Sports Medicine and Rehab

Part of the extended period of radio silence on the blogging front has been because I've undergone something of a career 360 and it's been taking up an awful lot of effort! I originally qualified as a vet, and then for a variety of reasons didn't spend much time in practice, and have done lots of other things instead.

The more dogs I've acquired (four at the last count, but you know, there are SO MANY that need homes... :D) and the more I've been working with them, the more interested I have become in canine sports medicine and rehab. Since it's only very rarely that something grabs your attention and refuses to let go AND could conceivably be a way to earn a living, I've started down the route of qualifying to do canine sports medicine and rehab as a career...and I am SO excited. So far, I've loved every second of the studying and am looking forward to putting it all into practice. It's also given me the impetus to go back to being a vet, and so I've done more studying this last few months than I think I have ever before in my life (including when I passed my exams...)

The next step in the process is going to be to set up my own facility. I'm currently debating between a mobile clinic and my own place. The advantages to mobile are that I can go to my referring vets' practices, which works for everyone. The disadvantage to that is I want to take an underwater treadmill with me, and that's not incredibly straightforward (it can be done - but it's a fairly sizeable trailer to do it, and the size of vehicle you'd need to tow that weight is pretty mind blowing)

I've also been doing a little bit of speaking here and there. Yesterday saw me and collie #2 off to a campsite in the midlands to talk on canine warmups before sport , and also a little bit on conditioning for the canine athlete for Canicross Midlands. I managed to condense a talk that would normally take about 8 hours into 1h 45 mins so I was pretty pleased with that. It did involve talking fast though. We also did a little bit of practical work on core strength and on active stretching, so even the canine attendees had to pay attention...

Hold them tight

Someone I follow on Facebook posted this comic today. I read it with tears streaming down my face and heart breaking into a million pieces.

copyright ubertool

Give your dogs an extra cuddle tonight. Their lives are so short, but so precious.

So...I did that thing...

That it seems like so many bloggers do. All those good intentions and everything.

But wow things have been awesome on the dog front. And the everything else front, actually. We're still spectacularly unsuccessful at agility, but enjoying our blasting about knocking poles flying and taking our own courses. Daisy has passed her level one scent test with flying colours, Cybi not so much; we've done a bit of rally obedience but been stymied from actually competing by kennel cough and canicross has become a big thing.

Dog number three showed up temporarily (ha ha) and never left, so technically this is now the tail of two collies and a bonus extra kelpie.

When it doesn't go to plan

I should probably start by saying it wasn't all bad, and the crazies and I had a lovely day out at a little local show outside Lincoln. But you know those days?

I have the worst sense of direction of anyone I have ever met. Seriously, I could get lost on a straight road with a GPS and a map. So having left loads of extra time to get to the show in time to settle the dogs and walk our first course I wasn't surprised (though was super frustrated) to get lost about 5 miles from the venue, and consequently show up as everyone else was finishing course walking. I got chance to have a quick sprint round it, so I had a vague idea where I was going, but it wan't the ideal prep. It was a shame really, as the show was lovely - aimed at babies and Grade 1 dogs, the ring was fenced and the courses were nice and flowing.

Anyway, we did the agility run, and Daisy was (predictably) a little hoodlum who picked her own course. Cybi was marginally better but got shouty with me because I was way too slow so he kept coming back to tell me I was too slow, have a bit of a bark and then run away again to find a jump to his satisfaction. So no places in that class.

In the other classes there were no eliminations as such, just 50 faults for what would be an elimination at a regular show. Daisy picked up two fourths (one in jumping, one in a special class) but the "bad dog at an agility show" award of the day has to go to Cybi (unusual as Daisy has made a clean sweep of this somewhat dubious honour so far) for his spectacular showing in the special class. Daisy got 5 faults (entirely my fault - I turned away from her too quickly as she went into the long jump, so she changed direction in mid air to come with me). Cybi racked up 189. Yep. 189 faults, including three eliminations, poles down, refusals and time faults. But he had fun...

Team Chaos redeemed themselves slightly doing a "fun obedience" class that I didn't know was going to be there, which was both novel and *absolutely brilliant*. The idea was to reward motivation and fun as well as accuracy in the obedience exercises, so the judge encouraged playing (and in fact had an exercise in the test that was just playing with your dog), as well as breaking off to reward during heelwork, lots of big circles rather than turns..it couldn't have been more perfect for both of my two if I'd been asked to design the class. So we worked two absolutely beautiful obedience rounds, which I was utterly delighted with, and as a bonus extra they placed 1st and 2nd, with Daisy coming out on top once again.

