We're watching Wiggum this weekend. He's a big labrador/Newfoundland (?) mix. Today after work I decided to take them both out for a long walk. I figured maybe I could wear them out and I would have some peace this evening. We walked, we peed on every bush and tree, we ate grass... We did wind sprints up and down a steep hill... We ran down a gigantic hill in a power easement, and explored the woods. We saw at least 5 deer. Then we ran back up the gigantic hill and watched the sun setting from the top. It seemed like they were getting tired, so we walked back home. I had dreams of worn out doggies dancing through my head, but after a slurp of water we were right back to wrastlin'.
I had a hard time clicking with two leashes to handle, so Mato pulled more than I would have liked. But he did do an okay job of paying attention to me given Wiggum's presence and all the other dogs (and deer!) we ran into.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Distractions Abound
On the menu for class tonight: steak and Natural Balance Turkey sausage bits.
Added Bonus: Mato's Favorite Human is joining us for class for the first time. Nothing could be a bigger distraction than his favorite-est person. I'm hoping he's able to work past the distraction, and that Brian enjoys class, too.
And... we're going to be dogsitting for Brian's parents' dog, Wiggum, starting tonight. Should be lots of fun on the horizon for Mato!
Off to class, wish us luck!
Added Bonus: Mato's Favorite Human is joining us for class for the first time. Nothing could be a bigger distraction than his favorite-est person. I'm hoping he's able to work past the distraction, and that Brian enjoys class, too.
And... we're going to be dogsitting for Brian's parents' dog, Wiggum, starting tonight. Should be lots of fun on the horizon for Mato!
Off to class, wish us luck!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Condo for Rent
Tonight we had a great class at Rowdy Rovers. On the menu were leftover prime rib (thanks to my mother in law) and Natural Balance turkey "sausage." I was in a rush to get out the door, so I forgot to grab the clicker I had used on our walk earlier. So I went to class clickerless, and had to borrow one (such a bad dog mom). Mato has been looking forward to class, and was quite excited that it was Thursday again.
Tonight we only had three dogs; Mato, the German Shepherd and a little dog I hadn't seen before. I think the little dog was new, so he stayed in his condo. That left Mato and the Shepherd to use the rest of the area. We were up front, and he was way in the back. Brilliantly, the staff had set up almost all of the barriers as our condo, layered three deep so that Mato couldn't peek.
But it turned out we were barely in our condo tonight. We were out and about, walking around, sitting, laying down, rolling over, sitting in chairs, finding treats on the floor, and sitting on rugs. (My recent "Ruggie!" command came in quite handy for sitting on the rug - Mato has had muddy feet lately when I bring him inside, so I had him sit on the rug by the door so I can individually wipe off each foot.) Mato didn't bark even once, even though the other dog did bark at us a bunch. His concentration was great, and even though he wasn't 100% focused on me at all times, his ability to lock back onto me after a distraction was really good.
We were the last dog to leave the building, and one of the instructors unleashed Mato and encouraged him to run around and play. I thought that was so incredibly nice. He ran around with them, and helped clean up all the extra treats that were on the floor. (I do think Find It is his favorite game so far.) They joked that he would be tired tonight after the extra chasing around, and indeed he is sacked out on the floor right now. Who knows how long that will last...
Our homework is to work on keeping him level with me when we are walking. He tends to go up ahead of me. So I see walks with lots of treats in our future.
I told the staff about the blog, and am going to send them the link. So if they visit, a big slobbery hello!
Tonight we only had three dogs; Mato, the German Shepherd and a little dog I hadn't seen before. I think the little dog was new, so he stayed in his condo. That left Mato and the Shepherd to use the rest of the area. We were up front, and he was way in the back. Brilliantly, the staff had set up almost all of the barriers as our condo, layered three deep so that Mato couldn't peek.
But it turned out we were barely in our condo tonight. We were out and about, walking around, sitting, laying down, rolling over, sitting in chairs, finding treats on the floor, and sitting on rugs. (My recent "Ruggie!" command came in quite handy for sitting on the rug - Mato has had muddy feet lately when I bring him inside, so I had him sit on the rug by the door so I can individually wipe off each foot.) Mato didn't bark even once, even though the other dog did bark at us a bunch. His concentration was great, and even though he wasn't 100% focused on me at all times, his ability to lock back onto me after a distraction was really good.
We were the last dog to leave the building, and one of the instructors unleashed Mato and encouraged him to run around and play. I thought that was so incredibly nice. He ran around with them, and helped clean up all the extra treats that were on the floor. (I do think Find It is his favorite game so far.) They joked that he would be tired tonight after the extra chasing around, and indeed he is sacked out on the floor right now. Who knows how long that will last...
