For those of you who are concerned about my crossing a line with the
book, I'm going to post some of the content here so that hopefully, your
minds will be eased:

###

Dakota wasn't a dainty dog ‹ she was a dog's dog and she was constantly
flirting with death. Once again she put the fear of her death into me.
First it was the hoof incident, then the toad incident, and now this.

We'd opened a bag of miniature chocolate candy bars the night before,
eaten a couple and left the nearly full bag lying on the coffee table.
Dakota was usually so good that we didn't even give it a second thought.
She wasn't a trash digger and she wasn't in the habit of grabbing things
off of tables, but just as with a child there will always be an
exception.

She did the dirty deed just before breakfast. We found the empty bag of
chocolates on the floor with the evidence scattered nearby. She'd eaten
the candy bars wrappers and all, even the foils and papers were gone.
All that was left was the empty bag, a couple of untouched chocolates
and one chocolate that she hadn't finished eating.

I'd always heard that chocolate was bad for dogs but now I needed to
know how bad. Dakota had eaten so much ‹ nearly a whole bag. I
immediately researched chocolate and dogs on the internet and panicked
when I found out how toxic it could be. Vomiting and diarrhea I could
handle but coma and death?

[chapter goes on to what happened with Dakota, and everything I learned
in my research about dogs and chocolate]

###

The dog experts pretty much all agree that it's better to train your dog
with a reward system than a fear system so we tried to focus on the
potty treats. We made it clear to her that we were not pleased when she
peed indoors but we had to be very careful not to yell because if we
raised our voice even one iota, it stressed her out and made her pee
again.

Those days were difficult. Even when she knew we were taking her out
for potty she'd get excited and it just came out before we could
actually get her through the door. We gave a stern no when she slipped
up, immediately took her out and if she peed again outdoors, she got a
reward. I hated giving her that potty treat if she'd peed in the house
first. It felt like I was rewarding her for bad behavior but I was
following the advice from the dog experts.

The hardest times were in the evenings when we came home from work.
Dakota had held it all day and she was fully loaded. We kept the dog
crate next to the door in the hopes of getting her out of the house
before she let loose. In the beginning it didn't work. The minute her
feet cleared the door to the crate the pee was coming out. We continued
as fast as we could out to the backyard with Dakota peeing all the way
down the stairs. We took her directly to the pee pee spot where she
peed even more. Dakota's bladder seemed to be an eternal spring which
never stopped flowing.

Mornings were dicey as well. She'd held it all night long and woke up
fully loaded. I never delayed in taking her out in the morning. I'd
throw on a bathrobe and get her out the door as quickly as possible, not
even taking time for my own morning potty.

There were times when it felt hopeless. We thought we'd never get her
to stop peeing indoors. Ten weeks after adopting Dakota ‹ putting her
at almost ten months old ‹ we finally had a breakthrough.

[book goes on to tell you exactly what techniques we used to potty train
her]

###

Second order of business: Who's the boss?
(Who's the boss ‹ you or the dog?)

In most households the dogs and owners would answer this question very
differently and it's one of the keys to successfully training your dog.
Who dictates feeding time? Who dictates potty time? Who dictates when
it's time to get up in the morning? Who dictates playtime? The Boss ‹
that's who.

Dogs who wake you up from a sound sleep to take them out or feed them
are Boss Dogs. Their owners have allowed them to dictate the rules and
in the natural order of a dog pack, the Boss Dog doesn't have to obey
anybody, ever. Even if a Boss Dog learns a command such as sit, stay,
come or speak, they will only obey the command if they want to. The
Boss Dog is king of the castle and you are there for his amusement. You
are there to do his bidding. Boss Dogs make the rules; they do not obey
the rules of others.

###

Begging at the table and pestering for attention
(More Boss Dog tactics)

Boss Dog strikes again. There is nothing innocent in the dog world.
Almost every action boils down to posturing for position as alpha dog.
Remember the rule about feeding time where you dictate the terms?
Rewarding your dog for begging sends a very clear message: Dog is boss
‹ dog demands food ‹ you will comply. You have been assimilated. You
are now his butler.

