Practice Those Recalls
It’s no secret that coming when called is important. It keeps me from chasing a fast creature with twice as many legs as I have, and it can save a dog’s life, if she gets…
What did you do?!
Guys, I cannot tell you how important it is to teach puppies that “What do you have?” and “What did you do?” are the best phrases on earth.
From the first times my puppy is “naughty” — and let’s be honest, it’s a puppy, it’s going to get into things you thought you had safeguarded — I try very hard to teach them that bringing me stuff is the very best of all options. You found a sock? Fantastic! You stole a chicken breast a guest left on a low table? I’m so glad you showed me! Are you parading my underwear through the living room in front of my in-laws? Excellent!
Still An Easy Pill To Swallow
I’ve written before about training my dogs to take undisguised pills on cue. There’s a host of benefits to this:
- I don’t have to worry about hiding the pills
- I don’t have to worry about coming up with ever better tricks as my dogs get better at finding hidden pills
- There’s no loss of trust when I hand my dog something she thinks is a treat and it turns out to be a pill (cue extreme side-eye)
- I don’t have to guess whether the pills been actually swallowed or saved to spit later
Pay Big, Reap Big
I had the opportunity to compare our husbandry behavior training with two species, as I both took my dogs to the vet for their annuals and I went to the ophthalmologist for my semi-annual.
I’ve written about managing my own behavior at the eye doctor before, and it’s gotten a lot easier, actually. I know how to avoid the disturbing images, I know how to manage myself for the routine examinations, and for the most part the staff is not aware that I even have an issue.
Until something new happens, like taking an image of my tear ducts for the first time, and once I was comfortably settled in the frame and awaiting a photograph a tech picked up a large plastic hook and pushed it toward my eye.
Peace out, see ya! I was out of that frame and away from that new gadget fast enough to startle her.
No Bones on the Couch
We rearranged some furniture this week to make room for an event, and I guess it was enough to make someone wonder if the house rules had changed. (Hint: they hadn’t.)
I looked up from my computer to see that Undómiel had brought a recreational bone onto the chair with her. The dogs are certainly allowed on the chair — in fact, that particular chair has stayed specifically because it is a favorite dog chair! — but they are not allowed to bring chews with them. This keep the furniture clean and prevents any accidental damage by chewing the bit of comforter which had wrapped around the end of a bone, as may have happened once.
Just a quick photo post….
I’m not supposed to work on my computer in bed (spine) but darn it, the company is better here.
Bringing Back Batman
Oh my gosh, you guys.
Back in January (it’s early April as I write this), I arrived at ClickerExpo and found that one of my favorite stupid props had not made the journey with me. I have a Batman toy from an old McDonald’s Happy Meal merchandising tie-in which I use in a silly-but-pithy demo about setting criteria and knowing when I’ll click during a shaping session. I like silly props; I think we can often absorb a concept better if we step out of familiar territory and experience something in a new way. But Batman had not come with me to sunny southern California, either because he’d fallen out of my bag or had been misplaced or just because the bright weather was not conducive to his usual dark brooding about crime and dead parents.
Nail Trim: Making It A Choice Makes It An Easy Choice
I made a mistake yesterday. I went to a drawer in the kitchen. Not just any drawer, it’s the not-a-junk drawer, where I keep among other things the dogs’ nail trimmers.
As I opened the drawer, two dogs materialized behind me, sitting politely with ears forward and eyes bright. So of course I had to get the trimmers out.
Keeping Warm in Winter
The temperature has been climbing all day and we’ve now broken 0 degrees F! (-18 C) so I thought I’d share some of our cold weather activity and precautions.
I don’t keep my dogs inside, as they love to play in the yard, but they definitely get to come inside when they ask. Undómiel has a lovely coat styled after a horse rug which keeps her warm in these temperatures, since she has a slick coat and no body fat to speak of. I usually coat her below 20 degrees F, unless it’s just a quick toilet trip. Penny usually gets to choose if she wants an extra layer, because she’s a Labrador and doesn’t always notice that it’s cold.
Working Service Dogs at DragonCon
My friend Emilia sent me photos of this great PSA at Dragon Con this year. Dragon Con is an enormous pop culture convention annually in Atlanta, GA, with attendance of about 80,000 guests. They have a lot of service dogs working at the convention.
Because many people still don’t know how to let service dogs do their job without interference, Dragon Con posted a PSA on their internal feeds so that attendees with service dogs could enjoy the event as much as everyone else.