Pit Bulls at the Dog Park

FIRST OF A 4-PART SERIES.

I love the Dog Park, and can't wait to start going there again.  It's my favorite thing to do and every time I see my momma get her shoes on I think we are going there and I get very, very excited.  There's just one problem, though -- we haven't been there in a very long time.  Momma has been trying to figure out when is a good time to go back and she can't figure out the answer, so I decided to write about it.  I think the solution is going to come from everyone who uses the Dog Park putting their heads together and coming up with a solution.  I love my readers, and I just know that together we can come up with the answer (which will make this little pittie a very, very happy girl).

The reason I haven't been to the dog park recently is that my momma has seen some really poor choices being made by humans when they bring their dogs to the park, and she doesn't want me and my sister Zoie to be involved or injured when things go badly.  Momma is a pretty calm person and when we get hurt she doesn't get too upset -- after all (she says) dogs will be dogs and scuffles happen.  That's not what's bugging her and it's not just a little scuffle here and there that has me and my sister sitting on the sidelines right now. As much as I hate not being a part of what's going on at my very own the dog park, I agree that things need to change, not only for me and my sister, but for all the dogs that deserve to enjoy the freedom of an off-leash park.  Here are some of my thinkings that I want to share:

No matter the breed of your dog, it might not be a good idea to take him to the dog park. Ever. 

Yep, that's right.  Some dogs don't like the dog park, and some dogs don't belong there even if they seem to like it.  Forget about the breed of your dog or the dogs you see when you go to the dog park.  Look at how YOUR dog is acting and you will know if he likes it or if he belongs there at all.  Dogs, like humans, have good days and bad days.  If you get to the dog park and your dog is having an "off" day, leave and come back another day.  Or come back in a few hours when a different mix of dogs are in the park. Or it might be that you should not ever come back  There is nothing wrong with your dog if he just simply doesn't like the dog park.  It might be his age, his individual temperament or just the day.  Only you know your dog well enough to answer the questions that must be answered in order to keep him and others safe in the dog park.

My big brother Sampson is a great example of a dog that does not belong in the dog park -- never, ever.  At home he is a big marshmallow (and a goofball), but at the park he is timid (I call him crazy) and likes to keep to himself.  Kinda funny for a guy that weighs 157 pounds, huh?  He runs around the perimeter of the fence and doesn't really want anything to do with other dogs.  If a dog approaches him while he is in the park, he barks and snarls and sounds really scary, like the lion on the Wizard of Oz.  That's all fine and dandy, until he did it to a dog that took issue with his Unacceptable Behavior, and there was a fight.  No blood, just a brawl.  Momma doesn't take Sampson to the park anymore.  This is a picture of my brother, Sampson.  He's a Giant Goofball.  

Yes, it is a full-sized couch and he takes up all the room.

 
The dog park is NOT the place to teach your dog to be sociable with other dogs.  

This is the one that's got me sitting on the sidelines right now.  Almost every time we have been to the dog park, my momma hears people talking about how they haven't had their dog around other dogs in years and they are so glad that our county has a dog park because now they can bring their dog to the park so they can be socialized.  Holy crap on a crackerOh my goodness, those are some short visits to the park when momma overhears stuff like that.  She can't get my sister and me out of the park fast enough when she hears that we're in the park with dogs that haven't been taught how to get along with other dogs. One thing that really gets momma's goat is when people say they just adopted a dog from the shelter and the next day they have them out at the dog park, sometimes even after being told by the shelter staff that the dog is not dog friendly.  That's a whole 4-part series all by itself.       

If you take your dog to the dog park and he's not ready to be there, or doesn't belong there, you are setting him up to fail, plain and simple.  At the dog park, adrenalin runs high and excitement is the theme of the day.  Taking your dog to the park without FIRST properly socializing him is like sending someone to take a test when they have never taken the class.  If you think about it, it makes perfect sense.

Now, I know right now you are scratching your head and wondering if I'm out of my pretty little pittie brain.  Nope, I'm dead serious.  Teach your dog to get along with other dogs BEFORE you bring him to the dog park.  Here are some ideas from our friends at badrap.org about how to do that ....

"Creating fun socializing opportunities for your dog starts with finding other conscientious dog owners. Find them by signing up for obedience classes, meetup groups or dog sports ...to meet potential play partners for your pet. Another way to socialize your dog is to sign up as a foster home for a local rescue group.

Some maintain small play groups for their neighborhoods dogs in backyards, fenced in ball fields and small, low traffic parks. If yours does not, see if you can't find one or two dog owners in your area who might be willing to start a small social group.

Our dogs benefit from building up a large list of 'dog friendships,' much in the same way parents seek out good playmates for their small children.  If your dog just isn't fond of other dogs - No sweat. He gets the fun of enjoying play time with you all to himself. Dogs don't have to have other dog friends in order to be happy."

