It's Miller Time

Dreamer and I got out for a good training session tonight. We did lots of heeling in a parking lot across from a busy park.

As we trained in a little bit of wind, an empty beer can started rolling across the parking lot. It drove Dreamer crazy. She wanted to herd that stupid thing...or at least say hi to it! I wouldn't let her. She didn't get the chance to even sniff it before I popped and ran with a "here" command.

A cold front is in the forecast, along with some "ice pellets," so I tried to take advantage of the great outdoors tonight by focusing on things that require a lot of room to work -- heeling, recalls, stays, and finishes. Dreamer got a little worried when an ambulance raced by the park, its sirens blasting. I ignored her and patiently corrected her when she broke a sit-stay.

As the weather turns bad over the next few days, we'll do sits, downs, dumbbell holds, and other static exercises in the house. Dreamer was a pretty good student tonight -- a little distracted and "hoppy," thanks to the exciting beer can, but generally pretty good. You know, a beer does sound pretty exciting right now. Sometimes, Dreamer has the best ideas.

Hard Work Pays Off

It's an old saying, but one I buy into big time and preach when I coach. But who knows when it comes to puppies? Yesterday was Pilot's 2nd class at Leader Dog School. He walked in, tail wagging, and full of confidence that staying in heel position would garner him the special treats I was secretly using (Zuke's look a lot like puppy food!!) The instructor immediately commented about how much better he was doing...victory! She did caution me to be sure to treat him with his head straight instead of wrapped toward me. This is a good reminder because sometimes my old training methods come back automatically. I have to think differently for a Leader Dog.
We added halts where we stop and pet the dog. No problem there! I have been doing that for 2 weeks...it's Pilot's favorite.
Pilot still let out a few small barks during the lecture portion of the class, but our work on "settle" helped with that. I have been putting him on a settle on his side with his head flat on the ground. He can't really bark in that position. Our instructor said that now I can work on settle with him in a normal lying position with his head flat on the ground between his front legs. That makes a lot of sense because I will be able to use that more easily when we go to restaurants, etc.
I asked about fear periods and she gave me good tips for how to ward off the fear before it happens. I think I've been doing that naturally, but now I will be even more aware so I can be proactive.
I'm still very sad about not having Remy to train, but if I can be successful with Pilot, my hard work could pay off for a blind person for several years to come. That's a small bit of solace, I guess.

Attention, Please!

Dreamer and I went to a semi-busy parking lot yesterday to train. The weather remains in the 50s and 60s, so it was easy to get out and spend quality training time together. I knew rain was coming yesterday, which is why I trained Dreamer sooner rather than later. We got sprinkled on but spent a solid 30 minutes working on just about everything we've ever learned.

Despite the fact that it's initially difficult to get Dreamer's attention -- even if we've been to the same training spot before -- I love how her attention span has lengthened. She's much more engaged in our personal training sessions as well as our lessons with Karen. We get a lot more accomplished in both scenarios.

But Dreamer is still Dreamer, so she's still out to lunch whenever she pleases. Yesterday, she acted like she had no idea what Sit means. Yeah, right! I guess that's partially true. I don't have to fight her to get tucked Sits anymore, but now it seems she's not interested in sitting on command...so the less she wants to do them, the more we're going to do them. She caught on pretty quickly yesterday that I was not interested in her lack of interest to sit, and we did about 8 sits in a row before she finally decided it would be easier to do things my way. Stinker.

She was probably bored because we worked for a very long time. I'll have to make sure I'm switching things up with something mobile, like heeling, and then something static, like Downs. I must keep her engaged, happy, and attentive. I'll make sure I do that today. Dreamer, may I have your attention, please?

