Dog walks near motorways

What looks to be a really nice website Driving with Dogs lists walks near motorway exits and carparks. Really useful when traveling long distance and need to have a break on the way. Much more interesting than a mooch round the carpark.

Invited to the slovak funday!

Just opened an invitation to the Slovak funday on September 28th. Think we'll go. It'll be really cool to see a load of Slovaks all together. It's up in Aughton, so it'll be a bit of an adventure for the two of us. More info from the breed club.

Treat Bags

One of the issues of clicker training is the need to wander around with accessible, often greasy tidbits. I've been wandering around with a horrible blue plastic bum bag on for the last three months. I resisted buying a bespoke dog treat bag as invariably they came complete with pictures of dogs on them. When I first got Grey I was poking around an outdoor sports shop, tentatively checking out winter coats for this winter's inevitable freezing beach walks in driving rain. They had a selection of chalk bags for climbers and it dawned on me these might be ideal. Delivering treats needs to be fast and so what's needed is a bag that keeps the treats off your clothes and pockets, but that enables you to get your hand in and out quickly. Treats in pockets or plastic bags in handbags don't work. So when someone on a dog training forum mentioned chalk bags, I've come back to the idea. The bum bag has to go. So I've ordered a patterned bag from homemadeclimbingstuff.com.

At last a breakthrough!

Grey has made huge progress this week on lead walking this week. Ok, well, perhaps it's also me being more consistent. It's so easy to let him pull on the odd trip out and then expect him to go back to training on another. So, I've changed approach. I've started trying not to go out with him and allowing him to pull. We have a park at the end of the road, and we've managed to loose leash walk along the route. I've been reinforcing him every few paces at first with my trusty long armed treat i.e. a tube of Primula Cheese spread! (Surprisingly little rubbish in it and only have to give him a lick of it). Saves the ends of my fingers, can be delivered easily when still in motion and means I don't have to bend down so far. Started off click treating every couple of paces, then five, then six, eight, ten, twelve. He's definitely pulling less and when I say his name he slows. If the lead does go tight, i.e. if the clasp isn't hanging down vertically, I stop and wait for it to hang down. Then I click and move forwards again.

The method is a cobbled together mixture of the method introduced in class which is the CT every few paces with puppy in the right position. But this is some degree of luring. I might go back to basics and move on to Sue Ailsby's method, which would mean no walks on the lead until he's got it. So I would be better to drive to the park or beach and let him exercise with no sloppy leash walking getting learned in. I always remember one of Sue's statements about this. Something like "you want to walk the dog more than you want him not to pull" if you walk on lead with a pulling dog.

So let's lighten the mood

Grey's fine. He had a nice relaxing time at home. Woofed (pardon the pun) down his lunch. So not down in the dumps. We were back in action for his evening walk on the beach with his new best friend, Nelly the springer spaniel. The two of them have a general love in going on. There's also Ivy the greyhound, Cassie the saluki mix and Bo the bouncy bodacious poodle. But it's 11 month old Nelly that's the apple of his eye at the moment and they're a lovely even match.

I'll try and get pictures soon. I've had a few camera malfunctions with a ruined new digital camera and a lost phone on the weekend. Boo!

Week two of puppy training class

Lots of training this week. Tuesday day we met up with K and worked through stuff on a 1-2-1. We were doing exercises on 'down' and 'wait'. He did really well, despite it being really windy.

Tuesday night we went to the puppy class. This week it was working on 'down' and more loose leash walking. They teach the 'down' without luring. Grey was pulled out to demonstrate the teaching of the down by asking him for a 'sit' not giving a treat and waiting to see what he did next. Grey knows 'down' and because he's been clicker trained since little, he quickly offered a 'down' on his own. It seems clicker trained dogs know to offer different behaviours because they're used to having to work out how to get the reward. He seems to have come along in leaps and bounds because 'down' was always very hit and miss with him. His leash walking was great too. Not that that translates to walking around town though. He had to be distracted loads through the class with treats in his toy box, and he did seem to be the only puppy who dry humped a few times. Hmm, hopefully this isn't going to be a thing of his.

This morning we had a bit of an unfortunate run in. We were in the park with a someone we've met before and his dog. Grey has met him a couple of times before. And while it's not been a big love in, things were ok. We were in the park for ages and had come to the end of the walk and out of nowhere the dog attacked Grey and had to be pulled off. Grey ran around yelping like I'd not seen him do before and he has a swollen and scratched eyelid. I feel terrible as I'd always aimed to shield him from really bad experinences while he's young and still learning. Not that I want him to ever have bad experiences, but I think that never ever is a bit of an impossibility. Hope that Grey's good nature can shine through and that he doesn't become nervous of other dogs. He's now sleeping and I'll keep an eye on his eye.

Grey's teeth problems

We got the call today that Grey will have to have his lower canine teeth removed on Friday by a specialist canine dentist. He has an overshot upper jaw which has resulted in his lower canines sitting behind his upper teeth and puncturing holes in his upper palette. It's hoped that removing his canines like this that the adult teeth that follow will be able to be pushed in front. He may need to wear an acrylic plate, like a brace for dogs!

