First and foremost, we would like to thank all of our listeners and viewers for your support. We began our podcast August of 2019. We podcasted from home during the height of the pandemic, and we are proud to say we are 100 episodes in so far. We are grateful to all the awesome guests who have agreed to come on. We are so appreciative of Studio 21 Podcast Cafe, especially our producer Chrissy Cunningham. And last but not least, to the podcast hero himself, David Garafalo, we value your support, your friendship, and your cigars!
If you haven’t seen The Quirky Dog yet, you can find us on various platforms including Apple, Spotify, TuneIn, Podbean, YouTube, and the Canine Healing Facebook page. Every episode, we open with The Quirky Tip of the Day. Listed below are all 100 tips with links if you are interested in researching any items in greater depth. Enjoy.
WATER BUCKETS: If your dog knocks over his water bucket in his crate, consider trying Kennel-Gear buckets.
HAPPY HOODIES: Dogs who dislike the dryer after a bath, may benefit from this product.
SWEET POTATO: For dogs who need to gain weight, try adding sweet potato to their meals for some extra carbohydrates.
PUPPIES & WATER: With a new puppy, regulate the water rather than provide free access to help with the potty training.
DRAG LINE: Use a drag line (an old leash cut about 3 feet long) to curb unwanted or crazy behavior at home.
KONG STUFFING: Filling a Kong with yogurt and freezing it is a great way to give a probiotic.
CBD: If you’ve used CBD products before without little results, consider researching CBD oil that includes THC.
MUSHER’S SECRET: This paw wax is definitely a good choice if you’re trying to protect your dog’s paws in winter.
COLLOIDAL SILVER: The benefits of using this are far reaching in dogs, and our favorite brand is Sovereign Silver.
SAFE PAW: When salting in the winter, Safe Paw not only cuts through ice but also is “safer” for your dog’s paws.
RUFF LAND KENNELS: Dog safety while in a vehicle is one of our top concerns, and these crates are our top choice.
COLLARS & NUMBERS: When traveling, consider embroidered collars with your dog’s name and your number on them.
TOYS ON CHRISTMAS: Be careful the dogs don’t ingest any small parts while assembling kids’ toys Christmas morning.
GOALS: With New Year’s resolutions or general goals with your dog, don’t just think about them, write them down!
RESCUE: If you want a rescue, make sure you can meet that dog in person rather than just falling in love with a photo.
PLASTIC PINCH COLLAR: Many people who choose to train with pinch collars don’t realize these Starmark collars exist.
ESSENTIAL OIL: Lots of us love to use diffusers, try Canine Calm as an essential oil option next time; it’s our favorite!
PRIMO PADS: For a durable cushion that is custom sized to fit your dog’s crate, check out this website.
STARMARK BALL: Our dogs most desirable toy to chase is this rubber ball.
DOG INFLUENCERS: With almost 50K Instagram followers, check out @havok_thegreat who was our guest this episode.
Think that social media is really heating up these days? That in fact some people truly have zero filter behind a keyboard? That Facebook/Instagram/TikTok/Twitter/news may even be toxic, causing more harm than good? Y’all haven’t been in the dog world the past decade online, have ya? I will admit though, beyond the regularly scheduled programming of dog and dog training drama, we are becoming a nation of nasty.
What does the title mean? Before you go blow up someone’s Facebook post, ask yourself your intent. These are hard times. If you say they aren’t, how proud do you really have to be? What are you trying to prove? Be hopeful, yes. Call a stranger you never met before a curse word over the internet… no. Are you confident on the issues you’re speaking on? Have you actually trained thousands of dogs yourself? Are you being polite? Would you want your parent to read your response on that thread… your child? Are you proud of what you said?
Stay in your own lane.
And the second half, when I say muzzle, I don’t mean mask. I’m happy the president is wearing one now, but I smile at everyone I pass in public under my mask whether they are wearing one or not. Do you see how some of these employees are being treated who are required to ask customers to wear a mask? Did you see the video of the woman spraying mace on a couple and their food for eating outdoors without masks? What is going on? By muzzle, I mean control yourself.