When You've Got Worries, All the Noise and Hurry Seems to Help, I Know, Downtown

Pilot and I drove to Downtown Bay City after I met with the tennis team kids. We worked on his loose leash walking and he did ok, not great. He needed a lot of reminders (backward walking) not to pull. It was a breezy, bitter cold afternoon and in the entrance to one store, a plastic bag blew across the ground. Pilot startled. I thought he was entering his 4-6 month fear period and this confirmed it. At home, he is amazingly grounded. My tennis bag was on the steps and he sniffed it causing it to topple over on him. He barely batted an eye, but just sniffed at it. Remy would have been across the room in a flash of fur!
Upstairs in the computer room, I was sitting on the edge of my office chair and it slipped out from under me and toppled over barely missing him. He just walked over to it and examined it. Remy would have been out the door and down the steps!
But in a new environment, Pilot is not as secure. He did well at the stoplights, waiting patiently on a loose leash until we could cross. He surprised me and didn't flinch at all when a large noisy truck went by. But when we were about to pass a parked truck with a large dog barking at him, he absolutely put on the brakes. I tried to treat him to get him past the truck, but when Pilot won't take treats, I know that something is too stressful:) I just pretended that I wanted to go back the way we had come and he got all happy and tail waggy again. We passed the plastic bag and stopped for a good sniff. No problems.
Then I took him to our ultimate destination: a open step fire escape with open weave grating. I got him to put his front feet on the first step, but he kept sticking his head under the step and not wanting to go up. So I decided to carry him up to the landing and try him coming down. He was careful and slow, but successful. We did this twice and I jackpotted him with treats. We'll try again in a few more weeks.
Once again, on a day when I was feeling depressed, taking Pilot to a busy spot and seeing everyone smile at us lifted my spirits and melted my cares away. Not totally, but soothing. The only problem? I'm falling hopelessly in love with little Pilot.

Demo Dog

I took Pilot to class last night to use as my demo dog and to work on him being more settle and quiet around other dogs. It was the best thing I could have done! I got there early and walked him around the puppy class which is on the other end of the building. I then made him settle down on the floor while I sat in a chair. This is really hard for him, but he did it! Once I went over to the end of the building where I teach, things got even better. He loves being in a crate, so he felt very comfortable in the ring in a crate as dogs heeled past. When I took him out to demonstrate, his attention was on me and he wanted to work. It was great for my beginning class to see a 3 month old puppy doing the things I am teaching (they were all amazed) and it was great for Pilot because he got past his need to focus on the dogs around him and settle down on the task at hand. The annoying barking was much quieter and he responded well to the "quiet" command with the throat squeeze followed by stroking. He'll be my demo boy each week from now on. For the more advanced things, I just borrowed someone's dog and that worked great.
My advanced class made me very sad however. This is the level that Remy would be at. Debbie and Barb are in the class and everyone in the class is serious about putting a title on their dog. This class should make me so happy, but all I could think about was how much better Remy was than any of them! After class, 4 other instructors wanted to go out to dinner. I didn't want to go but they decided on a restaurant/bar one mile from my house. That changed my mind...they have Leinenkugel (sp) Creamy Dark on tap and it was make your own taco night!
I had a hard time sleeping last night and it wasn't the tacos. All I could think of was it would be Remy's year and a half birthday today and I would have been showing him this spring in obedience. Must. Think. Positively. It's a sunny day and I do have a dog to train even if he's gold and his tail makes noise when he whacks it on things:)

Spring Training

Dreamer and I are getting a taste of spring, and we love it! We trained tonight in windy but mild weather. I think it was probably 60 degrees when we trained. We didn't work for very long or on very many things. I was tired and grumpy from a long day at work. We did a little heeling, some downs, some parts of recalls, and some dumbbell holds. Dreamer is a star pupil with the dumbbell. Really, it's just a wooden dowel, but she's learned very quickly to hold it firmly without rolling it around. Legan used to twirl the dumbbell around in her mouth, which drove me nuts because I think she did it to spite me!

At our lesson yesterday, Karen noticed that Dreamer was pacing on our heeling. I was wondering if the belt (and how Dreamer's head was positioned because of it) had anything to do with it, but Karen didn't think so. Karen thought I wasn't moving quickly enough, so I picked up my pace and Dreamer's pacing stopped. Not sure if that was coincidence or the solution to the problem, but I'll keep my eye on it.

