Fill Out the form Below to get your copy of the Five Most Useful Dog commands!

5 Useful Dog Commands

My years with a dogman by Mike McConnery

I had the opportunity to read My years with a dogman when Joshua from Baden K9 delivered Scout, our Dutch Shepherd. Being the bookworm that I am, was ecstatic to read another book. Especially one about dogs and dog training. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I began but I quicky came to the conclusion that this was unlike any dog book I have ever read.

Mike shares his experiences about learning “The Work” from a German Officer that trained K9s for War World II. It was incredible reading about the capabilities of the dogs that were trained in The Work. It was definitely an eye opener to realize that dogs have abilities that are so underutilized and that they are so much more than just a creature to pet and care for. They can became a partner.

I highly recommend picking up a copy of this book for a glimpse into the world of true working dogs and what our canine partners are capable of. Once you catch that first glimpse, you will want more.

A tired dog makes a happy owner

Scout tired after a day of training with Trident Fitness and Baden K9

Scout tired after a day of training with Trident Fitness and Baden K9

I saw an Instagram post by Dyas K9 in which a pup was passed out after a session of training. The caption explained how training stimulates a dog mentally and physically. A tired dog is a content dog and a content dog makes life more peaceful for a busy owner.

It seems like working a dog wears them out more than exercising them. Scout can literally run miles more than Ash and I. So if we want a calm fur missile, we place her in obedience in an elevated position. Its even better if we can put Copper up there with her. A little bit of that not only reinforces her wait command and obedience, but tires her out. A win-win situation for sure.

On a related note, I saw a video on Instagram of a Dutchie being taught to run on a tread mill. It was neat that the owner was able to do that but one of the principles I use is “Don’t ask anything of the dog you wouldn’t be willing to do,” and for me, running on the treadmill is not something I would be willing to do. It would be different if I was on the treadmill next to Scout working out together but you won’t see me work my dog on a treadmill just to exercise her. I do however enjoy going on runs with Ash and Scout and Copper. The three of us will be beat at the end and Scout looks like us like, “Uh excuse me, is that all?” I swear she could run another 5 miles. On the other hand, you give her a nice even half hour training session working on obedience under stress on elevated obstacles with some agility training and she is completely wiped.

A tired dog equals a happy owner.

Scout after a long day of training at Baden K9

Scout after a long day of training at Baden K9

 

Dutch Shepherd Agility on a playground

I put together a quick video of Scout doing some agility work on a local playground. The Dutch Shepherd breed excels at agility. She definitely made it look easy.

Copper the Golden Retriever’s first track

The other week I convinced my darling wife to do some tracking work with me and our 6 year old Golden Retriever, Copper. Copper is a goof ball. My wife affectionately calls him the Golden Oaf. Since he loves us so much, I knew we could channel his desire to be with us into some tracking and the video below is the result.

As you can see in the video, Copper wasn’t exactly sure what I was asking of him when he initially started. I think he was wondering why I didn’t want him in a nice heel position. After some reassurance, he started tracking with gusto. He hasn’t figured out that he should put his head down. He is still looking for her visually but he’s on the right track. Ha.

A wife and a cantankerous dutch shepherd

Ash here – Case’s better half. I thought I’d sit down and write about some recent

Scout perched mid wall work.

Scout perched mid wall work.

experiences with Scout and share with you the importance of being consistent. I’ll be honest, Scout and I rarely see eye to eye. We have our moments where we both really enjoy each other but for the most part we are pushing each other’s buttons (lets be serious, it’s Scout driving me insane). Scout is Case’s dog through and through, yet she spends the majority of her time with me manning the home front while he flies. Life is no simple feat right now trying to balance a newborn and a growing business. Most days there is barely enough time to myself to take a shower let alone work the dogs. Until just a few days ago I had put obedience training at the bottom of my to-do list. That was until that furry friend of mine started to disobey “wait” commands, chew up onesies, and drag couch cushions around the house. I realize that if I didn’t put in the time to work with them, then I was spending more time and energy correcting them for their disobedience, and being more frustrated in the process.

