Training Priorities



This is Caralyn...I'm thinking she adores Pix...yeah?



We're wrapping up week 3 of Pixel coming home, and I think how far we've come already in such a short amount of time.  Plus, I'm now teaching our dog club's intro class which most businesses call puppy obedience, or obedience, and we call "Life Skills".  I meet with new puppy owners all the time, and it's interesting to me the various viewpoints coming my way.  For those interested in doing more with their dogs than just wanting a well adjusted family pet - basically interested in dog sports - we really have our work cut out for us, don't we?  We want to do everything "right" and we want our dog to be amazing from day one.  I have news for you, good news I hope...we AREN'T going to do everything right and our dogs probably won't be amazing at everything, but even if we did and they were...genetics could still come in the back door at adolescence and kick us in the junk.  So, given all that, I think our moral obligation is simply (1) to enjoy these puppy days (because they are limited), (2) to do the very best we can given the information at hand, (3) learn from our mistakes, and learn where ever information is available, and last but not least, (4) fall in love with our puppies.  Given all that...here's what Pixel's life has been like for the past 11 days.

Social Butterfly

Week one, Pixel met new poeple with a bit of shyness, and when pushed would actually shake.  She isn't the happy-go-lucky puppy that dives into everyone's lap.  Quite the opposite, she'd like to peek out behind my legs and take it all in.  So, we had to make this a bit of a priority.  We didn't have her meet just any one, but most of her 'friends' now are all dog savvy people.  Pixel to date has probably met...I'd say in the neighborhood of 25 adults (probably more, I'm losing count), 6 children under the age of 10, and just a couple puppies under 6 mo of age. 



The tiny spec in the middle of the party on the floor, casually chewing on my flipflop, is Pixel.

 In the above picture, we had a puppy meet and greet gathering on Saturday night.  We had a wide array of people to meet her, including the 2 kids who were playing Playstation.  Pixel hung out with everyone, and received a lot of attention, while also dealing with more than 10 people clammoring around.  I am very proud to see her in the middle of all that, casually chewing on my flipflop like this is her norm, no biggie.  Again, we've come very far in nearly 3 weeks.

You can also see that Neelah is out hanging with the group, and Pixel as well.  We've had Neelah and Pixel out more and more together.  While Neelah sees Pixel as an unruly child, they do co-exist rather well together.  We've kept the boys safely on the other side of her kennel, even nearly 3 weeks in.  Our fear is that she'd get snapped at or on by Treo or Tazer and it'd not be a good experience.  But, what I am doing instead and will continue to do, is let them check her out from the safety of my arms, and receive treats for being sweet to her.  Treo seems to like this game.  When she's up in the neighborhood of being at least 1/2 Treo's size, I will start to let them go on walks together and slowly start the process of them co-existing in the back yard.  But, no rush for me.  I want them to really like each other and I'm taking my time with that.  What I do with other dogs, however, is encourage her to play with dogs who love puppies, or dogs who are puppies themselves.  We had a great time at a friends house this weekend where she got to interact with a 11 wk old Golden, and a 6 m/o Border Collie.  She was overwhelmed at first, but eventually showed everyone her wild child side.  It was cute!!!!



Naya and Pixel




Beck and Pixel

 Dog Training Proper

I have finally started to integrate some dog training.  We are getting serious about kennel manners, crate games, toy play, and shaping.  She can sit to receive...anything.  She sits for her toy, to come out of the kennel, get eat, and when we play It's yer choice with cookies in my hand.  Next we'll work on down and possibly a trick or two.  House training is going well - at this age, it's all timing on my part anyway.  Lastly, she's got some really inherent toy play and retrieving instincts which has been really fun to work with. 
Here's a video of me playing Susan Garrett's "Sit-Tug-Sit" game with Pixel.

Brave New World - The first week

When I wrote my post about why I chose breeder over rescue, I was writing from my heart and not appreciating the political hot bed that it is right now with the USDA reg expanding the definition of retail to include hobby breeders and rescues.  Wow...given all that, I'm surprise and humbled by the positive response I've received from that blog post by rescuers, friends, and breeders alike.  We all want the same thing, the best environment where dogs can thrive.  I know we'll get there so long as we try to work together, educate and inform.

