I know I was supposed to finish that other post about predatory behavior and treats, but I got some news about Frodo and there are a few other things I wanted to touch base on.

First things first, Frodo is going to get a PennHip done when I get back to Pennsylvania. Frodo is now staying with Jennifer (another friend of Liz and mine) and we were chatting the other day and it came up that frodo has a "sore" left hip. He's never been a huge fan of having his hind end messed with and I've never pushed the subject, but apparently he will not even, with the help of peanut butter, allow his right hind nails to be clipped because it puts pressure on his left hind hip. This worries me. A lot. I've never ruled out that he might some day have hip dysplasia, he doesn't have the best breeding with results that would prove otherwise. But he's only four! I'm trying not to jump to conclusions, but I've decided to get his hips checked as soon as possible after I get back from PA, which means right now I am vet searching and trying to find someone who will sedate him so he doesn't have to be put under with ace.

I'm currently contacting the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of the Potomac to see if they have any suggestions for a good PennHip certified vet. I plan on posting to Corgi-L to see if I can get any results from there as well. Fortunately I have a lot to chose from as PennHip started at UPenn and that is in Pennsylvania, who'd of thunk it! So right now I'm just trying not to get myself thinking of worst case scenarios and all that jazz since there is nothing I can do until I get back to PA anyway.

Moving on, I have updated pictures from Jennifer!!

Frodo's most favorite topic in the whole big wide world. FOOD!

Frodo, like most corgis, is ridiculous when it comes to food. It doesn't even matter if it tastes good or if he is even hungry, he wants to eat it! This is one thing I will always be grateful for, because no matter how many issues he has, I think it trying to solve them would be a much larger task if he was not food motivated.

It also seems as though every trainer in the whole world says that treats have different values for dogs, and I agree. For the most part. But in Frodo's eyes all the treats in the world are the best thing ever. Except for lettuce. Lettuce is a low value treat according to Frodo. His reaction to normal, everyday kibble is not all that far from his reaction to other treats like cheese or cat food. I feel as though I could use either of them and have a very similar reaction.

In her book Chill Out Fido!, Nan Arthur uses what she refers to as a trail mix for training. It's kibble mixed in with other, higher value treats. I don't know why this didn't occur to me earlier. It's so simple, but I am looking forward to using it, though I don't know if it will make a difference with Frodo or not. It makes sense that the trail mix would keep dogs engaged since they don't know what they are going to get next, but Frodo (indoors at least) will remain engaged as long as you are handing out anything he believes he can eat!

One of my goals with Frodo is to not have him eat a meal out of a dog bowl again. I want him to be working for all of his food, whether it is through rewards during training, hide and seek, stuffed in a kong, etc. This is due in part to the fact that I want him to have more mental stimulation than I have given him in the past.

"Free food in a bowl plays against the genetic legacy of dogs." This is part of the title quote and another reason I would like to have Frodo working for all of his food. This quote came from Jean Donaldson's Culture Clash. <3

Early on in the book Donaldson points out that selective breeding and domestication have not stopped dogs from retaining the predatory behaviors of their ancestors, and that the 6 steps of predatory behavior should be fostered in a dog through appropriate means.

The six steps are:

1. Search (find prey, mainly using nose)
2. Stalk (stealthy approach to prey)
3. Rush (move rapidly towards prey)
4. Chase (if prey flees)
5. Bite/hold/shake/kill (the prey)
6. Dissect and eat (the prey)

She says that engaging your dog in predatory sequence behvaiors can even work to prevent behavior problems (too late for that!) for dogs. I find this interesting, and while I'm not sure I completely agree with that statement, I definitely don't believe that dogs are going to suffer any ill effects by engaging in these types of behaviors in a controlled environment.

And now I have to go to class so the rest of this post will just have to continue when I get a chance. Hopefully later tonght.

To Be Continued...

Spent most of the early afternoon today riding my bike with Ryan (the boyfriend) and Aly (roommate who was actually rollerblading) from my apartment near campus to Fort Snelling. We didn't make it all the way to Fort Snelling because Aly had to be back to work on a paper, but according to the almighty iPhone it is about an 18 mile trip. About halfway through we stopped and ate Cliff bars (yum) and watched dogs run around the most awesome dog park ever on the other side of the river. It was basically a vast lightly wooded area along the river so the dogs could swim. They looked like they were having so much fun and getting so. much. exercise.

Watching them made me sad because I realize that Frodo can't participate in that kind of environment. No matter how much his reactivity improves, he will never be a dog park dog. And that is fine, I can deal with that. I just wish I could take him to that kind of area and let him run off leash. There are a few secluded areas where I can do this in PA, but in Minneapolis places like these are never empty and I can't take the chance of having someone coming in while Frodo is running around.

My main concern is that he won't get enough exercise when he is in Minneapolis if he can't run at all. So my new plan....I am going to attempt to learn to run. Because as of right now, I fail at running. Completely. I prefer to bike for a whole lot of reasons. You get to see more, you don't feel so hot because of the wind, it doesn't kill your legs, it's harder to look like a loser, etc. But if it's better for Frodo I will give it the old college try. There are so many beautiful trails here, it would be a shame not to take Frodo to them.

Since I have a long history of being a horrible runner and giving up after one day I am going to try this method. I have done a bunch of searches on how to get started and the general consensus is that The Couch to 5k Running Plan is the best method. I won't be starting this plan until I move back to PA though, because right now I am going to enjoy the bike that Ryan loaned to me as much as possible. Plus I figure Frodo and I can condition together. I mean the first week is alternating between 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes, how hard can that be?

