Bouviers with toys
Around the middle of September, The B’dos. Dog Training Club will be resuming its training classes for Beginners’ Obedience,
Novice (CD title) and the Open (CDX). Classes for various levels of agility will also be resuming.
I plan to alternate Rita and Rhapsody on the Open class as both of them have achieved the Novice CD title. The Open class has dumb bell retrieval with the broad and flat jumps, drop on command when doing the recall, sits and downs with the dog’s handler out of sight. The heeling exercise where I find most handlers lose a lot of points will be marked harder than in the Novice. Dogs must have successfully qualified for the CD title before they can do the CDX trials.
Looking at the training schedule, I know that several handlers also have 2 dogs and so they are also alternating the dogs on the class or getting someone else to handle their second dog. My alternating means for me, one dog a class, but for others they might do two dogs a class, and just tie one, while working the other. Breeds I see on the training schedule are Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, a Boxer, German Shepherds, Japanese Akita, Irish Setter and some mixed breeds. Linda Pearson is doing the training.
Some of the above breeds like the Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers naturally pick up sticks and other objects and bring to their owners. For the dogs which do not retrieve easily, a forced retrieve will probably be taught.
One way of encouraging a dog to do the dumb bell retrieve is to make it a game of fetch. Neither Rhapsody nor Rita is keen on retrieving any object but once it appears to be a game with a toy, they are inclined to join in.
Of course, individual trainers on the island will be doing their usual basic training, and schutzund training is also being done by another club, BGI and I do regard Adrian Ward from that club as an excellent trainer.
As my dogs usually do well in the conformation show ring, I have been asked whether obedience training helps or can be a negative. Some people say that because of obedience training, when the handler stops in the show ring, the dog might sit. A dog which has obedience training can easily be told “stand” and “stay” if the handler realises the dog is about to sit.
A tip which might be useful is this: I always used different leashes. I use a rough, found in supermarkets, leash for obedience training. When my dogs enter the show ring, that type of leash is never used. So before we get to the show grounds which are the same grounds, used for agility and obedience training, my dogs have, through the leash they see me with, a sense and feel for what they will be doing. Also, the atmosphere is very different because of the crowds.
I would recommend obedience training for all dogs as it makes them easier to live with, and can save their lives, through a “stop” and/or “down” command. And it is, of course, great when you stack the dog to be able to tell it to “stay”. 🙂 in the show ring.
Barbados also has two Barbados Kennel Club All Breeds Championship Dog Shows coming up: one in October and one in November.
Tags: Dog training in Barbados
Ch. Calliope Rhapsody CD
It is a long time since Rhapsody has been out for a walk.
Barbados is now in the rainy season, and we are thankful that the storms and hurricanes usually pass North of us but we have had lots of rain, and some thunder storms some evenings.
We did have a very dry first quarter so we should be thankful of the rains now.
I am now recovering from a sprained ankle. I stepped in a hole, covered by grass, and twisted my left ankle in the area of the mango trees. It did not hurt much at first. But after a few days it was too painful to walk on and I went to a doctor and also had x-rays taken to be sure nothing was broken. Annoying thing is that the guy who cuts the grass here, when I told him I had a sprained ankle, could tell me where the hole was as he has also stepped into it but because he was wearing boots, I guess his ankle had better protection then mine as I had on sandals. And he did not think about filling in the hole nor warning me about it either.
It felt great to be back in the country side walking and enjoying the sunshine and breezes again. 🙂
I suspect Rhapsody was rather glad when I stopped and set her up for the above photo, as although dogs may live on grounds where they could exercise themselves, they don’t usually. Puppies will play together, and chase and romp, but I have found adult Bouviers don’t usually create exercise for themselves.
When any of my Bouviers see a leash and choke chain, they do a Bouvier bounce with delight as they love going anywhere. Amazingly, although they very seldom visit the vet, they even seem to enjoy that outing.
Tags: Barbados, Bouvier Des Flandres
Wayne Nicholls discussing dog obedience judging
Wayne Nicholls, I believe, is the chief judge in Barbados for the open (CDX) and as Wayne told me this morning, he has been judging dog obedience for a long time. He started training in 1972 and in 1976 was judging on his own. He also used to judge obedience in the nearby island of Trinidad.
