All posts tagged puppy socialization

Preparing a Puppy for the World of Humans

Having a well adjusted dog starts with a puppy coming to enjoy a variety of new things. It’s official term is “socialization”. Laurie Luck over at Smart Dog University is a fabulous trainer, and I love to read her blog. This is a bit of a flashback in time, back when she was raising Talos the Dane puppy to become a grown up Great Dane Service dog. But these truths are timeless:

The key to introducing your dog to something novel is to do it incrementally, to do it systematically, and to always (and I mean always!) go at your dog’s pace. If you see signs of anxiety (tucked tail, ears back, lip licking, hiding behind your legs), STOP! Move further away, speak calmly and quietly to your dog, and try to feed some extra yummy treats. If your dog isn’t eating those delicious treats, you know he’s still too stressed. Move even farther away. Keep moving away until the dog’s body language is more relaxed and until he’s able to take treats.
http://smartdog.typepad.com/smart_dog/2009/12/fear-not-video.html#

Each dog or puppy will have their own set of triggers. For my late Kenai, it was the post office. He could hear those mechanical noises he feared so much, but couldn’t see what was causing them. For some dogs, it is people rushing up to them head-on.

There is no such thing as a “perfect” service dog, to be honest. They are living creatures, and have their own quirks like any other. But assistance dogs really have to be as close to perfect in their behavior as possible.

Why?

They live and work in an unnatural world. A human world is chock full of unnatural things, like mechanical sounds, chemical smells, and people acting in ways that don’t make sense to a dog. After all, dogs didn’t invent cars!

All dogs have to become fluent in the ways of the human world and human quirks to be a part of it, through exposure and socialization. Just going to the pet store is an excursion into an unnatural world. But service dogs have to become at home in it.

Otherwise, they will often find it a struggle to focus and complete the tasks that make them a service dog for a disabled handler. So how you expose a service dog candidate or service dog in training to some new experience really does matter in the long term. Bad experiences last, so if you’re having a bad hair day yourself, let the outing wait.

It is really helpful to have made a written list of every type of surface, sound, smell, and sight that you can think of. Just take stairs: there are wide stairs, narrow stairs, spiral stairs, tall stairs, concrete stairs, metal stairs, wood stairs… A dog’s senses of their environment are much more acute than ours, so they will notice the feel underfoot and height, the trace smells of shoes and the like.

Those things are background to us, and service dogs have to be regularly exposed to almost everything for it to fade into the background the way it does for us. Essentially, they have to be desensitized. These experiences have to continue long after puppyhood for them to remain familiar and comfortable, too. But the first exposures are the most important.

6 Comments

by greatdaneservicedog on December 9, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in clicker training, Great Danes

Tagged clicker training, Great Danes, puppies and stress, puppy socialization, service dog training

Posted by greatdaneservicedog on December 9, 2012

http://greatdaneservicedog.wordpress.com/2012/12/09/preparing-a-puppy-for-the-world-of-humans/

Christmas and Dogs

I love the Christmas season, like many people. There’s friends and parties, foods and warming scents, candles and trees, snow and hot chocolate for some. But the hustle and bustle can be hard on our dogs, especially the sensitive or shy ones.

Your time spent socializing the dog during the year gets put to the test, for sure. If you know your pup has some issues, then you can expect the stress to make this time of year extra tough for them.

There’s usually three things going on around Christmas in a dog’s perspective: a higher excitement levels, higher amounts of unusual human activities, and often, lower amounts of exercise as our time is crunched by a big to-do list.

We humans may know why we have that sense of anticipation, but our dogs don’t realize Christmas is in a few weeks. They just know we are excited, maybe we are anxious, and anticipating something. They get excited too, they just don’t know why. And their ability to contain emotional intensity is lower than ours. In short, they’re looking for what it is we seem to be anticipating for weeks on end.

Most of us don’t usually have family and friends showing up so very often as during the holidays. More people, more goings on, the routine is altered. There’s all these sparkly decorations around, and rich, enticing foods being cooked. Noises and scents, visual simulus spike during the holidays. Then there’s the social interactions with people, some of it wanted and perhaps some of it not.

Alot of us get really busy, really frazzled, really tired, too. The holiday stuff is added on top of already busy schedules. Add to that winter’s worsening weather, and it becomes harder to take the walk or go out to play with the dog when all you want is to curl up for a nap.

What you’ve got is a recipe for a seriously over-stimulated and underexercised pup! That means a normally calm dog might forget their manners and jump up to greet someone. Or a shy dog gets anxious and spooked by kids running about the house. Or an excitable dog becomes hard to control and destructive.

The single most important thing to tone down the stress on your dog is exercise: they’ve got to have somewhere to burn off the building excitement. Before you scold the dog for misbehaving, consider if he or she is just too wound up to control themselves anymore. Give them a chance to run and play, to have some fun with you, perhaps even more than usual so they can cope with all the goings on.

Exercise releases a whole bunch of beneficial chemicals in our brains and theirs too. It’s also good for you to put down the must-do list, and enjoy yourself for awhile.

3 Comments

by greatdaneservicedog on November 23, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in anxiety, Great Danes, puppy training

Tagged anxiety, dog behavior, dogs and Christmas, great dane exercise, overstimulated, puppy exercise, puppy socialization

Posted by greatdaneservicedog on November 23, 2012

http://greatdaneservicedog.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/christmas-and-dogs/

Puppy Aptitude Testing: Sensitivity

The first section of most puppy aptitude tests are concerned with how sociable and accepting their personality is. The second part of the testing is about discovering how sensitive a pup is: can the pup cope with the equipment and environs they will be in as a working dog. It’s usually called “obedience skills” but it would seem more explainatory to a layperson to call it “general sensitivity”.

