Popular culture reference
1. Movies
K-9 movies
Belushi
plays bad-tempered San Diego police
detective Michael Dooley, who has been tagged for execution by
a major internationaldrug dealer named Ken Lyman (played by Kevin Tighe). To help, K-9 Sergeant Brannigan
(played by Ed O'Neill) gives Dooley an unorthodox
drug-sniffing police dog called
"Jerry Lee" (named after rock-and-roll singer Jerry Lee Lewis).[2] The duo attempt to put Lyman behind bars but
Dooley quickly learns Jerry Lee is a mischievous smart aleck who
works only when and how he wants to. Many of the movie's gags revolve around
Jerry Lee's playfully destructive episodes.
San Diego Police Detective Michael Dooley leaves his car to
contact his girlfriend, Tracy, when a helicopter suddenly appears and opens
fire on his car, which ignites. Presuming him dead, the assassins leave the
scene. At the police station, Dooley argues with his lieutenant, refusing to
take a partner; instead, he decides to get a police dog. At home, he finds
Tracy with another man and spends the night in his new car. The next day,
Dooley coerces Freddie, an informant, into revealing that the drug lord Ken
Lyman is responsible for the attack. Dooley is assigned a German Shepherd named
Jerry Lee,[2] whom he dislikes.
Dooley and Jerry Lee head to a warehouse assumed to be filled
with drugs. When Jerry Lee does not follow Dooley's orders, the workers laugh
at him. Dooley is forced to leave after Jerry Lee finds only a cigarette when
commanded to find drugs. The duo drive to a pub where Dooley stakes out Benny
the Mule in an attempt to charge Lyman. When his cover is blown, Jerry Lee
saves Dooley from a beating; with the dog's help, Dooley subdues Benny and
learns the location of Lyman's next shipment. Meanwhile, Lyman kills Freddie
and demands that his henchman Dillon kill Dooley before the shipment arrives.
At Dooley's apartment, Jerry Lee steals the spotlight after
Tracy accepts Dooley's story that he rescued the dog from the streets. The next
day, Dooley and Jerry Lee bond when they eat together and spy on Lyman. The two
are nearly killed when someone shoots at them, and the two chase the assailant
to an empty building. Jerry Lee leads Dooley to the man, who falls to his death
after a fistfight with Dooley. In the man's car, Dooley finds a clue that leads
him to an auto-dealer shop. There, Jerry Lee identifies a red Mercedes owned by
Lyman, and Dooley learns from Halstead, the owner of the dealership, that he
works for Lyman. Later, Jerry Lee falls in love with a poodle to the
disapproval of its owner.
When Dooley returns home, he discovers Lyman has kidnapped
Tracy. Infuriated, Dooley crashes a party at Lyman's mansion and demands her
return. Lyman pretends to know nothing, and Dooley is arrested by an officer
from his own department and put in a squad car. Angry, Dooley's lieutenant
calls him crazy. When Jerry Lee's flatulence annoys the other officers, Dooley
uses it to his advantage and escapes with the dog. As Dooley tells Jerry Lee
how he met Tracy, he spots a truck driven by Halstead that is pulling a trailer
with Lyman's Mercedes. Dooley purses the truck, and Halstead blows a tire.
After Halstead shoots at Dooley, Jerry Lee kills Halstead.
Meanwhile, in a stranded desert in San Diego, Lyman holds Tracy
hostage in his limo and becomes suspicious when Halstead is late. Dooley arrives
with the truck and trailer, which is revealed to be the next shipment of drugs.
Not worrying about the case anymore, Dooley orders Lyman to surrender his
girlfriend to him, or he will blow up the truck. Lyman calls Dooley's bluff,
and a shootout ensues. Dooley kills Lyman's henchmen Dillon and Jerry Lee
chases Lyman as he runs for his helicopter. Unable to outrun the dog, Lyman
shoots Jerry Lee; enraged, Dooley shoots and kills Lyman. Dooley and Tracy rush
Jerry Lee to a hospital, where the reluctant surgeon operates. In the recovery
room, Dooley delivers a eulogy to Jerry Lee, not knowing that he is alive. When
the surgeon tells him he is going to be fine, Dooley responds in anger,
thinking he was speaking to a dead dog. Jerry Lee licks Dooley's face out of
love, making him give in.
To take a break from police work, Dooley, Tracy, Jerry Lee, and
a poodle spend a vacation together in Las Vegas.
2.
