Hi, Josh here - I’m Oscar’s dad, which is to say, I’m his owner. Lately Oscar’s mom, Anya, and I have been debating various training methods we use on Oscar. I’ve been saying we should do less treat/reward based training even though Anya has managed to get Oscar to do some pretty spectacular things (see video below) using treat based training. Let me see if I can explain what bugs me about it.

Now, when we’re training a dog to do something, say, “sit”, the most frequent training method I’ve seen is to get the dog to associate the behavior, sitting, with receiving a reward - which is usually in the form of a verbal acknowledgment (or a click from a clicker trainer) and a food treat. Eventually, the reward can be weaned back in frequency, and hopefully the dog will still perform the behavior. Instead of a food treat, we can also toss a toy or play tug of war as a reward for the dog.

So what, you may ask, is my problem?

Here’s the thing: Oscar is a very “good” dog. He’s very smart, very sweet, and very spoiled. He knows a ton of commands: sit, stay, lie down, sneak, spin, rollover, kiss, jump, shake, high five, stand, and Anya is even trying to teach him how to read - stay tuned for that one.

The issue is that he knows darn well when he’s going to be rewarded for his tricks, and performs them with considerable speed and zeal when the reward is pending (ie, when Anya gets the bag of treats out). He will still perform the tricks pretty well if he doesn’t see the treats, but not nearly as reliably or enthusiastically.

Now, I don’t know what exactly I’m hoping for - is it possible we could have taught him all of these tricks using only verbal praise and excitement as a reward for the tasks?  Probably not. 

I don’t think that the solution is to “hide” the treats so that Oscar never knows when the treat is coming - although perhaps it’s as simple as that. I guess what I really want is for him to do the tricks because he KNOWS it’s the right thing - because he knows it’s what we’re asking. Unfortunately, I think I’m quite likely anthropomorphizing here, and exhibiting a fundamental misunderstanding of the dog psyche.

What are some reader opinions on this topic? Has anyone had success with non-treat based training? Has anyone been able to successfully wean back the treats and still receive the same enthusiastic response from their dog?

Holy cow!  I think I just discovered the most fun thing you can do with you clothes on!  We just finished our 2nd lesson in Beginner’s Agility and we are hooked - or at least I’m hooked.  I think Oscar’s enjoying it too - of course, he’s a big fan of pretty much anything that involves him getting treats.

Oscar may not look like he’s built for Agility, but he seems to be learning the course elements pretty quickly.  Josh thinks that he was the best one in the class last night, but if I’m completely objective (or as close as I can get) I have to acknowledge that he has some strong competition.  Oscar’s friend Monty was kicking butt too and a Jack Russell Terrier and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel were also super stars.

I will agree that Oscar was definitely in the top half of the class.  His execution is excellent, the only problem is that he doesn’t seem to get the concept that he’s supposed to be going FAST.  That’s okay for now, because we’re focusing on learning the techniques, but I’m just not sure Oscar’s built for speed.  Oh well, maybe we won’t be traveling the country doing the professional agility circuit, but at least we’re having a lot of fun.

So assuming we graduate from the Beginner class, we’ll definitely be signing up for the Advance Beginner and Intermediate level classes offered by Andra Arden Dog Training at Animal Haven.  These classes are great - I can’t imagine that there are too many indoor locations in Manhattan that have a large enough space to have a mini-agility course. 

Assuming we stick with it and develop some decent agility skills, I’m wondering if there are any outdoor courses where you can go to practice on your own.  Does anyone know of a place nearby?

I’ll leave you with an action shot….Oscar takes the ramp at lightning speed!  Go Oscar, go!!

Thanks to our feline friends at Cat Sitter in the City for the great suggestion to Take a Pet First Aid Class This Summer! 

Classes held by the American Red Cross are going on all the time at their W 49th street location and other locations throughout the greater NYC area.  The 4-hour class costs $70 (including the $10 online registration discount).  Check out their website for details.