A dogs ability to tune out background noise, or adjust to a different setting is very important for one reason–if they are disturbed by noises or rattled by an unexpected object, they will lose their focus on their tasks.

A pup with sound phobias cannot easily learn when those noises are present, or work well if they get distracted too easily. It’s not likely they’ll encounter a real “monster” like poor Scooby here, but a dog that spooks alot will be stressed out and struggle with public settings.

To test how bombproof a pup is, most PAT use things like a toe-pinch or some mild pinching in a sensitive spot. The test doesn’t hurt a puppy, it merely gets to gauge how long it takes to get the pup to respond.

Pinching between the toes, while gradually increasing pressure (no nails!) and counting to ten is the usual technique. Some will pinch the skin or ear. The idea is finding out is this puppy “body sensitive”. A body sensitive puppy is not what you want for a working dog. Given the inevitable being messed with by the public or wearing of equipment an assistance dog needs, anyway.

It is very rare for a puppy not to respond by pulling away the foot or moving to stop the pinching. A good response time is 5 or 6 seconds of tolerating, then the pup rather nonchalantly taking their foot back. It’s ideal if they then return to wanting to play with you or getting attention from you. A puppy that yelps or shies away from you for it is likely going to be a body sensitive guy or gal, as that is a rather strong reaction.

I’ve found that some pups that pull away at 3 or 4 seconds aren’t so sensitive that they won’t be able to adjust to such things, if the handler takes the time to get them conditioned to accept unwanted handling or harnesses/packs on their body. A pup may start out a little sensitive and become conditioned to it. But a strong reaction by a puppy is a red flag.

One of the main problems I have had with my past dogs is sound senstivity. A pup that has had the benefit of exposure to noise during that 3-6 week old window of fearless acceptance will be much more laid back.

This is little Pixie, a 6 wk old candidate of a friend of mine. Sweet Pixie has had her aptitude test and passed with flying colors! She’s being well raised, and I know my friend will be a great home for further socializing, and training for this darling little girl.

However, other puppies that has never left the home, or not had the benefit of good socializing, and sound sensitizing to non-domestic sounds introduced via CD will have to be introduced to startling and loud noises during the 8 wk old fear period, which is less than ideal.

Usually the tests will bang a metal pan, or drop a broom handle and the like. The point is to make a loud sound the puppy has not encountered, to see will the pup startle a little or a lot, then if they recover themselves and become curious about the sound.

A real freak out by a puppy indicates they are going to be either very timid if they are running away to hide, or a bold scrap of a lad if they then go to bark at what made the noise. A pup that notices then goes on like it never happened may seem like a good idea, but it isn’t really, as that is a red flag for lack of curiosity.

Sight sensitivity is also tested for, typcially with an umbrella or novel object like a motion sensing owl Joyce Guthrie uses. The tester wants to see how reactive the puppy is and how curious they become. Alarm barking is undesirable, as is cowering or just ignoring it. What you want to see is a pup that decides to investigate, even if somewhat cautiously at first.

Working dogs will encounter strange, noisy, moving things on a daily basis in public. So a youngster that wants to figure out what these things are will be willing to interact with their environment and not be afraid of it. They will adjust quickly, accept the bustle of the human world easily, and not be stressed.

Using my past dogs as examples, I can easily see why sound sensitization and extensive socializing at 3-6 wks is so important.
http://www.puppyprodigies.org/Early%20Learning%20Program%20Highlights.htm

Kenai–as a pup he was totally bombproof. He would notice a bang or odd object, and maybe startle slightly. He would recover quickly, but often just go on with what he was doing. He later became very noise phobic as the tick diseases began to mess with his central nervous system. But when he was 9 wks old, his tester couldn’t get him in a flap about anything, including a live parrot squawking and flapping its wings.
Levi–was wonderfully tolerant, too. He would pull away his foot, and come right back for playing. But he had the additional tendency to want to know what that funny noisy thing was. His curiosity would fast get the better of him! This is what you want for an assistance dog candidate; a mild startle at most, then going to check it out. Levi would often want to play with the object, too, and carry it off like some trophy.
Merlin–would really startle, and often went into alarm mode. Sometimes he would run away like that umbrella was going to eat him. Sometimes he would charge up and bark at something. He was a handful, and this is a puppy best left to skilled, experienced owners willing to put in the time to re-condition a reactive pup. Merlin was not at all service dog material.

PpaWWs service dogs in training

Puppy Social Skills in Aptitude Tests, Pt. 2

I’ve begun a series of posts to explain what’s known as puppy aptitude testing, to help you understand that a puppies personality is often largely “set” by the age of 8 weeks old, when they come home with you. An owner really should take the time and effort to find a breeder that not only does or has done the PAT, but will explain the results and implications of those tests to a buyer.

The first area of social skills in the PAT was discussed in the last post, and concerned the puppy’s social attraction to people. Did the puppy come to you readily despite distractions? Did the puppy follow you, or decide to go pounce on a littermate instead? The idea is to find out how much the little tots ranks people attention as their priority.

This is just a funny pic giving you a “visual aid” in determining social attraction–what’s the most commonly seen side of the puppy, front or back? With my late Kenai, it was the beautiful brown backside!

