So I get this e-mail that my brother forwarded to me, and I have to do a double take when I see who it's from: my very bestest friend in elementary school!!!! Hi, Michelle!(: I have thought of her so often over the years, and just recently she had crossed my mind yet again. We haven't spoken since my senior year in high school when I went to visit my dad, and we had gotten together for lunch.
Her phone # was included, so I called her up, and we got to chat for a little while. It was impossible to ask and answer everything we had been wondering about in the short amount of time we had, so I'm sending her the link to my blog. Now she'll be able to see how glamorous my life is! {grin}
Michi...e-mail me those pics!!! I'm dying to see your girls. =)
In other news...I am having the BEST time with my two puppy classes. All of the doggie parents are working hard, and it shows! They are doing great. It is so fun to see the light go on in these puppies eyes and see them so eager to earn that next treat! It is such a pleasure to see these people work with their companions. I will never understand those who pay to take a class and then waste their time arguing with the trainer as to why nothing I suggest is working. But I'm not going to rant today. =) I am going to enjoy the fact that I have a whole class of people willing to open their minds and try.
Tip of the day: if your dog growls at other dogs, and/or people, please don't punish them. They have already told you they are uncomforatable with their body language but because us humans don't always pick up on these cues, they have to communicate more clearly. Dogs can't say "hey, my personal space bubble is being invaded and I'm getting scared" so they growl. (Some dogs have a huge personal bubble and will react to something 50 feet away.) Most people will then feel terrible that their dog is being so "mean" (or they will think the dog is being "dominant" which is rarely the case) and they will pop the leash, yell, or worse...hit their dog. Imagine this: you are standing in line at the movie theatre, restaurant, etc. The person behind you is breathing down your neck, so you step forward. They scootch up closer. You turn around and look at them, but they're clueless, so you make an attempt to put distance between you and give them the eye. They just keep on scootching up and actually bump into you several times. You all get the picture.
Now imagine you are standing there minding your own business, and some strange person comes running up to you and jumps you. You'd be pissed (unless you are one of those clueless people (; that stands as close to strangers as you can) and would most likely bark "back off you nimwit!" Now say your friend turned to you, yanked you by the arm and told you to quit being such a jerk. You'd think WTH?!?! Are you with me so far?
Here's the thing...if you punish the growl, they will have no other option but to escalate to a bite. If the bite backs the "scary person/dog" off, you have just succeeded in teaching your dog that biting works. AND-not only are they now scared at what is coming toward them, they are also scared of being punished. Double whammy.
So here's what you do. First, learn to watch your dog for signs that s/he are uncomforatable. Ears down, looking away, hiding behind your legs, whale eyes.
(More on this later.) Now, LISTEN to your dog, and give them the space they are desperately seeking. If they respond to their name well, call them and reward them for hearing you. THEN get the heck outta dodge!! Our goal here is to teach the dog that another dog/person/scary thing is their cue to look at you. If looking at you is rewarding they are more likely to keep looking to you when they are unsure. If you are watching them, you are more likely to pick up on the fact that they are in need of direction.
Okay, so it's not a tip-more of a whole page, but you get the point. If you are having a hard time with this, please find a good, positive trainer. The
apdt is a good place to start. Working through issues like these require the help of a professional, and watching a tv show may not be the best way to learn about
your dog. Always talk to the trainer before you sign up to see if your dog needs privates or can be worked with in a group setting. Also, find out what methods are used. If there is anything you are uncomforatable about, keep looking. There are a lot of good trainers out there, but there are also some that will charge you a mint to teach you how to scare the he** out of your dog. (Sorry, it sounds a bit like a rant, doesn't it?)
In scrappy news: the crop was a blast! Only got one LO finished, but I did get some serious shopping done, and that's part of the fun =).Will post the LO later...off to do some glamorous stuff, like find out where the heck my steam cleaner is! (Yes, it's MIA again. Broke down 1/2 an hour after I got it back...argh!!!) The good news? they put TWO special tags on it this time. That's sure to work, right? Riiiight.