Monday Mischief #68 - Supervising Dance Class

Mr. N has been accompanying me to dance class of late. It's hard work for him because he doesn't understand why people would be doing other things rather than petting him. 

He especially finds stretches irresistible and will nudge people to pet him mid-stretch. One time, no one else showed up to class so the instructor and I were busy with some choreography issues and "ignoring him" and desperate for attention, he practically launched himself at the next class members who were filing in.

It's a really tiny class and everyone likes dogs thankfully (plus I have permission from the studio director). My biggest worry is that he's a tripping hazard as he likes to follow us around as we practice moves around the studio. I've brought a mat for him but he finds settling boring and will get up again.

Last class though, I think we may have found a solution. I plopped him down on the sole chair in the corner and he was content to sit and watch us for half the class. I'm sure he thinks he's supervising. He better watch out though, there's talk of putting him in a tutu. 

BW Sunday #90 - Giant Dog

ACVO National Service Animal Eye Exam

This year Mr. N participated in the ACVO National Service Animal Eye Exam. The event provides a free screening-wellness eye exam to Service Animals including those provide the following services: guide, hearing assistance, drug detection, police/military, search and rescue, therapy, and those assisting people with disabilities other than blindness. Registration begins in April and the examinations take place in May. 

I'd like to thank the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists for hosting the event, VCA Northwest Veterinary Specialists for examining Mr. N and Stokes Pharmacy and the other sponsors. Having good eyesight is essential for his therapy dog responsibilities. 

It was a really quick visit. I filled out a form and presented our paperwork and we were in and out in about ten minutes. The vet came in and waved his hands in front of Mr. N's eyes, then shone a light into them and examined them through a scope. Mr. N's eyes were declared normal.  

Mr. N hates going to the vet but he is very stoic and tolerant of everything they do to him there. He was obviously miffed at me for making him endure said torment. I tried to take this photo of him in front of the building afterwards and he refused to cooperate unlike his normal photo loving self. 

The American Veterinary Dental College offers free oral health exams for service dogs but they're not offering it this year. 

Wordless Wednesday #84 - Working Retail

Monday Mischief #67 - Finding and Catching a Stray Dog

We left training class and I was chatting with a friend when we saw this small grey dog streak across the road. I handed over Mr. N to my friend and I left in pursuit. There were at least a dozen times when she ran across the pathway of a car and I was afraid she was going to get hit. She also blended in with the color of the street which didn't help matters either.

She finally turned into a side street and I finally got to the point where I could throw treats in her direction and she stopped to eat them and would move a little closer. She was really, really skittish. I tried to get a look at her tags but she let out a horrible yelp when I reached for her collar.

At this point, my friend texted and asked where we were and she arrived shortly afterwards in her car. We tried using her dog as a decoy. The dog was interested but not enough to get near us. I corralled the other two dogs and my friend managed to coax the dog into a crate with copious amounts of hot dogs. 

We called the owner and she came sauntering down the street. She said the dog repeatedly digs out under the fence and gets out although she was amazed to hear how far the dog had gotten this time (right in the middle of downtown traffic). My friend gave her some fencing advice and warned her that the dog had consumed an immense amount of treats.The woman thanked us, adding "hope this didn't ruin your day" and left with her dog. We had spent 45 minutes chasing after her dog, terrified that the dog was going to get hit by a car in front of our eyes.  

If Mr. N was lost, I would be in hysterics, calling every vet, shelter/rescue, and dog friend I knew and out plastering flyers all over the neighborhood. I would be so immensely grateful to whoever found him  and would buy them dinner or make them a cake or bring them cookies for a year! Or all of the above. My friend and I were talking about how we needed to carry emergency cash so we could thank people who find our dogs.

Despite the ungrateful owners (I've found and returned over a dozen dogs at this point and they've all been pretty nonchalant), I still go after stray dogs, thinking what if this was Mr. N who was lost. The boyfriend's philosophy is pretty much but Mr. N wouldn't get lost. He is immensely velcro and doesn't see the point of going places without me so it would take an extreme set of circumstances for him to get lost so I do mostly agree with the boyfriend but still. 

Mr. N is microchipped and always wears a collar. But perhaps even more importantly, he is not hand shy or collar shy or skittish. A microchip or tags won't do any good if a stranger can't get close to your dog... If Mr. N was lost, he'd probably march right up to the nearest person he saw and be like, "Hello, I am lost. You need to find my human right now. And feed me!" That was one of the things I worried about with our foster pup. He did not like strangers and did not like going near them, even with food. 

Do you go after stray dogs? Do you have any tips? And how is your dog "prepared" for the experience of being lost?

Mr. N is displeased when I chase after other dogs

BW Sunday #89 - Tiny Dancer

Photo by Ashley Anderson

Hiking Hardy Ridge & Phlox Point

We were invited to go on an early morning hike last weekend so we blearily made our way out of bed and to meet people from the dog hiking group. Our group consisted of Aussies, a Cattle Dog, a Lab and Mr. N.

