Freeshaping a retrieve with a clicker

For fun (and because Pitbullforum currently has a Trick of the Month thread going on this exercise right now), I thought I'd revive an old and ill-fated attempt to get Tucker to learn to retrieve. A couple of years ago, I used a piece of PVC pipe, held it in front of him and if he took it in his mouth, I'd reward/treat. Then, if I could get him to hang onto it for a second or two, I'd try to introduce the concept of "hold" and I'd reward him for keeping it in his mouth. We didn't get very far, and I mostly just learned that Tucker didn't like it when I put a piece of PVC in front of his face and expected him to respond in an enthusiastic manner toward it. Some dogs are natural retrievers and engagers, and they do willingly grab things out of their owners hands when offered, because it's fun and often the precursor to a game. Tucker just isn't wired that way. He doesn't see the point.

At that time, I wasn't really very adept working with a clicker. I mean, I understood the concept, but I didn't understand how to capture and shape behaviors. So I was improvising and trying to coax Tucker into taking something from me so I could get an opportunity to mark the activity and reward him for it, hopefully with enough time that he'd make the connection.

But no amount of standing and holding something in front of my unresponsive dog's nose was going to coax him into wanting to take that piece of plastic. If he was on leash, he'd try to avoid and if he was off leash, he'd quickly become distracted by something he actually thought was fun and wander off to explore it instead.

I wasn't doing this for any kind of specific reason ... I didn't have a training regime that required me to teach him to retrieve. It just seemed like something fun (for me, anyway) to teach him to do. Plus, I was just accustomed to dogs who were willing and eager to investigate and grab what was offered, giving me ample opportunity to alert them that YES, taking was EXACTLY what I wanted them to do and that I would make it worth their while to do it again. Since Tucker obviously wasn't having any of that, I wasn't having any success with the exercise, and I got frustrated and eventually just stopped trying. (Hmm, extinction anyone?) I focused on just working with Doc and Button instead.

Since then, though, I've actually learned a bit more about using a clicker more effectively, and though I still find myself battling crap timing, I get it right often enough that the dogs are learning things. So I figured I'd try a new approach with Tucker and that retrieve behavior. I replaced the PVC pipe with an actual dumbbell (wood, maybe a bit heavier than I should have started with, but he's using it), and I decided to free shape the behavior from scratch. We started out with a game, in which he knew I had treats and knew I wanted him to do something, but he had to figure out what it was ... when he'd make a move toward the dumbbell, he'd get a click and treat, and once he made the connection to the fact that the dumbbell was the key to unlocking the reward, he learned to pay attention to it and keep working it to get what he wanted. In this early video, you can actually see him experiment by checking out a Nylabone lying on the floor nearby ... when he gets no reward, he realizes that it is indeed the dumbbell that he's got to work with, not any object that catches his eye.



He's now at the point where he's actually picking up the dumbbell, which is fantastic. A huge step forward for a dog that really had no interest in holding stuff in his mouth at this time last year. We'll see how far we get with this. My long-term goal would be to name a handful of objects and get him to bring them to me when asked. But one step at a time. For now, the dumbbell.



I'll post more video as he progresses. But, for me at least, this is proof that most training failures are an inability to be creative in how you approach the dog in front of you, not a reflection on the dog's ability or willingness to learn.

The thing that only ate biscuits

Well, that's what he'd like to be at least ...

Rob started giving Doc a dog biscuit from the jar on the counter every time he made coffee. Now Doc waits there, expectantly, every time someone walks in the kitchen, trying to will someone to gift him a biscuit.

As Charles County, Md. considers BSL, look at what's up in PG County

Officials in Charles County, Md., take note. Since you're considering passing a piece of breed specific legislation – one that would potentially restrict ownership of pit bulls in your county – it would be a good idea to look at what's going on right next door, in Prince Georges County, where pit bulls have been banned since 1997.

The ban hasn't stopped people in the county from owning or obtaining pit bulls. I know that firsthand. I trained my dog (a pit bull) with a schutzhund club in PG County for several years, and every time I was down there (usually once, sometimes twice per week), I encountered people who wanted to talk to me about my pit bull, about their pit bull that they owned despite the ban, or about how the ban really isn't keeping pit bulls out of the county – it's just causing people who own the dogs to keep it on the down low so nobody notices them and turns them in. Off the top of my head, I can think of half a dozen people – people I know personally – who live in Prince Georges County and own at least one pit bull. I've seen plenty of pit bulls in PG County with my own eyes.

