Toys Part 2, Snacks and Food

Keeping Bella in toys that both stimulate her and that she can't instantly chew up is challenging. I've never owned a dog that enjoyed toys or was a hard chewer, so this is an interesting problem—and potentially expensive. Stuffed squeaky toys are a complete bust. Kongs are duro and fun, but I want to give her something that is not always food related. Her cocktail ball is good and she spends quite a bit of time with it for little calories. But what else?

Today I discovered the Teaser Ball at Immortal Dog. It feels like brittle plastic, and to me, didn't look very entertaining. (How much fun could a ball inside of a ball be?) But Nicole at Immortal Dog was correct—it works for heavy chewers and holds her attention. Be forewarned—the toy is quite noisy on wood floors. There was lots of banging around which I'm sure didn't do the floor any favors. None-the-less, Bella was extremely eager to play with it and went at it with gusto.

Now this store, Immortal Dog, is new to me and I'm uncertain how I came across it. Since I became aware of it, however, I've read several write-ups, all very favorable. One of the most encouraging things beyond the stellar inventory, is the owner, Nicole Bembry. She's a bundle of energy and knows her stuff. After mentioning Bella's propensity to destroy toys, she showed me several she thought would last including the Teaser Ball.

Any of you who have fed your dog hooves, know how stinky they are. The last one I gave Bella, she ate up in a single sitting only to throw it up again hours later. The hoof I gave her was small and thin, so perhaps I need to look for the really beefy ones (no pun intended). But Nicole suggested a really cool new chew toy called Snooks. It's made in Oregon from super-dried organic sweet potatoes strung on a hemp rope. Where a hoof smells stinky, these smell, well, like sweet potatoes—a hint of cinnamon and fall.

Bella went crazy when I brought them into the car, but to be honest, I'm not sure if it was the Snooks or her new food or both. I'm trying Legacy Puppy Food. It's not a designated large puppy brand, but is grain free, for what that's worth. Bella has pretty stinky stools and farts quite a bit. Although I feed her good food and give her a slow transition between different brands, I wonder if maybe she has an allergy to grains? I'll ease her into this new brand and see. It's got quite a bit more protein and fat than the last batch of food she's eaten (Avoderm Large Puppy).

My vet advised feeding Bella large puppy formula so as not to promote too fast of growth . This Legacy product may be both too rich and too high protein. However, the product I was looking for (Orijen Large Puppy) also is high protein and fat. My vet changes her dogs' food with each bag, easing the transition between products. Her take was that altering the foods not only gives the dog variety in taste, but also in ingredients and nutrition. I like that philosophy and am trying it with Bella.

Puppies and Computer Electronics

One of Bella's favorite places to be in the office is under the desk. I'm sure for a dog it's a wonderful cave, but for me, the owner, it's riff with potential danger. Computer cords snake through there and I'm constantly bringing her out "from under."

Well today it happened. There was a long USB cable that we used to access the port in back of one of the machines. Bella was at my feet chewing on one of her toys when I became aware the sound of her chewing had changed. I looked down and she'd chewed the USB plug off the cable. Luckily I was able to get her to drop it and fish out a little piece of plastic she continued to work on. I'm hoping nothing was swallowed.

Leash Pulse Issues

One of the things I hear and read repeatedly is how to appropriately execute a "leash pulse" to alert your dog that you need its attention. Let's say the dog surges ahead or charges off to the side for a sniff thereby breaking a heel. A quick leash pulse says "Hey Pup! Pay attention. I need you to get back in position." To see a good explanation, click here and click on the topic down "Squeeze/Pulse."

When I do it correctly—when she surges ahead—Bella falls in line beautifully. Unfortunately, what I find myself doing too frequently is pulling. This happens when she leaps off to the side to smell, grab, eat, something. I end up reactively pulling her back. What happens when you pull? A dog reflexively pulls in the opposing direction. Iditarod, anyone?

Why are sled dogs so effective? They are pulling against a weight—the sled and rider. Reflexive reaction. With our last dog, the (wonderful, but problematic) Lucy, I bought a Springer with which to give her ample exercise via biking. Big mistake! It worked beautifully, but somewhere in Lucy's 'when I grow up I want to be' psyche, she was a sled dog. I used the Springer once (note the 'once') with her, she ran me up a very, very steep hill at 18 miles an hour. (For you bikers out there, you know this is impressive.) I never used it again.

