The Brussels Griffon is a dog that originated in Brussels, Belgium in the early 1800s. They are also known as the Brussels Bruxellois. At that time they were referred to as the griffons d’ecurie or wire-coated stable dogs. Their start was as rough and tumble rate dogs but it didn’t take long for them to become stylish lap dogs for the wealthy. There is a portrait that was done in 1434 of a dog that some consider a Brussels Griffon but due to the breed not being recognized until 1880 it is considered an ancestor possibly a Smous which was a common stable dog at that time. There is also a life sized statue of a Smous that indicated the Smous was larger than the modern Griffon and had a more well-defined muzzle. The Brussel Griffon’s original rise to popularity was thanks to Henrietta Maria, Queen of the Belgians, in the 1870s. Thanks to her liking of the breed they became all the rage and kennel keepers of the upper class further refined the breed with a smaller body and a more human like face. Originally it is thought that the Brussels Griffon was a cross between an Affenpinscher and Yorkshire Terrier but DNA testing has put those thoughts to rest. Such a crossing did exist at one point in the early 1900s thanks to a farmer in Flanders but became entirely extinct during WWI. Instead the modern Brussels Griffon is confirmed to be a cross between Pugs and English Toy Spaniels. This information is documented in a trunk full of papers that was owned by Lady Muriel Handley Spicer who is among the early influential breeders of the Brussels Griffon. The papers were Spicer’s original breeding records and charts not just for her own breeding kennel but also the Belgian kennel club, Société Royale Saint-Hubert. Much like other breeds we have covered, WWI and WWII effected their numbers greatly and efforts had to be taken to keep the breed alive. The Brussels Griffon after WWI they struggled to gain numbers as a result of breeders being particular about undesirable things such as webbed toes.

These two words are sometimes used interchangeably in conversation but what do they actually mean. Let’s start out with definitions: Consequence: umbrella term for any outcome that follows and depends on a behavior, with its meaning determined by the effect it has on that behavior. Punishment: a specific consequence that reduces behavior; the opposite of reinforcement. When a trainer or owner/handler does something in response to a dog’s behavior they may have every intention for it be as force free as possible but the dog may not see it that way. This is something that I see and hear quite often in both the working and nonworking canine worlds; that is the dog does something undesirable and the response is not timed well, harsh and sometimes more than what the situation called for. The dog then has a reaction of fear or caution and the person may think that their dog had a consequence when in fact the dog received a punishment. This is not to paint the trainer or owner/handler as a bad person but to remind everyone that even if our intentions are good the dog may interpret the consequence as a punishment. This could be due to the reasons listed above but also could be due to past experiences, the dog senses you’re in a bad mood, or something else happened in tandem and the moment was overwhelming for the dog even if the events are completely unrelated. It is important to know and understand the dog in front of you and have the ability to adjust on the fly to what that dog needs in that moment. Do not be afraid to reach out and learn from others in order to add skills to your toolbox. If you are in it for the right reasons sharing information to better a dog’s life and learning opportunity/ability is never an issue.

Let’s get out of Germany for once and venture into China, Tibet to be exact, and talk about the Tibetan Mastiff. These dogs are big (90-150lbs for the males and 70-120lbs for the females), bred to be excellent guardians and thrive in harsh conditions. The Tibetan Mastiff is another one that is considered one of the oldest breeds with historical references dating back as early as 1100 B.C. Early records on the Tibetan Mastiff were not kept and Tibet was very isolated from Europeans and other Westerners until the 1800s. Tibetan Mastiffs are known as Do-Kyi in Tibet which means “tied dog” according to one source. This reflects them being tethered near the entrances of homes, temples and encampments which they would guard. The breed’s style of guarding is more intimidating presence versus pursuit and their wariness of strangers is a feature not a bug. Due to the breed being isolated this likely kept the qualities minimally adultered from outside influence. It is said that Tibetan Mastiffs were bred by Tibetan nomads and those entrusted with guarding monasteries, livestock and property. The importance of the Tibetan Mastiffs duty did not stop there as Buddhists of this area believed that the breed also carried the souls of monks and nuns who did not reach their heavenly paradise Shambhala. Tibetan Mastiffs found themselves outside of their homeland when Lord Hardinge, the Viceroy of India, sent “a large dog from Tibet” to Queen Victoria in 1847. In 1859 England had its first dog show and in 1873 the England Kennel Club was formed with their first stud book where they had a whopping 4027 pedigrees of dogs. This is when the “large dog from Tibet” was officially named the Tibetan Mastiff for the first time. In 1874 two more Tibetan Mastiffs were brought to England by the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII and the next year they were shown at the Alexandra Palace Show. It is unknown when Tibetan Mastiffs arrived in the United States of America but it was documented that in 1958 Nepal’s foreign ministry gifted a pair to President Dwight D. Eisenhower who was apparently was expecting two Tibetan Terriers. The result of this confusion is the dogs were relocated to a farm somewhere in the Midwest and lived a life out of the spotlight.

