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

[MPbandmom]

Good job Judy.

Erica it is good to hear all of the good things happening in your class. I enjoyed Rally and so did Sirius as long as she was in class. Try to practice at home in the yard, and she would have none of it. There was also the matter of a few brain glitches where some of the signs just seem backwards to me. A part of me would still like to sign Sirius up for a trial and see how we would do, but I don't think she would be able to handle the dog show scene.

OH has been taking dogs for walks during the day. On Tuesday it was hotter and more humid than he anticipated. The dogs consumed two 16 oz bottles of water during a just over 1.5 mile walk. Then he decided the next couple of days that he wouldn't risk that kind of walk again. It was crazy hot all week. Tuesday I took Sky for an evening walk and Wednesday and Thursday we had thunderstorms in the evening. I had to chuckle a bit at Sky on Friday but at the same time I felt kind of bad. As soon as she finished her breakfast, she informed us that she was now ready for a walk, right this minute please. It will be awesome her perked up ears and big smile were saying. Of course I had to head off to work, but OH took the dogs for a morning walk, and mowed the lawn, and baked bread and this morning he wasn't up for a walk. Friday evening it was late by the time I was ready to take Sky for a walk. She had by this time decided she wasn't going to get a walk and gone to bed. I didn't argue with her because my headlamp has died and in the dark cleanup can be very challenging.

I was going to take Sky out for a solo walk this morning, but Sirius showed up really excited that we were getting ready for a walk, so I took both of them on a short journey. Sky reminded me why I got into scootering. She was really wound up and wanting to run. By the time we made it around the corner and down the hill, my toes were trying to cramp from the effort of holding her back. Fortunately she settled down to a more comfortable pace for me as we entered the park. She has kind of gotten spoiled by her solo evening walks which include going home the long way around the block. That is a no go with Sirius around. Sky was very reluctant to obey the straight ahead command on the way back home. We were back in the house by 9:30 and I was drenched in sweat.

I ordered a new headlamp and picked it up from the store before taking Sky out for an evening walk today. This one is much more powerful than my old one was even when it was working well. I'm very pleased with it.

The last part of the week was rather sad. One of the club members lost her 14 year old Samoyed quite suddenly. They had gone for a play date with dog friends in the morning. She had shared a rotisserie chicken with them before heading home. She had jumped into her car for the ride home. Then ended up at the emergency vet later in the night with heart problems and an apparent tumor. This owner has always been very active with her dog and also is a very good amateur photographer. She is comforted knowing that her dog had a great last day and a great life, and she has lots of photographs of the happy times they had together. It really makes me think and feel a little guilty for the times Sky wants to go out for an excursion and I'm not up to it or have other obligations that must come first. If Sky or Sirius were to go suddenly would I be able to say they had a terrific last day, or at least a very happy last day? I think it kind of depends on the day. I would say hug your dogs tonight, but since dogs don't like hugs, give them a scritchey in their most favorite spots.

[delladooo]

We went to rally a couple times, the activity was brilliant - our trainer not so much. Unfortunately, it's meant we've had to abandon rally completely because it's still very new over here so not only is she the only trainer in our area, she's also the biggest big-wig for our area too. It does go to show though, sometimes even having a really good look through a website and going to view a class, you can still misjudge a trainer

[JudyN]

I had one of 'those' walks today.... Jasper and I were happily meandering through the woods, I got a little way ahead of him, and suddenly hear him holler in pain I (sort of) ran back, hearing him shrieking again on the way. My best guess was that he'd got his muzzle caught on something, and sure enough, when I saw him, his nose was down by the earth. But he wasn't caught, he was digging, frantically. I couldn't see any sign of injury, he wasn't caught up, he hadn't impaled himself, so I walked on briskly worrying about what could be so interesting - I have this recurring nightmare of him finding a human body part and then parading proudly through the woods with it....

When he caught up with me, he was gripping a tennis ball in his mouth, or as much of his mouth as he could get through his mangled muzzle. Of course, he wouldn't give it up without a fight (he's 100% fine with tennis balls in the house & the garden, but this was a found one, and therefore special), and I wasn't about to fight him. We headed for the pond and he needed to cool off, so he went in and dropped the ball. Of course, it was even harder to pick up a tennis ball from water while wearing a muzzle - think bobbing for apples - and for a while I thought he was going to push it into water too deep for him to venture in, but he managed to get it closer to the shore again so I quickly walked off, hoping he'd follow me before he managed to pick it up. But no, when he caught up with me, he had it in his grasp again.

