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.

Product Review: EZYDog Chest Plate Harness, Part One

Back in October (wow, that was two months ago. How did that happen?), Brady from EZYDog contacted a number of BlogPaws bloggers to see if they would like to review one of their products. This was a bit of kismet, as I was looking for a harness for Elka, that would function in the car with a seatbelt, and the EZYDog Chest Plate Harness is the one that I had sort of settled on (that, or getting a mucho expensive leather tracking/Schutzhund one, on the rationale that it would outlive us both).

So, delighted, I emailed Brady back, heck yes I would like to review! Could I get it in red? Of course!

Loose Leash Walking Breakthrough!

As I mentioned, I went on vacation for a week.

I think I can accurately assume that nobody worked with Elka with the clicker, because 1. I'm the one who does that and knows how it works and 2. I didn't tell anybody where the clickers were. So, our first walk after vacation was a little rough so far as leash work and attention went.  The second walk, though, was so good I thought it had to be a fluke.

See, we were walking, and Elka was in just the right spot, so I clicked.  She didn't look at me.  I counted five steps, clicked again, and she sort of languidly pointed her muzzle in my direction, and I gave her the treat.  She ate it, but didn't disrupt her walk pattern.  I watched her, still walking, and put the clicker and handful of treats away, only keeping a few out.  And she was perfect.

Dog Manners: the barking edition

Hey, you know what really bugs me?

Walking down a street and having no fewer than six dogs bark uncontrollably the entire time I'm on their stretch of sidewalk.

Do you know who I blame for this?

The owners.

I continue walking down that street, despite my annoyance, because I'm using those horrible animals to train Elka to behave calmly and look to me for guidance, regardless of the situation.  I talk her through as we walk by, and I assure you I keep my language clean, but what I say is not complimentary to those dog owners.

Down by the river....

I mentioned yesterday that Elka actually got into the "big girl creek".  Today, she very very much wanted to revisit this experience.  Now, it never mattered much to me whether Elka wanted to go into the water or not.  Really, not having a muddy dog is a bonus, but mud dries up and wipes off; Elka is very good about standing for me to have her paws wiped off.  Going into these creeks has been entirely on her initiative, and I don't mind it, so long as she isn't pulling like a sled dog.

Loose leash progress: still clicking away!

Since I've implied more than once that I walk Elka six days a week (which I do, or rather have, when weather permits), I thought it a good idea to update our progress on loose leash walking.

I've mentioned that I don't intend to do competition obedience, nor Schutzhund (well, very probably not) with Elka, and so a perfect "heel" doesn't matter as much to me.  I heel her on my right, as I am right handed, though occasionally I've worked her on my left for variety's sake. Maybe I'll use the German command, "Fuss", for the left heel.  I carry Elka's leash and the clicker in my right hand, and have the treats in my left, supply refilled by dipping into the bag that I also carry slung on my left.  We're still very treat reliant, but Elka's attention and overall walk demeanor is fabulous!

The things you notice

It's funny, what you notice when you're walking around an area, rather than just passing through in your car.  It's also funny to see what your dog notices.

For instance, a person in the neighborhood has a garden with a very low stone wall around it.  The first couple times we passed, I didn't much look into it.  One day, Elka stopped, and backed up, and looked over the wall and then up at me.  Near the steps, in a flower bed, was a small gray stone statue of Little Red Riding Hood with the Wolf standing behind her.  Elka considered it for a moment again, and then looked up at me expectantly.  "That's Red Riding Hood and the Wolf," I told her, because what else was I going to say?  She clearly thought about this answer, and then we started walking again.

A Google search turned up a large statue in Barcelona, Spain that looks remarkably like the one in that person's garden.  For whatever reasons, the small local one isn't there anymore.

10 Things You Might Be Doing Wrong Walking Your Dog

Picture this:  it's a bright sunny day, and you and your dog are going for a walk.  You have the leash, you have your keys (and probably phone), and you have your dog.  That's all the preparation you need before you head out the door, right?  Well, maybe.  It probably depends on your dog; for mine, these things are not enough, if we want the walk to be a happy success.

I've thought of a list, by no means complete, of things I myself have done wrong, or have seen people doing wrong, while walking the dog.

A Walk in the Post-Apocalypse Park

Last night I posted a teaser of this here, and today, it was sunny and beautiful, so Elka and I packed up the treats and went to the park!

Just a Walk in the Park

It's Sunday, so I tried to sleep in a bit today.  10:30 instead of 9:30, so sue me.  Elka split the difference and put all four of her paws in my side at 10.  I let her out of the bedroom and she went downstairs to my fiance, Jim, and indicated that she wanted to go out  (she actually says "out", but in a very open mouthed, no-consonants, doggie way, which I will one day catch on video so that people believe me).  Jim leashed her up, and then went outside.  Elka sniffed a bit, and then headed to the end of the driveway, and Jim followed, as it doesn't make much difference where she empties.

She got to the street, sat, and looked both ways.  Jim asked "What are you doing?" and she looked backwards up at him, and then off up the street again.  Knowing I would be preparing to take Elka for a walk, Jim brought her inside and told me the story.  The next noise Elka made at us sounded like "Walk", and so we saddled up and went.

Training Treats: where the hot dog is (was) king

Elka loves people food. Dogs in general, I think, love people food. 

When we go for a walk, I typically have a previously pictured baggie of cut-up hot dog pieces.  Depending on what else is in the fridge, I'll dice a string cheese stick, leftover roast, pepperoni, or cheddar (we always have cheddar).

You can find a lot of web sites where people generously share their own personal, at-home dog treat recipes (Dog Aware is one of them).  I have yet to Susie Homemaker bake my own treats for Elka, though I have occasionally cooked for her.  Or at least sauteed liver that one time. Such web sites certainly recommend drawing and quartering your hot dogs, and then microwaving them for a few minutes.  I'm not against nuking hot dogs, I'm just typically lazy and chop 'em up and figure I'm good to go.  When the Doberman is ready for the walk, you want to get out there as soon as possible.  I did mention the whining.  I may have left out the staring.

The Clicker Crossover: Loose Leash

Everybody wants their dog to be a dream on the leash.  Some dogs are such maniacs with leash clipped on that they don't get walked, which makes it that much worse. I've been lazy at times, I'll admit it, and Elka has not been so great on the leash in the past.  Not out of control, necessarily, but certainly not in control either.  And a big puller, certainly; it isn't as though she was even being "bad", she just wanted to see what was over there. Right now.

I've tried a variety of methods, so you can add "inconsistency" to the list of things I've done wrong.  I've tried to "Be a tree", where I just stand there if Elka is not in the position I'd prefer, waiting for her to smarten up and get there.  It turns out, she can wait at the end of a leash, staring off into nowhere, for a good long time while I be a tree long enough to grow some leaves.  I've tried to change direction erratically, so that she needs so pay attention to keep up, but it turns out that Elka is very perceptive, and can change direction and sprint ahead of me again before I've made it very far. I've tried positioning her collar up behind her ears and walking her on a very short leash, which keeps her by me (and walking as though she should've had a V8), but isn't at all pleasurable for either of us, and is punishing rather than teaching.  Briefly, when she slipped a previous collar, Elka wore a choke chain, but I switched that out very soon. Elka didn't really care if she was being choked, for one, and I knew I was doing it wrong.  Really, I'd much prefer my dog to go along with what I'd like, rather than be muscled into it.