On the run again! Kenai 19 mo
All posts for the month July, 2009
Bigfoot Had An Eventful Week…by Lisa Harmon
The boys are ever so joyful having their kennel back. They played themselves silly the first time I
Posted by greatdaneservicedog on July 27, 2009
http://greatdaneservicedog.wordpress.com/2009/07/27/bigfoot-had-an-eventful-week-by-lisa-harmon/
Training an Unusual SD Breed…by Lisa Harmon
Kenai doing his sentry duty, making sure the men do their work right! 19 mo old
A really good discussion of dog intelligence and the top obedience breeds got started on an SD owner training group I’m part of. Having a bit of a philosophical bent, I love such discussions! I’ve talked about what I’ve learned in books and practice in previous posts awhile back, but I’ll give a quick summary:
The “top” obedience breeds, the supposed ”smarter” breeds, are usually dogs bred for highly human orchestrated activities, like retrieving or herding. They are very human focused, and excel at obedience, agility, and SD training because the reliance on human command is literally bred into them.
Other breeds were created for the opposite purpose: to do their work without human direction, to assess their environment, problem solve without human encouragement or reward, and basically to think for themselves. They pay more attention to their environment than their handler by nature.
These breeds are typically non-retriever hunting dogs, guarding dogs, and terriers. They are sometimes even mistakenly called “dumb” or “untrainable”. But we designed them to do work we didn’t want to be a part of, such as hunting bears (Great Danes), killing rats (terriers), scaring off threats (Rotties), and sadly, even dog-on-dog fights.
Dumb Dog or Inflexible Handler?
There are upsides and downsides to any breed, and my own two (overly simplified?) “categories” of breeds are strangely near total opposites. First, already mentioned, is their inborn focus: one very human command oriented, the other relies more on their own instinctive responses.
A handler-reliant dog doesn’t really need much enouragement to pay attention to you, but they do tend to need more help “problem solving” without encouragement and directions. Self reliant dogs turn that around; they need more training to pay attention, but less help problem solving.
Handler reliant dogs are much more easily trained using a technique called”shaping”, mostly because they are naturally more willing to do something over and over and keep focusing on you until it’s right! They are pliable enough to adjust to lots of tinkering with body position etc.
A self reliant dog gets bored with tinkering rather quickly. They have their way of doing it, and prefer to figure out for themselves what to do and when. They generally train better with “capturing”, which is rewarding behavior they do on their own, not by command.
The converstation on group got to the point where we decided with little dissent that knowing how to train a dog is one thing, but knowing how to train that dog is another. The self-reliant dogs really do need a more thoughtful, flexible approach to reach their potential.
Hard Lessons Learned
I’ve learned more about dogs and training from Kenai than all the other dogs before him. Mostly by that-didn’t-work, what else can I try! I’m no professional trainer, and don’t pretend to have it all figured out. Just figured out a few of the places I went “wrong” with Kenai.
The greatest lessons I’ve learned are that a “pre-training” training is essential for independent breeds and self-reliant pups. All of them hinge on positive methods, and my aquired favorite is the use of a clicker.
There is an underlying foundation for obedience training, so often skipped in obedience class because the trainers assume the dog is attentive and willing. Nearly all dogs used for higher obedience work are from breeds who naturally pay attention to humans and are compliant.
The two neccessaries for the self-reliant pups I’ve learned the hard way are 1) socializing more than you think you need to, and 2) teaching attentiveness. I’ve got lots of pages over yonder about socializing, and “helpful techniques”, puppy basics and the like.
There’s a “magic window” for both socializing and encouraging attentiveness between 6 weeks old when their curiosity really sets in, and about 8 weeks old when the fear imprinting stage starts. This window is pretty much in the hands of the breeder.
A good breeder spends one on one time with each puppy, handling and playing with them as they grow. The more independent pups would benefit from being seperated from their litter often for short periods to interact with people. And some, like Kenai will remain very environmentally focused anyway.
A certain way of socializing
For the pup that knows who he is and how he wants to do something…socializing takes a turn from a simple exposing of the pup to sounds and sights and people. The turn is, that you do not want them to explore without your direction or rely on their native confidence alone to decide how to respond.
If they are allowed or encouraged to just do what they want, they will. For the rest of their lives. All the way through obedience class. And at the dentists’ office. Not to mention you won’t be able to change their mind without great effort if they take a dislike to men in coveralls or dump trucks.
In short, you encourage and reward the pup for checking stuff out with you, and to mimic your response to something. No, you don’t want to break that innate self-assurance. You do want their understanding of how to respond to filter through you more than their instincts.
I wish: I’d had someone take Kenai to the loud and crowded places I couldn’t go safely. I’d had a network of doggie friends for him to play with and learn how to not play too rough. I’d spent much more time in elevators and tight spaces with him. I had not allowed him to exercise himself, exploring and running without my interaction.
You get the idea–socializing is important for any puppy, but absolutely vital for a service dog candidate. My inexperience with raising an SD candidate short changed Kenai somewhat. I should have socialized him more than I thought I needed to, and made myself essential to it.
