In Which Elka understands "If you do X, then Y" consequences

I shared this on the Facebook, but figured I'd make a post about it as well to get the most eyes, because obviously I thought it was cool and thought it was further proof of Elka's smartness, dogs' understanding of things, etc.

We had visitors over the weekend, friends who used to come regularly when they lived closer, but who moved at the end of last year. We've seen them only once or twice since the move. Elka is SUPER EXCITED every time people show up, because she loves all our friends, and she knows their names (even when there are doubles, i.e. more than one Eric, more than one Bryan, etc.)

Wordless Wednesday June 25 2014

Wordless Wednesday June 11 2014

We went for a walk in the park....you'll never guess what happened next!

Went for the clickbait title! I wasn't actually sure how I might cleverly title my relation of these events. I debated whether I'd write about this at all, actually, but here we are. In a way it's embarrassing, and it's certainly a cautionary tale. You see, about two weeks ago I sprained my ankle while walking Elka.

This lovely picture? I took it about half an hour before the Fateful Moment. (Though it really is my new "good" picture of her; it's the shot I wanted, and I actually got it for once.)

Wordless Wednesday May 14 2014

A walk in the other park

On occasion, Elka and I hop into the car and go to another park that's just outside of town. It's nice and quiet there, and there tend to be few people or other dogs around. 

Command Clinic: Heel (with a bonus Front)

The other day, Elka and I were playing with Gumby. Maybe we'd just come in from a potty trip, and it was celebratory tug? I don't remember. Regardless. When we play tug, I like getting Elka all riled up and snarling like she really means it, and then having her "drop it" and then either Down, or Heel. My fiancé hadn't seen this mystical "heel" happen, and had us repeat it several times.

Elka will go from facing me into a heel pretty well at this point, off leash in the house, and also in the yard. If she's a bit crooked, I say "Excuse me, straight" and she straightens herself out in relation to my heel, and sits. I can also say "Front", and she'll swing her hindquarters around and sit in front of me. But how did we do it?

(Front, if slightly crooked)

Doggie-Vous Francais?

One day last week, I saw on some news site or other, that there was a proposal to make sure all dogs in Montreal understood cues in both English and French. The notion would be that since in that part of Canada, lots of folks speak French, there shouldn't be linguistic barriers if you were interacting with stranger-dogs and stranger-people. Yearly testing to make sure owners were complying, etc. The thought of legislated language requirements in dog training makes me suffer ennui.

Of course, it was evidently a spoof. But that doesn't stop it from being an interesting thought. Does your dog understand more than one spoken human language? How is your dog doing with just English?

To sniff or not to sniff?

When you're out on walks, do you allow your dog to sniff willy-nilly?

Do you use sniffing as a reward?

Do you say no sniffing, no how?

I do all three, depending on the situation. Sounds confusing? Elka mostly has it straight. I've come to my criteria as we grew together.

Wordless Wednesday, April 11 2012

Monday Mischief: February 27 2012

I've probably mentioned, though maybe not in these exact words, that Dobermans are said to be "Velcro dogs". 

It's true, of course. Even if she was asleep, if you get up off the couch to do something, Elka gets up too and goes right along with you. She "heels" fantastically off leash in the house, like a dream really! If you're in the bathroom, with the door closed, she's concerned for your safety and will whine outside. We're working on that one though; I encourage her to be quiet, and lay down in the kitchen doorway and wait. If she's like that when I get out of the bathroom, it's treat time. If not, "too bad". 

When we're sitting on the couch, Elka wants to be close to you. Very close. It's especially nice in the winter, I'll say, when it is in fact cold. However, Elka is not as aware of her paws as she is of her mouth, and we get stomped on more than we'd like! She will also, if you're taking up "too much" couch or chair space, sit or lay on you.

Command Clinic: Go to your Bed

Elka is allowed on the furniture.  I declared this early in our relationship.  There are, however, times it would be really useful for Elka to lay on her own bed.  When the couches and chairs are full of humans, for instance.

If all of the "comfy" spots are taken, Elka will frequently pace around for the entirety of the time, sometimes soliciting play or pets, sometimes not.  Judicious application of a Kong or Monster Mouth frequently helps.  But having her realize she can lay down on her bed would help a lot more! I mean, really, I can't blaming Elka for preferring the furniture; it's clearly warmer and more comfy. However, we've begun to work, in earnest, on "go to your bed!"

Walking on a sunny day

With fall fast approaching (here, anyway), the sunny days seem that much more precious and few.  

When Elka and I take our walks, we don't just walk. If we're on the sidewalk, we practice "automatic sits" (Elka sits when I stop, preferably at heel).  We practice "look at me".  And oh yes, we practice heel.  Sometimes that goes better than others; at the beginnings of our walks, Elka is very excited to go go go, and has to be reminded, sometimes frequently, that she really should be walking with me.  Frequently, "excuse me" is enough to reach her. Other times, I have to stop walking and wait, and then she comes back to me and sits.

Now I said Doctor, Mr. MD (well, DVM)

Today was Elka's annul trip the the vet!

It was raining, so we didn't go for our walk prior, as I had planned on doing. I thought perhaps blowing off some of her energy would help her be calm and focused at the vet's office. Not that she's bad at the vet; on the contrary, everybody loves her, and there's so much to look at, and the whole thing doesn't concern her much at all.

But first, we had to get there.

Command Clinic: Down

Hello and welcome to the second "Command Clinic" installment.  To continue with the "basic commands", if you've already mastered Sit, "Down" is the next logical progression.  If you have little carpeting in your house, and a lot of wood and tile like I do, your dog probably will already Down from a Sit very frequently.  More reliably than she will hold a sit, perhaps? I know we've certainly encountered that.