Heart Like a Dog

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

It's Been A Great Monday!

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Last Thursday Delilah and I did a drop-in agility class.

I was  a little disappointed with our performance.  Truthfully it has been a while since we did agility on a regular basis, which may be why Delilah seemed like she was too intent on the treats instead of on me. She would dart off course and snarf around to see if the dog before her had left anything.

I’ve been thinking I’d like to try different activities with Delilah to find something that really motivates her and that might help us get more in sync.

I heard of this new dog sport called Treibball, it is sort of like soccer for dogs.  I was checking their website out to see if there was a facility near us and as luck would have it, there is one about 20 minutes away.  I called last Friday and left a message requesting a phone call to get a few questions answered.

This morning I had a phone call from the person in charge of Pet Education and Therapy, we spoke for over half an hour.  I started off with asking if they accepted titres and they do!!

I then went on to explain the issues I’ve been having with Delilah and the training we have already completed and how I am looking for a new sport to help us develop a deep bond.

We talked about Treibball but after hearing that Delilah doesn’t really care much for fetching a ball, Audrey thought that Nosework might be a better fit for her.  Unfortunately there are no Nosework classes currently scheduled but Audrey suggested I sign up for the newsletter which will notify me when the class is scheduled.

I told Audrey how food motivated Delilah is and she recommended we start with an Intermediate Training class which is a positive reinforcement class designed to help wean the dogs off the treats.

Audrey says she loves working with labs because most owners are amazed when she can get their dog to run down the center of the room and not eat the treats.  I laughed at that because it will be certainly a day to be circled on the calendar when Delilah passes up a treat!

The kicker is that since I don’t vaccinate for Kennel Cough she doesn’t recommend we take the class offered at the Doggie Daycare, so we need to wait for the next Intermediate Class offered at the other facility, which isn’t until July 10th.

I’m really OK with waiting because Delilah’s annual check up is scheduled for June 6th, which gives me plenty of time to get the titre results and vaccinate if needed.

Positive things are happening at Casa de Stone, I’m quite excited for Delilah to learn Nosework and hope we can get good enough to bring Nosework to the Mellow Mutt.

How was your Monday?  Anything exciting to share?

It Takes A Blogville To Raise A Delilah

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Sampson and Delilah go to daycare twice a week for half days.   They don’t do a lot at daycare, they like to lie around and sleep (much like they do at home) and occasionally they get up and play with the other dogs or interact with Sara or her mom, Sue.

Hubby and I know this, which is why we dropped them to half days.  I feel that even though they lie around much of the day they are stimulated more by the comings and goings at The Mellow Mutt then they would be by sleeping their day away on our couch.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned this here, but Delilah has issues with dogs behind fences.  In the case of daycare it is dogs in crates or dogs on the other side of certain gates.

The Mellow Mutt is set up as such:

(I hope you can get the idea from this ‘drawing’.)

The drawing is not to scale, so along the right wall of where it says “fenced area” there are crates.  These are mostly used for the grooming dogs but sometimes someone needs a time out or certain dogs just like to sleep there.

When I drop Delilah off I have to make certain there are no dogs in the fenced area or in a crate with the door shut, if there are she will charge up to the crated dog, and bark like a lunatic, baring her teeth and snarling.  To say this is disturbing to me is an understatement.  To manage this I just make sure that she remains on leash and is guided through to where she needs to be.

Lately she has continued this behavior at the gate. Which brings us up to Friday.

When I picked them up on Friday a man was coming in with his big yellow lab, Tyson.  Dianne (one of the groomers) had to hold Delilah back as Tyson went through the fence, once he was through she was fine.  Sara clipped her on leash and handed her out to me.  I keep her on a fairly short leash in the retail area because she likes to shoplift shop.

Typically I’ll stand there chatting for a few minutes before I leave, which is what I did on Friday.

While I was standing there, Tyson came up to the gate and Delilah charged him.  I was so caught off-guard that I reacted poorly.  I yanked her and I pushed her down and told her NO! ( I’m not proud of this, but if I’m to help her overcome her issues I need to be honest with myself and with you on how I handled this.)  We left almost immediately after.

Yesterday while working the Labs 4 Rescue adoption event, I had the opportunity to really sit down with Sara and discuss Delilah.  I found out that when Delilah went at Tyson on Friday, she actually bit him through the gate.  Sara said he had a puncture in his lip and two teeth scratches on his face.

I feel horrible.  I offered to pay for any vet bill but Sara says the owner was ok with it.  Really?  (I wouldn’t be, but that is a topic for a different post.)