The next tests in the social skills section of most puppy aptitude tests are to determine “social dominance”. The word “dominance” has become a loaded term in training circles, so I’m going to use a different word: independence. Sometimes a thesaurus is the best way to avoid an argument that eclipses the whole post!

Typically refered to as restraint or handling tests, the idea is to place the puppy’s body in an awkward position and see how they react. Often, tests will gently and gradually roll the puppy to their back and not let them up. Some will lift their bodies slightly off the ground. I’ve even read that some will hold the puppy down on their side in a common restraint position at the vet. Many testers will use more than one restraint position, too.

1) Kenai was a ‘struggler’ who hated to be restrained. He didn’t bite or growl, but he made it clear that he did not like this. His usual vet techs learned not to hold him down, since he would not stop struggling in a reasonable amount of time. I went all out adjusting him to every sort of body part handling and he would dutifully hold still for whatever the vet needed to do, however “indelicate”.

2) my late Taj would resist just a little bit, then decide it was a good opportunity for a tummy rub and wag his tail, looking at you with soft, playful eyes. He hardly ever met a stranger, my Taj-ster. Some puppies will avoid looking at you but not be distressed by restraint. These are good results, when they quit the “lemme up” fuss quickly.

3) my late Shabah, the puppy mill rescued merle, would struggle only a very little, avoiding eye contact, tucking his tail, and sometimes whimper. If it was a man doing this, he would even piddle some. This is a highly submissive, insecure reaction and it was a big clue at how timid he would be as he grew up.

I also worked with him to allow the vet to do even unpleasant things, so long as he wasn’t restrained or cornered, he didn’t get so stressed as to need muzzling. A gentle touch, allowed to watch what they were doing, and lots of reassurance made him managable at the vet. He never gave me any trouble at home, which was good. He had his own “asssigned” vet tech, who had a way with calming him, and always had some gentle reward for him.

***

You want a puppy with the Taj-like response. Especially in a large or giant breed dog, who will attain a size that can seriously injure someone. They will more quickly accept handling and messing with, without being distressed by it. I mentioned the vet, but it’s not only the vet that handles a dog. Groomers, show handlers, trainers, kids, and people at the pet store will do things to the dog’s body.

This determination of independence or emotional insecurity is tremendously important for any puppy buyer to know, because kids will hug spontaneously. Kenai would have allowed for a time then gently pulled away. Taj would have gotten happy and wanted to play. Shabah would have growled or even bitten them out of fear. You need to know what it will take to prepare the puppy for the inevitable future rudeness of people.

For an assistance dog, the calm acceptance is required. Such dogs are out in public where no companion goes, and human behavior is unpredictable. Strangers ARE going to put their hands on your service dog. Toddlers will innocently assume your working dog is like their own pet and run right up for a hug and bug. If you begin with a puppy that shows a willingness to accept stranger handling, then you can practice the hugs and bugs until the puppy gently permits it without getting reactive.

Puppy Aptitude Testing…by Lisa Harmon

One of the “dangers” of going to look at a litter? THEY’RE ALL TOO CUTE! That being said, whether you are looking for a pet, a pup to run rally with you, or a companion, you should consider aptitude testing.

Why? Because nothing takes the joy out of a new puppy faster than realizing they aren’t well suited to your life or family. If you have a busy, kid-filled house and the puppy turns out to be a little timid and noise sensitive, not only does the puppy find your home stressful, you have a lot of changes and choices to make about what to do.

There’s a whole myriad of “uh-oh” that can happen when the owner and puppy aren’t well suited. It’s much better to have had the puppy’s temperment tested before paying for them and putting them through the unavoidable stress of coming to a strange home with strangers and no littermates.

Puppy Aptitude Testing (PAT) is nothing more than finding out the puppy’s natural personality. Most of them break down into simple tests to discover the pup’s level of social skills, learning abilities, and general sensitivity. These are typically done at 6-8 wks old, so the situations you can use to look for an unlearned response are both simple for the test and still novel to the pup.

There are a lot of temperment tests to choose from, as well, mostly variations on the Volhard temperment test:
http://www.volhard.com/pages/pat.php
I’ve recently purchased a book that is a slight ‘variant’ of the Volhard, designed and written by Joyce Guthrie. She is a breeder, trainer, and experienced Great Dane handler.
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/Vanna11

If possible, you would like a highly experienced person giving the test, and evaulating the results. You should also ask questions of them, like “when you say the puppy is (–), what impact does that have on our lifestyle or training needs?”. Have the evaluator give you details and recommendations not just for which puppy is best for you, but why and what you can expect the puppy to require of you and your family.

PAT is a complicated evaluation, requiring inferences and observational skills, which is why I recommend that it be given and interpreted by someone with experience. But to give you some understanding of the tests and what they are looking for, I’d like to at least hit the high points. I’ll look first at the social skills section of the tests in the next posts; social attraction, following, restraint responses, and level of independence.

A puppy’s natural inclination to come to you will have a big say on how easily they are trained in the future, and ultimately how well they will fit your life. I am no expert, mind you, but I can look back at puppies in my past and see how these tests absolutely predict the future. I’ve sorta “learned the hard way”, so please learn from my mistakes rather than have to make them yourself!

For social attraction and following, the tests are usually just clapping your hands or getting the puppy’s attention at a short distance to see how readily they come or follow you without being distracted, and what body language they show when doing so. I’ll use examples of my own past puppies for some comparison.

