Going for a Walk?

I love this! Accuweather now gives you a customized forecast for walking your dog, with ratings from 1 to 10, for today and the next four days. Just for fun, I plugged in the dog walking forecast for, say, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Myeh, Honolulu isn't SO much better for dog walking in the next few days than in my own neck of the woods (second photo). It's definitely warmer there, but just as wet. Click here to check out your own city and state. I'm curious, anybody get a 10 in their forecast?

According to the chart, today is only a 4 for us. But we'll be out there anyway. Rain schmain. As my mother would say, we won't melt--we're not made of sugar! (Actually, my mother has never said that, but I don't really know anyone who has....)

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Rain, Rain, Go Away

I know we need the rain, but the weatherman is predicting rain ALL week long. Today is the first day in January that Cabana and I have not gone on our morning walk. 17 days out of 18--not a bad track record! But we are both missing the outing, especially Cabana who perks up every time I move from room to room, thinking that NOW might be a good time for a walk. I can see her mind thinking, "Is she going to get her sneakers? No...darn."

In the photo above, Cabana is looking out our sliding glass patio door. (I'm the goofball standing outside in the rain, taking photos in my pajamas!) It's hard to take photos that convey how much it's raining! Ha ha, my cozy sheepskin slippers are in the photo next to Cabana, which I took off to step outside in the rain.

We've had rain on previous days in January, but usually it was overnight or just a light drizzle. Today, it's a downpour. This is what our backyard is like--torn up turf with lots of mud and puddles.

Accuweather says that 1:00pm will bring a small break in the rain. I'm hoping we can take our walk then and not break our perfect-so-far January record!

Addendum: Yippee, the rain stopped for a little while. We were able to go for our walk at noon, and it was even a bit sunny and warm--weird weather!! 18 for 18--woo hoo!

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Help Wanted: Personal Trainer

Seems like my whole adult life, I've always weighed about 10-20 pounds more than I'd like to. So my usual New Year's resolution, along with 90% of the American population, was to lose weight. I'd set the goal of trying to exercise EVERY SINGLE DAY, just for the month of January. I knew it wasn't realistic to keep that up for an entire year, but I felt that for 31 days, it was possible.

Usually, although I might only end up having exercised for 20-25 days out of the 31, I felt it helped me set a pattern of more regular exercise. Doing this for the past several years, I've gotten to the point that if I don't exercise for 2-3 days, my body feels miserable, begging me to stop being lazy and get moving.

But in 2009, I didn't have to make my usual exercise resolution! With new puppy Cabana in our home, I HAD to take her for walks every day. I'm a firm believer that a tired puppy is a good puppy. Because it's not good for puppies' joints to run alongside us (it's considered "forced exercise", as opposed to being able to start and stop at their own will) until at least 12 months of age, I went for multiple short walks with Cabana instead.

I've heard the formula for puppy walking is 5 minutes for every month of age. So a 5-month old puppy can walk for 25 minutes, while a 12-month old can go for an hour. Of course, this is just a rule of thumb and would depend on the puppy and the breed.

In the past year of walking Cabana and more recently jogging with her (almost daily; my husband gives me a break 1-2 times a week), I have lost about 7 pounds, without making any other changes in my diet (heaven only knows since I love to eat--a lot) or overall lifestyle. Yippee!

Recalling what Katlynn shared in her post about Focus, Cabana's half brother, when he was career changed, the trainers said, "Focus is a dog that needs a job – a job to this dog would be to go jogging every day...."

When I read that, I thought about how alike Cabana and Focus seem to be, and how jogging with me every day would be a great job for Cabana! She makes a fabulous personal trainer, pushing me to go faster and further, loving every step, motivating me to get my butt out there, regardless of season or schedule. (Plus, Cabana runs on leash SO much more politely than when she walks.)

I hope I'll be able to lose the other 3-13 pounds in 2010, now that I've got my personal trainer at full tilt. And I encourage you all to get out there with Cabana and me! Our dogs need the exercise every day, and regardless of weight, we humans do, too!! Happy 2010 to everyone!

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These Paws Were Made for Walking...Fast

Cabana is a high energy dog. I think she really WANTS to walk nicely without pulling--but she just can't contain herself in the beginning of our walks. Midway through, after some energy has been expended, she's much better about walking in the right position, next to my left leg.