Building attentiveness
The other “pre-training” training that a self-reliant puppy needs to excell in advanced obedience work like service training, is learning attentiveness. A pup can’t obey if they aren’t paying attention or get distracted by every sight, sound, or smell.
If your pup finds other pups more interesting than you, if they prefer to play with toys on their own, if they are ignoring you, then you’ve got an independent little tot. You’ll see their backside more than their nose as they toddle off to pounce on the other resident dog, or find something fun to do.
The most commonly seen side of Kenai from day one was his butt. He tolerated attention from me, but his attention was on his littermates, the gravel pile, and the big dogs. It gave me pause seeing his lack of interest in people. I just didn’t know how to counter it back then.
When you get your 8 wk old pup home, they will have “lost” their littermates and dam. They will look to you by default, and that’s what you need to take advantage of. The main way of encouraging this attentiveness is by heavily rewarding it, all day long.
Everytime the pup looks at you, click and reward. Every time the pup follows you, click and reward. If they keep looking at you, keep clicking and rewarding awhile before redirecting them to playtime. You want to capture any and all interest in you, and you have to pay attention to them to do it.
Another excellent way to ‘formalize’ attentiveness is by name games. There are some excellent books describing name games, two of which are “Control Unleashed” by Leslie McDevitt, and “When Pigs Fly” by Jane Killion.
A name game teaches the pup to look at you and come your way for their treat when their name is called. That means you don’t use the name for anything else, not for corrections most of all. The name is sacred, it means look and get a treat anywhere and anytime.
A third method to solidify attentiveness is to teach the pup they have to “ask” for what they want. This doesn’t go over too well unless you make it a game. When they see what they want, like a new bone, or a buddy to run and romp with, you teach them in steps to first, look at you, and wait for a release word like “okay”.
Once they get the idea of looking and waiting, make them wait longer. Or insert a sit, or nose touch to the hand, if you like. You’re not disallowing their puppy fun, they just have to look to you because you are the dispenser of puppy fun! Like I said, if they get to do what they want without you, they will.
I had no illusions that young little Kenai did his sits and downs when I said to just because I said so. But I was the old bag with the goodie bag! I knew where the bully sticks were and had the thumbs to take them off the shelf. If he did what I wanted, he got what he wanted. That much I got right!
The Pup is Ready to Learn
If you are consistent and frequent with capturing attentiveness, with interactive socializing, and playing lots of name games for their first 8 weeks or so with you, you’ll have a pup that is ready and able to hit the training club door and shine at 16 weeks old.
The socializing and attentiveness training doesn’t end when you begin the official sits and downs, but the foundation is there to build on no matter what the breed or personality. As they go through their puppy development phases, when attentiveness waxes and wanes, you’ll have tools in your tool box to deal with it.
That doesn’t mean any dog will make an agility champion or hearing SD dog. It just gives them a fair shot at it, starting at the same starting line as the naturally handler reliant lab or collie pup. You may need to find different rewards for them, like toys rather than treats.
I’ve heard of folks with a designated digging spot for a dog that couldn’t care less about a game of fetch. Whatever the reward, the principle is the same. At the end of all this work…you’ve taken an independent cuss and made him able to pay attention, learn what you want, and earn what he wants.
Like I said, I’m no professional trainer, but I’ve learned some things from Kenai. I’m not trying to insist you “train my way”, either. I just want to pass along those hard learned lessons so maybe the road will be easier for someone else. Brown is quite the professor!
Posted by greatdaneservicedog on July 24, 2009
http://greatdaneservicedog.wordpress.com/2009/07/24/training-an-unusual-sd-breed-by-lisa-harmon/
Kenai got a tiger by the tail…by Lisa Harmon
Grab a tiger by the tail! Kenai, 19 mo
We had a fun early morning Saturday, Kenai and I. He was too sleepy to bother coming downstairs to mix up his food, so I put the gate back up and did the duty. But…Mr seperation anxiety stood at the top of the stairs peeking over the baby gate and softly whining.
When he does that, I talk to him from the kitchen, tell him what I’m doing when I make noise etc. I don’t mind leaving him upstairs while I get his breakfast mixed. It has to sit for 30 min with the enzymes anyway, so they don’t burn his mouth.
Stairs are hard on Dane joints. So a down the stairs, up the stairs, down again to eat, up the stairs again, then down to wake up Mom…let him hang out until his food’s ready and spare him some wear and tear. He’ll thank me when he’s a grumpy old fart.
He waited, and a pass by the stairwell on the way to shut Mom’s bedroom door revealed the saddest, wrinkledy, gentle miss-you face ever seen by human eyes. Awww. So…when I came back up, I came with treats and a clicker!
Lamb crunchies are first in the puppy priorities, so we did “on the bed”, “off”, “on the couch”, “off” and other running-is-okay commands. I interspersed a bracing practice for sitting and getting up between the targeting couch and stuff.
