Walking/Jogging/Running- It may sound boring to some of you, and some others may say "Well, I already do that..." but think about how you can make going for a walk more interesting for you AND your dog. While your daily walk around the block is great, taking them to new places for their exercise is fun for both of you. Not only is this physically and mentally stimulating for your dog, but you can also work in a training session while there and that will help them be more reliable in unfamiliar situations. If you live in the Topeka area, there are several great places that have trails for you and your dog to enjoy together. Here are a few parks that have walking trails to enjoy:
    Shunga Trail
    Governor's Mansion (MacLennan Park)
    Lake Shawnee
    Shawnee North Community Center and Nature Trail
    Gage Park
    Landon Trail is being developed on the former MoPac rail line that was rail banked
     when it was any longer used by the Railroad. The existing ballast of the rail line is 
    currently use as the surface for the trail. This trail once fully developed will be a 
    primary North and South trail in Topeka.
    Warren Nature Area at 25th and Gage (south of V. A. Hospital and K.N.I.) There are 
    over 2 miles of grass trails through this wetland environment, one of the premier bird 
    watching areas of Topeka. Accessible tours are available. A large section of the 
    Shunga Trail runs through this area, allowing access to hikers, bikers, skaters, etc. Enter
    through Felker Park parking lot at 25th and Gage St.
    Dornwood at SE 25th Street and Highland has 2 miles of unpaved bark chipped 
    hiking trails through forest, abandoned rock quarry, stream side, and tallgrass prairie. 
    Enter on SE 25th Street.
    Grant Park at SW 65th and Baker Drive is a native prairie (never been plowed) which 
    is loaded with wild flowers during June. A trail is mowed around the edge of the park 
    with many bird boxes. Walking anyplace is encouraged. Enter on University
    Welton Grove Park at 39th and Cambridge is a 45 acre natural area with mowed 
    trails. This park is part of a storm water detention area. There is a small creek that 
    winds through the wooded site. Enter at Atwood or Atwood Terr.
    Clarion Park at SW 37th & Fairlawn contains a unpaved natural trail that goes around 
    the pond through one of the largest stands of Red Cedar on public property. This 
    gives the visitor a feeling of being in a national forest, as there is little wind or sunlight.
    Skyline Park at 3511 Skyline Parkway, features Burnetts Mound, the highest elevation 
    in Topeka, where visitors can overlook the entire city. The surrounding area is being 
    encouraged to return to native grass by spring burning. There are unpaved trails in the 
    southern part of the park (forested area).
These are just a few of the areas to enjoy with your dog so get out there and check them out!

Shed Hunting- This is a fairly new hobby that is a great way to spend some time in nature with your dog. It combines the scent discrimination work that I talked about last week with getting your dogs to find deer antlers that have been naturally shed by bucks in the wild. You can use this past time to enjoy the wonders of nature while your dog searches out new chew toys! Thats right, many dog experts are saying that antlers make great chews for dogs. They last much longer than bully sticks or chews made of compacted starch or rawhide. Deer antlers for dogs are much less likely to chip or splinter when they are being chewed than processed bones. The chewing action grinds the antler chew down slowly. They contain many beneficial nutrients and nothing artificial. Antlers have virtually no odor or residue to get on your carpet or furniture.
For those of you in the Topeka area, I just recently found out about a seminar being held this weekend at the Expo Center in conjunction with "Monster Buck Classic" about using dogs to hunt for sheds. Here is the information on the seminar: http://www.monsterbuckclassic.com/pages/seminars.php
and here is the gentleman who will be conducting the seminar:
Antler Dogs-Roger Sigler
It's definitely something I am looking forward to trying with my own dog!

