tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40816865857810419192024-03-18T23:09:12.294-06:00Frodology101Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-76389780451312006972011-03-01T15:17:00.002-07:002011-03-01T15:37:19.405-07:00Jazzing up daily walks...This is something I have been working with lately as our walks tend to be quite bland (well, for me anyway, Frodo thinks all the sniffing is GREAT!) and take forever to get anywhere with Frodo's nose running the show. I know I've said it a hundred times before, but I swear this dog is part scenthound. <div><br /></div><div>He has also been much more uncertain on walks since we moved into the new house. Ears held back a lot, not totally into them in general, though I am not sure what the reason behind it is. My guess right now is that it is due to the cars that drive along the parkway. </div><div><br /></div><div>In an attempt to remedy my boredom and his uneasiness I have started trying to make the walks more interactive and ask Frodo for more out of his walks. The main way I have modified our walks is that I have given Frodo the opportunity to run, and to be rewarded for running, which is something he is rarely able to do and is reinforcing in itself for him.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I have been putting Frodo in a sit stay or a down stay, walking about 15-20 feet away from him, releasing him and hauling butt until he catches up with me. I started by holding out my hand as I ran and asking him for a hand target, which worked well, and now occasionally I let him run past me and then ask him to return to me. Both ways earn him mucho doggy-dinero. Then I pick up his leash and we continue to run for a while, as I don't want him learning that the fun stops when he comes to me or when I have his leash. </div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately this game will only last as long as the snow piles separate the walkway from the road and the trails are empty enough that I don't have to worry about bikers flying along the trail. Frodo is really really good about ignoring the bikers, he really doesn't seem to care that they are there at all, but it would be too easy for him to run in front of one and hurt himself and/or a biker.</div><div><br /></div><div>There seems to be some very large, wide-open spaces throughout the park that we can probably do this one once spring comes, though I can never tell whether these are actually fields or whether they will be bodies of water! I surely hope so as he really seems to enjoy the game.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the same note, when he is in working mode his recall is pretty good, when we are in walking mode, it is non-existent. The other morning I walked Frodo up to Farwell Park, a very small square park that we walk to almost every day. Frodo wanted to sniff a tree in the middle of the deep snow covered park. The park was absolutely empty so I dropped the leash and just continued walking. Nothing. I called his name, he looked at me, and I took off running. Nothing. I made it all the way to the other side of the park and he did not care. I yelled treats and he came running like a bat out of hell. </div><div><br /></div><div>Frustrating dog is frustrating.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-24928612357903720612011-02-21T20:17:00.004-07:002011-02-21T20:41:49.976-07:00A Successful Day.<div style="text-align: center;">...that ended with this:</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5258/5466690335_e61cc7999c.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5258/5466690335_e61cc7999c.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">A strawberry banana smoothie for me, and a raw bison filled kong for Frodo.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In addition to that, during our shaping session today Frodo offered 2 behaviors that made me very very happy. Our actual purpose for the training session was having Frodo target one of my socks with his paw. I want to teach him to put his paw on my foot when I lift my foot up. He seems clueless about targeting my foot, so I decided to try a sock and eventually put said sock on my foot.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now for the super awesome parts, yes TWO of them! I don't often get TWO awesome behaviors from this dog in a sessions...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">1. He offered a bow. We have worked on bow like...forever. On and off for, literally, months without him ever offering the behavior or even anything close to it unless I lured it. I wasn't really sure that he even really understood what we were doing. Then he offered it. Little nub wagging and everything. I threw massive amounts of treats at him.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">2. Early in the session before he had the targeting of the sock down to a science he was trotting around my room finding other, more familiar, things to target like can covers and books. On one of his rounds he passed something, whipped around and laid down. I didn't even see what he laid down on so I went over and he was on the very edge of his MAT! The towel that we have done only two sessions of mat work on was sticking out of it's hiding place and he didn't even hesitate to lay down on it! I hope this is just the beginning of a long-term, serious relationship between these two.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After our shaping session I read a bunch of Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt because I am participating in a 12 week book study of this book and hopefully helping Frodo on his reactivity with the information that I learn during the study.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Yesterday during class,<a href="http://raisingk9.blogspot.com/"> Robin</a> asked me if I was going to get Frodo back into Nosework. I haven't really given it much thought lately, with my finances being what they are and with everything else going on right now, but I decided to do a session tonight with his dinner. It was the first session I have done since moving to Minnesota (about 2 months ago), and let me tell you, he certainly hasn't forgotten how to use that nose of his!! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It only took finding one hide before he was screaming in the bathroom while I was hiding his food and running like a bat outta hell to get to the search room. I'd also forgotten just how much he loves this game, and beyond that, how freaking GOOD he is at it. He has definitely found his niche in this world.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And that brought us to this. Sitting in our almost unpacked new living room with our respective treats. It's been a good day, despite the raging blizzard outside!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-89187371985789215972011-01-31T09:32:00.002-07:002011-01-31T09:35:30.923-07:004/52 : Oh! The Places You'll Go!<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(0, 0, 51); -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; ">You’ll be on your way up!<br />You’ll be seeing great sights!<br />You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.</span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5093/5405030106_03dffc30df.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5093/5405030106_03dffc30df.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Yes, this should have been posted on Saturday. But I'm moved into our new house at least! Also the D70 is at Ryan's house so I had to take this weeks picture with my crappy cell phone. Fail.Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-82638883815998628942011-01-18T11:01:00.003-07:002011-01-18T11:05:24.446-07:00The Sit Test!Our next shaping class is on February 6th and this time we were given actual homework. I love getting homework, it keeps me on track and I don't tend to slide through 82 different things to work on, like I do when I try to set me own homework. <div><br /></div><div>Our homework is Ian Dunbar's <a href="http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001/sittest.htm">The Sit Test</a>!</div><div><br /></div><div>This should be very interesting. I like to use hand signals and Frodo listens better to hand signals, but I am really going to try and put everything together with only verbals.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wish us luck!</div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-23701664705836294712011-01-15T11:29:00.002-07:002011-01-15T11:32:07.817-07:002/52 : Everything is Black and White.<div style="text-align: center;">The new bed I made for Frodo.</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5009/5355725183_6bac0ce91b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In other news, I think it is pretty evident that I got a job, due to the severe reduction of post count this week. I got a job at a local pet food outlet and I LOVE IT! </div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-11132839501845887152011-01-09T22:19:00.003-07:002011-01-09T22:27:58.313-07:00Shaping Sunday: Monkeys and MuzzlesFrodo, Ryan and I have started going to a shaping class on Sunday (yaaaaay shaping, as you may remember, this is only of my goals for 2011, to learn to shape better) with a bunch of really awesomesauce people and other dogs. <div><br /></div><div>This week was our second week and Frodo did quite well for the most part, though he did react to a greyhound who (in his opinion) came too close. After the reaction, and it wasn't a big one, he did continue to work fine with a barrier between himself and the greyhound.</div><div><br /></div><div>As for actual shaping today we worked on muzzle work, which went really really well thanks to <a href="http://arohaspringer.blogspot.com/">Megan</a>, who brought in a basket muzzle that Frodo could easily get his snout in! He was much more willing to leave his nose in this muzzle than he has been with the other mesh muzzle that we have been working with.</div><div><br /></div><div>The rest of the class we spent working with his plush monkey that I am trying to teach him a play retrieve with. He did really well, better even than our work at Ryan's house. If I hold the monkey he will bite it, and sometimes even hold it for a second. If I put the monkey on the ground he will bite it repeatedly, but isn't so keen on lifting it off the ground. I need to choose one of these methods and move forward with it, instead of dabbling with both!</div><div><br /></div><div>That's about all I can think of at the moment, my brain is pretty fried. I now have TWO jobs, which is great and will definitely keep me busy (and hopefully pay the bills), one of which I start tomorrow and work pretty much every day, so if the blog starts to slow down a bit, that is why. I also finished Frodo's awesome dog bed that I have been working on, and I have pictures but uploading them seems like a giant task right now, maybe tomorrow...</div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-83851746599180576982011-01-08T11:17:00.002-07:002011-01-08T11:19:57.913-07:001/52 : First is the Worst.<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The first week's challenge was to take a picture of our dog being naughty.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Done.</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5287/5323965373_9f41d3120b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-45445622728966528042011-01-07T10:49:00.004-07:002011-01-07T11:13:48.138-07:00What I should do before I start work...A list of crap I should be doing before I start working and being gone for considerable hours at a time:<div><br /></div><div>-Car rides! Frodo and I should start going on car rides at least once, and preferably twice, a day. This will not only warm up my car so it doesn't act like it's dying whenever I do need to start it, but I also think it will help Frodo get acclimated to riding in the back of the car without me again. I am hoping it will also help him to settle in the car, because as it is he doesn't like to sit still while in the car, though he doesn't seem particularly stressed and he likes getting in the car. </div><div><br /></div><div>-Training! I feel as though I should be doing <i>at least</i> three short training sessions a day. Right now our current endeavor is trying to teach Frodo to fetch. Not a formal fetch, just a play fetch. We are following the steps that <a href="http://neversaynevergreyhounds.blogspot.com/">Never Say Never Greyhounds</a> has been posting on their blog. We are on <a href="http://neversaynevergreyhounds.blogspot.com/2010/12/totally-fetching-part-1.html">Step 1</a> and Frodo is sort of offering teeth grabs. He likes to try and get away with just nose bumping it, though he is all for a game of actual tug if the treats go away so I know it's not a pain thing. We have also been continuing muzzle training, though only sparingly as I want his nose to heal so the muzzle isn't painful at all.</div><div><br /></div><div>-<a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/1595625@N23/">52 Weeks of Chazhound Dogs!</a> I am in charge of a group called 52 Weeks of Chazhound Dogs where each week some of the members of a forum I belong to post a picture of whatever theme I give them. While I have time I should sit down with a calendar and start writing down the themes in advance so I don't get stuck when it is time for the next weeks theme! I will also be posting my own submissions every Saturday, since the week ends on Friday.</div><div><br /></div><div>-Recall! This is something Frodo is in serious need of learning. Recently <a href="http://manymuddypaws.blogspot.com/">manymuddypaws</a> posted her way of <a href="http://manymuddypaws.blogspot.com/2011/01/recalls-and-stays.html">teaching a recall</a> and it sounded easy enough. The first step is to associate Name = Cookie by calling the dog from around the house and giving them a treat every time they come when you call their name. And they should come running every single time because they know they are going to get a treat every single time! Right? RIGHT?? Wrong. I tried playing this with Frodo while I was loading/unloading the dishwasher. I would call him from a few feet away and he would come over and get his cookie. We did this about 7 or 8 times, each time with a reward, and then on the next time he just decided he wasn't coming back. *sigh* So now I am thinking I need to decrease criteria and treat him like a puppy and only call him when he is already on his way to me, and use a recall word instead of his name as well, because I think he has learned quite well to ignore it.</div><div><br /></div><div>-Going out and leaving Frodo at the house with strange people! He will be crated and the people in the house will ignore him and they will have my number so they can call me and I will zip back if he starts out of control barking. Yesterday when I went to a job interview Ryan's mom got home before I did and she said that he barked while she was getting groceries from the car, but when she was in the house he was fine. Great news for me! </div><div><br /></div><div>Overall, over the past two days Frodo has really settled into Ryan's parent's house. Two nights ago he actually crawled into one of Ryan's sister's laps, which is huge as he didn't even want them petting him earlier this week. He doesn't even react to Ryan's dad anymore, just wants to sniff him then move on. I'm really grateful about this, because it had been extremely stressful for me to spend all day away from people locked in a room and try and navigate the house with Frodo when he would react to everyone but Ryan and I. