Green Dog Blog

There’s a lot of cat stuff on our minds these days as we’ve recently adopted a 10 year old Himalayan cat.
So many people think that cats don’t need anything – we hear this all the time. They seem to understand that dogs need interaction, exercise and mental stimulation, but cats, (especially indoor cats) need these things as well. One thing we hear a lot from the people who think their cats don’t need anything is how horrible their cats’ behavior is and how destructive these cats are to their home!
We needed to teach Otis a lot of new things when we brought him in, as we were turning him from an indoor/outdoor cat to an entirely indoor cat, so making sure he was good at a litter box and scratching posts and keeping him stimulated enough to make up for his outdoor time was all important. I thought it might be fun to share a few videos with you.
Cats can certainly be trained through positive reinforcement techniques to follow commands. He’s got a pretty good recall and he sits like a champ on command. I also needed him to get the heck out from under my feet in the kitchen – I decided to use the threshold of the kitchen as a visual marker; something easy for him to understand. Get over the threshold and stay there and the treats you seek will come to you:

It’s been working well. First I lured him with a treat into the spot, while I said the command, then I started saying “get in your spot” and then luring and rewarding him, and then I would say the command and pause before luring him. It took longer than it would have taken a dog, but he eventually had that “Aha moment” and did it himself. Now, he needs to stay in the spot for longer and longer periods to get treats.

He had a history of being brushed and liking it in the past (you have to brush a Himalayan!) but when he came to us he didn’t tolerate it much. Mostly he wanted to play and bite the brush, and forget about brushing anything but his cheeks and back. So, we started with what he would tolerate, and just when he was doing a nice job, we’d stop and get a treat. Of course over time he’d tolerate a bit more and a bit more. I’d try to reward it when he did a slightly better job than usual, and if I pushed it too long and he got cranky/silly about it, I just stopped and left.
Each time he rolled over on his back (even when he wasn’t being brushed) I’d use the word “belly” while I talked to him, and if he let me touch and later rub the belly (without snapping the bear trap shut – our name for the attack we’d often get if we touched it) I’d give him a treat. We’ve gotten pretty far and I was impressed when he started making the connection for giving up the belly when I asked for it:

Any pet can learn to tolerate and eventually enjoy things they don’t like using this same process. Nail trims, handling body parts they don’t like touched, and being brushed are just three practical examples. You have to start with something they do tolerate or even enjoy, even if that means that you have to start with something that hardly looks like the behavior you want to achieve. Building up slowly is the key – even the tiniest progress is worth rewarding, and never ever forcing something they’re uncomfortable with.  Here’s another post about this process. It’s worth working on! If you ever want to talk to me (Christine) in more detail about your specific challenge, please do come in and I’ll try to help you with some tips

Happy Thanksgiving! Thought I’d chime in with a few reminders for keeping pets safe on Thanksgiving.

- Try to make time in the morning to exercise the dog, so they’re not too wound up when people start to arrive.

-Though some table scraps are OK (and sometimes inevitable if there’s a large group of people – someone’s going to drop something!), try to keep the amount small – many T-giving foods like turkey skin and gravy are very high in fat, and some animals could be prone to an attack of pancreatitis if they indulge too much.

- Watch out for turkey bones – though a raw turkey neck can be a fine treat for a dog, when poultry bones are cooked, they become brittle and dangerous.

- remember that onions, raisins and chocolate are all ingredients that are toxic to dogs.

- Watch out for novel plants and flowers that people bring as gifts during the holiday season – some can be very very toxic, like Lilies.

- Watch out for things like saran wrap and tin foil that are covered in food – dogs may ingest them

- If your animals are freaked out by chaos, it might be friendly to let them relax in a quiet room, away from the noise.

- Make sure your animals are wearing their ID tags, as people coming in and out may inadvertently let them out.

- Give the dogs something to keep them busy – a Kong stuffed with something moist and then frozen gives them something to work on (Merrick’s Thanksgiving Day canned food or canned pumpkin or plain yogurt would be fun treats!). Whatever your dog enjoys chewing on, have it handy for when you need to distract them.

- Keep your local emergency pet hospital’s number handy in case of accidents.

- Crazy things do happen – check out this X-ray photo of a St Bernard puppy that swallowed a whole carving knife – you can even see the long handle in this photo. Wow! Watch your pets to make sure they stay safe over the holidays – I’ll bet that knife tasted like turkey.

