Puppy Saga Day 25

Today was a productive day in puppy-land!  The pups met 3 new people and were handled, kissed and played with by all.  Mamacita met 5 new people (2 seniors, 2 teens and my friend Kelly - we won't mention her age! ).  By the time Kelly came by, Mama was pretty relaxed and friendly.  As the mommy hormones kick down she is getting much more receptive to visitors. That's 'all good' as they say.

Introduced the pups to food today.  The pics below are from our 3rd attempt.  They're getting the hang of it!

 Hmmmm...whats this?

                                                    Smells interesting...

 You try it.  No, You try it.

                                                                                                                      I'm goin' for it!
 






If you guys aren't gonna finish this...

Wow.  What a horrible blogger I am!  Here I am raising a litter of foster puppies and not a word has been said about it here!  Sorry!  Not that I have people holding their breath waiting for my next installment! :-P But I started this blog primarily to force myself to write regularly.  Failed experiment I'd say!
Any hoo... 

Mamacita arrived at my house on June 18th and gave birth to 3 pups (Cookie, Biscuit and Popcorn) on June 20th!  Big thanks to my friend Cookie Mac for helping me through the whelping! 

Mamacita was an owner surrender to my local animal shelter. What is she, you ask?  Good question.  My best guess is Rat Terrier and Corgi but it is only a guess.  Her pups are all tri colored with ears that look like they will eventually stand up.  They are 3 1/2 weeks old today.

 I'm not a big fan of the birth process.  Can you say YUK?! But I do enjoy watching the instinctive behavior of both the mother dog and the babies.  They all know their jobs and their purpose and I find that very reassuring. My job as their foster caregiver is to keep them safe and give them a good start in life through proper nutrition and lots of socialization. my husband and I handle the pups several times a day.  I talk to them. I sing to them. I play the radio and run the washer / dryer  so they'll be used to normal household noises.  I will expose them to different environments, dogs (big and small), my cat and lots and lots of people! One of a puppy's key socialization period is 4-16 weeks so it's "crunch time" now as we head into their 4th week.

When all is said and done (at 8 weeks of age) my hope is that I will have helped these pups develop into stable, friendly, potential pets ready to be adopted.  After that it will be up to their new families to continue socializing them and training them. 

But I do all this knowing that there is a big, unknown, black cloud up above that might darken their sunny future.  That cloud is their genetic make up.  The father of this litter is unknown.  Mamacita is shy and wary of strangers at first , but wiggly, silly and affectionate once she gets to know you.  I don't know if her shyness is genetic or whether she was not properly socialized herself as a puppy.  A dog's behavior is always determined by a combination of both those things. Socialization and good nutrition can only take these puppies so far.  They need to have a stable genetic make up as well.   There will be no shortage of folks wanting to adopt them - they are cute as buttons, but finding good matches for challenging puppies is a different story.  Let's hope these pups have solid temperaments.
Only time will tell!

Right now the pups are getting adventurous and Mamacita is trying to teach them some social manners.  They are demanding little beasties.   They are very vocal, attempting to bark and growling when they are frustrated. Cookie is already picking up dry kibble in her mouth and all 3 have experimented with lapping water, so we'll start feeding gruel today.  I hate to start it because my sweet, fluffy puppies will soon be food encrusted messes!  But Mama will appreciate the help I'm sure.

More blogs to come - I promise!

Training Goals

I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have told my students that they need to be clear when communicating to their dogs.  I tell them to picture what they want the dog to do. How can the dog possibly get it right if they themselves do not have a clear picture of what it should look like?

Today an agility instructor asked me "What are your goals for Tawnie?" 
Ummmmm...
Goals?
Well...
I want us to run fast and happy together.  
I want us to have fun.
I want her to love agility.
Okay...
But suddenly I thought, "Yes, but what exactly does that look like?"
I realized that I myself did not have a clear picture of what I wanted.  I certainly did not have a plan for the steps needed to reach those lofty goals.

So, here goes.  I'll try to articulate my REAL agility goals for Tawnie.

I want to develop speed and independence through the use of targeting.
I want to remove ANY and ALL demotivating habits or maneuvers (such as front crosses which slow her down considerably) from our training.
I want to TRY TRY TRY to move seamlessly from a missed obstacle to a successful sequence without any indication from me that Tawnie made a mistake.  Let's face it - the mistake was likely mine.
I want to build Tawnie's love of agility by increasing my rate of reinforcement, by giving her as much enthusiasm as I want in return and by lowering my criteria at the first sign of confusion so she can succeed.

