Juno's birthday and Jekyll & Hyde outings for Kaline

Juno's (made-up) sixth birthday was on Dec. 26, so of course she got the traditional bagel-burger. I started that with Angel, my first dog, who also had a made-up birthday. Fry up a ground beef patty, put it on a bagel, then hang on while she goes to town! I also gave her tons of little goodies throughout the day—Gouda cheese, bagel & cream cheese, pieces of sugar cookies, extra bait, etc.

Here we have a ground beef patty on a pumpkin bagel, mmmmmm.

Yes, best dog in the world, this is for you.

OM NOM NOM.

Kaline then had two different outings. One went awfully, and the other was fantastic.

We got invited with Sonja and Chief to go to Hidden Villa, a dog-friendly farm where we'd never been. Since it was dog-friendly and Mom didn't seem real thrilled to be on Juno duty for the afternoon, I decided to take Juno with Kaline. First mistake. Second mistake, taking Juno on her martingale instead of her prong.

If Kaline had been by himself, he would probably have done at least a little better. As it was, he pulled constantly against his Halti, so much that my hands were burning the whole rest of the night and he rubbed the fur down on part of his nose. Sonja, saint that she is, took Juno because I couldn't, it turned out, handle both her and Kaline around the very interesting creatures (sheep, goats, kitties, fake horses). Chief got to roam about dragging his leash most of the time. Juno took Sonja seriously about being on vacation now that I wasn't holding her leash. Kaline was just frustrating as hell.

Meeting the Hidden Villa sheeps. Not a typo, I like saying sheeps.

The one really good thing he got the hang of was going up to see something interesting, like a sheep, and then turning away from it when I asked him. It was hard for him at first, understandably, but by the end he would come away pretty easily.

So yeah, mostly that one sucked. Kaline and I were not very team-like.

Then yesterday we went with Sonja and Chief (and not Juno) to IKEA. And both boys were freaking awesome. I did this a lot:

Because Kay had rubbed his nose, we switched back to the prong. Even if it has rubbed his neck hair some, and at points given him bumps, no training collar irritates him less or is more effective. So I guess we're back on the prong. Some lady in IKEA was apparently talking bad about Kaline's prong (in German). Whatever. It works, and Kaline's happy in it. I'm done, for at least a while, messing with his equipment. The little rubbed spot on his nose is driving me all kinds of crazy. Poor baby.

Anyhow. We did a ton of distraction work with Chief and Kaline and had ourselves a fantastic time. Hendrik also came along and I was incredibly impressed with his ability to entertain himself while Sonja and I worked with the dogs.

Right as we entered, there was this big bin of stuffie footballs. We tossed them around the boys, toward the boys, then piled them around the boys' feet and had them do stays among the balls. We also dumped in a big stuffed seal. It was precious.

Sit stay.

Kaline wonders why he didn't get to settle ...

Down stay.

Next, we put the boys in down-stays across an aisle from us and let all the crowds walk between us and the boys. No one would actually walk between Kaline and Chief, but Sonja got Hendrik to do it. Kaline popped up the second time Hendrik stepped over him, so I went out to reinforce his stay with people stepping over him.

Kaline and Chief during a lull.

We chilled on a couch and the boys got to schmooze a little bit.

We haven't been able to get the videos to load yet, but both Kaline and Chief got to work on open and close in one of the model kitchens. It took a little bit for Kaline to realize I wanted him to use Chief's leash as a tug, but once he got it he was pretty good. Chief was freaking adorable, I love how he has to put his whole body into opening a cabinet. He would open the cabinet, find a teddy bear and then bring that to Sonja. Kaline just did open-wait-close. The wait is important, cause if you don't tell him, he will open the door and immediately slam it shut!

We did recalls through a busy area.

Kaline got to practice a little bit on his new "legs" task.

When we found the cheap clearance toy bins, we did more distraction work. We waved toys around, then had the boys walk through a labyrinth of toys, then do recalls through it. We even did retrieving exercises.

And then we made the boys wear silly hats.

 

By then they were both pretty tired, so we took a break in the food court.

 

On the way out, tired Chief got to be carried sometimes, which was insanely cute. That's not an option for Kaline, who now weighs in at 65 pounds, so he got to practice his blocking again. When he blocked at the food court, Sonja even nudged him a little with her knee and he didn't move out of position. Yay! We have to do that more, now that he's pretty solid.

Melt.

You are a good boy.

Service dog training, luckily, can be like baseball instead of American football. If you have a bad day, you can just get right back out there and (hopefully) erase that memory with a better day. I'd much rather do that than stew for a week over a bad outing!

Open open open open open

I am so crazy excited. Kaline has finally learned to open a cabinet door using a tug!

I was having a bad day, feeling very depressed and just overwhelmed by everything. I was getting ready to go to my afternoon puppy trainings, cutting up bait. I realized I was pretty early, so I set aside one stack of bait and decided to work with Kaline for ten minutes on opening the door.

