I know a lot of you have read this book but I just got it for Christmas.  It's great!  One thing it does is explain why some things I've been doing with the dogs work but I hadn't really thought about WHY they work.  And why other things don't work! 

And after reading just the first part I understood more clearly why I did what I did yesterday with Lola and Mitzy and why Lola behaved the way she did.  (I know why she became agressive but that's not the part I'm talking about.)

When Lola growled at Mitzy and stuck her paw out and pushed mitzy down with it, I knew it was dominance but I was also afraid it was going to lead her biting Mitzy.  Well, this happened right in front of where I was sitting so when Lola did that I instinctively raised my leg and brought it down on her neck/back (not to hurt her but to stop her).  As soon as I did that she stopped growling, stopped chasing Mitzy and her whole body language changed...she totally lost interest in Mitzy and moved away.

And the author explains that dogs are more likely to obey visual cues than verbal....I think we've all experienced that at some point in our lives with dogs.  

Anyway, I really like this book!

I got "For the Love of a Dog," "The Other End of the Leash," and "How to be the Leader of the Pack...and Have Your dog Love You for it" for Christmas.  Would you believe I bought them for myself????     I've read all of "How to be...." cuz it's only 16 pages long.  I learned bunches from it.  I've read bits and pieces of the others, and will get down to reading all of both soon. 

Nora, I have a question though.  "For the Love..." and "The Other End..." both have photos in them that show dogs "smiling."  Our first dog, Sweet Pea, smiled all the time;  people called her "Smiley Dog."  Zinnia, on the other hand, does not smile at all.  So what's with this?  Is my Zin not happy, or is she just a serious rattie?

Thanks,

Mia

Mia -- "The Cautious Canine" is not very long either, and it's also a wonderful resource.

Does a dog smile? Wow... debates could go on and on about that one. While dogs may not be experiencing emotions in the way that we do, it is clear (to me anyway) that there are specific facial expressions that mark their emotional states. As such, there is something disctinctly resembling a smile that correlates with them being "happy." To me, the fact that they smile is not in doubt, but it's the idea of what I call happiness being like for a dog that I can't be sure about.

Some people maintain that our dogs smile in response to being happy. Some maintain that they smile because they are panting.

For sure certain breeds look like they are *smiling* more than other breeds. One of those breeds is the siberian huskey. Ever seen one that doesn't look like they are smiling? If you have... it's the exception. Compare that with a dachshund... I have two of them and although I know they are happy, they don't look like they are smiling, whereas Buster (pound puppy... beagle mix) and Bailey look like they are smiling 80% of the time! I think much depends on the breed....

Would be nice if they could talk, wouldn't it?

So... all of this to say.... I don't know!  haha

Nora,

Thanks for your answer.....I think!    Although Zin does not have a "smile" on her face, I like to think she is happy.  I can see that she is many times relaxed, and she chooses to hop up and snuggle with us.  She does not get mad at us. 

You need to hear about our journey, the training of (mostly) me and Zinnia.  It's a long story.  I was going to email this to you, but I decided that others might benefit from our experiences, so here goes...

My first and only other dog was Sweet Pea, a pound puppy.  She was a perfect first dog, because she was submissive.  I did not have to learn to be the pack leader, because she just followed me.  Zinnia, on the other hand, is much less submissive.  I needed to learn a lot about how to deal with that.........

 I've decided that it's not all our (Zin and my) fault that we flunked doggie school the first time.  I'm gonna put part of the blame on the instructor.  I think she had a negative "thing" about rat terriers.  Zinnia was in an unfamiliar place and could not settle down during class.  She was also very young.  The teacher made comments like, "Well, she's a rat terrier, isn't she?" Implying that rat terriers are hyper and hard to train.  She did not talk about how I needed to behave while working with Zinnia.  She didn't give us any handouts to help us remember what we were supposed to practice at home.  (Some of us can't remember from minute to minute, much less week to week.)  The result is that Zinnia and I made no progress. 

