Sophie may be a princess, but she’s one who isn’t afraid of getting her hands dirty. Or any other part of her, for that matter! A patch of soft, green grass is an open invitation to some Snoopy-style, back-rubbing happy dance. She’ll dig her spindly doe legs into the ground, shake her scruffy little head like a Mustang pony and refused to move on, if she gets the urge to roll. Jasper and I have to wait patiently for her to get it out of her system. And, running through the grass? Just as awesome! So, for this week’s 52 Snapshots of Life Photo Challenge, I’ve chosen a picture of Sophie barreling across her lawn at our old house in Florida, carry one of her favorite toys. She looks free as a bird here, and I love the expression of pure joy on her face.
Pet blogging friend and colleague, Christina Berry of The Lazy Pitbull, created this fun challenge. You don’t have to be a blogger to participate. Just snap or choose a pic you’ve taken that matches that week’s theme and post it on your social networks, with the hashtag #52Snapshots, so we can all follow along! For pet bloggers, this is a BlogHop, so hop on!
It’s a love story between celebrities and their pets. Such is the way From the Pound to the Penthouse show creator and portrait photographer, Susan Rubin, describes the series, a Cinderella-like tale of down-on-their-luck dogs and cats, and the larger-than-life stars who rescue and pamper them.
“It’s about second chances, because a lot of the celebrities featured have had second chances just like the pets,” Rubin explains. “I think for that reason, people can really relate. The underdog to top dog really hits home for a lot of people, because we all want a second chance.”
And, by the end of the show, people are left with, who really rescued who? In these very personal accounts from the celebs themselves, it becomes clear that line is quite blurred.
The list of celebrities who dote on rescued pets is long. Ryan Gosling and Reynolds, Miley Cyrus, Blake Lively and Miranda Lambert are all proud parents of shelter animals. Seth MacFarlane co-founded one of the largest no-kill cat sanctuaries in the US, Lambert started her own foundation and Oprah Winfrey has committed to bringing only rescued animals into her home.
Some will go to great lengths to be chosen. In an interview, George Clooney relayed how he was so smitten by one pooch, he rubbed meat on his shoes to guarantee a gleeful first meeting. It worked!
Pauley Parrette with Joe & CeCe
Their stories…
For others, these best friends have saved their lives. Real Housewives of New Jersey, Danielle Staub, talks about how she was sexually abused by her stepfather, starting when she was a little girl. She had a rescued Chihuahua Terrier mix, and her dog would lie under the bed when these assaults were happening and would lick her hand, letting her know she wasn’t alone. “If it weren’t for that dog,” she said, “I’d be dead, because I would’ve killed myself. I owe my life to that dog.”
And, tough guy Mickey Rourke, who found one of his significant other pups in the basement of a horder house of severely neglected pets, is shown snuggling and kissing his two Chihuahuas, Jaws and Loki. Rourke shares the reason he prefers the little ones. “When you hold them, you can feel their heart beat,” he says. He can hold them so their heart is near his heart.
NCIS’s Pauley Perrette credits her dogs with getting her through a harrowing time with her ex-husband, who’d been stalking her for years. At one point, the judge allowed him to live in her house that they’d once shared. Unable to cope, Pauley moved out with one bag of clothes, her dogs and her laptop. She doesn’t know how she’d have been able to get through, if it weren’t for her dogs. They were her comfort and her protection, not just physically, but emotionally. “It will always be the best relationship you ever have!” she exclaims.
These stars join Ed Asner, Eric Roberts, the late The Simpsons creator Sam Simon, Devious Maids‘ Judy Reyes, Georgina Bloomberg, Emmylou Harris and Jivamukti creator, Sharon Gannon, to wax poetic about their pets.
Eric Roberts & Mercedes
Getting the idea…
How did Rubin get the idea for the show? “I adopted a dog from a high kill shelter, who had been bounced around and was about to be euthanized,” she explains. “She was this funny-looking, skinny dog, and had all kinds of issues from neglect. And, she was extraordinary. I called her Mother Theresa in a fur suit! If someone was sick, she would lay next to them. If she saw an elderly person, she would pull me over to them. She was amazing with children; they could poke and pull at her and she just wagged her tail; she knew they were children. And, I kept thinking, this is a dog that could’ve easily been killed.”