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On to training!  New Puppy, what do do?  What to do?

So, I bring this little thing home and she's quite overwhelmed.  She's not just a little bit timid of me or anyone who wants to meet her.  She's just a spec of something in our back yard.  The world must have suddenly, overnight, got HUGE.  She needs some positive experiences and quickly.  So, we made stop on the way home to "Grandma's house."  (my Mom)  We took her outside, in the shade and we just laid in the grass with her where she could take it all (and us) in and rrreeeellllaaaxxxx.  Lots of positive reinforcement from Grandma and me, and she was calm and content.  We stayed there for about 45 min and then off to home.

We got home, and did the exact same thing.  Went outside (because that's the best place for her to be should she want to potty), laid in the shade in the back yard and got to know each other.  At that point, Pixel was greeting newness with shaking.  She was worried and I totally understand that.  When we get new rescues, regardless of their situation, that first day is a lot to take in.  Typically we just let them be, and let them get acclimated, which is what we did with Pixel. 

The one thing I tell my students at the dog club is, if you own a dog, "Congrats!  You became a dog traininer the day you brought your beast home, and the beast started learning things immediately.  What did you teach the beast so far?"  Well, my observations were that meeting new people was rattling to my wee beast.  So, we got that handled right away.  That evening we had friends over to hang out.  Grand total of people greeted her first day was 7 including me.  Not all at once, obviously.  AND, not strangers.  These all were dog savvy people in my life who knew how to properly greet a dog and how to give that dog reinforcement and confidence.  She got bits of cheese for saying hi and she really started to show that life was good and she wasn't all THAT rattled afterall.  By day 2, she met 5 more people and day three she met 3 more and one of them was a child.  This is a game we will be continuing.

Out on the town!

I also started taking her on little walks starting day 2.  Walking on a leash is not all that big of a deal if you approach it with a little patience.  At 9 weeks old, she runs the show as far as I'm concerned.  We kinda went where she wanted to go, and within 10 min or so, she was just trotting after me like a little pro.  What I like about walks is that she gets used to a leash and collar, early.  Also, she gets to see people, dogs, world going about it's daily business and she can observe and make conclusions about what she sees.  The important part of what I just said is that she's "making conclusions" about what she sees.  My job, my role, and my duty is to influence those conclusions.  So, for example, a car goes by and she wigs out like a marlin on a hook.  Mental note, needs reinforcement when cars go by to remain calm.  So, next time, we got some cheese and she got bits of cheese as cars approach and pass.  Last night, day 5, cars were less of a big deal.  I use taking walks to teach my puppy about the world and to work on things that might be a problem later.  For Treo, it's his time to work on leash aggession, motion sensitivity (cars), and also just get some mental stimulation.  For Pixel, walks right now will be to teach her about the world, teach her to potty on leash (kinda a big deal for dogs shows), and mental stimulation.

Housetraining

It cracks me up when people write me about "potty training" their dogs.  I want to be a smart ass and write back, "You are teaching your dog to use the toilet?  How???"  But I don't...they wouldn't "get" me.  No, what we're teaching puppy is "Housetraining" and there's many facets of housetraining, one of those is pottying outside. 

My belief, right or wrong, is that dogs are not really able to "hold" it until they are 6 months old.  The success you have prior to 6 months are due to really good timing on your part and you reading your dog really well.  You know that tell tale sign of sniffing the floor and walking in circles means "gotta go!"  I do believe that Breeders or rescuers who have puppies can aid in the process by taking puppies outside several times a day prior to 8 weeks and if you time it all right, dogs will predict that pattern and start to wait to go outside.  That's what Karla did, and that's what's made this work very easy for me.

I do believe there are rules that must be follow by me, however.  I take her outside after every single one of these events:
(1)  Just woke up - from sleeping through the night, or even a tiny cat nap
(2)  Just ate
(3)  Just got done playing
(4)  Just got home from somewhere
....or any other time when she's not gone outside for a while.

I'm very quiet while I wait and see what she's going to do, and then reward her with praise or playing after she's gone potty in the grass.  What I don't want to do is play with her in order to stimulate her body to go.  If I did that, I'd build mandatory play into everytime we go outside, and nobody wants that, especially if it's 2AM in the middle of a blizzard.  So, no...it's no attention from me until she goes, and then we hoop and holla how awesome she is and we party.

