I’m a big fan of Louise Hay. She’s the guru of positive affirmations. A friend of mine sent me this You Tube, and it goes along similar lines. Using the right words can make a difference in your outcome.
Here are the other two pictures I took of Luigi and Mimi yesterday. They were so cute, I decided to post them, too, instead of using 1,000 words to explain them.
I’m not taking my need to lose weight seriously enough. I slipped during the last two weeks and bought two of those Edy ice cream barrels. Chocolate peanut butter. I really didn’t even like it. I like Blue Belle. But I burned the roof of my mouth with some too hot rice, and I needed something cold to eat, Edy’s was on sale, and that was how I spiraled down down down. But I’m back up up up again. No more sweets ‘cept for oranges, and let’s see if I can keep it that way.
Last night, Dudley again caused me strife. He stuck his nose into the tug 3 times and then zoned out. I sat there with my tug and treats and he sat there in the Dudley Zone. I wanted to cry. Instead, I told him I was hoping we could work together for a few minutes, but being he was not going to participate, I asked him to leave and I took Bunny in and we had a big to-do about her jumping in the air and I clicked and gave her all the Vienna sausage originally destined for Dudley. He watched from the other side of the ex-pen. I didn’t know what his feelings were because Mimi’s brat has surfaced. She can throw a fit; oh my, can she throw a fit! I have been ignoring most of them. Occasionally, she gets a little too rambunctious in her crate, so I ask her to settle her bad self down. She’s a tender mixture of sensitivity and tantrum. Raven is tantrum and “I don’t care what you do to me. I’m still gonna scream.” I am so blessed to have such divas in my life.
Tonight, while I was taking pictures of Luigi in his new collar, Mimi jumped up next to him for some cuddling and snuggling. He didn’t know what to think of it. She is a little doll. A sometimes brat, but a little doll. After dinner tonight, we were sitting in the back yard and I called her to me. All I can say is pew! The bad breath! Why do I get so lucky to get all the poop eaters?
Back to Dudley. A couple hours later, and just before dinner, I cut up another one of those Vienna sausages and took Dudley outside. I took the tug, also. I was going to start him directly onto pivoting, which he is doing great at, but took a chance that he was 2 hours hungrier and a little put out from being removed from center stage last time, so I sprung the tug on him.
This time, the moment he looked at it, I clicked and treated. It quickly grew into his jumping up to grab it, which was where we had left off the day before. I saw the error of my ways. In our first session, he poked at the tug 3 times and I didn’t acknowledge that. I wanted to immediately start off where we ended the night before – where he grabbed and pulled. But with Dudley, I’m finding out, he needs a warm-up. So from here on out, I’ll click his warm-up so he doesn’t get deflated.
Geesh! So much sensitivity in my pack.
I’ve only had two sessions with working on Dudley’s tugging through click-and-treat, and we’ve gotten further in those two sessions than all the frustrating sessions I had in the last two weeks with Dudley and the Tug It. All he wanted to do is lick that. Once upon a time, he did grip it. And occasionally, he would grab it when in the mood during our training out in the back yard. But now he is grabbing the tug. Step by step, we will lengthen the process and I hope to have him tugging soon!
Raven’s new collar arrived. She looks lovely in it. Here she is posing with her sister’s tail.
My pivot teaching is going along. Raven and Dudley are the subjects for this, my first time at teaching this. I took a couple of days off recently on teaching this, and returned to it last night. The days off seemed to have helped. Dudley, especially, knows what to do. We are at a point now where he will go back and forth in both directions with absolutely no luring by me. So my next step is to get him to swing around all the way in both directions and name them. Or name the direction then get him to swing all the way around.
Raven is understanding, too, but she is very impatient and not as thoughtful. Her whole thought is to get the treat, and often knocks her stool over and huffs and puffs because she’s not getting treats fast enough. When she does take the treats, she snaps at them. Last night I thought about working on her treat taking more. She seems to know what I want, but I need to get her out of 5th gear and into a more controllable speed. But we are getting there. It just shows you what patience and perseverance can do.
