Kids across the country are back in school, or will be after the Labor Day holiday. Going back to school means changes to the family schedule.  New routines also effect the family dog, summertime when the livin’ was easy is over.

The extra attention your family pet was enjoying over the summer has abruptly come to an end.  Dogs may experience separation anxiety, boredom, and even start acting out in unusual ways. Bark Busters, the world’s largest dog training company, offers some great tips to help ease the transition.

Now that everyone is gone during the day your dog may experience separation anxiety. In order to avoid this it’s good to start paying less attention to the dog about a week before school. This helps prepare him for the routine change.

Practice leaving the house by going out and coming right back in. This will stop the dog from associating your leaving the house with your departure. The dog will be more relaxed when you do leave.

Your dog can become bored during the day when there is no one around to play with. It’s important to make sure to keep plenty of toys around, and try scattering treats for them to search for.

If your dog starts exhibiting unusual behaviors, such as jumping or biting, it could be due to stress.  It’s important to correct these behaviors immediately using positive training techniques.  If it is something you can’t do on your own Bark Busters offers in-home training.

To read all the great tips stop by the Bark Busters website.

* Brewtus is new to Dogster, stop by his page to say hi.

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There isn’t a Johnny Cash  song about the Mitchellville state women’s prison but maybe there should be. They have implemented a terrific program in conjunction with the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, allowing inmates who qualify to help care for mixed breed dogs until they can be adopted.

About 100 dogs annually receive care from Mitchellville inmates through the prison’s PAWS program, which stands for Pets and Women Succeeding. It started in February 2002.

About the same number of cats are overseen each year through WHISKERS, an acronym for Women Helping Indigent Special Kittens Earn Residence. It began in January 2003.

Oscar and Jo Jo have cocker spaniel and schnauzer bloodlines. They came from a puppy mill, where they were locked in cages for the first 11 months of their lives, prison officials said.

They were antisocial when they arrived at Mitchellville and didn’t want to be separated. Now, both dogs let inmates pet them and they can sleep alone, said Jennifer Hines, 32, of Dubuque, who is serving time for forgery.

“I feel like I have accomplished something,” Hines said. “I can actually say that these dogs are ready to be adopted out, and I don’t think they will be returned.”

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I found an interesting article this morning in the Telegraph.co.uk about the use of  dog shock collars. There has been controversy over these collars for a long time,  advocates think it’s a great training tool while opponents feel they are cruel.

Recently a man in Oregon was arrested for using shock collars on his kids. He’s in custody charged with “criminal mistreatment” of his four children.

After seeing this Peter Wedderburn, writer of the article, wonders why is it alright to use on dogs but criminal to use on children.

My question today is: if it’s not OK to use these in children, why should it be acceptable to use them to train dogs? The video report of the case states that some dog trainers justify their use by saying that “dogs have a higher pain threshold than humans”. This is news to me – how do you think they’ve worked that out? Give a dog an electric shock, then ask the dog “how much does that hurt?” Then compare the dog’s response with a human?

Electric shock collars are used on dogs by some to apply an electric shock to the dog’s neck when a dog behaves incorrectly. The shocks, understandably, cause pain and confusion for the dog, affecting it physically and mentally. There’s no doubt that electric shock collars have a powerful effect, but there’s also no doubt that they’re cruel.

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I recently read an article on Happy Tails, it’s a group of pet owners who volunteer time to share the unconditional love and joy pets can give by visiting patients at a variety of facilities.  In order to become a therapy dog your dog must meet certain health requirements, have completed a a basic obedience class, and pass a pet/handler evaluation.

Lisa and I have discussed what a great way this would be to spend special time with your pup and give back to the community at the same time. We are now looking to attend an orientation to find out more. If you’re  interested but aren’t sure what it takes,  Dogster member Georgia and her mom Christy recently became a certified therapy team and were kind enough to share their experience on getting started.

Christy lives in the Atlanta, GA area so she chose Alchemy Dog Training to take Georgia for basic obedience class.

I arrived at my first obedience class “dragging” my 80 lb. golden who I said was “totally trained.” Our reason for being there was to get her Canine Good Citizen certificate before she could be evaluated for pet therapy training-our ultimate goal.

The class was well organized, well run and fun. When an instruction is not followed correctly, it is addressed and corrected immediately using (only) positive reinforcement. (In our case, it was the parent who needed correcting more than the “child”…)

During the course of the 8 weeks, I definitely learned a thing or two and so did Georgia. The “homework assignments” between classes serve to reinforce what you two have practiced in class. Whether Georgia enjoyed the classes as much as I did, or she happily attended because there were treats involved, we may never know but she did well and graduated.

