Does your pooch seem to inhale food?  Did you know that eating too quickly can cause your dog to choke, vomit or regurgitate?  It is also believed that gulping air while they eat can lead to bloat which is life threatening. 

Skittles, like many other dogs, is highly food motivated.  She would definitely be a top contender at any speed eating contest!  Of course, I would rather slow down her eating habits than encourage it.  Here are a few of the things I've tried.  Some worked better than others - if you've got a speed eating demon, I encourage you to try them out for the health of your dog.

• Feeding smaller but more frequent meals.  This is an obvious solution that has 100% success rate.
• Using your dog food as training rewards.  Double bonus here - slow eating and proofing training skills! 
• Using a slow feeder.  It definitely slowed Skittles down a bit but not significantly.  I think a slow feeder might be more effective on a dog with a bigger muzzle.
• Using a treat dispensing toy.  There are lots of toys that make Rover work for the food.  The downside to it is that sometimes treats end up under your furniture - if you have a dog that is super food motivated, this might result in Sparky's nose under the couch or barking/pawing at the entertainment unit.
• Hide kibble in a snuffle mat.  Skittles loves hunting for buried treasure in her snuffle mat. Not only does this slow down her eating, it also harnesses her natural sniffing instinct. 
  

In a previous blog post, I introduced you to the benefits of pyramid tray.  I have to say that since I started using it, pyramid treats are my new go to rewards.   They are the perfect size, they don't crumble and my dogs find them super tasty!  ​

New puppies always means a LOT of treats in my house - potty training treats, treats for coming in the house promptly, household manners treats and of course, puppy obedience training treats.   Of course, I use kibble as part of my "puppy trail mix" but when we're in class, kibble just isn't high value enough to hold Skittles' attention.  Plus, little puppy bellies fill up quickly so small treats that are easy to dispense is what I needed.  
My friend, Dawn, introduced me to the Pyramid Mat - it's meant for cooking meat but when you flip it over, it's got hundreds of little cavities that are perfect for filling with your favourite treat batter.   I have made tuna treats (recipe below) a number of times now.  It takes no time at all, clean up is easy and there's no cutting.  This has quickly become my go to treat!;

For many dogs, there's nothing quite like frolicking in snow.  Of course we need to limit the time outdoors and also take care of our dogs paws over the winter.  Some dogs seem to be fine with walking on the cold pavement and salt while others are a bit more sensitive.  Regardless of your dog's preference, winter is a time when many of us spend a bit more time tending to their paws.  There's lots of products that will protect our furry friend's feet from the salt, snow and ice - everything from dog boots to paw creams.  Of course, there's DIY solutions as well.
Does your dog come in with snowballs hanging off her body?  Mine does!  I've found that the quickest way to remove them is to melt them using lukewarm water. Of course, I can just let them dissolve but I hate stepping in little puddles of water.  Another tip is to keep the hair at the bottom of their paws trimmed.  I use a clipper to get the hair between the pads.  This will prevent the snow from clumping on the bottom of their feet.
To remove the salt from their paws, you can set up a small washing station in your mud room.  A friend of mine has taught her dog to walk through a foot bath and then stand on a mat waiting for her paws to be dried.  Now that's a great, practical training trick!!  If this is too much, then perhaps a product like The Paw Wash would be of interest. 
You can also use paw protecting cream on your dog before going out for a romp in the snow.  Our friends at Earth Rated has posted directions on how to make your own. I will be making a batch of this soon - they would make great little gifts for all my dog friends!

Winter is challenging enough when you have small dogs but when the temperature drops so much that you think it’s the return of the ice age, it’s a challenge for all living creatures.  There are coats and booties that will help to protect our four legged friends but when it’s really cold or when the snow is too deep, it’s time to bring the games indoors and focus on mental rather than physical stimulation.
There’s many things you can do to keep you and your dog from getting a bout of “cabin fever”.  Some of my favourites are:

Teaching your dog some new tricks is a great way of burning off excess energy and if you’re so inclined, you can even work towards a Trick Dog title!  This is also an opportunity to work on Puppy Manners no matter what age your dog is.  After all, anything put on queue is a trick. 

I love watching Twizzler work for his dinner stashed inside a toy.  There are lots of puzzles you can buy that are terrific – Nina Ottason puzzles are my favourite as you can increase the level of difficulty.  You can also make your own puzzle.  One of the easiest is to hide food in a muffin tin by placing tennis balls over the holes.  You can also hide food or a toy in box.  Once your dog masters this, add more boxes.

One of the things I like to do is refresh my dogs’ stay and come commands.  I will sometimes spice it up by adding distance or distractions to the mix.  Or I’ll call out something other than “Come” to see if they break their stay.  Sometimes, it’s a race … first one to come and sit in front of me gets the treat.  These games not only proofs basic obedience skills but also gives me greater insight into my dogs’ capabilities.  (One of the most difficult challenges for Java was to stay when I called Scrumpy’s name.) 

This is a game where your dog is rewarded for every different thing they do with a box. The “box” can be anything at all – and, it has the added advantage of challenging you to remember all the behaviours! 

You can teach your dog a behaviour by breaking it down into small increments and rewarding for each step towards the final behaviour.  This is one of the best mental stimulation exercises for my dogs.  Sometimes what I shape has no purpose whatsoever; while others like targeting will be to teach a solid contact in agility. 

Whatever you do to while away the day with Rover, keep it light hearted and the both of you will have fun!