There are as many different reasons as there are breeds of dogs why some many dogs don't do well around other dogs, at home or at the dog park.  It's OK --there is nothing wrong with your dog.  He just needs you to understand him as an individual.  It's that simple.
 

What's up with the people that never have any issues with their dogs at the dog park?  

Dogs that have no problem playing and interacting with larger groups of dogs in rowdy play sessions are generally younger dogs.  But, as that same dog starts to get older and "feel his stuff," it's actually pretty normal for him to be less patient with other dogs' uninvited advances and rude behavior.  And it's all about perception.  What seemed like play and fun rowdiness to him at an earlier age may become very annoying to him as an adult dog.

No matter how much good socializing and training you've done, your dog's tolerance can still disappear if he's triggered into conflict by another dog's challenge, a tussle over a toy, a tug-o-war game or even a friendly wrestling match that gets a little "too exciting."

You NEVER want your dog to fight at the Dog Park.  Wanna know why?
  
In addition to the obvious reasons of your dog being injured or causing injury to another dog, big vet bills, problems with law enforcement, and liability concerns, there's another BIG reason you don't want your dog to ever fight another dog:

If you want to increase the odds of your dog remaining dog tolerant forever, NEVER let him get into his first fight.  According to experts, "whether or not your dog starts it, many a dog is forever changed by his first fight and may never be the same around other dogs again." 

And finally, on a personal note, for all pit bull families out there, during this time of breed prejudice, please remember that even the smallest display of bravado involving pit bull type dogs is going to set off alarm bells in onlookers and tarnish the reputation of our breed more and more.  It's not fair, but it's the reality we're facing right now.   Take your dog to the dog park and help him to enjoy it to the fullest  Be present with your dog and be his leader at all times while in the park.  Correct "snarly" or "rowdy" play BEFORE it escalates.  There is nothing wrong with teaching your dog an appropriate level of play when engaged with other dogs.  Save the snarly stuff for rag bones and tug of war with you at home.  He can be taught to understand the difference and he will love you for it. 

Wanna be a hero to your dog?  Be a fair player at the dog park and teach your dog to do the same. If it doesn't work for your dog, tell him it's OK to just stay home.


See you next week for Part 2 of our 4-part series on "Pit Bulls in the Dog Park."  Have a great week!!!

Ask Annie (April 19, 2013)

 It's good to have my that my parents have their taxes done and now I'm back doing the things I love ... and this is one of them!

One of my readers asked a question about how to help a high strung dog deal with anxiety. She said her family has a lot of anxiety and the dog seems to pick up on it, he is restless and seems on edge a lot.  Her name is Jackelyn and I think she must love her dog a whole lot to be concerned about his anxiety.  

So, here is what I can tell you, based on what I know about it.  

Dogs exhibit anxiety for many reasons, some because of environmental stressors and many times because of separation.  Sometimes they are anxious because they are bored. 

 It's very important to remember that a tired dog is a happy dog. 

Panda

Also, did you know that your dog is very perceptive of your emotions and how you are feeling?  Some say that a dog can hear your heartbeat from 5 feet away.   

You say that there is a lot of anxiety in your home, but with no further details, it’s hard for me to know if this is an ongoing issue, or whether it is temporary or permanent.  

 Dogs are pretty adaptable and just need to know that they are part of the family.  We need our time to shine and be the center of attention within the family, and and we need a chance to work off our energy (after all, we are dogs). 

Tessie

Let’s just say that your house is full of activity and kids and just busy-ness from two working parents with kids and lots of responsibilities and chores and activities and more to do than you have time to do it.  Where does your dog fit into the family?  Does your dog get to go for a walk everyday?  This is not only important for your dog’s daily life, it is essential to her well-being, and can be a huge contributor to stress.  

Bella

In many ways, it is important to put yourself in your dog’s place. Try and imagine how you would feel if you had to stay inside your house, except for short potty breaks, everyday, all day long.  How do you feel when you have gotten out for a brisk walk or jog, or a workout at the gym?  Your dog feels the same way!  For families who have a fenced-in yard, it is easy to fall out of the routine of walking your dog, but a daily walk is vital, especially for a dog that is prone to anxiety.

Does your dog have a job?  Does he get to solve puzzles?  This is a great area to explore, and can be accomplished with a little imagination and things you have around your house.  Here are a few ideas:

Rocky

Get a box (judge how big or small by the size of your dog) and fill it with crumpled packing (or other non-toxic) paper.  Add bits of dry kibble or your dog’s favorite treat (maybe some chunks of cheese) and let her figure out how to get to all of those yummy morsels.  He will have to tip the box, rummage through the paper, sniff, scratch, tear and most of all use her brain to get what she wants out of the box.