The pit bull ban is, at least in my anecdotal experience, not keeping pit bulls out of the county. It's just making people who really want to own them more secretive about keeping them. Big surprise, right? Prince Georges County said so itself, when it appointed a task force to examine the efficacy of its law in 2003, which determined the law to be costly and inefficient. Despite the task force's findings, the law has stayed in place and nobody in the county can be bothered to do anything about it. Even though that law isn't keeping people safe from dangerous dogs.

In 2007, Fort Washington resident Richard Kenner was attacked and mauled by two Cane Corsos – Italian mastiffs – while he was walking his own dogs, a shih tzu and a husky, in his neighborhood. Kenner told the Washington Post that he tried to escape, but couldn't, and he feared the dogs would kill him. An off-duty police officer saw the attack and shot one of the dogs, as well as Kenner's husky.

More recently, there have been two other attacks by large mastiff-type dogs in Prince George's County. One happened to someone I know last year. He was in his own yard with his family dog when two presa canarios got loose from a neighbor's yard and came after him. Fortunately, he was able to get back to his house without getting mauled. Now there's this case below, for which a hearing was held last week:

Case No. 88-11 VA

Date: 14 September 2011

Time: 9:30 a.m.

Place: The Office of Boards and Commissions
Department of Environment Resources/AS/OBC
Animal Management Facility
3750 Brown Station Road
Upper Marlboro, Maryland, 20772
(301) 883-6009 TDD (301) 925-5157

CHARGES: Allegedly on March 21, 2011, Bruce Workman's male, black and brown, Presa Canario named 'Azor' Attacked Wayne Rinick and bit him on the arm, showing the propensity to be vicious. This is in violation of Section 3-131 'Manner of Keeping Animals' and Section 3-136 'Vicious Animals' and Section 3-134 'Excessive Noise by an Animal Prohibited' of the Prince George's County Code.

This attack occurred in this same neighborhood and on the same street where the attack on Kenner took place, though these dogs are not the same dogs that attacked him. New pair of at large dangerous dogs, different owner.

So pit bulls are banned, and officials put that ban in place claiming it would help keep the public safe from dangerous dogs. But not all pit bulls are dangerous and not all dangerous dogs are pit bulls. In fact, in areas where pit bulls are banned, people who are looking for bad-ass dogs can just move onto other breeds – ones that are bigger, maybe, and perhaps less well-known. Dogs they don't have to hide and can sell openly, because they're not part of the high-profile ban. It's being discussed on message boards, like this one. And proof is turning up in odd places, like this "Animal Watch" column in the Washington Post and on Craiglist and the PG County's Animal Management page on Petfinder, where an increasingly large number of "mastiff mixes," as well as Presas, Corsos, Neos and other dogs that used to be pretty rare in shelters, are being listed for adoption.

These dogs are, like pit bulls, dogs first. They're neither good nor bad – rather, they're products of their genetics and environment, and they deserve to be kept and handled responsibly and owned by people who won't let them run loose and terrorize people, who give them appropriate outlets for their energy and drives, and who contain them properly. As breeds, they're not going to cause problems in the community if responsible and conscientious people own them. They will, however, cause problems when they start to become popular among idiots. Which, if I had to guess, is what's starting to happen in PG County. And I'm sure the responsible mastiff-owning community is none too pleased, because nobody wants to see their breed of dog making these kinds of headlines.

How does a breed-specific law protect the public from dogs owned by idiots, when the idiots have started to discover new breeds of dog? Or from any dangerous dog of any breed in the community, other than the one that's named in the ban?

It doesn't. And as a result, these laws just aren't useful ... irresponsible people, sociopathic people and criminally negligent people will continue to be irresponsible, sociopathic and criminally negligent. They'll just do it with a different breed of dog.

So why not pass smarter laws? Make laws that target dangerous behaviors and practices of the people who own dogs – all breeds – if you really want to pass laws that protect people. Make sure your animal control departments are enforcing those laws. Make sure your law-enforcement agencies are working in conjunction with animal control to respond to complaints about dangerous animals. Make sure animal control complaints aren't going unanswered or ignored, which seems to be a disturbingly common complaint from people who say they have potentially dangerous dogs in their communities.

