Hissy Fit

Went to the barn with the intention of grooming Casey yesterday and just hanging out.  Doodle is here on spring break, so I took her with me.  She’s been intimidated by horses since her mom’s old Arab bucked her off a couple years ago.  (Disney Princess is now horse-less.  And her Arab was old and he was continuously stalled and only worked or out on a rare occasion- any wonder he was naughty?)

I figured that Casey would be good for boosting Doodle’s confidence as he’s usually gentle as a kitten.  Boy, was I wrong!

Within 3 minutes of being in the cross-ties, Casey exploded.  He pulled back so hard he sat his butt down on the concrete.  Then he jumped forward and flipped around so he was in the opposite direction.  In the process, he whacked into the stall next to us, where the stall had apparently not been latched by whomever fed that morning.  So, that stall door slid open!  Luckily, that horse didn’t decide to take a jaunt during all the commotion.  Casey continued to pull back and showed his teeth to me when I tried to release the panic snaps.  So, I just stepped back and waited for him to calm.  Casey calmed down after a minute or two and righted himself and acted like nothing had happened.  I let him just stand in the cross ties for about 5 minutes while I talked to Doodle about what happened.  From there, I closed the open stall door and latched it, groomed Casey for a few more minutes and then put him away.

The important things to add in here:  

No one was touching Casey when he exploded.

-I had Doodle go in the tack room and close the door so she was completely out of harm’s way.

-Casey could have turned his butt toward me, but didn’t.  He turned away from me when he was freaking out.  At no time did he really offer to hurt me.

So, after a few minutes of grooming, I put Casey back in his stall.  He was calm, gentle and it was like nothing had happened.  When I put his blanket back on, Casey lowered his head and then pretty much blanketed himself.  He tossed the blanket back over his head and down his neck himself.  Casey’s never done that before.  He usually tries to giraffe-neck when I put his blanket on.

After blanketing and while Casey was still haltered and calm, I had Doodle come in and pet Casey some more to help with her fears.  I wanted the scary thing to be immediately followed up by something positive.  Casey even lowered his head down for her to scratch his star (something he also doesn’t do).  When Doodle felt more confident and really saw that Casey was ok and back to being Casey, we went down the barn and asked if we could pet Blaze, the lesson horse for a bit.  Blaze had just finished his lesson and was about to be put away so we gave him pets and treats before Doodle and I put him away.  Blaze licked Doodle a bunch and she was completely ok with horses again when we finally left.

No idea what triggered Casey to explode.  It’s also the second time in a month.  Both times were on the ground.  The first was while he was being blanketed, the next while in the cross ties.  He has not exploded under saddle.  My trainer was sick so she wasn’t at the barn to discuss this with.  I’m hoping she calls me back in the next day or two so we can compare notes.

The assistant trainer WAS at the barn.  Unfortunately, he missed the blow up as he was giving a lesson to his grandson.  Kerry (assistant trainer) said that Casey has been doing really well with his lope recently.  They’re working on getting him to bend at the rib cage instead of throwing his hip out and they’re working on his cross-firing, which he thinks is related to Casey’s pain memory from his hip being out for who knows how long.

Also, just a week’s difference and Casey looks amazing!  I’ll try to get pictures soon.  

Now, on to panic snaps and cross ties…

I grew up with the panic snap end of cross ties being attached to the rings in the wall.  The reasoning as explained to me was so that if a horse had a freak out or got tangled, you could quickly undo the panic snap from the wall and not be putting yourself in harms way.  If the rings were too high up to easily reach, we’d tie a piece of baling twine between the snap and the ring so it would break in that case, preventing injury.  Makes sense to me.  It’s what I’m used to.

Here in Oregon, I don’t see cross ties done this way.  The panic snap is always attached to the halter when a horse is in cross ties.  Twine is not between the ring and the bolt snap.  And everywhere I’ve boarded has fussed at me if I turn them around.

From yesterday’s experience (and I’ve never experienced a horse freaking out in cross ties), I prefer the panic snap to be attached to the wall rings.  I would have been able to help Casey without endangering myself.  And I could have had some control over him once the cross tie was detached from the ring, much like a lead rope.

If you cross-tie your horse, which way do you have the panic snaps?  Are they on the wall or on the halter?  Why or why not?

