Top Ten Smartest Dogs

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How to stop a dog from digging

How to stop a dog from digging

 

It’s been a while since there was an update but I have to write an article that helps new dog owners find out how to stop a dog from digging up the yard. When the weather started to break over the last two months I noticed that Loki’s paws were dirty when she came in. After I noticed that she was digging a lot and I needed to find out how to stop a dog from digging up my yard. Digging was something that I knew I needed to know how to stop. A dog from digging backgrounds wants to dig no matter what and I needed to make sure it was something I could stop.

 

A few tips on how to stop a dog from digging up the backyard.

  1. If you can supervise your dog when he or she goes out, it might work to bury a balloon where your dog likes to dig. Once he or she digs the hole, their paw will pop the balloon and startle them and hopefully cause them to stop digging.

 

The balloon method: How to stop a dog from digging. Although the balloon method did scare Loki, it wasn’t something that I was comfortable with because I didn’t want her to eat the balloons after they startled her. I needed to stop her from digging the yard and needed to figure out how to stop a dog from digging.

 

Method two in regards to how to stop a dog from digging.

  1. If your dog likes digging in a specific spot it might be a good idea to put chicken wire down under the dirty. He or she will feel it against his or her paws and stop digging there. It’s one of the best tricks in regards to how to stop a dog from digging.

 

The chicken wire method: How to stop a dog from digging. If I had to rate this, I would say it’s an 8/10. Just make sure that when you put the chicken wire down in the ground that it’s at least 2 times bigger than the whole.

 

Method three in regards to how to stop a dog from digging.

  1. If you have the room in your backyard it might be a good idea to let him or her dig in a specific area. This will cause you to stop wondering about how to stop a dog from digging.  In this area, you can fill it with sand and allow your dog to dig up play toys in it and get the digging gene out of her, which will be something that you don’t need to know how to stop. A dog from digging backgrounds wants to dig and what else would it want to do except dig?

 

The designated digging area is a good idea because it allows your dog to dig in an area and it will know that this is the area where you want it to live. It’s sort of like training your puppy to go potty in a specific area of the yard.

 

Over all, the question regarding how to stop your dog from digging up the backyard is a tough one to answer. However, these three methods all proved themselves successful so test them out and do the one that is best for you!

Posted by J.Morisson - April 17, 2012 at 7:38 pm

Categories: Puppy Development   Tags:

The smartest dogs in training

Loki: One of the smartest dogs

Sometimes the smartest dogs are the least expected

We are five weeks into our training and there have been some ups and downs. Some of the smartest dogs in the class are some of the most frowned upon by the media. The smartest dogs in the class are Loki and another dog named Cesar. Cesar is a pure-bread pit bull and Loki, as you know, is a boxer bulldog mix. We have had great success with commands like “sit,” “stay,” “drop it,” and “down.” We have had a hard time with things like “leave it.” Over all the training has been less than stellar though.  While the trainer is pretty good, I just don’t care for the class aspect and I’ll tell you why.

The problem is not that Loki is not good with other dogs; it’s that other dogs are not good with other dogs. During the training there are two or three dogs that are constantly barking, whining, yelping, and are over all a distraction. While I understand that’s what they’re there for, the owners do not seem to do anything in order for them to stop. It is frustrating.

During our last training session, Loki was startled as one of the other dogs lunged at her and started barking. It caused her to start barking and going crazy. Of course I immediately removed her from the situation and calmed her down while distracting her with “come” commands and treats so it wasn’t horrible. However, the other dog owner simply said “I think she (his dog) is just excited to see other dogs.” He is completely oblivious to the fact that his dog has aggression issues and seems to be under the impression that he was just excited. I’m not sure what world he is living in but it is not earth.

The upside of training is that it’s giving Loki a lot of exposure to other dogs which is something that she hasn’t had in quite some time. We’re thinking of getting her a pal sometime later on this year because it’s nice seeing her play with other dogs. She needs to interactions. Besides that the best thing is her loose leash walking. She no longer pulls while on the leash and it is great! Not only for her little neck but for our little arms! She smells, walks, and does her thing, but never seems to have tension on the leash. It’s wonderful.

