Jo's Old Site

Yesterday afternoon mum and I went to Coominya Showground as Donna’s Puppy Class was back on, and also there was a Weimaraner puppy named Luca; she was very laid back. Mum also told me a few seconds before she had parked the car that Donna will be starting from the beginning and we did things like getting our dog’s attention, walking on a lead and then getting them to sit and recalls.

Mum and I also found that we had to go back a few steps with Ilse like when I try to get her attention, as she is a very social dog and right now her main distractions are other people and dogs. My mother also advised me when we were on the way home that I should say “Ilse, looking” then give her a tidbit as I have to lower the standard that I expect from Ilse when we are in a class situation.

Also when Donna took Ilse away to do a recall, as Ilse knew she had food she just stayed there and just looked at me; perhaps I should get some liver treats as that was what Donna had!

I recently had a home visit from an occupational therapist whose name is Claire, and as we were telling her that we were told by the physiotherapist who came out to evaluate my flat (and whose name is also Claire) that my sofa was putting pressure on my knee when I go to get up, and then suggested that I needed it to be higher.

So just as we were thinking that I needed to buy a new higher lounge, the occupational therapist suggested a cheaper way; as I didn’t have to buy a new lounge after all as they simply put something underneath the lounge to make it higher. However, how I got the sofa replaced is that mum and dad had an old leather lounge.

Then why I ended up with it is because Ilse chewed my sofa as she was teething, and perhaps a bit bored. Also mum asked me yesterday if Ilse started chewing on the lounge that replaced my sofa yet and I told her that Ilse hasn’t started doing that again yet. I also told mum that when I had the sofa she always seemed to only do it in the mornings, so after mum has given Ilse her porridge, I get up and shortly after she had eaten I then give her a bone to chew on and this keeps Ilse busy for a while.

Another thing that I think stops it, is that whenever she is let out I let her have a good run in the yard and I also been getting Ilse to fetch things and taking the time to play with her a bit.

This afternoon, while I was waiting to get my haircut I found out that Nola got a role as one of the nuns; she also said there was about sixteen or eighteen nuns altogether and mum told me that Nola will be wearing a black habbit or whatever and she will be singing in a choir on stage and people will be able to see this play at the Laidley Cultural Centre, as I saw it was being advertised on a leaflet while in the audience when another play was happening.

While I’m waiting for Ilse’s dumbell to come in the mail I’ve been practising retrieves with her toys, I am now giving her tidbits to entice her to bring her toys to me which is working; as I realise she likes keeping her toys to herself and this way at least she is getting something back in return. I also need to teach her to hold the toy in her mouth as right now she is still dropping the toy on the floor. Also mum told me last night that she spoke to Donna from Dog Sense, and mum told me that Donna has invited us back to participate in her puppy class for another three weeks.

Today mum went to the doctors again, as they thought that they may have to operate on her foot; as it didn’t seem to be getting better: however she recieved some good news as her injured foot is now starting to heal. Also before dad went to pick mum up he told me that they didn’t have to operate and mum came home extremely pleased.

Last Sunday the puppy class that Ilse was enrolled in finished up, and mum and I didn’t go as mum hurt her ankle; anyway last time we were at Coominya showground, (where it is held) Donna got Ilse to roll over and she also got her to crawl too: and as I’ve been practising with Ilse I have so far successfully managed to get Ilse to roll over.

Ilse is also good at following me when I tell her “follow me” and another command I say to her is “looking” and she is getting better at that as I have recently observed that she looks at me for longer if she is at a distance. Also I’m still waiting for the walker and when I get it I then will be able to take Ilse for walks and it will also make it easier when I train her.

When I trained my first dog whose pet name was Deena, or Dee I didn’t use food but I did use praise; then why I didn’t use food is because I found with her that I didn’t have to as other methods worked: though it wasn’t until we got up to doing utility dog training that I started using food with her, and then after a while she got so good at doing an exercise that is called scent discrimination that I didn’t have to use it anymore.

However, since then I had and still use food when I train; although people who are dog trainers are either for it or against it though the main problems with using food is: knowing how to use it properly, as some people give their dog the food without giving them the praise. This I feel can make some dogs too focus on the food as when a trainer does this they are really just relying on the one method, and also when the dog’s owner stops using food it can really affect the performance of their dog if they also trial their dog in obedience.

The advantages of a trainer using more than one method to motivate dogs is that they can swap, and thus not having to be so heavily reliant on just the one motivator when the trainer is training their dog: as one very common argument about using food as a reward is that it is thought that dogs trained this way only works for the food and not for the dog’s trainer.

Then what is a reward? A reward is a motivator that the dog likes such as food, toys, praise, games, and tricks, then putting it another way it is in fact anything that a dog reacts positive to.

There are heaps of kids around the world that like dogs, and puppies; but unfortunately, kids don’t always do the right thing when interacting with a dog or a puppy: as some kids are very full on whenever they are around dogs, and what I have noticed is these kids get these dogs all stirred up and excited.

Also this reaction from a dog is perfectly acceptable to a kid when they are wanting the dogs to do it, but what happens when the kid decide that they no longer want the dog jumping up all over them? All of the sudden in the child’s eyes the dog is bad, and the kid may decide that they want to correct the dog.

I also imagine from a dog’s point of view that this is confusing, as how can things be alright to do one minute, and the next it isn’t? As from my point of view, it is easier for a person to simply stop doing what is really causing the problem than it is to rely heavily on punishments whenever it suddenly becomes unacceptable. The next thing is how do adults handle the problem, and what is the right thing to say to the child? As the real problem here isn’t the child, and nor is it the dog’s but what the child is doing with the dog.

Also sometimes when I go out in public I sometimes become aware that some children’s parents, and also their grandparents can say some really nasty thoughtless things to their children, and there is no wonder that there are some children who seem to shut down when an adult is either asking them to do something or telling them to do something. As the child doesn’t want to hear nor do what an adult tells them to do. This reaction from a child can also be frustrating to the adult, and so what can be done?

To answer this I heard a professional dog trainer tell people that instead of always saying “no” to our dogs we should give them things to do that are more acceptable and just thinking about this I thought the same could also be said about kids as instead of saying “no” to them or telling them off give them something constructive and more acceptable to do.

Then thinking about this situation, I think that what is more acceptable is: knowing what sort of games people can play with a dog and this sort of knowledge can also be passed down to children or other people, as whenever a person has visitors coming the dog’s owner can then organise a time when their visitors as well as them can play with the dog. As what I’m suggesting is that kids as well as adults need to learn better ways to interact with dogs, and playing games with dogs can make our interactions fun and exciting.

Playing games with our dogs can also be very rewarding in several ways, as this can strengthen the bond between owner and dog; as well as being a good way to get their dog socialised as it will get the dog to associate doing something that is pleasant with other people. It also teaches people better and more enjoyable ways to gain control over a dog and it also gets the dog to focus and take better notice when they hear commands.

For more information about kids and dogs, and what they can do with dogs and puppies, and why they shouldn’t do certain things with a dog or a puppy I recommend reading the info from this website that tells people more about this topic and the website is:

http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_SafeKidsSafeDogs_1.php

Also another website about playing games with dogs that I found informative is:

http://www.wagntrain.com/Games.htm

And here’s another informative website:

http://101-dog-training-tips.com/Puppy_Training/Puppy_Biting.shtml