Trinity's Training: Week Three

Last week was our third training class. Here is what we learned.

A kickback stand

This is where you have your dog sit at heel position, then they stand up. Trinity already knows how to do this. So we just practiced.


Stand & stay

You have your dog do a kickback stand, then they stay standing, you take three steps in front of them and then pivot looking at them. I already taught this to Trinity. And again we practiced it. She did very well and the teacher even said that she did a good job.

Curl

This is where your dog sits at heel position then lies down on their left side. Trinity did not want to do this. Our instructor even had a hard time trying to get her to do it. So we've been practicing this at home, it took a few tries but she got. So now I have to see if she will be able to do it in class.

Heeling

Trinity is still having trouble heeling while in class. Her brain gets fried by the end of the hour session and then doesn't want to listen to me at all She was too busy trying to get the other dogs, who were waiting for their class, to talk to her. We've been practicing this outside with distractions at home. Our instructor says that she still needs to be lured because she still new at it this.

We have been doing a lot of things in the three weeks we've had our class. All we have to do is practice, practice, practice.

Trinity's Training Class: Week Two

This was posted be posted last week sorry for the wait, google needed to fix the blog before I could post this. So, here it is.

On Thursday we had another training session. Last week we learned a lot of new things that we hadn't learned in the previous class. Those were a lot of basic steps that Trinity just loved. This week was just about going over some stuff that we had learned before.

Touching a target

Last week we went over touch on the palm of my hand. So this week we expanded that and used Mason jar tops as a target. Trinity did this really well and only after a few short times she was able to touch it twice before getting a reward. The goal of this is to have her touch it on the floor. Then once she is able to do that we teach distance between the target and her. You teach this as a beginning step to what is called a "drop on recall". We have been practicing this a lot over this weekend. She is now able to touch it while it's on the floor and with distance between it and her. This is a really engaging activity for her which she loves to do.

A sit and stay

We practiced a sit and stay for a minute and a half. She did wonderful with the sit and stay with multiple reinforcement during this activity. I knew she would be able to do this because she did so well with this in our previous classes.

Entering the ring

This activity included from outside the classroom. I think we need a little bit more practice with this. She was a nutcase entering the ring. She pulled on her leash the whole time while we were walking ring. But unfortunately, I think this is my fault considering we practice where we have play group.

I hope to have her settle down a bit during class. Fingers crossed she will!

Video Friday: Trinity Showing Off Her Stuff

Trinity loves to do tricks. Especially when there is food involved. Her new favorite treat is peanuts. Happy Friday everyone! I hope this puts you in a good mood for the weekend!

  

Strut Your Mutt

On Saturday we went to the 12th annual Strut Your Mutt event. The event was sponsored by the North Attleboro Animal Shelter and proceeds went to the shelter for all of the cute-as-can-be pups and cats that are waiting for there forever homes. We did not walk in the dogathon and mostly what we did was window shop with some buying of raffle tickets. Trinity was very nervous at the beginning and started foaming at the mouth while doing her 'I'm not to sure about all of this' jumping on me. But then she calmed down and walked nicely through the traffic and even posed for the cameras. We had a lot of fun, hopefully now we can go to bigger events now that I know she wont be to nervous.

"I'm always the way I want to be!"

Trinity's Unexpected Vet Appointment

Last week I noticed that Trinity had been urinating much more that normaly. She wasn't asking to go out more often, but whenever she would go outside, she would pee 6 times within a few minuets. This was very odd for her usually she urinates once at a time.

"Mommy, stop counting how many times I pee!"

So, on Saturday while she was getting a mani/pedi, I made an appointment for her at the vets office. We were very lucky to get in on Monday, usually they are very busy in the afternoons. They asked me to get a urine sample to bring in the day of our appointment. It was surprisingly easy to get from her. I just put on my gloves, got an old container, and stuck my hand, you know where. The urine was very concentrated and cloudy which indicates a urinary tract infection. The office was very happy to know I had brought in the sample. I kind of figured she wouldn't pee for them at the office, she's such a princess.

"No not me. But I am very pretty!"

While in the office, she was nervous about everything. We had to weigh her, which she hates, we found out she gained some weight. In April she was 54lbs and now she's 60lbs! I couldn't believe it, she doesn't even look like she gained weight. She was upset when the vet tech had to take her temperature, she jumped on me while it was being taken. Then she didn't want anything to do with the vet. She ran from her, we had to crowed around her to stop her from running away. The vet said she saw some blood in the urine which is worrying. By the end of the appointment she was sitting on Zach's lap in the waiting area.

