What is your definition of socialization for puppies?
Most people would say its something that we do with puppies to help create social adult dogs. Is this correct or are we missing the mark?
Breed Highlight: Tibetan Terriers
Tibetan Terriers are hardy, muscular dogs with a long, shaggy double coat and big brown eyes. Often affectionately called “TTs” by breed enthusiasts, this name is misleading, as the tagline from the Tibetan Terrier Club of America says, “we are not terriers, but we are from Tibet”. The “terrier” moniker is a modern, western one, given to them based on their appearance as recorded for the first time by a western traveler in 1895. In Tibet they were known as “little people”, and “holy dogs”, as well as Tsang Apso or a Dokhi Apso after the region of their origin {Tibetan Terrier Association of America}.
Setting Training Goals
Define SMART Goals & Training Plans & Skill Tracking
January is National Train Your Dog Month! YAY!! We love this month! A great time to look at learning some new behaviors or maybe altering unwanted behaviors. Is there something that happens daily that could be easier? Standing still for putting the leash on? Or do you maybe just want to learn some new tricks and fun games to enjoy with your dog?
In dog behavior there is a lot that we can alter with training. There are also the animals own limitations. Genetics can account for a dog only being able to go so far in Training compared to a dog who has been bred to do that job. If you consider on a scale from 1-100 is a dogs ability to do a skill. Genetically a border collie may have that full range so with training they could get to 100 fairly easily. Same with a corgi or a cattle dog. But then you take a bloodhound, you may only ever be able to get to 30 because genetically they haven’t been bred to do an eye stalk or know how to move around the animal to be herded in a way that controlled their movement. We can potentially train some of that but inherently the dog may not possess the ability to eye stalk ever due to its overriding genetic desire to put their nose to the ground and track via scent. What does this matter?
Disappearing Dog Breeds
Did you know that there are dog breeds that are disappearing? While it is clear that some dog breeds are much less common than others, there are some dog breeds that are at risk of not existing in the next century or even decade. While this is definitely a phenomenon, getting clear data on the numbers and breeds is not straightforward. While often dog breeds are listed by organizations as “rare”, “vulnerable”, or “endangered”, the definitions of these terms is not clear, and it is difficult to get solid numbers on dog breeds due to lack of reporting, inaccurate reporting, and over reporting.
Breed Highlight: The Finnish Lapphund
As the name implies, Finnish Lapphunds (also known as Finnish Lapponian dogs) are dogs from Lapland, the Arctic Circle portion of northern Scandinavia and Russia. Their ancestors were originally bred as many as 7000 years ago by the Sami, a semi-nomadic people of the Arctic {American Kennel Club}. In fact, some believe that the Sami included the ancestors of modern Lapphunds in their cave paintings.
The Language of Dogs, Part 2
Once you know what they’re trying to tell us with their body language we can look at dogs who use their voice to convey information. Some dogs are very vocal and most have a range of sounds that can help us decipher what is going on. We have whining, whimpering, growling, low growling, barking and then within barking we still have a whole range of pitches and speeds at which the barking occurs. For this blog we are going to focus on the 2 that we get lots of phone calls about, Alert barking & Demand barking.
Breed Highlight: The McNab Dog
Where do dogs come from?
Breed Highlight: The Chinook
Not to be confused with the Native American Tribe of the Pacific Northwest, these dogs are from Wonalancet, New Hampshire, making Chinooks one of the few breeds that are considered all American. Pronounced “sha nuk”, they are the state dog of New Hampshire. Chinook were developed as a breed in the early 1920s by explorer and author Arthur T. Walden, who had spent much time with the sled dogs he had come across during the Alaskan Gold Rush. While there, he had come to value the endurance and speed of the sled dogs he worked with on freighters, and wanted to create a dog that would match their power, energy and determination.
The Language of Dogs
When living and working with dogs the most important skills we can learn is how to read body language. Not only will it clue you in to a whole new world on information but it can save you from injuries, accidents and so much more. Dogs speak volumes using the various parts of their body but we have to stop and watch instead of just assuming and continuing to push.
Summer Hiking with Dogs
Back to School or Always Learning
It’s that time of year again. Summer is coming to a close and we are planning our Fall Schedule of classes and families with kids are preparing to return to school. There is a funny thing about school, we expect to go to school, learn things and then graduate and be done. When it comes to your dog though there is a problem in this thinking. Your dog is stuck as an eternal 2.5 year old toddler. This means that they are always learning. Every interaction, everything you do with them, they are learning something from you.