Summer Checklist

The following is a “pass along” article from the Retriever Journal.

Pass Along RJ
June 09

Summer Checklist
by Jason Smith

It’s been a strange spring so far — some of us would actually welcome a little global warming here in Michigan! But the heat of summer will come, and with plenty of light after work and everything nice and green and the water just waiting…well, now’s the time our dogs turn into rambunctious fools, wanting to be on the go-go-go all the time.

But that heat of summer can be the most dangerous time for a dog — especially one who doesn’t know when to quit (but of course, your retriever isn’t like that, right?). So here are a few reminders to make sure that the summer is enjoyable and safe:

Try to train and play as much as you can around water; but remember that a dog can overheat working too hard in the water, too.
Dogs don’t sweat, and they don’t just drink because they’re thirsty — their tongue is their cooling mechanism, so make sure that cool, clean water is always available. Make sure your buddy is current on his heartworm and tick medications — it’s that time of year!

Heat stroke and heat exhaustion is nothing to fool around with. No matter how much fun you’re having — or your retriever is having — know when to call it quits and cut the game or training session short. Focus on the mornings and evenings for your outings, and leave the dog passed out on the living room floor in front of the air conditioner during the hot part of the day. You will have to do the dog’s thinking for him!

Summer is the season for joggers and bikers, and you may be awfully tempted to shave those winter pounds your pooch put on; but if you’re taking your dog, remember that he doesn’t have cushioned running shoes like you. Let him run alongside in the grass. And not very far, either (see above).

A breezy summer drive is nice, but don’t let Fido hang his head out the window. A bug in the eye at 55 miles per hour — not good.

Basically, just play it smart and safe with your retriever this summer. This also entails one other thing: Keep your eye on him or her. We receive a lot of sad stories here from people who have lost their best friends to a speeding car — or lost them, period. No matter how much you trust your dog to “stick around the yard,” it only takes once. Now might be the time to get a chain-link fence up.

If you haven’t already, check out Retriever Journal on both Twitter and Facebook! So sign up and become a fan, and invite your social networking pals to become fans and followers, too! And maybe drop a hint that, if they haven’t already, they should request their own no-obligation issue!

Elvis’ first water training

I’ve been wanting to both introduce Elvis to water and give the Labs some swim time for awhile, and yesterday things finally worked out. There are several circumstances that have been pushing me to get the dogs in the water now:

First- with this being the wettest June in decades, Snake River has been at flood stage for awhile and there’s no way I’d send my Labs out in it. The undertow, amount of driftwood coming down, sheer force and swiftness of the water isn’t worth it, so any swimming will have to be in calmer water.

Second – Should the temperatures become hot, there’s the danger of algae poisoning. It usually occurs in late summer to early fall, but the “algae bloom” can occur any time and it’s deadly to dogs. I stop water training around the middle of July as a precaution.

And third – now with Oso having contracted Parvo, I’m not willing to let the dogs train in the pasture, especially with a new puppy on the way. I don’t plan on training them in the pasture for the rest of the summer; when we burn the field this fall, it should pretty much take care of any Parvo that may be in it.

There’s a gravel pit nearby that borders a city park, and collects water every summer making it a favorite swimming hole for kids. My first trip was with Sophie and Dakota, not necessarily for training but to give Sophie some much-needed exercise and burn off some of Dakota’s energy. If Dakota hasn’t burnt off her excess energy, she works herself into a frenzie when I train Elvis. I still worked with them on breaking and honoring and both have improved in both areas, but Dakota has a long ways to go.

They retrieved bumpers for about half-an-hour so I called it good and took them home, returning with Elvis. This time I brought my body camera – I’m still having problems properly fitting the camera, so the video isn’t as good as what I’d hoped for.

He wasn’t intimidated by the water although he’s not yet ready to swim. He retrieved the bumper in shallow water for about 20 minutes before losing interest and exploring the weeds and shoreline. I’m not going to push him to swim – he’ll do that when he’s ready. As with any puppy, I believe that the most important thing is to build their confidence; do that and they’ll let you know when they’re ready to move ahead with their training.