And why muzzle these poor abused racing dogs? Because they have drive. Because they could go off on each other at a moment’s notice. But they are wearing muzzles so they can safely play the game they want to play… the game they need to play. Where is your muzzle? And why aren’t you wearing it? Another reason these dogs wear muzzles is because they have thin skin. It’s a well known fact that Whippet and Greyhound skin is basically as strong as a high grade paper stock at Staples. Which brings up an even better point, if you yourself have thin skin, it’s even more important to wear your muzzle around others who could potentially have even thinner skin than you!
Am I saying be silent? No! So many dog people are careful about not saying something online because of too much backlash. So many dog people say way too much online. Why are strangers asking other dog owners how they could even be friends with a balanced trainer? Sexist remarks were recently made at a dock diving event. Racist remarks often pop up on various threads. There is a difference between freedom of speech and polite and productive conversation.
And in that same vein… scrolling by works too. Or asking a thoughtful question but then don’t turn that into a pissing match. Do I unfollow people, YES! Do I unfriend people, not often. Do I delete threads and comments when they get heated, no. Do I post disclaimers like, “If you bring up xyz, your comment will immediately be deleted,” never. Similarly, if we never speak, please don’t write me to let me know that one of our mutual Facebook friends said something or did something and suggest I unfriend them. I don’t have to support what that person did, but I can make my own choices for my own friends list. Tunnel vision works great for these dogs pictured above in this moment; tunnel vision isn’t going to help us progress as a nation. Observe what other people are saying. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do as a trainer? Observe behavior?
Social media can also be amazing! You can connect from afar with friends and family. Sometimes you get an awesome recommendation for a show (cough… Suits). I personally love clicking on a hot topic post and watching someone express themselves eloquently rather than meanly. I have even written a few people on Facebook to thank them for their consistent controlled candor. Sometimes you scroll past something funny… or inspiring. Sometimes you find something you can truly connect with. But, ask yourself, are you connecting with angry or sarcastic (or insert your own feeling here)? Or are you being intentional?
We have drivey dogs. I would bet if they all lived in the same house with another family, some of them might have to be muzzled. There are a select few dog savvy folks who could manage our pack, but a large majority of these so called competent trainers seem to be most confident behind their keyboards. When someone gets judgmental on Facebook about dog training, I would love to have a few stats next to their name. One interesting stat would be, how many dogs have you trained- not just personal dogs but you actually held that dog’s leash and assisted in its training? Another one could be, how many aggressive dogs have you trained or rehabilitated? These are baiting questions, so I rarely ask them, but why did you specifically feel the need to unnecessarily step in here? We own a Malinois titled in French Ring, Border Collies that are tightly spun, difficult rescues, and we have a 13-year-old Pomeranian who absolutely runs the show. She keeps me on my toes more than I ever realized a 3 pound dog was capable, and she was actually just featured on our podcast yesterday with a live animal communication reading with Joan Ranquet if you want to check her out!
Our dogs are a lot. But they are wonderful. They are quiet. They can settle. They listen. They are incredible workers. They are sweet. They complete us. Is your house quiet? Are your dogs social? Can you groom each of your dogs yourself? Do you trust your dogs off leash? Can your dogs walk on a loose leash on flat collars only? Do they settle in crates? Do they settle on beds? Can they stay on their beds when guests come? Can they sleep in the bed? Can they go a day without exercise and not be on the verge of a complete breakdown? I’m not saying that you have to check every box here or that this necessarily is the best comprehensive list to work from… but think before you type speak.
Some of this may sound sharp. Some of this needs to be said. Life is too short. Why are you unnecessarily criticizing that dog’s structure publicly? One of my Facebook friends posted the other day she is literally changing breeds because of the drama in her current breed. There are people who critique world class movie trainers. Why? Because of the fallout of showing the public something? I’d like to see footage of the last time a random stranger ruined its puppy’s hips because they trained it to jump rope too young. If you don’t agree with something for your own dogs, fine… move on! If you often find yourself only using the angry or laughing emoji (more sarcastically than literally), maybe ask yourself why. How are you contributing? How are you feeling? Are you making someone else feel bad in the process? Are you really just being an ass? And if your response is, “Who cares… Trump is an ass!” How are you any better?
