koalathebear

Da Dog surveying his domain The most spoiled dog in the world on one of his many beds. He has a hard crate, a soft crate, a dog bed, this trampoline bed you see, an identical trampoline bed inside his kennel and also the kennel itself. In other news, we have puppy proofed the yard so many times but it's never enough. To my horror, I came upon Elbie gnawing upon this the other day. No idea where he found a rotting piece of wood with a NAIL in it. Also, last night ... badger lost his nose ... It was like a massacre ... fluff on the ground ... I approached the crate I found the noseless badger .. .then his nose ... I'll stitch him back up tonight, sans nose. Poor badger. In other news, I have been watching the remake of Hawaii 5-0 and keep humming the theme song. It seems to drive Elbie bananas - probably because my version is like the kazoo version. Anyway, every time I start singing it - I get pounced on by Elbie.

That is such great news about the house, clastic!! Does that mean you'll be joining Sunday classes at BDOC? ;) You can help me catch Elbie when he bolts off his leash during off-leash sit-stays The photos of the Destruction of your Fur Kids were awesome. Favourites - the sofa The outdoor table When we were still renting, our landlord had an outdoor set like that and Elbie used to lick it and LOOK like he wanted to gnaw on it but fortunately he never really developed a taste for it. There was an outdoor corner that he liked to gnaw on for some reason. So, some photos of Elbie's Domain are below ... This upraised bricked area is Elbie's "Permitted Dig Zone". He mostly digs up there and the holes are easy to fill in. Left hand side you can see the poo spade which I no longer use. I've given up on squeamishness and now put on two disposable plastic gloves and just pick up the poops - takes about 5 minutes whereas when I used to try to use the shovel/pooper scooper it could take me half an hour OH started it when he went out with a disposable plastic glove and took far less time than I did. I am squeamish enough that I put TWO gloves on my right hand though. Here is a partially covered hole in the Permitted Dig Zone. Sometimes he's naughty and digs in the gravel - you can see where we've filled the hole back in because of the dirt ... Sometimes he digs in the tanbark - again, here is a filled in hole The lawn is still mostly ok, bar 2-3 holes. You can see the neglected Aussie Home Alone ball in which he has zero interest ... A partially filled in hole - I shan't tell you what's in the hole. He doesn't dig in this part of the lawn Not a torture device - it's Elbie's tug post While he has zero interest in the $89.95 home alone ball, he does love his empty juice bottles and will run around the yard with one in his mouth for ages. We have juice and milk bottles and the rest of the family are now taking to donating to us their empty bottles given that their provide hours of entertainment for Da Dog.

Wow the website is beautiful. I always love your photos! You have such a wonderful gift. Thanks for sharing!

People often have strange definitions of cruelty. My father and mother have on separate occasions remarked that it seems cruel to make Elbie work for every single bit of kibble the way he does ... Sometimes it takes him more than half an hour to have his dinner as the tucker ball gives him one measley bit at a time. I don't know about other dogs but he seems to really enjoy it. He loves his tricks, anticipating and getting rewarded. I find that the tricks poop him out more than a walk does! After he has his meal, he'll usually conk out for ages on his bed. I think that it's just teasing if you wave the food in front of the dog's nose but don't let him have it but if he knows he has to do something to get it, then I'm sure it's quite different! Once Elbie knows that certain things result in Treats - he delivers up those behaviours of his own accord! Have fun! We certainly do!

Elbie waiting for permission to play with his tucker ball ETA: Video of . I love how he lifts his left paw from the ground and I like how his crazy ears stand up at attention like that when they're normally a bit flopsy ;) I also really enjoy watching with the Nose Push and the Paw Pull

Please do! And here is a repost of Elbie's mangled toys. He has never actually destroyed any of his toys because he still has them all - they're just very mangled and repaired ... Poor Badger. This toy has been with us as long as Elbie has. He no longer has ears or a tail and has been repaired many times. Poor horse. Elbie's second toy. He only lasted a month or two before losing his limbs and becoming unravelled ... But Elbie still plays with him. Poor toy dog, we pre-emptively removed his eyes, which made us feel like psycopaths... Poor beaver ... his facial reconstruction surgery is not going well .. The squeakers still work and Elbie sleeps with this toy at night. Also, I'll take photos this weekend during assessment day!

I almost cried when I read this ... that poor dog - and the way it ran after the car ... I could just imagine how distraught my dog would be if something like that happened. I cannot believe he could be so heartless - coolly and calmly driving off and abandoning his poor dog like that.

You would both have fun! If you see the photos here of the new house, you would see that not only does Elbie get a cameo in a lot of the photos - so does his beloved pig blanket.

