Interesting science

Posted on February 13, 2013 by annieriecken

Here’s a report a friend (thanks Philip!) sent me from the BBC on some recent research that shows dogs understand more about human perception than we might have thought.

The short of it is, dogs seem to know that their humans are visually disadvantaged in the dark, as they were something like four times as likely to steal forbidden food, in the presence of their people, if it was dark in the room rather than lighted.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-21411249

When I go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, Chico often gets up and goes at least part of the way with me. I don’t turn on the lights, and am never sure if he’s at my feet, lying in the hallway, or still on the bed, so when I come back, I usually start the return trip by saying “Careful, blind human.” I guess he already knew that.

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You want dog tricks?

Posted on February 10, 2013 by annieriecken

I stumbled upon video of this talented little Jack Russell terrier recently.

I am particularly impressed with the little pup’s picking up trash trick, and, as it’s on my list of developing tricks, that carry the shopping basket trick is enviably executed.

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More science to support positive training

Posted on February 7, 2013 by annieriecken

Over at Science of Dogs there’s a post about some research that confirms that when new behaviors are positively reinforced, the learning lasts longer than learning which receives negative reinforcement (punishment).

Lighting the Pathways of Reward and Punishment.

Again, this illustrates why techniques like alpha rolls, neck grabs, and swats on the nose with newspaper don’t work as well as redirecting the dog to a desired behavior and then supporting that with praise and rewards.

Fancy talk that means my success with Chico is based in science, and that any dog can change.

 

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Banner day

Posted on January 29, 2013 by annieriecken

On Sunday, Chico and I tried competing in an agility trial from a different sanctioning body. All our other trials have been organized under the auspices (as well as rules and culture) of the American Kennel Club (AKC). AKC only started admitting “All American Dogs” (their name for what others might call mixed breeds, mutts, or shelter-specials) a couple years ago. Logically, at AKC events there are a lot of purebred dogs, a number of them I learned, trying to add titles in agility to AKC titles in obedience, herding, rally, and other dog sports. It seems to up the breeding value of a line if the dogs have a variety of titles. Shows their versatility or something. Yawn. I got into agility to make Chico into a dog that I could live with. I started competing because it was the logical extension of our training and because it would expose him (and me) to new and different situations and the more of those there are in Chico’s life, the better he learns to cope with them.*

The United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA) has always welcomed mixed breed dogs. Their Starter level courses are about as challenging as the Open level courses we’re doing now in AKC, so I decided to give USDAA a try and the trial was this weekend. Boy howdy, what a lot of fun. There is a greater variety of games, things move right along, everyone is friendly, lots of people volunteered, the place was practically cleaned up before the last dog ran. The whole event seemed to radiate relaxation and fun, rather than competition. There was something (and please, don’t let anyone take this wrong because to me it is a positive) just the teensiest bit scruffy and scrappy about the vibe at this particular USDAA trial (‘t would be premature to generalize to all USDAA trials) that I just loved.

*The classic example of this is that every time we go on a trip, like the Canada trip last spring (posts start here), when we get back home Chico handles day-to-day issues with more aplomb than when he left home. It’s as if he realizes that after what he’s seen, this is nothing.

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Entertaining el Poocho

Posted on January 24, 2013 by annieriecken

It’s way colder out than feels good for more than about ten minutes, and while multiple short walks keep Chico and me from going completely stir crazy, it really isn’t enough exercise to keep him happy. They say that if you can’t tire a dog physically, try to tire it mentally.

So this afternoon, I made him a treat-dispensing toy out of an old take-out container. Holes in the top and sides mean that if Chico rolls it around the treats inside will fall out.

Looking...

Looking…

pushing...

pushing…

pawing.

pawing.

It keeps a dog happy and busy for a few minutes, and induces a nap, when the wind chill makes the human think it is a better idea to stay in.

 

 

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Unbroken chain

Posted on January 23, 2013 by annieriecken

A fresh coat of snow, maybe 1.5 inches, fell the other night, and it was just deep enough to capture the motion of Chico’s feet as he did a dog trot down the road.

Looks like chain, or like chain stitch if you crochet.

Looks like the links of a chain, or like chain stitch if you crochet.

 

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Routines

Posted on January 19, 2013 by annieriecken

Living with Chico has helped me develop routines. Dogs, I learned, like routine. As soon as I wake up, we go outside because Chico hasn’t had access to his bathroom for eight or ten hours and fair is fair. Then I make some tea and do my yoga. When we first stared this program, I had to give Chico a bone while I did my yoga or he would be nuzzling me to play, or sticking his nose inside my child’s pose to lick my face. Presumably this is because in his prior life, whenever anyone got down on the floor, it was to interact with him. A nice chewy bone would then, and still will, keep him busy while I do my thing.

I usually give Chico a chewy treat/bone of some kind late in the evening; he brings it up on the bed when we go to bed, but he doesn’t chew it. In the morning, after I get the tea started, I roll out my mat and say “Yoga! Time for yoga!” and Chico goes to the bedroom, hops up on the bed and gets his bone from the previous evening, which he chews on his living room dog bed while I seek strength, flexibility, and peace of mind through a 20 minute routine of stretching, twisting, and controlled breathing.

