Friday. And just what sort of training did you do today?
Nothing. Nada. Not one single, blasted, tiny, little bit of training managed to get done today.
I hate cold weather. Went out to start training three different times and decided it was too cold. I wasn't dressed properly. Then, finally, I was dressed properly and I had on so many sweaters, vests, coat, hat, gloves that I could hardly move. On second thought, all the younger dogs learned that you DO NOT attempt to remove gloves from the cold hand that is trying to pet you.
Guess it is time to move the training inside again. UCK! I don't know how people who live in colder climes survive. My dream would be to be able to head for the Southern Hemisphere in November and then head for the Northern Hemisphere in March or April. That way I could just chase summer all year long. Sanity thinks that would be a fine idea.
Friday, November 18, 2005
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Day 119
This morning I tested Sanity with the 6 foot retrieve again. Dogs in the way. Dogs trying to push her out of the way. Dumbbell on top of a stool. Dumbbell part way hidden behind the leg of a stool. Not a single hitch in her response. Great!
Then because of holiday plans, my nail day had to be changed from the normal Friday morning to Thursday afternoon. This meant that instead of taking an afternoon nap, we were off to the nail salon. I thought it would be the perfect time to do one final test before moving on to more difficult things. SOB! She didn't pass the test. All she could see was her rug and I guess nap time and she was having nothing to do with anything else. So we shall try again in a couple of weeks.
The interesting thing that did happen was that Sanity went from the house to the car and from the car to the shop and then to her rug all without the use of a leash. I confess, the lack of a leash from the car to the shop was a mental blip on my part. I didn't even realize I had forgotten to put the darn thing on her until we were in the shop. Since she failed the retrieve test, you can best bet she was on leash when we left. I just keep on reminding myself that haste makes waste and in this case hasty training means wasted time having to backtrack and fix holes left in the training foundation. (Side note: she fell so fast asleep that she was actually snoring.)
I guess I have now seen it all. In the shop was another woman with a dog. This was not a service dog or a service dog in training or even a dog in training. This was a dog playing the part of being a baby. Dressed in clothes and being pushed around in a stroller was a medium sized Yorkie. I couldn't believe my eyes. All the hair dressers were making over this "THING". Passing it from hand to hand, holding it, cuddling it and cooing over it. I suppose Wrap and I and now Sanity and I must be a real disappointment to all of them.
The owner of this "thing" was horrified that there was a DOBERMAN loose in the shop. Except no one was interested in what she had to say, including Sanity who slept through the entire thing. As for me, well I got my knuckles cracked twice to remind me to keep my mouth shut and look the other way. Seems I was staring complete with my mouth hanging open at the spectacle. It is no wonder dog owners are in trouble, when dogs are being treated as if they were humans.
This being Thursday meant evening class. Another great place to test how we are doing with the retrieve. But first she had to break her down/stay not once but three different times. Who knows why? She is normally rock solid with the down/stay and shaky on the sit. So maybe I have been practicing the sit/stay too much this past week? Maybe. Balance is so hard to maintain. Now on to the retrieve test.
The other two dogs in the picture are interesting. The little Australian Terrier is 8 years old and just now learning to retrieve. He is doing a great job. The mixed breed is 2 years old and learning to retrieve so as to have much better control over his impulse to bite first and ask questions later, as well as pick fights with other dogs. Now he bites the dumbbell and carries a ball around in his mouth when he is around other dogs. It is definitely working. All you have to do is keep the mouth busy and it stays out of trouble.
And then there is Sanity, remember she is 6 months old. Sanity didn't pass the test BUT she did do something that really pleases me. When faced with the three dumbbells so close together like the three were, she had to carefully sniff the other two before picking up the correct one and returning with it. Needless to say, I did not correct her for her interest in scent. That will most certainly be the next thing on the training agenda, just as soon as the basic retrieve is in place. Since we have two weeks before the next class and the next test, who knows? Maybe she will pass next time.
Then because of holiday plans, my nail day had to be changed from the normal Friday morning to Thursday afternoon. This meant that instead of taking an afternoon nap, we were off to the nail salon. I thought it would be the perfect time to do one final test before moving on to more difficult things. SOB! She didn't pass the test. All she could see was her rug and I guess nap time and she was having nothing to do with anything else. So we shall try again in a couple of weeks.
The interesting thing that did happen was that Sanity went from the house to the car and from the car to the shop and then to her rug all without the use of a leash. I confess, the lack of a leash from the car to the shop was a mental blip on my part. I didn't even realize I had forgotten to put the darn thing on her until we were in the shop. Since she failed the retrieve test, you can best bet she was on leash when we left. I just keep on reminding myself that haste makes waste and in this case hasty training means wasted time having to backtrack and fix holes left in the training foundation. (Side note: she fell so fast asleep that she was actually snoring.)
I guess I have now seen it all. In the shop was another woman with a dog. This was not a service dog or a service dog in training or even a dog in training. This was a dog playing the part of being a baby. Dressed in clothes and being pushed around in a stroller was a medium sized Yorkie. I couldn't believe my eyes. All the hair dressers were making over this "THING". Passing it from hand to hand, holding it, cuddling it and cooing over it. I suppose Wrap and I and now Sanity and I must be a real disappointment to all of them.
The owner of this "thing" was horrified that there was a DOBERMAN loose in the shop. Except no one was interested in what she had to say, including Sanity who slept through the entire thing. As for me, well I got my knuckles cracked twice to remind me to keep my mouth shut and look the other way. Seems I was staring complete with my mouth hanging open at the spectacle. It is no wonder dog owners are in trouble, when dogs are being treated as if they were humans.
This being Thursday meant evening class. Another great place to test how we are doing with the retrieve. But first she had to break her down/stay not once but three different times. Who knows why? She is normally rock solid with the down/stay and shaky on the sit. So maybe I have been practicing the sit/stay too much this past week? Maybe. Balance is so hard to maintain. Now on to the retrieve test.
