Let's try again...

July 25, 2013

I have been so bad this summer.  I have not trained the guys at all. We have been lucky to scrape by with the fundamentals, like Sit, Down, Stay.  I’m not sure if it is the heat or work or what, but we are just as lazy as can be this summer.  We have been walking a fair amount and the beasts seem to be getting more adjusted to their walking collars.  

I’ve been struggling with a good moniker for their ‘Gentle Lead’ face-harness thingy collars.  Walking Collar seems to be best for the humans and dogs to relate to, no more confusion over brand names or use.

Yellow Dog still HATES his and gets very sad when I put it on him.  I don’t think it actually hurts him, but perhaps is embarrassing or restrictive to his doggy machismo? He gets this look on his face when I approach him with his Walking Collar:

(Right, Yellow Dog does not wear a pink blanket when we walk, this is just the same look he gets...)

Pathetic right? Well don’t worry.  Once we get going he has a great time trotting around the neighborhood and peeing on just about everything.  

I finally timed our short walk and it comes out to 10 minutes.  Not the best amount of time to spend exercising, but we always play a good round of two of Go Get It before and after a Short Walking Day.

Sam continues to have issues with his little bottom.  I hope that once we get him to stop licking it the redness and swelling go away. Gross, huh? We have not gotten him a lampshade style collar to prevent licking because honestly, Yellow Dog would have a field day with that. Sam wouldn’t be able to keep a chew or fetch the Ball to save his life and I don’t think we can fairly abstain from playing with Yellow Dog.

I’m starting to think that both guys must be genetically weak; Yellow Dog has a non-healing sprain on his left front ankle from jumping out of his tree.  We’ve had to wedge a basketball into the limbs to keep him from jumping in and out. Poor guys.

It’s interesting to have two dogs when one of them needs to have a sick day. It just doesn’t work! We’ve tried isolating one dog somewhere comfy (our bed usually) in hopes that he’ll just conk out and rest but that never works.  We shouldn’t be surprised.  Those guys are brothers and they just have to be together.  So when puppy 1 gets sick, we just all try to rest as a family, usually on the lanai so nobody has a Potty accident.

Sam's Tumor

July 5, 2013

Sam is having surgery today.  Early this last week JM noticed that Sam kept licking his bottom. 

At first I attributed it to rich food.  I’d given the dogs baked salmon on Tuesday and tuna on Friday. 

However, since the licking didn’t stop JM took Sam to the vet’s.  It turns out he has a tumor.  Probably the worst words anyone can hear these days, regardless of who or what had the tumor.  It is not a growth, a skin tag, or any other kind of problem.  Just plain tumor. About the size of an eraser.  We have no idea how big it really is.  It could be wrapped around his intestines for all we know.  

I asked if we could do anything to know, like an x-ray and JM said the only thing we could do would be an MRI.  I even can’t imagine the expense or justification for getting beloved Sam an MRI. Ick. 

So, poor Sam is at the vet’s and they can’t do surgery until later today so it is likely he’ll be spending the night.  I really hate for him not be at home for something like this.  I hope they put him inside and not out with the strays and other wild beasts.  I shouldn't say such things about the other dogs stuck at the vet’s but I just really, really dislike knowing any dog is scared, groggy, and in pain.

Yellow Dog is confused but content.  I’m hoping he’ll be alright to take for a walk.  While sad and scary, this a rare opportunity for me to work with Yellow Dog without Sam’s interference.  I’d like to see what he does without his ‘brother’ capering around and distracting him.

Later that day:

Sam is home and did not have to stay overnight at the scary vet’s office! We are all relieved.

Sam is not feeling himself and is  very loopy from the anesthesia. He wants to run around, but we are just sitting quietly on the lanai so we don’t have any Potty accidents or accidentally fall of the couch or bed. 

I still don't know anything about this tumor, but the words cancer were never mentioned. I wish there were some resource out there on weird dog diseases, but so far I've come up blank.

The vet froze the tumor and it is supposed to drop off in a week or so. I hope it all goes as planned.

Poor Sam.

Kill It!

June 23 2013

When Sam plays Tug, or Kill It! as we call it in our house, he plays very nicely.  It took me forever to get Yellow Dog to play any game with us (see post ‘family play project, part 1’).  Both dogs will play Kill It, but Sam is very bossy.  He seems to want to play with just me and when Yellow Dog gets involved the growls get rougher.  I’ve made sure that each dog gets a good and fair grip on the rope-to-be-Killed, that the rules for rough stuff and biting are the same for each party.

