Yeah, I’m talking about my nose and the noses on all the rest of us dogs in the world. We are all pretty proud of the things that we can do with our noses. I have written articles before about my fantastic ability to sniff out good things, but this is kind of a different approach.

While I have praised canines for being able to sniff out drugs, termites and even cancer, I recently learned about another use for canine noses.  Some are trained to sniff out “zebra mussels” and “quagga mussels”.

Zebra mussels were detected in 1988 in Lake St. Claire one of the smaller lakes of the Great Lakes. It is believed that the zebra mussels came in as stowaways in ships from Russia and the Ukraine. While the zebra mussels are striped, earning their name of zebra mussels, the quagga mussels are slightly larger, with less-defined markings.

Either one of these is bad news.

First they reproduce very fast. Both species attach to anything hard such as, ships’ hulls, propellers, irrigation pipes and in Lake St. Claire, they attached to the shells of the native mussels and have nearly made them extinct!

In Russia and the Ukraine natural predators are able to control the mollusks.  However in North America it seems that there are no natural predators to control them. The bottom line is that they are causing a lot of problems in the Great Lakes and now in California. Why should we care? Because their infestations are costing power industries billions of dollars and they are causing problems with the ecosystem.

Once again, canines will save the day!

While it takes many man hours for humans to inspect and detect the little trouble makers, dogs can speed up this process considerably. It is estimated that dogs can save approximately 800 personnel hours a year!

Commonly used dogs are Labs, German Shepherds,  and Belgian Malinois as they are extremely friendly with people.

Many states already have canine detection units. They are paired with wildlife personnel and live with the families of their handlers just like police dogs do. The dogs are trained to respond to five commands and only from their handler.

Just like with any program, it costs money to get this under control. It costs $5316.00 to train a dog for this type of work in California. But if you do not already have an animal the cost can increase to $9,500.00!

You may be able to help. Contact Dr. Robert F. Sahara at rsahara@pacbell.net .

I first heard about this problem in a previous interview. When I did my search, I located a great article by James A. Swan, Ph.D. His article was entitled, California going to the dogs—it’s a good thing. Check out his article for more information and tips for what to look for on your boat.

www.jamesswan.com

Every day we hear of encounters between humans and dogs. Unfortunately, not all of these encounters are pleasant. In fact, some can be deadly. I think that it is time for me to reach out and help to make these encounters as pleasant as they can be.  By “me,” I mean “my humans,” and by “my humans,” I mean “mom.”

Mom’s rolling out a new program called C.O.P.E..  C.O.P.E. is Canine Outreach Project & Education.  The program is designed to educate humans to better read canine communications.  It is geared toward Boy and Girl Scouts, 4-H clubs and elementary schools or any interested organization.

If you would like to schedule a C.O.P.E. program for your group, call us at 404-323-1500 or shoot me an email at spike@askapikeonline.com. The program is free of charge.

OMG!  I have been so busy that I completely forgot to plug Bark in the Park at Turner Field this Sunday.

The Braves will be “digging” in to beat the Houston Astros.  Log on to Braves.com and treat you and your best friend to a Sunday in the park!

Just a reminder: on Memorial Day, which is Monday, May 31, the Beach Boys will be surfin’ into the Ted for a post-game concert. And on that note, you should check out Celtic Thunder’s Keith Harkin’s medley of Beach Boys hits. It’s great. And I hear that he actually surfs the waves of Ireland!

Better watch those rocks Keith!

Recently, I got an e-mail from a concerned pet parent about some interestingly-named pups.  Bae-Bae and Blue are a new addition and almost an angel, respectively, so we are going to focus on Cartman and Butters.  Cartman is still very much an immature puppy. Though he seems to be potty-trained when out of the crate, but he will poop and pee in it, sometimes plopping down right in it.  Though he is going outside for potty breaks more frequently, he is not “getting busy” during  the extra trips outside.  Butters is a little older, and he has started marking in the house, sometimes pooping, so he is certainly not what I would call “house trained.”  His mom never catches him pooping, finding his little “prizes” long after he has left them, but she can sometimes catch him marking territory.  Butters can also be quite aggressive with outside people, and he has bitten a few people.

