Fred talks about ways you can improve your dog communication, dog relationships, and dog bonding skills — intermixed with tracks from the “Dog Tracks CD: Songs by Dogs” and the “Dog Appreciation Lessons” CD.
Dean Koontz tells how his Golden Retriever, Trixie, opened his eyes to some aspects of life that he had come to see as “mundane.”
Brenda Aloff, author of “Get Connected With Your Dog” and “Canine Body Language, A Photographic Guide,” talks about dog communication and dog relationships on the “My Doggie Says…” Radio Show.
Host Fred Haney talks about dog bonding, dog communication, and dog relationships. Hear sound clips from the “Dog Tracks CD: Songs by Dogs” and the “Dog Appreciation Lessons” CD.
Tune in tonight, at 8:00 p.m. M0untain Standard and Pacific Daylight time, to hear an interview with Sande Donahue, who ghost-wrote “JoJo: A Dog’s Tale” for her pal JoJo. Listen live on KFNX-1100, in Phoenix, or listen to the live streaming audio at www.1100.kfnx.com. Call to join the conversation: (602) 277-kfnx (in Phoenix) or (866) 536-1100 (toll-free outside of Phoenix). “JoJo” is a lovely look at life — through the eyes of a dog — the ultimate in dog communication!
Val Heart takes dog bonding and dog communication to a higher level with her special animal communication abilities. Learn from Val by following this link.
Here is the podcast of Val’s interview on the “My Doggie Says…” radio talk show:
Kathy Sdao, animal trainer and faculty member for “Clicker Expo,” has a different and interesting perspective on dog bonding. Check out this paragraph from her paper titled, “Forget About Being Alpha in Your Pack.”
“One perfect example of a “sticky” story is the ever-popular notion that dogs are essentially domesticated wolves who view their human companions as members of their hierarchical pack. This story is simple (pack structure is presumably a clear-cut ranking of alpha, beta and omega animals), unexpected (imagine having the descendent of a wild wolf right in our living rooms!), and concrete (who hasn’t seen TV footage of a wolf pack chasing down a moose or elk?). So sticky is this canine urban myth, in fact, that it refuses to die, despite the series of inaccuracies at its core.
Unfortunately, both dogs and their owners suffer the consequences of this fable, for it is from this story that we get the popular but unfounded training decree that humans must be “alpha” in their mixed-species pack.
Allow me to set the record straight. Here are just a few of the inaccuracies embedded in the “dog as domesticated wolf” story.”
See the rest of Kathy’s article here.
Hear Kathy’s interesting perspectives, as expressed on the “My Doggie Says…” radio talk show. Click on the podcast button below.
Kathy’s interview was cut short by the President’s State of the Union address, and the republican response. She will reappear on the “My Doggie Says…” show on April 7, to tell “the rest of the story.”
Remember, these podcasts are also available on iTunes, so you can download them to your iPod.
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…
It’s fun when authors like Susan Lustig put themselves into the mind of their dogs and write from the dog’s point of view. It’s “dog communication” at its best. You know that Callie Golden Retriever writes this blog at times. And guests on the “My Doggie Says…” radio talk show have included Garth Stein, who wrote from Enzo’s point of view, and Dean Koontz, who often captures the perspectives of Trixie Koontz Golden Retriever. Susan Lustig’s “Emails from Shilo: The story of a dog’s quest to figure out most everything” is a great addition to this art form.
Hear Susan talk about Shilo and his inner thoughts on the “My Doggie Says…” radio talk show:
The “My Doggie Says…” show helps listeners gain a deeper appreciation for “Man’s Best Friend.” The show is broadcast live from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday nights, on KFNX 1100, Phoenix. It is streamed live on www.1100kfnx.com. Host Fred Haney interviews dog whisperers, dog trainers, authors of dog books, and experts on all aspects of dogs and dog behavior and dog nature. The show is also available as a podcast on iTunes. Go to the iTunes store, click on “Podcast,” and search for “My Doggie Says…”
Keep an eye out for the new CD, “Dog Appreciation Lessons: Humor and Wisdom from People who Love Dogs.” It’s some of the “best of the best of” clips (18) from the “My Doggie Says…” show. Appearing soon on this web site! You’ll hear wit and wisdom from Stanley Coren, Dean Koontz, Ted Kerasote, Tom Sullivan, and many other authors and dog experts.
This weekend, at Lake Arrowhead, Callie’s bathroom breaks have been pretty short and sweet. Which is fine with me, because I’m still wearing summer shorts, and there is a late-summer, early autumn chill in the air.
This morning, Callie and I went outdoors just before sunrise. We were joined by a barn owl and his loud “whoo whoos.” And the sky was an uncharacteristic bright orange and salmon color as some weather is moving in.
As has been her habit these last few days, Callie made quick work of her bathroom business. I started to walk back to our house, but Callie tugged hard on her leash and I got the message — “I really want to go for a little walk.”
Ever since Ted Kerasote (“Merle’s Door”) was a guest on the “My Doggie Says…” show, I have let Callie have her way in these situations. Ted says, “I spend ten or fifteen minutes ‘reading the news’ every morning, why shouldn’t Merle get to ‘read the news?’ After all, that’s what a dog is doing when it sniffs every odor on its path.”
“Those little dachaunds peed here yesterday.” “A coyoote walked by here earlier this morning.” “A squirrel has been chewing on this pine cone.” “Hmmm, someone spilled some hot chocolate by the motor home.”
So, I let Callie “read the news” this morning, and I could tell she appreciated it. When she was ready, she headed for home and said, “Thanks, Fred, it was a pretty good news day.”
Build your human-dog relationship — one sniff at a time!
One of the most endearing things that Callie Golden Retriever does is our “good morning” ritual. When she realizes that I’m awake, first thing in the morning, she walks over to my side of the bed (life has been better since Brian Lee suggested Callie not sleep on our bed), snuggles up close, and sits on her haunches waiting for me to scratch her chest. Sometimes she “snorts” out a gentle “good morning” message, too.
Our “Doggie Affection Poll” shows that “Staying Close to Me” is the #1 way that dogs express their affection for their humans. I guess Callie is being 100% consistent. It’s sure flattering to think that you are the first thing your dog thinks about in the morning — and that he, or she, wants to be close to you to start the day.
The #2 way that dogs show their affection is “By greeting me when I come home,” which is a similar idea. Once again, dogs are quick to let us know they care about us.
I”m finally getting caught up with posting MP3 files from the “My Doggie Says…” talk show. We’ve had lots of great interviews in the past few months, but since early July, I haven’t been able to upload the files to this blog, so they haven’t been showing up either here or on iTunes. It’s been a really difficult technical problem, and it’s not really fixed, yet, but I found a “work-around,” so we’re back in business.
The “My Doggie Says…” radio show interviews are available, free, as podcasts — so you can download them to your iPod — on iTunes. Just go to the iTunes store, click on “podcast,” and search for “my doggie says.” Hope you enjoy!
