Christmas Toy Extravaganza

Gimme enjoyed opening her Christmas presents.  There aren't as many as last year, but these are nicer.  She has all five of the Wild Things collection.  I made up a short slide show of her opening her presents and trying out her new toys.
Empress Gimme and the Toy Extravaganza video...

Of course, since there are no more presents, she's sad...

All this build up and still - not a thing to play with...

Merry Christmas



Christmas is
Love come down to earth,
a Gift of infinite worth.

Merry Christmas

 

 

For Christmas Gimme got 25 toys in a cozy cave bed.  I started collecting them two months ago.  She has so many it gets harder and harder to find unique toys.  It turns out my idea of 25 unique toys included three skunk toys, so I might be failing on the uniqueness front.  A store clerk told me I  am spoiling her - which is a very rude thing to say.  Gimme and I are both certain she deserves all these toys.

 

The next really hard thing is sneaking the toys in the house.  Gimme ignores everything I bring in, but she always knows when it's something for her, and then she's all over the bag.  I forgot a package of beef jerky in my work bag and she paid no attention to it even though it was easily accessible all weekend.  So, to get them in the house, I bring them in the back porch and leave them there.  Then I put Gimme outside through the front door and while she's out I bring them in, quickly clip the tags and then put them in my hide away drawer.  It's really not a hiding place as you might think of it, since she knows there is stuff in there for her and she checks the edges of the drawer quite thoroughly with her nose.  I'm sure she knows exactly how many toys I've added.  Fortunately she can't get the drawer open.

 

So last night when I got up around 2:00 a.m. for my usual potty break, I removed the toys from the drawer and transferred them to the office where I'd put the cozy cave bed and then closed the door.  Of course, when I went back to bed after my trip to the bathroom, I found Gimme sitting upright in the bed looking at me suspiciously.  She also pointedly looked over at the drawer a couple of times.  I so have to find another place to hide things. 

 

In the morning when she was outside, I stuffed the toys in the bed and met her in the living room as she came in.  We went back to bed - where she made a production of sniffing my hands.  I was beginning to suspect she knew I was up to something.  When I got up to start the day an hour later, I set up the video camera.  Then moved the cozy cave package to the couch and called to Gimme, letting her know Santa had come.

 

She rushed in and immediately checked out her package - pulling out a toy.  My plan had been to video her discoveries and fun, but it's a very long video.  She played with the first toy for twenty minutes, excitedly squeaking it and batting it around.  Then she suddenly stopped, got an expectant look on her face, leaped up and checked her package for more toys.  She pulled them out one-by-one and played with each for awhile before going to get another one.

 

I thought about editing it down to just show her getting each toy out.  Then I saw there was almost 2 hours of video I'd have to review and quickly decided you'd have to take my word for it.  Gimme was very cute and had a blast.  She didn't even mind discovering there were three skunks, though I noticed later, they ended up side-by-side on the floor.  Of course, like any kid, when the party was over she plopped her poor pitiful self across the top of the cozy cave, looking depressed. 

 

What's a poor girl to do?  All those toys and not a thing fit to play with...

 

Then we went to Mom's to fix her lunch and the like.  When we got home 4½  hours later Gimme ran in and excitedly stuck her head in the cozy cave, checking-checking-checking.  After finding nothing, she went to the bedroom and slumped herself on the bed, looking dejected.  I think she was hoping it had given birth to some new toys. 

 

BTW she is completely unimpressed with the bed as a possible place to sleep.  I'm hoping she will discover it's value when I go to work and am not here to hold the edge of the covers up for her.  I'll let you know...

 

Carla's Toys

Here is Gimme inspecting my new toys.  She thought they were surely for her.

Gimme is unimpressed with the whole idea that I think *I* should get to have three toys of my own, when she only has a few hundred for herself.















Aren't they just the cutest things.  I am unreasonably happy with my find.  I want 20 more... so I could have a whole community of them.

Nosework (1/20)

First I must start by telling on Gimme.  My weekend was horrendously busy and when I got home late on Sunday with a migraine, Gimme was decidedly miffed about not getting to DO SOMETHING.  So she took her frustration out on PurplePuppy.  Sometimes a girl just has to express herself...

In nosework class tonight, we did another series of progression searches.  The classroom area was divided into two areas.  One area was small and jam packed with stuff.  The other area was about 3 times as big and very open.  The searches were done in pairs.

Interior 1 video - With all the stuff in the search area, it was very hard to keep Gimme in the camera f.o.v.  There was only one hide.  I was really kinda surprised how long this took, but in hindsight it makes sense.  Because the area was so crowded, it restricts her movement, so once she started sourcing, she's doing a lot of moving in a small area and basically stirring up the scent picture, making it harder and harder to sort out.

Interior 2 video - Open area with 1 hide.  Gimme was immediately fascinated by the toys on the floor, though she mostly ignores them.  She became obsessed with one toy and the advice was to let her satiate on it.  She's never been interested in bottle-inside toys before.  After a minute, I knew she was not going to satiate, so I tried gently walking through/over it, hoping to split her off it.  Didn't work.  So then I had to basically tell her to leave it and "find odor".  I stood near it to discourage her from returning to it.  It took her almost another minute to find odor because she was so distracted by the toy.  I was in the middle of praising and being very generous with treats and everyone erupted in laughter because while I was digging for more treats, Gimme looked over at the toy once more.  <sigh>

She's so mistreated - she only has 4 baskets of toys at home.  She says:

Everyone knows two-hundred toys is not enough.