Photo Courtesy of Comedy Central

First things first, get those dogs neutered as soon as possible.  You are sitting on a powder keg of testosterone among the three pups, and I would not want to be around when it explodes!  You should also have Bae-Bae spayed soon after she is old enough.  I know that it can be expensive to get your dog fixed, but it is certainly worth not bringing any puppies into a world with so many puppies in need of homes.  You will also see a tremendous change in behavior in your boys.

Butters is the one that concerns me the most.  We need to establish the hierarchy in this pack.  Humans should be the ultimate alphas, and that certainly is not the case.  Being the ultimate alpha, you must never show any form of submission.  You should never allow any of the dogs see you cleaning up their waste, because that is a job reserved for the lowest members in the pack.  Following this rule, you will start down the right road with both Butters and Cartman on the .

The next thing to do is to follow Mom’s #1 training rule: YOU CANNOT TRAIN WHAT YOUR CANNOT CONTROL!  To do this, you will need to put a six foot non-retractable leash on each dog anytime they are outside of the crate.  If you find that you have a problem with leash-chewing, spray them with Bitter Apple, or something equally heinous in taste.  It is also imperative that they be put in a confined place, like their crates, if you cannot physically keep your eyes on each of them.  Roaming free in the house is a privilege that must be earned, and that privilege is lost when they soil the house, be it marking or otherwise.

Remember, you cannot correct a dog for misbehavior, unless you catch him in the act.  you cannot correct it.  What I mean is, if you find waste on the floor, you need to ask, “Where was I when the dog did this?”  If you have to ask yourself that question, YOU are at fault for not keeping an eye on your dog.  If you do catch your dog soiling, you must say a very stern “NO” and take the dog to his outside potty spot.  If your dog runs in the opposite direction, all you have to do is step on his leash.  BINGO! You are back in charge.  If you stick to the advice above,  there should not be any reason that you cannot stop this behavior.

Why does he run to the crate?  Butters’ mom stated that he knows he has done wrong, but he actually does not know that what he did was wrong.  What he DOES know is that marking territory, soiling in the house, or hiding his poop and waiting for you to find it is a fun game to play. You follow him to his crate, and you pay attention to him.  Dogs do not care what kind of attention we get.  Even negative attention, like screaming at him, is okay.  To us, negative attention is almost as good as positive attention.  What is it that Butters gets for all his hard work?  ATTENTION.

Your pack order should go like this: YOU, Butters (alpha dog), and Blue will be the omega.  Bae-Bae and Cartman will work out the “second in command” position.  In fact, they may make it so that one holds it one day and the other the next.  The only position you need to worry about is the alpha position.  As the alpha, Butters should be greeted first, fed first, and “treated” first.  By treating Butters special, you are sending a sending a message to the others that HE is the alpha dog, but you need to reinforce the fact that he is NOT above you.  You still need to go through the door in front of Butters, eat in front of him (without sharing), and ignore him when he demands attention.  Remember, YOU are the ultimate alpha, and everything is up to YOU!

As for Cartman, he thinks that it is his job to “get busy” in the crate.  Since he has done it before, you have probably cleaned his crate in front of him, and you probably talked to him while you cleaned.  What did that teach Cartman?  If he soils the crate, he gets attention from you.  Cartman’s view of these actions are that you enjoyed them so much, it is his job to keep doing it.

The first thing that you should do with Cartman is to reduce the size of his crate.  He needs only enough room to stand up and turn around.  There should be no blankets or bedding of any sort in there with him.  When he stops soiling his crate, he has earned having a blanket.  Until then, you should clean his crate with Simple Solution, a cleaning solution that truly removes the odor of a dog’s mess.  It goes without saying that you should clean the crate outside of his presence.

I also suggest that you feed your dogs a “premium” dog food.  I know it costs more, but there are numerous benefits that outweigh that slight difference in cost.  For one, the dogs will need less of it to satisfy them, so they will not expel as much waste.

The neutering of your male dogs should be your top priority, as it will result in some serious behavioral changes nearly immediately.  Since it is obvious that neither Butters nor Cartman is fully potty trained, your first training focus should be correcting that.  Make sure that you bookmark my Potty Training page for any issues that pop up there.

