Why you may want to reconsider a dog as a Christmas gift.

This little guy is cute but, he will
grow and he is a responsibility

Well, as Snoopy and Woodstock point out in the picture, Christmas is coming soon. It is already December. Seems like it comes sooner every year. Perhaps that is
because your Dog Training buddy is just getting older :).

There seems to be a lot of temptation for people to give dogs as Christmas gifts this time of year. Please consider that carefully. In almost all cases, it is really not a wonderful idea.

You all know that I love dogs. It is really a great joy to have a dog in your family. They are great companions and return your love many times over unconditionally.

As I have wrote in a recent post, dogs are also a responsibility.  While legally they may be considered property, they are living creatures. A dog will depend upon his/her people exclusively for care the rest of his/her life. With a puppy, this could be a two decade commitment.

Here are a few things to consider regarding dogs as gifts:

1. The financial commitment can be substantial. In my opinion, you have an obligation, as a dog owner, to provide for all of your dogs needs. This includes financial responsibility. This can be costly. See my previous post for additional information.
2. It is possible that you will have some difficulty with housebreaking (particularly with a puppy).
3. It is probable that a puppy will chew things in your house. It is absolutely your responsibility to puppy proof your home. You should make it safe for your puppy and puppy proofing can also minimize property damage. But, please be prepared, it is extremely likely that your new dog will damage or destroy something in your home (this is true even for adult, senior, and geriatric dogs).
4. Generally speaking a puppy is not a quite animal! He will bark. He will whimper. If he is a hound, he will howl and possibly bay. The hound bay is musical to my ears. That is the truth. But you and your neighbors may not appreciate the melodic bay or howl of your new  puppy.
5. Part of the commitment is training. As you know, I am a trainer and a substantial part of my livelihood is derived from the training of pet dogs.  But, even if you do not hire me or one of my esteemed colleagues. It is essential that you make a commitment to training. Even if you hire one of us, we simply work with you to teach you the techniques that you will use to train your dog. With enough work, I can get your dog to be a very well behaved and polite little guy or girl. But if I do the training without you being present or  you working personally with the dog, it is extremely likely that the results in your home will not come anywhere close to meeting your expectations or needs. No matter what, you must commit time to training! I realize that some of my colleagues provide dog training services that allow you to just drop the dog off for training then pick him up when the training is finished. While I respect these guys as dog trainers I do not agree with this approach. In order for training to be most effective you have to put work into it!
6. I strongly suggest that you maintain a fenced in area in your yard. I mean a real fence not one of these electronic shock collar devices. I realize this is not possible for everyone. If you do not have a fenced in area be prepared to walk your dog more often than you would with a fenced in area in the yard. If you need information on fencing in your yard or maintaining your fence, please contact me. If you are in the Atlanta area, remember that I also own a handyman business and I will be happy to work with you to repair your fence or put up a new one (depending upon the size of the job I may refer you to someone else).
7. Dogs absolutely require a significant investment of your time every day for the rest of his/her life. Please do not bring a dog into your home if the home is vacant of human occupants most of the day. Dogs are very social animals. They have been extremely domesticated and absolutely require human interaction to be happy and healthy.
8. You must make a commitment to walk and exercise your dog regularly even if you have a fenced in area of your yard. See my previous post regarding the importance of exercise.
9. Do your research. Various breeds of dogs have differing characteristics, needs, and temperaments. Some may not be right for your pack. Please keep this in mind.
10. Some folks are allergic to dogs. If you or someone in your family is allergic, please do proper research and stick with a breed that is less likely to aggravate your allergies. Remember a dog is a long term commitment and an allergy could make your life very uncomfortable. Remember this is not the dog's fault. It is your exclusive responsibility to exercise the proper precautions relating to your health.
11. Even if you get a breed whose general characteristics are compatible with your home environment, it is very possible that specific dog may not be as compatible. Like people, dogs temperaments vary widely from one dog to the next. Some dogs are shy and anxious. Some dogs are more aggressive and dominating. Some love to play, Some do not like to play as much. Some dogs are very high energy guys. Some are not nearly as hyperactive as others. When you buy a dog from a breeder as a Christmas gift, it is very difficult to determine the dog's temperament. Remember this is a very long term commitment. A dog who is wrong for your home could make life difficult for you. Training will also be more difficult in this situation. Most rescue groups allow a trial period. Each adoption BullyWag does has a two week trial. If the dog does not work out in your home within the two week period, BullyWag will take the dog back and refund your adoption fee. This is yet another reason that you should consider adoption!
12. If you are renting your home, please verify that the landlord is okay with a dog on the property. In most cases a fee is required and there are size, weight and possibly breed limitations. Please remember that this is a very long term commitment that will add difficulty and quite possibly expense to your next move.
13. Consider carefully bringing a puppy into a home with a very young child. A puppy requires a substantial time commitment. Also small children can unintentionally hurt a puppy. A puppy that is hurt or scared is much more likely to bite. This is not the dog's fault he is simply protecting himself. Dogs play with each other using their mouths. They also jump on each other. This is the way God made them. It is their inclination to try to play this way with people. There are training techniques to address this behavior with people. But, the new puppy will very likely jump on the child and may nip at him. Again, this is not the dog's fault he is simply doing what is instinctual to him. You must address this with training.
14. Because temperament varies from one dog to the next, if you have other dogs in the home, it is essential that you pick a new dog whose temperament is compatible with the rest of your pack. Again, this is very difficult to determine when you buy a dog from a breeder as Christmas gift.
15. During his lifetime, your dog is likely to become ill or get injured from time to time. It is essential that you be prepared to deal with this eventuality. It can require a substantial monetary outlay. But perhaps more importantly, your little buddy will be dependent upon you for care.  You may have to give him medication, tend to his wounds, etc. I have spent a few sleepless nights over the years caring for a sick or injured dog. I have also taken an occasional day off from work to care for one of my guys. You must be prepared to do the same.
16. Current vaccinations and flea/tick control is essential. Also regular heart worm tests and prevention is essential to your dog's health.