Here’s Leissl in her new spring/Easter collar. Lovely girlie girl!
Our Recaller’s 02 training is moving along splendidly. Well, OK, mostly. Last night we did an exercise where I had to run away from the dogs. I’m doing this mostly for Dudley, but add Raven into the mix, too, but maybe she doesn’t really need it. Running away from Dudley was fine. He is a normal dog. But Raven? Before I get any speed, she’s passing me. And so I tried to go faster last night, and therein lies the mistake. I got a kink in my knee only known to me after I got up from a chair later in the night. I stretched it out and it’s better today, but why do I never learn? I cannot out power Raven. Not in tugging, not in running, not in barking. She’s just an over-the-top dog, and I’m not.
Well, did I say Dudley was normal? I mis-spoke. Ha! He’s a character, and he is also stubborn and is giving me a hard time about tugging. I have decided to put him on a kibble only diet and work harder on stuffing the Tug-It with something scrumptious so he’ll sink his teeth into it like he’s into this pine cone. He did tug with me once upon a time with the Tug It, but now he follows me as if he is barely interested, and will lick the thing instead of biting into it and tugging. These dogs are nothing if they don’t keep us on our toes trying to keep one step ahead of them.
On another note, my favorite collar making person, Lisa Ruiz who made the collars pictured here, is cutting her line in half. She is taking the leather option off the table as of April 16. She makes gorgeous collars of all types, but the leather is hard on her wrists and she can’t do it anymore. But through the 15th of this month, she is taking leather orders at 20% off using coupon code Leather20 at checkout. Lisa’s website is collarmania.com.
Mimi is doing very well. She’s been spayed and had 14 days wearing a lamp shade collar, which was not fun. It was necessary, though, because as soon as she woke up from the anesthesia, she was ready to bite on her stitches. I took the stitches out myself, and she was very compliant as long as I was handing over those treats. The vet used metal stitches. Ouch. I’m just glad that is done. Since then, and I shall knock on wood, she hasn’t been pulling my clothes off to chew on them. Maybe those two weeks trapped in a lamp shade broke her of that habit. I want to do Crate Games with her this weekend.
One of my extravagances is playing lotteries. Florida has several: Fantasy Five, Mega Money, Lotto, and Power Ball are four of them. I just want to make a note of a very odd occurrence in Mega Money.
3/25/11 – 6 – 23 – 32 – 36 MB 18
there was just one drawing in between, and here are the numbers on
4/1/11 – 7 – 23 – 32 – 36 MB 17
I am sure that statistically something like that happening is astronomical. It’s also very annoying. 🙂 I pick my numbers and would never pick something like that after those numbers were drawn so recently. I guess it was truly an April Fool’s kind of drawing and the balls were playing the joke on us.
In the midst of hanging tightly onto a new, beefy rope tug yesterday, acting as if I were in control as my innards were being relocated, I made a decision. I would not opt to go any further with training Raven to tug as a reward. She’s just too darn strong and likes to show it. So after I asked for her to release, I tucked my guts back into my belt, gave her the rope toy with my blessings and realized I would have to teach her some fun, quick games she will enjoy when I need a little something more active as a reward than food, and don’t have the option of playing fetch with her. Fetch also gets her way over the edge and doesn’t work very well as a reward for teaching her new things.
Speaking of teaching, I bought the download of Silvia Trkman’s heeling video. It is good, and I learned some things from it. Teaching the dogs to pivot around an object with front paws on object while hind legs move around, though, is still HARD. She brought to my attention that I’d been luring, so I stopped. We are moving slowly along now, and we seem to be stuck in a couple steps right then a couple steps left. Raven likes to climb on top of her stool, or she’ll pull her front paws off the stool and do a spin and jump back on. That is too cute. She offers so many cute behaviors, it’s hard not to go off on tangents. I am sure she cannot believe all I possibly want is for her to pivot around the stool. Anyway, this is going very very slowly.
