We've been playing with the tracking for some time - with only me there's just so much I can do when it comes to hsi tracktraining...
But today.. as motherinlaw was out doing stuff outside and he showed will to track her (yes.. he "gossips" with tracking too "she's been here.. and she touched that and she moved this") so I asked if she could hide some food around the yard.
5 different spots marked with food - and he found them all, picked up the track and litterally chuchued away like a little train. Nose on the ground and followed her every step. He did SO good!! Even tho he at times was in a bit of a hurry...
Yesterday he was kinda cheap... being the teenager he is and the collie in heat, but today.. oh today his pricetag is HUGE, plenty and plenty of zeros. His nose impresses me, always have, guess thats why i've been a bit frustrated with the tracking aprt for a while - a person can only do So much on their own.
What we sometimes forget is that aggression can be based on several different things - FEAR being one of them. Most dogs that lunge and barks meeting other dogs do so for several different reasons:
1. some have a need to protect their handler - in those cases the handler haven't putten down the rules well enough and it isn't true aggression. It's a dog wearing too big shoes.
2. Some are insecure and barks/lunges because it's "better to bite first" - there it is a trust issue that the handler needs to work on. Show that "it's allright, focus on me - i'll handle it"
3. True aggression, as far as Im concerned. The true aggression Waits, watches and makes the call. It doesn't Explode the first it does. It start with little signs, head held higher, tail held higher. Here too it's a handlers job to control it.
The DOG shouldn't have to make the call. You as the owner/handler should. You NEED to figure out WHY your dog has the need to lunge and bark, and put rules down. Form the dog, and show it that "That isn't your job - it's MY job to make the call".
People think that a dog barking, lunging and snarling is aggressive. Most times it is not, most times it is "stuck" in the leash, insecure with the situation and since it can not flee it fights - or tries too.
Kaiser has a lovely general Idea about things. He sees it, watches it and after that He acts. He doesn't automaticly respond with barking and snarling, he studies and you can litteraly see the wheels turning in his head. And I LOVE that part of him even more than I love his good morning kisses and happy face. He has 2 strong reactions to "new things" - play or aggression. 99% of the cases it's play and Yiiihoooo this is fuuuun! But when he decides that something is a true threat - he will step up and act on it. Without fear, but an attitude that says: I am KING, and I am ready to prove it!". He is selfconfident. No need to bark, lunge or snarl as first reaction.
He knows that he can handle it, that I can handle it, there for he doesn't have to react with "aggression" for "no reason".
And he knows the rules...
Help your dog by training on taking charge, show your dog it's not it's responsability - it is yours. MAke it fun, make it clear and rebuild your dogs confidence. Prove to it that it Dont have to fight as first reaction. It is not an aggressive dog - it is more than likely an insecure dog.
I have an uncle who trained his horses like they were dogs.
He had some quite amazing studs, the first stud I ever rode was one of his - I was 11 years old and hardly knew up from down on a horse to tell the truth. Still today I remember his horses and his dogs with a smile.
I don't think anyone realized it then - and most don't realize it now - that his horses laid the foundation to my opinions as to How a stallion should be. Nor did anyone realize then the difference it made to me to get to know his dog Malte.
Malte would grab your arm as a way of saying hello. And I mean GRAB. If you pulled away - he'd bite harder and pull back. So the key to not getting bit was to keep your arm still. He was a very nice dog, a lab I think, realy pretty but a little bit fat. And probibly one of few labs you could sick on cattle if needed. Him and Raja. If I ever get a female it will have the housename Raja or Surry... Might even name one Arja after my mothers dog.
Anyway, getting to know my uncles animals have affected me - and the way I view respect that goes both ways. I doubt that my uncle ever beat an animal part from his bulls when he was trying to break up a fight (I saw it.. still laugh at that memory). Horses nor dogs. He'd wave, and snarl and make himself Big. He wasn't a very big man, stought yes, but not big. Short, but veryvery loving. Last time I spoke to him he told me about his new collie, a bc I think it was, that he was wanting to show it. All he needed was the new rulebook. I wish that I one day will be able to say that. "I want to start showing Again, I just need the rulebook".
