Duped

Posted on by
2

I thought I would never be blogging about this again.  I was certain I would never again have to use the “Pet Emergency” or “Rocks” categories as I blogged.  But today, I was proven wrong.

We spent 1 1/2 hours waiting at Pet Emergency this morning, with an even longer wait ahead of us because it seemed to be Doggie-Ingest-Foreign-Objects-Day (there were at least 3 other dogs in front of us who needed X-rays).  I called over to Diamond Animal Hospital to see how busy they were and they were able to get us in right away.  The x-rays confirmed it–Pongo slurped down another bleeping rock!

Thankfully, it was still in his stomach.  The vet fed him, induced vomiting and up it came with no problem.

Pongo has been doing so well lately–we’ve had no rock incidences since December.  As far as we know, he’s faithfully been wearing the basket muzzle of shame at doggie daycare, so I suspect he got this rock from our yard. Our number one priority is to clear the yard of enticements.

We also need to continue working diligently on Pongo’s “leave its” and “keep the damn rocks on the ground!”

Someone not feeling too hot after returning home from our fabulous Mother’s Day outing.

Street Smarts

Posted on by
Reply

Pongo started his new class today: Street Smarts.  It’s a 4 week class that meets in different locations around town each time.  I am super excited about this class because it takes Pongo out of his comfort zone of the training facility at Alaska Dog Sports.  While the guise of this class is to give Pongo more practice out in the real world, it really is for me.  I am the one who needs the practice of managing Pongo’s leash reactivity out in the real world.

For our first class, we met at Delaney Park Strip.  Most of the 6 dog class was already there when we arrived, so I was expecting some reaction from Pongo as we unloaded from the car and approached the group.  He was pretty hyped up and barked a couple of times but he was able to calm down quickly and get focused.  I think once he realized that we were there to work, there was no need for being obnoxious on leash.

We practiced meet and greets with other dogs and their handlers, sit-stays, down-stays, recalls on long lines, and walking up and down the sidewalks around Delaney Park Strip.  At one point, Liz our instructor had us pull off the sidewalk and put our dogs in a down-stay while a group of 3 unknown dogs walked by.  I was so proud of Pongo who was alert to the strange dogs but gave absolutely no reaction–not a single bark!  He did have a hard time staying in his down-stay but I’ll take that over the barking, lunging fiend we sometimes get.

Besides eating copious amounts of goose poop which was the biggest distraction for Pongo today, he rocked his first Street Smarts class.  Next week, we venture to Petco and shopping carts at Michael’s.

The Return of Ash

Posted on by
Reply

While cleaning out the storage closet today, I came across Pongo’s Fantastic Mr. Fox “Ash” Halloween costume that he wore to Dog Tired Doggie Daycare’s Howl-O-Ween Party.  As soon as I pulled it out, Pongo bolted from the room.  I have no idea why his Royal Cuteness would flee from Mama holding his Halloween costume?!?

And while we were thoroughly amused to see Pongo sporting his “Ash” costume once again, Pongo clearly was not.

Ready For College?

Posted on by
Reply

We learned very quickly that if we don’t keep Pongo busy, he’ll find ways to entertain himself that are totally unacceptable: chasing kitties, climbing the 3-tiered cat condo, watching out the window ready to bark at those pesky dogs who walk by, and so much more.  In his short 22-month life, Pongo has participated in a total of 13 1/2 classes!

6-Week Classes

Puppy Kindergarten

Puppy II (x2)

Proofing (x2)

Rally Novice

Rally Advanced/Excellent

Agility I

Agility II (only 1/2 the class as he decided to eat rocks and hence needed surgery)

Intro To Nose Work

3-Week Workshops

Practicing Self-Control (x2)

Reliable Recall

Attention & Leash Work

We are currently in one of my favorite classes, and what I believe to be Pongo’s favorite too: Intro To Nose Work (Alaska Dog Sports).

A little explanation of what is going on in the video: During Week 2 while we hold and distract Pongo, a treat is hidden in a “food” box.  Pongo then has to find it.  If dogs are having a hard time finding the treat, Liz, our trainer will try to direct the dog to the area where the treat is hidden by throwing boxes or making a distraction in that area.  The treat Pongo was looking for was in the box on the chair.  We are going on Week 5 and the treat is now hidden in a small metal container that has a small opening on the side so the scent can escape.  The area he has to search has also grown bigger.  I will definitely be posting more videos on his progress, as he’s getting better and better every week!

Seward

Posted on by
2

We woke up this morning to clear blue skies and sun-a perfect day for a drive.  So, we loaded up the dogs and headed down to Seward.

Pongo slept most of the way down, saving up his energy for all the new sights and smells.

Lowell Point Beach

And a couple of Reid’s photobombs…

After a long day of walking on the beach and in town, we had one tired pup.

Walking Reflections

Posted on by
3

There are times when I should roll up a newspaper and swat myself with it…more than just once.  I’m positive I am 99% of the problem when it come to Pongo’s leash reactivity.  My anxiety of us crossing paths with another dog on a walk impedes my ability to relax, walk with confidence, and just enjoy our walk.  And when we do pass another dog on the trail, Pongo never fails to react with his lunging and barking.  Although, he is able to calm himself down more quickly now which is some progress.

But unlike Pongo who lives in the moment and is done with the drama of passing a dog 10 steps down the trail, I tend to hold onto the negative feelings the encounter created for hours.  I ruminate on how I could have handled the situation differently: I should have done this or I should have done that.  I think this ruminating frustrates me even more than his reactions.  Steve doesn’t have problems walking Pongo to the degree I do.  He’s definitely more in control and is able to let things go; he embraces Pongo’s live-in-the-moment mentality.  I know it all comes down to me needing to woman it up and get over it!

This afternoon Steve and I took Pongo on a walk.  We chose a trail that has low foot traffic.  We want walks to be positive practice for both Pongo and myself.  Unfortunately, we had two incidences with dogs on the trail.  The first one, we pulled way off the trail into a parking lot to let a family and their off-leash dog (ARG!!!) go by.  Low and behold, we were standing roughly 25 feet from their car.  Pongo did OK until the dog invaded his very large space bubble.  Steve was able to step in between and we were able to calm Pongo down quickly and get on our way.  The second dog encounter we saw coming: a woman handling 3 large dogs, all on leash (bless you, stranger lady). We tried to make a plan, which was difficult as we were stuck between the fences that parallel the trail and had no real way to pull off the trail.  I had Pongo and was going to hug the trail snow berm and attempt to quickly walk by. Unfortunately, Pongo didn’t get the memo that we were going to quickly walk on by and decided he was going to go absolutely berserk because there was not just one but three dogs.  This time it took him a lot longer to calm down but he did, and we were able to finish our walk in peace.  It appears Pongo was able to shake it off no problem.  Me, on the other hand popped two Cortisol Managers and a Longboard Lager when we got home.  I know I’ll get there…it’s just going to take time, practice, and a lot of patience.

Here’s Pongo practicing recalls between Steve and myself, leash on but loose.