The other two dogs in the picture are interesting. The little Australian Terrier is 8 years old and just now learning to retrieve. He is doing a great job. The mixed breed is 2 years old and learning to retrieve so as to have much better control over his impulse to bite first and ask questions later, as well as pick fights with other dogs. Now he bites the dumbbell and carries a ball around in his mouth when he is around other dogs. It is definitely working. All you have to do is keep the mouth busy and it stays out of trouble.
And then there is Sanity, remember she is 6 months old. Sanity didn't pass the test BUT she did do something that really pleases me. When faced with the three dumbbells so close together like the three were, she had to carefully sniff the other two before picking up the correct one and returning with it. Needless to say, I did not correct her for her interest in scent. That will most certainly be the next thing on the training agenda, just as soon as the basic retrieve is in place. Since we have two weeks before the next class and the next test, who knows? Maybe she will pass next time.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Day 118
I think I got a major break through today. Sanity managed a six foot retrieve three different times with what I think are pretty heavy distractions. Specifically, she was having to fight her way through the pack to get to the dumbbell and then push and struggle through the pack to get back to me. After the third success we stopped. I sure didn't want to spoil a good thing.
Later we practiced distance sits and downs along with the rest of the pack. The problem between JerseyGirl and Sanity seems to be just melting away. Any testiness between them and I am on them to do "push-ups" (i.e.: sit/down/sit/down/sit/down until they forget what it was that was bothering them. Interestingly enough, both of them appear to be having a hard time with the "OK" release command right now. I say, "OK" and they both continue to do whatever the previous command was and don't appear too interesting in stopping. Since I like to stop before they do, I figure this just helps to make them all the more eager to work for me. At least, that has always been my plan.
Its really pretty wonderful, the way jealousy may be turned into a training tool.
Later we practiced distance sits and downs along with the rest of the pack. The problem between JerseyGirl and Sanity seems to be just melting away. Any testiness between them and I am on them to do "push-ups" (i.e.: sit/down/sit/down/sit/down until they forget what it was that was bothering them. Interestingly enough, both of them appear to be having a hard time with the "OK" release command right now. I say, "OK" and they both continue to do whatever the previous command was and don't appear too interesting in stopping. Since I like to stop before they do, I figure this just helps to make them all the more eager to work for me. At least, that has always been my plan.
Its really pretty wonderful, the way jealousy may be turned into a training tool.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Day 117
Today was something of a holding pattern day. We did work on random recalls and distance sits. Her response to the down command is starting to get sorted out and she is beginning to down at a short distance, at least some of the time. As for the retrieve, it is neither better or worse.
The one thing I have to keep on reminding myself of is that she is only six months old and she has quite a bit of material to sort, file and then access properly. It is only reasonable that she get the commands confused and as long as she is trying, I am willing to continue to help.
JerseyGirl is another one who is having a problem getting the commands sorted out. Today she was sure that no matter what I said, it meant she was to sit. When I called her, she sat. When I told her to sit, she sat. When I told her to down, she sat. Basically, she gave me a sit no matter what I was telling her to do. This did sort of help to remind me that both girls need time in a holding pattern every so often to give them a chance to figure out all the different requirements.
The new dog, one of the Rosie's, has had very little interaction with other dogs and so is just hanging back and watching. What was interesting is that she started copying whatever Sanity and JerseyGirl did. I said sit and I was getting three dogs sitting pretty much at once. Then, the next thing I knew, I was getting five dogs sitting on command and by the time I was ready to stop the training I had twelve dogs sitting when I said sit. This is really the reason why the dogs all learn so fast when they are here. Learning is a pack activity.
Know what I wish? I wish for some feed-back. At this point, I can't decide whether I am writing this for my own benefit or because there are a few others out there reading it or because I just like to see myself chatter into a black hole in space.
The one thing I have to keep on reminding myself of is that she is only six months old and she has quite a bit of material to sort, file and then access properly. It is only reasonable that she get the commands confused and as long as she is trying, I am willing to continue to help.
JerseyGirl is another one who is having a problem getting the commands sorted out. Today she was sure that no matter what I said, it meant she was to sit. When I called her, she sat. When I told her to sit, she sat. When I told her to down, she sat. Basically, she gave me a sit no matter what I was telling her to do. This did sort of help to remind me that both girls need time in a holding pattern every so often to give them a chance to figure out all the different requirements.
The new dog, one of the Rosie's, has had very little interaction with other dogs and so is just hanging back and watching. What was interesting is that she started copying whatever Sanity and JerseyGirl did. I said sit and I was getting three dogs sitting pretty much at once. Then, the next thing I knew, I was getting five dogs sitting on command and by the time I was ready to stop the training I had twelve dogs sitting when I said sit. This is really the reason why the dogs all learn so fast when they are here. Learning is a pack activity.
Know what I wish? I wish for some feed-back. At this point, I can't decide whether I am writing this for my own benefit or because there are a few others out there reading it or because I just like to see myself chatter into a black hole in space.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Day 116
Had a new dog check in today as a board and train. Things are going to be rather rough around here for a while, what with my having to train not just Sanity but two other dogs. Well, at least the new one doesn't need anything fancy.
I didn't manage to get to working on the retrieve until tonight's class. Pitted her against Sage. Sage won each and every single time, but I could see the wheels a-turning in that little pointy head of hers. Somehow I think a change is in the wind.
I didn't manage to get to working on the retrieve until tonight's class. Pitted her against Sage. Sage won each and every single time, but I could see the wheels a-turning in that little pointy head of hers. Somehow I think a change is in the wind.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Day 115
I just managed to piss everyone, or at least all the dogs, off today. Got a bee in my bonnet that said I just had to clean. This means not just run the vacuum a little bit and call it good. It means getting the carpet shampooing machine out and using it after the vacuum part was done. All the dogs left the house and spent the day outside. When I went out to do the yard work all I got from the pack of them was glares and a cold shoulder.
