Happy 2nd Adoption Anniversary Hoagie!

Today is the 2nd anniversary of the day we adopted Hoagie!  What a 2 years it has been!  In honor of his special day I am just going to post some of my favorite pictures of my wonderful pooch Hoagie.  Enjoy!

This is one of the very first pictures we have of Hoagie.  This was taken on the day we adopted him, right outside the SLO County animal shelter.  He looks very happy to have a new home!

Hoagie lookin' awful cute at A Dog's Day 2011

One of Hoagie's favorite spots in the house: surveying the backyard for the invading squirrel and lizard hordes.  Draco often supervises.

Another of Hoagie's favorite spots: lounging on the couch, preferably belly up for better belly-rub access.

Hoagie lookin' super sharp at an obedience run-through with his Doggles.  You wish you were this cool.

Hoagie doin' his sniffing magic at the nose work demo at this year's Wiggle Waggle Walk for Woods (yesterday).

Hoagie sportin' his new Italian Hoagie Sandwich costume at Wiggle Waggle.   Everyone had to take his picture in his cute new getup.

Wiggle Waggle was a blast this year.  Hoagie did great with all the other dogs and was a perfect gentleman. He once again proved how far we have come together in only 2 years!

Now on with the anniversary celebration!

Hoagie looks slightly less than happy about his anniversary hat.

That's much better.  Lookin' proud in his hat, and hungry for his special cake.  

His cake is a frozen dog treat from Doc Burnstein's with two duck jerky candles.  They did a great job with the recipe for their frozen dog treats, Hoagie loves them, and because they are soy and tofu, they don't upset his delicate constitution! (Doc Burnstein's people ice cream is a-m-a-z-i-n-g too!)

Hoagie nomming on his anniversary treat!

So all-in-all, it's been a heck of a couple years, and we look forward to many more years of fun together!

"What a summer!" Part 1:

In which Hoagie visits his happy place and doesn't invite Mommy...


Holy patootie!  What a summer.  Full of dog related ups and downs!  I think because I have so much to tell (and because I have a slightly sub-par attention span) I will split this up into a couple posts.  I'll start with the not-so-great news.

Sad Hoagie doesn't like bad news.

In my last post mentioned the COAST ASC trial in Cayucus.  This was our very first Rally-O trial, and well...Hoagie and I bombed.  Hoagie essentially shut down.  After lots of thought, I believe there were two main reasons behind our double NQ (two non-qualifying scores).

First, I think the trial environment was way over Hoagie's current distraction threshold.  We were out on a working ranch, with a herding trial going on in the next field over.  In addition, Hoagie had the spectacular "luck" of having two cows walk right by the trial ring just as we started our first run.  *awesome*  In addition, the coastal wind through the little valley we were in was incredible; like sent-a-soft-crate-with-cattle-dog-inside-tumbling-across-the-field, incredible.  That poor dog may never trust his soft-crate again. 

Evil crate is evil.

The wind was so bad that the judges started taking down their shade tent during my second run to prevent it from blowing away.  The environment was definitely not ideal for a first trial; however I really don't think that was the main issue.

Unfortunately, I think the main problem was that I was way too stressed out, and Hoagie picked up on that.  I couldn't get him to pay attention, on- or off-course.  Poor guy wouldn't even look me in the eye, and I could tell he was feelin' my nerves.  It really would seem that Hoagie said to himself: "Wow, Mom is super stressed about something.  I guess there is something to be nervous about, so I am going to send lots of calming signals to everyone and everything."  He averted his eyes, sniffed the ground, and simply sat down mid-course and wouldn't move.

Between the environment and my stress, Hoagie demonstrated the doggie equivalent of: "screw this b.s., too much drama."

Exhibit A (please excuse the hiney picture.)

I tried everything to get him to pay attention, or even move, but he wasn't having any of it.  Thankfully the judge was really nice about it and told me that I got the persistence award.  I kept my cool, gently encouraged Hoagie, and never once pulled on his leash.  All my friends competing, even my Rally-O instructor, Cindy, said that I did the best I could, given the circumstances.  It just wasn't Hoagie's day.

So, moral of the story: I know what went wrong, I know what we need to work on, and I know that in the end, it was an educational day.  I won't pretend that I wasn't really disappointed.  That's probably why it took me so long to get up the nerve to write about the trial.  I learned a lot form the experience however, and I got to watch some great dogs compete.

Congrats to Cindy Decker who got High In Trial in the morning trial with Slick, and in the afternoon trial with Twill.  A very talented trainer with some spectacular dogs!

