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  Dog Beach Dog Wash News

            Because your dogs deserve the best  

          

                                  January 2013     
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Upcoming Events            

 

Natural Balance's 2013 Rose Parade Float

 

Tues., Jan. 1, 2013,  8 a.m. PST -- The124th Annual Rose Parade, with the Natural Balance Pet Foods' Float, "Canines with Courage," showcasing an exact replica of the U.S. Military Working Dog Teams National Monument to be dedicated later this year at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.  The float (#65 of 92 entries) salutes our nation's four-footed hero soldiers, marines, sailors, airmen and coast guards for saving countless thousands of American lives since World War II.  If you can't be in Pasadena for the parade, check your TV listing for Jan. 1.

http://media.roseparade.net/mediaGuideFloat.asp?id=870 

 

 

FriendsofDogBeachlogo.jpg

Sat., Jan. 12, 2013, 9 to 11 a.m. -- Dog Beach Cleanup, with Friends of Dog Beach, at the pawprint entry to Dog Beach.  Bags & gloves, plus toys & treats will be provided for you and your friendly dogs

 

 

petco5k9walkrun  

Sun., Jan. 13, 2013, 8 a.m.-12 Noon --
Petco 5K9 Walk Run 1-mile and 5k
event with pet & fitness expo, for people with and without a dog to get a healthy and active start to the New Year.  At the Wyland Center in the Del Mar Fairgrounds.  The expo is free, and entries with a dog are $34-49.


Cat Show Agility
Sat. & Sun., Jan. 26 & 27, 2013, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. --
Food and Water Bowl XXI Cat Show, sponsored by San Diego Cat Fanciers, featuring  450 exotic cats, 41 pedigrees, educational seminars, cat agility, and kitty adoptions.  Tickets starting at $7, at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.


Westminster Dog Show
Mon. & Tues., Feb. 11 & 12, 2013 -- 137th Westminster Kennel Club's All Breed Dog Show, with 3,200 dog entries among 187 breeds.  Daytime judging at New York City's Piers 92/94, with evening judging at Madison Square Garden.  Televised in San Diego on Monday eve. 8-11 p.m. on CNBC (TimeWarner 49, Cox SD 66, Cox North County 46, AT&T U-verse 216) and Tues. eve. 8-11 p.m. on USA (TimeWarner 34, Cox SD 235, Cox North County 46, AT&T U-verse 125).  This year's top judge for Best in Show on Tues. eve. is Escondido's Michael Dougherty, after 50 years in the world of dogs.  Dougherty and his wife currently run the 3-acre Windsong Resort for Pets in Escondido.


Bark in Park7
Sun., Feb. 17, 2013, 2 p.m. --
Bark in Balboa Park 7, free animal themed concert & pet parade at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park, with civic organist Dr. Carol Williams and her rescue Airedale Dietrich Buxtehude Bell.  Families and dogs on leash welcome, to benefit the San Diego Humane Society.
BestinShow 2011

Sat. & Sun., Feb. 23 & 24, 2013, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. -- 2013 Silver Bay Kennel Club Dog Show, one of the nation's largest dog shows, including conformation, obedience, rally & agility competitions.  Free admission, parking $10.  Only dogs participating may attend, so please don't bring your pets.  In the O'Brien, Bing Crosby and Exhibit Halls at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.


RCHumane & SD Botanic Garden
Sat., Feb. 23, 2013, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. -- 1st Annual 5K Paw Walk in the Garden, sponsored by the Rancho Coastal Humane Society and the San Diego Botanic Garden (formerly Quail Botanical Gardens), with pet products, food & treats, and information, at 230 Quail Gardens Dr. in Encinitas.  Registration is $6 to $24.



K9 Cancer Walk in San Marcos
Sat., Feb. 23, 2013, 9 a.m. -- San Diego
K9 Cancer Walk to benefit the Morris Animal Foundation, at Walnut Grove Park, 1950 Sycamore Dr., San Marcos.  The goal of the walk is to raise $65,000 to fight canine cancer, the no. 1 cause of death in dogs over 2 years old.


