Elbie, Hoover, Dodge & Friends!

[Niques]

I empathize with destructo-mode dogs.... Someone decided today would be a good day for some home-reno's. Ripped up nearly 1m2 carpet, including shredding to a hundred million pieces the foam underlay.

Someone had a productive day!

Can't wait to see some footage of all the agility and flyball dogs when they start learning I would love to do flyball but have heard it's not such a good idea for labradors.

Had a letter from our breeder yesterday containing a copy of James' television debut! Totally Wild did a segment on breeders when he was 7 weeks old and he and his litter starred. I'd forgotten how unbelievably adorable they were! Will try and upload it at some point.

[wuffles]

Can't wait to see some footage of all the agility and flyball dogs when they start learning I would love to do flyball but have heard it's not such a good idea for labradors.

Had a letter from our breeder yesterday containing a copy of James' television debut! Totally Wild did a segment on breeders when he was 7 weeks old and he and his litter starred. I'd forgotten how unbelievably adorable they were! Will try and upload it at some point.

I don't think there'd be any problem with labs and flyball From what I've seen, most teams have a small dog or "height dog" which means all the dogs only have to jump tiny jumps anyway! There are a few labs at our club doing flyball. Agility would be much more taxing on the body. As long as you keep 'em lean and fit most would have no issues :p

James is a TV star

Edited November 19, 2010 by wuffles

[Max#1]

There were definitely labs at the nationals. And they looked really good too!

The pity is not really being able to get footage. It'd be like trying to videotape obedience training. Can you imagine?! Ha!

KTB: warn your OH there is running around for flyball. Not so much when they can do it, but at the start you have to do a lot of running and getting your puppy to chase you! I was actually sore the next day after one training session!

Picture this:

Exercise 1

Someone is holding your dog 6 -12 m away from you - and you are standing next to someone else's dog, which is also being held. Dogs are released simultaneously, you have to call your dog as loud and excited as possible and start running in the other direction, swinging around your tug toy as you go. The more enthusiastically you run the better. And no peaking (if you look back at your dog, they tend to stop chasing you). The dog catches you (effectively its a recall, but you're not standing still) and gets rewarded with the tug. Rinse, line up, and repeat again.

Exercise 2

Someone throws a ball down in front of your dog, who you are restraining. When the ball is stationary on the ground, you release your dog to get the ball, then you have to take off in the other direction (as you progress you start doing this over a few jumps). Again, wildly swinging tug toy and screaming at the top of your lungs. The idea is that your dog chases you and drops the ball only when he gets to you in exchange for the tug reward. This doesn't necessarily happen, and to convince your dog to bring the ball actually to you, you have to keep running and running and running. And no peaking back either!

The last time we did it I had been naughty and kept peaking back at Max to make sure he was chasing me, and he kept not chasing me - just would stop and look at me, like 'where are you going?'. So I had to really not look back, with the end result being me stomping on poor Max when he caught me. Pretty funny. Poor dog.

Wuffles - seems like Ava is really on the mend too. That's great.

PS - my OH and I are now talking of getting some new flooring in a particular room of our house. We're very excited and think timber floors/laminate (or something like that) is WAY better than carpet anyway.

Edited November 19, 2010 by Max#1

[Niques]

Very vivid descriptions, Max#1 - sounds hilarious from a bystander's perspective. Probably not so much from yours

I'd forgotten they adjust the heights for the littlest team member.

I have my new camera today Have absolutely no idea what I'm doing Really need to read the manual. But had to have a little bit of fun with it first (be warned - photo overload!):

[koalathebear]

Just flyby and will comment properly later.... I love all the photos (especially ears) but this photo ... I almost went: "OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" out loud at work Such a sweet face!!!!

[koalathebear]

Our Dog School sent out a newsletter today with this story in it. Made me tear up at work :'( Apologies if you have read ti before.

A Dog's Purpose: from a six year old

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.

Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life - like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?"

The six-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently

[betsy]

KTB - what a great read. Especially about dogs being teachers...

Niques - James is sooooooo cute. Good work with the new camera (which one did you get again? Think I may look around for a Canon DSLR after Xmas in sales). And glad to see TV stardom has not stopped you visiting the forums

[wuffles]

James is soooooo cute. That face. It needs smooshing. Although... my dogs would both be in the pool rather than playing near it, so I'm not sure how you manage that one! Reminds me of this photo of Ava when she was still at her breeder's house. Her and her brother were squeezing through the pool fence and going for swimsies on top of the pool cover

Went and did some training at the oval just before, seeing as Ava seems to be holding down kibble now :D She was itching for it and had a great time. I was especially happy with her heeling The only thing I need to do a bit of work on before next week is her stays. They are usually rock solid but today she was acting a bit clingy, watching me like a hawk and acting a bit stressed until I came back.

Stitches come out TOMORROW! :D

[minxy]

Hey KTB, I think from memory you once posted a video of Elbie learning to play dead??? Any suggestions (or from anyone else) on how I might teach Kyojin this trick?

[Niques]

KTB, that's a very sweet read - thanks for posting.

Niques - James is sooooooo cute. Good work with the new camera (which one did you get again? Think I may look around for a Canon DSLR after Xmas in sales). And glad to see TV stardom has not stopped you visiting the forums :D

It's a Canon 500D. First foray into the DSLR world so there's much to learn. And it's James' TV stardom, not mine - can't promise you he'll hop off his lofty pedestal to mingle :D

Ava and her brother are hilarious Very resourceful puppies! James loves to swim but hasn't yet worked the swimming pool out. The big chicken hovers on the very top step and splashes about. This summer I'll teach him how to get in.

Hooray for the stitches coming out! Very pleased to hear that's Ava's feeling better.