So we wandered further through the woods. I considered pausing at the stream but decided it was too shallow to make it hard for him to retrieve the ball if he dropped it, so we walked on to a rather stinky deep pond. I made a point of not looking back at him, knowing how suspicious he can be. When we got to the pond, I did look back - and he was following me without the ball Presumably he lost interest in it at some point, but it normally takes a fair time for that to happen!

I'm still not sure what hurt when he was digging - could have been a spiky root, or his muzzle might have been cutting into his nose or mouth - anyway, I can't see any damage.

He's also been 'helping' me in the garden... At least for once he wasn't digging. Normally I tell him to get out of the borders, as he digs craters, but he looked so cute I told him to stay while I went inside to get my phone - pity I haven't got a better camera!

[Erica]

Will keep fingers crossed for Jasper that t wasn't any actual harm! What a good boy leaving the tennis ball behind, lol. Delta's possessive of tennis balls, but not aggressive about it. Still, there's no way to get a tennis ball out of his jaws but to wait.

He has started having a grumble at other dogs :/ only in one pet store, though, where we were previously cornered by an MDIF. Going to be more firm and aggressive myself to keep them away! He's absolutely fine in classes and walking near other dogs, as long as there are no greetings. And if the other dog is polite, he's fine with them. But I have to be more selective now.

Last week's rally-o class was cancelled because of an emergency the instructor had to deal with. We went this week and had a good time! Once I remembered to use Delta's llw cue (leash on front clip, not back!) he was absolutely fantastic. The instructor thinks we could be ready to start competing in a matter of weeks We'll be going back; the instructor was very kind and able to critique without criticizing, which is just a very nice trait to have in a teacher. She also teaches regular obedience, so once I can get Delta to pick up an object on cue, we might try those classes too. I just am loving all the sports and activities we try, haha!

[Nettle]

Jas looks like a little angel with those glowing shafts of light, JudyN.......


Erica, that sounds SO exciting - well done both of you.

[Erica]

It's pretty funny how the students in a class change the feel of it...I was getting majorly unhappily anxious at the 7:30 agility class, so I thought switching back to our old instructor would help. Well, 7:30 instructor has started teaching 6:30 class too, but because the students are all laid back and preparing for competition instead of actively competing the whole atmosphere is different and is enjoyable again. Delta got to see one of the dogs whose been in the same class as him basically since we started classes. The two have never played together, but have greeted each other and seem to really like each other despite only occasionally interacting for a short couple of seconds. There's also a houndy dog hanging out in our corner of the room, and while we didn't do greetings inside the room (it was a cramped space and I didn't think it would go well), we let them sniff each other a bit outside the building after class and they were fine! It was awesome to see Delta so easily staying focused on me despite two other dogs behind him, less than six feet away, while another dog ran the course.

His vest should get here by the time we start housesitting Daisy next, which will be really nice - I'll be able to walk him over to the nice grocery store with all the lovely pastries and do some training at breakfast. (In my state service dogs in training get all the rights fully trained SDs get, as long as they're behaving appropriately and are accompanied by their trainer - me, in this case! I'm waiting for the vest as it will prevent about a thousand questions, haha, and practicing in pet-friendly places in the mean time.)

After helping with a make-up class Monday, the trainer invited me to help be a new stranger for some therapy dogs in training. It was kind of fun to break all the rules and pet the dogs over the head, and ruffle their fur, and just sort of test the limits. The dogs were all very solid and tolerant, and of such different breeds and types - hounds and shepherds and toy dogs, oh my!

[Nettle]

You take a very important lesson back from the agility class vibes, Erica - when people are competitive, it often puts unfair pressure on their dogs/other animals. Animals aren't equipped to deal with that level of pressure, and with some, it causes unwanted behaviour - if not at the time, then later. Well done for seeing right to the cause of it.

[JudyN]

Does anyone remember me mentioning the spaniel who at the start of July, jumped a 5' wall on a dam and fell 60' onto concrete? She broke multiple bones and at one point was given just 10% chance of survival. She has had countless operations since then, but has astounded everyone, most of all the vets, with how well she's done and her positive attitude. Only once did she show some reluctance to go into the vets, and she's full of happy licks and wags for all the staff. I've just seen a video of her playing (gently - she's not allowed to do too much) and she's beginning to use a leg that she wasn't the other day and looks so happy. The vets now say they can't predict how she'll progress because they're on untested territory - she simply shouldn't be recovering as fast as she is.

I've just seen a photo of her with over a dozen acupuncture needles inserted, looking totally chilled. I can't believe the resilience of that dog, both physically and mentally - it would be far too much to put some dogs through, but was 100% the right decision in her case.

