Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Haven't said this in a while - Eddie came to visit
After taking KD for an afternoon walk yesterday, we came in and after a few minutes, KD was barking at the back door. I saw what I thought was a cat at the back fence and let her out to investigate. I followed her out and that wasn't a cat and it wasn't leaving. It was Eddie. If you have read the blog from way back, you remember Eddie. Eddie is a little dog that lives in the neighborhood behind ours and came under the fence a few times a long time back (February of 2007). Well, KD really wanted to play with Eddie, but he didn't seem that interested. They sniffed each other as dogs will and she kept at him and he barked at her a little bit. No teeth were shown or anything that aggressive, just a growl from him. I picked him up and called his owners and left a message and then took the dogs inside and let the go explore. KD was very patient even when Eddie was trying out one of her bones. Eddie wanted to be picked up and get out of KDs way, so I carried him a little bit and then I put him back down but KD was getting too insistent on playing, so I crated Eddie for a little bit. Eventually his owner came and he was headed back home.
Friday, January 25, 2008
A visit from Emma
My friend Lori got a toy poodle a week or more ago. She wanted to see if Emma would get along with KD so that she could come over and bring her dog and also so she could leave Emma with us if she goes out of town. I told Lori to bring her over after after I had taken KD for another run so that KD would be tired. I took KD for a 30 minute run and then we met Lori and Emma out on the sidewalk down the block and after some sniffing and checking each other out, we went back to the house. KD has a reputation of being bad with other dogs, but I know that she used to share a run with Hermes and get along and she shares a run with Valerie who she is dominant with, but gets along. KD was fine with Emma. She was play bowing and trying to induce Emma to come play, but Emma didn't seem very interested. She let Emma take one of her bones and let Emma take part of her comforter. No problems there.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
They say be careful what you wish for
Seems I haven't blogged this week except to answer an email inquiry, so here is a bit of catchup. The shelter evening/night person left this week and so Monica organized some people to cover the shifts. She called me on Monday and I went over to close. Monica stayed late working and there was another volunteer there, so things went very smoothly. I told Monica that I had a committee meeting on Tues. but that I would try to come help Michelle close up on Tuesday. Tuesday, my committee meeting ran all the way to 8pm and by the time I got to the shelter, Michelle had done everything and was closing up early. I dropped off my keys and went on my way.
Anyway, on to the title story. I have been running with KD almost every morning (we walk some mornings) and we walk at least once more a day. This morning I decided I wanted to do a bit longer of a run. I went a way that we have gone before but when I threw in an extra loop of a couple of blocks and then came back to up to a neighborhood park that we usually run up the sidewalk across from. I decided we should run the dirt trail that goes on the outside of this park which is a very small loop (maybe 1/4 mile). We were running along and KD was lagging a bit sniffing. I turned up the trail to head back to do a second loop and I noticed that her shadow wasn't behind me. I turned around and she wasn't there. I wear a running belt and a leash that clips securely to the belt and I didn't know what was going on but that there was no KD. I headed back the trail about 15 seconds and I saw her down the street to my left. I know that you are not supposed to chase a dog in this situation, just drop down and call her in a high praising voice and tell her what a good girl she is and come. Well, I panicked and started running after her yelling her name and away she went. I chased her down, around the corner, down another block and another corner and another block and another corner and then she turned and I followed but hit a main street and didn't see her either way. Of course I am worn out by now and freaked out. I run up to the closest corner and look both ways but don't see her. We have doubled back to the trail now so I run up to it to see if she is there. I head back where I lost her and go the other way and still nothing. Now I am really freaked out and tired and figure that I have to go the other way and head home to get the car. I see a bike rider coming my way and I flag him down and ask if he has seen a dog matching KDs description from the way he was coming. He had!!! He tells me where he last saw her and I take off running. We are heading a bit toward home but are about 1.5 miles from home at this point. I flag down a car and get a ride about 1/2 mile to the street the bike rider described and I run along there looking and yelling. I pass a few people and none of them have seen her come by. At this point I am a little less than a mile from home and start running that way hoping she was heading home when the bike rider saw her. I run toward home hoping and thinking if she isn't there, I will get the car and go looking among the myriad of streets around here. As I turn the corner to my house, I see here running around the front yard waiting for me. The leash and clip have taken a beating but are still attached to her (the leash has a clip at each end,one for her collar and one for the belt). I tell her what a good dog she is and we go inside. 15 minutes later, my heart starts to slow. 3 morals to this story. 1) Be careful what you wish for (longer run), you may get it. 2) When you see your dog is loose, don't yell her name and chase her, just drop down and call her and tell her she is a good girl. 3) Check and double check the leash clip. I know it was clipped fine for the first mile or more because as she lagged behind or stopped off to pee, it yanked on me. I think the problem is that as the loop on the belt moved back around to the back, I slid the metal loop around to my left side to get her more where I wanted her and I must have partially unclipped it at that point. I will be double checking it and probably will add a secondary clip to the belt to keep it secured to me. There is a secondary loop on the leash so that you can clip the leash around a pole or something like that and I can slide that toward my end and clip from it to my belt ring for added security. I don't want a repeat of today. Thank goodeness she navigated her way home. She is wiped out now. I gave her a bath and need to get the car ready to take her with me to Petco adoption day soon.
