Texas House Bill 458

We recently became aware of a bill proposed by Rep. David Leibowitz that we have to stop!  Texas HB 458 wants to limit the number of dogs allowed in a residence in certain areas of Texas.  While I was unable to find an exact number of allowable dogs, I have seen the rumor of 2 dogs appear in multiple places.  The full proposal can be viewed here.

While some may see advantages to this proposal, here are a few things to consider..

• Targets all pet owners, regardless of their dogs’ behavior.
• A person who owns 1 unruly dog is a greater threat than someone with 4 well behaved dogs.
• The limit applies universally regardless of living on a 1/8 acre or 5+ acres.
• People will hide their dogs, which will result in a reduction on the number of licensed and vaccinated dogs.

I agree that no one should be allowed to hoard dogs, and common sense and responsible pet ownership need to be enforced, but this is ridiculous.  I know many HOA’s, apartment buildings, and rental properties already have limits on breeds, size, and numbers, but this is a whole different ball game here.

Here is what YOU can do to help:

• Contact your legislators and tell them you oppose this bill.  If you do not know who your legislators are, click here to find out.
• Contact bill sponsor Rep. Leibowitz and politely ask that he withdraw HB 458. Phone Austin: (512) 463-0269, Fax: (512) 320-0555 and/or Phone San Antonio: (210) 372-0759, Fax: (210) 372-1405. Ask for the person in charge of legislation.
• Circulate this post and information to anyone and everyone you know, and encourage them to do something about this.

This issue was brought to our attention by a member of the board of directors of the Canine Political Action Corps (CPAC).  CPAC is a non-profit organization whose mission is to monitor government activity relating to dog trainers and dog groomers in order to influence any legislation as early in the legislative process as possible, defeat harmful legislation, and encourage legislation beneficial to those professions.

Teaching Your Dog Targets & Boundaries Pt. 2

Back in November I made a post about Teaching Your Dog Targets & Boundaries.  I now want to elaborate a bit more on selecting objects for place and a little on simple body cues that can help your dog.

When starting to teach targets, or any other skill, you want to use every advantage available to help your dog succeed.  Keeping this in mind, we are going to use target objects that hold certain qualities that are going to help our dog learn.  Here are some things that we look for in selecting a target:

• An obvious difference in height between the target and the ground
• An obvious difference in texture between the target and the ground
• Large enough item for the dog to comfortably get onto
• Not too large that the dog can not visualize the boundary
• Stable enough to handle the weight of the dog
• Secure enough that it is not going to slide freely on the ground

Taking these traits into account, I am sure you can quickly imagine many potential objects for your dog to start practicing with.  We commonly use these placeboards because they are very lightweight and versatile.  Use your imagination, but be fair to your dog.

Below is a short excerpt from our Trick Training DVD.  This segment briefly touches on body language cues and provides a visual of exactly what to expect when teaching your dog to target.

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Who has the Fittest Dog in Austin?

Austin Fit Magazine is currently holding a contest to find Austin’s Fittest Dog.  Austin is such a dog friendly and active city, that fitness and dogs go hand in hand.  They don’t expect your dog to look like this dog, but do you take your dog hiking, does your dog go running with you, or do they just want to chase that Frisbee all day long?  To enter the contest, all you have to do is send a picture of your dog and include a description explaining what makes your dog deserve the title of Austin’s Fittest Dog.  All entries should be sent to fittestdog@austinfitmagazine.com before February 1, 2009.

If you lead an active lifestyle and your dog’s current behavior is not allowing you to enjoy time with your dog, call us!  With simple obedience commands, there is no reason your dog can’t tag along on runs, hikes, or enjoy a great game of fetch at one of Austin’s Dog Parks.  So if you’re looking for a Dog Trainer in Austin, give us a call and let us show you how Unleashed Unlimited can improve your relationship with your dog.

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Body Language and the Sit Command

It is no secret that dogs communicate through body language, both with each other and us.  Whether it is a slight turn of the head when greeting another dog, lip licking, or us bending down to encourage your dog to come into you, dogs learn a lot through visual pictures.  Keeping that in mind, we must be aware of the body language cues that we are sending to our dog.

We frequently see dog owners having to turn around, face their dog, hold their hand up, hover over their dog, let them see the treat in their hand, and then tell them to sit in order to get the dog to actually follow the command.  And then when told to simply sit without all of the body positioning, the dog does not respond.  A lot of dog owners find themselves in this situation because that is how the dog has been taught; heavily relying on body language.  This is great if you are always going to have the luxury of “setting the scene” in order to get a response to a very simple command, but what if your dog is running away from you, not right near you, or simply on your side instead of directly facing you?

Instead of viewing basic obedience commands as “tricks”, we use simple obedience commands in order to functionally manage our pets in any situation.  Because of the many situations that our dogs face, we need to not only use body language to help our dogs, but we need to eventually hold back or change on the body cues so that our dogs respond to our verbal command, regardless of what our body is doing and where we are in relation to our dogs.

When your dog is first learning to sit, use as much body language as needed and do everything possible to help them succeed.  At the same time, remember to practice when you are standing to the left of them, behind them, in front of them, and to the right of them.  Practice sitting your dog while you are sitting on the couch, while you are sitting on the floor with them, while you have your back to them, and any other situation that you can think of.  Using body language is a great tool that we can use to help our dogs, but don’t let it turn into a crutch or put limitations on your training.

If you live in the Austin area and are looking to advance your dog’s training, or are looking for some help getting started training your dog, contact Unleashed Unlimited; we train way beyond the leash!

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Dock Dogs Featured in Domino’s Pizza Commercial

As a lot of us know, Dock Dogs is a very popular and growing dog sport.  The Dock Dogs crew has been traveling around the US and internationally over the last few years, hosting events and growing the sport.  Corporate America has taken notice and Dock Dogs has been featured in a Domino’s Pizza commercial.

Although the dogs make a very quick appearance, it’s great to see a dog sport get national attention!