This week is a CRAZY week for pet rescue benefits. I've barely been able to keep up-My dance card is OVERFULL  and I don't think I can keep up! I'll only be able to give you the FULL HEAD COUNT when the post is done-so let's get started.

Wednesday April 18th  in Greenpoint

Greepointers Calls this poster "sexy"-I can't fully disagree....---------------------------------------------------------------
Also on Wednesday the 18th @ The Gotham Comedy Club
a JOINT fundraiser for Stewie to the Rescue Inc and Empty Cages Collective!

It's only a $20 cover and a two drink min - The whole cover goes towards the rescues!
ANDREW MARTINEZ (Last Comic Standing), SHEILA KAY (Law and Order: SVU),OPHIRA EISENBERG (VH1),TIM KROMPIER (MTV), EXIENE LOFGREN (LAUGHING SKULL FESTIVAL)
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THURSDAY APRIL 19th in the EAST VILLAGE @ Upright Citizens Brigade, 153 East 3rd Street, possibly the "weirdest" & "wildest" of the bunch....the LEAST TAME for sure I suspect.
To benefit WAGGYTAIL rescue
Hosted by Dave Hill and starring Janeane Garofalo featuring Adam Sank, Liam McEneaney, Mike Amato, and a very special surprise guest.
BUT WAIT! there's MORE!! A no-cover afterparty and raffle at Double Down Saloon on Avenue A, 8:30-10:30 PM

I just don't think you can compete with wacked out prizes like  BOTOX, Lessons from a Dominatrix and 5 minute speed date with a Playboy Model...clearly something for everyone...well, maybe nothing for your Nana-nope, wait wellness exams from Cooper Sq Veterinary are also on the table.

* I might STILL be missing a benefit ...it seemed like there were MORE.
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UPCOMING!!

WOOF WOOF WEDDING
ANOTHER benefit for WaggyTail Rescue! [that gal is BUSY!] and North Shore Animal League.
Broadway STAR ORFEH's dog BOO will marry DJS EVENTS founder Dawn Strain's dog daughter- a rescue dog VIA waggytail rescue...
This should be something! More later....

DID I Miss anything? let me know...

Tonight I found all these cool stinckers from  REDBUBBLE.COM. I'm a weirdo for my age, I still like putting stickers on my car, partially because it's OLD and needs them so no one think I don't *KNOW* that it's a bit of a wreck, and secondly it just reminds me of being younger. Conversely I *HATE* buttons, like the kind with sayings and photos- absolutely HATE them. Thank god these aren't buttons!

 

BEST PUG STICKER EVER~

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE "RETRO" 70s..

 

SUMO DOGS....
but they are FRENCHIES? Shouldn't this have been two SHIBA INUS? .. *IF* we are being authentic here.

This is HINTO, a Rat Terrier Rescue dog that just finished small dog class..and with a BANG!

He came in as the most shy dog in the class, and is slowly warming up and coming out of his shell. Small dog class is a great way to remedially socialize small dogs with other dogs of a similar size so they are "less scary" and then you can slowly work up to more interactions with larger or mulitiple dogs. Small dog class also help focus on some of those annoying small dog centric issues like EXTENDED housetraining issues, barking and hand shyness.

Jumping through the arms is a great trick to reduce fear of proximity to people's hands/arms and LOOMING OVER-which is a BIGGIE.

IN case you've never seen a circus-y dog show, you can get some trick ideas HERE

This TRICK  is surprisingly easy to teach. Next week I'll show the steps to this trick!

xoxoxo Denise

 

MISSED DEADLINES & REDIRECTED [human] BEHAVIORS

 

So, I missed the deadline for my VEGAN blog post and Oprah beat me to it, but I am resolved to crank that one out in the next couple of days or so and another round of Etsy dog Ephemera, etc. Until then check out these new videos I posted on VIMEO. I've been playing around with a new Iphone App called 8MM and Vintage Movie Maker-they are super easy to use and awesome fun. The skateboard movie I made in Imovie and I'll have future installments as we turn the chihuahua into a shredding, ollieing machine!
Can't someone make me a Chihuahua version of SCREAMING HAND

or FRED SMITH?

