dig by dog

OK, we all know that Oakland County’s dog parks rock.
But is there something you’d change? Add? How do you feel about paying for dog park access?
Well, now is the time to make your voice heard.
Oakland County is seeking feedback on their dog parks with the “Bring in the Bark” online survey available now by clicking here.
I just took the survey — it takes just a couple minutes, gathers some information about dog park users and most importantly, offers space for you give advice and make recommendations.
Those of you who follow this blog know that Sensi is far from being dog park quality — he’s fearful, reactive and doesn’t do well around strangers and some other dogs (big dogs, male dogs, any dog that might possibly be capable of posing a threat to him).
Even though I can’t take him to the dog park, I’ve been to the beautiful Orion Oaks on several occasions and thoroughly enjoyed each visit.
But I love the idea of having small, private yards available for rent. We don’t have a fence at our house, so we use a cable to keep Sensi in the yard. This means he doesn’t get much off-leash time.
If I could rent a yard for perhaps $5 for a half hour or $10 to $15 for an hour, I’d be there every weekend. Maybe twice a week. I’d round up Sensi’s doggie friends, pile them all in the Jeep, grab some fetch toys and head out for some fun.
Oh, how I wish something like that existed!
And the yard doesn’t have to be dog-park-sized-large. All he needs is a little space to run around and do some zoomies in. Please Oakland County, hear my pleas! See the revenue opportunity that exists for something like that and make it happen!
After all, think about all the people out there with less than perfectly tempered dogs. Think about all the folks who live in apartments with no yards, or condos, or like me — people who have a yard that’s not fenced in and can’t afford to make that happen, but desperately want a space for their dog to just run around off-leash and chase freely after a ball.
Needless to say, I’m just thrilled that they’ve posted this survey and I’ll keep my fingers crossed for my wish to come true.
Do you have a wish? Make it known. Take the survey!

Check out some dancin’ dogs
Speaking of Oakland County, they’re hosting the “Awesome Pawsome Freestyle Dog Dance Competition” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. this weekend, Nov. 6 and Nov. 7, at Springfield Oaks County Park Activity Center, 12451 Andersonville Road in Davisburg.
The event is free and open to the public, but spectators can’t bring their own dogs.
Even so, the dog dancing competitions are pretty cool to watch. You’ve got to have some respect for any dog/owner combination that invests so much time in training!

Way to go Waterhouse!
Waterhouse Photography in downtown Auburn Hills has been busy this year collecting food for the Michigan Animal Rescue League. The most recent fundraisers were in the last couple of weeks of October, where pet owners received a photo session for their pets for a donation of $20 and a bag of dry dog or cat food.
More than 65 pets participated and more than 1,600 pounds of food was collected.
“We were so happy about the enormous response we received from pet parents traveling from as far as Port Huron to participate and more than touched by the stories (of) under what conditions some of the pets we photographed were rescued,” said Karla Waterhouse, owner of the studio. “All of the pets were so loveable, from the cute cats to the six-pound Miniature Poodle and the 100 pound Newfoundlander.”
Kudos to Karla and the Waterhouse staff for all they’ve done to help homeless animals!

Got a dog who loves the water?
The Troy Family Aquatic Center is hosting the “Dog Water Extravaganza” tomorrow for those pooches with a passion for swimming.
There will be three separate swim times for large, medium and small dogs. Dogs weighing less than 40 pounds can swim from noon to 12:45 p.m., dogs weighing between 41 and 65 pounds are slotted for 1 to 1:45 p.m. and big dogs, those weighing 66 pounds or more, can swim from 2 to 2:45 p.m.
All dogs must be six months of age or older, and all must be wearing their dog license.
Owners have to register their pooches and pay a fee of $11 for Troy residents and $13 for nonresidents.
You’ll get a commemorative t-shirt, but that’s not the reason to go.
Everyone knows the benefits swimming has for people — it feels low impact and is really easy on our bones and joints, yet it’s truly a huge work out for us.
Swimming is so good that water therapy is often used to help people rehabilitate from injuries and build muscle strength.
Think it’s any different for our dogs? Nope.
It’s just as good for them as it is for us.
Especially for those of you with senior dogs or dogs that have hip dysplasia or other joint issues, swimming is really good.
It doesn’t hurt their knees or hips and it isn’t overwhelmingly strenuous for them, yet it’s a fantastic exercise to help your aging, round-bellied dog shed a couple pounds here and there.
Which, by the way, is also important. The less weight on the dog, the less miserable their aching joints feel.
On another note, if you’re dog is afraid of water but friendly with other dogs, this may be a great opportunity to get them swimming.
Of course, you never want to force a dog into the water. I’m just saying, if your dog sees a bunch of other dogs swimming around and having fun, it may perk their interest enough to make them want to give swimming a try.
The event is co-sponsored by Camp Bow Wow and Longview Boarding & Gromming, and the Troy Aquatic Center is at 3425 Civic Center Drive. Call (248) 524-3514 for more information.

