Photographing a BIG Boy

This is Hercules he is a Dogo Argentino. I really know nothing about this breed other than Hercules is a giant gooey marshmallow of a boy!

You want me to kiss what...

I shook the drool off, I promise.

Wish I may, wish I might get my princely wish tonight!

Poo Eater

You'd never suspect a poo eater.

Poo eater, caca eater, caca mouth, or poopy mouth however you want to write or say it I have a doo doo eater. Lucee that sweet faced puppy eats her poo.

I’ve done all the standard things to discourage her from eating it. You know the frantic, “Nooooo! Don’t eat that…” Trying to body block the fresh poo only to step right into the warm fresh mess, I’ve even fed her pineapple because it supposedly makes the poo smell or taste icky, doesn’t poo already taste icky. Apparently, Lucee found her doo more appetizing and she ate with gusto! Then I moved onto herbs. I fed her herbs that should have helped deter the eating but again, I think they made the poo more aromatic and savory. Finally, I tried a medication from my vet to no avail!

I started to think I was going to have to live with a poo eater. YUCK! Then it hit me, and it shouldn’t have taken me so long to think of this…Training! I could train her to leave her poo alone, all I need to do (ha, ha) is find something she values more highly than her doo doo and I can proceed to train an impeccable off. So, I switched gears, while sits and downs are important, I’ve decided to elevate the “Off” command to the same level as “Stay” since the whole poo thing grosses me out.

Training the “Off” command has also done wonders for her “fangness” (her mouthy/biting) I started by using the highest value food treat to her fresh boiled chicken and held it in my closed fist close to her nose. I let her get a good sniff going and then I would say, “Off” and the moment she removed her nose from my hand I said, “Yes” or used my clicker to mark the behavior. Then I would say, “Take it” and click or say “Yes” when she took the chicken from my hand. After five to ten minutes, I would stick my chicken smelly hand out for her to nose and she wasn’t even engaging, she turned her head or laid herself down. And by the end of the day after a few more five to ten minute sessions I hold the chicken on the palm of my hand and when I’d call her to me she would come, sit and look to me for direction. She sat for two minutes without paying attention to the chicken on my open hand before I told her to “take it.”

Lucee & Josie after some running.

As of today I can put a high value item like the chicken on the floor call Lucee to me, tell her off if she shows any interest and she leaves it and proceeds to me. I’m close to 100% indoors, nearly 50% outdoors, so if she poops twice in a day she’s only eating one! Not bad for one week of intensive training of one of the hardest headed puppies I’ve ever owned. Another thing I’ve done is upped her exercise, the idea being that she’ll be too tired to eat her poo.

It’s all a work in progress and while the poo eating is gross to me, it is quite natural for her. While she is with me, in the yard, there will be a no poo eating rule and I am cleaning the yard at least once a day. And for those of you wondering I do not feed her a grocery store brand food. We feed a completely natural diet.

I’m shooting for close to 100% with off outdoors by the end of next week.

Until next time, Woof!

Kibbles and Bits

It’s under my fingernails, it’s in the pockets of my jeans and coats and the smell, oh the smell. While I dislike it, Lucee and Josie love it. Especially Josie, if you haven’t guessed it’s treats and I haven’t had to carry them since Josie was about 18 months. I have kibbles and bits in my all of my pockets and the smell of the tastiest treats isn’t so great. I am clicker training and it won’t last forever and if someone doesn’t understand then they’ve probably not clicker trained or trained a dog in a completely positive manner. I love the clicker in less than three weeks Lucee has mastered sit, down and a one-minute down stay. I no longer click her sits and downs and she rarely gets more than a good girl and a pat. She does her sit and downs verbally and with a hand signals. She has the verbal command for stay as well as the hand signal. I am still clicking and treating the stay. This one takes much longer to condition than the others. My goal is to have her down stay in one room while I move around the house and not move from the spot until I release her. I am up to one minute, where I walk 50 feet with my back turned, decent progress for a puppy that three weeks ago was untrained and had absolutely no manners.

Slowly she is losing her Fang nickname. The mouthing is a tougher issue; I am no longer a chew toy. All the training and learning to play games and plenty of chew toys has helped. But as with any toddler, it takes a while to truly get the point. I have found that the less I talk, raise my voice and the more I use body language the more responsive she is too me. Yesterday I didn’t say a word to her and her behavior was impeccable, she even stopped chewing on Josie. I’ve noticed that the more I or someone else tenses their body or the louder we Lucee is talked to the more amped she gets and that’s when I or the other person become the human chew toy. She’s telling me to shut up. When I relax and stop talking, she calms too.

