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Archive for January, 2007

31 January, 2007 | No bones

The Art of Dog Walking

leashI finally figured out the true art of dog walking. Although I understand a lot about dogs, their temperament, their ways…there is still a lot to learn about a house dog. Outside dogs are easy compared to inside dogs. It’s a new ballgame when you have to look at them all day long and they are looking at you. This dog loves pizza and I have to be after him about that since we usually have some form of pizza in the house. < /tangent >

Back to dog walking… I have figured out that the true art in walking a dog is to make it seem like you have nothing on the end of the leash. It occurs to me that we have had a few walks like that and I totally forgot he was even there. That is the essence of dog walking. He gets what he needs while you get a stress free outing. I love those kinds of walks. They are overly enjoyable. We are still fighting over who walks ahead, but it’s getting better. He is starting to understand that I am a force to be reckoned with and he doesn’t want to the one I am unleashing that force on. I am also glad that I can do this without feeling like I am abusing him. I am totally against hitting and force of that nature. I don’t want him scared, I want him to respect.

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31 January, 2007 | 1 bone

Pecking order problems

My dog thinks he is better than my child. NOT gonna happen. I decided to do a search about what to do, and man does it sound mean. How do you tell a 4 year old child who loves the dog implicitly that they are not allowed to hug the dog? All he wants to do is hug him. I mean, he can tell him to sit, no, come here, get out, stop, down…but NOT to hug him??? Ay. I was reading this article about Top Dogs. Do you really have to be that harsh? I don’t know if I am going to be able to take my son’s sadness over it, really.

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30 January, 2007 | No bones

They left me!

Yes we finally tested out leaving and coming back after more than an hour. The blinds were destroyed, curtains pulled down, the coffee grounds were on the floor, there was slobber all over my front windows, fur all over my couch, there was pee on the floor of my bedroom, the light was knocked over, and some treats were strewn on the floor…but the house was intact. He had also eaten a piece of pizza, all his food in his dish, and drank all his water.

We left for five hours with him locked in the kennel. We had left the TV on just in case he got antsy and he had his rawhide bone. Apparently about 3 hours after we left he got out, went a little bonkers, and ended up staring out the window at the neighbors for 2 hours. It isn’t the coffee that did it, either. It was decaf. I guess he just thought that we weren’t coming back.

My husband is going to devise a better lock for the kennel door. He fixed the curtains. We have to buy replacement blinds. All in all, he was calm, my house only required minor rearranging, and he is well. In the end, isn’t that all that really matters?

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28 January, 2007 | No bones

Bathtime!

This morning I decided to use our new shampoo since he was scratching so much. He did really well and only tried to exit the tub twice. the only part I didn’t really appreciate was him shaking his wetness all over the bathroom. He then had to get out his energy by ripping and roaring through my house for a few minutes. Now he is all done and resting on the floor. We have another few hours before I take him out for the afternoon walk and I fathom he will be pretty much dry by then.

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28 January, 2007 | No bones

Is this it?

He is spending more time in the crate with the door closed. So far, so good. We left him alone for an hour without much sound from us and he was fine. * we were still in the house, though*

This morning on our walk a cat was RIGHT IN OUR PATH. He smelled it, he saw it, and he didn’t react at all! The cat was sitting there, waiting. It was the same cat that had tortured him before. I decided to play it safe and cross the street where the cat was. Apparently, the cat didn’t forget him, either. The cat watched us till we got to the other end of the block. I guess then he knew he was safe HAHA. There is hope that his aggression toward cats has at least subsided…now we have to work on his presence around dogs.

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28 January, 2007 | No bones

People problems?

Apparently, shady characters are not his style. He saw a group of people last night who rubbed him the wrong way from a distance. Coby was so upset by their presence that I decided to avoid them if possible. Low and behold, there came the inevitable meeting. They were coming out of an apartment that just had to be right in front of where we were walking. They came out and he started going nuts. I got him to sit down between my feet, but it was hard to keep him from going over and doing whatever it was that he was ready to do. Him being uncomfortable made me wary of what these people were about. They were scared of him and only asked me if he was a good dog, to which I of course said yes. Then they went about their merry way, but Coby couldn’t forget them. We did finish our walk and get back to the house okay, but he wanted to hunt them down. It was the same reaction he had to the cat the other day.

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27 January, 2007 | No bones

Is he really NOT here yet?

living roomLast night, Coby knew he heard my husband’s car pull up. He knew it was about time for him to come home. I told him that it couldn’t be “daddy” since it wasn’t quite time. Coby wouldn’t hear it. He pranced around in front of the door whining and waiting for it to open. I told him “Fine, I am going to look through the window and check”…so I went to the window, parted the blinds and checked out the view. I told him “Daddy is not home yet!”. He couldn’t believe it. He gave me a look, planted his paws squarely on my side table, used his nose to part the blinds, and see for himself! If my camera weren’t so slow I would have a picture of it.

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26 January, 2007 | No bones

Loosey Goosey

From nothing, to a hard time, to loose bowels. He is getting there. Coby whines when he needs to go outside instead of just taking his pleasure around the house. I am glad that he is really getting into the swing of things. Dog Whisperer clips are helping me figure out how to deal with a few of his issues better.

He stayed in the crate today for a full half an hour with the door closed. He didn’t whine or run out when the door opened. He has been sleeping in there more and more with the door open. I put him in for a few minutes while the delivery man was here and he was fine. I don’t anticipate having to leave him for at least another week, but he won’t have any problems by then I’m sure.

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25 January, 2007 | No bones

Guess who did it?

Coby, of course. He did #2 outside without even TRYING to go inside. We went for his afternoon walk early. He was whining and tapping the two doors we have in our house because he needed to go out. He knew he better NOT to #2 in here. I guess I don’t have to watch *as* adamantly as I was. He is safe traverse the width and breadth of my son’s menagerie…um…room without my fear of finding feces.

Getting him used to the crate with the door closed is looking good. He sat in there with the door closed for the entire session today. We then worked with the muzzle. That was just a bit daunting. I had to distract him with a treat so he wouldn’t take it off.

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24 January, 2007 | No bones

Getting into the routine

He ate a lot today. Well not alot, but frequently. He did no #2 today, but he did do his business in the designated area. I am so happy he did. We have snow and freezing winds coming so I am really glad he just went outside, did his business, and came back in the house.

I was watching some clips from The Dog Whisperer. He is a pretty effective guy. I know some people don’t appreciate his methods, but you take the good and do what you can.

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