torstai, 20. syyskuu 2012

How do I hate flexis...

This is not an offensive text. If you happen to have a flexi and you love it, please leave this site immediately.

What is the thing with flexis? Dog running 16 ft. in front of you and barking to every bloody tree, rock, human and dog it sees. This can be made even better with a harness that don't suit to your dog at all. There is the combo of a terrible dog.

Flexis were originally designed for tracking dogs. The owners got frustrated with the long leash they had to roll back all over again. Then somebody came out with the idea of a flexi.

Flexi works well with tracking dogs but don't mix well with ordinary dogs. Most of the users of flexi use it the wrong way. The idea is not to let your dog run in front of you. It is not the idea of walks. Flexi is adrvertised with the phrase 'gives your dog more freedom'. If you want to give your some freedom go to the nearest forest and let him off leash. You can't make your dog feel better by letting him run like lunatic in the flexi. It may calm your consience, but not certainly make you more of a pack leader.

I've seen flexi used so many times wrong. When your dog runs in front of you, he has powers of a superhero and he can pull you everywhere. Flexi is not designed well to hold on: it's heavy and when dog suddenly pulls it may even drop from you. Once a gigantic dog ran to us in a flexi and pulled himself free - it was easier to do with a flexi.

After this not-so-interesting text I'll tell you goodbyes,

sida

PS We actually have a flexi but it belonged to our cat, who has passed away. So it's okay to use flexi with cats.

tiistai, 18. syyskuu 2012

It's been a while, but I'm back...

.... with annoyed feelings. Sorry for the silence my unknown readers (read; I have no readers), but I've been completely busy.

So, here's my problem: I'm part of the Finnish Kennel Club (aka Kennelliitto). We had the official magazine of the club carried to ou home about a half week ago. I took a look to the cover and almost threw it away, because one title drove me around the fence for real. It said that too active dogs can be a handful. Oh really, now have you noticed it? Well, I read the article today and... I have no words for it. It reminded me of a certain article that told about leading a pack.
This article I read today told about increase of hyper active dogs in the population of breed dogs. It was explained that hyper active behaviour is due to the genetic backround of the dog and has very little to do with the circumstances the dog is living in.

There was an example of a hyper active retriever, who jumped and pulled and did everything to make his owners nuts. I lookde at the picture where the owner was standing with her dog: I could see from the fucking photo that the dog was a high energy and the owner was a medium.

Why do people take dogs that have higher energy than they have? Why??
Of course the explanation sounds like this: dogs have very back genetic backrounds nowadays. No, dear people, it's due to the fact that people take extremely high energy working dogs and then wonder how their dog is so out of control.
I have two high energy dogs (who are sleeping on my feet, by the way). I give them lost of exercise. They can fulfill their needs with me, I'm prepared to raise a working breed.

If you have a hyper active dog, try to exercise him more, please. And by exercise I mean organised exercise, like hiking or running or long walks with control. You shouldn't let you dog go wherever he wants to: keep him on your side and tell him what to do and when.

I know that my Aussie would be hyper active without exercise rutines. He goes to walk, hike or a run every day, and goes for a run from three to four times per week. And by the way, I offer him something nice to do also. He loves to chase discs, so I practice toss 'n fetch with him.
I have never complained about my high energy dog. He makes annoying sounds while he's excited, but I'm not frustrated. I just try to keep myself and him calm, and he's cooled down a lot.

If you have no idea about the energy, I'll tell you bit here:

Animals and people have all energies. There is there is fou kinds of energies. Some might be between two types of energy. I'll use dogs as examples:

Extremely high: Dog is very active and doesn't seem to tired ever. He keeps on going and needs lots of exercise. Usually only working breeds can achieve very high energy, but there are other dogs too, for example my Maltese.
High: Dog is active and has energy to do things. He's able to do a lot of things during the day, but gets tired after activities.
Medium: Dog has energy to do things, but he can chill out as well. Gets tired more easily than higher energies.
Low: Dog is very calm and peaceful. He loves to sleep and hang out. Doesn't need long walks, gets tired easy.