And my mother, let's get on that topic, My mother. My mother is something special. I have never met a dog that didn't like her. Neighbours dog would lay down and refuse to move if she didn't get to go and say hi to my ma, one time I was dogsitting a friends mothers dog who was quite the little leashpuller - and somewhat dogaggressive too! Ma took the leash for 5 minutes and cured the pulling. After that she's my guru. She has the answers to my questions! The dog went back home after 2 very nice weeks and we didn't have any trouble at all. About a year later I visit the family again and the dog tried to throw himself down from 3d floor when he saw me. He was back to pulling the leash... so we went for a walk - 2 minor corrections and the dog walked calm and very nicley by my side.
What my mother and my uncle has taught me is: Clear communication. And never be afraid of applying preassure - as long as you are in a position where you can read the dog.
Kaiser needs more preassure in the training, so thats where we're going now.
I am ever so gratefull for the people in my life who gives me their thoughts and ideas. Who listen to me when i'm upset or confused.
And as todays finishing words I want to quote my mother, what she told me when I was worried over Baltazar growling at strangers:
Never worry about a behaviour you have under control!
..and I want to add my part to it: All behaviours can be put under control - IF the dog has all it's pieces in the right place.
Some days I hear people talking about how hard it is to have a puppy, how much Work it is. How the puppy are driving them crazy.
I do not understand it. Sorry, but I don't. They are puppies, babies, and do that young critters do - play, eat, poop, pee, learn and Sleep. I think we expect too much of our puppies - or have the wrong attitude towards it. Some people seem to think that dogs are born wellbehaved, and to some people "wellbehaved" means - lacking personality.
A puppy is easy! It gets tired quick, learns fast, is curious and playfull. What you need is patience untill the puppys behaviour are under control. Most puppies can't control their bladder untill they're 6 months old. People either dont know that or forget it.
And then, talking about puppies and bladders - Take away the friggin peepad/newspaper! All you are teaching your dog is to pee inside. Sure, if you have a wee tiny little lapdog I guess it can be very convenient to have a dog that pees in a litterbox... but a lot of dogs are bigger than a cat and pees a lot more! But housebreaking your puppy - don't teach it to pee in certain spots in the house... teach it to go outside. By the time you have it trained to pee on the newspaper.. you could have had it housebroke.
Kaiser is soon turning a year old, and he's full of play, love and opinions. I like my dogs to have opinions. I acctually love them for that, if there's no opinions there's no communication. And communication is what I am all about. He doesn't have to like all the things I do, and he's welcome to let me know that he don't. Now, depending on HOW he does it. He got the "look", a special face he makes to let me know that "Noooo... i dont agreee!", but he will still do it. With a bit of a huff and a puff some days. It's allright, he might not like it - but he does it for me.
I like him to have his personality, to do the things he does. While other people might view him as "illmannered" or "enoying" - I see it for what it is. Play. He is well aware of how to make me laugh, and apparently he likes it. My laugh has become a sort of praise for him, which is alright too! I litteraly can not get angry with him, I rarely got angry with my B either.
Anger has nothing to do with dogtraining - especially not puppies. What you do in anger can easily ruin 2 months of work.
To train in a "break" word - like my hey, is easier than you might think. Pick a word or a sound and use it - when the dog quits its behaviour PRAISE. Soon enough they know that that word means "quit doing what you are doing and come to me". Without rubbing your puppies nose in its pee (which you shouldn't be doing anyway!), waving a rolled up newspaper around (which only teatches your dog that you turn aggressive and noicy and mean all suddenly).
Ah... i'm going to quit my rambling now, my spellingabilities are still asleep so I'm heading towards the coffeepot!
It has been a while since I logged in here.. I've been sidetracked.
Decided to dust this blogg off and bring it back to life as I got asked today to write down my thoughts about dogtraining, I'm going to start here.
