Speaking Dog: Ignoring

As a dog, there's a technique that we use when we want to avoid someone or to avoid conflict and that is ignoring. Anytime we feel someone or something is threatening we will turn our head, our body, do something else, basically, pretend they're not there. For example, when you try to take a picture of us you will squat down in front of us with that weird gadget in our hand that we don't understand and as soon as you push the little button for the picture we turn our heads. That is because the camera is weird to us and we see it as conflict, therefore, we're going to ignore it until it goes away. I, on the other hand love the camera and will always look to get my picture taken.

Another example is when someone is coming up to us in a confrontational way we will turn our head or body to make the person calm down, even if they're giving the "sweet dog talk" to us. Or when we're out in the yard and you start calling us to come but we don't necessarily understand the "come" command and so we don't and you start getting mad and your voice gets deeper and harsher, all that does is makes us do something else and ignore you until you calm down, I mean, who really wants to come to someone who's screaming like that? Get a clue humans!

Mama Nikki teaches owners how to use this valuable tool in training. She teaches them that when their dog jumps to turn away and ignore. It's amazing how hard this is for people. They will not pet but they'll stare at the dog or they'll push the dog off of them and that my friends is NOT ignoring. Ignoring is pretending like the dog isn't even there. It is a powerful tool because dogs understand it so well. Once the dog stops jumping on you and has had their feet on the floor for at least three seconds then you can tell them how good they are and pet on them. If they jump during that, stop petting and ignore. And remember, jumping doesn't just mean on you, it may be two feet on the couch or chair, two feet up on the fence or baby gate, jumping up and down to get you to throw the ball, etc. Jumping is when two feet are off the ground whether they're touching something or not. Humans just need to think. If you give us something that we want while we're doing a behavior then we're more than likely going too repeat that behavior. If we have two feet on the fence trying to see you and walk through the gate, you're rewarding us, even if you're ignoring us because we wanted YOU.

Okay, so, the next time your dog jumps on you, barks at you, paws at your leg, whines, sticks his nose under your hand to pet him or whatever annoying thing he does to get your attention, IGNORE him. If you're consistent, the behavior you don't like will go away. And I mean be consistent. There's a thing about dogs, we will try a behavior many times to see if it's going to get a reward, whether its a behavior you like or not, and if it gets rewarded one time, we will assume it's one that works and keep it. So be tough and consistent and ignore all those things you don't like. I'll write later about self-rewarding behaviors that you can't ignore and how you can handle that.

Have a great day!
Tbaa

Working my TAIL Off!

As many of you know I'm a search and rescue dog which means if you get lost, I'll come find you. Well, I also do recovery, if you drown or pass on land, I'll come find you. Yes, it's stinky work but I must tell you, some live smell just as bad. The past two weeks I've unfortunately been on two drownings, one in Maury Co. and one in Bedford Co. A mid 50's man went into the Duck River on his ATV, the ATV has been found but he has not. This happened at the end of March so he's been gone for awhile. The Duck River has also flooded twice since then. I worked for three hours on the boat a few miles on the Duck River on Tuesday of this past week and got nothing. The two guys that were in the boat with us were very nice and would pet my butt and head every so often which was nice. My Mama Nikki sounded so proud of me, she should have been since she got me up at 5am and after the search we had to work with a couple of clients with some pretty but a little obnoxious dogs, my opinion only because they bark at me. Anyway, the missing man still hasn't been found. We're praying for his family.

The lady in Maury Co. allegedley jumped off a bridge two weeks ago, she was also in her mid 50's. We were out searching for her within four days and this was the first water search I'd had in three years. Mama Nikki was a little nervous that I wasn't going to do my best because it had been so long but I tried telling her that just because I haven't worked on the water I still work cadaver and I know what I'm looking for. So, we started our search area and I immediately smelled what I was supposed to smell and so I laid down, which is what I do to tell my mama that I've found the scent. So I laid down and looked for my treat. She told me "good girl" and "get back to work" so I stood back up and smelled the appropriate scent and so I laid down again. I did get a treat that time. Mama made them turn the boat around and go back downstream to search that area again. I don't know why she makes me go back over the spot several times but she does. The second trip I alerted again and by the third time my Mama Nikki had the nerve to tell me, "I don't believe you, get to work." I have never...so, I did what any working dog would do, I looked her straight in the eye, growled and laid down. Needless to say, the look on her face was priceless. I earned my treat and we didn't have to search that area again.