Escondido Humane Soc. Paws in the Park
Sat., March 24, 2013, 8 a.m.-12 Noon --
Paws in the Park, sponsored by the Escondido Humane Society to benefit animals in need, at Kit Carson Park, 3333 Bear Valley Parkway, Escondido.


Creek 2 Bay
Sat., April 27, 2013, 9 a.m.-12 Noon --
11th Annual Creek to Bay Cleanup,
sponsored by I Love a Clean San Diego, at more than 80 coastal and inland sites throughout San Diego County.  Site Captains are still being sought for Julian, Alpine, Mira Mesa, and Allied Gardens, as well as needed sites in Spring Valley, Chollas Creek in Lemon Grove, and Del Rey Canyon in Chula Vista.  Last year, 6,000 volunteers collected more than 150,000 lbs. of trash from entering our creeks and ocean.  Join us at Ocean Beach-Dog Beach!


19th Annual Walk for Animals
Sat., May 4, 2013, 7 a.m. to 12 Noon --
19th Annual 2013 Walk for Animals, sponsored by the San Diego Humane Society and SPCA, featuring a pancake breakfast, a scenic 2-mile (or 1/2-mile) walk, and doggie activities, to celebrate our love for animals while raising the vital funds needed to ensure that every homeless animal can find a loving home.  At a NEW location at NTC Park at Liberty Station (with ample parking). 
Greetings!
Debunking Dominance Training

There has been a sea change in canine behavioral research and dog training techniques in the last 25 years.  The idea that humans had to be "pack leaders" and assert their "dominant" or "alpha" position over dogs, extrapolated from studies of unrelated captive wolves in Europe in the 1930s, and used by military dog trainers in both World Wars, is now known to be wrong, outmoded and detrimental to the human-dog relationship.

Positive Dog Training
Dogs have lived closely with humans for at least 30,000 years, and have been engaged in mutually rewarding tasks (such as herding, hunting, protection, search & rescue, companionship) for about half that time.  Dogs and humans were not in constant conflict and aggressive competition for the same limited resources during all this time.  They learned to live together with cooperation, mutual understanding, communication and respect.

Patricia McConnell PhD, ethologist, certified applied animal behaviorist, dog trainer & author, believes that the fallacy of "getting dominance" over our dogs is that is makes dog training seem simple.  She says, "One-step shopping -- just get your dog to accept you as 'alpha,' and voilą!  Your dog will stop jumping up on visitors and will quietly walk through the neighborhood at your side, ignoring all the interesting stuff, like squirrels and information left by other dogs as they passed by."

Positive reinforcement, as a training theory, began in 1985, when marine mammal trainer Karen Pryor published her book Don't Shoot the Dog, which launched clicker training.

In 1993, veterinary behaviorist Dr. Ian Dunbar founded the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), and expanded the forum for worldwide support for a scientific and dog-friendly approach to training.  The APDT's Position Statement of Dominance states:

"Physical or psychological intimidation hinders effective training and damages the relationship between humans and dogs.  Dogs thrive in an environment that provides them with clear structure and communication regarding appropriate behaviors, and one in which their need for mental and physical stimulation is addressed.  The APDT advocates training dogs with an emphasis on rewarding desired behavior and discouraging undesirable behaviors using clear and consistent instructions and avoiding psychological and physical intimidation."

Positive Dog Training

Pat Miller, certified dog trainer and owner of Peaceable Paws Dog and Puppy Training in Maryland, says "With advances in positive training and an increasingly educated dog training profession embracing the science of behavior and learning and passing good information on to their clients, pain-causing, abusive methods such as the alpha roll, scruff shake, hanging, drowning, and cuffing appear to be headed the way of the passenger pigeon."

