Advanced K9 Behavior

Yesterday, August 14, I graduated from the Advanced K9 Behavior course at the Kitsap Humane Society, where I volunteer as a dog trainer/dog walker and cat cuddler.  This advanced course is geared toward training problem dogs and turning them into model canine citizens. Sort of like charm school for dogs, if you will.  Dogs completing the K9 Charm School will be made available for adoption at a higher adoption fee, since they will be so well trained.  Part of the higher adoption fee will cover the cost of training the new owner, who will be required to take training along with their dog.  It's a win/win for both dog and new owner.

I'm part of a pilot program for this K9 Charm School.  It's exciting to see such wonderful programs going on at the humane society, and to know there are dedicated animal lovers willing to give of their free time to benefit the animals in the shelter.  There were 20 volunteers who graduated from this advanced class, and we will begin training select problem dogs next Saturday.  We're using the buddy system, as most training sessions will include the problem dog and a laid-back, non-combative dog, which will be the "target" dog when retraining dog-aggressive dogs (it's why we need 2 trainers--one to handle the aggressive dog and one to handle the target dog.)

When I signed on as a volunteer, I told myself I was NOT going to get carried away and volunteer for more work than my self-alotted volunteer hours per week, nor get roped into extra stuff.  So much for willpower.  I can see where this new program is going to add greatly to my volunteer hours, as well as my car mileage, so I have to be careful not to take on more than I can handle.  I'm feeling a little pressured to take on more, but will hold firm.  I can't really spend hours and hours on my feet because of significant arthritis in both feet, so that'll be a self-limiting thing.  

I used to show and train dogs about 35 years ago, and training sure has changed a lot since then!  And it's all for the good!

Mom! The Cat Wants In--Again!

A week or so ago I posted a picture of Asterisk, my Boxer, standing at the slider, with my cat, Christopher the Assassin, on the other side of the slider.  I hung a bell on the handle of the slider, and trained Asterisk to ring the bell when she wanted to go outside.  Asterisk has taken it a step farther, and trained herself to ring the bell when she sees the cat at the door wanting in.  Here's another picture of her, doing just that.  I snapped the picture just after she rang the bell.

Mug Shot

This is just a short post to share a picture of my dogs, Nova (Doberman) and Asterisk (Boxer).  I took the picture yesterday and it makes me laugh every time I look at it.  This is a typical picture of them.  Whenever I'm in my recliner, they plop their heads on the arm and give me these pitiful, soulful looks.  It's really quite pathetic. *g*

Mom! The Cat Wants In!

I've trained my young Boxer, Asterisk, to dingle a bell hanging from the handle of the sliding glass door when she needs to go out.  But lately, I've notice that Asterisk was dingling the bell even when she'd just been out.  I'd get out of my chair to reprimand her for dingling the bell when she didn't need to go out, but then get sidetracked when I noticed one of my cats wanting in.  So I'd open the slider and go back to my computer. 

This went on for a couple of weeks before I realized what Asterisk was doing:  She dingled the bell to let me know that a cat was on the other side of the slider, wanting in.  My desk faces away from the door, so I can't see a cat behind me at the slider.  But Asterisk can.  And she goes to ring the bell whenever one of the cats wants in. 

It's hilarious, really.  I never taught her that trick.  She figured it out herself.  What's more, the cats have learned to ring the bell themselves when they need to go outside, by observing me training Asterisk to ring the bell when she has to go out.  They put two and two together, seeing that every time Asterisk jingled the bell, I'd let her outside.  Smart animals!  (The above picture is one I took just after Asterisk had jingled the bell to notify me that Christopher wanted in.  You can barely see the blue and green cable ties just above her head, from which I've hung two large jingle bells.  The buckets on the porch were from the 2 weeks of cold weather when I had to carry buckets of water to the barn for the horses when the water at the barn froze.)

Breaking All Heat Records

Today it hit 102 degrees F. in Seattle, breaking all previous heat records since we began recording the temps in 1861. In truth, the temps have soared much higher in outlying areas. It hit 106 in the shade at my place today, the hottest weather I've ever encountered in Washington State in 62 years.