Interior 3 video - Crowded area with 2 hides.  This wouldn't have taken so long, but Gimme really wanted to get to the toy in the other area and had to be reminded to get to work.  She does get to work, but then after finding the first hide, has to be reminded again.  She thought finding one should be enough. Its so hard to concentrate on work when a girl is so deprived and knows toy-paradise is just on the other side of the divider.

Interior 4 video - Open area with 2 hides.  Dorothy picked up the toy and was holding it under her arm while she recorded the search.  Gimme knew immediately where the toy was; note the "look" less than 2 seconds into the search.  Dorothy gets the "look" several times (not always caught on camera).  Gimme does pretty good in this search.  I think knowing the toy was unavailable made it less distracting (compare this to how it goes in the 6th search when it was on the toy shelf, which Gimme thinks could be available).

Interior 5 video - Crowded area with 3 hides set close together to form a converging odor puzzle, basically the vortex-from-hell.  She scans the area and finds the first one very quickly.  For some reason all the dogs thought the other two hides were higher than they were and kept checking the table edges.  Of course, she now thinks once she finds 2 hides its time to go play with the toy and had to be reminded to get back to work. This is a really hard challenge normally and with this level of distraction, it was beyond hard.  Still she did well.

Interior 6 video - Open area, 2 hides.  Gimme knew exactly where the toy was, which she shows 20 seconds into the search by checking out the toy shelf (the one she wanted was on the top shelf).  She'll go back repeatedly to check it - after all, its really just out of reach.  She finds the first hide pretty quickly, but then really has to work to locate the other hide, which was closer to the toy shelf.  Because she worked through it without having to be really reminded to leave the toy shelf (she decided each time on her own), I again rewarded her with the toy.

So the question everyone always asks is: Since Gimme clearly loves toys, why don't I reward her with them?  The answer is: Because she loses interest in them.  I think part of the reason she loses interest is because she always has to give up the toy so soon.  I'd love to reward Gimme with toys since she loves to play, so I asked Dorothy after class for a suggestion of how to work with this.  Her idea is that I should have a special nosework toy that I use to reward the last hide, so Gimme can tug all the way to the car if she likes.

I'm going to have to make a toy which is both easy for me to carry and to tug with, as well as being enticing for Gimme.  I have an idea and hopefully I can get it done before the next class. 

Birthday For Me

I spent Friday evening working on Gimme's training level Parkour title submission.  Unfortunately we were going to be well over time in the 4-on, which requires two examples (one at elbow height) in a 30 second or less video.  I have a really skewed sense of time and was making her wait way too long for 5 seconds, plus the video has to show her getting on and off the prop.  So I got up early Saturday and took her to a nearby park to film another example.  Training level title compilation video

You see in the first "table" she looks a bit uncertain and this is because a man walked by just a few seconds before this with 2 large dogs on leash.  The path they were on came pretty close to where we were working.  The other thing to notice is in her creativity, for the "hands" portion, I see the right rear foot was starting to come up, but halted when I said "yes".  So this is a good thing to know in training as we keep trying to get stimulus control between these two behaviors.  I also noticed during "box" when my Mom spoke ("box" and "walkies" were filmed at her house), my hand which was up to remind Gimme to wait, turned toward Mom - shame on me.

After we got the video title submission done, I had a quick breakfast before Glenn showed up.  My friend Bonnie recommended him to reclaim my yard.  He's a very hard worker and did tons of work.  Because he was using a brush cutting blade and Gimme has no fear of weed-eaters, I made her stay in the house all day, for her safety.  Plus the back gate was open much of the time.  We worked for 9½ hours straight.  I was helping move and sort stuff he uncovered as he removed ivy, blackberry vines and general overgrowth.  I was also working to finish clearing the stuff from the carport and to power-wash it in preparation for bringing my agility equipment home from the arena.  The yard is a work in progress, but Glenn is reasonably priced and I plan to have him do all the mowing from now on.  This means the yard won't get away from me next spring like it has each spring for the last ten years, plus I can focus my efforts on other things.

By the end of the day I was thoroughly exhausted.  It wasn't your typical birthday activity, but I'm very happy to see the progress in our yard.  I took a hot bath and soak for 2 hours, then indulged in a late night, more usual, birthday activity.  Went to see the movie Free State of Jones, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Matthew McConaughey outdid himself, easily his best acting ever.

After we finished the work and the gate was securely closed, I let Gimme out to see the changes.  Her reaction was quite comical and I sure wish I had it on video.  She trotted around, with her head on a swivel, looking here and there with a definite "Whaaaaaat happened."  Because of the ivy and blackberry overgrowth, Gimme hasn't see the back part of the yard for two years and so I'm sure she'd forgotten there was anything there.

I did it all for her...

News Flash

This morning Gimme brought SuperCow to me while I was in the tub.  She apparently has forgiven my recent transgression.  It only took 36 hours...

What's in THERE?

I've often wondered what goes on in Gimme's mind.  On the other hand, there are definitely times I'd be afraid to know.  I just know she thinks about things, more than any dog I've ever known.

Recently with Kathy's help, we've been doing some back-to-basics training, with the goal of finding games and strategies I can use when Gimme goes into Mommy-brain.   With the intense false pregnancies she gets and resulting Mommy-brain for 6 weeks, I lose a lot of training time.  Losing 6 weeks out of every 6 months is bad enough, but its the backsliding which is really hurting us.  The ups and downs with her anti-seizure medication makes it worse.  So our goal for now is to just find a way to prevent backsliding.

Recently Kathy has coached me into a better way to reward Gimme for finding "heel" and "side" positions.  We are trying to make them super valuable.  Basically I'm tossing a treat and then rewarding strongly when she gets to whichever position I cued.  Some of her best treats aren't workable because I can't hold them in my mouth, or they melt, or are too obvious.  So mostly I've been using jackpots - five treats given one at a time.  I know the experts say jackpots don't work, but they haven't met Gimme.  Tonight I used some raw trimmings from steak, which Gimme clearly loved.