We are going to be hiring a private trainer that can work with us in a one on one situation in order to help her along the process. Hopefully my ultimate goal of training my own dog will be a spawn of this decision. We don’t get enough one on one time with our trainer in order to correct any bad habits that I am sure we have formed. Anyway, it’s Super Bowl Sunday and I have a test tomorrow, so I should get to studying. I regret not posting as much as I once was, but real life calls, sadly! Until next time.

Posted by J.Morisson - February 5, 2012 at 2:29 pm

Categories: The Dog Blog   Tags:

Sorry for the lack of updates

The winter semester has begun!

 

Here is a great article about Cesar Millan:

Last night I attended the Rochester, NY appearance of America’s most famous dog trainer, Cesar Millan, in town for his “The Pack Leader” tour.

In the interest of full disclosure, until that point my exposure to Millan was limited. I’d never seen his show, never seen him train a dog or talk about training a dog, never read his book (although I do have a copy of “Cesar’s Way”, picked up at the used bookstore, in my to-read pile).

I had seen him profiled on CBS Sunday Morning and found him charming and interesting, and was impressed that he had about 30 dogs off leash while I was at my wit’s end with three warring dogs and a cat. Woof!

So when people talked about what a horrible, inhumane trainer Cesar Millan is, I really didn’t have an opinion about him one way or the other. As a Christian, I’ve been on the receiving end of the judgmental finger pointing so I try to avoid doing that to others. I’d heard comments that ranged from “He’s rude” to “Let’s get the shotguns”. Honestly, I can’t form an opinion based on that. I needed to see for myself.

And after watching Millan’s performance last night, I now have an opinion.

The show opened when Cesar Millan stepped onstage wearing a giant puffy parka, earring sparkling in the house lights. The crowd cheered. I mean, literally cheered. In the dog world, Millan is apparently a rock star.  He smiled, waved, took off the coat, and got down to business.

The first half of the show was hilarious. I mean, laugh out loud hysterically funny. Whether Cesar Millan was imitating a yapping Pomeranian or lying on the floor demonstrating a cat giving itself a bath, he had the crowd laughing. He’s a natural storyteller, and has an uncanny way of demonstrating animal behavior, pointing out mistakes humans make while making us laugh at the same time.

He made jokes about his immigration status – he came here illegally but is now a citizen. I thought some of it was in poor taste – he joked that Mexicans trying to cross the border invented the first agility courses. But he was open and honest (qualities he stresses in training) and he was thoroughly entertaining.

More about Cesar Millan on Patheos

 

Posted by J.Morisson - January 25, 2012 at 11:07 am

Categories: The Dog Blog   Tags: ,

Loki Started Training

Or should I say Loki’s parents started training?

 

This website is titled “top ten smartest dogs” but this post is really about the “top ten smartest humans” and I can assure you that my girlfriend and I are not one of them when it come to training a dog. We learned quite a bit even though there wasn’t much to training today.

 

The main idea was stressing that we need to focus on the good things that our dogs do instead of telling it what we don’t want it to do. During the lessons there was a lot of noise from quite a few of the dogs. To the point that a few had to take a couple of laps around the store to get them refocused. However I am very proud of Loki. She was such a good girl! She made a friend and was sort of obsessed with her. She was a cute little French bulldog. Besides that she sat and laid down ignoring all of the barking dogs.

 

After most of the introductions were done, we started learning about clicker training. I have read a little bit about it and got Loki pretty used to the sound of the clicker so she excelled.  After a brief intro on it, the lesson was over. We got our homework and it seems simple.

 

Our homework is to work on getting Loki used to the clicker. Letting her know that the clicker means treat.  Secondly it’s to get her to focus on our face, which is something I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of.  The idea is to put the treat near her nose, say. “look at me.” or “focus” and slowly move the treat to your eyes. When she makes eye contact, click and then treat. Once she gets that, we’re going to work on sit. The thing is that she knows sit pretty well so we are really going to drill it in so even in the busiest of situations she will listen to us!

 

Anyway, just a quick update on our training. We’re going to work our butts of and get her to be one of the best dogs ever to go through that training!

Posted by J.Morisson - January 11, 2012 at 10:33 pm

Categories: The Dog Blog   Tags:

Easy Dog Tricks

Easy Dog Tricks–Start with "Sit" and move on forward!