Monday Morning Meme

I got this from over at Karen’s.  Won’t you play along too?

March 30th Questions:

1. Who would you rather be seated next to on a daylong bus trip: an irritating talker or a quiet starer? What’s your rationale? Tell us about your most horrifying and/or uncomfortable travel trip.

It would depend on how I felt that day and what mood I was in.  However, I think I’d rather sit next to a quiet starer because I’d be so much less irritated.  Better to be potentially bored than irritated.  And, I’d be able to get whatever book I brought with read.

2. If time wasn’t a factor or your physical health weren’t an issue, would you rather be a member of a world championship sports’ team or be the champion of an individual sport? Why? Which sport would you choose? Why?

I’ll pick a sport where you could be essentially both!  I’d be a member of USET.  And since this is fantasy, I’d be both a dressage rider and a jumper.  I think the answers are fairly self explanatory to anyone who has been reading this blog.

3. Would you accept $1,000,000 to leave the country and never set foot in it again? Explain, please. Is money or love more important to you? How much money would it take for you to step away from your current life?

I’m not so sure that a cool Mil would be enough to live on for the rest of my life.  Then again, maybe I’d move to Uruguay and it would be enough.  

Love is what’s important in my life.  I think I’ve already proven that in this marriage.  Just a year ago we didn’t have any money or a place to live as CP had been laid off and our rental had been foreclosed on.  We hit hard times, but we made it through to the other side, which has been more abundant than our life before those hard times.

I’d step away from my life, as long as my immediate family went with me.  I don’t have a set dollar figure, but there’s not a whole heck of a lot going on in my life right now.  As long as my family and I could have some adventures and there was enough money for CP to write full time for a couple of years, why not?  I’m not sure there’d be anything to hold us back.

4. Which sex do you think has it easier in our culture? Have you ever wished you were of the opposite sex? If so, list your reasons. If not, tell us why you like being the male/female you are now?

I haven’t enough time to really consider this question.  After all, it’s a Monday Morning Meme, not a Sometime This Week Meme.  So, I will answer the part that I have considered and is easiest for me.

For about 3 days, once a month I wish I were no longer female.  During this time, I’d not care if I was a guy, an alien or a parrot.  Just as long as I didn’t have to deal with cramps, I’d be a happy camper.

Birthdays and History

So, CP and I were sitting on the couch discussing what famous events happened on our respective birthdays and who we shared those birthdays with.

He: the Titanic sunk in 1912, Abraham Lincoln was shot in 1865, the Pony Express made their first run to Sacramento in 1860, Noah Webster copyrights the first edition of his dictionary in 1828, Black Sunday- the world’s worst dust storm happened in 1935, Pete Rose, Bruce Sterling, and Sarah Michelle Gellar were born.

Me: Nothing exciting happened and Johannes Kepler (german astronomer b. 1571) and Jacob Bernoulli (swiss mathematician b. 1654) were born.

Me: Yeah, nothing exciting on my birthday.

Him: Maybe you should have been a mathmatician or an astronomer.

Me: (withering look)

Him: Well, yours was a quiet day in history.  It was the day after Boxing Day and nobody wanted to do anything.

 

What historical events have happened in history on your birthday?

My Cake Wreck

When CP and I were married, we picked up a cake straight out of a local grocery store bakery.  It was some of the best cake I’ve ever had, and I’m not a cake fan.

For our second anniversary, CP ordered that same exact cake again.

Here’s what we got:

That’s not quite what he ordered.  After all, we haven’t been together for 5 years yet!

I have a photo of the order ticket but can’t use it as it has too much personal info on it to publish publically.  It quite clearly states that the cake is to say “Happy Anniversary” and have red roses, red ribbon #5 and red writing (which was spelled “wrighting” ).  The description of the decorations were listed under the heading “special instructions” on the order ticket.  Also, a bakery clerk took down the order, CP didn’t write it.

 

The order ticket and instructions seem self explanatory to me.  The lady behind the bakery counter claimed the order was wrote down wrong when we mentioned the mysterious “#5″ on the cake.  (Note: same grocery store chain, different bakery than where we got the original cake).  How does “red ribbon #5″ turn into “write #5 on the cake”?

The  bakery clerk knocked $2 off the price of the cake because of the mistake.  It might have been a wreck, but the cake was still delicious!

