IACPINTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CANINE PROFESSIONALS

Safe Hands Journal Volume 8

Issue 3

Summer 2007

Photo by Chad Mackin

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International Associationof Canine Professionals

OUR MISSION STATEMENTThe International Association of Canine Professionals is anorganization established to maintain the highest standards ofprofessional and business practice among canine professionals.Its aim is to provide support and representation for all profes-sional occupations involved with any aspect of canine manage-ment, health, training and husbandry.

The International Association of Canine Professionals’ commit-ment is to develop professional recognition, communication, ed-ucation, understanding and cooperation across the wide diversityof canine expertise and knowledge.

For Those Dedicated tothe Well Being of Dogs

How to Join IACPPROFESSIONAL MEMBER – At least five years experience asa canine professional. Can vote on IACP issues and use IACPname and logo on business materials.

ASSOCIATE MEMBER – Less than five years experience as acanine professional but practicing as a professional. Can use theIACP name and logo on business materials. May not vote.

AFFILIATE MEMBER – An active interest in a career as a ca-nine professional but lacking the experience to be an Associate orProfessional member, i.e., apprentices, students of canine profes-sions, trainees, volunteers, part-time, and devotees of canine re-lated occupations. Cannot use the IACP name or logo for businesspurposes and may not vote.

Annual Fees:Professional $75.00; Associate $50.00; Affiliate $35.00An additional $25 fee applies for initial processing costs of Profes-sional and Associate members only.

Benefits:All IACP members receive our SafeHands Journal, have access toour email list, seminars, educational materials, business supportmaterials, events and activity calendars, regional group participa-tion, and our Certification Programs. Discounts for sponsor serv-ices are available to members.

Applications and renewals can now be paid through MasterCard,Visa and AMEX.

International Association of Canine ProfessionalsP.O. Box 56016

Monteverde, FL 34756-0156(877) THE-IACP or (407) 469-2008; Fax (407) 469-7127

Email: IACP@mindspring.comwww.dogpro.org

SAFEHANDS IS THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THENewsletter StaffEditor Marc GoldbergPublisher Martin DeeleyThe editors reserve the right to refuse any advertising or any articleor letter submitted for publication. Copy subject forgrammar/length.Legal NoticesThe International Association of Canine Professionals JournalSafehands is intended as an education and communication vehi-cle for fostering learning, cooperation, exchange of information,and networking across the canine professions. Safehands is pub-lished quarterly. The IACP does not assume any legal responsi-bilities for published articles. The views expressed are those ofthe authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IACP,its officers or editorial staff.Reprint Permission/SubmissionCopyright 2007 IACP. All Rights Reserved. No items may be reprintedwithout the written permission of the IACP and authors. Membersshould mail requests to the journal Editor. Original letters/articles maybe submitted to the Editor for consideration. Email submissions toMarc Goldberg at CanineShrink@aol.com.Advertising and Application AddressPer issue Rate:Business Cards $45.00, ¼ page $350.00, ½ page $450.00, full page$750.00. Send black and white camera ready copy together withcheck made out to IACP to:IACP JournalP.O. Box 560156Monteverde, FL 34756-0156DeadlinesPlease submit well in advance of publication. Submissions willbe considered for the next available issue.IACP Membership/Journal Information

International Association of Canine ProfessionalsP.O. Box 56016

Monteverde, FL 34756-0156(877) THE-IACP or (407) 469-2008; Fax (407) 469-7127

www.dogpro.orgNewsletter SubscriptionAvailable to non-members $30.00; or included free with member-shipOfficers Executive Director Martin DeeleyPresident Cyndy DouanVice President Marc GoldbergSecretary/Treasurer Pat TrichterDirectorsMartin Deeley, Cyndy Douan, Marc Goldberg, Pat Trichter, BobJervis, Babette Haggerty, Chad Mackin, Paula McCollum, JillSkorochod, Margot Woods.IACP Hall of FameFrank Inn, Vicki Hearne, Carol Lea Benjamin, Winifred GibsonStrickland, Lois Meistrell, Edi Munneke, Weatherwax brothers,Dr. Ian Dunbar, Arthur “Captain” Haggerty, Jack & Wendy Vol-hard, Bill Koehler, Captain Max Emil Frederick V. Stephanitz,Will Judy, Monks of New SketeHonorary MembersBrian Kilcommons, Bash Dibra, Gary Wilkes, Cesar Millan, Ilusion Millan

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IN THIS ISSUE

Grow With IACP ............................................Cyndy Douan ........................................................4

The Remote Collar Retrieve............................Marc Goldberg......................................................5

When What Works, Doesn’t!..........................Chad Mackin .......................................................11

Time to Call the Vet?........................................Eileen Tonick ......................................................15

The Value of Accomplishment.........................Andrea Holsinger................................................18

Spiders and Ticks and Bees, Part II.................Thom Somes......................................................21

SAFEHANDS JOURNAL IS PROUDLYSPONSORED BY

Discounts to IACP members on new books.To obtain discount enter member number in password box.

Inquire about old and used books.

www.4mdogbooks.cominfo@4mbooks.com

800-487-9867

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The summer finds usall busy with our busi-nesses and, likewise,IACP is working hardthanks to an incrediblemomentum gained fromour last annual confer-ence. I am so proud ofour current board of di-rectors and the awesomesynergy they createthrough their willingnessto work as a team to-ward common goals.Through the strategicplanning efforts of the board you should be seeingmore member services, increased IACP visibility,announcements regarding new sponsors, and growthin our membership numbers.

IACP has recently been able to provide our mem-bers with options for health insurance. (Go towww.MyBenefitsForLife.com/iacp). The organiza-tion has released a new and better Dog Trainer Cer-tification Program. We have found leaders for ourTherapy Dog Division and our Working Dogs Divi-sion and we hope to see new growth and additionalmember services through these two groups. IACP isnow in the developmental stages of designing andbringing to you a brand new website layout whichwill be much easier to navigate and much more or-ganized than what exists now.