 I actually HAVE that Fred Smith sticker...so this skate thing is oddly close to my heart, despite the fact that I CANNOT skateboard with any actual real acuity. My motorcycle riding ability is also VERY questionable at best [uneasy rider indeed]

 

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING YOU'll REALLY ENJOY

<div class="posterous_quote_citation">via vimeo.com</div>

<div class="posterous_quote_citation">via vimeo.com</div>

<div class="posterous_quote_citation">via vimeo.com</div>

 

Well, I guess that depends on what you define as the "training"

Tonight on FOX, the show HOUSE will have Hugh Laurie, the gifted, curmudgeonly Dr. Gregory House try some clicker training of his own on his girlfriend’s toddler in an effort to give her an edge over her toddler competition in preschool. Knowing the House character, I can’t comment on the veracity of what will be put forth, but I’m just happy to see a representation of it in back in popular media, not a dog show, not a science broadcast or special interest piece in a nighttime televesion news magazine.

The episode called “the carrot or the stick” seems to be a reference to the ongoing debate about Punishment Vs. Reinforcement as a means to shape behavior.

The first time I was exposed to CLICKER TRAINING was in  a movie from the 80s called THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST, you might remember Geena Davis played a dog trainer and [well before her time] she’s walking dogs and clicker training them. This was practically science fiction for dog training at the time-1988. Since then those of us familiar with Clicker Training have rarely seen it pop up outside of dog related shows.

 

Clickers on humans? We’re not Dogs! I hear this A LOT. Let’s say that this is not the same clicker training of yore. NO WAIT! Actually it is. It’s not re-invented, it’s repurposed, and beautifully so. For more than a decade markers/clicker training has been used to teach/train for precision and accuracy in pursuits from Gymnasts to Fighter Pilots to children with Autism and Attention Deficit.

TAG TEACHING

Perhaps the bit on HOUSE is a nod to a more recent education and learning movement called TAGteaching
From the Tag Teaching BLOG "TAGteach is a revolutionary science-based technology that enables educators and coaches to teach efficiently and helps students learn effectively. TAG is an acronym for Teaching with Acoustical Guidance. The focused, positive nature of this method yields immediate and stunning results that are clearly evident to teachers, students and parents."

 

RESOURCES [Learn More about Clickers & TAGteaching]

Karen Pryor

In her new book, Reaching the Animal Mind, Karen Pryor provides a detail and compelling retrospective of how animals learn through positive outcomes as well as uses for clicker training and many avant-garde uses that even some seasoned animal trainers might be unfamiliar with.

A section on DO-IT-YOURSELF suggests teaching your cat to hi-five and your gymnastics coach to TAG you for better form and performance. Basically T.A.G [teaching with acoustic guidance] is teaching humans, adults and children alike with a “marker” whether it be a clicker, a touch, or a phrase [ not completely dissimilar to pneumonic device-but not really the same either.

 

TAG TEACHING

Just check out this video of

Teaching Skipping with TAGteach

 

 

 

A question many new [and seasoned even] dog owners often ask me is, "Is that play TOO ROUGH?", in regard to their dog's play style or the style of a play partner for their dog. Sometimes what they mean is "Is that play too LOUD?". It's true that rough play can often accompany loud and growly play. However, more often than not, loud play is simply that-LOUD PLAY. A great way to try and look at dog play without being negatively biased by the sound is to turn the volume down in your head and focus on how it looks rather than how it sounds.

Banjo [ shown here in Australian Terrier Red] and Truman [ a pretty picture in Mixed Brussels Brown] engage in some growly but mutually satisfying consensual play. There is 'turnabout', meaning that they each swap 'dominant' or rather PUSHY roles if you will, and each is in turn the 'chaser' and the 'chasee'. If everything "looks" good, you can often chalk up the sound to preference or personality, but not "intention" to do harm or it being TOO rough.