Are all dogs trainable?

Help me, Cesar Milan and prove me wrong!! I am beginning to wonder if our younger dog is really trainable.
River, our Belgian Sheepdog, is 16 months old. We got him when he was 9 weeks old. We have had three rounds of training and are about to start doggie bootcamp in a few weeks. I religiously practice with him every day and yes, he does a few things correctly. He can sit, stay sometimes (although I think he has DADD - doggie attention deficit disorder) and down....but no matter how hard I try and no matter what technique I use, I just can't seem to get him to heel in the right position and for any length of time so our everyday walk is one giant training session - every day...and I am sure it is as little fun for him as it is for me (although he gets overly excited as soon as I head for the closet where his leash lives).
River's breed, I just found out is not in the top ten of easily trainable dogs. The top ten includes (in this order): lab, australian cattle dog, border collie, australian shepherd, flat-coated retriever (whatever that is), german shepherd (that's Jack's main heritage - he's our other dog), doberman, papillion, poodle, bearded collie and pembroke welsh corgi. Here is some additional information I discovered: How much of a dog's behavior can be changed by training?
answered by Kelley Filson, CTC, CPDT
ANSWER:
That depends on the dog, the breed or type, and what you want to change.
Some behaviors are deeply rooted in genetics and are building blocks of a dog's personality. Other behaviors are products of genetic selection or breeder's preference. Finally, there is how you socialize and train your dog.
Behaviors are Related to a Dog's Breed
All dogs have individual personalities that make them unique, but there are also traits that are genetic in origin. These are referred to as breeds (Akita, Poodle, Schnauzer) and classifications (Hound, Working, Herding). RIVER IS A HERDER.
There are exceptions to all, but in general a breed's history can tell you a lot about a dog's personality. Additionally, a breeder's profile can also tell you about what personality traits they find desirable. HIS PARENTS ARE BOTH CHAMPIONS AND VERY WELL BEHAVED PLUS THEY HAVE GREAT OUTGOING PERSONALITIES (RIVER IS A LITTLE SHY AROUND PEOPLE HE DOESN'T KNOW)
Below is a very general outline of some common classifications and an overview of their history and behavioral traits.
Terriers are often small, but VERY ENERGETIC! They were bred to patrol and hunt for vermin--a never-ending job. Without enough exercise and "hunting" activities, they often frustrate owners with undesired digging or barking.
Herding dogs are mostly small to medium in size, and clever! They need lots of mental and physical exercise such as dog sports like flyball or agility to keep their problem-solving brains active and happy. They do poorly, even in large spaces, if there is little to do, or if the activities are repetitious (barking at dogs on the other side of the window/fence).
Breeds with guarding backgrounds can be great with family members, but they have a genetic propensity to be wary of strangers. They need extra socialization in order to be friendly with all people. Even the best socialization efforts may result in dogs that are wary of new people or overly protective of "their" spaces.
Retrievers like Labradors and Goldens are popular, but with that popularity comes tremendous variety and you need to really look hard at the personality and not the package wrapping. Labs are a good example. Field labs are intense and need jobs. English Labs are smaller, more compact and mellower than their US counterparts. Many labs in the US fall somewhere in between these two versions, depending on the breeder's preference for personality or which "look" is popular with their clients.
Lap dogs and Toy breeds are often small and cute and experience waves of popularity. These adorable pocket-sized dogs tend to be hit hardest by behavior problems associated by puppy mill breeding and impulse purchases. And, serious behavior issues (like housetraining) may go untreated because of small, unnoticed problems or because the behavior seemed "silly" at first. A five-pound biting dog may seem like a joke, but even small dogs can do damage to a face or small child.
All dogs are unique and can learn new things, but some behaviors are genetic and harder to alter.
Ultimately, a dog's behavior is the result of many factors, including breeding, socialization, training and individual motivation.
I often hear comments like, "You get what you put into a dog." The implication being that bad dogs are created by bad people, and that good people will have good dogs. This is unfair.
A dog's personality and behavior is a random combination of various traits from various pools of information. If your dog is behaving badly, don't worry about why or where it came from, just look for a solution.
Kelley Filson, CTC, CPDT is a Certified Dog Trainer and has a degree in Animal Science.
TO FIND GREAT GIFTS FOR DOG AND CAT LOVERS, TRY OUT WEB STORE AT www.giftsfromadistance.com

