Want a Well-Behaved Dog? Put Dog in ‘Drive’. “Come”, “Sit”, “Down” and Loose Leash Walking. Cougars. Aztec Tenochtitlán Falls. HSUS Rescue. Cooking Brown Rice.

For “Mammal Monday”:

Want a Well-Behaved Dog? Do More of This and Less of That

“Recent studies on canine behavior are proving that positive reinforcement training is much more effective (not to mention humane) than training involving punishment.

A couple of studies even point to the probability that training methods that involve punishment can actually create problem behaviors in dogs.   Positive reinforcement training is based on the simple notion that rewarding your dog for desired behavior will encourage more of that behavior.

A growing collection of recent studies is proving that positive reinforcement training of dogs is much more effective and ultimately successful than training involving dominance and punishment.

Some of the studies even demonstrated that training involving punishment actually created additional problem behaviors – certainly an outcome no dog guardian deliberately sets out to achieve.” Complete article at: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/08/03/positive-reinforcement-dog-training.aspx

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Put Your Dog In Right Drive: * Pack * Prey * Defense

“Did you ever notice......that if your wife (or husband, girlfriend, boyfriend) is mad at you they don’t need to say a word.
The other day I was in a bad mood over something and my wife walked
into the house and asked, “What’s wrong?” She could tell by my body posture that I was not happy.
This is very important for anyone training their dog.
Especially when it comes to the recall (come when called) command.
One of the most influential trainers in my life taught me the concept of
drives in dog training and it is really fascinating stuff.
You see, your dog is always in one type of drive. There are three primary drives in every dog:
* Pack
* Prey
* Defense
Your dog has to be in the correct drive when you are training.
When you stand up straight and talk in an even tone of voice your dog goes into pack drive.
Get on the ground and talk in a high pitched voice and your dog will go into prey drive.
Stand leaning forward and lower your voice and your dog goes into defense drive.
When you call your dog to you, your dog has to be in the correct drive which is prey drive.
If you are leaning forward and if you lower your tone of voice it will be
difficult for your dog to come when called because your body language is
communicating a different message.
This happens quite often.
The dog is sniffing and poking around and the owner says, “Junior, come on, come here.”
The dog ignores the command and the owner gets frustrated: “Junior, come here. JUNIOR, GET OVER HERE” as they lean forward and point their finger.
The dog looking at the owner and hearing the tone will avoid the owner’s command to come or if the dog does it, the dog will do it reluctantly.
The correct drive is prey. Get your dog to switch into prey drive and your tone and body language will be correct, making it much easier for your dog to come to you.
It’s easy when you become aware of it.
Anyway, your dog will get much better at coming when called by just making this one change.

All the best,  Eric R. Letendre, The Amazing Dog Training Man”

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When training on a slippery floor, use a non-skid mat.

Come When Called 1: Puppy Basics | Teacher's Pet With Victoria Stilwell

“Dylan learns the first stages of coming when called, a basic but mandatory cue for any dog. Victoria explains why it's important to make it a game and not be boring. She also covers common mistakes that people make when teaching dogs recall.
In Teacher's Pet, Victoria Stilwell shows you how to employ her Positively Method to train your dog the right way, growing your level of communication to strengthen the bond between you and your pet.”

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Teach a Puppy to Sit | Teacher's Pet With Victoria Stilwell

“Victoria teaches Dylan to sit, a cue that's the foundation of building a common language between a person and a dog.”

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Teach a Puppy to Lie Down | Teacher's Pet With Victoria Stilwell

“Now that he has learned to sit, Dylan practices the "down" cue with Victoria”

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Loose-Leash Walking Inside | Teacher's Pet With Victoria Stilwell

“Can't stop your dog from pulling? Victoria and Candace demonstrate the basics of walking a dog with a loose leash, and Victoria explains why it's best to start leash training inside.”

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The Return of Mountain Lions to the American Midwest

“For a hundred years, the cougar population in the American midwest had been in decline. But from three breeding populations in the Dakotas and Nebraska, the big cats are re-colonizing across the midwestern states.

Mountain lions, also called cougars and pumas, are large “ambush predators.” They are solitary creatures, shy, and rarely seen in the wild by humans.

Researchers are stressing the need for public awareness campaigns and conservation strategies in states that haven’t dealt with large carnivores in the last century.” Complete article at: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/08/10/mountain-lion-returns.aspx

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On This Day:

Aztec capital falls to Cortés, Aug 13, 1521:

“After a three-month siege, Spanish forces under Hernán Cortés capture Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec empire. Cortés' men leveled the city and captured Cuauhtemoc, the Aztec emperor.

