Tricks for treats

Paul and his dogs have been religious about this after dinner routine.  Gambol, Buddy, and Remington have it down, too enthusiastically occasionally. Gambol blasts through the commands before Paul can say them.  Buddy plods along like Eyeore but gets the job done. Logan just doesn't like to offer his feet for the shake and paw commands.  Remington, sitting next to Logan, encouraged Logan to lift his paws by gently modeling each command in Logan's direction.  How cute was that!

Logan: Week 5 in Review

Logan has developed a bit of a limp. We don't notice it outside as he chases his ball in the meadow. When he is inside, however, he favors his left front paw.  We don't see any obvious problem, no cuts or scratches.  It may be arthritis and old age catching up the the boy as he runs hard.  We'll watch it.
He would have made a good hunting dog.  He circles the ball's presumed landing spot in the high grass until he finds it, seldom losing it for very long.
Paul was able to trim 2 toenails this week.  We keep playing with his feet; he doesn't pull away as quickly any more.
Logan and Remington race to the water tub.  Logan knows if he doesn't hop in first, Remington will take up all the water.
Logan is beginning to understand "shake".  He almost offers his right paw. His left, not so much. He has caught the treat by flipping it off his nose several times.  He gets the command "wait" at the door and in his crate, but can't wait to flip the treat. Proximity of other hungry mouths near by may not help.
Teddy is looking ragged but is still identifyable as a bear.  Booda has been put in the hospital (surgery) pile.  Logan hasn't minded.
Remington and Paul keep their special private times, going to the recycling center and get the mail. While Logan chases his ball, Remington runs between us, zigzagging across the meadow for a sliver of cheese.  If we don't keep his attention, he's been known to take a hike on his own.  Paul has always caught up to him within a quarter mile.  I think he is a bit jealous of Logan's attention since he didn't do this before Logan came to us.  Gambol is so independent he doesn't care.  Buddy The Elder is oblivious to everything by food and sleep now.
It's certain that Logan will be a New Jersey boy by the end of May.  He'll have a brother and get new fashion statements and lots of toys to play with.  Logan, you are one lucky boy.

Logan: Week 4 in Review

Logan had an adventure this week.  He went with Paul to collect bales of panicum to mulch our vegetable garden.  He enjoys riding in the truck and is a good traveler.  After 10-15 minutes sitting in the shade watching the farmer bale, Paul said, "OK, let's go." Logan, who has always been at our side, eyes on us, took off running downhill, nose to the ground, with no intent to stop.  Paul took off running after him, calling his name to no avail. 70 yards later the 2 seniors, man and beast, met up huffing and puffing and came together.  We haven't seen that before or after.  Logan, what were you thinking? What did you smell? Did you smell the goose feathers from the pillow that the farmer had spread along the side of the road?  A Brittany nose knows.
Other than that short adventure, the week has been easy.  We throw his ball in the meadow and he fetches it with no effort. He walks/runs/5-6 miles daily. He's a reliable retriever and wants to carry his ball out with us. He goes to his crate when it's time to eat.  He sits easily in his crate when we go out, although he barks for a while if he thinks we can hear him. He sleeps well all night until about 6:15AM. He mouths his Teddy lovingly but doesn't mind Remington taking a chew on him.

Logan: Week 3 in Review

Logan has enjoyed chasing his orange ball and a frisbee on almost every meadow walk this week.  He prefers the ball and will chase it 10 times or more before calling it quits. That's a big improvement over last week. We've hardly heard him cough at all. His eyes are always on the ball or the hand that is passing out treats.  He doesn't seem to care about running off to explore with the other dogs.
At the end of the meadow fun all the dogs are hot, so they cool off in a water trough.  Logan enjoys dunking his head all the way to get his ball.  He also blows bubbles through his nose.  That's our laugh for the day.
He spent time in his crate while we were on a date;  no barking when we came home.  He hasn't puddled inside all week.
Every night after dinner Paul does Tricks for Treats routine with the boys. Logan doesn't have the "shake" trick down yet.  He is better at "down", but he knows that "wait" follows "down", and he tries his best to avoid that trick, as does Remington who usually looks away but says in position. Logan can often catch the treat from his nose. This is the final trick: taking a treat gently from Paul's lips.
Logan still has occasional panic attacks which we usually attribute to needing to go outside, but they can also happen when he has lost his stuffie, or for some other reason we don't understand.  Holding him close helps to calm him down. These aren't as intense as they were 3 weeks ago, nor do they happen as frequently or last as long.

