BW Sunday #33 - In the Driver's Seat

FitDog Friday #26 - Hiking at Maybury State Park

We're on vacation this week but Mr. N needs exercise wherever we go. He was starting to get restless so it's a good thing we met up with How I Adopted Your Brother for a hike. 

I thought it might be better if we introduced the dogs before leaving to go hiking so we did a quick greeting at the house. Didn't quite work out that way! Mr. N and Snoopy were fine after some barking but Mr. N and the girls (Jeni, Asta) didn't quite take to each other. He is not a fan of other dogs in his face and the girls were still on leash and frustrated so it was chaotic. And loud. 

So we packed up the dogs and headed to Maybury State Park. The park has an interesting history, a tuberculosis sanatorium used to be there. During warmer weather, I'm told that horses and cyclists frequent the park but the icy conditions ensured that we had it mostly to ourselves. 

 

We reached the pond which was the turning around point and stopped to take some photos. 

As usual, Mr. N was very good at posing for the camera. I wasn't sure if he would hold his "photo stay" with all the other dogs around but he proceeded to sit and look pretty. It took much rearranging and corralling runaway dogs to get the four of them together.

Eventually, the dogs got used to each other enough to walk next to each other. We kept Snoopy in the middle as a buffer. He was very good and didn't react to Mr. N telling him off nor did he chime in with the girls' barking.

After two hours of hiking, we went home where Mr. N got a long overdue bath (I had been waiting until we went hiking because I knew he was going to get filthy). The boyfriend said he had to shampoo and rinse twice before the water ran clear.

It was a fun hike and I enjoyed meeting Snoopy, Jeni and Asta and their human. We'll be doing another dog-friendly activity on Saturday and I'll get to meet puppy Kelinn!

Wordless Wednesday #29 - Window Gazer

Monday Mischief #28 - Flying with Mr. N. Never again?

Mr. N is a good traveler and he's used to new experiences. He's traveled via bus, light rail, trolley and planes before as well as by car. I take him almost everywhere where dogs are allowed.

Last week, we traveled to visit the boyfriend's family. We deliberately booked a direct flight because we were flying with Mr. N. It started off smoothly. Mr. N was cooperative in his carrier, we made it to the airport early and went through security without any trouble. There were even people offering chocolate and cocktail samples at the airport.

Display at airport bookstore

Once we got on the plane, the trouble started. The pilot announced that they found a crack in the wing so they had to examine it and get approval before we could fly. Well that took over three hours. Which we spent sitting on the runway. I finally asked to get off the plane so Mr. N could go to the bathroom. Shortly afterwards, they ended up having all the passengers get off the plane.

I rushed him outside. The Portland airport does not have an indoor bathroom area for dogs so I had to go outside, walk him around and go back through security. Then everyone had to reboard the plane.

So between going through security, waiting on the runway and the actual flight, Mr. N was in his carrier for over eight hours. For the first couple of hours, he was good if a little restless but by the time we finally departed, he was clearly displeased. He would whine every now and then and try to get out of the carrier.

By the time, we landed, everyone was stressed. Most of the passengers missed their connections, a group of high school kids had to rush to catch their international flight and we were hungry, frustrated and tired. And Mr. N clearly thought that this was cruel and unusual punishment.

The boyfriend went to go deal with the bags and I took Mr. N out. There was no grass outside but I finally found someone who told me about an AstroTurf area for dogs in a corner. He went and then as we were waiting for our ride, he threw up. I didn't have anything handy so I held him up to the trashcan which had an opening just big enough for his head to fit through. I told him he was a good boy for waiting until we got off the plane.

I hope our return flight goes more smoothly or I may never attempt flying with Mr. N again. And that would make him very sad.

*Onyxx is vacationing at She Speaks Bark's house this week. Visit her blog for Onyxx pictures as well as stories of his shenanigans.

BW Sunday #32 - The Traveler

 

FitDog Friday #25 - Lighthouse

Now that the weather is cooperating more, Sage and Mr. N have been hiking together every week. We trekked through seven miles of sand and mud and visited a lighthouse that is no longer in operation. 

Sage wandered off in the middle of picture taking but Mr. N is always ready to strike a pose.

Looking off into the distance...

Free from his photo duties, he poked his nose into every nook and cranny. Exploring is an intense job and Mr. N takes it very seriously.

Sage gets overheated easily so we took several water breaks. She swam out to retrieve a stick and back to the shore only to be confronted with...

A stick stealing Mr. N! Sage thinks they should share. Mr. N has other ideas.

Wordless Wednesday #28 - Sand and Water

Monday Mischief #27 - Plunging into Mischief

My friend's daughters and their friends were holding a doll party. They also happened to have a robot dog toy with them. They thought Mr. N's reaction to it was hilarious.

Afterwards, I took the girls and Mr. N down to the park. We were walking back from the dock when suddenly Mr. N jumps into the water. And the river is running high! I didn't even have time to think but fished him out by his harness. He was only half wet. Mr. N is not fond of getting wet so it really surprised me. I think he saw the driftwood and thought it was land and jumped. 

We met up with She Speaks Bark and her dog Scooter at the Tin Shed Garden Cafe which has a menu just for dogs. The dogs split the Paw Lickin' Good (chicken with rice). I also brought along bully sticks so the dogs would have something to do while we ate and talked. Scooter declined to eat his so Onyxx decided to eat both of them. Best day ever.

Photo by She Speaks Bark 

BW Sunday #31 - Al Fresco

FitDog Friday #24 - Overshadowed

The boyfriend jokes that Mr. N thinks he's a big black dog because at his foster home, he took their Giant Schnauzer as a role model and imitated everything he did. 

