Burning the midnight oil

Okay, it's not exactly midnight yet, but it feels like it is. I went to bed about an hour ago and was sound asleep when Skooter came in whining to go out. So, like a good pet owner I got up to let him out. I let Moped out on the way to the door. They both sat before going out. They looked beautiful sitting there (even if it was for only two seconds). Then out they went. I completely forgot that Skooter had to go on tie out! That meant that I had to watch him the whole time he was out so he wouldn't jump the fence. Stinky pot peed and Skooter did too. I called them in and Skooter actually came in. Amazing. I had to use pepperoni to lure them into their kennels. And that's where they both are right now. Quietly sleeping in their kennels. Okay, maybe not asleep just yet, but they are being quiet. The silence is deafening. It's almost 11pm so I'm going to go back to bed. Hopefully I'll be able to fall asleep right away. And I really hope that I'm not up for real burning the midnight oil.

Skooter...

just peed in my computer room!!! I had just let him in off of the tie out and he went and peed in the house. Crikey! He's going to have to learn that peeing is an outdoor activity! What a bozo. So he's out on tie out right now. Not really liking it either.

All Breed Rescue and Training

I am so grateful that we found AB. It has allowed us to keep our dogs. It provides awesome training and counseling. The staff is ever so helpful and they seem to care about our dogs. I know finding AB wasn't an accident. We were meant to go there. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to have a better relationship with their dog.

A quiet Sunday morning

5am was the wake up call today. Moped let me sleep a half an hour later then usual. Skooter was just waking up and seemed disinterested in what was going on. Moped decided to grab a bottle off of the table. Now Skooter was interested in what Moped was doing. I ignored him and went about doing other things in the kitchen. He and Skooter played keep away for a few minutes. Then Moped wanted to go out and so did Skooter. Skooter went on tie out and Moped went out off tie out. I think Skooter stayed on the deck the whole time. He probably didn't go to the bathroom (which I lavishly praised him for last night) and will need to go out later. They sat at the door going out but not coming back in (again, I didn't ask for the behavior). Moped and Skooter played with the bottle a little while longer (Moped had taken it outside and kept it in his mouth as he peed :-) ). Then at about 5:45am I got Moped to go back in kennel for continued bedtime. Skooter is on the couch. It starts out a quiet Sunday morning.

Canine Connection

In this 8 week course you will build on and strengthen the skills you learned in your Foundation Course or Puppy Elementary class. You will work with higher distractions, both inside and out. You will also learn coming when called off leash outside and out of sight, leave it, heel, wait, stand, and start your work with targeting and more. A trick of your choice is also taught. A great course for the dog and owner who are ready for some fun.

I need to train smarter not harder

I really do need to smarten up when it comes to training. I can't let the dogs outwit me. I need to be the pack leader. I should use their strengths when training. The hardest part is that Skooter really does ignore me. He's so used to doing it that it's hard to train it out of him. He did sit at the door to go out, but not coming back in (which I keep forgetting to enforce). The poor dog has just been misguided as to behavior because we didn't ask anything of him. Now that we are he is responding - slowly - but responding.

So what are their strengths right now? Moped is enthusiastic and a quick learner. He is eager to please. Skooter is determined and loving. He is also eager to please. Skooter also is very athletic. He'll be great in agility training one day.

I realized today that we really might not make graduation and we'll have to take the course again (it's free the second time around). I also realized that I really am okay with that. I want the dogs to be successful. I will not force them to try to do behaviors that they are not capable of yet (because I haven't trained them well enough to do the new behavior). I need to find out just what is expected for the dogs to graduate in their class. I sure would like them to go on to another class next time arouind. I'm not even sure what would be next for each of them. I'd like to have them in separate classes because I couldn't do it with both of them. David would have to come every time and help with one of the dogs. That might be too hard for us to do. I think that Canine Connection would be the next class for both of them. I believe that when they offer it they offer one class on the weekend and one during the week. That would work for us.

The tie out is up!

David finished the tie down while I was in class with Skooter. Yippee! Now I can put Skooter out and not worry about him jumping over the fence and running around the neighborhood. Moped stays in the yard so now I feel better letting them both out. One of the reading assignments for this week for Skooter is on 'Boundaries and Escaping'. That should be informative. Hopefully it will give me some suggestions for keeping him in the yard.

