Monthly Archives: June 2012

Paws & People has a new home – year round facility!

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We have a home! Yes, that’s right. After nine years of seasonally leasing space, we are moving into a year round facility, indoor/outdoor, and we’ll have a toilet!

It feels so strange to be so excited about this move, but there is something good about it, on pretty much every level!

It didn’t come easy either. When looking for a facility I faced about 50+ NO’s, weird covenants, and an  unimaginable amount of messages that were simply never returned. Funny thing, in a town that is billed as dog friendly, landlords were specifically turning me down because they all felt dogs were a problem around town and didn’t want anything to do with that. For years I have said that Bozeman was not dog friendly, but dog tolerant. There are so many people in town that have become such bad ambassadors for dog ownership, that it almost crushed the possibility of us getting a great facility. Luckily I found an owner who did believe in our business to give us a shot!

When I founded my business a bit over nine years ago, I had not a clue about running a business. I wanted to train, I was fairly good at it, and I couldn’t imagine spending my days any other way. But just like any small business, if you follow your passion and neglect the business side, it’ll come and bite you in the ass. And it did.

I was happily training away, building my clientele, increasing my skills, competing in three sports, and totally avoiding my office. The paper work piles grew and took on a life force of their own, and started to walk on their own and follow me around the house. Yet I continued to avoid them. Surely the better I became at training, the more manageable the office would be? Not sure where that logic came from, but for all of you small business owners just starting out, a heads up, it didn’t work very well.

While I was making all of these business mistakes, my business continued to grow. How’s that for ya? I loved what I was doing so much, that word of mouth and some small advertising things here and there were creating a strong base. But as my bank told me, if not once than maybe a hundred times, ‘Nancy you have the tiger by the tail, you have the skills and the enthusiasm, now get your business act together’.

So I hired an accountant, who also did my book keeping, who also answered some of my business questions, and who listened, and I think was also my therapist. She inspired me to become better at business. And I did.

I found out I really liked running my business once I learned how to do it efficiently. Today after nine years I can tell you I love being a business person and a trainer.

Paws & People has a client base of over 2,600 today. That is a number that makes me smile from a very loving and grateful place. Some of our original clients are now starting their second or third dog with us, some have become my good friends over the years, and some have been invaluable with their kindness, humor, support, and random cups of coffee! That my clients trust me and keep coming back to learn more, well that does it for me. There is simply no better feeling, and no better way to say thank you.

Many of these clients have moved with us as we have moved to different locations around the valley. Some have helped fence with us, pick rocks, mow grass, and hang signs. Their belief in Paws & People inspired me. It’s kind of like I put out a ton of energy during classes and privates, and then it bounced and was given back to me. This exchange of all the right things is truly the base for all of the good that is happening. And it actually became the culture for my business before I knew businesses could have a culture.

I hope to chronicle the clean up, renovations, move in and grand opening! I’m so excited that I actually might buy a big fat ribbon, large scissors, and a bottle of champagne to christen the grand opening moment! Or we could just order in Taco Del Mar and beer and celebrate that way too?!

With gratitude and a freaking ton of happiness right now, Nancy

the proof is in the pudding … walk on & wait training

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The proof is in the pudding! I like this phrase, it’s a delicious word picture for me. But it’s the meaning behind it that I really like, it means that the true value or quality of something can only be judged when it’s put to use. 

I am a person that learns by doing. If I want to learn the Tango, I have to get out on the dance floor with an instructor and do it. I could not, even in my wildest dreams, open a  book and read about the Tango and hope to understand how to do it, let alone the nuances behind the moves. And most importantly for me, how it feels to actually execute the moves. Learn by doing, that is me at the core, whether it’s dancing or dog training.

Treibball, the new sport in the dog world, is breathing some fresh air into training. It is challenging and wonderfully weird. As with everything I do, I just jumped in to do it.

At certain learning stages it can feel awkward, and yet at other times wildly fun. I love that it is not concussive for my dogs or me, it is truly about team and working together, and it requires coming at certain behaviors with more creativity than some other sports.

All the behaviors I train for this sport, or any sport really, are trained with play in mind, play with a purpose as I refer to it. I like my dogs to fly, and encourage that, but I also like thoughtful. Combining play that has goals, instead of knucklehead throw yourself into the fence play, seems to work to encourage a strong team that works together.

Walk On and Wait are two behaviors that I feel are pretty useful for this sport, but can be challenging too. I use a mat or bucket for distance, directionals, tricks and walk on’s. I am finding this is helping with dogs that creep up on the ball or insist on pushing every time.

For me, it isn’t about the ball. It’s about word recognition and puzzle solving. While the task is for the dog to bring the ball to the handler, there are a lot of other things to think about while at a distance from the handler.

Here are two video examples

I filmed this today to demonstrate that just because the ball is there, it isn’t about pushing it unless the word ‘push’ is introduced. Playing around with different words, different behaviors with the ball present is really helpful. OH!, one thing I forgot to mention, when starting a new sport, always use the reward that your dog considers a great reward, not what you want your dog to consider a great reward. Super important to keep motivation high when introducing something new.