SUCCESS!!!  Well, kind of…

A little over a month ago (see post Product Review - Pet Steps), we invested in some Pet Steps for Oscar in an attempt to curb his tendencies to hurl himself out of our bed and potentially injure himself.

He quickly mastered going UP the stairs which presented him with far better bed accessibility (wonderful…), but until about a week ago, unless we stood at the bottom of the stairs with his favorite treat and coaxed him down, he was continuing to leap to the ground - giving me a heart attack every time.

So I’m happy to report that we’ve kind of had a breakthrough in the past week - Oscar has begun to use the stairs to get DOWN from the bed of his own volition about 50% of the time.   Of course, when he does come down the steps on his own, he’ll stand at the bottom wagging his stub (tail) and looking at us as if to say, “Okay, I used your damn stairs, now where’s my treat??”. 

Oh well…I’ll take it!!  Maybe I should just give up and go with Grasshopper’s suggestion of a “doggie slide”!

Who are these people that don’t pick up their dog’s poop?  Yeah, I said “poop” and I’ll say it again.  Poop. 

Okay, it’s kind of gross, but I have to ask my fellow dog owners…do you find yourselves talking about poop a lot??  Before we had a dog, I can’t remember talking about poop at all.  But now, I don’t think a day goes by that Anya & I don’t have at least a brief exchange regarding Oscar’s poop - frequency, size, consistency.  Is that weird???  I mean we’re just trying to keep tabs on whether he’s sick, going on enough walks and trying to make sure that his diet is agreeing with him.  That’s normal, right?

Anyway, every day there is fresh poop on my block, and on most of the surrounding blocks we walk on.  Anya and I have a long standing joke (since way before we had a dog) about poop we’d see on the sidewalk.  Anya said that she heard somewhere that the owners of guide dogs didn’t have to pick up their dog’s poop.  Now, I’m not sure if this is true, but it makes sense - I certainly wouldn’t expect a blind person to feel around on the groud for it.  So, every time we’d see poop on the sidewalk, we’d just say with a smile, ”Must be a seeing eye dog!” 

However, now that we’re dog owners, we’re taking the poop a little more seriously.  After all, if someone doesn’t pick up their dog’s poop, it’s a reflection on all dog owners. 

I pick up Oscar’s poop for another very simple reason (other than the fact that it’s required by law):  The Golden Rule.  I don’t like to step in poop!  And forensic poop evidence (CSI: Poop Police)  suggests that many of these droppings are definitely too small to be from a guide dog. 

Oh, and while we’re on the stinky subject - there should be a class in poop picking also.  You don’t need to mash the poop into the sidewalk like you’re making some sort of abstract finger painting -  don’t attack the poop - it’s not your enemy.  A delicate cradle & flip movement will usually extract even more stubborn poops from the sidewalk without leaving a trail of sidewalk devastaion in their wake.

Who knew that Brooklyn had it’s own Dog Whisperer???   According to an article in the Daily News, Tyril Frith is the Dog Whisperer of Brooklyn can be found working his magic in Prospect Park and in the homes of Brooklyn residents.

Tyril is compared to the original Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan, because he employs training methods that are not reward or treat-based.  However, compared to Millan who emphasizes being the pack-leader and encouraging calm-submissive behavior, Frith’s methods seem to be point blank negative reinforcement.  The article gives examples of shock collars and rattling bottles filled with pennies.

Now, I’m certainly no dog training expert, but I really hope we never get to the point where we would consider using a shock collar on Oscar!!  I would say that we use a combination of reward-based training and pack leader behavior and I think we’ve been pretty successful.  I’m sure proponents of each training method would argue that the methods need to be practiced exclusively to be effective, but I think Oscar would be obese if we only used treat-based training and I don’t think we’d have as strong of a bond if we were the pack leaders all the time.

