I’ve sent this “reflective” email in the past to my students on what one does when faced with struggles in dog training. Seems like a lot of people (and their dogs) are feeling frustrated and confused lately. I hope that you will find it interesting or at the very least, allow yourself to reflect on your own interpretation of struggles and challenges.

strug•gle: 1. to make strenuous or violent efforts in the face of difficulties or opposition <struggling with the problem>; 2: to proceed with difficulty or with great effort <struggled through the high grass>.

strug•gling: 1. To be strenuously engaged with a problem, task, or undertaking <struggling to make a living>.

Which then got me to thinking about another concept, challenge/challenging:

chal•lenge: 1. a call or summons to engage in any contest, as of skill, strength; 2. something that by its nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest, special effort.

chal•leng•ing: 1. arousing competitive interest, thought, or action <a challenging course of study> 2: invitingly provocative; fascinating <a challenging personality>.

It’s interesting how powerful words can be, and the impact they have on how we approach, proceed or maneuver our way through our lives with our dogs. 

So, are some of the behavior or training issues that you experience with your dog more in the struggle or challenge category? Again, one person’s struggle may be another person’s challenge and vice versa. The question is not judgmental; by clearly defining what each term means to you can affect how you approach finding the solutions to address your issues. Consider the following:

Whether a struggle or challenge, both provide the opportunity to learn and grow, and to grow and learn with your dog. By sorting through the varying degrees of a struggle or a challenge with your dog, you will then have a benchmark from where you can begin to consider your options for creating solutions, i.e. focus my dog on something else (redirect); make do with what I have in front of me, not allowing behaviors to be rehearsed or inadvertently rewarded (management); or take immediate actions to rectify the issue (resolve).

Depending on the context of any given situation, you may decide to apply one, two or all three options at once. If your dog is a barker for instance, you may focus your dog on something else - like a marrow bone - when the FedEx delivery person comes to the door (redirect); you may put your dog in a bedroom, bathroom or the back yard when the FedEx delivery person arrives so that the frenetic behaviors are not rehearsed over and over or inadvertently rewarded (management); or you may decide that it’s time to work on ways to teach your dog calm behaviors when the FedEx delivery person rings the doorbell (resolve/rectify through desensitization and counter conditioning exercises, for example). You may decide that you don’t mind that your dog alerts you when someone drives up to the house, so you may redirect and manage as necessary, and use your training time to resolve or rectify bigger behavior or training fish that you have to fry.

In her blog, trainer Susan Garrett asks pet guardians to think about the best approach to creating solutions to struggles or challenges. Can you avoid them? Perhaps by being prepared, you may be able to bypass some of the struggles that are looming over your training world. Do I have a training plan? What are my criteria? Are my training goals and criteria realistic? Do I need to use a head halter? Harness? Do I use treats and/or enticing tug toys that are considered high value by my dog? Do I train in a no or low distraction environment, slowly adding in higher levels of distractions as my dog succeeds? Do I think about ways that I can create more value for me over the distractions that my dog encounters? How do I create a history of reinforcement? Listen to your dog’s feedback – it’s one thing for your dog to occasionally be distracted by a leaf blowing in the wind, but it’s another for him/her to find more value in the leaf distraction rather than focusing on you… Do I mix things up occasionally to keep training/life/play/work interesting and fresh, or am I stuck in the same old routines? Your dog’s responses to you will tell you if the distractions are more captivating, persuasive and engaging than you are…Do I look for ways in which to reduce my dog’s stress, fear or anxiety or do I feel at a loss, making me more stressed, fearful or anxious? Is this issue something that I shouldn’t give a lot of energy to and know it will pass eventually or is it an issue that I am ignoring therefore, it’s becoming more and more difficult to deal with? Am I the “Director of Joy” in my dog’s life?

