Stubborn Dog, Novice Owner

The Barking is Back

May 23, 2022May 23, 2022Diane J.

We’ve lost control, Pandora is back to barking. Or maybe it’s her version of narrating the play-by-play of the household. Every dog in a five-mile radius knows what is going on at our house.

We Hear Barking…

Pandora believes it’s just letting us know, or more specifically, letting ME know what everyone else is doing. And everything that is happening around us. She feels no need to let anyone know what is going on when I’m not home. Other than, “Oh uh, someone is on the property.”

When I’m home it’s a completely different story.

“MOM! One of the kids walked out of his room.”

“MOM! He went into the bathroom.”

“MOM! Dad turned on the outside water faucet! OH MY… Water! MOMMMMM, WATERRRRR!”

“MOM! A car drove by.”

“MOM! A leaf fell 3 miles away.”

“MOM! Dad sneezed.”

And heaven help anyone who wants to talk to me while I’m in my office. Pandora has taken it upon herself to be the guardian of my productivity. Or just insanely jealous of anyone who wants my attention. There is the possibility that she understands my desire to be a hermit and is trying to provide that for me. Whatever, her perception is, she is very vocal to anyone who starts to talk to me.

When anyone leaves the house, she gets very upset. I’m not sure, but I wonder if she feels like she failed on the corralling of her herd. “They’re getting away.”

Whatever the Case May Be…

I’m going bonzo. What happened? We had the barking under control for a bit, but then she snapped.

The worst part is that she is the absolute worst with my husband. Whenever he’s in the yard working, she is trying to heel him and barking at every move he makes so long as I’m home. If I’m not home, she sulks, she doesn’t care what others do. Understand, this is hearsay, as I have never seen this side of her. But apparently, my husband and boys can vacuum, mow, hammer, go in and out of the garage, leave, do whatever they want without Little Miss giving a play-by-play.

When I’m home, I have to go rein in Pandora when she’s barking at my husband. He just ignores her and keeps doing what he’s doing. Which is not helping her learn. With spring and summer, he’s outside a lot, which means I can’t get invested in my tasks and work because I have to go deal with the barking. I don’t want to be that dog owner, the one that allows the dog to bark and bark and bark. And I can get her to back off. Until I leave.

Possible Reasons for the Increase

Obviously, the first reason is that my husband isn’t training her. Let’s be clear, when the whole family is consistent with the training, the dog will respond for each person. My husband likes to get out and do what he needs to do. He doesn’t want to stop moving and get the dog under control, he wants to do his thing.

Last year, my husband did do some training with Pandora. And even though she didn’t change to perfection, she responded fairly well. As with all training, we need to be consistent, and we need to revisit it often. The sooner you get on top of it, the better. The first few days will be the worst, but then it will get easier and easier.

Another reason for the increase, we have our twin boys home for the summer. There’s been an adjustment in the family. Whenever, there is a new adjustment, Pandora (and even I) have to adjust. We have to adjust to the comings and goings which are more frequent. We have to adjust to more noise and activity.

Sometimes barking is a sign that the dog isn’t getting enough activity. And since we’re dealing with an Australian Cattle Dog, that is something I’m very mindful about, making sure Little Miss is stimulated mentally and that she gets lots of run and activity time.

The New Plan to Reduce the Bark

This time around, I’m going to be implementing the same thing as before. Rewarding for “quiet”. I want her to bark when people come by the house, but I want to stop when I acknowledge what she’s telling me.

And once we get that back under control, we can use it for all the other stuff she feels she needs to let me know about.

The biggest caveat is that she doesn’t do it for treats. She did that once before. Expecting the treat and throwing out some unnecessary barks just to get a treat. I’m thinking it might be wise to delay the treats as she learns. We’ll start with instant treat on a pause. We’ll move to instant treat when she responds to the command. Then we’ll start stretching it, waiting one second after she follows the command, then two seconds and so on.

I also love Pet Web MD’s idea of getting the pooch in a spot when anyone comes home or to the door.

And, I’m going to give my husband three links on training to read through and let him decide how he wants to approach training her. I like to give options so people can find what works best for them. When I train Pandora, I give a hand signal as well as a verbal signal. This way, I have two ways of communicating with her. So I figure if my husband wants to try something different, he can use the same hand signal and we’ll get the same effect. That’s my theory.

Side Note: Hand signals are awesome. They have come in handy many times, when I’m talking with a neighbor or someone on a trail, but I don’t want to interrupt the conversation to get Pandora to sit or come.

And, as always, I will update in a month, how the training is going.

If you have any suggestions that have worked for you and your dog, please share, I’d love to hear them.

If you’re curious about the links I’m sending to my husband:

Pet Web MD

Pet Doors

Everyday Health

Favorite Dog Items, Leashes, harness, etc…

May 16, 2022May 16, 2022Diane J.

There was a learning curve for us with leashes, collars, harnesses and other items before we found our favorite dog items.

This is Part Two. Go Here for Part One.

All items aren’t for all dogs. It seems so obvious at first. We wouldn’t put a collar meant for a Chihuahua on Border Collie, but what about all those collars in the medium dog size? Is there really a difference between a Martingale Collar and a regular collar? Or two similar looking regular collars? Yes, yes, there is a difference.

Favorite Dog Items: Collars

Pandora came with an adorable pineapple and flower printed collar and a puppy leash. The cuteness! But like all puppies she grew fast, and we needed to replace her collar and leash.

