Boogie and FEET.

Today while I was practicing “eye contact” with Boogie using the clicker, I made an interesting discovery.

The purpose of this exercise was to positively-reinforce eye contact. Each time he sat and gave me eye-contact I clicked and threw down a treat. I took steps backwards, sideways etc. and he followed me around and looked at me – he was doing very well! So I kept clicking and dropping treats. HOT DOG treats mind you. His favorite.

We did this many times. Everything was going well, then…

Suddenly a hot dog treat fell about 1 inch in front of my foot. Boogie looked at it, took a step back and sat down and looked up at me. I had to call him over to my foot  (pointed my finger at the hot dog) and even so he hesitated… then he slowly came over and took the treat.

So I tried this a few more times. I purposely put the treat near my foot. Same thing. Wouldn’t pick it up. Instead he went into a Down position and just stayed there, looking at the hot dog. When I shifted the treat closer to him, he took it. And sat further away from me (still with eye-contact).

We have always known that Boogie has a thing about feet. From the first day we adopted him two years ago, he has displayed this reaction many times:  If someone LIFTS THEIR FOOT near him (not even touching him), he yelps and leaps backwards in fright. This happens at home, on the street, anywhere. With people he knows and trusts. Boogie jumps backwards and cowers. We assume that in the past, he must have been kicked.

On the other hand, he is perfectly happy to burrow under the covers and rest his head on my foot or lick my feet, so it’s not like he is scared of FEET per se.

The thing that stunned me today is that he would even refuse HOT DOGS (his favorite treat!!!) when it is near my foot. Is he afraid that I would kick him?

Readers – if you have any suggestions on how I can help Boogie overcome this fear, I am all ears!

A typical morning walk

I walk Boogie for 20-30 minutes every morning. Today we went for an extra long walk  around our neighborhood (45 minutes). I brought along the clicker and a pocketful of treats. In Ali Brown’s book “Scaredy Dog!”, she suggests making a list of all the things that your dog reacts to and keeping some sort of training log. So this morning I paid extra careful attention to Boogie’s body language and reactions more than I normally would and prepared myself to call him, and click-and-treat when I got his attention.

As far as I know are the common and perfectly normal reactions of a fearful animal (or person, for that matter):

1. FIGHT – bark, growl, lunge, attack.
2. FLIGHT – move backwards, run away
3. FREEZE – become very still, stiff and tense.
4. ASK FOR HELP – look to someone else to know what to do

Ideally, we want to train Boogie to choose Reaction #4 over the others. We want him to LOOK TO ME when he is scared or unsure. And my responsibility as his “benevolent pack leader” is to either get him away from the scary situation or do something to make him feel better. According to the book, a leash correction could effectively STOP the reaction (yes, it works) but would do nothing to alleviate the fear.

I didn’t want to rely on the sprenger collar so I didn’t put it on Boogie this morning.

On our walk I made a mental list of all the people/things that Boogie reacted to, which were moments that prompted me to call him  “Boogie!” (putting on my best HAPPY tone of voice), and to click and treat him when he came to me and looked at me.

1. Old homeless woman walking past us (FIGHT) This is the old homeless woman who hangs out in Los Feliz.  One evening 2 years ago when I opened my front door, this woman was camped out on my porch right outside my front door. This was the very first time we saw Boogie try to bite someone. He lunged at her, snapped, and she ran off. Now whenever he sees this woman on the street, he goes ballistic. He pulls towards her and barks and growls. *This is the same behavior he has towards the mailman. Actually, I don’t think it’s fear in this case. It’s territorial aggression. He HATES that homeless woman.

2. Tall old man on sidewalk (FIGHT).  I have no idea what it was about this person that set him off pulling on the leash, ears up, hackles up. Maybe because he was tall? Big? I don’t know. I read that reactive dogs are affected by “silhouttes” of people, so if they carry objects, wear masks or hats,  or look really big, this can freak them out. I called Boogie to me (there was some resistance) and when he sat, I clicked and treated.

3. Big bus turning around the corner (FLIGHT). Boogie and I were waiting at the traffic light when a big bus turned around the corner which sent Boogie leaping back 5 feet! I called him but he wouldn’t come. Ears back, crouched low. When the bus drove away, I called him again, he came and sat. Click-and-treat. I felt a bit bad about this. I guess I should have seen the bus coming and led him away, knowing that he is scared of buses.