Books
Strongheart was K-9 born in Imperial Germany and served in
the military before begin discovered and brought to Hollywood. Before Rin Tin
Tin, there was Strongheart, who was a canine movie star in the silent films.
According to legend, Strongheart's tough German police dog training never quite
left him. It has been said that sometimes, Strongheart who just spontaneously
start chasing a person without notice. Later, it was learned that the
individual was either a wanted felon or had a history of criminal behavior.
Talk about instincts and having a nose for sniffing out bad characters! In 2014
a book by Emily Arnold McCully was released titled "Strongheart:
The World's First Move Star Dog".
3.
Documentary :
4.
Article :
Are German Shepherd Dogs easy to
train?
Because this breed has such a stellar reputation as a smart and
capable working dog, you might assume that training a German Shepherd would be
very easy. But really, that might or might not be true. Individual German
Shepherds can be so different from each other that predicting whether any given
German Shepherd will be easy to train isn't, well, easy!
I've had the pleasure of owning and training (and loving) three
German Shepherds who were very different from each other. Kelly was smart as a
whip, but also dominant, meaning she wanted to be the boss, so she would use
her intelligence to figure out clever ways of getting out of what I wanted her
to do! Training a German Shepherd like Kelly can be challenging if you don't
know what you're doing.
My sweet
Luke, on the other hand, didn't have a dominant bone in his oversized easygoing
body. (That's Luke in the photo, with me when I was young – those were the
days!). Luke was a "good ol' boy" who always tried to please, always
tried to do the right thing, even when he couldn't quite remember what the
right thing was. Luke, you see, was what you might call a slow learner.
Training a German Shepherd like Luke isn't difficult, but does require time and
patient repetition.
My third German Shepherd, Gretchen, was moderately intelligent
and moderately willing to please, but came from a working line of high-energy
German Shepherds bred to be protection dogs, schutzhund dogs, and police dogs.
Training a German Shepherd like Gretchen requires that you provide a LOT of
daily activity (physical and mental) because these high-drive dogs have
considerable energy they need to vent. Otherwise, they become too much to
handle.
I've also
been involved in training, oh, probably a hundred German Shepherds owned by
other people. Some of these German Shepherds were virtually perfect "hero
dogs" – handsome, noble, intelligent, responsive. Others were so unstable
that it made me want to weep. Long-time obedience instructor and behavioral
consultants (like myself) have seen far too many German Shepherds with neurotic
behaviors, especially aggression, skittishness, and extreme fearfulness.
Training these German Shepherds takes patience and skill, and usually the
assistance of a professional trainer.
So when you ask, "How easy is it – training German Shepherd
Dogs?" my answer is, "A good German Shepherd with a stable
temperament is one of the most capable and trainable breeds in all of dogdom.
But how "easy" it will be to train him depends on the temperament and
personality of the individual dog, plus your own dog training skills."
That's where I come in. Keep
reading my dog training articles (and hopefully buy my book, "Teach Your
Dog 100 English Words") and I will help you train your German Shepherd to
be well-mannered and well-behaved. I've been working with dogs for 35+ years,
as a dog trainer, canine psychologist, breed advisor, and author of 15 books
about dogs.
TRUE OR FALSE - Myths and Facts
There are so many wives tales and
misunderstandings when it comes to dogs behaviors that we felt this might be a
helpful page for you. If you have questions about something and would like us
to add to this, please email us at rorrcanine@gmail.com
Dogs with black tongues have Chow Chow in them.
FALSE: There are over 27 breeds of dogs that have
the birth mark of black on their tongues... including but not limited to
purebred Golden Retrievers, purebred Labrador Retrievers, purebred German
Shepherds, and more. Actually Chow Chows have black/purple tongues, so the
likelihood of maybe some chow in a dog is possible when there are purple
tongues, however, it could also be Shar Pei. Black on the tongue of a mix is
not uncommon and you should consider the temperament of the dog rather than the
color of the tongue.
All Pit Bulls will attack other dogs.
FALSE: Like any breed, if a dog is raised with
good socialization during it's formulative time it will be good with other
dogs. However, even dogs who have come from abuse oftentimes still maintain a
friendliness towards other dogs.
Table scraps are bad for dogs.
FALSE: If it's good for humans, it's good for
dogs with the exception of grapes, raisins, macadamia nuts, onions and
chocolate. Other things might not settle well with a dog like milk or gassy
vegetables like brussell sprouts... or lettuce... but none of it is harmful.
The premium diet for dogs today is "raw" and it literally includes
all types of vegetables and fruits. So you can add some leftover potatoes or
green beans to your dogs' food... it is actually healthy for them. NEVER give a
dog cooked bones of any kind.