Our 2008 Annual Conference Planning has beenunderway for several months. We will be holdingthis conference from June 6 to June 8, 2008, andhoping that by making the move from March toJune we will bring opportunity to those that havenot yet been able to attend our conferences. IACP is

getting increased expo-sure to the media andthe press through regu-lar press releases writtenby Jill Schorochod. Thehead office has givenseveral interviews to themedia over the past fewmonths.

All of the work thatIACP accomplishes forits members would notbe possible without adedicated and hard

working group of volunteers. I appreciate each andevery one of you who give of your time, talent, andexpertise. Your volunteer efforts have helped tobuild IACP into what it is today-an ever growingand brightly thriving organization.

I'd like to extend an invitation to each of you toconsider becoming more involved with us throughfinding volunteer opportunities within IACP. AsIACP grows, the need for help does not diminish.I've been an IACP volunteer since the inception ofIACP. I am very rewarded through giving back tothis profession in return for the joy that workingwith dogs has brought to my life. I have also met somany great people who I am honored to call myfriends.

Have a great and prosperous Summer!

iacp

From the PresidentGrow With IACP

by Cyndy Douan, CDT

I have instructed manydogs to retrieve. Some werenatural retrievers. A greatnumber found the conceptrather foreign. However, alldogs have the ability to learnthis exercise. Whether theybecome happy, reliable re-

trievers depends on the skill of the handler, and theclarity of the training process.

For the purposes of this article, we’ll be talkingabout retrieve as an obedience exercise, not in a gun-dog context. There are many IACP members whoknow far more than I in the hunt arena.

My first dog, a Sheltiecalled Gus, learned to re-trieve. He understood theconcept of picking hisdumbbell or scent articleoff the ground, and return-ing it efficiently to me. Healmost always complied,provided the exercise metcertain parameters. For ex-ample, I recall attending amatch show in Open, andforgot Gus’s wood dumb-bell at home. I had madethis dumbbell myself, andstill have it to this day.Sometimes I turn it over in my hand, touching thetooth marks on the dowel, and I think of my dog.

On the day I forgot our dumbbell, I borrowedone, a bit larger than Gus’s. He sniffed it, then pickedit up unwillingly for the Retrieve on Flat. He re-turned it to me slowly, the object hanging crookedlyin his mouth. On Retrieve Over High Jump, he tookthe jump on the way out, picked up the dumbbell in

the same disdainful manner, and returned around thejump with this strange object. This was an error hedid not commonly make.

Thinking back on it now, I understand the ground-work for his tentative attitude was laid the day Ibegan to teach Gus to retrieve. On that day I was 14years old, and following the advice of my obedienceinstructor, I sat my dog in front of me, and held thedumbbell out six inches from his mouth. Then, witha sense of discomfort, but following directions, Itwisted his choke chain, truly choking him, and as hegagged, shoved his face over the dumbbell, then re-leased the collar pressure. We repeated that step vari-ous times during the week, quickly extending thedistance toward the floor, adding praise as he began

to grasp the concept andcomply. Within two weeksGus was retrieving off thefloor.

Now I understand theheavy price I paid forteaching retrieve in such aclumsy manner. Gus wouldonly retrieve a very selectnumber of objects, thosewhich he knew very well.He greeted anything elsewith marginal confidence,and even less enthusiasm.Teaching him to take new

objects, especially of different materials like metal orplastic was difficult, and depressed his attitude.

Since that time my knowledge of the process hasincreased manifold. My subsequent dogs have beenhappier retrievers, as ultimately were my students’dogs. First, let me say that the Koehler method con-tributed the vast majority of what I know today aboutteaching the retrieve. I will review the steps in this

The Remote Collar Retrieveby Marc Goldberg, CDT

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article, substituting my twist on incorporating the re-mote collar to replace the traditional ear pinch. How-ever, you should still read Koehler on retrieving.

This is best done by acquiring a copy of WilliamKoehler’s Open book. I believe the book may nowbe out of print. But you can easily purchase a copyfrom IACP member Pam Green, or used from Ama-zon or Barnes & Noble web sites. When you read thesection on retrieving, I implore you to read it slowly.Read it entirely and several times before embarkingupon even the first step.

Perhaps the only unkind word I can say aboutthis section of the book is that the author uses verylinear language, describing each step in bare boneslanguage. This makes for a clear, unadorned synopsisof the process on the one hand. On the other, thewriting lacks adjectives which would be useful togive the trainer a better “feel” for what the author isaccomplishing. Moreover, in today’s era, most train-ers not only want to know what to do, but also an ex-planation of why each step is taken. Koehler does notdelve into the psychology of how a dog learns.Therefore, you are presented with a series of stepsand must take their good sense on faith. Having usedthe method with a couple hundred dogs, I can assureyou that Koehler’s steps are based on a flawless un-derstanding of how dogs learn.

The third time you read the chapter, you’ll appreci-ate the very clear and incremental nature of themethod. But you may not appreciate its subtlety untilyou’ve taught several dogs using the method. You’llteach the dog in a series of small increments. Youwill not ask him to take any new step until he com-pletely understands the previous one. Again, this arti-cle does not reduce your need to read Koehler’soriginal sequence on retrieving. Rather, it increasesit. Finally, before we begin to discuss the steps, Isuggest the process will be easier if your dog is al-ready trained to understand other commands origi-nally taught with the gentle persuasion of remotecollar stimulation.

The first steps do not involve a remote collar, buthave it on the dog anyway. Sit the dog at heel posi-tion, and place him on a sit stay. Always use a leash.Drop it on the floor, leave it loose, and step on it.This will prevent your dog from attempting to avoidby leaving, yet your hands are free.

You will not use the e collar on the retrieve com-ponent at this point. But you may use it gently to re-inforce the sit stay if necessary. The first step is to sitthe dog at heel position, gently open his jaws, com-mand Take It, and place an object in his mouth,cradling his jaws so he does not spit it out. (I like sixinches of wood dowel or PVC pipe to start with.)You look only for three seconds of compliance. If,during those three seconds, your dog tries to spit outthe dumbbell, quickly shake his jaws as you cradlethem gently. This will make your dog freeze justlong enough to stop spitting. Reward that second ofcompliance as follows. Change your grip fromcradling the dog’s jaws, and instead grip the object,allowing your dog to move his mouth off of it. Bevery quiet and clear with your hands. Fast, jerkygrabbing movements will send the wrong message.