Because Cabana is over a year old, she's allowed to run a bit (Guide Dogs doesn't want dogs under 12 months running alongside you on leash because it can be hard on their joints). I usually jog the first few blocks with her, so she can release some energy. Well, I might be jogging, but for her, it's barely a trot (I'm a shorty at 5'1").

The new snap collar worked great at first, but a big drawback with the snap collar is that it stretches out. Proper fit is crucial with the snap collar; if it's even a half inch too loose, it just slides down, instead of staying high on the neck where it's most effective.

If you have the same problem with your snap collar, try soaking it, then putting it in the dryer for about 5-10 minutes. If you put the collar in a sock before putting it in the dryer, it will minimize banging and protect it as well. But MAKE SURE you only put it in the dryer for a short time. If you forget and dry it too long, the collar may not even fit on a chihuahua--so proceed at your own risk. Our collar shrank about 1/2" in 10 minutes, perfecto!

I have found that alternating between the snap collar and the head collar helps Cabana walk with less pulling. Maybe it keeps her from getting too used to the same kind of pressure.

Even after a brisk 45-minute walk (between 2-3 miles), sometimes, Cabana will still do her labby loops through our living room right afterwards! Like I said, she's high energy!

We usually walk Cabana fairly early, starting out between 7:00-7:30, to minimize the number of dogs we pass (since she's on food protocol, we go through a lot of kibble on our walks, and I need to save SOME for her meals!). This morning, though, there was a frost on the ground--chilly! I waited until closer to 8:00 to go on our walk, hoping it would warm up a bit--but even at that "late" hour, we didn't pass a single other dog. I guess Northern California dog owners are pretty thin-skinned! (I know the Utah folks are sniggering at us, too cold to walk with a mere light frost!)

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Little Bridges Toward Success

When I picked Cabana up from the GDB kennels yesterday, I was told they had treated Cabana for ear infections in both ears. I was so surprised because I check her ears fairly regularly--and just a day or two before I brought Cabana into the kennels, I had marvelled to myself how clean her ears looked. Shows how much I know. Of course, she might have contracted the ear infections after she arrived there, who's to say.

They also upped her food to 2 cups, twice a day--hooray! I'm so pleased that Cabana can eat a little more. Like most Labs, nothing makes her happier than eating.

Cabana also came home with a bad case of diarrhea, which made itself plain just before our puppy meeting last night. Then, at puppy group, Cabana kept whining and whining. I thought she had picked up a bad habit while in the kennels (the dogs can be pretty loud there), so I corrected her (repeatedly) during the meeting to try to get her to stop. Then, she gave me "the stare"--and all of the sudden, I realized her whining was to let me know she needed to go out! And sure enough, I took her outside, and she had another bout of diarrhea. I felt AWFUL for correcting her when she had been doing the right thing all along! Poor thing!

This morning, though, the diarrhea seems to have cleared up. And we went for our usual morning walk. For the first 10 minutes of our walk, Cabana PULLED like the dickens. I felt like we were starting at ground zero. She has never been a perfect walker, and we still struggle with distractions--but today it seemed extra bad. Then, after a few well-timed (albeit non-protocol) pieces of kibble, Cabana walked better than she ever has before. A beautiful loose leash, no shenanigans--it was heavenly!



Toward the end of our route, I stopped to take these photos on a little bridge we cross. I removed her head collar for the photos--but then, I was able to leave it off for the remainder of our walk. I figured if Cabana got too pull-y, I would put it back on--but I didn't need to! Don't know how things will be tomorrow--but I'll take that little step toward success today!

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Tuesday Topics 6 - Walking a Fine Line

Cabana likes to sit under my desk and put her head on my knees while I work. I knew the good Lord gave me padded knees for a reason--so I can be a good chin rest.

This week's Tuesday Topic is about WALKING. How can such a simple thing be so hard?! Guide dog puppies in training have to walk without pulling on their leash, pay unflagging attention to their human and ignore all the others, disregard dogs, cats, birds, fish, and not be tempted by sticks, stones, gum or fecal matter on the ground. That's a LOT to ask of these little babies.

Is it any wonder poor Cabana has the occasional tantrum when we're walking? I think I'd throw a hissy fit, too, if I were in her shoes. Thankfully, these past few days, Cabana has been doing much better. Thanks for the encouragement from other puppy raisers last week! It was sorely needed and much appreciated. I'm working on being more relaxed yet also more assertive--seems a little like an oxymoron, but I think I can do it.