Pause to consider the following statement by Susan: “We all have struggles with our dogs; it is the decisions we make in the midst of these struggles which define the future for our dogs. Is your chosen solution to today’s challenges cultivating even more problems tomorrow, or creating easier solutions to future challenges? It isn’t the challenges we face in our training that make us different from one another; rather it is our response to those struggles.”


 

We live on a bunch of acres. We don't have children, nor do many of our neighbors. We don't get a ton of visitors. We don't see a lot of bicyclists on our road or a whole lot of traffic, for that matter. Thankfully, there aren't many loose or stray dogs in our neighborhood. The ones that do come over for an occasional visit, Tess deems them her boyfriends - that would be a ginormous Malamute named Mowgli and his Siberian Husky sidekick, Mateo. Yes, we lead a pretty quiet existence out here in the boonies and it has it's perks, for sure.

Although Ruby and Tess are almost five years old and have had controlled and specific socialization experience as puppies and adolescents, I still like to take them downtown into a more urban area every so often just to keep things real. I enjoy our downtown jaunts together; they give me an opportunity to observe my dogs responses to novel stimuli - screaming kids; traffic noises; bicyclists speeding by; mom's pushing baby strollers; skanky stuff on the sidewalks. And lest we forget the intoxicating pee mail.

Take this one reeEEEeeally interesting spot in the picture to the left, for example - kinda bland looking, gravely, grey, cement blocks. Boring, righy? Not so, Joe! The girls were doing a forehead tango of sorts; shifting back and forth, little puffs of grey dust rising up after a strong exhalation. You can also see the marks in the gravel where Tess pawed at the ground as if to unearth some hidden message. Or leave one herself.

No matter what the dogs' motivation may be for stopping, sniffing, marking and over-marking, these outings are about them; it's their time to just BE. Yes, they each are wearing a harness attached by a leash which restricts them from complete freedom of movement. Yes, I would reinforce their calm behavior with super high value treats when others would pass by with their dogs in close proximity. Yes, I would reward Tess for not plowing into some kid who wants to "pet the doggy" (her nickname is Tess the Tank, by the way). Yes, I am intervening, but for the most part on these walks I am the follower; they are the leaders. 

It's amazing what you can learn from and about your dog if you just slow down. Instead of being aggravated with your dog because it seems like she's just spent what seems like ten minutes investigating the tip of one. blade. of. grass, perhaps look at it from the dog's perspective. Your dog has over 220,000,000 (yes, that's million) scent receptor cells that gives her the advantage over the human schnoz (we measly humans have approximately 5,000,000). From the November 2004 issue of The Whole Dog Journal article titled, Canine Sense of Smell, Randy Kidd, DVM, PhD states that, "The dog collects scents by air-scenting (sniffing volatile oils that are traveling in the air) and sniffing the ground. A dog’s nose is ideally made for sniffing – the outer nares are mobile and allow for expansion on inspiration and contraction to prevent the entry of unwanted objects. When a dog sniffs, he inhales the scented chemicals into his nasal cavities, where they are trapped in mucus and processed by the sensory cells. Expiration forces air out the side of the nares so that its exit doesn't interfere with odors still in the air or on the ground." See? That bland, grey dirt isn't so boring after all!

We like to take our dogs with us on adventures in our Airstream when the weather warms up. Having spent a quiet winter by the wood stove, the daily hikes or runs at the nearby Arroyo Hondo Open Space, the Rail Trail or even loops around our property don't quite prepare them for the cornucopia of sounds, movements and smells that they will ultimately encounter during summer excursions. I like my dogs to sniff. I want them to catch up on the daily news cycle and leave (pee) editorials of their own for others to read. Sure, I have rules about pulling or lunging towards an olfactory delight - for the most part, they are really in tune with sniffing on cue and knowing that "Let's go!" is an opportunity to get to sniff again, and to just BE a dog. Trainer extraordinaire, Laurie Luck of Smart Dog University fame sums it up nicely in a blog post with, "Sniffing for dogs is like us surfing the web. It's how we take in information, how we pass the time, and how we can keep in touch with the world around us." 

