Dogs are Smart – Just Not That Smart!

Feeding time in a multi-dog family can be an event not suited for someone who is weak when it comes to multi-tasking.  Who eats where and who eats what?

Once you establish a routine, it’s not so difficult; however, the dogs have learned to pay close attention to what goes in each bowl.  Even if they are in another room and unable to see the food being placed in the bowls, they will look around as dinner is served and keep a close eye and nose on what everyone else is getting.

I have learned that the dogs are smart, but not that smart!  I mix soft food in a couple of bowls to entice the dogs who need to eat more.  The other dogs hear that something more is being added, and are keeping a close eye on those food bowls.

So, I started  adding water to the dog food for those who don’t get the soft food.  It might as well be fairy dust!   Mix around, make it sound like something amazing is going in the bowl and that each dog is getting something special.

Makes me wonder what tricks my Mom had for getting me to eat when I was a picky kid!

Dogs Celebrate Easter!

Dogs don’t look forward to a holiday weekend or a day off.  However, dogs do something similar to our definition of “celebrate.”  They just do it differently than we do.

On this particular holiday, a lot of families see the arrival of the Easter Bunny and hide eggs for the kids to find, and cook a ham for dinner.

Dogs. . .well, they find rabbits who are hiding and have them for dinner.  See, it is similar.

In whatever way you choose to celebrate today, may it be filled with the newness of Spring!

Home Is Where the Human Is

The saying usually goes, “home is where the heart is.”  When it comes to our dogs, home is where their human is.

If you are having to relocate and you are moving to a smaller place with less yard and are worried about your dog –  don’t.  They won’t care as long as you are there.  We may only think it’s good for the dog when we’re moving to a large home or some place with a big yard. Moving can be stressful regardless.  Whether you are living in a studio or in a mansion, your dog will know they are home, because you are there.

It’s easy to attach human emotions to our dogs and be overly concerned about what they are feeling. They may have boundaries that are reduced as you down-size.  They will quickly adjust as they go through their list of must-have’s for happiness. . .human (complete with guidance, structure, and love), food, water.

Their needs are met in the life they live with a homeless person and/or with the life they share on an estate.

Most of the time, their needs are simply met – it’s their humans that add the drama.  For those of you who believe home is where the dog is, remember it goes both ways.

*ps – as I write surrounded by unpacked boxes and a lot to do today, the dogs are each on their beds without a care.  They haven’t once mentioned missing their previous home where they had 2.5 acres on which to roam.  Constant teachers. . .aren’t they?

How To Tell If Your Dog Has Been Stolen

If your dog is missing and you are wondering if someone took him or if he ran away, wait for this call:

“Uh, hello?  You need to come and get your dog, it bit my daughter!”

The rest of it went something like this. . .the people went to the home where the dog was “found.” Since it was such a long distance from the country club where they lived, they asked if the people had been in that area.  They replied, “no, my cousin works there.”

True story.

Why Do You Ask Your Dog to Sit?

It’s a proud moment, when a dog learns to sit.  We look around at others who might be witnessing this momentous occasion and asking, “did you see that – he sat!”  So, we start asking the dog to sit and sit and sit and sit…

Soon, we are frustrated our dog isn’t as enamored with “sit” as we are.  It’s great to teach your dog to follow basic commands and equally as important to remember why. There is a reason beyond just them knowing how to sit.  There is also a reason beyond our being able to ask our dog to do something and they do it.

Why do you want them to sit?  If we continually ask our dogs to follow a command without purpose, they will soon catch on and look at us as if to say, “why?”

Have them sit before you open the door and go for a walk.  Have them sit before you give them affection. Have them sit before they are served dinner.  Have them sit prior to your opening the car door and giving them permission to get in.  I think you get the point.  You will have greater success with your dog doing as you ask them to if there is a “reward” or a purpose to the action.

Do Dogs Really Like Exercise?

Most dogs I know start their day off early.  They wake up, lick some water, “go,” and then head to the gym for some much-dreaded exercise.  Maybe at the end of their day they are thinking, “I can’t believe it, I didn’t make it to the gym again!”  Right?

So, do all dogs like exercise?  In the wild, dogs wouldn’t have set up a track field and directed one another to run five miles (by the way, none of them would be overweight.)  Just like us, when dogs are moving, there is usually a purpose. Or, let’s just say it takes more focus and is lot more fun if there is.   This is one reason that taking your dog to an agility class can be so rewarding for both of you.