"But it was scary!"

Yesterday I got the call from the vet. The good news is that she has a normal white and red blood cell count and there is no protein which means the lime from March is gone, yay! But the urine showed a low acid count and she has some uric crystals in their, that means that it could just be from the infection or bladder stones. She's unsure of this at this time but she put her on antibiotics twice a day for 7 days, then we will get another urine sample a week after stopping the antibiotics to see if the crystals are still their. If they are still in her urine we will have to do a bladder x-ray. I hope that it is just from the urinary tract infection and she doesn't have any stones. But this has not been affecting her mood wise. She's still her happy, crazy puppy self!

Eating At Restaurant's With Dogs

I always like to bring Trinity with us places and since I've been reading the Take Paws blog I am have been thinking about more places to take her. This year I want to be able to take her on a mini vacation to see how she does in a hotel or cottage. But if she wants to go with us she needs to be well behaved at a restaurant. Here in New England their are not many places for dog's to eat outside. I always read others blogs and how they have outdoor seating at a pet friendly restaurant. Then I get jealous that we don't have many here. But I have found some and on Thursday before our class we went to Panera Bread to eat where they have an outside seating area. She was very good. She only barked once and it was more of a 'I'm nervous about this please reassure me it's ok being here.' bark. Which we did, we gave her a lot of treats for lying down and being silent. She just watched other people walk by while she continued to lay down. I was very happy she didn't want to meet every person who walked by, especially kids, she loves kids.

On Friday we went to a surf & turf car hop restaurant where they have picnic benches to sit at. Once more she was very good. She was more concerned with what we were eating than the other people around us. This time she barked at the birds for a few times, but then stopped after they were done mocking her.

A few more times of doing this and she will be ready for a real restaurant.

It's Back To School!

Thursday was our first day back to training in 2 1/2 months. That's a long time for us considering we have been doing one class a week since last May. We started Intro to Competition Obedience for a six week course. We have already taken this class but untill our instructor allows us to move on we need to take it again. Once we do that we will be in the Novice class.

"I love school!"

This week we started back on our basics. The first thing we did was the 'bird feeder'. That is where you take a treat and hold it out to the side of you, then wait until the dog looks at you and not the treat then you click then give it to them. This is also called 'watch me'. Trinity's a fast learner and she picked it up pretty quickly. She knows the fastest way to get the treat is to stare at me.

"What is the fastest way to get out of the bathtub?"

We also did 'Touch'. This involves the dog touching its nose to your palm. This is considered a treat in the ring because you are unable to carry food with you. Trinity knows this one well and was doing it without pawing me or ignoring my hand signal (which she likes to do a lot with this one).

Like this. "I ignore Mommy when she tells me not to do this."

Another exercise we did was 'finish'. This is called 'around' to Trinity. You teach your dog to stand in a heel position at your left side from were ever they are standing. Our instructor in our puppy kindergarten class taught us this and she has been doing it for a year now. All I say is 'around' and point at my left side and she sits next to me in the heeling position. Sometimes this is hard for her in the class because of all the good smelling stuff on the floor. But we are working on that!

It's just like when I open up the fridge. (That's where the cheese lives)

The last thing we did was 'coming when called'. Now, she's usually good at this one. Our instructor in our continuing education class was very impressed by her when she did this. But unfortunately I was to blame with this one. We did a restrained call and she started to run to me but then veered off to see Zach outside the class ring. Opps! It was the very last 10 minuets of class and I knew she was tired and overwhelmed. I should have been closer to her and made sure that she could only see me and not Zach or the other dogs waiting outside for there class to begin. But we did not make the same mistake twice and we set her up for success by doing all of that. She came to me with no problems the next time.

"I love my daddy!"

This week we are practicing all of this as our homework. I think she'll enjoy competition obedience. She's so smart and I know she can do it!

Video Friday: Playtime!

On Tuesday I shared our weekend with Pancake in picture form. Here's a little video from last weekend. Happy Friday everyone!

Come Drink Our Water!

"Come drink our water!" -Zach

This year we decided that our water was just to gross. We had someone come over from basement technologies, the people who finished our basement, to test our water. He found a lot of minerals in it. So we decided to buy their rain soft water cleaning system.

It makes our water taste good, so no more bottled water for us. It's also portable and we get to take it with us if we ever decide to move. YAY for having awesome tasting water for the rest of our lives!

Wordless Wednesday: Look What I Bought

I went to BJ's the other day and bought a bunch of stuff that we won't have to buy for a year.