Easy dog tricks for the first time dog owner

When I first got my dog Loki, she didn’t seem like one of the top ten smartest dogs. However, I quickly realized that she is quite the learner! I’m no expert when it comes to training a dog–in fact I’d call myself a complete novice–but I have taught her to do a few easy dog tricks in order to prepare her for her doggy obedience training on January 11th. I’ll share a few easy dog tricks that I taught Loki with you today. Seeing her perform these easy dog tricks makes me feel good because I know she’s being stimulated and I know that I am bonding with my dog.

A quick disclaimer: The easy dog tricks below are how I personally taught my dog and by no means are meant to be intended on the only (or even the best) way to teach your dog easy dog tricks.

 

Easy Dog Tricks: Sit

It may seem silly but this is absolutely the first of all easy dog tricks. Start off with a clicker, a treat, and a dog.  All I did with Loki was put her on her leash and stand there and say the word “Sit.” I would ignore everything else should do except sit. As soon as her little booty touched the floor, I would click, count to 1 Mississippi, and give her a treat. Slowly she realized that sitting was one of the easy dog tricks that I wanted her to do and sure enough, fifteen minutes later she was sitting every single time I said it. After that, I took her outside and did the same thing. I increased the value of treats from kibble to hot dogs, and it worked, even with the distractions. After that it’s been smooth sailing. Sitting is definitely an easy dog trick to teach.

Easy Dog Tricks: Stay

Stay seems to be the most debatable of all easy dog tricks in the dog training community because some people think it is just an extension of the “sit” command. I, however, don’t use sit as a stay command because sometimes I just want to regain Loki’s attention with a simple easy dog trick like “Sit.” Stay, on the other hand, is when I want her to sit down and remain there until I say otherwise. For example, when I am feeding her. I taught her the easy do trick stay by simply using the sit command and then saying, “Stay” and giving it a 3 Mississippi. Then I would click and give a treat. After a short amount of time, I began increasing the 3 to a 5. Then after I got to a solid ten seconds, I began taking a step backward.  The beauty of these kinds of easy dog tricks is that you can increase them to an infinite amount. I’m currently to the point that I can say, “stay” and back away slowly but leave the room. Then I can say, “come on!” and she comes to the room that I am in and gets a treat. I’m still working on this and other easy dog tricks so maybe it’s not so easy after all!

 

Easy Dog Tricks: Come

I’m still working on this one but it seems to be going well. Come is one of the easy dog tricks that I started by waiting until she was completely distracted. Then I’d get up and briskly walk away and some “Come, Loki!” one time. Because I was walking quickly, it is in her nature to follow. It worked. As soon as she started moving toward me, I would praise her and by the time she got to me I’d have her treat. It should also be noted that for this easy dog trick I do a click as soon as she starts moving, and as soon as she arrives to me. Slowly but surely, you don’t have to briskly walk away. This is the point I am currently at. Now I can say, “Come, Loki!” and pat my leg once, from any point and as soon as she starts moving, I praise her, and she gets her treat. Another idea to note is that for this and other easy dog tricks, you don’t want to use the term unless you’re certain that she is going to come. If she’s not going to, there is no point. Also when she comes, give her the treat, give her some praise, and let her get back to what she was doing. She’ll soon realize that come means treats, love, and that she can continue whatever she was doing.

 

Easy Dog Tricks: Drop

This was my favorite to do because it honestly happened so fast. I was tossing Loki’s Kong in our house and she wanted to play Tug of War with it. I wasn’t in a Tug of War mood. I was in more of a, “I will throw your Kong while I watch TV” mood. After I while I got up, grabbed a Tupperware container full of kibble and sat it next to me. Every time she would come back with her Kong, I would wait until she started to pull it, say, “drop” and trade some kibble for the toy. The only catch on her part is that has to drop the toy in order to get the food. After only 15 minutes of this, she caught on that drop meant to drop the toy. I no longer give her treats when she drops. What I do now is stress that she can keep playing after she drops and that’s enough of a reward for performing this and other easy dog tricks. After she drops, she can play again and that is a reward in and of it’s self.

 

I hope you enjoyed my quick write up on my top four easy dog tricks for beginners. Again, I am no expert and I’m not sure if I am even doing this in the right way, but I do not know that I enjoy seeing my dog grow and become smarter. It really gives me a sense of accomplishment and I hope that you get one too when you try these easy dog tricks. So try them out and let me know how it goes. I am excited to hear from you.

