the hidden place and the other time

We've done a lot of training stuff with Boone and Pip; the approach those who've taught us has been most traditional positive/aversive training, with corrections when needed and food and praise and affection as rewards. This mostly works. However, Boone turns out to be a very reactive dog. He overreacts to certain stimuli--in his case, it's people at the door, dogs when he's on leash and can't go greet them, and a few other things.

In the case of other dogs, it's a very WOO HOO I LOSE MY MIND! reaction. He wants so badly to rush over and greet the other dog that he ends up lunging, barking, and making very weird noises. Speaking to him doesn't distract him, neither does correcting him. He is in OMG WANT headspace so deeply that he literally doesn't see, hear, or smell anything else. As soon as he's allowed to greet the other dog, (or if I pick him up and turn him so he can't see the other dog) he snaps back into his normal headspace.

This calls for a different approach. I've been doing a lot of reading, and everything I've seen has recommended clicker training for dogs who need to learn self-control and focus. Boone literally needs to learn how to control his unmanageable reactions, and for that he needs to learn alternate associations and behaviors to go along with the sight of other dogs. He needs to learn to look at another dog and then break the stare, since the escalating stare is the thing that allows him to go into the "lost my mind" headspace.

So the first game we are playing is called Yummy Clicker, which is the "loading" technique to create an association between the sound of the clicker and a high-value treat. It's worked startlingly well--once I have the clicker in my hand, Boone's attention is on me and only me for several minutes, even if I don't use it. He is convinced that the clicker dispenses treats. This means I can use the sound of the clicker to mark behavior I want to reinforce.

So the next phase is teaching him to target, or touch an object or a human hand with his nose. After that, we get to start learning some games like Look At That!, There's A Dog In My Face (and There's A Human/Child/Cat In My Face), and I Have Arrived In A Limousine (which is all about being calm after getting out of the car).

I'm hoping that this will help him learn to focus, and help us be able to walk around other dogs a lot better. Might take us a few months, but we'll get there.

Other than that we have a couple of strange dogs. :)

Got my labs back from my most recent visit to my GP; I don't know when they started doing Vitamin D levels on everyone, but they checked mine and it was way, way low. I'd heard good things about Vitamin D supplementation, but figured it wasn't anything I needed really to worry about; come to find out that the symptoms of not having enough of it in your system are depression, mood swings, fatigue, sleep difficulties, and weight gain...all of which except the depression I've been having. Basically, it's what I tend to call Failure To Cope syndrome.

So it was off to the supplement store for Vitamin D for me, and I'm on a prescription dose once weekly and well as another dose daily for the next little while.

Note to locals: about 85% of us have very low vitamin D levels. Get yours checked.

Under the nice cut is a video of Boone and one of his weird habits: meowing at the cats. Trying to meow, anyway. It is short, but you do need sound.

( Learning a second language is an ambitious project for a dog. )

For the party the other night, we got some balloons. These are Mylar balloons, tied to ribbons with plastic weights at the end to keep them from floating off. Boone likes them--he enjoys picking up the weight and running around with the balloon floating behind him. It's extremely cute.

So I was making breakfast this morning, and Boone was playing with the balloon. (Pip was off eviscerating Yet Another Toy.) I wasn't paying much attention to what he was doing, other than occasionally making sure he wasn't attempting to eat the ribbon.

I'm finishing up with the eggs when I start hearing an odd noise, sort of a metallic rustling. I look around, then turn--and there is a purple metallic balloon right at nose level. It bops me gently on the cheek.

I manage to keep from shrieking by only a little and then burst into gales of laughter. Boone had brought the balloon over into the kitchen and dropped it behind me. The metallic noise was it brushing against my sweater.

Boone looked very pleased with himself.

Boone has been feeling under the weather for the last few days. He pretty much didn't eat this weekend, though he looked perfectly energetic and in fact spent an hour and a half on Saturday running around like a nut with a bunch of other dogs, and Sunday we went to another dog park and then for a three-mile walk.

