The Vet called back

I left a message for Dr. G telling him that I had switched the dogs to a raw meat diet, that Skooter was having trouble going to the bathroom and that he was vomiting. I also told him about Moped having diarrhea. He called back and said he researched the raw food diet and had three articles that talked of the drawbacks to a raw food diet. He said that he would prefer that the dogs go back on kibble. I called David and let him know what Dr. G had to say.

At this time, with everything that's going on with me (my medical issues) and the dogs (training, DDC, diet change), David said he that he would also prefer it if I would put the dogs back on kibble.

I think I've introduced too many changes too quickly to the dogs in a short period of time. I need to slow down and focus on one thing and do that right. Training will be what I focus on. Diet can come later. I think DDC will still be okay because it helps Moped get some energy out that I can't accomplish at home with him. One day a week at doggie day care will be enough for now. Then we'll have training on Saturdays. That'll be enough for now. For them and for me.

Ah, would you believe...

The past two days have been a rollercoaster of activities.

I put the dogs in their kennels on Wednesday at about 12:45 pm so I could go to bible study and then to the grocery store. I did both and when I got home David told me that Skooter had had an accident in his kennel - and he had diarrhhea.

I should have come over inbetween bible study and grocery shopping to let them out. I just didn't think of it at the time.

I cleaned Skooter's kennel out with a disinfectant and let it air our for quite some time. I checked on Skooter. We was active, playing with his brother and his tail was wagging. He didn't appear to be sick. So I emailed Ruth and Kristy to get some advice.

Kristy told me to try to feed him canned pumpkin. I decided to let them fast for the evening to see if that would help.

That night I ended up going by ambulance to the ER for chest pain. Thankfully they determined that it was not heart or lung related. They said it was a chest wall muscle issue. However, during the testing they did discover that my calcium is low (a take a supplement, how is my calciuml low?), and that I'm slightly anemic. We had left the dogs home for about five hours because of this situation and I was very worried about Skooter. I hoped he didn't have another accident in his kennel. We arrived home at about 2am. Skooter had done just fine. His kennel was clean and he was happy and wagging his tail. I still slept out in the living room with him just in case he was going to need to go out frequently during the rest of the morning. He slept most of the time.

I got up Thursday morning and Skooter still seemed to be doing okay. I had already had a response from Kristy and now I had a response from Ruth to my email about advice for Skooter's diarrhea. They both had great suggestions and comments. I gave the dogs some bland hamburger and rice. As usual, Moped loved his dinner and scarfed it down. Skooter took a while to eat his but he eventually did eat most of it. We stayed in most of the night to keep an eye on Skooter.

We left the house for about 20 minutes after I received a phone call from my doctor. In addition to the anemia and low calcium, she found out that I also have low potassium. She thinks I could have a small internal bleed going on and will do an endoscopy and cononsocopy to see if there is one. So I had to go to the pharmacy to pick up a prescrition for postassium. When we got back, Skooter appeared to be just fine. Within and hour though he was vomiting his dinner. He threw up three times in about 15 minutes. Once his stomach was empty, he quit throwing up. Again, he didn't appear to be sick. He was NOT lethargic, he was walking around and wagging his tail. He even went outside for a lilttle while.

He's either detoxing pretty seriously from this raw meat diet or he got a hold of something outside on one of his expeditions and ate something he shouldn't have.

I let him sleep in his kennel last night and I slept in my bed. I got up at 4:30am this morning and let them out. Skooter appeared to be doing okay. They went back in thier kennels and I went back to bed. Around 6:30am Skooter woke me up by whining. I got up and let them out. Skooter appears to be okay. He's still having trouble going to the bathroom. Moped has slight diarrhea, but he appears to be well, wagging his tail and playing.

In the last day or so, Skooter has been showing a lot more dominance over Moped. He usually doesn't let Moped have his RMB or any toys. Skooter growls at him and snaps at him to let Moped know that he's being put in his place. And Moped has been responding by staying back from the situation. He'll lie down under the dining room table or behind by chair or anywhere near me and just watch Skooter from a distance. Skooter has been 'humpin' Moped more also.

This morning they are playing together and appear to be doing okay. Skooter is starting the dominance thing though (mostly by 'humping').

I'm afraid to feed Skooter because I don't want him getting sick again. I should have fasted them for a day before I started on the Raw Meat Diet, but I didn't think to do that. Anyway, they are on the diet now and I need to continue it.

David wants me to call the vet to have him check on Skooter. He has a history of stomach problems and I don't want to let a possibility of an obstruction go without being checked.

Because of everything that has been going on with me an Skooter, I haven't had much time to do training with them. Training classes are tomorrow and we are totally unprepared. We're still working on sit and flat, and even that is not consistently done by them. We have a private session scheduled for Monday at 5:30pm. That should help figure out what to do next and where we are going with all of this.