Therapy Work- If you are someone who enjoys doing volunteer work, registering your dog as a therapy dog might be a wonderful way to include your dog in your volunteer activities. Most hospitals, nursing homes, VA's, schools, and many other places that ask for volunteers would also appreciate volunteer work from your 4 legged family member also. Many of the individuals using these services love to be visited by furry friends because they can no longer have their own pets. If you would like to get started down this path, you can sign up for a local obedience class. Make sure the class will cover the manners that will be looked at during your therapy dog evaluation such as: Sitting politely to be petted, accepting handling and grooming, walk on a loose lead ( even through a crowd), do a "Sit" and a "Down" on command, "Stay", "Come when called", behave calmly around other dogs, and around visual distractions such as medical equipment, and auditory distractions such as loud noises, and leave a treat or toy when asked to do so.
Here are some websites to get you started:
Prarieland Visiting Animals
Delta Society

See ya next week for 3 more fun activities to do with your dog!

We have all heard this phrase but what exactly does it mean? And what exactly is the best way to achieve said "tired dog"? First, as a trainer, I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn’t state that simply wearing your dog out will not get rid of their bad behaviors. However, not giving them an outlet for all their energy is also asking for trouble.

Many owners realize when getting certain breeds that they require a lot of exercise. However, when it comes down to actually finding fun ways to achieve these outings, they are at a loss. I also find that many owners overlook the importance of mental stimulation, not just physical. Ideally, these energy outlets should be challenging the dogs brain and not just their muscles (think running on a treadmill vs. outside).There are a lot of dog owners that do not realize all the fun activities that have been created to encourage physical and mental stimulation for you and your dog. So I have decided to begin a multi-part series listing some of the great dog hobbies I am familiar with, what they are, and how to get started in them. Each week I will highlight 3 hobbies you can enjoy with your dog. Not only do these activities challenge your dog physically and mentally, but they will also strengthen the bond between you and your furry friend.  Enjoy!

1. Obedience Classes-Are obedience classes only for "disobedient" dogs? No! Obedience classes are also great for dogs with no serious behavior issues! Learning new things challenges your dog mentally and physically. Even if your dog has attended a class before, most training establishments offer higher levels of training or even a "Trick" class. You will find that going to class every week and learning something new to work on will not only be a fun outing for you and your dog, but will also give you something to work on at home. If you are interested in attending one of my classes e-mail me at [email protected] or call me at 785.408.6127!
2. Dog Day Care- If your dog loves to play with other dogs, than maybe he needs a hobby of his own! Dog Day Care facilities provide your dog with the outside play he enjoys so much with other dogs to keep him company. When looking for a dog day care, make sure the facility "interviews" potential clients to evaluate the temperaments of new dogs. You want a day care that does not allow aggressive or intimidating dogs to dominate the dynamics of off leash play.  Also, ask them if you can take a tour of the facility and ask  what the daily routine for your dog would be at the day care. You may also want to ask if they provide bathing services. Playing outside all day can get messy! Finally, and most importantly, ask them what their vaccination policies are for dogs to come and play. Make sure you are not endangering your dogs health just for a little bit of fun! Taking your dog to play outside all day while you are at work will provide them with mental and physical stimulation and is a good option for owners who have busy schedules. If you are interested in a dog day care in the Topeka area, check out Dog Day Afternoon! at http://www.dogdayafternoon-online.com/
3. Scent Work- I have covered scent work in a previous blog entry, but in case you missed it, scent work is one of my favorite activities and is somewhat new to pet owners.  We have all seen the "working" dogs who find specific scents for a living. Whether it be a beagle sniffing out bombs at the airport or a German Shepherd locating drugs in a vehicle, scent discrimination has been around for a long time but has just recently been adapted to become a perfect hobby for you and your dog! First, we teach the dog to search for things using their nose. For some breeds, using their nose comes very naturally (hounds, for example) for others it can be challenging at first (herding breeds prefer to use their eyesight). Once we have "taught" them to use their nose, then we begin working on teaching them to discriminate between scents. In other words, we ask them to pick out a specific scent among other scents. We may have 4 identical boxes laid out, each containing a different smell (i.e., one vanilla, one hazelnut, one lavender, etc.) and we ask the dog to indicate the box that contains the scent of vanilla.

