Chip Day 8 & 9 - Agility Weekend

SUMMARY: I learned more things about him.

Trying to be very quick...

• In the motel Saturday night, Chip settled right down when the other dogs did and slept soundly. (They all had their run of the room and the 2nd bed in the room, which he & Boost opted to sleep on--I cover the beds with my own sheets to protect the hotel bedding from hair & dirt.)
• I think that all the stimulation tired him out, even though he didn't get a lot of physical exercise.
• Tried him on a long line, loose, for a while, but although he'd run after Boost when she chased the frisbee, he'd then also decide to go walkabout, ignoring me completely. Not unexpected, but I'd hoped he'd stick around so that I didn't have to follow him across the field to bring him back. Definitely recall work needed.
• He was willing to play tug with me several times even with all the excitement going on.
• When I had him out on leash, I did many many reps of saying "Chip!" and rewarding when he looked up at me. He got a lot of hot dog bits. He seemed to be responding better over the 2 days, although still easily distracted by lots of things.
• Tried to do some groundwork/circle work, where I just walk or jog in small circles and have him follow me. He wasn't particularly interested, and once again, when I pulled forward on his leash to bring him with me, he just dug in and wouldn't budge. Need to figure out what exactly the situation is when that comes up, because mostly he's pliable on leash.
• Lots of people food he didn't seem to consider worthwhile. Rejected beans (like cooked kidney beans), cooked egg white (but he liked the yolk), banana (well, Tika doesn't like that, either), and tortilla chips, although I did notice that later the chips had vanished, so he changed his mind about that. Rejected some chicken offered by a friend, but then ate that after she also gave him some tiny bits of bacon.
• Lunges to the end of his leash and barks at other dogs... sometimes! Not sure what sparks that. I think he mostly wants to go check them out, but I worked on telling him that barking at other dogs is not done at agility trials. 
• He got to meet a few other dogs, all on leash and calm, no real playing; that was my choice.
• Oh, jeez, he pees on EVERYthing if he gets a chance! I don't actually remember Remington or Jake being this determined. I had to rinse down an agility tunnel and a friend's umbrella when I didn't catch him in time because I wasn't expecting it. That's an ongoing thing to work on with him and for me to remember to pay attention. Dang boy dogs! 
• Everyone who met him--and lots of people have seen his photo in my facebook posts or blog now, so a lot knew his name already--thought he was a very cute/handsome, sweet boy. And that he looked like Remington. And he responded to people who'd say "Chip!" All good.
• The borrowed crate was a wee bit small for him. On the way there, I don't think he put his head down more than a couple of times the whole two hours. On the way back, he curled up and slept pretty much all the way. 
• He was pretty good about getting into a crate when I told him to. I have been rewarding and releasing him a lot from crates, so that might help. Also that he other dogs were right next to him. He's also waiting fairly well for me to give him a "Break!" before he tries to leave the crate. Don't know whether he learned to do that in his previous life or whether he's actually learning that. Either way, it's good.
• Realized that I really do need to wait a few more weeks, making a concerted effort in training and some basic agility jumping, before deciding for sure whether he'll be a fun agility dog or a problem agility dog (jumping style, attitude). So much to learn, both of us!

I might remember more in the morning, but now must sleep.

ADDED MONDAY MORNING:
Because the borrowed crate was really too small for him to spend an extended period in, I put Boost loose in the front of MUTT MVR because she's the most trustworthy of the bunch, and Chip borrowed Boost's crate.

Chip mostly watched everything, which (on top of our walking around and meeting people and dogs and training work) I think is what tired him out mentally. I eventually draped a towel over his crate for an hour or so here and there to give him a chance to relax.

He was pretty good except raising a storm whenever I took Boost away to go run a run.

Tika slept a LOT.

Chip Day 7 - Evening

SUMMARY: Dog door accomplished; more Leo; Home Alone.

With Chip succeeding at the doggie door this morning, I took the risk and left him unconfined today while I went off for several hours. Came home to three happy dogs at the door.

He's definitely letting himself out as needed; saw him go out on his own to potty this evening. So that takes care of that.

I crunched up a 15-foot tunnel into a straight 4-foot tunnel to see what he'd do. I lined him up in front of it, tossed a toy through, and he ran happily after it all the way through--then suddenly realized that something odd had just happened, turned around, and walked back through, inspecting the whole thing carefully. Soooo we won't have any trouble with tunnels.

Gave the dogs Leos again tonight, and Chip is already doing all the things--pawing it, nudging it, picking it up to dump food out--although I think that he's not quite sure yet that most of the food is coming out of the small end. Photos for fun.

Licking at the X opening in the more difficult end. His preferred starting strategy:

Pawing it to make it roll:

Pressing with paw to make it come upright:

Lifting from the fat end; stuff rolls out the small end:

Chip Trial Day 6, evening

SUMMARY: Doggie doors, Genius toys, and getting on with life. (Another long dull post with my training notes and all.)

