Wait, who was here?! Oh yeah, I remember him! 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
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
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