This is what happened when we did not adequately
secure the trash can. And these are my normally well
behaved beagles.

17. Long hair dogs require regular grooming. Please be prepared for this essential expense.

I realize the above points may seem negative and it may appear that I am trying to convince you not to get a dog. Please realize that is the polar opposite of my intent. I want you to have a dog as a life long companion. They are a joy. I get much more out of my relationship with my dogs than I ever put into them! But, in order to be successful, you must be aware of the responsibilities.

As you know, The Lovely Shane and I are active in dog rescue. We provide a foster home for one or two dogs at all times. We have both seen first hand the consequences of people bringing dogs into their homes without proper consideration of the responsibility. Many dogs die because they are turned over to shelters as a direct result of people not being prepared to care for them. So, for the dogs, this is literally a life or death matter. I will not sugar coat it, if you take your dog to a county shelter there is a high probability that he/she will be killed. The shelters do not have the resources to care for all the dogs they get and there are not enough rescue groups. This is reality.

Our fenced area at the dog training shack

I love my canine buddies and that is why I am writing this post.

If you are considering adding a new dog to your pack, please contact me at any time. I will be happy to help you find a local rescue group and answer any questions you may have. Phone calls and emails are free! I will also be more than happy to work with you to develop a training plan to make your new little girl or guy a polite dog. Because, as I tell you frequently, "Polite Dogs = Happy People". Let me help you to get happy toady!!

Till next time

These polite labs (Buck and Bailey) belong to my brother and my niece

-William-

William Moore Canine Training

678-702-4791

fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

William Moore Lawn and Handyman Services

678-702-4791

fayettelawnmoore@gmail.com

http://fayettelawnmoore.blogspot.com

Consequences of not exercising your Beagles regularly

Okay, my last post was about the importance of exercising your dog regularly. Well today Copper and Cody provided The Lovely Shane and me a reminder of why this is so important.