So off I went to the pet store. After choking on the price of collars, I came home and hit Amazon. Then, after a few hours on Amazon, I had to ask myself questions: Does she need a lead? A Martingale collar, a regular collar, an e-collar? Heck, if I knew.

Since, I couldn’t decide, I just got one that was basic, the Blueberry Pet Essentials Classic Collar (it has pretty good reviews and lots of color options) and it was what we needed.

It lasted and grew with her. It was easy to clean and never broke or frayed. It did get a little dingy after a good year and a half, despite all the washings. Pandora is into many things, she goes through every mud puddle, she slides across the grass, she tries to roll on cougar scat and deceased animals on hikes. The collar also went through Roxie’s stage of yanking Pandora around by it. But that collar held in there. Since it worked so well, we bought it again.

Favorite Dog Items: Leashes

I know, there are a ton of leashes out there. And we tried many of them. We tried the retractable leash – doesn’t work well with training leash manners. And it completely failed when I was trying to keep her near me as a man jogged by. Pandora liked that someone was faster than me and the darn thing snapped when she took off.

So, I went back to the basics. I don’t snub basics.

We did buy a cheap basic leash once, I learned never again to buy a leash that had some slick coating on it. When you need to get a hold of your dog, you need something that has a good solid grip. The slick leash gave me “rope” burns. Ditto the retractable leash, you are stuck with that plastic handle and if you need more control, you’re S.O.L (snot out of luck).

I don’t have a link for this leash because Amazon no longer has the one we bought and I’m not going to recommend one we haven’t tried. Pandora is a mid-size dog she’s just shy of 40 pounds, and that is mostly muscle. She’s a bit thinner than most Australian Cattle Dogs. We got a 4′ leash that has a 1″ width and a solid metal clasp. That thing is great although it does have a small nibble on it, it’s still strong and not unravelling.

Know your dog, know what you can handle and what you need. Feel the material of the leash and make sure it won’t shred up your hand.

Favorite Dog Items: Kennels

When we first Pandora home, we were going to forgo the kennel. But I kept reading that for easy and fairly quick potty training, the kennel is the way to go. We didn’t have a dog kennel, but we did have a cat carrier that Pandora didn’t mind. Of course, she was just a little round ball of cuteness so she fit.

We hopped on Amazon and got one ordered. And it arrived in the nick of time, little miss was barely squeezing into the old crate. We’d bought an Amazon Basics? I’m not positive. It worked for us, but doesn’t have the better ratings that this one has, which is identical:

Favorite Harness

Yes, I caved and bought a harness. Have I mentioned the difficulties of getting Pandora to walk on sidewalks or paths anywhere near vehicles? Oy Vey!

We love this harness because it has a little stretch, which came in handy to prevent chafing on little miss when I put it on too tight one time. Pandora’s friend Roxy got one in a different color and she wears it all the time. Still holding up after two years of use.

Our Favorite Fence

Let’s face it, Pandora’s a cattle dog through and through. If we don’t give her a boundary, she’ll herd everything within a four-mile radius to our yard. My husband and I couldn’t agree on the type of structural fence and cost, so we went with the invisible fence.

I know many people are concerned about the fence, but it’s been a great fence. You have different levels of intensity: Level one is a beep and vibration. Level two is beep and light zap and so on until level four where it’s a pretty decent zap.

I was a bit upset the first time Pandora got zapped, I felt horrible when she yelped. Here’s the thing, it was mostly out of surprise. I didn’t have it on the highest setting, I had it on the first zap.

Another thing, this company stood behind their product and were excellent to deal with. We had screw pop out of the box on the collar and they sent a replacement immediately. No hassle. Phenomenal customer service. The PetSafe Stubborn Dog In-Ground Pet Fence.

Favorite Pet Food Storage Container

There are all sorts of storage containers out there. We got the Gamma 2 Vittles Vault (I love saying “Vittles Vault”) one and have been pretty content with it. I always feel like I’m breaking into a safe when I spin the lid. It’s solid and keeps the food dry and stale-free.

Our Newest Favorite Item

The car-seat cover. This has been a life saver…well, for the car seat material anyway. It is the Vailge Dog Seat Cover for Back Seat.

This thing is awesome! Especially, when Pandora took off through a mud field. Or after her many swims. Or when she’s in full shedding mode. Cleanup is a breeze. Most of the time, I just shake it out and we’re good to go. I’ve thrown it in the wash (after Pandora’s mud romp) and it’s been fine. I didn’t put it through the dryer. It’s easy in, easy out. Saves the car from a hair-fest during shedding season. I can’t rave about this enough.

Favorite Dog Toys, Treats, and Items

May 11, 2022May 11, 2022Diane J.

Pandora's Favorite Dog Toys, Treats, Etc... — Her favorite activity.

This list of Pandora’s favorite dog treats and toys isn’t just about her, it includes our favorite items for her as well. Items that she probably doesn’t think about and that sometimes she may not prefer.

*Some of the links are affiliate links. By some, I mean the Amazon ones. Affiliate links don’t add to the price of the item, but Amazon gives me a small percentage from each sale – usually 1% or 2%. Basically, 10 cents for a $10 item. The small amount goes into Pandora’s Frisbee Fund. We go through a lot of frisbees. A lot.