I feel that I need to be a bit more structured about it all so I can make sure I'm working on all the behaviors with them each day. I'm not talking about a trainer schedule, more of just a training list that I can check off each day as we do the behaviors. I'm not sure if that would work or not. I do need to be more consistent though.

And Skooter is still 'humping' Moped. What a day this will be.

I gave them a toy to share and Skooter is keeping Moped away from it (it's a plastic jug with meaty bones biscuits inside of it). Skooter growls at Moped if he gets too close. Skooter just got one of the biscuits out and is eating it. Usually Moped would be right in there looking for his share, but he's hesitant to rush in.

It'll be interesting to see what happens after Skooter eats these treats. Will he vomit them? Will he have diarrhea still? I'll have to keep a good eye on him for the next few hours.

I considered bringing Moped to DDC, but I'm really just not up to going out. The pain in my chest is still there and I'm tired from all of the goings ons of the last two days.

Moped is sitting by me and just watching Skooter play with the project toy. Even if I made Moped his own project toy, Skooter would come and take it away from him. Moped has the black Kong bone and Skooter is trying to take it away from him. Skooter is yanking Moped by the collar off of the couch and on to the floor. Skooter mades this interesting sound by opening his mouth completely, baring his teeth and kind of making a yawning sound. He's not yawning though, he's warning Moped. But Moped is holding his ground for now. Both are vocalizing and snapping at each other. Skooter's tail is wagging intermitently.

Skooter sits like his butt is really sore. It probably is because of the diarrhea he has experienced. It doesn't look irritated though.

I'm not sure if Skooter just puked up some water or tipped the bowl over. I thought I heard a weird sound, but there's been lots of weird sounds emminating from them this morning. He just drank again, so I'll watch a bit closer now.

I received an email from Lauren asking me to volunteer some time to ABR&T. I have to let her know within a day or so. I'd love to help out but I'm not sure what my medical conditon is at this point. I may have to say no and then see what happens and maybe I can join in later. I'm honored that she thought of me though and considers me competent enough to help out.

What a night!

I didn't get to finish my post below because Skooter was having trouble breathing. He was hacking like he had something stuck. I checked and there wasn't anything blocking his throat. He eventually stopped. He's still not feeling good though. I had to sleep on the couch with him because he needed to go out to the bathroom more than usual. I was up every couple of hours with him. I am very tired this morning.

The title of my previous post was not referring to Skooter. I was going to say that another night of sleep had bit the dust because Skooter woke me up out of bed at 2am.

Skooter is on the couch and Moped is in his kennel because he can't stop grabbing things and running around with them in his mouth playing keep away. I obviously don't have enough project toys out for them to play with. If I did, Moped would be playing with those toys and not looking for stuff off the table and countertops.

Another one bites the dust

It's 2am. Skooter woke me up by whining. I don't think he's feeling well. He keeps needed to go out to the bathroom and he's having trouble

It's like having kids

Middle of the night wake ups. Having to watch their every move when they are not contained. A morning nap time. Finally, time for me to do something without worrying about the dogs. And all I want to do is sleep. Not sleeping through the night really makes me tired. Having two dogs is very much like having two little kids. They steal each other's toys. They fight. They play rough. They are loud. They are beautiful. They love me and I love them. They are fun. See, it's very much like having kids.

Groundhog Day

The dogs woke me up around 3am again. I tried to ignore them, hoping Skooter would stop whining, but he didn't. Unfortunately that's the only way they have to tell me that they need to go out. I made them sit before getting out of their kennels. Moped went out to go to the bathroom; Skooter jumped the fence. I tried to put him on the makeshift tie out, but he just came back into the house, tie out and all. So I let him out to go to the bathroom. And he took off over the fence looking for rabbits. David's going to finish the tie out this afternoon if the weather is okay. It's freezing out right now.

Wait a second; didn't I just do this yesterday morning? My life is turning into Groundhog Day (the movie, not the rodent :-) !) It's just the same day every day right now. I need to do something besides take care of these dogs. They are going to get too dependent on me. Moped has got to got to Doggy Day Care this week. And if the weather is nice on Saturday, I'll put him in DDC again like we did last Saturday. He really enjoyed that, being in DDC instead of being home alone in his kennel.

For dinner last night Skooter had chicken again and Moped had tuna. I think Skooter would have eaten it if it were canned salmon or mackerel. He just doesn't like tuna. I do have to cut up the thighs for him before he will attempt to eat them. I just cut them into three big pieces instead of one giant piece that overfills his mouth.

I'm excited about the Raw Diet plan that Kristy sent to me. It seems much easier than what I've been looking at online. I can easily shop for a week with this menu. And preparation will be a breeze. I'll still use the veggie/raw burger slop that I made on Sunday, but I'll process it so it will be a patty instead. Maybe then the dogs will eat it better. Moped did eat some of his, but all Skooter wanted was the ground beef. And he picked all the pieces out. He was able to do that because I didn't much it up good enough. That's okay, I'll learn as I go along how to prepare food for them and how to do it in the easiest way possible.