Last night The Lovely Shane and I attended a concert at Harp's Crossing Baptist Church. By the way, The Akins Family was performing. If you have not had the opportunity to see them I would highly recommend that you go the next time they are in town. It is really good Gospel music, a refreshing change from some of the modern contemporary stuff (at least in my opinion).

Well, getting back to the story, when we got home from the concert, Copper, Cody and I went for a long night time walk. We had great fun and were all tired when we got back to the shack.

Copper and Cody slept very well all night, as usual. They were both more tired this morning than is usual for them. Neither of them are morning Beagles but this morning they appeared especially lazy. I fed them breakfast and after The Lovely Shane left for work, I went out to do an estimate for a Lawn Maintenance job and to take care of some business in Fayetteville. I did not take the Beagles for a walk first because they seemed so tired. That proved to be a critical error.

By the way, speaking of Lawn Maintenance, I also run a Lawn Maintenance and Handyman Business. If you are ever in need of Lawn work or household repairs, please contact me (fayettelawnmoore@gmail.com). I service Fayette County and most of the adjoining counties in this south Atlanta Suburb.

Okay, so I was only gone for two hours. When I returned I found the destruction that you see in the pictures. Actually this is just some of the destruction. The bi-fold door in the kitchen pantry was knocked off the track. The kitchen trash was scattered all over the kitchen, living room and even part of the Dog Trainer Shack Office.

The Lovely Shane had been doing school work at her notebook computer in the office. She left a coffee cup there. Copper found the coffee cup. Copper loves coffee. He broke the cup. We later learned that he spilled coffee on the keyboard of the computer.

As you can see in the picture, the Beagles looked as surprised as me to find this mess :) .

So... lets list the mistakes that the Lovely Shane and I made here:

• I should have walked the Beagles before I left the house.
• We should have secured the pantry door better or removed the trash. (This is Beagle proofing 101 :) )
• We should not leave drinks (especially Copper's favorites) within Beagle reach.
• I should have probably taken Copper and Cody with me. I could have done that and normally would have taken at least one of them. But today, they really looked tired.
• Tired looks can be deceptive :)

Copper and Cody would likely not have caused all this destruction that took me hours to clean up if they had been properly exercised this morning. I am not suggesting that exercise is a miracle cure for behavioral issues however, in this case, I think our little angels were bored. They were not hungry because I just fed them before I left the house.

Remember Copper Whooper and Cody the Little Beagle are both seniors. In fact Cody could probably be considered geriatric. Cody has an bad hind leg from an old injury that never healed properly. If they can cause this sort of destruction in only a couple of hours, you can imagine the damage that can be accomplished by a younger, healthy Beagle.

You may be thinking to yourself, why did this Dog Trainer not follow his own advice and crate these dogs when he was away. Well, that is a very good question. The answer is that not all dogs are suited for crates. Copper has severe separation anxiety. He bent the bars on a crate shortly after I adopted him. He will injure himself if I crate him. Normally, he does fine with free run of the house. Cody is normally also very good outside the crate. I do not crate him mostly because of his leg injury and because normally it is not necessary. 

Our foster dog Lovey is crated when are away as was our previous foster girl, Penny the tiny Beagle. I do believe in crating however, like so many things in Dog Training, it is not suited for every dog. Not all training is cookie-cutter because all dogs are not the same.

So, again, remember exercise your little guy and girls and take them with you!

Till next time

-William-

William Moore 

William Moore Canine Training

678-702-4791

fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

William Moore Lawn and Handyman Services

678-702-4791

fayettelawnmoore@gmail.com 

The importance of exercise for your dog.

Cuddles and me walking on a trip to the mountains last year

Copper at work with me on a mild day.

 Sometimes I get frustrated because I don't think folks really understand how important proper exercise is to a dog of any age.

It is especially important for growing puppies but is also very important for adult, senior and geriatric little guys and girls.

In addition to the obvious health benefits for both you and your dog(s), it also helps them mentally and behaviorally as well.