Do this for one week, slowly increasing the timein mouth, a few seconds per day. By week’s end, thedog should hold the object for thirty seconds whileyou cradle his jaws. He should not be attempting tospit out the object. To insert the object, you shouldalways open his mouth for him at this stage, and al-ways cradle; never remove your hands or ask yourdog to open his own mouth. If you allow your dog toadvance too quickly, you will not be prepared for themoment when your dog refuses under distraction. Donot skip steps.

To accomplish thirty seconds of cooperation, youmust practice this object placement step at leastthirty times per day. Do no more than three repeti-tions at a time. Then take at least a ten minute break.That sounds like a lot, but when you add up theelapsed time, it doesn’t take much more than fifteenminutes total per day for most of the week.

Next week, use a flat collar and grip it from be-hind with your left hand. Your right hand holds theobject to the dog’s mouth, parting his lips slightly,touching his front teeth. Do not use pressure on yourright hand to force the object into the dog’s mouth.Rather, use pressure with your left hand to move thedog’s mouth forward, creating slight pressure withthe teeth on the object. If the dog turns his head toavoid the object, just be sure it follows his mouthwherever it turns, for as long as it takes. With yourright hand, rotate or wiggle the object slightlyagainst the front teeth, so as to demonstrate that thisis not going to be a highly comfortable position in

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which your dog should freeze. Command Take Itonly once, and then keep up the gentle pressure ofdog toward object.

This may take a bit of time. But ultimately, giventhat you will allow nothing to deter you from this po-sition, your dog will open his mouth.Remember…last week he had hundreds of repeti-tions in which you placed that object in his mouth.This is different, but the object is familiar. So ulti-mately, due to the pressure and wiggling, he willopen his mouth. I have had to wait as long as tenminutes in this precise position, waiting for a dog toopen his mouth while I kept up that collar pressurewith my left hand, and rotated the object on his teethwith my right hand. Normally it is much faster.

When your dog opens his mouth, your left handand the collar pressure move his head forward overthe object. Cradle for a few seconds, then remove.Repeat this step at least thirty times per day. Do only

two or three repetitions then break off for a while. Inthe first few days, reward by stroking the jaws lightlywith the fingers cradling them, preventing a spit out,and ask for only a few seconds of holding. Duringthe week, slowly rebuild to last week’s thirty secondsof holding.

So far, we have been following Koehler fairlyclosely. Each week we teach a new increment. Butbefore we start the new increment, we do a few repe-titions of the previous one. This reminds the dog ofwhat he already knows before we introduce some-thing new.

In week one, we opened the dog’s mouth for him,gave the command and placed the object. The goalwe set for was to accept the process, and allow us tocradle his jaws for thirty seconds of holding byweek’s end.

In week two, we asked the dog to take responsibil-

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ity for opening his own mouth. We did that by con-trolling his head and making it impossible to avoidthe object wiggling on his teeth. We retreated back toonly a few seconds of holding while cradling, thenrebuilt slowly back to thirty seconds.

The Koehler book and I are going to deviatefrom one another at this point, in slight but key ways.This week we do not place the dumbbell or object tothe lips. We place it out one inch. I spend week threeusing my left hand to push the dog’s head forward tothe dumbbell, helping him through that one inchreach, and then I perform as in week two. The bookgoes to the ear pinch presuming a refusal on a oneinch reach. This is another point when I deviate fromthe book.

By the end of the week using my method, mostdogs are going to be reaching for the dumbbell, or atleast permitting you to put them to it without anyfuss, then opening readily to accept it, and calmlypermitting you to cradle their jaws for thirty seconds.(Note: do not hold the object in front of the dog anddelay putting him to it. The object appears at oneinch and you send the dog almost simultaneously.Tuck it out of sight under your arm if you need tofiddle with dog, leash or collar.)

The e collar remote control finally appears inweek four. (And yes, you can condense this processto a few days per step when you have taught the se-

quence to a number of dogs. Otherwise, don’t skipahead.)

In week four, we will repeat week three with theaddition of e collar stim. Set up dog, and collar justas in week three. Your left hand not only grips thecollar, knuckles down, but it also holds the remoteset at your collar’s lowest level. If you have taughthis other exercises using continuous, that’s whatyou’ll use. I teach most things on momentary, so Iuse that.

Place the object out at one inch, instantly applythe lowest level stim your collar offers, and keep upthe continuous or rapid taps as you push the dog’shead forward and expect him to open his mouth andtake the object. The instant he has it in his mouth, thestim must cease. That very instant.

The first couple of times, expect your dog toregress and attempt some form of avoidance. This ismerely because you have added a new and unex-pected element. Deal with that very calmly and pa-tiently by not permitting avoidance tactics to deteryou. Efficiently push his head forward that singleinch, maintain stim and wiggle against his teeth if hedoesn’t immediately open. The mouth gets pushedforward over the dowel. You do not shove the objectinto the dog’s mouth.

Although the first couple one inch reaches withstim may be rocky, you’ll be surprised how quickly

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your dog will begin cooperating. After a day or twousing the lowest level stim, you may wish to turn upthe level. However, do remember that I don’t wantyou to use the stim in anyway that your dog will per-ceive as punishment. The stim should be low enoughto be detectable to the dog, but not disturbing. Formost dogs, this is a surprisingly low level, one whichwould not be enough to recall off distractions. But atthis point, it is enough to show the dog that stimstarts when he’s told to take it, and stops when he hasdone so.

Before long, at the very sight of the object at oneinch, he’ll begin to reach for it. Do not correct for an-ticipation lest you confuse him. Simply be sure tokeep the retrieve item out of sight until it swiftly ap-pears at one inch with a simultaneous fetch com-mand.