Dedicate a walk or two a week for observing your dog. Just BE with her without imposing too many restrictions or expectations. Take off your training hat for a minute and put your nose to the ground, so to speak!

Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
Just kicking down the cobble stones
Looking for fun and feelin' groovy!

Simon And Garfunkel - The 59th Street Bridge Song (feelin' Groovy) Lyrics

Back in October, the Espanola Valley Humane Society had an amazing fundraiser - a "mini" portrait session for your dog with professional photographer, Jane Bernard. All proceeds from the photo shoot were to benefit EVHS.

While we have hundreds; perhaps thousands of images of the past three generations of four-legged friends (both Canis lupus familiaris and Felis catus), I couldn't pass up the opportunity to support the miracle workers at EVHS and see what kind of magic Jane could bestow upon my dogs from  behind the camera lens. 

When I arrived with Tess and Ruby for the next-to-the-last appointment, the good folks at Bad Dog Design had already photographed a full day of dogs in all shapes and sizes, as well as dealt with varying degrees of fun, excitement and shyness. And that was just the dogs...They ushered us in with good cheer and heartfelt compliments on how sweet and well-behaved The Girls were. As we ascended the stairs to the photo studio, Tess decided RIGHT NOW would be a good time to test that "sweet and well-behaved" accolade, by galloping up the stairs three at a time in order to break through a cardboard barrier (there was a cardboard barrier?) at the summit with great fanfare. Her big finish was to jump straight up in 84 lb. Labrador fashion to greet Jane while she was changing lenses on a gazillion dollar camera body. "Well, hello there! You must be Tess!"  In a split second I was both relieved that the equipment hadn't taken flight over the railing and at the same time, impressed that she knew the "black tank" that practically mowed her over was in fact, Tess. That realization didn't last long, as the saying, "your reputation precedes you" popped into my head. Hmmmm.... Funny how people are certain that a dog trainer's dogs must be perfectly behaved.

In less than a second, Tess cavorted across the white roll of seamless photography paper (the operative word here is white), jumped up on anything greater than 6" in height, and in what is her normal freight train fashion, inhaled every imaginable microbe that her 250,000,000+ scent receptor cells could absorb. After all, there had been at least a dozen dogs in that space prior to our arrival - it was a veritable canine scent smorgasbord. Ruby stood close to me wide-eyed and wondering what was so great about a bunch of white paper and a nice woman pointing a big black "eye" at her. 

After settling in to what was a fast-paced yet calm, flash-and-snap photo session, I couldn't imagine that any of the final pictures would be much more than a blurry black blur; nothing more than a chem-trail like splotch across the frame. That couldn't have been further from the end result. Although I do not have children, I do know what it was like to have school pictures taken; you had to be careful about not caking dirt into the tops of your Mary Jane's during recess or splattering Spaghetti-O's all over your calico-print top during lunch in the cafeteria. Quite the feat for a little tomboy, I must say. That excitement was no less apparent in Tess (Can you get her to stand still?) as well as in Ruby (Do you think she'll jump up on the chair and lie down?).

The photo shoot fundraiser fee included a professional 8" x 10" pic of The Girls together, but of course you could purchase additional prints at a discounted price - large to ginormous - or have images printed on note cards, notepaper, mugs, mouse pads - you name it. I didn't go too nuts; I ordered two sets of note cards and two sets of notepaper. Several weeks passed and I received a call from Jane saying that she'd looked over the digital contact sheet and there was one image in particular that really struck a cord with her. It was one of the few images where Tess was not moving and Ruby didn't seem frozen in space, staring at that black orb...She encouraged me to consider a large format print and I jumped at the opportunity. Okay, no shopping at Whole Foods for a few months...