Yay Slick and Twill!

So, I shall save the good news for next post, and leave you with a picture Cindy took of one of the rare moments that Hoagie was actually paying attention.  At least he looked good in the pictures...

"Oh shoot, someone's taking pictures.  I better look like I'm paying attention."

*Hoagie: Selective Attention Pro*

A Busy Spring!

Hey guys!  I'm still alive!  Really!  And man have Hoagie and I been busy!  Last time I mentioned that I would keep you updated on Hoagie's progress in Scent Work.  (I know, I know, 5 months of no posts isn't exactly keeping you "updated."  Cut me some slack on this one!)  We completed Nose Work 1 and 2 classes, as well as 6 weeks of continuing nose work through Gentle Touch.  Best of all, on the 13th Hoagie passed his birch Odor Recognition Test, and can now go on to compete and work towards NW1! 

 Check out that birch sniffing machine!  Yay for Hoagie!

I have to say that it has been a blast and our instructors Katie and Darcy have been super knowledgeable and a great inspiration.  It's a great new dog sport that is absolutely perfect for "reactive" dogs like the Hoagster.  I would recommend nose work to anyone with any kind of dog.  I've seen everything from Dachshunds to Newfoundlands have a great time using their noses!  Even if you don't plan on competing, the activities are great boredom busters.  Searching for scent among plastic Easter eggs was Hoagie's favorite activity in class. (Here's a video of Katie's dog Brenna doing a similar egg hunt.)  Plus it's fun getting to watch a dog just be a dog, using his nose and working for his treats!  Check out the NACSW website for more info or to see if there is a group or class near you!  It's a new sport so there aren't too many folks teaching it yet, but keep an eye out cause it's spreading fast!

The other thing that has been keeping us busy is preparing for our first Rally-O trial!  Hoagie and I will be competing Memorial Day weekend at the ASCA trial in Cayucus put on by COAST ASC.  We've been practicing really hard, and Hoagie is doing great.  His attention is much closer to where I would like it, and I'm working on making sure I know all the ASCA signs (which are of course different than AKC and UKC signs).  As long as I can get him to focus, and I don't screw up too badly, we should hopefully do alright.  Keep your fingers and paws crossed for us!  I'll post how we do after the trial next weekend!  Till next time!

In the mean time enjoy some pics of us practicing hard at a run through at Santa Rosa park:

Hoagie looking at Stew taking pictures instead of focusing.  Such a ham!

Hoagie doing a good job ignoring distractions!

Trying his best to look cute for treats.

Lookin' cool in his shades after a good practice.

Fun day and fun videos

Hey all!  Hope you had a great holiday season and New Years.  I know many of us said it last year, but hopefully this new year will be better than the last!

Lots of good news on the dog-front.  Hoagie and I are looking forward to starting a nose-work class through Gentle Touch Pet Training this week.  We'll keep you updated on how that all goes, but it looks like it should be fun!

Hoagie has been making lots of progress in his training.  We've been working hard on fostering calm behavior at home and out-and-about.  Also, I am learning that calming myself down greatly helps in calming Hoagie.  If I'm annoyed and frustrated with him, he gets annoyed and frustrated.  It sounds silly, but I've had to remind myself that having a dog is supposed to be fun, not frustrating.  No matter what I do, he will still be a dog, still be imperfect, and like all our furry kids, a little weird.

It would however, seem that my new outlook and all the hard work is paying off.  Attention level is up, calm is becoming the norm instead of the exception, and everyone involved is feeling a little bit more sane (myself included).  Today at the SLODOG run-through I could have sworn someone switched my old dog with some new, well behaved doppelganger.

He wasn't snarky to any of the other dogs, even the three puppies taunting him with excited wiggles and puppy whines.  He was focused on me for a great Rally-O run through, and was so relaxed during the 3 minute group sit-stay that he decided to lie down (even though he was supposed to stay sitting) with a puppy not 2 feet from him, doing it's best impression of a 10-year-old hopped up on Mountain Dew.  Hoagie was a trouper today and made me really proud.  We've worked hard, and it's finally showing.  People who have known us for a while compliment us on our improvement, and people just meeting him see an even-tempered dog and a relaxed owner.  I couldn't be happier with his progress!  Even as I write this Hoagie is curled up on his bed like a little angel, enjoying a well deserved nap.

In celebration of a successful practice today I thought I would include some fun videos.  I have found that some of the best and most useful training help can be found on YouTube.  There are a lot of great trainers online doing some amazing stuff with their dogs.  Some of my favorites are the videos by Emily of Kikopup.  Her videos are really clear and well put together.  I also love that she only uses positive reinforcement techniques.  I found the video below to be especially useful in fostering calmness and sanity when I'm not actively working with Hoagie.