That led to Susan rescuing more pets and learning the overwhelming truth about the millions looking for homes. She also saw how many amazing animals were available.
Georgina Bloomberg & Stella
The celebrities come together…
Enlisting celebrities to help spread the message was a no brainer. “When you see someone who has Golden Globes, a beautiful wife, house and all the trappings we say goes with success and happiness in America, and they’re saying what means the most to them, changed their lives the most and brings them the greatest joy is a three-legged mutt, that affects people,” Rubin describes. “What people have mentioned is most touching and what connects them the most with my show, is that they haven’t ever seen these actors, especially the tough guys like Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts and Ed Asner so vulnerable, so genuine. Actors don’t often let their guard down. They’ve created a persona that tends to be open, but then there’s a wall. In these interviews, they are vulnerable and open, because they’re talking about what’s closest to their heart.
“As devoted as animals are, there’s a level of devotion that you get from an animal you’ve rescued, that you really can’t imagine unless you’ve done that,” Rubin shares. “In fact, Eric Roberts in his interview even said, ‘They know that you’ve saved them, and they are forever grateful.’ That’s how powerful having a rescued animal in your life is.”
See new webisodes of From the Pound to the Penthouse first see, as well as behind-the-scenes stories and pictures at http://susanrubinproductions.com/tv.htm
Losing a pet is an awful, awful thing. For National Pet ID Week, I’m bringing back an older post I wrote, with tips on preventing pet theft from happening to you. It’s one facet of how we can lose our furry loved ones; there are more, of course. But in general, having your dog microchipped, having a comprehensive ID tag and implementing some common sense measures can help to protect them.
Read on for our special offer for my Bark & Swagger family!
I use PetHub for our dogs and cat. I feel comfortable knowing I have a 360º solution with PetHub, which has all of these features and options:
* a detailed online pet profile for Sophie, Jasper and Isabel
* a free 24/7 Found Pets hotline
* a QR code (PetHub was the first to utilize this)
* a GPS tracking system
* an NFC Chip – the same technology as the microchip is embedded into your pet’s ID tag
* the “Signal,” a Bluetooth-enabled tag that connects to a free smartphone app, and features a remote LED light and range finder (between 150-500 feet, depending on the model of smartphone)
* their Pet Protect360 (www.petprotect360.com ), where you can get a DNA “genetic paw print” that can be used as a pet theft deterrent.
This week, PetHub is offering Bark & Swagger followers $7 off of your ID tags! Just use the code SWAGGER when you check out.
There’s no time like now to protect our pets. They love us dearly; this is a beautiful way to love them back.
To get useful tips on preventing pet theft, including experts weighing in on their suggestions, here’s a link to my previous post: https://barkandswagger.com//stop-pet-theft-from-happening-to-you-get-serious-with-these-expert-tips
Have you experienced a close call or actually losing a pet?
In yesterday’s post, you learned about dog trainer, Justin Silver (if you didn’t already know him from his CBS Television show, Dogs in the City), and you’ve discovered his and partner, David Donnenfeld’s, new book, The Language of Dogs, a home training manual utilizing Justin’s philosophy.
Now, here are some of his favorite training tools we can use with our dogs to help us achieve great results. As Silver says, if the right energy isn’t there or if the pet parent doesn’t work his training tips, we can’t expect the tools to lead us to the promised land.
But, if we’re consistent with the right energy, body language and commands, then these tools can help and our dogs will get trained.
Top 5 Training Tools:
The PetSafe Gentle Leader
* The head collar – these collars humanely guide the dog from the cockpit, it’s nose. They’re great for anxious and fear aggressive dogs. Halti makes a great one, as does PetSafe with its Gentle Leader.
* The Martingale Collar for everyday use, because of the way they tighten on themselves, rather than on the dog’s neck. I like the fabric ones with the metal chain. They have a kind of “chain reaction,” a feeling and sound to them, which the dog can start to associate with. I’m also a big fan of Ruffwear and they make a great one.
* I like 4′ nylon leashes for everyday walks, because I think the walk is a partnership, and the dog should be by your side. I don’t hold the leash rigidly, it’s held a bit loosely. But if your dog is more than 6′ away from you, you should probably be doing some off leash work with them, in the right environment. Amazon has a good selection or try your local pet store.