You can ban all the pit bulls in the world – and all the mastiffs and rottweilers and akitas and chows, too – but it's not going to keep anyone from getting bit by the dangerous 100-pound mutt on the corner. Please, Charles County, look around at what's really going on in your area before you pass this law.

Boudreaux suit against LASPCA settles

In 2005, I was watching the high-profile dog-fighting bust of long time American pit bull terrier breeder Floyd Boudreaux, who the Louisiana SPCA and the HSUS busted on 57 charges related to dog fighting. At the time, the HSUS posted an announcement on its site that "Dog Fighting Kingpin Toppled in Louisiana Raid." The link to that story is now dead, presumably because Boudreaux was acquitted of charges in 2008 because there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute him. But by then, it was too late for the dogs. All of them were swiftly killed by the authorities after they were seized, before the man even went to court.

In 2009, the Boudreaux family sued the Louisiana SPCA (the link to the old story at The Advocate newspaper in Baton Rouge is a dead link, too) for mental distress and loss of income. Floyd Boudreaux and his son, Guy, insisted that they weren't fighting dogs anymore – they were breeding them to preserve their bloodlines. This week the Advocate is reporting that the suit has been settled for an undisclosed sum.

I wonder what we learned, if anything, from this case? Aside from the fact that maybe things aren't always what they seem and that those who claim to have dogs' best interests at heart aren't always as concerned about the actual dogs in front of them as they should be. Because that's what it's supposed to be about, right? The dogs? In this case, the dogs never stood a chance.

As I said before, the link isn't active, but here's the original HSUS press release text announcing the Boudreaux bust for your reading pleasure.

Dog Fighting Kingpin Toppled in Louisiana Raid.

He's been called the "Godfather of dog fighting," the "dog fighting don," and even the "Babe Ruth of dog fighting." Since March 9, Floyd Boudreaux is being called something else: an accused felon. On that day Louisiana State Police arrested Boudreaux, one of the most infamous dog fighters and breeders in the United States, along with his son Guy.

The arrests, which sent shock waves through the dog fighting world, were the culmination of a three-month effort by state and federal law enforcement agents, The Humane Society of the United States and the Louisiana SPCA.

Father and son were both charged with 57 felony counts of dog fighting and two counts of animal cruelty, following an early morning raid on Boudreaux's property in Broussard, Louisiana.

In addition to the state felony charges, Boudreaux and his son Guy could face federal charges for selling and transporting fighting dogs across state lines. All told, they might spend a total of ten years in prison for each of the 57 charges. For 70-year-old Floyd Boudreaux, that might as well be a life sentence.

Scarred Bodies and Temperaments

What investigators found on Boudreaux's property is typical of serious fighting dog operations: row after row of pit bulls, each tethered by a heavy chain to a small, ramshackle hut. Several sad-faced dogs bore a medley of deep scars on their muzzles and limbs, the hallmark of hardened fighting dogs.

Elsewhere in the compound, investigators found wooden ramps and treadmills, commonly used to train dogs in strength and endurance.

Laura Maloney, Louisiana SPCA director, said it was heartbreaking to see the dogs tethered outside in rows of five, wearing grooves into the muddy ground at the limit of their chains. Although most of the animals were healthy in spite of their scars, several were extremely aggressive. Because of their unsuitability for adoption, all of the adult dogs had to be euthanized.

Implications for The Shady World of Dog Fighting

What distinguished this bust from any other in recent years are its implications, both immediate and longstanding, for the world of dog fighting. Boudreaux is more than a backyard breeder—he is one of the main purveyors of some of the world's top fighting dog lines.

According to Sandy Christiansen, regional coordinator for HSUS's Southeast Regional Office, "Virtually every major bloodline of fighting dogs has the Boudreaux name somewhere in the pedigree. This guy's influence on the world of animal fighting has been huge."

More than any other person, Boudreaux has shaped the profile of the modern fighting dog. Specifically bred for maximum "gameness" (a determination to fight on, even in the face of certain death), dogs from the Boudreaux line are considered top-notch animals in the fighting world, fetching prices up to $10,000.