1) A puppy like my late Kenai would look at you but often hurry off with his littermates or follow the older dogs. When he did come, he didn’t stay long, looking around for something else to do.

He wasn’t anti-social, mind you. He just prefered canine company, and was pretty independent from the start. Crate training took about 3 days, because he was content enough to lay there by himself. He had a naturally easy temperment, in terms of not misbehaving or tearing things up. He was a calm guy when he was little.

However, I never did get a reliable off leash recall on him. He learned his basic obedience super fast, and was bombproof about noise and new environments when little. But once he made up his mind about a place or object, there was no changing it. Kenai was his own boy; he thought for himself, and problem solved on his own. This creates major challenges for advanced types of training.

2) Levi was in a hurry to come see you, and followed me all over the place. Normally his tail was up and wagging, his eyes happy for the attention. He was a very friendly little fellow, and his attentiveness to humans translated later on to being very easily taught to sit or come. Had there not been other problems I didn’t have the skill and energy to work out, he could have become an outstanding service dog.

3) Shabah couldn’t wait to come to a gentle person with a gentle voice and touch, but he approached with his head low and tail down doing a nervous wag. He was very shy of men and firm handlers in general. He later learned his obedience commands with terrifying speed, and had a nearly 200 word vocabulary, but he was so timid that just going to the pet store was stressful enough to cause him diarrhea. He took as much effort as Kenai on the opposite end of the spectrum, and I never really did trust him around children. He was my “heart dog”, a total soulmate of a pet, but alot of work.

***

Oddly enough, the only test that really talks about what Joyce Guthrie refers to as emotionally hard or soft dogs was her own book. All three of these puppies were emotially soft, even independent Kenai. He never required more than a mild scolding to stop unwanted behavior. If I was too harsh with any of them, they would be very upset and devastated. This is something you want to look for too–if your spouse has a tendency to get mad and yell, even an “independent” dog may not be able to cope with it.

If you are looking for a pup with a defined purpose, especially as an assitance dog, the Levi response is not negotiable. Assistance dogs must be human focused and set people as their highest priority. For a dog with that inclination, affection is one of the best rewards, and it makes them much easier to train at advanced levels. Mostly because you don’t have spend time trying merely to get them to pay attention to you.

Now if you have the skill and time to socialize a shy pup like Shabah, or keep a consistently firm but gentle hand with an independent dog like Kenai, then more power to you. However, most people will need to chose a pup like Levi. Shabah would not have done well in a loud, kid-filled home, or as a regular on the agility scene. Neither would Kenai, for very different reasons.

3 Comments

by greatdaneservicedog on August 25, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Great Danes, new puppy, puppy training, service dog

Tagged great danes and children, puppy aptitude testing, puppy behavior, puppy socialization, puppy training, service dogs

Posted by greatdaneservicedog on August 25, 2012

http://greatdaneservicedog.wordpress.com/2012/08/25/puppy-aptitude-testing-by-lisa-harmon/

Learning More All the Time

The tile is taking longer than expected, maybe going on until the end of the week. But last Saturday night was the last one I have to spend sleeping in the kitchen, so the end is in sight. I’d love to put some photos up soon, though I have to wait for the photoshop software to come. I tried downloading it, but no dice, there wasn’t enough RAM in the new computer for a download that size.

Still, I can find pretty colorful pics to share here from the internet! This is a rug set I’ve bought for the various rooms. There’s the bedrooms and entryways and stuff that will need rugs. There’s a lovely echo effect with bare tile!

I wanted a 10×13 or bigger for the living room, but that’s hard to find with a latex backing. (I tend to trip on turned up and skidding carpets). I also want to get some fitted furniture covers, and insulated curtains next month. It may be August but fall and winter isn’t too far away.

I know…this is a blog for dogs, not home decorating! But that’s what I’m stuck doing, for the next couple weeks anyway.

Despite the current state of exhaustion, I figure it’s best to get done what I need to get done now, so I have the winter to rest. As said in an earlier post, I chose tile for it’s being waterproof and easy to clean–less work keeping the house clean for a new puppy.

The rugs I’m looking at, the furniture covers, even the paint type I chose (enamel) has the same purpose: easy to wipe off, or throw in the washer sort of products. The less time I spend scrubbing, the more time and energy I have for a new puppy next year. I found this great article about puppies in general, though it is geared towards assistance dogs. Being the science geek I am, this was my “cup of tea”.
http://www.puppyprodigies.org/Early%20Learning%20Focus.htm

“The most influential time of a puppy’s life is between three and six weeks. Fear is not present in newborn puppies. It begins to develop slowly around five weeks of age, and increases gradually until it escalates in the fear imprint period during the eighth week.

Therefore, there is a window of opportunity between three and six weeks of age when anxiety levels in the puppy are the lowest they’ll ever be in their entire life. Anything the puppy is exposed to between this timeframe will therefore be associated with low anxiety.”

Once again, this proves how terribly important it is to choose your breeder with the utmost care: that 3-6 week old socializing window is entirely up to the breeder to make the most of. The early exposures a puppy can have is limited only by creativity really, within the parameters of safety of course. For instance going to different dog parks for an unvaccinated puppy is terribly unsafe. But being wrapped in a blanket and carried into different stores or human environments during the course of those weeks (away from the litter) is an excellent idea.