To round out the day, she also came 5th in the gundog scurry. So not a bad day on balance, albeit with some highlights and some definitely...not...

Canicross weekender

Daisy, Cybi and I had quite the adventure over the start of Easter Weekend. We had a stab at a full weekend (well, three days) of Canicross up at Catton Hall in Derbyshire. The original plan was to have one dog in the Novice event and one in the short course each day, and perhaps switch them, but it became obvious that while I was running each of them on their own for the first time, Daisy had much more confidence than Cybi and was much more willing to charge blithely along. So she got stuck with towing me along the Novice course, while boy dog managed to get away with only having to run 1.5km per day.

Weather conditions were mixed, to say the least, but improved drastically over the weekend. And we had a really fun time. Daisy and I won the Novice run on the first day (over a shortened and, importantly, flat course) and then were emphatically beaten on days two and three. I'd love to blame the fact that our opposition was a good four inches taller (me) and probably 30kg heavier (Daisy - she is a titchy little collie, and the other dog was an incredibly handsome, huge, European-bred Dobermann)...but I fear the fault lies entirely with me, and my ability to run uphill. I'm very bad at it indeed. Daisy was fine, and did her best, but there's a limit to what she can do in the face of my inability to run fast. So training on running up hills for me, while they get to just chill - they are quick enough already!

Cybi and I won the short course, which was nice. We came out in front on each of the three days, though at least by day three Cybi was towing me - on day one he just minced his way along the path, avoiding the mud and wet spots, and generally not contributing to overall speed at all. It's one of the reasons he'd never have made it as a farm collie - he hates getting his feet wet.

Daisy giving it some beans on the left; Cybi getting the general gist but not really figuring out directions on the right...

Being the Best Citizen at Crufts

My dogs and I have in theory been following the Good Citizen Dog Scheme syllabus in training classes for quite a while now, but courtesy of an extended period where I couldn’t walk without crutches, Daisy got to take a break after her Puppy class, and as a result was about ready to take her Bronze just before Crufts. Our trainer at Ashlawn suggested we might like to take the test actually at Crufts itself, as part of the demonstration of skills that goes on in the education area.

So we sent in our application, and were rather delighted to be accepted to take our test on the Thursday. The day itself didn’t get off to a flying start when: 1. we were half an hour late (despite only living down the road from the NEC) due to an accident and missing the pre-demo/test briefing and 2. while waiting in line to go in for the first demo, Daisy expressing her disapproval at the very close proximity of an absolutely enormous GSD inviting her to play and growling a bit. Cue lots of muttered discussion from the coordinators about if there was any hint of temperamental unsoundness I couldn’t be allowed to do the demo and would have to take the dog home, and my trying to suggest that she was probably just a bit intimidated by the enormous puppy that had just socked her with a dinner-plate sized foot and that she would be fine once moving.

Part of me was ready to just pack up there and then, but I plastered a smile on, and the demo proceeded without a hitch. Daisy worked beautifully, as did all the other dogs in the ring.

Then we went for a wander round the show. In retrospect, this was probably very unfair to Daisy, as she’s only a knee-height dog, but she handled the crowds and the noise and the chaos really, really well. In fact she was super interested in everything going on, especially the food stalls that had samples laid out at dog height, ready to be tried. I ended up buying her small bags of a number of things based off which treats and foods she pulled hardest to be allowed to have!

Canidae went down well

Then back to the bench (the allocated resting area for each dog) for a quick snooze (both of us), drink (both of us) and a brush over (Daisy; my hair was beyond redemption) before the next demo. By the second time in the ring, Daisy had identified that people were looking at her, and she trotted in, tail waving and really turned on the charm for the audience, little horror that she is.  She was starting to flag though, so we had a bit of a quiet time back at the bench, and a gentle stroll around the education area…where I bumped into two handlers that I had been on Young Kennel Club camps with as a 13/14 year old. Amazing how so much time has passed, and yet shared interests give you something to just pick up on, like you only saw each other last week.

