Adding a new friend to your furry family

speaking at U of I

I am starting off this year's public seminar topics with a talk about how to add a furry family member to your home. I am excited about offering this topic. I love to help people get a good start with a new furry friend.  This Sunday ( Jan. 22) I will be at Pet Tropics in Charleston at 2 pm, and next Sunday(Jan.29) at Prairie Land Feeds in Savoy Illinois.  All the talks are free, about 1 hour and please call us to let us know you are coming - 217-253-3221.
  Many people have adopted or purchased a new puppy or kitten at Christmas time.  I have also seen some newly adopted rescued pets from local shelters ( Hooray!).  The health care needs such as vaccination, worming, or neutering has usually been addressed.  What many new owners are missing is exactly how to help this new family member feel secure and know how to behave in this new home. If you look online you will be hit up with a bunch of information, some that may be contradictory or just TMI.  What usually happens is new owners just try to figure it all out by themselves and then they can run into some problems.  I just want to cover some of the most common problems in this new adjustment period here.  Come to my talks to get the whole story - and bring your questions too.

making friends at puppy class

For new puppies, not getting feeding on a routine twice daily with taking the pup out on leash hourly when out of the crate leads to housetraining problems. The fix?  No punishment - repeatedly doing the same steps- and everyone in the family participating is what leads to quick housetraining.

Keeping your puppy at home, not going on walks or meeting new people or things leads to fear problems later.  Get your puppy out for meeting and greeting and puppy kindergarten starting at 8 weeks old.

Butterscotch loves his daily walks

For older dogs - not holding to feeding, walking and play routines causes increased anxiety, accidents in the home, and may uncover aggression problems.  Keep these dogs on regular feeding schedules, walk them even if you have a fenced in yard, and use play as a reward and release for energy.

ranger still gets into things!

Kittens - They will get into many things, jump or climb onto counters and want to pounce on anything. Set up play times with your kitten for 15 minutes straight where they will chase a ball, laser light or pounce on a stuffed toy to tire them out.  Put their food into empty plastic bottles or Kleenex boxes to make them work for it and leave the garbage and counter tops alone.

adult cats - not adding a litter box, food dish and at least 3 new perching places for this new cat you add causes disagreements with any other cat in the house.  Cats don't really share well so provide extras for the new buddy.  Also humans need to play with the cats individually to help them have an outlet for play as well.

If everyone who has brought in a new pet to their home followed some of these points, our shelters would be about half as full as they are.  Preventing behavior problems by starting off the right way is the best way to build a good relationship with your pet from the start.  If you are having trouble and the usual advice is not working, ask your veterinary staff for help.  Some of the problems may be due to the age of the pet, possible health problems, or even genetics.  What the normal behavior is for your cat or dog at this age, with their health, and their breed is best addressed by your veterinary staff. 

Good luck and I hope to see you at some talks.

Dr. Sally J Foote  CFBC-IAABC 
www.drsallyjfoote.com

The Pickle gift

Have you ever hung a pickle ornament on your tree? The person who sees the pickle ornament gets to open the extra present under the tree.  Now this pickle would be a great present for your chew crazy doggie friend.

The Pickle Pocket un loaded  after a month of wear

Rachael, one of the veterinary behavior technicians at my clinic, has been very resourceful at asking companies for samples of food puzzles, and other items to try out.  The Pickle Pocket treat dispensing toy from Starmark company was one that came in and has been under Bella trial for the past month. I wanted to give the toy some time, and various abuses before reporting on it.

At first, I thought that this won't last because it is so soft.  Bella is a voracious chewer on her food puzzle toys.  Anything with some give to it, and she wants to really chew it up.  So this soft feeling, almost firm jelly like toy was not going to stand up to her teeth. I am happy to say I am wrong. Bella has bounced it, chewed on it, I have flung it down the stairs as a part of play and this toy is showing almost no wear!  I have not had time to research the materials,  but I suspect it is a strong silicone that has that soft feel but is durable.

loading the Pickle

So here is how it works - this puzzle is for the advanced food puzzler.  All Shepard type dogs will likely love this.  The smarter your dog, the better they will enjoy this.  You put the kibble in the wavy grooves cut into the sides of the pickle.  The groves go deep, so the farther you push in the kibble, the harder the dog has to chew or bounce the pickle around to get the kibble out. It may be frustrating at first but over time you dog will devise a way to get the kibble out. You can be nice and load kibble near the top surface of the groove making it easier for your dog, then push it deeper as your dog learns how to get the kibble out. 

All loaded up for Bella - this will be a challenge for her

Bella chomping on her Pickle

Some great features about the Pickle - it is easily washed.  I imagine you could put it through the dishwasher - I have not.  It easily rinses clean and has some kind of scent of it's own , like a vanilla scent. No stinky dog toy here.   Some puzzles have a  vinyl smell at first, but not this one.  The shape is easy for a dog to hold between the paws or any other angle.  You could put your dog's regular food kibble in it  as a way to feed breakfast or dinner to keep them occupied. Granted it will take a few refillings  but it could get you up to an hour of peace and quiet as you want to drink your morning coffee or make some Christmas cookies without some little doggie under foot.

I looked at the website and saw that the Pickle Pocket floats in water, so if you are near a lake, or a pool it won't get lost.  Here is a link to a catalog that has it for sale  http://www.carealotpets.com/Products/Starmark-Pickle-Pocket-Treat-Dispensing-Toy__36814.aspx which would make a great Christmas pickle present for your pet!

Try out a Pickle pocket toy and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to!
Dr. Sally J Foote
Okaw Veterinary Clinic Tuscola Illinois

Happy 2012 !

