Just a little tidbit to share: in an online community I belong to, someone posted a link to a relatively new site. Looks cute. I had a good laugh, so I thought I’d share.

upside down dog

http://upsidedowndogs.com/

Enjoy!

AP has posted an article, A new day for dogs: Pa. law targets puppy mills, detailing the new law meant to stop the horrors of unscrupulous commercial dog breeding (puppy mills).

From the article:

“The new law imposes strict standards on commercial kennels, including at least twice-a-year veterinary exams, larger cages and exercise requirements.”

I applaud their efforts, and I hope Iowa and the other puppy mill states follow suit with similar laws.

My worry is that despite the laws, unscrupulous commercial kennels will not change their ways. Let’s face it, it costs a lot more money to provide veterinary care, space, good food, exercise, and a clean environment for a large number of dogs. You have to pay more vet bills, and you have to pay more employees. You have to pay for lighting, air conditioning, and heating for the kennels. It’s going to cost a kennel money to bring up their care standard. Will the cost of violating the law be higher than the cost of complying with it?

Fines only punish a business if the amount they have to pay is greater than the amount they would pay for complying. A true punishment would be a 3 strikes variety — after 3 violations, they lose their license. PERMANENTLY. The article didn’t mention what the punishment is for violations, but if it’s the usual fines, it’s not going to be harsh enough.

Also, where will they get the people to enforce the law? Will they have twice yearly inspections of every licensed kennel in the state? All (according to the article) 2600 of them? There are around 260 working days in the year for a typical Monday-Friday job. How could they possibly manage that many inspections? On whose tax dollar? No, I’m betting they will rely heavily on complaints and required paperwork submissions. Any idiot can hire an unethical veterinarian who is short on cash to that for them.

Having the law is certainly a step forward, but puppy mills will never cease to exist until people stop buying their puppies. Please support your local ethical breeder. Don’t buy a dog from a pet store. Your dog will live for 8, 10, even 15 years or more. You don’t want a ton of health and behavioral problems to have to contend with. Choose your breeder carefully.

What do you think? Will the new law make any difference? Is it worth taxpayer cash to stop puppymills, or should we concentrate on educating the public and let the free market put an end to it?  Share your thoughts in the comments.

Fascinating slow-motion shots showing how the tongue of a dog forms a reverse bowl to lap up water. Includes amusing shot of a human trying it. (come on, you know you’ve done it)

Highly amusing. NSFW language.

(photo credit)

Nearly every training article, book, and class you check out will tell you to reward your dog for complying with a command — usually the reward is a treat. What many of them don’t address, however, is that not every dog is motivated by food!

What do you do if your dog isn’t food-motivated?

If you’ve ever watched dogs being trained to do police work, you’ve seen dogs rewarded with non-food items. Tennis balls and tug items are quite popular. For protection dogs, the reward is to get the sleeve. For drug dogs, it’s the scented item (the handler keeps an alternative in the pocket to substitute for real drug finds) or a ball.

When your dog really wants something — ANYTHING — getting it is a reward. Some possible rewards:

• Squeeky toy tossed
• A short game of tug
• Ball tossed
• Verbal praise
• Physical praise (pet him)
• A minute off leash
• Getting to bark, howl, or “talk” for a minute
• Jumping around or running for a minute
• Getting to sit or lie down and relax for a minute

Does the dog want to go outside? Have him sit, then let him out. Letting him out is a reward for sitting first. Does he want your attention? Have him sit or lie down first. You have opportunities all day long to reward him for complying with a command, if you pay attention.

If your dog performs an action and something nice happens, that motivates him to do it again. If he performs an action and something undesirable happens, he is less likely to do that again. A classic example is training your dog to come when called. Many people make the mistake of calling the dog and then making him come in the house, leave the park, get a bath, or go in his crate. The dog comes when called and something bad happens! How long do you think he’ll keep coming when you call him? If instead he comes when you call him and you give him a pat, a toy, or a treat and set him free again, that’s a double reward. He gets the goody AND he gets to go free again. Freedom is a reward because it’s a lot more fun than the alternative.

If you want a dog that is happy to learn and work for you, you HAVE to know what he loves. What motivates THIS dog to work? What is his favorite food? What is his favorite toy? What excites him? Does he prefer fetch or tug? My dog, Ripley, thinks fetch is a chore, but she loves nothing more than a rough game of tug.

You also need to be aware of the environment in which you’re working with your dog. A high distraction environment is going to require a better reward than what you give out in the living room. When Ripley and I practice in the house, Milk Bones are a fine treat. When we’re out at the mall, the dog park, or the pet store, it’s time for the hot dogs and cheese.

All normal, healthy dogs are motivated by something. That something just isn’t always food. It’s up to you to get to know your dog, and learn about him as much as he learns about you.

So, what motivates your dog? Share with us in the comments!