Champagne Canines Dog Training and Behaviour Consults

26/08/2024

A webinar all about pitbull myths, what exactly a Pitbull is and the history of bull baiting and dog fighting.

Did you know that "pitbull" isn't a breed unto itself but often used a descriptor for certain attributes or features that cover a wide range of breeds.

If you have any questions regarding pitbulls or possible myths you may have heard, drop them below and we can fight misinformation.

Rebecca Champagne-CBCC-KA

23/08/2024

Enrichment!

Grandma bought Oona a new snuffle mat! What fun! Takes her a good while to finish it (gotta double and triple check that she didn't miss something!) and I had to crop the video down as no one but me wants to watch my dog snuffle for 5 minutes straight 😂

I wouldn't reccomend this particular one for dog new to snuffle mats, puppies or dogs who get easily frustrated. Oona had to be reminded a few times not to rip the fabric on a tricky spot.

Remember:
*enrichment activities should be supervised and put away when not in use. (This has to dry for a bit before being rolled for storage)
*Oona is fine with her kitty friend enjoying some crinkle leaves, but some dogs may not be. Know your dog and err on the side of caution.

Rebecca Champagne-CBCC-KA

21/08/2024

A well socialized dog doesn't mean meeting and greeting every dog and person they come across.

21/08/2024

I had a nerve study done today. Basically they use a pronged device to zap you with electrical current and measure how that current travels along your nerves. Checks for damage.

What a horrid feeling it is! And it made me think. This is how it feels to dogs wearing shock collars (e-collars). It isn't painful, exactly, but it isn't pleasant and wasn't something I wanted more of. I can see why an e-collar may work as a deterrent, but does it teach anything? Not really. Maybe not to do certain things while wearing the collar, or near a person who may be holding the remote. But it doesn't address the underlying issue.

Let's say a dog wears an e-collar for barking. A bark elicits a shock, often increasing in intensity if the barking persists. But why is the dog barking? Fear? Alerting? Anxiety? Aggression? Protection? Guarding? Boredom? Attention seeking? That underlying issue needs to be found and addressed. Not punished. If the issue is a dog who is fearful or anxious, the shock will do nothing but make those emotions escalate and another (possibly more destructive) way will be found to express them.

During my nerve study, they found an anomaly. A nerve wasn't where it was supposed to be. Happens in 20% of people. To find it, the intensity of the current and the frequency of the shocks was increased. Attached is my arm when I got home. It bothers me to think a dogs' throat (more sensitive than my arm) could sport bruising like this hidden beneath fur. No one would know until a wound developed or the fur was shaved.

Another thing I took note of during the test, was as things progressed, I got more used to it. Each shock didn't bother me as much as before. Still not pleasant, but it made me think of one of the many reasons aversive tools such as prong, choke and shock collars eventually fail, the dog becomes accustomed to the discomfort or pain and the force used must be increased to get the same results.

No tool is a replacement for engament and training with your dog. Strengthen the bond, not break it down.

If you've been using a prong, choke or e-collar on your dog and want to know a different way, please send me a message or give me a call.

Rebecca Champagne-CBCC-KA

17/07/2024

Reactivity Tip: Your dog's 'safe space'.

Our hot-water tank blew this morning, so while the plumber is having a look, Oona and I have put ourselves in her 'safe room'.

For those with human-reactive dogs, life can get isolating at times. No one can spontaneously come over unannounced, gatherings are full of stress and watching the dog or standing away from the group with your pup on leash, if you can even have people over at all. And what happens if contractors need access?

It is a prudent idea to create a safe room for your dog. This can be a crate if your dog is one who feels safe and secure in the crate, but the crate should be put in a room away from the activity and left open if possible. Dogs who panic in a crate can cause severe harm to themselves.

You cannot simply pick a room and start sticking your dog in there while people come over. This could be quite distressing for your dog and result in loud vocalizations
Begin by giving special treats in that room, kongs filled with peanut butter, bully-sticks or bones. You can even feed your dogs' meals in the safe room for awhile to create the positive association. You should be remaining with your dog and can have the door closed if that is not creating anxiety for them. After the dog is looking forward to going to the safe room you can begin putting a cue to it. "Go to your room." Race your dog there, make it fun.

Oona is still stressed in her safe room when strangers come over, so I continue to stay with her most occasions, but we are working on extending the time I can be away.

For more info on how to work through reactivity of any kind, send a message to set up a consult.

