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.