Mike’s Doghouse

We had another good class. This time, the big pups were in the back with the smaller pups up front. This gave me a chance to see them. A couple of Dachshunds, a Poodle, some little mop things, Duke the Aussie Blue Heeler, and one or two others. I don’t see the fascination with the wee dogs. My mom has a tiny Yorkie pup now. I’ve not met it yet but have seen a few pictures. I’d be afraid I’d break the pup!

I digress. We worked on some loose leash walking some more. Mike’s good at this as long as I have the treat in my hand. In the restricted environ of the indoor dog class, there’s not much to distract him from the fact I have food. If we were somewhere else, he’d judge the other stuff more important. I didn’t get up and walk with him much as that’s a painful thing for me to do. We worked on attention stuff within our little space. Like Joella, Mike likes to watch whatever is going on around him. But, again, I had food so was deemed slightly more important.

We also played a cool game called “Pass the Puppy”. We sat in a circle (I remained in my chair while the others sat on the floor) and the pups were passed to the left until our pup had gone all the way around the circle. Mike was a hit and didn’t seem concerned about who was holding him. He stole a toy, though. Mike is probably the smallest “big” dog there. There’s Jessie the Akita, Sammy and another (Sarge?) German Shepherd, Max and Lexi the Rottweilers, and Clint the Lab. The idea behind the game was to get the dog used to being handled by other folks. New experiences for pups are always a good thing as they form a base of what is Good (happy, safe, fun, pleasurable, etc) and what is Not Good (fearful, painful, frightening, etc).

And we started the process of teaching DOWN. Oy, what a mess Mike is! He loves to SIT. But he’s not grasping the concept of DOWN. I may have to get him up on the bed and work there since bending over so long is not easy for me. Have I mentioned that Mike’s new name is PITA?

Mike and a few other big pups got a new harness. It is the Easy Walking Harness from Premier. It is different in that the leash attaches at the front, not on the top. This helps to control the pup and make it clear to them where their attention needs to be. It is remarkably easy to pull a dog back with this harness. And it is much easier on the neck and throat. Mike hurled (vomited) during class. It could have been from him lunging on the leash to get at Max (who sat on one side of us). I am not a fan of the Gentle Leader (also made by Premier) because it looks so much like a muzzle. When one is walking a Rottweiler, one doesn’t want to have others think the dog is wearing a muzzle.

We have some new homework and Mike and I will work on it starting tomorrow. It’s been a crazy few days and hopefully it will calm down now and he and I can get to work.

I also want to take the time to sing the praises of the teacher of this class. She’s good! Her name is Gail Hubbard and she is one of the owners of A Good Dog’s Life. She gives good advice, knows the different breeds, and has been very helpful with me and my physical situation. Mike and I will be going to the next level of classes (Basic Manners I) all the way through to getting Mike his Canine Good Citizen certificate. Finding a good dog trainer is just as important as finding a good dog. A Good Dog’s Life is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. If you are looking for a trainer, go to the APDT site and do a search.