* I love almost everything by Kong, especially their interactive food toys, because they’re a great way to keep dogs occupied when you’re at work, go out or are busy with other things. My boy Pacino has some hip and spine inflammation right now. Just like a person, icing it is super helpful. I ordered an extra large cold pack from Amazon to place over the swollen area twice a day for 15 min. I give him a Kong, filled with frozen peanut butter, to keep him occupied during treatments.
* I love the Four Paws Tension Gate, because a dog needs to have a home within a home. If you give a dog free reign of the house when you’re out, especially a young puppy, it’s like leaving a kid alone all day in a warehouse. He’ll find a lot of interesting things to do, but he’ll also make mischief and cause a bit of trouble. The Four Paws gate is sturdy, it’s pressure-mounted so there’s no need for screws and it comes in a great variety of sizes.
If you missed yesterday’s post, you can read it here.
*** Stay tuned for our upcoming Justin Silver’s Top 10 Most Common Training Problems & their Solutions. Justin will be guest blogging about one training problem a week on Bark & Swagger. For 10 weeks, it will be like having your own celebrity trainer! Check back on the blog for the launch date.
To purchase Justin Silver & David Donnenfeld’s book, The Language of Dogs, go here.
Call me crazy, but some of the best training advice I’ve received are these three simple words: Keep it fluffy. That’s how dog trainer, Justin Silver, puts it when he talks about the energy we communicate to our dogs. The CBS-TV Dogs in the City star sat down with me recently to talk about how our dogs think and learn, topics he covers in his new book with David Donnenfeld, The Language of Dogs. What follows is how Justin helped us and his top dog training tips.
How Justin Helped Jasper Get Over the Hump
After hearing about Justin Silver and watching his show, I was intrigued about his training methods. So I asked a colleague to introduce us, got his new book and hunkered down to read it. I had an ulterior motive. Our rescue Jasper, who has fear aggression issues, had taken over our lives since we took him home 8 months ago. Our wonderful trainer, Maggie Wood, had taken us from not being able to walk Jasper on the street – he’d shriek bark and lunge at people and dogs – to having a much more manageable dog. But, we were stalled and I wanted to see if we could get Jas over the hump of total unpredictability.
Justin & Dave Donnenfeld
The Language of Dogs was a great read. I found it easy to follow the training tips (with great demonstration photos of the techniques), and his sense of humor and no nonsense approach drew me in, not surprising from a one-time stand up comic and personal trainer. Having trained about 500 dogs, Justin has seen it all.
We did our first and only training session with Jasper via Skype. Yup, Skype! Justin was in L.A. working and escaping the brutal NYC winter. My husband shot some video of me walking Jasper and him acting out towards other dogs on the street, and I texted it to Justin prior to our session (what did we do before iPhones and email?). As soon as we connected on Skype, he dove in. Apparently, I was doing several things wrong and not being fluffy was at the heart of it.
He told me that, in the video, my energy was sending the wrong message to my dog. I was tense, almost expecting an outburst, which was true. We never knew when Jasper would go loco and we were honestly afraid he’d bite someone or their dog. But my body posture, the way I was holding his lead, the tone of my voice – all of it was telling Jasper to be tense, too.
In that session, Justin taught me how to hold his lead and walk him. He said we were using the wrong collar and suggested I put Jasper into a Halti Head Harness, which we subsequently changed to a PetSafe Gentle Leader. You know those head harnesses that has a strap around their nose? That made a HUGE difference right away, because I was able to control him “from the cockpit,” as Justin put it, and they are safe and humane. I love the Gentle Leader so much for our dogs (yes, Sophie, too), that I’m going to do a separate post about it and go into detail about how the harness works, what kind of dogs it’s good for and how it helped us with two completely different types of dogs.
The PetSafe Gentle Leader
Justin also explained his concept of “keeping it fluffy.” He said, “Imagine the most perfect walk with your dog, and live that feeling while you’re walking.” That didn’t mean to check out and be ignorantly blissful. One of the main tenets of his training is to listen with our eyes. What Justin was saying was to manifest a lovely, drama-free walk by sending out that kind of energy to Jasper. Keep the lead a bit loose, smile, sound happy. And, you know what? I saw immediate results when I tried it out on the street. Immediate!