The same holds true with pestering for attention. If your dog is
rewarded every time he pesters you for attention then he is getting a
very strong message from you: the dog makes the rules and dictates the
terms. He wants attention and if you give it, he rises up the ladder to
Bosshood. Sometimes you simply have to say no and mean it.

While we are eating the dogs are not allowed to bother us. They must
stay at a distance and not make eye contact with us or stare at our
food. In teaching this, you may need to get up several times and escort
the dog to a safe distance while issuing the stay command. If you are
persistent, it will work. The key to all dog training is persistence
and leadership. Establish a rule and enforce it ‹ every time ‹ not just
sometimes here and there, but every time.


###

One thing you'll discover if you talk to different dog experts is that
there are as many ways to train a dog as there are experts. Watch the
dog training shows on television. I know of three in our neck of the
woods: Good Dog U, Victoria Stilwell's It's Me Or The Dog, and Cesar
Millan's Dog Whisperer. Sometimes they have the same training methods
and sometimes their methods are vastly different.

Read several dog training books. Take a class with your dog. Learn how
to be a good teacher

###

It was a warm, summer night in Georgia. Toads were calling out for
their mates and cricket song filled the air. The moon was just a sliver
in the sky and an owl hooted off in the distance.

I leaned on the railing gazing upward as Dakota disappeared into the
blackness for her bedtime potty. The sky was full of stars and the
music of the night creatures was a symphony of joy. All the world was
happy.

My peaceful bliss quickly evaporated when Dakota came bounding up the
stairs in frantic agitation. She was foaming at the mouth with long
threads of goo flapping as she shook her head in panic, trying to rid
herself ofŠ what? She was pawing at her mouth. Foamy spittle was
flying everywhere. What had she gotten into?

###

How to teach your dog to ignore you
(You will make mistakes)

We may have had Stinkhorns growing in the yard attracting flies but we
were never bothered by flies in the house. Gypsy Rose could catch a fly
in midair. Catching bugs, especially flying bugs, was one of her
favorite pastimes. She could also catch wasps.

The first time Gypsy Rose tried to catch a wasp I stopped her, afraid
that she would get stung. Hovering like an overprotective mother I
would intervene. Wasps in the house were an uncommon occurrence so I
didn't expect to encounter this issue again. I was in for quite a
surprise.

The next day brought more wasps. So did the day after and many days to
follow. The wasps kept coming. Apparently they had some secret door
into the house.

Gypsy Rose was mesmerized by these loud, buzzing creatures.

###

Before long Dakota was charging into the waves with gusto letting them
wash her back to shore. I had ahold of her by harness and leash and
knew she was safe in my control.

Dakota had a blast. All of the worry and fear washed away from her and
she fully embraced this strange new adventure, frolicking and splashing
in the big waves and drinking the salty water. Her eyes shined with joy
and wonder as we walked down the beach, soaking in strange new sights
and sounds and smells.

New things were everywhere. There were people and other dogs and
seagulls skittering across the sand. Strange smells came in on the
ocean breeze and everything was a great adventure, a new world to
explore. Dakota danced and pranced and sniffed the wet sand and came
nose to nose with a giant crab. It reared up on its hind legs and
pointed its big claw at her in warning. They faced off for a few
moments, eyeing each other in a silent stare before I tugged her leash
and we went on our merry way. Dakota was having the time of her life.

###

--
Bad Dog Books
http://books.gityasome.com
Gityasome Tshirts
http://www.gityasome.com

On Sun, 10 Oct 2010 21:57:05 -0400, Sharon Delarose
wrote:

For those of you who are concerned about my crossing a line with the
book, I'm going to post some of the content here so that hopefully, your
minds will be eased:

Just for the record, I'm not concerned about your crossing any line.
I just think you're not qualified to write a book about dog training.