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now I just need to get up the will to take Frodo on these car rides....mrrg.</div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-90699152437950050332011-01-05T10:54:00.001-07:002011-01-05T10:55:23.668-07:00Wordless Wednesday - Tortured Soul<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5169/5324568592_98ec0b854d.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 333px; height: 500px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5169/5324568592_98ec0b854d.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-44874307481880863852011-01-03T19:11:00.005-07:002011-01-03T19:55:47.745-07:00MY goals for 2011.<div style="text-align: center;">Yes this is a blog about my dog, and his training, and his pictures, and his etc. etc. but I am stealing a post so that I can have a record of my own goals for 2011.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">And for the record...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5009/5314230777_97a09348fb.jpg"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5009/5314230777_97a09348fb.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 333px; height: 500px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">...Frodo would like you all to know that he thinks my goals </div><div style="text-align: center;">(and anything not revolving around him)</div><div style="text-align: center;">are boring. Duly Noted.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But since I am the one with the opposable thumbs in this relationship, here are my 2011 goals:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">-Read 75 books. </div><div style="text-align: left;">-Take a cooking class</div><div style="text-align: left;">-Cook more, and be less afraid to alter the recipe!</div><div style="text-align: left;">-Be more crafty (read: learn to crochet/knit/sew/something), maybe join a group.</div><div style="text-align: left;">-Take more pictures and become a better photographer.</div><div style="text-align: left;">-Go hiking at least once a week once the weather improves.</div><div style="text-align: left;">-Start writing again (this is spurred by a person asking me a few days ago if I was ever writing another chapter to my story...my last chapter went up 2 years ago!)</div><div style="text-align: left;">-Find a job that I like going to most days, and not settling into jobs that I hate.</div><div style="text-align: left;">-Buy some new clothes! I hate clothes -.-</div><div style="text-align: left;">-ETA: I almost forgot the first goal I set! Less time on the internet, more time doing other things, especially with my dog!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I don't think any of them are unrealistic, except maybe being crafty, because I'm not crafty. At all. I have tried numerous times to learn to crochet, starting with something easy like a scarf. I mean, how can you mess up a scarf? They all turned into triangles. Mrrg.</div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-68034213731033223292011-01-02T17:58:00.003-07:002011-01-02T18:31:26.912-07:00Birthday Muffins for Frodo!!<div style="text-align: left;">Today, Frodo turns 5 years old! I can't believe I have had him this long already, though I also can't remember the peace that came along with NOT having him, though that doesn't sound like a nice thing to say on his birthday!</div><div><br /></div><div>This morning Frodo went to his first shaping class and had zero reactions. Met (any by met I mean did hand touches and took treats from) Crystal, Megan, and Elizabeth without any reactions or signs of being stressed. Awesome! He also did not react to any of the dogs that were there, even though he was in a completely new place and has never met any of them before. Had you told me a year ago that he would be able to do this I probably would have laughed at you....a lot.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, last night Ryan and I made Pumpkin dog muffins for his impending birthday! And here are the pictures...</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ingredients</div><div><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5082/5314230525_d7202d23f3.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 333px; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; " /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Frodo looking depressed and wondering when he is going to get food...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5204/5314827630_dea4076bef.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 333px; height: 500px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">Mmmmm....honey</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5202/5314826268_f5d21e683e.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 333px; height: 500px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">And pumpkin!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5049/5314827054_bb02548340.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 333px; " /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">Birthday boy gets to lick the spatula!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5130/5314231539_43403c7738.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 333px; height: 500px; " /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ryan tries to alter the recipe...</div><div style="text-align: center;">JUST KIDDING (of course!)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5043/5314231233_9783a797b7.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 333px; height: 500px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">Mix it all up...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5207/5314231979_c90908bf5f.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 333px; " /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">Failed attempt at a good shot of Frodo and I.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5006/5314827452_c0630ee5d6.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 333px; height: 500px; " /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Put 'em in the oven... *drumroll*...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5163/5314232749_dece2f7180.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 333px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">...and you get MUFFINS!!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5207/5314828478_5df0c4424c.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 333px; " /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">(All of the photo credit goes to my lovely boyfriend Ryan, except for the alcohol picture and the last picture of close up muffins, I can take credit for those!)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Anywho, the reason I don't have any pictures of him eating any are because most of them went to his classmates (cause he surely doesn't need that many snacks!), and he had a lot of other treats at class today and I didn't want to upset his stomach. Plus if I wait until tomorrow then it gives me another blog post!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRODO!</div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-13436121277114226952010-12-31T11:27:00.006-07:002011-01-01T10:38:25.301-07:002011 - A year of learning.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5048/5304484066_ef8f1cc792.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5048/5304484066_ef8f1cc792.