Both dogs are back in the house now and in their kennels. It is peaceful and quiet right now. I should be in bed but I wanted to get this stuff down before I forgot it. ;-)

I thought about putting Skooter and Moped into Boarding School for one night just so I can get a full nights sleep. I'd hate to do it and then not be able to sleep through the night though. It's just a thought. I could check out PetSmart's doggie hotel too. It's a lot closer. But I don't know that the dogs get much activity at PetSmart like they do at DDC. That would be a big issue for me. I need them getting energy out, not storing it up.

Well, this Groundhog Day is almost over and I should be going back to bed, so I can get up and do the same thing tomorrow that I did today. Goodnight!

Door Program #4

Misty came with a student to do the fourth installment of the door program. We are doing something just a little different now. The dogs have mats that they have to find their 'spot' on. They are like welcome mats, that size. Skooter has to have all four paws on the mat. Moped has to be mostly on the mat when he goes 'flat'. We tried working them together, but it just didn't work. So now I have to work with them individually on the door program. When we trained them individually they both did great. Misty says they are doing really well. She said that they are her favorite dogs right now. We actually got the student in the door and to them without them leaving their spot. That is awesome progress. Once they really 'get it' individually, then I can start working with them separately. This was awesome considering the morning I had with them. I was frustrated with their behavior most of the morning.

For breakfast they had beef liver and chicken. Skooter didn't like the liver, Moped did like it. Skooter ate more chicken and Moped ate more liver. I've been flying by the seat of my pants on this raw diet. I know I need more guidance and I got it from Kristy (Skooter's assistant trainer). She emailed me a Raw Food Schedule. It's great and is a real help. I'll start following it tomorrow (there are a few things I need to get at the store before I can begin). I have a question still for Kristy, so I'll email her tonight. The question is:

* What part(s) of the chicken does she give to her dog?

I have thighs, but I read that thighs aren't the best to feed them. I probably should have got wings. I need to get more canned salmon and some canola and flax seed oil too. I think I've been doing pretty good feeding them considering all the conflicting information online.

Here's Kristy's response to my email:

"Thanks for sharing your blog with me. I have a couple comments and/or suggestions.

FIRST - I am attaching a sample raw food diet. I made this up when I started feeding my dogs raw and like you found so much conflicting and sometimes confusing information. This sample is what works best for me... and the one thing I will tell you about the raw diet is that it is very forgiving - if you forget a certain meal don't worry about it, or if you run out of veggies (as I do often) and don't feel like food processing some, just do it the next time. Also on this list I have chicken for all the breakfast meals cause I work early and never have time to mix up meals - if this isn't the case for you then you can switch things up to work for you. Also, if you come up with your own schedule, I would be more than happy to modify this one for you so you can post it on your fridge.

SECOND - I just have a suggestion about the bed issue with Scooter. I'm not sure if this would work for you or not (and you may want to check with Misty) - Juneau (my pitbul) had this problem too. She would never budge off the bed and it drove me nuts. So I made it into a type of game. I would throw some treats on the floor and when she would hop down to get them I would say good hop down. I did this like 50 times (not all in a row) and when she would hop down every time for the treats, I then asked for the hop down at the same time as tossing the treats. After doing this a bunch of times, I then asked first for the hop down, waited and if she did it on her own I would jackpot her. If not then I would say it again and toss treats. Eventually she got it on her own. I will tell you that this is a game for her now and she hops up and looks at me and just waits for the hop down (somewhat annoying). I don't reward her anymore with food - just praise and because the hopping up and down is fun for her and is actually the reward itself now.

THIRD - I wanted to let you know that I also started in behavior counseling and went through all the overwhelming things you are going through... all the new rules, all the reading and the new way of training. Just don't be too hard on yourself if you make a mistake or think you are messing up. As long as you do your best and love your dogs, then you are doing a great job. As for the training, your dogs are in elementary school, so they won't be perfect yet. Don't get discouraged and just keep practicing, they will get better, I promise. Also I would be more than happy to do a private with you if you can't set a time with Ruth. Just email me or give me a call."

I really appreciate the time she took to answer my questions. Her comments and suggestions are really helpful. And getting a copy of her Raw diet is extremely helpful.

Back to this morning. I don't know if it was the dogs or me, but I was totally frustrated with the dogs this morning. They just weren't listening and were getting in the way. They seemed to have to much energy to expend this morning. I've had them out of their kennels and off tie down for days now, so they are getting a lot more exercise. Anyway, I ended up putting them in their kennels because I was so frustrated. They took a nap. I made lunch for after training. When Misty got here she asked how I was doing and I told her how I felt. She was very understanding and was able to open my eyes to the progress the dogs have made and how well they are doing individually with the door program. I felt a lot better by the time we were through with the training.

