Sunny at the Beach

Recently, I got a huge order from a chain of wineries who will be carrying some of my cork items. It's sort of a good and bad thing because I make all the items myself, so I've been cranking away at the sewing machine, which is where I'll be for at least 3 more weeks, making over 300 items as fast as my fingers will let me.

I try not to let it affect Cabana's life too much. She still gets her morning walks and trips to the park--but after that, she needs to entertain herself. She's good about it, usually hanging out in my sewing room with me.

But I decided to give us both a little break this morning, and we took a trip to the off-leash dog beach. We don't get to the beach often enough, even though it's only 30 minutes away. I know, how ridiculous of me! But today, the weatherman predicted a rare sunny morning there (the coast is usually encased in fog until it burns off midday), and I was so glad to take advantage of it because it turned out to be gorgeous.

Cabana's first response to the beach is always sniffing around the sand like crazy. I would think she'd head straight for the water, but no, this dog needs to make sure there's nothing good to eat hiding under the kelp mounds. Unfortunately, she usually finds something to consume, whether it's food or some other substance. Today, it was a corn-less corn cob--she started chomping away, but when I told her to "drop it", she did. I smushed it into the sand with my foot, but about 20 minutes later, she made her way back to that spot, dug it up, and ate it. Was she thinking about that corn cob the whole time?!

Finally, Cabana leaves the sniffing behind and heads for the water. She switches gears with a vengeance, dashing in and out of the waves like a true water dog.


Here's a video of Cabana's frenzied cavorting. Imagine having this kind of energy! If only I could sew like Cabana cavorts....

But Cabana is only a "faux" water dog. She doesn't go any deeper than this because Cabana does NOT like to swim--she ONLY likes to wade.

We stopped and played with a few dogs as we walked along, but when we came to this boy, Cabana was enchanted. I was worried she'd knock him over or jump on him, but she didn't. She just wanted to hang around him and be his buddy.

That is, until she saw this black Lab! They were drawn to each other like magnets. And of course, it's because career changed guide dogs always seem to recognize each other!

I couldn't tell just by looking, but Cabana obviously could! This black Lab turned out to be Jordan, who was released from guide dog training for growling (not aggressive at all, but he just growls sometimes).

Jordan's owner is a current trainer at Guide Dogs for the Blind, and they live just a few blocks from us. We have met a few times on walks, but Cabana and Jordan have never gotten to truly play together. The dogs definitely were happy to finally get the chance!

Now it's back to the sewing machine for me, and I think Cabana will be happy to veg on the floor for the rest of the day.

P.S. I took these photos with my 50mm/f1.8 lens that I've had for a year but hadn't used in a while. Lovenandaleash reminded me of it with her comment on my last post--thank you, Aleksandra! I think it makes a huge difference in the quality of my photos.

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Bucky Backfire

This week, we are dog-sitting. Bucky's family is in Hawaii for two weeks--poor them. We'll have Bucky with us for one week, and then he'll stay with some other friends the following week.

Bucky is a sweet and affectionate 4-year old Lab mix of some sort and has been very well-trained. He is super polite, never crossing thresholds without permission. We don't even have a threshold into our kitchen, but he never comes into it uninvited. His favorite thing is to catch frisbees in mid-air.

Bucky's other favorite thing is PEOPLE--any people. Although he's never aggressive, he could care less about other dogs. In fact, when Cabana tries to engage him in play, he lays as still as possible on the floor, trying to pretend he's sleeping or perhaps even dead! After a few minutes of Cabana excitedly play nipping, panting, and cajoling, she gives up on him. Not exactly the outcome I had hoped for. I was excited to have Bucky come stay with us so Cabana would have a fun playmate, but that plan has totally backfired.

It's been interesting for me to have Bucky here. Now, 6 months since Cabana was career changed, after all my angst about whether to keep her as our pet, I have never had any regrets. In fact, I often thank my lucky stars, believing that truly there is no better dog in the world for us. But when I saw how people-oriented Bucky is, I confess that I wondered if it wouldn't be nice if Cabana was a bit more people-oriented, too.

That desire lasted about one hour, maybe two.

Since I'm primarily the one that's home with the dogs, I have become the center of Bucky's universe. He is ALWAYS so focused on me, waggling his whole body whenever I even glance his way--which is nice in some ways, but also a bit draining. Because he is so solicitous and always wants to be right next to me, it has made Cabana quite possessive. So she has to glom onto me, too, in order to claim me as her human. Now I know how it feels to be too popular. It's exhausting.