It's a quality that brought Boudreaux-bred dogs accolades from dog fighting enthusiasts, but little else. Even the most revered fighting dog lives the majority of his lonely life at the end of a short chain, with no social interaction save grim excursions to the fighting pit or breeding stand.

A Broussard neighbor said, "What bothers me the most is that they're on three-foot chains. Big, heavy chains. They spend their life under a chicken coop on a chain. That is not a life...that's horrible."

Nobody is Untouchable

As infamous as Boudreaux has been in the animal protection community, he has been equally admired in the dog fighting subculture. As far back as the 1950s, he appeared on the covers of animal fighting publications, posing alongside prized fighting animals. Today, his likeness graces t-shirts and other coveted dog fighting memorabilia.

It's no surprise, then, that Boudreaux's arrest has aroused rabid ire in the dog fighting world. Internet dog fighting chat sites are ablaze with the topic, with some devotees calling for a one-year moratorium on all dog fighting activity to "get the heat off." Others want the animal welfare officials involved to lose their jobs. Still others are scrambling to collect donations for Boudreaux's defense fund, perhaps fearing that they might soon need help themselves.

While Boudreaux evaded the law for years, his chances of escaping the justice system this time are slim, now that state and federal officials have stepped in. Regardless, the damage to his operation—and the world of illegal dog fighting—is done. The former "go-to guy" for fighting dogs has now lost most of his bark and bite.

Major dog fighting players are on notice that they could be the next ones in handcuffs, as long as they persist in their bloody business. Says Christiansen, "The arrests of Floyd and Guy Boudreaux send a message to the dog fighting community that no one is untouchable."

Tom Brady and his pit bull in new UGGS ad

The New England Patriots' Tom Brady and his pit bull, Lua, star in a new UGGS ad. Well, Tom stars, Lua kinda makes a cameo. But still, kinda cool. Hat tip to Animal Farm Foundation, who posted this vid to Facebook earlier.

Pit bull cadaver dog in the news

It's so nice--and so rare--when a well-trained American pit bull terrier makes the news for doing something good for the community. So hats off to Buddy, a trained cadaver dog, and handler Christen Adkins, who made the news for helping to search for Katelyn Markum in Fairfield, OH this weekend.

Watch a newsclip featuring Buddy and his handler here.

Ten years ago today ...

I was living in upstate New York. Albany. And of course, like everyone else, I remember the day all too well. I remember getting up for work and turning on the news for a few minutes and being stunned when they switched too footage of one of the WTC buildings with a gaping, smoking hole in the side of it. I remember watching as the other plane hit. I remember frantically trying to reach anyone in my family ... my family's from the Bronx and Englewood, NJ, originally, so most of my family lives in New York and New Jersey, and some of them worked in and around the WTC. But land lines were overloaded, I couldn't get through to anyone for hours.

I finally went to work, where everyone was in shock. I went to a church that night for a community gathering. Everyone was afraid.

I remember thinking right about then that I was ready to change my life. I'd been living in Albany for almost 10 years, I wasn't entirely happy, I felt like I wanted to live somewhere bigger and different and I wanted new challenges. I knew then--was certain of it, after that day--that I wasn't going to go to New York City.

By the first anniversary of 9/11, I had moved to Baltimore, MD with my old lady lab mix, Reba. Just me and her. At that time, I didn't have any of the dogs I have now, but I quickly got involved with some pit bull rescue organizations and volunteering and fostering. And that led me to the three clowns I have now. First, there was Tucker, who was part of a litter that was at least partially pit bull based on the bully-looking pups in the litter. They were scheduled to be put down at the shelter for suspicion of being pit bull mixes. Then there was Doc, who had bounced from foster home to foster home to permanent home, back to foster and when one of those homes failed him, he landed with me, and we decided that the poor dog had done enough bouncing in his life. Then there was Button, who was discovered at 10 weeks old with his two littermates, nearly dead of starvation and covered in abscesses and bite marks because the puppies were fighting so badly with one another over resources.

Those are my Baltimore Bulldogs, and if it weren't for 9/11, I wonder whether I would have moved to Baltimore ... I might have, instead, gone to New York. Or, who knows, somewhere else.

It's kind of strange where life takes you.

The past few weeks have been a bit difficult, thinking about 9/11, thinking about the people who were lost, thinking about the thousands more who were lost in the subsequent wars, thinking about how much did change. And I was looking for a bright spot in the past decade.