Most of my posts are about cats and dogs of course, as that is our primary focus at Green Dog. But I know some of you have birds out there, and today I ran across a few videos about bird training that seemed to really have value – I thought I’d pass along a few to you. (and anyone that enjoys training any species at all can learn from these videos, as the concepts of positive reinforcement training are remarkably similar between species. I’ve trained a lot of animals, from orangutans to rhinos using these exact same techniques, and they work like a dream on dogs and even cats).

Though I wouldn’t personally choose to own a parrot, my work with parrots in the wildlife show/education dept at Zoo Atlanta taught me so much about the value and the mechanics of positive reinforcement training, and it made me respect the intelligence of parrots and especially their great need for mental stimulation.  Parrots don’t do very well with down time – they’ve evolved to live in very complex environments, and their diet is incredibly varied, seasonally fluctuating, spread out over great distances. Not only that, but items in their diet are often difficult to process once they find them (hard shells, fruits with varying rinds and spiny protections, seeds embedded in plants, etc). Sitting around and eating chopped foods out of a bowl is certainly not how parrots are wired, and many difficult behavioral problems are born out of this sort of boredom. At the zoo we used enrichment techniques to introduce variety in their lives when they had down time in their cages, but most importantly we utilized positive reinforcement training programs. This was not only to develop behaviors that would ultimately help us bring educational messages to the public about parrot conservation in the wild, but more importantly to challenge and stimulate the minds of the parrots in our care.

First a fun one: Here’s a video of someone who has taught their parrot a fantastic array of tricks using clicker training. I find the music a bit unfortunate and distracting, but the training is great. Even dog and cat trainers can use most of these tricks as inspirations for the types of behaviors you can train at home – pick up items and put them in specific places, position your body in unique ways, target objects, open and close doors,  even match colors (check out the one towards the end where the parrot has to put a ring on the post of the same color. I once met a trainer who had taught her dog to sort light and dark laundry into two different baskets):

Then the mechanics of it all. I stumbled upon this woman that seems to really have made some good basic videos that would help to get a person started.
First the dos:

and the don’ts:

Going to the You Tube link on the video will show you lots of great videos to get you started like this one on beginning target training. This is a great place to start, especially with a fearful animal or one that is hard to handle.

Training any animal is a perfect way to stimulate their minds and to develop a closer, more positive relationship with that animal. Animals with behavioral problems can truly be helped with positive reinforcement training, both indirectly by providing more stimulation, and directly by allowing you to address issues like handle-ability, food or object guarding, learning to choose calm behaviors over impulsive ones, etc.   If you want tips about clicker training, the internet is loaded with them, and we also have some great books at Green Dog that will help you get started.

Hi – As fourth of July is coming up, I want to remind everyone of a few safety tips:
- under no circumstances should animals be left outdoors during that night – too many pets panic and do crazy things to get out. Many many animals wind up in shelters after the 4th for this reason, or worse, are injured or killed because they’re not thinking straight. I’ve also heard nightmare stories of cats and dogs teased or tortured with fireworks by cruel people
- make sure not to bring a dog to a fireworks display – it can be too overwhelming and the sounds can be damaging to their ears. You wouldn’t want to panic the dog and then be stuck in a big crowd that’s hard to get out of. Better to leave the dog at home. However:
- make sure to exercise your pets well in the evening before the noise starts, so some nervous energy can be burned off.
- Make sure they’re in a secure area, and draw the blinds
- You can turn the radio or TV on in a normal volume, but make sure that the station won’t be broadcasting a fireworks display that night! Maybe an ipod on shuffle is a better idea
- Products like Comfort Zone pheromones and mild herbal relaxants like Happy Traveler by Ark Naturals can help some animals to get through the night. We also have a good chewable calming chew for cats from Pet Naturals
- Make sure your animals have up to date info on their ID tags, in case they do get out.
- Animals with mild anxiety can often be jollied out of it – make sure not to reinforce their fears with your behavior – see if you can make it game-time, or give the lucky pet a treat each time there’s a loud one. Sometimes if dogs think you’re having fun, they can be convinced not to worry as much. Things for dogs to chew on can also help to alleviate anxiety for them.
Good Luck!

Have any tips that have worked for you? Share them here!

Happy Halloween!
Fun Stuff
check out this link to cute dog breed stencils for your pumpkin carving.
The “real” link is here, but I can’t figure out where the stencils are for that one. Maybe you can.