Finally: the test itself. There was a larger crowd watching this than there had been earlier in the day, and a compere who was giving running commentary on each dog which ratcheted up the stress a bit. Also a very thorough, though very nice, judge. I was pretty confident, based on the two demos, that everyone in the ring (7 of us) were going to pass but you can never be completely certain! Daisy’s test started well with her heelwork and going through the gate – didn’t put a paw wrong, and really showed off in the heelwork round the outside of the ring; she trotted along like a little Arab horse, on a nice loose lead with tail waving like she was having the best time ever (though with all those people watching she probably was). Ditto all the staying away from distractions and walking in and out of other dogs (which had been a huge challenge for her in training as she wants to go and say hello to EVERYONE). For the examination of dog and grooming I had her lie down rather than stand, as she was obviously getting tired, and by the time the judge got to us to assess whether the dog was ok being brushed and looked at in her eyes, ears, mouth, feet etc, Daisy was lying with her eyes closed, practically asleep and not really responding to having her paws prodded or her tummy brushed, except to wag her tail a bit when she heard her name. Bless.

Given her tiredness, the down stay also wasn’t a challenge, and so we successful passed our Bronze Good Citizen test at Crufts. We got the standard passing rosette, and also a rather lovely Crufts 2015 souvenir one, which was a bit special.

So I’m terribly proud of my little Daisy, and we’re going onwards and upwards to the Silver test…

Thoughts on being towed along by nutters

Daisy, Cybi and I have recently been doing some running together, as I'm so busy with rowing training, and I want to make sure they're fully exercised, and we need to fit in obedience, agility and scent work, so at least if we all run at the same time that serves two purposes.

I had heard of Cani-cross (or cani-x) but it all seemed a bit scary - super fit people charging about with their perfectly trained sled dogs. I decided I'd bite the bullet and have a go at an event anyway - since I'm rubbish at running, I figure that getting better at it will assist my other sports. There aren't *that* many events, but I managed to find something fairly locally, run by Canicross Midlands.

So we pitched up to our first event, with my having bottled it and entered us for the short (really short! - 1.5km) distance, in a howling gale in the middle of Derbyshire. We were there early enough to watch a number of the other racers, and I was somewhat reassured to see that not everyone looked like they yomped 20 miles before breakfast every day. I was extremely reassured, as well, by just how friendly everyone was. Like, seriously "going out of the way to make sure I was ok because I was a new face" friendly. Such an incredibly refreshing change after my initial experiences with some other dog sports. The club has some kit that's available to be borrowed, and the organiser, Claire, was politely insistent that I borrowed a waist belt rather than run the dogs in my hand as we'd done at home. I wasn't entirely convinced until I gave it a try...wow. The difference it makes running with the dogs pulling from hip height rather than in the hand is incredible.

 Our event was off last as we were only doing a little bit of the course, so by the time the nice weather had disappeared completely, the wind had picked up and the sleet had started we were ready for our first assault on a Canicross course. I cannot even articulate how much fun (while simultaneously painful) it is being towed around by two lunatic collies while sliding through the mud. Improved only by being pulled over on our way down a muddy bank, and then falling over Cybi when he stopped to shake the water out of his coat.

I was warned by an obedience friend that Cani Cross is addictive, and I was somewhat disbelieving....until we tried it. I'm now already the proud owner of my very own running belt (and it's a posh one!), about to fork over a large wodge of cash for running harnesses for the nutters, and we have race entries in for the end of the month and the start of April, and also for May. Rowing? What rowing? :o)

Cani Cross done properly (thanks various members of Canicross Midlands for the ok to use your pics!). Daisy, Cybi and I did not look like this....:

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Daisy's First Agility Show!

Well, we bit the bullet and Daisy and I went to our first agility show. She was awesome...me, not so much!

We are very fortunate where we live that we are in easy reach of a large number of shows of all levels. Our first excursion was to a very local show, the lovely Bitz n Bobs (and show info here, but it's a closed FB group) where we had a go at "Grade 0" and opted to jump small size, while Daisy still on occasion goes under the jumps, little grot that she is.

Our first ever competitive round was a lovely, flowing, and not too challenging course, which she aced. I demolished a jump wing on the way through, so even though she went clear we didn't go clear as a team. Oops! But she loved every second of it (as did I!) and she raced round the course and listened to me the whole way round. A couple of people watching said she was looking at me a little more than would be ideal, rather than driving on, so we'll work on that in training, but at this level fortunately I can somewhat rescue that by just running really, really fast. Not a strategy I am keen to employ permanently, but it'll do while we're in training.

Daisy looking focused - not actually taken at the competition, but still an ace photo!

We also need to work on our start lines. Us and every other novice pair in the history of ever...

