The training table

Training Table

Using an old workbench and a sheet of chip board, I made a training table. For the ramps, I had the board cut to the same size as the tabletop, used a couple of 1×4 boards for support, and cut steps from the scrap chip board. To fasten the ramps to the table, I drilled two holes into the top of the ramp and tabletop, and inserted carriage bolts.

This allows me to stack the ramps on the table and fasten them down with straps when I am done training . I then bent a piece of scrap rebar into an inverted “L” shape, drilled a hole into the edge of the table and inserted the rebar into it; this will later be used for training. A training video that can be purchased from NAVHDA illustrates training with this kind of setup.

Dakota balks on the first attempt

Your dogs won’t naturally walk up the ramps at first and need to be coaxed. With Dakota, it took about a half-a-dozen attempts before she walked up the ramp, and Sophie took at least a dozen attempts. Walking down the ramp was the same thing and they had to be coaxed.

You need patience in teaching your dogs to get on and off the table using the ramps, and praise them each time they try whether they succeed or not. See my post on “Preparing yourself to train, Part 2” where I discuss recognizing when your dog is trying.

Sophie hits the ramp with her front feet

At first, both dogs jumped around the ramp rather than step on it and Sophie even tried climbing onto the edge of the table. She knew what I wanted and tried to get on the table, but was afraid to use the ramp to do it.

With the neighbor’s puppies watching, Sophie makes it up the ramp

I praised them when they put one foot on the ramp; then when they jumped on and off; then three feet on the ramp; and so forth until finally they walked all the way up the ramp and onto the table.

Success and a slobbery kiss

I followed somewhat the same process in training them to walk down the ramp.

Had I tried forcing them too hard and fast, or become frustrated with them, they would have associated the ramps and table with bad experiences that would have resulted in failure.

Filtering endorsements

In having a blog, I occasionally receive information from other bloggers, web sites, and organizations who offer information for my site. Some of them are legitimate, and others are questionable who I am sure find me through bots (software robots), automated searches and perhaps spyware. Generally, when I get unsolicited email from other sites or organizations, the caution flag goes up; some of these sites end up in my Recommended Resources page and others are filtered out.

I recently received information from an organization that released a study on chemical levels in pets. Their web site contained some rather alarming information yet I could not ignore the red flags that popped up in the back of my mind. After thoroughly reading many of the web site’s articles and related blogs, I realized what these “red flags” were:
1- Specific facts were not referenced; the only references that were given, were for general statements that could have applied to many things;
2- Nearly all of the organization’s endorsements came from what are recognized as the most liberal media outlets in the country;
3- In my opinion (and we all know what people say about opinions) many of the organization’s recommendations for protecting pets from toxins, were overstated or extreme;
4- The general tone of the site’s articles and related blogs were alarmist, due to the use of colorful adjectives intended to invoke emotion and not objectivity.

So I checked out the organization’s Board of Directors. Their resumes revealed that for the most part, they were environmental and ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) activists, regardless of their accolades and social status.

So at my discretion, I rejected the organization’s request to post its information on my site, although it’s research and claims may be valid. I will generally publish information that can either be: 1- independently and objectively corroborated, or 2- stated as an opinion, exempting itself from objectivity.

As for comments, I have only discarded those received as spam, and published everything else.

One-on-one

I started working with the dogs one-on-one this week and they really seem to enjoy my undivided attention.

With Sophie, I am working with her on responding to hand signals and the dog whistle; she is catching on rather quickly. So far, it is just “stay” and “come”. I first train her formally for about 15 minutes, then soon after our training session while she is sniffing around the pasture, will spring one or two “stay or “come” whistles on her. She does much better responding to them in formal training than on-the-fly, but she is coming along. Over time I will be reducing her formal training with these two commands and begin formal training on casting her.

I have also begun training Squirt, our American Eskimo cross, who is at the same level of training as Sophie. She learns in a slightly differently manner than the Labs and seems to catch on a little quicker.

With Dakota, I am starting with the basics using the “power bar” method Mike Gould discusses. I should have (consistently) trained her with this method when we first got her but didn’t. Dakota surprises me in how quickly she is responding to this method since we have always fought and struggled with her over just the basic commands and walking her on a leash.

A new home for Boo

We took Boo to her new home yesterday, the niece of a co-worker. The little girl has always wanted a puppy and we trust our co-worker’s assurance that it will be a good home for Boo. Our co-worker rescues animals on her own and works with the humane society, so we trust her judgment.

Nonetheless, it was a little difficult giving up Boo. In the short week we had her, she made a big impact on both us and our dogs.

In speaking of puppies, our neighbors got two Pit Bull cross puppies yesterday, and like all “country mentality” people, let them run loose because they are in the “country”. I offered a couple of suggestions on keeping them in a fenced yard, but to no avail. It is only a matter of time before one or both are hit and killed.

Plan now for hunting season

This year, you may need to begin planning out your hunting season early – like now.

Gas prices currently range from $3.5 to $4.5 per gallon and who knows where they will be in another 5 months. Congress is so tied up in their politics and turf wars that they can’t do anything even if they wanted to; and if they do anything at all, it will be politically correct and not economically correct. Add to that the fact that hunting rigs are not the model of fuel efficiency and you might be looking at a very expensive hunting season.

