However you choose to celebrate the season of giving, we hope it’s a happy time for you. And if, like us, you celebrate Christmas, we wish you a great big
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
from the My Doggie Says… team
Fred, Jamie (in spirit) and Callie
Archive for the ‘Dog Communication’ Category
Merry Christmas!
Friday, December 21st, 2007If Dogs Talk at Christmas Time, How About Wolves?
Thursday, December 20th, 2007Yesterday, I wrote about a lovely Christmas legend that the dogs all lie down and talk at midnight on Christmas eve.
This story pops up several places on the web, and one of them goes on to tell the story of Barrington Bunny, a Christmas story about the animals in the forest.
Before you follow one of these links, I suggest you make sure you’re sitting down with some tissues in a place where you can cry without embarrassing yourself.
Here are several links. The stories are the same, but the photography is different.
The story of Barrington Bunny, from “The Way of the Wolf,” by Martin Bell, from dirtyolman.
The story of Barrington Bunny, from “The Way of the Wolf,” by Martin Bell, from geocities.
The story of Barrington Bunny, from “The Way of the Wolf,” by Martin Bell, from www.angelfire.com.
Will Your Dog Talk on Christmas?
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007Here’s the text:
I really like the sentiment of this. As you know, I think our dogs send us more messages than most of us realize. Trust me, this Christmas, I’ll be checking in with Callie to see what she has to say.
Speaking of Christmas, we’re trying to work up the courage to let Callie loose (out of her training crate) in the living room, with the Christmas tree. We’re nervous that she will eat the angels on the tree, or wipe out the electric train. But Callie, now eleven months old, is calming down a little. We’ll give it a try, with lots of supervision.
So maybe after Callie gets to spend some time with the tree and the train, she’ll have some special, Christmassy, things to say. Perhaps the point is that for centuries people have been suspicious that animals are very tuned into the ways of the universe.
Is it possible to control the eating habits of your dog? Why does Callie eat rugs?
Thursday, December 13th, 2007With the holidays approaching, it’s a good time to think about protecting your dog from eating bad stuff — like tree ornaments and fruit cake.
Callie, just eleven months old yesterday, scares me, because she’ll eat just about anything. When she plays soccer, she takes advantage of every opportunity to eat a little grass. This isn’t really terrible, but it’s symptomatic. Same thing when we walk near the golf course; if there’s a divot around, Callie will take a stab at it. This could be more serious because of the fertilizers used to enrich the grass. So far, we’ve kept her from eating anything really horrible, but we worry about it. The other day, she ate a hamburger-sized piece of an exotic rug. She’s also tried to eat a few of her favorite toys recently — although she continues to spare her most favored “stinky” and a few other special toys. Here’s Callie with her “stinky,” a favorite security object that she is careful not to damage.
So much for dogs eating “stuff” they find around the house or out and about. What about food they find? There are some foods that can be dangerous to dogs, but some things — like chicken bones, turkey bones, chocolate, mistletoe, and poinsettia plants — are more likely to be around during the holidays.
So how do you deal with this? How do you stop your dog from eating all this junk?
Well, the first step is that you just can’t let your dog out of sight if there is truly lethal stuff around. You have to keep “man’s best friend” out of trouble. Also, you can try to dog-proof your house, just like you child-proof your house when there’s a small child around.
Our dogs are very special friends, and there’s nothing better than sharing experiences with them, helping them do the things they like to do, and nurturing their personalities. But there are also times when they depend on us in a very critical way to protect them from themselves.
Help Your Retriever Retrieve (with video of Callie)
Monday, December 10th, 2007If you want to have a good relationship with your dog, one of the best things you can do is to help it be true to its breeding and nature. For example, Golden Retrievers are bred to retrieve. So why not give your Golden Retriever lots of chances to retrieve different things?
If you’ve read “My Doggie Says… Messages from Jamie,” you know that Jamie would often interrupt our morning jog by freezing in place and looking back at us to make eye contact. The message was, “Could I please pick up this pine cone and carry it for a while?” We encouraged her to retrieve things (usually pine cones or sticks) whenever she could.
Of course, her favorite thing to retrieve was her “floppy.”
Callie, now almost eleven months old, is building her retrieving muscles. It’s fun to watch her, because she doesn’t always know what works and what doesn’t work. For example, Jamie learned that it works best to carry a big stick by holding it near the middle, so it balances evenly.
You’ll see in the video that Callie hasn’t quite figured this out yet. She often “bites off more than she can chew,” trying to retrieve sticks that are too big and then holding them at one end, instead of in the middle. But she’s learning. And it’s really fun to watch her work at being a better retriever.
Callie wishes Barbara "Bon Voyage"
Wednesday, December 5th, 2007Sometimes, My Doggie Says… things that are very puzzling and hard to figure out.
This morning, Barbara got up at 4:00 in the morning to catch an airplane for a business trip. She took Callie out for her morning pee. Then she showered, packed her bags and did a few chores in the kitchen. That done, she went down to the garage to load her car.
