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A Tired Dog is a Good Dog
Jan 21, 2008 10:17AM
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What a week of adventures! I've been steadily working with Doc Holliday since we adopted him last Sunday, and thank the gods that I'm a Stay-at-Home Dog Mom. We had a couple of scares early last week when we discovered Doc's stealthy ability to bolt out the door and go on an unattended run. Yee haaawwww! It's a regular rodeo! I was coming in with a load of groceries, and Doc about knocked me down in his bid for freedom. He stayed a good 200 feet ahead of us and kept looking back over his shoulder and grinning his fool head off. It appears we now know why he was picked up by Harris County Animal Control. Hubby had to chase him down with the car, and once the car door opened, Doc gave up the game and hopped right in.
He practiced the same escape technique the following morning when Hubby was heading to a work appointment. I was in the bathroom when the words, "He's out!" floated in under the door, followed by the sound of the car roaring off down the street. I had to laugh! Once again, Hubby caught up with Doc around the corner, and once Doc saw the open door, he jumped right in slinging drool all over the leather seats.
I have to admit Doc is just gorgeous in flight. Of course, most of what we saw was the muscles of his rear end magnificently flexing and stretching as he cruised down the street. The scary thing is that he hadn't even tapped into his full flight capability. We were only treated to a fast, extended trot instead of a gallop. Yikes!
First things first, we had to teach Doc his new name. How many of your dogs actually know their names? A great exercise to get them to respond when you call, is to use treats or a clicker. Anything that gets his attention. I took Doc on an extended walk and didn't allow his excitement level to raise by letting him sniff at any and everything in his path. I want his attention on me; not everything else. Every time he got distracted, I called his name, and as soon as he even blinked in my direction, he got a treat. By the end of that walk, he had the name lesson down pat.
Doc was also a huge puller and strainer on the leash. Sadly, his previous handlers made the same mistake with a training (choke) collar that so many people do. They rely on the collar to choke the dog and cause pain, which supposedly makes the dog stop pulling. Wrong! The collar is to be used as a corrective device only, not a braking system. Used incorrectly, the dog learns that pain and choking are a normal part of walking and the behavior never changes. A couple of solo spins without Maggie and Doc is now not only walking like the gentleman he was meant to be, but he has also learned to wait quietly at the door until he is invited in or out.
Maggie has had a lot of adjusting to do in the past month with first losing her pack mate, Chica, and now dealing with Doc invading her territory. She's been a big help to us in teaching Doc the house rules, as well as the Walk Rules. She's happy to play with Doc, but he always had to push the envelope and go at it a bit too hard. Next thing you know, Maggie was doing her polar bear imitation and telling him to mind his manners. After a few days, he finally got the message and the two are now becoming fast friends and working together as proper pack mates.
Walking Maggie and Doc together helped them both to understand that they needed to work together. I started out with one dog on each side of me, and didn't allow either one of them to acknowledge the other's presence. The walk is a training exercise - not a playing exercise. After 10 minutes of politely walking with no distractions, they can then have a group pee and sniff, and then move on - when I tell them. Maggie already knows the Walk Rules, and having her stable presence helped keep Doc calmed down and focused.
With 2 birds in the house who need flight time of their own, we've had to train many different dogs over the years to accept the birds as pack members higher on the food chain than themselves. We've been able to leave the house with the birds out and never had a loss or even an incident. Our 20-year-old cockatiel, Petey, used to follow old Travis around the house and preen his toe pads and whiskers. Sometimes Petey would even perch on Travis's food bowl and watch him eat. Travis just rolled his eyes at the hero worship and ignored Petey. I've done a lot of work with Doc and the birds over the past few days, and he now ignores the birds if they fly to the floor. I'm not ready to trust him fully when we're out of the house, but he's made tremendous progress.
Houston has had a lot of rain lately, and yesterday was pretty chilly for our part of the world, but sunny. I took both dogs for a good long walk and couldn't have been more pleased. They spent the rest of the day playing outside while hubby puttered around, and by the end of the day they were completely exhausted. I took the accompanying photo last night when Doc crashed out after dinner. No, he didn't slide off the couch, but it was a near thing!
I always say, "A tired dog is a good dog" and it's absolutely true. Dalmations have an undeserved reputation for being "crazy" and "runners". Well of course they're runners! That's what they were bred for: running along carriages and clearing vermin out of the road ahead of the horses. Like any dog, Dals need rules, boundaries and limitations along with exercise. Doc is responding beautifully to all of these elements in his life, and we couldn't be happier.