The Joys of Doing Business on Amazon

Now don't get me wrong, I am happy to be part of the Amazon family. Gifts from a Distance has about 1500 different items that we sell on Amazon and as we all know, they are the 800 pound gorilla of retail on the internet. No one comes close....and I mean no one! Amazon is to the Internet as Microsoft is to PC's and laptops....HUGE! But...that does not mean that life is perfect in Amazon-land. Ok, so here's my dilemma - sometimes I will put out a product that someone else already has listed on Amazon. I will have my own picture and my own description and they will have theirs - which may or may not be accurate but...Amazon reserves the right to use whoever's information and picture that they choose to use...so sometimes what I think is out for the public to see isn't....and, it is very frustrating when I send someone something different from what they thought they ordered. But, like I said at the beginning, I am happy to be part of the Amazon family.

Namaste,

terry

Beware of too much talking!

Yesterday, my husband, Hal, and I (along with our dogs, Jack & River) went to the Pacific Islander Festival at the Huntington Beach Public library. Presented by Pacific Health Partnership (PIHP) the event featured the Cultural Traditions, Performances and the Arts of the Pacific Islands. Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Aoteroa (Polynesia), guam, Northern Marianas, Marshall islands (Micronesia) and Fiji (Meleanesia). Island Villages, Cultural Demonstrations, Live Hands-On Arts Projects, Authentic Island Music & Performers, Story Telling, Pacific Island Food Booths and Craft Vendors. While the food we had from Tonga was excellent, the rest of the festival left much to be desired, in part because the Master of Ceremonies did not know when to stop talking and let the performers perform. We waited and waited to see acts perform while he gibbered and gabbered for about 15 minutes inbetween each one. There were only about 4 actual craft booths and the other vendors were selling touristy items that you would expect in a touristy area - some made in China. As an on line retailer (www.giftsfromadistance.com, www.girlsofallages.com, www.catattitude.com and www.dogloversrock.com) I am always on the lookout for unique native crafts and was hoping to find something there but I was out of luck. did I say the food was good?? Of course, I did. What we ate was excellent - our plate included two pork ribs (we opted for pork but next time will try the sibi - a lamb rib, I believe, sweet potatoes, something green with ham (looked like spinach but was a little bitter), a sausage that kind of reminded me of a banger, a crab salad and the Tongan version of chop suey, which used those thin, opaque noodles and was quite good. I am going to search for some Tongan recipes to try at home. All and all it was a nice day for a walk in the park but the festival itself, other than the food, was a little disappointing. Since it was only the 2nd Annual Pacific Islander Festival, we are hoping it will be better next year. Still reading? Shop at www.giftsfromadistance.com. Type in "bts" at checkout. You will receive a 10% discount on your entire order!

Aloha,

terry

What to do when you can't sleep

I don't know about you but, sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night - my mind whirring with all kinds of related or unrelated thoughts - and try as I may, I just can't fall back asleep so, I get up. I tried reading but the chatter in my brain kept me from concentrating. I really didn't want to watch tv although I am behind on one of my reality shows - I won't tell you which one because, you would laugh at me, I'm sure - unless of course, you are my friend, Barbara, who watches the same one.
Anyway, here is what I do. I play Jamble (it's kind of like Scrabble but sometimes the rules change with regard to a word's point value and you don't know they are going to until they do). Jamble can be found at www.itsyourturn.com and there are actually a few varieties of Jamble - my favorite being Wild Jamble. Because it is an online game, I find that my opponents are from all over the world (the UK, Scotland, Jakarta, Grenada and Alabama). Since they are all over the world, they are on different time frames so I can sometimes get a lively game going at 3am my time.
When Jamble doesn't work, I put more products on the web - either on www.giftsfromadistance.com or on Amazon - I haven't learned how to put products out on www.girlsofallages.com yet. I should probably just do that as I am still so far behind in terms of getting products on the web.
I also need to clean up/out my warehouse but I don't think it would be wise to go over there and start working at 3am - someone might think I am a robber and call the police. That would be embarrassing.
We are going to have an inventory clearance sale at the end of this month - we have 300+ items that will be grossly discounted. Good stuff - just needs to move out. If you live in Southern CA, you may want to come to it. If you are interested, email me at terry@giftsfromadistance.com and I will send you the details - the date will be 9/26.

