Movies!

Kaline and I just finished up the six-week package of “classic” movies at the local Cinemark 20 theatre. It was a great help with his long-down consistency. The first couple movies, he'd pop up a bunch, starting mid-movie. By the final couple, pop-ups were down to two or fewer per movie!

He also got to do a lot of practice with hitting handicap buttons, not rushing into or out of elevators, and going at a measured pace down the stairs. He is great at pulling up the stairs, just needs to work on going in a straight line, haha.

I've been working with both dogs, but especially Kaline, on various Rally exercises as well. Kaline has several different things he needs to get down before he competes in Advanced on March 22. He's doing really well with the new finding-heel exercises, but having more trouble with finding front when I don't move my feet. Next week, we're going to work on learning the broad jump!

I'm totally preoccupied right now with new Paco collars for Juno and Kay, as well as new tags to go with them from Aggie's Anvil. I have to wait, however. Kaline's birthday is on April 23, and Juno's Gotcha Day is May 12, so that's the soonest I'm allowing myself to get this new expensive stuff, haha. The new collar for Kaline was supposed to be for his graduation, but yeah, I can't wait that long.

If you couldn't tell, we haven't done a whole lot of exciting stuff lately. Oh well!

Kaline's ten months old!

Kaline turned 10 months old yesterday, and did great today in his usual round of Sunday morning public access. First was the Farmer's Market. Just as we were heading in, we saw a super adorable Large-Eared Black-and-White Dog tethered at the entrance: Max! I of course had to say hi to him and love him up, so Kaline got to practice a little self-control and try to hold a sit while I did so. He was great at heeling and blocking through the market and only did a little illicit sniffing.

We were in the part of downtown with several handicap buttons, so Kaline got to work on those, including the difficult one at Walgreen's which is mostly blocked by a trashcan. (He will usually hit the trashcan at least once before figuring out how to orient himself to aim at the button.) In there, Mom and I did things with the small rolling baskets to work on proofing. I had him do a block and then got Mom to gently nudge him from different angles with the little basket (came up to about his thigh). I also had fun flipping it around in front of him, sometimes clipping his toes gently. No problems.

In Village Stationers, we ended up having a big training opportunity. Kaline was lying at my feet while Mom talked to one of the cashiers when a lady with a Basset hound came in. Kaline had no clue the dog was even in the store until she started barking at him. At first he was startled and jumped up with a little growl. Then he was like, “Oooh, a dog! Playtime?” The Basset continued barking away (no, I have no idea why the owner didn't find a way to shut her up) so I decided to take advantage of it—I turned Kaline away, so he was facing me, and just had him do very basic commands that he knows well and likes, such as touch and the “up-down” game. Once he was mostly focused again, we headed out.

Trader Joe's was the best. As I've noted, Kaline is always really on in there. He was being really great and we were almost done. Mom sent us to the other side of the store, and for some reason my anxiety just started rising. Kaline stared up at me and then started nudging my leg (yay!!!), then my drooping sweatshirt pocket for more emphasis. Once I stopped he leaned into me with his whole body. I was so thrilled with him. And then soon after that, I started getting all foggy like I sometimes do, where it's like my brain is on a seven-second delay. We were standing in line and Kaline jumped up on me, trying to press into my chest. It wasn't like when he's being a goofball and leaping up at me; he came up pretty carefully, for him, and just tried to stay there. I acknowledged him, cause I definitely want him to be proactive, but then I got him down, had him do some leg nudges, and gave him treats. Excellent little boy!

In retrieving news, Kaline continues to steal shit all over the house and deliver it to me with great pride. On command, he is very glad to retrieve clothing, but not my sneakers. (Mom's nice shoes, or Dad's leather dress shoes, not a problem!) He will also gleefully retrieve things like plastic water bottles or vitamin bottles, which I find a little odd just because Juno didn't want to get stuff like that for the longest time. When I dropped my chapstick (capped, thankfully) in the kitchen, both dogs went to get it for me and Kaline was the one who came up with it.

Kay doing deep pressure and looking extremely cute while doing it.

This weekend we also headed up to Berkeley to pick up Juno's beautiful new Paco collar. It's a black rainbow Glow and she looks fantastic in it. She posed for pictures while we were there, which hopefully will end up in the Paco Gallery (fingers crossed!). Kaline was uninterested but Juno did a paws up on the lowest shelf with collars and then when asked looked fetchingly over her shoulder to show off both the collar and her insanely cute face. She got to come along to Johnny Rockets later that night, teehee.

Hard at work in her new bling.

I also did my first Hitchcock film with Kaline this past Friday, also with my friend Ben who I've known since high school. It was Kay's first movie since Sonja and I took him and Chief when they were wee-er. There was a bit of improvement but Kaline was still a fidgety little boy. I think (read: hope fervently) that a lot of it was because he was cold. I expected it to be warmer in there; next time I'll bring his jacket. Anyway, he settled after about five minutes or so, and then would pop up every twenty minutes and have to be put back in his down on his cushy mat. Good thing there are seven more weeks of Hitchcock at the Stannie. Lots of low-pressure practice.

Bizarrely, after the movie, when Ben and I headed to Pizza My Heart across the street, Kaline blocked fairly well (he wanted to sniff some people, and also to lie down sometimes), and then when we got to our table, he went under, curled up and didn't move till we were ready to go. Explain yourself, wee one! So he really ended the night on a good note.

Kaline's long down work continues

Kaline's in the opposite of the doghouse right now!

Last night, I took him to a gathering of friends (one of the group who doesn't get a chance to come home a lot is in town for the holidays). If I were just thinking of which dog could handle the situation better, hands down it would be Juno. But 1) my mom doesn't appreciate being Kaline's babysitter and 2) Kaline needs a lot more work on that kind of situation than cool-as-a-cucumber Juno does.

