Titles Achieved to date...

Monumental A to Z High On Liberty
NW1, RATI, RATN, RATO, NW2, L1I, RATS, L1E, L1C, L1V, L2C, L2I, L2E, RATM, R-FE/N, PKD-TL, PKD-N, ADPL1, ADPL2, TD, UWP, ADPL3, NTD, TKN, L2V, ADPL4, SDS-N, ADPL5, ADPCH, ADP1(2), ADPL1(GC), ADPL2(2), ADPL2(GC), VPN, AP, UWPCH, ADPL3(2), ADPL3(GC), NC, NI, NE, SCN, SIN, SEN, CZ8B, NV, NN, ADPL4(2), ADPL4(GC), ADPGCH, ADPL5(2), RATCH, CZ8S, AI, TKI, AV, AE, AC, AN, R-FE/X NW3-V, NW3-E, SI, RN, R-FE/NS, CZ8G, SC, SV, SE, SN, SEA, SBN, SWN, SIA, SCA, ADP-1(Th), ADP-2(Th), ADP-3(Th), ADP-4(Th), ADP-5(Th), and ADP-CH(Th)... 81 and counting...

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

New Peanut Butter Tube

You'd think I'd be better at it by now, but such is not the case.  Michael is about as senile as I think possible.  This is more than the usual "I'm old so I can be naughty if I wanna" that so many elderly Dalmatians get (okay, all my elderly Dals get it).  He requires more monitoring than Gimme ever did.  If I leave the room for more than 2 minutes I have to either:
  • take him with me
  • crate him
  • or put him outside
Otherwise by the time I get back he will be into something, destroying something, making a mess of something or peeing/pooping.  The latest victim to fall to his destructive tendencies was Gimme's peanut butter tube (the toothpaste tube I showed you in a much earlier blog entry).  Naturally my current tube of toothpaste isn't anywhere near ready to be re-purposed. 

So I went to Cabela's and checked out their Go Toob.  Its really kinda nice.  The smallest model fits in the palm of your hand.  The opening to refill it is a good size, though, of course, at just 1.25 ounces it'll need to be filled more often.  The toothpaste tube was great, but sometimes messy in my pocket and not as handy in size.  The Go Toob top screws off and the bottom puncture resistant part can be pulled out of the white base ring for easier cleaning.  It was just $7.99, plus tax.


Tonight we went down to Capitol Lake and walked the circuit, which is 1.5 miles.  Every time I saw someone with a dog, I stuck the tube in Gimme's face and let her suck on it while she watched them.  Overall she was much calmer about the presence of the dogs and about people.  About halfway through the walk she'd see a dog and turn toward me for peanut butter.  It worked with horses to get her over her fear, worked to teach her an automatic bicycle-recall behavior, so I'm hoping it will help her to be calmer when she sees other dogs.

What kills me is that it took ninety minutes to walk 1.5 miles.  So that was 30 minutes walking and 60 minutes answering questions about Gimme, liver spotted Dalmatians, dog training, clicker training, peanut butter tubes, etc.  Its a nice walk, but was pitch black by the time we got back to the car.  Hopefully I don't have too many mosquito bites.

Well, Michael just got up and went in the other room - I better go...

3 comments:

Ch. Highgate's Storm Tracker CGN said...

Ah thats cute Michael, so sad when they get older!

Da Paws Place said...

You loved the questions Carla. Admit it. Think of all the people you educated on positive dog training. Kudos to you.

As we get older we revert to our baby stage. Treat him like a puppy and rejoice for all the years of excellent companionship he gave to you when he wasn't senile.

A to Z Dals said...

Oh I admit it alright. But just once I'd like someone to walk up and say, "Wow, I'd heard about liver spotted Dalmatians, but never seen one. She is really beautiful."

Just once, honest. I get the last part all the time (like ten times on that walk). But I really would like just one person to realize that she IS a Dalmatian!

As for Michael - still love him, but its often hard to be patient. Like when he wakes up at 4 a.m. and stands there pooping on the bed! I'm never my best at that hour and significantly less so when I realize that he's pooping inappropriately...