Anyway, on to the title story. I have been running with KD almost every morning (we walk some mornings) and we walk at least once more a day. This morning I decided I wanted to do a bit longer of a run. I went a way that we have gone before but when I threw in an extra loop of a couple of blocks and then came back to up to a neighborhood park that we usually run up the sidewalk across from. I decided we should run the dirt trail that goes on the outside of this park which is a very small loop (maybe 1/4 mile). We were running along and KD was lagging a bit sniffing. I turned up the trail to head back to do a second loop and I noticed that her shadow wasn't behind me. I turned around and she wasn't there. I wear a running belt and a leash that clips securely to the belt and I didn't know what was going on but that there was no KD. I headed back the trail about 15 seconds and I saw her down the street to my left. I know that you are not supposed to chase a dog in this situation, just drop down and call her in a high praising voice and tell her what a good girl she is and come. Well, I panicked and started running after her yelling her name and away she went. I chased her down, around the corner, down another block and another corner and another block and another corner and then she turned and I followed but hit a main street and didn't see her either way. Of course I am worn out by now and freaked out. I run up to the closest corner and look both ways but don't see her. We have doubled back to the trail now so I run up to it to see if she is there. I head back where I lost her and go the other way and still nothing. Now I am really freaked out and tired and figure that I have to go the other way and head home to get the car. I see a bike rider coming my way and I flag him down and ask if he has seen a dog matching KDs description from the way he was coming. He had!!! He tells me where he last saw her and I take off running. We are heading a bit toward home but are about 1.5 miles from home at this point. I flag down a car and get a ride about 1/2 mile to the street the bike rider described and I run along there looking and yelling. I pass a few people and none of them have seen her come by. At this point I am a little less than a mile from home and start running that way hoping she was heading home when the bike rider saw her. I run toward home hoping and thinking if she isn't there, I will get the car and go looking among the myriad of streets around here. As I turn the corner to my house, I see here running around the front yard waiting for me. The leash and clip have taken a beating but are still attached to her (the leash has a clip at each end,one for her collar and one for the belt). I tell her what a good dog she is and we go inside. 15 minutes later, my heart starts to slow. 3 morals to this story. 1) Be careful what you wish for (longer run), you may get it. 2) When you see your dog is loose, don't yell her name and chase her, just drop down and call her and tell her she is a good girl. 3) Check and double check the leash clip. I know it was clipped fine for the first mile or more because as she lagged behind or stopped off to pee, it yanked on me. I think the problem is that as the loop on the belt moved back around to the back, I slid the metal loop around to my left side to get her more where I wanted her and I must have partially unclipped it at that point. I will be double checking it and probably will add a secondary clip to the belt to keep it secured to me. There is a secondary loop on the leash so that you can clip the leash around a pole or something like that and I can slide that toward my end and clip from it to my belt ring for added security. I don't want a repeat of today. Thank goodeness she navigated her way home. She is wiped out now. I gave her a bath and need to get the car ready to take her with me to Petco adoption day soon.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Response to question about Watson
Ashley,
Watson has not been adopted yet. I saw him tonight at the shelter. He has grown a lot in the last few weeks and is getting to be a full size hound at only about 7-8 months old. Bigger dogs are harder to adopt out, so he hasn't been snapped up though people have commented on how he is great looking. You can see him on the shelter website at http://www.centraltexasspca.org. Shelter hours are Fri and Mon 3-7 and Sat/Sun 12-5. If you want to contact me, I added my email address to the left side of the blog.