Miller offers several comparisons of dog behavior with Dominance and Positive Approaches in the December 2011 issue of The Whole Dog Journal.  For example,

BEHAVIOR:  Dog jumps up on people to greet them.
Dominance Explanation -- Dog is trying to be dominant.
Solution -- Positive punishment:  Make jumping up painful or uncomfortable.
Knee dog in chest, step on his hind feet, grasp his paws and squeeze to make him uncomfortable.
Problems with dominance approach --
May cause injury to the dog.
May teach the dog to be fearful of people.
You can condition the dog to find people handling his paws aversive.

Positive Explanation -- Dog is trying to get your attention and/or greet you.
He has been reinforced for jumping up because it gets human attention.
Solution -- Negative punishment:  Take away all reinforcement for jumping up.         Turn away, step away, walk away.  Jumping up makes good stuff go away.
Management:  Use a tether, leash, or barrier to prevent reinforcement.
Positive reinforcement:  Reinforce appropriate greeting behaviors such as "sit."  Polite greeting makes good stuff happen.

For a list of APDT Certified Trainers within a 25-mile radius of downtown San Diego, click on this link:  
or contact Jamie Bozzi
http://www.smrtdog.com/
who teaches puppy and dog training classes at Dog Beach Dog Wash.
Dog Park Tips

Nate's Point, Balboa Park
San Diego city offers 15 off-leash dog parks and beaches  http://bit.ly/Uy4aNc
and the county has at least five more http://sandiego.about.com/cs/prosports/a/dogparks_sd.htm.  Close to the Dog Wash we're lucky to have Dog Beach, Dusty Rhodes, and Fiesta Island.  Teaching your dog key skills so it has a good dog park experience is important. 

At the minimum, be sure you can call your dog to you and ask him or her to settle down.  According to Cheryl S. Smith, author of Visiting the Dog Park: Having Fun, Staying Safe (2007, Dogwise Publishing) here are other tips to remember when visiting a dog park.

* Take off the leash.  Leashes interfere with the natural body language of the dog, dogs can get tangled up in them, and dogs who become stressed by constant pulling against a leash can act in undesirable ways.

* Small dogs need special consideration.  Find a dog park with a small dog section (e.g., Dusty Rhodes).  Keep your small dog on the ground rather than toting him around with you in the park.  Being elevated can give your dog a false sense of control, or entie other dogs to jump up to get a closer sniff.

* Stay only as long as your dog is having fun.  If your dog isn't enjoying the experience, or other dogs are getting out of control, you need to leave.  And if your dog is having a great time, you might want to stay a little longer. 

* Be vigilant.  Keep your focus on your dog no matter how enjoyable your human companions are.  Don't allow yourself to be part of stationary human clumps, because it results in too many dogs congregating in one place.

* Stay calm, talk quietly.  Loud commands and boisterous human chatter raises the excitement level in the whole park and risks inciting some bad behavior.
 
* Provide your dog with many different forms of entertainment.  If visiting the same park is the only exciting event in your dog's life, he or she is likely to be overexcited upon arrival.
Surf Dog

* Save treats (and toys) for later.  There is too much potential for dogs to engage in guarding or stealing behavior that can lead to aggression and fights.

* Stay connected with your dog at the dog park.  Call your dog to you from time to time.  Play a quick game or just give him a soft pet and send him back to play.

DustyRhodesDogPark
* Talk to friends.  Just do it in small groups, and preferable while you're walking rather than sitting.

* Watch the dogs.  You will learn a lot about canine body language, and also learn how to relax and have a good time.
Dogs Playing

* Always pick up after your dog.  Insist that others do the same.  Pick up the occasional extra pile, if needed.

* Relax and enjoy the experience.  If for some reason you can't relax -- if you're too nervous or concerned about your dog's behavior, then you shouldn't be there.  Take some dog training classes and then try the park again.

* Leave if you start to feel concerned about anything going on.  Help to resolve the situation if you can, but your first responsibility is to keep your dog safe.
Happy New Year!
photo of Jane & Mindy and their pets
Jane & Mindy (with Chipper, Juno & Zydeco)

"Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are god. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are gods."
                                    -- Christopher Hitchens