I think the weather is going to be good all week for our spring training -- and if it rains on Wednesday like it's supposed to, we'll train in the house. We've made great progress in the house on small things like the dumbbell hold and downs. Just doing some sort of training right now is really important, and Dreamer loves whatever we do. I like that we're concentrating on obedience and giving conformation a rest. Obedience is just more meaningful with more concrete results and rewards.

I'm watching Dreamer right now, and she's sacked out on her bed. Excellent idea. I think she just taught me my next trick. G'night!

Leader Dog Puppy Day

Debbie, Barb, and I went to Leader Dog Puppy Day in Flint. There were about 10 puppies there and I wish I had gone with Frank who ended up coming. Some people make you feel bad about raising a Leader Dog puppy because they say things such as:
1. I could never do that: the dog doesn't have any fun
2. I could never give up the dog
I really like Barb and Debbie, but I was raised to be a citizen who gives back to the community. Community Service is huge for me and is something I firmly believe in. When I retired, the only thing I worried about was that I wouldn't feel useful to the world and continue to make a difference. That didn't happen, but one of the reasons is that I constantly give back. I do a lot of selfish things, but I also give back.
OK, off my soapbox and back to the day. Barb and Debbie reassured me that Pilot did well and that all the dogs were pulling on their leads. I thought that Pilot did a lot better with his loose leash walking. What frustrated me was the barking. He started in on it again and it drives me crazy! I've never had a dog who did this and I don't like it. It didn't start until about a half hour into the program, so I think that's progress. It started when we played a very slow game with an obstacle course where we had to throw dice and move along the course and then the dogs had a lot of wait time while the other participants made their moves.
Several people had suggestions:
One lady who had raised something like 25 leader dogs said to up the ante and use hot dogs to teach focus on me and quiet. Interesting since the original word was no treats!
Barb held him for a bit at the very end while I signed up for an activity and he really started barking. She tried to correct him by holding his mouth shut, but he scooted away and kept it up. She finally took him outside. I was relieved to see that the problem wasn't just me, but Pilot being bored.
Debbie thinks I should teach him to bark and then teach him to be quiet. She said she has tried everything and this is the only thing that worked. It sounds crazy to me and she can never teach her dogs to be quiet anyway, so I am not going to listen to her on this one. When we are training or she is teaching, she brings several dogs (she has 6) and puts them in the instructor crates. They carry on most of the time.
I do not think any of the above are correct. I am going to continue to teach Pilot self control with toys and longer sits and downs. I will also continue to teach him the word "Quiet" and praise him when he is quiet. When he does bark, I reach under his collar and squeeze his vocal cords briefly (not meanly, but so he gets the picture). He doesn't cry or wince, so I know he's fine. This is an old trick we used back when I originally taught dog obedience. It always worked and was fast. Not only that, but you often go up to the dog, stroke the same area and say "good quiet". I tried it this morning and it worked well. The problem will be doing it in public and not making it look bad. But I think I can stroke the top of his head as I squeeze the vocal cords and get away with it. Time will tell. This one has me stumped, but I think that Pilot and I can work through this if I take it slow but sure. The big test will be when we go back to Leader Dog for class. I have one more week to work through this and if it doesn't work, I'm giving him to the puppy class leader to see her work it out! By the way, her suggestion was to get him to lie down and settle; dogs who are lying down don't bark as much....wrong!

Loose Leash Walking Lesson 5,432

Poor Pilot. Loose leash walking does not come easily for him. He's too interested in all the sights and smells. Hopefully he will settle in when he realizes that I will not give in. We worked on it 3 times today: twice in front of our house and down the street and then again at the mall. I was hoping to wear him out and it worked. He has taken great naps today. He's very funny: he can only nap in his crate. I love it because it gives me a break.
I also bought another baby gate to block the stairs going up to our 2nd floor. I'm tired of chasing him around. It worked so well tonight and I was able to watch TV in relative peace. I figure that I can always use the extra gate for the new pup or even my grandchildren!
I moved one of my plants out of reach. Pilot is so unlike Remy was. He is very persistent. I will pick and choose my battles.
I feel sorry for Pilot. He can't run in the yard since he either has to be on a tieout or on a leash. Leader Dog does not allow the use of electronic fence and that's all we have. He no longer has Remy to play with or tug with. leader Dog allows their pups to tug with other dogs, but not humans. I've decided that this rule is stupid. Tugging can help create a stronger bond between us and help him get rid of his excess energy. The way I am using it will teach Pilot self-control. I decide when we start and stop and he cannot grab the tug once he gives it back to me. He can't bark (another problem we are trying to solve) because he wants it back, but must sit and wait for the command to "take it". I'm so glad that I decided to do this. He seems much happier today and I am happier because of it.