Interestingly, if you read the comments below the article, you will see testimonials from a number of Tyril’s former clients.  So, to each his own, I guess…as long as no dogs are harmed in the process and it’s creating a happier situation for dogs & their owners.

Any comments on Frith’s training style or training methods that you’ve found particularly effective?

If you’re just joining us, catch up by reading Becoming a Therapy Dog - Parts 1  through 5.  Back to our story where we just received our official Delta Society Pet Partners badges…

We must be close now…actually depending on the facility you want to visit, you’re probably still 4-8 weeks away from visiting your first patient. What?? We’re already a registered therapy dog team, what could possibly take another 4-8 weeks?? Well now you have to go through the volunteer program for the facility that you want to visit. If you want to visit a hospital, you’re probably looking at a long bureaucratic process. We’ve heard that it can take less time for nursing homes and other facilities, but we can’t speak from experience on those.

We decided that we wanted to visit a local facility with a pet therapy program. Volunteering as a therapy dog team ususally involves a weekly committment, so we wanted to make it as easy as possible to keep our committment by choosing a facility within walking distance. With help from the ASPCA, we were able to identify a nearby facility with a pet therapy program - St. Vincent’s Hospital.

St. Vincent’s was actually the first New York State Department of Health test site for animal-assisted therapy in acute care facilities. In 1998, their pioneering work resulted in the state’s health code being changed to make animal-assisted therapy programs possible in hospitals. Edna Wolf, who runs the Animal-Assisted Therapy program at St. Vincent’s is truly an inspiration. She was a physical therapist at St. Vincent’s for many years. When Edna retired, she took over the management of the animal-assited therapy program as a full-time volunteer. Last we heard, the animal-assisted therapy program at St. Vincent’s had almost 30 active therapy dog teams.

So, bottom line….the therapy dog program at St. Vincent’s is terrific, but it was somewhat of an ordeal to get through the volunteer process.

First, a 4 page application, with SSN for background check and proof of certification by either Delta Society or TDI. 2-3 weeks later, we were scheduled for a volunteer orientation (during the 9-5 work day). This orientation was not specific for the therapy dog program, but contained basic information that all volunteers need to know about standard and emergency hospital procedures. Next a health screening, consisting of a physical and blood work to ensure that you have all critical immunities (during the 9-5 work day). The health screening also required 2 sets of PPD Tuberculosis tests which must be administered at least 2 weeks apart (during the 9-5 work day). Finally, a specific volunteer orientation with Edna, to show you the ropes and accompany you on your first day of visits (during the 9-5 work day).

You might notice that getting through the volunteer program required 4-5 tasks that needed to happen during the 9-5 work day, so unless you have a very flexible work schedule, you should plan to use a few personal or vacation days.

So, almost 6 months to the day from our first failed attempt at the Pet Partners evaluation, we completed both our Delta Society Pet Partners registration and the St. Vincent’s volunteer orientation and started visiting. It was a lot of time and effort, but well worth it.

Now we’ve been visiting every Wednesday night for about 6 months. Each week, as soon as Oscar figures out where we’re going, he drags us the rest of the way to the hospital. Oscar is a now total pro with both the elevator and the revolving doors at the entrance. We don our volunteer uniforms and badges (Oscar has his own badge too). When we get there, we find the clipboard that Edna has left for us that tells us which floor to visit and lists any special requests.

We introduce ourselves to the nursing staff and make our rounds for about an hour (any longer and Oscar starts to get antsy). Overall, Oscar is a huge hit with the patients, their visitors and the staff. Some people aren’t interested in interacting with Oscar and that’s okay. But each week, we usually get to visit with 8-10 patients. Sometimes it’s a quick visit and we just chat for a few mintues about Oscar. Other times, it obvious that the patients are really enjoying the visit and we linger a while, Oscar gets lavished with attention and petting and we show off a few of our tricks. Often, you can see the tension and pain melt from people’s faces just by petting him. Or he simply acts as a conversation starter to distract them for a few minutes from the monotany of being confined to a hospital bed.

