Skylar's Run in the Park!

Yesturday, May 15, 2010, Skylar got to go to this really awesome park. She'd only been there once before, a long time ago (okay, the winter before last). This prestigous human park allows dogs to come, too, but it's not a dog park at all. There are a couple of ponds teeming with turtles and water fowl. Skylar had never seen such animals before. She also got to say "hi" to three ife-sized sheep statues. It was funny to watch her hesitantly walk up to them and cautiously sniff them. Mainly, we went to the park to go for a jog. But poor Skylar had had enough after only a little while! She's a Sibe. mix, where's the endurance? lol It's not her fault- I made her stay content with just walking until she stopped growing here recently. Now we go running a couple of times a week. After an hour of walking/running, Sky was so tired that I stated that she'd be able to walk through a troop of toddlers and not lick a single one! ~

My bark could make a sumo wrestler jump!

Despite my counter surfing, continuous licking, and other quirky behaviours, I'm a brave dog. What? You don't believe me? Well, I scared a robber away last night!!!

See, apparently, someone tried to get into our house at 1AM through a side door that leads to our kitchen! I sleep in the kitchen! AND my crate is pushed right against the side door. My mommy said that she heard me start barking loudly and not in my normal tone when our alarm started going off. I never bark like that unless I'm suspicious of a stranger outside. The alarm changed from beeping to the real thing, and I woke my mistresses up from their slumber when I decided to howl in long, loud wails trying to get that awful alarm out of my head.

Well, everyone but one of my mistresses got up, inspected the house, and eventually let me sleep with my crate door open instead of shut in case the robber came back. Personally, I don't think that he would come back after the way that I scared him! I'm not a little puppy any more! I'm nine and half months old and weigh a whole THIRTY-FIVE pounds! Yes, don't mess with Skylar.

Skylar, a guard dog?

Wow. Our Siberian husky mix actually has the making of a future guard dog. If you aren't familiar with the Siberian husky breed in general, let my inform you that Siberians are not knonwn for their ability to guard. Instead of alerting their owners to a burgular, they'd greet the burgular with a big tongue instead of snapping jaws.

Anyway, Skylar has recently started to alert us to people or loose dogs near our house. She has actually started using a particularly gruff bark that is much different from her normal cat alert barks. Skylar was even sounding her alarm at a person across the street going to someone else's house. If we can refine this bark of Skylar's to the point where she knows that we approve but can also get her to hush on command, our house will be alert to the going ons of the neighborhood.

Thanks for reading!

We didn't drop out, we just failed! :P

Darn! Skylar and I failed Beginner at our dog obedience school. I think that we failed for two reasons.
1. I, the handler, was nervous! There wasn't much to be nervous about, but I was on edge the whole time.
2. Skylar just didn't feel like staying. I don't what caused it. Maybe she just had to go potty, was being the teenager she is, was influenced by my nervousness, or maybe all three.

Therefore, we failed dog obedience class. However, we got what we came for: experience and the tools. I learned a lot about dog behavior in general as well as learning how to control Sky in such a distracting place. Man, I'm just proud that we stuck it through. Yes, I want to try again next winter when she's past this teenage stage and is a few months past her first birthday.

My mom and I will go back to the school tonight for the awards ceremony. While we won't be picking up the diploma, we'll be getting a toy for 100% attendance. =]

Good bye and good luck!

(and thankyou all for the support prior to the exam!!!)

Holy Smokes! Skylar proved me wrong!

Skylar's dog obedience classes were a blast tonight! Unfortunately, that was the last official class day. Next week is the exam, and the week after is the award's night.

Tonight, Skylar shined during the "come" practice. As I asked her to "sit" and "wait" the first two times before walking away a good twenty feet and calling her, she went bananas over the handler holding her leash, but came to me directly. The third and final come was the most amazing thing that I have ever seen in my entire dog training career (which is only about 8 months old, lol). I walked up to the starting spot confidently, she sat PERFECTLY without a glance at anyone besides me, and waited like an angel. I strutted down the mat to the back wall and, in front of the WHOLE group, called her. She eagerly came and accepted the treat like a good girl. The adult dogs were having difficulty even hearing their masters calling while, I was practically shouting her command. I guess that is what helped.

Well, if that doesn't prove how much she has progressed, I don't know WHAT else will (besides her passing the exam.) The only thing left to conquer will be the stay during inspection by the handler (whom she adores). It will be a big challenge.

Petsmart!

Oh boy! I got to go to Petsmart today with my people! I decided to behave very well. (My mistress thinks it is because of all of my hard work at dog obedience class) Several employees came up to say hi to me and pet me. I was so pleased! One little boy even squeaked a toy at me and tossed it to me to play with. He liked to tease me with it. Unfortunately, I forgot to beg for a doggy treat at the cash register. Those dog biscuits are monsterous!!!

