You nurture them. Food, water, exercise. Instruction, structure, guidance. Rest, play and exploration. They grow. If you’re consistent, fair, patient and kind, they thrive. Educate, socialize, manage and train. So by six months you have a solid foundation of basic manners in many locations. Sure they test people, what teenager doesn’t?

Interesting that in the traditional world of dog training, you wait until the dog is 6 months of age before beginning.

Doesn’t that make you think?

Dreaming good thoughts.

Lest you think I am exclusive to dogs, think again. Cats rule — Grace and Tank are useful in helping socialize dogs to their feline brethren. So when I learned about the heavily catnip infused quilted Pootie Pads produced by sisters Ann and Sara Reed of Portland, Oregon, I had to get me some. Five pootie pads later, with 100% positive feedback from the lucky beta testers — Grace, Tank, Frankie, Jack and Bremec Garden Center‘s resident cat, I was honored to learn I had become their first wholesale customer. So get in your advance orders for these one of a kind, beautifully crafted and cat-alicious quilts. Each will come with a bottle of Catnip spray refresher although the catnip sewn inside lasts quite awhile — hot tip…gently crush the catnip on occasion to release.

Gulp. In it goes.

Sent in the non-refundable deposit to The University of Rochester yesterday on behalf of my oldest daughter’s entry into university life. Her intended major: American Sign Language. I embrace her interest in learning both a language and a culture that is beautiful to watch and the communication for an estimated half a million people.

There are about 75 million dogs in the U.S. (World estimates on dog population hard to tally but estimated at about 10% of human population which is nearly 7 billion now. )Dogs too have a culture, the same in every country, and a language. It behooves us humans — whether we have a dog in our life or not —  to take the time to learn it. The language includes a variety of behaviors collectively called CALMING SIGNALS [link to great video], coined and defined in part by Norwegian behaviorist Turid Rugaas. Calming Signals slow things down (whether obvious to the person observing or not) with the end result of  avoiding conflict. These include (but are not limited to) avoiding eye contact, licking lips, yawning, scratching (sometimes it’s about an itch, sometimes it isn’t!), and more. Here is a LINK to a gallery of photos showing calming signals.

My biggest pet peeve (pun intended) is young pups and dogs who are under socialized. Whether due to ignorance (“I didn’t know”), laziness (“it’s cold out”), ill given advice from veterinarians who err on the side of medical caution over emotional illness (“avoid socialization until 4 mos of age when all the immunizations are given”) or unfortunate circumstances, that lack of socialization can have life long negative repercussions.

DIP began almost a year ago in my backyard. An acronym for Drop In Play, DIP is like a dog park with lifeguards. Sometimes it’s like a calm summer day at the local quarry; other times it can be like rip tides or a threatening tsunami. But by watching, managing and patiently allowing opportunity for dogs to effectively communicate, I have had the distinct pleasure of watching dogs learn and recover — overbearing dogs learning manners, shy ones become more confident, emotionally damaged ones heal and recover their lost language, as well as observe the sheer joie dogs have when given the opportunity to play in an enriching environment with their own. It has been the single most important development in my ongoing quest to learn dog.

My most recent positive experience was for a 4 month old Lagotto Romagnolo. Imported from Italy via Germany this little puppy arrived in a state of shock. She was either completely shut down or spastic. Owners had seen video of her playing joyfully with other pups and dogs in her home country, but by the time she had travelled across the ocean and different environments with their own smells and sights and sounds, she had become shut down and confused. A case of PTSD (post traumatic shock syndrome). The owners, having little to no previous dog experience, did not realize how dysfunctional she was. I urged DIP visits and invited dogs I thought would help her get her mojo back.

It worked. Truffie’s first visit showed some erratic behavior with the other dogs — she either ignored them or found them terribly frightening which caused her to lash out.

FIRST DIP

Returning for a second visit the next day, Truffie got her mojo back.

What a nice sight to see. Next she joins group class and we’ll see how it goes.

This week marks 12 weeks since Bubbles landed in Cleveland from sunny southern California.  What has she learned?

She has almost tripled in size, is house trained,  crate trained and has become quite cuddly without being overbearing.

She has learned how to sit, lay down, come (touch) despite most distractions, stay, walk nicely on a leash, lie contentedly doing nothing in very difficult environments, and begun playing fetch with a variety of objects — balls, stuffed animals and chewies. I credit Har-Vest with helping her develop internalized self control and she has gone from XS to small…a medium size not too far off as her growth spurt is kicking in.

Returning from an outing.

She has met dozens of dogs, hundreds of people of all ages, sizes, colors and energy levels and befriended a variety of cats. She has travelled in the cabin of an airplane cross country, ridden in the front, middle and back of various cars and walked on a variety of surfaces.

