Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

If I could talk to the animals…(Day One Hundred and Seventeen)

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Vernon had a Health Fair today.  I started out at the table for the Vernon Trails system and had a lovely discussion with the Scott and a lovely older woman.  I expressed my desire for dog friendly trails where my sweeties could run off leash. 🙂

 I was excited to attend the fair as there were a number of workshops I wanted to participate in.  One of these workshops was “Creating a Bridge Between People and Animal” by Deborah Ravenwood.  If you haven’t guessed it; the workshop was about communicating with your animals.  By taking this workshop I discovered that a lot of the communication is really just speaking to your pet and trying to envision communicating your message.

When I got home I had a few chores to take care of before I could leave to take the dogs on their walk.  One of the tasks was cutting up and packaging the dogs raw meat for the week, naturally I had two very interested onlookers.  Sampson is very good (of course) and usually lies somewhere in the kitchen or right outside, Delilah on the other hand likes to be right at my heels; licking the floors and cabinets and waiting for me to drop something.  I decided I would try my new-found communications skills.

I walked Delilah over to the edge of the kitchen and said, “Delilah, I promise if you sit here until I am finished, I will let you lick the spoon.”  Then I walked back to the task at hand.  Five minutes later, she was STILL sitting there!  I was finished and so I let her lick the spoon. OMG!

I tried this again while I was doing dishes.  I brought her to the same spot and said, “Delilah if you sit here until I am done with the dishes, I will give you a cookie.”  She sat for a minute and then moved over into the spot that Sampson usually occupies, but she sat until I was done.  (Except for a quick relapse when I opened the cabinet to throw out the garbage, she rose and I said, “AICK” and she sat back down.)

Delilah sitting and waiting for her cookie.

She sat until I was done and then I gave her three green beans!  Of course when I left the kitchen she went in and licked the floor, cabinets and oven.

Delilah Stone…Role Model (Day One Hundred and Sixteen)

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Today after agility class I was chatting with Ann (who does all  the intakes for  Labs 4 Rescue organization).  Ann is very complimentary about Delilah and what a good dog she is.  Today Ann said, “Delilah would be a good role model for any rescue organization.”  I take that on behalf of Delilah and our entire family as one of the highest compliments I could ever receive about Delilah.

I am all for encouraging people to rescue animals, but as I was discussing with Ann, rescuing is not always easy.  When you look at Delilah and see the amazing dog she has become, you are looking many hours of blood, sweat and tears (mostly my tears!) 🙂

You don’t always get their history, the dog may have behavioral issues that are very steeply set in their past life.   Some dogs will be able to put their pasts behind them and move on, while others may always carry their issues with them.  The best we can do is to try to work around those issues so the dog “wins.”  For instance, if you have a counter surfer (someone who likes to take food off the counter) you may never break them of this habit, the trick is to not leave anything out on the counter that the great Kahuna can reach.  When you leave something reachable out on the counter; you are setting your dog up to fail. 

When we are running agility, even if we haven’t done as well as I think we can, I need to end my run with a task that Delilah performs well.  Then I reward her.  She ends her session on a positive note and feels like she has won.

Delilah on the See Saw

 Delilah isn’t the only one who has won, we have a wonderful dog that would be an awesome role model for any rescue group.

Spring Fever…Day One Hundred and Fourteen

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It was another eventful evening at obedience class tonight.  I went without the dogs and am I ever grateful that I did.    Since we have been taking up to park, I think they are ok with exercise, but I wanted to go to help out with anyone that might help.  (I’m entertaining the idea of becoming a dog trainer.)

It seems like all the dogs are on edge, waiting for some nicer weather so they can go out and release some energy, since that isn’t happening some of them are trying to release their energy in class.  One little black lab tried to punk poor Mac (a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix);  Mac has been attacked before so naturally he is a little wary, when the dog came at him Mac went right back at him.  Mac got away from his owner and then Gunner (a Giant Schnauzer) took off and his mom ended up on the floor with a scraped and bruised wrist.  As Mac and Gunner lunged (here I am sitting on sidelines observing it all) I saw about five or six dogs rise as well.  This is what Sara calls a “Pack Mentality.”   Thankfully it was over in less than a minute, but still it left me thankful that both my dogs were home.  Miss Delilah certainly would have wanted to add her two cents to the mix.

Just as we get tired of the weather that constricts us from our regular routines, so too must our dogs.  The reason I really backed off walking them was because of the ice (and cold) but I have ski pants and I need to remember that and use them if needed.  I have found a renewed enjoyment in hiking with Chet, Sampson and Delilah, even if it’s only on the same trails around our house.

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