Smart Dog

Transitions

We've been raising service dogs since 2001. That handsome dog on the left is the very first dog we raised: Rocky. He died earlier this year, sadly. He was loved by two families: ours and the family who needed him as a service dog. It was quite a life. 

We turned Ike in yesterday to Hero Dogs. He's now onto the second leg of his journey in becoming a service dog. He'll stay with Hero Dogs for another six months or so, receiving advanced training, then he'll go onto be paired with a service man or woman who needs Ike's assistance. 

At each turn-in, I think a lot about the dog, naturally. I wonder if we're doing right by the dogs. They didn't sign up to become service dogs. They don't know that when we leave them at the agency, their life changes immediately. It's not like we tell them as puppies "This is just temporary. Don't get used to it. There are big changes for you, buddy."

My husband tried to console me with the thought that NO DOG chooses his home, his people, his environment. Neither do horses. Or cows. Or any animal, really. And he's right. Of course he's right. Transitions are just tough, no matter how you frame them. 

It's a grand job, really, being a service dog. I think it's a much better life than the average pet dog has, to be honest. The service dog has a purpose. He's mentally stimulated every single day. He's more than loved, he's needed. He gets to go everywhere with his person. And that's pretty darn cool. 

But of course, I'm a little melancholy around turn-in time. It makes me want to invent a way to communicate with Caysun so I can tell her that we've got big things planned for her. That in another year, she, too, will move on from our house (and from our dogs) to a brand new life. 

But because I will fail in my quest to invent a new dog-human communication device, I will simply raise Caysun the best I can: give her lots of love, teach her to be flexible, and to enjoy change. 

Ike (left) excels at flexibility. That dog is happy anywhere there are people. Or dogs. Or birds. Or wind. Or food. Or...whatever. He'll be happy wherever he lands, as long as there's a friendly hand to pet him. 

We bid Ike farewell yesterday. We'll see him again - we've been invited to stop by Hero Dogs whenever we need an "Ikey fix." Which makes us feel good and soothes the sting of turn-in just a little bit. 

Like every other service dog we've raised, seeing Ike with his new partner will be the medicine that will cure this melancholy. Rock on, Ikey! We'll see you soon, Boggy Doggy!

Ike Goes to College

Sunday is turn-in day for Ikey. It's a day with mixed feelings. We're awfully proud of Ike and his accomplishments thus far - he's a smart boy with lots of potential. It can be a bummer of a day - we're losing Ikey! Life with Ikey as we know it will be over. Even when (if) he can visit us after he's paired with his person, it's never the same. He'll be a visitor, he'll be someone else's dog. 

Which is ok, of course. It's what we signed up for, isn't it? 

This turn-in will be a little different, though, as my husband will be the one missing Ikey the most. I like Ike, for sure. But my husband found something extra in Ike. I found Ike to be, more often than not, annoying. This dog is 200% Labrador. He's 0-60 in 0.03 seconds. There's no in-between for Ike. If something's going on, he's not just in the middle of it, he's instigating it. 

When the dogs line up at the door to go outside, Ike pushes his way to the front. There could be a dragon in the backyard, but by god, Ike's going to get out there and get eaten first.

It took Ike forever to learn that Tango's tennis ball was Tango's. Ike was free to get any other tennis ball anywhere in the house or in the yard, as long as it wasn't the one Tango was playing with. If Tango had it, Ike wanted it. Ike would body-slam Tango, hard, when going for the ball. Ike doesn't do things halfway, even chasing a tennis ball. He was going to be first to get it, no matter if he had to push the polite senior dog outta the way to do it. The dog drove me a little crazy, I'm not afraid to admit. 

The most egregious lapse of dog-dog manners happened earlier this week. The UPS truck was in the driveway and all the dogs were at the door, waiting for me to let them out. The UPS guy always tosses dog treats over the fence if he sees the dogs, therefore, everyone's in a hurry to get out. I let them out and, of course, Ike's leading the group. In his excitement, he jumps on Lily, our almost 11-year old little black Labrador, and I hear her cry out. I jumped out onto the porch to find Lily upside down with Ike using her belly as traction to get to the fence faster. I shouted his name and the look he had on his face as I caught him mid-stride showed nothing but "Yahoo!" Not cool, Ike, not cool at all. 

He's been a terrific puppy sitter, playmate, and raiser for little Caysun, though. As much as he's annoyed me with my other dogs, he's been a complete gem with her. He allows her to abuse him to the same degree that he abuses the older dogs here in the house. It's really quite charming as he self-handicaps and lets her beat him most of the time. 

One more dog will be on his way to greatness tomorrow. This time it's Ike. His transition will be an easy one, I think, as Ike gets along anywhere with anyone at anytime. He doesn't know what the word "stranger" means. 