If I wanted someone, I had to formally call that dog. Then, the dog called and only that dog, would come to me, stay just long enough to hear "good dog, ok" and split. Goodness, you would think I never clean from the way they were all behaving. Wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that yesterday we cleaned the kennel room?
Other than some minor retrieve work, Sanity got the day off.
If I wanted someone, I had to formally call that dog. Then, the dog called and only that dog, would come to me, stay just long enough to hear "good dog, ok" and split. Goodness, you would think I never clean from the way they were all behaving. Wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that yesterday we cleaned the kennel room?
Other than some minor retrieve work, Sanity got the day off.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Day 114
Sanity actually was able to demo the beginning remote sit work. Great for both of us since I really need a dog who can show students just what the remote sit is all about and Wrap is really too tired to want to be bothered with having to do it. There was a time when she loved chasing out across the yard after a squirrel and doing a leap, spin, and land in a sit facing me. I just hope that some day Sanity will be able to do something similar.
Anyway, today she helped me show a couple of students how to get the entire process started. Being able to show that this was an exercise worthy of practicing in the house makes a difference in how much a student will work on getting a good response.
The retrieve. What can I say? We worked on it. She is still arguing about whether or not she is going to come back with the dumbbell. One thing I did discover is that a tap on the button coupled with a second fetch command after she has her mouth on the dumbbell will bring her back to me better than anything else. Interesting.
Anyway, today she helped me show a couple of students how to get the entire process started. Being able to show that this was an exercise worthy of practicing in the house makes a difference in how much a student will work on getting a good response.
The retrieve. What can I say? We worked on it. She is still arguing about whether or not she is going to come back with the dumbbell. One thing I did discover is that a tap on the button coupled with a second fetch command after she has her mouth on the dumbbell will bring her back to me better than anything else. Interesting.
Friday, November 11, 2005
Day 113
Nails and not much else. Now I don't know why I would start that way other than we really didn't move forward on anything and we didn't fall back on anything and I didn't introduce anything new.
It really is important to go into a holding pattern every so often to allow the dog the time to get all the material properly sorted out and filed. She is so close to not needing a leash when we are out and about doing our regular errands. I really have to fight with myself to continue using it since it really is a total nuisance most of the time.
The one thing that did happen was a mother/young daughter team tried their very best to get Sanity to leave her rug and come to them. I didn't realize what was going on at first since they were operating behind my back. Janene, my manicurist, caught them and started to just glare at them and shake her head. When I caught on and started to turn around the team of nasties left in a hurry. Janene said they were using food to try and entice Sanity to come to them.
What? You want to know just what Sanity did? Easy. She never even bothered to lift her head and acknowledge they existed. Mind you, this is a pup who never turns down a chance to eat. Seems she has also developed a pretty good sense of work ethic. Love my dog. Don't much like some people.
It really is important to go into a holding pattern every so often to allow the dog the time to get all the material properly sorted out and filed. She is so close to not needing a leash when we are out and about doing our regular errands. I really have to fight with myself to continue using it since it really is a total nuisance most of the time.
The one thing that did happen was a mother/young daughter team tried their very best to get Sanity to leave her rug and come to them. I didn't realize what was going on at first since they were operating behind my back. Janene, my manicurist, caught them and started to just glare at them and shake her head. When I caught on and started to turn around the team of nasties left in a hurry. Janene said they were using food to try and entice Sanity to come to them.
What? You want to know just what Sanity did? Easy. She never even bothered to lift her head and acknowledge they existed. Mind you, this is a pup who never turns down a chance to eat. Seems she has also developed a pretty good sense of work ethic. Love my dog. Don't much like some people.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Day 112
Used the time before class to gather a couple students with dogs working the retrieve at just about the same level of Sanity. We formed a triangle and all worked on the retrieve facing the center of said triangle. What a wonderful difference the group work makes. I know that. I have always known that, but sometimes the old knowledge just looks all bright and shiny new.
Sanity is still hanging back and not willing to return with the dumbbell unless she gets some sort of sign from me and she doesn't much care if it is positive or negative. I will just keep on plugging along since I know "this to shall pass".
The last third of the class was devoted to out-of-sight recall in a group as well as random sits and downs as a group. What a great way to sharpen up her response to sit and down at a distance and with distractions.
As for the out-of-sight recalls. It was really interesting to watch her enter the hallway at the far end and then systematically work her way from person to person. She checked each person by smell and quickly moved on to the next person. I had deliberately placed myself at the very back of the group so she would have to do some serious hunting. At no time did she ever show any signs of worry or thoughts of stopping. She remained cheerful and pleasant as she sniffed and rejected one person after another. She really seems to like games of this type. Will have to set them up more often.
Sanity is still hanging back and not willing to return with the dumbbell unless she gets some sort of sign from me and she doesn't much care if it is positive or negative. I will just keep on plugging along since I know "this to shall pass".
The last third of the class was devoted to out-of-sight recall in a group as well as random sits and downs as a group. What a great way to sharpen up her response to sit and down at a distance and with distractions.
As for the out-of-sight recalls. It was really interesting to watch her enter the hallway at the far end and then systematically work her way from person to person. She checked each person by smell and quickly moved on to the next person. I had deliberately placed myself at the very back of the group so she would have to do some serious hunting. At no time did she ever show any signs of worry or thoughts of stopping. She remained cheerful and pleasant as she sniffed and rejected one person after another. She really seems to like games of this type. Will have to set them up more often.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Day 111
She hates me. I just know she hates me. Or is it that at the magic six months mark she has decided I don't know anything and she knows everything.
I swear, with the exception of the recall, she wants to make a major production out of everything. Fetch? What is fetch? Never heard that word before. I realize this is the big wall and that on the other side is warmth and sunlight, but man is it hard to keep on plugging. Heel? Is that some sort of food group? Sit? Naw, I don't need to right now and besides which you said I wasn't supposed to do that in the house. Down? Not now, I'm not tired.