This is some fun we had this past winter while playing with walk on’s and wait. I wanted to strengthen the behaviors during play. We could literally do this type of work for hours, and I think we have!

Have fun working with your dogs… Nancy

treibball blind finds

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So I started Treibball about one year ago. I had heard a bit about the sport, saw my friends in Missoula getting started with it, and decided to give it a go.

Exercise balls are easy and cheap enough to purchase, so that was a selling point for starting this new sport too. After 10 years in agility with expensive and heavy equipment, it seemed dreamy to have fun colored equipment that you can literally kick into place.

I have started nearly thirty teams now in Montana, and frankly, I’m having a blast.

Today we did blind finds, meaning

    • sending them out to a place where they cannot see me
    • I cannot see them
    • then allowing them to get to the ball
    • pick it up and direct it back through obstacles
    • around a corner to me
    • working with about 100 feet of distance

Just last year -

My dogs weren’t sold in the beginning, in fact I’m pretty sure they thought I had finally lost it. What do you even mean, run away from me, find a ball, and push it back, really?

Ocean who was nine years old when she learned this new sport was not thrilled. She is terrified by balloons and when she walked into the yard the first day and saw all of the big balls, she ran for the hills. I was a traitor for sure in her eyes. I just let her play fetch int he yard with the balls as yard ornaments, and let her watch the others get acquainted with the game. When she was ready and offering to be close we started working. At almost ten now, this Grandma rocks the treibball! I am so proud of her.

$eeker is freakishly good, he gets this game, the nuances and all. And the bonus, his stay at a distance has improved by leaps and bounds.

Story, my honest and true steam train of a dog thought this was stupid and awkward. But as he does with all sports, he watch’s, takes his time learning the game, and then becomes amazing. His ability to direct with his chest makes me smile each time.

I have an arsenal of videos from the stirring the oatmeal stage (it isn’t very pretty or exciting, but int he end it’s imperative for a healthy foundation), to where we are now – VIDEOS

Have FUN, Nancy

what is your face saying?

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It’s all about the dog; dog training, dog body language, dog food, dog gear, dog behavior, dog tricks, dog etc. I believe that sometimes we are so focused on learning more and doing more that we over look some of the obvious moments with our dogs. Like what are we doing to encourage our dogs, or not doing and discouraging our dogs.

During our classes this week, we had some really cool discussions on handler body language. What are you telling your dog? Anyone that has done agility at the competition level knows, if you’re not consistent with your body language, you can look forward to the  train wreck on course.

What are your shoulders, arms, hips, knees and toes telling your dog? Does it look like your playing twister out there, or are you aligned and direct with your body so there isn’t any guess work? I play with three sports, freestyle, agility, and treibball. Consistency with my body language when I am working on directionals and distance are vital to success.

But what is missed so often, and is just as important in my opinion, is what our facial expressions are telling our dog. Have you ever seen a handler try to call their distracted dog with a nice voice, but their face is curled up in a knot of frustration because the dog isn’t coming? Guess what the dog might have seen? If I was a dog I would have to weigh that pretty carefully, ‘keep smelling this bush or go to scary person, keep smelling the bush or go to scary person… bush sounds better’.

Consistency in what we say, how we say it (tone), and what our body/face is expressing, is super important. Our facial expressions can open up a trusting working relationship with our dogs, they can also shut them down. Now I’m not saying to go around looking like a cheer leader all day, that would be just as freaky as frowning all day. But rather be honest in your expectations with your dog in regards to your communication. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard owners say, “my dog won’t come when I call her, she’s so stubborn”. When I stop and watch the whole picture, it is almost always the handlers body/face language that is actually keeping the dog away. Same thing with dog sports and working out the glitches, almost always handler error.

It really gets better once you acknowledge what you need to do in order to make things better and more consistent.

My daughter was kind enough to let me take these photos to give you an idea of the variety of facial expressions I see when people are working with their dogs. This isn’t exactly like the Sesame Street, which one of these is not like the other, they all might be valid within a specific context. But the context I am going to use is handler focus, working relationship, people interested in their dogs working with them not against them.

note – I don’t know the statistics on how many times we change our facial expressions per couple of seconds, but I bet it’s a lot. Keep in mind we are fluid and ever changing, this is just to assist handlers, and to be more honest and consistent with what they are telling their dogs. Sometimes tweaking the small stuff makes a huge difference!

Eyes to side, lips pushed forward and tight – no dog will willingly come to this. This face is stay away, even if the words were seemingly nice. Not a great face to encourage great performance. Handler needs to do something to relax and breathe and then start with their dog in a new space.

Eyes up and not engaging. This expression is a shut down of energy for dogs. Don’t believe me, go try it in your yard. If your looking to build more motivation with your dog, getting frustrated and rolling your eyes will not help.

Squinty tight eyes, crinkled brow/nose/lips. Dogs know the look of disgust. Again another shut down expression. If your dog does something that disgusts you, let it go and move on, this look will push your dog away.

