What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

[MPbandmom]

Way to go Erica and Delta! I wish you all the best in the next classes If you don't know already, you will be amazed at what all goes into getting a dog around a course without owner and dog colliding.

[delladooo]

I think Laufey and I have been doing it about the same length of time as you and Delta but have two different teaching styles if I'm reading your posts right. I've collided with Laufey a couple of times and last week he purposely jumped off the dog walk onto my head. Neither of us are hurt but he definitely make the decision to do it as he didn't slip or scare himself and I have a bruised eyebrow for his trouble.

But I'm getting sidetracked, I actually wanted to boast about him tonight, not lament my eyebrow. We've got to a point where we're regularly walking completely off lead, around other dogs, and not running off never to be seen again. Now I'm not saying it doesn't happen, or that he doesn't like to occasionally ignore me and go to say hi, but me, treats and our trusty ball are much more exciting now I am so ridiculously proud of him and don't tend to acknowledge it enough at the minute but I really am. I'm also very proud of MiMi who is getting much better with her lead reactivity, whilst she still tends to fixate a bit there is rarely barking now so she is much improved

[JudyN]

You should be proud of yourself too, Delladoo, all your work is paying off

Jasper got pestered by a young unneutered male lab the other day. Apart from an initial brief telling-off, he then ignored the lab apart from a little bit of lip-curling even though the lab kept coming back for another sniff, and a quick bark when his nose got a little too up close and personal. Ideally, of course, the whole interaction would have been avoided but I was very happy that Jasper didn't want to up the ante, just wanted to be left in peace, and wanted to use the minimum emphasis in communicating this.

He had lamb breast for the second time yesterday. It had been in the freezer for ages as I kept imagining that he might find it too difficult to eat and then guard it. Finally I gave him some with him shut in the kitchen and on a long line with the other end going into the hall so he could be reeled in if necessary. But of course, he ate it in minutes and was fine.

This morning, however, he suddenly cried out in pain in the garden and was all hunched up, with his tummy feeling tight. He was soon OK, we had a walk round the roads, and everything seemed fine again, but I wondered if he had some bone causing problems. When we got home I found a small bit of poo with a lot of grass in the garden, but on picking it up I also found a shard of bone that Stone Age Man could have happily used as a knife I guess that's lamb breast off the menu then

[delladooo]

Sounds like Jasper is doing extremely well recently so well done you!

I'm more proud of him to be honest - logically I know I've done work to get him here but I feel like it was mostly him so I'm going to just let him have it. He has a new "after school activity" yesterday (it's what we've taken to calling them as I did nothing of the sort in school) as he went to a hydrotherapy centre for a swim. He has no medical reason for it but I thought he might enjoy trying something different and there's a lovely river we can go swimming in but I wanted to make sure he wasn't about to drown first. He was a little unsure what he was supposed to be doing but seemed to quite enjoy himself although going to the pool will have to be an infrequent treat as I can't afford it very regularly.

In the world of MiMi, she's being starved. She's been a bit fussy for months but it is getting really out of hand now to the point that she didn't eat her tea last night nor her breakfast this morning. I know she likes it because she was happy to eat it the other day and she's not had any new proteins so I'm thinking I might have to just "tough love" it out and see how long we can hold out for. I know it could well be a hormonal thing because she's still not had a season yet and is a year old next week but it's just very frustrating, especially because Laufey would love to steal it and mum isn't keen on the tough it out approach - plus toughing it out means no treats either which means no training which makes it hard to take her out.

[JudyN]

Sounds like Jasper is doing extremely well recently so well done you!

Shame about the collie he snarked at later for no apparent reason, and the cat that led to him having a meltdown and redirect onto me when I'd begun to think of cats as 'training opportunities' yesterday. But hey, we all have off days

Della, I'd be inclined to still give training treats. I can't imagine they'd affect her appetite too much if they're tiny, and it's important to keep up training - it could be stressful for her to suddenly not get the training and treats she expects. But I have no experience of small dogs who gain weight more easily, or of dogs who turn their nose up at food, so your judgement will be better than mine.

[delladooo]

ahahaha sounds like some of our training days!