Duck Jambalaya

I gave our oldest daughter some duck that I had rubbed with Cajun seasoning and froze, and last week she turned it into Jambalaya. She took a box of Jambalaya rice mix, added the duck which she cooked and diced, some shrimp and sausage.

She reported that it tasted great fresh off the stove and not so great re-heated, which may be the reason she didn’t give me any as promised… or her cousin, who’s stomach is a bottomless pit, finished it off. Oh well, only 4 months to duck season.

Parvo scare

When your doorbell rings at 4:30 in the morning, it’s usually not good. This morning it was a neighbor’s daughter who woke us up to tell us that their puppy, Oso, had been sick for the past couple of days and couldn’t keep any water or food down. The little guy had reached the point where he nearly couldn’t walk.

We immediately suspected Parvo, but there was nothing we could do that early; my wife told the girl that she’d take Oso to the vet when they opened. She then called the emergency number and the vet recommended wrapping Oso in blankets when she brought him in, to help prevent contamination.

When the time came to take Oso to the vet, he couldn’t be found anywhere. My wife and the neighbors searched without luck, and were fearing that Oso had gone off to die. The most likely place was a hay field behind the neighbor’s house, which they tried to search. Everyone pretty much lost all hope when the farmer began mowing his hay.

But then Oso came stumbling out of our pasture. My wife and the neighbor’s girl took him into the vet, who confirmed that he had Parvo. They left Oso and he was put on IV plus whatever medications are given to treat Parvo.

I’m considering one of the Parvo sanitizing products but our vet recommended mixing bleach (the non-bleaching or color safe variety of course) with water and spraying down any bedding, material, etc. that could have been contaminated. The material is then to be air-dried in the sun. It was also recommended that we clean the floors with the bleach solution.

Elvis should be okay because he’s had all his shots, and our puppy-to-be will have had her first set of shots by the time we pick her up. Nonetheless, we needed to sanitize the Jeep, garage, and floor where Ricky – the neighbor’s other dog – came into our house. As a precaution, we’ll be removing our shoes before coming into the house, and have Clorox wipes on hand to wipe down anything that could have come into contact with Oso.

Since the Parvo virus can remain for up to a year, our new puppy will need to be quarantined in the house and back yard until after she gets her second set of shots. Without knowing how Oso contracted Parvo, anything could be a carrier and I’ll probably need to do some of my training in the back yard rather than the pasture.

Signs of progress

After a month of rain, this is the wettest June in a decade and the weeds in our pasture are literally waist-high. It’s great for working on marking and blind retrieves, and I’ve found that not only Sophie and Dakota, but little Elvis can mark quite well.

Last night I worked each of the dogs separately, beginning with Elvis who still hasn’t graduated from the wing-on-a-string. Last week when I worked with them in the back yard, he retrieved about 1 out of every 4 bumpers; the other times, he plopped down on the bumper and began chewing it.

The duck wing that I had been using with Elvis was pretty well mangled so I replaced it with a Pheasant wing. There were only certain areas in the pasture with weeds short enough for me to train the little guy. Last week, he plowed into a stand of weeds that didn’t give, and threw him backwards.

He’s got a great nose on him and was able to mark the bumper very well. When he couldn’t find it, I tugged on the string which rustled the weeds and he pounced like a cat. Our training also included a little tracking. I would throw the bumper into the weeds and then pull it a few feet from where it landed. Half the time Elvis tracked in the wrong direction, whereupon I would tug on the string to get his attention. For the times he was able to track, I found that he could track the bumper about 6 feet.

After working with Elvis, I spent some time with Sophie and she did well on both single and doubles. It was fun to watch her work, with only the tip of her tail visible above the weeds.

Then came Dakota’s turn and by now she had worked herself into a frenzy. I never even considered using two bumpers with her, and considered it a big challenge with just one bumper. I worked primarily on keeping her from breaking and that was pretty much a full-time job.

Just after we began, Dakota’s collar caught some weeds and she nearly did a summersault, losing her collar in the process. The rest of her training consisted of tossing the bumper and while she was retrieving it, beating the weeds in search of her collar. I still haven’t found it which now makes about four collars that she’s lost.