Well, Jack and River are calling - "It's walk time...It's walk time!"

Somebody's reading my blog!!

I am so excited. Yesterday I received an order on our www.giftsfromadistance.com website from a woman in Louisiana. She called because she wanted to make a change for the order. Because she had used our "aye" coupon (type in "aye" at checkout throughout September, and your entire order will be reduced by 10%), I thanked her for shopping with us again. She said she had not shopped with us before but had come to our site through a search engine, saw our link to my blog and decided to see what we were all about. I am so excited - I guess I already said that - can you tell I am excited??
On a different note, you may or may not know but, I donate a portion of my proceeds to charitable organizations. I have this wonderful woman in Texas who is affiliated with All Texas Dachshund Rescue (www.atdr.org) who always buys her gifts from us. She buys, what else...Hot Diggity Dogs! With her last order, I sent her a small donation check but if you live in Texas, you may want to check them out. All Texas Dachshund Rescue is a group of dedicated volunteers whose primary goal is to rescue, rehabilitate and re-home neglected, abandoned, disabled and otherwise endangered Dachshunds throughout the state of Texas. We rescue dachshunds in the Austin, Dallas / Fort Worth, Houston & San Antonio metroplexes, as well as in surrounding areas including Abilene, Corpus Christi, Longview, Midland and San Angelo.
More? I am so full of news today! Our new website, www.girlsofallages.com just became more real. We were just approved for our shopping cart from Visa, MC, AMEX and Discover so, we should have those working sometime next week. Right now we are just accepting PayPal but, that's not all bad because, we still don't have many products out there yet. It is a lot of work to maintain the two sites plus our Amazon offerings.
My mother-in-law, Ann, came home from the hospital yesterday. She had a tumor removed from her colon and is already up and walking around. She will be hiking out sometime soon; I just know it.
My friend, Catou, begins her regimen of radiation and oral chemo. I know you probably don't know her but send her some healthy prayers anyway, please. She is a beautiful, inside and out, woman.
The dogs are getting restless so, I guess I am late on their walks. Still doing separates until who knows when...but we are all getting better. We are going to get Jack the "zapper" collar to control his kitty chasing urges and River and I are signed up for obedience bootcamp. I am determined to win a prize at an AKC event with him. He is perfect when we practice in the house - do you think I can talk the AKC into holding an event in our kitchen? As soon as we are outside, he has short-term memory lapse.

That's it for now. Thank you in advance for your prayers.

Namaste and hugs,
terry

Falling behind on the blog

This has been such a crazy week. I have really fallen behind on my blog. I don't know where to start.
I went to a SCORE Women's Breakfast (there were men there, too) on Friday. It was a great networking event plus I sat with a woman I had met through Working Wardrobes (www.workingwardrobes.org) when I first began www.giftsfromadistance.com. Small world - indeed it is.
Along with many other Americans, I suffer from diverticulitis due to having diverticulosis.
For those of you who are blessed not to be cursed with that, here is what it is. Diverticulitis is swelling (inflammation) of an abnormal pouch (diverticulum) in the intestinal wall. These pouches are usually found in the large intestine (colon). The presence of the pouches themselves is called diverticulosis. To date, I cannot figure out what sets it off so, tomorrow, I am going to begin an "elimination diet" - much the same kind of diet someone suffering from allergies goes through - in hopes of determining what makes me feel bad. I am hoping to chronicle my diet in hopes that if someone else who reads this blog also suffers from diverticulitis, they will gain some insight and some benefit from what I am attempting.
In the meantime, if you love chihuahuas, we have a great coupon at www.giftsfromadistance.com this month. Type in "aye" at checkout and your entire order will be reduced by 10%!