After our Skype lesson, I interviewed Silver and he laid out his training philosophy. It is explained more in depth in The Language of Dogs, which I recommend highly. There’ll be a link to purchase at the end of the post. I’ll also be starting a weekly series with Justin of 10 common training issues dog parents have. Each week, Justin will instruct us as how to solve that week’s problem.
Justin’s Top Training Tips (in his own words)
Silver told me he rarely sees a client more than once or twice. That’s right! He doesn’t believe in working with a trainer long term. Why? He feels that once he teaches dog parents what to do with their particular dogs, as long as we follow through and do it, we will train our own dogs. And, it seems to work!
On to some of his top tips!
* Send the right message!
If I got a tattoo across my chest to sum up my #1 training tip, it would be this: Tell the dog what you want him to do, not what you don’t! The dog is somehow getting a mixed message of what it’s supposed to be doing, through the owners or through the trainer. We’re constantly communicating with them, either through commands or through our behavior. A perfect example is barking at the doorbell. Many people yell at the dog to stop barking. That doesn’t work. An alternative is to take what is instinctive to the dog, alerting you that someone is here, thank the dog for telling you and then redirecting that behavior to something you want them to be doing. That’s giving the dog the message of what to do once they’ve alerted you.
* Keeping it Fluffy
Dogs tend to follow. They’re bred to take cues from our eyes, our voice, to read facial expressions better than primates. When we train, we always have to have the goal in mind. People will use various techniques they’re taught, thinking the techniques alone will lead them to the promised land. You and Jasper are a perfect example. What I suggested is take the leash, hold it and instruct with the end goal in mind – a great walk. What I meant was, our energy when we’re with our dogs is super important. The leash is like a lightning rod. Whatever is going on with you is traveling right down the leash to the dog. Sometimes you have to breathe through it, as if your goal is already happening and the dog will follow. When I say ‘Keep it fluffy,’ I mean a fluffy energy, like a cloud…light. That expression developed when I was walking dogs and teaching people how to do it. They’d grab the leash tight, yank or pull it and the dog would counter pull, and I’d tell them to keep it fluffy, nice and easy like you’re walking on a cloud. That doesn’t mean you fall apart and turn to mush, but you have a real sense of ease, manifesting what you want to occur.
* Give them a job
Imagine if your dog was a human child, like six or seven. You have friends over and he’s running around the house wild, driving everyone crazy. You would most likely pull him aside, have a word, then sit him down and give him something to do. A job; a sense of responsibility. It’s the same with dogs. The job doesn’t have to be something that really needs doing, but the dog thinks it is. For example, if you’re a parent with a stroller, maybe the dog’s job is to walk politely next to the stroller and be like the big brother or the big sister. If treats motivate your dog, maybe you’d bring some with you on the walk and when she’s walking nicely by the stroller, you’d give her praise and a treat. If it’s affection and attention your dog responds to, you’d praise them and give them a pet. So, use what motivates your dog when you’re giving them a job. Oftentimes, all a dog wants is to have attention from you and be with you. If it’s a beautiful day and I’m walking down the street with the dogs, the reward is in the moment. So, it’s slowing both you and the dog down enough to see that, which means putting down the cellphone and paying attention.
* Listen with your eyes
Be observant about the way your dog takes in information and what they’re driven to do. For example, sometimes the owner of a high energy dog that doesn’t listen will try to quash that behavior, which can kill its spirit. They don’t realize that what the dog really wants is to interact with you. You don’t want to suppress that drive, you want to redirect it to other behaviors. You’ve got your dog’s battery charged…use it. You want food from me? You want affection from me? Here’s what you need to do to get it. Pay attention to what motivates your dog and use that to get him to do what you want, so he can get what he wants, too.
* No Free Lunch
An emotionally healthy dog has a clear understanding of its role in the household. This begins with the knowledge of who is in charge. In order to give a timid dog confidence, the dog needs to understand that it is not in control of the household. The same holds true for an overbearing dog, or a dog that exhibits “dominant” behavior. All of these behaviors reek of anxiety and desperation for instruction. The most important thing for a dog to understand is that we are the rightful owner of treats, chew sticks and squeeze toys, and that we decide when the belly rubs get doled out. When your dog has learned this information, you will have a calmer and happier dog. Why? Because your dog has something to work for that will allow it to perform one of it’s biological imperatives. Think about it this way: If you get a check every month from an anonymous donor, you’ll likely worry that one day the checks will stop coming. However, if you’re confident that you have earned and will continue to earn this check, you will not have cause for concern. It is healthy for a dog to know for whom and for what they are working.