About this time, Callie, back in her crate, started to whine and whimper. Not very loud and not in desperation, but just a gentle whimper. It was the kind of little “squeak” sound that usually means “I need to go to the bathroom.” So I climbed out of bed (it’s still only about 4:45 in the morning) and walked Callie, for a second time, out to the side yard.
When we got to the side yard, Callie just stood and listened to the outdoor noises — birds chirping (or trying to wake up), leaves rustling, sprinklers sprinkling. She circled around a few times, past all her usual pee places, but didn’t do anything.
So we walked back to Callie’s crate and she scrambled in. She’s usually enthusiastic about going into her crate. But then she started whining again. What gives?
Then I realized that Callie could still hear Barbara moving stuff around in the garage. So I wondered, “Does Callie just want to say ‘goodbye’ to Babara?” Or maybe just to understand what’s happening? Well, I put on her leash and walked her down to the garage where she had a little “goodbye” conversation with Barbara. Barbara assured her that she (Barbara) would only be gone for two days.
Then Callie went happily back to her crate and slept like a log until about 6:00. She just wanted to wish Barbara a doggie “Bon Voyage.”
Doggie messages aren’t always obvious. Sometimes you have to work through the different possibilities to understand what your doggie is saying.
But your doggie will appreciate your efforts, and you’ll help it do some important things.
Dogs are Smarter than we Thought (Surprise!)
Saturday, December 1st, 2007Slowly, but surely, the scientific community is catching up with us dog-lovers who know that dogs are smarter than most people (especially scientists) think.
In the past, the logic has gone something like, “Dogs can’t work a Rubik’s Cube, so they must not be as smart as people. Or, “Dogs can’t solve math problems, so they aren’t very smart.”
But most of us who own dogs — and have had close relationships with them — know better. We’ve watched our pets solve hard problems, like “How do I get the dog treat (or a carrot, or some sting cheese) out of the Kong toy?” Callie was doing this today, in her crate, by picking up the Kong toy and dropping it on the floor of the crate, with a big “thump.” Sometimes, when she dropped the toy, the food would stick out a little more, and Callie would grab a lick or a bite. It sounded like someone playing basketball, with the constant “thumping.”
Jamie’s favorite thing to do was to swim in Lake Arrowhead and retrieve her “floppy disc,” a pink, floating frisbee-like toy. This was one of the most fun parts of writing “My Doggie Says… Messages from Jamie.” Because it revealed Jamie’s ability to work through a whole sequence of “problems,” in order to do what she wanted to do more than anything else in the world.
It started when I took my green backpack out of the front closet.
This was Jamie’s signal that we were going to the lake. Next, Jamie would wait by the door until we took her to the car. Once we arrived at the lake, she literally dragged us step-by-step to our boat dock, which she could distinguish from the other boat docks. She knew right where it was. Then she walked to the west dock-box (not the east one) because she knew her Floppy was in that one. Then she stood and waited until I opened the dock box and got her Floppy.
Once Jamie had her Floppy in her mouth, she stood by the gate, waiting for me to open it. Then she ran down the gangway and dropped her Floppy on the boat dock, until I threw it into the lake. Then, finally, she jumped into the lake and retrieved her Floppy, which was her absolute favorite thing to do. But she had the whole process orchestrated, from the minute the green backpack came out of the closet.
So we know dogs are very smart.
The good news is that science is finally catching up with us. Friederike Range and his colleagues from the University of Vienna, Austria, created an experiment that demonstrated that dogs could be trained to recognize the concept of “dog.” After a training phase, the dogs were able to distinguish between photographs of dogs (different shapes, sizes and numbers) and photographs of scenic landscapes. So the dogs were able to understand the concept of “dog.”
Here, from Science Daily, is an article that describes the experiment. And here, from Britain’s “Telegraph,” is another version.
What’s the smartest thing your dog does? Pay attention to how it solves little problems, and you’ll have a greater appreciation for its intelligence.
Top Ten Things to do with Your Dog (By Callie)
Tuesday, November 27th, 2007
Hi, it’s Callie again. Fred’s travelling, so I’m filling in.
You probably know there are lots of things you can do with a dog. But just so you’ll know how a dog thinks about it, here are my “Top Ten Things to do with Your Dog.”
1. Take a walk with your dog. Here, from RubyGlen.com are “8 tips for a better walk with your dog.” This is all the stuff you should think about when you’re getting ready to take your dog for a walk.
2. Go jogging with your dog. I’m not old enough to jog yet. My vets says I need to be about fourteen months old, so I don’t beat up my hips. But I’m really looking forward to being able to jog instead of just walk. Here, from paw-rescue.org, is a pretty neat article about jogging with your dog.
3. Play soccer. See some of Fred’s earlier blogs for video of me playing soccer. Also, take a look at the link to the all-animal soccer time. I’m not the only dog who likes to play soccer.
4. Get into competitions with your dog, like dog shows or agility training. My Dad, Cutter, is an Agility Champion. I hope I look this neat when I grow up.
