Snappy

We are pet sitting this week for Chad and Karen. Kaiser will be visiting for around 10 days and it has been a bit of a challenge.

My mom stayed the night on Sunday on her way from Washington, DC to Orlando. She brought with her Mike and Katie and both the dogs and the people were stressed from being in the car for so long. Mike hadn't been eating properly or getting his normal sleep because of all the traveling and he was unusually cranky. Being thrown into the new household with 3 other dogs was a real strain on him and so he didn't react well. Complicating it, Rose is easily unsettled by new dogs and new people and she hadn't met my mom or sister before. Her anxious barking put Kaiser on full alert and there were a few scuffles. Mike even got a tooth on Rose and left a little mark on her neck after one skirmish.

After my mom left, things got a bit better, but Kaiser is definately a challenge this visit. He has been crying in the early morning hours, around 3 am or 5 am each night. Finally last night he slept the whole time. It wouldn't be a problem, since he is downstairs, but when Scarlett hears him crying she wakes up and cries too. She can't stand for anyone to be upset and must comfort them. She was spectacular with my mom and her dogs, working really hard to make them comfortable and play with them, but Mike wasn't in the mood for it. Anyway, she has been waking us up when Kaiser cries.

They have also been playing a bit rougher with Kaiser around, no doubt because he is a bit bigger and tougher. However, delicate little Scarlett doesn't know her own limits sometimes and Rose gets overexcited and plays a bit harder than she should with Scarlett. Even though Rose is the first to step in and defend Scarlett against another dog, she is also the one who will grab Scarlett by the throat and pin her to the ground. I think Rose is probably a bit unsettled by it all and is struggling to gain control of the situation, by defending against intruders and trying to bring little Scarlett under control.

Luckily the only casualty has been my shoe, which Kaiser chewed up after he saw Scarlett carry it around. I hope that this ends up being a positive experience for Scarlett and Rose, instead of one in which Scarlett picks up Rose's anxiety and aggressive reactions.

Posted by Erin Doyne at 12:55

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Scarlett and the CGC

Our first task was walking through a crowd. Scarlett was catching my excitement, plus Chad, Karen and Kaiser were there for the first time, so she was having a really tough time making it through the crowd without wanting to run and play with Kaiser. I could tell it was going to be a long night . . .

Then we did the sit-down-stay and recall tests. The building must have been 95 degrees with 90% humidity and as we waited our turn the temperature took its toll. Scarlett's enthusiasm wilted like a flower in the hothouse conditions and she was PERFECT for all 4 parts of the task as she no longer had any interest in the other dogs, even as we watched Kaiser pass the first part of his test easily. I think she would have happy sat and laid down with only the hand signal. For the stay she looked like she would have waited forever for me, yet her recall was focused and lovely, although not particularly speedy. With the four new checkmarks under our belt, I wasn't complaining!

Then we did the meet and greet parts of the test with Virginia, one of the nicest and kindest of the instructors. Her gentle manner helped keep Scarlett settled and we passed with flying colors.

On to our most difficult station . . . controlled walking. The task was proctored by the toughest of the instructors. Sharon does competitive obedience with Australian Shepards and has an 8 month old dog with a CD award! As we waited our turn, I watched her fail dog after dog. Meanwhile, Scarlett was increasingly distracted by the hint of a cool evening breeze wafting through the air from the open front door, right next to the ring where Sharon was stationed. Uh oh.

I stepped up to the mark and listened to the instructions with a sinking heart as Scarlett began driving away from me, toward the refreshing night air, where Patrick and Karen were waiting. We gamely attempted the exercise and she actually did very well until we got close enough that she could feel the breeze again. She began to lose her concentration, but all was not lost . . . until the black lab in her class walked up to the ring and stood right next to the finish mark, waiting his turn. She lunged forward, eager to be done. The allure of cooler air and another dog was just too much. I got her back under control, but Sharon was already shaking her head.
"That just isn't a controlled walk. She wasn't paying any attention to you and I can't mark that as a pass. Try again later."

