Here is a really, really good article on dog training: Watching Alex. I was drawn into what the writer, Tamara Dormer, was doing with dogs in general and one called Alex in particular. I guessed that she might work at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, so I googled her name and indeed she does. Read the rest of this entry

This was offered to me to put on the blog, and even though I generally prefer to do my own writing on dog training here, this was fun and I’m no graphic artist! It’s quite long so click through to see it… I didn’t want it to take up the whole homepage of the blog!
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I‘m reading DON’T LEAVE ME – STEP-BY-STEP HELP FOR YOUR DOG’S SEPARATION ANXIETY, by Nicole Wilde, and learning tremendously from it.

Nicole Wilde is a highly regarded dog trainer whose books and DVDs are top notch. Separation anxiety is a common canine problem, and it can be a huge problem for owners. Wilde shares her own experiences with her dog Sierra, a shelter rescue dog. Near the end of the book, she says:

As I write this, it is exactly seven months from the day we brought Sierra home. I won’t say she’s completely “cured,” but for a dog who’s been through so much in her short life, it’s a major improvement… Sierra is finally at the point where she can remain relaxed for a few hours while we are gone. We still wouldn’t leave her alone for a full day, and we can all live with that.

How did they get to that point? The book’s title includes “step by step” and the steps take you through evaluating the situation, for example, figuring out if the dog has separation problems regarding one particular person (our LarryDog has that with me) or whether it’s “isolation distress” that anyone being there can ease. (I think our Lola has this kind, but will try one of the tests recommended to see.)

Wilde has a lot of ideas for when you have to leave your dog or dogs home alone. She suggests methods that you first try out for very brief periods and later extend. Read the rest of this entry

Do your dogs have opportunities to play with other dogs? If you have more than one, they may well play with each other, unless you have a situation like ours. Lola is 5, LarryDog is 15. He is past much in the way of play. So yesterday we had a play date for Lola. We have a large fenced yard, so we invited a lively dog we know, who is good with other dogs, to come over with her person.

Because LarryDog has some history of being a bit rough with other dogs, at first I left him closed in the small dog yard by the back porch. Lola and her new friend Latte had the main fenced area. They politely sniffed each other, did a bunch of play bows, and then did get into some nice play. It was quite warm and the sun was bright so I wasn’t surprised when Read the rest of this entry