Posted by J.Morisson - January 7, 2012 at 11:39 am

Categories: Puppy Development, The Dog Blog   Tags: , , ,

American Bulldogs Attack Two Dogs, One Woman

Hyenas or Boxer American Bulldog Mixes?

“PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) – If neighbors did not witness the horrific incident that took place along Maple Drive in Pittsfield Township Tuesday evening, by now they have heard about it.

They say a woman walking her Chihuahuas in the neighborhood when two American Bulldogs escaped from a fence in the yard and attacked her pets.

The American Bulldogs lived next door to the victim.

Those in houses nearby say they could hear screaming.  When they finally came to help her she was on the ground, covered in blood, with the tiny dogs on her lap.

According to neighbors, the American Bulldogs were still growling.

Someone who lives across the street tried to shoo the dogs away with an umbrella while a passerby used a two by four to keep them at bay.

The victim was taken to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital.

Dennis Moffat lives near the scene.  A day after the attack he was out walking Deacon, his toy poodle.

“It’s very sad something like this happened,” says Moffat, “I feel bad for the people that lost their dogs and for the woman that got bit.”

At the owners request the American Bulldogs were euthanized at the Humane Society of Huron Valley.

No word on whether the owners of those dogs will face charges.”

Source

 

Pit Bulls and Boxer American Bulldog Mixes: Evil or not?

The problem that we here at the dog blog have with this story is that they stress that the dogs that did the attacking were American Bulldogs. I feel as if the “pit bull” drama of the past has now evolved to encompass American bulldogs. If there had been an attack by a Golden retriever or Labrador retriever then I don’t think the media would report on the story. If the did, I doubt they would constantly stress on the breed of the dog like they did in this story.

Let me share a story with you. I had a pit bull while growing up as a kid. Yes my parents were so horrible that they let me sit, eat, and sleep in the same room as our viscous pit bull, Mickey. In fact, Mickey was so mean that she used to let me crawl all over her, tug on her ears, pull her tail, and practically ride her like a horse. Did I mention that I was a little hellion growing up? If you didn’t gather that by the last sentence, now you know.

Unfortunately Mickey died when I was 10 or 11 years old. To this day, my mother and father say they have never seen me so sad. I don’t remember much from my childhood, but I remember the day she was put down. My parents took her to the vet because she just wasn’t right. She didn’t want to eat and couldn’t even move. They carried her into our green Aerostar minivan and took her. I was young and naïve so I thought the veterinarian would be able to fix her and that she might just be sick for a little while. I waited by the door the entire time they were gone. When they pulled up I opened the door and saw the look in my parents’ eyes. They were empty handed. I started crying.

I cried all night long. Mickey was my best friend and she was gone. What would I do with out her? Who would I sleep with at night? Who would lay with me when I was home sick from school? When I was 8 or 9 I had a brain surgery to remove a non-cancerous tumor and the only thing that I wanted in the hospital was Mickey. My life would never be the same. Eventually I got out of my grieving stage and realized that death is a part of life, but it still saddens me to think about to this day.

Loki our adopted dog

Is this dog really a viscous boxer bulldog mix or is she just a cuddly dog that can't get enough attention?

Have you forgotten that we were talking about a horrible pit bull in this story–the same pit bulls that attack families, dogs, and generally run havoc over the neighborhood? Right, it sounds silly if I put it that way but that is not much different than what the news media does with pit bulls and American bulldogs.

Why is it that these so-called bully breeds are constantly bashed in the media? Sure stories like Michael Vick’s dog fighting ring do not help, but aren’t people wise enough to realize that not only was he breeding dogs to fight, but that almost any dog would be aggressive if brought up that way?

Loki: Our Boxer American Bulldog Mix

I now own Loki who is a boxer American bulldog mix and that’s the new pit bull. In many communities the American bulldog is considered a pit bull and it’s a shame. I know that in the next decade when I move from my current home, I will be very limited to where I can live due to the type of dog that I own and that’s a shame. We hope that the readers of the dog blog do not stand for this kind of action.