...
..
.

I am going to die.

So, one of the biggest issues I have been thinking about with relation to taking Frodo to Minneapolis with me is bathroom issues. He's housetrained and rarely had accidents, even when I had 10 hour shifts at Panera (though he wasn't going to put himself in any sort of discomfort if you weren't there when he really had to go), but I've been thinking a lot lately about how long he should be expected to wait.

One source that really got me thinking was Jean Donaldson in her book The Culture Clash, where she writes about what those last few hours must be like for a dog who has to go to the bathroom, waiting for their owners to get home. I know what it feels like to have to use the restroom and not have one available to me. Not exactly what I would call fun and also not something I want Frodo to have to deal with. In addition to this issue, I really do not want Frodo to be crated for extended periods of time, if possible. He's not a chewer and he doesn't tend to destroy things (as long as there is no food left in the vacinity, including countertops!), so I would prefer him to have the freedom to lounge around the apartment while I'm at school/work. This again brings up the issue that he will go to the bathroom in the house if made to wait too long.

So my solution?

*dons flame retardant suit in case anyone is actually reading*

I am going to attempt to train Frodo to use an indoor potty area. I know. Dogs are supposed to go to the bathroom outside! And for the most part, I agree. But in my opinion, IF it works (and that's a big if), then I think it will be in the best interest of my dog, and isn't that my ultimate job as a dog owner? My plan is not to have this take the place of outside time or his ability to use the bathroom outside in any way. It's merely a matter of making his life less stressed and giving him more freedom, as well as giving me the piece of mind that he is not having the highest quality of life that I am able to give him for the next few years.

Anyway, on to the fun stuff. I have issues with training in too big of chunks and not breaking the steps down far enough that the dog is able to understand what is expected of him. But here is my preliminary plan to train Frodo to go to the bathroom indoors.

WAIT! I forgot. Might help to know where I want Frodo to do his business. I don't want to just use puppypads for multiple reasons, including:

• He's not a puppy and those things don't absorb all that much liquid.
• Most dogs, like human males, don't have the best aim and I don't want to end up causing damage to a rented apartment.
• They get expensive after a while.
  

So my alternative is the use of a large rubbermaid type container, like this one.
If I can cut out a large enough area in one side for it to function as a door, I can hopefully train him to go in and, well...go. Plus if he feels the need to lift his leg it isn't going to hurt anything. I will also be able to easily scrub it out every day, so I don't expect it to smell, or at least nothing that can't be covered up with an air freshener.

Moving on to method. These are the preliminary steps that I plan on using to get him to this point:

1. Getting him used to going in the container without the lid on. Frodo is a scaredy dog, and I know this alone is going to take some time, so it will be started as soon as possible. Eventually I will move to having the lid on when he feels comfortable.
2. Having him confined to an x-pen when he is alone. The x-pen will contain puppy pads and a washable bed. I am hoping he will not view the x-pen as a crate and will use the puppy pads.
3. Assuming he uses the puppy pads I will make the x-pen increasingly larger so that he can choose puppy pads over regular floor. If he doesn't use the puppy pads, well...we're going to assume for now that he will use the pads.
   
4. Variation in location of x-pen and type of dog bed.
5. Eventually placing container in x-pen and gradually move the puppy pads from right in front of the container to inside the container.
6. When he is reliably using the container, fade out x-pen.

Now, these plans obviously have a ton of places where this could fail (too scared of container, views x-pen as a crate, he decides he can hold it when left alone for long periods, etc.), but hopefully if those issues crop up I can work through them without having to abandon the plan entirely.

I know a lot of people use and recommend the use of dog-walkers, and IMO they are a great resource. I wouldn't mind using a dog-walker, but there are a few reasons why I am hesitant to rely on that for Frodo. First, and most importantly, Frodo and I are going to be working on a lot of training that has the potential to be easily undone (assuming we have some success), and that is not something I think I will be willing to risk. Second, I do not know where I will be living next year so it would be impossible for me to find and interview a dog-walker right now, let alone work in the cost of what that would be or if there even would be a dog-walker in the area. For these reasons I am not going to wait and rely on that being an option. I would rather be proactive and have a plan implemented in case it is all that is left at the end of the day.

I think that should do it for now!
Damn sentence structure!

I'm not good at intro posts and I don't like writing them. I also firmly believe that I will be the only person who reads this blog, because it will be boring with a hearty side of boring smothered in some boring sauce. And if any other brave souls should take an interest in reading this they will a) probably already know me from somewhere and know Frodo's story, or 2) (yes, 2. my blog, my rules) they can ask.

But seeing as how I don't consider myself to be completely rude, here are the cliff notes...

1. Bought cutest puppies ever from"breeder," should have known better.
2. Attempted to socialize puppies with a very basic, flawed idea of socialization.
3. Puppies end up insecure, fear reactive, ill-mannered, etc.
4. Rehomed Frodo's sister for a myriad of reasons which I'm not going to dredge up, this is a blog about Frodo.
5. Frodo gets shipped off to North Carolina to stay with Liz (a friend, aliases include Corgipower and CP, among others) while I go to college at the University of Minnesota...in Minnesota.
6. I'm going back to Pennsylvania for the summer and working on all of the issues I've ignored with Frodo before August, when he is moving back to Minneapolis with me.
7. The End.

I thought about typing out all of Frodo's issues, but that seems like work and this is supposed to be an introduction. I'll save that for the next post, have to keep the suspense up somehow!

Now....obligatory pictures!!