My suspicion is that she is trying to go on strike because of Jersey. She really doesn't like me working Jersey. Jersey is okay as a playmate, but she needs to stay stupid. Or at least, that appears to be what is going on. If I work Jersey first, when I then try to work Sanity it is a battle royal. If I work Jersey second, Sanity does her very best to get in the way. So we are now working on getting rid of the green demons as fast as possible.
I swear, with the exception of the recall, she wants to make a major production out of everything. Fetch? What is fetch? Never heard that word before. I realize this is the big wall and that on the other side is warmth and sunlight, but man is it hard to keep on plugging. Heel? Is that some sort of food group? Sit? Naw, I don't need to right now and besides which you said I wasn't supposed to do that in the house. Down? Not now, I'm not tired.
My suspicion is that she is trying to go on strike because of Jersey. She really doesn't like me working Jersey. Jersey is okay as a playmate, but she needs to stay stupid. Or at least, that appears to be what is going on. If I work Jersey first, when I then try to work Sanity it is a battle royal. If I work Jersey second, Sanity does her very best to get in the way. So we are now working on getting rid of the green demons as fast as possible.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Day 110
I could write about the boring everyday stuff. About how we worked on coming, staying, sitting, heeling, the retrieve, the stand, all that sort of thing, but I think it will be way more interesting to write about what happened in the evening, when all the training to date was put to a real life test.
I am a member of a Citizen's Advisory Committee for the City of Laurel. This particular committee happens to be the one on Person's with Disabilities. We sort of deal with accessibility issues, but that's another topic all together.
Last evening Sanity went to her very first CAC meeting and this is pretty much a step-by-step of what happened. First I took off the Pro 500 ecollar she was wearing and traded it for a Sport50G2. Smaller sized receiver and transmitter which makes for easier use when out and about. Next I had her stand and put on the service dog in training cape and then put on my own coat and picking up cane, keys,a purse and a 6' leather leash headed out the door. At this point, Sanity is not wearing the leash and I have stuffed it in my pocket for later use. At the open inner gate, she waits until I tell her she can go through. The same thing happens when I open the outer gate. She waits until I tell her she may pass and then she sits on the other side while I close and latch the gate. Next we head for the car. Sanity is traveling in a more or less heel position, not because I have told her to, but because she has already learned that is the most efficient position to be in and be able to watch both me and what is happening around us.
At the car, she sort of sniffs around while I open the rear door and tell her to get in. She hops in and sits ever so properly in the middle of the rear seat. When we reach the City administration building, she patiently waits for me to gather up all my "stuff", get out of the car and then open the rear door for her. She continues to wait without being told until I have managed to clip the leash to the live ring of her chain training collar and call her out of the car. Then in a loose heel position, never moving in front of me or falling behind me or so much as causing the leash to tighten, we headed into the building. A building she had never been in before and of a type she had never seen before. She held her heel position and other than a single tap to the remote to remind her that this was not the time to sniff the floor, did every thing I required.
Once in the conference room, she waited beside me while I selected a chair and put my stuff down. Then, single whispered command, she heeled beside me while I wandered off to find the soda machine and buy a Coke. For the record, this was her first experience with a soda machine. She held her sit/stay while the bottle dropped almost under her nose. She visually acknowledged the person next to us at the junk food machine and didn't even blink at the large and rather bulky powerchair he was using.
Back in the conference room again, she slipped under the table and lay down on a single whispered "go under" command and gesture from me. During the hour long meeting her rather well-timed soft moans or groans or mumbles were not enough to be distruptive, however they did cause some laughter from the other committee members. It was the timing of the sounds that got us all.
I am still trying to decide how I feel about the behavior of the committee chairman. We had some blueprints to look at for a new business getting ready to open. It just so happened that the best place to put the blueprints also caused him to be standing right beside my chair. He was so worried about the possibility of stepping on Sanity's nose that he took his shoes off. Now there was a bit of a problem. Sanity wanted so very, very much to check out those stocking feet and the wonderful, smelly shoes. That was the one time when I did have to issue a mild correction, using both chain collar and ecollar. Message heard, received and the nose got put in my lap where it would stay out of temptations way.
After the meeting was over, I called Sanity out from under the table and told her she was free to "go say hello". She went from person to person and very, very politely placed her head and body in a please pet me position. Meanwhile I struggled to answer questions about her, her age, her training, what had happened to Wrap and how was Wrap handling the retirement. Only one member of the committee is less than fond of dogs and he left as soon as the meeting was over so there was no worry on my part of our infringing on someone else's rights.
Once the hellos had been made and the questions answered, we said good night and headed back out to the car. Just as soon as she was in the car the leash came off and stayed off. Home and she waited until told to exit the car and then walked with me back to the gate, where she waited while I unlatched and opened the first gate and then the second gate and finally when I told her to "go in the house" she headed up the ramp and waited at the door. Once inside, I took her service dog cape off, opened the door again and released her to do what I refer to as "doggie things". End of day.
Yes, I do think Sanity is on her way to becoming a pretty durn good service dog someday.
I am a member of a Citizen's Advisory Committee for the City of Laurel. This particular committee happens to be the one on Person's with Disabilities. We sort of deal with accessibility issues, but that's another topic all together.
Last evening Sanity went to her very first CAC meeting and this is pretty much a step-by-step of what happened. First I took off the Pro 500 ecollar she was wearing and traded it for a Sport50G2. Smaller sized receiver and transmitter which makes for easier use when out and about. Next I had her stand and put on the service dog in training cape and then put on my own coat and picking up cane, keys,a purse and a 6' leather leash headed out the door. At this point, Sanity is not wearing the leash and I have stuffed it in my pocket for later use. At the open inner gate, she waits until I tell her she can go through. The same thing happens when I open the outer gate. She waits until I tell her she may pass and then she sits on the other side while I close and latch the gate. Next we head for the car. Sanity is traveling in a more or less heel position, not because I have told her to, but because she has already learned that is the most efficient position to be in and be able to watch both me and what is happening around us.