Next time you meet a hyoer active dog with an owner complaining, please say, 'Exercise your darn dog.' If you have a hyper active pet, keep him occupied. There is a good side having a high energy dog - I've lost thre kilos and I'm fitter than ever when I had my first high energy dog.

Have a nice rest of a week!

sida

keskiviikko, 22. elokuu 2012

Taking your dog for a long walk...

... or are you? Do you know how much dog gets excercise, too much or too little? Do you take your dog every day for a walk, not just letting him pee and poo and then take him back?

I can honestly say that my dogs get a lot of exercise. The amount is from 5 km to 10 km, running or walking. Because Finland is famous for its green gold - I mean forests - we usually go hiking through the woods. And, of course, our whole family is walking the dogs, so four people can offer the daily amount of sports to them. One can see who muscular our dogs are - my Maltese has doubled his size compared to the old size he was when he came to our family. My Aussie has amazing strenght, I think he could easily run a marathon.

Dog trainers recommend about one hour per day as a daily walk. Seriously, I think that's too little. If you have a small dog, five kilos or under, half to one hour is enough. But big dogs, working breeds and high energy dogs need more exercise. I've met people who say that their dog needs two or three hours of exercise per day. I think that can be true, but my dogs are usually tired after little under two hours. It's a question about quality. How are you walking your dog? Is he pulling the leash, sniffing the ground all the time, chasing squarrels?
Whenever I train dogs, I have to explain teh same thing all over again. You must take your dog for a walk every single day and walk him properly. If you allow your dog to deside what do, it won't be a proper walk.

What is proper walking then? I think that dog should be following its pack leader (you). I don't let my dogs walk in front of me. You can control your dog better when he walks on our side or behind you. There won't be any surprises or dog dragging its owner behind him. There's another reason too - you can't be your dogs pack leader when he walks in front of you. Most of the dog people I've met say that my words are full nonsense. Usually they have some problems theirselves.

I had a client who had many dogs. We went out for a walk and my client said that her dogs are pulling. I took two of them and started walking. Neither of them pulled the leash. If you decide to walk, your dog will notice it and starts to listen to you. You can't panic from a horse's saddle, why would you panic with a dog that is multiple times smaller than a horse?

Relaxing is very important when you walk. If you are tense, your dog'll notice it and he starts to get nervous - usually he starts to pull. I've said this millions of times and I will say it again: act like a pack leader while walking, raise your head up, be calm and determined.

I will talk more about walking a dog later and how the right - or wrong - equipment can help you.

Have a nice day and remember to take your dog for a walk today!

sunnuntai, 19. elokuu 2012

Another blog about dogs?

Oh yes, my dear friends, this is another blog about dogs, but I can assure you that I won't bore you with details of the newest results or tell how awsome my dogs are. No, this is a blog about solid truth. I am going tell you how you treat your beloved dogs.

People don't see dogs as their working companion or help of survival anymore. They see dogs as their friends, which I can understand, believe me, but sometimes one goes over the limit. You've seen it: dogs running out of control, braking and pulling, acting in agressive way or destroying property. This annoys the shit out of me (sorry for the rude language, but I am so going over the edge here). I've worked five years with problem dogs. It's not much, but what I've learnt is that people can be really confused with their dogs.

I have two dogs myself, Australian Shepherd and a Maltese. Both are males - yes, they're living together without fighting! - and the Aussie is two and the Maltese is one. Our Aussie has been with us since he as a little puppy. He's our action dog: we do everything from disc dogging to dog shows with him. Our Maltese is a rescued guy and well, I'm trying to figure out what he could be. At the stage we're just doing obey training, not much.

If you haven't seen already, my real mothertongue is not English. I'm from Finland and my mothertongue - surprise - is Finnish. Sorry for the grammar mistakes, I know I'm gonna give somebody a headache.

But, I won't bore you with my babble anymore. Have a nice evening,

sida