Training Thursday: Coming When Called

One of the most valuable commands in your arsenal will be the recall, or coming when called.  This command could save your dog’s life in some circumstances.  For this reason, every dog should have a solid recall.

First, it’s important to decide what word you want to use to call your dog to you.  Figure out how you want to say it and use that method each and every time you use it.  We silly humans tend to play on the variables of the word “come”, which can cause our dog to become confused or ignore us.  Therefore, it’s vitally important to keep your command the same each and every time.  The same tone, the same inflection.  

Next, we need to pay attention to our body language when we teach this command.  We want to set Fluffy up for success, so we want our body language to be inviting and not sending another message that countermands our vocal command.  We don’t want our words to say “come” and our body to say “don’t come any closer!”  That would only lead to confusion for Fluffy.  And until a vocal command is down pat, dogs are more likely to listen to our body language.

Speaking of body language, dogs naturally want to follow in the direction our feet are going.  All too often I have witnessed distressed owners chasing after their loose dogs.  The dog has a great big smile on his face and is enjoying the game which is giving him a great run.  Now, Fido is just going in the direction the owner’s feet are pointed.  And he thinks it’s a great game of chase!  Often the owners also have their bodies positioned squarely at the dog, communicating “don’t come any closer”.  Yet their words say “come”.  Instead, the best option for owners of escapees who don’t have a down-pat recall is to cheerfully call their dog and run in the opposite direction of Fido, so that Fido will follow YOU!

Now, do we have our chosen command word?  Good!  For the purposes of explaining the training method I use here, I will use “come” as my command word.  (Which I do anyways!)

THE COME GAME

Step 1:

For this week, we’re going to practice in a low distraction area.  Inside your house, the back yard and other places with minimal distractions will be perfect.  We want our pups to learn that coming to us is great!  

So, with your dog off leash, let Fluffy sniff around about 6-10 feet from you.  Now, use your recall command!  Just sing out “come!”, turn sideways, clap your hands and run away from your dog!  The second Fluffy turns her head to look at you, praise her and keep running.  When Fluffy catches you, have a party!  By this, I mean make a big deal out of Fluffy doing the right thing.  Give a high value treat and lots of praise.  We want Fluffy to know she did the right thing by showing enthusiasm.  Also, we’re really reinforcing Fluffy’s behaviors by pairing food with praise.  Fluffy gets rewarded for first looking at you and then again doubly for catching you!

It’s very important to praise for even the smallest attempts.  We really want to praise Fluffy for looking at us initially when we call.  This is an important building block for long term success and learning of our recall command.  Remember, we want Fluffy to feel good for running to you.

A word of caution: We need to set Fluffy up for success each and every time.  During this week, do not call Fluffy if there are a high amount of distraction and you think there’s even a chance she’ll ignore you.  Instead, take a high value treat in hand and Go To Fluffy, use the treat in your hand to lure her in the direction you want to go and praise Fluffy for coming away from the distraction.  We want Fluffy to associate good things with coming when called, and we’re setting a foundation for Fluffy to come every time when called.  So be conscientious of when and where you’re calling Fluffy to you.  

Now that you have the first section of this command, it’s time to practice!  Practice several times a day throughout the day this week.  Keep practicing in low distraction areas and only call Fluffy to you when you know she will come.  This is a good opportunity to use times you know she will come to you, such as meal time, to your advantage to also reinforce the command.  Remember to keep it light and fun.  And have a “party” every time Fluffy catches you! 

Step 2:

This week we’re going to continue practicing our exercise from last week, but we’re going to start practicing with more distractions.  However, do not call Fluffy unless you’re at least 80% sure she’ll come when you call.  Remember to continue using praise and treats.  Work on your timing of the praise and have the treat in your hand before you call to prevent a delay in rewarding and a potential slowing of Fluffy’s learning.

Practice in different rooms of the house.  Practice in different places as long as the distractions will not overwhelm Fluffy’s ability to listen and respond to you.  So, at the dog park while busy playing is NOT the right time to practice your recall right now.  

Keep practicing while you’re no more than 6-10 feet away.  We don’t want to be farther away because we want to ensure success.  

