Alternative Training Methods for Dogs, Cats & People

07/18/2023

12/25/2021

03/30/2021

FYI

Self: There’s a Huge Dog-Food Recall Due to Salmonella Risk to Pets and People.

The recall includes 140 different product lots from multiple brands.

11/24/2020

How nice! Your friends, family, guests bring some treats for your dog. Of course they want to see your dog enjoy them. But, if your dog eats the treats whole, or eats too many at once, it may have a problem digesting them. Every year emergency vets treat dogs that have chewed treats which got stuck in the trachea (windpipe) or gastrointestinal tract (esophagus, stomach, and intestines).

You need to recognize the signs if your dog is in obvious distress from eating too much too fast, chewing a bone or playing with a toy, so you can contact your vet immediately. Some telltale signs to look for are excess drooling, salivating, choking, or vomiting. Subtle signs are whale eye (white of eye showing all around), looking at stomach, pawing at mouth, coughing or trying to cough, straining, constipation or diarrhea. In short, you need to know how your dog acts normally so you are able to recognize any changes of behavior.

Don't put your dog outside or in a room alone with new treats or toys without anyone monitoring how your dog is chewing and playing with them. Know how big a toy should be so it doesn't accidentally get stuck in your dog's throat. Basically, a toy should be big enough that it can't get past the back molars.

For treats, no matter what it is, break it into a smaller piece and hand feed to your dog. Don't toss the treat for your dog to catch as the treat could be inhaled and choked on. Don't let guests feed treats without your monitoring. Set a certain number of treats out for your dog and be firm, no more than what is set out. Instruct your guests that no one is allowed to feed food from the table, from the kitchen or during cleanup. Don't leave full garbage bags in the house, on the porch or anywhere that the dog could gain access to the bags. Remove all garbage to the trash dumpster and be cautious that no animals can get in to the dumpster. Many areas have wildlife die from eating through plastic bags.

Be aware of the holiday party schedule. In other words, be conscious of the fact that if your dog is lethargic after a gathering then there is a pretty good chance that your dog ingested something. If a cooked, basted or plastic-type bone, rope or chew toy lodges in your dog’s stomach or intestines, the symptoms might not be immediate. Hours to days later, your dog may vomit and have diarrhea, be less active, not want to eat, and have stomach pain. If the blockage stays there too long, your dog may become very ill. The worst-case scenario would be if a hole developed at the blockage site, causing a life-threatening infection to go through your dog's body.

Please don't take any chances! If in doubt, contact your veterinarian or go to emergency vet. Be prepared as they may need to take x-rays or use an endoscope to see what and where the problem may be. Your dog may need surgery to remove blockages in the stomach or intestines. Be prepared as this will cost some money, which is why it is far cheaper to take the time to monitor your dog and avoid problems in the first place. Of course accidents can happen but please, try to avoid problems in the first place.

Watch for more tips soon.

11/12/2020

This is truly sad news. Dogs save lives. Wake up those of you making critical decisions!

In a tremendous blow to the Marine Corps' once-thriving military working dog program, the number of Marine military dogs will be significantly slashed in the next two years. Marine Corps Military Working Dog Program’s director Bill Childress told Military. com https://bit.ly/2OnWUW8 that the number will go from 210 to 150. Even the figure of 210 is down by 45 from the height of the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That’s a decrease in more than 100 dogs from when I started writing books about them several years ago.

This wasn’t Childress’s decision. It came from the Marine Commandant’s office. The canine cuts are just part of some sweeping changes being made in the Marine Corps. Here’s the lead to a recent article in the Marine Corps Times https://bit.ly/2CwHix2:

“Goodbye tank battalions and bridging companies, the Corps is making hefty cuts as the Marines plan to make a lighter and faster force to fight across the Pacific to confront a rising China.

“As part of Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger’s plan to redesign the force to confront China and other peer adversaries by 2030, the Marines are axing all three of its tank battalions, and chucking out all law enforcement battalions and bridging companies…”

The last tanks in the Marines were reportedly decommissioned last week. A Marine Corps with no tanks? That sounds positively naked. Aviation and amphibious vehicle companies are also facing reductions.

If all goes as expected, there will be 12,000 fewer Marine Corps personnel as well.

The changes are not popular in the Corps. And in my canine corner of the world, they’re really unpopular.