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I came across this article and thought it was rather interesting. It’s a study done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to determine how many Americans end up at the ER due to a fall caused by their pet or pet related items.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that an average of 86,629 Americans visit the emergency room each year after a fall caused by pets or their paraphernalia.

That’s the equivalent of 240 ER trips a day, and roughly 1 percent of the 8 million visits for falls of all sorts.

About one-third of the falls broke bones, about one-quarter caused bruises, one-fifth caused sprains and a little more than one-tenth caused cuts. About 62 percent of the dog-related falls and 86 percent of the tumbles involving cats occurred at home.

It turns out dogs cause more of the falls than cats, 88% vs 12%.  While children 14 and under record the most injuries it’s seniors 75 and up that have the highest rate of injury.  Also, it isn’t known exactly how most of the falls happened but they have been broken down into a few categories.

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There’s nothing more nerve-wracking than walking through your door and not knowing if Fido has used the last 8 hours to rearrange the house.  If you’re like most dog owners, you leave him at home when you go to work.  The problem is, when you’re away the doggy gets very bored and finds the need to play, sometimes with your new sofa.

One of the top reasons dogs are brought to shelters are because of anxiety related issues.  To correct these issues takes time, patience, and training.  Unfortunately, not all dog owners are willing to work on redirecting their dogs’ energy and find it an easier solution to just get rid of the problem, the dog.

But don’t despair, I came across a good article on Paw Talk, a blog that deals with those that have claws and paws.  The article ‘Home Alone’ by Lisa Woody, who owns FunStuffForDogs, offers some helpful advice to get this behavior under control.

1. Take your dog on a morning walk.
A brisk walk not only provides a workout, but physical activity is an outlet for stress. And, along with the physical stimulation, there’s plenty of mental stimulation, too. A walk provides a dog with plenty of things to look at and sniff. This often results in a dog who’s ready for a nap when he gets home. Plus, it’s good for you, too.

2. Give your dog something constructive to do.
Instead of letting the dog decide what she’ll chew up each day, give her an approved toy to work on, Hard plastic treat-dispensing toys, Kong toys and even femur bones filled with peanut butter or spray cheese, Cheerios, carrots or kibble can keep a dog occupied for hours. And most of them are dishwasher safe.

3. Re-introduce the crate.
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Our dog Copper is the sweetest girl you could ever want, until we get to the park.  While she loves people she turns into Cujo around other dogs.  She starts to pull and tug relentlessly at her leash. It’s easier for me to control her than Lisa, who usually gets pulled about 10 feet before she can get Copper to a complete stop.

There’s a new training collar on the market by The Canny Company that can totally turn this behavior around  making walking your dog fun again. The great thing is that it doesn’t matter the size of your dog, with the collar you will easily be able to regain control.

The Canny Collar
This revolutionary Scottish-designed product is the first dog training collar to give you complete control and good behavior when walking your dog. Simple to fit and easy to use, it tackles the most common dog behavior problem of leash pulling and ensures that within minutes your dog is walking happily by your side. It is a simple piece of dog training equipment made up of a conventional flat collar with a traditional buckle fastening for security. Your leash attaches to a thinner slip line, made from soft yet strong material, which then fits over the nose of your dog.

Unlike other dog walking devices where the leash fastens under the chin, the leash fastens behind your dog’s head – an innovative and unique design in dog behavior training.

Lisa and I have tried a similar collar, the one that attaches under the chin. The collar has made a huge difference, Copper will stop pulling with a simple tug of the leash.  The only thing we don’t like is the fact that it fastens below the chin, we’re looking forward to the Canny collar with the fastener behind the head.

When we first started using the collar we noticed people with children and small dogs tended to back away, they thought it was a muzzle.  Lately we have spotted more dog walkers using this product and we’ll just look at each other with a knowing look, it isn’t a muzzle but a great training tool.

Do you have problems with your pup pulling or going after other pups? If so, you can be one of 10 lucky Dogsters to win a Canny Collar. To enter leave a comment in the comment section about why your dog needs a one. The contest starts today and will run through Tuesday, January 20th when I will pick the winners at random.

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Amber Burckhalter, a certified master trainer and the owner of K-9 Coach, recently attended the Association for Pet Dog Trainers conference.

Burckhalter is from Atlanta, GA and said everyone who saw her Atlanta name tag immediately commented on Michael Vick.  Recently there has been another local scandal, this one involving an animal shelter in Fulton county. The director has resigned due to allegations of abuse and mistreatment of the animals housed in the facility.  One of the reports alleges pit bulls were being caged with other dogs.

