I don't understand.

Last week my boyfriend and I were rear-ended on a four-lane highway because a loose dog ran out in front of our car. The dog was obviously terrified, can't blame him. He caused a 3 car accident, and when his owners showed up they didn't say anything to anybody, just picked up their dog and left. Didn't ask if we were okay, didn't give anybody information where they could be reached, nothing. Which leads me to think not only are they completely irresponsible dog owners, but completely irresponsible human beings as well.

I don't understand.

Two weeks ago when Frodo and I were on our Sunday morning walk a woman was at the fairgrounds with two mini-poodles. They were off-leash and seemed to stay quite close to her...until they saw something else they wanted to see. Then of course they would just take off. And the owner would stand there. Yelling for them. While they completely ignored her. A lot of the dogs on our walk are reactive/aggressive. A lot of the dogs are pit bulls and shepherds, and other BSL affected breeds. If something were to happen, who would most likely be projected as "at fault." Probably not the cutesy wootsy tiny poodles who are breaking leash laws and completely out of control.

I don't understand.

About a month ago I went to a party and there was a lab puppy there. Adorable little 4 month old lab puppy. While I spent most of my night removing bottle caps from his mouth and corralling him away from the open door that led to a main road, I got the chance to talk to his owner, who told me all about the great hunting dog he was going to be, and how they already had a female yellow lab to breed him to! Great, because there wasn't enough un-health tested labs of every color from "proven stock" in the local paper every. single. day. Not to mention that you can't breed a dead dog.

I don't understand.

I had a long conversation with myself today about how easy it would be to be an irresponsible dog owner. Mainly brought on by the fact that at the house in MN there is a wide open awesome public field that I would *love* to let Frodo run on. But I won't, because he has a horrible recall. But how easy would it be for me to just unclip the leash and let him run, hope for the best, and if he doesn't come when called? Well he's just a dog, haha, he's so cute! It's okay, he's FRIENDLY!

Brrg. Could you imagine a world where everyone was responsible?

/rant.

I'm in Minnesota now on vacation, and it feels so much like home for me. I can't wait to be back here for good. But it also means I have a lot of work to do before moving out here.

For one, we will be living with a friend who has two adorable cats. One is pretty much like Inky, he is large, rock-like, and will stand up to dogs. He won't be an issue. His name is also Topham, like the train from Thomas the tank engine. Then there is Nado (Fortunado), who is tiny, squirrel like, and has never met a dog before. He is what I am worried about, because even though Frodo won't hurt a cat, he will chase a running cat and I don't want Nado to have to be scared of him.

I plan on tethering for quite a while, not only for the sake of the cats, but because I need to put a kibosh on the counter surfing and Frodo wanting to be on the couch. He tends to show more resource guarding behaviors toward other animals while on the couch, so when we move he is not allowed on any furniture except for my bed.

We will also be beefing up our crate work (and buying the biggest crate I can find) so that he can be crated when I am gone. This shouldn't be too bad, my biggest worry is that he will bark when Giuseppe (roomie/house owner) is home and I am gone, simply because he can hear someone in the house.

I'm also not looking forward to learning a new neighborhood, where I live now I know what houses have dogs, I know where loose dogs are most likely to be, and I am going to have to re-learn all of that at the new place. Giuseppe told me that he took a walk around the neighborhood and at one house there was a bulldog that was slamming itself against the window to try and get to him, and he wasn't even in their yard or anything, just walking on the sidewalk. Issues like that worry me. I will definitely be investing in some doggy mace and walking with something I can fend dogs off with for a while.

Overall though, I am excited to be back in the Twin Cities and can't wait to call it home again. With my dog this time. He is going to HATE the winter, but he will live. The basement of the house is also going to make a perfect training area, it is huge and open and you can stand upright. I have a feeling we will be doing a lot of Nosework this winter to keep me sane. Anybody have any suggestions for matted flooring that it inexpensive that I could put down? I think it is just hardwood or something down there now. I go and look at the place tomorrow and will know better then.

It was basically an overview of what a six week course in nosework would be. We started with just introducing the dogs to food in boxes and having them find the food box (which had free food in it so they could self-reward) from a bunch of boxes. Added more boxes. Added other items and elements like cones and brooms and umbrellas and a bunch of different stuff that we could hide the food in. Then took away the boxes and only did hides in the other items. Moved from self-rewarding to hiding tupperware with holes in the top or bait bags so that the handler had to reward.

Frodo did really well. He isn't quite scenting or really using his nose as much as he is just moving from item to item in order to find the food, but I think he was having a good time. There were some dogs there that really just seemed to *get it* from the very beginning. I think it will just take time.

His behavior was exemplary! At the beginning he barked a bit in the crate but once he settled in I was able to go to the bathroom, stand up at the ring gates, and even go outside for a car demo without him throwing a fit! He even fell asleep and I had to wake him up in order to do our last run. Part of it was definitely the setup, I didn't see two dogs meet the whole day I don't think. That's Silke for you though, and one of the reasons I love working with her so much.

I am really hoping that within the next few weeks we can get a class going with the nosework. I want to get started! I am going to do some at my house but really it is so small that getting a lot of stuff to work with is going to be difficult. If Silke doesn't have anything soon I am going to see if I can use the doggy daycare after hours for some practice.

Overall it was a great day and we both came home and took a very long nap!

(Video will be in the next post.)

The other night my little sister had a friend over and Frodo grabbed his deer antler and settled down to chew near the computer where they were sitting. They got a little wound up and louder and my sister's friend (who has been over before and who Frodo knows and is fine with) reached out like she was going to pet Frodo (who was out of reach anyway) and he got up and moved his antler willingly into the crate to chew! Which is awesome since he hasn't exactly been thrilled about being in there for the protocol or just in general, he would rather be out and about.

I know it might not be the intended result of the protocol (which I *think* is to make them feel calm in general when distractions are around, as opposed to in one specific spot), but you won't find me complaining!

That is really the only input that I have for now, but Frodo and I have our K9 Nosework seminar this Saturday so we can really see how he is doing with the crate! Plus I am just so excited to finally let him use his nose for a PURPOSE!

On the whole though I feel as though Frodo is backsliding. We have been seeing less dogs out on walks and he is seemingly more reactive though there is nothing I can pinpoint that I am doing differently. Maybe he is just feeling more alive in the cooler weather?

More than the dog reactivity, he also seems to be acting worse around people as well. Which to me is more worrisome than other dogs. Now, Frodo has never bitten or gone beyond barking at people, though he has had many opportunities, but I definitely don't want to put him in a position where he feels as though he needs to even go as far as barking.

In general he has seemed much more alert on our walks and as though he is just waiting for something or someone to come along and then he reacts now and will think about whether he should have at a later time. It is frustrating when he has come so far and I cannot seem to get us back on track.

That's about all I have on this front right now. Other than that for my next dog I want a dog that loves absolutely every human ever. At this point dog reactivity seems so much easier to deal with!