I'm hosing down the dogs several times a day. In fact, when Asterisk hears me using the garden hose, she comes running. She likes to run through the spray, biting at the water. Unfortunately, it's so hot that the dogs dry off quickly. I may just put a small sprinkler in the side yard and let the dogs run through it at will.

Here are some more pictures of Asterisk playing in the water.

Running Through the Sprinkler

See that thermometer on the left? It's on my front porch, and I took the picture today, 7-27-09 at 4:29 p.m. It's 99 degrees Farenheit in the shade.

Here in the Pacific NW, few of us have air conditioning, because this kind of weather is rare. We've been having weeks and weeks of temps in the 80s and 90s, and this week they're predicting we'll break 100. There's an Extreme Weather Advisory and an Air Stagnation Alert in our area.

It's been so hot and dry that drought-resistant plants are dying. Today when I went to clean out the horses' water trough, I found a dead squirrel floating in the water. Obviously he'd tried to get some water and fell in and couldn't get out again.

How does one stay cool in such hot weather? Well, if you're a 9-month-old Boxer pup named Asterisk, you run through the sprinkler. Or you lie down in your very own kiddy wading pool and then roll onto your back, legs spread, begging for tummy rubs. Or you chase the spray from the garden hose, biting at the water and ignoring the spray blasting you in the face.

As you can see by the pictures, Asterisk knows how to stay cool and hydrated.

Cats in the Dog House

It got up to 96 degrees today, and I checked the back porch to see how my two cats were doing in this heat. They have a bed on a small table on the back porch, and that's the place where they hang out most of the day. They weren't there. But I heard a meowed greeting. It took a minute to realize that both cats were sacked out in comfort in the igloo-type dog house! I don't know if it was cooler in there, but the cats seemed quite comfortable. They looked so funny that I just had to take a picture of them!

Sweet Puppies

This will be short and sweet, as I'm headed out to the pasture with my backpack sprayer of Roundup, on a mission to kill poisonous plants before my horses can get to them.

Last night my two dogs were sleeping together. As they always do when sleeping, they have to have a paw touching each other, or even better, their bodies touch. It is very endearing. So here's a cute picture of Nova and Asterisk sleeping on Nova's bed (which I made extra wide to accommodate both dogs). Isn't it just the sweetest picture?!!

Asterisk has her own crate to sleep in at nights, but during the day she is able to sleep anywhere she wants. And she almost always wants to sleep with Nova in her bed, one paw touching Nova. Or in the yard, one paw touching Nova. Or on the deck, one paw touching Nova. And so it goes.

OK, end of short post. Now I'm off to do battle with buttercups, tansy ragwort, bracken ferns, and dock.

Dog Under the Steps

The most bizarre thing happened last night. My Doberman, Nova--who never ever gets into trouble--got herself into a predicament she couldn't get out of. And it was morbidly funny. She got stuck under the steps that lead from the deck to the side yard. Somehow, Nova managed to wriggle underneath them, and then she couldn't get out.

The thing about Nova is she's a very quiet dog. She never whimpers or complains, even when she should. If I accidentally forget to bring her in after letting her outside in the rain to do her business, she will simply stand patiently at the door in a miserable huddle, waiting for me to remember her. She never utters a peep, even though she can see me through the slider, 5 feet away, sitting at the computer.

So when she got stuck under the steps, she never said a word, even though the slider was open and my desk is right by the slider. She was only 15 feet away. I could tell she'd been stuck for a long time, because you can see where she tried to dig her way out. Unfortunately, she had to dig while on her belly. There isn't room enough to stand up. Judging by how filthy she was, she'd been digging for a while!

The above picture is deceiving, because Nova is a lot larger than she looks in that shot. She has dug herself quite a deep hole, and most of her body is in it. There's also a big hole directly in front of the bottom step. I have no idea if she dug it trying to get under the step, or if the pup dug it after Nova got stuck. You can also see she knocked wood loose from the woodpile, probably while trying to get out.

