Oh, Dog Whisperer Where Are You?

There was a loud groan from my 20 year old daughter when she went to the mail box and saw all three Netflix were episodes of "The Dog Whisperer". Once we started watching them, she didn't complain. These DVD's are great!! We kept seeing important things to remember, but because we watched so much we had information overload, so when it came time to actually discipline the dogs, I couldn't remember which type of action I was suppose to take. After watching 12 episodes I do remember the "csh" sound and keeping the leash high on the neck. To do this I am using the other side of the leash so it acts like a cinch collar. The only real problem with that is that when I playfully hit my husband with the top of the leash he got the metal clip. Oops!
Actually, both dogs seem to be responding well to the new centered dominant owners(that's us) and they are returning to their natural balance.







Andrew walks Elka and I walk Coco. Coco is fine until half way through the walk I get tired of being in charge of her. She barks at a person or leaf and then I have to come back to earth and give her the "csh" and a little tug to which she does respond. We're still wondering how the Dog Whisperer would tell us how to treat our dog's particular behaviors. Why can't he be here to say this is what you need to do.









She owns me!

Evening Walks

Evening walks usually begin with me spelling out W-A-L-K. I have to say I'm just as bad as the 'girls'. After husband gives the 'ok' , we start the getting ready process. This involves Elka sensing that we're going, and she starts following me around panting. She paces in front of me as I'm sitting, putting on my shoes. She starts whining and more panting and jumping up and down and jumping on husband. Did I mention her tail, that is waving continually and sometimes knocking things onto the floor? Coco starts jumping up, her paws almost reaching our knees. Unfortunately, this doesn't get corrected because we are usually dealing with Elka trying to keep her from landing on Cocoa. I dress squirming Coco in her sweater, and as we're trying to keep her from having any accidents in the house, I don't want to set her on the floor while I'm preoccupied with Elka. So either Husband holds Coco and I leash Elka or visa versa.
And then we pick up Elka's leash.
Oh my gosh!! Wild, wild wild! You would think we'd never tried training her. We've read books and listened to advice and she still jumps up, over and over. Kneeing her in the chest seems to evoke a happy sense that we're joining in on the fun. Pinching the paws hurts, but there is no lasting results, and I don't remember that making her calm. Walking toward her so that she has no room to jump works only if she has no place to back out of. Yelling just seems to escalate the chaos. The only thing that works is turning your back to her with a loud 'humph!', and sometimes you're turning in a circle until she settles down and sits beside the door. Once down, if we tell her to stay she's usually pretty good about not jumping up anymore , until the next time. Only after she is sitting does she get her 'gentle trainer' and leash put on. And then we open the door and we have another training opportunity. We've done this for a year and a half, and don't expect any change... that way when she finally does just walk over to the door and sit, we'll start jumping up and down shouting 'Halleluah' ...
or should that be "BARK! BARK! BARK!"

These are a few of Elka's Favorite Things!

Elka loves to run. Elka loves to be taken on walks. Unfortunately for her she doesn't get to go on any bike rides. Which is too bad because in the summer we take family bike rides nearly everyday.
The reason she isn't allowed to go is because the first time I decided I wanted her to go with us and run along side me, she pulled so hard that I couldn't steer my bike.
The other time, I was on a run, holding her leash, and Andrew rode his bike near me. If Andrew got ahead of us she pulled and pulled. After a bit, we took her off the leash to see if she would just run along side either Andrew or myself.
No.
She tried jumping up on Andrew from the side, biting his pedals and then darting in front of him.
So maybe we shall list bike riding as one of her not favorite things.
Elka loves to chase. She wants to be chased just as much as she likes chasing others.
Yesterday,while I was gardening and both dogs were outside with me, she grabbed a stick from Coco and then turned to show her and started to run and then turn again until Coco gave chase. This went on for quite awhile. Back and forth across my lawn. There was a lot of thundering footfalls. I kept reminding them to 'watch-out', 'slowdown', 'be careful.'
When she is reminded to be careful, Elka will pay attention and back off. But I know she feels even better when we have to remind Coco to 'be gentle!'

Elka gets Coco to chase her.

House Training Coco

Coco watches Elka.

Trying to house train a puppy is not something I do well.
To be able to house train a dog, the trainer(me) has to be trained.
By that I mean I have to be diligent and remember not to leave the dog alone.
Enter my friend who is so organized she should write a book. She suggested crate training. A long time ago on a different dog we had unsuccessfully tried it. I showed her the crate and she said what I thought. "It's too big." Then she suggested where to get a small crate at a cheap price. In this crate Coco can maneuver somewhat, but not enough to go to the bathroom in there and get away from it.
I'm a slow learner, but I guess the key is to keep having success, don't let her fail until she believes that pottying and pooping any where in the house is appalling to her.
That was two, three weeks ago. The difference has been very freeing. When I or the kids need a break from watching the dog or carrying her around, we pop her in her crate. We set the timer for ten or fifteen minutes if she hasn't gone to the bathroom in awhile. The only time she doesn't like it is when she can't see us. Then she sets to howling. I don't get her out while this is happening. I wait for a quiet moment and then get her, or move her closer to us.
We have been taking both dogs for their nightly walk. We were so proud of Coco when she decided that going poop and pee outside was okay for dogs to do. She felt proud too. Her tail wags just a little faster when she's done.

Keeping Elka out of the water is nearly impossible.

Coco's Favorite Pastime

Coco likes to eat. When she isn't eating, she runs to the kitchen if she hears anything sounding like a plate getting scraped. She also will steal Elka's food.











Coco likes to sleep on people's laps and on the couch and in bed with people. She often lies on her back like this when in bed with people.

