What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

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JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

Are they flying ants, Swanny? I'm looking forward to photos (and videos!) of Chetan's pups already :D

I hosted a meeting of a women's group (NWR) here last night. Jasper barked at the first people to come in - he's been very iffy about visitors recently - but was fine after that, and when everyone had settled down he was allowed to come & say hello, and charmed everyone. But he had another of his snarky attacks when I tried to get out of bed to go for my 'last thing' wee, wrapping his jaws right round my arm, though with no pressure, even though he'd just watched me getting a treat out for him :? I'm pleased that he responded to a firm down & stay, but I wish I could get inside his head and understand where this behaviour was coming from - not so much for dealing with this particular behaviour but because it might hold the key to just why he is so 'unique' :?
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Anatine
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Anatine »

I second Judy, I can't wait to hear and see more about Chetan's pups :)

I think it was my last post that broke the old "What are your dogs up to today?" post, so whoops. :roll:


Quorra was thoroughly spoilt yesterday. On her first walk we took her into the pet shop, and bought her some antler for the first time, and she's so in love with it.
Her second walk was in the late afternoon, when we went to Ferne Animal Sanctuary, as OH's mum had won a pet raffle, full of lots of great goodies!
She got a massive new bed, lots of treats, squeaky soft toys, frisbees, kong puzzle toys, a new nail clipper, and a tick remover.
Some Bakers food was also included, but she's obviously not getting any of that rubbish.

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Today is the first day of her second season. We've been anticipating it for the last couple of weeks, and took precautionary measures, keeping all bedroom doors shut so lucky all bed sheets were spared this time.
Her recall goes really downhill the few weeks before, so she's been back on the long line for exercise. But lucky she doesn't seem to have the legendary malamute/husky escape skills, so she's happily sitting in the shade in the back garden. She'll be walked this evening (9-10pm) when it's cooler, and hopefully less people will be out with their dogs (people seem to love walking there dogs 12-3pm in the 30degree heat... Urg), and I won't have to fight away any off lead males.
Hopefully she comes out the end as more of a woman and less of a little lady.
Erica
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Erica »

Ooh, lucky Quorra!

It occurs to me that if I were a dog I would have resource guarding issues...I was playing Minecr@ft (never know what will attract spammers) with the boy I nanny. I found some iron (something we had plenty of, so not terribly valuable) and began to mine it, then he came along and started mining one piece of the vein I'd found...so I told him to stop and when he didn't, I killed him (in game, not real life!). It might have been a bit excessive :oops:

Rosie is learning to be calm in the house. It is going okay. I've added one more boring room to her allowed areas - the only thing in it is a table with some pens and markers on it, though she keeps stealing those. I'm trying to convince her that when she does that, the only thing that happens is that I swap the marker for a treat and then ignore her for a bit, whereas when she picks up a dog toy OH MY GOODNESS! It's time to play! Fun fun fun! And when I say "I'm gonna get you!" when she has her toy snake, we'll play the fun keep-away game! The table room is closed off when I leave her alone inside.

She is loving the food puzzle toys, though. The Wobbler is good and long-lasting, so I put most of her food in that when I leave. I also have Nina Ottosson's Brick and Tornado games - she prefers the Tornado. Those are removed when I leave though - she could definitely break them if she wanted to! :P
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
Swanny1790
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Swanny1790 »

Anatine, did I ever mention that I have a soft spot for huskies with masks such as Quorra's? I think it's because I perceive of it representative of the rogue that lies barely below the surface in all Northern sled dogs :twisted: I'd love to put a harness on her just to see what she's got on the trail.

Grace is the only one I have with a truly discernible mask across her eyes.

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Are they flying ants, Swanny?
Nope, those are just a few of our local high-arctic mosquitoes, and not the largest specie, either (sigh). They are truly a vexation.
"Once infected with the mushing virus, there is no cure. There is only trail." - Sven Engholm
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

Swanny1790 wrote:Nope, those are just a few of our local high-arctic mosquitoes, and not the largest specie, either (sigh). They are truly a vexation.
Blimey, you wouldn't want to be out there wearing just a strappy top and short skirt then, would you? :shock:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

The zip has broken on my dog-walking bag, which is a cartridge bag, and I can't find the same style online so am off on a search for a replacement dog walking bag. I stumbled across this one, that caught my interest: http://www.hollyandlil.co.uk/union-jack ... 1409-p.asp It looked ideal: separate compartments for phone, keys, balls, poo bags, etc, and the shoulder strap even doubled as a lead. I was getting excited... then I read that it was handmade to order and thought 'uh-oh'... scrolled down a bit more and saw the price: £365!!! :shock:

Back to search results then :lol:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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Nettle
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Nettle »

I wear a falconers' vest - loads of pockets and waterproofed/wipe clean insides to them because one expects falconers to carry gruesome sweeties :lol:
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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Suzette
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Suzette »

