Weekly Training Update (Jan 11)
Along with the ups and downs of our usual training, Lilly had one agility-like victory this week. Happy dance with me, will you? …
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Distraction overload: ducks, squirrels, rabbits
At Sunday’s class at an outdoor park/path along Boulder Creek, Lilly did remarkably well considering the amount of human traffic, including bikes, scooters, and skateboards. And, she
even did OK at first when she noticed the wildlife in the area. … -
Hard work vs hard to train
Last week, I found myself a bit in a wad after someone who doesn’t know dogs at all said Lilly is “hard to train.” She said it like it was a statement of fact, like she was simply
reiterating something I’ve said myself. I quickly clarified my point, which is this. The training work I’m doing with Lilly is hard. It’s hard for me to learn. It’s hard for me to stick to long-term.
It’s hard for me to understand entirely these very detailed (bordering on PhD-level) strategies. Lilly, however, is a breeze to train simply because she’s so smart. … -
Weekly Training Update (Jan 4)
We haven’t been in class in a few weeks due to weather and the holidays, but this week I continued working on LEAVE IT since that’s an important prerequisite for a whiplash turn recall,
which I’ll start trying to train soon. I also made a more specific attempt to teach the Give Me a Break game from Leslie McDevitt’s book “Control Unleashed.” Essentially, it’s meant to build
excitement for a particular behavior.
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A nice surprise
Since I had to take Ginko down to the doctor today for follow-up blood tests to check his thyroid levels after 2 months on the new dosage, I went ahead and drug him around with me while
I ran a few errands. The snow and cold have kept us fairly cooped up, so once I’m off the mountain, I’d best get a few things done. From our outing, I have two happy things to report.
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Happy Try Again Day
New Year’s Day hoopla bores me. All the hopes, all the resolutions, feel too much like a mate who acts like an @#$@# all year long and thinks flowers on Valentine’s Day or diamonds at
Xmas makes up for it. I don’t buy it. But, it’s not that I don’t believe in new beginnings or new goals. I simply think that every day is a fresh start … for that matter so is every hour, every
minute. … -
The great pet insurance debate
I admit it. I’m frugal. I do enjoy shopping when I have the cash and the need, but I am not a fan of unnecessary monthly bills. So, I’m always looking for places to trim the budget,
either to make room for something else or to eek out a bit more savings. For 2008, I’m seriously considering dropping Lilly’s health insurance. It’s less than $20 per month, but the more I look at
our policy, the less useful it seems. … -
Weekly training update (Dec 28)
Because of the holiday and because it’s been freezing-frickin cold, we didn’t do much training this week. We even skipped class last Sunday — mostly because I had some pre-holiday
crabbiness. I didn’t think it was fair to take Lilly to class when my patience was running so thin. Plus, class was slated for a busy pedestrian mall 2 days before xmas, which takes an already scary
environment for Lilly into another realm, and I just wasn’t up to it. … -
Tips for playing fetch in the snow
It finally stopped snowing here around 10 pm last night, so we got off the mountain today after plowing the driveway. The canyon was snow-packed and icy for sure, but not terrible. We
got Ginny home safely, but we did NOT do any after-xmas shopping … other than to pick up some bags of wood stove pellets since another storm is coming tonight into tomorrow. … -
Weekly Training Update (Dec 21)
This week’s class took place at a different dog park at the very north edge of Boulder. It’s a nice, pretty new one with 3 fenced areas (one for big dogs, one for not-so-big dogs, one
for small dogs). Our group used the not-so-big one since it was empty. Lilly did grumble once at a dog that blew off his recall and began bounding around, but the real wake-up call was her LEAVE IT
work. Those duck treats were just too much for her. …