Heart Like a Dog

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

No Dogs On the Bed – Throw Back Thursday

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It’s hard to believe, but when this little pumpkin first came home, Hubby said, “No dogs on the bed. He has a crate, he can sleep in there.”

From the minute I snuggled him, he and I set out to break that rule. What can I say? We like to dance to our own drum.

Sampson Stone, three weeks old.

Three-week-old Sampson Stone. Can you stand the cuteness?

While I think crate training is an amazing tool to help teach dogs the house rules, I hated having him in the crate at night. When he first came home and didn’t know where he was supposed to pee, he HAD to be in the crate when we weren’t there to supervise. I worked full-time, and was gone from the house 8 hours a day, and so it seemed cruel to put him in the crate for 6 or 7 hours at night.

Like a ball and a blank can replace a nice, warm Mama. What the actual woof?

I started staying up late. I’d fall asleep on the couch and then I’d wake up at 12:00 or 1:00 and put him in the crate.

Then I coaxed Hubby into letting him snuggle with me in the mornings after Hubby got up to get ready for work.

Thankfully, Hubby started work super early, so he left the house around 5:00 – 5:30. This meant he got up at 3:30.

Now I had Sampson’s overnight time in the crate down to about 3 1/2 hours.

This went on for about a year. Then, as it happened, our daughter was getting married in Florida, and of course, we all went.

When we drive long trips, we like to start late at night, early in the morning. As I recall, we left about 1:00 am.  Sampson was all cuddled up in the back seat snoozing and then the cutest thing happened.

3:30 rolled around, and just like clock work, my little puppy crept his way to the front and laid his head on my arm that was resting on the armrest. He knew it was cuddle time.

We had rented a house for our daughter’s wedding, because we were there for the week before and the week after, and had a lot of last minute items to attend to.

Since we weren’t in OUR bed, I convinced Hubby to let Sampson sleep in the bed WITH us.

Now it’s a lonely night for me, when Sampson chooses to sleep somewhere else.

I will take as much of this as I can get.

T

 

There’s No Dog, Like An Old Dog – Throwback Thursday

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One of the things I love most about Throwback Thursday is looking back and seeing how much progress we’ve made over the years.

The funny (strange, sad) thing is how well I actually remember this particular training incident. At the time I had just started trying to use the clicker for training purposes. To say Delilah was excited about this, is an understatement. 

This was originally posted on August 31, 2016 and titled “Let Me Show You How It’s Done…Day Two Hundred, Sixty Five.”

We are back to clicking for treats again.  Since I didn’t find the time to finish the book and we haven’t gotten to the ‘stays’, I decided to try to teach Delilah the ‘high-five’ command.

To start with I am trying to get Delilah to look at my hand, if she does then I click and treat.  I will eventually work her up to ‘high-fiveing’ my hand with her paw.

We started out on the edge of the kitchen which is normally where I want her to stay when I am working in there.  I had the container of green beans on the counter, a handful of green beans and the clicker in my left hand and I had my right hand palm open at about chest level.  Remember my goal here is to get her to look at my right hand.

Sampson meanwhile was lying on the floor waiting for his turn.

When you are trying to ‘shape’ a new behavior, initially you will click and treat for the slightest acknowledgement (meaning if she even shifts her eyes to my right hand I will click and treat.)  Delilah was so focused on my left hand with the food, that she was having trouble even glancing at my right hand.

I decided a change in tactic was necessary, I moved my right hand down to waist level and wiggled my fingers to try to direct her attention.  She remained focused on my left hand.

At this point Sampson decided to take over the training, he sat up and high-fived my hand with his left paw; as if to say, “This is what she wants you to do, watch and learn girl.”

“Good Boy!” Click and treat.

Then the lightbulb came on in Delilah’s brain and she went immediately to raising her paw and tapping my hand.

There is no better teacher than an old dog. 🙂

This is how it’s done Delilah. And who you calling an old dog, Mama?

There is no dog like an old dog, especially when it comes to teaching another dog.

Thankfully Delilah has gotten used to training with food, so I can usually focus her now without that intensive stare. In fact, we are working on a new command that I hope to share with you soon. Have you ever had a dog that was so focused on the food that they couldn’t work on the trick?

Creatures of Habit – Throwback Thursday

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This Throwback Thursday I thought I’d go back to August of 2011. At that time I’d been blogging for just over 8 months.

Interesting note, there were still no SEO words. LOL

Dogs are such creatures of habit.

Every night around 9:00 pm, hubby and I have a snack.  We extended this habit to Sampson and to Delilah when she joined our pack.

It immediately became clear that the dogs must be separated when treats were around.  I handed Sampson his treat and Delilah hers.  Delilah swallowed hers and then took Sampson’s right out of his mouth.  He and I both stood there for a second in complete and utter shock.  Then I walked over to Delilah and wrestled the treat from her mouth and handed it back to Sampson.

This did not phase Delilah in the least, she went right back to Sampson and again took the treat from his mouth.  I was furious and determined.  I went right back to Delilah and re-wrestled her for the treat.  At which point I grabbed her collar to prevent her from repeating her faux paw.

In retrospect, I realize how ignorant I was to 1) assume that she would act the same way Sampson did and 2) take for granted that she wouldn’t bite my hand off for taking food away from her.

Sampson was the dog I nurtured from puppyhood.  I wanted to make sure he was raised in the appropriate way, we always hand fed him, we played with him and his treats, we played with his feet all to make sure he was a well-natured, well-mannered dog.  In my naiveness it never dawned on me that all dogs are not raised by responsible pet owners.

Delilah was my first-hand experience of a dog that didn’t have a caring owner.

Flash forward to present day.

I am reminded beginning about 8:45 pm by Delilah that snack time is approaching.  She does this by walking up to me and staring at me; sometimes she barks, but I stand my ground!  Not a moment before 9:00, because if I do then she will expect it and before I know it, snack time will be before dinner. 🙂

The Lab Death Stare, not to be confused with the Death Star.

The Lab Death Stare, not to be confused with the Death Star.

 

Delilah thinks she’s won the lottery at snack time, she runs to the pantry, jumping and leaping for joy, almost tripping you or knocking you down to win the prize.  This happens every single night.

Most nights I give Sampson his treat first and he runs off to the bedroom, snack in mouth.  If for some reason the bedroom door is shut, then he comes back and looks at me and I go and open the door for him.

Delilah runs into the living room with her treat and inhales there.  Once she has finished her treat she goes into the bedroom and waits for Sampson to move so she can inspect the bed for crumbs and clean up after him like the good mama dog that she is.

Last night Sampson headed off for the bedroom and then turned around and came back.  Hubby said, “What’s the matter big boy?”

Labrador's treat looks like cigar

And it dawned on me, the cat was on the bed.  If the cat is on the bed before him, Sampson will NOT get on the bed.  If Bob jumps up on the bed while Sampson is sleeping, then it is ok but not vice versa.

I reminded Sampson he is a 90 pound dog and Bob weighs 10 pounds dripping wet as I walked past him into the bedroom.  Luckily Bob was already on his way out to see what all the fuss was about.

Silly dog.

I love that photo of Sampson, it makes me think of someone with a cigar in their mouth.

Throwback Thursday. It’s a reminder that the more things change, the more things stay the same. 🙂

Delilah STILL practices the Lab Death Stare. Although, now she can make it until almost 9:30. 😉

 

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