Posts Tagged ‘dog
Shop Dog Bootcamp
The Trick Ponies of Chincoteague are going to allow a special post about the dogs today – because even though its not “pony” related, it is clicker training related.
What the dogs look like most of the time
Everyday two very special dogs accompany me to work. Ammo (who appears a lot on this blog) is my 1 year old Dachshund and Trooper is my parent’s 2 year old Australian Shepherd/Lab mix. Both dogs have been coming to “work” at my shop since they were about 8 weeks old. Ammo is at the shop 24/7 with me and Trooper gets dropped off and picked up at different times depending on what my parent’s schedules are like. I taught both dogs at a young age what it meant to be a shop dog. This means being quiet, staying out of the way – basically just being a well behaved dog. Most of the day I get dogs that lay around sleeping and when they do play wrestle its very quiet. Being a shop dog also means greeting customers – its pretty much their main job other than to keep me company.
Trooper (being the first and only shop dog for a long time) has always been great with customers – he greeted them with an enthusiastic tail wiggle (minus the tail because he doesn’t have one) and he would NEVER bark at customers, not to mention he had free reign of the shop and wouldn’t ever dare leave even if I had to prop the front door wide open. Enter Ammo. I love him dearly – but he is a dachshund afterall – and if you know nothing about Dachshunds…all you really need to know is that they are STUBBORN. They are hard to house train, they bark a lot, and they love to hunt. I think that if you can train a Dachshund…you can train any animal.
Front door to the shop
So with the arrival of Ammo came the puppy gate. Ammo didn’t care to listen to the boundaries of the front door and being a pipsqueak at 3 lbs. he easily snuck out with customers. With the gate came some new issues. Trooper (being used to greeting people at the front door) started standing up on the gate to greet people – and it didn’t help any that my customers loved this and would pet and reward him. And as Ammo got older he started to realize what Trooper’s excitement was all about – and he developed a barking habit. As soon as someone entered the door he’d let out a few quick barks (mostly over his frustration about not being able to see over the gate as to who/what was there). But after 3-5 barks he’d settle right down.
So now I have a dog on the gate wiggling like crazy and a dog that barks (not to mention customers who are so excited to see dogs that they don’t realize they are rewarding what I deem to be bad habits…whats even worse is some of them bring the dogs cookies). Its not the greeting I want people to get when they walk in the front door – despite the fact that most of them love the dogs. I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve sort of let this issue slide for a long time. In an effort to help the customers and not look like the crazy dog trainer I sort of cover up the situation. I usually pick Ammo up so he can see who is there and will stop barking and Trooper I push off the gate after my customer’s give him a pat.
My "ammo"
This has gone on too long now and I decided that on Wednesday it was time for Shop Dog Bootcamp. My plan was to get the dogs to sit (quietly) when customers entered. To do this I decided to use clicker training to reward them when they sat as someone entered and slowly increase the duration of time I asked them to do this. My hope was that by the end they would associate someone entering the door with sitting (and then being rewarded).
So I placed a jar of dog treats by the front counter and waited for my first customer. I decided that even if my customers thought I was crazy I’d simply explain to them what I was doing. The first few times I showed the dogs the cookie first so they knew that complying to my request would be totally worth it. I tried to be aware of when I thought someone was coming in the front door so that I could have them sitting and waiting before they even entered. This started to work, but occasionally I would be in the back and someone would come in before I noticed. But I was successful in getting them under control much quicker than I ever was before.
By Thursday I was noticing some improvement. I successfully had “no issues” for maybe 2-3 customers and even when my husband came to pick me up (people they KNOW always get a really enthusiastic hello) they both sat quietly and never made a peep. My husband was quite impressed because he knows how they can get.
Below is a short video of the boys in training.
We had some small setbacks throughout the day – afterall my main goal is to help my customers and sometimes if I get too many people in the store at once its hard to then also try to train the dogs at the same time, but I’m trying my best.
So hopefully soon I will be able to report that the boys are well-behaved shop greeters. But if anyone has suggestions on how to help the boys learn their new task at the shop let me know!