Heavens but he loves that clicker! Silly boy tried to click it himself–I was sitting on the bed next to him and he kept nose poking at the clicker hanging around my neck. “More treats!” We worked on sitting in the heel, then following when I took a step forward. We even practiced a wait/name/come heel a couple times.
Then it was chow time, kibble that is. Down we went for his breakfast and potty run, and he actually did his business in relatively little time. He heard something in the yet uncut grass, and revved right up. “No” was all it took, and he walked on with me, though he kept an eye on that patch.
He was so happy-ed up from our practice still, he ran right into the living room and got (stole) his brother’s new tiger baby. Can I pretend that’s fetching? Zoom, right up the stairs with it! Tuggie time ensued, and boy was he feeling vigorous!
He’d turn and try to use his body to keep it away or pull it out of my hand. He tried with the sasquatch paws to push my arm away. He leaped around when he won, and played the watch-her-hand when I won. Since I was sitting down, our tug games were fairly long!
Then it happened…tiger baby got its tail pulled off. The pic at the top of the post was Kenai 
wondering what happened. He surveyed the damage a moment then started to walk away.
But his boy heart didn’t want to give up such a good playing baby, and he turned back for another look at the forlorn carcass.
Oh well, parts is parts, right? He can play with parts!!
So we played tug with the tail, I’d steal the body, he’d steal it back.
Parts is parts.
Then it was wake up grammy time, which is his favorite part of the morning routine. I go in first, to get her up and off the bed–Kenai pounces. He smashes people’s heads into the pillow with his bear paws if they’re laying down, flops on top of them, and that’s not good if you have to pee.
He doesn’t do it to me, but he will Mom. So he waits until she’s up for the door to open. I’m trying various ways of getting BB to chill out when I come to wake Mom up. He’s just totally bonkers with anxiety, even trying to nip at me. He loses it when someone comes near Mom when she’s asleep.
But, Beebs is in his expen, so when Mom’s up, Kenai’s allowed to come barreling up on the bed and over it, into the bathroom for “find her”. It’s like a controlled zoomie, a hunt Mom down for your morning smooches and backtalking.
After that it was upstairs for quiet time while little bro got his breakfast, potty run, and Mom gets her medicine down (in peace). With my cousin’s sons coming again to finish up the weed-eating for us, I was hoping the fun morning would make him less excitable than the first day they came.
I behaved badly that first day. I was tired, hurting, had two boobies that acted like 130 pound 8 week old labs that wouldn’t leave my cousin alone…I reached a point after a few hours where I simply couldn’t ram down my irritation and calm myself anymore. So I went to bed for a nap.
Normally I’m able to stay calm, correcting the nose in your face, and insisting on a down stay after the greeting. Guess it’s just the stress of late, but I was ready to either scream, cry, or hit something after the twenty-thousandth time Kenai completely ignored me and tried to crawl under the table to go bugger with his brother.
I went to bed for a nap, as previously mentioned, and Kenai was going with me, want to or not. I know, 90% of the boobie stuff was me. Danes are notoriously sensitive to people’s emotions, and I was uncharacteristically irritable. My cousin Sheryl is very very too interesting, too, with all the doggie smells on her.
A nap was a better idea, even if I missed lunch and woke up with a queasy stomach. So Sunday I had a better plan and better attitude. I tell ya, these two pups would have a nervous breakdown if we moved to the city! That or just get over the noise and people-me-go-silly nonsense.
I have a sound sensitization CD that I could start using. That’s a good place to start, if I actually start and stay with it. There is also a book and CD called “Through a Dog’s Ear” designed to calm reactive dogs using music.
http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/product/through-a-dog-s-ear-using-sound-to-improve-health-and-behavior-of-your-dog
I love music, and have used my own human relaxation tapes on Kenai. He’s always with me, so when I use them, he kinda has to! I have one to stimulate theta brain waves, which reduces pain sensation and increases creativity. I use that alot in place of pain meds.
I also have a couple CD’s for sleep, luring the brain into the frequencies of normal sleep, and one called “Deep learning” that is supposed to improve memory and comprehension. I know music has a strong effect on me, and it does affect Kenai.
***
Training notes: I don’t do much with heel sits, or sits in general except as a warm up. If you need a dog for balance, you don’t really want them to sit because it shifts their weight backwards, and can pull you off balance unintentionally.
An SD for balance I think needs to be up on their feet when you are, ready to move at a moment’s notice. Ultimately, hopefully, I’d like Kenai to be able to sense which way I’m falling and position himself where I need him to stop the fall. That’s a ways off for us yet, but it’s the goal.
I don’t know how others train their bracing for sitting down etc, but I want Kenai right in front of me. I will have a hand on the top of his shoulders for weight bearing on my really bad weak days. But mostly I prefer to have my arm over his shoulders, the hand on his outside shoulder blade.
That way what he does is more balancing me while I go down than holding weight. But he has this bad habit still of swinging his butt out on a diagonal. He does that with sit and down, and come heel, too. I have to figure out how to get his entire body in position, not just his front.