Heh! The pig squeaker mat is hilarious. We've lost two squeakers but it's still going strong.

Haha! On a good day - Elbie can definitely do all of the required behaviours but if he's having one of his cRaZyDoG days, who knows? There's no shame in us repeating and heaps of people repeat or actually choose to repeat. It's basically the same material from beginners but far more focussed - longer times, more focus expected of the dog. We've been really lucky with our class this term and I really like all of the dogs and their handlers - handlers and dogs have great chats between tasks. Usually we stand next to Rogue the huski x with the sky blue eyes (been with us since beginners), Callie the friendly GSD or Dotty the bouncy JRT. In the class we also have Shelly the elegant rescue whippet who sits with a paw in the air like she's sipping tea with the Queen, George and Jaffa the chunky monkey chocolate labs and a sweet little Westie. Mojo the mastiff/wolfhound is massive and a bit unruly but Elbie's known him since beginners so they get along very well and there's a rescue dog named Brindy that usually doesn't get along very well with other dogs but seems to get along well with all the dogs in our class. The other bronze class that often mixes with us has a black schnauzer that used to like lunging at Elbie (but has since mellowed out a LOT and lunges much less) and one terrier that Elbie finds very distracting. I agree ... Judge is the only dog who has ever tried to attack Elbie in the BDOC offlead area It was a bit unexpected because one moment, Judge was all scared and submissive in the corner and then suddenly out of the blue he started chasing Elbie, growling and snapping at him. We took Elbie out immediately ... Judge is such a cute-looking dog (I have a soft spot for rotties with their sweet cute-ugly faces) but I'm a bit hesitant about having Elbie around a dog that flips from looking so fearful to being a bit aggro in seconds like that. I'm so glad Kuma's going onto bronze. In terms of boredom during long waits, apart from going on little walking sidetrips - you could also bring toys along to entertain him. Last week, Jaffa's owner brought along a squeaker that had the whole class going. She brought it to focus Jaffa, but every time I turned around - a different dog seemed to have it and Elbie was extremely mesmerised by the squeak.

Happy Birthday, Archer! they are both so cute. How on earth do you manage to get them to wear those hats? My dog would be doing cartwheels to try to get it off!

I was just trying to move that rather sad and forlorn locked "Frustrated Puppy" from the top of the sub-forum list Very cool. I like how all of our dogs have different problem solving techniques and so far, no one has said: "My dog just slams his paw down and tips the whole muffin tin upside down." Yay Mars for getting the treats! Elbie nose nudged for a bit. The one that frustrated me was that for the longest time he wouldn't get the kong ball out for some reason .. inexplicable. he does not but for some reason he would focus on the tennis balls even if I put the best treat of all under the kong ball. My family think we are cruel in always making Elbie work for his food but we actually think he enjoys it!!!

kumaakita: wow that photo is amazing!! I can't believe he was able to hoist Kuma up like that. It's such a cute photo! Even though it's blurred I can just imagine Kuma's facial expression Noooo ... even if we manage to pass bronze and then silver we'll still be ending on a silver note. You'll have a golden dog by the end of 2010 - how does that feel? I'm a bit unhappy that the assessment day for BOTH the Thursday and Sunday sessions for session 5 will be on 25 November - a Thursday evening starting at 7pm. I normally don't get home from work until 7pm, 6.30 if I'm lucky so that's a bit inconvenient niques: our assessment sheet for bronze is two pages of detail! In a nutshell it says that to pass, we must achieve a Yes score in the following compulsory behaviours: tricks loose lead walking one group stay (sit or drop) 5 additional Yes scores We're allowed to have a maximum of two No scores out of the "other behaviours" - not precisely sure what that means. We can carry food and toys but we're not allowed to lure or treat the dogs during the tasks - just at the beginning and end of exercises although the dog can be rewarded for auto-sits during heelwork and loose lead walking. Tricks: one trick without food. Should be easy as long as Elbie doesn't go spazzy on us and deliver up the wrong trick Rejoin handler: summon dog to rejoin you from 5m away - apparently there will be distractions (balls, chairs, cones, food, other handlers, dogs, brass marching band etc). Our problem is that Elbie will come from a sit-stay but it's not so easy for us to send him away from us in the first place During class I was throwing food to get him away from me but I'm not sure I can do that during assessment Mealtime manners: Has to ignore a bowl of food in front of his nose for 20 seconds. Should be ok depending on distractions. On your mat: Send dog to mat from 1metre away and he has to stay there for 30 seconds. Should be fine. Steady for pats: must stay steady for pats. Elbie will fail this miserably. As soon as someone leans in for the pat, his bum's off the ground and he's all *boing boing boing* Heelwork: Dog to maintain heel position while we walk briskly. The pattern will consist of at least one left, one right and one right about turn and 2 auto sits. No luring, food or slapping of hand against thigh. Loose lead walking (obstacle course): dog to walk on a loose lead for 30-40 metres. The leash isn't allowed to become taut and the dog must move on from distractions. There are 2 changes of directions and distractions like cones, empty food bowl, people walking or holding an umbrella. This will really depend on the day - sometimes Elbie's really good but if a lot of dogs have gone through the course, there are so many interesting smells ... Controlled greeting: Approach another handler and their dog, stop 1m away and put dog in a sit next to you. Chat for 15 seconds. This will depend on who the other dog is and who the handler is ... He gets very happy in the presence of some and is placid with others Group stays: Dogs are in a semicircle with handlers about 1.5m apart. Dog is put in a stay, you walk away to the end of the leash and the dog must hold the position for 1 minute - in a sit and then in a drop position. Elbie should be fine with this as long as the yappy black Schnauzer who sometimes wants to attack him isn't next to him. So much depends on how things are on the day!