4. Friendly man approaching us with camera. A guy approached us and wanted to take a photo of Boogie because he has a boston pup himself. I told him not to come close (“my dog is nervous and may bite”) and he was really cool and stayed where he was. He said his pup bites all the time. (haha, mister. If only you knew) I asked Boogie to sit and gave him lots of praise and treats while the guy took photos. I could tell that Boogie  wanted to go sniff the guy but I didn’t let him, just kept praising him for sitting and staying. Boogie is never really comfortable getting his picture taken (he turns his head a lot) but what can ya do when you are so cute.

5. Squirrel! No hope for this one. Boogie would NOT come away from the tree when called, no matter what. I had to stick the treat right in front of his nose to get him to move on.

6. Big truck passing us on the street. (FREEZE)  I was walking in between him and the street, and when two big trucks drove by, Boogie just stopped and froze. I called his name and said “Sit”. It took him a few moments before he sat and looked up at me. Click-and-treat. Lots of praise.

7. Barking dog behind a fenced yard (FIGHT) We pass this house almost every morning. Sometimes the dog is there in the yard running around and barking. I immediately crossed the street, calling “Boogie!” in a happy voice but Boogie’s head was still turned towards the dog, teeth bared. When we finally crossed the street and he looked at me, “Click!” and treat. Then suddenly, WHOA! There was another dog and owner right there in front of us! (oh shit)

8. Calm dog with owner. (FIGHT) Boogie’s hackles were still up and he pulled towards this dog that looked like a labradoodle. OH SHIT. I was running out of  treats. Thankfully this dog-owner was really cool and he restrained his dog. “Are you training your dog? I heard the clicker”. We started a conversation and he made his dog sit, and I made Boogie sit, and Boogie was fine just sitting there while this guy and I chatted. During this time I gave Boogie the final 2-3 treats and patted him a lot.  Boogie’s hackles were no longer raised though he continued to stare at the other dog. When the guy and his dog walked off, I called Boogie back to heel and we headed home.

There you go. A typical morning walk with Boogie. So much drama!

Tips for working with a reactive dog. (Part 1)

Following on from my previous blog post, I am now up to the part in Ali Brown’s book “Scaredy Dog!” where there is some immensely interesting and possibly helpful information! I am going to take notes here on this blog so that Boogie’s dad and extended family (and Boogie’s blog readers) can have access to this info. Here are some tips:

1. STUFF-A-DOG

The purpose of this exercise – which is to be carried out repeatedly many many times in different locations at different times of the day for many many days – is to associate GOOD THINGS with your dog’s name. The idea is to teach Boogie that when we call his name “Boogie” this is always a positive thing.

What we do is hand-feed treats to our dog and when he is chewing on the treat we say his name. Yeah, we stuff his face with treats and while he is relishing the yumminess of the food in his mouth, we say his name over and over. We should vary the intonation of our voice… sometimes use a happy tone of voice, a sad tone, an angry tone, loud, quiet, silly… we vary the tones as much as we can so that regardless of what tone of voice we say his name with, it will always have a positive vibe.

Here is the tricky part. In order for Stuff-A-Dog to work to “build the power of our dog’s name”, we have to refrain from using his name in casual conversation when we are talking about him in his presence. We should only use his name when we are talking TO him. In fact, to make things easier for us humans, Ali Brown suggests that we either pick a “nickname” to use when feeding him treats and always use this same nickname… OR… when we are talking about him while he is present, we refer to him with a code word or say “the dog” instead. If we mistakenly say “Boogie” while not addressing him, and if Boogie turns to look at us, we should immediately smile and praise him.

Man, this one is going to be a challenge because we talk about Boogie ALL THE FRIGGIN’ TIME while he is in the same room hearing “Blah blah blah blah Boogie…. blah blah … Boogie… Blah blah blah…” This explains why Boogie rarely comes to us when we call him!!!!

“The goal of Stuff-A-Dog” is not just for you to get your dog’s attention but to classically condition your dog to come to you when he hears his name. You really want this response to be a knee-jerk response..”

We are to do this repeatedly in the house, on walks, in the car, EVERYWHERE. When we have reached 5000 Stuff-A-Dogs over a 6-8 week period (!!!) we can do fewer repetitions.

2. HAND-TARGETING

I am pleasantly surprised that she brings up this training activity because Boogie and I are already doing this!   See my blog post on Clicker Training Boogie.

Ali Brown suggests doing hand-targeting as often as possible in different locations and  we should aim for an 80% success rate. Any more than 80% means our dog will get bored.  You want to keep it mildly challenging and stimulating. If he doesn’t respond to the “Touch” (or “here”) cue, give him up to 30 seconds to figure it out. Wait.  If he still doesn’t respond, take him back to the last location where he responded.  The goal is to do this in increasingly distracting environments (eg, add TV, add music, add people etc) so that eventually when he is out on the street with “scary stuff” around him he will still respond.