For our second run (the steeplechase) it was a more complicated course as it was a graded 1-7 course, but it was still lovely and flowing. She was both better and worse in her second run - better in that she looked at the jumps, with the result that she nailed a few sequences where the jumps were offset from one another (I had assumed she would run by at least one of them) but worse because she was so hysterically over excited by proceedings that getting her to wait on the start involved significant stink eye on my part, she barked her way round the course and jumped up to chew my sleeve at least once on the way round - something she hasn't done since we first started training. But as a first day out...I was incredibly proud of her, and we've got lots to build on.

Roll on the next show, when Cybi will be having a go, too. Fortunately my tolerance for embarrassment is high...although he's currently being training with my very agility-experienced housemate and as a consequence is really coming on well. Which probably means it'll be me that messes it up, rather than him...

Sniffer dog training

There's been quite a push (mainly in the States) to identify "new" dog sports or activities that the average pet owner can do with their dog. As with some of the more established sports, they seem to be largely based upon "professional" dog handling, which is then adapted, codified and turned into an activity that anyone can take part in.

Daisy, Cybi and I are currently taking part in a class which uses the principles of drug detection dog handling to create something that any dog can do. The class is taught by our wonderful tracking teacher and, every two weeks or so, one of my dogs and me trot off to a little village hall in the middle of nowhere to work on their ability to identify the smell of various essential oils when hidden in boxes, luggage and indoor and outdoor search areas.

It's got a lot of traction in the USA, where the discipline is known as "K9 Nosework", under the banner of the National Association of Canine Scent Work and is in the very early stages of being established over here. One of the beauties of it is that it is intensely mentally demanding, while not asking too much physically, which is great for youngsters and older dogs, or those that don't have the physique for something like working trials. Another nice thing is that the dog isn't competing against others, but against a standard, so it's a better measure of how the dog is learning and progressing.

Cybi learning how to find a scented tea bag!

We're currently working on locating basil-oil scented items from all over the house. Apparently basil oil is repellant to most dogs, but my two both keep trying to eat the items, which makes me thing they didn't get the memo on that.

Find out more about the basics here

Weebles wobble....and apparently get carried about

Daisy and Cybi got a treat dispensing toy for Christmas which they are having a really fun time with. It's made by a company called "Ethical" under the brand Contempo, and seems to be more easily available in the USA, though we got ours from The Range here in the UK.

For those that are old enough, the thing it reminds me of the most is a "weeble". It's heavily weighted in the base, so it will rock when bumped by a nose or paw and then return to upright.

The base can be filled with treats, and there's a dial which determines how easy it is for the treats to get out of the base, and into the main part of the toy. Then there are a couple of holes in the top of the toy that let the treats out when the whole thing is rolled or tipped in the right way.

The idea is really sound, although I wouldn't let them play with it unsupervised, as the plastic is quite flimsy higher up the egg, and as quickly became obvious, the shape is very tempting to pick up and carry about. Neither of my two are really heavy chewers, but I think I'd be concerned about letting a dog with chewing tendencies play with this - too easy to get through the top.

This video (apologies for the quality - it was dark!) show Cybi getting to grips with his new toy. And also getting frustrated by his new toy and having a little temper tantrum, bless him.

New Year, same old training

Well, it's the first day of 2015, and I'm already trying to decide which of the multiple training disciplines that the dogs are involved in we should work on this afternoon. My dogs and I are definitely overcommitted, I do know that, but it's hard to decide against any particular sport when they and I both enjoy it, and the variety keeps them interested and engaged. Plus, I guess it's me that has one eye on competing with them, and getting them to the standard they need to be at in order to do so - they don't care, as long as they are having fun. Given that, if it takes a little longer to reach the required level in each thing because they do more things then really, who cares?

The pair of them have had really quite an extended Christmas vacation with no training at all, so I'm expecting today to be an absolute disaster whatever we do. The various clubs we're part of all finished relatively early (complete with Christmas parties for most) and then unfortunately a spot of personal life drama got in the way of a smooth run up to the actual Christmas period, and completely blew out the prospect of getting anything done between Christmas and New Year. Doubly disappointing, as we were scheduled to go on a series of workshops over a day that dealt with the foundations of 2x2 weaves, crate games and beginning to put agility sequences together, that would have been perfect for my pair's experience level.

Updated: I opted for tracking training. A nice easy start back, and something that they both do enthusiastically, especially Daisy. We'll probably do a short session later on finding treats hidden in boxes and dotted around the kitchen as well, in advance of their next scent work training session on Thursday.  Still need to work on those corners though - this slightly blurry video is from their last session learning to track. Daisy has got the cornering thing somewhat better sorted than Cybi, who still seems to be working partly by sight, but they both need to get the idea embedded that they need to be paying attention for the possibility of a 90 degree bend in the scent they are following.