There are very few judges available, especially when the main judges and trainers of The Barbados Dog Training Club have puppies or young dogs which are themselves entering the trials.
Even if a dog is trained outside of The B’dos. Dog Training Club, it still has to successfully pass the obedience trials under The B’dos. Dog Training Club’s judging to achieve the CD and/or CDX titles.
Thinking ahead, this morning’s session was held to try and attract newer judges to the ring. Some of the people attending the session were already judging obedience trials for the club and some of these judges are also trainers.
The Club uses the American Kennel Club regulations.
And it is not as easy as it looks. The judge needs to watch the dog and yet record the scores deducted according to the sheet and the categories. And, of course, judging can be subjective. You might like to see a dog do a quick, fast recall, but how quick is quick? And for areas like sniffing, lagging, the points deducted can vary.
Wayne made the point to always watch the dog and don’t be fooled by the handler. Handlers might try tricks like running on the spot when the dog is supposed to be on “fast” and Wayne, I have noticed, walks behind the handlers so he can see the handler’s hands are not touching the dog.
And I know from the results of trials, there will always be surprises and disappointments, and judges are taken for granted.
New judges will need to be in the ring to watch and record trials with the more experienced judges before they are on their own. Of course, it is probably easier to judge the beginners as I believe the marking is relatively friendly and there is lots of encouragement for participants to go on further. The Novice and Open are a big jump ahead and the marking then become tight.
Obedience is good for all dogs whether they are entering competitions or not as it makes them more controllable and easier to have around.
Mid September will be the start for agility classes, beginners’ obedience training as well as the Novice and Open Obedience classes.
Tags: Dog training in Barbados
I have come across several Pit Bulls in Barbados. All the ones I encountered appeared friendly and their owners said they made loving pets.
I have not, as far as I am aware, come into any contact with the Pit Bulls which are trained and used for dog fighting and have the reputation as being unsafe around other dogs.
And the breed does have a reputation but I believe it is how the dogs are trained and I know several stories where these dogs have been rescued and have adapted well to their new families.
The story below is where a Pit Bull in Alabama was abused by a 20 year old man who took revenge on the dog because he was not permitted to drive the family car owned by the dog’s owner. The dog was dosed with lighter fuel and set on fire after being beaten by a shovel. Over sixty percent of the dog’s body had severve burns.
The dog survived and was adopted by the medical people who helped him with loving care and skin grafts.
And through his pain, he still tried to show his gratitude by wagging his tail and licking the humans who aided him.
His abuser did plead guilty to the felony and although a lot of cases of animal abuse do not carry stiff fines and/or jail sentences, this abuser was sentenced to nine years and six months for his crime. Now, in Barbados, a sentence like that would be in keeping with a crime like manslaughter.
More on the story is Here
Years ago, one of the vets I go to with my dogs, was talking about one of his dogs with the unusual name “Face” and I asked him about the name. It was a Pit Bull whom someone had found, his face ripped open and his body torn and battered from a dog fight. The vet took him, treated him and stitched up his cuts and then said that the dog was so ugly as parts of his ear had been torn out and he was really battered, that he did not think he could find a home for him. And he kept the dog at his home and said the dog was docile with him and his family and always appeared grateful.
Tags: dog abuse, dog cruelty
The below has been cross posted on several dogs’ lists. I don’t know the original author of the chicken crossing the road, or the name of the author who put in the dog trainers’ names
I think it is cute and of course, there are so many different methods of training a dog 🙂
WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD?
(Dog Trainer’s Version)
Pavlov: we fed the chicken on the opposite side of the road each day at 4 p.m. until the chicken’s autonomic system actually began causing the chicken to cross the road at 4 p.m. without even questioning the “why.
B.F. Skinner: on prior occasions when the chicken voluntarily crossed the road, this behavior was followed immediately by a reinforcing consequence.
Cesar Milan: I bullied, chased, poked, and intimidated the chicken until it raced across the road because I am a strong leader.
Barbara Woodhouse: You just say, “Walkies” with the right accent and place a crumpet on the other side of the road.
Karen Pryor: by associating R+ with road crossing and P+ with standing still, with a VR schedule, and offering a reward in keeping with the Premack principal, we increased the intensity and frequency of the road crossing behavior.
Bill Koehler: a few well-timed pops on the choke chain and the chicken was happy to cross the road.