My dog’s reaction to his first sighting of a male turkey provides valuable insight into how a dog’s brain works.
Every morning between 8 and 10 a.m., a flock of about 15 wild turkey hens travel through my backyard. In the deep snow, they traveled strictly in a single file line across a path worn down the resident deer, who take the same journey through our yard twice a day.
With the snow gone, they spread out quite a bit more — some come up close to the house to peck at the gravel, others wade through moist swampy area also pecking at the ground, but I haven’t the slightest clue as to whether they’re drinking or eating.
I like watching the turkeys. I hadn’t seen them in the wild since I was a child up north at my grandparents’ cabin. Now, I get a great view of their large, awkward selves — the heads bobbing forward with each step and that giant body of theirs teetering on top of tiny little legs and feet.
All throughout the winter, it was the hens and hens alone who traveled the route. At one point, several flocks seemed to merge together and their single file line seemed to go on forever as more than 50 birds would walk through my yard.
Needless to say, Sensi is quite accustomed by now to seeing these birds. He seems to understand they are no threat to him and quite the opposite, he watches them with what I’d call a predatory gaze.
All this time, we had not seen a single Tom (a male turkey).
While driving home one day last week, a Tom crossed the road in front of me. I laughed at the red thing that hangs under its beak, called a Wattle (I think) because it was swinging violently from side to side as the turkey ran its heart out to race across the road.
It was my first sighting of a Tom.
On Monday, I watched the flock of hens cross in my yard and to my surprise, spotted a small Tom in their midst. And then, bringing up the rear of the flock were three other Toms, but these were the big guys. I was shocked at how much larger they were than the hens, their wattles looking nearly as long as my arm.
Sensi and I watched the birds intently, as we always do, and when they reached the top of the hill, one of the Toms spread out its feathers in that historic fashion we all know turkeys for.
Sensi’s eyes went wide, his hackles raised and immediately, he began barking with all the ferocity he could muster.
This, of course, was a reaction caused by the intense fear he experienced when he watched a bird transform from something he was used to seeing to a much larger, alien life form.
He didn’t know what to think.
He had no prior experiences to tell him this is simply something male turkeys do and as a dog, does not have the analytical capacity to assume, "It was a turkey a few seconds ago. Even though it looks completely different now, it must still be a turkey."
What can we gather from this about dogs? A lesson in generalization.
A dog will not know that a turkey can suddenly appear to double in size unless it is exposed to Toms who exhibit this behavior.
Why? Dogs don’t generalize.
What is new and novel is oftentimes alarming until the dog understands it is no threat.
The situation with the turkey can be similar to a variety of situations with humans.
A human dressed in jeans and t-shirt who walks into a room is one thing; the dog has seen this before, knows this person and is not alarmed.
If the same human walks into the room dressed up in a bulky snowsuit with a funky hat and a mask that covers 90 percent of their face, it is not a human at all to the dog who sees him for the first time — nope, it’s an alien life form, new and novel and the dog will tend to be fearful until it becomes clear that this strange, bulky life-form is non-threatening. Even though the human underneath it all is the same, the scent is the same and the voice is the same, the visual is not.
And this is generalization.
It takes a lot for us humans to really grasp what it means to not generalize, because it is something we do so naturally.
Lucky for all my readers, I’ll just keep pounding it into your heads.
Thanks for reading!!

