A Day(s) on the Beach

The Five Day Weekend 

We have had quite the week with Buster being exposed to a whole host of new experiences and environments.  And, we discovered traveling with a dog can be quite a chore.

Last Thursday we were invited to Ojai Valley Cowboy School to do a remote podcast for our show, The Whoa Podcast about Horses and Horsemanship.  We knew it would be a long day.  Our choices: leave Buster alone in the yard or locked in his crate.  There is just too much trouble he can get into if left alone to roam free for ten hours.  We opted to take him with us.

Buster is a wonderful traveler.  Once in the truck he curls up and goes to sleep.  The trip to Ojai is about two hours.  He slept the whole way.  The Cowboy School is a ranch and all ranches have dogs.  I let Buster out and he soon discovered he was not "Top" anything.  Ranae and I took this as a good thing.  The other dogs played and showed him a good time.  And, when he got too rambunctious, they put him in his place.  I did have to crate him for a time while I rode.  We couldn't have him chasing the horse around and that's just what he would have done.  I offered him the opportunity to be tied to the outside of the arena, but he chose to bark and left me no choice.

Once the riding events were over we let him out and he was a good dog.  I was worried about the food - there were hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill.  We kept a watchful eye on him because he would have definitely helped himself to some goodies.

He slept most of the way home and on Friday we headed off again for a weekend in San Diego. Wonderfully, the trip down was great. Buster slept for about three hours until we got to the town of Norco.  We found a place to eat with a patio, walked around a bit, and then finished the ninety minute trip to our hotel.  La Quinta Inns does not charge for pets.  I was a little concerned when they were only rated two stars on the website, but our room was clean, breakfast was good, and we were pleasantly surprised.  We had two crates with us, the travel crate and the sleeping crate.  We move the sleeping crate to the room and kept the travel crate to contain Buster when we went to a restaurant that didn't accommodate dogs.

We visited my brothers staying at an RV park.  Buster was well rested and eager to check things out.  People were excited to meet him and he fed off that excitement. We were recommended a few dog parks and told of a dog beach.  We could not wait to give it a try.  

Two dogs playing chase and roll.

Saturday morning we found Dusty Roads Dog Park.  I've never been to a dog park.  Buster had never been to a dog park.  It was time to let nature take its course and see what happened.  

All the years I've owned dogs I had never observed this type of behavior.  Plenty of times I had seen dogs interact on-lead or loose out in the open.  This was a self-contained dog play area.  The dogs who regularly come here, come specifically to play.  New dogs are greeted, it seemed to me, with a very stern eye that conveyed the notion, "You will have fun...or else".  

Buster was greeted with a couple of dogs in his face and was a little intimidated at first.  There were far too many good smells for him to comprehend.  He interacted with a few of the dogs and played a game or two of chase.  He discovered on his own that one does not just take any dog's ball without a good romp and a run.  He played with dogs bigger than he and some of the smaller ones too (although there was a separate penned area for the dogs under 20 lbs.)  He kept me in eyesight and if I wandered too far off, he would come over and check in with me.

Dog Beach San Diego

Once I knew he was good in the fenced area we set out to see what delights the dog beach held for us. We found we had parked about half a mile away.  Ranae and I enjoy walking and this was the fun part for us. 

This was an amazing place!  There were dogs everywhere! Some dogs wanted in the water, some did not.  Buster was not too sure what to think at first.  Again, the smells were overwhelming, but there were dogs, there were balls and Frisbees being thrown, and there were waves to dodge.

Buster did an excellent job of balancing having fun and keeping track of where we were.  It was hard to even take pictures of him because every time I squatted to get a "dog level" shot he would come running to me.

Finally, he went tearing through the waves with a new-found friend.  He got a real kick out of splashing water around.  He's too new to the game to come back to us before shaking the water off, but I'm sure if given time and opportunity, he would pick this up in a heartbeat.

It was wonderful seeing him run.  The boy does know how to have a good time.  We went to another dog park the following day.  I have to hand it to San Diego.  They know how to treat their dogs.  In all the time we spent around the loose dogs - around three hours I would guess - there was not one fight incident.  There were pit bulls and Rottweilers and some other intimidating breeds, but nothing ever escalated passed a bit of barking.

Surf's Up!