I left Pip at home for Sunday's dog park adventure, because this was a new one and according to the Web site the entrances weren't gated. Pip, for all of her wonderful qualities, has kind of an issue with coming when called. As in, she doesn't unless she feels like it, and if there's something more interesting where she is (a stick, a ball, cat poop, air molecules), she doesn't feel like it.

We're working on it.

It turns out that the park would have been fine for Pip, since the entrances were pretty far away from the big open area all the dogs were in. And evidently, when we left without her, it was sob sob oh the misery they left me here BY MYSELF I'm so loooooooooonely! for a half hour. And when she was let out of the crate, the first thing she did was to run to the front window to make sure that Boone and I weren't hanging out in the front yard, just to fool her.

And Boone, at the dog park, ran around and sniffed and looked a bit intimidated by the huge romping dogs. In other words, he was acting perfectly normal. Sometimes he doesn't really eat for a couple of days; this is a dog who will never be fat, because he turns his nose up at food unless he's actually hungry. So we didn't worry about it much.

Then came Monday, and he was just...droopy. Ears lower than usual. Tail carried a bit low instead of curled over his back. Not coming to lick my legs when I got out of the shower. Pip said, Play with me! and he said Sorry, not feeling like it today. Which was worrisome enough, but when yesterday came and he was so droopy he was looking almost Phalene-like, it was time for a visit to the vet.

The vet poked and prodded him, tried to give him some of the Stinkiest Food In The World (Boone actually turned his back on the stinky food, but he's like that sometimes, doesn't accept food from strangers), and xrayed him. He thought there might be a blockage, and there was a suspicious area on the xray, but it was by no means conclusive.  And he was full of poop.  So he had been eating something.

This is hopefully the only time in this dog's life that I will be able to say to him, "I have SCIENTIFIC PROOF that you have to poop, dog!"

So I've been feeding him this laxative/lubricant stuff, and last night he ran around the back yard and did his thing, and this morning he's a lot perkier.  I had to coax him over, but he did come over and lick my legs after my shower.  And he had some breakfast, though he rooted around under the (expensive, good for him, made of freaking VENISON) canned food to eat the kibble underneath.  The dog, apparently, was constipated.  And doesn't really like his new food.

Argh.

Well, at least it wasn't serious.

I've been playing with Photoshop, learning how to get the sorts of pictures I want with digital wizardry, and this portrait of Boone really benefited from the treatment, I think.

We were on our way to the Meetup today, waiting for Laura to come back with coffee. He's such a pretty dog.

Also, I got a wireless shutter remote today! I am totally squeeing all over the place about this, I've wanted one since I got my big camera.

Back to playing with Photoshop!

SO pleased with the hounds right now. I just went for a walk with both of them, implemented Brilliant Idea (two leashes the same length, Humans Are Unstable lessons), and I suddenly had two dogs, both walking on loose leashes, with the least amount of rioting necessary, in a reasonable approximation of heel. (Boone a tiny bit ahead, Pip a bit behind.) They did almost everything right, including aforementioned loose leashes and minimum of rioting, as well as sitting before crossing roads. So, so pleased. Makes up for this morning's Puppy Riot in a big way. We even passed Big Barky Police Dog's yard without much fuss.

Very happy with puppies now. I have an errand to run, and they'll get to run around afterwards and then they and I will have a shower. Right now, I'm letting them run around the backyard and get filthy, because they deserve it.

One seven-pound girl puppy + one twelve-pound boy puppy + a day's worth of rain + a mad dash inside like a speeding bullet + Kris sitting on the couch = HI LADY WE GET YOU ALL WET NOWS!

However, I managed to teach Pip that sitting down gets you treats, and I think she's learning her name.

This picture was taken last night after they had both sacked out in my office. Right now, it's World Puppy Federation Wrestling behind me.

Taken just now as Boone was trying to get me to come play with him. He is now sacked out on his pillow, sleeping.

There's a couple more Boone pictures on my photostream.

Boone and I went for a hike on Tiger Mountain (he was so good!) and then we went to a small dog meetup, where there were other dogs to play with. Photos from both are on my photostream.