitional steps in-between (slowly changing your hand position from in front of the dog's nose to above the dogs head), but eventually your signal will be a short upward movement of your flat palm moving upwards.

For visual examples: http://deafdogs.org/training/signs.php


Vibrating collars: These are not to be confused with shock collars that administer an aversive punishment. They are collars that go around your dogs neck that emit a very light vibration in order to get the dog's attention. When conditioned properly, they can be wonderful tools as an attention getter, but when used improperly, they do have their fall-backs. I personally don't favor the use, because A. there are opportunities for the collar to accidentally shock the dog if ever there is a short, B. they're very heavy in weight and C. the main use for such a tool is when the dog is off leash, which, in theory, your deaf dog will never be off-leash in an uncontrolled environment. I much prefer the option of training the dog to "check in" during play, or physically going over to the dog if there is any need to get his attention. Its very easy to accidentally build a negative association with the vibrating collar. All you have to do is "page" him once to leave play, and he could quickly associate the vibration with "uhoh! play is over!", and run away instead of coming over to you. When training your pup to "check in", always be ready with some super yummy goodies to praise him for doing so!

Training a deaf dog is easy, whether you have experience or not. The biggest key is, again, you must have a sense of humor to be caught waving and acting like a buffoon in public while teaching your deaf dog.

For some fun, deaf dog humor: http://deafdogs.org/faq/humor.php