Nettle wrote:I wear a falconers' vest - loads of pockets and waterproofed/wipe clean insides to them because one expects falconers to carry gruesome sweeties :lol:
This is brilliant! When we take Piper down to the beach (which is about three or four times a week) or just go out with her for a day of adventure, I swear we take more stuff for her than we did for our kids when they were small! :? Between the extra leads, water bottle, water bowl, treats, a towel, poo bags and her blanket my husband has bags and backpacks hanging all over him. I am going to look into these vests for future outings. I have a feeling he'll be thanking you too, Nettle! :D
My avatar is Piper, my sweet Pembroke Corgi. b. 5/11/11
Swanny1790
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Swanny1790 »

Blimey, you wouldn't want to be out there wearing just a strappy top and short skirt then, would you?
LOL - you aren't likely to catch me going ANYWHERE wearing a strappy top and short skirt. That would cause even more of a buzz than Wufwuf's new 'footie friend'. :shock: Besides, the gun belt would clash.

JudyN, you might take a look at fly fishing vests, too. They offer lots of pockets and hidey-holes for stuff.

I was going to consider a smart aleck remark about "how much stuff do you need to exercise a dog?". Then I looked at the packing list for my dog sled, and decided it might be prudent to just keep my trap shut.
"Once infected with the mushing virus, there is no cure. There is only trail." - Sven Engholm
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

Swanny1790 wrote:I was going to consider a smart aleck remark about "how much stuff do you need to exercise a dog?"
:lol: Treats, poo bags,house keys, car keys, phone, spare change, emergency tennis ball, tick remover, spare lead, wire cutters... and occasionally water, but it's heavy so I tend to go where I know there will be water when it's hot.

I don't think I'd want a vest style - it would look odd when I'm just walking round the block or popping to the pet shop or post office (and wouldn't go with my strappy top and short skirt :wink: ). But I've found my original bag here: http://www.muntjactrading.com/shop/small-game-bag/ Though I'm also wondering about this one: http://www.muntjactrading.com/shop/dummy-bag-handbag/ Irritatingly, the site doesn't give measurements which to be honest puts me off the whole company as it's such a basic requirement :?
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Anatine
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Anatine »

Erica, I wouldn't feel too guilty. I've done a similar thing whilst playing minecr@ft as well hehe

And thank you Swanny! We love her little mask, she always looks either confused, concerned or devious. It's the little white eyebrows.
We've been thinking about trying out bikejoring with her once she's 2 years old, we've always wondered if she's much of a puller. She's great at commands, but she's got no experience of being commanded when not looking at us, so I wonder how the training would go. She's definitely a rouge, especially with new people, she likes to be a bit cheeky, and see if the same rules apply for these new people. She's a random mix of malamute and husky, so I really want to know whether she'd be better at speed, or strength.

Gracie's face is so sweet, she's got the lovely sweet eyebrows as well! :)
Sweetie's Human
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Sweetie's Human »

LOL WufWuf! That sounds absolutely horrendous! I say report it, if only for your own conscience.

Your Gardai video reminded me of this http://youtu.be/ZWOkZ_c8vxk (not dog related at all).

Judy - the price of that bag is unreal! Who on earth spends that on any sort of bag? Least of all one that you're going to put anywhere near your dog?! I don't use one at all for dog walking, but then I have a little old pug who only goes about 1.5 - 2km at a time so I just make sure I'm wearing something with pockets and get away with no bag. And when OH comes along I fill his pockets instead :lol:
Swanny1790
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Swanny1790 »

Speaking of rouges!!!???!!!

Trish rarely calls me while I'm on duty, but I just got off the phone with her. It sounds like 18 of the 20 dogs in the yard have totally lost their minds - with Chetan being the cause and Rose not particularly caring one way or the other. Even the neutered/spayed dogs are half crazy.

Aumaruq, proving that his heart is as black as his coat, was running around the yard dragging his chain, complete with the spinner. To fully appreciate his feat, it helps to understand how our tethering system is set up.

There is a HUGE difference between chaining a single pet dog in someone's back yard, and in tethering a team of dogs in a kennel. Mushing kennels that rely on tethering as a means of confinement are usually very carefully laid out to ensure that all dogs can interact with at least two of his or her teammates and can take full advantage of wide range of sensory stimuli, including the sights, sounds and scents of the world surrounding the kennel. Sled dogs also enjoy a lot of interaction with their musher, even during the "off-season". A lot of time is spent doing a wide variety of kennel chores, and much of that time is spent just handling and interacting with each individual dog.

The tie-out system that is most commonly used in by mushers in my region is a post & swivel system. The post is simply a pipe, driven into the ground until only 3 feet or so sticks up. The swivel, frequently referred to as a "spinner" is a length of concrete reinforcing bar ("rebar") bent into an "L" shape and with a fitting welded to the short leg to attach a chain.