Her training is much more sporadic than Laufey's but hers is generally more "real life" when we're out so I think treats will have to stay. I also don't think weight will be much of an issue as I think she could stand to gain a little under all that fuzz

[Erica]

I think Laufey and I have been doing it about the same length of time as you and Delta but have two different teaching styles if I'm reading your posts right. I've collided with Laufey a couple of times and last week he purposely jumped off the dog walk onto my head. Neither of us are hurt but he definitely make the decision to do it as he didn't slip or scare himself and I have a bruised eyebrow for his trouble.

But I'm getting sidetracked, I actually wanted to boast about him tonight, not lament my eyebrow. We've got to a point where we're regularly walking completely off lead, around other dogs, and not running off never to be seen again. Now I'm not saying it doesn't happen, or that he doesn't like to occasionally ignore me and go to say hi, but me, treats and our trusty ball are much more exciting now I am so ridiculously proud of him and don't tend to acknowledge it enough at the minute but I really am. I'm also very proud of MiMi who is getting much better with her lead reactivity, whilst she still tends to fixate a bit there is rarely barking now so she is much improved

I'd love to compare notes sometime if you want to I'm sure I'll be tripping and falling a lot until I get the hang of it, but for now our courses are simple enough that I'm doing okay. Delta already knocked me down when I produced his favorite half-a-soft-frisbee tug toy after he did his first curved tunnel.

Yay for Laufey and Mimi

Thanks, Judy and MP!

It's hot here and lately I'm so tired that I just seek out quiet streets and drop Delta's leash to let him trot along as I plod behind. Then I practice recalls, emergency sits, and emergency stops. He's getting very good! Sometimes it seems like his body reacts to the sit cue before his brain does - he'll sit quickly and then look slightly confused. It's pretty funny! Now we're aiming to get downs to the same level of reaction....

Edit: Oh! And since he's better about getting his feet off the ground and climbing things, he can now get onto the grooming table by himself, with the help of a couple footstools as stairs. Much easier for me, and he's happier with it; he doesn't like being picked up much. He'll tolerate it, but he's happier if it doesn't have to happen.

[delladooo]

I'd love to compare notes sometime if you want to I'm sure I'll be tripping and falling a lot until I get the hang of it, but for now our courses are simple enough that I'm doing okay. Delta already knocked me down when I produced his favorite half-a-soft-frisbee tug toy after he did his first curved tunnel.

Yay for Laufey and Mimi

Thanks, Judy and MP!

It's hot here and lately I'm so tired that I just seek out quiet streets and drop Delta's leash to let him trot along as I plod behind. Then I practice recalls, emergency sits, and emergency stops. He's getting very good! Sometimes it seems like his body reacts to the sit cue before his brain does - he'll sit quickly and then look slightly confused. It's pretty funny! Now we're aiming to get downs to the same level of reaction....

Edit: Oh! And since he's better about getting his feet off the ground and climbing things, he can now get onto the grooming table by himself, with the help of a couple footstools as stairs. Much easier for me, and he's happier with it; he doesn't like being picked up much. He'll tolerate it, but he's happier if it doesn't have to happen.

Comparing notes sounds brilliant! Whilst I enjoy going to the classes and seeing the other dogs doing it too at the same level, our group is a mixed bunch and the dogs have different motivations so it would be amazing to see how Delta compares too. Thankfully, he doesn't tend to make me fall over but we do end up with abrupt stops when one of us nearly goes into the other

I'm so proud of him at the minute, I have some pictures to go through and upload but this evening we went to the big park and he was off lead almost the whole time and really responsive. He was also nearly in the lake - I think he thought it was still grass as where we were had lots of green algae but I panicked and thought he was going to fall in

Stay safe in the heat, at least you're managing to get training in Also, well done with the grooming table, I imagine it's quite hard to pick him up now, especially compared to Laufey. He regularly gets picked up and, thankfully, doesn't mind it. (Don't know what I'd do in the rain otherwise).

I held out with MiMi's food, after not eating most of her lunch yesterday and no tea last night nor breakfast this morning, she ate most of it at lunch so I let Laufey finish the last of it as it was looking rather unappealing and she had some chicken wing and pork tongue for tea which she ate quite happily! I don't know whether to be relieved or irrtated

[Nettle]

Remember you don't eat what you don't want either

[MPbandmom]

We had a nice walk at the battlefield last night with a couple of issues, but not significant enough to spoil the evening.