I took Scarlett outside to cool off and blow off some steam. A few minutes later, we walked back and I asked if we could do the exercise in the back of the building, where she would be less tempted by the cool air. Sharon agreed, but again, Scarlett got distracted at the last minute by a Rhodesian Ridgeback near the finish mark and broke. No doubt the tension I was sending down the lead wasn't helping, nor was my total lack of confidence under Sharon's reproachful eye.

I asked if we could try outside, since Sharon could see she was doing okay until the end. We walked out to a part of the parking lot beside the building. "Could we just walk around for a minute? She's never been to this area before and I think that may make it tough."
"No," Sharon refused with an attitude that I had gotten all the leniency I was going to get from her. As I suspected, Scarlett was distracted in the new environment and we didn't do any better. I watched as Sharon shook her head and marked a big black X on Scarlett's test form.

Dejected, I walked inside to tell Patrick and Karen we'd failed. I couldn't help but notice as we walked in, Scarlett heeled beautifully, with no pulling. I gave the bad news quickly, then resolved to finish with the grooming station and the greet another dog station, figuring I could try to plead my case to Lynn, the head instructor, since Sharon was being a bit strict.

I walked up to Virginia for the grooming station and as Virginia ran her hands over Scarlett, inspecting her paws, teeth and ears, I couldn't help but whimper, "Sharon's being a bit tough this evening on the heeling."
"Sharon needs to relax, for crying out loud. She's used to a higher standard of obedience, I guess, but that is not what we are trying for here," Virginia chirped back. Music to my ears! If the other instructors thought Sharon really was grading a bit too hard, I might pull a pass out yet!

I walked up to Melissa and Piper, who were trying to get psyched up for their second try at controlled walking.
"We didn't pass, Melissa!" I announced. "Sharon was really tough." Then I demonstrated Scarlett's controlled walking and of course, it was her best effort of the night. No one but Melissa was watching.
"Oh no!" Melissa sympathized, then looked at Piper, who was as hot, distracted and tired as every other creature in the place. "I don't think we will be able to pass then either! It wasn't this strict with Jack."

Melissa walked off with Piper to try the controlled walking with less enthusiasm than walking into the vet's office. Scarlett and I finished the last few exercises and as we were waiting to do the supervised separation, Patrick and Karen looked at her test form.
"This says she passed," Patrick pointed out. I had been so upset by Sharon's grim demeanor that I overlooked the fact that she'd put the black X in the pass box, not the "Needs More Training" box!

When Lynn asked if she could do the supervised separation with Scarlett and Kaiser at the same time, I knew we were a shoo in for passing. I agreed, selflessly (ha, ha!) to save time for the rest of the class by letting Scarlett and Kasier go together. All the humans walked outside for the required three minute wait and I said a grateful thank you to the Whippet gods that it was Lynn doing the evaluation instead of Sharon.

From outside we could hear Kaiser let out a few unhappy woofs, but all in all, I felt pretty good. When we walked back inside, Scarlett was happy to see me and she left Kaiser's side to do a mini-leapie into my arms. I held her like a little person as she put her paws on my shoulder and licked my face, telling me she was happy it was over and that we passed.

"Scarlett was great and even helped keep Kaiser calmed down when he started barking. She was really good!" With that, Lynn marked off the last of the check boxes and Scarlett officially passed the Canine Good Citizen test!

May I present . . . .
"Scarlett" Kemar's Tomorrow's Another Day, CGC!

Posted by Erin Doyne at 13:05

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The Test

Scarlett has fully recovered from her leg injury and just in time . . . today is her CGC test! She still has trouble heeling at times, especially when she is distracted, but she really does well when performing under higher stress test conditions, kind of like me, I suppose. I think the excitement and attention help focus her puppy brain on the task at hand. Her best buddies Kaiser and Piper are taking it tonight too. Kaiser was never in the class, so he might have the biggest challenge with the environment, but he is also the most obedience inclined, what with that "German Pincher" mentality. Wish us luck and I will post the results when we get back!

Posted by Erin Doyne at 16:42

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Injury Update

Scarlett still limps a bit, but the anti-inflammatory medication the vet gave her seems to have helped. We went to class yesterday and she didn't limp at all. In fact, she turned in one of her best performances to date. Her healing was really good; I think partly because I finally figured out how to handle the leash a bit better. She did a beautiful sit-stay and recall. She was relaxed around the unexpected sound. All in all, a great class. The test is next Tuesday, so we will just keep practicing until then.

