The other evening, I was freaking out over a spider (I hate spiders). It looked like a Daddy-Long-Legs, so it wasn't really scary, like other spiders that you see in Southern Cali. I crushed it with a tissue box (my usual weapon of choice) and was going to get the vacuum to suck it up.
When I got back to the spider with the vacuum, Loki was eating it!!! Eww... gross...
A few weeks ago, there was a Dogster thread about the grossest thing your dog has eaten. I was surprised to read about how many dogs ate poop, either their own or others. While I'm grossed out by the bug eating, I think it's probably normal. The poop eating really seems abnormal & strange.
Heel & Loose Leash Walking
Walks with Loki have improved so much since learning Heel that I decided to write up some training tips based on our experience.
The idea of heel is to keep your dog immediately to your left (or right) side when you walk, and more importantly, to keep your dog's attention on you. I used to think that this was too restrictive - that a dog's walk shouldn't be so strict. But having tried walks letting Loki sniff and do whatever he wants to the length of our four foot leash and having tried walks in a heel, I have to say I much prefer heel. Loki is so much better behaved and I have so much more control.
I keep Loki on my left side on a very short leash - short, but loose. Clicker in my left hand along with the leash and treat bag on my right. Some training texts would say that I should give treats with my left hand, since the dog is on my left side, but I am so much clumsier using my left-hand.
I usually start the walk with just his name and treat him for paying attention to me. Then I say "Let's Go" (a command that Loki knows) and walk forward. If he's doing well (looking straight ahead or at me and walking forward), then I will click & treat or say "good boy". In the beginning you want to give more treats, but you can transition to less treats and more verbal praise. I think it really helps to give feedback literally every two to three steps. Furthermore, I say "Eh" as negative feedback whenever Loki is doing anything that he's not supposed to be doing (pulling, lagging behind, sniffing the ground, paying attention to something other than me). I think that this part is key and too many trainers fail to mention it. Trainers don't like to ever mention anything negative. The instructor of my puppy class never talked about using a verbal correction in her teaching sessions, but I noticed that she used it when working with a dog. I find the combination of both positive and negative feedback very effective.
Now, I am at the stage where the frequency of my positive feedback varies between every 3 steps to every 50 steps. If we're in a high distraction zone (kids around), I will say Loki's name and treat just for his attention and provide either treats or verbal praise every 2-3 steps. If we're in a low distraction zone, then I can drag it out to 50 steps.
If he is pulling or getting ahead of me, I use the verbal correction, "Eh," and then make a 180 turn into Loki and walk in the opposite direction. Turning into your dog works really well for me. Dogs understand body language so much more than our spoken sounds. If your dog is pulling to be out front, then the dog will have to pass you to be out front again. The moment that he is in the correct position, click & treat, so that your dog knows what position is acceptable and what is not. If he pulls out front again, then make another 180 turn into your dog.
The opposite problem is lagging behind. This tends to be Loki's problem more so than pulling ahead. To correct this, I usually give Loki one or two chances to respond to "Let's Go" before I tug at the leash. Perhaps, he has learned that I give him these chances, so he tends to take advantage and lag behind. I think I will try giving the command "Let's Go", and if he doesn't respond, then give him a verbal correction. Then by the second "Let's Go", I tug at the leash. We'll see. We're still working on this one.
About every ten minutes, I stop and let Loki sniff around for fun. I know that sniffing is what dogs love to do and I'm not about to deprive him of that joy. But sniffing times are separate from walking times. I just stand still, relax, and say "At ease". Now, I'm not sure if he knows what that means yet, but I try to make my body language very relaxed. That way, he can differentiate me standing still for him to sniff (very relaxed) from me standing still at a red light (still alert).
Honestly, I never thought that Loki could be so well-behaved on a walk until I saw it with my own eyes when the instructor of our Puppy Class demonstrated Heel with him.
To sum up what really helped me:
To correct for pulling behavior, you should make a U-turn and walk in the opposite direction.
There are 2 types of U-turns: away from your dog and into your dog. If your dog is just slightly getting ahead of you, you should turn into your dog 180 degrees. This way, you are cutting your dog off. However, if your dog is too far ahead of you, then you should turn away from your dog 180 degrees. When your dog is too far ahead of you, if you tried to turn into your dog, you'd just turn into the leash.
The idea of heel is to keep your dog immediately to your left (or right) side when you walk, and more importantly, to keep your dog's attention on you. I used to think that this was too restrictive - that a dog's walk shouldn't be so strict. But having tried walks letting Loki sniff and do whatever he wants to the length of our four foot leash and having tried walks in a heel, I have to say I much prefer heel. Loki is so much better behaved and I have so much more control.
I keep Loki on my left side on a very short leash - short, but loose. Clicker in my left hand along with the leash and treat bag on my right. Some training texts would say that I should give treats with my left hand, since the dog is on my left side, but I am so much clumsier using my left-hand.