Queen of the Hill

She has encountered snow, ice, sleet, rain, mud, puddles, mulch, sand, gravel and likes to play queen of the hill.

She has met her future boy and shown a calm aptitude that he is going to be hers.

Lengthening days, warming temps and increasing adventures has brought her a widening fan club.

Gone are the frustrations at the endless snow, the delayed maturation and unruly adolescent challenging. Bubbles, you are truly a wonderful pup. I look forward to the next months together and your ultimate transition to your future life.

Learning "fetch" from Trip.

In the many previous “real” jobs” life  I’ve had  – where I not only had to learn all the names and ultimately the quirks of fellow workers — but often be obligated to know the terms and conditions of detailed policy manuals outlining all the “do’s” and “don’ts” of the organization — I’ve had various levels of dissatisfaction. Admittedly  I’ve often balked at some of the rules and chafed under some of the administrative policies– many which seemed to compromise my own moral code of ethics. These conflicts actually helped me take the leap into the abyss of opening my own business — with neither a net or a parachute.

Thus when I started my own dog training company, A Better Pet LLC, in 1999, I grokked that one of the best things for someone like me – entrepreneurial in spirit –  was the freedom to make yes and no decisions; define my own policies. Such freedom allows for many decisions to often be based solely on a whim. A poignant email plea, an answered phone call, some random serendipitous chain of events out in the planet, a knock at the door, a news report from Brian Williams or Diane Sawyer.

I am frequently contacted by people for any number of things that don’t do much, if anything for my bottom line. That is if my bottom line was the web definition:

• the last line in an audit; the line that shows profit or loss. (this is the one years ago my accountant, when I could afford one and before I learned to struggle well enough to do my own taxes, told me to focus on)

But another web definition defines the bottom line as

• the decisive point

which I like better ’cause it’s subjective.

What I like even better is the Triple Bottom Line (TBL):

The TBL captures an expanded spectrum of values and criteria for measuring organizational (and societal) success: economic, ecological and social.

Last week was spring break from school so I schlepped kids and dogs —  two of my daughters and a friend — along with Bean and Bubbles to visit to a group of home schooled children in a community about 1/2 hour away. I was asked to talk about service dog stuff with these kids ages 6-10. For no pay. My main agreement to doing so at the time was thinking it would be a great socialization opportunity for growing Bubbles. And Bean is my go to spokesdog and great role model for Bubbles so he always comes along for these things too.

First thing I do is try to feel out the energy of the group — whether the audience is made of children and/or adults, special needs or general population, dog lovers, social service professionals or business school students.  I talk for a bit and then put the dog(s) to work. My main goal is to have them evaluate the group but it also spreads good cheer and engages the audience.  I ask people to please sit still and ignore the dog then do a “send out” — ask the dog to “go” (one of The Six  Things All Dogs Should Know) visit . It’s usually very hard for young kids to avoid squirming and sneaking closer and closer. It’s even harder to get them to resist the temptation to reach out and pet or otherwise distract the dogs but this group of kids did great. First, out went  Bean for a meet and greet. He made an immediate beeline for a little boy named Nick sitting on a sofa by himself (most of the kids were sitting on the carpeted floor of the large room in the church where we had assembled). Bean did his trademark gentle “slam” of his body against this boy’s legs with half closed spaniel eyes. Bean’s signal to me that he has found a true and gentle spirit. He does that pretty well. You don’t have to like him (or dogs in general) for Bean to find the gentleness in the spirit.  Some dogs seek out truffles in the woods. Bean finds gentle spirits.

Bean's gaze

Bean worked the room some more and made a few new friends but no lingering with any one person before he returned. Next it was Bubbles’ turn. She too went straight for Nick and wormed her golden wriggly self at him, compelling him to pet her. Then she gave him a quick wink of her eye and moved on to other kids. I hadn’t sent her out to find gentle spirits before, but I have seen her work her way with her future autistic boy in much the same way.  I was very pleased to see she too has the capacity not only to find the gentle ones in the area (even if their behavior isn’t gentle, it is the spirit I am talking about here — behavior can always be modified), but she endears herself in the same way as if to say she is only there to be a good thing, not a scary or overbearing thing.

I talked a bit more, answered some questions and then it was time to pack up and go. I hadn’t releashed Bean and as we started to gather things, he went to the back of the room where he found Nick, who had moved from the couch. I guess Bean just wanted to say bye as Nick clearly has a most gentle spirit and who wouldn’t find that uplifting?

Teenage stare.