Our homework is to work on keeping him level with me when we are walking. He tends to go up ahead of me. So I see walks with lots of treats in our future.
I told the staff about the blog, and am going to send them the link. So if they visit, a big slobbery hello!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Head Like A Hole
Driving in to class today I had the radio on scan and a Nine Inch Nails song came on that struck me as funny. I am sure Trent Reznor wasn't thinking of dog training when he was singing this song, but you have to admit it fits.
Head Like A Hole [excerpt]
Head like a hole.
Black as your soul.
I'd rather die than give you control.
Head like a hole.
Black as your soul.
I'd rather die than give you control.
Bow down before the one you serve.
You're going to get what you deserve.
Bow down before the one you serve.
You're going to get what you deserve.
Again, I doubt he meant the vacuous hole that occupies the area where Mato's head should be, and I doubt he meant that getting what you deserve involves liver treats.
Class went okay tonight. A lot of the same dogs were there, including the German Shepard and the baying hound, and a little foofy dog I hadn't seen before. There was lots of barking tonight, which meant that I ran out of treats at the very end of class since we feedfeedfeed when there is barking. But I was proud of Mato for being able to ignore a lot of the barking. He didn't bark once, but he did almost start into it once when he made eye contact with one of the dogs who was barking. I was able to get his attention, though, so he just made the beginning of a vocalization and then got a mouthful of steak.
Driving home, I was looking at my glistening hands in the glow of the stoplights, thinking how gross it was that my sticky hands would take a few washings before they were unslimed. But it should all be worth it; hopefully we'll all get what we deserve.
(You know - liver treats and a good dog.)
Head Like A Hole [excerpt]
Head like a hole.
Black as your soul.
I'd rather die than give you control.
Head like a hole.
Black as your soul.
I'd rather die than give you control.
Bow down before the one you serve.
You're going to get what you deserve.
Bow down before the one you serve.
You're going to get what you deserve.
Again, I doubt he meant the vacuous hole that occupies the area where Mato's head should be, and I doubt he meant that getting what you deserve involves liver treats.
Class went okay tonight. A lot of the same dogs were there, including the German Shepard and the baying hound, and a little foofy dog I hadn't seen before. There was lots of barking tonight, which meant that I ran out of treats at the very end of class since we feedfeedfeed when there is barking. But I was proud of Mato for being able to ignore a lot of the barking. He didn't bark once, but he did almost start into it once when he made eye contact with one of the dogs who was barking. I was able to get his attention, though, so he just made the beginning of a vocalization and then got a mouthful of steak.
Driving home, I was looking at my glistening hands in the glow of the stoplights, thinking how gross it was that my sticky hands would take a few washings before they were unslimed. But it should all be worth it; hopefully we'll all get what we deserve.
(You know - liver treats and a good dog.)
Chamomile, Lavender, Lemon Balm and... Liver
Last week at class we did okay. It wasn't his best performance, but we did do some new things like going into a different room and keeping his concentration as we went to different areas in a row. The coolest part was when the instructor used Mato as an example of a good doggie zen down. Wooo! She had me bring him out to the middle to do a zen down in front of other people in the class so they could see what their dogs would need to do. We were made an example in class, and it wasn't for bad behavior!
I'm looking forward to tonight's class. In my neverending quest for treats that will keep his attention, I bought a few new kinds of treats: Bil-Jac liver treats, which are maybe the smelliest things I have ever smelled. And some herbal treats that are supposed to calm your dog. The package said feed four "bits" for every ten pounds your dog weighs. That's 40 treats out of the little baggie! Well, I've cut them up into smaller pieces and in about twenty minutes I'm going to do some practicing with him and he'll have forty little herbal ritalins to help us get through class. Our main treat for tonight will be little pieces of New York strip that I was unable to finish recently. Let's see if that holds his attention!
I'm looking forward to tonight's class. In my neverending quest for treats that will keep his attention, I bought a few new kinds of treats: Bil-Jac liver treats, which are maybe the smelliest things I have ever smelled. And some herbal treats that are supposed to calm your dog. The package said feed four "bits" for every ten pounds your dog weighs. That's 40 treats out of the little baggie! Well, I've cut them up into smaller pieces and in about twenty minutes I'm going to do some practicing with him and he'll have forty little herbal ritalins to help us get through class. Our main treat for tonight will be little pieces of New York strip that I was unable to finish recently. Let's see if that holds his attention!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
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