Skooter won't move off the deck when he's on the tie out. Silly dog. He's going to have to get used to being on tie out. It'll be an adjustment for him. Moped came out of the kennel and went out to go to the bathroom. He's back in his kennel after playing with Skooter for a little while. Skooter is back in but needs to go to the bathroom. He's going to have to be desperate before he moves off the deck I think.

It's the little things that make life great. Skooter finally was desperate enough to go to the bathroom on the tie down. That is huge progress! It only took him a few tries to figure out that he's not going anywhere so he might as well pee where he is. What an awesome dog!

Now they are both settled in again and it's nice and peaceful. At least until David gets home ;-) .

Picking up Moped from DDC

Around 4:30pm I picked up Moped from doggy day care. He was so excited to see me. I was excited to see him. They said he had a great time. He about killed us on the way home because he tried to jump in the front seat (his restraint didn't restrain him enough!). Thankfully, most of the drive home he slept. He was certainly worn out from his adventuresome day. Skooter was worn out too. They've both been sleeping for hours, Skooter on the couch and Mopes in his kennel. Sending Mopes to DDC really does help. He needs to get out all of that energy and it's the best place for him to do it right now. I don't know that he's ready for a dog park yet. He does get along really well with other dogs, at DDC and in training. He's just happy go lucky. I really am grateful for DDC. I just wish it were closer to the house. It takes about 25 minutes or so to get there. It's basically an hour out of my day to go back and forth. But it's worth it if he stays five or more hours. I usually like him to stay that long so he can really get the benefit of being there and get out as much puppyness as possible. He always does come home worn out so I can't complain about driving over there. I'm going to try to get him in there on Wednesday if I can. Twice a week should really help out as far as his home behavior is concerned. Yay for doggy day care!

Skooter's Homework 2/17/07 Week #5

Practice these behaviors:

Sit for greetings (when someone comes up to say Hi to the dog he should sit first)
Flat (multiples)
Quickj
With me
Wait

Handouts to read: 'Boundaries and Escaping' and 'Separation Anxiety'

Foundation Course - 4th Class with Skooter (Week 5)

I fell asleep between classes and woke up later than I should have to get to Skooter's class. We got there late, but they had waited for us. We didn't miss anything. It was nice to see Ruth and Kristy. I would have liked to have had a chance to talk to them, but it's difficult with getting the dogs in and out.

Skooter was a lot more settled in class today. He wasn't pulling the whole time. He was distracted by the other dogs, but got back on task when I called his name.

We worked on sit first. He did okay with that. Then we worked on flat. He had to have a tease/lure to do that, but he did it. Then we combined sit and flat and didn't treat right away. He did okay with that too. He had a tough time with wait, but finally did it two or three times. He was the demo dog for with me again. He did really well and did automatic sits when stopped and stayed with Ruth during the walk. I am very proud of him. When he did it with me he didn't do quite as well, but still okay. Then we did with me to go outside and do quick on the side walk. He took a long time to sit outside the training room door. He was pretty well behaved outside. I was real apprehensive about doing quick with him off the leash. Kristy held him. I walked about thirty feet away then turned and called, Skooter, quick, come on boy. He hesitated but then with some coaxing trotted on down to where I was standing. He never went off the sidewalk. Again, he had trouble sitting so we just did gotcha instead. Then we did with me to the car. He got in the car and I went in to get the homework for the week.

I asked Ruth about Monday's session, if it would be 15 minutes total or 15 minutes per dog. She said we really have no time limit. She'll work with us as long as we need to. Mostly it'll be working with David and me on our training technique. The dogs will do a lot better once we can be consistent and train them well.

I could really see in both classes today how deficient my technique is. I wasn't treating often enough or at the right time. I wasn't using enough verbal praise. I wasn't being consistent with my behavior commands. I was using the wrong commands at times. I was using the wrong hand to treat with during the with me exercise. I'm not teaching Skooter well enough when it comes to sitting or going flat without a treat. I wasn't using the lure correctly (giving it to him instead of dropping other treats).

I want to make it clear that I'm not getting down on myself, just doing some constructive criticism. I know that I will be able to do what I need to do more proficiently in time. Again, I need more training than the dogs at this point. It's fruitless to try to train them with bad techniques.

Overall it was an excellent training day. I was so pleased with Skooter and Moped today. Their behavior was improved and they improved on their behaviors also. Woohoo!