Uh-oh…that means “shaping” is ahead for me. I need to go looking and reading about shaping for body position. Wish I’d known how when he was a tiny tot! I also think I need to start reading up on how to train for sound alerts.
My hearing loss, if it progresses, will be fairly gradual, so we’ll learn it gradually too. I may be one of those with Meneire’s syndrome that doesn’t really lose all sound, but then again, I might not. It’s good to be prepared.
***
That’s probably a long enough post, don’t ya think? I thunk so when I went back to proofread and edit! I must have some Irish in me, hiding out in the geneology. Well, that’s the blow by blow of the Brother’s Grin’s weekend. Hope yours was a good one!
Posted by greatdaneservicedog on July 20, 2009
http://greatdaneservicedog.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/kenai-got-a-tiger-by-the-tail-by-lisa-harmon/
Who Trained Who…by Lisa Harmon
This is my morning wake up call! Are your eyes open yet ma? Kenai 19 mo
There’s an interesting idea for teaching recall on the following blog:
http://www.threewoofs.blogspot.com/2009/07/oh-drama.html
It’s used alot on herding breeds, and I’m not sure how well it will work on hunting breeds like Kenai. But it’s certainly worth knowing how to do.
I won’t copy without permission, but essentially this recall uses the same pressure on the dog that the dog uses to herd sheep. Collies will “walk down” a wayward beastie and use the pressure of their presence and intentions to make the sheep move in the direction it wants.
I can see how it would work perfectly for herders, using the deeply ingrained instincts they already have. How well it would curtail a hunting instinct, I don’t know. Kenai just locks onto something and knows nothing else when he’s giving me fits in the field. He hasn’t in awhile, but it can be intense.
And Talos the Dane puppy in training has been learning bucketfulls of new things. Stairs. Big stairs, little stairs, wide stairs, skinny stairs…
http://smartdog.typepad.com/smart_dog/
He’s got a good “mom” showing him the ropes.
We have such a treat…cool weather! Record territory cool at night for the next 4 days. Man I tell ya if I had the oomph of yesteryear there wouldn’t be a weed anywhere, the flowerbeds would have mulch, and the rose arbor would be tidied up by the time it’s supposed to get hot again.
The boys are downright spunky once that cool air hits them, and they wanna play in a big way. Kenai doesn’t even need the car’s air left running if I go inside a place without him. He just sits there smelling the air through the windows (only partly down) comfie as can be.
One ride yesterday morning was to Walgreens and the cafe for breakfast. I got a thousand empty capsules to fill with his tylan, a bitter tasting antibiotic powder. He won’t eat it on his food, and after getting a small taste of it myself, I don’t blame him.
My bumbly fingers got the job of stuff-n-shut the caspules later at home. It’s not as easy as it would seem, filling capsules. Not until you get a system worked out and the joints loosened up anyway! Maybe I should’ve gotten one of those capsule filler contraptions.
Oh well, the boys get their medicine in a glob of peanut butter. Neither of them needs a sugar rush, so Mary Poppin’s method of making the medicine go down isn’t up for consideration…
The other car ride for Kenai was in the afternoon. We had to go to the bank, and a doctor’s visit, regular errands, but at an unusual time of day. He seemed awfully jumpy even in the car, so he didn’t get a try at going in with me.
Today, I’m grumpy. I need a swift kick in the mood. Kenai refused to do his business after eating; almost did then got a whiff of something that’d been in the grass and that was it. I gave him over 5 minutes, then got really irritated with the nose. He came inside, opportunity lost.
Mom had a bad night, so rather than feed BB et all, then go back to bed, she just went back to sleep on the couch leaving him in the bedroom unfed and unpottied and whining in sorrow. That meant I had to walk the stairs a third time in one hour to wake her up, even though I’d had a bad night too. Grumpy…
Well, at least today the boy’s kennel and the overgrown parts of our yard will be cut–my cousin’s boys are bringing their weedeaters. We were going to do this last Tuesday, but the rain never let up. Frog strangler downpours, so we postponed until today.
I’ll have to do all the instructions and walking around showing too, with Mom AWOL. That means I’ll be down for the count for a couple days. Mom, jeeze, gimme a break. Donkey boy will be in his crate, too, since I’m not in the mood to deal with crazy running from door to window. Grumpy…
The thing about bad moods is they get worse with every passing event. If ya let ‘em start, the whole day really will be shot to bits. So it’s give myself a kick and change the attitude. I’ll take pity on now-slightly-consitipated Kenai and give him another opportunity at lunch. You’d think he’d learn to get er done then do the nose…
Since his soda carton games last no longer than a doggie treat, yesterday I thought I’d give him a smaller box to see if it took longer to begin the shred. Small box, harder to get feet and mouth both on, right? Wrong. He managed. What a boy. The mac and cheese box didn’t last. He had fun though, short but fun demolition.