Yes, even though he annoys me sometimes, there will probably be tears at turn-in. It's not really  the end of an era, but it feels like it everytime we turn another dog in. 

Ike Goes to College

Sunday is turn-in day for Ikey. It's a day with mixed feelings. We're awfully proud of Ike and his accomplishments thus far - he's a smart boy with lots of potential. It can be a bummer of a day - we're losing Ikey! Life with Ikey as we know it will be over. Even when (if) he can visit us after he's paired with his person, it's never the same. He'll be a visitor, he'll be someone else's dog. 

Which is ok, of course. It's what we signed up for, isn't it? 

This turn-in will be a little different, though, as my husband will be the one missing Ikey the most. I like Ike, for sure. But my husband found something extra in Ike. I found Ike to be, more often than not, annoying. This dog is 200% Labrador. He's 0-60 in 0.03 seconds. There's no in-between for Ike. If something's going on, he's not just in the middle of it, he's instigating it. 

When the dogs line up at the door to go outside, Ike pushes his way to the front. There could be a dragon in the backyard, but by god, Ike's going to get out there and get eaten first.

It took Ike forever to learn that Tango's tennis ball was Tango's. Ike was free to get any other tennis ball anywhere in the house or in the yard, as long as it wasn't the one Tango was playing with. If Tango had it, Ike wanted it. Ike would body-slam Tango, hard, when going for the ball. Ike doesn't do things halfway, even chasing a tennis ball. He was going to be first to get it, no matter if he had to push the polite senior dog outta the way to do it. The dog drove me a little crazy, I'm not afraid to admit. 

The most egregious lapse of dog-dog manners happened earlier this week. The UPS truck was in the driveway and all the dogs were at the door, waiting for me to let them out. The UPS guy always tosses dog treats over the fence if he sees the dogs, therefore, everyone's in a hurry to get out. I let them out and, of course, Ike's leading the group. In his excitement, he jumps on Lily, our almost 11-year old little black Labrador, and I hear her cry out. I jumped out onto the porch to find Lily upside down with Ike using her belly as traction to get to the fence faster. I shouted his name and the look he had on his face as I caught him mid-stride showed nothing but "Yahoo!" Not cool, Ike, not cool at all. 

He's been a terrific puppy sitter, playmate, and raiser for little Caysun, though. As much as he's annoyed me with my other dogs, he's been a complete gem with her. He allows her to abuse him to the same degree that he abuses the older dogs here in the house. It's really quite charming as he self-handicaps and lets her beat him most of the time. 

One more dog will be on his way to greatness tomorrow. This time it's Ike. His transition will be an easy one, I think, as Ike gets along anywhere with anyone at anytime. He doesn't know what the word "stranger" means. 

Yes, even though he annoys me sometimes, there will probably be tears at turn-in. It's not really  the end of an era, but it feels like it everytime we turn another dog in. 

Caysun-less

I just spent 6+ hours on the road (round trip to Charlottesville, VA) to drop my little Caysun off at Service Dogs of Virginia.

Let me rephrase that: ...to drop Service Dogs of Virginia's (SDV) Caysun off... She's not my puppy, she's not my puppy, she's not my puppy, she's not....

Oh, it's tough. She'll only be there for a week. SDV is taking the whole lot of puppies (Caysun, Gorgonzola, Brie, and Colby) to get x-rays of their hips (PennHIP to be exact). It's important that service dogs be healthy -- PennHIP can find hip displasia problems early enough to be corrected.

Anyway, we'll be Caysun-less ALL WEEK. I'm not sure I can bear it! This is exactly when I know whether a puppy will be hard to give up. Yes, Caysun will be hard to give up. 

Talos, the Great Dane, was the last service dog I had BIG feelings for. And he was just about impossible to give up. (The same feelings I have for Caysun at 15 weeks, I had for Talos before he even arrived. Yes, it was THAT bad.) I didn't get attached to Teddy, the Golden pup, the pup after Talos, and while I will cry when Ike gets turned in (next weekend!) I'll be ok. 

Oooh, but Caysun? Hmmm...I think she's going to be trouble. In more ways than one. ;) 

Teaching Caysun "Mat" and "Kennel" (Video)

I've been videotaping a lot of Caysun's training, but haven't put very much of it up. Alas, travel and business make it hard to get something edited and posted...But I've finally gotten some video of some early training.

You'll see Caysun learning to listen to what I'm saying (to my cues). Teaching a dog to listen to what you need them to do (1) saves you some time, (2) saves the dog from guessing, and (3) makes it really easy for the dog to figure out how exactly to earn the reinforcement. In plain language: it makes it easier on your dog to figure out what you want him to do!

