Doggie school

One of the dog club members always brings her 15mo daughter to... (everything).  Mostly she sits on the chair and watches or plays with her bag of tricks.  But the last 2 classes she has decided I need help with Buddy, so she toddles over and holds his leash end  (while I hold it close to him). She pets him gently, and he seems to like it. She signs but only dog signs. And that.is.adorable. 

Last night Buddy and I were in the ring practicing an off leash thing when a young male German short haired pointer got loose and the zoomies.  Buddy was doing really doing well when the GSP interrupted his concentration.  Bud got POed and barred his teeth and growled, but didn't do anything else.  I had him by his collar under control while this teenage boy-dog got in his face and tried to pick a fight.  I don't know if Buddy was protecting me (I think not) or just didn't like this kid in his face. Anyway, all's well that ends well; the owner had to leave the ring, distracting the dog long enough so the teacher could calmly snag him.

Kilo is getting used to the equipment and the other dogs.  He barks and sings along with them but is learning to follow some of the handling techniques.  He did a great, straight-away recall half the length of the building when Paul called. Of course now he knows there's a treat waiting between Paul's fingers.

Gambol gets a quiet night at home with a good bone and without his brothers.  He doesn't seem to mind.

Tudek Dog Park

Since Buddy has been back on his long leash for several weeks we though he might like a controlled freedom run so we visited the dog park.  What a great place. It's at least an acre enclosed by 5' high wire fence and a double gated entrance with grass and gravel and a few benches in the sun.When we arrived a lady Weimeraner was playing by herself, but by the time we left several other dogs had come and gone.  Buddy and Gambol preferred the grassy area on the hill; Buddy was more sociable and visited with dogs as they came in.  We didn't hear any growling from our boys but there was plenty of sniffing. They didn't run together just was they don't in our meadow.
Unfortunately dog treats aren't allowed in the park.  I didn't read that tidbit until we were leaving. That's going to be hard on the training scheme. Both dogs came when called but took their sweet time doing so.

Buddy and the chickens

After our evening foray into the meadow Paul has been sitting on the stump by the coop with Buddy.  It's the inoculation theory of dog training.  With a firm grip on the leash and a gentle voice and hand on Buddy's back or chest, Paul lets the chickens come to a few feet of Buddy.  "Leave it" and other gentle encouraging words finally convince Buddy to calm down, stop quivering, and eventually even to look away from the chickens.  We sit out there for 10 min or so for this lesson.  Gambol generally just wants to get inside to the cool tile floor and his evening treat.  It would be nice if Buddy saw how relaxed Gambol is around the birds, but that carry-over hasn't happened for other parts of Buddy's training. 

It's a 2 dog day!

 

Drew and Susan brought Buddy to us this afternoon.  We were supposed to have a home visit to see if things would work out, but Drew and I had emailed quite a few times so we were pretty sure they would.  Buddy's 4 years old and slightly shorter than Gambol, but he's quite a bit heavier.  Diet time for several of us at this house, starting Jan 1. His markings are slightly more white than Gambol's and his eyes are dark brown but he's orange and white with a pink nose, a real Brittany.
We'll give him some time to get acclimated to his new home.  He started out in Michigan, moved to Lewistown and was fostered in the Clearfield area.  He was pretty nervous for a couple of hours after Drew left, but settled down after dinner.  He'll be on a leash for quite a while, until he learns that chickens aren't dinner and where home is.  Gambol didn't worry at all and has kept his routine of kenneling for our dinner and retiring to bed as soon as the dishes were washed.

Buddy and Paul have been to the Bear's Lair and back up the hill side.  That kind of training should melt the fat off as well as help Buddy sleep.

Dear Aunt Pricilla,

From the Baron (just slightly modified):

Dear Aunt Pricilla

We continue to have a roller coaster ride as far as the weather out here in Pennsylvania goes. A week ago we had two days in a row with lows in the single digits. This morning the low was 54 degrees. We missed the recent East Coast snowstorm last weekend and only got a couple of flakes in the air--no accumulation. With this weekend's heat wave our snow has completely melted. Some of our daffodils are starting to poke up through the mulch and I have been trying to cover them up with more mulch to delay their efforts to break out and grow. If I can delay them another week, or so, that should be enough to protect them from any cold outbreaks that sneak up on us.

The warmer weather has brought a rather unpleasant aftereffect--ticks. After going without any ticks since we started visiting Pennsylvania, I have been plagued by 4 in the past 2 weeks. Poor Gambol has accumulated his share of them too, which is not a surprise with him going through the forest and meadow with his nose on the ground. For Gambol we got a standard flea and tick collar and just got a prescription filled for the anti-tick medicine you apply direction to the skin of a dog. This is a 30 day treatment, so we'll be giving this medication to him once a month until winter returns and the cold kills off the ticks. I guess I will have to start applying insecticide whenever I go out, especially on my jeans, shoes, and hat.