At least Skooter didn't pee on the floor! :-)

Moped's Homework 2/17/07 Week #4

Homework for the week for Moped includes practicing the following behaviors:

Flat with cue
Quick with sit and gotcha (play hide and seek with him)
With me (treat and automatic sit)
Wait

Handouts to read: 'Chewing' and 'Barking'

DDC update

I checked on Moped in DDC. He is doing just fine. Looks like he's running off a lot of energy. That's just what I want him to do. I love seeing him have fun. Today in class we had to say what we love about our dog. We said it was his enthusiasm that we loved. He's so anxious to learn and get our approval and he loves the treats!

Skooter did just fine being home alone. He's outside right now. Of course he's jumped the fence. David had got to get that tie down put in. Skooter won't go out on the 20 foot lead.

On the way over to Moped's class, we had to stop twice because Moped got out of his restraint. I can't wait until those real restraint straps arrive.

I went through all the pepperoni and cheese in Moped's session. That's the first time that has happened. He was so good that he got lots of treats. I still have some goldfish left and I'll use those with Skooter at his training session.

Ruth was very understanding about Moped being a bit behind in class and she let us just do what Moped could do so he would be successful. I think he surprised all of us today. He was far less distracted today than in previous training sessions. Today it finally just clicked for both of us. It felt so good to see him doing the requested behaviors. I can't say how happy I am right now.

Skooter is still out on an adventure. We worry about him when he takes off because we don't know when he'll be back or where he is while he's gone. I know he'll come back, but we really want him to stay in the yard. He'll teach Moped to go over the fence and then we'll have a really bad situation.

Skooter's back.

David yells at the dogs too much and is too physical with them. He's not helping the situation at all. He's making the dogs fear him. That's not Relationship Based Training. It's bullying. He always has an excuse for what he does, but it's just that - an excuse. Skooter cowers around David and I don't want that. Skooter loves David and will sit in his lap and fall asleep, but when David gets pissed because he thinks the dogs aren't minding, he gets meaner than he needs to get.

Checked the web cam again. Moped is doing great. He's playing with another dog. Good, good, good - he's getting out some energy. I really am glad that Lauren suggested DDC for Moped. He really needs the time to full out play.

Puppy Elementary - 3rd class with Moped (week 4)

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!

Moped did a great job in training today. He did sit and flat and wait and with me with an automatic sit. I am so proud of him. He didn't run around the whole time either. During social time he was hard to get because he wanted to play keep away, as usual. But he still did really well. He peed on the floor three times though. :-) He's not doing his commands from a distance yet, but at least he's doing them most of the time when he's close by. I just couldn't believe how well he did today. He was the demo dog for with me and he did just fine.

After class, as a reward, we took him to doggy day care. He was excited to be there but hesitant at first to go in with the dogs. Then once he was in there he did just fine. I'm going to go check him out on the web cam.

Ignore, ignore, ignore

Moped woke me up by scratching on his kennel.

It's a bit past 5am and I'm ignoring an unwanted behavior with Moped. He grabbed a plastic bottle off of the end table and is running around with it 'asking' someone to chase him. Well, I'm not playing this game at all and neither is Skooter. Hopefully he'll begin to see that this is boring and stop doing it.

I decided to do an activity which Moped would enjoy more than playing with the bottle: eating breakfast. He put the bottle down and went flat and waited for his meal. I gave him half a can of canned salmon. He ate his right away. Skooter got his firest but did not touch it. Looks like he slept on the couch last night. That's okay by me. As long as he's not on the bed with me.

Moped is in his kennel whining, howling and scratching, which I plan to ignore. Once he's quieted down I'll tell him 'good quiet'. He's calmed down and quiet, so I told him 'good quiet' and 'bedtime'. He's still not making a peep.

I've taken Skooter's food away since he walked away from the meal. I'll try feeding it to him again tonight. He'll be hungry by the time class rolls around, so maybe he'll eat the treats I bring for a change (pepperoni, goldfish crackers and cheese). I'll try any treats at this point to get him to be more conistent with his behaviors in class.

Today all I'm going to bring are the folders and treats - no toys or project toys today. They either ignore the stuff or get distracted by it. They will do fine without toys. Oh, and I'll also bring the 20 foot lead. It said in the introcduction that we needed to start brining that at the fourth class and today is Skooter's 4th class. It will be Moped's third class.\

I'm debating about DDC for today. It might be good for Moped to be home alone for a couple of hours so he can get use to that scenario. And it would save us one more trip across town. I think DDC is off the table today.