Pandora’s Favorite Treats

This list contains all the treats that Pandora has had over her two years of life. Well, most of them anyway. I will say, if you are looking for some super healthy eats for your dog, you may want to skip this section. I do buy Milk Bone products. My dog that I had as a little girl, lived a very long life – 16 years. She was a tad shorter than Pandora, and she was “mutt” or mixed breed, whatever you prefer. We fed her Alpo and Milk Bones for her treats. She was healthy, outside of regular checkups she didn’t need much in the way of the vet.

Pandora’s all-time favorite, if you follow this blog, you know: DINGOS!

Little miss also loves Bully Sticks. These are the ones we started with, however, we now buy the package from Costco since we can get the 12 count, 12″ sticks at a great price. If you have a warehouse membership, maybe consider checking there first.

A few other treats (without pictures): Milkbone Trailmix Dog Treats and the Wag Hip and Joint Training Treats – I love these because I’m afraid of Pandora’s joints taking so much from her leaps and bounds while playing frisbee. I don’t know if they help, but I hope so.

For more treats and the variety of ways to use them like training, long-chews, teeth-cleaning, etc…, check out All You Need to Know About Dog Treats.

Treat Accessories

I know. I know that sounds weird, but it is fitting. When the weather sucks or I’m out of commission or Pandora just needs a little more mental stimulation these help. They are also helpful when I have a Zoom meeting or phone call and need Little Miss to be calm for a good half hour or so.

The first two are similar, just a different design. The Kong and the PetSafe Busy Buddy Squirrel. Both of these you stuff with dog food or peanut butter, and it takes a while for dogs to get the items out. To make it a little more difficult, you can mix regular dry dog food with water, stuff the treat accessory and put in the freezer.

Another favorite is the Bob-A-Lot. Pandora loves this one. I can also recommend this company as they were fabulous to deal with. The first time I gave this treat toy to Pandora she chewed up the yellow lid. The second time we used it, she had it figured it out. I emailed the company about the chewed-up lid and asked if I could purchase just a lid. They sent us a lid, no cost. More than I expected, and they were very nice and the shipping was quick.

A few other dog treat accessories we highly recommend the Billie Bean Linking Mats – these make bathing much easier. Also great for distracting your dog for a good ten minutes or so.

And we also love the Outward Hound Dog Tornado Interactive Dog Puzzle – that’s a mouthful – but it was great for when I was recovering from surgery at the beginning of the year.

If you are looking for ways to entertain to your pooch while you recover from surgery or illness, check out How to Care for Your Pup After You Have Surgery.

Dog Toys – er, Frisbees

Just as Motley Crew loves Girls, Girls, Girls, Pandora loves toys, toys, toys, she loves them all. She loves ’em small, she loves ’em big, she loves them round, she loves them fast.

We’re going to start right off with Pandora’s Ultimate love (which she loves even more than dog treats): the frisbee. It’s all about the frisbee. And she has a favorite, the basic hard plastic frisbee. The cheapest ones I’ve been able to get are from PetSmart and they are her favorite. They are $1.99. They used to be ninety-nine cents. have I mentioned how many frisbees we go through? We go through a lot. The get lost in trees, they get lost on the trails, they get worn out due to constant use. This is not a sponsored post. The link to PetSmart is not an affiliate link. It’s just the best frisbee for the price. Do not mistake PetCo frisbees as the same. They are not. Pandora wouldn’t even give it a second look. It had a different texture and she didn’t like it.

Before we introduced Pandora to the plastic frisbee she started with this Chuck-It Frisbee.

And she loved it. Until she discovered the plastic disc and there was no looking back.

This post is running a bit longer than I expected. So, we’ll lop it into two posts. Part two will be up in two weeks.

What treats send your dog into glutton bliss? What is your dog’s “ride-or-die” toy?

Wonky Schedules Throw off Schedule-Loving Dog

May 2, 2022May 1, 2022Diane J.

Another update in the keeping it real department, when you have a schedule-loving dog.

Schedule-Loving Dog

Pandora loves a good schedule. A lot of dogs are this way. A lot of people are this way, and just don’t realize it.

Pandora knows we got upstairs by 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. and she gets antsy when I don’t make the move to head toward the bedroom. She will be that way for a good twenty minutes before realizing that mom and dad are watching a show and it’s going to be a tad longer. Little Miss, also knows our morning routine; I will shower, then head downstairs and send her outside for potty time. While she’s out doing her thing, I quickly get the cats fed – if I wait it’s chaos. And Pandora knows that when she comes in, she gets to lick up any remnants the cats left behind. Then she’ll watch me empty the dishwasher and start my tea. The moment all the normal tasks are done, Pandora grabs her frisbee and throws it at my feet.

She lives for frisbee time.

Pandora knows when we should be awake, sometimes she’ll give us an extra hour, but that’s about it, she’ll start rolling on us and grumbling if we laze too long in the bed.

She is a schedule-loving dog.

When The Schedule is Broken

Now, I learned with my twins that you can’t be too rigid in your schedules. Yes, I did learn that the hard way. It was a desperate attempt to retain as much sanity as possible on very little sleep.

And Pandora is no exception. Every Wednesday her friend comes over the day, but sometimes her pal can’t make it. And Pandora gets irritated. She gets antsy when 8:45 comes around, by 9:00 she’s downright obnoxious barking at every little thing. By 9:15 she resigns herself that her friend must not be coming over and she gives me the stink eye. The next time her friend arrives, Pandora is slightly more aggressive, like she’s saying, “Where’ve you been?!”

