Weighing the Dog Beasts

SUMMARY: How to do it?

Over the 27 years that I've owned dogs, I've kept track of their weights by picking them up, standing on the bathroom scale with them, and then subtracting my weight. Works great. As long as you don't have, just for example, say, bad back, bad knees, bad shoulders... any one of which makes it painful to hold even a mere 35-lb dog. (I seem to recall that Amber, my first dog, was over 50 lbs...  I wonder where I'd have that info recorded? Being the obsessive data-recording wonk that I am.)

I've been saying for several years now that I need to teach the dogs to get onto the scale themselves and stand there long enough to get the reading. I started once, using the scale on the floor, and realized that it's flat enough that they don't seem to get the idea of standing on it instead of walking across it.  (A dedicated trainer would work through that. I'm not that, in the last several years.) So I gave up.

But now:  Zorro has clearly gained weight. Chip's diet changed 6 weeks ago and now he's clearly losing weight.  And they've both old enough to start thinking seriously about their weight gain or loss. (Yeah, can weigh for free I think at Pet Club, but that involves driving there, taking the dogs one at a time...  yeah, no.)

Figured I needed something about the size of the scale that is elevated and sturdy for them to learn on. Couldn't think of anything all this time, but this morning my little sturdy step-stool that "holds up to 300 lbs." caught my eye. Aha!

Videotaped my *first* training session with them.  Notes:

• Have never taught them specifically to get up onto something small.
• They are both operant enough to know that, if I put something in front of them, they're expected to do something in relation to it (could be to touch it, could be to deliberately not touch it...).
• I wanted to shape this, with a little luring if needed.
• Today I use "yes" instead of a clicker to mark desired actions. (I'll check my timing--last video I did, I saw that I was late every time!)
• Both immediately went to putting their front feet on it. Marked any action that got them closer to getting and keeping both feet on.
• Back feet: Marked any movement of a back foot towards the stool. (I should have placed the camera for a side view so that these movements were visible. Oh, well.)

Results:

Easy success with Zorro, reasonable success for Chip who thinks things through much more and whose body is longer and less compact.

Next steps: Reinforce getting on; add a command; practice holding still; can I get them to sit there? switch to scale instead of stool (it's larger, so maybe easier?)...

... hang on, posting on YouTube, come back in a few  minutes...  should be up by 10:45 AM today:

Have I Been To All The National Parks?

SUMMARY: A question posed by a friend who knows I get around.

My answer: Not by a long shot! But--how many have I been to?

At the moment, the U.S. has 62 National Parks. Wikipedia says, "29 states [including Alaska and Hawaii] have national parks, as do the territories of American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands."  I've never been to Alaska, American Samoa, or the U.S. Virgin Islands. So there's that.

We also have 128 National Monuments, which are also worth visiting, and some of which eventually may become National Parks.

AND we have all of these: 30 National Memorials (e.g., Mount Rushmore), 5 Affiliated National Memorials, and 19 independent locations that Congress designated as national memorials but that aren't managed by the Park Service.

But on one site I found that there are "419 National Park Units as of 2019"!  Whaaaa?!

Got that?

I'm not even going to mention State Parks!

TIP:

If you haven't been to many, or want inspirational photos to help you choose where to go, QT Luong is a local photographer who created his own project to photograph all 61...62... whatever... US National Parks. The resulting photos have appeared in National Geographic among other places. And he made a stunning book, Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey through America's National Parks, Second Expanded Edition. He presented some of his recent and detailed experiences to my photo club a couple of years ago, too.  You can order the book or read his blog or see more photos or more at his site,  https://www.terragalleria.com/. (Or come visit me and you can see my copy.)

Here's the full Kitchen Sink list of parks, monuments, and so on. Ones I've been to are in THIS COLOR -- and I might have been to more with my family in the many years we traveled together through my early and college years-- [Copied this list from this handy site]:

ALABAMA NATIONAL PARKS
Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument
Freedom Riders National Monument
Horseshoe Bend National Military Park
Little River Canyon National Preserve
Russell Cave National Monument
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site
Little River Canyon National Preserve

ALASKA NATIONAL PARKS
Alagnak Wild River
Aniakchak National Monument +
Aniakchak National Preserve
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
Cape Krusenstern National Monument
Denali National Park +
Denali National Preserve
Gates of the Arctic National Park +
Gates of the Arctic National Preserve
Glacier Bay National Park +
Glacier Bay National Preserve
Katmai National Park +
Katmai National Preserve
Kenai Fjords National Park
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (also WA)
Kobuk Valley National Park
Lake Clark National Park +
Lake Clark National Preserve
Noatak National Preserve
Sitka National Historical Park
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park +
Wrangell-St. Elias National Preserve
Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve

ARIZONA NATIONAL PARKS

(TMH sez:  Have possibly done more of these incidentally)

