The next best gift one can give your new puppy or dog household, is the gift of a formal training group or individual lesson or two. Most owners wait too long, often allowing problem behaviors to percolate, before the infamous “call” is made to a knowledgeable trainer. I start puppies in formal, working sessions at 9 weeks of age. The majority of my “early childhood education” clients are rewarded with quite impressive off-lead dog control by 5 months of age. They think they’ve died and gone to heaven. Those young minds are like sponges — they’re soaking up all that learning and experience — it just better be right.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, I exhibited my 14-month-old German Shepherd dog, Cartier Noir, for the first time in AKC Championship Conformation competition. This young neophyte won an impressive 4-point Major. Though we were over-the-top with this incredible accomplishment, equally satisfying were the affections of so many at ringside who were attending their first dog show. The entry was 2,600 dogs — hustle, bustle, crowded conditions, babies, strollers, wheelchairs, crutches … you get the picture.

Four different families told me they had never seen so many well-behaved dogs. Their young children fussed with Cartier — who has not been raised with child exposure. Our caveat was this — sound temperaments coupled with early and balanced training is the only way to go for all of the dog-owning public. Give your dog, and yourself, that gift. It lasts a lifetime.

Now, tuning in to current events at the shelter … how about considering one of these to help you deck those halls this season:

Peanut is a well-behaved 5-year-old female Boxer mix. She has been bounced around one too many times, and is ready for a forever home. Peanut came to us after her owners just “didn’t want her anymore” (oh, we just love that excuse ... sigh). She has charmed us with her adorable “happy wiggle” when she greets staff and adopters, and her eyes seem to sparkle with a genuine happiness that is contagious. Peanut is meant for a family, especially one that will love her unconditionally — she will certainly return the love!

Pepper, a 6-year-old male Pomeranian, is full of energy and craves attention! Pepper is very vocal, and will bark to get your attention. He would prefer a home that can offer him a lot of play time, and at the end of the night a nice comfortable bed to cuddle up on. Pepper was found as a stray, and has been at CGHS/SPCA ever since. He came in with some medical issues that have since been resolved, including a severe flea allergy which left his once-beautiful mane lackluster and missing in patches. Pepper gets along with other animals, though he would prefer a home without young children ... he’d like the spotlight all to himself!

Spot, a very handsome shorthaired tabby, really misses the warmth and comfort of his previous home. His owner unfortunately had to retire to a nursing home, and Spot has had a hard time adjusting to the shelter life. He’s 3 years old, very loving and affectionate, and he has a tendency to meow for affection. Spot’s adoption is even sponsored — come give this sweet and loving guy his forever home!

Named for his merry personality, Jingle is a lot of fun and full of love! Jingle has a wonderful temperament, good looks, and we were all shocked to see the amount of toes he has — some paws have multiple toes, even as much as a whole extra paw! Jingle is only a 1 year old, and was found as a stray, despite his docile and affectionate personality. Come fall in love with this little guy — we’ll promise he’ll sweep you off your feet!
 ***
Charlene Marchand is the Chairperson of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA Board of Directors. She may be contacted by e-mail at cghsaaron@gmail.com.

Recently, I was in a large local pet store where a training session was being held. My mouth dropped as I watched a “trainer” hide a piece of snack from a puppy-in-“training” behind her back, with the puppy firmly focused on the tidbit in the clenched fist. Without redirection, the puppy continually lunged around the back of the “trainer” in an attempt to snatch the morsel, while my own ears hurt from the “trainer” repeating in increasing volume only one word: “No!” I cringed wondering how this negative reinforcement was likely to bring a dog with behavioral issues back to the training table in a few years … then asked Charlene if I could most humbly share my experience in her media. Thanks for the opportunity Char — keep up the good work! And to all of her readers, shop your puppy-trainer carefully!

I have asked a fellow columnist, Susie Davidson Powell, if I could share the insights she had into this field by reprinting one of her columns, and she generously agreed. I’ll share one more piece of vital information after the quote. If you read this before, please read it again — it can’t hurt! (From Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, “Look on the Bright Side — with a Little Positive Reinforcement”)

“Since Felix arrived in our house, it’s been chaotic. You’ve seen Cesar Milan and Victoria Stilwell descend upon suburban neighbourhoods to restore order to the pack with their dog-whispering ways. So when you pick up the telephone and call Charlene Marchand, it means exactly one thing: you need help. Dog help. For some it’s the beginning, an introduction to training for an ebullient puppy; for others it’s nearly the end of the rope for a dog with aggression or behavioural issues, families preparing to part with an unmanageable four-legged friend. Her voicemail sets the tone. With clear enunciation and a warm, firm tone, Charlene instructs you to leave your name with your number, twice. And you do, sitting up straight, tail wagging just a smidge.