My work schedule isn’t always consistent, it has some semblance of a pattern, but it’s not a perfect time match every single day. Pandora knows it is a workday when I put on my work pants. She gets quiet and tries to block me from heading downstairs. I think she understands that I’ll be back, but when I get home, she always acts surprised that I survived to get home. Some days, I feel the same, LOL.

Our schedule is a tight regimen. But it’s consistent enough that she knows what to expect.

A Daily Structure is More Important than a Strict Routine for Your Dog
As your dog gets more comfortable in their new home, it’s useful to mix up their routine every so often to prevent separation anxiety, and lessens both your and your dog’s stress in case you can’t make it home in time for a regular feeding or walk.
Preventive Vet

When The Schedule Goes Way Off

My little schedule-loving dog does not take major detours well.

Ten days ago, I took a trip across the state to see my son’s jazz concert. I stayed the night. Little Miss stayed home with Dad. When I got back she was okay. She was disturbed, but she knows I’ve done a few trips like this before. She is a Mama’s girl. When I’m not home she’s depressed. She won’t bark unless someone is right at the door.

But a few days after I got home my husband had to travel for work. He was gone for three days and two nights. Pandora has never known Dad to not come home. She wasn’t depressed, but she did turn into an insane guard dog. Anyone driving down the street (rush hour was a nightmare) sent her into a tailspin of hatred and spittle-flying barking. At night she wouldn’t relax. She’s always attuned to any movement, but instead of lying there deciding if it was something she needed to note or not, she would pounce into guard position and growl and bark. Then instead of curling up and snoozing away, she’d lay at the foot of the bed, staring at the bedroom door. Probably the only time I ever felt she wouldn’t listen to me if I tried to stop her from going after a person, in a vicious mode.

The Break

Apparently, that chaotic week broke her. She’s been extra barky. We were making some progress, but now it’s like back at square one.

In an effort to gain some traction I’ve had to go back to basics with all training just to regroup her to listen to her no barking commands. And it’s taken three days to get some results – she’s good with everything except barking and jumping. We were making headway on the jumping, but that took a dive. I’m pretty sure it’s because she’s a schedule-loving dog.

The Lesson

Pandora has her fear of cars, and she gets depressed when I leave, so I’m assuming a routine is something that gives her more confidence. This break from the normal was a bit too much for her.

I don’t know how I could have made this better for her, but I know that getting her back on track, meant just going through all the training basics that she’s knows to get a foothold on dealing with the barking again.

If you have a nervous dog, it may be helpful to get a nice routine for them. But not a super strict one.

Happy Updates – Australian Cattle Dog Training

April 26, 2022April 26, 2022Diane J.

Happy Updates - Cattle Dog Training — A well exercised pup is a tired pup. A tired pup is a well-behaved pup.

I’m going to keep this post short this week, because I have happy updates in the dog training arena.

First – No, she’s not walking near cars

When I get excited, I fear people will think, we finally busted through the fears and walked near cars. No, that is not one of the happy updates I have to share. Depending on the day, I either believe it will happen or believe it will never happen. I’m human, not matter how optimistic I try to be, there are days the clouds linger dark and low.

I’m seriously considering a dog stroller. I don’t want to buy one for two reasons, 1) I really don’t want to push my dog that needs to burn energy in one, that seems like it would defeat the purpose. 2) There’s a part of me that thinks if I could just use one for a few weeks or a month, Pandora would learn it’s okay and finally start walking. Which would make the stroller unnecessary and then a waste of money. Those things aren’t cheap.

Enough about the long-standing training issue and let’s dive into the two happy updates.

Happy Update #1

Pandora willingly jumped into the car to go for our hike.

Now she used to do that. A year ago, she was all about hopping in to go. But then, we hit a wall. Mostly because I wasn’t taking her to trails regularly, due to our favorite trail getting downsized and No Trespassing signs cropping up. That meant a longer drive which I don’t always have the time to do. And another part of the reason was that I was hoping that by avoiding the trails she’d get excited to try walking anywhere, bwahahaha. No, no, that is not in her wiring.

Skip ahead, I started taking her to trails again. However, she didn’t want to get in the car. That was a big “no-go.” She loved it once we got there, but she would have preferred teleporting, if possible.

Since teleportation isn’t available, I’d have to enlist my husband or one of my sons to help me corral her, pick her up, and physically place her in the vehicle. If I never told you her breed, you’d never guess she was a cattle dog.

But last week, I decided to take the truck and when I went to start it, she hopped right in. I thought it might be a fluke. Maybe she didn’t realize I was going to take her with me, but she didn’t get upset.

Then, the next day I went to take her out, I decided we’d use the car. But, again, I didn’t think she’d hop in. Low and behold, she did! Now, she’s pretty happy to go. WooHoo!

Happy Update #2

Training and age are paying off. If you have a pooch under two years of age, hang in there! You will get to these moments. Don’t give up. If you’re doing better than us, send encouragement.

Sunday, when Pandora and I were out on the trails it was busy. The weather had warmed up and the sun was shining and us Pacific Northwesterners decided we’d see if vampires really turn to dust or not. We didn’t, so that’s good news.

Pandora has done fairly well, on recall when we’re on walks. I see people ahead and recall her, leash her, and we go past like normal dog and people do. Then I remove the leash and let her happily bound around.

But she’s always given a little extra pull on the leash when a runner or bicycle goes by. They kind of depress her. She realizes how slow I am, and she doesn’t hide the disappointment from me. She does not spare my feelings. Anyway, there was a bicycle on the trail that day and we saw him approach, thankfully he was going slow. I got her on the leash long before he got to us. He asked some directions, and we went our separate ways.