* Structured play and structured activities
These are key. Everything you do with your dog is an opportunity to train. There’s a big difference between letting a dog run around the backyard, going absolutely crazy to burn off steam and taking a walk on leash with you. With structured play, a dog needs to follow a certain protocol to get what it wants. It reduces anxiety and lets the dog know what is expected of her. Hikes, games like fetch or tug of war with the drop it command, frisbee, or specific playdates where there are rules and regulations are all good. A lot times, people don’t realize their method of exercising the dog can amp them up and teach them more bad habits. I see that in the dog park; there are people who let their dogs do whatever they want, and there are people who have some rules. The dogs who have some rules are going to get the benefit of burning off their energy without amping up their anxiety.
* Master your body
The way we hold our bodies sends a message to our dogs. Dogs are constantly trying to pick up signals from us and are masters at reading our body language. They’re never trying to dominate us; they’re trying to get what they want and figure out what we want. When training, it’s almost like you’re teaching English to a baby or putting together dance moves. You want to say command words very clearly, very deliberately, and give hand signals with a body posture that is also very concise. Think of an orchestra conductor. You see how he stands; his posture, how he holds that baton. He wants to be very crisp and concise because variations can mean something different to his orchestra. So, I tell people to look at their body and listen to their voice; how they’re communicating. With talk, less is more. Make the keywords [the command word(s)] all you say. Mushing is what I call the opposite of this. The best interaction between a dog and dog parent is like dance partners. You lead with the signals and words and he follows seamlessly.
There’s so much more…
These are some of the key aspects of what Justin teaches, but there’s so much more in the book…way too much to include here. Linking, luring, the 80/20 rule, and the critical how to introduce your dog to other dogs and humans are just a few.
I asked Justin if, in the hundreds he’s trained, has he had dogs he just couldn’t “fix”?
“Yes, there have been dogs I’ve had a very difficult time with. Certain dogs are going to prove [a term explained in the book] only a certain amount. If I have a dog that’s had an aggressive, tough background, it’s late in their life and they’re living in New York City with lots of triggers, how much better can I get that dog? Sometimes, the best thing for them is to go live on a farm or in a much more peaceful environment, where they’re not triggered by the things that cause them anxiety. I have a client who’s dog is really calm when he’s at her parent’s house in Pennsylvania, but when he’s back in NYC, he’s so anxious he starts attacking dogs in the elevator. We’ve gotten that dog as far as we can get him, where he’s not attacking dogs in the elevator, but he’s still really nervous. We’ve made as much improvement as we can, based on what that owner is willing to do and the environment the dog lives in. So, there’s things I can do and I can not do and people need to have realistic expectations of what the dog is capable of.”
With Pacino & Chiquita
A message to dog parents…
Justin is a big supporter of adopt, don’t shop. His two dogs – Pacino and Chiquita – are both rescues and he’s done a lot of work with shelters. So, he knows from what he speak when he says, “If people took the time to learn how a dog thinks and learns, the proper way to introduce them to people and other dogs, instead of getting a dog and thinking they’ll just wing it, a lot of dogs’ lives would be saved. We’re basically dog re-trainers. I get called when the last three trainers haven’t worked and the owner thinks the dog is hopeless. Well, is the dog hopeless or is your method of teaching not the best one for this particular dog? It’s a trainer’s job and a dog owner’s job to find out the best means of training that specific animal that’s in front of them and, with that, the epidemic of dogs that show up in shelters with behavior problems would vastly go away.”
(photo credit for all photos: Brian Friedman)
Stay tuned for Justin’s favorite training tools, tomorrow, and an upcoming training series on the top 10 most common problems.
To purchase Justin Silver’s book, The Language of Dogs, go here.
I aimed for it; that spur-of-the-moment head cocked in full tilt,I’m quizzical pose. Maybe aimed too high today? Instead, we got a bit of Zen meets “mommy, take this thing offa meeee!” I’m taking creative license; Sophie is, indeed, looking quizzical…meets Zen. ok. Whatever this is, it’s still cute. When I look at Sophie, my little munchkin, I want to eat her up! 🙂
I missed last week, where the theme was Blessings, so I thought I’d post a pic I love that says it all to me. This is my husband, napping on the couch, with the babies by his side (and feet). 🙂 Other than our health and the health of those we love, do we really need more blessings than that?
