The Krypto Chronicles: Day 1

We drove up to Lancaster Sunday morning to pick up Krypto from Utopia Boxers.  We'd already met him the previous weekend here in L.A., but that was in a much more chaotic environment with a lot of other dogs and the rest of the litter around.  This was the first we saw of him all on his lonesome, and right from the start he was just perfect.  He was playful and energetic and social and totally into my treats.  The only "downside" was, man, he did not like having a leash on him for the first time!  He bucked like a bronco in a rodeo, but I knew he'd calm down about it before too long.

(Tomorrow, I hope to put up video from his first two days.  Check back to see him expressing his disapproval of the leash.)

Anna of Utopia Boxers gave us a very thorough rundown of his diet, the vitamins he's taking, suggested supplements, and a whole booklet of advice and shopping sources.  While I've always been, and will continue to be, a proponent of rescue, I do have a greater appreciation of the value of a good breeder.  Anna had already worked to get Krypto acclimated to the clicker and, more importantly, started on crate training and some early socialization.

Soon, it was time to take Krypto on the hour long trip back to L.A. in his crate in our back seat.  Very quickly into the trip he decided to make it known he did not appreciate being separated in the back seat.  Man, those puppy howls and barks and whines really cut through!  

So, there's some different approaches in dealing with problem behavior like this.  The first and most important rule is that you can't acknowledge the dog when it is barking, howling or otherwise making a pest of itself, otherwise it will just learn that being obnoxious works.  Now, ideally, we would wait for the dog to be silent for two full minutes before turning around and saying hi to him in the crate - two minutes is the length of time it typically takes a dog to forget what it was doing.

However, it can take a frustrated dog a LONG time to give up crying long enough to be quiet for two minutes, and when those yelps and whines are cutting into your head like a dentist's drill, five minutes can feel like an hour.  So, instead, we set a much more modest goal of just 10 seconds of quiet.  Even so, it took ten minutes of us completely ignoring him before we got those 10 blissful seconds of quiet, at which point I instantly turned around and let him out of his crate to come sit on my lap.  But, wow, those were a hard ten minutes!

A little while later, we put him back in his crate and we went into Round 2, which was a repeat of Round 1: 10 minutes of crying until we got about 15 seconds of quiet and let him out.  But the third time showed real improvement; five minutes of crying before we got 20 seconds of quiet.  And by the fourth time, we got 30 seconds of quiet after only two minutes of whining.  Progress! 

We had two vet appointments set up for Krypto that day.  The first was with a orthopedic surgeon who diagnosed our dog Derby's various dysplasias.  Boxers are prone to hip dysplasia, and we wanted that checked out.  He passed Krypto with flying colors.  Yes!

The second appointment was with our normal vet.  By this point Krypto was falling asleep on his feet from the huge day he was having.  Watch for hilarious video tomorrow.  Another clean bill of health.

Finally, we got him home.  Now, there's a lot of things that you should have before bringing a puppy home that first day (I'll cover this tomorrow), and Molly and I had all of them, except for the most important thing you should have: a good night's sleep.  We'd been up late the night before and were both exhausted.  Molly got a nap first while I watched over him, and then she spelled me while I crashed.  Thank god for teamwork.

We set up a potty patch for the superdog in our backyard and he took to it right away.  The only accident happened while I was asleep - Krypto started to poop in the living room.  Molly tried to interrupt him and scooped him up and ran him outside to the potty patch - and was rewarded with a handful of puppy poop for her efforts.  And then he didn't even finish going!  About half an hour later, though, she took him back outside and he pooped where he was supposed to.

He whined a bit whenever put in the crate, but just for a few minutes and for shorter periods each time.  We made sure to scatter treats in his crate and gave him a peanut-butter stuffed bone when he was in there, and to put him in when we were still hanging out in the room with him, so that he didn't associate the crate with being abandoned.  We also had a penned off area in our living room set up so we could put him someplace he could move around while we could still keep an eye on him. 

The rest of the time, we kept him on leash and attached to us.  This is something I tell all of my housetraining clients - the only way to keep track of your puppy at the level you need to during housetraining is to have it physically connected to you.  And almost every single one of my clients tries to shortcut it at some point, letting the dog run around unleashed for a little bit - and every time they end up with a little puddle when it was out of sight for just five seconds!

The day ended up with him in his crate in our bedroom.  We'd cut off his access to water about an hour before and took him out to pee just before bedtime.  He cried for a little bit but we were strong and then he crashed after just a few minutes.  He did wake us up at 12:30am and again at 3am needing to go out - there's a difference between a puppy's "Pay attention to me!" whines and "I need to pee!" whines, but it can't be described in words; you just have to hear it. 

