Book Announcement
The Magical Link – Love, Mystery and Other Secrets About the Bond Between Animals and People
By Barbara Meyers

The Magical Link will be released as an E-Book and in soft cover by winter of 2011.The E-Book edition will be compatible with all E-Reading devices such as Kindle, Nook, IPad, etc. Updates on the release date, how and where it will be available to you can be followed here on http://www.dogboynyc.com or http://www.holisticanmalconsultingcenter.com

Please Note: If subject of children and their relationships with animals are of special interest to you, among the many other topics in The Magical Link, there is an entire chapter exclusively devoted to children and animals.

It describes how to talk to children about animals and animal death, includes a story written in the voice of a seven year-old boy about the death of his beloved dog and describes how to teach and encourage healthy mourning in children and much more.

In addition, the entire book is peppered with special areas for and about children and their relationships with animals, animals and violence in fairy tales and film and how to teach children to enjoy kind, healthy relationships with companion animals and wildlife.

At this point I was not yet a dog trainer, just an enthusiast who one year earlier lost his dog to cancer. I dealt with the loss by visiting pet stores and volunteering at shelters finding comfort in the company of dogs, something I had done since I was a little boy. I followed her home cursing myself for having to face the humiliation of having her come fetch me from a gas station. She showed me around her apartment then excused herself to finish getting ready. I instinctively redirected my attention to Max.  “So how long have you had Max?”  I asked down the hall. “My brother adopted him in Minnesota a few years ago.” Turns out, max was between 4 and 5 when Kim’s brother Scott adopted him and was somewhere between 6 or 7 at this point. He was given to a shelter after he had bitten a little boy. While she told me Max’s history I was petting him and talking to him the way dog people talk to dogs. Looking back at it now, as a professional dog trainer, I’m sure Max’s body language was stiff and uncomfortable and I just wasn’t picking up what he was putting down. I began explaining to Kim how much I enjoyed dogs, and that I wanted to get into a line of work involving animals. I thought the big embarrassment of the day was behind me having gotten lost but then as I finished the sentence “I’ve just always been good with animal”, I gave max a big kiss on the head and he promptly sank his teeth as far into my nose as they would go (Lesson number one!). I dropped Max onto the couch and, trying to remain calm in hopes of salvaging any chance of still coming off as cool, went into the bathroom to assess the damage. I think Kim was brushing her teeth when I came in bleeding all over the floor. I got cleaned up and went out to dinner with bandages on my face. I can’t believe she agreed to go out a second time.

As we saw more and more of each other a few things became clear about Max. He didn’t like strangers or dogs or cats or squirrels or walking on leash, going to the park or having me sit too close on the couch or touch any of his stuff. The more I learned about dog training and behavior the more I tried to apply what I was learning to Max. I asked Kim if I could feed him dinner anytime I was coming over. I was slowly able to use lure reward techniques to teach max to sit and wait for his food. I then started asking him to sit before he was invited up on the couch. At first he was not too keen on my pushy need to be involved in his life but he eventually came to be excited to see me when I came over. He learned to walk on leash and not freak out at every dog he saw, although he never got over his distaste for his own species. He even learned to go to his place and do a down stay to gain access to his favorite things. This may not sound like a big deal but you don’t know Max.   In those first years I learned to use non-aversive leadership practices to gain not only his respect but also his deference. I learned that no one tool works for all dogs as I tried everything from no pull harnesses to tiny prong collars to try and get him to stop lunging at dogs and kids. I found that when it came to Max, nothing worked except using food to change his response around them. This took a lot of time and patience and embarrassing moments when people recognized me as Dogboy while my dog was trying to murder them. About 2 years later he could walk around the farmers market and hang out at the pub with minimal outbursts.

As the years went by Max lost most of his eyesight and I had to develop new skills for communicating with him. A few years after that he also lost most of his hearing and again we relearned how to communicate. In August of last year I became the father of a beautiful baby girl and my very old, blind, deaf dog adjusted like a champ.

