Dog People-Read up!

Kaylan Head, a very well known trainer here in Oklahoma, has started her own Dog Blog.  Please stop by and say hello and welcome her to the Blogosphere.

She has worked with me with both Moon and Molly-and I listen when she talks!

My Own Private Waterloo

STAY

Such a simple thing to teach.  Except for me.  This week in Molly's class, we were instructed to work on STAY.  Molly was even used as a demo dog-and she got it.  So I am determined to get a good stay on Molly-my first ever good stay on a dog.

Stay is one of those things that seems simple, but is nuanced ad nauseam.   For a dog who is used to offering behaviors until the right one is offered, STAY can be disconcerting-the correct behavior is do nothing-remain in position.  It can be either sit or down, but whatever the command was prior to stay, THAT is position that you have to remain in.  So, lying down on a sit stay is a no no-even if you don't move forward.

As in life, doing nothing is often harder than doing something-and figuring out the right way to do nothing-well, that takes real effort.

Dear Molly is my practice dog-Moon HAS to have a great stay if he's going to do agility.  Both the start and the middle exercise (a sit stay or a down stay) have to be done correctly or the run will not qualify.  While Moon learns more quickly than Molly, he is also prone to "learning" something not exactly correct-Molly is more forgiving for trainer error.  So, this month Molly will learn to stay, and next month we'll shoot for Moon.

This time Lord, you gave me a mountain....

I took most of the dogs (and all the young ones) out to the dirt pile when it arrived. It was an easy way to introduce a new surface and a new experience without going very far to look for one. Moon was the only one who made it to the top.

Resurrection

I had intended to show Lily, my merle chihuahua, but it turned out she's deaf and at that point I threw up my hand and said "enough". Rescued a few dogs, bought one.

Now, back up-I have no idea why I want to go to a conformation show-I love agility, I like obedience (rally is fun), fly ball is interesting. But it was the conformation ring I read stories about growing up (Big Red, Marguerite Henry).

Now Moon, I bought for photography and agility and herding. The show ring does not really like smoothies or merles, and I don't know that a smoothie merle has ever won anything. But dang it, that little dog is as correct a little dog as there is. He has some dogs in his lineage that have done well in both conformation and herding (and both of them are smoothies). So, we are adding gait training to his routine.

I will get the experience of training a dog for the breed ring, Moonie gets more tasks to learn that don't involve taxing his joints before he quits growing.....and he'll be intact and eligible for the ring till at least next June.....and he'll get experience in a trialing environment.

Part of me is horrified that I would take such a fine working dog and put him in a beauty contest. But another big part of me thinks I've gotten so tied up in doing the right and proper thing that I never do anything much at all.

Our criteria for success is not going to be ribbons-but if we show well and correctly and both have fun.

Gas X Beans and the Band

I had my first event of "head" hunger-I ate dinner late because I hadn't really had enough calories for the day-not because I was hungry. Never, ever eat fat free refried beans after eating cabbage for lunch. It's truly better not to eat at all. Really. I promise.

But Gas X really works. Now gas with fresh tummy scars is a little more painful than regular old gas. I swear my port was bulging but maybe it was my imagination.
Gas X, water and a doze in the recliner and I was ready to go back to bed-however sleep was elusive.

I haven't written much about the lap band because there is nothing to report. I'm not weighing until September (my first fill) and I'm just bopping along learning how to eat without getting ill. I've actually never thrown up, but I'm still new to the band-I'm sure it will happen, but apparently it doesn't have to be an every day thing.

It WOULD be easy to obsess but I am working hard not to. For instance, when I realized I ate because of numbers rather than real hunger, I felt like such a failure-for a few minutes. Then I also realized that if I didn't do things like that, I would never have needed the band.

I also woke up sore this morning from all the snake wrangling I did yesterday-I mean I did a rigtheous amount of manual labor. I was very satisfied and felt like a real snake rancher.

An aquaintance has mentioned he might want to offload some bloods and a reticulated python with an interesting bloodline. The tic is a male and would not likely get longer than 14 feet-but more importantly I have a female with coloration that might niche with this bloodline. So, I am thinking about it.

I've got piles of horse pictures to look at, but my hopes are on a horse owned by a Sister on the Fly. He's a little taller than I wanted, but who better than a middle aged lady to know what another middle aged lady would feel comfortable riding? I'm really concerned with people who try to hard to "sell" a horse because I am not equipped for a problem horse. I need a four legged babysitter.

I may have a dog training client. A friend has a psycho dog and I've offered to give it a go. My mom was worried about zoning rules, etc....they really are opposed to any more animals. Part of me thinks I just should have moved into the country, but the other part really enjoyed taking them lunch today and sharing a meal. Mom will be feeding the chicken while I am away for the remainder of the week-the snakes are on their own.

Working on Getting it Right

I've come to the relative safety of my blog to work out a work problem. One of my co-workers has been sent into my realm to make me a better dog trainer-I'm sure of it. I am not calling her a bitch by saying that, only meaning that she tries my patience more than any dog (except perhaps Dottie when she was young) ever has.

But I have to look at what I bring to the table as well-I need to cast of each bad encounter and live in the moment as I do with my dogs and other animals. I don't pick up Elvis thinking "oh, he bit me yesterday", I pick him up thinking "I'm picking up Elvis". I wonder why I can't do that with people?

The thing is, if I can conquer the in the moment thing with people, I am sure it will become second nature with my dogs, and other critters. So, I've got to work on walking into meetings with that same, I'm in the moment, I'm happy to be here, let's see what I'm going to learn today, energy. What a wonderful way of being that would be.

My ball hitch and my other goodies have shipped-I can't wait to get them! Of course, I can't pull the trailer till...what was the rule, I think it was can walk unassisted. At least a month off. What a stupid rule. But I think I will make the rule "can wear a regular shoe on my foot" because learning to drive a trailer in an orthopedic boot does not seem prudent.

I did accomplish the amazing feat of helping Miss Olivia load the wooden pallets we were trash picking on the roof of the truck. She didn't want me to help, but I proved I could stand on one foot, balance and lift. I really wanted a picture of that golden moment but I can' even TELL anyone because I will end up with Mom and Dad camped out in my living room watching my every move. So there you have it, my olympic moment that must remain a secret between Miss Olivia and I.

I need to work on my own dogs rushing the fence and barking-I have to stop that behavior before I can bring my draft dog(s) home for training....an 80-100 pound dog rushing the fence isn't as cute as a 7 pound dog rushing the fence. For that I have to wait until I can get into the back yard unassisted.

I really hate waiting.