It's actually a very easy door that I don't really ask Juno to open, because it doesn't give much resistance. We have other cabinets in the kitchen that you really have to yank to get them open (and I don't yank). Anyway, the ease of opening made it perfect for Kaline.

We started where we left off, with the door magnets already disengaged. Quickly, Kaline understood what he only dimly got the last time—he was being rewarded for getting the door to move using the tug. He did that readily several times in a row, so I let the door close all the way. And he opened it! I made much of him, had a little party for him. And he totally had a lightbulb moment. I'd been feeling crappy about myself as a trainer (I have an absolutely repulsive tendency to mentally compare Kaline's training progress to that of other dogs I know, and it drives me nuts), but now my faith in myself and Kaline is restored!

Here is video:

Even after I stopped the camera and stopped asking Kaline to open, he kept opening the door and then happily nudging it closed. He really likes to close things, which is why we're working on doing it gently. Sometimes he is, shall we say, overzealous.

I'm going to try something new. Each week, I will focus on a different task, and work on it a little every day. We do basic obedience every day, but I have been slacking on tasks other than deep pressure and blocking. Clearly, a quick session every day can accomplish a lot! Kaline got "open" between Saturday and today.

Repeat as mantra: This is not a race. This is not a race. This is not a race.

Slow is fast. Slow is fast. Slow is fast.

Kaline has been busy!

Still trying to shake a really bad funk, hence the not writing. But Kaline has been quite busy doing all kinds of awesome things. Over the weekend, he did Borrone's and the Farmer's Market, as usual, but also did IKEA again. We also went to newly reopened Kepler's, which has an extremely shiny and fabulous floor—I was a teensy bit worried it might shake Kaline, but of course it didn't. Takes a lot more than a shiny floor to rattle this boy!

At Borrone's I was feeling all jangly and weird, probably because Kepler's had been so busy and in addition to all my friends working there, there were a bunch of new people too and I felt super awkward. Of his own accord, Kaline did a lap up and just stayed there until my waffle came; as soon as the waffle was gone, he was back up, and eventually started scrabbling his back feet—"Let me all the way up!" So I did, and he just leaned himself into my chest. I was so pleased with him! Not to mention, all kinds of people saw what he was doing, so their Doberman picture of the day was of a snuggler. Ambassadober!

He was awesome in the market too—by himself, he is doing extremely well. Great attention, very little sniffing around, just great. We also talked to a lady about the difference between SDs and ESAs; hopefully she'll get in contact again, because someone gave her tons of misinformation. Such as: ESAs are permitted to go on CalTrain, ESAs require special training, psychiatric service dogs are not recognized by San Mateo County, etc. I cannot stand people who give new SD people the wrong info! Starting off with a service dog is hard enough without others telling you things that are completely inaccurate. I feel so lucky that I was able to find groups where accuracy is of paramount importance and I was able to get spot-on information.

IKEA was pretty good too. We did a lot of "close" practice, because the parents were checking out all the model kitchens. It is pretty much my mom's fondest dream to remodel the kitchen, which anyone will admit was terribly set up and designed. I had a bag full of kibble, of course, so we'd go through the kitchens after Dad, and he'd have opened a bunch of drawers and cabinets at different levels. Then Kaline got to close everything! He only has trouble with low drawers, because he wants to use his feet—on a low drawer, feet are ineffective, and also I don't really want him to use his feet in the first place. High drawers were adorable, he'd push them like a seal bouncing a ball back to the trainer.

We also practiced under at different tables, settling on various interesting rugs (including one made of cowhide), sit and down stays, little recalls, etc. Kaline and I were pooped way before the parents were!

Then Monday night, Kaline got to go to his very first Major League baseball game! Normally when I go to a ballgame, I have extreme focus on the game: I get there when the gates open, I bring my scorebook, I keep score in my very detailed personal scoring system, and I basically do not leave my seat from first pitch to last pitch (unless I really have to go). So last night felt a little weird for me.

Hendrik and Sonja had invited just me, but then Sonja didn't feel well, so Dad came. We got to the park only a little while before first pitch. We introduced Kaline to our favorite ushers, Nick, Mark, Rod and Anthony, then went to the seats. Kaline was a little overwhelmed right at first. You don't think about it most of the time, but when you're with a puppy, you realize all of a sudden just how much sensory overload there can be at a ballpark. There are tons of people, food everywhere including all over the ground, it's inside but feels like you're outside (yes, I worry a lot that Kaline will have trouble with that distinction and think it's okay to eliminate in the concourse), it's loud and echoey, there's always something blaring from the speakers, etc.

But I'd brought Kaline's dinner, and that made everything okay.

He settled nicely under my seat on his cushy mat for about three or four innings. I didn't keep score, just focused on Kaline. And the Tigers game, playing on my phone, because they were about to clinch their division title. It was super hot during the day, so the night was warm and miraculously Kaline never shivered! (I brought the Cozy Horse coat for him anyway, and he wore it on the way out for visibility. ADORABLE.)