And so as we left and meandered back home — dogs exhausted and sleeping tucked in with the girls in the backseat — I knew we had all gotten quite a boost to our triple bottom line.

Callie, Sophie and Zena

I try hard never to take for granted the glowing health, intelligence, compassion, beauty and wide ranging and quite amazing capabilities of all three of my children. I am consciously grateful that the inevitable conflicts that arise in the parent/child relationship are the normal and healthy ones and are a sign I’m doing something right.

In my role as a social worker and dog trainer I provide service dog training and am directly engaged in helping both children and adults with special needs. No need is as special as the gift of life.

Last year on an uncharacteristically windy day in Cleveland, Ohio on Wade Oval in University Circle (near the Cleveland Art Museum), Team A Better Pet braved the elements to join others in raising money to help provide much needed research dollars to help find a cure for childhood cancer. We walked in memory of Olivia Crowley, an irrepressible girl who expressed such joy despite the ravages of childhood cancer. I met Olivia when she was 8. I  reveled in meeting such a young and natural trainer whose wish for a service dog to help her in her battle came true. Olivia just got the simple but important art of partnering with her dog Charlie. But sadly, Olivia lost her battle for life from Ewing’s Sarcoma at the tender age of 10. Charlie the golden retriever, now 7 1/2 years old, remains as a loyal and shaggy companion to her parents and sister.

Olivia & Charlie.

Please join us for our second annual Curesearch Walk as we celebrate and honor children from Northeast Ohio who have been affected by children’s cancer. Donate what you can to team A Better Petters or better yet, dare to join us for the walk (with your well behaved dogs of course) on Saturday, June 4. If you don’t already have a Har-Vest, through the month of April anyone who signs up to walk on the team or even just support the team and donates $50 or more to this worthy cause can get a Har-Vest for HALF PRICE (or earmark a discounted one to the individual or organization of their choice)!

But wait, there’s more! This very special day will include prizes, music, food, and fun activities for the entire family! Please encourage your friends and family to join us as we raise funds to reach the day when every child with cancer is guaranteed a cure!

Register today and support children’s cancer research!

If you don’t live in Northeast Ohio,  find a local walk near you.

Event Schedule Registration/Check In 8:30 am – 9:30 am    Opening Ceremony and Walk 9:30 am – 10:30 am Event Location University Circle Wade Oval 1 Wade Oval Dr, Cleveland, OH

Raise $100+ and receive the official CureSearch Walk T-shirt!

Bubbles journey as an autism assistance dog in training continues as she and I both embrace the challenges of adolescence in a pup. From our own private corner in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. we continue to socialize and establish reliable behaviors wherever we go balanced with appropriate play and rest. I rely on Bean to model appropriate public displays whenever possible.

On a much larger scale, we herald the impending arrival of the 4th annual World Autism Awareness Day.

Ignorance and fear are some of the common responses people have towards those who are different. Autism is a spectrum disorder with many manifestations but developing social norms is a significant challenge for all and what person doesn’t deserve to be treated with dignity and respect despite being different?

Check out Light The White House Blue and add your own thoughts.

Taking a break from doing "a lot of nothing" in public.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) issued regulations in 1991 to permit the use of a service animals in public. This required modifications in policies in such places as restaurants, hotels, retail establishments, theaters and concert halls. In short, this meant that service animals accompanying persons with disabilities had to be admitted in places that otherwise had policies excluding pets or other animals.

Boomer wears Har-Vest under his guide dog harness.

At that time, 20 years ago, most service animals were “seeing eye” dogs that assisted visually impaired individuals. For the most part, guide dogs for the blind were highly-trained, unlikely to create a nuisance or a sanitary  problem and to sighted individuals, were obviously providing service to their visually impaired handler. Over time, not only did the function of service animals expand to include assistance for a variety of both visible and invisible disabilities, so too did the number of species being used by people in the name of service. These included pigs, cats, horses,monkeys, snakes, lizards, birds and rodents.

As more and more people were using more and more animals in the context of service work, it became apparent that some changes were necessary. The proliferation of service animals in public settings, some whose poor  manners posed obvious problems in public in terms of safety, sanitation and disturbance of others, was becoming a hot button issue for proprietors of retail businesses.

Until now, however, retailers were largely  powerless to bar these types of animals from their establishments.

The U.S. Justice Department has issued new regulations effective March 15, 2011. Not only will these new regulations substantially limit the types of animals that will qualify as service animals under the ADA to dogs (and miniature horses in some cases), but they help clarify the different definitions and legal entitlements between service dogs and emotional support dogs.