Boop

Thank you! Apart from my ears feeling better, I just hated seeing him so stressed and sound up. I thought about putting shades over the back windows but then realised it would obscure vision. A crate won’t work in our car because it just wouldn’t fit even if we put the seat back. ;) 8 hours!? Ayah – where are you going? Are you running away from Dupree???? :D No need to go that far - come to my house! We can play Rock Band and he'll never find you in Melba! I hope Kuma handles the long trip all right - 100 bottles of Asahi on the wall 100 bottles of Asahi … take one down, pass it around, 99 bottles of Asahi … AWESOME! I couldn’t imagine trying to pick up Kuma – he’d look at me as if I was a bug or something Yes! I was just thinking the other day as we were in class that by the end of the year – Ava will be in Gold Class! I think that’s the class that has some doggy dancing in it??? Heh heh, I like to call it the obstacle course because I feel like every item they put there is a challenge designed to lure my curious puppy from my side. I thought it was awesome that the course came with two dogs like that ;) From what I could see you guys were doing really well – you were doing off-lead down-stays? When it’s our turn, I have this vision of me being the only owner chasing around the BDOC field after my dog going: “Come back!! Come back!!!” It’s actually hilarious that your two dogs are such a contrast. Ava’s so flirty and playful-looking and Satchmo always looks so grave and slightly baleful. It’s a really cute contrast! Thank you! It’s early days but I hope that all car trips will now be quiet and serene …

Thank you! We love him a lot and while he is very food-motivated, he seems to enjoy training/doing tricks for the sake of it, so that makes it a lot of fun. He seems to love obedience class. I love the concept of doing DWD but neither my husband nor I would fancy dancing around in the ring with him wearing a silly outfit. At this stage we're hoping that one day he'll be suitable for agility ...

staffygirl88: this is past the point of being any help to you right now. You've already received some very useful advice about meal times. secretkei has also just done a great post for you. Don't take this the wrong way but what might be best for you right now is to hop off DOL, make a cup of tea/coffee and just have a quiet moment. Bolstered by a nice hot beverage, some chocolate, once you have a clear head - it's possible to tackle even the trickiest of problems :D At the end of the day, you are the one who has to make the decisions about what to do and hopefully with a clear head, you can make the best decision possible. All the best!!

PF: I always love revisiting your posts after you edit them. They always change and this time there was a dramatic colour change, too!!! ;)

Haha! I know exactly what you mean. James is adorable but he does have gravitas like Elbie. I laugh when I see those cheery golden retrievers that look like they're laughing all the time and wuffles' dog Ava has a permanent grin on her face. Still, there is something very funny and cute about having a serious-looking dog even if in photos Elbie looks like a dog that's going to be used for some sort of charity appeal for donations. H! Elbie is actually such a happy dog who loves to play, sleep and run around but then he'll turn around and give us these long, thoughtful looks. We were told we shouldn't be staring back because of the whole challenging/dominance thing but sometimes he just looks VERY thoughtful. Sometimes I can't help staring back because he's clearly pondering things, wheels turning in his head and I love how perplexed he looks. Thank you! It was stressing me out a LOT and I didn't want it to become an entrenched behaviour because I want him to enjoy car trips, I want him to be able to spend more time with us. He always looks soooooooooooooo sad when we drive away and leave him behind. The obstacle course was great but you definitely want to be one of the first through otherwise your poor dog gets distracted by all the dogs who have peed on the obstacle course before them :D From memory it went as follows: 1. At the beginning they had tethered a placid kelpie x named Jet and a barking dog 2. We walked past the first traffic cone, turned left and then Elbie had to stand 3. Then we walked for a bit more and he had to drop and sit 4. They had a ball there as a distraction which he ignored (phew! Lucky it wasn’t a squeaky toy or a juice bottle!) Sometimes it’s a motor cycle helmet of all things 5. Then there were a few more turns and sits. Rogue the husky cross in our class is normally really focussed but the barking dog really threw her off – it’s interesting how different things distract different dogs. Unless you can train him to walk up onto the scale himself? :p

