I’m really not trying to be a shameless pusher of AnimalSense classes, but puppy socialization classes are important because the window for impacting a puppy’s future temperament is very short.

During the first three months of a puppy’s life, I tell my clients that their dog is creating a “mental file cabinet” full of things that are good and safe.  It should include files for people of all kinds, animals, sights, sounds and experiences.  Your goal is to stuff that file cabinet so full of good experiences that as an older dog, when he encounters something new and tries to find it in the file cabinet, it’s so full that he just decides “It must be in there somewhere.  I’m sure there’s no reason to be worried.”  Unfortunately, the file cabinet is only available for adding new things for about three months. By the time most puppies go home, that only leaves a short time for the new owners to take action. Puppy socialization classes like AnimalSense’s Puppy Pre-School focus on exposing puppies to many new experiences in a safe and controlled way.

Many puppy owners also worry about the wisdom of starting classes prior to a puppy being fully vaccinated.

In its position statement on puppy socialization, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior says, “Behavioral issues, not infectious diseases, are the number one cause of death for dogs under three years of age. While puppies’ immune systems are still developing during these early months, the combination of maternal immunity, primary vaccination, and appropriate care makes the risk of infection relatively small compared to the chance of death from a behavior problem. In general, puppies can start puppy socialization classes as early as 7-8 weeks of age.“

To read their full position statement, click here.

So if you are a new puppy owner, the time to act is now!  AnimalSense offers Puppy Pre-School every session.

Nobody knows that more than Enzo’s parents, now.

My parents found this 95-pound black German Shepherd wandering the aisles of a pharmacy in their hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana a few weeks ago. Yep, I said pharmacy. He just sauntered in through the automatic door like he owned the place. They watched as he calmly left the store and ventured across seven lanes of traffic with no regard to the cars whizzing by. When he did this a second time to return to the CVS, they used a leash they keep in the car (always important to have with you, as well as other items listed in our What to Do if you Find a Stray Dog post) and brought him to their vet. The staff found a microchip, but it was registered to someone in Colorado Springs. After several phone calls, they were able to determine that the dog’s name was now Enzo but there was no local contact on file with his microchip. He wasn’t wearing a collar, so he didn’t have any tags.

Mom & Dad had heard horror stories of family pets being euthanized at the local Animal Control before the required 10 day waiting period, so they wanted to avoid that. They posted Enzo’s picture on the local lost pet Facebook page. They couldn’t bring him home due their own reactive dog, so they started driving around the neighborhood to check for “Lost Dog” flyers. They stopped in at another veterinary clinic just a few blocks away from the CVS and one of the techs instantly recognized the dog as a patient. They contacted the owner, who was there within minutes. She said she had just given Enzo a bath, which was why he wasn’t wearing his collar when he got loose. She and her two little boys couldn’t thank my parents enough. Of course, they encouraged her to update her contact information with the microchip company.

After another chance meeting at a restaurant last weekend, my parents learned the family has indeed updated their contact information on Enzo’s microchip.

This story has a happy ending, but it could have taken a different turn, especially on that busy street.

There are two leading microchip companies with pet recovery services: Avid and HomeAgain. If you have moved or changed phone numbers since first registering your pet’s microchip, update your contact information so you can be reached in case of emergency. It could save a life!

Some time ago, I read the biography of Rin Tin Tin by Susan Orlean and it reignited the fantasy.

The story of Rin Tin Tin is fascinating.  The original dog was orphaned as a puppy and subsequently rescued from a battlefield in World War I . He was brought to California and went on to become one of the world’s biggest movie stars.  The line endured for ten generations and (also using the name Rin Tin Tin) had tremendously successful television shows.  In true old Hollywood fashion, Rin Tin Tin had his own mansion.  At the height of his fame, he received 10,000 fan letters a week. Yes, you read that right – people wrote fan letters to a dog.

While it is interesting to read the book because of what Rin Tin Tin became, the true heart of the story has to do with the human-animal bond.

Rin Tin Tin was rescued by a soldier named Lee Duncan and Duncan devoted all of his life to the dog and the dog’s legacy.

Of course, the real dog is not my fantasy version. Alas, he seemed to have a pretty bad problem with biting people. While I will stick with my real Newfoundlands and my imaginary German Shepherd, this book is a good choice for anyone who is interested in dogs, and especially for those who have had that one special dog in their life.