On Sunday while grocery shopping we ran across a pet store.  Knowing we could take Buster inside we decided to do a bit of window shopping.  As luck would have it, there was a scale inside.  Buster is up to 42 lbs.  Oh, and I should mention that he was off his feed on the trip.  He usually scarfs down about 5 cups of food a day.  Friday he had three, Saturday I don't think he ate 2 1/2 cups.  And, with his appetite off schedule, his poops were too.  He woke me up at five in the morning for a walkabout.  We had a talk.  I tried to convey that this was a vacation and the goal was to sleep in.  After a day at the dog beach I think he finally got the hang of it.  I'm not sure what was going on.  His appetite is back to normal now that he's home.

Working on the "HEEL"

I've been thinking about the "HEEL" lately.  It's got me confused so it's no surprise that Buster is confused.  A couple of things to set up this post.  Most importantly is the habit Buster had for his first four months.  He would be inside and we would take him outside as part of his housebreaking training.  At work, he would be inside for a couple of hours and I knew he needed a bathroom break. I would take him outside on the leash.  We would go to one of several designated spots and I would give the command "POTTY" and he would go.  I insisted he walk on the left, but I didn't give him the "HEEL" command.  We were working on housebreaking, not heeling.

Now he has much better bladder control.  After a couple of hours I'm sure he needs a comfort break, it's just not as urgent.  I've been somewhat ambivalent about giving him the "HEEL" command as we exit the building because I've been using it as a bathroom break.  I think I have to change that.  Buster needs a more clearly defined concept of the command.

Another mistake I noticed I was making was during the heel.  If Buster lagged behind, I would encourage him to catch up by saying "C'mon" instead of  reiterating the command.  If he is going to learn what the heel is supposed to be, it's only going to happen if I clearly define the command.

Today I took him out and allowed myself two words, "HEEL" and "POTTY".  I tried to use his name before "HEEL" because I remember reading that you should call his name before a command that requires movement.  If he stopped to smell, I gave the command "POTTY" a five count, if he did not go he got "Buster, HEEL" and we moved on.  I caught myself using "C'mon" a couple of times, but overall he did a much better job of keeping up.

Looking ahead, the next problem I'll need to solve is lunging forward.  If he sees someone or something ahead, he just throws himself at it.  Right now I'm giving him the "HEEL" command once again and we'll see how this works out.

Half way through the day today I loaded the Nike running app on my phone.  We recorded two miles.  Like I said that was about half.

There's No Place for Frustration in Puppy Training...

...But Shit Happens

This would not be a very valuable training puppy blog if it were all champagne bubbles and caviar dreams.  Today was just a roller coaster day as Buster did some things fantastically and then drove me absolutely batty with the inexplicable.

I had an early appointment with a guest on the East Coast.  I was up at 5 am, got everyone fed and even had time to play with everyone a little. Buster and I headed for the office. We arrived early enough for a walk and insure that Buster had the opportunity to take care of business.  He happily availed himself of the opportunity.  Back at the office he was a little noisy as we conducted a recorded interview, but five minutes in he was sound asleep in the corner of my office.

Afterward we went for a brief walk and I got another 90 minutes of work completed before he was up.  We had a walk planned for noon. It was 11:15.  Okay, let's just walk.  We walked for 45 minutes and met my wife for lunch.

Buster is interacting with most people in a much more positive way.  He met up with several people who see us walking and stop to say 'hi'.  I have not quite figured out what makes him leery of a person.  There were a couple of people we ran into that he just did not want to approach.  One group had five people in it with a women squealing to say hello.  Buster seem confused, but tolerant.  When the waiter quietly and calmly brought our food out to the patio, Buster barked at him.  There just doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to his reactions.

The afternoon was spent editing.  We got back at 1:30 and Buster slept until 3:45.  But, then he was up.  He paced from room to room, grabbing this toy then that.  He tried chewing on a the file cabinet, then the chair leg, then got tangled in an electrical cord.  I got the message.  My day was over.  I packed and we headed home.

The power was out when we got home but I had a few chores I needed to get done outside while Buster and Rusty burned off some energy.  I was getting my stuff done when I look in the direction of one of our mulberry trees.  There was Buster digging a hole in a spot I had caught him digging a few days ago.  I had filled the whole with dog poop thinking that might discourage him.  No such luck.

