Hike at Mount Burdell

Yesterday, Cabana and I met our friend Bucky and his owner for a hike at Mount Burdell. (My camera lens is dirty; can you see the big smudge next to Cabana?) Every time we get together with them, it seems like it's foggy, drizzly, or raining. But that's okay, we still have a good time anyway.

"Cabana, come!" Dogs are allowed off-leash here, and Cabana did a fabulous job of coming when called. Having an extremely food-motivated dog like Cabana can have its downside, but it's definitely a plus in the recall department.

There weren't many other dogs out, but we did meet this foxy little guy.

I said, "Whippet, whippet good."

I think Cabana had a great time, don't you?

Here's a little shelter update. I got an email from Seamus/Buster's new owner, telling me how much they adore him. She sent me this photo, saying that Seamus thinks he's their third child. They put him in the far back seat, but he always climbs into the middle seat, in between the twin girls. We're planning to get together soon. I miss that guy!

Also, Loki was adopted last week. In fact, she had 3 groups of people wanting her! Several people have been interested in Francie. Two of them were crazy people, though, and there was no way we were letting her go home with them. But one very promising couple, who were extremely pitbull experienced and dog savvy, even took her home for a trial run, but it didn't work out. Sigh, she was a bit too much for their current dog, a blue heeler mix. Double sigh. I'll be showing Francie this weekend at the Cuddle Shuttle mobile adoption truck, so I've got big hopes for her. She just needs the right person....

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Coming Along Nicely

Cabana and I have been working diligently on recall everyday for the past 3 months. It's a long and gradual haul! But she has progressed very well and comes about 95% of the time when off leash. Here she is, boisterously and immediately coming when called. (Ugh, I'm embarrassed of my voice, but oh well.)


Video description: We're in a big open field of grass with a fence and buildings off in the distance. Cabana is running around a short distance away in tall grass, but when I call her, she makes a beeline toward me.

Even when I don't call her, she likes to come running back to me. This is so rewarding, as well as such a relief. I feel so much more confident about letting her off leash now as compared to even a month ago.


Video description: Cabana running through the long grass, she circles around and comes to a stop after passing me.

But there's still that 5% of the time when I know Cabana's too involved in whatever is distracting her. Here, it's a big swampy, marshy puddle of water. Usually, I leash her when we're getting close to this puddle, but she's been really good about listening when I say "uh uh" (meaning, don't go there) or "this way" (change your direction). This morning, I thought I'd try keeping her off leash as we passed by the puddle. I called her once, but then I gave up and took this video instead. As long as she doesn't drink the water, I'm not that concerned.


Video description: There's a pond/puddle larger than an average living room, with tall reeds and grass growing in it. Cabana skirts the puddle, thrashes through one side, exits the pond and then runs around in a circle on the other side.

Well, next time we pass this puddle, I think I'll have to go back to leashing her. ;)

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Waves of Anxiety

Ever since Cabana got career changed at the end of November, I've looked forward to taking Cabana to the off-leash dog beach. I envisioned 20-30 dogs of all sizes and breeds, dashing and splashing in the surf--what could be more fun for Cabana? The off-leash beach is only about 20 miles from our house, but the winding road makes it take almost an hour to get there. We took advantage of a non-rainy day last week--but the outing was not quite what I had hoped for....

It was foggy, as is the case 95% of the time at the coast, regardless of season. The beach was absolutely deserted, alas no doggies for Cabana to romp with. But I had already paid the $7 parking fee (except I paid $8 for reasons too long and complicated to go into in this post), so I decided to proceed as planned.

Cabana amused herself by trying to drink the ocean water.

"Look at all this water! Can I drink it? Ew, salty."

"How about over here, can I drink this?"

"What about here? Water, water everywhere...but it stinks that I can't drinks!"

Notice that Cabana has her long lead on in the photos, even though it's an off-leash beach. That's because I got nervous. What if Cabana tried to go too far into the water, where the tide might pull her out? I pictured myself having to plunge fully clothed into the freezing ocean to save her. Or she might dash up the beach for miles and disappear beyond the rocks. Her recall is getting better--but I didn't want her going rogue on me. Better safe than sorry--except that I COULD have gone to the ON-leash beach with free parking instead of paying $7 or $8 to come to this OFF-leash beach, only to keep my dog ON leash the whole time...dumb!!

Finally, a few other people and dogs came! Two funny basset hounds, not the most spry of canines--but dogs nonetheless. Some people might like having a beach all to themselves--but not us! With the bassets there, I felt more comfortable about letting Cabana off leash. If there are other dogs around, Cabana stays predicably close to them. Unfortunately, the bassets didn't stay long. After 15 minutes, it was just Cabana and me again--so the leash went back on.

We practiced recall in the water...."See, Mom, I'm good and I'll come when you call!"

"It's no fun to be tangled up! C'mon, Mom, loosen up already!"

Okay, okay. I let Cabana off leash for a little while, and Cabana did a pretty good job of coming when called. Next time, I think I'll have a bit more confidence in Cabana. Maybe I'll even be able to relax and have fun?

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Stupidhead Move

Don't you just hate it when you do something dumb? Last week, to my chagrin, I was able to add an incident to my already lengthy list of stupidhead moves. All I can say is, it seemed like a good idea at the time??