He started to get antsy after a while, so we got up and walked all over the ballpark, practicing attention and not sniffing/socializing. We did the inner ring, where we could still see the field, then did the concourse, which was louder and more crowded. Kaline was amazing. He was definitely interested in everything that was happening, but he was checking in constantly, both when I asked him to and on his own. At one point there was a huge cheer while we were in the concourse (the A's were about to clinch a playoff spot, so it was extra loud last night), and the sound was reverberating. Kaline's ears went flat against his head and he just got this look on his face like, "WHY?!" I got him to watch me, and instead of one kibble, gave him a handful. The rest of the night, when there was a big cheer, instead of wilting, Kaline would fix me with a stare: "Cheering! Where is my food?!" It didn't bother him again.

After the concourse we went to the gate where we'd come in, to see if they'd make an exception for us on the no re-entry policy. They waved us through, grinning: "You're not the only one who's needed to take a dog out tonight!" Yay. Kaline got his business done fairly quickly, and while he was out of his vest I just kind of played around with him a bit to loosen things up. Then we went back in and he was good under my seat basically the rest of the game. In the ninth I let him curl up on my lap. (He really has to curl now!)

Watching the game (sometime before our stadium circuit).

Obviously when the A's won and had their celebration, the whole Coliseum went apeshit. But Kaline now knew that loudness would get him treats, so he was completely unfazed by the whole thing. He was so great! He was a little pissed when I stuffed him into his coat at the end, but hey, people definitely noticed a bright blue and maize puppy trotting through the crowded concourse. I was very proud of my little guy.

Kaline learns "close" and other fun things

Milestone for Kaline tonight! I finally got around to actually working on "close" with him (as in close the door) and he picked it up super quickly. That's now on my list to video, along with his old-man jaw-tremblers. Don't get your hopes up too much though, cause on my list doesn't necessarily mean it'll actually happen. I have crappy short term memory in my brain, and almost no memory left in my stuffed iPhone.

Kaline has the "touch" command down pat, so we just did a few repetitions of that to start. Then I took an orange Post-It note and put it in my palm. We did touch with that, and then I stuck the note on a cabinet door. Our kitchen is, um, elderly, so the cabinets are varying degrees of easy to open. Some don't really stick (bad magnets?) so I can open them without doggy assistance; others stick way too well and those I need Juno to open. So for tonight, obviously we chose an easy door.

Kaline has been watching Juno do cabinets since he was nine weeks old, and sometimes if they don't close the first time, Juno will use her paw to slam them shut. Therefore, our first order of business was reinforcing to Kaline that he should only use his nose to touch the door, not his paws. He's going to be a really big dog, so I really don't want him using his paws for things where his nose will work just as well or better. Gentler and less likely to cause any damage.

The clicker, as usual, really sped the learning process along. First he got c/t'd for just touching the door, and I'd jackpot him if he actually got it closed. Soon he was hovering over the door, and every time I opened it he'd immediately push it closed. He was so cute. He got pretty consistent at that door, and just for giggles I switched to another door (generalization). He picked it up really fast on that one. We kept the session really short (10 minutes, tops) and he really enjoyed it. During the session with him, Juno was on the mat in the kitchen, practicing honoring. Every time Kaline successfully closed a door, Juno got a treat for staying in her down. Something she did not do today at training!

I got to work my dogs a lot at the park because we didn't have that many client dogs today. Juno was excellent and just great fun except for doing down stays. Possibly because she's so damn cute when she gets up—she either beelines to me or goes to the nearest trainer and just leans into you, tail waving and eyes huge and sad and pleading. And everyone gives in ... Yeah, wonder what behavior is getting reinforced! At the end, when I was taking The Blondes to the car (two poodle mixes and a Golden), Juno was supposed to be staying; but when I closed the car door, there came Juno, slinking toward me from behind the nearest car. She's stealthy and adorable, that one.

Kaline got to work on retrieving, plus his usual obedience stuff. Trying to get him to hold the object while he sits is proving difficult, but it was difficult with Juno too. He'll go get it, bring it back, give it up, and also walk while holding it. We're doing okay for nineteen weeks! We worked a lot on heeling (the real kind), which was a little inconsistent. He actually did really well though starting on moving backwards with me, and also doing left-hand turns in place (which requires him to back himself into the heel position). He did great on his stays. We had to take it back a couple steps on the recalls. He's starting to do drive-bys to the right if I call him from six feet, so we just did really short recalls so he could be successful. We'll have to build back up.

Juno was so much fun. We did formal retrieving—Juno had to remain in a stay at my side while I threw the bumper, then wait for my command to go get it; after picking it up, she had to come sit directly in front of me, out the bumper, then do a flip finish. Despite this being "formal," Juno clearly enjoyed herself. And she didn't have any hiccups. We also did finding heel, straight recalls, and drops on recall. It is just so nice to be able to take a break from puppy stuff, and go recharge working with a dog who really knows what she's doing. Kinda gives me a little more confidence whenever I feel like I've hit a wall with Kaline too. Juno started far later than he's starting (eighteen months vs. nine weeks) and from a much worse place. And I think she's turned out pretty darn well!