Picture of a woman's hand holding a mobile phone to illustrate text your dog friends

Text your dog friends

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Is there anything that creates more chaos and mayhem than doorbell rings? Especially if you have more than one dog! Let’s start a trend. Do away with doorbell-ringing. Text your dog friends!

We’ve started doing it ourselves. Whenever we go to a friend’s house, especially if they have dogs, we text “I’m here!” rather than marching up and ringing the bell. Even if our friends live in restricted-access buildings, we avoid the intercom/doorbell system and just text when we’re at the door. They can buzz us in without their dogs being the wiser. 

Calm is so nice

Eliminating the excitement of an arrival leads to much calmer, better greetings and visits. If everyone can behave casually, there’s no reason for the dogs to get wound up. Just this week we had a great demonstration of the principle. We brought some homemade cookies to a dog training friend who’s laid up with a badly-sprained ankle. She also has three dogs who, putting it mildly, greet visitors with enthusiasm. 

Picture of a woman's hand holding a mobile phone to illustrate text your dog friends

Instead, just by taking a moment to text rather than ring the doorbell, we gave her more peace. She was able to take her time to get to the door safely, without her pack dancing around her feet and possibly tripping her. Since she already knew who was at the door (we were!) she didn’t have to say anything or call out. She also knew that, as fellow dog people, we’d secured her fence gate when we came in. Worries alleviated.

Small sample, good results

It worked. The dogs were curious about who was there, but they were pretty calm. They gave us a sniff and a wiggle. We gave each a treat and then the dogs just went about their business. We had a nice visit and then left as peacefully as we arrived.

It sparked this idea for a national, or possibly international campaign to “Text, Don”t Ring!” The biggest issue we can see is identifying the residences with dogs versus those without dogs. One solution would be for us to hang a sign on our door saying “Text, Don’t Ring.” We saw one like that with a second line something like “what the dogs don’t know won’t hurt you.” 

If the person at the door doesn’t have your number to text, chances are you didn’t want to see them anyway. Ages ago our neighborhood doors almost all sported “No Solicitors” signs. It may be time for a door sign revival.

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Picture of a one-eyed French Bulldog to illustrate don't let your dog know

Don’t let your dog know

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Dogs don’t ever host pity parties. Don’t ever let your dog know you feel sorry for them. They won’t understand and they’ll think there’s something wrong.

We’ve been fighting the urge to pity Torque. Every time we look at him, it’s a bit of a gut punch, just a beautifully-healed scar and fur where his eye should be. But he doesn’t know he’s different. So it’s up to us to make sure he doesn’t think he’s broken.

Dogs accept

Picture of a one-eyed French Bulldog to illustrate don't let your dog know

One of the vast strengths of dogs is their ability to live in the moment. Torque doesn’t think about how much pain he was in when his eye ruptured. Or how scared he was. 

He only knows that he’s fine. Life goes on. He plays with his toys, his cousins, and his mother. He eats, enjoys treats, he goes for walks. He even goes to Rally class. Life goes on. 

Take a lesson

So we act like everything’s okay and normal. And because we’re living it, it’s becoming true. We consciously put aside whatever pity we have for him and appreciate what we have.

We’re not the only ones who should make a point of living in the now. Lots of people with dogs adopted from shelters or rescues feel sorry for their dogs. They’ll even expect less from these dogs because of their background.

That’s not fair to the dog. When those adoption papers got signed, that dog became one of the luckiest dogs ever. 

Stretch their potential

It does take a while for adopted dogs to realize they’re home for good and shed their “best guest behaviors.” After about three months, dogs know they’re home and safe. So they may start being naughty.

We’re actually surprised by how many people give their dogs leeway because of their background. The best security you can give your dog is to set rules and schedules and expect them to abide by them. Dogs love routine. They thrive on regularity. The best thing you can do for any dog is to establish consistent rules you all llive by.

Habit is everything

We start every morning’s activities with short training game sessions with each dog. The day after surgery, Hope was playing training games with Torque. 

Was he particularly sharp? Not really. But he was reassured that everything was okay because we stuck to routine. 

So don’t feel sorry for your dog. Or at least don’t act like it. You know the old saying: Fake it ‘til you make it. 

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Picture of a Boston Terrier's face to illustrate dog chaos reigns

Doorbell equals dog chaos

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You would think that our dogs are all magnificently trained, polite hosts, and greet people calmly. Nothing could be further from the truth. Dog chaos reigns when the doorbell rings. Are we proud of that? No, of course not. Our only excuse is that most of these dogs’ lives have been in the pandemic era. We’ve gotten out of the habit of having people over.

