Trainer Tip: Crate Training Calamity

At Happy Tails Books we've got some great training resources, and by golly, I'm going to use them! That means that you, our reader, can send in training questions through our website, and we'll post answers for you here. Look for the blog title "Trainer Tip" for training information.

Training Question:
Today's inquiry comes from Ginny who recently adopted an eight-year-old Yorkie named Lizzie. She says Lizzie is a great dog except when she needs to go out at 2:30am and 5:00am. She had taken up her food and water by 7pm to no avail. Lizzie likes to nap in her crate during the day but isn't too keen on being closed into the crate at night. Ginny really needs a good night's sleep!

Trainer Kathryn Segura writes:
Hi Ginny,
The first thing you should always do when you have a dog with potty issues is take her to the vet. The cause of the urination may be a urinary tract infection or other medical issue. If her nightly peeing turns out not to be related to a medical problem, it might be because wherever she lived before you, she was able to go potty whenever she wanted (maybe she had 24hr access to a dog door?).

She may not like it when you close the crate at night, but you can't give into her. Who's the boss here? You'll have to start closing the crate at night. You can even practice closing the crate door when she is in there during the day, perhaps closing it and then giving her a treat to make it fun. Just don't make a big deal about it and stay calm - dogs can feel your anxiety. At night, put her in the crate give her a treat, say good night, and walk away. She may not like it at first, but everyone needs their sleep!
Good luck!
Kathryn

So there it is. Lizzie will have to get used to the crate. It sounds like she doesn't have an aversion to it in general, so it's just the idea of shutting her in there at night that she'll have to get used to.

If you're interested in more training tips from Kathryn Segura, check out her book entitled Hollywood Barks available at http://happytailsbooks.com.

Information about

I received this impassioned email about puppy mills written by Anne Hyatt, a rescuer in Nebraska, and thought I would share. I absolutely agree with her, and would encourage you to check out the Mill Dog Manifesto, a free eBook available at happytailsbooks.com,if you'd like to learn more.

I want everyone to know that when commercial breeding facilities (puppy mills) have "worn out dogs" or "dogs that are too old to breed" this is what happens to them. THEY GO TO AUCTION TO GET BOUGHT BY ANOTHER COMMERCIAL BREEDING FACILITY (puppy mill) TO BE USED FOR BREEDING AGAIN AND MAKING MORE PUPPIES SO THEY CAN BE SOLD FOR A PROFIT!!!!! The dogs that do not get sold are KILLED by their owners or returned to the breeding cycle. This is the cycle of breeding that puppy mill dogs go through until they are killed or die from an illness. Can you imagine this kind of life if you were one of these dogs. It would be like living in hell with no way out!!

Commercial breeders and back yard breeders (puppy mills) are also getting really smart. When they are told to get rid of a lot of their breeding stock by the State they will go to these auctions and buy back their breeding stock. This also has to stop!!

Below is a news clip of a dog auction in Ohio. The thought of dog auctions makes me as sick as commercial breeding facilities (puppy mills)!!!

THIS CYCLE MUST STOP!!! Shelters and rescues are already underfunded and over loaded with dogs that are thrown out by puppy mills or dogs that are unable to be sold in pet shops and online. Hundreds even thousands of dogs are euthanized each year because of over population due to puppy mills breeding TOO MANY DOGS.

Below is the link to the news clip. You will have to copy and paste this to view it.

http://www.whas11.com/news/I-Team-Investigation-Inside-the-multi-million-dollar-business-of-dog-auctions-94864294.html

Please, please pass this on to the people you know who are animal lovers. I want the world to know about dog auctions and puppy mills and how horrible they are and the inhumane treatment these innocent animals are subjected to.

Thanks from the bottom of my heart for passing this information on to others who need to be aware of this.

Our First Radio Show - recap

So... I spent an hour Thursday talking with my trainer, Mark Leon, during our first episode of "Trainer Talk" on Blogtalkradio.com. We covered various topics regarding fearful dogs, like socialization, introduction to your home, and leash walking. We were off to a rocky start because the instructions to dial in weren't quite clear, so I had to call in from my cell phone and from my computer microphone. Then, for a while, I didn't realize I should mute my cell phone (hence the echo if you listen in). Aside from that, my only big problem was that my mouth was too far away from the microphone, so Mark came in loud and clear (good!) but I was difficult to hear (probably better that way anyway!). Oh, and I started out with the wrong theme music for a second...oops!


Next week promises better recording quality and a very interesting interview with Kathryn Segura, renown Hollywood studio wrangler (the person behind the camera who makes animals do what they do on stage) and author of Hollywood Barks! her memoirs and training tips. I hope you'll tune in at 6pm EST (3pm PST) on Thursday and check it out!

Our First Radio Show is TONIGHT!

For weeks I've been kicking around ideas about how to help people who have adopted/fostered ex-mill dogs and other distressed dogs with socialization, confidence-building, and training. At first I thought we would do a series of webinars, but I wasn't impressed with the quality of the webcam I purchased. Then my trainer and I sat down and recorded a few segments, but I didn't like my hair... uh... I mean I thought we could do it better if we did a weekly radio show. We weren't actually showing any dog training anyway - we were just discussing different topics related to positive reinforcement training.