The pick up day finally arrived, and I was like a parent eager to see her child's school pictures. I recall those days when my Mom would carefully cut individual images from the photo strips (remember those?) and send each out to all the long lost friends and relatives, sealed in the ubiquitous holiday card. They were like gifts in themselves. Jane certainly gave me the gift of capturing the essence and soulfulness of my dogs on film. First, I was shown the fundraiser piece - my heart soared! Then the note cards (images of each in this post); then the note papers. I was like a kid in a candy store! And last but certainly not least, the unveiling of the large format photo that spoke to Jane; who spoke to me about ordering it. Ta-da! I was speechless. So much so, that I welled up with tears. Yes, they are my dogs and yes, I think they are beautiful - they are my "kids". We all feel that way about our four-legged friends. But what moved me to tears was the beauty Jane is able to capture from behind her lens; what we, the pet parents feel about our dogs. It's not that new collar or the fact that they'd just had a bath. It is the essence of your relationship with that dog which permeates from the confines of the photography paper. Again, although we have a gazillion super-duper shots of each dog from puppyhood on, I'd not experienced feeling overwhelmed with love and gratitude from a photograph until that moment.

Matting and framing ain't cheap, for sure. But life is short and even shorter for your dog. Don't wait to capture as many images of your furkids as possible. Today's digital processing makes it more convenient than ever to amass a life's worth of memories that one day, you will be glad you have. And if you can swing it, the next time the Espanola Valley Humane Society has a fundraiser with Jane Bernard, sign up for a session. She'll be waiting for you - with a big ole camera and a loving eye.

I have to give a big shout out to all of the courteous bicyclists I encountered recently while taking Ruby and Tess for a run at the Nature Conservancy Rail Trail. I've been utilizing the multi-use trail at the end of Nine Mile Road for many years now and for the most part, runners, walkers, dogs and bicyclists share a harmonious love for the wide open spaces, the width of the trail (formally an east/west spur), and the wow-factor of the blue, blue skies.

It's easy to get lost in the views while aligning your breathing to the cadence of your feet repetitively striking the red earth. Tuning in and tuning out can make you oblivious to the stealth-like approach of a commuter or fat tire enthusiast zipping up from behind. I choose to not listen to music while running in the outdoors; it's a whole different story running on a treadmill.

But there it is...a faint little brrRRrrring! sound, followed by a directional "On your left!" exclamation. That all-too familiar bell tone can simultaneously take you back to your bad-ass banana seat and monkey handlebars on the Schwinn Stingray (red) bicycle you got for Christmas one year, as well as knock on the part of your brain that tells you to get the hell out of the way. But I didn't find it offensive or intrusive - the jingle spurred me to gather up my childhood memories and dorky smile to join my four-legged pals on the side of the trail. To my surprise, I got a "Wow - good dogs! Thanks!" and the flash of a smile as the bicyclists passed by us. I returned the compliment with a "No, thank YOU!" and motioned to the dogs that we could continue on our way with an enthusiastic, "Let's go!"

To give credit where credit is due, Tess and Ruby have been taught "wait" and "side" cues that are oh-so handy in environments where two-wheeled and/or two-legged passerby's are present. If the dogs are already sniffing off to the side of a trail or path, a "wait" will suffice. If they are trotting along beside me or like Ruby, up ahead in her own private Idaho, then a "side" - move to the side of the trail - is in order. They have been routinely reinforced for this behavior since they were pups, so even with the startling presence of a bicyclist or runner, they are pretty good at getting out of the way. I use both cues for on-leash encounters, too.

The point being is that we can coexist - bicyclists, runners, walkers, gawkers, and dogs - with a little common courtesy and trail etiquette. One doesn't have any more right or privilege to use our fantastic New Mexico spaces unless of course, there are restrictions placed on one or more of the aforementioned users. Train your dog to come when called. Be aware of your surroundings. Don't let your dog rush up to bicyclists, runners or walkers, or other on-leash dogs. And for Pete's sake, clean up after your dog.

I am grateful for the mindful bicyclists with their pleasant bike bells. I can hope that others will follow suit. Sometimes what was old can be new again. And cool. And endearing.