This is the classic, the smile that never reaches the eyes. You may think you are being nice to your dog by smiling, and even a good faker of it’s OK, Really, but you don’t truly mean it if it doesn’t reach the eyes, and simultaneously, the heart. Ever had the experience with a person who does the fake smile with you, it doesn’t exactly leave you warm and cozy.

The look of disbelief, another shut down when working on motivation and the working relationship. let it go and move on.

Pretending to be happy by widening the eyes. Keep in mind, you can’t trick a trickster, they can sense the real meaning that something is not right. A good way to put a dog into conflict.

The smile meets the eyes, honest and sincere. A puppy would come to this every time. A great face to have when building motivation in performance work.

The smile meets the eyes with mouth open, the head slightly back, honest and sincere. A puppy would come to this every time.

Enjoy working with your dogs, be honest about what you are telling them, and encourage them with appropriate body/face language. It takes practice, but it’s worth it!

Nancy

they never forget their favorites

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End of the school year, beginning of the summer. I have never forgotten how that feels, but now I get to see it through the eyes of my children and dogs.

During the school year my dogs wait by the front door when the kids leave for school, and start staring out the window about ten minutes before they come home. They love when summer hits and everyone is home, it’s simply way more fun!

The initial blow out and celebration, bare feet, staying up late, sleeping in, and riding bikes over to a friends house, awesome. My dogs love it too. The kids are home and that means way more fun adventures for them. Hikes, mountain bike rides, and friends coming to our house to play soccer, volleyball, and bad mitten, $eekers dream games!

Everyone gets something new to start the summer. This year the dogs got toys that are similar to the toys they had when they were puppies, the excitement was crazy. $eeker was chattering, Story ran like a freight train, and Ocean seemed to be smiling all morning. They just never forget, who would have thought a pink Wubba could bring so much joy!

But then we scored big, Story now has his first, and very cool I might add, blingy collar! I always knew he could pull off spikes! This will be his going to special events collar, it rocks!

Happy beginning of Summer! Nancy

 

 

living with a dog outside of neutral – part 7

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Living is the foundation. While we have spent 10+ years with Franny, and have had to learn and grow a great deal so we could all be successful, living our lives together was always at the center of our thoughts.

It sounds rather obvious, but you might be surprised by the great number of professional trainers and/or behaviorists that recommended extended crating, extended kenneling, limited freedom, and a life on a leash. The Stockholm Syndrome was not my goal. Choice and trust within safe boundaries was my goal. I am a true believer in learning by doing. Again, it comes back to living. Franny has camped on the beaches of California, traveled across Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Nevada, hiked/ran a large portion of the local mountain ranges, and has been part of demonstrations in local schools. Her life with us, I would like to believe, has been full, adventurous, loving and to a degree complete. If only she could tell me.

While this list might appear somewhat overwhelming, please keep in mind, it grew over 10+ years. And it is still growing.

Diet -

One of the characteristics that separates wild from domestic is the ability/inability to eat within proximity to humans. Franny would not eat or look at food with us in the house or even near by outside. She killed and scavenged for her food when we first brought her home. The break through was a mistake really. We were remodeling a large section of our home, so we lived in a tent in our yard and had our kitchen set up under the apple tree. The BBQ was the center of activity with every meal. I started to just chuck meat scraps out into the yard while I went about my business in our outdoor kitchen, some cooked some raw, never putting pressure on her by watching or talking with her. I threw them pretty far out. During a weeks time, I noticed that Franny would start to wag her tail and watch me as I went near the BBQ, so I started to lesson the distance. She would now lay and watch me and wait. Over a months time, she would come close to my alfresco kitchen, lay down and wag her tail, and eat close and from my hand. BREAK THROUGH!

I had accidentally, and also to my great joy, created a rockin’ great positive emotional response to the BBQ, and what I could offer her. Now I could use this new skill of hand feeding for teaching and trust building. yay!

We transitioned onto kibble over time, but it didn’t go well for her. Her system couldn’t assimilate the high phosphorus and magnesium content in commercial food. She developed struvite bladder stones that had to be surgically removed do to their size.

She went on a full raw diet, based on Dr. Tom Lonsdale’s book, Raw Meaty Bones. We also used BARF prepared raw food, and then transitioned into making our own. All of our dogs have been on an 80% raw diet for the past nine years. Whole carcass in the AM, mixed ground meat, offal, a wee bit fruit/veggie, and crushed bone in the PM.

Raw Feeding Video. We use kibble for convenience on busy days.

Multiple Dog Household Feeding Video

Sleeping -

Franny wouldn’t come up onto my bed, no chance no way! She liked to be in a small dark corner of the closet, or in a corner of the kids room. My problem with this was, she went into a very dark place in her mind, eyes would glaze over, and we were not welcome. I wanted her to feel safe and comfortable in our home and especially when sleeping.