I made sure to pack plenty of water for the two of us and I stashed a fleece and Mr. N's cooling vest in my pack. I was a little worried if I would make it through the hike. I knew Mr. N would be fine, his hiking stamina is much better than mine. And I was right.

The wildflowers were all abloom and we saw tons of Indian paintbrush and even some Chocolate Lilies. 

Photo by Rebecca Richardson

Photo by Rebecca Richardson

Photo by Rebecca Richardson

Mr. N trotted in front of me and made sure I kept up with the rest of the group. It got warm quickly and layers came off. Mr. N started off wearing a fleece and was wearing his cooling vest by the time we got to the summit. 

Photo by Rebecca Richardson

We let the dogs sit in the shade and ate a snack up on the summit while admiring the scenery. Mr. N was a little warm but the way down was mostly in the shade and he recovered quickly. Some of the other dogs weren't as fortunate having dark, thick coats. 

Photo by Rebecca Richardson

It was a lovely hike with stunning views but I think we were all ready to go home after nine miles of hiking. We all slept very well that night.

Photo by Rebecca Richardson

Wordless Wednesday #83 - Amidst all the Wildflowers

Photos by: Rebecca Richardson

Click for Joy (Clicker Training Book Review)

My go-to recommendation book for clicker training is "Click for Joy! Questions and Answers from Clicker Trainers and Their Dogs" by Melissa Alexander. I did not discover the book until I was further into clicker training. It would have saved me time and some trial and error if I had read it beforehand.

The author is the moderator for a clicker training forum and compiled some of the mostly commonly asked questions and answers about clicker training in this book. The book covers a lot of technical ground while providing clear and concise answers (in a Q&A format). It also has an index and cross-references other sections of the book.

This is not a step-by-step how to teach your dog how to wave with a clicker kind of book (personally, I prefer video for that type of thing). It's more about providing you with the knowledge behind how clicker training works, why it works and how to be a more efficient clicker trainer. And I like how it's not just for beginners, clicker trainers of various levels can benefit from this book.

Some of my favorite questions and answers:

• Will I have to use the clicker and treats forever?
• What do I do if my dog intentionally disobeys a known command? 
• How do I add distance/duration to a behavior? 
• How do I train against distractions?
• How long will it take to train my dog?
• What is management? How do I "set my dog up for success?"

Do you have any favorite training books?

Mr. N ready to demonstrate his clicker training skills at the non-profit fair

Welcome to First Monday's Positive Pet Training Blog Hop hosted by Cascadian Nomads, Tenacious Little Terrier and Rubicon Days. Please share your responsible pet owner positive pet training tips by linking a blog post or leaving a comment below. Any positive reinforcement training posts or comments are also always welcome. The Positive Pet Training Blog Hop goes all week long. Our next hop will begin Monday, June 1st and continues for a week. The June theme is multiple pet training. 

BW Sunday #88 - Woodland Portrait

Photo by: Rebecca Richardson

The Labyrinth Hike or the Hike that Wants to Kill Us

Mr. N is such a poser. During our pre-hike at 1000 Acres, there was a tour group(?) walking around, several of them armed with DSLRs. Mr. N sees a woman with a camera and trots over and strikes a pose. She starts taking pictures of him. Mr. N is the local wildlife, I guess? 

Afterwards, we lunched in Hood River at the Waterfront Park. We were trying to take photos of the dogs perched on the rocks. Sage was on the rocks with Mr. N until she dived into the water. So Mr. N posed by himself. He was not perturbed by this. 

We journeyed to our final destination, the Labyrinth. And then walked another half-mile from the parking area to the trail head. Supposedly, there was a waterfall on the way but either we completely missed it or it dried up.

Shortly after we were on the trail, we ran into two people who warned us about a rattlesnake up further on the trail and poison oak. We were prepared for the presence of ticks but snakes? Ugh. Hence why we started calling the trail; the trail that wants to kill us. We were very cautious on the trail and scanning every surface for potential snakes.

The trail did boast splendid views. And another waterfall that we couldn't find. The trail was said to be "unmarked but obvious."

We reached a point where there were two trails and we took the wrong one. After meandering, we followed the other trail up. We passed through several open grassy meadow areas where we saw at least a dozen hawks circling. Ann started calling Mr. N "hawk bait."

It turned out to be a warmer day than we anticipated and Mr. N plopped down at some point while I was trying to take a picture.

Mr. N started limping and I picked him up and carried him for a while. I think he just stepped on one of the rocks wrong. I was mildly concerned I'd have to carry him the rest of the way but as we prepared to head back, he started squirming and was ready to zoom home. Poor Sage was suffering from the heat and was lagging behind in spurts and fits. The travails of being a double-coated, black dog.

 Doesn't Mr. N look like an anime character?

Luckily, we did not end up seeing any snakes or running into poison oak. I did find a tick on Mr. N though. He was thoroughly inspected and bathed when we got home.

What hiking hazards have you faced?