A few years back, I discovered these Quiet Spot neoprene tag silencers and suddenly realized how much I'd like it if I didn't have dog tags jingling all through my life. They've worked very well, but Boost's gave up the ghost two or three weeks ago and I hadn't gotten around to getting a replacement. When I bought a nice red heart tag with my phone number on it for Chip while he's here, he started jingling, too. So I ordered a new blue one for Boost, to match her blue collar, and a new red one for Chip, to match his red collar. They arrived today and now I once again have peace.  (I ordered them from a place that benefits greyhound rescue, which is pretty cool.)

Chip, checking out my camera up close and personal. Cracks me  up.

The big story yesterday and today is the doggie door. I thought I was making quick progress yesterday, until I let the flap touch Chip a little too early and he freaked out and we were back at square minus one when he didn't even want to come near the door, even with me offering tiny pieces of hot dog.

(Side note: He seems to like Zukes minis, but he chews each one contemplatively and carefully! I've never seen a dog chew Zukes minis before, other than maybe a quick squish or two between the molars. Mostly they just go right down. So I'm not sure that I can use those for him for training; they take too much time. Tiny hot dog morsels go down much quicker for him.)

I thought about it a bit more. The other dogs have figured it out on their own, first by sniffing around where the other dogs go through the flap, then pushing a little with their noses, finally sticking their heads through, then clambering cautiously all the way through, and then that's it. Chip, however, startled when the flap flapped back behind the other dogs and has never put his nose anywhere near it.

I figured that this meant that we had possibly three challenges: He doesn't like things on his head or back. He doesn't like the flap's flapping. And because he's so gentle and cautious, he doesn't want to push hard enough with his nose to open the flap.

• Things on his head/back: Actually not a problem, it turns out. I draped things on him, dropped things on him, pulled things across his face and head and back, and he just acted like this happens to him every day. Whew. 
• Flap flapping: I took an entire hot dog in my fist with barely enough of one end exposed that he could lick it and try to chew molecules off of it. I just held it in front of him and, with the other hand, hit the flap open and let it flap back and forth like happens when the dogs go through. I did that dozens of times, gradually moving the hot dog closer and closer to it, until he didn't startle any more. Then we moved to the outside of the door and repeated the process.  Gave it a break for an hour or so, then repeated--and it's a good thing because he startled again when we restarted, although not as much. I must've hit that door a hundred times or more. Pretty much success.
• Getting him to go through the door comfortably, working down to where he'd push it on his own. Started back with holding it wide open for him time after time. (I and the dogs would go to the other side so that he'd want to come through, then when he was through, reverse, etc. So we did a LOT of inning and outing yesterday and today.) Then gradually--more gradually than I did originally yesterday, letting the flap rest on his butt, then his lower back, middle back, shoulders as he came through. Then holding it not so far open and repeated, then holding it lower and lower. This evening after I got home, I noted progress in two ways:
  * Previously, he'd go through the door only if I pulled it open from the opposite side of where he was. Now I can open it by pushing from the same side he's on, and he'll go through, which he'd have none of before.
  * I can get away with just lifting a corner of the flap a few inches and he's pushing through that without any signs of discomfort. We are SO close to him initiating the flap lifting. Not sure whether I'll have to devise some other clever approach, because the initial push to detach it from he force of the magnets is much more than just sticking your nose through the already opened flap.
  Anyway, pleased with this, because we'll both be much more free in our lives if he can get himself in and out for pottying.

Chip and Boost wondering what I'm going to give them for holding still while I take a photo.

I took a risk this afternoon before leaving for about 6 hours and left him loose in the house with the other dogs, no crate this time. (Secret weapon was that the Renter was coming home after about 4-5 hours and let him out briefly.)  I didn't notice any destruction or messes in the house, although I didn't go crawling around looking for possible leg-lifting spots.  I think it went well.

The other big step for him was having dinner from the Leo Genius food dispenser for the first time ever. I hung out near him and praised him whenever he did something clever, but they really have to figure it out on their own. I wanted to see how determined he was to figure it out, whether he has that stick-to-it-iveness or gives up when it's not easy. He did finally quit when there were only a half dozen pieces of kibble left in it, but he did very well and by the end was not only rolling it with his paw, but also starting to pick it up from one end or the other to get food to fall out. It's good mental and physical exercise for the dogs, and my dogs get the Leo toy for meals typically 2 or 3 times a week, sometimes more. Next time, I'll try to take photos. Here are photos from last year of Tika and Boost dumping food from their Leos in various ways.

The only other really dedicated training I did today was a bit of work on touching his nose to a clear target, with clicker training. He was starting to tentatively touch the target when we were done with maybe 3 minutes of training, so I think he'll get it. Whether I can get him to aggressively move in and shove it with his nose... yeah, I think that'll be a challenge for him.

Token Boost photo because she's cute.