Well, after I was finished my buddy Dingo got in the boat with his Daddy Bill and searched the same area of course neither one of them knew where I had alerted. Mama Nikki went with them and she saw Dingo alert in the same area. So now it was up to Mama Nikki to tell the detectives where this body could be located but she was having a problem giving a general area because of the differences in depth and the speed of the current, but she did the best she could and then we went off to work with clients. I'm happy to say that the body of our missing woman was located on Weds. and she was floating near the location we told them to look and Mama Nikki was really proud of me then!

So that is my two weeks worth of work. Drownings, SAR training, and clients with dogs that like to bark and lunge at me. I'm taking a break this weekend by staying with my ever so favorite Aunt Shirley for some much needed R&R.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter holiday weekend!

God Bless.
TBAA

Why?

Did God give dog's tails if he didn't intend for me to bite them?

I got in so much trouble over the weekend for chasing down Piper, a black lab, and biting his tail. He got mad but not like Mama Nikki did. She made me go up on the deck by myself and watch all the other dogs play. I don't know why I like to bite tails so much but I do. Mama Nikki says that's why dogs don't want to play with me because I'm too rough.

All I'm saying is the tail looks like a fun stick just waving in the wind when the dog goes running by me to catch a stupid frisbee.

Long Week

I know it's been over a week since I've posted, believe it or not, I had started on Monday morning but was interrupted when we got a call for a drowning. It's been so long since I've been out on a drowning and I have to say, I've missed it. There's nothing like standing on a hot aluminum boat speeding down the river with dirty water splashing in your face knowing that so many things have decomposed in there...overall, I loved every second of it. I know you're all wondering if we found our drowning victim and the answer is yes and no. See, when you're looking for someone in water it's very difficult to pinpoint the body due to the moving water. If you're a little squeamish, you may want to skip the rest of this paragraph, I'll not get graphic. You see, decomposition starts the second the body ceases in life and gases begin to build, when a body is in water the scent is released and out into the water, the water follows the current and depending on the depth depends on when it reaches the surface and up into the air us dogs to smell it. That means that we can alert to the scent that's rising out of the water but it's up to our handlers to put the rest of the puzzle pieces together to give the divers a general area to look. Well, I alerted on an area and so did my good friend Dingo but our handlers couldn't come up with the general area. HUMANS! I mean, we do all this work and all they're supposed to do is put a few little pieces together and they can't even do that!! I just wish they'd "FIGURE IT OUT!"

The rest of the week Mama Nikki's been busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kickin' contest. Not sure where I heard that but it kinda stuck. I've been stuck here all week with my siblings that are about as boring as the day is long. All I wanted to do was to go back out and search! We were supposed to go out again today but all the rain from the night before made it too dangerous for us but I heard that they may have found her. I'm sure it will be on the news if they did so keep your eyes open.

In the meantime Mama Nikki has been working on her new certification program called Real Life Rover and yes folks, that is trademarked. It's a really neat test to prepare dogs for the real world unlike most training classes or programs out there. Don't get me wrong, any training is good for the human and the dog, okay, almost any training. If it causes pain to the dog, take it from me, 'WE DON'T LIKE IT AND WE DON'T UNDERSTAND IT!' But if you just learn to communicate with us and understand us, we'll do anything for you. Anyway, Mama Nikki is trying to finish the last bit of detail so she can set up the training class for twenty-five lucky individuals to be the first certified handler/dog team in your area and no, this isn't just for search and rescue dogs or working dogs, this is for every human/dog team that likes to spend time together going out in public. This will give the human and the dog a whole new life together. If you're interested in it go check it out on the front page of our website. www.dogspeak101.com

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I look forward to sharing my adventures with you next week.