Have you read this book? If so, share your thoughts about it here.

What I can’t teach you is how to have fun with your companion.

But I can share with you some stories and ideas to get the creative juices flowing so you and your dog (or cat, or ferret, or bunny!) can simply  have a darn good time.

My dearly departed and best pal of almost 15 years, Harley, had all kinds of fun things she liked to do.  Of course, it evolved as she got older but some of her favorite things were – but not limited to – being chased, tug-of-war, chasing chipmunks and/or squirrels (she never caught one but not from lack of trying, I assure you), digging in the mud, lying in the grass soaking up the sun, riding in the car, and walks in the rain if the rain wasn’t coming down too hard.

When I was growing up, we had Doberman Pinchers who loved to run and take flying leaps into our pond over and over again.  No one could believe they would do it until they saw it because when you think of Dobermans you don’t exactly think water dog.  It was incredibly humorous to watch and when we got home at the end of the day to let them outside, they would immediately go potty and run to the pond.

When I lived in a very rural area of Pennsylvania, I had a cat named Zam that loved to go for a walk in the woods with us and enjoyed riding in the Jeep with me to town.  She would just look out the window (closed, of course) as we drove, and hang out all cool-like in the Jeep like it was no big deal.  “Yeah, I’m a cat hanging out in a Jeep, so what?  It’s my thing.”  They were having fun!  I assume so anyway because none of this was forced on them or taught.  They just did it.  Well, okay, I took Harley with me for walks in the gentle rain because I liked it but she didn’t hesitate one bit when I leashed her up and we ventured out in the rain.

All of these types of activities are self-rewarding, which simply means animals do it because it feels good on some level.

You can also use their favored activities in training as a reward.  We talk about this a lot in class, and I’m pretty sure you’ve already heard this before, but keep those activities in your repertoire along with treats for rewards.

Explore with your companion some new and exciting things and see if you can incorporate more fun into your lives.  I happened to find out Zam liked riding in the car by taking her to vet, if you can believe it.  She just looked out the window so interested in everything as the countryside rolled by.  So I started inviting her to ride with me and she eagerly hopped in.

Training is an incredibly important part of having a great relationship with your companion but so is fun!  So, put the clicker down for a little while, relax, loosen up, take a break and do whatever makes you and your companion happy.

I’d love to hear about some fun and creative things you and your pets like to do, so please share.  Happy mud digging!

There are so many wonderful things about creating a relationship with a dog.

In fact, the love at first sight I had with my Golden Retriever was magical and lasted right up to her last breath.  But I would be lying if I didn’t acknowledge that having a dog also strengthened my gag reflex. Like I said, my dog was special and lovely, but she still pooped outside requiring me to pick it up.  That’s part of the gig.  There’s also vomiting that is foreshadowed by a workup of heaving so violent that you’re sure a small child might be produced.  There’s breath that is rabbit poop scented, ingestion of toilet paper that sometimes can result in a human having to assist a poop out with her hands, ear gunk to end all ear gunk and much more, but I think you get the point.

The sad part is that this doesn’t even touch the nasty-factor that comes with kids, but it gets you a little raw in preparation.

However, just as I had thought nothing could faze me, I recently came head-to-head with a tick.  No, seriously, there was a tick on my dog, Finlay’s, head.  Between his eyes to be exact.

Let me just preface this by saying, “I don’t dig bugs.”

That, by the way, is the understatement of the year.  My whole body puckers when I see anything with multiple legs and a pincher apparatus for a mouth.  So, when my husband said, “Hey, what is this between Finlay’s eyes?”, I thought, “eye booger.  No problem.  I’ve got this.”

I’ll admit that my heart dropped a notch when I saw what appeared to be a skin tag to end all skin tags hanging from his brow line   The most frightening part was that this lovely had not been there the day before which meant is was a very fast growing skin abnormality.  You see where I’m going, right?  Cancer.

As I spread the hair away from the protrusion, I mentally prepared to scoop Mr. Fin up and hold him until I could get him to the vet the following morning.  I got a magnifying glass to get a really good look of size, color, and texture so I could look it up on the internet and really work my self up into a good panic.  It was then that the world stopped spinning for me because when I got an enlarged view, I saw the unexpected… a couple of tiny legs at the point of insertion in the skin!  It was the size of a corn kernel and had legs!  Let the dry heaving begin!

