Twenty whole degrees!

Nothing like a few days of zero degree weather to make twenty feel toasty warm! I took the dogs on a fun creek romp yesterday, as it's frozen. Gustav still likes to chase tennis balls, even with the muzzle on (a sad/funny sight). Dottie enjoyed some frisbee. Gustav came beautifully when called, four times at a dead run. I'm trying to balance distance and distraction, the two enemies of recall. Sometimes he finds something distracting right at the last second, so I'm outmatched. He hasn't been tested with any serious distraction, i.e. a person or dog is in sight. I would probably have to set that up special, since I can't practice on unsuspecting passerby. I would definitely freak out if a seventy pound muzzled dog came charging me. That's the paradox of a muzzle: just when everything is safer, people feel more threatened.

The chew antlers came in the mail today. The dogs took a while to figure them out, but seem to like them now. They don't seem any more special than a bone in terms of attractiveness. I don't think I can use them as room-training treats for Dottie to teach her to be in the bedroom alone. However, a kong with liver and a milkbone worked really well yesterday. The trick, as I recall from Patricia McConnell's crate training advice, was to take it away and let her out before she's done with it. She worked on it without whining or anything while Gustav and I did clicker training in the rest of the house. Hooray!

Two funny observations today: one, Gustav was trying to get the chew antler that lay about a foot and a half from Dottie, who was chewing on the other. I watched in fascination as Gustav made himself small and unthreatening and slowly crept his way towards it. He had his face turned away but his eyes firmly planted on Dottie. For her part, she chewed vigorously and kept her eyes on him. It seemed like he was going to win, and just as he started sloooowly lowering himself to the ground, she put her ears back and let out a teeny growl. Gustav stood back up. Boy, she is such a bitch about toys, pun intended. I have never seen such a mean look on her face as when she thinks Gustav might get something. I'm lucky he's so happy in his subordinate place, otherwise I would have a fight problem. Considering she's such a shaky leader, with her submissive-with-people attitude and general unbalanced-ness (I have seen playful dogs at the dog park take one look at her and go off in the other direction), and he is so dominant with both people and other dogs, I find the hierarchy in the house totally baffling. There can be no doubt about her place: she can literally take a chew-thing from right under his nose without so much as a growl from him. Weird.

Second, I have been fascinated by Gustav's tail movement while looking out the window. I call it the flag method: he goes to the window ready for trouble, tail high in the air. If there's nothing, the tail slowly descends into a lowered position. If there's something but it's far, the tail stays up. If there's something close or threatening, the tail stays up and is accompanied by hackles and barking. It's convenient for me, because if the tail stays up I can go over and counter-condition whatever is far enough not to put him over threshold, but is concerning to him.

I'm feeling a little discouraged about lack of natural people-training opportunities, since I'm on vacation and have plenty of time to do it. Turns out people aren't out and about as much when it's freezing cold. Also Justin and I have been delinquent on our door training, since we don't want to come in and out of the front door and lose all the heat. I still knock from the inside then throw treats, but it hardly phases the dogs. Usually band practice serves as the natural training day, but Shane the singer is in stupid warm Mexico so there's been no practice. I guess I could stand to set something up with my dad or brother, two people on his "ok" list. I don't think we could do a stranger yet.

Gustav needs shots, and so Justin and I are starting to mull over the visiting vet's visit. Muzzle, or not? I'm thinking he'll be crated for the entry, Dottie will be provided with an amazing kong to distract her, and then we'll bring Gustav out on a leash. Or not? The leash can make him worse. Hmm. Ideas? I talked to Nancy (the vet) about it, and she said she would alert us to her impression and whether she wants him muzzled or not. That doesn't solve the problem of initial introduction though.