Once your dog has begunto reliably take the objectfrom you at one inch you’llhave to be very careful withyour hands. At this stage,you’ll still cradle his jaws tohelp him hold the dumbbell.Remember, you want to bevery quiet and clear withyour hands. Fast, jerkygrabbing movements willsend the wrong message.Cleanly and smoothly moveyour left hand forward. Thatleft hand, knuckles down, palm up, is also holdingthe remote control. Your right hand holds the object,and then once he’s got it, I tend to let go of the collarbecause I control the dog by standing on the leash. Ido hold onto the remote with my left hand, and use italong with my right to cradle the jaws.

From this point it is a fairly simple matter toadd distance to the retrieve. I tend to do this in incre-ments of a few inches a day. As you move outward,also begin to move downward. When do we stop ap-plying stim the moment we say Take It? Generally Istop applying stim when I no longer need to push thedog’s head forward with my left hand in his collar. Istill leave my hand in the collar, but I stop stimmingwhen the dog just goes for it on his own.

However, if on any retrieve, the dog fails to takethe object, or gets part way there and aborts the mis-

sion, then I push and hold the button on that very lowlevel, and guide him to take the object. This is im-portant. Most dogs, at some point, will understandwhat you want. They have done it bunches of times.But at some point will decide they no longer wish todo the job. That is when you simply push the lowlevel button and help your dog complete the exer-cise.

Always stop on a good example of whatever stepyou’re practicing. Once a dog is reaching out 18inches to grab a stick, a spoon or a pipe out of myhand, he’s probably only a few days from taking itoff the ground. We just move incrementally out anddownward. Anytime the dog becomes confused, Imerely back up one step, and repeat with stim. Thedog thinks, “Oh! I get it now. It’s just like what wewere doing a minute ago, only a little farther. So I

just have to do a little morework to finish the job.”

That is what ecollar stimaccomplishes in thismethod. We are not using itas a level high enough toserve as punishment. Infact, when you first start, itmay concern your dog be-cause it is a new exercise.But we don’t want to hurtor even scare him. This stimis just something mildly no-ticeable that STARTS when

the command is given and STOPS when the dogtakes the correct action.

For the dog, the ‘start’ confirms that he needs todo something. And the ‘stop’ confirms that he hascompleted it. Very few obedience exercises are aspsychologically challenging for a dog to learn as isthe retrieve. And few are as challenging to teach forthe beginner, especially if your goal is a happy andreliable retriever. But the end result is a dog who willconfidently pick up, hold and deliver anything yourequest. Once he really understands it, you’ll seehow happily a dog can work!

Marc Goldberg is the Editor of the SafeHandsJournal. He trains dogs in the Chicago area andteaches workshops for trainers on gentle, innovativeways to use remote collars. Visit him on the web atChicagoDogTrainer.com. iacp

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Every once in a while, I run across a dog thatchallenges everything I think I know about dogtraining. A dog who, for reasons entirely his own,does not seem to "get it" like other dogs. Thesedogs can be a source of frustration, or they can forceme to be a better trainer. Sometimes they do both.Everybody gets frustrated from time to time. It isparticularly easy when what has always worked sud-denly and for no apparent reason is not working nomatter how careful we are. This is because frustra-tion is not a response to difficulty, but a response tofear. When that sneaking suspicion starts quietly

whispering the suggestions of failure, frustration isoften close behind. "It's not working like it should!Why isn't it working? What I am to do now?"

In my most enlightened moments the answer isobvious, "Change something!" When I am mostlucid, I can flow from one idea to the next in aseamless dance, a subtle and heartfelt conversation.These moments are not rare, they are, finally, therule not the exception.

Recently though, it was possible to witness menot having a lucid moment. I committed the cardi-

When What Works...Doesn’t!by Chad Mackin

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nal sin of dog training. I let my philosophy interferewith my ability to get the job done. I had a GermanShepherd bitch about 9 months old out for her sec-ond e-collar lesson. She was just not getting it. Shecould feel the collar, she would sometimes scratch atit. She would bend to the slightest leash pressureand walk along beside me for the most part, but shewould not bend to collar pressure alone. My re-sponse was not to change something, but to be moremeticulous about applying the method that wasn'tworking. I became a technician, thinking throughevery body cue, every tap of the collar, every leashcue, everything. I approached everything within thetheory of the method, but not within the spirit of themethod. The more I concentrated on the theory, thefurther the dog got from me.

I suppose the story would be more dramatic andexciting if I could tell you that she stressed outbadly and seeing her difficulty I had a suddenepiphany. That I was moved bythis imputed wisdom to find myrhythm and bring the dog backinto the conversation. But thetruth is not nearly so interest-ing. I worked the dog till theend of the session making onlya little progress. She was noworse for the wear, she had nothad an unpleasant lesson. Ithad, however, been almost en-tirely a waste of time.

Whatever brief moments ofinsight I had during the sessionwere immediately quashed bymy strict and stupid adherenceto methodology. There couldbe no epiphany, because I sim-ply wouldn't tolerate any such nonsense. I remem-ber thinking "Maybe I should talk to her more, shemight need that," This thought was immediatelyoverruled. If she would not respond to body lan-guage cues, it is probably because she has neverbeen made to look for them. So, thought I, "I haveto get her to respond to body language first." Whichis true enough from a theoretical point of view. Aview that has served me well over the years andworks with most dogs. Unfortunately, Tasha didn'tknow this theory. What she did know was that Iwasn't making a lick of sense to her. She didn't evenknow that I was trying to tell her anything. I wasjust a minor nuisance attached to her via a 30 foot

line. Nothing more significant or interesting thanthat.

What I did that day was not good dog training. Itwas not entirely bad training either. Amateurish andunrefined, but not all bad. Slavish adherence to amethod, or methodology is only a few steps abovequackery. But if the method is good, and the dogfits with the method, it is still good dog training.When the dog doesn't fit the method, bad things canhappen. Depending on the wisdom and insight (orlack thereof) of the trainer very bad things mighthappen. In my case, I avoided anything cata-strophic. I didn't get frustrated, I remembered Mar-tin Deeley's mantra "Give the dog the benefit of thedoubt." So the worst that happened was the dog wasa bit confused by the experience. It could have beenworse. I could have tried to substitute more juicefor better communication. I could have just crankedthe collar and "made the dog care" what I wanted.