And it wasn't a *complete* disaster, although they have both done better in the past. I guess it's kind of like the first day back in work after a holiday, and your brain feels like cotton wool :)

The Ladder

Today, Daisy and Cybi had an agility lesson that focused primarily on core work and body awareness. It was a bit of a new one for both of them, but they did both do very well, albeit with some unscheduled entertainment. Both dogs are getting quite good at "offering" behaviours in the absence of specific instructions, so getting a reward for putting one paw on the wobble board quickly advanced to two, then three, then all four (for Daisy anyway - Cybi was not leaving the ground with that fourth paw for any reward! Next time.) Then we had a go at wobble cushions, which Daisy, being quite coordinated, figured out without an issue, and in fact could change position on a biggish cushion without any sign of even noticing that the surface under her feet was wobbly. Cybi was decidedly unconvinced by the whole "moving surface" thing, but could stand on the spot ok.

Then, we had a go at cavaletti. The idea is to teach the dog to think about all four limbs, rather than just let the hind legs follow where the front ones lead, and to begin to use the hindlimb muscles to help power the dog along. I think (not an expert on this) it's similar to the changes asked of a horse before jumping, so that it learns to propel itself along with its back end, rather than being off balance over its front end.

The one at the training centre is a box with poles that can be slotted in depending on the size of the dog and whether it is walking or trotting, but I can't find a picture of that exact thing. Kind of similar to this, only with all the poles in:

source: http://www.pudelforum.de/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=13518

We're going to be using cone-cavaletti at home, because they are easier to get hold of:

Daisy tried it first, and high-stepped over each pole like a little Hackney show pony. Didn't touch a single pole.She has pretty good limb awareness, so that wasn't a big surprise. Then Cybi had a go. Poor little chap doesn't understand that he has hindlegs at the best of times, and as far as he's concerned poles are for leaping over. He initially demonstrated that he could clear the entire box from a standing start, which was impressive, but not quite what I'd asked for, so I ended up bribing (I believe the technical term is "luring") him into taking it a bit more steadily and stepping over the poles. It was very hard to keep a straight face, as he first of all followed the treat by walking his front legs out as far as they could go, leaving his hind legs on the spot,  then realising he was at full stretch and he hadn't got the treat yet. Then he tried jumping his back legs up to his fronts, leaving all four limbs crammed into the same small area between the poles. We took it even slower after that, and he at least got the idea that all four legs had to move - but partly because he has no idea where his limbs are and partly because he tries to do everything at a million miles an hour he bounced off most of the poles with most of his feet. No dogs were harmed in the training of this exercise, but I couldn't help but laugh at him, bless him. I think it will be very good for him for us to do lots of work on pole awareness and paying attention to limb placement, and hopefully he will figure it out in time...

Dog Ease Wound Protection

Last week, the company I work for exhibited at the London Vet Show, a huge exhibition and conference aimed primarily at the veterinary profession. One exhibitor near us was Dog Ease Wound Protection, a new, seamless, single-use body suit and surgical site covering made from bamboo. It's still in the early stages at the moment, in that the design has been completed but it isn't in full manufacture yet, but it got a lot of interest, and I think is going to be extremely useful. I'd have liked it to have been available when Daisy was spayed, as I think she'd have found a non-irritating bodysuit covering up her stitches rather easier than wearing a bucket to stop her biting it.

Dentaflex

This week, I attended the London Vet Show, where I acquired some samples of Dentaflex to give my pair. Dentaflex is being fairly heavily advertised on TV at the moment, and given my two are already developing signs of plaque on their teeth I'm keen to give them anything that will help me keep their teeth in good condition.

The product has two active ingredients, Sodium Tripolyphophate and Zinc Sulphate, bond with the calcium in a dog's mouth and slow down the build up of tartar. In addition, the chew is a slightly abrasive material and shaped so that it will rub against the surface of the teeth while being chewed.
The recommendation is to feed two a week to help with doggy dental care.

Before feeding, I had two concerns: first that one stick is 6.5% of a 10kg dog's recommended weekly calorie allowance, so relatively high in calories for one chew, and the chew contains animal derivatives. While I don't consider this a huge problem in itself, unlike many dog owners, I prefer to have a good idea of what I'm feeding because Cybi is quite an itchy, fretty little creature and some foods just plain don't agree with him - it's easier to make an educated guess on what will work if I know what's in there. But we gave the Dentaflex a go, to see how it worked out.

