Dog sports, first installment

Dog sports are not something that Elka and I are currently involved in.  However, every time I look them up to see what's out there, I'm amazed at the quantity and variety of activities available.

The Doberman is, in general, an athletic breed with a lot of intelligence and drive.  There are any number of things that can be done with them, though I hesitate to declare that they would excel at all dog sports, because I just don't know that.

Elka would certainly like the ones involving a ball.

Rolling Thunder

We had severe thunderstorm warnings in my are today, and, for a little while, a Tornado Watch.  In light of what's been happening in the Midwest, the tornado thing  made me a little iffy (but it was a watch, not a warning, so that was good).  Otherwise, thunderstorms don't bother me, other than the occasional startle at how loud thunder can be.

Thunderstorms don't bother Elka in the slightest.  After she's done watching out the window (she'd really like to watch from the porch, which we do, sometimes), she typically snoozes through them.  The thunder doesn't make her jump, or pace, or bark, the lightning causes no anxiety.  She typically won't go potty in the rain is really the main hangup (well, that, and I don't take the dog out when there's lightning. Just common sense.)

Not all dogs (and owners) are as lucky as I am, that they can be so casual about storms.

Book Review: Bringing Light to Shadow, by Pamela S. Dennison

I forget where I heard about Bringing Light to Shadow (subtitled "A Dog Trainer's Diary), by Pamela S. Dennison.  Perhaps in a review of Control Unleashed or a similar dog training book of its ilk, that uses positive methods.  It was an interesting book to read, because it was quite literally Dennison's diary as she brought Shadow (registered name of Dennison's choosing "Ewe Are Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt") home from rescue, discovered he was human aggressive and had a bushel of problems, and then dealt with them.  Using a clicker and treats and other non-corrective positive methods.

Is that a Doberman?

The other day, Elka and I were out for a walk.  As we were leaving the park, a woman, perhaps in her 80's, crossed the street to the park and beelined for us.  She put her hands out to Elka, who went to her, and as she was petting my dog, said "What kind of a dog is this?"

"She's a Doberman," I said in a cheery tone, and waited.

Looking down at Elka, still petting, the lady said "A Doberman! I've never seen one up close.  I didn't know they had such sweet faces."

Dogs on furniture

You've probably noticed by now that a lot of Elka pictures are of Elka on the couch.  Or on a chair.  None of them have been of Elka on her bed.

The fact of the matter is that Elka can be on the furniture, pretty much carte blanche.  We say "move" or "off" if where she is is not convenient for a human household member.  She has the privileges for a couple of reasons; for one, keeping her off of the furniture would really be more trouble than its worth to me.  We've got slipcovers on a couple of them and she can't have food on them (a restriction that does not extend to the humans).

Some people are of the belief that letting your dog be on the same physical level as you or higher will cause the dog to perceive her rank as equal to or greater than yours, and she may try to assert her dominance over you.

The Social Question

Elka is a friendly dog.  She loves kids, and is very gentle with them, of her own choosing. She loves adults, and is a little less restrained.  I think she thinks people of a certain size should be able to hold their own.  The hole in her socialization is she doesn't know any dogs, and only rarely encounters cats.

So, still basically friendly, Elka will do her hesitant and clumsy best to figure out what best is confronting her. Unfortunately, most of the dogs we meet are under twenty pounds, which appears to be the cutoff for whether one trains one's dog.  So we're concentrating on walking calmly past other dogs (command "On by", cribbed from dog mushers), since their owners don't appear interested in controlling them.

Also unfortunately, cats don't tend to like dogs.  Cats are fascinating to Elka.  There's one that comes on our porch, a detail that she doesn't like while inside.  There's one that sits on its own porch when we take our walks, and she wants to shove her big pointy head in that cat's face to say hello, tail wiggling.  We use "on by" for that one, too, as you can imagine cats are not happy with that development.

Command Clinic: Pawmania!

Elka uses her paws a lot.  I don't know if it's a her thing, or a Doberman thing (Doberman owners, feel free to chime in!), but it's a behavioral quirk that I've been inclined to cash in on.  Elka will use her paws to hold a Kong (or her Monster Mouth) still to get what's inside.

She will use her paws to fish under the coffee table or couch (often unsuccessfully) for a toy that's bounced there.  And because she would paw at us so much, I gave a bunch of those behaviors names, and now she'll do them on cue and not every time she's playing or wants attention.