Yes, in our short time at St. Vincent’s so far, we’ve had some amazing visits - a woman hugging Oscar and thanking us profusely, with tears running down her face - a 70 year-old man who told us he had been afraid of dogs all his life and ended up asking Oscar for “kisses” several times. But every week, we’re greatful for the even the smallest sign that Oscar is making a difference….a smile, a thank you, some tender petting.

We rarely know why the patients are in the hospital, and we’re not medical professionals, but our prescription??

Take one therapy dog and call us in the morning.

I love the Internet, but I can’t fall asleep every night without reading a few chapters of a good old fashioned physical book.  Here are a few of my dog-related recommendations…

If you’re thinking about getting a dog, I strongly suggest The Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of New Skete.  Not only will this book help you decide if you should really get a puppy, but it will also help you figure out what kind of dog is right for you and offers excellent advice on training and care of your animal.  Even though the copyright is 1991, the pictures look like they were taken in the 70s - so don’t read it for the fashion, but it’s a must-read for the content.

My favorite piece of advice (which I have never seen or heard anywhere else) was about what to do if your puppy/dog gets away from you.  Living in New York, I’m in constant fear that I will drop Oscar’s leash or that he will escape from the dog run when someone has carelessly left the door open and he will run out into traffic.  The good advice from the Monks is as follows:

“…do not chase after her…Instead, try moving quickly in the opposite direction.  Dogs have a predatory instinct that manifests itself when something runs away from them, and often you can trigger this by pretending to “escape” from your pup.”

I had to use this method once - we were visiting my parent’s house in upstate New York.  My parents live on a wooded 27 acres, surrounded by farms, so Oscar is allowed to go off-leash.  He’s normally very good and stays within 20 feet of us, but one day we came across some grazing cows at the border of my parents property…uh-oh.  Oscar had never seen a cow before.  We looked at Oscar, he looked at us…we said, “No, Oscar!”, he took one last look and hi-tailed it after the giant “dogs”.  

At first it was hilarious - the cows actually started running away from an 18 lb dog and mooing in protest.  But it got scary quickly, he was on the other side of a barbed-wire fence and what if he actually caught up to them??  Remembering the advice from the monks, I told my mom & sister to run in the opposite direction.  I yelled Oscar’s name one more time and as soon as he turned to look, I started sprinting in the opposite direction.  It worked like a charm.  Oscar hi-tailed it back and we’re now able to tell the funny story of the time a lap dog tried to herd cows.

But I digress - back to the book recommendations…

For puppy training, I also like The Complete Idoits Guide to Raising a Puppy by Liz Palika.  It’s very easy to read and a good book for reference.

We’ve also had a lot of fun with tricks training.  For simple step-by-step trick training methods try Dog Tricks for Dummies by Sarah Hodgson and The Everything Dog Training and Tricks Book by Gerilyn J. Bielakiewicz.

Finally, if you like a good dog-related novel, check out The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.  Babel gets a little wacky near the end and The Curious Incident isn’t really about dogs at all, but they were both excellent reads if you’re looking for some good fiction.

Any dog-related reading recommendations?  I’d love to hear them.

Now I know that everyone thinks that their dog is the cutest, best, smartest dog that ever lived…but a few months after we brought Oscar home, I really was convinced that he was some kind of dog genius. 

He learned all of the basic obedience commands and some impressive tricks.  He learned words we weren’t trying to teach him (food, treat, cat, etc.), that we’re usually going to ditch him right after we take a shower in the mornings and he even learned to manipulate us (okay, that probably wasn’t that hard). 

