Happy Festivus!

Break out the unadorned aluminum pole, it's time to celebrate Festivus! I'm a big fan of winter holidays, and this is a particularly silly one. It's a rejection of the holiday consumerism that pervades the month of December, and gets right to the heart of family get-togethers. That's right, I'm talking about the Airing of Grievances. Let's take a moment to talk about the ways in which companies have disappointed The Dog Geek over the last year.

Feats of Strength!

Kong, your Squeezz Crackle ball couldn't handle being squeezed and crackled.

Petsmart, your Puppies backwards-R Us treat spinner couldn't handle even a tiny amount of regular dog play.

Zack & Zoey, you turned out to be a regular Pet Edge brand, and not some adorably personable company with a charming backstory.

Loot Pets, you totally abandoned your geeky premise and sent us a regular dog-themed subscription box. There are tons of regular dog-themed subscription boxes out there, I got yours purely for the geekery. You got rid of the geekery slowly, sending regular toys instead of geeky toys, and fewer items in every box, until your finally abandoned the concept altogether, and that's when you lost a customer. It was a fun six months though, and those first few crates were awesome. The pet shirts never fit right though, you must all have super wide pug-shaped dogs or something.

Sileo, you did nothing for Ranger's fireworks fear. I think we're going camping for New Year's just to get away from the possible fireworks noise.

Company of Animals, your Pet Corrector needs to come with instructions about using it in the vicinity of other pets. It has a very non-specific, area-wide effect, so it "corrects" basically every single dog in agility class when some clueless student chooses to use it for their dog's leash reactivity.

Outward Hound, your dog backpack was awkward and uncomfortable and felt ridiculously cheap and flimsy. Like, I understand making things for a certain price point, but that felt like some serious dollar store shit.

Reviews.com...your research sucks. Bigtime.

Chuckit, your Floppy Tug was surprisingly non-durable.

Zukes, your Power Bones treats show a distinct lack of knowledge about the canine metabolism. I expected better of you.

Thank you for joining me for this little wallow in negativity. the Dog Geek will be back to the usual upbeat outlook following the Feats of Strength.

The Pet Corrector

The Pet Corrector is a product from the Company of Animals. It is advertised as a device that emits compressed gas with a loud hiss. The noise is intended to interrupt unwanted behavior. The company suggests using it to stop your dog from barking, jumping up, stealing food, chasing, and going places you don't want them to go. Not just for dogs, Company of Animals also recommends the Pet Corrector for stopping unwanted behaviors in cats, horses, and any other animal.

At face value, this seems like a handy product. After all, it's just a harmless sound, right? When I first saw this product, it reminded me of the squirt bottles I use to make my cats be less obnoxious. They stand on my head and yowl at 5am, I squirt wildly around the bedroom in a semi-conscious frenzy, the cats decide that waking me up for breakfast isn't such a great idea after all.

The Pet Corrector differs from a squirt bottle in two very important ways. First, it is not intended to be sprayed at the animal at all. Second, it is much louder than a squirt bottle. It's pretty damned loud.

The Company of Animals has training information describing exactly how the Pet Corrector is to be used, but I have yet to see anyone in public demonstrate a thorough understanding of this information. This device is used for the purpose of positive punishment, that is, adding something unwanted in response to a behavior. Positive punishment can be effective, but is not without risks. When positive reinforcement is done wrong, nothing really terrible happens. When positive punishment is done wrong, it can have unintended consequences.

One of our classmates at our first session of agility class had a miniature poodle. Olly the poodle apparently had some issues doing on-leash greetings with other dogs. Like many dogs, he felt nervous and the tension would build until he barked and snapped at the other dog as a way to get more personal space. This is actually normal, leashed greetings are unnatural and very few dogs are 100% comfortable with them so most knowledgeable dog people avoid them entirely. However, Olly's handler felt he just wasn't being polite, and that his unwanted behavior needed to be corrected.

Enter the Pet Corrector. At class one day, a person walking their dog wandered over to ask about agility. She was walking a little shih tzu that she allowed to wander up to Olly as she spoke to his handler. Seeing the opportunity to correct an unwanted behavior, Olly's owner pulled the Pet Corrector from her pocket. When Olly couldn't figure out how to disengage from the social interaction and instead snapped at the other dog, his handler sprayed him with the canister.

In her attempt to correct her own dog's unwanted behavior, Olly's mom also punished the shih tzu that Olly had been greeting. That dog bolted to the end of her leash and stood there trembling, she may be much more nervous the next time she greets a strange dog. Olly's mom also succeeded in punishing Sisci from 30' away, this was our first class and Sisci was extremely nervous about all the new sights and sounds. A sudden loud, scary sound definitely did not help her feel like the park was a safe place.