Logan on his favorite chair

Logan's vocabulary is growing.  He knows his name well and responds to "here" quickly.  He can find Teddy, Booda or the ball and will pick them out of a pile of toys. He will not allow his special toys to stay in the toy pile with the common folk.  As soon as I toss Booda or his orange ball in the pile he retrieves it.  He doesn't growl or show aggressive protection, but he certainly knows which are special toys. He knows "crate", "wait", and "get in bed" although sometimes he'd prefer not to.  He is working on peeing on command.
Timing is critical.  If we give him a command out of context, he'll give us a quizzical look.

Logan: Week 2 in review

He’s been with us for 2 weeks, and we feel we know him well.  He reminds us in many ways of Maddie (Glozzer).  He’s a real character; we call him Mr. Entertainment Man.

He has no acute health issues;  his cough is almost like asthma (my diagnosis only). It only gears up when he gets excited and goes away when he calms down so a quiet but active home for him would be ideal.  I don’t think it hurts him; it just sounds awful. He can get excited over a promised walk or when he loses his stuffie. He can take long walks with no breathing issues, although if he runs for very long, he’ll cough, so we take a break.  He has a funny gait that may show up some day as hip problems, but for now, he has no issues.  Since he’s almost 11, maybe nothing will ever develop. His back legs seem to hit the ground outside of his front feet, and he never stretches his left leg back in a frog. 

He also came to us with a reputation for unreliable house training.  We’ve seen that but think it’s peeing in anger at being left rather than housetraining manners.  The few times he’s peed inside, he did it at the door just after he saw one of us leave. He’s fine in his crate. However, I forgot to crate him last night, but we came back to no trouble.  He had a marrow bone to keep him happy. We had one other pee/poop problem in the morning when he just couldn’t hold it any longer.  We solved that by taking him out faster, before our normal walk, for a quick pee.

He has 2 stuffies that are critical to his mental well-being: Teddie and Booda.  He is not possessive of them but knows where they are at all times.  Remington has chewed Booda while Logan watches.  He won’t go to bed without them. He mauls them to a soggy goo but doesn’t chew or destroy them.  He even plops them in his food and water dishes.  He likes tennis balls but only retrieves them twice.

He’s a quick eater but isn’t food aggressive or protective.  He is definitely food motivated.  We can let him off leash in our meadow, and he’ll run between us to get treats.  He loves that game. 

We took him to campus this week to see how he’d do with other people.  He couldn’t get enough attention from the co-eds and seemed to enjoy attention of the few little children we met.  In our meadow he walks politely by us; he was a real puller in this new situation.  Students were playing ball and frisbee, and he wanted very badly to join in that fun.  He didn’t bark though.  He saw the squirrels but was more interested in the people and thrown things.

He’s a bundle of energy, a real people dog, and a joy to have as a house guest. He’s going to be hard to send on. 