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Like I do every year through the last days of December, I started a list of all the plans and goals I have for the coming year. I absolutely love setting goals, and almost without fail I never reach them. In looking forward I also looked back over the last few months of 2010 and realized that this past year was the same. I haven't accomplished much. So I'm going to work things a little differently this year, starting with erasing that list I made that I wouldn't have finished anyway, and this is what I came up with...<div><br /></div><div><b>Health - </b>This hasn't been a priority in the past, and it needs to be. At this point I'm not sure if there is anything physically wrong with Frodo, but letting it slide and pretending there's not is irresponsible. As soon as I have set word that I have a job, I'm making an appointment. This also includes getting more exercise and losing weight, for both of us!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Safety - </b>The last few weeks have been a real eye opener for me with regard to Frodo and people he doesn't know. Between taking him to the vet and hauling him halfway across the country to live with strange people he's taught me a lot about showing when he is uncomfortable and what his limits are. My resolution for this section is to teach him how to feel comfortable in a muzzle for when he does need to be pushed over threshold (vet's office) and letting him decide when he wants to meet anybody else. I don't get to decide, that other person doesn't get to decide, FRODO gets to decide. And when he does eventually decide, it is my responsibility to bail him out if he starts to feel uncomfortable, because he has shown he isn't capable of walking away himself. I need to learn to tell people "No" more often.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Relaxation - </b>I decided this year not to set any concrete goals for Frodo's reactivity with other dogs, especially because there are so many other variables present in any situation that can alter the way he reacts. I know that he can walk into a room full of strange dogs and strange people at a seminar and not have a reaction all day, but seeing the back of a single dog a block away can cause him to react quite badly. Therefore my goal this year is to continue to learn everything that I can about helping reactive dogs, and my hope is that we can decrease the instances and situations where he feels uncomfortable enough to react.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Shaping - </b>I want to learn how to shape, and how to teach Frodo to offer behaviors beyond bumping with his nose, laying down, and targeting with his paws. </div><div><br /></div><div>And that's about it. I realize that his issues aren't going away anytime soon, and that's okay. I used to view all of his issues as something that we had to overcome before I could get on with doing what *I* wanted to do, like agility and taking him everywhere that well-behaved dogs are allowed to go, competing in every dog related activity or sport under the sun, etc. Now I view our work as a journey to getting Frodo comfortable and confident in areas where he is now fearful and reactive. The chance of us ever competing is very very low, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun going to classes and learning all kinds of adorable and useless tricks at home. </div><div><br /></div><div>Most of all I think that the most important aspect of any behavior modification is support, people to share in the elation of a success and the frustration and disappointment of setbacks. I think in part you really have to surround yourself with people who have experienced those same highs and lows as yourself because it is something that the general population, even within the dog community, cannot really relate to unless they have been there. I was fortunate enough to have the ever-present support of wonderful people like Silke, Linda, and Sue in Pennsylvania, as well as to be moving to Minnesota and the likes of Crystal, Megan, Robin, Elizabeth, and Laura, all of whom I hope to get to know even more throughout the coming year.</div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-63797557747986976472010-12-30T22:47:00.002-07:002010-12-30T22:57:27.521-07:00So Excited!!<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I just ordered 4 different fleece fabric patterns so that I can make Frodo 2, double-sided dog beds for the new house!! :D Hopefully this helps him with his comfy couch withdrawl.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The edges will be like this when it is done, not this pattern though!</div><div style="text-align: center;">Hopefully Frodo doesn't decide they are chew toys.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBE70XeylDIVeOJtyqXUPOKYAxj26I0kP0ON1U1E5PrIKwNeBviNdHb0Q5Pb4gQhKEoGsDqB6nsWuAvjTwwdQXiBjRa-j-e41z1SCQQrrp4YDbV_9ZxOoltLhgJBpPOxp74OYlmRywBIY/s400/Fleeceblanketfringe2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">This is going to be one side of the first bed, </div><div style="text-align: center;">with the opposite side being solid navy blue.</div><div style="text-align: center;">This will go in my bedroom.</div><div style="text-align: center;">ADORABLE!!</div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 304px;" src="http://www.joann.com:80/images/10/04/8/xprd10048924_m.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The second bed will be solid sage green on one side, </div><div style="text-align: center;">and solid camel brown on the other.</div><div style="text-align: center;">This second one is for the living room, so it is </div><div style="text-align: center;">required to be part of the brown/beige/green theme</div><div style="text-align: center;">set by my housemate.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">EXCITED!!</div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-32948755442989169232010-12-30T17:42:00.003-07:002010-12-30T17:48:21.864-07:002 Days into Muzzle Training...And I'm alternating between asking Frodo to stick his muzzle into the...well, muzzle, and clipping it hanging around his neck and throwing treats for him. He'll only pop his nose in and out of the muzzle, not allowing it to stay in for any amount of time, but it's a start. I think the muzzle may be a bit too small, but I can't really tell without forcing it on him, which I won't do. <div><br /></div><div>If I can get him to the point where he is comfortable wearing a muzzle then I will definitely be investing in a better built and more comfortable muzzle.</div><div><br /></div><div>For now I just keep telling myself how much I never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever EVER want a human reactive dog again. I am simultaneously thanking my lucky stars that he has never bitten anyone (though he's been given many chances), and that he makes it pretty darn clear when he doesn't want to be petted/looked at/talked to, now I just need to start listening.</div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-28173949849006416402010-12-29T14:21:00.003-07:002010-12-29T14:23:52.991-07:00Wordless Wednesday - Guilt<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5086/5304483910_168e1184ee.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 333px; height: 500px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5086/5304483910_168e1184ee.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">A certain someone chewed his way through the mesh of his crate while I was at an interview today.