"When Pig's Fly: Training Sucess with Impossible Dogs" - Book Review

Training is a very important part of a relationship with a dog, especially one who is an adept food thief and an expert at ignoring owners when he feels like it. Training Tuesday is my weekly installment in my adventures with getting a Basenji, a notorious breed for not wanting to listen, to listen to me.  I use positive reinforcement and copious amounts of treats to bribe train Indiana so we can have a healthy relationship and my leftovers will stay on the table.  Advice and commiseration are always welcome because I am no expert.

"Only about 10% of dog training is about training any particular behavior, like sit, down, or come. The other 90% of dog training is about getting your dog in a frame of mind where he is willing and able to pay attention and learn. Your average Golden Retriever or Sheltie is in, or close to being in, the frame of mind necessary to learn behaviors. Your Pigs Fly dog is not. That is why, despite the fact that there are any number of very good positive dog training books which show you how to train the basics, like sit, down, and come, most people who own Pigs Fly kinda dogs cannot get their dogs to perform with any reliability. Their dogs are just not engaged in the process."

- Killion, Jane (2007-06-22). When Pigs Fly!: Training Success with Impossible Dogs (p. 16). Dogwise Publishing. Kindle

Getting a "Pig" to Fly

While taking training classes, I was often flustered at the pace that Indiana was supposed to learn something.  The space of a week was never long enough to cement something, even though I have a good amount of time to work with Indiana.  At the end of the eight week course, I was supposed to be able to command Indiana's attention without treats through his Good Canine Certification.  I ended up not even going to the final test because I knew I would fail, and I was embarrassed, even though I was pretty sure that none of the other dogs in the class were at a point any further along than Indiana.

I wanted to give credit to a great book, which taught me a fantastic lesson in patience and setting expectations too fast (although they can be very high given enough time.)  I think Jane Killion's "When Pigs Fly: Training Success with Impossible Dogs" is a necessity for anyone who owns a dog that is "untrainable" (or "unbiddable" as her book phrases it.)  She emphasizes that any dog can be trained, even if they are a breed known for not listening.  The whole book is about understanding the sensibilities of a dog and not expecting it to react like a golden retriever when learning commands. Unbiddable dogs do things at their own pace, but are just as "intelligent" as any breed.  I don't always use a clicker, but the lessons in the book really break down training into achievable steps.

Indiana has been doing great at learning "Speak" and "Play Dead" and I am taking my time teaching them to him.  I'm hoping to take another stab at his Good Canine Citizen Certification in a few months.

Elk Antler Dog Chew Product Review

I picked up an antler piece from the pet store for Indiana to gnaw on when he gets bored.  I'd gotten one a few months ago at a Colorado gift shop when my parents were in town, and Indiana went bonkers for it.  He'll chew on it for a long time to get into the delicious marrow.  It doesn't shed into bits, make any kind of mess, or smell bad, so it's a great chew toy to keep him entertained for half an hour or so.  It also lasts a really long time. I do keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't chew a piece off and somehow choke on it, but that has not been an issue so far and is probably just something I worry about.  Indiana also gets more excited if I put the antler away for a while before giving it to him again, since he tends to get bored of things he has too much access to.

Venison Joe's Naturally Shed Elk Antler

 

Winter in the Mile High City and Dog Booties

We woke up this morning to almost sixteen inches of snow.  Indiana was not enthusiastic about getting up or putting his booties on, much less actually going outside.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Well at least it's not over my head."

"Get me back inside!"

"I can have breakfast now, maybe?"

The Ultra Paws Rugged Boot Review

Due to Indiana's inability to have his paws stay in the snow for any period of time, we ordered him a set of dog boots for just this occasion.  I usually try to find anything I need on Amazon.com, mostly because I have free two day shipping through their Prime Account program and they have pretty much anything I would need, with lots of reviews from other people buying products.  After a bit of research, we found the Ultra Paws Rugged Boot.

As seen on Amazon.

 This dog boot got good reviews online (not wearing down quickly and not being able to be chewed off were what I was looking for)  and came in a variety of sizes.  Unfortunately, the sizes are only based on the length of the paw and not the width.  Indiana's paws are much longer than they are wide, so the size we ended up getting him fit a bit more like round snow shoes than sneakers.  And while the double velcro system works great to keep the booties on, it does hinder his ankle movement, unless a little loosened.  All of these things basically added up to Indiana walking drunkenly across our apartment the first time we put the booties on him.  Luckily, he is easily plied with treats and now can walk up and down one side of the block in heavy snow without too much hilarity effort. 


Final Review: 4 out of 5 - would be perfect if they weren't shaped like pancakes. Make sure to have lots of treats on hand when first trying them out on your pup.  Also perhaps a video recorder.  It will be worth it.

 He especially loves a cookie at the end to make it worth it.