A BIG issue is Skooter jumping the fence. He is running all over the community. Sooner or later someone is going to say something about him running around. David is going to put the tie out up, but hasn't done it yet. I fear that Skooter will get stolen or hit by a vehicle if he continues jumping the fence. And the worst thing is that now Moped wants to get out of the yard. He'd definitely get lost if he got out. I don't think Moped would know how to find his way home. I really wish we could move to a place where we had more land and could put up a higher fence. Some day.

Right now they are in their kennels taking a late afternoon nap. Tonight for dinner they will probably get tuna since I don't have any salmon or mackerel. I'll start giving them fish just once a week starting tonight.

When David got home Moped kind of went crazy. He jumped up on David. He jumped on the furniture. He ran all around the house. That's not the behavior I want when David comes in the house. I would like them to sit and wait for attention instead of begging for and demanding it. That is a goal we can shoot for in the future. I can't expect them to get it all in just a couple of weeks. Like I said earlier, they've made a lot of progress and I am very happy about that. I just need to be more patient and relaxed with them. And I can do that. I can do anything for them.

Saturday we forgot to go in after we did the last behavior to get our homework for this week. I'll be able to pick it up tomorrow because I'll be bringing the dogs to the facility so they can spend some time in the training room. Misty said we could be there for up to an hour. I really think this will help them get used to the room and not be quite so distracted when we go in for training on Saturday. I'm going to try to get them in one more day, one Friday, to spend some more time in the room and the facility.

I was just thinking that I need to work with them on sitting at the door before we go into/out of the facility, the training room or any other door. Moped is pretty good about sitting at any door. Skooter does it with guidance, not so much on his own. I'll have a chance to work on basic behaviors while we are in the training room, but mostly I will just let them run around and explore.

It'll be a challenge to have to handle them both by myself tomorrow. I hope I can do it. Yikes!

Progress!

Neither Moped nor Skooter have been on tie down for days now! Amazing! They even just lay around sometimes. This was part of the goals that I set down when we began this process. I think it's a combination of things that has helped:

1. Doggy Day Care
2. Getting Moped neutered
3. Training
4. Age
5. having lots of toys/project toys/meaty bones/chews available to them at all times

Whatever the cause, I sure am happy with the result.

Obedience was my top goal and we're still working on that. They will 'sit' and 'flat' but not every time. We have not developed consistency yet. I think part of the problem is my training technique or lack thereof. There's something that I'm doing/not doing that is slowing down thier progress in learning new behaviors.

I've sent an email to their trainer to see if we can look at the situation.

I've also talked to the Door Program trainer about how things are progressing.

We basically are working on three behaviors right now:

1. sit
2. flat
3. wait

We also need to work on 'gotcha', but I need them to sit before I can do 'gotcha'.

They've moved ahead in class, but there's no sense in me asking the dogs to do more difficult behaviors when they still aren't consistent with the basic behaviors.

Way too early in the morning

It's 4am. The dogs woke me up around 3am. Well, I'm not sure it was them that woke me up. I think Skooter was whining. Anyway, I let them out after a sit in the kennel and a sit at the door. Moped spent a few minutes outside then sat before coming in. Skooter jumped the fence. He was only gone for a few minutes then sat before coming in. While he was gone, I let Moped stay out of his kennel and play. At first he was grabbing things off the end table, but he stopped doing that and with redirection started playing with his toys. Once Skooter came in, after sitting at the door, they started playing together, so I let them stay out for a bit so they could use up some of that pent up energy. I don't want it to become a habit for them to wake up in the middle of the night just to play. This is a picture of them when Moped was much younger.

B.A.R.F. diet

The dogs are taking a much deserved nap. Neither of them has been on tie down for days now. They are a lot more active than they were just a week ago.

I've been doing a lot of research on a raw diet for the dogs. There is so much conflicting information. I've already started feeding them the diet, but I'm constantly researching. So far they have had sardines, salmon, mackerel, tuna, chicken thighs, hamburger, yogurt, and cottage cheese. Skooter doesn't like the cottage cheese or plain yogurt. He does seem to like flavored yogurt though. :-) I'm going to add in a veggie patty starting tonight or tomorrow (depending on how lazy I'm feeling ;-) ). The dogs seem to be eating better than when they were eating kibble. Kibble has to be so boring for them. And it's not their natural diet at all. In the wild they would never eat anything like kibble. I couldn't imagine eating the same thing for every meal, every day. Yuck!

I'm going to talk to the trainers and ask them what their sample menu would be for a week. I need to get some idea of what other people are doing. I don't want to do the wrong thing for the dogs. They may refer me to the nutritionist they recommend.