Meanwhile, Tika's having a bad couple of days again. Lots more coughing, lots less energy, so I didn't do a walk with the dogs. She did do her Leo toy for dinner, so she had the energy for that, and we played some laid-back tug for a while. But she'd doing a lot of lying around like this again, poor old girl. I hope that, once again, this is just a temporary down period and she'll be back to being happy and perky in a day or three.

She's such a good old girl, really pretty good most of the time about Chip trying to be friends with her, and I think Chip is trying to be solicitous when she goes into her coughing fits, walking alongside her and just nosing gently towards her cheek.

I'm just giving her a lot of snuggling and rubbing.

I KNEW it would be challenging to balance 3 dogs again with affection and training for all, but at least it's going much smoother than it did with Jake when I brought Boost home, 9 years ago! Hard to believe she's already that old. Oh my.

Chip Trial Day 5 - morning

SUMMARY: Things are going well

Letter to Owner who's asking about him (I love it when my emails can turn into blog posts: Double duty!)

Everything's going very well. He's really a very good dog. He and Boost have played/wrestled together at least once every day, and Tika tolerates him. In my experience, it actually takes a few weeks before all the dogs in the household have settled into their normal personalities and routines, and things look like they're going very nicely in the right direction.

He's paying more and more attention to me, accepting that I'm here and in charge :-). He's not done any marking in the house (that I've seen, anyway, but I think the other dogs would point it out); he's eating happily; I've seen no recurrence of that one time when you were here and he put his paws up on the stove to check it out.

You've done a very nice job with him, really. He's sweet and is doing his best to be friends with all the other dogs. Personality and attitude are the most important things, followed by basic good behavior; training details are so easy to add when the other things are in place.

I've arranged for a crate for him to travel in with me this weekend. We'll probably be sleeping in a hotel unless it gets a lot warmer, in which case we might sleep in my van at the trial site (agility competition); this is how I've always done it with all my dogs, and I see that he's often taking his cues from my dogs, which is very helpful, so I expect that he'll settle down well at night and hopefully get a chance to run around with some other dogs this weekend.

I thank you for letting me have the chance to have him here, and I'd be glad to keep him. Let me know what you're thinking long-term. If he does stay here, you know of course that you and your son are welcome to come see him or take him out for a run or a weekend visit any time; he would love that.

-ellen

Back to training notes. What we worked on this morning:

Fetch

Well, not yet making a concerted effort on bringing toys back. Taking it easy and trying the coaxing thing. Sometimes it works, but not from most of the way across the yard. He'll come to me but leave the toy behind.

Toy Play

We continue to play tug, practice "Give," give it back to him, play tug, etc. He likes tug but is still a little timid with me, I think. He has no problem with me pressing my thumb into his mouth to get him to let go when he doesn't do it immediately.

"Down"

 I'm starting over with this command. First is to get him to go directly to down from a standing position. I'm doing this as Rachel Sanders taught. Hold some really good treats in my fist, fingers down, on the ground between his front feet. Eventually the dog drops to same position as a play bow, and then because that's not completely comfortable, the butt goes down.

I've modified that a bit, after almost 5 minutes where he continually licked my fist (hot dogs, yum!) but didn't go down. Added my short braided leather training leash to his collar and stepped on it so that his head was held partway down to put a little pressure on him. That got him to lower his front end even though it still took a couple of minutes--at least he didn't give up trying to get the hot dogs, so I think those are a winner; I gave a big jackpot and praise and let him up. Repeated, and he was a bit faster going down in the front. But his butt stayed in the air, so the 3rd time I just pressed lightly on his lower back after a minute or so, and down he went.  The next time, pretty fast front end down but after a bit I touched his butt lightly again. The next time, he went down fairly quickly on his own, first front, then back. Final jackpot and crazy praise and that was enough of that for this morning!

I suppose if I'd had more patience that eventually he'd have gone down completely on his own, but I think that he's still essentially making the decision himself, which is what I want: "Oh, this is a good thing for me to do, how clever of me to have figured out how to get hot dogs!"

We'll do that until he's doing it reliably and much faster (I hope--I'd like him to just drop like Boost does rather than settle into it like Tika does), then I'll add the command as he's doing it. [It's important to have a plan in any training, yeh? I don't always do that. I'm happier when I know where I'm going, makes it easier to get there]

Dog door/crate

The dog door is the key to *my* freedom. He obviously has a lot of experience being in his crate for long hours, but i'd rather not do that if I don't have to. Yesterday I was gone for a bit under 4 hours. Tossed some treats into his crate before I left, and he hadn't eaten them when I got him; I'm not sure exactly what that means, but would be better if I could leave him loose like the other dogs.

Owner had said that Chip had gotten out of their yard a couple of times when he was left alone and loose when he was younger, so he didn't give Chip the chance again. Ideally I'd leave for 15 minutes, then half an hour, etc., to see how things go. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that he's liking being part of the dog family here and that that will keep him here. He is also microchipped (I hope to Owner's current phone number), plus I bought a tag for his collar that has my home and cell numbers.