This, I’ve discovered, is Charlene’s way with words.

We’ve been down the puppy road before and, having lost two aging Boxers within a year of each other, it was no surprise when family rumblings became regular pleading for a puppy. The trouble with puppies is that they woo you with voodoo. Big watery eyes peer up begging you to take them home. And that’s just in photos. Before I could effectively inoculate myself with memories of chewed suede stilettos, I caved. And Felix, a Boxer puppy, arrived.

Like babies, everyone looks at puppies as if butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths, and appear slightly appalled when you moan about their trying behaviour. But they don’t know about the behind scenes chaos: the chewed boots, shredded books, and small toys that are dismembered or hideously mangled beyond recognition. (I mistook an orange lump for hardened Silly Putty only to find it was a miniature horse stripped of its fuzzy hide, decapitated and chewed into something resembling a wad of gum.) Despite my efforts to enforce training rules with a crate, books and a low-budget crate-training video apparently made for people with low IQs, we had a new variable: Small Children.

Every minute after 6:30 a.m. was fraught with battles, nipping, screaming over stolen toys, chewing and indoor accidents. Gates went up around the house until we began to resemble a TSA security screening area. But the greatest problem was that Felix viewed Finn, our 3-year-old, as his peer, routinely barreling into him like a bowling ball into a skittle. I called the vet in despair.

The idea of trying a respected dog behavioralist, felt extreme. And very American. Like going to therapy. Shouldn’t we be able to handle this ourselves? But I put down the pet store store puppy-training schedule, and called Charlene.

Typically, when you initiate a call looking for a product or service, you’re in charge, fielding questions and determining your interest. But when you speak with Charlene, something happens. She asks about your primary issue, validates your concerns and explains her approach. “Is that something that interests you?” she wants to know. You get a date, directions, a little prep homework and hang up the phone feeling — what? — both relieved and somehow managed, as though she has just lead you through a hundred year maze with the promise of ice cream at the end.

Charlene has been dishing positive reinforcement expertise from her North Chatham Taizé Shepherd Kennel and training center since 1975. Having convinced my husband to join me for a 90-minute lesson and armed with my bag of 300 neatly diced cheese treats, (endearingly called ‘Paychecks’), Charlene set to work training us. I mean, our puppy. As the primary trainer, I found myself being encouraged to adopt a happy sing-song voice, asking Felix to “Track it!” or “Sit, good!” without ever using his name. Every jump and play bite was ignored and redirected to a desired behavior with a reward. And with Charlene’s assured style, I found myself willing to “pucker up my kisser” to get his attention, and sashay across the room to get him to follow. When she asked Felix to sit, I almost did.

What you get: The results were rapid. Ninety minutes and a few hundred pieces of cheese later and Felix was keying into key commands and following directions. Who knew a command has to be repeated 1,123 times just to introduce it as something new, and many more times before it’s ingrained as second nature. This stand alone session is a starting point from which the slog of daily home training emanates but Charlene offers a range of group, intermediate and Good Citizen training classes, along with a program in the jail, which may be useful should you ever find yourself inside.

As a booster, we signed up for the local pet store puppy class — an overwhelming sensory overload for humans and canines alike. Two Pit Bulls were frothing at the mouth intent on a Michael Vick-style interaction. One became so enraged it gave itself a nose bleed which, rather than gushing, just oozed out of its pores. The instructor yelled helplessly across the racket about the usage of training clickers. A silent Beagle sat calmly observing the ruckus. The stringy blonde Pit Bull owner repeatedly became entangled in her leash, grabbing at furniture like a life raft, yelling and jabbing her new clicker at her dog like a television remote. Charlene has since told me good trainers in the area estimate 40 to 50 percent of their business is fall out from disastrous pet-store training programs. I can see why.”

Fine words. As I was saying, a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. Be ever-cautious in whatever training program you decide to enter your puppy into. You can certainly check out Charlene’s web site at www.taizeshepherdkennel.com.”

*** 
Charlene Marchand is the chairperson of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA Board of Directors. She may be contacted by email at cghsaaron@gmail.com.

· Always reward a correct response. Praise, i.e. the signal, the paycheck, the tug, the toy, follows every obedient response to a command. Remember my “Taking for Granted” article in this column. We should never take desirable behavior for granted. Let your dog know when you are pleased appropriately, consistently, and frequently.