All I can figure out is that somehow Nova got stuck between the gaps in the steps while trying to retrieve a tennis ball. I'd seen the bright pink ball days earlier. Should have removed it then!

The thing is, Nova is terrified of confined spaces and narrow gaps. She's lived in this house since a puppy, yet she still gets freaky about the hallway sometimes. Then she'll be stuck in the laundry room or bathroom or one of the bedrooms, because she's too afraid to come out into the hall. I have to snap the leash to her collar and lead her out. So it's a complete mystery to me how she ended up in such a wickedly confining space under the steps.

How did I get her out? I had to move the whisky tub on the left of the picture, so she could crawl out that way. Not an easy task, as the tub was full of dirt. I'll say one thing, though. That dog was mighty glad to be free of the steps! I'm still laughing over my first sight of her--me standing on the deck above the steps, and her forlorn head sticking out between the steps and looking up at me, with a pleading (and mortified) look on her face!

Sunday Puppy Humor

This is just a "for fun" post. I enjoy humorous pictures, and have numerous shots of my dogs being silly and funny. In other words, typical dogs. Throw a puppy into the mix, and you have nonstop humor (though often seasonsed with healthy doses of exasperation!).

The Beware of Dog picture shows Asterisk with her head through the porch gate (like a cow at her stanchion, waiting to be milked!). The sign was given to me by my sister, who has my same warped sense of humor.

The next picture shows Asterisk trying to lick peanut butter off her face. She was making such contorted faces and looked so funny, despite the fact her dark, slanted eyebrows always make her look like she's scowling.

The final picture is Asterisk with a plastic water bottle. She far prefers toys that are made of plastic because they make such delightful crackly sounds when crunched.

Bad Dog, Good Dog

You've heard the old bad-cop-good-cop routine. Well, apply that to dogs, if you will. I have a 4-year-old Doberman bitch that couldn't be more perfect. Nova is so well-behaved and inobtrusive that when I'm invited to visit friends and family, they tell me to bring her along.

And then there's Asterisk, my 7-month-old Boxer pup. For the past several days she has been trying my patience to the limit. If there is something to get into, she's gotten into it with a vengeance. A few days ago she flipped an entire bowl of kibbles with her foot, just like tiddly-winks, and shot kibble all over the kitchen floor. It was like someone dropped a bag of marbles. She has utterly destroyed her very expensive high density foam crate pad & cushy afghan I'd placed on top for extra comfort. That's the picture, above.

She knocked over a potted plant and it smashed to smithereens. Dirt and pottery bits all over the place. Then she had the audacity to steal the little plastic dish thing you put under plants to protect furniture (picture on left).

She has chewed a piece of plywood into oblivion, leaving it hanging in strips. She has pulled the bark off a small decorative log I was using as plant stand on my deck. She is still not housebroken, and must be let out every 15-20 minutes or I'm cleaning up accidents.

My exasperation with her is at an all-time high. And just about the time I wonder why I thought it would be fun to own a puppy again, she comes into my bedroom where I'm working at my craft table, creating cards, and lies down at my feet, just to be near me. And my heart melts as she puts her chin on my foot and sighs happily.

Puppies. They're as bad as children.

My Dogs

Dogs are so entertaining. I have a 4-year-old Doberman named Nova and a 6-month-old Boxer named Asterisk. They're both girls, and right now they are wrestling on the floor and making the most godawful fake growls and snarls. They enjoy each other's company, and so do I. They're fun to have around and keep me from being lonely.

I don't have much news to report, so this is a fluff piece. I've included pictures to pad out this short blog post. Here are my girls.

Puppy Shenanigans

My new Boxer puppy, Asterisk, is making overtures of friendship to Christopher the Assassin, my cat. Christopher likes dogs, and was best buddies with my old Boxer, so he's tolerating the pup pretty well.

The picture above Shows Asterisk under my desk, trying to reach Christopher. And Christopher knows that the puppy can only get her head and front feet through that little hole at the bottom, so he is sitting tantalizingly close, just to tease the puppy. Animals are so entertaining.