• Church car park

• Church Lane

• Spring Lane

TIME	ACTIVITY	NOTES
11:00	Cortege arrives at Bulwell Main Street, junction with Vere Street (Bulwell Bus Station) where the cortege will temporarily halt.	Police Escort group will join the cortege
11:05	At the direction of the Escort Chief, the funeral procession will commence at a steady walking pace. Officers in uniform will line the street and join the cortege as it passes. Retired and civilian mourners are also welcome to participate in this act of respect should they so wish.	Mounted officer in lead position to take control of departure.
11:10	On first sight of the arriving cortege a lone piper will begin to play. He will pipe the hearse into position and play until it halts in position at the church.	Piper to begin playing from top of the steps.
11:15	Pall Bearers will escort the coffin followed by mourners into the church and the service of Thanksgiving will commence.
	During the service Ch Supt Phil Oddie (retired) will read a tribute to Steve and PC Ian Key (retired) will undertake a bible reading. A member of Steve’s family will also read a tribute to him and Bestwood Male Voice Choir will assist mourners with the hymns.	Phil Oddie has known and worked alongside Steve for many years, including time on Force Support as PC’s. John Wharvell (retired Dog man) will be singing with the choir.
12:15	The service will conclude and the family cortege will be escorted to Bramcote Crematorium for a private service.

The suburbs may be the best of dog worlds, but its environment poses its own special set of problems. While suburban dogs are usually not as restricted, regulated, isolated, and controlled as those in the cities, the very lifting of these restrictions provides a set of pressures for the suburban dog owner.

When suburbs do have leash laws, residents do not always obey them. In general, enforcement of leash laws is lax in the suburbs. The law may include a stipulation that the dog must be leashed or "under the owner's direct control." Having a dog under one's "direct control" is, of course, an ambiguous phrase. What it means in practice is that the dog is allowed to run free but eventually returns home. This is enough "control" for some owners.

Free-roving dogs often form packs or bite, a growing problem in many suburbs and villages. This is forcing suburbs to adopt city-type leash laws and implement zoning restrictions that penalize all dog owners. At least in cities, most stray dogs are picked up promptly and impounded. As a result, city dog owners tend to keep their dogs supervised, since they stand a very real chance of losing them if they don't.

Regardless of the environment, the only complete solution to free-roving is somehow to contain the dog on one's own property when it is not on a leash. The best and most humane way is to bring the dog into the house where it belongs regardless of the owner's interpretations to the contrary. Assuming the dog is indoors at least fifty percent of the time and is obedience-trained to come when called, there will be little or no problem of its going off its own property. When there is a problem, secondary backup solutions are to fence in the yard or to chain the dog, an unhappy alternative.

Some suburbanites persist in believing the myth that their environment is "country" enough to allow their pet to go where it pleases. (Unfortunately, even a country environment does not allow that.) The suburbs are not the country, and even if they were, that is no excuse for letting a dog run wild.

Many a suburban dog owner experiencing house-soiling, chewing, digging, or free-roving has considered actually moving out to the country, in order to have their dogs �roam free�. However, that would not help. Dog owners cannot do without having complete control over their dog. A dog will come when it is kept close by, oriented to the inside of the house, and formally practiced in coming when called. Most dogs who are running free in the open become less and less inclined to listen when called and become too relaxed when it comes to obedience. Instead, keep your dog inside, and either accompany it under supervision or leash it for defecation and exercise. If you want it to run free, take it to a park or large field and personally watch the dog.

The Skye Terrier has a long and powerful body with �teddy bear� ears and a long, straight, and medium to high maintenance shedding coat, with a soft undercoat. He is a sheepdog-like breed and a curtain of hair covering his face and eyes. This is a breed that is totally devoted to his owner. He is an active, patient, and independent dog, although not as busy as other terriers. This breed is affectionate with his owners but can be moody and stubborn. He is usually reserved with strangers. This is not a dog to be pampered. He needs a firm and consistent training from puppy hood as well as extensive handling and socialization. The Skye Terrier can become passive-resistant and is quite difficult to be trained on the �Stay� and �Come� commands. He has a tendency to bite if provoked or pushed too hard.