Now We're Cooking!

By the time I got home from work tonight, it was raining and I felt very unmotivated. But I decided to make myself do at least one training exercise with Dreamer. I thought I'd try a new training location: the kitchen!

I pulled out a wooden dowel that I cut down to size when Karen told me that Legan's old plastic dumbbell was too big for my shrimpy Dreamer. I worked with Dreamer on taking and holding the dowel, and she caught on pretty quickly. A few more days and she'll have it down...just in time for our lesson!

We also worked on a few downs with me standing in front. Dreamer is getting better about them but still anticipates the command and doesn't always fold back the right way. We need to work a little bit more to get them right.

After those two exercises (one more exercise than I originally forced myself to do, I'll point out!), I put Dreamer's conformation collar and lead on, and we practiced some stacking. At our show last weekend, Tammy told me I'm doing a fine job of handling but need to spend about five minutes a day stacking Dreamer. She thinks it will help both Dreamer and me feel more comfortable in the ring in late March, which is our next show (and a big one) -- our regional specialty. Eeek!

Dreamer is definitely a creature of habit, so maybe a daily practice session in conformation will help her...and me. I don't know. I think I take her intelligence for granted and I overestimate her sometimes. She catches on so quickly that I think she's got something down, but surely I'm wrong. She needs repetition and practice, and I'll try to provide that over the next few months. I'll try to get her to drop-in class at least a few times per month too. It can't hurt, right? This is our latest recipe. Let's see if it's any good.

Limping Along

Dreamer and I are back on track with our training, which is good since we have a lesson with Karen on Sunday and need to look like we've trained since our last lesson!

I've had a chance to work with the belt the past two days, and though I have a few questions for Karen to make sure I'm using it correctly, I think it's fantastic! The problem is that Dreamer is a smarty and starts leaping up to grab the treat when she gets bored or feels like she's done enough to warrant a treat! We are working on "leave it" when she starts grabbing. Stinker. She's so quick too. She snatches the treat and you don't even realize it's gone!

About an hour after I trained Dreamer last night, she started limping. I started to worry, though I felt that she probably pulled something and was being a bit of a drama queen. When I got up this morning, I noticed she was still limping a bit. I tried not to panic and decided to give her the whole day to rest at home instead of running her to the vet like an overprotective mother. What's weird is that, for no apparent reason, I started limping at work this afternoon! I pulled something in my heel or ankle, but I don't know how. Are Dreamer and I soul sisters or what?! We're totally falling apart!

I got home tonight to find that Dreamer was just fine and full of herself. She was hopping around with no limping or paw lifting. My heel/ankle appears to be better too, so maybe I was just having sympathy pains. In any case, I trained my dog two days in a row. That's a record in our world right now. It helps that we've finally got some better weather -- highs in the 50s today. We will continue to train daily until our lesson on Sunday. No more limping along around here!

Snuffing out the Sniffing

I played tennis this morning so Pilot and I didn't take our walk until the afternoon. It was a beautiful time to go...the snow was falling and all the evergreens were getting covered.
Pilot immediately started his bloodhound imitation. I corrected him with a quick and easy leash pop and the command "no sniff". His head came up and I stroked him under the chin and praised him and then surprised the crap out of him as I treated him with a Charlee Bearz. He was thrilled. He started trotting along with his head held high. He has a lovely neck and looks so cute when he trots along in this manner.
This went on for the rest of our walk, with many opportunities to correct and praise. It's my guess that he will outgrow this quickly since I caught it early.
I found it very interesting that when we passed Remy's favorite place to go (and final resting place), Pilot really wanted to go down there. Could he possibly remember that day and be looking for Remy? I didn't go down there....couldn't face it two days in a row.