What a teaching moment from my puppy. I’ve been teaching her manners and proper behavior for the human world and she reminds me that I also need to remember that she is a dog and I too need to learn her world. If I stay calm and firm, she listens and doesn’t shut down. When we are both calm, we have fun.

Kibbles and bits left in my pockets and under my nails is an easy price to pay for a happy, well-balanced relationship with my dog.

Until next time, Woof!

So Long, Farewell...

Cheese...

On Friday, it will be two months since my PITA Puppy Wyatt died. Now I say PITA with only love and affection. Wyatt had an annoying habit of barking or to put a positive spin on it, he liked to sing. It wasn’t all his fault that his human taught him to bark, I mean sing to go out and potty. I learned my lesson; never teach a dog to bark for anything. Aside from the singing, Wyatt was a great dog. Actually great doesn’t even begin to describe what a spectacular dog he was. He made me laugh endlessly during our games of fetch, the way he posed for photos and the way he soothed himself with his giant green or yellow plush bone. I also shed a few tears during his teenager phase but mostly he taught me patience and to stay with a task even if it is difficult. You need patience for a seven-month-old puppy pushing every boundary and rule you once thought was solid. And just when I was about to give up he’d make the connection to whatever new task we were learning. 

I see you, now come play with me.

He brought joy to my life with his never-ending puppy exuberance. While most dogs are settling down at two, Wyatt and I were gearing up for days filled with long walks, endless games of fetch and learning new tricks.  One of the best moments with him was when he made the connection of bringing the ball back for fetch. Again I was just about to give up, well I did I was walking away when he bounded up to my side and dropped the ball. He sat and didn’t move an inch until I released him to chase the ball I threw. I called him back, he came, I said, “Drop it.” He did and I threw it and so our endless days of fetch began. With that red Kong ball, I taught him not to leave my front yard even if said ball rolled in the street. I was so excited that day we learned trust and to play fetch that I called my sisters and my husband. It was just like the day my kids took their first steps and I’m sure they thought I was crazy to gush over my dog, but how could I not he was a part of my family. That was the true beginning of our beautiful relationship.

During his short seven years, he never ceased to be a PITA at home with his singing, but when we went out in public, he NEVER disappointed. He was the perfect canine good citizen. The dog-nicknamed “Quiet Wyatt” in training class (because he barked in class) was a gentleman dog in public. He was a wonderful ambassador for dogs and positive training techniques.

You finished yet?

 Wyatt rolled with whatever came our way. Whether the change came in the form of a job or when the kids left for school or the biggest change when I opened a home daycare. For three years, he happily played with the kids, stole their shoes and licked them head to toe. I couldn’t have asked for better.

Friday, February 17 it will be two months since Wyatt left my side. I still cry/tear up when I talk or even write about him. There will never be another Wyatt. He wasn’t my first dog, but he was the first puppy I raised and for all the mistakes I made he always made me look better than I was.

So, to my funny, furry doodle friend I say, Farewell- You will always sing in my heart.

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Work In Progress, That's Lucee

Lucee a.k.a. Fang, don't let the innocent look fool you.

We are a go for exercise! Thank heavens. My kids want nothing to do with the puppy A.K.A Fang because she wants to use them as a chew toy.

We finally decided on a name after going several rounds. I wanted Beckett but the youngest daughter didn’t like it at all. So we went back to my list and the first name I wrote down, Lucy. We aren’t spelling her name the traditional way we are spelling it Lucee.

Lucee will turn seven months on Friday and she is a terror. We have quite a bit of work to do before Lucee is ready to hang out with children or people outside of our home. She nips and yesterday barked at a man walking past us on the sidewalk.

I am eager to start training classed with her but I need to make sure she is parasite free, I wouldn’t want to get any other dogs sick. Right now, we are using the clicker, Kong’s, tug and her daily food to mark and reinforce the behaviors we want. My husband is handling the tugging activity and I will teach her fetch and work on her loose leash walking. Hopefully when classes start in two weeks she’ll be well on her way.

We have a long road ahead of us and hopefully the next 24 weeks of training I have enrolled in will teach me to lead her to proper family manners and eventually to Canine Good Citizen. It worked for Wyatt and have no doubt it will work for Lucee.

Until next time, Woof!