I want to be a better handler, so she can be a better team mate.
"Ready Tawnie?  Let's GO!"

 

Wearing my heart on my sleeve

After careful consideration (ten years worth...) I finally took the leap.  From this point forward, not only will Pogo be forever in my heart...he'll be forever on my skin.

Here is the picture the tattoo artist worked from:

And here is the tattoo:




Thank you Bald Bill 

YANKEE TATTOO 
in Burlington, VT

A Puppy's Plea

A Puppy's Plea

Will you teach me all about your world?

Translate your language into mine?

Will you help me to succeed 

and reward me when I try?

Can you laugh at my mistakes

and accept my imperfections?

When I try and somehow fail,

Can you adjust your expectations? 

Will you control me enough to keep me safe,

but give me freedom to explore?

Will I know that I am special?

Of your love will I be sure?

Can I run and bark and chew and chase?

Not always SIT and STAY.

Will your voice be music to my ears

and my name mean come and play?

Will I be the dog you dreamed of?

True companions, you and me.

Will you lead me through example?

Help me reach my destiny.

Lesli

 

 

Once upon a time it was hard to stay one step ahead of Pogo.  He was fast and quick triggered and reactive to his environment.  His intelligence and reactivity forced me to work hard to direct him and keep him out of trouble.  He made me a better trainer. He kept me on my toes.

Agility training gave us an outlet for Pogo's intensity and taught us to work together.  If I close my eyes I can still feel the rush of adrenaline and the joy I felt while running with him.  I miss the team work... the communication... the feeling of being connected. I miss the Pogo of years past.

These days our time together is different.  Pogo gets confused easily.  His hearing is gone...his eyesight is minimal.  His body sometimes lets him down. These days our team work involves my helping him when he gets stuck under the table...my helping him into the car...my reassuring him when he gets scared.

There is no longer the rush of adrenaline, but the joy is still there. 

 I love this dog.

 

This week our world was altered slightly.  It became a bit less bright and sparkly...a little less carefree.

A friend of mine let her dog out into the yard as she had a million times before and he disappeared.  Did he take off after a cat or a bear?  Was he hit by a car?  All we know for sure is that he disappeared that night and was found a week later close to home in a brushy area beyond a ditch. He was dead.

Suddenly the little routines we take for granted became suspect.  Suddenly the small chances we take with our dog's safety became big chances. Some people wanted to blame my friend.  Some people wanted to blame the dog.  Some people wanted to blame whomever may have hit him.  But most of us knew that there was no one to blame.  It simply was a twist of fate.  It could've happened to any of us.  It CAN happen to any of us.


I hike with my dogs off leash every week.  They are well trained to come when called.  They are not let loose anywhere near roads.  They are hiked in areas familiar to them.  They've never taken off for more than 2 or 3 minutes out of my sight.  But still...


I take a chance.  I am well aware that it is a chance.  I do not take it thoughtlessly.  I have trained for the distractions of freedom.  My dogs are well identified with flat collar tags.  But, still...

I could make the choice to never, ever let my dogs off leash outside of a fence.  I do make that choice with some of my dogs - my Beagles over the years... my current tiny dogs...my senile old man, Pogo... they stay on leash.  But I choose to give my other dogs the freedom to hunt for birds, swim in the pond and race through the fields.  It is joyful to watch them smile their big doggie smiles after a run.

I am not suggesting that it is OK to be cavalier with your dog's safety.   If you haven't put in the training time for off leash freedom...if you are in an area with traffic or environmental hazards...if your dog is old , too young, too small, too adventurous, too timid etc.  PLEASE keep him on leash!
But if you choose to allow your dog the freedom to be a dog in this paradise we call Vermont, please do it knowing that your friend can be snatched from you at any moment.  Just as your human loved ones can by taken by car accidents, random acts of violence or illness.  Fate is a bitch.

To counteract this lack of control over my world,  I try to make sure that if any of my dogs were to be taken from me tomorrow I could rest easier knowing that every moment we shared was good.  That I never purposefully hurt them or treated them unfairly.  That I cared for them deeply both physically and emotionally.  That I trained them with humane methods that embraced individuality and their intrinsic sense of humor.

My friend's dog is gone...too soon...tragically.  But he lived a life in which he was truly cherished and treated with respect by his people.  He was loved.  He will be missed and his loss will be a constant reminder to me to do right by my dog...today, not tomorrow or next week when I have more time...

Signing off to take a hike with my dogs  The pond is waiting and oh how they love the pond!