As for Butters’ aggression issues, we can talk about that once you have addressed the neutering, marking, and indoor soiling issues.  Keep me up to date on the situation.

Have you met Morgan the dog?  You probably recognize him from his inclusion in Spike’s Pack in May 2009.  This August, he will be moving into an apartment/condo setting as his mom starts graduate school.  All of the graduate students I have met are pretty busy people, and Morgan’s mom is a little worried about the possibility of days where she may not be able to get home from classes and stuff to let him out before his needs trump her schedule, if you know what I mean.  She asked me my thoughts on litter boxes or potty box products like the Porch Potty.

I have seen many litter boxes in my day, since I have several feline friends, but until Morgan’s mom asked me, I had not even heard of the Porch Potty.

Getting back to Morgan, it is important to note that he is totally housebroken.  In fact, he handles potty time and potty spots so well, that when he he visits other people’s homes, he only needs to be shown once which door goes outside for potty time, and he will consistently ask to go out that door, holding it in until he is outside.

Since Morgan is a small dog, I think that a litter box could be a very cool thing, but it may provide some mixed signals for him, since he is so well-behaved about potty time.  There are some days, mainly the really hot, really rainy, or really cold days, that I would like to have a little box inside to protect me from the elements.  Unfortunately, we have not seen one large enough for me.  Ever wonder what a litter box for a 110 pound Golden Retriever would look like?  Let me know if you see one.

Dogs are pretty smart about this potty stuff.  In fact, most of the time when people complain about their dog’s potty habits, it is usually something that the people did, or did not do that is the problem.  Once you start unloading things in Morgan’s new home, place the litter box in its permanent location.  Show Morgan where his new potty place is, and if the new place is large, you may have to confine Morgan with the litter box until he figures out the new location and uses it on the “long days.”

Keep in mind that moving can be traumatic for dogs, since they do not really understand what is happening.  During the packing and moving activities, try to keep the new routine as close to the old one as possible.  Morgan will have to learn new doors to enter and exit, where his new potty spot is, and where his toys and bowls have moved.  Even with a dog as smart as Morgan, there may even be a few accidents at first, but do not get upset.  Morgan has not forgotten everything he learned, he is still figuring things out in the new place!

Mom and I have taught a few classes about dog litter boxes.  Here in Atlanta, there are many high-rise apartment and condominium buildings, and that number keep growing.  The people that live in those buildings do not want to run down stairs or catching an elevator when it is potty time for their pup!

One time, Mom taught a class and one of the students lived in one of those big condo buildings in Buckhead, a swanky part of Atlanta.  Although the class was specifically about potty training, it never fails that people have questions about all kinds of other dog stuff.  In this class, someone asked about flea control, so Mom explained the options available to declare war on them.  The guy from Buckhead decided this was an appropriate time to announce to the whole class that his dogs did not have any fleas, did not get any fleas, etc.  He further explained that the reason his dog was flealess is because he lived in the Buckhead neighborhood!  Mom, the never-ending comedienne, asked the man if the fleas in Atlanta jumped off of dogs when they passed the “Welcome to Buckhead” sign?  After class, I suggested that perhaps there was a very small sign located under the welcoming sign that read, “Fleas Not Allowed.”

Training for the Porch Potty will be much the same, and I suggest you start using it before the move, if possible.  In the interest of full disclosure, after learning about the Porch Potty and trying one out, I became an affiliate for their company.  As you may have noticed, Mom and I do not endorse just anything.  To get my pawed seal of approval, I have to make sure it meets my standards.  If you find that it fits your needs, you can get $15 off by entering “askspikeonline” in the coupon code field.

When it is potty time for your dog, do you:

• take your dog for a walk when it is potty time?
• have a yard that you can just let him or her out the door and the potty magic just happens?
• have your dog use a litter box or Porch Potty?
• let your dog come and go at will via a “doggie door”?

Deep down inside, if we had a choice, we would probably not wear a leash, if humans had a choice (and a well-behaved dog off-leash), they probably would not leash their dogs either.  In most cities and towns across the country, a dog being off-leash outside of private property is illegal, since they have leash laws in effect.