That proved problematic today. A friend was dropping off a key and rang the doorbell. Ironically, the key was for the training room where Hope is teaching a Dog Manners class. Dog chaos grew. Three of the dogs charged madly for the door. Tango, napping soundly in the office (a.k.a. Hard At Work), didn’t pay any attention. But the other three maniacs acted like they’d never seen another human before. Booker and Torque got out. Torque came right back in when called. Booker didn’t.

Unfortunately, our friend came to the “front” door (which is actually at the side of the house) outside the fence. The people who regularly come by know they should come to the back (inside the fence) door. And latch the gate when they come in. Firmly. And double-check it before taking another step.

He’s so special

Picture of a Boston Terrier's face to illustrate dog chaos reigns

We’ve mentioned before that Booker is special in a not-good way. He’s sweet and he’s smart, but life is a challenge for him. He’s not a danger to anyone, but he doesn’t know how to react to new and different situations. His reaction on being “free” was to look around with confusion. But when called, he started play-bowing and making rocking-horse motions. He was inches from being gone with the wind. 

The fastest way to get a dog to run away from you is to chase it. Since all healthy dogs are faster and more agile than most humans, it’s not a game you can ever win. Most dogs love a “chase” game – especially when they’re the ones being chased. You can almost see the dialogue bubble over their head saying “Yay! Let’s Play Keep Away!”

Luckily, we are dog trainers and our own advice came to the fore: The best way to get your dog to come to you is to run away from them. (It also works with human toddlers, as our former next-door neighbor will attest.) We know it goes against every instinct you have. When somebody you love is running off, potentially facing danger, you really want to go after them, stop them, protect them. In Booker’s case, maybe wring his little neck and feed him gruel for the rest of the week, as well.

Run around the house

Hope remembered to take off running, away from Booker. She ran all the way to the other side of the house, opened the gate, and Booker ran right into our fenced yard. He was actually thrilled to be back on familiar territory. And we were delighted to get him back. He got lots of treats for good behavior.

If you’ve ever had a delivery or service person leave your gate open, you know the sinking feeling and terror that takes over when your dog gets out. We’re hoping our morning’s adventure will help you remember to run away from your dog. It takes a conscious decision, so don’t let the panic take over. The best way to get a dog to come to you is to run away from it. Dogs are, by nature, predators. It’s part of their make–up to chase something that moves. If acting like prey is what it takes to get your dog back, it’s completely worth it.

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Picture of a French Bulldog next to a package of baby wipes to illustrate weather woes for dogs

Weather woes for dogs

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Yesterday Torque had his follow-up appointment with the dog eye doctor who operated on him New Year’s Eve. And something pretty upsetting happened that we want to talk about. The check-up went great. It was the peripheral stuff that went wrong. It’s the time of year that brings weather woes for dogs.

Here in the Chicago area we’ve had some pretty hefty bad weather this month. Lots of cold, some snow, generally not-great conditions. Yesterday when we went, traffic was a little slow and sloppy, but not really bad. The parking lot at the eye doctor’s office was well-plowed, no problem at all. And absolutely covered in ice-melt salt. Torque only lasted about half a dozen steps before he was limping. The wet, chemical-laden pavement was hurting his paws.

If we’d known, we could have prepared and put some boots on him. But we never dreamed that a business catering to animals would have a toxic covering in the parking lot. We guess it’s a toss-up decision; car safety or pet safety.

Not what it’s meant for

Torque is a big boy at 29 pounds. We can carry him, but not for long stretches, especially when he’s squirming. He doesn’t like being carried. So Hope carried him into the waiting room and looked around for help. He was letting out little moans, so she was a little frantic.

Picture of a French Bulldog next to a package of baby wipes to illustrate weather woes for dogs

Thankfully, there were paper towels available and a water cooler. Although not what the supplies were meant for, Hope took advantage and got to work. We never trained him to do it, but Torque picked up each of his paws in sequence to get them wiped off. He was so uncomfortable he actually cooperated in paw-wiping for a change.

If the supplies hadn’t been available in the lobby, she’d thought to bring him into the rest room to clean off his paws.

What were they thinking?

We’re sure the veterinary clinic has a contract with a snow removal company. And that company probably had a bunch of clients that all needed snow plowing early that day. Everybody was doing their job, but it wound up being not-so-good for Torque. 

We were caught off guard, which is why we’re mentioning it. Our winter weather preparations will now include a package of wipes in the car. And an individual packet in our pocket for walks. 

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