This is a continued post chronicling Buster's Advanced Obedience class at Petsmart. Weeks 1 and 2 are here. There was a 2 week interval between week 3 and 4 due to the holidays. Week 5 & 6
Week 3: We worked on
long-distance, out of site stays again.
heeling side by side with another dog
leave it using high value treats
come when called with distractions (yummy food on the floor)
bow
Buster did excellent with all of this. The Shiba Inu in class with us was very jealous when it was Buster's turn to be called to come through the "valley of yummy treats" (which he had to ignore. The Shiba let out a scream to express her displeasure at not coming with Buster, which scared him but he came to me anyway after giving the Shiba a 'what the heck' look. Very cute.
Week 4: We worked on
heeling side by side with another dog, with distractions (next to the aquariums)
come when called with distractions (yummy food on the floor)
back up
"heel up" dog starts on opposite side he heels, then goes behind you and sits down on the side he heels
While at my parent's house tonight, Buster was outside in the fenced in backyard. My mom opened the gate to bring the trash can in and Buster bolted. He's never done this before. My mom came and got me, my dad joined in and my neighbor and we walked through the neighborhood, I drove around, we called and called for him and nothing.
Why would you ever leave this amazing yard?
As my dad and I were driving around again, my mom calls. She says "I was outside and the fence was open. I turned around and he was sitting in the backyard like nothing had happened." Clearly he hadn't been in the yard for the past 30 minutes, but the little punk knew exactly where to come home. He was just in time for his dinner, got some special treats and lots of love, play, and attention. Why would any dog want to leave that?!
Our New Years kiss last night at a party
The thing I was most upset about was that I had just bought a Whistle GPS Monitor. The kit had been missing a part and I had waited 20 days to get a new rubber collar attachment and when that came the Whistle wouldn't work. I was frustrated with the situation, the lack of communication around the holidays and my nearing the end of my 30-day money back guarantee. So I returned the Whistle. If he had it on, we could have tracked him immediately.
Below you can see the spike in Buster's activity as he did some unsupervised exploring:
Buster's Activity with his non-GPS Whistle.
So what can you do to protect your dog?
The first thing I purchased is a QR Code Slide-On Dog ID Tag from dogIDs.com (I don't get money for this review). I chose the collar slide because it had less chance of having the code rubbed off by a collar tag and the slide is more noticeable.
QR Code Slide-On Dog ID Tag
Your QR Code brings up a detailed personal profile for your dog, where you can list basic contact information and even health concerns/special diet. But the part I liked best is that you'll get an email notification if anyone scans the dog's code and if they have GPS enabled on their smartphone, you'll receive a GPS location map of where the scan occurred. The downside is someone has to actually find your dog and scan it. This doesn't help if your dog is stuck somewhere and can't get to a person for help, as happened with my friend's Jack Russell Terrier. (If you prefer a regular dog tag with a QR Code, they have those too for the same price: https://www.dogids.com/product/round-qr-code-dog-tag/)
2. GPS Monitor: As I talked about above, Whistle has a GPS/Activity Monitor. You are required to sign up for GPS service (you can't just use it as an activity monitor like the previous version). It's $9.95/mo for month-to-month payment, 7.95/mo for a years service (which works out to $94.50), and 6.95/mo for 2 years service. So you're looking at almost a $200 up-front cost if you do the year's service plan because the Whistle is $79, although if you order directly from their site they often have specials. I wish I could tell you how well it worked, but I never got to experience that. I love my Whistle Activity Monitor, so I know that feature is great. It allows different caretakers to have separate profiles linked with the dog's profile and syncs with the person's smartphone to show who spent time with the dog, as you can see in the picture of Buster's activity, above. App available on iOS and Android. Pod 2: This corkscrew sized tracker seems pretty cool. It uses AT&T and T-Mobile 2G cell phone service to monitor your dog's whereabouts. The first year of GPS service is free and the next year is $49, which is one of the cheaper prices. It also monitors activity & sleep, which is a fun feature.
Pod 2
This one uses AA batteries which last up to 6 days, so hope you have rechargable batteries. App available on iOS and Android. $199, which ends up being comparable to the Whistle GPS once you've bought their GPS service. DogTelligent Collar As of right now, this is a pre-order. It replaces your dog's regular collar. It has an optional GPS service, which is nice if you decide you just want the activity monitor. There's a built-in ultrasound, vibration and speakers to talk to your dog, train him/her, and deter barking.It allows you to keep track of your dog's vet info, including storing photos of vet records. $120 preorder, $179.95 regular price. "Exact pricing for the service is yet to be determined but estimated at $4.95/mo." That'd be the lowest price yet. You can see some of the app screens for different features here. Their IndieGoGo page is more informative than their website. Battery life is 7-14 days and is rechargable with their charger. The collar is aluminum and it looks like your dog would still need to wear a regular collar since there seems to be no place to attach tags or any leash but their special magnet one.