Nicholas Dodman: I gave the chicken fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine, carbamazepine, and azapirone and then it was happy to cross the road.
Patti Ruzzo: I crossed the road, pausing every step to spit a treat out of my mouth like a human pez dispenser and the chicken followed along catching the treats.
Electric Collar Advocate: whenever the chicken does not cross the road I give it an electric shock. But do not worry, the shock is no more than you would feel if you walked on a carpet wearing socks and it does not bother the chicken at all. The feathers standing up and the smell of burning flesh mean nothing. In fact, they are happier having nice clear communication than they would be otherwise.
Yuppie: chickens are just like little people in feather jackets, and if you love them and give them diamonds and feel sorry for them all the time, they would be happy to cross the road for you.
Paris Hilton: Because I put it in a Gucci bag and carried it.
Shelter director: Any chickens that do not cross the road will be euthanized for their own good, and the others we will “adopt” out tomorrow for only$200 each. Please send us money so we can keep doing more of this important work.
HSUS member: I do not know anything about animals, I have never been around animals and am not really fond of animals, but we passed a law mandating that chickens be kept without cages because animals belong only in the wild and cannot be happy coexisting with man, so now they are walking wherever they want.
PETA member: chickens have the right to live in world without roads. Any chicken that lives within a hundred miles of a road is suffering an inhumane existence and might eventually be hit by a car so we should kill it today to ensure it does not die tomorrow.
And, of course, there is always a simple solution that you don’t need a trainer or anyone to tell you and it is simply this:
The chicken wanted to get to the other side of the road 🙂 🙂 🙂
Puppies enjoying their meal
The above puppies are a cross between a German Shepherd dog and a Belgium Shepherd dog (Malinois).
The puppies’ parents were on the Novice Obedience Class with one of my Bouviers and they both have achieved the CD title and are involved in Schutzhound training.
As the above puppies have found homes, the breeder’s contact information has been removed from this post.
Dogs have been man’s friend for a very long time and it is interesting to see how their usefulness has evolved from being a guard or watch dog, a companion type dog, a farm worker herding sheep and cattle to the more specialized training we are seeing today.
For many years now, dogs have been used to detect drugs and explosives at airports and other areas. We know they are also used to assist in finding lost humans and also used in the recovery process to locate dead bodies.
It is fascinating to read about the therapy dogs which are trained to go into hospitals and nursing homes and socialize and bring cheer and comfort to the residents of those organizations. I am sure that the dogs sense that they are dealing with humans who are not as strong as average and they are extra gentle with these people.
Children with autism have also been shown to respond well to therapy dogs.
There are dogs which are used as “seeing eyes” for the blind and also dogs used for the hearing impaired.
Even people with mobility problems can be assisted by trained dogs, who can assist by fetching things, opening doors and other household tasks.
Now in some prisons, dogs are used to help prisoners have a better sense of self esteem through training and programmes offer the prisoners a period of comfort, once they like dogs, and the sense of unconditional love and loyalty which dogs give so willingly.
There are dogs which are trained to alert people with epilepsy – these are known as seizure alert dogs – and these dogs when they alert the person, give the person a chance to call for help or even get themselves to a safer place. It is not known how dogs can sense these things which humans can not, but it may be a subtle change in chemical levels, maybe in sweat glands and/or the person’s breath.
Dogs used their powerful powers of scent to alert also for some types of cancer.
I recently learnt that there are Diabetic Alert Dogs known as DAD or hypoglycemia alert dogs. These are dogs which are trained to detect abnormal glucose levels in humans. These dogs, when they detect an abnormal level, then signal to the person, or the person’s family by barking, pawing or licking the person.
So although, diabetics can control their blood sugar levels through proper medication, the trained dog is a very valuable aid as it can identify when action needs to be taken. And this includes, even when a diabetic is sleeping, and the trained dog is in the room, the dog can wake and alert the person or the person’s family to the problem.
There are lots of real examples of dogs helping people who are diabetic.
These dogs are not easy to obtain and they can be expensive to buy because of their training. Golden Retrievers and Labradors and/or crosses of these breeds seem to be popular for use as Diabetic Alert Dogs.
It comes down to selecting the correct dog with the correct temperament and ability to do a task. Then a trainer needs to be skillful enough to develop the natural instincts and train the dog for the intended purpose.
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