I recently came across an article about dogs with different greeting styles and the potential for creating reactivity problems (read the post here).  The author puts forward the notion that there are two types of dogs - the "My Dog Is Friendly" or MDIFs and the "Dogs In Need Of Space" or DINOS.  The article definitely struck a cord with me.  Twizzler is certainly a DINOS and has been know to demonstrate "a good offense is the best defense" behaviour - growling and barking at dogs he doesn't know. 

This article reminded me of the TV show Glee.  There are the popular football players who assault the not so popular Glee club members with slushies.  The scene ends, the athletes leave laughing while the Glee club try their best to collect themselves.  Later in the series, we see Glee club members walking through school donning rain ponchos in case of surprise slushie attacks - "a good offense is the best defense" tactic. 

The difference between Glee and dogs is that Glee members know that their nemesis is the football team.  Dogs on the other hand, can become hyper vigilant and may end up needing special behaviour modification.  With repeated incidents where DINOS are subjected to unwanted attention, they may start to generalize so that they become reactive to all dogs.  Often times, those with uber social dogs are not aware of the impact their dog may have on another dog because their dog is able to easily shake off incidents.  Let's face it we all see the world through our own experiences.  So those of us with DINOS will think "Why doesn't that person keep their dog in check?" while those with MDIFs will think "What's the big deal?  If your dog tells my dog off, it's OK."  The point is a dog shouldn't have to tell another dog off. 

Back in the days when I was taking puppy class, we were instructed to ask if it was OK for our dogs to meet.  I didn't quite appreciate the value in this simple lesson/courtesy until I had a DINOS.

Now that the days are longer and for the most part, the snow has melted, we start thinking about the summer ahead.  For those of us who love to train and maybe even trial, we're even more anxious to come out of "hibernation". 
Our flyball and agility instructor, Jen is a great example of someone who loves to train and trial.  All of Jen's dogs play multiple sports - flyball, agility, dock jumping are her favourites.  Jen knows that:

• It takes a lot of treats to train multiple dogs in multiple sports.  
• Using a variety of training rewards is a good way of keeping your dog engaged.

Many of us supplement the store purchased treats with homemade goodies.  Some of my favourites are:

• Salmon patties (recipe below)
  
• Meatballs (recipe below)
  
• Tuna Fudge
  
• Hot dogs (sliced into rounds, place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake until firm)
  
• Cheese
• Spam (cubed, place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake until firm)
  

When Java was on a restricted diet, I took her canned food and made treats out of it (cubed, place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake until firm).

Got a favourite recipe that you're willing to share?  Send it in and I'll include it in my next post!

Salmon patties

• 1 can salmon, drained and smashed up with a fork
  
• 1 egg, beaten
  
• Italian bread crumbs
  

Mix all the ingredients together - add enough bread crumbs to bind.  Make into little patties.  Bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet at 350 until firm but not hard.  Store when cooled in a sealed container in the fridge.  Patties can also be frozen.

Meatballs
This is super simple.  Take lean ground meat (I use chicken or beef) and make little balls.  Bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet at 350 until they are cooked.  Store when cooled in a sealed container in the fridge or freezer.

Many of us like to bring our dogs with us on vacation.  Whether it’s a week at the cottage or camping and hiking, it’s important to do a bit of planning ahead of time.  This includes the obvious of packing food and bowls and should also include the location of the nearest veterinarian.  For those who really like to go off the beaten track, it’s important to know more than just a bit about first aid for both you and your dog.  Our resident Pet First Aid instructor, Lynda Kitson offers a great course called “Off the Grid”.  Check out this along with her other courses (http://www.k9compass.com/). 

Holidays are great but sometimes our four legged friends aren’t able to join us on our adventures.  Check out my April 2013 blog post to find out about dog care planning..
 
If you’re like me, you’ll be missing your canine companion.  On my first holiday without my dogs, I actually brought pictures of them with me.  On another holiday, I fed my leftover food to street dogs (more than once!!).  I found an interesting option for people like me.  There’s a site (http://www.trustedhousesitters.com)  that connects people who love to travel with people who will house sit and take care of your pet.  As the website says “We connect home and pet owners who need a sitter, when going away, with trustworthy people who are happy to sit for FREE.”  What a great idea … this is definitely worth checking out!

As some of you know, I’ve been having some challenges with young Twizzler (see my blog post).  I am happy to report that we have made some progress.  I had tried a number of things - all had some positive impact but the progress was slow.  In the end, I decided to try out a technique called Behaviour Adjustment Training (BAT).  I enrolled in a BAT class called “Snappy to Happy” (Gen, is a BAT certified instructor with Pawsitive Plus). 

There are a number of things that I loved about this class.  There was a high instructor to student ratio which ensured that all got the attention they needed and all worked safely.  We started our 6 week session working our dogs in controlled scenarios.  Once our dogs were comfortable with each other, we progressed to walking in neighbourhoods which eventually included downtown Oakville, meeting new dogs and practicing our new skills.  I think the greatest success of this class was evidenced by a little Maltese who at the beginning of the class was so reactive, it had to work behind a building while the rest of the class worked at about 200’ away.  By the end of our 6 weeks, this little dog was walking with us through the streets!

For Twizzler, this class gave him the skills to self-regulate and while we aren’t tearing up agility courses in a trial yet, we are able to enter the ring and do a few pieces of equipment.  He’s even been to agility drop in’s at new locations and has done extremely well.  These are all small (maybe tiny) steps forward but steps in the right direction all the same.  In the meantime, both Twizzler and I are having fun playing BAT, seeking out stranger dogs in new places.  For those of you with dogs who have impulse control issues, BAT might be the key.