My living room is small and most of the time it looks like an explosion went off in a toy factory.  Gimme likes having all her toys on display, all over the floor.  Before we can train, I have to pick up all her toys and put them in one of her four toy baskets, or risk breaking my neck tripping on them.  The rest of the time I ignore them.  So, Gimme knows we are about to do some training the moment she sees me gathering her toys.  In the past, as soon as our training sessions ended, Gimme got really busy getting her toys out and scattering them all about (she has to play with each one, so this can take awhile).

Over the last week, Gimme is no longer getting all her toys out right away.  Sure she gets out a few, but the explosion-at-the-toy-factory decor hasn't been in evidence much this week.  And most unusual, sometimes she just sits next to the toy basket watching me intently. 

My sense is she is inviting me to train.  Its as if she is saying, "See, basket full, floor is clear - let's train something."  I haven't done anything when she does this, i.e. I'm not leaping up to respond to the hypnotic suggestion "training time".  And yet, the behavior persists.

What does it mean?  And most important - am I still in charge?

Gimme Speaks

Since we have no nosework this week - thought I'd share a little story about Gimme.  As you may well have guessed, she's not shy about expressing herelf.  But, I think this story will give you a whole new view into her world and how she thinks, especially about rules.

A few years ago, Gimme started objecting to getting into her crate while I went to work.  It started small, but over time she objected more strongly, even though she showed no issue with getting in a crate at other times or for other purposes.  So I decided to let her try being loose in the house.  I explained to her that she must be a good girl, not make any messes, not soil the house, not get into things, not bother the trash, etc.  I told her if she did any of those things, she'd have to go back to being in a crate while I went to work.

We started with short trials, like when I went to a store.  Then gradually we tried longer and longer until she was out the whole day on a full work day.  All went well for two weeks.  Then one day I came home and discovered she'd knocked over the living room trash and had spread the contents across the floor.  I said to her, "Oh Gimme, look at this mess.  You were doing so well and now you have to stay in the crate during the day.  Too bad..."

For two weeks I led her to the crate and made her stay there.  At first she did it with out objecting, but then she started balking.  So I decided to give her another chance.  Its literally been years and there has not been another issue.  In fact she is so clear on the rules, I can leave a dish of dog treats on a table, easily within reach, and she won't get into them.  And yet, she's perfectly happy to work for those same treats when I get home.  I've always thought she had an amazing work ethic - which is why I know, without a doubt, who's fault it is when there is a glitch in our training efforts.

Now lately, she has started getting into the living room trash every couple of days, but not every day.  She gets one thing, tears it into little pieces and leaves it by the trash basket, in full view.  This only happens when I am home.  When she's home alone, the trash is still as safe as its ever been.  When I see this little mess, I tell her she's being naughty and mustn't get into the trash.  Gimme gives me an unrepentant look in return for the reprimand.

It took me a few weeks to figure out what this was about.  Usually when I come home I spend a few minutes greeting her and then let her outside to take care of "business".  But some days I just let her out and get busy online to report my work stuff.  Being on the computer for work always leads to being on the computer for other purposes.  It is these times when I later go into the living room and find a "message" by the trash.  Now I make it a point to greet her and give her some loving before letting her outside and getting on the computer.

I am fascinated to see this evidence of how she thinks.  While she clearly understands getting into "stuff", especially the trash, is against the rules - she also thinks getting into trash to send a message is an allowable exception.  Gimme obviously believes this can be a perfectly valid way to express herself. 

Since she got the results she wanted - indeed it must be... ☺

Morning Funny Ha-Ha

For as long as I can remember, Gimme has been bringing me her toys while I'm getting dressed and the like, every morning.  She brings them, pushes them into my hand repeatedly and any attempt on my part to actually take the toy, results in her
          a) dancing away with it, or
          b) tugging with it.

I can't tug while I'm getting dressed, but I can throw toys.  I encourage her to "bring" me things so we can play.  I've been trying all this time to get her to "release" the toy to me and the only time she would do it was if I took her by the collar and then she gets a slightly disappointed look on her face - suggesting she finds this approach less than fun.  I've tried teaching her to "release" more formally with very little success.

Last night I was sitting on the couch and she snagged one of my socks, hoping to get me to play tug or at least, be less boring.  I said "mine" and she plopped it in my hand!  Suddenly a little light bulb flashed brightly - it occurred to me to try "mine" in the morning.  I just did and like magic, it worked.

All this time I thought "mine" meant 'don't touch'.  Apparently Gimme is quite capable of understanding this cue in a different way in a different context.  Plus there is the whole Gimme thing - wanting to be in control of the process.  Not the first time - won't be the last.

Now Gimme wants me to get off this 'puter, so we can practice this game she has FINALLY taught me to do in the RIGHT way.  I better get to it right away, before I forget and she has to train me all over again tomorrow...   By the way...

Dear Friends

Happy Thanksgiving

Toy Remodel

Gimme has some very set ideas about the ideal toy.  Since most toys don't meet her strict standards, she does what she can to make-do.

She likes her toys long and she wants them floppy.  She prefers to hold them in middle and have both ends hang down in a convincingly dead manner.  The ends should sway back and forth when she moves.

If a toy doesn't meet these specifications, she remodels them until they do.  She'll carefully open a seam and remove most of the stuffing.  This picture represents a before and after from one of her remodel efforts.  She never swallows any of the stuffing or bits of toy which are worn off - thank goodness.