Well, a short while later, he appeared behind us. Again, he was going slow and dang was he silent, neither my friend nor I, nor either of our dogs heard him coming up behind us. There was no time to leash Pandora and my skipped. She started to trot his way; I called her back. She stopped, looked at me, looked back at the guy riding away ahead of us, and then she turned and came back. Insert crazy happy dance, here.

I do believe training was a big part of the equation, but I definitely think that age has to be addressed, too. Sometimes when they calm down from the exuberance of puppyhood, they listen better.

Dogs and Spring: Bees, Water Temps, Yard Equipment

April 18, 2022April 18, 2022Diane J.

Dogs and Spring: Bees, Water Temps, and Yard Equipment. Photo courtesy of Pixabay user: umsiedlungen

Last spring (2021) my husband was out doing yard work when he riled up a hornets’ nest. He got stung seven times and he’s allergic. So, we raced inside to deal with him ASAP. Later, when all was calming down, I noticed Pandora was acting funny. She looked like she had downed a pot brownie glazed with hallucinogenic magic mushroom sauce. She was whipping her head around looking for something we couldn’t see. And she’d lick her side and one of her back legs.

Dogs and Spring: Bees, Wasps, Hornets, and Yellow Jackets

Pandora had been stung, too. I called my older sister who has not only had many dogs, but cats, gerbils, lizards, ferrets, and more over her lifetime. Some of them have been very needy in the medical department. What to do? She recommended I give Pandora a Benedryl. The antihistamine is beneficial for pups, too. The tablets we had are 25 mg., which worked well since Pandora was 27 pounds and the recommended dose for dogs is 1 mg per pound.

Dog-on-it-parks.com has a great recommendation for pups under 25 pounds: “Most Benadryl comes in 25 mg tablets, which is easier to dose for larger dogs but for small dogs, try children’s Benadryl in a 12.5 mg dose (the liquid option makes it easy!).”

The American Kennel Club gives these tips for what to do when your pooch is stung:

Carefully remove the stinger with tweezers.
Apply a paste of baking soda and water to the site of the sting
Apply an ice pack to relieve swelling and pain.
Ask your vet about giving your dog a dose of oral antihistamine.
Give your dog fresh water and watch them carefully.

Allergic reactions usually occur within 20 minutes, but can be delayed for hours.

The UK Kennel Club offers some tips of what to watch for if you think your dog was stung:

Whining
Agitation
Swelling
Lumpy looking skin
Biting, nibbling or pawing at the place stung
Drooling

Keep an eye on your pooch, shoo them away from the venomous flying raisins and invest in some Benedryl. Store brand versions are cheaper and just as good. And for those whose pups are under 25 pounds, Children’s Benedryl:

Dogs and Spring: Water Temperatures

If you live in an area where the temperature doesn’t drop below 50 degrees, you don’t have to worry about your pooch and the water. I mean, maybe you have to worry about what resides in the water, but the temperature may not be a concern.

But for northern states and other areas, we need to think about the water temperature. Particularly, when you have a water dog. Pandora is a water dog. Her new thing is adding frisbee play with water time, she’s over-the-moon about that.

A few weeks ago, we had a gorgeous spring day with temps in the mid-60’s. I took Pandora out for a walk at one of her favorite trails where there is a fabulous creek that she loves. She splashed and leaped and had her usual awesome time. But the next weekend, the weather was hovering around 39 degrees. And as we passed her favorite water hole, Pandora went in. She didn’t act phased by the temperature, but I worried about her getting wet especially when we still had another 30-minutes before we made it back to the car.

Yes, I should have put her leash on. Clearly, I let my mind wander. I know Pandora will always go for the water. The day after Christmas we were staying with friends when a big blustery snow came in. With windchill it was frigid and the snowdrifts around the water’s edge were building with each gust. At one point, Pandora went out potty, and the next she made a break for the water. We’re talking freezing temps here. Thankfully, she came back after my initial shriek of panic.

What are the recommended swimming temperature?

The Swim Guide recommends: “Temperatures above 7 °C (45 °F) are safe for the majority of dogs, but temperatures below -6 °C (20 °F) may lead to frostbite or hypothermia after a while.”

And Rover.com reminds us: “However, length of time swimming is also a major factor. A quick dip or splash in a cold body of water isn’t likely to cause a problem for an otherwise healthy dog, especially if you dry them off afterward.“

Thankfully, Pandora was only in the water for about 5 minutes, and she didn’t get her whole-body in. The water came up to the underside of her belly.

The first link for The Swim Guide also gives symptoms of hypothermia in dogs and more water tips to consider.

Finally, Lawn Equipment and Dogs

Dogs and spring are a great combination. They are excited to be outdoors and chasing all the fun flying insects, sprinting across the yard after toys, and enjoying time with you outside. However, despite how happy it makes them, it’s best to leave the pups inside while mowing or weed-eating your lawn. Or using any other machinery that makes yard work easy. If you have a large yard and your dog hates the sound of the equipment, you may be fine, but if your pup is young and wants to be near you, best to let them indoors. Even mulching-mowers can spit rock chunks.

And of you don’t have a mulching mower with a bag on it, beware. Our old mower shattered a long, thin window at our old house. The window was easily 8 feet from the ground and about four feet long and one foot high.

When we moved to our new house, that darn mower shot a rock through an upper window.

Be safe. Know your dog, know your equipment, make an informed decision.