After a visit to the vet yesterday for Tess to have her electrolytes checked (Addison's Disease), we decided it was such a STERLING day, that a romp around the Herb Martinez Park with Ruby in tow was in order. And when I say sterling, well...you really can't beat a fall day in New Mexico. The sky was robin's egg blue, packed with big puffy cumulus clouds, and really, really g-r-e-e-n grass stretched out like a humongous welcome mat. Yes, green grass! A lush, dense carpeting of soothing green yumminess! I know it may sound silly, but I was downright giddy with green glee. For sure the dogs were oh-so intent on creating wakes though the smorgasbord of green sponge with their noses. Sometimes coming up for air to then immediately flop back down on the cool cushion and roll on their backs with reckless abandon - all the while making contented snorking sounds. Dogs are so good at expressing joy!

We walked to the far west side and followed the bridge over the ditch to the Herb Martinez La Resolana Park. Voila! Nary a person, and green as far as the eye could see. 

Granted, this was at 11:30 in the morning, but I was amazed at how empty the parks were at this time of day. The blessed rains of late sure have transformed the city parks - you'd swear you were in the moisture-laden northwest! Alright, I digress...

We headed back to the truck after a cruise around the "Little Herb" park, and saw only one guy walking his two small breed dogs, all the while chatting away on his cell phone, and simultaneously picking up his dogs' poop. Good multi-tasking man! After loading up the girls, I figured we were on such a green high, we might as well just drive a few more feet up Camino Carlos Rey and stop at the Franklin Miles Park.

I pulled in next to a guy eating his sandwich in his van and other than a young couple pushing their squealing toddler on the swings, Ruby, Tess and I pretty much had the place to ourselves. We were like three Dora the Explorer's headed out on an emerald adventure. We took a route though the tree canopy adjacent to Siringo (very cool - literally and figuratively), then waded though above-the-ankle-deep grass to the first baseball diamond. While the City of Santa Fe Parks Division staff have done a stellar job at keeping the parks clean and mowed (I LOVE mowing grass...), burrowing gophers have taken over the outfield, creating their own mini versions of pitcher's mounds every few feet. Ruby and Tess were elated with the prospect of actually sucking one up into their mouths by repeatedly ramming their snouts down a hole and commencing with vacuum power inhalation. No such luck, but it didn't stop them from trying.

I spied a guy sitting in the baseball dugout - maybe eating his lunch, maybe smoking a doob, maybe contemplating his next winning pitch, maybe all three. He smiled and waved as we passed by. "Beautiful dogs out on a beautiful day!" Needless to say, I was beaming. We continued our grassy jaunt across the baseball field and when I looked up from dodging all the gopher holes, whammo! There stood the biggest advocate of animal welfare in the city of Santa Fe - or anywhere.

How cool is that?! You don't have to be Catholic, religious, spiritual or even artsy-fartsy to appreciate not only the grandeur of the sculpture (10 feet high? More?) but also the beauty in its simplicity. Carved from a dead tree - perhaps a Cottonwood - St. Francis looked as if he was about to release the bird in his hands into the clouds. He was just waiting for us to stop by first. Wow...

The point of this rambling post though swards of celadon carpeting is to remind us that not only is it good for the heart and soul of both two- and four-legged's to get out-and-about together, there are simply wonderful spaces and places in the city proper that are welcome to you and your dog that aren't the ubiquitous dog park. While the aforementioned parks are NOT off-leash parks; and please-o-please-o-please clean up after your pooch; enjoy these parks with your pal and revel in the gift of green that the blessed rains have given to us so late in the season.

Dogs and water. Dogs and sticks.Dogs and summertime. They sure go hand-in-hand (or paw-in-paw) don't they?

This great shot of sister and brother Labs - Gabby on the left; Sam on the right - reminds me of the simplicity and beauty, of the fleeting moments that we have with our four-legged friends. And how important it is to seize the day! Or stick.