Fast forward a bit.  I saw Cesar Milan for the first time on tv.  That was the first time I ever heard about taking charge and becoming the pack leader.  It was also the first time I saw what it looked like for the person to be the leader and the pup to be the follower.  I bought Cesar's book and read it cover to cover shortly after it came out.  It is a wonderful story, but it is not a training manual.  He says that himself in the book.

Fast forward a bit more.  April 2007.  April 28, to be exact.  Tennessee.  You know.  You were there.    I met some wonderful, well behaved pups and their humans.   (Well, except for when Mr. Fabulous broke Auntie's screen, but that doesn't count.  I didn't SEE that.   He was the picture of politeness when I saw him......)  I wished that Zinnia could be there too.    You all gave me hope that Zinnia and I could be a team like you and Bailey, and like Paul and Dar and Lucy already are, and like Shannon and Mario are working to be. 

A couple of weeks ago....  You, or Shannon posted about those books  by Patricia McConnell.  I ordered them, and received them right away.  I read the smallest one, as I mentioned in an earlier post. After the first try, I got Zinnia to back up and sit down, instead of dashing out the door!  I had put together all the puzzle pieces, what not to do (learned from the first doggie instructor), how to look like the pack leader (learned from Cesar), how it really is attainable (learned in TN), and body language (learned from Patricia McConnell's pamphlet).  AWESOME!!! 

OK.  So Zinnia and I are going back to doggie school, probably in a couple of months.  We're going to choose a different doggie school, with a different instructor.  Zinnia and I are destined to be more than mommy and pup.  I want us to be a team. 

Thanks to you, and to many others on RT.com, Zinnia and I continue our journey....... 

Mia

Awwww... Mia..... I enjoyed your story so very much. THANK YOU !! And thank you for sharing this with the entire forum in hopes that others can benefit from your journey.

I agree from what you say.. that the issue with the obedience school must have been with the instructor. It's kinda like a doctor.. Ever heard "What do you call a doctor who graduated at the bottom of the class? A doctor!" Same thing with dog trainers. There are trainers who are educated, schooled to the hilt... with credentials trailing behind their names as long as your arm. They can flash those credentials at you and leave a person in awe of all their educational accomplishments. But I've seen many of these trainers who cannot identify... cannot connect... with the dogs they train.  They go through the 'routine' of training a dog, as if the dog is in the military, and are not attached emotionally to the dog.  I personally don't think you can effectively/successfully train a dog without SOME attachment and positive energy.  Honestly... the best trainers I have known in my lifetime are those who have the experience of many years under their belts, and who can evaluate a dog and mold the training methods to each specific situation.

Terriers for the most part ARE "stubborn"... as are dachshunds and several other breeds. I know people who won't TOUCH the idea of owning a dachshund because of their housebreaking issues (my black one was 7 months old before she "got it"... and sometimes I'm still not sure she "has it". And do I know how to housetrain a dog? You bet I do! MUCH has to do with the breed... but a good trainer/instructor knows how to train these individual breeds with their individual personalities.

I applaud you for (1) purchasing the books that will help you better understand Zinnia's behavior and (2) making the commitment to try again. I wish you could find a trainer to come work with you one on one... and yes I know it's way more expensive. But a few good sessions with a good trainer will set you on the road to becoming the successful team you desire. I don't do classes... they are good if that's all that is available to you. But working one-on-one with a knowledgeable trainer is well worth the money it costs. Have you considered this? I'm a very "hands-on" type of person. Tell me how to do something and I might get it. SHOW me how to do something and I'll definitely get it....

I wish you luck. I'm going to email you my cell phone #... you know you can call me if you need help with anything. I wish you could be with us again in April, but understand that you can't be. (wish you lived closer, lady!)

Thanks again!!

Nora,

Thanks for offering your cell phone number, but guess what?????  I already have it programmed into my cell phone!  I have several other RT.com members in there too! 

I definitely would consider one on one training for Zinnie and me, but the problem still remains the same.  That is, how to find a good trainer that we can relate to....  I don't exactly want to go to the yellow pages and pick a name.  That is why we are going back to classes.  

TN and WA are pretty far apart, aren't they??

Mia

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