So I started working on training how to use the dog door, rather than waiting for him to figure it out. He has seemed completely disinclined to put his nose on or near the actual flap and seems intimidated by the flap flapping back as the dogs go through.  I started by going to the other side of the door, the other dogs came thru the dog door, and I held the flap wide open. It took a lot of coaxing for him to even come near, and if my hand moved at all, he jumped back. We did that about 6 times over the morning before he wouldn't jump back, but still very cautious approaching the door and going through it. Then I was able to lower it gently onto his backside as he went through so that he'd get used to that feeling.

In total, we've done about 14 trips through the dog door and he's still not showing an inclination to approach it on his own. So it'll be the crate again today; inconvenient because I want to go north to do an evening hike with Sierra Club after work, but I should come back south to let him out again for a bit. 

Hmm.

I wonder whether I can work a deal with my contractor friend (Boost's breeder, actually) who's here painting the kitchen and stuff.
Hmmm hmmmm.

Chip Trial Day 4

SUMMARY: Just a couple of updates.

Monday night, dinnertime, I held Chip's bowl and looked at him, and he sat on his own! Yeah! Took only 2 tries to get it to the floor without him standing up, but I did have to put a hand on him the 2nd time to be sure.

Tuesday breakfast and dinner, very fast sit! Still have to put a hand on him to remind him to stay in place, but he picked this up pretty quickly, as expected.

He is really a good boy. He's starting to get the idea that neither Boost nor I will actually chase him when he absconds with a toy, and seems to be bringing them to me more and more often. I play tug with him, let him have the toy, tug some more, ask him to Give, tug some more, give it back to him, things like that. He seems to like that and trust that i'm not going to take it away from him.

He seems to like doing Zoom Zoom Zoom in the yard, and he's so much fun to watch run.

I've been sneaking in collar grabs and moving him a little bit while we're playing or getting treats so that he's more comfortable with that. He had been shying away when I'd reach for his collar, and he still (when not distracted) doesn't want to move forward when I pull on his collar. Tiny baby steps of encouragement.

Yesterday we went for a drive; he got Tika's crate while Tika was up front and he seemed concerned about it but was basically a good boy. Today I tried all three loose in the van while driving down the street to the post office, and things were OK except when he accidentally jumped on Tika while getting out of the driver's seat and she was NOT happy; I had to talk to her a bit and pet her and tell her that he didn't mean it. He really wants Tika to like him and keeps trying to get her to say he's OK. But at least he has Boost.

Everyone is relaxing more and more. Chip has just been snoozing like the other dogs on the floor of the office while I'm at the computer. This morning's walk was only about half as long as the last couple of days, as Tika was dragging again.

The two tiny dogs around here are getting used to him, although he was a bit overwhelming for them at first. This evening one of them almost played with him, and he was pretty gentle with her.

I've been practicing more getting into the crate for fun, rewarding when he stays in there after I've told him to go in (if he goes in on his own, he can do whatever he wants), and getting him used to "Break!" to come out.

He still hasn't figured out the dog door on his own, and I'm not yet to the point of wanting to teach him. So I'm just letting him out and in several times a day, or when the other dogs go out (because he wants to follow them).

I think that's about it.

Chip Trial Day 3 Morning

SUMMARY: All is well.

Last night at bedtime, everyone settled quickly into their assigned spots. No whining, no restlessness. We slept well and the beasts actually let me wake up on my own... which was rather early, actually, but I feel good.

OK, picture Chip standing right about there, bending his knees slightly,
and springing directly onto the bed. No steps taken. Amazing.

Chip gets treats for going into the x-pen, so Boost goes into her crate alongside his pen
in hopes of getting some, too.

We went for a 2-mile walk first thing at Martial Cottle--I don't really want to get into the habit, because you know how dogs are about habits: Yeah, we ALWAYS go for a walk when we get up, so let's get up NOW! Tika had good energy again today, I'm so happy!

Chip wants to bark at other dogs and people that we pass. The people are pretty easy to manage; after a few where I just pulled the collar up under his ears for better control, kept him on a short leash, and just kept walking straight and chatting calmly, he was fine. Except for the guy on the bicycle with two huge black grocery bags over his shoulders, probably full of cans. THAT was worth some hackles and barking, but I just talked him through it calmly and he didn't go completely ape.

Other dogs are another thing, but he's actually about exactly the same as Tika that way. I manage her by keeping an eye out for other dogs, also bringing her in close so I have good control, and a little hand in the collar with "I don't think so!" calmly but firmly if needed. Also if I remember to take treats, then she gets treats if she's good and pays attention to me instead of the other dog.

He does pull on the leash, but not frenziedly; at the moment, managing it by tiny tense/release cycles: Tense briefly when he pulls, then relax when he eases up (which he has to because I applied a little tension). It's not really training, it's managing, but I might be OK with that. I tried the no-pull harness on him yesterday--it's too big, really, for Tika, although I've been using it with her for a few years now, and so it hangs on him like a tent frame, but it did help a little. Something to consider. (Basically like this

We came home and played in the yard. He's not really interested in chasing a toy much at this time. But he loved to play the Zoomies game again with me saying "go go go!" and "Reaaaaaaaadyyyy..." before it to let him know it's coming. If this keeps working, this could be nifty. Next step would be to work on his recall so that I could recall him out of the middle of a zoom. Yesssss that will be interesting.