“The more distracting the environment, the more exciting the praise and reward must be.” This could be a tennis ball not necessarily treats.

3. PAYING ATTENTION. USING THE CAR AS A TRAINING TOOL

To reinforce our dog’s focus on US, we want our dog to pay attention to us  the moment he steps out of a car (or house), instead of pulling forward and away from us. We need to teach our dog to “Wait” at the door. Actually, Boogie is pretty good at this one; when we tell him to Sit and Stay, he does. Or most of the time I say “Heel” and he steps backwards from the door and lets me go out first. Ali Brown suggests adding a treat for reinforcement.  When we say “OK” (or “let’s go”) then this is the cue to jump out of the car or walk out of the house.

The moment that he is out of the car (or house), we say his name in a loud and happy tone. The moment he LOOKS AT US – click and treat! Then reinforce a few hand-targets and other cues.

Here’s something interesting. The next step is to put our dog BACK IN THE CAR (or house) and do some reinforcement cues again with lots of treats.

Then repeat the process. Lead our dog out of the car/house and call his name. Click and treat when he looks at us.  Do some hand-targets. However… If he doesn’t look at us within 10 seconds (this is the goal), he goes back into the car/house and we WALK AWAY from the car/house. If the dog cries or barks (which I am pretty sure that Boogie will do), wait for calm and quiet for a minimum of five seconds before going back to the car/house.

Repeat the exercise a few times and aim for a 80% success rate. This training could take weeks or months to get down pat.

“The critical aspect to this exercise is that your dog learns that the expected behavior when coming out of the car is to look at you. In this manner, there is limited opportunity for your dog to look around and find things  that are scary. It seems as if some of our reactive dogs are anxious enough to look around and find things to which to react.”

The goal is to teach our dog to stay calm and check back with us, to look at us and do what we ask.

“Even if he finds something that is nerve-wracking, he is much more likely to be able to disengage from looking at it and return his gaze to you”.

4. WHAT TO DO WHEN WE SEE A DOG ON THE STREET…

What Ali Brown refers to as the “oh shit” moment!!! OH YES, we know this one very well.

This is the moment that we can make a change. As soon as we see the person and dog, if we tense up, our dog will pick up on this. (Yes, Cesar Millan makes this point very clear. Dogs pick up on our energy).

What we need to do is ACT HAPPY THAT WE SEE THE OTHER PERSON AND DOG. We walk our dog 90 degree angle off path and keep walking and talking and praising our dog for coming with us and treating him all the way. After some distance we ask him to sit…. praise and treat him or play with him, as the other dog passes by. A few minutes after the dog passes we continue along our way.  *I have sort of been doing this with Boogie… except that I probably don’t act HAPPY very convincingly 

The idea here  is to desensitize our dog to the presence of other dogs and to show him that nothing bad is happening to him. When a scary dog approaches, we are communicating to our dog that we are not going to allow that other bad dog to scare him or to get too close to him. We want our dog to internalize that it is a GOOD THING when another dog appears (treats, happy voice, praise, human is in charge etc) Of course, it could take a long time for him to learn to feel safe… after many many repeated experiences. After weeks and months.

If our dog reacts poorly (growls, lunges etc) as we walk away from the other dog, Ali Brown says to keep walking and continue to act HAPPY… keep going until our dog stops looking at the other dog. Then call his name and get his attention and click and treat profusely. Eventually our dog will TRUST us to protect him and to make decisions for him. He will learn that nothing bad is going to happen when there’s another dog around. Over time, the “safe/non-reactive” distance between our dog and the other dog will become smaller and smaller.

Bootcampers. Me & The Boogs at a "safe distance" away on the left.

(I noticed this change with Boogie at Bootcamp classes with other people and their dogs. Boogie became more tolerant of smaller distances between him and other dogs…. that is, so long as they don’t bark or look at him.)

When we eventually get to the point when Boogie is calm and shows signs of wanting to go and check out the other dog’s butt (this could be weeks or months later… we need to learn to read his body signals), and if we know that the other dog is calm and friendly, then we can allow him to “go sniff” BUT…  we should count to three and then we should call Boogie away and back to us. Small steps at a time.

Or if we see tense body language in Boogie (hackles up, hard stare) then we should call him away immediately. No butt-sniffing allowed.  It is important for our dog to feel safe near the other dog before he is allowed to move onto the next step.  And over time we will be able to read Boogie and know how he feels about the other dog to know what is the best move to make.

