A Positive Reinforcement Reading List

I am a reader. My mother was first a librarian and later an English teacher, and from an early age I recognized and appreciated the power of books. I turn to them for information and inspiration, for pure escapism or for learning about my latest obsession. After adopting Ruby and realizing that she was going to be a challenging dog, I knew that the training philosophy I connected with had a name. I also knew that I needed to learn a lot more about it - the majority of my formal training experience was with horses. The following are some of the books that I turned to as I got to know my brilliant, intense little terrier:

The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller -  This book is a wonderful resource for force-free training, providing an overview as well as practical advice for basic through advanced behaviors and trouble-shooting. It includes information on clicker training, treat suggestions and a glossary of training terms.

101 Dog Tricks: Step by Step Activities to Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog by Kyra Sundance - This book sparked my love of trick training with Ruby, something that has proven to be incredibly rewarding for both of us. It has so many cute ideas and step by step instructions, organized by difficulty and providing ways to build on simpler tricks. Note: Some of the instructions do involve physical manipulation, such as holding a dog's foot up or placing a piece of tape on their nose, which could be aversive for some dogs. Please remember to observe your dog for signs of stress whenever you are training.

For the Love of a Dog: Understanding Emotion in You and Your Best Friend by Patricia B. McConnell - While not specifically a training book, I think anything that deepens the knowledge of our dogs' inner lives will help us to communicate with them. I recommend any of McConnell's books, but found this one especially beautiful.

Control Unleashed: Creating a Focused and Confident Dog by Leslie McDevitt -  This book is meant as a companion to a specific training program for agility dogs, and can be difficult to apply if you don't have other dogs/handlers available to work with; however, there are some great exercises and most of all, a way to shift your thinking to help the sensitive/reactive/fearful dog. The story of McDevitt's dog Snap at the end is worth the entire book. 

Plenty In Life is Free by Kathy Sdao - This book is so important to me, and although it is more esoteric than instructional, it is a beautiful exploration of our ethical duties to our dogs and the limitless potential of joy that exists in those relationships. It spoke to my heart and expressed things I've had difficulty articulating in my own rejection of aversive methods. I recommend this to everyone who has ever asked if there is a better way to communicate. 

This post is part of the Positive Pet Training Blog Hop - join us on the first Monday of every month to promote positive pet training and share advice and experiences. The hop is open all week long! The next hop begins June 1st with the theme of training multiple pets.

Positive Training Toolkit

You may have seen those people at dog parks or walking their dogs with a remote in hand or a prong collar at the end of their leash. They may have been yanking on the leash or shocking their dog, and they probably didn't look like they were having fun. You might have noticed yelling, tense expressions and stress signals such as a lowered tail, lip-licking, an averted gaze. Did they seem to be in control?

You may have also seen those people wearing treat bags on their belt, making clicking noises and handing out smelly treats. Maybe they seemed a little bit dorky - treat bags look suspiciously like fanny packs... Look closely and you might have noticed happy voices, smiling faces and signs of a relaxed dog such as an open mouth, loose body language and bright eyes.

We have the intelligence and the resources to put together the best training toolkit for our dogs, one that will strengthen our relationship and increase understanding. While I will admit that sometimes it feels like I need another set of hands to juggle my leash, treats, clicker (and don't forget the poop bags!) the choice is obvious to me, even if I look "dorky." Which will you choose?

Suggested Reading:

The Power of Positive Training by Pat Miller

Plenty in Life is Free by Kathy Sdao

Bark and Lunge by Kari Neumeyer

This post is part of the Positive Pet Training Blog Hop, hosted by Cascadian Nomads, Tenacious Little Terrier and Rubicon Days. The hop happens on the first Monday of every month, and is open for a full week - please join us in spreading the word about the rewards of positive training! Next month, we invite you to take part in the Ten Minute Training Challenge - take ten minutes to teach your pet something new and report your results in the next hop on April 6th!

Reading With Ruby: Bark and Lunge by Kari Neumeyer

I have been following Kari Neumeyer's blog since starting my own almost a year ago, and was honored to receive a copy of her new reactive dog memoir, Bark and Lunge, for review. The memoir's subtitle is 'Saving My Dog From Training Mistakes' and chronicles Kari's experience with her dog Isis, a German shepherd from protection/security dog lines.

As the guardian of a reactive dog, I could relate to Kari's struggles with Isis, and I appreciated the honesty with which she describes her journey through several different trainers and methods. Isis was an especially challenging case, exhibiting leash aggression toward dogs and a dangerously unpredictable reactivity toward people, resulting in several instances of biting. (I'm not giving anything away since the back cover asks "How do make sure the dog you love never bites anyone (again)?.") This is one of a dog owner's worse fears, one that often results in a dog being given up, and one that requires immediate attention

I applaud Kari for the lengths she went to in finding a training solution for Isis that did not exacerbate her stress and anxiety, evolving from an early start with an old-school trainer who pushed prong collars, to a positive reinforcement trainer who helped to rehabilitate her. I also appreciate the variety of training methods described, the assertion that force-free trainers make mistakes too, and that not only do you need to seek out the training method that works best for your dog, but the individual trainer. 