We had a bit of excitement at the Barony last week. On Wednesday morning The Baroness was just starting to take a shower when the power in the house dipped (like a brownout) and the shower head produced a burst of gray-black water. The shower water turned cold, so I went downstairs to check on our tankless electric water heater. The electric circuits were fine, no circuit breakers had tripped, but the water heater was leaking slightly and the leak apparently had just started when The Baroness experienced the brownout. My first assumption was that the well had run dry and the pump had surged when it sucked in some mud at the bottom of the well. That, of course, is a nightmare scenario for a home owner: clogged faucets and equipment, like the water heater and even the washing machine, and having the well drilled deeper or treated to increase the water flow--all of which can be quite expensive. We called out the well people and they drained our water pressure tank in the house and it ran as clear as could be. They suggested that the electric water heater had some built up calcium in the lines and a small part of that calcification had broken off, causing the buildup of pressure in the water lines and the water heater (and causing the temporary power surge and the resultant leak). So as a last resort, The Baroness called our builder and asked him for help as she was not enjoying taking cold showers. He responded that day and came out to check the system. He fixed the small leak in the system but couldn't really do much for the heater itself, so he called in his brother, a plumber. The plumber came out and did a quick check, confirming that the systems was not working. He asked his brother where he got the heater (a local plumbing supply store in State College), so they went off to see what the manufacturer (Bosch) would do for the 10 year warranty on the heater. After a couple of days of calls back and forth Bosch agreed the system needed replacement and shipped a new unit by Fed Ex. The new heater arrived on Friday morning and the plumber came out that afternoon and hooked it up and everything worked again. So we were without hot water for 9 days. The Baroness appealed to a hotel in the industrial park where she works to let her use their fitness center for a morning shower. Otherwise the Demmert family was taking wash cloth baths with water heated on the stove. I should add that we will be getting a water softener system installed shortly to take care of that calcium problem. Interestingly enough, our well water is incredibly soft--only 4 grains of hardness. The problem is that the massive amount of heat the water heater applies causes any minerals in solution to precipitate out and that results in the scale buildup in the pipes.

Gambol is maturing every day and although he does not come immediately when called, we have been experimenting in letting him off leash at the end of our walks. For 3 out of 4 times he came running when called for his hot dog treat. On the 4th day he decided he didn't need a treat and took off for 30 minutes on his own. We will graduate from beginner puppy class tonight, but have already enrolled him in a follow-on training class starting next Thursday evening. One trick we have been working on is hiding a treat in another room and telling Gambol to find it. We started out with that trick by just throwing a treat on the floor and saying, "find it." Of course he saw it fall and went right for it. Now, because he didn't see it fall, he has to air scent to find it. He sounds like a pulsing vacuum cleaner as he goes about tracking the treat's scent. It is amazing to watch and he really seems to have fun locating the treat with his nose.

So with the start of Daylight Savings Time and a hot shower to boot, we hope that Aunt Priscilla is on the mend from her recent surgery. Get well soon, St Patrick's Day is just around the corner!

Still winter

We have 6" snow in places and in other places the ground has been scoured clean. Gambol and I took a walk/run/drag but didn't see the rabbit, who has been hiding at the campsite, or the elk at Paradise. We did see fresh 4x4 tracks along the fence but no fresh hay. We watched the redtail pair play and scream above Walnut Grove. We flushed a whitetail on the hill high behind the house. I saw the deer flush, but had to look to Gambol to find it. He never took his eyes off the running deer. One of the lessons in his puppy class was "look", where he is supposed to looks at our eyes. We've turned that lesson around many times to see birds and deer fleeing. We also saw lots of downed limbs and leaners from all the big winds we've had recently. We have 1 chestnut oak just down the hill from the house that is still standing but is twisted splinters held by bark. There will be no lack of chain saw practice this spring.
Gambol would make a great sled dog; he pulls us up hill without looking back.
The pullets are 8 months old tomorrow and have given us 168 eggs. Once they got going, 4 of them became regular 1-a-day layers. We let them out to free range and explore when we have 4 eggs, usually around 2:00 o'clock now. There's not much to graze on yet; I suppose they find some dried seeds.
Last night as we came up the hill after dark I saw a porcupine scramble out of the headlights near the snow depth gauge. We've noticed the jack pine by the birdfeeder has several large bare bark spots. Perhaps this guy is the culprit.
Yesterday we picked up a treat from the post office: fresh limes and grapefruits from the Empress's garden. What an extraordinary breakfast we had today: really fresh fruit and really fresh eggs. If only I'd made bread... So, we sent her a return box.