While no longer with us, Sam and Gabby greeted every day with reckless abandon; you couldn't help but go along for the wondrous ride that encompassed their lives. What joy! I'm sure you and your dog can relate - so get out there and enjoy the long Labor Day weekend and the last bits of summer. Carpe diem! Carpe haerent!

Yup, that's snow and yes, it's from last winter. 

I just love this shot on so many levels:
1.) Ruby can fly. Well, it SEEMS like she can - she sure can be airborne in the blink of an eye! 
2.) She'll do pretty much anything for Annie's Organic Honey Graham Bunnies (what she is catching). 
3.) The look on Tess's face and 
4.) Doesn't the snow look inviting?!

Enjoy your weekend! I know me and the girls will, albeit without any of the white stuff on the ground. It's just around the corner, though...!

Okay, technically it's 1:03 A.M.mountain time, but it's still Friday somewhere in the world! This shot of Tess sticking out her tongue was unintentional - I didn't start out waiting for her tongue to show off it's shiny pink posture, but zip! There it is - quick! Press the shutter! I don't know why it amuses us to no end when animals stick their tongues out (AT us?!) but I'll bet I'm not the only one out there that gets a kick out of it!

That Tess. She's a funny one. Something that you can count on with her is every time she goes out the dog door, she grabs one of her stuffed toys (she has a gazillion) and strategically places it on an old landscaping railroad tie. Pets on parade! Every once in a while, I pick them up, dust them off, and put them back in the big basket in the kitchen. Sooner, rather than later, the migration resumes, and the pink pig, the not-so-white-anymore bunny, the platypus, the green one-eyed monster, the gorilla, and all their friends meet and greet the elements and catch up on what's been happening since the last time they lost an eye. Or a limb. Or their head. It's a pretty happy, scrappy group and I always look forward to checking out Tess's latest art assemblage. It's like our own version of Toy Story!

"Just let him sniff your hand and he'll be okay." 

Uh-oh...With those words, I pretty much knew what I was going to see when I rounded the corner. More than likely, there would be a dog on a tight leash trying to move away from a looming stranger with an outstretched hand on a trajectory for the top of the fearful dogs' head.

Sure enough, as the scenario seemed to unfold in slow motion, I heard a loud "No!" erupt from the handler and an even louder expletive from the stranger. Not surprisingly, the obscenity started with the sixth letter of the alphabet and ended with the eleventh. At the same time of the verbal correction, the handler jerked the leash back with enough force to cause the Heeler to lose his balance. The stranger continued with his tirade by shouting that her dog was aggressive and that she had no control over her dog. The icing on the cake was when he asked her if she was going to punish the dog for being an a-hole. "He shouldn't be allowed to get away with behavior like that! You have to show him who's boss." All the while, he was moving forward toward the dog - Umm...hello? - as if he would be the one showing the dog who the boss is. The Heeler of course, was barking uncontrollably and trying to get behind the woman.

"But it's not even my dog! I'm just taking care of him while his owners are out of town. They said he was really friendly... I'm sorry!" Perhaps that testament was the man's cue to leave; his admonishment wouldn't have the same affect on someone who didn't even own or know the dog very well. When the man noticed my approach, he turned to walk away but not before uttering some unintelligible diatribe about stupid dogs and stupid people. 

Whatever.

I stopped about twenty feet from the woman and asked her if she was okay. She said she was a little shaken from the experience and didn't know why Bob tried to bite the man. Bob the Heeler was staring off in the direction where the stranger had left, while emitting a low, throaty growl. Just for good measure - or for no good reason whatsoever - the woman gave Bob a couple of quick leash pops and told him to "quit it". The poor guy looked pathetic sporting a heavy choke chain, the size you might see on a Rottweiler or German Shepherd Dog. The woman's tension on the leash, as well as Bob's opposition reflex kicking in did nothing to help him stop pulling against the pressure. His once throaty growl now sounded more like a kid's kazoo.