First, there's a lot of talk about packleaders, alphadogs and dominance. And on tv you will see people using different methods refering to these 3 words.
I am not impressed. What you learn on tv are ways to handle emergencies - where a behaviour has become so out of control that brute force, be if fysicly or mentally, is the only way out.
Second, people show. And thats GREAT! But what people don't realize is that to have a Good canine citizen in your dog takes time. Out side of the showring or trialfield. To have a nice walk in town, good behaviour in the house and a happy and obedient dog - has nothing to do with training it for show. Nothing at all.
I am not "the packleader". Not in the way you see the word used, I do not "dominate" my dog.
Why?
I dont need to. It's as simple as that. Kaiser and me, like Batzo and me, are a team. Partners. In the relationship I am boss - not because I focus on dominating him, but because I reinforce the behaviours I like, I shape them into being what I want.
A good dog has drives, playdrive, preydrive, fightdrive, fooddrive, toydrive, a will to herd or hunt or.. it is our foundation. It is what we base our training and our relationship on. A dog comes with buildingblocks, they are opportunists. They will do what they gain from doing, if it's food, a pat, a click, a "good boooy!" or a toy - it doesn't matter.
How do you shape a good foundation in your dog?
First, you have to find the buildingblocks that are the most solid. Is it food drive? Does balls mean the world to your dog? The goal is that your interaction with the dog is what it's trying to get.
It starts when the dog is just a pup. Thats where you start identifying the drives, the braveness, the will. Those buildingblocks are our mold to form and create a happy, loving dog that will be a joy to be around.
We have to know What is in our dog - and let it work for us. People say that a high drive dog is "hard". In my way of thinking it is not true, instead of correcting that dog, instead of trying to push it around and instead of ending up in a conflict situation - let the drives work For you. Pick out the drive you feel is best suited for the occation, normally it's food or play drive, and use it.
By making sure that the puppy gains something by coming to you, affection, praise, candies or a toy you are building the foundation for a good recall as it gets older. By teaching the pup to wait for a heartbeat before eating - you are teaching it patience and the Very usefull commando "wait" or "Stay" - which Will come in handly later on in life.
Kaiser and the successfull "gossiptraining". I have taught him to look at me when other dogs bark at him, using a clicker to mark the behaviour I want. You dont Need a clicker, but it might help speed things up a bit.
He is happy, willing - and if you pay attention, he's following handsignals and little looks from me - he knows how to read me. A very attentiative dog that says "Hey look at me! Im good, i know this, did ya see what i did? Look at me, come on, Im GREAT!" That is what I want in my dogs. Joy - and selfasteem.
Before I've had to work one dog at a time - with the other one close around of course.. But today, Kaiser and Abby was able to work at the same time. Nothing fancy, just sit and lay. But still! That they both can handle to separate commandos, when it's for Kaiser, when it's for Abby, and when it's for both..
It's colder than HECK today. And the "kids" got to play for a while, they ran around and had fun. They both make me laugh so hard, and they're realy great together!!
Hmm.. what else... I'm tired, but proud over myself and the dogs. Only bad i've done today was forget the camera inside. I should have had it with me out!
And the dried heart was an Epic win.
...but...
They spit out the storebought candy.
They Spit It Out. With a look like " do you Realy expect me to eat That?!" ..and they Did eat it. And like it. Untill I made the homemade livercandies.
I'll be damned... oh well, atleast its healthy for them!
Abby and Kaiser had two nice long plays today... I haven't been feeling ok today and are realy realy tired, knee's arguing and voer all I'm kinda mushy, so training has been very little today and the dogs got to play and run and sniff.. good to have the two of them, atleast they can get energy out playing.
So.. I threw out candies in the snow - and both dogs did a Super job at finding them! ..Abby started digging, and soon Kaiser joined - belive it or not.. but they had located our missing ball!! How the heck Abby managed to find it in this deep snow I have no idea, smell prolly?
And they have a new game.. I left Abbys leash on today for their runs.. and soon enough Kaiser was leading her around. It was hillarious! ..and he acctually brought her to me a couple of times when I said "Bring'er!". He's brought her before, herds her to me, but to see him lead her over was just amazingly fun and I was laughing sooo hard.
