Pooch Paws

Accidents

2011-12-30T14:58:00.001-08:00

Recently there has been an increase in accidents that I have seen, ranging from poison from chocolate to paracetamol, dog attacks and road traffic accidents. On occasions it has been quite heart breaking especially when it is a very young puppy attacked by the older dog in the house and the injuries are too bad to correct.

The occurance of young pups attacked by the older dog has been significantly increased which makes me wonder where owners are going wrong? Introducing a new puppy into the home can be a delicate procedure and should not be taken lightly. I wonder why it is owner's assume that a puppy will be fine to be left on its own un attended with an older dog when I'm sure they wouldn't do the same with a baby? I think there is also a mis conception of getting another dog to keep the other company forgetting the older dog has had the owners to themselves all this time not forgetting any health problems there may be.

Another classic is getting another dog when you already have a problem dog. A comment of 'I have to walk the older dog very early when no one else is around or it would probably kill another dog' is not really an ideal environment to bring a new puppy into, is it? So for this puppy what happens when it grows and becomes more confident and possibly confronts the older dog, maybe then the dog aggression will be address but I doubt it.

Puppy Diary

2011-11-14T15:00:00.001-08:00

Brook has been home for 4 weeks now, time has flown by so quickly. She has settled in very well and is learning new things everyday. She is growing rapidly putting on about 1.5kg per week. Her socialisation is going very well we had taken her a variety of places carrying her while waiting for her vaccines to be complete. Socialisation vs vaccine is a difficult subject but unfortunately there was a parvo virus outbreak in our area so we have been vigilant not to let her have access to unknown areas until she was covered. She has so far taken all situations in her stride.

She has been to her first Ringcraft class and puppy training class both of which she really enjoyed. So our homework this week is to practice our show stand, master the hand touch and be able to examine her feet as well as completing some socialisation tasks. She has met a horse so am on the look out to take her other places to see other species, should be fun and am trying to get photographic evidence.

Introducing Brook

2011-10-12T15:45:00.000-07:00

Montecani Blissful came to us today! We had been thinking about a third addition for a while but had been waiting until the time was right. So after a long wait we went to meet her parents who are both stunning so decided the time was now. After the long wait of pregnancy we were then allowed to visit the pups when they were 4 weeks old. Wow how lovely they all were and how were we going to pick?! They are all equally as nice in temperament and confirmation but Brook just 'fitted' the most with what we hope to do.

So after the long drive to collect her we arrived home. We had taken Chiara and Tino with us and they didn't appear bothered by this little bundle being in a crate next to them for the journey home. When she came in she was a little cautious for a few minutes but then seemed to relax. We let Chiara out first, the meeting went extremely well with neither her or Brook reacting with any negativity. Tino next and after a quick sniff he was more interested in picking up his toy! The cats are still glaring from a height but there have been no teeth or claws drawn.

The first afternoon/evening has gone well, Brook has been following 'the big dogs' around and engaging with them and they have been very good with her. I think the breeder has done a fantastic job with socialisation while Brook was there allowing the puppies access to a variety of items, environments and adult dogs. Brook has confidence, and so far nothing has phased her. Now to keep up the socialising and add to it!

Another great outcome from all of this is the great new friends we have made. It really underlines how much better the whole experience of getting a new puppy can be if they come from an experienced, knowledgeable breeder!

Shaping in Training

2011-05-09T14:14:00.000-07:00

What is shaping? Its a term you might hear a lot, if you are working with a rewards based trainer that is. It is a GREAT hands off method of training which is normally coupled with a secondary reinforcer such as a clicker which you can find more info on, on the website: http://www.poochpaws.co.uk/clicker-training.html

Shaping will start with a specific exercise and take shape into another exercise. It is especially useful in an exercise that is complicated but can be applied to simpler exercises. It will require an exercise to be broken down into steps which can be very useful. Using steps allows you to achieve and your dog to accomplish small goals at a realistic pace. Also if things go wrong you will know that it worked at the level you were doing it at before you moved on a step. So you choose a small realistic goal and once this is accomplished you raise the criteria. It is important to achieve at least 80% success rate at each step otherwise it will not be reinforced enough.

Dogs trained with this method tend to have more focus on their trainer as they are the ones doing the work to achieve the reward that is on offer. It can make for an enthusiastic student that learns to use their brain and to problem solve. The only down side is you need to understand the concept to be able to apply it. If you aren't too sure you may rush through the steps and not fulfil it to the correct levels. This can be overcome with the right guidance from someone that can do it and as with anything in life practice makes perfect.

How could this help with a useful exercise? Teaching a dog to go onto a space can be a very useful exercise and can help in a multitude of situations which can be developed into a simple 'bed' exercise. Using shaping coupled with a clicker and a marker such as a piece of clothe, carpet or a bed you start by rewarding any interest the dog displays in the marker. Once this is established you then hold off on the clicker until a paw is placed on to the marker, then move on to two paws on the marker and so on. This can be shaped until all four feet are on the marker then onto a down on the marker and then a stay on the marker and so on. The possibilities are endless within your imagination.

Dogs are not the only species you can do this with, cats, pigs, goats, dolphins are a few in a big list of animals that have been trained using clicker and shaping, give it a go, you have nothing to loose.