This is as far as I’ve got in the book. TO BE CONTINUED….

Here is a blog post that I wrote a year ago when Boogie first started lunging. In this post I wrote about some doggie interactions that started badly but turned out positively. At the time I had no understanding of what was really going on but now things are so much clearer, thanks to this book.

On Boogie’s “Dog aggression”

Here are two videos of the Boogs trying to play with Butch taken last week.  Butch is totally not interested in playing with him.

This is what we always say: Boogie is friendly only towards dogs that he knows.

I can count about six or eight dogs… including Butch and Emma who stay with us from time to time, Mighty and Stinky, and our neighbors’ dogs. Everyone else, he lunges, snarls, snaps, bites.

Dogs that Boogie “knows” are either:

1. Dogs that he met over a year ago when we first adopted him back in the day when he was still “dog-friendly”.

2. Dogs that he met more recently, barked or lunged at, then accepted as a buddy after an elaborate human-controlled buttsniffing introduction. Once he accepts another dog, he will always remember this dog and he will be cool when he meets him/her again. So yes, he CAN be friendly but it is a huge risk to introduce him to other dogs.  Especially big ones.

This is really awkward to explain to some people.

I remember one time  when I was walking Boogie , a guy passed us with his very large, slow-paced and fumbling English bulldog.  He was very taken by Boogie and  wanted our dogs to meet and become friends.  I did my usual spiel:  “Sorry, Boogie isn’t dog-friendly. He might bite”.

As I was saying this, Boogie was hanging out with Sky (neighbor’s placid lab) right before our eyes, behaving in a perfectly friendly and chilled-out fashion. This was a total contradiction to what I just said.

The guy seemed hurt:  He’s ok with the other dog. How come he is ok with the other dog?

Me: He already knows that dog. He is aggressive towards dogs that he doesn’t know.

Guy: My dog is really calm and friendly. We could try introducing your dog to her? She is so calm, she doesn’t fight at all. She really doesn’t care.

Me: I’m sorry… I can’t guarantee that he won’t attack if he gets close. He is unpredictable… and it will take a lot of effort to introduce them nicely.

I have this sort of conversation more often than I would like, and it’s awkward. Especially when I am walking Boogie and Butch together …people don’t believe me when I say that my dog is “not friendly”. They take a look at the two bostons walking nicely side by side and they think I’m crazy.

Some photos from Boogie’s “Dog-Friendly” days.

At Silverlake Dog Park. (2008)

Playing with neighbors’ dogs (2008)

Boston Tea Party (2008)...  He was happy to meet all the dogs and he got along fine with everyone. (In contrast to this year’s Boston Tea Party where he lunged at every dog that got close.)

So what changed?

Last year on three separate occasions, Boogie was attacked by another dog when he was on leash. In all cases, the other dogs were not under their owner’s control (one was off-leash, the other one on a loose-leash) when they charged at Boogie. And in all cases, Boogie was just happily minding his own business when they bit him.

It makes sense that when Boogie now sees a dog, his first move is to ATTACK.   He was always very sensitive to begin with, and now he bears new emotional scars…

Keeping Boogie away from other dogs is not easy.

At the vet’s office, there are usually lots of dogs in the small cramped waiting room. I keep Boogie on my lap and I get the feeling that he is totally content to stay there, away from the other dogs. But occasionally another dog will come close due to the smallness of the room and we have a situation.  It’s awkward.

At Thankdog Bootcamp, it’s great that all dogs are leashed and in an “obedient” frame of mind. Boogie is fine if the other dogs don’t come close or make any sounds. If another dog approaches him or so much as let out a small bark (friendly or not), this sets him off.

Boogie also has nervousness around PEOPLE THAT HE DOESN’T KNOW and he lunges if they freak him out…

Personally, I hate putting my dog in quarantine from any sort of social activity. I miss the old Boogie. I want to help him overcome his fear-aggression and reactive-ness. Boogie LOVES to play and I bet he misses having buddies to play with.

Obedience training is  awesome but doesn’t address the social issue. I have started reading Ali Brown’s Scaredy Dog! Understanding and Rehabilitating your reactive dog.

If you have read this book and tried the techniques (I haven’t gotten to that part of the book yet)… please share your thoughts!

I also have Emma Parson’s Click To Calm on my reading list.

Clicker-training Boogie

After reading Karen Pryor’s  “Reaching the Animal Mind” (recommended!) which includes a chapter on how to “Hand-Target” with clicker training (here’s a description), I was compelled to try this out for myself . This afternoon I went to our local pet store and bought a clicker.