Always wipe your dogs' feet after a walk in
winter.
TRUE: The de-icers used on the walks and streets
are harmful to your dogs feet and in some cases can be toxic and if the dog
licks it's foot, be ready to head to emergency... it's always safter to wipe
the feet than to ignore it. And remember to keep your dogs toenails trimmed.
Old dogs can't learn new tricks.
FALSE: Old dogs actually will respond faster and
with greater dedication to training and trying to please their new owners.
There is no such thing as an old dog that cannot be trained or re-trained. You
will always find the greatest satisfaction and bond with a senior dog.
Dogs are color blind.
FALSE: While they cannot distinguish the myriad
of colors our eyes can, they can distinguish some colors and have better
peripherial vision than humans. They are red-green color blind only and see a
brighter less detailed world than humans.
A warm nose means a dog is sick.
FALSE: A warm nose is no indication if a dog is
sick on not. BUT lethargy, runny nose, lack of appetite, light or white gums,
not drinking, do and you should get your dog to a vet asap.
A wagging tail means a dog is friendly.
FALSE: A wagging tail is one of the many signs of
body language all persons should learn. A tail wagging back and forth like a
pedulum on a clock is a sure sign to go the other way. The dog is not sure what
the situation is and what he will do but it is not in your best interest to
push this.
Dogs humping means they want to have sex.
FALSE: While intact males may do this as a way of
natural procreation, most often it is a form of dominace and will be done by
females as well as males. It merely tells another dog that the humping dog is
more dominant and superior.
When a dog scoots it means a problem.
TRUE: Most often it means worms or an impacted
anal glad but no matter what is it, when you see your dog "scoot", get
it to a vet.
Female dogs should go through one heat before
being spayed.
FALSE: This is a very controversial topic. While
at one time pediatric spay and neuters were being performed, time has shown
that this is not desireable as often the dogs do not fully develop physically
and emotionally (basically stay a pup all their lives). But to delay the
spay/neuter beyond 5-8 months of age, puts the dog as risk of developing the
number one preventable cancer of dogs. The best age to spay/neuter a pup is
usually around 5-8 mos... their hormones have come into play, they are already
going into "teens" in doggie years and an ideal time to get the dog
altered and safest to stop any unwanted pregnancies.
If you can’t see fleas, they’re gone.
FALSE: Actually, adult fleas living on your pet
account for only about 5% of the total flea population in your home. The other
95% are in various stages of the life-cycle, and can be hiding in upholstery,
bedding, landscaping and more.
Fleas and ticks are only a problem during warm
weather.
FALSE: If weather alone were enough to keep
insects from thriving, we wouldn’t have fleas and ticks at all! In inclimate
weather, these pests find places to hide – and survive – until it’s nice out
again.
Fleas and ticks are only problems for pets.
FALSE: There are actually plenty of diseases your
family can catch from fleas or ticks in your environment, including Lyme
disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
Indoor dogs do not need to be on heartworm
preventative.
FALSE: All dogs in the southern states need
heartworm prevention. Heartworm is serious, expensive and painful to treat and
will kill if untreated. While we do not advocate giving heartworm preventative
every month, we do believe every 6 weeks is a good schedule to keep your dog on
it. We also recommend that you use Interceptor because when dealing with mixes,
we have no idea of the true breeds in each dog and certain breeds ie shelties,
collies, aussies, etc. cannot handle ivermectin which is in Heartguard and
other heartworm preventative products. But it's very important that you keep
your dog on a preventative to avoid this fatal disease. Heartworm is carried by
mosquitos and those pesky bugs do come inside.
Dogs eat poop for fun.
TRUE: Coprophagia or eating their own excrement
is probably the most disgusting habit a dog will get. It's really hard to
diagnose... and can come from a variety of reasons. Going from feeding a puppy
twice a day to once a day might encourage this to fill their stomachs. Learning
this great thing from other dogs just as a pure habit.
Mother dogs will clean their pups and eat their
excrement to keep them clean so there is the thought that this habit is
inherent and some females never outgrow this need... yet it does not explain
male dogs with this desire.
There are so many thoughts on how to stop this
like products on the market, feeding pineapple, etc. the one sure way to stop
this behavior is to basically pick up the poop as soon as the dog is done and
get rid of it. Staying on top of this and watching your dog so it does not seek
it out is the only true way to stop this. It's retraining and consistency, and
the dog learning the term "leave it".