We put a dog pillow in every room for her, so no matter where she was she had her OWN space, but I purposefully put them in more open areas. In my bedroom I put a crate half way in and half way out of my closet, right next to the head of the bed where I slept. Comfy crate mat, comfy temperature too. We would fall asleep listening to each other breathe. For the first year or so I would shut the door of the crate so she was where I needed her to be at night. For the past nine years it has remained open. She still sleeps next to me about 80% of the time.

Now that she is older and likes a bit more comfort and warmth, her winter nights are with me on the bed. I sleep with a smile each night.

crate management -

Shortly after we got Franny we also added crate management to the house. She showed signs of property guarding, and I didn’t want to go down that path.

Every time we leave the house she is crated. All I have ever had to say is ‘Franny kennel up’ and she saunters right in. She loves her crate and it was conditioned as a good and safe place to be from the get go. I do not believe in extended crating, the longest she is in there during the day is 3 hours.

barrier management -

We live on the end of a cul d sac with large picture windows. Ten years ago we had nineteen young children and thirteen dogs on the circle, it was a freaking moving picture show everyday!And she had second story front row seating, yikes!

To watch this type of activity was completely over most dogs skill level, but Franny decided she would just bust through the window to get out there. Self control was not a strong suit. We bought stain glass window film and applied it so it went from floor to three feet up. I didn’t want to keep her restricted from the most use rooms in the house, and yelling at her every minute of everyday wasn’t on my list of things to do either.

Cutting out the visual was awesome. She could still hear everyone, which was good, but without a strong visual I could start working on calling her to me with ease and rewarding her coming away from the windows. We had it up for nearly six years before we did another remodel.

Now the windows are clear, she can see everything clearly. But the windows have been conditioned as ‘nothing cool happens here’ space. She may bark a couple of times at a dog that comes close to our yard, or a strange FED EX person walking up our drive, but comes right to me. Conditioning is so much nicer than forcing, and the stained glass film was pretty!

car -

Because Franny was reactive in the car and actually cracked a window I had to be creative about our travels.

I started to take her by myself to dog areas, park a bit away and feed her her dinner by hand while she watched the other dogs. As she visibly relaxed I lessened the distance a bit. Then I would drive by these areas and do the same. I was desensitizing, hopefully, and taking some of the intensity out.

While we can drive by dogs without  acknowledgment of their presence on this planet, If I park and leave her in the car, she will still off load with great intensity. So I don’t park any place with her that has that possibility. My presence is part of the package for calm in the car, I am under no illusion here!

exercise -

This was tricky. She wasn’t toy driven, a bit but not for any type of duration. She liked walking but it didn’t make a dent in her exercise requirements. She loved to run, but it was usually paired with running after something to kill. She was great at hiking.

I started to do backyard agility training for fun, and also mental exercise for her. To all agility fans out there, Franny is a dog that ran as fast as the handler, no more no less. If you were bullet fast so was she. She never popped a contact, missed a weave, knocked a bar, or missed a cue. She was perfect! But she had zero interest in the larger agility scene. She clearly was doing this for me, as she never volunteered to do it on her own. It proved to be a great relationship building experience.

Every night we played with fun tricks in the family room. My kids were used as obstacles most of the time, my husband a launching pad when we got into vaulting skills. Those are some of my best early memories.

My husband who is a runner started to take her on extended trail runs, 15-35 miles per week for over seven years. She rocked as his trail companion. They could pass cows, deer, bears, other hikers and dogs. She loved running with Spore! When she turned ten though she kind of started to refuse the outings.  I think this was harder on Spore than Fran to be honest.

things we taught -

She has gone through agility, freestyle, treibball and herding training with me. While none of them totally lit her up, she does enjoy a fun little session in any of these. Freestyle for sure has become fun for her as she ages. great mental and physical exercise!

sit

come to me

down ( without the threat of pain , fear or discomfort!)

touch an object

go to table (go to transferred into a whole bunch of stuff over time)

roll over

sit pretty

shake/bake

spin

twirl

bow

between my legs

in

jump on my back (she wouldn’t go across water when we first got her, so we taught her how to jump on or backs and we would carry her across)

kennel up

settle gets you everything, push gets nothing

hop up

all agility obstacles

watch me

now (if I really needed her quickly on a trail, now meant, post haste!)

stop and drop (if she saw prey to chase, stop and drop was the behavior we taught, we started this on a long line, see prey at a distance, stop, and a whole baggie of steak was dumped between my feet)

sit/stand/down when car goes by (incompatible with chasing a car) we spent an entire summer on old county roads working on this. My husband would drive the car two miles in either direction and just keep passing us. I needed her to hear the car from aways away and start working on her not setting up so much, and then offer a behavior that was better than chasing, a long line was used for this as well. Meat balls worked great too!

on by – when another dog was near by, for us to keep moving if it looked like it may not go well

stay

gate zen – so we didn’t have bolting out of our space, yard, house, car

drop

back – fun freestyle move

books -

These are the books and/or authors that have been with me through my journey and into my professional career. These are not all of the books I have read, but the one’s I found most useful. I went through a period of reading two books per week. And then I had my stack of ‘pleasure’ books as well that I was reading at the same time. Most of these books can be found at DogWise. Where it says everything, I read all of the books/booklets that author wrote. They aren’t all about dogs, but rather relationship, training, behavior and ethology…

Patricia McConnell – everything

Roger Abrantes – everything

Jeffrey Masson – everything

Suzanne Clothier – everything

Terry Ryan – everything

Bob Bailey – all articles

Culture Clash – Jean Donaldson

Jane Goodall – everything

Mark Bekoff – everything

Next of Kin (awesome!)