Putting a dog out in the back yard may or may not be exercise.  Most likely not, unless, there’s a purpose – something to chase (another dog), something to get their attention.  Otherwise, they will do the same thing outside they would have done inside. . .lay down.

Dogs need to move but consider the breed of your dog and what would be appropriate and necessary for them.  Your extreme need for exercise (or lack of it) may not be the same as your dog’s.  Try different things, and see if you can give purpose to their exercise (and yours)!

On Being the Alpha Dog in Your Home

“I’m alpha”…”No, I’m alpha!…”I’ll show you who’s alpha!”  Does this conversation take place in your home?  I don’t mean it happens verbally, but with your thought and the actions that follow.  If your dog does something you interpret as the expression of authority,  do you immediately turn them onto their back?   Does that work?  Not usually.

It may do something in that moment to say you are dominant over the dog.  However, if the only correction your dog receives is a random turn on their back after they’ve spent the entire day doing more subtle things that say they are in charge, it won’t have much impact.

So much of our correction of the dog happens based on our particular mood or emotion at the time. We may finally be fed up with a particular behavior, so we take action.  Consistency is more important than a random reaction to an unwanted behavior.

Being a pack leader, as it’s often referred to, is about the development of a respectful relationship.  It’s not sporadic moments of your being in authority.  It happens all day long.  In time, you won’t even have to think about it but rather it will be who you are – the alpha dog.

When Dogs Stay Out All Night

Two of my dogs can be very “dog-like!”  Try though I might to convince them that squirrel isn’t good for them and it’s so barbarian to eat it raw, they don’t listen.

Last night, these two decided to stay out all night.  Usually, they come to the door and ask to come in at a reasonable hour.  Not last night.  I’m sure the night life is amazing.  I’m not one to know.

At about 3:30 am, I hear them and out of the kindness of my heart, let them in.  It’s now 1:00 pm and they are zonked!  Sammy lifted his head briefly and his eyes rolled back in his head slightly as his head fell back down.

I’m not sneaking around or attempting to be quiet.  I told them this isn’t a pet hotel where they can stay out and party all night and expect me to accommodate their need to sleep all day.  Whatever they did Iast night definitely beats the dog park.

If your dogs are a little restless, let them stay out all night.  One doesn’t want to know what they do.  Just enjoy the next day when they can barely lift a paw.  Makes me wonder about tonight…

What Does Your Dog Drive?

Here’s a little fun…you know how we think we know people by the type of automobile they drive?  Well, I drive a Mini Cooper and a Mazda Miata.  The Miata is “old” and the Cooper newer.  I guess I like to balance life with old and new and it’s important to do it in a sporty way.

Moby, a little Maltese mix would drive a black Hummer.  The full size one.  Enough said.

Sammy, a small terrier mix, would drive a Corvette.  It would be red.  He likes to get where he’s going quickly and is more comfortable when he feels larger than he really is.

Mac, the labradoodle, would drive a bright yellow VW convertible.  Not in a hurry and loves feeling free and looking cool.

Zoe, the labradoodle mix, would drive a golf cart.  That’s so when she sees a lizard or rabbit she has quick access to chase and she could easily greet humans without being encumbered by doors and such.

Your dog?  What do they drive?

Does Your Dog Bite You?

We can lose all reason when we look into the sweet, adorable eyes of our newly adopted dog.  It’s easy to give lots of affection and allow them to do anything they want because – well, because!  We feel guilty restricting them.  I mean, look at them, they are so cute!

If, a few weeks later, you reach for your adorable dog, and it nips at you, stop right there.  Do not let it go and excuse their behavior or rationalize that they just weren’t ready to leave the dog park, get off the bed, put the leash on, etc.

Your dog needs to have a quick lesson in “do not bite the hand that feeds you.”  This behavior is a clear sign that your dog does not respect you.  Maybe you are willing to tolerate it, but the child who reaches for the dog when the dog doesn’t want them to, won’t be so understanding.

It is possible that with a couple of sessions in behavior modification, your pup will be the dog you first brought home.  Most of the behavior that will shift, is yours.  You can learn how to provide guidance and structure for your dog in a way that will make you both feel better about the relationship.

If you have a question or concern regarding your dog’s behavior, please ask me using the box to the right.