Dogs eat rocks, lick concrete or eat their or
another animals stools because of nutrient imbalances.
FALSE: No one really knows why dogs do this...
some veternarians believe they eat "things" out of boredom. The truth
is, if you feed a dog a good well balanced diet and provide plenty of exercise,
this will reduce the chances of your dog eating un-natural things.
Dogs like tasty food.
FALSE: Dogs have very poor taste buds so they
"taste" through their sense of smell.
Dogs lick to heal wounds.
FALSE: While licking can in fact help with some
minimal healing, it can also lead to lick sores and can even infect an existing
wound. If it becomes habitual, it may be the result of a behavioral or stress
issue. Licking is often stress related.
Dogs eat grass when they are sick.
FALSE: As decendants from wolves, a daily part of
the diet included berries and grasses. So it is quite normal for a dog to eat
some grass. Excessive amounts might need to be examined by a vet. There is
Clorophyll in grass and that in itself is a naturally occurring healing
agent... so there is some truth in grass POSSIBLY helping with an upset
stomach.
All dogs like to be petted on their heads.
FALSE: While some dogs are accepting of this, not
all will. Depending on a dogs' past experiences they may be hand shy. The
safest way always to pet a dog is going under the chin.
An old dog can't learn new tricks.
FALSE: Old dogs not only learn new tricks but
they thrive when trained. My late Pomeranian, Mr. Teddy, who was adopted at an
estimated 10 to 13 years of age, was a training superstar in Vetstreet videos,
which were filmed two weeks before he passed away. By the same token, older
dogs without housetraining experience as puppies can successfully be
housetrained. As long as a dog is mentally and physically capable of learning
to perform a behavior and is properly motivated, it's entirely possible to
train her. While intense agility training for Teddy was not realistic, teaching
basic commands was.
A dog shouldn't sleep with you or be allowed on
furniture, or she'll think she's the boss and will misbehave.
FALSE: Just like humans, dogs simply want a
comfortable place to lie down. If comfort can be combined with being next to
their beloved human, whether it's right next to you on the couch, or even on
top of your lap, then they're all for it. In rare cases, dogs will guard their
sleeping and resting areas, and will show aggression when humans approach these
sacred areas. This type of behavior will require remedial training. But for the
average Rover, sleeping in bed or resting on the couch has no adverse
behavioral effects.
When your dog has a potty accident, it's
important to rub her nose in it to let her know what she did
FALSE: When you rub a dog's nose in her own mess,
she often sees no association between that and her having had a potty accident.
Nor does rubbing her nose in her accident teach her not to potty on the floor
again. Instead, rubbing her nose in her accident teaches her that humans are
dangerous and unpredictable, and she will likely begin to hide in safety by
sneaking into another room to go to the bathroom, making housebreaking even
more difficult.
A dog who cowers from people was likely abused in
the past.
FALSE: There are various reasons for dogs
cowering, and not all of them are because a dog was abused. Commonly, the dog
was not properly socialized or had negative experiences during her prime
socialization period as a puppy. Genetics also play a role in the fearful dog.
Other reasons for a dog to duck away might be that she has learned to dodge
people who try to grab her collar, or she is uncomfortable with petting, such
as having her ears handled. Unfortunately, well-meaning strangers often
approach dogs by bending over the top of their heads and reaching down to pet,
which will send timid dogs into a cowering position. A better way to approach
is by getting into a kneeling position, with your body turned toward the side,
and then inviting the dog to approach you. If you practice this method, it will
be less likely to cause a canine to cower.
Shelter dogs have too much baggage. It's better
to adopt a puppy to start with a clean slate.
FALSE: Many shelter dogs are well-behaved pooches
who, for an endless list of possible reasons, could not be kept by their
original owners. Older shelter dogs make ideal candidates for people wanting to
skip the puppy stages of chewing, potty training and mouthing. The interview
process at most shelters also pairs canine candidates with the family setting
that will best suit the dog's temperament, which can create cohesion from the
beginning.
All dogs should enjoy being around other dogs.
It's essential for dogs to go on outings with other dogs, such as at the dog
park. If a dog doesn't enjoy other dogs, there is something wrong with her.
FALSE: Not all people are social butterflies and
neither are all dogs. Some dogs may prefer solitude and only a small, select
group of people. Dogs also have their own preferences when it comes to other
canines. Breeding can play a big role in their sociability, with terriers being
notorious for contentiousness with other pooches. Other times, whether from
lack of socialization as a puppy or simply an individual preference, dogs may
not enjoy canine comradery. Even though plenty of dogs enjoy the dog park, not
all of them enjoy the idea of dozens of other dogs frolicking around them and
would instead prefer a quiet walk with their owners.