[Erica]

I do recall that post; it's incredible to hear that she's doing well What a lucky dog, to survive that and have owners who are willing and able to help her recover.

[Shalista]

Bax and i have always played the trading game. It's kind of funny when he finds something and tries to trade it but I'm like "no, THAT you can chew." Case in point? My bro was doing some electrical and there was an old cardboard box that Bax stole. he dragged it out into the dining and then dropped it and looked at me. It took me five minutes of encouragement and then another five minutes of him just figuring it out to get him to actually shred it instead of just try to trade it.

Letting Bax shred his loot is up there with letting him roll in smelly things on my list of enjoyment <3

[Nettle]

If he has brought you something it's okay for him to have, trade it, then trade it back to him. That's much less confusing for him. It's very hard for him to figure what he can have and what he can't, so he is offering a behaviour that should be supported.

[Ari_RR]

I would love for Ari to trade things... But when he steals things and brings them back - it's not to trade... It's to get chased.

Trading doesn't really inspire him, even if for presumably a higher value item. I guess whatever gets the human to go "Ah! You thief! Give it back!" - that's the higher value

Well, this is at least one way to get some physical exercise on rainy days, and a few laughs too, as he gets quite inventive running away... then coming back with the item, dropping it on the floor, close enough to the human to give the impression that it can be easily taken, yet close enough to himself to grab it before human does and run away, and start over again

[MPbandmom]

Sky, Sirius, and I met up with a Samoyed owning friend and one of her dogs today. This is a younger male, I think 3 or 4 years old now with whom Sky has had pleasant walks with in the past but it has been over a year ago since their last walk together. This was the first time Sirius had walked with this dog as owner usually brings older Samoyed to walk with Sirius.

Both Sky and Sirius responded very positively at the initial greeting. Sky giving happy play bows and Sirius jumping at the dog in what appeared to be a playful manner. We had a lovely walk. We only encountered one other dog on the trail and that one was a ways away and turned and went away from us. A little anxious whining from Sirius and that was all. She did have a tiny bit of a snark at some joggers. I didn't identify an obvious trigger, but they were all running downhill and rather stomping their feet, so the stomping noise could have been the problem. We did have a small bit of issue with the male either not getting enough of a greeting to satisfy his curiosity, or perhaps my two being spayed just smelled a little different and thus warranted extra investigation. Both owners worked to keep sniffing at a minimum, as male worked to get around our efforts. Sirius did give him a bit of a "knock it off" message a couple of times, but harbored no ill against him as long as his nose wasn't where she didn't want it to be.

I have to say, I think it was the most relaxing walk I have had with the dogs in quite some time. Both were enthusiastically pulling like crazy at first. Sky pretty well kept the lead tight the whole time, which in and of itself was something of a relief to me. I had debated taking Sky along as she had started limping on her right hind leg again last night and I wasn't sure she would be up to a longer hike today.

I loaded Sirius into the van and received a message from my friend that she was running a little late. I decided to take the time suddenly available and take Sky our for a little walk so she wouldn't feel so left out. (Translate, she has the most pitiful sad face and was employing that in an attempt to get me to harness her up at the same time I was harnessing Sirius up.) She had been a little wobbly first thing in the morning, but seemed stable during our short jaunt and then she spotted a squirrel in a tree. She has stiffness resulting in reduced extension of her back legs. This did not stop her from standing up on her hind legs looking up at the tree. I took this as an indication that as long as her brain was occupied by other things, she would be oblivious to whatever discomfort was resulting in the occasional limping and the battlefield is full of things to otherwise occupy her brain. She had a wonderful time and walked steady the whole way, which was just shy of 3 miles. I was so thankful that I had decided to take her along.

[Erica]

Sounds like a wonderful time! Opal's slowing down a bit too, but had a bit of romping out in the yard today with some toys that had been hiding in inaccessible spots until recently. She was very happy to play with them again!

[JudyN]

My mum is staying at the moment - Jasper is besotted, but at least this year he hasn't howled outside her door at 7am to try to get her up as he used to This morning the plan was for OH to take Jasper out for a quick walk as we were planning a long walk to a pub later to meet up with more relatives. My mum did have to get into the car before Jasper would get in, and then got out again once he was in, which is a mean trick but gets the job done... Unfortunately, once they got to the heath, J refused to leave the car park and just sniffed around a bit. And then when they got home, Mum had poppped out up the shops to buy a comb (she'd forgotten to bring one) so he got into a state and is now totally convinced he can't ever leave her behind as she can't be trusted not to wander off

Love this pic of Jasper my brother-in-law took at the pub