Applied Dog Behavior and Training (3 volumes) – Steven R. Lindsay

Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog

Crate Games

The Rosetta Bone

Applied Behavior Analysis

Learning and Behavior

Four Paws, Five Directions

Aggressive Behavior in Dogs

On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals

Peak Performance: Coaching the Canine Athlete

The Only Dog Tricks Book You’ll Ever Need

K9 Kitchen

When Pigs Fly

baby Sounds CD

Dr. Dunbar’s Good Little Dog Book

Alone Across the Arctic

A Shepherd’s Watch

Don’t Shoot the Dog

Disc Dogs DVD

Intro to all breed herding DVD

NATURE’S Dogs that Changed the World DVD

Rhythm Paws DVD

My Dog Pulls: What do I do?

The Well Adjusted Dog

The Elephants Secret Sense

things I’ve learned -

Everything! Franny has taught me how to open my eyes to the world around me, be aware, and build my skills. This applies in all aspects of my life. The one aspect of our relationship that continues to grow is our trust in each other. While love was not part of who we initially were together, it has grown over the years through the fun and dark times. When I look at her there is a feeling of fullness and depth. She is part of my personal biography, my every fiber.

Nancy & Franny …

living with a dog outside of neutral – part 6

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Franny is still very much alive so it would be unfair for me to conclude if the choices we have made for her have been right or not. The story is still being lived. I hesitate in the biggest kind of way to be a trainer/owner who works with a dog for a year or two, writes about how they now have a recovering reactive dog, and still have 10-14 years left of their relationship. Besides life with a feral dog is far outside the scope of just reactive, or just aggressive, or just anything. It is a way of seeing life unfiltered. Life has a way of changing us, our paths, and our choices. So our story is currently open ended!

She is old now, our Grandma dog. She sleeps a lot these days, even snores. She loves to be with me in particular, in her rocking chair close to my office. When we go out for walks, a mile is all she wants to do. She wants to do her sniffing and daffy Old Girl stuff when we are out and about. Basking in the sun on the back deck is another favorite, she makes it appear so delicious it really isn’t a hard choice to join her. Because she doesn’t move as quickly anymore, I find myself even more vigilant with choosing areas to walk her. I still find myself working on a stress free environment but for different reasons, old age.

I always thought that her golden years would be the easiest for me, but they’re really not. While she still very much has a dark side and opinions, she sleeps so much we just don’t see it as often. To be honest I miss her fire, her youthful energy, her wanting me to come down a path that was so unknown to me.

It isn’t uncommon for people to come to our home and fall head over heels for Franny. She is lovely and sweet and still adores that saturated touch. ‘We wish we had a dog as cool as Franny’, I just smile and say, ‘be careful what you wish for’ …

Nancy

ps – my final post will be a list of everything we taught and/or modified over the years, and to a degree how. I will also include the books I have read over the years that I have found helpful.

living with a dog outside of neutral – part 5

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the years -

Fran was now turning into Franny, Frannie Girl, Franny Bear, and about a dozen other names. She was settling in with us and us with her. While there was comfort on some level, there was still the side of her that caused some stress. As she started to age and come into adulthood, her confidence in who she was grew too. Not that this was good or bad, but more a reality check for me, for life.

The interest other dogs had in her when she was younger never subsided as she aged. Male dogs turned to jelly at the sight of her, females became more aggressive with her. But now she was willing and able to give it back. In all of the years she has been with us, even with the bites and acts of aggression directed at her during those first months, and some subsequent altercations, she has not once scraped, punctured, bit, or torn the flesh of another dog. She has literally scared the shit out of several dogs, going pilo erect and covering them with her body and basically screaming into their face, but never even a wet spot from an open mouth. Her restraint is impressive, even with dogs that had behaved inappropriately with her. This has always made me stand in awe.

When she reached adulthood, no dog misinterpreted her intentions, not one. With one glance she could send a dog away, with a step forward and lowered head she could make them run faster. When she wanted to play and interact, or even get a bit flirty with the boys, they all said yes, and I’m pretty sure she made their day in the biggest kind of way. If she lay down, not a single dog would disturb her. And she was just being Franny, she never had to prove anything to any other dog. She was a dog with some pretty heavy mojo!

She raised every puppy we brought into the house with grace. She would pick them up in her mouth and carry them around for the first few days, try to nurse them and hide them. She would show them the ropes around the house, and they all followed willingly. All of our household dogs have always had a great deal of respect for her. She even became Story’s muse for a few years. Again boy dog, he just couldn’t help himself. He was so into Franny, love struck on so many levels, and she couldn’t have acted more disinterested. Every once in awhile she would throw him a bone of sorts and play with him. Those were his happiest days as a puppy.