This week we want to stop running before Fluffy catches us.  Turn towards Fluffy just as she completes those last couple strides to help prevent Fluffy from getting overly excited and possibly start nipping at us.  Remember to give Fluffy the high value treat we’ve put in our hand before we called and give lots of praise.  

What if Fluffy doesn’t come?

At some point, this will happen.  It happens to all of us.  That cute little pup who thought you were the center of the Universe will become a teenager and try out some independance.  Your senior may pretend to not hear you (but can hear the rattle of food in a dish a half mile away!).  Here’s what NOT to do:  Do NOT keep calling over and over!  All that does is teach Fluffy that she doesn’t need to listen.  That’s the opposite of what we’re working to accomplish.

Instead, call Fluffy as you usually do.  If she ignores you, give it a couple seconds, call her name sharply and then call “come” again in a cheerful, happy voice.  If Fluffy continues to ignore you, go to her with the treat in hand and lure her away from the distraction.  After she takes a couple steps, give her the treat and lure her all the way to where you called from with a second treat (which should still only be 6-10 feet away).  You do need to use some discretion here.  If the distraction isn’t something Fluffy will come away from at this point, such as a smelly cow pie or dead bird or something like that, go to Fluffy and quietly clip your leash onto her collar.   Do not make a fuss when you’re clipping on your leash.  If you don’t have a leash with you, gently take Fluffy’s collar and lead her away.  Make a note of the distraction level and take a step back to the last level where Fluffy was responding to you every time.  Work at that level for a few days before stepping up the level of distraction again.

At all costs, avoid correcting your dog for ignoring you if she eventually comes to you on her own.

Yelling at your dog no matter how frustrated you are will undermine all the progress you’ve made with Fluffy.  It will tell her that you’re big and scary and coming to you is a dangerous thing.  We don’t want this.  So, avoid correcting your dog at all costs!  Keep the interaction with the recall training positive.  If it makes you feel better to make threats to give her away or turn her into a new fur rug, say so in a sweet, happy voice.  Act like you’re reciting romantic poetry or cooing at a baby.  But remember to keep your voice happy and light.  Dogs understand the tone of our voice and we don’t want to show displeasure when they do the right thing.  

How long will this training take?

Well, that will depend on what you expect of your dog.  If you’re looking for your dog to come away from vigorous play with other dogs, it could take months or years to perfect the recall.  Most dogs don’t have high levels of impulse control until they’re at least 3 years old.  If this is what you’re looking for (and everybody probably should be), you need at least 6 months of intensive training for results before you begin to back off on the intensity of training.  With this kind of intense practice, around the age of 3 (with at least 6 months of intense training!) your dog should be mostly reliable with low to moderate distractions.  That means that after 3-6 months of training, Fluffy should come out of the back yard when called reliably and may start coming away from other dogs when called.  

The more you practice, the more reliable Fluffy will get.  With time and reliability, you can continue to increase distance and distractions.  Just remember to break up training sessions and not move too fast when it comes to the level of distraction.

So, go have fun with Fluffy and practice those recalls!

Here’s What My Kids Think of Me

I stole this from Thea over at I’m a Drama Mama a couple weeks ago.  I knew we’d have Doodle for Spring Break, so I’ve been waiting until she got here and I could ask her the questions before I posted the kids’ answers.  My input is in blue.

1. What is something mom always says?

Dude – Do your homework first.

Doodle – “Doodlebug…”

Kitty – idk.  She just says things.  (Really?  You think?)

 

2. What makes mom happy?

Dude – When I do my homework.

Doodle – giving you presents that say “love” on them  

Kitty – peace, quiet and ponies

 

3. What makes mom sad?

Dude – When I do something bad

Doodle – when I lie

Kitty – when people are being rude in general

 

 4. How does your mom make you laugh?

Dude – yelling at the kitties when they’re annoying

Doodle – tickling me

Kitty – Ken Lee (inside joke but you can find info here)

 

5. What was your mom like as a child?

Dude – I think just like all the other kids, normal

Doodle – really happy

Kitty – I don’t know.  I’m not old. jk

 

6. How old is your mom?

Dude -  31, I’m guessing

Doodle – I have no clue- 39

Kitty – 33  (I’m 33)

 

7. How tall is your mom?

Dude – I have no idea.  I guess 2’ tall

Doodle – 10 inches long

Kitty – nearly 6’  (I’m 5′8″)

 

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

Dude – Play with her pony and stay on the computer

Doodle – spend time with my family

Kitty – anything with horses

 

9. What does your mom do when you’re not around?

Dude – No idea.  I’m guessing be on the computer

Doodle – pet the cats (I’m usually threatening to turn all 4 of them into slippers!)