Mr. Boy-in-the-dog-house is pouting here next to me on his bed, knowing he’s on my grumpy list. I’m leaving him there just long enough to get my fill of patting his tush. He’s normally up and chasing a ball, so I’m enjoying the reach down and pats! Ohh mean momma…
Okay, too pitiful. Gotta go find his ball for him. Yes, I fetch for the dog. Which of us is trained?
Ka-thwump!! There goes the couch-ate-my-ball games. He’s happy again. Constipated, but happy, silly boy. He’ll be even happier this afternoon when he can play in his freshly manicured kennel, with little bro running around the outside of it. AKA run with me fun.
And he’s discovered the joys of a bathrobe belt. They’re long and sneaky, flitting here and there, and when you think “mom’s” far enough away not to steal it, you realize she has the other end…He plays with it like a cat. Told ya I swear there’s lion genes in him!
Posted by greatdaneservicedog on July 18, 2009
http://greatdaneservicedog.wordpress.com/2009/07/18/who-trained-who-by-lisa-harmon/
Meat Eaters…by Lisa Harmon
“There’s nothing to play with…” Kenai 19 mo. Remember when you were a kid out of school for the summer?
I found yet another blog! This one is by Patricia McConnell, called “The Other End of the Leash”. She wrote a book by that name, too, I believe. She’s an animal behavorist, with a PhD and is absolutely in love with the intricacies of animal-human relationships. I’ve got lots of reading to do there!
http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/
Kenai’s had tons of car rides this week, but after a disasterously bad showing (oh he was so fearful!) at our usual convenience store, I haven’t tried taking him inside with me again. His stools are firming up, and his weight loss has stopped. But he’s not in tip top shape yet after his month of stress. That means his confidence hasn’t come back, either.
We’ve had great success about the critter chase games, though. I haven’t needed his gentle leader in weeks. We haven’t seen lots of critters, but when he hears something, all I have to do is give a “no” and call his name to get him to move on and do his business. I am immensely grateful for that.
I am finding myself prone to lingering discouragement lately about Kenai’s future as an SD. So much has happened since those first few good months. It has been more arduous than I had ever expected; not so much the training as the health problems and the madness around us the past year.
I’ve longed to have those strong shoulders next to me a thousand times since my health has declined. Walking the hospital this month brought me to the point of actually wishing for a wheelchair. The noise, lights, crowds and such where I have gone made me so apprehensive.
I feel the lack of him acutely. Anyone who’s felt safer, stronger, and more confident because of an assistance dog knows what I mean. They take the edge off by nothing more than being there. Add to that their tasks, and you really do feel much more secure.
Kenai had a fun car ride Monday, stopping at puppy stores looking for ear cleaning solution. I’m sure he didn’t mind the ride, but won’t be thrilled about his ear cleaning. He got to devestate a soda carton this morning, and a new bone was waiting for him after our midday nap. Not a bad day for a boy.
Today my cousin is bringing her sons over with their weedeaters. I hated having to ask for help with the yard. That was my last bastion of defiance; my yard, I can do it. But the milkweeds and Johnson’s grass is blocking out the sun at this point, so there was little choice left for me. We’re overrun.
The boys will be glad to have their kennel back to play in, though. I may have to take shears to the weeds growing the chain link where a weedeater can’t cut. To keep it down, next month I want to buy one of those larger weed flamers that uses a gas-grill cylinder on a dolly to burn out weeds.
A weedeater is not in my future, causing too much pain from its vibrations and balance problems from noise, so plan B. I really do want a flamer. I’m good at making plans and even if the execution of them can be spotty, I really do want a flamer. That I could manage, if I don’t blow myself up.
I’ve got 2 more cartons of regular soda left to finish, then it’s to the tea and diet. The only diet that does me any good is low carb. I do the Atkins at first, to kick into weight loss, which I need badly. Then if I stay on low carb, I can maintain a good weight and better health.
My ultimate goal is to drop the 80 pounds I’ve put on the past 24 mo, but I’d go ga-ga if 40 pounds went missing. When the docs start messing with my thyroid and fibro meds, I can pack on 8 pounds a week or more if I’m eating starches and sugar. It doesn’t take long to get wide as ya are tall that way!
I have found repeatedly that I really do feel better, rest better, and have more strength on low carb. Why I keep returning to the breads and potatoes, and addictive soda? Ask Sherlock, I don’t have a clue. Easier perhaps, cheaper maybe? Comfort food? Tired so I eat out?
Me and Kenai, two peas in a pod, red meat eaters. My sugars and cholestorols normalize on low carb. Eggs are out because they trigger migraines, but meats, green veggies, and real fats like butter do the trick every time. Low cal diet stuff, by the way is absolutely crammed with sugars.
Okay, enough about me, this being Kenai’s blog, right? Stretching it…if I’m fatter, Kenai’s balancing work is harder. That wasn’t too slick a make-it-fit, was it? How ’bout this; if I don’t feel good he doesn’t get the play he needs from a not-grumpy frump. That’s better!
My boy love is bugging me to go ni-night, so this’ll have to do for now. Let’s hope things turn around for us!