Go us!!!

A Weekend With Two Dogs

We had the honor of watching our friends dog, Pancake, while they went on vacation. When we told this to Trinity, she was very excited. She loves to play with Pancake and tries her hardest to play with him all day long. He doesn't seem to mind it to much. But I'm sure he's happy to be back home where he isn't forced into playtime, all the time. Here is a recap of our exciting weekend.

Thursday
 He followed me around in the morning.

They lounged around the house while we were at work.

 But got mad at me for taking so many pictures when I got home.

 Friday
We rolled around in the grass.

 Then got upset with mommy for not allowing her to go downstairs.

 And ate dinner on the deck.

Saturday
They played all day with each other.

  Sunday
After having a fun filled day they lounged around the house, again.

  He's not one for playing all day long which makes him such a good companion for her.
 But then it was time for Pancake to go home and we were left with only one dog.

"Which means more hugging & petting for me!"

Pitty Post Day: On BSL and Why It Makes Me Angry

 Happy Birthday to Corbin from, Oh, Corbin. Here is my post for the Blogville Pitty Post Day!

Imagine one day you’re sitting on your couch enjoying a nice evening with your family. You hear a knock on the door and its animal control demanding to see your dog. Your pup comes out of the living room to greet the new stranger with his tail wagging furiously. The man takes one look at him and tells you to surrender your dog to him.

“Why?” you ask.

He replies with “Your dog is deemed dangerous by the court of (insert your state here).

“But my dog has never done anything to anyone. He has earned his CGC, I’ve had him for many years, and he even lets the kids ride him like a horse!”, you tell him this, with a shocked look on your  face.

The officer states the facts, “It’s the courts ruling and I must take any dog that looks like a Pitbull.”

You attempt to reason with the man, “My dog is not a ‘Pitbull’. There is no such thing as a breed called ‘Pitbull’. He is an American Staffordshire Terrier mix and like a child to me. Please do not take my baby!” The man does not care and grabs your petrified dog from you. You yell and scream, demanding for him to return your baby to you, but your shouts are unheard from the man who then places your child in the back of his truck. This is the very last time you see his wonderful face that has now turned into fear. You and your family cry uncontrollably as you know you will never see your first born again.

The seen I portrayed is not uncommon and in many areas there have been court rulings to ban Pitbull type dogs. This bothers me very much because a court can rule, not just bully breeds, but any breed it deems ‘unsafe for the public’. They can say that Trinity looks like an Airedale and they are ‘dangerous’ so therefore I must surrender her to the animal control officer. The words ‘over my dead body’ come into my head when thinking of this. My pets are my children and I would sell my home & re-route my life to keep my children safe and with me. In my mind there is no better place for them but with me. I am also bothered by this because Zach and I do plan on having another dog. What happens if we fall in love with a dog that resembles a Pitbull? What if they deem my new dog ‘dangerous to society’ and ban them in my town? I am lucky that there is no BSL in my town, but there are many BSL laws in surrounding towns.

I feel that it us up to us dog loving, unbiased people to over turn these laws. We fight for many rights in our country so why can we not fight for all dogs rights. Pitbulls are not a danger to society and any dog can be rehabilitated to become a loving family member. Take a look at the V-Dogs, of all the dogs pulled from this horrible dog fighting ring only 1 dog has been people aggressive, but will be living out her life at Best friends animal sanctuary, not a bad deal considering the horror these dogs faced in there lives. Education is also a key factor and many people only know what is being shown to them on T.V or on the internet. I try to over turn these stereotypes whenever possible. So please do the same because they could be coming for your dog-child to.

A Little DIY Project

I am not much of a DIY person. Strike that, I am not at all a DIY person. Zach and I have owned our home for two years now. Besides buying furniture and putting pictures on the walls, we have not done much to make our house any different than when we bought it. The only things we have changed are the paint color in our spare bedroom, aka our niece's room (she doesn't live with us but calls it her 'room' whenever she comes over). We also re-contact papered the linen closet last month (no pictures, it wasn't that exciting) it had the same paper from when the house was built back in 1979, to give you an idea, it had reveling images of Greek statues on it, eww I can't believe I looked at that for two years!

But apparently Zach is a DIYer, who knew!?  When he put in our air conditioner last weekend he noticed that it was dripping right onto our deck. So, he fixed that and look out MacGyver here comes Zach!

I don't have any pictures of him putting it up because he was being very suspicious when he was doing it. But I'm pretty sure he would have made a wonderful member of the Swiss Family Robinson!