Size: The Skye Terrier stands 9-10in at the shoulder and weighs between 20-25lb.

History and origin: This breed was developed in the 17th century Scotland on the rocky Isle of Skye. He was initially used as a vermin-killer and was bred low to the ground in order to have access to tight dens and burrows of rodents. His long coat served as protection against bites of his prey. This breed evolved from the small earth dog kept in Scotland it hunt foxes, badgers, and other vermin. Although the Cairn and other breeds existed in the Highlands, it would seem that the Skye developed a unique appearance.

Feeding: Recommended feeding for the Skye Terrier is 1-1 � cans of high quality meat product (13.3oz size) with biscuit of the same amount in volume or 3 cupfuls of complete dry food.

Exercise: An apartment is suitable for this dog provided he gets plenty of exercise. He will need to be walked several times a day.

Grooming: A daily brushing and once a week combing using a wide-toothed comb are required for this breed. The coat is very absorbent and will smell and mat easily if not kept dry.

We enjoy watching our dogs unwrap gifts, with a couple caveats — it’s got to be their toys and it’s got to be on our terms.
That means no sneaking under the Christmas tree one week beforehand and stealing arbitrary gift boxes to unwrap.
Think about what the ideal situation would be. On Christmas morning, you pull out your dog’s gifts from under the tree and create a little pile especially for him just as you do for your other family members. You hold one up to him and say, “Open it up, pal, this one’s for you!”
When he’s done unwrapping and everyone’s had the opportunity to coo over how cute and human-like he is, he runs around with the new toy in his mouth, his tail wagging and chest protruding with pride.
Then you say, “Come ‘ere boy, I got another one for ya,” and he trots excitedly back to you, ready to do it all over again.
Keep this entire image in your head and do not stray from it. This is important.
The dog will quickly start making associations, usually “wrapped gift equals toy for me.” After the second or third unwrapping experience, he may completely lose interest in the toy that’s inside and instead move on to the next box, ready to do it all over again.
This is not good. If the dog quickly discards the toy and heads for another box, stop him. You may even give him a correction command, like “No!” or “Bad!” to stop him in his tracks. If you have to, put the remaining wrapped boxes up and out of his reach.
Tease him with his new toys and try to get his attention with them. If he’s determined on unwrapping more gifts, he may move in on the next person and their pile, whether it’s your 2-year-old, 15-year-old or yourself. If he does this, be swift with the correction.
“Bad dog!” as soon as sniffs out a box. “Go lay down!”
Let him sulk for a moment, then tease him again with one of his newly unwrapped toys. Once he appears to have forgotten about those magical wrapped boxes, you are free to give him another one.
The key is in the giving, literally. You want your dog to make the association that he may open gifts once you or another human hand has given them to him and encouraged him to open them, and only then.
This means he may not select his own boxes to open. He may not start unwrapping random boxes on the floor. In order for Fido to unwrap, there must first be a hand extending a gift to him. Not even the slightest of deviations should go unnoticed or without a simple “No!” correction.
By setting up the game this way, your dog has parameters by which he can understand the whole ordeal. Otherwise, how would he know that he can’t open any ol’ gift that’s laying around?
Think about a 2-year-old for a moment. If we never took the time to teach them that gifts can only be opened at certain times and that only certain gifts were meant for them, don’t you think they’d be going around, opening up any wrapped box they laid eyes on?
Dogs are the same.
My sister, by the way, used to put a baby gate around the bottom of the tree for a couple years. Bubba did enjoy stealing gifts every now and again and the baby gate proved to be an effective solution for her.
With time and as the number of children in the household grew (hence meaning there were more birthdays for children where there were not gifts for the dog, providing the dog with many experiences where he was told “No!” when he went to open gifts that were not his), Bubba learned that not all gifts were meant for him. Nowadays, she doesn’t have to worry about him sneaking off with a gift.
So, enjoy an unwrapping experience with your dog this Christmas. Just make sure the only gifts he opens are the ones you hand directly to him.