(See Culture Clash for the origins of this tip: if you get nipped or the growls get high pitched yell OUCH! and walk away from the game.  Call both dogs away from the rope/tug toy and do a quick round of Sit, Stay, Down.  We like to have a round of To Me, Sit, Stay, To Me then Kill It! begins again)

But Sam, hands down, is the guy to play Kill It! with.

I have a theory that because Yellow Dog is a pariah dog (check out About the Dogs), he has evolved to have more devious skills.  When you eat alone, and then mostly garbage and leftovers, there isn’t much call for ripping apart huge sinewy joints as a family.  Sam, although officially of unknown origin, was bred for strength and sharing.  He has very strong jaws and a deep sense of family and teamwork. Yellow Dog is a product of sneaking meals, scaring off competition, and undoing lids, garbage cans, and other food containers without thumbs. So it should come as no surprise to me that Yellow Dog is less adept at teamwork.

Sam is not pushing out Yellow Dog when he becomes rough at Kill It.  Sam has different speeds of play.  He is gentle with me because I am In Charge.  He becomes more assertive and physical with his whole body when Yellow Dogs joins in.  It looks, on the surface, like Sam is butting Yellow Dog out of the game with his ribs, hips, and bottom, but after observation and reflection Sam seems mildly disappointed when Yellow Dog stops playing. Sam is, in a clumsy and very hard to see from human eyes way, teaching Yellow Dog how to be the victor at Kill It.  However, Yellow Dog does not see the point in winning Kill It.

The point of winning Kill It is the victory lap, with tail held high, followed by another round of, yes, you guessed it--Kill It!

Sam is playful. Yellow Dog is practical.

What is it that drives me to strive for total equality in my dogs? They are different in weight, color, temperament, breed influence, and skills. Anyone can see that, so why am I determined to have a perfectly synchronized team?

Sam cooling down after a rough round of Kill It!

Family Play Project , part 1

Yesterday we had the best walk. We also had the best time playing fetch/catch/’Go Get It’.  JM articulated this change in behavior two nights ago.  We were sitting on the lanai and JM was admiring the lavish lifestyle we give our canine companions when he mentioned that Sam and Yellow Dog were playing Go Get It differently.  “When I throw the ball, Sam just sort of trots towards it.  Yellow Dog RUNS after it, but then drops it half way back to me.  Sam picks it up and brings it all the way back.  Isn’t that funny?”

Yes it is funny.  Funny it took so darn long to get both dogs engaged in fetch together and funny that they started playing nice once I had given up all hope of ‘family play’.  

But not really funny, since Yellow Dog’s long-standing disinclination to play fetch or tug had me worried.  So worried that I began scouring the Internet and Amazon for resources on two-dog households. I poured over my growing collection of dog training books, dog behavior books, funny dog psychology/short stories books; I faithfully searched and read every dog-related forum, website, and archived chat (most online writing about dogs is not very interesting as it turns out-- we aim to be different). Nothing. Not one single blessed thing about how to get two dogs to play together.  

Next I called any family member or friend that had ever had two dogs.

So, here’s a funny thing--even if you call the most ardent dog-lover in your circle, once you ask them about how to engage two dogs in a single game and voice your concerns that there might be some sort of psychological damage being done to the dog not playing, they all realize they've left something on the stove, or are late for an appointment, or suddenly have to ‘take care of something else’. 

As if I needed additional proof I spent too much time thinking about my dogs.

What was a two-dog household to do? I went back to the books.  Perhaps the problem was that Yellow Dog simply did not know HOW to play fetch. I would teach him. After all, I had taught Sam (admittedly, he is a labrador).

Isolating dogs to teach basics like Sit, Stay, Down works because once the concept is grasped after a single learning/training session you can re-introduce the dog to his buddies and they refine their skills together. However, complex skills like the three to five command game of fetch requires much more patience, repetitive breakdown, and practice of each separate task that creates the skill.

The basic skill and associated tasks of fetch can be found in any dog book and mostly work, especially if you only have one dog to deal with.  I like the methods explained in Mother Knows Best and 101 Dog Tricks. 