Breathing a sigh of relief

I don't know where the days are going. I had hoped to blog every day.
Hal's mom had her tumor removed today - her doctor was extremely encouraging - said he got it all - no chemo/no radiation. My friend, Catou, who had a brain tumor, has been released from the hospital and my neighbor at our our warehouse, Rick, was out with a friend. He's the one who was hit by a motorist while riding his Harley.

I still need your help with endorsements at http://shinealight.ivillage.com/sbo-profile/?ProfileID=2115. Giftsfromadistance.com was nominated for a spotlight award. I need 31 more endorsements before the 13th to be considered.

To endorse our store, follow the link above. On the top left, click on support this story, endorse now. You will need to register in order to endorse us. We would greatly appreciate it. It would be a major benefit to us to get the marketing support from American Express and NBC.

Thank you for reading my blog and for caring.

Hugs,
Terry

PS Today River turned 16 months.

You never know what kind of ball life is going to pitch you

I just realized I haven't blogged since Tuesday. My mind has been somewhere else, and it probably would have been good for my soul to have blogged but, I just couldn't seem to find the time to do so.
They said bad things happen in threes so, if that is the case, I am done for a long time (I hope). To begin with last weekend, my neighbor at our warehouse, was out for a bike (motorcycle) ride with some friends when a car who saw him coming lurched forward and hit him, breaking his kneecap and pretty much crushing a lot of bones in the same leg. Then, my mother-in-law called an ambulance because she was throwing up and feeling nauseous. She had been admitted and released the week before. Well, this time, it turned out to be more serious than they thought the week before. A huge tumor was discovered in her colon and left untreated, she would have most likely died within three months. Plus, her life would have been hell. Last but certainly not least, one of my fellow Soroptimist Sisters in Huntington Beach was diagnosed with a brain tumor this past week. Her surgery was Friday.
I know you've heard it said a million times before - Let your loved ones and friends know you love them. Don't hold back thinking you have all the time in the world to let someone know how you feel because you may not. Life is precious. When we are born, we are given the gift of life. How we use it is, for the most part, entirely up to us. Don't let it pass you by. Don't be afraid to sing out loud in the shower and dance with your vacuum cleaner, your children or your pets.

Thank you for reading this blog and for taking the time to shop on our website. Thank you for smiling at someone you pass on the street, even if you don't know them. Thank you for giving someone a hug when they don't need it. Thank you for being you.

Terry

Business integrity

Welcome to the first day of September! Today was a monumental day for me. I took my 13 year old BMW Z3 to a new mechanic. It is the first time the car has been anywhere but the dealer for servicing. You might ask why, after so many years, did I decide to try someone new? Well, I'll tell you. To begin with, servicing your car with the dealer is more expensive than servicing it with an independent...especially if your car is out of warranty. And, servicing your car with the dealer does not guarantee that you will get an honest assessment. Per the dealer, my car needed about $1400 in repairs - not including the oil change. Seeing as how they did the analysis on a computer which I got a copy of, I did not question it. But, when my girlfriend, Linda, who is about as fussy as I am, said she had THE BEST mechanic in the world, I decided that the least I could do was to get a 2nd opinion. So, yesterday, I went to visit Import Doctor in Huntington Beach, CA. He put the car up and examined it and then he came and got me. He took me under the car and pointed out what the problems were. I liked him and felt he was being honest with me particularly when he pointed out some things the dealership said to repair that were in perfect condition. So, we made a date for my car today. I dropped off the car and the owner, Gian, offered to drive me back to our warehouse for www.giftsfromadistance.com. On the way back, he told me that my clutch would need replacing soon and that one of the maintenance items he was going to perform could be delayed until that time. Reason: the parts would only have to be removed once, not twice, and therefore, would be less expensive for me...not to mention, my car would not need to go in for two services. When I got back, I looked at the recommendations and the diagnosis from the dealer again. While the dealer recommended a specific repair, they did not recommend replacing the clutch. Then I looked at the computer analysis. There, in black and white, it said that the clutch needed attention. Nice of them to tell me. I would have brought the car in twice and they would have made extra money on me repeating something they had already done. They also recommended a repair regarding the suspension control arm something something but the computer report did not indicate that and Gian said it looked ok. While I have no ill will towards my BMW dealer, I will not be returning. Linda was right. She does the THE BEST mechanic and now...so do I!