Kitty – I don’t know.  I’m not there.  Hehehe…

 

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

Dude – Ponies

Doodle –  a book store

Kitty – being a famous dog trainer

 

 11. What is your mom really good at?

Dude – Pony riding and computering

Doodle – calling me “Doodle”

Kitty – being mom

 

12. What is your mom not very good at?

Dude – Video games

Doodle – doing the splits

Kitty – umm…  building airplanes?

(All true.  I’m not very good at that stuff)

 

13. What does your mom do for her job?

Dude – Computer and take care of me

Doodle –  watch us when Dad is gone

Kitty – she is a house mom

 

14. What is your mom’s favorite food?

Dude – Dad’s macaroni and cheese

Doodle – umm…  quiche (that’s Doodle’s favorite thing I make)

Kitty – umm…  umm…  food?  I forget.

 

 15. What makes you proud of your mom?

Dude – Being nice

Doodle – letting me play outside

Kitty – she is really good with animals and she is really nice.

 

16. If your mom were on TV, who would she be?

Dude – Herself, singing

Doodle – herself

Kitty -  umm…  I’m not sure.  I don’t watch too much tv.  I can say she isn’t Sheldon!  (from Big Bang Theory)

 

17. What do you and your mom do together?

Dude – Go to the store

Doodle – watch movies

Kitty – Talk and watch BBT (Big Bang Theory)

 

18. How are you and your mom the same?

Dude – eyeballs (meaning, we have the same eyes)

Doodle – we both watch tv

Kitty – we were both in choir and like horses

 

19. How are you and your mom different?

Dude – Some parts of my body are different  (Um, I hope so!)

Doodle – she’s taller and I’m smaller

Kitty – I’m a teenager and I act like it.  (Yes, yes she does!  *headdesk*)

 

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

Dude – Because she takes care of me

Doodle – you do great things for me

Kitty – she’s a mom

 

21. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go?

Dude – Just being at home

Doodle – the barn!

Kitty – the barn

 

 

 

Monday Morning Meme

March 23rd Questions:

1. If a new medicine were developed that would cure cancer but caused a fatal reaction in one percent of those who took it, would you want it to be released to the public? Why or why not? Do you think we’re close to curing cancer? Have you ever lost someone to cancer? If so, please write a short tribute to that person.

We already put children and adults on medications with an 8% chance of “black box syndrome”.  When Dude was on Concerta for his ADHD, our doctor made it very clear that the medication held an 8% chance that he could go into a coma or experience sudden death.  ADHD stimulant meds aren’t the only medications that carry this risk.  Any of the brain chemistry altering medications can.   Bipolar medications carry the risk too.

Medications don’t have to carry the risk of black box syndrome to be deadly either.  What about the diabetic that takes a little too much insulin?  The woman taking birth control pills that doesn’t realize she’s developed a blood clot?  The person on sleeping pills that takes cold medication and never wakes up?

So, if a cure for cancer held a 1% chance of death, those are pretty low odds.  Childbirth carries a greater risk than that.  I think we take greater risks each day by climbing into our vehicles and driving off to where ever it is each of us go every day.

I’ve lost a lot of family to cancer.  Unfortunately, I was pretty young when it happened and didn’t know most of them or don’t really remember them.  You all know I lost my mother to leukimia when I was 5.  To be honest, I barely remember her.  I don’t really feel I can write a tribute for her.

2. You discover your wonderful one-year-old child is, because of a mix-up at the hospital, not yours. Would you want to exchange the child to try to correct the mistake? Why or why not?

Tough decision.  I think the right thing to do is to find the other family and make the decision together.  Family medical histories need to be shared if there is to be no switch.  Switching is not just hard on the parents, but 0n the child as well.  It could be damaging in a way we haven’t fully comprehended yet.