Last night he didn’t eat his dinner, so no bone. Then, this morning, I gave him his dinner back, figuring he’d eat that instead of chewing a bone. Oh no. Morning is for bones, not dog food. After looking around the whole house for a bone he might have stashed someplace, Chico started taking toys out of his toy basket until he got to a generally under-appreciated rubber bone that is strung with rawhide stripping. In the absence of bully stick, lamb trachea, freeze-dried chicken neck, or other spoiled dog chewy, it turns out that

this is just fine.

this is just fine.

Sadly for Chico, he got started with it rather late in my routine, and he refuses to chew the bone after I get up from the mat, so he got a bit short changed this morning. I’ll have to take some steps to do something else interesting today to make up for it.

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You have to laugh

Posted on January 12, 2013 by annieriecken

Looking for something on my computer today, I found the video of the very first time Chico and I tried an agility trial. This was a “B Match” – a chance to run a regulation course, in a trial setting, but without it “counting.” And thank goodness it didn’t because this was pretty much a disaster. I was nervous because it was the very first time, that got Chico all wound up, and things went downhill from there. Finally I had the presence of mind to just start to run the course, and then he remembered what we were there for.

When I watched it I just laughed and laughed. I hope you will too.

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Three years

Posted on January 10, 2013 by annieriecken

Today is the third anniversary of Chico’s ‘got ya’ day, the day he came to live with me. On that day I didn’t know he was going to be my dog. If you’ve read my first posts, you know I wasn’t looking for a dog, I didn’t think I had the time or the money or the living situation that would permit me to have a dog.

In the last three years, I have developed a regular yoga practice, walked miles in beautiful places, taken up a new sport and, for the first time in my life, started to enter competitions.

That's Chico with the ribbons we received for completing the Novice level of American Kennel Club agility trials. It too a year to get them both, but we only compete one or two days every couple of months.

That’s Chico with the ribbons we received for completing the Novice level in Standard and Jumpers classes of American Kennel Club agility trials. It took a year to get them both, but we only compete one or two days every couple of months.

In the last three years, I learned that I really, really needed a dog. I meet new people and have something to talk to them about, it has drawn me out. I get more exercise, I’m healthier and happier.

In the last three years, Chico has gone from a fearful creature who tries to manage the whole world to a reasonably confident (though still far from perfectly adjusted), sociable, friendly dog who (literally) looks to me when he thinks something is not right (well, OK, maybe he only does that 60 or 70% of the time). He’s gone from a dog who jumped and hid behind me when another dog banged the see-saw to a dog who, when loose in the arena, will run to the raised end of the apparatus and stand on his hind legs to bring that end down on the floor with a bang-clang. When Chico first saw an agility tunnel, he wanted nothing to do with it. He had to be lured through a very short, straight tunnel with super high-value treats and much coaxing; now he sees a long, curved tunnel and dives into it, racing out the far end looking for me. He loves the weave poles so much that he will drag me to them when we arrive in the arena. In this video, starting at about second 22, he is so eager to do the poles, he almost glows.

Chico has been a lot of places with me: Washington, DC, Portsmouth, NH, Portland, ME, Algonquin Provincial Park and Toronto in Ontario, Niagara Falls, and more. Every time we come back from an adventure, he handles the day to day things here with more aplomb and grace.

And he’s so, so very photogenic:

Chico at the wheel

C with chickens 2

I can't remember, what was my life like before Chico was in it?

Sometimes I can’t remember, what was my life like before Chico was in it?

Full flight Chico 10-28-11C&A 4 corners 10-11

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DC adventures

Posted on January 8, 2013 by annieriecken

For a week or so, Chico had to do a lot of not much while my siblings and I attended to some family business, and he was really quite gracious about it. When we started moving a number of boxes and small pieces of furniture to various cars for transportation, we needed the house’s luggage cart. When Chico and I went down to the lobby to get it, Chico finally got a chance to show off his agility skills. There’s a game called pony rides that we sometimes play at Julie’s; it involves the dog riding on a four wheel dolly. It pays well and Chico likes it a lot.

So, when we got the luggage cart,

Chico hopped on and roe through the lobby, much to everyone's delight, and all the way to the apartment.

Chico, much to everyone’s delight,  hopped on and rode through the lobby and all the way to the apartment.

He also got a chance to do all his tricks for the clerks at both the UPS Store and Ritz Camera. He really likes to go into stores, he walks right up to the counter and puts two paws up there to say “Hi!” to who ever is there to serve us.

We took a walk through downtown Bethesda and Chico calmly let two boys pet him. Chico can ignore the neighbors in our borrowed apartment having a little party next door and he can calm himself when the building’s front door clangs shut. This trip has provided a lot of opportunities for several different types of socialization and Chico has, for the most part, risen to the occasion.

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