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Depressed Dogs – Vacation’s Over

August 20, 2012

Yes, it happens to dogs, too. My guys are sad it's Monday. Specifically, they're sad they're not on vacation anymore.

Here's some of the fun we had last week:

Lily enjoying her "fishing time."

Our view most days….

It's nice to just get away and leave your worries in the dust. Or in the wake. Or whatever. It was good.

Tango is never without his bumper.

This dog LOVES his bumper. He's never without it at the lake.

Vacations…nothin' better.

We had our own private island. Except that it wasn't ours. And it wasn't private. But it might as well have been — we had it all to ourselves every day for vacation.

Sleepy Nemo

Even Nemo was worn out and had to take a power nap in the boat between swimming holes.

Well, it's back to reality today. But it sure was nice to spend our vacation with the dogs. At least we're all feeling a little sluggish and mumpy-grumpy together today.

Labradors Go GoPro at Lake Anna

August 10, 2012

We’re loving our GoPro Hero2 camera, especially because it gives us great underwater footage of the dogs! This was taken during our last trip to Lake Anna and it’s just a quick edit.

We’re taking the camera (and the dogs, of course!) on vacation next week, so there’ll be more underwater video coming soon!

Note: GoPro doesn’t even know how much we love our camera — they didn’t pay us to shoot the video, post it, or rave about their product. We just happen to really love it.

Beat the Heat: K9 Nose Work for Your Dogs

July 18, 2012

Most of the U.S. is battling a heat wave as I write this. My dogs go out early in the morning for a romp, then we head back out after the sun has gone down for another play session. At 100 degrees and 85% humidity, it’s simply too miserable to spend any time outside.

Even resting quietly under the shade tree is too hot — the dogs beg to go inside as soon as they do their business.

Trouble is — it’s boring inside. There’s nothing to do.

Oh really?

I switched things up for my dogs today and set up a few birch hides. What’s a birch hide, you ask? It’s pretty simple — it’s an essential oil (betula lenta) on a cotton swab. That cotton swab is then placed into a straw, pen cap, or other small container and hidden. Get the low-down on K9 Nose Work.

You can do K9 Nose Work just about anywhere. This morning, I took the dogs to the local park where I placed three hides: in the trunk of a tree, on the base of a picnic table, and on the leg of a piece of playground equipment. One by one, the dogs took their turns searching for the scent of birch. They were rewarded with cheddar cheese (melty and gooey even at 9a because of the heat – it was pretty gross from my perspective). Each dog got two sets of three hides this morning, which set me up for a good long stretch of uninterrupted work-at-my-computer time because I’d tired the dogs out.

Later today, when their boredom peaks, I’ll stay in the comfort of our air-conditioned home and place some interior hides for the dogs. They love the game of K9 Nose Work — they get to be little doggie detectives, looking for scent clues to lead them to the source.

I love it because it’s a way I can tire my dogs out without worrying about heat stroke. Or taking a shower in the middle of the day because I’m dripping wet. I can stay cool, exercise the dogs, and improve their scenting skills. There’s no downside to that scenario!

If you’re interested in a fun and easy way to stay cool AND get your dog some much-needed exercise, check out K9 Nose Work! We have new classes starting in September…just in time for “back to school” season!

Fits Like A Glove

December 29, 2011

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!

December 7, 2011

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

August 4, 2011

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.

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