The point Burckhalter was trying to make,  not many dog owners realize that the professional dog community isn’t always what it appears.  Not only can anyone own a dog, they can also run a dog training facility.  Owners need to be trained to learn what to look for and what questions to ask.

Few dog owners realize that within the professional dog community there is a varying degree of what is considered acceptable training and treatment of animals.

Dog owners should aggressively seek out treatment guidelines, professional affiliations and certifications of everyone who comes in contact with their pet, just as parents do their due diligence on the qualifications of a potential child care provider. Owners should ask how the dog professional would deal with their specific situation to ensure that their practices are in line with an owner’s values. Owners should also ask themselves one basic question: Does this sound too good to be true?

Responsible pet ownership goes far beyond annual veterinarian visits and feeding. Owners should try to be more proactive with their dog and its behavior. All dogs should be able to socialize with other animals, children and adults in public to be considered safe. Working with a qualified dog trainer can give the dog and owner all the guidance needed to enjoy visits to the park and visitors at the home. It can also help with behavior problems such as aggression. Training is critical for dogs who have spent time in rescue homes, shelters or other arenas where the history of the dog is unknown.

There is no governing professional group for becoming a dog trainer even though there are associations such as the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP) and the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), which offer continuing education updates for their members. It is frightening how many people complete an online course and hang out a shingle selling themselves as “dog trainers.” Just because a company has money and slick marketing, does not mean that it has the knowledge or experience to work with your dog.

“Now is the time for all of us — trainers, rescue groups, veterinarians and the public — to work together to take control of abuse and mistreatment of animals through proactive training, research and awareness,” stated Burckhalter.  I’ll second that.

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I read this article and thought what a great idea.

There’s a Youth Canine Education program, presented by Paws with a Cause, that teaches kids to respect and not fear dogs.

Sebring,FL: The program teaches kids to respect and not fear dogs. Through Duke and Flash, students learned the proper way to approach a dog, how to recognize an unhappy dog and when not to go near one.

“We help them to appreciate animals — whether dogs or cats,” said Fiorito. “We show them how to care for dogs, how to approach dogs and other life-long lessons.”

The program consists of a  two week canine education instruction course.  Once completed the students receive  a “Certificate of Achievement,” along with pictures of the training dogs.

Useman likes to give out a sheet that details a “dog’s promise” and “our promise.”

A dog promises to bring unconditional love, companionship and protection, the sheet reminds students.

And the owner’s promise to his pet? Love and care, including, clean water and food; clean, dry and cool living and sleeping areas; regular washing and grooming, exercises and training; and medical attention when needed.

The promise sheet ends with an advice that many good dog owners probably know: And a little more love for their pets.

What a great way to teach kids the importance of being kind to animals and how special they are. The non-profit team regularly visits youth groups, schools, churches and daycare centers. Useman never charges a fee, and operates purely on donations.

To schedule a seminar, or to donate toward the cause, call Useman at 863-382-2728.

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I think it’s safe to say we all wish we could understand exactly what our dogs are saying, don’t we? Sure reading body language works wonders, and sometimes a well timed whimper or bark will get a point across, but I still prefer the spoken word.

I remember one year for Christmas Lisa gave me the Bow-Lingual dog bark translator.  I’m sure many of you have heard of the device, but if you haven’t here’s a little snippet of marketing material for you.

The device is billed as a “translator” but it might more precisely be called an emotion analyzer. It is said to use technology to categorize dog barks into one of six standardized emotional categories.

Then, for fun, Bowlingual also provides an often humorous phrase representative of that emotion. But the product package clearly notes that the phrases “are for entertainment purposes only” and it seems that they are not meant to be true translations of each bark.

I’m sure you’re wondering, how well does it work? Well, while it may be an amusing toy for a child, for adults it’s one of those gifts, after a few hours use,  that you want to re-gift.  In fact, ours ended up on eBay. If I remember correctly, most of Bo’s barks translated into “I want treats”, something we already knew.

The Bow-Lingual does lead to a few interesting questions.  Just what words are in a dogs vocabulary and which command words do they respond to best?

So, in the name of scientific research, Dogster decided to create a poll on its homepage to determine what command dogs respond to the most.  The final statistics, results based on  3101 pollsters, are: Come! (31.57%),  Stay! (26.67%),  Shake (23.12%), None of the above (14.80%), and Heel! (3.84%).

Oddly, my suggestion of “Gotta Go Pee Pee?” didn’t make the list.  In retrospect, it is more of a question than command so I’ll let it slide.

Regardless,  you can still vote if you want, or head on over to check out the new poll.   As a dog owner which presidential candidate are you most likely to vote for?

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