Service dogs’ tasks include the following examples:

*   assisting sight-impaired persons with navigation or other tasks;

*   alerting hearing-impaired persons to the presence of people or sounds;

*   providing non-violent protection or rescue work;

*   pulling a wheelchair;

*   assisting an individual during a seizure;

*   alerting an individual to the presence of allergens;

*   retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone;

*   providing physical support /assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility impairments; and

*   helping persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors.

Emotional Support Dogs (ESD) are dogs who provide emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship. Wonderful qualities, for sure, but they do not constitute task specific functions and so, under these new definitions, are NOT service dogs. In short, animals that provide only comfort or emotional support for their owners will no longer qualify as service animals.

For  a dog to qualify as a psychiatric service dog (PSD) for an owner with a psychiatric disability under the new regulations, the dog must be trained to perform specific work or tasks. Examples include reminding the handler to take medicine, providing safety checks or room  searches for persons with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), interrupting  self-mutilation, and removing disoriented individuals from dangerous  situations. If a dog is used to “ground” a person with a psychiatric disorder, this qualifies as a service animal if the dog has been trained 1) to recognize that a person is  about to have a   psychiatric episode, and 2) to respond by nudging, barking or removing the person to a safe location until the episode subside. Note that dogs trained to provide aggressive protection (i.e., attack dogs) will NOT qualify as a service dog.

Other important highlights of the new law:

Dog must be under control of handler and show appropriate manners (housebroken, in control and unless prohibitive to function,  on a harness, leash or other tether).

If an individual with a disability is asked to remove a service animal from the premises if the animal is neither housebroken or in control, the person with a disability must still be permitted to access the establishment’s goods, services or accommodations without the  animal being present.

Public accommodation is not responsible  for the care or supervision of a service  animal.

As to the nature or extent of a person’s disability, the public may make 2 inquiries to determine whether the animal qualifies as a service animal (but expected not to if by observation it is obvious the dog is providing function):

1) it may ask if the animal is required  because of a disability, and

2) what work or task the animal has been trained to  perform.

The public may NOT require documentation, such as proof that the  animal has been certified, trained or licensed as a service animal. Nor may a public accommodation require a person with a disability to pay a surcharge for a service animal, even if it applies such a surcharge for  pets.

Note that these Federal Laws do NOT apply to landlords or airlines. These entities are governed by the Fair Housing Act and the Air Carrier Access Act, respectively.

In sum, these new regulations give long-needed clarity to hotels, restaurants,  retailers and other public accommodations regarding which animals must be allowed as service animals, and under what circumstances.

This important information should be on hand for anyone interested in keeping current on Federal regulations as they pertain to service dogs.

March begins with strong sun but cold temperatures. A conflict of desire. Do I want the warm up that will = melting snow and ice. Add the melt to an already over-saturated yard equals unquantifiable mud. Add in 4 dogs in residence and a steady stream of canine visitors and it could be a disaster.

I fear Bubbles is in the same quandary heralding the segue from puppyhood to early adolescence. One day she’s the sweet little cooperative pup reveling in attention, seeking petting and reliably doing a multiple set of directions. The next she stares back splay legged giving defiant looks of “I don’t think so” and attitude. The next she’s all emotional and afraid of her shadow and skittish.  Then back to confident, defiant and mischievous.

I’ve gone through this before with both dogs and daughters. Now, however, I have both species to contend with. I do a lot of deep breathing — muttering “this too shall pass” under my breath, and when time permits, and I find the right motivator, cooperation returns and I see light at the end of the tunnel. And just in time for spring!

My world of matchmaking — dogs to people, people to dogs, dogs to other animals, is another one of those places where I operate in shades of gray. When indicating whether or not a dog and cat can coexist peacefully, you not only need to know about the socialization of the dog to cats, but how the cat’s experience with dogs and temperament compare to the success.

My cat Tank, now 10 months old and at least 10 lbs. heavier than the 5 oz. he arrived weighing, is what I call an Instigator. He likes to play victim but carefully watching him shows the way he incites dogs to react and thus, in his feline thinking, get them in trouble. It still works with the kids and other people who visit, but not me.

Bubbles and Tank have become good buddies. They roll, wrestle, cuddle and have learned just the right amount of pressure their jaws can employ to avoid harm, even as Bubbles grows and gets stronger. But with Tommy the Shih Tzu, so far the wily cat has been creating dynamics where he can be safe and incite Tommy to bark and carry on. I’ve seen him do it in many different ways — from being on the other side of a door and slipping his paws under to torment Tommy (who does get into trouble until I see the source) to jumping up on a table out of reach and twitching his tail.

Creating an increasingly more reliable recall in Tommy (who is NOT food motivated but does love physical affection) helps. Having him watch the wrestle matches (see video below) is another way to learn.