· Match your tone of voice to the command. My classes are flush with reminders on our tone-training. I tell my students that I can train a dog faster with a tone differentiation than they can with monotone words (i.e. low voice for stationary exercises such as sit, down, stand, stay, wait, etc. and upbeat tones for let’s go, get it, and that’s right, etc.) I use an offset, sing-song tone for motivational commands like the recall (come) track-it, and leave-it. There’s no doubt in any dog’s mind that you are happy when you’re singing! Verbal corrections (and they do exist) are sharp and harsh (phooey, A-A-A-H). Warn your dog with a low voice if they’re ready to commit a faux pas. Dogs can read if your verbal praise is mundane, mediocre, etc. You can’t mistake enthusiasm, and neither can they. Does anyone want to work for a boss who’s hard to please and doesn’t seem to care about our efforts?

· Timing is everything. Absolutely this is my mantra. I’ve done two columns on this training absolute. Dogs need to know the instant they have done it right, or that they have erred or been misguided in their interpretation of our directions. Your timeline on this one is no more than two seconds. Remember, we don’t live in the instant. They do!

To be continued… but first, the shelter is alive with the patter of little feline paws! We have gorgeous adult residents, in addition to an animated group of kittens. We always have a number of lovely Staffordshire and American Staffordshire Terrier crosses for adoption. We also can refer families to homeowners insurance companies that do not discriminate based on breed. TURKISH has been with us for too long. He’s exuberant and happy, and needs the right person to come along to play with and call his own. HARLEY is an awesome dog who’s great with kids and could adjust to a household with any ages. He was a smash hit at the County Jail New Leash on Life Program, and all that preliminary training is just waiting for someone to take it home in a fully-loaded package deal. BRANDY, our big-boned female St. Bernard, was actually an unclaimed stray and is gentle as a mouse! She walks and loves like a gentle giant, and a giant she certainly is. A must-see if only to admire her (but hopefully more than that!).

Got a hankerin’ for BBQ and lookin’ for a kickin’ good time? Mosey on down to the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA for a Howlin’ Adoption Hoedown Saturday, June 22nd from 11:30 am to 4 pm. (We're located at 125 Humane Society Road, Hudson NY 12534). Join us for a fun filled afternoon featuring Bill Williams and the Spinnin’ Prize Wheel, Bake Sale, Chili Cook-Off & FREE Hot Dogs & Sweet Tea! Call (518) 828-6044 to find out how you can take your pet home the same day! (All animals are sent home up to date on vaccinations, spayed/neutered and microchipped.)

Feel free to call us with any questions at 518-828-6044, or visit our website at www.cghs.org. Stop down and see us at 125 Humane Society Road, off Route 66 (about a mile south of the intersection with Route 9H) in Hudson. Our hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed on Wednesday and Sunday. The Food Bank is open to any from the public in need of pet food or for those wishing to donate food anytime during business hours. All of our cats and kittens are “Furrever Free” with all expenses paid. Spay/neuter clinics for cats are $65 male or female, including a rabies vaccination and a 5-in-1 feline distemper combination vaccination. Nail clipping services are available every Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Shelter, no appointment necessary, for a donation of $5 for cats and $10 for dogs. Charlene Marchand is the Chairperson of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA Board of Directors. She may be contacted by email at cghsaaron@gmail.com.

were bold or sharp, whose owners needed a trainer comfortable with and knowledgeable about training an assertive dog. We’ve also addressed fearful, anxious, and phobia-driven dogs, many of whom could be improved with correct counter-conditioning programs and appropriate pharmacology. Others needed pragmatic, humane assessment to evaluate their quality of life (or lack of). Without a doubt, dog obedience and good management can be sufficient to deal with a number of reasons (be they ever so poor) for surrender, but my concentration for this printing will be on barking. It is with great concern that our legislators may be ready to inappropriately invade the sanctity of a pet-owner-veterinarian relationship, by outlawing the bark-softening surgery option for phobic and neurotic compulsive barkers. For longer than I can remember, clients came through my training room doors with canines other trainers had considered incorrigible with their incessant barking. Most of these individuals were on their third, fourth, fifth, and in one case, a terrier’s sixth home.
                    
