Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Free Dog

By

Yesterday I wrote about the horrendous experience I had trying to get my dogs into the park amidst a crowd of people.

After being yanked across the road, we finally managed to make it into the park and I found my walking buddy.  We headed off down the paths that would keep us away from the field.

Delilah was close to me on her 15 foot leash, while Sampson and Brady were unleashed.

You can always tell when the dogs see someone or something, their ears perk up, they stiffen for a moment and then they’re gone.

We met a new friend on our Monday night walk, Flurry a seven month old yellow lab.  His dad was at the LaCrosse field and decided to check out the trails.  The dogs were all excited to meet each other and they wanted to play and run.

Oh and hump.  Brady kept trying to hump Flurry.

My friend suggested we take the dogs down in back where there was some area to run.  I wasn’t really sure where she was heading but I followed her anyway.   Down the cliffs to the little brook.

About a quarter of a way down in the middle of the picture, you can see the flat area she was talking about.

The area was relatively flat with some room to run, but there was lots and lots of small limbs and branches littering the area.  I couldn’t in good conscience let Delilah run through there dragging a 15 foot leash.

I let her go.

She did ok.  When she started to get too far away I’d say, “Delilah No!  This way,” and she would come running.  But then she crossed the brook and headed out on the trails leading into the park with little Flurry right behind her.

I had a panic attack and I know she could tell.  Duh! She could hear it in my voice, but after a few terrifying seconds she turned around and came back.

Then we headed for home.

Today I wanted to take them for their walk on my lunch in order to avoid the LaCrosse team.  It was raining but they don’t care and I throw a hat on so off we went.

We pulled up to the park and I noticed Hail on my windshield.  Yes you read that right, HAIL.

I figured no-one would be out in the rain so I said, screw it and took off her leash.

She did pretty awesome.

I leashed at the beginning of one trail, which is where one of the houses she likes to run off to is, but as soon as we were past the danger point, I took her off again.

Of course I never let her get too far away from me.   And yes, every time she checked back whether I asked her to or not, she got a treat.

And guess who walked out to the car next to her mother, without a leash.

See Mama, I can be a good girl.

She did very good today and I’m very proud of her.

Tomorrow is yet to be.

Book update: My book has 22,025 words.

Dog Training….Delilah Style

By

After last week’s fiasco where Delilah took off on me I vowed to find another way and I promised to share that with you.  Well here goes!

Many of you, so very many of you rallied to my support and offered suggestions and ideas for working with her.  There were so many awesome suggestions that I couldn’t pick just one….or two…or three.   Here’s what I came up with.

I really think Delilah is a very smart girl and as such I need to keep her interested.  I need to vary her walks and keep them interesting to her, so interesting that she can’t possibly leave me, because she might miss something.

In other words, our walks are going to be like going to Disney World….for dogs.

I put her on a 15 foot leash so she isn’t too far away from me.

I’m sure all of you positive dog trainers know the name for this game, but I’m calling it, “Oh you caught me.”

I play it this way, I wait until I have a loose leash (this can be a while because she is almost always at the end of her leash) and I place a few pieces of whatever is in my treat bag on a flat rock.  Most times she turns around and catches me in the act and I say, “Oh you caught me,” or “My you are quicker than I am.”

Sometimes I have to wait a minute and pretend that I’m just placing it, because she isn’t really paying attention. 🙂

Currently I have some ‘diet’ Blackwood chicken kibble and some beef jerky from Trader Joe’s in my treat bag.  I have to be sure and place the treats on a flat rock that doesn’t have moss, sticks, or rocks on it or for sure that crazy girl would inhale it all.

Sometimes I can’t get her to leave my side.  Not that I’m complaining, mind you.

I’ve been playing the “You caught me game” since last Saturday and decided yesterday to incorporate some other ideas into our walk.

First I had her sit while Sampson and I walked away from her.  My goal was to recall her to me, but as I walked out of her sight she came running to me.  I was actually excited by this, but since she didn’t ‘stay’ I brought her back and re-sat her and then walked away again and this time she did awesome.

I also played a little game of Kibble Catch with her.

I think the best thing would be for Delilah to have a job, and will be looking for some kind of training or class that she and I can participate in together, to help cement our bond.  I also intend on Thursday obedience class to be our thing, Hubby and Sampson will need to find something else to do.

I intend to get a harness for her and a doggie backpack, one day she can wear a harness, one day she can walk on long leash, one day she will wear a pack.  The key for Delilah is to not get too comfortable with any given thing.

When I first put her on the 30 foot leash, she became a model walker.  She rarely left the trails and stayed very close to me.  Once she became comfortable, she started exploring farther and farther away, and eventually started running off.

Oh and Dr. McConnell’s dvd came the other day, I hope to check that out this weekend. 🙂

Changing the topic really quickly, Mel Freer of No Dog About It Blog is a strong warrior fighting a battle against puppy mills.  Mel lives in Minnesota and you may or may not be aware but a bill is prepping for a house vote and Mel needs your support.  If you live in Minnesota, please visit Mel’s blog and follow the link to sign the petition.

If you don’t live in Minnesota, please visit Mel’s blog and re-post it on facebook, tweet it, stumble it, or consider adding a link to your blog.

Together we really can make a difference!!

Book update: My book has 19,083 words.

Too Much Socialization?

By

We socialized Sampson from the time he was 8 weeks old.  He went to puppy play group, beginner and intermediate obedience classes and then on to daycare twice a week.

We also socialized him with people and truth be told I can’t figure out if he loves other dogs or people more.   When he sees or hears another dog he must get to it.  But once he’s greeted the other dog, he hangs out with their person.

Today during our walk I heard a small dog, and it made me nervous, because I’ve seen a woman who walks two small dogs (I think they are Papillons) and she doesn’t pay attention.  My dogs wouldn’t intentionally hurt a small dog but as you know they are quite large and very enthusiastic. 🙂  I’m always afraid they’ll squish one during the greeting.

I don’t run with my nose to the ground so I usually see something well before the dogs.  Oh I can still miss things, but usually I see or hear it before they do.

Once I heard the small dog bark, I called Sampson over and clipped his leash on.  That’s when Sampson heard the small dog’s bark and tried to head in the direction from whence it came.

Two fools straining at the ends of their leashes.

Are your dogs like this?  Do you think there is such a thing as too much socialization?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...