Subscriber Archive
Third in a series Harvey’s stone sampling diminished quickly with medication for his intestinal disorder. His daddy, Don the designated household pooper scooper, seldom found landscaping rocks in his spaniel’s stool anymore. Harvey’s intense fear of storms and intermittent wild jumping at the clothes dryer continued. There is robust evidence that our brains are often influenced by problems elsewhere in the body. When Harvey’s intestines felt better his barking, pacing, and destruction when home alone improved somewhat but he had additional reasons for his separation anxiety. In most cases, it’s a dog’s genetic programming that sets this disorder into motion. The brain, with its intricate network of neurons and neurotransmitters, is considered the most complex organ in the body. It strains my brain to unravel and improve the misery of some of my patients. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine; a challenged mind performs better longer. So they say. Poor Harvey…
Read More
Dogs Need a Job – Gainful Employment Confucius said, “A man (woman) who enjoys what they do never works a day in their life.” Our dogs can have that life. They naturally work to survive, an activity they appear to enjoy. Food-dispensing toys and puzzles are not prey and they’re not really rotting carcasses found in the wild but they require manipulation so bits of sustenance can be extracted. Check out Lulu here. This girl had a history of separation anxiety. Other dogs, like the Nichol family Border collie, Mick, need work to stay occupied. The downside for him is frustration and BARKING! We don’t like that. Forget feeding from a bowl. Your dog needs to live the life of his inner survivor. He/she needs to work to live. Lulu is too focused on getting the nutrition she needs to wring her little paws about being home alone. She is…
Read More
Second in a series Harvey, a rather handsome and genuinely sweet spaniel mix, carried a laundry list of behavior symptoms. His pica (eating non-food items) was priority one because it could kill him. Folks are often amused by the bizarre items consumed by other people’s pets but the mirth is singularly lacking when it happens at your house. Intestines naturally push and squeeze ingesta (food) in the inevitable direction of a creature’s rear end. When junk gets stuck along the way, peristaltic movements come to an abrupt stop. Whenever Harvey’s dietary indiscretion acted up on him his head and tail drooped and he lost interest in food and play. Don and Diane knew right away that he needed to see a doctor. They were right. An object lodged in the intestine, pressing relentlessly against the soft inner wall, stops blood from flowing through the local capillaries. Dying intestinal tissue breaks…
Read More
Our dogs should always come when called, whether they’re sitting and looking at us or when they’re heading off in another direction. Don’t get frustrated when ignored; train in baby steps that your pupster can understand. Mick has gotten pretty good at the recall command – when he’s already paying attention. But when he’s way from home, well, other priorities can get in the way. That isn’t OK but let’s not lose our patience. While allowing him to forge ahead on-leash he knows he can sniff and investigate at his leisure. But when I say, “Mick, Come!” I can enforce the command without having set my dog up for a mistake. Just after I give the command I back up as I pull the leash. That’s Mick’s reminder that, “Oh yea, I can get a treat and a hug and a kiss just by turning around and happily returning to…
Read More
First in a series Seemingly logical assumptions can lead the most cautious among us down the wrong path. Veterinary medicine provides generous opportunities so I gather every detail possible. Because it’s important for me to understand the people who bring their pets to me I ask their ages and occupations. Nearly everybody complies. Diane and Don Sheets, each retired and in their early 80s, lived in a semi-rural (semi-wild) area near Santa Fe, NM. They had one dog, a spaniel mix named Harvey. The Nichol family’s previous dog was Miss America; our current Border collie is Mick Jagger. The reasons for those names are obvious, to me, anyway. The Sheets’ named their dog Harvey because, to them, he looked like a Harvey. Harvey could be sanguine when his world was quiet but his errant behaviors wreaked havoc in Diane’s mind. During storm season this poor dog jumped at the walls,…
Read More
There are so many things to see and sniff outside the home territory. It’s more than just natural for dogs to investigate everything; reading the bulletin boards and posting messages is essential to who they are. But for part of a leash walk they can work for us. They can earn reinforcers, like treats, just for doing the right thing – like watching their leader. Another essential component canine behavior is to check with the leader for opportunities to earn resources like food. As Carolyn walks with Mick next to her, she hands him a tid bit every now and then because she sees him watching her. She tells him to “Watch” to get his attention, setting him up to succeed. As soon as he looks at her he gets the treat. (You don’t hear her voice because our footsteps were too noisy.) Notice that spring in Mick’s step? He’s…
Read More
Mick and I have practiced the stay command 2-3 times a day. I no longer need to stand in front of him to remind him of what I mean when I tell him, “Stay”. I move slowly as I walk about 4-5 feet away. I don’t stand there any longer than he can take just sitting and waiting. He’s only a kid, after all. With more practice and maturity we’ll work up to longer durations. The business of walking back to Mick, slowly, and then around behind him to take up my position on his right side is important. A dog needs to understand that his leader should be able to move around – and still remember the command, which you never repeat. You and your dog can get there slowly. To keep the excitement out of this event I move slowly and quietly. No surprises. If I were to…
Read More
A Head Halter is a Great Leadership tool Question: I read the post on your facebook page about the Pyrenees/Anatolian shepherd and felt an instant kinship! Our 1 year old Aussie shepherd is driving us nuts. In addition to nuisance barking at everything that moves, tearing around the house and the yard like a crazy bull in a china shop, she barks and lunges at strangers when I take her for walks. People cross the street to avoid her. She has not bitten anyone, but jumped on and scratched a lady, and now I’m worried about taking her to a dog park or doggy daycare or even to “herding” classes. Dr. Nichol: What a naughty little dog you have! But a crazy bull in a china shop? Let’s be fair. Surely this delicate young flower is more like a crazy cow in a china shop. She’s out-of-control but I think…
Read More
Young Mick Nichol enjoys his daily jaunts along the irrigation ditches because, well, because he’s a dog. Leaving the home territory to sniff, investigate, read the bulletin boards, and post messages is essential to his canine genetic programming. This puppy’s Zen state includes wading into the ditch to watch ducks and listen to other birds. Switch on the sound.
Read More