Training Stalled? Step Back and Refresh

March 29, 2022March 29, 2022Diane J.

Our training stalled. Or we hit a wall. Whatever you want to call it, we weren’t moving forward. Last week’s post outlined the lowest point yet in our training journey.

(Links may be affiliates. They do not add to the cost of the product, but we receive a miniscule amount from your purchase. Which goes to funding Pandora’s frisbee addiction – we go through those discs like crazy.)

What Happens: Stalled Training

When I hit the wall with training Pandora, I hit the lowest of low – mood wise. And I felt nothing when I went out to train her. That’s the worst position to be in. I don’t want her to think she’s the reason for that attitude. As far as I know, dogs can sense our feelings and I don’t want to put my disappointment on her shoulders.

They are not sensing specific feelings but instead the positivity or negativity of the feeling. Once dogs sense the way you are feeling, the way in which they act will often reflect that same feeling. They will then start acting and even vocalizing in a certain way based on your feelings, body language, and tone.
Can Dogs Sense Feelings? – Wag! (wagwalking.com)

For us, we hit a wall. I went through the motions of training, but my heart wasn’t in it. And I don’t think Pandora’s was either. We both were looking at each other with the “What the hell?” look. Me, at her, for not getting past the fear of the road and her, at me, for not understanding her fear of the road.

We Stepped Back

Then I went back to just taking her outside for frisbee. Mostly because I was bummed, but also because I felt she needed something to let her know I wouldn’t keep trying to drag her up the driveway every single time we stepped outside.

And that put a spring in her step. Or rather an extra spring in her leaps for the frisbee. I hate taking a step back. It makes me feel like we are going to lose every shred of ground we gained, even though sometimes it helps us move forward. I know that it could help us, but I’m so terrified, I keep pushing.

So, I did what I do best. I whined, to every dog person I came across in hopes someone had a suggestion I haven’t tried. Low and behold, Pandora’s groomer (we pay for nail trims – she has the dark nails) gave me a suggestion. She told me to try the Happy Hoodie. Apparently, she uses it for some of the dogs when blow -drying them. The blower is loud, and it helps diminish the noise and makes it more bearable. She also said I could try some cotton first before investing in the Happy Hoodie. I’ve linked to the hood on Amazon. It’s basically like a gator that goes over the dogs’ ears and neck. Pretty sure Pandora is going to look like a surprised seal when we get ours.

We Refreshed

Finally, we refreshed. Instead of trying to coerce her up the driveway, I took her to a trail that the groomer recommended. She said it had a lot of trails and was away from vehicles. I’m sure for most dogs it would be great, but the road was still too close for Pandora’s liking. However, Pandora did get out of the car and start checking out the new area. I can’t say how many miles of trails there are since Pandora only did about a third of a mile. She got nervous after hearing a car and tried to veer back to our vehicle.

I still think the trip was worth it. I put no expectations on Pandora. I let her sniff everything she wanted to and let her choose the direction she wanted to go. Did you see the picture of her at top? That was on the trail. There was a tree that had a long sloping trunk, that I had her hop on to get a picture. I tried to reward her with a piece of steak, she wouldn’t take it. She was still on edge.

And both Saturday and Sunday, I took her to meet my friend who was puppy sitting a super hyper dog and we took them to some trails away from all vehicles. Pandora and Bo ran and leaped and played for a few hours each day. Pandora even went swimming.

And now, Pandora is feeling happier and so am I.

So, when the training stalls, don’t get discouraged (I should follow my own advice), just do something different and bring the joy back into your pup and you with whatever makes your dog happiest.

Dog Training Frustration

March 21, 2022March 29, 2022Diane J.

Training your dog is not always as easy as whipping up peaches and cream. It’s also not full of sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. Honestly, it can be downright frustrating.

Please bear with me on the dog-training frustrations front, it gets a little brighter at the end of this piece.

Reality Means Frustration and Elation

One thing I promised myself, and that I am now sharing with you, is that I would keep this site as realistic as possible. I didn’t want to set high expectations and promise that life would be easy if you were a novice owner of a particularly stubborn breed of dog. Nothing is gained by people who claim you can train your dog, and all will be rosy. It just makes us feel like failures. And we’re not, and neither are our dogs.

Before we brought Pandora home, I started watching dog training videos. I knew I was a novice, and I knew Australian Cattle Dogs are not recommended for novice owners. So, I watched video after video. One thing that stood out, was that professional dog trainers made it look somewhat easy.

Each episode began with a problem that was the video’s focus and, in a half-hour, we got the final results. We know, realistically, these trainers didn’t get those results in a half an hour. Yet, we don’t know how long it took to get those results. We don’t know how many hours a day they worked with the dog; we don’t know how many days they worked with the dog.

I wanted to avoid that. I want people to have a real sense of how long training can take. Some things Pandora picks up quick, and some things…well, that’s today’s focus.

Complete, Utter Frustration

Last week was a low point. I hit rock bottom. Frustration punched my gut and stomped on my heart.

Each time my husband and I take our evening walk, I see dogs with their people, walking happily around the lake. Last week, every time I saw a person with their dog, I started to cry.

The Melt Down

I can’t get Pandora to walk with us near vehicles. After yet, another regression in the training, my heart broke. I went into full-on self-pity mode:
She’s never going to walk with us. She’s never going to get over this fear. I can’t train her anymore. I’ve hit a wall and there’s nothing left I can do.