Can the Pet Corrector be used responsibly? Sure. However, the information provided by Company of Animals fails to mention the potential for collateral damage.

A Duct Tape Muzzle Art Tutorial

I've seen some really lovely duct tape muzzle art at the Muzzle Up Project, and wanted to try it myself. There are a few pictures around, but I haven't been able to find any sort of a tutorial or documentation of the process. This is what held me back for months, I didn't feel confident about starting the project without seeing someone else do it first. So, in the spirit of "you go first!" and "I'll do it if you do it!", here is my process for making my first tape-wrapped muzzle.

Materials

One roll of decorative duct tape and one Baskerville muzzle.

For this project, you need duct tape and a muzzle, obviously. I also used a can of clear spray enamel and an x-acto knife. 

A note on duct tape choice: Most of the design is going to be wrapped around the small bars of the muzzle. The larger the design, the less recognizable it will be. Small prints work better, and abstract designs work best. I originally wanted Hello Kitty tape, but ended up going with rainbow unicorns. Shut up, unicorns are abstract now.

The first piece.

Time to get started! The first thing I did was tear off a small strip of tape and wrap it around a bar. Not bad, but I should have used a wider piece that covered the whole bar.

More pieces, kind of wrinkly.

I covered a few more bars and quickly discovered that covering a curved surface with a flat piece of tape resulted in wrinkles.

Cutting corners.

To fit the tape around the corners neatly, I tried cutting it with an x-acto knife.

First corners accomplished!

This made the tape lay flat around the corner, but also left gaps in the back. The alternative it to just mash it around the corner, which gives better coverage but doesn't look quite as clean.

Trimming to fit.

The duct tape is wider than the bars of the muzzle. I cut down on bulk and made the tape lay flatter by cutting off the excess before smoothing down the edges.

Big piece on longer bar.

Time to try taping a longer bar! This was the longest piece of tape so far. I checked the size before ripping off the tape. Longer pieces show the design better and look cleaner if you can get them down flat enough, but they're more prone to wrinkling too.

Halfway there!

This strip of tape went halfway around the muzzle. Most of it ended up looking pretty good, but it wrinkled more than I wanted.

A gap!

Here's a gap where the ends of the tape didn't quite meet. 

Small pieces to the rescue!

I used some of the bits I trimmed off before to cover the gaps. I was surprised how many little tiny piece I used. The pattern really helped cover them up.

The aftermath.

Here's what the table looked like when I was done. I learned that cutting the tape with the knife made for much flatter and cleaner lines, but also took way longer. Anywhere the very edge of the tape folded over on itself, I just cut off. 

The finished product.

Here's the finished muzzle. It turned out a bit more wrinkly and a bit less neat that I'd like, but was definitely a learning process.

Not perfect, but not terrible.

The toughest part was fitting the tape around the strap holes. I'm not totally pleased with how this turned out. 

Getting ready for the clear coat.

To hold everything together nicely, I decided to spray it with a couple coats of clear enamel. Gotta cover up anything I don't want painted.

Ready to spray.

With the straps covered in masking tape, I took the muzzle outside and sprayed it with the clear coat. As spray paint is inert once it is dry, "why didn't I just paint the whole damned thing?" crossed my mind, as I'm sure it did yours. Unicorns. Unicorns are the answer.

Hanging up to dry

The finished product! I don't have an in-action shot, partly because this thing needs a few days to cure and partly because I don't actually have a dog large enough to wear a size 5 Baskerville Ultra muzzle. I'm planning to do this with a smaller muzzle now that I've developed some skills. Anyone need an inexpertly-wrapped size 5 rainbow unicorn muzzle?

Product Review: Baskerville Ultra Muzzle

The Baskerville Ultra Muzzle is a basket-style muzzle by The Company of Animals, makers of the Halti head collar. It is made from flexible rubber, and is designed to allow the dog to eat, drink, pant, bark, and even play with certain kinds of toys. This muzzle comes in black and pastel blue, and is available in six sizes to fit almost any dog.

Photo by Erin Koski

Muzzles are pretty awesome, and I'm glad there are groups like the Muzzle Up Project dedicated to normalizing and encouraging their use. A lot of people see a dog in a muzzle and immediately assume that it is unsafe to be around that dog. The reality is that a muzzled dog is often much safer to be around than an unknown dog with nothing on its face. When I see a muzzle on a dog in public, I am delighted to see that someone is taking the responsibility to protect both their dog and the public.