He likes carrying the leash, I use it as a "treat" when he's walking nice too.. if he's good he gets to hold the leash. Overall he likes carrying stuff..
Oh, Abby's trying to teach him how to steal my coffee cups. And she still carries it in the handle. As she does with the little yellow bucket.
I'm happy, but mushy... and I love seeing the dogs together and all they come up with! They're an awesome couple... And Kaiser is my hero! <3
It resulted in a 10 year old boys death. A woman in the video talk about "killing sprees" - It will take away the sumptomes for a while, but it Wont solve the problem.
What Should be done is raise awareness as to What happens to dogs roaming free, they still have their instincts and it doesn't take long untill "Fluffy" goes generations back mentally and turns wild. A Wild dog does not count humans as leaders, we're merely prey or enoyances.
What should be done is reward the dogowner that Take responsability by neutering their dogs. That don't just let them out and ignore them.
This is heartbreaking. Both for the child and his familys suffering, but also for the dogs - and the view on dogs that things like this will inforce.
There's allready laws agains certain breeds in our communities, but it's not the breeds that should be targeted - it's the owners, the breeders and the neglect that can lead to things like this. In 90% of the cases the shit isn't on the lower part of the leash - but the upper part.
Humans who buy and/or breed dogs have a RESPONSABILITY, towards the dog - and towards society. Dogs should be "good neighbours" too! And dogowners, being a good neighbour isn't hard - but it takes responsability and action.
I've been trying to catch up in school, so between reading and writing and learning I've had nice breaks with Kaiser... He's doing great!
We went for a long walk with a friend today, thru town. I should walk him in town more often... but he did great! Heeled like a big boy, but wants to say hi to Everybody all the time. But what else is there to expect, he's allways center of attention (well, almost allways anyway) anyhow, he did Great! And I'm soo proud!
I'm starting to teach him to walk in front of me, using a swedish word as commando for that and he's picking it up realy good! And backs down to my side when told to. Such a good boy!
..but...
apparently my homemade livercandies made the bought dogcandies taste bad. Hrm... guess I'll have to start hunting for more liver. Abby prefers the bought dogcandy tho, is fun to see the difference in taste the dogs have!
That's my mothers nickname on Kaiser now, after hearing how heavy he is...
I forgot to tell you guys that the vet had some probs with finding his heart, all stunned she looked up at me and smiled: He has such a deep and wide chest that his little heart is hard to listen to... And that's a good thing!
I'm still happy for all the nice comments yesterday, realy do warm my heart when people praise the shape my lil chunk is in.
Well.. we tried the homemade livercandy today, My oh My did he like it! Abby liked it too, but it rang a bell in Kaiser thats for sure. It looks grose! Realy, realy Icky but if it suits The King, it does.. and it's 100% liver. No grains, no nothing. Just dried liver. But it didn't exactly smell flowers to make.
Yeap, we survived the vaccination this time too.. but he was a whiney little boy! Apparently it wasn't as fun as last time, but still behaved very good.. even tho he did attempt to crawl into my jacket at one occation. Well, I'll have a year to go there and just have Fun, buying candies and toys that he can carry home.
He's now 20+ kgs, acctually 20.3 kgs and the vet was stunned again at how stough he is, how strongly built he is and how healthy he looks (are). We got a lot of compliments for clean ears, nice, shiney coat, clear eyes and a good "gum" (how ever it's spelled..) I'm proud. But honestly.. 4 months (if I do my math right, I'm a little tired) and 20 kgs?! He's realy going to be huge!
..carrying him a year from now.. I don't think I'll be able to do it unless i Realy start doing something serious right now.. like.. bodybuilding. Weightlifting. Something.