In my experience, a large percentage of the problems and issues that my dog training customers experience with their animals is simply due to inadequate exercise.

Here is a partial list of a few of the symptoms of an under exercised dog ( I borrowed these from the Web MD site):

• Destructive Behaviors i.e.Chewing, Digging, Scratching, Eating remote controls, eating hearing aids (yes I had a student with a dog who did this once).
• Investigative Behaviors i.e. garbage can raiding, pulling items off counters, opening the cabinet doors to explore and perhaps participate in destructive behaviors :)
• Hyperactivity i.e. bouncing off the walls, awake all night
• Unruliness i.e. jumping on people, rearanging furniture, etc
• Excessive Predatory and Social Play
• Play Biting and rough play
• Attention Getting Behaviors i.e. barking, whining, etc.

Copper and Cuddles protecting the back yard

Dogs historically need a job to do. They need work. In some breeds this need is more pronounced than others. For instance terriers and shepherds very much need to have some job to do in order to be happy. Beagles, not so much :).

Without the proper amount of exercise, dogs basically get bored and that is what leads to many of the behaviors on the above list.

They also really need the mental stimulation that good, interactive(with the people) exercise provides.

Copper looking at something very interesting on the other
side of the fence (the grass is always greener there
 for some reason.

 There is a lot of good information available on how to exercise your dog.... there is also some not so great information out there. Here is what I suggest:

You don't have to be aggressive with it. I mean don't have to run any marathons with your dog or take him roller skating. I have mentioned before the importance of at least one good walk per day. This is a good start.  However, not all trainers agree with what I am about to tell you but, please resist the urge to get one of those fancy retractable leashes. They make proper leash control much more difficult and I have seen many people injured by them. That little line on them can burn you if you catch it on the retract. That little line is also very easy to trip over and become ensnared by. I very strongly suggest a good, old fashioned, flat leash. If you want a long one, you can get them 30ft. long if you like.

Cuddles and our normally very active foster girl Lovey
after a day of proper exercise.

Learn proper loose leash walking technique. If you do not know how to do this, Copper and I will be happy to demonstrate and teach you how. It is much easier to show you the technique than it is to write about it. It is one of those things that requires a developed feel. But, you can learn fairly quickly and easily.

It is very important that the exercise be interactive. Walking on the leash using proper loose leash technique provides a lot of interaction between you and the dog. Also, if your little guy or girl likes to play with toys, play with them. Play fetch or something like that. It is a lot of fun and it helps the dog exercise mentally.

Also practice some of the obedience behaviors with your dog (i.e. come, sit, stay, down, leave it, etc). This also provides some mental exercise.

Please use some common sense here. Don't over do it. And please don't exercise outdoors in the heat of the day in the summer. There are plenty of indoor places you can take your dog to exercise if you must do it in the heat of the day. Also be particlarly careful with the so-called brachycephalic dogs (those with short flat little  noses like bulldogs and boxers). These dogs tend to overheat easily due to their physiology.

If your veterinarian is an evil alien, let me
know and I will give you the name
of a vet who is a native of the planet earth

Small, short legged dogs will not have the endurance for walking that larger breeds will have. It is also not the greatest idea in the world to exercise dogs heavily immediately following a meal.

Please also remember, the sight hounds are typically sprinters. They are not endurance dogs. Please don't overexercise them.

Obviously, if your dog has physical problems, do only exercise for which the dog is capable. If you are unsure call your veterinarian he will be happy to discuss it with you.

There are some benefits of regular exercise that may not be exactly intuitive. Dogs, much like people, remain more agile and limber with proper exercise. Proper exercise sometimes helps with certain digestive problems in dogs. Because of the interactive element of proper exercise, it is often a great help to timid or anxious little guys and girls.

If you need any help teaching your little guys and girls to behave properly on a leash or if you have any other training needs or dog related questions, please contact me at anytime!

Till next time

-William-

William Moore
William Moore Canine Training
678-702-4791
fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

Meet the breed: Border Collie

 The Border Collie is a herding breed. They are really energetic, fun little guys and girls!