Posted by greatdaneservicedog on July 13, 2009
http://greatdaneservicedog.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/meat-eaters-by-lisa-harmon/
Revenge of the Sasquatch…by Lisa Harmon
c’mon, I’m ready! Gimme some messing with Sasquatch time! Kenai, 19 mo
First, let me give a warm thank you to everyone who’s offered their condolences on my brother’s death. Not to mention, put up with disjointed posts about no-fun for the boys, and a total lack of training for the past month. That seems to be the unshakable habit for us: work awhile, stop awhile.
Neglected training or not, we had ourselves a really fun “messin with sasquatch” time this week. 
Kenai had an exceptional amount of boy-fun, and I managed to get pictures for a change.
Here is the “are you mocking me?” face, the build up to noisier indignations.
It doesn’t take much to get a really good play bow out of him when Mom’s around!
The two of them are play buddies ex-traordinaire.
The teasing continued, of course and here he is planning his retribution. While backtalking, naturally. He can’t let on he’s planning or we’ll be prepared, you see. All part of the strategy…
Revenge of the Sasquatch!
My slipper squished when I got it back, after much deliberate “ado”, so I left it to dry.
Didn’t help: you know it’s time to wash the slipper when it sticks to the ball of your foot, unless you shake your leg like a cat that didn’t like the puddle they stepped in!
Speaking of cats, Kenai and BB watch the “Big Cat Diary” on Animal Planet with me every weekday, peeking around the edge of the TV when the leopard goes off the screen. Lions especially interest them, and I wonder if it’s because they are the same color.
The squeakies from the cubs invariably create head turns and boy wrinkles. “Hum, is that a relative? Is that an invitation to play?” they might be thinking. Who knows. But we watch the kitties Monday through Friday.
Since it’s summer, I thought I’d mention a life-threatening problem called “bloat”, or “GDV”. It’s when a dog gets so much air and gas in their digestive tract that their stomachs can twist around into the wrong position. This cuts off blood to the tissues, and large parts of the stomach and intestines can die.
Bloat is the #1 killer of Great Danes. Even a dog that’s been “tacked”, a proceedure called gastroplexy can still bloat, they just won’t twist the stomach. The bloating is painful, and can even rupture the bowels, so tacking isn’t a cure. There’s lots of potential causes, but no one really knows exactly why one dog bloats and another doesn’t.
Evidence suggests that nervous dogs tend to bloat more often, and dogs whose family history includes bloat are also more susceptible. Sires, Dams, aunts, uncles, littermates that bloat increase your dog’s risk. Temperature extremes, heat in particular, can create the conditions for a dog to bloat and twist.
That’s why Danes are indoor dogs: they can’t take high heat or deep cold. Danes are short coated dogs so it’s harder for them to stay warm, but heat is an arguably bigger danger. I don’t let my boys out for anything but a potty when the temp hits 85 degrees. If you are gone during the day, leave them inside to await your return.
Some precautions are fairly simple, like not giving a dog lots of cold water to drink or food to eat just before or after exercise. Rule of thumb is 2 hours between. I always let the dogs cool down and stop panting before giving them a real drink. I’ll let them “wet their whistle” with just a few laps, but not much when they’re hot.
Slowing down how fast the dog eats can possibly prevent bloat. Snarfing it all down quick means they can also snarf down lots of air. Feeding a food that doesn’t agree with them can also create excess gas, with grains and corn being the most common gas producing food intolerances.
Even with all the best precautions and not a single incidence of bloat in a Dane’s family, bloat can still happen. Risk factors are risk factors, but exceptions happen. The early signs are subtle, but it pays to pay attention because the longer the situation goes untreated, the higher the mortality rate. A dog can die from a GDV in a matter of hours.
First is the heavy panting for no particular reason, and hard rounded tum. Be especially concerned if it’s dry panting; a Dane that doesn’t drool when breathing hard is usually in trouble. Restlessness, not being able to find a comfortable spot, and just being “not right” are your first signs of possible bloat.
Some dogs will nibble at their tums, or whine alot. The more stoic dogs can be really hard to pick up on until they are in deep distress. Checking the gums and tongue, if they are dry and pale, you’ve got a problem so go straight to the vet. There’s a page over yonder about bloat with even more detail.
***
The weirdest few days of all the weirdness of the past month arrived, ie houseguests in for the funeral. I’ve had to re-adjust my attitude from “don’t bother me” to “this is an opportunity”; we don’t get much chance to work on manners when someone comes.
BB was expectedly noisy about the whole situation, but Kenai has been mostly well mannered. He’s slightly skittish of Norm, a big guy and a big voice, but he goes in for a sniff fairly often, and lays on a bed between Norm and myself. I’m really proud of my boy being so calm about the whole thing.
Today has errands, despite my best efforts to be a couch bum today: boys need food, picking up the flowers and plants, breakfast with folks before they go home. You know what that means: car riding for Kenai! The nice cool morning has him feeling spunky, too.