3. Do you think that the world will be a better or a worse place 100 years from now? Explain your answer, please.

I would hope the world would be in a better place in 100 yrs, but we are talking about Man.  Would people from 100 years ago say the world is in a better place now?  Or would they see that we’re still stuck in the same cycles of war and famine and just have more powerful weapons?  Or would they think the world was in a better place during their era?  I highly doubt world peace will happen in the next 100 years because it simply goes against human nature.

4. How many pictures do you have on your living room walls? And what are they? (paintings, photographs, sketches, abstract, family, etc). Feel like taking us on a tour of your home? If so, post your video or photos!

I do not have any pictures, photos or even art on my living room walls.  None.  Zip.  Zero.  Zilch.  Haven’t found the right artwork yet.

As for a tour, I have plans for that in the future.

(I seem to be rather cynical this morning, don’t I?  Maybe I shouldn’t blog before coffee?)

Training Thursday: Walking Nicely On Leash

I’m not feeling well today.  Kids, gotta love ‘em!  Dude brought home some sort of virus and passed it on to me.  Nice that it’s spring break time and I can sleep in…

We’ve all witnessed dogs who pull on leashes and drag their owners.  Maybe you even have one who does this.  All dogs should know how to walk nicely on a loose leash, even little ones.  Constant pulling on a collar can cause trachea damage in dogs of all sizes, and even a 30lb dog can take his owner for a ride if he pulls.  (You think I joke?  The huskies that run the Iditarod only weigh between 25-45 lbs and are about knee high.  They’re little!)  We want to keep our pets from being hurt and have them be good citizens.  So, walking nicely on a loose leash becomes very important for the health and well-being of both dog and owner.

For this exercise, we will be using a flat buckle collar, a head collar like a Gentle Leader or a harness that clips in the front and a 6′ leash.  Please take your choke collars and prong collars and THROW THEM AWAY!  (Let’s do the same with those flexi-leads while we’re at it.  Even had one break and snap back on you?  Not to mention that they are the antithesis of what we’re trying to accomplish.  They actually teach a dog that it’s ok to pull!)  We’re going to train our dogs using a kinder, gentler method.

This takes time, practice and patience.  Lots of those three for some dogs.  Walking nicely on a leash is an important building block for heeling.  Not every person wants their dog to heel perfectly and some owners like to give their dogs a bit of leash freedom as a reward for heeling well.  Also, many families don’t want to go to the work of heeling and are content with a nice, loose leash walk.  (I’m one of them, though Freya knows how to heel.)

For the ease of explaining, I’m going to work through this as though everyone is using a flat-buckle collar.  

Let’s talk about a safe way to hold the leash.  Many owners wrap the loop handle of the leash around their wrists.  Unfortunately, this could lead to the owner being injured if your dog decided to suddenly lunge and drag you.  Rather, lets use our thumb inside the handle loop and close our hand around the outside.  Like so:

(not my hand, but a good demonstration)

The reasoning is that the leash can rotate around the thumb, lessening chance for injury and can be easily released in an emergency.  For all you horse people, it’s all the same reasoning why we never wrap the lead rope around our hand.  Safety first!

Also, let’s keep our hands down near our waist as that is our center of gravity.  We are strongest there.  It’s much harder to be pulled over from that point than elsewhere higher or lower on the body.

Clip your leash on to your dog’s collar and let’s go for a walk!  Be prepared, we won’t really go far or make much distance today or maybe for several days.

Ok!  Let’s go!  Has Fido already run out in front of you and started pulling?

 Stop.  Stop dead.  Right here, right now!  Anchor your hands (use two hands if necessary) at your belly button point and plant your feet.  Don’t say anything.  Give Fido time to figure it out on his own.  When Fido quits pulling and gives slack to the leash, take a few more steps forward.  The second Fido starts pulling again, plant your feet and anchor that leash at your waist.  Fido’s reward for walking with a loose leash is getting to walk.  He’ll learn that tension in the leash immediately ends any movement in any direction.

If Fido is really insistent about pulling on the leash, try quickly reversing direction and striding off so that Fido has to catch back up to you.  Don’t use Fido’s name, just a quick cluck or smooch or sound to get his attention.  When Fido hits the end of the leash in front of you, quickly change direction, cluck and stride off again.  By doing this, Fido will have to pay attention to you to figure out what direction you two are going, which means he can’t be out front straining on the end of the leash.