Instead, I put her up and madea phone call.

Talking to other trainers al-ways clears my head and helpsme see what I am missing.That day was no exception.Within a few minutes the stressof not getting results startedslipping away, a few kindwords and the gentle laugh ofrecognition that says "Oh yeah,I've been there a number oftimes," made everything seemmore clear. We didn't talkmuch about the dog in particu-lar. We talked instead aboutother dogs who, for whateverreasons, had failed entirely to

respond to things that had always worked before.We talked about how we got creative and fixedthem. We laughed and sparred with light-heartedjabs at each other's lack of sense and or talent. Hav-ing a bad day with a dog is almost worth it to haveone of these conversations. At the end of the call,my friend said "You're gonna fix this one Chad, youalready know how." He was right, I did, I hadthought it one hundred times during the bad lesson."Change something."

Twenty-four hours later, I did exactly that. I tookthe dog out with a different mind-set. What did Ichange? The short answer is "everything." I

The author and friend

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changed everything. I changed equipment, Ichanged my body language, I changed my environ-ment. Everything that had occurred to me the daybefore; all those things that I had written off becausethey didn't fit with my philosophy of dog training,were included. Each and every one of them. Withina few short minutes, Tasha was responding as I hadhoped she would the day before. Before long, I hadbrought her back to the approach that had failed somiserably yesterday. She not only got it, she reveledin it.

There may be, reading this humble little story, aperson thinking to himself, "I wonder if thesechanges that were made would not benefit all dogsif they were so influential to this one?" Thatthought occurred to me as well. However, the ques-tion is rooted in part by the very assumption thatkept me from solving Tasha's problems earlier:What works for one dog should work for most otherdogs. The truth is there are some dogs whose needsare vastly different than the average dog. I am notreferring only to dogs with histories of abuse andneglect (indeed, often for those dogs the best solu-tion is to treat them like any other dog). I am talk-ing about normal everyday dogs who, for somereason or another, don't respond to a training ap-proach the way most dogs do; dogs whose reactionsare outside the range of "normal". This may meanthat the dog just doesn't "get it", or it may mean thatthe dog becomes stressed by the process, in the mostextreme cases the dog may shut down or becomeaggressive. But regardless of the presentation themessage from the dog is clear, "I need somethingelse from you!"

When faced with such a dog, we have only a fewoptions to pursue. The most common, perhaps theeasiest choice is to just keep trying to jam the doginto the mold you have created for him. "ThisSHOULD work, therefore I am going to MAKE itwork." It is not elegant, it is not respectful, and itrarely is effective, but it is easy. More often thannot, the dog is viewed as being stubborn or resistant,or, if the dog responds aggressively, it is labeled re-sentful of our efforts to train it. This will usuallylead to unnecessary and unjustified corrections foraggression brought on by the trainer's lack of in-sight.

Another option, more reasonable, is to just put thedog up and come back tomorrow with a fresh out-look. This one is hard for a professional in many

cases. After all, we are working on deadlines withour board and train dogs, or we are standing in frontof a client who made time in her day for our trainingin private lessons or group classes. Do we reallywant to tell her, "The dog isn't getting it today, letme come back tomorrow." That may be a responsi-ble choice, certainly more responsible than trying toforce the dog learn in the manner we want to teach.

People who hire a dog trainer want to see confi-dence and ability. They don't want to hear excusesas to why we can't do our job with their dog. So it israre that a professional will take this route (thoughmany of them should!) but it is something I encour-age my clients to do all the time. In terms of effec-tiveness, this approach is a mixed bag. At the veryleast it does no harm and for that reason it is a prettygood start. Sometimes coming back the next day, ora couple of days later will prove to do the tricknicely. Latent learning can make all the difference.But if coming back later doesn't work, the dog is noworse off for it.

The third option is to listen to the dog. I mean re-ally listen. Shut off all the theories you have bang-ing around in your brain, get real small, get in themoment and get with the dog. Find out exactlywhat is needed and do it. This dog may need an-other level of guidance, or another motivator, or adifferent approach entirely. Perhaps a new environ-ment, or different equipment will make the differ-ence. The only way to know is to listen to the dog,and then try it. For my money, this is by far themost responsible and advantageous course of actionfor the professional trainer.

Some readers may object, "The dog should learnon my terms! My methods are fair and reasonable."If such an objection has occurred to you, dearreader, cogitate on this fact "It is never fair and rea-sonable to expect a dog to know something he does-n't know." Appealing to our success rate with otherdogs doesn't get us off the hook either. The numberof dogs who have learned something using method"x", has absolutely no bearing on whether or not thisparticular dog can learn the same thing via method"x".

Imagine if a psychiatrist said, "Several of my pa-tients with your fears have responded well to the ex-ercises I have prescribed, but they are not workingfor you. It is clear you are being stubborn and diffi-

Continues on page 23

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Recently I suggested to two of my clients that theytake their dogs to their veterinarians for a psychologi-cal evaluation due to the dog’s displacement signals,anti-social behaviors and because I could see that thedog suffered from stress, anxiety and fear. In one caseI worked with the dog and the dog’s owner for twoweeks before I suggested treatment. In the secondcase, after I talked to the owner and met the dog, Isuggested a psychological evaluation immediately.

In the first case I received a call from the dogowner’s mother. After a lengthy discussion on thephone she forwarded the information I gave her aboutmy different training programs to her son. The dog’sowner, Shawn, decided to go with an Angel Dog’sprogram where I train his dog for him. It’s called“The Unique Absent Owner Program” and is usedwhen the owner is too busy to train their dog. In thisparticular program I train the dog Monday throughFriday for four weeks at the owner’s home. I alsohave four private lessons with the owner. Shawn and Imet once a week so I could show him what the doghad learned. I taught him training techniques whichhe practices daily.