This week I wanted to talk about GPS trackers for dogs (and cats). There are many brands out there: Halo, PetLink, Garmin, SpotOn, Fi and Tractive just to name a few. I personally use the Tractive brand and just updated my vizslas to their new Dog 6XL due to it being smaller than their Adventure tracker. It was a bit chunky for my vizslas but I loved the battery life which the Dog 6XL has but at a smaller size. Now this isn’t an advertisement for one particular brand over another but for the concept in general. For transparency I used to have a Whistle GoExplore for Lucas up until Tractive bought them (the vizslas had Tractive prior to this happening) and I was overall happy with it and it did come in handy a time or two. I am very pro GPS tracker on our dogs even if you decide that the only time they wear it is while training or working. That, ideally, is the only time you will need them as well but I do have it on my dogs 24/7 due to constantly being worried about them because you just never know. I am glad that I have taken this approach because my male vizsla had learned how to escape from my yard either through parts of the fence or just jumping over it. The fence/yard has since been updated and so far has been successful in keeping him in. I found out he escaped due to his GPS tracker alerting me that his tracker had left the boundary. Understand that GPS devices are not always 100% and the occasional false alarm can happen (but that is better than no alarm) but for Káosz it unfortunately wasn’t but fortunately I was on property for 2 of them, @Paul Bunker r was present for one and so was a neighbor and he was returned safe and sound. Had I not had a tracker on him who knows what kind of trouble he could have found himself in to. Not all neighbors are nice and not all dogs are nice so if he were to chase something and get lost…I don’t even want to think about it. Do you use a GPS Tracker or have you thought about one? Let’s talk about it and help each other out!

There are two different types of stacking that we should consider when with our dogs whether training, working or just hanging out and that is dopamine and cortisol stacking. I’m sure it is safe to say that most, if not all of us, should know off the bat that cortisol, while unavoidable, has negative implications on our overall wellbeing when chronic or in excess and dopamine is associated with more positive situations. When there is an accumulation of either you are at a higher risk of having your dog display undesirable behaviors. First let’s talk about stacking in general. If a dog comes across multiple occurrences of either something exciting or otherwise upsetting in close succession to each other this can cause our dogs to become so consumed by this stimulus that they are unable to focus on learning and training is unable to be achieved. Cortisol Stacking Cortisol, as previously mentioned, is a hormone that has a negative impact on our overall wellbeing when chronic or in excess. Things that can build up cortisol are punishments, aversive training methods, unpredictability, confinement, sensory distress and frustration. Cortisol in acute situations, such as a consequence for not performing a known command and so the opportunity for a treat/reward was lost, are not necessarily bad. This is essential to better perform cognitive and emotional tasks. The method in which cortisol rises matters greatly such as aversives. With aversives the cortisol levels increase which reflect heightened stress and anxiety which can also contribute to behavioral issues such as aggression and/or fear. Cortisol in the context of reward based training methods are not elevated which therefore reduces stress and increases learning. Dopamine Stacking Now with dopamine I trust we are all familiar that this hormone is associated with reward and arousal which can cause dogs (and people) to become “addicted” to dopamine triggering events. When dopamine is involved and reinforced by some kind of reward then the action is likely to be repeated. This all in all sounds like a good thing and for the most part it is but there is a caveat.