He practiced the same escape technique the following morning when Hubby was heading to a work appointment. I was in the bathroom when the words, "He's out!" floated in under the door, followed by the sound of the car roaring off down the street. I had to laugh! Once again, Hubby caught up with Doc around the corner, and once Doc saw the open door, he jumped right in slinging drool all over the leather seats.
I have to admit Doc is just gorgeous in flight. Of course, most of what we saw was the muscles of his rear end magnificently flexing and stretching as he cruised down the street. The scary thing is that he hadn't even tapped into his full flight capability. We were only treated to a fast, extended trot instead of a gallop. Yikes!
First things first, we had to teach Doc his new name. How many of your dogs actually know their names? A great exercise to get them to respond when you call, is to use treats or a clicker. Anything that gets his attention. I took Doc on an extended walk and didn't allow his excitement level to raise by letting him sniff at any and everything in his path. I want his attention on me; not everything else. Every time he got distracted, I called his name, and as soon as he even blinked in my direction, he got a treat. By the end of that walk, he had the name lesson down pat.
Doc was also a huge puller and strainer on the leash. Sadly, his previous handlers made the same mistake with a training (choke) collar that so many people do. They rely on the collar to choke the dog and cause pain, which supposedly makes the dog stop pulling. Wrong! The collar is to be used as a corrective device only, not a braking system. Used incorrectly, the dog learns that pain and choking are a normal part of walking and the behavior never changes. A couple of solo spins without Maggie and Doc is now not only walking like the gentleman he was meant to be, but he has also learned to wait quietly at the door until he is invited in or out.
Maggie has had a lot of adjusting to do in the past month with first losing her pack mate, Chica, and now dealing with Doc invading her territory. She's been a big help to us in teaching Doc the house rules, as well as the Walk Rules. She's happy to play with Doc, but he always had to push the envelope and go at it a bit too hard. Next thing you know, Maggie was doing her polar bear imitation and telling him to mind his manners. After a few days, he finally got the message and the two are now becoming fast friends and working together as proper pack mates.
Walking Maggie and Doc together helped them both to understand that they needed to work together. I started out with one dog on each side of me, and didn't allow either one of them to acknowledge the other's presence. The walk is a training exercise - not a playing exercise. After 10 minutes of politely walking with no distractions, they can then have a group pee and sniff, and then move on - when I tell them. Maggie already knows the Walk Rules, and having her stable presence helped keep Doc calmed down and focused.
With 2 birds in the house who need flight time of their own, we've had to train many different dogs over the years to accept the birds as pack members higher on the food chain than themselves. We've been able to leave the house with the birds out and never had a loss or even an incident. Our 20-year-old cockatiel, Petey, used to follow old Travis around the house and preen his toe pads and whiskers. Sometimes Petey would even perch on Travis's food bowl and watch him eat. Travis just rolled his eyes at the hero worship and ignored Petey. I've done a lot of work with Doc and the birds over the past few days, and he now ignores the birds if they fly to the floor. I'm not ready to trust him fully when we're out of the house, but he's made tremendous progress.
Houston has had a lot of rain lately, and yesterday was pretty chilly for our part of the world, but sunny. I took both dogs for a good long walk and couldn't have been more pleased. They spent the rest of the day playing outside while hubby puttered around, and by the end of the day they were completely exhausted. I took the accompanying photo last night when Doc crashed out after dinner. No, he didn't slide off the couch, but it was a near thing!
I always say, "A tired dog is a good dog" and it's absolutely true. Dalmations have an undeserved reputation for being "crazy" and "runners". Well of course they're runners! That's what they were bred for: running along carriages and clearing vermin out of the road ahead of the horses. Like any dog, Dals need rules, boundaries and limitations along with exercise. Doc is responding beautifully to all of these elements in his life, and we couldn't be happier.
Sounds like you guys are doing well!
I saw an episode of Dog Whisperer dealing with a "door bolter" once. It seemed like with practice and patience, this got a lot better. I know you, like I, follow a lot of Cesar's advice.
Our dogs all know their own names. They also know when we collectively call out "boys", that we mean all of them. Its amazing what dogs know.
They know they get fed about halfway through Dr. Phil, and when they hear that music he plays right before the break, they all get up at once and head for the feed room door. They know that when the 6 o'clock news comes on, Dad will be home any minute so they start waiting by the door.
They know the sound of the snack cabinet (where the dog biscuits are) opening, and come running from all over the house when they hear it, no matter how quiet I try to be. They know "time for bed", "wanna go out"...and of course, "walkies".