Before I start training we discuss the dog’s historyand what behavioral problems I need to address. Thedog’s name is Cheyenne, she is a blond lab/shepherdmix and at the time she was 8 months old. Shawn hadadopted Cheyenne from a friend. Shawn and hismother had worked with Cheyenne for one month be-fore they decided to seek professional help. Cheyennehad a lot of energy; she would jump on people andwas hard to handle on her walks.

There was no information about Cheyenne’s birthparents. He didn’t know if either had anxiety issues orif the mother was a good parent. I could not discoverif Cheyenne was abused as a puppy or how she washandled.

What I did discover was that during the critical pe-riod between 6 weeks and 5 ½ months she was not so-cialized properly and had no rules or boundaries.Shawn wanted a well behaved dog that he could walkin his neighborhood. It was difficult to accomplish atfirst.

When I started training Cheyenne, using a head col-lar, I noticed that she was very nervous and showedseveral displacement signals during our 45 minutewalks. She would whine and salivate and grind herteeth. She was extremely nervous and stiff. We wouldpractice basic obedience skills and she would followthrough but would still be very nervous. Her eyeswould dart around. She would dance back and forthon her front feet. In the house she would go in and outthe doggie door constantly, pace and couldn’t settledown.

As we continued our time together I used calmingtechniques and rewarded her for even the briefest mo-ments when she was calm.

The calming techniques I use are:

Walk in a circle with the dog on the inside. It takesher mind off of the negative stimulus and makes herfocus on the exercise.

Whenever there is a vacant driveway I walkCheyenne in a square making her focus on me and theexercise.

We practice sit/stays to let her take in the environ-ment. She calms down when she can view the area. Iuse a calm voice telling her she is a good girl.

I keep my energy level calm. When working with ahigh energy dog it does not help matters when thehandler get impatient or upset.

Walk slowly and calmly so the dog will do the

Time to call the Vet?by Eileen Tonick, MA

16

same.

Whenever she is calm I encourage that calmnesswith a soothing voice and a gentle touch.

Food does not work for her because she does notcare about food when she’s nervous. But food re-wards for calmness may work with other dogs.

I have been training for over ten years. During thattime I have read and learned a lot about dog psychol-ogy so when I suggest an evaluation it is with greatconcern for the dog health.

Shawn agreed and after an evaluation, her veteri-narian decided Cheyenne needed medication.Clomipramine was prescribed. It’s a tricyclic antide-pressant FDA approved for veterinary use in dogs forthe treatment of separation anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorders such as tail chasing. The dosagewas 25 mg with instructions to give one capsule twicedaily for the first 7 days, then increasing to 2 capsulestwice daily. If she did well on this dose, the capsuledoes come in a 50 mg size for future use.

I continued to train Cheyenne. I put a program to-gether that helps her and the owner. The programconsists of daily walks with a back pack. On the walksShawn practices different basic obedience skills, espe-cially the sit/stay in a calm state. Shawn keeps hisown energy level low which keeps Cheyenne calmer.We put a socialization program together that includedoutings and taking Cheyenne to a doggie day care.

Within 3 weeks Shawn and I noticed some nicechanges in Cheyenne’s behaviors. She’s stoppedgrinding her teeth and salivating and she’s a lot calmeron her walks. After two months Shawn took her off ofher medication because her behavior had improved somuch. When a dog is taken off their medication theowner should be sure to follow their veterinarian’s ad-vice. Shawn tells me that she is much better in thehouse. He leaves her out of her crate all day whilehe’s at work. She no longer jumps on people. Shelikes her walks. She follows through with her com-mands. Each day she becomes a more confident and abetter behaved dog. One he is proud of. He told merecently that the only time she pulls him is when theyare within the gates of the dog park. She is anxious toget there and play with the other dogs.

I am proud of Shawn because he followed through

with the training. He takes her to the dog park on Sat-urday and Sunday and walks her four times a week.His mother walks her once a week. The objective is toget rid of all that energy.

I do not give advice about a dog’s medication orhow to monitor the doses. I encourage the dog’sowner to keep in touch with their vet and follow all oftheir suggestions pertaining to the medication. I’m atrainer, not a vet. I don’t have the education or the Vet-erinarian license. I can also be held liable if some-thing goes wrong with the medication. When the threeof us join together we are able to help Cheyennethrough training, education, understanding the situa-tion and what was the best avenue of treatment for her.

The second case involves a female Husky puppy.The owner, Laura, is a first time dog owner. Withindays she noticed something was not right with herdog. Missy would not make eye contact. She wouldnot come to Laura willingly. She would urinate anddefecate in the house. She would not go near people ordogs and would defecate if they came near her.

Laura tried several times to contact the breeder butthey would not return her call. Laura hired a localtrainer. He used harsh methods with Missy to encour-age her to come to him. She did not. This trainer even-tually suggested that Laura put the dog down becauseshe was too psychologically messed up. Laura calledme and explained the situation. By then she hadadopted a Husky mix to help Missy with her fear.That did help a bit but Missy was still terrified of hu-mans. I suggested that Laura bring her dogs to myagility class so I could watch how Laura interactedwith her dogs.

I know from experience that agility helps build theconfidence of shy dogs. Missy did very well on theagility course. She was shy around the other dogs butshe was not as frightened. However she would stillnot let any humans near her. Her tail was constantlydown and her eyes darted back and forth. Missywould not allow me near her and I didn’t push it. Ikept Missy with me. I did not touch her. I just kepther on her leash at my side. If she tried to walk away Iwould pull her back, have her sit and ignore her. Iwanted Missy to understand being next to me wasokay. I did not present a threat. Missy now sits nextto me and I can touch her without any anxiety on herpart. I suggested to Laura that the two dogs continue

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with agility. I also suggested that she seek an evalua-tion.