Both my pit bull Mickey and my boxer American bulldog mix Loki were as calm and docile as one could imagine and very few ignorant people are too uninformed (or misinformed) to realize that. I can only hope to take Loki on many walks and to let her meet many people in order to realize that not only is she not mean but she is nice and lovable. Stories like this hurt me and should either be completely ignored or reported on fairly.

Posted by J.Morisson - December 30, 2011 at 10:18 am

Categories: The Dog Blog   Tags:

What is a Kong?

A puppy enjoying his Kong

A puppy enjoying his Kong

What is a Kong?

 

A dog is undeniably man’s best friend. The Kong on the other hand is undoubtedly dog’s best friend. For those of you that do not know, a Kong is a hollow rubber toy in which the pet owner stuffs treats. It works as a puzzle for the dog. The dog has to work hard in order to get the treats out which mentally stimulates the dog. Dogs have a natural instinct to go out looking for their food and the Kong ties right into that hard-wired instinct and makes dogs absolutely love the challenge.

Think of three hollow balls being mushed together in order to make one three tiered object. Think the number “8” with an added ring at the top. Now gradual increase the size so the top ring is smallest and the bottom is biggest. You now have a Kong.  There is a large hole on the big side and a small hole on the bottom. Stick some treats in, throw the Kong, and watch your dog go to heaven.

 

Using a Kong for crate training

What I personally use my Kong for is a treat that Loki only gets in her cage. Instead of letting her have all of her toys whenever she wants them, I only give her Kongs in the cage for the time being. The reason I do that is two-fold. The first reason is that I want her think of her cage as a sanctuary where it rains Kongs and no other place in the world has them. This helps me when I say, “Go in your cage!” and she gets excited because she knows she is going to get a Kong or two. The second benefit is that it buys time while we are away at work.

 

When I fill her Kong, I do not use the normal Kong-specific treats. I use high value treats (Hot dogs) and kibble. When I fill my Kong I drop some hot dog in the bottom so she can smell it through the small hole, then I pour some kibble in. The trick after this step is to run water through it. I flush the Kong with water. This helps buy a little more time for her when she is home alone. She can try all she wants, but she will not get all of the food until it is properly thawed. After it’s been thoroughly soaked, I seal it off with some peanut butter, and stick it in the freezer. It’s amazing. She thinks so and I think so.

Even if you’re not crate training your dog, it’s a perfect toy for playing fetch. If you throw some Kong-approved treats inside of the Kong and give it a toss, you will soon see that it is the perfect toy for playing fetch. The reason is the shape! The shape of the Kong causes an unpredictable bounce. If you thought a football has an unpredictable bounce, you will see that it is nothing compared to the Kong. Your dog will quickly be worn out because the bouncing will cause so much more running for your pup! We all know that a tired dog is a good dog.

What’s this mean?

If you haven’t purchased a dog I highly suggest doing so. It’s one of the strongest, safest, and most loved dog toys on the market. Did I mention that it’s also really cheap? It’s like $8.00 and it will last a lifetime with most dogs. If your dog is strong-jawed, don’t worry. They make a stronger, more durable, version of the Kong that holds up to even the strongest of dogs. If you are in the middle of crate training or need to tire your dog out a little bit more so you can sleep at night, then this is the toy for you.  Enjoy!

Read more...   Click here to check out the Kong

Posted by J.Morisson - December 23, 2011 at 10:59 am

Categories: Product Review   Tags: , ,

My Dog Will Not Poop

Will I ever stop saying “My dog will not poop?”

Man with an annoyed look on his face

Will I ever stop saying "My dog will not poop?"

We have been working on getting Loki into a routine. This way we can predict when she has to go to the bathroom and it will help avoid accidents in her cage and in the house. She’s had one of each and I didn’t react whatsoever. I just instantly took her outside and she peed. I praised her, gave her treats, and came back in and went to sleep. Oh did I mention it was at 5:00am? Yeah, it was. The other accident that she had was when she was locked in her cage. She must have had to go to the bathroom and she went in her cage. Poor thing. I know she didn’t want to. But my dog will not poop outside very often.

For the last week she hadn’t really been eating in the morning. I would put her food out for 15-20 minutes and she would sniff it at most. Then she’d walk away and I’d put her bowl away. Nighttime was a different story. She would scarf down her food and was happy to do so. Before you think it’s mean I will remind you that number one, a dog will not let it’s self starve, and two, she also had two Kongs worth of food in her cage, so that’s another cup, two treats, and about a tablespoon of peanut butter. She was eating plenty. She just wasn’t eating when I wanted her to eat the most; in the morning.