There were a few parts of the book that didn't hold my interest as much, such as the lengthy description of Isis's favorite toy, but as a pet blogger who photographs and documents every move the ginger sisters make I can understand the desire to remember every last detail in tribute to a beloved dog. The introduction of her second dog, Leo, was when the story became most riveting, as Kari makes admirable and creative accommodations to maintain their multi-dog household. 

Kari's love for and dedication to Isis are apparent on every page, and although she fully admits her early mistakes I think many of us stumbled through training and relationship with our first dog(s). I read this book in a weekend, cheering on Isis's progress and holding my breath in those tense moments of reactive outburst that I know all too well. The most affecting lesson of this book is one that Kari quotes from Maya Angelou: 

You did then what you knew how to do, and when you knew better, you did better.

I recommend this book to anyone who has loved a difficult dog, wants to read a heartfelt dog story, or is interested in the benefits of force-free training. Enter below to win a copy of your own!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(Open to U.S. residents only, winner must respond to notification by email within 72 hours)

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of Bark and Lunge in exchange for my honest review.

Eat, Play, Love

Our weather this past weekend was not as spring-like as I had hoped, with quite a lot of chilly wind, but there are some undeniable signs cropping up that warm my spirits: grass-stained paws, shedding horses, new foals, tiny purple flowers emerging from dormant ground. Ruby and I spent a couple of days among friends, family, and playmates in Peyton and Colorado Springs. After our usual stop at the feed store we ventured on to my former riding instructor's home for some tea, writerly chat and equine shenanigans. Ruby's second-favorite labradoodle lives there; he and a gingerly corgi fellow play with Ruby in shifts allowing much-needed breath-catching and drool-drying time (for them, not Ruby, who ran laps around the yard by herself while the others watched). Ruby is so happy in the company of other dogs - it's made me all the more excited for our Bahamian Potcake to arrive! 

 

The humans spent some time observing the humorous antics of Pippi the mini-mule and Bhim the mini-horse, who would like you to know that he is very tough, very fancy and very brave - little king of all he surveys. Bhim is a rescue horse from Ruby Ranch Horse Rescue, in training with my friend (although with his vibrant personality we have to wonder who is training who!) He is yet another example of the resilient spirits of second-chance animals. He just happens to be my favorite colorway, too. I think he and Ruby could put on a real dog-and-pony show! Even though Ruby was outdoors with her dog-friends, it was endearingly flattering that she kept her eye on me the entire time we were in the horse pens. She immediately curled up in the backseat after we said reluctant goodbyes and continued on to visit my own horses and brush whirlwinds of black and white hair into the swirling gusts. 

 

Ruby spent the evening playing and relaxing with her cousins at my aunt's house while we went out to a delicious Spanish tapas dinner. This was a wonderful treat for me since I'm coming up already on the one-year anniversary of my trip to Spain. The next morning, Ruby showed off some of her tricks for my grandmother. I've been working on changing the cue for her hind leg lift to the far more amusing "how do boys pee?" and my grandmother got a big kick out of that. My aunt and I went out to breakfast and visited some estate sales, where characteristically my only purchase was a dog dish. Ruby slept all the way home, and my dad who had come down for the weekend said he had never seen her so subdued! She snoozed away the rest of the afternoon and evening.

 

On Sunday we had a quiet day at home catching up on laundry and cleaning. I took Ruby into a nearby vacant field where she likes to dig on the hillside and we saw a large, healthy garter snake! Ruby was definitely curious but appropriately cautious, which I was glad to see. Some of the hiking areas near us are prime rattlesnake country. Ruby was remarkably still tired and I took full advantage of a lazy day, reading Plenty In Life Is Free. This slim booklet is a new favorite, and one that speaks so deeply to my personal philosophy about our relationships with animals and our ethical duties to them. I feel so lucky to live in a time when we are constantly having conversations about doing better, and that I have a dog like Ruby whose sensitive, complex nature is a daily mirror for my own progress.

P.S. If you would like to see even more pictures of Ruby in various states of adorable, follow us on Instagram!

Belated Sepia Saturday: Sweet Paws

“Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one is a life diminished.” 
― Dean Koontz, A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog

My Five Favorite Dog Books

cover images from Goodreads

Inspired by the dog book post on My Imperfect Dog yesterday, I thought I would share some of my favorites which have stayed with me over the years. 

The first is a novel, The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst, which also has a place in my top ten of all categories.  I have read it twice, and the melancholy magic of its mystery was not diminished even when I knew the outcome.  The book follows a man who tries to piece together the circumstances of his wife's death through attempts to illicit communication with the sole witness: their soulful Rhodesian Ridgeback, Lorelei.  It is a beautiful novel about love and loss and the secrets we all keep, and it's one that I can hardly talk about without a lump in my throat.  

