Jo's Old Site

On Wednesday night mum and I took our dogs to training, and after Anne put me through a ring runout with Ilse I went back to the seat and gave Ilse some treats. Then without realizing it I had my hand in front of my dog’s front legs and this prompted Ilse to lift a leg up as dad taught her to shake hands. Then when I let go she then held the other front leg up so I shook hands with that leg too. It gave me a laugh.

Ilse my miniature schnauzer doesn’t bark much. But when she does she can be quite noisy. And I was told that it is a schnauzer thing. I was also told that Ilse is quiet for a schnauzer, and mum and I were also told that our shelties were quiet too. As shelties are another breed that tends to be barky. Also most of the time Ilse barks because she knows that I’m going out somewhere, and when she does this I cannot say anything to her as it just eggs her on and she becomes more noisy. So I just leave and after a short while she just accepts that I have left.

She is also quite noisy when I return home, and again I can’t say anything as it just eggs her on. But then yesterday mum fed her tidbits until I went inside my flat and this stopped the excited barking. Mum also told me to leave Ilse outside until I have finished unpacking my groceries, which I did. And I’ve also read somewhere sometime ago that food has a calming effect. Mum has also been telling me stories about a behavourist that counsels dog owners that have trouble managing their dogs. And from what I’ve heard from mum this behavourist that she sees on TV has some quite good ideas on ways to manage our dog’s behaviour better.

As one of this behavourist ideas that my mother told me about is when a dog barks because someone had knocked on the door that people are better off saying to their dogs “thanks for that.” As saying this doesn’t make people sound angry. And then after they have rewarded their dogs with a tidbit they then can go and answer the door.

Lately I’ve been taking Ilse to the ring runouts, and I have noticed that Ilse has settled down on the stand for exam exercise. As she is more aware of what she is suppose to be doing. And what I have been doing that must be working is telling Ilse to stand and then give her food then I tell her stay and then as she is eating I run my hand over her and I got this idea from a person at training.

Storm Peak is a police story that kept me turning the pages. And John Flanagan the author of the Ranger’s Apprentice books wrote it. But on the book cover it says it by John A Flanagan and his new book that has been published this year is a Bantam book and its ISBN is 978 1 86325 636 0. And the story is about a ex Denver police detective who is back in the same town as his old girlfriend who happens to be the sherriff. However as a body is found up on the mountain the ex detective who is Jesse Parker finds himself getting involved and the sherriff Lee Torrens realizing that she doesn’t have much experience in this situation as the killer then turns out to be a serial killer and so she talks Jesse into becoming a deputy and he tries to discover the identity of this person.

But then Jesse’s ex wife who is Abby and is a journalist turns up in town to do a story on the mountain murderer. And then as Abby realizes that there is something going on between Jesse and Lee Torrens she then decides that she wanted Jesse back. Abby is also a person who usually knows what she wants and is very used to getting it but her plan backfires.

Today when I threw Ilse’s grey and black tennis ball ten times and told her to “get it” she went out and came back all at the same pace as I’ve been feeding her jackpots when she returns to me with the ball.

I also find that incorporating play in my training really works with Ilse. And when I do heel work I try to remember to praise Ilse as she is working, and afterwards I reward her with jackpots.

Someone also suggested to use the word “work” as a command to me. But I haven’t worked out an effective way for her to recognize this as one of my commands so don’t use it.

Instead I use the word “ready” and she sits and as I also say it before I throw her ball I think what it means to Ilse is that I’m about or we are about to do something. And besides another reason why I don’t use “work” as a command is because it sounds too much like a reprimand to me.

Ilse has also got quite a few other toys too, and the amount made my mother laugh the other day, as she pointed out that I had two or three boxes just for her toys. And her favourite toys are the ball and the tug toys, and of course toys that make a squeaky noise. 

Also although I know that some people don’t recommend playing tug with a dog, I also have seen the usefulness of teaching this skill to a dog.

As getting a chance to tug on a rope toy can be another form of a reward for doing something when looking at it from a dog’s point of view.

For instance, a  dog’s owner can reward their dog by giving them a chance to tug after their dog had responded to them calling them. And learning to tug can also give the dog a chance to learn other useful things like opening doors, and pulling off socks for owners who find it hard to do it themselves. 

Also using different types of rewards while we are training, or interacting with our dogs can stop a dog from only accepting one type of reward.

As some dogs become too food oriented if their trainer only uses food as a reward for their dog. And when I train Ilse I make sure I switch over to food or a toy when I get her to do things. And also remember to not forget the praise either.

As a lot of people using food or toys as motivators forget the praise, and just thinking about this has made me think that this is why a dog only seems to be working for food. As by using praise as a way to motivate our dogs can help them become praise motivated dogs.

My miniature schnauzer Ilse did her first sit out of sight, mum had Dita and Ruebens doing it too. And apart from a bit of sniffing Ilse stayed in position very well. So did Ruebens. Then after a minute or so mum came back insight and as she was returning Dita moved her rear end up to her front legs, and mum didn’t see her do it but knew that I saw it. I’m still training Ilse myself and we are going well and Ilse is walking at my pace more now but mum suggested and I given her permission to handle Ilse in the ring for me until she gets her  CCD as the lead gets tangled up with the walking aide and I can’t really prevent it. And then I’ll be trialling Ilse in novice. I did a bit of off lead heeling with Ilse this week and she kept up very well.

Also been throwing her gray and black tennis ball and mum laughed and then commented as Ilse ran to get it that the tennis ball is the same colour as Ilse. I then told mum that’s why I got it and then another activity that I also been doing is taking Ilse for walks.

I’m going to try to fit walking as a way to exercise more into my normal routine this year. As normally I do it for a while then there are gaps where I don’t do it. I also got a book on a form of yoga and I’m pleased that I can do the first three exercises. And my mum found out via the internet and told me that they are trying to encourage people with cerebral palsy to do yoga.

Yesterday afternoon I was sitting on my seat outside my room when I saw a white bird. And as it turned around in the air it screeched a few times then headed back in the direction it came. I could also identify this bird as a sulfur crested cockatoo, and you don’t see many of them in the wild.

But then after I had tea with my parents I let Ilse out for a run in the backyard, and this time I saw not just one sulfur crested cockatoo but four to six of them and discovered that they must be nesting in the trees next door.