2009 Spinoni Roundup

Spinoni Roundup 2009 - A tribute to Asti

It’s been a busy weekend for us – Thursday evening I worked with the dogs a bit in the back yard, Friday evening we helped set up and walk in the Relay For Life, and then Saturday morning was up at 4:00 am to walk for a couple more hours before heading up to the annual Spinoni Roundup.

The Spinoni (or Spionone, however you want to spell it) is a rendezvous of Spinoni owners who purchased their dogs from a couple of Spinoni fanciers. We attended the roundup about 5 years ago when we first became interested in Spinonis, but this time we were official participants, with Elvis.

Spinoni Roundup 2009 - Where's the food?

The roundup began at 10:00 am and was attended by owners not only from neighboring states, but owners from Wisconsin who made the trip. It’s kind of hard to keep track of all the dogs, but there were abut 20 Spinoni and a couple of Wirehaired Griffons in attendance. Although a couple of thunderstorms and short cloudbursts rolled through, a large tent kept both the food and participants dry.

Elvis and his littermate, Spumante, recognized each other immediately and spent essentially the entire afternoon playing with each other. Another brother, Amigo, arrived later and we only had to chase them down once, when the trio took off and crawled under a neighbor’s porch to investigate.

Spinoni Roundup 2009 - playing keep-away with a stick

There was a lot of great information shared between the owners and I demonstrated a fluorescent cooling vest, which Glacier Tek sent me as a prototype for review. I contacted Glacier Tek last year about developing a hunter orange cooling vest for dogs to address two of my biggest concerns while hunting: 1- the dog’s visibility and 2- heat stress during early hunting season. The vests were well received and may become a new product from Glacier Tek.

Our lack of sleep was beginning to catch up with us, so we headed back home although another 10 owners were expected later on that afternoon and evening; if we have a camp trailer by the next roundup, we may make it a weekend affair. We also came back home with a big commitment.

An unexpected litter was born 3 weeks ago, and of course we had to see the puppies. To protect the newborns from any outside diseases and illnesses, the rule of the house is to wash hands and remove shoes before entering the whelping room. Them cute little guys took up a fair amount of our visit, and we selected a girl for Elvis. The litter comes from completely separate lines, so it will be a good mate for him. Now it’s a matter of waiting and anticipating her arrival.

Spinoni Roundup 2009 - Lola watches Elvis and Spumante

Training 6-15-9

I don’t want to introduce Elvis to guns until he’s gained a bit more confidence in himself, but I doubt that he will be gun shy. Last Friday, we put the dogs out in the back yard while we worked in the yard, and some kids were lighting off firecrackers nearby. The noise didn’t bother Elvis one bit, and Dakota went bananas every time a firecracker went off – she misses hunting in a big way!

Elvis is steadily gaining confidence in himself. Until a couple of weeks ago, he would tuck his tail between his legs and come running to us whenever a dog barked. He’s outgrown that. Not only does he rough house with our other dogs on a regular basis, but now occasionally refuses to come inside when we call the dogs in, preferring to stay out in the back yard by himself – all of which are signs that he’s developing self-confidence.

Tonight, I worked with Elvis on heeling using the power bar method, and he’s catching on quite well. Squirt has now assumed the role as mother and takes care of him, and they play well together although she still keeps him in line. Now that he’s gotten big enough to jump up on the couches, he loves body slamming them when he gets all spun up, or as we call it, “taz’s out”.

Elvis turns 4 months old

Sophie, Squirt and Dakota, with Elvis at 4 months

Yesterday Elvis turned 4 months old. He’s showing signs of growing up and we are slowly de-puppy-proofing the house. He’s been with us about a month now, is learning the rules of the house, and we are trusting him more. Elvis was raised well before we got him: he knew his name, was pretty much housebroken although he had a few accidents before we really learned to communicate with each other, was well socialized with other dogs, and although timid at times was not afraid of noises.

