Smart Dog

Fits Like A Glove

Sometimes things are just right. Everything falls into place. Nothing's a struggle. 

Caysun fits into our household, into our lives, like she's always been here. Only a couple other dogs have fit so well: Rocky, our very first service dog; and Ivy, Lily's sister who stayed with us when we did a "puppy swap" to give her some more out & about exposure. 

We've had a lot of dogs. I think Caysun's the 11th dog to come through and when it's right, you know it. 

Ike, the Labrador we just turned back over to Hero Dogs for his final training, was a fun-loving and happy dog, but he wasn't the best fit for us. Funny thing is, we didn't realize how much he didn't fit until after he was gone. The week after he left, it was like all our dogs sort of came back to life again. Lily and Nemo played! It had been over a year since Lily and Nemo played together. We didn't notice it because Ike was always in the middle, always deflecting play between the other dogs to himself. He was the main player. If you were going to play in this household, you were going to play with him. He made sure of it. 

With Baby Caysun, the feel is so right. She's not over-the-top, in fact she's the most appropriate puppy I've raised in a long, long time. By appropriate, I mean that she's not bossy, she's not too, she always has the "right answer" to whatever situation she finds herself in. Maybe an example will clarify.

Nemo is used to playing with large, exuberant adolescent males. Talos and Ikey were his playmates for the past two years. You have to be rough and ready if those are your playmates! Naturally, now that Caysun's getting bigger, Nemo's trying his "big dog" play maneuvers with her. She can hang for quite awhile, but sooner or later, Nemo takes it up a notch too far for Caysun. She finds the closest object under which she can scoot herself, and waits out the playstorm. Nemo quickly realizes he's chased away his playmate, lays on the ground (or floor), and re-invites Caysun to play. As soon as she sees that invitation, she leaps out from under her hidey-hole and lands on Nemo's head. That's appropriate: she's not a scaredy, she just knows when the play's gotten a bit more rowdy than she can handle. And she comes right back when the play is reined in. It's nice. 

Another example of Caysun's appropriateness (or dog-savviness). I've described Lily, our almost 10-year old Labrador, as a librarian with her hair up in a super-tight bun. She's very matter-of-fact: no silliness, no foolishness. She colors inside the lines. And she'd like that you do the same, thank you very much. There was just one dog in Lily's 10 years that has been able to get Lily to really let her hair down (Rocky, who helped raise Lily from the moment we brought her home). We can add Caysun to that very short list. I've watched Caysun daintily approach Lily and very softly grab at her ears. She'll watch Lily's reaction to gauge which move to go to next: grab a little harder or move toward Lily's tail. If Lily gives her a "go away, kid, you bother me" look, Caysun heads toward the tail. If Lily merely ignores her, that means grab the ear harder. (Ignoring is Lily's way of saying "maybe I'll play with you; ask me again.")

I remember cringing the first few times I saw Caysun try to entice Lily to play. Lily plays about twice a year, and then for only about 10-minutes before she regains control, smooths her hair, and regains her librarian persona. I figured Caysun had to learn, and there's no better teacher than Lily - she's firm, appropriate, and there's no way to misunderstand her! Imagine my surprise when (1) Lily ignored Caysun (she normally cuts off any invitations immediately) and then (2) when I saw Lily's ears come forward and get "that look" in her eyes. I yelled to my husband to come and look, that's how surprised I was. And giddy.

I've even seen Lily solicit play from Caysun! Now that's something!

What this all means is that I'm setting myself up for another heartbreak in about a year when Caysun's got to go back to Service Dogs of Virginia. <Sigh.> Such is the life of a puppy raiser.

Don't Have Food to Reward Your Dog? No Worries!

 Have you ever wanted to reward your dog for a job well done, but  didn't have food treats with you? Consider playing with your dog to  reinforce good behavior! Not everyone wants to spend life storing  food in pockets. (Have you ever found a pocket full of food after it  has gone through the laundry? It’s not pretty, I can tell you that!)

 Instead of being a slave to food treats in my pocket, I introduce my  dogs to “real-life rewards.” Occasionally, play takes the place of food  as payment for a job well done. My dogs find the opportunity to chase  a ball, to chase me, or to have me chase them even more fun—and  unexpected—than food.

  Dogs, like humans, play long after they have “grown up.” I think     that’s one of the many reasons we get along so well with our canine  friends. Play is just as much fun for us as it is for our dogs. Just the  one-on-one attention your dog gets from you during a play session  can be as reinforcing as the play itself—and can contribute to a strong  relationship between you and your dog.

Read the entire article on Karen Pryor's Clickertraining.com.

