Cold Spell

Hell has frozen over.

Van-Ly is so bored with attention training, that she cries all the time we're out, so I've decided to move on to Lesson 2: Heeling. I watched the tape. I practiced with my husband as dog stand-in. Husband-as-dog corrected what I was doing (sometimes I wonder if someone is slipping stupid pills into my wine) and out we went.

Nick went off with Nala while I started behind them with Van-Ly. We took a couple of steps; she surged. I did the about face thing. She surged. I did the about face thing. We did this half a dozen times. Twice she got on the wrong side of me and I had to put her back where she belonged. Unfortunately, the normal correction for this fault won't work with her; Nala is the only Chow we've owned that can figure out what to do when she gets tangled around a tree, pole or person. Partly, as well, it's my fault. I've always insisted that they walk on the inside, away from the road, which in this instance means on the right. Today it occurred to me that as long as she's right next to me, she should be safe on the road side. Or neither of us will be.

We did the surge-about face routine for about 5 minutes, not getting further than the front of the house when, as we were once again heading in the right direction -- she got it! Hot damn! My dog heeled. We only had to make 2 surge turns in the half kilometer to the river and only 1 coming back. My dog can heel. I have a heeling Chow. Can I say this another way? We are a little success story.

I realise we have a way to go, but I'd never have believed we'd have got this far. Thank you, William Koehler. Wherever you are, I'm sure it's not where you'll have to worry about the climate blip.

Teaching An Old Dog. . . anything

1) The question. Does anyone know of a book devoted to training old dogs that they could recommend? I can't seem to find anything between Koehler and reward-based methods.

2) My plan. To have Nala walk reasonably well where I want her to go.

3) Why I am concerned about my plan. You know where Koehler says don't worry if your dog sits on her haunches in imitation of a cartoon donkey -- just drag her along? It's really hard to do this to an old dog who has never had any training at all, has weak legs (but strong enough for this behaviour), bad eyes and a lot of vet bills.

4) Vitals of the animal. (Age, breed, sex, fixed, etc) She started out as 13 a year or so ago, backed up to 10 and may now even be the 8 the rescue claimed she was, purebred (badly) Chow, female, not spayed -- I'm not spaying a bitch whose (advanced) age and full medical history I don't know.

5) As much temperament information as I have. . . including whether this
information is giving to me from the client or information I have through my
interactions with the dog. She's a Chow; that says it all. Independent, stubborn, marches to her own drummer. Her idea of a reward is to do what she likes. When you're at least eight, and probably older, and no one has ever given you a treat, even after 15 months you don't know how to take food from a hand. Top that with bad sight and not much of a sense of smell and treats aren't in it.

6) Anything else I can think of. I don't want much out of this one: just to be able to walk in town reasonably well and not bark at passersby. (It's O.K. if I bark.) I'm going to give Koehler one more shot, but I don't hold out much hope.


8/11/2006 Van-Ly failed her "don't chase the cat" test on Friday. Granted, she wasn't on her line, she was with Nick and not me, and I'm not fast enough to head her off at the pass, anyway. But I do know what her Koehler test will be.