I called screamed at the top of my lungs to my husband, “It’s got legs!  It’s a bug!  It’s got legs!  You have to come down!”  Thinking that I was potentially having the psychotic break that he’s been waiting for, he came down and we got to business on handling our dog’s latest tenant.

As you may or may not know, ticks are best removed with tweezers at the base, although I have also heard talk of getting fire involved.  Since I figured that a flame headed between Finlay’s eyes would not be well received, we went for the tweezer and then bag to suffocate technique. Between gagging, I held the magnifying glass while my husband extracted the blood sucker.

Since I wasn’t looking to have another pet to take care of, I evicted Finlay’s new friend and chalked the experience up to an exercise building strength in my gag reflex which was good because vomiting hit the Stewart household this week!

Turns out, I do pretty well with animals and humans.  I’m still lacking in the plant department.

I had a conversation with someone the other day about my dog, and it came up that other dogs are not a part of his life. The person I was talking to was utterly confused by this fact. “But doesn’t he need friends?” That idea never occurred to me. “No, he’s much happier without them.”

I understand this makes him sound like a weirdo with no “friends”, but dogs are different.

When two dogs are in the same space, the only thing it causes, at least initially, is conflict. Dogs are constantly assessing their safety, and when a new person or dog enters into their space, they must decide if that person or dog is a threat. My dog thinks every dog is a threat, even if they are being perfectly appropriate and good. Therefore, he would prefer that no dogs come in his space in order to avoid any conflict. I think that sounds like a much better life than being concerned at all times.

Obviously, it’s okay for your dog to have friends, and some dogs like certain dogs over others. But there are plenty of dogs out there they don’t need friends, like mine, and that’s okay too.

Do you have a dog that doesn’t like other dogs? Tell us about your struggles and successes with your dog.

Bailey hates change, as most dogs do.

When we are boxing things up, Bailey is right there with us, staring at us and giving us the look of, “oh boy, what’s going on here?” She won’t just lay down and relax, she has to be in the middle of it all. When we actually move something out of the room, she wanders around that area for a while just sniffing and staring. It’s actually quite pathetic.

Since we know Bailey does not take to change very well, we have decided to take our time with the nursery (it’s only May and the baby isn’t due until September). We are doing this not because it is easier on us, but because it will be easier on Bailey.

I know, I know, the things we do for our dogs.

We just figure it doesn’t put us out by working on the nursery a little here and there, and it will make the transition easier for Bailey to accept. Plus, it would be a lot harder on us and Bailey if we wait until the last minute to do everything. And we want to give her time to get used to all the new pieces of furniture before she has to get used to a whole new person living in our house.

Bailey has enough stress right now. She has monthly chemo treatments and almost weekly visits to the vet, the last thing we want to do is make her more stressed with this exciting change. So, our solution is to make a lot of small changes that only stress her out for a few minutes instead of one big change that will stress her out for days or weeks.

How does your dog handle change and what do you do to help them?

Although my mom was certainly not as thrilled with our find as we were, she kept quiet as she forked over cash at the numerous vet bills it took to finally get this “free” kitten healthy.

As so often happens, my young friend lost interest in the kitten, and when she moved out, little Pepsi stayed. I think he knew who to truly thank for this new home, with soft sheets instead of dirty straw and clean water instead of muddy puddles. He followed my mom everywhere, hanging on her shoulder like an infant and purring loudly in her ear as she dozed in bed. However, for many years, Pepsi and I had a more distant relationship. True to his barn cat nature, he’d go out in the yard and proudly bring his finds to my mom: baby squirrels, my chicks and ducklings, birds, or bunnies, nothing was too good for the woman he adored. Fortunately, as Pepsi aged and I matured, we came to an understanding, at least about my creatures, and he was polite enough to become more selective about the gifts he brought in to my mom.

Years passed and they took their toll on Pepsi.