At the car, she sort of sniffs around while I open the rear door and tell her to get in. She hops in and sits ever so properly in the middle of the rear seat. When we reach the City administration building, she patiently waits for me to gather up all my "stuff", get out of the car and then open the rear door for her. She continues to wait without being told until I have managed to clip the leash to the live ring of her chain training collar and call her out of the car. Then in a loose heel position, never moving in front of me or falling behind me or so much as causing the leash to tighten, we headed into the building. A building she had never been in before and of a type she had never seen before. She held her heel position and other than a single tap to the remote to remind her that this was not the time to sniff the floor, did every thing I required.
Once in the conference room, she waited beside me while I selected a chair and put my stuff down. Then, single whispered command, she heeled beside me while I wandered off to find the soda machine and buy a Coke. For the record, this was her first experience with a soda machine. She held her sit/stay while the bottle dropped almost under her nose. She visually acknowledged the person next to us at the junk food machine and didn't even blink at the large and rather bulky powerchair he was using.
Back in the conference room again, she slipped under the table and lay down on a single whispered "go under" command and gesture from me. During the hour long meeting her rather well-timed soft moans or groans or mumbles were not enough to be distruptive, however they did cause some laughter from the other committee members. It was the timing of the sounds that got us all.
I am still trying to decide how I feel about the behavior of the committee chairman. We had some blueprints to look at for a new business getting ready to open. It just so happened that the best place to put the blueprints also caused him to be standing right beside my chair. He was so worried about the possibility of stepping on Sanity's nose that he took his shoes off. Now there was a bit of a problem. Sanity wanted so very, very much to check out those stocking feet and the wonderful, smelly shoes. That was the one time when I did have to issue a mild correction, using both chain collar and ecollar. Message heard, received and the nose got put in my lap where it would stay out of temptations way.
After the meeting was over, I called Sanity out from under the table and told her she was free to "go say hello". She went from person to person and very, very politely placed her head and body in a please pet me position. Meanwhile I struggled to answer questions about her, her age, her training, what had happened to Wrap and how was Wrap handling the retirement. Only one member of the committee is less than fond of dogs and he left as soon as the meeting was over so there was no worry on my part of our infringing on someone else's rights.
Once the hellos had been made and the questions answered, we said good night and headed back out to the car. Just as soon as she was in the car the leash came off and stayed off. Home and she waited until told to exit the car and then walked with me back to the gate, where she waited while I unlatched and opened the first gate and then the second gate and finally when I told her to "go in the house" she headed up the ramp and waited at the door. Once inside, I took her service dog cape off, opened the door again and released her to do what I refer to as "doggie things". End of day.
Yes, I do think Sanity is on her way to becoming a pretty durn good service dog someday.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Day 109
I missed it. Darn it! I totally missed a great set of pictures. Sanity and Leo spent about 20 minutes chasing up, down, around and over the mulch pile and then finally took off in a wild game of chase. I think Leo was chasing Sanity, but it was pretty hard to tell, what with Sanity doing loop-de-loops around him as the raced around the yard. It all came to a screeching halt when, while looking over her shoulder, Sanity ran full-tilt into Callie. Callie, who normally hates that sort of thing, just looked both surprised and amused.
Stays. Sanity does the down-stay without a single problem, but the sit-stay, oh my, the sit stay causes her no end of grief. Anything over a minute and she is sure she should be in a down position. The sit stay is going to take a lot more work, before I will consider it solid.
As for the Monday evening class, well let's just say that the class got to see exactly how to handle a willful refusal of a simple arm's length, placed retrieve. Goodness, I'm not at all sure just where that fight came from, but she sure was determined to not pick that dumbbell up in front of everyone. In the end, she did a nice pick-up, although her return was rather slow. I would much rather be dealing with these issues now than to wait until she is 30 pounds heavier and I am several months weaker.
On top of everything else, I think I over fed her today and her solution was to simply barf it all up. So now I have about 10 barf stain spots scattered around the living room rug. Don't know why I had to be so stupid as to increase her food by so much. Dumb me.
Stays. Sanity does the down-stay without a single problem, but the sit-stay, oh my, the sit stay causes her no end of grief. Anything over a minute and she is sure she should be in a down position. The sit stay is going to take a lot more work, before I will consider it solid.
As for the Monday evening class, well let's just say that the class got to see exactly how to handle a willful refusal of a simple arm's length, placed retrieve. Goodness, I'm not at all sure just where that fight came from, but she sure was determined to not pick that dumbbell up in front of everyone. In the end, she did a nice pick-up, although her return was rather slow. I would much rather be dealing with these issues now than to wait until she is 30 pounds heavier and I am several months weaker.
On top of everything else, I think I over fed her today and her solution was to simply barf it all up. So now I have about 10 barf stain spots scattered around the living room rug. Don't know why I had to be so stupid as to increase her food by so much. Dumb me.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Day 108
Not much to say about today. A slow, quiet Sunday with suprisingly warm air and sun. I actually got my lounge chair out and sat in the sun for a couple of hours during the afternoon. Sanity and Jersey agreed with me and spent the same time dozing in the sun. Good day to just take it easy.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Day 107
Considering how her appetite has increased again, I guess she is about to do another growth spurt. Hope so, cause right now she sure seems small for her age or maybe it is just that sister Leda is large. Didn't manage to get any pictures of the two of them together today, but will try to do so either next Thursday or Saturday. The difference is really quite a bit.
I really wanted to use her to demonstrate how to teach the figure 8, but that was not to be. Her heeling is way too sloppy as yet to allow her to do a proper figure 8. However, she was good a showing how to teach heeling on a curve and then Wrap was more than happy to come out and show how it is done correctly.
Unsatifactory as her figure 8 was, her demonstration of how to do the beginning steps of the place command were really impressive. (Note to self: really start working longer distances now.)
I really wanted to use her to demonstrate how to teach the figure 8, but that was not to be. Her heeling is way too sloppy as yet to allow her to do a proper figure 8. However, she was good a showing how to teach heeling on a curve and then Wrap was more than happy to come out and show how it is done correctly.