That brings me to today. What I'm going to try is a weekly radio show with various trainers who use positive-reinforcement techniques. If there is something that needs to be shown, we'll film it after the show and post it here and on our training page.

If you'd like to listen in tonight, we'll be broadcasting live at 4pm MST (6pm EST). Tune in at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/happytailsbooks. If you can't make it today, you can download the show and listen to it at a later date. The call-in number is (646) 381-4887 if you have any training or socialization questions you'd like us to discuss.

Blog Hop!

A great blog called "Life With Dogs" suggested I try this, so I will. It's called a Blog Hop, and it's a way to introduce new people to my blog. I hope the new people who pass through here read some of our older posts and continue to visit, because I think they'll enjoy the topics. Anyway, here goes. Below are the other blogs that are participating in the blog hop:

Trail Restrictions in Boulder

My advocacy focus has turned to home (Boulder, CO) today because I just received word that some people are lobbying to further restrict off-leash trail access to our nearby mountain trails. This is my response to the article, "Pooches Getting Screwed Again," which was published on Sunday in Boulder's Daily Camera:

A big grin and panting tongue. He looks up at you with those big, brown eyes, thanking you for such a great hike and much needed exercise before hopping into the car, and your heart melts.

Regarding the article “Pooches Getting Screwed Again,” I’d like to thank author Clay Evans for bringing the issue of OSMP further restricting dog access to public attention. I’m a person who hikes with my dog frequently, especially in areas like Sanitas (because we already seem so restricted in many other areas), and we would be devastated to lose that access or be required to be on-leash. My dog, like so many others in town, is impeccably trained not to approach dogs and people who don’t want a snorty “hello.” We’ve worked hard to make him a good off-leash canine “citizen” because he likes to walk at a different pace than I do, and allowing him the freedom to make decisions when I ask him to do things has immensely improved his confidence (he’s an ex-puppy mill dog) and strengthened our bond.

Even though I enjoy the exercise of hiking to stay fit, I'd go much less if I had to have my dog on-leash. Leashes get tangled around trees and trip people on the trail, making a more dangerous situation for other hikers and trail runners. Additionally, watching my dog romp around and enjoy himself after having lived in a cage for the first two years of his life is what often compels me to get up and go. As you can see, areas where we can hike off-leash are very important to me. Ask anyone else out hiking with their dogs, and you’ll find that our story is not unique.

As Clay said, the more you restrict hiking access for dogs, the more heavily worn the trails we can use will become. That’s not the best solution. A better idea would be to expand off-leash dog access to trails, so there would be a lesser concentration of dogs in each area. I have never seen a dog fight, a dog chasing wildlife, or a dog bite a human on the western trails. For the most part, the people I’ve encountered on these trails (with or without dogs) enjoy watching my dog’s joyful run, pet him, and walk away happier because they had the chance to meet him. Hiking with our dog is one of the reasons we live here, and I believe many “dog people” would agree that if dog-friendly trails are further restricted there will be a diminished appeal to living in Boulder.

Kyla Duffy

Rescue...chocolate? Yum!

I was so excited to come across the Rescue Chocolate website because I saw so many similarities between founder Sarah Gross' vision for her business and my own for Happy Tails Books. Learn all about her sweet idea in my interview with her below:

HTB: Sarah, tell us about your background with animals. Was there an event or animal in particular that inspired you to get involved with rescue?

SG: I have always had a soft spot for animals. Knowing that we are their voice, I feel that it is so important to work on animal issues in a variety of industries (factory farms, entertainment, and of course, 'animal control'). I began volunteering at my local animal shelter in Louisiana when I was about nine years old. Back then, I just loved petting the puppies and feeling like I was helping in some way.



HTB: How did you come up with the idea for Rescue Chocolate? How long ago did you start your company?

SG: I had the idea in December 2009, and just a few weeks after that, the company was born! I have felt like the impact I want to make on the world should be something big to improve the lives of animals, specifically homeless pets. When I was walking my dog (a rescued 'mini-pittie' named Mocha Bella) one cold December morning, the idea struck! I had eaten a great chocolate that morning and my mind was buzzing with creativity. "Rescue Chocolate" as a name just popped into my head, and I developed the idea from there.



HTB: Where can people buy rescue chocolate? How much do you donate back to rescues from each purchase, and to which rescues do you donate?


People can purchase directly from our website, and they can also consult our "Where to Buy" page for retail outlets. We are always looking for new stores (pet stores, groceries, even veterinary offices) to be carried in, so we invite all to send along the names of stores you would like to see Rescue Chocolate in.

SG: After our operating expenses, all net profits are donated to animal rescue organizations. When people buy directly from Rescue Chocolate, profits are donated to the rescue of the month, which for May is the No Kill Advocacy Center.
When a rescue organization sells the chocolate itself, they are able to raise awareness on these homeless pet issues and use all of the net profits from the sales for their programs. See our "Who We Help" page to view all of the organizations that are benefiting so far.



HTB: What advice would you give others who want to help animals in need but maybe aren't quite sure how?

SG: Whatever you enjoy doing, you can find a way to tie it into helping animals. If you have accounting skills for example, you could offer your time and skills to a rescue group. If you're a runner, shelter animals are always in need of good exercise. If you have any time on the weekend, you can volunteer at adoption events. The ways to help are limitless, find a group you're interested in, and ask what they need. They'll be grateful for anything you can offer.