Monday, April 14, 2014

Springtime? Is that you? Come closer so I can see.

We had two (!) days in a row that were sunny and warm. Maybe we're over the hump?

Of course, I was at work for one of these days. But the next, Elka and I went on a nice long jaunt to soak in the sun.



We didn't exactly have loose leash on our way to the park, but I didn't expect it. Elka's on a harness now when I walk her (has been for years, I guess. Wow) so I didn't need to worry about her hurting her neck. I just kept the leash short and kept her next to me instead of going all bangarang down the sidewalk.

There were lots of barking dogs. Lots of them. One was out in his yard, which I've never seen before; this particular dog is one we've only heard barking from inside the house. So that was kind of nice, actually. Another nice thing? Elka would look at them, and then turn to me (some very nice uncued "Look at That"). I would give her a treat (we had hot dogs, of course) and we would continue on at the same pace. Some dogs stopped barking while we were still well "within range"; I think the lack of feedback from Elka contributed to that. So, you're welcome dog owners. We helped you.



I didn't get a picture of it, but we saw a teeny tiny snake in the park. Another walker (sans dog) was kind of hustling him off the path we were on so it wouldn't get run over by somebody on a bike. I couldn't say what kind of a snake it was. Brown with a bit of a pattern on it, and it wasn't rattling, nor did it have a "button" on its tail, anyway. Actually, on examining this Snakes of New York site, I still have no earthly idea what it was. Maybe an eastern milk snake?

(picture from here, not mine. But it looked kind of close to this. Kind of.)


We mostly worked on attention, being mannerly to others, and not dragging me. We did a few "paws up" on things, and tried out "left" and "come around" (which she responds to as a directional cue for "right" in addition to, y'know, coming around something).

9 comments:

  1. Glad you had some good weather to get out in and it sounds like Elka did fantastic! Very cool. So glad to hear she did so well.

    I think you are right about the snake...eastern milk snake. Also very cool! :)

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    1. We've had a few days in a row now! I'm cautiously hopeful, but have been super thrilled with her ^^

      Of course, we have to relearn loose leash walking every year, but that's my fault.

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  2. I'm glad the snake was protected, so often people think that killing a snake makes them heroes.

    Elka is such a good ambassador for her breed.

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    1. It really makes me sad when people kill animals for no reason. Even using mouse traps in the house, which is at odds with not wanting mice in the house. A little big of cognitive dissonance there, I guess.

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  3. The other day on our walk we saw doggies getting stay away from the rattle snack training
    Lily & Edward

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    1. Well that's exciting! If we were in an area where I was really worried about rattlesnakes, that would be something I'd look into, probably. Big dogs like Elka can survive being bitten by a rattlesnake, but they sure do get sick, from what I've heard (and still really need to go to the vet IMMEDIATELY!)

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  4. Elka's a dog hero. Silas won't initiate barking, but he will usually bark back if I don't manage him carefully.

    And look at her glossy coat in the sunshine!

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    1. I was shocked, today she barely even LOOKED at other dogs. Just looked at them and looked back to me for the hotdogs. Maybe she doesn't care about other dogs anymore? Maybe it was the fact we were using leftover Hebrew National All Beef Franks? I have no idea.

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  5. We had a couple of 'teaser' days too, but it got chilly/rainy/windy today. I still think we're over the hump though. :-)

    No idea about the snake.

    Delilah has gotten much better passing barking dogs too. Usually a quick leave it works for me and then a treat of course. :-)

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