K9 wasn’t necessarily singled out, insiders tell me. It’s collateral damage because K9 falls under the law enforcement battalions, which are being axed. As background, in the Marines, there are 17 kennels. Three are the law enforcement battalions, or MEF kennels -- the large deployment kennels.

A few years ago, two of the MEFs -- Lejeune and Pendleton -- had about 140 deployable dogs. That number will be reduced to eight, or maybe less.

Cutting military working dogs so significantly is throwing out the baby with the bathwater. The dog teams could easily be part of this “lighter and faster force” for whatever lies ahead. They would surely be an integral part if given the chance.

The current plan is to get more “bang for the buck” by training more dual-purpose dogs – those who sniff out explosives or drugs and act as patrol dogs. But some of the most important K9 jobs in the Marine Corps require specialists. Marine hero Lucca K458 (star of my book Top Dog), for instance, was an off-leash bomb sniffer known as a specialized search dog. Her intensive training was devoted to her one singularly important job. Lucca led more than 400 combat missions and no one on any of these missions was hurt, thanks to the phenomenal skills of Lucca and her handlers.

I’m willing to bet that at some point down the road, wherever that road takes us, there’s going to be a realization a LOT more dogs are needed -- that dogs are the ones who can do whatever scenting or protection job the best. And suddenly there will be a call to train as many dogs as quickly as possible.

This is a pattern that has been repeated since dogs started working in US military in WWII. We don’t seem to learn from history. Time and time again, we finish a heated period, the military greatly diminishes the dog teams, and we get by until something else heats up and there’s a cry for man’s best friends to get trained stat.

It’s one thing to train dogs. That doesn’t take more than a few months, with the right K9s. But the infrastructure to procure these dogs, to find the top trainers, to train the handlers – that takes time to set up and do well. The Army’s deeply troubled (and now defunct) TEDD program is often used as an example of what happens when dog teams are needed too quickly to do right by everyone concerned, from the dogs to the handlers to those they protect.

Dr. (Col) Richard Vargus, the recently retired Department of Defense Canine Program Manager, shared his concern about the military dog cuts with me.

“The loss of USMC canine force multipliers will make Marines more vulnerable to IEDS. IEDs remain the primary weapon of choice of our enemies. Canine olfactory capabilities are unmatched in explosive detection,” he wrote. “I fear that reducing operational canines supporting Marine maneuver units will be cause for unnecessary casualties.”

That is collateral damage we truly can’t afford.

(Photo of Marine combat tracking dog Lex, by Mark Vierig)

11/12/2020

Just in time to thank all women for their service!

The life-size bronze sculpture called "The Pledge" is being placed at the Women In Military Service For America Memorial, located at Arlington National Cemetery's entrance.

11/12/2020

Thanking all veterans for their service today.

This military hero has an incredible story. Kuno will soon be receiving the coveted PDSA Dickin Medal -- the highest honor in the world for a military animal. He tackled Al Qaeda insurgents last year and others lived because of his bravery, although he was profoundly wounded. Here's his story, courtesy of gov. uk. Good, good dog, Kuno!

During a dangerous operation in 2019, three-year-old Belgian Shepherd Malinois Kuno and his handler were deployed in support of specialist UK and host nation forces on a compound raid against a well-armed and aggressive enemy when they came under attack.

Pinned down by gr***de and machine-gun fire from an insurgent, the assault force was unable to move without taking casualties.

Without hesitation, Kuno charged through a hail of gunfire to tackle the gunman, breaking the deadlock and changing the course of the attack, allowing the mission to be completed successfully.

During the assault Kuno was wounded by bullets in both back legs. He was given life-saving treatment by his handler and by medics in the back of a helicopter.

His injuries were so severe he required several operations before he was stable enough to fly back to the UK. Sadly, part of one of Kuno’s rear paws had to be amputated to prevent life-threatening infection.

But now he is thriving after becoming the first UK military working dog to be fitted with custom made prosthetic limbs.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

Without Kuno, the course of this operation could have been very different, and it’s clear he saved the lives of British personnel that day. This particular raid was one of the most significant achievements against Al Qaeda in several years.

The story continues here: https://bit.ly/2F30vaB

11/10/2020

Brody was bit in the face by his mother when he was 13 days old. He doesn't know it and he doesn't care, he enjoys life as it is! We could all learn a lot from Brody.

https://fb.watch/1GSfZfcoCp/

11/09/2020

They've given us so much. The least we can do is to never forget.