Microchipped!

Yesturday, we took Skylar to a big colisseum in town where a vet was microchipping dogs for $26.

As it happens, an actual DOG SHOW was going on! There were dogs from every breed imaginable! I'm talking shelties to Irish Wolfounds. O_o There were dog crates everywhere, dog grooming tables, and this HUGE fan that scared Skylar. lol At the show, there were also stands that sold toys and pictures. I wish we could've stayed and watched, but we didn't have time.

Skylar was pretty good considering how many dogs and people were around her. She didn't spaz out or lunge at anyone. Several people actually came up and commented on her eyes! The ladies who held her while she was being microchipped were very, very nice. They cooed over her and gave her big pieces of cheese. She was in heaven.

So Close to Summer

Skylar's obedience school is coming along. She's made a few friends, but Sky doesn't get to play at all because they have very strict rules. Dogs can't even say "hi." I guess there really is "all work and no play," huh? Sky's getting really, really good at sitting on command at the school. It is a VERY distracting place. In this large room, there have to be thirty dogs and forty people-at least.

Right now, Skylar is working on her stays the most. Our third class's homework requires us to work on three minute down stays at 3 feet and two minute sit stays at three feet. Whew! It's no fun, but Skylar's a little trooper.

I can't believe how Skylar appears to change size. At the dog obedience class, she's the third smallest dog!!! But at home, she's HUGE! Skylar is over 31 pounds and is at least 20 inches at her shoulders. Boy, does she have a slim waist, long legs, and puffy tail. Oh! Her shedding is over already. It was bad earlier this year. We had to sweep up pan fulls of fur daily!

That's Skylar's news!
-emmaanne

Dog Obedience Classes Week 1

Well, Skylar has been enrolled in dog obedience classes at MADOC. She's been to Petsmart puppy classes, but this is the real deal. TO prepare for the stress, we've been taking her on car rides to Home Deopt and Tractor Supply Company to see people and such. She's handled everything reasonably well.
In Sky's obedience class, there are twelve dogs and twelve handlers with two instructors. There are another 7 dogs and 10 owners on the outside of the arena. To top that off, there is a whole class on the other side of the floor that is similar in size.
Skylar was obviously stressed out. She was panting, wide mouthed. The dogs aren't allowed to sniff eachother because no one wants to provoke a fight so it was hard to keep her away from the other dogs. We'd bought special treats that she's only tasted once or twice to keep her focused. They worked well enough, but I should've brought some sort of toy, too. She's mostly treat motivated, but toys also get her excited.
After thirty minutes, she was timed out. Hey, she's 7 1/2 months old. I don't expect her to be focused for even 20 minutes. Anyway, the dogs have to stay in the heel position when we are being talked to by the instructor. Every now and then, I let her lay down because she was really tired.
Tonight, we worked on the sit in heel position, loose leash walking, short come with collar touch, down, watch me, and a short sit-stay. Man, Skylar can pull off a 30 second sit stay at home and a 1 min. + down stay. The other dogs and people were just too much for her, though. I had trouble even getting her to sit for the sit-stay. That was annoying because she sits like a pro everywhere.
One quircky thing that Skylar did was pull up the mats. There are mats where the handlers have to stand on and complete the exercises on, but Skylar just decided to start chewing on them. lol
For the very first REAL dog obedience class, I was pretty satisfied. She listened pretty well, learned to control herself somewhat around the other dogs and people, and got a car ride out of the deal. Now all I have to do is practice, practice, practice for next week!
Oh, and in order to hold her treats, I had the bag in my jacket pocket. To keep the jacket from getting in the way, I had zipped it up. Let's just day that I sweated more than I do in the workouts we have to do at school for sports.

Something to Remember

"Now, I, along with my family, am training Skylar on the basics before puppy obedience classes start in a few weeks. Skylar has picked up "Come" pretty easily. "Sit", however is difficult because she jumps up and tries to nip out hand as we motion her into the sit position. But, we're working on it and don't plan on giving up.

Skylar also just got her leash, harness, and colar. The leash isn't her friend. She sits down and doesn't like to go very far when we clip the leash on. But, hey, today was her first day of practice in that area, so I really didn't expect excellence."
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I wrote this several months ago. Now, Skylar is an outgoing, friendly, and reasonably obedient six month old. She attended puppy classes at Petsmart and had a great time with her two puppy friends, Harley and Honey!
I reread the statement above just now and thought that it was too cute not to keep. I barely remember that happening, so I want to treasure this.