Last Day of Boot Camp

Ok, so here we are at the end of week one.   Bella was really good today.  She did not get all crazy over squirrels on her walk, she did not do any counter cruising, remote grabbing, over barking and did not attempt to chase Ranger when she came to the clinic with me.  When we has supper she laid down and politely waited for her kibble which she only got when she was calm.  She was so focused on sitting for her dinner, she cut her greeting to Glenda a bit short.  Usually Bella is all wiggly wagging tail which is ok for us.  Tonight she did a little then sat on her bed awaiting her kibble time.  Glenda was a little disappointed but proud of her at the same time.

Tom is using the learn to earn too.  This has helped a lot with Bella

 We will continue on this program until it becomes habit for her and us.  These next few weeks will be concentrating on her being less reactive around other dogs.  Look out for more posts!

The last days of Bella Boot camp

 I am combining Saturday and Sunday's progress for Bella.

I figured now is the time to up the effort.  Get Bella out amongst the squirrels, other dogs and things that make her bark ballistically - in her over reactive, uncontrolled impulse drive state.  So, we played ball in the mornings without any fuss.  There were fat squirrels running up and down our walnut tree and she looked but caught her ball and returned back to me for more play.  This is a lot of work for Bella.  Normally she would be jumping up the tree ( at least 4 feet vertical)  as she barked at the squirrels running up the tree. But Saturday and Sunday she just barked a little and did not tree them.

Tom is taking part in her boot camp. She is settled and taking kibble when good

My dad was over for lunch after church and usually Bella would bark and be very timid of his wheeled walker.  Today she was not as timid or barky.  She dropped her ball for him to play with her and accepted easily food kibble and settled on her bed in the kitchen. Dad even commented how much better she was.

 The big thing today - she walked down an alley where 2 active english setters stay in a pen. She saw the pen but only looked at them and was focused on me as I walked her past with an occasional kibble. This would typically have been a point of her jumping, barking, pulling at her leash etc, etc, etc. 

Now that Bella is not such a PITA he can enjoy the dog bed too

Bella did well today!

Bella's boot camp

This is the long leash - harness for Bella to run on in our yard

Friday - day 5 of Bella's boot camp.  I am putting Bella on her harness and playing fetch with the tennis ball in the morning before breakfast  which has always been her routine.  2 milestones this morning - She barked at the neighbor walking down the alley but came when I called her and focused on chasing the ball as the woman passed.  Usually I would have to pull her in like a huge fish on a line, but not this am.

The really big improvement was when Bella saw the black and white cat.  There is a neighborhood black and white cat that Bella usually goes ballistic barking and wanting to chase after when she sees it.  It all started when she was a puppy and we wanted to chase the cat out of the yard because my friends 2 toddler children would not stop trying to pet it.  So that night long ago, we put Bella and Butterscotch out on their long leashes and they barked at the cat so it ran out of the yard.  Since then, Bella sees the cat and wants to go chase it.  Talk about quick learning!

Butter gets his rewards for being calm too

So this morning as Bella runs to get her ball, there is the black and white cat sitting about 50 yards away right in the middle of the street.  Bella looked at the cat, but did not bark or run out towards it.  I called her and she came to me with her ball and we continued to play!  For her to not react to the cat, chase, bark and be able to be called away is huge! 

There was still a little barking at dinner time, but not as much as the day before.  Improvement is coming every day.

Bella's boot camp

So, day 4 with Bella in her learn to earn program.  She did well most of the day. Dinner was a little trying with her barking a lot at Glenda and the food kibble jar on the table.  Barking did not get any kibble to her, and after a few minutes she started to get it.  This is her old pattern - bark and to get her to quiet down she would get a food puzzle, play or let outside for tennis ball time.  Guess what? That was encouraging or reinforcing her barking!

So why was Bella now barking?  She was trying out the old technique to see if that would still work to get her play or food.  This is the extinction burst - as the old behavior is going extinct ( forgotten) there is a sudden rush of attempts to use the old behavior to get her way - hence the barking. Now this is the point of testing the patience of the person working on changing the behavior. Do you have the patience and understanding to stick with the program so you do not reinforce the extinction burst? In Bella's case that meant not telling her "quiet" because that was like barking back - or looking at her - or getting her a toy to settle her.  We had to totally ignore her.  It worked but it was a test of both our wills.
This is the point where training or using leadership programs breaks down. It is not easy to ignore the barking or nose nudging to get attention.  It can really drive you crazy!  Counting the number of barks or nudges  before they settle, helps to see that the program is working and keeps you going on the ignoring.  I won't say it is easy.  Overall she is much less reactive and settled at home, so a few breaks are not that bad. Keeping the big picture in mind is really important to saving your sanity.

 

Bella's boot camp

So day 3 is over and still more progress.  Bella did not steal any pens off the end table at all.  There is always one or 2 pens laying around especially since my daughter likes to do her homework sitting in the comfy chair in the living room.  So a common attention tactic is to take  a pen and parade around with it then start to chew on it.  Pens are safe today!

Bella politely drops the ball on her own to play more

There were short spurts of barking in the morning but Bella settled down and got her kibble as she sat and laid on the bed.  There was even a time when I dropped some kibble and she stayed quiet on the bed. That really shocked me.  We had a good time playing ball in the yard as well as getting walks. It is kind of funny.  You can almost see her thinking as she figures out that barking and grabbing things is not going to get my attention or anyone else's.  I am seeing how this leadership training by her focused on me or Glenda as leader teaches her how to control her impulses. We will see what tomorrow will bring.