The Whole Dog Journal had a spread about socializing pups this month, so I bought it to see what I could learn. Unfortunately the article was mostly stuff I already knew, but there was one really good idea: 100 new experiences in 100 days.
Essentially, a new 8 wk old pup is in the middle of a short window of time where they can acclimate to just about anything. You can introduce a dog of any age to something new, but between 6 wks and 12 weeks a pup is highly malleable.
They take things in stride much better when young, and the acceptance of a situation pretty much lasts throughout their lives, barring a negative or frightening experience. It really is much easier to teach a young pup confidence and good habits.
So the article suggests new owners shoot for a novel and new experience each day for the first 100 days. That would seem a challenge, but as I thought about it, it occurred to me it really isn’t as tough as it sounds. We do so many things all day long, and all of it is new for a puppy.
Puppies get handled alot, and if you want them to accept the less than fun handling of a vet later on, you can allow them to be handled under your supervision: big people, little people, short people, fat people, young people, old people, any kind of people.
If you would like your pup to be non-chalant at the farmers market when an adult, take them shopping with you when they’re little. Naturally, you’ll want to make it fun and safe, but allow them to sniff about and adjust to the noise and movement of the crowds.
If the pup tends to be hesitant, you can always hang about the edges of the market or walk around the playground for awhile. The point of socializing is exposing a puppy to smells and sounds and sights they will see all their lives while young enough to accept it without much effort.
But more than that, socializing is teaching them to be confident whatever they encouter. Most of us don’t normally travel every week, but you still want a dog to be relaxed when you go on vacation, right? If they have developed the skills to take on new experiences without fear, they’ll be fine.
The keys to socializing is keeping it short-n-sweet: new equals happy experiences that don’t stretch past the pup’s attention span or tolerance. You can’t expect a 10 week old pup to hold a 2 hour down stay, nap notwithstanding!
But rewarding curiosity, praising liberally, and being cautious that the pup doesn’t get frightened or hurt is all it takes to build a confident dog from a young puppy. The more you expose them to in a positive way, the more a pup will get used to.
Well, I could blabber long and hard, but there’s things to get done, so ya’ll have a good week, and I’ll talk at ya later.
Posted by greatdaneservicedog on July 7, 2009
http://greatdaneservicedog.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/revenge-of-the-sasquatch-by-lisa-harmon/
Pay No Attention, I’m Working…by Lisa Harmon
Can’t we do something fun for a change? Kenai 18 mo
My brother passed away early Monday morning, so the crating, playless days and weird schedules will soon be over for the boys. They’ve had it for 4 weeks now. The funeral and burial will be next Monday, held up by the holiday weekend–the military cemetery isn’t doing services this Friday.
So it appears that one more week of weirdness and we get to return to our normal routines. The boys’ve held up better than expected, but hardly took it in stride. Kenai especially. He’s lost a bit of weight, had less than perfect poo, threw up once…you get the idea.
He’s giving me trouble about eating again. Heat, stress, and lack of normal exercise is the culprit. And with Norm coming Saturday to stay with us through the funeral…Norm is a big man, with a big voice, and even the remnants of our routine will go awry until Tuesday.
So I really have to find the strength to get the boys out for their exercise this weekend. Indoor play won’t cut it. Don’t know how, but I have to get ‘em out or deal with an overly excited pair of boobies. At least we’ve gotten a break with the heat–we’re out of triple digits and back to around 90 degrees.
Braggin time: the boys are getting used to fireworks. They hear it, and sit up, but I say “just some fireworks”, and they lay back down. Yay! I don’t have to deal with panicked pups on top of Norm and the unusual routine.
Distractions and goofy games make up for alot of stress. One very welcome distraction is their new “special bones”: Kenai regularly goes to his crate and gives me the extra pretty sit in hopes I’ll pull it out and let him chew.
He only gets the really special stuff in his crate, that way it’s not just the place he gets dumped when we leave him. He happily situates himself in his crate from time to time, for no particular reason, and he doesn’t give me any trouble about crating when I have to leave. Guess I got lucky!
I really should give the boys more toy time attention. Kenai mooches for attention, but most of the time I essentially wimp out and just lay around trying to rest. Bad momma. He needs the interaction, so it’s kick myself in the rump time.
He has been enjoying our naps on “Grammy bed”. She has a king size waterbed, and he tries to convince me we should sleep there at night too. He loves that bed. He can roll over on his back and it gives just enough that it semi-props him up.
I call it “free-style flaking out”, since he doesn’t need the back of the couch to stay up. He can just let things all fall where they will and go fast asleep upside down. He’s not a big snorer thankfully. I’ve had Danes that rattled the windows.
Some days I swear he has lion genes. He likes the head rubbing how lions do, he sleeps on his back like lions, he leans on his shoulder how lions do, he swats and roughhouses how lion cubs do, he has a strong chase drive…they day he mooches for antelope meat I get his DNA tested!
***
For some reason, my blogroll is vanished and I don’t know why. It’s listed on my admin page, but doesn’t show up on the blog. There’s folks to visit, durn it! I’ll work on it and see what my wonky brain can figure out.