Unsatifactory as her figure 8 was, her demonstration of how to do the beginning steps of the place command were really impressive. (Note to self: really start working longer distances now.)
Friday, November 04, 2005
Day 106
The very first thing that happened today is that Sanity got to meet and greet and deal with her very first up close and personal TODDLER. This one needs lots of training in the art of not squealing, screaming or hitting, but there is much hope. Meanwhile, Sanity studied her with great care and decided she probably wasn't too bad. Besides just how awful can even a very small human be if they are willing to throw a ball for you?
After all the dogs coming in for day care or boarding got settled it was off to do the normal Friday errands. A stop at the bank and then on to get nails done and hair cut. When we got there Sanity's rug wasn't in place as yet and even though Pam was already there, Sanity was not at all happy with the missing rug issue. Here is what she looked like right after the rug appeared.
We managed to work on the retrieve while waiting out turn. Then since this was also a hair cut day for me Sanity took a big step forward and stayed on her rug the entire time I was in another part of the shop getting my hair cut. Notice that she no longer needs to wear a leash. This is a good indication of how she is doing in the self-discipline and responsibility areas. She is doing pretty good a ignoring people when she has her vest on and is working.
And the rest of the day was just normal, routine stuff.
After all the dogs coming in for day care or boarding got settled it was off to do the normal Friday errands. A stop at the bank and then on to get nails done and hair cut. When we got there Sanity's rug wasn't in place as yet and even though Pam was already there, Sanity was not at all happy with the missing rug issue. Here is what she looked like right after the rug appeared.
We managed to work on the retrieve while waiting out turn. Then since this was also a hair cut day for me Sanity took a big step forward and stayed on her rug the entire time I was in another part of the shop getting my hair cut. Notice that she no longer needs to wear a leash. This is a good indication of how she is doing in the self-discipline and responsibility areas. She is doing pretty good a ignoring people when she has her vest on and is working.
And the rest of the day was just normal, routine stuff.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Day 105
The retrieve continues to be a battle. Today I figured I would just keep it inside and lower the distraction level and keep my hand on the dumbbell. None the less, it was still a battle, with me saying "yes, you will" and her saying, "no, I won't" or "make me". Two sessions pretty much the same with each ending when we had two good clean retrieves.
Class night and she all but puts the Service Dog vest on by herself, trots out to the car, waits for the command and then hops in just like she has been doing this for years. When we got to the building, she got so busy saying hello to some of the other dogs that she forgot to keep track of me. Realizing that she was not in the group of dogs that entered when I did, I keyed in the security code and then hid in the dark corner.
She came trotting in with some other students, went right on passed me and into the training room. Pretty quick she was back out and headed for the lobby and the front door. At that point Linda came in carrying my training equipment bag. Sanity zeroed in on the bag, ran up to it and started sniffing as she followed Linda back to the training room. I continued to hide and watch. Very quickly she was back headed for the lobby again. This time she looked worried. A couple more students came in and she gave them a short once over and continued towards the front door. About then Linda came out headed back to her car. She spotted me and asked what was going on. I held my finger up to my lips and then whispered "Tell Sanity to find me."
"Oh," says Linda and then, after she gets into the lobby I hear her say, "Sanity, where's Margot? Go find Margot. Go find her."
Now Sanity is pretty much running back to the training room. From where I am standing I can see her looking around the room. Then she is out of my sight, but I can hear different ones asking her where I am. She comes flying out of the training room, tears passed me and heads for the front door once again. Another student comes in. Sanity sniffs them and then starts to return to the training room again. Only this time, she is moving very slowly and her head is swinging from side to side. Sure enough before she reaches the doorway to the training room she turns around and head still swinging from side to side starts to cover the entire lobby area a little bit at a time. Finally she spots me standing back in a very dim corner.
Grrrr! Woof! Slow approach with that head still moving slowly from side to side. Oh, its you! The entire rear end starts to swing from side to side and the front does a little victory stomp. With much praise for her successful find we both head into the training room and class. My bet is that it will still take a couple more such experiences before she realizes it is her responsibility to keep track of me. What a fun game to play and one I seem to never get tired of playing with my pups.
Did a Novice run-thru with her at the end of class. Her on leash heeling isn't too bad. Off leash is sort of a joke since she still has a long way to go before she does more than approximate heel position. Her sits were awful. Every single one of them was done with her swinging way to the left with her butt. The stand was nice and steady and the recall was done a exactly the speed I want. In the group exercises, she is holding a 3 minute sit and a 5 minute down with no problem at all.
Class night and she all but puts the Service Dog vest on by herself, trots out to the car, waits for the command and then hops in just like she has been doing this for years. When we got to the building, she got so busy saying hello to some of the other dogs that she forgot to keep track of me. Realizing that she was not in the group of dogs that entered when I did, I keyed in the security code and then hid in the dark corner.
She came trotting in with some other students, went right on passed me and into the training room. Pretty quick she was back out and headed for the lobby and the front door. At that point Linda came in carrying my training equipment bag. Sanity zeroed in on the bag, ran up to it and started sniffing as she followed Linda back to the training room. I continued to hide and watch. Very quickly she was back headed for the lobby again. This time she looked worried. A couple more students came in and she gave them a short once over and continued towards the front door. About then Linda came out headed back to her car. She spotted me and asked what was going on. I held my finger up to my lips and then whispered "Tell Sanity to find me."
"Oh," says Linda and then, after she gets into the lobby I hear her say, "Sanity, where's Margot? Go find Margot. Go find her."
Now Sanity is pretty much running back to the training room. From where I am standing I can see her looking around the room. Then she is out of my sight, but I can hear different ones asking her where I am. She comes flying out of the training room, tears passed me and heads for the front door once again. Another student comes in. Sanity sniffs them and then starts to return to the training room again. Only this time, she is moving very slowly and her head is swinging from side to side. Sure enough before she reaches the doorway to the training room she turns around and head still swinging from side to side starts to cover the entire lobby area a little bit at a time. Finally she spots me standing back in a very dim corner.