In any case, I expect him to better the next night.  Before the end of the week, I expect him to be sleeping through the night.  But in the meantime, I'm making sure that I have slippers, a treat pouch and a robe ready for those midnight trips out to the potty patch!

Next up:  Krypto's first foray into the great wide world, and a new puppy owner's required shopping list.  Also: videos!

Picking Up Krypto

Well, off to non-auspicious start.  We totally cleaned and puppy proofed the house two days ago - way ahead of schedule. And then proceeded to spend yesterday turning everything into a mess!  No time to clean up before we go get Krypto.  Good thing we have our x-pen ready to put her in while we clean like crazy as soon as we get home!

Picking Krypto

There are several qualities I want in a puppy.  Health.  Energy.  Exuberance.  Fearlessness. Socialness.  Curiosity.  Toy drive.  Appetite.  With these qualities, I can shape a puppy into a happy, well-behaved dog.

Then there are the more, um, shallow qualities.  I wanted a white male Boxer.  White because I've always wanted a white dog I can name Krypto.  A male because hopefully it will be easier to raise with our female.  And a Boxer just because I love the breed.

A Boxer is not an "amateur's" dog!  They're ridiculously high energy and will get into trouble whenever bored.  They're not even the dog of choice for dog professionals.  They're wilfull and will try to find ways to subvert whatever you're trying to get them to do.  (Lie on a bed?  What if only half my body is on the bed?  What about just the tip of my paw, does that count?)  A border collie will learn everything just as fast and not try to mess with you at the same time.

But a Boxer is a dog for a person who loves, loves, loves dogs and loves to train them.  They'll keep you on your toes constantly because they constantly need physical and mental stimulation.  They will find the loophole in the rules you've set down and get into all sorts of trouble - but they'll make you laugh the entire time.  You can't be lazy or sloppy with a Boxer, but you'll never stay depressed with one around either.  And personally, I'll put a Boxer up against any ol' border collie any day when it comes to learning and smarts.  Bring it on!

You have to be careful about white Boxers, though.  The gene that produces a white coat also carries the chance of deafness.  One quarter of all white Boxers are born deaf - which is why the AKC and other dog clubs will not accept white Boxers in competition.  They don't want to encourage the breeding of genetic defects just for aesthetic purposes.  As a potential buyer of a white Boxer, though, this worked in my favor, because all this means that white Boxers sell for much less than standard fawn or brindle Boxers.  (Essentially, they're sold "at cost" - about a third the cost of the other pups.)

When our litter of puppies was born, we couldn't believe our luck.  In a litter of seven, there was only one male.  And he was all white (except for his ear and his eyebrow)!  In a life filled with lucky breaks, I'd gotten one more.  The universe had just handed me the exact dog I wanted!

As the puppies got older, the news got even better.  Krypto was the largest of the litter, and the first to open his eyes.  And he wasn't deaf!  He proved to be the most explorative of the puppies, often ending up behind couches at the breeder's home.  And when the rest of the pups were afraid to step onto the shiny, smooth linoleum, he fearlessly bounded onto it.  We wasted no time in letting the breeder know we were interested in him and wanted to put a deposit down as soon as possible.

Last weekend, the breeder brought the litter to L.A. for a Boxer Club event.  Now that they were seven weeks old and had their first shots, it was time to start exposing them to some of the world.  We took Derby with us and she met Krypto.  They played and got along marvelously.  Krypto was everyting I'd hoped - he was face-lickingly friendly and loved to explore and chase toys and calm around other dogs.  We overheard someone say, "He's really the pick of the litter.  It's a shame he's white."  Oh, no, it ain't!  Cuz that made him ours!

So we're picking him tomorrow - but first we have to make sure we have everything we need and our household puppy-ready!

(I'd have included video of Krypto, but blogger isn't cooperating.)

Puppy!

In four days, on Sunday, April 14, my wife Molly and I will be picking up the newest addition to our pack, an eight week old male boxer puppy. He is nearly all white, except for one brown ear and an adorable arched eyebrow over his left eye, giving him a constant "Fascinating..." expression. This has prompted some people to want to name him "Spock," but I have known forever that if I ever got an all-white dog, I was naming him after Superman's dog, and so I would like to welcome everyone to meet...

Krypto the Super Dog!

For the next several weeks I will be blogging the process of selecting, preparing for and raising a puppy. I will show you my mistakes as well as our successes. I actually have several clients right now who have gotten (or are about to get) puppies at this same time, too, so hopefully this will let them see that, despite the mistakes and problems that everyone faces, it can be done. Solidarity!