He eventually was diagnosed with kidney failure and thyroid issues, and the vet explained that treating one would speed the progression of the other. Thankfully, Pepsi was in no pain, and he lived with his issues for a couple years. Although he was too old to proudly stalk the yard as he once did, he was still king of the house, eating raw drumsticks and growling at anyone besides my mom who was foolish enough to disturb him while he dined. Then one day, Pepsi asked to go outside again, crying at the door as he hadn’t done in months. He circled the property, stopping at the chicken coops, the swimming pool, the evergreen trees, visiting each of the places that he had hunted in and ruled over all these years. Eventually he made his way back to the house, scratched to come in, and slept the rest of the day. Two days later, Pepsi drifted away in my mom’s arms, embraced by the one person he truly adored.

Mom, here’s to you and Pepsi.

Who knew that a muddy, sickly little creature in a dark corner of a stable could become such a dear companion.  And I know, trust me on this, that he’s waiting on the other side of that Rainbow Bridge, stalking all the canaries, parakeets, and goldfish of years gone by, just waiting for the day he can climb on your shoulder and purr into your ear once more.

In October 2011, breeder Mike Chilinski was caught with severely neglected Malamutes at his home in Helena, Montana. He had adults, puppies and many pregnant females. The local Lewis & Clark Humane Society was assisted by The American Humane Society in the seizure of over 160 Malamutes from his property that were in very bad condition.

All of the dogs were malnourished, as they probably hadn’t seen food in months.

The average size of a Malamute is 80-100 pounds. Many of these dogs were found weighing just 30 pounds.

They had no human contact or socialization.

Once the Humane Society got them transported to their facility, they addressed the dogs’ health concerns, groomed, fed, spayed or neutered and personally worked one-on-one with each dog. Many dogs had to have surgery to remove objects in their stomachs that they had ingested. Others had tumors and infections, even parts of their ears missing, probably due to fights over limited amounts of food.

After lots of TLC, these dogs started to come out of their shells and started building bonds and relationships with the workers. In the year and a half since the seizure, the majority of the dogs have been put in foster homes while they wait for their forever homes.

I recently got to meet two of these Malamutes who are now in the state of Illinois.

They are very small, since they were malnourished during their key growth periods. But they are filling out, and their foster mom is working very hard at getting them acclimated to the world.

If you are interested in adopting one of these 160 dogs, you can get more info here. You can also sign up to volunteer or donate to the Humane Society. So far, they have spent over $500,000 on Project Malamute.

AnimalSense has a very personal tie to this project.

Our Director of Operations Andrea Miller‘s sister, Dr. Jillian Dougherty, was one of the veterinarians on scene during the seizure who treated the animals and testified in court against Chilinski which helped in his conviction of animal cruelty. He was sentenced to serve five years in prison, to forfeit all the rescued dogs and barred from owning animals for 30 years. You can see Dr. Dougherty and all of the other courageous people that helped in the Montana Malamute Rescue in this video:

Dr. Dougherty and her husband adopted one of the puppies born after the seizure. Adele has grown into a happy, healthy and very lucky dog. Malamute lovers from all over the world have come to these dogs’ rescue in the form of donations, volunteering their time and opening up their homes for fostering and adoption. What can you do to help?

What began as a heartbreaking story has resulted in triumph for animal rescue!

But having a perpetually hungry dog who lacks interest in exercise could lead to some serious health issues.

That’s why when a fellow AnimalSense trainer recommended a food ball for the pug, I had no idea just how wonderful this activity would be for a fairly bored, lazy guy.

I brought the ball into our home, filled it with some of his kibble and laid it on the ground for him to figure out. The ball, with two small openings on either end, dispenses food as the dog rolls it around. The pup ends up rolling and chasing the ball while enjoying the food as it spills out. Owners can feed their dog their entire meal from the ball or just a couple of treats, which essentially makes the pooch work for his food. Astonishingly, Barkley figured this out quickly and was an expert in no time. This activity is both mentally and physically stimulating for the dog and is a terrific way to keep them engaged – especially when you’re looking to keep them occupied. It’s also quite entertaining to watch.

I would certainly recommend this activity ball and other food dispensing toys/puzzles to other dog owners as a means of mental and physical exercise. They can also be helpful for dogs that eat their food too fast, forcing them to eat their food at a much slower pace as it is dispensed while they work for it. It can also help redirect potentially destructive behaviors into positive playtime.

Have you ever tried a food dispensing activity? If so, was your dog receptive?