Missy was put on drug therapy once she had hermedical work up. She was prescribed clomipramine25 mg one capsule twice daily for the first 7 days, thenincreasing to 2 capsules twice daily. During the firstweek of medication Missy became hyper. The veteri-narian told Laura this is a common side effect and thatafter a week it would subside. It did. Within fourweeks all of the members of the agility group noticeda big change in Missy’s behavior. Her performanceon the agility course is remarkable, she plays with theother dogs and she even interacts with the humanmembers of the club. A big leap for Missy was whena male member offered her a treat and she came up tohim and took it. At home the behaviors have im-proved and are getting better all the time. I continue toteach Missy not to bolt from humans. The veterinariantold Laura that she would like to keep Missy on drugtherapy for a year than talk about taking her off thedrug.

The latest update on Missy’s progress was thatthe vet will wean Missy off her meds. The vet is im-pressed by Missy’s progress and how dedicated Laurais in helping her.

Even though I have a Master’s Degree in HumanPsychology, as I said before, I do not offer any adviceon medication. I do offer to talk to the veterinarianabout my impression of the dog’s behavior and myconcerns. I tell my client that I am more than willing

to go with them to the evaluation. What better way tohelp a dog then when everyone gets involved.

It would have broken my heart if Cheyenne orMissy had been put down because they couldn’t con-trol their behaviors. It would have broken Shawn’sand Laura’s hearts as well. These are two well loveddogs. I commend these two owners on their dedica-tion to their pets. I have made it one of my missionsto save a dog from euthanasia if I can. In the 1990’s17 million pets were killed each year. Now that num-ber is down to 2 million pets a year. It’s still much toohigh.

Eileen Tonick’s company is called Angel Dogs LLC.She has a Master’s Degree in Human Psychology.She is an animal activist and has trained Guide Dogsfor the Blind. A service group has hired Eileen toteach their Club Members AKC Canine Good Citizensskills. She is a Delta Society Evaluator, an AKC Ca-nine Good Citizen Evaluator, and a member of the In-ternational Association of Canine Professionals. Shehas developed a program to help dog owners becomea pet partner team with their dog to do therapy workin hospitals, retirement homes, and child crisis units.Eileen’s approach to training a dog is very much likeher approach to life. She believes that you get betterresults with education, consistency, confidence, kind-ness and humor.

www.angeldogstraining.net – 480-332-8211.

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Back when I was a fledgling dog trainer, nearly30 years ago, there was an accepted way of becom-ing a professional dog trainer. A person would get adog, go to a training class of some kind and find outthat they had an interest in some area of dog train-ing. Then, the person would pursue that interest. Itmight be competitive dog obedience trials or track-ing. People with working breeds often got into pro-tection sports, which included tracking andobedience as part of the sport. Hunting dogs mightinterest another person and they would find ateacher and start learning about field trial dogs andhunt test dogs. Someone else might like lure cours-ing.

There was certainly a down side to this ap-proach to becoming a dog obedience teacher. Therewere trainers who never stopped to understand howthe needs of the pet owner differed from the needsof the competitive obedience person and oftentaught pointless exercises to a pointless degree ofperfection while disregarding training that wouldhave been much more useful to the pet owner.Sometimes, these trainers had only been exposed toone breed and did not understand the temperamentor trainability of other breeds. However, they didtheir best and, over time, many of these people be-came excellent household obedience trainers.

Today, there is much more education available forthe pet dog trainer and we are all more aware of theneeds of pet owners and their dogs. However, thereis a disturbing trend in pet dog trainers today. Manydo not see the need to compete in dog sports andsome even think it is cruel and inhumane. I believethis trend will reduce the quality of our instructionand the overall knowledge of our instructors.

Why would a pet dog trainer need exposure tohigher level competitive dog training? For example,a very good friend of mine is a school teacher. Sheteaches 7th grade. She spent summers finishing herMasters degree and now also has her PhD in educa-tion. Why would my friend need a doctorate degreeto teach 7th graders? Because our system of educa-tion values the worth of educators who have thehighest level of educational exposure available tothem. This education gives them a bigger and betteroverall picture and makes them better equipped toteach 7th graders. As dog trainers, our situation iseven more complicated. We may encounter hun-dreds of different breeds and mixed breeds, whichall have different motivations and responses to train-ing. Exposure to the training traditions of particulardog sports expands our bag of tricks and allows usto help our clients more effectively.

It is also one of the most fun things about dogtraining; learning about new breeds, new dog sportsand new training techniques. To remain a perpetualstudent of dog training is a wonderful thing. A per-son may be an expert obedience trainer but knownothing about training retrievers to hunt, for in-stance. The training methods are different and theyare different for a reason. Too many trainers todaythink they can walk into a new sport in which theyhave never been involved and apply their methodssuccessfully! It would be better to approach thesport and those who are experts in it with humilityand respect. The same golden retriever that is sowilling to be obedient in the competitive obediencering might be wild for birds, unable to concentrateand unwilling to listen in the field. That dog will re-quire a different training method for field work thanmight be used in competitive obedience. You can

The Value of Accomplismentby Andrea Holsinger

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never have too many training experiences with toomany different breeds.

Unfortunately, today we seem to have lost thatdrive to expose ourselves to as much dog training aspossible. Instead, we only want to commune withthose who train our way and see eye to eye with ourmethods of dog training. This is an unfortunate turnof events for the dog training world. Our blindersmay stop us from someday helping a student be-cause we do not have the scope to assist them withtheir problem. We have gone too far the other direc-tion; too much theory and not enough hands on ex-perience.

Truth be known, the method we use to trainproves much less important than the application ofthe method. A great dog trainer can teach nearly anydog in nearly any methodology in which they areproficient. We had an excellent police dog trainer inour area. I watch this man take tough dog aftertough dog and turn them into excellent and reliablepatrol dogs. When a local police department boughta soft and sweet Belgium Malinois bitch andbrought this dog to the local police dog trainer totrain, I was intrigued. I wondered if the trainer couldbring out the best this bitch had to offer or if hismethods would ruin her. Much to my surprise, shemade a fantastic, hard hitting and confident patroldog. This excellent dog trainer had properly appliedmethods that worked with this dog. He knew how toread a dog and apply training techniques to bring thebest response forward in this and many other dogs.