WHERE TO GET OUR PUPPY?

A brief bit of background. Late 2011 and 2012 saw the death of our two boxers, BeBop and Trooper Thorn, about 9 months from each other. It was a tough year. Luckily, we had a third dog, Derby the World's Happiest Dog, which helped us through the sad times.

Happiest Dog Ever

Derby is now a young adult at 2 1/2 years old and (almost) perfectly behaved, so it seemed time to bring a boxer back into the mix. After some consideration and soul-searching, for the first time ever we decided to go to a breeder rather than rescue. We're huge supporters of rescue groups, but we knew that A) we wanted a puppy, B) we wanted a purebred boxer and C) we wanted to minimize the health risks that come with boxers as much as possible. (Derby was a rescue - but she came with hip dysplasia in both hips, and elbow dysplasia in both elbows, as well as a kneecap that was loose.  It's a clear case of shoddy manufacturing, I say!)

And that meant find a high-quality reputable breeder.

(A note on puppies. A puppy isn't right for everyone, or even most people. Puppies take a lot of work, more than most people realize. What is a much more practical and rewarding option for most people is to go to a rescue group and adopt an adult - 2 1/2 years or older - dog that is already trained and has the temperment you want. Far too many excellent dogs are given up through no fault of their own. And I tell you honestly, a rescued dog knows you rescued it - you'll never have a more loyal friend.)

Finding a reputable breeder is not easy. I have pretty much zero experience with finding or dealing with breeders. Molly and I soon found out that there is no easy way online to distinguish between a reputable breeder and a "backyard breeder".

What's the difference? A reputable breeder's primary motivation is to improve the breed. They have a champion dog (or a few), and they carefully search for other owners with compatible other champions, looking to create litters that have the best qualities of both parents. They keep careful notes of the health of all ancestors, and are very selective about who can buy the puppies. Typically, they have only litter of puppies available at a time as each litter takes a fair amount of research to get started and work to keep in optimum health and development.

A backyard breeder, on the other hand, is breeding dogs in order to make money selling the puppies. Consequently, they will often own quite a few dogs and will have more than one litter going at a time. They have no real incentive to keep track of all the ancestors, and less incentive to ensure the welfare of the puppies in their new homes. A backyard breeder may care a great deal about their dogs and produce fine animals, but many do not, and it's a crap shoot for the buyer.

If minimizing the risk of hip dysplasia, cancer and heart problems is a high priority for you, as it was for us after losing our two dogs, a high quality reputable breeder is a must. There are no guarantees, but it was worth it to us to play the odds.

As I said, though, it is very difficult to tell one from the other just from looking at a website, and there's no reliable way to search for one, since every backyard breeder will present themselves as totally reputable. Our first attempt found us a woman that seemed excellent online, had several glowing reviews and was very pleasant on the phone. But once we arrived, we could tell that she wasn't for us. She owned both the mother and father - which meant that she wasn't searching around for the ideal genetic match for either. The puppies were being whelped in a barn in less than ideal conditions. And both mother and father seemed to have timidity problems. All in all, a disappointing but educational experience.

Luckily, I was able to turn to my friend and mentor Janine Pierce of J9's K9s Dog Training, who was able to do some reseach and gave me a list of several recommended boxer breeders. And lucky day, the last one on the list had a litter of puppies on the way! Tomorrow, "Selecting the Puppy"

MADISON vs THE GRASSHOPPER

I had a great bit of serendipity the other day with a client.  I'm helping them train their mastiff, Madison.  Madison is a great huge beast of a dog, and a total lover.  But she has some slight timidity issues that sometimes result in her barking or growling.  Pretty minor, but given her size, and that her owners would like her to be a Therapy Dog (which she totally will be, she was born for it), it is definitely something to address.

I wanted her owners to know how a dog naturally responds to something that scares it, and I actually demonstrated by playing the role of the dog.  A dog, upon seeing something that startles or scares it, will back away very quickly and then check things out from a distance.  Then it will circle around and approach from another direction.  Usually it will back away again before getting all the way close.  After a few seconds of checking things out from a distance, it will circle in, getting even closer.  Eventually, it will get to within sniffing/touching distance - and then run away again.  Typically, when it approaches again after that time, that is when it has finally decided to be comfortable with the new thing.

(It is on that second-to-last approach, where the dog first gets close enough to touch, that most people blow it and try to pet a dog that is afraid of them.  That was really just a test to see if you could be trusted to stay cool and not move.  By trying to get too friendly too fast, you fail the test.  Wait a little bit longer for the dog to come back to you and then hang out on its own.  Then you can give a little scratch under the chin.)