Smart dogs are worse than cranky kids, and melted ice cream. They know exactly when and where to act up and how to do so in a manner that gets under your skin in the worst way. I spent the early hours of Tuesday morning cleaning poop out of the nursery carpet, half-heartedly yelling “Phoeeyyyy Scout…. leaveee itt Scout… Scoutttt, Scouttt, SCOUT!!!” from underneath the covers for her to stop barking at the sprinklers. The up down, up down of getting up to put her back in a plutz, and huffing and puffing an array of expletives as I attempted to flatten my body as much as I could to get far enough under the bed to pull the dog out from under it with a mouth-full of onesie, a spoon, and a pair of Case’s boxers (she is constantly laying on them when he’s gone). When I finally got her out and she jumped on and woke up the sleeping baby, I vowed to myself there would be no more. Later that day, tired from a long day of teething baby screams and cranky clients, I cinched up my big girl boots and went out to show her who was in charge.
We scaled walls, worked on obedience commands on and off-lead. I pushed her and she pushed back but I held strong. I projected my voice as much as I hate doing it because it sounds so manly, and held strong to giving one and only one command. After about 5 minutes she knew I meant business and I had regained control of my unruly dog for at least the next hour or so. After more work on the high wall I gave her the watch command on a passing bicyclist. At first she didn’t react, so I changed my tone of voice to be more suspicious and bam she reacted – first trying to go through the stroller instead of around but a quick switch command to my right side thanks to having good management of my lead allowed her to put herself between the threat and the stroller. I called her out of it and proceeded to walk to the park to submerge her in a cesspool of stress: three baseball games, two playgrounds, screaming children, skateboards (her least favorite), and balls everywhere. Some would call it mean, others payback, I call it obedience under stress. Taking a dog from an environment where she was given the watch command to one where she has small children sneaking up on her trying to pet her, balls flying every which way, and me keeping her in a close fuss amidst constantly changing directions was the finale to our little session. It was the ultimate setting for her to be tested and tested she was. But more on that later.

One direction, one command

Mess 1 and Mess 2 while Scout visited the vet last week.

Mess 1 and Mess 2 while Scout visited the vet last week.

I caught myself being lazy yesterday with Scout. I kept breaking the cardinal rule of dog training, I repeated my command when I knew Scout knew exactly what I was commanding of her. One direction, one command. I can picture it in my mind: Owner bent over their dog, pointing to the ground or something and pleading with them to ‘Sit, sit, Bowser, sit.” I want Scout to “Plutz” so I give her one, “Scout, plutz.” Instead, I accepted her poor performance, reinforcing her belief that, “Hey, he really doesn’t mean it the first time he says it.” I believe it was Rich Graham that illustrated this point perfectly with a parenting analogy of putting kids to bed.

“Timmy, go get ready for bed. Timmy, I’m serious. Get ready for bed. Timmy, don’t make me get up. Timmy, I’m gonna get your Father. Timmy! I mean it. That’s it, I’m giving you until the count of three…” and on it goes.

Timmy has it figured it out just like Scout. She knows that she has a little bit more to go before I choose to correct her. And it is a choice. Every time I give her the repeated command, I am just “building a vocabulary” and she gets to decide which command she obeys. Solution? Easy, one command and if she doesn’t obey, she gets a reprimand and a correction. Easier said than done because it takes effort. Effort when you just got comfortable on the couch with your wife, or comfortable with a sleeping infant in your arms and Scout looks at you, and then proceeds to break obedience. Dogs are definitely nature’s best opportunist. She knows it takes willpower to deliberately get up and get her back into obedience.

Scout definitely keeps things interesting around the house.

Sadie’s first time tracking

Sadie getting ready for her track

Sadie getting ready for her track

I had the awesome opportunity to visit my parents today and convinced them to let me teach them how to track with their dog, Sadie. Sadie is a stray that came up to their house one day and now has a loving home with them. This was both her and my parent’s first time tracking.