Hopefully, over the next few days Fido will get loose leash walking figured out!

Even young pups can learn to walk on a loose leash

With some dogs and in some cases, I advocate using a front clip harness or a head collar.  Usually, I’d use these in cases where the dog is very strong and the owner just doesn’t have the strength to avoid being drug, such as with the elderly or a tiny person and a huge dog or where after a couple weeks of work and plenty of short training sessions, the dog still just doesn’t get it.  Also, there’s more training involved with the head collar as it’s important to desensitize your dog to it.  And in some cases, the head collar will lead to the dog appearing to be “depressed”.  In that case, another aid would be more appropriate.

The front clip harness (such as a Gentle Leader Easy Walk harness) have a “D” ring in the front where you clip the leash.  It works by turning the dog towards you when Fido attempts to pull, which is in the opposite direction where he wants to go.  Fido doesn’t get anywhere, therefor he learns to not pull.  

Now that you have the tools to be successful, let’s go practice!

When I Grow Up

It’s been 2 yrs, 1 month and 18 days since I last held a job.  It’s been a difficult couple of years for me as I’ve always been a workaholic.  I’m happiest when I’m working, when I’m feeling useful and contributing to the household.

There have been a lot of obstacles that have stood in the way of my finding work in Oregon.  Dude’s issues with school have been the number one issue.  Can’t keep a job if you’re always having to leave work to pick your kid up from school now, can you?  But, that seems to have finally resolved with his new class.

So, barriers are being removed.  The ability to work outside the home is looking more and more like a possibility.  The question now becomes- What do I want to do?

Ideally, I’d love to run a dog rescue.  But that requires a lot of money and land and permits and whatnot.  As I currently rent my house, I don’t see that in my future any time soon.  It will be at least a couple more years until we buy a house.

CP thinks I should run an upscale doggie boutique.  I like this idea, but with the current market, getting a small business loan isn’t really an option.  If Joe’s can’t get a flooring loan, what chance do I have?  Plus, we do have both big box pet stores locally along with some upscale boutique-y places.  It’s a thought.  Just not practical for right now.

Dog walking…  This would require a second vehicle which is something doable in the next couple months provided CP’s office doesn’t close up shop.  There are things going on there that I don’t talk about because I’d hate for a coworker to stumble upon this blog and for him to get “dooced“.  It’s also why I don’t discuss what he does for a living.  (Steph, I will get your show cooler made up, but it might be a couple months!  Sorry!)

In-home pet sitting also falls under the second car category.  And getting licensed and bonded.  

Dog Training- This is what I’d ultimately love to do.  I’m not sure that the current market is in great shape for this as there’s another person who just started up a dog-training business about 6 months ago who seems to really be struggling to find clients.  I’d need to find a facility.  It would be nice to be able to use an indoor arena but I have no idea how to go about finding such a place that isn’t getting tons of use.  Maybe a private arena?  Also, while it’s not necessary to be a certified trainer, having that certification lends so very much credibility to a person.  And getting that certification is costly and time consuming.  It’s something I want, but not something obtainable right now.

I’m not feeling well today but I’m still kicking around ideas.  Any input or suggestions?

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

For some, today is just an excuse to get drunk on green beer.

For others, it’s a chance to complain about those who do celebrate it.  Many times have I heard angry, angsty remarks from people I know that are pagan.  C’mon folks!  It’s not like the Romans are out slaughtering the Picts today!  Being angry about something that happened way back in history doesn’t do anything but leave you a bitter, angry person today.  And you’re really missing the spirit of St. Paddy’s day!

They tend to forget that those events happened long ago and far away before anyone alive’s great-grandparents were born.  And, they neglect to realize St. Patrick’s Day is about as religious as Labor Day in modern times.

It’s also a time to think ahead and recognize that the first signs of spring are starting to peep out.

For me, though, it’s about honoring my Irish roots.  It’s a day in which I think of my mother.  (Tomorrow would be her 60th birthday)  I also think of my grandparents who came over from Ireland in the ’20s to become successful dairy farmers.  I think upon how both sides of my family struggled and overcame many obstacles.  And about how our ancestors make us who we are today.

While my family doesn’t care for corned beef and cabbage, and I can’t drink beer, we’ll raise a glass of wine and enjoy a savory steak in good cheer!