I grabbed his leash, lead him over to the hole.  I pounded the hole with my fist while yelling "NO, NO, NO".  I had done this same procedure the first time he dug here.  I let him loose and he looked remorseful for about 30 seconds then bounded off to play with Rusty.  I felt that I had caught him in the act and let him know I disapproved, so what he did afterward was out of my control. I refilled the hole with dirt and smoothed it over.

Twenty minutes later Buster is back at the same spot digging.  Well, this time I lost my cool.  I hooked the leash on him again and this time we hustled over to the hole.  I made him lower his head as I pounded the ground (I don't believe in striking the dog, just the object of his obsession).  After three good whacks of the ground, I scooped him up and put him in his kennel for a time out that lasted 20 minutes.

Somehow I think this digging thing is going to be a big problem for him.

Training Update

I have to keep reminding myself he is just a puppy.  Buster is not even 5 months old, but weighed in at 38.5 lbs yesterday.  By all appearances he is a dog.  Mentally, he is still a puppy.

When we work on training, we have to do it in very short sessions.  The biggest challenges we have is trying to calculate his "up" time and "down" so I can some things done. There is a life outside of caring for him, if you know what I mean. If I'm working outside, he's pretty good. If I have some office work to do, he can be a real pain in the ass if he feels we should be doing something else.

Walking and heeling are greatly improved in many aspects.  It is so cute to see him come to a sit when I stop for a light.  For the most part he walks on the left.

Many times when we meet up with Ranae for lunch he would be surprised and excited to see her.  Initially we would let him run up and greet her.  One of the things that's cute when he's a puppy.  Then, because he was wary of strangers, I would give people who wanted to pet him, a treat to pass along to him.  Now, if he sees someone on the street, he wants to run up to them and say "hi".  I have to figure out how to get him to the middle ground - somewhere between not wary of strangers and not wanting to check their pockets for Snausages.

He is good at "down".   His recall, with distraction is spotty, but when it works, it's great.  We are working on stay.  Feeding time is so much easier.  About a week ago I started placing him on a down-stay while I prepare the bowls.  Now he stays in the down while all the ever-tempting cat food bowls are filled.  It helped him learn the concept of "stay".  The cats are much more relaxed with this arrangement too.  He still gets his bowl outside and eats outside the presence of the cats.

We are using the clicker training method and it seems to be a useful way to capture his attention.

And, he is finally starting to retrieve a few objects.  There still is a lot of work to go here, but there are signs he is picking up the concept.  It will be nice to play retrieve with him to burn off some of his excess energy.

He's the EveryReady Bunny

Christmas week can be hard on a puppy who can not be trusted to be alone.  Visiting with family and friends on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meant the Buster had some extended time in his crate.  Early last week I moved him to a larger crate and he does have considerably more room.  I think he is much more comfortable.

To counter solitary confinement, Buster has had a week of long walk/trots.  On Christmas Eve there was a charity fun walk/run and Buster got to experience it...all of it.  From waking up at 5 am to be in line by 6, to having other dogs and people in line while we stood there for an hour.  Then, the walk with people big and small, walking and running, and even skating and cycling.  We also had Rusty with us and she acted as the perfect example.  Afterwards there was the hour in the crate in the truck as we enjoyed breakfast with the family.

On Saturday we wanted to ride the similar route we took a few weeks ago when Buster rode on the back of my horse.  This time he would be required to stay on the ground the whole way.  Puppies are incredibly resilient and Buster is no exception.  He followed along with the horses for the 2.75 miles to Ethel's Old Corral restaurant.  When we got to a traffic area, I placed Buster on a twelve foot lead and he heeled pretty darn good.

We bought him a burger patty at Ethel's and he thought that was quite yummy.  They put onions on our chicken sandwich and I set them on Buster's plate.  Yep, you guessed it, he ate them.  Raw onions.  The guy is a machine.

The trip back was a little slower, but he followed along perfectly and when we made it back to the stables I put him on the lead once again.  They were having an event in the main arena and there were horses, people and dogs everywhere.  Buster, Ranae and I walked around calmly through the whole thing.  Oh, and my horse was a champ too.  She didn't seem to mind having a thirty pound puppy around her feet.

Then, this morning I broke the mountain bike out again and headed for Hart Park.  It was cold at 8 am and I wasn't sure how many people/bikes would be out there.  I chose a little harder hill to climb.  We took off and Buster was on the long leash as we had a couple of streets to cross.  I think he is a right-handed dog.  He really prefers to be on the right.  Heeling protocol says he has to stay on the left, so that's where I put him.  He figured it out and we made our way to the first climb.  I took off the long line and away we went.