This blog post is more like a personal record of my observations and a memo to self,  so to whoever is reading this, note that I am a total newbie and I am open to reader tips. I am also reading books and articles on the subject, watching YouTube videos etc.

As I was trying to explain to Wes, it’s not as simple as making our dog do something for treats. This isn’t about bribery. It’s about “marking behavior” with the “clicks” in a communication system that isn’t even necessarily verbal. Trainers use this method to train lions, tigers, elephants, dolphins, iguana… where collars and leashes are irrelevant and the “pack leader” relationship is a non-issue.

Anyway, here we go. Just sharing my personal experience…

Our 1st clicker training session: Hand – Targeting

Session time: About 15-20 minutes

Step 1.Uber-tasty special treats: Before reading this book it never even occurred to me that I could divide a hot dog into 80 portions. I chopped up 2 hot dogs ( total of 160 treats!).

Step 2: In this “targeting” lesson I am to CLICK the split-second that Boogie touches his nose to my hand/fist.  We did this in several different locations: at my desk, on the couch, in the bedroom, in the bathroom.

I held my fist out to Boogie’s face. When his nose touched it, click and treat. I did this few times with my fist in front of his face… touch, click-n-treat. Then I moved my fist to one side, and the other side, and lower, and higher. C&T… C&T…Boogie became OBSESSED with the clicker. He sniffed my clicker hand and then he sat and couldn’t stop staring at it. It was amazing to me that he chose to stare at the clicker in my hand over staring at the bowl of hot dog pieces (as he normally would do) As if to say “Click,mom. Click. Go on, click again”

When I moved my fist too far away from his nose, he didn’t know what to do. He turned his head to one side, he got up, sat down again, looked at me…

In the book, they say this is normal. It’s a new game, an unfamiliar process and when a dog turns his head away he is unsure and “thinking things through”. That’s ok, we are supposed to wait and let him get used to the process.

So I moved my fist back in front of his nose (as the book says: go back to an earlier behavior if he doesn’t respond) and he touched it. Yay. Click-and-treat.

Eventually, Boogie clearly understood that he is supposed to touch my hand so I added the verbal cue “Touch” when holding out my fist… which confused him again. He sat still. Stared at my fist. Didn’t move. Whenever he didn’t respond, I shifted position slighty, lowered my fist, waited, then lifted my fist again and said “Touch”, and when he tentatively touched it with his nose, C&T! We did this several more times. Sometimes Boogie got so excited he even licked my fist. Click and treat.

I wanted to practice reinforcing in different places. In a different location, if I held my fist in front of his face, he touched it with his nose … Click and treat. Yep, behavior retained.

But in a new location, if I held my fist too far away, he was confused again and didn’t respond. He wasn’t sure whether to get up from the “sit” position to reach my fist… I could see him hesitate.  If my fist was on the floor, he did a Down or bent down, but high positions were trickier. If my fist was right above his head, he didn’t respond… just remained sitting and stared at it. So I shifted my fist lower again… (backtracking) and then moved it a little bit higher and higher each time.  Boogie eventually got it, and he stood up on two hind legs to reach! Then sat again. He did this a few times… Pretty cool!

When I extended my arm to the left/right, he got up, walked left and right towards my fist to touch it! This was perhaps our biggest achievement of the day. The fact that Boogie got off his ass to DO SOMETHING was a sight to behold. This is a dog that can unblinkingly sit and beg for hours.

What I found funny -  Boogie stood up, kept turning his head to look at the bowl, then to my fist, then to the bowl, then to my fist again…  It was highly amusing to see Boogie’s thought processes in action. I stayed still… didn’t say anything. Waited. When Boogie finally turned away from the treat bowl and walked over to touch my fist, C&T! Double treats! Clever Boogie. We did this a few more times.

So one thing I learned – it is so important (and SO DIFFICULT)  to stay consistent with where and how I hold the clicker.

At one point I unconsciously moved the clicker away from view (behind me) and held out my fist. “Touch”. Boogie got confused, stood up, went to the window, walked around the apartment. I don’t know what he was thinking but obviously something had changed. Maybe he was searching for the clicker? When I moved the clicker back in front of me, he seemed more at ease and we were back on track.

I also made the mistake of being inconsistent with the verbal cue “Touch” – sometimes I said it, sometimes I didn’t…  I think this slowed Boogie down… like he had to “guess” harder. It was also really really hard for me to not want to praise him verbally. Many times when I clicked, I instinctively shouted out “Yes! Good Boy!” at the same time. Other times I clicked and didn’t say anything. If I am to establish the clicker sound as the “secondary reinforcer”, I guess I need to train myself to shut up. For now, anyway.