I think it is awesome that Moped voluntarily gave up the plastic bottle and chose to come over and lie nicely waiting for his meal. I can't find the bottle though. :-)

How do I feel about my goals for the dogs

1. obedience: we never discussed this when we were with Lauren; it was a goal I came up with once I knew the dogs would be in training; now I can see that it's not the top goal that I had or have

2. have the dogs out of the kennels while supervised: this was not even a possibility on January 9th when we had our first meeting (the behavioral evaluation) but now they can both be out of their kennels for hours at a time on a good day

3. have the dogs NOT on tie down when out of kennel in the house: this wasn't even a thought when we first started putting them on tie down; now they are hardly ever on tie down; Skooter hasn't been on tie down for more than a week, last time Moped was on tie down was on Monday during training

4. no jumping on us, no scratching: they are a lot better about this than they were before

5. not bored: their behavior tells me that they are not as bored as they were before

6. walk without pulling: they are not quite there yet with this behavior

7. to be able to take them in the car safely: we are doing this now and it will be better when we get the new seat belt restraint straps

8. obedience in stores, in public and out of the house: this is not an issue at this point; this will come later, it's not a priority right now

9. no mouthing: since they have RMB's/chew toys/toys and project toys they have been chewing on me less

10. sleep on the floor in the bedroom with cats in the room: it's our fault that they haven't been sleeping in the bedroom; we just haven't been able to figure out the logistics of it yet

11. stop chasing the cats (Skooter): still an issue but not a priority

So, we have come a long way and have a long way to go, but it's easier when you can see the progress they've made in such a short amount of time. Initially we went into AB because we wanted them to be able to be in the house with us. And we've got that to an extent. So we are reaching our primary goal.

After a quick trip out, Skooter is back on the couch. Moped is quiet in his kennel.

The $64,000 question

What treats do I use tomorrow? I'm thinking:

pepperoni
goldfish
cheese

We'll see how it goes...

Foundation Course - 3rd class with Skooter (week 4)

We worked on:

Sit w/cue
Flat w/cue
Quick (have him sit, gotcha and fine dine)
With me (3-8 steps)
Wait

Homework: Practice behaviors listed above; read 'Chewing' (already read it) and 'Barking' (will pick this handout up tomorrow)

Chewing is still an issue with Moped, but it's not near as bad as it was before we started with AB. Barking is a slight issue. They are not nuisance barkers though.

They don't do any of the commands consistently. jThey will sit, flat, with me and wait, but usually it's when I'm not asking them to do the behavior. Like, Skooter walks through the house with me, but he doesn't do with me on leash as well. Getting them to do any behavior in class is a totally different issue too because of the distractions.

Dinner is served

Tonight for dinner the dogs had a mix of:

chicken gizzards
plain yogurt
egg with shell
flax oil
canola oil
olive oil
(I left out the veggies tonight, didn't have any)

and a raw meat bone.

Moped ate the mix right up. Finicky Skooter only ate a few bites. Tomorrow morning I'm going to give them canned salmon for breakfast instead of chicken (which I'm out of right now). Skooter liked the salmon last time so hopefully he'll like it this time. He's just so picky.

Skooter is on the couch sleeping and Moped is in his kennel. He is having trouble behaving today. I'm sure it's because he hasn't been to DDC this week. He has too much pent up energy and the only way to get it out is to run around the house and grab things. I'm not mad at him, it's just frustrating because I can't let him stay out of his kennel. I know he is only eight months old and will grow out of this stage just like Skooter did. I do look forward to that time. In the mean time, I'll just enjoy him being a puppy.

I hope Skooter can keep the food down tonight. And I hope that his bathroom situation gets better soon too. Having stomach problems can wear a dog out.

Back and forth

Moped has been back and forth, in and out of his kennel all afternoon. He keeps trying to get stuff off of the table. I keep redirecting him to his toys but he just goes back to the table. David is home now and Moped is scratching at the kennel and whining, so I've let him out. He's being a little terror so he's gone back into his kennel.

He just loves plastic bottles, empty or full. He's constantly going after them off of the living room end table. I'd let him play with them, but that would be encouraging him to get the bottles. He also likes the tissue box and tissues. And pretty much anything else he can get :-)

I love my dogs. We've had Skooter for seventeen months and we've had Moped for six months now. Ironically, we got them both in August, Skooter of '05 and Moped of '06. Skooter was a couple of weeks older than Moped when we got him. We got Mopes when he was a day shy of eight weeks old. Sometimes I wonder if he'd be calmer if we had got him a couple of weeks later. Doesn't matter, everything happens for a reason, and these dogs were meant to be mine.