So yesterday we began bringing things out of hiding and de-puppy-proofing the house. Coasters came off the book case and back onto our end tables, and remote controls were returned to their rightful place. He’s also showing signs of outgrowing his kennel although it’s a large one. For the past several nights, he’s become restless and woke us up at midnight and then again between 1:00 to 1:30 a.m. We’ve been letting him outside to do his business and then return him to his kennel, but last night he refused to kennel up.

We decided that sleep was more important than a mess, so we allowed him to sleep outside his kennel. No problem. He stretched out next to the bed and we all slept the rest of the night.

When Is It the Dog’s Fault?

The following is a “pass along” article from Just Labs.

When Is It the Dog’s Fault?
by Jason Smith

I’m going to give you a piece of information that I hope, more than anything else, makes you feel better about being a “dog trainer.” And I use the quote marks on purpose, for as all of us Labrador retriever owners know, there’s always some question about who is actually the trainer and who is the trainee. We are amateurs, the majority of us, and if we can get our dogs to sort of do some things, we’re happy.

But, doggone it, sometimes we just want a nicely trained dog and we put in the effort and we train and we commit to a program… and the dog is still sloppy or doesn’t listen or has “selective deafness.” The following comment was made in an article in a previous issue (“No-No’s,” January/February 2009): “When it comes right down to it, our Lab’s inefficiencies and lapses in behavior can almost always be traced right back to that person staring at you in the mirror.”

Well, ya know what? Sometimes it’s the dog’s fault, too.

Feel better?

I talked with trainer Sharon Potter of Red Branch Kennels in Wisconsin about this idea. Sharon is a keen observer of canine behavior, and she has trained all breeds of dogs — mostly for hunting and field events — and even horses. Her short answer when I asked if a dog’s disobedience is sometimes, actually, maybe the dog’s fault and not — like most books tell us — the result of our poor abilities as a trainer? “Yes.”

Ha! Take heart in that one little word. Sometimes, we’re doing everything right and the dog is wrong.

Most of our “family Labs” are not asked to do too terribly difficult things — not in the range of what a hunting retriever or competitive field retriever or service animal is asked to do. As such, we, as trainers, can tend to let them slide a little in their compliance; we’re happy if our Labs (a) don’t run away, or (b) aren’t too pushy around the house. But there are certain “good citizen” behaviors that should be required of all Labs and, frankly, they sometimes know exactly what you want but choose not to do it.

“First of all,” Sharon says, “before we can assume a dog is at fault, we have to be sure it has been trained to do what we’re asking. There’s a difference between a dog that is just starting to understand and a dog that is fully trained to a command.” That can be a tough thing to determine. We get the dog to sit five times in a row, and we smile and reward and turn the page on the dog’s training program and then are flabbergasted when he doesn’t sit… immediately… no matter what.

So how do we know we’ve gotten to the point where the dog has fully grasped the skill and has achieved that magical level of being “reliable”? “Too often, we assume a dog knows a command because they’ve repeated the required behavior a few times in a row,” Sharon explains. “While the dog may be on the way to learned behavior at this point, it has by no means learned the command thoroughly. It takes consistent repetition with accuratel y timed corrections to train a dog to be reliable to a command, and this doesn’t happen in a few short sessions. When a dog has been consistently trained to perform a specific cue and has done so reliably and in different locations — ‘proofing’ the training so it works someplace besides the backyard — we know the dog has learned it well enough to move on.”

The full article “When Is It the Dog’s Fault?” by Jason Smith appears in the upcoming July/August 2009 issue of Just Labs. If you are a subscriber, stay tuned! That issue will soon mail!

Backyard Play

A short but heavy rain rolled through about the time I was getting off from work, and I wasn’t in the mood to train the dogs in wet waist-high weeds. The dogs were wound up and not in the mood for formal training anyway, so I compromised by playing “fetch” with them in the back yard.

Squirt wouldn’t go out, and Sophie spent most of the time hunting mushrooms. I played fetch with Elvis, and when Dakota joined in, I incorporated a little training on breaking and honor training with her.

They both did well and enjoyed the game, as did Sophie, who had grown bored with the mushrooms and joined in on it. In all, it was a good relaxing time that burned off a lot of their energy and gave me the opportunity to reinforce, in a playful atmosphere, what we had been training on.