We started with a short track. I had my dad walk maybe twenty yards, stop at the midpoint and give her a “come” command before ducking around the corner. I had Mom give her the “Seek” command and start following her. We were utilizing Sadie’s desire to be with my parents. Its very important to praise her when she makes the find.

The second track was really good. We increased the distance but still gave the “come” command midway. As you can hear in the video below, Sadie followed my Mom’s exact path.

The third track was much harder for her. We increased the distance and this time did not give her a “Come” command. She overshot the track so I had my Dad give her a call and then another as she lost it again. Its important to end on a positive note and we did.

Overall, they did great and even better, had a blast doing it. Its a fun game for both the my parents and their dog.

The need for a polished “Inspection” command

Mike McConnery at Baden K9 started every morning of training with an inspection. The dog was checked head to tail, ears to paws looking for anything that may preclude training for the day. The first day we examined our own dogs, the days after we would examine our own and then examine someone else’s. The dog was given the “stand” command and then the “inspection” command. The dog was expected to stay standing and not turn to see what you were doing as we lifted lips to check teeth and gums, peered into their ears, prodded, poked, and palpated  their entire body, checking for any abnormalities. The second day, after inspecting Scout, it was my privilege to inspect a 90 lbs gorgeous German Shepherd. I was slightly apprehensive because I saw the damage he did the day before during bite work. But it was a great confidence builder for all the handlers. I thought Mike was just getting the dogs accustomed to being handled by other people but I truly believe the main purpose of the exercise was to give handlers the confidence to deal with dogs other than their own. Everything at Baden stretches your comfort zone to make you and your dog a better team.
It turns out that a well rehearsed “inspection” command would have been really nice the other day when we had to take Scout to the vet. She has practiced the command some but it was clear we need to polish it up as she kept turning her head to see what the vet was doing near her hindquarters. It wasn’t so much that she was indicating she was defensive as much as the vet, being so skittish and nervous, transferred suspicion to Scout. Had she gone in and done what she was going to do, Scout would have stood there and taken it. As it was, the vet, being so nervous, made scout nervous as well. Nervous dog and nervous vet don’t mix well. Scout could sense the tension and I made sure to get in there and give the “easy” reassurance and let her know that it was ok. Don’t mind the inexperienced vet.
The inspection command is pretty easy to practice. I will put Scout up on an elevated surface, tell her to “Stand” and then “Inspection.” I will start with her teeth and work my way around her. Any time she breaks obedience, she will get a correction. As long as she doesn’t break position, she will get “Good Inspection.” I’ll make sure to poke and prod in preparation for future vet visits. Once she gets used to my inspections, I will have Ash conduct them. Eventually, it will be performed by other people.
Practice makes perfect.

A well balanced diet for dogs: The Raw Diet

Scout devouring raw chicken thighs after a hard day of training at Baden K9

Scout devouring raw chicken thighs after a hard day of training

Scout and Copper eat a raw diet consisting of veggies and meat. When I say raw, I mean raw. Scout’s favorite is a whole chicken, gizzards, bones and all. Scout is no lady when she eats it. She uses paws and all to get in there and rip and tear the chicken. Copper on the other hand isn’t all about getting his paws dirty. I think dainty is the best description.

“But Case, dogs aren’t supposed to eat chicken bones!!!” False. Dogs can’t eat cooked chicken bones. Let’s rephrase that because we know dogs will eat anything you put in front of them. So dogs shouldn’t eat cooked chicken bones because the bones could splinter. Raw chicken bones with meat attached don’t pose that problem.
“But Case, there could be salmonella  in the raw meat!” True but dogs have developed an excellent immune system to handle it. Most if not all of it goes through their body and ends up in their feces. Don’t eat dog poop and wash your hands if you have to handle it. Problem solved.