Successful training is always the mark of a gooddog trainer. Far too many of our instructors todaysimply are not good dog trainers. They know thetheory but have not applied it to enough dogs to re-ally be an experienced dog trainer themselves. Dogtraining is as much art form as it is science. Our petdog trainers should not be teaching classes until theyhave “walked the walk” so to speak. More pet dogtrainers should have advanced titles in several com-petitive areas with several different breeds to beconsidered well enough rounded to teach others howto train their dogs. These days, we seem to be moreinterested in attending the seminar of the next greatguru than actually training dogs ourselves. There is

nothing that replaces actual dog training.

Over the years, more and more trainers caterspecifically to the pet dog owner and I think this is agood thing. There was a time when the pet dogowner had to take instruction from someone whoseinterest was in competitive dog sports and wouldoften teach to make some extra income so theycould go to more trials. The options for pet dogowners are far better now than 25 years ago. But, weshould not forget how great dog trainers are made.Not seated at the seminar, but instead out in thebackyard or park, leash in hand, training an actualdog to an actual goal.

I encourage every pet dog instructor to get outthere and see what their dog can do! Find a dogsport you like and shoot for the top of the sport. Goand watch the sports in which you have no interestin participating and talk to the trainers. It will makeyou a better dog trainer, I guarantee it.

Andrea Holsinger is an IACP professional mem-ber, and owns K-9 Insight Dog Obedience School inWinterville, Georgia.

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Bees & wasps are flying, stinging insects, whichmake them a dangerous threat to our pets and us.However, in general they won't bother us if we don'tbother them. Dogs are at greater risk of gettingstung than cats are because dogs play in the sameareas where bees and wasps colonize. The greatestdanger is disturbing a hive or nest and receivingmultiple stings. There are two types of signs forstings. The first is the physical and chemical injurythe sting and venom cause to the skin tissue. In gen-eral, this is not life-threatening. The biggest dangeris your pets having an allergic reaction to a bee orwasp sting.

Signs: Bee & Wasp Stings

1. The pets scratching, licking or chewing at

the bite site may be the only initial outward sign of abee/wasp sting.

2. Sudden pain, redness and swelling at thesting location.

3. If your pets are bitten around the mouth andnose, closely monitor for breathing and swallowingproblems.

4. If your pets are having an allergic reactioncommon signs include restlessness, vomiting, diar-rhea, seizures, coma and possibly death within sev-eral minutes.

Actions For Survival: Bee & Wasp Stings

1. Carefully remove the stinger of the bee using

Spiders and Ticks and Bees, Part II...oh my!

by Thom Somes, “The Pet Safety Guy”TM

22

the edge of a card (credit card type) to flick thestinger out. Be careful not to push more of the toxinunder the skin. Wasp stings differ from bee stings inthat they do not leave the stinger in their victim.

2. Bee stings are acid based and a poultice ofbaking soda will assist in breaking down the beesting venom. Wasp stings are alkali based and irri-gating the area with vinegar will assist in breakingdown the wasp venom.

3. Antihistamine can be given. We recommendcarrying antihistamine in your first aid kit. Purchasethe gel caps in the blister pack. Write your pets'names, weights and dosages on the back. Also, tapea safety pin so you can put a hole in the gel caps foreasy administration. Consult your Veterinarian forproper dosage.

4. An ice pack can be used to slow the venomand help with pain management. Note: do not usefor extended periods of time.

5. If the pets begin to noticeably and rapidly

swell in the face or head, immediately contact yourVeterinarian for immediate assistance, as this maybe the beginning of a severe allergic reaction.

Veterinarian Care: Bee & Wasp Stings

1. Usually single stings are not life threateningand do not warrant a trip to the Veterinarian. If yourpet presents rapid swelling within several minutesthen this is an indication of an allergic reaction. Vet-erinary help should be sought immediately.

2. If an allergic reaction is occurring or the petshave multiple stings, the Veterinarian will providesupportive therapies with close monitoring of thepets' blood chemistry and vitals.

In addition to the actions you can take, re-member, "any pet that is pain or is going to bemoved into pain, can and will bite." Restraining andmuzzling are two very important skills taught in ourPet Tech PetSaver™ classes. Restraining and muz-zling assists in keeping your pets from causing fur-ther harm to themselves and other people and pets

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around them. In any emergency situation, "use yourhead, and be careful with your hands." Have anawesome summer.

Thom Somes, "The Pet Safety Guy™" is anationally renowned speaker, author and profes-sional trainer. He is the founder and President ofPet Tech, Inc., the first national training center ded-icated to Pet First Aid & Care for dogs and cats. PetTech's programs are the official Pet First Aid, CPR& Care Training for the International Association ofCanine Professionals. Teaching pet first aid & careis a great way to increase your bottom line, attractnew clients and service your existing clients with in-formation they want and need to know! If you areinterested in becoming an instructor or looking foran instructor in your area, check our web site atwww.PetTech.net, contact us by phone at (760) 930-0309 or e-mail iacp@pettech.net

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cult. I shall keep using the same treatment until itworks. If it doesn't work soon, I will do it more vig-orously!"

Of course, we would prefer to be treated as an in-dividual, with our own needs and unique naturetaken into consideration. After all, it's not about thetreatment. It's about the cure.

The bottom line is this: The only true measure ofour work is the results we produce. We gain nothingby sticking with an idea that isn't working. We mayfeel like we have maintained our integrity by adher-ing to our philosophy of training, but if dogs go un-trained, or improperly trained, or if we are puttingthe dog through unnecessarily high levels of stresswe have lost our integrity and then some, we havelost our way. Instead, sometimes we must shift,adapt, and give unto the dog according to her uniqueneeds. That's how we train dogs who are happy tolearn, just as we learn to be better trainers.

Chad Mackin is an IACP Director and headtrainer at A+ Dog Obedience in Webster, TX.

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When What Works, continued from page 14

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