Anyhow It realy makes me happy when the vet are giving us good grades.. Makes me feel good! But I'm a little stunned at how heavy he is... And nooo he's not fat! Not at all, he's just.. realy, realy big boned. A real bear.. hehe
Pepper and her owner showed up, Super! So Kaiser got to meet Papper for the first time and they had a good play in the snow. I was just about to let Abby loose and let them have a run, but Abby will have all oneonone today instead. Pepper's a pretty little black cockerspaniel, very nice little girl and it was realy nice to seem them together. Peppers owner are my brother-in-law, well I guess it's acctually the soon-to-be-wifes dog, depending on which of them you ask! So I got to have a nice little chat with BiL and Kaiser got a play with a new dog. Hey, a social life And socializing at the same time! Saweeet!
And tomorrow at 1 we're heading for the vetclinic and the third shot.
I wonder what my BiL was thinking when he drove up, me standing there in the black coverall, with a Bright Red bellybag (whatever it's called) 2 collars and a leash hanging from it, clicker in my hand and my furry (ugly but ooooh so warm) hat.
Ok swedes... You've never had a dog untill you've had a dog in Sask. Just try imagine to train and stimulate 2 dogs in -25, not counting windchill.. And it's frikkin windy here, the prarie needs more trees and more hills! Well, one day we're going to have an indoor ridingarena, and belive me - I'll be in there with the dogs too!
As for Abby, she was doint great on the leash, same with Kaiser. Acctually it seems like Kaisers precense have made her "grow up" quite a bit. She's starting to show that she acctually can handle atleast some things. It's a win to have her functioning on a leash, it's a HUGE victory.
And another thing's added on the Kaiser-training list. Getting picked up and carried. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it when he's fully grown (I'm a ..skinny thing) but Just in case I want him to be totally ok with being picked up and carried around. And he's doing great. (My back isn't realy tho, I need to start working out.. Huff!)
Aaaaanyhow... that's it for now. And I still wonder if it's a good or a bad sign that I apparently howled in my sleep.. Hrm....
Kaiser did great leashed today, just super! ..I know.. I should have him on a leash everyday, but it's easy to Not do it when you live like we do.. But it's good for him to know what the leash means, and not to mention, when we do go places where he needs to be on a leash it's a good thing...
The liver is unthawing in the sink, it's going to smell reeealy bad here later today I just know it.
Hmm.. don't know if my life is a little toooooo much dog right now, apparently I was Howling in my sleep! Aaaaaooooouuuuh! Hubby was laughing at me wondering what the heck I dreamt.. I Don't know, something with dogs apparently, maybe I was one? OR am I turning into a werewolf? o0 Anyhow, heading out again for a little more oneonone time for Abby.. and then Kaiser again. And sometime today I have to call the vetstation.. aaaaand theeeeeeen... Ugg! List of things that I should do, need to do just feels bigger, but the "should" with the dogs are a joy to do!
Btw... I hate tv. It's on in the background and I can feel my brain dying just from Listening to it.
I've been reading up on homemade dogcandies, so tomorrow I'm going to try to see if i can get a hang on how to dry liver in the oven to make it just Right.
Today's been a nother soft day, well, soft and soft. Abby and Kaiser had a looooooong play as Trase and I was catching up on the weekend project "Taking down the tackshed". We're slowly winning.
Abby are going to have some leachtraining the coming week, and so is Kaiser. Kaiser and me have dared Linda and (my former dog) Baltazar to have the heel with good eyecontact for Atleast 3 meters by next sunday. And it's supposted to be videod, so I might share the videos here too.
He's such a sweetheart and he's learning so fast, favourite trick right now is backing up and laying down. He caught the "back up while sitting" from Abby I think since that's one of her favourite things and she's more than glad to do it. It's fun to see them copying eachother.
Oh well, I'm tired and can't realy put down my thoughts here tonight. But Karen Pryors "Don't shoot the dog" is waiting for me in the mail, and tomorrow I'm going to call the vet to see when we can come in for the next shot.
I'll let you guys know how the dogcandycooking went :)
There's this little, sweet afganhound that's gone missing... and I follow the owners blog and the thread at bukefalos.com. I hope that they'll find her, can't even imagine the heartaic that owner must have. It's horrible when the little ones go missing, and I wish we could help out but Sweden and Canada are tooo far away from eachother.