And a comment from Jade
http://greatdanesd.wordpress.com/
was that she knew Talos the Great Dane pup in SD training
http://smartdog.typepad.com/smart_dog/
back when he was called Axle! Talos and Katie were both bred at the Service Dog Project, which breeds Danes for assistance dog work.
Katie is becoming quite the smooth customer, and ever so suave! She’s an Atlantic City veteran now, taking most everything in stride that the general public can dish out. What a good girl, that Katie. She’s having more problems with the public than some dogs; kids trying to pet her, adults interrupting her work for a q&a.
So ya’ll tell everyone you know: don’t disturb a service dog team. You may like dogs and find it amazing what they can do for us, but an SD needs to concentrate. Working with an assistance animal isn’t as easy as it looks! Not to mention that the handler may not have time or feel like talking.
As much as I like to talk and answer questions, I must admit sometimes it can become bothersome being stopped every few feet by the curious. When I’m tired, being held up on every aisle can become difficult for me, and make my day harder. No one intends to cause me problems, but sometimes the attention does.
It hasn’t been an issue for me lately, not vesting Kenai and taking him inside with me much. He’s not been up to it too often. I’m hoping that will change soon. If not, I at least have a sweetie to love, though it wasn’t all I had wanted.
Another admission along those lines is that I’ve been frustrated with our total lack of progress the past year. At 19 mo, Kenai should be close to removing the “in training” patch, but we are back to relearning the most basic habits any companion dog needs. We were farther along at 16 weeks!
It points out one very, very, uber-important part of training a service dog: the entire household is involved. When I bought Kenai, our environment was stable and relaxed. It wasn’t long though, before other people made a hard job nearly impossible.
All of a sudden, instead of being supportive or at least neutral when the training began, my family went half bonkers. (They were dysfunctional to start with…) So I “blame” Mom some for how poorly the training has gone, but not in a judgmental way.
Mom wasn’t in a place emotionally where she could make better decisions than she did; allowing my late brother to move in with all his problems, and not treating a deepening depression that resulted. With Mike’s death, the depression is expectedly worse now.
All the instability of 08, and the sudden demands on me, made training Kenai extremely difficult. Had that not occured, I believe we’d be in a much better state, he and I. The stress also contributed mightily to his health problems and mine.
I’m actually not whining: the real problem was allowing myself to be helpless about what happened in my home. My home wasn’t in my control, and Mom just wasn’t capable of asserting her control over what her house was like. I was subject to the consequences of her decisions, good or bad.
I had no where else to go and no way to support myself. So this never happens again, I’ve applied for SSI. The independence of my own income would have given me the ability to move: to control the situation Kenai and I lived and trained in. I don’t want to be completely at the mercy of other people’s decisions again.
***
Next week I call our trainer Lisa to start up again! The boys have such fun with her. I think I’ll start with just Kenai, out in public. I’d like to get the loose leash nailed down yet again, without the gentle leader.
He’s very much acting the mature Dane, much calmer and even controllable with critters in the field. I haven’t used the gentle leader in the field for weeks–no leash breaks. I’ve had to use it at the vet, and sometimes when we go inside places.
He hates the thing, but I can’t have him pull on me, no matter how enticing the other puppy. He’s a showstopper, too, my beautiful boy. That means he draws attention. His size often dictates who approaches him (only the brave or past Dane owners)!
No, really, he either draws folks or repels them based on his giant body and cropped ears. He can give a play bow and still make people run! *grin* (nobody’s run off yet). With his harness and bright red vest on, few folks don’t figure out that he’s got a job to do.
I really wish I had those strong shoulders right now, but he’s not ready. The long and unobtrusive down/stays are aways off just yet. Mom’s certain we’ll “get there”, I’m not, but we’ll see who’s right in the next few months.
The big test will be a doctor’s visit: I absolutely must go to Cleveland this year, a 15 hour drive each way, with a stay in a hotel, and totally unfamiliar surroundings. I’m half tempted to talk Lisa into going with us! If Boy can handle that, I’ll do a happy dance and never worry again.
Well, not my best post, didn’t have time to edit much. But I need to get something up today, so you don’t think we’ve disappeared. Next one will be better!
Posted by greatdaneservicedog on July 2, 2009
http://greatdaneservicedog.wordpress.com/2009/07/02/pay-no-attention-im-working-by-lisa-harmon/
about.me
lisa harmon
Having become disabled in my 30's, I began a new and unexepected life journey, chronicled on a blog. The need for tenacity, maintaining a stubbornly positive outlook on life, and the determination to focus on what I can do, have been the most important lessons disability has taught me.
I decided that training my own Great Danes to be my assistance dogs was one way I could have a fuller, more independent life. The experience has taught me more about life, love, and respect than any other endeavor of my life. There has been amazing triumphs, and deep sorrows but I wouldn't trade one moment of it!
Blogs I Follow
Flickr Photos
More Photos