I can't remember exactly. We read so much dog training stuff before we got our dog that we were a bit overwhelmed by it all. We had agreed on no alpha-rolling or rough-treatment but the food thing seemed like a good idea so that we could take food away from him if necessary. We don't have kids - there are just two immature adults in our household. ;) So I wouldn't recommend it to other people but yes ... we've always played with Elbie's food and got him to leave it midway - he never seems particularly fussed, just kind of waits and sometimes delivers up a few behaviours in the hope that we are after a trick or something. Mealtimes have always been fun for him, not stressful even if it sometimes takes up to 30 minutes for him to get his full meal because it's being doled out for tricks etc. Anyway, thanks for letting me know - it is always good to know these things even if one learns them a bit late

Pal! As a little kid I remember that dog food ads were always very entertaining. Pal and also Chum, I think - "Chum's so chumpy - you could carve it!" ;) I'm so glad that Mindy's doing better!!!

Staffygirl88: sorry for hijacking your thread for a second, but I just wanted to ask poodlefan something ... PF: about the handling of the food - when we got got Elbie we read that you were supposed to play with their food so that they didn't become possessive about it so from day 1 we've always played with his food, made him wait for it. Sometimes we put it at a distance, release him and then make him sit halfway just so he has better control of himself around food. Is that flawed or is it just that children shouldn't be playing with the dog's food? Same with the 'waking sleeping dogs' thing, Elbie's always been quite used to being patted while he's sleeping since he was very little and we will wake him up when it's time for him to be crated so that we can go to bed and we just get a kind of drowsy placidity when he's woken up.

I definitely understand about the bad timing issue. As some people here know, I’ve run into that recently myself. My father’s got stage 4 terminal cancer i.e. he’s dying. We’re usually not his primary care givers (we provide backup) but because of this and that, for the last few weeks my brother and I have been taking turns “dad-sitting”. Last week, my husband’s grandmother died so he flew back to Canada for 2 weeks and work got busy all of a sudden so I’ve spent a lot of time driving around like a maniac and my poor puppy was left alone for 12 hours on the day my husband left for Canada. There was just nothing else that could be done. Fortunately since then, he’s only been left alone for maybe 8 hours during the day but still .. It’s not easy to ‘hide’ your emotions from your dog - I’ve had two good cries in the last couple of weeks and Elbie sits there looking bewildered and then he tries to lick my face. Point is - most problems are ok if they come in ones but when they come in twos, threes and fours ... that's when they get a bit overwhelming. Hang in there. There are plenty of people who sympathise and understand that just because you express frustration and distress about your dog doesn’t mean that you don’t want a dog and that you didn’t know what you were getting into. Don't get into online arguments - it's just not worth it and it's the last thing you need right now when you have so many other demands on your emotions. You're here to get help not debate or defend yourself. As my husband and I have discussed, the reality of owning a puppy can be quite different to one's imaginings. We thought that we were very prepared but seriously, there were times when we thought: "How on earth does such a little thing create so much poop?????" and "You just wee'd - how on earth did you do it again????" ;) I feel quite a bit of regret that during Elbie’s early puppy days we were so busy reacting, following, cleaning up, correcting etc that we probably didn’t ‘enjoy’ his snubby nosed puppy awkwardness as much as we would have liked so I hope you can find a few quiet moments to enjoy as well as react.

My puppy thinks he's a labrador. He has enough food but he could eat all day if we let him. You just have to make her wait. In the early days, Elbie would sit there quivering and drooling - almost imploding with impatience but over time he learned he just had to wait. There's a lady in Elbie's class at dog school whose JRT will bash past anything to get to food and she has just been forcing her dog to wait and she's seeing the rewards of this and her dog seems to be going better at mealtime manners. Also, it's one of the things your dog will have to master at dog school if she goes - wait for 20 seconds while a food bowl with food in it is placed in front of her ;) Also, with the pooping. Once we got Elbie pooping outside, it took us a while to teach him how to tell US that he wanted to go outside. He'd just stand by the door and look expectant as if we were supposed to be able to read his mind. We now get one insistent bark to be let out.