Adult male height tends to be about 20 inches. The females tend to be slightly shorter. Adult male healthy weight tends to be about 40 pounds and the females tend to be slightly lighter.

There are varieties with short coats and varieties with longer coats.

The colors are quite varied. I believe this is a complete color list:

•  black and white
• tricolor
• red and white
• black and gray
•  yellow
•  yellow and white
•  sable
• all black

In my experience, this breed generally seems to be very eager to learn. They are extremely high energy dogs. They really excel in agility. They usually really love playing fetch with a ball, Frisbee, stick, etc.

Ironically, for such a high energy breed, I have found that many of these guys are sort of shy and timid. This is mostly true of puppies. Proper socialization is very important at an early age.

 As with most of the herding dogs, it is important to begin training as early as you can

Because of their instinctual herding nature, you have to sometimes stop unwanted herding behavior early. Many of these guys tend to nip at your heels when you are playing and they sometimes try to herd people as they would livestock. This behavior can be successfully addressed, but it is much easier to deal with it in puppy-hood than later in life.

I can not over stress that these guys/girls need a lot of mental and physical exercise. I mean several hours per day if possible. If you do not have that sort of time to put into a dog, the Border Collie is probably not a good fit for your pack.

Like most dogs, if the Border Collie does not get enough stimulation through exercise, he can become pretty destructive around the house. Many people get frustrated with Border Collies for this issue. Quite a few of these guys end up at shelters because their people simply did not take the time to work with them. These dogs, like all high energy breeds, need to work!

It is not nearly sufficient to simply walk these dogs a few minutes a day. They need more physical exercise and a lot of it should be interactive with the people. You can not just let these dogs loose in the back yard for a while and expect that to be sufficient mental and physical stimulation.

Please understand, I am not suggesting that the Border Collie does not need to walked on a leash. Quite the opposite is true! You should go for a brisk walk at least two or maybe three times a day with these guys in addition to the other exercise. The on-leash walking , in my opinion, reinforces the human/dog bond with these guys and for that reason I think it is essential!

These dogs are really cool because generally, their main desire is to please their people. They really bond closely with people in general and the people in their home in particular.

The Border Collie also has a quite remarkable stamina. This is part of the reason they require so much work and exercise. I tell people that when training a dog, most dogs are only good for about 15 minutes at a time of working on commands and behaviors. Most dogs lose focus quickly after about 15 minutes and further work is frustrating and counterproductive. My experience has been that Border Collies however, in general, can work on training much longer than that without losing focus.

There are a few health problems to which the Border Collie is more susceptible than are other breeds. The following is a list of the one of which I am aware:

• epilepsy
• hip dysplasia
• PRA (Collie Eye Anomaly) 
• deafness
• allergies to fleas occurs more often in the Border Collie than in most other breeds.

The Border Collie can be crate trained. Although he must have interaction with people more often than most other breeds. I would not leave a Border Collie in a crate or any sort of confined space for extended periods of time. Much like our friend the Beagle, the Border Collie can be quite the escape artist!

An interesting bit of trivia about the ancestry of this remarkable breed: The Border Collie is rumored to have descended from dogs that the Vikings used to herd Reindeer. So, if you need a good Reindeer herder in your pack, this breed may be a perfect addition!

However, the Border Collie is probably not the best choice for apartment dwellers due to the amount of exercise that they require.

Because they are so eager to learn, they can make great service dogs!

If you want an energetic, eager and fun little guy in your pack, the Border Collie is very much worth considering. If you have the time to spend working with these guys they make very loyal, intelligent, and eager companions!

As always, please consider adoption when adding a new member to your pack! Also consider an adult or senior dog, these guys need forever homes too and they make great additions to your pack!

If you have questions about rescue groups in your area from which to adopt, please contact me. Also contact me with your general dog and dog training needs at any time!

Till Next Time

-William-

William Moore
William Moore Canine Training
678-702-4791
fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com






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