Cybi liked his, and made short work of it. Daisy sort of pushed hers around on the floor, nibbled the corner of it, chucked it about a bit and then decided she didn't like it. I tried offering it to her again, but she really wasn't keen and just took it off me and rather sadly dropped it on the floor. I felt so bad that I had to give her a rawhide instead - she's got puppy dog eyes well figured out!

So an experiment worth doing but probably one we won't repeat - one dog out of two doesn't like Dentaflex, and the dog that did like it needs a reasonable amount of care with his diet and so ideally wouldn't have unspecified animal derivatives. Back to using a toothbrush it is.

Doggy Headcollars - Which one to pick?

The Halti Headcollar Halti is made by the Company of Animals and was the first headcollar that was commonly seen on dogs. It works in a similar way to a horse's headcollar, with the point of attachment to the lead being under the dog's chin. The idea is that it's easier to turn the dog's head than when the lead is attached to a collar, and so when the dog pulls it can be steered back into position.One concern with the way the halti was initially designed was that with the lead connection under the chin, as the lead went tight and the halter activated, the nose loop could ride up into the dog's eyes. This has been minimised in later designs, but is a product of the way the headcollar is built so can't be eliminated completely.
Pros: easily available, good control, easy to put on
Cons: webbing can be a bit stiff (older types - newer types have got padded straps), nose loop can ride up into eyes. If the dog pulls suddenly out to the end of the lead there is the possible risk of neck damage as its head is pulled around sharply.

The Dogmatic
This is a more complicated version of the Halti, which still has the under chin attachment, but has extra straps to prevent the nose loop riding up.
Pros: good control, available in leather or soft webbing. Won't ride up on nose, and gives a point of control under chin
Cons: needs to be ordered direct from site, so best guess on fit

K9 bridle 
This is intended to work in a similar way to a bitless bridle on a horse. When the dog pulls, there is downward pressure on the bridge of the nose, and pressure behind the head. The attachment point for the lead is behind the animal's head, between the ears.
Pros: no risk of damage to neck as the head is not turned, manufacturer claims that incidences of aggression can be decreased because downward pressure on the nose can break eye contact. The point of attachment is immediately and centrally behind the dog's head so pressure is applied symmetrically to the face. The nose loop runs into a ring rather than a clip, so doesn't need adjusting to lie flat against the neck
Cons: can be fiddly to put on, only available from website so best guess on fit (the K9 bridle does have an adjustment, but no clear instructions on site as to how to get fit completely right)

Gencon 
Similar in mode of action to the K9 bridle, this headcollar also puts pressure on the nose and behind the head. However, it is slightly simpler to use and fastens under the dog's right ear. The collar runs in a figure 8 aorund the dog's muzzle and then around the back of the head, with a plastic clip under the chin holding the two loops of the 8 in the correct orientation. The Gencon can be bought as an integrated head collar and lead - probably best for use with a separate lead attached to the dog's every day collar in case the headcollar slips off.
Pros: easy to put on (similar to halti), available online and through retailers. No risk of damage to the neck.
Cons: Point of attachment is off centre, so pressure applied slightly unevenly to the face and neck.
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Gentle Leader
The Gentle Leader is a hybrid of the halti-type and the K9bridle-type of headcollars. It is fitted in a similar way to the halti, with the point of attachment being under the chin, but is effectively two loops, one around the muzzle and one around the back of the head, so that when the lead tightens, pressure is applied both to the muzzle and the head.
Pros: easy to get hold of, easy to put on, uses a combination of steering from under chin and pressure on scruff and nose to reduce pulling. Very cheap in comparison to others (except Halti)
Cons: As with others that fasten under the chin, there is a risk of damage to next if pressure is applied suddenly

Canny Collar

Similar in action and structure to the Gencon, this collar fastens behind the dog's head, and is a simple figure 8. It puts pressure on the bridge of the dog's nose and behind the head.
Pros: no risk to the neck, simple mechanism
Cons: slightly fiddly as needs the clip under the chin to lie flat for the collar to work

Dentasticks: minty rawhide!

Dentastix are currently on offer at PetShopBowl, and since I am already a little concerned about the visible build up on both my dogs' teeth I thought I'd take the opportunity to give them something to chew on that's supposed to help. Admittedly, you're supposed to use them every day to get maximal dental care benefit which isn't going to happen, but I'd be fine with replacing other chews that they get so that they'd be chewing on something that might clean their teeth a couple of times a week if it looks like it might be effective.