Apologies for the sound quality; it's hard to train, click, treat, AND video at the same time. Ah, the life of an entrepreneur! 

 

Do You Micromanage Your Dog?

You know how I got all five of those dogs in that picture to sit and stay? I micromanaged them. All of them. And I was quick with my shutter finger, too. That helped. A lot. 

I confess, I am a micromanager. But only of the younger dogs. 

I realized it today when I was directing who could go to the water bowl and when. I felt guilty at first, with my self-awarded Micromanager title, but that guilt lasted only 2 seconds before I was back to micromanaging. 

This was the situation: I had put fresh water (scrubbed the bowl, added a giant cup of ice cubes, then fresh, cold water) down for the dogs and Tango had just begun to drink when Caysun sauntered up. Tango avoids conflict and will leave the water bowl if another dog approaches, especially a puppy. Because I don't want Caysun to (1) make Tango leave and (2) realize that her approach can move a dog, I simply diverted her attention (so easy to do to a 4 month old puppy, thank goodness), and Tango could finish his drink. 

Just now, as I was typing this piece, Caysun and Ike were playing next to the dog bed where Lily was sleeping. They have the entire house in which to play. They didn't need to be there, half-in half-out, of the bed Lily was relaxing in. So I asked them to beat it, to get out of there, and to find another spot to play. They did and Lily got to stay in the bed. She would have left, though, if those two younger dogs had fooled around much longer. 

That's the tough thing about my older dogs -- they sometimes take too much from the young upstarts. It's so much easier for them to get out of the way, to move to where the young ones aren't. So, I become Micromanager; sounds a little bit like a superhero! I keep the "kids" in line and let the older dogs have some peace and quiet. 

Are you a micromanager? Leave a comment and let me know if you are, and why or how you do (or don't) do it. 

 

Freshpet: Good (and Convenient) Food for Dogs

I got a chance to try a bunch of new dog food and dog snacks last week.Let me say right up front that I'm a little bit of a dog-food-snob. I try hard to learn as much as I can about dog food: how it's made, what goes into it, etc. 

My dogs eat better than I do, truth be told. All of them are supplemented in one way or another, those supplements tailored to their age or specific health issues. 

Lily, the pretty little grey-faced Labrador on the left, has allergies to beef and grains (corn, wheat, and the like). We buy a specific food that is grain-free and she's on an over-the-counter antihistamine everyday, as well as a complex of fish oils, Omegas, etc. 

Anyway, I got a cooler full of refrigerated dog treats the other day and was pretty skeptical at first. I'm skeptical of almost all commercial dog treats - usually they're a whole lot of grains, a whole lot of fillers, and a whole lot of preservatives. All things I don't want to put into my dog. 

I'll keep this short and to-the-point. Here are the vitals:

Who: Freshpet
What: Dog treats and dog food

I liked:

• the packaging - nine (I counted) freez-paks in a cooler, shipped overnight (not cheap!)
• the ingredients - in the Vital line, for instance, here is the ingredient list (no grains!): Chicken, Chicken Liver, Cranberries, Beef, Salmon, Eggs, Spinach, Vinegar, Peas, Natural Flavors, Carrageenan, Salt, Caramel Color, Inulin, Pomegranate, Broccoli. You can actually SEE the shredded chicken, the cranberries, and the spinach! It's actually identifiable (I think that's pretty amazing...)
• the variety - In addition to the Vital line above, I also found the Dognation line impressive. The ONLY ingredient in the Sweet Potato Chews...sweet potatoes! Amazing! 
• the palatibility - my dogs LOVED this stuff! 
• the uses - I create a lot of food-stuffed toys for my dogs to help keep them busy and their minds active. Freshpet has so many different types of food and treats, I can find something that will work with whatever food toy I'm using that day. 
• the absence of preservatives - these treats must be refrigerated. Which may seem like a hassle (it's not), but that lack of preservatives makes me a whole lot happier about feeding Freshpet to my dogs. I want as little un-natural stuff in them as possible.
• convenience and availability - I can get this  from my local grocery store. Normally, grocery store dog food is an automatic "NO!" in my book -- the quality is just too low, usually. Those grocery store dog foods are usually loaded with wheat and corn and the dreaded by-products. Not here -- just the opposite, actually. What a (happy) surprise! 

I'm adding Freshpet to my fridge. I will use it for both my own dogs, as well as my client's dogs. Whether you have a really food-motivated Labrador (like I do), or you've got a finicky, picky eater, these Freshpet foods and treats will get your dog's attention. And that's where the training begins! Happy, eager dogs + delish treats = easy and fast training! 

**Freshpet sent me the food samples free of charge. These remarks are entirely my opinion -- I wasn't paid to write this review.**