Rebecca Champagne-CBCC-KA

04/07/2024

You may have heard of the concept "Ditch the Bowl". A way of saying to use your dogs' daily meals as enrichment or training. But what if your dog doesn't eat kibble? That certainly makes things more challenging, but not impossible.
Oona has learned to eat off a spoon. Cats get wet food twice a day. Oona looooves kitty wet food. To stop her from pushing her way in and stealing their food, she sits on a mat nearby and gets small amounts of the cat food. This could be done with another reward, but Oona often knows that the reward she is getting is NOT what we or the cats are eating and it does not keep her in her spot. This way she gets what she wants without bulldosing the cats and eating too much.
I'm demoing with a compostable spoon that won't clink against teeth, but Oona's mouth is gentle enough that a metal spoon wouldn't be a problem. Ensure you securely dispose of any utensils that could possibly be eaten by your dog.

Rebecca Champagne-CBCC-KA

19/06/2024

Hey all! I'm seeing lots of posts in community pages regarding people finding ticks on their dogs! Even dogs who didn't leave their urban surroundings.
Be sure to speak with your vet about preventative treatment and never use over the counter treatments found in pet stores.
Some sneaky places ticks hide are:
*in the mouth - roof or along gum line
*between toes
*In the armpits
*in the groin area
*in the ears
If you find a tick, grasp it with tweezers as close to the head as possible (the head will be buried in the skin) and pull slowly straight backwards. Sometimes the head gets left behind and can fester so be sure it is out.

If you struggle with your dog allowing you to search these areas, look into my Cooperative Care workshops on how to get cooperation with this and other necessary handling. Sign up at www.k9connection.ca under workshops.

Rebecca Champagne-CBCC-KA

17/06/2024

Training Tip - Recall.

Had to call Oona in from the yard today as she was "protecting" the house from people coming to visit the neighbours.
As can happen, I didn't have a reward to give her right away for her fantastic, enthusiastic recall. Good thing Oona is conditioned to know that a recall gets a reward, even if that reward is delayed. So she was happy to follow me into the house, to the fridge and then get her high value reward of some leftover chicken breast.
Recalls always deserve a reward. The behaviour can be life-saving, so it is one I advise clients to never try to faze out the reward, and ensure it is high-value.
Make a moderate-value treat high-value by jackpotting!

Rebecca Champagne-CBCC-KA

Photo from istock

30/05/2024

Gearing up! Very excited for this webinar with Michael Shikashio (Aggressive Dog .com) and Leslie McDevitt (Control Unleashed)!

10/05/2024

Enrichment

Did you know that most dogs, when presented with a choice of their food in a bowl and in a form of enrichment, will choose the enrichment option even though it is more difficult? Only recently in the canine evolutionary journey have dogs been presented with food regularly in their own bowl at appointed times. Before then, dogs often had to find or earn food: Scraps from their human masters tossed to the floor for their consumption, a piece of the hunted game they helped bring down, leavings from livestock births or castration ect. Your dog still has this inante need to work for their supper.

Food dispensing toys are a favourite way to "ditch the bowl" if your dog is fed kibble or freeze dried raw. You can also use appropriate treats to make it more fun and rewarding.

This toy is called a Kong Wobble. It is weighted on the bottom so as the dog knocks it over to get food out of the hole, it rights itself automatically. Not a good choice if you have downstairs neighbours as it is loud on the floor depending on how enthusiastic your dog is.

Once mastered, there are ways to make this and other toys more challenging. For the Kong Wobble, a tennis ball or scrunched paper creates an extra barrier to the food falling out. Be sure to monitor closely after adding difficulty to make sure your dog doesn't get frustrated or that it isn't too challenging. In this example, I did need to rip that paper in half as it was too difficult for Oona to get the rewards out of the toy.

Rebecca Champagne-CBCC-KA

29/04/2024

21/04/2024

I have decided to take a break from reading fiction to try and make a larger dent in my to-be-read dog books. Thought it would be fun to feature some on the page.
This book delves into animal psychiatry and the parallels it holds with human psychiatry. The author expresses his difficulty in getting the scientific community to agree that animals can suffer many of the same disorders that humans do including PTSD, OCD, Tourettes and even neuro-divergence and autism.
The author also wrote the book "The Dog Who Loved Too Much" which I will read next (out of order! Gasp!)
Calgary is mentioned in the book as the author was one of the doctors who treated the old polar bears at the Calgary Zoo with Prozac.
What sticks out to me is that many psychiatry disorders present in captive animals are absent in their wild counterparts, similarly how many of these disorders were absent in people when survival was a more pressing matter. Many symptoms for certain disorders could be mitigated by giving the affected animals outlets for their suppressed natural behaviours, and that is why enrichment for our dogs at home is so important.

Rebecca Champagne- CBCC-KA

Shop local and support small business. This and so many other books are available with Mungo's Books for Dog People.

If looking to increase your knowledge of canine enrichment, check out the book and page Canine Enrichment by Shay Kelly - Understanding Dogs

07/04/2024

I'm trying to organize my posts into albums so there may be some posts repeated.