I told Sara that I don’t think me pushing Delilah down is the proper way to deal with this issue and I don’t believe it helps Delilah with whatever is bothering/scaring her about the fence/gate.

Since Delilah is like the biggest Alpha female I’ve ever heard/seen, Sara thinks she is disciplining the other dogs at the gate.  Sara thinks that Delilah thinks she owns the place and it is her responsibility to monitor it.

We decided it’s in Delilah’s best interest to not go to daycare for a week or so and see if that doesn’t help alleviate the issue.  I’m not really sure a break will work but I’m willing to give it a shot.

I’m anxious to hear what you think about this?  Have you heard of dogs with this issue?  Have you heard of any solutions that work?

I have no problem keeping Delilah permanently out of daycare, but I know Sampson enjoys going and once again it would be Sampson who misses out on something he enjoys because I just can’t get a handle on Delilah.

Whadda ya say, Blogville?  How would you help this dog?

Lab Adoption Event

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Today I was so very privileged to assist at a Labs 4 Rescue Adoption event, held at our very own training center, The Mellow Mutt.

Labs 4 Rescue and The Mellow Mutt did an incredible job of advertising the event and we had a HUGE turnout.

Sara had set up some of the agility equipment just in case anyone wanted to work with a dog.  I found that most of the foster parents really hung onto their dogs though. 🙂  I mentioned to Ann after that I would have liked to see the dogs off leash running around and checking people out.  The room is a great size for it and with the gates and fencing I think we could keep the dogs safe.

Having never participated in an adoption event before I guess I really didn’t give much thought to how it would work.

A couple of people looking for companions for their dogs actually brought their own dogs.  This is not usually advised, but we figured out a way to work with it.   The Mellow Mutt has two rooms, so we were able to keep the potential adoptees in one room, and used the other room to introduce a couple of dogs.

It didn’t dawn on me that people wouldn’t actually be able to take dogs home with them today.  I completely forgot about the application process and the required home visit.

We had one lady that tried really hard to take a dog home today.  She ended up turning a lot of people off with her pushiness.  So much so that I volunteered to do her home visit. 🙂 I’ll just let you guess how that one would turn out.

Since I’m not officially with the rescue, there wasn’t a whole lot I could do, but I did chat up people and try to encourage them towards certain dogs.

I was really worried about one little labbie in particular, she was a little chocolate girl named Hazel.

Hazel, photo courtesy of Petfinder.com

They say Hazel is four, but she already has some white around her chin.  She gets along with some dogs, but not all.  She does not like cats and they do not recommend she go to a home with small children. Hazel was in a house with small children that were not taught the proper way to behave with a dog.

One of the Labs 4 Rescue volunteers had Hazel in the front room away from the other dogs.   She is such a beautiful girl and so wonderfully sweet, but I could see the worry in her eyes.  My heart was heavy because I thought, “They’re never going to be able to place a reactive dog.”  I spent time with Hazel and could tell what a sweetheart she was and towards the end of the event, a family came in looking for a dog.  As they exited the large room I asked the teenage daughter which dogs she was interested in, she mentioned two and one of them was Hazel.  I got super excited and the Labs 4 Rescue volunteer asked if they wanted to take her for a walk and they did!  I have such hope in my heart that Hazel has found her forever home.

Hubby and I had discussed the event before hand and we were both on the same page about me bringing another dog into the pack.  We agreed it is not the right time for us, but if could have, Hazel would have been the one. 🙂

I did take some pictures but there were so many dogs I can’t remember all their names, so I’ll just put up the ones I do remember!

Sara really fell in love with Cozie.

Cozie is a yellow lab about 5 years old.  Ann said she is having a hard time finding a home for Cozie.  About a half hour before the event ended a couple of kids in their late teens or early twenties came in.  Cozie was the first one they saw and Cozie fell hard for the girl.  As they were leaving the girl said just last night her mom had mentioned they needed a dog and they just happened to be driving by and saw the sign.  They thought Cozie would be perfect.  I told them to go home and fill out the paperwork. 😉

I don’t think there was a dog there today that someone didn’t express an interest in, even the black ones. 🙂  I’ve asked Ann to let me know how many applications they received for the dogs that were at the adoption event today and I will let you know.

This is Maurice, he was one of the dogs the pushy lady was interested in. He is about 2 years old and an awesome dog.

 

Trina, the only puppy there. I’m not sure how old she is. The pushy lady was interested in Trina too.

 

Missy, about 6 years old. Her foster mom says she’s awesome and easy-going.

 

Mea, what a sweet girl. I think she was between two and three years old. She is being fostered with a snarky GSD and she is holding her own.

Can you imagine if all the dogs at the event found their forever homes today?

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