We did a total of about five miles over the span of an hour.  He just keeps going and going.  We encountered a couple of bikes and a few hikers.  Each time Buster would run up to them barking.  I would announce he was a puppy and the people were fine.  With each passing encounter the barks dwindled in number and intensity.  I'm not sure if this was because he was getting used to them or just to tired to care.

Monday we get back into our regular work routine.  He'll get some rest before the New Year and who knows what kind of adventures await him.

Out in the Wild

There's no guarantee that once off the leash a dog is going to stick around...for most breeds.  Buster seems to have a keen sense of both Ranae and I and, at least at four months of age, I am fairly confident he won't run off by himself.  Still, we have a lot invested in the little guy and he is a dog.

I've been wanting to get out my mountain bike after several years of letting it collect dust.  We have a very nice area to ride and it is being encroached upon.  I wanted to get in a few more rides before it got swallowed up.

It was a bit cold and gray clouds posed a mild threat of rain as we headed off.  The area we were going was at the higher end of town and I thought things would clear up.  Just the opposite was true.  Fog had socked in the foothills and visibility was about a quarter of a mile. It had been so long since I had been out here, and so much had changed, I was having a tough time finding a place to park.

Finally we found a spot.  I pulled my bike out and let Buster run around the truck for a bit.  I offered him some water before climbing in the pedals.  I started the odometer on the bike.

We were off.  My plan was to jog Buster for a mile or so looping back to the truck.  Then I would put him back in his crate and head off to explore some of my old haunts.  Buster was right by my side at first.  He was jogging along at a nice easy pace.  It felt good to be out there again getting some exercise.

The fog slowly burned off as Buster went from one side of the bike to another. I swear sometimes he has this look on his face that says, "What the hell is wrong with you?  Do you know how many interesting smells we just passed up?"  Occasionally he would try to bite at my pant leg to try and slow me down.  He is a herding dog after all.

We did our mile plus loop.  Once back at the truck he got some water and wandered around before in the crate he went.

My ride went on for another 45 minutes or so and when I got back we did some hiking near the truck to get some photos.  Buster has a healthy curiosity.  Thankfully he has a good recall.

We even worked on some retrievals.  I smeared one of the training treats on a stick and threw it about twenty feet.  It was real easy for him to find.  He doesn't always bring it all the way back to me.  I'm going to have to work with him on that.  After a couple of times though, he was off to catch up on some of those incredible smells he missed while running beside the bike.

We thought he might be a little more tired after exerting himself, but I think he has a high gear for sleeping too.  By the end of the night, Buster was the least tired of us all.

This Boy Can Eat

The other day after breakfast Buster looked hungry.  I had given him the usual cup and a 1/4  or so.  I thought I would dump another cup of food in his bowl and whatever he did not clean up, I would put back in his food bin.  He is a magician.  Presto Change-O the bowl was as clean as the day I bought it!  This week Buster weighed in at 32.5 lbs.  He has tripled his weight in the 60 days I've had him!

He is now getting 2 cups in the morning, a cup and a half for lunch, and a cup and a half for dinner.  He is sleeping through the night and wakes up when we do around 6 am.  We will go out and feed the horses and then he gets to eat.  He's got about half an hour of wrestling with Rusty before he needs a nap.  That allows me to shower and shave without worrying what he might get into.  Then it's off to work.

Yesterday I put him in the back seat of the truck.  I think he prefers me being the chauffeur.  He generally sits up and looks out the window for awhile before curling up on his towel.  This morning he asked that I pull his truck around and take him to Petsmart to refill our quickly dwindling food supplies.  We met up with Belle, a pit/shepard mix, shopping in the same aisle.  After a few pleasantries they both thought they should be able to play.  I must teach Buster the importance of his "inside voice" because I got a boisterous rebellion after informing him the store aisles were no place to romp around. He let me know that he had never been talked to in this manner from a chauffeur and that if I continued I would be forced to seek employment elsewhere.

He headed over the the cat food aisle to look for dropped morsels of kibble while I picked out some delicious flavors for the fellas at home.  When he was ready, I once again pulled his truck around and gently lifted him to throne in the rear.  (Now I understand why people get Pomeranians)