Beware of Toxic Things on Halloween

Don’t forget to be on guard for dogs getting into that Halloween Candy stash! Chocolate isn’t the only thing that’s toxic to dogs; macadamia nuts, raisins, and the sweetener xylitol are all on the list of things that can be poisonous to dogs, but the wrappers and other decorations can also cause problems when ingested. Check out this link to other household items that are toxic to dogs, and what to do if your dog gets into them.

Behavioral Tips

Behaviorally, make sure that if your dog is stressed out by strangers, to have him in a secure area of the house where he won’t be plagued by constant scary monsters ringing the doorbell. Conversely, if you’re up for it this is a great time to work on door manners with a dog that isn’t frightened just excited.  Doorbell rings, dog on leash sits, door opens, dog and costumed kid both get their own treats. Lots of repetitions available on Halloween equals lots of chances to practice how to act when people come to the door.
Hints:

-Practice this a day or two beforehand with someone familiar that rings the doorbell, rehearsing the sit quietly while the door opens routine 8 or 10 times (first time is hard, then it gets easy as it’s the same person over and over. This lets the dog get better and better at the behavior because you’ve removed the novelty of someone at the door)
- work on a leash for control, but reward the sitting calmly without lots of yanking. The familiar person can hang out on the step for a few minutes while you work on that.
- on Halloween, have two people work the door, one for kid treats and one for working with the dog
- when the doorbell rings, don’t jump up. Walk calmly to the door.

If you have a new puppy this can be a good socialization exercise – monsters = good treats for puppy! Encourage them to say hi to the funny monsters, but don’t force them into it – you want socialization exercises to be positive. If you feel like it’s safe, have the monsters offer the puppy yummy dog jerky or pieces of cheese. Soon the puppy will think people in costume are a good thing!

It’s not uncommon for people to come into the store looking for ways to keep cats out of their flower beds. I myself have had a nasty experience or two in my own gardens, digging away, enjoying the feel of dirt between my fingers, and then coming up with something soft and smelly. Cat feces can also carry toxoplasmosis, to add to the fun of the experience. Not only that, but people complain when the sun hits the flowerbed under their open window, that the stench rises up and makes them miserable.  I cringe when customers say their indoor outdoor cat doesn’t use a litter box – “they just go outside”.  Meanwhile, their neighbors are cursing them and coming to our store looking for a magical spray that might repel cats from their nice garden filled with plants they might like to eat some day.
Trouble is, I’ve never really found a spray or powder that is all that effective at repelling cats, (or dogs that might want to dig in all that freshly turned soil). The worst part (more…)

As a trainer and a retail pet supply store owner, I’m often in a situation where I can help someone through a problem. There are other times, however, where I see someone doing something so terribly wrong, so injurious to a dog’s behavior, and the person can’t seem to hear me when I try and guide them towards a new way. This is ultimately stressful to me, as I can see how much potential there is to fix a problem, and yet I can also see that this dog is doomed to have the problem worsen quickly. The culprit is always punishment of behaviors that are fear based. Take for example a man who came in the other day with his new dog. This little black fluffy dog had been kept in someone’s house for about 3 years, only venturing out to the back yard (more…)

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We couldn’t believe it when we moved to Portland and saw/heard how many fireworks go off here on the 4^th of July. We’ve never lived anywhere with legal fireworks, and had no idea that it would be such a constant barrage of explosions for hours on end. This can be a very frightening thing for pets in our homes who can’t possibly understand what is happening, and can drive some dogs into a panic. I thought I’d put together some tips for how to get ready and how to deal with the 4^th when it comes.

If this is your first 4^th of July with your new puppy, this is your chance to set the tone for the future. This exercise can also help older dogs that are already frightened of fireworks noises. (more…)

Now that the weather’s getting warmer, we’re seeing dogs in the store who are “blowing their coat” – another term for seasonal shedding. Some of you might say, “Seasonal shedding?? But my pet sheds all the time!” This is a common complaint, and one that can often be cleared up with (more…)

Winter is a tough time to have a busy dog. Granted, this winter has been much milder than most here in Portland, but what do you do for dogs that have lots of energy when it’s cold and rainy out? Keep their mouths busy – stuff a Kong! Many people know about stuffing Kongs – those durable red or black rubber toys are great to smear a bit of peanut butter in. However many people don’t get creative enough about their Kong stuffing, and may be wasting a good opportunity to keep a dog busy. (more…)