Magpie Pet Specialists

12/18/2023

One of our New Years Resolutions is to showcase some of our work a bit more, and it never hurts to get started early.

This sweet 3 year old Malinois came to us with some severe novel reactivity and some serious struggles with leash walking. Her favorite friend to bark at? Airplanes.

Distraction work, pattern games, all the usual tricks were utilized but only after we were able to shift the dogs mindset when outside. Calm comes with consistency and predictability.

After a few months, we would say she has come along wonderfully. Not only does she follow a basic obedience pattern, she does so with multiple planes flying over head.

12/18/2022

That face when it's too cold to go outside but you gotta go to the bathroom.

11/24/2022

Big travel days mean big visit days.

11/16/2022

Spending time with the sweetest senior lady this morning. Juno requires a hefty regiment of medication and supplements on a daily basis, and by taking our time and forming a bond based on trust, Juno's mom can travel with her mind at ease knowing Juno is getting the quality care she deserves.

08/11/2022

Spending some time with our good friend Marley. This sweet boy sometimes requires a delicate touch and we are happy to help him feel like his best self while his mom and dad are away.

05/30/2022

Anyone that has worked with us has heard this over and over. Shorter sessions are always the best practice.

Longer isn't better when it comes to training. Find out why shorter practice times are more effective in helping pets learn quickly.

02/01/2022

Spent some time with our new friend Luna.

12/04/2021

It's always a pleasure getting little notes from clients who have been putting in the work. Reactivity is no small thing, but when you start seeing progress, the pay off is pretty great. And cute.

10/08/2021

Meet Jack and Izzy. These two sweet little babies are one of our pet sitting visits today. They both require daily meds, and both will accept them in different ways. Most folks dread medicating cats, but I love it, and as you can see the way we handle each individual pet and their needs allows us to build a relationship based on trust, and makes our visits something Izzy and Jack look forward too.

05/18/2021

Early last year we walked out on to a limb and started Magpie Pet Services. Working with a shoe string budget during a pandemic, we found a way forward. From day one I operated with paper notes and a cell phone. That ends today. Thanks to our friends at 3RE and their gracious donation, we are up and running with an actual PC.

If you have some time, take a moment to check out 3RE and the work they do. If you have spare parts and old computers laying around, consider a donation. The work they do empowers people and brings a level of equity to technology that is crucial for development in today's world.

Thank you 3RE

04/29/2021

Clicker training for cooperative care - Mat work for unrestrained ear cleaning and nail trims.

Another morning well spent with our friend Hazel. Today we worked some more on her ears and added the first steps to our foundation work for home nail trims without restraint.

There are a lot of concepts happening here, but the important movements to look for are Hazels head movements. When we began working on just basic ear touching, Hazel would quickly pull up and away. By moving in baby steps and treating specifically on the mat in front of Hazels paws, we are able to create drive that naturally carries Hazels head past my hand. She still struggles with consistent touching, so instead of forcing touch onto her, I allow Hazel to control the tempo and decide when she is ok with my hand moving closer to her ear. At the 1:40 mark, we can see Hazel clearly hit a wall and say "no thank you". This is when I opted to release the pressure and have her "go find" a treat. She quickly re-engages the mat and on our very next rep you can see the head drive past my hand, allowing me to begin cleaning the ear.

The same basic foundation that allows me to work with Hazels ears is how I begin working with her paws. We start with small touches, and work our way up to the dew claw. I like starting with the dew claws as its generally a less sensitive spot then the main toes. This isn't always the case, so be mindful when working with your dogs.

This process works specifically because of the mat and choice. Allowing Hazel to determine when and how we work while respecting her autonomy has given us this foundation of trust.

04/13/2021

Clicker training for cooperative care.

Hazel is a sweet Shepherd with a sensitivity to heavy restraint. Because of this, she's very hesitant about any invasive treatments.

With a few sessions of MAT work and specific desensitization, we were able to begin internal cleaning of Hazels ear this morning.

It's my hope that clicker training for cooperative care will one day be standard practice.

03/19/2021

Clicker training for cooperative care.

This video represents the biggest step in my goal of normalizing cooperative care. Leo was diagnosed with advanced kidney disease and was prescribed a single dose of SQ fluids once a week in clinic. After several weeks of escalation and conflict, Leo's owners were told that SQ fluids were no longer attainable and it would be best to attempt in-home care. That's when we met. After weeks of mat training and baby steps in our increased criteria, Leo now receives 3 doses a week with zero restraint.

It's a bit long, but Ive cut the video down to the important bits. Every single portion of the chain had to be developed on it's own and heavily reenforced before ever considering a real poke. The biggest factor by far would be choice. If Leo stepped off the mat, we were done. That simple foundation allowed us to achieve this. Choice matters.

12/18/2020

Y’all know we love science and data here at Magpie! This recent study measured cortisol (the “fight or flight hormone”) in dogs trained with appetitive reward-based training, aversive training, and “balanced” training. Turns out, aversives are pretty stressful!
At Magpie, we are proud to employ least-intrusive minimally-aversive (LIMA) strategies backed by science to reduce your pets stress while you’re away!
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0225023

Dog training methods range broadly from those using mostly positive punishment and negative reinforcement (aversive-based) to those using primarily positive reinforcement (reward-based). Although aversive-based training has been strongly criticized for negatively affecting dog welfare, there is no c...

12/12/2020