The reason I want Loki to eat in the morning is because I leave for work in the early afternoon. I need her to go to the bathroom to leave her with a clean bowel when she is in her cage for 6 hours and two, in order to leave me stress free. The last thing I want to do is to leave for working thinking “My dog will not poop. There is going to be a mess when I get home to see her.”

I came up with the idea of adding an egg to her food. Instead of buying expensive non-healthy canned food or even more expensive more healthy canned food, I figured an egg would suffice. It will help keep her joints, coat, and blood healthy. Plus one egg costs about $.08 so it’s perfect.

Last night I got her food ready, threw a stirred egg in the microwave for 30 seconds, mixed it into her food, and put it out for her. She instantly scarfed it down. I was thrilled. I was mainly thrilled because we had been training all day so she had eating quite a bit of kibble already. As she was eating, I changed her water and she was as happy as a clam.

I waited about 30 minutes and figured I’d give it a shot. I took her outside. She peed and I praised her. After that, she just wanted to play. So I grabbed her flirt pole in order to hopefully get her body going and her juices flowing. We played for about 15 or twenty minutes and came inside. She instantly passed out as usual. The flirt pole wears her out! Still, my dog will not poop.

My girlfriend waited 20 minutes and took her out again. Nothing. My dog will not poop. I stayed up an extra half hour because we did not want her to have an accident in the house like she did the night before. I had no luck. My dog will not poop.

Sleepy Eye

Click to enlarge.

I set an alarm for 4:00am; 2 hours after the previous attempt. When I got up, she was whining a bit. I thought, “This is it!” I took her out. She peed. She just sat there staring at me. My dog will not poop.  When I came back inside I told my girlfriend to set an alarm for 6:00am. I was for certain that she would be pooping then.

When 6:00am rolled around, my girlfriend got up, and put the leash on Loki. I dozed off and woke up when I heard Loki running upstairs. I asked if she had gone to the bathroom. She hadn’t. In fact, she refused to even go outside. She was getting as annoyed as we were with the constant in and out. My dog will not poop! Can you sense my frustration?

Although I was frustrated and a little concerned, we obviously didn’t let it show. We went back to sleep and I woke up at 9:00 like I normally do.

When it rolled around, I took Loki outside with me. She was excited to get out. We ran to the potty area and… wait for it… she peed! My dog will not poop. We stood there for a minute and she just gave me a look like “Okay, time to go inside.” So in we went. My dog will not poop!

When 9:30 rolled around, I was nervous to feed her, as this was the first time the egg would come into effect in the morning. She had no desire to be downstairs and was sleeping in her doggy bed. I called her downstairs and kept telling her “food,” which is our command to let her know that we’re going to feed her. She went back upstairs. Again, we’re trying to get her on a schedule, and her not eating in the AM doesn’t help this!

I made the egg in the microwave, mixed it in the food and called her downstairs once more. She came down and scarfed the food down! Hooray! She can’t hold the poop in forever! We waited a half hour and took her out. Success. Loki went to the bathroom and we are thrilled!

I am going to try and get her to go out again at about 1:00pm in hopes of clearing herself out in time for us to go to work. If she does that, it will be the perfect day. If not, it’s okay, I will not be saying “my dog will not poop.” I will be keeping close track of it and figuring out her cycle and using that to our advantage.

Further Reading:

 

Posted by J.Morisson - December 21, 2011 at 11:20 am

Categories: The Dog Blog   Tags: ,

Out Like A Light

Loki cuddling on the floor

This is what owning a dog is all about. I came into the room to find my girlfriend and Loki laying on the living room floor out like a light. There's nothing better than man's best friend.

Posted by J.Morisson - December 20, 2011 at 3:00 pm

Categories: The Dog Blog   Tags:

How to make a flirt pole to handle energetic dogs

The Problem

Loki has been great in her cage. She drinks from her hamster-like water dispenser, eats her Kongs, and chills out like a good doggy. The only problem comes when we let her out of her cage.

