AKC Agility Trials, Fletcher, May 27-29

A heads-up from Carolina Mountain Dog:

Dog agility is a beloved sport by dogs, their handlers, and spectators. Now you have an opportunity to watch American Kennel Club agility trials, free of charge, from 8 AM to 3 PM each day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, May 27, 28, and 29. Sponsored by the Blue Ridge Agility Club, the event will be held at the WNC Agricultural Center McGough Arena in Fletcher (across from the Asheville Regional Airport).

More than 400 dogs from throughout the Southeast will compete at various levels of difficulty, against each other on a timed basis. About 70 AKC registered breeds will compete in the trials.

Watch as dogs and their handlers navigate obstacle courses, everything from platforms to weave poles to tunnels. It's an experience you won't want to miss (but please leave your own dog at home).

For additional information about the trials and agility in general, visit the Blue Ridge Agility Club's website: http://blueridgeagility.com/

Hike of the Week...Bent Creek!

The sun is out and thelaurels are at their peak in Bent Creek, so GET OUT THERE this weekend! If you've never been, or you always find yourself on the same trail again and again, then I urge you to pick up a copy of Trail Running in Bent Creek by Trish Brown. I've been taking my dogs to Bent Creek for 15 years, and still found LOTS of new places to go when I discovered this book. It is very thorough, with each trail described in detail with respect to mileage, elevation gains and losses and landmarks. My favorite thing, though, are the CARRY CARDS...a deck of laminated cards, one hike per card, that you can slip into your pocket or down your sports bra so you are sure to make it back out of the woods safety. (Warning: the carry cards, though laminated, don't hold up particularly well to sweat, so watch where you stuff it. Just sayin'.) And just because it is called "Trail Running" does not mean that hikers, walkers and cyclists won't find some new gem they did not know existed. Visit ashevilletrailrunning.com to order a copy of the book or find a local retailer.

Bent Creek is a great place to take your dogs, but remember that the majority of people with dogs you encounter will have their dogs off leash. If that is a problem for you or your dog, stick to the trails in the Arboretum, where you will get a talkin' to if you let your pooch run free.

Also, FYI, we saw a pair of copperheads last weekend sunning themselves by a creek. They will be on the move this weekend if it gets as warm as they say. Admire from a distance.

A Last Word on Socialization

I posted earlier this week about ideas for socializing your puppy. Here is a link to Dr. Becker's site (one of my favorites) where she talks about WHY puppy socialization is so important. (HINT: poorly socialized puppies become poorly socialized dogs, and poor socialization is the number one reason dogs get euthanized.)

I forgot to mention, too, that even though your puppy needs to be socialized to other dogs, the jury is out as to when it is safe from a communicable disease point of view. Conservative vets (almost all of them) will tell you to wait until the puppy's full set of vaccines is complete. Others, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior included, recognize that the window of opportunity for good socialization is small (first 16 weeks of life), as is the risk of catching something horrible, and that socialization should take precedence over pretty much EVERYTHING. Read The AVSAB paper HERE.

A happy medium might be to get your puppy into a puppy socialization group that meets regularly, is supervised, and where all the puppies have shown proof of vaccination. Talk you your trainer or puppy school to find out what they offer.

Start with a puppy, add a sombrero, finish with a confident dog.

or, Puppy Socialization 101...expose your puppy to EVERYTHING!

Rico came into my life when I lived in Seattle, and we had the good fortune of going to puppy school at the Montessori of puppy schools...Ahimsa Dog Training, owned by Grisha Stewart, an amazing trainer and a tireless advocate of clicker training. Although Rico often slept through class (he was only 8 weeks old when we started), I learned a lot and we still had fun. Part of each class was spent exposing the puppies to odd-ball things to teach them to accept new situations with grace and aplomb. We would all put on back packs and crazy hats like jester hats and sombreros with fringe; or carry umbrellas; or push baby carriages, carry umbrellas AND wear sombreros.

The bigger the variety of experience you can give your puppy, the better adjusted and more confident and happy he or she will be as an adult. Be creative, and remember to make sure things are safe and fun, and reward, reward reward for calm and confident behavior! Try to give your puppy 10-15 brand new experiences every day. Watch how fun it is for you, too. One day, you just might find yourself running outside in your PJs with your puppy in tow because there is a high-school marching band practicing in front of your house. Or maybe that's just me.

In addition to sombreros, here are some other ideas for you to get you started:

NEW LOCATIONS:

• variety of staircases
• boat
• elevator
• grooomer (just say hi and get treats)

NOISES

• garage door opening
• washing machine
• vacuum
• leaf blower

HANDLING

• hold under arm like a football
• wipe cotton ball in ears
• look in mouth
• hold toenails

MOVING OBJECTS (no chasing, just looking)

• skateboard
• bicycle
• children running
• cat

MEETING NEW PEOPLE

• children, children and more children
• men
• different ethnicities
• elderly people

PEOPLE WITH/IN

• wheelchairs
• strange gait
• backpacks
• walkers

PLAY OBJECTS

• large ball
• small ball
• plush toy
• hard toy

EATING LOCATIONS (because you never know when you might travel with your pet)

• back & front yard
• car
• under umbrella
• bathtub

EAT OR DRINK FROM

• wobbly bowl
• cardboard box
• paper coffee cup
• pie tin
• Kong

SURFACES

• metal grate
• wooden bridge
• grass/wet grass
• gravel

Well, you get the idea. There are so many potentially scary things out there in this big world. Start early getting your puppy used to new things, and watch her grow into a well-adjusted, sombrero-loving sweetheart.

Obsessive Paw Licking...there IS something you can do.

Twice in the past week, clients have asked me for help with dogs who are obsessive paw lickers--did I have some kind of yucky-tasting spray to put on the paws or some dietary insight about the issue or anything at all to contribute to the conversation. I could sense their frustration. I do have yucky sprays, but spraying a dog's already inflamed and irritated paw did not seem appropriate. So I went to work to find out what would be appropriate for this not uncommon and terribly misunderstood problem. Here is a very condensed version of what I learned from the site pawlicking.com.

Causes

In a nutshell, stress, be it internal or external; allergies, parasites, environmental factors or psychological events.

A Vicious Cycle

• It starts with a trigger (see below), followed by licking.
• The symptoms are treated with steroids, cones, antibiotics, sprays, socks, etc.
• These measures cause further stress (Have you seen a dog in a cone or elizabethan collar? Stressful AND demoralizing) and don't address the cause of the problem.
• The dog continues to lick whenever possible, causing more damage to the skin and more incentive to keep licking.
• And the cycle continues.

Paw-licking can be triggered by nutritional issues; pesticides in and around the home including flea medications (follow this link for more about Non-Toxic Flea Control); insects such as fleas or mites; and plants and grasses; and emotional stress.

What Helps?

Pawlicking.com goes into a lot of detail about how to help your dog--everything from having the vet help to identify the trigger, to using a special cream, to applying chamomile or sage tea to the affected area. There is good information about the psychological aspects of obsessive paw licking and how to address that with training, play, and mental stimulation.

I really encourage you to visit Pawlicking.com. The information is my post is just intended to get you thinking and to show you that this is a problem that won't be solved with cortisone shots. Once again, it's a complex problem that deserves a holistic approach, and that will strengthen the bond between you and your dog.

Good luck!