Frustrated owners had progressively pursued positive reinforcement training, citronella and other kinds of no-bark collars, electronic collars, combinations of psychoactive drugs, doggie daycare, etc. The list in many of these cases, as well as the frustrations, were endless. When presented with an extensive and comprehensive scenario, after providing a counter-conditioning protocol that I’ve found to be reasonably effective, I recommended a veterinary consultation for a number of these clients. These canines were at risk for euthanasia, or a return to a rescue or shelter with another placement failure notch in their belt. All the families to whom I am referencing chose a surgical alternative. Bark softening surgery is a relatively simple procedure, with few complications statistically. Every dog, I repeat, every dog who was taken to surgery remained in their now forever home. One family who came to me from Rochester, whose new rescue was on his sixth and last home, had a consultation with a local vet practice, and stayed here for the procedure before returning home. One family sent to me from downstate was being evicted from their townhouse with a lovely German Shepherd Dog. They are now living happily ever after in that townhouse, with a successful surgical alternative behind them.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Kennel Club (AKC) have supported the bark softening surgery as a humane solution to a very common, frustrating, and difficult behavior pattern to correct. Contact your state representatives immediately, telling them that appropriate veterinary procedures should never be subject to what has been referred to as “arbitrary” government regulation. The Assembly bill A1204-2013 has passed the Assembly and is now pending in the Senate Agriculture Committee as bill S2271-2013. We cannot allow our government officials to interfere in the sacrosanct health care decisions between our veterinarians and ourselves. This is a right and a freedom that must be protected at all costs. If not, the losers will be many of our companion animals. The Senators on the Agriculture Committee: P. Ritchie (Chair), P. Gallivan, T. Gipson, V. Montgomery, T. O’Mara, M. Ranzenhofer, J. Serrano, J. Seward, C. Tkaczyk, D. Valesky, and C. Young. Tell them you oppose bill S2271-2013. The domino effect of these types of undereducated legislative decisions is and will prove to be extremely perilous.

Feel free to call us with any questions at 518-828-6044, or visit our website at www.cghs.org. Stop down and see us at 125 Humane Society Road, off Route 66 (about a mile south of the intersection with Route 9H) in Hudson. Our hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed on Wednesday and Sunday. The food bank is open to any from the public in need of pet food or for those wishing to donate food anytime during business hours. All of our cats and kittens are “Furrever Free” with all expenses paid. Spay/neuter clinics for cats are $65 male or female, including a rabies vaccination and a 5-in-1 feline distemper combination vaccination. Nail clipping services are available every Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m. at the shelter, no appointment necessary, for a donation of $5 for cats and $10 for dogs.

 ***
Charlene Marchand is the chairperson of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA Board of Directors. She may be
contacted by email at cghsaaron@gmail.com.

During the time-out, the barking, spinning, screeching, whining dog is ignored. As soon as there is a second of silence, the all-knowing pack leader appears with a “Quiet Good,” a “Quiet Yes,” or other appropriate positive signal, and the good life returns to normal, a.k.a. Sounds of Silence.  I find that time-outs are being overly and inappropriately used for long duration control by owners who have not put the time in to positively train their four-legged “kids,” or who have not met their dog’s energy requirements for that day, i.e. more exercise, exercise, exercise!

Though lack of appropriate, positive reinforcement and timely consequence behavior training is at the core of just about every behavior problem, our 2013 dogs universally suffer from a consistent lack of sufficient exercise. Our predatory companions are hardwired to keep moving to seek sustenance for those long months ahead. You all need to get moving WITH them! Speak with someone knowledgeable about aerobic dog conditioning. Housebound? Train your dog to take it to the treadmill.  Don’t forget that some dogs survive on negative attention. It’s just about all they get in some households. Remember that negative attention to your dog is better than no attention, and some undesirable behaviors will persist as a result of this mishandling and incorrect attempt at dog control.

Feel free to call us with any questions at (518) 828-6044, or visit our website at www.cghs.org. Stop down and see us at 125 Humane Society Road, off Route 66 (about a mile south of the intersection with Route 9H) in Hudson. Our hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed on Wednesday and Sunday. The Food Bank is open to any from the public in need of pet food or for those wishing to donate food anytime during business hours. All of our cats and kittens are “Furrever Free” with all expenses paid. Spay/neuter clinics for cats are $65 male or female, including a rabies vaccination and a 5-in-1 feline distemper combination vaccination. Nail clipping services are available every Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Shelter, no appointment necessary, for a donation of $5 for cats and $10 for dogs.

 ***
Charlene Marchand is the Chairperson of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA Board of Directors. She may be contacted by e-mail at cghsaaron@gmail.com.