party time!

I went to a party last night, and after awhile, I brought the dogs out of the car. There was a keg outside, so people were hanging out in the misty cold yard. The dogs ran around and played, and eventually Mona snapped at Daphne (who always hassles her to play) so I let Mona go back to the car. Daphne came back to the party. We eventually moved inside, where she would stay on the area rug and strain to visit people without letting her back legs off the rug. She did get all 4 paws off the rug in order to reach the cat food once. The woman who lives there is interested in having her. Her partner didn't display a lot of good sense in trying to relate to Daf. He picked up both her front paws as she tried to duck back and looked away. Later he was picking her up or trying to get her on his lap. I do that, but somehow when you grab her from the back end, she flops over onto my lap. She was struggling. So I don't know how comfortable I would be with them having her. Maybe they could dog sit while I am traveling, if she does not have a new home by then.

I thought it was good experience to be at the party. She ran around the yard and socialized with everyone. She was very wiggly the whole night, and turned out to be a great party dog. I told her once not to eat the cat food and I didn't see her go for it again. As I was trying to leave, I was delayed by all the Daphne goodbyes. She was a real hit.

Off leash area

I took the dogs to the off leash area last night, and enjoyed the dramatic sky's last rays of sun before it set at 8:30 pm. The whole city was rainy, but the dog park had a spot of bright sun and strong wind. I love that it is set on a peninsula on the lake. I am struck by the beautiful contrast of clouds-- white fluffy ones lit but the sun and dark, heavy ones on every horizon. Every time I have been there recently it has been overly crowded, but last night the rain had kept most people away.

Anyway, Daphne has excellent social skills with other dogs at the park. A cattle dog mix had some stern words for her, out of the blue, and she was appropriately respectful and took a hike. She takes an interest in the herding breeds because she grew up with Mona. They don't always appreciate the bully breed energy, but she is very respectful. One time she had a blast running with two border collies who were chasing a ball. They didn't pay any attention to her, but a dominant dog full of attitude like a cattle dog will sometimes want to tell her in advance, no BS. There was also a grown yellow lab puppy who was both rambunctious and insecure who wanted to play with Mona and Daphne. He was larger than both my girls, and clearly still learning how to approach dogs. I forgot what Daphne did exactly, but it conveyed interest in playing as well as some aloof dominance. He approached Mona and she snapped at him. She has no time for playing with puppies. So he went back to Daphne and they romped a bit. I was impressed with how Daphne set the tone with him, and managed the interaction well.

I also saw some progress on puddle-drinking. I make the dogs drink. I don't suggest others try it because it takes a lot (LOT) of patience. Daphne used to almost prefer drinking from puddles and runoff surrounding the dog bowls. I lean over her yelling, "No drinking!" (ready to move her if she does not comply) when she starts to drink from any source other than a dog bowl. I always did this with Mona, but after the leptospirosis scare last year, I am even more emphatic about it. I tell the dogs to "Get a drink." I tell Daphne in particular to "drink from the dog bowl" or "Drink some water from the dish." So, she is learning the vocabulary of dog bowl and dog dish.

When Mona was a puppy, she picked all this up very fast. I would tell her to drink and then wait for her. She still sometimes defies me, which can take up a lot of time. You really cannot make a horse drink, physically. But you can wait and not let anything happen until the dog at least takes a token lick. So most times, Mona just drinks when I tell her to. What happens is they don't think they need water, but then they have a little and notice how good it was. Then they drink a lot more. I also like to make sure they drink along the way so they don't gorge themselves at the end and then feel sick or vomit it up. Conditioning for this kind of behaviour promotes the dog to take care of itself without a lot of ongoing intervention. That way, I can trust the dog with other people who may not know not to let them drink from puddles.

Doubts about the cable run

I am observing signs of stress and other behaviour that indicates the cable run is a bad idea. I guess I knew it would be but I wanted to try it. When I let Daphne off the cable, after a half hour or less, she is frantic and overly needy. The ingratiating behaviour indicates that she may feel she is being punished. She seem okay when both dogs are out there, but Mona ends up sitting by the door and Daphne is alone. She has relaxed and sniffs around, using the area available to her on the cable, but there are a few aspects that a chain link kennel would provide that the cable trolley does not.

A dog needs to feel safe and protected in order to relax. They need to be "off duty" in order to not create problems. A chain link kennel may be okay with a dog house inside it. They dog has no choices and no responsibility. No call to guard anything or alert anyone. A crate is excellent because the dog can do nothing but go to sleep, and they sleep quite well. Passing an 8 hour day sleeping is no problem at all as long as they have activities at other times. But outside dogs
tend to take responsibility for guarding or escaping. Back yard dogs will develop barking and/or digging habits that do not go away. That is why I have been so careful about putting Daphne on the cable. It works as long as she is actively playing, but when she wants to lie down and sleep, she has no clear "off duty" place to go. I am not sure a dog house (or dogloo) would do the trick. Usually a dog has to have no choice but to lie in the crate, or else it will go seek out activity. Yesterday when she was tired of being on the cable, she started barking obnoxiously. I had to come out and spray her with bitter apple. As I left, she whined so I sprayed her again. The third time she was quiet, and I let her off the cable.