Normally she doesn't chew up the toy in the process, but this remodel was done a month ago, so its looking a bit worn.  She does like to gently gnaw on the extremities, so they often show more wear and tear than the rest of the toy.

Gimme removes the stuffing from almost all of her toys.  She does it with the small ones, but then usually ignores them afterward.  Being small, they don't stick out of either side of her mouth, therefore no matter how carefully she removes the stuffing, they can't convincingly simulate a dead critter.  There comes a day when she feels the need to tear up something and she roots around in the toy basket until she finds one of the de-stuffed small toys to be the victim of the day. 

You Make-a Me Laugh

I spent the day at an AKC tracking judges education seminar.  I have less than zero interest in becoming a judge for any sport.  I figured out long ago the nit-picky nature of judging would not be a good fit for me; plus I just hate bureaucracy.  Besides, it would take too much of my time from the fun of working with Gimme.  Anyway, this was still a great opportunity to learn a lot from the judge's perspective.  I learned a number of things which will hopefully keep me from making handler mistakes (the #1 reason for tracking failures).

One of the most important discussions was the difference between "restraining" and "guiding".  Restraining is allowed as an important handling tool to aid the dog.  Guiding differs from restraining because it has the component of moving the dog in a specific direction.  I'll get my notes out another time and see if there are some gems I can share.  I loved the saying:

"Hanging on for dear life is not restraint..."

So I get home and Gimme has been cooped up alone all day and naturally, wanted my attention.  I still needed to fill the yard waste bin for emptying early tomorrow.  So I grabbed her ball and went outside.  I threw it once and didn't get to touch it again for awhile.  Gimme likes to bring it near me, drop it on the ground, stand over it, and dare me to try to get it.  I faked her out ONCE by offering her a leaf, which didn't work again.  From then on, she kept the ball in her mouth while inspecting my offerings.  I usually wait until she got bored and walked away from the ball and then I snatch it, call her name and throw it across the yard. So then she starts dropping it and leaving it if I'm not showing signs of joining her in keep-away.  I think I threw it 20 times overall.

At one point I was deep in a bush (dead-heading a rhody) and when I was done, turned around looking for the ball.  It wasn't in sight, so I asked Gimme, "Girlfriend, where is your ball?"  She trotted over close to me and stood looking at me with her "why are you asking me" look.  I figured it was elsewhere in the yard, so grabbed the rake and started raking up the bush trimmings.  Gimme watched with intense interest and then started attacking the edge of one of my piles.  At which point she snaked a paw in, dragged out her ball and then started tossing it around while doing the ah-hah-haaaa dance.

So now we know why she thought I should know where the ball was, since I was the one who covered it up with rhody trimmings.  Since then she's been parading back and forth in front of me with toy after toy after toy after toy - hinting doncha know...

Gimme to a "T"

I saw this quote and I immediately thought of Gimme...  

               She has a good opinion of her own opinions. As Bill Gates
               is reputed to have said, "that's not a bug, it's a feature!"

Nosework (3/7)

We started tonight's class with an exterior search.  It was a large search area with four hides - two low, one medium and one slightly higher.  The idea was to see if we could pick up the decision points, just as we'd done for the two prior weeks.  Gimme was one of the fastest dogs, no big surprise.  She only had a challenge with the higher hide and it wasn't about the height.  Rather it was because she had to stand on something (some rockery) she wasn't sure of to reach it.  In daylight I'm sure it wouldn't have been a challenge, but by streetlight it was a slight added challenge.  Dorothy noticed Gimme didn't lift a paw like she normally does.

The second search was a case of "Running Bunny" done inside.  There were four chairs set around the search area to go with a sequence of four hides.  The handler was to come in and sit down and then turn the dog loose to search on their own.  When the dog finds the hide, the handler gets up and heads toward them.  If the dog then leaves the hide, the handler moves back to the chair.  The idea is to reward the dog for sticking the hide (moving away is a -P for leaving the hide).  When you reward the dog, then handler and dog move to the second chair, while the instructor resets the hide.  The fourth time the hide was paired.

Gimme did well, though she found my odd behavior very distracting the first time.  In fact, even though she was wearing her nosework harness, at first she didn't want to leave me.  I wondered later if she thought we were simply at a waiting station, like we see at trials, and believed it wasn't our turn yet.  When I gave her our verbal cue "wherezit", she took off searching, but you could see she was distracted.  She wasn't worried though.  I likened it to how it would be if you normally do something in a specific way with a co-worker and suddenly they weren't "doing their part" and how distracting it would be.  Once we got past the first round, then she was fine.  

Dorothy made the point about how many people use a verbal cue to start their search and how often their dogs don't actually pay any attention to it.  Yet it was clear Gimme knew what it meant.  I wasn't surprised though, because I've noticed before how she darts off the startline when she hears "wherezit".

For the second and third rounds, Gimme was into the game and okay with the new rules... she was no longer distracted by my odd behavior.  For the fourth round (the paired hide), she was on it very quickly.  It was nice to see she stuck all her hides, so I never had to move back toward the chair.

For our last search, they put the hide on top of an airline crate, with the odor tin in a little sauce cup.  This was paired and the idea was to virtually fill the sauce cup with treats.  It was interesting how quickly all the dogs found this one.

I noticed when Gimme got the drift of it, her decision point behavior was much more pronounced.  This led to a discussion of why the dog's behaviors are so much stronger.  Of course the simple answer is:  pairing food is a primary reward, while odor is a secondary reward.  Put another way food IS food, while odor only means there will be food soon.  This would be the best reason for pairing often, to keep the value of odor as a food inidicator very high.

Since I've been writing this, Gimme has been bringing me her toys - one by one.  She brings one, plays with it beside me for a minute and when it doesn't distract me from the computer, she abandons it to go get another toy she hopes will work better.