If you are a breeder, please, please consider improving your early development skills for your litters. If you are looking for a puppy, consider choosing a breeder who uses these techniques. Puppies intended for pets or working dogs alike need the ability to cope with stress, to be unafraid of human generated noise, and accept frequent handling.
http://www.puppyprodigies.org/Early%20Learning%20Program%20Highlights.htm

I’ve also been studying charts and graphs about Dane structure in much more detail than ever before. The Great Dane Club of America has an illustrated guide to the standard here:
http://www.gdca.org/illustrated-standard.html

I still haven’t gotten the “show lingo” to penetrate my skull too well, though I’ve joined some Facebook owner handler groups to try and learn. They’re also a good resource for which judges like what if I choose to show the next puppy.

Since agility and dog sports aren’t an option for me to practice working with the puppy in loud and distracting environs, as well as accepting handling etc for the Canine Good Citizen test, that leaves showing as a possiblity. Or at least conformation classes.

Knowing the standard isn’t just about beauty though: this pic shows the structure a Dane should have. Variations like too long of a body, or a shoulder with the wrong angles has a direct effect on longevity, in terms of arthritis and joint issues. Even if you are only wanting a companion dog, rather than a working dog, the more you know about health and conformation, the more of the predictable orthopedic troubles you can avoid.

Danes don’t live long, and their prime working age period is short. Sadly, seven years is the average life span these days, so if a dog has good structure, and is well cared for, 10 years of healthy life isn’t too much to expect. That is, barring things like bloat or cancer, or those infernal ticks…

I’ve also updated the feeding and growth page to the right. The links were old and difficult to load now that the articles are archived. So I’ve put new ones up. And I’m still researching particular food brands, in the hopes of creating a list of foods that are good for giant breeds. Most recently, I’ve found the Innova large breed puppy is one of the very few “puppy” kibbles that has safe mineral and protien levels. The adult large breed is also spot on.
http://www.innovapet.com/products/941

All the things I’ve written about lately have been ways to give a Dane puppy a leg up for becoming a working dog: early neural stimulation and socializing before 8 wks old for their temperment, being picky about their structure and conformation, putting the greatest time and effort into their training from 8-16 weeks old, too (as opposed to cleaning the house).

It may seem like I’m idle, with no dog to work with right now, but truth is, I’m gearing up. Educating myself, reading and studying, preparing the house to be as little effort as possible all have my end of the deal in mind: the right puppy choice, and the very best love, care, and training I am physically able to provide.

3 Comments

by greatdaneservicedog on August 23, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Great Danes, new puppy, service dog

Tagged Canine Good Citizen, chronic fatigue, dog food, great dane, great dane growth, Great Danes, puppy development, puppy socialization

Posted by greatdaneservicedog on August 23, 2012

http://greatdaneservicedog.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/learning-more-all-the-time/

European Danes in America…by Lisa Harmon

remember this boy? Kenai, my late part European Dane.

If the number of breeders with big athletic American Danes that win in a show ring are small, the number of breeders whose European or part Euro Danes that win in an AKC show ring are even smaller. Most attend International shows here, and fare better.

Euro Danes have heavier bone, bigger heads, more jowels, and they do not generally get rewarded for it in the AKC. There’s a good deal of subjectiveness in conformation shows. It puts off alot of people who want to show and have dogs worthy of it.

The choices aren’t neccessarily limited for quality European bloodlines in America. Importing is common. But my choices for show quality Euro Danes who’s breeders use the ENS and rules of sevens for early, effective socializing are drastically more limited.

Lots of people are breeding “Euro’s” in America now and some have wonderful dogs, but be cautious: a large number of breeders will get an import then slap a $2000 price tag on a puppy. You can’t call a pup show quality because the pup came from champion lines. A champion line doesn’t guarantee a well made, good temperment Dane.

The European Danes tend to be heavier in body, and that can make for conformation issues too. As far as temperment, Euros often are more laid back and easy, but many are just plain hard-headed. The personalities of European and American Danes have some differences as distinct as their appearance.

There are some excellent Euro and part Euro Danes in the US, but searching for a Euro Dane is a buyer beware situation. I really detest how buying a quality Great Dane has become such a heartbreaking ordeal for puppy buyers. The nightmare stories are abundant. That is partly why I’m naming the breeders I’ve found who use ENS and rules of sevens to prepare their litters for life beyond the litter. I can’t list or even find all the outstanding breeders, btw, so don’t think this is comprehensive at all.

If you are looking for a Euro puppy, please, please, please know the Great Dane Club’s breeder ethics inside and out. DO NOT BUY from a breeder that doesn’t follow them. Ethics means no breeding merles, no crossing color lines like blues with fawns, no breeding a bitch every year…

The point of breeding isn’t because they love their dogs, want to create “rare” colors, or worse, are in it for money. Breeding is to create healthier, physically and mentally sound Great Danes. And the ENS, rules of sevens, and sound sensitization makes for better temperment on any puppy, companion or working dog.

RENAISSANCE GREAT DANES

http://www.renaissancegreatdanesandneos.com/Ourdanes.html

Renaissance Danes breed blues, blacks, harls, and they have a fawn they call a professional couch potato! This pic is of a stud named Pharaoh. They show some, though not heavily, but certainly can tell what is show quality and what isn’t.

I struck pay dirt here. This breeder uses ENS stimulation, she’s been a positive reinforcement trainer for years, she has degrees in Animal Science, behavioral psych, and worked as a vet tech. She exposes her pre 8 wk old puppies to everything imaginable, including agility equipment, and provides the very best socializing experiences possible.