We ended this session when we ran out of treats. (TWO WHOLE HOT DOGS. Geez).

Memo to self: Shorter sessions. Less treats. Boogie was getting restless towards the end…

2nd session – 3 minutes
I wanted to show off to skeptical Wes when he got home. So I got out a few Zuke’s training treats and we went through the targeting routine again. Boogie was less cooperative because Wes was there and he was distracted. It was a bit like starting from scratch… I also did this standing up instead of sitting down so Boogie was slower to catch on. It’s interesting how all these body language details are so important. Dog training is really “People training” in disguise.

3rd session – 5 minutes
I wanted to click and treat “COME HERE”. This was a no-brainer because Boogie had seen the clicker in my hand and he had become 100% attentive. He didn’t even see the treats. He was fixated on the clicker.

Then I made a mistake. I threw a toy and said “Go Get It!” Boogie ran off after the toy and I clicked. He heard the click and suddenly stopped in his tracks…  He turned towards me wide-eyed as if to say – “Was that a clicker sound?” He didn’t know whether to come or to go…

So I threw the treat over to him and he spent ages trying to find it on the dark hardwood floor (Wes and I often joke that Boogie has a dysfunctional nose. He is very visual, for a dog). Then I worked on “Come Here”, stood up moved to different places around the apartment. Like I said, it was a no-brainer. “Mom has clicker and treats… of course I am going to follow her everywhere”.

We stopped when Wes said “Stop giving him treats. He has had two hot dogs today! He is going to get fat.”

Regardless, Boogie and I had another great little bonding experience. (Wes: “Yeah, Two hot dogs will do it”.)  Tomorrow we are going for a very very long walk to burn some calories.

Reading List and Links:

Getting Started With Clicker Training

Clicker Solutions – Articles

Dogmantics  (YouTube)

Clicker Carnival #1 and #2

If you are a clicker-training person, please feel free to comment and leave tips!

Boogie vs The Mailman

I think we are experiencing  a turning point in mailman relations. I think Mr. Mailman  has lost all tolerance and patience and he officially hates me.

It hasn’t always been this way.

The mailman and I used to be on good terms. He used to be a really nice to me and extremely tolerant of my snarling, barking, territorially-aggressive Boogie; and he even agreed to help out with our video submission to The Dog Whisperer Show should we ever decide to make one. Not that Mr. Mailman would have to DO anything or even smile at camera, He would only have to make an appearance in front of a growling lunging Boogie and act calm …

Many times, the mailman had said to me: “I don’t know what I have done to this dog. What have I done? Why does he feel this way about me?” And he continued to smile at Boogie from a distance, try to talk “nicely” to him, which made absolutely no difference whatsoever.

And many times I struggled to explain to him that it is nothing personal.

“Boogie doesn’t hate YOU personally. It’s just that you are a mailman. He is territorial. He behaves the same way towards UPS, Fed Ex, Yosemite Waters and the landlord.” (I didn’t tell him the bit about fat people, tall people, homeless people, and old asian people carrying bags…)

I have also assured Mr Mailman that he has nothing to worry about; he will be safe. My dog is always leashed when he is outdoors and I have him under control. Mr. Mailman shrugs. He continues to smile and say hi when he sees me even when my dog is embarrassingly unfriendly.

This week I am babysitting Butch and Emma, and when the mailman appears outside my apartment, all hell breaks loose.

ALL THREE DOGS run to the window and bark very loudly. Butch barks at anyone who passes by anyway (not aggressively, just being a dog) and Emma barks because Butch barks. But to the mailman it looks like three of them are ganging up against him and my dog is the bad seed that started it all. I look out the window and I see the Mr Mailman shaking his head, grumpy look on his face as he walks away.

This morning I was out walking the three dogs. The mailman appeared before us (came out of a building) and Boogie growled. I corrected him but it was too late because  Butch had barked  at Boogie and Boogie had lunged at Butch and Butch was fighting back and even though it was tricky situation with three leashes in my hands, within 3-5 seconds, I managed to separate the boys and have them both seated calmly next to me.

Unfortunately, the mailman saw all this happen right before his eyes and his mind was made up.

Mailman: “You should keep that dog away from everyone including the other dog.”

Me: “These dogs are fine together at home. What happened was my dog saw you, reacted to you and then this set off the fight. They are fine now”.

