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

[Shalista]

Bax got his first big long, long leash walk in for the season. he went out to hunt rats with me (none to be had sadly) and he got pretty muddy so i figured heck with it, if hes getting a bath he might as well have some fun first. so we went on a mile or so walk through the woods and orchard and he got THOROUGHLY muddy. I'm really proud because hes not crazy about water but he cheerily sloshed through even belly deep puddles with no problem. we're currently in the stage of spring that is very cold and very wet but Bax loved every minute of it. he sloshed through every puddle and crawled under every bush and it was just wonderful.

he tolerated his bath pretty well to and the water ran BROWN with mud

[MPbandmom]

Horray for Bax having fun in the mud puddles.

I encouraged Sky to steer clear of the large puddles we encountered today.

Great walk with Sirius today. We went around the park and she now also likes to take the long way home around the block. (We are still working on her "straight ahead" command through the cross walk across the street. She keeps trying to take a short cut. I'm sure she will get it. It took Sky a little while to catch on but she now goes straight ahead until we reach the sidewalk and then dives to the left. )'

But I digress. As we were walking around the block we encountered a Husky in a fenced yard right against the sidewalk. Sirius was socially appropriate with the husky although a little tense. She displayed erect posture and a flagging tail, but also did a couple of play bows as we made our way down the sidewalk. At the corner of the yard, there was a 2-3 inch gap between fence posts of one yard to the next. The dogs touched noses and then the husky stuck her paw through the gap and bopped Sirius on the head. Sirius got this surprised look on her face like she had no idea what had just happened and went back to nosing with husky. I moved her along before husky had a chance to do a second bop.

The husky is a regular at the dog park, but we usually avoid each other when we happen to meet while walking. This is because Sirius tends to play the big bad dog towards other dogs at a distance, but up close tends to be on her best manners. I say she is fearful but not stupid.

Sirius did stop to squat briefly after we passed the next house up, so the greeting wasn't what I would call relaxed.

Back to our street and the obnoxious bulldog was outside with his yippy buddy. I put myself between Sirius and the dogs and she walked out past without a whimper or grumble. I did the same tactics with Sky on her pass by and she walked very briskly, but didn't whine while passing. I think the dogs are learning that this is the way to pass by these two. I am also noticing that with me between, the other dogs seem to be a bit calmer at our passing as well.

[Nettle]

Your hard work is really paying off, MPb, and I commend you for it. So many people would have happier relationships with their dogs if they'd only put in the work you have.

Shalista, that sounds such a happy walk! Well worth the bath afterwards.

[JudyN]

We've had our shrubs cut back rather drastically - every year OH would cut them back by a couple of feet, and they grew about 4' Finally, this year, this happened:



You can judge just what a difference this is by the depth of the border we now need to fill (The shrubs will grow back and not look as awful as they do now, but hopefully we can keep them at a manageable size.)

Up the far end of the garden the fence was already that accessible, but it never occurred to Jasper that he might be able to jump it (we monitored him carefully as a pup and took into account that next-door's garden was securely fenced). But a couple of days ago, over a newly exposed bit of fence, he noticed a suet block hanging on their birdfeeder and wondered if he could get to it (he LOVES high fat-content food). Luckily I was there to see him lowering his back end, debating whether he could launch himself over the fence - even more luckily, there was a spiky plant right behind him that poked him up the bum every time he lowered his rear end

So now, as well as the bare shrubs and bare borders, we have an array of bamboo canes, big wheelie bin, and old high-sided dog playpen arranged along the border He seems to have forgotten he ever thought it possible to jump over. I think I'm going to have to plant a lot of runner beans, sweet peas, etc., so it looks as if all the canes have a purpose other than dog deterrent!

[JudyN]

I've just seen on FB that my friend's dog Max, a spinger spaniel, has died after complications following an anaesthetic for an MRI. I'm blubbing here Dear Max - possibly the most stupid dog in the world ('Throw me the ball throw me the ball throw me the ball' - 'Max, the ball's still in your mouth' ) but oh what a sweetie

[MPbandmom]

Oh such sad news JudyN.

After Sirius' wonderful walk yesterday today didn't go quite as well. We encountered a different yard dog today. There is a house that essentially runs a salvage operation out of their yard. They have a bulldog.

Sky has encountered this dog several times and while I wouldn't call him friendly, I also wouldn't call him crazy. The fence for this house is set back a ways from the sidewalk and the owners frequently have salvage items sitting in the grassy area between the fence and the sidewalk. As a result, I have taught Sky to stay on the sidewalk lest she step on something that would cause her injury which might be in the grass. He normally grumbles a bit at her while she walks past but that is it.

That was not his reaction to Sirius. Sirius wasn't expecting there to be a dog there and when she heard a noise in the yard she looked to see what it was. The dogs' eyes met, and the bulldog charged the fence growling and slamming into the fence when he got there. At which point Sirius said, "Oh no you don't. I see your charge and I accept your challenge and back at you."

At this point, the man of the house started yelling at the dog from his position on the street where he was disassembling a refrigerator, and the lady of the house started yelling at the dog from somewhere in the yard/house, and I'm just trying to get Sirius down the sidewalk as quickly as possible before she decided to take a good charge at either the man or the dog. I essentially ended up walking with her between my legs to keep her going in a mostly straight line forward. The bulldog continued to follow our progress past his yard growling and slamming into the fence repeatedly. Both dogs continued to curse up a storm at each other until Sirius was finally a little ways past the yard.

On a positive note, we did get past the bulldog and yappy house mate on our street, following the same me between the dogs protocol.

It just occurs to me that I wasn't between Sirius and the first bulldog. I had taken up a position between her and the man on the street. I didn't yet know that the dog was in the yard and by the time I knew, it was pretty much too late and I still needed to buffer between Sirius and the man.