Because Cabana's recall at dog parks is atrocious, I've been looking for opportunities in which to practice. On one of our early morning walks, we took the dirt path pictured above. A barbed wire fence runs along this path, with a very large cow pasture on the opposite side. An immense field of grass flanks the path's other side. There are no roads close by, and since I usually walk Cabana fairly early in the morning, no other beings (human, canine or bovine) were around.
I kept Cabana's nylon lead attached to her flat collar and purposely let go of the other end, letting her meander and sniff about a bit but still encouraging her to stay near me on the path. I'd call her back to me and reward her with a piece of kibble when she returned. No other dogs to contend with, it was all going according to plan! Until....

Much to my utter surprise, that rascally devil of a dog wriggled herself, lickety split, under the barbed wire fence and ran into the cow pasture! (Thankfully, there were no cows there at the time.) She frolicked around like a crazed lunatic, gobbling up cow poop as she dashed about.

I called to her, but of course, she ignored me. I took out a fistful of kibble...more ignoring. I bent down, patted the ground under the barbed wire, called her name happily and playfully, called her name more sternly...more ignoring.

Finally, in desperation, I thought, darnit, there's nothing else I can do but climb over this barbed wire fence. I prayed I wouldn't scratch myself up too terribly as I gingerly placed a foot on the bottom rung. My standing on the fence, though, completely piqued Cabana's curiosity ("What in blue blazes is Mom doing?", and she came running over to me! Finally, no ignoring!

I got back down off the fence and was able to grab her leash and lead her back under, safe and sound except for a bad case of poop breath. Needless to say, I didn't let go of that leash again. Enough practice for one day.

As we completed our walk along the path, I noticed that there were no other spaces along that fence where Cabana could have fit under. Except for that ONE spot (shown with Cabana sitting in front of it), the wire is much lower to the ground and has a lot of brush growing up under it (as shown in the bottom photo). Of all the places for me to decide to do a little off-leash rehearsal! Next time, I'll try to be more careful--although I'm not naive enough to think this will be my last stupidheaded move ever.

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Tuesday Topics 3 - How to Deal with Dog Distraction

I like how Cabana's tail fur goes into a little spin at the end. Hey, is that what a tailspin is?

But wait, that's not my Tuesday Topic question. Here it is.

Cabana's biggest obstacle to good behavior is dog distraction. She is fairly good on the leash when no one else is around, but when there are other people, especially with their dogs--and especially with their dogs OFF-LEASH (my biggest pet peeve in the world)...then it's difficult to keep Cabana under control.

I do what I can to minimize distractions. I only walk the pretty, popular walking paths on rainy or overcast days and avoid them when it's sunny because I know everyone and their uncles will be there. On nice days, I walk on busier streets where people are less inclined to allow their dogs off-leash. Or on weekends, I try to go extra early, before the sleep-in types get their butts in gear.

When people/dogs are approaching, even at quite a distance away, Cabana goes into alert mode, walking briskly with her head and ears raised up, and the pulling begins. Then, when the person passes, she will often try to jump on them. Sometimes, after the person passes, she still has that residual excitement and keeps turning to look at them or jumps around or even tries to bite her leash. Sometimes, it makes her plain ornery, like she's telling me, "You always spoil my fun." As a mom, I've definitely heard THAT before!

I try to be ready when this is happening. To get Cabana focused on me, I talk to her, call her name, have a treat ready to give her, hold her leash/head collar down so she can't jump....It all helps, but it's a lot of effort. I guess that's why I'd rather avoid people than go through it a bazillion times each day.

Really, it comes down to the fact that I don't really know what I'm doing, doesn't it? What am I doing wrong? Exactly when should I give the treat? At what exact moment do I give a correction? And (insert whiney voice) when is it going to get better?!?

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Pet Peeve

Our county has a strict leash law, which states that all dogs must be on-leash and under control at all times (except in fenced dog parks or your own fenced yard). The owner is also required to clean up after their dog.

However, it SHOCKS and annoys me how many dog owners let their dogs run around off-leash. Sure, their dog may be well-behaved and voice-trained. But the leash law doesn't stipulate that well-behaved dogs are allowed off-leash and only ill-mannered ones have to be leashed.

On the walking path near my house, I see at least 2-3 dogs being "walked" off-leash every single day. How can the owner clean up after their dog if he's just defecated way over on the other side of the field? And what if I don't want their dog coming over and sniffing out my dog? By having their dog off-leash, I am subjected to their lack of control, and my rights are being encroached.

As a dog owner myself, I can understand the desire to let your dog run free. But I also understand that not everyone loves my dog, something that most dog owners don't seem to get. Just because YOU love your dog and don't mind it jumping on you or sniffing you or even coming up to you in a well-mannered fashion, doesn't mean that everyone else is okay with it.

My sister is deathly afraid of animals, and I always think about her when I see dogs off-leash. She would not be able to go for a leisurely walk through our neighborhood because she would be constantly accosted by dogs off-leash. Her fear is not a rational one, so it doesn't matter if the owner says, "My dog is friendly." She just doesn't want to be anywhere near a dog. Because these dog owners are not abiding the leash law, my sister and others like her can't even take a stroll through their neighborhoods. What a travesty.

But what a creep I would seem to be if I told all these dog owners that I pass, "Can you please leash your dog?" I can't even imagine it. So what is the answer? Should policemen patrol the neighborhood to hand out fines to all my neighbors? I don't have any good ideas, except to blog about it here.

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