For me, it's these dogs and Rob. I hope everyone can find whatever peace they can make with such a violent and brutal and cruel memory.

And in other dog-related 9/11 memories, someone sent me this link to an article containing portraits of the 12 surviving rescue dogs who worked 9/11.

New pit bull-friendly rental resource

Everyone pit bull owner who's ever tried to rent an apartment or house knows it's an uphill battle to find a place that's pit bull friendly. So many management companies and landlords these days prohibit pit bulls, Rottweilers, shepherds, etc. Though pit bull friendly housing EXISTS, it can be really tough to find those few apartment complexes or landlords who don't discriminate by breed.

So Positive Pit Bull out of Raleigh, N.C. posted a Facebook page recently called Pit Bull Pads that gives pit bull friendly landlords a place to advertise their rental properties. Pit bull owners can also post to let people know where they're looking for rentals.

My rental house isn't available at the moment, but if it does come up for rent again, I'll be using this site to advertise it.

Who says Facebook is good for nothing? Go advertise your apartments, landlords, and find yourselves some responsible pit bull owners looking for a place to live!

We got a new couch

And for one day, it looked like this:



But for the most part, it's going to have to look like this:



It's nothing fancy ... just an Ikea Kivik. But after looking at tons of couches at multiple furniture stores, finding very little that we liked, and realizing that for as long as we have dogs, we'll have to keep whatever couch we have mostly covered with a sheet, we decided to go economy. It cost us approximately one-third of what most of the other stuff we looked at cost. It's got a layer of memory foam in the seat cushions. It's definitely comfy. And it's simple and minimal, just like our aesthetic, so we're pleased with it.

Doc helps with recycling

Another in the series I like to call Things You can do With a Pit Bull: Get him to help you break down boxes for recycling.

Seriously, shelters? STILL sending dogs out intact?

I have had it with irresponsible shelters. HAD IT.

I just got the lastest in an ongoing barrage of emails from people who have INTACT dogs that they've adopted from a shelter that they're looking to rehome.

The most recent came to me today from the Baltimore area. Intact 10-month-old male pit bull. Skittish. Seems it's ALWAYS a pit bull, the last breed of dog that shelters ought to be sending out the door intact. And skittish--fabulous.

The adopter contacted the shelter to let them know the dog wasn't working out. And the shelter told them--get this--not to bring it back, to rehome it themselves, because the dog would be put to sleep as an owner surrender if it was returned.

So, inexperienced new pit bull owner has an intact young, male pit bull dog that they're going to try to rehome themselves. So far, they're using Facebook and emailing friends. How is that likely to end for this dog? My best guess: Passed around, intact, growing increasingly skittish unless somebody with the proper dog experience picks him up. And more than likely, he'll be sent to his new home or homes intact ... and hey, maybe he'll even make puppies for somebody! So instead of having to deal with ONE dog to find a home for the shelters can take in, say, SIX dogs in about six months' time, after those "oops" puppies or BYB puppies start turning up in shelters too.

Dear animal shelter, whichever one of you it is that sent this dog home then refused to take it back when things weren't working out: Congratulations, you are now operating a backyard breeding operation. And chances are, it's a much bigger one that most BYB operations that exist, since most idiots only have two or three intact dogs they're responsible for. You are probably responsible for far more than any single person could ever be.

*facepalm*, as they say on the interwebs.

Here you go, BYB shelter. You made this.



And if you are a volunteer/employee/supporter of a shelter and you know this kind of thing is going on, for the love of GOD, say something. To your adoption counselors, your executive directors, your board of directors, your local veterinarians, the media. This kind of thing HAS GOT TO STOP. If you give a good goddamn about pit bulls, don't let your community or shelter be part of the problem. Be part of the solution.

Politicians: Insist that your shelters STOP sending animals out intact. They probably get public funding. Make it part of the deal that they alter their animals before adoption if they are to continue to receive it. Seriously. This may be the only way to get through to them, because they NEED your money to continue operating. All they're doing if they're sending dogs out intact is perpetuating the problem, guaranteeing that they will need more and more of your public funding to continue operating. They are plugging their thumbs in the dam with one hand, while opening the faucet to fill the reservoir with the other.

I'm going to go sob now. I'm so tired of feeling like even the good guys are not even guys we can trust to do the right thing.