So pulling on the leash is counter-productive. Teaching the leash holder this fact, however, is as difficult as teaching the dog that walking by one's side is preferable to any other position. ...Or at least that is the case in this household!

Home-made Biscuits

I never thought I'd do it. Make dog biscuits. But I have and Bella is absolutely in love with them. I bought a mix from King Arthur Flours that I wanted to test. I planned to give the mix as a gift to friends who have dogs. The mix produced double the amount of biscuits it claimed and as testimony to their tastiness, Bella drools when we put our hand even near the container in which they reside.

Now that I know how successful it was, I've searched the Internet for other recipes and will let you know if they pass the doggie test. Will I still buy? Sure. But this might prove a fresh biscuit, like a fresh loaf of bread, can't be bought.

Bad Morning, Good Afternoon

Bella was an absolute pill this morning. No commands were executed on first request, she didn't stay by my side, she ate everything she found and dropped nothing. I had to dig through her mouth to get the whatevers out. She did come when she was called only to bolt a second after she arrived. Time for Doggie Pushups. No nothing without compliance—a sit, a down, a wait. And no treats for sloppy execution.

Dog says, "Sit? Hmm-m-m. Let me think about it. Oh sit, oh yeah, I can do that. Watch."

My response? "No tickie, no bickie." A delayed sit doesn't warrant a biscuit. Nor does a "Down? You want me to do what? Lay on cold pavement? Naw. Not gonna do it. Oh you really want a down? Okay. Let me think about it first..."

This afternoon was—thanks heavens—a different story. I took her over to the church parking lot and threw the tennis ball for her. Before every other throw a command was given and compliance expected before the ball was tossed again. She did really well, not immediate in all cases, but nothing like this morning. On the walk afterwards, she did a heel about 80% of the time.

Guess I won't send her back yet.

Obedience Class Over, Snow in the Mountains

The mountains have snow already and young Bella has never seen it. I want to take her up there this weekend to see what she thinks of it. I promise to take lots of pictures.

Basic Obedience class ended Monday night. I enjoyed the classes but am glad they are over. Unfortunately, the follow up class starts at 8:45PM—way too late for me. I wouldn't be home until 10:30PM and then would need a bit of time to wind down. It would make an early dawn wake up hellish and leave me dragging through work.

We did a fun relay at the end of the class. We divided into two teams. Large stuffed biscuits were laid 20 feet apart on the floor in two rows, two per row. We began with our dog in a sit at the head of a row. Our pups had to heel to the first biscuit and then sit. At the second biscuit, a down was required. Past the biscuit, we requested a sit and wait. Returning, we had to go clockwise around the first biscuit and counterclockwise around the second. When we finished, the next team member could go.

Our team lost miserably. The first dog had a tough (but enjoyable) time attempting the commands. Next up was Bella. Oh my! Each biscuit was just too much for her as she'd grab and shake it. It was very funny, but certainly slowed us down. I guess that means I need to diligently work on distractions with her. It's funny because on walks, she's pretty good, but giant stuffed biscuits seem to be her weakness.

The instructor told us to work on the 3 D's: Duration, Distraction and Distance. Duration being how long they could hold the command. Add some distraction and see how that affected the duration. Then add the clincher distance between owner and pet. She advised to make the duration shorter when we added the distraction. After a pup could successfully hold a command with some distraction, shorten the duration, lessen the distraction and add distance. I think that will be a fun to work on until another class presents itself at a more reasonable hour.

My First Shiner

Bella and I were playing ball yesterday. In my exuberance to retrieve a wayward ball for her, I slipped on some wet wood, smacking my check against a concrete block. Luckily I suffered no broken bones or teeth. I spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch with an ice pack on my face. Bella was quite concerned and kept coming over and licking my ear. Finally, figuring this wasn't enough, she crawled up on top of me and nestled between the back cushions and my body, resting her head on my shoulder. Although I've never allowed a dog onto the furniture, how could I refuse her well-meaning actions? I wish I had a picture. I'm sure she looked sweet. It was nice to know, even at six months, she recognizes and concerned for our well-being.

Today I have quite the shiner and one cheek that resembles a chipmunk's stuffed with food.