         Once harnessed, the power of their nose is unbelievable! 
       A trained dog is able to find two grains of sand on a beach 500 meters long, 50 meters wide and 50 centimeters deep. ( <http://www.k9magazinefree.com/k9_perspective/iss20p6.shtml> ).
I found this information from Norway and had to convert it to get the full effect, this translates to finding 2 scented grains of sand on a beach that is over 5 football fields long and 20 inches deep!
Not only can you play this fun game indoors, outdoors, rain, or shine. You might even find a use for it in your everyday life (I think I should teach my dog to sniff out my cell phone, and my keys!). I offer Scent work classes on a extremely limited basis at this time, however, if you are interested in getting started in this activity,  e-mail me at [email protected] or call me at 785.408.6127!
Or check out these sights:
http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/getting-started-nose-work
http://www.clickertraining.com/node/1121
http://www.k9magazinefree.com/k9_perspective/iss20p6.shtml

Stay tuned next week for even more activities to do with your dog!

In meeting many dog owners, I meet my fair share of spoiled dogs. These dogs are allowed to do whatever they want, whenever they want. If they have a desire, all it takes is for them to communicate that want to their owner and the desire is delivered. When we bring home that adorable little ball of fur with that face, how could we say no? At first it's no big deal, the puppy wants to tug on our shoe strings and it's cute so why not? Then they get big enough and their play escalates to the point that they are tearing up our shoe strings if we wear lace up shoes. So we switch to slip on shoes and give our old shoe strings to the dog as a toy. Not a big sacrifice to make sure our best friend is happy right?

Then as our puppy gets older, his demands become larger and larger and we are forced to alter our lives to make them happy. Still, we think we are being good dog owners; after all, there must be some compromising when raising a puppy right? However, as our little wonder matures, it seems to take on a completely different personality. It no longer asks for things, it demands them. If it is involved in an unfamiliar situation, it NEEDS to be in control. If it is not in control it is uncomfortable, sometimes aggressive even. What happened to my sweet little puppy?

There are many, many different opinions on the subject of dominance and aggression in dogs, how it affects their behavior, and how it should factor into our training programs. Since much of this debate revolves around the fact that everyone's definition of dominance is different (an entire blog entry in itself), I have chosen to use the term "leadership role" in this blog instead of dominance. Anyone who has observed a group of dogs interact knows that they work out a hierarchal ladder of who is "in charge". They very rarely do this by aggressive means, but by subtle body language signals. After interacting for awhile, you will see some dogs will get everything they want, and other dogs will take on the responsibility of making sure the aforementioned are happy by giving them everything they want.  To think that dogs do not read our communication in the same way is, I believe, incorrect.

Now stay with me, I am in NO WAY supporting the use of dominating, oppressive behaviors toward your dogs (like alpha roles). I am simply stating that we can unknowingly be sending them the message that they are the leader in our household by giving them their every want and desire. This doesn't just cause problems for the owner, but can be taxing on the dog as well, depending on their personality.

Take a dog that is naturally less assertive and  less confident, give him his every want and desire, and chances are you will end up with the dog I describe above. You see, some dogs are not cut out to be "leaders", just like people. If they feel they have been forced into this role, they will feel inadequate and will more than likely overcompensate for their lack of confidence by being very suspicious, overprotective, and even aggressive towards unfamiliar situations.

 The example I like to give is this: imagine that you woke up this morning to your phone ringing, a voice on the other end of the phone tells you that you are now the President of the United States! Never mind the details of how this could happen, just imagine how you might feel. I know I would immediately feel a lot of anxiety. Thoughts would race through my head such as "I am not qualified for this!", "How am I going to handle that much responsibility?", and "I can't run the whole country!"  just to name a few.  On my first day, I may over react to situations that the current president would laugh at, because he is used to the pressures of such responsibility and I definitely wouldn't be much fun to be around.

When we deliver every desire to our dogs on a silver platter, in dog language, we are asserting them as the leader and many of them react just as we would at being told we were the leader of the free world. While this may seem silly, their world is their home and family, and taking care of these resources is a big responsibility in their eyes.