Watson has not been adopted yet. I saw him tonight at the shelter. He has grown a lot in the last few weeks and is getting to be a full size hound at only about 7-8 months old. Bigger dogs are harder to adopt out, so he hasn't been snapped up though people have commented on how he is great looking. You can see him on the shelter website at http://www.centraltexasspca.org. Shelter hours are Fri and Mon 3-7 and Sat/Sun 12-5. If you want to contact me, I added my email address to the left side of the blog.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Doesn't like loud noises, but who does
One thing about KD is that she doesn't like loud noises. I know that isn't unusual for dogs, but it is the stream of disjointed thoughts I am writing about together. As I wrote recently, I just finished reading the Cesar Millan books (the Dog Whisperer). While I find some of his stuff kind of "new agey", I think he has a lot of good stuff to say. I am really interested in the idea of training a dog to use the treadmill, but I digress. One of the things he stresses is exercise and he takes his dogs running in the morning and then he rollerblades with them in the afternoon. Serendipitously, there were rollerblades on clearance at Target this week, so I dropped in to one on Sunday while KD was at the shelter and I found a cheap pair that were in my size and got them. Just wait, I am getting back to that noise thing. Yesterday, I strapped on the blades in the kitchen and KD shied away from them. I got her to come get her leash on and we went out in the garage where the sound of the garage door opening (see, sound) caused her to not want to exit the house, but I didn't take no for an answer. She continued to be scared of the rollerblades and tried to pull ahead but settled down after a minute or so. It turns out that the rollerblades were the worst ones ever and I will be returning them, but the point is she gets spooked by stuff and is stubborn and will try to go the other way or plant herself firmly in place.
Sunday, when I got to the shelter with KD, I went to put her in her outside run and there were 2 shelter regulars on the back porch who said hello to her and as I walked her toward her run, she tried to plop down and stop. One of the girls on the porch said, "she does that", as if I didn't know. I know KD from way back and I just gave her a tug and kept moving and she came along with me when she realized that she wouldn't be able to resist. This is actually a change in my behavior. Way back when KD came to have a sleepover with Hermes, I went to get her at the shelter and had her on a leash and she was headed for the big dog porch and pulling that way. When I tried to take her to the other porch, she resisted and Michelle was on the riding lawnmower and making a lot of noise and KD wouldn't budge. I finally went and picked her up thinking that I had won that argument, but now I see that I was just reinforcing her fear by going to pick her. Now I know better. When we head out the garage, I get her in there and then open the garage door and she has to stay and get used to it. If she tries to plop down while I am leading a walk (even to her outside run), I keep on going and don't settle for it. If she dictates the behavior, then she is taking charge and I am supposed to be the pack leader. I guess I could have just titled this entry "a stubborn girl" but whatever.
I never did finish digging up the garden to put in the gravel and sand. I have about 1/2 to 2/3s dug but it is all in a pile and I need to decide where to put the dirt and then I need to finish the digging, tamp down the ground (not sure with what yet), and then get the gravel/sand. Plenty of more work for me to do, woo hoo.
Oh, and I weighed KD yesterday and she is 42.5 lbs. Several people at the shelter this weekend commented that she looked skinnier. I have been giving her as much food as she wants to eat, but I think the daily running and long walks are helping her get more trim. I have had those same comments about Hermes and Bubbette. I know I am not holding back on food for them, so it must be the exercise.