Grrrr! Woof! Slow approach with that head still moving slowly from side to side. Oh, its you! The entire rear end starts to swing from side to side and the front does a little victory stomp. With much praise for her successful find we both head into the training room and class. My bet is that it will still take a couple more such experiences before she realizes it is her responsibility to keep track of me. What a fun game to play and one I seem to never get tired of playing with my pups.
Did a Novice run-thru with her at the end of class. Her on leash heeling isn't too bad. Off leash is sort of a joke since she still has a long way to go before she does more than approximate heel position. Her sits were awful. Every single one of them was done with her swinging way to the left with her butt. The stand was nice and steady and the recall was done a exactly the speed I want. In the group exercises, she is holding a 3 minute sit and a 5 minute down with no problem at all.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Day 104
I knew we couldn't just sail along forever without a bump or two in the road. Today I got my first flat-out refusal to retrieve the dumbbell. Now mind you, I haven't move it forward nor have I changed anything since yesterday. My suspicion is that she was sending up warning flags for at least a week. All the slow to respond stuff she has been pulling and then the sudden decision that I was no longer going to be "allowed" to touch her ear.
Well it all came together today, in not one but two training sessions. Each session was pretty intense. First I got everything ready and then I went to adjust her chain collar, no problem. Next I started to lay my thumb next to her ear, problem. She protested. I said, okay just so long as you actually do as told. Put the dumbbell on the ground about 3 feet in front of her, removed my hand and said "fetch".
I get that sideways glint I have come to recognize as her way of saying, "go to *ell". That particular look is always followed by her NOT doing something she has been told to do or by her DOING something she knows she is not supposed to do. Anyway, I get the glint and she promptly turns her head away in the classic "I don't see it, so I don't have to do it" move. BAM! I am on not one but both ears and she is taking me to the dumbbell at top speed. The pick up is fast and clean and the return is good. For the next five tries she pulls the very same stunt. Then on the sixth try she is lunging for the dumbbell almost before I can get my hand away. Two good retrieves with good returns and we quit for the morning.
Along about mid-day the she works better than any of the others when it comes to doing sits/downs/recalls/place commands. I almost get the feeling she is showing off to them since she is the youngest by several months. (The others in this case being Zeus and Jersey.) Since I am back to working alone, I find it much easier to work all three at the same time when doing the "yard work" part of the training.
Evening and we revisit the retrieve again. Again, it is a repeat of the morning session. I think it is interesting that she has chosen the retrieve as her challenge exercise. It almost seems she must have read a book on growth and development cause she started with the challenges at six months of age.
Well it all came together today, in not one but two training sessions. Each session was pretty intense. First I got everything ready and then I went to adjust her chain collar, no problem. Next I started to lay my thumb next to her ear, problem. She protested. I said, okay just so long as you actually do as told. Put the dumbbell on the ground about 3 feet in front of her, removed my hand and said "fetch".
I get that sideways glint I have come to recognize as her way of saying, "go to *ell". That particular look is always followed by her NOT doing something she has been told to do or by her DOING something she knows she is not supposed to do. Anyway, I get the glint and she promptly turns her head away in the classic "I don't see it, so I don't have to do it" move. BAM! I am on not one but both ears and she is taking me to the dumbbell at top speed. The pick up is fast and clean and the return is good. For the next five tries she pulls the very same stunt. Then on the sixth try she is lunging for the dumbbell almost before I can get my hand away. Two good retrieves with good returns and we quit for the morning.
Along about mid-day the she works better than any of the others when it comes to doing sits/downs/recalls/place commands. I almost get the feeling she is showing off to them since she is the youngest by several months. (The others in this case being Zeus and Jersey.) Since I am back to working alone, I find it much easier to work all three at the same time when doing the "yard work" part of the training.
Evening and we revisit the retrieve again. Again, it is a repeat of the morning session. I think it is interesting that she has chosen the retrieve as her challenge exercise. It almost seems she must have read a book on growth and development cause she started with the challenges at six months of age.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Day 103
Had Sanity, Jersey and Zeus all doing random sits around the yard today. Sanity is finally getting the idea and has started sitting as soon as she hears the command. She was taking the sit command from distances of up to 30 feet. The trick now is going to be to convince her that she has to hold that sit for more than 3 seconds. She sure does respond well to competition from other dogs. I got the feeling she felt she just had to be the first one to sit each time. Sure was proud of herself.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Day 102
Sometime during the night last night I woke up to realize I was having my head slowly pushed right out of the bed. NOT. So I just pushed the pillows out of the way and used the very warm body that was causing the problem as my pillow. Interestingly enough, she didn't seem to mind at all. That really is a first for me. I have never had a dog that was willing to act as a pillow for any length of time and there she was, still being a pillow when it was time to get up.
This Monday Sanity started demonstrating how to begin jump training. Somehow I hardly think that a dozen times over an 8" jump when I say so is going to be overdoing things. Not after watching her sail over the newly raised gate at the bottom of the ramp. The old gate gave up the ghost last week and so I had a new one put in. The original gate was 26" high. The new gate is 26" high on the bottom half and with the addition of a top half the combined height is now 36". The entire reason for the addition was to slow down/stop the Doberman Gang from constantly charging up and down the ramp. HA! While it has put a stop to all the other adult dogs hopping the gate whenever they thought I wasn't looking, it seems to have only incited the Dobermans to greater feats of jumping and Sanity is right there in the lead most of the time. What is really getting me is that she isn't jumping to the top of the gate and then pushing off. Oh no, she is jumping it with at least a couple of inches to spare. I suppose I should worry at least a little bit, but that gate will be coming down for the winter in just a few more weeks anyway.
If I am to worry about anything I think I will worry about how many times I have seen her take a spill while playing on the mulch pile. Some days I despair for her rear legs. At six months she sure is a gawky, coltish pup and sometimes seems to forget she has to be responsible for more than just her front legs.