Logan: Week 1 in review

Logan is 35 pounds, a healthy weight for him and has a few lumps (lymphomas) that are of no immediate concern. His teeth are generally OK, but one of his canines has some recession that will be watched.  He'll need a cleaning before he leaves us. He's up to date with his shots and is heartworm negative.  We started him on Sentinel and Bravecto on Wednesday. Because of a lymphoma on his chest that's about fist size, we don't leave his harness on 24/7, but because of his chronic hacky cough, we use it on leash walks instead of a collar. He behaved well with the poking and prodding at the vet's but he really doesn't like pedicures.  His nails are very long, but Paul is working on that.
He settled quickly in the car for his 1.5 hr drive home and for his 20 min drive to the vet's.
His eyes don't leave us when we walk him in the meadow.  He knows the treat game: get a treat, run to Mom (30-50 feet away), get a treat, run back to Dad (30-50 feet away). Zig zag the length of the open area (100 yards).  When we get to the tall grass, he gets his leash back.  He pulls a lot less now than he did a week ago, although everyone rushes out the door.  He takes his clues from the other dogs. We've let the "invitation to go through the door" training drop off for now. We've never let a foster off leash this quickly. No bunnies or squirrels have yet crossed our path. We suspect we'd have a problem if one did. We walk 4-6 miles with him daily.  He has no problem with that distance.
He came to us with a reputation for being untrustworthy in the house. We watch carefully and take many potty breaks, but we only had a problem the first day. We take him out immediately upon waking to be safe. He could be a counter-surfer, but it's as much curiosity to see what's going on up there.  He hasn't snatched anything yet, nor has he chewed any paper or gotten into the garbage.
He also had a reputation for barking incessantly. We have not experienced that and have only heard a couple of barks all week.
He didn't like his crate the first night we had him, but he now sleeps all night in his bed next to either Gambol or Remington.  He wants his stuffies with him at bedtime and will race around the house until he corrals them.
He stayed in his crate with a marrow bone for 3 hours with no problem.  The other dogs were in the breezeway with him but not crated.
He doesn't mind the vacuum cleaner.  He didn't notice a short and distant thunderstorm. Rain doesn't bother him, whether he's inside or out walking in it. He enjoys his food and his nightly peanut butter dessert.  He took his pills in the peanut butter easily. He doesn't appear to be food aggressive.  I can pet Logan while he is eating.
He has had a couple of snappish moments when one of the other dogs sniffs too intrusively.  He talks "dog talk" and apparently just tells them to back off.  They do and the problem is over. He isn't possessive of his stuffies.  He watched as Remington chewed the face off Booda.  I sewed him back together but we now call him Cyclops.
Logan is a snuggler.  He's happy to lie at our feet but is just as happy to jump in our laps. He wants to be near us any way he can.  He'll follow us if we move from room to room.  He enjoyed a chin scratch from a visitor, too.
His hair is short, soft, and smooth.  I don't know if he was groomed before he came to us, but he has no feathers.
He has a lopsided grin.  He can only do a half Brittany frog:  his left leg never splays out behind him. He may have a hip issue down the road, but for now, he runs and plays just fine.  He does uncarpeted stairs easily.
He enjoys playing catch with balls and his stuffies.  One of these days we'll remember to take a ball outside to see what he does in the meadow.
He joins in the evening "Tricks for Treats" routine.  He can't wait for the treat between his paws, but he can catch it from his nose.  He is learning to shake and paw (right paw offered).  He has to be encouraged to sit and down, but both are coming on quickly as he watches the other dogs.
He's a delightful house guest.

Logan: Day 3

Good sleeping night.  Seems like we have that problem figured out: run 5 miles, soft bed, next to a bro.
No peeing inside;  don't leave me, please, don't leave me even for 3 minutes.
Still minimal barking. His hacking cough only happens when he gets excited. If we can teach him to calm himself, he won't hack.

We run him 30' between us in the meadow, treat in hand, as he drags his leash in case of emergency. He looks at us, looks at the treat, and makes a bee-line across the meadow.  Often Remington joins in his race.
Logan has 2 stuffies: Teddy and Boodah.  He took Boodah to the carriage house this afternoon and left him.  About 8:00 pm he became agitated as he looked through the toy corner.  Teddy was in his bed, but Boodah was nowhere to be found.  After the 10:00 pee-break, he raced upstairs directly to Boodah and proudly carried him to his crate for bedtime snack.  He placed Boodah gently in his food dish and sat patiently until I made my rounds, then picked the stuffed toy and carried him to bed.  What a hoot!
Good day at the Barony.

Logan: Day 2

One step ahead:  he slept in a soft bed next to Gambol all night long. No crate.
One step back: he peed inside twice. Both times were in the breezeway and both times were when he saw us leave.  Hmmm.  He had just been out, and the other dogs were with him.  Anxiety?
We let him run 20 feet between us in the meadow, dragging his leashes.  He'll do a lot for food.
Once when I was taking him our for a potty break his leash popped off.  He started to run off but came back as the anxiety in my voice increased.
Paul has trimmed 4 front toenails.  Logan really doesn't like that procedure.
He'll have about 5 miles today.  Let's hope it's enough.

Logan and his Teddy after a hard day keeping up with the younger, bigger boys, and Buddy too.