I bought the carpet squares today but don't know how to get the dogs to use them for their 'spot'. I also bought a food processor to help with the BARF diet. I'm wondering though if I should have bought a blender instead, but I'd like to have something a bit more powerful so I can process RMB.

As I was practicing 'sit' with the dogs today, I realized that I am not doing it correctly. I'm not sure if I should re-treat if they continue to sit. I'm not sure if I need to get them up after every sit so that they are always going from all fours to the sit position. I don't 'break' them after every sit. I don't always say game over when we are done. It's the most basic command and I don't know that I'm helping them learn it appropriately. They know how to sit but do not do it unless they get a treat or are at a door. They know 'flat' too but won't do it from a distance. I have to have a treat or tease into the 'flat' position. These are things I can ask Misty about or talk to Ruth in the 15 minute private session. I want to do it right so that the dogs can succeed at each behavior. It's not like they aren't making any progress. They are making tremendous strides, but it only goes so far right now.

You, you wabbit ears

Skooter finally got out of bed, my bed, at 6:15 am. After sitting at the door I let Skooter and Moped out. Skooter jumped the fence to go rabbit hunting. I got Moped back in the house, after a sit at the door. I put some Kong Tots in his kennel and told him, in a stern voice, 'kennel'. It took him a few walk-bys, but within a minute he was in his kennel. That's progress.

I thought of another suggestion that Misty had for me:

1. Use different tones in my voice to convey what I need the dog to know. Use a lower, stern voice when requesting a behavior. Use a high, cheerleader-spirit voice when praising them. I've tried it out a bit and it seems to work.

6:40 am Skooter is still out. I worry about him getting out of the yard. We really need to get the tie out put up. I'll bring the wrong-sized one back today and get one that is more heavy duty for my strong pullers.

Even though I'm very tired, from being up at midnight, I do like to be up this time of day when things are quiet. I can often get things done this time of day.

Skooter just came back (6:45 am). I made him to a 2-3 second sit before coming in the house. Now he's on a blanket on the couch. What a spoiled dog. I need to get him in his kennel, but I'm tired and don't want to battle with him. Anyway, he's a good dog when he is off tie down and deserved to be out more. I just need to know that if I want him to go in his kennel, he will, without a bunch of fuss.

6:00 am

Skooter spent the night in our bed. In fact he's still there. Didn't get up for the 6:00 am bathroom time.

Moped did wake me up though to go out. He got his black bone and out he went, bone in mouth to pee. And he peed with the bone in his mouth. Isn't that cute? He did sit to get out of the kennel and to go out but I didn't ask for it and he didn't do it when coming in. I'm barely awake so I can cut myself some slack. When he did come in, he ran around for a minute, with bone in mouth, and then settled on my blanket that is on the floor. Right now I think he is 'cat watching'.

Just a side note: it is freezing in here! The thermostat says it's 64 degrees but it feels much colder. The temperature must have really dropped outside.

Skooter still sleeps in my bed and Moped is still on my blanket on the floor. Go figure.

Instructors/Trainers

The dogs have been dealing with a lot of different people since we started at All Breed. I think that is good socialization for them and keeps the dogs on their toes.

Behavior Evaluation: Lauren
Counseling Session #1: Misty
Door Program: Misty, Lauren, Lydia
Counseling Session #2 Misty and Lauren
Moped's trainers: Ruth, assistants are Jason and Lydia; Lisa taught one class
Skooter's trainers: Ruth, assistant is Kristy; Kristy taught one class
Moped's classmate's owners (4-6 people)
Skooter's classmate's owners (4-6 people)
Staff at Canine Campus (4+ people)
Dr. Goheagan from All About Pets (our vet)

The dogs have also been dealing with a lot of different situations over the last couple of months.

Bark Busters failed training (Scared Skooter to death)
Joining All Breed
Riding in the car more
Being out with other dogs more
Being around other people a lot more
House rules changing
Diet changing (from kibble to raw meat diet)
Clicker training (so far just charging up the clicker)

Misty told me that her dog has been going to All Breed since it was five months old and it still takes 4-6 sessions before it is comfortble with the class. That made me feel better.

2:10am Looks like I'm sleeping with Skooter tonight! We'll address this problem later not tonight.

The training never stops

It's 12:50 am and training continues. Skooter woke me up with his whining, which meant that he needed to go out. Skooter had to sit in his kennel before I would let him out. Moped had to sit in his kennel before I would let him out. They both sat before being let out. Then they had to sit before going out the door. Both sat before being let out. Skooter sat immediately upon request, Moped stole the remote first then came over and sat at the sliding door. Moped came to the door first. He sat before coming back into the house. With a cheese treat he went into his kennel. Skooter had jumped the fence and didn't come back right away. When he did come back, he sat before coming back into the house. Both of them sat without issue.