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In use, the long arm of the spinner is inserted into the top of the pipe, and the dog is attached to the chain by his or her collar by means of a snap swivel.

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Swivel posts are spaced so that the dogs can just touch each other, but not tangle their chains. They can sniff noses or butts and engage in play, but can easily escape if a nieghbor wants to start a fight. Thus the circles do not quite overlap.

The center posts are heavy walled steel pipe, driven 4 feet (1.2 M) into the ground. Aumaruq, bless his stinking black heart, wiggled, jiggled and dug enough to completely remove his POST from the ground. Trish found it lying on the ground next to his house. Aumaruq ran a few laps around the play yard, dragging the chain and spinner behind, just to prove he could, then dashed over to his buddy Nels to initiate a rough and tumble play session, getting both chains tangled together in the process. Poor Trish, weighing little more than 100 lb (45 kg) found herself having to get in the middle of the wrestling match between Aumaruq (80#/36 kg) and Nels (75# / 34 kg) to unsnap Aumaruq's collar from the chain and "lead" him to a nearby empty pen. Aumaruq LOVES Trish, so was easy enough to manage until he was locked inside, at which point he immediately started excavating an escape tunnel.

Meanwhile, Trish had to untangle the chains, then move Rose (the only calm dog in the yard at the time) into a double-sized pen with Midnight's Sun, to free up a post. Then, just before he could break through, she took Aumaruq over to the post so recently vacated by Rose.

Um... Did I mentioned that the reason Trish went into the yard in the first place was to feed the dogs their breakfast? So, EVERYONE was excited, as they always are feeding time, plus everyone is excited or perhaps just a bit on edge because Chetan is throwing pheromones around in a dense cloud of insanity.

All of the males are brainless, whether neutered or not, and it seems the females (spayed or not) are feeding off the energy of the males. I'm sure it doesn't help that it's been raining again, so the whole yard is ankle deep in slickery mud. it sounds like things are total mayhem around the place. :roll:

Just to complicate things a bit more, the feed store called to tell her they have most of a ton of dog food waiting for pick up, Chetan needs to go in to the clinic tomorrow for another progesterone test (ovulation timing), oh - and we really need to buy a couple more water tubs and where did you (I) find them the last time?

Of course the more Trish told me of the story, the harder it was to stifle the laughter. It sounds like "chaos" is an acronym for "Chetan Has Arrived On Season."
"Once infected with the mushing virus, there is no cure. There is only trail." - Sven Engholm
MPbandmom
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by MPbandmom »

Poor Trish! :shock:

Anatine, I would suggest starting to work on the commands for dog mushing now. Does Q walk in front of or beside you? One of the first commands to teach is line out (admittedly one that I didn't start with when training my dogs and one that still needs some work.) Simple ones to teach are Gee (right) and Haw (left). A bit more challenging are things like slow, woah, wait. :lol: :lol:

Sky has always walked in front of me and tends to do a natural line out. When just running one dog, the line out isn't as critical as when running more than one dog. It is essentially teaching the dog to stay in front and keep the line or lead taut. There are various suggestions for doing this. Swanny would probably have a great positive approach to this skill.

I ended up with the cat at the emergency vet the other evening. Now we are trying to give antibiotic capsules to her. I would say the score is 2 1/2 human and 1 1/2 cat. The vet's office gave a pill shooter to us which worked great the first time. Then the cat started getting wise to this little game. Once the capsule has been spit out multiple times and becomes a sticky soggy mess, it is even harder to try to get it into the cat. This morning I finally gave up and attempted to mix it in with her food. She obviously avoided the capsule, but hopefully ate some of the contents that leaked out. It also doesn't help that Sirius wants to know what is wrong with the cat and keeps trying to get up in her face. We finally got the pill in this evening, but after my husband yelled at her several times and we wrapped her up in a towel to prevent any more scratches to us, she peed on his bed. So, I give her half credit for winning that one.

She also got herself rather matted through the strange scooting around on her side she was doing. Amazingly she will still come and sit in my lap where I have been managing to comb a few mats out each evening.

Sirius goes to another barn hunt on Saturday. This one is inside with air conditioning. Good to have the air conditioning, but it could be a challenge handling Sirius in an indoors space. We shall see.
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
emmabeth
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by emmabeth »

JudyN - step awayyyyyyy from the HollyandLil site...

'Cos I know their stuff isn't strictly 'handmade' (they do machine sew some extraneous crapola to things they buy in ready made) and they put a RIDICULOUS mark up on their stuff, if they are flogging it for £300+ you can bet your life they bought it in for no more than £30 and the gear they do is very low quality.


And I don't like them. So there.

:D *jealousparttimeleatherworker*
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
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