Mailman: “Oh really? (sarcasm) That dog is a problem. I don’t know why you keep a dog like that”.

I apologized and tried to reassure him (again) that he doesn’t have to feel unsafe. Everything is under control. Butch and Boogie were still seated calmly at my feet as I was saying this, but the mailman did not even look at me while he was talking.

Me: “I am sorry you had to see that. Don’t worry I have them under control”.

Mailman: (still not looking at me in a sarcastic tone) “Thank you, maam”.

Me (getting upset and defensive): “I mean, if you adopted a kid and that kid had problems and reacted badly to things, would you get rid of him? No. I keep my dog even though he has problems because I love him and care about him and I am working with him.”

Mailman: (still sarcastic) “Thank you, maam”.

I would probably feel the same way about Boogie if I were the mailperson, being barked at 5 days a week while I am just calmly doin’ my job, but I thought it was out of line for him to make that comment - “That dog is a problem. I don’t know why you keep a dog like that”.

I don’t know if I am being unreasonably sensitive about all this but obviously I am upset enough to write this blog post. I get upset whenever strangers make sarcastic comments, mean comments or roll their eyes when my dog reacts.

Can anyone else relate?

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Some bookmarked dog-related blogs/sites:

DOGSTER “Good Dog” blog

THE I LOVE MY BAD DOG blog

DOG SPELLED FORWARD blog

THE OTHER END OF THE LEASH blog

I am also about to start reading Karen Pryor’s Reaching The Animal Mind.

Staph :(

Boogie in Elysian Park

Home from the vet.

Dr. R. took some skin and hair samples but we won’t have definite results for at least another 10 days. However, he doesn’t think it’s mites or ringworm. It is most likely a secondary Staph Infection caused by allergies. Based on his knowledge of Boogie’s symptoms and how Boogie responded to various meds, he believes the allergies to be related to the environment or the season rather than to food. He prescribed oral antibiotics (Cephalexin) for at least 2 weeks.

According to this long list of Dog Allergies , Staph falls under the “Bacteria Allergy” category:

A dog’s skin normally harbors Staph (Staphylococcus) bacteria. If the skin is normal and the dog’s immune system is normal, Staph causes no problems. Your dog is more likely to develop a bacteria allergy if it is in other ways unhealthy, or if it has other allergies.

Signs of a bacteria dog allergy include hair loss that is often round and 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter, red blotches on the skin, and possibly the development of pus pockets filled with fluid.

Common veterinarian practice is to do a blood test, prescribe the Antibiotic Cephalexin and the immune stimulant shots of ImmunoRegulin.Corticosteroid Cream, or a Steroid Drug, or a NSAID. Veterinarians will also instruct you to give your dog baths with a Medicated Shampoo.

The lesions will usually clear with Antibiotics but return as soon as the antibiotics are discontinued. With continued use of antibiotics, dogs become resistant to the antibiotics, and the Staph-allergic dog has recurrent infections.

Sounds kinda depressing. Poor little Boogie Monster.

Here is another webpage I googled about Staph dermatitis in dogs: http://www.sniksnak.com/doghealth/staph.html

If you have any experience with this, please share!

*UPDATE: Boogie’s skin is looking MUCH better! After 3 weeks of antibiotics, his hair hasn’t grown back yet, but Dr. R said that this would take some time. Boogie has to continue taking Cephalexin for another 3 weeks.

Hair loss and crusty dry skin… What is it?

When the weather cooled down, thank goodness the red summer allergy rash on Boogie’s face went away. But we now have another skin-related problem. (Sigh – There’s always something else, isn’t there?)

In the sunlight, Boogie’s black coat looks like it has white splotches or specks all over it. On closer inspection these are bald patches of dry flaky crusty skin. And these patches are EVERYWHERE!  I think they itch because Boogie loves rubbing his back on the grass way too much.

Does anyone know what causes these dry crusty patches?

What are they? An allergic reaction?  Is it some type of MANGE? - I have no experience with mange so I don’t know.

I searched the WOOF forums. Other BT owners who have experienced similar dry skin issues said they switched foods and/or changed shampoos and the skin problems went away. Or they added a skin supplement to their dog’s diet, which is something I have  already been doing from Day One.

This is what Boogie is eating everyday:

* HALO Spot’s Stew Chicken kibble
* The Honest Kitchen FORCE or KEEN
* The Honest Kitchen PERFECT FORM (digestive supplement)
* Sometimes – cooked chicken, or canned sardines/tuna

Treats: Wellness Lamb/Chicken jerky, Beef smokehouse jerky rolls, hot dogs, Zuke’s mini training treats…

For his skin and coat, I was giving him ULTRA OIL everyday for the past 6 months. One month ago I switched to HALO’s DREAM COAT oil but I am seeing no difference in his coat. If anything, I think the problem is getting worse. The crusty bald patches are multiplying…

This week I added MISSING LINK, yet another type of Omega 3/6 supplement.

