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Sounds That Scare Dogs: Do Rings and Beeps on Your Radio Bother Your Dog?

February 20th, 2012

Now I know my dog, Callie, listens to the radio, and I’ve discovered some of the sounds that scare dogs.

We usually have a couple of radios jabbering in our house with local news or talk radio. I’ve never been sure if my dog Callie golden retriever hears what’s on the radio or not. But now I know she does.

There is one ad on the radio that drives Callie nuts. At the beginning of the ad there is a distinct sound of a doorbell ringing. Every time Callie hears that doorbell ring, she bolts for the front door to see who’s there. “Is it the postman, a delivery man, or a repair man?” She gets excited because when the doorbell rings it always means there’s somebody at the front door.

The doorbell ringing is usually a happy event, because Callie gets to greet a person — one of her favorite things to do. But one of Callie’s most unhappy sounds is the beeping of a smoke alarm or a carbon monoxide monitor. It really freaks her out. I assume it actually hurts her ears. This is definitely a sound that scares dogs.

A few months ago the battery in our carbon monoxide monitor at Lake Arrowhead got low and the monitor started to “beep” very loudly as a warning. Poor Callie raced up two flights of stairs to get as far away as possible from that horrid, irritating noise.

Last night we were watching TV and there was an advertisement for a lithium battery. To illustrate how lithium batteries could extend the life of your smoke alarm, the advertisement has a smoke alarm with nearly-drained batteries going “beep, beep, beep” in a very loud high-pitched squeal. Callie’s first move was to dart out of the room to escape the noise. Another sound that scares dogs.

When I called her back, she immediately jumped up on the sofa between Barbara and me with her tail between her legs. This is not a behavior we encourage, but under the circumstances, we gave her a lot of love and assurance that the beeping sound would not continue.

How do you tell a dog, “It’s just on TV?”

Finally, to top off our week of nasty noises, this morning, the new washing machine completed one of its cycles and sounded an alarm that sounds just like a smoke alarm. Callie really didn’t need that. She started to run and said, “Here we go again!” So poor Callie went running away from the laundry room to avoid the horrid “beeping” sound.

Wouldn’t it be nice if advertisers and manufacturers could be a little sensitive to our “best friends’” ears? Can’t they anticipate the disturbance their ads are going to cause when they contain doorbell and smoke alarm sounds?

I suppose it would be asking way too much to expect a washing machine manufacturer to tone down the end-of-cycle alarm in order to protect my dog’s ears. But what would be wrong with a nice little “barking dog” sound?

Please, no more noises that scare dogs!

Wuuf!

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Your Dog’s Energy Level May Mirror Your Own

February 15th, 2012

Are you aware of your dog’s energy level? Can you sense when it goes up and down? Can you tell when your dog is “full of beans?” Can you tell when your dog is feeling down and drained of energy?

Most of us don’t pay attention to our own ups and downs, much less our dog’s energy changes. “Am I feeling robust and energetic?” Or, “Am I feeling down and lackadaisical?” Many of us go through energy ups and down every day without realizing it.

But dogs may be different. My dog Callie and I play soccer every night or fifteen to twenty minutes, and, because of that, I’ve become pretty tuned in to my dog’s energy levels. Interestingly, this experience has put me more in tune with my own energy fluctuations.

Our daily soccer match always starts with a burst of energy. Callie tracks me down, usually in my office, and gives me a very intense gaze. Her “look” means, “It’s time for our soccer game!”

I start the game by kicking the soft, under-inflated ball almost the length of our backyard. Callie races after the ball and traps is under her tummy. Then I make a shorter and higher kick, and Callie leaps into the air and “bonks” the ball off her nose. We call it a “noser.” It’s like a header but when you’re a golden retriever your nose gets in the way.

Sometimes we do a rapid volley of nosers. I kick the ball back to her as quickly as possible, and she leaps up and “bonks” the ball as hard as she can. This usually gets her really pumped up for a few minutes.

But invariably, sometime during our game, I’ll kick the ball to Callie and she’ll just look at me, as the ball flies over her head and lands on the grass. It’s as if she’s saying, “What was that all about?” She makes no effort whatsoever to go after it. My next few attempts are likely to have the same result. It is as if she doesn’t care about the game any more.

So now I’m wondering, “Is there a way to get the game back on track?” Another thing I wonder is, “Is she mirroring my energy level?” For the next kick, I’ll run to the ball faster and try to project more energy. Sometimes that works. Callie senses my increased enthusiasm and reflects it with an outburst of harder “nosers” and faster chasing after the ball.