Logan: Day 1

Not much sleep for any of us last night.  Logan didn't want to be in his crate and wanted to be touching someone.  Buddy and Paul shared the task.  We took the crate out of the bedroom and fixed up a soft pillow blanket bed for tonight.
He didn't want to eat in his crate either so we pulled his bowl out and he ate just fine.  He enjoyed the peanut butter treat and had no trouble with the honkin' big chondroitin pill. He doesn't seem to have hip issues but we have noticed that he only does the Brittany Frog extension stretch on his left side.  Since everyone gets the pill, he will too, just because.
So, the crate training is a bit suspicious. We may be able to stuff him in, but I don't think he's going to like it one bit.
He pulls some on his leash.  We have him on a harness and his collar leash (2) until he gets a little more used to us.  We can stop walking, and he'll stop pulling, so he may not be too hard to leash train.  He's quite happy to stop for cheese.
He's not afraid of the vacuum cleaner.  He can do (uncarpeted) steps.
He loves toys.  We've never had a dog go into the toy corner and spread everything we have all over the living room.  He especially likes stuffies and balls.  In a couple of weeks, he's going to love chasing the ball in the meadow.  He carries his teddy or his new bear until they are soggy.
He has growled a few of times, mostly at Buddy. We'll be watching that carefully.
He barks occasionally.  He's deep, loud, and persistent, but I don't know what sets him off yet.  He has limited interest in window gazing. He doesn't seem overly prey conscious. I think he saw a few birds on the spruce but he just registered interest, not maniacal frenzy.
He jumped on my chair this afternoon and even spent some time in my lap snuggling.  That's a treat for me.
He is a counter surfer.  He's delicate about it, but that boy can jump.
We've to get him outside frequently enough that his inconsistent house breaking hasn't been and issue. I've done 13,000 steps with him, and he's had some simple pee breaks, so I think we've got that figured out.
His breathing is calm except when he gets excited. Then he coughs and hacks. We think some of his excitement may be anxiety.  Last night after lights out he appeared to have a panic attack in the crate.  We'll be watching that closely, too. While he's a sloppy drinker, I don't think he drinks any more than the other boys.
He has a few lumps, most are soft lymphomas, but one is hard and the size of a golf ball, reminiscent of Maddie's mass.  We'll be taking him in to introduce him to Dr. Mason to get weighed, chipped, and looked over.  Paul cleaned his very gross ears last night.  His nails haven't been tackled yet.  His brevecto and Sentinel arrived today.  We'll start that on April 1.
Day 1 has been a success.

Logan's first evening as an NBRAN Demmert

Logan is a small orange and white roan.  He looks younger than his 10 years. According to his paperwork, his birthday is June 14, 2007.
He went right to Paul and didn't loom back as I talked to the owner for a while. We transferred his crate and his special (and very wet) teddy bear and were on our way.  Logan settled down after about 10 min of driving and fell fast asleep in Paul's lap after about 30 minutes. His breathing was calm and quiet most of the trip.  (picture)
We introduced the boys outside, one at a time. No trouble.  Everyone smelled all body parts; peed, peed over the pee, and we came inside.  Logan is on a leash inside but we haven't seen any bad behaviors like marking.
Their dinner: because of our late afternoon pickup, our 3 residents were over an hour late for dinner.  Paul took Logan outside while they ate.  Logan didn't really want to eat. I'm sure he'll be hungry in the morning. Paul did a mini-tricks for treats routine.  Logan has a good sit, and can lie down on command. He definitely knows his name inside. He'll learn the rest.
Our dinner:  all 4 were under the table. Logan jumped up a couple of times, but mostly he was content to watch.
After dinner:  another mini round of tricks for treats routine.  Paw and shake will be good for Logan to learn that foot touching is OK.  He apparently really doesn't like getting his nails clipped.  Logan found the toy pile quickly. He especially likes balls.  His Teddy is in his bedroom crate.  We'll try to save that for bedtime.  He growled at Remington over a toy but nothing came if it. He barks if he brings us a ball and we don't throw it fast enough.  He does the front feet wiggle as a warning, then barks.  None of the others approve of the bark.  We'll have to work on his impulse control.
And now: Logan is resting.  (picture)
So far so good.