The dog was back inside by the time Sky went past on her walk.

[JudyN]

Another couple of my friends said goodbye to their dog, a saluki x, today But he was about 16 and had been failing for a while so they had known for a long time that it was just a case of deciding when.

Jasper has an ear infection. He'd been rubbing it & moaning yesterday evening, so I had a look today when we were out in daylight... hoped what I saw was damp sand but when I wiped a bit (not in the canal, just on the inside of the flap) with my finger he yelped, and it wasn't sand. My friend suggested I put olive oil in it.... I didn't argue as she's a little opinionated but took him to the vet who said it was quite a nasty infection. He's got anti-imflammatory & antibiotic ear drops to put in twice a day for a week - it'll be interesting to see how that goes

His face was a picture when the vet put the first dose in - he did VERY well not to lose it, but his pupils were incredibly dilated, he must have been so scared

[Shalista]

Especially since its prolly super ouchy! GJ Jasper on keeping your cool!

[JudyN]

I put the first lot of eardrops in this morning, with Jasper muzzled and OH feeding him sausage. Only a little went in - as it was my first go I wasn't sure how much would come out - and I tried to put in a little more but he was backing off and growly. Now he knows what's coming we might have to resort to a bit of brute force, with his lead to hold him still(ish). Given that it's too late for gradual desensitisation, any suggestions for making it easier, beyond the usual high-value treats, would be very welcome!

[JudyN]

After a few snarky moments, OH and I are making some progress with the eardrops. Once the drops were in, Jasper would just about accept a quick ear rub in exchange for treats, so this afternoon we tried a slightly different tack. I wound his lead round a tree so he couldn't move too much, then I asked him to wait while OH lifted his ear, in exchange for a treat. 'Lift - treat - lift - treat - lift - squirt - treat - rub - treat - rub -treat'. He was still pretty tense, but it got the job done

Once OH is back at work on Monday I have the option of doing this in the house before OH leaves for work and after he gets home, combining it with a very early/late walk, or doing it on my own. Possibly by then Jasper will have decided that we're not actually trying to kill him......

[Fundog]

Hidey-ho everyone,

Well it's been three weeks since Annie's passing. I thought I would never feel cheerful again, but we are adjusting. It's horrible to say, but we have noticed how much cleaner the house has stayed, without all the tumbleweeds of fur floating about. And... I am just beginning to realize what an "easy" dog Dottie is, without another dog confusing things. For example, she doesn't shed quite as copiously as Annie did, and does not have a clock in her tummy, which means I get to sleep longer in the mornings.

The first night without Annie, Dottie was restless during the night: she was wandering around, whining, and looking for Annie. Since she does not have a clock in her tummy, she does not ask to be fed. We have to remember to feed her, then, after she has eaten, she forgets that she's been fed, and starts dancing around, lol. On the other hand, though, she also seems a bit more relaxed, since she no longer has to share resources with another dog. And that makes life easier for us, too, since we don't have to prevent any dog fights.

Oh yeah-- I had written in February that we were expecting a long term guest dog. Well, the young man who came to stay with us made other arrangements for his dog, so we never had to jump that particular hurdle.

[Erica]

Fundog, I'm glad you are all doing alright! It's rough at first, but it sounds like you guys are holding on.

For KPA I have to have a non-dog trainee, so meet King Placemat:


The name is a (maybe) temporary, autocorrect inspired spoof off of his "breed." He's a king plakat betta, which means he's big (can feed more than with a smaller fish!) and has short fins (better mobility and less chance of injured fins postponing training). He's also beautiful

Delta's tail cording is coming along smashingly! He has two cords at the tip that stick up like TV antennae when he's holding his tail high

He can't wait til I get through the text-heavy part of KPA and into the training-focused stuff.

This week, he'll be the stooge dog for a few CGC tests. He went with me to pick up King Placemat at the petstore to make sure he still has good dog manners, as we rarely get that close to unknown dogs. He did very nicely and heeled perfectly all the way to the car, while I was holding King's cup very cautiously and trying not to slosh him around! This is a major thing for Delta, as I have taught him to wait at the edge of roads/in parking lots until released, at which point he is supposed to cross as quickly as he can. I had a few too many instances of other dogs stopping to sniff in the middle of the road when cars were approaching, which inspired this training, but it's nice that his "heel" can override it!

[JudyN]

I'm glad you're heading in the right direction, Fundog

Erica, what are you going to train Placement to do? Sit and Fetch could be tricky

I had a few too many instances of other dogs stopping to sniff in the middle of the road when cars were approaching

Jasper used to throw jumpy-bitey tantrums halfway across the road

[Shalista]

Bax went from "good morning world!" to full terrier mode in about .35 seconds today. He was bouncing down the steps to go potty and he pretty much stepped on a snake sunning itself. Thankfully i pulled him away before he killed it but he was super high strung for the rest of our walk and i never did get him settled enough for a poo. sigh, guess we're going out again in a few min when he calms down

[Erica]

There aren't back legs for a proper sit, but I could teach him to settle on a plant leaf like a mat, and fetch a ping pong ball back to me by pushing it along the top of the water...first though, I'm going to teach him to voluntarily swim into a tupperware, because I am getting very tired of catching my catfish for their daily medicine-ing and I don't want to have to rip up the nice tank again, should Placemat get ill. That will also let me move him back and forth to the much less crowded training tank, where I can set up the "fish school" training kit I got. It has weave poles, tunnels, tire "jumps," a couple different sports balls to teach fetch or soccer/football goal-scoring...plenty to keep the both of us entertained for a while!

Edit: Oh Bax! Doing his bloodlines proud.