</div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-61732260565395579122010-12-28T11:48:00.002-07:002010-12-28T11:54:40.709-07:00Muzzle Training.After our last trip to the vet's office, where Frodo made the vet quite uncomfortable and reluctant to touch him (despite my holding his collar/head), I've decided that Frodo needs to be muzzle trained before we make another trip to the vet. At this stage I think it is impossible to have someone work on and touch Frodo to the extent that a vet would have to in order to fully examine and diagnose his issues, without pushing him way over threshold. <div><br /></div><div>Yesterday I bought a mesh muzzle with an open end so that I can still feed Frodo treats throughout the training process and while we are at the vet's office.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am using this video as a basis for the training. I think the trainer in the video breaks it down into more steps than I would have, had I tried training it on my own. This is a good thing because I am a serious lumper.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: monospace, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; white-space: pre-wrap; "><iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1FABgZTFvHo" frameborder="0"></iframe></span></div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-10353058495646554752010-12-26T09:06:00.005-07:002010-12-26T13:28:34.481-07:00We are in Minnesota!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5282/5293700132_d0c1548649.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 388px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5282/5293700132_d0c1548649.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Frodo and I slid (literally) into Minnesota on Thursday evening after being in the car for more than 16 hours straight. I had spent countless hours stressing over how Frodo was going to do in the car, especially since we had some issues with him settling down on the drive from North Carolina to Pennsylvania a few months ago. As usual, all the time I spent stressing was a complete waste of time and as soon as we got settled in Frodo laid his head on my lap and rested the entire time! He even gladly jumped back in the car after every potty break. I was seriously impressed.<br /><br />That was pretty much where the easy part of this journey ended. Unfortunately during the past few days I have learned a lot about Frodo's signs that he is about to react. We are staying at Ryan's parents house until everything is in order for us to move into our new home, unfortunately that means that Frodo is living with four complete strangers. Four complete strangers who want to pet and love on the cute little corgi. Thus far he has sought out attention from Ryan's mom and both of his sisters. He does not care to come in any sort of contact with Ryan's dad. He has reacted to both of Ryan's parents and one of his sisters.<br /><br />It is frustrating because he seems very Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde about the whole thing. He will willingly go up to one of them and seek attention (pushing his head under their hand, woofing at them, etc.) and after a short amount of time he will very quickly move through his calming signals, which are all silent, and then lunge/bark/air snap. He will not move away on his own.<br /><br />His signs are:<br />-Freeze<br />-Ears back<br />-Head turned away but eyes looking at person (whale eye)<br />-Lips pulled forward<br />-NO verbal warning before he progresses to lunging<div><br /></div><div>Needless to say, he is not getting time with anyone but myself and Ryan at this point. </div><div><br /></div><div>Our saving grace this week has been his crate. I originally wasn't even going to buy him one for out here unless I needed it, but at the last minute before leaving I caved and bought him a fold down cloth crate at Wal-Mart. Thank dog! He has spent a lot of time in it the past few days, and as long as I am within sight range of him, he is content to relax and sleep in it. I believe he really does view the crate as a safe place, and doesn't even budge when people walk close to it.</div><div><br /></div><div>When we are out of the house he seems fine and not stressed at all. We have taken long walks for the past three days and he is thoroughly enjoying himself in the snow. Good thing too, I don't think it is going to be leaving anytime soon.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-112134453076220152010-11-26T13:09:00.003-07:002010-11-26T14:15:24.659-07:00First BAT session.Silke and I met at the doggy daycare on Wednesday so that I could try out Behavioral Adjustment Training with Frodo. We worked for about an hour, used no food, and had zero reactions. I was definitely impressed. <div><br /></div><div>We had 4 different sessions, with short breaks in between each one, and one long break where Frodo was crated in the car. </div><div><br /></div><div><div> We combined the BAT, which generally includes: </div><div style="text-align: center; ">Environmental Cue > Behavior > Functional Reward.</div><div style="text-align: center; ">in our case...</div><div style="text-align: center; ">Approaching dog (remain below threshold) > Calming Signal (mainly look away, sniffing) > Run back to start line (increased distance)</div><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: left; ">We combined this with "calming circles" which is something we learned from trainer Ali Brown, where you start with two people with dogs standing opposite each other, below threshold. You start with a designated number of steps (we used ten) that you walk toward each other, then return to your start position. The next time you take two additional steps (12 steps for us), then return to start position. With each trial you add more steps, and eventually we were able to pass each other, turn in a circle and return to start position.</div><div style="text-align: left; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: left; ">For our trials we worked the calming circles method, but whenever the dog offered a calming signal we immediately retreated to the start position, blending the two methods.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>The first session was with Silke's pit bull/brittany mix, Eddie. He has pretty loose body language, but is reactive to bouncy, pushy dogs (says Silke, I've never seen him react). Frodo has been on walks and in class with him before, so he does know Eddie, though they have never actually physically met. Frodo seemed quite at ease around Eddie, which may be in part due to the very loose body language that Eddie has, plus Eddie focuses on Silke a lot and spent little time staring at Frodo. We were able to gradually approach each other and eventually circle around and return to start while being quite close to one another on the pass, probably 4-5 feet apart. I was able to use additional reinforcement during this time by allowing Frodo to sniff the bushes located at our start point.</div><div><br /></div><div>The second session was in a close, but different location, and the dog was Silke's pit bull Ronya. Ronya was wearing a coat for the session and she also has much stiffer body language and is generally a more intense dog than Eddie. Frodo has been in class and on walks with Ronya, spending about as much time with her as he has with Eddie. We did the same process as in the first session, though the threshold was definitely further away and both dogs spent quite a bit more time air scenting and trying to get information from the other dog. In the first session Frodo's main calming signal was a look away, wheras with Ronya it was more ground sniffing. Once we got closer to one another Frodo also willingly started curving away from Ronya, giving her a wide berth when we came to passing, though he was not stressed.