Memo to self when arranging foster pick-ups at the Cracker Barrell in Buckthorn exit off I-80 at 5:00 pm.:  Check the http://rescueroadwarriors.org/.  We arrived as they were transferring 80 dogs, including 3 litters of puppies, to the next leg drivers.  They allow much more than 15 minutes between legs.  One of the drivers, Mat and his travel buddy Duke, also drive for NBRAN.  They are from Erie and work Nancy Walker's transports.

Logan's back story

(from an email by his former owner) I was a breeder, show-er, and rescue-r of Alaskan Malamutes for many years. I have had several other breeds over the years but my first love was the mals. My very first purebred dog was a GSP and my only sporting dog. I had her for sixteen years.

My daughter and I were shopping at a mall when we walked into a pet store. Normally I would not have gone inside if they were selling puppies but this store had no indication until you got to the very back where the puppies were against the back wall. I checked to see if they had any malamutes puppies. In the bottom row of crates was a geeky looking Brittany puppy about four months old with a sign on his crate "Final Sale $199". He was growing out of that cute puppy stage and was pacing up and down in the crate. I don't know what made me consider buying him but except that I knew he'd never make it with the average pet owner so I asked the attendant to let me see him. The puppies had just been fed so I was told that this was their "nap" time and to come back in an hour. I went back to my car to get a lead with my daughter telling me I was nuts. This puppy didn't know what nap was while everyone else was sleeping he was spinning around. I plunked down my credit card and the Logan saga began.

Having been a puppy mill dog he had no concept of keeping his crate clean so housebreaking was a major problem for him and me. I was working at the time so I decided to put him outside in the kennel with the malamutes. They loved him from the get-go and he became their exercise pony chasing him around the enclosed area. Every malamute including every rescue that I took in loved Logan. He slept in the dog house with his run partner. I never heard him growl but he would never give up whatever he had been carrying except to one bitch.

When he was about five years old I had him inside when he chewed up a crate mat with a fiber fill stuffing. It was the Labor Day weekend that I noticed he wasn't his usual psycho self, running around so off we went to the Emergency where he underwent surgery to see if there was a blockage. The vet couldn't detect a complete block but there was something suspicious so I agreed to not wait and operate. There was no block but a thickening of the stomach lining from the irritation of the fiber fill. They called to let me know the results and that he was fine. About a half hour later I got another call saying he was now in critical care because he aspirated when they were extubating him. Logan was hospitalized for a week for aspiration pneumonia. As a result, he has some damage to his lungs and pants a lot so he drinks a lot which results in peeing a lot. It has never caused him to slow down or pass out. Logan will be ten years old and hasn't slowed down. It is killing me to have to let him go. The two Mals I had are now in rescue. Logan gets along with all dogs and loves cats. Housebreaking can still be a problem at times and needs to be on a schedule. He has been eating Purina Performance Sport about three cups. I also give cottage cheese and hard boiled eggs. He gets marrow bones and bully sticks. His teeth are in good shape. He absolutely hates having his nails trimmed and it can become a two man job. He knows sit, crate and drop it. His favorite toy is a stuffed bear which surprisingly he hadn't destroyed, the ear is missing but that's it. He would have been a good search and rescue dog as he'll do anything for a toy. He loves to go into the wading pool during the summer and will dunk his head under to get his toy. He is definitely not reliable on a recall. He will come inside and if he is in an enclosed area but open space his mind is elsewhere. He will chew up paper but hasn't destroyed shoes or clothing. He is crated next to my bed during the night but will jump up on the bed with Teddy if I'm not watching.

Information from the petshop:
Logan was transferred on 8-13-2007 from Kibbel's Kennel (#00004336) Box 483, Beloit KS 67420; Transferred from RoKenn Enterprises #34776581 137N 110th Rd, Delphos, KS 67436 by Martha Kibbe.
His AKC registration kennel litter number is SR4331888/03
to The Pet Shop#200, 1988 Whitehall Mall, Whitehall, PA 18052
Birthday June 14, 2007
Sire Mr AJ Smith SR 20026504 (born 05-06) no other info on AKC site
Dam Kansas Lady Jade SN 90358302 ( APR-03-2002) orange and white