Other times Callie ignores my new energy level and the ball flies over her head, and, once again, she looks at me like I’m crazy.

Another trick I’ve tried is to “fake” an end to the game. I kick the ball back to our starting place and put it back on the chair where it sits when we’re not playing. Sometimes Callie tries to play “keep away” so I can’t pick the ball up. She’ll put a paw on the ball, for example, or trap it under her tummy, or position herself between me and the ball.

After the ball has been back on its chair for a few seconds, I pick it up again and ask Callie if she wants to play. Usually by this time, she’s stationed herself in the middle of the yard and she’s giving me that “let’s play soccer” look again.

So, starting over, I kick the ball toward her and she goes scampering after it. Usually this works, and it re-energizes her, at least for a few minutes.

Sometimes I think this interaction is just about a dog’s energy level and enthusiasm for the game. At other times, it seems like she’s reflecting my energy — or lack of energy. It probably also has something to do with focus and concentration — both of which, I believe are closely related to energy expression.

This energy interaction has been fascinating to follow. I’ve learned a lot about Callie’s energy levels as well as my own. There have been times when I was certain Callie was simply mirroring my energy — that her lack of enthusiasm probably reflected the fact that I was distracted or thinking about something else. In these situations, I am able to regain the energy of the game by getting more enthusiastic and putting more into it myself.

Sometimes I think that Callie’s enthusiasm has helped to spark my enthusiasm to a higher level which has led to some really fun “noser” volleys.

Any way you look at it, this “energy exchange” has enriched my relationship with Callie. I understand her a little better — and probably myself, as well.

Try paying attention to your dog’s energy patterns!

Posted in Callie, Dog Bonding, Dog Talk, Relationships | Comments Off

Dog Rescue: A Tale of “Tommy the Throwaway Dog” — A podcast with author Laura Marlowe

February 13th, 2012

Dog rescue is a hot topic for many dog lovers. This is a dog rescue story that has turned into much more — a book, an educational process, and a fundraising project. All because a trash collector rescued Tommy, the dog, from a dumpster.

Tommy’s story starts out in a very sad way. He was abused by his first owner — in terrible ways. Finally, that owner, literally “threw Tommy away” — into a trash bin. Fortunately, an alert trash collector rescued Tommy and took him to a shelter, where people cared for him. About two months later, Tommy was rescued by his “forever home” new parents.

Laura Marlowe read about Tommy and decided to write a book about his story. She wanted to teach people — especially young children — how to properly treat a dog and the benefits of dog rescue. “Tommy the Throwaway Dog” is aimed at children from three years old to age nine. Now Laura travels around the country visiting grade school classes and shelters and using Tommie’s story help raise awareness and funds — for the proper treatment of dogs.

Here’s Laura’s overview of Tommy’s story (2:30).

And here’s the full interview from the “My Doggie Says…” show.

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A Rescue Dog Gets A Great Job — “On Toby’s Terms” with Charmaine Hammond

January 27th, 2012

Charmaine Hammond’s rescue dog, Toby, got off to a pretty bad start — by turning Charmaine’s house totally upside down. But, with help from an animal communicator, Charmaine solved Toby’s behavior problems and turned him into a rescue dog with a mission in life.

Rescue Dog with a Super Job

Here’s Charmaine’s description of how Toby, the rescue dog, would enter a hospital and announce his presence — with a couple of loud barks. And how Toby has some special instincts about how he can help each patient he interacts with.

Here’s Charmaine talking about “On Toby’s Terms.” It’s really a great story about a rescue dog, an animal behaviorist, and a creative and very effective solution to a dog behavior problem.

Posted in Dog Talk, Dog Training, Podcasts, Rescue | 6 Comments »

Why Do Dog Bites Happen? Michelle Douglas Analyzes the Data on “The My Doggie Says…” Show

January 24th, 2012

Sometimes children suffer dog bites with disastrous results. Michelle Douglas, of The Refined Canine, is a past president of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. In this interview on the “My Doggie Says…” show, Michelle talks about a dog bite tragedy that occurred in her neighborhood — and what can be done to prevent these accidents from happening.

In this short clip (1:34), Michelle summarizes the results of research by the Canine Research Council on childhood dog bites. Most incidents are a result of a child left alone with an unfamiliar dog in an unfamiliar place:

Here’s the full podcast:

Posted in Dog Talk, Podcasts, Training | 5 Comments »

Learning About Dog Communication from Sharon Loy, Animal Communicator

January 11th, 2012

Here are Sharon Loy’s words about how improved dog communication can lead to a much richer relationship with your pet:

“Like most animal lovers, I have always had a trusting and intuitive connection with animals. But I did not always understand the full extent of what their companionship offers.”