I was so gut-wrenchingly destroyed, that when I went out to work with Pandora, I had no feelings. Complete numbness. I knew nothing was going to change. If this were a movie, this is where I would say, “But she did it! This was the day she walked up to the top of the driveway.” Alas, this is not a movie, she didn’t go to the top of the driveway. It was the same thing as the previous two and a half weeks.

The only difference is that Pandora knew something was off with me. Pandora’s cure all is Frisbee, so she’d bring the disc and I’d half-heartedly play with her. I truly felt I failed her.

Each evening I spent a good hour tossing and turning: is it me? Am I that inept at training? Is it Pandora’s stubbornness? Could it be her fear of cars? Is it that her hearing is so sensitive that the cars sound 40x louder than we hear them?

The Moment of Clarity

I felt defeated. It was time I saved up and paid for a professional dog trainer. But, at $150 per hour (some are the same price but only 30-minutes), I realized a professional is not in our immediate future. I’m sure Pandora would need many lessons.

I started journaling about my frustration. We’ve been working on this walking issue since we brought her home. She’s two now. A month and a half ago, I made it a Priority Training Exercise. Meaning, that was the main task we would work on every day.

The first week went well. I got her to the telephone pole. Joy of all joys! Then we went backwards. She stopped walking tentatively with me and started pulling the leash for the back yard. She started turning her back to me and crouching down. I had to walk backwards and offer endless treats to get her to go back to the telephone pole.

It was then I realized. I was using regular dog treats.

We Are Making Progress – Frustration is Waning

Regular dog treats. This may not seem like a big deal, but one year ago, I couldn’t even get her past the front end of our vehicle. And I was using the “big guns” of dog treats. Bacon. A full slice of real bacon. She wouldn’t even walk with me for that.

Now, even though we struggle, even though it seems like endless setbacks, she will follow me for a regular dog treat.

If you look at the picture above, you’ll see where the front of the car is. That was as far as I could get her a year ago. Now, we can get to the telephone pole. By this time next year, we should be able to get to the top of the driveway.

Don’t give up. You will get some wins and some frustrations, don’t quit. We’ll get there. I don’t know when, but I believe we will. You will, too.

How to Care for Pup After You have surgery

How to Care for Your Pup After You Have Surgery

March 14, 2022March 8, 2022Diane J.

Preparation Before Surgery

I recently had major surgery. Thankfully, I had the chance to plan ahead. Which meant getting ahead on household chores, work tasks, and Pandora’s training, some of it anyway.

Even if you don’t have an upcoming surgery, it’s probably a good idea to make sure your dog is trained in a few commands. These are mostly the basics. The stuff they tell us to train our dogs on immediately. The commands that can help us keep our dogs safe, and us too. There is a bonus to having these commands down well. If you have emergency surgery, with no time to pre-train your pup, your home recovery will be easier.

If you are lucky enough to prepare in advance, here are the areas you should focus on:

Training commands, such as “off,” “down,” “gentle,” “wait.”
Changing behaviors such as not jumping on you when you get home, going ahead of you when going up or down stairs.
Investing in some dog puzzles or a dog walker – things that will burn your pup’s energy, calmly.

Training Commands

When my doctor said surgery, this was the training area that I cracked down on for Pandora. She loves to jump on me, my husband, our neighbors, other people, you know, everyone. We couldn’t have that for when I got home so she had to learn not to do it.

The reason Pandora jumped on us so often is because my husband loves that she barrels out the door and jumps to greet him. We’re undecided if she’s trying to jump into his arms or if she’s leaping that high to lick his nose. Since my husband wouldn’t work on the “off” command before, he finally realized we had to now.

The best response we got was semi-ignoring Pandora when she greeted us. We’d say hello to her, and then when she’d jump, we’d say “off” while turning sideways. If she was launching into the jump, we’d put a knee up that prevented her from getting close. She’d bounce off the knee.

Pandora understands “sit,” and “wait,” well enough.

The one thing I wish I had taught her, was “gentle.” She’s not insanely rough, but it would have come in handy when she’d curl up with me if she understood to be a little gentle. You know, don’t walk over the surgery site three times to find where you want to lie down. Here’s a link on how to train “gentle.”

Changing Behavior

The biggest behavior changes you’ll want are for your dog are, jumping on you and not being underfoot on stairs. After surgery, you may be weaker, you may have balance issues, you may be dizzy. The last thing you need is your dog to knock you over and possibly reinjure or cause more injuries to your situation.

I already addressed the training of “Off,” above.

Not having your dog underfoot on stairs, is really nice. I never spent time training Pandora to go ahead of me on the stairs, but she learned it fairly quick. When she was a few months old, she’d bite at my feet when I was near the stairs. One day, I stopped moving and pointed down the stairs. Pandora ran down. From then on all I had to do was gesture (which is the equivalent of a one-handed “you first” gesture) and Pandora goes up or down ahead of me.

I watch a friend’s pup a few days a week and she walks down the stairs with me. Sometimes, she’s in a hurry and shoves by me. Usually, she’s pretty good about staying to the side of me, but every once in a while, she’s tried to shove by me or stopped in front of me.

Invest in Energy Burners

Pandora’s favorite activity is frisbee. Since I knew that I wouldn’t be able to give her that energy outlet for a few weeks, I had to do some planning. Thankfully, I have my husband and a son who can take her out, but she doesn’t play long with them. So, I started preparing by stocking up on items that could be used to entertain her brain and nose. While she doesn’t spend a bunch of physical energy, she tires herself out thinking.