I write this just to let people know that she's out there still, but there's still Hope! She might still come home alive... Let's all keep our fingers crossed for the return of pretty little Emily! And for you that live way down south in sweden, please keep your eyes open - she looks like Trasselsudd, the dog in the childrens show.
Let's all hope, pray if you want, for a safe return of this little pup to her owners.
Today's a soft day for us... well, for Kaiser anyway. The day started out with a funeral, and I don't handle them very well. So I'm slowmoving and thoughtfull today, but we did some training and just as we where quitting "Daddy" came down and Kaiser showed off. It's quite intreseting seeing a dog that tries to show all trick he knows just because he's sooo happy!
And a niiiiiice long play with Abby. We all appreciate the sunshine, and the fact that there's hardly any wind today. But I'm a bit "low at heart" today and not very energetic, so I'm pretty sure these will be todays highlights. I have to hunt for more hotdogs tho, I'm out of them again.
Rest in Peace Grannie. You were a great lady, and even tho I didn't get to know you for a long time. I'm gratefull to have met you, and send a thought your way everytime I crochett anything. Thank you for your gifts and jokes. I hope you've met your husband "on the hill", I'm sure he was there waiting for you.
Last little trainingsession for today.. he was Awesome! Imagine what a dog will do for some sausage... Haha! He's been sitting, laying down, spinning around on his bum (reminds me of when i was lil and "danced" lambada om my bum on mas hardwood floor in the livingroom.. haha!) rolling over... and barking some. And heels.
He's absolutly stunning... Batzo was a "once in a life time" dog - but I think I dare saying that so is Kaiser.
It's a blessing to have a dog like that, and I am forever gratefull for both of them. My princes! And my heroes. Most gsp owners say that once you've had a german shepherd - there's no other dog that'll do... and dogs like Kaiser and Batzo.. they are here to prove it!
Tonight I feel like the sky's the limit. Mind you, I know all the ages that are coming up... I know how it'll be when he's a "teenager". When he gets the selective hearing, and when he's a little toooooo full of himself. All dogs go into those ages, it's a part of it! But for now.... I'm just enjoying the amazing lil pup I got, taking everyday as it comes and having Fun! And man.. we're having FUN!
I should have brought the videocamera with me out today... Clickertraining goes great, he's starting to figure things out and among other things today he figured out that "dancing" (spinning around) is one of he things I like.. together with "down". Only thing is that he just Have to Sing as he's doing it. Which sounds just hillarious! But I'm guessing I'll have to make sure the singing and the laying down don't stay hand-in-hand that much longer.
..and we've been candytracking a little bit today, Man does he have a buzy nose or what?!
Luckily it wasn't as cold today as yesterday.. not as much wind, but winter makes me tired. Abby and him had a nice long play around dinnertime, he allways comes out looking like a snowdog. Full of snow and ice (apparently Abbydrool freezes fast..) But today he Did manage to wrestle her down quite a bit too, so they where equally snowy. She's doing good too.. But I'm still waiting for the "Don't shoot the dog" book and hope it will help me a bit with her.
And the ideas of building an agilitycourt is slowly turning into reality as we're talking about what to use to build what, when and where. No, Kaiser won't be training agility yet. He'll have to turn 1 first, atleast for the jumps and so... but I guess we can play around with the tunnel and stuff. But Abby might work on it, she needs something speedy and something to kickstart that colliebrain of hers.
Aaaaaany how... Kaiser's Great.. and I'm drinking coffee and are soon raiding the fridge, hotdoghunt! ..i'm out of dogcandies.. hahahaha..!
And that's how a saskatchewan dogowner looks after an hour outside, playing and fooling around. Luckily the snow's so dry here that it doesn't stick to everything the way swedish snow does. But I never needed a coverall, furryhat and sunglasses during the swedish winter. A normal tuke and a good pair of shoes, and Maybe a skiing outfit. Maybe. If the wind was bad... but atleast I get rosey cheeks here.. haha!