</div><div><br /></div><div>The third session was in the same location as the first session and the dog involved was an Australian Shepherd named Monty. Monty is bouncy and forges on the leash, wheras both Ronya and Eddie kept a loose leash. He is stable and loves to play with other dogs, not reactive at all. Frodo had never seen Monty before. Treats were used by Monty's handler to keep Monty distracted and not pulling on the leash toward Frodo. There were times during this session where Frodo spent quite a while standing just below threshold looking at Monty before offering a look away, and a few times I prompted a look away by calling his name. He gave Money a wide berth, much like he had with Ronya when it came to passing. After the pass when we were circling around the back of Monty, Frodo very much wanted to approach Monty from the rear. He was very calm during this, but we did not let them meet. </div><div><br /></div><div>After this session we worked Monty and Eddie, so Frodo had some down time, crated in the car. </div><div><br /></div><div>We attempted a fourth session with Millie, a 9 month old English Mastiff who was at the daycare. The setup was Millie in the play yard and Frodo working from across the street. This session was botched when Frodo spotted two cats nearby and would not take his focus off of the cats. I guess I can live with cats being more interested than dogs!!</div><div><br /></div><div>Overall I was very impressed and I am going to try and schedule another session next week. I love that Frodo is more in control with this as opposed to the straight counter conditioning using food. I was astounded that he was still happy to work after an hour without being given one food treat, which was by biggest concern since he is *so* food motivated. I also believe this method keeps his arousal level lower because he does get aroused by food being present.</div><div><br /></div><div>Silke made the comment that "he is a very polite dog, when he's given the chance to be" meaning when we take things slow and don't shove him over threshold. That comment made me so happy, because I think it makes me feel like we can make a lot more progress, that he's not some little evil being, that he *wants* to be good and nice.</div><div><br /></div><div>Additionally, Frodo has an appointment with the vet on Wednesday morning to get his hips looked at. After the session he was doing hand targeting and generally getting attention from Silke. When she put her hand on his back he started lip licking. She did it again and he reacted quite badly. He made all kinds of noise and air snapped. He loves Silke, I think he sees her as a walking treat bag and he is comfortable around her, so I know it is not because he just didn't want her touching him, there is something causing him pain. My guess is hips. </div><div><br /></div><div>This also makes me realize how sensitive he is, because I think most normal people would lump his behavior into "he never gave any signs, it was out of the blue!" when in reality he did give a sign that he was uncomfortable (the lip licking), but you have to be watching because it is subtle and he can escalate fast. This is why taking him to the vet scares me, handing him over to people who don't know dog behavior very well scares me!</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, I'm stressed over Wednesday's appointment and it doesn't help that my mom somehow managed to kill my internet so I can only be on the internet when I go out to my workplace!</div><div><br /></div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-39142656414536177762010-11-19T19:42:00.002-07:002010-11-19T19:50:03.729-07:00We're getting there...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1413/5169773567_52fdac9022.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1413/5169773567_52fdac9022.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />toward the move date that is. It's less than a month away and Ryan has a plane ticket to come out here on December 18th to help me move back. I imagine as the time gets closer my posts will get further and further apart. I'm already feeling the stress and the rush of getting things together and getting everything ready. So much to do, so little time.<div><br /></div><div>I haven't worked on Nosework since my last training session which is horrible and means I didn't train AT ALL between classes. Yes, I'm apparently one of *those* students for the first time. The daycare owner has been sick so I have been heading straight from my 8 hour regular job to the daycare to close, making for some 12.5 hour workdays. The other night Frodo wouldn't leave me alone when I tried to go to sleep, jumping on me and trying to entice me into games of bitey-hand. I guess he does have a minimum exercise/attention requirement. On top of that I am getting sick and Frodo is getting another ear infection :(</div><div><br /></div><div>These next few weeks are going to be long and stressful for sure, so I leave you with a happy picture from our walk...</div><div><br /></div><div>(okay, so you've already seen it. It's at the top of the post because I am too lazy to switch to Mozilla where I can move pictures)</div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-85612394222429290082010-11-12T14:57:00.002-07:002010-11-12T15:03:23.213-07:00TGIF: the excuses and pictures edition.We didn't train today, even though I said we were going to. We went to the fairgrounds instead.<br />My excuse? Well, I have a few...<br /><br />-It was 60 degrees out this afternoon and we probably won't be seeing much of those temperatures until spring. I even wore a t-shirt!<br />-Work was super stressful this week, we are understaffed and are continuing to have people quit, leaving the rest of us to pick up the slack. Not easy when it's food service.<br />-Worrying about the move next month has me stressed beyond belief, and this weekend is going to be spent on the computer filling out job applications like a crazy person. I figured I would start out with some happy, fun time.<br /><br />I think that's all of the excuses I have for now. On to the pictures...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Muddy paws.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4151/5170378708_c36b1af8dc.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4151/5170378708_c36b1af8dc.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Happy boy.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/5169776533_512e2a6541.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/5169776533_512e2a6541.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />The problem with leashes...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1238/5170376944_ee595742a4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1238/5170376944_ee595742a4.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Doing what he does best.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1348/5169775047_cc96ac3129.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 375px; height: 500px;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1348/5169775047_cc96ac3129.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4091/5169774097_3478b50402.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4091/5169774097_3478b50402.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I really like some of the pictures I got today. Some of them are in this set, and some of them are being saved for a later date. I love this dog.<br /></div></div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-979013423074192612010-11-11T15:07:00.002-07:002010-11-11T15:26:05.560-07:00Nosework Practice 2<span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Nosework Practice 2 (11.10.2010)</span><br /><br />Time: 3:30pm<br />Location: Home - Living Room<br />Description of Environment: In my living room, many boxes and much clutter present, carpeted flooring, this time Mollie was *not* in the search area for half the searches, Frodo seemed less distracted but I believe the competition from the other dog does motivate him to search harder, if less accurately.