Skooter has gone back and visited with his Mom and half-sister (from an earlier litter). I'm glad he did because his Mom passed away last April, just before Skooter's first birthday. I had sent a letter from Skooter to his Mom thanking her and Dave for bringing him into the world. Unfortunately, his Mom passed away before his breeder, Dave, got the letter. It was bittersweet. Dave wrote a very touching letter to us.

Skooter is asleep on the couch and Moped is in his kennel (again) because he can't behave and he always jumps on David when he's reading the newspaper. Oh yeah, that another thing he loves to snatch - the newspaper. So he's taking a nap and David is reading the paper in peace. Skooter seems happy taking a nap too.

Tomorrow is training day - 10 am for Moped and 2pm for Skooter. If the weather is nice, we'll bring Moped to doggie day care after his training session and pick him up later in the day. I don't think they've made any improvement in training behaviors since last week, but there's been so much going on and I haven't been training as consistently. Anyway, my focus isn't on training but on their behavior changes (which are occurring).

My day is still wrapped up in the dogs and I need to change that. I need to take care of myself and get my stuff done before I start in with them. Having them out is great, but I have to watch them every minute, well, Moped anyway. So, it kind of tethers me down. I need to let them out as much as I can, but I still need time for me to get stuff done during the day (laundry, dishes, errands, etc.). That means that at certain points during the day they'll need to go in their kennels to nap so I can get some stuff done. Hey, isn't that what new moms say? :-)

The reason it doesn't help me to put them on tie down is that Moped can get out of his collar and harness when he's on tie down. Skooter is actually just fine off of tie down (well, besides chasing the cats). That's why we're having trouble getting them into the bedroom at night. That and Moped chewing on the bed. We're going to change the room around this weekend (really, we are ;-) ) and get them into the bedroom at night to sleep. We'll just have to figure out a way to keep Moped on the tie down. I'll ask for some suggestions to do that.

I'm really looking forward to dog training tomorrow even though I never got the dog's into the facility this week. I just feel so much less stress after talking to Misty. Training will be fun.

Okay, let's try this again

While doing some thinking on my own, Misty called to talk to me. She read 'The Dog Blog' and had some suggestions.

1. Continue the raw food diet but hand feed them the food. That will create a bond, put me in charge and benefit the dog's health.

2. DON'T focus on training. Focus on the behaviors that we originally went in to AB to get help with (mainly having the dogs out of their kennels and off tie down). Obedience is something separate and shouldn't be the focus. Continuing the training classes is fine, but let the dog's progress as their own rate. We are making a lot of rule changes in the house and that's a lot for the dog's and David and me to cope with.

3. Continue to support Skooter as the top dog. He's just letting Moped know that he is the top dog in the house by 'humping' and asserting himself.

4. Continue the Dog Blog.

5. When I take Moped to DDC, make sure I'm giving Skooter special time too. Don't just leave him home in his kennel for hours while Moped and I are out having a great time.

6. Consider changing vets to one that doesn't discourage the raw meat diet.

7. Continue with the rule changes at home.

8. Take a deep breath.

These are all good suggestions. I will take them and implement them (especially taking a deep breath!).

We are really fortunate that the counselors and trainers at AB are putting so much effort into helping us train Skooter and Moped. And I really appreciate them reading the Dog Blog to gain insight into the situation. I know it takes time to read it, but they are doing that. I am thrilled.

Skooter and Moped are out of their kennels right now and off tie down. They are playing with an empty Coke bottle. Moped is playing keep away from Skooter.

What progress have they made (just reminding myself again):

1. They can both be out of their kennels and off tie down!
2. They both know 'sit' and 'flat' (mostly).
3. They both know to sit at a door going out or coming in (usually Skooter has to be told to but he does it)
4. Moped is not running wild all over the house - now they both are (just kidding!). It's great to have them out playing as much as possible during the day.
5. They ride in the car relatively safely (Moped still tries to get up front once in a while, but that will quit once I get the new seat belt restraining straps).
6. I can eat a bowl of cereal while they are out of their kennels.
7. Moped will lay down for minutes at a time out of the kennel and off tie down, giving us the peace we were hoping for.
8. Moped doesn't steal stuff on the counters and tables every single time he is out, just once in a while now.
9. Skooter is gaining confidence.
10. Skooter is not afraid of the clicker anymore.

That's a lot of progress!