Last year, I interviewed the director of canine resources from Guide Dogs for the Blind. As you may know, they breed their own service dogs. I shared a little background on Lilly with her, and in support, she basically said that there are some dogs who come out of the package and you can do nothing wrong. With others, she admitted, you can do nothing right. Since I often wonder what exactly I did to mess Lilly up, this perspective provided some comfort.
We do not approach others as blank slates. We make all manner of assumptions about them based on how they look, what they do, what they say. This is especially true when dogs are involved. Those of us who adore our dogs make assumptions about other dog owners — most of them good. It’s called a “fundamental attribution error.”
Many handlers use some word or phrase to alert their dogs that the fun is about to begin. We use “Ready?” Followed by “Now,” as part of our start-line ritual. Sure, it’s important not to catch your dog offguard with your first obstacle command, but the power of anticipation is great.
Lilly had a full-blown panic attack during an outing Saturday night. It doesn’t happen as often as it used to, so it caught me a little off guard. Thankfully, the clouds rolled in, dropping the temperature a lot and making it safe to crate her in the car so that she could calm down. Looking back on the chain of events, I think I understand the triggers.
Lilly molested a man in public last Saturday. While shopping at our local farmer’s market, she gave a grandpa-dude quite a shock by kissing the backs of his bare knees as we walked by.
Have you ever heard of those productivity studies, where no matter what researchers do productivity goes up (at least temporarily)? Paint gray walls pink. Productivity goes up. Paint them gray again. Productivity goes up. Pipe in music. Productivity goes up. Pull the music … you get the picture. Sometimes that’s how I feel about all the ways I try to help Lilly overcome hear shyness and fear. Everything seems to help, at least at first. I’m beginning to think we have a productivity placebo effect.
In response to “No praise for you.” a regular reader compares matching newbie handlers with green dogs to putting a first-time rider on an inexperienced horse. Hello … disaster calling. The question she raises is valid: Would green handlers learn more from running experienced dogs before they attempt to train their own green dog? After all, you can get already-trained field dogs? Why not already-trained agility dogs?
It’s been raining nearly all day, and Lilly is going mad. This is Colorado not the Pacific NW. When it rains, it’s usually just part-time thing. I’m going to bundle up one more time and see if I can get her to play. But, I can’t keep this up. C’mon sun!
There are no sissified city dogs at my house. We have rough and tumble mountain dogs around these parts. And, that means, they get into all sorts of really gross situations. So, come with me my friends, and let’s play as David Letterman would say, “fastest growing quiz sensation” … What’s THAT smell?
I’m thinking about auditing a big, multi-day agility camp in July here in CO. (Clearly, a working spot is out of the question.) Time is running out to decide. So, what do you think?