The shampoo we use is by KELCO (Coco tar for dry skin).

Perhaps a visit to the vet is in order (to rule out mange) but if anyone knows what this is, please share your knowledge!

The new Boogie morning routine

After doing two solid weeks of Bootcamp,  our long morning walks around Los Feliz seemed really boring by comparison. Same old same old.  So I decided that a change would be good for the both of us – something that could feel more like a workout – and we now have a new routine.

Mid-morning, we hop in the car  – which Boogie LOVES!!! He props himself up on the  passenger seat, sticks his head out the window and takes in the sights and smells like it’s the best-est thing in the whole world – and we head to the park for a 30 min to 1 hour long walk. So far we have hiked up Bronson Canyon, to the Griffith Observatory from Ferndell and around Silverlake Reservoir. It is SO nice to not have traffic lights and people distractions! Why I haven’t been doing this more often, I don’t know.

Griffith Observatory - The grass feels good!

Well, actually I do know why. In Life-before-Obedience-Training, it was impossible to take Boogie anywhere without him pulling on the leash and being a pain in the butt. It is now such a pleasure  to walk together, side by side. Wow, my dog heels. This is so cool. I keep the leash loose. When he moves too far ahead, I call him, he slows down and is back by my side. I pack treats and we practice commands. Sometimes we stop and he sniffs around the bushes, pees on stuff. This is our new bonding/workout experience when not at Bootcamp.

Bronson Caves & Hollywood Sign

Bronson Caves

Thankfully, Bronson Canyon is fairly quiet. The occasional presence of off-leash dogs heading towards Boogie make me nervous, but dog owners are pretty cool if  I warn them in advance that my dog is “not friendly”. They call their dogs, I make Boogie SIT and STAY, and then we all move along with no drama. Perhaps one day I will be able to let Boogie socialize with new dogs and he won’t lunge or growl. I hope this CAN happen some day…

While we are getting into the spirit of hiking together, I have to share pics of Boogie’s new jogging outfit which I bought on etsy.  Wes took one look and shook his head – “This is so wrong. He’s a DOG”. Well, I personally think it’s SUPER CUTE!

Imagine this as Boogie’s halloween costume. We stick a headband on him, and give him a mini tennis racket. He already has the tennis balls.

Just kidding

Next hiking destination: I want to check out Elysian Park.

Allergies – pink face.

The Boogs has a rash on his face – it’s the same one that he has had all summer – pink, raw, itchy, weepy skin in between the folds of his face. I give Boogie skin+coat supplements and have applied hydrocortisone cream, neosporin, zinc oxide, baking soda (it’s supposed to relieve itchiness), nu-stock…… I can’t tell if any of these work because when I’m not watching, Boogie rubs the stuff off his face onto his bed, the couch, or the carpet…

The bald patches on his face look worse at night – really red and sometimes bloody. And I can’t see the skin healing and the fur growing back in a hurry because the area is always damp from tear stains.

Dr R. gave him a cortisone shot about 1-2 months ago and that seemed to help A LOT. Boogie stopped scratching and his face started to heal. This steroid medication lasted about 2 weeks and then his face looked really bad again. When we went back to the vet yesterday for another cortisone shot, Dr R. didn’t think it was such a good idea as repeated cortisone shots can bring about horrible side effects including liver damage. (Like Prednisone) So we came home instead with some Panalog cream.

A few new routines:

• I have started Boogie on Comfortis – an oral anti-flea med, instead of Frontline/Advantage.The vet tech warned that there may be some vomitting at first if he is not used to this…
• I am introducing HALO pet food to Boogie’s diet and ordered an Intro Kit. I don’t know yet if I will do a full switch where I will feed exclusively Halo… I read that mixing up his diet – feeding a variety of proteins will prevent the possibility of developing an allergy to a single protein. (He has been eating THK turkey all year)
• My complimentary Thankdog Bootcamp classes have ended but I might be enrolling in a program of maybe 2 or 3 classes a week. This is great discipline for me and good obedience practice for Boogie. He still hates the wet grass and protests like nobody’s business but well, what can ya do….The amazing thing is that at home and on our walks – he understands and obeys! Well, maybe only 60% of the time but hey, that’s a HUGE improvement.