AKC - Obedience Trials

Posted on June 14, 2008
Filed Under Clubs And Organizations, Things That Make Me Smile | 1 Comment

we went to the puget sound labrador retriever associations obedience trials today.  i originally went to watch but decided to participate after watching some dogs in the lower classes who were at least a year and a half older than liame mess up on their routines.  i was completely unprepared and so was liame.  we failed miserably but we had a fun time trying.  i now know that i dont want to do official obedience trials but rally obedience trials (where you are allowed to encourage your dogs and uses treats).  the formal obedience trials seemed too formal.  i didnt see anyone smiling during the trial and the dogs didnt seem to be having alot of fun until the people gave them their praise for doing what they were told.  the one good thing that came out of the day was that when liame bolted out of the obedience ring while off leash in a non fenced in park, he returned right to me once i said “liame come”.  the judge was sufficiently impressed with his recall having only been 6 months old.

Skippin Class - But For The Greater Good

Posted on June 11, 2008
Filed Under Class, Tips and Tricks | Leave a Comment

we missed class on monday. neil found a stray cat and we had to take it to the emergency animal hospital.

ive been using my lunch breaks to teach liame tricks out of the 101 Dog Tricks book i bough off of amazon (see link above). its a great book because not only does it photographically display step by step on how to guide your dog into doing the tricks but it also has the hand signals for them. we learned “bow” in a single 30 minute session the next day we learned “which hand is the treat in”. some of the tricks in this book are more geared towards adult dogs because they require a great deal of focus, something a 6 month old puppy sorely lacks. unfortunately with most of his training i am still having to lure him into positions because the verbal cue is not enough at this stage (except for sit and down). i know he doesnt have everything down pat yet because sometimes he will go through his repitriore of the tricks he knows until he gets rewarded. its kind of cute to see him try to figure it out and get frustrated.

Guide Dog School Advice

Posted on June 7, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

i tried calling guide dogs for the blind to ask for their puppy raising manual.  they wont send me one for legal reasons.  it would be nice to know exactly how they raise their puppys so that i can raise a dog as sound as one of their own.  i hate that i have to make everything up as i go along.  im so worried about making mistakes.  maybe at the end of this voyage i could get with a professional writer to publish a how to guide for raising your own service dog.

Graduation

Posted on June 5, 2008
Filed Under Class | Leave a Comment

liame graduated from ahimsa’s puppy junior high today.  it was sort of a bitter sweet moment for me.  for the entire class he had been the star student but for some unknown reason he decided that i was no longer important enough to pay attention to.  maybe he was picking up on my worried energy about our neighbors cat.

To Sniff Or Not To Sniff?

Posted on June 4, 2008
Filed Under Mistakes, Tips and Tricks | Leave a Comment

for some arbitrary reason i have decided that liame should no longer be sniffing the floor anywhere outside of my cubicle while his vest is on.  i dont have any idea when service dog organizations start trying to train this behavior out of their dogs but i have decided that in just about every environment it is unacceptable.  whenever i see him sniffing or licking anything i use the “leave it” command or an outright “no”.  after a few days of this, he seems to be getting the picture.  for the last several months i have only been using the leave it command only in the kitchen.  when i started thinking about what i was asking him to do, i decided that it wasent fair for me to ask him to discern whether he is in an environment where he can sniff or not.

The Fog

Posted on June 2, 2008
Filed Under Things That Make Me Want To Cry, Todays Mood | Leave a Comment

i am feeling the fog coming again.  today i stayed home from work hoping to kick it in the buttocks hoping maybe that i was getting sick rather than having an episode.  it didnt seem to work.  i feel like crying.  its got me worried about the canine studies program i was accepted into.  how am i going to be able to hold down a full time job, go to canine studies classes, go to puppy classes, go to service dog meetings and keep my house clean all at the same time?  how in the world do people with depression raise kids.  i cant even keep it together enough to raise a dog, keep a job and go to classes.

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