So, imagine my shock when I discovered that Oscar’s breed (the regal Brussels Griffon - originally bred as stage coach dogs in Belgium) ranked only 59th out of the 79 breeds ranked in a commonly referenced Ranking for Obedience/Working Intelligence by Breed!!  There must be some mistake…

Okay fine, I’ll give you the Border Collie, the Poodle, the German Shepard - everyone knows that these breeds are very smart.  But surely, the Brussels Griffon must be #4…or at least in the top 10.  But 59th!?!?  No…

Then I started to scroll up the list and see who was ahead of him (and this is where I’m going to upset some people) and I found our cousin the Affenpinscher (at 37), the Pug (at 57) and the Yorkshire Terrier (at 27)?!?!   Now I love all three of these breeds, but I can’t believe that any one of them could possibly hold a candle to my baby in terms of brains!

Fortunately, Oscar can’t surf the web, so he remains blissfully unaware of his breeds pitiful intelligence, but I took the news pretty hard.  A colleague of mine tried to console me by reminding me that there’s always more variation within a group that between groups.  A ha!  That’s it…there must be must be some dummies bringing the whole group down and Oscar is some type of super-prodigy. 

Another colleague helpfully told me that they heard that the true test of an individual dogs intelligence was to throw a towel/blanket over their head and see how quickly they find their way out.  With renewed optimism, I returned home to prove Oscar had smarts.  I confidently covered him with a large towel and then…nothing.  My formerly flesh and blood pet had turned into a statue.  I called his name, told him to come, even tried to bribe him with the T-word (treats). 

Finally, I pretended I was leaving…I loudly opened the door and stomped towards it saying, “see you later, Oscar”.  Suddenly - the statue came to life, but to my dismay he didn’t heriocally come bounding out from under the towel.  Instead, he staggered abruptly to one side and ran (smack!) into my dresser.  I rushed to untangle and sooth him, chastising myself for ever submitting him to this stupid test.

So, since then, I have been puzzled as to why Oscar seems so smart when all indications point so him being somewhat of a dummy.  Everyone who see his trick repertoire comments on how clever he is - are they just humoring us?  And sure, it usually takes a number of repetitions before he figures out exactly what you want him to do, but is it just my persistent training that makes him seem like some sort of doggie-mensa candidate? 

Well, unfortunately for poor Oscar, while I was writing this post, I came across yet another Dog IQ Test, so of course, I had to torture the little guy one more time.  Now I skipped Test #2 - I just assumed he’d get the lowest score because I didn’t want to subject him to the whole towel thing again…and I’m happy to report that Oscar came in just 3 points shy of genius!  He totally didn’t get why I was smiling at him for Test #3, but he nailed the four remaining tests.

So, it just goes to show…If at first you don’t like the results of the dog intelligence search you do on the Internet, search, search again.

Is your dog and Al-bark Einstein?  Or is he or she a little slow on the pup-take?

Did you know that Animal Haven recently opened a new shelter in SOHO? The shelter officially opened in late 2006, but the retail boutique just opened up earlier this year.

Start-up costs for the 7,000 sq ft center were provided by a grant from the Mayor’s Alliance as part of its strategic plan towards turning NYC into a “no kill” city. A high-end pet boutique helps generate revenues to maintain the shelter’s ongoing operation. 2000 square feet on the 2nd floor are used for training, agility, parties, and numerous other pet- themed events that also generate revenue for the shelter.

We first visited Animal Haven when we attended a Brussels Griffon meet-up (which we learned about on meetup.com). We had a blast! And all proceeds from the event went to support the shelter. Check out this video of some Brussels-Griffon crazy time in the Animal Haven space! (You might recognize the instigator as our very monkey-faced trouble maker!)

Check out our Dog Events in New York tab for some other cool events at Animal Haven.

Animal Haven also partnered with Andrea Arden Dog Training to offer puppy training, adult dog training, behavior problem solving, tricks, Canine Good Citizen and therapy dog training as well as Agility classes. We started taking a Beginner level Agility class just before Thanksgiving and we’re hooked! More about our adventures in agility later, but for now I’ll just leave you with one word…hilarious!