Yesterday I felt that I cannot keep her. She is too big and I just don't have the energy for it anymore. Maybe I will find the energy to interact with potential owners again. I was awfully burned out after the last roller coaster with a potential owner. Kayleigh loves her, and so do I, but she needs a best friend. She still jumps on Mona and interferes in my relationship with Mona. I know Daphne can spend more time in the crate, but meeting the needs of two dogs
separately is just more time and logistics than I can manage right now. I gave the cable run a try (to prevent her from chasing chickens and jumping on the door to be let back inside) but it only works when others are out there.

Tie out report

Daphne did not take long to adjust to the cable. She mostly lays under the tree when she is clipped out there. I watch from the house. When Mona is out there, she sniffs around, but when Mona lays out of sight, Daphne lays down and waits. I went out to take her off the line and she was very excited. She orbited around with a toy in her mouth and I chased her. She doesn't always play that way, so it is a good way to get some of that puppy energy out. She's very cute, moving her tail away from me as she passes by. Half way through I called her to me, and waited. she came to visit, and we played a bit more after that. I like to be very clear that we are playing, and make sure there is not a true element of fear when I am chasing her and razzing her up.

Of course, she came in, drank water, and proceeded to hack it up onto the carpet, so out she went again. Now they are both inside and resting quietly.

Spending some time on the cable changes the way Daphne uses her time out there off the leash. She seems disinterested in the chickens, so that is an improvement. So far there is no real wear pattern on the grass. I figure as she spends more time out there and has a chance to get bored, she'll come up with new things to do.

My dogs

I posted a photo of Mona, my border collie, keeping track of Blackie, the chicken that thinks it is a dog. Blackie comes when I call the dogs and tries to follow them into the house. She once stood up to Mona, giving her a directed flap: wings spread, lunging. I reinforced that and told Mona to back off. Every once in awhile, Mona will get a big grin on her face and stalk and pounce at the chickens. She loves to make them flap. Immediately she looks away and comes over looking guilty, but not sorry. She just likes to raise a flap.

We have another dog right now, Daphne. Little Dafodil. She is a pit bull mix with the softest heart, afraid of linoleum floors. We call her Daffy, too. After raising a border collie, Daphne was a little dense (in more ways than one). Actually, the most dangerous thing about her is the potential for being bonked by her hard, hard head. Her tail is thick and meaty, and will make your leg sore when she wags her tail and it hits you. Otherwise, she's not that big. Just 50 pounds or so.I took Daphne home from the Off Leash Area when she was 11 weeks old. A man was giving her away, along with 8 siblings. I could tell what a great dog she was, with symmetrical features, beautiful markings, a sound physique, and young enough to not have any problems yet. I picked the smallest of the litter, the one that was most wiggly and lickey like a border collie. I figured I would spay her, train her and find her a new home. We wavered back and forth on that, but now I seem to have found a suitable new home for her. I was able to see Daphne's parents because I took a woman to go get one of the other pups. The sire was a huge, friendly, light brown brindle pit bull who was tethered in the back yard. The dam was a large black vicious herding mix. Obviously she was not being treated too well. Daphne displays some herding instinct, crouching down to stalk dogs she is playing with. Being raised by a border collie, she has a lot more respect for personal space than most pit mixes. I have kept on top of her indoors training, making sure she does not step on toes or beg at the table. I used to a do a lot of training with her (stays, recall, etc) but since I was laid off, I can't justify the time spent on her. I haven't been keeping up on Mona's training either. But Daphne has a solid foundation of conditioning, and I am eager to help a new owner pick up the tricks I use and the language Daf knows. She's a great dog and I hope to keep in touch with her.

I posted some ads mentioning a dog-share idea. I got flamed a bit, but also had a radio interview as a result. One woman told me it was unhealthy for the dog. I disagree. My experience is that dogs are flexible, just like people. Some kids grow up and do just fine with two homes and different rules at mom and dad's houses. Similarly, I find that the dogs we once lived with as roommates are happy to come stay with us when their owners are out of town. My ex husband's dog still fits right into the pack even though we only see him occasionally. It is like extended family. You pick up right where you left off, and so long as there is stability in the primary relationship, the dog is not at all confused.

In fact, When my ex went to live in Chehalis and could not take his dog, I had the dog for a few months. My ex lamented that he didn't seem like his dog anymore. But when he got a place where he could have his dog, the transition went seamlessly. Now the dog (Tucker) still obeys me but looks primarily to his owner even when they are here for the weekend. we have an extended pack, and I enjoy providing support for responsible owners. Everyone needs a break sometimes, and some freedom to travel.

Here is a photos of all three dogs taken in April. You can see Mona is aloof and busy while Daphne and Tucker play together. Tucker is amazingly beautiful and soft, with excellent manners. I call him our friendly dog. Total chick magnet.