So, I had gone through this whole comical pantomime of acting like a dog, and I could see the owner sort of got it.  And then I had my stroke of luck - while we were talking, Madison, giant 100 lb mastiff, was startled by a grasshopper!  And right there in front of us, Madison proceeded to reenact everything I had just done.  She jumped back away from the grasshopper.  She circled around and approached it again, and then jumped back.  She circled and tried again.  And then, after a couple more cautious approaches, she sniffed it - and then walked away unconcerned.

Other than being hilarious, there was a valuable lesson in all of that.   It is usually our own clumsy use of leashes and fences that create problem anxiety in our dogs.   If you give a dog freedom to deal with fear on its own, without trying to force it closer or farther away or impose your will on it, a dog will work through things on its own quite well.  Even grasshoppers, the mastiff's mortal enemy.

MY IPHONE IS A POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT TRAINER

Positive reinforcement as a training method is not *just* giving treats for good behavior. There is a precise methodology to it, developed by B.F. Skinner, refined by Marian and Keller Breland and generations of trainers since.

In order to get an animal working as hard and eagerly as possible for you, the rewards should be, surprisingly, small. Instantly digestible treats that the animal enjoys, but leave wanting more. They should come only when the desired behavior is performed; if the animal can get the treats in other ways, they won’t have as much incentive to do what you want them to.

Most importantly, the treats should not come regularly, but in what we call an “Intermittent Reinforcement Schedule” - in other words, in a random, unpredictable manner. If the treats come every time, the animal will feel free to slack off, confident that it can always get more treats later. If the treats aren’t constant, but are predicable, the animal will learn to not bother when treats are unlikely, and only try when they’re likely to come. So they must be moderately rare, and unpredicatable.

My iPhone is the best positive reinforcement trainer I’ve ever met.

Its treats are email messages, texts and Facebook updates. They’re all very small and instantly consumed (mentally). They only come if I check my phone. But they don’t come every time I check my phone.

What’s the result? My phone has trained to check in with it over and over throughout the day. I would actually hate for someone to actually do a count of how often I check it. And that’s with me knowing that I’m being trained, and how. When I look at many other people, reflexively checking their phones in the middle of conversations, conversations in which they are interested and engaged, I am in awe of the power of positive reinforcement as a training tool. Truly, we must use this power only for good. Unlike the gaming industry.

PUT ME DOWN!

ENDING THE "YAPPY DOG" EPIDEMIC

We’ve all seen them, the tiny dog being carried around like a fashion accessory or a teddy bear surrogate. Chihuahuas, Pomeranians, Shih Tzus, and so on. “Aren’t they adorable?” people coo. And yes, they are cute little guys. Until you reach out to pet one and it tries to snap your finger off. Or barks like its having a fit at any one who walks by while the owner sits sipping their latte outside the coffee shop, only stopping when it is picked up once again into its owner’s protective embrace.

And that right there is the problem. Stop picking up your dog! You’re not doing him any favors. And you’re spreading the misconception that all little dog are yappy, neurotic messes. Which just isn’t true. I’ve known many calm and assured Chihuahuas. But you want to know what the common denominator was between all of them? They weren’t carried around - they walked on a leash by their owner just like any larger dog.

Which is the answer. Treat your toy dog like it was a full sized Labrador. Stop protecting it from the world. Stop cuddling it to you all the time. Let it get out in the world and sniff around. Let it be afraid every once in a while - and then let it get over that fear. Don’t let it get away with barking or growling just because its small - that sort of behavior would be terrifying in a larger dog, and it should be no more acceptable just because it comes from a small one.

I met an actress with two Pomeranians that were giving her problems - they were totally un-housetrained and undisciplined. When I outlined a few basics for her - such as crating them overnight so they couldn’t pee freely in her house overnight, and feeding them just twice a day to control when they would eliminate - she looked at me aghast. “They can’t hold it all night! They can’t go the whole day between feedings!” Luckily, I was currently being a trainer on a movie set with several trained Chihuahuas, and I was able to simply turn to one of their owners and say, “Can you dog, smaller than her Pomeranians, hold it all night? Go several hours without food?” “Of course, they can,” was the answer.

I turned to the actress and explained, “Your dogs, as cute as they are, are the proud descendents of wolves. It’s time you started treating them accordingly.” I’m pretty sure she didn’t listen, but if we all spread the word, maybe other people will. And Chihuahuas and Pomeranians and Shih Tzus and Yorkshire Terriers can all stop being overcoddled toys and learn to be calm, confident dogs.