Canyon De Chelly National Monument
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Chiricahua National Monument
Coronado National Memorial
Fort Bowie National Historic Site
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (also UT)
Grand Canyon National Park
Hohokam Pima National Monument ("There is no public access to the Hohokam Pima National Monument.")
Hubbel Trading Post National Historic Site
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Navajo National Monument (incl Betatakin tour)
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
Petrified Forest National Park
Pipe Spring National Monument
Saguaro National Park
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
Tonto National Monument
Tumacacori National Historical Park
Tuzigoot National Monument
Walnut Canyon National Monument
Wupatki National Monument

ARKANSAS NATIONAL PARKS
Arkansas Post National Memorial
Buffalo National River
Fort Smith National Historic Site
Hot Springs National Park
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
Pea Ridge National Military Park
President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site

CALIFORNIA NATIONAL PARKS
Cabrillo National Monument
Castle Mountains National Monument
César E. Chávez National Monument
Channel Islands National Park
Death Valley National Park (also NV)
Devils Postpile National Monument
Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site
Fort Point National Historic Site
Golden Gate National Recreational Area (includes Alcatraz Island)
John Muir National Historic Site
Joshua Tree National Park
Kings Canyon National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lava Beds National Monument
Manzanar National Historic Site
Mojave National Preserve
Muir Woods National Monument
Pinnacles National Park
Point Reyes National Seashore
Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial
Redwood National Park
Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historic Park
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Sequoia National Park
Tule Lake National Monument
Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area
Yosemite National Park

COLORADO NATIONAL PARKS
Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (I think so, anyway)
Colorado National Monument
Currecanti National Recreation Area
Dinosaur National Monument (also UT)
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
Great Sand Dunes National Park 
Great Sand Dunes National Preserve
Hovenweep National Monument (also UT)
Mesa Verde National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
Yucca House National Monument

CONNECTICUT NATIONAL PARKS
Weir Farm National Historic Site

DELAWARE NATIONAL PARKS
First State National Historical Park (also PA)

FLORIDA NATIONAL PARKS
Big Cypress National Preserve
Biscayne National Park
Canaveral National Seashore
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
De Soto National Memorial
Dry Tortugas National Park
Everglades National Park
Fort Caroline National Memorial
Fort Matanzas National Monument
Gulf Islands National Seashore (also MS)
Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

GEORGIA NATIONAL PARKS
Andersonville National Historic Site
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park (also TN)
Cumberland Island National Seashore
Fort Frederica National Monument
Fort Pulaski National Monument
Jimmy Carter National Historic Site
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park
Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site
Ocmulgee National Monument

HAWAII NATIONAL PARKS
Haleakala National Park
Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
Honouliuli National Monument (not open to the public yet)
Kalaupapa National Historical Park
Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park
Pearl Harbor National Memorial (formerly World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, also in AK and CA)
Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park
Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site

IDAHO
City of Rocks National Reserve
Craters of the Moon National Monument +
Craters of the Moon National Preserve
Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
Minidoka National Historic Site
Nez Perce National Historical Park

ILLINOIS
Lincoln Home National Historic Site
Pullman National Monument

INDIANA
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park
Indiana Dunes National Park (formerly Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

IOWA
Effigy Mounds National Monument
Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

KANSAS
Brown vs. Board of Education National Historic Site
Fort Larned National Historic Site
Fort Scott National Historic Site
Nicodemus National Historic Site
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

KENTUCKY
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park
Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park (also TN and VA)
Mammoth Cave National Park

LOUISIANA
Cane River Creole National Historical Park
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park
Poverty Point National Monument

MAINE
Acadia National Park
Appalachian National Scenic Trail (Maine to Georgia)
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument
Saint Croix Island International Historic Site

MARYLAND
Antietam National Battlefield
Assateague Island National Seashore (also VA)
Catoctin Mountain Park
C & O Canal National Historical Park (also DC)
Clara Barton National Historic Site
Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
Fort Washington Park
Greenbelt Park
Hampton National Historic Site
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park
Monocacy National Battlefield
Piscataway Park
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail (also PA)
Thomas Stone National Historic Site

MASSACHUSETTS
Adams National Historical Park
Boston African American National Historic Site
Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Boston National Historical Park
Cape Cod National Seashore
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
John F. Kennedy National Historic Site
Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site
Lowell National Historical Park
Minute Man National Historical Park
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
Salem Maritime National Historic Site
Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site
Springfield Armory National Historic Site

MICHIGAN
Isle Royale National Park
Keweenaw National Historical Park
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
River Raisin National Battlefield Park
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

MINNESOTA
Grand Portage National Monument
Mississippi National River and Recreation Area
Pipestone National Monument
Voyageurs National Park

MISSISSIPPI
Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site
Natchez National Historical Park
Natchez Trace Parkway (also AL, TN)
Natchez Trace National Trail (also AL, TN)
Tupelo National Battlefield
Vicksburg National Military Park (also LA)

MISSOURI
Gateway Arch National Park (formerly Jefferson National Expansion Memorial)
George Washington Carver National Monument
Harry S Truman National Historic Site
Ozark National Scenic Riverways
Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site
Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield

MONTANA
Big Hole National Battlefield
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Glacier National Park
Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

NEBRASKA
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument
Homestead National Monument of America
Missouri National Recreational River (also SD)
Niobrara National Scenic River
Scotts Bluff National Monument

NEVADA
Great Basin National Park
Lake Mead National Recreation Area (also AZ)
Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site