<br />What practiced: elevation; hide out of view/obstructed from dog; threshold work<br />Hides used: small plastic container, without lid, containing TOTW kibble as well as small salmon pieces.<br />Who hid the hide: Myself<br />Environmental considerations: We had just returned from a good walk before I searched with him, it was warmer out than normal and he does not like the heat. Could potentially be why he was less motivated to search for longer periods?<br />Findings: I need to realize that temperature influences the searches, and that the warmer the environment, the less Frodo actually wants to work. During Nosework a dog's body temperature does rise due to the amount of energy being expended. He seems to have less issue with threshold work at home than he does in class. This could be due to the class room being much larger. Though he does not start actively searching at the threshold in either environment.<br /><br />Trial 1:<br />Like the last practice session, I started this session with an easy search to let him know it was working time.<br />Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du2oxurf81w<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4046/5167319695_fb61677849.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4046/5167319695_fb61677849.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Trial 2:<br />This time Mollie was in the search area again and Frodo did not seemed stressed like he had last time.<br />Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9h34YCqcS0<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/5167320953_c394d8ea29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/5167320953_c394d8ea29.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Trial 3:<br />This was our threshold search for this session, and as you can see as soon as the gate opens he blows right past the entrance and doesn't start working until he is well into the room. I am thinking I need to do less holding him back before the search and see if that helps. Next session I will have the gate already open so as soon as he gets close to the search field he can start working and not have to stop before the threshold.<br />Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seKS5GhbyCw<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/5167919530_5c853af0cb.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/5167919530_5c853af0cb.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Trial 4:<br />In this one I did end up moving closer to the hide in order to try and draw him closer without being obvious and showing him where the hide was. While I do want to challenge him during searches, I also want them to be on the short side and very rewarding so that he builds a high search drive and thinks that searching is the best game ever!<br />He also caught the scent mid jump and just about fell over himself trying to stop! I would say there is search drive there, motivated by insane food drive of course :)<br />Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn3guDl25gQ<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/5167321635_fd732a6d46.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/5167321635_fd732a6d46.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-87972633090635975022010-11-10T14:20:00.003-07:002010-11-10T14:22:04.859-07:00Wordless Wednesday - Stink Eye.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1318/5165211196_37680b991a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1318/5165211196_37680b991a.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The Furminator in the bottom left of the shot would be the cause....</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">(As a side note, I plan on practicing Nosework with Frodo on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, however I would like to do Wordless Wednesdays so Wednesday practices overviews will be posted on Thursdays.)</div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-46866513393297323072010-11-08T14:43:00.002-07:002010-11-08T15:08:03.915-07:00Nosework Practice 1I'm going to make a solid effort to log the nosework practices that I do with Frodo because I don't think that just working with him and watching him is going to help me to mark his progress. It's not like agility or rally where you can say you ran a course with no faults or that they did a certain obstacle or sign correctly. I am also going to try and post pictures of the hides that I make, as well as videos of the searches.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Nosework Practice 1 (11.8.2010)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Time:</span> 3:00pm<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Location:</span> Home - Living Room<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Description of Environment: </span>In my living room, many boxes and much clutter present, carpeted flooring, additional dog loose in search area (Mollie)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What practiced: </span>elevation; hide out of view/obstructed from dog<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hides used:</span> bait bag containing kibble and freeze dried tripe<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Who hid the hide</span>: Myself<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Environmental considerations:</span> Mollie was a definite distraction/stressor, he worked more frantically and unfocused when she was in the room<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Findings:</span> I need to gradually introduce stressors like other dogs into the search field (if I choose to, this would not be a requirement for competition); hides that require Frodo to move things and push his way in order to get to the hide may be too advanced at this point.<br /><br />Trial 1:<br />This was supposed to be an easy trial just to let him know that we are doing Nosework and that it is working time. My bait bag was hidden next to the brown box. He found it quickly and easily.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/5159428294_6d7ed178ed.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 496px; height: 372px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/5159428294_6d7ed178ed.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1183/5158822341_f36e29efc2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1183/5158822341_f36e29efc2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Trial 2:<br />This trial added elevation and a small amount of obstruction. He could not see the hide until he had caught scent and looked inside the box. He also found this easily.<br />Video of search: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5IycKDXAMA<br />(You can tell by the head snap exactly when he caught the scent.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1159/5159417250_7f734c0d85.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1159/5159417250_7f734c0d85.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/5158814985_6852df7e9f.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/5158814985_6852df7e9f.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Trial 3:<br />This trial also added a sense of partial obstruction in that he would probably not be able to see the bait bag until he had caught the scent. Again, he found this hide quickly and easily.