For a very good guide to all sorts of dog training processes and dog behavior challenges, I use and recommend Clickertraining ...that link goes to the description of this terrific ebook you download immediately, wherever you are! -- Rosana

The other night I dreamt of a Xoloitzcuintli. Hmm, I thought when I woke up and remembered the dream. Is it getting to be time to think of adding another dog?

Xoloitzcuintli is pronounced, roughly, show-low-eets-queent-lee, which explains why this rare breed of dog is often just called a Xolo. You might know it as a Mexican Hairless.

I’ve been intrigued by these dogs for years, hearing that they have spiritual healing qualities. (Well, arguably, all dogs do…) Then a few months ago, I went with some friends from where I’m living now, by Lake Chapala outside of Guadalajara, Mexico, to the town of Colima. There is a tradition of pottery dogs there, and I bought several reproductions of pre-Columbian dogs. You can see those posts here:

http://www.mexico-with-heart.com/blog/2006/11/pottery-dogs-of-colima.html gives a little history and shows one of the pottery dogs I bought.

http://www.mexico-with-heart.com/blog/2006/11/dogs-in-tombs-of-colima.html has some great photos from a book I bought. You can really see the love!

I’ve acted on dreams before…

My husband and I will be going on a long road trip in a week or so. We’ll be gone maybe a couple of months, visiting family and friends around the western U.S. LarryDog will stay at home, as will our two cats. We’ve got petsitters who will live in the house, and I’ve lined up a backup petsitter if anything comes up for the first ones. The animals will be well cared for, and all three are used to being home when we travel. Past pet sitters have told us that our animals did okay.

When we were planning this trip, we had the choice between taking our car, a VW Jetta that doesn’t really have room for LarryDog and all the stuff we’ll be hauling, or our small motorhome, an older Toyota Dolphin. LarryDog has traveled a good bit in the motorhome, and he does okay. But every time one or the other of us would leave, the dog couldn’t relax. It must have been worse when both of us humans left. We realized that Larry will be less stressed (though perhaps more bored) by being at home, with nice people around. He’s bonded with a lot of different petsitters, and I’m sure he’ll like these new ones.

Of course, he’s not the only one with separation anxiety… I get some myself! Luckily, I don’t act it out in destructive ways, and it’s probably worse now in anticipation than it will be once we’re out having adventures!

The other day, I was walking along the edge of a busy highway where I live, near Lake Chapala in Mexico. I was a little early to meet my husband for lunch at a restaurant. I was walking past car repair shops, small furniture factories, and other such semi-industrial places. I wasn’t surprised to see a couple of Rottweilers in a big lot with a six-foot chain link fence, next to an auto repair place. They ignored me but barked, jumped, and ran the fence when a young man walked by.

There was a woman in front of the shop, mopping the sidewalk. “Looks like you are well guarded,” I said to her in Spanish.

She burst into a big smile, and we got into a long dog conversation. Dog lovers find each other! She pointed out their father, lying asleep next to a car in the workshop, and explained that he is much more mellow than his sons. But all three of the dogs obeyed her, she added. She could go up to them when they were eating and take food out of their mouths.

One look at their massive jaws convinced me I wouldn’t be trying that with her Rotties! But it is a very good thing to be able to do with your dogs, and I’ve been able to do it with mine.

It’s easiest if you start training when the dog is young, but I’ve also taught my rescue dogs to give me their food, no matter what age they’ve been when they came to us.
I start by giving the dog a normal kibble meal, but smaller than usual, saving out some of the kibble. Then after the dog isn’t so hungry, I put more kibble in the plate, and keep my hand on the dish as the dog comes to eat. If you have a dog who is a resource guarder, you may have to do this several times before going on to the next step. Always be careful around any dog who is eating, of course!

So this way the dog gets used to my hand being on his dish while he eats.

Next, I give him more of his kibble in the dish, and as I put it on the floor, I keep something yummy (a bit of cheese, for example) tucked in my hand. He eats his kibble, and I open my hand and he eats the cheese. That’s enough for one time.

At another meal, I do pretty much the same except I remove some of his kibble from the dish while he’s eating, and replace it with cheese.

Pretty soon, he gets the idea that my hands around his food mean something yummy. Then I’ll start sitting in a chair and offering him a dry boring dog biscuit, and as he eats it I’ll offer cheese again. It takes a little sleight of hand to reach the point where you can remove the dog biscuit and give the cheese simultaneously.

This is well worth training, in case you need to get something away from your dog while he’s eating — for example, if he’s gotten into some garbage on a walk.