So off we went to the restaurant/bar in Palo Alto. Before we left, I put Kaline on the treadmill for a good 45 minutes to try and tire him out. He wasn't perfect, but he did really well for being a baby in that environment. There were a lot of new people, it was crowded, and it was loud. I brought Kaline's cushy mat and a full bait bag, plus he wore his red Cloudchaser to make sure he stayed nice and warm.

We stayed about two and a half hours, and I was pleased with how both of us did. When I pretty much know Kaline isn't going to be a Completely Professional Old Hand Invisible Service Dog, I can get preemptively nervous and uptight. I stayed pretty cool last night, I thought! When Kaline alerted, I took it seriously and let him in my lap until he felt I had chilled enough for him to go back down. When he popped up from his down and got nudgy, I didn't freak, just put my foot on his leash so the only comfortable position was a down. I remembered to reward him periodically when he was good, and I didn't flip over normal puppy antsy-ness.

Kaline right after we arrived.

Kaline, for his part, spent a huge majority of the time in a calm, relaxed down, punctuated by little bits of popping up and being antsy. It's much easier to focus on the times he wasn't doing what I wanted, but when you think about it, he really did much more of what I did want than what I didn't. It's just easier to overlook a dog who is being "invisible"! It was a tough test for him, and I am definitely proud of how he did.

Kaline after he got more comfy.

After a long time I could tell he'd had enough, so I let everyone know I was leaving and said if anyone wanted to say hi, they could come outside and I'd take off his vest so Kaline could socialize. He had a great time getting to meet people! (Oh, and a great friend moment: When I first brought Kaline in, one of the guys started trying to get his attention. Before I could even say anything, one of my buddies leaned over and said, "You can't do that. Don't distract him, he's a service dog." WOOHOO!!!!)

Today is Christmas Eve, so we've got some stuff planned. The parents invited me to both lunch and dinner, so I decided Kaline would go to lunch, Juno to dinner. Mom was a bit worried about how Kaline might behave at lunch, which of course got me worried. We were going to Carpaccio which is a nicer place, so if he decided to be a pill it would not be good.

So we did the two pack walks, and when we got home early, instead of letting Kaline rest, I took him right out again to work in a hardware store until it was lunchtime. Worked like a freaking charm. I took him into the restaurant, put him on his mat next to my chair, and except for rising to a sit when Dad showed up, Kaline was silent and practically motionless under the table for the entire meal. I reached down every now and again to stroke him, praise him quietly, and/or give him a treat. He was so good. Even Mom was impressed!

Wearing a Christmas ruff and settling like a champ.

I think we all know Juno is going to be a star at dinner tonight. Grin.

Settling and the airport

We continue to work on Kaline's retrieving foundation, but lately I have found myself focusing on his long down/settling. Once he settles, he's good, but it takes him quite a while to actually do that sometimes. So with that being an unintentionally emphasized skill the past week or so, he's definitely improved.

In the mornings when I'm getting the dogs ready to go out on our pack walks, it's pretty common for me to forget something. So lately, instead of letting Juno and Kaline follow me around while I try to remember where I left what I forgot, I've been leaving them on sit or down stays and going to get it. Not exactly settling, but it's definitely stay practice and I go out of sight for either a brief time, or a longer time. They've both been holding their stays really well, and it's hard for both of them. Kaline because he's a baby, and Juno because she's always had some separation anxiety. I adopted her at 18 months and she'd basically been neglected outside up to that point, so I can understand her not wanting to let me out of her sight if she can help it.

Then at training, Kaline's been coming out with the big dogs to do long downs. He's being holding his long downs better than Juno! He still whines, and sometimes will do his patented slo-mo commando crawl, but mostly he just stays there! It's very exciting. The slo-mo commando crawl is hilarious also. He pops his little butt in the air, oonches his front feet forward, plunks his butt down. Lather rinse repeat, until he gets where he wants to be.

Kaline and Juno in front of the Rin Tin Tin poster at SFO.

Night before last, Dad and I had to pick up Mom at the airport. I took both dogs in (Mom would never forgive me if I brought just Kaline and not Juno to pick her up) and worked with them a bit in the accessible areas (i.e. areas where you didn't have to go through security). We stood around by security a while, and to my delight, when I told the dogs to down, they both did and Kaline laid his head on his paws! Sometimes he rolled on a hip without being asked! He hardly ever rolls on a hip by himself—perhaps it's a Doberman thing?

Kaline settles; Juno gives me the "I can't believe you're working me with him" look.

I took them walking up and down the largely empty area by the check-in desks, and it was pretty interesting to see the difference in Juno and Kaline's demeanors. Juno is, as one client calls her, "dogged." She is all business, head level with her back, ears relaxed and back, eyes mostly ahead except for quick occasional checks behind and to the sides. Automatically, she matches her pace to mine or walks slightly behind me.

Kaline, on the other hand, does not yet possess a Serious Work Face. His ears are up, his head's up, he's looking all around, he bounces, he speeds up, he slows down, all that good puppy stuff. Also, he seemed taller than Juno! I was super excited about that, let me tell you.

We came back to security to meet Mom; Juno thumped her tail but held her down when she appeared, and Kaline just stayed in his comfy little ball. Good puppies. They were great down at baggage claim too. I was waiting around a while, so I had Kay practice an "across," a deep pressure task where he lies across my lap while I sit cross-legged. Then once we had all Mom's stuff and the crowd had cleared, I made a circuit around the now-empty but still moving carousel so Kaline could see there was nothing scary about it. Nice, short and sweet outing.

I'm hoping to go out for some more work with the not-so-wee man tonight, and then tomorrow we have our Christmas obedience class.