I fully intend to drive up for some visits, and let her get to know me. What I need and what personality of puppy will work out for me has proven to be a bit of a tricky picking job. As we become better aquainted, I’ll explore her knowledge of aptitude testing, and am both glad and intimidated that she insists on following her puppies after they’ve been placed.

It’s wonderful that she cares, but if you’ve ever dealt with a busybody breeder it worries you! That may just be my anxiety. I don’t think she’s a busy body. I hope she will allow me to come after puppies are born too, to interact with each pup individually a few times before we select a puppy for me. Those are all topics that will come up over the course of time.

TRIBAL Great Danes

http://www.tribaldanes.com
is another great breeder who uses ENS, and is highly involved in early socializing of her puppies. She remains involved with her puppies in their new homes as well. I struck pay dirt again!

Right now her litter is expected over the winter, which is too soon for me to give a puppy the best I can give. I need to rest, to become stronger and rebuild my energy reserves. But that’s okay–I’m in this for the long term, and there is always another litter in the future, right?

She has some success in the show ring, and her pups have done well in obedience, and competitive Rally. She attributes this to the ENS stimulation and early socializing, (yay!). This is a great breeder to find wonderfully built and trainable part European Danes! I was really excited to find her and her show handler. Her dogs are beautiful, sound, and well-tempered.

1 Comment

by greatdaneservicedog on August 5, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Great Danes, puppy training

Tagged chronic fatigue, European Great Danes, Great Danes, obedience training, puppies and stress, puppy socialization

Posted by greatdaneservicedog on August 5, 2012

http://greatdaneservicedog.wordpress.com/2012/08/05/european-danes-in-america-by-lisa-harmon/

Choices from America…by Lisa Harmon

AMERICAN DANES

Overall, I’m not pleased with the state of Great Danes in America. They’ve become either tiny and delicate, or disproportionately tall and scrawny. When I was young it was typical for even a fawn male, which tends to be smaller than say a mantle, to weigh in about 170 pounds.

This is a nice quality Dane here, but still very small and to my eye, insubstantial for an intact male. Back in the day, ya didn’t see the average Dane with long chicken legs, snipey heads, and narrow chests outside of poor quality puppy mills. It’s hard to find even a good male like the one in this pic these days.

I believe the rewarding of AKC show judges for “elegant” and “refined” has weakened the Great Dane overall. My opinion, for what it’s worth. And the explosion of uninformed pet owners that breed without a clue to what makes a truly beautiful, sound Dane has made the selection of Great Danes a frustrating experience for anyone who remembers what Danes used to look like, move like, and their former longevity.

It’s been 40 yrs since I met my first Dane, and the widespread weenie-ness of Great Danes I see these days sent me looking for European bloodlines a few years ago. The European breeders have generally maintained the working dog body: shorter, heavy boned, muscluar and athletic Dane.

This intact brindle is more like what I remember, and what I admire as the traditional standard. This dog could work for years and never wear out. If he could pull a cart, he could pull me up a steep slope once in awhile without developing arthritis at 5 yrs old.

My philosophy is a dog was created to work for and with humans. Once upon a time, they weren’t accessories, not intended for nothing more than to be well, decorative. Since I need a Dane that can work, can bear weight, can carry a pack, I cannot have a delicate decoration.

That being said, there are some American Breeders with strong, well built, substantial dogs to choose from. And I’ve stuck to the desire for ENS and rules of seven socializing that the breeder must do before an 8 wk old comes home with me. I will certainly clicker train, and use the “Control Unleashed Puppy” once I get them, but the breeder has as much or more to do with a pups future success than most people realize.

My American Breeder Choices

Saravilla Danes has American Danes, with the harl lines, which produce harlequins, mantles, and occasional blacks. They also work with ChromaDane, who won’t have pups available even next year. They are excellent breeders using ENS and other socializing techniques in their pre-7wk old puppies.

http://saravillagreatdanes.com/

There is nothing insubstantial about their dogs, and I like that. Unfortunately I don’t prefer the harl/mantle color for Danes, just as a matter of personal tastes. But if their dogs have the goods for a working dog, I gotta put on my big girl panties and care less about superficial stuff like coat color.

Saravilla requires a good kibble, and approves of neutering after sexual maturity even for companions. She also is a welcoming and visitor-friendly lady. So a trip to Ohio is in my near future! My only concern is working dogs tend to have higher energy levels, and having Chronic Fatigue…

I may ask for a show quality male, and have a go at conformation shows. It’s expensive and alot of work, but it is the best way to learn what really makes a dog’s body structually sound, what it takes to have smooth ergonomics so the joints last, and a tolerant disposition. All of which is essential for a working dog.

Being an experienced Dane owner, I got the basics of conformation: a straight topline, good angles in the stack, a nicely shaped head. But there’s a big difference between an experienced owner’s eye, and a breeder/shower’s eye. There’s much to learn there.

Green Bean, the big beautiful black Dane!

It’s a strange name for such a majestic, laid back fellow. But he’s no scrawny string bean. His owner strictly follows the GDCA code of ethics in breeding. I’ve known them from Facebook for awhile now, and they seriously know their Dane genetics!

Green Bean is not only gorgeous and well built. He is a (get this) a Dock Diving Dane, who watches the fireworks in the park, and never gets in a flap.

I’m aware of the “black dog syndrome”, and would expect perhaps more access challenges if one of Beanie Boy’s pups becomes my service dog. But heck, any Dane attracts serious attention in a grocery store or restaurant.