BTW the other day I was standing next to the open van door talking to Tonya and made mention how I needed to take the two go toobs in the house when I got home, so I could wash them out.  Both were nearly empty and due for a good cleaning.  They've been sitting there on the van floor and Gimme has passed by them several times, paying no attention.  Yet when we got home and I had my arms full (having completely forgotten the go toobs), when I let Gimme out of her crate, she wouldn't get out of the van and she never hesitates.  Instead she waited until I turned my full attention to her and then very deliberately pawed at the go toobs.  Clearly she's not above reminding me of things I need to do, especially when they accrue to her benefit.  

She is who she is.

Nosework (2/7)

Gimme and I are keeping busy.  We've been doing a lot of training each day to make up for the long hours I've worked over the last two weeks.  This week things are finally getting back to normal.  We are getting in more walking time, which makes Gimme very happy, though she'd like more of it to be off leash.  Unfortunately Fort Lewis hasn't made our favorite ranges available in a very long time.  I'm going to stop by Range Control on Thursday and find out what the deal is.

Tonight was nosework class.  It was a lot like last week.  We did a search of the interior where there were four hides and one of the instructors went around putting blue painter tape on the floor wherever there was a Change of Behavior (COB), though this week they were calling it something else and I can't remember what the new term was.  Our first search was off leash and Gimme was really fast and accurate.  Two hides were under chairs, one under a stool and one on the lower leg of a table.  The table hide seemed to be the hardest for all the dogs.  Gimme had a little difficulty getting down to where it was, but she was still faster than the other dogs.  Partly the difficulty may have been because the hide was fairly close to the door, so was getting a lot of air disturbance as each team entered and left the building, plus there was a lot of stuff nearby to catch the swirls of scent.

For our second search, they removed the table hide and we worked it on lead.  Our task was to watch for the COB and then use the lead to hold the dog in the area.  The term they were using had to do with boundary between two areas.  One question I had - which couldn't be answered in black and white was - if you don't know where the hide is (like for trials), how would you know which side of the dividing line to hold the dog in.  In particular, Gimme sometimes goes right into an area and sometimes veers around it.  Usually, but not always, her veering around an area happens when the hide is in an enclosed area.  She doesn't do it as much as she used to, especially now since she gets peanut butter for a reward, but I do still see it happen.  

Clearly in this class, since we knew where the hide was, we knew which side of the divide to go on.  I did find when doing this, Gimme was even faster and more direct in her searching.  As we were searching and I'd already asked the question, I asked again on one part, which side would you have gone to.   Dorothy said she might not be sure, you kind of go with what your gut tells you about the dog's behavior at the divide and even then she might go visit the other side with the dog.  So I did this, taking Gimme to the other side of the divide and giving her a chance to check it out.  She dismissed it very quickly and most decidedly.

Our last search one just one hide set on a table leg support.  They set up a fan to blow across it and the intent was to cause odor to pool on some sheets draped across an expen.  Interestingly all the dogs came in the room and pretty quickly dismissed the front half, then they all went to the fan to check it out and from there they went downwind.  I expected them to have more difficulty narrowing down source, but all the dogs did well.  Gimme was one of the fastest, certainly the prettiest.

It was an interesting class.  I'm not sure how I'd use the information in a blind search.  I think we'll get more chances to try it.  I suggested a variation from the hide with the fan, where there would be two hides, one upwind and one downwind from the fan.  All the dogs went immediately downwind, even though they hadn't gotten into odor yet, so as a curiosity, I'd like to see how they handle it when the fan is situated between two hides, blowing away from one and toward the other.

Gimme wants to make a proclamation from her exalted position as Empress of the Cosmos.  She thinks we should have Christmas once a month from now on.  She liked getting a present every day for seven days.  She realizes this may be too much for most families, but thinks she and me should do it.  There are no bad toys - just sayin...

Christmas Recap & NW (1/7)

Gimme likes Christmas - she thinks it is the one time of year when everything aligns to treat her in the style she would like to be accustomed.  Starting on the 21st, she got a present every day for seven days.  The first gift was a new collar, and then a new toy every day for six days.  Gimme definitely thinks Christmas should last longer - especially now since I've figured out the parameters of her ideal toy.  I hit the mark with 4 out of 6.  She'll play with any toys, but particularly likes long floppy ones.  If its too stiff, she will de-stuff-afy it.  Not to destroy it, but so it flops more to her liking.  Her favorite this year was the new duck toy - a 2 foot long body and 18" wings and legs.  She really prances around when she carries it about (she has to, to keep all its body parts up off the floor).

Her first gift: the day I brought home 3 new collars and let her pick the one she wanted.  While she enjoyed picking the collar and does think the one she selected is very pretty on her - she thinks I'm particularly obtuse, because I keep asking her to do it again, so I can be sure its the one she really wants.  First I laid them out side by side and told her to pick one.  She immediately went to the light blue one with the orange edging and nosed at it a lot.  So I rearranged them and asked her to pick again.  This resulted in her sighing dramatically, then going over to nose the same one again.  So I rearranged them and asked her to do it yet again.  She sat back staring at me, occasionally rolling her eyes, and sometimes staring at the ceiling in her best, "why me, Lord?" look.  When I urged her to pick the one she wanted to keep, she sighed loudly, rolled her eyes again and in a clear "whatever..." went over and picked up the purple collar!  She looked me full in the eyes, certainly to be sure I was paying attention, and then dramatically threw the purple collar to the floor.  I sez, "so you don't want the purple one?"  She sat back looking at me with an open-mouthed dumb-founded look, before going over to nose at the royal blue collar until it fell on the floor.  I said, "so I guess you want the light blue collar".  To which she rolled her eyes even more dramatically, then slowwwwwly and deliberately picked up the first one she had selected and placed it in my hand.  To seal the selection process, she placed her paw on top of my hand and the collar.  When I said, "so this is it?", she hung her head low and walked out of the room in disgust.  She clearly wishes I could "hear" her the way Tonya does.  She loves me, but is more and more convinced I might not be entirely bright.