Those days were difficult. Even when she knew we were taking her out
for potty she'd get excited and it just came out before we could
actually get her through the door. We gave a stern no when she slipped
up, immediately took her out and if she peed again outdoors, she got a
reward. I hated giving her that potty treat if she'd peed in the house
first. It felt like I was rewarding her for bad behavior but I was
following the advice from the dog experts.

Which expert suggests rewarding a dog that pees in the house?

The hardest times were in the evenings when we came home from work.
Dakota had held it all day and she was fully loaded. We kept the dog
crate next to the door in the hopes of getting her out of the house
before she let loose. In the beginning it didn't work. The minute her
feet cleared the door to the crate the pee was coming out. We continued
as fast as we could out to the backyard with Dakota peeing all the way
down the stairs. We took her directly to the pee pee spot where she
peed even more. Dakota's bladder seemed to be an eternal spring which
never stopped flowing.

Did you think of getting someone to come in and let her out mid-day so
her bladder wasn't so full in the evening?

[book goes on to tell you exactly what techniques we used to potty train
her]

Which is?

###

Second order of business: Who's the boss?
(Who's the boss ‹ you or the dog?)

In most households the dogs and owners would answer this question very
differently and it's one of the keys to successfully training your dog.
Who dictates feeding time? Who dictates potty time? Who dictates when
it's time to get up in the morning? Who dictates playtime? The Boss ‹
that's who.

Dogs who wake you up from a sound sleep to take them out or feed them
are Boss Dogs. Their owners have allowed them to dictate the rules and
in the natural order of a dog pack, the Boss Dog doesn't have to obey
anybody, ever. Even if a Boss Dog learns a command such as sit, stay,
come or speak, they will only obey the command if they want to. The
Boss Dog is king of the castle and you are there for his amusement. You
are there to do his bidding. Boss Dogs make the rules; they do not obey
the rules of others.

I dunno. If one of my dogs wakes me from a sound sleep, I'm going to
let him or her outside. My dogs go out when I get up, before I leave
the house, when I come home, before I go to bed, etc., but other than
that, I don't 'dictate' to them when they relieve themselves. If they
need to go, I expect them to come and tell me they need to go.
Ignoring that signal is a good way to un-housebreak your dog. And
believe me, my dogs know who's boss in this house.

Read several dog training books. Take a class with your dog. Learn how
to be a good teacher

Excellent advice. Have you taken a class with your dog yet?

Sharon Delarose said in
rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

The dog experts pretty much all agree that it's better to
train your dog with a reward system than a fear system...

This is the type of stuff I don't like. Since when was reward
the opposite of fear?

--
--Matt.

In article ,
sighthounds & siberians wrote:

Just for the record, I'm not concerned about your crossing any line.
I just think you're not qualified to write a book about dog training.

I wrote a book about our trials and tribulations with Dakota, which
included everything we did that SUCCESSFULLY stopped her from chewing in
the house, peeing in the house, and how we successfully took her from
the bad dog she started out as to a dog who could stay home alone thru
our workday. What we did worked, and her story will help people. Is it
the perfect thing that an expert dog trainer would do? Likely not. But
the people who will read her story will not go to an expert dog trainer.
In my 50+ years I've never met a single person who did, but I've sure
met a lot of dog owners.


Did you think of getting someone to come in and let her out mid-day so
her bladder wasn't so full in the evening?

Short of giving a stranger the key to my house, which isn't going to
happen, we did not have that option. I do not trust many people with
the key to my home. Few people I've met would bring someone in midday.
I know that is the recommendation. I also know that your average dog
owner will not do it.

My point is that there are two basic types of dog owners. Those who do
the obedience class, agility class, bring people in midday, do some form
of doggie day care, etc.

Then there are the vast majority who do none of the above. THOSE are
the people I can help. I am fully qualified to help a group of people
whose knowledge is less than mine. Much like a 12th grader might tutor
an 8th grader. Is that 12th grader a professional teacher? No. But
his knowledge can help the younger student.

It isn't a perfect world, especially for dogs. The people who would
benefit from Dakota's story, I promise you, would not take an obedience
or training class, but they might read Dakota's story and learn from it.