Skooter jumped on the couch. I tried using a cheese and pepperoni treat to get him into his kennel, but it didn't work. He would approach the door, eat some of the treat and turn around and jump back on the couch. The second time he did it he ran for the bedroom and jumped on our bed. I tried to get him to get off the bed, but he wasn't having any of that. I left him on the bed and came out to make this entry. I don't know how I'm going to get him off of the bed. I may end up sleeping with him on the bed. It's 1am now and I'm tired and I just want to go to bed.

The training never stops, even in the middle of the night. Sitting before being let out and before being let back in is essential and required. The don't get that it's going to be paired with 'wait' and keep them from bolting out the door. But we're just working on 'sit' for now. I need to get them to sit consistently and in all situations. They are improving, but not quite there yet.

I'm going to email Ruth and tell her about the Dog Blog. I'm also going to suggest that she talk to Misty before she gets back to me on the private sessions and what direction to take from here.

Skooter is still in my bed. I really need to get him out. He can't win this battle. I'd be undermining all the training I've been doing if I let him sleep in the bed uninvited. I'll try again to get him to get off of the bed.

1:12 am: He won't budge. I tried calling him off the bed. I put the leash on him to see if that would prompt him to get off the bed and it didn't. I can't force him off the bed, so I don't know what to do.

Rethinking things

I spoke to Misty tonight. I told her that I'm feeling like I need to back off and get back to basics with the dogs. I feel that we're going on to more complex behaviors when they aren't consistent with the basics yet. She had some great suggestions:

1. Get some carpet squares/welcome mats for the dog's 'spot'. This way they will have a more concrete 'spot' instead of having them just sit anywhere close to the 'spot'.

2. Set up a 15 minute private session with Ruth. I don't think the problem is with the dog's, but with my training technique. I'd like to see how she does things and they have her evaluate how I am doing.

3. Bring the dogs to the facility during the week so they can spend some time in the training room during a non-training time. This way it won't be so distracting for them when they go in the room for actual training. Misty said we could come by some morning this coming week to do this.

4. We'll continue the door program (#4 scheduled for Monday 2/12/07). We'll use the new technique for them to find their 'spot'. We'll continue to work on 'sit' and 'wait'. Misty will evaluate where they are and we'll go from there.

5. I need to take a deep breath and relax. They may not graduate and that's okay. They may not get the behaviors as quick as other dogs and that's okay. I need to just chill out.

I worked on 'sit' and 'flat' tonight for just a few minutes. We did flat because Moped did it automatically. Moped has not had to be on tie down for days now. When things start getting out of hand, they go in their kennel. They don't get yelled at or anything just redirected to their kennels. It doesn't happen very often these days. They are in their kennels right now because it's bedtime.

Here's what the first lesson entails:

* Practice 'sit' on cue 50x for Moped and 100x for Skooter over the course of the coming week. Have the dogs 'sit' in front, in back and to the sides of me; sitting and standing; different rooms; different surfaces; inside and out.

* Practice luring the dog into the 'flat' position 100x over the course of the coming week. Use educational praise (good flat); have the dogs 'flat' in front, in back and to the sides of me; sitting and standing; different rooms; different surfaces; inside and out.

* Teach your dog to LOVE being caught. Practice catching the dog by the collar or harness and reward him while you are holding on. When you let go of his collar or harness, the treats stop; make sure you can grab him anywhere on his collar or harness; don't force him to like being caught, call your instructor for help.

I don't think I've been consistent enough in the training for the dogs to learn these basic behaviors. I think I was trying to do too much. All the house rules have changed for them and they haven't had a lot of time to adjust to that. Also, Moped is new to DDC and that is effecting how he behaves (which is better in general). Moped was also neutered recently. They are going out more in the car and they are going to the new facility. That's a lot to adjust to in such a short amount of time.

I've emailed Ruth and asked for her comments and suggestions. She's not feeling well, so I don't expect to hear from her right away. I've also asked if we can set up some private sessions.

Today in Skooter's class I had David do some of the training. He needs to get more involved if this is going to work. He and I need to be consistent on how we are training the dogs. Skooter responded well to David during training.

We have 13 handouts of information that we have had to read. I've read them all, but I am not applying all of the recommended techniques because there is too much for me to remember. All the house rules will have to change. The dogs were running the house before and now we are trying to run the house.

All of a sudden they have all these toys/project toys/chews/meat bones that they never had before. And their diet has changed to a raw meat diet. Everything has changed for them.

I'll let Ruth and Misty tell me what direction to take from here on out.

Skooter goes to school...

Skooter had his training session this afternoon. He was very distracted. He did most of the behaviors, but not consistently. I'm going to go back to the beginning and teach him one behavior at a time and make sure he gets it before going on to the next behavior. I need to spend more cconcentrated time with each of them.

We decided to leave Moped at DDC for the afternoon. We'll pick him up around 5:30 pm. I was watching him on the web cam. He looks like he's having fun and expending a lot of energy. My life has gone to the dogs :-) .

