08-22-2009

Today, we took Duece & Ziva to Farmer's Market for a little socialization. Duece still isn't enthused about getting into the suburban, but he just sits down and makes me pick him up. It's weird because when he sees the collar and lead coming he gets so excited that I can barely get the collar on him. While we were there he minds really well and he's learning not to jump up on people although we have to watch him because he thinks everyone wants to play with him. Afterwards we stopped at Menards for awhile and he seemed to handle that just fine. I left a portable radio on and he was with Ziva so maybe that helps, too.

Duece has been really great at jumping up on things as he was pretty much afraid to a few months ago. We just needed some confidence building and letting him learn at his own pace. I need to get a video of him climbing a couple different stacks of pallets. This afternoon when Helen was checking the propane level, our granddaughter thought she would help and when Duece saw her on the tank he had to join her.

08-17-2009

Yesterday, I put out some scent and went back to the house. Duece watched me put some bologna into a ziplock bag and then we went outside. No vest and no command, just a walk that ended up downwind of the scent. Duece wasn't sure what to do when he found it. He lay down and rolled over, got up and walked a ways away and then went back. This time he looked at me and did his 'down' next to it. I gave him his bologna with a lot of praise. I'm wanting him to be aware of the scent even if he isn't in his vest although we'll use his vest most of the time.

Today I used a scented tennis ball inside a PVC pipe of the PVC garden with two more tennis balls in other PVC pipes for decoys. He was dressed up in his vest and he had watched me put bologna in a ziplock bag and he was given his command. He spent a bunch of time around Helen's car before he took off across the lawn after he saw the PVC garden. He checked out all the pipes and then rolled over by the wrong one. When I asked him what he was doing he got up and went to the right pipe and rolled over again and did his 'down' waiting for the bologna It's almost like he knows which one is the right one, he just want to play around. Maybe I need to play with him for awhile afterwards just to extend the positive aspect of him finding the scent.

08-15-2009

Yesterday Duece & I went to town and switched vehicles and took Helen's to get the oil changed. We stopped in at Helen's work for a few minutes and let Duece get spoiled. Afterwards we stopped at a couple of places and then went back and got the oil changed in the suburban. Then I made the mistake of stopping at Walmart. Not that I don't like Walmart, but it takes too long to checkout. Duece was wondering if I was ever coming back. Duece doesn't mind the traveling, he just can't handle the waiting in the vehicle and he threw up twice. I've tried leaving the vehicle running with the radio on, leaving it shut off with a battery radio on and it doesn't seem to make a difference.

This evening, Duece was restless and the weather outside is rotten so I took the 'Bone box' downstairs and hid it. Duece had his first piece of bologna last week and he goes nuts for it. So I got his vest and let him watch me put a piece of bologna in a zip lock and then we went down stairs to look for the 'Bone box." We spent a few minutes going from room to room and back again. Duece gave an indication about 3 feet from teh hidden box but when I told him to "Show me!" he got up and started searching again. He showed a lot of interest in the area about 3 feet away but actually got frustrated when he wasn't finding it. Finally, after checking out areas all around the hidden box, he got his nose in the area and did his 'down' indication and got his bologna.

08-12-2009

One more step with getting Duece out in public. He doesn't run away but isn't enthused about getting into the suburban. Last night we went to the local Tea Party. Duece even had his own sign.


Duece's sign says:

I expect to be fed
I expect my vet bills to be paid
I expect to be entertained
Someone else picks up my poop
Therefore I must be an Obamacrat

Duece does well in public once he learns not to jump up on people. He's learning though. As long as we're talking 'learning' there are a lot of kids out there that don't know how to greet a dog. Duece loves kids and last night when he saw some playing on the grass, he stopped and stared. You could tell he was wanting to run over and play. Too many kids think they can just run up and throw their arms around a dog's neck without a reaction from the dog. It just scares the hell out of me so we keep a pretty good eye on anyone that wants to pet the dog. One young'un last night was holding a napkin around one finger, saying he had a little cut on it when he asked if he could "Pet your dog?" When I said okay, he got down on his knees directly in front of Duece and threw both arms around his neck with his face right at the end of Duece's nose. When I stopped him, his brother(?) came over and said to leave the dog alone. I told him it was okay, but not to grab the dog's neck while in the dog's face. I try to tell the young one's how to approach a dog but some just don't seem to have the attention span to listen. Just have to keep an eye on them and the dog.

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08-06-2009

Last weekend we went on a long trip with Duece and Ziva, 12 hours one way in a vehicle and three nights in a strange house. The next day after we arrived at home it was National Night Out. Duece & Joker attended this and by the end of the event both of them were pretty tired out. They both got lots of attention and hugs from a whole bunch of kids.


While Duece rests and I am talking to the Border Patrol K9 handler, Joker leans against Helen.

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