Who's the True Alpha?

Sweetie and I have determined we are not "The Alpha", having never caught the elusive technique for achieving this.
We have been told multiple times that Max is trying to "seek status", "dominate us" or "become 'The Alpha'". We were perplexed. Max has a great deal of freedom because he is a great dog. True, we sometimes ignore behaviors that are annoying but not incompatible, we rearrange our lives a bit to make sure his is meaningful, varied and interesting, species appropriate and within his thresholds. We try to set Max up to succeed, even if it means changing our habits. We don't ask for more than he can handle and we don't punish with force or retroactively. Does that mean he's "the Alpha"?

After careful consideration Sweetie and I identified the characteristics of "The Alpha" in our house.

The Alpha:
-rarely comes when called.
-eats whenever he pleases.
-begs for food and we oblige.
-bites and claws when he's unhappy and we don't discourage this.
-Has free access to almost the entire house and sometimes back yard.
-Gets treats for performing no polite behaviors or "just because".
-Sleeps on the bed or where ever else he wants (including the middle of the dining room table).

So Who's the Alpha?

This one.

That's right, Charlie is the Alpha. Max does none of the above, except beg for food. In addition to all the things listed above, Charlie swats at Max periodically, climbs curtains, routinely knocks things off flat surfaces and eats grass to barf. Thank goodness there's not litter box mutiny (knock on wood!).

Sure, he's cute and all but let's get real.

This is more likely to happen between nuzzles and purrs. Charlie's only enforced rule? You can't clean your boy bits on the pillow while we're trying to sleep. So yeah, we're not the Alphas. We are all owned by the cat.

In case you seriously thought I believed in "dominance theory", check out some awesome perspectives below by people way smarter than me about why dominance theory in it's popular incarnation, in domestic dogs, is generally a big fat crock of crap. Then please turn off a certain NatGeo "trainer" and go play with your dog.

Patricia McConnell, PhD- Action/Reaction The temptations of the dominance fallacy

Association of Professional Dog Trainers- Dominance and Dog Training

Dr. Sophia Yin, PhD, DVM- The Dominance Controversy

Jean Donaldson and Ian Dunbar- Fighting Dominance in a Dog Whispering World (DVD)

Dr. Ian Dunbar-Let's Just Be Humans Training Dogs

In case you missed him, here's Max at our local tennis courts. Glorious, fenced, nail-wearing-down tennis courts where rubber balls bounce sky-high with room to run after them. Love it!

DIY Custom Dog Jumps

Boing! Boing! Springs for feet!

Have you taught your dog to jump yet?  If you have and you want something a little more standardized, let me present the jump tutorial!

I really like these because they're cheap, quick and hands free while your dog is jumping. Your dog can also jump through it in a series if you have more than one jump, you can add it into a larger course or use it as an obstacle in training.

First you need to know what height to make your jump. For that, you need to measure your dog and find its jump class. Dogs are measured at the withers, that is, the highest point where the neck meets the back down to the floor. From there you can generally determine a jump height. The charts for different clubs and their jump heights can be found here (you can also order equipment on this site too, if you're so inclined). Max is 15 1/2" at the withers so the highest he will jump is a 16" bar, which is what I made.

Now that you've found your jump height let's get started! You will need 3/4 inch schedule 40 pvc pipe and slip fittings, how much depends on your jump height and a few other variables. Small dogs could probably get away with 1/2 inch pipe. Generally you can find pvc in the plumbing department. If you don't find it, don't hesitate to ask and ignore the "not it's intended use" statements employees sometimes prattle off. You'll also need a hack saw or electric saw, we used a miter saw, tape measure, permanent marker and pvc glue if you want it. *As always, if you're working with tools or glues please take appropriate safety measures.*

Here we go!

Calling All Circus Dog Wannabe's!

Maybe you want a new trick for your dog. Maybe you're exploring dog sports like Agility or Rally or maybe you just need to wear your dog out. Whichever way you're exploring, teaching your dog to jump over things or through things is relatively easy and fun too!

Max was jumping on things and over things as soon as he came home so it was a natural extension of that "skill" to shape a jump for him. We started with a hula hoop, good treats and Max. For him the skill took about an hour on a rainy afternoon when we couldn't walk outside. In next week's post we'll talk about constructing a custom jump for your dog at different jump heights.

Here's what we did (and you can too!)