Skooter layed down most of the way home. He's chewing on a meat bone right now. He's probably hungry because all he has eaten today is treats and the meat bone. I'll feed them when Moped gets home.

I'll look at the homework assignments and see where I need to start with Skooter. I'm sure the first thing is 'sit'. I need to get him to 'sit' consistently, in all situations. I haven't worked on that enough. I haven't worked on anything enough because there are too many things to try to remember. There's the stuff from the Behavior Evaluation, the two counseling sessions, the door program and training classes. That's a lot. Even though we've worked on wait at home, Skooter couldn't really do it in class today. I need to focus him in on what we are doing instead of doing 20 different things all at the same time.

He's rolling around on the floor right now. He seems content, but I think he misses his brother.

Moped is still running around at DDC. We'll leave in about 45 minutes to pick him up. I miss him.

Skooter is chewing on his toe nails. He bites his nails - ha! He's playing with my blanket and hiding under it. He's such a goof. Now he's chewing on his meat bone again. I swear he has ADD!

Both dogs have had their collars on for days now and haven't chewed them off. That's amazing for both of them. Moped is even wearing his at DDC.

More later.

Training R Us

We brought Moped to his training class. We got there late and Moped was just a bundle of energy at first. We couldn't even get him to sit. All he did was pull on the leash. And we pulled back, which the trainer kept telling us not to do. We're to call him to get him to come, not pull on the leash. Moped was so unruly that he went with the other unruly dogs into another room to practice sit with gotcha. He also had social time with the other dogs. When we went back into the big room, he seemed calmer. He was able to sit and flat. He didn't like gotcha too much. Then we went back into the smaller room again and practiced sit. He was very distracted. Then the trainer brought her dog in and let her socialize with our dogs. Moped did great with the other dogs. I think DDC helps him with that. Then it was back to class to practice some more. Moped did better as time went by, but I could see that he was getting fried by all that was being asked of him.

Moped's class is the same as Skooter's class, except we're a week behing Skooter. So I'm usually working on the next class lesson with Moped.

I didn't do any training this week and it showed. Moped couldn't do most that was asked of him. I told David that he really needs to get involved with their training. I can't do it all myself. I know that they are making progress in some areas, but I want them to be able to perform in class. I need to get them out of the house more often. I need them to be calm during training. They don't play with any of the toys that I bring and they are not interested in the treats most of the time. I'm not sure what to do.

We took Moped to DDC right after his class. He'll have lunch there and stay until after Skooter's training session. He'll enjoy being with the other dogs and getting to run around. Hopefully it will tire him out some.

Skooter does not do any requested commands unless he really wants to. He is downright obstinate. I don't know how he'll be in class today. Again, Moped's class felt chaotic, especially since we got there late. I spent all my time trying to control Moped and get him back into our cube. It was frustrating.

David's working on the door program with Skooter right now. He's not doing great. He can get to the door, but once he opens it Skooter pops up. Now they are doing With Me. Skooter did it perfectly in class, but he's having a difficult time doing it today.

There certainly is a direct correlation between how much time I put into training and how well the Saturday training session goes. Not much training equals an out of control dog who can't do any requested commands.

I just want to go to bed but I have to go to training in about 15 minutes. I need to let David take the lead with Skooter. Let him see how difficult it is to do the training.

David's outside with Skooter right now because Skooter will jump the fence if he's alone.

It's a beautiful day out today. I need to chill on this training and just be happy with the progress that the dogs do make. One week to learn a behavior is not always enough time. And then we go on to a new behavior when he hasn't even figured out the first behavior. I think I need to go back to the beginning and make sure they can do the basic stuff first. Once they really have that down, then we can go on to a new behavior. We're practicing ten different things at one time and he's not getting any of them.

Skooter is on the floor right now, belly up, playing with one of the mega plush toys that I got for them. He's having fun. I think he really enjoys the time that Moped is away. He's always happy to see him, but it gives him the break he needs.

Well it's time to go to training. I hope I can let this one go better than the last one. I take it so personally when the dogs don't do well. I feel like it's a reflection on me (which it is since I'm the primary trainer). When the;y don't do well with requested behaviors, I feel embarrassed because I know I haven't worked with them enough during the week.

Every dog gets distracted in there, but my dogs seem to be ADD distracted. They are totally off the wall. Oh well. I'll report on training when I get back home.

Good Morning

Well, the dogs got me up at 6am to go out. And they really did need to go out. Once they came back in, I let them stay off tie down. They've been off for over half an hour now. Moped is doing great. Skooter too.

Last night Moped needed to go out and when he went to the door he sat without being asked to sit. Wahoo! Progress!

This morning they are playing with their Everlasting Treat Balls again and the Kong Bone and the Hurley Bone. Excellent doggie choices.