Meanwhile, evening and the last class of the day was a chance to work on the retrieve from the ground some more. I really must get busy and seek out some stronger distractions, cause she sure is slow on her return. Going out is fine, strong and brisk, it is just that there is the hesitation between the time she puts her mouth on the dumbbell, picks it up and then starts her return. So thinking cap time were distractions are concerned. Think I will start using food distractions for the time being.
This Monday Sanity started demonstrating how to begin jump training. Somehow I hardly think that a dozen times over an 8" jump when I say so is going to be overdoing things. Not after watching her sail over the newly raised gate at the bottom of the ramp. The old gate gave up the ghost last week and so I had a new one put in. The original gate was 26" high. The new gate is 26" high on the bottom half and with the addition of a top half the combined height is now 36". The entire reason for the addition was to slow down/stop the Doberman Gang from constantly charging up and down the ramp. HA! While it has put a stop to all the other adult dogs hopping the gate whenever they thought I wasn't looking, it seems to have only incited the Dobermans to greater feats of jumping and Sanity is right there in the lead most of the time. What is really getting me is that she isn't jumping to the top of the gate and then pushing off. Oh no, she is jumping it with at least a couple of inches to spare. I suppose I should worry at least a little bit, but that gate will be coming down for the winter in just a few more weeks anyway.
If I am to worry about anything I think I will worry about how many times I have seen her take a spill while playing on the mulch pile. Some days I despair for her rear legs. At six months she sure is a gawky, coltish pup and sometimes seems to forget she has to be responsible for more than just her front legs.
Meanwhile, evening and the last class of the day was a chance to work on the retrieve from the ground some more. I really must get busy and seek out some stronger distractions, cause she sure is slow on her return. Going out is fine, strong and brisk, it is just that there is the hesitation between the time she puts her mouth on the dumbbell, picks it up and then starts her return. So thinking cap time were distractions are concerned. Think I will start using food distractions for the time being.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Day 101
Sunday and I was determined to rest. Problem being that Sanity just didn't quite see it my way.
So, here I am resting in my recliner and I hear a very suspicious noise coming from the kitchen part of the house. Make myself get up and go check. Nothing wrong in the kitchen, HOWEVER...
In the little room off the kitchen where all the dog food is kept movement catches my eye. As I move through the kitchen headed for the "food" room a red streak shoots past me. Reaching out to grab I miss and the chase is on. Seems this particular red streak is carrying a small plastic bag in her mouth and not much interested in sharing. Cornered, caught and the plastic bag grudgingly given up, I head back to the food room to see if I can figure out just where, what, how, why. You know, all those important questions.
The boarding dogs mostly show up here with their own overnight bags that have their food as well as other necessities. I don't know if I simply forgot to zip up the bag in question or not, but on the floor lay a black backpack. Unzipped and wide open complete with plastic bags of food spread all over the place. Now mind you, zipped or not that back pack was up on the table and to reach it Sanity had to have climbed up onto a chair and then snagged it. GRRRRR.
Mess cleaned up and then the door got gated shut. Back to my recliner, where I no more than begin to doze off when I hear another crash. This time from the office. Back up and into the office I head only to find that just about everything on the right hand side of my very messy desk is now on the floor and inSanity is calmly plucking one tissue after another out of the tissue box. OUT! OUT! GET OUT OF HERE! With that I threw open the door and chased her outside.
Cleaned up the mess in the office only to realize there is way too much quiet outside. Check on all the dogs to discover that inSanity is leading the pack in a major dig fest not in the mulch pile but in the dirt between the pavement and the flower garden fence. I'm beginning to dream up unusual punishments as I realize that by the time I have managed to put all the dirt back I would really have been better off to have just worked for an hour or so to begin with. And so, dirt replaced out comes the dumbbell and we worked on retrieving from the ground around distractions to be followed by about 15 minutes devoted to random sits. That finally made her feel better and I actually was allowed to rest. Of course, by that time the day was pretty much over anyway.
Last thought for right now. If and I do mean if she should manage to live to see her first birthday, she really will be an awesome dog.
So, here I am resting in my recliner and I hear a very suspicious noise coming from the kitchen part of the house. Make myself get up and go check. Nothing wrong in the kitchen, HOWEVER...
In the little room off the kitchen where all the dog food is kept movement catches my eye. As I move through the kitchen headed for the "food" room a red streak shoots past me. Reaching out to grab I miss and the chase is on. Seems this particular red streak is carrying a small plastic bag in her mouth and not much interested in sharing. Cornered, caught and the plastic bag grudgingly given up, I head back to the food room to see if I can figure out just where, what, how, why. You know, all those important questions.
The boarding dogs mostly show up here with their own overnight bags that have their food as well as other necessities. I don't know if I simply forgot to zip up the bag in question or not, but on the floor lay a black backpack. Unzipped and wide open complete with plastic bags of food spread all over the place. Now mind you, zipped or not that back pack was up on the table and to reach it Sanity had to have climbed up onto a chair and then snagged it. GRRRRR.
Mess cleaned up and then the door got gated shut. Back to my recliner, where I no more than begin to doze off when I hear another crash. This time from the office. Back up and into the office I head only to find that just about everything on the right hand side of my very messy desk is now on the floor and inSanity is calmly plucking one tissue after another out of the tissue box. OUT! OUT! GET OUT OF HERE! With that I threw open the door and chased her outside.
Cleaned up the mess in the office only to realize there is way too much quiet outside. Check on all the dogs to discover that inSanity is leading the pack in a major dig fest not in the mulch pile but in the dirt between the pavement and the flower garden fence. I'm beginning to dream up unusual punishments as I realize that by the time I have managed to put all the dirt back I would really have been better off to have just worked for an hour or so to begin with. And so, dirt replaced out comes the dumbbell and we worked on retrieving from the ground around distractions to be followed by about 15 minutes devoted to random sits. That finally made her feel better and I actually was allowed to rest. Of course, by that time the day was pretty much over anyway.
Last thought for right now. If and I do mean if she should manage to live to see her first birthday, she really will be an awesome dog.
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