Stay in your own lane. Wear your muzzle. Don’t be an ass. And try to repeat. And then, if you’re going for extra credit, be grateful. All this change you preach about starts with you- in relation to dog training and the world. I’m going to close with this passage below that we read before morning meditation today:
This Brief Lifetime
“How are we going to spend this brief lifetime? Are we going to strengthen our well-perfected ability to struggle against uncertainty, or are we going to train in letting go? Are we going to hold on stubbornly to ‘I’m like this and you’re like that?’ Or are we going to move beyond that narrow mind? Could we start to train as a warrior, aspiring to reconnect with the natural flexibility of our being and to help others do the same? If we start to move in this direction, limiting possibilities will begin to open up.”
It’s hard to find a common ground these days among dog owners. Whether you are an R+ trainer, a canine officer, a Furmom, a rescue volunteer, a Bully breed advocate, etc., where do we come together anymore? Can we just start at least at the fact that you consider yourself a dog person? That definition meaning you like dogs and likely the best part of your day is coming home and hanging out with your dog? That you love your dog?
I’ve been around the dog world for over 30 years. And Scott has known a culture of dogs for another 20 years before that. The answer when he was young used to be that if the dog growled at the kid, he got thrown outside for the night. When I was growing up, everybody went to obedience class with a choke chain and leash and the AKC CD exercises were the entire class. I just found a test sheet that reminded me of this from an old memory box the other day. How have things changed SO DRASTICALLY in the past decade alone? We can’t blame Trump for this one!
Where did the trend start? Inbred Doodles? Puppy mills? Purely positive? Medication? The billion dollar pet industry? I don’t think there’s necessarily one culprit nor does it really matter how we ended up where we did, but where do we go from here? In the dog world, we are SO QUICK to cut each other down. Why? Why are we NEVER on the same team anymore? We judge… genetics, owners, trainers, behaviorists, competitors, tools, protocols. And yet most of those casting judgement have very little control of their own dogs in a public setting.
When it comes to referring to positive trainers, people will often use the phrase, “They are drinking the kool-aid.” What about the owners who aren’t even training at all- who literally have the kool-aid pack and pitcher of water on the counter and don’t even ever mix the two together much less drink it? There’s a big difference between a dog owner whose dog pulls her down the street and a dog owner who pushes her dog in a stroller. And there’s an even bigger difference between the first two groups and the dogs that walk nicely down the street not bothering others trained in either camp. But that dog is few and far between these days.
Kendall Jenner gets berated for having a pinch collar on her dog and yet there are other dogs attacking humans everyday on the street. Strangers. Runners. Dogs that were muzzled but still out of control and broke free. If you aren’t training pet dogs in this day and age on a regular basis, you have zero business commenting on aggression issues or anxiety issues. Dogs, like kids, need structure. Structure comes from quiet time, from handling, from criteria, and from limiting movement for starters. Without structure, dogs unravel.
We ALL need to do better. To respect each other more. I’m frankly embarrassed sometimes by how volatile and ugly we can get as so called dog people. Again, aren’t we on the same team… the team that likes dogs and being around dogs- at least our own dogs? How can we respectfully bring light to some of these topics? How can we educate? Not just bitch, point fingers, and engage in name calling on Facebook threads like a bunch of kids on the playground.
Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar acceptance speech really resonated with a lot of people. He said, “And I do not feel elevated above any of my fellow nominees or anyone in this room because we share the same love, the love of [dogs] and this form of expression has given me the most extraordinary life... And I think that’s when we’re at our best, when we support each other, not when we cancel each other out for past mistakes, but when we help each other to grow, when we educate each other, when we guide each other.”
Everyone is an expert and no one wants guidance. Why? We blame vets for medicating everything that walks in the door. Did the owner want to train? Why would a breeder sell a puppy to an owner who is unwilling to train that dog? Did the owner potentially try training and it made zero difference? Should that dog not have left rescue in the first place? Why are breeders and rescues mandating how dogs should be handled in their new homes? What other option besides medication do vets have nowadays? Hell, almost 20% of humans are on some sort of mood altering drug!
Let’s start with some easy ones. We want healthy dogs in society. That’s on the breeders. We want safe dogs adopted into homes. That’s on the rescues. We want dogs to be more well behaved in society. That’s on the trainers. We want to better educate dog owners. That’s on the influencers. We all need to step up our game. We have to find a common ground. That common ground should be our love of dogs. And our love of dogs should include keeping them safe and having control over them at least to some extent.