It would be redundant to say that Dog Years is "poetic," since Mark Doty is a prominent contemporary poet.  He resides in a world of metaphor, and for that reason he cuts into the difficult, the unsayable, with a blade of revelation. This is so much more than a dog book. We're given glimpses of a human life that is woven into and around the lifetime two retrievers and a through dreams, vignettes and intimate scenes. It portrays the immediacy that dog love demands, the beauty of it at its most basic and wild.   

Pack of Two was one of the first dog memoirs that I read, and still one of the most affecting. The author, Caroline Knapp, struggled with eating disorders and addiction before getting her German Shepherd, Lucille, and learning how to take care - and be taken care of by - a dog.  It's a beautiful journey of healing and friendship, of both the canine and human variety as Knapp meets kindred spirits at the dog park along the way.  It's the tale of a first dog and the independence and strength they can help us find.  I related so much to this book because I adopted Lasya at a time when nothing was stable or certain, but I felt that with her by my side everything would be okay.  Tragically, Caroline Knapp passed away at an all-too-young age.  Her best friend Gail Caldwell wrote a tribute to their friendship, Let's Take the Long Way Home, and makes mention of their many dog walks together.  

The New Work of Dogs by Jon Katz is an unsentimental look at the very different lives of twelve dogs in a New Jersey city, from service dogs to shelter dogs.  It is a powerful portrayal at the changing role of dogs in society, and suggests that their modern jobs may be more difficult and complicated than we realize.  

I was lucky enough to meet the author of Part Wild, Ceiridwen Terrill, at a book-signing here in Denver.  I really admire Terrill's bravery in telling the story of her wolfdog Inyo and illuminating the heartbreak and danger of trying to contain wild animals in human bonds. She went farther than personal memoir with a great deal of research into the challenges facing wild wolves, the still-debated origin of domestic dogs, and the "genetic tameness" experiments with foxes in Russia. She is also an accomplished writer and describes nature and its creatures in eloquent detail. While Terrill was drawn in by the fairy tale allure of wolfdogs, she is now an advocate for for legislation and enforcement banning the continued sale and breeding of these animals. This is a compelling and important book emphasizing the differences between wolves and dogs.   

What are some of your favorite dog books?  

Reading with Ruby: The Second Chance Dog by Jon Katz

I've read several Jon Katz books over the years, my favorite being The New Work of Dogs about our modern relationship with our best friend.  If I remember correctly, even when his own dogs were the subject, Katz did not get into many details about his personal or family life in previous books, and The Second Chance Dog is probably his most introspective to date, a story of love and redemption, of both dog and human conquering fear.

While some people may not be as interested in the parts of the book that stray from the dogcentric, I enjoyed learning a bit more about Katz, his struggles with anxiety, and the beginnings of his relationship with Maria, whose Rottweiler/German Shepherd mix Frieda is the story's star.

When Katz meets Frieda, she is spending most of her time in the studio barn with fiber artist, Maria, Katz's love interest.  Frieda was in the shelter for a year before Maria adopted her, and Katz goes through considerable effort to piece together her heartbreaking past.  Although she has bonded deeply with Maria, Frieda is frighteningly unfriendly to all other residents of Bedlam Farm: human, hooved, pawed and feathered.  Katz makes Frieda his personal project, knowing that she will have to be integrated into farm life if he and Maria are to be together.

He is obviously a great lover of animals, but Katz has a uniquely pragmatic philosophy about their role in our lives which has been met with some harsh judgment, particularly in regard to his Border Collie Orson as detailed in A Good Dog.  He is a prolific blogger, branching out to subjects beyond dogs such as spirituality and homelessness.

I did find myself unsettled by the fact that his greatest breakthrough with Frieda was due to an inadvertently physical incident, but overall he exercised great compassion and patience during her rehabilitation.  He does not believe in coddling or anthropomorphizing animals, and in fact suggests that we do them harm by doing so.  Whether or not you agree with his viewpoint, this is still a worthwhile read, and one that brought tears to my eyes with passages like this one, from a dream he had while working with Frieda:

"We looked at each other for the longest time, and then I broke the silence and said, "I don't know what to do with you.  I love you and want to live with you, but I am sad and frustrated. I've tried everything I can think of but what else can I do? What do want from me?"

And then, without moving her lips or snout, without making a sound, Frieda spoke to me.

"Trust me," she said.""

This book was a Christmas gift from my boyfriend, who needs a clever alias.  I gave The Second Chance Dog  four stars on Goodreads.

Dogs add such richness to our lives, and I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday winter afternoon than curling up with a good dog book and a good dog.  I'll be continuing this series and hope you'll share some of your favorites, too!