Last thought on this, my job (to the very best of my ability) is to reduce her opportunity to rehearse going in the house.  So, no newspaper in XPens, no puppy training pee pads.  Those tools tell the dog it's acceptable to potty in doors.  It's not, so why go there?  I just keep a very vegilant eye on her, and I get her outside often at this stage and clearly if she does go inside, its 100% always my fault.  We've had a LOT of success with these philosophies over the years.  Treo's peed in the house 2x his entire life (he's 5) and both were when he was under 6 mo of age, and he's never pooped in the house.  Tazer (he's 4), same deal.  He might have had one time he peed in the house when he was ittle bittle, but that's it. Housetraining Pixel with pottying outside will not be a training issue.

New Brothers and a Sister

Not in a big rush to integrate her into the pack right now.  I want her to bond with 'The Mommas" as a first priority, and the pack is a second priority.

Tazer is 50lbs of love, but should he decide he needed to send Pixel a message on her behavior, he potentially could hurt her pretty badly.  So, Tazer is limited to visiting with her through the kennel.  He puppy bows it to say hi, it's very cute.

Treo, I know, will over-correct her for so much as looking at him cross-eyed.  She doesn't need that either. So, Treo and her also visit between the bars and that's it.  Last night, since she's been soon good sleeping through the night, I've put her on the floor (she was on my nightstand in a veri-crate) in a regular kennel next to me.  I showed Treo where I moved his bed, next to her, and while I was doing that, she reached through the bars and bopped him on the face a couple times with her paw trying to get his attention.  He just looked at her and then walked away.  I gave him HUGE treats for that.  What a good boy.  Still, not in a hurry for them to meet face to face.

Neelah is more on an even training field with Pixel.  Where Pixel is 5.75lbs, Neelah is like 15lbs.  AND, Neelah is very good about warning signs and appropriate messaging.  So, they've been able to hang on a few occasions, with our watchful eye.

Partyin' HARD!

Lastly, we've been partying hard core, Pixel style.  She likes to play, play, run, play and explore.  It's fun.  I'll write more on what we play, how we play, and how Ami and I are lying a foundation for play in another blog post soon.  Long story short, she likes it, loves it and wants some more of it!  Life is GOOD as a puppy in our house. 

Headed out to a St. Louis USDAA trial this weekend.  Pixel gets to hang with Grandma for a couple days - both will love.  I will miss her though!!  Treo won't.  :)  Wish us luck!

Why not a rescue?

I touched on the path I took and that I did look at PetFinder for a few months looking at potentials on there.  I had a pull to go that direction, and as I looked at the dogs that paraded across my computer screen, I started to get more and more specific as to what I wanted in our next family member.  I knew I wanted small, but with good knees.  I knew I wanted an aussie - it's my breed.  And I knew that I wanted a dog with some drive and need to party. 

Asha was my rescue that started "it" all.  Started me in agility and started me in rescue.  She taught me more than any "push a button and I'm 'on'" kind of dog could have ever taught me.  But, to be honest, it was quite a challenge.  Plus, she wasn't into doing all the things I wanted to do with her - and we arrived at a mutual understanding that I won't make her do things she isn't comfortable with, and in return, she'd give me unconditional love and be my heart dog.  When I got Treo, it was because I wanted to have some of the variability, the unknowns, minimized.  Doesn't mean there isn't going to be some, there's always "some" but structure, drive, and size were more predictable than any given rescue dog - then, the rest, is up to me.