Opening the pack was slightly disconcerting, in that the chews were dark green (not a colour I usually associate with health!), and smelt exactly as you'd expect a mint-flavoured rawhide chew to smell. It's not the best to humans, but it certainly got the dogs' attention.

In fact, I was surprised by how enthusiastic they were about the chews - Cybi will eat anything, but snatched his and didn't move from the spot, while Daisy, who is going through a picky phase, had to think about it for a minute or two but then settled down to eat hers too - and defended it noisily when Cybi tried to nick it.

I'm sure actually brushing their teeth is my best bet, but since they were so well received we will stock up on these while they are on special offer.

Dog Headcollars - why we are trying one out

Cybi is an odd little dog. When we are training in a "formal" environment like Good Citizens class or at obedience he is incredibly switched on, focused and driven to get things right. An absolute pleasure to work with, in other words. Outside of the classroom, not to put too fine a point on it, he's an absolute pain in the butt.

He applies his collie laser focus and then will not be swayed from his course. It's making walking him fairly miserable - I made a big effort to take him out without Daisy to practice walking on the lead, but he just pulls and pulls and won't be distracted from pulling by the bribe of treats, or a toy waved in front of his nose, which instantly blows the theories from training class out of the window because they rely on the dog being willing to work for a reward from the handler.
The only thing that makes him stop pulling is letting go of the lead completely (I assume because it takes away his safety net - he knows he can pull because he knows where I am due to pressure from the lead, and once that's gone he has to pay more attention) but obviously that isn't workable as a long term solution, or even a short term solution on roads, given he's had to be trained out of car chasing and still occasionally tries to indulge if a particularly noisy one passes us.

I have even tried taking literally one step at a time, and stopping each and every time he pulled ahead of me. It took us 40 minutes to get to the end of our street and by the end of it he was agitated, stressed and spinning on the spot with frustration, and I was about ready to rehome him. I'm joking, but only just.

With normal dogs, taking one step and stopping when they pull quickly teaches them that until they come back to their designated place (by my side) they don't get to go on a nice walk, with the extra bonus of being rewarded with treats for walking in position. With Cybi, all that happens is we stop, and he pauses where he is, at the full extent of the lead, facing away from me, and poised to take his next step. And I wait for him to realise that he is out of place, and come back to me, and he waits for me to take another step so we can keep moving forward. And I wait, and he waits, and I wait and he waits, without ever moving position. I can wave a high value treat or a toy in front of him and shout his name til I'm blue in the face, it doesn't get his attention. Even physically guiding him from where he is standing back to the correct position by my side doesn't dilute his focus on being out in front, so when I take my very next step he'll be back out at pulling at the full extent of the lead. Which is how it can take 40 minutes to travel 100 metres. when every step involves stopping, waiting, and then physically adjusting his position from in front of me to next to me.

Anyway, having tried him on a harness, to no effect (except having even less control of his pulling) I'm at my wits' end on how to get him to respond to me when we are out walking on lead, so I'm going to give walking on a headcollar a go. My thinking is that if I can turn his head when he pulls, he will have to be deflected from his chosen path, which gives me the opportunity to get his attention without yelling or pulling on the lead. I'm currently taking a good look at the range that's out there, in an attempt to get the right one for the job. I hadn't realised there were so many options until I needed one!

See the rundown of the options here: http://www.thetailoftwocollies.co.uk/2014/11/doggy-headcollars-reviewed.html

Spooky Pupkins for Halloween!

We were sent a link today by the Guide Dogs, to their Guide Dog Pumpkin Carving templates. They look absolutely BRILLIANT! I wish the mad collies or I had any artistic skills at all - we'd be all over this. Might give it a go anyway, though it won't look like this once we're finished...

See more images and get the templates here.

Sniffity sniffity sniff, or, scent tracking for beginners

A few days ago, Daisy, Cybi and I went for our first tracking lesson with Heather Donnelly, of Tracking Lines. I've been wanting to try tracking training for a while, especially with Daisy, while she's such a "sniffy" little dog, so I was looking forward to our introduction to it - I want eventually to try working trials with my pair while trials seem such a good hybrid of obedience, agility and scent work, but I'm a bit intimidated by the whole sport. It seems like such a small group of people doing it,  there are so few clubs and the dog has to be at such a high standard even to do the basics! My thinking is if I do some sessions that cover the different elements then perhaps I'll have the nerve to take them along to an actual club, and we can see how we get on.

Finding the actual field proved to be the most challenging part of the whole undertaking, as it turned out - I got to the general vicinity without a problem but then took the wrong minor road (there were two to choose from, and the unerring ability to pick the wrong path is a universal in my life - who knows, maybe it's some kind of metaphor?!) But we got there eventually, and got started.