Something I've wondered from the start is how far and how often we should be walking our pups (I know each puppy is individual--but humor me with generalizations). I have been diligent about walking Cabana every single day, but maybe that's not necessary or recommended. Maybe it makes walking seem like drudgery for both of us? There are definitely days when I'd rather not walk, but I've been making myself do it for her sake.

Right now, we walk for about 45 minutes, somewhere between 2-3 miles. Is that too far for a 6 month old puppy? Not far enough? Don't puppies go bonkers with too much energy if you didn't walk them that day?

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Thanks for the Great Comments!!

After posting my Tuesday Topic about career change, the next day I had an "episode" with Cabana that made me think that she was definitely going to be joining the career change ranks. But after talking to my puppy group leader (thank you, Cassie!), we're not crossing her off the working dog list yet!

In the midst of my worries, I was so grateful that I had gotten to read about other puppy raisers' career change scenarios. Thank you, thank you to everyone who shared so openly about their experiences. There's such a wide range of reasons, and like everyone said, no definite way to predict what's going to happen. I agree that it's best to live in the moment, just accept the good and work on the not-so-good.

What was Cabana's episode? Well, she just got extremely feisty with me at the end of our morning walk. I don't think she would have hurt me, but she was definitely letting me know she wasn't happy. She's done this before (jumping, flailing, mouthing), but it was to a larger degree this time. It took a lot longer to calm her down enough so we could get back home.

But today on our walk, she was back to her usual self--still pulling some, but that's normal. I do feel like she's shown some improvement in her level of dog distraction--but she still has a LOOONNNG way to go in that department.


I took this photo at SB Lake. Finally, there's actually some water in the lake, thanks to all the rain last month. Previously, the lake had about 1" of water in it, so it's nice to see all the ducks and geese and swans there, swimming around instead of sitting in dry caked mud.

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A Beautiful But Steep Uphill Climb

I get bored with walking the same stretches over and over, so this morning, we went back to HP Regional Park (last time I went there, I came home and found 3 ticks on me). It's gorgeous there, but the walking paths are narrow. It was pretty muddy in spots, too, which makes walking side-by-side with Cabana very difficult. After getting so much better about pulling on her leash, today Cabana seemed to have taken a couple steps back (only in the figurative sense; literally, she was a few steps too far ahead). But there were horseshoe tracks in the mud, so Cabana may have been extra excited by the different scents and unfamiliar territory.

Here's the steep climb at the beginning of our walk. We took that center path all the way to the crest, but I don't think the photo conveys just how steep it is. Maybe I'm just a wuss, but my lungs were burning by the time I got up to the top. Cabana, of course, wasn't phased in the slightest--I think she was looking at me like, "What? Are you tired already?"



A few other shots of Cabbie--with her leash around a sign post near the top...


and in front of a little lake in the valley.

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Naughty or Nice

This Saturday morning was foggy and a bit chilly, but it was one of those days where you can tell it's going to be gorgeous and warm later on. Because it was early and foggy, meaning that not many other people would be out with their dogs (majorly distracting to Cabana), I decided to try walking her without her head collar. It turned out to be a good idea because she did very well. With her head collar, she tends to sit down a lot, but when she's not wearing it, although she does pull a bit more, she's more willing to keep moving.

I snapped a couple photos of Cabana on our walk today. My camera is big, so I don't like to take it along, even though I often wish I had it with me.


Yesterday, we walked with the head collar on, and midway in our walk, Cabana got tired of being good. (Don't we all!) She started jumping and biting her leash, running in circles around me. All very naughty behaviors, which she knows she isn't supposed to do. It's her way of saying, "I'm gonna do what I want, and you can't stop me!" (She used to do this a lot more, but it had been quite a while since she had done this.) I grabbed her collar and scruff firmly and said, "That's enough!" (This is the GDB preferred way of saying "no".) Well, Cabana stopped and calmed down, but then, as I took a couple steps to start walking again, she came up behind me and BIT me on the TUSHIE!!! Not hard, but I definitely felt it. I was SHOCKED at her very deliberate gesture of disobedience. Of course, I gave her a firm correction, and we proceeded on our walk. Later, when I recounted the story to my husband, he asked if Cabana was repentant after that. I said she behaved herself, but she didn't seem all that "hangdog" about what she'd done.

One out of three dogs don't make it through the program to become a Guide Dog. Even the smallest undesirable behavior can cause the dog to be "career changed." I think tushie biting might possibly put the dog in the "career change" category--so it's definitely something we need to "nip in the bud" (ha ha).

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