Pet blogging friend and colleague, Christina Berry of The Lazy Pitbull, created this fun challenge. You don’t have to be a blogger to participate. Just snap or choose a pic you’ve taken that matches that week’s theme and post it on your social networks, with the hashtag #52Snapshots, so we can all follow along! For pet bloggers, this is a BlogHop, so hop on!
What’s the funniest thing your dog has put on his or her quizzical face for?
It’s only April, but never too soon to get ready for summer! I, for one, count it as my favorite season. With our move to Florida, the pups are spending a lot of time in and around the pool and I have such a great tip to share! We’ve discovered the Best Pool Toy Ever! I don’t use caps lightly, mind you. 🙂 It’s the Super Subbies Squiddy Tub Pool Toy and my-oh-my, does it pack a punch of entertainment!
Created for human kids, it’s apparently becoming a popular toy for dogs, too. The battery-operated, 8-inch long squid features a hard plastic body and rubbery long tentacles for its squiddy tail. It comes in several colors, but we like the bright orange one the best and the dogs seem to be able to see it the best, too. When you align the arrows at the back of the two pieces of the toy, the battery power kicks in and the Squiddy’s rear propeller sends it swimming around the pool, deep diving and surface popping, keeping its canine charges extremely engaged.
Our dogs each have their own methods of playing with Squiddy. Sophie, ever the princess of the palace, is also the little fish. Once Squiddy goes into the pool, Sophie doesn’t come out! She does a little (and adorable) push off the steps jump into the water and chases Squiddy around, but when he gets too close, she high tails it away.
Jasper is the masculine hunter boy. While he won’t swim (unless he falls in, which he does regularly), he’ll circle the pool ad nauseum, looking for his opportunity to pluck it out of the water. As soon as it surfaces close to the edge, he’ll plunge his face in to grab Squiddy, a tactic he’s now perfected to great results! He’s also learned to “throw it back” for continued play.
It’s been great exercise for both of them and all of the swimming has been very therapeutic for Sophie, who has luxating patellas in her knees. That pup’s muscles are stronger than ever!
We’ve had so much fun watching them so thoroughly enjoying themselves, we created a little family production of Sophie and Jasper in action.
If you think your pup would enjoy the Squiddy Tub Pool Toy, you can buy it here. I’ve just bought six so we never have to run out.
She’s a scruffy rescue who was returned twice for behavior problems. Today, Estopinha has 2 million Facebook fans and knows 40 Portuguese and 10 English commands on Skype. If you’re shaking your head in disbelief, keep reading. When I met brilliant Brazilian animal trainer & more, Alexandre Rossi, and saw the proof for myself, I was convinced. Can dogs be trained to use Skype? Yes! Meet Alexandre and his famous dogs, Estopinha and Sofia, who will show us how it’s done.
Sending a message about rescues…
Alexandre and Sofia, who started it all
Both of Alexandre’s dogs were rescued. Sofia was found in the street as a puppy, an escapee from an unsecured backyard. Alexandre spoke with the owner and then took her home. Adopting Estopinha was a bit more calculated. Sofia was already a famous dog in Brazil, with her ability to use a keyboard to tell Alex what she wanted. She had a platform to send a message to others. So, Alexandre decided to purposefully adopt a black, mixed breed, adult dog – all of which are harder to place in Brazil – and found Estopinha.
She had already been returned twice by previously adopters for “enjoying life too much,” as Alex described her. “She used to bark a lot, but she doesn’t anymore,” he explains. “She would destroy things and look for trouble. She has a lot of energy.”
Her name means a rag that you might use to clean your hands. It’s fibers aren’t uniform, giving it a scruffy look – kind of like Estopinha.
An affair of the heart for both Alex and Estopinha
Through training, Estopinha has grown into a well-behaved, international star. Stick around to the end, and Alex will take us through, step-by-step, how he stopped her from her incessant barking.
With her 2 million Facebook fan platform, many others have been encouraged to adopt dogs that look like her. “There are so many dogs who look like Estopinha, so people will say maybe this one’s a cousin of Estopinha or a brother or sister of hers and they adopt them,” Alex shared.