Generally my girlfriend is the one that lets her out of her cage and she’s never had a dog. When she lets Loki out she’s obviously really excited to see someone and she goes wild! Her tail wags like crazy and she’s so energetic. As soon as my girlfriend takes her out to go potty, she jumps on her, nibbles on her arms, and if she tucks her arms in, in order to give her no attention for the bad behavior, she nips her feet. She has no interest in her Tug of War rope so we can’t use that to burn the energy.

I thought the problem was lack of exercise so we make it a point to walk her for 30 minutes as well as play tug of war outside for another 20-30 minutes. After asking on reputable forums like Reddit and Something Awful, I don’t think that’s enough. I have noticed that nighttime is more peaceful when she moved more during the day, so I think we need to do more. We need a flirt pole.

What is a Flirt Pole

You’ve seen a flirt pole before and you probably haven’t even known it. If you know of any friends that own a cat, you’ve seen them with the fishing pole-type device hat usually has feathers on it. You dangle the feathers in front of the kitty and it swats at it. Some how a flirt pole is has a really bad reputation when it comes to dogs. It’s something that a lot of dog-fighters use and that is why a flirt pole generally has a bad reputation. However, a flirt pole is something that a lot of great dog owners use to properly stimulate their dog and to let them run and chase, which is exactly what a dog desires to do. A flirt pole is one of the best tools to condition your dog. Instead of going out to purchase a flirt pole, I decided to make my own. The one shown to the left is perfect for smaller dogs that need to be active. My dog is 47 pounds and needs a bigger flirt pole or else I’d just purchase my own.

 

How to make a flirt pole

Supplies:

Supplies needed to build a flirt pole

Supplies needed to build a flirt pole. Click to enlarge.
  • 3/4″-1” PVC Pipe, roughly 6’-7’ feet long.
  • Roughly 12 feet of nylon rope, or something tough enough to handle a dog pulling on it
  • A piece of leather, burlap, or anything really.

Instructions:

First you want to cut the pipe to the proper size. If your yard is big, then 6-7 feet will be fine. If it’s on the smaller side, then you might want to either cut or purchase a smaller pipe, but not too small. You do not want to make your flirt pole too big or too small. We want this dog to RUN!

Next, what you want to do is run the rope through the PVC pipe and secure it on the other end with literally anything. I used a ¼” nut and bolt. This allows the rope to slide between two fingers, which allows you to adjust the slack of the rope for added difficulty as you play. This helps stop the rope from snapping and also helps the PVC stay nice and bendy for when the dog does catch the object. At this point you essentially have your flirt pole built. It’s really that simple to build a flirt pole.

Rope through the flirt pole

Rope through the flirt pole. Click to enlarge.

Bolt End Of Flirt Pole

The bolt is tied and secured using the same rope that runs through the flirt pole. Click to enlarge.

Lastly, you want to secure the other end of the rope to the burlap, leather, or dog toy. That is it. You have just built yourself a flirt pole and did it in less than 15 minutes. This should give your dog hours and hours of fun.

Flirt pole with the rope tied to a toy ferret.

Flirt pole with the rope tied to a toy ferret. Click to enlarge.

I don’t know if a flirt pole will help my girlfriend with the jumping/nibbling problem, however. Loki has no interest in her tug o war rope and I doubt she will have any desire to play with a flirt pole, so we need to condition her to stop jumping. How are we going to do that? Ignoring her.

Our plan is to take Loki outside after she had been in her cage, and the second that she jumps on us or bites our feet, we will say, “No jumping!” and go inside for 20-30 seconds. We will then go outside again and try to be with her. If she jumps or bites, we will repeat the exact phrase and action. Since she is only kept in her cage for long periods of time for only 3 days a week it might take a couple of weeks but she will soon associate that jumping and biting means she is bored. Soon she will keep her paws and mouth to herself and everybody will be happy.

Video of Loki and Her Flirt Pole


If that doesn’t work click here to watch How to make a flirt pole.

Post-Flirt Pole Photos

Loki starting to show signs of being tired after playing with the flirt pole

Loki starting to show signs of being tired after playing with the flirt pole. Click to enlarge.

Loki sleeping after playing with her flirt pole

Loki sleeping only minutes after playing with her flirt pole. Click to enlarge.

Posted by J.Morisson - December 19, 2011 at 5:43 pm

Categories: Puppy Development, The Dog Blog   Tags: , ,

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