Well...

I had good plans.  But, alas, they are not working.  I blame it on finals.  Maybe next Thursday we will get something up! Of one sort or another...

Obie and Keesa :)

A month or two after we brought Obie home, we got a new kitten since our old cat had developed kidney failure and had to be put to sleep.  This, then, is Mr. Keesa ("kitten" in Russian):

He and Obie have a lot of fun. 

Yes, he's not supposed to be standing on the chair...but the picture was too cute to resist!

They're so cute--they wrestle all the time just like two brothers, and neither will back down.  It sometimes looks like an elephant playing with a mouse, but really they are both quite gentle, all things considered; nobody has gotten even close to hurt so far. 

Thursday: Training Berners (NILIF)

And we are back on Thursdays!  Sorry for the delay; Obie's neutering caused a few problems with actually getting things done.  :)

This Thursday we'd like to talk about something that really works well with dogs that are demanding and tend to override your decisions.  It's called "Nothing In Life Is Free" (NILIF) and though we had heard of the concept before, we had trainers with Obie that really encouraged us to use it extensively.  Sometimes Bernese Mountain Dogs--and other dogs too!--can become somewhat demanding of what they want or don't want.  At the least, this is annoying.  At most, it can be dangerous, especially if you have a large, powerful dog.

The idea of Nothing in Life Is Free is just that--the dog needs to "work" for what he gets.  If he wants petted, he has to sit and stay first.  If he wants a drink, he needs to sit or stand and wait politely until you get the water on the floor and release him.  If he wants outside, he needs to sit at the door.  If he wants out of the crate, he has to wait quietly while you put on the leash--no mouthing or prancing wildly around.  It also may include hand-feeding the dog at mealtimes (though we didn't involve that with Obie).  Not all dogs need the NILIF protocol, but if you have a dog that tends to "run the show," ignore commands, or generally behave as if you don't exist, it might be helpful.  It also helped Obie learn to be calmer and less demanding when he wanted something.

Obviously, your dog needs to know a few commands before you start practicing NILIF.  You can teach these with lures or clicker training; a beginner obedience class at your local AKC club is a great place to start.

What are your thoughts on Nothing in Life Is Free?  Have you ever used its principles with a dog?  What happened?

Much Better :)

Sorry for the complete lack of posts. . . Obie is doing much better now!  :)  We discovered a new type of pain medicine he should not take again, though; I don't remember the name of it but a side effect is personality changes and it made him far more aggressive/feisty than he usually is.  Which, of course, didn't help us keep him calm while his incision was healing!  Now he is off the pain meds, though, and we are all feeling much better.  Hopefully a longer post coming soon! :)

Not Happy Puppy

Obie got neutered yesterday.  Ahh what a night...he apparently can't stand any kind of discomfort and keeps whining, biting at his stitches about every three minutes, and running around nervously, even though he's on pain pills so it can't hurt that bad.  We couldn't put an Elizabethan collar on him even if we wanted to, because physical restraint like that typically sends him right through the roof.  Fortunately the meds do make him a bit more relaxed; he and we need it!  Hopefully he heals very quickly and never needs any other kind of surgery!

Thursday: Training Berners (Positive Reinforcement)

Positive reinforcement--training with rewards--seems quite common, but we've been reminded of its importance while raising Obie.  After all, how else are you supposed to train a dog that, at four months old, is already big enough to take your hand off if he doesn't like what you're doing?

The basic tenet of positive reinforcement is simple: Dogs like food (or toys, or petting or praise, but food is easiest).  Therefore, when the dog does something you like, either by accident or because you "lured" him into it, you can give him a treat to tell him "thank you."  When he's reliably doing the action (usually with a lure), you can add a voice or hand signal and train him to respond to that signal before he gets the treat.  Some people use clicker training; I must admit I've never tried this method, but it sounds very interesting.  I would use it particularly for tricks and other unusual behaviors since luring works well for simple actions such as "sit," "down," "come," etc.  (If you want more info on luring please comment and I'll do a follow-up post!)

Obie's top favorite treat is string cheese!  We have used regular kibble with our other dogs, but he needs a bit more high-value treat.  So we use cheese for times like puppy class and outings, when we need a really good treat, and Cheerios (the WalMart brand) for everyday. 

When do you find that positive reinforcement works best for your dogs?  What treats do you like to use?

Thursday: Training Berners (Socialization #2)

There are so many places you can take a puppy for socialization--it just takes a bit of time on your part.  But the results are well worth it!  Here are some places we have taken Obie:

• Puppy class: a kindergarten class is a great place to start a young pup!
• Walks in the woods
• The back and front yards
• University sidewalks
• Car rides--long and short
• Walks with friends
• Parking lots
• Sitting outside a small grocery store
• Sitting outside the post office
• A playground (starting some distance away and slowly moving closer)
• Walks on a road near the local airport (a very small airport)
• Walks through campgrounds
• Picnic areas
• Tractor Supply Company (please wait till your dog is fully vaccinated for this)

Any other places you like to take your pups? :)

Thursday: Training Berners (Socialization #1)

Socialization is vitally important for any dog, but it's especially important when you're raising a dog that's going to be as large or larger than you are.  Bernese Mountain Dogs--and other dogs as well--can quickly become either shy or aggressive if they're not socialized properly as puppies and young adults.  And an overly shy or aggressive dog can quickly become dangerous.

There are two main schools of thought in puppy socialization:
(1)--Wait until the pup is about four months old and has all his shots before taking him into public.
(2)--Expose the puppy to appropriate (not too scary) things from the time you bring her home, but try to keep her from high-dog areas so she won't pick up diseases from other dogs.

With our CCI puppies, we followed school #1.  With Obie, we've been very much on the #2 side.  They both have their pros and cons, and perhaps it depends also on how many unvaccinated dogs you have running around your area.  

One important thing in socialization, especially when the pup is young, is to be careful not to overwhelm him with loud, smelly, very active, or otherwise potentially frightening experiences.  You're the best one to determine what constitutes "potentially frightening" for your own dog.  Some puppies are frightened by almost nothing; others are frightened by almost everything.  The only thing Penelope ran from was draft horses thundering her way (literally); Brianna couldn't walk across wet grass without having a nervous breakdown.  Obie is somewhere in the middle--he will be nervous of something the first time, but the second time he is better and by the third time he meets it, he usually ignores it. 

Next week we'll list some of our favorite places to go with our puppies.  Where do you like to take your pups for socialization?