Maryna Ozuna, founder of Kinaesthetics and a guest on the “My Doggie Says…” radio talk show on January 6, 2010, wrote the following comments on the articles on this blog.  She really “gets” the dogbonding concept.

I thought you brought up really important points about the dialogue that should be part of our relationship with our dogs == that I realized for me was invisible and automatic, but wasn’t for my clients. Since then, I have been playing with making that piece of the puzzle more explicit. What I have always said was that part of the dog’s reward for doing what we need them to do, when we need them to do it, was what I call “dog time” — which for e.g. would be your frisbee time with Jamie, or ball time with your young pup. It has been really interesting making that piece of the puzzle explicit. It is so much a part of the warp and woof of my daily life that I don’t even think about it.

Some examples from myself and clients just in the last few days. A yearling Papillon belonging to a client of mine. Naughty, naughty when he came in, but bright, and very funny, and very opinionated. When he went home, we needed to continue crate training, but he threw a hissy fit when the crate was put in the laundry room. Put his crate in the bedroom and draped with a cloth (cold here, and he’s a little bit of a thing) and he slept through the night again. I didn’t care where the crate was, (we had some strategies for where he needed to be when they were away at work for right now), as long as he was crating and relaxing. He made it clear where he wanted the crate — no impairment to the training protocol, — so why not put it where it made him happy.

A silly one with my horse. I added in some supplements into his winter food. I mixed them in. He likes those pellets a lot, so I was frustrated when he kept flipping his rubber grain pan upside down, scattering his feed everywhere and basically having a temper tantrum. I finally figured out that he wanted to get to the good stuff — so now I pile it on top in one pile. Again, doesn’t matter to me, as long as he eats everything, and doesn’t grind it into the dirt. He’s happy. I’m happy.

Then, an example, a little sadder in detail. I recently lost my two old terriers. I thought after the last one went, that I would move the crates around in the house to consolidate, and moved my 3 yo Shiba’s crate into the spot where one of the terriers had been. She would have nothing to do with it. She is a very dominant dog, were I not to intervene, the pack alpha bitch, co-leader with my old boy shepherd and my medic alert dog. So, she is very much allowed and encouraged to have an opinion. Well, she came unglued. Cranky, volatile, pouting, moody. We lasted ten days, as I had moved one of the client dogs in her spot, and then said, “ok, ok, already,” and moved everything back. Took her a few days to get over her pouting, but now she’s back to normal. Again, I don’t care where her crate is, and she CERTAINLY did!, so why not do what makes her happy.

You have made me realize that really, my whole day from am to nightfall is a constant dialogue of what we want to do next. Do they want to come with me, or stay home? Do we need to stop and go for a walk, or ok to run more errands? Indeed, the whole process of potty training really involves paying attention as opposed to imposing training. So, for e.g. today I was out and about with the dogs teaching a lesson, and Lily was a little fussy in the car — which she never is, and meant that she had not gone this morning on am walk — so I turned the car away from town and went down to a trail along the river. We walked, she pottied, the male played, and all was well in the universe. We went to town and I got bones as they have been looking at their dog food bowls the last few nights like it was the most boring thing they had ever been subjected to…..and on it goes, a constant dialogue.

I am finding myself pointing out more and more things that I just take for granted. And yes, you’re absolutely right — having a well behaved dog has nothing to do with their not having a vote…

Last night, while Fred and Barbara were in the den, I noticed that things looked real different outside.  It was dark and the street in front I our house was all shiny, and the house lights were bouncing off the trees and the street. It looked very different from what I’m used to.

And little rivers — like someone kicked over a big puppy-water bowl — were running down the street.  And stuff was falling out if the sky and splatting on the street and on the leaves across the road.

I was very scared, so I started barking to warn Fred and Barbara. I mean really barking and barking in my loudest full-grown dog voice.  After all, I’ll be three years old in January.

Finally Fred walked into the room and said, “it’s OK, Callie.  It’s rain.  I know it never rains in Southern California, but this is the first storm of winter.”

After Fred said that and knelt down beside me and gave me a real good puppy-scratch, I felt lots better. I quit barking and went back to the den to suck on “stinky.

You should listen to Fred’s interview with Debbie Jacobs, of Fearful Dogs.com.  The interview will be posted soon.   Fred talks with Debbie Jacobs about her experience with fearful dogs.

I guess for a while last night I was one.

Bye for now.

Callie

Dogs have different ways of showing affection.  They may have their own way of expressing their feelings, or you may have — knowingly or unkowningly — trained your dog to express affection in certain ways.  How does your dog express its love and respect for you?  How does its dog personality affect your dog-human relationship?

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You can select up to three answers.  Come back in a few days and see if the results have changed.

Thanks for participating!

Callie Golden Retriever

Callie, like lots of dogs, has a “security object.”  It’s like her “puppy pacifier,” even though, at 28 months, she’s hardly a puppy any more.  Since she was about 8 weeks old, Callie’s security object has been “Stinky,” the remaining front half of a stuffed puppy, sans ears.  The back half and the ears were casualties of over-aggressive chewing.  But Callie is pretty gentle with Stinky, so with the help of a local seamstress, we’ve been able to keep Stinky more or less intact.

Callie could destroy Stinky in a nanosecond, but she doesn’t.  She just lies near Stinky, or she “gums” Stinky to relax in the evening.  Sometimes, Callie trots the length of our house to retrieve Stinky (named after our granddaughter’s security blanket) and bring him (or is Stinky a her?) to where we are.

But now enter “Ducky Wucky.”  A few weeks ago, while Barbara and I were travelling, Callie spent a few days with our daughter’s Golden Retriever puppy, Magnolia (Maggie).  Callie took a liking to Ducky Wucky, and our daughter, Karen, gave Ducky Wucky to Callie as a going away present.

Over the past few weeks, Callie, has begun to pay more attention to Ducky Wucky.  She still hangs out with Stinky, but she has started to use Ducky Wucky in the same way that she uses Stinky — like a pacifier.

Here is a photo of Stinky Winky and Ducky Wucky together.  Which one would you choose, if it were your choice?

I am continually amazed at dogs’ thought processes.  The wheels are going around.  Dog intelligence is different from people intelligence, but it’s real.

Does your dog have a “security object?”  What is it?  How do you know it’s a security object?  What does your dog do with it?  Are there special times when it uses it?  Share your experience; post a comment

Check this out.  You’ve been hearing about Callie’s soccer skills and how she invites me to play soccer every day.  Soccer has become an integral pert of Callie’s dog personality.  She’s graduated from trapping the ball under her tummy to doing “nosers.” “Nosers” are what you do if you are a Golden Retriever and your nose gets in the way of doing a “header.”

What does your dog do for fun?  Make a comment or send a video link, and we’ll share it with our readers.

Play like this can bring you a lot closer to your pet.  In Callie’s case, soccer was her idea, so I’m nurturing her dog nature by going along with her whenever I can.  Plus, it’s fun for me, too!

What’s your dog’s favorite sport?  Is there a game you can play with your dog?  Got video?  Post a comment; share a link.