Just because my dog doesn't routinely need to wear a muzzle right now, it doesn't mean that he won't need this skill at some point in the future. Like crate training, muzzle training is a proactive way to reduce stress in unforeseen situations. Someday I might need to prevent him from eating things off the ground. Someday we might need to evacuate in close quarters with many strangers. I already know that Brisbane needs to be muzzled for certain veterinary procedures. He might as well think this whole face cage thing is awesome.

To be fair, I do sometimes use a muzzle purely for the "yikes!" factor. When Brisbane is wearing his Baskerville Ultra Muzzle, people that would normally shout "It's okay, he's friendly!" suddenly gather up their off-leash out-of-control dog while apologizing.

Photo by Erin Koski

The Baskerville Ultra Muzzle is basically the best muzzle ever. The holes are wide enough that I can easily feed Brisbane lots and lots of treats. The adjustable strap has a zillion little holes and is super long so it will fit around tiny heads and giant heads. There is a loop on the bottom for attaching the muzzle to the dog's regular collar for extra security. The Baskerville Ultra Muzzle also comes with a removable top strap that runs between the dog's eyes, but ours was missing from the package.

The basket itself is somewhat flexible, but not enough to allow the dog to bite. It is very strong and mostly holds its shape. For a custom fit, it can be dunked in hot water, shaped, and then cooled off. Over at The Muzzle Up Project, I've seen some cute fleece and felt cozies made for the top for extra comfort.

Pros: Comfortable! Highly adjustable and very secure. Difficult to escape. Designed to be comfortable enough for extended wear. Easy to feed treats for training. Dogs can still toss and carry toys like ropes and stuffies. Did I mention comfortable?

Cons: A lot of dogs don't like the strap that goes between the eyes, fortunately that part is removable.

Bottom Line: Brisbane hates having stuff on his face, but is totally chill when wearing the Baskerville Ultra Muzzle. This is partly the result of training, and partly because this muzzle really is comfortable enough to not bother my special snowflake dog.

Is your dog trained to wear a muzzle?

Product Review: Halti Head Collar

The Halti, by The Company of Animals, is a head halter or head collar. It comes in six sizes to fit nearly any dog, and is usually made from black nylon webbing. Haltis can occasionally be found in red, and I swear I've seen them in blue and brown at some point in the last 20 years.

Um yes, that's a nice flattering expression Uly.
Photo by Erin Koski

This is the first head collar I can remember seeing in a pet store, way back in the 1980's. It would be years before I would see any other type, and for a long time I thought "Halti" was a synonym for "head collar".

The safety strap on the Halti is a relatively new addition, the original didn't have any sort of backup system if the dog managed to pull out of the collar itself. I appreciate this feature because I have seen many dogs escape from these thing. Some companies claim that no dog should be able to escape from a properly-adjusted head collar of their brand, but these ignore dogs like sighthounds and also Brisbane, who have heads smaller than their necks. No matter how tight I make the neck strap of the Halti, Brisbane can still back out of it when he really wants to. I usually use a second leash or a Euro lead attached to a harness as a backup for a head collar, the safety strap is still useful though.

The nose loop on the Halti sits a bit lower on the dog's muzzle than some other head collars. This makes it more comfortable for some dogs. So far the Halti is the head collar Brisbane is least unhappy wearing. Given that it is often easier for dogs to accept, it was also the first I tried to use with Uly. After spending a couple of weeks teaching him that having the head halter on his face meant happy fun treat time, I tried to take him for a walk in it. Aside from occasionally pawing at his face, Uly was fine until he went into a death roll two blocks from the house. While thrashing wildly he managed to get the nose loop all the way down to the tip of his nose, and then caught or twisted it such that it cinched tight. The loop pinching the tip of his nose made him sneeze continuously and thrash even harder until I got the halter unbuckled and pulled it off. Since the other end of the leash was attached to his harness, Uly was still safe and we were able to resume our walk immediately.

Pros: Soft and gentle on delicate faces. Sits well away from the eyes to help protect delicate facial structures. Seems to be more comfortable that other popular head halters for some dogs, including Brisbane. Closes the dog's mouth when pulled tight, which can be useful when managing a dog that may bite. Safety loop helps keep the dog safely leashed even if they manage to slip out of the Halti.

Cons: Easier to escape than some other head halters. Does not come in fun colors. Low placement of nose strap can lead to slightly alarming nose entrapment on certain klutzy ridiculous dogs.

Bottom Line: What makes for a happy head halter experience for one dog will not necessarily make for a happy head halter experience for another. The tradeoff for the kinder, lower, more comfortable nose loop is that the Halti is easier to escape and can somehow cinch down on the end of the nose in somewhat bizarre circumstances. It's still one of the two easiest to find head halters though, and I have no plans to stop using or recommending it anytime soon