Someone likes sticks. A lot! But nothing's as good as my leathergloves, I guess one of these days I'll have to offer them and make them into real toys. Wonder if they'll be as loved to chew and bite on Without my fingers in them...
Some days Sweden feels tooooo far away and I want to jump a plane and go Home! Some days I miss drinking coffee with my friends, I miss my language - spoken not written. I miss my mother, my brother. I miss all my friends, my families, my horses. I miss having a horse that Feels what you think, that you can turn with just the shift of your hips.
Some days I miss the rain, the mudd, oh heck, I even miss the swedish Stores! And the volvocars, and the dirty shetlandponies. I miss you all. Everything.
That's where Kaiser comes in. When in doubt - go out and play, and cuddle. He's my little angel. Oh yes, I still miss Baltazar! Of course I do.. and the cats. ALL of the cats. And I miss it so badly my heart breaks.
Kaiser helps. A lot! And I'm so grateful to have him around. It's hard being on your own, far away from everything you know. And my hubby is great, don't doubt that at all! He's just amazing. Hubby and Kaiser. <3 But frustration don't go away too easy somedays, and somedays are a day like today. It sucks. But I know it'll pass, and later today I'll feel better, but till then. Kaiser's my king.
The sun came out.. and we took a chanse that this mornings victory would repeat it self. Well, it did. And I am SO Happy!!! And Kaiser is so great, he's now taking contact and heeling on his own. Without me asking for it I mean, so he shows when he's up for "training" - and that's the best reaction he could have. That he Wants to train, Wants it and Likes it! Means I'm doing something right ;) He sits just super, stay isn't all there yet, but it's on it's way! And we keep playing our odd games, hide and seek is a favourite, and the one i mentioned yesterday.
Abby showed the will to carry things again today, not the orange bucket this time - but my coffeecup. Which she carries in the handle, looks cool - but she's spilling my needed coffee Everywhere.. Haha!
Mhm, we're having lots of fun! We might not be a big pack, but we're a pack nonetheless.
I've started to use different vocalsounds for different things, yipping and yapping. They both listen to it very well, which is fascinating! I feel that we are all learning new things everyday right now and it makes me so incredibly happy!
You guys get to see 2 of my 20 pics from today... unfortunatly i can't take a pic when i'm in the middle of the games, so you're not going to se me wrestle och goof around. That'll have to wait untill i can nag on someone to come with me out :)
Today, in the middle of the snowstorm, or blizzard or whatever people want to call it... I finally felt that I dared to let the collie run loose. So me, Abby and Kaiser went out in the snow and the wind and Played. And Played. And played some more....
It's an awesome feeling to be a part of the pack, as the packleader! The playbuddy, the one who upholds and makes the rules, the one that's trusted. It's awesome! And I wish everybody would have that feeling, at least for a day.
I've allways loved windy, stormy days. It makes me feel alive, and to have the opportunity to go out and play with the "pack" a day like this, with two incredibly happy dogs, and to be a part of their games. It's wonderfull! I'm not religious, but that feeling is very spiritual for me, wakes me up and makes my day.
No pictures tho, it's hard to take pictures when you run around and wrestle just as much as the dogs do! but it's great bondingtime - and I did get a HUGE victory today... Abby changes directions when whistled to in a certain way, she still doesn't come properly when called - but Kaiser do. And with both of them they teach eachother what to do when I do certain things. So Abby shows Kaiser when to turn around - and Kaiser shows Abby when "mommy" calls you come.
It's a blessing to have dogs in ones life.
..and someone once said: The more I get to know the dog, the lesser impressed with humans I become.
And I agree. I do love dogs. I love training, I love spending time with them. So much that I have serious problems with understanding how you can Live without dogs. Or atleast not get fascinated by them.. such lovely animals!
First: I now know why there's 3 ps in puppy. Play, pee and poop. And Kaiser is a picky pooper, it Has to be in just the right place - just anywhere don't do it. So if he needs to go, he'll whine untill we go to the right place. Because he can't just go there on his own, nono.. he needs Company!