“But Case, my vet said I shouldn’t feed raw.” According to the Pet Food Institute, Americans spent 21.4 billion dollars on dog and cat food in 2014. Most companies provide vet clinics dry food for sale. The pet food business does not want owners to switch their dog to a raw diet. Dogs have not evolved to eat a dry food diet. Their teeth are made for ripping and tearing muscle and crushing

Ash and Cop showing off pretty teeth

Ash and Cop showing off pretty teeth

bone. Look at dogs teeth that have been fed a dry food diet and notice the discoloration and build up. Copper was fed a dry food diet until we got Scout. We kept telling ourselves we needed to schedule a dental cleaning for him. He started on the raw diet and has been on it since. His teeth now look like brand new pearly white puppy teeth. It was amazing.

Copper's teeth are so much cleaner since we switched him to raw

Copper’s teeth are so much cleaner since we switched him to raw

From the studies conducted on the feeding patterns of wild dogs and wolves, dogs being omnivores has not been proven. They may occasional eat veggies of some sort being the creatures of opportunity that they are. Most evidence suggests they are perfectly adapted to being carnivores and get all the nutrients they need from their prey. A well balanced diet consisting of meat and vegetables is not needed. Ever wonder why the veggies that go into your dog don’t change much when they come out? The dog’s body isn’t made to process and utilize the nutrients in the vegetables. My wife and I made this mistake until I researched the raw diet again today and saw the error in our ways. We were feeding the dogs alternating days of meat and then vegetables. Occasionally a day of fasting is included. Contrary to popular belief, dogs don’t have to eat two meals a day everyday. In nature they experience inconsistent feeding due to availability of prey animals so when they do feed they typically gorge themselves in preparation for the days ahead of no eating. I read last week African wild dogs can gorge up to 20 pounds of meat after a kill. Scout definitely loves the opportunity to gorge on a nice large chicken.
We believe our dogs perform better and are healthier on a raw diet.
Links:
rawfed.com– common raw diet myths busted
Primer on Raw Diet– overview on getting started on Raw Diet

Sport dog versus protection dog

I just read a post on a dog forum blasting a dog for letting go when being hit with a pvc pipe and then retargeting. “The dog was EXTREMELY defensive and would come off the bite if you struck her with PVC pipe insulation and then bite elsewhere. I don’t like what I saw at all. She was too aggressive to be around anyone but the family who had her. In my opinion, she could have been run off fairly easily with a bit of pressure. Interestingly, she had excellent environmental nerves, which leads me to believe that her growly bite and extreme defensiveness was attributable to the shit training…”

Sport dogs should not be used as protection dogs and protection dogs should not be used as sport dogs. They are being measured on different scales. It is comparing apples to oranges. From a personal protection dog stand point, I want a dog smart enough to defend itself from injury. The deep, full mouth bite so treasured in the sporting dog world is a death sentence for a dog in the protection world. Ok hypothetical situation: Bad guy gets dog deployed on him, he knows he’s screwed so he gives the dog a nice glaring object to target, his support hand. In his strong hand is a knife. Dog latches on, dog dies from injuries sustained from repeated puncture wounds. Or dog gets killed while hanging steadfastly to arm, just like it is trained, while it is beat senseless with a club or other blunt instrument.

In a violent encounter I want my loved ones, including my dog, to make it out alive. That is why I want my dog smart enough to see the other threat, disengage, and retarget. In nature, dogs kill through shock, muscle damage, or blood loss. When dogs hunt, they go in for quick bites, opening up blood channels and destroying muscle and tendons, leading to shock and blood loss or immobility, while at the same time avoiding their preys attempt at defense, be it a strong kick, a head butt, or what have you. What good is a protection dog if it is out of commission with the threat still viable and coming after your loved ones?

It is a great disservice both to the dog and the customer if the so called protection dog is in fact a sport dog with sport dog training. Now don’t get me wrong, I know sport dogs are trained extremely well for their game and I admire the handlers ability to train them to that level. But it is a game. If you are training for it as a game, that is awesome and I am happy that you are getting that bonding experience with your dog. Plus it is tons of fun, both for you the handler, and the dog. But a personal protection dog should be trained for its survival and thus the survival of the owner.

Below is a video demonstrating retargeting.