We started out to find 2 people sitting in the middle of the trail. The trail is a loop so we debated whether to take the loop the other way around. We don't particularly like the other way around. It is more downhill, and downhill with a fresh and energetic dog is more fun on a scooter than it is on feet. Sky passing the people wasn't an issue other than they would likely find a happy dog in their faces, which I will admit to feeling like they would deserve for sitting in the middle of the walking trail. Sirius on the other hand would be certain to challenge their rights to exist and be present on "her" trail, and sitting would put the people in a vulnerable position to being snarked at. We studied the situation for a while. OH clearly didn't want to take the reverse route. I finally told him that if he shortened up on her leash and stuck a treat in front of her face, we could probably make it past without incident. There was no space at that point to dodge around without going through waist high grass which is another thing we try to avoid as the ticks are rampant there.

The people stood up before we got into mugging range, which freed up more of the trail and allowed us to pass without incident. While walking we saw many squirrels, a few deer, and a fox. We kept a close eye on the fox, but he/she headed on off into the woods. The only other people we saw on the trail were other dog walkers. A GSD and Siberian Husky and their people ended up coming towards us in an area with a lot of downed trees and no ready escape route off into the woods as is the case for most of the trail. We moved off as far as possible and I wrapped Sky's leash around a tree to assist with hanging on to her. My two told the other two that they had no business being on the trail and the other two pretty much looked at my two like they were crazy. I believe the other two dogs were off leash when I initially spotted them, but their owners leashed them before getting any closer. Dogs are required to be on leash at the battlefield, but there are always those who feel the rules don't apply to them. At least they did leash the dogs to pass by.

Shortly after we were passed by the two dogs, we came across a freshly downed tree across the trail. It was a rather large tree. It took a little bit of doing to get Sirius to jump up onto the tree and then over. OH got across the tree fairly easily. I took advantage of Sky's agility training and told her to jump. Which she did and then I had to quickly tell her to wait while I scrambled across the tree. When we got back to the beginning of the loop, the people were still sitting in the middle of the trail, so doing the loop in reverse wouldn't have been of any benefit.

This morning the weather was absolutely glorious and I am rather kicking myself for not getting up at the crack of dawn and getting the dogs out for a walk. It heated up quickly though, so by the time I was ready to get out of the house for any reason, it was too late for getting the dogs out. They are both having an after breakfast/mid morning snooze. I did some weed pulling and am cooling off and relaxing from that now.

[delladooo]

Remember you don't eat what you don't want either

Very true, she ate breakfast this morning and lunch today so we'll see what tea brings. I think our issue has been that we ran out of food and to take advantage of the cheap delivery we ended up feeding the same thing for a few days. I need to portion some stuff up anyway so hopefully she should be back to her regular-fussiness soon

MPB I'm glad you had a good walk although I can't understand why you'd randomly sit in the middle of a trail. Just off to the side maybe but not in the middle

[Dee_Marie]

Hi,
I'm a new member and decided this would be a good place to start. I was very active on another forum, but sadly it is loosing members and not gaining any, so I'm trying to find a new one that I enjoy
Missy did her dog puzzle for the 4th time. She is getting the hang of it and finding it easier than what Piper is.

[JudyN]

Hi Dee Marie

This forum can be quiet too, but someone usually rolls up after a while

We were walking down a path by the side of the heath today, separated by a fence about 3'6" high. A deer appeared on the heath, running along the other side of the fence from us. Jasper took off down the path, but soon came back. He turned to the fence and seemed to gather his haunches underneath him, but when I said 'No, no, no' (not in an angry voice, just a discouraging tone) he changed his mind. I am so glad he doesn't know he's physically capable of clearing that height with ease

On the way home we encountered a horde of noisy children pouring out of the sports centre. Jasper looked at me, looked over the road, so we crossed over away from the children. He then looked at me to ask if he got a treat for dealing with these horrible snack-size people so well - and of course he did

I heard two children talking: 'It's a horse.' 'No, it's not a horse, it's a camel'

[Erica]

I heard two children talking: 'It's a horse.' 'No, it's not a horse, it's a camel'

Between your horse-camel and my lion-alpaca-lamb, we could start a zoo!

Welcome, Dee Marie

I started really working with Delta on loose-leash walking yesterday. He picked up on it fast! I'm hoping he'll differentiate between harness (allowed to pull a bit and wander) and collar (by my side, no pulling).

[JudyN]

Between your horse-camel and my lion-alpaca-lamb, we could start a zoo!

Don't forget Minkee's kangaroo