All summer long weve been waiting for our tomatoes to ripen and this looks like the week that the garden has started turning red. Tomatoes are high in Vitamin C, beta-carotene and lycopene that seems to always be in the news for its anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and heart healthy properties.

Eddie

A friend of mine emailed me for some advice about her dog Eddie, a 3-year-old, non-neutered Jack Russell (Parsons Terrier) and Rat Terrier mix. She said he used to stay in the yard with them, but lately has been prone to running off.

"Is it spring fever?" she asked.

No. It is definitely not spring fever.

The first question to ask yourself if youre encountering such a problem is, have I done any active training, using a positive reward method, to teach my dog that hes supposed to stay in my yard?

A dog does not inherently know that his territory has boundaries. Thats the first thing that needs to be taught. Secondly, he needs to be proofed against any and all distractions that he may encounter while in the yard.

What do I mean, proofed against distractions? Well, how about rabbits, deer, birds, other dogs, cats, people walking by the road, etc. If he saw a rabbit in the backyard and it took off running into who-knows-where, what would he do? Dog law says hed probably chase it. That much is inherent. And so, you have to train against it. Usually, you do this with a recall command. And remember, whatever youre asking your dog to do has to be more attractive to him than whatever it is you dont want him doing. So ask yourself, does coming to you for a dry dog treat compare in the least to chasing wildly and freely after a bunny rabbit? Probably not. Chasing a bunny is probably a 10 on most dogs scale of awesome things to do; getting a dry dog treat from you in exchange for coming when called is probably like a 4.

This means you need to activate the prey drive in order to train against the prey drive. I followed instructions in Culture Clash (book by Jean Donaldson) and used a brand-spankin new toy — a stuffed animal rabbit, just to be cute! — to train the recall. I put Sensi in a sit-stay, starting at about 5-feet away from me, and when I called him to come, I spread my legs out (and brace for impact!) and tossed the toy through my legs and behind me, creating a tunnel for Sensi to run through in order to chase after his toy. Now, youre activating the prey drive while teaching the recall command. I gradually moved him and practiced at different distances. Then, Id surprise him while he was just moseying around in the backyard. Then, we practiced the same exercise in the front yard, the side yard, etc.

But theres a problem with this training, and that is the fact that it relies on your presence to call the dog. If you want to be able to just let your dog outside and feel confident hell stay within the confines of your yard, its not going to help. You can instill the strongest recall in the world, but if youre not there to give the command, the dog is going to do as he pleases.

Personally, Im not sure its possible to proof against every distraction that could possibly show up while in the yard. You cant control the world outside your house, right? So how can you be sure youve proofed against every possible situation?

Because of this, I do not condone the theory that you can just let your dog out to do his thing, totally unrestrained, and trust him to follow human rules that he really doesnt know and hasnt been taught. If he spots a person walking a dog in front of your house, how is he supposed to know that its rude to walk over to them and introduce himself? How does he know that hes not supposed to follow that scent of rotting flesh from a dead raccoon deep in the forest? He doesnt. He just doesnt.

Fortunately, theres a myriad of solutions out there to help you keep your dog in the yard — fences, zip-lines, chains, invisible fences, etc.

But, why is that Eddie is doing this now, as a 3-year-old, when he has no history of doing this before? Its hard to say why, but this is something I often try to express to dog owners: why matters very little. Why is not necessarily going to let you know how to fix the problem. What you think may be "why" may have nothing to do with the behavior problem at issue anyhow, and we cant really check with our dogs to find out whether were right or wrong. So go ahead and muse about the "whys" but understand theyre not critical. The critical element is finding a way to fix the behavior problem. Why the behavior problem exists may or may not be something you ever figure out, so its best to put that question in the rearview mirror and drive on forward for the sake of solving the issue at stake.