So we have three play styles going on: Boost loves to chase the Jolly Ball and bring it back, and some some tugging. Tika likes to play tug and also just hold onto it while I tap it and her feet with my foot. Boost never would play with another toy while Tika has a toy, so she just does the border collie thing around the perimeter. This is normal for us. And now Chip and Zoomies. Well, never let it be said that all dogs are alike in personality or preferences.

For breakfast, I held Chip's bowl for a few seconds to see whether he'd sit on his own. He didn't, but when I said Sit, this time he sat immediately, and I was able to get the bowl halfway to the floor while saying "gooood boy" before he stood up. The second Sit, I got the bowl to the floor and released him with a verbal and a touch.

I'll bet he'll be sitting and waiting on his own within the next couple of meals. Dogs DO learn fast when the motivation is right.

Jeeezzze he eats slowly! But all the bowls are within a few feet of each other and we've had mealtime peace.

Now, for the last 15 minutes, Chip and Boost have been wrestling and chasing all around the office, while Tika lounges and periodically barks to let everyone know that she's still on the job.   This is completely excellent IMHO.

Because he's so dog-oriented, a perfectly dedicated trainer would probably keep him on the short leash at her side for  more of the day than I am doing, but I'm so glad that Boost is playing, too--she does love to play with other dogs and doesn't get much of a chance except at agility trials.

And now--must do some actual work that doesn't involve dogs.

Chip Trial Day 2 evening

SUMMARY: More Chip notes

Fixed my pocket camera. Whew! (Just a bent cover piece that affected the lens cover opening. Thank you, WWW, for having all the answers!)

• Fetch. He almost fetches. Sometimes brings it back partway, sometimes all the way, sometimes not at all. Wants us to chase him, at which point he'll scoop it up (if we take a step towards it). Neither Boost nor I will play that game, however.
• Catching. Doesn't seem to have the idea of catching things--toys, food, whatever. Seems startled that things would actually land on him. More experiments needed. Easy-peasy to teach a dog to catch if he doesn't already do it (in my experience so far).
• Bone. He found an old bone that the dogs had lost interest in. Has been carrying it around and chewing on it delicately off and on. Nice that he's got that. Of course, now that he thinks it's cool, so does Boost (who has paid no attention to it for months).
• Dog door. He so far hasn't shown a clue about how to use the doggie door. I am happy with that at the moment; means that I can keep tabs on him more easily during the times when I let him off leash.  I seem to recall thinking that about Tika and Boost, too, but then after 2 or 3 days, poom!, they figured it out on their own. He watches with amazement as the Merle Girls bip through a solid wall! And is a bit offput by the flap flapping back behind them. I think he'll figure it out eventually.
• Zoomies. Chip got the Zoomies in the yard in a big way after dinner, and I encouraged him by saying go go go! and giving the Play Fingers as he went by. Would be nice to have a dog who could be exercised that way if needed.
• Mouth. He has some mouthiness that I'm not keen on. Grabbed my hand a little more firmly when cleaning his paws this evening. I held his collar and told him firmly No. Later, we were playing with a toy, practicing having him Give it to me and I give it back. Doing pretty good. Then he grabbed my hand once as I took the toy. He got  a collar grab and No on that one, too.  He's not biting, but it is him trying to get the upper hand. Or mouth, whatever. Something to watch.  It's true that he barely knows who I am yet, but that's not something he should do even so.
• Relaxing. After another walk, some playing in the yard, dinner, and a bit more general wandering around, I suddenly realized that all 3 dogs were sacked out on the floor around me, snoozing. Chip is starting to relax, trying out the various dog beds, even closing his eyes for a while. 
  
• Tired Human Mom. I am so, so tired. Other than moving a bunch of things around (including his huge and heavy crate), also standing and sitting and inning and outing and managing 3 dogs on leash for *two* walks today and a whole lot more bending over than usual... emotionally, mentally, physically worn out, and my back is aggravated. I feel that it was all worthwhile, though.  I bought hot dogs this evening but ran out of energy to do more treat-based training.  At this point, everything I do with him I'm evaluating or training even if it's play. It's important that he have fun and enjoy doing things with me. And it's important for him to learn a lot of things that i need him to know. I *do* try to make training = play almost all the time. But it's a higher level of intensity than I've really put out for a while the the dogs. Well, certainly I don't have to train everything all at once. 

Hose Dog!

SUMMARY: Found a thing he really loves.

Turned on the hose sprayer to spray something off my shoe, and Chip went wild! He loves madly dashing after the hose spray and doesn't seem to care whether he gets wet.