Dudley and I are working the Susan Garret Recallers class. He’s loving it and so am I. He’s just a superstar. Especially when I have treats in my pocket.
Raven really pushed my buttons today.
I am training her to do heel the Silvia Trkman way. Or trying anyway. This is my first go at this method, but for Dobies, who are natural crabbers, this seems like an excellent way to go.
Well, Raven doesn’t like going around in circles. Actually, Raven doesn’t do anything that Raven doesn’t like to do. We haven’t even gotten as far as Raven going around in circles anyway. But she is already bored with this whole game. So today, she offered the behavior a few times then yawned and decided to lie down and/or sit in one spot and do nothing but stare at me! I walked around the whole back yard. Around her, and even stood behind her, and she wouldn’t move! She had a smirk on her face and refused to offer any more behaviors, and I had MEAT!
Boy was she surprised when I told her that was fine if she didn’t want to work and I put her in the house and brought Dudley out. She body slammed the door and Dudley did very well, thank you very much, and ate all the meat as he excelled at what I wanted HER to do.
After dinner, later on, she had the nerve to think I would play fetch with her at her request. No, I would not. I ignored her, so she put the toy right in my lap as I sat on my patio chair, and she sat in front of me huffing and puffing as if I was making life hard for her. Well, I ignored all that. I realized I’ve been giving into way too many of her demands. And with a dog like Raven, bright and pushy, that’s not good. So for now, Raven’s so in the dog house.
This is a good video, too, for teaching the pivot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsvNvK8T1z8&playnext=1&list=PLEA1339D41C7D1B66
If you supported me and voted for my video, I wanted to thank you. I did get a place in the top five, which really makes me happy. I tied for 3rd place with Slovenia. Two were from the USA, one from Bermuda and one other from France. You can see the results here.
Mimi’s doing well recovering from her spay surgery. The only thing that is bothering me, and likely her, is the e-collar. She has to wear it for one more week. I wish I could explain the reason for it to her. Of course, if I could, she wouldn’t have to wear it.
I thought she would have trouble eating clothes and sheets with this light shade on her head, but she did manage to grab my orange t-shirt and snuggle with it on the floor. OK, I’m not sure if she did more than snuggling, yet. I’m a little worn out looking for and moreso, finding holes. She did have a rope toy on the bed with her the other night, which I praised. I’m not sure if she got the connection though. Still working on this.
One of the funny things that happened with her is yesterday, I was asking Dudley to go in his crate. He’s been doing surprisingly well offering to go in there recently. And I mentioned that to someone, so he has slipped and now is becoming stubborn again. So when he balked at going in, Mimi came up behind him with her lamp shade and shoved him. It was probably accidental (or not), but that lamp shade in the rear move startled Dudley into his crate but fast. I had the best laugh.
Of course, when Mimi took a drink out of the big bucket in the living room and yanked the almost full 9 quarts over all over the floor, well, not so much fun. I had to change the location of the water bucket, and that seems to be working. One more week and the lamp shade comes off. Yes!
Luigi and Leissl got new collars in the mail. They are from a woman named Lisa in San Francisco who makes fabulous bling and big dog collars. (She makes them for small dogs too, but her specialty is big.) If you want to check out her website, go to collarmania.com.
Leissl also got a new collar, too. Here is a couple of pictures of both Luigi and Leissl modeling their special collars, which will not be everyday collars, but special occasion collars.
Luigi apparently has a trademark “I’m posing for a collar photo” pose. 🙂
Hi!
Could you please help me? It will only take 30 seconds of your time. I entered a video in the Susan Garrett’s Recallers Class contest. (She’s a world class agility competitor for those who aren’t familiar with her.) Anyway, she picked my video as one of the top 15, and today, on her blog, she posted it for voting. It’s the first one “Talking Dobie” on the link below.