Does your dog have a Kong? If not, he is in for a treat.  My mom and dad fill my Kong with layers of yummy stuff and when I am finished digging all that stuff out of there, I am exhausted and usually fall asleep when I am done. Here are some ideas of what you can layer in your dog’s Kong (and don’t let this stop you from letting your imagination go wild, because your dog is going to love whatever you fill it with): 

• dry kibble
• cheese chunks
• pieces of cooked carrots 
• cooked peas
• broken pieces of doggie treats
• pieces of cooked chicken

Once you have the Kong almost filled with the layers of yummy stuff, top it off with canned dog food or peanut butter and watch your dog go to town.  (You’re gonna want to give it to him in a place where it’s OK that he makes a slobbery mess, but it’s sooo worth it!)

Another idea that will prolong the “job” of emptying the Kong is to freeze it.  You might want to have 2 Kongs on a rotation so that one can be freezing while the other is being ravaged emptied.  

Lacey

My mom has read about others who buy beef bones at the pet store, empty them out of all the gross chemical laden stuff that comes inside of it when you buy them, and then stuff the hollow bones with the yumminess of your choice.  Like I said, let your imagination run away and you will have one very happy(ier) dog. 

One game you (or your older kids) can play with your dog is the “cup game.”  Put 2 or 3 cups upside down on the floor and put a Very Tasty Treat under one of the cups, but don’t tell your dog where it is.  Challenge your dog to find which cup has the treat, and then he has to figure out how to get to it.  Do it over and over again, each time changing the location or order of the cup containing the treat. 

Many of my friends that suffer from anxiety wear thundershirts.  If you haven’t heard about them, here’s where you can read more about this wonderful invention: http://tiny.cc/vwrqvw 

Here is a picture of my friend, Cookie, in her Thundershirt.  Cookie loves it and it helps her very very much.

Cookie

 You can put your dog into a thundershirt if you know she is getting ready to experience a certain stressor such as thunder, fireworks, or the vacuum cleaner.  If your dog is generally anxious, at least in the beginning of seeking solutions, you can let him wear it most of the time.  It will make him feel secure.  I have never used one, but I know they have worked wonders for my friends and I also know they use them at the shelter for the dogs who need them.

Similar to the theory behind a thundershirt, does your dog have a crate?  A place to call his own, where he can retreat whenever he wishes?  When used properly, a crate is a wonderful part of a dog’s life.  It’s a cozy little place where a dog can go to feel like nothing can harm him.  His very own den filled with his very own scent where he can go and get away from it all. 

Snuggles

 I hope I have given you some helpful information, and I am really happy that you follow my column.  There are lots of books out there about ways to help your dog overcome anxiety.  My favorite two experts on the issue are Jean Donaldson and Sue Sternberg. 

Your dog is lucky to have a guardian like you who cares so much that you look for answers to his issues. 

 

Is A Game Just A Game?

 Dogs like to play and run.  They like to be engaged with other dogs or people.  But what happens when they don't have humans around to engage them, play with them, teach them things?  They create their own "games" and find things to occupy themselves, which creates many a difference of opinion about what is a game and what is the definition of a toy.

Did your Good Buddy end up in the shelter because he thought Aunt Margaret's wig was a fuzzy toy?  Did he think that shag carpet was remarkably similar to the freshly-mowed lawn in the backyard?  Is he still really puzzled why he got in so much trouble for chasing the family kitty?  And why, a dog wonders, is drinking out of the toilet such a bad idea?  After all, it is a bowl and it contains water. 

Are these "bad" dog behaviors?  No.  They are dog behaviors.  And for the short time we have these dogs in our program, we can teach them things.  We can teach them to play with things that really are doggie toys.  We can teach them games that tease their brains and make them feel useful and challenged.  We can teach them that they get ignored when the jump up on us, but they get rewarded when they keep their feet on the floor.  We can teach them that one emergency recall word that will stop them in their tracks and prevent them from chasing or running off into a dangerous situation, whatever it may be.  We can teach them to walk with a loose leash (this is a biggie).  And above all, they will learn to trust us.

Some dogs are just waiting for the chance to learn things.  They are smart, but have never had anyone who cared about them enough, or never knew that dogs want to learn, they want to be in a relationship with us, their humans.  They have energy but they don't know what to do with it.  They want to play, but need to be taught which things they should choose for their toys.

That is where we can help them shine, and here are a few ideas to help our Good Buddies, compliments of Jolanta Benal, who writes a blog called The Dog Trainer.  