For many pups, potty time is a pretty particular and peculiar exercise.  We can be super picky when it comes to finding a potty spot, but when we find it, we definitely know what to do.  Sometimes, the problem comes when you try to make the potty spot mobile.  When you are introducing us to the “special spot” in the yard during potty training, you need to give us a command word to potty, so that we can associate that word with the action in the future.  Feel free to choose whatever command word you wish.  Some common ones I have heard are potty or pee pee.  You are also welcome to use my word, which is “GET BUSY.”

Whenever it is time for me to potty, I give Mom a little signal, and she will ask me “Spike, do you need to GET BUSY?”  I respond with a bark and/or turning in circles and leading her to the door.  Whether it is a walk, or I am let out into the backyard, Mom ALWAYS says, “Spike, GET BUSY.”  I know that means to find a spot to pee in the yard, near where we are walking, or wherever I may be.  If Mom says, “Spike, BIG BUSY,” I know that means the same thing, but for poop.

As a pup, I learned this as we went out to my potty spot.  Whenever I would find a spot and start to pee, Mom went crazy, giving me a treat, and praising me by saying, “Good get busy, good get busy!”  When I would find a spot and begin the infamous squat to poop, Mom would go nuts again, treat me and say, “Good big busy, good big busy!”  She did this over and over until I figured out what the difference between get busy and big busy was.  She would also tell me to GET BUSY in places other than my usual potty spot.

It has nothing to do with the leash, but everything to do with understanding and complying with the command, which makes the potty spot mobile.

This article is a part of our Potty Training Page.

UPDATE: Thanks to all who joined me in the chat tonight.  I look forward to doing it again.

This Thursday at 9 PM EST, I will be hosting a live chat for you to ask me your dog behavior questions.  I am using a neat service called TinyChat.  For those of you that have dog behavior questions, but you have not yet submitted them to me, now is your chance to do it without the delay necessary for me to write an entire article addressing your question.  Please note: I may use the situations from the chat to help other families struggling with similar issues.

To participate in the chat, check back HERE at 8:50 PM on Thursday, March 12 to get the link for the chat.  Click it and join in.  It really is that easy.  My friends that use Twitter will see a tweet in my stream at 8:50 PM as well, with a link to the chat.

If you have an in-depth or uncommon question for me, please send me a short e-mail ahead of time describing the issue, so I can fully develop my suggestions to you.  My paw pals, their families, and other interested parties are all welcome to join.  I intend for the chat to last until 10 PM, but I am happy to extend it if necessary.

Lately, we have been getting TONS of questions about aggression issues.  These questions have led to some great articles on other topics, but it looks like aggression in general is a very broad and vague topic.  If you have questions about aggression, we have an excellent series about the different types, how they manifest, and how to treat or manage them.  You can find the articles that address aggression (both as part of the series and recent questions about it) here.

As a guide to help you decide whether your dog has some aggression issues, check out the questions below and keep track of how many apply to your canine family: Continue Reading

TAKE IT:

This is probably the easiest command to teach a dog, and it is certainly the easiest of these three commands.  On a very basic level, whatever you have to give him is given to him with the words “TAKE IT.”  Pretty easy, huh?

1. Take your dog’s favorite treat and close your hand around it.
2. Let the dog smell the treat as he or she sniffs around your hand for a few seconds. Continue Reading

Last week, I received an e-mail from a reader that had just adopted a pit bull puppy, but she and her son were having the problems described here:

We have a pit bull puppy who refuses to go outside. We have to drag him on a walk. Then, if we stop, he turns and runs back to our apartment. He knows the way from wherever we go. He was potty trained when we got him, but that is fading fast, because he won’t go outside.

The first thing I have to say is “Congratulations” on the expansion of your family, and I wish to extend a special thank you for choosing to have a dog of that breed.  I have always said that pit bulls are not born bad, they are just raised that way.

Unfortunately, there was no age specification about this puppy, so I will have to do some guessing.  Keep in mind that young puppies do not know what a leash is.  Continue Reading