We moved across town recently, and all our daily routines have been blown to smithereens. Setting up new routines is a real bother. But, with a headstrong dog it's especially important.We now have to climb a flight of stairs to get to our front door. In the past it was only 3 or 4 steps up the porch. Now we've got a whole flight.Stairs aren't a problem for Krystal. She's always been totally unfazed by them. When I brought her home from the shelter, we were living in a two story house. I was really concerned she would get tangled in my feet, so I trained her to "STAY" at the bottom of the stairs while I climbed the stairs first. When I reached the top stair, I would turn and say "COME," and she would bound up the stairs.Now we are living in a one story home, but we've got a full flight of stairs before we get to the front door. I rarely let Krystal off the leash, because she's incredibly curious and a bit headstrong. So how do we get up those stairs without having the leash get all tangled up in my legs and causing an accident?My solution was to copy how we cross busy streets. I tell her to "WAIT" on my right. When the time is right, I tell her to "CROSS." Together we walk straight across the street. She does a great job of it at least 90% of the time. That 10% of the time includes finding food bits in our path, the sudden appearance of another dog or a child, a car with a particular engine sound that needs investigating, etc. For a curious dog, life can be very interesting....So I started that crossing-the-street pattern, with a short leash, trying to keep her under control at my side while we climbed the stairs.Well, it sort of worked.But it was clear that in her mind, climbing the stairs was completely different from crossing the street.She had a lot of trouble dealing with waiting on my right, she didn't like the short leash, and didn't want to walk right beside me--in front or behind were her preferences. I didn't like her behind me because she could always speed up and decide to try to walk between me feet--a disaster waiting to happen.On the third day, I got distracted by a new neighbor. Without my direct control, Krystal just bounded up the stairs ahead of me.It was so easy, I had to laugh. I had been creating a training nightmare, which Krystal solved with her direct simplicity.I now make her "WAIT" on my right (so we have an agreed upon start place--very important if you've got a bag of groceries), and then I say "GO!" And, off she goes ahead of me.I'm glad I listened to my dog. She's a smart cookie.What has your dog been telling you lately?Image by Elsie esq.

By Simon DavidsonThis is an update of my previous post, Abandoning Your Dog.I'm happy to see the compassionate and generous ways people are responding to these difficult economic times.Compassionate action is being taken by the Wake County SPCA in North Carolina, with its response to a dramatic 30% increase in the number of cats and dogs left at their shelter.Emotions can be high as pet owners reach the wrenching decision to leave their companion animals in the care of others. Many people tell the SPCA they have lost a job. Or they've lost their home, and are moving to an apartment that doesn't allow pets.These distraught people offer their stories. They cannot afford the vet bills, or they cannot even afford to feed their beloved dog or cat. With the estimated annual cost of a pet approaching $1000, this is very understandable. Many of these people are living on extremely tight budgets.In response, the Wake SPCA recently started a Pet Food Pantry, assisting people trying to keep their pets. The SPCA asked for donations of high quality pet food for the Pantry to distribute.The SPCA Pet Food Pantry opened last Saturday and was a huge success. Hundreds of dogs and cats each received a month's supply of food.Added to that good news, is that today the Wake SPCA has a notice on its website that they received so much donated food that their storage capacity has been reached--they cannot accept any more food donations (monetary donations are always appreciated.)My heart is warmed by this active compassion and open generosity.This is an update of my previous post, Abandoning Your Dog.

That's the question my friends at United Animal Nations are asking. If disaster strikes, are you ready to evacuate quickly?They ask this question because their mission is "bringing animals out of crisis into care." When groups of animals are in crisis from floods, fires, hurricanes, or plain old bad shelter management, you will often find United Animal Nations there--setting up and running temporary shelters, calling in their trained volunteers, and managing reunions between dogs and their humans.One of the most important things you can do for your family and your pets is to plan for a quick evacuation, and practice that plan. Research has shown that in stressful situations, our brains work best if there have already been some rehearsals. Those rehearsals set up a pattern in our brains. When the time comes to move quickly, an already established pattern can be in our brain database--ready to be acted upon.Right now, United Animal Nations is trying to assess pet owner's state of preparedness. I suggest you click onto their site, and take their short poll, click here.Afterwards, you may want to review their excellent ideas and resources for disaster planning, click here.

I love You Tube. Finally, I get to see what this Tellington TTouch is all about. I've heard it's a wonderful way of touching your dog to help relieve tension and even heal emotional and physical conditions. This demonstration shows the basic TTouch method that internationally respected animal expert, Linda Tellington-Jones has used with horses, dogs, cats, birds, and other companion animals. According to her website, "The intent of the TTouch is to activate the function of the cells and awaken cellular inteligence--a little like "turning on the electric lights of the body. "The TTouch is done on the entire body, and each circular TTouch is complete within itself. Therefore it is not necessary to understand anatomy to be successful in speeding up the healing of injuries or ailments, or changing undesirable habits or behavior... "TTouch helps to release tension and increase body awareness. This allows the animal to be handled without provoking typical fear responses." I'm glad she used a horse on this video, that way we can really see what she's doing, and how she's doing it. No scruffy fur to get in the way. I spent some time TTouch-ing with my dog Krystal. You'll not be surprised to hear that she took a breath just like that horse in the video. She then looked around and settled down for more relaxing TTouching. I'm going to watch this You Tube video several more times and practice those soothing circular movements so they come naturally. This is one of those methods that feels like it's as good for me as it is for my dog--a way for us to increase our mutual respect and compassion. If you're interested in learning more, Linda Tellington-Jones has a number of publications, including this DVD,The Tellington Touch for Happier, Healthier Dogs, and this book entitled Getting in TTouch With Your Dog. (You can a second TTouch video on my next post, TTouch for Senior Dogs.)