Why Skype as a training tool?
I’ve heard of many different types of training methods, but using Skype was a first for me, so I had to know why and how. Here’s what I found out.
“I read article in BBC magazine on why dogs don’t understand what we say on Skype and I didn’t believe it,” Rossi explained. “This was about five years ago and I was studying for my Master’s Degree in human psychology. I went to one of my professors and showed him the article and he agreed that I could do my thesis on this – human/animal communication and a look at how language might develop. I used a 3D printer to create a rudimentary device that can give treats remotely. I put an answering machine through Skype and when I pressed the numbers 0 or 9, the device would deliver a treat. I started doing some tests, which turned out really well.”
Alexandre, Sofia and the keyboard she used to communicate
Sofia ended up learning 50 commands in Portuguese on Skype, and started the sensation of Alexandre’s training feats. She was also taught to push keys on a board to tell Alex what she wanted, whether it was to have food, water, go outside, etc. A video of Sofia’s communicating with Alex and friends is below. Go to about 2:40 to see her use the keyboard. It’s really cool!
Unfortunately, Sofia passed away from a very aggressive cancer last year, prompting an outpouring of support from around the world and requests for Alexandre to speak about her and what she accomplished in places from Boston University to Hungary.
Estopinha has taken the training on Skype a step further.
Learning “yes” and “no”…
To teach Estopinha to communicate what she wanted, Alex needed to teach her how to respond to yes and no questions. For yes, she gives a paw; for no, she turns her head the other way. She knows 40 commands in Portuguese and 10 in English. “She can also understand many of the things we say that we don’t consider a command, and that helps because she can answer yes or no to them. She can also ask for some things with her body language,” Rossi says.
I asked how he taught her to understand yes and no.
“I would get something she really wanted, like a treat,” he described. “I’d show it to her and ask if she wants it. Once she got excited, I’d ask her to give her paw. When she offered it, I’d give her the treat.
“Then for no, I would present something she doesn’t like, like some alcohol on a cotton ball, for example. I would ask her if she wants it, and I’d let her smell it. She wouldn’t like it, so she’d turn her head away. This would be very subtle; it’s not something I’d put in her face; it’s not cruel. I’m very careful about that. When she’d turn her head away, I’d say ok, good, you don’t want this, shaking my head. Then, I’d give the treat option again to show her the difference.
“After she got the hang of that, I’d start presenting other things to her, like the pee pad. Did she want to pee? If she got excited, I’d ask for her paw. Now, if she wants something, she’ll keep turning her head no until I get it right!”
Watch for yourself a video of Estopinha communicating with Alexandre on Skype. It’s in Portuguese but is subtitled in English.
“After that, we taught her all new commands only via Skype,” he explained. “For example, we taught her to turn the lights on and off in my house, through Skype.”
What else does she know?
“She does all the commands, like jump, turn around, sit, lay down, give a paw, give another paw,” Rossi says. “I can ask what she wants – food, drink. She always says yes to food, because that’s the only thing I can give her via Skype. She can dig, push this, pull that, get her toy.”
Here’s a complete list of what Estopinha can do in both languages:
In English
Sit
Down
Turn around
Hold
Let go
Jump
Up
Down
Fetch
Back
Does Estopinha also know how to cook?
In Portuguese
Senta – sit
Deita – down
Rola – turn around
Da a pata – give the paw
Da a outra pata – give the other paw
Morto – play dead
Busca – fetch
Rola – roll
Puxa – pull
Vem – come
Vai – go
Fica – stay
Para trás – go back
Pula – jump
Segura – hold
Solta – let go
Cadê – go find
O que vc. quer? – What do you want (she can do some signs to show what she wants, like drink water, go for a walk, food, etc.)
Quer água? – Do you want water? (she can answer with yes or no)
Quer comida? – Do you want food (same)
Quer passear? – Do you want to go for a walk? (same)
Barthô – Bartho is the name of the other dog. She can be asked to give a kiss to Bartho.
Mamis – Her “mother”. She can be asked to find her or take something to her.
Papis – Her “father.” Same thing.
Brinquedo – toy
Kong – Kong Classic Toy
Sobe – go up
Desce – go down
Vai para Casinha – go to the crate
Quer que abra? – Do you want the door to be opened? She can answer with yes or no.
