what started all this was a visitor yesterday who is taking an online course in dog training-- she rode around with me doing chores with dogs,,, and as i listed some of the things we do to train dogs... i had to stop and think.." why are we not doing that anymore"
venting day------- THERE ARE SO MANY ROUTINES I HAVE SET UP OVER 10 YEARS, THAT ARE SLIDING-- SIMPLE COOKIE WHEN DOGS AR PUT IN TEH KENNEL, GETS THE TAIL OUT OF THE WAY WHEN THEY NATURALLY DO THAT GETTING IN A CAR.- THAT IS JUST ONE... TEHRE IS A QUICKER WAY TO DO ALOT OF THINGS BUT IF THAT IS THE ANSWER WE MAY AS WELL SLAP A GENTLE LEADER ON ALL THE DOGS AND NOT BOTHER TRAINING. we had routines....
. SPOON FEEDING... INDIVIDUAL DISHES... LOOSE LEASHES.. RUN TIMES BEFORE TRAINING.
ustabeeee all of my puppies couold work the yuppy puppy-- ustabee also every morning at 9:00am meg and i would take at leat 8-10 dogs to the topsfield fairgrounds to runn in the parking lot for maqybe 5 minutes -- load u p and travel-- no problem-- granted we did have a van at that point, but that is not the reason we no longer do that--- it took all of 25 minutes.. just like my yuppy project .. it is soo easy to let things slide-- now we waste that much time worrying about who is going to take the trash to the dumpster. -or why the coffee pot is so slow...
it is insidious. maybe age?? boredom?? not today??? it is easier not to??? i have laundry to fold????- i once said i wanted a young dog in my off ice 9AM every morning so i could yuppy etc...it too slid.. because we had young puppies ????? well they are not HERE . NOW.. THEY ARE IN TEH BARN AND ONE SHOULD BE UP HERE EVERY MORNING. if we can not get to the fairgrounds, we should be using the arena more. especially in bad weatherr...
i
i have hired younger legs who should be able to get ORGANIZED AND GET out of the kitchen.. 2 staff menbers talking to each other about the weaTHER DOUBLES THE COST TO SDP WHILE NO DOGS GET HANDLED-- FED ---OR TRAINED.
there is a distraction factor...
TEH YUPPY PROJECT IS MY OWN FAILURE--- SO I AM CLAMPING DOWN ON THAT - STITCH AND JIMINEY ARE ON TEH CARPET --
THERE ARE TOO MANY DISTRACTIONS GETTING IN THE WAY OF TRAINING DOGS with me too... . I PAINFULLY WATCHED AS SDP PAID SOPMEONE A SALARY TO SHREAD ALL OUR PAPERS BECAUSE SOMEONE SAID IT WAS NOT APPROPRIATE TO BURN THEM IN THE FIREPLACE...- OBVIOUSLY A LAW PASSED BY THE MAKERS OF PAPER SHREADERS.
I WAS SHOCKED TO WATCH TEH ZOO IN OHIO- WHERE TEH HANDLERS HAVE TRAINED AN OTTER TO ROLL ON HIS BACK BETWEEN 2 PIECES OF WOOD SO VETS CAN INSPECT HIS FEET AND NAILS. MAYBE WE DON'T HAV ENOUGH STAFF TO P;ULL THAT ONE OFF, BUT THE CONCEPT IS THERE.. and maybe cleanliness is next to godliness... but we shold be able to keep the place clean while concentrating on dogs... there are tiimes when i would like to see attention to the dogs and sweep teh floor while they are napping.
we need to get organized better .. we were once.... why??
let me rethink the cookie when kenneled order... ( and it is an order) if you go to put a dog in a kennel and you dont have a cookie in you rpocket, you have 2 choices
A. put the dog in the kennel just this once because it won't make any difference.
or
B. don't put the dog in the kennel until you go get a cookie in your hand is what makes you a trainer --
probably 17 seconds of extra thought.
and tomorrow we can tackle teh pathetic placement of poo pickers, we need one volunteer to take that job on. once weekly...
more organization.
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and to remind us why we do all this--------
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Eve has not been receiving structured physical therapy for quite a while now. Her therapy has through swimming and dancing for a number of reasons. Well anyhow we felt it necessary to check in for an eval and consult. Her PT wanted to evaluate her walking with and without Finn and how long she could do each one before needing to take a break. Eve can walk more than 3 TIMES longer with Finn than without him!!! WHOA! Such an amazing priceless blessing! We can never thank Service Dog Project enough! I mean I knew he helped a lot But to put numbers like that to it was amazing!! Endurance is still a challenge but she said she was pain free. Just weak/sore muscles was the reason she needed a break.
