It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: to shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night. Psalms 92:1-2 (KJV)
Yesterday, I was finally able to blow dry our dog, Roxy. The first time I tried, she ran like crazy out of the room and wouldn't come near it. I decided we needed to take baby steps. Here they are and today they paid off!
(1) I kept it off and got her to come near it using training treats. Did this a few times.
(2) Another day we did this again but I turned it on low this time and gave her treat if she came near.
(3) Another day I used it on my hair and called her in, giving her a treat.
(4) I brought it near her when she was lying on the couch but kept it off.
(5) Yesterday when we got in from the rainy walk, I kept her on the leash. I got the blow drying ready and my husband brought her in to the bedroom on leash. She jumped up on the bed which worked for me. I put it on low at first, brought it over and gave her a treat. Then I used it on her on low for just a few seconds and gave her another treat. Then I used it a bit longer, giving her another treat. Then I upped it to medium for a few seconds and gave her another treat. She stayed nice and did not seem to mind it. I finally put it on high and dried her off! Of course she got another treat.
Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. Here we go:
Senior Moments
Jodi's Journey had the funniest post I saw this week with this funny video about Senior Moments. Fortunately, I'm not this bad off yet!
Google Search
It was nice to know someone actually did find our blog through a Google search. It was nice of them to leave a comment letting me know too! They searched for "how to fold a napkin" and did the crown fold using the instructions I shared!
Graduation and Certified
The highlight of our week was with Abby completing her advanced training class at PetSmart and passing her Canine Good Citizen Test. We are so proud of her! Of course, her diploma is displayed on our refrigerator!
Andy Griffith R.I.P.
I was sad to learn Andy Griffith died of a heart attack at age 86. I was surprised to see he was divorced twice and was on his third marriage. I was also surprised to see he never won an Emmy award but Don Knotts did for his role as Barny Fife on The Andy Griffith Show. My dad always enjoyed watching him on "Matlock" too. He loved his hometown in N.C. and even has a street named after him! I learned all this from an article on Yahoo News (sorry, I didn't get the link). I enjoyed reading The Way Back To Mayberry--Lessons From A Simpler Time by Joey Fann.
Cat Sitting
Remember when I wrote about My Dream Job? Well, I actually get to take a crack at it during my vacation week coming up the week of the 16th. A friend has asked me to take care of her two cats and two birds while she is gone and I am excited!
Beards
When reading Gone Missing by Linda Castillo this week, I learned that in an Amish community, men who are married have beards. That is definitely more noticeable than a ring! I wonder if this is actually true. My review of this book will be posted tonight on our book blog if interested.
(We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during June and July to The Wounded Warrior Project which helps wounded warriors and their families returning from current conflicts.)
We are enjoying our dog training classes very much and Gerard and I are learning that dog speak is very specific. Abby is the "social butterfly" in our class and has quickly made friends with all the other dogs. Even the shy Killer came to her to sniff Saturday.
There are several differences between wait and stay:
Wait means to stop for several seconds such as when someone is at the door, or before crossing a street. It's a short-term command. The hand signal for wait that we learned is just holding up one finger like we do when we say "Wait a minute." When wait is done, we praise and tell the dog "let's go" or "come."
Stay is more specific and more permanent. We want the dog to stay put in that particular spot until we come back to the dog to release it by saying "done" or "finished" to release the dog. The hand signal for stay is an open hand right in front of the dog's face. I use stay to tell Abby to stay downstairs when I go upstairs to visit the cats. It's not used as often as wait, but is an important command to learn.
It is important to be consistent with the words and the signals every time and do it the same way so the dog knows what we want and doesn't become confused. Stay is a hard command to learn, not only for the dog, but also for us owners. To teach stay, we must be patient and work in tiny steps. First we have the dog stay put while we stand in front of it. It's okay if the dog sits or lays or stands as long as it stays in that same spot. In the beginning, just slowly take one step back for 2 seconds, then try one more for 2 seconds and come back to the dog, praising it for a good stay and releasing it saying "done." Try again increasing your distance. If the dog does not stay for you, then try it again at a shorter distance away, take fewer steps. Above all, be patient, the dog generally wants to please you but won't if you get upset.
Watch the video to see how Abby and I did at learning stay:
Abby did really well on stay for me once I could get her to sit. This video shows how I goofed at first by forgetting to come all the way back after she succeeded but then I remembered from then on. Gerard had a tougher assignment--he had to have her lay first and then stay which took awhile but she did it! Then, all the dogs were lined up in a row which meant Abby had Killer on the one side of her and Odot on the other which was hard for her to ignore. Gerard's video is posted on Abby's blog at: "Saturdays Are So Much Fun."
For "Come" the trainer said we should give a special treat because it is so important for them to learn this. The trainer told us that her dog was running along her fence barking at the dog on the other side when she called several times for it to come. The dog ignored her so she went back in the house and got a raw carrot which her dog loves. This time, she called, "If you COME, you'll get a carrot with emphasis on "come." The dog came immediately, no hesitation at all. For Abby, she seems to really love the meat filled chew sticks and the Better Than Pigs Ears so we're going to use those when we do the come command with her.
I highly recommend dog training classes. We all enjoy it, especially Abby. Notice how her tail always seems to be going in the videos?
We are learning a lot in our dog training classes at PetSmart with Abby. Basically a new command is introduced and each dog gets to try it with their owners and assistance from the professional dog trainer. Then, it's up to us to practice at home. In the class, it took me and Abby about eight tries to get her to sit and wait while I opened the door and not come until called. Everyone clapped when she finally did it right and she was very pleased with herself. It took Gerard and her about four tries.
This video was not pieced together or edited except for inserting the titles. As you can see, we are making progress. It took only two tries to get it right for both Gerard and me.
The idea is to get her to sit first, then open the door and tell her to come. Then praise her and give her a treat. Also, we were told when we walk the dog to make her wait before crossing any street. She does this well, but of course, she is on a leash. The trainer said though that if she's trained to wait at a street and not go until told, then if she got off the leash, she would probably wait at the street which could save her life. We have to keep working at this because at the park when she got loose, I didn't see her stop when she got to the park road.