Max has taught me that there is always an answer to a problem as long as you don’t give up and that no two dogs are the same. Although there are basic blue prints to how dogs work every one needs to be honored as an individual. He also taught me to manage my expectations about what is realistic and what is not. Max had serious aggression issues when he was young and was not going to be that dog in my classrooms helping train puppies no matter how much we worked together Therapy work was also likely out of the question. He showed me that every dog has a limit and that real progress is made when you recognize and honor that fact. He showed me how to work with blind dogs, deaf dogs aggressive dogs and old dogs.

In January Max was diagnosed with a type of cancer that can only be treated with aggressive, invasive surgery. He stopped eating and could hardly stand. We started him on a steroid and fed him by hand whenever he would eat. Miraculously, he bounced back in a few days and became as feisty as ever. And I imagine his final lesson to me will be to never underestimate a dog no matter how small or sick or old.

Dog playing with a Kong

Lets face it…  Your apartment is boring. Well, not to me, I can admire your artwork, comment on your stylish, modern furniture, watch your giant T.V, or search the Internet while listening to music. You see I am a human. Being a human, I am very satisfied with the creature comforts that our species has made great strides in making available at the touch of a button. Your dog on the other hand is not human and requires different kinds of stimulation. He has no idea what’s going on in politics and doesn’t have a favorite movie. He doesn’t even know what the word politics means, or know how to speak English for that matter.

Many times, whatever issue I have been called in to help an owner with, is due in part to their dog being under stimulated and bored. Anything from chewing the couch and rummaging through the garbage to separation anxiety and excessive barking may have a lack of environmental enrichment at its root.

The easy answer is to go buy some toys that you can hide treats in, like hollow bones or Kongs, to give your dog something to do while you’re at work. While I think this is a great start, I may encourage you to get a bit more creative. For instance try smearing some cheese on the inside a cardboard box and poke a few small holes in it. Then tape it shut and leave it under the dinner table. Or perhaps hide some liver treats in a knotted up old tee shirt, then hide it behind the bathroom door. A stuffed Kong hung by a rope from your bedroom doorframe makes a fun playmate on a lonely afternoon. Don’t miss the opportunity to engage your dogs’ incredible nose. Hiding a rope toy that has been soaked in chicken broth and dried over night is yet another low cost, fairly quick way for you to keep that nose busy. Certain things may work better for your dog then others, its important to find out what works best.

At this point my dog Max, now 18 years old, can no longer see or hear very well but his nose is still sharp as a tack and is the source of endless entertainment for him. One of my favorite things to do is take him outside and follow him wherever his nose leads us. Hiding special goodies around the living room is still a good time for him and the new addition of my now 8 month old daughter has blown his mind since she drops 70% of everything intended for her mouth. Your dog is your best friend; by enriching his environment and you can improve his life and yours too!

The very simple and practical solution to this issue is to teach your dog to go in the street next to the curb. We all pay taxes, and play parking ticket roulette with alternate side parking so that the streets can be cleaned. Let the street sweeper worry about the smeared poo. When you are first training your dog (puppy or adult) to eliminate outside, consistently take them to the curb area and reward them when they hit their mark. You will find that in no time they are pulling you over to the street to do their business. Even if your dog already has the habit of doing its business wherever it is when the mood strikes, he or she can learn in no time that the curb is the place to go. Remember it’s your job to teach your dog about living in a human environment. Teaching him were the bathroom is, is a good place to start. Not curbing our dogs or worse, not picking up after them at all, will lead to stricter restrictions on where dogs can be including dog friendly apartments, off leash hours in parks and out door cafes. So, be a responsible dog owner and a good neighbor. It’s all part of living happily in NYC.

Here are some nice words from the good folks at peoplepets.com as well as some more pics from the NYC pet show.

Max

After 6 years in our current apartment my dog Max still occasionally stops at the 2nd floor apartment although we live on the 3rd floor. He seems baffled when I come down and show him the way. It reminded me about keeping realistic expectations of out pets and that some behaviors are just not that big a deal. Max is awesome and well trained, if he never figures out what floor he lives on its cool with me.