To mitigate this, we have set up a “hunting account” which is similar to a “Christmas account”. I have a separate bank account that a certain amount is deposited into each week. By the time hunting season arrives, I should have an adequate amount for gas and ammo.

Other options may include carpooling with other hunters; doing a better job of picking your shots, so that more shots count; and doing thorough research on bird populations and hunting areas, in order to reduce the amount of driving.

And don’t forget to keep up with your dog’s training throughout the year – that alone is worth a few birds over the course of a hunting season.

Introducing Boo

Boo. More pictures of Boo are in the Scrapbook page.

We got a new member of the pack this last Friday.

On Thursday evening one of our daughters got a puppy, but was so allergic to it that Friday morning it was ours. Although we were told that she was 6 months old we think she is closer to 3 or 4 months. This is the fourth home she’s had, which surprises us because she is such a well-mannered and quiet puppy.

I introduced her to the rest of the pack one at a time by walking her with each of the dogs separately, on leash. I did not allow them to sniff each other until we were halfway through the walk. It was only after walking her with each of our dogs that we brought her into the house.

Sophie was the big question, since she is often aggressive towards small high-energy dogs. As a puppy, Sophie was attacked on several different occasions by little dogs. However she accepted Boo right off the bat as they all did. Although Boo is a high-energy puppy, it is a playful and not aggressive energy.

Surprisingly, all our dogs with the exception of Penny (a grumpy old lady of 12) spoil Boo. They allow her to come take their bones even if they are chewing on them, and Sophie allows Boo to take toys out of her mouth. Squirt and Boo have become fast friends and chase each other around the house and pasture.

She may have come at just the right time to bring closure to Sophie and Dakota’s out-of-whack motherly instincts. As for Boo, I don’t think that I have ever seen a dog with such intense blue eyes.

We may have found someone to take her, a co-worker whom we know will provide a very good home; however she won’t take Boo unless she’s house trained. Our co-worker had a couple of major surgeries over the past several years. While she was in the hospital, the individual taking care of her dogs did not do a very good job and both of her dogs were hit by cars and killed.

It is questionable as to whether we can give her to a good home before we become too attached to her.

Confused mothers

Sophie and Dakota have become confused mothers since being spayed. Not having any puppies to nurse, they have turned to a stuffed ball as a surrogate baby.

Dakota tries “nursing” the stuffed ball and nesting in our closet whenever she gets the chance. She even went so far as to climb on top of Sophie in order to get Sophie to nurse from her. Dakota is still leaking milk which we are constantly cleaning up.

Sophie has become emotional and whimpers if she can’t find her “baby” or if Dakota has it. She also carries it with her everywhere – outside to pee, in the pasture when they exercise, when they sneak onto our bed in the middle of the night, you name it.

My wife called the vet about the situation, and he told us that what they are doing is not all that common, but it is due to the fact that they were spayed just as they were coming out of heat. In essence, their hormones tell them that they were pregnant and had babies.

They seem to have recovered completely, however we notice that they still tire out very quickly. A 5-minute outing in our pasture is enough to tire them out. Although spaying and neutering is common, it is nonetheless major surgery and takes some time for them to recover from it.

Springtime and other stuff

The temperature broke 70 degrees for the first time this year, but from the way the dogs acted you would think it was 100. During the spring, your dogs are probably not acclimated to the warmer temperatures; this is compounded by the fact that they are still carrying their winter coat. You may need to conduct your training sessions as though it were the middle of the summer until your dogs become acclimated to the warmer temperatures.

Depending on where you live, you should keep an eye out for wildlife as well. Snakes will be coming out of hibernation over the next several months and they can be aggressive this time of year; game birds will be nesting and there may be restrictions from the Fish and Game Department; and predators are on the move.

Over the past month, there are reports of increased mountain lion sightings in and around Pocatello. In an unrelated mountain lion story, the Idaho State Journal reported on January 22 that the Fish and Game Department was taking a lot of heat – primarily from hunters – for euthanizing three orphan mountain lion kittens. The reason given by the Fish and Game Department for euthanizing the kittens was because they were “malnourished and becoming friendly towards humans.”

Recently a rancher killed two wolves that were apparently stalking his horses, and the Idaho Statesman reported that on April 11, three wolves attacked a dog at a Bed-and-Breakfast in Ashton, Idaho. The wolves dropped the dog when they were shot at, but the dog had to be put down due to extensive injuries; another dog in town was found killed by the wolves.

I’m not making any judgment calls or claiming that wolves are “bad” for doing what comes natural to them. The point is that you must always be on the alert for potential dangers, whether they are from animals, the weather or man.

The girls are recovering

Yesterday, 4/11/8, we had Sophie, Dakota and Squirt spayed, as well as getting Dakota chipped; Sophie and Squirt were already chipped. They are doing much better and spent all evening and night sleeping. We put comforters and afghans on the carpet for them to lay on but Sophie got the chills and Dakota was restless. Once we covered them with blankets, they settled down and slept.

This morning, Dakota threw up but other than that, they are recovering nicely. The vet told us not to allow the dogs to go swimming for at a least one week and it would be best for them not to swim for two weeks. I had not even considered allowing them to swim for at least a month, but apparently some people push their Labs to swim soon after surgery.

Wing on a string training – part 3

It only took a few minutes at the reservoir to progress past the wing-on-a-string and Sophie was retrieving the wing quite well.