Nuzzle This is a pre-order as well, but this one promises no service fees for the GPS. It comes on its own collar, but is detachable so it can be placed on your existing collar. Monitors activity and location, comes with charger, attachement and base station. Battery life is 5 days. $189, but never any GPS service fee. Their IndieGoGo page is more informative than their website. App available on iOS and Android. I haven't decided what I'm going to do about a GPS tracker. I like the no service fees of the Nuzzle, but I hate to be a guinea pig on a new product. Will update once I decide.
Do you have an activity monitor or GPS on your pet? Tell me about it in the comments.
Get a job! I've just graduated from PTA school and REALLY need to get a job. I've applied to 5 jobs and no word so far.
Buster becomes Therapy Dog Certified: It's kind of a main theme of my blog here. We're working on it! Right now the earliest Therapy Dog Training class is in April '16, but hopefully we can find something in Feb or March so we can get the ball rolling.
30 Days of Yoga: This was a previous unmet new years resolution. Yoga classes are up to $20 each so this will be done with videos/books at home.
Move: I want to move back to my childhood city and rent a home there during my first year of work. My must-have is a fenced-in backyard for Buster.
Zumba Once a Week for 2 months: There's so many cheap Zumba classes (as low as $4) so there's really no excuse.
ASL Class: I'd like to become fluent in American Sign Language. I've always been fascinated by the language. I still remember (and have) my Sesame Street Sign Language book.
I also read a great non-fiction book in 2013 about sign language called "Talking Hands" by Margalit Fox. I will most likely never become fluent in a second (speaking) language, but I think I would enjoy becoming fluent in ASL and it would be a valuable skill to add to my resume. Not many PTAs could treat a deaf patient. I'm considering taking classes through a local community college in Winston Salem, a church I don't belong to whose classes are free, or through the Communication Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Greensboro. Will blog about my choice later.
Bustle Reads Challenge:I found a website that posted a reading challenge to encourage readers to read out of their comfort zone in 2016, but also to explore more women and non-white writers. The book world is still dominated by white, male writers. And there are some excellent books by them. But I find that I rarely read books written by non-white people or from a non-western country. I read books about other countries, but they're usually by Americans. There are 20 challenges and I've done many of these, but not in one year. So here it goes:
Read a book by a woman under 25
Read a book on non-western history
Read a book of essays
Read a book about an indigenous culture
Read a book before you see the movie
Read a young adult book by an author of color
Read a book set in the middle east
Read a book about women in war
Read a graphic novel by a woman
Read a book about an immigrant or refugee to the US
Read a children's book aloud
Reread your favorite book from childhood
Read a memoir by someone that identifies at LGBTQIA
Read a work of post-apocalyptic fiction by a woman
Read a feminist sci-fi novel
Read the first book in a series you've never read
Read a book set in Africa by an author from Africa
Ongoing post about what to expect from Advanced Obedience classes at Petsmart: Week 3 & 4 Week 5 & 6
Buster missed the first week of Advanced Obedience at Petsmart due to me having a prior engagement. But we made it to week 2 and had a makeup for our missed class the next day as well.
For week 2 we worked on:
Stay with distance: Buster prefers a down-stay over a sit-stay, so I put him in a stay at the back of the store and walked around the aisles our of sight and came back. Buster remained in his stay the entire time.
Heeling side by side: Buster had to heel, pause, and continue heeling with another dog nearby.
Bow & Crawl: Buster already knows these, so I'm working on being able to give the hand signal from a standing position (me, not him) and not having to get so close to him and the floor for him to perform the trick.
For our week 1 makeup we worked on:
Impulse control games:
I offer a treat with an open palm and Buster has to leave it until I give him permission to eat with a "take it" command.
Buster has to leave food on the floor/tables/bowl/etc. unless given the "take it" command.
Buster has to heel/loose leash walk towards a line of food on the floor. If he lunges, we go back to the starting line. When we get to the food, he must wait for me to give the command "take it" to be able to eat the food.
Buster is extremely food driven (even more so since he's on prednisone), a fast learner, and eager to please me. All this makes him very easy to train. THERAPY ORGANIZATION I had mentioned in a previous post that I was considering different therapy organizations to test with. Buster's trainer says she can not administer the test, but she teaches her class to the Therapy Dog International test because it's the most difficult. It also seems to be the most respected and requested. For example, if you want to volunteer at Baptist Hospital, they request dogs that are TDI or Delta (now known as Pet Partners) certified. I'd like for Buster to be accepted at any place he wants to volunteer and I'm not sure our previous choice of Love on a Leash (LoaL) would allow that because it's the easiest test to pass.