I have come to love Bean’s owner, and trust their judgement. They were “there” for me during the heartbreaking ordeal with Levi, and gladly volunteered to help me find a puppy that I would have a much better chance of success with. Kindness makes a world of difference to me.

LIBERTY DANES
https://www.facebook.com/#!/libertydanes.lrs?sk=info

I’ve not had much contact with this lady yet, but I do now have a phone number. She not only trains, shows, and uses her harl lines for assistance dogs, she has a Dane SD herself. I am hoping like crazy she will agree to mentor me, teach me, and make a durn good owner trainer out of me. Her expertise in puppy aptitude testing would make a huge difference for me, reducing the chances of another wash out.

Again, the harl lines I don’t prefer, but even if I purchase a black Bean boy, I hope very much she will become a world of help to me. She has experience in both the conformation ring and the service dog training arena. And the center she works and trains at is only 3 hours drive time from my home.

6 Comments

by greatdaneservicedog on July 24, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in clicker training, Great Danes, new puppy, service dog

Tagged anxiety, chronic fatigue, clicker training, control unleashed, Great Danes, puppies and stress, puppy socialization, service dog training

Posted by greatdaneservicedog on July 24, 2012

http://greatdaneservicedog.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/choices-from-america-by-lisa-harmon/

Wiser and Pickier…by Lisa Harmon

I’m looking around again for a “boyfriend” and the epic fail with little Levi…well, a sadder but wiser girl am I. I’ve learned more about breeder practices than I ever thought I’d need to know!

The first step is knowing what I want, as always. It begins with what any dog owner wants; healthy, excellent conformation, good breeder practices and the like. A solidly socialized puppy by the time I take him home is pretty much essential for me.

But I’ve got a tall order, wanting a service dog. That puppy’s got to have a bombproof personality, capable of coping with stress, not afraid of noises or commotion, easily trained and biddable…

Since poor little Levi had so much trouble coping with stress and frustration, I believe this time I will seek out breeders who have, breed, and prepare their litters for a working life. The breeder has as much or more to do with a puppy’s chances as a working dog than the owner that takes them home.

So a breeder I want uses ENS. It is a program of stimulation in very young puppies that has proven to increase their stress tolerance when older.

It was developed by the military for their working dogs but has morphed into civilian use too as the “Super Dog” program.
http://kitsapcanine.com/articles/SuperDog.pdf

Another way a breeder can help ensure their puppies have the ability to become well behaved, relaxed adults is the “Rule of Sevens”. It is early, early exposure before 7 wks to a wide variety of surfaces, smells, people, places and the like.

Here’s what’s very important: there is some exposure on their own, without their littermates or usual human handlers. This creates self confidence, as they can’t depend on the “brave” pup in their litter or derive comfort from the breeder they already know.
http://www.goodlifedogs.com/blog/files/rule-of-seven-puppy-socialization.html

A third important socializing tool for a breeder is sound sensitizing. Exposing a litter to the noises in the big world beyond their litter box is crucial for working dogs. Yes, they get household sounds, and thunder and such. But a service dog encounters much more than household sounds daily.

Obedience class barking, big trucks, shopping carts, skateboards and the like are common stressors to dogs.

So playing CD’s with such sounds while the babies are tiny allows them to be used to such noise before the fear-imprint stages begin.
http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTO244
has several to choose from.

Lastly, I want to pick out the puppy myself after several interactions with them, not only on the pick up day. It can be hard to get a breeder that will allow you to come and visit several times, and to essentially have pick of the litter. I’m going to ask for show quality to help me get that benefit, too.

Most breeders reserve their show pups first, and select the remainder of the litter for their new homes. I’m willing to pay for a show quality puppy if that is the one with the personality and traits I need. And I’m even going to try showing him if I get a mentor. Got a book (“Showing Kunga”), but a mentor helps more.

I’ve got a 100% fail rate when I’ve allowed the breeder to pick for me. I value a good breeder’s insights, but the pup has to be comfortable with me, work with me well, live with my personality etc. My heart’s been broken enough, I want to have final say in which pup comes with me based on how we get along.

Me and little man have to have a good connection, and that only shows when we’re together. Even programs that breed for service dogs have a wash out rate of up to 80%. The odds are stacked against me, so I need a breeder who understands what we’re up against and gives me every advantage they can.

Is there such a breeder? Next posts I’ll talk about the breeders I’m looking at seriously for the next little man to rest my hopes on.

7 Comments

by greatdaneservicedog on July 21, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Great Danes, new puppy, service dog

Tagged picking a breeder, puppy socialization, service dog, sound sensitization, super dog program, working dog

Posted by greatdaneservicedog on July 21, 2012

http://greatdaneservicedog.wordpress.com/2012/07/21/wiser-and-pickier-by-lisa-harmon/

First Pothole In The Road

Levi’s vet visit showed him to be 18″ tall, and weigh 31.4 pounds. He’s grown quite a lot, the little stinker!

He got his vaccination, so next month is the final shot in the puppy series. They were pushing me to give him several others too, like leptospirosis and rabies. Huh?

He’s too young to load up like that, and no he’s not getting the rabies which is a live though altered virus until he’s 6 mo old when law requires.

A conversation with the author of “Control Unleashed” finally filled out the what’s-going-on-with-Levi picture for me. Yes, he does a lot of displacement and the book provided the anxiety part of the puzzle, but the growly/biting thing is called conflict aggression. He seemed aggressive at times, but I didn’t want to believe it.

It’s essentially a dog’s intense, even hidden, anxiety building up until it explodes. Often the dog seems better in public, but at home often takes out the accumulated stress on the people and animals they live with.