07/04/2024

Training Tip:

More than just food treats can be rewarding for your dog. Many dogs, especially puppies and young dogs, will perform cues for the opportunity to play with a favourite toy. Not just the toy - but the engagement they get when playing with you!

This is Oona's Llama Llama, her favourite toy in the while world. She has 2. One upstairs and one down. She likes to hold him by the neck and shake him violently. She also likes to show him to people. This is the engagement she is looking for with her toys: The ability to play with it solo (shaking the life from him. Throwing him up in the air to be caught again) and the ability to show him off to people when she is excited.
Unlike some dogs who would "aggressively" engage in violent tug of war, grabbing Oona's toy and vigorously trying to shake it or play tug with her will be met with a release of the toy and a yawn. As well as refusal to take it in her mouth again for a time.

Know your dog. Know what play they enjoy and use it to your advantage. A recall can be met with a favourite tug toy instead of a jackpot of treats for a dog who values that tug toy and the engagement they get from playing with you!

Rebecca Champagne-CBCC-KA

08/03/2024

Was vacuuming and hadn't cleared her bone off the floor so she did it herself. Safe on the end table lol.

08/03/2024

Thank you all for your support.

29/02/2024

Enrichment

I call this "Snuffle Living Room". Oona is put in a "wait" while I begin "hiding" her food in, on and under things found in the living room. I then cue her to release ("go") and then "find".
This is her new favorite game and she gets very excited when she knows we are going to play. Came in handy yesterday when it was too cold for walks.

Disclaimer: The food used is not high value enough for Oona to worry about her kitty friend taking any, so having the cat in the room is not an issue. This can't be said for all dogs, so if your dog shows some guarding or protective behaviours over food, be sure they are kept separate from other animals during food enrichment.

Rebecca Champagne- CBCC-KA

18/02/2024

Had smokies for dinner and took advantage of something different to put Oona's medication in. My general rule of hiding pills in food is the Rule of Three. One has the medication and two are med-free.
So as not to arouse suspicion getting treats for no reason, I call Oona over and ask for a simple behavior. Touch or a spin left/ right. Then she gets a "jackpot". First one treat with no pill, then the medication then the last piece given quickly enough that she is prompted to swallow the previous treat without much fuss so she can have the last piece.
Dogs overall are much easier to fool than cats when it comes to medicating them.

Rebecca Champagne- CBCC-KA

13/02/2024

Enrichment

There are a lot of misconceptions out there regarding enrichment feeding and the use of puzzles. Many people lament the $20 price tag on a toy that was "figured out so fast" and "doesn't keep my dog busy".
These puzzles are not meant to outsmart your dog. In fact, once an activity becomes frustrating or too difficult, it ceases to be enrichment at all. Other toys can be used that take more time such as Kongs, Topples and Licky Mats and age appropriate chews. All these stimulate licking and chewing which has a calming effect on dogs.
This is Oona's favorite puzzle, it includes removing the white bones to get the food underneath as well as to make it possible to slide the red boxes and open them to get more rewards. I decided to time her doing this puzzle and see where we were at. Please note she has practiced this puzzle often. First round the time was 1:43. Second round was 1:40. So no, it doesn't take a large chunk of her time to get this puzzle but after one refill she is often ready to settle in the sofa for a snooze.
Remember, enrichment should be fun and not something to be stressed over by dog or human.

Rebecca Champagne - CBCC-KA

01/01/2024

So many dogs go missing when fireworks go off, running in a blind panic.
It is important to keep your dogs inside when fireworks are going off. Give them a safe place to hide - many choose bathrooms or closets - and play music to help dampen the noise. If you have a basement your dog is able to access that will help with noise as well.

Do not punish any behaviour that results from a panicked dog such as inappropriate urination, defecation or chewing on forbidden objects.

Some dogs may find licking or chewing have a calming effect in stressful situations and others will not wish to ingest anything at all. Know what your dog needs and provide outlets where necessary.

It is not reinforcing their fear if you give comfort to your dog. Try to keep things as normal as possible, but extra attention and care will do no harm.

29/12/2023

New puppy or kitten in the home? Did you know the majority of these fuzzy babies will bring intestinal parasites with them into your home? Some that can even be transferred to you?
Be sure to have new furry family members seen by a vet and treated appropriately for parasites. Avoid any products you can buy online or at the pet store without seeing a vet, these have been known to poison pets.

15/12/2023

Cooperative Care 2

For part of Oona's rewards today I have some leftovers from dinner. Chicken breast washed of seasoning and cubed as well as shredded cheese that was rolled into small treat-sized balls. Using rewards of high value during an exercise that may not be pleasant to your dog can help rewire the brain's natural dislike of having paws handled.