 

My Escape

It's no secret that Tango's my favorite. Over any other dog. (Talos runs a very close second.) I'd rather spend time with him, or travel with him, or work with him, or just hang with him. So when opportunity came callin', Tango and I went running straight for it!

An entire weekend away. Together. Alone. Without any other dogs. It's been a long, long time. I realize I might sound a bit odd: "escaping with my dog," "time together alone." I'm not maladjusted, I DO love my husband just as much as I love my dogs, I'm not a crazy-lady. 

However.

Tango and I have this special thing. We're cool just hanging out together. He enjoys hanging out with just me as much as I enjoy hanging out with just him. We're sympatico.

[How do I know this? That he loves it as much as I, you wonder? Easy. He's a different dog when we're together alone. He smiles more, I swear! He's got a pep in his step, he'll frolick like a pup again. Take my word for it, the dog is happy!]

Anyway, we had the chance to escape last weekend, just the two of us. And we ran like the wind. Actually, we sat in the car for 7 hours, two of those hours stopped dead in traffic, but who's really counting...

Off we went to Karen Pryor Academy's first ever reunion! [KPAs Dog Trainer Programs is the flagship course for people who want to become dog trainers or who want to take their business to the next level.] Tango and I were the first group to graduate way back in 2008. KPA was great for Tango and I: it was a terrific excuse to work with him every day - we had exams to pass together, for goodness sake!

I love traveling the road with Tango. He's a master traveler - sleeps the entire way, quietly passing the time, and is ready to roll whenever the car stops. He'll pee just about anywhere (believe me this is a useful trait - you never know what the road will bring] and is happy just hanging out whether we're going at-speed or if we're stuck in a traffic jam.

He's easy-peasy at meetings and conferences, even when there are other dogs around. He solicits attention by flipping onto his back, rolling around, and grunting. Works like a charm. I usually slide from my chair onto the floor with him, egging him on. I'm telling you, we have fun together!

It wasn't all seminars and meetings. No way. Saturday night we had a grand time -- dogs and people -- at our host's house in southern NY state. And Sunday morning held a two-hour (pretty strenuous) hike that rewarded us with spectacular scenery and ice cold streams for Tango to cool his belly. 

It was just the getaway we needed. 

 

 

 

Former Friday: Talos Beats the Heat (video)

A little over a year ago, this is what we were doing on a hot Friday night...It's so hot right now, I thought this deserved to be posted again.

Talos hates the water - has hated it since he was a wee pup. It's been triple digits here in the Mid-Atlantic. The dogs don't even want to go outside until the sun goes down. We rigged up a cooling room for the dogs out under our only shade tree inside the fence. It's a garden hose on the "mist" setting.

Watch how 100+ degree weather changes a dog's mind...

 

K9 Nose Work: Catch the Craze!

K9 Nose Work ^TM is crazy fun. For you. For your dog. Wondering what K9 Nose Work is? I thought so. Take a look at this video to see some K9 Nose Work dogs in action! Smart Dog University has a new K9 Nose Work class scheduled to start August 3 (6:30p in Frederick, MD), if you think your dog would be interested. (Hint: You'll love it!)

   

Enough of Old Man Winter

Ok, I love snow as much as the next girl, but come on! This winter MUST end soon, lest I lose my mind!

Last year was different: there were back-to-back blizzards. Everyone enjoyed a solid week off work, we were all house-bound just long enough to really enjoy "roughing it."

But this winter's been nothing but cold. Not just cold, but F R E E Z I N G! And not very much snow. Just enough to make a mess of things and wreak havoc with the roads. 

My classes and Orientations have been cancelled more than they've been on schedule. My dogs all have sore paws from the ice and crusty snow. We're all just miserable. 

I've gotten creative to help ease the dogs' boredom (and to help restore my sanity). I've got three Labradors and a Hound/Dane cross. They want to do SOMETHING. Anything. Let's just do, do, do it, they say!

Yesterday I wrapped rawhides up in newspaper, then put them into cardboard boxes. The dogs had to shred the boxes and the newspaper to get to the goodie. Yeah, it makes a little bit of a mess, but clean up is easy. And it keeps the dogs busy for quite a while, allowing me to get some work done. 

Today we worked on Nose Work. The dogs each took their turns searching for food in cardboard boxes I scattered all over the kitchen. As they developed their scenting ability, I made the hides more difficult. The dogs seemed to enjoy the change of pace. 

And I'm now enjoying a couple hours of computer time, minus the shenanigans that four bored dogs can create if not exercised properly!

What things do you do to keep your dogs out of your hair and mentally/physically exercised?

Dogs Don't Grow Up

 So many puppy people ask: "When will this puppy calm down? He's crazy, I don't know if I can keep up with this pace!"