NEW JERSEY
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (also PA)
Great Egg Harbor Scenic and Recreational River
Morristown National Historical Park
Paterson Great Falls National Historial Park
Thomas Edison National Historial Park

NEW MEXICO
Aztec Ruins National Monument
Bandelier National Monument
Capulin Volcano National Monument
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
El Malpais National Monument
El Morro National Monument
Fort Union National Monument
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
Manhattan Project National Historical Park (also TN, WA)
Pecos National Historical Park
Petroglyph National Monument
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
Valles Caldera National Preserve
White Sands National Park
White Sands National Monument in New Mexico

NEW YORK
African Burial Ground National Monument
Castle Clinton National Monument
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
Federal Hall National Memorial
Fire Island National Seashore
Fort Stanwix National Monument
Gateway National Recreation Area (also NJ)
General Grant National Memorial
Governors Island National Monument
Hamilton Grange National Memorial
Harriet Tubman National Historical Park
Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site
Martin Van Buren National Historic Site
Saint Paul’s Church National Historic Site
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
Saratoga National Historical Park
Statue of Liberty National Monument (also NJ)
Stonewall National Monument
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site
Women’s Rights National Historical Park

NORTH CAROLINA
Blue Ridge Parkway (also VA)
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Cape Lookout National Seashore
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
Moores Creek National Battlefield
Wright Brothers National Memorial

NORTH DAKOTA
Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site (also MT)
Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site
Theodore Roosevelt National Park

OHIO
Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park
First Ladies National Historic Site
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
James A. Garfield National Historic Site
Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial
William Howard Taft National Historic Site

OKLAHOMA
Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Washita Battlefield National Historic Site

OREGON
Crater Lake National Park
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (also WA)
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve

PENNSYLVANIA
Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site
Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site
Eisenhower National Historic Site
Flight 93 National Memorial
Fort Necessity National Battlefield
Friendship Hill National Historic Site
Gettysburg National Military Park
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site
Independence National Historical Park
Johnstown Flood National Memorial
Middle Delaware National Scenic River
Steamtown National Historic Site
Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial
Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River
Valley Forge National Historical Park

RHODE ISLAND
Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park (also MA)
Roger Williams National Memorial

SOUTH CAROLINA
Charles Pinckney National Historic Site
Congaree National Park
Cowpens National Battlefield
Fort Sumter National Monument
Kings Mountain National Military Park
Ninety Six National Historic Site
Reconstruction Era National Monument

SOUTH DAKOTA
Badlands National Park
Jewel Cave National Monument
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Wind Cave National Park

TENNESSEE
Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (also KY)
Fort Donelson National Battlefield (also KY)
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (also NC)
Obed Wild and Scenic River
Shiloh National Military Park (also MS)
Stones River National Battlefield

TEXAS
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
Amistad National Recreation Area
Big Bend National Park
Big Thicket National Preserve
Chamizal National Memorial
Fort Davis National Historic Site
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Lake Meredith National Recreation Area
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park
Padre Island National Seashore
Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park
Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
Waco Mammoth National Monument

UTAH
Arches National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Capitol Reef National Park
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Golden Spike National Historic Site
Natural Bridges National Monument
Rainbow Bridge National Monument (by boat only)
Timpanogos Cave National Monument
Zion National Park

VERMONT
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park

VIRGINIA
Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
Booker T. Washington National Monument
Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park
Colonial National Historical Park
Fort Monroe National Monument
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park
George Washington Birthplace National Monument
George Washington Memorial Parkway (also MD, DC)
Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site
Manassas National Battlefield Park
Petersburg National Battlefield Park
Prince William Forest Park
Richmond National Battlefield Park
Shenandoah National Park
Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts

Mount Vernon -- is a National Historic Site but not a park per se. Geez, there are a million of these in the U.S.!

WASHINGTON
Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site (also OR)
Lake Chelan National Recreation Area
Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area
Mount Rainier National Park  ("The park contains 42 locations designated on the National Register of Historic Places, including four National Historic Landmarks."  I've been to some.)
North Cascades National Park
Olympic National Park
Ross Lake National Recreation Area
San Juan Island National Historical Park
Whitman Mission National Historic Site
Hall of Mosses in Olympic National Park

WASHINGTON DC
Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument
Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site
Constitution Gardens
Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site
Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site
National Capital Parks (This includes many individual sites in D.C....)
National Mall
Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site
Rock Creek Park
Theodore Roosevelt Island
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Washington Monument
White House and President’s Park
World War I Memorial
World War II Memorial

WEST VIRGINIA
Bluestone National Scenic River
Gauley River National Recreation Area
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
New River Gorge National River

WISCONSIN
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway (also MN)

WYOMING
Devils Tower National Monument
Fort Laramie National Historic Site
Fossil Butte National Monument
Grand Teton National Park
John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway
Yellowstone National Park (also ID, MT)

VIRGIN ISLANDS
Buck Island Reef National Monument
Christiansted National Historic Site
Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve
Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument
Virgin Islands National Park

US TERRITORIES
National Park of American Samoa, American Samoa
San Juan National Historic Site, Puerto Rico
War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Guam