Last week I got an e-mail from Bob at IHDI who introduced himself as the IHDI Field Representative and asked if I had any questions. Being asked if I had questions got me thinking and then, of course, thinking of all sorts of questions.
One of my biggest questions was really about "down-time" for Gracie. Since she has a little hunting dog in her, she is very interested in birds, squirrels, and rabbits. (We have also had a deer run down our driveway just as we were coming out the back door, and, earlier this summer before Gracie came, a coyote drinking from the pond/swamp out back.) In fact, though we live in what is thought of as an "inner-ring suburb," wildlife abounds. To keep Gracie from reacting to all this, I had been putting on her vest to take a walk. Bob told me--I hope he will correct me if I am wrong and he happens to read this--to save her vest for places where she needed to be especially attentive and well-behaved. This would include stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and, eventually, school. However, he wrote, she should not be lunging at animals when we were walking even when she wasn't wearing the vest. I should say, "No!" and give her leash a tug to remind her that I'm the boss. She should be paying attention to me and to sounds and not the birds...or other dogs.
This led to my second question about toileting. Bob's response to this was to remind me that we needed to establish a spot for her, so when we went to that spot, she knew what to do and would do so quickly. Though she does this urinating, defacting quickly is an issue. On the other hand, she only needs to do this once or twice a day. Something to work out as I know she needs a little exercise to get motivated.
Thinking about all this (thanks to Bob and his pracitcal advice) got me thinking about my own reaction to the reaction of people (my birds, rabbits, squirrels, etc.) when Gracie and I are out. Clearly, I need to be the boss of us both. Since most people are welcoming and supportive, I need to not let the few who aren't and their comments (which I might not be hearing correctly anyway) distract me from paying attention to Gracie and attending to what we have gone wherever we are to do. I need to be the boss of me and not let others take that from me.
I was at the library with Gracie the other day, and a woman approached us. "Are you training that dog?" she asked. I told her Gracie was all trained. Later I thought I should have said, "No. The dog is training me." But that's not really true either. I'm the boss; I'm training myself to be an effective teammate for Gracie. Right, Bob?
One of my biggest questions was really about "down-time" for Gracie. Since she has a little hunting dog in her, she is very interested in birds, squirrels, and rabbits. (We have also had a deer run down our driveway just as we were coming out the back door, and, earlier this summer before Gracie came, a coyote drinking from the pond/swamp out back.) In fact, though we live in what is thought of as an "inner-ring suburb," wildlife abounds. To keep Gracie from reacting to all this, I had been putting on her vest to take a walk. Bob told me--I hope he will correct me if I am wrong and he happens to read this--to save her vest for places where she needed to be especially attentive and well-behaved. This would include stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and, eventually, school. However, he wrote, she should not be lunging at animals when we were walking even when she wasn't wearing the vest. I should say, "No!" and give her leash a tug to remind her that I'm the boss. She should be paying attention to me and to sounds and not the birds...or other dogs.
This led to my second question about toileting. Bob's response to this was to remind me that we needed to establish a spot for her, so when we went to that spot, she knew what to do and would do so quickly. Though she does this urinating, defacting quickly is an issue. On the other hand, she only needs to do this once or twice a day. Something to work out as I know she needs a little exercise to get motivated.
Thinking about all this (thanks to Bob and his pracitcal advice) got me thinking about my own reaction to the reaction of people (my birds, rabbits, squirrels, etc.) when Gracie and I are out. Clearly, I need to be the boss of us both. Since most people are welcoming and supportive, I need to not let the few who aren't and their comments (which I might not be hearing correctly anyway) distract me from paying attention to Gracie and attending to what we have gone wherever we are to do. I need to be the boss of me and not let others take that from me.
I was at the library with Gracie the other day, and a woman approached us. "Are you training that dog?" she asked. I told her Gracie was all trained. Later I thought I should have said, "No. The dog is training me." But that's not really true either. I'm the boss; I'm training myself to be an effective teammate for Gracie. Right, Bob?
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