They may or may not learn the "perfect" method from me. Will they
learn something that might work for them as it worked for us? Yes. As
long as they get to Rome it doesn't matter if the road was the perfect
road.

Will they also learn some of the dangers to dogs that many people simply
aren't aware of? Yes, and they will do it in a way that is easier to
read.

I have had people thank me for helping them thru Dakota's stories. Some
of the stories were on the internet long before being in the book, and
the feedback I got prompted me to write the book, along with my
husband's whispering.

--
Bad Dog Books
http://books.gityasome.com
Gityasome Tshirts
http://www.gityasome.com

On Sun, 10 Oct 2010 23:02:08 -0400, Sharon Delarose
wrote:

In article ,
sighthounds & siberians wrote:

Just for the record, I'm not concerned about your crossing any line.
I just think you're not qualified to write a book about dog training.

I wrote a book about our trials and tribulations with Dakota, which
included everything we did that SUCCESSFULLY stopped her from chewing in
the house, peeing in the house, and how we successfully took her from
the bad dog she started out as to a dog who could stay home alone thru
our workday. What we did worked, and her story will help people. Is it
the perfect thing that an expert dog trainer would do? Likely not. But
the people who will read her story will not go to an expert dog trainer.

Like Mary, much of it falls into the "duh" category. Housebreaking
and when and what to chew, for example, are things EVERY dog needs to
learn, not just Dakota. Much of what you're going on about is the
type of behavior most dogs go through in puppyhood, adolescence, and
early adulthood.

In my 50+ years I've never met a single person who did, but I've sure
met a lot of dog owners.

You've never met a single person who went to a dog trainer? You may
know a lot of dog owners, but you don't know any dog people. And yes,
I'm over 50 too.

Short of giving a stranger the key to my house, which isn't going to
happen, we did not have that option. I do not trust many people with
the key to my home. Few people I've met would bring someone in midday.
I know that is the recommendation. I also know that your average dog
owner will not do it.

And I know you're wrong about that. We've placed dogs with numerous
people who have someone come in midday, and they are average dog
owners.

My point is that there are two basic types of dog owners. Those who do
the obedience class, agility class, bring people in midday, do some form
of doggie day care, etc.

I think that's an oversimplification.

Then there are the vast majority who do none of the above. THOSE are
the people I can help. I am fully qualified to help a group of people
whose knowledge is less than mine. Much like a 12th grader might tutor
an 8th grader. Is that 12th grader a professional teacher? No. But
his knowledge can help the younger student.

The dumbing down of America. Just how large is this subset of the
population who refuses to read a book written by someone with
credentials but will read advice based on anecdotes written by someone
without credentials?

On 11 Oct 2010 02:26:50 GMT, Matt wrote:

Sharon Delarose said in
rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

The dog experts pretty much all agree that it's better to
train your dog with a reward system than a fear system...

This is the type of stuff I don't like. Since when was reward
the opposite of fear?

How the hell would she know?

Sharon Delarose wrote:
I wrote a book about our trials and tribulations with Dakota, which
included everything we did that SUCCESSFULLY stopped her from chewing
in the house, peeing in the house, and how we successfully took her
from the bad dog she started out as to a dog who could stay home alone
thru our workday.

Stop it. Dakota was not a bad dog when you got her, she was an untrained
dog who lacked leadership and direction. Labeling her a bad dog to make
your accomplishments seem more significant is doing your lovely dog a
disservice.

Is it the perfect thing that an expert dog trainer would do?

Most people aren't expert dog trainers, yet they manage to muddle
through. And trainers make mistakes.

In my 50+ years I've never met a single person who did,
but I've sure met a lot of dog owners.

What backwards, backwoods, land-that-time-forgot do you inhabit?

My point is that there are two basic types of dog owners. Those who
do the obedience class, agility class, bring people in midday, do some
form of doggie day care, etc.

Then there are the vast majority who do none of the above.