Be sure to check out kikopup's other videos if you want great dog training tips or just want to watch some fun dog videos. 

This next video is by Sian on her channel zsian1.  She is another one who does great dog training videos.  This one features some great training and canine freestyle practice footage.  Makes me laugh every time I watch it...

 

So enjoy some YouTube silliness, and most of all enjoy your dog.  The minute I remembered to do that was the same moment I got back a little bit of my own sanity (and a better behaved dog to boot)!

A "Leave-It" breakthrough

So, the other day we made some real progress on the path toward a reliable "leave-it" command. "Leave-it" is a really really useful tool for re-directing a dog like Hoagie. We've been working on it for a while, and am finally getting closer. First, however, let me give you a little background on the situation.

We believe Hoagie is a "Borgi" or a Border Collie/Welsh Corgi cross. Because we got him at the County Animal Shelter, we can't be sure. We don't know if he was the product of a local ranch dog litter or if someone paid a lot for him as a "designer mutt." He's a great dog, but sometimes he can be a bit of a handful.  We think his original parents may not have known what they were getting themselves into with this cute little guy.

 All of this has given me a really reactive dog with a high prey drive.  Hoagie's perfect storm of high vigilance apparently lets him see things a little differently.  Now, I know that mice and lizards like our wood pile and a nearby bush outside our house, but I think Hoagie sees something even more thrilling...

Apparently a very exciting drama plays out in Mousopolis and Lizardtopia, in which the evil Lizard Overloards, led by the cruel Lizard King, decide which of the downtrodden Mice People are to be sacrificed to the Green-Eyed Fang-Toothed Demon in the garage.

This is apparently better than even the best squirrel-based dramas.  Getting to check in on it elicits squeals of excitement every time we go by the bush and wood pile.

But I digress.  The main point is that, finally after months of trying to work on a leave-it command, Hoagie was able to tear himself away and enjoy the rain of treats that awaited him when he came back to stand quietly next to me.

I wasn't entirely sure he was going to come when I said "leave-it," but my gamble paid off, and Hoagie has been much more reliable about taking a break from the excitement.  He's by no means perfect with this command yet, but I'll take little successes when I can!

Short Paws for a Cause

Sorry I'm a bit slow on the posts right now. It's been a busy week for dog related stuff, and I'm working on a couple posts right now. I'll have some new stuff up soon!

Before I post this link, I want to assure you that this blog won't normally be a place for this kind of soapbox stuff. I did however want to share this petition with ya'll.

I recently met the brother of Rosie the Newf, and this petition is in regards to a really a messed up incident with police shooting a dog in Oregon. What isn't included in the police report is that after shooting a dog cowering in a blackberry bush four times, police laughed about their conquest in front of the Good Samaritan neighbors who were originally trying to help the dog.

It really comes down to police and law enforcement needing better education on dog behavior and body language. Far too many dogs are needlessly shot every year, and as with many things in life, I feel education is the key (insert "The More You Know" music). I have a lot of respect for law enforcement, and all that they do for us (my brother is in law enforcement), but this incident is inexcusable. So, if you feel so moved take a sec and sign the petition. Thanks!

*steps off soapbox*

Rosie the Newfoundland


So, uh, to lighten the mood a bit after that downer, enjoy a picture of my cat Pesto looking smug after stealing Hoagie's crate.



Evil-Eyes Pesto is in your crates, stealin' your warms.

Walking frustrations

So I suppose that a large part of me writing this blog is to keep track of my progress. I thought I might start with something that has been endlessly frustrating since the day we got Hoagie, and of which I was vividly reminded today...walking on a leash.



Granted, we have made some progress. At first I wasn't sure if we had really adopted a borgi or a miniature sled dog.



So we of course tried a couple different options, and ended up using a head halter, with somewhat....limited...success.



Now don't get me wrong. Working with a head halter has helped some, but as we were reminded today, when you become dependent on a tool like a head halter, any progress goes out the window when you have to go without.



I've had to change tactics. I'm now doing my best to stick to only positive reinforcement training techniques. The key to progress toward a calm dog walking by my side has been treats and praise. Hoagie is beginning to think that walking by my side makes it rain treats. This has however created a new problem.



He gets his treat and then goes back to whatever exciting distraction he was focused on. I really do think that this will eventually work with continued work and time...but it sure is frustrating right now.