Christmas Eve and Christmas day were interesting, to say the least.  I thought I  had everything planned perfectly.  I arrived to the family gathering a little late, but still early enough for the important stuff.  Put presents under the tree and put my world-famous mushrooms with the other snack foods.  Then I went to the car and got my change of clothes.  The festivities were fun and I ended up with the same gift I started with.  This was fine with me, since I don't bring stuff I wouldn't want.  I'd made up little "I love my Dad" picture frames with pictures of my Dad for my brothers and sisters, which were a hit.

Later I went to get Gimme from the car only to discover I'd locked it.  So I went upstairs to get the keys out of my pants pocket, only to find my youngest nieces had been playing in the guest room and had tossed the place.  TV stereotyping of FBI agents has nothing on these kids.  It took me awhile to find my pants and the keys weren't in them!  I got help from the kids' parents and we checked every nook and cranny in the room looking for my keys and restoring it to its original state.  Then five of us went around checking everything we could in my parents' large house.  Several people took flashlights and looked outside between my car and the house in case the keys had dropped out of my pocket.  Finally I called USAA and insisted they send a locksmith to unlock my car, since Gimme had now been inside for 6 hours.  It took the guy 2 hours to come and Gimme was relieved to get out.  

Needless to say I didn't sleep well, tossing and turning all night.  I knew I had to work on Friday and yet couldn't even go home until I got new keys made by Nissan, whenever they opened.  Then Gimme would have to wait in the car all day while I transitioned my largest account.  Finally I expected to be home trying to get in the house in the cold and dark.  Mom insisted on looking for the keys and I just let her.  Afterall, 5 of us had looked, so I didn't hold out any hope she'd be successful.  She handed them to me five minutes later!  Never underestimate an 84yo great-great-grandmother.

On Christmas day we joined my sister and family for dinner.  Then Mom and I went to see my Dad at the memory care facility.  It was sad to watch my Mom trying to make a Christmas moment, when my Dad, who has Alzheimers, was really out of it and didn't care about the presents or attention.  I do think he liked the fuzzy blanket I brought him, since sleeping is really his favorite thing to do.

Since then I've been busy transitioning my accounts from Christmas to Valentines.  Not one of the Valentine sets was packed correctly, making each transition take twice as long as usual.  I still have one to finish because not all of the order has even arrived.  Meanwhile Gimme and I have been doing extra training to make up for the lack of exercise with my long work days.  She does love training doncha know.

I was so mentally fried after work on Monday, I completely forgot to go to nosework class.  Fortunately I was able to get a make-up on Tuesday night.  The exercises were relatively simple.  For the first search there were 6 hides, we each got to set some.  I set a relatively easy inaccessible hide inside a crate and then another under the edge of the wall.  My inaccessible hide turned out to be very hard because another person set another hide just 7 feet away.  Inaccessible and converging odor is a hard pair of challenges. For the second search there were just four hides, I set mine in the middle of the room in a large crack in the floor.

The instructor followed the dogs for the first search and placed a piece of blue painters' tape on the floor wherever there was a change of behavior (COB).  Of course the idea was to help us see where the COB occurs.  The goal being for us to note it and then if the dog has trouble locating a hide, encourage them to go to where you saw the COB.  The second search there was no painters' tape put down, we were supposed to verbally identify where the COB was.

Gimme did the best of all the dogs.  In particular she did well with the floor crack hide.  This is an advanced concept for dogs.  We spend so much time putting the hides on things, so the dogs tend to look for it on things.  Most of these dogs hadn't even seen a floor crack hide.  A couple of them had difficulty with the hide under the edge of the wall and they tended to spend a lot of time checking out the chair a foot away.  It was like they accidentally found it while detailing the nearest chair leg.

Of course, it makes sense Gimme would do better.  She goes to a Advanced Competition class for NW3 dogs.  This class was Advanced and most of the dogs haven't even competed at NW2 level.  There was one really fast Doberman though.  Her handler never even rewarded her, just saying "its there" when the dog was close to it and then the dog was off to find another.  I don't quite see how this will work in competition when the handler doesn't know where the hides are.  Interesting...

Well, tomorrow is another day and another year.  Meanwhile, Gimme wants another training session, then there is a movie I want to watch.  Seeya next year...

"Mom, make it challenging"

I told you once about Gimme finding her collar for me (it had fallen from its usual place).  Since then I've tried to get her to bring it to me when its time to put it on.  She will do it, but makes it pretty clear she thinks its stupid.  I thought it was because it was usually right within arms reach and she thought I should do it myself.  

So then I started leaving it farther away, usually on the floor.  I see her noticing where it is, but then she pretends for awhile it isn't there.  Usually after about two minutes she suddenly finds it and then brings it to me.  Since I always put it on her prior to us leaving to go do something fun for Gimme, I didn't understand her delay.

Lately I've noticed her doing a more extravagant "search" for her collar before discovering it in plain sight.  She'll get up on the couch, check behind furniture, on the bookshelves, etc.  Yesterday I realized she really wanted to hunt for it - she wanted a challenge.  Today I tossed it on the other end of the couch when she wasn't looking.  She was so excited when she found it.

This means I'll have to start putting it in novel places when we come home.  Its likely I'll forget where I've put it, so she really will have to find it for me.  Never a dull moment...