The Find It Game

The easiest doggy game of all may be “Find It” -- you can’t go wrong when sniffing and food are involved. Show your dog a piece of dry food or a tiny treat. Say “Find it!” and toss the food on the ground. If your dog doesn’t quite get the idea of hunting outside the bowl, start her off by dropping the treat right in front of her. Then at each repetition, toss it farther and farther away. You can feed your dog entire meals by playing Find It; for some reason, dogs rarely seem to get bored when looking for food. Make the game more challenging by asking your dog to stay while you hide the treat behind a piece of furniture or in another room. Come back, release your dog from the stay, and wish her happy hunting. I do not suggest using the couch cushions as a hiding place.

 

Hide and Seek

The hidden item in “Find It” can be a person, too, which turns the game into hide-and-seek. This is easiest to teach with two human players -- one to go hide, the other to stay with the dog and encourage him to find the one who’s hiding. The person hiding can make a big fuss over the dog once she’s found and then reward by throwing a treat or toy, or play a quick round of tug.

Go Wild and Freeze

There are many ways to play “Go Wild and Freeze” – here’s one. Start by dancing around and acting excited till your dog gets going, too. After a minute or so, you all of a sudden stop moving. Ask your dog to sit, or down, or do another behavior she knows well. The moment she does it, start dancing around again; when your dog joins in, stop, ask for that sit or down again, and reward her by re-starting the party.
Mix things up by varying what behaviors you ask for and how long you wait before re-starting the game. If your dog is super-excitable and likely to mouth you or ricochet off you, start with a pale-vanilla version of “going wild” -- your dog’s introduction to this game can be “Take a Single Step and Freeze.” You can also retreat behind a baby gate if need be.
“Go Wild and Freeze” is not only fun, it helps teach your dog self-control as she learns to respond to your cues even when excited. End the game clearly, for example by saying “All done!” and sitting down with a book. If you say the same phrase every time, your dog will learn that it signifies the end of play for now. Ignore any attempts to reel you back in -- otherwise, she will learn that pestering works.

These are just a few games that you can use to get started.  Let your imagination run wild and have fun with your Good Buddy.

Another priceless training tool ... pay attention and catch your dog doing something good.  It's not always easy, and it's easy to miss many cues when our dogs are quietly doing what they are supposed to do.  When you pass another dog out on a walk, your dog has the choice of whether to bark and lunge or quietly keep walking and mind her own business.  Catch that moment to praise and reward.  The list goes on but you get the idea.  Dogs LOVE to do a good job and they LOVE to be rewarded.  Rewarded with what you ask?  In the beginning it really doesn't matter.  Find their currency and use it to your advantage. It might be food, it might be praise, or it could be launching into a game of chase.

Have fun with your Good Buddy!
  

Brain Games

One of the most stressful things in a dog's life is living in a human world, and if our dogs could tell us some things they would like for us to change, here's a few things they might say ... 

• Please throw away our bowls.  Really.  Who came up with the idea of making us eat out of bowls?  (Hint:  It was not the dogs.)  We have Kongs that sit empty most of the time.  Portion out our same amount of food and make us work hunt for eat it out of our Kongs or other "fillable" toys. If your dogs (or Good Buddy) does not have a Kong, offer food in a Gatorade bottle.  Let your imagination soar.  By making us eat out of bowls, you take away one of the chance we have to be hunters dogs.

• Make our food interesting by mixing it with cheese, peas, broccoli, chicken, steamed carrots, rice, peanut butter, canned pumpkin.  (Become familiar with foods that are good and not-so-good for pups). Good Buddies love it when  you show up at the shelter with a baggie full of homemade treats. 

•  Take us for walks.  Everyday.  It's not just exercise for us.  It's migrating.  It's mental stimulation.  We want to sniff and pee on mailboxes and figure out what has changed since the last time we were outside.  It makes us feel like dogs.  We like that alot.  Even if your community has a dog park, please take us for walks.  The two things are not the same and we need both.

• Give us mind games to play.  Want some ideas?  OK, you asked!



• Fill a cardboard box with crumpled packing paper and add dry kibble (or something else very yummy).  It's a puzzle for us to figure out how to get the food out of the tangled, crumpled paper, and it's fun.

• Help us increase our vocabulary by teaching us to retrieve each of our toys by name. Start with our two favorites, and teach us to fetch them by name one at a time, in a room with no other toys to choose from. Use lots of praise, tug, or treats to reward the good fetches. Once we knows the names of two toys, put both on the floor and ask us to fetch them one at a time. Reward correct choices with whatever wags our tail, and by continuing the game. Respond to incorrect choices by repeating the request, and eventually guiding us toward the right toy if we really needs help. If we can succeed with two, try three or more. This is really tough brain work, so be patient and expect us to build up our vocabulary very gradually.

•  These are just a few ideas to get you started.  If you would like to see some more ideas, here's a great little website for more dog play ideas

Happy brain games!