Tonight I lay her blanket down and she went straight to relax on it. But when I approached with the clippers she stood up and backed away. Instead of giving a cue to Oona to return to her place as I would in a "stay" or "wait" exercise, I simply sat on the floor with my treats and waited. Remember that this experience is about choice. Oona can choose to not participate at all by avoiding laying on her place. That is why at no time do I cue her to her place. She has worked on that behaviour enough in the past that she knows laying there will get her rewards, no need to cue it. After about a minute, Oona made the choice to lay down in front of me. I click and gave her a piece of chicken.

Step 1: Because we had a bit of a regression today with moving away from the nail clippers, I took my time and rewarded Oona just for being there with me. Then progressed to touching the clippers and then to touching her paws. These mini-steps were accomplished quickly because of previous training sessions. If at any time there were signs of stress, we would slow down and maybe end the session with just those steps completed. But with no stress signs, we proceeded.

Step 2: Today I wanted to work on holding Oona's paw for a more extended period of time. I made a big show of turning her paw this way and that (careful to keep it within her range of motion) and spreading her toes apart. Even shining a flashlight on her paws. If Oona ever had an injury to her paw, I'd want her to be comfortable with this procedure while I looked her over to determine the injury. Now that snow and ice are accumulating on the ground and people will be using ice melt, I also want to be able to apply her paw protector balm without a fight.

Step 3: I picked up the clippers and touched them to the nails, rewarding for each touch. When this revealed no sign of pulling away, I proceeded to cut a nail. Immediately Oona was treated and the next nail was done. This continued until Oona pulled her paw back. I immediately let go and waited a few moments before trying to touch the paw again. She did not pull back this time so we resumed clipping until all nails on the front 2 paws were done. For some dogs, one or two nails may have been their limit for that session and that's OK. It can take time to work up to tolerating the pressure amd sensation that comes with the clipping.

Step 4: We ended the session by practicing some side-laying or "play dead" as this will give me access to her back feet. It is a good position to teach a dog to do for times you may need to inspect for injuries or lumps and bumps that weren't there the last time.

13/12/2023

Hello all! This Friday I will be leading a Calm Canine seminar at Canine Connection Training Centre Inc.
Do you wish your dog knew how to relax in a variety of situations including in a crate? Do you want more of your pups attention on you rather than the environment? Does your pup suffer from doggy ADHD and poor impulse control? This class is for you!
In conjunction with the exercises we do, there will be discussions on canine enrichment, both mental and physical, your dogs emotional well-being and the basics and benefits of clicker training.
So bring your rewards and your pup and let's have some fun! Email [email protected] for more info or to register.

Rebecca Champagne - CBCC-KA

10/12/2023

What body language cues is this dog using? Does it look like they are enjoying this interaction?

09/12/2023

Border collie owners know, haha

08/11/2023

Behaviour is multifaceted and complicated. There is never just one reason for the way your dog behaves.

10/10/2023

Cooperative Care

Oona has always been tolerant of having her nails clipped. She tries to avoid it but doesn't put much effort into 'running away', more just protests her dislike of the experience. Once caught, there is no pulling away or fighting, but she stands there and looks very, very sad.

Recently, I read more about cooperative care with animals of all types and learned a new technique. I decided to try this out with Oona to make her a more enthusiastic participant when it came to basic grooming and care.

Oona already knows "place", so I spread her blanket on the ground, got my clicker and treat bag and sat at the head of the blanket.

Step One: Oona gets clicks plus treats for laying on her "place". If she gets off for whatever reason, no more treats. But the choice is hers. This is key.

Step Two: Out come the nail clippers. I place them on the ground and continue to click and treat for staying on "place". If the sight of the nail clippers made Oona get up and leave, I'd stay where I am, silent, and wait for her to return. If she had been very hesitant to return to me, I'd click and treat just for placing a paw on "place" or stretching out to sniff. Oona wasn't phased by the appearance of the clippers so we moved on to Step 3.

Step 3: Touching Paws. For some dogs, having their paws handled is the largest battle when it comes to nail clipping and other paw-care. I found that when I touched Oona's paw she flinched ever so slightly. Great place to start. So I would touch Oona's paw with one hand and if she didn't pull away, I'd click and treat. Soon there was no flinching at my touch and we moved on to lifting the paw off the ground. Life paw, click, treat. Place paw down. Repeat with other front paw. At no time during this session did I place the nail clippers in my hand. They remained on the floor nearby.

**Remember that all dogs move forward at their own pace. It isn't fair to them or to you, their trainer, to compare to others.

Next steps to be posted later this week!

28/09/2023

Anyone have a dog who aims to please? Or the opposite, one who doesn't seem to care what you think and will do it if it pleases them?