We had a list as long as St. Nicks with behaviors we were teaching and/or modifying. At the heart of everything was a great deal of patience and management of space. While the norm at the time was to get your dog out and socialize them to everything, Franny did best at home or in the mountains. Agility trials, events, and down town environments gave her a great deal of stress, she found solace at home. That doesn’t imply that things always went well at home, but she operated with more freedom of the mind and spirit, she took deep breaths, and we could reach her. She saw us when she wasn’t stressed, and this was the key to reaching her and moving forward together.

During this time I was a volunteer instructor for our local agility club, studying and preparing to become a certified trainer, and started my own training business, Paws & People. I was invested in the dog world and it felt so right, more right than many other cool choices I had made in my life.

I was also competing in agility, herding and freestyle with my Border Collies. Ribbons, titles, certificates of achievement, appearances on National TV, and articles where adding up. People knew me through my Border Collies. But Franny is the single reason why my other dogs had been so successful. Franny made me the trainer I was to become. She required me to learn more, do more, and most importantly, have the stamina and persistence it takes to own a dog outside of neutral.

Nancy

living with a dog outside of neutral – part 4

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moving forward -

When you have a dog that is wanting to learn, it makes training fun. It doesn’t necessarily imply that behaviors will come easily, sometimes yes for sure, but at least you have a partner that will hang in there with you and go for the ride. You can make some minor mistakes and all will be forgiven as long as you’re moving forward and things stay interesting and consistent for the most part. This shows willingness and/or biddability.Truly fun training partner!

When you have a dog that finds no value in the human trick called training, and basically in all gestures tells you, make it worth my while and I’ll consider it, you need skills, patience, and knowledge. If you don’t already have this skill set, then you need a willingness to get it.

more info -

I now had a mission, to make things better and more consistent. I would no longer take Fran with me to go see a trainer or to a group training class unless I was sure we were going to learn something valuable and that it would be enjoyable and safe for the both of us.

Phone and e-mail consultations became my initial plan. And then I jumped right into seminars, workshops and clinics.

My first was to Lyn in Utah. We talked several times over a one year period. He was my introduction to working dogs years ago, and I trusted him. He helped me work through some of my questions and concerns, and we came up with some management strategies as well as more appropriate work for Fran. Awesome advice all the way around.

My second was to Bud Houston. I didn’t know him personally, but I was getting to know of him through the agility world. With all of his knowledge and hands on work, surely he could help me with motivation?! I had no hopes of Fran ever doing agility for competition, but for training and relationship I think it had value. I cold e-mailed him, told him a bit of my story with Fran and he wrote back with a lovely e-mail including some great suggestions with agility backyard games. In signing he said, “don’t give up, your dog deserves your efforts”. With that simple phrase he catapulted me forward. FINALLY someone who I didn’t even know gave me encouragement instead of condemnation. It was empowering to say the least.

My next few calls were to people that were listed as trainers in the area. All but one of them told me of 1001 ways they could shock, isolate, pinch, choke, and humiliate my dog into submission. The one trainer who didn’t say any of that gave me some hope, so I followed through and met with her. While I didn’t learn anything new from her, she was kind and open to us attending some privates and well as a class just for reactive dogs. She was willing to let me be part of a community again, but with management and safety first and foremost. I picked her brain in regards to books, videos, conferences, clinics, workshops and more. I was on this huge learning curve and wanted more.

I attended conferences and seminars on behavior, training and veterinary science topics from coast to coast. The world was starting to open up.

My final call during those early years was to Dr. Patricia McConnell. I was active in the agility club with my dog Ocean and proposed the idea of hosting a big behavioral seminar. I had just finished reading her booklets, and much of what she was suggesting for a dog that behaved like Fran was honest, practical, and kind. I wanted to meet her. So I called, left a message and one night when I was eating dinner with my kids she called me back. It was like talking to a close friend. For someone with her fame and talent to be so tangible was refreshing and exciting. I’ll admit, I was a bit star struck too. I explained my story, what I was doing, why I wanted her to come, and she said , yes! I spent the better part of a year and half preparing, advertising, and getting the club involved. It was a huge success all the way around. In parting she told me that if I really wanted to do something with all of the knowledge I was gaining, get certified as a trainer and become a professional. I gained a friend that day and also a new direction forward.

on the home front -

Fran and I were getting along better. There was more consistency, more structure, and a more realistic plan for engaging with her. She would only go into her early Fran behaviors when she was stressed, so I learned how to minimize stress and to choose her environments carefully.

But there was still something that was nagging me, I still couldn’t put my finger on it. And there was something happening health wise too.