If you scroll down on that page past all 5 videos, you will see the voting buttons. Please vote for the TALKING DOBIE. You only get one vote, so if you could give me a hand with a click, I’d really appreciate it. 🙂 (If you have any friends who might help out with a click, I’d appreciate that too!)
Here’s the link: http://susangarrettdogagility.com/2011/03/brilliant-recall-course-student-videos-contest-day-2/
Thank you!
Helen
First of all, I called the vet’s office and they said Miss Mimi is doing fine, and is still sleeping the anesthesia off. I am thrilled! I can’t wait to have her little rascally self back home and back to normal. The woman on the phone questioned me about my pain meds at home, and when I mentioned one of several, Deramaxx, she said they don’t have that there so she is unfamiliar with it. Really? I also have some Tramadol, if she needs it. I can use that.
They also made me sign a page that said if they needed to do anything extra, I would not get my dog back till I paid them. And I also had to pay up front. Cash. I wonder if they would hold a dog hostage till they get paid. I have heard that happens at some veterinarian’s offices.
The Humane Society reaches out to vets in the county for help with “low cost” spay and neuter. Each vet has their own rules. I was ready for this one, but I feel sorry for people going in there who are unarmed with information and procedures on spaying/neutering, and will get talked into more than they bargain for.
There is a group of vets in Lee county who are fabulous. That’s why I visit them when I have several issues to contend with. But that’s a 2-1/2 hour one-way drive. And it is worth it both economically and for professional service.
Now for the fun part. Pictures! At lunch time, I went home to take a few photos for St Patty’s day.
No time for Aussie pictures at lunch. They take a little more patience to set up, pose and get pictures from than the Dobies.
Today, March 3, is day 20 since Mimi arrived. Time flies! A significant thing happened this morning. Usually, Mimi runs around trying to figure out where she belongs when I dole out meals. But this morning, she flew to her crate and waited there. I had a moment of “Where is that dog?” when I saw her no where near, then when I got to her crate, she was so darn cute. She was wagging her tail and her whole body went along for the ride. She was so excited and so was I. She figured out she will always get a bowl of food, and felt safe enough to run to her spot. What a far distance we traveled from the night I had to wrestle her off the bowls on the counter. Had I known, I’d have had my camera ready!
She is still pulling some things down for a chew, last night it was my sheets and comforter again, but I am catching her quicker and she’s understanding NO. OK, I’m not afraid to hurt her feelings saying NO as much as I was. She is very sensitive, and she shows it. So when I say NO to her, she goes to one of two corners she’s staked out for herself. Of course, it’s hard on me watching her slink away, but I’d like to be able to trust her in the house, and I imagine it will be a while till we get there. Step by step, though, we will find our way. And she comes out of the corner faster than I can put the sheet and comforter back.
Sunday night, March 6 – I lost another t-shirt tonight. I have such a habit of hanging them off chairs, that I forget that’s dangerous. She got it good. But made a nice clover-like design. I guess it’s for the upcoming St. Patty’s day festivities.
I ordered my computer parts, too. It took a lot of hunting, but found the substitute power supply for the external drive I have. I’m trying really hard to be vigilant and not let the Termite sit near my computer wires. That’s her nickname. The Termite.
Yesterday, Monday, March 7, I looked outside the back door where along a certain group of plants, I have small arched wire fencing. Dudley has been thinking lately he can jump in there and get away with it. Sunday, I caught him back there with a pine cone. He couldn’t come out. Not with that pine cone in his mouth. I finally coaxed him out without it. So did I ever have a laugh when I caught sight of Dudley’s head sticking through one of the foot-high fencing, and upon calling him, the fence and all it’s connections grasped him by the neck and came with him. Being they were pushed into the ground, and may I say it wasn’t easy getting them through that rocky ground, it wasn’t so easy for him to pull them out and back. I was caught in between laughing and getting my camera. I also thought about stepping out to help him escape, yet there is something so delicious about Karma, I didn’t want to interfer.