I'll take Cabana's independence over a dog with a "needy" disposition any day. Sure, we all adjust and get used to what we've got--but for me, this was confirmation that we really love and are grateful for Cabana, just the way she is.

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New Equipment & Practices

In the front of this photo is our new snazzy red 26' Flexi leash, made for dogs twice Cabana's size. Our old retractable leash was not a Flexi, and the mechanism was not nearly as smooth or fast. In my opinion, the Flexi is worth every penny (only $26 on eBay). The tangled red tape/lead is the tape from the old retractable leash that broke. I still get use out of it by attaching it to Cabana's collar and letting it just drag along behind her. It gives us extra yardage, plus since it's old anyway, I don't mind if it gets all wet and muddy.

And my new mucker boots! After months of slogging through wet dog park grass in my sneakers and coming home with squishy brown socks, I finally bought these rain boots. The pink circles may be slightly garish, but they just make me so happy. C'mon, rain, I'm ready for you!

After reading this article about leash walking on Dog Star Daily, I realized how important it is to allow Cabana to "check out the world at her own pace". When Cabana was a puppy-in-training, I didn't have the confidence to just "let her be a dog". Like someone trying a new recipe, painstakingly measuring each ingredient, or a young painter with a new paint-by-number set, I compulsively tried to follow the GDB guidelines. My #1 goal was for Cabana to walk next to me in the perfect position, without sniffing or veering, ignoring all distractions.

But don't get me wrong, I love the GDB structure and guidelines! I believe those guidelines helped us raise a balanced, healthy, polite dog--one that doesn't bark excessively, isn't possessive of toys or food, doesn't lick or sniff inappropriately, and potties on command. Cabana gets an A+ in all those areas.

Well, we never did get the walking on leash exactly right, for a guide dog in training anyway. So I've had a hard time letting those rules go. I was still clinging to that old goal. And I didn't want what progress we had achieved deteriorate--but still, I wanted to give her more freedom and fun on our walks.

I think we've finally come to a good compromise. Using the Flexi leash, we start the first half of our walk with Cabana in a heel position, keeping the leash braked short. I still use kibble to help Cabana walk without pulling and as a reward for ignoring passersby. Then, when we reach grassy open areas, I let go of the brake and let her sniff like crazy, walk through grass and puddles, meander about, get way ahead of me or way behind. She LOVES it. It's a great time to practice recall, too--which Cabana is doing MUCH better at (thanks, Ro, for the Iams Biscuit info; it's been HIGHLY motivating to Cabana).

When other people/dogs are approaching, though, I tell Cabana to "stay with me" as I bring her back into a heel position. I only too clearly remember how difficult and detrimental it was to pass other dogs that weren't being properly controlled by their owners. After the people have passed, I tell Cabana, "go sniff" or "go play", and she happily goes back to her explorations.

I'd love to know what others of you with career change dogs do regarding leash walking. How much of their previous training do you hang onto?

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This and That

Although it's still rainy here, it hasn't been very cold. My hydrangeas are budding (a pesky, albeit cute, little snail has made itself at home here), and daffodils are popping up everywhere. Spring has sprung (almost)!

This morning, we crossed paths with Watson, a retired breeder for Guide Dogs for the Blind. Watson is almost 13-years old, very spry for his age, and still wears his black Guide Dogs collar. Watson's owner told me that Watson's sire was Faris (sp?), who fathered over 400 Guide Dog pups.

And yesterday, when Cabana and I were at a pet store in our town, a couple entered with a pretty yellow Lab. I recognized their ubiquitous leather service dog leash, and said, "Hey, is that a career change dog?" They laughed and said yes, as I held up my matching leash for Cabana. That yellow Lab was Yasmine (again sp?) who is 8-years old and also very spry and high-energy. It's Guide Dog Central around here!

Cabana has been doing great on walks. After private email consultations with fellow blogger OSU 98 (thanks, Nicole!), we are alternating between a 6' leash and a long lead. Cabana loves the freedom of the long lead--she's gotta sniff everything. (Sorry for the butt shot, but I couldn't get a photo of Cabana facing me!)

As a reward for great long line recalls during our walk, Cabana got some off-leash romp time with chocolate Labradoodle Cocoa, who is a regular passerby on our walks. What a great way to start the weekend!

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