I didn't really want to be up this early, but I don't mind being up because they are ready to start their day.

Skooter is spending a lot of time looking out the window. There must still be rabbits outside. It's early enough in the morning that they are still out there. And Skooter is watching intently from the couch. Isn't he a beautiful dog? I just love when he stands like that. You can see how he is all muscle.

Moped has a bone and is playing keep away with Skooter. That won't be a good thing if he's a bird dog. He'd have David running all over the field trying to get the bird - hahaha. Eventually they will both make excellent bird dogs since they come from Championship lines.

Journal

I took Moped to DDC around 6:30am. He only stayed for a few hours yesterday, so I wanted to see if he could make a whole day there. He was excited when he got there. He went in with the other dogs with a little encouragement.
I went home and Skooter and I took a nap on the couch until 9:30am. He seemed to really enjoy napping with me.
Skooter let me know that he needed to go out by whining, so I let him out. He jumped the fence, but came back within 10 minutes. He seems to be enjoying our quiet time. He is on the couch napping still.
I watched Moped on K-9 Connect (a web cam at the DDC). He seems to be doing just fine on the Varsity Field, where the majority of the dogs are. More timid dogs go on the Junior Varsity Field. There are just a handful of those dogs.
While Moped was gone I did some training with Skooter:
* Gotcha
* Gotcha with sit
* Sit (all directions, differnt rooms)
* Charged the clicker (went to different places in the house, sat down, stood up, so he wouldn't get superstitious.
* Trained with the clicker on 'kennel'. That was real slow. Not much progress but him looking at the kennel (then I clicked).
We took Skooter for the ride to pick up Moped. Moped ate a tuna melt for lunch today and really enjoyed it. He picked the cheese off first then ate the tuna. When we were leaving DDC, Moped automatically sat down at the door to go out. I was thrilled! How awesome was that.
The ride home was chaotic. Moped kept trying to get in the front seat. When we got home, Moped went right into his kennel and took a nap.
For dinner tonight they had a cooked cheeseburger in their Kongs. I didn't feed them until they became more active after their naps. Skooter started whining and Moped woke up so I fed them the cheeseburgers in the Kongs. They loved them.
They slept after they ate. When they got up they wanted to go outside. They sat before being let out of their kennels and also sat at the door before going out. Skooter sat before coming in. Moped wouldn't sit. I tried for over 10 minutes and then gave in (not a good idea). I let Moped run around inside for a few minutes, then put him in his kennel with treats.
Skooter went out again and jumped the fence. Moped whined and scratched because Skooter was out and he wasn't.
The highlight of the day was Moped automatically sitting down in front of the door at DDC. I was so impressed. Our training is paying off! Yahoo!

Journal

I took Moped to DDC around 6:30am. He only stayed for a few hours yesterday, so I wanted to see if he could make a whole day there. He was excited when he got there. He went in with the other dogs with a little encouragement.
I went home and Skooter and I took a nap on the couch until 9:30am. He seemed to really enjoy napping with me.
Skooter let me know that he needed to go out by whining, so I let him out. He jumped the fence, but came back within 10 minutes. He seems to be enjoying our quiet time. He is on the couch napping still.
I watched Moped on K-9 Connect (a web cam at the DDC). He seems to be doing just fine on the Varsity Field, where the majority of the dogs are. More timid dogs go on the Junior Varsity Field. There are just a handful of those dogs.
While Moped was gone I did some training with Skooter:
* Gotcha
* Gotcha with sit
* Sit (all directions, differnt rooms)
* Charged the clicker (went to different places in the house, sat down, stood up, so he wouldn't get superstitious.
* Trained with the clicker on 'kennel'. That was real slow. Not much progress but him looking at the kennel (then I clicked).
We took Skooter for the ride to pick up Moped. Moped ate a tuna melt for lunch today and really enjoyed it. He picked the cheese off first then ate the tuna. When we were leaving DDC, Moped automatically sat down at the door to go out. I was thrilled! How awesome was that.
The ride home was chaotic. Moped kept trying to get in the front seat. When we got home, Moped went right into his kennel and took a nap.
For dinner tonight they had a cooked cheeseburger in their Kongs. I didn't feed them until they became more active after their naps. Skooter started whining and Moped woke up so I fed them the cheeseburgers in the Kongs. They loved them.
They slept after they ate. When they got up they wanted to go outside. They sat before being let out of their kennels and also sat at the door before going out. Skooter sat before coming in. Moped wouldn't sit. I tried for over 10 minutes and then gave in (not a good idea). I let Moped run around inside for a few minutes, then put him in his kennel with treats.
Skooter went out again and jumped the fence. Moped whined and scratched because Skooter was out and he wasn't.
The highlight of the day was Moped automatically sitting down in front of the door at DDC. I was so impressed. Our training is paying off! Yahoo!