You should let dogs just fight it out when they
get into a scuffle.
FALSE: (well, at least partly false). It's true
that you should never get into the middle of a dog fight, because some of the
most damaging dog bites occur when owners try to separate fighting dogs. There
are some tactics you can use to break up the scuffle without actually getting
in the middle of the fray. Try using water, a really loud noise, or even a
distraction like grabbing a treat bag or using voice to direct them to do
something else. Owners should do everything they can to prevent another fight
in the future. Often dogs don't settle matters on their own, and fighting
intensifies over time, especially with dogs in the same home. This calls for
advanced training with the help of an animal behaviorist or a certified
professional trainer.
My dog is trying to show she's in charge when she
doesn't listen to me.
FALSE: It's easy to attribute human motives like
"getting even" or "being spiteful" to our dogs, but dogs
don't have the same complex emotions as humans. The more realistic reasons why
a dog doesn't do what's being asked is either because she doesn't understand
what she's being asked to do, or the dog doesn't have the proper motivation to
want to perform the behavior. For example, most dogs don't come when called
because the payoff isn't worth it. When they do, they usually are put on a
leash or taken into the house when they'd rather stay outside.
My dog knows she was bad after she goes potty in
the house. Her guilty face says it all.
FALSE: Dogs show a perceived "guilty
face" not because they feel an actual emotion of guilt, but they are
actually showing appeasement behaviors in response to their owners intimidating
body language. Whether we want to or not, it's difficult not to display
negative body language when we're upset with our pets. A 2009 study by
researcher Alexandra Horowitz at Barnard College in New York revealed that the
"guilty look" dogs display is solely attributed by humans and has no
relation to whether the dog is actually responsible for an offense. The study
found that dogs who had not actually eaten the forbidden treat, but were
scolded by their misinformed owners for eating a treat, showed guiltier-looking
body language than dogs who had actually eaten the forbidden treat. The guilty
look is simply a response of the dog to her owner's behavior.
It's always the owner's fault when a dog
misbehaves.
FALSE: Most owners are well-meaning, but are
simply misinformed or lack knowledge on how to train their dogs effectively.
Blaming the owner for all of a dog's problems makes for good TV, but there are
a myriad of reasons why a dog misbehaves, including lack of proper
socialization or preventive training, or even the genetic tendencies of the
dog. It's important for pet parents to push past feelings of shame or guilt;
instead get started in the right direction with help from a pet professional
using positive reinforcement methods.
Using treats for training is bribery, and the dog
won't do the behavior later if you don't give her a treat.
FALSE: It's true that dogs need motivation to
perform a behavior. That said, the motivation doesn't always have to be a
food-based reward. Dogs can be rewarded in many other ways. Reward them with
playing, petting or getting to go outside. They can also be put on a random
schedule of rewards with a lottery-ticket-like system so they never know when the
payout will come. This system helps keep them motivated. For example: learning
to walk on a loose leash may be taught in the beginning by using treats, but
once the behavior is learned, treats can be phased out so that the only reward
becomes getting to go on the walk itself.
When a dog chews up shoes or destroys furniture
it's because she's punishing the owner.
FALSE: Dogs chew on shoes, furniture and other
human items not to punish their owners, but simply because it feels good on
their teeth, it relieves boredom, releases energy and, in some cases, may
indicate separation anxiety.
A dog can't really be happy unless she can run
off-leash.
FALSE: Leashes are made for a dog's safety. They
should be perceived as tools that keep your dog from running into oncoming
traffic, going up to unknown dogs or people, and prevent them from running way.
Although regular off-leash play in a fenced area is essential for a dog's
well-being, while out in public, dogs can learn to be perfectly content on a
leash at their owner's side.
Dogs are great judges of people, so if a dog
doesn't like someone, it must mean there is something wrong with that person.
FALSE: In the majority of cases, dogs who react
aggressively or fearfully to a person are not doing so out of a negative moral
evaluation of the individual, but are responding out of their own
self-preservation. With that said, there have been plenty of circumstances
where pets have used an apparent sixth sense to pick up on cues that went
unseen by their human and actually saved their human's life. However, the
majority of dogs I see in my training practice are unfriendly with a person
because they are reacting out of fear to a certain physical attribute, movement
or the physical proximity of a person, and are not reacting based on any moral
evaluation of the individual