Our next challenge will be deciding to go into Obedience Novice I class or Rally Novice class. Hmmmm. I think she would like Rally a bit more, but the Novice I class is actually supposedly easier, since it focuses on doing fewer behaviors and doing them well.

Too bad there isn't a Rally station for "Beg for Food."

Posted by Erin Doyne at 15:10

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Oh no!

Scarlett sprained her paw this weekend. We can't tell if it is in her toes, her ankle or her shoulder, but she was limping all weekend and this morning she cried and wouldn't put weight on it after bumping into a cabinet. I took her to the vet for an x-ray, just to be safe, but they didn't find anything wrong with the bones. Now we just have to keep a 6 month old whippet puppy quiet for a week. :(

Posted by Erin Doyne at 13:51

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4th of July Fun

I got a patriotic party collar off eBay for a pretty good discount (which is the only way I could justify purchasing one!) and we went to see Patrick's family in Greensboro, NC for the 4th of July festivities.

Rose the Springer is *very* shy and hid most of the weekend, which turned out to be convenient with two Roses around. Ann has done several levels of obedience with this current pair and is getting into agilty, so her dogs are amazingly well-behaved. Very embaressing when Scarlett jumped on the kitchen table and ate the butter or later when she raided Melva's take home bag and enjoyed some chocolate cake!

The now cakeless Melva:

Before the guests arrived, we took some pictures of the dogs, all decked out:


One more perfect pose . . .

. . . and it was in the crates for the party, so there would be no more food stealing! Rose was beautifully behaved the whole time, but she tends to be overwhelmed by too many strangers, so it was best to put her away as well.

Luckily there were plenty of guests to drown out their sorrowful whimpers and we had the warden, Libby the Cat, keeping an irritated eye on her new charges.

Libby says, "I'm not takin' no guff from them puppies!"

After the food was put away, we took the girls out to play with the kids.

Scarlett, who occasionally pulls like a sled dog on a lead, walked slowly beside 5 year old Morgan. Maybe Morgan can handle her during the CGC test!

Even shy Rose made friends and by the end of the evening was kissing Luke every time he presented his face to her.

I was really pleased with both of them, most of the time. They wandered off and feigned deafness twice when out together in the unfenced in yard, but if we kept one of them hostage in the house, the other would just play in the yard with Stanley.

Rose seemed to enjoy knocking Stanley around to get his toys more than chasing them herself; I guess she just likes the "live prey" aspect of chasing another dog instead of a ball, because she does it at home with Scarlett and Kaiser too. Fortunately, she plays nice when she catches them, even if her chosen target isn't very happy.

I was really pleased with Rose overall though; given her occasional social troubles, she handled meeting TONS of new people, several new dogs (if you include Star and Tara at Margaret's, whom she hadn't seen in a while) and a long car ride with a minimum of trouble or undo anxiety.

Posted by Erin Doyne at 23:17

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Snuggle Whippets

Yesterday afternoon we were watching TV and Scarlett was sitting between us, while Rose curled up on an ottoman and looked sad.

Patrick said, "What is the matter? Don't we have room for her on the couch with us?" and so we scootched over and I patted the cushion next to me and called Rose to come join us. She jumped up and with a happy wag of her tail climbed up on the couch and then into my lap, resting her head just under my chin while Scarlett licked her paws. She was thrilled to have been invited over for snuggle time watching TV. She's such a sweetheart and loves to be included.

She isn't the biggest cuddler in the house, either. This morning I woke up with Scarlett's head in the palm of my hand. Sometime during the night, she got hot and crawled out from under the covers and stretched out in the space between Patrick and me and put her head in my hand. When the alarm went off, I didn't have the heart to move her, so the first few minutes of the day were spent rubbing Scarlett's tummy and getting whippet puppy kisses.

Ah, aren't Fridays great? I am looking forward to the holiday weekend and seeing Margaret, Scarlett's littermates and Patrick's family in Greensboro. I hope Rose does okay with all the new people and plays nicely wtih Stanley and Scarlett when they play frisbee.

"Will they rub my tummy in Greensboro?" Rose wonders.

Posted by Erin Doyne at 13:13

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