They will often go up to strangers on their own and seem fine or suddenly get scared and run away. The majority of targets of the aggression oddly, are gentle and quiet people. The behavior is also usually worse in the evenings. Levi to a “t”.

For instance, my nephew came over and Levi did wonderfully, with a tad of submissive peeing, but no barks or spooks. They played a little and he got lots of affection. Not ten minutes after Evan left, the chewing, tearing up, growling and biting at me started.

It is upsetting to me, to have a bona fide case of aggression of any type be evident in a 10 week old puppy. He’ll be 13 weeks old Friday. The ray of sunshine is in fact, how young he is though. We still have 3 weeks in that socializing/learning window of the first 4 mo of life to help him adjust and learn coping skills for frustration.

I’m still trying to really grasp what that means for how I interact with him, and the war between the alpha dominance believers and the positive reinforcement believers becomes personal now. It isn’t theory vs theory on an intellectual level, and I don’t really have room for error with Levi.

My vet’s suggestions I won’t follow because I know from experience of Levi and other aggressive dogs that physical confrontation with a dog being aggressive is both counterproductive long term and potentially dangerous.

“Just be more intense than him” they said. Huh? I mean, being more aggressive to an aggressive dog will teach them not to be aggressive? No.

But at the same time, I’ve seen how clicking and treating Levi for letting go or leaving it turns into him going back to those items later when he wants food or attention. Clicker training can be used by a smart pup to further their own ends, to take advantage.

So harshness will backfire, and the gentler clicker methods can be manipulated by him if I’m not careful and worsen the situation. And all the while I risk worsening his anxiety/insecurity too. Like I said, no room for error on my part.

***

I’m coming up with alternatives to some of the training and redirecting I’ve been doing, as well as understanding what things have worked and why. First is no longer clicking and treating for most let go or leave it, particularly if the object is a repeat grab.

That situation is where being less gentle and coaxing, more firm will help me. No more asking vs telling, treating, or frequent attention about it.

That’s a wiser type of ignoring than just pretending it isn’t happening. If he begins to escalate or continue using it to get attention on demand, I have the expen. A negative consequence.

As for biting in frustration, the combo of the expen when he’s not managable such as after my nephew left, and a touching/petting exercise our trainer Lisa S taught us during our training time Monday I hope will start making progress.

It’s a touch or petting starting from back end towards front end when he’s quiet, then click and treat for not reacting. If he reacts a little, moving the touch back to where he didn’t react last time and click and treating can counter-condition.

I’ve got to add for bite inhibition that if he reacts more than a little, and keeps nipping, he gets a deep voice firm warning “no bite”, and if it continues, he goes in the expen.

Other things to continue is restraint practice when he’s calm. Much like a vet restrains to do something, I hold him in a position andwait until he stops fussing, then click and reward. Exercise too is a good tool: I have to watch how much running about he gets since he’s shown some growth discomfort already but he needs exercise for the endorphins and other feel good hormones.

Social outings also have to be kept up. He’s very good in public at the time, but I have to ensure that he doesn’t have bad experiences.

Outings that involve physical exercise, that don’t involve chewing, in addition to mental stimulation will be the best for him. Like our river park he enjoys so much!

Again, I have to be both calm, low pitch in voice, with head up and shoulders back. Confidence on my part can reduce any stress he feels about people, places, and things.

He loves the treats and interaction of our training times, so I need to find a way to even increase those in frequency without letting them get linked to his demands for attention or food. He’ll be getting alot of negative (“no bite”, “ah-uh” etc), so there has to be a balance and stark contrast with the positives.

What I did after my nephew left and Levi wound up in the pen for a few minutes until he was calm was first give him a stuffed Kong ball, then do a short little obedience practice. It was in between meals, and about 5 minutes after the Kong was empty, so I don’t think any of it was linked to my nephew.

The hardest thing for me is not to get frustrated, or angry, when I am especially tired or in pain. Might as well ask someone with GAD/PTSD to cure themselves before they get a dog. It is very frustrating to me: I had one path of training in mind when I got him and now that assistance dog training is on ice indefinitely.

Levi has to be a trustworthy and enjoyable pet before anything else. Given that he’s a Great Dane, he will be 70-80 pounds in just a three months, so aggression of any kind is absolutely intolerable in Danes. He can still be a puppy and do serious damage with a bite. When grown, it can be catastrophic.

The clock is ticking.

7 Comments

by greatdaneservicedog on July 3, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in anxiety, clicker training, Great Danes, Levi, puppy training

Tagged anxiety, clicker training, conflict aggression, control unleashed, dog behavior, great dane puppy, Great Danes, obedience training, puppy socialization

Posted by greatdaneservicedog on July 3, 2012

http://greatdaneservicedog.wordpress.com/2012/07/03/first-pothole-in-the-road/

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lisa harmon
Having become disabled in my 30's, I began a new and unexepected life journey, chronicled on a blog. The need for tenacity, maintaining a stubbornly positive outlook on life, and the determination to focus on what I can do, have been the most important lessons disability has taught me.
I decided that training my own Great Danes to be my assistance dogs was one way I could have a fuller, more independent life. The experience has taught me more about life, love, and respect than any other endeavor of my life. There has been amazing triumphs, and deep sorrows but I wouldn't trade one moment of it!
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It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them. And every new dog who comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are." -- Cheryl Zuccaro
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Puppy Aptitude Testing…by Lisa Harmon

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