I usually start the walk with just his name and treat him for paying attention to me. Then I say "Let's Go" (a command that Loki knows) and walk forward. If he's doing well (looking straight ahead or at me and walking forward), then I will click & treat or say "good boy". In the beginning you want to give more treats, but you can transition to less treats and more verbal praise. I think it really helps to give feedback literally every two to three steps. Furthermore, I say "Eh" as negative feedback whenever Loki is doing anything that he's not supposed to be doing (pulling, lagging behind, sniffing the ground, paying attention to something other than me). I think that this part is key and too many trainers fail to mention it. Trainers don't like to ever mention anything negative. The instructor of my puppy class never talked about using a verbal correction in her teaching sessions, but I noticed that she used it when working with a dog. I find the combination of both positive and negative feedback very effective.
Now, I am at the stage where the frequency of my positive feedback varies between every 3 steps to every 50 steps. If we're in a high distraction zone (kids around), I will say Loki's name and treat just for his attention and provide either treats or verbal praise every 2-3 steps. If we're in a low distraction zone, then I can drag it out to 50 steps.
If he is pulling or getting ahead of me, I use the verbal correction, "Eh," and then make a 180 turn into Loki and walk in the opposite direction. Turning into your dog works really well for me. Dogs understand body language so much more than our spoken sounds. If your dog is pulling to be out front, then the dog will have to pass you to be out front again. The moment that he is in the correct position, click & treat, so that your dog knows what position is acceptable and what is not. If he pulls out front again, then make another 180 turn into your dog.
The opposite problem is lagging behind. This tends to be Loki's problem more so than pulling ahead. To correct this, I usually give Loki one or two chances to respond to "Let's Go" before I tug at the leash. Perhaps, he has learned that I give him these chances, so he tends to take advantage and lag behind. I think I will try giving the command "Let's Go", and if he doesn't respond, then give him a verbal correction. Then by the second "Let's Go", I tug at the leash. We'll see. We're still working on this one.
About every ten minutes, I stop and let Loki sniff around for fun. I know that sniffing is what dogs love to do and I'm not about to deprive him of that joy. But sniffing times are separate from walking times. I just stand still, relax, and say "At ease". Now, I'm not sure if he knows what that means yet, but I try to make my body language very relaxed. That way, he can differentiate me standing still for him to sniff (very relaxed) from me standing still at a red light (still alert).
Honestly, I never thought that Loki could be so well-behaved on a walk until I saw it with my own eyes when the instructor of our Puppy Class demonstrated Heel with him.
To sum up what really helped me:
- Short leash
- Constant feedback, both positive and negative
- Use of body language
To correct for pulling behavior, you should make a U-turn and walk in the opposite direction.
There are 2 types of U-turns: away from your dog and into your dog. If your dog is just slightly getting ahead of you, you should turn into your dog 180 degrees. This way, you are cutting your dog off. However, if your dog is too far ahead of you, then you should turn away from your dog 180 degrees. When your dog is too far ahead of you, if you tried to turn into your dog, you'd just turn into the leash.
Mastiffs
What a day to forget the camera!
We went for a quick trip to the dog park and found that there was a Mastiff Meetup there. Those are some large creatures. I tried to steer Loki away from the group of them. It wasn't so much their sheer size that intimidated me, but rather their drool. One small white dog was covered in drool after it hung out with the group of Mastiffs. Eww... gross.
Hiding
Loki usually doesn't hang out under our desks, but that's where he was this morning. Typically, he hangs out anywhere in our apartment, sleeping on the carpet in open areas.
I tried to capture this scene as best I could with a camera. I love how it's just his little nose that pokes out.
I tried to capture this scene as best I could with a camera. I love how it's just his little nose that pokes out.
Nails
Loki hates having his nails done. We originally bought a standard dog nail clipper, but Loki didn't want anything to do with it. We went a couple months without doing his nails at all. Then we just had the breeder do them last month when we boarded him there.
Under our breeder's recommendation, we got a Dremel. We bought a cordless one from Amazon.
Yesterday, we successfully did his two back paws. The whole thing was a big ordeal. I held Loki in my arms, while Yun did Loki's back paws. Loki put up a little bit of a fuss, but then during the grinding of his nails, he looked away and over my shoulder. He's a funny little furball.
Afterwards Loki got real smoked turkey. What a special treat! We decided to freeze the rest of the turkey meat and use it next time when we do his front paws. He put up more resistance for his front paws than his back, so we decided to do the front paws later.
Overall, I was pretty pleased with the end result. His back paws were done and no one got scratched, bitten, or otherwise injured.
The only con is that I found the Dremel not very user friendly. It took awhile to figure out how to change the little attachment pieces. (What do you call them? bits?) And the battery doesn't last long, but I don't really mind.
Under our breeder's recommendation, we got a Dremel. We bought a cordless one from Amazon.
Yesterday, we successfully did his two back paws. The whole thing was a big ordeal. I held Loki in my arms, while Yun did Loki's back paws. Loki put up a little bit of a fuss, but then during the grinding of his nails, he looked away and over my shoulder. He's a funny little furball.
Afterwards Loki got real smoked turkey. What a special treat! We decided to freeze the rest of the turkey meat and use it next time when we do his front paws. He put up more resistance for his front paws than his back, so we decided to do the front paws later.