The slovaks are known for getting their teeth late. One thing I feel is imperative for such a new breed with such a small gene pool, is that where problems have been identified that those pairings are filtered out. Having to have him put under and having his teeth pulled isn't a nice thing. And this is just the start. Sorry Grey! Bo show career for you!

Here are pics of Grey's bite:

New harness

Wow! That has to be the fastest delivery of a quality item I've had in a while. Ordered a brown fleecy harness from Dog Games in size 4 one afternoon and it arrives the next day. It's lovely soft fleece and I really like the fact it unclips on both sides, so need to thread paws through, which makes getting it on a wriggling puppy much easier. So far, on the two outings we've had in it, it seems to have improved the pulling. At least he's not half strangling himself to death enroute to wherever he thinks it's reeeeeeeeeally important we get to NOW!

People have often commented on his collar and lead when we're out. They're from Accolade Leathercraft. I got the platted 3/4" flat lead and a 1" plain flat collar, both in brown leather. They've worn in really well and the colour is lovely. I'm not getting Grey a correction collar or harness and am aiming to try to train him not to pull rather than use equipment that would restrict his movement.

Meetings

Last night we went back to the beach, to Botany Bay. Thought it more likely to find some nice dogs to play with than we've come across in the park. And there was a whole pack of them! A big boy poodle that we've met before when Grey was first allowed out. Can't remember all of them off the top of my head. But around 6 dogs. One lovely springer spaniel who was 11 months but around the same size as Grey. Grey was told off a few times for his inpolite puppy hellos, but he mended his ways quite quickly so it seemed to go well.

Today we loose leash trained on the walk up to Hartsdown Park. Grey did really well seeing as it's quite a long way for a training session. We had a nice long cuddle with the nice Weimaraner lady who had treats for him He's such a cuddle tart.

First night at class

Grey was one of two puppies at the KC Puppy Foundation class who mostly wrestled for the whole thing. The other was his new friend, Angel a gorgeous Husky GDX cross wrestling with him. Getting into the class was a really clever affair. Each puppy was brought in seperately. Grey was last getting into the hall. All the other puppies were sat with their owners at the back. There was no manic barking or jumping about. It was a real surprise when we got in. The floor of the hall was covered with scattered cuddly toys and treats. If Grey knew that Christmas existed, he'd have thought that this was it. Predictably he spent most of the time head down, sniffing out treats, then the rest of the class playing with Angel.

The class was introduced to the clicker. Grey has been clicker trained since the first day I got him at 7.5 weeks. The trainer advocated the technique of clicking a behaviour that happens rather then luring. We worked through 'sit' which Grey already knows, and then loose lease walking (LLW), which Grey is notoriously bad at. I was told to walk at a quicker pace than the other puppies because it seemed to hold his attention more.

He's super interested in other dogs despite us doing a fair bit of socialisation and meeting other dogs out and about. This can make classes difficult for him to concentrate in a class. I'd already read that puppy training classes can pose a problem because of the massive distractions and the best is worked out alone out of the class. But all in all it was a great class with low stress levels for the dogs.

Homework for this week is to perfect the sit with a single voice cue and hand signal and also to work on LLW.

Clicker sites and mailing lists I've found really useful:
Clicker Solutions website
Clicker Solutions discussion group
Sue Ailsby's levels training
The Levels discussion group
The Training Levels Tracker

I can't stand the rain...

Grey isn't overly enthusiastic about the rain. The last time it rained, Grey decided it was far more appealing to pee in the nice comfy hallway than outside. Can't say I blame him. So this morning we got some practice in before autumn arrives and headed off through Dane park. I got to wear an anorak and Grey had that sad dog face on as he implored me to see sense. He often has a little chimp like whimper when he's facing new situations he's not too sure about. Head was down for much of the walk scenting. He'll pick up every single object he comes to if I don't watch him like a hawk. He's quite good at "leave it", but often crisp packets, fags, banana skins etc. have to be prized from his jaws enroute.

Looking forward to starting his new puppy clicker training class this evening.

Grey today

I hesitated about registering a blog for Grey as it seemed abit twee. It may well be, but then I started to realise that it might be useful for myself, and possibly others to have information on this relatively new breed to the UK, a record of his training progress and be a central place to keep hold of the stuff that I've got for him or am mulling over trying out. Then, the thing is, he's a puppy. And this time only comes once and passes quickly.

So here we are, here's Grey today.























A grey day where I live on the east Kent coast. This is him about to yawn. Probably frustrated that I'm taking too long taking his picture. (For more on the significance of yawning in dogs, I can highly recommend the excellent Turid Rugaas book Calming Signals)

His pedigree name is Stormdancer Swoop. He's a male Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer. Today, he's 16 weeks old and just under 16KG. He's been putting on roughly 1KG per week and while Karen his trainer jokes (nervously) that he's a wolf hound crossed with something else, it's agreed that he'll be a big lad. A big hairy one.