I've wanted a dog who does that--makes it SO much easier when it's hot to cool them down. Boost likes it, but if she gets sprayed in the face too often, she backs off. Plus she grabs towards the sprayer, and I'm always afraid that she'll hurt her teeth. But the two of them got a few minutes of fun play in the hose this afternoon.

Too bad there's a major drought; can't do this very often.

Chip Trial Day 2

SUMMARY: Morning activities and lessons

After months and months of not adding anything here to Taj MuttHall Dog Diary, I find that there is so very much to say with another dog in the house. I'm trying to collect all my thoughts, since this is supposed to be a trial run and I want to be sure that I don't forget anything important.

I've been griping about the Merle Girls having somehow decided that 7:30 is the time to be awake in recent weeks, but Mr. Chip thought that 7:00 was better. Since he's used to getting up earlier, I gave him this, this time.

Let him outside with the other dogs and they did their morning patrol and all did their business.

He stood with me on leash while I sent Boost down the driveway to get the newspaper and didn't try to chase her, although he watched carefully. Still on a short leash attached to me inside. I sat at the table to eat breakfast and read the paper, but frankly didn't get much reading done, as there was so much activity from the dogs (not frenzied, just moving, changing places, all the tension and uncertainty).

But--Tika did not snarl at him this morning. Guess a night in her usual spot on my bed with the young upstart in his place made her feel more secure. That's a relief. (Well, until he gets REALLY close to her face.)

I'm glad that he's socialized enough to back off and doesn't want to fight about it. And I'm happy that I have dogs who aren't dog aggressive.

Then, oh my what fun and excitement:

I let him off leash in my bedroom while I did my morning ablutions and dressed, and he and Boost started the preliminary cautious play bows and little pushes at each other, and then full pandemonium ensued. They played chase over, under, and around the bed, they wrestled, they chased some more, wrestled some more, chased and ran. Boy, those are fast and agile dogs!

Tika stood and barked at them in her "You're having fun! I think that's exciting!" way, and then she grabbed her bed and played with it with me, which she hasn't often wanted to do in the last couple or three months. Halleluia!

I cried a bit as she also seemed to want Boost to pay attention to her--until maybe a year or so ago, *they* used to wrestle gently with each other on my bed in the morning. But still, things I think were OK all around and there was happy energy from everyone.

We walked to the schoolyard where we play frisbee. It's 2/3 of a mile one way, and Tika did great! She's dragged so quickly lately even on shorter walks. I'm not sure whether the new dog is energizing her or prodding her, but I was delighted about her activity level; we walked briskly all the way there and all the way back and she even chased the frisbee a couple of times.

At the park, I attached Chip to a 12-foot lead and let him loose, having seen how much he wants to follow Boost around the house and yard when he gets a chance and deciding to rely on that attraction. He chased Boost for a while as I threw the frisbee--wow, he can move!--but then he'd lose interest and wander off in some other direction.  I tried calling him a couple of times but didn't get much response, so I stopped that, as I don't want him to get into the habit of ignoring me when I call. Instead, I'd just walk calmly but briskly to where he was, step on the end of the lead so he couldn't go anywhere,  and bring him back to me for praise and treats.

It's only noon, and I have lots of things to think about:

• He has an OK "Sit" but thinks about it, and no duration on it once he's down.
• He has a pretty iffy "Down", and also no duration once he's down.
• Need to work on recall just using his name; I prefer to do that with my dogs, get an instant head turn and response when I say their name, and reserve the extra "come" for emergencies, which I also need to work on.
• For meals, my dogs sit, I put the bowls down, and then they wait until I release them. He didn't want to sit as I stood there with his bowl, but did finally about the 4th time I told him to. (Yeah, I'm repeating the command, which I don't like, but I'm going to work with what he's got initially.) Then as soon as I started to move the bowl, he stood up. It took about 8 tries before he didn't immediately stand up as I moved the bowl, so he was getting it, and I was then able to put my hand in his collar to hold him there while I set the bowl down, praised, and then released him.
• Zukes are NOT a high value treat to him. Drat. He'll take them slowly here in the house, but as if he's afraid that eating the pomegranate seed means that he'll have to stay here forever.  Didn't care about them at all when outside. Seems to like cheese a little better. Will go buy some hot dogs later and see how those work.
• Part of the challenge with determining high-value treats for him is that he is so circumspect about taking things from me, and so gentle when he does. I need to better understand his "very excited" from "yeah, OK, give it here if you insist." 
• He digs in when I try to pull him towards me when he's facing me on leash rather than coming.
• His toenails need clipping (and they've never been clipped). So do my dogs'. Sighhhhh the never-ending toenail thing. We'll see how he does with a basic clipper and with the dremel.
• He wasn't thrilled about me picking up his feet to wipe them off with a rag after coming in from the yard. He actually put his mouth on my hand (very gently). I just stopped in position, told him gently that I understood but that he needed to let me do this. And then he did let me.
• After the walk and the exercise and breakfast, I put him in his crate to take a nap. I've been sitting here for probably almost an hour, and my dogs have mostly been napping the whole time, but I've seen him put his head down only once.  He's watching, watching, watching. Pawed at the crate door a couple of times but then did, at least, lie down.  Hmmm. Well, this is an unfamiliar situation for him.
• Introduced him to the clicker. Not bothered by the noise at all. I think I made progress within about 3 minutes of getting him to move his nose towards a target in my hand, but he was only mildly focused. Treats not high enough value, that's just the problem right now. 
• A quarter of his meal this morning was one of my dogs' kibbles. He ate that first! So he should be fine on a varied kibble diet. And Tika liked the quarter of her breakfast that was his food. Good trade, for an old dog who's not always that interested in her food any more.
• Pity that my pocket camera is having problems at the moment; I'd like to be taking more photos but the SLRs are so bulky and heavy.
• Played some crate games with him, just rewarding quickly with treats as he went in, treats as he stayed in when I opened the door, and practicing using "Break" as a release word to come back out. His current word for getting in the crate is "Crate." Long-term, I'd need to change either that or Break, as they sound too much alike.
  