Puppy class for Gambol

We all 3 went to puppy class tonight. Gambol wasn't impressed at first with the other dogs but by the start of class he settled down and looked for treats in any hand available, which left him unable to multitask and bark at the other students. Homework for Gambol is to learn 5 puppy pushups (sit/down with no verbal commands) in a row, touch an open hand with his nose, collar grab, and look when his name is called. Turn around is the bonus trick. For our homework, we have to bring a bathmat which will be his "place", 3 kinds of very delicious treats, a clicker, and a hungry dog. He knows how to sit; down is coming. Whether he will do 5 in a row is still questionable. Collar grab is a no brainer, no problem, but looking at us when we say his name is a challenge. I guess it really didn't matter if we changed it radically since he doesn't respond yet.
He was out running for over an hour this afternoon so he's definitely tired now. He only comes in when he wants to. That has to change soon. He's beginning to roam much too far from home into other properties. I think we have enough of interest here that he should be able to stay closer to home. Morning and bedtime pee-trips will have to be on a leash for a while. Maybe he can have one good long late morning/lunch run and another before dinner. He'll have to be hungry before his runs so he associates home with food. We'll also probably have to change him from free feeding to meals to help with training. Lindsay said once a dog is fed on a schedule, he'll probably not be able to go back to free feeding.

A new resident of the Barony

I have a new friend. He doesn't really have a name yet (his kennel name is Gambler), but he's a 7 month old Brittany. I won him in the PFHT raffle and I only bought $20 in tickets! Cheri Heimbach, the secretary and Grand Diva of our club donated him to the fundraiser. The decision to accept him was only hard because I knew that the Baron wanted to wait till the rest of the house was built. This, however, was an opportunity that doesn't come around often. We met him on Friday night at the annual meeting; he was calm and confident among 100 strangers. Only when he saw Will, his apprentice and former frequent companion, did he make any noise. He raised up on his back legs occasionally, but it was a delicate and gentle greeting rather than aggressive or assertive bowl-me-over game. He needs puppy training but he's housebroken and crate trained. He's had his first puppy shots, worming and vet check. Since he's lived with his mother, 2 sibs and assorted hawks and other critters until now, he's well socialized and knows he's a dog. So, when Michael called my name second, I only debated a few minutes. I knew this was a good dog that will fit into the Barony well.

I picked him up this morning from Cheri's motel room and we drove home, 3.5 hrs, with a stop at Petco for a crate and puppy chow and at Home Depot for some more CaCO3 since the temps are supposed to get bitter and we have 6" of new snow on top of the old ice. For most of the drive he had his head on my lap.
A crow flying over the car got his attention; he pointed as much as he could in the car. He attentively watched the road from then on. He hasn't cried and hardly barked; he growled at his reflection in the window after dark; I spotlighted but didn't see anything outside so I can only assume he was unsure of himself in the dark window. He certainly does like windows. He gently jumps up to look out the stairs window and spent a lot of time at the deck door. When he jumps up on furniture or to see what's for dinner, a quick "no, get down" correction and he's immediately down. He's a smart dog.

I wasn't going to let him off leash for a few days, until he has a better idea that this is home, but his big eyes and straining shoulders, plus the snow and ice made it hard for me to give him the exercise he needed. I released him and he was off. He ran up the Jennifer Trail but came back when he got half way up; then he was gone. Out of sight. I couldn't track him in the snow and was half sure I'd lost the little boy only 6 hours from pick up. 10 minutes later he came racing back for a pet and then raced down the Trail. What a thrill. He made a huge circle around the house and then went to the door and was done. If that's the kind of exercise runs he wants, I'll feel better when I get a microchip in him. But, I'll just find a good tree stump to sit on while he races aound. He's now sleeping at my feet.
I called Erle Ryba, an aquaintance from WOCC and owner of a kennel in Julian for vet recomendations and advice on training. He recommended a book called Hey Pup, Fetch it Up and suggested that I join the bird dog club. We'll start out at Animal Medical Hospital. I filled out their new patient form on line tonight.
His parents have been tested for hip dysplasia:

THIS GAMBLER'S FLY'N	SR20142101	Aug 23 2004	M	Sire	BS-13450G26M-PI
BAYWINGS VALIANT HEART	SR25504703	May  5 2005	F	Dam	BS-13706F24F-PI