I happened to have the camera on the corner of my desk today, so I was fortunate enough to catch a cute picture of Christopher sitting atop the desk, peering sneakily down at Asterisk, who was under the desk. A moment after I took that picture, an unsuspecting Asterisk moseyed out from under the desk and suffered the indignity of a series of rapid-fire slaps to the head (no claws) from Christopher, who'd been hovering like a vulture waiting for the chance to nail her.

Christopher thought it was great fun, but it startled the daylights out of Asterik, who thought the demons of Hell had landed on her head. It was hilarious watching Christopher planning his attack and waiting in tense expectation for Asterisk to get in range. I love my animals. They're better than TV.

An Ordinary Day

Today I cleaned the barn, which was very satisfying. The horses hung out with me and offered advice over their stall doors. Asterisk (my Boxer) and Nova (my Doberman) played King of the Mountain on the bales of hay. It was hilarious, and had me laughing out loud several times. The dogs were having such a good time playing like silly kids while I laughed at them. I wish I'd had my camera with me.

It was fun puttering around in the barn. I had the radio going, and it was (for once!) almost like spring outside. We've had so much rain, snow, sleet, and hail since January that any day we get dry weather is a treat.

Right now it's 10:15 p.m. and I'm getting ready to work on a client's manuscript. The dogs are sacked out, tired after a hard day playing. All is right with the world.

My New Puppy

I have a new Boxer puppy! Since I run an editorial business, I wanted to name her something vaguely related to words, punctuation, etc. So I think I'm going to name her Asterisk (Aster for short). And what's really fun is that I can refer to her as * when writing to friends! She is a barrel of fun, as all puppies are, and she and my Doberman, Nova, get along great. Poor Nova puts up with a lot from Asterisk, who frequently insists on sitting on Nova's back.

They play a lot in the yard, and I'm thankful that the first week I had her, the weather was sunny and dry. That helped a lot with potty training. I could also leave her outside in the fenced yard with Nova to play with for an hour or so several times during the day. When I brought her in, after playing hard, she slept in her crate with no problem.

But now that it's raining cats and dogs, things have become more trying for Asterisk. She does her business on the deck *sigh* instead of going down into the yard, and unless Nova is out with her to encourage her to play, she sits huddled in a miserable mass in front of the door. So, like a trooper, I don coat and go outside with both dogs and hang out with them for 30-45 minutes or until my coat is soaked through. Once they get to playing, dogs don't care about rain. And I admit that once I am outside with the dogs, I don't mind it either.

It's been four years since Nova was a puppy, and I'd forgotten how much work it is to housebreak a puppy. In Asterisk's case, I had to section off part of her crate to keep her from peeing in it. The crate is a little too large for her, meaning she can pee in one end and then sleep in the other.

She was very unhappy with me after I sectioned off the crate. She can stand, turn around, and lie down, but if she pees, she has to sleep in it. I've also begun restricting her water after 9 p.m., and it seems to be working. Sort of. I also let her out once in the middle of the night, so I'm sure that helps.

All in all, I'm thrilled to have a new puppy. Do you have a puppy? Or a dog? If so, how did the housebreaking go?

The Life of Riley

Today I glanced out my slider and saw both my dog and my cat snoozing on the deck. The weather was beautiful, and both animals were dead to the world.

I absolutely had to take a picture of my cat. His name is Lord Byron, and he was lying on his back, hind legs spread, one paw flung out, the other curled on his chest. He was snoring. That's him in the picture. You can see my dog's hind legs in the left side of the picture.

I once had a very large orange cat who curled up inside a very small cardboard box for a nap and got stuck. He had wedged himself in so tightly that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get out.

Animals are so entertaining. Nova, my Doberman, has a whole box full of expensive toys, but does she play with them? No. Her favorite toys are a plastic 1 gallon planter from the nursery, and half of a tennis ball that split open. What about your pets? Do they shun their store-bought toys in favor of something more rustic or unusual?