• Man, that crate is HUGE for him. 
• He's actually good about going into the crate when told, and is comfortable there. But when I got home last night after being gone for a few hours, and after he was out for a bit, and I needed to put him back in for a bit, no, he did not want to go back in. Hence the crate games this morning. 
• There is so much to do to get from here to Agility-Doing Dog! But he's so sweet, and has a good foundation and a good personality, and I think we'll both like the process. We'll just see how easily he picks up some tricks when I figure out higher-value nom-noms.
• I need to start saying "Good dog!" again instead of "Good girl" or "good boy". Dogs don't care, but for some odd reason I do.
• He's actually pretty good on leash going for that long walk. Time will tell whether he's really good or just on best behavior in an unfamiliar situation.
• He is cautious about some new things (like the triceratops yesterday) but bold enough to check them out. This is good.
• Emailed a brief status last night to Owner; response this morning that he thought about him all night and it's odd not to have Chip there. I sure understand that.

Anyway, all is peaceful at the moment and I'm caught up on my thoughts and observations and things are going well, I believe.

Chip trial day 1

SUMMARY: Getting accustomed to each other; figuring out bed time.

Backfill: Added March 30

Chip (Chipper) is here. Arrived about 4:00 and I needed to leave shortly for my company's annual holiday party. (Yes, really.)

Owner and Chip came into the house on leash. I had put Boost behind the gate in the living room so that he wouldn't be overwhelmed coming in. Tika was out of sight, but showed up as Owner and I were chatting. That meeting went OK, so I unhooked his leash to see what would happen, and mostly he looked like he was sticking around; he seemed slightly concerned but not cowed by any means. So I stepped around the corner to let Boost loose; had to convince her to come out (I think she thought she was supposed to stay there), and when I stepped back into the kitchen, there was a big yellow puddle on the floor.

Owner didn't see it happen, either, because I think he was paying attention to me. I assume that it was a stressing Chip, since neither of my dogs have ever done that when other dogs have come into the house. Quick cleanup with paper towels and Nature's Miracle.

At one point, Chip popped up to his hind legs, paws on the edge of the stove to sniff; I was able to grab him quickly and say, "I don't think so!" Probably not an issue really, but something to keep an eye on until I'm positive.

Then we went out to the back yard. He checked out everything briskly, and marked everything briskly, too. Had a brief entertaining interlude with Mr. Triceratops while Chip tried to decide whether he was a real critter or not. Sorry, didn't have my camera out for that amusement, didn't want the distraction.

Owner left Chip's crate--a huuuuuge Varikennel from when he used to have a Catahoula. Some toys, bowls, bag of food, leash. After we both watched Chip for a bit and I asked what I could think of to ask, then Owner left fairly quickly, or, he said, "I'll start to cry." Chip has had a good home but we'll see whether I can maybe give him a bit more.

He went into his crate easily on command, I gave all the dogs Guard The House Goodies, and went out for the evening.

Came back about 3 and a half hours later, let him out into the yard where he did his business. Then I kept him on a short leash attached to me while I did a few things around the house, checked my email, and so on. He whined quietly a lot when I wasn't actually doing anything. He got petted when he lay calmly next to me and other times, too. He is SO soft.


Boost seems to mostly accept that he's here. She's looking for more attention from me and I'm trying to give her at least equal attention. She seems somewhat interested in his existence but is trying not to show it. He's definitely interested in her existence and follows her around when I let him off leash in the yard.

Tika is not happy; she actually exposes her teeth with a snarl when he comes close to her face, especially if she's right next to me. Never have seen her do that to another dog, but obviously everyone's a bit tense at the moment. He's good and backs off but I'm mostly trying to keep him away from her (he wants to make friends) and giving Tika plenty of loving, too.

He ate his dinner when I gave it to him, so he can't be too stressed. Eats slowly, though. Wow, when have I ever had a dog who eats slowly?