Edited November 19, 2010 by Niques

[betsy]

Wuffles you must of had some indication from that photo what mischief you were in for with gorgeous Ava!

[koalathebear]

Hey KTB, I think from memory you once posted a video of Elbie learning to play dead??? Any suggestions (or from anyone else) on how I might teach Kyojin this trick?

Hi minxy: How old is Kyojin now and what tricks can he already do? "Dead" is actually quite a difficult trick because it involves several elements. Kyojin needs to know how to:

1. drop

2. rollover

3. stay/wait

Basically, once your dog knows how to do all of the above, then instead of using a voice command, you use food and lure Kyojin into a drop, then lure him into a half rollover i.e. so that he is just on his side rather than rolling over all the way. Then you make him wait. You may find that a big dog like an akita may not want to drop let alone rollover so it's going to be a challenge!

In the early days, Elbie sprang back to life too soon. See

. I didn't know it but OH has been fine-tuning Elbie's acting skills and teaching him to keep the 'dead' position for longer. Last week during obedience, I was across the field with Hoover. I saw Elbie fall over and I assumed he was doing 'dead', but then didn't get up!!! Quite a while later, he still wasn't getting up and I was starting to get worried, then I saw him spring up for a treat and I realised that it was the result of the OH's training.

I made a little demo for you

, I've tried to break it down into the 3 parts. There's also a demonstration of Elbie 'selling' the death by staying on the ground for a while even when OH is walking around the kitchen. The alert ears and the eye movement detract from the 'death' though :D ... as did the way he 'boinged' up from death!

Good luck and let us know how you go! I'd love to see an akita playing dead.

ETA: I'm teaching Hoover 'are you shy' and he's doing well with the gesture and I've just started introducing the voice cue. He is such a placid and easygoing dog though that at one point, I put about six pieces of sticky tape on the side of his face and just lay there looking at me trustingly. :D

Edited November 19, 2010 by koalathebear

[minxy]

Awesome, thank you so much!!!! :D He's about 20 weeks now I think. He knows drop (he thinks it is the most fun thing to do, ever!) and stay/wait. I was just going to start teaching him 'roll over' too, so I will practice that one with him first. I bought him a clicker today, which he was going well with until he decided it was all just a little too exciting, and thought he might nom on my toes.

We got introduced to loose leash walking at puppy class on Wednesday night, and then OH took him for his first test LLW yesterday (and recorded the whole thing on his phone because he is a very proud dad!). So naturally Kyojin now has a youtube channel. He's grown so much already in the month that we've had him!! (Kyojin)

Edited November 19, 2010 by minxy

[lilli_star]

James is soooooo cute. That face. It needs smooshing. Although... my dogs would both be in the pool rather than playing near it, so I'm not sure how you manage that one! Reminds me of this photo of Ava when she was still at her breeder's house. Her and her brother were squeezing through the pool fence and going for swimsies on top of the pool cover :D

Ohmygosh Wuffles- Ava could possibly have been the cutest ball of fluff puppy ever! :D

[wuffles]

Thanks for all your kind well wishes for Ava! She seems to be on the mend, although she is feeling pretty skinny. I love this thread

Niques and betsy: Ava's breeder (hello if you're lurking) did warn us that she was a mischievous puppy She also sent us a few pics of her covered in mud so we knew we were in for it. We had asked for a quiet and clever pup, but couldn't resist Ava and her unique looks. She was also the only girl and we wanted a girl, so that sold it for us. So even though she is a bit more 'spirited' than we originally wanted, she is the most lovely girl and I wouldn't give her up for anything

lilli_star: Awww, thanks! We think she was pretty darn cute too! She was soooo fluffy when she first came home as a pup.

minxy: We taught play dead in a similar way as KTB but we did find it was too difficult until Ava was a bit older. I clicker trained it so even though she knew drop and roll over, I didn't use those commands as I wanted them strung together. So I lured her into a drop, then lured her onto her side (by moving the treat up behind her head and a little to the side). The millisecond she flopped onto her side I'd click&treat. I strung those two behaviours together with an exaggerated hand signal before I taught the wait/duration. She still looks a bit too aware and ready to jump up at any second, to really look "dead" though

Strangely enough this trick has actually come in handy for us, I use it at the vet to get her to roll onto her belly and have also used it to help her calm down in other situations...

Edited November 19, 2010 by wuffles

[lilli_star]

This is my favourite. It makes me think he's going all Cute Overload.com and saying "Oh hai!"

[koalathebear]

We went to the Bredbo Herding Trials today. Mostly border collies, apparently Kelpies aren't good at the 3-sheep work because they're a bit too pushy and not as 'soft' as the borders. Clastic, Mr Clastic, Mars and Pepper also made an appearance

This is Cricket the border collie.

This gorgeous black and tan Kelpie was the exception apparently and was extremely gentle, still and measured in its herding.

[koalathebear]

3 sheepies!

Caplan the Border Collie

[koalathebear]

Our monsters chilling in the shade

Hoover encountered another red and tan Kelpie puppy named Trixie

Their play looked like Cerberus the two-headed red and tan Kelpie-Monster

Here's a

.

Hoover, looking like a working dog as he's tied to the front of a farmer's truck

Elbie looking very shiny in the sun

[koalathebear]

Miss Pepper

Mars would not pose for my OH at first - looking everywhere but the camera. Finally - beautiful photo of a beautiful boy

Little Hoover watching the sheepies

It was a good day. OH and I are a bit sunburned but we enjoyed ourselves and it was very nice catching up with Clastic and the Clastica Gang

Also, the farmers and herding people were sneering a little at me for having a bag of treats in my hand. Working dogs don't get treats. It makes sense, because the dog's too far away to be treated.

Edited November 20, 2010 by koalathebear