In this short clip (4:48), Sharon talks about how anyone can learn to become a telepathic animal communicator:

Listen to the entire podcast, in which Sharon talks about what it means to have telepathic abilities, how language and intuition can foster dog communication and the role of right brain and left brain thinking in dog communication. Sharon also gives some fascinating examples of how her telepathic skills helped solve some very complicated dog behavior problems.

Posted in Dog Communication, Dog Talk, Podcasts | 2 Comments »

Taking Dog Communication and Dog Relationships to a Higher Level: With Lori Spagna, Animal Communicator, on the “My Doggie Says…” Show

January 6th, 2012

Lori Helps us Take Dog Relationships to a New High

Lori Spagna is founder of efil’s god Spirit,efil’s god and efil’s god Dog Training, which focus on a spiritual, holistic approach to communication and healing for the mind, body and spirit in every living being.

Hear how Lori’s concept of our pets “mirroring” our personalities, along with some good dog communication, helped solve a family relationship problem — and a dog’s terrible skin allergy issue. (4:00)

According to Lori, the best dog communication happens when you marry your right brain with your left. (2:00)

Here’s the full podcast (50:00).

Posted in Dog Communication, Podcasts | 1 Comment »

A Doggie Diet for People, Too: Peggy Frezon on the “My Doggie Says…” Show

January 5th, 2012

Improve your dog relationship by putting your dog on a doggie diet while you are trying to lose weight yourself. Peggy Frezon is the author of “Dieting with my Dog.”

Peggy Frezon is an author, pet columnist, and multiple award-winning freelance writer from New York. She contributes regularly to Guideposts and Angels on Earth magazines and is published in more than a dozen Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Her work can also be seen in magazines such as Woman’s World, Teaching Tolerance, Pockets and others, and in books including The Ultimate Dog Lover, Miracles and Animals, Soul Matters, and David Jeremiah’s Grace Givers. She writes two web columns, Pawsitively Pets and Animals 4 People, is a staff writer for Be the Change for Animals, and blogs at Peggy’s Pet Place. Her first book is Dieting with my Dog (Hubble & Hattie, 2011).

Listen to Peggy as she talks about feeding her dog veggies, sharing an exercise program, and the psychological benefits of having a “furry little conscience.”

Posted in Dog Bonding, Podcasts | Comments Off

Callie’s dog communication: A Snort with a Messsage

January 2nd, 2012

Understanding dog communication is like solving a puzzle. Our “best friends” often create what I call “scratch-your-head moments.” They do something a little unusual, and, more often than not, they are trying to tell us something. The trick is to figure out what this particular dog communication might mean.

Callie often uses a “snort” or “grunt” sound to communicate. She’s not trying to form words, but it’s as if she’s figured out that we humans communicate with our voices. Maybe she’s really trying to communicate a message, but, if nothing else, she uses her “snorts” as a way of saying, “Hey, I’m trying to tell you something.”

Yesterday, I was sitting at Lake Arrowhead, doing some work on my laptop computer, when Callie sent a dog communication message. She stood on all four legs, about six feet away from me and making good eye contact, and she let out a huge “grunt.”

It would have been easy to simply ignore Callie’s “grunt” and say something like, “Hi, Callie, nice ‘grunt,’ now let me get back to my work.” But I’ve learned, through years of paying attention and writing “My Doggie Says… Messages from Jamie,” that puzzling doggie behaviors like this almost always contain some kind of dog communication — a message for the decoding.

In trying to interpret Calllie’s messages, one of my first suspicions always has to be, “How about giving me a nice scratch on on my tummy or my neck?” But Callie was standing too far away, so that didn’t make any sense.

My next guess was, “I need to go out and pee,” so I got up and walked toward the door, but Callie didn’t follow. So, another wrong guess.

So now I’m racking my brain to figure out what Callie could be trying to tell me. Was she asking to be fed? No, she had eaten breakfast about an hour earlier.

What about Callie’s water dish? Callie drinks a lot of water in the dry, five-thousand-foot elevation, of Lake Arrowhead. Sure enough, the water dish was empty. I topped it up; Callie took some big slurps; and she curled up on the floor by the fireplace.

Dog communication mission accomplished!

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