I looked hard at the dogs in rescue from February til just a week or so ago, but what worried me was that there are so many things that are up in the air.  Well, quite frankly, all of it is up in the air when it comes to a rescue.  I did find one, a red boy, only 8 months old and small in KS and even as I was talking to the 2 breeders that I had narrowed down to, I still took a day and drove to KC, KS and met him.  Within 30 seconds, I knew he was not my dog.  His structure was somewhat weird, he was very, very, very withdrawn, and even though I know he'd warm up over time, it was more obvious to me that he was not going to meet up with the expectations I have.  Plus, often times, if the structure isn't quite right, it's game over.  Then there's temperament, overcoming their lack of foundation, and any other baggage type stuff that they may or may not have.  Even being a rescuer myself, one would think that I only would want to get a rescue - but unlike some people out there - I do not believe that breeders as a collective group are our sole problem with the pet population problems, shelter issues or the volumes in rescue.  I firmly believe that the problem lies with irresponsible owners and commercial breeders.  Sure there's the occasional hobby breeder who's got too many dogs, making too many babies etc.  Just like there's the occasional family where giving up the dog is absolutely the right thing to do given whatever circumstances their in.  However, the vast majority of our issues is irresponsible dog ownership - not spaying/neutering, not fulfilling their end of the bargain when they got the dog, getting the dog for all the wrong reasons, not doing their research, not training the dog...listen, this list is long.  Fact is, the hobby breeders that I've known over the years try their darnest to create the best representatives of the breed they can.  They get "into" puppy foundation, and try to create the best environment for their puppies to thrive.  They get to know their personalities so they can make the best match possible for the interested families.  The really good ones have contracts that say if the dog isn't working out, that the dog comes back to the breeder regardless of age and they will find a home for that adult dog.  There are some really good breeders out there, folks, and their dogs are family dogs, just like ours.  Unfortunately, it only takes one bad apple to kill a perception...and that's what the breeders fight against with USDA regulations and the like - so, I get it.  But, unfortunately, the USDA needs to do what they need to do because of the exceptions to the norms, and for those dogs that are suffering, it's always the right thing to do.

If I were not interested in performance sports as I am, none of this would be a big deal and I would go with a rescue 100% of the time. Why not?  Saves a dog who got a rough start.  But there are other options, and a small, hobby breeder is an excellent way to go for many reasons.  Firstly, they should know a little about an estimated size, structure and personality.  They know if they are breeding show quality, pet quality or performance quality.  They should be willing to demonstrate to you what they are ultimately trying to achieve.  Some are well versed in flyball, Agility etc.  Some are less so, and some are wannbees - but, it's the dialogue that matters, what they pride themselves on, and what they say about their breeding goals and aspirations. 

Ultimately, it comes down to what kind of training journey did I want to have?  I know many, many people who have taken in a rescue and did some amazing things.  In fact, they pride themselves on the fact that their agility dog is a rescue, and they definitely should take pride in that.  Its a different training experience than getting a puppy.  And I don't know that one or the other is the "higher" decision.  I think the higher decision comes at that moment when you feel in your heart, "That's my dog."  Which is what I felt, strongly, when I saw Pixel's puppy pics and saw her in action on videos.  Her breeder told me about all her dogs, including a ready now female that could hit the ground running.  But, I kept going back to Pixel's picture, and I just felt that connection.  Once I made the decision, contacted Karla, and we finalized it all - I never had a moment of regret, or buyers remorse.  My dog was coming to us, and we (Ami, Pixel and I) are going to have amazing adventures together!

Pixel

I'm so happy to introduce Sheza Mega Pixel, or Pixel from Shade Tree Aussies out of Oklahoma.  I decided to do a sub-blog of Red Dogs Rule because Pixel will definitely be a journey, she deserves her own blog and Treo deserves his own blog and shouldn't have to share any more than he already has to with the addition of his new baby sister.

The Decision

To anyone, the decision to get a new puppy is difficult.  You have to weigh the impact on the rest of the dogs in the house (assuming there is multiple dogs), the weight of a new puppy on your partner and overall is the timing right for whatever happens to be going on in your life at the moment.  All the time, keeping in mind that there is no perfect anything.  I think if more people took these things into consideration, they'd have a better experience during the puppy and adolescent phases.

What many people don't know, is that I had opened the door a couple months before Asha passed with a little red puppy turned over in New York, who was tiny but bigtime naughty.  I wanted to figure out how to get that puppy to me, one way or another.  It didn't work out for me, but he did get a home good for him eventually.  Once I tried that possibility on, I started to look for dogs on Petfinder..."just looking" I would tell Ami.  Then...Asha passed and our world was tossed into a dark place.  But, lingering in my head was this spark of possibility born a couple months prior, whispering in my ear that someone was waiting for us.