Either way, the fact that Eddie is not neutered is going to contribute SIGNIFICANTLY to whether he can learn to stick around. Non-neutered male dogs are the most likely to roam and the most likely to cause trouble while theyre out and about. You cannot turn off the sex drive on a non-neutered male (unless you neuter him, of course!) and being as such, he has an inherent, instinctual need to find a mate. And dogs will travel miles to find one.

In addition to this, you have take breed into consideration. He is part Jack Russell and all terrier and what does that mean, folks? He has energy that will never wane, a fierce independent streak and a strong prey drive. This is a breed that needs not just daily exercise, but VIGOROUS daily exercise. He also needs some good mental draining exercises too to satisfy the independent hunter in him — hide and seek in a sand box (bury toys, make him find) is an ideal exercise for these breeds, which originally were used to dig varmint out of the ground. Treat dispensing balls, hide-and-seek with treats inside the house, agility and similar activities are also excellent outlets for these dogs.

Ive known at least one person in my life who has adopted a Jack Russell, only to find they cant handle the breed and wind up giving it back to the shelter. Dont let the size and cuteness fool you — these guys have some serious energy. As always, the first step in improving your dogs behavior is to make sure its needs are met. With a Jack Russell, that can be a challenge.

Of course, nothing is impossible. Check out this story about a North Oakland woman who trains her Jack Russells for agility: Stray brings home luck

And, heres some previous posts about why its so darn important to keep your dogs in your yard:
Another good reason to keep your dog in your yard
Dont let your dog go
Does anyone use a leash?

There are many ways you can reward your dog other than giving him his favorite treat. Generally, the more reliably your dog has learned a behavior, the more you can give him rewards in place of foods. For dogs who love certain things more than a treat, rewards can become a more important primary motivator than food. Many dogs will turn up their noses at treats if you offer him a game of catch.

Below are 10 examples of great rewards that you can give to your wonderful pet:

1. Chasing a ball or a Frisbee

2. Playing with other dogs

3. Chewing a chew toy

4. Digging a hole

5. Going outside or coming inside

6. Playing tug-of-war or chase

7 Taking a walk or going for a car ride

8. Swimming

9. Chasing birds in a safe environment

10.Anything else your dog loves to do

To "make a Champion," or, more correctly, become a Champion of Record, a dog must win a total of fifteen points. These fifteen points must include two major shows and be won under at least three different judges. A major show is a three, four, or five-point show, and since the maximum number that can be won is five, it must take even a top winning dog at least three shows to finish his championship.

Insisting that a dog win two major shows convinces us that the dog is capable of winning at shows where, because enough dogs are entered, you can reasonably expect to find an entry representative of the breed. Points are awarded to the dog who goes Winners Dog and to the bitch who goes Winners Bitch - and to these two only.

There are five regular classes in each sex in each breed: Puppy, Novice, Bred by Exhibitor, American Bred, and Open. The winner of each of these classes competes for Winners Dog or Winners Bitch. For example: the winner of the Puppy Dog Class, the winner of the Novice Dog Class, the Bred by Exhibitor Class, the American Bred Class, and the winner of the Open Dog Class will, immediately after the judging of the Open Dog Class, come into the ring to compete for Winners Dog and Reserve Winners Dog. Then the classes for bitches will begin. The winners of the Puppy Bitch Class, Novice Bitch Class, Bred by Exhibitor Bitch, American Bred, and the winner of the Open Bitch Class will, immediately after the judging of the Open Bitch Class, compete for Winners Bitch and Reserve Winners Bitch.

The judge, immediately after judging winners, also names a Reserve Winners Dog and a Reserve Winners Bitch, and this dog, the Reserve Winner, will receive the points if for any reason, usually infraction of certain rules of eligibility, the points are taken away from the winner. The Winners Dog and the Winners Bitch, immediately after the judging of Reserve Winners Bitch automatically go into the Best of Breed Class, the class in which Champions are entered, and will then compete for Best of Breed together with any champions of that breed that may be entered in the show.

Immediately after choosing Best of Breed, the judge will choose his Best of Winners from the aforementioned Winners Dog and Winners Bitch in the event that neither of these two was placed Best of Breed. After selecting Best of Winners, the judge will choose a Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Breed.