I’m not trying to make this a why can’t we be friends post, but maybe think twice before going on the attack next time. How are we contributing to the greater good by automatically segmenting ourselves? Labeling others? Why does it matter how someone else trains their dog? Why do we seem to care more about dogs than we do about people? Maybe don’t let your sarcastic undertone be your first response next time you’re triggered. Maybe focus on action rather than words. Try to contribute in some way. We certainly can discuss some of these issues more productively. I’m afraid to see what dog ownership will look like in another decade at the rate we’re going. It’s changing so drastically so quickly. And not for the better.
Canine anxiety is on the rise. Dogs express anxiety through dozens of different behaviors. An anxious dog may whine, bark, wander around aimlessly, follow his owner from room to room, have random potty accidents in the house, or may always appear eager to go somewhere—anywhere—for no apparent reason at all. Throughout our years of experience in the dog world, we have discovered that anxiety and water are often very closely related. Anxious dogs can become obsessed about drinking water. A dog may be trying to relieve the physical symptoms of his anxiety through drinking. The drinking then becomes psychologically comforting as well. In these circumstances, it is best to limit the dog’s access to water when and if you see your dog engaging in this type of behavior and maintain a strict water schedule with him. And although extremely rare, it is important to mention that certain dogs soothe their anxiety by drinking everything offered to them at all times. These special cases require owners to measure water portions as well as administer the water on a schedule sometimes for the lifetime of the dog.
We are firm believers in using crates to help manage a dog’s behavior and implement structure into a dog’s life. We advise crating your dog overnight, while you are away, for meals, and at least one hour per day when you are home. However, allowing your dog access to water in the crate may intensify his symptoms of anxiety in the crate. For the logistics of administering water in the crate, we would recommend using a non-tip bowl or a bucket. If you are looking for a bucket that your dog can’t easily spill or displace when empty, these Kennel Gear buckets are awesome! If your dog is able to knock his water over in his crate, the signs of his anxiety will likely increase because now he is wet and uncomfortable. He may begin whining, barking, or even trying to break out of his crate. For this situation, it is best to limit your dog’s water intake inside the crate and offer him water exclusively outside of the crate.
Another scenario involving anxiety in the crate would be if you leave your dog water in the crate, and even though he doesn’t spill it, he still appears to be more anxious in the presence of water. It is our belief this occurs for two reasons. First, the water gives the dog something to do in his crate to alleviate his anxiety—drink. Drinking may pacify him at first, but then drinking may in fact increase his anxiety because it is giving him an outlet. If he feels stress, then he drinks a few sips of water. Engaging in the activity of drinking begins perpetuating the anxiety. By limiting the water, your dog has fewer options of exhibiting anxious behavior. Secondly, drinking water can in fact increase drooling, whining, and similar anxious indicators solely based on a dog having extra moisture in his mouth.
We would never recommend giving a dog full access to water in a crate right out of the gate. Try crating your dog without water for a specified amount of time. Then introduce water for only 5-10 minutes, and note any negative behavior changes from your dog. If the water doesn’t seem to adversely affect your dog’s behavior in the crate then gradually work up to your dog having full access to water. The same rules apply for bedding in the crate. Just like with water, as a dog owner, you first want to see a baseline of calm behavior in a crate before introducing a blanket to make the crate more comfortable for him. Digging in the bedding can increase anxiety. Allowing your dog to shred his bed is allowing the dog to rehearse anxious behavior. And most seriously, if the dog ingests the bedding, not only is he acting anxious when destroying the bedding, but he could now also be at risk for an intestinal or bowel obstruction because of swallowing a foreign object.
This article by no means applies to all dogs. Certain adult dogs can have full access to water 24-7 without any fallout. Of course if it is extremely hot out and your dog has been exercising outdoors, you will offer your dog additional water if you routinely keep him on a strict water schedule. These tips are intended to help those with dogs who suffer from anxiety see a potential correlation between anxiety and water. If your dog is displaying any of the anxious behaviors mentioned, be conscious of the severity of these symptoms. Be present to the role water plays in affecting your dog’s anxiety levels both in and out of the crate. If you have any questions about the topics addressed in this article or if you can personally relate to any of the issues presented, please feel free to comment below.
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