Pit Bull Health Tip of the Month:
Canine CPR: Every owner should know about Canine First Aid

A few months ago I had the great privilege to become certified in canine CPR. The class was enlightening and educational. One thing I learned from the class was that accidents happen and with the proper knowledge you can give your dog a better chance at living because you know how to respond to those accidents.

I want to step back a month before the class. I was at work with my dogs. We were all in the play room (I train out of a Ruff Life Dog Day care here in Lexington) and Angel had a tennis ball she was playing with. The ball was broken and she was holding it in her mouth. I received a phone call and Angel's panting was loud as usual. Suddenly the panting stopped. Silence. I turned around and what I saw scared the living daylights out of me. The ball, was gone. She was choking on it. I freaked out and did the only thing I knew how to do. Since I heard air coming from her I stood over her and gave her two firm slaps on her rib cage on both sides. She threw up and there was the ball.

She acted as if nothing really happened but I was shook up and shaking. I came this close (holding fingers about an inch apart) to losing my Angel.

Now I was back in CPR class and thinking about that day. How lucky was I? What if she had gotten it stuck deep into her throat? I have an article on this site about choking and I have used those techniques but I couldn't shake the fact that I almost lost my dog about a month before this class.

I took this class very seriously as did the other participants. We practiced mouth to snout, how to give compressions, how to check the pulse, how to clear a throat of an item if the dog is choking. How to help get rid of poison as you go to the vet and a ton of other helpful stuff that now that I think about I wonder why I didn't get this certification years ago.

The class covers bite wounds as well as heat exhaustion and how to prevent it. I really can't say enough about the information and they give you a cool Pet CPR book to keep for reference. I have used that book 3 times since getting it.

Pit Bull Training Tip of the Month:
Street Smarts: Training for the Real World

I am a dog trainer by profession. As a dog trainer I see a lot of dogs and levels of training. One thing that I rarely see is a dog trained with street smarts. Let me explain...

Almost all the dog trainers in my area offer basic to advanced obedience training. Some are great trainers with years of experience while others are new comers looking to break into the market. Two years ago I decided to take my services to the public and make dog training my profession. When you start a business the first thing you do is ask yourself, "why should John and Jane Q public come to me?" My answer was, "no one offers the type of training I do."

In my area the majority of trainers train using AKC, UKC or CKC methods. You know, heel 40 paces then make a 90 degree left hand turn around the orange cone to a perfect stop to automatic sit. Recall over a jump with a dumb bell or come when called to a "front" position. These are competition exercises and while they are useful they do not prepare you or your dog for the real world.

On the street you will rarely get the opportunity to heel off 40 paces to a uniform left hand turn to a pre-determined marked point. On the street you will rarely have a dumb bell handy for your dog to retrieve. On the street you will encounter kids, dogs, people, cars, motorcycles, hectic intersections, and all sorts of wonderful distractions like rabbits and squirrels.

Training your dog for the street, scratch that, training your dog in the street is the place to start. No I don't mean go out in the middle of the road and work on downs. I mean, use the streets as your proofing ground. The area you train your dog and use the most should be outside, in your area, right on the side of the road, during peak traffic hours, and busy days.

This is advanced obedience to the X degree. This is where we trainers take our dogs and how we proof our dogs under hundreds of distractions at one time. Street training is where my clients end up. My clients end up doing call offs at a busy park, without a leash. My dogs are worked during peak traffic hours on a corner holding a sit/wait for 60 seconds while I tie my shoe or drink some coffee or whatever I feel like doing for one minute.

When you start training outside in the real world your dog learns at a rapid rate and starts to act nicely in public areas. I don't care how well the dog can heel under competition settings. If you add a drunk trying to bum a dollar off you and not getting the point, do you think they will hold the down stay? What about a long sit at a traffic light with people, dogs, kids, motorcycles, and other things going by? Will they hold their position without moving?

Dog training is about getting your dog prepared for the world around them. Not getting them to sit at 50 paces until you recall them. These things are rarely possible (or legal) on the street.

Street smart dog training is about getting out there in the world with your dog and doing obedience in places where it is needed. On a street corner, at a restaurant, in the park, at the store, out in the front of your house.

The end goal of street smart training is to have a savvy dog that will respond under heavy distractions they face on a regular basis and then some surprise distractions the streets can throw at you. You will not encounter a screaming 4 year old on a competition field. You will out at the park though.

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