Frustration & Fun

I'm frustrated with barn hunt right now.  Certainly not with doing it.  Gimme is brilliant and fast and so its lots of fun.  What is frustrating is how the rules, or more specifically the rules interpretation, changes from month to month.  It is getting so I don't know what to expect from trial to trial.  

In past trials we've always been allowed to blind separately, so Gimme didn't have to deal with being in close confines with other dogs.  No one has ever questioned this.  A few months ago it was discussed on list and there was no suggestion by the list-owner (barn hunt originator) to say a separate blind was not allowed.  One person even said some clubs provide a separate blind for reactive dogs, even though its not the club's responsibility.  The list-owner moderates all the posts to the list.  Now all of the sudden, even though there has been no rules change since the discussion, the only dogs who can be in a separate blind are bitches in season or dogs who are loud and disruptive.  The list-owner defined disruptive as "dogs whose actions are are loud and disruptive; excessive barking, growling. lunging".  

So it seems ill-behaved and poorly controlled dogs can have a separate blind, but dog's who need more space for their own comfort and security cannot.  I suppose I could let Gimme lunge at a few dogs and then we could have a separate blind area, something I don't want her practicing.  Mostly its not an issue, but sometimes the space provided for the blind is rather small.  Such as one time when the blind was a 10x10 canopy, in which there was supposed to fit 5 handlers and their dogs.  I think if they are going to say no separate blinds, then the rules need to clearly specify the minimum space to be provided for 5 handlers and 5 dogs.

Harrumph...

Now a funny story to lighten the mood.  I know I haven't mentioned animal communication more than once before - though my friends surely know what I think about it.  I don't know what you think, but I'm a confirmed believer.  I've had too many experiences where no other explanation fits.  I can do some communication myself and Tonya says I'm much better than I think and most of what I "say" for Gimme and other dogs is like an echo of their thoughts.   When I work with communicators I'm careful to not give them clues.  Tonya is really gifted in this respect and she comes up with many things she could only have gotten from Gimme.

Tonya and I are working on Gimme's whining in the car.  Its gradually improving.  One of the things I needed to change was to give her a bigger space in the car than the crate she had - Gimme said she felt tied down and unable to move, which Tonya interpreted as claustrophobic.  The crate was a perfectly adequate space for a dog her size.  Still I modified a puppy pen so I could get it in the car - increasing the space she has to ride in by 2.5 times.  On her first ride in the "special place" Gimme was better, but not quiet.  I said to her, "since you have this nice big space, I thought you'd be quiet now."  I very clearly heard her say with a lot of sass in her voice, "I'm not cured in one day!"  

Last Friday as we were driving down to the hotel for the barn hunt trial, Gimme was kinda fussy off and on the whole time.  Usually she is much better when we are driving on the freeway.  I thought to myself, when Tonya gets back from her trip, I'll have her ask if there is anything else Gimme needs to make her "special place" more comfortable.  Immediately a picture of Gimme's puppy buddies popped into my head.  

I was thinking in terms of foam padding to 
go under the blankets, not puppy buddies.  
Hadn't even thought of them in a long time.  
There are these three in the expen and then 
Kermit the frog.  My mind's eye was drawn 
to Kermit.  Naturally  I couldn't remember 
where I'd stashed Kermit; I was sure I could 
put my hands on the other three right away.  
I didn't really have a clue where to look for 
him.

Yesterday I was headed to the laundry room 
and since my arms were full, I didn't get the 
gate latched.  As I was going down the 
stairs, I heard the gate bang open and I knew I couldn't delay, since I hadn't put everything away after breakfast.  I dumped what I had and turned around to run back upstairs... but... there she was a few feet away.

First, given the choice between counter-surfing and following me to the laundry room - the kitchen counters are winners paws down.  No contest.  Yet here was Gimme, having bypassed food on the counters and she had her face resting on the second shelf of the unit where I store the dog bedding.  There was her nose, mere inches from Kermit.   She stayed there and wouldn't budge until I reassured her I would have all the puppy buddies, and certainly her Kermit, in the car for her next ride in the car.  Upon hearing me, she dashed up the stairs and was busy counter surfing when I got there.

This tells me a few things:

• I must never expect any privacy in the confines of my own mind.  You may not be able to read my thoughts, but Gimme is apparently in there rummaging around on a regular basis.
• Gimme understands much more than I ever thought she did.  I already suspected she'd learned to spell some words.  Such as p-b-u-t-t-e-r, k-o-n-g, c-o-w-s and r-a-t-s.
• Gimme may not be able to tell me where things are when I can't find them and indeed shows no concern about such things.  My house is chaotic and I'm always looking for something.  However, as the prior story about her pointing out her collar (see the blog post at: collar) and this story about her Kermit - clearly Gimme knows where her things are.

Shades of the strange and wonderful...

Recycling

When Gimme gets bored, she gets paper out of the recycle trash and shreds it in front of me to communicate her dissatisfaction with life.  Interestingly she understands the rule about making messes and NEVER shreds paper unless I'm there to see it.  We have an agreement, there is a big difference between making a mess and communication.  However, I've decided its high time for her to start picking up her messier communication.  So yesterday I started teaching her to pick up paper and put it in the recycle.

I planned it poorly, starting with the tissue paper she had just shredded.  It wasn't as easy for her because it stuck to her lips, but she finally realized I wanted her to pick it up.  The second session I balled up paper and tossed it for her to pick up.  I clicked for picking it up and moving toward me.  She would accidentally drop it in the trash, which I'd click and treat.  But I don't think she realized it was falling in the trash. 