Sunday, when I got to the shelter with KD, I went to put her in her outside run and there were 2 shelter regulars on the back porch who said hello to her and as I walked her toward her run, she tried to plop down and stop. One of the girls on the porch said, "she does that", as if I didn't know. I know KD from way back and I just gave her a tug and kept moving and she came along with me when she realized that she wouldn't be able to resist. This is actually a change in my behavior. Way back when KD came to have a sleepover with Hermes, I went to get her at the shelter and had her on a leash and she was headed for the big dog porch and pulling that way. When I tried to take her to the other porch, she resisted and Michelle was on the riding lawnmower and making a lot of noise and KD wouldn't budge. I finally went and picked her up thinking that I had won that argument, but now I see that I was just reinforcing her fear by going to pick her. Now I know better. When we head out the garage, I get her in there and then open the garage door and she has to stay and get used to it. If she tries to plop down while I am leading a walk (even to her outside run), I keep on going and don't settle for it. If she dictates the behavior, then she is taking charge and I am supposed to be the pack leader. I guess I could have just titled this entry "a stubborn girl" but whatever.
I never did finish digging up the garden to put in the gravel and sand. I have about 1/2 to 2/3s dug but it is all in a pile and I need to decide where to put the dirt and then I need to finish the digging, tamp down the ground (not sure with what yet), and then get the gravel/sand. Plenty of more work for me to do, woo hoo.
Oh, and I weighed KD yesterday and she is 42.5 lbs. Several people at the shelter this weekend commented that she looked skinnier. I have been giving her as much food as she wants to eat, but I think the daily running and long walks are helping her get more trim. I have had those same comments about Hermes and Bubbette. I know I am not holding back on food for them, so it must be the exercise.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Think it might be time to finally dig that doggy sandbox
I was hanging out yesterday on the deck reading a book and KD was wandering around the yard unearthing bones and rawhides that were hidden here and there and playing with them for a few minutes and then taking them and burying them somewhere else. Some of the places are already dug in and some are in the rocks between the trees, but some areas around the fence and deck have new small holes where she put or took stuff. I think it is time for me to get off my backside and finally convert the old planter bed in the back of the yard into a doggy sandbox. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous today, so I guess I can dig out some of the soil that is in there. I have to dig out some of the soil, tamp the soil down, add a layer of gravel and then add sand. I guess this is a moderately big project, but hopefully I will be motivated and work on it this weekend. I would like to get the sandbox built and move the toys and stuff there and show her that this is where she should dig and also hide some stuff in there for her to "find".
In general, things have been going great. I take her for a long walk or perferably a run in the morning with my dog running belt on (from rei: http://www.rei.com/product/668825). I adjust the leash down to about 3.5 feet or so and we go off for a slow run. She follows me behind and to the right most of the time and seldom tries to pull ahead. It really seems to go well and tire her out a bit. I have been going back to work this week and I feed her and let her out and then she stays home all day. She seems to just nap on the sofa. I don't allow her on the sofa and tell her not to jump up on the sofa when I am around and she is looking to, but when I am away, she takes over. If that is the worst thing about her behavior, things are great.
The only other behavior thing aside from joining me on the furniture is one from her past. She likes to keep her toys and not share. I throw her a frisbee and she will chase it down, pick it up and run around with it. If I come over, she wants to play tug. Well, I know that isn't productive and I know I don't want her to learn that she can get me to chase her with it. I am going to have to review some of the dog books and see how to teach her to "leave it". I know I have to use a leash to work with her on it. If she can overcome her possessiveness with toys/treats, she might even be able to go to a home with another dog.
In general, things have been going great. I take her for a long walk or perferably a run in the morning with my dog running belt on (from rei: http://www.rei.com/product/668825). I adjust the leash down to about 3.5 feet or so and we go off for a slow run. She follows me behind and to the right most of the time and seldom tries to pull ahead. It really seems to go well and tire her out a bit. I have been going back to work this week and I feed her and let her out and then she stays home all day. She seems to just nap on the sofa. I don't allow her on the sofa and tell her not to jump up on the sofa when I am around and she is looking to, but when I am away, she takes over. If that is the worst thing about her behavior, things are great.
The only other behavior thing aside from joining me on the furniture is one from her past. She likes to keep her toys and not share. I throw her a frisbee and she will chase it down, pick it up and run around with it. If I come over, she wants to play tug. Well, I know that isn't productive and I know I don't want her to learn that she can get me to chase her with it. I am going to have to review some of the dog books and see how to teach her to "leave it". I know I have to use a leash to work with her on it. If she can overcome her possessiveness with toys/treats, she might even be able to go to a home with another dog.
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