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/5158815637_4ae7c9a2e1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/5158815637_4ae7c9a2e1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4004/5159427054_1cdf628c1b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4004/5159427054_1cdf628c1b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Trial 4: This was by far the most difficult trial of the day. I believe I added too many elements at once, there was elevation + complete obstruction + threshold work (the bait bag was inside of the laptop bag in the pictures below). Frodo has an issue where he is so eager to work that he will blow right past the threshold of the search area and into the middle of the area. I wasn't thinking about all the elements at the time, and made it too hard. He also lost interest and I didn't implement my backup plan (walking to the corner where the hide was) until he was already disinterested and leaving the search area. After he left the search area I brought him back and made it obvious to him where the hide had been.<br />Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCXywezaqrU<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/5158821573_c9a3743074.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/5158821573_c9a3743074.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1258/5158823023_30fc6640db.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1258/5158823023_30fc6640db.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Trial 5: My intention with this trial was to make it an easy trial for Frodo and for it to be the last trial of the session, which it was. Always end on a high note.<br />Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjlIG-F-Yjg<br />(In the video I say it is Frodo's 4th run, I messed up numbering some of the runs because I had forgotten to include the 1st, very easy run)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1400/5159431220_bd9694bbe4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1400/5159431220_bd9694bbe4.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1047/5159432002_15c0f06701.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1047/5159432002_15c0f06701.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Overall I would say that it was a successful training session, at least for me. I'm no expert and I am really kind of just winging it with this whole thing. I much prefer working when a trainer is present, but obviously that is not always possible.<br /><br />Note: A house being packed up for a move and going through renovations adds many good hide spots! :pLaurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-62929420763230393512010-11-06T17:38:00.003-06:002010-11-06T18:17:36.592-06:00Introduction to Nosework - Week 1<div>I know I said in my last post that we weren't attending this class because I could not afford it due to moving next month (not to mention yesterday I started receiving bills for my student loans, gah!), but one of the people I train with offered to pay my class fee. She is a great person and I am so grateful for her kindness. </div><div><br /></div><div>Since it was the first class we were supposed to just have a bunch of boxes on the floor and have food in one box where the dog could self-reward. However, 4 of the 6 people in the class had attended the Nosework Seminar a while back, which was taught by the same instructor as the class, and have been working with their dogs since then, so some of us are already moving ahead and being challenged. </div><div><br /></div><div>Frodo did amazing. I honestly thought he was going to do better than he did at the seminar. Not that he did bad, but I guess I just thought he was going to rock the socks off this game from the word go! Today he was really using his nose, though he still uses his eyes more than is wanted, and was absolutely having a blast! </div><div><br /></div><div>The first round the instructor was just putting food in the boxes and he found the first hide right away, as he was supposed to. She also put a hide against a back wall in the first round, which poses a little more of a challenge and a lot of times the dog will actually pick up the scent on a certain wall, and work that wall. He didn't do this (though I was able to see another, more experienced dog in the class do it), but he did find the hide quickly. The third hide in this round was tucked near the entrance around a little ledge.</div><div><br /></div><div>During the second round she started him off by putting the box on it's side, facing the wall. Because of that the odor pooled in the box and did not spread like it did when the open face of the box was pointing upward or toward open air. During this second round the trainer also used my bait bag and hung it from a chair to add elevation and move from just box work to environmental hides (not something that is normally done in week one, but that she did for some of the class today to further challenge some of the dogs), and he had no trouble finding that either. The last hide of this round was on a bench, he hopped on it and found the bag without issue.</div><div><br /></div><div>For the third round the trainer hung the bait bag higher than she had last time and hung it from a crate in the corner, where the odor would part along the walls. Frodo did great this time and you could actually see has he worked his way down the "scent cone" :</div><div><blockquote></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "><blockquote>"Experts believe that air scent dogs can locate victims because they follow a scent cone from its base to its vertex. Thus, these dogs just move from an area where the odor concentration is lower (the base of the scent cone) to an area of maximum odor concentration (the vertex of the scent cone)." - http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/51462.html</blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; ">Obviously that was pulled from a search dog site, but it is the same premise. Anyway, Frodo actually started a quartering type pattern, like a bird dog might, and when he started to move out of the scent range he would stop and turn around, moving into the stronger scent range until he found the bait bag.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div>For the last hide of the day the trainer hung the bait bag from the entry gate because Frodo was so eager to work that once he entered the search area he would blow past everything until he got to the center of the room, then start working. This was definitely his longest and hardest search of the day because he just couldn't seem to realize that the hide might be by the entrance and not out on the search floor! He did eventually find it though without any assistance. </div><div><br /></div><div>I was so proud of him! He has been zonked out since we got home, he hasn't even waken up for dinner yet!</div><div><br /></div><div>Over the next five Saturdays I am going to post about the Nosework classes, and I realize it may be very dull and repetitive to read, but I am going to do so in order to have notes that I can look back on for ideas or to mark progress. So I am apologizing in advance if this bores anyone, though it does say right on my banner that this blog is boring, so I can only carry so much pity for you all ;)</div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081686585781041919.post-79897888908417684252010-11-05T14:24:00.003-06:002010-11-05T14:27:51.303-06:00Frodo in the Fall.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4037/5148890349_2919087f24.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4037/5148890349_2919087f24.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#551A8B;"><br /></span></div>Not the best picture in the world, but I like it.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12569617317387794973noreply@blogger.com3