And the "nananaananaana You can't catch me" game is Awesome! But this time I was the one that couldn't be catched. Run away and hide, let him find me, run another bit, let him "catch" me, wrestle and play and then run around some more.
Did I ever mention the T-shirt I want? The one with the text "I'm not crazy, I'm training my dog"? Well.. I'm glad noone realy sees me when we're out playing and training. Hmm.. I guess, the playing are training too! And good for me, I need the training!
I'm still soooo exited over the books. Can't wait untill i get them in my hands! Was pretty close to see if I could find stuff to build some agilitystuff puppyversion today, but decided that tearing down the old tackshed just have to be my only "building" project now for a while. If I start building something i'm just going to forget-give up on the tackshed.. haha..
Today we've been playing in the snow and just enjoying life (again...) We took Abby with us out, yes, she's on a loooong leach. Safety first, she can't be trusted as far as coming when called and I -realy- don't want her to take Kaiser with her out on adventures. Today we've been playing in the snow and just enjoying life (again...) We took Abby with us out, yes, she's on a loooong leach. Safety first, she can't be trusted as far as coming when called and I -realy- don't want her to take Kaiser with her out on adventures.
Yesterday I spent some money on books on amazon.ca, two with Karen Pryor, one puppytracking book and one "training k9 heroes" book about training rescuedogs. I feel like a little kid waiting for those books as if it was christmas all over again. Right now my reading is 99% online and just scraps of things, and youtube videos can only take you That far. So books... I left allmost all my books in sweden (part from the two dogbooks my mother gave me, breeding and raising a dog, training and behaviours, and on book on how to handle mastertechnics.. or how ever it's spelled)
Today we've been -not- training. Ehum, or rather, we've been training on that Kaiser isn't allways in the center of things... So we've been tearing down the old tackshed here. It's slowly going "byebye", he's been helping tho. Pulling and tugging on misc everything while I've been going crazy with the hammer and the crowbar. Realy Fun acctually! ..and what a dog for that matter, he's rather staying close, even tho i'm doing other stuff than run around, bug the other dogs, get in trouble or.. Nope, Not Kaiser. He hangs around and investigates what his crazy owner is doing.
Right now it's coffee and sleepybreak. Everybody needs a nap, well, atleast a puppy does! Myself, I just need the coffee. And to figure out what the heck to eat today, i'm starving Marvin.
..so... He's still the best pup ever, even tho he flips his doggybed upside down, chews on the foam (tears it to pieces) ...and flips the bed back so up is up again. I think he's trying to hide his crimes! Lil rugrat...
Don't be afraid to play with your dog! It's an important part of the relationship between handler and dog - and don't be afraid to throw away the toys for a bit. It might hurt a little bit, but both of you will learn to play in a way were you both can enjoy and benefit from the games.
What have we been doing today? This far, not much, a little contacttraining, sit, lay, and com here. That's pretty much it, still working on that he'll choose me instead of the other dogs. This far I'm winning. Belive it or not - I'm even winning over my husband. And that's not an easy thing to do as dogs seems to be naturally attracted by him. It's like he's the sun and the dogs are the planets, they get caught up in him. It's quite amazing to see! ..and it's quite amazing that he feels that he's learning things from me.
Kaiser's doing great. Being a puppy and all, last night he decided that the doggybed from Walmart was a chewtoy. So he tore a nice big hole in it, just like pups do. I'm on my way out again, see what other kinda trouble we can get into a day like today.
Well, I rearranged a little here and desided to dedicate this to Kaiser. Kaiser is my dog, born 10th of october 2009, a nice, funny little german shepherd who's going to be my companion. The plans are to show, maybe allready this summer, but I guess we'll see about that.
Kaiser is a tough cookie, with a lot of go and even more spunk, he's quick and smart.. and realy, realy cool. I'm sure he'll grow up to be a great dog.. the question is tho wether I'll have grey hair or White bby the time we're "done".