"Why don't you calmly say his name and when he turns toward you, let out some slack on that leash. Make a kissy sound to get his attention if you have to. If it's alright with you, I'll drop a few treats and step away a few feet. Let's get his attention on something other than that nasty guy that just left." So she did. And Bob readily took the treats. And she started to breath. Subsequently, so did Bob.

We talked for a few minutes; all the while tossing treats for Bob; and I learned that the man had insisted on petting the dog, spewing the proverbial "Don't worry, dogs really like me!" adage. AarRRRrrgh! Annie (name changed to protect the innocent dog sitter) said she attempted numerous times to step off the side of the trail and told the man that she didn't think Bob liked him. She thought the man interpreted it to mean MOVE FORWARD IN A BENT POSITION, SPEAK LOUDLY, HANDS OUTSTRETCHED TOWARD THE GROWLING DOG. Bless her heart; she did her best to warn the butthead, but to no avail.She admitted that she was trying to get a walk in with Bob before 6 p.m., as she was in a hurry to get to an appointment. The combination of the man's zombie-like insistent approach, along with Bob's subsequent Edvard Munch response caught her off guard. She'd never taken Bob on this trail, and she wasn't aware that his guardians had in the past either. She thought the experience would be "fun" for him, as he seemed to be missing his people. And, she attested, Bob's outburst kinda embarrassed her. After all, the man said dogs really liked him...

Why are we so concerned what a stranger thinks when we are trying to manage our dog's environment and emotional well-being, while kindly asking them to move along and they don't? In an interview with Karen Pryor about her latest book, Every Dog Every Day, Kay Laurence; a brilliant dog trainer from Great Britain; talks about the difficulties dogs have living in our modern world. When asked to explain the meaning that we should not be trying to change dogs, but instead we should change the world in which they live, Kaye responds, "Change the attitude of people toward dogs - the attitudes of those from the outer world who do not love dogs, and the attitudes of those from the inner world who live with dogs. The expectations are often a continent away from reality. It is human nature to want to touch and interact with a dog. However, I do not think that it is appropriate for any stranger, or even friend or acquaintance, to touch or pet your dog without asking first. A person should have the grace to step away if the touch is not welcomed. People are trying to live with dogs in more and more inappropriate environments, perhaps without realising the difficulties for the dog." 

Jessica Dolce, creator extraordinaire of Dogs In Need of Space (or otherwise affectionately known as DINOS), posts in her fantabulous blog of the same name, Stop Caring What Others Think and Stand Up for Your Dogs.
Check it out. Share the pdf version of the blog post. Sing it from the tops of your lungs. Stand up for your dog.

Knowing that Annie had to get to her appointment post haste, I mentioned that I was a professional dog trainer and would love to chat with her some more about reading dog body language, leash walking skills and managing Bob's environment in order to set him - and her - up for success. She seemed genuinely happy when I gave her my business card (I always have a few on me; those and dog treats that eventually end up in the washing machine) and promised to call in a few days. With an upbeat chirp, "C'mon Bob! Let's go!" off they trotted into the sunset - literally and figuratively. 

Sure enough, a few days later Annie did call. She said she'd thought a lot about our conversation and realized what a tough situation she'd put both of them in. She was uncomfortable about letting the nutso dog whisperer touch "her" dog, but the over-riding surge of embarrassment didn't allow her to listen to her gut and stand up for Bob. She wanted to learn how to get past those feelings because she truly cared for Bob and hoped to continue to take care of him when his people were out of town. I told her that speaking up doesn't necessarily come naturally; that it requires practice and muscle memory, not unlike rubbing your belly and patting your head at that same time. Or holding your toothbrush in the opposite hand while brushing your teeth. It feels awkward at first, but then it becomes habit - in a good way. We made an appointment for the following week. I'm really looking forward to working with her and her four-legged friend - the times, they are a changin'. Thanks, Bob.

Photo credit: ©Wyn & Mary Burch. Ph.D., www.caninegoodcitizen.wordpress.com