He's not afraid of bigger dogs at all and will not hesitate to correct them if he feels like they're intruding in his space. Which often happens, big dogs don't seem to realize their size either! They always want to sniff his face. So when Sage's human suggested hiking with her friend with a Saint Bernard and Great Pyrenees mix, I said sure.

It was a gorgeous day albeit windy. Sage found a stick as did Toby and they went swimming in the water after them. Mr. N preferred to run up and down the shore. 

We parted ways for a while and Toby and Heidi took a shorter trail while Mr. N and Sage took the long way. We met back up with them and everyone got treats in an attempt to get all four of the dogs in a photo. Mr. N usually got his last because he was overshadowed by all the other dogs crowding in. 

We had to make special efforts to make sure he got his fair share.

Towards the end, we tried getting all of the dogs together again for a photo which was difficult. Here, Sage and Heidi pose.

This was as good as it got!

All of the dogs miraculously managed to stay relatively clean. I was planning on giving Mr. N a bath anyway so it didn't really matter but Sage (with the help of a leash for a short period) didn't roll in anything foul this time. Just mud puddles.

Mr. N wanted to keep going. Two hours of hiking didn't tire him out at all. I ended up taking him on another walk afterwards. Where does he keep all his energy?

Wordless Wednesday #27 - Stairs

Monday Mischief #26 - Embarrassment Squared

Onyxx was supremely bad when I took the dogs for a visit to Mr. N's former foster. She had invited over a neighbor who she had tried to interest in Onyxx. The neighbor ended up adopting another dog, a sweet Border Terrier mix. 

First, Onyxx pooped in the middle of her living room and then he marked the couch on the way to the yard. Once outside, he tried to hump the neighbor's dog. He jumped onto a side table nearly knocking off the glass art on top. We heard a thump coming from the bathroom and I went to investigate. Onyxx had knocked over the trash can. Probably scavenging for food. 

I think the neighbor was very happy with her new dog after seeing Onyxx and his antics. I was so embarrassed and I think Mr. N's foster was too. I don't know what was up with Onyxx. He's never been that bad before. 

How have your dogs embarrassed you?

The culprit 

BW Sunday #30 - Explorers

FitDog Friday #23 - Spring is on its way

It was gorgeous a few days ago. Sixty degrees. Sun. Bright blue sky. So I took the dogs and my friend's kids over to the park to soak in the sun before it disappeared. It was so warm we all ended up wearing short-sleeve shirts and the dogs pranced around without coats (Onyxx declined to have his photo taken).

I get a treat right?

 Mr. N had just gotten groomed too so he was sporting his summer haircut. Which may get us in trouble in a few weeks when we head to the Midwest.

We could see signs of spring. Flowers starting to peek their heads out and green buds on bushes. It was a hopeful reminder that spring was on the way because the next day it poured rain. It was raining so hard Onyxx sought refuge under the car and refused to continue walking.

Now we're off on our way to meet Sage for another hike! 

Wordless Wednesday #26 - This is why we can't have nice things

Positive Pet Training #3 - Turn it off, like a light bulb

Onyxx and Mr. N both know the "touch" trick where they bump their nose against my fingers. Well Mr. N does, Onyxx tries to lick my hand half the time. It's the building block for tricks that involve targeting.

Mr. N and I are currently working on weaving through my legs. I move my hand in the direction I want him to move until he does a figure eight through my legs. I'm currently having some difficult in fading out the hand cues so any advice would be welcome!

I apologize for the lack of video but I can't film it by myself and our place is currently in shambles due to cleaning our carpet this weekend.

Closing doors is a trick that can be taught utilizing targeting. If I knew about targeting at the time, teaching Mr. N might have been easier! Basically, you attach a post-it note or something similar to the door and you teach your dog to target the post-it with his nose and eventually close the door. Instead, I shaped the trick by clicking for any interaction with the door until he understood that I wanted him to push the door with his nose. Mr. N would have preferred targeting. He likes clear instructions.

Other potential tricks include: teaching your dog to "play" piano, ringing a bell to signal the need to go to the bathroom, and turning off lights.

Thank you for joining Cascadian Nomads,Dachshund Nola & Tenacious Little Terrier for the first Monday Positive Pet Training Blog Hop. Each month, bloggers and readers share and learn about positive pet training techniques, tools, frustrations and triumphs. Please join us next month, Monday, April 7th, with posts and stories about positive based training with any pets.

Monday Mischief #25 - Someone tried to kick my dog

I was planning to just take a quick walk yesterday because it was rainy and muddy but Mr. N was so full of energy that I decided to take the dogs to the park. We headed towards the off-leash area which was empty because of the weather.

I let Mr. N off-leash and he ran around. Onyxx was stepping gingerly because of all the mud so we headed to drier ground where I could still keep an eye on Mr. N. I noticed a man with a medium-sized black dog on-leash walking towards the off-leash area. Mr. N ran over to say hello.

Then the man starts kicking at Mr. N. I grabbed Onyxx and we ran over to them. I told the guy to stop kicking my dog and that we were in an off-leash area and he was being a jerk. He walks away with his dog, yelling that I was lucky that his dog was friendly.

... what the hell. We were in an area that was clearly marked as off-leash. If you don't want your dog interacting with other dogs, don't walk there! And Mr. N is seven pounds. He could have been seriously injured if that guy succeeded in kicking him. He was barking but it was excited barking and he wasn't growling or snapping or exhibiting any kind of aggressive behavior.

Not to mention, I was the only other person actually obeying the leash law and the other dogs in the park were playing off-leash in the rest of the park where they're required to be on-leash.

Mr. N is fine, thankfully. He is eating and drinking normally and running around as usual. I also brushed him all over and he didn't react in pain at all. I feel like I should have done something more but I don't know what. The boyfriend told me to call the police next time.

BW Sunday #29 - Howl