Daisy had eaten her harness a few days earlier. She executed a surgical strike on the clips, leaving the fleece untouched, the the little horror. (Side note: the guys at dog-games-shop deserve an award for their customer service - I emailed them to see if they did repairs: they don't but they sent me replacement clips for nothing) so we had to borrow one from Heather - a beautiful tracking harness made from bridle leather. If tracking was something either of them end up being good at, I'd seriously consider buying one. And then keeping it well out of chewing range.

Teaching the absolute basic track using lots of treats was fairly straightforward for both of them, as both my dogs have quite a lot of confidence in going ahead of me, and enjoy figuring things out for themselves, and so they really quickly got the idea that they could follow a (short, straight) marked track and get lots of lovely treats along the way, as long as they sniffed them out. Even at the very start of their training, it's obvious that Daisy is quite careful and methodical and enjoys actually working her way down the track, where Cybi is motivated to do a job (in this case track) and is rewarded by the praise and treats he gets at the end.

Thanks to Heather's expertise, they learned to do their first corners (apparently tracks that are laid for competition are made of a series of straight legs, linked by 90 degree corners) and also figured that out quickly. Based off our first lesson, it would seem that it's me that is going to be the weak link - I now need to learn about tracking line handling, track setting (including paying attention to wind speed and ground conditions), encouraging the dog at the right moment, knowing when to let them work it out for themselves....fortunately, I have a handout covering the basics, but I'm sure I'm going to be the one screwing it up for a while yet.

Here are the tracks we learned over the course of two hours (the second two also repeated with the corner going the other way):

The dog started from the bottom of the track in each case, and the dotted line marks the "walk in", or where they learn to pick up the scent they're going to be tracking. The triangles are posts with flags on them - first post to indicate the start of the track, and the second to show the end  (or a corner). These later flags will be phased out over time but are there for the moment to give the dog (and me) confidence that they are going in the correct direction.

Doggy ASBOs

As of yesterday (20th October) the law was changed in England and Wales to provide an extra level of support to those dealing with problem dogs. While the new laws seem like a very good idea on paper, I have to admit to a little scepticism about the merits of the changes in practice.

I like that there is a non statutory component to the recommended way of dealing with dogs causing issues in their community (such as "acceptable behaviour contracts") because for any owner who has the dog's welfare at heart there's less of a social and financial burden to bear in being issued with a contract imposing certain conditions, rather than being taken to court. This is likely to increase compliance, rather than have the owner simply give up and have the dog rehomed or put to sleep - and practical application of the ABC by Eastleigh Council and Hampshire Police shows this to be the case. with 15 contracts in place and 15 dogs with improved behaviour that are no longer an inconvenience to their community.

My concern comes (as with any law related to dogs) with that small percentage of owners who have the dog as a tool or status symbol and treat it as disposable, rather than a member of the family. In much the same way that these dogs are unlikely to be microchipped when the law on identification changes, neither are they likely to be taken to a training class, or walked only at specified times.

If the non statutory approach does not work, then problems can be escalated via Community Protection Notices (I'm not a lawyer, but these look similar to an ASBO for people); an Injunction or a Criminal Behaviour Order (primarily where someone is using the dog for intimidation or has trained it to fight) .
The new legislation also allows the creation of Public Space Protection Orders, which prevent or require certain activities in specified areas (e.g no dogs in kids' play areas, dogs must be on leads etc) and are used much as Dog Control Orders were historically.

The down side to yet more dog-behaviour related legislation is it requires more knowledge to ensure that remedial action is taken via the most appropriate path way. For a lot of low-level irritation to the community (an owner persistently allowing a dog to foul, dogs that can escape and stray at will) these approaches create an addition to the local council or local police's arsenal, where previously their options were "do nothing" or "escalate via Dangerous Dogs Act or Dogs Act into the Court system", so in that case the advantage is fairly clear. For other issues (bites, damage) the issue is less clear cut.

That said, hopefully the new rules will decrease the cost and increase the efficiency of dealing with nuisance dogs, and thereby bring the average level of dog behaviour across the country up. One of the problems of being a responsible dog owner, or at least trying to be, is that often we don't get the benefit of the doubt because someone's mind is already made up on dogs due to unpleasant experience in the past. If this could be minimised, interactions between dog people and non dog people could be an awful lot less fraught.

Press release from gov.uk
Guidance on the administration of the new scheme