Here's the thing. They don't usually slow down 'til they're dead. That's the magic of a dog. They love to play at any age, they're ready to do whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it.

For the life of me, I can't imagine anything other than full-speed all the time. That's what makes a dog a dog.

I had the pleasure of watching 8-year old Tango chase 6-month old Ike around and around the house today. It's too cold to stay outside, so the dogs do their playing indoors. Sure, the house gets a little messy, but a little mess is worth all the smiles that result from watching an adult dog play with the same enthusiasm as the youngster.

 

The Odd Couple

We have three dogs who help us raise service dog pups. This is how it normally goes:

Tango, yellow Labrador, is the police officer - he keeps the pup in line. He doesn't tolerate a lot of silliness from the pups. He's the one I count on to put a silly, jump-on-your-head Labrador in his place.

Lily, black Labrador, is the school marm. There will be no funny business around here, mister. Life is serious. There isn't very much time or opportunity for play, says Lily. She also keeps a pretty tight paw on the pup.

Nemo, well, he's usually contributing to the delinquincy of the pup. He's the pal, the one who's always ready for a run around the yard, a game of tug, a wrestling match. He self-handicaps so the pup is always this close to winning. We call him the baby-sitter sometimes because he does such a good job of keeping the pup occupied that he (the pup) stays out of trouble.

When Ike showed up, he gravitated toward Tango. I cringed inwardly - neither Tango nor Ike would ultimately be happy with this choice, I thought. It would irritate Tango to have to continue to tell Ike off, and Ike wouldn't enjoy being told off. But Tango's a pretty good communicator - he gets his point across very well - so I let the two of them work it out.

Well, wouldn't you know: Tango seems to not only tolerate Ike, but Ike's actually gotten Tango to play with him! This is odd for a couple of reasons. (1) Tango doesn't play a whole lot. He retrieves. Retrieving is a one-dog sport. (2) Tango simply doesn't like puppies. At the risk of anthropomorphizing here, puppies make Tango wrinkle up his face in disgust. You can see it on his face, I swear.

Somehow, some way, Ike has broken through (or maybe it's broken down) Tango's wall. And it's not just about play, either. Ike crawls into Tango's bed and snuggles up with Tango. In the past, when a puppy has invaded Tango's space, I see the wrinkly, disgusted face on Tango right before he gets up in a huff and finds a different spot to rest.

Not this time. Not with Ike. I can't explain it, but I do have fun watching this new relationship unfold.

 

Teddy's Goof-Off Day

Don't let this silly face fool you. Teddy's a grass-churnin', rip-roarin', goof off fool! The dogs were home alone for a few hours today and were more than a little ready for some R + R in the backyard when I returned home.

I still had a lot of work to do when I got home, but I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and multi-task. I took my work outside with me and sat in the Adirondack chair under the shade tree.

Lily's idea of goofing off is to lay flat on her back and have her belly rubbed. Continuously.

Tango's idea of goofing off is retrieving the tennis ball. Continuously.

Nemo goofs off in a few different ways: he lopes around the yard blowing off some steam, he then rolls in the grass, kicking his feet to the sky, and then heads for the kiddie pool for a cool-down.

Teddy goofs off in a million ways, but his favorite goofing-off activities involve annoying Nemo.

It's been a long, tough week here at Smart Dog U - we're having a kitchen re-do. The past few days have found me and the four dogs sequestered in my office as the kitchen cabinets were installed. Lots of banging, noise, and dust.

So at the end of a very long week, the dogs had to blow off a little steam. Here's a quick look at that fun. (If you have a hard time seeing the entire width of the video, double click it and you can watch it direct from YouTube.)

 

The Trouble with Vacations

Not a lot of prose today. Just the cold, hard facts. It's really hard to come back after vacation. Especially a vacation with the dogs. A vacation the dogs enjoyed as much as we did.

Vacation for this family is spent lakeside. We love the water, we have dogs who love the water - it's perfect. Here's what I find so refreshing about a vacation, besides the fact that I'm away from the hustle and bustle of every day life:

No make up. No hairdo.

No clothes (we wear bathing suits all day, sweats in the evening).

The dogs come along to enjoy vacation with us.

We spend the entire vacation with the dogs, doing what we all love.

The dogs are TIRED at the end of every day. There's no better sleep than a deep, relaxing sleep. We both (dogs and people) get that at the end of every day on vacation.

We all eat a whole lot less because we're always at the dock, always moving.

We always see a few bald eagles. There's nothing more majestic than watching a soaring eagle from the dock!

Finding new places to explore.

Vacations are nice I guess, because they're, well, vacations! We heartlily enjoyed ours and are dreaming about the next trip to the lake!