As I stated in my previous post: "I
decided to get back into blogging because I couldn't find any blogs
about the journey to become a therapy dog. Buster and I are about to
begin that journey." So here is the plan for the journey to make Buster a therapy dog.
(*Note: I often say "we" and "us". It's a habit of speaking for both myself and Buster that's just stuck.) Buster and I tried Agility training. It was fun and we might have kept up with it if PTA school hadn't got in the way. It just wasn't possible to have anything scheduled outside of school. Upon reflection, I don't know if Buster truly enjoyed it.
This is Buster's best run during agility.
As I get close to graduation and have seen therapy dog visits during my last clinic in a nursing home, I've decided to pursue therapy dog training. I kept saying I'd do it "when he gets older and slows down" but why not now?
Thankfully I was crazy about getting certificates when we took obedience classes the first time around in 2013/2014 and he got Canine Good Citizen certified.
AKC CGC certified
I think we've decided to get certified with Love on a Leash which has a local chapter (Winston Salem, NC). I went to a therapy dog event with my godson where he read to a dog at a library and they recommended LoaL. It helps that their requirements are more lenient than Therapy Dog's International. ;-)
On 12/2/15 Buster joined me at my clinical at a nursing home for a visit. He was well behaved in the therapy room so I took him on a tour to visit some patients. He did very well and showed no fear. He tolerated people coming at him from all directions, including behind, and tolerated patients grabbing at his face. Two patients patted their laps, asking my 60 lb dog to sit in their lap. Luckily he knows not to get in laps. I was so pleased with his visit and his good behavior. I contacted his old trainer as soon as I got home and said "Let's fast track this!"
Here are our steps to becoming a therapy dog:
Beginner Obedience
Intermediate Obedience
Advanced Obedience
Canine Good Citizen test
Therapy Dog Class
Therapy Dog test
We have completed steps #1-4 already, but I decided to have Buster re-take his Advanced Obedience class to refresh his obedience with distractions in busy places and around other dogs. Because we took all our obedience classes through Petsmart, we can retake any of the classes again for free. We had to miss the first class last night due to a prior commitment, but we will be there for the other 5 weeks and finish 1/17/16. Had I gotten Buster as a puppy (he was 2 when I adopted him) we would have taken a puppy obedience class before beginner obedience. Buster came to me already knowing 'sit' and 'shake'. For #5 & #6, if Petsmart offers the therapy dog class we'll take it there because I love our trainer (Dulcey Trimble at Petsmart on Lawndale in Greensboro, NC) otherwise we'll go to the Winston Salem Dog Training Club. They are the home of a Therapy Dog International Chapter so they might require you become TDI certified. We'll find out!
So Buster and I are looking forward to him following in his mom's footsteps and being a therapist. Hopefully we'll be both certified/licensed therapists with jobs by Spring 2016!
As I look through my old posts I saw this one about my fears of starting PTA school. I can't help but smile since I am graduating in 5 days. PTA school had its terrifying moments but I have conquered every one of them and come out stronger than I ever thought I could be.I never got anything below an A on practicals, I never got below a 75 on exams, I lived through videotaping in the 3rd semester and "shirts off" days in lab that first semester and I've enjoyed my time with my "family" (we became that close) of 13 other PTA students. I have been class historian so I took pictures and videos throughout the entire program and am making a photo book after graduation.
First and last day of PTA school. Aug 2014/Dec 2015
There's a line at the end of that old post that says "I hope I come back to this post a year and a half later, after graduation, and laugh at myself." Well, I'm not laughing because it really was a hard and scary program. But I'm smiling BIG because I did it.
We've started the next agility course before we've even finished our pre-agility course, but that's what the weather gods had in store for us. I think we suffered a bit because of it.
None of the dogs in our previous class were in this one. Buster was very excited and agitated to be around a bunch of new dogs. He wanted to meet them and play so badly.
The first thing we did was learn a front cross. You cross in front of your dog as he is walking in a straight path. Not hard.
But then we tried a front cross while our dog went through a tunnel. That would have been fine if Buster remembered tunnels. He would go in and as I'd run to meet him at the other end, he'd pop back out the entrance and follow me. This proved to be a problem over and over throughout the class.
After we all did the tunnel exercise, we then did a full sequence involving two front crosses, 2 jumps and 3 runs through tunnels. Buster did pretty well on the first run and completely fell apart on the second. He did so awful we had to go back to basics where the instructor held him at one end of the tunnel and I called him from the other end, and even then, he still just wanted to run directly towards me and not go through the tunnel.
So the lesson for me is to buy a tunnel! I'm trying to find a cheap one ($20 or less), but even on ebay that's hard to do.
Update: I purchased a Pawhut 16.4 ft Tunnelon ebay for $28. It was sturdy enough for a 65 lb dog to run through and came with a carrying case. Buster's trainer could tell the next week that he had been practicing. Never had trouble with tunnels again. Highly recommend.