Sniffing

I'm not the only one sniffing these days, but for a different reason. While I am sniffing over the loss of Remy, Pilot has decided he is a bloodhound. He had his nose to the ground on our walk outside and then again when we walked at the mall.
I'm going to e-mail the puppy counselors because the binder does not address this issue. I would think we should nip it in the bud now before it becomes a bad habit.
One of my 7th grade students and his family raised a LD pup who failed because he would not stop sniffing.

New Year's Goals

1. Honor Remy's memory by moving forward with my life instead of moping around the house.
2. Substitute Pilot as my Tacara Terv until hopefully this summer when the new little Tervlet comes to live with me.
3. Blog about Pilot while I help keep Shawn motivated. After all, when Dreamer gets her OTCH, I'll be celebrating as much as if Remy had gotten his.

Training Blog Substitution: Pilot the Pseudo Terv

Pilot and I worked on loose leash walking at the mall. He loves to walk in the mall because we can really move out and not worry about falling on the ice. I can already see progress from the last time I took him. He is much more aware of where I am and watches for me before he hits the end of the lead. The only trouble I had with him today was when he saw a toddler ahead. I think it's so cute when they recognize something their own size and want to investigate! Luckily for me, the kid darted into a store and I didn't have to deal with an exuberant greeting.

I took him to the mall first so that he would be a bit more tired in the grocery store. Grocery stores are always a challenge because I have to deal with the grocery cart and the leash. Not only that, but Pilot is a chow hound and tries to pick up every scrap of food or paper on the floor. But for 3 months old, he is doing well. He will sit on command even in busy places like Meijer and he will even lie down if I'm in one place for awhile. The best part about Pilot is that he is a people magnet and he makes me smile and be cordial even when I am feeling depressed. I think he is piloting me to my New Year's goals. The only downside is that I am becoming extremely attached to him due to the situation. I pray that Lina and Braego are successful next month:)

One week from today, I start training class at the Leader Dog School for the Blind. I am really getting excited about going to this class even though it means 3+ hours roundtrip.

A New Year and a Belt

Dreamer and I had a lesson outdoors in really cold weather this morning. I didn't want to go. I didn't think Karen would show up. But we did go, and Karen did show up. I had to warn her that we haven't done much training since we last saw her. I had told her about the wonderful Remy, his wonderful owner/trainer, and our wonderful training blog many times, and when I told her what had happened since our last lesson, she teared up instantly. She felt like she knew Remy through knowing Dreamer, and it hit her hard. Nothing like tearing up with your trainer at the beginning of your first lesson of 2010!

Despite starting out in tears, I'm really glad we went to our lesson. I think a lot of Karen's students are in the same boat with training. We haven't been practicing due to horrible weather, the holidays, and other circumstances. Rather than beating me down, Karen lifted me up, and we made the most of our lesson. We worked on waits and recalls with a nifty belt gadget that one of Karen's students made. The belt has a hole where you can insert a really short plastic stick and put a treat on it. When you call the dog and you're wearing a treat at your belt buckle, it's amazing how much easier the fronts are to teach. Why didn't she tell me this sooner?!

The belt has another use too. You can insert a longer stick into it and have it facing the left seam of your pants for heeling. It's great for hands-free heeling, and I was surprised at how quickly Dreamer caught on to look at the treat, which was positioned pretty close to arm-band level. I was so sold on the gadget that I bought it off of Karen at the end of our lesson since she said she's not motivated to train her own dogs right now anyway. She trains too many other people and runs out of energy and interest to do her own training. I think the belt will help me reduce some of my handler errors as I train, and I need all the help I can get. Here's to belting out the training exercises in 2010!

Remy, we will never forget your beauty, your brilliance, and the joy you brought to your Tacara Terv Trainer and all who knew and loved you.