However, it took short order for him to remove that big head and ego of his and leave my fencing sprawled on the ground. I had to go back and reconnect it to Mother Earth. I am just hoping that that episode taught Dudley a lesson, and perhaps he will leave that area and it’s fencing alone from now on.
March 17 – St Patty’s Day
That comment I left above, ha! Dudley’s lessons are not long lasting. He’s be sighted back in that area at least once since then. He’s the kind of dog who loves the chase. LOVES IT! So he instigates ways to be chased when his daily quotient of being chased is not reached.
Since March 6, I’ve not lost any more t-shirts or clothes to the Termite; however, March 15, Tuesday, I heard fabric ripping. I ran into the bedroom while yelling MIMI! Sure enough, there she was standing on the floor at the corner of my bed ripping the fitted sheet off. She gnawed off a nice little hole in those 2-seconds of ripping noise I heard. Other than that, she is sort of getting the rules of not eating my clothes and bedding.
One thing she’s come with is when I reach down to do a collar grab, she rolls over and goes limp. Bright little character that she is! This happens when I am making dinners and want everyone out of my small kitchen so I can move around and get the job done. Mimi likes to wait it out and pretend like “no understand.” After four calls “Mimi, out!” (which is three too many), I reach for the collar, and she rolls. I don’t play that game. So when she rolled last time, I let go. She got up and I tried again, and I guess she wasn’t expecting that, and caught her off guard. She then cooperated and moved on out of the kitchen. I have so much work to do with her. But I didn’t want to stress her out till after today.
March 17, she is getting spayed. Ahhhh! First, I wish I’d brought a camera. When I had turned around after talking to the woman behind the counter, Mimi was lying sprawled on the tile floor, back legs out, head on floor between paws. I keep telling myself to carry a camera everywhere I go, and have yet to find a camera to put in my purse. I think I need to buy one just for that.
The hardest hard hard hard part was not letting her have food or especially water this morning. She was thirsty. I felt like a meanie when I shut the door and left her in her crate until I had taken care of the other dogs, let them out, fed them, and re-crated them for the day. Not till I was ready to go out the door did I let Mimi out to pee. I had pulled one bucket of water up, and meant to close the door to the bedroom where the other bucket was. Forgot and heard her race in there as I was getting her leash, so I had to yell MIMI! again. My fault. Too much to think about. She had a few licks, and then I caught her.
I go through the Humane Society to get a decent price on spaying. She was 40# at one place, and that was a charge of $55. Of course, when she arrived at the vet’s office, this scale said she was 42#, and they said it should be $60. But she let me off the hook and charged $55. But they shove a sheet at you with all these things you *should* do, but because you are going through the HS, you don’t get. But if you want it, you can pay all the extras. It was amazing. Blood work, chest x-rays, IV and fluids, and they make you feel like a heel with pain medications. As if anyone would want their pets to suffer. I have pain meds at home, and I so duly wrote that. There were a few more options on the list. If I’d checked off all those, the $55 spay would easily go over $500. Then it’s another sheet that you sign that if they find a flea on your dog, they will apply a topical for $38. THIRTY EIGHT DOLLARS for ONE APPLICATION! I wrote on the bottom that I sprayed her with Frontline two weeks ago. They can look at my blog if they don’t believe me, but geesh! Oh, and I asked how much to microchip. Guess. $55! I don’t get it. Vets in this area really are out for one thing, money. There may be a few outside that realm, but barely.
Economics aside, I just feel out of sorts and want this to be done and done well and safely. Is that too much to ask? No. I will get to call over there at 2 pm today, if they don’t call me before, to find out how she is and when she can come home. When that is done, and she recuperates, I can then start a little bit more on that collar grab game, and a lot of other things. Though I’m not sure if she’s an agility wannabe, she’ll at least learn the basics of obedience.