Spending My Time Wisely
On Friday I did something I haven’t done in a really long time…but was long overdue.
It was a surprisingly mild November night, and after finishing all of my barn work and chores I decided to spend some time with Minnow. Armed with a few brushes (and the dachshund bundled in his winter coat) I settled myself into the pile of hay in Minnow’s stall. Minnow munched around me, occasionally giving me and the dachshund kisses (he’s so sweet like that). I scratched his itchy spots, brushed his muddy coat (from all the rain we’ve had) and basically just enjoyed being with him. I sat in his stall for about an hour before dragging myself away.
I’ve always known the importance of just enjoying my horses, not asking for something specific from them, just letting them be horses and observing. Its of huge importance for horses to bond with their owner/rider/special person – and to be undemanding of your horse helps to accomplish this. But, in actuality its always hard to find time to do this. You carve out time to go to the barn – and you want to “do” something. I know the feeling, I’m guilty of this all of the time. But horses don’t feel this same need, and sometimes its better to do nothing.
I think I spent the most time doing nothing with Minnow when I was in college. When he was in his most intense part of training with me I decided to bring him to college with me. Needless to say I think I spent more time at the barn evading school work than anything else. But it brought Minnow and I much closer.
I’d just sit in his stall and watch him eat hay, or I’d lay in the grass with him while he got his fill. I even studied in the pasture while he was just “being a horse”. Most of the time he ignored me, but occasionally he’d wander over and nuzzle my hair, or tug at my boots – signs that he was interested in me and what I was doing in there with him. Getting a horse interested can sometimes be one of the toughest things to accomplish – and for Minnow especially, these steps were huge. He was a pony that was easily terrified of everything – but rather than touching it to see what it was he opted to completely ignore the situation – to the point where when faced with a strange object he would turn his head all the way around so he didn’t even have to look at it. So bringing curiosity out of him was always a major struggle for me. So with each time Minnow CHOSE to touch me, or my books he was becoming more and more curious – curiosity that helped me to get him over his fear of the mounted games equipment, fear of noises, fear of pretty much anything.
So on Friday night as I sat in Minnow’s pile of hay I thought back to those wonderful days we spent together in college and I vowed that I MUST do nothing with my horses more often.
Happy Halloweenie!
In the spirit of Halloween here are some pictures of my Dachshund, Ammo, and his best friend, Trooper, dressed up in their favorite bearable costumes.
Ponies aren't supposed to eat Dinosaurs
But mom....he tastes so good!
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
I’m on TV mom!
OK so I was going to wait a few more days to post this…because I thought I could get a better video of it, but I just can’t wait any longer.
My boys were on National TV!! Thats right, Ammo the Dachshund and Minnow appeared on Animal Planet’s America’s Cutest Dogs clip show on Saturday, October 24th. They weren’t one of the main videos – but a short clip of them showed up in the “Odd Couples” section. The coolest thing about it is that I didn’t even know that they had made the show. In the beginning of the summer I received an e-mail from Animal Planet’s casting director mentioning that they had come across my videos of Ammo and Minnow playing on youtube. They asked if I would consider submitting them to be considered for the show. Of course I agreed (how cool would that be) – they came back to me a few months later and asked if I would sign some release forms – which had me thinking they were really going to use the clips. But after several more months of not hearing anything I assumed they decided to go a different direction. That is until I got a facebook message from a friend who said she was watching the show and saw a clip of my boys on the show.
When I got the message I of course rushed to the tv to try to record a re-run of the episode. Thankfully it was playing again and I was able to catch all the action. Neat to think that even though it was a small clip someone still recognized them on the show. Anyway – without further ado…here is the clip as seen on the show followed by the full original video that I took of them.
Pretty cool. I hope that its the first of many television appearances – and this is infact the very first time any of the Trick Ponies have made it on TV – and to think its on Animal Planet! Way to aim high boys!