On a whim I called the shelter where she came from. It was the typical over worked, under funded, under staffed, and overwhelmed with dogs shelter scenario. They never kept notes on her when she was there. One kennel Tech that remembered us overheard the conversation and was kind enough to call us back. He remembered Fran well. He had the memory of her coming in as a feral dog. She was intact and possibly pregnant when she came in. Cautious, walked on tip toes, didn’t eat well. She got along with all of the dogs she was kenneled with, but older female dogs disliked her greatly. Holy crap! Here is someone who saw what I had seen during the early months/years with her, to the T. I hadn’t imagined anything.

No more than a month later when we were in PetSmart socializing and shopping, one of the employees recognized Fran. Where did I get her, how long had I had her? He proceeded to tell me that she was a feral dog that was found with her brother up in the Bridger Mountains. They were living in a culvert under a trail and some back country skier friends of his found the pair.

I had heard the word feral twice in a months period of time. I knew the word and the rough definition, but I didn’t know exactly how it was applied, and/or the implications with a dog that was living in my home.

So I went on line and started contacting trainers around the country that came up when I entered the word pheral, feral, farol, phairol. A couple wrote back, but I am pretty sure most thought they were being ding dong ditched on some level. What a wacky e-mail that would have been to receive.

I didn’t learn anything new from them, and there wasn’t a great deal of information to pull from. But I did come across a book that helped a great deal, Ray Coppingers Dogs: a New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution. He classified feral dogs into several categories and what I learned was that Fran was my second feral dog. My first would have been classified as a village dog, one that lived in and amongst people but belonged to the streets. Fran was a domestic dog that had been raised in the wild, she had gone feral. hmmmm

Did this new piece of information change my new plan? Not really. But what it did do was make me more accountable as her owner, handler and team mate. I now had the knowledge that she was being asked to live and function in a world that she had never been prepared for. It was up to me to create a safe, kind, and creative environment.

I also decided to get a DNA test done a few years later, curiosity really. She is a true mix breed. Here parents were mix breed to mix breed, her grandparents the same. That’s why she came up as NO DOG in those categories. There is a possibility that one of her great grandparents was part Samoyed, which would give her 12.5% possibility of having some of that in her genetic line. I always guessed that she had Heeler and some type of Northern breed in her. They offered to do a hybrid test on her. It isn’t something I really wanted to know, I was satisfied with what I had, so I politely declined.

living with a dog outside of neutral – part 3

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Mr. Toads Wild Ride, the first year -

If I look back at my choice in dogs, I’m definitely drawn to a particular type. I like my dogs athletic and agile. I value stamina and endurance. I want my dogs to have opinions, fire in the belly. And most importantly, dogs that are great problem solvers. I value team.

I have never once asked that any of my dogs be sweet, easy, perfect, or compliant robotic type minions. That isn’t interesting to me, nor would it suit my life style.

Now if you know anything about projecting, I more than likely described myself. In all honesty, I think that is what we value in the dogs that we connect with the most, bits and pieces of ourselves, good and bad, healthy and destructive.

revealing ones self  -

During the first year, as Fran started to feel more comfortable we learned more about what lay beneath the surface. Property guarding, chasing anything that moved (cars, bikes, deer…), killing small prey, playing with coyotes, flying off and out of things, cautious in new environments with people, extreme barrier frustration when in the car (she cracked the window trying to get to a dog on the street). She also was showing beautiful settle in the home, loved children, was eating better, wanted to play with me a bit more, showed interest in learning with me, tricks, agility, and trail behaviors.

settling in -

The more Fran started to settle in, the more of her we were able to get to know. She wasn’t forthcoming with anything though. I was learning that she was a dogs dog, loved being a dog, doing dog things, and really had no time or need to invest any of herself in anything human. It was some how, ever so slightly, offensive to her.

Piper loved her from the start, and this relationship I felt was mutual. Piper drew pictures of her, they would play in the yard together, and played dress up daily. I can’t even count how many times Fran fell asleep dressed up as one of Pipers Princess friends, Buttercup was a favorite.

It was charming. But there was something else brewing. Everyone that came to the house would remark at how awesome Fran was, so mellow, patient, sweet and lovely. Yes it would appear so, but in reality it was more like having a Ferrari in our living room, idling quietly, and waiting for that ounce of pressure to be applied to the gas pedal.

initial training -

My goal was not to work on sit, down, stay or even come. My goal was to have her eventually eat what I presented and stop killing and eating her own food (I felt this was imperative, call me silly!), help her feel comfortable and take a deep breath, and get to know us and hopefully like us.

I went into the yard with some toys and started to play with them, throw them, hide them, run away with them. I wanted to see where her interest was. She just lay there with her paws crossed and watched me, intently. Then she got up, stretched, and sauntered off in the opposite direction. She turned to look at me once, and shook her head, and continued her saunter away. I remember saying, “Are you kidding me, I’m fun!” She simply wasn’t impressed.

I wasn’t new to dogs or training, I worked on the Park City Ski Patrol for four years, two were on the K9 avalanche team, and two in the back country summer conditioning with the dogs, rough I know! I had the amazing fortune to work with Lyn King, a talented and unassuming handler. He taught me a great deal about play, motivation, scent work, tracking, relationship, trust, and balance. But this was something I did for work, surely it wasn’t the same for a family dog?