I stocked up on toilet paper rolls, the cardboard piece. I cut them in half and put a tiny treat in each piece, then wrap it up around the treat. A little pocket if you will. I would put Pandora in a room and then hide the packets around the house. Each time I did this, I tried to find new places. I would do about 12 packets, six rolls. If you use treats like Dingos, you can save on the extra calories, by breaking them in half or thirds.

Another thing I did was to take an old blanket and scatter a few treats in it, then roll it up, tie it in a loose knot, and toss it on the floor. She spent a good while trying to get her treats out from the fuzzy depths.

And, I bought a dog puzzle off of Amazon. I was able to sit on the couch and play with her.

A Few Other Suggestions

If you don’t have someone at home, maybe hire a local teen to come play with your dog or to walk your dog. When friends or family come by you can ask them to spend some time playing tug or throwing a ball for your dog.

Lick Mats keep them busy, but calm for a while, so those are handy to have on hand.

Snuffle Mats, are great for nose work that encourages them to work those sniffers to find their food.

Get Pandora’s favorite indoor energy burners (just check with your doctor before anything that requires your physical movement – like throwing a ball).

The prep work takes time

…but it will make your home healing process smoother.

Curb the Barking

March 7, 2022March 6, 2022Diane J.

Ears Ringing from Barking?

Pandora only had one event where her incessant barking put us on our neighbors’ “most hated” list. That was when Pandora decided no more night crate. And she was done. Period.

I’m fairly stubborn myself, and figured it was just a phase. I kept telling my husband if we give in, she’s never going back in the crate again. We have to ride out the phase. For two weeks, I’d put her in the crate and the barking would start and it wouldn’t stop until I opened the crate in the morning. She’d take a few twenty second breathers here and there, but she never stopped. All night long. Fourteen nights. I’m no stranger to sleepless nights, I raised twins. However, I will admit that once the twins slept through the night, I thoroughly enjoyed the sleep. So much so, that it’s really hard to go back to sleepless nights, or maybe it’s age.

I’m a firm believer that you need to pick your training method and see it through. I learned this through parenting a horde of boys. You can’t read a tip and try it for two days, then give up and try another. Your child needs to know the consequences will be the same and you will stick to it. When I implemented a punishment for my kids, I gave it a solid two weeks. Usually, it only took a week so long as I was consistent.

So that ideology stuck with me during this phase with Pandora. And Pandora usually reacts like the kids. At first there is an increase in rebellion. Then there’s a little give, then reluctant acceptance followed quickly by another round of resistance, and finally full acceptance.

However, this time, there was no give. No change in the barking, no weakening in intensity. She gave me nothing. After two solid weeks, I had to admit, she’s not a crate dog. She’s not having it. I didn’t change anything, and she didn’t give one darn micromillimeter.

So, she no longer sleeps in the crate. We don’t even use the crate anymore.

Bad Barking Habits

Even though we solved the worst barking, if you consider ceding a solution, Pandora still has a few barking issues we need to work on.

Anytime I’m in my office and anyone wants to talk to me, she barks. She sees people walking up the road and she barks. A delivery driver comes down the driveway, she barks. My husband moves, she barks. People come to visit, and she barks for their attention.

Clearly, some of these, I want her to bark at. Others, not so much.

I want her to bark and let me know if someone is near the house. However, I want her to stop barking when I give a command. For a while, I would look out the window, take note of what she was barking at, and say “Okay, thank you.” It still works, but we seem to be in a regression period.

As for the other barking, I don’t want it at all. I don’t want my family shushed by my dog. My husband needs to do things and we don’t want to deal with my dog trying to give me a play-by-play of my husband’s actions.

Which has led us to…

Operation: Curb the Barking

Pandora doesn’t go on barking tirades when we’re not home. So far, the only things that have suffered during our absences have been toilet paper and tissue boxes. Which kind of sucked back in 2020 when people were hoarding toilet paper.

We decided to continue with our plan to acknowledge + “thank you” when people are near the house. I’m pretty sure it’s just a phase…(rereads paragraph two and prays).

I searched around the internet and came across two sites that share the same basic training idea:

WebMDs’ – Understanding why dogs bark and,

AKC’s – How to stop nuisance dog barking

Then I told my husband the plan, we will tell her “Quiet” and as soon as she pauses, we say, “Yes” and give her a treat. We also put our finger up to our mouth to show her a nonverbal command.

We’ve been doing this consistently for the past four days. And it’s working. It’s not perfect yet, but we are making a lot of progress. Last night, Pandora started to bark when my husband called to me from downstairs. I put my finger to my mouth, and she stopped. I didn’t even say “Quiet”.

Consistency and having us all on the same training method has made this process go well so far. Everyone in the house needs to be on board or Pandora will only listen to me, and then I get grumbly because I have to stop what I’m doing to go deal with the barking.

I’ll keep you posted, but for now, it’s working.

Always Account for Setbacks

There will always be a setback, a small rebellion. Whether it comes a few days after or a few months, the dog (kids do this too) will test you to make sure you are still enforcing the behavior. That’s okay. Don’t get discouraged. Usually, a couple days of constant training is the reassurance the dog needs to get back on the behavior track.

Unless it’s getting Pandora to walk on any path where vehicles can be seen and heard, then it can be discouraging. But that’s another blog post. We are making strides, but they are incredibly slow, and we have constant setbacks. So, yeah, that’s for another blog post.

For honest information on dog training check out: Behind the Game on Dog Training