Louca – Go crazy, she runs and through stuff to the air.
Da beijo – Give a kiss
Acende a luz – Turn on the light
Apaga a luz – Turn off the light
Alexandre with Bartho and Estopinha
What’s your background, Alex? (part of our interview)
AR: I started training fish when I was six. I lived in a small apartment and had many brothers and sisters. I always loved animals, but my parents only allowed me to have fish at first. I taught them to jump out of the water, to ring a bell for food, and for the fish to lay down on the floor of the aquarium and to turn around.
B&S: How did you teach them to lay down on the floor?
AR: It was kind of an accident. We weren’t allowed to watch tv, so I spent a lot of time watching my aquarium. I would notice that the fish would naturally lay down on the tank floor. So, I would wait for this, then tap the glass and offer food. Although I focused on one fish, Oscar, because I was doing this with a tank full of fish, the others learned too, and I could give a show! LOL
Finally, my parents allowed me to have a hamster, snakes, a rabbit…I had so many animals in that apartment, I feel sorry for my parents now. I didn’t train all of them, but I was able to get them to do things just by examining their behavior. For example, I had a spider who I could make walk a certain way and to stop.
Much of this knowledge I was able to use later on to train animals for advertising.
B&S: What animals did you train for advertising?
AR: Many, but a couple you may know are a spider in the TV show, “Dexter, ” which I trained to walk towards one of the character’s mouth for one scene, and a dog in a Julianne Moore film, Blindness, which they needed to act very sad and give her a lick on the face. Julianne was really impressed with this dog and called him a genius!
What formal schooling have you had regarding animals?
AR: I took an animal science course, I hold an degree in Animal Behavior from the University of Queensland in Australia, and did my masters degree in psychology. Now, I’m in my 3rd year of veterinary school. I like to study a lot; I’m very academic, and have a scientific approach to everything.
B&S: What do you hope to accomplish with everything you do?
AR: My mission is to improve the relationship between animals and people, not only for people with their dogs and cats, but also in zoos and sanctuaries. In addition to behavioral consultation and training at home for clients, I also offer courses, lectures and workshops on how to train animals through my business, Cao Cidadao (Citizen Dog). We have 65 franchisee’s throughout Brazil, thus far.
B&S: Where can people learn more about what you do?
AR: Our site is www.caocidadao.com.br but that’s in Portuguese. There’s also a bio on me in Wikipedia.
The Rossi family – Alexandre, Estopinha, Bartho & Cynthia
The training tip I promised…
Because I think Alexandre is really talented with animals and his heart is so in the right place for animals, I asked him about a problem we have that we’ve been unable to solve and it’s one a lot of people also have.
How do you get a dog to stop barking incessantly? Here’s what Alex did that worked with Estopinha:
“First, I went online and downloaded all the noises I could find that I thought would make her bark. I played them at a low volume while I was giving her treats, so her mouth was very busy. I kept increasing the volume, and she realized every time she heard that noise, I’d give her a treat. Also, when she got very good at that part of the exercise, I used a water spray bottle and when she barked, I would spray her a little bit. When you give them a nice way out of a frustration, something they do like like treats, works better than just doing something they don’t like. The noise desensitization was the first step, then I moved to the real thing, like our doorbell. I would ring it many times with the dog with me, giving her treats. Then, I’d ring it with the door open and give her treats and, just a few times use the water bottle if she barked; mostly the positive getting her used to the treats. It did the trick. She stopped barking because she knew instead of spending time barking, she would get treats when she heard noises.”
I’m going to try this at home with Sophie. I’ll let you know if it works for us. Maybe you’ll want to try it, too!
In summary, what I love about Alexandre is how he’s used a lot of love for his dogs and the science from his studies to push the boundaries of what’s possible. To me, that’s great dog training.
If you ever go to Brazil, you can see Alex on one of the two most popular TV shows there – Missao Pet – on the National Geographic channel and Desafio Pet, in ‘Programa Eliana’, on SBT, as well as on the radio show ‘É o Bicho’ on Band News FM.
What does stylish mean to you? I’m passionate about animals, fashion, travel, home decor and rescue, and that's what you'll find here. After a recent move to Fort Lauderdale from NYC, we're loving our new life in the sunshine. Welcome to my world! Grab your favorite beverage, curl up and stay awhile.
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