I started to think that maybe it would be good for me to take a group training class, surely I would learn more? I was 37 years old and signed up for my first family pet training class, I was so excited I could barely sleep the night before. I had never seen or heard of a pinch collar. Even after 37 years of living with dogs, and four working with them professionally, this was a first. My initial thought was, wow when did punk rock become so main stream in the dog world!

The trainer seemed nice enough, she was kind of funny in a caustic kind of way. She put the pinch collars on all of the dogs and said to leave them on for a week and then come back. See ya all next week.

I went home, took it off and went about family living. I didn’t go back to this class for three weeks, something just didn’t feel right.

Fran was following me around, eating what I would throw to her from the BBQ, play a bit, and was proving to be an amazing trail dog. It was coming together in bits and pieces.

But I did pay for the class, so I went back at week four. Fran and I ran the 1 1/2 miles to the barn in the evening, arrived happy and ready to learn, we were the only ones smiling. It was the night to teach lay down. Fran already new this, if I stopped moving she would lay at my side. I had been working on this at home when I was in the kitchen. And since she was now taking food from my hands, this was even more thrilling to me, a two-fer. But since I was the truant student, she used us as an example for teaching down. When I mentioned she new it, not with the word, but knew how to do it, the instructor smirked, took the leash and stepped on it as she yanked the other end up. Fran started to scream and my mouth dropped in horror as tears erupted from my eyes. THIS is what that pinch collar is for?

I was laughed at by the instructor in front of everyone. She told me I was weak and my dog was trying to control me. In that moment I didn’t feel weak, I felt like an idiot and abuser who on some level should have known better. Fran must have felt like she had entered hell. We ran the 1 1/2 miles home in silence. I hung the pinch collar in the garage, sat down and thought long and hard. I needed to get my shit together, I think Fran was thinking the same thing.

I continued the class sans collar, part of me getting my shit together was learning who I didn’t want to be, with or without my dog. The class proved to be valuable in this respect. It confirmed the path I wanted to take, clarified my training choices, and gave me purpose.

trail work -

After that little slice of hell called a class, I found solace with Fran out in the mountains on trails. Fran felt complete. When I had the kids with me, she stayed about 10 feet in front of us and would check in often.

Then on one occasion she bolted up the hill side, stayed on the ridge and just parallel tracked us. hmmm

On another hike she bolted and came back, within 100 feet or so, with a young coyote. And they were playing. This repeated itself too many times to count. Watching her interact and play gave me a new appreciation for her. She was alive, full, and engaged in this world. So different than when she was at home, seemingly waiting.

We had another dog that had a coyote friend that she played with on a daily basis for a little less than a year. But it was a specific coyote in a specific location. This was different.

Then she showed me how proficient she was at chasing deer, tracking small game, alerting to other predators, and barking at anything coming towards us if we were hiking remote.

More things to add to my list of things to work on.

maybe a job?

Because she seemed so alive in motion and working on a trail, perhaps a more directed job would be a good addition?

We tried herding, she was actually good with sheep, but too vocal for the instructors liking. She rocked when working cattle. She was put on a herd with three other dogs, and they were going to move them to a different pasture area. She naturally fell into the flanking position, it was breath taking! I didn’t plan on buying a piece of property and adding cattle to it, so this would be a hobby of sorts.

What about agility? I had been interested in this sport for a couple of years, Fran might be the perfect dog? We found an instructor and gave it a try. Fran was cautious with the intense human interaction and direction, there weren’t a lot of choices. But I was really liking it, it was fun, stimulating and gave me something I could do in our yard with Fran.

The over the top energy from people and dogs proved to be too much for Fran, it was shutting her down and that was not the direction I wanted to go. The lack of management in classes during those years was our demise though. Fran was attacked by the instructors dog while doing a private at her home. The next night during a group class, Fran reciprocated. She was never asked back. My second group class experience, and another experience that ended badly. She was called a monster, dangerous, unpredictable, out of control, a candidate for euthanasia, etc … Everyone that I was meeting and enjoying in the dog world now turned their back on me.

isolation -

When you are living with a dog that is living life outside of neutral, it can feel like a very isolating experience, especially if you’re social.

Having a dog that needs you to make choices wisely, falls outside of the norm for the average owner. But with Fran I learned that this was the best way to live. It was our new normal and was going to be a good normal, a creative normal, and our normal.

adding dogs -

So I went and added more dogs to our household. Chaser was Fran’s friend from the shelter, and we decided to foster him. Ocean came home with us as a puppy because I did want to get more involved with dog sports. If it wasn’t going to be Fran’s gig, that was OK, but I wanted it to be mine.

Fran came alive with dogs in her own home. It was one of the craziest decisions we made, but great for the whole household. Companionship in her home was one of the main missing pieces. She wanted some of her own to be around her.

my part -

I was feeling like I had been given a part in a play, with a story that was unfamiliar to me.

Nancy