You're wrong. The vastness is in the middle ground, people who take one
course of obedience classes, some who don't train but do doggie-daycare,
some who train at home (sometimes to a high level), some who start with
one course of classes and become intrigued with the possibilities but are
more interested in problem-solving with their one dog than in learning an
entire training system.

I am fully qualified to help a group of people
whose knowledge is less than mine.

Only if their dog is identical to yours, because that is the only topic
where you knowledge exceeds theirs. For either you or the reader to
presume their dog will react like Dakota just because they're both dogs
is taking an unconscionable risk with the future of someone else's dog.

Much like a 12th grader might tutor an 8th grader.

"In the land of the blind, the one-eye man is king", true as it is,
should not be interpreted as "blind all the two-eyed guys 'cause they're
a bunch of bossy know-it-alls".

They may or may not learn the "perfect" method from me. Will they
learn something that might work for them as it worked for us? Yes.

Will they apply or misapply something that will get them hurt or their
dog dead? Will they try something, fail, and dump their dog?

I have had people thank me for helping them thru Dakota's stories.

And I had many people tell me "I want my dog to be just like yours",
referring to Sam-I-Am, my first (and probably most beloved) dog. My
response was always "no, you don't". He, too, was a challenge. He was
never a bad dog, mind, but sometimes he'd take his Ultimate Samness past
my tolerance or expectations.

FWIW, I was a lot more certain of how much I knew back when Sam was my
only dog, too. Noah, a bear of very little brain, was my second boy and
he taught me that Sam, for all his quirks, made everything look easy.

--
Mary H. and the restored Ames National Zoo:
The Right Reverand Sir Edgar "Lucky" Pan-Waffles (ret.);
U-CD ANZ Babylon Ranger, CD, RA; ANZ Pas de Duke, RN; ANZ Wizard
Sassenan, CGC; and rotund Rhia

On Sun, 10 Oct 2010 21:57:05 -0400, Sharon Delarose wrote:

For those of you who are concerned about my crossing a line with the
book, I'm going to post some of the content here so that hopefully, your
minds will be eased:

###


please ! take it easy, you have spammed the group enough already

In article ,
sighthounds & siberians wrote:

You've never met a single person who went to a dog trainer? You may
know a lot of dog owners, but you don't know any dog people. And yes,
I'm over 50 too.

Never met a one. Your analysis is pretty close to true, many dog
owners, not many dog people, though I do know some dog owners that I
would call dog people. They have incredible relationships with their
dogs.


And I know you're wrong about that. We've placed dogs with numerous
people who have someone come in midday, and they are average dog
owners.

I know one girl who goes home at lunch. She lives really close to her
work. We live 2.5 hours roundtrip away. Most of you run with different
crowds than we do and the dogs are the luckier for it.

My point is that there are two basic types of dog owners. Those who do
the obedience class, agility class, bring people in midday, do some form
of doggie day care, etc.

I think that's an oversimplification.

That's why I used the word "basic". I know there are many shades of
merle from the guy who chains his dogs permanently to people who hire
dog masseuses.


The dumbing down of America. Just how large is this subset of the
population who refuses to read a book written by someone with
credentials but will read advice based on anecdotes written by someone
without credentials?

Look at the popularity of Marley (refusing to take offense at the
above). I do urge people to get more professional help and advice. If
they don't, they will still come away with something helpful.

--
Bad Dog Books
http://books.gityasome.com
Gityasome Tshirts
http://www.gityasome.com

In article , sonofdog
wrote:

please ! take it easy, you have spammed the group enough already

It was never my intention, sonofdog, to discuss the book here and I
would be most happy to NOT discuss it and go back to the subject of
Sierra and Sammy and others.

I think it started with someone's comment that I allegedly wrote a book
and escalated from there. I did feel that several were ganging up on me
as if the book were a mortal sin and as people were asking specific
questions about the content, I posted portions thereof in the hopes of
alleviating the perceived sinfulness.

People asked, I attempted to answer. I can get rather longwinded :-)

--
Bad Dog Books
http://books.gityasome.com
Gityasome Tshirts
http://www.gityasome.com