But he uses the same gentleness when taking treats from my hand, how nice compared to Tika! Even gentler than Boost, and she's pretty gentle.

Bed time: Set up the 24"-high x-pen with his bed and my dog throw about 2 feet from my bed, up against the dresser. He didn't want to be even that separated from the rest of us. He whined, tried cautiously to climb out, which I discouraged, pushed at the (unlatched) end of the pen, which I discouraged. And then, SPROING! He was on the bed! Jeepers creepers! I grabbed him and convinced him to go back into the xpen. Yes, I do have a taller one, but I just want him to get the idea of confinement with minimal trappings, as it's so much easier. He didn't want to settle again, whined, and once again, SPROING! He was on the bed! It's as if he levitated from within this little space, standing right next to the x-pen, across the space between, and up onto my high bed. I can't even tell you how he did it, and I was watching!

Yes, I think that this dog could do agility.

He stayed in the pen this time after I put him back, but kept whining and didn't want to lie down.

Then a funny thing happened. Boost jumped off the far side of the bed, came around, looked at him curiously for a bit, and then lay down on the floor between me and the x-pen, so that her nose was just a little way away from him. Then he settled down with his nose against the x-pen closest to her. I have no idea what her motivation was, but I'm very grateful to her. (She has never slept in that location before, ever, that I can recall.)

He might end up on the bed with the other dogs eventually (sigh), but for now I want my dogs to understand that this is still their place, and him to understand that I make the rules.

Eventually Boost ended up back on the bed, he stayed in his pen, and everyone slept, more or less.

Checking out the Hmmmm dog

SUMMARY: Evaluation meeting.

Backfill: Added March 30.

Met Chip and his current owner at a dog park up in Palo Alto. I asked an agility friend who lives just a couple of blocks from there to join me and give a sanity check.

Chip's story in a few words: Adopted Chip from the shelter at 5 (!) weeks old. Divorce. No more house or back yard. Working long hours. Feels terrible about not giving Chip the attention he deserves.

My basic observations.

• Chip is sooo skinny. Not unhealthy, no, I mean that his build is so slender, much thinner than Remington. Hard to tell compared to Tika or Boost because they have so much more hair. I can see why they might think Whippet, but otherwise he doesn't look whippetish to me.
• He is *fast*! He loved playing chase with any dog he could convince to chase him. He looks well-proportioned for running and jumping, in my limited expertise of evaluating build. Upright more like Tika than low-slung like Boost.
• He wants to fence-fight at other dogs approaching the park. Tika is like that, too, when there's a fence between. Like for Tika, it doesn't seem to be truly hostile, but more like wanting to have access to the other dog, and then everyone's happy.
• His fur is soooo soft. He is sweet and gentle with me and just a happy guy. But very much more interested in the other dogs. That's not surprising; that's why he's been coming to the dog park, to run and play with the other dogs. 
• He and my dogs were fine as we all hung out at one end of the park, as I expected--Tika's not that interested in other dogs other than an initial sniff or two, and Boost just wants someone to throw the tennis ball.
• Oh, my, it's been enough years since I've had boy dogs that I'd kinda forgotten about the marking-everything thing.
• He kinda comes when called. Current owner says ruefully, yes, one of the many things that Chip wasn't taught well. Wouldn't let him off leash somewhere because owner would spend a lot of time chasing him down.  Well, not like I've never dealt with an enthusiastically exploring, independent dog before. Right, Tika?

I confirm that I really am interested in him, at least on a trial basis. We agree to get together later in the week to do the hand-off.

Driving home, I'm going through a checklist of things that I'll need to do--emotionally, mentally, around the house, short term, and long term. Well, it's just for a trial basis to start with. Plus, the dog has a kid whom he sees every couple of weeks, and they're not going to do a final goodbye until we decide it's final.

Hmmmmm

SUMMARY: A gorgeous face.

Backfill: Added March 30.

I see SO many photos of dogs who need homes. That comes from having hundreds of dog contacts on facebook and from being in a dog agility club in which people care greatly about dogs and many do rescue work (as in, rescuing the dogs, not search and rescue).

But this.

I understand that Franz Mesmer had a compelling gaze, but I think he'd lose here.

Sent to the Bay Team club list by another member.

"He is 3 yrs, mix breed most likely Whippet. He is medium size 33 lbs, with a slight build. Chipper is super sweet, fast and agile, and settles nicely when he had some exercise. He is great with people and kids, and has been in his current home since he was tiny puppy. He is also crate trained, and rides nicely in the car. Chipper is a little cautious and has some anxiety when he first meets new dogs but is not reactive. He would make a great companion for someone who likes to go for walks or could also potentially make a great agility dog."

Not that I'm quite ready for a third dog--or so I keep saying. Two hands, two dogs. Peaceful household. Tika getting older. Money. Never enough time to do everything. Etc. I've said it before.

But then, there's this.

Remember my late lamented Remington?  (He was less than a year old in these photos.)

Well, I have to get more info, obviously.