Overall, I was pretty pleased with the end result. His back paws were done and no one got scratched, bitten, or otherwise injured.
The only con is that I found the Dremel not very user friendly. It took awhile to figure out how to change the little attachment pieces. (What do you call them? bits?) And the battery doesn't last long, but I don't really mind.
Eventful Day
What an eventful day for Loki! Puppy class in the morning, dog park in the afternoon, and then almost being eaten alive by Yun!
Puppy Class
Loki did so well today in puppy class! We reviewed all of our previous commands in a rapid fire drill. Name, Sit, Down, Stay, Let's Go, Target, Sit to greet, and Pillow. He knows all of them except for Pillow. We don't really use that one with him. Pillow means go to your blanket and lie down. At home, we use Pen, which means go to your exercise pen and be locked up.
Today we learned Heel, so we'll have to practice that this week. I never quite understood the concept of Heel and how it's different from Let's Go. The only reason I thought Heel would be useful is in the show ring. Do people actually take their dogs on walks in a formal Heel position? I guess a Seeing-Eye Service Dog would have to. I'll try it out and practice Heel. Maybe our walks will be better if I have Loki in a Heel position.
Dog Park
Loki did lots of running at the dog park today. Good thing! Now he's all tired out. You never know whether he'll end up getting good exercise at the dog park or not. The pug ran around with him a lot.
After running, dogs need water. Loki didn't really drink out of the communal water fountain. He did once when no other dogs were around. But I spoil him and bring him a separate water bowl.
Just around the time that we were going to leave the dog park, Loki got attacked by another dog. I think it was a Scottish Terrier. I'm not quite sure. It's very easy to spot an unstable dog. Most dogs there are friendly and happy. This dog came in to the park barking like crazy and charging. It was also obsessive about fetching the tennis ball that its owner would throw. It would keep on barking at the owner demanding he throw the ball. Unfortunately, he got into a scuffle with Loki. It wasn't play. It was a fight. Loki looked really vicious. Yun stepped in pretty quickly, so no one got hurt. Still, then I wanted to stay a little longer so that Loki wouldn't leave with a bad impression of the dog park or of dogs. I didn't want him to be fearful of or aggressive towards other dogs. So we stayed a little longer than I planned, but I think doing that was helpful for Loki.
Being eaten alive
After a tiring time at the dog park, Loki decided to sleep by the kitchen table. But then his ear got eaten off by a terrible monster. Poor Loki!
Puppy Class
Loki did so well today in puppy class! We reviewed all of our previous commands in a rapid fire drill. Name, Sit, Down, Stay, Let's Go, Target, Sit to greet, and Pillow. He knows all of them except for Pillow. We don't really use that one with him. Pillow means go to your blanket and lie down. At home, we use Pen, which means go to your exercise pen and be locked up.
Today we learned Heel, so we'll have to practice that this week. I never quite understood the concept of Heel and how it's different from Let's Go. The only reason I thought Heel would be useful is in the show ring. Do people actually take their dogs on walks in a formal Heel position? I guess a Seeing-Eye Service Dog would have to. I'll try it out and practice Heel. Maybe our walks will be better if I have Loki in a Heel position.
Dog Park
Loki did lots of running at the dog park today. Good thing! Now he's all tired out. You never know whether he'll end up getting good exercise at the dog park or not. The pug ran around with him a lot.
After running, dogs need water. Loki didn't really drink out of the communal water fountain. He did once when no other dogs were around. But I spoil him and bring him a separate water bowl.
Just around the time that we were going to leave the dog park, Loki got attacked by another dog. I think it was a Scottish Terrier. I'm not quite sure. It's very easy to spot an unstable dog. Most dogs there are friendly and happy. This dog came in to the park barking like crazy and charging. It was also obsessive about fetching the tennis ball that its owner would throw. It would keep on barking at the owner demanding he throw the ball. Unfortunately, he got into a scuffle with Loki. It wasn't play. It was a fight. Loki looked really vicious. Yun stepped in pretty quickly, so no one got hurt. Still, then I wanted to stay a little longer so that Loki wouldn't leave with a bad impression of the dog park or of dogs. I didn't want him to be fearful of or aggressive towards other dogs. So we stayed a little longer than I planned, but I think doing that was helpful for Loki.
Being eaten alive
After a tiring time at the dog park, Loki decided to sleep by the kitchen table. But then his ear got eaten off by a terrible monster. Poor Loki!
Digging
Today, I was sitting at my desk and heard this racket going on. Uh-oh, I thought, what is Loki up to? Where is he? Not in the exercise pen. Not in the living room. Not in the kitchen or dining room. Is he in the bathroom? No. He's in his crate in the bedroom!
Silly dog! Where are you going to accomplish? Anyways, I was very proud of him for knowing that he is allowed to dig in his crate (he's also allowed to dig in his exercise pen), because he's not allowed to dig on our carpet or other flooring.
Silly dog! Where are you going to accomplish? Anyways, I was very proud of him for knowing that he is allowed to dig in his crate (he's also allowed to dig in his exercise pen), because he's not allowed to dig on our carpet or other flooring.
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