A Day at the Beach
My husband and I with the Bride and Groom
Ok so I know I’ve sort of disappeared this past week, but for good reason. One of my good friends got married to my husband’s best friend last Friday. I was a bridesmaid and my husband was the best man – needless to say we were very busy last week. I had to get a spray on tan to get rid of my blinding farmers tan (what can I say, I spend too much time at the farm) and we had to arrange “day care” for the Dachshund – he got to spend 2 days at my parents romping with his partner in crime, Trooper. So now that I’m recovered and back from a hectic week its time to get back to posting! And I have a lot to share! You might think that I wouldn’t have much given the busy state of last week, but I actually have tons to report on about the Trick Ponies as well as the Dachshund – I also have some fantastic news to announce! But the announcement will have to wait (I need some time to prepare the videos) so I will leave it to speculation right now and you will just have to check back in this week.
Grandma's Beach House
So onto the post for today. This is semi old news as it happened on Saturday, October 17th. And unfortunately it does not involve the Trick Ponies (but oh how I wish it did). On the 17th my family and I took a trip to Ocean City, NJ for the day. The real agenda for the trip was to pack up my grandmother’s decaying beach house as it was sold and settlement is happening this week. My grandmother lived there for decades and it has been in my mother’s family for generations. Sadly the house is in pretty bad shape and beyond repair at this point in its life. So without being able to afford a rebuild – and in desperate need of money – my grandmother has reluctantly agreed to sell. Its sad to see it go, as I remember beach trips there as a child, walking to the corner shop for candy, and taking the dogs for a hike on the beach.
Saying Goodbye to the Past
So last Saturday we went down for one last jaunt as we packed up my grandmothers left behind belongings. I secretly was excited to make the trip because I wanted to take the Dachshund on the beach. This would be the first time he was to see the ocean – and I was excited to see what he would think. Sadly on Saturday it was pouring rain (not ideal beach weather) – but I bundled the dog up anyway and headed to the beach with him. Below you can watch a video of his first encounter in the sea…I think he was a bit surprised by it.
Trooper and Ammo at the Beach
Trooper, my parent’s Lab/Australian Shepherd Mix (and Ammo’s best friend) had great fun running in and out of the ocean and chasing seagulls with Ammo. We eventually had to pull them away because Ammo got a bit cold, but I bundled him up in dry clothes and he quickly became warm again. My only regret was I couldn’t bring the ponies. I have dreamed of the day that I can ride Minnow on the beach. I’ve always wanted to gallop him through the water – and hopefully someday it will come true, as you are allowed to ride horses on Assateague Island (Minnow’s birthplace) in the fall and winter months. I haven’t been able to make the trip yet, but it is certainly on my to-do list.
Ammo a little cold from all the wind
I’m glad Ammo got to experience his first visit to the ocean, I strongly believe in acclimating my animals to new environments and surroundings (the horses are included in this as well). Socializing your animals and taking them with you places makes them much more adaptable and happier. The Dachshund goes with me everywhere – and he is one of the most well adjusted dogs I have ever had. Now grant it I know its not always possible to take your dog (or horse) everywhere – but take your dog to the dog park, bring him in the pet store to buy dog food – let him ride around in the car with you when you run errands (as long as its not too hot or cold in the car), take him to a friend’s house. I even practice this methodology with my horses. Take them to horse shows just to watch, drive them around in the trailer without actually going anywhere, I take them swimming at the local lake, mine have even been to tack shops (for appearances), and I take them on walks…much like you would a dog. Anywhere you can take your horse/dog that is new and different helps them to become well adjusted. I also believe it helps with their confidence. Confidence can go a long way when it comes to despooking a horse or keeping a dog from being nervous or aggressive in new situations. Dachshunds are notorious for being snappy and aggressive with other dogs and small children – but thankfully my Ammo has never displayed any of this – and I believe its thanks to the fact that I have taken him places since he was 8 weeks old.
So I’m giving everyone some homework, this week think of somewhere you haven’t taken you dog or horse (or any pet) and make an effort to take him/her there sometime soon. If you take me up on my challenge be sure to post a comment and give us a report of how it went! I’d love to hear!