I also started to entertain the idea of talking to breeders.  I lurked on some facebook groups, looking at pics and making a list.  I looked at some of the blue ribbon breeders on the breed clubs lists and started looking at pics of puppies.  That's dangerous.  What I wanted was another Neelah/Asha sized aussie.  So, I started looking at toy breeders, or mini/toy breeders.  I emailed a few breeders with litters on the ground and started to ask some questions.  I wanted to see about their drive, their play, and their interest in toys/tugging.  I couldn't really get straight answers, nor cooperation to show me videos either - with a couple exceptions, eventually.

"Greorgie 5ish weeks"

In a desperate attempt to get some questions answered, I posted on a Facebook page that I don't think toy/mini breeders know about toy play and tug drive and a breeder contacted me to call her, that she felt she had what I was looking for.  So, I called Karla (Shade Tree Aussies) and we had several really great conversations.  She was willing to give videoing a tugging session with her puppies a shot, and low and behold, I fell for a little girlie name "Georgie."

There were a couple things Karla said that really intrigued me which was the drive she gets in many of her dogs, and also the body structure - that it was similar to Treo's.  The video she sent me cemented the deal.  She was a craziest tugger in that session and she was happy and fun.  I had found our newest member of our family.

The Name

Oh my, we had so many names to choose from, but a very long time ago, Ami had a name picked out for a merle baby that we'd know we'd have one day, "Pixel."  Well, this baby is a diluted blue merle, meaning she's got the typical black spots, gray, white and copper.  But, she also has areas that are reddish in hue vs. black and that's what makes her a dilute.  She's many different colors smeared all over her body - so Pixel just fit her.  So, I stole it.  I think that makes Pixel truly 50% Ami's purely by the fact that she carries Ami's name.

Day 1 - A New Family, Friends and World

Treo's first day with me was a Tracy Sklenar Seminar - his training started immediately with baby restrained recalls and shadow handling.  I was crazed with the idea of training him right from the get go.  With Pixel, I'm soooo much more patient on that.  I'm patient and observant.  I'm watching what she's offering, how she takes in information, and reacts.  Its been interesting.  With Treo I had a full training plan put together by the time I got him.  With Pixel...she suddenly was here, and I have no plan, other than Susan Garrett's Puppy Peaks.  I have that.  HA!



In the car, on my way to my new future



Pixels first day was 4 hrs in the car with me.  She slept 95% of the time in a veri-crate in the seat next to me.  She occasionally would wake up, watch me with curiosity. 



9 weeks



Once we got home, she met my Mom who the dogs affectionately call "Grandma" and she also met the "other Momma".  Then, my two bestest friends came over, and our neighbors.  In true observance mode, I watched her and while she is shy with people at first, she's very quick to warm up.  If there's cheese involved she's VERY quick to warm up. 

I did get her to play a little, but she was on information overload for most of the day.  During the night, she slept like a champ.  I actually woke her up at 6 a.m. to go potty and eat breakfast.

Day 2 - Meet and Greets

Saturday was more meeting dog savvy friends and learning about the world.  She gets to be around the pack in her kennel, but we're keeping her from them for a while now.  She likes to watch them play, and they like the fact that we have several toys out for them to steal.  She got to to for her first walk, and she's actually pretty good following me and not balking at the leash and collar too badly - maybe twice.  She likes her kong and the new toys that the nice people brought over who came to meet her.  By the end of day 2 she'd met a grand total of 11 people and by the end of today, we'll make that a 13.  Not too shabby for a weekend.

Day 3 - Play, Play, Shape

Today I got inspired by watching some Susan Garrett Puppy Peaks.  We played some games, and she was very, very good at them.  Got lots of tugging, even growling sometimes and shaping.  We just shaped her going into a bed. 

She's FUNNY, and so smart.  She's not given me even a second of buyers remorse.  She's got a darling personality, a sweet disposition, she's perfect in her house training and kennel training.  Wow.  She's amazing.  And, pretty darn cute to look at ta boot.

Tomorrow she'll have an opportunity to bond with Ami (The "other" Momma).  After her well-puppy check up, I have to work and then come home, and immediately turn around and go teach 3 classes at the dog club.  :(  All I want to do is hang out with her, but at least Treo will get some time being "teacher dog" and he'll be so happy to get some time with the Momma.