Firsts

Posted in dog! on 05/19/2009 08:35 pm by karen

We have a hammock on the back patio. Waylon has always been leery of it — he doesn’t like the way it moves or the sound it makes as the chain that connects the hammock to the frame rattles. He’s always given it a wide berth.

This evening, though, he couldn’t resist. I was lying crosswise on my back on the hammock, so my feet were on the ground, and Waylon climbed up the front of me. Once he was up, I shifted him off of me and onto the hammock.

Then the only chore was keeping him from dumping both of us overboard. He’s heavy (50 pounds) and was moving side to side on the hammock. Finally he settled down a bit and lay beside me. Unfortunately, I hadn’t thought to bring a chew toy for him, and in the absence of a toy, he makes use of my arm. It’s amusing now, yes, when he bites on my whole forearm — we’ll see if it grows less amusing as he gets bigger. Better the forearm than the throat, though. Baby steps.

***

On Sunday, we went to his first puppy class. There were 6 other dogs, among them a German Shepherd (Tank) and a Lab (Max) who are the same age as Waylon. He did great. He loves other dogs and people, so no problem there.

Waylon loves to reach out and bat things with his paws (which made it a snap to teach him “Paw”). So, apparently, does Max the Lab. As the teacher was talking, Waylon and Max lay facing each other. One would reach out and bat the other on the head. Then the other would retaliate. Like watching a slap fight in slow motion. It was very funny. Big dogs are amusing, because they can be such lugs: these two didn’t move at all, except for the ongoing alternating smacks on the head. Cracked me up.

I did get kinda reprimanded for using a choke chain on Waylon. I don’t feel chastened, though. I’m fine with using a regular collar for class. But I’m really sold on the choke chain for walking. The teacher talked about how dogs used to be trained rather brutally — and cited the example of people stomping on the dog’s leash to teach the “down” command. Um yeah, that’s a bad idea no matter what kind of collar you use. Anyhow, we’ll carry on and respect the teacher’s room. Nothing to lose in that.

As we were leaving, two little kids ran up to Waylon. A brother and sister — she was about 6; he, hiding a bit behind her, was about 4. They leaned toward Waylon and looked at me inquiringly. “He’s friendly,” I said, “He’s just a puppy.” They both got closer to Waylon, excited to close the gap, but still shy. Waylon wiggled a bit, then reached out toward the girl with his paw. “Look!” I said, “He’s trying to pat you!” The little boy thought that was the funniest thing ever.

 

10 Comments

  1. hi Karen
    love the story. i’d have to see what Waylon does when chewing your forearm to see if i wouldn’t be afraid of the idea.
    hugs
    Arturo

  2. It’s actually pretty funny, Arturo. You can tell he’s just a big baby who is gnawing because his teeth are coming in.

    Still no luck seeing other blogs, Arturo? Do you know why you’ve lost access to them?

  3. That’s so cute! Wow, I can’t believe he’s 50 lbs already. He’s a big boy! How do you teach ‘down’? I learned to teach it by putting them into a sit and then you kind of take the weight off one of their front legs and shift their shoulders toward that leg until they lie down. From the Brian Kilcommons books.

  4. First off, I use a food treat. I put him in a “sit,” then take the treat and bring it down from his face to between his feet, keeping the treat close to his body so he keeps sitting and looking at it. As the treat moves, he leans down to get it, at which point I move the treat out away from him slowly — essentially “luring” him so that he has to lie down to get closer to it. Once he’s down, he gets the treat.

    It works for big dogs, who tend to be slower than little dogs. No idea how it works for little dogs who move around a lot. Want to try and report back?

  5. hi Karen
    i can now see other blogs but i can’t access my own. i may travel this weekend and see if that solves the problem temporarily. i will look into a local blog host, although it would be in Chinese, so i’m not sure how everyone would read it. another alternative would be to look for an internet service provider locally which offers blogging capabilities. i may have to wait a month to investigate those other options since i’m studying for something work related. yesterday i received my residency. things are going well. i seem to be expressing myself all over the cybershala since i can’t do it chez moi.
    hugs
    arturo

  6. I love Waylon stories!
    He sounds so sweet (even the forearm nibbling).
    I think you should teach him to sit on you for Supta Vajrasana and then after backbends (he could drape over you, giving you a doggie squish).

  7. Haha! Yes! An assist in supta vajrasana! I will have to explain how that’d work to the dog trainer and ask her to help me train him to do it. Can you imagine the look on her face? :-)

  8. LOL, doggies are good yoga partners.

    I’ve already taught the boys to down long ago. Your way might work with Rufus, who doesn’t move too quickly but that might not work for Rocky. Maybe I’ll try it with the next dog. My method sounds like I’m forcing or shoving them but it’s more like a gentle lean. I think they figured it out in about a week. Probably the most important command, and the most-used around our house, other than leave it or wait.

  9. I agree with your teacher:) hate choke collars…..try a Gentle Leader, you will never use a choke again :) Who does your training?

  10. Hi Tami,

    Right now, we’re at a puppy class at PetsMart. I like it for the socialization mostly. Then we’ll go to Jamie DeBenedetto (http://www.mydog8az.com/MDAIhome.html). Her classes are a bit of a drive to get to, so that’s why I start with the local puppy class. Jamie’s the trainer I took Ty to. She’s awesome.

    I’ll look into the lead. Honestly, though, both Ty and Waylon were really good with a choke chain (maybe it’s the name that makes it seem so awful?). Both of them immediately figured out that it was more comfortable to walk close and not forge ahead. It didn’t take any strangling, either! Waylon walks on a loose leash already — so I can switch over to a buckle collar and it won’t make much difference. It always seemed like he and Ty liked the chain because they would walk on a loose leash and the chain was super slack — I figured it felt more like they had no collar at all.

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