Flying Poodles

Fundamental principles of training…

One of the most fundamental principles of training a dog is that, if you pair something the dog really likes with something they’re not so sure about (chicken liver treats with nail clipping, for example), the dog will learn to like that thing more. This is why when I decided I needed to ride my bike more I also decided that I could only get gelato (which I adore) if I bike there. Damned if it isn’t working! I was actually looking forward to today’s ride. And the strawberry gelato tasted wonderful–fresh strawberries!

Dancer and her siblings

Every year, Dancer’s breeder likes to arrange a party for all of Dancer’s siblings. She then takes a photo of the puppies and their mom, TinTin.

Dancer, her mom, and four of her six siblings, 2010

Vacuum cleaner hickey

Today I decided I would shave the hair off Dancer’s ears. I thought it wasn’t that bad, so I didn’t bother with my usual grooming clothes. Usually I wear an apron and a pair of pants that shed poodle hair. Not today… after all, how much hair could there be on Dancer’s ears.

Quite a lot, actually: I filled the vacuum canister with hair.

And my pants were covered in hair, which I decided I should vacuum off.

Which is how I got the hickey on my thigh. A vacuum cleaner hickey.

Some new photos

Nina Sage, a Portland photographer with excellent skills, took these photos at the late July CPE trial at Argus.

Elly's startline stay

Dancer jumping

Proof that clicking for handling and calm grooming behavior is working…

I took Elly to see the vet today. She needed to get a quick blood test to make sure that the Rimadyl isn’t affecting her liver function. The vet called a few minutes ago, and the results were good. She also said that her technician had mentioned how relaxed she was about being handled and how easy it was to do the blood test. Apparently, the report was “I just met the nicest poodle.”

Another way to train high energy…

Before breakfast.

When Dancer is truly hungry, she will work for food. So this morning, before the girls’ breakfast, I took Dancer out and worked a speed-and-distance oval of four jumps. Got great energy.

Then I groomed Elly. Yesterday I did most of the her body, clipping to the skin with a #10. I even did her ears, as they were somewhat matted and thus due to be clipped. And it’s August. Today, I cleaned up the shaggy bits from yesterday and finished her legs.

I’ve been using lots and lots and lots of treats when I groom, and it’s really paying off. Both dogs are much calmer and much easier to groom.

After the grooming and the training were done… THEN the girls got breakfast.

I had to go into Velotech for a while today, so I left the girls in puppy jail and biked in. When I got back, I realized that Dancer was in a lovely high-energy state when she greets me. I grabbed a toy and we played tug for a few minutes, and then I put the toy away. I want that tugging to be something that means high excitement to her.

Why didn’t I do more of this when she was younger? Well, I did… and then I kind of let it go. Hard to maintain a good tug when your knees hurt. Bad choice on my part. But that’s twenty-twenty hindsight.

High Energy Training

Debbie has been after me to only train when Dancer is at her highest energy level. This takes some doing–I need to plan pretty carefully, get ready thoroughly, and then quit while she’s still peaking.

This morning, Jay and I went out to breakfast (we rode our bikes together, I am SO proud of myself) and left the girls in puppy jail (their spacious and very comfortable crate) while we were gone. When Dancer first gets out of the crate, she is just SO thrilled; usually I try to keep her from jumping on me, but this morning, I handed Elly off to Jay (who had a handful of treats and instructions to go work “sits, waits, and comes” until the treats were gone), and then I took Dancer and her tug toy down to the world’s smallest agility field.

I ran as fast as I could down the stairs (not easy after cycling up the Mt. Tabor hill, but what can you do?), pulled out the toy, let her tug for a few moments, then–following Debbie’s advice–pulled the tug away and didn’t ask for a wait or control, just sent her right over a jump. Wrap tight to the toy, tug madly. Send over a U of three jumps. Tug madly. And so on, for about four or five minutes. I was already dripping sweat from the bike ride–this just finished me off. BUT… I quit while Dancer was still eager to play. Yay for me!

Being a city dog…

This morning, rather than do five minutes in the yard with Dancer, I took her for a long city walk. We walked from our house through Mt. Tabor Park to the off-leash area on the south side of the park. I asked for good leash manners in the face of other dogs, squirrels, and cats. I reinforced heavily for good behavior. I got good behavior.

At the off-leash park, she continued to just hang with me, rather than playing with the other dogs, until we encountered a lovely little Airedale bitch. She was delighted to play with Dancer and they ran for a good bit, then Dancer and I made our way back through the park and home, with Dancer once again expected to behave nicely on leash.

I normally train two or three times a week at the barn and with Debbie. Adding in the five minutes per dog every day and trying to vary the location has really made a difference that I can see already.

It’s a truly bad photo of something very nice…

Everyone who knows Dancer knows she has cat issues. And my son’s cat has been living in the guest room, and making poor Dancer completely nuts. Every time I spend half an hour with the cat, Dancer sniffs me all over, quite furiously. Today I decided, for some reason, that I’d let them meet each other, for the first time in almost three years.

(By the way, if you’re wondering, that’s a left-hand photo taken with an iPhone. Best I could do. Even that took six tries.)

Two videos from the CPE trial

Dancer’s first level 1 run in standard

Dancer’s second level 1 run in standard