However, Yellow Dog was having none of it.  He was not in least interested in fetching or chasing the stupid tennis ball. Sam was a distraction and he was miserable.  I had to isolate him on the lanai where he just whined himself into a tizzy. I was frustrated that it was taking me twice as long to train, play, and work the dogs each day. The dogs felt my mood and that quadrupled the effort needed to get Yellow Dog focused and calm. I gave up. Yellow Dog would just have to deal with his issues and it wasn’t my fault if he felt left out; we had tried.

For months we followed the routine that initially upset me into launching the ‘family play’ project:  I would throw the ball, Sam would gallop after it, pick it up and bring it back over and over and over again. We played fetch.  Yellow Dog would sit in his favorite tree and bark at us.*

So what happened this week? Why is Yellow Dog now playing fetch with Sam? How did they develop their team approach to playing? The answer is:

I inadvertently trained them to act as a team.

I observe my dogs.

Yellow Dog likes snuffling and rooting around chasing invisible rodents. He also like to chase real rodents, but more on that later. He likes close-up games.  He’d luuuve cat toys if only they were bigger and more durable. Mice made out of kevlar type of thing. Yellow Dog likes to go in for the kill quickly, none of this long distance trotting for him!

One day, Yellow Dog started taking the tennis ball away from Sam.  This was after we had gotten new balls and I was bouncing the ball in front of myself and catching it. I noticed that both dogs were fascinated by this movement. 

Once Yellow Dog took the ball away from Sam he became more concerned in the whereabouts and movement of the ball. For some doggy reasons only known to him the ball was an object of interest. 

Perhaps the close bouncing I had done reminded him of small prey, or perhaps the task of paying attention to the ball was easier if it was all at close range. Who knows? But now, Yellow Dog would ‘catch’ the ball if you bounced once in front of yourself at close range. He was really good at dropping it with little prompt.  Unconsciously I started taking turns with the dogs.

I would throw the ball, Sam would chase and fetch back. I would throw the ball, Sam would chase and fetch back. Sam would drop the ball too far away. He would be commanded to Bring It Here. Yellow Dog would suddenly appear and snatch the ball from Sam, pick it up, drop it. Sam would start running down the yard. I would then pick up the ball.  I bounced it for Yellow Dog. He caught it, dropped it (and usually wandered off). I would then throw to Sam who was patiently waiting at the end of the yard. Repeat. Over and over, repeat.

Now both dogs chase the ball but only Sam brings it back.  This is a great deal for Sam because as a big dog he gets tired faster, but with Yellow Dog to ‘pick up’ the slack, Sam doesn’t feel the need to run break-neck pace down the yard each time. Yellow Dog gets to ‘catch’ the ball every third or fourth time.

Family Play Project, part 1 ended up a success.  A long and drawn out success, but still.

I’ve taken enough of your time. Be sure to check the Dog Resources Page and watch for the upcoming Dog Destroyers vs. The Toy page!

May 9 2013, Hello World!

I’d like to find a book about how to raise and train two dogs.  Specifically, I’d like to know how to raise and train two city-pet-buddy-type dogs.  To date I have not found a dog owner’s guide, training book, or website that offers any advice or training regimens for a two dog household.  So I’m going to write my own.

I’ve read many dog books over the last two years.  There is a list of them on the dog books page.  All the books there have been a great help from basic puppy training to dog physiology and behavioral science.  I do love my dog books!

Here are the main characters:

Cindyloo is a librarian (as you tell by her outfit).  This is her first blog, her first dogs, and her first attempt at something of this magnitude. 

JM is Cindyloo’s fiance.  He is a firefighter, EMT, and googlephile. He will be contributing perspectives and helping edit.  

Sam is part black lab, part DESTROYER, and wholly loyal.  He is very hard to photograph. Mostly you’ll see him in films.  Sam’s human-irritant is that he luuves to lick people until they are squeaky clean. 

Yellow Dog is a Carolina Dog, American Dingo, Pariah Dog, &c. He loves to climb trees, strike noble poses, and often needs a good cuddle.  Yellow Dog’s human-irritant is that he does not like new things, especially new people. 

That’s us!

I hope you’ll enjoy and learn from this little blog.  I am always open to comments and, in fact, desperately need them.

If you know of a dog book that focuses on training two dogs at once please, please let me know so I can stop writin’ and get to trainin’.

Until next time!

Mostly JM and Yellow Dog sit around in the hammock while Sam and I do all the hard work.