what a difference a day makes-- es[ecially if that day is the day of the charlie challange where you all pushed charlie's explore matching $$ offer to amazing heights... little things i would not have considered-- like a foam core sign for when we go out speaking etc with dogs... it was an extre $5 to plastic coat it----for years-- at least 10 of them ... i have had a flimsy paper serv dog project signage explaining our mission.
.yesterday we entered the real world of a foam core signs-- 2 of them.... with our breeding tree and teh carlene's challange picture...with the 10 pups at 6 weeks old...all sitting patientley waitin g for a spoonful of canned food.-- one of those pups is george.. so on teh bottomn of that foam core i put a picture of bella and george with a brag post- # 1 service dog of the year by the akc at about 2 years old. which is abotu the time other facilities start training theri dogs.
---
thes morning i am to be at a studio 9 am to discuss training.. good chance to stick my neck out. there are so many "rules" about training.. that are worth discussion...
####you must not work a dog before 18 months because they have young bones- whoever wrote that has not watched our pupps batter each other on puppy hill-- with really minimal orthepedic problems.
#### to stop you r dog from pulling, use an anti pull harness which is designed exactly like the harness worn by iddidarod sled dogs pulling sleds in alaska
#### gentle leader? is not gentlle dogs hate it-i agree.
#### ?choke collar? does not choke any more than a leather collar. all collars choke if improperly used. it is a training collar.
somewhere along here the dog's intelligence is sacrificed to marketing. you dont want your dog to pull?? take 5 minutes and explain to yiur dog that pulling is not an approved method of getting from A to B.
problem there is that dogs think that to go from A to B you may as well go at a comfortable fast trot. they see no reason to go slower... so you have to explain it to them-dogs are not mindless fools.
i love to get into a conversation i had outside costco one day .."they say" tehre is a correct way to put on a chain collar- personally i think that is nuts... but someone stopped me and continued to explain to me that she was a dog trainer.... and i had the collar on sizzle all wrong.. i listened for 2 seconds and then bent down and just took it off --- she freaked out because "you have no control over sizzle and didn't you know route 1 was right there with no fence??" siz was just standing there so i very quietly said "siz wait" and walked10 feet to get a shopping cart. when i said ok she just fell in step with me and we left the "trainer" standing there speachless.
pride goeth before a fall... i know that..and siz has to be watched when other dogs are around---being a breeding female, she has opinions.. a bltch got the name somehow.
the concept of controlling a dog that weighs more than the owner is totally foreign to many people. our poster child bella drops the leash so often that i make a 24 inch leash for her that will not drag on the ground.----conceptually was a huge education for teh princioal of bella's school that bella had total control over george-- even in the cafeteria !!! with food around !!! ----good morning america... wake up !!
however....
teh concept of my dog weighting more than me ain't never gonna happen....and it is not the dogs fault.
######
DEAR CARLENE,
JUST A QUICK UPDATE ABOUT SEAGRAM. WE HAVE SETTLED INTO A QUIETER LIFE DURING THE WINTER, WITH NO TRIPS TO THE CITY, ALSO IN PART BECAUSE OF A FOOT INJURY I HAD A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO (NOT FROM A FALL - SEAGRAM HAS BEEN DOING A GREAT JOB OF KEEPING NE SAFE)
WE GO TO THE BEACH AS OFTEN AS WE CAN. THIS IS DEFINITELY OUR “HAPPY PLACE” (ALTHOUGH THAT IS ON HOLD FOR NOW).
A FEW WEEKS AGO, SHE WAS AT THE VET’S OFFICE AND WEIGHED 118 POUNDS, WHICH THE VET SAID WAS “PREFECT.” SHE ALSO RECEIVED HER RABIES SHOT (AND I WILL GET THAT DOC TO LINDA).
ON SUNDAY, WE WENT OUT WITH MY HUSBAND TO PICK UP LUNCH AT A SEAFOOD STORE THAT SELLS FRESH FISH AS WELL AS PREPARED FOOD. OF COURSE SEAGRAM DIDN’T STOP TO SNIFF ANY OF THE SEAFOOD. WE ARE ALWAYS WELCOME THERE BECAUSE SHE IS SUCH A PROFESSIONAL.
THE STORE WAS QUITE BUSY, SO PEOPLE WERE STANDING CLOSE TOGETHER AND THE OWNER WAS HELPING TO FILL ORDERS. AS WE WERE WAITING, A COUPLE CAME IN LINE BEHIND US. THE WOMAN SAID “WHAT A SWEET GIRL,” AS SHE PUT HER HAND ALMOST UP TO SEAGRAM’S NOSE. SEAGRAM MOVED BACK A BIT, AS I SAID, “SHE IS SWEET - BUT SHE IS WORKING, SO SHE WON’T EVEN SMELL YOUR HAND.” (ALONG WITH THE FACT THAT SEAGRAM HAD ALREADY CAUGHT HER SCENT AS SHE WALKED INTO THE STORE.)
THE WOMAN STEPPED BACK A LITTLE AND REPLIED, “THEN SHE IS SUCH A *GOOD* SERVICE DOG!”
JUST AFTER THAT, THE OWNER FINISHED SERVING UP OUR SOUP (WHICH MADE A GREAT DINNER LATER). HE LOOKED AT SEAGRAM, AND COMMENTED, “SHE IS SO GOOD!”
SO SHE CONTINUES TO BE MY SUPER SEAGRAM. I KNOW THAT - BUT IT IS WONDERFUL WHEN OTHERS COMMENT ON HER EXCELLENT BEHAVIOR. I CANNOT THANK ALL OF YOU ENOUGH FOR HER!
AMY