While we have the best of intentions when giving our dogs exactly what they want whenever they want it, not only are we making life harder on ourselves, we are not doing our dogs any favors either. Dogs naturally like structure, rules, and boundaries. They are more comfortable knowing what is expected of them. While we want to think our domesticated doggies are far from their wolf roots, they have not lost their survival instinct. Surviving as a member of a group of animals requires structure, rules, and boundaries. Don't get me wrong, my dogs are spoiled in their own ways, but in the ways I choose, not the ways they choose. I make sure they are happy, just not at the expense of my happiness and they thank me for being the leader because I take responsibility off their shoulders and allow them to enjoy life without worrying about being "in charge".  So next time you are thinking about altering your life to please your dog,  stop and ask yourself, are you really doing them any favors?

What on earth could spaghetti and microwave dinners have to do with dog training?  Read on and find out!

Perhaps one of the most common phrases I hear from dog owners is, " my dog only has this one issue that I am trying to fix." Sounds like a pretty easy case right? However, I know as an experienced dog owner/trainer that before I can even begin to work on the dog's issues, I have to get the owner to realize two things. 1. Their dog has more than one issue. 2. These issues are all interrelated.

When I was in high school my home-economics teacher was talking to us about communication between men and women. What she said was that men tend to see their world as a t.v. dinner (each component has its own little compartment and none of these components touch each other (ie. Affect one another). However, women tend to see their world as a plate of spaghetti where all the components of their life are intertwined and most certainly have an effect on each other. Whether this is a good summary of the differences between men and women or not, it can be applied to dog owners and their dogs.

As owners, we tend to think of our dog's unwanted behaviors as a t.v. dinner.  Each having it's own separate compartment and therefore having no effect on the other compartments. In addition to that, we tend to "overlook" the compartments that are not important to us or that we are afraid to address (we eat the meat and mashed potatoes but leave the peas).  This may be an acceptable way to eat t.v. dinners, but not to train your dog. Why? Because dog behaviors are more like that plate of spaghetti I mentioned earlier. All of their behaviors are infinitely intertwined together like the noodles in your spaghetti. In other words, ALL of their behaviors effect one another and you cannot extract just one behavior without disturbing another.

Okay, enough with the food talk, I am getting hungry! What all this means is that when an owner comes to me and tells me their dog only has ONE issue they need to work on, chances are very good that this is not the entire truth. When observing the dog myself, I will often see other issues that relate to their "must go" issue. These issues are either overlooked by the owner, or the owner decided a long time ago that they couldn't be changed.  Even though the owner has become complacent with these secondary behaviors, it does not mean that they do not have to be addressed in order to fix the primary behavior.

Let me give you an example of what I am talking about (this is a hypothetical example that is not intended to represent any dog owner in particular, however, if this sounds like you maybe you should give me a call!): An owner comes to me and asks for help with her dog "Bella" because she barks all the time. She insists that this is the only area she needs help in. While observing the dog, I notice the barking, but I also notice a few other things.  "Bella" jumps all over me when I walk in the door, she is instantly crawling into my training bag and crawling out with treats in her mouth, once she is bored with my bag she begins scratching at a piece of the carpet, and as soon as she catches the cat out of the corner of her eye she takes off full-tilt toward it.

When I ask the owner about her jumping she admits she jumps but "its not so bad because she is a little dog…unless her feet are muddy…". I then ask about a "Leave it" command to keep her out of things that don't belong to her and she replies "well, we just try to keep everything put away". Next, I mention the hole in the carpet where "Bella" has obviously been taking her boredom out for awhile and get "yeah, but she only does it in that ONE spot". Finally, I ask about the cat and she apologizes and says she usually keeps the cat in a separate room. 

What this owner does not realize is that her dog has WAY more than that one issue that needs improvement, there are several issues I have seen just in the first few minutes of arriving at her house. All of these issues are interrelated and must ALL be addressed to fix the issue most important to the owner (the barking).

The dog I just described has a general lack of self control and boundaries. By putting up with some of her issues of self control (the cat and getting into things they shouldn't) you are communicating to her that having no self control is acceptable. Remember that plate of spaghetti? Allowing them to behave impulsively and destructively in some areas affects other areas of their behavior as well.  In order to fix the issue of barking, we must let "Bella" know that we expect her to exhibit self control in ALL of the areas she has trouble in, not just the compartments that are most important to us.

Remember: Think Spaghetti, not Microwave Dinner!