Tenochtitlán was founded in 1325 A.D. by a wandering tribe of hunters and gatherers on islands in Lake Texcoco, near the present site of Mexico City. In only one century, this civilization grew into the Aztec empire, largely because of its advanced system of agriculture. The empire came to dominate central Mexico and by the ascendance of Montezuma II in 1502 had reached its greatest extent, extending as far south as perhaps modern-day Nicaragua. At the time, the empire was held together primarily by Aztec military strength, and Montezuma II set about establishing a bureaucracy, creating provinces that would pay tribute to the imperial capital of Tenochtitlán. The conquered peoples resented the Aztec demands for tribute and victims for the religious sacrifices, but the Aztec military kept rebellion at bay.

In the spring of 1520, Cortés learned of the arrival of a Spanish force from Cuba, led by Pánfilo Narvez and sent by Velázquez to deprive Cortés of his command. Cortés led his army out of Tenochtitlán to meet them, leaving behind a garrison of 80 Spaniards and a few hundred Tlaxcaltecs to govern the city. Cortés defeated Narvez and enlisted Narvez' army into his own. When he returned to Tenochtitlán in June, he found the garrison under siege from the Aztecs, who had rebelled after the subordinate whom Cortés left in command of the city massacred several Aztec chiefs, and the population on the brink of revolt. On June 30, under pressure and lacking food, Cortés and his men fought their way out of the capital at heavy cost. Known to the Spanish as La Noche Triste, or "the Night of Sadness," many soldiers drowned in Lake Texcoco when the vessel carrying them and Aztec treasures hoarded by Cortés sank. Montezuma was killed in the fighting–in Aztec reports by the Spaniards, and in Spanish reports by an Aztec mob bitter at Montezuma's subservience to Spanish rule. He was succeeded as emperor by his brother, Cuitláhuac.

During the Spaniards' retreat, they defeated a large Aztec army at Otumba and then rejoined their Tlaxcaltec allies. In May 1521, Cortés returned to Tenochtitlán, and after a three-month siege the city fell. This victory marked the fall of the Aztec empire. Cuauhtámoc, Cuitláhuac's successor as emperor, was taken prisoner and later executed, and Cortés became the ruler of a vast Mexican empire.

The Spanish conquistador led an expedition to Honduras in 1524 and in 1528 returned to Spain to see the king. Charles made him Marqués del Valle but refused to name him governor because of his quarrels with Velázquez and others. In 1530, he returned to Mexico, now known as New Spain, and found the country in disarray. After restoring some order, he retired to his estate south of Mexico City and sent out maritime expeditions from the Pacific coast. In 1540, he returned to Spain and was neglected by the court. He died in 1547.”

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Here is HSUS’ write-up about the pit bulls seized from the “rescue” just down the road from my house:

A Rescue in Name Only: Nearly 500 Dogs Rescued from Dire Circumstances In One Week.

“It’s especially painful to see people and places that purport to help animals do precisely the opposite. That’s what we discovered last week when The HSUS’s Animal Rescue Team helped the Montgomery County Precinct 3 Constable and Montgomery County Animal Control remove almost 300 dogs―mostly pit bull types―from poor conditions at a facility called Spindletop Refuge in Willis, Texas.

Photo: Scott Dalton
Rowdy Shaw with a great Dane rescued in Texas.

Our team worked more than 20 hours straight, until 6 a.m. the next day, to transfer the dogs off the property and transport them to the emergency shelter. A torrential rainstorm complicated the operation, and left everyone involved coated in mud.” More at: http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2012/07/nearly-500-dogs-rescued.html

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Yesterday:

It was a quiet day, and if I am left to my own devices, I will spend too much time on this computer!   But I did other jobs while catching up on blogs, and reading other things on the web.

I put a big litter box in the puppy’s pen, but it has a newspaper lining and ripped up newspaper in it, not cat litter.  They do make dog litter, but I don’t have any.   The pups are starting to use it, so that keeps their play area in the pen cleaner. Several times a day, I let them run around the grooming room so they can get more exercise, and latch the door to the pen ajar, so they can go in the box to relieve themselves.  They are very active, and they wear me out.  When they have crashed from being worn out, I have tried to take a picture, but it won’t take through the glass door, so they hear me open the door and wake up.  They look so peaceful when they are all curled up together in their bed.

I have been trying out different ways of cooking brown rice.  I have done it in a bowl in the pressure cooker, also cooked it like you do pasta, with plenty of water, and yesterday I did it in the slow cooker.  I have been adding a little brown rice to the pup’s food for the goodness in it.  Well, my verdict is in.  I prefer to eat it when it has been slightly browned in a pot on the stove, which gives it a nutty flavor, and then add at least 1-3 ratio of hot water.  Cook it uncovered like you do pasta, on medium heat, for about 30 minutes, then drain and fluff.  The drained nutritious water can be used as a base for something else.  Mine is just a variation of this video:

My biggest concern during these puppy days is coming up with enough newspaper for each day!