Tino's Training

2011-05-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

After having a busy time with college assignments and study I decided it has been far too long since I did any proper training with Tino. So yesterday we went out on a training 'walk' to a local track perfect for practising seen retrieves in a straight line. As it was very hot I kept to the shaded areas which luckily was a wider track as we nearly got run down by a horse and cart, followed closely by two more! He didn't pay any attention which was great so we continued with training. First some simple stays and off lead heelwork which all went well. So onto retrieves, which went fairly well as it is something he enjoys. The main problem we had was he kept spitting it out at my feet. This is a problem we had last year which I thought we had over come but it is obviously an area which needs to have more attention. We also did a few unseen retrieves where he had to go back and find the dummy which went really well, so work on delivery to hand is needed. We worked on this tonight as a separate exercise using the clicker to shape what he should do. It went quite well with only a few omission's but not wanting to bore him or push our luck we ended it on a good note to try again another day. The aim will be to have a good 'hold' command. Next on the to do list is swimming. He is a good swimmer but looses his confidence as soon as he hasn't been in for a while. I am hoping to tackle it this week so look for another update!

Animal Ethics

2011-04-25T09:53:00.001-07:00

Have been researching today for an assignment on ethics. Have been looking at Deontology, utilitarianism and virtue ethics. The philosophical jargon is quite mind boggling but once you get through all of that it makes alot of sense.

This is my summary so far and hopefully it is right! Deontology looks at the act of an individual from an agent and patient point of view. If an agent, then an action is carried out under duty or obligation such as a mother to a child. The patient looks at the rights rather than the duty stating that everyone has the right against being used for another benefit.

Utilitarianism is discussed by many philosophers but I looked at two schools of thought, act and rule. Act is focussed on that an action should be directed toward achieving the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Rule is reaction to the act and it is to follow the rule that will result in the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Virtue ethics is confusing me somewhat. From what I can make out compared to the above it is supposed to be the one that emphasises virtues. It looks at the virtue or moral character of a person carrying out and action centering the ethics on the person and what it is to be human.
So how is this relevant to animals? A number of philosophers considered the life of animals while discussing these schools of thought, some interesting quotes:

'our duties towards animals, then, are indirect duties towards mankind' Immanuel Kant

'the question is not can they reason nor can they talk but can they suffer?' Jeremy Bentham

'The principle of the equality of human beings is not a description of an alleged actual equality among humans, its a prescription of how we should treat animals' Peter Singer

So if we draw comparison for arguments sake on electric shock collars or even citronella collars humans are happy to put them on dogs but would they put them on themselves? Does wearing one of these serve the greater good, does it make the dog happy? From experience I can say that the dogs on the receiving end that I saw looked remotely happy!

So the question is, is inflicting pain to train an animal ethical? I would say NO!!

Molly the WHWT

2011-04-22T14:42:00.001-07:00

Molly was rescued with a bit of a sketchy history from a well established centre. The new owner's were informed that she was 'noisy' but they did not know the extent of her problems until she had been with them for a few days. Molly had issues within the home and out on walks with other dogs and generally did not know how to cope, she was anxious and also over exuberant. To make matters worse it was soon clear she had developed a health issue when she started limping. Orthopaedic surgery was needed which hindered her behavioural development. Over the past few weeks with a lot of love and complete dedication from her owners they have followed a behavioural modification plan and she is greatly improved. She is mark ably improved at home and outside with other dogs, has learnt self control, walks and a nice loose lead and has learnt a variety of tricks! Well done Molly, Martin and Pat!

Introducing Tino

2011-04-20T11:15:00.001-07:00

Maggiore Valentino is a white and orange Italian Spinoni. He is quite unique as he has a short coat. Tino has been with us since he was 8 weeks and is a working Gundog. He his the younger out of the two and will do anything to try and please you. He is often found curled up with Chiara or Casper and loves to groom them. He is a lovely boy and is forever wagging his tail!

Introducing the Moggy's

2011-04-19T07:00:00.001-07:00

It is said that cats aren't pack animals and subsequently don't enjoy living in a multicat household. If you watch cats in a multi household they will sit with their backs to one another so not to acknowledge one another. I think someone forgot to tell these three! Casper, Logan, and Garfield are often found together asleep and its not because they have limited places to sleep as they have lots of options.

Casper is the youngest and most laid back often hanging around the dogs. Garfield is the middle cat and the feisty noisy one who calls me when he wants attention. Logan is the oldest being 7, he is the skittish one who enjoys a quiet life.

One of them is always into something but I wouldn't have it any other way, a house is not complete without a cat or two!

Introducing Chiara

2011-04-18T14:35:00.001-07:00

Favourita Falcone is the only girl in the house and she is a brown roan Italian Spinoni. She came to us as a rescue at 6 months old with a heavy baggage of behavioural issues. It took many months to get her over her problems with many ups and downs along the way. At nearly 6 years old when she is feeling anxious some can surface again but she has greatly improved. She is a role model for positive reinforcement and what it can achieve. She has bags of personality and is renowned for her mischievous behaviour but she has a firm place in our hearts. Everyone loves her when they meet her as she flutters her eye lashes and gives fabulous kisses!

Tester

2011-04-17T15:23:00.001-07:00

Just down loaded an app to my Droid so I can blog 'on the go' let's see of it works

Hello World Take 2

2011-04-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

After trying another blog provider and disliking the format I have decided to change it (if I can) to this too make it easier on my non-technical mind to make it look 'pretty' rather than relying on boring old templates. I am hoping that an appealing blog will actually make me 'blog' regularly rather than sporadically. I as well as my dogs and dogs (plus a horse) that I help get up to many antics that I am hoping you will enjoy reading (who ever you are?!)!

So if this is working and you are reading it why not reply and let me know that you are there!

Katey