When the automatic sprinkler comes on at 5am, they know we'll get up soon on weekdays, so the early morning mayhem starts. But on weekends, they don't budge when the sprinkler comes on, b/c we won't be getting up.
I saw an episode of Dog Whisperer dealing with a "door bolter" once. It seemed like with practice and patience, this got a lot better. I know you, like I, follow a lot of Cesar's advice.
Our dogs all know their own names. They also know when we collectively call out "boys", that we mean all of them. Its amazing what dogs know.
They know they get fed about halfway through Dr. Phil, and when they hear that music he plays right before the break, they all get up at once and head for the feed room door. They know that when the 6 o'clock news comes on, Dad will be home any minute so they start waiting by the door.
They know the sound of the snack cabinet (where the dog biscuits are) opening, and come running from all over the house when they hear it, no matter how quiet I try to be. They know "time for bed", "wanna go out"...and of course, "walkies".
When the automatic sprinkler comes on at 5am, they know we'll get up soon on weekdays, so the early morning mayhem starts. But on weekends, they don't budge when the sprinkler comes on, b/c we won't be getting up.
Isn't it funny what they pick up?! I remember being amazed years ago when I was in the backyard with old Travis. We had trained the dogs to take messy items like bones outside, and he had one nicely cleaned up at that point. As I went toward the door, Travis dropped his bone and followed me. I casually said, "Go get your bone and come inside" and he did it! You just never know what little gears are meshing in their heads.
Our dogs also know the difference between "Get in the back" and "Go in the front"; they know who "Daddy" and "Mama" are; "get a drink" (comes in handy in our hot soupy climate) and a host of other odd bits of knowledge. Over the years I've discovered the "Wait" command to be the most useful for everyone's safety. "Wait" means "stop what you're doing right now and wait for the next command". It has stopped my dogs from running into the street, chasing cars or kids on bikes, jumping out of the car in a parking lot before we can get the leash on, and of course, any time you need them to stop doing something unsafe or unacceptable.
Our neighbor Rocky (who owns King the 120-lb Lab) thought we were being overly-controlling with our dogs and not allowing them to "just be dogs." King spends a lot of time over here, particularly in the summer months, and we treat him exactly the same way we do our own dogs. He now knows the Wait command just as well as our mutts do. Rocky was under the mistaken impression that it was all about making King wait for a treat, or dinner, or anything else. Well, that illusion was shattered when he had to use "WAIT!" to keep King from charging out of the car on a recent vet visit and getting into trouble in the busy parking lot. NOW he gets it!
Yes, our dogs are obedient dogs, but they have plenty of time to just goof off and do their own thing. Dogs have a built-in need to know the Pack Rules, and are happy to follow them whether they come from another dog or a human. I'll take a physically and mentally well-adjusted and obedient dog over an overly-excited, neurotic dog who rules the roost any day. :-)
Our dogs also know the difference between "Get in the back" and "Go in the front"; they know who "Daddy" and "Mama" are; "get a drink" (comes in handy in our hot soupy climate) and a host of other odd bits of knowledge. Over the years I've discovered the "Wait" command to be the most useful for everyone's safety. "Wait" means "stop what you're doing right now and wait for the next command". It has stopped my dogs from running into the street, chasing cars or kids on bikes, jumping out of the car in a parking lot before we can get the leash on, and of course, any time you need them to stop doing something unsafe or unacceptable.
Our neighbor Rocky (who owns King the 120-lb Lab) thought we were being overly-controlling with our dogs and not allowing them to "just be dogs." King spends a lot of time over here, particularly in the summer months, and we treat him exactly the same way we do our own dogs. He now knows the Wait command just as well as our mutts do. Rocky was under the mistaken impression that it was all about making King wait for a treat, or dinner, or anything else. Well, that illusion was shattered when he had to use "WAIT!" to keep King from charging out of the car on a recent vet visit and getting into trouble in the busy parking lot. NOW he gets it!
Yes, our dogs are obedient dogs, but they have plenty of time to just goof off and do their own thing. Dogs have a built-in need to know the Pack Rules, and are happy to follow them whether they come from another dog or a human. I'll take a physically and mentally well-adjusted and obedient dog over an overly-excited, neurotic dog who rules the roost any day. :-)
Love your story! If I ever get another dog, I will definitely turn to you for advice! You sound like a great mommy! I wonder if this stuff will work with my 2 1/2 year old human child???????? Hmmmmmm.........
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