5. Buy toys for your dog. Actually, I think it’s great fun to go to the toy store. But read Fred’s blog about “The Doggie Toy Mystery,” before you buy a lot of stuff. I (and some of my puppy friends) take great pleasure in destroying “indestructible” doggie toys.
6. Give your dog a massage. Fred does this for me sometimes, and I really like it. I find it very calming. Here’s an article about some of the benefits of doggie massage.
7. Take your dog to a dog-park and meet other dogs and people. I don’t have a dog-park real close, but I enjoy meeting the other dogs at my puppy kindergarten.
8. Have a meaningful conversation with your dog. You might be surprised how understanding your dog is. Pay attention to your conversational style and try to communicate how you feel with the tone of your voice.
9. Let your dog sleep with you. Dogs can be really good snugglers. I still sleep in my crate, but I know Jamie slept with Fred and Barbara and I look forward to the day when I’ll get to do that.
10. Work with your dog on obedience and tricks. It’s fun for the dog, and it shows them (I shouldn’t admit this) who’s boss.
11. (For good measure) Dance with your dog. Yep, dance with your dog. If you didn’t see Fred’s post on Sunday, November 25, you should check it out. Lots of people are taking dancing lessons with their dogs!
Have fun with your dog! Your dog will appreciate it, and you’ll learn a lot about your dog.
See you next time!
Keeping your pet safe over the holidays and an update on Callie's puppy kindergarten
Saturday, November 24th, 2007Callie likes “top ten” lists, so she asked me to share this with you. It’s a great list of ways to keep your pet safe over the holidays, by John Woestendiek of the Baltimore Sun. Lots of good things to think about as we start the holiday season. Come to think of it, Barbara’s putting out a lot of decorations right now, so Callie and I better have a talk with her.
John’s article reminds me of a Thanksgiving weekend hike we took one year with Jamie, at Lake Arrowhead. Jamie started digging in the snow, and she unearthed a whole turkey carcass. Probably something the coyotes dragged down from someone’s trash. We got it away from Jamie as quickly as possible, because we know turkey bones splinter and can cause huge problems for a dog.
Callie’s doing really well in her puppy kindergarten. Here’s some video of a drill where she meets six new people. The people approach her one at a time, from the side, and ask to pet her for a few seconds. Notice how Callie is learning not to jump up on people, which she had a tendency to do. In all six of her “visits” she stays down and lets people pet her.
I was really proud of her for the way she did this.
In the background, you’ll hear a “yippie” dog. Wait until the last few frames of the video and you’ll see who this is — a cute white Havanese breed dog.
Hope you’re enjoying the long Thanksgiving weekend.
Earning more puppy freedom (by Callie)
Friday, November 16th, 2007
Hi, Callie here again. Fred just got back from his travels, but I had this blog all ready to go.
I thought I’d give you a little status report on my puppy crate training. Actually, all things considered, I’d say my strategy is working pretty well. I keep finding more and more ways to earn puppy treats, and, at the same time, Fred and Barbara are giving me a little more free time out of my crate.
For example, I’ve learned that if Barbara lets me run loose in the kitchen, I get a puppy treat once in a while, as long as I don’t get into the trash or eat the newspapers in the storage bin. It’s pretty neat. Barbara is especially easy to train; she’s the main puppy treat person. Fred doesn’t use them as much; with him, I just get to hang out in his office more if I don’t mess things up.
Don’t misunderstand. I really like my crate. It’s a great place to relax and eat my meals and sleep at night. But it is really nice to get out of it during the day, so I can spend more time with Fred and Barbara.
If Fred’s working at home, he usually closes off the the other part of the house, so I can just be in the hallway or in his office. So I have my water dish in the hallway and some of my favorite toys. I know Fred’s pretty busy, so I try not to bother him too much. But once in a while he seems to like it if I take one of my toys to him and play a little “give and take.â€
“Give and take†is a good little game that I invented. I present one of my favorite toys to Fred, like I want him to take it. But if he really tries to take it a away, I grab hold really tight so he can’t. Then he gives it back to me, and I give it back to him. And we go back and forth. I don’t think he wants it to turn into a game of tug of war; that’s why he always gives it back to me. I really like it, because he’s paying attention to me, and we’re doing something together – with a toy that I really like.
The rest of the time, I take turns playing with my toys. Or sometimes I just munch very gently on one of my toys – sort of just gumming it. This is really mellow and relaxing for me. Sometimes it makes me so relaxed I just fall asleep and take a nap.
I especially like it when we’re at Lake Arrowhead, because the house there, at least the upstairs, is more like one big room, with a door out to the deck. And it’s pretty puppy-proof. So Fred and Barbara let me go pretty much where I want. I really like that, and I’m looking forward to when they will do that at our other home.
So I’m working real hard at just chewing on my toys and not on Barbara’s rugs or plants. I have a couple of nice, hard chewy toys now; that makes it easier to stay away from rugs and plants.
See you next time!