When I switched to a bigger stiffer piece of paper and rolled it up, then it was more obvious to her where it was landing.  She would pick it up multiple times and drop it closer to the trash.  At the end I started withholding c/t if it didn't fall in the trash.  So she was making bigger moves toward the trash.  After she'd drop it, she'd look to see why I wasn't clicking, then would try again.  By the end she was learning to drop it in the trash - with flare.  It was still with extra steps between first picking it up and getting it in the trash, but she was getting better.

This video is of the third session.  I thought she might pick up where we left off, but wasn't the case.  So I started clicking for picking up pieces and then would randomly not-click to get more behavior.  She's pretty funny when she's tossing it in the trash.  She tried cheating and even got away with it once.  I loved the last little segment the best - it shows she was really understanding it was supposed to go in the container.

Learning to Recycle

Gimme's 4th Birthday

Naturally Gimme got special goodies to eat for her birthday, as well as a new toy.  Actually she got three new toys, but I've only shown her the one.  They are pretty much the same, just different colors, but were a good deal and looked like something the munchkin would like.  I guess I was right - here's a series of pictures representing just the first two minutes out of 2 hours of non-stop playing. 

This picture of just the toy I was only able to take while she was finally outside attending to business.

And just so you know.  I realize I said the other day if anyone wanted to send her surprise toys, I was willing to get her a third toy basket.  It occurred to me, I was forgetting a basket of toys on the shelf in the closet - so she already has 3 baskets.  We are about to break out into a fourth basket for her toys.  

I knew some of you would naturally be concerned for her welfare, so I wanted to 'fess up right away.  It is simply an inadequacy in memory cells, not toys...

The New Toy

We heard about an inbound package from Gimme's Auntie Tana, a special giftie for getting her RATS.  Gimme immediately thought we should go check the mailbox before it got too dark.  She appreciates any gifties which come her way,  insisting she is supposed to get one a day and its my job to make sure she does.  Mostly I give her a dab of peanut butter and tell her its a "gift" and she seems to find this acceptable.  Thank God for peanut butter!

She never follows me to the mailbox, but did for a couple days, including the day the package arrived.  You probably think I'm exaggerating, but I really think she knows much more english than anyone is willing to believe.  I'll share two more stories below which demonstrate her comprehension.

When she saw I had a box, she was glued to me and watched avidly while I opened it.  I got the toy out and set it aside to see if there was a note on the back of the piece of paper.  Turned around just in time to see Gimme slinking out of the room with the toy.  

She slinky walked back and forth from room to room, then finally settled down to enjoy it once I stayed far enough away.  She carries it by the body and really seems to like the way the head hangs down in a convincingly dead manner. 

 

When she discovered the growler in the body, she played it up and down the body like corn on the cob, non-stop for about twenty minutes... until she finally wore out the growler.

After killing the growler, she discovered the squeaker in the head and proceeding to squeak it non-stop for half an hour.  Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeeeeeeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeeeeeeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeeeeeeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeeeeeeak, squeak, squeak... you get the picture...

 

She finally laid down behind my chair with it still in her mouth.  If I turned to look at her, she thumped her tail and tensed up, prepared to make a run for it if I tried to take it.  She loves all her toys, but this is clearly her favorite of all time.  Of course if any of you want to send another toy and try to top this one - do feel free.  I can always get a third toy basket if necessary.  

 

Days later, she still guards it.  Not to suggest she wouldn't give it to me if I asked, but she is making it clear she wants to keep this one for herself.  Just sayin...

Of course a day later when Ted, the bathroom remodel guy, came over to bring me some refund money.  Gimme had to see him - she adores him.  Minutes later she went in the house and came out with her new toy to show him.  Wouldn't let him or I touch it, but she did trot around with it doing its convincingly dead looking head/neck flop.  Ted was appropriately congratulatory and this made her happy.  She can be quite the silly one.

 

So, to demonstrate her command of English.  Long ago she decided she didn't want to go in her crate anymore during the day - I told her she could stay out as long as she didn't make any messes.  About a week later I came home to find a piece of paper from the recycle bin shredded on the living room floor.  So the next day I made her go in her crate while I was at work.  She hasn't done it since, at least not while I'm gone.  Now if I'm home and she's really bored, she'll get a piece of paper out of the recycle bin and shred it in front of me to show me how bored she is.  We've both agreed this is different and hence okay.  When I'm not home shredding paper is mess-making, but when I am home, its communication.  She understands this entirely...

 

Another example - the other night I saw her heading for the bell for the umpteenth time of the evening, so I said, "don't even think about it".  She stopped just short of the bell and waited.  At least I assume this, since there's a piece of furniture in the way, so I couldn't actually see her.  About a minute later she backed into the room, looked to be sure I was paying attention, then very purposefully trotted over to the bell and resumed waiting.  She repeated this maneuver four more times, each time becoming more and more theatrical.  Then finally, she came back over, heaved a huge sigh of exasperation, rolled her eyes, hopped up on the couch and slumped into a down.  After a few more theatrical sighs, she finally went to sleep.

I am subjected to this kind of melodrama almost every day.

She often rings the bell on the front door for her own designs, not actually related to its intended purpose.  She rings it, then comes to see if I've noticed and am on the way to serve her majesty's demands.  She loves me, but recognizes I am severely limited in my skills related to the attentive-to-Gimme's-wants-and-needs department.  I'm sure you can well imagine what a terribly inadequate life she is subjected to.  

Sometimes I remove the bell for a time.  I learned awhile back she often rings it as a ruse to get me to walk away from the computer.  She dashes out the door, makes a 180 on the top step, then races back in to get a toy from one of her two toy baskets, insisting what she really needs is for me to play with her...  

She never fails to amuse.