MY GIRLS

I took both dogs for a walk yesterday. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon. I walked them down to the river as once you're on the trail they are easier to manage.
Walking down the hill and past a couple streets, I get a lot of stares. I have to swallow my pride and try not to be self- conscious.
Elka is good for 6 + miles, while Coco is ready to be carried after a good 6 blocks.
I didn't really try to make Elka heel as that just seemed like a lot of work while trying to keep Cocoa from going under my feet.
So I am walking down the hill with Elka giving a steady pull out in front(not too far) and Coco meandering back and forth in front of me and then sprinting ahead of Elka.
It wasn't bad experience, because I did it again today.
By the end of the walk I had Elka's leash slipped over my waist and was carrying Coco.
They're my girls and I enjoy taking them out despite any character comparisons people might make between me and a certain eccentric dog lover in town.

Coco Traps Herself

I was in the kitchen making breakfast and Coco was in her pen. I thought she was rather quiet so I looked through the door and saw her. Her bed was on it's side and she was trying to get into the back of it. I called to my husband and he took this video.

Wow! This Ferminator Really Works

<- "Should we give it a name? Elka's hair has been a prolific problem since we got her. It is only because she is so obedient and sweet that we put up with it. Often we have joked about the extra pets we find daily under chairs, sofa, bed and in corners. She literally seem to be shedding nonstop, and don't scare her - the hair will spring off her body.







I just bought the Ferminator grooming tool. It was advertised at several different sites, and after reading all I could (stand) about it, purchased it from Amazon at the very good price of $24. It does seem to cut all the undercoat, or at least all that I get to during that time. We will see if it cuts down on the extra hair bunnies that seem to come out of no where.

Coco Comes to Live With Us.

Coco came to our family by way of my youngest son. Dan told me "Dad said I could have a dachshund for my birthday." I knew they had talked about it, but I didn't realize they had come to a firm agreement. Some of this was my influence, I had mentioned dachshunds, back in pre-Elka days when we were daydreaming about dogs. One day I had seen a lady walking two dogs, one large and one small. That was the cutest thing. So I said that a German Shepherd and a Dachshund would be fun, and proceeded to give them names. Kylie and I must still have been talking about it when we came home. We weren't serious, girls sometimes just like to dream aloud.
A year and a half after Elka, Coco came to our home. She wasn't a shelter dog. Someone in town had pure dachshund puppies, and she wasn't unwanted. The breeder would have happily lived with this new set of puppies had her husband let her. Coco is a scamp. She is tiny and cuddly and cute. She spends most of her days curled on someone's lap. She sleeps in bed with humans, burrowed under the covers. While we are still trying to house train her to use the puppy pads, her poos don't bring a gagging reflex. (Not yet) And she actually has had consistant success the last couple days. She is a puppy, but we're still doing good, even after the day I discovered ten poops hidden in verious places. It may not have been that many, but it was a lot, and there are areas in the house that are cleaner than they had been all year. Coco loves Elka, and Elka loves Coco. Elka is only jealous when husband is holding puppy, and that is improving. Just like children, when we can't hear Cocoa we know we had better look for her-quick.

How Elka Came Into My Life

Sometimes life takes odd and wonderful turns. After three attempts at being a dog owner, I started telling people I am not a dog person. I get grossed out easily, have a sensitive gag reflex ... well, all the other issues I have about dogs can fall under those two categories. I remember the first time I admitted out loud to a friend that I really didn't like dogs, it felt so freeing. I had been holding it in thinking what a monster people would think I am. This is how my feelings changed;
My daughter house sat for someone with a larger dog. She had been telling me of the lovable character of this dog and wanted to bring it on our run. Running with a dog brought a sense of security that running with four large river rocks never brought(Two in the hands, two in the pockets). After that we started fantasying about getting a dog, the breed of dog and the names etc and how safe it would be to then be able to run through the beautiful park trail. The more we talked about it the more we were convinced this was what we ought to do. A dog to run with us, keep us safe. In a year when my daughter would leave home, I would need a running partner. We searched on- line, and checked out all of the dog web sites. Finally after a year, we decided that a German Shepherd would be the right dog for us. We wanted a two year old female. I found her one day on a rescue web site. She was dark, she was large, she was beautiful and she looked intimidating. I showed my daughter, I think I showed my husband(at least I hope I did). We corresponded through e-mail, filled out an application and set up a meet date. I was so nervous. This was it, seriously, this was it. My heart pounded , what was I doing, I don't like dogs, dog licks (because of other places they lick), I don't like dog poop, I don't like cleaning up dog poop. I had an aha moment; my past experiences were when I had a toddler - every time, I couldn't believe how stupid I was and maybe I did like dogs after all, given the right dog and the right environment, besides this dog would be my grown-up daughter's responsibility. After the hand-off, Elka was sad and nervous. I brushed her and took her for a walk. The next couple days whenever someone left she paced and whined. I did a lot of combing and cooing. This little girl needed us. She needed me and I wasn't distracted with toddlers. She became my toddler. Elka took to running and still gets over- excited when we get out her lead. She has bonded with everyone, but her most special person is my husband. She has become part of the family. We didn't change her name and she was a little younger than we wanted and she came with emotional baggage, but she fits our family. She keeps herself clean, I've got use to (sometimes) picking up her poo. Don't ask me to pick it up with my husband in the background making pretend gagging noises. We've trained her to go to the bathroom down behind the two son's basketball hoop( they clean it up weekly). I say we trained, but I think she is just so smart that no training was involved. We told her where to go and she obliged. We are amazed that someone gave her to a shelter . I know better than anyone that puppies are difficult. So while it's sad that someone got rid of her, I'm glad. We really love her.