As I watch Smart Dog University’s ongoing video blog series on dogs and toenails (part 1, part 2), I know deep down that dogs of any age can overcome various issues with enough work. But, as I think about Ginko, I wonder if I’ve simply reached the age of acceptance with him. He is nine now, and I just don’t know if worrying about his few remaining sticking points is useful. …
Schedules, looming tasks, and mismatched timing typically sink any plans for a whole family walk. That’s why it’s almost always Ladies Night (or day) around here. But, yesterday, we convinced our boys to come along on a nice leashed walk. That means a MUCH shorter distance so that Ginko’s knees don’t get too sore. It also ends up being a slapstick-worthy spate of errors as we make our way up the road. …
So, we continue to chip away at our new trick CLEAN UP, where Lilly is learning to put away her toys. After just 3-4 short clicker training sessions over the last week or so, we’re making good progress. She will now pick up and put away up to four toys in succession. BUT, I’m stuck at soft toys only at this point, including plush babies, ropes, soft frisbees. I cannot get her to generalize the behavior to any rubber, chew, or food-delivery toy (like a ball, Kong, Canine Genius, or Busy Buddy Waggle). …
Lilly loaded up and went with me to run errands on Tuesday. When the weather allows, I use the frequent stops as part of our ongoing transition training (where Lilly learns to hop of the out car in a variety of locations, SIT, and relax quickly … thanks to classical conditioning). That continues to go well, but I’m always surprised how many dogs we see traveling the canyon, the highways, and local roads completely unrestrained in the car. Roadworthy, my recent article for the AKC Gazette, addresses this safety issue. …
After seeing this video of a ridgeback putting away toys, I decided that’s something I want to teach Lilly. So, we started shaping the behavior with a clicker and cheese last week. The first training session made me laugh. She got the idea quickly, but her enthusiasm for the job hampered our efforts. Lilly flung the toys into the basket with such abandon that the toys often bounced back out. No clicks for that, I decided, but it completely stumped Lilly. She often got frustrated and offered a DOWN with CHIN, which has become the universal sign that …
I spoke too soon in last week’s Coping With Changes post. While working on the basement, Tom felt water dripping on his head. It turned out our dishwasher was leaking a LOT in its final death throes. So, in addition to changes upstairs and changes downstairs which Lilly seemed to handle well, my sensitive border collie girl had to deal with disruption in the kitchen too. And, it freaked her out. …
When Lilly and I took our first in-the-ring “obedience” exam when she was about 9 months old, we lost a few points because she sniffed the ground during HEEL. She still took first place, by a LONG shot, but looking back (knowing what I know now about dogs and training), I have to laugh. I understand that in such a formal setting doing anything other than the task at hand is akin to a balk or refusal in the agility ring, but seriously, sniffing is not a crime. With that in mind, I’ve been paying attention to Lilly’s need to …
Our training and blogging friends over at BoulderDog recently entered a new verb into our dog training lexicon. In a post called Please Don’t Blagojevich My Dog, Deborah decries the audacity of a stranger requiring her lovely poodle Sadie to perform an additional task in order to receive the treat meant for straight-forward socialization. In other words, the act of taking a treat from a stranger wasn’t “enough” for this guy. He wanted something in exchange for that treat, a treat that Deborah provided, by the way. …
It’s a crazy time here at the house. When I leave for meetings or class, I NEVER know what I’ll find when I return. One day, Tom had torn down a wall in the basement (which had been done wrong by previous owners) so that he could use the drywall somewhere he needed it. Another day, he tore out all the carpet upstairs. Despite the chaos on two of our three house levels, Lilly is coping with the changes well. We haven’t had any remodeling-related dog behavior issues. …
Back in 2005, researchers from the Animal Behavior Center in Spokane, Washington, and from the Spokane County Regional Animal Shelter published a study on the affects of the sounds of dog laughter on stress behavior in shelter dogs. It got a fair bit of media attention at the time, including this segment from ABC news. Over the weekend, I captured video of Lilly laughing as Tom roughhouses and tickles her tummy. Take a look and listen. Notice in the video that Tom makes the ah-ah-ah dog laughter sound back to Lilly, and she indeed seems to …
